🌅 👮 Downtown Enforcement Going Proactive

It's Monday! I hope everyone is safe. There was literally a whole tornado yesterday. Reply to this email if you saw it or know about it. Watch it here. Made me want to dig into the increase (or at least what feels like an increase) in tornado activity locally over the last decade. I don't remember a ton of tornadoes being a thing when I was younger. Warnings yes, but actually tornadoes touching down no. Anyway!

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☀️ Day: High of 93°F | A blend of sun and clouds with a thunderstorm this afternoon.
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | A thunderstorm in spots this evening, otherwise mainly clear.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:57 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 7:51 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 5:51 PM | 🌚 Moonset: 4:25 AM
🎶 Sounds like: "Big Mike's" — Dijon (Yes, this song again, It is a blessing to me to be a part of this.)

The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency voted unanimously August 11th to fund a yearlong pilot program placing two new code enforcement officers exclusively inside the Fort Pierce community redevelopment areas 🏘️.

What makes this different: These are not complaint driven officers. They will be out proactively every day working the main corridors inside the CRA boundaries.

What they will focus on 📋:

What it costs: Up to $183,200 for the first year, funded through the FPRA. Quarterly reports go back to the board. Annual renewal decision at year end.

What commissioners said: Commissioner Gaines asked the city to get ahead of any community confusion before enforcement starts. "Let's be very clear that we get the word out that certain neighborhoods are not getting picked on doubly because of this new program." He also called for multilingual outreach given the diversity of CRA residents.

Worth noting: Community Response Director Shaun Coss said public education is a core part of the program. "A very big focus for these officers is going out and speaking with the residents and business owners and educating the public."

What's next: Program is approved and funded. Officers will be hired and deployed 📅.

💬 Do you live inside the Fort Pierce CRA? What would you want these officers focused on? Call or text us at (772) 212-1504

U.S. News & World Report ranked 16 Treasure Coast high schools in its 2026-27 Best Florida High School list. Indian River County schools included Indian River Charter High (rank 166), Sebastian River High (200) and Vero Beach High (221). St. Lucie County featured Lincoln Park Academy (83), Somerset Prep (215) and Mosaic Digital (359). Martin County schools included Clark Advanced Learning Center (145), Jensen Beach High (204) and Martin County High (303). Rankings based on state assessments, graduation rates and college prep.

👉 Read more (TCPalm subscription may be required)

St. Lucie Fire District board heard community calls to reconsider terminating three firefighters following a hazing investigation. Douglas Boudrais, Christopher Baldwin and Jordan Hutchinson were fired after an incident involving a modified bug zapper. Community members urged reinstatement with alternative discipline. The firefighters' union is seeking a no-confidence vote on the fire chief and district attorney. The board acknowledged needing better processes for handling complaints against top officials.

👉 Read more (WQCS)

Martin County's hopes for a Brightline station in downtown Stuart face uncertainty after the county wasn't included in federal Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding. The St. Lucie River Bridge replacement received $79 million, but the station wasn't funded. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast said additional federal money for the station is unlikely, citing concerns about taxpayers fully funding a private company's project. The community remains divided.

👉 Read more (WPTV)

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