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.

Okaloosa County Commissioners will consider ending fixed-route public bus service and dissolving a decade-old regional transit agreement when they meet at their next public meeting on May 19 at the Okaloosa County Administration Building in Shalimar at 8 a.m.

An Okaloosa County judge on May 11 denied a request from a former Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy charged in the 2024 shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson to travel outside the bounds of his pretrial release, after Fortson’s mother delivered an emotional plea asking the court to keep him in the area.

John Frankman didn’t plan on running for Congress. The former Army Special Forces Green Beret says he spent years after leaving the military fighting for service members punished under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, writing op-eds, testifying on Capitol Hill and appearing on national media. What he saw in Washington convinced him that wasn’t enough.

The prolonged dry spell settling over the Florida Panhandle may feel unprecedented to residents, but a National Weather Service meteorologist said drought conditions like these are a well-documented feature of the region’s spring climate.