Okaloosa nixes 300-foot swimming limit in Gulf
FORT WALTON BEACH — County Commissioners on Tuesday rejected a bid by beach safety officials to prohibit swimmers from going more than 300 feet from shore in the Gulf of Mexico. The board voted 4-1 to...
View ArticleFWB to renegotiate with Landmark Center developers (DOCUMENTS)
FORT WALTON BEACH — The City Council has allowed its staff to continue to negotiate with the developers of the Landmark Center in hopes that they can come up with a development agreement that will...
View ArticleHappy birthday Kigali: 'I still can’t believe it's been a year' (GALLERY)
GULF BREEZE — On a sunny Wednesday morning, Kigali the western lowland gorilla looks up at the hammock his mother so easily climbs into and jumps, stretching out his arms in the hope of getting in....
View ArticleSoda spills, freezes on Pa. road when rigs crash
READING, Pa. (AP) — Everyone knows soda can be bad for your teeth. Sometimes, it can apparently threaten the morning commute, too. Police say two tractor-trailers collided on U.S. Route 422 outside...
View ArticleFugitive wanted for lewd and lascivious, aggravated incest captured
A 34-year-old Louisiana man was arrested last week on an outstanding warrant for lewd and lascivious offenses from Santa Rosa County. Eric Atwell was wanted on outstanding warrants for aggravated...
View ArticleAP sources: Panetta opens combat roles to women
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and...
View ArticleAir Force general calls sex assaults a 'cancer'
WASHINGTON (AP) — Likening sexual assault in the Air Force's ranks to a cancer, the service's top officer resolved Wednesday to tackle the problem by screening personnel more carefully and putting an...
View ArticleSanta Rosa to discuss extending pier contract (DOCUMENT)
MILTON — The existing management contract for the Navarre Beach fishing pier is set to expire in the middle of the upcoming tourist season and potentially could disrupt services there for weeks. To...
View ArticleWho's that at the door? Just your neighborhood bear
NICEVILLE - Sometimes the crime rate in Niceville is unbearable. Make that un "bear" able. Such was the case on Jan. 13 when Niceville Police received a call from an Evergreen Avenue resident who said...
View ArticleGifts fit for a first lady (SLIDESHOW)
DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — History will truly come to life during Florida’s Chautauqua Assembly this weekend, thanks to the hard work of three high school students. Two identical wooden lecterns, made to...
View ArticleSchumacher resentenced to four years for DUI manslaughter
FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County Circuit Judge John Brown didn’t try to hide his distaste Wednesday for an appeal’s court order that he change a carefully crafted sentence he handed down in April...
View ArticleTDC scandal to be addressed at legislative delegation meeting
Okaloosa County’s mismanagement of millions in taxpayer dollars and BP grants will be under scrutiny at the next meeting of Northwest Florida’s legislative delegation. The meeting will be from 5 to...
View ArticleDebt crisis averted, but spring fight still ahead
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retreating with a purpose, Republicans sped legislation through the House on Wednesday to avert the imminent threat of a government default but pointing the way to a springtime...
View ArticleExplorer's rare Scotch returned to Antarctic stash
SCOTTBASE, Antarctica (AP) — Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton's abandoned expedition base...
View ArticleMen arrested for burglary, grand theft
SANTA ROSA BEACH - A tip led Walton County sheriff’s deputies to charge two Santa Rosa Beach men with a series of commercial and residential burglaries in late 2012, according to the Sheriff’s Office....
View ArticleUPDATE: Chemical leak reported at Pace plant
PACE — A chemical leak at the Taminco Pace No. 4 plant was reported Thursday morning. The leak was reported by the plant, which is located at 4575 U.S. Highway 90, at 7:18 a.m., according to a Santa...
View ArticleSheriff's Office seeking help in cafe burglary
DARLINGTON — The Walton County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information in reference to a commercial burglary at an area cafe in early November. Sometime between the late hours on Nov. 4 and early...
View ArticleFundraiser scheduled to help victims of Hurricane Sandy
NICEVILLE — Nancy Sorenson was a mother, a wife and a friend. The woman from East Rockaway, N.Y., was one of more than 100 people in the United States who died during Hurricane Sandy last October....
View ArticleWorms: A Zimbabwe snack, from tree to dinner table
GWANDA, Zimbabwe (AP) — In Zimbabwe as well as most parts of southern Africa, mopane worms are a staple part of the diet in rural areas and are considered a delicacy in the cities. They can be eaten...
View ArticleU.S. Attorney’s Office: Odom knew he would be arrested
Destin developer Jay Odom was aware well before he was arrested Tuesday morning that federal authorities would be coming to arrest him for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions. That gave...
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