Fourteen Years of Fort Walton Beach Tap Water, in One Place
Read the investigation In this edition
Berrydale’s Locked Barracks: What the Records Reveal About the Fire That Killed 38
Newly recovered state files name the dead, trace changes to keys and wooden camps, and preserve families’ unanswered questions. They also point directly to the evidence still missing from the public record.
Brooks Street and Bay Drive Face Halloween Evening Closures
Fort Walton Beach’s plan allows pedestrians and golf carts, with limited resident vehicle access.
Fort Walton Beach Sets Two Tuesday Meetings; Council Email Comments Due by 2 P.M.
The CRA meets at 4 p.m. and City Council at 6 p.m. on October 27.
Fort Walton Beach Separates Household Bulk Pickup From Storm Debris
The city’s recovery plan has no fixed collection days.
Local News
FWB Police Report Impersonation Arrest After Home Depot Security Check
Newly obtained court records describe the credential check, record a probable-cause finding and set a November arraignment. No conviction is established by the reviewed filings.
Government
Sixteen Years of Fort Walton Beach Budgets: The Rate Fell, the Bill Didn't
The city's property-tax rate is lower today than it was in 2010. Its budget is nearly twice the size. Sixteen adopted budgets, lined up, show how both of those things are true at once — and who actually pays.
Environment
Okaloosa County: Two Water Advisories, Two Different Problems
The October 2 and October 11 notices preserved in the archive identify different places, evidence, and triggers.
Investigations
Road Camp 12: Now You Can Examine the Berrydale Fire Evidence Yourself
Thirty-eight men died in a locked prison barracks near Berrydale in 1967. We've built an interactive investigation around the surviving records — a document workspace, an index of everyone named, and the questions still open — so you don't have to take our word for any of it.
History
Dear Mr Poe: 153 Letters, Mapped and Read in the Writer's Own Words
For 150 years, much of what the public 'knew' about Edgar Allan Poe came from an enemy's memoir. The letters tell a different story. We gathered 153 of them — to and from Poe, 1829 to 1849 — placed them on a map, and made each one readable beside its original.
Culture
Candy with a Cop: The Archived October 15 Notice
The October 15 date has passed. The original flyer and city listing remain available as a record of the advertised program.
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