If approved, the new condo would be built where mangroves stand

between Regency Highland (left) and the three towers of Toscana on the right.

Bing Maps photo

By Rich Pollack

    A developer’s request for permission to build a 209-foot-tall, 16-story luxury condominium with 45 units on one of Highland Beach’s last vacant parcels — despite a 35-foot height limit — is drawing concerns from residents who fear it will disrupt the tranquility of the small town.
    In a request to the town’s board of adjustment and appeals, representatives of Golden City Highland Beach, LLC, are asking for a variance from the town’s maximum building height restriction of 35 feet, claiming special circumstance exist with the 7.35-acre parcel they own at 3614 S. Ocean Blvd.   
    In a letter to the town, attorney Nathan Nason said the property is primarily wetlands and that only about 10 percent of the parcel is usable for development of a building.
    “With the current buildable area, only eight units would be permitted,” the attorney wrote. “Eight units on a 7.35-acre parcel is approximately one unit per acre. That is an unreasonable restriction on the development of the property.”
    Nason said that the property is surrounded by condominiums that are taller than the current height limit.
    “Directly to the north, the Toscana condominium is a luxury residential development with three 17-story condominium towers,” according to the letter. “Further, to the south, there is a 14-story condominium along the Intracoastal Waterway.”
    Toscana, according to records, was only built after years of lawsuits and legal wrangling over the height issue. In that case, courts found that the height restriction did not apply because it was imposed after the then owner had acquired the property.
    During a recent Town Commission meeting, Toscana resident Marny Glasser, acknowledged that there are indeed tall buildings along A1A, but said that an additional building would only create more congestion and disrupt the peaceful nature of Highland Beach.
    “Toscana is a wonderful place to live but in retrospect maybe it shouldn’t have been built,” she said. “But that was in the past, what’s here is here. The town doesn’t need another large building.”
    Glasser, who serves as secretary of Toscana West, said she is also concerned about the impact the project will have on endangered wildlife that use the dense mangroves on the property as shelter.
    “This is the last sanctuary we have for wildlife,” she said, adding that she has seen a variety of birds as well as manatees and other species in the area. “There’s no place else for them to go.”
    Nason countered, saying that plans for the project call for most of the mangroves on the property to be preserved.
    “We will be impacting a small amount of the mangroves,” he said.
    In urging the commission to deny a variance for the property, Glasser said that the height restrictions were in place when the current developer bought the property.
    “The new owner knew, or should have known, what the town code is when they bought the property,” she said.
    Under the developers’ plans, the 16-story building would include parking on the first and second floors, a pool and two units on the third floor and four units each on floors four through 13. The 14th floor would have two units while the 15th floor would be the penthouse. The top floor, according to Nason’s letter, would be a roof dedicated to mechanical and electronics equipment.
    “The building will be designed to minimize the impacts to views and other potential impacts to the neighboring properties,” Nason said in his letter.
    He said that the developer’s representatives have met with Toscana residents and are listening to their concerns.
    The request for a variance will be considered by the town’s board of adjustment and appeals, which will make a recommendation to the Town Commission. No date has been set yet for the issue to come before the advisory board.

    In 1994, when Boca Raton bought the Ocean Strand property for $11.9 million, many praised the investment as a victory for preserving green space. Twenty years later, the 15-acre property between high-rise condominiums and homes remains blissfully undeveloped.
    It’s refreshing to see such a beautiful slice of old Florida protected, but it’s also a shame that there is no public access to the public land, which stretches from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.
    Boca Raton has several beautiful seaside parks, including Spanish River, Red Reef and South Beach. But perhaps the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which owns the land, should revisit the idea of making Ocean Strand a passive park, as Joe Pedalino, chairman of Keep Your Boca Beaches Public, suggests in Cheryl Blackerby’s Page 1 story.
    Pedalino said he thinks Ocean Strand should be designed as a park for people with disabilities and their families, allowing all to have use of park facilities and the ocean.
    In fact, only three years ago the Beach and Park District spent $20,000 for a landscape architect to draw plans for a passive park. But nothing ever became of those plans.
    Jay Van Vechten, founder and now executive director of the annual Boating & Beach Bash for People with Disabilities, likes the idea of a seaside park being developed for people with disabilities.
    “It would be great if the Strand had a universally designed play area, for example, where children of all abilities could play freely,” Van Vechten said. “Fortunately, Sugar Sand Park is about to start renovating its children’s playground, spending $1 million to make it accessible for all. And that’s very good news indeed.”
    He’s not interested in basing the Bash at the Strand, however.
    “We love Spanish River Park,” he said. “It is the ideal location for the Bash, offering plenty of parking, accessible paths, shaded picnic areas, and both beach and Intracoastal access. If the city continues to allow us to use it, we’re staying!”
    Regardless of where the Bash is held, Ocean Strand seems to be a perfect place for a passive park designed to welcome all, including those with disabilities. It’s too beautiful for no one but the birds and sea turtles to experience.

— Mary Thurwachter, Managing Editor

Christiane Francois has traveled

to Boynton Beach’s sister city, Qufu, China.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

