ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Tourism leaders from Grand Bahama Island will meet with local officials this week and get a first-hand feel for St. Lucie County in an effort to build a business and tourism partnership.

Grand Bahamian and St. Lucie County officials hope the visit, which will include tours of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, will help solidify a non-binding agreement the two groups entered into in December with the goal of boosting tourism in both locations. One of the main ideas behind the agreement is to work together to market both areas, such as offering vacation packages between the two locations. (more…)

VERO BEACH — The possibility of major league baseball players returning to Dodgertown this spring in the form of a free-agent camp is something Indian River County officials say they will pursue.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting the players’ union is expected to decide within a week whether to organize a spring training camp of its own for free agent players, with Dodgertown one of the sites under consideration. There are reportedly about 70 players that remain unsigned and are considered free agents.

Local officials have asked for assistance from Major League Baseball and talked with MLB executive Pat O’Conner about the use of the field, but they say they have not talked with union officials about having free agents train there. Union officials could not be reached for comment.

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Marlins pitcher Scott Proctor (left), plays with his 3-year-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and wife, Carrie. Photo by Sarah Grile

JENSEN BEACH — There’s no disputing Scott Proctor’s passion for baseball. After a tough loss, the new Marlins reliever once burned his glove on the dugout steps at Yankee Stadium — “a sacrifice to the baseball gods,” he explained.

Proctor persuaded his wife to name their first child,  5-year-old Camden, after Baltimore’s baseball yard.

Their youngest, 18-month-old Cooper, got his name from the New York town that’s home to the Hall of Fame.

“It helped me understand what really matters,’’ he said. (more…)