PORT ST. LUCIE — Cheers, tears and roses were on display before a standing-room-only crowd in the auditorium of Port St. Lucie Elementary Monday night.

The gathering was to say goodbye to the 34-year-old school that is being closed in June as part of the school district’s plan to save $30 million next year.

“We have always been a family,” said Deb Mock, a reading coach who has taught at the school 31 years. “We’ve been there for each other through all the challenges we’ve had — hurricanes, flooding, the deaths of faculty members. We always strived to do the best for our students,” she added.
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VERO BEACH — The former Dodgertown Golf Course, with roots deep in the history of baseball, could be restored, possibly with the assistance of Minor League Baseball.

Tough economic conditions, however, are likely to delay any possible restoration for at least of couple of years.

The city of Vero Beach now controls the former golf course and maintains mowing the land once roamed by Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
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VERO BEACH — Piper Aircraft Inc. has been sold to an international investment firm for an undisclosed price.

The Vero Beach-based plane maker announced today that Imprimis purchased 100 stake in the company from American Capital Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS).

“Imprimis intends to invest significant capital in Piper’s current operations to strengthen its position in its traditional markets and support the development of key new products such as the PiperJet,” Piper said in a statement.

Imprimis, which operates from offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, is committed to keeping Piper’s headquarters in Vero Beach, the company said. (more…)

STUART — The Niña and Pinta have docked.

The replica ships built after the caravels Christopher Columbus used to sail to the New World in 1492 will open for visitors on Wednesday.

The Santa Clara (Pinta), a replica of Columbus' ship, sails into Stuart on Tuesday. photos by Sarah Grile.

The two ships docked at the Harborage Yacht Club marina on Tuesday and will remain there throughout the next seven days for tours.

Both ships were built in Brazil and are now touted as a “floating museum” used by the Columbus Foundation to show people a glimpse of the world when the famed navigator crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

The Niña was built following plans that took three years worth of research, said Capt. Morgan Sanger, of the Columbus Foundation.

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