County breaks ground on courthouse project
PANAMA CITY — After years of planning, Bay County officials broke ground on a $12.5 million, 50,000-square-foot courthouse annex at a ceremony Tuesday. The gathering of county commissioners, judges...
View ArticleFlyover project likely leading to Gulf Coast fields relocation
PANAMA CITY — What often has seemed like a poorly kept secret over past decades finally could turn into reality at Gulf Coast State College. The proposed relocation of the school’s baseball and...
View ArticleCancer kills Gulf Word sea lion
PANAMA CITY BEACH - Gulf World Marine Park announced Tuesday that Duke, a California sea lion and the park’s senior resident, passed away. Duke was 27. Duke came to Gulf World in 2007 from the Georgia...
View ArticleBCSO seeking armed robber
PANAMA CITY BEACH - Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man who robbed the Watford’s Food Mart No. 1 at 8817 Thomas Drive around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. The robber is a white man who wore a gray hooded...
View ArticleParker examines garbage service
PARKER — Council members want a single company to handle all of Parker’s garbage services. “When you only have one throat to choke, you need to make sure you have a good contract,” said Mayor Richard...
View ArticleTwo charged with kidnapping and robbery
PANAMA CITY BEACH - Bay County Sheriff’s deputies have charged two men with kidnapping and robbery after the victim, a spring breaker, got the attention of a Bay County Jail employee at a Panama City...
View ArticleUPDATED: Eastern vying for $10.5 billion contract
PANAMA CITY — Eastern Shipbuilding Group is one of three finalists vying for a $10.5 billion U.S. Coast Guard contract that could bring thousands of new jobs to Bay County. The 20-year contract is...
View ArticleTaxi driver charged with assaulting two spring breakers
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A West Palm Beach man driving a taxi in Panama City Beach for Spring Break has been arrested and charged with sexual battery on two spring breakers. Panama City Beach Police...
View Article'OJ' ads might be pulled
LAKELAND — Under the strain of falling crop numbers and tax revenues with no relief in sight, the Florida Citrus Commission plans today to discuss canceling its current advertising contract and ending...
View ArticleBP making 31 bids in Gulf oil lease sale
NEW ORLEANS — In the first federal oil lease sale since the government said BP PLC can again get federal contracts, BP has bids on 31 tracts in the central Gulf of Mexico. The sale is also the first...
View ArticleMan dies after balcony incident on Panama City Beach
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A Texas man was killed Wednesday after he fell or jumped from a balcony at a Panama City Beach resort, police said. Thomas H. Saunders, 62, of Southlake, near Dallas-Fort Worth,...
View ArticleMan dies after falling from balcony
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Police are investigating the circumstances which led to a 62-year-old Spring Break chaperone falling to his death Wednesday morning. Panama City Beach Police responded to a...
View ArticleTDC committee to weigh project funds
PANAMA CITY — Members of a newly formed committee tasked with determining which projects will benefit from an estimated $4 million in tourism tax revenue have scheduled their first meeting, officials...
View ArticleTPO moving quickly on Bay Town Trolley hub
PANAMA CITY — The county’s transportation board is one step closer to having a central hub for Bay Town Trolley operations after Wednesday’s vote. Of the six design firms vying for the contract, Bay...
View ArticleCounty breaks ground on gun range
WEST BAY — County commissioners shot skeet Wednesday afternoon as they officially marked the groundbreaking of a new public gun range. “It seemed like a good location for us,” Commissioner Guy Tunnell...
View ArticleOrganization feeds kids for Spring Break
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Spring Break hits the school district next week and a group of people are making sure students are still fed. “When there is an extended break from school we have kids that don’t...
View ArticleFisher: Florida State won’t rest on title laurels as spring practice opens
TALLAHASSEE — The national title has done nothing to change the Florida State football team. The Seminoles opened spring football practice on Wednesday amid renewed energy from the 14-0 campaign. FSU...
View ArticleArbor Outlook: Structural Changes May Portend High Unemployment
“Now … I got debts no honest man could pay/ The bank was holdin’ my mortgage and they was takin’ my house away.” - “Johnny 99” by Bruce Springsteen The latest jobs report, released in early March,...
View ArticleUPDATED: Spring breaker's dad accused of smashing cars at jail (ARREST REPORT)
DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — The father of a Mississippi spring breaker was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal damage to property after he was seen on a video swinging a golf club at parked cars —...
View ArticleState parasail bill moves forward
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A bill that would regulate commercial parasailing in Florida cleared another committee hurdle Wednesday and could soon be on its way to the Senate floor. Sponsored by Sen. Maria...
View Article