Free Republic

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 17-year-old boy from the Grand Rapids area died after falling from a balcony while on spring break in Florida, authorities say. In a letter to the school’s community, Forest Hills Eastern High School Principal Amy Pallo said senior Anthony Holman died. “Anthony was someone that everyone loved. He had an infectious smile, warm and gentle spirit, and was so kind to everyone. It feels impossible to comprehend a loss like this,” Pallo wrote. Pallo said the school has counselors available for students. “Our sincere prayers go out to the family and friends of the...

OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. -- A Destin Middle School health technician was arrested and charged Thursday with stealing prescription medicine from students. 27-year-old Makayla Crandall, of Niceville, is charged with three counts of grand theft of a controlled substance, five counts of child neglect, and one count of failure to maintain narcotics records. According to a release, not only did Crandall steal medicine, she was also found in some instances replacing the stolen medication with aspirin or ALEVE. Crandall had been employed since July. A release states one of the students who visited Crandall daily began to notice differences in the...

Apparently, when a fish is hungry, it doesn't take long to get a bite. It only took 15 seconds for the crew aboard the Special K to get the mammoth Warsaw grouper to take the bait, which eventually landed them on the leaderboard of the 74th annual Destin Fishing Rodeo. Garrett Thornton of Blackshear, Georgia, hauled in a 333.8-pound Warsaw while fishing with Capt. Kyle Lowe on the Special K on Oct. 9. The fish weighed 349 pounds before it was gutted. All fish entries in the rodeo are gutted weights. Another new record set: 'Oh, this is a big...

DESTIN, Fla. – Beachgoers in Destin were in for a sight Tuesday morning along the Emerald Coast. Boo Freeman posted a video to Instagram showing a giant water spout that had formed off the coast of Destin in the Gulf.

Two Alabama men are accused of inciting or encouraging a riot after authorities said messages were spread online encouraging the spring break “takeover” of a Florida beach town, authorities said. More than 160 people were arrested, about 75 illegal guns were confiscated and several businesses closed during a wild weekend late last month in Panama City Beach, police said. Social media influencers and others promoted “Panamaniac” on Facebook and other social media platforms, authorities said. Demarion Ty’Quan Cooper, 20 and Rashad Boyce Glasper, 25, were arrested Thursday at their homes in the Alabama cities of Troy and Wetumpka, police said.

(Lansing, MI.) A source close to Governor Whitmer of Michigan has confirmed the Governor is privately blaming Florida for the Covid outbreak in her state. “I simply can't believe Florida would open up and grant their citizens the freedom to move about without masks or social distancing, leaving those decisions to the people. That is irresponsible leadership”. “Michigan had hundred of thousands, possibly millions of spring breakers who went to Florida to participate in spring break activities in Daytona Beach, Miami, Destin, Pensacola Beach and other locations without the Florida state government demanding masks and social distancing. We had things...

<p>Search-and-rescue crews are looking for seven Marines and four soldiers after an Army helicopter crashed late Tuesday during a routine night training exercise in the Florida Panhandle.</p> <p>Eglin Air Force Base spokesman Andy Bourland told the Associated Press that the helicopter was reported missing at around 8:30 p.m. local time and crews found debris from the crash at around 2 a.m. Wednesday.</p>

FORTWALTON BEACH-- A barge with a crane on it crashed into the west side of the Brooks Bridge Thursday afternoon. The impact took down several feet of concrete guard rail and cracked pipes that run under the bridge. The crash occurred about 3:15 p.m. Concrete and water immediately started pouring down into the Santa Rosa Sound. No injuries were reported. The bridge is closed to all traffic until Department of Transportation engineers can assess any structural damage. Two tugboats were on either side of the barge to push it under the bridge. It is unknown if there were any injuries....

DESTIN — Okaloosa County isn’t taking oil spill orders any more. County commissioners voted unanimously to give their emergency management team the power to take whatever action it deems necessary to prevent oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill from entering Choctawhatchee Bay through the East Pass.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Florida can undertake beach-widening projects without paying beachfront property owners who lose exclusive access to the water. The court, by an 8-0 vote, rejected a challenge by six homeowners in Florida's Panhandle who argued that a beach-widening project changed their oceanfront property into oceanview. Justice John Paul Stevens took no part in the case in which the court affirmed an earlier ruling. Private property advocates had hoped the court would rule for the first time that a court decision can amount to a taking of property. The court's four conservatives —...

In mid-August, the National Marine Fisheries Service closed down the red snapper fishery, then a couple of weeks ago they took away the greater amberjack with a week left in the Fishing Rodeo - Destin's longest running fishing tournament. I'm out here criticizing the 'do-gooder,' ” who thinks they are helping the fishery with the closures, Brunson said. “I call 'em educated idiots. They ought to listen to someone who's been fishing for more than 80 years.” “The amberjack is what tore me up,” said the 96-year-old Capt. Reddin “Salty” Brunson, who was sporting a protest sign attached to his...

November 02, 2009 9:18 PM Tom McLaughlin and Tina Harbuck More than 100 fishermen, family and friends showed up Monday morning at the corner of U.S. 98 and Perry Avenue carrying signs in protest of the recent fish closures by the National Marine Fisheries Service. “It’s terrible what they’re trying to do to this fishery,” said Capt. Kenny Aziz, who bay fishes from his pontoon boat, The Toonpang. The idea of bringing the Destin charter boat fishermen’s beef with the federal government to the corner of Perry Avenue and U.S. Highway 98 started out as kind of a joke. That...

I have just spent the most fabulous week in a house in Destin, Fl. The development is Destiny West. Million dollar homes, 1 block from the beach for rent at reasonable prices. We had a golf cart included in the rent to drive to and from; truly a pleasure. I can highly recommend both the town and the community as a family vacation destination. The white sands of the gulf, family oriented, quiet as a church mouse at 10:00 PM, but, there are night time destinations if you so desire. We also chartered a fishing boat for a half day....

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 24, 2006) -- “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror; I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do,” Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote. For one Marine, past experiences have developed him into a capable team leader. Drawing on what Marines he served under taught him, Lance Cpl. Jeffrey M. Roberts, a 21-year-old Destin, Fla., native, has become a team leader for...

Florida's beaches will be the draw this weekend as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hosts a swanky retreat at a Destin resort to help boost its membership among affluent 30- to 40-year-olds. With registration starting at $325, a golf tourney on Sunday and massages i n between, the National Leadership 500 Summit that started Thursday and runs through Sunda y likely will be an exclusive gathering of the country's young black elite. And that's exactly what the NAACP is hoping for. "I have issued a call to my peer group," said Roslyn Brock, 39, summit creator...