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…)

The Baehrs — Derek, Kellyanne and their two young daughters are five months behind on their mortgage payments. They sometimes eat at a soup kitchen and shop at a food pantry. They expect to lose their three-bedroom suburban house before the end of the school year.
“This is just awful, and I know that we are not the only ones going through this,’’ says Kellyanne, 37, an accounting clerk. Derek, 40, is disabled. “We used to try to go day by day. Now we are just trying to get to the end of each day.’’

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STUART — A Boy Scouts employee accused of illegally dumping a motorboat in a lake at the Tequesta camp where he works will serve one more day in jail after pleading guilty to a felony littering charge.

At a brief hearing Monday, Circuit Judge Steve Levin sentenced Harlan Pierce, 62, of Tequesta to two days in jail, with credit for one day already served. Pierce told Levin he will serve his day on Feb. 17. If Pierce reports to the Martin County jail by 6 a.m., he will be released by 9 p.m., Levin told him. (more…)

WEST PALM BEACH — Rob Murphy loves talking about his spearfishing adventures. Since earning his scuba diving certification last year, he estimates he has made almost 400 dives.

But Murphy will never forget his last dive on Jan. 9 when while surfacing in waters northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet, Murphy was struck by a passing boat. The boat operated by Roger Nicosia, an emergency room physician at Martin Memorial Medical Center North, severed Murphy’s legs.

Murphy lost nearly half his blood. He was lucky to escape with his life, and doctors couldn’t save his legs. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — For Gary Guertin, the almost 68 miles of ocean that separate Stuart from Grand Bahama is not a divide, it’s a bridge.

And it’s an opportunity to capitalize on Stuart’s waterfront resources and promote the two destinations.

The general manager of the Harborage Yacht Club & Marina in Stuart has formed partnerships with marinas and resorts in the Bahamas in the hopes of attracting customers to Stuart as they travel out to sea. Others said partnerships with the Bahamas could be helpful if they brought business, although they were wary of the costs. (more…)

New boating restrictions have been approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that will reduce speed limits in parts of the Martin County Intracoastal and Okeechobee waterways, officials announced today.

The new rules, which will take effect next year, came from the results of the Martin County Vessel Traffic Study and input from residents and community members during the last two years.

STUART — A Martin County firefighter accused of causing the July 2005 death of a colleague while boating drunk pleaded no contest to a felony charge of boating under the influence Thursday, less than a week before his manslaughter case was scheduled for trial.

Firefighter-paramedic Walter Rothe could have faced 15 years in prison had a jury convicted him of manslaughter by boating under the influence in the death of Battalion Chief Charles “Chip” O’Hara.
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