Lacerte elected to statewide utility board

Members of the Florida Municipal Electric Association elected Kissimmee Utility Authority vice president and general counsel Arthur J. "Grant" Lacerte Jr. as vice president of the association’s board of directors for 2010-11.

Lacerte has nearly 20 years of experience in public utility, regulatory and legislative practice, including serving as attorney advisor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., according to a KUA press release.

He is a frequent speaker at national conferences on topics including ethics, municipal entry into the broadband industry, patent law development and the impact of health pandemics on utilities. FMEA, in 2005, awarded Lacerte its member of the year award for his work in drafting legislation to govern Florida’s municipal broadband industry.

Lacerte serves as chairman of Family Services of Metro Orlando, an organization that oversees the management of services provided to abused and neglected children, under the auspices of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in New York and a law degree from Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

The Florida Municipal Electric Association represents the unified interests of 34 public power communities across the state, which provide electricity to nearly 3 million of Florida’s residential and business consumers.

Job fair set for Aug. 12

Congressman Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, has announced an upcoming job fair at Osceola Heritage Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 12.

Employers at the fair are seeking candidates to fill available positions within their companies and organizations, Posey stated in a press release. There is no cost to participate and no pre-registration required. Attendees should dress in professional and appropriate attire and come prepared with copies of their resume.

The job fair will be hosted in conjunction with Workforce Central Florida, Osceola County EDC, Heart of Florida

United Way, Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce, St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Small Business Association, Internal Revenue Service, Bright House Networks, University of Florida IFAS (Osceola County Extension), Osceola County Council on Aging, Community Vision, Osceola Human Services/Library Services, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Hispanic Business Initiative Fund, UCF Business Incubation Program and state Rep. Mike Horner.

More information about the job fair can be accessed at WorkforceCentralFlorida.com.

Road projects in Kissimmee

The city of Kissimmee Public Works and Engineering Department has work crews sealing cracks in the asphalt along Woodcrest Boulevard and Oak Run Boulevard from Oak Breeze Avenue to Woodcrest Boulevard.

Sealing the cracks will prepare these streets for resurfacing, which is scheduled to take place in approximately 30 days. Temporary signage and flagging operations will be used to direct the traffic.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 407-518-2170.

It also was announced that Burkhardt Construction on Wednesday morning shifted a lane of traffic at the intersection of Ruby Avenue and Johnson Street to allow work crews to access underground utilities. The lane shift was set to remain in effect for one week.

For more information, contact Burkhardt Construction at 407-847-3737.

Unemployment

benefits extended

for Florida

Gov. Charlie Crist last week signed Executive Order 10-170 authorizing Floridians who qualify for extended benefits to resume receiving unemployment compensation through Dec. 4, as authorized by federal law on July 22.

Florida’s Extended Benefit period ended June 5. Qualifying individuals will receive the benefits retroactive to that date if benefits lapsed. The extended benefits program pays up to 20 weeks of additional benefits to individuals who previously exhausted the up-to-79 weeks of regular state and Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation estimates the

governor’s executive order

will benefit approximately 250,000 long-term unemployed Floridians.

The new federal law also extends the deadline for establishing eligibility in the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program by approximately six months, retroactive to May, and extends the phase-out date for the program to April 30, 2011. This action will provide immediate assistance to nearly 900,000 Floridians.

Following enactment of the federal legislation, four tiers of federal EUC benefits remain available to eligible beneficiaries. Details on those tiers can be found on the Hot Topics section of the agency’s website at http://www.floridajobs.org/unemployment/hottopics.html.

The agency is now mailing notices of the new eligibility dates to potentially eligible beneficiaries.

Toho Water

to open new building

At 10 a.m. today, Toho Water Authority will celebrate the grand opening of its new administrative complex on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The new building will serve as the primary workplace for the authority’s administrative staff, now located on the second floor of Kissimmee City Hall, and other auxiliary offices in the county.

KZF Design designed the four-story, 54,000-square foot facility, with construction management provided by Balfour Beatty.