HOW ABOUT A FREE RELAXING CONCERT THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON?

“OCEANS 2” will present a concert on Sunday, June 29^th from 3-4 pm at the Spanish Rivier Library on Spanish River Boulevard that is free to the public, as part of the Sunday Matinee Music Series. Skip Sheffield, columnist for the Boca Raton News and Bill Bowen, writer and editor at the Palm Beach Post will perform tunes from Simon & Garfinkle, Jimmy Buffet-style music, Beatles songs and others. For more information call Lisa Mansell at 561-451-3452.

NOTE: YOU MUST MOVE OVER FOR STOPPED EMERGENCY VEHICLES ON HIGHWAY

With the primary objective to save lives of law enforcement officers conducting traffic stops, a statute passed during the 2002 session of the Florida legislature requires that motorists traveling on I-95 and other Florida highways with two or more lanes traveling in the direction fo the emergency vehicle “slow down” or “move over” and out of the lane closest to the vehicle as soon as its safe to do so, when approaching an authorized emergency vehicle stopped on the highway. Drivers are required to slow to 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit if 25 miles per hour or greater or travel at 5 miles per hour when posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour or less.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM HOLDS TOWNE PICNIC

From 11 am to 2 pm The Children’s Museum will hold what it hopes will be its first annual picnic on the museum grounds at 498 Crawford Boulevard. There will be Dixieland Entertainment, children’s crafts, horseshoe and lawn croquet tournaments, a 3-legged sack race and free museum admission. For more information call 561-368-6875.

KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN YOU GET A MORTGAGE THE LOWER THE INTEREST RATE THE MORE HOME YOU GET FOR THE MONEY

FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Jump

Washington, June 13,2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to the highest level in nearly eight months, reflecting increased concerns about what the Federal Reserve might do to battle inflation.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.32 percent this week. That was sharply up from 6.09 percent last week.

It was the highest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.33 percent for the week of Oct. 25.

Analysts attributed the big jump to increased concerns in financial markets that the Federal Reserve might be preparing to start raising interest rates in order to make sure that inflation does not get out of control.

MORTGAGE RATE TREND INDEX

Most experts (71 percent) polled by Bankrate.com generally expect mortgage rates to continue rising over the next 30 to 45 days. However, 21 percent expect rates to go down while only 8 percent predict no change over the same time span.

TEMPLE BETH SHIRA TO JOIN UNION FOR REFORM JUDIASM
Four years ago, five families formed Temple Beth Shira, West Boca’s Reform Synagogue, as a supportive congregation. Today more than 130 families are members of this multi-generational congregation, devoted to Torah, Jewish values, social action and community outreach. Members come from Boynton Beach to Coral Springs. On Friday, June 13^th the temple, in West Boca, will be officially welcomed into the Union for Reform Judiasm, the only West Boca Temple to be so affiliated. Attendance at the event is free. For more information call 561-912-1453 or go to www.templebeth-shira.org. The Temple offers a comprehensive religious school, bar and bat mitzvah training and small classes. There is an active sisterhood and brotherhood. Cantor Ellen Stettner is the spiritual leader. She served as Cantor of the historic Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York City, NY, from 1981 through 2002, and was the first person to have occupied that position. She also served Temple Israel in Melbourne, Florida, as interim Spiritual Leader, before accepting the position of Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Shira in West Boca Raton. Services are held every other Friday at 7:30 pm at West Boca High School. For more information call 561-912-1453 or go to www.templebeth-shira.org.

ARTISTIC ENTRIES BEING ACCEPTED FOR “BOCA FESTIVAL DAYS”

Sign up by Friday June 27^th to submit up to two pieces of 2- and 3-dimensional work. Be age 18+, and send $25 entry fee per application. For entry form go to www.sugarsandpark.org or go to Sugar Sand Park Community Center. You can call Stacee Cooney at 561-347-3901. The Sugar Sand Park Community Center’s Juried Art Exhibition is part of the month-long Boca Festival Days event organized by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce.

LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS RANK HIGH

NEWSWEEK’s May 21, 2008 “TOP OF THE CLASS” article showed the following area schools in these ranks in the top 1000 of 1400+ public high schools in the US:

Suncoast Community (Riviera Beach) is #3

Dreyfoos School of the Arts (Palm Beach) is #33

Atlantic Community (Delray Beach) is #58

Boca Community (Boca Raton) is #146

Spanish River (Boca Raton) is #196

Palm Beach Gardens (Palm Beach Gardens) #663

West Boca Raton (Boca Raton) is 675

Jupiter (Jupiter) is #859

William T. Dwyer ( Palm Beach Gardens) is #978

Public schools are ranked according a ratio devised by Washington Post Education Reporter Jay Matthews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380