By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

You don’t need to reserve a seat or pack a suitcase to board the Boca Express. Just bring your love of history and your imagination. 

At the Boca Express Train Museum, you start your 30-minute tour in the original station built for the Florida East Coast Railroad. It was built in the Mediterranean Revival style during the 1930s. 

“This building is a real survivor,” says Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society, who oversees the museum.

Follow the docent and you’ll discover two refurbished Seaboard Air Line Railroad cars. These streamlined beauties built by Budd Co. went into service in 1946. They were part of the Silver Meteor that whisked travelers over almost 1,400 miles from New York to Miami in 25 hours. 

Of course, today you’ll never leave the station. But you can still journey through history with this and other tours made available through the BRHS. Here are some options:

Boca Express Train Museum

Where: FEC Railway Station, Count de Hoernle Pavilion, 747 S. Dixie Highway, Boca Raton

When:  1 to 4 p.m. April 20 

Admission: $5 adults; $2 students; free for children under 6 years and BRHS members

The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum

Where:  Boca Raton Town Hall, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton

When:  10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

 Admission:  $5 adults, $2 students, under 5 and BRHS members free

 What: The current exhibits include “Sentimental Journey: Boca Raton During WW II” and “Mizner Industries/Mizner Style.” 

Trolley Tour of Historic and Contemporary Boca Raton

Where: The tour leaves from Boca Raton Town Hall, 71 N. Federal Highway.

When: 10 a.m. April 12 

Admission: $20 per person; $15 for BRHS members

Reservations required

What: This 90-minute tour on a little red trolley begins with a short video on Boca Raton’s history and a tour of the BRHS current exhibit.  Docents share information on both historic and contemporary Boca Raton. 

n History Tour of the Boca Raton Resort & Club

Where:  501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton 

When:  2 p.m. April 17 

Admission: $15 per person; $12 for BRHS members; there is a $10-per-car valet fee at the hotel 

Reservations required

What: Learn about Addison Mizner’s Cloister Inn, Boca Raton’s most historic building and the original portion of the Boca Raton Resort & Club. This 90-minute walking tour takes you through the resort’s past. Not recommended for children under 12. For information about or reservations to any event, call 396-6766, Ext. 100.               Ú

Janice Rubin of Highland Beach is one of 85 people

who volunteer for Listen to Children. Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

Every week, about 85 men and women arrive at 53 elementary and middle schools in Palm Beach County.

They stay perhaps 40 minutes each, meeting with students in an empty classroom, a guidance office  — someplace quiet and private.

They do not help the students with their math homework. They do not tutor their reading.

They listen.

“And listen and listen and listen,” says Janice Rubin of Highland Beach. “When you think you can say something back that would be helpful, you do so. But sometimes all you really need to do is listen, and let them express themselves.”

For the past two years, Rubin has been one of those 85 volunteers who support Listen to Children, an outreach of the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County.

Founded in 1989, Listen to Children pairs students who may be having problems at home or school with a friendly, disinterested adult who is not a parent, teacher or guidance counselor.

“They’re not necessarily behavioral problems,” says Val Santiago Stanley, the program’s coordinator, “but perhaps just boisterous, or introverted, or their grades are declining for no apparent reason.”    

All volunteers undergo criminal and reference checks before they’re assigned to a school, as well as a two-hour training session, during which they vow to keep their conversations with students confidential, unless the child threatens violence against him or herself or others.

“After that, the kids pretty much run the conversation,” Stanley says. “From academics to family issues to love interests.”

Marilyn Freedman of Boynton Beach has been listening for 12 years. A retired elementary school educator from Fairlawn, N.J., she received the program’s Mentor of the Year award in 2011.

“I go to Crystal Lakes Elementary School one morning a week and meet with four children,” she says, “and I love it. I’ve learned not to give too much advice, but just to listen carefully.”

Sometimes she brings games, or modeling clay, but her main tools are her ears — and her heart.

“I remember a child who was having difficulties because of a step-parent, and suddenly he realized there were nice things about that step-parent,” she recalls. “Sometimes you get a child who’s very shy and has difficulty making friends. These aren’t all children from troubled homes, by any means. Sometimes it’s the parent who initiates our involvement.”

Every Tuesday, Rubin meets with two children at Poinciana Elementary School in Boynton Beach.

“The most important thing we bring is unconditional acceptance,” she says. “We’re not there to criticize them or disapprove. You may not accept all their behavior, but you have to be able to accept these children unconditionally.”

And soon, another Highland Beach retiree will be getting an earful.

Anne-Grethe Parkin has completed her training and expects to begin meeting with students at Orchard View Elementary in Delray Beach this month.

“I figured if I can help only one or two children, that will be better than nothing,” she says. “I may be a little nervous at first, but I feel good about it.”    

Most of the volunteers are retirees, often former teachers, and overwhelmingly female — an imbalance Stanley would like to correct.

“We’re not there to put the blame on where the ball was dropped in the child’s upbringing,” she says. “We’re there to help catch the
ball.”                                         

For more information about volunteering, call the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County at 832-3755.

Artist Chris Burlini (right) works with Bob Green of Boca Raton, who has been a student of his for several months at the Burlini Studio in Boca Raton. Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Mary Jane Fine

There’s an art to teaching art. Sometimes, it begins at the beginning with basic shapes and forms; sometimes, it’s a mere nudge toward this color, that technique.

“I’m a better teacher than I am a painter,” says Christopher Burlini, who teaches novices and near-professionals and anyone in between at his 2-year-old Burlini Studio on Boca Raton Boulevard. 

But no, no, no, look there, insists Marcy Appelbaum, gesturing toward a Burlini surrealist piece — a fish with fat red lips, a woman’s leg encased in fishnet stockings, and more, much more  — that hangs on a wall of his studio. In this warren of rooms, just before 10 a.m. on a recent Friday morning, painters of varying talent levels are honing their skills.

Appelbaum is a novice who seems a natural. Her delicate portrait of Catherine the Great, copied from a small likeness taped to her easel, quite equals the original. “I’m trying very hard,” she says. “We owe it all to Chris.”

To her right, down the row of easels, of painters, Chris Burlini perches on a metal stool, uses his index finger to blend a squiggle of yellow paint, a fanciful cloud on a red-skied landscape. The student whose painting it is hovers at his side, nodding. The brush alone gives one effect, the blending another. Yes, he sees. Yes, he’ll try that.

Burlini, a Chicago native who says his father and grandfather were sculptors, leaned toward product design in college — “it came with a nice paycheck,” he says, and smiles — but an oil-painting class inspired a more painterly path. 

“I never attended class,” he recalls, seated now at his computer. “I spent 13, 14 hours a day painting in my parents’ basement. My teacher was failing me. On the last day of class, I brought in my painting. I passed.” 

He calls up a file, clicks on an image, the college painting, titled Some Like It Hot: two digital-style Marilyn Monroes flanking a realist Marilyn in gold gown with plunging neckline. 

But Burlini doesn’t encourage following his style. Each painter must find his or her own. And, here, no two pieces by this morning’s dozen or so students bear any likeness to one another.

Madeline Millman is outlining, in a marine-blue acrylic, two mirror-image vases: a floor cloth for her Polo Club home. She’s out of wall space, she says, so concentrates on floor space. 

