Vote-by-mail requests are due today
Mail-ballot requests close today, a new police chief is sworn in, and Memorial Park moves into negotiations.
Today is the last day to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot for the Boca Raton primary. The city's election calendar sets Thursday, August 6 as the deadline to request that ballot, opens early voting on August 8, and holds Primary Election Day on Tuesday, August 18. All three dates sit inside a compressed stretch of the month: the mail-ballot request cutoff falls today, the early voting period opens two days later, and the primary itself follows less than two weeks after that. Anyone who lets today's request deadline pass has not lost the election, but the remaining paths to a ballot are both in person. That means voting during the early voting period that begins August 8, or voting on Primary Election Day itself, Tuesday, August 18. (City of Boca Raton)
Council moves Memorial Park master plan into negotiations
Boca Raton City Council has moved the downtown civic area and Memorial Park master plan into contract talks. Resolution 86-2026, taken up at the July 28 council meeting, establishes the final qualifications-based ranking for the downtown civic area and Memorial Park master plan and directs the city manager to negotiate with the top-ranked firm. The resolution stops short of approving a design and stops short of awarding a contract. What it does is settle the ranking and authorize negotiations to begin. If those negotiations succeed, staff expects a professional-services agreement to return to council on August 25, making that meeting the next scheduled decision point on the master plan. The same July 28 agenda also carried 35th Street drainage improvements and a two-year SEIU agreement. (Boca Post)
Jarad L. Phelps sworn in as Boca's police chief
Jarad L. Phelps has been sworn in as Boca Raton's chief of police. The city says Phelps was selected through a nationwide search and brings more than three decades of law enforcement leadership to the City of Boca Raton. That experience is what the city cites in naming him to the job, and the nationwide search is how it says he was found. With the swearing-in complete, the appointment is official, and Phelps now leads the city's police department. (City of Boca Raton)
The August City Connection is out
The August issue of the City Connection, the City of Boca Raton's newsletter, is available. The city lists the issue's contents as the Primary Election, the Chief of Police swearing-in, upcoming community discussions, the Back-to-School Tax Free Holiday, and Battle of the Bands. Two of those, the primary and the new chief, are already in front of Boca residents this week. The community discussions, the tax free holiday, and Battle of the Bands are covered inside the issue itself. (City of Boca Raton)
Old Sears site could start coming down this year
Boca Raton's old Sears could start coming down this year. City documents point to demolition beginning before the end of 2026, according to an August 5 report from TAPinto Boca Raton. (TAPinto Boca Raton)
Turnpike widening is planned for West Boca
Florida's Turnpike is widening to eight lanes through West Boca Raton. An August 4 report from TAPinto Boca Raton frames the work as something residents along that stretch will live through for five years. (TAPinto Boca Raton)
County HIV team presents at national conference
Palm Beach County HIV Elimination Services, known as HIVES, will represent the county through four nationally selected presentations at the 2026 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment. The conference runs August 4 through August 7 in Washington, D.C., which puts the county's four presentations inside this week. All four cleared a national selection process rather than being placed on the program locally. County officials say the presentations reflect Palm Beach County's ongoing work. The county's slate was made public on July 31, ahead of the conference's August 4 opening. (BocaNewsNow)
Kids In Action extended care runs tomorrow at Sugar Sand Park
Kids In Action Extended Care runs tomorrow, Friday, August 7, at Sugar Sand Park Community Center, 300 S Military Trail. The program runs each day in either a 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. block or a 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. block. It is what kids do when specialty camps are over for the day, with group games, tumbling, arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and theater games filling the hours. Participants must be enrolled in a Sugar Sand Park Summer Specialty Camp. Sneakers are required for safety, and kids should bring a snack and a beverage. (City of Boca Raton)