Indian River continues slow but steady population growth for 2006
By CHARLIE REED AND JEREMY ASHTON
staff writers March 22, 2007
The Treasure Coast is now home to 522,217 people, 15,608 more than previously the Census. Mirroring years of relatively slow but steady growth, Indian River the latest data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The county welcomed 2,743 new residents during that time, raising its population to 130,100 although the growth rate dropped slightly from 2.3 the year before, according to the Census estimates.
"We've been running pretty steady the past few years," said IndianRiver County Commission Chairman Gary Wheeler.
Compared to the state's 1.8 average growth rate, Indian River is "almost middle of the road," Wheeler said. "It's like golf, the lower the score, the better."
But sandwiched between St. Lucie County and Brevard counties, which grew by 12,754 and 5,719 residents, respectively, Indian River is not immune to growing pains, Wheeler said.
"Where we're getting cramped is at our county lines," he said. "Between the water supply and roads, we're going to feel a tremendous impact from those communities."
While growth rates along the Treasure Coast fell across the board during 2005-06, the region's 3.1 percent growth average is well about the 1.8 state average. St. Lucie County dropped from 5.8 percent to 5.3 percent and Martin County fell slightly from 1.2 to 0.1. Okeechobee County also dropped slightly from 1.8 to 1.7 percent.
The declining growth rates are linked to a cooling housing market and a relatively small retiree population, said Lance deHaven-Smith, a public policy professor at Florida State University.
"Right now our retirement population is the fairly small generation in-between the World War II generation and the baby boomers, people born in the 1930s," he said. "But when the first baby boomers start retiring in two years, the growth is going to be enormous."
Those 65 and older now account for 18 percent of Florida's 17 million residents, but by 2025 they will make up 26 percent of the population, deHaven said.
"It's an avalanche waiting to happen," he said.
Until then, the Treasure Coast likely will not come to a standstill. The region is now home to 522,217 people, 15,608 more than previously recorded by the Census.
However, the latest batch of year-to-year comparisons released by the Census do not necessarily indicate an overall slow-growth trend in the region, said Greg Vaday, economic development coordinator with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
"You can't call a trend based on a couple of data points. Population migration is not always on a completely upward trajectory. Sometimes it flattens, sometimes it dips. It can't just keep going up and up," he said. "What we're probably seeing is a reflection of the overall economic condition of the country and certainly the slow down in the housing market."
But with a growing economy and coastal living appeal, the Treasure Coast is sure to continue attracting a steady stream of new residents, most of whom come here for a new job or to retire, he said.
charlie.reed@scripps.com jeremy.ashton@scripps.com
"Right now our retirement population is the fairly small generation in-between the World War II generation and the baby boomers, people born in the 1930s. But when the first baby boomers start retiring in two years, the growth is going to be enormous. It's an avalanche waiting to happen."
Lance deHaven-Smith, public policy professor at Florida State University
"We definitely need an opportunity to catch our breath. We got behind in providing the services that we're supposed to be providing such as schools, public transportation, libraries and roads. The growth came so quickly in the past few years we just weren't able to make those things happen as quickly as we could have or should have."
Some interesting notes from the 2006 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau:
St. Lucie County Commission Chairman Chris Craft
• The Treasure Coast is home to 13,419 more people than the state of Wyoming.
• Florida boasts 12 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States. Only Georgia and Texas have more on the list.
• St. Lucie County went from the 13th fastest-growing county in the United States in 2005 to 43rd in 2006.
• Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach rank eighth, 15th and 29th, respectively, on the list of the nation's largest counties.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Under the oaks
Vero Beach's three-day event among top 200 of its type in the nation
By ELLIOTT JONES
elliott.jones@scripps.com
March 10, 2007
VERO BEACH — After a 20-hour flight from Israel, artist Yoram Gal was rushing and sweating: he couldn't get the last two boxes of his fresh paintings boarded on the airplane for the final leg of his journey to the Under the Oaks sale and show. So the 55-year-old Israeli went ahead Thursday, flying from New Jersey to Miami.
Then he drove to Vero Beach, just in time to get his display set up for the opening on Friday, the first day of the three-day show that continues today and Sunday. He had to get there. "This is an important show," said Gal, who displayed some paintings he had left in a van in Miami from a previous trip to the United States.
Then last night he planned to drive to Miami to get the boxes of paintings the airplane was forwarding to him.
More than 629 artists and photographers applied to get in. Only 212 were selected, said Roz Duflo, coordinator of the three-day show that attracts up to 80,000 visitors each year. The 59th annual Under the Oaks show is among the top 200 events of its type in the nation, based on quality and size, she said.
So artists come from throughout the United States — even from overseas, in Geal's case — to offer items such as handmade Italian lambskin purses with silver and semiprecious stones, costing $1,195.
