By Mary Thurwachter, Managing Editor

Loss has been a major player in my sister-in-law’s life over the past few years. In just about every case, Alzheimer’s was the culprit.

She lost her job as a paralegal. She gave up driving her car. Her ability to read music faded away and she began to struggle with even the most taken-for-granted of skills, like turning on the reading light above her piano or buttoning her blouse.    The list of things she can no longer do goes on an on, a dirge of what was and what no longer is her life.

And my brother, her husband of 40 years, has a growing list of losses, too. The love of his life is slowly, sadly slipping away. 

He sounds so crestfallen when we talk on the phone. 

After reading Mary Jane Fine’s story (see Page 1), I wish there were a place like the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center near my brother and sister-in-law’s home in Wisconsin. 

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country, according to the Alzheimer’s Association website (www.alz.org), and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

Caring for people with the disease is a very expensive proposition.

Last year, the direct costs of caring for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias totaled an estimated $200 billion, including $140 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.    We’re so fortunate to have a state-designated Memory Disorder Clinic like the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center in our midst. And we’re blessed to have people like the Greens, who understand how important having a facility like this is and then finding a way to make it a reality. 

It is so important for us not to forget the forgetful and those who care for them. After all, there are 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease — including my sister-in-law and, very likely, someone in you know, as well.

Ralf Brookes

By  Tim Pallesen

Residents alarmed by massive new rental housing projects in Boca Raton and Delray Beach turned to a Cape Coral attorney to be heard.

Ralf Brookes has filed lawsuits to scale down the magnitude of the Archstone project on East Palmetto Park Road and Atlantic Crossing on East Atlantic Avenue.

Archstone and Atlantic Crossing are both significant because they will create the gateways from the Atlantic Ocean to two rapidly growing downtowns.

Brookes is a former city and county attorney now in private practice. He represented Monroe County in land use and development litigation for six years. He also was city attorney in St. Petersburg Beach and Bradenton Beach for seven years.

“I see myself now as a defender of Old Florida to assure that development is compatible,” Brookes said.

Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel describes him a bit differently.

“Ralf Brookes is a no-growth lawyer,” Whelchel said. “Any chance he gets to promote no growth, he’s there.”

Residents who live near the new downtown projects hired Brookes because they say city governments didn’t listen to their objections. 

“It’s difficult for citizens to be effective when they only get three minutes to speak at a public hearing,” Brookes said.

“Cities need to scrutinize these projects so they don’t just do what’s in the applicant’s best interests,” he said. “That’s why I give legal representation to community organizations.”

Brookes scored his first court victory locally when Boca Raton residents objected to a 2010 proposal to build a private beach club on a public beach known as Ocean Strand.

The city refused to approve an ordinance to restrict public lands for only public uses. So Brookes sued to win a lawsuit that forced the City Council to approve the ordinance on Jan. 9.

The lawsuit to block the Archstone project could have a far greater impact on Boca Raton development. Brookes sued on behalf of nearby residents to force a citywide referendum to decide whether Archstone should be built.

A circuit court judge ruled in Brookes’ favor last October, citing a previous case in which Brookes had represented the town of Yankeetown to get an exemption from a 2011 state law that prohibits voter referendums on local growth decisions.

Exemptions were allowed for Yankeetown and Boca Raton because both towns had charter language calling for referendums prior to the 2011 state law.

“People want the right in rare cases to repeal government actions if they are not in the best interests of the community,” Brookes said.

Boca Raton is appealing the October ruling, fearing it could bring growth to a halt in the city.

“Can you imagine the impact if we have referendums on every development order?” Whelchel asked.

Delray Beach has no similar provision to allow a referendum to overturn a development project. So the lawsuit that Brookes filed last month to stop Atlantic Crossing has a different strategy to achieve the same goal of allowing residents to be heard.

The Delray Beach lawsuit has given Delray Beach residents leverage to be heard by developers before they request site plan approval this year. Negotiations are under way for a design that both sides can support.

“We hope to have this resolved so the lawsuit can be settled in the near future,” Brookes said.                          Ú

By Cheryl Blackerby

Chastened by a losing court fight against a grassroots citizens group, Boca Raton City Council members are moving at warp speed to pass a new ordinance that will prohibit private uses of public beaches and waterfront land.

 “I think we all will join hands in kumbaya and introduce this ordinance,” said Boca Mayor Susan Whelchel as the council unanimously approved the first reading of the new law on Jan. 8.

But not so fast. Arthur Koski, attorney for the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, says board members aren’t giving up their legal options to possibly contest the ordinance in the future. During a Jan. 22 board meeting, Koski said he is drafting a letter to the City Council for February’s second reading of the ordinance that says the district’s silence shouldn’t be misconstrued.

“I don’t want the lack of action by the district to suggest that we agree to consent to it,” Koski said. 

With final approval in February, the city will avoid having to schedule a court-ordered referendum to decide the matter. The council’s approval is a victory for Keep Your Boca Beaches Public, a citizens group that sued the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District over plans to allow the development of a private beach club on the public 15-acre Ocean Strand property.

 “I’m confident it will pass in February and be unanimous,” said Joe Pedalino, chairperson of Keep Your Boca Beaches Public. “We’re not naive enough to believe that some future council couldn’t reverse it, but the ordinance would give the citizens time to oppose it.”

As far as the district’s letter, Pedalino says he “completely expected that” and isn’t worried.

“I don’t see that as a problem,” he said. “Anybody at any time can go to court. Decisions are never absolute, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s a done deal.”

Pedalino said the ordinance will benefit all residents in the city, not just coastal homeowners, because it will protect all public waterfront parks and lands from private development.

 “It’s quality of life in Boca Raton, and our parks and beaches are an integral part of quality of life,” he said. “As it stands now, we’re very pleased by the action taken by the city. This is the right thing to do.”

 The ordinance says that “all public-owned lands owned by the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District located between the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean shall be limited to public uses and public services provided for the general public, and development for private uses (including members-only beach clubs) on these public-owned lands shall be prohibited.”

 The explicit reference to “members-only beach clubs” put smiles on the faces of the citizen activists.

 In September, the Fourth District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that required the city to go forward with a citizens’ initiative and put the issue on the ballot. The citizens group had collected more than 1,500 signatures calling for the referendum to bar development of public lands in general and stop the Ocean Strand project in particular.

The Beach and Park District bought the Ocean Strand in 1994 for $11.9 million, and the prime beachfront property that stretches between the Intracoastal Waterway and ocean had remained undeveloped until 2009 when Penn-Florida Companies proposed the members-only cabana club as part of a $1 billion downtown redevelopment and hotel project.

After a public outcry, city officials responded by changing the zoning of the Strand from multi-family to public land, which ended the development plans for the property. City and district officials argued that the new zoning eliminated the need for an ordinance and that council members shouldn’t pass a law that might restrict the options of future city leaders.

They also criticized the citizens’ group for making unreasonable demands and pushing a court fight that was costly for city taxpayers. They said holding the referendum could cost the city as much as $70,000.

 “We were criticized that the city and district were spending money to fight this, like we were the culprits, ” Pedalino said.  “It’s our money anyway. It’s not coming out of their pockets.”

