BocaBuzz

Palm Beach County spent the bulk of the $261 million of CARES Act funding just weeks before the year-end deadline, according to a review of spending records.Contact 5 reviewed CARES Act expenditures provided by the Palm Beach County clerk for dollars the county received last spring.Records reviewed by Contact 5 show Palm Beach County spent more money in two months, November and December, on utility and rental assistance, than was spent between June and October.Those records also show the county spent more money in December alone on emergency food distribution than disbursed between May and October.Sharon Bebout, along with volunteers at Cason United Methodist Church in Delray Beach, with help from Living Hungry, have distributed nearly 500,000 boxes of fresh food to more than 27,000 famili...

Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach is expanding to meet the needs of countless animals in Palm Beach County.Staff and volunteers on Monday celebrated the unveiling of the new Lesly S. Smith Pet Adoption Center.The 28,000 square-foot facility will have the capacity to save thousands more dogs, cats, puppies and kittens."We are so excited. We were hoping to open in the fall, so it took us a little bit longer with COVID, but this building is going to be just a huge resource for our community, the animals and people of Palm Beach County," Rich Anderson, CEO and executive director of Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, said. "We're so excited to have this place to help find more animals new homes."The center features a cat adoption wing and three dog adoption wings.The cat wing i...

In just days, all adults in Florida will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. And with that comes the potential of companies bringing more remote workers back into physical office workspaces.But can your employer require you to get vaccinated before returning to the office?"This is uncharted ground," said Arthur Schofield, a labor and employment discrimination attorney in West Palm Beach.Schofield spoke live to WPTV senior reporter Michelle Quesada on the WPTV Facebook page Monday afternoon about your rights when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine and work.WATCH INTERVIEW:Schofield said that companies can indeed require you to be vaccinated before returning to office settings, and it all comes down to workplace safety."When the employer, again, is looking to maintain a safe environme...

An overwhelming majority of Palm Beach County educators want to get rid of the controversial style of simultaneous teaching, according to a new survey.The Palm Beach County Classrooms Teachers Association recently polled educators about their opinions of simultaneous teaching, which is when teachers are instructing students both in-class and remotely at the same time.The practice started within all South Florida and Treasure Coast school districts at the start of the 2020-21 academic year last August because of safety concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.3,170 educators responded to the CTA survey, which was conducted between March 11 and 26.According to the results, 94.4% of teachers said simultaneous teaching harms the ability of the average student to "learn effectively."In addi...

Cities across Palm Beach County were forced to make changes during the COVID-19 pandemic to help their businesses stay open.Many municipalities allowed for things like extra outdoor seating, but after a year of these changes, what will stay for good?SPECIAL COVERAGE: Rebound South FloridaDelray Beach business owners on sounding off on what they would like to remain in place.Ocean Gardens, also known as the OG Bar, reopened with a new outdoor space in January."It gives us the ability to host a lot more people in a better environment," owner Brian Rosen said.Rosen said they have been able to triple their capacity with their new outdoor space, but right now it is only temporary.The city is allowing bars to use outdoor space with a special permit to help make up for losses related to COVID-19....

Some Palm Beach County residents have just over 48 hours to activate their CARES Act-funded pre-paid debit food card.County Administrator Verdenia Baker wants to remind recipients that Wednesday is the deadline to activate the cards.She said cards not activated by the end of this month will expire and the funds will be swept and redirected."We want you to use the cards, we really do, but come deadline, we are going to deactivate those cards," Baker said.New numbers from the county obtained by Contact 5 show 160 of the cards, valued at more than $86,000, are still not activated. That's progress since Contact 5's last report, more than a week ago, found about 300 unused cards."Thanks to the press, thanks to you and your story, people realized that they needed to activate the cards, and so th...

For more than a year we’ve shared their stories.“It definitely took a big hit on me,” Tanya Dean said.People in drug or alcohol recovery are trying to navigate the pressures of the pandemic.“That kind of made a challenge when they shut down some of the fellowship halls and some of the things people could do to kind of congregate,” Matt Williams said.“When it comes to substance abuse issues and mental health issues, we’ve seen an escalation during this time,” Allison Walsh said.Walsh is the Vice President of Business Development and Branding for Advanced Recovery Systems, a behavioral health care company with locations around the country including Lake Worth and Miami.“There are so many individuals that for the first time are experiencing pretty significant and severe symptoms,” she said.Wa...

Parents across Florida are up in arms about possible changes to the Bright Futures scholarship program. Some parents are saying their kids have been sold a dream of higher education that may never be affordable without it."We all got sold a bill that we were going to approve the lottery to fund this program and therefore they need to stick to that," Francesca Alvarez said.Alvarez wants the Bright Futures scholarship program to stay as it is right now. She said it's helping her two kids Daniel and Tatiana in college at the University of Florida. It'll also help David, who is an incoming freshman."It pays for their books. It's paying for all the courses they're taking, and that was a factor why they stayed in Florida," she said.Recently, Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, submitted a proposal call...

Gaylord Palms in Orlando has installed an addition to its Cypress Springs Water Park called Crystal River Rapids. The water ride reaches speeds of three-and-a-half feet per second along the river.“We are so excited for our guests to experience everything our resort has to offer this spring season, including our brand-new action river Crystal River Rapids,” said Johann Krieger, General Manager of Gaylord Palms. “It’s the perfect time to plan a getaway to enjoy our one-of-a-kind Cypress Springs Water Park where you can relax at our South Beach Pool or enjoy our thrilling drop and racing slides, FlowRider Surfing Experience, new action river and more.”

In less than a week, the COVID-19 vaccine will be fair game to all Floridians who are 18 and older, as well as teens who are 16 and 17 and receiving the Pfizer shot.WPTV senior reporter Michelle Quesada on Tuesday took an in-depth look at data from the Florida Department of Health and U.S. Census Bureau to see how many people have already been vaccinated in our local counties.TOTAL VACCINATIONS:Palm Beach County: 419,324 (28% of population)St. Lucie County: 77,435 (24% of population)Indian River County: 58,051 (42% of population)Martin County: 52,524 (33% of population)Okeechobee County 7,547 (18% of population)Senior citizens ages 65 and older overwhelmingly represent the majority of Florida residents who have been vaccinated, as they have been eligible since late December.65 AND OLDER VA...