Four structures on property owned by Vic’s of Navarre, LLC, a corporation listing former state senator Charlie Clary as managing member, were recently presented to county commissioners to begin abatements.

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Two separate motorcycle incidents within seven minutes of each other March 30 resulted in the death of both drivers. A third motorcycle incident on April 1 resulted in critical injuries. 

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Mike Reeves, 36, and Frank Mathis, 28, stood next to “Impeach Obama” signs near the Navarre Post Office on March 27 waving to drivers to pull over and talk.

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The Blue Angels may have performed their final exhibition this year.

Six pilots from the Naval Air Station Pensacola’s elite fighter jet demonstration unit amazed a two-day crowd of 37,000 on March 23-24.

They performed intricate and close-quarters maneuvers above the Florida Keys during the Southernmost Air Spectacular at Naval Air Station Key West.

The public reaction has been swift and negative toward the government budget cuts that have stopped the popular air show for the time being.

“First it’s the White House Tours and now it’s the Blue Angels,’’ said an irate Facebook user. “This sequester thing stinks. Why does the government have to get rid of things the public likes best? This is just wrong.’’

Department of Defense directives, that military aerial demonstrations are among the cost-saving measures, that take effect April 1 under automatic federal budget cuts.

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At the March 25 meeting of the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners, Commissioner Lane Lynchard added to the agenda a discussion concerning Florida House Bill 7123 as it relates to raising caps on damages for awards against local governments.

Lynchard noted that historically Florida had imposed a $100,000 per person and $200,000 per accident cap which had been increased to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per accident a couple of years ago.

The current bill would further increase the caps to $1 million per person and $1.5 million per accident.

Lynchard voiced concern that if the legislation is passed it would cause a significant annual insurance premium increase upon a budget he described as “already lean.”

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Santa Rosa County will receive more than $1.7 million in federal funding for the repair of 4.1 miles of damage along Navarre Beach from Tropical Storm Debby.

U.S Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency announced March 26 that a federal grant will be given to Florida associated with the storm.

Navarre Beach went from being considered a natural beach to an engineered beach after a series of hurricanes in the late 1990s, and in 2005 after Hurricane Ivan struck a year earlier.

In 2006, the beach was renourished at a cost of about $18.6 million. The state covered about 62 percent of the cost, with beach residents paying about 90 percent of the balance, and the county paying the remaining 10 percent.

During a Jan. 24 Board of County Commission meeting, Michael Walther of Coastal Technology Corporation told the commissioners the overall cost for the next complete renourishment, scheduled to begin in 2014, would cost about $10 million.

FEMA estimated that total project cost for the 4.1 miles of beach will be about $2.3 million. The FEMA grant will cover 75 percent of that estimated cost.

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