The ballot is open

Best of Milton

It’s open. Go.

As promised: the first-ever Best of Milton ballot is live, right now. Twenty-nine categories, write-ins welcome, skip anything you don’t have a strong opinion about, and the whole thing takes about three minutes. One ballot per verified neighbor. Nominations close Monday, July 27.

Cast your nominations →

Milton has never had a Best Of that’s only Milton. This one is, and it’s decided entirely by the people on this list — so if you’ve ever declared your pizza place the correct one, this is where you make it official. Then forward this to the neighbor who’ll disagree.

Top of Mind

A Webb Road care home has been on generators since April

Milton families should know about this one, first reported by the Milton Herald: Vitality Living Milton, the 94-unit senior community on Webb Road offering independent living, assisted living, and memory care, has been running on generator power since April 1 — when a burst irrigation pipe flooded its electrical panel.

For most of us, three months on a generator is an inconvenience. For a building full of seniors — some on oxygen, some in memory care — it’s higher-stakes, and on the morning of June 28 the generator itself failed, leaving the building without power for about five hours before a replacement was brought in. Vitality’s leadership says the repair requires specialized electrical equipment with long manufacturing lead times, that backup generators now have their own backups, and that full utility power should return around the week of July 27.

The families' experience is the heart of the story. Karen Richard, whose legally blind mother lives at Vitality, told the Herald the ongoing power issue has been “extremely stressful” for her mother — while also praising the staff, who she said “responded professionally and demonstrated genuine care” during each outage. Her unanswered question is the right one: once repairs finish, what testing will ensure residents don’t face another prolonged outage in the peak heat of July?

Two more details from the reporting stay with us. Several families told the paper they were reluctant to speak on the record for fear of reprisal — a fear the company says is unfounded, pointing families to its hotline (888-303-6800). And the state agency that licenses care homes was itself the subject of a 2025 state audit finding that 43 percent of facilities due for routine inspection between 2019 and 2024 never got one. (Vitality Milton’s most recent state inspection, two weeks before the pipe burst, found no violations.)

If your family has someone on Webb Road, the Herald’s full story has the rest. We’ll follow the July 27 restoration date.

Source: Appen Media / Milton Herald

Heads Up

Last call: Wall of Fame nominations close tonight

Apparently it’s nominating season in Milton — because the city wants one more from you, and this deadline is end of day today. The Milton Wall of Fame at Bell Memorial Park honors the athletes, coaches, artists, and contributors who’ve defined excellence here — performance, impact, and everything in between. Know someone who belongs on it? The nomination form (and the full story of the wall) is at miltonga.gov/WallOfFame. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board selects the honorees from all nominations, and the new names go up this fall.

Source: City of Milton

One More Thing

While you’re nominating Milton’s best, here are six teenagers already competing for it: six cadets from the Milton Police Department Cadets Program — ages 14 to 20, who spend their school year learning constitutional law, crisis de-escalation, and how to process a mock crime scene — tested themselves against 23 other teams at a statewide law enforcement competition on June 27. No trophy this year, but as Officer Scott Sanford, who runs the program, told the Milton Herald: “Week after week, they dedicated their time and energy to mastering the fundamentals and learning how to apply them under intense pressure.”

Quick reminders while your calendar’s open: Wild Walk with Ranger Jen Wednesday 4 p.m. at Providence Park, the Moth Week Night Walk Friday 8 p.m., and the World Cup Final at The Green Sunday 1–5 p.m. — full calendar here.

Now go vote for your pizza place. See you Thursday.