Florida
Nathan Boyles wins Florida House District 3 primary
Holt resident and three-term Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles beat Jay Mayor Shon Owens and a field of six other Republicans to secure the GOP nomination for the District 3 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
Owens finished 949 votes behind to finish second.
The big difference lay in the number of voters each of the front runners were able to pull in from the other’s home county. Boyles secured 1,390 votes more in Okaloosa County than the Jay mayor, unofficial results indicated. Owens beat Boyles in Santa Rosa County by only about 440 votes.
With voter turn out at about 28% in both counties, and with all precincts counted, Boyles had secured 8,712 total votes to 7,763 for Owens.
“I’m proud of the support we received in both Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County. It was a spirited, close race and the good news for the district is that the voters had multiple good choices,” Boyles said.
He said it is important to remind everyone following a sometimes contentious campaign that this election was not about Okaloosa or Santa Rosa counties, but about finding someone suitable to represent District 3 in Tallahassee.
To win the seat outright Boyles must defeat Democratic candidate Dondre Wise in a June 10 general election battle.
“I am mindful of the fact that I will have to ask voters one more time to step out and fill in a ballot with my name,” Boyles said.
Wise, who listed a Pensacola home address at the outset of the campaign and has yet to report any campaign finance activity, will be a decided underdog. Republicans outnumber Democrats by large margins in both Santa Rosa County and North Okaloosa County.
Santa Rosa County has been without a resident member of the Florida Legislature effectively since late November of last year when Dr. Joel Rudman, who lives in Navarre, announced he was resigning his state House seat to run for the congressional seat left vacant by the departure of Matt Gaetz.
The district is composed of all of Santa Rosa County except the southwestern tip, represented by Pensacola resident Alex Andrade, which includes the city of Gulf Breeze, the Pace and Midway communities and Navarre Beach.
District 3 extends enough into North Okaloosa to encompass rural areas north of the county seat of Crestview. The number of registered Republican voters in District 3 in Santa Rosa County outnumber those in Okaloosa County 73,497 to 14,814.
Boyles becomes the first Okaloosa County resident to serve this district since Greg Evers was elected in 2001. Evers, of Baker, served through 2010 in what was at that time District 1.
Hayden Hudson, an assistant state attorney who was Rudman’s choice to follow him into the District 3 seat, was third in the balloting with 2,522 votes. Pace resident Cindy Smith finished fourth with 2,099 votes. Wade Merritt, a Baker resident, pulled enough Okaloosa County votes to finish second behind Boyles in that county’s balloting.
Boyles ran as the darling of the GOP power brokers in Tallahassee and was endorsed by every member of the Northwest Florida legislative delegation. He received significant donations from outside sources during the campaign and was able to tuck $151,000 into his campaign war chest by the Tuesday election.
Owens entered the fray with endorsements from nearly all of Santa Rosa County’s local leadership. Boyles also missed out on an endorsement from outgoing state Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman. Rudman threw his support to Hudson and didn’t hesitate to criticize Boyles as an establishment candidate favored by “old time country club Republicans.”
Owens took the notion of keeping the district seat in the hands of a district resident, as it had been since Evers with first Doug Broxson, then Jayer Williamson and then Rudman. He blamed candidates who didn’t have a real opportunity to win with siphoning off Santa Rosa County votes that could have gone to him.
“There were two or three people who never had a chance to win that did not really see the importance of this as a Santa Rosa County seat, they were just being selfish,” he said.
Owens said he believes Boyles will serve well at the District 3 representative and he will support him.
Boyles, whose company, Adams Sanitation, serves as the garbage service provider for thousands in Santa Rosa County and employs 75 county residents, has said he believes he is better positioned than anyone in the District 3 race to serve as the representative.
“Santa Rosa County’s success is very important to me. Just as important as Okaloosa County is to me,” he said. “I think I’m the only candidate with real connectivity in both counties.”
Boyles said in a recent candidate survey that he intends to work with the local delegation to support and implement President Trump’s America First mandate.
