Good Morning, Sunland
It’s Friday! And we made it to the end of the week. I appreciate everybody being here. So much going on in the city. I'm doing my best to keep up with it all! Alright…
🌡️ Weather Update: Partly cloudy with a side of “don’t test me.”
🌤️ Day: High of 93°F | A stray shower or thunderstorm possible
🌙 Night: Low of 72°F | Clear skies. Winds SE at 10–15 mph
🌅 Sunrise: 6:41 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:13 PM
🌔 Moonrise: 7:23 AM | 🌘 Moonset: 9:12 PM
🎶 Sounds like: “Summer Madness” – Kool & The Gang
Ja’Min Devon
📘 Main Squeeze: Sunrise Theatre Hands the Keys to Pros (Again)
TLDR: City evaluators picked Iowa-based VenuWorks to run the historic Sunrise Theatre. The company would handle everything from bookings and marketing to food and beverage. A contract still needs City Commission approval, but officials hope a private manager can end yearly losses that top half a million dollars.
📊 What VenuWorks Brings
Runs more than fifty venues nationwide, many of them downtown landmarks
Proposed fee: seven thousand dollars per month, plus small cuts of ticket fees, concessions, and sponsorships
Plans to invest fifty thousand dollars of its own cash into bar and snack upgrades
Promises to keep current staff employed somewhere in the city system
💸 Why It Matters: Sunrise lost about one million dollars last year even after federal relief money. If VenuWorks makes the numbers work, the city could redirect roughly five hundred thousand dollars a year toward other arts and culture projects.
🎭 Quick History: Opened in 1923, closed in 1983, restored and reopened in 2006. Despite a run of concerts, graduations, and comedy nights, the venue has rarely broken even. A 2021 deal with a different management firm collapsed before signatures. This is take two.
🔍 What Happens Next: City staff will negotiate terms and bring a final contract to commissioners. If approved, the handoff could start before the end of the year.
🗣 Your Turn: Have you seen a show at Sunrise? What acts would make you buy a ticket? Tell us here: Leave your thoughts
🗞 Press Round: New Eats!
🏨 King’s Landing Hotel Plan Moves Ahead
Fort Pierce’s Planning Board endorsed an amended site plan for the Marriott-flagged hotel at King’s Landing, boosting rooms to 148 and parking to 516 spaces. City Commission is slated to take it up in September.
🍳 Retro Bites at Remy’s Diner
Remy’s Diner has landed in Port St Lucie with breakfast classics, chicken and waffles, and comfort food dinners every day from eight to eight at Baron Shoppes on US 1.
🚤 $4.5 Million Revamp for Charlie Leighton Park
Palm City’s riverfront park will get new serrated boat ramps, floating docks, more trailer parking, and picnic paths. Work starts after Labor Day and is expected to wrap in nine months.
🤩 People Pass: What your support means!
From school coverage to better tools like play.sunlandnews.com, every upgrade you see is made possible by readers who pitch in. Thank you to everyone who already has. This is what the People Pass makes possible. Want to support it too?
🎉 The Top Events
Friday, July 25
🎨 State of the Arts: Neighborhood Celebration (Day 1) – Block party in the Peacock Arts District with art, music, vendors. | 6–9 PM (continues Sat) | Free | Details
Saturday, July 26
🕯️ Candlelight Concerts – MIDFLORIDA Event Center: Tribute to Adele at 6 PM & Queen at 8:30 PM. | 6 PM | Tickets | Details
👢 Boots & Brews – Line-dancing, craft beer & country tunes at Frazier Creek Brewing, Fort Pierce. | 7 – 10 PM (Sat 7/26) | No cover | Details
🖼️ Art After Dark – Late-night mix of live music, films & hands-on art at Norton Museum of Art, West Palm. | 5 – 10 PM (Fri 7/25) | $10 adults ($5 students) | Details
Wednesday, July 30
✂️ The House of Orchids Ribbon Cutting – Chamber welcome + grand opening in downtown Fort Pierce. | 10 AM | Free | Details
If you have an event, send it to me here
💧 The Last Drop: 3 Things Before You Go!
🚆 Tri-Rail in trouble State support drops from $42 million to $15 million. Tri-Rail warns cash could run out by late 2026 unless funding is restored. Details
🌐 $970 million for rural broadband: FloridaCommerce opens BEAD grants to expand high-speed internet in small towns / unserved areas. Announcement
📈 Florida jobs keep climbing Private employers added 128,100 positions year-over-year in June. Press release
📸 This is Sunland!
Photo by J’Qwan!
See you Monday!
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!