This is her first year with Burlini, and she’s most pleased. “What I’m getting from Chris is technique,” she says. It was his idea to draw the bowl in charcoal, then mirror-image it, use tracing paper to transfer the images to her canvas.

Arthur (“Archie”) Cogan, a snowbird down from Ottawa, a confident and experienced painter, is likewise a Burlini fan. “Chris has real knowledge with regard to form, composition,” he says, stepping back from a striking 12-by-40-inch acrylic abstract. “He’s got a great eye.”

Burlini’s great eye led him to approach the Cornell Museum at Old School Square in Delray Beach to request a student art exhibit; some 87 of his pupils each displayed a painting in last month’s “A Night at the Museum.” 

Museum President/CEO  Joe Gillie responded with a note: “Your passion and devotion is clearly evident in your students’ work and I trust they understand what a rare treasure it is to have you as their teacher.”

Burlini, in turn, gives the nod to his students. “If you stick with it,” he says, “you get a high moment.”                        

Natalie Warren, volunteer program manager for the Spirit of Giving Network,
bills herself as a volunteer matchmaker who pairs people with organizations
that need their help.        

Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Jodi Lane wanted to volunteer and give back to her community — she just wasn’t quite sure where to start.

So the 28-year-old Florida Atlantic University student went online and, almost by accident, discovered a one-hour training course offered by the Boca Raton-based Spirit of Giving Network.

The course, offered to the public at no cost, led Lane to the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center in Boca Raton, where she now volunteers two days a week, often working directly with the center’s clients.

“I love it, I really love it,” she says. “I’m really happy I found it.” 

Lane is one of about 70 people who have learned more about volunteering and connected with opportunities to share their time and talents — thanks to the Spirit of Giving Network’s new Community Volunteer Training program, which began last fall. 

“In seven months, it’s really grown,” says Natalie Warren, the volunteer program manager for the Spirit of Giving Network, an umbrella organization of 60 nonprofits that come together to share resources and information.

Unique in South Florida, the training, placement and screening program serves as a conduit connecting qualified nonprofit organizations with people who want to donate their time. 

“I’m a volunteer matchmaker,” Warren says. 

What sets the Spirit of Giving Program apart is that it provides names of prospective volunteers to nonprofit organizations, which then can reach out to those individuals who best meet their needs. 

“The day after I went through the training, I started getting emails from nonprofit organizations,” Lane said, adding that the Memory and Wellness Center opportunity came the closest to what she was looking for. 

Offered twice a week — at 5 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Thursday — the one-hour training program includes an overview of volunteerism, providing participants with an understanding of the value of volunteering and a general understanding of what will be expected of them in terms of conduct and reliability.

During the session, participants fill out an application, detailing their areas of interest and the type of work they like to do, which could include everything from helping with grant writing and administrative work to mentoring, working directly with an agency’s clients or assisting at special events. 

The application, which is standardized for use by nonprofit organization, also includes background information about the applicant that can be helpful to agencies looking for volunteers.

“Once we have the information, we compile it and send it in an email to the nonprofits,” Warren said. “They go through it and then contact the volunteers that best fit their needs.”

Warren says that nonprofit organizations also contact her when they need volunteers for special events or on a continuing basis. 

The program also offers, at a reduced rate, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement background checks required for some volunteer positions. 

A long-term volunteer herself, Warren says the volunteer training was born out of a shared need among all of the Spirit of Giving Network member organizations.

“They recognized that they needed one central program to focus on getting the appropriate volunteers to the right nonprofit organization,” Warren said.

For volunteers like Lane, the program is simplifying the process of finding a place where they can make a difference.

“I think a lot of people really want to help but they just don’t know how,” she said. “This program makes it easier for them to get involved.”                                

For more information, visit the Spirit of Giving Network website at www.spiritofgivingnetwork.com/volunteer, call 299-1205 or email Warren at natalie@spiritofgivingnetwork.com.

Delray Acura/Hyundai President Jim O’Neill
and his guest, retired FAU football coach Howard
Schnellenberger, lead more than 40 golf carts through
Mizner Park Plaza during the St. Patrick’s Day Golf Cart
Parade. Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Five members of the Downtown Boca Raton Advisory Board will guide efforts to create a Business Improvement District to further revitalize the area.

City Council members will choose who is on the steering panel following their adoption March 27 of an enabling resolution. Advisory board members will apply for the steering spots.

“It’s a good idea just to do anything like this,” City Council member Michael Mullaugh, sitting as a Community Redevelopment Agency commissioner, said at the March 26 CRA meeting.

Ruby Childers, the city’s downtown manager, said the steering committee will spend up to $25,000 of CRA money on a consultant to analyze how to set up the improvement district. 

Glenn Gromann, vice chairman of the Downtown Advisory Board, said the panel will just steer development of an improvement district and reach out for additional expertise.

“One of the models that we used was the BID that was done successfully in Coral Gables, where there were business people and outside business leaders that were also included on the BID,” Gromann said.

The steering committee will hold meetings to gather public input and build support among landlords, property owners and businesses for the improvement district. It will also propose boundaries for the district and rank possible improvements, including promotion and marketing, parking options and a shuttle or trolley system.

In addition, the committee will recommend how to fund the district and develop an action plan for the City Council to consider.

The council called for a funding strategy for downtown at its 2011 goal-setting session.

Coral Gables’ 15-year-old business improvement district expects to collect $815,000 in tax assessments this year from more than 200 retailers and 70 restaurants. That district’s latest marketing effort, “Tuesdays for Neighbors,” offers discounts to residents and employees.                                    Ú

Melissa Adams shows purses to Claire and Tony Parasiliti

at Dzines Consignment in Boca Raton.

By Paula Detwiller

Got stuff? Sure you do. Stuff your kids left behind. Stuff your parents left behind. Stuff you bought but don’t use anymore. 

Whether we’re downsizing, settling an estate, or just cleaning out the garage, we’ve got stuff we need to get rid of. The natural question arises: Can I sell any of this?

Well — maybe. If your stuff has market value, you’re in luck: There’s an entire service industry here in South Palm Beach County built around selling used goods. We visited coastal-area consignment stores, auction houses, and one busy eBay selling assistant to give you a taste of your options.

At Great Stuff Previously Enjoyed, on George Bush Boulevard
in Delray Beach, Susie McTighe sells antiques and high-end decorative
items for a 50/50 split. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Consignment: No two shops are alike

A 4-foot-tall silver Buddha stands prayerfully in the front window of Great Stuff Previously Enjoyed, a high-end consignment store just west of the Intracoastal in Delray Beach. Like all of the pre-owned treasures inside — the pink satin loveseat, the Pang Jen paintings, the mounted African antelope head — Buddha is living here temporarily until a buyer comes along.

Owner Susie McTighe has been running this shop for the past 15 years. She splits the proceeds of her sales 50/50 with her sellers, as do most consignors. But if you brought McTighe something valued at more than $5,000, she’d gladly reduce her cut rather than have you sell it elsewhere.

Prices are based on research into the value of the item, and then negotiated with the seller. 

“My pricing model is kind of opposite the auction houses. The auctioneers start low and let the bidding move the price up. I start the price up here,” she gestures, “and I’ll work down if I have to.”

With six rooms to display her eclectic mix of consigned items, McTighe doesn’t have a hard-and-fast time limit for how long things can stay. “I’ve sold things that have been here for a year.” she says. 