The citizens’ group and its lawyers argued that the prohibition of private development needed to be citywide and codified. They said that the issue was much bigger than the Strand and much broader than just the beaches.

Pedalino said that “since there was an attempt to do one beach, they could do others,” and passing the ordinance was essential.

“We wanted to have everything clarified,” Pedalino said. “We wanted to make sure there was no private de-velopment on public lands.”   

The winners of Boca Raton Rotary Club’s OPAL (Outstanding People and Leaders) Awards are (from left) Rick Zimmer / Rotarian Lifetime Achievement, Robert Campbell / philanthropy, Kevin Ross / education, Leif Ahnell / civic and Jay DiPietro / community service. Photo provided 

A charity shopping night brought in $2,500 from more than 150 attendees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boca Raton. Photo: Zak Odhwani, chairman the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boca Raton’s unit board, with Stacy Dowdle. Photo provided

The American Fine Wine Competition JM Lexus VIP Kickoff Reception featured a champagne-sabering performance by judges (from left) Patrick Sullivan, Jenny Benzie, Peg San Felippo, Cary Combine and Charlie Arturaola. The sixth-annual event benefited Diabetes Research Institute and 4 Pets Charities and led up to the national wine showdown at Florida International University. Photo provided

By Jane Smith

HIGHLAND BEACH — Joseph A. Sarubbi, who cherished his IBM role as part of the self-described “wild ducks,” died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Dec. 29.

He was 84, dying from complications of diabetes, said Linda Campbell, one of his seven children.

“Family meant everything to him,” she said. For 14 recent years, he rented three houses in Myrtle Beach, S.C. That summer week was sacred to all 45 family members, she said.

A native of Yonkers, N.Y., Mr. Sarubbi was one of five children of James V. and Jennie (Cosentino) Sarubbi. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War as a radio repairman in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

His favorite wartime story was when his ship docked outside of Naples, Italy, and he met his maternal grandparents. “Kids were running through the streets, yelling ‘Giuseppe from America is here’,” Campbell said. 

“He traveled a lot for IBM, but when he came home on the weekends, he always had goodies for us kids,” she said. That was in the day when airlines actually gave you something when you traveled overseas, she said, adding that he often brought home travel kits for his children.

He also coached Little League baseball for his sons, taught the kids to play hearts, enjoyed his Tuesday night poker games with his buddies and was a season ticket holder to the Miami Dolphins for 27 years. He loved the Dan Marino era, Campbell said.

Most of his career was spent at IBM, starting there in New York in 1952. In 1980, Mr. Sarubbi moved to Boca Raton to be part of the original team that developed the IBM personal computer. When he thought about those days, the highlight of his career, he described the team of 12 as “wild ducks,” flying out of formation with the strict controls of IBM. 

His daughter also recalled that when he developed the IBM XT (extended technology) in 1983, the first PC with a built-in hard drive, many analysts criticized him for offering a computer with 10 megabytes, as having too much storage space. But today, emails are often far larger.

But “Mr. IBM” never owned a computer, she said. He worked with them all day at the office and didn’t want to be around them at home. 

Mr. Sarubbi retired from IBM in 1986 but went on to work for other information technology companies. 

He leaves behind his beloved wife, Joan, of nearly 63 years; his children, James Sarubbi, Donna (George) Kopa, Joseph (Colleen) Sarubbi, William (Maggie) Sarubbi, Robert (Lori) Sarubbi, and Joan (Joe) Soltysiak; 19 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and siblings Mary (Samuel) Marotta, Peter (Sabina) Sarubbi and Florence (Steven) Loia.

A funeral Mass was held in Highland Beach, followed by burial at the Boca Raton Cemetery and Mausoleum. Instead of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Mr. Sarubbi’s name to: Diabetes Research Institute (http://www.diabetesresearch.org).

Florence Fuller Child Development Center’s Wee Dream Ball raised a record-breaking $480,000, which will help ensure the 625 children at the Boca Raton facility have access to early-childhood education, programs and health screenings. Photo: Committee members Rob and Tracy Louv. Editor’s note: Last month, the Louvs were misidentified. The correct image is above. Photo provided

The Junior League and Whole Foods Market have partnered to benefit the Boca Raton Community Garden.  Whole Foods representatives recently presented the league with a check for more than $8,000 to support the garden, raised through its ‘Five Percent Give-Back’ program. Pictured: Megan Rask, Jackie Reeves, Katherine Doyle, Abigail Nagorski and Pattie Goldenberg.  Photo provided by Downtown Photo

By Ron Hayes

Promoting. Developing. Improving.
For 41 years, the Junior League of Boca Raton has described its mission with those three words.
Promoting volunteerism.
Developing the potential of women.
Improving the community.
Each year, its members tally more than 35,000 volunteer hours. Feed 9,330 meals to needy children. Donate more than $250,000 to deserving nonprofit organizations.
Now the League, which serves the area from Pompano Beach to Lake Worth, is getting more specific.
Hunger.
Child welfare.
Nonprofit support.
“We thought it would be tremendously helpful to take a look back to help us look forward,” says League President Jackie Reeves. “Instead of identifying ourselves by the projects we support, we’re focusing on the issues.”

For example, Reeves said, the League supports the Florence Fuller Center’s literacy program and the Milagro Center’s after-school care, two child welfare initiatives.
The change is designed to help other worthy nonprofits that might consider applying for one of the League’s $2,500 grants.   
“Our mission hasn’t changed, but it’s a matter of how it’s described. We’re moving from being project-based to issue-based, but we’re in no way saying we’re not going to continue to support the projects we’re currently working with. There are very big, 30,000-foot issues in our community, and a lot fall within those categories.”
Another upcoming change for the League is its annual fundraising event, scheduled for 5:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in The Shops at Boca Center.
This year, the focus will move from sweet to tasty.
“Chocolate Decadence” is now “Flavors of Boca.”
“The event is in its 11th year, and we’ve been working very closely with The Shops at Boca Center to figure out if it’s still working or should we tweak something,” Reeves explained. “The feedback has been, ‘I love chocolate.’ However, having that experience for three hours may be too much, so we’ve begun to morph it into a more rounded culinary experience.”
This year, attendees will enjoy a sampling of wines and foods from more than 25 local restaurants, in addition to music and a silent auction.
About 800 people are expected in the Boca Center courtyard.
Advance tickets are $40 each, or $75 for the VIP lounge, which includes an open bar, better food selections and swag bags.

Proceeds will support the League’s C.H.O.W. (Conquering Hunger Our Way) program.
“We’ve asked the vendors to bring one of their notable dishes they’re known for,” Reeves said. “Flavors of Boca is a culinary experience that ties in with out hunger initiative.”
For information, call 620-2553. To purchase tickets, visit www.Flavors of Boca.com.    

A seagull rides the wind as champion surfer Kelly Slater braves the
waves generated by Hurricane Sandy near Boynton Inlet. Photo by James Knill

By Thom Smith 

As Hurricane Sandy blew past, she didn’t seem like such a big deal. A little flooding here, a flattened seawall there. New Age musician Yanni lost his pool and lots of turtle nests were washed to sea. Mother Nature doesn’t play favorites. Compared to past storms, however, damage was minimal. 

