By Diane Emeott

The four members of the Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to deny a site plan application to convert an existing retail building, formerly The “Reel” Cigar Store at 504 S. Federal Hwy., to a detoxification facility.

Attorney Scott Bachman, representing Deerfield Florida House, argued that it was a permitted use in a B-2 zoning district. He said his client had met the six standards outlined by Planning & Growth Management Director Jerry Ferguson.

After numerous residents spoke against having a detox facility in their neighborhood, Chairman pro tem of the Planning & Zoning Board Todd Drosky said he was not focusing on the permitted use but on the compatibility issue with RS5 residential property to the east. His fellow board members agreed.

See more from the discussion in an upcoming issue of the Observer newspaper

Photo courtesy of A&E TV - a scene from the TV show the Glades

The NE 14th St. Causeway Bridge in Pompano Beach will be closed by the Florida Department of Transportation to all vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles from 7:00 p.m. Friday, July 14th, to 7:00 a.m. Saturday, July 15th for filming of The Glades television show.

Also, the bridge will not open for boats from 9:00 a.m. Friday, until 5:00 a.m. Saturday. 

Please seek alternate routes at the Atlantic Boulevard Bridge to the south or Hillsboro Boulevard Bridge to the north.

Originally, “The Glades” was slated to film July 7th and 8th, but had a last minute change due to the weather.

The special City Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 7 in Deerfield Beach has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

The special City Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 5 will now be held on Thursday, July 7. The meeting will be held at City Hall, 150 NE 2nd Avenue, at 7 PM.

FORT LAUDERDALE, May 20, 2011 – Members of the Broward Teachers Union have joined Florida public employees in filing a lawsuit today in Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee to stop the 3 percent pay cut otherwise known as a mandatory retirement income tax on school employees and other workers imposed by Governor Rick Scott following this year’s legislative session.

BTU President Pat Santeramo said Tallahassee Lawyer Ron Meyer on behalf of the union’s state affiliate, the Florida Education Association, filed the lawsuit today because the 3 percent mandatory retirement income tax, which amounts to a pay cut from school employees as “contributions” toward their Florida Retirement System (FRS) benefits, is unconstitutional.

“Florida’s leaders talk ad nauseam about the need to cut taxes for businesses and the state’s wealthiest residents and yet, when it comes to our police officers, firefighters and teachers, they didn’t even blink an eye when imposing this income tax increase,” Santeramo said. “Under the false premise of a retirement pension contribution, the governor and legislators are doing nothing more than trying to balance the state’s budget on the backs of public employees.”

The lawsuit alleges Florida law provides that the Florida Retirement System is one in which employees do not have to contribute part of their salaries and describes that as a contractual obligation of the State. The suit claims that the Legislature’s action unconstitutionally impairs those contractual rights.

The FRS collects retirement money for more than 900 state and local government employers in the state, covering 655,000 active employee members and providing benefits to 219,000 retired members. It has been a non-contributory plan since 1974.

The lawsuit names Gov. Rick Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and John Miles, secretary of the Department of Management Services, as defendants in the lawsuit. Scott, Atwater and Bondi are the members of the State Board of Administration that is responsible for overseeing the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund and Miles runs the agency that oversees the fund.

Meyer will be representing BTU and FEA’s members in the lawsuit. He is requesting the court to segregate the money it collects from the 3 percent pay cuts and place it in an interest bearing account until the lawsuit is fully settled. If the court agrees with the claims, teachers, school employees and other public workers would receive their money back with interest.

Colorful kiddie pools look innocuous enough, but a new study finds that a child drowns in an inflatable, portable pool every five days in warm-weather months.

“Because portable pools are generally small, inexpensive and easy to use, parents often do not think about the potential dangers these pools present,” said Dr. Gary Smith, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in a statement.

Kiddie pools are typically sold in the yard aisle of big-box stores, next to sprinklers, water slides and kids’ flotation devices. Brightly colored or festooned with Disney characters, they seem like they wouldn’t be any more dangerous than a typical child’s toy.

But when the researchers of the new study, published in Pediatrics, looked at drowning and accident reports involving children 12 years and younger from 2001 to 2009, they found a total of 244 incidents in portable pools, including 209 drowning deaths and 35 near-drownings.

The vast majority — 94% — involved children younger than five, and 73% occurred in the children’s own yards. About 81% of the incidents happened during the summer.

Pool safety comes up every summer (which officially begins June 21), of course, but many parents may not realize that the same risks that apply to permanent, in-ground structures apply to portable above-ground pools as well. Some soft-sided, inflatable pools can reach depths of 4 ft.

“It only takes a couple of minutes and a few inches of water for a child to drown. It is important for parents to realize that portable pools can be just as dangerous as in-ground pools,” said Smith.

The most effective method of prevention is adult supervision: the study found that children were being supervised in fewer than half — 43% — of all drowning and near-drowning incidents. In 18% of these cases, children were left momentarily unattended due to a parent’s brief distraction, like running to answer the phone or chatting with a neighbor.

In addition to supervision, the authors of the study recommend installing other safety features like barriers, pool alarms, removable ladders and safety covers. These protections are usually in place with in-ground pools, but they may not always be available for portable versions — and families who use such pools may not be able to afford them. What’s more, while many states require isolation fencing for in-ground pools, they don’t do the same for the temporary pools.

BSO deputies have roads closed near SE 12 Avenue and Hillsboro Boulevard while the fire department works to cap an active gas leak. Please avoid the area at this time.

The School Board of Broward County, Florida, today, named Donnie Carter to serve as Interim Superintendent, taking over from Superintendent James F. Notter, who is retiring from the School District on June 30. Carter is currently Chief Operations Officer for the Broward County Public Schools.

“After 10 years with the Broward County Public Schools, I am absolutely thrilled to lead our District at this time,” said Carter. “My priorities will be to keep our momentum while providing stability, and preparing for a smooth back to school for next year.”

Carter indicates that he will work collaboratively with the School Board and the District’s executive leadership team to ensure a smooth transition. His considers it a challenge to maintain a high level of service, while operating with fewer resources in the wake of a $141 million budget shortfall for next year.

School Board Names Chief Operations Officer Interim Superintendent

Carter, who has over 20 years experience in public education administration, has spent the last 10 years at BCPS. He has served in the position of Chief Operations Officer since 2007. Prior to joining the District, Carter served in administration at Miami-Dade Public Schools.

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has released state, district and school-by-school results from the 2011 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading and Mathematics for grades 4 through 10 and Science in grades 5, 8 and 11.  Reading and Mathematics proficiency remained similar between 2010 and 2011 for all grades in Broward schools, while the District continues to lead the state’s big five school districts in elementary mathematics and was second in secondary mathematics.