Meeting Summary September 6, 2017
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Captain DiBerardino told us that current trends in residential burglaries are down but burglaries in vehicles are up. He told us to assure our car doors are locked as valuables and guns have been stolen from unlocked vehicles. Regarding Hurricane Irma, all deputies will be on duty whenever possible but will not be on the road during the actual hurricane.
Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told us that our voting machines cannot be hacked because they are not tied into the internet. Each machine is totally independent.
The Legislative Panel Discussion began with State Attorney Dave Aronberg and Assistant Chief State Attorney Al Johnson telling us Sober Homes operating illegally are being shut down. They are guilty of participating in the Opioid Crisis by creating a cycle of relapse and recovery. They illegally offer free tickets or money to addicts to come to our area. Then they put them in rehab, getting paid for the treatment which is insufficient to cure the patients. These addicts are released then relapse and are returned for more treatment. The operators are rewarded for failure. The State Attorney told us he has new power to combat this patient brokering.
The next speaker was Representative Joe Abruzzo who told us he will file a bill to bring back the Office of Drug Control, commonly known as the Drug Czar. He made us aware that Palm Beach County does not get back a fair share of its tax dollars.
Representative Lori Berman was happy that this year no bill passed that affected women’s reproduction rights. Fifty-five separate bills were combined into one Education Bill that allowed a portion of funds to go to Charter Schools rather than traditional schools. A law suit is pending on this issue.
Representative Emily Slosberg wants to have texting while driving a primary offense. Now a driver cannot be pulled over for texting while driving, he must have committed another offense to be stopped by law enforcement and then cited for texting. She sent a letter to every Representative in Florida asking if they would approve the anti-texting measure. She would also like to see senior bullying become a criminal offense.
The last speaker was Palm Beach County Legislative Affairs Director Rebecca DeLaRosa who supported bringing opioid abuse to the front, public safety including the dangers of flooding and other issues. She continues to send Legislative updates for the Alliance website.
The next meeting of the Alliance of Delray will be Wednesday, October 4. In addition to the interesting and informative subject, “Invasive Species in Your Community” there will be status reports from elected officials. Doors open at 9:00 AM when refreshments are served and the meetings begin at 9:30AM. The public is invited and welcome.
Stan Goodman – Vice President andActing Recording Secretary