VERO BEACH - Vero Beach artist Barry Shapiro has launched his second sock drive to help the homeless. Socks are being collected at 10 locations.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Indian River County administration staff members have created a legislative program for the Florida legislative session that began on Jan. 14. The program includes guiding principles, nine issue priorities, and one appropriations priority.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - The School District of Indian River County has released its 2020 legislative priorities.

Major Eric Flowers, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, to lead March for Babies Indian River

VERO BEACH – The Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra announces the 2020 concert dates for the twelfth season since the Orchestra’s inception. Two performances will be held at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center at 1707 16th Street in Vero Beach.

TREASURE COAST - This month’s Dyer Difference Award in St. Lucie County will benefit The Lindsay School of the Arts, a completely free, after school performing, fine, and visual arts center for children aged eight to 18. Organized in 2018, the purpose of the Lindsay School of the Arts is to …

VERO BEACH – The Junior League of Indian River is currently accepting nominations for the 8th Annual Woman of the Year. A woman can be nominated in one of four categories: Business Professional, Civic/Non-Profit Professional, Volunteer, and Rising Star (women ages 17-25). Once again, this ye…

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) is proud to announce that we can now have guests with wheelchairs on our beloved pontoon boat excursions. With our new roll-a-ramp, a portable, aluminum ramp that gently gets the guests from the dock to the pontoon boat, all guest…

One of the top three annual events in Indian River County is Florida Craft Brew & Wingfest – a day when the whole community takes wing – chicken wing, that is. Rotary Club of Vero Beach Sunrise Foundation puts on the event to help fund services provided to tens of thousands of individual…

SEBASTIAN - Tempers erupted at the Jan. 8 Sebastian City Council meeting, as Council Member Damien Gilliams challenged the ranking of City Attorney candidates conducted at the prior meeting. Mr. Gilliams also suggested the council votes needed to be more transparent.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Deanna Slamans, an educator and author who experienced early childhood trauma when her father went to prison for murder and her mother committed suicide due to bipolar disorder, will discuss character education and how it can help children rise above dire circumstances,…

VERO BEACH - The Economic Opportunities Council of Indian River County is helping low-income residents achieve their educational and vocational goals, earn a living wage, and move away from poverty and public assistance to financial self-sufficiency. The goal of the REACH program is ending g…

Treasure Coast - A Great Fence LLC, one of the Treasure Coast’s best-known fence companies is proud to support local events, non-profits and charitable organizations. The company has announced their commitment to several community events.

Since 2002, the Garden Club of Indian River County has hosted Gardenfest! Nature’s Finest Marketplace at Vero Beach’s Riverside Park the first weekend in February. This event is one of the largest free and family-friendly garden shows in Florida. It has become one of the major attractions fo…

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Indian River County commissioners have approved a resolution asking the Florida legislature to fund the Florida Forever program at its historical levels of $300 million per year.

VERO BEACH - A gifted singer, songwriter and musician will take center stage on Thursday, February 6 at The Emerson Center at 7 p.m. Joan Osborne and her trio of musicians will no doubt leave audiences with a soulful evening filled of tunes, stories and strong feelings of optimism. This conc…

TREASURE COAST - Any U.S. citizen who has a permanent disability is eligible for a free, lifetime pass that allows entry to more than 2,000 federally-managed recreation sites, including over 400 national parks and forests.

VERO BEACH - As the new year began, the biggest issue regarding commercial airline service out of Vero Beach was whether Elite Airways would sign a new agreement that included increased fees. But the future of commercial service in Vero Beach was thrown into a tailspin at the Jan. 9 Vero Bea…

VERO BEACH, Fl. - A savory dinner of seasonal favorites on the pristine lakefront at Schacht Groves was the idyllic setting for Treasure Coast Food Bank’s Fall Harvest Dinner. The celebration of nutritious local food benefitted children, seniors and families struggling with hunger on the Tre…

SEBASTIAN - On January 25, 2020, H.A.L.O. No-Kill Rescue will host their 3rd Annual Chase

Vero Beach — The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) is gearing up for their signature annual benefit—Mangroves & Moonlight. This event will be held on Saturday, January 11 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will take place throughout the ELC’s scenic 64-acre campus along the Indian River Lagoon.

