UPDATE: Ex-athletic director Wesley turns down Arnold job
PANAMA CITY BEACH — J.R. Arnold High School’s former athletic director has turned down an offer to return to the school, after the state Department of Education (DOE) closed an investigation into...
View ArticleMexican flavors: La Cocina chef shares owners’ favorite recipes
PANAMA CITY — Executive Chef Ben Lillard of La Cocina Mexican Grill and Bar recreated a couple of the restaurant owners’ favorite recipes during a cooking demonstration Saturday at Somethin’s Cookin’....
View ArticleSoutherland, Graham battle at House District 2 debate
TALLAHASSEE — Sparks flew Tuesday at the first debate in an increasingly contentious race between Republican incumbent Steve Southerland and Democratic challenger Gwen Graham for a Northwest Florida...
View ArticleJudge hears oil spill cleanup workers' claims
NEW ORLEANS — The federal judge for Gulf of Mexico oil spill cases was set to hear arguments Wednesday about whether BP PLC should get back hundreds of millions of dollars from businesses that got...
View ArticleU.S. strikes hit Islamic State group staging area in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — The United States bombed a suspected Islamic State staging area in eastern Syria on Wednesday, as U.S. warplanes also hit the militants' positions across the border in neighboring Iraq,...
View ArticlePoll: Florida's governor's race too close to call
TALLAHASSEE (AP) — The race between Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Republican-turned-Democrat former Gov. Charlie Crist is too close to call. That's according to a Quinnipiac University poll of likely...
View ArticleCallaway keeps taxes the same
CALLAWAY – Callaway commissioners voted unanimously Monday to keep the ad valorem tax rate at 2.25 mills. Keeping taxes at 2.25 mills instead of going with the adjusted rollback rate of 2.77 created a...
View ArticleFSU seeks redemption Saturday at N.C. State
RALEIGH, N.C. — Memories of North Carolina State’s stunning come-from-behind win over Florida State two years ago still linger in the brain. The Wolfpack, particularly on their home field, have a...
View ArticleCourt throws out lawsuit stemming from inmate’s suicide
PANAMA CITY — A federal court has thrown out the lawsuit of a man whose wife committed suicide while in jail. Maureen Joyce Bearden threaded the sheet from her jail cot through the door grate of her...
View ArticleFWC: $4.5M pledged for oyster help
APALACHICOLA — State agencies announced late Friday they have pledged $4.5 million toward oyster bed restoration efforts and will keep the beds open for the winter harvest season. The Department of...
View ArticleCardboard boat regatta to be held Saturday
LYNN HAVEN - The Shaddai Shriner Temple of Panama City is sponsoring the first Bay County Great Cardboard Boat Regatta at Leslie Porter Wayside Park in Lynn Haven on Saturday. Shriners invited high...
View ArticleFCHS teacher accused of molesting student
EASTPOINT — A Franklin County High School and assistant football coach has been arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of an underage female student. Gerald Tate was arrested...
View ArticleThe sound of music: Bay Arts Alliance strums up ukulele talent
PANAMA CITY — The music room at Oakland Terrace School was filled with off-key strumming of 30 brand new ukuleles after the Bay Arts Alliance stopped by the district’s performing arts elementary...
View ArticleUPDATE: Jeffries receives death penalty, accomplice 20 years
PANAMA CITY — An Alabama couple has been sentenced for plotting the torture of a 90-year-old Lynn Haven veteran for his bank account information before killing and robbing him when he refused. Circuit...
View ArticleUPDATE: Family member finds 2 dead at Southport home
SOUTHPORT — Investigators were working the scene of a Southport home late Friday where two bodies were found, the Bay County Sheriff's Office reported. BCSO was callled to 1327 10th St. in Southport...
View ArticleCase in Taylor County ties guards, gangs, attempted inmate hit
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Crews has made a public show of his attempts to purge the agency of abusive prison guards in the wake of news reports about inmates’...
View ArticleUPDATE: Report: Scott's top inspector told about cover-up; Franklin prison...
TALLAHASSEE — A widening scandal focusing on the treatment of Florida prison inmates includes new allegations that Gov. Rick Scott's own top watchdog was warned about the possible cover-up of two...
View ArticleFlash flood watch issued for Sunday; 6 inches possible
PANAMA CITY — More than a half-foot of rain is possible in isolated portions of the Florida Panhandle on Sunday and Monday, and forecasters issued a flash flood watch for the area. The rainfall is...
View ArticleStudents test engineering skills at Great Cardboard Boat Regatta
LYNN HAVEN — The Titanic II won the day Saturday in an ironic twist at the Shaddai Shriners of Panama City’s inaugural Great Cardboard Boat Regatta at Porter Park in Lynn Haven. “We hope to keep doing...
View ArticleCircumstances of Southport couple’s death still a mystery
SOUTHPORT — The brick house shared by 46-year-old John Steve Bowen and 44-year-old Donna Maria Merendino sat calm and quiet Saturday. Bowen’s van and Merendino’s Buick sat in the driveway, collecting...
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