Carver Jia Justin, of Philadelphia, displayed a 3-foot-tall wooden carving that took a year to make: fish and turtles in a coral reef. The price tag is $5,788.
But there are also small trinkets, such as the necklace 9-year-old Pennsylvania resident Courtney Howell picked out under the watchful eyes of her grandmother, part-time Vero Beach resident Dottie Howell.
Dangling from the necklace was a dark blue piece of glass tumbled smooth by the ocean washing on the beach. It reminded her of Cape Cod's Martha's Vinyard, where she spends summers on the beaches.
Most of what she saw Friday at Under the Oaks "is for adults," Courtney said, while holding the necklace and pointing out a metal swirl on it. "This is really cool." As her grandmother sees it, Under the Oaks "is fabulous."
A group of people were silent, listening to Brooker resident Gene Jaeger playing "Amazing Grace" on a handmade $300 psaltery that has a fine, harp-like sound.
Wisconsin winter visitor Audrey Delafield listened, thinking of an old lyre harp at home. "This is a wonderful show," she said. For Gal, the show is a breathe of freedom.
In Europe, buyers are more fickle, tending to purchase from galleries and rely on art critics in making choices, he said. The United States has outdoor art shows where customer just walk up and buy what they like. "It is a risk coming here, having to spend many thousands of dollars" in travel expenses to showcase his paintings made of canvas and water-based paints and other mediums. Some are realistic, such as one of a duck running. One is of the waterfront were he lives: Old Jaffa, home of the Biblical Jonah and the whale story.
Most are abstract, colorful emotional representations of things such as a night in Jerusalem.
This is his third Under the Oaks show and from here he goes to New Jersey and Texa, before flying back to Israel to visit his wife and young son — embracing as in one of his paintings entitled "triangle embrace." Then he'll fly back for a show in Austin, Texas.
He was an officer in the military in Israel and knows the tensions in his country. "It is a love-hate relationship," he said. "We argue between ourselves. There are a hundred views of what is going on. There are tensions. Yet, I love Israel. We are passionate, fighting to keep it alive.
"I do like to get out and breathe a little," he said, as he stood by his paintings under the oak trees in the quiet of Riverside Park. "There is death and war. That makes me try even harder to have fun and smile. We have enough of the other."
What: An outdoor juried art show with 212 artists from Florida and the United States
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Vero Beach's Riverside Park, south of the eastern end of the Merrill Barber Bridge
Typical attendance: 80,000 during the three-day show that started Friday
Admission: Free
Parking: Free parking in park, plus a shuttle for parking in nearby MacWilliams Park
Concessions: Food and drink for sale
Information: List of exhibits and information are available at Vero Beach Art Club tent at the entryway.
Organizers: Vero Beach Art Club, a group of 562 members
Proceeds: Pay for scholarships for high-school seniors and education of art club members
By ELLIOTT JONES
elliott.jones@scripps.com
March 10, 2007
VERO BEACH — After a 20-hour flight from Israel, artist Yoram Gal was rushing and sweating: he couldn't get the last two boxes of his fresh paintings boarded on the airplane for the final leg of his journey to the Under the Oaks sale and show. So the 55-year-old Israeli went ahead Thursday, flying from New Jersey to Miami.
Then he drove to Vero Beach, just in time to get his display set up for the opening on Friday, the first day of the three-day show that continues today and Sunday. He had to get there. "This is an important show," said Gal, who displayed some paintings he had left in a van in Miami from a previous trip to the United States.
Then last night he planned to drive to Miami to get the boxes of paintings the airplane was forwarding to him.
More than 629 artists and photographers applied to get in. Only 212 were selected, said Roz Duflo, coordinator of the three-day show that attracts up to 80,000 visitors each year. The 59th annual Under the Oaks show is among the top 200 events of its type in the nation, based on quality and size, she said.
So artists come from throughout the United States — even from overseas, in Geal's case — to offer items such as handmade Italian lambskin purses with silver and semiprecious stones, costing $1,195.
Carver Jia Justin, of Philadelphia, displayed a 3-foot-tall wooden carving that took a year to make: fish and turtles in a coral reef. The price tag is $5,788.
But there are also small trinkets, such as the necklace 9-year-old Pennsylvania resident Courtney Howell picked out under the watchful eyes of her grandmother, part-time Vero Beach resident Dottie Howell.
Dangling from the necklace was a dark blue piece of glass tumbled smooth by the ocean washing on the beach. It reminded her of Cape Cod's Martha's Vinyard, where she spends summers on the beaches.
Most of what she saw Friday at Under the Oaks "is for adults," Courtney said, while holding the necklace and pointing out a metal swirl on it. "This is really cool." As her grandmother sees it, Under the Oaks "is fabulous."
