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.

HOBE SOUND — The architect who designed the Sears Tower as well as skyscrapers in Hong Kong, London and Cairo, died Saturday morning in Hobe Sound.

A memorial service for internationally known architect Bruce J. Graham, 84, will be at 4:30 p.m. in St. Christopher Church, Hobe Sound. Graham died Saturday morning from complications associated with Alzheimer’s disease, said Mike Grossman of SCC Grossman, a Chicago public relations firm representing the family. (more…)

STUART — All 139 charges filed against an attorney’s legal assistant arrested in June 2008 on suspicion of stealing from her boss were dropped Monday, according to the Martin County Clerk of Court Web site.

Port St. Lucie resident Wandalyn Jackson of Port St. Lucie was arrested by Stuart Police Department detectives on suspicion of writing herself more than 50 checks totaling more than $15,000 from her employer’s probate law firm in Stuart. The case was scheduled to go to trial Monday.

The 139 counts against Jackson were a combination of charges of grand theft, petit theft, forgery and uttering, or using, a forged document.

STUART — A judge Tuesday ruled that women in court papers known as “Jane Does” who have accused famed attorney Willie Gary of sexual misconduct will be allowed to be deposed as part of the sexual battery lawsuit filed against him by a former secretary.

Attorneys representing Jillian Nedd, 28, a former employee of Gary’s law firm who in her lawsuit accuses him of raping her at a Stuart hotel in 2007, claimed that years before that incident other women were similar victims of Gary’s sexual conduct, with some signing confidential settlement agreements.

That’s the case with Jane Doe No. 5, argued Nedd’s Stuart attorneys Linda Capobianco and Jerome Stone, who said she entered into a confidential agreement with Gary about 11 years ago.

Capobianco in court said they tried to depose Jane Doe No. 5, but when they inquired into the basis of her settlement, she refused to comply, citing a confidential agreement she entered into with Gary and his firm under the direction of Gary’s law partner, Lorenzo Williams.

“It’s our understanding she had an incident similar to the plaintiff’s incident,” Capobianco said.

She said they want to depose Jane Doe No. 5, and several other Jane Does and one John Doe “to be able to establish that … the firm had knowledge of the prior instances.”

“And as to the defendant Gary,” Capobianco said, “to establish his modus operandi (and) common plan or scheme.”

Attorney Craig Hudson, who represents Gary’s firm — Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson and Speranado — strongly objected to the move.

He argued the events involving Jane Doe No. 5 occurred 11 years ago, making her information too “remote” to be relevant.

“The purpose is to show propensity and to show bad acts, which is specifically excluded under the law,” Hudson argued.

“They want this because they figure this will make Mr. Gary look bad and make the firm look bad,” he continued, “so because there is a confidential settlement agreement, I think the court should take a step back and say ‘wait a second, let’s take a hard look at the admissibility issue before we violate a confidential settlement.’”

Martin Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger, though, said based on her review of Jane Doe No. 5’s confidential settlement, she determined Nedd’s lawyers could depose the women and others like her, but she forbid any inquiry into specific terms of any agreements, including any cash amounts paid by Gary or the firm.

“But other than that,” Metzger ruled, “I do find that the testimony sought from Jane Doe No. 5 is potentially relevant; it’s reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in this case, so I am going to allow it.”

Martin County residents near Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound may have seen or smelled smoke on Sunday, according to Martin County Fire Rescue.

The U.S. Department of Forestry started a 550-acre controlled burn in the morning in the northwest corner of the park. Officials are monitoring the burn of the area, which is all scrub and bush and not near homes, until the fire dies.

STUART — Two years ago, Jan Lindsay first toured the 14th St. building that she immediately knew would house her fifth homeless shelter for pregnant women.

The 6,200-foot former New Horizons mental illness facility was semi-dilapidated and unoccupied since 2005. The kitchen needed an overhaul. Water damage and shattered windows filled the space.

Fixer-upper work aside, Lindsay saw potential. The building had eight bedrooms, a sprawling great room, office space and an activity room. She knew it would be perfect for the Treasure Coast’s Mary’s Shelter.

Behind work and donations from construction companies, county clubs and everyone in between, Lindsay’s makeover vision for Mary’s Shelter was on display Friday for the facility’s grand opening and blessing.

