Valerie Crowder

Panama City Beach is facing another whistleblower lawsuit. One day after council members unanimously voted to fire the city clerk, Mary Jan Bossert, she filed a legal complaint, alleging her poor performance reviews and ultimate termination were "retaliation" for doing her job. 

At a city council meeting on Thursday, elected leaders in Panama City Beach fired the town's clerk for what they described as poor performance. 

Residents and tourists are searching for alternatives after Bay County shutters its beaches. The move follows similar closures up and down Florida's nearly 1,400 miles of coastline.

Like many servers in Panama City Beach, Naddeah Clinton earns the most money during the busy spring and summer months, when tourists flock to the area. But statewide efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus could mean fewer customers, she said. 

College students on spring break in Panama City Beach aren't letting the coronavirus pandemic stop them from having fun. 

Panama City Beach tourism officials are assuring people traveling to the area for spring break that their vacation won't necessarily increase their risk of contracting COVID-19. 

New training programs for drone operators, commercial pilots and aircraft mechanics are taking off in the panhandle with an extra boost from 2010 BP oil spill settlement dollars, which have been flowing into eight coastal counties in the region for the last couple of years. 

For communities still recovering from Hurricane Michael, the 2020 census comes at a bad time. Bay County officials worry they could lose millions of dollars and are trying to make sure everyone gets counted. 

More than two dozen federally-funded crisis counselors will remain in the Panhandle’s hardest-hit disaster counties for longer than planned with additional FEMA dollars. 

Two former Lynn Haven city officials are facing federal charges for allegedly paying two local contractors $5 million for Hurricane Michael cleanup that they never completed and then accepting kickbacks from those business owners. 

A federal grand jury has indicted more than two dozen people in the Panhandle accused of illegally pocketing drought assistance money. 

About 100 volunteers helped clean up neglected grave sites in Panama City on Saturday, as part of the city's first cemetery cleanup day since Hurricane Michael. 

At least 90% of structures in Panama City were damaged in Hurricane Michael. One year later, city officials are about to resume code enforcement actions, and residential property owners say they’re ready for the city to begin cracking down on neglected lots that pose a health and safety hazard to their neighborhoods.

Tyndall Air Force officials are working out how they will execute a years-long series of construction projects to rebuild more than half of the military base. 

As part of a statewide campaign to increase access to mental health services, First Lady Casey DeSantis announced on Thursday that K-12 students in every public school across six Northwest Florida counties can receive virtual counseling and psychiatric care without ever leaving campus.