To Peter Mendia of West Palm Beach, whose life is surfing, Oct. 28 was the “day of days.” Mendia was hardly alone. The swell attracted Shea Lopez from Daytona, legendary Cocoa board builder Matt Kechele and his prize pupil, Kelly Slater, a world champ 11 times, to waves so big, so fast and so powerful that they used jet skis to launch them at Boynton Inlet and at Pump House in Palm Beach.

Sandy plodded up the coast, and like every other storm, its siren song lured thousands of surfers and beachniks to the shore to marvel at its power. Little did they know just how powerful it would become, although never did it grow larger than Category 2. As I wrapped up my column for The Coastal Star’s November issue, it came ashore five miles south of Atlantic City with peak winds barely 90 miles an hour. A day later it was a rainy trough soaking Pennsylvania. 

Only 90 miles an hour. A few days later, my phone rang. It was FEMA, summoning me to my second deployment as a DAE (disaster assistance employee). I had two days to pack, put my affairs in order and head to New Jersey. For six weeks, as a writer in the Planning and Products division, I would work on press releases, how-to pamphlets, flood insurance fact sheets, and dozens of other documents that provide information to homeowners, businesses, government officials and FEMA staffers.  

Even before the storm made landfall, FEMA was staging personnel and supplies. Within two weeks, headquarters had been set up in what was once a 350,000-square-foot Bell Labs facility in Lincroft, a hamlet in Monmouth County, only a few miles from the Jersey Shore. In less than a week, trucks laden with desks, tables, chairs, even toilet paper and towels were ready to go. The building was completely rewired for computers and telephones. Satellite receivers were erected in the parking lot. And in a matter of days, more than 2,000 FEMA workers — some permanent employees, some temps like me — were doing our part to help the people of New Jersey dig out, shore up and get on with their lives. 

FEMA maintains a contingent of more than 5,000 on-call employees around the nation who make themselves available for the temporary work. Usually, the work is regional: Californians handle their own mudslides and wildfires; Missourians respond to floods in the heartland. But Sandy’s damage was so extensive that DAEs were called in from everywhere. 

Initial work week: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, with the 14th day off. Then it was cut to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week. Some work a few weeks and rotate out; others remain for months.

The pay is decent, but not great. More important is the opportunity to help. 

Funny thing about Sandy: We all know about the roller coaster in the surf and the neighborhood burned out by ruptured gas lines, but in many areas you’d never know a storm blew through. A few trees down here, a damaged roof there. But just as with Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, the rebuilding will take years.  

It’s good to be home, but if the phone rings, I’ll be on the next flight out. 

                                     ***

What I would have given to take a train into the Big Apple on Dec. 4. Angelo Elia, the king of South Florida’s Italian cuisine including D’Angelo Trattoria in Delray and Casa D’Angelo in Boca, cooked a meal at the James Beard House. His six-course, country-inspired Italian Christmas featured elk tartar with white alba truffle shavings, pheasant and faro soup, and baby octopus in a San Marzano tomato sauce with appropriate wines, including Jankara, a vermentino from his own winery in Sardinia. 

 The menu was developed specifically for the Beard dinner, but occasionally he offers risotto carnaroli with taleggio and seasonal alba white truffle shavings as an “off-menu” special, possibly even at his newest restaurant, expected to open this spring at Addison Place in Delray on Jog Road. 

                                     ***

Bam! No sooner had Angelo returned to warmer climes than another hot chef hit town. Emeril Lagasse was on a taping mission for his new Cooking Channel series Emeril’s Florida, which will feature a healthy number of Palm Beach County restaurants. 

“I think he enjoyed himself,” said Mark DeAtley, general manager at 50 Ocean and Boston’s on the Beach in Delray. 50 Ocean will be featured Feb. 17. The March 10 show will include 32 East in Delray, Buccan in Palm Beach, Swank Farms in Loxahatchee, Quantum House in West Palm Beach and Guanabanas in Jupiter, and the March 17 show, “Big Night Out,” stops at The Breakers’ new HMF bar.

                                     ***

She’s not the little girl we once knew. In 2001, Boca’s Morgan Pressel created quite a stir when she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open as a 12-year-old. On Jan. 19, Pressel, now 24, took another giant step at The Breakers when she married longtime boyfriend Andy Bush, a golf tournament manager for Octagon, a sports marketing firm. Bush, from Michigan, previously worked for Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear International.

                                     ***

When the Super Bowl is over, I can’t help but wonder how one football player, known for his passion and intensity on the field and the sidelines, will adjust to retirement in Highland Beach.

Yes, Highland Beach. For those who don’t know, Ray Lewis, the heart and soul of the Baltimore Ravens and former University of Miami All-America, owns an oceanfront house in the little beach town. 

He bought the 6,788-square-foot estate with six balconied bedrooms in 2004 for $5.2 million but got no takers when he put it up for sale in 2010 for just under $11 million. Lewis is retiring after 17 years in the NFL, all with Baltimore, because he wants to watch his son play football at UM.

Ray Lewis III is a running back — weighs less than 190 pounds — but at Lake Mary Prep in Central Florida, he gained more than 9,000 yards and scored 89 touchdowns.

Incidentally, other celebs who lived in Highland Beach include Mariah Carey, Oprah Winfrey and race driver Jeff Gordon. 

                                     ***

No matter who lives there, Highland Beach will never be hot. But the celebrity temperature in Delray and Boca keeps rising. Holiday action offered a little bit for everyone — glamour, celebrity, comedy.

Just after Christmas, Atlantic Avenue was abuzz because “that woman” was in town. That woman being TV bombshell Sofia Vergara of Modern Family, who was enjoying a break from the show with her main squeeze, Delray’s own Nick Loeb. Among other delights, they lunched at Burger Fi and stopped for dinner at Buddah Sky Bar.

                                     ***

Down in Boca, Adam Sandler, no stranger to the area, dined at Max’s Grille. Rock ’n’ roll daughter turned fashion designer Stella McCartney helped raise $40,000 for Florence Fuller Child Development Center at an invite-only cocktail party to kick off her new boutique at Saks Fifth Avenue at Town Center. Don’t know if she has Paul’s voice, but she definitely has his eyes.

                                     ***

It’s not just police departments that have had to adjust to the demise of the Crown Victoria, Ford’s largest sedan, which went out of production in 2011. Taxicab companies, which have used the Crown Vics as a mainstay of their fleet for decades, are also scrambling to find suitable replacements and in Palm Beach County, one cab company is exchanging the gas-guzzling Ford for a fuel-efficient hybrid. 

Last month, Delray Beach-based Metro Taxi of Palm Beach County added a Toyota Prius to its fleet, a move that the owners say makes Metro the first cab company in the county to use a hybrid taxi. Soon Metro Taxi’s fleet of about 30 cabs could include more hybrids, says Arielle Richardson, whose father, Brock Rosayn, founded the company about 25 years ago.

“We’re already on the hunt for a second one,” she said. 

