PORT ST. LUCIE — Former President Jimmy Carter cruised the St. Lucie River, mingled with friends and family at the local Club Med resort and helped raise more than $800,000 on Saturday to support the Carter Center.

Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and some of his children and grandchildren were in town this past weekend for the annual “Winter Weekend,” an event for supporters of the non-profit, Atlanta-based Carter Center, which promotes peace and health worldwide. (more…)

Marlins pitcher Scott Proctor (left), plays with his 3-year-old daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and wife, Carrie. Photo by Sarah Grile

JENSEN BEACH — There’s no disputing Scott Proctor’s passion for baseball. After a tough loss, the new Marlins reliever once burned his glove on the dugout steps at Yankee Stadium — “a sacrifice to the baseball gods,” he explained.

Proctor persuaded his wife to name their first child,  5-year-old Camden, after Baltimore’s baseball yard.

Their youngest, 18-month-old Cooper, got his name from the New York town that’s home to the Hall of Fame.

“It helped me understand what really matters,’’ he said. (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…)

WEST PALM BEACH — The Escobedo family didn’t last six months in south Florida.

Instead, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Carlton said, the family of four met their deaths in a violent, execution-style killing October 13, 2006 at the hands of two men, Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. and Daniel Troya.

See more in the Palm Beach Post here

In opening arguments in the federal death penalty trial of Sanchez and Troya, together with the drug conspiracy trials for Danny Varela and Liana Lee Lopez, Carlton boiled down all the crimes to a single word - drugs. (more…)

Opening arguments are expected to begin today in the federal death penalty trial surrounding the 2006 slayings of a young Greenacres family of four along Florida’s Turnpike.

A panel of seven men and five women was picked Monday to decide the drug conspiracy case against Danny Varela, Liana Lee Lopez, Ricardo Sanchez and Daniel Troya. Jurors could impose death sentences against Sanchez and Troya, who are charged in the killings of the Escobedo family. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Corine Rush surprised her kids when she pulled her red pickup into the Walmart parking lot on Wednesday.

Turned out Christmas had arrived a little early this year.

Helen Rush, 17, of Port St. Lucie hugs Sgt. Rod Dobler of the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Dobler helped pay the extra balance of Rush and her brothers' gift charges.

Rush’s three children were part of a group of about 20 kids who got the chance to shop for gifts, thanks to Port St. Lucie police and the retail giant.

As part of Wednesday’s Shop With a Cop, Walmart provided each child with a $100 gift certificate and police officers offered some company as the kids walked the department store wide-eyed. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Get pictures of your pet with Santa just before the holidays.

Santa will be available for photos from 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 20 at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center, just off U.S. 1 and Walton Road. Photos cost $7 each. Pets must be in carriers or on leashes.

~Photo courtesy of Gary Coronado, Post photographer