The list of those who signed their favorite childhood books and shipped then to Stuart for a charity auction reads like a pop culture Top 100: Poet Maya Angelou; The Apprentice’s Donald Trump; golfer Tiger Woods; former First Lady Barbara Bush; her son, former Gov. Jeb Bush; chimp lover Jane Goodall; former Miami Heat star Shaquille O’Neal; Pres. Barack Obama; Nike’s Phil Knight; Hollywood stars Sean Connery, Steve Martin and Robert Wagner; TV news readers Katie Couric and Brian Williams; Palm Beach musician Jimmy Buffett; and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, among others.

In all, a total 60 A-listers contributed. It took time, nearly two years, said organizer Karla Preissman. The first to respond to her requests was Jeb Bush, who shipped her The Travels of Babar. The last? The prez. Obama rush-mailed a pop up book of the White House two weeks ago.

What charity will benefit? For more, and the pictures of Thursday night’s preview of the auction at the Elliott, please click here.

PALM CITY — Retired attorney, Pauley Kellum was a Marine First Sergeant during World War II. He spent 15 months in the hospital after being severely wounded during the liberation of Guam and was then discharged with little ceremony.

“I took the GI Bill college aid and became a lawyer,” the 89-year-old Palm City resident said. “I thought that was it.” (more…)

STUART — Stuart Defense Attorney Robert Udell has been disbarred after agreeing to surrender his ability to practice law amid allegations he committed ethical and possibly criminal violations and fraudulently billed the state’s Justice Administrative Commission.

Defense attorney Robert Udell (right) leans onto the shoulder of Nathaniel Brazill after the verdict in Brazill's murder trial in May 2001. Brazill shot and killed teacher Barry Grunow on the last day of school in May 2000. Brazill, 14, was convicted of second-degree murder murder in the slaying. Photo by Lannis Waters/ The Palm Beach Post.

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Port St. Lucie Civic Center

Mayor Patricia Christensen called it the “beginning of a new era.”

Since its opening, though, the $25 million facility has had more success as a recreation center than as the economic anchor of a burgeoning “downtown” in a city built without one.

Its surrounding streets, with names such as Progress Lane and Main Street, are flanked by empty fields.

Its rental facilities have been used 180 times. Rental rates were cut in half late last month.

“The whole idea for this was to stimulate the development of a downtown and obviously the economy has had an effect on that,” said Chuck Proulx, the city’s parks and recreation director.
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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputy who said he made fun of a man with no arm at a softball game, and another deputy who was “discourteous” to the public each received a written reprimand, according to internal investigation records obtained Tuesday and an official.

The deputies, Thomas Johnson and Rigoberto Iglesias, were on a softball team sponsored by the jail’s food service provider during the March 8 incident, which involved two umpires.

The home plate umpire complained to sheriff’s officials that Johnson and Iglesias “behaved improperly” at the game at Lawnwood Stadium.
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FORT PIERCE — Jumping from boats into waist-deep, brackish water, nearly two dozen people formed a chain alongside a small island in the Indian River Lagoon.

Their mission? To create an oyster reef in the hope of improving the health of the 156-mile-long estuary.

Oyster reefs, built of discarded shells gathered from beaches and restaurants on the Treasure Coast, can replenish depleted oyster populations, provide habitat for marine life, and improve water quality by filtering gallons of water each day. Building the reefs has been a project of St. Lucie County, the Florida Oceanographic Society, the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program and the University of Florida’s St. Lucie County Extension Office for about four years. The groups hope to create 11 reefs, growing oysters as larvae, called “spat,” that come through the area and attach to the old shells.

“It would be a wonderful thing for the lagoon,” said captain Barry “Chop” Lege, who leads boat tours on the lagoon and helped transport volunteers to the site last week. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Two men on Friday afternoon tried to lure a 4-year-old girl into a pickup near Northwest Prima Vista and Northwest Bayshore boulevards, police said.
About 5:30 p.m., the men pulled up to 452 Southwest Carmelite Drive in a gold Chevrolet Silverado truck and called out to the 4-year-old, according to a Port St. Lucie police statement circulated this morning.
The girl’s mother, who was in the garage, looked up and saw one of the men open the door and lean out of the cab.
“Baby girl, come here,” she heard him say, the statement said.
The woman yelled at her daughter and the truck drove off, heading south on Carmelite Drive.
Anyone with information can call detective Brinton Black at (772) 871-5000.

It’s been a heck of a week for former WRMF-97.9 FM morning star Jennifer Ross, one of the T Coast’s most popular radio voices.

Not only did she get canned from her show, but here comes news that her husband filed for divorce!

Go ahead, complain again about the tough few days you had!

For more, click here.

The nightclub La Zen to open. Big New York DJs are performing. The Temptations will sing. And there’ll be go-go dancers galore to warm up the crowd.

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STUART — To prevent another tragedy, like the Aug. 4 crash that killed three teenagers in Stuart, it’ll take prevention, awareness and parent involvement.

That’s what officials with Project Northland, a substance abuse prevention organization aimed at Martin County middle school students, believe could make the difference.

On Thursday, Project Northland’s parent action committee held its first meeting of the school year with about a half dozen parents. The group’s mission is to reduce underage drinking and other risky behaviors among local teens through community involvement and awareness. Thursday’s meeting was planned before the fatal crash that killed three teens. (more…)