Across the country, a growing number of taxi companies are switching to hybrids as they replace the Crown Victoria, in large part due to the fuel-cost savings. Richardson says that the fuel savings, along with the reduced environmental impact, help offset that initial higher cost. 

Check ’em out:

Neil Simon’s Chapter Two continues through Feb. 10 as the ambitious Plaza Theatre continues its second season at Plaza Del Mar in Manalapan, followed by a series of revues:  Jodie Langel offers up A Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber on the 11th and 18th; Melissa Jacobson performs her second Tribute to Judy Garland on Feb. 25; and on March 4 and 11, veteran area performer Missy McArdle presents If They Could See Me Now: A Broad’s Way With Broadway!

West of the Intracoastal and a little farther south, enter Stage Left, the newest theatrical enterprise in, of all places, Boynton Beach. The newest baby of Peter Pagliaro, who ran the Royal Playhouse in Royal Palm Beach, will debut Feb. 8 at the Boynton Beach Madsen Center at 145SE Second Ave. Such a deal … for the 18-month lease, Pagliaro puts up $1 a month for rent, pays utilities and makes interior improvements and will stage at least five productions and conduct after-school workshops and a summer program for kids. First up, another Simon comedy, I Ought To Be in Pictures, (www.stagelefttheatre.net). 

Michael Cavanaugh, who was Billy Joel’s pick for the role on Broadway, brings Movin’ Out to the Crest Theatre at what used to be Old School Square before it was renamed Delray Beach Center for the Arts to attract patrons who weren’t so hip to the old “square” name. Cavanaugh’s in town from Feb. 15-17. Versatile Sam Harris, who in 1983  won the first Star Search, the granddaddy of American Idol, opens the month with shows Feb. 4 and 5, and Broadway star Elaine Paige, often called “The First Lady of Musical Theater,” drops in March 4 and 5. 

Half a block away, Lou Tyrrell’s Theatre at Arts Garage is “going to blow up,” predicts playwright Israel Horovitz, whose Gloucester Blue will wrap its world premiere on Feb. 17. Horovitz who spent much of January watching his new work take shape, sees the garage as a “very, very cool space … It’s going to be a very important thing.”

At one time, Caldwell Theatre Company was an imposing institution with a strong patron base, strong productions and a beautiful facility on Federal Highway at the north end of Boca. But something went awry: The fans left, but the debt didn’t and the county’s oldest theater declared bankruptcy. In December, mortgage-holder Legacy Bank bought it at auction for $1,000,100, which was $100 more than Florida Rental Specialists bid. Someday soon it will go up for sale.

Who knows what will replace it, but don’t bet on a theater. Once imposing, it is now dwarfed by the multi-story apartment complex to its immediate south. Parties rumored to be interested include a church, a charter school, a fitness center, a medical facility. R.I.P.   

Next up in Lynn University’s Live at Lynn series is Cirque D’Amour (Feb. 16 and 17), a hybrid of European circuses and burlesque. This season Boca’s grand dame of theater, Jan McArt, the school’s director of theatre arts program development, is taking a different tack by offering acts with multiple performers instead of solo artists

Abbacadabra, the ABBA cover group, performs March 2 and 3 followed by the 25-member Miami All Stars dance troupe of TV’s America’s Got Talent fame April 6 and 7.

Of course, McArt doesn’t just produce. A trouper at heart, she’ll belt out a few numbers in Champagne and Bosom Buddies: A Tribute to Jerry Herman, March 18, another example of Lynn’s full season of theater, classical music and student performances. (http://events.lynn.edu/upcoming-events)

On a bit more cerebral level, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Mark Neely headlines a two-day symposium on Abraham Lincoln at Florida Atlantic University. Neely will deliver the keynote address at the seventh annual Alan B. Larkin Symposium on the American Presidency, Feb. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium. The next day he’ll join international scholars for a series of panel discussions about Lincoln’s presidency and Civil War America.

30th Annual Luncheon & Art Auction: Latitudes Ocean Grill, Highland Beach – Jan. 24

Palm Beach Watercolor Society members Barbara Pickle and Tammy Seymour (l-r) of Boca Raton, view artwork during the Society’s Luncheon & Art Auction.  

Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

20th Annual Caribbean Cowboy Ball for George Snow Scholarship Fun: Red Reef Park, Boca Raton – Jan. 26

Tommy LaSalle, Anna Grudzinska, Chris LaSalle, Jessica Kornahrens, and Kevin Kornahrens.

Linda and Frank Palmer.

Tim and Jeff Snow.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Thom Smith is a freelance writer. Contact him at thomsmith@ymail.com.

Marlene Roberts, relaxing on a boardwalk that leads to
the Intracoastal Waterway, teaches writing workshops at the
Highland Beach Library. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Marlene Roberts reinvents herself every 10 years.

It is, she quips, not only necessary but also invigorating. The Highland Beach resident has gone through many metamorphoses: orphan, modern dancer, high-powered corporate executive with an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University (she graduated at the top of her class) and Florida Atlantic University professor. 

Her ever-changing life has taken her to some exotic locales, including Malaysia, where she lived for 18 months, and Brazil, which she called home for three years. 

The mother of three, who has a master’s degree in English, is just as passionate about her latest incarnation: a writer who teaches writing workshops at the Highland Beach Library. 

The workshops offer tips on writing, marketing and everything in between (another eight-session series begins at 5 p.m. Feb. 12 and costs $250). 

“I truly believe writing is something that changes people’s lives and allows them to leave a legacy,” says Roberts, whose fiction and memoirs have been published in The Gettysburg Review, American Airline’s flight magazine, Hadassah magazine and Lilith.   

“Publishing has filled a significant hole in my heart. I reread the first memoirs I published 25 years ago and they still resonate with me. I was able to pay tribute to the people I loved and who loved me. Also, to a world that no longer exists.”

Roberts, 70, began her writing career at the Jewish Journal while in her early 50s, after happily tossing aside the high-profile corporate world and its rigid rules. Although she’s passionate about her new career, she’s still absorbing the impact of the technological advances.

“The marketing I used in 1980s is out the window, long stories are out … bookstores are out. For the first time, I am allowing a story of mine to be published on the Internet (jewishfiction.com). 

“I am adapting. I have to,” says Roberts, who was raised by her maternal grandparents after her parents died (her father died two days before she was born; her mother died 14 months later.) 

When she’s not writing, she enjoys yoga, reading, taking walks and spending time with her husband, George Banet, who survived the Holocaust in France (they are both dual French/American nationals). 

— Linda Haase

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

A. Belle Harbor, which has just been washed away by Hurricane Sandy. 

It was much like Highland Beach in that it was three blocks wide and had the Atlantic Ocean on one side, Jamaica Bay on the other. Only it was filled with small, one-family homes and everyone knew each other.

Q. What are some highlights of your life?

A. After I divorced, I asked myself, ‘What are the least likely things Marlene Roberts would do?’ So I went white-water rafting in Colorado, rode a horse (petrified all the time) through the Badlands of Utah, trekked across the Serengeti and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (really a schlep, not a climb). 