    The owner of the defunct Dolphin restaurant in Boynton Beach likes to think globally.
    “I like the idea of finding out about other cultures,” said Christiane Francois of Ocean Ridge. Plus, she loves to travel.
    She became involved with the Sister Cities program in 2000 through a then-planner with Boynton Beach, Dan DeCarlo.
He had stopped in Qufu, China, while adopting his second Chinese daughter. He started to develop a friendship with Qufu residents and that eventually led to the start of Boynton Beach’s Sister Cities committee.
    “I feel like I have a connection with China,” DeCarlo said. He points to the adopted Chinese daughters, claims that he likely was Chinese in a past life and now teaches at the Confucius Institute in Miami. His business card front is in Mandarin, the official language of China.
    Boynton Beach is a member of Sister Cities International, which boasts 500 cities with 2,000 connections in 140 countries. Delray Beach has two, while Fort Lauderdale has 18.
    Francois served as a board member since 2003, when the Greater Boynton Beach Sister Cities Committee gained nonprofit status. In 2012 and 2013, she was president. She is still involved with the organization and recently picked up some items at Costco to send to her Chinese friends.
    The first time Qufu  (pronounced shu-FU) sent a delegation to Boynton Beach, it was a day before 9/11. Delegates from Qufu, a city in the coastal Shandong province, made their sister city relationship official at a welcoming ceremony, according to news reports.
    Led by Qufu Vice Mayor Liu Zhi Feng, they traded gifts with Boynton Beach city leaders. The delegates received Boynton Beach golf shirts, while city commissioners received gift bags of Confucius souvenirs. Qufu is known as the birthplace of Confucius.  
    “They had planned to visit other cities in USA before returning to Qufu, but had to return directly to China (after 9/11 happened),” DeCarlo said.
    The Boynton Beach committee of eight, which included Francois, flew to China later that September. Zhu Ben Sheng, manager for the China International Travel Service and part of the Chinese delegation to Boynton Beach, arranged their trip and served as the tour guide and interpreter. They met the mayor of Qufu, toured the city of 60,000 and feasted on banquets with 25 or 30 entrees.
    The Boynton Sister Cities group donated hundreds of wheelchairs to disabled residents of Qufu. When they delivered 200 wheelchairs in May 2007, Francois was there. “They really needed those chairs. They are very poor and couldn’t afford them,” she said at the time. “It was a very moving experience for all of us.”
    Francois, who has one adult daughter who lives in Santa Monica, Calif., speaks proudly of the Young Artists Showcase they created with Qufu to honor artwork of middle and high school students. The artwork is displayed each Spring at the Boynton Beach Mall.
    In October 2011, Boynton Beach adopted Les Cayes, Haiti, as its second sister city. “We always wanted a sister city in Haiti,” Francois said at the time.
    Boynton Beach has a large population of ethnic Haitians and there’s potential for student exchanges and business partnerships with the 500-year-old city, said Francois, who was married for a few years to an engineer from Australia.
    The first time the Boynton Beach delegation visited Les Cayes (leh-KAI) in spring 2012, the group received a military escort into the town, Francois said.
    The Haitian delegation had to cancel its most recent trip when the central government in Port-au-Prince did not send the money needed to buy the plane tickets, she said. The group has not rescheduled the trip, but she is hoping the members will come soon.
    She likes that Boynton Beach has more than one sister city and hopes it adds more. “That would give us more people on the board and from diverse backgrounds,” she said.

By Cheryl Blackerby

    The city of Boca Raton got a big surprise July 28 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — a check for $4 million for reimbursement of the 2010 beach dredging project at the city’s north beach.
    “We had been hoping for it. We put in a request for reimbursement,” said Jennifer Bistyga, Boca Raton engineer and coastal program manager.
    The money was for the work required for the 2010 beach project, regular beach maintenance done about every 10 years, not storm damage.
    “Back in 2010 after the beach project was completed, we submitted our reimbursement request, and an outside auditing firm was hired to go over all of our invoices,” she said.
    The reimbursement was actually for work done from 2003 to 2010 — the engineering, design and permitting needed in addition to the dredging. “There were a lot of invoices,” she said. “The agreement for reimbursement was that it would be paid upon completion.”
    The money will be passed along to the Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which had agreed to cover the $4 million beach renourishment bill and had already paid $2 million. The district also had approved another $2 million for reimbursement to the city in the 2014-15 budget.
    Mike Woika, Boca Raton assistant city manager, told district commissioners about the Army Corps windfall at the district’s Aug. 4 meeting.
    Commissioners were relieved to hear that the city doesn’t expect the $2 million reimbursement in the district budget. After the city has reconciled its statements, Woika said, the district will receive about $1.5 million refund from the district’s initial $2 million payment.
    Learning that the district wouldn’t have to pay the $2 million in the proposed budget, Commissioner Earl Starkoff suggested a budget revision of an increase in the cash balance brought forward by $2 million to $17,994,200 and an increase in the capital reserves by $2 million to $3,845,000. The revisions would increase the total appropriated expenditure and reserves to $41 million.
    “It is probably the most delightful gift that has fallen into our laps in a long time,” said Commissioner Bob Rollins as he thanked Woika for the presentation.
    Meanwhile, another beach renourishment project on Boca’s north beach, needed after Hurricane Sandy, will resume in November. The project, paid for by the Army Corps and the city, was delayed and eventually stopped by strong winds and rains in the spring. The work, about 50 percent of the project, is expected to take about six weeks.
    That project, too, cost $4 million — the Army Corps paid 58.8 percent and the city 41.2 percent, said Bistyga.
    The north beach renourishment project was one of three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach projects after Sandy, which also included Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach. A south Boca Raton beach renourishment project was not an Army Corps project but the city used the same contractor to save money, said Bistyga.

By Dan Moffett
    
    Sometime in the next couple of months, Circuit Judge Catherine Brunson is expected to settle a three-year legal battle between Palm Beach County and 14 municipalities when she rules on how taxpayers should pay for the Inspector General’s Office.
    Around the town hall water coolers and at the commission daises, from Boca Raton to Gulf Stream to Jupiter, the case has raised more than its share of issues and hyperbole — about home rule, the will of the voters, overreaching governance, power grabbing, corruption deterrence, ethical vigilance, illegal taxation and plain old political intrigue.
    Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel went so far as to describe the case as the county engaging in “double taxation without representation.”
    County attorneys and commissioners, meanwhile, have countered that nothing less than the moral foundation of government itself hangs in the balance with Brunson’s ruling. It’s about “democracy and government by the people,” Assistant County Attorney Helene Hvizd argued in court in August.
    It all started in 2009 when the County Commission endorsed the creation of an inspector general’s office, and then county voters overwhelmingly approved it in the 2010 election. It was a warranted response to a historic run of embarrassing disgrace during which three county commissioners and two West Palm Beach city commissioners wound up behind bars for abuses in office.
    While voters spoke clearly on having an inspector general, they weren’t asked to decide how to pay the $3 million it would cost each year.
    So, county officials met with municipal officials and came up with a formula: The county charged itself about $2 million and then sent each of the 38 municipalities a bill for a proportionate share of the remainder — ranging from about $95 for Cloud Lake, $3,800 for Manalapan, $125,000 for Delray Beach, $149,000 for Boca Raton and $381,000 for West Palm Beach.
    Local officials screamed foul. They complained they were not consulted, never mind the meetings the county called. They argued that the county imposed the charges unilaterally and arbitrarily. They said the county should negotiate more and sign interlocal agreements with each municipality if it wants to dip into local coffers.
    Perhaps worse, local officials argued that their residents were victims of double-taxation — paying once as county residents, and then again through their cities and towns. And, moreover, a small community might go years without even benefiting from the inspector general’s services, opponents claimed.
    In 2011, 15 municipalities joined together and sued the county (Wellington subsequently withdrew from the group).
    “It’s not a challenge to the inspector general itself,” said Boca Raton City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser. “It’s about the funding.”
    Gulf Stream Town Attorney John Randolph, who’s played a leading role on the plaintiffs’ legal team, says the suit does not question the legitimacy of the inspector general. “That’s water over the dam. We have an inspector general.” But the suit does question the fairness of the county’s implementation of the voters’ will through a “tax that is disguised as a fee.”
    Several attempts to reach a settlement with a new funding plan more to the municipalities’ liking have run aground. County commissioners have argued that changing the current method would weaken the inspector general’s office and diminish its autonomy.
    Brunson said she will begin deliberating the non-jury case after attorneys present final written proposals for resolution on Sept. 2.
    The 14 plaintiffs are West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Gulf Stream, Manalapan, Riviera Beach, Lake Park, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge, Tequesta, Palm Beach Shores and Mangonia Park.

