A3
50k not all aboard
Petition tops 50,000 signatures
Faux city worker scam
Scammers prey on need for water
A10
50 yrs of experience to play Pineapple Playhouse premiere
B1
ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 18
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Shaping up
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
New St. Lucie Schools superintendent selected Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Dustin Clarke, strength and conditioning coach for the New York Mets, works on stretching pitchers Bobby Parnell and Bartolo Colon and the rest of the returning squad Sunday, March 1. The Mets play their first game against the Tigers at Tradition Field Friday, March 6 at 1:10 p.m. and the following three days against the Braves, Red Sox and Marlins.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The St. Lucie County School Board has chosen its preferred new leader. The school board unanimously decided Feb. 24 to enter contract negotiations with Wayne Gent, who is to take over for Superintendent Genelle Yost when she retires in June. Gent spent the past three years as the Palm Beach County superintendent, leading the 11th-largest school district in the country. Now he’ll be returning to the county he spent more than half of his 35-year career working as a teacher and principal. “Mr. Gent has come to us with a very strong record,” St. Lucie County School Board member Kathryn Hensley said, adding that his learning curve will probably be nonexistent. Gent’s prior record in St. Lucie County and his
Wayne Gent experience as a superintendent made him stand out from the board’s second leading candidate, Manatee County Deputy Superintendent Diana Greene, board members said. Gent’s resume showed that he had nine combined years experience as a teacher in St. Lucie schools, Okeechobee School District, Hart County Schools
See SCHOOLS page A7
Tradition Studios sale another step closer STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
TRADITION — The Port St. Lucie City Council is another step closPRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248 ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
er to getting one of its monkeys off its back. The Council unanimously approved the sale of Tradition Studios to James Hall, a Jupiter resident and developer, at its last regular meeting Feb. 23, for $15
million. It’s not a done deal, though. The council must approve it again at a second reading March 9, and stipulated that Hall must follow up on his end of the bargain — to get his planned company, Legacy
TSP, established by then and pay his dues. Councilwoman Shannon Martin said this is Hall’s last chance to make sure everything is done on
See STUDIOS page A10 17346
Brandon Zeris