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 28 years.

I try very hard to get the stories right.  I sometimes get it wrong.  My apologies in advance, and I will correct any error.   Report them to misternews2000@yahoo.com

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3

NEW:  Treasure Coast police and deputies will be out this weekend in force to keep highways as safe as possible.  Thr Florida Highway Patrol will have all its available units out on the Turnpike and Interstates looking for speeders, agressive drivers and DUIs.   Martin County sheriff's Sgt Ron Parks for example says they are participating in the national Over the Limit, Under Arrest campaign to get drunk drivers off the road this Labor Day weekend.  AAA South also has its free Tow to Go free vehicle tow and ride home for those who have too much to drink.

NEW:  Treasure Coast beaches, parks, causeways and waters will be packed this weekend if the weather is nice.  Jensen & Stuart Beach are always the most popular during a three day holiday weekend.  the higher than normal surf caused by Hurricane Earl should begin to calm down the farther away Earl gets.

Florida is growing again.  The state lost 56,000 population two years ago, the first population drop since the end of WWII.   The University of Florida says the state gained 21,000 this past year.  It was due mostly to foreign immigration and a high birth rate.

Tropical Storm Gaston fizzled out and fell apart Thursday.  It's now just an area of storms.

The same day Allstate insurance reported Port St Lucie was the safest city in Florida for highway crashes, the city had two cars run off the road and slam into houses Thursday.  One crash was on Floresta, the other on Brazilian Court.  Allstate says the average is having a crash one every 11 years in Port St Lucie.

Florida Power and Light wants a member of the state’s Public Service Commission to excuse himself during future hearings & deliberations involving FPL. Company CEO Amando Olivera says commissioner Nathan Skopp is hostile toward them and say they can’t get a fair hearing from him. Skopp has accused FPL of spin and withholding facts about its costs in operating its nuclear reactors.

A lot of Treasure Coast fishermen have been waiting for the state to open the snook season. It will open September 17^th and close in mid-December as usual. There will be no snook season in Florida’s Gulf waters, Monroe County or in Everglades National Park until next September, 2011.

The Miami Dolphins finished their pre season Thursday with a last second field goal loss to Dallas 27-25. The Dolphins didn’t look all that sharp, though they did have some good plays. Ricky Williams had a 40 yard run and Chad Pennington led an 80 yard touchdown drive right before half

in college football, the Miami Hurricanes crushed Florida A&M 45-0 and FAU blocked a field goal to beat the University of Alabama-Birmingham 32-31

The new high school football season is underway. In the Thursday night game, Port St Lucie beat Forest Hills 29-6. The Jaguars rushed for 271 yards while the defense gave up just 33 yards.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 2

Another film studio is interested in setting up shop in West Palm Beach.  Bigfoot Entertainment says it is aquiring an interest in the Palm Beach Film School.  Bigfoot is a small studio whose work has recieved critical acclaim.  Earlier this week Digital Domain of Port St Lucie announced it wanted to build a digital film school with Florida State University in downtown West Palm.

A man's body was found around 4am today in the water at the Jensen Causeway.  The body was on the south side and there were no signs of foul play.  An autopsy will be performed.  The man's name has not yet been released pending notification of next of kin.

A pygmy sperm whale beached itself twice today on Hutchinson Island.  The first time was at Bob Graham Beach.  People pushed it back into the ocean.  It beached itself  a second time at Turtle Beach to the north.  Harbor Branch scientists came and picked it up.  It will have to be euthanized though since pygmy sperm whales have a hard time surviving in captivity.  A second whale was found dead on the beach in Delray Beach this morning.

Three vehicles were stolen from two Stuart car dealers recently.  Police say three men came to look at new vehicles, and while the sales personnel were distracted they switched a fake ignition key for the real key.  All three vehicles were then taken that night from Wallace Jeep and Wallace Nissan.  Stuart Police are looking for three black males who arrived in a Cadillac Escalade.  One weighed 300 pounds.

A woman in her 70s was hit by a car in Spanish Lakes in Ft Pierce around 7:30 this morning.  She was airlifted to Lawnwood's Trauma Center. at about the same time a car ran into a house on Bayshore in Port St Lucie.  A teen and another person were taken by ambulance to the hospital.  earllier this morning another car smashed into a home in Port St Lucie.  Around 3:40 am a 24 year old woman who police suspect was drunk hit a car, ran over trees before hitting the home on Brazilian CIrcle.  The home was left uninhabitable.

Tropical Storm Gaston has been downgraded back to a Tropical Depression today with top winds of 35 mph.  The Hurricane Center expects it to regroup and be a tropical storm again, then become a hurricane by early next week.

Port St Lucie city council member Michelle Berger isn’t happy Digital Domain wants to open a film school with Florida State University in downtown West Palm Beach. She writes in an email to City Manager Jerry Bentrott she is extremely disappointed the school is going to West Palm and not in Port St Lucie and feels like the project is being subsidized by taxpayers here. She asks how Port St Lucie was left out of this. Digital Domain’s president John Textor tells Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers the plan was always to build a film school in Orlando, but it makes more sense to build it closer to their Port St Lucie headquarter in West Palm because it’s closer.

CBS 12:  the Port St Lucie teacher who was suspended last year for letting her kindergarten students vote a fellow student out of class is in trouble again.  The US Education Department says Wendy Portillo and two others at Allapattah K-8 discriminated against a student who has a hearing disability.

READ STORY, CLICK HERE
 

The regular high school football season kicks of tonight with a Thursday night game. Port St Lucie plays at Forest Hills in West Palm. The only game Port St Lucie won last year was against Forest Hills. All the other Treasure Coast teams play Friday night.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1

Tropical Depression 9 has become Tropical Storm Gaston already.  It became a depression earlier today and grew to tropical storm strength during the day and was named a storm late this afternoon.  It is the 4th tropical storm to form during the past 11 days.  Originally It was not expected to become a hurricane, but now is.  Hurricane Earl is still a threat to the mid-Atlantic and New England starts.  Tropical Storm Fiona is expected to weaken in a few days.  All these tropical systems are kicking up higher seas and will cause some beach erosion.  A high surf advisory is in effect for the Treasure Coast

The Treasure Coast got about the normal rainfall during August.  The SFWMD  says an average of 7 1/2 inches fell which is 99% of the historic norm.  We are below normal by about 3 1/2 inches during the rainy season that began in June.  Year to date, the Martin-St Lucie County has received an average of almost 36 inches of rain which is a little less than an inch below the historic norm.

St Lucie County firefighters are watching what's left of a tire pile fire at a recycling plant on Range Line Road that broke out Tuesday afternoon.  It continues to burn at Liberty Tire Recycling and they will let it burn itself out.  Officials say the cause was spontaneous combustion.  The pile got so hot that the tires reached their burn point.

4 Martin County businesses are getting The Business Diversification award from the governor's office.  The Business Development Board says Gulfstream Aluminum is getting the award for Export Excellence, Liberator Medical Supply the award for Business Expansion, Level 3 Inspection LLC an award for Entrepreneurship and  UCT Coatings an award for Innovation. The Governor’s Business Diversification Awards recognizes Florida companies in emerging and high-technology industries for their contributions to Florida’s economic growth. 

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney says there were some things in the President's speech last night he liked, and some things he did not.  He wonder's why the President did not talk about how we won in Iraq, but he agrees with the plan to focus more resources on Afghanistan.  Overall, Rooney says it was an okay speech.

Port St Lucie Police Chief Don Shinnamon says with retirements and budget cuts in recent years and the pending layoff of 24 police officers in a few weeks, the department has lost 25% of its personnel the past two years.  They may not have enough officers to investigate minor fender-bender traffic crash or minor complaints.

Martin County Commissioners said Tuesday they will not put a referendum on the November ballot to see if voters want to continue the extra half-cent sales tax to fund parks & recreation.  The extra half-penny sales tax has been in effect for 6 years.

the state is going to come in and take back a 10 year exhibit of treasures and artifacts from a sunken Spanish treasure ship at the St Lucie County History Center.  Talk about closing the History Center as part of overall budget cuts this summer worried the state, so they want the display back.

The Martin County United Way has moved to new offices.  They are now in the old Palm Beach Post building at 10 Central Parkway

TUESDAY AUGUST 31

A tire fire is burning in St Lucie County.  Fire rescue says a pile of tires at a recycling plant on Range Line Road caught fire this afternoon.  it is contained and is sending  smoke thru the area.  Tire fires are among the most difficult to put out and often are just contained and allowed to burn themselves out.

A boat was found washed up on Hutchinson Island early this morning.  800 pounds of marijuana was found on board the boat that was grounded about two miles north of the Martin-St Lucie County line.  A Miami area man was later found soaking wet walking along the Island.  He had no identification on him.  He and the contraband have been turned over to ICE.

Palm Beach County law enforcement says somebody is calling businesses saying they are police investigating a crime, and asking for the credit card numbers of customers.  The caller ID says the call is from a legitimate law enforcement agency, but it isn't.  The thieves are using spoofing software to pretend to be real law officers.  One business reported the caller threatened to arrest him if he did not give out the credit card numbers. Real detectives almost never ask for credit card numbers.

A semi tractor trailer tipped over while getting off the Florida Turnpike in Port St Lucie this morning.  They had to use special equipment to keep the 18 wheeler from tipping completely over and to get a man out.  The semi was carrying plants.

The St Lucie Mets can set a team attendance record before this year's Florida State League season ends.  If they can average 1,000 fans for the last seven home games this year, they'll break the current record of drawing 100,636.

Port St Lucie city officials are said to be for plans Digital Domain and Florida State University have to develop a campus in downtown West Palm Beach that will specialize in digital animation college degrees.  Port St Lucie is building Digital Domain an animation studio in the Tradition development.

Port St Lucie city council members met behind closed doors Monday to discuss the latest in the contract talks with the police union.  CBS 12 reports the latest ideas include a pay freeze, unpaid days off and changes in police benefits to balance next year's budget.

Stuart Police are going into the schools to push bicycle safety. They’ve received a $26 thousand grant to get safety helmets, bicycles, a trailer to haul bicycles and set up safety programs at the public and private schools in the city. They have received hundreds of back packs and fanny packs and will be setting up bike racks at safe school route locations. Stuart Police will also continue their bicycle safety education programs at schools.

A homeless couple went to jail in Indian River County after they and their one month old baby were found in a car at a campground. Deputies found Nicholas Roberts, 24, and Justina Sullivan, 20 who appeared passed out in their car. The windows were rolled up and it was hot inside the car. They had been evicted from their Ft Pierce home Saturday. They found 75 oxycodon pills in the car and the baby was take to the hospital because it appeared clammy.

MONDAY AUGUST 30

Concourse C at Palm Beach International has reopened after a bomb threat earlier this evening.  It was closed for about one hour.  Passengers were taken off a Jet Blue fight to New York's LaGuardia Airport.  Nothing was found.  Delta, American, JetBlue Airways & Air Canada all fly out of Concourse C.

Tropical Storm Fiona has formed in the mid-Atlantic.  It may track a little closer to Florida than Hurricane Earl.  Fiona is not forecast to threaten Florida or to become a hurricane.  Earl is forecast to become a category 4 hurricane by Wednesday but is not expected to threaten Florida.  It may affect the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic states.

Digital Domain made a presentation to develop a movie studio campus in West Palm Beach this afternoon.  It would be a partnership with Florida State University's film school.  The West Palm Beach CRA leard the proposal today. 
     The first phase would be a $50 million 150,000 to 300,000 square foot facility.  Plans are to have 1,400 students at the urban campus by 2020. West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel called it a game changer and the city commission unanimously agreed to proceed with the project.  They will discuss it again at their September 13th meeting. 
     The Digital Domain Institute has the support of Port St Lucie city officials.  Port St Lucie is currently building a digital animation studio in Tradition.