First Presbyterian Department of Music and Arts

Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital First to Offer Lung Valve Treatment for COPD Patients on the Treasure Coast

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - The new superintendent of Indian River County schools, Dr. David Moore, will hold meetings with community members and school faculty throughout January.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Indian River County Commissioner Tim Zorc has proposed finding county-owned land that can be used for affordable housing. At a recent county commissioners’ meeting, Comm. Zorc found allies on the goal, but not his suggested process.

FELLSMERE - In Florida, local governments cannot take action on their own to ban disposable plastic bags and polystyrene products such as Styrofoam. Florida law says that the state’s authority overrides (or preempts) any local restrictions.

VERO BEACH - The Pelican Island Audubon Society will hold an all-day conference called “Transforming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future" on Jan. 25 at The Emerson Center.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - Indian River County joined the world’s largest shared reading experience on Nov. 7. More than 8,000 local children and adults joined two million others to read the same book as part of JumpStart’s 14th annual Read for the Record to highlight the importance of building e…

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - On Dec. 20, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against Indian River County in its high-speed train lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - We asked leaders of our community for their resolutions, hopes, or goals for the New Year.

As 2019 comes to a close and we look forward to 2020, my resolutions are to continue to provide our customers with the elite services they have come to expect and deserve. We want to continue to improve upon or digital platforms, our papers, and our customer service and delve into areas that…

TREASURE COAST - According to The American Humane Association, over 10 million dogs and cats are lost in the U.S. every year. One in three pets will become lost at some point during their life. One of the worst days of the year for losing pets is New Year’s Eve.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - As the year comes to a close, Hometown News revisits some of the major stories of 2019.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY - According to the St. Johns River Water Management District, 565 million gallons of water are used by the public every day in the district’s 18 counties, which includes Indian River County. More than half of the water used at residential locations is for landscape irrigation.

SEBASTIAN - In April, the Sebastian City Council asked City Manager Paul Carlisle for a report on options to control weeds and aquatic vegetation. The move was in response to citizen concerns about possible health risks associated with the use of glyphosate, an ingredient in Roundup.

VERO BEACH - According to the latest report from the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association, November beach attendance set a new record.

VERO BEACH - The Economic Opportunities Council of Indian River County hosted its annual Head Start Community Read Weeks from Oct. 21 to Nov 1. Seventy-six volunteers from the community visited EOC’s Head Start Centers in Indian River and Okeechobee Counties to read to the children.

TREASURE COAST - Within hours of the recent shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, the non-profit organization OneBlood rushed extra blood to Pensacola hospitals. Now the Florida-based blood distributor needs to replenish its blood and platelet supply.

VERO BEACH - Piper Aircraft has opened the application period for its 2020 apprenticeship program. Ten new apprentices will be accepted in the two-year job training program that includes classroom instruction at Indian River State College. The credits earned at IRSC may be used towards a two…

SEBASTIAN - A new report by Florida Tech scientists and the Sebastian Inlet District links sand volume on beaches adjacent to the Sebastian Inlet with sea level changes.

TREASURE COAST - The Indian River Lagoon Council expects to have more than a million dollars available in fiscal year 2020-21 for lagoon improvement grants.

VERO BEACH - The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation has named Louise Kennedy to its newly created position of Executive Director, starting July 5, 2020.

The sixth class of Ride Beyond Diagnosis, a program of equine-assisted therapy for women diagnosed with cancer and others with breast cancer, celebrated its graduation recently. Ride Beyond Diagnosis, which is sponsored by the Presbyterian Women of the First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach…

Several hundred friends and supporters recently celebrated the grand opening of FriendshipWorks Gallery, a new art space created by Friends After Diagnosis (FAD), a non-profit support organization serving women with cancer and others with breast cancer. Proceeds from the event support FAD su…

VERO BEACH – Florida’s Coast to Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross responded to a house fire this morning on Pecan Place in Fort Pierce, Fla.

VERO BEACH - While other jurisdictions along the Treasure Coast are abandoning the fight to stop high-speed trains, choosing instead to lobby for local stations, Indian River County continues the battle.