By Lori Smith and Rita L. Sherwood Each year, thousands of sea turtles nest on our beaches. Florida beaches are the No. 1 place for sea turtle nests in North America from May to October. Northwest Florida beaches attract many endangered species including Green, Loggerhead, Leatherback and Kemps Ridley. Life Media’s...
Fridays | March 22-May 3 | Old Florida Fish House on 30A By Lori Leath Smith Over the past few years, our area has become known as one of the best for songwriters to gather and perform some of their heartfelt lyrics and amazing vocals. Each has a story with a...

Missing Christmas

By Gueary Clendenning Christmas is just around the corner. After Thanksgiving, the pace quickens toward the big day! We’ll find ourselves in a big rush, always pursuing one more thing we need to get accomplished. We look for the nearest parking spot in the crowded mall, searching for the perfect...
By Kenneth Books The average human body contains about 60 percent water. And we die after about three days without ingesting liquids. Yet, most of us take water, the most crucial element in the world, for granted. The Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Program is designed to create awareness of that body of water and how...
By Will Estell If you’re a music fan and live or play anywhere along the beaches of Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, you likely already know about country music’s biggest party at the beach, Gulf Coast Jam. The festival, which takes place in Panama City Beach annually, is now one of the...
By Doug Stauffer Kayleigh McEnany opened this year’s President’s Speaker Series at Mattie Kelly Arts Center. While introducing Kayleigh, President Devin Stephenson of Northwest Florida State College invited stated, “Northwest Florida State College is certainly honored to do our part in improving the quality of place in our community by...

The Perfect Christmas

By Gueary Clendenning What was your perfect gift you received as a child during Christmas? You know, the one gift that stands out in your memory even after all these years? I remember my perfect gift was a fully loaded red, chrome Schwinn bicycle! How many of you from my generation...
Faith, Community and the Sea: Destin’s Week of Blessings Returns May 25-30 By Lori Leath Smith We all have our reasons for calling Destin home. Some come for the beauty, others for the lifestyle—but many of us feel we were drawn here for something greater. Yes, to the outside world Destin...
By Lori Leath Smith Imagine being able to drive over the Brooks Bridge on a wider, more easily maneuverable space or walk along the side of it without fear; or ride your bike safely along Okaloosa Island taking in the magnificent view and fresh air; or enjoy an outdoor concert...
By Kenneth Books In the late 1990s, three teenagers ran their hearts out as members of the Fort Walton Beach High School cross-country team. Today, all three – Mike Lowe, Ken Dwyer and Austin White – are colonels in the armed forces. Lowe and White are in the Air Force,...