A man in his early 20s was seriously hurt in an early morning crash today on US One just north of Port St Lucie Blvd.  His SUV rolled over around 3:25am

The price of gas continues to drop in Florida.  AAA South says the average price this week is $2.62 a gallon.  Last week it was $2.66 and a month ago it was $2.68.  Several gas stations in Jensen Beach & Port St Lucie are selling it at $2.56 a gallon. 

A 16 year old Stuart boy was charged after hitting his grandfather.  He said he was tired of his grandfather telling him what to do, like study.  The boy had been living with his grandparents after stealing a car and running away from his home in Pennsylvania.  He told told Martin County deputies he would go back and kill his grandfather if they didn't arrest him.  The grandfather was treated at Martin Memorial.


Saturday's recount of ballots of 4 local races showed the same candidates won in Martin & St Lucie county.  Michael Busha beat Lori Shekailo in one Martin County School Board race and Maura Barry-Sorenson made the November runoff in the other.  JoAnn Faiella came in second to face Chris Cooper in the Port St Lucie Mayor's race and Terri Pinney made the runoff in a St Lucie County School Board race.

Hurricane Earl will kick up higher than normal surf at Treasure Coast Beaches this week.  That will increase the danger of rip currents but make for good surfing.

Palm Beach County was deluged with rain on Sunday with up to 4 inches falling in some places.  It was still raining as of 11 pm Sunday night over almost all of PBC.  The Treasure Coast got some rain on Sunday, but it basically ended by the afternoon.

The prices at a weekend auction of high end Treasure Coast homes didn’t bring in the money they’d hoped. Auctioneers told the Stuart News prices are down 40 to 50%. Businessman John Pierson’s 12,500 square foot home in Sewalls Point he had hoped would go for $5 million got a high bid of just $625 thousand. That didn’t meet the reserve price so he doesn’t have to accept it.

WEEKEND EDITION AUGUST 28 & 29

Earl is now a hurricane.  Top sustained winds have reached 75 mph. Hurricane Danielle has lost strength and is heading into the north Atlantic away from land.   A strong tropical wave is forecast to become a tropical storm later today and is expected to make a turn away from Florida.

A recount of votes has settled both Martin County school board race.  Elections Supervisor Vicki Davis says they finished the recount around midnight Saturday.   While all candidates picked up a few votes, the outcome reported Tuesday night did not change.  Saturday's recount showed Michael Bush defeated incumbent Lori Shekailo and Maura Berry-Sorenson edged out Gary Sparks for second to face the top vote-getter Tina McSoley in November.

A recount of votes in St Lucie County showed no change in the Port St Lucie mayors race and a school board race.  The results of the recount still had Chris Cooper coming in first with JoAnn Faiella second, edging out the third place finisher by just 46 votes.  After the recount results were announced, they found 257 vote by mail and early voting ballots from two Port St Lucie precincts had not been recounted.  They added them in and the results still had Faiella coming in second. 
    A recount of the district 3 school board race gave Terri Pinney a 101 vote lead over George Kalidonis for second.  Pinney, the second place finisher, will face the top vote-getter Donna Mills in November.  The three person election canvassing board meets Monday to certify the final results.

A monkey and a Bengal tiger got loose and roamed Miami's Jungle Island wildlife attraction Saturday.  The gibbon got lose first, then the tiger got loose climbing a 14 foot fence, perhaps wanting to chase the primate.  Jungle Island staffers got both back inside their habitats and no visitors were injured.

Nobody hit the jackpot in either the Power Ball or Florida Lotto games Saturday night.  Power Ball grows to $34 million while Lotto grows to $17 million.

WPTV Port St Lucie meth lab suspect says it's not a meth lab, chemistry just a hobby.


Kickoff Classic Scores from Friday night:

South Fork 32 Clewiston 30
Martin County 30 Palm Beach Benjamin 10
Ft Pierce Westwood 21 Port St Lucie 14
Vero Beach 27 Jensen Beach 3
Melbourne 35 St Lucie West Centennial 0
Ft Pierce Central 53 Okeechobee 0
Riviera Beach Suncoast  34 John Carroll 28

FRIDAY AUGUST 27

Port St Lucie has announced 24 police officers and three other department employees are being laid off.  The layoffs have been expected due to budget cuts in the city.  The layoffs come a day after the police union called for Mayor Patricia Christensen to resign over an email she sent out criticizing the arrest of her son which she felt was retribution for her stand on the budget.

Martin County detectives are investigating a burglary at a Jensen Beach Business.  Thieves broke into Treasure Coast Liquidators by punching a hole thru the wall of an adjoining vacant retail space overnight Tuesday.  A security video and alarm system had been disabled.  They took jewelry and a gun.

A clerk at the Palm City Post Office has been charged with embezzlement.  54 year old Lesley Coles is accused to voiding cash sales at the counter, and pocketing the money.  Postal officials say she took more than $1,000.  She had worked at the Palm City Post Office for 12 years.
 
Bed bugs are biting at a lot of hotels in south Florida.   The Sun-Sentinel reports bed bugs have been found in 52 hotels in the Miami area, from motels to 5 star hotels.  The Florida Department of Health doesn't keep track of bed bugs because they are not considered to be a public health issue.

Port St Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen says she's sorry her personal email criticizing the police union was made public and sorry it embarrasses the public, but says she will not be threatened or intimidated by the union and will not resign as the PBA union demands.  Layoffs are scheduled at the Port St Lucie Police Dept. by the end of September. 

Martin & St Lucie County will recount the ballots in two races in each county on Saturday.  In Martin County two school board races will be recounted and in St Lucie County the Port St Lucie mayor race and a school board race will be recounted.  High speed tabulation machines will do that.   If there are still questions, they will recount the ballots by hand on Monday.

DEA agents who examined a meth lab found in Port St Lucie this week one of the most sophisticated meth labs they've ever seen.  The homeowner, Sergiy Matimiy is said to be a chemist from the Ukraine.  St Lucie County deputies were tipped off after he allegedly tried to buy chemicals at a pool supply company and started talking with them about making bombs.   when they raided his home on Buckingham Terrace, they thought they'd find bomb-making materials, but found the meth lab instead.

Digital Domain has hired about 46 people so far. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers quote chairman John Textor as saying he expects to hire more than 65 by the end of the year. Digital Domain has promised to hire 500 people at an average salary of more than $64,000 by 2014 in exchange for almost $52 million in incentives offered by Port St Lucie and the state.

THURSDAY AUGUST 26

The Police Benevolent Association is calling for Port St Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen to resign over an email she sent out after the recent arrest of her son.  The Mayor said today during her own press conference she's sorry for the email, but will not step down.  In the email she told friends police had targeted her son because of her stance on union negotiations.  Today in a series of press conferences in West Palm and Port St Lucie city hall, officials with  the PBA demanded her resignation saying the email had tainted the process.  They say they will ask the Governor to remove her from office.  Mayor Christensen has just two months left in office since she did not run for reelection.

Port St Lucie man was arrested last night after worries he wanted to make a bomb, and found a meth lab at his home.  St Lucie County deputies say Sergiy Matirniy tried to buy pool chemicals and then talking about ways to  make bombs.  They refused to sell him any, but were worried and called 911.  Deputies found Matirnly in his car which had what looked like bomb making materials.  They got a search warrant for his home on Buckinham Terrace where they found the meth lab.  Matirnly is a US citizen from the Ukraine and used at least 5 different ways to allegedly make the meth.  DEA agents say it is one of the most sophisticated meth labs they've ever seen.

Two brothers have been charged with beating a man and robbing him in the Stuart area.  The victim was riding his bicycle in Fisherman's Cove when the two knocked him off, beat and kicked him, stealing a bank card and cell phone.  Martin County deputies found the pair identified as 18 year old Pedro Flores and 20 year old Pedro Flores Jr while investigating another incident in Golden Gate.  Both had dried blood believed to be the victims on their clothing.
 

Martin county elections officials will do a hand recount in two school board races that were very close.  Just 53 votes separated Michael Busha from Lori Schekailo in District 1, and just 52 votes difference in the District 4 race between the second and third place finishers Maura Berry-Sorenson and Gary Sparks.   Whichever finishes second will face the top vote-getter Tina McSoley in November.

There are two tropical systems in the Atlantic the Hurricane Center is watching.  Hurricane Danielle will head north and not be a worry.  tropical Storm Earl is right behind Danielle and may track more to the west.

A Port St Lucie woman didn’t quite make it to the hospital in time. 29 year old Lomiah Magloire gave birth to a baby girl in the front seat of the family car along Tiffany Avenue on the side of the St Lucie Medical Center. She wasn’t due until next month, but her water broke early at home Monday afternoon, and the contractions were minutes apart. Her husband Jean raced to the hospital, but little Ellah Danielle Tyffani Magloire couldn’t wait and was born in the car. Mother, daughter and dad are all doing fine..

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 25

Tropical Storm Earl formed today west of Africa. and is following several days behind Hurricane Danielle.  Danielle will head north, but Earl may continue west and become a hurricane on Saturday.  Top sustained winds are 40mph.

St Lucie County sheriff's deputies had a busy summer.  They concentrated on areas and types of crimes that statistics showed needed extra attention.  They arrested 246 people on a variety of charges and solved numerous burglaries, took drugs off the street and recovered stolen property during the summer crime crackdown.  137 of the arrests were on drug charges that saw 600 grams of cocaine, 35 pounds of marijuana and about 1000 prescription pain killers seized.

A Port St Lucie man has been charged with masquerading as a repair man and stealing a woman's oxycodon prescription.   St Lucie County detectives say 25 year old Gale Green showed up at a Ft Pierce home, identified himself as an AT&T technician that needed check her equipment.  The victim says he took a bottle of her prescription pain killers.

Thieves have stolen the central air from a Stuart Church.  Stuart Police say they took 4 large & heavy 5 ton central AC units that were bolted to cement pads outside the First Christian Church on north Dixie Highway

In Tuesday's Primary.....

Martin County Commissioner Susan Valliere and School Board member Lori Shekailo lost their reelection bids in Tuesday's Primary.  Valliere lost to Ed Fielding 62% to 38%.  Fielding will face independent candidate, John Yudin, in November. 

Martin County School Board Chair Shekailo lost a close one to Michael Busha.  Just 53 votes separated them out of 23,106 cast.  There will be an automatic recount of the ballots in this race. 

Sarah Heard got 56% of the vote in winning the republican nomination for her Martin County Commission seat.  Don Pickard was second with former county commissioner Lee Weberman third.  She too will face an independent write-in candidate in the November election.

Lori Gaylord keeps her seat on the school board with 66% of the vote.  Board member Maura Barry-Sorenson faces a November runoff against Tina McSoley who got the most votes in a three-way race. 

The referendum allowing Martin County to offer tax abatement incentives to new business or expanding business passed, but it was close....about 700 votes.

in the Port St Lucie Mayor's race, Chris Cooper got the most votes with 24% and will face the second place finisher in a 10 candidate race, JoAnn Faiella in November. 

in the District 1 Port St Lucie City Council race, incumbent Linda Bartz will face Carl Iken in a runoff in November.  In the District 3 race it will be Shannon Martin and Joe Diskin in a November runoff.

St Lucie County School Board District 1 it will be Debbie Johnson Hawle against Kerryane Monahan in November.  In District 3 it will be Donna Mills against either Teri Penney or George Kalidonis. 

Ken Pruitt defeated Judy Culpepper for the republican nomination to replace the late Jeff Furst as St Lucie County Property Appraiser. 

