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Immigration focus of panel discussion

By TIMES WIRES
Published March 15, 2007

CLEARWATER

A panel that includes Clearwater city auditor Robin Gomez and Sandra Lyh of the YWCA, will discuss legal and illegal immigration at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at the Clearwater Main Library, 100 N Osceola Ave. The forum is open to the public and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of North Pinellas County. Call 724-6409.

Streetscape's first block to be opened

The city will celebrate the completion of the first block of the Cleveland Street Streetscape with a ribbon cutting and ceremonial stroll at 11 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Osceola Avenue and Cleveland Street. After the ribbon cutting, Mayor Frank Hibbard will walk along the new block with children from the Peace Memorial Child Development Center. Specially labeled bottled water and chocolate bars with coupons for downtown restaurants, as well as free coffee, will be handed out during the event. Call 562-4044.

Council tackles insurance issue

You think you have insurance problems? So does the city of Clearwater. The City Council may decide at its meeting tonight that it will whittle away its insurance coverage from $409-million to just $50-million. The premium for one year that starts April 1: $2.9-million. The city also has a central insurance reserve that has about $22-million in it. The city's buildings, vehicles and equipment are currently valued at $540-million. Tonight's meeting is at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 112 S. Osceola Ave.

New book tells of early education

Before 1912, bears roamed the woods off Cleveland Street and schoolchildren would bring American Indian artifacts in for show-and- tell. Life in early Clearwater was much different than today and a new book by Ruth Ann Galatas-Sands compiles Clearwater education and history including the hiring of the first paid teacher Jennie Reynolds Plumb. The book is available for the public to see at the Plumb House, 1380 S. Martin Luther King Ave. Museum hours are first and third Thursdays from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Galatas-Sands is the great-granddaughter of Plumb. Call 442-4902.

COUNTYWIDE

Guardian ad litem volunteers needed

About 1,800 children in Pinellas County need someone to be their voice in the courtroom, and the county's guardian ad litem program hopes that could be you. Guardians ad litem speak on behalf of abused, abandoned or neglected children in Pinellas County courts. As a child's advocate, a guardian ad litem becomes familiar with the child and case and makes recommendations to the court to help ensure the child has a safe, caring and stable environment. Guardians ad litem receive training and supervision to help them make a difference in the lives of children. Call (727) 464-6528 to sign up for an orientation, which are held Thursdays at varying times to accommodate the schedule of prospective volunteers. For information, go to www.guardianadlitem6.org.

[Last modified March 14, 2007, 23:35:26]