"Emeril's Florida" aired on The Cooking Channel and featured the chef visiting some of Florida's top restaurants. Visit Florida paid at least $10 million over a five-year period for the show.

When I was 12, I was still climbing trees, swinging on tire swings and playing with Barbie dolls.Yes, I was probably the last kid in my class to really grow up, literally and figuratively.I kept my childish body far into my teen years and, because we lived in a rural area, I chose my entertainment based on my own preferences, rather than peer pressure. Toys were fun. I wasn't as sure about boys back then.It wasn't always easy being different. In fact, it was rarely easy. [...]

Eglin Air Force Base has one prescribed burn planned in tactical training area C-64 on Saturday.The burn will be 200 acres in the central portion of the reservation, north of Range Road 213 , west of Range Road 416, south of Range Road 211 and east of Bull Creek.The smoke is expected to rise to 4,500 feet with transport winds predicted to be out of the South, smoke should be minimal in sensitive areas. [...]

These Florida lotteries were drawn Thursday:Cash4Life: 14-43-55-57-60, Cash Ball 4Fantasy 5: 20-27-28-33-36Pick 2 Evening: 0-4Pick 2 Midday: 9-5Pick 3 Evening: 5-6-4Pick 3 Midday: 9-4-6Pick 4 Evening: 0-2-8-5Pick 4 Midday: 5-7-8-9Pick 5 Evening: 6-4-0-8-8Pick 5 [...]

These Florida lotteries were drawn Wednesday:Fantasy 5: 01-12-15-24-25Lotto: 17-20-22-28-31-34, estimated jackpot $17.5 millionLotto XTRA: 02Powerball: 03-06-19-26-44, Powerball 1, Power Play 2, estimated jackpot $52 millionMega Millions: estimated jackpot $48 millionPick 2 Evening: 1-9Pick 2 Midday: 1-2Pick 3 [...]

For years, Republican Rep. Mary Bono endured the increasingly suggestive comments from a fellow lawmaker in the House. But when the congressman approached her on the House floor and told her he'd been thinking about her in the shower, she'd had enough.

A Fort Walton Beach woman escaped with minor injuries following a vehicle rollover in Okaloosa County on Thursday night.According to a Florida Highway Patrol press release, 55-year-old Eleanora Falduto was traveling west on General Robert M. Bond Blvd., east of State Road 85, within the inside lane of travel at the time of the 6:43 p.m. crash.FHP noted that the 2005 Buick Rendezvous Falduto was driving veered across the outside lane and onto the north shoulder of the roadway. [...]

FORT WALTON BEACH - The Fort Walton Beach Fire Department responded to a smoking pile of trash outside a building on 225 Green Acres road around 7:45 p.m. tonight. According to Captain Thearon Shipman of the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department there was a little pile of smoking debris that was emitting a "strange" smell across the street, which made people think the fire was at the Mills Heating & Air building. “It’s a kind of strange smell,” said Shipman. [...]

A visit to the state capitol during the winter legislation session could offer a chance to see work by a local artist.The Okaloosa School District held the Art in the Capitol Contest in October, with middle school students submitting entries.Ruckel Middle School took Best of Show by featuring Anna Keim and her mixed media drawing, “Epic,” which is headed to Tallahassee for display.A second piece by Anna, “The Barn,” placed second in the [...]

“Derelict vessels are an issue for coastal communities. The state regulations for declaring a vessel derelict and pursuing authorization to dispose of it are difficult and time-consuming.”