Good Morning, Sunland
It’s Wednesday! Just a quick reminder to share the newsletter with someone you know could use it. Maybe it’s a friend or family member who’s always saying they don’t know what’s going on or asking what to do this weekend. Send it their way.
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💜 People Pass Shoutout: Thank you to everyone supporting Sunland through the People Pass. Your support keeps this going and helps us grow. Join here: buymeacoffee.com/sunland/membership
🌡️ Weather Update: Warm, bright, and a little moody.
☀️ Day: High of 92°F | A mix of clouds and sun with a slight chance of a stray shower
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies. Winds SSW at 5–10 mph.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:51 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:00 PM
🌔 Moonrise: 10:48 PM | 🌒 Moonset: 11:08 AM
🎶 Sounds like: “The Fort“ - Bali
Ja’Min Devon
📘 Main Squeeze: Fort Pierce Delivers Balanced Budget Without Tax Hike
Fort Pierce commissioners approved a $67.7 million balanced budget Monday with no property tax increase.
Why it matters: The budget achieves fiscal stability without tapping reserve funds, positioning the city to maintain essential services while keeping taxes flat.
By the numbers
Total budget: $67.7 million (revenue-neutral)
Employee raises: 5% cost-of-living adjustment for all staff
Police boost: Additional 6% step increase for officers
Fund balance used: $0
What they cut
5 proposed new positions eliminated ($451,000 savings)
3% reduction across all department budgets
Trimmed overtime and operational expenses
Only added: Deputy city manager and city engineer
Between the lines: Finance Director Johnna Morris worked to balance the books after commissioners rejected using reserve funds for operations, a move that would signal fiscal distress.
The timing reflects smart fiscal management as cities nationwide face rising costs and economic uncertainty.
What's next: The final budget hearing is September 8. Commissioners will also vote on a salary adjustment for the city clerk at the next meeting.
Bottom line: Fort Pierce proves cities can maintain services without raising taxes through disciplined spending and creative budget management.
🏗️ Press Round: Building Boards and Delaying Blueprints
🛑 Indian River County Pauses 10-Year Growth Plan Over Wildlife Concerns
A major update to the county’s comprehensive plan is on hold after commissioners and residents called for more review. Wildlife advocates raised concerns over land-clearing exemptions, and officials say the delay will give time for better input before the board revisits the plan Sept. 9.
🔨 Fort Pierce Commission Seeks Applicants for Contractors Board
The city is accepting applications for its Board of Examiners of Contractors, which reviews and oversees licensing matters. Three seats require state-licensed contractors, while two are for consumer representatives. Applicants must be Fort Pierce residents for at least two years, and the deadline is Sept. 15.
❤️ ‘Heart in the Parking Lot’? Artist JEFRË Responds
Port St. Lucie’s new 73-foot “Heart in the Park” has drawn both praise and mockery. Artist JEFRË calls the $7M work an engineering feat and personal milestone.
🤩 People Pass: What your support means!
From school coverage to better tools like play.sunlandnews.com, every upgrade you see is made possible by readers who pitch in. Thank you to everyone who already has. This is what the People Pass makes possible. Want to support it too?
🎉 The Weekender: 5 Events to Check Out This Weekend!
Friday, Aug 15
🎤 Unplugged Expressions Open Mic — That Crepe Place, Port St. Lucie. Poetry, music, comedy & the arts; family-friendly open mic. | 10 PM – 12 AM | Free | Link
🎨 CALL FOR ARTISTS: “40 Seasons of Beauty” — Heathcote Botanical Gardens, Fort Pierce. Submit uplifting, garden-inspired art for their 40th anniversary. | 8 AM – 4 PM | Free | Link
Saturday, Aug 16
🎹 Dueling Pianos — Hop Life Brewing Company, Port St. Lucie. High-energy dueling piano show. | 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM | Free | Link
📚 Little Free Library 101 — 10110 S US Hwy 1, Port St. Lucie. Learn how to start & steward a Little Free Library; swap books too. | 1 PM – 2:30 PM | Free | Link
🖌️🍷 STOP THE PRESS: A Sip & Social Paint Event (with Bezo) — Fort Pierce. Limited seats; food & drinks included. | 7 PM – 9 PM | $40 ea. or 2 for $70 | Link
Want more events? Go here
⚾️ Refill: Mets Update!
Yesterday, we began a six-game home stand against the Jupiter Hammerheads. Our starting pitcher was Daviel Hurtado. He pitched 4.2 innings ending his bout with 7 strikeouts and only 1 earned run. Truly amazing stats! Unfortunately, this didn’t matter much because we just couldn’t get our bats going. Throughout the entire game the only hits we were able to muster up were by way of Yonatan Henriquez and Antonio Jimenez, who each had 2 hits. The Hammerheads would go on to score 5 more runs over the course of the game. Final score was 6-1. Winning streak ended. That’s the way baseball goes though! Let’s get em later today! Game starts at 1:10pm. Go out and support our guys!
P.S. Congrats to our Polar Bear 🐻❄️, Pete Alonso, who is now the New York Mets all-time Home Run leader! Last night, he passed the legendary Darryl Strawberry’s record of 252! He hit two bombs to put him at 254. Thank you for everything Pete! LFGM!
Darius “odgtm” Garrido
💧 The Last Drop: Storms, Rankings, Burgers
🌀 Tropical Storm Erin intensifying. Major hurricane possible by Sunday near Puerto Rico with a turn north likely. Track the forecast
🏆 Best states to live. Florida lands No. 6 overall in WalletHub’s 2025 rankings. See the list
🍔 RIP Old Sonny’s Building, New McDonald’s coming to PSL. P&Z backs a 3,859-sq-ft restaurant with dual drive-thrus at US-1 and Jennings. Project details
📸 This is Sunland: Photo Finish!
I swear I’m happy here in this photo lol! Me and J’Qwan went out filming some potential shots for Sunland! Anywho!
See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min
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