Treasure Coast Florida News is owned, written and produced by Tom Teter WSTU AM 1450 News Director who has covered news in Martin & St. Lucie Counties for 27 years.

It is my policy to correct any errors.  Report them to misternews2000@yahoo.com

MONDAY FEBRUARY 8

NEW:  The Port St Lucie City Council tonight turned down the Friendly Sons of Ireland's request for $10,000 in city funding to hold the St Patrick's Day Parade & Festival this year.  The majority of the council said the city just plain doesn't have the money.

NEW:  Two houseboats were destroyed by fire overnight in Ft Pierce.  Firefighters were called to the fires on Harbortown Drive just before 2am.  A third boat had minor damage.  One man was taken to Lawnwood Regional.  His medical condition is not available.

NEW:  The Martin County United Way has given a one time $10,000 grant to help the Haitian relief effort.  Half the money was used to buy tents and medical supplies that Missionary Flights International flew from Witham Field airport to Haiti.  The other half was given directly to Missionary Flight International for plane fuel and maintenance of its aircraft. 

NEW:  Florida gas prices are dropping.  AAA says the price is down 3 cents a gallon from last week mostly because there are fewer speculators playing the oil market.  Most have been scared off due the uncertainty of the economic recovery.  The US dollars is also stronger putting pressure on gas prices to drop.  The average price of a gallon of gas in Florida is $2.69, though you can find lower prices in Martin & St Lucie County.  A week ago it was $2.72

NEW:  Two Ft Pierce area men were arrested after they allegedly punched an stabbed another man in the head.  The victim told police he was in an SUV on south 25th St when Carlos Zepeda and Raul Zepeda came up and started beating on him.  Both reportedly had knives and the victim was stabbed in the head during the attack.

NEW:  A woman was seriously hurt in a traffic crash Sunday afternoon in St Lucie County.  The woman, in her mid 30s, was hurt when her pick up rolled over at Selvits and Glades Cutoff Road.

The Space Shuttle Endeavor launched in a spectacular night launch at 4:14 this morning.  The launch could be clearly seen from the Treasure Coast as the sky was clear. The shuttle is on its way to the International Space Station.  The 7 crew members will return in two weeks.

It was cold again this morning with lows in the 40s, the second day in a row for that.  The cold weather and big snow storm in the mid-Atlantic states over the weekend has canceled couple flights to and from Palm Beach International again this morning.

Toyota of Stuart will be open day and night starting today.  Service techs will be on duty fixing the recalled vehicles overnight.  You can take the car in a night and pick it up in the morning.

A Ft Pierce man went to jail after allegedly stealing beer from a delivery truck Friday. Police say after taking two packs of Budwieser beer from the truck, he went after the beer truck delivery guys with a knife after they confronted him. 45 year old Bobby Lee Bailey was being held in the St Lucie county jail on $102,000 bond

WEEKEND EDITION FEBRUARY 6 & 7

The Treasure Coast woke up to temperatures in the upper 40s Sunday.  It's part of that big snow storm system that dumped 2 1/2 feet of snow in the mid-Atlantic area and Washington.  Numerous flights from that area were canceled or delayed this weekend at Palm Beach International and other Florida airports.  Lows before dawn Monday are predicted to be in the low 40s.

Clouds forced NASA to scrub Sunday morning's launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. They'll try again Monday morning at 4:15am in what is scheduled to be the last night launch in the shuttle program.  The forecast calls for a low cloud ceiling Monday & Tuesday mornings at the Kennedy Space Center though. 

An 8 year old girl was hit by a car while skateboarding in Port St Lucie Saturday afternoon.  She was hit in the 1100 block of SE Sebina Lane and flown to a Palm Beach County trauma center.

There were two aircraft crashes on the Treasure Coast Saturday.  A helicopter crashed at St Lucie International in the morning while taking off around 11:30am.  A strong gust of wind may be to blame.  The pilot suffered only minor injuries even though the chopper ended up on its side.  A half hour later, a single-plane registered in Oregon made a hard landing at the Indiantown Airport slightly injuring two people on board.  The men told Martin County deputies they were on their way to Boynton Beach.

Stephen Schaefer's friends held a memorial and a beach party in his honor Saturday.  He was killed after a shark attack near Stuart Beach this past week.  Several hundred of his surfing friends did a traditional paddle-out to remember him.

Treasure Coast sports bars and pizzerias are geared up for tonight's Super Bowl in Miami.  The Publix store in Port St Lucie's Darwin Square was packed Saturday and again early this morning with people picking up stuff for their own Super Bowl parties.

One PowerBall ticket sold in North Carolina matched all six numbers drawn Saturday night and wins the $140 million jackpot.  Nobody hit the jackpot in the Florida Lotto drawing so it rolls over to $5 million for Wednesday night's drawing.
 
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5

An Autopsy shows kite surfer Stephen Schaefer died from a loss of blood after he was attacked by a shark this week.  Martin County lifeguards say there was a lot of blood in the water when they reached him off Stuart Beach.  university of Florida shark expert George Burgess says photos of the bites show it was probably a single 8 or 9 foot long requiem class shark like bull shark, black tip, spinner or tiger shark that bit Schaefer twice.  The bites show it was not a Great White.  One bite on the thigh cut a major blood vessel.

There's been a fatal shooting in Jupiter today.  Palm Beach County Sheriff's investigators say one person is dead after a shooting around noon in the 1700 block of Washington Way.  Two men were arguing and got into a fist fight.  Both had guns, but the man shot had dropped his before the fight began.  The man who fired the fatal shot stayed at the scene and is cooperating with authorities.  It's the first fatal shooting in the Jupiter area this year and the first since 4 family members where killed allegedly by Paul Merhidge last Thanksgiving.

Port St Lucie police arrested two brothers for allegedly selling oxycodone to an undercover officer.  Police say Daniel and Samuel Sant- Louis met the officer and an informant in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant on US 1 Wednesday and sold 250 pills for $4,000.

A bad crash closed 2 of the 3 northbound lanes of I-95 just north of the Gatlin Blvd interchange during the morning rush hour backing up traffic for about a mile. The crash was reported to the FHP at 6:30am.

A top Florida scientist doubts it was a Great White shark that attacked Stephen Schaefer near Stuart Beach this week.  University of Florida shark expert George Burgess says it is more likely another species of shark that was close to shore feeding on other fish.  He says reporters misunderstood a colleague's earlier remarks.

CBS 12 Chief Meteorologist John Matthews says sharks do come closer to shore this time of year following bait fish that like the warmer ocean water near the beach.  These favorable weather and surf conditions will continue through April.

St Lucie County Courts handled fewer foreclosures last year than in 2008.  There were 8,217 foreclosure cases which was down 11% from the year before.  In Martin County the courts handled 20% more foreclosures...2,129 cases last year.

The Feds are looking into the operations of the Ft Pierce Community Services Department, which has been shut down after an audit found evidence employees used federal housing money to benefit employees, friends and relatives. Meanwhile qualified applicants for housing assistance were put on the waiting list. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched a criminal investigation of its own and may bring in the FBI.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4

The friends of Stephen Schaefer plan a memorial at the beach this Saturday.  He died after being attacked by a shark yesterday just south of Stuart Beach while kite surfing.  Lifeguard Daniel Lund brought him in.  Lund had been bitten by a shark himself in 1987.  That shark had bitten him in the ankle and it took weeks to heal.  Lund says Schaefer cried out that he'd been bitten and there sharks circling and that Schaefer had an 8 to 10 inch cut on his leg and cuts on his arms and hands possibly due to his fighting off the attack.  Schaefer was conscious for a time as he was being brought in, but lost consciousness before they reached shore. officials hope an autopsy reveals what type shark it was.   The memorial will be Saturday at 11 am

A big marijuana grow house has been shut down in St Lucie County.  Sheriff Ken Mascara says the grow house was doing $2 million a year in business.  they found it in the 4800 block of Grovers Rd near Indian Pines.  Two men have been arrested, Orlen Rene Vasquez, 28, who lived at the home, and Julio Cesar, 33, who leased it and lives in Vero Beach. 
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110 Martin County government workers cashed in their unused paid days off before the end of last year.  They were beating the new county policy to limit the days they could cash in by the end of the year deadline.  the county paid them $334,000 during those last few months of 2009.

St Lucie County firefighters were busy during the morning rush hour today.  They put out a car fire in a garage of a commercial building in the 3500 block of south US 1, and put out a vehicle fire near the Okeechobee Rd I-95 interchange which forced the closure on one northbound lane.

The official filing period hasn't even begun, and already 6 people say they will run for Port St Lucie Mayor in this fall's elections.  Mayor Patricia Christensen is not running for reelection.  The job pays $46,000 a year.  Those candidates who have announce are:   Albert Hickey, who was with the NYPD for 20 years and worked at Ground Zero, community activist Victoria Huggins, long-time city critic Joe Edge, real estate agents Shirley Copenhagen & Frank Lillo and resident Kurt Hoyer.

They’ve had to pull more of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine in Florida because it wasn’t strong enough. It’s perfectly safe, but had lost enough potency since being manufacture that the Pennsylvania company that made it decided on a recall. The Martin County Health Department pulled 200 doses and St Lucie County 340 doses. Martin County has an H1N1 clinic scheduled for Saturday

in sports....

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3

A Port St Lucie woman died early this morning when she was hit by a pick up.   Police say 53 year old Bonnie Tonetti had stopped along Del Rio Blvd near Ernie St around 6am to help two dogs.  The pick up driver, a 37 year old man, did not see her until it was too late and hit her and the dog, a golden retriever, which also died.  Police do not expect to file any charges.  There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved. 

There are plans to build an infectious disease research center in Jupiter.  The Post reports the state Health Department and the University of Florida hope to build a $77 million center on the FAU campus.  Besides research labs, it would have a 45 bed tuberculosis treatment center an replace the state-run A G Holley tuberculosis hospital in Lantana.  The Florida Legislature would have to approve the project.  If they do, the new center could be open in 2012. 

The Port St Lucie mother who smothered her 8 year old son Christmas of 2008 is going to prison.  Eryn Allegra plead guilty to 1st degree murder today and was sentenced to life in prison.

The House of Hope reports they filled 12,982 requests for help in 2009.  That is a record.  They also helped feed another 2,000 children and seniors.  They also helped more than 700 people pay their rent or utility bills.  The House of Hope anticipates helping similar numbers this year.

The City of Stuart wants to see a Government Center built near the courthouse to bring the Martin County Property Appraiser, Elections Office and Tax Collector offices back downtown.  Stuart is offering the Sailfish Park ball fields as a a site.  The 8 acre site could accommodate a 180,000 square foot building and 570+ new parking spaces.  City officials argue using government land will be cheaper than leasing office space all over town. It would also be cheaper than buying land elsewhere and would keep potential commercial property on the tax rolls.  it would also stimulate the economy.  The idea will be presented at next week's Martin County Commission meeting along with other options.

A Stuart man was arrested Tuesday in Port St Lucie after allegedly selling oxycodone pills to an undercover officer.  Police say 21 year old Jeremy A Crane met the undercover officer in a parking lot in St Lucie West and sold him 36 pills for $480.  Police say Crane also had a gun.

Builders started construction on more new Treasure Coast homes the 4th quarter of 2009 than they have in almost two years.  MetroStuy says 27 home starts in Martin County and 25 new homes were under construction in St Lucie County.

The City of Ft Pierce has shut down its Community Services Department and put employees on paid administrative leave after an audit found evidence of fraud and cronyism in awarding mortgage money under their affordable housing program.

The Treasure Coast Food Bank served 42,000 people last year.  Officials say that double the number of people they gave free food to just a few years ago before the economy went south.

Bats are driving people in a northern Port St Lucie neighborhood batty.  thousands of Brazilian free tail bats are living under the Spanish roof tiles of a home in foreclosure in the St James area.  Getting rid of them won't be easy since bats are protected by law because they eat so many mosquitoes.

One of the Oscar nominees for Best Visual Effects is Digital Domain, which is owned by Wyndcrest Florida DD which is plans to open a studio in Port St Lucie. Digital Domain is up for its work on the new Star Trek movie. They are going up against the movies Avatar and District 9.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 2

There were a few more new home construction starts on the Treasure Coast during the last three months of last year.  MetroStudy reports 27 new homes were started in Martin County and 25 in St Lucie County.  they started building 36 new homes in Indian River County the 4th quarter of 2009.  it's the most new home starts since 2008.

More people are using the Treasure Coast Food Bank than ever before.  A new report says more than 42,000 people got food help in our area last year.  23,000 of them were children.  65% of the Food Bank's clients say they had to choose between buying food and paying their electric bill.  55% say they had to choose between food and paying their rent or mortgage.  For 48% the choice was food or getting medical care.  Many of the clients getting free food had been donors to the Treasure Coast Food Bank in the past.

Port St Lucie Police have arrested two men who rented a house they didn't own that was in foreclosure.  Police charged Jay Hughes and Issiac Rivers after their investigation showed the rented out a home on NW Cromey St without the owner's permission or knowledge.  The men claim it was just a delay in the paperwork.  

Two people were injured, one seriously in a bad morning rush hour on US 1 in Stuart today.  The 7:30 am crash at Monroe Street closed the highway for a time.

More rain is possible again today on the Treasure Coast.  Monday we got anywhere from a third of an inch of rain in the Stuart area to as much as 2.36 inches in western Port St Lucie.  The rains will reduce the brush fire threat.