Todd Mowery and Frannie Hutchinson won their republican primary to run for the St Lucie County Commission in District 2 & 4.  Ken Waters won the democrat nomination for the County Commission District 2 seat.

Other Local News

 
TUESDAY AUGUST 24

More voters were going to the polls in Martin County as of early afternoon that thought.  Election's Supervisor Vicki Davis says it may mean a higher turnout than the 22% she predicted. In St Lucie County turnout at many polling places was steady.   Gertrude Walker has predicted a 20% turnout in today's Primary.

Treasure Coast home sales are down from a year ago.  Florida Realtors say 508 homes sold in the Martin-St Lucie county area in July, a 9% drop from July 2009 when 561 homes sold.  it's also down from the 627 homes that sold in June.  The median price of homes sold here also dropped to $109,400, down from more than $112,000 in June.

I-95 has reopened after a morning rush hour rollover crash closed the southbound lanes at the Martin-Palm Beach County line.  The 7:30am crashed backed traffic up for miles.

Martin County firefighters put out a fire in Jensen Beach this morning.  The fire was in a back bedroom of a home in the 700 block of NE Blackberry Lane in the Pinecrest Lakes area.  the fire damaged the bedroom and a bath but there was smoke damage throughout.  Smoking materials may have started the blaze.  The family got out safely.

Hurricane Danielle has weakened back to category 1 strength.  It was better organized Tuesday night and had winds of 100 mph.  By early afternoon winds had dropped to 80 mph.  A strong tropical wave off the coast of Africa is getting better organized and has a 90% chance of becoming a named storm.  Computer models keep Danielle away from Florida.  The other system will track more to thw west. 

In earlier news....

Florida & Treasure Coast voters are going to the polls today for the Primary elections.  An overall 22% turnout is expected in Martin County where almost 15,000 votes are already in thanks to vote by mail and early voting.  St Lucie County projects a 20% turnout.  Voters need a signed, photo ID to vote.  Polls are open from 7am to 7pm.

There are a lot of races on today's ballot.  Among the races on the ballots in Martin & St Lucie county are county commission and school board races.  Port St Lucie votes for a mayor and two city council seats.  Martin County voters also have to decide if tax incentives should be available to attract new businesses and help others expand.

Florida tourism apparently hasn’t been hurt by the BP oil leak. While tourism took a hit in the Panhandle area, tourism officials say almost 20 million people visited during the second quarter this year. That’s a 3.5% increase from a year ago. Visitors from overseas increased by almost 12% and 10% more Canadians visited Florida between April and June.

Stuart City Commissioners are putting limits on new pain clinics trying to keep pill mills out of town. They approved the first reading of a new ordinance that would restrict the opening of new pain clinics to the area around Martin Memorial along Osceola. There are just two pain clinics in Stuart and officials say both are legitimate. Stuart put a moratorium on new pain clinics on in March which expires next month.

MONDAY AUGUST 23

it's now Hurricane Danielle.  It's in the south mid-Atlantic and the computer models take it north, away from  Florida.  It is expected to become a major category 3 hurricane.  There is a tropical wave that popped off the west African coast.  It's right behind Danielle and has a high, 60% chance to develop into a tropical storm.

The man critically injured during a fight at a Port St Lucie park last week has died.  Officials say 21 year old Andre Thompson died Sunday at Lawnwood Medical Center where he had been on life support since the injury last Wednesday night.  He was part of a group playing basketball at Jessica Clinton Park where "trash talking" turned into a fight.  Police say 20 year old Corey Pavao threw the punch that knocked Thompson down causing the injury.  Pavao was arrested hours later.

Okeechobee County health officials are trying to find three boys who were exposed to rabies.  They were seen playing with a bat that tested positive for rabies.  The boys were in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store and left in a green SUV that was probably driven by their mother.

Stuart City Commissioners will discuss a new ordinance that would restrict the opening of new pain clinics at today's meeting.  it starts at 5:30pm at city hall. 

The Port St Lucie City Council meets tonight at 7 at city hall.  It will be Mayor Patricia Christensen's first public appearance since her 18 year old son was charged Friday with supplying alcohol to a minor.

Summer vacation is over for Treasure Coast kids who went back to school today.  In Martin County, things have gone okay....just the usual first day confusion.  Superintendent Nancy Kline spent part of her morning helping out first year first grade teacher Ashley Jones at Bessey Creek.  In St Lucie County there are no reports of any major problems.  They expect an enrollment of around 40,000 while in Martin County they expect 17,600 students. 

Police & deputies will be out today and for the rest of the week patrolling Treasure Coast school zones.  They'll be watching for speeders, seat belt violations, kids on bicycle not wearing their safety helmet and drivers that don't stop for school busses.

8 suspected illegal immigrants were picked up in a broken down boat 20 miles east of the Ft Pierce Inlet Friday.  there were 5 men, 1 woman and 3 babies and one American on board the boat that had run out of gas.  The Coast Guard turned them over to immigration officials.

Today is the last day for candidates to campaign for office in tomorrow's Primary election.  The polls open Tuesday at 7am and close at 7pm.

Port St Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen's 18 year old son Erik was arrested Friday on charges he supplied alcohol to a minor.  No other details have been released yet.  Erik Christensen bonded out of the St Lucie County jail over the weekend.

WEEKEND EDITION AUGUST 21 & 22

The season's 4th tropical storm has formed in the  south mid-Atlantic.   Danielle is expected to become a hurricane in the next couple days.  Computer models keep it out to sea well away from land.  It's 3,400 miles from Florida.

The US Coast Guard picked up 8 suspected illegal immigrants in a boat 20 miles east of the Ft Pierce Inlet last Friday.  They were turned over to US immigration officials.

A 15  month old Port St Lucie boy was flown to Miami for third degree burns Friday afternoon.  He was burned by boiling water that fell on him at the home in the 1300 block of Vicuna Way Southwest. 

FRIDAY AUGUST 20

Treasure Coast schools are ready to go for the first day of the new school year on Monday.  Martin & St Lucie county teachers have been going threw orientations and staff meetings and getting individual classrooms decorated with welcome back students signs.  Today Weatherbee Elementary had a big teacher and student celebration for their having gone from an FCAT grads of C to an A this past school year.  Monday Martin County School Superintendent Nancy Kline will be at Bessey Creek Elementary helping a new teacher with her first grade class. 

Treasure Coast unemployment was up in July.  The state says the St Lucie county jobless rate rose 8-tenths of a point from June's rate to 15.2% last month.  The Martin county rate rose 6-tenths of a point to 12.3%.  In Indian River it rose to 14.9%and stood at 12.2% in Palm Beach county, both up from June. Unemployment had dropped a bit in June.  The Florida unemployment rate in July was 11.5%.

Florida Power & Light says it will freeze base rates where they are thru 2012, unless it doesn't make e big enough return for its stockholders.  Fuel charges may fluctuate, but FPL has agreed to keep base rates the same.  One exception is if their rate of return on investment falls below 9%, they can ask for a rate increase.  If it's above 11%, they and consumer advocates can ask for a reduction. The state's Public Service Commission has the final say on the deal worked out between FPL and Florida's Attorney General.  The PSC just gave them a 6% increase in January and FPL felt it was entitled to a lot more at the time.

Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney says the President’s economic stimulus isn’t working and it’s time to focus elsewhere. Rooney says several recent reports about jobs lost in the private sector jobs shows the stimulus isn’t working. Rooney is pushing for repeal of the stimulus package and the TARP program for banks, and wants cuts in the payroll and business taxes, and making other tax cuts permanent.

A former Jupiter Island Police officer got 3 year in prison for having sex with a 17 year old. Christopher Sundhiem admitted meeting the girl several times in homes along the beach in Hobe Sound while the residents were out of town to have sex.

THURSDAY AUGUST 19

A Ft Pierce man is in jail for allegedly trying to shoot his wife last night.  Police say the wife said 21 year old Lokman Hossain told her to come to the BP station where he worked so they could talk.  She says when she arrived they argued, then he fired a shot at her before the gun jammed.  Hossain reportedly suspected his wife of sleeping with two other men.

Port St Lucie police have arrested a 20 year old man who allegedly got in the fight that left another man on life support.  Corey Ryan Pavao allegedly threw the punch that knocked Andre Thompson to the ground where he hit his head on the cement.  The men had been playing basketball at Jessica Clinton Park.

A yellow single-engine plane that made an emergency water landing in the Miami area Wednesday had taken off from St Lucie International earlier in the day.  The pilot, Abdul Rahman, had engine trouble and had to put the plane down in the water in Palmetto Bay.  He and his passenger were able to walk away.

Three Miami men have been busted for using bogus checks to buy merchandise at several Port St Lucie Wal-mart stores and Best Buy.  They allegedly used the checks to buy $1,600 worth of stuff.  They were also driving a stolen U-Haul. 

A Martin County environmental health specialist has been recognized for outstanding achievement.  Angeline DeWald has been named the Environmental Health Professional of the Year by the Florida Environmental Health Association for her contributions in the field which includes developing an educational outreach program on the health and safety of community swimming pools, completing a Certificate in Public Health and graduating from the CDC Environmental Health Leadership Institute.  She has worked at the Martin County Health Dept for ten years.

The ACT test scores for last year show high school students in Martin County did very well, scoring at or above the state & national average in English, reading, math and science.  St Lucie County ACT test scores were generally below the state average except for Lincoln Park Academy students.  Test scores did improve from 2009 scores at Port St Lucie, St Lucie West Centennial and Treasure Coast High.

A fight during a pick-up basketball game at a Port St Lucie park last night sent a 21 year old man to the Lawnwood Trauma Center.  He was knocked down and hit his head hard on the cement at Jessica Clinton Park.  The man he was fighting with took off before police got there.

Today is the last day to register for class for the fall semester at Indian River State College.  After today, late fees kick in.  IRSC officials say enrollment for the new school year is strong.

Three Ft Pierce men have been charged with plotting to rob drug stash houses. Officials say James George, 18, Jeff Junior Holland, 19, and Darrius Jamar Gatlin, 23, plotted with an undercover FBI agent to steal drugs from a stash house in Broward County.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18

A Judge has found Stuart Dr. Roger Nicosia guilty of a second degree misdemeanor charge of violating navigation rules in running over a diver last year.  Robert Murphy lost both legs in the incident.  Judge Kathleen Roberts sentenced Dr Nicosia to 6 months probation and ordered him to pay court fees. 

A Port St Lucie woman has claimed a $3 million prize on a Florida Lottery scratch off ticket.  27 year old Kortney Kelso has been a bartender in Stuart.  She bought the prize winning Monopoly game ticket at the RaceTrac station north of the Roosevelt Bridge.

A Stuart bank teller lost $2,500 to a quick change artist this week.  A man asked a teller at Wachovia Bank to exchange $2,500 in $50 bills for $2,500 in 100s.  He then asked to have it in Euro's instead and walked off with the money when she turned to ask another bank employee how to do that.

A Port St Lucie man has been charged with having child pornography on a computer memory card.  Officials say 21 year old Theodore M Towner's memory card had at least 10 kiddieporn images on it and that he admitted downloading child porn images for three years

Port St Lucie City Councilman Chris Cooper calls the theft of his campaign signs an attack on the foundation of the United States, tampering with the election process.  A neighbor of Cooper has been charged with stealing a campaign sign and Cooper says he's lost hundreds of them during his run for mayor.

Martin County school board members refused to vote on taking a 5% pay cut last night.  Maura Berry-Sorenson's motion died for lack of a second.  The rest of the school board said any pay cut should come after the new school board takes office after the elections.  They did all promise to donate $500 to educational causes.

