April 2, 2013 A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL AT THE ROYAL EGG HUNT! Hundreds of residents lined up to enjoy the specially- ordered-great-weather day at the annual Royal Egg Hunt! The children collected eggs galore and then met the Easter Bunny and then proceeded to eat ALL of their candy! Mayor Stermer and Commissioner Norton even joined in the fun! THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 9th ANNUAL FREE CONCERT IN THE PARK WAS A HUGE SUCCESS A huge thank you goes out to the many volunteers, and of course the fans, who attended Saturday night’s 9th Annual Concert in the Park presented by the City of Weston and the Rotary Club of Weston. With Starship featuring Mickey Thomas as the headliner and Christopher Cross as the concert opener, upwards of 5,000 to 7,000 concert-goers enjoyed an extraordinary south Florida night of classic rock. Concert Chair Tom Kallman and Co-Chair Alison Kallman made this giant undertaking look smooth and seamless, and we thank them and the numerous corporate sponsors brought onboard to be able to provide this concert free of charge to the Welcoming the massive community. crowd is our Weston City Mayor Daniel Stermer joined by City Manager John Flint, State Representative Jim Waldman, State Representative Rick Stark, and City Commissioners Jim Norton, Toby Feuer, Tom Kallman and Angel Gomez (separate photo). Christopher Cross entertained the crowd with many of his #1 hits such as “Sailing” and “Ride Like the Wind”. CLICK THIS PAGE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE EVENING! THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 Page 2 – Concert in the Park Starship: Featuring Mickey Thomas finished up the night with their great rock music including “We Built This City”, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now” and “Sara”. These residents (and their Bunny) know how to attend an outdoor concert in style! Fans of all ages and music tastes had a great time enjoying the music! Some even brought their own instruments! CLICK THIS PAGE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE EVENING! THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 The crowd stretched as far back as Soccer Fields 7 & 8! Not a bad seat in the house! Starship was joined by Alex Ligertwood formerly from Santana and they all finished the night by rocking out! THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LOCAL C-SPAN StudentCam 2013 Winners Brian Bosem, Camila Tussie and Jacob Wilentz C-SPAN has announced the 75 winning videos in the 2013 StudentCam competition! The winning videos competed among the record-setting 1,893 films that were received in this year's competition. A total of 3,753 students representing 44 states, as well as Washington DC, and Taiwan, took part in the competition. The creators of this year’s 75 winning documentaries will share in a total of $50,000 in cash prizes. Weston is proud to announce that three of our local students took home a Third Prize designation! Congratulations to: Brian Bosem, Camily Tussie and Jacob Wilentz, all 8th grade students from Falcon Cove Middle School. Their documentary entitled “The Dangers of an Increasing National Deficit” is one of the top 27 prize winning videos that will air on C-SPAN during the month of April. Brian, Camila and Jacob’s film will air on Tuesday, April 9th at 6:50am. Please click on the link to watch their award-winning video: http://studentcam.viddler.com/videos/watch.php?id=2f26ddb1. What is StudentCam? StudentCam is C-SPAN's annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think seriously about issues that affect our communities and our nation. Congratulations to our Weston students! For more information or to enter the 2014 competition, please visit: www.studentcam.org. THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporation sm April 2, 2013 FLORIDA’S GRADE FOR ONLINE FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY GOES FROM A “D” TO AN “A” On March 26th, a report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), showed that the State of Florida jumped from a “D” grade with a score of 59 in 2012, to an “A-“ grade with a score of 92, in 2013 which graded online financial transparency. Florida was one of only seven states to earn an “A” grade. The U.S. PIRG is a federation of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest. In a statement by the organization, they are encouraged by the progress that they have witnessed each year since report cards on spending transparency began being issued in 2010. To view the report, please link to: http://www.uspirg.org/news/usf/transparency-report-card-grades-50-states-spending-openness Researchers examine each states’ website for spending information on contracts, non- contracted expenditures, grants and subsidies and how easily accessible the data is searchable or downloadable. A search of the State of Florida website (www.myflorida.com) reveals a very easily navigated section under the Chief Financial Officers landing page, appropriately titled “Transparency Florida”. Here you can search the state budget, vendor payments, cash balances, contract audits, financial reports, even state employee data and more. Click on this link to go direct to Transparency Florida: http://www.myfloridacfo.com/transparency/ THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm BROWARD COUNTY LIBRARIES April 2, 2013 Need Free Tax Help? Library locations countywide offer free volunteer tax preparation assistance beginning this month. Counselors are available to assist taxpayers of all ages, but some restrictions apply. Please call libraries directly, as times and days vary from location to location. Appointments may be required in some locations. African-American Research Library and Cultural Center 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 954-357-6282 Main Library 100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954-357-7444 Miramar Branch Library and Education Center 2050 Civic Center Place., Miramar, FL 33025 954-357-8090 North Regional/Broward College Library 1100 Coconut Creek Blvd., Coconut Creek, FL 33066 954-201-2600 South Regional/Broward College Library 7300 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 954-201-8825 Southwest Regional Library 16835 Sheridan St., Pembroke Pines, FL 33331 954-357-6580 West Regional Library 8601 W. Broward Blvd., Plantation, FL 33324 954-765-1560 For more information, please visit www.broward.org/library. THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm BROWARD SHERIFF’S OFFICE April 2, 2013 GUN BUY BACK PROGRAM th SATURDAY, APRIL 9 THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS AND SONS TO WORK DAY THURSDAY, APRIL 11th for Broward County Public School Students April 11, 2013, is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in Broward County Public Schools (BCPS). The theme for 2013 is "Work In Progress." Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is an annual event, for children between the ages of 8 and 18, sponsored by the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation. With parental approval, students can participate by visiting a particular workplace of a parent, guardian, adult relative or adult family friend. Last year’s event at the City of Weston was a huge hit with the students (and their parents had a pretty good time as well)! All departments of the City were showcased and the children learned a bit more about their parents’ jobs and responsibilities. Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is designed to assist students in formulating some ideas about future career paths. A day at work will heighten the aspirations of students and help them to make the connection between academic success and success in the world of work. In addition, this is an opportunity for parents and other adults to showcase their places of employment, explain their job responsibilities, introduce their co-workers, and present the various career choices that are available in the workplace. For additional information on Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day, please visit www.browardschools.com/info/workday. THE CITY OF WESTON · phone 954-385-2000 · facsimile 954-385-2010 The Nation’s Premiere Municipal Corporationsm April 2, 2013 PROFESSIONAL THEATER FOR CHILDREN ALADDIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP th Saturday, April 13 at 10:30am Bring your friends and family to all the fun and adventure in Stages Productions’ newest musical! Set in ancient Persia, this exciting adaptation of The Arabian Nights’ most famous tale comes alive with the music, magic and mayhem. Will Aladdin marry the beautiful princess? Will the wicked magician reclaim the magic lamp? Will the all- powerful Genie of the lamp help Aladdin to achieve his dreams? There is only one way to find out. th DATE: Saturday, April 13 TIME: 10:30am LOCATION: Cypress Bay Theater at Cypress Bay High School 18600 Vista Park Blvd., Weston TICKETS: Pre-sale tickets available at the Weston Community Center 20200 Saddle Club Road 954-389-4321 PRICE: $5 per person in advance of show $10 per person if purchased at the door day of show Don’t miss this fantastic community event presented by Stages Productions! For more information, please visit our website at www.westonfl.org.