CRESTVIEW — The Okaloosa County Commissionunanimously agreed Tuesday to spend an estimated $2 million in bed tax money to restore a portion of severely eroded beach on Holiday Isle.The city of Destin has a maintenance dredge permit that can be used for the beach restoration work, which would utilize a dredge that is already at work in East Pass on the Norriego Point restoration project. [...]

SpaceX has hit a rocket straight out of the park on the first test flight of its big new rocket.The Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off Tuesday afternoon from the same Florida launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful rocket in use today. Its three boosters and 27 engines roared to life at Kennedy Space Center.Not only did the rocket lift a red sports car into orbit — with a dummy "Starman" at the [...]

Pelosi said the House should debate immigration legislation and noted that Senate Republicans have slated a debate on the politically freighted subject starting next week.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a scammer calling homes and asking for $18,000 for bond.According to a press release from SRSO, the scam attempt occurred on Feb. 5. During this incident, an unsolicited phone call took place in which the victim was told there was a warrant for their arrest due to non-compliance to a jury duty summons.The scammer had credible information such as names, addresses and phone numbers of the victim.The scammer stated [...]

CRESTVIEW — It was just 52 years ago when David Wheeler became one of the last children in Okaloosa County to suffer from segregation at the county's only black high school, Carver-Hill. Hidden away at the Carver-Hill Museum on McClelland Street in Crestview lay numerous photographs, trophies, uniforms and other memorabilia encapsulating the stories of those 17 graduates from the Class of 1966 and the school they call a place of hope, strength and love."It was more [...]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The University of Central Florida has suspended a fraternity after a woman complained that her son was forced to chug a bottle of vodka during a pledging event.The Orlando Sentinel reports the university has scheduled a Feb. 16 hearing for Beta Theta Pi, which was accused of hazing and providing alcohol to minors in November.The suspension came after a former pledge’s mother wrote the fraternity’s national organization saying her son [...]

The multi-phase construction project on Norriego Point is on track for its scheduled completion in the spring of 2019. The current stabilization phase is projected to be finished by May 28th of this year.T-Groins, or structures that reduce wave action, are being established, and sheet piles, or the interlocking sheets that are driven into the sea floor, are being filled with excavated sand from around the sheet pile. [...]

A 34-year-old Pace man was found guilty late last week of lewd or lascivious molestation, according to a press release from the State Attorney's office.A Santa Rosa County jury decided that Randy Roberto Bess committed the crime in July 2015 at his home by touching the victim’s private area underneath her clothes. Bess later admitted it to a friend.He was arrested Nov 4, 2016 following an investigation by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. [...]

VALPARAISO — A Valparaiso man died Thursday after being crushed underneath his pickup truck while doing repairs.The Valparaiso Police Department, Valparaiso Volunteer Fire Department and Okaloosa EMS responded to a call at Southview Avenue about a man being pinned underneath a vehicle.The victim, John Newberry, had been doing repairs with a business partner and removed the front tires from the vehicle and propped it up with car jacks, according to Valparaiso Fire [...]

The two-year-old Crestview girl was injured in a Friday night blaze at a Crestview motel