IRENE HAS BECOME MUCH BETTER ORGANIZED DURING THE PAST 6 HOURS DESPITE ITS INTERACTION WITH THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN OF PUERTO
RICO...AND A RAGGED EYE HAS BECOME APPARENT IN IMAGERY FROM THE FAA TERMINAL DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR. ALSO...LARGE PATCHES OF DOPPLER
VELOCITY VALUES AS HIGH AS 75-82 KT AT 1000-1500 FT AND 85-91 KT AT 2000-3000 FT HAVE BEEN INDICATED NORTHWEST AND NORTHEAST OF THE
CENTER OVER WATER FOR THE PAST 2 HOURS...WHICH EQUATES TO AT LEAST 65-KT SURFACE WINDS. SOME DOPPLER VELOCITIES AS HIGH AS 72 KT HAVE
ALSO BEEN DETECTED AT 500-600 FT OVER WATER. AS A RESULT OF THESE DATA...IRENE HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO THE FIRST HURRICANE OF THE 2011
ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON.

Visit our Hurricane Center!

TRENDING THROUGH ALL OF THE WOBBLES IN THE TRACK OVER THE PAST 6 HOURS YIELDS AN AVERAGE MOTION OF ABOUT 290/10 KT. UPPER-AIR DATA
AT 00Z INDICATE 500 MB HEIGHTS HAVE NOT CHANGED AT BERMUDA IN THE PAST 24 HOURS...WHICH SUGGESTS THAT THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO THE
NORTH OF IRENE REMAINS QUITE STRONG. THE RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE LITTLE FOR THE NEXT 48 HOURS OR SO...WHICH WOULD ACT TO KEEP
IRENE MOVING IN A GENERAL WEST-NORTHWESTWARD DIRECTION OFF THE NORTH COAST OF PUERTO RICO THIS MORNING AND JUST SKIRTING THE
NORTHERN COAST OF HISPANIOLA LATER TODAY AND ON TUESDAY. AFTER THAT...THE GLOBAL MODELS DIVERGE ON THE SPECIFICS OF HOW LARGE A
BREAK OR WEAKNESS IN THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE DEVELOPS OVER FLORIDA AND THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. AT 72 HOUR AND BEYOND...WHICH WILL ALLOW
IRENE TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD. THE ECMWF...NOGAPS...AND GFDN MODELS ARE THE RIGHTMOST OF THE NHC MODEL GUIDANCE SUITE AND KEEP IRENE
WELL EAST OF FLORIDA...WHEREAS THE UKMET AND THE GFDL MODELS ARE THE LEFTMOST OF THE MODELS AND TAKE IRENE NEAR THE WEST COAST OF
FLORIDA. THE GFS AND THE REST OF THE NHC MODEL GUIDANCE IS TIGHTLY PACKED BETWEEN THESE TWO EXTREMES AND TAKE IRENE THROUGH THE
BAHAMAS AND JUST OFF THE FLORIDA EAST COAST. WHAT IS NOTEWORTHY IS THAT ALL OF THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL MODELS AGREE THAT THE OUTFLOW
OF IRENE WILL CONVERGE WITH WESTERLY TO NORTHWESTERLY UPPER-LEVEL MID-LATITUDE FLOW OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES BY 96 HOURS AND
BEYOND. THIS UPPER-LEVEL MASS CONFLUENCE COULD MAINTAIN THE MID- TO LOW-LEVEL RIDGE A LITTLE BIT STRONGER AND LONGER THAN WHAT NOGAPS
AND THE ECMWF ARE FORECASTING...WHICH WOULD IN TURN KEEP IRENE A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE FLORIDA EAST COAST. AS A RESULT...THE OFFICIAL
FORECAST TRACK WAS ONLY SHIFTED SLIGHTLY TO THE EAST OF THE PREVIOUS TRACK AND IS NEAR THE CONSENSUS MODELS TVCN AND TVCA.