A group of people were silent, listening to Brooker resident Gene Jaeger playing "Amazing Grace" on a handmade $300 psaltery that has a fine, harp-like sound.
Wisconsin winter visitor Audrey Delafield listened, thinking of an old lyre harp at home. "This is a wonderful show," she said. For Gal, the show is a breathe of freedom.
In Europe, buyers are more fickle, tending to purchase from galleries and rely on art critics in making choices, he said. The United States has outdoor art shows where customer just walk up and buy what they like. "It is a risk coming here, having to spend many thousands of dollars" in travel expenses to showcase his paintings made of canvas and water-based paints and other mediums. Some are realistic, such as one of a duck running. One is of the waterfront were he lives: Old Jaffa, home of the Biblical Jonah and the whale story.
Most are abstract, colorful emotional representations of things such as a night in Jerusalem.
This is his third Under the Oaks show and from here he goes to New Jersey and Texa, before flying back to Israel to visit his wife and young son — embracing as in one of his paintings entitled "triangle embrace." Then he'll fly back for a show in Austin, Texas.
He was an officer in the military in Israel and knows the tensions in his country. "It is a love-hate relationship," he said. "We argue between ourselves. There are a hundred views of what is going on. There are tensions. Yet, I love Israel. We are passionate, fighting to keep it alive.
"I do like to get out and breathe a little," he said, as he stood by his paintings under the oak trees in the quiet of Riverside Park. "There is death and war. That makes me try even harder to have fun and smile. We have enough of the other."
What: An outdoor juried art show with 212 artists from Florida and the United States
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Vero Beach's Riverside Park, south of the eastern end of the Merrill Barber Bridge
Typical attendance: 80,000 during the three-day show that started Friday
Admission: Free
Parking: Free parking in park, plus a shuttle for parking in nearby MacWilliams Park
Concessions: Food and drink for sale
Information: List of exhibits and information are available at Vero Beach Art Club tent at the entryway.
Organizers: Vero Beach Art Club, a group of 562 members
Proceeds: Pay for scholarships for high-school seniors and education of art club members
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Sebastian Yacht Club
Yacht club improvements may be completed by April
By ED BIERSCHENK ed.bierschenk@scripps.com March 1, 2007
SEBASTIAN —
Repairs and renovations to the Sebastian Yacht Club — along with the parking area that serves it and the adjacent boat ramp — may be completed this spring. "We are really shooting to have it back open by mid- to late April," said Sebastian City Manager Al Minner.
The Sebastian City Council, acting in its capacity as the city's Community Development Agency, on Wednesday authorized putting another $15,000 in CRA money into the project —now expected to cost about $154,000.
Minner will also look at some money allocated for sidewalks to help fund improvements at the site, initially expected to cost about $110,000.
Interior work to the building, damaged during the 2004 hurricanes, included utting the city-owned facility to allow for a more spacious layout, installation of new handicap bathrooms, new electrical wiring, new air conditioning, replacement of doors and windows, and new siding. information Minner presented to council members.
About $30,000 more is needed for sidewalks and railings. Minner said the Yacht Club will be in better shape than it was before the hurricanes because of the improvements, with about $5,000 of new landscaping added to the site.
Some residents have complained about delays in finishing renovations at the building, which has been used by community groups. City officials held off on making some repairs while looking at options to aid area boat traffic .
At one time, consideration was given to doubling the size of the boat ramp and possibly closing the Main Street boat ramp. That idea, however, was vigorously opposed by some boaters, and the City Council last year rejected that plan.
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By ED BIERSCHENK ed.bierschenk@scripps.com March 1, 2007
SEBASTIAN —
Repairs and renovations to the Sebastian Yacht Club — along with the parking area that serves it and the adjacent boat ramp — may be completed this spring. "We are really shooting to have it back open by mid- to late April," said Sebastian City Manager Al Minner.
The Sebastian City Council, acting in its capacity as the city's Community Development Agency, on Wednesday authorized putting another $15,000 in CRA money into the project —now expected to cost about $154,000.
Minner will also look at some money allocated for sidewalks to help fund improvements at the site, initially expected to cost about $110,000.
Interior work to the building, damaged during the 2004 hurricanes, included utting the city-owned facility to allow for a more spacious layout, installation of new handicap bathrooms, new electrical wiring, new air conditioning, replacement of doors and windows, and new siding. information Minner presented to council members.
About $30,000 more is needed for sidewalks and railings. Minner said the Yacht Club will be in better shape than it was before the hurricanes because of the improvements, with about $5,000 of new landscaping added to the site.
Some residents have complained about delays in finishing renovations at the building, which has been used by community groups. City officials held off on making some repairs while looking at options to aid area boat traffic .
At one time, consideration was given to doubling the size of the boat ramp and possibly closing the Main Street boat ramp. That idea, however, was vigorously opposed by some boaters, and the City Council last year rejected that plan.