Paul Michael Merhige's lawyer entered a written not guilty plea in court Monday.  That canceled his arraignment and Merhige was not in court himself on charges he shot and killed 4 relatives in Jupiter last Thanksgiving.  His lawyer wants a gag order on the case so nobody can talk to the media and wants the evidence is sealed until trial.

A Port St Lucie mother, charged with killing her 8 year old son in 2008, will reportedly plead guilty Wednesday to first degree murder. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers reports Eryn Allegra has agreed to make the plea in exchange for prosecutors not asking for the death penalty. Allegra allegedly smothered her son Christmas day 2008 in a Holiday Inn hotel room, then tried to commit suicide.

Treasure Coast farmers and growers should be eligible for Federal help to recover from last month's freeze damage.  The USDA has declared the Treasure Coast and most of Florida a natural disaster area because at least 30 percent of their crops were lost to the freeze.

Florida is getting paid back for providing millions in emergency medical treatment of Haitians evacuated out. The Federal government says it will reimburse Florida hospitals $25 million for treating the injured.

Three men have been charged after allegedly stealing a trailer with an ATV set out as bait. St Lucie county deputies used a hidden electronic tracker on the bait trailer set out by them to track it along I-95 last week. They arrested Angelo J. Thompson, 30, of Vero Beach. Tom R. Grant, 31, of Pompano Beach and the driver of an SUV that was following the stolen trailer, 23-year-old Christopher J. Jones of Lauderdale Lakes,

MONDAY FEBRUARY 1

There's $243,000 coming to St Lucie county to help with emergency food and shelter programs.  The money is coming from a National Board chaired by FEMA with funding by public & private groups such as the Red Cross, Catholic Charities and others.  Local groups that spend money helping helping people hit by last month's freeze can apply thru the St Lucie County United Way.

Port St Lucie Police arrested a man this morning who they believe stabbed his wife.  it happened around 7am at a home in the 700 block of SE Autumn Terrace.  She told police she fell on the knife, but police believe she was stabbed during an argument.  

Felix A Williams Elementary went to a lockdown today for a short time.  There were reports of a suspicious person in the area, but the Martin County sheriff's office didn't find anyone.

Stuart Police report people are getting phone calls soliciting donations for them and their programs.  No such solicitation drive is underway.

Paul Micheal Merhige will be arraigned in Federal Court in West Palm Beach today.  He's expected to enter a not guilty plea to charges he shot and killed 4 relatives in Jupiter last Thanksgiving.

A motorcyclist died in a crash on US 1 in Jensen Beach early Sunday morning.  The FHP says 43 year old James D Coutu hit the back of a car at a stop light at Jensen Beach Blvd and was then run over by a second vehicle which then left the scene.

Former Port t Lucie City Manager Don Cooper starts a new job today.  He takes over running the Ft Pierce engineering company Culpepper & Terpening.  That company has worked on some of the city's biggest public works projects over the years including the water & sewer expansion and the Crosstown Parkway.

A Ft Pierce man went to jail after allegedly chasing a relative with a knife around the house. Police reports say 30 year old Francisco Yanez-Mejia was angry because the relative turned off the TV.

WEEKEND EDITION JAN 30 & 31

Retired Port St Lucie City Manager Don Cooper has been hired to work with the engineering and consulting company Culpepper & Terpening.  He will be the new CEO.  That firm has done many projects for the city over the years.  Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers reports Butch Terpening will step down from days to day operations to be Chairman of the Boar.   Cooper starts on the job Monday.

Saturday's Port Salerno Seafood Festival was a big success.  a record crowd of 35,000 are estimated to have dropped by to enjoy seafood, entertainment and games for the kids.

Nobody hit the Florida Lotto or the Powerball jackpots Saturday night.  Lotto is up to $7 million while Powerball rolls over to $107 million.

FRIDAY JANUARY 29

New, slightly higher rates have been set for Florida Power & Light.  The State Public Service Commission today set the rates that would have the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatts a month pay about $1 a month more.  The new rates take effect in March.

Port St Lucie dermatologist Dr Shamsher Singh is donating more money to a worthy cause.  Dr Singh donated $100,000 during the holidays to Mustard Seed Ministries so they could feed the needy over Thanksgiving.  He is donating another $100,000 to Mustard Seed for Haitian Relief.  The money will help Mustard Seed help any Haitians who come to the Treasure Coast escaping the earthquake aftermath.

A Stuart company that converts old cooking oil into usable fuel for vehicles hopes Congress restores a tax credit that made its product a viable alternative.  Stu Lamb of Viesel Fuel says a 5 year old Alternative Fuel tax credit expired the end of last year, and Congress has not renewed it.  The $1 a gallon credit is needed, he says, or the biofuel industry will grind to a halt.  He may have to lay off about two dozen employees who convert 30,000 gallon of old restaurant vegetable oil each week into a fuel that can be used in vehicles.  Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney and US Senator Bill Nelson are working to get the tax credit extended.

Prosecutors say they will ask for the death penalty if Paul Merhige is convicted of the Thanksgiving night murder of 4 relatives.  Merhige was indicted on first degree murder by the Palm Beach County grand jury on Thursday.

A survey of Martin County young professionals shows 40% plan to live here a long time, with 8% planning to leave within two years.  56% believe this is an affordable place to live and 86% do volunteer work .

Governor Crist says the $1.25 billion in Federal grant money President Obama brought to Florida will get the first leg of the High Speed Rail System built between Orlando & Tampa.  It will be at least 5 years for the trains to start rolling.  the long-range plans are to expand the system from Orlando to Miami with a stop or maybe even a rain maintenance yard on the Treasure Coast.

The locomotive is the heart of the new Steam Locomotive Association 253 Railroad Museum which has its grand opening today just north of downtown Ft Pierce. Volunteers have spent years restoring the engine and several cars. The FEC had 275 steam locomotives built and Engine 253 is one of only 6 that survive. It will be on display along with other steam-powered machines like tractors at the museum. There’s also an antique car show, arts & crafts and music. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for kids. The grand opening is from 10am to 5pm along North 14^th St.

THURSDAY JANUARY 28

Paul Merhige has been indicted on first degree murder charges.  The Palm Beach County Grand Jury handed down the indictments today in the Thanksgiving night murder of 4 relatives in Jupiter.  He faces 4 counts of first degree murder and 3 counts of attempted first degree murder.

The man found dead in the back yard of a home in Indiantown has been identified as 42 year old Manuel Obispo Gutierrez.  He lived in the Jackson St home were his body was found.  People heard gunfire around 1:30 Wednesday morning.  Martin County Sheriff's investigators believe Mr Gutierrez was returning home when he was shot.  The other people living in the Jackson St home have been cleared of any involvement.

The man who found $3,100 cash hidden in a photo frame he found in a dumpster will get to keep the money.  Stuart Police were able to track down the family of a man who had earlier committed suicide.  He had apparently hidden the money in the frame.  His relatives have given up all claims to the cash allowing Warren Bendix to keep the cash.

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney has some criticisms and some nice things to say about the President's State of the Union speech last night.  Rooney, a republican, is critical of the plan to wait until next year before implementing a spending freeze.  Rooney also says when your fighting a war, it's not the time to make a major personnel policy change allowing gays in the military.  He does like the President's job creation ideas helping military veterans among other groups.  He and a Ohio Democrat Congressman are cosponsoring that bill. 

RealtyTrac says the Treasure Coast had the 9th highest rate of home foreclosure notices in the nation last year.  Florida had 8 of the top 20 metro area foreclosure rates in 2009.  The Cape Coral-Ft Myers area was #2 in the nation (Las Vegas was 1st) and Orlando was #7.  RealtyTrac does not expect a major turnaround in Florida's housing market for 3 years.

The Fed is telling Riverside National it will have to come up with a plan to raise new capitol after more than a year of losses due to the real estate decline.  Several other local banks have had to sell new stock to raise new capitol.

A Barry University Law School professor told Martin County school board members yesterday that, in her opinion, they must allow the public to comment on issues even if they are critical.  The School Board and Superintendent Nancy Kline have disagreed over the issue in the past with the School Board allowing public comment.

Port St Lucie Police found a trash bag full of patient medical records in a dumpster Tuesday. The records were from the University Medical Clinic on Port St Lucie Blvd. The Clinic’s CEO doesn’t think anyone’s confidential information was compromised. He told police an employee had throw the files away.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27

More Treasure Coast volunteers are headed out to help with the Haiti earthquake aftermath. Five Martin County Red Cross volunteers are heading to Orlando to help Americans who were in Haiti at the time of the quake as they are processed back here. David Sweeney, Don Knippel, Diane Thompson, Patrick Michaud & Dorris Rivera will help at the Orlando processing facility. And Martin County’s Volunteers in Medicine Clinic’s Kathi Harvey is preparing to go to Haiti itself to help. They will also send recovery supplies down.

A dead man was found in the back yard of a home on Jackson St in Indiantown this morning.  The body of an Hispanic male was found by Martin County fire-rescue who responded to a possibly intoxicated man down call at 5:15 am.  Sheriff's investigators say it appears he was shot in the head.  No gun was found and they don't know who it is.  Investigators are talking with 7 people who live in the house and an 8th who is a guest.

Thieves hit a Palm City landscaping and lawn care company for $10,000 worth of tools and equipment.  They cut through a chain link fence at Image Landscaping overnight Tuesday and broke into storage trailers.  This comes a day after 4 Miami area men were arrested for breaking into Stuart Lawn & Garden. 

Three finalists have been named to be this year's St Lucie County Teacher of the Year.  They are Michael Galloway, a reading teacher at Port St Lucie High, Theresa Sullivan, a reading teacher at Dan McCarty and Annette Newsome at Manatee K-8.  The Teacher of the Year will be announced February 27th.

The FDLE found no fraud, but says they did find possible bribes and freebies taken by some former employees of the Martin County School's facilities and maintenance departments.  The report says some took free dinners, accepted party invitations and had contractors work on their homes for free.

At Tuesday's meeting, Martin County Commissioners approved an $8.7 million contract to build an Aquatics Complex on Willoughby Blvd.  They also ordered construction of a noise buffer wall along the last section of the Green River Parkway stopped.  Pinecrest Lakes residents say it's too close to their homes.

St Lucie County Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a National Elephant Center to care for elephants while their up-north zoo homes are being renovated.  They also will ask the state to declare a Chinese drywall emergency which would help homeowners get federal help in replacing the drywall some believe is a health hazard.

it was chilly this morning with lows in the 40s at most on-line backyard weather stations we watch in Martin & St Lucie counties.  a couple weather stations, in Indiantown and Palm City Farms reported a low in the upper 30s.

it was the first brush fire of the year. It broke out north west of Ft Pierce Tuesday afternoon west of I-95 near Indrio Rd. 100 to 150 acres burned. While Monday’s rains helped, this is the start of the winter dry season which means more brush fires. The big freeze a couple weeks ago made it that much worse by killing off vegetation creating that much more brush fire fuel.

TUESDAY JANUARY 26

 Martin County Commissioners approved a contract to build an Aquatics Complex today.  They listened to almost two hours of public comment this morning on whether to award a contract to build an Aquatic's Complex.  Almost all who spoke favored the complex, though a few had reservations about how much revenue a complex would bring in and worried how the county would cover operational costs.  Sarah Heard voted against the project for the same reason.  the $8.7 million complex will have a giant Olympic pool, a smaller pool and several water slides.  They awarded the contract to Bayview Construction of Port Salerno despite a protest over the contract review process filed by West Construction of Palm Beach County. Commissioners resume their meeting this afternoon.

An audit says the city of Ft Pierce's Community Services Department is corrupt and recommends the Treasure Coast States Attorney's office review the case for possible criminal violations.  Kessler International of New York specializes in finding white collar crime and they say the department is corrupt, used by city employees to  benefit themselves, family and friends.  They also say there is fraud, bribery and bid-rigging.  The department helps low and moderate income families and first time home buyers in Ft Pierce find affordable housing.   City manager David Recor asked for the audit.

 4 Miami area men were arrested for breaking into Stuart Lawn & Garden early this morning.  Deputies found almost $10,000 worth of equipment stolen, and later found some if it in a white van similar to the van seen on security video that was abandoned in the parking lot of Harbor Bay Plaza.  Deputies later found a car with two suspects matching two suspects seen on the video parked at Bryn Mar Beach.  One of them admitted to the break in.

At least 107 dead manatees have been found in Florida since the new year began.  State wildlife officials believe 100 of them were killed by the nearly two week long freeze.  27 of them were found in Martin, St Lucie and Indian River counties.  56 manatees died last year of cold weather stress in Florida, and that was a record then.

The Port St Lucie City Council said no Monday night to T Mobile's request to build a new cell phone tower at the Dalton Rd fire station.  City officials say it's the 4th time they've said no to the same request since last August and several city council members were visibly irritated T Mobile was back again.

Martin County Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the latest plans to build an Aquatic Swim Complex at today's meeting.  a Port Salerno contractor Bayview Construction is the recommended top pick to build it.  Another company, West Construction of Palm Beach county has filed an official objection.

Home sales were up 34% in the Martin-St Lucie county area in December over December 2008.  Home prices however continue to drop.  The median price had dropped to $110,300.

St Lucie County Commissioners will look at a proposal today to open an elephant center to house zoo elephants from up north while the home zoo is renovated.  Animal rights groups plan a protest.

