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44 years and out John Messina to retire
Crooks at ATM
SLW bank found with skimmer
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Peter Pan goes to college IRSC to perform classic
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ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 4/ISSUE 12
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016
Crosstown Parkway design open house draws large crowd Bruno Moore
FOR YOUR VOICE NEWS & VIEWS
info@YourVoiceWeekly.com
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The controversial Crosstown Parkway bridge project, slated for a 2018 completion, will bring a much needed third route across the St. Lucie River, alleviating gummed up traffic delays that Port St. Lucie residents have dealt with for decades. On Jan. 13, residents got a chance to see that project in miniature. At an open-house of sorts the public was introduced to what the Crosstown project might look like once complete. Nearly 350 people viewed sculptures, sketches, drawings and animations of the bridge and even got a chance to vote on one of four versions of the plan. Scheduled to break ground this summer, the bridge plan still must pass muster with the South Florida Water Management District. Permitting with the agency is still pending. The bridge is slated to connect the current Crosstown Parkway from I-95 to West Virginia Drive and then across the St. Lucie River east to US-1. Indian Riverkeeper Marty Baum and The Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, advocating on behalf of environmental issues, have
See CROSSTOWN page A11
Mitch Kloorfain/chief photographer Brian Merson of American Consulting Professionals explains the future of the final addition of Crosstown Parkway to Pauline Famiglietti and Katie Robinson during a showcase at the Port St. Lucie Community Center Wednesday, Jan. 6.
SLC Clerk reflects on year of same-sex marriage Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — On Jan. 6 last year, a social revolution swept through Florida, but it was just another day for the Clerk of Court, Joseph E. Smith. U.S. District Judge Robert
Hinkle overturned Florida’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and ordered clerks to start issuing marriage licenses to samesex couples that Tuesday morning just over a year ago. “The first day we gave out marriage licenses, I put out a note that said, ‘Today is a regular day at the clerk’s office,’” Smith said. “We’re doing the same thing we did yesterday, just to
a different group of people.” Nevertheless, no one at the clerk’s office knew what the day would bring besides eager same-sex couples. No one knew whether there’d be demonstrators for or against the sudden expansion of marriage at the office. Florida was the 36th state to get same-sex
See MARRIAGE page A14
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