Good Morning, Sunland
It’s Monday! Alright… I’m not sure how true this is but nothing would make me happier! Apparently there’s a Barnes and Noble coming to Saint Lucie West?! Now my source for this is literally this facebook post, which may not be the best but it’s Like definitely has me excited. Anywho, let’s jump in!
🌡️ Weather Update: Storms are back in the mix with thick clouds and heavy downpours expected.
🌦️ Day: High of 84°F | Mixed sun and clouds with scattered thunderstorms
🌙 Night: Low of 71°F | Cloudy early, then some clearing
🌅 Sunrise: 6:35 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:18 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 11:08 PM | 🌘 Moonset: 10:10 AM
🎶 Sounds like: I Wish It Would Rain – The Temptations
Ja’Min Devon
🚨 Sponsored: 📕 Yates want to give you FREE Guide!
You can never plan too much. That’s why Yates Funeral Home is giving Sunland readers a free guide to help you make more thoughtful decisions for yourself or for loved ones. No pressure. Just helpful info.
🏡 Main Squeeze: Highwaymen Upgrade Approved!
After months of back-and-forth, $1 million dollars in, Fort Pierce commissioners just approved the (hopefully) final change orders for the Florida Highwaymen Museum. Opening day finally feels real.
TLDR: The project team got the green light to level the second floor, fix the parking-lot slope, and add a dumpster enclosure. They also rejected a twenty-six-thousand-dollar request to swap perfectly good impact windows for new ones, trimming extra fat from the budget. With permits next in line, construction can wrap before winter visitors arrive.
🎨 Why It Matters: Fort Pierce claims the Highwaymen story as its own. The museum will honor the local painters who sold vibrant landscapes from car trunks when galleries shut them out. A finished building means art shows, school field trips, and fresh foot traffic for downtown businesses.
📊 The Money Angle
Leveling the second floor keeps art displays safe and ADA compliant.
Smoothing the parking-lot slope avoids future runoff problems.
Skipping the window swap saves twenty-six grand now and prevents more scope creep later.
📅 What’s Next: Permits move to final review this month. Contractors can then finish interior work and landscaping. If the schedule holds, ribbon cutting happens before the high season crowds roll in.
🖼 Quick Refresher on the Highwaymen: A group of twenty-six Black artists started painting Florida scenes in the 1950s, framing palms, highways, and sunsets that galleries ignored. They hustled art door-to-door and from trunks along US-1. Their work now hangs in major museums and private collections worldwide. This new space gives their legacy a permanent home right where it began.
🍊 Press Round: Babies, Bites & Beds
⛑️ New Leaders at Salvation Army
Captains James and Abby Milner have taken the helm of the Salvation Army across Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee, pledging to strengthen food aid, disaster response, and the Compassion House shelter for women and children.
🏥 New Hospital Nears Opening
Florida Coast Medical Center, a $200 million Tenet facility, is on track for a Sept 9 debut in Port St. Lucie with 54 inpatient beds, 26 ER beds, and robotics-ready surgical suites.
👶 $8 Million for Maternity Care
Martin County’s first Bridge Walk for Babies pulled in the full $8 million needed for a new Treasure Coast Maternity Center, bringing prenatal through postpartum services back to local moms.
😤 “Finding out there’s a development coming to Fort Pierce… from a comment section.”
We saw that TikTok comment.. and honestly? That’s exactly why we write Sunland News. You shouldn’t have to find out about big changes in your city while scrolling through memes.
🧠 That’s the mission: We break down city meetings, local projects, events, and public plans in plain English—no noise, no politics, no paywall. Just real news for real people who live here.
🌻 Help us grow it: Become a People Pass member for $9/month. You’ll be fueling independent, people-first news in Saint Lucie County and helping us keep it free for everyone.
🎉 Weekdayer: Some Monday - Friday Events!
Tuesday, July 15
🎤 Summer Karaoke Night – Hop Life Brewing, PSL – Belt out hits, sip craft beer, chill with friends. | 7 – 9 PM | Free | Details
Wednesday, July 16
🤝 Unity in Our Community (Fort Pierce) – Meet city leaders, PD, and neighbors for resources, giveaways, and trust-building. | 10 AM – 1 PM | Free | Details
Thursday, July 17
Friday, July 18
🎭 Murder on the Orient Express – Treasure Coast Theatre – Christie’s classic whodunit steams onto the PSL stage. | 8 – 10 PM | Ticketed | Tickets
If you have an event, send it to me here
💧 The Last Drop: 📌 Quick Hits Before You Go
🏊 Pool Hours Change: Ravenswood, Lakewood, and Boatwright pools are updating their open swim schedules starting this week. Check new times
🕵️ Citywide Scavenger Hunt: Port St. Lucie is running a family scavenger hunt through July 22. Complete it for a prize. Join the fun
💼 Paid Internships Expand: St. Lucie Public Schools is doubling down on its Classrooms2Careers program with more paid student internships. Watch update
📸 This is Sunland: 🙏🏾 Thank You!
Thank you to everyone here! And thank you to everyone I have run into in public over the last week or two. Putting both Sunland News and myself out on socials has been a change of pace, and a huge benefit to everything SUNLAND. Also, this is my unabashed request for you all to give the Sunland Instagram a follow! We are truly getting started, and there is already so much great stuff over there. I will see you tomorrow!
See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min
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