Emerald Coast News feed by MyPanhandle

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Gulf Coast State College students, both prospective and current, are invited to attend “Super Saturday” on December 2nd. The event will be held at both GCSC’s Panama City campus from 9 to 11 a.m. Central time and their Port St. Joe campus from 10 a.m. to noon Eastern time. Students [...]

The Daily Pledge of Allegiance was recited by Ms. Felts' Kindergarten Class at Cedar Grove Elementary School.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — 70% of American adults are either overweight or obese. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new drug help could combat the weight epidemic. "If you see someone around that, they've always said tried everything to lose weight and they never have loss and all of [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — A historic Panama City restaurant is about to experience some big changes. Millville landmark, Gene's Oyster Bar, is changing owners. When it comes to oyster bars, Gene's is legendary, and not just in Bay County. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1935 as Hiram Conrad's oyster bar. “Gene's Oyster [...]

BAY COUNTY, Fla (WMBB) – Bay County dog owners are feeling anxious about a mysterious canine respiratory illness. So far, the disease has turned up in 14 states including Florida. No one knows much about this sickness that first showed up in August in the northwestern part of the U.S. "Right now they're just calling [...]

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. (WMBB) -- Winter weather is approaching which means cold weather shelters will be open to the public. In the Panhandle of Florida, the number of days for winter weather may surprise you. “I believe it was 65 nights that it was open last year and that's crazy to think because living in Florida, [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fl. (WMBB) - James Finch's company Phoenix Construction, has filed another civil lawsuit in connection with his business dealings with the City of Lynn Haven. Finch is suing Panhandle Engineering which is run by Chris Forehand, for aiding and abetting civil conspiracy and two counts of tortious interference. He's accusing Forehand of conspiring [...]

WALTON COUNTY, FL. (WMBB) - The best school Superintendent lives here in the Panhandle. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the Florida School Boards Association named Walton County Schools Superintendent Russell Hughes as the 2024 Superintendent of the Year. Hughes officially received the honor today in Tampa. He is the 37th person to [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla (WMBB) –The Kiwanis Club of Panama City is making sure Bay County's underprivileged kids get a Christmas present this year. For more than 20 years, club members have been donating toys to the "Christmas in November" auction. This year's auction took place today at Trigo's Banquet Hall in Downtown Panama City. Around [...]

PANAMA CITY, FL. (WMBB) — The official start of Winter is now 23 days away, which means it's time to think about cold weather preparations. Most of the Panhandle was under a freeze warning Tuesday night. With the exception of Gulf and Franklin counties, it will be under another one Wednesday night. With temperatures expected [...]

ST. ANDREWS, Fla. (WMBB) - On Tuesday, Panama City commissioners voted to begin negotiating an agreement with the St. Andrews Marina Partners LLC to reconstruct the St. Andrews Marina. The LLC offered to privately fund the project in July, with the company overseeing the marina's day-to-day operations. One of the partners in the LLC is [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) - Panama City commissioners unanimously approved a city homestead exemption at Tuesday's commission meeting. The exemption is for residents who are 65 and older, own a home that is appraised for $250,000 or less by the county property appraiser, and must have lived on the property for more than 25 years. [...]

BAY COUNTY, FL (WMBB) - On Wednesday, the Bay County Sheriff's Office arrested a Panama City man for the possession of images of child sexual abuse in his home. The suspect was identified as 56-year-old, Brian J. McKay, an employee of the Bay District Schools. On November 28, investigators were made aware of the Google [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – News 13 brings you a segment focused on health and fitness on News 13 Midday every Wednesday, called “Wellness Wednesday”. This week, Personal Trainer, Traycee Green, from Pure Platinum was in studio to show us exercises we should do every day. "If you're not relaxed, everything else can't relax, too," said Green. [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – The holiday season is now in full swing and many popular Panhandle attractions are embracing the festivities. The Science and Discovery Center in Panama City is one of those attractions, and they’re inviting the public to join them for “Cookies and Cocoa” on Saturday, December 2nd. From 9-11 a.m., you [...]

