Fort Walton Beach News

As Grace Wells set out Mary Owens' meal on a table, she and her niece Jamie Featherston chatted with the 91-year-old woman.

Originating in China, Napa cabbage is a member of the cabbage family, though it looks more like lettuce.

We don't have anything against dogs. Honest. We've given dog-walking parks a hard time on this page because they turn pet care into a government project by 1) using public land that could be put to better use or even sold off, and 2) using taxpayer dollars to pay for lighting, landscaping, maintenance and so forth.

Gov. Rick Scott signed a record $74.1 billion state budget Monday, but not before trimming hundreds of millions of dollars from local projects and proposed tuition increases.

The Rev. Clinton Akins, Doctor of Ministry, has accepted the call from Bluewater Community Church to serve as interim pastor.

Gov. Rick Scott's Monday turkey hunt went farther afield than even Tax Watch had recommended, and a couple more Okaloosa and Walton county projects than expected got killed by his veto.

The fire started in the downstairs kitchen of one of the units at 211 3rd Street, said Battalion Chief Shannon Stone with the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department.

The Rice & Beans 5K Rumble is a 5K run to help the people of Haiti. This is a project of Truth Evangelistic Minis-tries, a Christian organiza-tion in Fort Walton Beach that has been ministering to the needs of Haitians for more than 10 years.

A president's leadership skills undergo their sternest test during a crisis; think George W. Bush after 9/11. Sometimes, the commander in chief rallies Americans to his side.

As one of the most popular beach destinations for Southerners, we had to get the inside scoop on the best under-the-radar spots to hang like a local in the Florida Panhandle.

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.