At Off the Wall Consignments in downtown Lake Worth, the merchandise is just as eclectic, but tends to be more affordable.

“We sell a lot of smaller-scale items, beachy-looking things, for people who may be outfitting their rental or seasonal condo,” says owner Liz Lipman. On this day, two white midcentury modern leather chairs sit in the middle of the store next to tables, lamps, and décor from various vintages. 

Sellers agree to a three-month consignment period here. If their stuff doesn’t sell, they must pick it up or arrange to have a charity do it. 

At Way Too Cute boutique down the block, the consignment period is 60 days, and the merchandise is distinctly different. Shabby chic, French cottage, and Florida-coastal furnishings rule the day. Owner Marcia Sheehan has a painter friend who transforms consigned furniture into MacKenzie-Childs look-alikes.

“I’m very picky,” says Sheehan. “I take top-of-the-line, unusual, unique things. And I rearrange the store frequently to keep it interesting.”

When it comes to selling used clothing, shoes and handbags on consignment, opportunities are plentiful in our coastal area. 

In Boca Raton, a favorite store is Dzines Consignment Boutique on Federal Highway near Spanish River Boulevard. Owners Paula Adams and her daughter Melissa sell everything from ball gowns to blue jeans. You’ll even find consigned Lilly Pulitzer items hanging from a rack labeled “Lilly’s Pad.” 

Paula Adams says sellers need to understand consignment-store principles of supply and demand. 

“For instance, we have plenty of size 8 pants right now,” she says. “Even if you brought me wonderful size 8 pants, I couldn’t take them.” 

Adams and her daughter price items at 30 percent of estimated retail cost. “If the clothes have brand-name tags, or are the hot color of the season, we’ll move up the price,” she says. 

Under their 60-day contract, if an item doesn’t sell by Day 30, the price is cut 30 percent; at Day 45, they may mark it down 50 percent. If it doesn’t sell, you must pick it up within three days or else it’s donated to Boca’s Hospice by the Sea Chest thrift store. You’ll get a receipt for the tax deduction.

Nathan Mayell accepts bids from online customers
during an auction at Bill Hood Auctions in Delray Beach.

Bill Hood II accepts live bids during an auction at his family’s gallery in Delray Beach.

Auction houses: Going once, going twice …

There’s a public auction once a month at Bill Hood & Sons Art & Antique Auctions in Delray Beach. Over at Bruce Kodner Galleries Inc. in Lake Worth, they hold three or four auctions a month on the premises. But here’s the best part for sellers: Both auction houses list their items on websites that enable bidders around the world to participate as if they were present.

“The three most important words are exposure, exposure, exposure,” says Bill Hood Sr.. “You have a lovely item, and the more people who are exposed to it via Internet live auction, the more people we have bidding.”

At a recent auction, an Internet bidder somewhere in the world jumped the bid hundreds of dollars ahead, beating out all competitors for a flawless Art Deco Rosenthal figurine.

“If you’re a buyer, you hate that,” says auctioneer Bill Hood II. “But if you’re the seller — wow!”

Local auction houses charge sellers a commission of between 30 and 40 percent of the final bid price. Both Hood and Kodner emphasize they are willing to negotiate that downward, depending on the value and amount of the items you have to sell. And both have secondary options for items that get no action: The Hoods have quarterly tag sales, and the Kodners run an antique mall next door staffed with vendors who may buy or consign your stuff.

 Kyle Reinberg, 17, presents an item for auction at Bill Hood’s
Auction house. The Rosenthal plaque sold for $375.

Assisted eBay sales: Skip the learning curve

You could spend a lot of time and energy trying to sell your own stuff on eBay. Or you could have Gus Enos do it, from his humble “e Drop N Sell” shop on the corner of Federal Highway and George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach. It’s one of the few outlets of its kind still in business.

If Enos believes your item will fetch at least $100, he’ll do extensive pricing research, take the photos, write the description, and set up an eBay auction or a fixed-price listing, whichever is better for you.

He asks for a 30 percent commission on the final sale price of the item. You must also pay eBay 15 percent. But oh, the convenience.

“I answer all the questions, handle payment processing, and take care of shipping. You simply get a check,” he says.

Among his biggest sales: the mint-condition Hermes handbag he sold for $9,000, and the grand piano he sold for $12,000. He is proud of his eBay status as a Top Rated Seller with 100% positive feedback. But be forewarned: He turns away about half of the items people bring in. 

“They come in with Beanie Babies and Barbies, and most of the time there’s just no market for it,” he sighs. “I tell them, maybe you should put it on Craigslist, or have a yard sale, or donate it to charity.”                

Places to sell your items

A sampling of businesses that offer consignment or auctions:

A Consignment Gallery

350 S. Federal Highway

Deerfield Beach

(954) 421-2395

www.aconsignment gallery.com

A Summer Place

131 E. Hillsboro Court

Deerfield Beach

392-0336
or (954) 426-6106

www.asummerplace
consignments.com

Bill Hood & Sons

Art & Antique Auctions

2925 S. Federal Highway

Delray Beach

278-8996

www.hoodauction.com

Blast from the Past

640 E. Atlantic Ave.

Delray Beach

272-8290 or 424-1660

Bruce Kodner Galleries 

Auctioneers/Appraisers

24 S. Dixie Highway

Lake Worth

585-9999

www.brucekodner.com

Consignments by Sally

306 W. Mango St.

Lantana

547-4848

www.consignments bysally.com

Coconut Consignment Company

68 S. Federal Highway

Boca Raton

362-7040

Dzines Consignment Boutique

3333 N. Federal Highway  Boca Raton

362-0234

Great Stuff Previously Owned

901B George Bush Blvd.

Delray Beach

243-0010

Email: stuffs@bellsouth .net

Jamie’s Classics Consignments
103 S. Third St.
Lantana
585-9808
www.jamiesclassics.com

Kofski Antiques

Multiple locations

585-1976

www.kofskiantiques.com

Off the Wall Consignments 

513 Lake Ave.

Lake Worth

582-0212

www.offthewall consignments.com

Mark’s Interiors on Consignment

67 S. Federal Highway

Boca Raton

391-1052

www.marksconsignment .com

Palm Beach Home Interiors

716 Lake Ave.

Lake Worth

249-7002

Past Perfect Consignment Showroom

99 NE Mizner Blvd.

Boca Raton

338-5656

Perfectly Imperfect Consignments

3333 N. Federal Hwy. #2

Boca Raton

756-9267

www.perfectlyimperfect .com

True Treasures

Multiple locations

(877) 235-8110

www.truetreasuresinc.com

Way Too Cute

617 Lake Ave.

Lake Worth

547-6100

www.mywaytoocute

boutique.com

Boca Raton’s Old Town Hall is among the contest candidates. Photo provided

By Mary Thurwachter

The most popular Florida building may be in South Palm Beach County.

Results of an online poll of the state’s top 100 architectural buildings in the “Florida Architecture: 100 Years, 100 Places” competition will be revealed in mid-April, says Deborah L. Nichols, chapter director for the Palm Beach Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and coordinator of the contest in this region.

The competition identifies 100 buildings (actually 109, narrowed down from 250 entries) and places across the state that represent the best in architectural achievement. They range from the Wentworth Museum in Pensacola to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. 

