Parents speak out about school rezoning
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay District School Board fixed one problem with the rezoning of elementary schools in Panama City Beach on Monday night. The Hidden Pines and Treasure Palms neighborhood will...
View ArticleFormer News Herald editor found dead; natural causes suspected
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Former News Herald editor Phil Lucas, who went on to start the weekly Bay County Bullet along the beaches of his new-found home, died in his mobile home Sunday from what is...
View ArticleStudent charged with attack at Merritt Brown Middle School
HILAND PARK — A 14-year-old student has been charged with felony battery following an attack at school on another student Thursday that left the victim in the hospital. As classes changed at Merritt...
View ArticleSheriff worried about escalating Spring Break violence
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Bay County Sheriff’s deputy Barrett Jackson responded to shots fired at about 6 p.m. on Saturday. He later arrested Marcus Fletcher, 20, of Huntsville, Ala. for the offense....
View ArticleHolmes County ticket among Fantasy 5 winners
ESTO — Five "Fantasy 5" players, including one in Holmes County, have selected all five winning numbers to win a jackpot of $43,947.02 each. The Florida Lottery said Tuesday the winning tickets were...
View ArticlePublix buying up property throughout Florida
SARASOTA — Publix Super Markets went on a buying spree over the past year, bagging six shopping centers in Southwest Florida for $86 million. But the state's largest grocery-store chain is hardly...
View ArticleCounts Real Estate employee earns professional designation
PANAMA CITY BEACH -- Cherie Baker, a relocation coordinator at Counts Real Estate Group, recently earned the RELO Certified Coordinator designation, issued by the organization Leading Real Estate...
View ArticleMan charged with sexual battery of teen
PANAMA CITY — Officers have arrested a local man after DNA evidence allegedly implicated him in the sexual battery of a 15-year-old girl, according to Bay County Sheriff’s Office records. Bobby Doyle...
View ArticleTallahassee woman arrested on several charges
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Officers have arrested a Tallahassee woman who was allegedly cruising around during Spring Break while on the run from law enforcement, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s...
View ArticleUnemployment up, but officials point to positive signs
PANAMA CITY — Despite increasing unemployment rates in Bay County this January, local workforce officials are pointing toward positive signs for 2015. The unemployment rate jumped from 6.2 to 6.6...
View ArticleState to reopen fatal case of inmate gassing
TALLAHASSEE — Rommell Johnson, an inmate at a Washington County prison who had chronic asthma, couldn’t breathe on June 3, 2010. Less than five hours after receiving treatment for severe breathing...
View ArticleFlyover brings changes to GCSC
PANAMA CITY — Buildings on the bay side of Gulf Coast State College’s campus are being spruced up in anticipation of traffic changes that will come during construction of the U.S. 98 flyover. This...
View ArticleCommission OKs tax break for Eastern
PANAMA CITY — Bay County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a property tax break for Eastern Shipbuilding Group for the next 10 years in return for an expansion of the business. The exemption would...
View ArticleCounty to consider cuts to utility rates
PANAMA CITY — The Bay County Commission agreed Tuesday to explore ways to reduce utility bills for customers in unincorporated areas. Commissioners at a utility workshop agreed to direct staff to come...
View ArticleUPDATE: Police: Spring breaker found dead in pool; alcohol a factor
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old spring breaker who was pulled Monday night from the bottom of a Beach motel pool. Friends of Dante Jermaine Bryant, of Warner...
View ArticleHack compromises information for 14,000 Sacred Heart patients
One of the third-party vendors Sacred Heart Health System uses for its billing operations was recently hacked, compromising the health information of about 14,000 patients. Hackers used a phishing...
View ArticleCounty Commissioners fret about crime, reputation
PANAMA CITY — Several Bay County commissioners vented their frustration Tuesday over the criminal activity occurring this Spring Break on Panama City Beach, saying the publicity is giving Bay County a...
View ArticleU.S. sets new record for denying, censoring government files
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second consecutive year, the Obama administration more often than ever censored government files or outright denied access to them under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act,...
View ArticleParker discusses Sunday alcohol sales
PARKER — The Parker City Council collectively expressed Tuesday that they would be open to passing an ordinance changing alcohol sales on Sundays. Currently, alcohol cannot be sold before 1 p.m.,...
View ArticleDeveloper aims for August start for Mexico Beach hotel
MEXICO BEACH — Developers of a hotel and condominiums in Mexico Beach are hoping to break ground by August. The developers are working on plans to submit a development order to the Mexico Beach...
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