By Cheryl Blackerby

    After fish and a moray eel died at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center when a pump failed in early August, Michele Peel, spokesperson for Friends of Gumbo Limbo, asked the city of Boca Raton and the Boca Raton Beach and Park District for help.
    That help came in late August when the city promised temporary fixes that would be done within the next three months.
    At the Aug. 4 district meeting, Peel told commissioners that Mike Woika, assistant city manager, promised repairs that would include 8-inch lines that would be installed within 30 to 60 days and saltwater pumps that would be installed within 12 weeks.
    Peel emphasized that the pumps and pipes were short-term solutions, but would keep the marine life at the center safe and give the city time to do an in-depth review of the current and future long-term system requirements for the health of the center’s marine life. Peel said more animals may die if the city continues to delay on making needed repairs at the center.
    “Two years ago, the city decided to take on the project to address that system,” she said.  But the city still has not given the center a timeline for long-term solutions.
    The aging pumps circulate saltwater from the ocean through four tanks, and are crucial for the survival of the center’s marine life, which includes sea turtles.
    The problems with the piping and pumps had been identified four years ago, she said.
The district spent $67,000 last fall for pipes that were a temporary fix to make sure the proper mix of saltwater was delivered at the times and quantities necessary.
    But still, there were “catastrophic failures of all the pump systems that were band-aid systems,” Peel said, that caused the recent loss of fish.
    Peel asked for the district’s continued support in “finding a way to help the city turn this project into a reality so that we stop losing wildlife in the tanks.”
    She urged the district to work with the city to fix the problems, and promised support from the Friends of Gumbo Limbo in order “to make sure that the project remains a priority.”
    More help for Gumbo Limbo is on the way from the district: $1.5 million for fixing the facility’s equipment problems is included in the district’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. But that money is dependent on the city’s plans for the center.

By Sallie James

    The financially strapped not-for-profit Boca Raton Children’s Museum may have a savior. Florence Fuller Child Development Centers, a Boca Raton-based nonprofit organization, has expressed interest in taking over the struggling 34-year-old entity and Boca Raton city officials have voiced support.
    Although no agreements have been signed and neither the City Council nor Florence Fuller’s board of directors has voted on the matter, Florence Fuller CEO Ellyn Okrent is hopeful.
    “We are very excited about this project but it hasn’t been finalized yet,” Okrent said. “It’s not a done deal at this point.”
    Under the proposal, the city would allocate $50,000 for the museum to ease the transition. Then Florence Fuller Child Development Centers would take over.
    Okrent said her organization will have to raise an additional $300,000 to cover the museum’s annual budget. That’s on top of the $1.7 million already needed to cover their own annual budget, she said.
    In April, museum Executive Director Denise St. Patrick-Bell outlined the museum’s dire financial straits at a Boca Raton City Council meeting and issued a plea for financial help. She proposed the city share costs with the museum by providing an annual $150,000 contribution.
    The idea of a merger or acquisition came up as an alternative and long-term solution.
    “The Children’s Museum needs to have donors at the ready who are making the contributions necessary to give them the programming,” said council member Robert Weinroth, who helped put the two groups together. “I think between the two we will have a much better operating facility.”

Commissioners Ron Brown,  Mayor Bernard Featherman and Dennis J. Sheridan

listen to a presentation on the town’s spending cap.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    In the wake of a finding by the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office, Highland Beach town commissioners have agreed to undo an ordinance giving the commission the authority to spend more than $1 million on an individual project without voter approval.
    Approved on first reading by the Town Commission this month, a new ordinance nullifies legislation passed in 2012 raising the spending limit to one-tenth of the town’s operating budget, or about $1.1 million.
    If passed on second reading next month, the new law will require a referendum on any project with a price tag exceeding $350,000.
    The commission, in tentatively restoring the $350,000 spending cap set in 1991, is following the recommendations coming from the office of Palm Beach County Inspector General John Carey.
    Responding to a complaint from an unidentified resident, the IG office determined that the town violated state law in 2012 when it passed the ordinance raising the limit. By law, the report said, the town could only raise the cap through a referendum.
    The ruling also called into question the decision by the Town Commission to fund an $850,000 police department and commission chambers renovation project that is currently underway.   
    “Because the increased funding limitation provision was never approved by public referendum, initiating the project violated the town’s charter,” the report said.
    In meeting with town officials, representatives of the IG’s office recommended, however, that the town continue with the renovations, according to Town Attorney Glen Torcivia.
    The inspector general also concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing in the matter.
    The report has launched a firestorm of public outcry from some residents asking for resignations from Torcivia and Town Manager Kathleen Weiser, who they say should have known that the 1991 spending cap could only have been changed by referendum.
    At the same time, the report has caused a backlash from another group of residents who believe others have gone too far in their criticisms.  
    Among those expressing outrage over the town’s decision to fund Town Hall renovations was resident Gerald Block, who recently sent a letter to commissioners.
    “Over $900,000 was spent on renovations of Town Hall when the spending limit without approval by referendum was $350,000,” Block wrote. “This was an illegal act and should be punishable.”
    Others have spoken out in agreement with Block.
    “The bottom line is any violation of the law and misappropriation of funds requires accountability,” said resident Bill Weitz.  
    During a recent commission meeting, Commissioner Carl Feldman echoed the feelings of some residents and asked for resignations from Torcivia and Weiser, but there was no further discussion and no action was taken.
    Both Torcivia and Weiser have said that the oversight was the result of an honest mistake during the researching of records related to the issue.
Torcivia said his office repeatedly asked for records from the town clerk’s office to be sure that spending cap could be increased by ordinance and received nothing to indicate otherwise.
    Weiser, during a recent meeting, told commissioners that she was prohibited by state law from getting involved in the researching of records, with that responsibility designated by law to the town clerk’s
office.
    “The suggestion that I or the attorney should be involved in records is wrong,” she said. “I cannot do that, it’s against the law.”
    While many residents were critical of the actions of the commission and of Weiser and Torcivia, others spoke out in support of their actions.
    “We have a handful of people who come to these meetings and they have an agenda,” said resident Linda Albertson. “People would be appalled if they heard some of the things that were said today. I just want to go on record to say to the people who have been accused that there are a lot of people behind you.”

