FORT PIERCE — Resident Linda Salisbury fought for years to get city hall to begin televising public meetings so she could watch her elected officials in action from the comfort of her home.

In July 2006, Salisbury got her wish.

But with the city facing a $3.6 million deficit in the budget next year, Mayor Bob Benton said he’s going to suggest at an Aug. 4 budget workshop that the city do away with televising live meetings to cut costs.

The city budgets $150,000 to televise meetings and bills the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency and Fort Pierce Utilities Authority a portion for meetings, Finance Director Gloria Johnson said. (more…)

OKEECHOBEE COUNTY — The death of a 49-year-old woman found by family members appears to be the result of a homicide, and sheriff’s investigators are interviewing “persons of interest,” the sheriff’s office stated Wednesday.

Sheriff’s deputies responded Tuesday night to an address in the 2700 block of Northeast 11th Court and met with Roberta “Bobbie” Elizabeth Christensen’s son and daughter-in-law.

They reported coming to the residence in the Pine Ridge Park subdivision to see Christensen, a waitress at Golden Corral, and finding her dead inside. (more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A man in his mid 50s was taken to a local hospital Wednesday morning with minor injuries following a motorcycle crash, according to the St. Lucie County Fire District.

Fire District crews were called 2:43 a.m. to the incident in the 6500 block of Glades Cut-Off Road, the Fire District stated.

The motorcycle driver told rescue officials he’d swerved to avoid a pick-up truck and “put the motorcycle down,” Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the man, who was taken to a local hospital, wore a helmet.
Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

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STUART — The Martin County School Board voted unanimously today to approve a tentative $283.3 million overall budget, down about 2.6 percent from last year’s budget.

The district’s tentative operating budget is $148.4 million. The budget year began July 1.

Board members also approved a tentative property tax rate of $6.70 for every $1,000 of assessed value. The state, not local officials, sets the property tax rate for schools.

Board members will consider final approval of the budget Sept. 8.

FORT PIERCE — Facing millions less in revenue, the St. Lucie County School Board voted unanimously today to approve a $283.3 million tentative operating budget that includes cutting 331 positions, closing two schools and eliminating middle school and junior varsity athletics.

The operating budget is about 6.3 percent less than last year’s.

Superintendent Michael Lannon announced a plan earlier this year to cut about $30 million from the operating budget for the 2009/10 school year. The budget approved today includes about $19 million of that cut. Much of the remaining amount has been set aside in anticipation of declining enrollment, school officials said.

The budget year began July 1.

Many of the cuts have already gone into effect.

Port St. Lucie Elementary and Southbend K-8 School, both in Port St. Lucie, closed at the end of the school year. People whose positions were eliminated were told in March. Some have found jobs elsewhere in the district or been hired for positions created with federal stimulus money, school officials said.

School board members voted on a tentative property tax rate of about $7.98 for every $1,000 of assessed value, up 3.9 percent from last year. The state, not local officials, sets the property tax rate for schools.

For some with a homestead exemption, taxes could go up slightly this year because the Save Our Homes amendment requires an increase of 0.1 percent in assessed property value this year, unless the home’s market value has dipped below the assessed value.

The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 with a $25,000 homestead exemption paid about $960.63 in taxes in 2008-2009. School district taxes use a $25,000 homestead exemption rather than the $50,000 exemption voters approved with Amendment 1.

In 2009-2010, a 0.1-percent property value increase would boost the homeowner’s tax bill to about $998.20. That’s an increase of about $37.57.

The school district tax bill doesn’t include county or municipal taxes, or levies from special taxing districts.

Final approval of the budget will occur in Sept. 8.

FORT PIERCE - A new principal will lead Fort Pierce Central High School this fall, St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon announced today.

Todd Smith, an assistant principal from the Palm Beach County School District, will replace Principal John Williams who Central at this year to work in the Marion County School District.

Smith had served as assistant principal at Palm Beach Gardens Community High School since 2006. He also was an assistant principal at Jefferson Davis Community Middle School and Palm Springs Community Middle School, all in the Palm Beach County School District.

Smith’s appointment was announced today during the school board’s meeting.

FORT PIERCE — A new principal has been assigned to Morningside Elementary, a school that gained notoriety after a teacher asked her students to vote on whether a 5-year-old boy could remain in class, St. Lucie County Superintendent Michael Lannon announced today.

Cortina Bell-Gray, an administrator who has been with the school district for six years, will head the school this fall.

“I come to it with much excitement, much humility,” Bell-Gray said of the appointment.

Bell-Gray, whose appointment was announced during today’s school board meeting, will assist in the search for an assistant principal, Lannon said.

The assignments come at the close of a difficult year for Morningside. More than a year ago, teacher Wendy Portillo asked her students to vote on whether then 5-year-old Alex Barton could remain in class after being sent to the office twice for misbehaving. The students voted 14-2 for him to leave.

The incident attracted an onslaught of attention, drawing email and phone calls from around the world.

That Alex was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and had been under evaluation for it at the time only added to the controversy.
Portillo was suspended without pay, but will be allowed to return to the classroom in November. Her position, though tenured, will depend on vacancies within the district.

Several months prior to the vote-out, a reading mentor at Morningside was arrested on charges of molesting an 8-year-old girl.

Anthony J. Tripoli, 69, was convicted in May of sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Principal Marcia Cully and Assistant Principal Patricia Gascoigne were reassigned to Fairlawn Elementary from Morningside at the end of the year. Fairlawn’s principal, Susan Lyle, retired.

Lannon has said the changes were not related to the vote-out incident.

Bell-Gray has been an assistant principal at several schools in St. Lucie County. She also was principal of Garden City Elementary about two years ago.

STUART — The Historical Society of Martin County will be offering free admission to its museums next week to mark the county’s 84th anniversary.
All county residents can visit the Elliott Museum and the House of Refuge Museum free of charge on August 5, the day the county was founded.
The Elliott Museum is located at 825 N.E. Ocean Boulevard and the House of Refuge Museum at 301 S.E. MacArthur Boulevard, both on Hutchinson Island.
–Jennifer Sorentrue

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Law enforcement agencies are working to get rid of the hundreds of backlogged DNA cases to make for a safer Treasure Coast.

The Indian River Crime Laboratory hired a DNA criminalist through a $94,922 forensic science improvement grant with the Port St. Lucie Police Department from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice.

Lab Director Dan Nippes said the backlog for St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties at the end of June was 646 cases.
(more…)