The Florida Department of Transportation says the Pensacola Bay Bridge will reopen next month, but only one lane in each direction will be open for the first mile from the Pensacola side. Two lanes in each direction will be open for the other two miles of the bridge. The speed limit will be temporarily set…… MORE
ESCAMBIA COUNTY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ORDINANCE
Escambia County Commissioners voted yesterday to approve an ordinance allowing retail alcohol beverage sales seven days a week throughout the entire county except between 2:30 and 6 a.m. The ordinance will go into effect after it’s filed with the Florida Department of State. County Attorney Alison Rogers said the county has up to 10 days…… MORE
NEW SANTA ROSA COUNTY VACCINE SITE
Santa Rosa County officials plan to rent the old Bealls department store in Milton as a COVID-19 vaccination site for the entire county, with a goal of delivering 1,500 coronavirus vaccines each week. The contract calls for a six-month initial lease of about $44,000 a month. County officials hope to have the clinic open Monday…… MORE
ESCAMBIA COUNTY VACCINE ARRIVAL DELAYED
The Florida Department of Health is rescheduling appointments because not enough vaccine arrived in time to meet this week’s goals, due to weather problems. The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County expects to receive its allocation of 2,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week. When this week’s vaccine shipment arrives it wil be…… MORE
FRAUD AND MONEY-LAUNDERING ARREST
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says a 42-year-old Escambia County woman was arrested for fraud and money laundering. Cassondra Moreno’s employer, a beverage distributor noticed a $300,000 accounting discrepancy involving stolen money orders. The investigation revealed that over a four-year period, Moreno modified her employer’s accounting system to conceal the amount of money orders…… MORE
WALTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT SUED
A finance clerk at the Walton County Sheriff’s Office has filed a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination and claiming she’s been subjected to working in a hostile environment. Tammy Bradley says she and others have been groped and touched inappropriately by county Emergency Medical Services Chief Tracey Vause and that Sheriff Michael Adkinson and his command…… MORE
COVID-19 UPDATE
The Florida Department of Health says the state added 7,342 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total cases to 1,844,627. The state also added 165 new deaths bringing the toll up to 29,824. Escambia County had 68 new cases Santa Rosa County had 59 new cases and 2 new deaths Okaloosa County has 39 new…… MORE
NEW AREA CODE COMING
Northwest Florida will soon have a new area code. The current 850 area code will run out of available phone numbers in early 2022, and state regulators approved the addition of the 448 area code to add additional numbers. A mandatory switch to using 10-digits was set to begin on Saturday, February 20th, but that…… MORE
ESCAMBIA COUNTY RAPE ARREST
A 23-year-old Cantonment man has been arrested for the rape of an underage girl. Investigators say Josue Lopez would go to the victim’s home to see her sister, but on the night of the incident, he entered the home, pushed the victim on the bed, and choked and raped her. She told investigators that Lopez…… MORE
WALTON COUNTY FIRE FATALITY
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office says one person was killed in a house fire Tuesday night. The Sheriff’s Office and Walton County Fire Rescue were called to a home on Kylea Laird Road just after 9:30 p.m. Deputies and firefighters arrived to find flames and heavy smoke coming from a large shed behind a home…… MORE
