Taco lovers and Tequila lovers rejoice - the annual Tequila & Taco festival is back! This years iteration of the popular event is the 11th iteration and is once again at the Village of Baytowne Wharf inside the Sandestin resort.

It was billed as a fun experience for EDM fans to listen to music, fellowship with friends and meet new people. While all those things happened, it wasn't without a cost - around $133,000.

What was billed as "a safe haven where people can connect, establish life long friendships, and create memories that will help them heal from loss and the challenges of life" turned into more than a handful for local law enforcement.

This weeks Bay county elections resulted in a major shakeup in the Mayor's office. After a single term, Mayor Mark Sheldon is out and newcomer Stuart Tettemer is in. Elections were held on Tuesday 4/16/24 with early voting happening in the weeks prior. The final count according to WMBB had Stuart Tettemer taking around 60% of the vote with 2033 votes to incumbent Mark Sheldon's 40 percent at 1496. The lame duck period for Sheldon will be short, expect Tettemer to be sworn in and take office within weeks.

Grand opening, Grand closing! The Taste of Chicago and Upstairs Lounge in St. Andrews has announced their closure just six weeks after their Grand opening. Located in the former Shrimp Boat property, a Taste of Chicago billed itself as a purveyor of authentic Chicago cuisine such as Deep Dish Pizza, Chicago Style hot dogs dragged thru the garden, and of course Italian Beef complete with hot Giardenera and soaked with flavorful gravy. In addition to the main restaurant in the old Shrimp Boat dining room, the owners revamped the former House of Bourbon upstairs into the "Upstairs Lounge," a bar concept hosting weekend parties, live bands and musicians that included a full game room. The former "Barefoot on the Bay" concept on the back side of the Shrimp boat remained in operation with a slightly updated menu. The Upstairs Lounge originally opened for business in mid January serving cocktails to thirsty patrons in St. Andrews. a Taste of Chicago had their Grand Opening ceremony on February 28th, a mere 6 weeks before their closing announcement.

UPDATE: A previous version of this story listed the address as 8410 Thomas dr. Article has been updated to reflect new information provided by BCSO that the actual address where the incident took place was 8407 Thomas Dr.

Bay County residents will soon have one less spot to catch a sunset while enjoying a relaxing beverage. Popular Panama City hangout the "No Name Lounge" will be closing its doors indefinitely after over 40 years at the foot of the Hathaway bridge on the St. Andrews bay.

Despite the threat of inclement weather, 4th annual St. Patricks day festival in Downtown Panama City is a go. The city has blocked off Harrison Ave downtown from City Hall all the way to 4th Street in anticipation of thousands of guests for the huge once a year event. Early forecasts predicted a rainy Sunday, but the sun is shining in Panama City and now weather forecasters expect rain to hold of until late afternoon. Festival organizers are urging guests to come out early to make sure they have time to enjoy what is predictd to be a bright and sunny afternoon. In any case, the party is on either way. In the case of inclement weather, all festivities will move inside House of Henry to the back stage.

Downtown Panama City is abuzz early this Saturday morning for the annual St. Patrick's day festival at House of Henry. The city has blocked off Harrison Ave downtown from City Hall all the way to 4th Street in anticipation of thousands of guests for the huge once a year event.

Panama City is painting the town green all weekend long to celebrate this St. Patricks Day! Harrison Avenue downtown will be closed both Saturday AND Sunday for the 3rd annual St Patrick's Day Festival at the House of Henry, Panama City's downtown Irish Pub.

Patrons of Panama City's St. Andrews area won't have to go without one of the areas main watering holes for long. When owner Bobby Beard announced the closure of popular St. Andrews bar "The Salty Hobo" back in late February, the news was met with a flood of emotion. Stories of first dates, good times with friends, live music and plenty of late nights abounded. Plenty of rumors spread as well. "The bar is permanently closed." "Bobby is moving back to Tennessee." "Bobby sold the bar." Just a few of the scenarios that were floated around. Well, only a week after the Hobo's final show with Josey Scott's "Saliva" we have new information on the future of the Hobo.

Let me preface this article by saying that I do not work for the local Carabbas or have any vested interest in Carabbas as a corporation. To be completely honest, I've only been there once or twice. I'm an Olive Garden type of guy, bottomless breadsticks, maybe a Lasagna or a chicken parm. Definitely the salad. IMO, Olive Garden has the absolute best salad from a chain restaurant. Top it off with mounds of freshly grated Romano? I'm in cheese heaven. In reality, I typically choose local concepts over chain restaurants. Not only for the experience, but also to support local. At the same time, I realize that this isn't completely fair. All of the hardworking employees at your local chain are local residents, and many franchises are owned and operated by local residents who need your support as well. So, when we were given a "Bloomin Brands" gift card, we headed down to the Carrabas on Back Beach rd.

March in Panama City Beach. The weather is warming up, the water is warming up (albeit a little more slowly!) and the beaches and businesses are filling up. And of course, Spring Break is on the minds of many in the area. After facing logistics issues during the "Panamania Takeover" of 2022 as well as previous spring breaks, Panama City Beach has called in the big guns this year - requesting help from multiple local law enforcement agencies as well as from the state itself.

