The Crestview City Council unanimously approved a $143,019 miniature town-themed playground to be built near the public library June 8, while waiving the city’s competitive purchasing policy to move the project forward without a bidding process that could have added 60 days to the timeline.

The Crestview City Council plans to ask the Okaloosa America 250 committee to reconsider the date of a grand parade in the Hub City, with council members expressing concerns that scheduling the event the Saturday before Veterans Day could overshadow the city’s existing Veterans Day parade.

The Crestview City Council will consider multiple items at its Monday meeting, from a $143,000 imaginative playground near the city library to a data-sharing agreement between local law enforcement agencies and a rezoning request from HCA Destin-Fort Walton Medical Center.
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As Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push for property tax cuts heads to the November ballot, local leaders across Okaloosa County are preparing for tightened budgets over the next several years as Rep. Nathan Boyles defends his no vote on the house floor.

From Crestview to Destin, Okaloosa leaders are preparing for significant budget cuts after the Florida Legislature voted to send a property tax exemption proposal to voters this November, a measure they say will drain millions from municipal wallets and shift finical decision making away from communities they represent.

Before every performance, Pamela Strecker made one final walk.
She moved through the backstage area from one side to the other, checking on every actor, calling out final cues, making sure nothing had been missed. Then, just before heading up to the booth, she would turn around, look out at the cast and raise a hand in the air.
“Be brilliant.”
It caught on. Cast members started saying it to each other.
Strecker,61, who served as stage manager and eight-year president of Stage Crafters Community Theater in Fort Walton Beach, died earlier this month after a battle with cancer. She had been part of the organization for more than two decades, arriving as a shy backstage helper in 1999 and becoming the heartbeat of one of Northwest Florida’s most beloved volunteer arts organizations.

Okaloosa County is winding down its fixed-route bus service, shifting to providing only paratransit and demand-based services as officials say decades of fixed routes have drained the general fund with almost nothing to show for it.

Around 730 acres of natural greenspace near Holt will be added to the Blackwater State Forest after a vote by the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners on May 19.

The Crestview City Council voted unanimously on May 11 to authorize City Manager Jessica Leavins to negotiate a one-year deal with Crestview High’s swim coach David Hernandez to manage the pool at the Crestview Recreation Center.

The Crestview City Council on May 11 approved an interlocal agreement to provide temporary emergency animal control services to the City of Laurel Hill on an as-needed basis.