By Alexi Howk

PORT ST. LUCIE — The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which draws more than 10,000 spectators and participants, won’t be marching through the city’s streets next month for the first time in 20 years. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE - And it’s a wrap.

The City Council Monday night unanimously gave final approval to a 20-year lease agreement with Wyndcrest DD Florida Inc. that requires the city to provide the company with 15 acres of land and a 150,000 square-foot movie animation and video game production studio within the Tradition development.

The move, finalizing a $51.8 million deal between the city and Wyndcrest, drew applause from local business and community leaders who urged the council to support the project because it would create much needed, high-paying jobs in the community. Nobody at the meeting spoke out against the project. (more…)

TRADITION — Imagine waking up Christmas morning, expecting a real-live puppy and instead finding a stuffed animal under the tree.

Or worse: find nothing. (more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — With the swoop of a small plane carrying County Commission Chairwoman Paula Lewis and the splash of water cannons from fire trucks, St. Lucie County International Airport will christen its new 4,000-foot runway on Thursday.

The $15.3 million runway is about 2,500 feet northwest of the existing pair of runways. It has been under construction for more than a year.

“We had a lot to do,” Lewis said. “We moved power lines, we acquired a piece of property for light of sight from the control tower, and I’m excited that it’s finally finished.”
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The medical clinic business is booming.

An emergency care clinic in St. Lucie West owned by Martin Memorial Health Systems saw 380 patients in its first week. The clinic, which opened Sept. 1, had an average of 48 patients per day, said Scott Samples, a hospital spokesman.

Located at the health system’s existing facility at 1095 N.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., the clinic is about 9,100 square feet with 12 beds. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Patients wanting to try out Martin Memorial’s freestanding emergency department in St. Lucie West should find their own ride.

St. Lucie County fire and rescue crews are bypassing the freestanding facility in favor of emergency departments at hospitals such as St. Lucie Medical Center and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute.

“We’re evaluating what type of patients we will transport to that facility,” St. Lucie County Fire Chief Ron Parrish said. “We want to make sure the citizens of the community are going to get the best care in the most timely manner.”
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Martin Memorial Health Systems continued its push to serve the sprawling communities of western St. Lucie County by opening a new emergency care center last week in St. Lucie West.

The center is just 3 miles from the spot in Tradition where the non-profit healthcare organization wants to build a new hospital.

Martin Memorial officials have long seen a need in western St. Lucie County for expanded medical services. The area’s rapid-fire growth four years ago propelled Port St. Lucie into the nation’s top spot for fastest growing cities, and the western sprawl has put residents farther away from the county’s main hospitals — HCA Inc.-owned Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce and St. Lucie Medical Center in eastern Port St. Lucie. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council Monday night unanimously agreed to move forward with purchasing 15 acres from Tradition Outlet LLC for $10 million, a move that puts up half the state’s contribution to help a Hollywood executive set up a digital production studio.

The studio could create up to 500 jobs and bring Florida State University’s Film Studies program to the Treasure Coast.

The package includes the local governments building a 150,000-square-foot studio for Hobe Sound-based Wyndcrest Holdings, a private investment firm focused on entertainment and Internet technology headed by Jupiter Island resident John Textor.
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Martin Memorial Health Systems can build an 80-bed hospital in Tradition, a state administrative law judge has ruled.

The ruling, released late Friday by Judge J.D. Parrish, puts Martin Memorial a step closer to building a hospital to serve the communities in sprawling western St. Lucie County.

“We’re very excited about the news,” said Mark Robitaille, Martin Memorial’s president and chief executive officer. “It’s been a long journey to get to this point.”

Martin Memorial received permission from the state two years ago to build a hospital in Tradition. Hospital officials argued that it was needed because of St. Lucie’s rapid growth and the distance from western communities to the county’s existing hospitals, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce and St. Lucie Medical Center in eastern Port St. Lucie. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — It’s common to do it to pets and boats.

But cars?

If your 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda is nothing short of divine, you may want to submit it to the Blessing of the Cars as part of their 10:30 Sunday morning worship service. You could bring your Smart Car, too.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Church at 1002 Bahama Avenue is inviting residents to the event.

The car blessing will commemorate the Feast of the Prophet Elijah.

“Tradition relates that Elijah was carried up to Heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 1:12),’’ the pastor, Fr. Michael J. Sopoliga, wrote.

Byzantine Catholics are among the 23 “Churches” within the Catholic Church, officials said.

The Byzantine Catholic Church in Fort Pierce celebrates the 4th Century Eucharistic Liturgy of the early Christians. The church’s Slavic kitchen also is known for great pierogies and stuffed cabbage.

So anoint your engine with 10-W-40 if it needs it and visit www.byzcath.org/fortpierce, or call (772) 595-1021, for more information.

By Matt Prichard, TCPalm.com