A 70 year old Port St Lucie man plead guilty to child porn charges Monday in Federal court. Prosecutors say James T Byrne made sex videos of a 12 year old boy with an IQ of 55. He faces a minimum 15 year prison sentence.

MONDAY JANUARY 25

A construction company that is not the recommended choice to build an Aquatics Complex has filed a protest with Martin County.  Bayview Construction of Port Salerno is the company being recommended by the county staff and a committee  Bayview says they can build it for less than $9 million.  West Construction of Lake Worth says in its protest that Bayview was not even ranked in the top 5 companies initially and wonders how they went from there to being to top pick.  They also question Bayview's ability to build an Aquatic Complex.  West Construction is currently doing the multi-million dollar restoration of the Mansion at Tuckahoe in Indian Riverside Park.   Martin County Commissioners are scheduled to discuss and vote on awarding the contract at tomorrow's meeting.

More homes sold on the Treasure Coast in December.  Home prices continued to sink.  The Florida Association of Realtors says 564 pre-existing homes sold.  That is 34 % more than sold December of 2008.  The median price dropped to $110,300 which was 16 % lower than the year before. 

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney is in Haiti so see the earthquake damage for himself.  He'll be there today & Tuesday before coming back to Washington for the President's State of the Union speech.

A cargo ship is being loaded in Ft Pierce with construction supplies for Haiti.  The Caribe Star 1 is scheduled to leave Ft Pierce tonight and arrive at Port-au-Prince on Friday loaded with 200 tons of construction materials and heavy equipment needed to rebuild.  The ship is being loaded by the Samaritan Purse International Relief which is working with Missionary Flights International which has flown supplies into Haiti.  

Port St Lucie Police have released the name of the man shot and killed after forcing his way inside a home on Pruitt Street last Friday.  It was 32 year old Edward L Yearly who lived on Sunrise Blvd in Ft Pierce.  The investigation continues.

Martin County Sheriff's Investigators say a man was shot in the leg in Palm City early this morning.  18 year old Davon Campbell of Port St Lucie was a passenger in a truck when he was shot outside an apartment complex at 3459 Cornell Avenue about 2:30 am

A Stuart man found real treasure in a trash dumpster over the weekend.  He found a framed photo of the space shuttle in the trash at the Sierra Apartments and took it home.  When he took the photo out he found $3,100 cash in $100s and $20s behind it.  He turned the cash over to Stuart Police. 

An Indiantown man apparently drowned after a small boat flipped over near the St Lucie Inlet Sunday morning.  65 year old Richard Cozzi died enroute to the hospital after The Infinity charter boat picked him and 50 year old James Mason up and brought them to Sandsprit Park where Martin County Fire-rescue were standing by.  A big wave swamped their boat just north if the Inlet.

State officials say Florida continues to have one of the nation's highest unemployment rates at11.8%.  they say every sector of the state's economy has lost jobs the past two years except nursing.  There are 12,000 nursing jobs available.

One of the films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival put on by actor Robert Redford is about Ft Pierce. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady spent time filming at the corner of Delaware & 12^th St where there’s an abortion clinic and a pro life center. Their film titled "Delaware & 12th Street" is about what goes on as the two groups battle for the hearts and minds of pregnant women who are considering abortion. The film will be shown on HBO later this year.

WEEKEND EDITION JAN 23 & 24

Only one lane of traffic each way will be open on part of I-95 in St Lucie County tonight.  From 7pm Sunday until 6am Monday a 2 mile stretch at a time will close two northbound and two southbound lanes for resurfacing.  The work will continue this week with one lane each way closed during the day from 9am to 3pm, and two lanes closed each way at night from from 7pm to 6am between Okeechobee and Becker Roads.  Parts of the I-95 interchanges at Okeechobee Rd, Midway Rd and St Lucie West Blvd will be closed overnight for work on the on & off ramps.

A Stuart man was killed in a Vero Beach crash early Saturday morning.  Police say a car driven by Joshua Mulhern,26, of Port St Lucie failed to yield the right of way at 8th Avenue & 21st St and hit a truck on the passenger's side instantly killing 28 year old Geoffrey Robbins.  Mulhern was taken to Lawnwood's Trauma Center in critical condition.

The investigation continues this weekend into Friday's fatal shooting of a home intruder in Port St Lucie.   A man reportedly forced his way inside a home in the 2100 block of Pruitt St on the city's west side.   20 year old Josh Moore says he retreated to a bedroom and grabbed a shotgun.  He say the intruder grabbed the barrel and it went off. .  The dead man had earlier in the week confronted the Moore's over a phone call from a girl that had dated on of Moore's friends.  Police have not yet released the name of the man killed. 

Two tickets matched the numbers in Saturday night's Lotto Drawing and will split the $5 million jackpot.  The tickets were sold in St Cloud and Ormond Beach.  Nobody hit Powerball.  The new jackpot is $76 million.

Gilbert Miller, a long-time educator and Martin County School District administrator, has died.  He was 85.  He was the county's first black assistant superintendent and was instrumental in the peaceful integration of the Martin County schools in the 1960s.  

A woman and two young children were found dead inside a gated community in Wellington in Palm Beach County this morning.  A man involved in a nearby traffic crash told paramedics treating him he'd shot and killed his family.

A 77 year old man committed suicide in the parking lot of the St Lucie West Wal-mart Friday afternoon.  Police say he apparently sat down between two cars and used a .38.


FRIDAY JANUARY 22

Treasure Coast unemployment is down  The state Agency for Workforce Innovation says the jobless rate dropped from 14.6% in St Lucie County last November to 14.2% in December.  That is up from 10.7 in December of 2008.  It dropped one-tenth of a point in Martin County to stand at 12.4%.  A year ago it was just 8.6.  The state unemployment rate is at 11.8%, the highest in 34 years.

The  Martin Downs Montessori school in Palm City will close February 19th.  Parents were told that today.  The school serves about 50 pre-K and kindergarten age students. 

A 16 year old was charged with trying to rob two people at gunpoint in Stuart Thursday afternoon.  Stuart Police say he pointed what later turned out to be a BB gun at two people walking along Central Parkway.  The two victims took off running in different directions as did the suspect.  Police say he is a known gang member. 

A bicyclist was hit by a vehicle at Confusion Corner around 7:20 this morning.  The person was transported to Martin Memorial.   

Port St Lucie High graduate Rick Ankiel has signed to play with the Kansas City Royals this upcoming season.  The free agent had spent his entire major league career with the St Louis Cardinals starting as a pitcher, but making the transition to the outfield.  He hit .231 with 11 home runs last year.  Ankiel reportedly signed a $2.75 million contract with the Royals.

THURSDAY JANUARY 21

A Daytona Beach man hanged himself in the St Lucie county jail Wednesday afternoon.  31 year old Joshua Cornelius had been arrested Tuesday on drug charges.  He was first taken to Lawnwood Regional because he appeared to be under the influence of drugs.  He then taken to the Rock Road jail and underwent a physical and mental evaluation by the staff working for the company that runs the jail's infirmary.  Sheriff Ken Mascara says they found nothing.  But yesterday he hanged himself in the shower.  The jail staff tried to revive him.

A Martin County school girl says a man stopped his car as she was walking, and had no pants on when he got out to ask directions.  It happened along Jefferson St Wednesday afternoon.  She describes him as a slim black male with beard and mustache in his 20s or 30s.

Two Ft Pierce men went to jail after a deputy pulled them over and found marijuana and a loaded rifle in the SUV.  The vehicle had illegally dark windows and a tag that was obscured.  the deputy pulled it over when the driver rolled thru a stop sign on North 25th St Wednesday.  The driver, 21 year old Roman White and his passenger Kevin Brunson,20, who allegedly tried to eat the marijuana, were charged.

A new report by the state says just 1,100 jobs have been created by the biotechs that have moved to Florida the past few years.  Treasure Coast officials say this was to be expected since they always figured it would take ten years for biotechs like Scripps, Torrey Pines and Burnham to reach peak employment.

The chief economist for the Florida Legislature says the state's economy won't get back to normal levels until the spring of 2011.  Amy Baker also expects Florida's unemployment rate to continue to rise, hitting 12 percent later this year.  The Martin county jobless rate is already almost 12 percent and it's almost 15 percent in St Lucie.

Former Martin County commissioner Lee Weberman says the county should set up an ombudsman position.  An ombudsman would serve as a go-between helping resolve issues between the public and county departments.

The recent freeze killed perhaps millions of fish in Florida. One of the fish killed was a tropical fish native to the Amazon River. Two fishermen in Port St Lucie found a Pacu fish that weighed in at 52 pounds and was 38 inches long and 17 inches around. That’s a world record. Chauncelor Howell and Mike Iania found the Pacu dead lying near the river walk at River Park just off Prima Vista.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20

The government now says not nearly as many jobs will be created by Treasure Coast projects paid for by the economic stimulus last year. The website recovery.org now says the Indian Street Bridge project will create just 696 jobs. Last spring Martin County and state officials said it would create 3,500 jobs. They later reduced that to 2,000 jobs. The widening on State Road 70 in western St Lucie County was originally projected to create 1,000 jobs. Now they say it will create 135 jobs.

TUESDAY JANUARY 19

A group of two dozen Haitian orphans arrived in Ft Pierce Monday night.  Most had already been adopted through the Three Angels Childrens Relief Orphanage in Port-au-Prince and some American parents have been waiting two years for all the paperwork to clear.  The US government cut the red tape after last week's earthquake.  Even so the children, ages 6 months to 8 years, had to clear US Customs at the St Lucie International airport which took several hours last night.

A candlelight vigil is planned for Wednesday night in Ft Pierce for those killed in the earthquake in Haiti.  It begins at 6:30 at the Fenn Center.  Relief supplies will also be collected.


MONDAY JANUARY 18

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney has sent a letter to the USDA Secretary asking that all 67 Florida Counties be declared a disaster area due to last week's freeze.  Governor Charlie Crist is asking for that too.  If it is, Florida farmers and citrus growers would be eligible for federal aid.

The St Lucie West Blvd I-95 overpass is open.  It was closed after being damaged by a truck fire underneath on January 8th.  It was repaired last week and reopened today.  While it was closed, I-95 traffic could only go east, but could not get to PGA Village.  

Deal in works to rename Dolphins Stadium.  Canadian insurance company Sun Life Financial and Dolphins could announce naming rights deal on Wednesday

The Martin Luther King Jr holiday will be celebrated with parades and festivals in Stuart and Ft Pierce today.  in Stuart there's a festival at Memorial Park and a parade that starts at the 10th Street Rec Center at 1pm.  In Ft Pierce the ML King parade starts at 9am at 25th & Avenue I with a festival this afternoon at Lawnwood Stadium.

Lawnwood Regional's Trauma Center is caring for two people injured during the earthquake in Haiti.  An American doctor who was down there helping before the quake, and a woman were flown to St Lucie International Sunday by Missionary Flight International which was one of the first relief flights bringing supplies the day after the earthquake. 

A 6 year old boy was killed in an ATV accident in Indiantown Saturday.  The FHP says Nicholas Batchelor was fatally injured when the ATV driven by 39 year Joseph Batchelor overturned ejecting the boy.

Bill Brooks, who ran WPTV channel 5 in west Palm for years has died. He was suffering from cancer and died while on a Panama Canal Cruise when he became ill and died. He was a catholic priest, but left the clergy when the church did not denounce the Vietnam War. Brooks was General Manager of channel 5 for 17 years always believing that community and local news came first. He started the TV station’s Food for Families program. He served on the Town of Palm Beach council. Bill Brook was 76.

Florida Congressman John Mica suggests Florida lease the Turnpike and other toll roads to private enterprise in exchanged for a multi-billion cash infusion to help with the state's budget.


WEEKEND EDITION JANUARY 16 & 17

Two winning Fantasy 5 tickets for Saturday night's drawing were sold on the Treasure Coast.  One was sold in Jensen Beach, the other in Port St Lucie.  Each is worth $129,836.

The state is banning catching several species of fish due to last week's freeze.  The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission chair has ordered a stop to fishing for bonefish and tarpon until April and has ordered the upcoming snook season be canceled because so many died during the cold snap.

A Florida Lotto ticket sold in Chiefland matched all 6  numbers in Saturday night's drawing and wins the $9 million jackpot.  Nobody hit Powerball, so it rolls over to $51 million.

 
FRIDAY JANUARY 15

Lawnwood Regional is opening its trauma care center to treat seriously injured Haitians flown to Florida.  Lawnwood is working with St Lucie County Fire-Rescue and Missionary Flights International which was one of the first groups to fly earthquake relief supplies in to Haiti.  MFI will fly seriously injured to St Lucie International where they will be transported to Lawnwood's Trauma Center for free medical care.  The flights can handle 8 critical and up to 20 injured per flight. Lawnwood has 18 specialty surgeons and 200 staff qualified to handle the type of injuries typical during an earthquake.

South Florida and the Treasure Coast could be impacted by an exodus of people fleeing the post-earthquake period Haiti in coming months.  Thousands of native-born Haitians now live in St Lucie and Martin County.  Many will want to bring family from Haiti to the US.  Officials in the Miami-Dade County schools are already planning to handle new students who flee with their parents to south Florida.  

