South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • B1

pn Saturday, August 11, 2012 SunSentinel.com Sun Sentinel IB Local Chances for rain are good, but expect some blue skies Boynton gets water meter upgrade Online today Looking to save money on labor costs and leaks, Boynton Beach is upgrading its water meter reading equipment in a project that should be done by 2016. Thanks to moisture streaming up from the Caribbean, South Florida can expect a good chance of afternoon showers and 8 a.m.: Find out where to party, and where to get free drinks and apps. SunSentinel City officials say the new equipment, known as "fixed base" meters, will improve billing accuracy, cut meter reading costs and help detect leaks before they become a huge problem. Installation of the new meters for storms over the weekend. But there also should be plenty of sun.

Officially, the forecast calls for partly sunny sides with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s, evening readings in the upper 70s and a light breeze both weekend days. The rain chance is 60 percent on Saturday, easing to 40 percent on Sunday. Ken Kaye I some of the city's 34,000 water custom ers started July 30. Staff report Charges called politically motivated Plan may aid work in 'Glades Mining money could pay to "Take what turn farmland into wetlands (s now a c(f rus grove and turn it into native habitat" Melissa Meeker, executive director, South Florida Water management District By Andy Reid Staff writer Rock mining money could pay for transforming farmland into wetlands under a new proposal to finally make use of costly land bought for Everglades restoration The South Florida Water Management District is working on a new plan to restore more than half of the 26,800 acres that in 2010 cost taxpayers $197 million in a deal with U.S. Sugar Corp.

How to pay for this plan is raising concerns with some environmental advocates, worried that the district's proposal would siphon money away from other restoration commitments. The district proposes taming almost Please turn to DISTRICT, 2B By Anne Geggis Staff writer Reports there are problems with deli-quent tax data from the Palm Beach County Tax Collector's Office have been exaggerated and are politically motivated, Tax Collector Anne Gannon says. Nearly two years since the Palm Beach County Tax Collector's Office switched to a new data management system, back-up records from the old system are still being used. And people searching whether taxes are delinquent on a county property are encouraged to call the office for verification of the property's status. But Gannon, who is facing a primary challenge from a Boynton Beach real estate attorney, says some cases of bad data outlined in recent published reports are nothing more than political attacks.

Gannon says a claim by Sun Coast Tide owner Kim Searson that bad data from the tax collector left her on the hook for $36,000 are untrue. "The only conversation staff had with Kim regarding this property was July 19 after the closing, months after the closing when Kim discovered there were additional taxes due," Gannon wrote in an email to the Sun Sentinel. Searson, Gannon said, "came forward with fabrications that mirror the politically motivated charges of my opponent rather than deal with factual information," Gannon wrote. But Searson said that she doesn't know Gannon's challenger, Peter Carney, nor had she ever spoken with him before the error came to light "I wish I had never brought this up," Searson said. Said Carney: "These people came to me (to complain) because I was rwining for tax collector." Gannon says there is no "systemic problem" in her office and that the publicity surrounding errors are because of public records requests that her opponent made.

But she did say the new data system went live in November 2010 missing 35,000 records of delinquent taxes. "Thirty-five thousand records? In Palm Beach County, that's about $100 million worth of potential exposure," said Alan Fields, executive director of the Florida Land Title Association, estimating the average tax bill at $3,000. Gannon said the missing records have been winnowed down to 3,000. ageggistribune.com or 561-243-6624 MARK RANDALLSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Roseman, founder and executive director of the Toby Center for Family Transitions in Boynton Beach, sees clients in his office. Getting help with divorce Mischief afoot for primaries Inside Today is the last day you can vote early in Palm Beach County.

Find out where you can cast your ballot. 4B "This is the most serious change in life for most people." Mark Roseman, founder and executive director of the Toby Center for Family Transitions By Anthony Man Staff writer More than 600,000 voters in Broward and Palm Beach counties are shut out of some elections this year, deprived of any say in who will run key parts of county government and represent them in the Florida Legislature. It's all legal. The culprit is a campaign law loophole that is frequently exploited by political insiders, who use it to manipulate election results. "It stinks," said Delray Beach political activist Andre Fladell, who's advised both Democrats and Republicans for decades.

"It's supposed to be an honest process, and the law allows it to be a dishonest process. It eliminates half the electorate through a dishonest act. You're undoing people's right to vote." Please turn to VOTING, 2B By Ben Wolford Staff writer BOYNTON BEACH It's difficult to divorce well. Mark Roseman knows. In 14 years, he's had almost no contact with his three children The heartache of his own experience inspired his new life's work, a divorce center in Boynton Beach that consumes his energy and his time, usually 70 hours a week or more Roseman, 60, is 6 feet 2 and seems even bigger in the Toby Center's mere 630 square feet He hugs those who offer handshakes, and his cackle in the other room punctuates quiet therapy sessions.

Roseman sometimes performs stand-up comedy on the side "This is the most serious change in life for most people," he said. "It's not buying a house It's losing your family structure." Most people are unprepared for that, said Please turn to DIVORCE, 2B Historic roots: Delray festival moves back to neighborhood Created by the Jefferson Manor Homes Association in 1978, Roots is the second longest rwining festival in Delray Beach after the Delray Affair. Through the years it has seen its ups and downs, but has always aimed to provide educational, musical or sports program to children interested in exploring their African American and Caribbean heritage, said founder Elizabeth Wesley. "We had math and spelling contests to keep students' minds sharp over the summer. We had a seminar for small businesses.

We had a program called Roots Classical Series, exposing children to classical music," Wesley said. "These were all ideas that came from the community and benefited the community' For 25 years, all Roots events were at Pom-pey Park, the heart of the city's predominantly black northwest neighborhood. But it was a product of its own success, and crowds bottle-necked the neighborhood streets, obstructing emergency vehicles. Please turn to ROOTS, 2B neighborhood that gave birth to it was a better idea "We realized that rather than try to reinvent the wheel and create an event in the community without the community, we would partner with Roots, which has been around for 35 years," said Jamie Salen, the cooperative's public relations and events manager. "We wanted to honor a lot of the people who started this event and who made it such a mainstay and we wanted to be clear this was for families and community' By Maria err era Staff writer The Roots Cultural Festival is going back to, well, its roots.

The Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative, a nonprofit in charge of marketing the city, is organizing a reunion-style revival of the festival Saturday. The cooperative has been trying to bring the popular On The Ave street fairs to West Adantic Avenue for some time, but said bringing the historic Roots Festival to the II Clerk Howard C. Forman has been recommended by: She Miami Herald South Florida SmtSentinel VOTE Tuesday, August 14.