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…)

More than 200 businesses on the Treasure Coast and in Okeechobee County have been cited for selling alcohol to underage people, according to state records from January 2004 to August 2009. Some of those businesses were repeatedly cited.

“It’s a widespread problem,” Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar said.

A Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers review of five years of citations from the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco show some stores stores have been cited three times. (more…)

HOBE SOUND — Thirty-year-old fire station #32 in Hobe Sound will soon have a new 5,000-square-foot, hurricane-proof addition that will add eight dorm rooms and two bathrooms, enabling the station to finally separate male and female firefighters.

The $520,000 addition is being installed by Royal Concrete Concepts of West Palm Beach, which manufactures pre-engineered concrete building systems that arrive virtually complete on the construction site. Workers simply connect the utilities, add the flooring and other touches and the new wing is nearly ready for occupancy.

“It takes just one day to set the units up because they arrive on site from our Okeechobee manufacturing plant 95 percent complete,” said Jeff Wisinski, the company’s head of business development.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — Which would you prefer?

A 26 percent property tax increase, cutting 117 city jobs, having 16 fewer police officers, closing the city Parks and Recreation Department and its facilities or not tuning into PSL-TV.

Those are the options the City Council plans to discuss Thursday and Friday as the group looks at an $11 million deficit for next year’s budget. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — If you’re looking to outfit your office, you can do it for bargain-basement prices at the first Martin County Surplus Items E-Auction, running now through July 20.

A variety of desk chairs, file cabinets, computer monitors, and printers are among the 75 items for sale at www.lonestaronline.com. Bids start at $5.

This is the first time the county government has hosted an online auction, according to Martin County procurement specialist Helen Fisher. In the past, Karlin Daniel & Associates hosted a yearly auction of the county’s declared surplus items, but now county officials plan to host multiple online auctions at more frequent intervals.
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STUART — Signs of economic distress abound in Martin County and the outlook for next year doesn’t appear to be much better.

Martin County’s population dipped slightly since last year, school enrollment is expected to decline for two years, government revenues are down and new construction has dropped, several local and state officials said this week during government meetings.

The housing market is so bad two developers asked Martin County to rescind their hard won final site plan approvals for new subdivisions so they can delay paying impact fees and utility connection charges, said Growth Management Director Nicki van Vonno.

“That is a recent trend and it’s directly tied to the applicant’s ability to go forward or not,” van Vonno said. “Money is tight.”

The County Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to rescind the final site plan approval for the Pentalago subdivision, 42 ranchettes on Citrus Boulevard near Interstate 95 in Palm City Farms. (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…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Hundreds of Tesoro property owners aren’t waiting around while their subdivision’s developer grinds through bankruptcy court: They’re filing their own lawsuits against Ginn Resorts and its affiliates.

Property owners are charging Ginn with a host of wrongdoings, including selling lots through Ponzi schemes, fraudulently inflating property values, lying to and duping clients, failing to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in membership dues and missing escrow accounts and backing out on promises to build amenities.

Timothy Vetrano, 72, a retiree from Manhasset, N.Y., who lives at Tesoro with his wife Marilyn, said his experience falls under “buyer beware.”
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Hundreds of boom-time buyers in Florida have tried to use the Interstate Land Sales Act to wiggle out of real estate contracts. Some have been successful, others haven’t — but a recent ruling shines light on the risk involved in pursuing such cases.

A magistrate judge ruled late last month that three buyers at St. Lucie County’s Ocean Bay Villas who were suing in an attempt to get their deposits back must repay $76,600 in attorneys fees and costs to the developer, Stuart-based Pukka Development Inc.

“The question is: Do these lawyers explain to these buyers the risk if they lose? The developers are going to go after the attorney’s fees,” said Mark Grant, a partner at Ruden McClosky in Fort Lauderdale who represented Pukka.

In the Pukka case, the plaintiffs — Saverio Pugliese, Michael Mieves, Antonio Saladino and Stephen Matalyak — claimed Pukka violated the Interstate Land Sales Act because it didn’t file specific property reports required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida ultimately ruled that Pukka was exempt form the reports.

FORT PIERCE — A mother and son were arrested Tuesday after the mother signed for a package of 8 pounds of marijuana addressed to her son, according to arrest affidavits released Wednesday.

The mother, 51-year-old Maria Andrade, said the pot was for “personal use,” rather than sale, an affidavit states.

The package was “flagged” by postal officials as possibly containing marijuana, and additional investigation confirmed the presence of drugs.

It was addressed to Mauricio G. Andrade, 20, of the 2600 block of South 27th Street. He is Maria Andrade’s son. Maria Andrade signed for the package and said her son was expecting a delivery.

The younger Andrade arrived minutes later, and both were taken into custody after police executed a search warrant.

They each face felony marijuana-related charges.

By Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com