🌅 🍽️ 5 New Restaurants Are Coming

Good Morning, Sunland

It’s Friday! Long-ish newsletter ahead! Let’s Jump right in! Alright…

💜 People Pass Shoutout: Big love to Krystle Martinez for becoming a People Pass member this week. Your support helps us keep the lights on and the stories flowing. If you want to join the fam and support local news that actually feels like home, you can do that here.

🌡️ Weather Update: A little thunder, a little sun

🌦️ Day: High of 86°F | Scattered storms with gusty winds
🌙 Night: Low of 73°F | Evening storms taper off. Partly cloudy skies
🌅 Sunrise: 6:28 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:19 PM
🌘 Moon: Waxing Crescent | 🌙 Moonrise: 8:35 AM | 🌒 Moonset: 10:39 PM
🎶 Sounds like: Prototype by OutKast

🏡 Main Squeeze: What We Learned at the Town Hall

TL;DR: The room was full. The superintendent was there. People spoke. Some things got clarified. Others didn’t. But what really came through was the energy in that room.

📍 The Meeting: The NAACP and AKA hosted a town hall Wednesday night at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Donna Mills and Superintendent Jon Prince both showed up. So did the questions. Kind of.

Instead of an open mic, most of the questions were pre-submitted and read by a moderator. Some were written on notecards. Others sent through a QR code. The format threw people off. Some watching online felt it didn’t match what they expected from something called a town hall.

🧠 What Was Said: The plan is to combine Dan McCarty, Lawnwood, and St. Lucie Elementary into one new K through 8 school built on the Dale Cassens site. Prince said it would cost $65 million and be funded by selling off school land. He said no one would lose their job and most staff would move into the new school.

💭 What Was Felt: There was tension. People had questions about jobs, about the land being sold, and about whether Fort Pierce would actually benefit. Some felt like this side of the county keeps getting consolidated while the other side grows. The superintendent cited progress, including a new Westwood campus and higher graduation rates. But you could still feel the disconnect.

📅 What’s Next: The school board hears “options” on July 29. No vote yet. Just a first step. But the conversation is moving. And we’ll be covering it every step of the way.

👉 Dive Deeper

🍊 Press Round: Bigger Becker

📚 Schools Up Costs Down

Indian River County test scores are rising across the board but 15 district positions are being cut to save $1.7 million. The superintendent says it’s a strategic move to reinvest in classrooms and make sure every student has access to high-quality education.

Read more

🛏️ Seniors on the Clock

After 25 years of service, Paradise Care Cottages is closing. Residents have 45 days to move before the facility transitions into a rehab center. Many are low-income and scrambling to find housing they can afford.

Details

🏗️ Big Plans at Becker

A $41 million development is coming to PSL at Village Parkway and Becker. The plan includes 660 apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and a 140-room hotel. The same group behind the nearby warehouse park is leading the project. (TC Palm Requires Subscription)

See the plan

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🍾 Refill: Mets Take An L

Yesterday, we took our first loss in this six-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads. Final score was 0-6. [https://www.milb.com/gameday/mets-vs-hammerheads/2025/06/26/785705/final/box]

But if I were to focus on the positive — like every Mets fan has been conditioned to do since our inception — our pitchers put up 19 strikeouts over the course of the game. Channing Austin was responsible for 9 of those on his own, ending his 4 innings with a single earned run.

Today, we play them again at 6:30pm. Let’s make up for yesterday’s loss. LFGM!

From The Port to The Fort, baby!

⁃    Darius “odgtm” Garrido

🎉 This Week Around Town: Top 5 Events This Week

Friday, June 27

• 🎉 Caribbean American Unity Fest – Free island vibes, live reggae, and food trucks at Vincent Torres Memorial Park. | 6 PM–10 PM | Free | Details

Saturday, June 28

• 🚗 Drive-In Movie: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Big-screen fun at Treasure Coast Park & Watch. | 8:30 PM | $14 per vehicle | Details

• 🎤 The Spotlight ft. The Mike Wilson – Immersive hip-hop show from The Set in Fort Pierce. | 8 PM–12 AM | $19–$31 | Details

Friday, July 4

• 🎆 Freedomfest – Fireworks, live music, and family fun outside the MIDFLORIDA Event Center. | 5 PM–9 PM | Free | Details

Saturday, July 5

• 💃 80s/90s Dance Party w/ DJ Jay Dee – Throwback beats and craft brews at Frazier Creek Brewing. | 7 PM–11 PM | Free | Details

If you have an event, send it to me here
Want more events? Go here

 🥃 The Sidekick: River Food Garden is Coming

Port St. Lucie’s only riverfront is about to glow up.

At last week’s CRA meeting, the team behind The Port District confirmed a major update: Atlas Restaurant Group is officially on board to bring The Grove to life — a seven-restaurant experience right on the water.

The Baltimore-based group runs more than 50 restaurants across the country and is bringing five to Phase One here, including:

• Salt River: Coastal seafood with rooftop views

• Italian Disco: Pizza, sandwiches, and 70s vibes

• Kannon: Sushi and Japanese eats

• Tequi Bar: A tropical tequila twist

• The Grove Bar: Craft beer and cocktails in the park

🎯 Why it matters: This is not another chain. Atlas says it is chasing quality over cash flow, with a full team committed to community and culture. City leaders hope it becomes a real destination — a place people talk about, not just pass by.

🚧 What’s next: Construction starts this fall. Soft launch by December 2026. Full open by February 2027.

📍 Want to follow along: See full project plans here

📸 This is Sunland: ✌️ Before I go

thank you all for this week. It has been amazing, incredible, sometimes tiring, but never unfulfilling. I appreciate y'all all for being here. And I can't wait to see what's in store for Sunland. We just getting started. We just building it up. But it's a beautiful sight to see.

See you Monday!
With Love, Ja’Min

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