Delray Beach, FL – On Dec. 31, Mayor Woodie McDuffie helped ring in the New Year with a Mercedes ball drop at the annual First Night celebration in downtown Delray Beach.

The new Mercedes was the ball drop at midnight and was raffled off to a lucky winner. All proceeds went to the Delray Beach Education Foundation that provides grants in Delray Beach for education and literacy programs.

“Being able to raise money for programs like the Delray Beach Education Foundation and giving back is what the holiday season is all about. To have the new Mercedes as the ball drop was just an added bonus. As mayor, it is great being able to provide the citizens of Delray Beach with a fun, safe and affordable way to ring in the New Year,” Mayor Woodie McDuffie said.

Held annually, the event serves as a family-friendly, event to celebrate the New Year with food, entertainment, crafts, games and prizes.

To stay up to date with the Mayor’s events or to learn more about him, visit www.WoodieForDelray.com or follow him on Facebook at Woodie-McDuffie-For-Delray-Mayor.

To learn more about the upcoming events in Delray Beach, visit www.downtowndelraybeach.com

More than 60 children and 17 adults got a special treat recently at the Delray Beach Public Library.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie entertained them with a dramatic reading of “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. He got into the performance by wearing a navy blue bathrobe and a woolen muffler.

“This is pure joy. The chance to read to the children of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and to let them know the importance of reading makes my effort worthwhile,” he said.

The children, who sat in a semi-circle on the floor, were spellbound by the reading. McDuffie punctuated his narration with questions, and each child received a copy of the book at the evening’s conclusion.

“The mayor’s literacy initiative has him sharing the importance of reading with the children. Learning to read and comprehend, they might grow up to be mayor someday,” said Library Director Alan Kornblau.

Following his reading, entertainer Suzy Hammer took center stage for a 30-minute performance as the Snow Queen. Sporting a blue gown and a long blue cape with a snowflake tiara and necklace, Hammer told stories, sang songs and performed magic tricks.

For her grand finale, she called up a dozen youngsters and gave each of them a piece of “magic” decoration to build a snowman, including snowflakes. The children then put their part of the snowman into the Snow Queen’s magic container. She had them say the magic words and out came a beautifully decorated miniature snowman to their amazement.

“These programs are absolutely wonderful,” said Debbie Giggey, who brought her granddaughter to the event. “Makayla participates in each program. They also have a good program for toddlers on Sunday mornings.”

Bill Merchant, who brought his daughter, Natalie, agreed.

“My little girl loves these stories. We attend every week,” he said.

Delray Beach, FL – Mayor Woodie McDuffie will be helping Delray Beach kick-off the holiday season by attending the lighting of the Menorah Ceremony on Dec. 1 and the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 2.

On Dec. 1, the mayor will be attending the lighting of the Menorah held on the front lawn of the Old School Square at 6:30 p.m. to begin the Hanukkah celebrations.

On Dec. 2, the mayor will be in attendance as Santa Claus flies into town by the Sky 12 helicopter.  CBS 12 News Anchor Suzanne Boyd will be on the ground at the Famous 100-Foot Tree Lighting Ceremony held on the front lawn of the Old School Square. Entertainment will begin at 5 p.m. and will include two-time Grammy Award winner Jon Secada, Unity School Jazz Band, and local high schools.

“Both the lighting of the Menorah and the Tree Lighting ceremonies have become great traditions for our city and it is an honor to help kick off the holiday season. I am humbled to have the opportunity to take part in community traditions such as these and bring holiday cheer to residents,” Mayor Woodie McDuffie said.

To stay up to date with the Mayor’s events or to learn more about him, visit www.WoodieForDelray.com or follow him on Facebook at Woodie-McDuffie-For-Delray-Mayor.

To learn more about the upcoming events in Delray Beach, visit www.downtowndelraybeach.com

By Maria Herrera | The Sun Sentinel  | Looking toward a cleaner future, this city wants to get in on the ground floor of a green energy trend: Compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles.

The City Commission is expected Tuesday to give the OK to move forward with a federal grant application that would provide money to purchase vehicles – starting with trolleys – and build a natural gas service station. And one day the city could sell the natural gas for profit.