The list includes four buildings in Coastal Star territory — Boca Raton Town Hall, Gulf Stream Golf Club in Gulf Stream, the Colony Hotel and Virginia Courteney’s house both in Delray Beach.  It’s all is part of AIA Florida’s 100th anniversary celebration. 

“We’re hoping to open a dialogue on the architecture in our community,” said Nichols, a West Palm Beach architect.

Anyone can vote at www.aiafltop100.org through April 6. People can vote for as many buildings as they choose and as often as they like.

AIA Florida will develop a mobile tour of the top 100 buildings for Florida residents and visitors to download. This will be an additional opportunity to garner interest for these historic structures. 

The top 100 list also includes six buildings in Palm Beach — The Breakers, the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Concha Marina, the Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach House/Mack Residence and St. Edward Catholic Church.

Other buildings in the county on the list include Grace Episcopal Church, Payne Chapel A.M.E. and Temple Beth El, all in West Palm Beach.

Nichols said voting, which began on March 5, had really taken off, especially locally. That may be due to a “get out the vote” effort by supporters of some of the buildings, such as the Old Town Hall in Boca Raton.

“We are very excited,” said Mary Csar, executive director at Boca Raton Historical Society.

“We are encouraging everyone to vote often and to vote multiple times — which is OK. We want Town Hall to have a good showing. We are sending email blasts to our members and we have contacted the Chamber [of Commerce] to send out the
info.”                                       Ú

Rick Dupuis with his wife,  Gale, and their dog  Cappuccino.
Rick was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, and moved
to Florida more than 40 years ago.  Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

If there’s a pattern to Rick DuPuis’ life, it’s that he always tries to do things a little differently, a little better. Rather than simply following the status quo, he strives to improve upon it. 

You see the evidence in DuPuis’ business life: He’s a financial adviser whose company was named No. 2 in Florida last year in percentage growth of assets per client. You see it in his volunteer life: as president of his homeowner’s association at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, he’s making valuable improvements. 

At an age when most people are thinking of retiring, DuPuis is showing no signs of slowing down.

He began his career with Dean Witter in San Francisco. But he found out soon that being a broker didn’t suit his personality. The emphasis was always on selling, “and that didn’t work so well for me,” he says.

“So I very quickly got into being a certified financial planner before most people even knew what it was,” DuPuis says. “As a CFP, you’re not just selling anymore, you’re working with people, consulting with them about their insurance, their estate plan, their future. It’s a long-term relationship.”

In the early 1990s, DuPuis got the idea to do something “a little different, a little better” by sharing his investment knowledge on television. He developed and starred in a TV talk show called Inside Money, which ran on public television from 1991 to 1996. He is the author of five investment books, including Money Matters: What Stockbrokers Don’t Always Tell You.

Since opening his own Boca-based company, Royal Capital Management, in 1997, DuPuis has applied his “do it better” mantra in several other ways. He was one of the first in his industry to work on a fee basis rather than a commission basis, which he believes is fairer to the client. In addition, he acts as an independent fiduciary, holding himself to a higher legal standard of putting his clients’ interests first.

And, as a gift to visual learners everywhere, DuPuis developed and trademarked a diagram called the Four Component Portfolio Plan. It helps clients understand how and why their investments are diversified.  

“It’s too easy to do the ordinary thing, the average thing,” DuPuis says. “I find that boring. So for me, the key is to always be tweaking things to be a little bit better.”

— Paula Detwiller

Q.  Where did you grow up and go to school?

A.  On top of Michigan. In Sault Ste. Marie on the Canadian side of the border. (I am now an American citizen as well.) When it came time to go to college, my brother and I pooled our money and bought a red GTO and drove down to the University of Florida. Keep in mind, I-75 was only partially built and I had never been south of Detroit. I still remember the snow flying off the car as we made our way down.

Q.   What are some highlights of your life?

A.   [When I was] a very young boy, my sister bought me a camera for Christmas and that started me taking pictures, which led to working for the city newspaper, which opened up so many doors. Other highlights: Meeting my wife, Gale, because she influenced everything afterward; walking in Town Center mall and seeing the book I wrote on finances featured in the window of the bookstore; developing the TV show Inside Money to help people with their finances, and seeing it aired on public television for years across the country; and most recently, having my firm ranked in the top 50 fastest-growing registered investment adviser firms in the country.

Q.  How did you choose to make your home in Boca Raton?

A.   It was the late ’70s and we were living in south Broward. Real estate was booming and we decided to drive way up to Boca Raton where we heard about a different kind of developer (Arvida) building whole communities with models that had a California look. As soon as we got here, we knew this was the place. 

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club?

A.  That’s easy. The people are the best. Everyone is so friendly and happy. I think they all know what a great place we live in and how lucky we are and appreciate it. There is a real neighborhood feeling. And with everything you want so close by, a tank of gas lasts at least two weeks.

Q.  What’s your biggest challenge as president of the Royal Palm Improvement Association?

A.  I feel like I have been handed a treasure and it has been entrusted to me to take care of it. I want to work to improve on things like security, communications, lighting and so on, but do it in a manner that improves but not changes the wonderful feeling everyone has of living here. On a day-to-day basis, the challenge is making sure everyone — our board members, staff and security officers — stays informed and involved so they can perform at their best. 

Q.  If someone made a movie of your life, who would you like to play you and why?

A.  Growing up in the ’60s, I think just about every male wanted to be James Bond. So I’ll pay tribute to my memories and say James Bond, err, that is, Sean Connery. Besides, he really is aging well.

Q.  What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax? 

A.  I love music. I find I can use it to transport myself to almost any mood or any place or time. It’s a little like time traveling. But I suppose my favorite genres are classic rock and smooth jazz like Diana Krall’s Peel Me a Grape. 

Q.  Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?

A.  Growing up as the youngest of four children (later a younger brother was born), I seem to have developed the propensity to absorb from everyone around me. I do believe seeing how hard my father and mother always worked to help the family get ahead has rubbed off on me. And one brother in Ottawa has always seemed to have wise things to say when needed.

Q.  What’s the last book you read and would you recommend it?

A.  I mostly read financial/economic material, but I did just recently read The Precious Present. I am trying to learn how to live more in the present and not always reflect on the past or project into the next days, weeks or future. Again, my work requires me to always be thinking about what’s coming, but my wife keeps telling me away from work I need to be living more in the moment.  So I’m trying.

Q. Who or what makes you laugh?

A.  I like quick banter back and forth when among friends and family. But I must say, George Carlin was always a favorite. And then at times our little cat, Tiramisu, with our dog, Cappuccino, will just do something so cute or funny.   Ú

By Emily Minor

BOCA RATON — Nancy Bayzar Toumayan, who moved to Florida in 1998 and spent many years as a home health-care nurse, caring and cooking for the lonely and ailing elderly, died March 21 of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. 

“She had a zeal for life, and she wanted to be happy,” said her daughter, Sylvia Toumayan.  “She didn’t have a bad bone in her body.”

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Mrs. Toumayan, who was 74, came to the United States with her parents when she was about 18, her daughter said, and dreamed of being an interior decorator.

Instead, she met Peter Toumayan, and started a family. The professional dreams were put aside so that she could be a full-time mother and wife. (The couple eventually parted and he preceded her in death.)

