What better way to reduce stress than a simple walk on the beach?

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Paula Detwiller

    'Tis the season to be jolly.

    But in modern America, the “jolly” often comes with a helping of stress. There’s the shopping, the traffic, the out-of-town guests. Over-indulging at parties. Scrambling to get everything done: sign the cards, wrap the gifts, catch the plane!

    If the holidays are sucking the health and harmony out of you, here are seven great ways to de-stress and regain perspective.

    1. Take a walk on the beach. Walking anywhere is good for the heart and musculoskeletal system, but walking on the beach is like free therapy. Slip off your shoes and head north or south. Drink in the ocean breeze. Watch the waves crash and let your mind drift. Just think: Our friends in the frozen North can only dream of this right now.

    2. Head to a yoga class. If you’ve never tried yoga before, you may be surprised at the decompression that results from stretching muscles, holding poses and emptying the mind of all thoughts. 

    Look for classes at your local yoga studio, gym (Lantana Fitness offers three varieties: www.lantanafitness.com), or community class. 

    The city of Boca Raton sponsors free yoga at 9 a.m.  every Saturday beneath the pavilion at Sanborn Square (72 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton). Bring your own mat.

    3. Float your stress away. If ever there was an antidote to the overcrowded shopping mall, it’s the sensory-deprivation flotation tank: a dark, enclosed chamber containing a tub of 98-degree water spiked with 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts. Step in, close the door, slide into in the tub, and escape from everything: the weight of gravity, the in-laws and the store clerk yelling, “Next in line, please!” Try it at DU20 Holistic Oasis in Delray Beach. www.du20.com/the_floating_experience

    4. Breathe. When we’re tense, our breathing is shallow, depriving our muscles and brains of oxygen, worsening the tension. 

    Try unwinding with deep, controlled breathing techniques you can find on the Internet. For an even more therapeutic experience, try the Biodynamic Breathwork class at the Salt Suite in Delray Beach, where the dry, sea salt-infused air can clear sinuses and improve lung function. (www.thesaltsuite.com)

    5. Replace and renourish. Too many cocktails, canapés and cookies? We’ve all been there. 

Nutritionists recommend foods high in B-complex vitamins to bounce back from hangovers and bolster your immune system against stress. Excellent sources of B vitamins include legumes, oatmeal, eggs, flax seeds, brown rice, nuts, asparagus, leafy vegetables, cauliflower, potatoes, broccoli and oranges.

    6.  Sweat it out. If you don’t have access to a sauna or steam room, a 40-minute session at the InfraSweat sauna studio in downtown Delray Beach can help soothe those frayed nerves. Inside a private wooden stall, you are radiated with infrared heat that warms you from the inside. Meditation music helps push those annoying Santa Claus jingles out of your brain while muscle tension melts away. (www.infrasweat.com)

    7. Get a massage. This one’s a no-brainer, but we never seem to make time for it. Don’t wait until you’re white-knuckling the shopping cart and glaring at the Salvation Army bell-ringer. Massage therapists are ubiquitous here in South Florida, and many — such as the professionals at Oriental Massage of Boca — come to you for in-home services. 

    Here’s wishing you a happy, relaxing New Year.

Paula Detwiller is a freelance writer and lifelong fitness junkie. Visit her at www.pdwrites.com.

Still under construction, the new ocean-view clubhouse at Palm Beach Par 3 is already fielding calls about booking events. 

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Pike

    The 6,650-square-foot clubhouse at Palm Beach Par 3 golf course will have a soft opening later this month, with an official grand opening Jan. 17.

    “Downstairs will look more like a private club,” said Tony Chateauvert, general manager and head professional at Palm Beach Par 3. “It’s not going to look like a municipal course. It’s going to look like something that can only be in Palm Beach.”

    The Key West-style clubhouse, designed by the West Palm Beach firm of Smith and Moore, will have approximately 4,000 square feet under air, featuring a pro shop, bar and the Al Fresco restaurant. The clubhouse’s interior was designed by Scott Snyder Inc. of Palm Beach.

    The pro shop in the new clubhouse, Chateauvert said, won’t be significantly larger than the current pro shop, but will offer a more inviting atmosphere and experience to buyers.

    “Our concept is going to be a gift shop mentality where you can buy logoed products. We’ll even have beach towels with our logo on them,” Chateauvert said.

    The majority of the Al Fresco restaurant’s 154 seats will be outdoors in the clubhouse’s wraparound terrace, making it one of the few Palm Beach eateries with a second-floor ocean view.

    “A million-dollar view,” Chateauvert said.

    Actually closer to a $3.2 million view. That’s the final expected cost of the project. The town of Palm Beach lent itself $1.25 million, Chateauvert said, so there is no impact to taxpayers. The remainder of the money came through private donations to the Par 3 Foundation, an organization spearheaded by pro golfing great Raymond Floyd and his late wife, Maria, along with Jay Boodheshwar, recreation department director for the town.

    Al Fresco is owned by the Desiderio family, which owns popular Palm Beach restaurants Renato’s and Pizza Alfresco. Al Fresco will offer casual fare for breakfast and lunch, Chateauvert said, and a more sophisticated dinner menu that is expected to attract locals and tourists.

    The town’s lease agreement with the Desiderios, according to  Chateauvert, calls for a $150,000 annual payment, or 10 percent of revenue, whichever is higher.

    “Our debt service will be about $200,000 per year,” Chateauvert said. “We’re going to do that (in annual revenue) and then some. Revenue and rounds played have been going up the past three years, so with the new (restaurant) lease agreement and whatever profit we make, things will keep getting better.”

    In that regard, Chateauvert said, he’s already fielding calls from people inquiring about booking events at the clubhouse.

    “That’s much more exciting than it’s been the past two years,” Chateauvert said. “The whole project is exciting and something that’s unique to Palm Beach. We’re going to make it work.”

