A new leadership structure, including the first new president since 2014, will take the reins of the Economic Development Council (EDC) of St. Lucie County by the start of next year. Pete Tesch, the council president since 2014, will step down Jan. 1 after a 12-year term and a 38-year career in business development, according to a Dec. 9 release. Wesley McCurry, the council vice president since November 2022, will replace Tesch. The EDC will appoint Rachel Savela, their director of investor engagement, as their first-ever chief operating officer, the release added. Savela has worked with the council since April

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The “new kid on the block” that effectively treats a host of medical conditions has actually been around since the late 1600s. But its ever-evolving technology and list of successful medical applications is changing life for the better for scores of people. Physicians started using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat a variety of different medical conditions in 1662 when the first pressurized room to treat pulmonary and digestive conditions was built. Dr. Tyler Sexton, president of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine, says, “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one of the oldest continuously used medical technologies and has evolved into

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Researchers based at the Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) in Port St. Lucie have been busy working on flu vaccines that are more effective and better suited for different age groups, especially for older adults. “While flu vaccines are typically evaluated based on their ability to produce antibodies, high antibody levels alone don’t guarantee full protection,” said Dr. Ted Ross, global director of vaccine development at Cleveland Clinic. “By understanding how vaccines activate cellular immunity, scientists can design next-generation flu vaccines that offer enhanced protection, particularly for high-risk groups like the elderly.” Ross, who leads vaccine development for all

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Red-light cameras are coming to some of Port St. Lucie’s busiest intersections after the City Council approved an ordinance giving the go-ahead for their installation at last week’s meeting. The Port St. Lucie Police Department conducted an analysis to identify intersections where the cameras would be most effective. Data was collected between January 1, 2022, and October 2025 by evaluating intersections based on total crash volume, frequency of angle crashes and the number of red-light citations. “It’s my hope that they (drivers) comply and don’t run any red lights. Running a red light is a selfish act and endangers the

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Plans to turn eastern Port St. Lucie into a profitable tourist destination are not new topics of conversation among its residents. The 1.65-mile Village Green Drive corridor that bridges Walton & One to local neighborhoods, however, will have to contend with newer amenities despite few, if any, design changes to a potential improvement plan in development since 2021. Approximately 65 visitors – many of them elderly residents of nearby communities, including the Spanish Lakes Golf Village – took these plans to task at a Nov. 20 presentation at Walton & One, the first meeting to discuss the plans since June

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Efforts continue in widening the 0.785-mile stretch of Midway Road between Selvitz Road and Jenkins Road near the Florida Turnpike amid more delays and a budget hike. Builders from Halley Engineering Contractors, Inc. of Miami reached “58.9” percent completion of the widening project as of Nov. 1, according to FDOT spokesperson Guillermo Canedo in a Nov. 25 email. The project also experienced a small uptick in its budget from its initial $23.5 million to approximately $23.8 million, wrote Canedo. FDOT has not yet reported this fact in their weekly traffic reports, last published Nov. 21 before taking a one-week Thanksgiving-related

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Wheels up at Treasure Coast International Airport? Not quite yet. Despite much talk about commercial flights coming to the Fort Pierce airport, and speculation on which airlines will operate here and where they will fly, nothing official has been announced. “The county is in discussion with several airlines. We won’t make an announcement until everything is finalized. We do not have a definitive timeframe to make this announcement, despite what’s been ‘reported’/’stated’ on social media,” wrote St. Lucie County Director of Communications Erick Gill via email on Monday. At last month’s “Inside St. Lucie,” Gill spoke to Cameron Howard, TCIA

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If cancer had a taste, it would be bitter – like the bitter diagnosis, treatments and side effects. Yet for many cancer patients, one of the most frustrating challenges isn’t bitterness at all but rather the struggle to taste anything. Foods they love lose their flavor, meals become chores instead of a source pleasure, and getting needed nourishment feels like climbing a mountain with no map. But at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital’s Scully-Welsh Cancer Center, patients are discovering that food can still be a source of comfort, strength and joy during treatment. Cancer. It is the dirty six-letter word

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Girl power was on display at McChesney Park in Port St. Lucie last month when about 100 young female soccer players gained knowledge and skills from some of sport’s best, including an Olympic gold medalist and an English international star. The girls, ages 9 to 19, were divided into four groups, going station to station for 30-minute mini-seminars led by current and former female soccer players. The groups learned an assortment of skills, some of which they got to demonstrate during the last hour when they went out to the fields and played together. Girls in Soccer brought together girls

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The beat went on at Port St. Lucie’s third annual International Fest, which attracted hundreds of visitors to Walton & One on Nov. 22. This year’s free fest – held in eastern Port St. Lucie since 2023 – featured the return of various amenities, including a global fashion exhibit in the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center interior and worldly food booths around the event center campus. City employees and volunteers also continued giving surveys to inform future events. The campus also made room for athletes, human and canine alike, with more sports from around the English-speaking world to complement the

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