Fort Walton Beach News

Big Kahuna's VIP Day will be held June 9 with 100 percent of proceeds to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida.

The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce has reached more than 25 percent of its fundraising goal for a proposed dog park at Liza Jackson Park.

State budget appropriations of $1.75 million and $500,000 for the Okaloosa County Health Department and $85,635 for the Okaloosa County Library Cooperative have been flagged as legislative "turkeys" by Florida TaxWatch.

The 34-year-old man shot by an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy Wednesday during a traffic stop told lawmen he was "under the influence of numerous narcotics," according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office news release.

The Fort Walton Beach Community Chorus will present "This is My Country," a musical journey across the United States, for its spring concert.

It took Carolyn Newcomber Ketchel seven years to hear her brother's name read at Wednesday's Ride of Silence.

The first annual Anthony Forgione Memorial SWAT Competition will be held during National Police Week., according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

After last week's column, my husband and I went strawberry picking at Akres of Strawberries in Baker.

As the trumpets sounded, men and women in uniform slowly raised their hands in salute to honor law enforcement officers who have gone on before them.

The ladies of the Okaloosa County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrated the organization's 100th anniversary in January.

The Okaloosa County School Board decided Monday to start accepting bids for the 10.72-acre property and 65,152-square-foot building at 720 Essex Road.

For the 6th year in a row, Lee Volkswagen, the Kusten Kreuzers Volkswagen Club and the Rare Air Volkswagen Club of the Emerald Coast will host the Volkswagen Spring Fling starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Uptown Station.

A bad wreck on U.S. 331 in Walton County Tuesday morning shut down all traffic on the busy roadway.

A press release from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office mentions a Poker Run happening the weekend of May the 18th at Fort Walton Beach.

Editor's Note: This series recognizes people who make a difference in their communities.

After a 2012 focused on major long-term energy issues, the Legislature retreated a bit from high-profile energy legislation this year.

Eric Elkin of Fort Walton Beach was driving a 2004 Harley Davidson westbound around 6:40 p.m. when, for unknown reasons, he ran off the roadway onto the north shoulder of the roadway just east of Yankee Drive.

In the year following the reopening of the Ronda Coon Women's Home, about 35 women have stayed there as they picked up pieces of their lives.

The headquarters and manufacturing plant of G.S. Gelato, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., are far from the scenic Gulf Coast views in this resort town on the Emerald Coast of Florida's panhandle.

Forty-four student writers and artists were recently honored by Northwest Florida State College with selection of their work for inclusion in the 2013 Blackwater Review - a college publication which encourages student writing, art, and creative life by providing a showcase for meritorious work.