Chuck Narvin, director of tennis at the Delray Beach Club, with a few of his students.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Pike

    Chuck Narvin’s life is a moveable feast — from the high-school football fields of Pittsburgh to the basketball court at Clemson University to the buttoned-down offices of the Ford Motor Company, and finally to the tennis courts of South Florida. Narvin never has been a man who lets time pass him by.

    At 72, he’s going into his fourth year as tennis director at the Delray Beach Club, where he manages the club’s year-round instruction, leagues and social tennis programs.

    Not bad for a guy who “retired” to the good life in Phoenix in 2004 after 30 years as one of the leading forces of tennis in South Florida.

    “I like to teach and market and promote,” said Narvin, whose company A1A Tennis holds the tennis management contract at the Delray Beach Club as well as several other clubs in South Florida. “We have a very active club here. Our (fall and winter) tennis calendar starts in November and goes through April.  We do a lot with two courts.”

    Narvin founded A1A Tennis with fellow tennis professionals Dennis Grainer and Blake Merrell  in 2008 while he was head tennis professional at Trilogy at Vistancia in Peoria, Ariz., He and his wife, Brenda, moved to the desert in 2004 after Narvin’s decision to retire from the South Florida tennis scene.

    A high-school quarterback and college basketball player for Press Maravich (father of “Pistol” Pete Maravich) at Clemson University, Narvin began his professional career about as far removed from tennis one can get. 

    Armed with a degree in economics from Clemson, Narvin took a job in the early 1960s in the finance department in Ford’s aerospace division in Palo Alto, Calif.

    But with the fire of athletic competition still burning under his business suit, Narvin took up tennis  — a sport he dabbled in as a youth.

    By 1974, Narvin decided tennis was more interesting than satellites. 

    “I saw my boss chain-smoking and looking like hell,” recalled Narvin, who accepted a position as assistant professional at the Inverrary Racquet Club in Lauderhill and eventually the head tennis positions at Woodmont Country Club in Tamarac and Gleneagles Country Club in Delray Beach.

    While at Woodmont, Narvin worked with touring professional Harold Solomon on the latter’s End World Hunger charity events, and he also founded the Florida Division U.S. Professional Tennis Association Grand Prix.

    At Gleneagles, Narvin worked with legendary tennis stars Ivan Lendl and Steffi Graff on tennis camps and exhibitions to help market the property. 

    He also started the Palm Beach County Senior Tennis League, which has grown to more than 35,000 members.

Narvin left Gleneagles in 1994 for a 10-year stint as director of tennis at the Racquet Club of Boca. And then it was on to his “retirement” years in Phoenix, where he coached high school tennis and was head tennis professional at Trilogy and Anthem Country Club.

    When his company put in a proposal to manage tennis operations at the Delray Beach Club, the club wanted an assurance that Narvin be its tennis director. 

    So he returned.

    “I’ve enjoyed it all tremendously,” Narvin said.

    Indeed. Regardless of his location, Narvin’s teaching philosophy mirrors his professional life: Have fun with whatever you’re doing.

    “Tennis is not like a team sport. You’re out there on your own,” he said. “Whatever you get, you deserve. If you play well, you win; if you don’t, you lose. I enjoy that.”

Tandy Robinson hopes to make

a big impact on local charities

through her organization.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Tandy Robinson has seen firsthand just how much of a driving force women in South Florida can be when they unite their efforts toward a common goal.

    The co-founder of Impact 100 Palm Beach County, a group of women who have awarded close to $370,000 to a handful of nonprofits in two years, Robinson has helped to create an organization that truly is making an impact.

    “There are women in this community who are doers and they’re powerful when they come together and make things happen,” she said. 

    A vice president for private wealth management at Goldman Sachs, Robinson was meeting with a client in Vero Beach in 2009 when she first heard of Impact 100, an organization founded in Cincinnati in 2001.

    “We had gotten together for lunch to talk about community service and she told me about this idea,” Robinson said. “I just loved the whole concept. It’s one check for $1,000 and one meeting a year.”

    The concept is built around simplicity. A group of women in a community join Impact 100, each contributing $1,000. Once a year, they award grants of $100,000 to organizations selected through a detailed process that culminates with a vote by members.

    Last year, Impact 100 Palm Beach County received more than 85 grant inquiries and was able to award two $100,000 grants as well as smaller grants to three other finalists. 

    As she talked to her client at lunch that day several years ago, Robinson learned the Impact 100 idea was being successfully implemented in Vero Beach as well as several other cities across the country. 

    “I knew we had to bring it here,” she said, adding that she later contacted friends Cindy Krebsbach and Lisa Mulhall, who helped get Impact 100 PBC started and served as co-founders.

    Robinson was so excited about the idea that she forgot to keep an eye on her speedometer as she was leaving the lunch meeting. A police officer, with ticket book in hand, was a bit more vigilant. 

    “I left there so jazzed up that I just put the pedal to the metal,” Robinson said. “The police officer said to me ‘Lady, slow down.’ ”

    Slowing down, however, is not part of Robinson’s game plan. 

    The daughter of a successful real estate developer, Robinson, 50, grew up in Ocean Ridge, attended Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School in Boynton Beach and later Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton.

    After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Robinson returned to South Florida and she now lives in coastal Delray Beach with her husband, Joe, and their 6-year-old daughter, Gracie.

    While her job assisting high-net-worth clients manage their wealth keeps her pretty busy, as does her current role as co-chairwoman of Impact 100 along with Sue Diener, Robinson also finds time to get involved other community organizations. 

    She’s been on the board at Saint Andrews School for eight years and next year will be joining the board of Gulf Stream School.