“I had felt the Lord calling me to do it for two years,” Lindsay said. “I kept arguing, saying I’m too old. The amount of time it takes to put one of these together, it really takes three or four very dedicated people.”

Starting in March, Mary’s Shelter plans to house 13 pregnant homeless women, most 18 to 24 years old, who will live on site with a housemother. The staff will provide education about motherhood, goal-setting services for their educational and career ambitions, and information to help the mothers decide whether to keep their children or put them up for adoption.

Lindsay opened the first four Mary’s Shelters in Orange County, Calif.; Reading, Pa.; Baldwin County, Ala.; and Pensacola.

“One of the biggest miracles is to see these girls come in, so afraid, and down, and feeling worthless,” Lindsay said. “Then you see them four months later, happy, confident, with a beautiful baby they know they can support and be a good mother to.”

Goodwill defined the public’s first look at the facility that will house women from Boca Raton to Vero Beach.

Donated furniture and garnishes filled the rooms. The walls had a brand new paint job.

Jupiter resident Dolores Solomon donated a fridge, freezer, stoves and a dishwasher to bring the kitchen up to speed. Demorest Construction was on board from day one to provide contractor work.

Dr. Mark Fedele offered his free dental services. Wesley Scott of Indian River Shutter Co. in Palm City promised free blinds. Ladies from Loblolly Country Club have been decorating the women’s bedrooms.

More helping hands keep volunteering, and the shelter has totaled close to $200,000 in donations.

A federal judge has ruled against activists for the St. Lucie River who sued the federal government on claims that it violated their property rights by allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pollute the waterway with massive discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Judge Lynn Bush said the discharges’ long-term environmental effects on a “national treasure” were tragic, but she agreed with federal lawyers who argued that the property owners were past a six-year statute of limitations to pursue their case.

Even if they weren’t, she said, their property rights claim still would fail under state and federal law.

The plaintiffs, whose suit is being paid for by the non-profit Rivers Coalition Legal Defense Fund, waited several years to have their case heard in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington. They sought $50 million in damages, once the combined market value of their 22 riverside properties.

Karl Wickstrom, coordinator for the Rivers Coalition, said they plan to appeal the decision, which was released last week.

“We think she’s dead wrong,” he said. “It’d be scary if we couldn’t be protected from our own government when they pollute the water.” (more…)

STUART — For years, the Martin County School District was a mainstay of Florida Mechanical LLC.

The district called the Riviera Beach-based contractor nearly every day for repair jobs, while authorities say school employees routinely signed off on company invoices that included extra charges.

So informal had the contractual relationship become that company President Ken Morgan described it this way: “They would call us when things would break.” So cozy had the personal relationship become that district workers lunched with company employees and allowed them to assist with home repairs.

One district employee even spent a weekend at Morgan’s vacation home in St. Augustine. In exchange, Morgan got the use of the employee’s frozen drink machine at two company parties.

That all ended last year. Acting on a tip, new schools Superintendent Nancy Kline launched an internal investigation into allegations of employee misconduct, and later purged staff in the maintenance, facilities and purchasing departments. She also stopped $235,000 in remaining payments to Florida Mechanical.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report released Tuesday clears former district and company employees of allegations of fraud but details a business relationship that likely cost the district thousands in unnecessary expenses. (more…)

STUART — State investigators found evidence that Martin County school employees accepted free lunches and work done on their homes from a district-employed vendor to whom they frequently funneled work, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a report released Tuesday.

The employees’ actions would not be enough to warrant criminal charges, the FDLE concluded, even though the report said they violated district policies against accepting gifts from vendors.

All four district employees named in the report left or were fired last year during a controversial purge by schools Superintendent Nancy Kline.

District leaders declined to comment Tuesday because of pending litigation with the company named in the report, Riviera Beach-based Florida Mechanical LLC. Attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful Tuesday night. (more…)

STUART — Carl Ellwanger’s shirt says it all: Still plays with trains.

Twice a week Ellwanger and more than a dozen other members of the Martin County Model Railroaders spend most of the day working on a 65-foot-long miniature train lay out.

They will show off the results of that work at the non-profit organization’s annual expo Saturday at the Martin County Fairgrounds. The expo, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., costs $5 for adults and is free for children under 12.

Last year, about 1,200 people turned out for the exhibit, which is the group’s primary fund-raiser each year.

“The kids stand outside and look at it in awe,” said Bob Cottone, president of the railroaders. (more…)