BOCA FESTIVAL DAYS: August 1 to August 31

BOCA FESTIVAL DAYS: August 1 to August 31

Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce President Troy McLellan said that, “our main goal these days is to contribute to the various non profit charities in the area… it’s all about giving back to the community.” Thirty-five years ago the month-long citywide series of events were intended to help boost business during August, a traditionally slow month. Now there are a huge variety of activities and about 40 events are scheduled, with thousands of participants. In 2005, more than $200,000 was raised.

Events being held include:
August 1, 5:30 – 7:30: 2nd Anuual Splash of Gold Fashion Show at the Marriot Boca Raton Center with local celebrities participating and modeling. $40 per person in advance, $60 at the door. Marriott Boca Raton at Boca Center. Raffle prizes, dj, h’ors d’ouvres, libations and drinks. For more info call Kate Volman at 561-395-4433 or kate@bocaratonchamber.com.
July 31 through September 8: Juried art exhibition sponsored by the Artists Guild of the Boca Raton Museum of Art and Coneca Properties, open to all Florida artists (Courtyard Building, 5301 N. Federal Highway). Awards Reception is August 5, 2-4 pm. For information call Gloria Berger, 561-738-4842 or Roni DiSabello at 561-487-3362.
August 5: Mr. Boca Legs Competition at Mizner Park
August 7: Seminar in love and relationships at the Kabbalah Centre, 7 pm. Call 561-488-8826 for more details and registration.
August 8 at noon: Boca Raton Public Library, 200 NW 2nd Avenue, will hold a book discussion of “The Great Fire,” a romance novel by National Book Award Winner Shirley Hazzard, who will speak about the book. For more information, call 561-393-7968.
August 8, 8 pm: Kabbalah Centre will present food, dancing and more to celebrate Tu B”av, The Holiday of Love. For more information and to register, call 561-488-8826.
August 9, 5:30 – 8:30 pm: PIP Printing & Document Services at 1200 S. Rogers Circle, Unit 8 will hold their “2nd Annual BBQ For A Cure” with minimum donation at $20 per person to support the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” event. BBQ fixins, fun ,games, karaoke, entertainment, chance drawings with prices and more. Country & Western attire is welcomed, rain or shine.
August 11m 6-8 pm: Sweet Jazz by Steve Gryb and ensemble along with Chablis, Red and Chardonnay wines among friends – dance and mingle at this wine tasting party at the Boca Raton Resort & Club’s Mizner Center, 501 E. Camino Real with complimentary on-stie self parking. $50 tickets must be purchased in advance at www.bocaratonchamber.com (events calendar) or at the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce at 1800 N. Dixie Highway. Call Jo Scannell at 561-395-4433, Ext 21 or email at jo@bocaratonchamber.com.
August 11, 7-9 pm: Marshall Turkin and his Classic Jazz Ensemble present Gershwin music at the Mizner Park Amphitheatre, with a free concert under the stars- bring your chairs and blankets. Chair rentals are $2 and food may be purchased. For more info call 561-393-7806, selection 2.
August 12: Sea Turtle Conservation Day, a family affair, 10 am – 3 pm at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center on North Ocean Blvd (A1A) below Spanish River Road. For more info call 561-338-1473.
AUGUST 12, 11-3: Skating Competition at Tim Huxhold State Park, 400 Crawford Blvd. For ages 5-17. Early registration began July 29 at 10 am. For more info call 561-393-7818. $10 registration fee.
August 13, 2-3 pm. Boca Museum and FAU South Florida Storytelling Project will hold an educational program demonstrating how to create and tell effective, entertaining stories, using voice momevment, eye contact andimagination. Free with paid museum admission, children 12 and under are free. Go to www.bocamusuem.org for more info.
August 17: Sports Fans & Family Night at Wilt Chamberlain’s is free
August 1, 15, and 29: free skin cancer screenings – advance appointments can be made by calling sponsor Boca Raton Community Hospital at 561-95-LEARN.
Saturdays August 5, 12, 19, 26, 2-4 pm: Guided Tour of the historic Boca Raton Resort & Club on Camino Real. Cost is $12 per person, $10 for BRHS members, $9 per car valet parking, and benefits the Boca Raton Historical Society. Not for children under 12. For more information call 561-395-6766 Ext 100, or go to www.bocahistory.org.