    Helping Impact 100 continue to grow is also a priority. Next month, the organization will host “An Evening with Wendy Steele, Founder of Impact 100,” open to current and prospective Impact 100 members. Robinson also spreads the word about Impact 100 Palm Beach County by visiting several house parties hosted by existing members every year. 

    “The two things I enjoy most about Impact 100 are the education I get about the needs of the community and the fact that we can make such a significant difference,” she said. “I also cherish the friendships I’ve made through Impact 100.”

If  You Go

An Evening with Wendy Steele, founder of Impact 100

When:  5:30-7:30 p.m.

Dec. 3 

Where: Delray Beach Marriott

More info: Email Peg Greenspon at pegandlee@gmail.com

To find out more about Impact 100, visit  www.impact100pbc.com.

The Beach Property Owners Association says the design approved on this 18,612-square-foot home is imposing.

Actor Kevin James’ 25,835-square-foot home actually appears smaller than it is from the street.

Courtesy images

By Tim Pallesen     

    The mansion owned by actor Kevin James gets a top rating from his neighbors for curb appeal. 

    “It’s not overbearing,” said Andy Katz, president of the Beach Property Owners Association. 

    But an “abhorrent” mansion to be built up the street has BPOA leaders pushing for tighter design restrictions for new beach-area homes before their Dec. 12 annual meeting.

    “The overwhelming issue is scale — the size or bulk of the house relative to the scale of the rest of the community,” architect Bob Currie said.

    James, the TV actor who played the title role in King of Queens, paid $18.5 million last year for a 25,834-square-foot mansion on North Ocean Blvd. that doesn’t look that huge when viewed from the street.

    But the smaller 18,612-square-foot mansion approved by the city to be built at 344 N. Ocean Blvd. — about two blocks away — truly appears like a huge house close to the street. 

    “The problem is that it goes straight up for three floors,” Katz said. 

    Mayor Cary Glickstein told BPOA leaders at an Oct. 8 commission workshop that he wants to hear whether beach residents share their desire for tighter restrictions. “The good news is that we have a lot of talented architects to explain why this is a good thing,” Glickstein said. 

    The BPOA has sent notices to 1,800 residents to discuss the issue at the 7 p.m. meeting on Dec. 12 at Northern Trust Bank.

    Glickstein helped write the existing design guidelines enacted in 2005. He stressed how such restrictions have increased property values in Palm Beach and Gulf Stream.

    The existing guidelines for coastal Delray Beach determine whether a property owner can get a city permit to build a house. 

    “We’re concerned that something that someone calls innovative may have a jarring effect on the neighborhood,” Katz told the City Commission on Oct. 8.

    Current guidelines prohibit Quonset huts and geodesic domes. Modern architecture is discouraged, but not prohibited, in favor of a more Bermuda-style architecture with windows and upper-floor setbacks.

    But BPOA leaders say existing guidelines don’t regulate the scale of a house in proportion to nearby homes. A BPOA design committee has contractors Scott Porten and Tom Laudani working with Katz and Currie to recommend changes.

    “This is about preserving the look of an area to make it an harmonious neighborhood with houses that aren’t identical but are built to scale,” Katz said. “Size by itself is not the issue — but scale compared to the size of the lot and the neighborhood.”

    Currie said the BPOA respects a property owner’s right to design a house he likes. But he said some restrictions are necessary to benefit the overall appearance of the beach neighborhood.

    “The reason to do this is to stop things that are abhorrent,” he said.

Mary Kate Leming, executive editor, and Jerry Lower, publisher

    When The Coastal Star began, we calculated that print newspapers had about a five-year lifespan before all advertising became digital. Happily, we were wrong. 

    This edition marks the completion of five years of publishing, and we see no dimming of enthusiasm from our advertisers or our readers.

    What a ride it has been! 

    When we began, many called us crazy to start a print publication in the midst of a recession.

    We shrugged and figured we’d give it a few years, and then re-evaluate our business model. We never anticipated there would be a growing number of print publications hoping to replicate our success and seduce away our advertisers. Who knew that print publications would become so popular in the digital age?

    As a result of our success, we have had only one nonworking weekend each month for the past five years. And although we love our work, we aren’t spring chickens anymore and still have many dreams we’d like a chance to pursue.

    So, beginning this month you’ll be seeing some different delivery vehicles and new faces in the little white VW Cabrio cruising your neighborhood with the top down each month. As much as we loved watching the sunset over Ocean Ridge and the sunrise over Manalapan and Hypoluxo Island, we are handing the home-delivery keys over to some capable co-workers who promise to toss your newspaper as high and dry as possible. And in Boca Raton and Highland Beach, you’ll see someone new dropping off papers to your condo. 

    If these new folks somehow miss your street or driveway or condo lobby, please let us know. You can reach the office at: 561-337-1553. We’ll get a paper out to you as soon as we can.

    So with this small change, we move confidently into our sixth year of publishing. With each new day, we experience an exciting and growing sense of unity along the coast. 

    We always knew our neighbors would become our readers, but we’ve learned that our advertisers are our neighbors, too. They live here and know they are investing in their community by supporting our newsgathering operation. Whether we report good news or uncomfortable news, we hold a mirror to our community. Reflected back is a place we all care about — deeply. 

    Thank you for taking this ride with us.

— Mary Kate Leming, executive editor, and Jerry Lower, publisher

P.S. In this edition you will find an example of our commitment to the local community. With our special Gulf Stream School section, we are happy to share in the 75th anniversary celebration of our “little school by the sea.” Even if you have no connection to the school, the stories and photos of your neighbors will charm you. We hope you enjoy this special publication.

By Mary Thurwachter

    For both residents and merchants, it has been a long 18 months with the East Ocean Avenue Bridge closed. But since construction is nearly complete, and a date has been firmed up for the new $32 million bridge to open, it’s time to celebrate.

