The Boca Raton Tribune Yo u r C l o s e s t N e i g h b o r
Number 511 • Year XI COMMUNITY see page 3
East /West Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, FL
May 7 - May 13, 2021
Boca Raton Lifts Mask Mandate By: Kathryn Hubbard
Barking and Brunching for Tri County
COMMUNITY see page 5
Place of Hope Welcomes Abduction Survivor and Kidnapping Activist Elizabeth Smart at 2021 Angel Moms Brunch
COMMUNITY see page 16
FAU Celebrates Spring 2021 Graduates
The City of Boca Raton confirmed that they would follow Palm Beach County and lift the mask mandate after Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order suspending all local coronavirus mandates. DeSantis announced his intention to suspend all local emergency orders related to the pandemic. Today, the Palm Beach County commissioners met to discuss the executive order and decided to lift the mandate. “We are going to follow the governor’s order and CDC guidelines,” said Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker. “The governor’s order has usurped our countywide mandate.” Continued on Page 10
Tourism in Palm Beaches returning to normal after pandemic nosedive By: Dale King The tourism industry in Palm Beach County was running hot and growing fast before it hit the COVID-19 brick wall just over a year ago, the county’s leisure industry boss told the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce in a “virtual” address Tuesday. “We had a great track record,” said Jorge Pesquera, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches since 2007. “In the last decade, tourism increased from four million to eight million visitors to Palm Beach County a year. We even outpaced the state. Actually, tourism in the county increased 92% since 2014.” The agency’s CEO said Discover the Palm Beaches is the official tourism marketing corporation contracted to work with the county. “Our mission is to grow the tourism economy.” The organization uses a third of the $54 million taken in by the state from the tax on hotel/motel rooms – commonly called the “Bed Tax” – to fund its activities. Continued on Page 4
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