By Will Greenlee

PORT ST. LUCIE — A suspicious incident involving panhandlers at Publix turned into a felony marijuana bust this week for Port St. Lucie police, according to recently released records. (more…)

Teens it’s not that Publix stores don’t want your money from alcoholic beverage sales, it’s just that they are prepared to wait for it until you are old enough to legally buy the items.

A review of five years of citations issued for selling to underage persons on the Treasure Coast showed no violations for Publix Super Markets Inc., which has 29 stores on the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee County. (more…)

PALM CITY — Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi closed his ice cream and chocolate shop at the Publix shopping center on Martin Highway in May and anticipates reopening in late July at a new location in a strip mall on Mapp Road.

It was the second setback for Ciampi’s 3-year-old chain of “Sweet Sarah’s” ice cream and chocolate shops. Last year, Ciampi closed his shop in Port St. Lucie because of a lack of traffic at a shopping center near Veteran’s Memorial Park.

“We all have to adapt to the current economic conditions and I’m doing just that,” Ciampi said. “Three or four years ago, when I started this process, the economy was different. So now I’m making smart decisions to stay in business.”
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“Finders keepers” seems to be the motto of a retiree facing a petit theft charge after she found a wallet and mailed it back to its owner - but kept the money that was in it.

According to documents released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the wallet’s owner dropped his wallet on the floor at Publix in the 1700 block of Northeast Jensen Beach Boulevard on April 19.

Security video shows the 76-year-old woman covering the wallet with her cart and then picking it up once the victim left the area, according to the documents.
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TALLAHASSEE — The long-sought Indian Street Bridge, along with 16 other transportation projects expected to bring money and jobs to the Treasure Coast, got the green light from the state Joint Legislative Budget Commission Wednesday.

The 14-member commission comprised of Senate and House members agreed, without debate, to accept $3.8 billion in federal dollars that will pay for a cornucopia of projects targeting transportation, health and education.

Backers say the package will help the state recover from the worst recession in decades.
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A few years ago, the well of state incentives for new businesses was deep.

Port St. Lucie got a big bucketful: $32 million to lure the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and $60 million for a local branch of Oregon’s Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute.

But the supply has since been drained by budget cuts and a constricting economy. So Port St. Lucie is drilling for new sources of cash - and it’s not looking in the usual places.

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STUART — Despite two of its advisory committees last week ranking the Indian Street Bridge as the top priority for federal stimulus money, the Martin Metropolitan Planning Organization Monday decided County Road 609 improvements should top the list.
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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…)

STUART — A man accused of pepper-spraying Publix employees after they tried to stop him from shoplifting was arrested Saturday, according to a report released by the Martin County Sheriff ’s Office.

The report says Adrian Santiago Rivera, 18, of the 900 block of Northeast Flamingo Avenue, left the Publix in the 3300 block of Southeast U.S.1. with two bottles of cold medicine and did not pay for them. (more…)