    Lantana’s shindig, with ribbon-cutting, food, music and fireworks, will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 16, at Bicentennial Park. A “First ___ Over the Bridge Parade” is being planned, similar to the one the town held when the old bridge closed.

    The county-owned bridge will open to regular traffic following the party.

    The old span, open for 62 years, closed in March 2012. The new bridge is 11 feet higher than its predecessor and will reduce by about 40 percent the number of times the drawbridge opens for boats.

    A second celebration, with a live band, bounce house for kids and refreshments, is being planned by the merchants at Plaza del Mar in Manalapan from noon to 3 p.m. on Nov. 17.

    Having the bridge out of commission took a toll on many, who had to use bridges in Lake Worth or Boynton Beach for regular crossings, and on businesses on either side.

    Alan Ross of Shades of Time has been on Ocean Avenue (west of the bridge) for 20 years and said his business dipped at least 40 percent during the bridge closing.

    “It’s been a disaster for people on this street,” he said. “A lot of people have gone. I wish the town and the Chamber [of Commerce] would have done more to help merchants. There was a lot of talk before [the bridge closed] about events, but there were no events.”

    He praised the Lantana Police Department for coming in his store regularly to see how he was doing. 

    “I can’t underscore enough the attention paid to me by the guys and gals in the Police Department,” he said.

    Ross, who lives in South Palm Beach and has been driving to and from work via the Lake Worth Bridge, said he looks forward to the Ocean Avenue Bridge reopening.

    “Hopefully, there will be a resurgence,” he said.

    On the east side of the bridge, news of the opening is equally welcomed. 

    Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa director of marketing John Bradway said he was “delighted.”

    “While the bridge has been closed, we have not experienced any economic impact as our guests are still able to access our resort location through other routes,”Bradway said. “However, many of our guests like to frequent the local restaurants and stores on the other side of the bridge and we know that the opening will mean a more positive impact on the local businesses in Lantana through increased patronage from guests at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.”

If you go: Lantana Bridge Opening Party, 4 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 16, at Bicentennial Park, 321 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana. Ribbon-cutting, food, music by the Chase Stites Band, parade and fireworks. Free. For more information, call (561) 540-5000 or see www.lantana.org.

Plaza del Mar Bridge Opening Celebration, noon to 3 p.m. on  Nov. 17, at Plaza del Mar, 250 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Live music, refreshments and a bounce house for kids. Sponsored by the merchants of Plaza del Mar. Free. Call (561) 762-5340.

Oct. 13: A tarpon feeds on schooling mullet offshore of the beach in Ocean Ridge.

Earlier in the day, dolphin were observed leaping out of the ocean about 300 yards out,

and earlier in the week, sharks were observed among the predators feeding off the schooling baitfish.

Photo by Chris M. Currie, Ocean Ridge

By Steve Plunkett

    A federal contractor could have its dredge off Ocean Ridge’s beach before Thanksgiving.

    The shore protection project, another in Delray Beach and a third in Boca Raton make up a $10.8 million contract the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded in September. Boca Raton is paying for a fourth segment at its southern end. Work was to begin Nov. 1 in south Boca Raton, then move to Ocean Ridge around Nov. 20.

    Part of the Ocean Ridge job includes removing the top layer of armor stone from the stems of five T-shaped groins. That is expected to lower the crests of the dunes about 2 feet. The excavated armor stone will be removed from the beach.

    The Ocean Ridge segment is 1.1 miles of oceanfront, as is Boca Raton’s main project. The Delray Beach work stretches from George Bush Boulevard south also about a mile, city Planning and Zoning Director Paul Dorling said.

    Dorling said Delray Beach qualified for $4 million in Hurricane Sandy relief money. That storm passed through just months before the city started a renourishment project in March for the beach south of Atlantic Avenue.

    “The reality is [the March project] had nothing to do with the storm,” he said.

    The Ocean Ridge project is estimated to cost $6.9 million with 48.7 percent paid by the Corps of Engineers and the remainder split between the state and the county, said Leanne Welch, the county’s shoreline program supervisor.

    Charleston, S.C.-based Marinex Construction Inc. will be the only contractor operating a hydraulic dredge in Palm Beach County from November to April, said Jennifer Bistyga, Boca Raton’s coastal program manager.

    Bistyga said Marinex’s dredge will start off in south Boca Raton, then work in Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach before returning to north Boca Raton. Dorling said he expects the Delray Beach work to take place in January.

    Welch said, “The borrow areas for these projects are located very close to the beach, and because of this a hydraulic dredge will be able to take sand from the ocean floor and pump it directly to the beach.” 

    Boca Raton will pay $1.7 million for the south beach work but expects the state to pick up 48.9 percent of the cost and the county to pay for 20 percent. That will leave the city’s share at $547,000.

This sign was placed near the Beachway Drive dune cross-over for a few days.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Tim O’Meilia

    Two signs reading “private beach” have been removed by Ocean Ridge town workers after complaints that they discouraged people from using a public dune walkover to reach the beach near Beachway Drive.  

    The signs resembled town-erected signs near other crossovers in color, style and size and included the town logo but not the town name. 

    “The main reason they were removed was because of the location and they made it look like the beach was private,” said Town Manager Ken Schenck. 

    The manager said he had received “more questions than complaints” about the signs.

    One was placed on the south side of the wooden walkover steps leading to the ocean and the other on the north side near the dune.  

    Schenck said he had been discussing placement of “private beach” signs with nearby residents, but no permits had been issued. He said the issue would be on the town’s Dec. 9 Town Commission agenda. 

    Ridge Harbour Estates resident Terry Brown said he questioned Schenck about the location of the signs. “Their effect was to suppress the use of the public access when it’s next to the public walkover,” he said. 

    Although the beach seaward of the mean high water mark is public, the dunes of four lots to the south of the walkover are privately owned. The Tropical Shores Estates Homeowners Association, which owns the four lots, has been discussing with Schenck plans to erect signs to discourage trespassing, said member Linda McIntyre. 

