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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-10-11 Metro Report (Palm Beach Post)2B THE PALM BEACH POST • SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2003 w c ELECTIONS PALM BEACH — Town Councilman Jack Mc- Donald announced Friday that he would seek another two-year term. McDonald, 58, was elected in 1995 to a one-year term. He has been reelected four times without opposi- tion. He is a real estate attorney. Seats held by Bill Brooks. and Norman Goldblum also are scheduled to be on the Feb. 3 ballot. Candidates must be nominated at the Jan. 6 town caucus. Council members are un- paid. WEST PALM BEACH — School board member Paulette Burdick got the jump on any possible challengers when she filed papers with the county elections office this week showing she has opened a campaign account for next year's election. Burdick, who has served on the school board since 1994, rep- resents mostly West Palm Beach in Dis- trict 2. Along with Mark Hansen and Mon- roe Benaim, Burdick is serving a two-year term, while the other four members are serving four-year terms. The job pays $37,170 a year. COURTS WEST PALM BEACH — A judge refused on Friday to lower the bail for a Boynton Beach man ac- cused of trying to pay $3,000 to have his brother-in-law killed. Nedor Hyacinthe, 34, was arrested last month after the man he allegedly tried to hire to do the job turned out to be an undercover sheriffs deputy. Hyacinthe was hoping to cash in on a $25,000 life in- surance policy his brother- in-law, Jean Telemaque, had taken out, deputies said. Hyacinthe was charged with solicitation of first -degree murder and placed on $250,000 bail. On Friday, Circuit Judge Rich- ard Wennet refused to low- er the bail. If Hyacinthe manages to make bail, he must remain on house arrest until his trial is completed, Wennet said. Hyacinthe WEST PALM BEACH - Mario Barbosa, a Port St. Lucie man charged with assisting his fugitive son in an extensive insurance scam, was re- fused bail Friday in federal court. Barbosa may face more charges from the Internal Revenue Service. Humberto Dominguez asked Magistrate Judge Ann Vitunac to place Barbosa on house arrest to give the diabetes -stricken 68-year-old a chance to sell his house and secure a full-time attor- ney. In doing so, he hinted that Barbosa al- so might face charges from the IRS. Prose- cutors argued that Mario Barbosa would return to his homeland of Portugal to re- unite with his fugitive son, Michael Bar- bosa, and never return to the U.S. Prosecutors said Michael Barbosa, who was accidentally released from a Miami federal detention center this year, defraud- ed at least one insurance company of $3.22 million, and may have made off with up to $9 million. Vitunac agreed with prosecu- tors that Mario Barbosa is a flight risk and ordered him held at the Palm Beach Coun- ty Jail until he faces trial. He is charged with mail fraud for providing fraudulent in- formation when applying for a $1 million life insurance policy from an Alabama firm. Tri-Rail won seven awards for its promotional and advertising campaign at the American Pub- lic Transportation Association's annual meet ing in Salt Lake City. The South Florida transit agency received a grand prize for its "Rail Fast, Rail Easy, Rail Convenient" billboards. Of 750 entries, only 20 grand prizes were awarded, Tri-Rail spokeswom- an Bonnie Arnold said. Tri-Rail won first - place awards for its tropical -look train cars, radio advertisements, Internet home page and special events. The promotional and advertising campaign — developed with consultant Bitner Goodman of Fort Lau- derdale — is an integral part of Tri-Rail's success, Arnold said. NORTH PALM BEACH — Local water customers' bills will increase 10 percent beginning April 1 under a utility tax the village council ap- proved Thursday night. The tax on all wa- ter customers within the village, except governments and schools, is expected to increase the village's general fund by $160,000. The average customer's monthly bill will increase by $5, said officials at the Seacoast Utility Authority, which provides water service for the village. The tax passed after a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Edward Eissey dissenting and Mayor Dav- id Norris absent. NORTH PALM BEACH — New village manager Dennis Redmond will begin work Nov. 15 at a yearly salary of $105,000, under an employ- ment contract the village council approved Thursday night. Redmond has worked as city manger of Maysville, Ky. since 1973. He will fill the job that's been vacant since February when Dennis Kelly resigned. Redmond will receive the standard benefit package available to all village employees and two weeks of vacation, which can't in- crease until he's worked for the village for seven years. BRIEFLY Sunday is El Dia de La Raza, a day celebrated throughout Latin America commemorating the birth of a new race as Europeans came to the New World and mixed with indigenous peoples. In Palm Beach County, two events are scheduled. The West Palm Beach Pub- lic Library on Clematis Street will be host- ing a Latin American Dance from 2 to 3 p.m. Dance troupes from Central and South America will perform. Downtown Lake Worth will be the host to the 5th An- nual Hispanic -American Parade and Festi- val, put on by the Grupo Folklore Latino. It will feature a parade along Lake Avenue and dance performances at Bryant Park, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. COLUMBUS DAY Monday is Columbus Day. Federal and Palm Beach County government offices, courts and li- braries will be closed. Banks and post offices will be closed. Administrative offices will be closed in the following agencies and municipalities: Boca Raton, Cloud Lake, Glen Ridge, Haverhill, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Jupiter In- let District, Mangonia Park, Ocean Ridge, Pahokee, Port of Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Soil and Water Conservation Dis- trict, South Palm Beach, Wellington and West Palm Beach. State government offices will be open. Schools, colleges and universities will be open. Palm Tran buses and Tri-Rail trains will operate on a regular weekday schedule. Trash collection: In Boca Raton there will be no collection Monday; that pickup will be made Tuesday, and Tuesday's on Wednesday. In unincorporated areas and all other municipalities, trash, garbage and recycling will be picked up as usual.