Richard Herman, Vice President of the Alliance of Delray; President of his Kings Point Condominium and a member of the Kings Point Board of Directors sent the following letter that is important for all to read. M.M.

To: Representative Julio Robaina & Committee Members.

I attended your session that was held at the Broward Community College last Saturday, the 26th of January.

I came with eleven other individuals representing communities in the Delray Beach area of Palm Beach County. We are all volunteers that are on local association boards of directors and all belong to the Alliance of Delray Residential Communities. Each and every one of us have been working in our community associations for our neighbors and are well qualified to speak to issues with 718 and 720.

Of this group, only two of us intended to speak, Barbara Zee on HOAs and me on Condominium issues.

We arrived shortly before 10:30 AM and signed in. (we were told that the sessions started at 11:00 AM).

Many speakers preceded me, complaining about everything. One complained about an assessment to repair his garage after the county engineers stated it had to be repaired for the safety of the building, but he thought his engineering degree and his lovely wife trumped the county assessment of the structure. Another gave a 15 minute diatribe concerning how the mafia had turned route 95 into a highway to riches for the New York mob. A third took 15 minutes to describe how his board had looted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the association. I sat through five and a half hours of these individual complaints, and as serious as many of them are, 95% are criminal complaints which should be resolved by existing criminal law and, at no time did you interrupt any of these speakers or actually compress their time for speaking.

When I was finally called upon to speak, I had a handout for each of the committee members which I wanted read into the record, including suggestions to strengthen existing statutes to protect unit owners and their treasury. Within three minutes of my briefing, you callously interrupted me, asked how many more pages I was going to read (you already had my two page input) and cut me short. In my opening statement, I referenced the Posey/Gardner bill which, at the conclusion of my statement, elicited a negative comment from you.

I got your message! You are only interested in horror stories from the disgruntled few and want to subpoena and further harass boards, many of whom already spend too many hours working for their neighbors. You seem disinterested in hearing about the problems facing well run associations, the source of these problems and suggestions on how to improve the situation.
You did not do your homework. You did not go into the communities to see for yourself what is actually going on. You expect unit owners from well run communities that are satisfied with their boards to come to you - it will not happen. Even when someone comes before you to "testify", if it is not a diatribe against their board or some horror story, you seem uninterested.

The South County Partnership, which is comprised of three umbrella organization has over 200 member communities. There are similar umbrella groups all over the state of Florida. You could have randomly selected any community to view their operation and get a truer picture.

I am extremely disappointed in the method you and your committee are using to collect information and data. Anecdotal input based on organized complainers will lead to bad legislation.

S/ Richard S. Herman, Vice President, Alliance of Delray Residental Community Associations
561-498-4343 

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To the Honorable Committee Members,
 
I e-mailed Rep. Robaina before the meeting to tell him I would like to appear before the Committee with positive information regarding boards of directors and members.  Surprisingly, Rep. Robaina called me and left a message saying he would be glad to have me appear and hear something other than negative concerns and complaints.
 
I made the trip (total of 80 miles), signed in at 10:30 am, and waited almost 6 hours (without food or water - not allowed in the auditorium) to be called to speak.  Dozens of people appeared before me and each was given all the time they needed or wanted.  Most speakers were before the Committee for 10 to 20 minutes.  Some were even asked for suggestions regarding legislation to solve their problems with the associations and boards.  While the others were speaking, I was taking notes on their specific problems.  At about 3 pm, Chairman Robaina stated that each speaker should take no more than "5, 6 or 7 minutes".  However, most of them continued with the same 10+  minute time frame. 
 
My name was finally called at 4:15.  The lady before me has a local religious radio show.  She spoke for 15 minutes about her program, her websites, her e-mail addresses,how she was going to talk every day, every hour about the problems, and pray for the Committee, etc. 
 
Now it was my turn at the microphone, I had a 6 -7 minute written statement:
 
"Good afternoon.  Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you.  My name is Barbara Zee.  I am a resident of a homeowners' association in Delray Beach and Secretary of the Board and the Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Alliance of Delray Board, an organization that provides a forum for the consideration of community, county, state and national legislation and other issues that may affect 70,000 residents.  Through the Alliance, I also have a relationship with COCA, the statewide association of associations.
 
COCA acts as a conduit for solutions to association problems and provides information regarding the same types of issues as the Alliance only on a statewide level.  In 2007, Dick Spears, one of the founders, stated that COCA as an association of people who live in associations should examine 718 & 720 and decide what, if any, changes should be made. 
 
