Eric Zeitlin runs down his Boca Raton street with (from left) neighbor
Carmen Araujo, 8, and Zeitlin’s daughters Zoe, 10, and Avery, 8. 
Zeitlin is co-founder of the fundraising event Take Stock In Children
Strides for Education 5K Walk/Run, scheduled for Dec. 8 at Florida Atlantic University.   

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Linda Haase

Eric Zeitlin’s December calendar is jam-packed with events. But for this coastal Boca Raton resident, the month signals a very significant occasion: the Take Stock In Children’s Strides for Education 5K Walk/Run, which raises money for college scholarships for low-income Palm Beach County students.

Zeitlin hopes that the event, scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 8 at Florida Atlantic University, will raise $200,000 (last year’s inaugural race brought in about $90,000).

“Take Stock in Children is breaking the cycle of poverty and decreasing the number of high school dropouts,” explains the 42-year-old father of three, who co-founded the event and is chairman of the board of directors of the Palm Beach County chapter of Take Stock In Children.

The statewide nonprofit organization was established in 1995 to “give deserving low-income youth/students, many from minority families, an opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty through education.” The assistance begins in middle school and includes mentoring, tutoring, career guidance and — if the student maintains at least a 2.5 GPA and remains drug-free and crime-free — a Florida prepaid college scholarship.

The success stories, says Zeitlin, managing director of Provenance Wealth Advisors, are so inspiring that they “tear your heart out.”

“This opportunity offers hope and a future for these kids and gives them a chance to be productive in the community and help ensure the economic success of our state,” says the University of Florida graduate, who has been volunteering for the group for seven years.

There are 300 students in the program in Palm Beach County. Zeitlin, a Saint Andrew’s School alum, says there’s always a need for more volunteers to become mentors as well as for donations toward scholarships.

“One of the challenges for us is that the cost of scholarships has risen. And there are far more kids than we can provide for,” explains Zeitlin, who also volunteers as a coach for Boca Hoops and enjoys working out, golfing and spending time with his family.

“We also need mentors, people who can be a friend to these kids, to provide advice, to make sure they do their homework and not give in to peer pressure. And be someone they can talk to that can give them guidance.”

As for Zeitlin’s impact? “Each day that passes and each dollar he raises change so many children’s lives for futures to come,” says his wife, Melissa. “He finds time to make a difference in so many lives.” Ú

For more information on the Take Stock In Children’s Strides for Education 5K Walk/Run, visit www.StridesforEducation.com.

By Angie Francalancia

Neighbors fighting a proposed downtown apartment complex won what looks to be only round one of a court fight over the Archstone development, as representatives of the city and the project position themselves for an appeal. 

But even if the city didn’t challenge the ruling handed down in late October by the 15th Circuit Court that would require a referendum, voters might not get the outcome they expect, because it’s not a referendum on the project, Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel said.

The city was awaiting word on its request for a rehearing from the judge - a request which is separate from that of the developer. At press time, the request still was pending. A status conference was scheduled for Dec. 11th.

The city can’t determine whether to appeal before a decision on the request for a rehearing.

Late last month, the city and the developer were discussing an appeal.

“I believe that both the city and the developer will appeal,” said attorney Charles Siemon, who represents Archstone. “I think the court erred when it held that the city’s provision was subject to a referendum. I think she read it wrong.” 

Archstone is a mixed-use project of 378 apartments, including 25 town homes, and 13,500 square feet of retail planned for about 6 acres on East Palmetto Park, east of Northeast Third Avenue. It is one of several apartment projects Boca Raton has approved within the past year for the downtown area. Neighbors have fought the approval of Archstone, though, alleging that it’s the only one adjacent to a single-family neighborhood and that its small units would be marketed as workforce housing. 

“The center of downtown Boca near the Intracoastal Bridge is not an area for the workforce community,” said Andrea O’Rourke, who opposes the project. She and others have formed a political action committee called BocaWatchPAC to fight Archstone. 

About 200 supporters gathered early last month for a barbecue at Ellenville Garden Center, where the group’s website, saveboca.com, was unveiled. 

Welchel said she believes the group is opposed to any development on the site and is misrepresenting what residents would win with a referendum.

“It’s not a thumbs up or thumbs down on Archstone,” she said. “It will be a referendum on the ability for Archstone to design under the interim guidelines,” for downtown, she said.