Get ready Panama City Beach! Shaq Diesel is coming to town! DJ Diesel is making his (annual?) appearance for spring break in PCB at Harpoon Harry's beach club March 13th for what is sure to be an epic day party. It's not the first time Shaq has spun at Harpoon Harry's, he also played Harrys last year on March 13th.

Spring Break. It's a term that used to be thought of fondly for most in Panama city Beach. Or at least tolerated. The official start of the summer season, Spring Break meant the official start of the money flowing into town. Hotels, shops, vacation rentals, restaurants bars and beaches all flowed over with young kids with pockets full of disposable income ready to let loose and have a time to remember on the World's Most Beautiful Beaches. Over the years, the crowds got rowdier and rowdier and the problems became bigger and closer together. Petty crime abounded and the problems became more than they were worth in the eyes of many locals. This led to an attempt to shut Spring Break in PCB down. Laws were passed to discourage kids from coming, from heavily enforcing already active laws to restricting drinking on the beach and shortening the business day for local bars. Beach closures soon followed, and in 2022 after the "Panamania" takeove scare, multiple roads were even shut down in the middle of the evening, leaving motorists gridlocked from Highway 79 to the Hathaway bridge.

Country music fans get ready, Kip Moore is coming to town! Country singer Kip Moore is coming to Dothan as one of three Alabama stops on his 2024 international tour! Fresh of the heels of his successful Damn Love world tour in 2023, Kip Moore is headed back to Alabama, first to Dothan, then to Orange Beach, and finally to Tuscaloosa. The Dothan show is scheduled for Thursday, April 25th at popular area nightclub "The Plant."

Spring Break and Panama City Beach. Two terms that for over 20 years were considered synonomous with each other. Well, times have changed. After a string of negative incidents, "100 miler" issues, and negative publicity local government in the city that made MTV Spring Break had enough and decided to make changes in order to curtail the unrulyness that had become PCB. First came a list of common sense laws (obviously sense is not common if it has to be legislated) prohibiting climbing on balconies, no parking on public right of ways after dark and increasing fines for open containers. Close behind were anti Spring Break laws such as no drinking on the beach, no drinking in commercial parking lots, and 2am closing times for bars during the month of March. Then came a shutdown of local establishments, blockade of public roads and all around harassment of anyone brave enough to venture out of their home in the 2022 "takeover" event that became known as "Panamania." This led to new laws being passed regarding "special event zones" both in Panama City Beach AND across the bridge in Panama City and surrounding areas. These zones effectively allowed to law enforcement to target certain areas (and in reality, specific businesses) that they feel were an issue when it came to spring break. These zones were vigorously enforced by local law enforcement with fines double the normal amount and vehicles aggressively towed. Any local business that was brave enough to flaunt the rules and host an unpermitted event was stuck with the enforcement costs that were passed on to them. For 2024, there is a new ordinance being considered that would close the Gulf beaches from local access points 25 to 36 every night from March 15 to April 30th. In addition, florida Governor Ron Desantis has just announced that he will be dispatching State Troopers to Panama City Beach for Spring Break. Is this final nail in the coffin of a Spring Break era that is already on life support? Or will Spring Breakers continue to show up to the World's Most Beautiful Beaches? Only time will tell.

Whooo Spring Break! A classic tongue in cheek phrase uttered by locals across Bay County to reflect any type of classic Spring Break debauchery/stupidity they see out in public during the month of March. While Panama City Beach has been a destination for students looking to let loose, relax, and soak up some rays midway thru a hard semester for over 30 years, recently officials have passed a series of ordinances designed to discourage a lot of the unruly behavior typically seen. Another (unintended) consequence of these laws is to discourage spring breakers from coming here in the first place, which is what a lot of locals think is the object anyways. Love it or hate it, these ordinances are currently in effect thru the end of the month and apply to locals of all ages as well as spring breakers. The ordinances, while not crimes, CAN be punishable with jail time in addition to fines. Here's what you need to remember in order to keep from taking that long ride to Star Avenue and spending the night with a 20 year old who vomited on themself:

The end of an era. That's how it was described by some locals when they heard that popular St. Andrews bar "The Salty Hobo" was closing. The bar first opened in late 2018, replacing the defunct "Watershed" bar. Thru those five years, the establishment went thru multiple phases and grew with its clientele. First opening for a community recently devastated by Hurricane Michael and looking for places to come together and bond, then operating as a restaurant complete with "social distancing" during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and most recently shedding it's smoky exterior during evenings and weekends as the bar pushed cigarettes to the outside patio. The final change came last week, when the bar announced via Facebook that it would be closing on 3/2, with their final event being a performance by Josey Scott's Saliva.

Ahhhh Spring break. The smell of sunscreen, cheap booze and fresh vomit in the air. Oh, and money. The smell of plenty of money as students from across the country rush to spend every last hard earned dollar they have in their pockets in search of the perfect time with friends, both new and old. Or at least that's what it used to be. New anti spring break laws in Panama City Beach over the past 7-8 years have cut down on a few of those smells, specifically the vomit. And the money. Definitely a lot less money going around during the month of March. No drinking on the sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and earlier closing times for area bars have definitely culled the number of students that come to the area as they search for new destinations that are less restrictive on the type of fun that visitors are allowed to have. Despite the restrictions, Panama City Beach still made a Hotels.com list of the top 11 Spring Break destinations in Florida for 2024. The list, compiled by Kiri Nowak, included these 11 cities: