FEDERAL COURTHOUSE STAYS IN PANAMA CITY

The U.S. General Services Administration has announced the U.S. District Courthouse will stay in Panama City. Community organizations have been lobbying to keep the courthouse after finding out in late 2016 the federal government was planning to close it. Officials say the courthouse will be moved to the current Bay County Juvenile Courthouse on East 11th Street, and a new juvenile courthouse will be built on the Bay County Courthouse campus. The new courthouse should be ready for occupancy by October 2019.