FDOT calls it the tallest fixed bridge of its kind south of Jacksonville — but key amenities remain unfinished, and the economic ripple for Hutchinson Island businesses is only beginning
Fort Pierce's new A1A North Causeway Bridge opens to drivers at 8 a.m. Friday, ending decades of drawbridge delays and railroad crossing conflicts that frustrated commuters, stalled emergency response...
Senate and House remain millions apart on Indian River Lagoon, Everglades, and coastal water programs critical to the Treasure Coast
The Indian River Lagoon's fate hangs in the balance of a $175 million dispute between Florida's Senate and House as budget negotiators head into the weekend without a deal on dozens of water and envir...
House and Senate committees grind through FY 2026-27 differences as Indian River State College trustees meet Tuesday in Port St. Lucie
Florida's budget special session rolls into its second week with House and Senate committees meeting daily through Friday to close the remaining gaps in the fiscal year 2026-27 spending plan — a proce...
Governor joins law enforcement chiefs near the Treasure Coast; Tallahassee budget conferees grind through 2026-2027 spending plan
Gov. Ron DeSantis will appear Wednesday morning at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office North Precinct in Titusville — roughly 60 miles north of Indian River County — alongside state law enforcement an...
Senate President expects vote right after Memorial Day; Treasure Coast lawmakers watching for local funding outcomes
Florida's budget special session appears headed for an earlier-than-expected close, with Senate President Ben Albritton saying he expects a final vote right after Memorial Day — potentially wrapping t...
More than $1 million in proposed enforcement spending targets construction, real estate, and accounting fraud statewide — with direct implications for the Treasure Coast's active property market.
Florida lawmakers are moving to spend more than $1 million cracking down on unlicensed real estate agents, construction workers, and accountants — a proposal with sharp relevance to the Treasure Coast...
The governor says he'll 'get it across the finish line' this month, but Treasure Coast homeowners still don't know what the plan actually does
Gov. Ron DeSantis is barnstorming Florida to sell a homestead property tax overhaul that could reshape tax bills for every homeowner in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties — but he still hasn...
A House proposal offers state attorneys a $10,000 raise and 40 new positions — but public defenders would get $3,500 and just eight slots, a disparity critics say threatens justice system balance
Florida's budget standoff over criminal justice staffing could leave public defenders on the Treasure Coast and across the state further behind their prosecutorial counterparts — and legal professiona...
A statewide fiscal study found property taxes supply 43% of municipal general fund revenues — making sweeping reform a high-stakes gamble for local governments
Florida lawmakers are moving toward the most sweeping property tax changes in modern state history, and a prominent fiscal policy analyst says the legislation should carry a built-in expiration date b...
House proposes $10,000 raise for state attorneys, $3,500 for public defenders — a disparity that legal experts warn could hollow out indigent defense on the Treasure Coast and statewide
Florida's budget standoff over criminal justice staffing could leave the lawyers defending the poor further behind the lawyers prosecuting them — a gap that affects every courtroom in Martin, St. Luci...
Residents say 30-plus daily Brightline runs have upended sleep, classrooms, and daily life — commissioners agree to hold future hearing once federal rail official can attend
Jeff Aderman used to sleep through the night. Now, he counts horn blasts. The Hobe Sound resident told the Martin County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday that Brightline's passenger rail serv...
House and Senate remain deadlocked over cultural grants, with a gap of more than $11 million separating the two chambers
State arts funding that keeps Treasure Coast theaters, museums, and cultural programs alive is hanging by a thread in Tallahassee, where House and Senate negotiators remain far apart on how much Flori...
5-0 commission vote clears Kings Highway commerce center despite resident concerns over noise, stormwater
Justin Harrison grew up in the Samba and Copenhaver neighborhoods off Kings Highway. On Tuesday, he stood before the St. Lucie County Commission and asked five elected officials to remember what the r...
Unanimous vote ends fee disputes, puts closest truck on scene; philanthropist adds 6.65 acres to Hobe Sound corridor
The Martin County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to overhaul its fire and emergency services partnership with the City of Stuart, ending a long-running dispute over response protocols and agency...
Treasure Coast residents dependent on crisis services face uncertainty as House and Senate remain billions apart on behavioral health funding
Florida's two legislative chambers inched closer Tuesday on mental health spending — but the distance between them still measures in tens of millions of dollars, with real consequences for Treasure Co...
Florida budget negotiators missed a Friday deadline on Everglades, citrus, and land deals as House and Senate remain hundreds of millions apart
Florida's special legislative session hit a wall Friday as budget negotiators failed to resolve major funding gaps for Everglades restoration — including the reservoir project most directly responsibl...
House and Senate remain deadlocked on whether to shift University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee funding as part of DeSantis-backed campus deal
A $22.47 million dispute over who pays for Gov. Ron DeSantis' plan to hand a University of South Florida campus to New College of Florida remained unresolved as Florida's special budget session entere...
Ben Butler's law enforcement coalition targets a seat where Trump won nearly 58% of the vote under a new congressional map
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers has joined three fellow sheriffs in endorsing Republican Ben Butler for Congress, lending regional law enforcement credibility to a challenge that could flip F...
Board granted 30-day extensions across eight cases but drew the line on a 2024 case that has racked up 12 previous delays
The Indian River County Code Enforcement Board imposed a $100-per-day fine on a property owner who failed to correct violations — including use of an RV as living quarters and unpermitted structures —...
Miami labor lawyer and former senator vows to fight utility rates and insurance costs if elected — issues hitting Treasure Coast families hard
Florida's largest healthcare and service workers union has thrown its weight behind Democrat José Javier Rodríguez in the race for state Attorney General, a contest that could reshape how Tallahassee ...
The city's waterfront infrastructure overhaul trades aging, storm-battered floating docks for a permanent fixed structure — a bet on durability over decades of repair bills.
The city of Stuart is moving to replace its storm-battered floating docks with a $3 million fixed-dock expansion, a capital investment that would reshape the city's waterfront infrastructure and reduc...
With only seven homes available countywide under $250,000, a new ordinance aims to systematically move county-owned land toward workforce and affordable development
Indian River County's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to establish an attainable housing trust fund — a structural overhaul designed to move county-owned land off the b...
A special session compromise locks in K-12 money, $514M for Everglades restoration, and rural land protections that directly touch Martin and Indian River counties
Florida lawmakers finalized a nearly $115 billion state budget late Sunday night and scheduled a Friday vote that will determine funding flows to Treasure Coast school districts, Everglades restoratio...
A nonpartisan think tank projects losses of up to $8.65 billion annually for counties — a hit that would land squarely on Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River taxpayers
A sweeping homestead exemption proposal championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Special Legislative Session this week in Tallahassee could drain billions of dollars from Florida county budgets and sc...
Five-year Transportation Improvement Program funds bridge construction, highway resurfacing, and bike paths through 2031
Indian River County's Metropolitan Planning Organization Technical Advisory Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a five-year, $254 million Transportation Improvement Program that will resh...
Dating violence victims gain access to Florida's address confidentiality program; a silent alert system to notify police is under study
For a victim of dating violence on the Treasure Coast, calling 911 while a partner stands in the next room has never been a safe option. Starting July 1, Florida law will begin to close that gap. Gov...
