Good Morning, Sunland
It’s Wednesday! and I appreciate every single one of you being here. I can't thank you all enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
If you haven't already, share this newsletter with somebody who may need it. Looking for events to do this weekend? Anybody who just needs to keep up with the county news? Just share it with somebody. I appreciate you all. Thank you for being here.
💜 People Pass Shoutout: Miss Tonya Hurt! Not only did she become a People Pass member, but she also supported the Pay What You Want PhotoShoot that we're doing this Saturday. So I just want to give a huge shoutout to her and thank her so very much. If you're looking to support the newsletter, check out Buy Me a Coffee. I thank you all for simply just reading it.
Alright, let's jump right in!
Poll: Have you flown out of the Vero Airport before?
🌦️ Weather Update: Cloudy with storms.
☀️ Day: High of 85°F | Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers
🌙 Night: Low of 74°F | Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms
🌅 Sunrise: 7:07 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 7:23 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 2:59 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 5:07 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "All Night Long (All Night)" — Lionel Richie
Ja’Min Devon
🏡 Sponsored: Treasure Coast Realty Group Strikes Again!
Exciting news! Treasure Coast Realty Group is proudly sponsoring The River of Life Fellowship's Tournament of Champions on September 20th at St. Lucie Trail Golf Club.
Want to see what these luxury real estate champions are all about? Check out their incredible listings at treasurecoastrealtygroup.com
Interested in the tournament? Get all the details here!
🏠 Main Squeeze: What $1,500 Gets You in St. Lucie County
A couple weeks back, I dove into our local jobs numbers, and now RentCafe dropped this rental data that really has me thinking. A lot of times the data may say one thing but what people are feeling on the ground may say another, which is why I started this newsletter in the first place because I want to figure out those gaps.
📊 The Raw Numbers:
Fort Pierce: 879 square feet for $1,500/month (actually pretty solid)
Port St. Lucie: 758 square feet
Stuart: 697 square feet (below that 715 national average)
Vero Beach: 776 square feet
🤔 Thought Bubble: From a national standpoint, that $1,500 per square foot goes a lot wider here. But do the county and the cities of Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce have the wages and jobs to even keep up with that $1,500? Obviously, plenty of housing exceeds $1,500. There's so many other costs associated with renting in the county.
💼 The Jobs Reality: We're sitting at 4.7% unemployment while the state's at 3.7%. That gap matters when you're actually trying to make these numbers work. Our previous jobs discussion showed how things are still pretty tight locally.
📈 What's Next: Fresh jobs numbers drop this week, so we'll see if the employment picture's improving. But right now, even with decent square footage for your rental dollar, the income side of the equation is what I'm watching.
💭 What are you seeing out there? Drop your thoughts here are these rental prices tracking with what you're experiencing?
🍊 Press Round: Floresta Closed for a Year
🚧 Floresta Drive Closure Extended for Year-Long Construction
Port St. Lucie closed another section of Floresta Drive between Southeast Calmoso Drive and Southeast Evergreen Terrace through September 2026 as part of the final phase of the miles-long improvement project. Neighbor Dominick Gambale says traffic on his quiet street jumped from 40 cars daily to 400-500 as drivers navigate detours, but residents agree the sidewalks and bike lanes will be worth the hassle.
⚖️ Fort Pierce Planner Fined for Ethics Violations
Vennis Gilmore admitted to violating state ethics laws by failing to disclose his conflict of interest in a 2020 city land deal involving his nonprofit. The Florida Commission on Ethics ordered him to pay $1,000 and receive public censure, while the city had already demoted him and cut his pay by over $6,000.
🏢 Seacoast Bank Moves Forward with New Stuart HQ
The Community Redevelopment Board unanimously endorsed Seacoast Bank's plan to replace its iconic downtown headquarters at the same Colorado Avenue location. The proposal now heads to the City Commission on September 22nd, where the bank is seeking four deviations from city development rules.
🎉 The Weekender: 5 Events to Check Out This Weekend!
Friday, Sep 19
Saturday, Sep 20
🏃♀️ Out Run Hunger 5K – Charity walk/run benefiting Treasure Coast Food Bank at Causeway Cove Marina. | 7 AM–1 PM | Varies | Details
👥 The Twenty Something Society – Monthly meetup for girls in their twenties at Southern Salt & Coffee Co. | 9 AM | Free | Details
🚶♀️ Suicide Prevention Walk – Community awareness walk at Riverwalk Center in Fort Pierce. | 8:30–10:30 AM | Free | Details
🕺 Back to the 90's – Nostalgia night and fundraiser for dementia care at Elks Lodge PSL. | 6:30 PM | Varies | Details
🎬 Movie and a Milkshake – Drive-in screening of Disney's Coco with ice cream truck on site. | 8 PM | From $17.95 | Details
Want more events? Go here
📸 This is Sunland: Photo Finish, Literally!
If you're a parent or know a child needing quality school photos, we're doing a "pay what you want" session this Saturday at Sunland Bookstore. I know school photos cost hundreds nowadays, even for digital copies. My friend J'Qwan pointed out that people can't afford school photos anymore, so we've opened 10 slots where you can pay what you feel it's worth or just pay in love. If you know someone who needs this, please share! Alright…
See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min
📖 Thanks For Reading: How was today’s newsletter?
👋 Thanks for reading! If you found it useful, consider sharing it with a friend.
📱 Keep up with the Sunland News: Send comments & suggestions to [email protected] Follow us on, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube
🙋♂️ Did someone forward you this? Subscribe Below!