The trial of a Stuart doctor charged with violating boating rules after running over a diver last year is expected to wrap up later today.  One of the divers lost both legs and they say Dr Roger Nicosia was negligent.  The doctor says the divers have distorted the facts and it was just a horrible accident.

The Chairman of Port St Lucie's Citizen's Budget Advisory Committee says city employees have one of the best health benefit plans in the nation.  Dan Kurek also told the city council recently city employees need to pay a bigger share because tax payers can not afford to foot the bill. 

Martin County is moving ahead with plans to put in a new boat mooring area in the Indian River Lagoon in Jensen Beach.  County engineers say without it, they have no control over where boats anchor and can't regulate what they do. 

A 23 year old Port St Lucie woman got 5 years in prison for having had sex with a 14 year old boy. Josefina Tax Berrera pleaded no contest to the charges earlier and could have gotten 15 years. The boy told authorities they’d had sex numerous times.

TUESDAY AUGUST 17

The trial of a Stuart doctor accused of running his boat over a group of divers last year, cutting both legs off one of them, began today in Martin Circuit Court. Dr. Roger Nicosia faces misdemeanor charges of violating navigation rules.  The maximum penalty for that is 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.  Today divers with Rob Murphy said he tried to wave the boat off before being run over and that the boat never slowed down after running him over.  Dr Nicosia's lawyer argues the divers didn't use the number of dive flags required and that the one that was out was obscured.

A neighbor of Port St Lucie City Councilman Chris Cooper has been charged with stealing his campaign signs.  A friend of Councilman Cooper's son took a cell phone photo of Steven Nelson walking with a crumpled up campaign sign and sent it to the son, who showed it to his father who called authorities.  Nelson reportedly admitted to taking the Cooper for Mayor sign because the Coopers had been harassing him for years.  St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara says the arrest shows anyone caught stealing campaign signs will be arrested.

School started today in Palm Beach County.  172,000 students were welcomed back this morning.  4 new schools opened in Palm Beach County including a new Suncoast High.  School doesn't start until Monday in Martin & St Lucie counties.  Open houses and new student orientations are being held this week for Treasure Coast Schools.  Classes start at Indian River State College next Monday.  Thursday is the deadline to register for class at IRSC.

The group pushing to have part of Martin Highway near Indiantown added to the Florida's Scenic Highway list has a kickoff rally and fundraiser at Wahoo's tonight from 6 to 9pm. 

The old Roosevelt Bridge is working again after it got stuck in the up position after being raised for a boat.   

A woman jumped from a bridge in Ft Pierce overnight.  The woman, in her 40s and in a wheel chair apparently tried to commit suicide and jumped from the South Causeway Bridge just before 10pm.  Witnesses jumped in to rescue her.  The woman suffers from cancer.

A man was hit by a car last night on Hutchinson Island in Ft Pierce.  He was walking in the 6500 block of Ocean Drive around midnight.  His injuries were critical.

The University of Miami is the top-rated college in Florida according to US News & World Report magazine.  They rank Miami as number 47 in their top schools in the nation list.  The University of Florida, which had been ranked as best in the state last year, is number 53 this year.  Florida State is ranked at 104, the Florida Institute of Technology is 159, Central Florida 179 and the University of South Florida 183.  Harvard came out as the top university in the nation.


Consulting engineers told the Port St Lucie City Council Monday that the final draft of the environmental impact study for the proposed routes for the Crosstown Parkway Bridge is almost finished.  They say the Federal Highway Administration could approve the project by the summer of 2012 and the bridge construction could begin soon after that and be open to traffic in 2015, two years sooner than first thought.

Martin County Commissioners will today approve the school board's request to put a special education tax on the November ballot.  State law says the county's must approve any school board referendum unless there's not enough time to put it on the ballot.  The referendum would raise $9 million a year by charging a 25 cent per thousand dollars of assessed property values. 

more than 2,000 voter signatures on a petition were turned in Monday asking a referendum be put on the Ft Pierce city ballot in November having the city commission replace the board of directors at the Ft Pierce Utilities Authority.

The new Jensen Beach Community Center downtown is just about ready to open. It got it’s certificate of occupancy Monday and after some minor punch out items fixed will be ready to use. There will be a sheriff’s sub station and the center will be rented out and used by groups. Events are planned starting in September. The old Jensen Beach Community Center, which was an old church and one of the oldest buildings in Martin County, was destroyed by the Hurricanes of 2004.

Port St Lucie Police charged a security guard who allegedly attacked another motorist with a night stick during a case of road rage. They say Sonnel Jose Andino pulled out on to Savona in front of a car, which blew its horn. They say Andion did a u-turn to follow the car and hit the driver with a collapsible police baton in the face. 

MONDAY AUGUST 16

The Crosstown Parkway Bridge could be approved by Washington by the summer of 2012 and the bridge could be under construction a short time after that.  Engineering consultants told the Port St Lucie City Council this afternoon that if this schedule holds, the Crosstown Parkway Bridge over the river could be open in 2015.

Diesel, the bulldog that appeared in John Pierson's Toyota of Stuart TV commercials, has died.  Pierson says he died in his sleep.  Pierson used to refer to the 9 year old English bulldog as his son in the commercials.

Florida gas prices are a little cheaper this week.  AAA South says the average price this week in Florida is just under $2.71 a gallon.  Last week it was $2.73.  A year ago gas was averaging $2.63.  Several gas stations in Jensen Beach and Port St Lucie were selling it at $2.69 today. 

Ft Pierce will recognize the city police department's first female officer to retire with 25 years of service tonight.  Officer Diane McGlon will retire August 25th after 20 years with road patrol and 5 years as a detective.  She will receive a plaque from Chief Sean Baldwin at tonight's city commission meeting. 

St Lucie County Court Clerk's office is now providing free wireless internet access.  The WiFi and internet access will be available at the Jury room at the north end of the Court Clerk's offices.

Early voting continues this week in Martin & St Lucie county.  Vote by mail also continues.  In Martin County they've received 8,000 of the 14,000 vote by mail ballots back.  You can still get a vote by mail ballot thru this Wednesday.  (earlier I reported you could get a vote by mail ballot thru Thursday)

They had more than 1,000 families show up in Ft Pierce Saturday to get free school supplies that were collected by the health department.  In Martin County, the United Way says they will provide school supplies to 8,000 students. Students in Martin, St Lucie & Indian River counties go back to school one week from today.

The Treasure Coast got a good soaking rain Sunday afternoon.  CBS 12 reports the rain totals at their weather monitoring stations were in the 2 1/2 inch range in Stuart & Port St Lucie with some of their weather watchers reporting 3 1/2 inches.

WEEKEND EDITION AUGUST 14 & 15

A man was burned when there was an explosion on his boat near the Ft Pierce Inlet Saturday morning.  The unidentified man was blown off the boat which burned for an hour.  Another man on board jumped in the water to help.  Another boat picked both men up.  The Coast Guard says he was taken to Lawnwood Regional and that his injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

There was flooding in parts of Jupiter Saturday when heavy rains dumped 2 to 4 inches on the area.  Some streets were closed due to high water.

Nobody hit the Power Ball or the Florida Lotto jackpots Saturday night.   Power Ball is up to $64 million while Lotto grows to $10 million.

A former secretary at Willie Gary's law firm has dropped her sexual battery lawsuit against him.  Jillian Nedd had claimed almost three years ago that Gary assaulted her in a Stuart hotel room.  Nobody is saying if there was a settlement, but the lawsuit was dropped with prejudice, meaning Nedd can not file the lawsuit again.

A Port St Lucie man got 60 years in prison for trying to hire a hit man.  William Allen Cook traded a pick up and drugs to hire a hit man to kill his mother's boy friend and the boy friend's brother.  The hit man was really a police informant.  Cook's mother Therese Batson was sentenced to 60 years earlier for her role.  Cook told the court his mother had manipulated him.  Batson was reportedly upset accusing the boy friend's daughter of stealing money.

Florida's senior US Senator Bill Nelson and democrat candidate for the US Senate Congressman Kendrick Meek will be in Stuart this afternoon.  The Martin County Democrat party is holding a fund-raising reception for Meek's campaign at the Best Western hotel in Stuart from 4:30 to 6pm.  Information:  786-566-3720

FRIDAY AUGUST 13

A diesel fuel spill from I-95 near Midway Road all the way to the Wal-mart distribution center had to be cleaned up by the St Lucie County Hazmat team this morning.  A Semi had one of its fuel tanks punctured by a piece of metal in the road around 5am and left a trail of fuel all the way. 

A crash and fire afterwards snarled I-95 southbound traffic near Hobe Sound this morning.  A semi truck caught fire after the crash near the 98 mile marker.

A marijuana grow house has been found in Jensen Beach and a man has been arrested.  Thanks to an informants, sheriff's deputies found 28 marijuana plants inside a mobile home on Railroad Avenue.  49 year old Jeffrey D Cowham was charged.  He was released from prison after a drug conviction last year. 

Four people say they will run for seats on the Stuart City Commission this fall.  Troy McDonald owns Dues Tecum Process Serving, Inc.  Ron Rose is executive director at the Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce.  Robert Steinberg is a musician and James Callahan is a county lifeguard.

3 jackpot winning Fantasy 5 tickets were sold on the Treasure Coast for Thursday night's drawing.  2 of them were sold at Winn Dixie Liquor store on King's Hwy in St Lucie county and the third was sold at Best Food Mart on Salerno Road.  8 winning tickets were sold around Florida, including the 3 sold here.  Each is worth $25,539.

Florida sale-tax-free days began at midnight and runs for only 3 days.  You won't pay the 6.5% sales tax on back-to-school items costing $10 or less or on clothing costing less than $50.  Florida will lost about $23 million is sales tax revenues, but families will appreciate the break.

The newest Mason-Dixon poll finds Bill McCollum back ahead of Rick Scott in the Republican race for Governor.  Polls a few weeks ago had Scott ahead.  The new poll finds McCollum ahead 34-30 with nearly a third of Republican voters still undecided who they'll vote for in the August 24th Primary.

The SFWMD Board Thursday approved the latest deal to buy land from US Sugar south of Lake Okeechobee for the Everglades Restoration project.  The latest scaled down deal has them buying 26,800 acres for $197,000. The idea is to use the land to let excess Lake O water flow south to replenish the Everglades. That would also help the St Lucie River which now get the excess Lake water. The original deal was to buy 180 thousand acres for $1.75 billion.

The driver who left the scene of a crash at Port St Lucie Blvd and Gowin Wednesday turned himself in 4 hours later….after he ate lunch, got a hair cut and looked at new cell phones. Police say 25 year old Wildens Dorlean told them later he was scared because his wife had not paid the car insurance and didn’t think his drivers license was good. The 90 year old driver of the SUV he hit had turned in front of him and Dorlean would not have been charged had he stayed at the scene. He’ll be charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries. The elderly man remained in critical condition at last word.

Broward County has a case of dengue fever. The health department isn’t saying much about it other than to confirm someone there has it. It’s the first confirmed case of dengue fever outside of the Florida Keys where more than two dozen people have been infected with it by mosquitoes.

THURSDAY AUGUST 12

The Palm City Bridge is open this evening after a possible fatal traffic crash at 6:15pm.  The bridge was closed to traffic for a time.  The FHP web site listed it as a possible fatality.

RealtyTrac says new foreclosures were down last month in St Lucie county.  They were up in Martin.  The report says St Lucie's foreclosures dropped almost 17% between June and July.  Martin County's rose more than 14%. 

A horse in Hobe Sound has Eastern Equine Encephalitis.  Martin County health officials say the horse was at a farm west of town.  A horse in Jupiter also recently tested positive for EEE.  Earlier this summer two test chickens were infected south of Stuart.  They urge horse owners to have their horses vaccinated against EEE and West Nile Virus.