By Sallie James

    The city will be extending lifeguard hours, hiring a full-time building inspector and increasing parking enforcement staff under a proposed $135.8 million 2014-2015 general fund budget. The overall city budget includes money for 22.5 new positions.
    The city is proposing a tax rate of $3.71 per $1,000 of taxable property value for 2014, slightly lower than last year’s rate of $3.72 due to a slight decrease in debt service.
    Property values have increased 5.63 percent in Boca Raton, with 4.71 percent coming from the reassessment of existing property and 0.92 percent coming from new construction. An increase in overall property values means the city will automatically collect more dollars without raising the tax rate.
    “I think the key point of all of this is the fact that we have been able to get through a very, very difficult period of time over last five to six years and essentially not had to cut back our services,” said Boca Raton City Council member Robert Weinroth. “As the value of the tax base improves, we are going to have some extra money to start replenishing some of the positions. We have been working with less than the ideal amount.”
    The city will give final approval to the proposed tax rate in September when the city budget is adopted. A budget hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 11.
    Under the proposed tax rate, a taxpayer with a $250,000 home and a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $743 in municipal property taxes.  The city’s non-ad valorem fire services assessment will also remain at the current sum of $85 per residential property.
    Assistant Boca Raton City Manager Mike Woika said the city made a number of changes early in the past recession, such as cutting positions and trimming other costs, which enabled the city to hold the line on property taxes.
    “We have a very efficiently run city,” conceded council member Scott Singer, crediting City Manager Leif Ahnell for his management of Boca Raton through tough economic times.  Singer said the city eliminated more than 190 full-time positions over the past several years because of the recession, and is slowly filling some of them again.
    The general fund makes up only a portion of the city’s overall $569 million budget, which also includes the Economic Development Fund, Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund, Sanitation Fund, Right of Way Beautification Fund, Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District Fund, Cemetery and Mausoleum Fund and the Golf Course Enterprise Fund.
    For 2014-15, those funds include the addition of 16.5 new positions and several new programs. Among those positions are three groundskeepers, a wastewater treatment plant operator, five information technology-related positions, a downtown marketing coordinator and an economic development director.
    One of the most discussed positions is the economic development director. Sentiment on the council for such a position is mixed. A sum of $232,700 has been allocated for the position’s salary and benefits, but the future of the position is uncertain.
    According to the budget, the job would entail developing, implementing and coordinating economic development activities, policies and programs to attract new businesses to the city, and retaining and growing businesses currently in the city.
    Singer, chairman of the Community  Redevelopment Agency, believes the city needs an advocate, and that a full-time economic development director would be that and more.
Having an in-house person available to extol the virtues of Boca Raton and shepherd the progress of projects could make a huge difference, he said.
    “I think it is a relatively small investment and we could get a large return on our investment,” Singer said. “I would like to see us move forward with some kind of position.”
    Deputy Mayor Constance Scott has expressed uncertainty. “I am not sure that ramping up staff is where we need to be,” she said at a recent council meeting. Scott suggested using funds for programming instead of spending it on additional staff.
    Other points of interest:
    • Taxpayers’ sanitation fees will not increase for curbside collection or for container/dumpster collection.
    • Water and sewer fees will increase only slightly, with residents paying an average of $1.06 more per month for water and sewer service, according to the proposed budget.

Anthony Romeo of Boca Raton stretches out in a folding beach chair at Boca Raton’s South Beach.

He brings his own chair and is content with that.

Sallie James/The Coastal Star

By Sallie James

    When Boca Raton resident Elle Tate takes her two young daughters to the beach, she travels light because she has to lug all the gear across the hot sand.
    So when Tate learned that a concessionaire will soon be renting beach furniture and selling drinks and snacks at the beach, she was all smiles.
    “Good idea! Very good idea,” said Tate, as Emma, 8, and Emily, 3, splashed in the surf at South Beach Park. “It will be a big help. We’ve only been here an hour and they are already asking for something.”
    A business owner who lives two miles from the beach, Tate has limited capacity for beach gear because she drives a tiny sports car. Beach rentals will be a lifesaver, she said.
    Starting Oct. 1, Oceanside Beach Service will be renting beach furniture and selling water and snacks at South Beach Park, Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park.
    City Council members unanimously approved the concession with Oceanside Beach Service in early August.
    It’s a service residents had been seeking for years, said Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Constance Scott.
    “This has been a long time coming,” Scott said after voting “yes” for the concession. “We are delighted. We can hardly wait. I am certain those umbrellas and lounge chairs are going to be full as soon as they are available.”
    Under the one-year agreement, Oceanside Beach Service will pay the city $54,000 for the rights to rent beach furniture and sell snacks and drinks at Boca’s three beaches. The city has an option to renew the contract for three subsequent years. The city is also entitled to revenue sharing if Oceanside’s profits exceed $350,000, according to the contract.
    For beachgoers, beach furniture rentals, snacks and water will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at all three beaches.
    So if you’re planning a beach day and don’t feel like packing a lot of gear, you don’t have to. Just bring your wallet. You will have to pay.
    “It makes it more of a family-friendly environment,” said Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie. “It will be a lot more fun.”
    Boca Raton resident Raffaele Pindo wasn’t enthused. A resident since 1982, Pindo comes to South Beach Park every weekend and loves the beauty of the empty stretches of sand. He doesn’t think anything more is necessary.
    “I bring a towel. What else do you want to bring?” Pindo asked. “You don’t want to bring your wallet and credit card.”
    Boca Raton resident Anthony Romeo liked the idea of being able to buy water, but said he probably wouldn’t rent any beach furniture. He brings his own folding beach chair and is content with that.
    He’s also not eager to see wooden beach chairs, cabanas and umbrellas lined up along the sand. “If they start putting rental umbrellas here, the place is going to be too tacky,” Romeo said.
    When the concession opens, beachgoers will be able to rent an array of chaise lounges, double lounges, cabanas and umbrellas, as well as snorkel gear, boogie boards and paddle boards. Bottled water will be available for $2 and assorted chips, $1.
    Annual and monthly memberships will also be offered. Annual passes for unlimited use of the beach equipment will cost $500 and 30-day passes, $450. The contract also requires the concessionaire to be mindful of nesting turtles, so the nests are not disturbed. Sea turtle nesting season is between March 1 and Oct. 1, annually.
    “They will have to make sure the (beach equipment) is not an impediment to our turtles,” Haynie said.

