Tom McLaughlin

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Tom McLaughlin |Tom Mclaughlin

While all five Santa Rosa County commissioners were willing to go along with spending $385,665 to get an idea of what charging a toll to cross the Navarre Beach Causeway Bridge would look like, the debate could become a little prickly as the discussion turns toward actual implementation of the fees.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Tom McLaughlin |Tom Mclaughlin

With an April 1 Republican Primary fast approaching that will almost surely determine who the next District 3 state House representative will be, the race, at least among perceived frontrunners, has developed something of an "us versus them" sort of vibe. Shon Owens, the mayor of the town of Jay, is the clear choice of the powers that be within Santa Rosa County.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Tom McLaughlin |Tom Mclaughlin

For months Santa Rosa County commissioners have been hearing stories and seeing photos of the damage done by developers to Mulat Bayou off of the Avalon Beach subdivision. Monday they put the finishing touches on a 10-person task force that will be charged with revising the county's Land Development Code in a handful of specific areas, one of those being the tightening of erosion control regulations in areas vulnerable to sediment runoff and around sensitive waterways.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Tom McLaughlin |Tom Mclaughlin

There was no fussing or screaming, and actually little in the way of fanfare at all as, following a brief public hearing, Santa Rosa County Commissioners voted unanimously to impose impact fees on new construction to help pay for needed road improvements. It was just a couple months ago that Commissioner Ray Eddington spoke of how much he was looking forward to having new members join the governing board and putting an end to frequent clashes over issues like implementing impact fees.

2 months ago | tcpalm.com | Tom McLaughlin |Tom Mclaughlin

Florida Senator Don Gaetz suffered what state Rep. Alex Andrade called a "low blood pressure event" while speaking at a Wednesday morning event in Milton and was transported to a Pensacola hospital. "He's fine," Andrade said. Kerry Smith, the chairman of the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners, said the ever feisty Gaetz didn't want to be transported to a hospital for observation until after he finished his speech.