Some of the charities who will benefit from Festival Days are Boca Helping Hands, Kids in Distress, March of Dimes and Hospice by the Sea. Included as event sponsors are the Boca Raton News, Boca Rton Resort & Club and West Boca Medical Center.
For more information call Myles Kornblatt, Director of Communications for the Chamber at 561-395-4433, Ext. 235 or email: myles@bocaratonchamber.com.

POSSIBLE $30-MM BOND ISSUE ON BOCA’S PROPOSED “SPINE”

The possibility of developing a pedestrian walkway along the route between Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place will be decided by City Council, yes or no, in the near future. Three plans have been drawn up by an architectural firm, each showing either low- medium- or high density solutions..

“Sixty years of Boca history is contained there,” said Mary Csar, the executive director of the Boca Raton Historical Society, whose group hopes to retain the historic nature and “flavor of the 1950’s” for the Boca Raton Road area east of Sanborn Square.

This idea was first presented in the late 1960’s, and again in the 1980’s. The second proposal was adopted by the City Countil, but opponents forced it onto a referendum question, which voters rejected.
City Manager Leif Ahnell said the bond issue would be intended to cover costs of the project.

CAMINO REAL BRIDGE TO BE REHABILITATED

Designated as a Historic Landmark in 1997, the Camino Real Bridge will be rehabilitated in 2007 with a new deck and painting and repair of the beams. Some are afraid if it is not fixed now, it will pass the stage where it still can be repaired and a new bridge will be necessary. Camino Real Boulevard was also designated at the same time as a Historic Landmark.

The roadway was designed by Addison Mizner in the 1930’s, but he did not design the bridge. That was built in 1939. Palm Beach County is responsible for the bridge and it’s bills. In 1998 the County spend more than $100,000 to replace gearboxes at the bridge.

MONEY MAGAZINE RATES BOCA AS ONE OF THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN THE US for 2006

MONEY MAGAZINE rates BOCA RATON as 30th BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN THE US for 2006, and #1 for FLORIDA. No other Florida cities placed in the TOP 100.

HOA and CONDO laws

FL OFFICIALS DECIDE CONDOS MUST HAVE GENERATORS and HOAS CAN CONTINUE OPERATING WITHOUT RESERVE FUND TO PAY EMERGENCY CLEANUP AND OTHER EXPENSES
While the lack of reserves last year forced many association to impose huge special assessments on owners, the mandatory HOAs can continue operating without a reserve fund to pay emergency cleanup and other expenses.

High-rise condos must install sprinklers in hallways and lobbies by 2013, and associations must provide a generator for at least one elevator in each building by 2007 for at least 5 days after a disaster, so that the elderly and infirm residents won’t again get trapped on upper floors.

The length of time a condo owner or association can file suit against the buildrer for construction defects has been reduced from 15 years to 10 years.
State condo law is 93 pages, compared with 30 pages for the homeowner law. Governor Jeb Bush has ordered the state Department of Business & Professional Regulation to recommend by October 1st whether the state should consider combining laws for all “common interest communities,” include HOAs, condos, co-ops and timeshares.

Palm Beach County studies slightly larger cut in property taxes

A proposal to cut property taxes by 2% has been upped to a proposal to cut by 3% bby Commissioner Mary McCarty, with residents with homestead exemptions having no change in their county tax bills. The 3% tax rate cut would offset the rise in property values, with homeowners paying $4.30 for every $1000 in assessed values instead of the current $4.45.

Public hearings on the budget are set for July with voting in September. The 2006 budget was $3.9-billion; the 2007 budget calls for a $4.3-billion spending plan.
With a 21% spike in property values, about $100-million in extra revenues was created, even after McCarty’s proposed tax rate cut. Property value growth is expected to slow in 2007 due to a softened real estate market.

The Economic Council of Palm Beach County submitted a letter saying the tax rate reductions being discussed aren’t enough, considering the county has benefited from a soaring real estate market in recent years.
A 9% property tax cut was voted on for Broward County, although new projects proposed there might eat deeply into that tax cut.

PALM TRAN GETS STATE & NATIONAL AWARDS

C’mon aboard!

The 33-year old PalmTran Tri-Rail system continues to be heavily subsidized as Palm Beach County has about 2000 sq ft of real estate to traverse.

