Representative Sachs Weekly Newsletter

Week of February 11-15, 2008

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”

Thomas Edison

SACHS TO BRING MEDIA ATTENTION TO HB207

On Thursday, February 21, 2008, I will be holding a press conference in The Capitol in Tallahassee. I will be announcing House Bill 207, which creates additional certification tests for Florida teachers in the languages of Chinese, Hebrew, and Italian. Joining me at the press conference will be Senator Paula Dockery and the co-sponsors of this bill. I will be pursuing this bill during the Regular Session of 2008. By having this press I hope to bring attention to the need to for more languages in our schools. Currently, only Latin, Spanish, French and German are the languages that teachers are able to take a certification test in, that needs to change. Right now native speakers of languages other than those four cannot be certified to teach those languages unless they take at least 30 credit hours of that language at the university level.

PRE-SESSION UPDATE

With regular session right around the corner, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about the few exciting projects I have completed and am still working on.

First, the FAU Presidential Mock Debate was an absolute success and I was thrilled to see a few members of the DEC attend. The students were prepared, the crowd was engaging and I was proud to be a part of such a well-organized and attended event. It is the students, which I believe, will play a crucial role in selecting the next leader of the free world! Seeing them in action was a great preview of what the next generation has to offer.

Second, the University of Florida Renewable Energy Matrix legislative tour was an educating and eye-opening event for me. Along with several prominent members of the House of Representatives, we were given a thorough explanation of Florida’s exact renewable energy potential and goals. It is by us, lawmakers and scientists, working together that we can accomplish the combined goal of turning our great state of Florida GREEN! I look forward to continuing this dialogue and will keep the DEC updated of the results.

Finally, an event I am especially excited about is the Boynton Beach Heritage Celebration 2008 which takes place on February 15-17 at the Ezell Hester Center, Boynton Beach. As a State Representative for District 86, which encompasses most of Boynton Beach, I am very proud to be a part of this event. On February 16th, a very dear young man by the name of Tamien Bain will be performing at 11:30am. Tamien is the embodiment of a “success story”. With a very rough beginning early on in his life, he was able to take the negative and turn it into a positive – music. Now, not only is he a successful recording artist but is also making a light of his past and going to various juvenile detention centers throughout South Florida and speaking to the kids about how “mind over matter” wins and staying positive is crucial. I look forward to seeing you on February 16th and please do not hesitate to stop by my tent and say hello!

SACHS HELPS OUT

As a State Representative for District 86, I take special pride in knowing that my office has an “open-door” policy and my constituents always welcome to stop by and have a cup of coffee. Whether you have a problem and need our help or just want to stop by, please do so whenever you please. I wanted to share some special news with you this week and I am thrilled to have been a part of this.

A few months ago, a constituent reached out and asked whether I can write a letter of recommendation for her son, Curtis, who was applying to the United States Air Force Academy. I am happy to announce that he was accepted! And although I know he did so purely based on his merits – I would like to think I helped just a little bit. It was both my pleasure and honor to write such a letter on their behalf. I wanted to wish Curtis the best of luck and to let everyone know that an outstanding young man will be serving our country and do us very proud. You go Curtis!

SACHS SAVINGS OF THE WEEK

I have been receiving an immense amount of phone calls from people interested in receiving ICE packets. That is exactly why I have chosen to once again feature this in my “Sachs Savings of the Week”.

You might have seen the article in the Sun-Sentinel; however, I am here to reiterate the importance of a project executed by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Fire-Rescue substations. It is called ICE, “In Case of Emergency”, and it includes a sticker for cell phones as well as an emergency medical card. When combined, the sticker and card, will be the used “in case of emergency” and will help the police and/or fire-rescue acquire vital information about you and who to contact.

National averages show that it takes approximately 5 hours to contact family members when someone is involved in a life-threatening situation and they need information regarding your blood type or any allergies you might have. What Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Fire-Rescue want to accomplish is to distribute these packets to the citizens and spread the word about this program. I am here to help them do so.

My office has ICE packets and we are here to make them available to you. Contact us at (561) 266 – 6645 and we will mail one to you.