    She said the association wants to discourage people from sleeping on the beach, discarding drug paraphernalia and crushing the vegetation on their properties. 

    “The association did not erect the signs, but we are going forward with putting them up to indicate it is private property and discourage people who don’t belong there,” she said of plans to meet further with Schenck over the issue. 

    Schenck said he has met with other residents in the Beachway neighborhood over the signs, but would not say who had them erected. 

    Town-placed signs at six other public dune walkovers are labeled as “Public Beach Access” with a list of restrictions. Another at Beachway Road does not indicate public access but lists all the regulations.

By Dan Moffett

    Moviegoers will say goodbye to an old friend this month when the Regal Delray Beach 18 Theater goes dark to make way for an LA Fitness center after a long run spanning three decades at the corner of Linton Boulevard and Federal Highway.

    “Yes, we will be closing in November,” said a theater employee, “but we don’t have an exact date yet.”

    Regal Entertainment Group corporate officers in Nashville, Tenn., and the operators of the Plaza at the Delray mall have declined to confirm that the theater is closing, fearing damage to the business in its final weeks. 

    “I know it’s a simple question,” said Jason Stewart, manager of the Regal 18. “But I’m not allowed to answer it.”

    But patrons of the cinemas have seen the telltale signs of demise surfacing through the summer as attendance has dwindled noticeably: Missing signs over the auditorium doors. Surrounding businesses vacated to make room for the gym’s construction. Concession stands without counter workers. Stale popcorn.

    City Manager Louie Chapman Jr. said the mall operators have had the city’s approval to demolish the building for months, and the theater’s closing is imminent. “It’s going to be torn down,” he said, “and the gym is coming in.”

    In September, the mall’s landlord, Ramco-Gershenson Properties, based in Farmington Hills, Mich., secured $46 million in financing to overhaul the 35-acre property. LA Fitness will become a centerpiece for the renovation and an overture to a more youthful demographic. Other major tenants include Publix, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, CVS, Anna’s Linens, Applebee’s and Duffy’s Sports Grill.

    With the closing of the Regal 18 and the Delray Square Cinema on Atlantic Avenue, coastal moviegoers will have to gas up their cars and travel to Boynton Beach, Boca Raton or west past Florida’s Turnpike to Frank Theaters at Delray Marketplace.

    The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has approved plans for an eight-screen, 500-seat luxury movie theater on the old Delray Library site on Southeast Fourth Street. But the iPic Entertainment project isn’t expected to be completed until 2015.

    Because of its commitment to show independent and foreign films, the Regal 18 drew patrons from all over Palm Beach County. It also was the host of the annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival.

    Bob Schwartz of Motiva/ConCensus business consultants in Delray Beach recently argued to the City Commission that the theater has been an essential part of the city’s cultural identity, and officials should do what they can to find a replacement.

    “When we realized the Regal 18, the one theater that is right here, was going to go, it was an enormous loss. We really have so many gyms and so many ways of having fitness centers,” Schwartz said. “There are really a tremendous amount of senior citizens and people at both ends of the spectrum for whom that Regal 18 was essential.”

    He said there were legions of coastal moviegoers left with nowhere to go. “You’re going to have 200 people from Tropic Isle alone who use that theater,” Schwartz said.

By Tim Pallesen   

    Remember that fuss about the cabana contract on Delray’s municipal beach? Forget about it.

    City commissioners voted 3-2 on Oct. 15 to keep their current vendor and stop debating about competitive bids to rent chairs and cabanas on the beach.

    “This whole process has embarrassed the city with the amount of time that’s been wasted,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said before the vote. “It makes us look like we’re Amateur Hour up here.”

    “We’re becoming the can’t-get-it-right of cities,” Commissioner Al Jacquet said.

    The cabana fuss began after winners in the March city election wanted to end no-bid city contract extensions. Commissioner Shelly Petrolia, for no apparent reason at the time, chose cabanas as the first contract to question.

    Petrolia, Glickstein and Jacquet voted to seek competitive bids for the contract on May 14. But after what Petrolia and Glickstein say were mistakes by city staff, only the current vendor Michael Novatka submitted a bid.

    Petrolia pushed for the city to seek competitive bids a second time. But then The Palm Beach Post reported last month that Novatka is friendly with aging political powerbroker Andre Fladell, who supported Petrolia’s opponent in the March election.

    “I’m embarrassed to have newspaper articles that make us look like fools,” Glickstein said at the Oct. 15 meeting.

    “There appears to be a battle going on about who influences whom and I want nothing to do with it,” Jacquet said.

    That ended the debate. Jacquet voted with Commissioners Angeleta Gray and Adam Frankel to accept Novatka’s offer to pay $1.5 million to be cabana vendor for five years. The annual payment is a $130,000 increase over the $170,000 that Novatka pays under his current contract.

    Petrolia objected when Novatka said he will raise his rental rates to cover his increased cost. “This shouldn’t be on the backs of the people who go down to the beach,” she said.

    But other commissioners called a price increase understandable.

    “Of course the vendor is going to charge his customers more,” Frankel said. “You can’t hold that against him.”

    Glickstein said cabana prices should go up because the city recently spent $10 million to renourish the beach.

By Tim O’Meilia

    The youngest person to be named mayor of Briny Breezes since Hugh David 50 years ago was unanimously appointed Oct. 24 by the Town Council. Gerry Devine, 38, a corporate attorney for Cisco Systems with offices in Fort Lauderdale, will complete the five months remaining on retiring Mayor Roger Bennett’s one-year term.

    Devine, his wife and two young children bought a lot in District 4 earlier this year and are installing a three-bedroom mobile home. “We have plans to be here til the kids sell it out from under us some day,” Devine said after he was elected. 