With support from the Alliance, the COCA Legislative Project Committee was organized with expertise coming from Richard Herman (who spoke today), myself and others from the Alliance, Charlotte Greenbarg (who also spoke earlier) and members from the Broward Coalition, West Boca Community Coalition, COBWRA of West Boynton and many other knowledgeable members from across the state.  All the proposals that were submitted for 718 & 720 were consolidated by Dick Spears into 2 drafts, and placed with legislation professionals who finalized our efforts.  Now, Rep. Andy Gardiner is the sponsor for HB 679, and  the Senate bill will be sponsored by Senator Bill Posey.
 
This Bill contains provisions for making owner participation easier, less restrictive and adds clarity to what was ambiguous language."
 
(At this point Rep. Robaina stopped me and told me that since I had my information in writing, I should stop now and just send my points to the Committee.  I responded that  there were requests today of the speakers from the Committee for suggestions for legislation.  A number of their complaints and concerns are already addressed in this bill.  For example...)
 
"One concern expressed today was the law doesn't say when meetings with attorneys are not "open".  The new bill adds the words "to discuss proposed or pending litigation" with the association's attorney.
 
Several concerns were about members' rights at board meetings: 679 says, Members have the right to attend all regular meetings of the board and speak for at least 3 minutes on any agenda matter.  After the completion of the regular agenda, members may also address nonagenda issues..."
 
(Rep. Robaina said I would definitely have to stop and just give out my website address.)
 
I felt that I was treated unfairly, with discrimination and a lack of respect.  It is my impression that Rep. Robaina was doing to me what those "offensive, abusive boards" are accused of doing to their members at a meeting.  My testimony was not about a "horror" story, and it wasn't about the Committee's legislative effort.  It offered positive legislative changes, in an existing bill, which would correct some of the problems about which the Committee was hearing.  Why was I encouraged by Rep. Robaina to come to that meeting and give him positive information when it seems he really wasn't interested in hearing it? 
 
With respect, regret and disappointment,
 
Barbara Zee
561-638-0731
bzee7028@comcast.net 

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Thursday, Jan. 31 - Public is invited for gourmet appetizers, fine wine and jazz in beautiful tropical setting at:

American Orchid Society, 16700 AOS Lane (next to The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens,) west of Delray Beach, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
$15 for American Orchid Society Members and $25 for non-members
More information: Call 561-404-2052 or 404-2011

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Residents throughout south Florida attended an all day meeting at Broward Community College South Campus in Pembroke Pines conducted by the new state Select Committee on Condominium & Homeowners Association Governance chaired by Rep. Julio Robaina on Saturday January 26 from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. This is the first of five statewide public hearings. Four others will be held in Miami Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee.

People who wanted to speak filled their name out on a form when they arrived. Those forms were placed in front of Robaina and he called the people’s names to speak. As each person spoke it was evident it was a complaint session. Richard Herman, Kings Point community President, who tried to say something positive about boards and board members, was cut short by the committee. “I was deeply disappointed in the bias of this committee,” said Herman.

The major complaints were lack of response to residents from boards; unavailability of meeting minutes and financial records; being unable to get copies of contracts with vendors for services.

Several members of the Alliance of Delray: Robert Schulbaum, President; Barbara Zee, V. P.; Lori Vinikoor, V.P.; Richard Herman, V.P.; Jack Miles, Alliance Board member; Carol Klausner, Vizcaya community board member; Rene Zerah, President Emerald Point; Jerry Mark, board member Emerald Point and Leo Plevy of Tivoli Isles were among those attending the meeting.

Richard Herman and Barbara Zee wrote scathing letters to Rep. Robaina and the committee members which will be posted in this space over the next few days.

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The Palm Beach County Library Digital Media Collection is a new service that grants cardholders access to hundreds of popular audiobooks that can be checked out, downloaded, and listened to on your computer or transferred to several portable devices such as MP3 players, personal digital assistants, and smart phones. For further information please visit: http://www.pbclibrary.org/audiobooks.html.

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SPMUG is a group of avid MacIntosh users who meet on the third
Friday of every month at 1:00 P.M. at the South Civic Center in Delray. The current president is Abe Korn.