The state award was based on the “para-transit” connections, to address the needs of seniors along with disabled and handicapped persons. The Community Transportation Association of America award was for fixed route and para-transit operations, for innovative and creative service to the community along with its responsiveness to customers and community needs.

The CTAA highlighted “the many programs PalmTran offers to the community, the improvement and growth in these programs, and the hard work of the PalmTran Service Board… recognized the strong relationship PalmTran has developed with its customers and the continued efforts of Palm Tran’s staff to improve service, according to Chuck Cohen, PalmTran Executive Director. He continued, “this award recognizes that freedom of mobility that Palm Tran Connection provides to seniors and disabled residents.

PalmTran runs 7 days a week excluding holidays, serving more than 3500 bus stops and provides more than 7-million rides per hear. Buses arfe equipped with wheelchair ramps and automatic stop announcement systems. Surveillance cameras and bike racks are on buses. There is also door-to-door service.

Florida Atlantic University’s Board of Trustees is expected to approve a lease with Boca Raton Community Hospital that will pave the way for a new teaching hospital on the university’s Boca Raton campus when Trustees meet on June 28th. Approval is also needed from the Florida State Cabinet. The campus is pictured above.

Boca Raton Community Hospital would pay FAU $21.1 million over 10 years to lease land for a new teaching hospital on the school’s main campus, with an option to try to buy the land after all lease payments are made and requires the hospital to work with FAU’s new four-year medical program. The hospital’s lease would be for 68 years, which is the remainder of the 99-year master lease that FAU has with the state and could be renewed when FAU renews its master lease. The property’s estimated value is about $29-million, and FAU agreed to take less because of the benefit to FAU of having a teaching hospital on its campus. The hospital’s rent would help pay for multi-level parking garages at FAU that would take up less space than lots on the ground, but would be more expensive to build.

The medical facility will become a teaching hospital for interns graduating from FAU’s medical program and will continue to provide medical care for residents of the community and the local area.

A 550-bed hospital would be built on 38 acres of vacant land in the southeast section of the Boca Raton campus along Glades Road, with construction scheduled for completion by 2011, according to FAU President Frank Brogan.

The Florida Attorney General created a program for an office of Seniors vs. Crime in 1989, and the office has opened this past week at the Mae Volen Senior Center at 1515 W. Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton.

Seniors vs. Crime offers free and direct assistance to seniors who have been targeted for specific crimes based on their age. A Senior Sleuth volunteer is assigned to the individual case in an attempt to resolve each situation. All criminal cases are turned over to the proper law enforcement agency for appropriate action. This program allowed seniors to become involved not only in their own protection, but also that of fellow citizens.

“The Senior Sleuths program is well-known around the state and can serve as the Attorney General's eyes and ears, volunteer, or actively assist in consumer protection investigations. These crime fighters have been responsible for recovering more than $4 million for seniors who were the victims of con artists,” according to Attorney General Charlie Crist. "Senior Sleuths volunteers are providing important assistance to the crime fighting effort," said Crist. "Unethical businesses and individuals may believe that their senior target is helpless when, in fact, these citizens may be working for the Attorney General." More than 3000 Volunteers work in storefronts.

"This is an important partnership among Boca Raton police, the Attorney General's office and the Mae Volen Center," said Mayor Steven Abrams, who was among those attending. "Fraud and abuse - especially toward the elderly - is particularly prevalent. It is important to have a program to educate seniors and recover the money they lost from being scammed."Also present were Interim Boca Raton Police Chief Jim Burke; Commander Maria Maughan, head of the police department's Family Services Bureau and Al Payne, deputy regional director of the program.

The Seniors vs. Crime office at Mae Volen will be open and staffed during regular business hours.For information about the program, call 1-800-203-3099.

20 BOCA RATON SCHOOLS RECEIVE A GRADES

Mayor Steven Abrams said, "In recruiting bio-tech companies, a great selling point is to say all our schools are A-Rated. I regularly visit city schools and regularly observe first-hand how hard our students and teachers work towards this."

20 Boca Raton public schools received A grades, one (Olympic Heights) fell one point short of an A, and none were C,D, or F. The Palm Beach County school district is the only large urban district in Florida to receive this distinction.

Grades are abased mainly on how well students perform on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment test (FCAT).

BOCA RATON FESTIVAL IS COMING SOON...