Rental rates
Lounges: $10 per hour/   $40 per day
Umbrellas: $7 per hour/ $20 per day
Arm chairs with foot rest: $10 per hour/$40 per day
Snorkel gear: $15 per hour/$40 per day
Boogie boards: $5 per hour/$15 per day
Paddle boards: $20 per hour/$60 per day

By Emily J. Minor

    BRINY BREEZES — Helen Deniston — a widow who lost her first husband to cancer, took up square dancing to ease her grief, then fell in love with the partner of her dreams — died July 21 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 77.
    Mrs. Deniston was born Feb.  4, 1937, in the tiny town of Sheldon, N.D., the youngest of five.
    Her father never had the opportunity to complete school past the third grade. “But he learned that an education was important,” said Lynn Deniston, Mrs. Deniston’s husband. “He had five daughters, and he got them all through college.”
    After graduating from the University of North Dakota with a degree in medical technology, the former Helen Wieg moved to Detroit, on her own, staying with the daughter of a former UND president from whom she had sub-leased a basement apartment. “He told her, ‘That’s kind of a dangerous city, but I have a daughter who lives there,’ ” said Lynn Deniston, retelling the story.
    Once in Detroit, Mrs. Deniston worked in the research lab at Abbott Laboratory. She met a G.I., fell in love, and the couple moved to Ann Arbor, Mich.
    Lynn Deniston said the couple eventually moved to Illinois, where their daughter was born. At that time, Mrs. Deniston quit her job to work as a stay-home mother — a routine she continued when the family moved to Chelsea, Mich.
    In Chelsea, Mrs. Deniston stayed active and fit, always enjoying golf, yoga, jogging and swimming. After her husband lost his battle to pancreatic cancer, Mrs. Deniston took up square dancing classes.
    Lynn Deniston lost his first wife to brain cancer in 1990, and also took up classes in an attempt to move on, even if just a little.
    As it turned out, the two grieving spouses moved forward a lot. They fell in love, and by 1992 they were spending the winters in Briny Breezes — a place they found through mutual square dancing friends.
    Lynn Deniston is a retired professor who taught public health at the University of Michigan. For the past two years, they’ve lived full-time in Briny, he said.
    About nine years ago, Helen Deniston began showing signs of early Alzheimer’s. They changed to “round dancing” because the steps were easier to remember, but had to give up the travel they loved.
    “For our first 15 years, we got to travel a lot and see many different places,” he said. About two years ago, Mrs. Deniston gave up all the activities that she so loved. Lynn Deniston cared for her at home until the very end.
    One daughter, Kristin Rahenkamp, of Niwot, Colo., survives her. Mr. Deniston said they will announce plans for a memorial during Kristin’s visit over the winter holidays. Any donations in her memory can be made to the Briny Breezes Memorial Fund, to keep the chime music going.

By Steven J. Smith

    HIGHLAND BEACH — A memorial service for Alyce C. Reizes was held Aug. 5 at the Delray Beach Club. She was 71 when she died on July 28.
    “It was well attended,” Thomas Reizes said of his mother’s memorial. “There were about 60 people there. We had a few readings and celebrated her life.”
    Besides Thomas Reizes, she is survived by his wife, Gwyn, and son, Henry, of Albany, N.Y.; her partner, Jerry Kozierow; her brother, Thomas Robert Callahan, and his children.
    Ms. Reizes was born in White Plains, N.Y., on Aug. 5, 1942. She grew up in Great Neck, N.Y., amidst the women’s shoe business, in which her father and grandfather were early pioneers. After attending Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and the NYU School of Retailing in the late 1950s, she embarked on a remarkable career of her own in that field.
    Ms. Reizes quickly rose through the ranks at such companies as Delman I. Miller and Bonwit Teller in New York City, overseeing total market coverage both in the U.S. and Europe for footwear and handbags, determining vendor structure for stores, negotiating deliveries and planning and scheduling advertising for individual markets — including direct mail, catalogs and newspapers.
    By the time she retired, Ms. Reizes had attained the enviable title of director of the shoe and accessory group for Van Buren/Carr, the premiere buying office for women’s specialty and specialty department stores — a noteworthy position for a woman at that time. She moved to Florida in 1997.
    “My mother had incredible energy,” Reizes said. “Always a smile. A real manager and producer, able to bring out the best in everyone around her. Her passions were her family, her friends and summers at the Hamptons. She enjoyed dancing and was an avid card player, excelling at canasta, gin and bridge. Also, she never let someone’s birthday go by uncelebrated and never would allow someone to be alone.
    “She was a positive person. Even at the end when she was very much in pain from complications due to Crohn’s disease and colitis, when asked how she was feeling, she would always say she was doing great.”
    Ms. Reizes will be laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Pa., with her mother and maternal grandparents. In lieu of flowers, contributions have been requested in her name to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, Florida Chapter, 21301 Powerline Road, Suite 301, Boca Raton 33433.