The group meets to discuss new software, MAC problems and their solutions, and
to discuss ways to share their knowledge with other MAC "people." They also
demonstrate quite a few Applications and Utilities using a Projector and Screen.
In addition, their Newsletter offers SPMUG Tips and Tricks to all members who have
email addresses. They offer free raffles for prizes to members at every meeting.
Visit their web site, http://www.mv.com/ipusers/spmug/
At the January meeting, Abe Korn eulogized past Board member, Oscar Winograd.
Irv Berliner gave a demonstration of how to take a picture with a digital camera and
transfer the picture to a Macintosh computer with iPhoto08.

Dean Hoffman presented some of the features of iPhoto08 and Apple's new operating
system, "Leopard."

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Phil Fleischer recently joined the board of Hearing Loss Association of America Delray/Boynton Chapter. Phil has a lifetime of experience as a hearing aid specialist which is put to excellent use at the monthly meeting of the HLAA at the South County Civic Center the third Friday of each month from November through May each year.

Phil sets up a table at the side of the room. At the conclusion of the meeting, he will examine any one’s hearing aid and attempt to diagnose the problem at no cost. His consultation is a courtesy of the club.

This 6’ 2” gentleman was born in Baltimore and studied business administration at the University of Baltimore. His father was the man he most admired. He has been married to his wife Helen for 56 years. They have two adult children and five grandchildren. They have lived at Kings Point for 5 1/2 years.

He takes pride in the knowledge and ability he has to help people who have hearing aid problems. His motivation to face each new day is be creative and learn about new technologies. Occasionally he takes time out and enjoys a round of golf.

If you would like your hearing aid checked by Phil why not attend the February 15th meeting of the HLAA Delray/Boynton Chapter at the Civic Center at 9:45 A.M. Complimentary coffee “and” served.

The February program features Ms. Brandy Harvey, Awareness Manager for the Cochlear Institute, and the world leader in innovative hearing technologies. Ms. Harvey will discuss two different solutions designed specifically for those who require more than just a hearing aid -devices that aid hearing through surgical implants. She is an expert on Cochlear and Bone Anchored Hearing technology.

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S.R. 806/ Atlantic Ave. from a point east of S.R.7/ U.S. 441 to a point west of Lyons Rd.
Construction began on January 7, 2008 on 0.5 miles of S.R. 806/ Atlantic Ave.from a point east of S.R.7/ U.S. 441. This $756,745.68 construction project including milling and repaving of the existing roadway, drainage improvements, guardrail relocation and new signing and pavement markings. The project is being built by Ranger Construction Industries, Inc. and is expected to be complete by May 2008.

Restriction: There will be alternating lane closures from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday, Jan. 28 through Friday, Feb. 1. Flagmen will be onsite to assist motorists during lane restrictions, delays are expected.

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Captain Jeff Calise has been assigned to take over District 4 for the Sheriff’s Department. Previous District 4 Captain Martin Bechtel is now assigned to District 6.

Captain Calise stated: “One of my goals is to reduce response time to 911 calls,” as he sat with me for an interview Thursday, January 24, 2008.

“I will also emphasize the importance of preparing for the hurricane season each year well before ‘worry time’ on November 1. I’m particularly concerned with a large community like Kings Point, where there are a great many older and handicapped residents that need attention and care. We want to make plans to have adequate water and food available to them in a hurricane emergency. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities will also receive our attention to make sure they will be taken care of in hurricanes. We will be working with the department that handles emergency preparedness to attempt to insure the safety and well-being of all residents. That’s providing our headquarters here on Congress Avenue doesn’t get hit,” he added wryly.

Captain Jeff Calise, age 46, was born in Providence, R. I. He moved to Florida in 1981 after earning an associate degree in marketing at Rhode Island Junior College. He graduated F.A.U. with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 1985 and entered Palm Beach Community College Police Academy January 6, 1986. Graduating from the academy he became a Sheriff’s Deputy and underwent three months of field training. He worked patrol in District 4 from 1996 to 1990. Next came a promotion to The Tactical Unit as a detective, assigned to the Dignitary Protection Team, working out of Gun Club Road headquarters in West Palm.

Promoted to Sergeant in 1993, he was assigned back to Delray, District 4. In 1997 he rejoined the Tactical Unit as the Supervisor. He earned the rank of Lieutenant in 2001 and served as Watch Commander throughout the County. In 2003 he was named Executive Officer of the Training Unit until 2005 when he became Headquarters Executive officer at Gun Club Rd. until November 1, 2007, at which time he was promoted to Captain of District 4.

