NewsBriefs

Margaritaville in Sandestin!

The Sandestin resort is going to be putting on its own version of Margaritaville to end the month of August.

The Best Margarita contest will be held by Finn’s Restaurant in Sandestin Aug. 31 from 6 to 9p.m. on the pool deck, and we’re wondering how many people will be thrown into the pool.

The competition will force Sandestin bartenders to compete against one another to see who can mix the best Margarita and the public will judge the event.

You can taste your way through the variety of margaritas mixed and enjoy live entertainment from Art Harris and the Z-tones. Admission is $25 or $20 if you dress in your best "Parrot-head" attire.

Gulf Likely for Oil Drilling

In an attempt to help lessen the nation’s dependency on foreign oil, The U.S. Senate has voted to open more than 8-million acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling, setting up a confrontation with the House, which wants drilling in Gulf waters to be off-limits.

Supporters said the measure would be a major step toward producing more domestic energy and forcing down natural gas prices that have soared. Environmentalists oppose drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, citing previous oil spills in California and Alaska coastal waters.

The Senate approved the measure by an overwhelming margin. It now must be reconciled with broader legislation passed by the House in June. Negotiations are expected to begin in September.

Some critics cite the fact that it will be years before any oil will be taken from the 8.3 million acres and that the legislation falls short of addressing many of the country's energy problems.

The bill has attracted wide bipartisan support as lawmakers sought to help resolve the nation’s dependency on foreign oil.

Condo Managers Go to School

Condominium and Homeowner Associations are getting the edge in today’s changing real estate environment in Florida. Managers of many condo and community associations are going back to school to be trained on how to handle things after their communities are hit by a national disaster like a hurricane.

The Certified Manager of Community Associations program is the only national certification designed to teach managers of homeowner and condominium associations how to handle things following a disaster.

There are more than 286,000 such communities throughout the nation, and the largest percentage of them are in Florida. The program was developed in 1995 in Florida and since then 6,000 managers have been trained.