Q. Why did you choose to live in Highland Beach?

A. I didn’t. I chose George Banet and he came with an apartment in Highland Beach.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Highland Beach?

A. Being able to take a boardwalk path that leads to the Intracoastal. I sit on the dock where I can watch the birds and boats and unexpected wildlife go by.

Q. What’s the most important lesson you teach your students?

A. Samuel Beckett’s quote, ‘Try again, fail again, fail better.’ That they shouldn’t always be judging themselves. They should just write honestly and from the heart. Another lesson is that a person has to be willing to be bad, if they want to be good. If you have a good tennis serve and want a better serve, during the transition, things will go downhill for a while. 

Q. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from your writing students?

A. FAU hired a group of journalists for a new freelance writing program. We all could write, but some, like me, couldn’t teach. It’s a different skill. When I taught at FAU’s Continuing Ed, with adults who wanted to learn and not get a grade, I had great success. Each term, several got jobs on local newspapers and others published. I discovered what I do best is motivate people to learn. For beginners I use techniques that are fun and not threatening to get them started. For writers further along I recommend books or articles to read and then discuss. 

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

A. None. I live in silence. Thanksgiving, when I visited my granddaughters in Chicago, I did bring a DVD of The Funk Brothers, Motown’s backup band. They played on more records that sold over a million copies than Elvis, the Stones and the Beatles combined [according to a documentary about these legendary session musicians]. I taught my granddaughters the arm movements the women made and to sing backup. We got quite good on Heat Wave.

Q. What do people not know about you as a writer that you wish they did?

A. Three things I can think of: 1. If I can publish, probably any motivated person can. I was really bad when I started. 2. English isn’t my first language. 3. I got an MBA to become a high-powered corporate executive and in my early 50s threw it away to become a cub reporter.

Q. Are your writing classes always the same?

A. This year I’ve changed the time format of the Writers Workshop so more people can attend. The first session began in January. Another session starts at 5 p.m. Feb. 12. You can take the eight session series or you can sit in on individual classes.

Q. Who were your role models?

A. My maternal grandfather, who raised me. He was a union organizer, writer, a political figure and a staunch socialist. He taught me morality and duty and accepted me for who I was, even when I acted like an American capitalist.

My brother Richard was my other role model. He was incredibly self-sufficient. At a young age he chose what he wanted to achieve and went on to achieve it. He showed me that everyone doesn’t have to go the same way.

Although inside we were very much alike, our actions manifested themselves quite differently. 

Like we were both in Kenya/Tanzania at the same time. I hiked and slept in a tent, Richard stayed at Treetops and traveled in a jeep that carried martinis. Richard lived on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park. I lived in a loft on 29th Street in a renovated factory. Ú

March 22-24: Recognized as one of Florida’s most prestigious food and wine weekends, Boca Bacchanal will give guests three days to sip, savor and bid during an array of world-class events. The event benefits Boca Raton Historical Society. Times vary. Cost is $75-$275. Call 702-7471 or visit www.bocabacchanal.com. 

Photo: (front, from left) James Ballerano, Robin Deyo, Chairs Thom and Joyce DeVita, George Petrocelli, Elizabeth Kelley Grace, Brandon McLeod, Carey McKearnan, Betsy Fletcher and Kelli-Ann McLeod, (back, from left) Roxana Garciga, Bob Campbell, Mary Csar, Honorary Chairs Steve and Stephanie Miskew and Steve Owens. Photo provided

Feb. 7-8: Learn about the findings of scientists and physicians from the world’s largest vision-research center -- Schepens Eye Research Institute | Massachusetts Eye and Ear -- at a pair of informative public-service events. Time is 10 am-noon both days. Cost is free. Call 866-946-6824 or visit www.masseyeandear.org. Photo: Dusty Aronsohn (left), chairwoman of the Boca Raton symposium, with Annabelle Fishman. Photo provided

 FEBRUARY 2

Saturday - 2/2 - Bal des Arts at Norton Museum, 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach. Meet at the museum for a pre-event gathering, be transported to Palm Beach to view extraordinary artwork in a private home, and return to the museum for dinner and dancing. 5:30 pm. $1,000. 832-5196, Ext. 1118, or www.norton.org/baldesarts2013.

2/2 - Building Hope Gala at The Polo Club of Boca Raton, 5400 Champion Blvd. Join in the effort to raise money for residents of third-world countries and their safe and secure shelter during an extravagant night of dining, dancing and live-auction bidding. 6:30 pm. $250. (888) 404-4248 or www.foodforthepoor.org/boca.

2/2 - One Hot Night on Palm Beach: Gem of an Evening Gala at The Ritz-Carlton,100 S. Ocean Blvd. , Manalapan. Turn up the heat to benefit Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 6:30 pm. $250. 686-7701 or www.jdrf.org

2/2 - HaNadiv Gala at Woodfield Country Club, 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton. Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center during the “Diamonds & Pearls” extravaganza. 7 pm. $250. 852-3253 or www.levisjcc.org.

FEBRUARY 3-9

Wednesday - 2/6 - Bacchus Beckons at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Savor a festive wine tasting to kick off the 11^th annual Boca Bacchanal with a sweets reception, accompanied by wines of featured vintners, to benefit Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum. 6-8 pm. $50. 395-6766, Ext. 101, or www.bocabacchanal.com.

Thursday - 2/7 - Flavors of Boca: A Culinary Journey at The Shops of Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton. Delight in the decadence of all things indulgent, including chocolate, fine wine, sparkling jewelry and other temptations, to benefit Junior League of Boca Raton. 5:30-9:30 pm. $40-$75. 870-9083 or www.jlbr.org.

Friday - 2/8 - Lynn Travis Stender Art Scholarship’s “Venetian Masquerade” at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Take a painting class and enjoy the art creations during lunch while Women in the Visual Arts presents scholarships. 10:30 am-2 pm. $125. 362-6335 or www.witva.org.

2/8 - International Red Cross Ball at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach.  Black-tie ball furthers the mission of the local American Red Cross, which provides wide-ranging help for disaster victims. 7 pm. $1,000 and up. 650-9105 or www.pbtcredcross.org.

Saturday - 2/9 - Allianz Championship’s “Grapes on the Green Golf & Wine Experience” at Broken Sound Club, 2401 Willow Springs Blvd., Boca Raton. Guests need not wait until the 19^th hole to sample reds and whites from the private wine collections of tournament golf professionals, all to benefit Boca Raton Regional Hospital. 4-7 pm. $85. 241-4653 or www.allianzchampionship.com.

2/9 - Cleveland Clinic Florida’s “Dare To Dazzle” at The Mar-a-Lago Club, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. Don black-tie apparel for an event that will raise money for the nonprofit medical center in West Palm Beach and Weston. 7 pm. $1,250. 804-0264 or www.clevelandclinicflorida.org/palmbeachball.

2/9 - Lake Worth Playhouse’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Join guest of honor Burt Reynolds for an evening of cocktails, dinner, dancing and silent-auction bidding, with the theme “Decades.” 7 pm. $150. 586-6410 or www.lakeworthplayhouse.org.

