Bar mitzvah and books
Boy donates 725 books to SafeSpace
A3
A call for civility
Commissioner stands up to rudeness
A6
At the Lyric
Doc Grober and the Mudcats on stage
B1
PALM CITY/TESORO
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 2/ISSUE 19
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
On film
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014
Costco eyes Palm City Patrick McCallister Staff writer
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Jonathan Schwark documents with video the trainings of Vanessa Richards of Palm City as she prepares for the National Wheelchair, Sunshine State BB & Men’s & Women’s Physique, and ‘CJ’ Fitness, Figure & Bikini Classic National Qualifier scheduled to take place Saturday, March 15. Richards trains at Anytime Fitness in Stuart.
PALM CITY — Costco might be coming to town. News that Fort Lauderdale’s Thomas Engineering Group met with county staff on March 6 regarding a proposed Costco in Palm City surprised many. “They’ve probably been in Martin County for months and just pulled the trigger now,” Tim Dougher, executive director of the Business Development Board of Martin County, said in an interview after the meeting. Dougher wasn’t at the pre-application meeting between Costco representatives and county staff, although some from the public were. Martin County Commissioner John Haddox, Palm City, couldn’t
See COSTCO page A15
Martin gets customs facility Staff writer
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
MARTIN COUNTY — After a very turbulent flight, a long proposed U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement facility can now land at Witham Field, Martin County Airport. In a 3-2 vote at its March PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248 ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
4 meeting, the county commission approved a plan offered by the Martin County Marine and Aviation Alliance to launch the customs facility. At the heart of the plan is the 18-member alliance contractually pledges to the county up to $50,000 a year for the first three years that the facility is open to
make up any operational shortfalls. “This is probably the first time the business community stepped up to the county and said, ‘We’re going to put money into this,’” Commissioner John Haddox, Palm City, said at the meeting. Other commissioners claimed the alliance’s offer was a care-
The
Real Estate Team
fully crafted promise made to be broken. The alliance made the $50,000 offer after the commission was poised to kill the then proposed customs facility in November. “You come back with an agreement that doesn’t pledge money,
See CUSTOMS page A12
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Patrick McCallister