By Steven J. Smith

    BOCA RATON — When Richard W. Dudley and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Boca Raton from Mountainside, N.J., 22 years ago, they sought a tranquil life in the Florida sunshine.
    “We led a quiet life when we moved here,” Elizabeth Dudley remembered. “Richard loved to cook. He made the most marvelous meals, with a master’s eye for presentation. Everything he cooked had a very unique and wonderful taste,” she said.
    “We also spent a lot of time exploring Florida,” she said. “We took car trips and really enjoyed going to out-of-the-way places such as St. Augustine, the Keys, Tampa and Florida’s west coast islands. We had a time share in St. Thomas, where we went several times a year and we loved to explore islands in the Caribbean.”
    Those times are good memories for Mrs. Dudley now. Richard W. Dudley died of heart failure July 30. He was 78.
    Besides his wife of 52 years, Mr. Dudley is survived by a sister in New Jersey, a sister in Massachusetts and six nieces and nephews.
    Mr. Dudley attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology before pursuing a career with Carpenter Technology, a large stainless steel company.
    “Richard was in the tube division, making stainless steel tubing used for pipes in nuclear power reactors,” his widow  said.
    Mr. Dudley’s love for the water was so profound that as a tribute to him, an arrangement was made with the Neptune Society in which his cremated remains will become part of the Neptune Memorial Reef, an artificial reef just off Key Biscayne in Miami.
    The structure is designed to produce marine habitat and promote the growth of coral and marine organisms. The site attracts scuba divers, marine biologists, students, researchers and ecologists from all over the world.
    “They’re creating an underwater city he’ll be a part of, which will help the ecology and the world,” Mrs. Dudley said.
    “Richard will be most remembered for his kindness and his thoughtfulness,” his wife said. “He was extremely supportive of me, with my passion for ballet. The Boca Ballet is a regional company and dance studio that was formed by mothers that wanted opportunities for their children to experience ballet. Richard helped with the development of the ballet. It started with eight students and now there are over 300.”
    Remembrances are asked in Mr. Dudley’s name for the Boca Ballet Theatre (BocaBallet.org; 7630 NW Sixth Ave., Boca Raton 33487).

    Fall is as good of time as any to brush up on local history. With that in mind, the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum, in conjunction with Florida Atlantic University’s Lifelong Learning Society, is offering a four part lecture series zeroing in on Boca Raton’s history.
    The lecturers are Boca Raton Historical Society curator Susan Gillis and historic preservationist Bonnie Dearborn. Topics include Boca Raton a Brief History; Boca Raton 100 Years Ago; Evolution of Architecture in Boca Raton; and the Boca Raton Army Air Field and Boca Raton During World War II.
    Gillis has been with the historical society since 2002 and has a bachelor of arts in history and anthropology and a master of arts in anthropology. She wrote six books on local history, including Boomtown Boca: Boca Raton in the 1920s.
    Dearborn, a volunteer tour guide and lecturer for the historical society, received an master of the arts in urban design from the University of Miami.
    The Lifelong Learning Society, dedicated to offering intellectually enriching educational experiences, offers non-credit courses in a welcoming atmosphere with state-of-the-art facilities.
    Lectures will be at the Barry and Florence Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 24. Cost is $34 for Lifelong Learning Society members and $54 for nonmembers. For online registration, visit www.llsreg.org. For more information about the society, call 297-3185 or 297-3171, or visit www.fau.edu/lls.

First Baptist Associate Pastor James Brown

and Senior Pastor Steve Thomas stand in front

of the church’s new sign, which does not use the word ‘Baptist.’

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Tim Pallesen

    No matter what you might have heard, Southern Baptists in Delray Beach are not to be feared.
    The first evidence of this personality change is the sign in front of First Baptist Church — it now simply says FBC Delray without the word Baptist.
    “We’re proud to be First Baptist,” senior pastor Steve Thomas explains. “But historically Baptists are known for what we’re against. We don’t want you to think we’re going to beat you up if you don’t think like us.”
    The new, softer approach is a big change for the Baptists who began worshiping at the historic Sundy House in 1912. The congregation had 500 members back when IBM and Motorola were South County employers. First Baptist moved to its impressive fifth location on Military Trail south of Linton Boulevard in 1992.
    The Rev. Thomas is known on Delray’s beach as a surf fisherman who sails the only green, yellow and blue trimaran sailboat. He arrived in 2008 when First Baptist membership had dipped to 120 people. Membership is up since then.
    The softer tone is evident in Sunday worship, which Thomas describes as “less judgmental and prideful.” The music has a contemporary feel.
    “People should know we preach everything the Bible says. The message is not what most people would call fire and brimstone,” he said. “But we still say there’s a hell.”
    Members of FPC Delray now are frequently seen at the beach wearing “Free Prayer” T-shirts giving out water bottles to share God’s grace.
    “We don’t want the name Baptist to be a stumbling block. For some people, it almost becomes a negative thing,” associate pastor James Brown said. “We’re just trying to drop some of the baggage.”

***
                                  
    He sits six hours each day in the Starbucks at Florida Atlantic University. Rabbi Moshe Goldstein is a counselor, but he’s also the most successful matchmaker on campus.
    Eight of his protégés have married fellow Jews and committed to an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle this year. Three more are seriously dating.
    “Marriage is everything when we do our work,” Goldstein explains.
    Goldstein works for the Jewish Education Center of South Florida, located in a single-family home near an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in east Boca Raton.
    His mission is to educate FAU students about their heritage and connect them to other young Orthodox Jews.
    Goldstein, 36, spent 13 years in rabbinical school. But he looks the age of most college students and has no trouble striking up conversations at Starbucks.
    He counsels 75 to 100 students, offering the center as an oasis where they can study and stay once a week if they commit to orthodox lifestyle, which doesn’t allow driving automobiles on the Sabbath, among other things.
    Marriage is appropriate only after two or three years of serious study and commitment, Goldstein said.
    About 25 young couples have purchased homes within walking distance of the synagogue east of FAU since Goldstein began his work at Starbucks five years ago.

***

                                
    St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church is celebrating its 100th anniversary by transforming itself as a cultural destination for downtown Lake Worth.
    The historic congregation is hosting its new Artists in Residence initiative as a unique blend that includes classical music and social justice theater.
    The Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival will rehearse and perform its fall concert series at St. Andrew’s, starting Sept. 19.
    The Voices of Pride, a county gay men’s chorus that began in 2003, also will call St. Andrew’s its home. The congregation’s outreach to gays and lesbians has helped it grow to 170 members.
    The third Artists in Residence group is the Core Ensemble, a music theater company that has toured the country for 20 years to highlight social justice issues. St. Andrew’s already is the home for People Engaged in Action and Community Effort (PEACE), which works with the Sheriff’s Office.
    Artists in Residence organizer Margot Emery said St. Andrew’s wants to provide a quality cultural environment that develops Lake Worth’s image as a cultural destination.
    “On our 100th anniversary, St. Andrew’s is firm in its belief that culture and the arts are essential to human development and well-being,” Emery said.
    The picturesque little church on the corner of Lucerne Avenue and North Palmway was built a year after the 1928 hurricane blew down the original 1914 church building.
                                  