FEBRUARY 10-16

Sunday - 2/10 - Caritas Dei Bishop’s Gala at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Help support Catholic Charities’ programs and ministries by attending an elegant black-tie event. 6:30 pm. $450. 630-2695 or www.diocesepb.org.

Tuesday - 2/12 - Heart of a Woman Luncheon at Broken Sound Club, 2401 Willow Springs Drive, Boca Raton. Come out for a moving speech by Elizabeth Smart, the survivor of one of the most-followed child abduction cases of modern times, in support of Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. 11 am. $100. 265-3797 or www.avdaonline.org.

Wednesday - 2/13 - Disco & Diamonds at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. 7:30 pm. Boogie with the Miami City Ballet and dress up in your best cocktail couture or disco chic. $600. 674-9978 or  www.miamicityballet.org. 

Thursday - 2/14 - 58th Annual Palm Beach Heart Ball at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Bring your valentine to honor the Lawrence J. & Florence A. De George Charitable Trust. 6:30 pm. $750. 697-6607 or www.heart.org.

Friday - 2/15 - An Evening of Art, Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. Support this underwriting event for Boca Ballet Theatre and its upcoming performance of Romeo & Juliet. 6:30-8:30 pm. $50. 995-0709 or www.bocaballet.org.

FEBRUARY 17-23

Friday -2/22 - Breath of Life Luncheon: Adventures in Wonderland at The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach. Partake in a gourmet lunch, watch an informal fashion show, listen to music and bid in the auction to benefit American Lung Association. 11:30 am. $250. 932-0886 or www.lungfla.org.

2/22 - Seventh Annual DIAMOND Award Luncheon at Woodfield Country Club, 3650 Club Place, Boca Raton. Honor Jacqueline Reeves at the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce event. Noon-1:30 pm. $50. 395-4433, Ext. 235, or www.bocaratonchamber.com/diamond. 

 2/22 - The Fountain of Youth! at The Beach Club, 755 N. County Road, Palm Beach. Come out for an evening of dining, drinking, dancing and debauchery to benefit Young Friends of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. 7 pm. $250. 832-4164, Ext. 106, or www.historicalsocietypbc.org.

Saturday - 2/23 - Cunningham Bar’s William Holland Scholarship Luncheon at Ritz-Carlton, 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Listen to keynote speaker, Washington insider and attorney Judy Smith and help fund scholarships for third-year law students. Noon. $100. 655-9279 or www.cunninghambar.org. 

FEBRUARY 24-28

Sunday - 2/24 - Oscar Experience Palm Beach at Parisian 20 at CityPlace, 700 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach. Celebrate the 85th Academy Awards and feel like you are at the Oscars in an opulent venue with plush seating and the company of an audience that loves the movies -- all for the benefit of the Palm Beach International Film Festival. 7:30 pm. $35-$65. 362-0003 or www.pbfilmfestival.org.

Monday - 2/25 - Symphony Gala Dinner Dance at Flagler Museum, 1 Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. Partake in a memorable evening of cocktails, dinner, dancing and live music in one of the most famous homes in the county. 7 pm. $500. 833-3044 or palmbeachsymphony.org.

MARCH

Saturday - 3/2 - Bethesda Ball: A Royal Celebration at The Breakers, 1 South County Road, Palm Beach. Jam to the music of “Almost Elton John and The Rocket Band” and enter a contest for a trip to London while raising money for Bethesda Hospital Foundation. 6:30 pm. $375. 737-7733, Ext. 84445, or www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org.

3/2 - Boca Raton Heart & Stroke Ball at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, 2425 Maya Palm Drive West, Boca Raton. Celebrate 31 years of time-honored tradition and excellence at the “Heart and Soul” benefit for American Heart Association. 6:30-midnight. $325. 697-6612 or www.bocaratonheartball.org.

Friday - 3/8 - Love of Literacy Luncheon at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Listen to a presentation by author Ann Patchett to generate proceeds for programs at the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. 11:30 am. $125. 921-4663 or www.literacypbc.org.

Monday - 3/11 - Book of Hope Luncheon at Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real. Take the opportunity to learn more about the work Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America is doing while helping support its programs and services. 10:30 am. $125. 218-2929 or visit www.ccfa.org.

Wednesday - 3/13 - Circle of Hope Gala at Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club, 12005 Dunes Road, Boynton Beach. Support Women’s Circle, an organization that offers free classes to low-income women in job development, literacy, computers and more. 6:30 pm. $100. 244-7627 or www.womenscircle.org.

Wednesday - 3/20 - 15th Annual Honor Your Doctor Luncheon at Broken Sound Club, 2401 Willow Springs Blvd., Boca Raton. Join forces with the Boca Raton Woman’s Club and Rotary Club Downtown Boca to honor doctors in the South Florida community. 7-10 pm. $75. 299-1429 or www.rotarydowntownbocaraton.org.

Thursday - 3/21 - American Red Cross “Honoring the Hero in All of Us” at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, 225 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. Enjoy an evening of fun and food, featuring world-class cuisine, to benefit the Palm Beaches-Treasure Coast Region chapter. 7-10 pm. $150. 650-9105 or www.pbtcredcross.org.

Saturday - 3/23 - Delray Beach Home Tour in coastal Delray Beach. Enjoy a day of touring beach homes along Ocean Boulevard, with trolley service, lunch and an extensive raffle that includes travel packages, fine jewelry, spa services and more. 10 am-4 pm. $100. 266-0003, Ext. 13, or delrayhometour.com.

To submit your event, contact Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

By Jane Smith

BOCA RATON — Mary Devlin “Devey” Abbott, a generous and caring woman, passed away on Jan. 5 surrounded by her family. She was 89 and died from natural causes.

Originally from Trenton, N.J., Mrs. Abbott lived in and loved Boca Raton for more than 40 years. In 1971, she married J. Alan Abbott, a recently retired president of Homelite Corp. He had a home in Boca Raton and one in Stamford, Conn.

The Abbotts entertained often and were active in several local charities, including support of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital. They were longtime members of the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club and of the Delray Beach Club. 

Mrs. Abbott also served as volunteer services director for the Children’s Science Explorium at Sugar Sand Park in 1993 and was a member of the Boca Raton Beautification Committee that planted a native garden in 1991 at the Children’s Museum. Through the years, she maintained her New Jersey ties. She was a member of the Trenton Country Club, where she enjoyed friends and family during summer and holiday visits with her son and granddaughters. She also was a member of the Nassau Club.  

In 1943, she became the wartime bride of George Simko, who served in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific. After the war, they had one son, but the marriage ended in divorce. 

In 1960, she married Clarence “Chafe” Chafey, a retired New York banker. During the 1960s, Mrs. Abbott reconnected with a childhood friend, Betty Hughes, wife of N.J. Gov. Richard Hughes. 

Mrs. Abbott was a campaign volunteer, then social secretary to Betty Hughes. For eight years, she managed the daily social and family affairs in the governor’s residence, then at Morven in Princeton, N.J. 

She kept a close eye on the eight Murphy and Hughes children then living at Morven. She loved each one as her own and remained close to the children for the rest of her life. 