Kobe Gary, son of prominent Stuart attorney Willie Gary, plead guilty in Federal court today to one count stemming from his involvement in a marijuana grow house in Hobe Sound.  US Marshalls immediately took him into custody.  Gary's attorney Richard Kibbey intends to call witnesses and argue for a more lenient sentence than the 5 to 40 years he could get when he's sentenced in March. 

A Vero Beach man slammed his pick up into the side of a railroad car this morning in Ft Pierce.  Police say 57 year old Joseph B Smith was driving south on US 1 when he veered across the northbound lanes near Avenue M, hit a curb, then hitting the railroad car, wedging the truck underneath.  Smith was in critical but stable condition.

Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder has honored several in his office as the best of the year.  Detective Yesenia Carde was named Sworn Employee of the year for 2009.  Mrs Joanne Costello is the Civilian of the Year Deputy Joe Gallow is the 2009 Outstanding Deputy while Mr Joe Laviano was named Outstanding Civilian Employee.  7 deputies won the Life Saving Award. Deputy Theresa Winegard won the Distinguished Service Award. 

For the first time this year, you don't need a jacket, coat or gloves.  The warming trend has arrived on the Treasure Coast.  Overnight lows were in the upper 50s & low 60s with a high of 75 today.  It will be warmer this weekend, though there is a chance of rain.

State, south Florida and Treasure Coast officials will be looking for an influx of Haitian refugees trying to get to Florida in coming weeks to escape the earthquake conditions.  The winter months provide the best ocean  conditions for smugglers to boat Haitians over from the Bahamas.  Most of the time they try to land them in Palm Beach county, but sometimes they land them on Jupiter Island and Hobe Sound.

Martin County's Hotel & Motel Association has organized a Haitian relief supply drive.  You can drop off bottled water, clothing and canned foods at the Stuart Ramada Inn on US 1.

You can also help by making a cash donation to the Martin County and North Treasure Coast Red Cross, the Salvation Army in Martin & St Lucie counties and at any Riverside bank branch.

three people were injured in an explosion last night in Vero Beach.  A man was helping his neighbors light the pilot light on a stove when it blew, burning two of them so badly they were airlifted to an Orlando burn center.

Kobe Gary is expected to plead guilty in Federal court today to charges he was involved with two others running a marijuana grow house in Hobe Sound.  He could get anywhere from 5 to 40 years in prison.

It didn’t take long for the first murder of 2010 in Ft Pierce. A student walking to school found the body of 45 year old Terry Cox lying in a field at North 16th St and Avenue E at 6:15 Thursday morning.  Ft Pierce Police say they had no reports of gunfire in the area in the hours before the body was found.

THURSDAY JANUARY 14

Florida had the second highest number of home foreclosures in the nation last year.  RealtyTrac says there were 516,711 foreclosures in Florida during 2009.  Only California had more.  Treasure Coast foreclosures were up last year.  In St Lucie county 12,626 homeowners received a foreclosure notice last year, the second highest rate in Florida.  That's 1 in 10 households.  In Martin county 3,000 homes got a foreclosure notice. There were actually fewer foreclosures in Indian River County last year.

St Lucie County has had its first homicide of 2010. a student walking to school found the body of 45 year old Terry Cox lying in a field at North 16th St and Avenue E at 6:15 this morning.  Ft Pierce Police say they had no reports of gunfire in the area.

A Port St Lucie man from Haiti says he's learned 11 relatives of his died in the earthquake.  Louis Romus has more family living in Port au Prince and is worried about them.

The Stuart Martin County Chamber of Commerce is helping organize local Haitian earthquake relief.  Joe Catrambone says they will help the manager of the Stuart Ramada Inn collect sheets and other supplies donated by other hotels around town. 

Amateur radio operators on the Treasure Coast made brief contact with a Ham operator in Haiti Wednesday.  But he was having troubles with a generator that was powering his radio.  They'll try to make contact again today.

Florida Power & Light's president is not happy about the state saying no to almost all of the $1.3 billion rate increase request.  Armando Olivera told reporters that "politics trumped economics."  He also said FPL will immediately stop work expanding and improving power plants in Riviera Beach and Cape Canaveral.  He also said two new nuclear plants they want to build at Turkey Point will not be built, canceling as many as 20,000 jobs.  He also warns that it's conceivable FPL's reliability will be impacted.  It wasn't immediately clear whether work will continue or stop on building a solar power farm in Indiantown.

In earlier Treasure Coast news....

Treasure Coast help for earthquake victims has already arrived in Haiti.  A cargo plane full of supplies left Ft Pierce Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Haiti last night.  The Missionary Flight International was one of the first private relief flights in to Haiti.  The got back home around midnight.  They'll load up and make another flight today.

The St Lucie County Fire District donated 1,608 MRE's, Meals Ready to Eat, which were flown down yesterday on the Missionary International flight.  Those were MREs the fire district had stockpiled for hurricane season.  The Stuart Ramada Inn is organizing the donation of sheets and other bedding from other local hotels.  La Giagante AM 1330 is broadcasting the latest information from Haiti with a nightly broadcast in Creole hosted by Harry Metellus at 7pm.  Amateur radio Hams on the Treasure Coast are communicating with Hams in Haiti.  So far they report only limited contact with Hams down there. Treasure Coast churches are planning to collect relief supplies.

The Public Service Commission in Tallahassee gave Florida Power and Light a small part of the $1.3 billion rate increase they wanted.  The PSC also cut the rate of profit FPL wanted.   They wanted a 12.5% profit margin.  The PSC gave them 10%.  FPL says they will stop work on plans to expand and build new power plants including plans to build two new nuclear power plants at Turkey Point.

All sorts of cold-weather records were set during the two week Florida freeze.  that includes the number of days where Treasure Coast and south Florida days where it never reached 50 degrees....12 of them.  The cold dropped the water temperature in the Indian River Lagoon ten degrees in just one week.  The Lagoon's water is now in the mid to upper 40s, just 15 to 20 degrees above freezing.

A Port St Lucie man went to jail for allegedly threatening a mortgage company over the phone. Investigators say 57 year old John Poitik threatened to blow up the Jacksonville office of American Home Mortgage Services and hire someone to put a bullet in the head of one company official. St Lucie County sheriff’s investigators say Poitik admitted he ruffled some feathers.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 13

Already the Treasure Coast is acting to help Haiti.  A relief flight by Missionary Flight International leaves Ft Pierce today taking earthquake supplies.  They'll fly in water purification kits, blankets and baby supplies, find out what's needed and fly back to St Lucie International tonight.  Ham radio operators in Jupiter have been listening to several radio frequencies for updates from Haiti.   There are thousands of Haitians living on the Treasure Coast and south Florida and are waiting on word about family back home.  Haiti got hit hard during the 2008 hurricane season.  Media partner CBS 12 will have a Haitian earthquake relief phone bank that will open at 5pm. The number set up by the US State Department for information about loved ones in Haiti is a  888-407-4747.

The state's Public Service Commission in Tallahassee said no to a big part of the $1.3 billion rate increase Florida Power & Light wanted.   FPL wanted a $250 million increase this year and another $182 million next year to pay for building a new power plant in western Palm Beach County.  The PSC also decided to cut the profit from the 12.5 percent FPL wanted to 10 percent.  

An ex con out on probation has been arrested for allegedly planning to rob a bank in Hobe Sound.  Martin County Sheriff detectives got a tip that Robert Bittle planned to rob the Seacoast Bank Branch.  They watched Bittle go in and out of the bank several times.  They found a BB gun, a mask and gloves, and a police scanner after searching his home in Poinciana Gardens.

A 23 year old man wanted for his alleged involvement in an armed robbery of prescription drugs in Stuart last summer has been arrested in Port St Lucie.  Seth Pusieko had been seen in the area in recent weeks, and was arrested Tuesday night on drug sales & possession charges. 

This should be the last day of really cold weather in Florida.  lows this morning dropped into the 30s again, but it should begin to warm up today with it getting into the 70's by Friday.

it's been a killer two week freeze in Florida.  A Ft Pierce woman found dead in a vacant lot Monday had died of hypothermia.  So did a man who was hiking in Okeechobee county along with a 77 year old man in Miami

Florida Power & Light is caring for 80 cold stunned sea turtles that have been rescued. They’ve got them in tanks, trailers even in offices at the St Lucie Nuclear Plant.

Florida Power & Light goes before the state's Public Service Commission today asking for a 31 percent increase in rates.  Consumer advocates are against it and the PSC staff is recommending they get a third of what they want.

Martin County plans to rebuild the dunes at Bathtub Beach and reopen it by time turtle nesting season begins in March.  The county also hopes to develop a a site plan for parking an perhaps consolidating Bathtub Beach with a county-owned beach to the north that's not easy for the public to access.  Mark Perry of the Coast Science Center told Martin County commissioners Tuesday the first priority should be restoration of the dune line at Bathtub.

The city of Stuart really wants as many county offices downtown as possible. The city is offering to give the county the Sailfish Park ball fields for a building that would bring all the constitutional officers back downtown. The Elections Supervisor, Tax Collector and Property Appraisers offices are scattered around town. The city says a 150 thousand square foot building and 570 parking space could be built at the site. Stuart would relocate the ball fields.

TUESDAY JANUARY 12

Dorothy Geben has died.  She was 102 and has been the mayor of the tiny trailer park town of Ocean Breeze in Jensen Beach for about 9 years.  She missed Monday's Town Council meeting saying she didn't feel good.  About 1:30 Monday afternoon and ambulance took he to Martin Memorial where she died.  She was interviewed nation wide when she turned 100 and she joked she was America's oldest working mayor.  Geben said she took a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of vinegar with her breakfast each morning.  She moved to Ocean Breeze in 1952 and had served on the town council since 1976 and became mayor when Ruth Hoke, daughter of the park's founder died in 2001. 

The woman found dead in a vacant lot in Ft Pierce Monday morning had frozen to death in the cold.  an autopsy on 41 year old Patrice Warren showed she died of accidental hypothermia.  Her body was found in a lot at North 19th and Avenue D.  Temperatures that morning were below freezing.

One more night of freezing cold.  Tonight's predicted low will once again drop into the mid 30s making almost two straight weeks of temperatures in the 30s.  Wednesday night's low will be in the upper 40s with a high Thursday in the 70s, the first time this year.

American Custom Yachts has contracts to build two large vessels at it's construction yards in Stuart.  One is for a 158 foot aluminum expedition yacht, th other for a 90 foot custom sport fishing yacht.  the company anticipates hiring as many as 40 people to build them.   To dowload a resume log onto to:  www.americancustomyachts.com

The Army Corps of Engineers has begun letting water out of Lake Okeechobee.  It isn't a big discharge, 650 cubic feet of water per second over the next 11 days.  All the water is being let out down the Caloosahatchee River, and not the St Lucie.  The Corps says this will be good for the Caloosahatchee by helping maintain the right salinity level.

Florida Power & Light continues to pump the juice Monday. They set another record for electrical demand yesterday.  They generated 24,354 megawatts of power to meet demand Monday morning.  That broke the record set Sunday of 23,500 megawatts.  Scattered power outages continue and FPL says demand is high.

MONDAY JANUARY 11

Another freeze warning tonight.  Lows will be in the mid 30s with wind chills of 27.  Cold weather shelters will be open on the Treasure Coast again tonight, the 11th night in a row the shelter in Ft Pierce has been open since the freeze began more than a week ago.  The Martin County Red Cross shelter has been open 9 nights since January 2nd, averaging 20 people each night. 

Florida Power & Light set another record for electrical demand today.  They generated 24,354 megawatts of power to meet demand this morning.  That broke the record set Sunday of 23,500 megawatts.  Scattered power outages continue and FPL says demand is high.  At mid-morning, 560 customers in Martin and 130 in St Lucie county had no power.  Almost all power was back on by this afternoon. 18,000 FPL customers lost power in south Florida Sunday.

A homeless woman was found dead this morning in Ft Pierce.  41 year old Patricia Warren's body was found in a vacant lot along North 19th street by a friend.  Police say she had medical issues, but the cold may have been a factor in her death.

A bad crash may have killed someone in Okeechobee county this morning.  The FHP website lists a fatality in a crash in the 6000 block of SE 40th Avvenue/ 710 at 9:22 am.

A 72 year old woman was hit by a car in Nettles Island earlier this morning on.  Avonne Van Blois was out walking her dog when she was hit at 6:15am.  Her head hit and broke the windshield and she was taken to the Lawnwood Regional Trauma Center where she was listed in stable condition.  St Lucie County deputies say the part of Nettle Blvd where she was hit was dark as where her clothes.  No charges have been filed.

A man found in a woods late Sunday night in Port St Lucie in the 700 block of SE Forgal St.  St Lucie county fire rescue isn't saying anything about his medical condition or what happened.  Police were on scene.

In Earlier Treasure Coast News....

Cold another couple days, but it will warm up by the end of the week.   It's dropped down below freezing again this morning on the Treasure Coast.  Many local on-line backyard weather stations showed temperatures iof 30 to 31 degrees.  Temperatures in central Florida have dropped to 28 or lower which may be cold enough to damage Florida's citrus.  It droppd into the teens in north Florida.

Florida Power & Light set a new record for demand Sunday when they pumped out 23,500 megawatts due to the cold.  That breaks the old record of 22,360 megawatts in August 2005.  1,300 Martin county customers lost power Sunday.  These were neighborhood type outages mostly caused by blown transformers up on power poles.

