On being Jane Blatt
Photographer remembers gentle rivalry
A3
Obamacare
How will it affect your taxes?
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Opera star in the making? Palm City teen going for it
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PALM CITY/TESORO
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 15
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Palm City remembers Ejan
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Small stewards
Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
MARTIN COUNTY — “So many people have said to me, ‘If it wasn’t for Janie, I wouldn’t have started painting.’” Galen Guberman spoke about his wife many knew best by her artist’s signature, Ejan. Jane Blatt was a member of the Palm City Art Associates, the Martin County Arts Council, Artists for a Cause, Art Associates of Martin County, Hobe Sound Fine Arts League, and the Elliott Museum, along with the Lighthouse ArtCenter Museum & Gallery. Jane died on Feb. 3 at the Martin Medical Center, Stuart. She was 69. There’ll be a memorial service for her at 7 p.m. on March 3, at the Forest Hills Funeral Home, 2001 S.W. Murphy Road, Palm City. Galen said Jane was not just the sanguine personality and outstanding artist Martin County had known since 1999. He said she was also an exceptional teacher who chose the
See JANE page A2
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Bessey Creek Elementary School students Austin Brandenstein, Leia Hopkins, Christopher Carnes and their teacher, Celeste Norup, explain to Marsha Powers, Martin County School Board vice chair, their role in recycling. The teacher and students were recognized at the annual Environmental Stewardship Awards through Keep Martin Beautiful Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Piper’s Landing Country Club in Palm City.
Obama’s budget calls for more Everglades money STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
TREASURE COAST — This year’s presidential budget includes nearly double the amount of funding for Everglades restoration, which would benefit the PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248 ECRWSS
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St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. The total $124 million in funding includes $60 million for the second phase of the C-44 canal project, which is to provide water treatment facilities and retention ponds for nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous to settle before entering local waterways.
Last year’s C-44 budget for Phase 1 and the start of Phase 2 was $38 million. It also budgets for $30 million for projects to help move water south of Lake Okeechobee, and $17 million for the Kissimmee River Restoration Project that will help reduce run-off into the lake. Farmers would benefit, too,
with an additional $13 million available to pay them to conserve water in retention ponds, rather than let, nutrient-rich water pollute waterways. “This is a great step forward for our local waterways,” Rep. Patrick Murphy said.
See ‘GLADES page A5 16908
Patrick McCallister
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