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — For the first time in a long time, Mexico Beach residents, council members and the mayor all agreed. The topic was selecting an entrance to the new Sweetwater housing development. Before Chris Hubbard took office the city council decided the complex entrance would cut through Parker Park. When Hubbard became [...]

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Panama City Beach Police are making spirits bright with their annual “Cops ‘N Kids” toy drive. This is the department’s 29th year collecting toys for underprivileged kids in the community. Officials are asking donors to bring brand new, unwrapped gifts for kids ages 1 to 14 years old. A [...]

BONIFAY, Fla. (WMBB) — Holmes County commissioners learned this morning that FEMA has denied their second appeal for road funding. They'd argued that Hurricane Sally had damaged the roads, but FEMA disagreed. Most panhandle counties have miles of unpaved roads. But Holmes County officials say their situation is worse than most counties. "Most other counties [...]

SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) -- Walton County is now in the movie-making business. The board of county commissioners unanimously voted to give $400,000 to a local film project called The Paper Bear. “This is a great opportunity for Walton County,” District 5 Commissioner Tony Anderson said. The story follows a father and son [...]

Update: The suspect has been located and arrested. WALTON COUNTY, Fla (WMBB) - The Walton County Sheriff's Department is conducting a manhunt in Defuniak Springs for a fugitive sex offender. The suspect was identified as Logan Micheal Samples. In 2015, he was convicted of child molestation in Walton County, Georgia however failed to register as [...]

BONIFAY, Fla. (WMBB) — Holmes County commissioners are also trying to land a popular travel center located near I-10. The commission bought nearly 100 acres of land, southwest of the Bonifay exit off Interstate 10. They took out a $4.4 million loan to buy the land. They've offered Busy Bee's owner 22 acres to build [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla (WMBB) - On Tuesday, Panama City Police arrested a man after they investigated mysterious notes left on vehicles. The suspect was identified as Charles Edward Sparks, 53, who had been leaving notes on more than a dozen women's windshields. One of the notes said, "Sorry if I'm being a creepy, but you [...]

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — St. Joe Company, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and Florida State University are partnering on a new hospital in Panama City Beach. "The goal is pretty simple. It's to bring in more convenient health care services to residents on the beach,” St. Joe Commercial Real Estate Senior Vice President Dan Valazquez [...]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) - The Beach Dr. pathway project took a strange turn of events at Tuesday's regular commission meeting. On Tuesday morning, prior to the meeting's 8 am start, commissioners agreed to add an agenda item regarding the conduct of Mayor Rohan. The commission probed into an Appropriation Project Request form (APR) that [...]

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) - A Crestview man, accused of sexually assaulting a child, is now facing another serious charge after members of the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force tried to arrest him in Walton County on Tuesday. According to the Walton County Sheriff's office, deputies were trying to serve a felony warrant on Steven [...]

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla (WMBB) - On Tuesday, a Jackson County man began his 40-year sentence after shooting and killing a man 2 years ago. On November 17, 38-year-old Charles Edward Peterson, of Marianna was sentenced to 40 years in prison after entering an open plea in the second-degree murder of 33-year-old Quinton Beck. According to [...]

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Rock’it Lanes is partnering with Stuff the Bus to host a special celebration that gives back to the children of Bay County. The festivities began Tuesday, November 28th at 10 a.m. and will last until about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, November 29th. For every pin that is knocked down [...]

GRACEVILLE, Fla. (WMBB) – After teaching at the middle school for ten years, Poplar Springs Elementary School teacher Chelsea Cushing is back teaching second grade. Although there were certainly challenges during her time there, her co-workers consistently noticed her attitude and positivity while teaching. “We worked as a team with middle schoolers and at times [...]

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) - Señor Frog's restaurant in Panama Beach was partially destroyed after a fire broke out at the restaurant overnight. Firefighters responded to Señor Frog's off of Front Beach Road, around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. According to Panama City Beach officials, when firefighters arrived, there was smoke pouring out from the top-story [...]

The Daily Pledge of Allegiance was recited by Mr. Mims' 5th Grade Class at Cedar Grove Elementary School.