TALLAHASSEE — A new study shows Port St. Lucie only follows Miami as the most vulnerable city to hurricane winds of Florida’s 12 major population centers.

Tallahassee comes in as the least. (more…)

If crude oil threatens our coasts, nervous Florida residents might face what Mississippi residents already have: offers of panty hose stuffed with animal hair to soak up oil.

Or how about a deal on clean-up chemicals? (more…)

It was supposed to be an endless summer for Atlantic Coast states. Thanks to the BP oil spill, it’s shaping up to be an endless bummer. (more…)

Gov. Charlie Crist signed a wide-ranging voter bill Friday that will require more public disclosure by shadowy political groups, eases voting for military personnel serving overseas and delays for four years the need for new voting equipment for the disabled.

Elections officials say the bill saved the Treasure Coast having to buy $1.85 million in new equipment in the next year.

“We’re all in budget crises and the half a million dollars that it (was) going to take for my county is surely needed in other areas,” said St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker.

The concern for county elections officials was to delay having to purchase new voting equipment. (more…)

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has ordered Vernon Smith, founder of Fort Pierce-based Riverside National Bank, to repay $600,000 to an insurance company for Riverside stock later determined to be worthless.

The insurance firm, Hillcrest Insurance Co. of Gainesville, also was fined $10,000. Smith, a Hillcrest director, was ordered to divest all his interest in the insurance company. (more…)

STUART — Gov. Charlie Crist will be joined by Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael W. Sole and several local and environmental leaders to tour the St. Lucie River and estuary today.

The visit will emphasize Crist’s focus on protecting the health of the Everglades, according to the governor’s press office.

The visit is set for 10:30 a.m. at Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage, 615 Anchorage Way, Stuart.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A highly anticipated federal investigation of Chinese drywall is expected to be released today, and it could be worth thousands of dollars for affected homeowners.

That’s because the report may trigger the availability of federal funds that affected homeowners could use to lessen their losses, according to a spokesman for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. “We certainly want to wrap up this investigation,” said Bryan Gulley, a Nelson spokesman. “People need answers.”

Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is overseeing the investigation, said the study of 51 homes “is part of our commitment to affected families and Congress to share scientific data as soon as it becomes available.”
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FELLSMERE — Gov. Charlie Crist is scheduled Tuesday to see for himself the progress in alternative fuels at a local algae farm.

Crist is expected to arrive between 2 and 3 p.m. at PetroAlgae, in the 14600 block of 101st Street, governor’s aides said. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Two men arguing while on Okeechobee Road in Fort Pierce Saturday night died after being hit by a vehicle, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

The Fort Myers News-Press is reporting Monday morning that the men were soldiers traveling to Southwest Florida to surprise their families before being deployed by the U.S. Army to Iraq.

Joshua Thomas Baker, 24, of North Fort Myers, and Jonathan Wendell Peterson, 21, of Fort Myers, were in the inside lane when the front of a westbound vehicle struck them, according to the report. Baker was thrown into the inside lane and Peterson was thrown into the grass median.
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The West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce-Vero Beach metro area is the smartest in Florida, but tied with Cleveland for brain power on a nationwide scale, according to The Daily Beast Web site.

The Daily Beast, an Internet-only news outlet, ranked the 55 most populated metro areas in the nation and placed the Treasure Coast and West Palm Beach region 31st on the list, with Tampa-St. Petersburg at 33, Jacksonville at 37, Miami at 39 and Orlando 46.

The Daily Beast based its rankings on the number of residents with bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees, according to the U.S. Census; political engagement; available institutions of higher learning; and nonfiction book sales, as tracked by Nielsen BookScan.
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