“I will champion legislation that helps make living in Northwest Florida more affordable by tackling key issues like our continuing property insurance crisis,” he said.
“I believe strongly in championing better infrastructure for our communities,” Boyles said. “This includes an improved road network, rural broadband, adequate contaminant free drinking water, stormwater treatment to keep our surface waters healthy and modern sewage treatment and disposal. I have significant experience in prioritizing infrastructure while keeping taxes low.”
The decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis to hold off scheduling this primary until April 1 and a general election until June 10 means that Boyles or Wise won’t get the opportunity to participate in the 2025 legislative session.
“If elected, I will be fully dedicated to the job,” he said when asked about the “red-shirt” aspect of the job he has now been hired to do, Boyles said “the additional time ahead of the 2026 legislative session will give me the opportunity to meet with residents and local officials to learn more about the priorities that they expect me to pursue.”
“Starting mid-way through a term allows the opportunity to learn the process in Tallahassee and build relationships to better serve the citizens of the District,” Boyles said.
The City Commission must vote on the idea, too.
STUART — Permission to have backyard chickens behind single-family homes and duplexes may soon be granted to homeowners here.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Board on May 5 voted 5-2 in favor recommending the City Commission approve the idea. It would give homeowners permission to have up to four chickens.
“I’m going to be really honest here,” Board Member Bonnie Moser said. “I have chickens in my backyard.”
She got them about 18 months ago, she said, with the permission of all of her neighbors.
Backyard chickens were approved by the City Commission in June 2017, but two weeks later a commissioner backtracked his “yes” vote, killing the deal that had passed 3-2.
“My 2-year-old son loves them,” Moser added. “We eat the eggs every day.”
The chickens are fed with the family’s food scraps, and the manure fertilizes her vegetable garden, she said.
Moser suggested two changes to the proposed ordinance. One, that allows the height of the coop to be increased to 7 feet and the other that allows the height of the required fence or hedge to be reduced to 5 feet. The Community Redevelopment Board also recommended the City Commission approve those changes.
Noise and smell
Concerns about noise are overstated, Moser continued. The chickens really make noise only when they’re laying eggs, which happens in the morning or midday.
“It’s a couple of clucks and then it goes away,” she said. “As long as they’re not being attacked by anything, they’re not making noise.”
The crows and dogs on her street make more noise than the chickens, Moser said.
Smell is another concern people have about allowing chickens behind homes, which Moser also addressed.
It’s only four chickens or less, she said.
Additionally, allowing chickens can be a great educational opportunity for children, Moser said, because children think food comes from the grocery store.
“So, cat’s out of the bag,” Moser said. “I’ve got chickens. Come and get them if you want them. But know that my 2-year-old would be very sad because the highlight of his day is going out there to collect eggs every day.”
Opposition to the idea
Board Chair Frank McChrystal and Board Member Frederick James opposed the idea.
“This will just lead us to a slippery slope,” James said. “If we allow chickens, why not allow pigs?”
Martin County got it right by prohibiting chickens, McChrystal said. He polled his neighbors, who said, “They’re bringing that up again?”
McChrystal said no more about why he opposed the idea.
The fee to have chickens would be $65 annually, Stuart Development Director Jodi Kugler said.
Keith Burbank is a watchdog reporter for TCPalm, usually covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com.
The corporate website lists the store as coming soon.
But that’s not quite right.
Ever so quietly, Swig opened its first Cape Coral location on Monday, May 4, at 1121 Solaris Drive.
Word has spread quickly, and a steady stream of cars has been pulling in and out ever since.
“We’re so excited to be in Cape Coral,” said Monique LeRoy, the franchise owner of this and the recently opened Fort Myers locations. “People have been asking us to come to Cape Coral for months now.”
You’ll find it in the new Shops at Del Sol, off Pine Island Road, just west of Del Prado Boulevard. It’s in the same development as the newly opened Chicken Salad Chick and the yet to come Cigar Bar and Burrito Shak.