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New Heart Clinic report card
Heart center at IRMC gets strong report
By JAMES KIRLEY jim.kirley@scripps.com March 1, 2007
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY —
A team of doctors from Duke University spent Wednesday examining heart surgery and angioplasty cases done during the first three months of operations at The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center and delivered a glowing report to the hospital's Board of Directors. "The quality that you've achieved is not by mistake, it's by design," said Dr. Harry Phillips, medical director of the Duke Heart Network. "I want to compliment everyone involved in the process."
Duke University Health System is affiliated with IRMC. It helped develop the heart program and conducts ongoing quality reviews of results. The local program hired Dr. Cary Stowe as its medical director for cardiovascular surgery and Dr. Joel Greenberg as its director of interventional cardiology — procedures usually referred to as angioplasty. Both are veteran doctors with years of experience at other heart centers
Duke's Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery Dr. Peter Smith told IRMC directors Wednesday the first open heart surgery cases done locally by Stowe were more complex than might be expected at a new heart center. He added that Stowe's surgical experience made that possible.
"I don't think he's shied away from much at all," Smith said. He also predicted that, based on patient volumes to date, RMC's Heart Center could perform between 220 and 240 open-heart surgeries during its first year. High heart surgery volumes are widely considered important for maintaining the skills of surgical teams.
"It could be better," Smith said of surgery volume. "But we're well on the road."
Dr. Jimmy Tcheng, an inteventional cardiologist and medical director of Duke's Heart Center of Excellence program, said he was "extremely happy" about what he saw on Wednesday's visit.
"You, as an institution, are ahead of the game in terms of experience," Tcheng said, adding that Greenberg has helped IRMC off to a good start.
Phillips said that while many people feel there is an inherent advantage in academic medicine, hybrid programs such as the Duke/IRMC affiliation have their own merit.
"I think there is an advantage in community medicine," Phillips said.
HEART UNIT PUMPING
The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center has been performing open heart surgeries since Nov. 6 and non-surgical angioplasty procedures to open blocked heart arteries since Nov. 27. The number of cases performed to date at IRMC are:
Open heart surgeries: 60
Non-surgical angioplasty procedures: 110
Heart Center patients who died at IRMC and up to 30 days after discharge: Zero
IRMC Marketing Department; oral report to IRMC Board of Directors by a team of Duke University doctors who conducted case reviews Wednesday.
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By JAMES KIRLEY jim.kirley@scripps.com March 1, 2007
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY —
A team of doctors from Duke University spent Wednesday examining heart surgery and angioplasty cases done during the first three months of operations at The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center and delivered a glowing report to the hospital's Board of Directors. "The quality that you've achieved is not by mistake, it's by design," said Dr. Harry Phillips, medical director of the Duke Heart Network. "I want to compliment everyone involved in the process."
Duke University Health System is affiliated with IRMC. It helped develop the heart program and conducts ongoing quality reviews of results. The local program hired Dr. Cary Stowe as its medical director for cardiovascular surgery and Dr. Joel Greenberg as its director of interventional cardiology — procedures usually referred to as angioplasty. Both are veteran doctors with years of experience at other heart centers
Duke's Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery Dr. Peter Smith told IRMC directors Wednesday the first open heart surgery cases done locally by Stowe were more complex than might be expected at a new heart center. He added that Stowe's surgical experience made that possible.
"I don't think he's shied away from much at all," Smith said. He also predicted that, based on patient volumes to date, RMC's Heart Center could perform between 220 and 240 open-heart surgeries during its first year. High heart surgery volumes are widely considered important for maintaining the skills of surgical teams.
"It could be better," Smith said of surgery volume. "But we're well on the road."
Dr. Jimmy Tcheng, an inteventional cardiologist and medical director of Duke's Heart Center of Excellence program, said he was "extremely happy" about what he saw on Wednesday's visit.
"You, as an institution, are ahead of the game in terms of experience," Tcheng said, adding that Greenberg has helped IRMC off to a good start.
Phillips said that while many people feel there is an inherent advantage in academic medicine, hybrid programs such as the Duke/IRMC affiliation have their own merit.
"I think there is an advantage in community medicine," Phillips said.
HEART UNIT PUMPING
The Heart Center at Indian River Medical Center has been performing open heart surgeries since Nov. 6 and non-surgical angioplasty procedures to open blocked heart arteries since Nov. 27. The number of cases performed to date at IRMC are:
Open heart surgeries: 60
Non-surgical angioplasty procedures: 110
Heart Center patients who died at IRMC and up to 30 days after discharge: Zero
IRMC Marketing Department; oral report to IRMC Board of Directors by a team of Duke University doctors who conducted case reviews Wednesday.
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