IT NOW APPEARS THAT IRENE WILL NOT INTERACT WITH HISPANIOLA AS MUCH OR AS LONG AS PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED. THIS WILL ALSO RESULT IN MORE
STRENGTHENING THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED. IRENE IS FORECAST BY ALL OF THE MODELS TO HAVE A VERY IMPRESSIVE OUTFLOW PATTERN THROUGHOUT THE
FORECAST PERIOD...INCLUDING A LARGE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH/LOW ABOUT 1200 NMI EAST OF THE CYCLONE ACTING AS A MASS SINK. WITH IRENE ALSO
EXPECTED TO BE OVER SSTS NEAR 30C AFTER 48 HOURS...SIGNIFICANT STRENGTHENING COULD OCCUR. HOWEVER...THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY WILL
REMAIN ON THE CONSERVATIVE SIDE DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY IN HOW MUCH IRENE WILL INTERACT WITH THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN OF HISPANIOLA FOR
THE NEXT 24-36 HOURS. THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST IS A BLEND OF THE SHIPS/LGEM MODELS AND THE HWRF/GFDL MODELS. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE
IMPRESSIVE UPPER-LEVEL FLOW PATTERN EXPECTED ACROSS IRENE...IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME IF THIS CYCLONE BECAME A MAJOR HURRICANE AT SOME TIME DURING ITS LIFETIME LIKE THE GFDL AND HWRF MODELS ARE FORECASTING. 
IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO FOCUS ON THE EXACT FORECAST TRACK... ESPECIALLY AT DAYS 4 TO 5...SINCE THE MOST RECENT 5-YEAR AVERAGE
ERRORS AT THOSE FORECAST TIMES ARE 200 AND 250 MILES...RESPECTIVELY.

From the Broward Teacher’s Union:

Officials with the Broward Teachers Union and the School Board of Broward County announced the first teacher tentative contract agreement in three years today during a joint press conference. With the tentative agreement comes $60 million in federal Race to the Top and School Improvement funds for Broward schools to implement new state and federal program requirements; $500 bonuses and no furloughs for the district’s 14,470 teachers.

“We are pleased to announce this tentative agreement was reached just three days before our members’ students arrive for the new school year,” BTU President Pat Santeramo said. “Negotiators had to consider that districts throughout the state are offering no pay increases for education professionals and many are asking teachers to take salary cuts through furloughs. This is the best possible agreement – albeit far from perfect — considering that we are in the worst economic downturn the State of Florida and the United States has experienced in decades.”

All members of the Broward Teachers Union Education Professionals Bargaining Unit will have the opportunity to review the tentative agreement, which is provided in outline form below, and vote electronically online in the coming weeks to approve or disapprove it.

Prior to his resignation, Superintendent Jim Notter had declared an impasse in contract negotiations for the second year in a row. The BTU had declared impasse the year prior to that. However, with the cooperation of his temporary replacement, Acting Superintendent Donnie Carter, the School Board named Employee Relations Specialist Dorothy Davis as the district’s new chief negotiator. BTU President Pat Santeramo, in turn, named the union’s Director of Field Services George Segna as the union’s new chief negotiator.

The two chief negotiators along with their teams were able to reach an agreement that closely approximates those offered in Miami-Dade and West Palm Beach schools and betters most other agreements reached by districts in the state. Miami-Dade teachers agreed to no raise, but also no furloughs or layoffs. West Palm Beach teachers agreed to a $500 bonus as well as no furloughs or layoffs. Nearly all school districts in the state have experienced disappointing increases in class sizes and horrific cuts to programs such as art, music, physical education, library media and guidance counseling among many others.

In exchange for no furloughs that will affect all other district employees, Broward teachers must agree to exchange two days off with pay during the Thanksgiving Holiday Week for completing a training checklist of new evaluation requirements stipulated by the federal Race to the Top program and the state’s new Senate Bill 736. Teachers are the only district staff members required by the state and federal government to complete the additional training.

Riding on the ability of the two sides to reach an agreement was $37 million in federal Race to the Top education funding and $23 million School Improvement Grant funds. The union must sign off on the district’s RT3 plan by Sept. 30 or the district would have likely not received the money, but due to Florida Senate Bill 736 would still have been required to implement many of its provisions. According to the district’s plan, the federal funds will be used to pay for the grant program’s requirements. As part of the contract agreement, committees consisting of district and union members will study the program’s plan as well as other important district issues.

Again, many of the Race to the Top Program’s requirements are included in Florida’s new Student Success Act (SB 736), which must be implemented per law, but state legislators provided no state funding for districts to do so. The state’s unfunded mandate would have drained millions of dollars from the district’s budget.

