News

Martin County's economy is in crisis: 8,596 people are unemployed and 517 residents are homeless, including 110 women and 220 children. Food stamp use has skyrocketed, increasing 118 percent in two years. One third of all Martin County children qualify for free- and reduced-lunch programs. Even our pets are hurting. Owner surrenders to the Humane Society have doubled since 2008.

Martin Memorial Medical Center is one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the United States, according to Thomson Reuters, a business analysis firm.

We no longer can afford to do nothing. Martin County residents and small businesses deserve every chance for success. The toolkit is good for Chamber members and it is good for the entire community. The Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce proudly supports the job-creation tool kit and encourages its adoption by the County Commission.

PALM CITY - As long as there have been ships, the process of cleaning their hulls has been a hard, labor-intensive and dirty job.

To spearhead economic development, the BDB is proposing an innovative idea: Using incremental tax revenues from existing economic development projects to fund qualified, targeted businesses or capacity building projects.

Martin County stuck its toe in the water a year and a half ago, when county commissioners agreed to a handful of tax breaks and other perks for businesses that create high-wage jobs.

Despite an icy reception from naysayers who cried "corporate welfare," it turns out the pool wasn't all that frigid.

All 51 private companies and nonprofits in Martin County that applied for government grants to cover nearly 100 percent of the initial costs of planned new hires in the coming months appear set to receive the money.

The Business Development Board of Martin County is pleased to announce that all 51 Martin County applicants for the "Florida Back to Work" program were granted their requests. The applications, facilitated by Workforce Solutions, will create 261 jobs in the community.