Treasure Coast Newspapers, Stuart, Fla., Russ Lemmon column

June 01--Seven bite-size Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for California Chrome to win horse racing's Triple Crown:

--It's June 1. You know what that means.

The start of hurricane season.

This is my eighth hurricane season as an Indian River County resident, and the biggest weather event thus far has been Tropical Storm Fay in 2008.

Knock on wood.

It's been nine years since a hurricane last hit here.

It's been a decade since the back-to-back hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, forever changed the county.

I've read a bunch of stories this year warning us against complacency. It's human nature, I suppose, to lose focus after so many years without a hurricane.

One cure for complacency might be to cut hurricane season in half -- make it three months instead of six -- and come up with another name for the period from June 1 through Nov. 30.

Limiting hurricane season to August, September and October might help us keep the eye on the ball, so to speak.

According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the other three months of hurricane season -- June, July and November -- have been very quiet in Florida the past 50 years. We've had only two hurricanes in June, one in July and none in November.

Starting hurricane season on June 1 lends itself to "fatigue." You can only be on full alert for so long.

All kinds of things go through our minds during hurricane season. It's almost like the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Citizen's Insurance.

El Nino.

Storm shutters.

Cone of Uncertainty.

Emergency Operations Center.

Hunker down.

Evacuation plan.

Generators.

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Weather Channel.

You know the drill. We go from being like paradise six months a year to fretting over what may happen if a hurricane hits.

--Cumberland Farms is doing its part to stimulate the local economy. It has two major projects going on simultaneously.

Its new store, at U.S. 1 and 45th Street, is expected to open at the end of this month or early July, according Derek Beckwith, a company spokesman.

The store in Sebastian, at County Road 512 and Barber Street, is being completely rebuilt and is expected to reopen at the end of September, Beckwith said.

--John Crowe reported via Facebook that Vero Beach made last Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle.

The clue for 59 across (four letters): "_____Beach, Fla."

--During my appearance Friday morning on WTTB's "Local News Magazine," host Bob Soos shared some interesting trivia about the radio station's call letters.

The station (1490 AM) will turn 60 years old on Saturday.

The owners decided to go with WTTB -- which stands for "Where The Tropics Begin" -- rather than WVPJ.

WVPJ? It would have stood for "Voice of the Press Journal." Back in 1954, the owner of the Press Journal and others, including Merrill Barber (a former Vero Beach mayor, state senator and namesake of the State Road 60 bridge over the Indian River Lagoon), founded the radio station.

--Tanya Brown, the youngest sister of Nicole Brown Simpson (who was murdered 20 years ago this month), has speaking appearances scheduled for November on the Treasure Coast.

She is the author of "Finding Peace Amid the Chaos: My Escape from Depression and Suicide" and will be speaking at events sponsored by the Suncoast Mental Health Center.

On Nov. 20, she'll be at StarStruck Studios in Stuart. On Nov. 21, she'll be at a luncheon at Grand Harbor just north of Vero Beach.

--Most surprising news of the week? It had to be Jim Gabbard pressing the "pause" button on his retirement to become the interim police chief in Port Richey.

In Vero Beach, he was police chief for 19 years and then became city manager. He retired on Oct. 15, 2010.

--Given that we have two races for Indian River County Commission and three races for School Board, it's hard to believe only one county-level race has three active candidates.

And that's for Seat 2 on the Mosquito Control District.

Go figure.

Russ Lemmon is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects his opinion. Contact him at 772-978-2205 or russ.lemmon@scripps.com.

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