Emergency cold weather shelters were open again Sunday night in Martin & St Luci county.  It's the 8th straight night the shelters have been open.  They'll likely be open again tonight.

A Friday afternoon fire damaged on the power generators at Florida Power & Light’s Indiantown power plant. The Unit was off line undergoing maintenance so it did not affect FPL’s capacity to produce power to handle the higher demand caused by the cold.

WEEKEND EDITION JANUARY 9 & 10

All Florida Turnpike lanes are closed (as of 8:45pm) by a vehicle fire in Palm Beach Gardens.  The fire is reported at the 109 mile marker.

A wind chill warning is in effect from 10pm tonight until 9am Monday.  A low of 31 is predicted for the Martin-St Lucie county area with wind chills in the upper 20s  

Temperatures dropped below freezing Sunday morning in Martin & St Lucie county.  Several on-line weather stations reported lows of 30 & 31 degrees around 7am.  Wind chills were in the low 20s.  A wind chill advisory is in effect all day Sunday into Monday morning.  Another couple nights of 30 degree cold weather is ahead with a warm up by mid week.

Saturday snow flurries were seen over many areas of Florida.  There were reports of flurries as far south at Broward county and in Boynton Beach.


FRIDAY JANUARY 8

ST LUCIE WEST BLVD BRIDGE UPDATE: All three northbound lanes of I-95 under the St Lucie West Blvd interchange were closed for 6 hour this morning by a truck-tire fire that damaged the overpass.  The bridge itself remains closed & probably will be for several days.

DOT engineers say some repairs will have to be done before the overpass reopens sometime next week. Crews were chipping away at loose concrete under the bridge this morning.  Repairs will be made next week.

Around 3am a truck hauling a load of tires had a flat tire.  The driver pulled off right under the bridge.  The load of tires caught fire burning the concrete & steel underside of the bridge.  Pieces of concrete fell from the bridge during the fire.

Morning rush hour traffic had to be detoured off I-95 at St Lucie West blvd, then use the northbound ramp to get back on. 

While the bridge is closed, traffic from PGA Village has to use Glades Cutoff Rd to get to Midway Road to get to I-95     Northbound traffic wanting to get to PGA needs to exit at Crosstown Parkway and take the road right before the Verano development.


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Publix is pulling it's free 2010 calendars out of stores.  There were complaints because it listed December 7th as the start of the Islamic New Year but did not mention it as Pearl Harbor day.

A Stuart electrical company is expanding.  The Business Development Board says Coaxial Components Corp will build a new 10,000 square foot facility on Blue Water Way and relocate there.  They will also hire 10 to 14 new employees over the next 3 to 5 years.  Coaxial Components manufactures high tech passive coaxial RF connectors, adapters and cable assemblies for both military and commercial markets

in earlier Treasure Coast News.....

Forecasters say it may snow in Florida this weekend as a new cold front comes thru later tonight.  They expect snow flurries as far south as Orlando and Melbourne.   The last time in showed in Florida was 2008 with a few flakes in the air.  The last time there was a snowfall in the Stuart area where there was some accumulation was January 1977.

The Stuart News reports Martin County officials say Treasure Coast Airlines may be breaking county regulations by advertising regularly scheduled flights from Witham Field to the Bahamas.  Airport rules do not allow regularly scheduled flights without county commission approval.  Commissioners have repeatedly said they don't want scheduled flights fearing that will add to more air traffic and a bigger airport.

This is Port St Lucie city manager Don Coopers last day on the job.  His resignation takes effect today after 18 years as city manager.  He oversaw the city-wide water & sewer system expansion, construction of a new city hall, the community center and civic center.

People are getting the sniffles and worse because of the cold. The St Lucie Medical Center says they’re seeing more people in the emergency room with colds, bronchitis and even pneumonia.

 
THURSDAY JANUARY 7

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney has gotten federal money to help local counties provide shelter during this cold spell.  More than $300,000 is coming from a FEMA program.  Martin County will receive $98,727; St. Lucie $243,858 and Okeechobee $31,510 to help individuals and families with temporary emergency needs.

Stuart attorney Willie Gary's son Kobe Gary intends to plead guilty to a drug charge in Federal Court next week.  His attorney Richard Kibbey says Kobe Gary will plead guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to grow and distribute more than 100 marijuana plats found in a grow house in Hobe Sound.  Other charges would be dropped.  Kobe Gary could get 5 to 40 years in prison, though Kibbey says they will try to convince the judge to give him less than the 5 years.

More scattered power outages today on the Treasure Coast.  1,700 FPL customers in Martin County and another 40 in St Lucie & Indian River counties lost power today.  FPL has warned that sudden electricity demand during the 7 to 9am period as people turn on the heat would cause scattered outages during this cold spell.

Lawyers for Tiger Woods have filed papers with Martin County saying he intends to finish building a new home on Jupiter Island.  The 9,000 square foot home is more than half built.  There were questions about whether the home would be finished after Tiger Woods and his wife Elin had their marital stress.

Demolition of the bridge over the Loxahatchee River in Tequesta has begun.  A new bridge will be built and should be open by August.  Engineers found the old bridge was crumbling and closed it late last year.  Sheltra & Sons Construction of Martin County won the contract to build the new bridge.

The Miami Dolphins have plans to upgrade their stadium to insure they'll get to host more Super Bowls in the future.  The NFL had told the Dolphins that without improvements, they might not host another Super Bowl after this year.  The plans include a roof covering all the seating, but with a hole to let the sunshine on the field.  other change include moving lower seating closer to the field and new video screens.

it's a little colder this morning than it was Wednesday.  Several on-line weather stations in Martin & St Lucie County reporting 31 degree readings as of 6 am.  a 29 degree reading was reported in Palm City Farms.  New record lows for this date have already been set in Vero Beach at 30 degrees and West Palm Beach with a 34 as of 5am.

so far the cold hasn't hurt Treasure Coast citrus crop.  Farm crops though have been damaged.  There are signs of freeze damage to crops like beans, lettuce and sweet corn in western Palm Beach county.  Florida Farmers north of here have also had crop damage, though it's too soon to say how bad.

Two Hobe Sound women died in a crash on Federal Highway Wednesday afternoon.  The FHP says a car driven by 52 year old Kathlee Lacovara lost control of her car, crossed the median and hit a car driven by 73 year old Florence Wise head-on near Heritage Ridge.

Wyndcrest digital domain has moved into offices at Tradition. They’ve moved into some of the office space Core Communities used before downsizing staff last year. Wyndcrest will stay there until their new studio building near Torrey Pines is built.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6

Two people died after a crash on US One in the Hobe Sound area.  The head-on crash in the 8100 block occurred  around 1pm near Heritage Ridge.   The FHP says one woman died at the scene, the other woman died while being airlifted to the St Mary's Medical Center by the Lifestar Medical Helicopter.  the southbound lanes were still closed as of 3:45 pm.

A freeze warning is in effect again for tonight.   The National Weather Service is predicting a low of 29 before dawn Thursday in all four Treasure Coast counties.  Some parts of the Treasure Coast could get frost.  Cold weather shelters are open again tonight in Stuart & Ft Pierce.

Record lows were set or tied in more than a dozen Florida cities this morning.  Tampa set a record low for this date of 27, Vero set a record low of 28.  So did West Palm Beach with a 34.  Miami tied their record low of 40.  Parts of the Treasure Coast dropped below freezing before dawn today.   Back yard on-line weather stations showed temperatures of 29 along Midway Rd and 27 in Palm City Farms.  31 degree reading were reported in Port St Lucie.  Wind chills were lower than that.

There were power outages on the Treasure Coast this morning.  Blown transformers knocked out power in parts of Palm City and to more than 1,000 FPL customers in St Lucie county.  FPL has told me they have plenty of capacity to meet the cold weather demand.  They say any neighborhood outages will most likely be from 6 to 9am as people get up and turn on the heat. 

There was a house fire in Ft Pierce Tuesday night, the fourth house fire there in less than two days.  There were three homes damaged by fire early Monday morning.  Last night around 6 pm a St Lucie County firefighters put out a bedroom fire in the 300 block of North 24th St.  There was smoke damage throughout the house.  The fire started with a space heater

It appears there was some freeze damage to farm crops in western Palm Beach County.  Some bean and corn fields in the Belle Glade area show some signs of freeze burn, though it's too soon to say how bad any damage is. 

The cold has sent Florida orange juice prices up the past few days.  Prices are up 8 percent. 

The Indiantown Parent Resource Center will open next week.  The Martin County School District has set the grand opening for next Wednesday the 18th.  The Center will help parents get more involved in their child's education.  Each child who comes to the grand opening will bet a free book.

Governor Crist has signed an executive order making it easier to get their freeze affected of crops to market easier.  It relaxes weight restriction on trucks hauling citrus and other farm crops and eases some paperwork requirements.

Local heating & AC repair businesses have been busy since the the cold snap began last weekend.  John Crane, owner of Krause & Crane in Stuart says they're getting more than 100 calls for heating system problems each day.

The historic Evans Crary home in Stuart was moved about 50 feet to allow the owner to build a small addition on her home next door so she can care for her elderly, ailing father.  Eventually they plan to cut the Crary Home in two and truck the two halves along East Ocean to the Stuart Feed Store area which may become an historic village.

St Lucie county school want 40 children who live in Beau Rivage and Harbor Ridge that now go to Martin County schools to come back. They are looking at a new attendance plans that would have K thru 8^th graders go to Port St Lucie schools starting next year. That would help balance the new lower student class size requirements. The plan would also have 411 students living near Midway Rd go to Ft Pierce Central or Westwood instead of Port St Lucie high schools.

TUESDAY JANUARY 5

A freeze warning will be in effect from 11pm until 9am Wednesday for the Treasure Coast.  Lows are expected to drop below freezing, to 31 degrees before the sun comes up.  Wind chills will be 24 degrees.  Cover whatever outside plants and landscaping you can and bring inside whatever plants you can.  Make sure your pets are inside tonight too.

6 year old Makayla Sitton's family wants the death penalty for Paul Merhige, charged with the Thanksgiving night murders in Jupiter.  Jim & Muriel Sitton were joined  by America's Most Wanted host John Walsh in asking prosecutors to seek the death penalty if Merhige is convicted.  Jim Sitton has called Merhige a monster and said that his daughter was shot a point-blank range as she slept in her bed.

It was cold again this morning, but not as cold in many areas as it was Monday.  Temperatures at on-line weather stations in the area were in the mid 30s in Palm City and Port St Lucie.  The low hit 32 in Indiantown   The Stuart area never dropped below 40.  It also warmed up a little quicker with all areas at 40 or above by 8am.   Tonight temperatures in Martin & St Lucie county are expected to drop below freezing.  Another cold front is on the way this weekend

Three men have been arrested and a marijuana grow house in the Stuart area shut down.  Martin County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit served a search warrant at a home in the 6800 block of sw Gaines Avenue Monday afternoon.  123 marijuana plants were found inside.  Donald Sidney Dugan, Carlos Don Bailey, and John Charles Costello were booked in to the jail.

A man hit & killed by a car in Stuart before Christmas has been identified, but they can't find any family to notify.  Stuart Police say 67 year old Thomas Patrick Collins died in the 700 block of South US One on December 18th.  If you know anything about his relatives or how to contact them, call Stuart Police.

A 19 year old Port St Lucie man went to jail for making a false police report.  Jordan Karpinski allegedly made up a story about being robbed at knife point when he really used money his father had given him to buy computer equipment to buy drugs instead.

St Lucie county fire-rescue responded to more calls during 2009.  they had 38,192 calls last year,  that's 1,200 more calls that in 2008.  4,519 were fire calls, the rest were medical calls.

The JFK Medical Center in West Palm has been named one of America's Top 100 hospitals for cardiovascular care.  The designation comes from ThomasReuters, part of the Reuters international news service.   They say hospitals on the Top 100 list have fewer patient heart attack, heart failure and bypass surgery deaths than other hospitals.  JFK was also named a top cardiovascular program in the November 16th issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.

The Martin County Health Department has another H1N1 vaccination clinic set for this Saturday from 91m to 12 noon at their offices on Willoughby Blvd.  This clinic is open to all age groups.

Several residents of a Stuart Avenue apartment building in North Stuart were evacuated for a short time this morning after smelling smoke.  It turned out to be the smell of something's burning as dust burned off the heating coils. 

Florida Power & Light says Monday's customer demand for electricity was up 40% from the week ago due to the cold.  FPL says it shouldn't have any trouble meeting demand.  They do warn that neighborhood transformers could blow causing isolated power outages.

Florida farmers worry this week's cold will destroy crops like blueberries, strawberries and harm fish farms.  Harbor Branch Oceanographic in Ft Pierce does aquacuture farm research.  Valentine Day flowers may also be harmed which would drive prices up.

A mulch pile fire that broke out Sunday in Hobe Sound is apparently out.  There are no Martin County fire units at the scene along Suzanne Drive this morning.  Fire fighters were on scene as late at 10 pm Monday night.

Tom Perona took office Monday night as a new Ft Pierce City Commissioner.  He still faces a court challenge filed by a resident who says Perona wasn't qualified to run for office last fall because he did not resign from the Ft Pierce Utilities Authority before running.

The Stuart News reports meeting is set for next week with Stuart city officials and residents who live near the Stuart Anchorage next to the old Roosevelt Bridge.  Residents want something done to prevent customers of The Sailor's Return restaurant from parking in front of their homes or even their driveways.