Mrs. Toumayan did work for many years selling Singer sewing machines, her daughter said. Through the years, she was able to put her interior design eye to the test, overseeing the building, furnishing and design of two family homes in Lexington, Ky. 

In 1998, she moved to Boca Raton where she immersed herself in the church and social-service community.

Besides her children, she is survived by her longtime life partner, Mike Dasho.

An active and devoted member of the Armenian church, Mrs. Toumayan was the former chairperson of St. James Women’s Guild, past member of the Daughters of Vartan and St. David’s Women’s Guild of Boca Raton. She was buried in Lexington, Ky.

Besides Sylvia Toumayan, three more children survive her: Shirley Toumayan Miler, Marianne Fullam and Samuel Toumayan. All three of her daughters live in the Boston area; Samuel Toumayan lives in California.

Four grandchildren also survive her — and they all loved her bright personality, undying love and her spectacular cooking. For years, her home health-care clients would beg for her specialty dishes.

“She was an incredible cook,” said her daughter Sylvia. “She cooked with love, and it was very evident.”

The family asks that any donations in her memory be made to the Armenian church, or the American Diabetes Association, 10 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.

J. Ernest Brophy

By Ron Hayes

BOCA RATON — J. Ernest Brophy, a winter resident of Boca Raton for 35 years, died March 19. He was 87 and had battled lung cancer and heart disease.
Mr. Brophy died peacefully at his Cocoanut Road home, surrounded by family and friends, including his wife of 60 years.
“And we were very happy all that time,” Betty Brophy recalled recently. “My only grandson used to say, ‘Don’t you guys ever fight?’ and we both said no. We always agreed. I know it sounds like we were making that up, but it’s true. We had the same values, but anything I felt really strongly about, he was willing to see I got.”
Mr. Brophy was born Aug. 24, 1924, in Shortsville, N.Y. After serving as a radio operator in the U.S. Army during World War II, for which he was decorated, he was graduated from Niagara University, summa cum laude, and earned a law degree from Fordham Law School. Mr. and Mrs. Brophy were married in 1952 and raised four children.
“When we were bringing up the children, he always deferred to me,” she said. “He respected my authority there.”
Mr. Brophy was also a certified public accountant who opened his own firm in Rochester, N.Y., specializing in estate and tax planning. He loved to tackle complex accounting dilemmas, and prided himself on finding solutions to almost any problem.
“He was absolutely brilliant,” his wife said. “People from all over called him for advice.”
After his retirement, the couple enjoyed playing contract bridge in both Boca Raton and Pompano Beach.
“I don’t think any husband could have been any better than he was,” Mrs. Brophy said. “It’s hard now, but the memories are wonderful
In addition to his widow, Mr. Brophy is survived by a daughter, Linda Sorg of Boca Raton; two sons, Joe, of Jupiter, and Brian of Canandaigua, N.Y.; and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Dennis.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Ontario ARC Development Dept., 3071 County Complex Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424, in honor of his son.

An egg hunt and butterfly release are on tap for April 7
at the Chapel of St. Andrew in Boca Raton. Photo provided

By Tim Pallesen 

Two of the most creative ways to celebrate the secular side of Easter for the past decade are the Easter Bonnet Pet Parade in Delray Beach and the Butterfly Release in Boca Raton, both set for Saturday, April 7.

A trumpet player will join Delray Mayor Woodie McDuffie to lead the pet parade down Atlantic Avenue at 10 a.m.
“It’s a ton of fun,” organizer Lori Nolan of the Delray GreenMarket said. “People go all out.”
Registration is at 9 a.m. on the front lawn of Old School Square. The parade goes four blocks east to a red carpet at the GreenMarket for judging of the Easter bonnets.
Prizes will be awarded in categories that include most original, funniest, tropical, tiniest tea cup and frou-frou.
Children also are invited to the butterfly release at 4 p.m. at the Chapel of St. Andrew, 2707 NW 37th St., Boca Raton.
“The butterfly is the symbol of new life and resurrection for Christians,” the Rev. Andrew Sherman of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church explained.
Every child who attends will be given their own butterfly to release. An egg hunt, games, crafts and supper also are planned by the two Episcopal congregations.
The area’s largest annual Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the Delray Beach Parks and Recreation Department, starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Seacrest Soccer Complex, 2505 N. Seacrest Blvd.
Volunteers have stuffed more than 10,000 eggs with candy and prizes for children ages 1 to 8.
The public is also invited to the Mizner Park Amphitheatre at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 8, for the 10th annual Easter in the Park celebration by the First Methodist Church of Boca Raton.

                                         ***

More than 700 people have reservations at the Boca Raton Resort and Club to celebrate a kosher Passover in style.
“Passover is an eating fest and we pride ourselves on offering a high-quality cuisine,” says Leisure Time Tours director Robert Frucher, who is organizing  the elaborate April 6-14 stay.
A rabbi will work with the hotel chefs to make certain the food is strictly kosher.
Both food and entertainment are included in the price of lodging, much like on a cruise ship.
Comedian Michael Winslow and circus performers similar to Cirque du Soleil will provide the entertainment.

                                               ***                                        

The Church of the Palms was strictly white and traditional when the Rev. Roger Richardson became its pastor nine years ago.
Now, as Richardson prepares to retire, it’s a different place.
“We’ve become open to everybody since he’s been here,” church trustee Frank Nikischer said. “He’s very missionary minded and he has us more open to cultures, creeds and race.”
Richardson, 63, says he appreciates how the Delray Beach congregation has responded.
“We wanted to make sure that everyone knows they are welcome because God views us all as precious in his sight,” he said. “The church has encouraged and supported me.”
Church of the Palms has added a multicultural praise service on Saturday nights and a Creole service on Sunday mornings. A worship service in Portuguese is its newest effort in diversity.
Women in the congregation sew comfort dolls that Delray police officers carry in patrol cars and Richardson distributes around the world.
The congregation has opened three churches in Haiti named Church of the Palms. With support from home, Richardson also has traveled to Kenya, South Africa, Brazil and Appalachia to spread the gospel.
“Church of the Palms has opened up to new ideas with a strong interest in mission both locally and in the world,” he said.

                                         ***

How can the pastor of a large congregation have the time to listen to everyone in need?
Representatives from six congregations met March 10 at First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach to learn how lay people can assist their pastors by becoming caregivers, too.
The Stephen Ministry, based in St. Louis, has trained lay people in 11,000 congregations to minister to those in need.
“The idea is just to listen,” said First Presbyterian associate pastor Rev. Jo Garnett, who organized the workshop. “They are Christian friends who walk with a person who is hurting during a difficult time.”
First Presbyterian currently has 20 Stephen ministers who each received 50 hours of training to become caregivers for an hour each week.
One is Jim Whitiker, a Stephen minister for four years.
“If I can help one person, it’s worth all the time in the world to me,” Whitiker said.

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

By Arden Moore

Ah, April. The month typically signifies the departure of snowbirds and the arrival of persistent hot weather, where temperatures registering in the mid-80s and up are not uncommon in Palm Beach County.

OK, so that statement is not worthy of making front page headlines, but this one is: One-third of all dogs and cats will be affected by cancer in their lifetimes. In fact, cancer ranks as the leading cause of death in dogs 2 and older.

Now for the real jarring news: Sunlight’s ultraviolet rays are causing solar-induced cancer in indoor cats and light-colored dogs. 