Many teachers have expressed interest in a Retirement Assistance Program (RAP) because they would like to leave the district through retirement, but cannot afford to do so. Negotiators agreed to form a committee to research the feasibility of a Retirement Assistance Program and to propose recommendations for implementing modifications for contract provisions that are required. The research and recommendations of the committee shall be rendered to the Superintendent and BTU’s President no later than January 31, 2012.

The following is a basic and preliminary BTU only outline of the agreement:

I. 2010 – 2011 School Year

1. No salary increase for the 2010-2011 school year.

2. SBBC will withdraw the Impasse declaration on the 2010-2011contract and, upon ratification and School Board approval of the Agreement, the parties can mutually agree to cancel the Impasse Hearing.

3. The parties will honor the Tentative Agreements (TAs) reached during the 2010-2011 EP Negotiations sessions.

4. The parties agree to sign off on an MOU authorizing committees to address:

a. Senate Bill 736 (Student Success Act)

b. The components of Race to the Top (RTTT)

c. Student Improvement Grant (SIG)

d. Differentiated Accountability (DA)

The committee makeup for the above mentioned committees will consist of an equal number from each party including current bargaining unit members and access to other experts in their respective fields.  The committee members shall be charged with reviewing issues related to their committees’ respective subjects and proposing recommendations for implementing modifications of contract revisions that are required by legislative mandates.  The recommendations of the committees shall be returned to the parties for negotiations no later than December 15, 2011.  The BTU agrees to enter into a signed agreement for the RTTT and SIG prior to September 15, 2011.

5. Suspend the provisions of Article 23(D)(17), Teacher Directed Improvement Funds, for the 2011-2012 school year.

6. The parties agree to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to conclude the 2010-2011 EP Negotiations with no changes in the contract language.  Tentative Agreements reached during these negotiations will roll over to the 2011-2012 school year.

II. 2011- 2012 School Year

1. All teachers will receive a one-time $500 bonus payment for the 2011-2012 school year.

2. All teachers will be required to take two (2) days off during the 2011-2012 school year (to be taken the Monday and Tuesday during the Thanksgiving week.)

3. Due to new evaluation requirements in the Student Success Act (SB 736), teachers may participate in two (2) paid days of training as a Race to the Top (RTTT) initiative.  For participating in training / study / activities related to the new evaluation system developed jointly with BTU, teachers shall be compensated at their hourly rate for the aforementioned training.  Failure to submit documentation of completion of the training/study/activities by May 14, 2012 shall result in the docking of salary for those days.  Such docking of salary shall not be subject to the overpayment provisions contained in Article 19, Section Q.

4. An employee may be employed in a teaching position outside of the District while on a Board approved leave of absence.

5. The District agrees to continue to pay 100% of the cost for HMO and Consumer Driven Plans (employee only) and to follow the funding formula in the contract for health insurance premiums for the 2011-2012 school year.

6. The contract term will be three years (August 13, 2011 through August 15, 2014) with reopeners for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years limited to recommendations of committees, two articles, insurance, and salary.   For the 2011-2012 school year reopeners will be limited to any articles needed to comply with recommendations of committees to comply with legislative mandates.

7. The parties agree to form a committee to research the feasibility of a Retirement Assistance Program (RAP) and proposing recommendations for implementing modifications for contract provisions that are required.  The research and recommendations of the committee shall be rendered to the Superintendent and the President of the BTU no later than January 31, 2012.

8. The parties agree to conduct a Joint Training for Principals and one (1) Steward from each school on the new evaluation process at a mutually agreeable date, time and location.

9. The parties agree to extend the MOU regarding Article 25 and Article 26 through 2011-2012 with an expansion of the participants and the revision of the deadline.

10. The parties agree to an MOU to develop Appendix Q (which may be renumbered) regarding requirements for seclusion and restraint of students required by Florida Statute.

As additional information becomes available about the upcoming electronic online contract ratification and related documents, it will be provided and posted online at www.BTUonline.com.

Jennifer Gottlieb (At-Large)

First, on Aug. 11, School Board member Dave Thomas of Coral Springs says he is resigning. Now, one day later, it has been confirmed by the School Board that Jennifer Gottlieb (At Large) is also resigning, effective today.

While Thomas’ resignation letter has been officially released to the press, Gottlieb’s has not at this time. Thomas said his decision to leave “is prompted by a recent family medical situation…”

Gottlieb, who went through the Broward School system herself and graduated from Nova High School, was originally elected to the board in 2006.

