ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Twelve St. Lucie County organizations are being recognized today as Best Places to Work in 2009 by the St. Lucie County Human Resource Association and Workforce Solutions, formerly Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast.

Among companies with 50 or fewer employees, R.K. Davis Construction Corp. took home their third award and Early Learning Coalition of St. Lucie County took home their second, with Treasure and Space Coast Radio and Manpower Services being recognized for the first time this year.

Of employers in the 51 to 250 employee category, Miller Legg Associates has earned their third award and Gulfstream Business Bank is taking their fourth award, including two for the St. Lucie County branch and two for the Martin County branch from past years’ Martin County awards. Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company and New Horizon’s of the Treasure Coast Inc. have both won for the first time.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The International Union of Police Associations, which represents the city’s police officers, put a sign on a billboard Sunday at U.S. 1 and Jennings Road to protest the city sending layoff notices to eight police officers.

The notices advised the officers their last day of employment would be Sept. 30.

One side of the billboard reads, “Welcome to Port St. Lucie! Violent crime is up 14.4 percent! Feel safe???”

The other side breaks down what the city spent on the civic center and plans to spend to bring a private digital production studio to the city. It also cites a figure, $1.5 million, as the annual upkeep of the botanical garden project.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — Offering the unions a “final” opportunity to save eight police officer jobs and avoid other layoffs, the city agreed to guarantee no layoffs next year in exchange for a wage freeze.

But the Coastal Florida Public Employees Association, which represents the city’s civilian employees, voted Monday night to reject the city’s offer, said union acting Executive Director Johnny Bingham. The city’s other two unions, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents lieutenants and sergeants, and the International Union of Police Associations, which represents police officers, have not come to an agreement.

Bingham said the Police Benevolent Association, which he also directs, was sending a letter to the city Wednesday advising officials they are interested in coming back to the table to negotiate.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council Monday night unanimously agreed to move forward with purchasing 15 acres from Tradition Outlet LLC for $10 million, a move that puts up half the state’s contribution to help a Hollywood executive set up a digital production studio.

The studio could create up to 500 jobs and bring Florida State University’s Film Studies program to the Treasure Coast.

The package includes the local governments building a 150,000-square-foot studio for Hobe Sound-based Wyndcrest Holdings, a private investment firm focused on entertainment and Internet technology headed by Jupiter Island resident John Textor.
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STUART — It was “bizarre” for Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder to repeatedly pat the short, spiky haircut of Detective Jennifer Heard, her lawyer said, and he expects Heard’s sexual harassment complaint to lead to a federal discrimination suit.

“We fully expect to file a lawsuit and just litigate the matter,” said Justus Reid, a lawyer representing Heard. “The overall theme will be gender discrimination and, in effect, sexual harassment that went on in the department.”

Heard filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May alleging the sexual harassment against her began shortly after she was hired in September 1996 and continued for the next 12 years in the form of sexual advances, catcalls and a suggestive nickname. She also accused Crowder of belittling her by patting her on the head.
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Since her employer began closing on Fridays, Dawn Gilmore has turned her photography hobby into a money-making business that is helping to offset her lost income.

Without a lot of new real estate development, business has been slow for the Houston Cuozzo Group, a landscape design firm in Stuart. After laying off one-third of the staff of 18 last year, the firm started closing on alternate Fridays last September as a way to reduce workers’ hours and cut costs. In March, the firm started closing every Friday.

Across the Treasure Coast, many residents who have avoided layoffs are facing reduced hours — which means less money in their wallets. Some are spending their new-found spare time with family, home improvement projects or hobbies. Others are looking for ways to make up the lost income, such as a side business or a second job.
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FORT PIERCE — Some city commissioners are questioning why city manager David Recor didn’t include a job he held in Alaska on his resume and city application when he applied for deputy city manager in Fort Pierce.

But Recor said issues surrounding his Alaska job are misunderstandings.

Recor worked as a planning and land-use director for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK, from March 12, 2003, to April 14, 2003, according to Borough’s Human Resources Manager Rob McFerron. Recor was hired as Fort Pierce deputy city manager in April 2005 by former city manager Dennis Beach. Recor was then promoted to city manager in October when Beach retired.

Three days before Recor resigned from his job in Alaska, the Palmer Police Department arrested and charged him with shoplifting. The charges were later dropped and the case was dismissed, court records show. (more…)

When the Martin County Commission fired Duncan Ballantyne from his $147,250 a year job as county administrator on St. Patrick’s Day, a pot of gold awaited the seasoned bureaucrat.

For starters, Ballantyne remained on the county payroll for a month after he cleaned out his office because he was entitled to a 30-day notice of his termination.

Since his official last day on April 23, Ballantyne has collected a total of $84,451 as a result of the severance package he negotiated when he was hired in the fall of 2005, county records show. And his initial severance period doesn’t end until Aug. 23.

Ballantyne’s severance package is not unusual for local government managers and attorneys on the Treasure Coast. In fact, 13 local government managers and attorneys in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties are entitled to severance pay for six months, or longer, if they are fired without cause. (more…)

Since March, Leroy Stennett has spent more than 10 hours talking to seven people in five departments at Bank of America about getting his mortgage modified.

In 2006, Stennett and his wife purchased a house in Port St. Lucie for $285,000, putting $95,000 down and adding another $5,000 in closing costs from the sale of their previous home.

“My house is worth $120,000 now, so, I’ve basically paid it off, but they don’t want to cut me a break,” Stennett said about his lender, Bank of America. “Every time I call, I talk to a different person, so I can’t get any real answers.”

Like thousands on the Treasure Coast, Stennett hoped President Barack Obama’s Making Home Affordable plan would help adjust his house payments after applying for a mortgage modification. But frustrated homeowners, who remain current on mortgage payments despite economic setbacks, say they are confused about the modification process and aren’t getting support or cooperation from their lenders. (more…)

The $50 copay for his Plavix prescription was more than Leon Graybill could afford, even before he was laid off.

As of Saturday, Graybill and the other 299 people laid off Feb. 10 from Piper Aircraft Inc. are without employer-based health insurance. They join the growing ranks of unemployed people struggling to pay for individual health insurance — or more often, daring to go without insurance so they can pay to keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.

Graybill is a 55-year-old stroke and heart attack survivor with a bum knee. His wife is a 53-year-old per diem nurse, meaning she doesn’t get benefits. She is diabetic and needs some dental work.

“With all of that hanging around, insurance is crucial,” Graybill said.

But it also might be unaffordable.

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