Brenda Phillips, DVM, a veterinary oncologist at Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego, seen with her dog Leo, offers tips to protect pets against skin cancer. Photos by Arden Moore

“People are often surprised to learn that sunlight is a common cause of cancer in dogs and cats,” says Brenda Phillips, DVM, a veterinary oncologist at Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego and a professional support of the Canine Cancer Campaign sponsored by the Morris Animal Foundation. “Indoor cats are not safe from UV rays, especially if they love to sunbathe on window perches. Pink-bellied dogs are also at risk, even indoors.”

UV rays can cause skin cancer, typically on a pet’s belly, inner limbs, nose, lips, ears and eyelids. White cats and dogs sporting pink noses and bellies as well as hairless breeds are at greatest risk due to this light pigmentation. Dark-nosed pets with brown or black coats, however, are not risk-free from developing skin cancer. 

Certain breeds, including bichons, boxers, bulldogs, Dobermans, poodles, schnauzers and weimaraners are predisposed to developing skin tumors. So are active dogs who join their people on boats and on hikes.

“Fortunately, solar-induced cancer can be cured if caught early,” says Phillips. “Unfortunately, as an oncologist, I see these pets after the cancer has developed. Veterinarians in small animal practices need to have conversations with families with pets at risk for skin cancer.”

Here are some tips to protect our pets from the harmful UVA and UVB rays:

• Establish what’s normal for your pet’s coat. Work with your veterinarian to learn how to do a thorough nose-to-tail examination of your pet’s skin. Report any new bumps, lumps or  suspicious lesions to your veterinarian right away. Also, inform your vet if any skin growths have increased in size from the past month.

• Do not shave down your pet’s coat. A buzz cut will only increase his exposure to UV rays and lead to sunburn or, worse, skin cancer.

• Dab on the sunscreen. Apply veterinarian-approved sunscreen products on your pet’s vulnerable areas, especially the nose, inner ears and belly. Epi-Pet Sun Protector, for example, is endorsed by the American Animal Hospital Association and is effective as a sunscreen for dogs, but is not to be used on cats. It is waterproof, quick drying and non-greasy, providing the equivalent of a 40 SPF found in human sunscreens. Consult your veterinarian for sunscreen products safe for use on your cat.

• Tint your windows. Various commercial companies make glare-reducing, insulating or privacy films that can be applied on windows to offer up to UV filtering protection while still maintaining a nice view. Look for companies serving Palm Beach County that have earned Better Business Bureau high rankings.

• Install solar shades or honeycomb shades. In particular, install these shades for all interior east- and west-facing windows to block UV rays. Select shade materials offering protection levels of at least 90 percent. Both types of shades come in top-down or bottom-up options for opening and closing.

Tinted windows help protect cats like Zeki who are at a higher risk of skin cancer from overexposure to the sun.

My sun-seeking cat, Zeki sports a white-and-grey coat, pink nose, pink foot pads and pink inner ears. After learning more about skin cancer from Phillips, I am now taking protective measures to ensure Zeki can enjoy the sunshine without risking her health. 

I encourage you to be your pet’s best health ally and protect him from the Florida sun. You can learn more about advances in combating cancer by visiting the Morris Animal Foundation at www.morrisanimalfoundation.org.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and certified pet first aid instructor. She happily shares her home with two dogs, two cats and one overworked vacuum cleaner. Tune in to her Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com and learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

Highland Beach resident George Banet (left) with historian
Serge Klarsfield in the film La France Divisée. Photo provided

The film La France Divisée will be the center of Highland Beach Library’s Yom Hashoah commemoration.

Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, is marked on the Hebrew calendar’s 27th day of Nissan, corresponding this year to April 19.  On that day, the 6  million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust are remembered as well as the experiences of those who survived.

The film explores the two sides of France during WWII:  the side that collaborated with the Germans and the side that resisted. Included are interviews with Janine Banet Godkine, a “hidden child,” Lucie Aubrac, a member of the French Resistance, Serge Klarsfeld, historian and Nazi hunter, and Gérard Bollon, a historian on the Protestant Resistance specifically in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, each giving France’s history from a different viewpoint.

Interspersed among the stories is archival footage from WWII.  A Highland Beach resident, George Flaum Banet, is shown as a 12-year-old in a studio portrait with his mother, both wearing the yellow Star of David.  

Another photo is the wedding portrait of George’s parents, Charles and Thérèse Flaum.  A third is of his grandmother, Chaya Hertszberg, and her two children, one of them his mother.  But there is no interview with George Flaum Banet. He cannot speak about what happened to him or his family. What he has allowed is his wife, a journalist and literary writer, to travel into the past with him and document his life.

Banet’s wife, Marlene Roberts, will introduce the film and offer commentary when the film addresses Banet’s history.  

Co-produced by George’s cousin, Barbara Barnett, and videotaped by George’s daughter, Toni Banet, the film ends with two powerful statements. The first is an apology by French President Jacques Chirac, given on July 16, 1995, for the actions taken by the French government against the Jews living in France during WWII. The second is an apology by the Bishop of Saint Denis on Sept. 30, 1997, for actions not taken by the Catholic Church during WWII.

The Yom Hashoah commemoration will begin at 5 p.m. April 19.   

The library is at 3618 S. Ocean Blvd. in Highland Beach.  For information, call (561) 278-5455.

— Staff report

Injections of her own stem cells helped Mary Ellen Cook
of Delray Beach (right) avoid knee-replacement surgery.
Cook plays tennis twice a week with other senior players
like Joyce Joyner of Delray Beach, who have also found pain
relief through stem-cell therapy. Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Paula Detwiller 

What’s the hot topic on senior-league tennis courts these days? Two words: stem cells. 

More and more aging recreational athletes with painful, worn-out knees are saying “no” to knee replacement surgery and “yes” to outpatient treatment in which their own stem cells are used to regenerate (theoretically, anyway) the knee joint. Many are getting positive results, and they’re spreading the word.

“I’ve heard from a couple of people that it’s like a miracle,” said one 78-year-old coastal resident who plays tennis frequently at local clubs. 

Listen closely to the courtside buzz, and you’re likely to hear two other words: “Dr. Purita.” That would be Joseph R. Purita, M.D., of Manalapan, director of the Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopaedics in Boca Raton. The institute is an offshoot of Purita’s longtime surgical practice at Boca Raton Orthopaedic Group.

Purita is considered an expert in the use of adult stem cells for orthopedic repair. He’s lectured around the world, and taught his technique free of charge to doctors from as far away as Australia.  He has treated 4,000 patients ranging in age from 40 to 70, including many high-profile professional athletes, and he claims an 85 percent success rate for the knees.

Here’s how it works: The doctor harvests mesenchymal stem cells (the type that repair and regrow muscle, bone, cartilage and tendons) from a patient’s fat and/or bone marrow. Fat samples are taken via mini-liposuction of the patient’s midsection; bone marrow is extracted from the back of the pelvis. While the patient waits, the samples are spun in a centrifuge to isolate the stem cells, which are then injected into the patient’s joint the same day. Four to six weeks later, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) spun from the patient’s own blood also is injected into the joint.

Dr. Joseph R. Purita

“Think of the platelets as fertilizer for the stem cells,” Purita explains. “They release growth factors that give the stem cells signals to start working to repair things.”  