Any person who leaves the School Board will have to be replaced and that decision will remain in the hands of Governor Rick Scott.

Dave Thomas

The 2011 redistricting effort will provide for extensive public participation, including public workshops, public hearings, and a process for members of the public to submit maps for Commission consideration.

Public Workshops

A series of workshops will be held at various locations around the County to inform the public about the process and requirements for completing the new County Commission district map. Five workshops have been scheduled:

September 12, 2011 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
African American Research Library & Cultural Center
Library Auditorium
2650 Sistrunk Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

September 19, 2011 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
North Regional Library
Library Auditorium, Room 154
1100 Coconut Creek Boulevard
Coconut Creek, FL 33066

September 26, 2011 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Tree Tops Park
Oak Auditorium
3900 S.W. 100 Avenue
Davie, FL 33328

September 29, 2011 from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Government Center West
Hearing Room
1 University Drive
Plantation, FL 33324

October 3, 2011 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
West Lake Park – Anne Kolb Nature Center
Mangrove Hall
751 Sheridan Street
Hollywood, FL 33019

Public Hearings

The County Commission will hold two public hearings, in October and early November of 2011.

Public Submissions of Maps

The State of Florida is developing Web-based software, called “MyDistrictBuilder,” which the public can access for free to draw Federal congressional and State legislative maps that they want to submit for consideration. This software is expected to be fully operational in July 2011, and can also be used to draw custom maps for Broward County Commission districts.

Once the software is available, staff from Broward County Planning and Redevelopment Division will be available to help train members of the public on the use of the software and the process for submitting maps.

Paper maps will also be available, with voter precincts and current Commission district boundaries noted, for members of the public interested in drawing maps by hand.

Planning and Redevelopment Division staff will review all maps submitted by members of the public to ensure consistency with the Broward County Charter and Fair Districting Standards, and submit maps meeting those standards to the County Commission for consideration.

All maps submitted for consideration by the County Commission will be posted to this Web site.

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.

Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced today that more than 105,000 pills were surrendered at 24 locations during a statewide compliance operation conducted by the Department of Health, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and five of Florida’s Regional Drug Enforcement Strike Forces.  The inspections were conducted pursuant to the Department of Health’s declaration of public health emergency made on July 1.

“Earlier this year, I made a promise to crack down on pill mills and stomp this scourge out of our state. The results we’re seeing this week show we’re making good on that promise,” said Governor Rick Scott. “I thank the law enforcement and public health professionals who are making our multi-faceted approach a success and a model for the nation. By shutting down pill mills, we are saving lives and making our communities safer places to live.”

“One of the most effective ways to stop prescription drug abuse is to cut it off at the source,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “It was gratifying to accompany the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the South Florida Strike Force and see them quarantine prescription narcotics and prevent the easy access that had long exacerbated this epidemic.”

The number of pills surrendered or returned to the distributor in each region is as follows:

• Miami Regional Operation Center:                       48,406.5 pills
• Orlando Regional Operation Center:                   52,322 pills
• Tampa Bay Regional Operation Center:             4,698 pills
• Fort Myers Regional Operation Center:               153 pills
• Pensacola Regional Operation Center:              None

In March 2011, Governor Scott announced a Statewide Drug Strike Force, headed by FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey, to combat the criminal distribution of prescription drugs in Florida. With support from Attorney General Pam Bondi and state and local law enforcement leaders, the Strike Force is charged with stopping the flow of dangerous drugs into communities by disrupting the major illegal supply points.

Deerfield Beach’s 4th of July Celebration takes place at the Main Beach Parking, Ocean Way & SE 1st St. Free concerts all day and a variety of food vendors. Sponsored by the Deerfield Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)

Entertainment
Smuggling YoYos ~ 1-3 PM
Scott Ringerson, “The Elvis Experience” ~ 4-6 PM
The David Ray Band ~ 7-9 PM

Spectacular Fireworks Display from the International Fishing Pier – 9 PM
FREE event with complimentary shuttle service from locations west of the Intracoastal.

Parking and Shuttle Service*
Parking on the barrier island will be extremely limited during the event. Park at the Cove Shopping Center and walk across the bridge or take the complimentary shuttle service between the Cove Shopping Center and the beach.
*Shuttle service will run on July 4 from 11AM – 5:45 PM, at which time Hillsboro Blvd. and the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic. Road will reopen following the fireworks display.

From the Governor’s Press Office