    He was chosen over Lynn Weiner, a 16-year resident, who also applied for the position. Aldermen wanted to appoint a new mayor rather than having to wait another month, which would require a townwide election, an expense they wanted to avoid.

    Alderman and Town Clerk Nancy Boczon nominated Devine. No second is required.

    Devine, originally from Long Island, said he has visited the oceanside town frequently since an uncle moved here in 1974. He said he spent a year and a half looking for the perfect spot.

    “From the beginning, I got a lot of advice from people, telling me where I should buy or not buy and where to park and not park,” he joked. “I went right to the corporate offices to get a temporary parking pass.”

    He said he researched the town’s history, its character and was impressed by its 600 feet of private beach and 1,000 feet along the Intracoastal Waterway.

    “It’s about finding a wonderful place for your kids, a place filled with surrogate grandparents your kids can learn fishing and boating from,” he said. 

    Devine said that Briny faces challenges in the coming years, including dealing with the park’s aging infrastructure. “We have to figure ways to update without burdening people with too much additional financial expense,” he said. 

    He said the council is solid and he wants to maintain a good relationship with the board members of the corporation, which owns the town through its home-owning shareholders. 

    Devine said he would depend on the retiring Bennett for advice in his new post. “I don’t want all that knowledge to just walk out the door,” he said. 

    Bennett, who resigned after seven years as mayor because of health concerns, was honored at a farewell reception after the meeting. About 25 people attended the meeting, most wearing slacks and dresses, rather than the usual Briny meeting attire of beach shirts, cargo shorts and flip-flops.

    “Maybe we could get more than the usual three people to our next meeting too,” cracked Alderman Karen Wiggins. 

In other business, aldermen:

    • Retained attorney John Skrandel to succeed his father, Jerome, as town attorney. Jerome Skrandel died in September after serving the town for four decades. 

    • Changed the council meetings dates in coming months to Nov. 21 and Dec. 19 at 4 p.m.

    Oceanfront Park has a new name: Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park.

    Boynton Beach City Commissioner David Merker urged changing the park’s name to “Boynton Beach” in August and renewed his call Oct. 15 after the recreation and parks advisory board recommended calling it “Boynton Oceanfront Park.”

    Vice Mayor Woodrow Hay suggested adding “Beach” to the name. “Calling it Boynton Ocean Park is to me like a little slang,” Hay said.

    City Recreation and Parks Director Wally Majors said a new sign for the park, which lies inside Ocean Ridge, would cost $3,600 to $7,000.

    Residents started calling the facility Oceanfront Park in the early 1980s. “Prior to that time it was commonly referred to as Boynton Municipal Beach,” Majors said.

— Steve Plunkett

By Tim O’Meilia

    The owners of Ocean Ridge’s five-store business district agreed to pay for a planning study that may forestall its demise, but not before clashing with town commissioners.

    After requiring an engineering study of the property at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd. four months ago, commissioners were reluctant Oct. 7 to reconsider a 44-year-old decision to change the shops to residential use.

    “I question why we want to change our comprehensive plan for one building. What does Ocean Ridge get out of it?” said Commissioner Zoanne Hennigan. “And why ask our residents to pay for that?”

    An extension of a 2000 agreement gives owners Orlando and Lilianne Sivitilli until June to continue commercial operations in the 60-foot deep strip at the south entrance to town. 

    The property houses Colby’s Barber Shop, the Transition Area triathlon shop, The Coastal Star newspaper and Ocean Ridge Realty. Four apartments are on the second floor. Ten parking spaces serve the area. 

    Town Commissioner Gail Adams Aaskov, who owns the real estate firm, does not vote on issues regarding the strip. 

    “After all these years we’ve been fulfilling the rules, making applications,” said Lisa Sivitilli, the owners’ daughter, “then to come in tonight and hear suddenly you’ve changed again? It seems to me like you’ve playing with our affections.” 

    Later, Sivitilli and the commission agreed she would file for a plan change soon, estimated to cost $13,000, although the town is scheduled to pay for a plan change in 2015.

    “We’re happy we can get this resolved,” Sivitilli said after the meeting, noting that dealing with an uncertain future has been a hardship. The study and possible zoning changes may take more than a year.

    In 2012, the commission granted a two-year extension on the conversion to residential only because Sivitilli said the sinking real estate market made plans to convert to townhouses a financial risk. 

    In June, commissioners, including Mayor Geoff Pugh, fretted that the strip could be left abandoned. “I’m fearful of what could go up there,” Commissioner Lynn Allison said at the meeting, disagreeing with her fellow members. 

    Real estate agent Sandy Foster supported retaining the small shop area, saying it would be difficult to convert to an attractive residential area because of the aging cottages behind it and a gas station across the street. She said neighborhood businesses would be more attractive. 

In other business, commissioners took the following action:

    • Refused to release liens of $50,000 against the oceanfront home at 6011 N. Ocean Blvd., recently sold for $3.3 million by Joseph Romano, who is serving 15 years in federal prison in New York on a business conspiracy conviction. Romano was cited in 2009 for not having a pool barrier and in 2010 for erecting columns without a permit. Romano’s money was being held in escrow. “The relations between the town and the Romanos has been quite prickly for a number of years. I don’t think we should resolve the lien by one penny,” Pugh said. “The pool barrier was a life safety issue and the columns were something they installed themselves.”

    • Agreed to consider allowing commissioners to participate in meetings over the phone if there was good cause but not to count toward establishing a quorum. Town Attorney Ken Spillias said state law and attorney general’s opinions are unclear, but advised against allowing commissioners to vote by telephone for fear of such decisions being later overturned. 

    • Allowed the $2,500 purchase of 300 7-by-10-inch alarm warning signs to be sold to town residents to put on their lawns. Homeowners can have their alarms monitored directly by the town police force for $200 annually.