Raising more than $200,000 last year from participating organizations, the 35-year old festival is held in August, a traditionally “slow” month for sales. Organizer is the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, who is also the promoter.

The Festival’s feature event run by Wine & All That Jazz, will be held Friday, August 11th from 6-8 pm at the Boca Raton Resort & Club’s Mizner Center, located between A1A and Federal Highway in "Downtown Boca". August 1, the 2nd Annual Splash of Gold Fashion Show will be held at the Marriott Boca Raton at Boca Center. Proceeds benefit education. Many local restaurants will be hold activities connected to the Festival. For more information, call 561-395-4433.

A1A CONCESSIONS TO SOUTH COUNTY BICYCLISTS

Last week a Judge ruled that the FL DOT must execute and file formal documentation setting forth its decisions regarding bike landes on State Road A1A in Palm Beach County.

Following a number of hearings, the FL DOT (FDOT) decided to make improvements to bike paths as part of a $22-MM plan to repave a 27-mile stretch of A1A from Boca Raton to Palm Beach, over the next few years. Last year FDOT decided to put standard 5-ft wide lanes in Delray Beach but nowhere else.

Attorney for the plaintiffs said that, according to FL statue, "there are only 3 reasons for not placing desingated bicycle lanes along any state road." These are: where their establishment would be contrary to public safety; where the cost would be excessively disproportionate to the need; and where other available means or factors indicated an absence of need.

"All of these," he said, "clearly do not apply to A1A in Palm Beach County." FDOT plans to file the documents within the week, which the plaintiffs will review and accept or reject. Chairman of SAFE, a Delray Beach-based bicycle and pedestrian safety organization said, "The suit is an action for delaratory relief and not for damages... The action involves providing safe bicycling facilities among the 22 miles of A1A from Highland Beach to Palm Beach." SAFE was not a party to the suit, but supports it. He further said, "The lawsuit simply asks a judge to issue an order requiring FDOT to build bicycle lanes where there is sufficient right-of-way."

GUMBO LIMBO programs

Three nights a week from May 22nd to June 6th, Gumbo Limbo staff and Turtle Program employees escort 40 people to the beach to view a nesting loggerhead sea turtle. You will be entertained by videos, talks and a night-time tour of the tanks. It is hoped that on these nights (Mondays, Wednesday and Thursdays from 9-11:30 pm) the sea turtles will show up on schedule, but there are no guarantees. Open to ages 6 and up, and an adult must accompany a child. Cost is $5 each. Reserve with Gumbo Limbo Nature Center at 561-338-1473. Located on west side of A1A below Spanish River Boulevard.

If you can’t make it at night, try the daily 2 pm Nature Talks by naturalists, re Florida’s flora and fauna. Wander the boardwalk, pet a snake (optional), and see a tank side feeding (also Saturdays at 11 and Sundays at 2). Free admission.

Call re other activities such as Netting and Seining (wear your old sneakers, grab a net and search for fish, shrimp and crabs. Try Canoeing the Mangroves, a Beach Walk looking for treasures or studying mollusks making their shells, or take the Basics of Surfing course… without even getting wet.

Learn more at www.gumbolimbo.org.

Life is GOOD in Boca Raton, Florida...

Life is GOOD in Boca Raton, Florida... so c'mon down!

Sunshiny days, star-lit nights, cool and balmy breezes on the beach or on your boat... beautiful golf holes to conquer, tennis courts galore, play areas and parks for your children... theatre, movies, wonderful restaurants, bistros and cocktail lounges... antiques shoppes and art galleries... flea markets and ultra luxury stores... there is something here for everyone. If you've ever been to Boca Raton, or if you live here, let us know what YOU think about Boca!

Marilyn Farber Jacobs

HOMESTEAD INFORMATION for 2006

HOMESTEAD for 2006

Property Appraiser Extends Office Hours for 2006 Homestead Exemption Filings (last day to file: March 1, 2006)

501 South Congress, Delray Beach

Service Center, Governmental Center, 301 North Olive, 1st Floor, West Palm Beach

Service Centers, 3188 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens

200 Civic Center Way, Royal Palm Beach

NEW HOURS:Weekdays 7:30 am to 6 pm

Bring copy of recorded deed and ID (drivers liense or voters registration) and social security number.

Application can be downloaded at:pbcgov.com/PAPA. For further information call 561-355-2866