In the Morikami Gardens auditorium, Alliance President Bob Schulbaum welcomed Senator Ted Deutch, State Representatives Kelly Skidmore, Richard Machek, Maria Sachs, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson and Superintendant of Elections Dr. Arthur Anderson to their monthly meeting.
In his opening remarks, Schulbaum brought up the serious problem of the discrepancy in HMO member per month payment differences between Palm Beach County residents and those that live in Miami-Dade. Presently $233 more is paid to Miami Dade residents per month. In 2009 this difference will widen to $344 per month per HMO member. Schulbaum and the Alliance have enlisted the aid of U. S. Congressmen Wexler, Hastings, Klein and Mahoney to attempt to get this situation evened out. The Congressmen have a signed a letter to Gov. Crist asking him to narrow the disparity. "We in Palm Beach County are no different than the people in Miami-Dade," said Schulbaum. "There should be no difference. We are all part of the tri county
census area. We will continue to investigate this injustice. Let the Budget Director from Washington, D. C. come down here and explain to all of us in a public meeting why this inequity exists."
Alliance Vice President Dr. Lori Vinikoor had the honor of introducing a special guest, Miss Jessica Stallone, the 17 year old Spanish River H. S. junior who won a recent contest "Ought to be a Law" sponsored by State sen. Deutch and Representative Kelly Skidmore. The young lady said she would like to dedicate her adult life to public service.
Superintendant of Elections, Dr. Robert Anderson had requested to speak about the upcoming August primary. He stated that optical scanning machines would be available in August and absentee balloting would be more efficient because of new equipment purchased from Pitney-Bowes Co.
State Representative Maria L. Sachs presented a proclamation to Alliance President Bob Schulbaum from all the state legislators commending him and the Alliance for their continuous quest for improving quality of life issues for the people of south Palm Beach County.
The elected state officials and Commissioner Aaronson reported to Alliance of Delray delegates and alternates the results of the legislative session in Tallahassee that ended this past Friday, May 2. Representative Machek had to leave early. Space limitations require you visit www.allianceofdelray.com for their complete report.