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Pond problems
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Domestic abuse in spotlight Since NFL scandals, local calls spike
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Concert series now FREE
St. Bernadette series makes changes
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ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 2/ISSUE 46
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
Centennial stuns fifth ranked Merritt Island Centennial High School running back Basil Bradshaw stretches a run into a first down during the first half of the game against Merritt Island Friday, Sept. 12 at South County Stadium in St. Lucie West. Bradshaw would go on to run for the game winning, come from behind touchdown with only a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter. The Centennial Eagles earned a 30-24 victory before their bye week.
Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
ST. LUCIE WEST — This was a senior night to remember for the St. Lucie West Centennial football team. Centennial (1-2) trailed Merritt Island (2-1) for much of the game Friday evening, but the Eagles took their first lead with 1:34 left in the game and held on for a 30-24 win, the school’s first of the season. Merritt Island, the state’s fifth-ranked 5A team prior to the game, was the undoubted favorite, beating Centennial the past three years a combined 94-18. Everything was going right for Merritt Island for much of the first half as it had a 24-3 lead with just over three minutes left in the half. That’s when Centennial turned things around and woke the crowd up. Merritt Island turned the ball over on a fumbled punt return, setting up Centennial at Merritt Island’s 15-yard line. Centennial senior quarterback Javid Ellis needed just three plays to lead his team into the end zone, scoring on a run
Mitch Kloorfain chief photographer
See CENTENNIAL page 6
City to pay more in Digital Domain bonds Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
PORT ST. LUCIE — City staff is restructuring roughly $33 million bond debt from the failed Digital Domain deal to save money in the short term, but it will have to shell out more money long term. Port St. Lucie Finance Director Ed Fry said the old bonds are being sold this week, and new ones
will be bought that extend the payback period from the original 20 years to 30 years. The debt is being refinanced to help the city in the short term, Fry said. “The problem with the old bonds is that they were front-loaded,” he said. The city is paying $3.5 million annually on the debt. The new bond payments will be $1.5 million until 2019, to cover only the interest due, Fry said.
This gives the city some time to sell the former Digital Domain building without being crippled by the payments, Fry said. Once 2019 rolls around, the payments will be increased to $2.3 million and have to be paid by 2043, if the building isn’t sold by then. More likely, however, is that the building will be sold within the next four years. Using a $14 million sale price as a benchmark, Fry said, if the building is sold,
the yearly payments would be around $900,000 until 2019 and about $1.3 million after. Fry said the new bonds will likely have an average 4.3 percent rate, which he said is lower than the current ones, although he didn’t have figures available Monday. The city has received bids ranging from $8.5 million to $15 million. The building is currently listed for sale on the city’s website.
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