Giving back
Doc teaches daughters path to giving
A3
Monumental dedication SLC war hero recognized
A15 Best tail in Fort Pierce
Rinelli’s Yellowtail raises the bar
B1
ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 2
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014
All Aboard Florida Rockets at Renaissance opponents hope their complaints are actually heard Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
See RAILWAY page A20 PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248 ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Desiree Gorman works with her son Dylan, 9, in building a rocket using a lesson on propulsion and thrust by the Parent Academy of St. Lucie County. The lesson took place at the Renaissance Charter School of Tradition Thursday, Nov. 6.
Greg Oravec wins mayor race; ready to get started Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
PORT ST. LUCIE — Greg Oravec will be back in City Hall. Oravec secured nearly 61 percent of vote, winning 30 of 31 precincts over incumbent JoAnn Faiella to become Port St. Lucie’s next mayor. Oravec said he hopes to make transition a smooth one and to get started on
his platform as soon as possible. “My first order of business is to go in and carry out my plan for the future. I posted it on Facebook since the start, and the thinking on that doesn’t change. A phrase I like to use is ‘lining them up and knocking them down,’” he said. Among his first pieces of business is to establish a series of committees to help the city conduct its business more
See ORAVEC page A9 14791
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Treasure Coast residents got a chance to make their opposition known Nov. 6 at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center via written statement or through a stenographer about the proposed All Aboard Florida passenger railway service that will make 32 daily passes along the Treasure Coast without a stop. The opportunity was one of three for Treasure Coast residents to attend a public comment period meeting. The other two were held Oct. 30 in Stuart and Nov. 5 in Vero Beach. There will be eight such meetings at venues near the route from Miami to Orlando by the time the 75-day public comment period is concluded. People were able to talk to All Aboard Florida and Federal Department of Transportation representatives to get questions answered. Many concerns were answered by representatives, but, ultimately, people were urged to write everything down for the powers that be at the federal level to read them. Some thought their written complaints would be nothing more than kindling while All Aboard Florida’s plans would get approved as-is. “This whole format was a waste of time,” Marian Anderson of St. Lucie West said. “I think this whole thing was set up to keep us quiet.” Kevin Thompson, Federal Railroad Administration spokesman, said each person’s statements will be read. “I assure you that they are. The law requires us to go through all of the comments. We keep them all on a public docket that will be online and accessible to everyone once we issue the final environmental impact study,” he said. Thompson said the meeting format was chosen to create an open dialogue for people to ask and answer questions. “A dialogue with the government is more productive