PRP injections alone can help some patients, Purita says, by releasing growth factors and signaling proteins that may summon stem cells from elsewhere in the body to repair the joint. In these cases, a bit of the patient’s fat is injected to serve as scaffolding for the incoming stem cells.

Purita’s technique fits within FDA guidelines for stem cell therapy, but is not covered by insurance. He charges $600 for PRP only, and $4,800 for the complete treatment (stem cell injections from fat and bone marrow, scaffolding-fat injections, and three subsequent PRP injections).

One of Purita’s satisfied customers is Mary Ellen Cook, whose family owns Hand’s Stationers in Delray Beach. Now in her 70s, Cook says stem cell therapy has enabled her to stay active and keep up her tennis game. Her tennis buddy, Joyce Joyner, 60, also sought Purita’s treatment to quell the pain in both of her arthritic, bone-on-bone knee joints.

“It worked great for me,” says Joyner. “I’m putting off knee replacement as long as possible.”

To date, however, there is little hard science proving the stem cell treatment really works. Some physicians, like Freddie H. Fu, M.D., chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, remain skeptical.

“Basically, there’s no evidence to show one way or the other that it makes any difference,” Fu says. “Why don’t we test it more vigorously before we shoot it into everybody?”

Purita emphasizes that not everyone is a candidate for stem cell therapy, and about 15 percent of the time, it just doesn’t work. But he feels strongly that “it’s not going away.”

“The arthroscope revolutionized sports medicine and orthopedics,” Purita says. “Stem cells are the next big revolution. Some day we’re going to look back at knee and hip replacement surgery and say, how could we have done such barbaric operations?” 

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

Lillian Rose Palladino Mericantante

By Ron Hayes

BOCA RATON — When Father John Mericantante, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pahokee, was told that the $1 million he’d  raised was not enough to start construction on a new church, his mother stepped in.
“My mom got on the phone, and her friends sent me another million,” Father John recalled. “She had good friends.” And so a new St. Mary’s is under construction and scheduled to open in June. A statue titled Prayer, also donated by his mother, will grace the entrance to the mission-style church.
Mrs. Mericantante died Feb. 29. She was 93 and had lived at La Fontana condominium for 22 years.
“She was a very elegant lady, and very sincere and very frank,” recalled her son. “She would tell you exactly what she thought and you had to deal with it.”
Lillian Rose Palladino Mericantante was born in Boston on Sept. 14, 1918, the first daughter of Joseph and Mary Palladino, who owned the city’s famed Latin Quarter nightclub.
In fourth grade, she met John Mericantante Jr., who would become the love of her life and her husband of 48 years.
In Winchester, Mass., where Mr. Mericantante was an executive with the Ford Motor Co., Mrs. Mericantante played tennis and bocce at the Medford Boat Club.
The couple retired to Florida in 1980 and, after 10 years in Fort Lauderdale, moved to Boca Raton. 
In addition to her son, she is survived by three daughters, Diana LaMarca, of Boca Raton; Dr. Debra Anzalone, of Lighthouse Point; and Lillian Simeone; five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1200 E. Main St., Pahokee, FL 33476. 

Jazz band Four80East will play the Funky Biscuit on April 21.

By Steve Pike

Jazz and baseball typically aren’t thought of in the same sentence — except that one could argue each is an acquired taste — but here’s an analogy: In his classic book Shoeless Joe, author W.P. Kinsella penned the famous line “If you build it, he will come.”

A disgraced baseball legend and an Iowa cornfield were the farthest things from Jacqui Wyatt’s mind when she conceived of the Royal Palm Place Jazz Series in Boca Raton, but nevertheless, the analogy holds true.

“When I first came up with the idea in early spring of 2010, there weren’t many places for people to go to hear jazz,” Wyatt said. “Look at the demographic of South Florida and Boca Raton in particular. It’s not a hip-hop demographic, not a rap demographic and certainly not a South Beach club demographic. I thought it would be good to have a classy place where people could go and listen to good jazz music in a nice atmosphere.”

As director of operations and marketing for Boca Raton-based Investments Limited, Wyatt knew of the perfect atmosphere: the company’s Royal Palm Place dining and shopping complex in downtown Boca Raton.

“I thought, at least, if we bring it and see who comes. If nobody comes, then we tried,” she said. “If they do come, then let’s try and build on it as much as we can.” 

Wyatt’s instincts were correct. That is, she has built the Royal Palm Place Jazz Series and people certainly have come. The festival is in its second season, having already had two concerts this season, with the next on April 21 featuring the electro-jazz band Four80East. All of the concerts are held at the Funky Biscuit in Royal Palm Place, a popular venue for a variety of acts from jazz to country to rock to big bands.

The previous jazz series concert — Matt Marshak and Marcus Anderson this past January — attracted 120 people. That number might sound small, Wyatt said, don’t let it fool you.

“It’s an intimate venue,” said Wyatt, a lifelong jazz fan. “When we started the series, the first two concerts (November and December 2010) were outside on the piazza. The weather wasn’t very cooperative. It was cold and windy. So we decided to move it indoors.

“Jazz by nature is genre of music that really lends itself to a more intimate atmosphere. If you think back to the old clubs, people like being up close to the stage. I’ve seen Dave Koz and his Christmas concert at the Broward Center. It was great, but it was on a big stage.  At the Funky Biscuit the performers come down off the stage and interact with the audience. It’s just a much more welcoming atmosphere.”

Welcoming for each side. The audience likes the coziness of the Funky Biscuit, Wyatt said, and the musicians like the opportunity to perform at one of the few venues for jazz in South Florida.

“The musicians themselves are so intense about their love of the music,” Wyatt said. “I had a limited budget and some of these performers command huge amounts of money. Once they understood what we were trying to accomplish, they  really stepped up to the plate. It’s just sort of snowballed from there.”                                      Ú

Art Show Opening Night of Women in the Visual Arts

Highland Beach Library

Ann Schwartz, (from left) exhibitions committee chair,
Phyllis Annunziato, president of WITVA, and Connie
Lefkowitz at the art show opening on March 9 at the
Highland Beach Library. Photo provided

Archstone, a 10-story, 378-unit complex, is planned for East Palmetto Park Road. Drawing provided

By Steve Plunkett

A 10-story apartment complex is the newest addition to Palmetto Park Road between the Intracoastal Waterway and Federal Highway.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency approved a slightly downsized 378-unit Archstone Palmetto Park project Feb. 27, after a contentious five-hour meeting Feb. 13. The agency postponed its vote to give the developer and Golden Triangle neighbors time to work out differences.

The neighbors were not wholly satisfied.

“I think there’s more work to be done regarding Archstone, but it is what it is,” said George O’Rourke, representing the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association.

Deputy City Manager George Brown said the developer made concessions after hearing Golden Triangle’s concerns, reducing the total units from 389 to 378, agreeing to pay $40,000 for a traffic study and $2,000 to restripe a right-turn lane from southbound Fifth Avenue onto Palmetto, and eliminating proposed parallel parking spaces along East Boca Raton Road.

Archstone will also employ “reasonable efforts to limit the aesthetic impact” of satellite TV dishes.

“The proposed new conditions that we just recited make the project even better in terms of its relationship to the adjacent neighborhood,” Brown said.

