🌅 🦫 Buc-ee's Update

It's Friday and we made it!

📚 Just a reminder this is a thing: Palm Tran now offers direct service from Port St. Lucie to West Palm Beach. Four round trips on weekdays, only $3 each way.

👁️ Caught my eye: Orlando and Miami airports among busiest in North America. Orlando moved up to No. 7, Miami held at No. 10 (TCPalm may require a subscription).

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Alright, let's jump right in!

☀️ Day: High of 79°F | Intervals of clouds and sunshine.
🌙 Night: Low of 64°F | Mostly clear skies. Winds light and variable. 17% chance of rain
🌅 Sunrise: 7:10 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 5:55 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 10:06 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 10:44 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "Last Time (I Seen the Sun)" — Alice Smith & Miles Caton

Buc-ee's had to release a statement Monday because headlines started spreading everywhere claiming the St. Lucie County location would be the world's largest convenience store. Turns out, that's not true.

How This Started: Last week, reports started popping up saying the Buc-ee's coming to the southeast corner of Indrio Road and Interstate 95 would be the biggest in the world. I saw these reports too. On paper, it looked legit. The St. Lucie County plans show 76,245 square feet with 120 fuel pumps. The current largest Buc-ee's in Luling, Texas is 75,593 square feet with 120 fuel pumps. So yeah, you do the math and think we're getting the biggest one.

What Buc-ee's Said: Not so fast. Buc-ee's Director of Real Estate Stan Beard said Luling, Texas is and will remain the largest Buc-ee's. The confusion comes from how different planning departments across the country calculate building sizes. They measure things differently. So comparing the two square footages is like comparing apples and oranges.

My Take on This: As somebody who reports news and writes news, I'm always interested in how these things bubble up and where they come from. I saw the same headlines. But here's the thing. I didn't see an official statement from Buc-ee's saying it would be the largest. Therefore, I didn't think it was worth reporting. This is a good reminder to verify headlines before spreading them, especially on social media. Just because you see something doesn't mean it's true.

The Timeline: From what I can tell, nothing's changed. Buc-ee's still plans to open in 2027.

What's Next: Buc-ee's official statement | Leave your thoughts on how you verify headlines you see on social media

It happens every year. People wait until the last day, rush through the options, and end up with insurance that either costs too much or doesn't actually cover what they need.

Then they're stuck with it for 12 months.

Daisy Alexander is a local insurance agent with S.E. Benchmark Insurance Agency here in St. Lucie County. She helps people figure out what plan actually makes sense for them - not just what sounds cheapest on paper.

HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital celebrated the opening of its expanded Women's Care floor, featuring a Level II neonatal intensive care unit, new labor and delivery suites, two obstetric operating rooms and an obstetric emergency room. The expansion responds to explosive Treasure Coast growth and fills a gap left by the closure of Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital's maternity unit.

👉 Read more (WPTV)

The Hutchinson Island Organizing Committee asked Fort Pierce to help lobby for interstate exit signs, a full-service post office and census designation to protect the island's brand from Jensen Beach claims. The group, representing an area that generates half the city's property tax revenue, emphasized it does not want to become a separate city but needs cooperation on development issues.

👉 Read more (Hometown News)

The Florida Department of Health in Martin County issued a water quality advisory for the Roosevelt Bridge after testing found elevated Enterococcus bacteria levels exceeding state recreational water standards. Health officials are advising the public to avoid swimming and water activities until follow-up testing shows bacteria levels have dropped.

👉 Read more (WQCS)

If you have an event, send it to me here

If you have an event, send it to me here

See you Monday!
With Love, Ja’Min

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