After the Morven years, she returned to being a wife and mother until March 1970, when her second husband died.

Mrs. Abbott was a daughter of Peter James and Margaret Duffy Devlin. She was a mother-in-law to the late Elaine Simko. She is survived by her son, Michael Simko, and three granddaughters — Kate, Caroline and Julia — and several nieces and nephews.

Her funeral Mass was held in Trenton. Burial in a Trenton cemetery will be private and at the convenience of the family.      Donations in her memory may be made to: Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation, 745 Meadows Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486, or St. Francis Medical Center Foundation, 601 Hamilton Ave., Trenton, NJ 08629.

Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum volunteer Jo Ann Messuri
leads the The Boca Express Train Museum tours on the first and third Fridays of the 

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

“Welcome to the Boca Express Train Museum,” says stationmaster Carolyn Kammerer. 

You’ll find her behind the ticket window at the renovated Boca Raton FEC Railway Depot on Dixie Highway. She’s ready to hand you a ticket back to the mid-20th century, when train travel was chic and cutting edge. 

“We want history to be a living experience,” says education director Laurie-Lynne Jones of the Boca Raton Historical Society. “Instead of offering just a tour of an old train and station, we want our guests to actually experience what it must have been like to be a passenger in the 1930s and ’40s.” So she’s worked with six volunteers to study the train’s history and bring it alive by portraying characters onboard.

Station agent Sally Monbleau, dressed in black slacks and vest with crisp white shirt, welcomes travelers to the depot’s waiting room with its hand-painted pecky cypress beams and original tiles.

When it’s time to “depart,” conductor Jo Ann Messuri blows her wooden whistle and urges you “Aboard.” Then, with gold pocket watch in hand, she ushers you onto the Silver Meteor that’s running on time between New York and Miami. 

 The 1947 streamline rail car harkens back to another era. 

It’s time to climb the stairs to enter the first of four sleek Streamliner cars. The Bud Co., using what were then the new techniques of bending and welding stainless steel, built them all.

In the dining car, take a seat at the table set with white linens, china and sparkling silver, as one of the cooks you’ve caught doing some cleaning chats about eating onboard. 

It’s Vanessa Carosella, wearing a white chef’s jacket, who welcomes you into her cramped stainless steel galley. You can imagine how hot this space must have been when the coal grill and wood stoves were turning out cooked-to-order steak dinners for $4.75 each. And instead of just telling visitors that guava jelly was served to passengers after their train crossed into Florida, Carosella lets you actually taste a bit of it dabbed onto a mini corn muffin.

In the lounge car, you can sit on a curved banquette and enjoy a shot glass of lemony sweet Bubble Up or Sioux City Sarsaparilla. Both drinks were available when this train was at its prime, says bartender Dotty McCord from behind a bar carved with tropical birds. Oh, and don’t tip the bartender. It’s not expected, she tells us.

Move along to an orange upholstered seat in the observation car. Here you can virtually hear the click clack of the wheels as you imagine the train speeding along at over 100 miles per hour. Just be sure to ask lounge hostess Caroline Nepa why the window in her private area is the only one on the train that opens.

 That’s just one of the bits of history and surprises you’ll experience during your tour.

And that’s what makes this train museum so much fun.

“It’s a real chance to learn about all the old cars, to experience the past and see how things really used to be,” says Donna Estess, a tour participant from Boca Raton. “I’m old-fashioned and I       love it.”                                    Ú

By Thomas R. Collins

Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach have dropped the idea of rolling their police dispatch operations into one after a consultant’s report recommended having higher staffing levels at a joint center than the departments have now on their own.

Plus, Boca Raton police officials said, it seemed that the departments were not on the same page on upgrading their existing communications systems, which would have been critical in making a joint center work, especially in terms of cost.

The consultant’s report, which cost $18,000 per city, was the suggestion of the Boca department, which intends to upgrade its communications system in the next two to three years. 

The hope was that it would make financial sense, while providing better service, for the departments to join together to handle police and fire calls.

“The numbers really didn’t bear that out, although in the long run I think they might have,” said Jim Burke, Boca Raton police’s director of support services.

He said he thought that if all three departments upgraded their communications systems at the same time, with new features like the ability to send text messages to 911 operators, the project would have made more financial sense. All of the departments use similar systems now, he said. 

“It all is timing, but there is a life end to a radio system,” he said. “Boynton and Delray at this point, they’re not looking to consolidate.”

Boynton Police Chief Matt Immler left open the possibility of pursuing joint dispatch later.

“The start-up costs for us make it impractical at this point, although the concept of a regional dispatch center is a good one,” he said.

The report, by RCC Consultants, didn’t evaluate how much would be saved if all departments upgraded their communications together, as part of a joint center, compared to upgrading separately.

In northern Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Juno Beach use a joint dispatch center, but just for police calls.

The report analyzed the number and timing of calls to each city and recommended adding more than a dozen telecommunications operators, which would cost about $700,000 to $800,000 more a year, depending on whether two or three shifts were used in a joint center.

Burke said the suggestion for higher staffing was not an indication that existing staffing levels are too low, saying the report was only an evaluation of a joint center, not an evaluation of the separate centers as they exist now.

“They didn’t look at our current staffing levels,” he said.

The report also estimated that it would cost $3.3 million to renovate space for a joint center.

Despite the costs, the report said a joint center would come with advantages.

It would give “improved public safety dispatch services provided to the citizens. Telecommunications are similarly trained to provide consistent service to the public and public safety response unit personnel,” consultants wrote.

It would also eliminate having to transfer calls to other departments and improve multi-agency responses to emergencies requiring them, they said.

Burke said the consultant’s report was a worthwhile effort.

“It was in all the cities’ best interest to check into whether we could deliver this service more efficiently,” he said. “It just made more sense for everybody involved to see if this was a possibility.”          

Christmas 2013 in South Palm Beach, Lake Worth and Manalapan may feature a trip across the new $32 million Lantana bridge. The wider, 11-foot-higher bridge is on schedule to be completed by Dec. 1, according to Palm Beach County project engineer Kristine Fazell-Smith. The Lantana Town Council extended work hours to 11 p.m., and GLF Construction is finishing pile driving on the west side and pouring the floor of the bridge on the west side. Next is pouring the eastern seawall and continuing work on drainage on the east side.

Tim Stepien, Tim O’Meilia/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Once home to a supermarket tabloid and the world’s largest Christmas tree, 600 E. Coast Ave. will be the site of Lantana’s first high school.

Palm Beach Maritime Academy Charter School got the green light on the proposal, which required a special exception use in the commercial district, during the Jan. 14 Lantana Town Council meeting. 

Another charter school, Chancellor (K-8), had occupied the property previously, but moved to Boynton Beach three years ago.

The Maritime Academy, an A-rated school, moved its K-8 grade school to 1518 W. Lantana Road at the intersection of I-95 in August and wants to add a high school at the former site of The National Enquirer on East Coast Avenue. The high school, set to open in fall with enrollment limited to 600 students (Chancellor had 800 students), would include grades 6-9 to start, then add grades 7-10 the following year, 8-11 in fall 2015, and 9-12 in 2016.