Two Pompano Beach men have been charged with commercial littering in Martin County.  A homeowner along Martin Highway reported that two men in a rented truck were dumping tires in an empty field.  Martin County deputies found they had dumped 500 pounds of old tires.  Donovan Wildman and Larry Koontz reportedly work for a tire company in Palm Beach County.

The Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida is going after a Jensen Beach woman they say failed to turn in thousands of dollars in Girl Scout Cookie sales money.  Court papers say Alicia Nicol owes them $3,708 for cookies.

Treasure Coast State Rep William Snyder stood at Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's side Wednesday as a new Illegal Immigration law similar to Arizona was unveiled.  Snyder says he has written parts of the bill allowing Florida law enforcement to ask about immigration status to overcome a federal judges objections about racial profiling.  Snyder says his bill actually works to protect illegals from being taken advantage off by people and businesses that know they won't go to police if they are abused.

Port St Lucie's Community Redevelopment Agency, the CRA, faces as much as a $2 million revenue shortage in a couple years due to lower property values.  Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers report city officials are looking at refinancing or selling new bonds to pay off the old bonds used in part to build part of the Civic Center.

There are plans for a 9-eleven memorial in Palm City. 9-11 First Responders of the Treasure Coast President Dennis McKenna is leading a group of volunteers that wants to ship six 20 foot steel beams from the World Trade Center to be the center piece of a 9-11 memorial. They hope to break ground for it at Jock Leighton Park this September and have it open on next year’s tenth anniversary of September 11^th.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 11

A tornado warning for Okeechobee, NW St Lucie and Indian River counties earlier has been discontinued.  Radar indicated a possible rotation in a strong storm near Ft Drum around 5pm.

Tropical Depression 5 is no more.  It was downgraded to just a low pressure system as it neared the Gulf Coast area today.

Treasure Coast home sales were up the second quarter of this year compared to 2009.  So were prices. The Florida Association of Realtors report home sales in the Martin-St Lucie County area were up 16% over the second quarter of last year.  The median sales price was also up 1% to $113,300.  Statewide 2Q sales increased 21%.

A 90 year old man was critically hurt in a crash late this morning on Port St Lucie Blvd.  Police say he made a left turn on to Gowin in front of an SUV was was hit.  Even though the driver of the SUV was not at fault he took off leaving an injured woman passenger.  Late word is that he turned himself in late this afternoon.  He may face charges of leaving the scene of a crash where there were injuries.

An elderly Jupiter woman crossing Military Trail was hit and killed by a car today.  It happened south of Tony Pena Drive.  Angela Fazzese, 87, was pronounced dead at the scene while sthe driver was taken to the hospital.
 

Scammer uses duplicate checks to rip off Sewall's Point Realtor for thousands.

Martin County deputies have arrested two people on credit card fraud at three different Publix stores in Stuart and Palm City.  They found 93 different credit cards in their vehicle.  They arrested Javier Jimenez Estevez of Miami and Antonio Miranda Fonte of Hialeah.

Two Miami area men have been charged in a quick change artist scheme.  Stuart Police were called to the Wal-mart store after store security observed one of them, Victor C Fuller, engaged in the scheme.  Police arrested him and the alleged get a way driver Maiorne Holt.  They believe Fuller has done the quick change scam in 11 other cities and counties

The Stuart Christmas Parade has been saved.  The Stuart Main Street Board of DIrectors voted Tuesday to take the parade over after the Soroptimist Club decided to give up sponsorship after 30 years.   Main Street hopes to someday turn the Parade into part of a longer holiday celebration to help market downtown Stuart.  The city of Stuart is promising to back them up with money and manpower if needed. The annual event that is broadcast live each year on WSTU AM 1450.   

Tropical Depression 5 formed off the west coast of Florida Tuesday and is fizzling out.  Top sustained winds of 35 mph Tuesday dropped to 30mph this morning.  It is moving over the BP oil leak area.   

TUESDAY AUGUST 10

The Coast Guard found the body of a man who fell from his boat last night in the Ft Pierce Inlet.  They had been searching since midnight for 44 Cornelius McPhail who fell overboard while trying to anchor his boat.  The body was found just before 4:30 this morning.

A 67 year old Ft Pierce man has died of injuries from a three car crash Saturday night at Midway Road & US One.   Donnie Minor died at Lawnwood Regional where he was taken after the crash.   St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara says they know a vehicle rear ended Minor's SUV  which then hit another SUV in the next lane.  The sheriff is asking anyone who saw the crash that happened around 8:46 pm to call them with information.

Martin County is taking the first step to getting western Martin Highway declared a scenic highway.  a 12 mile stretch of 714 has big trees that form a canopy over the roadway.  The County Commission today voted to submit an application to the state asking it be designated a scenic highway.  Commissioners also approved a land use & zoning change allowing Abundant Life Ministries to some day build a church and multi-purpose center at Willoughby Blvd & Cove Rd.

The Tequesta Drive bridge is scheduled to open Monday.  The old bridge over the Loxahatchee had deteriorated and was demolished last fall and the new one built using federal stimulus money.  People have had to drive miles out of the way to get east of the river.

A 63 year old Port St Lucie man faces charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer.  Police say they pulled over Jeffrey C Zwemke for not wearing a seat belt.  He allegedly told the officer a half dozen times he was a DEA agent, then a consultant for the FBI & CIA, a Navy Seal veteran and purple heart winner in an apparent attempt to avoid getting a ticket.  Police say he also had a fake badge and a gun and 50 rounds in the car.

Treasure Coast students have less than two weeks to make sure they have all their shots for school.  7th graders have to have a Tdap booster this year, which is a change.  The Martin & St Lucie County Health Departments do have doses of all the required vaccines.

A US government report says personal income was down for Treasure Coast households.  Incomes in our area were down 3.7% in 2009,ranking the Martin-St Lucie County are down near the bottom of all US metropolitan areas.

Stuart Main Street’s Board of Directors meet today and they may consider taking over the Stuart Christmas Parade. The Soroptimist pulled out this year after organizing and running the parade for 28 years. Stuart Main Street’s president would like to see them take over.

The Port St Lucie City Council approve higher street lighting assessment fees last night.  Homeowners with street lights will pay $27 a year starting October 1st.  Two years ago the fee was $19 a year.  The city doesn't make a dime off the fees.  They say FPL is charging more.

MONDAY AUGUST 9

The real estate website Zillow.com says 55% of all Treasure Coast homes with mortgages were under water during the second quarter of this year.  The mortgage is higher than the homes current value.  44% of the homes in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami are underwater.  Nationally, 21.5% are. 

A St Lucie County man missing for a week has been found in Stuart.  The 55 year old suffers from a variety of medical conditions and was considered endangered.  His family reported him missing from his home near Midway Rd July 29th.  Stuart Police found him Saturday and a Nursing Supervisor at Martin Memorial remembered a news story about a missing man.  He is recovering at the hospital.  Meanwhile the search continues for a missing 77 year old who walked away from a Jensen Beach assisted living facility two weeks ago.  They found Richard Borrack's GPS bracelet but not him.

Florida gas prices are up 5 cents from last week.  AAA South says the average price is $2.73 this week.  It was $2.68 last week and $2.60 last year at this time.  Several gas stations in Jensen Beach and Port St Lucie are selling it at $2.67.  The highest price we saw today was $2.83 at a gas station near the Port St Lucie Blvd Turnpike overpass.

A tropical wave right over Florida has a medium 40% chance of developing over the next day of so, but it will enter an area of the Gulf that will be more favorable to developing into a tropical depression or even a named storm at the end of this week. 

Stuart Police caught a purse snatching suspect Saturday.  The purse snatching occurred at the Stuart Wal-mart with the suspect running into the woods.  Police later talked with a man walking down the street and a K-9 found the purse.  The victim ID's 21 year old Leon Jackson Nigh of Port St Lucie and he was taken to jail.

The Treasure Coast received as much as 4 inches of rain Friday thru Sunday night.  The SFWMD reports an average of 1 to 2 inches fell in Martin & St Lucie counties over the three day period.  Palm Beach County got a lot more than that and had flooding in the Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth and Boca Raton areas.   

Early voting for the August 24th primary begins today.  In Martin County people can vote at the Elections office in Stuart and at all the library branches except Stuart and Hobe Sound.  In St Lucie County you can vote early at the Elections office at the Orange Blossom Business Center, the Hurston and Morningside Library branches and the Port St Lucie Community Center.

The Army Corp of Engineers has cut the fresh water amounts being let out of Lake Okeechobee down the St Lucie River.  They cut back starting last Friday from 730 cubic feet of water per second to 200 cfs.

Martin County School Superintendent Nancy Kline is pleased the school district received an overall FCAT grade of "A".  It's the 9th year in a row the district has received an "A".  She credits a parental & community effort that helps teachers get the kids ready to do well on the FCATs.

Ten civilian employees at the Port St Lucie Police department were told Friday they will lose their jobs due to budget cuts.  One keeps track of Sex offenders.  The Rosser Blvd police substation will also be closed to the public by the end of September.


WEEKEND EDITION AUGUST 7 & 8

A fisherman died in some sort of a boating accident in Ft Pierce Saturday.  The FWC says 26 year old Corey R Bangan was found in his boat north of North Causeway Bridge.  The 20 foot boat had apparently hit something but officials don't know what.  The boat was found run aground on a spoil island in the Ft Pierce Inlet after a search.  He was reported missing Saturday morning. He was a commercial fisherman.  

A 28 year old Jupiter man drowned in a back yard pool Saturday.  He could not swim and was found by his roommate in the pool of their home ins the 14000 block of 66th Trail North.  His name has not been released.

A man's body was found floating in the Loxahatchee River early Saturday morning.  57 year old Robert H Bolton was found near the Burt Reynolds Park West boat ramps. 

There were no jackpot-winning tickets sold for Saturday night's Power Ball or Florida Lotto games.  Power Ball's new jackpot is $38 million while Lotto jumps to $7 million.

A Tennessee man was critically hurt in a traffic crash near Indiantown Saturday morning. The FHP says 54 year old George Grant was going west on Martin Highway and crossed the centerline hitting a semi.

There were 28 traffic crashes on I-95 in the Hobe Sound area Friday night.  There were so many the FHP shut down the highway diverting traffic off at Indiantown Road for hours.  There were no serious injuries.  Heavy rains caused most of the crashes.

Two men who served alcohol at a party the night three teens died when their vehicle hit a front end loader on Cove Road last year were sentenced to jail time Friday.  David Harper, an assistant baseball coach at South Fork High, got 60 days and his roommate Craig Frick got 20 days.  Both will be on probation for five months.  Nicholas Coady and Christopher Briglio, both 18, and Connor Graver, 16 drank beer at the party hours before the fatal crash.  There was also evidence they'd been drinking before the party.

FRIDAY AUGUST 6

Martin County School District earns FCAT grade of "A".  The state says 12 schools earned "A"s including all five middle schools.  7 elementary schools also received an "A", with Crystal Lake, Port Salerno and Sea Wind getting "B's".  JD Parker & Pinewood got a "C".  All three high schools in Martin County got scores that equal an "A".  It's the first time in several years any Martin County school got a grade of "C" and the first time in years that many elementary schools got "B"s.  That's one reason why school officials questioned the accuracy of the FCAT scores which are weeks late due to computer scoring problems. 

St Lucie County School District earned an overall FCAT grade of "B".  14 schools got an "A" with one school, the Nau Charter School, earning a grade of "D".  7schools dropped a grade from last year with Savannah Ridge going from an "A" to a "C " while 4 schools going up a grade.  Weatherbee rose from "C" last year to an "A".  The grades for several St Lucie County schools are still pending.