Those guidelines were the result of several years’ work with Urban Design Associates to help redevelop Boca Raton’s downtown. They would allow Archstone to build with less set-back from the street, but also require that the development be less boxy.

Earlier this year, the city voted to allow Archstone to use the guidelines — although not fully adopted — to develop the project. It’s that vote that the residents are challenging. 

If the issues goes to referendum, and voters reject allowing Archstone to use the interim guidelines to develop, “they would need to set the building back five more feet,” Welchel said, “and they can’t put the balconies on because they’d jut into the setback.”

         Ú

By Margie Plunkett

Boca Raton’s beaches may be going to the dogs.

Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie asked city staff to look into piloting a dog beach, where pet owners can take their pooches for sun and fun.

“It’s another step toward making us more dog friendly,” Haynie said at the Nov. 14 council meeting.

The request came about after Haynie spent time with the Riviera Dog Walkers Club and their leader asked if Boca Raton could follow Fort Lauderdale in designating a beach. “They all seem very enthusiastic about it,” said the council member.

In Fort Lauderdale, an area is specified as a dog beach for a limited time. “You have to buy an additional permit to utilize it, which provides [resources] to patrol it and clean up after it,” Haynie said.

 “It’s just another park amenity we don’t have,” Haynie said.

Mayor Susan Whelchel, who noted she was a dog lover, responded: “Whooooo. There’s an opportunity for lots of controversy.

“Maybe we could have a trial run to see how many dogs are going to want to be on that beach,” Whelchel said.

In its online “Doggie Guide to City Parks,” Fort Lauderdale lists the beach from Sunrise Boulevard to 100 yards north as the designated area for dogs. The beach is open to canines Fridays, Saturday and Sundays. Winter hours are 3 to 7 p.m., with summer hours during daylight saving time from 5 to 9 p.m.

An annual permit costs $30 for residents and $45 for nonresidents, according to the website.  A one-weekend permit is $7. The permit also allows leashed dogs to be walked on the west side of A1A from Sunrise Boulevard south to Seabreeze Boulevard from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

Beach rules require dogs to be on a leash. Any excessive barking or other frowned-upon behavior will get them booted off the beach. 

Owners must bring their per-mit, as well as a poop scoop.    

By Tim Pallesen

Delray Beach is asking the state to regulate sober houses after the city failed in its own effort to prevent the Caron Foundation from opening two such coastal houses for recovering addicts. 

Delray and Boca Raton will share the cost for a Tallahassee lobbyist to persuade legislators that the state Department of Families and Children should license and regulate sober houses.

“Let’s start this from another angle,” Delray Beach Vice Mayor Tom Carney said of the issue for coastal residents in the city’s upcoming mayoral campaign.

Carney faces another coastal resident, Cary Glickstein, in the March 12 election for mayor. 

“Tom as a commissioner failed to get any results,” Glickstein said. “Now, as a candidate for mayor, this is his priority all of a sudden.”

The City Commission at Carney’s urging agreed to pay $15,000 to hire Joe McCann, senior vice president of the Tallahassee lobbying firm Ballard Partners, to be the city lobbyist. 

Firm owner Brian Ballard is the brother of former County Commissioner Mary McCarty.

McCann will meet with legislative committee leaders before the April legislative session to gather support for state licensing and regulation of sober houses. 

“The real issue is the proliferation of sober houses that don’t give you the treatment that they promise,” Carney said. “Government’s role is to make sure businesses in the community do what they say they’re going to do.”

The Florida League of Cities, also concerned about sober houses in residential neighborhoods, has proposed less costly legislation because it doubts the legislature will pay for DCF enforcement.

“The law won’t be changed just for Delray and Boca,” Glickstein said. “The more economical way is to get other cities on the same page.”

Glickstein became a figure in the Caron Foundation’s lawsuit against the city when a federal judge said his outspoken comments showed Delray Beach was discriminating against recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. Glickstein, the planning and zoning board chairman at the time, had called sober houses a “cancer” on Delray Beach.

“The key is not to be the loudest, but rather to be the most effective,” Carney said, as the mayoral campaign heats up with sober houses still a concern for coastal residents.

Federal housing laws prevent discrimination against recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. 

Both Glickstein and Caron Foundation attorney Jim Green cautioned Delray Beach that federal courts could overturn a state law to regulate sober houses, just as a federal judge blocked Delray Beach ’s attempt to do so. 