District 4 encompasses the area from the L 30 Canal south of Flavor Pict Road to Clint Moore; West as far as you can go into the Everglades and East to the unincorporated areas near the ocean, an area approximately 43 square miles.

Captain Calise is married and has four sons. He enjoys outdoor activities such as boating, strong physical training and grappling with his boys.

“Our duty is to keep the communities safe, but citizens have to help themselves,” said Calise. Doors and windows closed and locked on cars and homes. Put your alarm on when leaving home. There are bad people out there. Be alert. Report any suspicious activities. I would rather have you be safe than sorry. If you have a gut feeling that something isn’t right when you see a man sitting in a car, or walking in your community, call 911. Let us check it out.” We want to have a safe environment for the residents of District 4.”

In the near future Captain Calise will be forming a Citizen’s Advisory committee to obtain input from residents throughout District 4.

You can meet Captain Calise the first Wednesday of each month from September through June when he provides a brief crime report to the audience at every Alliance of Delray meeting at the South County Civic Center. The public is welcome. The next meeting of the Alliance is February 6. Doors open at 9 A.M.

Captain Calise favors speaking to directly and openly. “If I have a problem I gather all the facts, positive and negative, and work with all concerned until it’s solved.

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At the monthly meeting of HLAA on Friday, January 18 at the South County Civic Center, starting at 10 A.M., President Oscar Segal welcomed the two guest speakers.

Dr. Steven Sederholm, Doctor of Audiology presented a review of the latest technology available to the hard of hearing population: Hearing devices that talk to each other (e2e Linking); hearing devices that listen to your gadgets (Oticon); hearing devices that listen to your spouse (Phonak). For further information Dr. Sederholm can be reached at his Boynton Beach office, 10075 Jog Road. Tel. (561) 734-5969.

Deputy Rick Jackson made available two visor cards: One that has the message “Driver is Hard of Hearing” and one that reads: “Driver is Deaf.” Matching wallet size cards are also available. These cards can be invaluable when stopped by law officers. If you are hard of hearing or deaf and cannot understand an officer’s orders to “step out of the car” the visor card can provide the information the officer needs to communicate properly with you.

Deputy Jackson also spoke about Lock bumping and bumping keys. This is a technique used by thieves to enter private residences. Coincidentally, I received an email with a You Tube internet film on this subject which you can access on your computer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM and see a demonstration of how the bad guys can get into our homes.

The next meeting of HLAA, Boynton/Delray Chapter will be Friday, February 15, 2008 at 9:45 A. M. Featured guest speaker is Ms. Brandy Harvey, Awareness Manager for the Cochlear Institute, the world leader in innovative hearing technologies.  Ms. Harvey will discuss two different solutions designed specifically for those who require more than just a hearing aid -devices that aid hearing through surgical implants. She is an expert on Cochlear and Bone Anchored Hearing technology. Access their website at: www.cochlear.com

For further information about HLAA Delray/Boynton Chapter see Sun-Sentinel article by Staff Writer Patty Pensa in Sunday, January 20 edition of Community News section.

Meetings through May take place the third Friday of each month at South County Civic Center, 9:45 A.M. and are open to the public at no charge. If you wish to become a member, dues are $15 per year from the date you join. Coffee “and” provided.

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Randolph Del Lago, Creative Director of the Delray Beach Playhouse has created showcases of well-know playwrights, stage actors and actresses for the Trails Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee for the past ten seasons. www.bunwctrails.org He usually creates three or four segments, the last one being a musical tribute to the subject honoree, spread over a three month period between January and March each season.

Del Lago does extensive research, writes the scripts and engages a troupe of four players to do the reading to sell-out audiences. In past seasons he has provided retrospect’s on the lives of Lillian Hellman, Arthur Miller, George S. Kaufman, Somerset Maugham, and Fanny Brice, to name a few. In recent years neighboring chapters of BUNWC in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach have subscribed to his popular showcases.

Subscriptions are so popular two performances had to be scheduled: Thursday and Friday, January 17 and 18. The performances began at 2 P.M. to a full house each afternoon in the 400 seat Temple Emeth sanctuary off West Atlantic Ave., Delray.

