Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Blog”
The former Quilted Giraffe restaurant is being demolished to make way for a new freestanding ER operated by the Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce.
It’ll be the first freestanding ER in the county.
See last week’s issue to find out how much Lawnwood paid for the two parcels. (Do a Google search for “Lemmon Lines” and “Issue 209.”)
South Vero Square already has a McDonald’s and a Wendy’s, and pretty soon it’ll be getting a Burger King.
Burger King will be going in a former bank building just to the north of McDonald’s.
In addition to the three fast-food giants, there are at least five other eateries in South Vero Square.
Dolly Costarino was always my biggest fan.
When I was the Indian River County columnist for the Press Journal, she sent me hand-written notes on a regular basis.
When I decided to start my own publication (in 2014), Dolly wanted to help me get off to a good start … so, she bought an ad that simply said “Dolly.” (She also insisted her son, Jim DiMarzo, buy an ad.)
The photo at the top is from Issue 1 (from October 2014). The other photo shows Dolly holding a copy of Issue 1.
It’s a gesture that I’ll always remember. A memory that I’ll always cherish.
Dolly died Saturday at age 98.
They’ve known each other since kindergarten at St. Helen’s.
Now in their mid-20s, they’re getting ready to open a restaurant in downtown Vero Beach.
Zak Schmitz, David Bedford, Dave Pascuzzi and Sean D’Ambrosio hope to have Ono Luau up and running sometime in October.
Read about their new venture in this week’s issue.
We’ve all seen the “negative” ads on TV for statewide candidates. In Indian River County, it’s been mostly “positive” campaigns.
I’ve been particularly impressed by the candidates for County Judge.
In the top photo, the photo of Kiernan Patrick Moylan and Robyn Stone was taken in front of the library during early voting.
In the bottom photo, the other candidate for County Judge, Nicole Menz, spent every day during early voting by the book drop-off at the library.
“All day, every day,” she said.
I’m always amazed at the number of TVs and computers that are discarded at the county’s recycling centers. (This photo was taken at the Oslo center on Old Dixie Highway.)
I hadn’t heard anything from the Civic Association of Indian River County in about a decade.
Then, out of nowhere, the group filed a protest against the proposed sale of the city of Vero Beach’s electric system to Florida Power & Light.
The group lacks stature and credibility.
The Civic Association wants a referendum on the sale, which is expected to close by Oct. 1.
Voters have made their intentions clear through the years (starting in 2009) that the city should get out of the electric business.
Let’s face it, the signs in Vero Beach to discourage panhandling have lost their effectiveness.
They seemed to work the first few weeks, but I now see many of the same faces at the same locations every day. Many times, the panhandlers set up shop right underneath the signs.
Richard Granata took this photo of a anti-panhandling sign last month when he was in Lexington, Kentucky (see above).
The message is more direct than the signs in Vero Beach (see below).
The Indian River Mall has leased space to a church, so why not auction company?
Manor Auctions is leasing a 6,000 square-foot space (it’s a prime location, near the food court) and plans to hold three live auctions in July.
Owner Paul Barattini says the “Transformer”-like figure, shown in the photo above, has helped draw people into the showroom. (People have taken selfies with it.) Safe to assume it won’t be auctioned off anytime soon.
For more about the mall’s new tenant, check out this week’s issue.
American Grill + Bar is the latest restaurant trying to make a go of it in South Vero Square.
In recent years, at the same location, YNot, JR’s American Bar and Grill and Blue 42 have come and gone.
Musa Alici, who previously owned a restaurant in Cocoa, discovered the restaurant space at South Vero Beach after making a “fateful” stop at the nearby Wendy’s.
Read about Alici’s plans for American Grill + Bar in this week’s issue.