***
    Temple Emeth, a Conservative Jewish synagogue, has closed after 40 years west of Delray Beach.
    The congregation thrived in the 1970s to the 1990s when many World War II-generation Jews retired to western Delray.
    But Temple Emeth proved to be a one-generation congregation. The 355 remaining members are mostly in their 80s. Membership had reached 2,000 members in 1996.
    About a third of Jews in Palm Beach County are synagogue members. A recent study found that 18 percent of American Jews identify with the Conservative movement, down from 43 percent in 1991.
    The Temple Emeth congregation will merge with Temple Torah west of Boynton Beach. Temple Emeth buildings and land on West Atlantic Avenue will be sold to a Christian congregation for a church.

***

Monsignor Thomas Skindelski

                                 
    Monsignor Thomas Skindelski of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach has just returned from leading an expedition into the jungles of Guatemala.
    Father Tom and 14 Catholic men of the Knights of Columbus spent nine days building and repairing classrooms at a school that the church supports. He also served Mass in remote villages that seldom see a priest.
    The St. Vincent congregation sent school and medical supplies, rosaries, holy cards, clothing, tools and candy for the children.    

Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congre-gations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@aol.com.

Barry Kaplan (left), Gregg Francis and Leora Lieberman

with Sami. They hope to find a matching bone marrow donor for Sami.

Photo provided by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation

By Linda Haase

    Gregg Francis, Barry Kaplan and Leora Lieberman wrapped up their inaugural radio talk show with a sigh of relief. They’d made it through the hour without a single faux pas and — they fervently hoped — listeners had learned a thing or two about their nonprofit organization, the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.
    Then they got the phone call. On the line was Holly, who heard their broadcast (The Gift of Life with Gregg, 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays on 1470 AM/WWNN) and desperately needed their help.
    Her 6-year-old niece, Sami, has Fanconi anemia, a rare, inherited blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure.  Her best chance for a normal life? A bone marrow transplant.
    Her family anxiously — and continuously — scans the international database of registered donors. So far, no match for the adorable little girl with a condition that affects one out of every 350,000 people.
    But that daunting challenge doesn’t deter this Boca Raton-based registry that facilitates bone marrow and blood stem cell matches and transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases.
    They sent out an S.O.S. — Save Our Sami.  
    “We made a promise to her that we would do whatever we could to make sure she lives a fruitful life,” Francis, the foundation’s chief operating and financial officer, told listeners during a recent radio show.  
    He, Kaplan and Lieberman are in touch with Sami’s family regularly. They adore the spunky, tutu-wearing, chicken-farming South Florida resident and self-proclaimed princess.  
    “We’ve met Sami’s family, we’ve seen that smile, we’ve loved that energy. We’ve seen the worry in her parents’ eyes, we’ve seen the fear of what the future holds,” Lieberman wrote on the foundation’s website, www.giftoflife.org. “But we know what to do. We know how to help. It starts with us, it continues with you, and it ends in Sami living the long, fruitful life she deserves. There are moments in life when you can make a difference. Now is your chance. Now is that time.
    “No match exists for Sami yet, but her match is out there, her lifesaving chance is waiting to be found. This is one of those moments when someone’s life is in our hands, when Sami’s life depends on our efforts, on your efforts.”        
    Want to help Sami — and thousands of others who need blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants? (Amazingly, one in 200 Americans will receive a transplant.) You can volunteer, become a donor or donate to the cause.
    Donors, who need to be between 18 and 60, can get their cheek swabbed to see if they are a match for someone in need. These tests cost $60 each to process — and the non-profit foundation, which relies on donations for operating expenses — is grateful for any contribution for their life-saving mission (they have tests awaiting processing but need money for the lab fees).    
    The foundation says it has saved about 2,800 lives since 1999. But, that’s not nearly enough, Francis says. “Our mission is to find a match anytime. Anywhere. For anyone,” he emphasizes. “We save lives. Plain and simple. We’re here to give people a second chance.”        
    Those who work and volunteer at the foundation’s 11,000-square-foot Boca Raton headquarters are passionate about their cause. That carries over to their radio talk show, which was named the No. 1 show on 1470 AM/WWNN after only five weeks.
    The interactive show — which began July 8 and can be heard from North Miami to central Orlando — features inspiring interviews with people who have had life-saving bone marrow transplants, donors, medical doctors, celebs who support the cause and listeners who call in to the station. Their stories will make you laugh. And cry.
    “We want people to appreciate the life they have. And we want them to know there is an organization like this in their backyard and that we would love for them to come take a tour and see what we do,” explains Francis. “We’ve met a lot of people who are willing to save a perfect stranger’s life, a lot of very selfless people. It’s very gratifying.”   
    Kaplan, the foundation’s business development coordinator, says the radio show will also offer a chance to clear up “the big three” misconceptions about being a bone marrow transplant donor: that it is painful, that the bone marrow won’t regenerate and that there is a lengthy recovery period.
    It’s a serious subject, but they plan to infuse humor and a bit of bantering. “We are trying to get out the message without being morose,” Kaplan says.
    They want listeners to understand the gravity of the situation, but realize there is hope, there are second chances, and there’s a way to give others a most precious gift: the gift of life.

If You Go
Funtastic Family Festival, featuring bounce houses, balloon shows, magicians, jugglers, puppet shows, games and more. A fundraiser for the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.
When: 4-8 p.m. Sept. 6
Where: Fountains Center, 7000 W. Camino Real, Boca Raton.
Tickets: $10; children 2 and under free. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event (cash only at the event). Ticket price includes all activities. Food and beverages are available for an additional charge.
For information: call 561-982-2900, email events@giftoflife.org or visit www. giftoflife.org/tickets

To donate, visit www.giftoflife.org/dc/theshow.
For more information on Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, call 800-962-7769.
To ask a question or comment during the radio talk show, call 888-565-1470.

    Linda Haase is a freelance writer on a quest to learn — and share — all she can about how to get and stay healthy. You can reach her at lindawrite76s@gmail.com.

