News & Info

Food For Thought Outreach expects to serve over 1,200 students each week through its backpack program during the 2015-2016 school year - a significant 56% increase from last school year’s 770 students enrolled in the program. Every month, Food For Thought sends over 50,000 food items out to help battle food insecurity in Okaloosa and Walton counties. Add the year-to-year growth to the increased demand for assistance from Food For Thought’s summer outreach programs, and that can empty a warehouse very quickly. 
 

Governor Rick Scott has selected Chef Jim Shirley to represent Florida at the 12th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off.  The New Orleans event highlights America’s best seafood communities and chefs from around the country., is scheduled for Saturday, August 8, 2015.

A juvenile female bottlenose dolphin was found stranded  on June 28 on the beach near Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach. The dolphin was rescued and taken to Gulf World Marine Institute (GWMI) for testing and treatment. 

The dolphin is still in critical condition and being treated by GWMI staff veterinarian Dr. Staggs at the Institute. It appears that the rough surf caused salt water and sand got to enter into the blowhole causing aspiration pneumonia. This was not the cause of her stranding but a complication from the beaching process. 

Café Thirty-A created the Lucky Dog Martini almost a year ago to raise money for Alaqua Animal Refuge, a local non-profit no kill shelter that serves Northwest Florida. One dollar from every Lucky Dog sold goes to support Alaqua.

For the captain and crew of Cotton Patch, the 13th Annual Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic (ECBC) was anything but unlucky. Lance Hill from Orange Beach, Alabama labored for almost six hours on Friday afternoon before reeling in an event record 899.6-pound blue marlin. The record billfish was measured at 134-inches with a girth of 74-inches to earn Team Cotton Patch first place and a payout of $195,277 for a tournament that doled out more than $1.5 million in winnings. The Baytowne Marina at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is the host venue for the event which took place June 17-21.

Kick up your heels at the 4th Annual Walk Her Way in Rosemary Beach on June 12 at 6:30 pm. Men, women and children of all ages are invited to put on high heels and follow the New Orleans style brass band through Rosemary Beach to raise awareness of domestic violence.
 

The grassroots organization “For a Better South Walton” is moving forward with community meetings with the goal of exploring South Walton's future and pursuing incorporation for a self-governing city.  The second community meeting was held Thursday night in Seascape. Kelly Mossburg of Seagrove Beach led the meeting and described in detail many possible options that would better our beloved community of South Walton.
 
“If we stay on the current path we are on, we may wake up one day and realize this isn’t the special place we know and love anymore,” Kelly stated.
 

Nick’s Seafood Restaurant in Freeport will hold their 10th Annual Old Nick’s Redfish Round-Up on May 16 with a total payout of $12,000.

The 2015 Seaside Writers Conference is slated for May 11-17 at the Seaside Academic Village, and offers the opportunity for beginning, intermediate, and advanced writers to celebrate writing, to network with other writers, and to hone their craft.      

30Avenue merchants are open for business in South Walton's newest shopping and dining destination located in Inlet Beach on Hwy 98 and at the east entrance to Scenic 30A. Cuvee 30A, Design, V. Lala Galleries, and Scenic Sotheby’s International Realty are the first businesses to open their doors in the upscale center, with more restaurants and shops coming this summer.