MONDAY JANUARY 4

A freeze watch and warning will be in effect tonight on the Treasure Coast.  The National Weather Service expects a low of 32 tonight and wind chills in the 22 to 25 degree range.  it will be even colder Tuesday night-Wednesday morning.  It's expected to be below freezing in western areas for 2 to 3 hours overnight Tuesday.  That won't harm local citrus on the trees, but it's very likely to kill off and burn other foliage and farm crops.   

Core Communities is late with its annual payment to St Lucie county for the naming rights at Tradition Field.  The developer was supposed to make a $70,000 payment to the county by December 31st.  St Lucie county officials say that wasn't done.  Last year Core Communities paid, but was more than a month late.  St Lucie county officials say they're willing to work with them to get the payment.

The price of gas is going up.   The American Automobile Association says the crude oil price is up, and the extremely cold weather up north will increase the demand for home heating oil, which may drive prices up more.  The average price in Florida is 5 cents higher than a week ago now at $2.68.  A year ago it was $1.66. 

A mulch fire that started Sunday continues to burn today in Hobe Sound.  The fire is contained but may burn for several days.  They sent about 10 unit to the scene on Suzanne Drive Sunday but only have a few units there now. 

St Lucie County Fire-rescue has been busy already today.  Around midnight, they put out fires at vacant homes in Ft Pierce.  One was in the 1200 block of north 16th Court, another in the 500 block of Douglas Ct.  Then at 6:45 this morning they had to put out a third house fire, this one in the 800 block of North 14th st.

It's cold!  Lows at on-line weather stations hit the mid to upper 30s in most parts of St Lucie & Martin county around dawn.  It got down to 32 in Indiantown this morning.  a 33 was reported in Palm City Farms and a 34 at a weather station on Floresta Dr in Port St Lucie.   It may get down below freezing by Thursday morning with another cold front coming by the weekend.

Florida's agriculture is worried about the cold weather this week.  It could affect the citrus crop and strawberry & blueberry farmers.  The cold will increase the brush fire threat too.  Martin County firefighter were still on scene this morning of a mulch pit fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in Hobe Sound along Suzanne Drive.
 
A woman was grazed by a bullet fired by her boy friend in Port St Lucie Sunday.   They were reportedly arguing at their home on Lawrence St at the time.  She ran from house carrying a child.  The man then barricaded himself inside.  Port St Lucie's SWAT team found him dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound when they rushed inside.

Jupiter multiple murder suspect Paul Merhige was apparently ready to lay-low in a Long Key motel where he was found Saturday night.  Officials say he had stocked up on canned beans, peanut butter, candy and canned fruits.  he was working on his computer when deputies and US Marshalls stormed the room and ran to the bathroom where he asked them not to shoot.  He's being held without bond on first degree murder charges for allegedly killing four relatives Thanksgiving night.

Treasure Coast students go back to class today after the two week holiday break.  there are three weeks left in the fall semester in both Martin & St Lucie county schools with the FCATs coming up in two months

Tom Perona is supposed to take the oath of office as a new Ft Pierce City Commissioner tonight. That will happen unless Judge William Roby issues an injunction. Jones Calvin Peace III has gone to court saying Perona was not eligible to run because he missed the deadline to first resign from the Ft Pierce Utility Authority. Judge Roby has been on vacation and isn’t scheduled to hear the case until mid January.

NEW YEARS WEEKEND JANUARY 1-2 & 3

FINAL:  Pittsburg Steelers 30, Miami Dolphins 24;  The loss would have knocked the Dolphin out of the playoffs even had New England beaten Houston.  QBs Chad Henne and Pat White were knocked out of the game.  Third string QB Tyler Thigpen did lead the Dolphins back with two touchdown in the 4th quarter before being intercepted deep in Steeler territory.  Miami finishes the season with a 7-9 record. 

Paul Merhige is back in Palm Beach county.  He had a first court appearance today and is being held without bond on 4 counts of first degree murder for the Thanksgiving night shooting of his twin sisters, a 79 year old aunt and 6 year old cousin in Jupiter.  He is being held in the jail's mental health unit. He was found Saturday night at a motel in Long Key after a clerk watching promos for the Fox show America's Most Wanted called in a tip saying a man who strongly resembled Merhige was staying at the motel.   US Marshalls and the Monroe County sheriff's deputies confirmed it was Merhige and did a quick forced entry in to the motel room.  They used a Taser during the arrest.  He had reportedly checked in to the motel December 2nd under another name.  

One of the two tickets that matched the six numbers in Saturday night's Lotto drawing was sold in Okeechobee.  The other was sold in Pembroke Pines.  They will split the $7 million.  One ticket sold in Arkansas hit last night's Powerball jackpot of $25 million.

Some of the coldest weather in years on the Treasure Coast is here and will be most of this week.  Lows in the mid 30s are expected with a chance it will be below freezing Wednesday night-Thursday morning.  A freeze warning and wind chill advisory is in effect for the Treasure Coast tonight (Sunday).   South Florida and the Treasure Coast will be 15 to 20 degrees below normal most of the week to come. 

Martin County firefighters had to put out a brush fire in Hobe Sound today.  they sent two brush trucks, two engines and two tankers among other equipment to the scene on SE Suzzane St.   The near freezing overnight lows expected this next week will increase the brush fire threat.

The Martin County Red Cross will open a cold weather shelter Saturday & Sunday night at the headquarters on Kanner Highway in Stuart.  St Lucie county' cold weather shelter is also open at St Andrews Episcopal Church on Indian River Drive.  Broward and Palm Beach counties are also opening cold weather shelters.

They are worried about the citrus crop.  The USDA had already predicted a smaller harvest than last year's, and the cold won't help.  Temperatures will drop below 30 degrees for several hours in the Orlando area citrus operations.

Brush fire watches & warnings will be in effect the next few days.  The cold combined with winds and low humidity are vary favorable to the the start and spreading of wild fires.  


An Indiantown couple had the first New Years baby In Martin County.  Guadulupe Avellanade, 37, gave birth to a baby boy at 11:49 am New Year's day.  At last word she and the father, Timoteo Avellanade, had not decided on a name.  He is unemployed and she works as a house cleaner.  

HCA & Lawnwood Regional are appealing the decision by the state to allow Martin Memorial to build a hospital in Tradition.  In a press release, Lawnwood CEO Rodney Smith says they don't  believe another hospital is needed in St Lucie County. 

THURSDAY DECEMBER 31

Treasure Coast police, deputies and the Highway Patrol will be out tonight looking for drunk drivers trying to keep things safe.  they'll be out the entire New Year's weekend.  AAA has it's Tow-to-Go program through the weekend giving those who do celebrate too much a free ride and vehicle tow home. 

All government offices will be closed Friday for New Years.   A reminder that it gets tougher to get your driver's license with the new year.  if you pay your property taxes today you'll get a 3% discount, which drops to 2% on Monday.

Moody's Economy.com says the Treasure Coast has one of the highest mortgage default rates in the nation.  Almost 7% of all mortgages are in default.  They also predict property values to drop another 24% in 2010.

Cops all over Florida have written 109 thousand seat belt tickets since the law changed last summer allowing them to pull you over just for that. That’s a thousand tickets a day. It’s worked to get more people to buckle up. 85 percent of Floridians use their seat belts.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 30

The Treasure Coast is in the nation's top ten for mortgage defaults.  Moody's Economy.com lists the Port St Lucie metropolitan area at number 8 with a mortgage default rate of almost 7%.   Miami tops the list at more than 12% with Ft Lauderdale number 2.  Florida has 8 of the top 10 highest mortgage default rates in the country.  Moody's also predicts Port St Lucie median property values to drop another 24% next year.

A bank has notified Core Communities they consider the developer of the Town of Tradition in default on $13.7 million in loans.  Core's parent company, BFC Financial made the disclosure in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.  The filing says Core Communities received the notice on December 16th from KeyBank  BFC also says while there may be issues dealing with with some parts of the loan agreement, they do not believe Core Communities to be in default 

Read SEC filing here

Unwanted telephone sales calls was the top complaint people had in Florida this year.  State Agriculture commissioner Charles Bronson, who also runs Florida's division of Consumer Services says his office had 6,500 complaints about phone sales calls.  Sales calls violating the Do Not Call list was the second most complaint people had.  Travel & vacation problems was #3 with complaints about credit and banking #4.  the state also got a lot of complaints about car sales, car repair shops and tenant-landlord disputes.

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney says it should be easier to get funding for the Indian River Lagoon and St Lucie River restoration projects from now on.  The feds have changed the way they look at the projects, and now consider them to be on-going projects that have been planned for years instead of considering them new projects each budget year like they used to.

A new state report says 201 children in Florida died last year of child abuse or neglect.  Experts blame the economy and drug use for the increase.

Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum has doubts the health care reform plans in Washington is constitutional.  He says the part requiring people buy health insurance or pay a fine would violate the Florida constitution's guarantees against government intrusion.

there will be a rare celestial occurrence in the Treasure Coast sky New Year's Eve.   There will be a full moon, the second one this month.  Blue moon's don't happen very often.  The last one was in 2007 and the next one isn't until 2012.

Wild pigs are becoming a real nuisance on the Treasure Coast. the Stuart News reports wild hogs have been found in Rocky Point, St James Drive and PGA Village. They root around tearing up yards and landscaping, cemeteries and golf courses. They can get as big as 750 pounds and sometime can be mean and they can carry disease. they’ve been plaguing Florida’s citrus groves for years. The wild hogs are descendents of pigs brought to Florida by Spanish explorers in 1539. There are a million wild pigs in Florida.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 29

The South Florida Water Management District is going ahead with rule making that would guarantee enough water to protect fish and wildlife in the St Lucie River and for the restoration of the Indian River Lagoon.  They've held several public hearings on the proposal to come up with rules that would set aside future water for the rivers, taking priority over water use by new development.  The SFWMD says reserving water for the river is necessary if the Army Corps of Engineers is to proceed with the restoration of the Everglades .

The fire that destroyed a 6,000 square foot home east of Port St Lucie earlier this month was arson.  it took St Lucie county firefighters an hour to get the fire on Tilton Rd out.  The 60 year old owner suffered burns.  CBS 12 reports he told them two men burst in his house, shot him twice and the somebody threw a fire ball through a window.   

Three middle school students have been charged with breaking in to a Stuart self-defense shop.  two 14 and an 11 year old broke in through an open window to get inside Vicks Self Defense store in the B & A Flea Market December 23rd stealing several pellet guns

Thieves have hit Stuart landscaping businesses again.  The sheriff's office says Kickin' Grass, Valley Crest Landscaping and Stuart Lawn & Garden where broken into and more than $36,000 worth of equipment stolen over the Christmas holiday weekend.  Stuart Lawn & Garden was hit by thieves over Thanksgiving too.

It's cold this morning.  A wind chill advisory is in effect until 9am.  At 6am there were a couple on-line backyard weather stations in Martin & St Lucie county reporting 39 degrees.  A SFWMD weather station reported a 36 degree low in Indiantown.  Most were showing temperatures in the low 40s

Even with tighter security at the nation's airports following the attempted bombing of a flight near Detroit last week, officials at Palm Beach International say things are running smoothly with no longer-than-usual lines.

The man who captained Frances Langford's yacht the Chanticleer has died.  Captain Karam John Haddad Jr worked for Ms Langford for 50 years.  He was 85.

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney will be in town today taking a boat tour of the Indian River Lagoon with Martin County officials, the Children's museum in Jensen Beach and a home in Port St Lucie build with Chinese drywall.

Florida retailers say holiday sales were up 3.6 percent over last year.  Treasure Coast business leaders don't have exact numbers, but say retail sales were up here too.

The West Nile Virus has been found in Palm Beach county. It’s the second time. In November they found a sentinel test chicken in western Palm Beach county had been infected with it by mosquitoes. It’s the first time in more than two years West Nile has been found. West Nile has not been detected in several years on the Treasure Coast.

MONDAY DECEMBER 28

it's going to get cold tonight, and the wind chill will make it feel even colder.  Lows in the low to mid 40s are expected on the Treasure Coast, with wind chills in the upper 30s a possibility.  it will warm up for a few days, but lows in the low 40s are expected again overnight Friday and the upper 30s Saturday night.  Wind chills may be in the mid 30s due to gusty winds.

The Florida Supreme Court is ordering something the Treasure Coast 19th Judicial Circuit Courts have been doing since last spring.  The Supreme Court says there must be a mediation process set up to handle the deluge of foreclosures.  A non-profit organization will handle the mediation between borrower and creditor to see if they can work out a solution that keeps the homeowner in their home and get the foreclosure cases through the system quicker.

A Palm City man claimed last Wednesday's $3 million Lotto jackpot.  51 year old Dale Hastings Jr had the only ticket that matched all six numbers that night.  He bought it at the BP station on Martin Downs Blvd.

A 26 year old Port St Lucie man went to jail Sunday after allegedly getting into a fight with his father.  Police say Jason Werry got angry when told he'd have to fix his own lunch and things escalated from there with both father and son pointing guns at one another.  Jason Werry was charged with battery and possession of a gun by a convicted felon.

There was a serious motorcycle crash on Port St Lucie's west side early this morning.  At 2:08am a man in his 40s was airlifted to Lawnwoods Trauma Center in stable condition after the crash at Port St Lucie Blvd & Alcantarra. 

