🌅 Baby Boom

It’s Wednesday! and I just wanna give a big thank you to Indian River State College for inviting me out to ENC 1101, the same class that I took as a young high schooler during dual enrollment. I got invited back out to talk about Sunland News. It was incredible. Amazing. All the students, thank you thank you thank you, I appreciate each and every single one of you. Check out the post here.

💡 Did you know: Growing up, my parents always cautioned us from having a light on while we're driving, but it's actually not technically illegal. It's an inconvenience for other drivers on the road, but I thought this little article was pretty cool where I broke down why it's not against the rules.

💜 People Pass Shoutout: Thank you to everyone supporting the newsletter! If you want to help keep this going, support here.

Alright, let's jump right in...

☀️ Day: High of 88°F | Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | Cloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. 🌅 Sunrise: 7:04 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 7:31 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 9:25 PM | 🌚 Moonset: 10:02 AM
🎶 Sounds like: "September" — Earth, Wind & Fire

Give a huge welcome to our newest sponsor - Treasure Coast Realty Group! These folks just closed on an absolutely stunning $6.9 million sale on Hutchinson Island, and the house is beyond immaculate and beyond beautiful.

I'm always catching myself window shopping on their website (seriously, it's addictive), so I figured you might want to do the same. Check out their incredible listings and see what luxury looks like on the Treasure Coast.

Visit their website here

Growing pains are hitting St. Lucie County in unexpected ways. HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital had to fast-track construction of a new maternity floor after deliveries jumped from 26 in August 2024 to 140 in August 2025.

That's a 438% increase in one year.

What's driving this: The Treasure Coast population boom, plus the closure of Cleveland Clinic Martin North's maternity unit earlier this year, created a perfect storm of demand.

The numbers:

On the ground: Dr. Laura McCurdy with Women's Health Specialists says she gets requests "almost on a daily basis" from pregnant women looking for care, including those already in their second or third trimester.

The bigger picture: This is the latest sign that infrastructure in St. Lucie County is struggling to keep pace with rapid growth. We've covered property tax increases, housing shortages, and now healthcare capacity strains.

What's next: The hospital expansion should provide relief, but it also raises questions about what other services might hit capacity as the population continues growing.

Bottom line: When deliveries increase by over 400% in a single year, you're not dealing with gradual growth anymore. You're dealing with a demographic shift that's outpacing planning.

Read the full WPTV story here for more details on the hospital expansion and timeline.

Indian River County commissioners voted 3-2 to give John Titkanich his contested pay raise but also ordered him to pay back retroactive increases. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now conducting a preliminary inquiry into the $15,000 payment after an internal audit found "breakdown in internal control procedures."

👉 Read more

Indian River State College trustees unanimously approved a 10% raise for President Tim Moore (bringing his salary to $517,000) plus a $94,074 performance bonus, making him the second-highest paid community college president in Florida. The glowing review ignored ongoing whistleblower complaints about financial mismanagement and questions over $6 million in misdirected state funds.

👉 Read more

TCPalm mapped out the dining options in Fort Pierce's Lakewood Park area, from Pineapple Joe's Old Florida charm to Bearded Brothers' craft beer selection. The neighborhood between U.S. 1 and Turnpike Feeder Road packs surprising variety, including a tornado-damaged citrus farm grill set to reopen this fall.

👉 Read more

Want more events? Go here

See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min

👋 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!