Randolph’s introductory monologue described the early life of playwright/novelist Edna Ferber who was born August 15, 1885 in Kalamazoo, MI. At age 15 in Appleton, WI. she became the first female newspaper reporter. Her family had moved from Ottumwa, IL. where they had been subjected to humiliating anti-Semitism. Ferber nurtured smoldering indignation about discrimination from that early experience. The stories she wrote were often about strong women facing down adversity. In the mid 1920’s Ferber was the most popular female novelist in the country with novels such as “So Big,” “Cimarron,” “Giant,” and “Saratoga Trunk.” Many of her works were made into films and theatrical productions.

To dramatize scenes from Ferber’s plays, Del Lago introduced four actors who read roles from selected plays. Shown in photograph: Heidi Harris, Randolph Del Lago, Harriet Oser, Lourelene Snediker and Wayne Le Gette. They gave excellent performances.

Before the program began a special member of the audience was serenaded by everyone with “Happy Birthday To You.” Henrietta Warhoftig, (shown in photo) seated in the front row was celebrating her recent 100th birthday.

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At the Wednesday evening, January 16 meeting of the Boca Raton Computer Society the featured speaker was Past President Richard Miller and Special Interest Group instructor on MS XP and Vista.

He first presented an overview of computers generally. One of the most frequently asked questions is: “What computer should I buy?” Dick’s response surprised many.

“Buy the least expensive machine you can find. Unless you’re doing heavy graphics work and storing lots of digital photographs, you don’t need to invest in an expensive machine. Hard drives fail within three years. It’s a mechanical device and wears out. Watch the Sunday supplements and go for computers on sale.”

Dick, who makes his living as a computer tech consultant to businesses and home users did a brief review of the new Microsoft Vista operating system. Microsoft has chosen to name nothing in Vista the same as in XP. They have also placed in the program something that asks “your permission to continue” as it boots up, making for frustrating minor delays and extra steps before you can continue to work. “A Vista Service Pack 1 will be issued soon by Microsoft which should offer some improvements for users,” Dick informed us.

There are two types of hard drives in every computer: one that is going to fail and one that has failed. Dick reviewed the importance of backing up your files. With the availability of flash drives and external hard drives everyone should back up there files once a week or once a month depending on the volume of work you do with your computer.

Check out Dick’s web site at www.Genesis-one.com. If you click on the BRCS link, up will come a raft of interesting free software programs.

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There will be alternating single lane closures on Atlantic Ave. west of Lyons Rd., 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., Saturday, January 19, for pipe crossing. Flagmen will be onsite to assist motorists during lane restrictions, delays are expected. There will be alternating lane closures from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday, Jan. 21 through Friday, Jan. 25. Flagmen will be onsite to assist motorists during lane restrictions, delays are expected.

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Addie L. Greene, Chairperson Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners received a check from Rene Zerah, President of the Swing & Jazz Preservation Society for $1,000 for one of her favorite charities: the Boynton Beach High School choral group.

The choral group, “Dimensional Chorus,” sang during intermission of the Tuesday evening, January 15 Swing & Jazz Preservation Society Concert at the Spanish River Performing Arts Center, Boca Raton. Commissioner Greene turned the check over to Boynton Beach H. S. Principal Mrs. Kathleen Perry and Choir Director Mr. Sterling Frederick to purchase supplies for the choir.

Shown in photo, l. to r.: President Zerah; Addie L. Greene; Sterling Frederick; Kathleen Perry; Gladys Whigham, Aide to Commissioner Greene; and Jerry Atlas, Vice President of Swing & Jazz Preservation Society.

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Wednesday, January 16, Oscar Segal, President of the Delray/Boynton Chapter, Hearing Loss Association of America met with Palm Beach County Sheriff Captains’ Martin Bechtel, Jeff Calise, Matt Eisenberg, Pat Kenney and Lt. Michael Reardon. (Shown in photograph, l. to r. Oscar Segal at extreme right.)

Segal introduced a proposal for a program for the hearing impaired aimed at educating law enforcement personnel how to communicate and respond when encountering a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person – whether at a traffic stop, helping a victim, taking a statement from a witness or suspect, or conducting general conversation.

A similar program is currently being used in the State of Michigan. One aspect of the Michigan program provides automobile drivers who do not hear well with a special visor card and a wallet ID card. When a law enforcement officer makes stops that person for any reason, the driver points to the visor card that displays information how to best communicate with that driver.

Segal was seeking the Sheriff’s Department executive’s opinions as to the feasibility of the program and suggestions from them as to how to put this idea into action. The response from all present was positive and their suggestions will be pursued through other county departments.