Treasure Coast Florida Gator fans are relieved head coach Urban Meyer has decided not to quit after all.  He said Saturday he was for health reasons, then Sunday said he would take a leave of absence and plans to be back to coach the Gator football team in the fall.  Palm Beach county has to largest concentration of University of Florida alumni in the nation.

Florida State Seminole fans say goodbye to head football coach Bobby Bowden after the Gator Bowl.  He's retiring as one of the all-time winningest coaches.

Treasure Coast shoppers were out again over the weekend taking advantage of after-Christmas sales, exchanging unwanted gifts and spending those popular gift cards.  Treasure Coast retailers say it's been a better holiday sales season than last year.

It will be turning colder tonight.  Lows along the coast will be in the lower 40s with windchills in the upper 30s.  The temperatures may get down to the upper 30s in western St Lucie, Martin, Indian River & Okeechobee counties before warming up by New Years.  Look for another cold front to come through Florida this next weekend.

Two more big Florida lottery winners in our area.  First a winning Lotto jackpot ticket was sold at the BP station in Palm City last Wednesday.  Now two of the jackpot winning Fantasy 5s sold for Saturday night’s drawing were sold on the Treasure Coast. They were sold in Stuart and Okeechobee and will split the jackpot with two others sold in Jacksonville and Miami Gardens. Each is worth $63,629.

WEEKEND EDITION DECEMBER 26 & 27

Houston Texans 27, Miami Dolphins 20.  Houston got off to a big, quick lead.  The loss leaves the Dolphins at 7-8 and pretty much knocks them out of the playoffs.  Ricky Williams hurt his shoulder and was out most of the game.

Florida Gator head football coach Urban Meyer isn't resigning after all.  He says he ill take an indefinite leave of absence after Friday's Sugar Bowl.  Meyer had said Saturday he made up his mind to quit after the Gators lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.  Meyers reportedly awoke after the Alabama game that night with chest pains and lost consciousness and underwent 9 hours of testing at a hospital.  He says he's had chest pains starting four years ago.  There has no heart damage  Meyer told his players and coaches Saturday.  Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will coach the team until Meyer's return.  The Gators were 56-10 with a 22 game winning streak during the five years as head coach.   Florida won two National Championships under Meyer.

One person was airlifted to the hospital after a group of bicyclists collided on Jupiter Island this morning.  It happened around 8:45 am in the 300 block of Beach Road.

Nobody in Florida hit the big $122 million Powerball Jackpot Saturday night.  But a ticket sold in Kentucky did.  The new Powerball jackpot starts out at $20 million.  Nobody hit the Florida Lotto jackpot since a jackpot- winning ticket was sold in Palm City for last Wednesday's drawing .  It rolls over to $5 million.

This weekend will be one of the busiest at Treasure Coast retailers.  The day after Christmas is historically one of the busiest of the entire year as people return unwanted gifts for refunds or exchanges.  Many are out using the gift cards too.  Florida law does not require a retailer give a cash refund for a returned gift.  Most will give you a store credit. 

FRIDAY CHRISTMAS DAY DECEMBER 25

Tens of thousands of the Treasure Coast's good little girls and boys woke up this morning to find Santa had visited overnight.  NORAD's Santa Tracker Radar picked up his sleight and reindeer just after midnight near the Kennedy Space Center.  Minutes later a possible sighting over Ft Pierce, then Port St Lucie.  Stuart Police got reports of noises on roofs and signs the reindeer had grazed on lawns.  Treasure Coast law enforcement agencies were on standby to help Santa find the children, but by all reports he did not have to ask for help.

The Coast Guard is searching near the Bahamas for a single engine plane from Ft Lauderdale.  Travis Compton and Bancroft Nyack took off Thursday morning from Ft Lauderdale Executive airport for Grenada.  The search area is 10 miles northeast of Plana Cays, Bahamas.  Air traffic control lost contact with them 11:30 Thursday morning.  Another pilot reported hearing their distress call.

The Florida Highway Patrol is out in force this Christmas holiday weekend targeting aggressive & drunk drivers along with speeders.  They plan to be out again for the New Year's holiday weekend.



THURSDAY DECEMBER 24

Santa may run into a little rain as he makes his rounds thru the Treasure Coast tonight.  There is a 40% chance of rain overnight and rain is even more likely Christmas day.  Local police and deputies are ready to help him find the homes of all the good little girls an boys tonight.

Tire thieves have hit the Stuart area again.  14 heavy duty truck tires were taken off trucks in a storage yard on Old Dixie Highway Cut Off Road overnight.  The Goodyear & Roadmaster tires are valued at $8,400.

A nice Christmas for somebody locally who plays the lottery.  The only jackpot-winning Florida Lotto ticket in last night's drawing was sold in Palm City and is worth $3 million.  It was a quick pick sold at the BP gas station at Martin Downs Blvd & Murphy Rd.

A man hit by a train in Boynton Beach Wednesday night had been stabbed first.  Police say an autopsy shows the unidentified man had been stabbed before running out into the path of a train which was going 50 mph around 7:30pm.

The state's Public Service Commission staff in Tallahassee is recommending Florida Power & Light get about 25 percent of the rate increase they want.  the staff report recommends FPL get $357 million out of the $1.4 billion it wants starting next month

Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder warns caution in using ATM machines.   Thieves installed an electronic card reader and a small wireless camera at Bank of America ATMs in Stuart & Palm City last week, got the numbers and PINS and withdrew thousands from customer's bank accounts.

Trains hit & killed two people in Palm Beach county last night.  One was killed on the FEC tracks in Boynton Beach, then about 90 minutes later a TriRail train hit and killed someone near Lake Worth.

A 20 year old Jensen Beach man was charged with aggravated assault after stabbing his roommate Tuesday afternoon. Illiseo Foxworth was reportedly upset that his roommate sold his Wii and Xbox because he owned him money.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 23

Bank scammers hit the Bank of America branches in Stuart and Palm City this week.  They used electronic skimmers and wireless cameras Sunday to get customer's ATM numbers and PIN numbers, then withdrew money over the next couple days.  Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder says customers noticed the ATMs looked different and had a raised keyboard.

A Stuart man was arrested after allegedly swallowing crack cocaine and fighting with a police officer.  The officer approached 50 year old mark Kenney who he says was trespassing on FEC railroad right of way when he allegedly swallowed the drugs and fought with him.

Stuart police arrested a Palm City woman at Martin Memorial who allegedly spit in the face of her medical care giver.  20 year old Tenley Ryan's bond was set at $2,500.

Lawnwood Regional will have new visiting hours starting January 1st.  Hours will be from noon until 8pm.  Hours to visit a patient in intensive car and the cardiovascular units will be from noon to 2pm, 4-6pm and 7:15 to 8pm.  The new hours are intended to protect patients and stop the spread of any infections.

Treasure Coast State Senator Joe Negron says he will sponsor a bill in Tallahassee next year to change the way the Martin County Children's Service Council operates.  He wants to give the final approval of the Council's tax rate and appropriations to the county commission, taking that away from the appointed board of directors.  Negron says he wants to make the Council more directly accountable to the voters.  The Children's Services Council has been criticized for planning to build a new $2 million "green" building for their offices.  Pro lifers have also criticized them for funding some Planned Parenthood programs.

South Fork High's State Baseball Championship team from last spring received their championship rings last night during a party at Duffy's in Stuart.  Businessman John Pierson paid for and presented the rings to head coach Mike Harper, his staff and the team.

More homes are selling in Florida and the Treasure Coast.  The Realtors Association says home sales have been trending up in most markets this year.

Thanksgiving night multiple murder suspect Paul Merhige withdrew $12.000 the day before the Jupiter murders.  Officials say that will make it easier for him to lay low out of sight.  The case will be featured this Saturday on the America's Most Wanted TV show.

The body of a Port St Lucie man missing since last week has been found in the C-23 canal in Palm City.  His family says 39 year old Javier Martinez had been depressed.  His car was found abandoned on Murphy Rd last week.

A Port St Lucie man and his teenage nephew escaped injury when waves overturned their 17 foot boat near Pecks Lake Tuesday morning. While officials were called and sent help, another boater picked them up.

In Tuesday's St Lucie Holiday Classic boy's basketball tournament:

Jensen Beach 66-Port St Lucie 55
Treasure Coast 52-Ft Pierce Central 45

TUESDAY DECEMBER 22

Treasure Coast home sales were up 78 percent in November compared to November 2008.  The Florida Association of Realtors says 567 single family homes sold in the Martin-St Lucie county area last month.  Just 318 sold a year ago.  The median price was down 14 percent to $111,700.  State wide, home sales in November were up 61 percent. 

A Ft Pierce teenager found shot in the head last week has died.  17 year old Travis Lee Woods has died of his wounds.  He was found wounded in the 2500 block of Avenue F and is the 8th murder victim this year in Ft Pierce. 

St Lucie County Sheriff's detectives caught a Tennessee man wanted for attempted murder.  They got a tip from Tennessee officials that David Cole might be in the area.  The found him staying at the Sunset Inn on south US 1.  Sheriff Ken Mascara said, “Based upon the violence used by Cole, we are very fortunate to take this subject off the streets to prevent any further violence by this individual.”

A Miami man is in the Martin County Jail held on a $1 million dollar bond for his alleged involvement in the 2007 robbery of a Stuart check cashing business. 27 year old Asanslet Terminlus, aka Berlin Comport, and another man allegedly robbed the “Any Kind of Checks Cashed” at 2810 S.E. Federal Highway July 21^st, 2007.

An honor for St Lucie Medical Center.  It's received the Magnet Designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  It's the highest designation a hospital can receive for excellence in nursing care.  Only five percent of the hospitals nationally have been so named.  The St Lucie Medical Center was found to have outstanding performance in nursing leadership, Community Partnership and Nursing, Ancillary and Physician Collaboration   

The Port St Lucie city council Monday night approved the lease of office and studio space to Wyndcrest DD Florida.  Wyndcrest promises to generate 500 jobs in the digital movie and video production area over the next five years.  They will lease the facility to be built in Tradition over a period of years eventually paying the city back the cost of construction and ending up owning the building. 

The Port St Lucie city council didn't take any action against the paintball park for alleged code violations.  The owner has not yet been officially notified about them.

Mulligans, which wants to open a new restaurant in the historic Ashley's building downtown, wants to move the north wall of the building in to allow for an outside bar and seating.  Stuart city commissioners looked at the plan last night and were concerned about it.  They postponed a decision until January 11th.

(Tom's comment:  The building dates from 1921 and while not on anybody's official list of historic places, it has a place in Treasure Coast history.  The notorious one-eyed John Ashley robbed the place twice when it was a bank. My suggestion to Mulligans is to use that colorful history to market their new restaurant.  Patrons might be interested in reading the history of the Ashley Gang on the back of the menu and looking at old photos on the wall.  It would be a nice ty-in with the Stuart Feed Store Museum and the Lyric)  

A Judge has refused the Ft Pierce Charter Schools request for an injunction to stay open.  The St Lucie county school board pulled the school's charter with concerns about finances and performance.  Judge William Roby ruled deficiencies at the school posed an “immediate threat to the educational welfare of students attending the school.” The school was the only school in St Lucie county to receive an FCAT grade of "F"

Volunteers planted 1,200 grass shoots along the shoreline of spoil island nicknamed Bird Island in the Indian River Lagoon Monday.  About 30 percent of the island has eroded away since 1970.  it's hoped the grass will stop that.  The island is a bird sanctuary.

Holly, the dog dragged behind a pick up last week in Port St Lucie has a home for the holidays. The director of the St Lucie County Humane Society David Robinson and his 14 year old daughter Gillian, who volunteers at the Animal Hospital of West Port St Lucie, took Holly to their home while she heals from her injuries. Holly will stay with them until she’s ready to be adopted out.

MONDAY DECEMBER 21

There was an early morning house fire in Port St Lucie.  Smoke was showing by time the first fire units arrived at the home in the 700 block of Starfire Avenue around 6:34 this morning.  The fire was contained to the attic, but there was smoke damage throughout the home.  One person was home at the time, but there are no reports of injuries.  The cause in under investigation. 

The East Stuart Youth Initiative has adopted a needy child in East Stuart.  the kids are buying toys and raising money for 2 year old Davie Hornacek, who has undergone several surgeries treating him for Hirschsprung’s disease and the removal of his intestines. The family has been overwhelmed with medical bills and bad luck.

The staff at the Stuart office of the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney donated $3,500 to United for Families Christmas toy drive.  They sold their old office furniture and donated the proceeds.  The office has been involved in Holiday toy drives for five year.

The Port St Lucie city council meets tonight at 7.  On the agenda is the second & final approval of the lease agreement with Wyndcrest DD Florida for office and studio space the city will build in Tradition.  The paintball park's reported city code violations will be discussed.  And the Port St Lucie Pirates Pop Warner football team will be recognized for winning a national championship.

It's cold outside.  Lows at on-line weather stations show temperatures in the mid-40s at of 7am.  The coldest temperatures were a 43 at an Okeechobee citrus grove.  By Christmas, it will be back up around 80 for a high.

Things should be more normal at Palm Beach International and other Florida airports today.  The snow storms that hit up north over the weekend forced the cancelation of more than 100 flights to and from Florida.

Treasure Coast unemployment is at 14.7% in St Lucie county and 12.2 in Martin county.  That's higher than the Florida rate of 11.5%.  Florida lost more than 16,000 jobs during November.  There are more than a million without work in Florida.

