Florida agrees to allow Air Force to train on more state land (DOCUMENT)
As part of the Air Force’s quest to find more space to meet increasing training demands in Northwest Florida, it now will be allowed to conduct non-hazardous missions on additional state-owned land....
View ArticleLive nativity open until Christmas Eve (SLIDESHOW)
MARY ESTHER — A star shines brightly outside Santa Rosa Mall. Above the star, angels decked out in gauzy white gowns wave to the crowd. Under it, Mary and Joseph sit, taking turns cradling a baby...
View ArticleWreck on island injures 2, ties up traffic
OKALOOSA ISLAND — A vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 98 at Santa Rosa Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon sent two men to the hospital and backed up traffic. Michael W. Davis, 50, of Crestview, was driving a...
View ArticleIncrease in property crimes reported
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS - Police are investigating a recent trend of property crimes, especially burglaries of vacant homes and utility buildings, according to DeFuniak Springs police. Police have determined...
View ArticleWalton County Santa Patrol gives out gifts to those in need (SLIDESHOW)
Walton County Sheriff's deputies and volunteers handed out goodies to families in need at the extension office on Tuesday for the annual "Santa Patrol." Santa’s elves went shopping Monday to pick up...
View ArticleMan arrested for resisting officers
A Fort Walton Beach man has been released on bond after he was arrested Dec. 12 for resisting Walton County sheriff’s deputies during and after a traffic stop, according to his arrest report. A deputy...
View ArticleMan broke into house, stole toilet paper, report says
FREEPORT - A 20-year-old Freeport man is accused of breaking into a neighbor's house and stealing toilet paper. In late November a Walton County Sheriff's deputy was summoned to a Polk Street...
View ArticleMan launches attack on girlfriend, mother, while mom is driving
VALPARAISO - A man is accused of attacking his girlfriend and his mother as they were driving to DeFuniak Springs. On Dec. 3, Benny Harvard, 41, of DeFuniak Springs, was being driven home from the...
View ArticleMan busted for DUI after car is seen trailing sparks
FORT WALTON BEACH - A 33-year-old Destin man was arrested for DUI after an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy spotted a car driving on two flats and and trailing a shower of sparks. At a little after 11...
View ArticleLETTER: The first victim
Survivalist Nancy Lanza may have thought she was protecting herself from future economic chaos with her stockpile of automatic pistols and her assault rifle. Instead, she was the first victim of her...
View ArticleLETTER: Ban assault guns
I am entirely supportive of you protecting your home and loved ones and of hunters (although I am not one) being able to practice their sport. However, there is no need whatsoever to have an automatic...
View ArticleKATHLEEN PARKER: The sanest response to horror may be ... silence
WASHINGTON — It is a conundrum of wordsmiths that sometimes events are so horrible that words escape us. Bereft of the tools of our trade, we are left with what is perhaps the only appropriate...
View ArticleEDITORIAL: New hurdle for region's economy
Talk about bad timing. The economic development organizations of Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties have undergone shake-ups and are about to start 2013 with only interim leaders in place — just...
View ArticleCake is definitely all it's cracked up to be
Last year I wrote about my family’s tradition of having graham cracker cake at Christmas. My aunt’s granddaughter was able to locate the original recipe for me, and it is just as wonderful as I...
View ArticleNY WWII vet who liberated Nazi train dies in Fla.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Carrol Walsh, a retired state judge whose account of liberating Holocaust victims from a Nazi train led to reunions with the survivors 60 years later, has died. He was 91. Walsh...
View ArticleHomeless for the holidays
FORT WALTON BEACH — The holidays are hard for Kenneth Schultz since he became homeless. Then again, so has every other day. Schultz says he has his Christmas plans set. He will have a ham lunch at the...
View ArticleShattered Newtown tries to make sense of tragedy
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — One by one by one by one, each with fresh heartbreak, hearses crisscrossed two New England towns on Wednesday, bearing three tiny victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre and a...
View ArticleCrestview High teacher faces DUI, drug charges
CRESTVIEW — A math teacher at Crestview High School has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence. An Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy saw a 2013 Nissan...
View ArticleState issues sweeping critique of Okaloosa spending oversight (DOCUMENT)
The Florida Auditor General has issued a sweeping critique of Okaloosa County commissioners’ oversight of the Tourist Development Council and the county’s use of bed tax money. Read the report....
View ArticleL-3 Crestview Aerospace continues to grow
CRESTVIEW — L-3 Crestview Aerospace isn’t just growing, it’s in the middle of a major expansion. L-3, a defense contractor that provides aircraft modifications and fabricates and assembles parts and...
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