South Palm Beach Police Chief Roger Crane plans to retire after 28 years on the job.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Tim O’Meilia

    After nearly two decades as police chief of the so-called condominium canyon of South Palm Beach, Roger Crane will drive his newly outfitted RV into retirement.

    “I will remember all the good times we had with all the residents over the years and all the issues we solved,” said Crane, 65.

    Crane has served South Palm Beach for 28 years, since he was hired as a police officer in December 1985 after leaving Greenacres. He moved up the ladder to lieutenant, captain and finally chief in January 1994.

    Crane notified Town Council members at the Aug. 24 meeting of his Nov. 12 retirement. Residents will hold a farewell party from 2-4 pm on Nov. 3 at the Town Hall.

    “I’m proud to have served with all the people who have worked here. I really appreciate the 28 years I have been here,” Crane said at the council meeting. “We’ve all had our differences over the years, but hopefully not on a personal basis. I thank you very much. It has been a nice ride.”

    Council members praised the chief for his service. “He will truly be missed,” said Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello.

    “We’re losing people we will never forget,” said Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer.

    A West Virginia native, Crane served in the armed forces and worked in fire rescue and as a police officer in Ohio before coming to Greenacres with a colleague in 1984.

    Crane was the chief of public safety in South Palm Beach when officers served as both police and firefighters. He also oversaw changes when the department unionized two years ago. 

    “I think I’ve tried to do well by everyone,” he said. “My objective has always been ‘Whatever it takes to get the job done.’ ” The council unanimously appointed Capt. Carl Webb as interim chief. Town Manager Rex Taylor will begin a search for a new chief. By the town charter, the council must ratify his choice.

By Tim O’Meilia

    Oceanfront Manalapan residents made crystal clear they want no part of the regional beach management program designed to make approval of new renourishment projects smoother and quicker.

    In an email and snail mail survey of the town’s seaside homeowners, residents voted 16-0 against the plan. All but one vote came from oceanfront estate owners, the other from the La Coquille Villas. One hundred forty-seven barrier island landowners were sent the questionnaire.

    As a result, town commissioners took no action to sign the agreement at its Oct. 22 meeting.

    The town of Palm Beach and Palm Beach County have signed and the town of South Palm Beach has indicated support. 

    “I suspect it’s a nonissue at this time,” said Mayor David Cheifetz.  

    Commissioner John Murphy asked for the survey last month after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection made a plea for the town’s support. 

    While the agreement would make it easier to implement long-term renourishment work on an inlet-to-inlet basis, Manalapan would not likely be affected since its beaches are all privately owned. 

    The town would not have been assessed any fees for signing, only if it became involved in any projects, an unlikely event since the town has no public access between the Lantana public beach and the Boynton Inlet. 

    It’s not the first time Manalapan has backed away from beach regulations. In July, commissioners unanimously agreed to drop plans to require periodic certification of all the seawalls in town, both ocean-side and on Point Manalapan, which could have proved expensive for homeowners. The proposal emerged from more than $6.1 million in damage to seaside seawalls when Hurricane Sandy bustled by offshore in 2012.

By Tim O’Meilia

    Pressed to reject a traffic-stop policy that has been linked to racial profiling in major cities, Manalapan town commissioners unanimously ratified withdrawal of the program that had been discontinued 21 months ago.

    The commission in 2010 had backed the program designed to focus on hotspots of traffic stops, pointing to statistics in larger cities such as Baltimore, Oakland and Nashville that revealed that more stops led to more crime arrests. 

    “My understanding was that it had nothing to do with racial profiling but defining the areas where the most activity is taking place,” said Mayor David Cheifetz, who was a commissioner then.

    Town resident Kersen De Jong, who has filed a racial profiling complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, has claimed the program, formally titled the Data Driven Approaches To Crime and Traffic Safety, is an excuse for town police to force transients and nonresidents from traveling through the town. 

    “Undo what you have done in 2010,” De Jong said at the Oct. 22 meeting. “If you agree with what Chief (Carmen) Mattox has done (in canceling the program), then undo what you have done two years ago.”

    Traffic stops in the town doubled to 2,215 in 2011 but only 30 led to arrests, 1.5 percent. 

    “What we approved here in 2010 had nothing to do with racial profiling,” Commissioner Louis DeStefano said before the 7-0 vote. 

    “All of us are against racial profiling,” said Commissioner Howard Roder, who approved the policy along with Cheifetz and DeStefano in 2010.  “We should take a vote and eliminate it. Since I voted for it, I intend to undo it.”

    Mattox discontinued the project after he became chief in early 2012. 

    “I stopped that program. If you would like to stand behind me, I would appreciate it,” he said.

    Lake Worth resident Julian Gonzalez told commissioners that profiling has yet to stop, citing an Aug. 24 incident in which the ID card of a Seagull Academy student was found in the La Coquille Villas garage. 

    He said Manalapan police visited the student’s house twice demanding he answer questions but the student was not home. “Because he was black, they sent a police officer to his house not once, but twice,” he said. 

    The student is a special needs child who daily rides the bus through the villas garage where another student is left, police learned.

    La Coquille Club resident and Town Commissioner Chauncey Johnstone said villa management called police after the ID card was found. 

    Mattox said police investigated to discover why the card was left, as he said they would in any circumstance. He said police spoke only with Creole-speaking relatives and did not demand that the teenager answer questions but call the department. The ID was returned. 

    “This was not a racially motivated incident,” said Town Manager Linda Stumpf. “We were protecting the residents of the town and nothing was found.”

In other business, town commissioners:

    • Postponed a decision on increasing the $2,000 limit on homeowners making landscaping changes every six months without appearing before the town’s beautification committee. The commission also will consider eliminating a requirement that walls, fences and paving be included in the limit. The town will survey residents before reconsidering the issue in December.