Swig — an extremely popular drive-thru drink chain known for its trending “dirty soda” concept — doesn’t need any advertising or social media announcements for fans of the brand to know when a new shop is open.
“People see the big inflatable cup outside, and they know,” LeRoy said.
When she opened the Fort Myers Swig in the Publix-anchored University Crossing on the northeast corner of Summerlin Road and Cypress Lake Drive back in February, there was no advertising then either. She just turned on the open sign.
“We won’t officially advertise until our grand opening,” said LeRoy, who also has a franchise in Bradenton. “That should be the weekend of (May) 29th or 30th.”
It’s during the grand opening when free drinks (24-ounces only, no blenders) and cookies (chocolate chip only) will be given to everyone who drives through.
“In Fort Myers, we gave away more than 1,200 free drinks,” she said. “We were doing over 100 orders an hour.”
In the meantime, though, Swig in Cape Coral is in its soft opening phase, with the drive-thru now open seven days a week (the lobby is closed until after the grand opening) with a full menu offered. And that menu is a lot.
Just what is Swig’s dirty soda?
Swig’s dirty soda begins with a base soda, and then a customizable mix of flavored syrups, fresh fruits, purees, and creams are added to it.
Base options include Mountain Dew (regular, diet, zero), Sprite (regular and zero), Dr. Pepper (regular, diet, zero, blackberry), Coke (regular, diet and zero), Pepsi (regular and zero), ginger ale and Fresca.
Flavors and fruits run the gamut from blue raspberry and butterscotch to toasted marshmallow and watermelon.
Then come the purees (like mango, peach and raspberry) and creams (as in coconut, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and whipped), chills (iced or blended) and sweetness (lite, extra or extra-extra).
You can choose from one of the signature sodas like the popular Texas Tab, with Dr. Pepper, vanilla and coconut cream or the Shark Attack with Sprite, lemonade, blue raspberry and a gummy shark.
“Mojito Mamma (lemonade, mojito mint, coconut puree, coconut cream and fresh lime available for a limited time) is one of my new favorites,” LeRoy said.
Or you can pick and choose your favorite flavors to create your own customized combination. The possibilities are endless.
Drinks come in four sizes — 16, 24, 32 and 44 ounces.
But wait. There’s more.
“We also have refreshers — our water-based beverages,” LeRoy said. We have tea (sweet and unsweet), revivers, which are Swig’s version of energy drinks, cookies and pretzels. If I need a reviver, I get Drama Queen (sugar-free reviver, lemonade, with sugar-free strawberry, peach and coconut).”
And our personal favorite — frozen hot chocolate!
Cookies — sugar swirl, mini chocolate chip, and birthday cake — are served cold.
“It’s based on cookie dough,” LeRoy said. “They’re served fresh, but cold.”
And when it comes to Swig, she knows just about all there is to know.
More Swigs coming to Southwest Florida
Swig originated in St. George, Utah, where LeRoy happens to be from.
“I grew up going to Swig,” she said. “In middle school, when life was sad, I remember going and getting some pick-me-up pretzels.”
When it opened in 2010 (happy Sweet 16!), its “dirty soda” became an extremely popular alternative to coffee and alcohol in the Mormon community. Since then, the company has expanded to nearly 150 locations in 16 states.
LeRoy, who went to Utah State University with the founder of Crumbl, has personally opened three locations in the last year and aims to open 15 total.
“We’re so excited,” she said. “We haven’t found our next location yet. We’re looking in Port Charlotte, Lakewood Ranch. We’re looking in Estero and Naples. I would like to get multiple locations in Naples ASAP.”
For now, though, she’s focused on Cape Coral.
“We trained all the staff at our Fort Myers location,” LeRoy said, adding that her locations are always hiring. “So we will be able to move everyone along quicker. We always have a line ambassador outside to help you.”
And with all those options, that’s a very good thing.
Swig, 1121 Solaris Drive, Cape Coral; open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday; swig.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram. Find the Fort Myers location at 13401 Summerlin Road at University Crossing
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
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