By Brian L. Underwood, CBEP Executive Director, and Lori Smith, Publisher One of our area’s most beautiful, coveted and useful resources has been experiencing significant challenges—ones that affect water quality, natural systems and benefits provided by our own Choctawhatchee Bay. And, whether you think about it or not, this massive...
By Rita L. Sherwood Whether you’re a local or not, one major issue with our beautiful beaches here on the Emerald Coast is helping the sea turtles. If you’ve been to the beach, I bet you’ve either seen an area roped off for a sea turtle’s nest, seen a sign...
By John Skiles, Church of Destin President I think if we ask the question, “Do you want to be blessed?”, everyone would raise their hand and say, “Yes I do!” Have you ever stopped to ponder why Destin is called the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village?” Perhaps it truly began with the...
By 1st Lt. Karissa Rodriguez Recently, the name and the official role of the Air Force’s newest fighter was unveiled at Eglin Air Force Base. Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics military deputy, presented the F-15EX Eagle ll...
By Kay Phelan The clouds parted and cleared a path for the community to come together and celebrate the official groundbreaking of Destin High School (DHS). A sense of pride and exhilaration filled the air as future students, parents, community members, and elected officials gathered in the school’s future auditorium...

Then Came Morning

By Gueary Clendenning Easter Reflections In our culture, we think of the day as starting in the morning and ending with night. In the Biblical culture, the opposite is true. Genesis chapter 1, verse 5 reads: “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” In the Jewish calendar, the...
By Rita L. Sherwood The Emerald Coast, from Destin to 30A and beyond, is well known for its turquoise, emerald green waters and picturesque white sugar sand beaches. It only makes sense that our area would be a magnet for special events and weddings. But with COVID playing such a...
By Rita L. Sherwood According to National Geographic, up to 8 million tons of plastic and waste enter our ocean waters every single year. More than 250 million tons of plastic are estimated to make its way into our oceans by 2025, according to projectaware.org. Everyday trash is entering the sea...
By Heather Bennett The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is one of the nation’s oldest non-profit organizations. It provides consumers with business profiles, consumer reviews, consumer information, scam alerts and reviews on charities. It’s here to make sure, as consumers, we make wiser decisions about where we spend our money. I spoke...

Love Is A Choice

By Lauren Cantanese “The pastor told us, “Love is not a feeling; feelings change periodically. Love is a choice. And when you make that choice to choose love, even if you don’t feel like loving, you are choosing to love unconditionally. You recognize that we are all flawed creations, created...