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Crestview’s City Council has voted to move toward a data center ban, and Destin was named the No. 1 Labor Day boating destination in the United States, with Fort Walton Beach cracking the top 10. A dedication ceremony is set to honor Northwest Florida pioneer Augustus “Gus” Tart, and the Emerald Coast Kickoff Classic preview has the full football schedule for this week’s games.
TRAVEL
Destin named No. 1 Labor Day boating destination in United States, FWB cracks top 10
Destin has been named the most popular boating destination in the country for the 2026 Labor Day weekend, capturing nearly 30% of all early holiday reservations nationwide, according to booking data released by BoatBooker.
The company’s 2026 Holiday Forecast analyzed completed trips from the 2025 Labor Day weekend (Sept. 5-7) and compared them with early confirmed bookings for the 2026 holiday weekend (Sept. 4-6).
Fort Walton Beach also made the list, coming in at number 6. BoatBooker said the area is trending strongly for family-friendly day charters.
“Destin has always had a legendary reputation among boaters, but our early 2026 data shows it is completely outstripping the rest of the country,” said Vukan Simic, CEO of BoatBooker. “With Florida capturing nearly 60% of all holiday bookings early on, Destin’s position at the top shows that the Emerald Coast remains the undisputed capital of American recreational boating.”
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GAMES
WordroW: August 12, 2026
WordroW is brought to you by Fort Walton Beach Chiropractic – keeping your mind sharp and your spine aligned, one game at a time.
Can you guess today’s 5-letter word in six tries?
WordroW is Get The Coast’s daily word puzzle featuring local words, places, and phrases from our community. You have six guesses to find the mystery word – green letters are correct and in the right spot, yellow letters are in the word but wrong position, and gray letters aren’t in the word at all.
NEWS
Dedication ceremony set to honor Northwest Florida pioneer Augustus ‘Gus’ Tart
The Okaloosa NAACP will host a dedication ceremony on Aug. 22 to honor Augustus “Gus” Tart, a formerly enslaved man and early pioneer of Northwest Florida.
The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. at the Air Force Armament Museum at 100 Museum Drive on Eglin Air Force Base. A musical prelude will begin at 12:30 p.m.
The Okaloosa NAACP is partnering with the Town of Shalimar, the Shalimar Library, the Okaloosa County America 250 Commission, local leaders and various community organizations to put on the event. The ceremony will feature historical presentations sharing Tart’s story as told by representatives of the Brooks family, the Shalimar Library and the NAACP Special Research Committee.
“Honoring Augustus ‘Gus’ Tart is not just about remembering one man, but about recognizing the enduring spirit and contributions of all those who paved the way for our community,” said Sabu Williams, president of the NAACP Okaloosa County Branch. “This dedication is a testament to our shared history and a beacon for future generations.”
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SPORTS
Emerald Coast Kickoff Classic preview: Here’s the full football schedule for this week’s games
It’s been more than eight months since the 2025 area high school football season came to a close, and the offseason that followed was anything but quiet.
The biggest headline came out of Niceville, where Richard Morgan resigned in March after just one season, with the Eagles turning to alum Adron Robinson to take over. At Rocky Bayou, KC Woods stepped down after back-to-back state championships to focus on his role as assistant principal, and the Knights brought in college coaching veteran Mike Conway.
At Freeport, Shaun Arntz stepped down after nine seasons, making way for Bobby Johns, just the third head coach to hold the position in the past 25 years.
Now, after months of roster moves, spring practice, summer workouts and fall camp, the last big domino before Week 1 is set to fall — the kickoff classic.
WEATHER
Today’s weather outlook
TODAY: Sunny, with a high near 90. Heat index values as high as 105. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear, with a low around 81. West wind 10 to 15 mph.
BUSINESS
Crestview City Council votes to move toward data center ban
The Crestview City Council voted unanimously Monday night to move forward with an ordinance that would ban data centers and other large load customers from developing anywhere within city limits.
- The 4-0 vote, with Councilwoman Dusty Allison absent, directed City Manager Jessica Leavins to finalize the ordinance language and bring it back to the council for first reading. Councilman Sylvester Echols made the motion, and Councilman Brandon Frost seconded it.
Leavins told the council that Allison had initially raised the issue and that staff had been working on it since.
“Staff began researching how we could utilize the land development code to prohibit these types of developments in our area,” Leavins said.
Leavins told the council that staff looked at what other local governments in the region had done and mirrored them.
“What we wanted to do was provide it to the council for guidance going forward,” Leavins said. She added that staff wanted to make sure “we’re moving in the right direction before we actually started to advertise the ordinances and spend additional time in this process.”
The draft ordinance, prepared by Leavins and Strategic Initiatives Director Nicholas Schwendt, would create a new section of the city’s land development code titled “Prohibited Development.” It would ban large load customers, specifically including all data centers, with definitions drawn from Chapter 2026-65, Laws of Florida, and the Florida Statutes cited in that law.
The prohibition would apply across all land use categories and zoning districts within the city.
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Jared
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