The high school will include ball fields and green space at the southern end of the property, a basketball court,  and 213 parking spaces for staff and students. 

The council chambers were packed to capacity with staff and students who spoke on behalf of the proposal, as well as many neighbors to the property who expressed worries about traffic problems and vandalism they said occurred when Chancellor occupied the site.

Maritime Academy officials tried to allay those fears by vowing to work with both the town and neighbors to keep the peace.

In granting the special exception request, the council attached 20 conditions, ranging from providing crossing guards to prohibiting school buses from encroaching upon the required vehicular parking spaces.

The property owner has to pay the town the equivalent of what would be the town’s ad valorem taxes on the property, about $5,700 a year, as a condition of the council’s approval. The site is in the process of being purchased by Beacon Acquisitions of Hallandale.

Lantana will proceed with plans to hire engineers to address drainage problems at the beach.

The move, OK’d by the Town Council on Jan. 28, is a first step at implementing the town’s beach complex master plan, which was approved almost six years ago. The work was delayed until the town found funds to cover the costs. Money to cover engineering services was set aside in the 2013 budget.

Besides drainage problems, the engineering work will address paving the parking lot and adding parking meters/kiosks. 

 – Mary Thurwachter

By Betty Wells

The agency that oversees redevelopment efforts for nearly 2,000 acres in Delray Beach is comparing the 1985 value of all that land with the current value of the property — the first step in a process that could ultimately mean more money for operating the city and less money for the agency.

City Commissioner Angeleta Gray asked at a commission meeting in November that the city research cutting the size of the Community Redevelopment Agency district. Money that now goes to the CRA could then be redirected to the city. Gray said at the meeting that the city needs the money, and that there are a number of areas in the CRA that are not slum or blighted.

The CRA was established by the city in 1985 to improve infrastructure and get rid of blight. Its boundaries generally include the central business district, adjacent neighborhoods east of I-95 between Lake Ida Road and Southwest 10th Street, and much of the area north of downtown between Swinton Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway to Boynton Beach.

The city manager’s office directed staff to research cutting from the district the property that lies east of the Intracoastal.

The CRA’s funding formula is based on the difference in property value from 1985, when the agency was formed, and its current value.

So the CRA must determine what the value of district property was in 1985, parcel by parcel or acre-by-acre, said Diane Colonna, CRA executive director.

“We know what the numbers are for the overall district, but not by specific areas,” Colonna said. Current value of the district property is about $1.2 billion, she said, down from a high of about $1.6 billion in 2007. 

Not just cutting the size, but abolishing the CRA is an ongoing debate, said CRA Marketing and Grants Manager Elizabeth Burrows, who serves as spokeswoman for the agency. “It’s an ongoing process to educate people what we do.”

Colonna said on Jan. 24 that the CRA had been asking the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office for the valuation numbers for two months, and finally was told the agency could look up the values by going through documents on microfiche.

Carol Wright, a spokeswoman for the appraiser’s office, said the office didn’t have staff to do the research for the CRA. “You’re talking about old records, and who knows how long it will take to look all that up.”

CRA Development Manager Vince Wooten was scheduled to begin the research at the appraiser’s office on Jan. 25, Colonna said. 

“Hopefully there will be an answer in the next couple of weeks,” Colonna said.             

Outgoing Mayor Woodie McDuffie is surrounded by commissioners and
staff during his final Delray Beach City Commission meeting.

Mary Kate Leming/The Coastal Star

By Margie Plunkett

Delray Beach opened the year with a new mayor, commissioner and city manager — but there’s still room for change with March elections ahead of the city manager’s start date.

Louie Chapman Jr., city manager of Bloomfield, Conn., will step into the shoes of retired 22-year city manager David Harden on April 1. His contract was approved in a 3-2 vote amid a host of controversial questions on his past surfaced by the public.

“I believe Mr. Chapman is the cream of the crop,” said Commissioner Angeleta Gray as she prepared to vote in favor of the candidate at the Jan. 15 meeting.

The commission that voted Chapman in was led by Mayor Tom Carney, sworn into the office in January to fill the seat vacated by former Mayor Woodie McDuffie. 

Carney gave his yes vote to Chapman, noting that the commission doesn’t “allow unsubstantiated rumor to drive a decision.” Commissioner Al Jacquet was the third affirmative vote.

Commissioners Adam Frankel and Christina Morrison, who was appointed to fill Carney’s vacated seat, voted against approving Chapman’s contract. Both, however, said if Chapman won the vote they would fully support him in the role as city manager. 

Frankel said the search for city manager should have been more expansive and Chapman “wasn’t my first choice.” Morrison called the search flawed, asked the city to delay its decision for three to six months, and praised the work of inside candidate interim City Manager Doug Smith and his colleagues.

Chapman will receive an annual salary of $160,000, with a $400 monthly car allowance and $1,500 for temporary living expenses for up to the first six months in the job.

Chapman became the top candidate for the position late last year after a competition that included Smith, who was Harden’s choice for the position. 

Chapman, who has 19 years of experience with Bloomfield (population, 20,500), a smaller city than Delray Beach (population 60,500), drew the initial support of Gray, Jacquet and Carney for his experience and “fresh eyes.” Then-Mayor McDuffie and Frankel were not in support.

In addition to his experience in Bloomfield, Chapman was assistant city manager in Charlottesville, Va. He has a master’s degree in planning from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s in social science from Norfolk State University.

Even as commissioners initially voted to pursue a contract with Chapman, issues began to emerge, ultimately including claims of domestic violence; that he used a city truck to move his girlfriend into his home; dated an employee of the police department that he oversaw; and was named as a defendant in lawsuits against the city.

The growing number of issues led commissioners to question the vendor they believed was vetting the candidates as well as Chapman. A representative of the search firm was brought in for a workshop meeting to discuss the issues and the search. Chapman also attended the meeting on his own initiative and expense to answer commissioners’ questions.

“I’ve lived my life as a public official and I’m very meticulous about the way I conduct my affairs,” he said, as he responded to the range of commission questions.

On the issue of dating the employee, he said that Bloomfield has no policy that would have prohibited the relationship, adding, “You have to take your love where you find it.” 

At the same meeting, Ron Holifield, president and CEO of Strategic Government Resources Inc., said his firm was only contracted to conduct a partial search for Delray Beach, which was a rare request for a city seeking to fill the city manager position. The partial search did not encompass all the tasks or as wide a sweep for potential candidates as a full search does, he said.

“We have taken every allegation very seriously and have tried to document the credibility. We have not been able to document any of the allegations as being reliable,” Holifield said.

On Jan. 3, Carney and Morrison were sworn into respective mayor and commission seats that expire March 28 and represent two of three Delray Beach seats open at the March 12 election.

Carney is running for mayor and Commissioner Frankel is defending his incumbency.  

Morrison is a licensed real estate broker and former chair of the city’s Financial Review Board.

Former Mayor McDuffie was required to give up his seat early because he ran for the seat of Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, a bid that was unsuccessful.  He was not eligible to run for Delray Beach Commission again because he has served the maximum term allowed.