Good Morning, Sunland
It's Friday! And today is the day. The new State Road A1A North Causeway Bridge opens at 8 a.m. this morning, connecting the Fort Pierce mainland to the beach for the first time in years 🌉. I’m excited to give it a shot driving and walking across! Anyways…
🥩 Want to try: Estampa Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse is coming to Port St. Lucie at Gatlin and Port St. Lucie boulevards where Buffalo Chophouse used to be. More details here.
📋 Fort Pierce Community Needs Assessment Survey: The City is developing its 2026–2030 Consolidated Plan for HUD's Community Development Block Grant Program. Help guide how federal resources get allocated for infrastructure, affordable housing, and community development. Take the survey here.
In today's newsletter:
🌉 North Causeway Bridge opens at 8 AM this morning
🎭 Sunrise Theatre officially has new management starting June 1st
🎨 Fort Pierce Highwaymen Museum opens May 20
✈️ State funding approved for aerial highway network
🏥 Martin County considers $5.4 million maternity center
📅 ICYMI: Yesterday's events newsletter - 30 ish Events!
⛅ Weather Update: Partly cloudy and breezy.
☀️ Day: High of 87°F | Partly cloudy. Winds ENE at 10-20 mph. 24% chance of rain.
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | A few passing clouds. 24% chance of rain.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:32 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:03 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 5:15 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 7:05 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "Feels Like Summer" — Childish Gambino
Ja'Min Devon
Founder & Publisher, Sunland News
🟠 Main Squeeze: Sunrise Theatre officially has new management starting June 1st
The Fort Pierce City Commission unanimously approved a five year contract with Iowa based venue management company VenuWorks at Monday's meeting, officially handing over operations of the Sunrise Theatre in downtown Fort Pierce starting June 1st 🎭.
What the contract looks like 📋:
💰 The city will pay VenuWorks roughly $4.6 million per year to cover operations, the same amount the city has been spending to run the theater
📄 VenuWorks charges a base fee of $7,000 per month, increasing annually with inflation
🍽️ VenuWorks receives 10% of food and beverage revenue but will also invest at least $50,000 in food and beverage equipment that becomes city property upon installation
🏛️ The city retains full ownership and responsibility for capital improvements
📅 Either party can exit the agreement with 120 days notice
🔄 If the theater loses money in a given year, up to 50% of fees paid to VenuWorks can be clawed back by the city
About VenuWorks: The employee owned company manages more than 65 venues across 28 communities nationwide. The Sunrise Theatre will be its first Florida location.
What's next: VenuWorks takes over June 1st with the slower summer months expected to be used for setup and preparation before the busier fall and spring seasons 📅.
💬 What do you hope VenuWorks does with the Sunrise Theatre? Tell us right here
👶 Press Round: Museums, Flight & Births
🎨 Fort Pierce Highwaymen Museum Opens May 20
Fort Pierce will open the City of Fort Pierce Florida Highwaymen Museum at 1334 Avenue D on May 20 at 2pm, featuring 26 original paintings from each of the Hall of Fame Highwaymen in one space for the first time. The museum honors 26 Black artists from Fort Pierce who captured pre development Florida from the late 1950s onward, selling paintings from car trunks during the Jim Crow era.
👉 Read more (WQCS)
✈️ State Funding Approved for Aerial Highway Network
Governor DeSantis signed HB 1093 into law April 20, allowing the state Department of Transportation to potentially fund 100 percent of public vertiport project costs for an air taxi network connecting Port St. Lucie to Miami. Archer Aviation is planning two vertiports in Martin County at Witham Field in Stuart and Apogee Golf Club in Hobe Sound.
👉 Read more (TCPalm subscription may be required)
🏥 Martin County Considers $5.4 Million Maternity Center
Martin County Healthy Start Coalition is proposing the Treasure Coast Maternity Center, a $5.4 million freestanding birth facility with 6 birthing suites next to Cleveland Clinic Martin South in Stuart. A lease agreement is set for a vote at Tuesday's County Commission meeting, with $1 million in state funding secured, after Cleveland Clinic Martin North closed its maternity unit in April 2025.
👉 Read more (WPTV)
💧 The Last Drop: Tradition New Rule, Police Chief 100-Day Report, and VenuWorks Approved
👉 Tradition banning open carry of firearms in common areas – Tradition Community Association approved rule prohibiting carrying firearms or weapons openly or concealed in association common areas. Tradition announcement
👮 Police Chief Smith 100-day report shows – Chief updating commissioners on 84 department recommendations. Chief Smith report
🌳 Sansone Group donates $750,000 sculpture to Port St. Lucie – "Tree of American Dreams" bronze piece unveiled at Legacy Park, Village Parkway and Hegener Drive. Honors late Anthony F. Sansone Sr., who visited site three days before death in 2020. Sansone sculpture
🏟️ Met’s Update!
So, these last 2 weeks haven't been the best for our team. We're 3-7 in our last 10 games. We fell to the Jupiter Hammerheads yesterday, yet again. They beat us 4-2. But let's not let the losses get to us. Teddy told us we need to let it go. That's the way forward! STILL BELIEVING! We play them again tonight at Clover Park. Game begins at 6:10pm ⚾️
Tonight's Promos 🗒️
🎟️ Ticket Offer: Vets at the Mets All veterans and active duty military members receive free admission.
🎟️ Ticket Offer: Platinum Silver Sluggers Platinum Silver Sluggers members receive admission and free soda or water.
⚾️ Day of Game Highlights: Kids Run the Bases Kids 14-and-under can run the bases after the game!
— Darius Garrido
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