Dealing with the emotion of the first day of school for kindergarten students can be handled in a variety of ways. ABOVE: Daniele Murphy of Hypoluxo relaxes daughter Rylee with a quick ‘phone call’ at St. Vincent Ferrer. BELOW: Ann Rodriguez of Boynton Beach uses the timeless method of a comforting hug before leaving daughter Clara with teachers and staff.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Projection system displays and modern music are part of the attraction at the Journey Church.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Tim Pallesen
  
    The older members of Grace Community Church wanted to see more children when they gave their church away two years ago.
    The church at 715 S. Federal Highway in Boynton Beach was given to the Journey Church, a growing congregation of young families who had been worshiping on Sundays at a west Boynton Beach high school.
    After two years and a $1.7 million makeover to raise the roof and become more kid-friendly, the grand opening of Journey Church East was celebrated by nearly 700 people on Aug. 24.
    “Isn’t this fantastic? You must see the children’s church,” Elwood Holley, a former Grace Community member, greeted old members as they arrived for the first Sunday.
    Holley had been Grace Community’s spokesman in 2012 to explain the giveaway. “We want to see a happy, growing church instead of one that is shrinking,” he said at the time.
    The former Grace Community members experienced that happiness Aug. 24 as new faces — many of them young families with excited children — poured through the doors.
    “It’s a blessing to see what God plans for this community,” Gladys Whigham said. “All things are possible with God.”
    “A lot of us are coming back. I’ve seen some of our ushers, ladies from the nursery and people from our band,” said Staci Holloway, another Grace Community member who left before 78 remaining members voted to give away the church.
    “We were going down the hole. The Journey Church came in and saved us,” Holloway said. “This is amazing.”
    The remodeled Journey Church East is unique whichever way you turn when you walk through the door.
    To the right is a beautiful Starbucks-style coffee shop with a fireplace where families can enjoy breakfast before church.
    To the left is the elaborate Journey Kids arcade built by volunteers to look like a miniature village. Herbie the life-sized Volkswagen sits in one doorway. Elwood’s Barber Shop (named in honor of Elwood Holley, who was at the church every day during construction) has a real revolving barber pole.
    “We are all so excited to be back in our home church and to see it so filled with new members,” Holley said. “We definitely look forward to seeing all the kids and excitement.”

Casey, Arden Moore’s kitty, Casey, ‘helps’ the writer type one of her columns on pets.

More kitten photos

By Arden Moore

    Did you just adopt a kitten? To maintain your sanity, please repeat after me: I will survive.
    Yes, you will survive all the fun, folly and frustration that characterize a feline in his first year of life. I promise. And I’m living proof.
    Recently, I adopted a spirited and affectionate male orange tabby from my local humane society. Casey is just 4 months old and weighs less than 5 pounds. As I was bringing him home, I realized that is has been 15 years since I’ve adopted any feline well under 1 year old.  
    The last time occurred in 1999 when I rescued an abandoned kitten from an apartment complex and named her Murphy Brown (she is now a spry 15 years old). To put that time duration into perspective, consider that in 1999, gasoline averaged just $1.22 per gallon, Mattel’s Barbie Doll turned 40, the hot movie was American Pie, and impeachment proceedings were being brought against President Bill Clinton. Facebook and selfies did not exist in our vocabularies.
    Paralleling my crazy kitten antics are The Coastal Star’s publishers, Mary Kate Leming and Jerry Lower, who recently plucked a tiny orphaned kitten from a street near their Ocean Ridge home.
    After being given a clean bill of health at the veterinary clinic, this 4-month-old brown-striped tabby named Pippi has soared up the ranks from mere office cat to become the newspaper’s CFO (that’s Chief Feline Officer).  
    For Leming, Lower and me, life for the next year will be anything but boring. Welcome to what I call the Wonder Year.
    During the first 12 months of a kitten’s life, you will wonder where your tabby gets so much energy, why this surprisingly agile and athletic youngster decides to leap from the sofa to the recliner and, most importantly, if you will be able to maintain your sanity.
    Repeat after me: I will survive. This magical first year may be filled with feline mischief and mayhem. But kittens do a body (and mind) plenty of good.
    Among the benefits kittens bestow upon us:
    • They tap into our nurturing side. Fast-growing kittens need us to feed them healthy meals many times per day and to tutor them on proper litter box etiquette. In the case of Pippi, it has meant thinking literally outside the (litter) box for Leming, who has resorted to using a deep plastic storage tub as Pippi’s bathroom because of the feline’s quirky habit of standing up while urinating. The walls of conventional litter pans would not be high enough to contain this odiferous spray.
    For Casey, I quickly switched to litter boxes with lids to keep him from gleefully creating litter confetti all over the floor.
    • They are not influenced by affluence. Anything and everything seems to be a prized toy for Casey. Sure, he enjoys the store-bought feather wand and trackball (a ball is inside a donut-shaped plastic toy with openings for a feline to paw to push the ball around in circles). But Casey equally loves flying in and out of a brown paper grocery bag and swatting any ice cube that drops onto the kitchen floor with the moves that would rival an all-pro hockey player. A crumpled paper wad is fetching fun for Pippi. She snoozes in a wicker basket under Leming’s office desk.
    • They embrace the power of play. Good luck trying to work for hours on the keyboard or engaging in marathon texting sessions on your phone. Kittens like Pippi and Casey will have none of that. Often without warning, they will dance across the keyboard, interrupting our thoughts and displaying gibberish on the computer monitors. But it is their reminder for us to not be all work.
    As Leming notes, “I think Pippi is good for me because I have a tendency to stare at the computer screen intensely for a long time. I can’t do that anymore with Pippi around. She reminds me that I need to take breaks away from the keyboard.”
    • They make us tidier in the office and at home. Since Casey’s arrival, my kitchen counters and office work spaces are void of any lightweight object that can be swatted and sent soaring. Bathroom doors are kept closed to prevent Casey from unrolling the toilet paper down the hallway.
    And in Leming’s case, she can no longer enjoy the simple pleasures of sipping water from a glass or trying to eat a sandwich at her desk. “If you aren’t looking Pippi will stick her nose in my water glass or try to steal my sandwich,” notes Leming. My advice: Switch to spill-proof beverage containers with lids and feed your kitten before bringing out any lunch food to limit this feline thievery temptation.
    Pippi, Casey and frisky, fun-loving kittens everywhere view each day — heck, each moment — as opportunities to be enjoyed and embraced. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Casey is to live in the me-now and not fret over past mistakes or ponder future possibilities. Thinking like a kitten offers more values than one may realize. And I promise: You will survive the Wonder Year.

    
Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

Tri-County Animal Rescue’s dedication of a new Sunshine Cat Room and screened-in patio was ‘purrrfect’ for the 70 cats and kittens living at the shelter. The event drew a crowd that comprised animal advocates, Boca Raton city officials, business leaders and firefighters. The $10,000 renovation project included installation of new drywall, flooring, air-conditioning and a washer and dryer. ABOVE: Robert Weinroth, Kim Spencer, Ardath Rosengarden, Tri-County Animal Rescue co-founder and executive director Suzi Goldsmith, Sandy Greenblatt, Sharon DiPietro and Frank Occhigrossi.

Photo provided