A Port St Lucie robbery & assault victim was taken to Lawnwood's Trauma Center last night.  The male, in his 40s, was attacked along the 2400 block of SE Melaeluca.

The FCAT individual school grades come out today.  Many school districts still don't believe the scores are accurate even though two independent audits show they are.  The results are more than a month late due to the computer problems.  The Individual school FCAT grades are important because extra funding is given to schools based on them.

NOAA has scaled back its earlier prediction on the number of tropical storms and hurricanes this season, but are still believe it will be an above average season.  Meanwhile Tropical Storm Colin regenerated Thursday and became tropical again.  The winds this morning however have dropped to 40 mph from the 60 mph winds last night.

A 23 year old Port St Lucie woman could be sent to prison for as long as 15 years for having had sex with a 14 year old boy. The boy told police they’d had sex numerous times and they found text message where she talked about their sexual activities.

THURSDAY AUGUST 5

Tropical Storm Colin is back with winds stronger than before.  The Hurricane Center says the once fizzled-out storm regenerated today became a tropical storm tonight with top sustained winds of 60 mph.

NOAA is sticking with its prediction of an active hurricane season.  They slightly lowered their forecast from May, but predict 14 to 20 named storms with 8 to 12 of them turning into a hurricane.  Of those, they see 4 to 6 developing into major category 3 or larger hurricanes.  So far there have been just three named storms.

READ NOAA HURRICANE REPORT CLICK HERE

Two people have been charged with illegally catching an alligator in St Lucie County.  Records indicate the men and a woman were fishing at a pond in White City when one of them hooked the 4 foot gator and reeled it in.  The woman was bitten on the foot when she stepped on its lower jaw as they tried to get the hook out. one of them hit the alligator over the head with a hatchet.  They later threw the alligator back in the pond.  A licensed trapper later euthanized it.  Charged are Donald Herchenroder, a St Lucie County firefighter & Peter Berger.  The 18 year old woman also faces charges.
 
800 Martin County middle school students either have not gotten their booster shots or not yet turned in proof that they have.  Health department officials say 7th graders will not be able to attend school in three weeks if they have not had the required Tdap booster.

The former director of Martin County's Public Safety Department has joined Martin Memorial.   Steve Wolfberg will oversee Martin Memorial's Coastal Care Transportation which provides advanced & basic life support ambulance transportation between hospitals and across the state.  Wolfberg took the county's early retirement offer about two years ago to help Martin County cut its budget.

Members of the Loxahatchee Historical Society defend the $442 thousand economic stimulus money they got to continues restoring the Jupiter Lighthouse. US Senators tom Coburn and John McCain have it on their Top 100 waste of stimulus dollar list. But the historic society tells CBS 12 the money was well spent and did put people to work.  The historical society says the stimulus money is going to Interior restoration inside the Jupiter Lighthouse, new side walks and the restoration of an out building nearby.

TUESDAY AUGUST 3

US Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn list the $443,000 awarded to restore the Jupiter Lighthouse on their Top 100 list of waste of economic stimulus money.  It's 94 on the list. They say the lighthouse just underwent an $858,000 restoration in 1999.

READ THE REPORT, CLICK HERE

Tropical Storm Colin is falling apart.  Top winds are still at 40 mph but forecasters expect it to slowly weaken.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons resigned from office and has been charged with extortion and perjury.  He allegedly threatened the owners of an office building who opposed his environmental plans for the waterfront in Lake Worth.  He is the 4th Palm Beach County commissioner arrested in recent years for allegedly breaking the law.

READ MORE, CLICK HERE

Stuart Police had to chase a violent shoplifter on foot Monday night.  He had fought with a clerk at the Walgreens on East Ocean Blvd, eventually getting away with cartons of cigarettes.  Police later saw the suspect along Monterey Road and had to run after him on foot.  43 year old James Kelly told police he was homeless. 

The Martin County United Way has met this year's goal to raise $2.5 million.  This year's annual campaign chair Vicki Davis says her team raised $2,500,793.  The money will help fund dozens of agencies and programs touching the lives of 90,000 people.

St Lucie County's Rick Ankeil went 2 for 4 driving in two runs helping the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 4-1 Monday night.  He had gone 0-3 during his debut Sunday after being traded to the Braves.

The hurricane season's third named storm has formed out in the mid-Atlantic.  Tropical Storm Colin is more than 2,000 miles from Florida and it should strengthen some the next few days.  It is no expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

The roof damage to the Hobe Sound Library is so severe, engineers say it will take at least two months to fix.  They tell the Stuart News the hurricanes of 2004 & 2005 weakened the roof and that the winds from Tropical Storm Bonnie pushed things over the edge.  Repairs will be "sizeable."

Events are being held today in Martin & St Lucie county as part of the national Night Out Against Crime.  Stuart has block parties and a bicycle ride tonight.  Port St Lucie has a crime-fighting festival at 4pm at Digital Domain Park.

The Treasure Coast ended July short of rainfall. The South Florida Water Management District says the Martin-St Lucie county area received 3.93 inches of rain in July. That’s just 65% of what we usually get in July. A check of on-line weather stations we monitor show many areas got a lot less than the 6 inches that’s normal. Most of Port St Lucie received about one inch, Stuart 1 ½ inches, Palm City just 3 inches. Ft Pierce received 5 and a half inches of rain in July.

The University of Florida is ranked as the 7th top party school in the nation. Florida State University 11.

14 & 12 year old girls have been charged with trying to shoplift $500 from the Ft Pierce Wal-mart.  They had a 3 year old and a 2 year old with them. Police & store security watched live video of them stuffing merchandise in a baby stroller, and a backpack they then put on the 3 year old while the 2 year old rode atop the stolen merchandise in the stroller.

U.S. Rep. Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney wants an independent science review of the EPA‘s proposed rule regulating nutrients that get into Florida‘s rivers, lakes, ponds and other waters. Opponents say too strict rules will hurt Florida‘s economy and agriculture. Rooney and other members of Congress from Florida have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackon asking for a delay in any new rules until a third party scientific review of the science behind it is made.

MONDAY AUGUST 2

Florida's Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, Mike Sole has resigned.  He was appointed Secretary by Gov Charlie Crist in 2007 and grew up in Ft Pierce.  He was Florida's point man on the BP oil cleanup.

Tropical depression 4 has formed in the south mid-Atlantic some 2,800 miles away from the Treasure Coast.  Early projections are that it stays well east of Florida and does not strengthen to hurricane levels.

St Lucie County deputies have arrested a murder suspect wanted in Ft Myers.  They caught 52 year old Bobby Marshall in an apartment on Donald Avenue thanks to a tip to Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers.  Marshall allegedly shot a man during an argument in Ft Myers.

14 & 12 year old girls have been charged with trying to shoplift $500 from the Ft Pierce Wal-mart.  Police & store security watched live video of them stuffing merchandise in a baby stroller, and a backpack they then put on a 3 year old.  A 2 year old was riding atop the stolen merchandise in the stroller.

This is Red Light Week in Florida.  The Florida Highway Patrol and local law enforcement is putting a special emphasis on red light violations this week.  A ticket will cost you at least $158 and some counties have higher fines than that.

You can now pay traffic tickets on-line thru the St Lucie County Court Clerks office for up to 90 days after the citation.  Till now you could only pay on-line for 30 days.

Another day of above average temperatures today.  There should be a break this week with slightly lower temperatures.  Record highs were set in Vero Beach (97) Friday and Sunday and in Ft Pierce (97) Saturday.

It was a week ago today that 77 year old Richard Borrack went missing from the Emeritus Assisted Living Facility in Jensen Beach.  The Alzheimer's sufferer was last seen wearing a light blue polo shirt ad shorts.  The Martin County sheriff's office has received tips on possible sightings as far away as Hobe Sound.

A tropical wave out in the south mid-Atlantic will likely become better organized today.  Don't be surprised if it becomes a tropical storm in the next day or so.  The Hurricane Center says it has a 90% chance of that.

WEEKEND EDITION JULY 31 & AUGUST 1

Vero Beach set another record high Sunday when the thermometer hit 97, breaking the old record of 96 set in 1999.  Vero also set a record high of 97 on Friday and tied the record 95 on Saturday.  A new record high Saturday in Ft Pierce.  It got up to 96 which broke the old record of 94 set two years ago.   

The Hurricane Center says there is a high, 80% chance a tropical wave in the mid-Atlantic will develop into a tropical storm over the next two days. 

St Lucie county's Rick Ankiel has been traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Atlanta Braves.  He was part of a 5 player deal as the Braves move the strengthen their team for the final two months of the season.  The Braves are in first in the NL East.  Ankiel is from Ft Pierce an graduated from Port St Lucie High in 1996 and was a first round draft pick by the St Louis Cardinals.

One of the three jackpot winning Fantasy 5 tickets for Saturday night's drawing was sold in Jensen Beach. It was sold at the Winn-Dixie store on Jensen Beach Blvd.  It's worth more than $86 thousand.

A Power Ball ticket sold in Louisiana hit the $85 million jackpot Saturday night.  Nobody hit the Florida Lotto so the new jackpot is $4 million.  A 35 year old out-of-work medical assistant from Hollywood has claimed the $74 million Power Ball jackpot with the ticket sold at a Publix store in Palm Beach County July 11th.  She took a lump sum payment of $39 million and plans to share it with her twin sister, who is a firefighter.

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers reports the city of Port St Lucie is picking up more of the cost to repay the bonds sold to finance the $40 million Torrey Pines deal.  Several developers who promised to contribute to impact fees whether they build or not are behind on payments because of the housing market.  Centex Homes is $300,000 behind in its payments and Core Communities has a $156,000 payment due in October.  If the developers don't pay, the city will have to.

It's going to be a hot weekend on the treasure Coast.  Vero Beach set a new record high on Friday of 97, breaking the old record of 95 set in 2000.  West Palm tied their record with a 96.  Temperatures this weekend will be in the low 90s, but with the heat index it will feel more like it's 106 degrees.

A 69 year old Homestead man was found dead, floating in the St Lucie River Friday afternoon.  Stuart Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play on Ernest Chapman, but they have ruled out homicide.  His body was found off Shepard Park around 12:30 pm.

St Lucie County firefighters plan a say of family fun Saturday. It’s the second annual Firefighters, Family & Friends Day at Digital Domain Park in St. Lucie West. It includes a Fire District softball game at 3 p.m. before the St. Lucie Mets game with the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Other activities includes the Mets mascot Slider’s Birthday Kickball Game with other mascots beginning 4:45 and Fireworks after the game..10 percent of the concession stand proceeds will benefit three local charities: Lil’ Feet, Big Heart Brigade and the MDA Jerry’s Kids

FRIDAY JULY 30

Stuart Police are investigating the death of a 69 year old man found this afternoon.  The body was found floating in the St Lucie River off Shepard Park.  He had ID on him and they are trying to notify next of kin.  No word yet on the cause of death. 

The Treasure Coast is likely safe from any of the BP oil leak oil.  NOAA says if the well cap holds, the Florida Keys, east coast, Palm Beaches & Treasure coast are not likely to be effected.  The say the oil that's left in the Gulf continues to biodegrade.  Part of the Loop Current has broken away so oil shouldn't reach the main Loop Current that feeds the Gulf Stream.

Ft Pierce Police caught three suspected air conditioning thieves.  A witness called to say they were taking the central AC system from a home in the 1500 block of Yosemite.  The caller said they were loading it in the back of a pick up.  Police arrested Buck Taylor, 33, Robert McKinny, 26, and Amber Lynn Malin, 25.  

