Palm Beach County s mask mandate is over May 4, 2021 at 10:11 AM EDT - Updated May 4 at 10:01 PM
Palm Beach County s face mask mandate, which had been in place for more than a year to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, is over, officials announced Tuesday.
It comes after
Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker told commissioners Tuesday the county will follow the governor s lead, making Palm Beach County s facial covering ordinance obsolete. We are going to follow the governor s order and CDC guidelines, Baker said. The governor s order has usurped our countywide mandate.
WATCH COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR S COMMENTS:
Palm Beach County mask mandate discussion
Palm Coast is expected to begin construction this year on a parking lot, restrooms and a water fountain for the Lehigh Trail parking area off Belle Terre Parkway, according to a press release from the city.
The City Council recently approved an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for a $1,583,738 grant for the construction phase at the trailhead south of Royal Palms Parkway on the east side of Belle Terre Parkway, according to the release.
The city expects to put the project out to bid and begin construction this year, the release said.
The plan is to build a paved parking lot which will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide more than 60 spaces, the release said. Restrooms and a water fountain will also be included.
Sarasota s Marie Selby Botanical Gardens would be shielded from losing tax exempt status under a bill that advanced in the Florida Senate Wednesday.
The legislation (SB 1214) filed by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, was prompted by a dispute between Selby Gardens and the Sarasota County Property Appraiser, who challenged Selby s nonprofit tax exemption.
The Property Appraiser s Office has focused on an operating agreement between Selby and Michael s On East, a for-profit company, to manage food services at the gardens.
The legislation filed by Gruters and amended by him Wednesday states that a nonprofit s tax exemption is not affected so long as the predominant use of the property is for charitable, religious, scientific, or literary purposes.
Three high-ranking advisors to ousted Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh, dismissed by his elected successor Amy Mercado, got “golden parachute” deals from Singh that could net them a combined $318,000 from taxpayers, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by Mercado seeking to void the extraordinary severance packages. Singh signed the special agreements for the trio on Sept. 30, about six weeks after he was trounced by Mercado in the Democratic primary. Mercado learned about the unusual severance arrangements after she reorganized the Property Appraiser’s office and eliminated high-paying posts held by Tatsiana Sokolava, Singh’s former campaign consultant who became his chief operational officer; Barbara Jubran, Singh’s human resources manager; and Robert Grimaldi, his legal advisor.
LARGO â Last year, a consultant identified the 400 block on the north side of West Bay Drive as the prime location for a new City Hall. The city, however, needed to purchase six properties in order to clear the way for its proposed $51 million headquarters.
City administration had reached a deal with five of those properties by early January for $1.44 million, but there was one holdout.
On Feb. 2, city commissioners agreed to pay $1.4 million â more than $1 million above market value â for the final piece of the block.
The 4,320-square-foot parcel at 400 W. Bay Drive, which is owned by West Bay Plaza LLC, has an appraised value of $395,000 and was bought in 2018 for $325,000, according to records from the Property Appraiserâs Office.