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There are Early Voting locations, open from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. beginning Monday January 14 and continuing through Sunday, January 27 in Delray Beach area:

Hours Saturday and Sunday: 10 A.M. to 2:00 P. M.
West Atlantic Branch Library
7777 West Atlantic Avenue

Supervisor of Elections South County Office
345 South Congress Avenue

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The Swing & Jazz Preservation Society Presents Ed Polcer and his Jazz All-Stars this Tuesday evening. They will take you back to the days when W. 52 Street in New York was the Mecca of Swing & Jazz at clubs like Leon & Eddie’s and Eddie Condon’s with a mixture of great musicianship, narrative and nostalgia.

The Swing &jazz Preservation Society is headed by Rene´ Zerah, President.
 
County Commissioner Addie Greene will present a donation from the Swing & Jazz Preservation Society to the Boynton Beach H. S. Choir, one of her favorite charities. The Choir will perform at intermission.

All Swing & Jazz Preservation Society performances take place the third Tuesday of each month from November 20, 2007 through April 15, 2008 at the 1500 seat venue at the Spanish River Performing Arts Center located at 2400 Yamato Road, corner of St. Andrews Blvd. in Boca Raton beginning at 7:30 P. M. Tickets are $18 for members and $26 for non-members. Membership applications for a full 12-month period are available in the lobby at concert night, or by calling (561) 499-9976.

Also Happening Next Week
If you're into computers try to attend the Boca Raton Computer Society meeting Wednesday evening, January 16 beginning 6:15 P.M. at South County Civic Center. Main speaker at 7:30 will be Richard Miller, BRCS Board Member, Special Interest Group Instructor and past President. He'll provide tips on Vista operating system and will also cover software and hardware options to securely back up and restore your valuable data.

Friday, Janaury 18 at 9:45 A.M. at Civic Center the Hearing Loss Association of America, Boynton/Delray Chapter will have their monthly meeting. Guest speaker will be Dr. Saderholm who will talk about the newest type of circuitry for hearing aids.

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1. Postage for mailing absentee ballots:
(1) 1-page ballot (most voters): 97 cents
(2) 2-page ballot (applies only to voters in the three communities holding
Municipal elections on January 29 - Hypoluxo, Lake Worth, and Royal Palm Beach) - $1.14

Ballots can be hand-delivered to any Supervisor of Elections Office (see locations below) -- saves postage.

Ballots can be returned at any time from now through January 29 -- the earlier the better. Ballots must be received by the Main Supervisor of Elections Office before 7:00 PM on Election Day, Tuesday, January 29, or by 5:00 PM on January 29 if hand delivered to a satellite SOE Office.

Voted Absentee Ballots cannot be turned in at the polls! They must be mailed or hand-delivered to the Supervisor of Elections Office as detailed above.

2. Follow ballot instructions carefully. Especially important: please remember to sign where designated on the back of the envelope before mailing/delivering your ballot. Florida Statutes require the County Canvassing Board to reject as illegal any absentee ballot that is not signed.

3. If there are multiple absentee ballots in the household, be sure each is sent separately in its own signed envelope. Do not include multiple ballots in one envelope -- they will all be disqualified.

4. Deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed for the January 29 primary is Wed, January 23, 5:00 pm.
To request an absentee ballot, either:
(1) Complete the request form available at any Supervisor of Elections Office (see below) or
(2) Compete your request online by going to www.pbcelections.org - click on Absentee Ballot; or
(3) Call the SOE Office at 561-656-6200 to make your request.
For further info, contact Corinne Miller at ctm11@comcast.net or 561-391-1522.
5. If you change your mind & want to vote at the polls: if you've requested & received an absentee ballot and you later decide to vote at the polls, you must bring your absentee ballot with you so that it can be canceled before you vote at the polls.
6. League of Women Voters hotline -- 561-276-4898
Questions? For information about the proposed Property Tax Amendment, absentee ballots, early voting, or other election questions, the PBC League of Women Voters has established a Hotline staffed by trained League volunteers. Call the LWV Hotline anytime at 561-276-4898.
7. Supervisor of elections office locations & numbers:
(1) Main SOE office
240 South Military Trail, West Palm Beach 33415; Tel. (561) 656-6200; fax: (561) 656-6287
(2) Northeast County courthouse branch office
3188 PGA Blvd., Rm. #2401, Palm Beach Gardens 33410; Tel. (561) 624-6555; fax: (561) 624-6572
(3) Southeast PBC admistrative complex branch office
345 S. Congress Avenue, Rm. #103; Delray Beach 33445; Tel. (561) 276-1226; fax: (561) 276-1321
Be sure to vote -- by absentee ballot, early voting, or at the polls on January 29!