Treasure Coast State Representative William Snyder says he's continuing to work on a illegal immigration bill similar to Arizona's for Florida.  Part of the Arizona law was ruled unconstitutional by a Federal Judge this week.  Snyder says his bill would allow local law enforcement to also question people they have stopped already about their immigrant status.

This year's 9th annual Goombay Bash raised a record $130,000 for the Martin Memorial Foundation's LifeSavers program that provides medical care for new mothers and infants.

The Florida Highway Patrol is working a possible fatal traffic crash in Vero Beach overnight.  It happened at 1:30 am at 66th Avenue and 77th St.   If it does turn out to be a fatal crash, it will be the third fatal crash in Indian River County this week.

Long-time Martin County environmental activist Sally O'Connell has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order the property tax abatement referendum off the August primary ballot.  The referendum is designed to offer property tax breaks to targeted business & industry that expand or move to Martin County creating jobs.  The lawsuit says the referendum wording is misleading because it does not mention jobs.

The State Department of Education says a preliminary audit of the FCAT scores show they are within historic ranges and they believe the scores are accurate.  Martin & St Lucie County School officials are among more than half the school districts that think the scores are wrong after finding anomalies.

Crimes against seniors are increasing. Treasure Coast Congressman Tom Rooney says there were 13 thousand elderly crime victims in Florida last year. He’s supporting the Senior Financial Empowerment Act and took to the floor of the House in Washington this week to talk about it which would require the government to set up an education program on financial scams.  Rooney’s bill has the support of the leaders in congress, both republicans and democrats.

THURSDAY JULY 29

A lawsuit has been filed against the business incentive referendum on the August primary ballot in Martin County.  Long-time conservationist Sally O'Connell says in the lawsuit the referendum wording in misleading, and would, if approved by voters, force her to pay higher property taxes to give tax breaks to businesses that would not pay their fair share of infrastructure needs.  She is asking the referendum be removed from the ballot or the results declared null & void.

A diver looking for lobsters off St Lucie County during the two day lobster mini season has been airlifted to a trauma center suffering from the bends.  The diver, identified at Chris Nelson, was diving about 14 miles east of the Ft Pierce Inlet at the time.  He was brought to within 5 miles of the shore where St Lucie County Sheriff's boat took him to the Ft Pierce Coast Guard station, where he was then flown to St Mary's in West Palm for treatment in their hyperbaric chamber.  A 60 year old diver off the Jupiter Inlet died after collapsing on a boat.

Florida leads the nation in foreclosures.  RealtyTrac says 9 of the top 20 metro markets for foreclosures are in Florida.  The Treasure Coast, led by Port St Lucie, is #16 in the nation.

A man riding a bicycle was injured when either hit by a car, or falling to avoid being hit last night in Spanish Lakes In Port St Lucie.  Fire-rescue says they transported the man, in his 60s, to Lawnwood's Trauma Center.

Florida's Lotto game has had back to back winners.  A ticket sold in Pinellas Park hit last Saturday's $20 million jackpot.  A ticket sold in Tallahassee hit last night's $2 million jackpot.  Nobody hit Power Ball so the new jackpot grows to $85 million.

The Treasure Coast had a couple of brush fires Wednesday. 90 acres burned near I-95 in the Vero Beach area briefly threatening one home. Lightning probably started a small brush fire near the Palm City Landfill Wednesday afternoon. It was put out, but fire officials point out that lightning is a threat the start brush fires all during the summer rainy season.

A Sikorsky helicopter test pilot from Stuart has set a world record. Kevin Bredenback is the company’s chief test pilot. Flying an X2 model helicopter from the company’s test facility in Palm beach County to Lake Okeechobee and back he set the speed record with an average speed of about 230 mph.

WEDNESDAY JULY 28

Florida Air Academy head football coach Rodrick Lawson has been recommended by Fort Pierce Westwood High School principal Mallissa Hamilton to Superintendent Michael Lannon to be the school’s new head football coach,

Treasure Coast beaches are some of the safest and cleanest in Florida.  The National Resources Defense Council's annual report of bacterial levels found Indian River beaches exceeded safe bacterial levels just 2% of the time during 2009.  Martin County & Palm Beach County had higher than safe bacterial levels 1% of the time while St Lucie County beaches did not exceed it at all during the testing done throughout the year.  Bacterial levels were found above state standards 4% of the time at Jensen Public Beach and in the waters around the Roosevelt Bridges.  Some beaches in Escambia County were over the limit 73% of the time.

Two Martin County Commission candidates say they do not support the economic incentive package as a way to attract new business and industry.  Incumbent Sarah Heard who is seeking another term in District 4, and Ed Fielding, candidate for the District 2 seat told the people at the Palm City Chamber breakfast today they are against the idea saying there are better ways to attract new business to Martin County.  Three other candidates, Lee Weberman, Susan Valliere and Don Pickard support the plan that Martin County Commissioners will vote on next month. 

Winn-Dixie says it will close 30 stores in the southeast, and layoff 120 employees. These are under-performing stores.   it's reported that 13 of the stores to close are in Palm Beach and Broward County.  It's not know if any stores on the Treasure Coast will be closed.  .

A new poll finds Rick Scott either tied with or ahead of Bill McCollum in the republican race for Governor.  In the poll by McLaughlin & Associates the race is tied at 35-35.  The Post quotes a friend of McCollum as saying a poll done for the Florida Medical Association has Scott leading 37-33.

St Lucie County and the US government’s Oak Ridge Labs are partnering to help local businesses and homes go green. While details are still being worked out, Oak Ridge scientists will do an energy survey, then analyze the results and come up with ways to make improvements to save on energy.

Florida health officials are watching the dengue fever in the keys. Scientists at the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute at Tradition have been working on a treatment for dengue fever for years. VGTI officials say they have several promising leads to work on to come up with a treatment and cure for dengue fever.

TUESDAY JULY 27

The Stuart Soroptimist Club is dropping its sponsorship of the Stuart Christmas Parade.  They took over running the parade from the Junior Women's Club in the early 1980s.  Club officials say it's time for another group to organize and run the parade, which is one of the oldest Treasure Coast public events.

St Lucie County Commissioners voted for a small tax millage rate increase today.  After hours of discussions and more than a half dozen votes that failed, they agreed on a 3-2 vote on a general fund rate of $6.84 per thousand dollars are assessed property value.  That's 67 cents higher than this year's rate, but below the tax rates St Lucie county had during the economic boom years in the early 2000s.  Paula Lewis reluctantly supported the increase saying the reputation of the County Commission was at stake.  Doug Coward and Chairman Charles Grande voted against it.

The Martin County School Board meets later today to set the maximum tax millage rate.  The proposed rate is 23 cents higher per thousand dollars of assessed property value.  However with lower property values many homeowners will pay less in Martin County school taxes next year.  The meeting starts at 5pm at the Martin County School Board meeting room.

Martin County High named John Leon its new head boys basketball coach today.  The 40 year old was assistant coach at Florida State College from 2004 until he resigned to get his masters degree.  He replaces Andre McIntyre who resigned as the second winningest coach at Martin County behind the late legendary Don Wallen, who still holds the Florida record for most high school basketball wins.

The closing of the Hobe Sound Library due to a broken roof truss will affect early voting.  Election's Chief Vicki Davis says state law requires early voting be done only at elections offices, city halls or libraries.  The nearest early voting location for south county residents will be the Morgade Library on Salerno Road assuming the Hobe Sound Library is still closed on August 7th when early voting begins.

The Road to Victory Military Museum is taking over the Stuart Air Show. The VNA has had it for ten years and will remain a sponsor. The Stuart Air Show is become one of the biggest and most popular in the south east. The Road to Victory Museum is the group that brings in all the old restored military vehicles in the Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades in Stuart. This year’s Stuart Air Show will be held Veterans Day weekend.

Port St Lucie is moving ahead with a new ordinance regulating pawn shops and precious metals dealers and second hand stores. The city council last night agreed with police who want pawn shops and gold dealers to hold on to gold they buy for 30 days and report what they buy to police so they can cross check it with things reported stolen.

Citizen’s Property homeowner’s insurance policies may be going up 10.2% starting next year. The board of directors approved the rate increase which still has to be looked at by the state Department of Insurance. Citizen’s is also asking for higher commercial and renters rates. Citizens got a rate increase last year after a three year rate freeze after the hurricanes of 2004 & 5.

MONDAY JULY 26

The Hobe Sound Library is closed due to damage to its roof.  A roof truss broke over the weekend.  County officials say that has put the entire roof in possible danger.  A contractor will have to come in and fix the problem, meaning the branch will be closed for at least a week.  The Hobe Sound Library was build in 1999.

Gunmen stole cash and a pick up truck early Sunday morning in Ft Pierce when they forced their way into an apartment on north 19th St.   The occupants told Police two gunman pushed their way in when they answered a knock on the door at 1:41 am

Gas prices are up in Florida from a week ago.  AAA South says gas is selling at an average price of $2.67.  That's up 3 cents from last week.  It's still cheaper than a month ago when it was $2.69, but higher than a year ago when it was $2.48.  

A Stuart man was attacked by a shark in Jacksonville over the weekend. 20 year old Clayton Schulz had to have 400 stitches to his foot. He’ll also have to undergo months of rehabilitation. Schulz is a pitcher who played at South Fork High and now plays baseball at the University of North Florida

SUNDAY JULY 25

Less water is being let out of Lake Okeechobee down the St Lucie River.  The Army Corps of Engineers has cut the discharges from 1,800 cubic feet of water per second to 730 cfs.  The Corps says this is in line with their normal Lake Okeechobee regulation plan.  This new schedule of lower discharges will remain in effect until August 5th. 

The Florida Lotto had a $10 million jackpot winner Saturday night.  The ticket was sold in Pinellas Park.  There was no jackpot winner in the Power Ball game, so that jackpot grows to $67 million.

FRIDAY JULY 23

The northbound lanes of I-95 in the Vero Beach area have reopened after being closed by a crash earlier this morning.  It was reported to the FHP at 9:40 am near State Road 60. 

Tropical Storm Bonnie made landfall near Biscayne Bay with top sustained winds of 40 mph and should exit on Florida's west coast tonight.  No significant change in strength will occur as long as Bonnie is over southern Florida.  There is a chance of some strengthening once the center enters the Gulf of Mexico
Watches and warnings have been canceled for Florida's east coast.  Southern Palm Beach county got heavy rains and the top wind gust was 53 mph.  The Treasure Coast didn't get much from Bonnie but there brief but heavy downpours throughout the day.  Most areas have gotten an inch of rain or less during the day. 

The top wind gusts as of 11:43 am

Stuart 26 mph.
St Lucie Inlet 26 mph
Palm City 18 mph
Port St Lucie 12 mph

The Ft Pierce man who allegedly shot his wife in an apparent case of murder suicide has been charged.  Jose Raya has been recovering since last Sunday's shooting that left his wife dead in the driveway of a home on south 27th St.  He is now being held on a murder charge in the St Lucie County jail.  They also have a hold on him for Immigration & Customs Enforcement.

A 9 year old Stuart boy is recovering at St Mary's Medical Center after being hit by a car late Thursday afternoon.  The boy was hit by a light blue sedan which drove off.   Witnesses say the driver may have been arguing with somebody else just before the incident on SE Dell St.

A Coconut Creek man has been charged with using a fake credit cards to buy merchandise at the Ft Pierce Wal-mart store.  Police say 44 year old Guilherme Bologna bought a Sony laptop and a Sony Playstation at the Ft Pierce store.  They say he used 13 fake credit cards at a number of Wal-mart stores in south Florida.