The White Doves Christmas Project continues distribution of toys and food for the holidays today.  They began on Saturday and took Sunday off, but will be back at it today.  White Doves will probably end up helping 1,400 needy Martin County families.

Do any business you have with the courts or government the early part of this week.  All Treasure Coast city halls, county offices, courthouses and state & federal offices will be closed Thursday & Friday for the Christmas holiday.


WEEKEND EDITION DECEMBER 19 & 20

Tennessee Titans 27, Miami Dolphins 24 OT.  The Dolphins scored 18 points in the 4th quarter and had a 2 point conversion to tie the game.  A Chad Henne interception set up the Titans winning 46 yard field goal in overtime.  The loss really hurts the Dolphins chances of making the playoffs.

More flights are expected to be delayed or canceled into Palm Beach International today because of the big snowstorm in the northeast.  Saturday at least 25 flights were canceled at PBIA and 90 were at Ft Lauderdale.  Best to call ahead of check the www.pbia.org website today.

A missing Port St Lucie man's car has been found in Palm City.  39 year old Javier Martinez's family says he's been depressed.  He was last seen Wednesday.  His car was found Thursday on Mapp Road

Palm Beach Gardens police arrested a man they thing was trying to kidnap a 7 year old boy from a Publix store parking lot.  They say Eric Robinson tried to pick the boy up by his arm and leg at a Publix on North Lake Blvd.  He got in a van and drove off when his mother screamed. 

The Palm Beach Princess gambling cruise ship is sailing again.  The Coast Guard pulled the ship's certification December 8th after one of its engines broke down.  It was recertified last week and took to sea Saturday. 

One ticket, sold in Marathon, matched all six numbers in last night's Lotto drawing.  It's worth $13 million.  Nobody hit Powerball so it's new jackpot is $106 million.

Earlier local news from Saturday....

Martin county deputies are investigating a death in Palm City that was reported around 1pm.  No other information is available.

The winter snowstorm hitting the northeast has canceled or delayed dozens of flights to Palm Beach International, Ft Lauderdale International, Miami and Orlando.  PBIA has had at least 25 cancelations.  Most of the canceled flight were to New York, Boston, Washington and New Jersey.

Two people have been charged in those copper wire thefts in St Lucie county.  Willie Hunter, 40, and Sanford Hunter, 31, face grand theft and dealing in stolen property charges.  Sheriff Ken Mascara says they are responsible for all the copper thefts in recent weeks west of I-95.  The Hunters got $4,400 for the stolen copper at scrap metal yards.  Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers got a tip they were involved.  Bond for Sanford is set at $780,000 and bond for Willie set at $185,000.

An early Saturday morning storm knocked out power to about 300 FPL customers in St Lucie and Indian River counties.  The power was out from just after 5am until earlier this afternoon.

There's now a $100,000 reward for the capture of Paul Merhige, the Jupiter Thanksgiving night multiple-murder suspect.  The family has put up another $65,000 to go with the previous $35,0000 reward money.

Stuart police are waiting to contact next of kin before releasing the name of the pedestrian hit and killed on US 1 Friday afternoon.  The person was hit in the 700 block of US 1 just before 6pm..


Port St Lucie Police busted two unemployed roommates Thursday night after finding marijuana growing at their home.  Police say Nicholas C. Bazinet, 39 and Kenneth Allen Knickerbocker, 25, had 9 pot plants growing out of the back patio of their Starflower avenue home after a citizen tip.  More marijuana and a 9mm handgun were also found.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18

One person was killed around 7 pm tonight in a Stuart traffic crash.  A pedestrian was hit on US 1 between Kanner Highway and Palm City Road.  That forced Stuart Police to close all three northbound lanes.

A trailer fire in the Monterey section of Stuart has left a family homeless.  The blaze on Cortez St probably started with a pot left on the stove.  The family lost their belongings and the presents under the Christmas tree.  The Martin County Red Cross is helping the family which has children ages 3,6 & 11.

The rainwater that fell yesterday and continued today has caused some flooding in western Port St Lucie.  More than a foot of rain fell in Tradition the past 24 hours causing flooding in the Publix parking lot and there was serious flooding in PGA Village and The Landings.  Allapattah Flats K8 parking lot flooded.  Some people living off the Gatlin Blvd are found their streets under a foot of water flooding them in overnight.  City and SFWMD officials say their flood control system is working, it's just too much rain in a short period of time.

Unemployment stayed the same in St Lucie county in November, dropped in Indian River, but rose a bit in Martin county.  The state Agency for Workforce Innovation says 14.7 % were without a job in St Lucie county last month, which is where it was in October.  In Martin county the unemployment rate rose 2-tenths of a point to 12.2 %.  The Indian River county rate dropped 4-tenths a point to 14.5 %.  The Palm Beach county rate is at 11.7 %.  The Florida rate is 11.5%.

Florida H1N1 update:  the Florida Department of Health reports 184 lab confirmed deaths.  as of December 16 Florida had 1,002,280 doses of antiviral medicine, more than 3 million medical masks and 1.6 million medical gloves stockpiled.  the state has received 1.4 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine.  there's been more than 47,000 calls to the state flu hotline and more than 202,000 visits to the health department's website

The victim in a hit & run traffic crash Thursday afternoon helped Stuart Police track down and arrest the other driver.  The victim followed the hit & run car after the crash at US 1 and Joan Jefferson Way, giving 911 information about the direction of travel.  23 year old Jason Butts was arrested at his home in Jensen Beach.  He had been driving on a restricted license.

The Stuart Police Officer's Association took a group of visually impaired children on a Christmas shopping spree at Treasure Coast Square Mall today.


they didn't pick the Treasure Coast for an inland port transportation hub Thursday.  The Board of the Port of Palm Beach selected a site in the Glades area of Palm Beach county.  Governor Crist wanted that site.  Treasure Coast officials say a site west of Port St Lucie would have been a much better choice.  If the Port cannot reach a deal with owners of the site in the Glades, they could take a second look at the Treasure Coast.

Lots of rain on the Treasure Coast Thursday, and more rain will fall today before it turns colder this weekend.  4 to 5 inches of rain fell in Port St Lucie Thursday and there was some minor street flooding.  the Stuart area didn't get that much rain, but an inch fell in many areas of Martin County.

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection says they will permit a bridge to be built over the river connecting the Crosstown Parkway with US 1.  Port St Lucie agreed to make recreation improvement, water quality projects and build a 2 mile long walking trail in the Savannas.  It's a huge step ahead for getting the bridge built.  other government agencies such as the FDOT and the federal Highway Administration have yet to approve the bridge, and the DEP has agreed to support and advocate for the bridge when it comes up for other approval reviews.

A Martin County jail inmate can not have a computer in jail. Rodney McGill, who is defending himself on grand theft charges, was convicted on fraud charges in a mortgage scam in Jensen Beach earlier this year, told a judge he needed a computer, printer and internet access so he can prepare his case. The judge ruled he can have a lawyer, but he does not have a constitutional right to a computer in jail,

THURSDAY DECEMBER 17

The Port of Palm Beach board selected a site in sugar cane country south of  Lake Okeechobee for the inland port transportation hub.  That's the site Governor Crist was pushing and environmental groups threatened to sue over.  They want the site to be part of the Everglades restoration project.  The proposed Treasure Coast site west of Port St Lucie was the second ranked choice.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to approve a Crosstown Parkway Bridge over the North Fork of the St Lucie River.  There are several possible bridge locations connecting the Parkway with US 1 and the DEP says it will approve any of that federal transportation officials select.  In exchange the city promises to make recreational improvements along the river including canoe and kayak launch areas and build a paved walking trail in the Savannahs Preserve

(This is an important step ahead in moving the project forward.  The DEP also agreed to support and be an advocate for the project when other state and federal agencies review it for final approval.)

A St Lucie County deputy has been arrested on fraud charges for taking time off, allegedly claiming she was getting US Army Reserve training when she wasn't.  Sheriff Ken Mascara says Detention deputy Renea Thomas, 43 turned in false documentation so she would be paid by the sheriff's office.

Three banks and a credit union are promising to back St Lucie county's plans to help homeowners go green at home.  SunTrust Bank, PNC, Ocolina Bank and the IBM-PGA credit union are pledging $20 million if the county gets an energy efficiency grant from the US Energy Department.  The grant would allow St Lucie county to set up a not for profit bank that would make affordable loans to residents to install solar hot water systems and solar power cells for electricity.

A steady rain is falling on the Treasure Coast and it's likely to keep raining thru Saturday.  In November, the South Florida Water Management reported the Martin-St Lucie county area was a little more than 2 inches below the usual average rainfall-for-the-year totals.  Recent rains and the rain now should bring us up to where it should be by the end of the year.  Lows in the low to mid 40s will be here this weekend and stay cool for the early part of Christmas week.

(cooler temps should put us in the Christmas mood.  "Peace on earth, good will toward men")

Martin County deputies are looking for two men who broke in to two Palm City offices and stole computers & other office equipment.  Security video shows them two white males, one in his 20s, bald with full beard and long goatee, the other balding in his 40s taking computers from Riverside Properties and Allied Home Mortgage.  The value of what they took is more than $10,000.

A North Stuart convenience store was broken into and burgled early this morning.  Security camera video at the Rivershores convenience store & Deli on US One shows a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt throw a block thru the front door.  He used recycling bins to cart off cigarettes, energy drinks and petty cash.  he was driving a a dark colored SUV, headed north.

Congress passed Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney's $492 million mental health program for veterans Wednesday.  it will provide help and counseling for military personnel and their families.  Rooney's been concerned about the increasing and near-record number of suicides by Army soldiers the past two years.

(this is one of the most amazing and "makes ya fell good) dog rescue stories i've ever covered)

A newly adopted dog helped save a Port St Lucie baby's life recently.  The year old baby was being given a bath by its guardian Julia Pasqual when she says the baby stopped breathing.  She ran outside screaming for help.  A half mile away, Reyna Zurita opened her front door and her dog named Hunter dashed out and ran down the street and crossed a canal with Zurita following.  Hunter ran to where Pasqual was screaming for help.  Zurita gave the baby rescue breathing & CPR until Port St Lucie Police arrived and took over.  Ironically Hunter was trained to be, but failed to qualify as  a rescue dog.

38 inmates and 14 corrections deputies at the Martin County jail have been tested for tuberculosis after an inmate told them he has TB.  there's no evidence he does, but he's been isolated from the jail population just in case.

a new Rasmussen Poll finds Gov Charlie Crist in a 43-43 tie with Marco Rubio among likely republican voters for next year's party nomination for US Senate.  Crist had a 10 point lead in the poll last August.

The Port of Palm Beach board of commissioners is supposed to pick a site where they will build an inland port facility today. A 7,000 acre site west of Port St Lucie is one of four sites they’ll consider. Treasure Coast community and business leaders think it has a good chance of being selected. The inland port would handle cargo from 3 south florida ports and could generate up to 20 thousand jobs.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16

They broke ground today for the new Charles and Rea Kane Senior Center in Port Salerno.  Treasure Coast State Senator Joe Negron was keynote speaker.  He helped get the original $5 million seed money from the state legislature.  The 34,000 square foot facility at Salerno Rd and Pepperwood will feature a wide range of seniors programs and services when it's completed. 

State Farm is not going to pull out of the homeowners insurance market in Florida after all.  The state's Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy announced that they've agreed to stay in Florida in exchange for a 15% rate increase.   State Farm may drop 125,000 of its 800,000 policies. 

A teenager was shot in Ft Pierce last night.  Fire-rescue says they transported a male found shot in the 2500 block of Avenue F to Lawnwood's Trauma Center in critical condition at 10:41 pm.

Impact fees will be going up in St Lucie county.  County commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to raise them $3,000 for a typical new home.  That raises the total impact fees for new home to more than $12,000.  Commissioner Chris Craft voted no saying in this this is not the time to raise fees.

The Stuart News reports the bartenders at BJs Sports Bar have been requested to give depositions in a lawsuit filed over last summer's crash on Cove Road that killed 3 teens.  The FHP has said they know where the teens got alcohol and would turn that information over to prosecutors next week.

The Port St Lucie man who dragged a puppy behind his pick up earlier this week says he didn't know it was happening at the time.  He tells CBS 12 he felt like he hurt his own children and is truly remorseful.  The puppy "Holly" has surgery Tuesday and is said to be doing fine.

Martin county health officials say a few of the recalled H1N1 vaccine doses were given to children.  It's the pre-packaged syringe for children 6 months to 3 years.  The recalled vaccine is safe, and should be strong enough to protect children.  It's just not as potent as it should be.

The three incumbents all won reelection in Tuesday’s town elections in Jensen Beach ared trailer park of Ocean Breeze. Jack Bowden, Jim Walker and Robert McElroy all won seats on the town council. Challenger Earlene Cairns came in last. 57 people voted with three by absentee ballot.

A cold front is coming.  A low of 45 is predicted on the Treasure Coast Saturday night-Sunday morning.  It will get down to 41 Sunday night to Monday morning.

Martin County schools finally has its own finance director. The school board approved hiring one last night, almost a year after Dale Miloszewski retired. Two consultants have been running the finance department since then. The new finance director is Bryan Thabit, a CPA who is now the assistant director of business administration at Port Everglades. He’ll be paid $102 thousand which is $30 thousand less than the consultants were making.