- SUNLAND NEWS
- Posts
- 🌅
Good Morning, Sunland
It’s Wednesday! Quick Hits Today! Let’s dive right in! Alright…
🌡️ Weather Update: Wet morning, mild night. Keep the umbrella close.
🌦️ Day: High of 87°F | Scattered morning storms, clouds later.
🌙 Night: Low of 71°F | Mostly cloudy with light showers after midnight.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:27 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:20 PM
🌑 Moon: New Moon | 🌙 Moonrise: 6:19 AM | 🌘 Moonset: 9:04 PM
🎶 Sounds like: Candy Rain by Soul for Real
Ja’Min Devon
🏡 Main Squeeze: (More) Growth in Tradition
TL;DR: A food distributor is bringing 121 higher-wage jobs to Tradition, and Port St. Lucie is offering a $423,500 impact fee break in return. City leaders say it is part of a long-term strategy to grow the local job base and ease the pressure on homeowners.
💰 The deal: On June 9, the City Council approved a mobility fee mitigation for Import Mex of Florida, a subsidiary of national food company Alex Lee Inc. The company is building a 160,000 square foot distribution center and corporate headquarters off Tom Mackie Boulevard near Accel.
The city is offering up to $3,500 per new job, totaling $423,500, using funds from the Tradition Economic Development Fund. In exchange, the company has committed to creating 121 full-time jobs averaging $55,515 per year with benefits. The jobs will be rolled out over five years and must be retained for a full decade or the company may have to pay the money back.
📍 Why it matters: The city is betting on employers like this to bring more balance to a heavily residential economy. If people can work here too, they are more likely to spend here and stay rooted here. But do these things usually work out? Port St. Lucie has become a magnet for major business investments lately, and it is easy to see why. Our question is, how does this actually impact people? Only deeper reporting can really show that, but that is what we are watching for.
🗣️ City leaders weighed in:
Vice-Mayor Jolene Caraballo said, “These jobs are going to be here locally and boost our economy”
Mayor Shannon Martin called it part of the city’s bigger strategy to ease the burden on homeowners
Councilman David Pickett said he appreciated the built-in penalties if job promises are not met
📦 The bigger picture: This project used to be code-named Project King. Now it joins a growing lineup of large distribution and logistics facilities in the Southern Grove Jobs Corridor, alongside FedEx, Cheney Brothers, and TAMCO. The area is starting to form the city’s industrial backbone.
🔗 Read more on Hometown News
💬 What do you think about these kinds of fee breaks
Is this smart growth or risky business, Leave your thoughts here.
🍊 Press Round: Thought it was a drought…
🌧️ Where’s the Rain?
Indian River County is officially in a moderate drought. Vero Beach is running 8 inches behind on rainfall this year and it’s not looking promising unless we get days of heavy storms. NOAA says relief might come later this summer.
💸 United Way Just Ran It Up
The VITA tax program in Indian River brought back more than $1.94 million in refunds to working families this season. That’s real money going back into the community. The average refund? $1,225. And it was all free.
🏅 Stuart Stays Winning
Downtown Stuart was just named one of the 10 prettiest strips in Florida by WorldAtlas. From the Riverwalk to the Stuart Heritage Museum, this little city keeps racking up national praise.
🎻 People Pass: For the Neighborhood
I went to Lincoln Park Academy. Played violin since I was three. So when Krystle Martinez messaged me, former LPA teacher now trying to build a free orchestra for the community, it hit me!
We connected on TikTok. She saw the vision. She became a supporter.
This newsletter is about home. If you feel that too, you can support the work here:
🍾 Refill: Mets Shutout!
Yesterday, our guys put together a shutout against the Jupiter Hammerheads. Mhm! Talk to us nice! The final score was 6-0.
Yohairo Cuevas and Trace Willhoite both hit home runs. Our 5 pitchers struck out 11 batters and only allowed 3 hits! I’m loving this! (Especially since our Mets in Queens are going THROUGH IT right now 😭)
Game 2 starts at 6:30pm this evening.
LGM!
Baseball Terms: In baseball, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring any runs over the entire game.
- Darius “odgtm” Garrido
🎉 This Week Around Town: Your Weekend Plans!
☕ Coffee & Connections Business Meetup – Early-bird networking with the PSL Business Club at Golf Galaxy. | Fri 27 Jun • 7:45–9 AM | Free | Details
🛍️ Live Markets at the Encore – Indoor pop-up of local food & craft vendors inside Encore at Tradition. | Thu 26 Jun • 4–7 PM | Free | Details
🚗 Cars & Stars at Clover Park – Food-truck takeover (Philly cheesesteaks, beignets, boba) during the classic-car meetup. | Fri 27 Jun • 7–10 PM | Free | Details
🎤 The Set Presents: The Spotlight feat. The Mike Wilson – Live talk-show + concert putting Mike Wilson center-stage. | Sat 28 Jun • 8 PM–12 AM | $19–$30 | Tickets
🎬 Drive-In Movie Night: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Family flick on the big outdoor screen at TC Park & Watch. | Sat 28 Jun • 8:30–10:30 PM | $17.95 | Tickets
📸 This is Sunland: ✌️ Before I go
Before I let you go, I have to tell you about a giveaway that Stoney is doing on Monday. I wanted to just spread the word about this. There's going to be free food, free ices, free clothes for people in need and also kids in need. So check it out here. Alright…
See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min
📖 Thanks For Reading: How was today’s newsletter?
😀🧐😔❓ |
👋 Thanks for reading! If you found it useful, consider sharing it with a friend.
📱 Keep up with the Sunland News: Send comments & suggestions to [email protected] Follow us on, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube
🙋♂️ Did someone forward you this? Subscribe Below!
Reply