January 2022 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2022

In this newsletter

Vice Mayor Weiss celebrated another birthday.

Sam Oser, a dear friend of Vice Mayor Weiss, passed away. Area journalist Joe Capozzi looks back on Oser's life.

County Commission district changes took effect in January. See what's changed.

FoundCare opens up new location on Okeechobee near the Turnpike.

Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Assistance available to Palm Beach County residents.

Check out this scholarship opportunity.

We have quick county news in the BCC briefs and if you missed him a round up of commissioner Weiss in the news.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Vice Mayor Weiss. We're sharing some pictures of events he attended.

Vice Mayor Gregg Weiss, along with his fellow County Commissioners and administration, viewed Palm Tran’s latest bus wrap in honor of Black History Month.

The bus wrap features Martin Luther King Jr. and one of his quotes,

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

It can be seen all month long throughout Palm Tran’s fixed routes.

Happy Birthday Vice Mayor!

Vice Mayor Weiss celebrated his 65th birthday this month.

We took him out to a nice Latin lunch!

We also made him laugh with a cat-laughing card

(click here to watch video on Facebook)

Sam Oser

Remembering Sam Oser, the ‘Brad Pitt’ of local Democratic politics who held court at Dunkin' Donuts

By Joe Capozzi

HE WAS THE “Brad Pitt” of Century Village, a beloved and influential Democratic power broker who held court in a Dunkin’ Donuts around the corner from his West Palm Beach retirement community.

For more than 20 years, a candidate’s road to the White House, governor's mansion, judge’s bench, county commission chambers or any other public office always included a sit-down with Sam Oser, chairman of the Century Village Democratic Club.

More often than not, those meetings took place in his unofficial “Executive Dining Room,’’ the nickname for the Okeechobee Road coffee shop that was a favorite hangout.

New District Maps

Since January 1, the boundaries of district 2 have changed significantly. Our district now stretches from Northlake boulevard to Boynton Beach Boulevard. These boundary changes were approved at the November Board meeting when commissioners selected a map that redraws the seven county commission districts.

It is a requirement that districts be redrawn every ten years following the Census. The county’s population grew by 13%, more than 170,000, to nearly 1.5 Million. Just over half the county’s population is white, 1 out of 6 is black and nearly a quarter of the county’s population is Hispanic. The growth in Hispanic population was especially pronounced and the board elected to draw a majority Hispanic district (District 3), making it the second minority district along with the majority African-American (District 7).

Look at the new districts here

New District 2 map

New Health Center Opens Doors

A healthcare provider, dedicated to making sure that anyone can see a doctor irrespective of their ability to pay, recently opened its doors right next to the main entrance to Century Village.

On January 27 FoundCare opened its facility on 5867 Okeechobee Blvd. and Vice Mayor Weiss was there to speak and help cut the ribbon.

Weiss talked about the important role FoundCare plays in the Palm Beach County community by providing uninsured and underserved individuals and families quality healthcare services. It’s their mission to provide quality healthcare and social services for all individuals and families.

FoundCare, which runs seven locations throughout the county, accepts most insurance plans and for those without insurance, it offers a sliding fee scale based on household size and income, making sure that no one is turned away due to inability to pay for services.

Their Okeechobee health center provides pediatric, adult, and geriatric primary care, chronic disease management, behavioral health, laboratory services, infectious disease, social services, as well as an on-site pharmacy.

To learn more visit foundcare.org

Need Help Getting Your Home Up to Code?

Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Available to Palm Beach County Residents

Palm Beach County's Department of Housing and Economic Development (HED) announces the availability of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation assistance funds for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

Funding will assist income-eligible homeowners residing in the unincorporated area of Palm Beach County with substantial rehabilitation to correct code violations or items that will soon become a code violation. Rehabilitation assistance will include hurricane-related improvements.

NOTE: Applicant must provide a statement on how their household was financially impacted by COVID. Property's assessed value cannot exceed $352,371. ALL applicants are required to attend a virtual mandatory orientation prior to application submittal.

To learn more click here.

2022 Scholarship

Friends of Youth Services and Palm Beach County, Inc. announces the call for applications for the 2022 Alyssa Sangeeta Jacobson Scholarship.

The scholarship opened on February 1 and will close on March 31, 2022.

The Alyssa Sangeeta Jacobson Scholarship is dedicated to those who need a little extra assistance in achieving educational goals.

The scholarship provides $1,000 per year, distributed over two semesters to each recipient, and is renewable for up to four years, depending on the degree or certificate program.

The scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors and high school graduates who will attend an accredited college or technical vocational school beginning in Fall 2022.

Currently enrolled college, technical, or vocational students are also encouraged to apply. Enhanced consideration will be given to applicants who are members of Future Leaders United for Change or involved in the dependency or delinquency systems.

For more information on the scholarship and the application criteria click here

Contact Geeta-Loach Jacobson, Director of Outreach and Community Programming

of Palm Beach County Youth Services, at 561-242-5713.

FEBRUARY BCC BRIEFS

At the February 1 and 8, 2022, Board of County Commissioners meetings, the board took the following actions:

COVID-19 Update – received presentation from Dr. Alina Alonso, Palm Beach County Health Department. COVID-19 Omicron variant now makes up more than 99.9% of new cases. The county’s daily positivity rate is at 15.1%. Members of the public are still encouraged to be vaccinated. For more information, visit www.pbchd.com or www.hcdpbc.org.

Recognized Robert (Bob) P. Banks, Chief Land Use County Attorney retiring after 33-years with the County Attorney’s Office. Mr. Banks presided over BCC Zoning and BCC Comprehensive Plan along with other related boards.

Engineering & Public Works – adopted 11 resolutions to initiate eminent domain proceedings necessary for the construction of roadway improvements on Northlake Blvd., from east of Seminole Pratt Whitney Rd. to east of Hall Blvd, included in the Five Year Road Program.

Facilities Development & Operation – approved a conceptual term sheet with the University of Florida (UF) for the potential conveyance of approximately 5.03 acres of county-owned property for the development of an Urban Campus; authorized the county administrator or designee to commence negotiations with UF; authorized county staff to initiate the due diligence and master planning process for the county-owned 45th Street property required for the potential relocation of the Community Services Department.

VICE MAYOR WEISS IN THE COMMUNITY

SAM OSER FUNERAL

Vice Mayor Weiss spoke at Sam Oser’s funeral today at the South Florida National Cemetery. Weiss, a long-time friend, spoke about Sam’s great heart to help others, his love for his family and his witty sense of humor. Many leaders gathered to pay their respects.

Local journalist, Joe Capozzi, wrote Oser's obituary.

Read it here

The Great Charity Challenge

The Great Charity Challenge welcomed back supporters and enthusiasts to the Winter Equestrian Festival’s biggest night of philanthropy. It has distributed a stunning $17.5 million to 292 local nonprofit organizations.

As seen in The Town-Crier Newspaper. Read it here