To get what could be a $2.5 million grant, the city is partnering with Fort Lauderdale-based Wise Gas, Inc., which will help with grant writing and building and maintaining the natural gas station if the money is awarded. The application is due Friday. (Read Entire Article Here)

By Maria Herrera | Sun Sentinel | Looking toward a cleaner future, this city wants to get in on the ground floor of a green energy trend: Compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles.

The City Commission is expected Tuesday to give the OK to move forward with a federal grant application that would provide money to purchase vehicles — starting with trolleys — and build a natural gas service station. And one day the city could sell the natural gas for profit. (Read Entire Article Here)

By Maria Herrera |  Sun Sentinel
Serving a term on the City Commission could be a three-year commitment if officials decide to vote on placing a charter amendment on the March 2011 ballot.

Commissioners discussed the change at their meeting on Tuesday. It would increase the length of a commissioner’s or mayor’s term from two years to three and reduce the number of terms from three consecutive terms to only two. The mayor and commissioners would still be allowed to serve only a total of six years. (Read Entire Article Here)

Sun Sentinel | By Mort Mazor, Special Correspondent
A National Day of Prayer event was recently staged at the public square outside Delray Beach City Hall.

The event came in spite of an April ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin that the day violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibits Congress from creating a “law respecting an establishment of religion.” The ruling does not cancel the National Day of Prayer until appeals are exhausted, she wrote.

Sharon Wood, co-coordinator of the event, arranged for an impressive list of ministers and citizens to say prayers.

Delray Beach Mayor Nelson “Woodie” McDuffie read a proclamation by the city designating it a day of prayer.

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By Carlos Frias | Palm Beach Post Staff Writer | John McEnroe hadn’t yet swung his racket, and already he was fifth-set form.

“What’s the winner get, a shot of tequila or what?” he said.

Tennis’ reigning king of deadpan sarcasm had everything he needed in playing an exhibition on a closed stretch of Atlantic Avenue Friday night.

He had an opponent, Ronald Agenor, the way the Harlem Globetrotters needed the Washington Generals. He had a willing foil in the chair umpire, on this night a role played by the city’s mayor, Woodie McDuffie. (Read Entire Article Here)

By Maria Herrera | South Florida Sun Sentinel

DELRAY BEACH —
Water could get more expensive in this city but only for the few who use lots of it.

City Commissioners heard a complicated proposal Tuesday at a workshop meeting that would change the way the city bills its customers for water services.

But the message was simple: Low water users will pay substantially less than water guzzlers.

The new rate structure will eliminate surcharges, such as the 30 percent surcharge for residents who use more than 15,000 gallons per month. The new rate structure would reward users of less than 3,000 gallons by implementing a base charge of about $15.

“The low-volume users will get a break, and the high-volume users will get a hit,” said Richard Hasko, director of the city’s Environmental Services Department.

Hasko had the help of CH2MHIll senior analyst Dave Green to explain how the new system would work. They told the commission the new rate is necessary to make up for revenue lost because of water conservation while not penalizing residents who are trying to conserve water.

Last year the city had to increase its rates to make up for revenues lost because of water conservation, a measure Commissioner Fred Fetzer thought was unfair for residents who were making an effort to abide by South Florida Water Management District restrictions during the drought.

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By Maria Herrera  | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“We had to draft from both leagues, and intentionally we said we wanted our team to be representative of both leagues,” said Yankees’ co-coach Joe Jackson, who used to coach for Delray National. “But to make this thing successful we also had to have the coaches come together.”

Delray Beach, a city of 68,000, has struggled with race for decades. It remains largely segregated by neighborhoods. In 1998, the city lost its bid for an All-America City award amid judges’ questions over the city’s “intergroup relations.”

Since then, city officials have worked to improve race relations. In 2004, they formed the Mayor’s Committee on Race Relations and launched the Relationships between Authorities, Citizens and Experts initiative, or R.A.C.E., to focus on the city’s diverse communities.

Read Entire Article Here