DESTIN— The Monday night city council meeting in Destin will continue as scheduled. “The community must remain strong, level-headed and pragmatic under these circumstances, which remain fluid,” according to a press release from the City of Destin. “Rest assured that city officials remain vigilant and prepared to react in the event of a spread of the COVID-19.”At the Monday night meeting, there will be special measures in place to prevent any possible spread of the COVID-19, the release said. Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the city hall annex, the release said. The city also recommends social distancing. Anyone who wishes to stay home will have the opportunity to submit comments electronically or by hand delivery before the meeting. No electronic or hand-delivered documents will be accepted the night of the meeting, the release said. “This is a unique time and due to these unique circumstances, the special measures described above must be implemented to reduce the public’s risk,” the release said. “The city and the community will face this challenge as it always has —prudently, attentively, and thoughtfully.”

Although 68 was the prediction, it appears that 62 is the magic number of red snapper days for vessels with federal for-hire reef fish permits in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Gulf of Mexico Marine Fishery Council, the red snapper season for federally permitted for-hire vessels, which is the majority of Destin’s charter boat fleet, will begin at 12:01 a.m. on June 1 and close at 12:01 on Aug. 2.

The USS Alabama is an ideal museum to visit.The 80-year-old ship has interactive exhibits, stunning open views of the water and of course is a giant World War II battleship that can be explored.It is located on the Mobile Bay about a two-hour drive west of the Fort Walton Beach area. It can be seen as you drive on Interstate 10 toward Mobile.Visitors are greeted by static aircraft displays at the entrance to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.The ship is hard to miss and is securely moored so visitors should not worry about floating away on their tour. A gift shop to purchase souvenirs and tickets is adjacent to the vessel.Some lucky guests can stay overnight, sleeping on the actual bunks used by World War II sailors.The Overnight Adventure is open to Boy Scout troops, Girl Scout troops and church groups.The history of the battleship is as remarkable as its presence on the bay.

On Aug. 22, 2019, employees of the Walmart on Pensacola Boulevard spotted a dog in distress inside of a car in the store’s parking lot. The dog was showing signs of overheating.The employees immediately opened the car's doors, but by that point, the dog stopped breathing and died.Investigators later determined the canine had an internal temperature exceeding 109.9 degrees at the time of death and succumbed to heatstroke.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Fears of COVID-19 have locals buying groceries in bulk, so Daily News Reporter Erin Franczak visited three area stores to find the most bought-out products.

The Okaloosa County School District has issued the following statement about school cancellations:Hello, this is a Health and Safety Update from the Okaloosa County School District.In an abundance of caution, and under the direction of the State of Florida, Okaloosa County Schools will be closed the week of March 16th, which is our Spring Break week, and the Week of March 23rd. TO REPEAT. Okaloosa County Schools will be closed the week of March 16th, which is our Spring Break week, and the Week of March 23rd.This included cancellation of all activities and events both in and out of county through the next two weeks.Schools are tentatively scheduled to resume March 30.We will provide updates through call out and our website on a regular basis.The Health and Safety of our Students is our TOP Priority.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Eagle-eyed restaurant goers noticed the change last week - the International House of Pancakes location at 348 Miracle Strip Parkway has been replaced by Chicken 'N The Egg.The new restaurant is owned by the same company, R.R. Ventures, and had its soft opening on March 8."With zero advertising and marketing so far, it's already exceeded my expectations," said District Manager Brad Salter. "We want to get our footing and make sure we're delivering on everything we anticipated ... it's been outstanding so far."Chicken 'N The Egg's hours are 6 a.m.-3 p.m., seven days a week, and it's the franchise's first location in the panhandle. Chicken 'N The Egg opened its first locations in 2019."Within the next two weeks we'll start advertising and we've got mechanisms in place to start a social media push," Salter said. "Our goal was to start that within 10-14 days of opening and we're still on pace for that. We wanted to get through that first calendar week and make sure all the right methods, procedures and protocols are in place."We feel really good about what we're doing here and we wanted to offer people some higher quality breakfast food ... something we an be really proud of. We're just in the first stages of introducing ourselves to (Fort Walton Beach) and feel really good about it."

While a dozen vacant commercial buildings currently stand along the city’s mile-long Main Street, it was in much worse shape a few decades ago, according to District 3 Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles.“In the early ’90s, there were far more pigeons downtown than there were people,”  Boyles was quoted saying recently.

Main Street forms the spine of the district, which was created in 1995 and has about 300 parcels.One major step that helped turn downtown Crestview around since the early ’90s was the city’s creation of the Community Redevleopment Area District

For that area, he said, city officials obtained Community Redevelopment Block Grant money that helped pay for the relocation of unsightly power lines from Main Street to adjacent side streets, the installation of decorative brick pavers on some sidewalks and intersections, the creation of angled parking and the installation of streetlights.

Relatively recent changes to Crestview’s alcohol ordinance have made it easier for some restaurants that sell alcohol to set up downtown. With proper permitting, alcohol also can be served at certain events.

Last year’s New Year’s Eve bash hosted by the Main Street Crestview Association “was the first time they served beer at an event.

In addition to hosting the crowd-drawing events, the Main Street Crestview Association helps downtown businesses by offering them several types of grants, such as the facade grant.

Food trucks are  also relatively new sight in the downtown area

Main Street Crestview Association would like to see more businesses, such as a restaurant that stays open late, that bring people downtown after regular business hours. possibly in some of the vacant storefronts  scattered along Main Street.

Changes have made downtown better according to officials and more changes are coming up.

Some of the big upcoming changes include a public parking lot and park on the old Piggly Wiggly site on North Wilson Street, the installation of a downtown gateway arch north of the courthouse, completion of a monument sign on the south end of Main Street and the installation of digital message signs near the Sheriff’s Office’s north district office, just east of the courthouse.Local officials also are looking to provide a pedestrian and vehicle connection along Industrial Drive between downtown and Twin Hills Park.