STUART — Even though Martin County detective Sgt. Bill McCaw grew up on the South Side of Chicago and lived amid gang violence, he didn’t have the slightest clue it existed when he was a child.

Few people did.

Heading the gang intelligence unit, the 20-year Martin County Sheriff’s Office veteran spoke to residents Wednesday evening to try to make sure that gang growth doesn’t go similarly undetected in Martin County.

The event at the Martin County Administration Building sponsored by Project Northland occurred two days after 16-year-old Torenda Youngblood Jr. was shot and killed at his Fort Pierce bus stop, the most recent of four shootings since Saturday.

At least two were “directly related to gang violence,” said Fort Pierce Chief of Police Sean Baldwin.

McCaw sees gang violence as a problem that continues to seep into the county.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — A 19-year-old bicyclist sustained critical injuries Monday night after being struck by a dark-colored vehicle that fled the scene, police said Tuesday.
John J. Mejias, of the 2700 block of Northwest Hatches Harbor Road, was pedaling north on Floresta Drive south of Thornhill Drive about 8:20 p.m. when a vehicle hit him from behind, Officer Alex Gaufillet said, standing at the scene.
Mejias, who was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, ended up about 130 feet from where he was struck. (more…)

VERO BEACH — Security was tight at the Riverside Theatre Monday when humanitarian, author and Dutch feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali spoke to an overflow crowd about issues in the Muslim world.

The backstage area for the theater was locked down for security reasons, and patrons with bags had to submit to a search by theater personnel, marketing director Oscar Sales said. Vero Beach police officers were also stationed at the building’s entrances and exits.

Hirsi Ali is a 40-year-old Somalia native and former member of the Dutch Parliament who is well known for defending the rights of women in Muslim society. She gained international attention following the murder of Theo Van Gogh, who had directed her short film “Submission,” a documentary about the oppression of women under Islam. The assassin, a radical Muslim, left a death threat for her pinned to Van Gogh’s chest.

During her prepared remarks on Monday, the second speaker for this year’s Distinguished Lecturer series told the audience there are two schools of thought regarding the religion of Islam. (more…)

Kilroy is here.

At 12:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, staff from the Ocean Research and Conservation Association and volunteers completed installation of a remote-controlled water quality sensor, known as a “Kilroy,” on a post in about 6 feet of water on the south side of the inlet.

At 12:49 p.m. Wednesday, Kilroy started sending information about water speed, direction, temperature, salinity and the prevalence of key microorganisms to ORCA’s Fort Pierce office.

With sensors in a plastic case in the water and a solar power unit perched above, the device is called Kilroy because ORCA officials hope that one day it will be as ubiquitous in coastal waters around the world as its cartoon namesake was in the European Theater during World War II.

It could happen: The Kilroy installed Wednesday is the first of 25 ORCA plans to deploy over the next few weeks — weather permitting — between the St. Lucie Inlet near Stuart to the Fort Pierce Inlet near Fort Pierce. Later this year, a second network of Kilroys is scheduled to be deployed in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States and the country’s most imperiled marine ecosystem.

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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Lennar Homes, Inc. was granted a three-year development agreement Tuesday to put 325 homes on about 156 acres at the southeast corner of Silver Oaks Drive and Tilton Road in a move that drew heavy criticism from those living near the land.
County commissioners ultimately decided 4-1 that the proposal is about as good as they could get and decided this is not a precedent that could give developers expectations to extend other projects. The applicant agreed during the meeting to accept three years instead of five years to develop the project.
“I am not convinced you’re going to get a much better development on this property,” said Commissioner Chris Craft, who voted for the project along with Commissioners Doug Coward, Chris Dzadovsky and Paula Lewis. (more…)

ST. LUCIE WEST — Martin Memorial Health Systems plans to open a freestanding emergency department this fall to provide medical care to western Port St. Lucie until it can build a full-service, 80-bed hospital in Tradition.
Martin Memorial and Port St. Lucie officials gathered Tuesday to celebrate the start of construction on the emergency center, which will be part of the health systems’ facility on St. Lucie West Boulevard. Expected to open by Sept. 1, the 12-bed center will be a full-service emergency department.
“It will provide critical services close to home rather than having people fight traffic when time matters most,” Martin Memorial Chief Executive Officer Mark Robitaille said.
Port St. Lucie’s growing population and sometimes gridlocked traffic were Martin Memorial’s main arguments for building a hospital in the city, which already is home to St. Lucie Medical Center, a for-profit hospital owned by Tennessee-based HCA Inc. (more…)

A Port St. Lucie woman is in critical condition tonight at a Brevard County hospital after flipping her car on Interstate 95 in northern St. Lucie County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Kristin L. Dobreuenaski , 32, was driving south on the Interstate just south of the Indian River County line around 6:30 p.m. faster than the speed limit when she swerved onto the interstate’s inside shoulder several times, according to an FHP report. She then swerved into the median and lost control as she swerved back onto the interstate. (more…)

UPDATE

FORT PIERCE — The elderly man who crossed into the path of an oncoming minivan on Tuesday morning died from his injuries that night, police said.

John Insinga, 93, was trying to cross U.S. 1 heading west when he walked into the path of a minivan traveling south on U.S. 1, police spokeswoman Audria Moore said. (more…)