In addition, in three years Archstone will pay for a traffic signal if increased traffic warrants it.

The variances Archstone requested — to have balconies 13½ feet from the right-of-way instead of 20 feet and to provide 686 parking spaces instead of 816 — are “actually going to make the project much more livable, much more attractive, much more appealing to the eye,” CRA Chairman Constance Scott said.

Neighbors continued to worry about traffic the block-and-a-half long project will bring.

“Staff does not believe a study of the intersection of Palmetto Park Road and Northeast Fifth Avenue is necessary,” Brown said. “The traffic study for the Archstone project was reviewed and approved by city staff and is compliant with [Downtown Development of Regional Impact] regulations.”

Archstone Palmetto Park will be one building that appears to be three towers, with 13,448 square feet of retail on the ground floor (9,058 of it for restaurants). Amenities would include a pool, clubroom, fitness room and large landscaped internal courtyard.

The number of townhomes and flats on East Boca Raton Road was reduced from 36 to 25.

The CRA was able to approve the project only after members, sitting Feb. 14 as the City Council, passed an ordinance expanding Boca Raton’s 2008 Interim Design Guidelines onto the city’s 1992 Development Order regulating downtown development.

The interim guidelines excluded the East Palmetto Park Road corridor; the new ordinance included the corridor but only on parcels of at least 4 acres and without an increase in height, no change in setbacks, and no change in parking structures. That allowed Archstone to design an “articulated” building instead of a flat-front structure.

Scott said previous downtown projects Palmetto Place, Royal Palm Place, Mizner Court, Mizner Grand, Mizner Tower, 1000 Ocean and Presidential Place “all met with tremendous opposition and fear” and “have all turned out to be wonderful additions to our community.”

An overflow crowd at the CRA meeting was not allowed to speak before the 4-1 vote; Scott said she had closed the time for public comments in the Feb. 13 session. CRA Vice Chairman Anthony Majhess, a founder of the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association, cast the no vote.

Opponent Kathleen Kennedy collected signatures on a petition seeking to overturn the CRA’s decision to extend the interim guidelines to the project. She said she faces a March 14 deadline.             

Activists say signs such as this one have increased awareness of bike laws. 

By Steve Plunkett

Signs from Boca Raton to Manalapan cautioning motorists and bicyclists to share State Road A1A are a success, claims zMotion, the cycling group that paid for them.

The bicyclists recently submitted research to the Florida Department of Transportation showing the 16 signs are effective, said Mike Schweiger, zMotion’s co-founder.

His group’s report indicates the signs, one saying “Motorist — Shall Give 3 Foot Clearance” and another saying “Bicyclist — No More Than Two Abreast,” increased awareness of those state laws by both groups, Schweiger said. 

The positioning of the signs has Highland Beach residents clamoring for even more.

“There are bike signs all over Delray saying no more than two bike riders may ride abreast, bicycle path, et cetera, et cetera,” Town Commission candidate George Kelvin said. “So we now have a situation where to the north of us Delray has bike signs, to the south of us Boca Raton has bike signs, and we are still waiting to do something.”

In fact Highland Beach has two zMotion signs, but both carry the motorist warning about giving 3-foot clearance. The bicyclist warning is on three of Boca Raton’s four zMotion signs, including one on northbound A1A just 150 feet from Highland Beach.

That means northbound traffic passes the two-abreast warning just south of Camino Real, the 3-foot clearance sign across from Spanish River Park, another two-abreast sign just south of Highland Beach and the 3-foot sign in central Highland Beach.

Southbound traffic passes the 3-foot sign in central Highland Beach and the two-abreast sign at Spanish River Park. At one site in Gulf Stream and two locations in Ocean Ridge, the signs are paired, with one of each message. Manalapan has two bicyclist warnings near its northern border and two motorist alerts near the Boynton Inlet. If state law is that bicyclists cannot ride more than two abreast, “I can’t see why we can’t post a sign or signs in Highland Beach stating that,” former Mayor Harold Hagelmann asked later in the Feb. 7 commission meeting.

“We cannot put signs on A1A. They have to be FDOT-approved,” Town Manager Kathleen Weiser replied. “I have personally been on the phone with FDOT I can’t tell you how many times. Right now their answer is no. They are doing testing to see if this sign works.”

Earlier, Town Attorney Glen Torcivia gave a summary of Florida laws on bicyclists. “There’s not a lot of authority that the town has in terms of regulating bicycles,” he said.

Mayor Bernard Featherman said the problem is when cyclists ride four abreast and do not stop for people in the crosswalks. “I should think that our Police Department would enforce that,” he said.

Torcivia said cyclists who pedal three or four abreast risk a $15 fine. They must obey the rules motorists do about stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks, he said.

Meanwhile Delray Beach moved a large, temporary sign to southbound A1A just north of Linton Boulevard, near where a cyclist was killed by a truck last April. “Drivers Watch Out for Bikes!” it flashes. “Bicyclists May Not Ride More Than 2 Abreast.”

Delray Beach police loaned an identical flashing sign to Highland Beach police, who positioned it on A1A across from the Townhouses of Highland Beach.                               

By Steve Plunkett

The competition between beach-goers and sea turtles for a spot in the sand continued to heat up in 2011. 

Countywide, female loggerheads, greens and leatherbacks dug a record-high 19,552 nests, besting 2010’s record total, said Paul Davis with the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management.

But the new record was slim. “We only increased 31 nests this year,” Davis said.

Davis noted the county’s almost 41 miles of shoreline make up 5 percent of Florida’s beaches but account for 23 percent of the state’s nests, second only to Brevard County.

While the county increase was only 0.16 percent, the beaches from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach had 13.7 percent more nests than the year before. Manalapan was especially crowded, with 1,212 nests along 2.8 miles of shore, 49.4 percent more than in 2010.

Also posting large gains were South Palm Beach (31.2 percent), Lantana, which jumped from 31 nests to 47 on its one-eighth mile of shore, and Ocean Ridge (18.2 percent).

Boca Raton counted an overall 14.8 percent increase in nests and also a record 154 nests by green turtles. Its previous record for green nests was 142 in 2007.

On the minus side were Delray Beach (down 7.9 percent) and Gulf Stream (off 13.5 percent). Highland Beach’s total was down 14.9 percent but still its second-best season in six years.

In 2010, “We actually had a few more nests, but the percentage of our nests to the false crawls, the nests were higher this year,” said Susan Hiles, a volunteer counter and member of the Highland Beach Beaches and Shores Advisory Committee.

Counters mark it a “false crawl” when a turtle comes up on the beach but returns to the water without digging a nest. Highland Beach posted 943 false crawls in 2010, but only 640 last year.

More worrisome to Davis than false crawls was the number of “disorientation events,” when hatchlings head toward artificial light and “urban glow” instead of the ocean. Palm Beach County counted 359 disorientation events affecting roughly 12,000 hatchlings, the second-highest number on record.

Nesting season is March 1 through Oct. 31. 

Leatherbacks usually nest from March to June, loggerheads from May to August, and greens from June to September.

Turtle numbers do not strictly follow town borders. The numbers for Ocean Ridge, for example, include part of Manalapan just north of the Boynton Inlet but stop at Adams Road about a half-mile short of the southern town limits. Gulf Stream’s counting area includes Gulfstream Park just north of town.