Martin County Sheriff's detectives need the public's help in identifying these two suspects who used a stolen credit card at the Jensen Beach Target store on Monday.

 
Realtors say 960 homes sold in June on the Treasure Coast, a 68% increase from a year ago.  The median price has plummeted to just $75,500....the same median price homes were selling for in Martin & St Lucie county in June 1995.

The state Ethics Commission has cleared two local officials of allegations they broke the state ethics law. Martin County School Board member Laurie Gaylord was cleared of a complaint she had not reported tax liens. That allegation was made by Urban Building Systems in Palm City which is upset about not getting contracts they bid on. And a complaint against St Lucie County Property Appraiser Jeff Furst, who died a couple weeks ago, has also been dropped. Charlotte Stahlberg, who is running for the Appraiser’s job, and complained Furst helped employees get loans during work hours.

Some of the skate parks in Martin County will close under the new budget tentatively approved this week by county commissioners. Mary Brogan park next to the Challenger school will close. So will the Post Family Park in Indiantown. The skate park at Lamar Howard Park in Golden Gate has been closed for a while because of vandalism. But the Palm City skate park at Jock Leighton park and the one at Langford park will remain open. The south county community center will also remain open.

THURSDAY JULY 22

Treasure Coast home sales were up 68% in June from the year before.    The Florida Association of Realtors says 960 pre-existing homes sold in the Martin-St Lucie County area last month.  573 sold in June 2009.  The median price has fallen well below $100,000.  It was just $75,500 last month.

An ex-Florida Highway Patrol Trooper who wrote phony traffic tickets has been sentenced to a year in jail and 2 years probation.  38 year old Paul Lawrence wrote up tickets for motorists he had previously pulled over to boost his ticket numbers to superiors.  Some of those who got tickets were out of the country at the time he said he wrote them.  Lawrence was stationed in the Miami area.  The FHP has said for years it does not have traffic ticket quotas for troopers.

Martin County Commissioners tentatively approved a new $333.8 million budget Wednesday.  It has a small property tax millage increase and it assumes Martin County firefighters agree to postpone the $1.4 million scheduled pay raise.  Two public hearings on the new budget will be held in September.

Port St Lucie city officials say the millions they've spend improving drainage on the east side of town will help if there's a tropical storm or hurricane this year.  It should prevent the horrible flooding like the city had after Tropical Storm Fay but there will still be flooding.  Any flooding should drain off quicker next time around

The 69 year old woman saved by two Port St Lucie police officers after she collapsed while shopping at the St James Dr Publix Monday night did not recover.  She died late Wednesday afternoon.

WEDNESDAY JULY 21

Martin County Commissioners voted to cut $4 million from the budget this afternoon and to increase the tax millage rate by 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which is 10 cents less per thousand as was originally recommended by the staff.  Commissioners are assuming the Martin County firefighters union agrees to give up a scheduled $1.4 million in pay raises as part of the budget cuts.  The new budget is $333.8 million, which is 3% less than this year's budget.  Commissioner Susan Valliere voted no saying she would not vote for a tax increase.

Prominent Jupiter businessman Robert Geragi found shot dead execution style.  He ran Fratelli Farms of Florida.  His body was found along the CSX rail road tracks near the 17000 block of the Bee Line Highway.   Officials first thought it was suicide.

Indian River State College has received a $70,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to plan the nation's first advanced nuclear technology training center.  IRSC will partner with FPL and other nuclear industry members nation wide to develop a plan to meet the nuclear industry's workforce needs.

Martin County Sheriff's Office Wins Awards for Traffic Enforcement.
 

St Lucie County Sheriff's Press release....

St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office turns seized Land Rover, two high-mileage Sheriff's Office cars and cash into three "flex fuel" Ford Fusions.



(One of the new "flex fuel" Fords)

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has acquired three new "flex fuel" Ford Fusion cars for its detectives, trading two high-mileage agency vehicles and adding proceeds from a Land Rover seized in a 2009 drug case as well as cash, according to Sheriff Ken J. Mascara. "The Ford Fusion cars will go to our detectives," Sheriff Mascara said. "These cars can run on ethanol or regular auto gas, which will save taxpayer dollars over the life of these cars." 
    The Land Rover was seized in May 2009 when St. Lucie County Sheriff's detectives and agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The seizure was part of a nine-month investigation that shut down all levels of a Florida drug distribution network that operated from Brevard County to Broward County.
    The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office initiated the investigation in 2007 which at first concentrated on Fort Pierce's 29th Street Gang which was distributing as much as 25 kilograms of cocaine and 5,000 Ecstasy pills month on the streets of St. Lucie County.  The Sheriff's Office partnered with state and federal agencies, and the leaders of the 29th Street Gang were indicted, along with the supplier of the drugs who lived in Bervard County, his supplier in Broward County and many others.  In all, 22 people faced state charges, and 11 faced federal charges in the investigation.
    "We are always looking for ways to be more efficient and effective in a period of economic decline," Sheriff Mascara said. "We are doing just that with the acquisition of three flex-fuel-equipped Ford Fusions, financed in part with seized drug-dealer assets."

##End Press Release##

Martin County Commissioners will wrap up their final budget plan today and set the tax millage rate for the new year.  Yesterday commissioners agreed to keep $200,000 in the budget to help fund non-profits.  They rejected the proposed fire-rescue budget and called for the union to agree to forego a scheduled 5% pay raise.

St Lucie County school taxes will be going up.  The school board approved a 20 cent per $1,000 assessed property value increase on Tuesday.

St Lucie County commissioners last night postponed setting their new tax rate because commissioner Doug Coward was not there.  He was meeting with officials of a green technology company.  They'll set the tax rate at their next meeting on the 24th.

A Vero Beach man was arrested after allegedly flashing a gun at a Ft Pierce gas station clerk. 24 year old Arthur Sanders was reportedly upset that the clerk activated the wrong pump early Sunday morning. Police stopped the car and say Sanders, a passenger, ran but was caught.

Bars will be closing a little earlier in Jupiter. The Town Council last night approved new closing times making bars close at 1am Sunday thru Thursday, and close at 2am Friday and Saturday. Those are the same hour that bars in Martin & St Lucie County have had for years. 

The Savannahs Preserve on Indrio Road will be closed for the next couple days. This is the same area where kids set a Mothers Day fire that burned for several days. They’ll be doing a prescribed burn to prevent another big brush fire in the future. The Preserve will close tonight and be closed until Saturday.

TUESDAY JULY 20

A 7 1/2 foot pygmy sperm whale beached itself on Bathtub Beach today.  Harbor Branch came to pick the whale up but they say it probably will not survive.

The Florida House adjourned its special session one hour after it began in Tallahassee today.  The governor had called the special session to adopt a proposed constitutional amendment to ban off shore oil drilling.  The vote to adjourn without doing anything was along party lines with republicans voted to end the session, and democrats voting not to.  House republicans are still irked at Charlie Crist for leaving the party to run as an independent for the US Senate.

A Ft Pierce man died in a crash in Okeechobee county early this morning.  The FHP says 25 year old Brent L Rucker hit a guard rail on State Rd 70 and rolled several times ejecting him.

An elderly woman was airlifted to Lawnwood's Trauma Center after a crash at Airoso and Voltair Terrace in Port St Lucie this afternoon.  The crash happened around 2pm.  The woman was in critical condition.

Two Port St Lucie police officers helped save an elderly woman's life last night.  the 69 year old collapsed at the Publix store on St James Drive and officers Abel Alves did chest compressions whle Charles Greene gave rescue breaths.  An off duty nurse monitored the woman's pulse until St Lucie County Fire Rescue arrived.  The woman, who has a history of kidney, heart trouble and strokes,  is hospitalized.

The same company that has been criticized for suspected FCAT score problems in Florida is under fire in Minnesota for screwing up student test scores there.  Minnesota officials say there are problem with science test scores from NCS-Pearson. Florida is doing an audit of FCAT scores after half the school districts, including Martin & St Lucie County found anomalies.

The NCAA is investigating allegations that Florida Gator junior offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey received $100,000 from an agent just before the Sugar Bowl that the Gators won.  If so, Florida may have to forfeit their win.  ESPN also reports Florida law enforcement may be investigating to see if the state's sports agent registration laws were broken.

Martin County commissioners continue work on the final version of the new budget today.  Monday they approved Sheriff Robert Crowder's $57 million part of the $335 million budget.  The budget does call for a $70 a year tax increase for a typical homeowner.

St Lucie County commissioners are scheduled to set the maximum tax rate for their new budget tonight.  Monday a majority of them said they'd reluctantly support a 12% tax increase.

The USDA will announce it's buying 26,000 acres on the south west side of Lake Okeechobee today as part of the Everglades restoration.

The Florida Legislature meets today in Tallahassee in a special session called by the governor to consider putting a proposed amendment to the state constitution banning off shore oil drilling.

A Ft Pierce woman was shot and killed by her husband Sunday in an apparent murder-suicide.  Police say Maria Raya was killed by Jose Raya in the driveway of a home in the 2800 block of South 27th St, then shot himself.  At last word, he was in critical condition.

A 66 year old Vietnam veteran found nearly beaten to death just a block from his Port St Lucie home Saturday was in critical condition at last word.  A 24 year old Ft Pierce man, Brandon Current was arrested after they matched a bloody fingerprint on the wallet stolen from Leonard McGuire.

Three more Florida banks were shut down Friday by the FDIC. they closed Metro Bank of Dade County, Turnberry Bank of Aventura and Olde Cypress Community Bank in Clewiston.

Martin County’s Boys & Girls Clubs are getting a big boost from the Francis Langford Foundation. The Foundation is giving them $100,000 each of the next three years.

MONDAY JULY 19

Martin Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Roberts has recused herself from hearing any more of the case involving two men charged with throwing a party where three teens drank beer the night they died when their jeep hit a front end loader on Cove Road.  The judge did not give a reason for the recusal.  

Three St Lucie County commissioners say they don't want to, but say they will support a 12% increase in the property tax rate to help balance the budget for the next two years.

Martin County commissioners today approved Sheriff Robert Crowder's proposed $57.9 million budget.  Commissioner Patrick Hayes voted against the budget.  he said the sheriff's office does a good job, but he had hoped the sheriff would make deeper cuts.  The sheriff said deputies are going without any pay raise for the second year and administrators from Lieutenants on up have gone five years without a raise.

A woman was shot and killed by her husband Sunday afternoon in Ft Pierce.  It happened in the 2800 block of South 27th St.  He was found with a gunshot wound to the head in an apparent murder-suicide.   It's the 7th murder this year in Ft Pierce.

A 66 year old Port St Lucie man was found nearly beaten to death early Saturday morning. A 24 year old Ft Pierce man has been arrested. Police found the unconscious victim along SW Tunis Ave at 4:45 am. They tracked down the alleged attacker, Brandon Current thru a bloody fingerprint on the victim’s wallet which was found in a dumpster at Darwin Square. The victim was transported to Lawnwood’s Trauma Center in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

Martin County detectives do not suspect foul play in the apparent drowning death of a man at a Jensen Beach motel Saturday.  34 year old Marcelino Rosas was found in the pool of the Caribbean Hotel & Resort by his wife.  They were here from Tulsa Oklahoma visiting friends for about a week.

A missing & disoriented 84 year old Port St Lucie woman was quickly found Sunday night thanks to a locator bracelet she wore.  The bracelet sends out a signal that deputies used to find her.  A K-9 deputy tracked the signal down to locate the woman in an area east of her home in less than two hours.  St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara partnered with the Pilot Club and Alzheimers Community Care to start the Care Trak locator ID bracelet program. 

Story by Mike Melton.