STUART — An online neighborhood Web site is including the city of Stuart in its top 20 list of best places to retire.

NeighborhoodScout.com ranked the city No. 18 in the nation on a list of 20 cities where people can retire for less than $150,000.

The rankings were posted on the popular Web search engine AOL.com.

Corpus Christi, Texas is No. 1 on the list.
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STUART — Voters deciding this year’s race for the Stuart City Commission Group II seat will choose between a political newcomer promising fresh ideas and an incumbent with some 20 years of commission experience.

Jeffrey Callahan, a Martin County marine safety officer/emergency medical technician entered the political arena this year to challenge incumbent Jeffrey Krauskopf, who will be seeking his 13th term as a city commissioner.

Voters head to the polls for this year’s general election Tuesday, but early voting and mail-in ballots already have been cast. Early voting for city residents continues until 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office, 135 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Stuart.
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STUART — A Stuart woman was killed Thursday night as she was attempting to cross the southbound lanes of U.S. 1 in the 1700 block of Northwest Federal Highway.

Stuart police report Martha Clearwater, 42, was airlifted to Lawnwood Medical Center in Fort Pierce with severe injuries following the 7:15 p.m. accident and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
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Five years ago, Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. announced plans to close its Stuart plant, a move that would have ended more than 50 years of history at Witham Field.

Now, the Dallas-based airline parts manufacturer calls Stuart a success
story. The plant has won more company awards than any other site. It just announced its second major expansion in two years, and Vought¹s chief executive officer says Stuart “has offset” some of the company¹s losses with the downturn of the economy.

So how did the Stuart plant come back from the brink? (more…)

For Martin County’s largest employer, the seventh time is the charm.
Martin Memorial Health Systems learned last week that after seven years of trying it has been given a prestigious national title: Employer of Choice.

“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Dr. George Rittersbach Jr., chairman of the board of directors for Martin Memorial Health Systems, which owns two hospitals and numerous clinics on the Treasure Coast.

Martin Memorial is one of four Florida health care organizations to earn the designation. The others are Orlando Health, Lee Memorial Health System in Cape Coral and Baptist Health Care in Pensacola.
Martin Memorial got the award last week during a ceremony with about 90 employees at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center in Stuart. (more…)

STUART — Paul Crandall drove through downtown Stuart in his parking enforcement car on his last Friday on the job and recalled some of his most memorable cases.

There was the time a patron at The Ashley threatened to shoot Crandall when he gave him a ticket for parking left side-to-curb on a two-way street.

There was the time he ticketed a pickup truck parked on the sidewalk with its rear end jutting into the middle of South Colorado Avenue.

And there was the time an employee at a downtown business on Southwest Flagler Avenue told him she violated the area’s three-hour parking restriction because she didn’t want to park across Southwest Dixie Highway and walk across the train tracks to her job in high heels.
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STUART — Authorities are looking for a man who stole more than $6,000 in cash and checks from a convenience store Friday.

Employees at the Stuckey Shell station in the 8000 block of Southwest Jack James Drive, Stuart, called deputies about 11 a.m. Friday after the theft. An employee said she had been counting cash and preparing to load an ATM machine when she left a rear office at the store for a few minutes. When she returned, a plastic bag with the cash was missing, according to the incident report.
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STUART — Have you ever wondered why some of those markers on the water are red and some are green?

And why are they different shapes, anyway? Why shouldn’t I just wait until I need my life jacket to put it on?

What is the minimum length of boat that requires a second fire extinguisher — or a third?

Answers to these and many other questions will be yours just for taking the time to attend the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s program, About Boating Safely.
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STUART — A resident of The Crossings apartments in the 3600 block of Gatehouse Circle walked into her apartment Saturday at 3:45 p.m. and surprised a burglar in her home.

The suspect, a black male, 6 feet tall and with a medium build was wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts, according to Sgt. Martin Jacobson of the Stuart Police Department.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — Offering the unions a “final” opportunity to save eight police officer jobs and avoid other layoffs, the city agreed to guarantee no layoffs next year in exchange for a wage freeze.

But the Coastal Florida Public Employees Association, which represents the city’s civilian employees, voted Monday night to reject the city’s offer, said union acting Executive Director Johnny Bingham. The city’s other two unions, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents lieutenants and sergeants, and the International Union of Police Associations, which represents police officers, have not come to an agreement.

Bingham said the Police Benevolent Association, which he also directs, was sending a letter to the city Wednesday advising officials they are interested in coming back to the table to negotiate.
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