Tuesday, August 26th is the Florida primary. Elections on the Palm Beach County ballot include Congress, the Florida Senate and House, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, State Attorney, Supervisor of Elections, County Commissioner, and the School Board.

Traditionally turnout is low in the primaries. Some of the positions are unopposed in the general election, so it is important for people to vote. Every vote is significant and could make a difference in the election.

The polls are open from seven in the morning until seven at night. Make the extra effort to exercise your civic duty and vote.

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Now that Tropical Storm Fay has passed through our area, we can all breath a sigh of relief. Although there was some damage from tornadoes and flooding, generally the storm's impact was minimal. Fay never reached hurricane strength and therefore did not wreck too much havoc.

There are some lessons that we should all take from this storm. First, this could be a very long and busy hurricane season and we all need to react appropriately to all storms. Not many people put up shutters for Fay because of its' weaker strength and the fact that we were out of the cone of danger. Next time could be stronger or more on target for our area and we can't afford to be lax. Second, once again the storm did not stick to the exact predicted track, showing that anyone in the cone really needs to be prepared. The National Hurricane Center has repeatedly stated that it is difficult to predict strength and we should also always prepare for the worst strength. Third, if you did not buy your hurricane supplies yet, stock up now. Do not wait to the last minute to get everything because the stores will be crazy. Water and gas were already in short supply for this storm and supplies will only be more limited when a bigger storm approaches.

Overall our area responded well to the storm threat. The news media did probably over hype the storm, interrupting morning programs to show the same tornado footage repeatedly. Palm Beach County school officials waited too long to call off school on Tuesday, not making the announcement until 5:30 p.m. This forced some families to unnecessarily scramble for childcare coverage on Tuesday. Let's hope that there are no more storms this year and that if we do have another storm our concerns are as minimal.

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Monday, August 18th is the official opening date of public school in Palm Beach County. Although it seems like just yesterday, it has been ten weeks since school ended in June. As the new school year commences, the following are some thoughts to consider:

1. Check out your school website to see if there are any new changes. Spanish River Community High School, for instance, has a new stricter dress code.

2. Do not wait until the last minute to prepare for school to start. Gather your school supplies and modify your schedule to adjust to new sleeping patterns.

3. Drivers need to be on the look out for pedestrian students around school facilities. Also, be aware of student drivers near schools.

4. Take the opening of school as an opportunity to get off to a good start and make it a great year.

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Boca Festival days was started by the Chamber of Commerce as a way to attract business during the off season month of August. It has evolved into an annual party/fundraiser/ activitysession and this year is no exception.

On tap this week are acting classes for students at the Caldwell Theatre, dueling pianos at FunKey Nutz to benefit Kids in Distress, an American Songbook contest to benefit Hospice of Palm Beach County and the Morikami Bon Festival on Saturday, August 9th from 5 - 9.

The signature event of the festival is the wine tasting, this year to be held on August 16th at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. " Wine and All That Jazz ....and More" will feature over 100 wines for sampling. Other interesting programming include a tennis tournament benefiting Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services, a ballroom dance battle featuring local politicians to benefit the George Snow Scholarship Fund and a Tropical Nights Martini Party at Bova.

Events vary in price and information about all activities can be found at www.bocaratonchamber.com.

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