    • Will consider in December reinstating Manalafest, a townwide festival held from 2003 to 2008 to encourage residents to get acquainted. The event was discontinued in 2008 during the recession because of cost.

By Tim O’Meilia

    South Palm Beach’s nine non-police-union workers will get a 2 percent pay increase and a $1,500 bonus to help them keep pace with their collective bargaining brethren, the Town Council decided by a 4-1 vote Aug. 22.

    The money was included in the $2.1 million 2013-’14 budget approved by the council in September, but the council did not specify the amount then. The hike is the first in five years for the employees. 

    The four members of the town’s Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association’s bargaining unit received a lump-sum $1,500 recently and will get another $1,000 bump in the new budget. The police also will reopen salary negotiations this year.

    “We can tell our employees we appreciate them but we have to make an effort to show them that we appreciate them,” said Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello. “To delay this any more almost becomes a slap in the face.”

    Councilwoman Stella Jordan opposed the move, wanting to delay the pay increase until all town employees’ pay was evaluated. “We currently have large gaps in some of our salaries and we need to ensure that all of our employees are properly compensated,” she said.

    She said the town has to deal with the prospect of a pay raise for the police union, the possibility of hiring a new worker and paying a new town clerk. 

    “This is a well-deserved raise. I call it a token raise,” said Mayor Donald Clayman. Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer agreed. 

In other business, the council:

    • Postponed unanimously until November a resolution requiring the licensing and registration of so-called sober houses and background checks for owners and operators. The Florida League of Cities and Gov. Rick Scott have urged the rules, referring to controversial incidents involving insurance fraud, patient brokering and others. Flagello said the rehabilitation houses, designed to give a temporary home to recovering addicts, are often being singled out unfairly by neighbors. Both Flagello and Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer, whose business in Lake Worth operates near a sober house, favored some oversight of the centers but wanted a closer examination of the town’s proposed rules. None are known to operate in town. Resident Craig Henne, who formerly owned a rehabilitation center, said most are closely controlled by their owners and are unfairly scrutinized. “This is a NIMBY issue,” said Henne, referring to a “not in my backyard” attitude of neighbors. “ ‘We don’t want them near us’ is the attitude,” he said.

    In Lantana, the Town Council did vote on Oct. 28 to send a letter to the governor asking him  to support regulation of recovering residences/sober houses in the form of state-wide licensing/registration. Lantana Mayor Dave Stewart said the letter was in support of the League of Cities initiative.

    • Concurred with Town Manager Rex Taylor’s appointment of Yudy Alvarez as town clerk, although the council called for a probationary six months. Alvarez, 29, has been deputy town clerk since 2008 and was first hired in 2006 as the town’s permit clerk. She will earn $45,000 annually and was recently designated a certified town clerk by the Florida Association of City Clerks. 

    • Retained unanimously Town Attorney Brad Biggs, who recently left the town’s law firm of Corbett, White and Davis to start his own law practice. Biggs also represents the Village of Golf.

    • Moved the council meeting dates for the next two months to Nov. 19 and Dec. 27, both at 7:15 p.m.

By Steve Plunkett

    Ocean Ridge Town Attorney Ken Spillias has extended his resume with a job he’s held before: lawyer for the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

    Spillias, who represented the CRA from 2004 to early 2007, was chosen over three other firms that sought the work. The CRA put $85,000 in its 2014 budget for legal services.

    “We are one of the premier environmental and land-use law firms in the state,” Spillias told the board Oct. 8. “We know Boynton Beach.”

    Spillias, managing partner of West Palm Beach-based Lewis, Longman & Walker, will be backed up by Tara Duhy, a firm partner who also helped in his earlier stint. Spillias has been Ocean Ridge’s attorney since 1999.

    He replaces Boynton Beach City Attorney Jim Cherof, who began representing the CRA in July 2007 when city commissioners seated themselves as the CRA board instead of having an independent panel. 

    Cherof spent a year as temporary CRA attorney before being named permanent lawyer.

    Cherof also represented the CRA before it was an independent panel.

    Mark Karageorge, a property manager and one of the CRA’s two citizen members, asked in June that his colleagues consider someone besides Cherof. The CRA has a rule that all services costing more than $25,000 must go out to bid, he said then. And the Florida Redevelopment Association suggests having separate lawyers to avoid any appearance of impropriety, he added.

    “I don’t see you being the attorney for Ocean Ridge as being a positive,” City Commissioner Joe Casello told Spillias at the Oct. 8 CRA meeting. “We like to think we’re going to have a good relationship with them, but you never know what the future’s going to be.”

    Spillias said Ocean Ridge commissioners saw no conflict when he applied for the CRA job in 2004 and that there have been no issues between the bodies since then. 

    But City Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said one day Boynton Beach will want to build at least a two-level parking garage at its beach park, which is in Ocean Ridge across from Town Hall.

    “I see that as being a major conflict,” he said.

    Spillias was chosen on a 5-2 vote with Fitzgerald and City Commissioner David Merker dissenting.

    Others who sought the job were former Broward County Attorney Susan Delegal, now with Billing, Cochran, Lyles, Mauro & Ramsey in Fort Lauderdale; Derek Rooney, an associate at Tampa-based Fowler White Boggs who represents the Charlotte County and Lee County industrial development authorities; and Hallandale Beach CRA attorney Steven Zelkowitz, who is also managing shareholder of Miami-based GrayRobinson.

    CRA Executive Director Vivian Brookes advised board members that they might want to consider the applicants’ locations in choosing a lawyer, highlighting that Rooney works out of his firm’s Fort Myers office.

    Spillias’ bid said he would bill $250 an hour for his and other partners’ time, $200 an hour for associates at the firm and $150 an hour for paralegals.

    A lawyer since 1974, Spillias also has been a Palm Beach County commissioner and chairman of the West Palm Beach planning board.