Good Morning, Sunland
It's Monday! And thank you all for being here. I also want to send a special shout out to all the people pass members like Tangie Jennings, who make this newsletter even more available and even more possible. She say’s “I appreciate you keeping me abreast with local current events happening on The Treasure Coast.” Thank you for that!
Obviously, if you just read the newsletter, that is support enough, but those who contribute to the newsletter in a financial way really do help keeping this shit moving along. If you're interested in supporting, check out this link here! Alright…
Let's jump right in!
🌦️ Weather Update: Rain showers early, then overcast.
☀️ Day: High of 78°F | Rain showers early. 40% chance of rain. Bring umbrella.
🌙 Night: Low of 66°F | Showers in the evening, Winds ENE at 5-10 mph.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:44 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 6:23 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 5:49 PM | 🌚 Moonset: 6:13 AM
🎶 Sounds like: "By Your Side" — Sade
Ja’Min Devon
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🎒 St. Lucie Schools Face First Enrollment Drop in Decades
St. Lucie County Public Schools enrollment dropped instead of grew. That hasn't happened in 15 to 20 years…
The district typically adds 800 to 1,200 students each year as new families move into the area. But the Florida Empowerment Scholarship expansion changed that. Families can now use scholarships to attend private school, homeschool, or micro schools, and hundreds took that option.
The hit: The district took a $7 million loss in January 2026 when the third enrollment calculation came in. Superintendent Jon Prince told the School Board at Tuesday's workshop that the district has frozen all positions and is working to avoid layoffs.
Where cuts are coming:
The district office will see proportionally more reductions than school centers
Teaching and learning remains the top priority
Allocations releasing first week of April will show exact adjustments
All affected employees will be placed in new positions between May and June
"We prioritize people," Prince said. "We want to make sure that everybody has a landing spot."
Other workshop items: The board also discussed the referendum renewal going on the November 2026 ballot. The 1-mil property tax funds teacher salaries, school resource deputies, and mental health services. It's passed at roughly 70% approval in previous renewals.
The district is also exploring joining FLEET, a nonprofit health insurance trust for Florida school districts, that could save $1.9 million to $3.3 million in the first year alone.
Questions remain: What caused the enrollment drop? Is this a one time issue or the start of a trend? What can St. Lucie County Public Schools do to make itself more appealing to families moving into the area?
🏠 Press Round: Deals, Dredging & Development
🏥 Cleveland Clinic and Florida Blue End Insurance Standoff
Cleveland Clinic and Florida Blue reached a new multi-year deal after months of negotiations that had threatened to kick Cleveland Clinic hospitals out of the Florida Blue insurance network. The agreement means people with Florida Blue insurance can keep going to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital and other Cleveland Clinic facilities without paying higher out-of-network costs or finding new doctors.
👉 Read more (WPBF)
⚓ Taylor Creek Dredging Starts in March
Safe Harbor Marina Harbortown in Fort Pierce will start a six-month project in early March to dig up 7,500 cubic yards of muck from areas next to Taylor Creek. Crews will haul the sediment in sealed dump trucks to a county site on Ridgehaven Road, with the goal of reducing muck flowing into the Indian River Lagoon and improving water quality.
👉 Read more (DredgingToday)
⚡ Indiantown Clears Way for FPL Expansion
Indiantown Village Council approved a land use change for 5,722 acres that Florida Power & Light annexed into the village, switching the designation to light industrial to allow FPL to move forward with its plans.
👉 Read more (WQCS)
🎉 Weekdayer: Mar 2 - Mar 6
Monday, March 2
🎡 St. Lucie County Fair – Free admission Monday at the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds, Port St. Lucie. | Free | Tickets
Tuesday, March 3
🏃 Midnight Panthers Run Club – Community run club meeting for all levels. | Details
Wednesday, March 4
🏊 NJCAA Swimming Championship Meet – National junior college swimming championships hosted at Indian River State College, 3209 Virginia Ave, Fort Pierce. | Mar 4–7 | Tickets
Thursday, March 5
🎤 Open Mic Thursdays – Weekly open mic for musicians, singers, poets, and comedians at 223 Orange Ave, Fort Pierce. | 7:30–10:30 PM | Details
Friday, March 6
🎶 Friday Fest – Sunken Treasure – Craft vendors, food trucks, and live music on the water at Marina Square, Fort Pierce. | 5:30–8:30 PM | Details
If you have an event, send it to me here
💧 The Last Drop: This Week's Meetings
Photo by J’Qwan
🏛️ Fort Pierce Commission meets Monday 5:05pm – Biggest items: Crabby's Restaurant lease update and Coach Fenn Park improvement project ($626k). Also voting on Lincoln Park Main Street funding ($50k), Pierce 1 Marina settlement proposal, and annual fiscal audit ordinance second reading. Fort Pierce meeting
🏛️ St. Lucie County Commission meets Tuesday 6pm – Biggest item: Airport taxiway rehab ($1.2M). Also voting on boat ramp projects at White City Park and River Park Marina, Edwards Road study ($2.2M). Spring Fling announced March 16-19 at Fenn Center, free activities for families. County meeting
📅 No PSL City Council meeting this week – Port St. Lucie City Council next meets March 9. Planning & Zoning Board meets March 3. PSL calendar
📸 This is Sunland: FAM JAM!
had a great time at the FAM JAM Festival. Albeit short, but still an amazing time. It rained this year, which probably pushed some people away. But nonetheless, it seemed like everybody out there made the best of it. I want to thank everybody I ran into while I was out there. I love talking to people and getting to know people. And I appreciate everyone's support of Sunland, so I can't thank you enough. Alright.
See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja'Min
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