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This morning under a bright sun and comfortable temperature, fifty-six ladies teed off at the Kings Point Par 3 golf course to benefit Susan G. Komen Cancer Research. A donation of $25 was made by each player. Bill Guimond, Director of Golf organized and supervised the tournament.

One of the foursomes who participated, all Kings Point residents, is pictured l. to r.: Gloria Levine, Cynthia Meckler, Mary Garber and Gilda Faget.

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Barbara Zee, Vice President of the Alliance of Delray moderated a property Insurance seminar at Wednesday’s meeting of the Alliance at the South County Civic Center, which is always open to the public.

Zee provided information regarding the “My Safe Florida Home” program created by the Florida Legislature in 2006. To learn more or to apply for a free wind inspection, log on to www.mysafefloridahome.com or call the My Safe Florida Home program toll free at 1-866-513-6734.

Congressman Klein presented an overview of H.R. Bill 3355, the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2007 crafted by him and U. S. Representative Tim Mahoney, (FL-16) which was passed in the U. S. House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 258 to 155 in the beginning of October 2007. This bill is designed to stabilize the catastrophe insurance market by expanding private industries capacity to cover a natural disaster and help states better manage risk.

Klein stated: “We have consulted with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to solicit support from President Bush and presidential candidates from both parties to support the signing of legislation to create a national catastrophe program in the near future. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Nelson introduced identical legislation in the Senate.” He thanked the Alliance, COBWRA and West Boca Community Council for their counsel regarding insurance going back several years.

Tom Lynch, President of Plastridge Insurance Co. outlined the current and future insurance picture in Florida in depth. Lynch is the most knowledgeable authority on insurance in South Florida. “The best thing we could do,” stated Lynch “would be to have a 1 cent sales tax and put that money into the Catastrophe Fund. In five years the Cat fund would be completely sound. The best time to do it is when you don’t have losses, like right now. If we really wanted to stabilize the insurance market we should deal with it proactively and put a 1 cent sales tax to work now. We shouldn’t wait for the crisis to hit.”

Mike Rios, Election specialist from the office of Supervisor of Elections reminded the audience to vote on January 29, 2008 when the state has its primary election and the vote on the property tax amendment. Anyone requiring an absentee ballot can call his office at 276-1227.

Commissioner Burt Aaronson spoke briefly to wish everyone a Happy New Year and remind them to vote “No” on the property tax amendment.

For complete detail report of this meeting go to www.allianceofdelray.com.

Photos by Mort Mazor

Changing of the guard at Sheriff''s Department District 4 at Congress Ave., Delray Beach.

At the January 2 Alliance of Delray meeting, (l, to r.) Captain Martin Bechtel, newly assigned to District 6 from District 4 introduced his successor, Captain Jeff Calise who will be assisted by Lt. Sean Murray. The Captain of District 4 provides a report on criminal activity at each Allliance meeting.

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Bob Schulbaum, President of the Alliance of Delray Residential Associations at their monthly meeting this morning, January 2, spoke about the current situation regarding Medicare allowances to HMO’S:

"Several years ago HMO’s were leaving Palm Beach County in droves. Those that remained charged up to $90 per month and reduced benefits. A large difference in benefits allowed between Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County was discovered at that time. This inequity was called to the attention of then U. S. Congressman Wexler, Hastings, Shaw and Foley by the Alliance of Delray and was eventually corrected so that Palm Beach County came within $50 of the allowance in Miami-Dade.

Here we are five years later and our good neighbor Jerry Lazarus, who monitors this for us informed me that the current monthly Medicare allowances to HMO’s in Miami Dade are $1,198; Broward $1,026 and Palm Beach County $966—a difference of $233 per individual, per month or $466 per couple between people living in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade. Benefits are being allowed by HMO’s in Miami-Dade that they are not offering here in Palm Beach County. In fact some HMO’s have discontinued enrollment of patients in Palm Beach County altogether.

In the next two weeks the Alliance will again contact our elected officials to urge them to correct this inequity. There is no reason the seniors in Palm Beach County should be treated differently than those in Miami-Dade."

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