“The fact that Delray Beach is attempting to spearhead state legislation with its history of discrimination against people in recovery would be viewed with suspicion by the federal courts,” Green said.              Ú

By Thomas R. Collins

A commercial office district near Interstate 95 and Yamato Road used to be a spot that this city could brag about. An IBM facility was located there, employing 10,000 people at its peak in the late 1980s.

The computer giant’s workforce shrank, and it moved most of its jobs to the Research Triangle in North Carolina, and some to Texas, in 1996.

Since then, the 965 acres — called the “northwest area” — has lost its luster: The once humming area sits largely vacant.

To resurrect it, the city is about to allow a slate of new uses never before allowed there: mainly residential apartments, up to 2,500 of them, but also retail and other kinds of development, with people living near workplaces and services so that — the thinking goes — they’ll be less likely to use their cars and clog roads.

Residents are in favor of redeveloping the sluggish zone, but are worried it’s too much and that little traffic will actually be contained within it.

It’s one of five areas of the city that is being considered for this kind of transformation, called “planned mobility,” but the details will likely vary for each and the northwest area is the first in line. Boynton Beach employed a similar concept with Renaissance Commons, a cluster of apartments and shops off Congress Avenue.

Boca Deputy City Manager George Brown, who’s been overseeing the plans that have been evolving for months, said it would be a much-needed shot in the arm.

“The idea is to have multiple uses in areas that were formerly single-use or limited to a certain number of uses,” he said at a recent discussion at City Hall. “Bring residents closer to the jobs that they have and services of which they avail themselves.”

The cap would be 20 units an acre, which is not an uncommon amount for similar South Florida mixed-use developments — Renaissance Commons has the same cap. Buildings could be 85 feet high, or about eight stories, as long as they don’t go over the cap on units or surpass the amount of square footage the city deems  is appropriate for the size of the lot, which is determined by a formula.

Shared parking would be encouraged, more bike racks would be supplied, walking paths would be required and having everything connected would be the main theme, city officials say.

Charles Siemon, a lawyer who represents the landowners in the northwest area, said it’s a long-overdue step. The Research Triangle in North Carolina, considered the hot new spot when IBM moved there from Boca, is already undergoing a master plan change, he noted, while Boca has sat idle ever since IBM moved away.

“It is an area that was the heart of our economic prosperity,” Siemon said. “We’re trying to create a new place that will be competitive in the marketplace.”

Although happy with the proposed plan, he is arguing for more square footage to be allowed on each lot.

Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie said she wants to resolve the “lack of consensus that we have in the community about how much is too much” and wants to make sure existing residents aren’t left “paying the tab” for new services that might be needed.

Indeed, there are some who are not exactly on board with the concept.

Lenore Wachtel, a board member with the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations, said “it’s a nice idea” but that “some people think this is a gift to the developers.”

“We walk for fun all the time, but if we’re going anywhere, even close, we take our car,” she said.

Elisabeth Hoffman, a resident who lives next to another area being considered as a planned mobility district (East of I-95 between Spanish River Boulevard and Glades Road), said she’s not opposed to it “as a concept,” but figures residents there would still “get in their cars to go to the grocery store” no matter how close it is.

“As an ardent environ-mentalist and futurist, I’m in favor of more public transport use, less vehicular use in terms of less sprawl,” she said. “Those are all things that are high on my natural agenda, but because of the development focus of our current City Council, I find myself quite concerned about how some of this will play out.”         

Council will vote on the northwest area planning ordinance at a public hearing on Dec. 11. Ú

 —Margie Plunkett contributed to this story. -

A recently installed buoy sits offshore of Spanish River Park and the
Sea Ranch Club Condominiums at Spanish River Boulevard and A1A. Photo provided

By Cheryl Blackerby

Twenty-eight new mooring buoys, including 10 just north of the Boca Raton Inlet, were placed at five locations in October to help protect the county’s fragile shallow reefs.

The goal is to reduce anchor damage and allow more sponge, sea fan and hard coral coverage that increases the habitat for fish, lobsters, sea turtles and other reef species. The new buoys were installed by Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Wildlife Foundation of Florida.

“Anchors that are dragged across our reefs are a very serious problem,” said Janet Phipps, coral reef ecologist for the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management. “We don’t have wide, extensive reefs like those south of us and in the Florida Keys. Our reefs are more concentrated close to the shore near The Breakers hotel and east of Boca Raton.”

All of the mooring buoys are 1,000 to 1,500 feet offshore in shallow water, at depths of 15 to 25 feet. The new buoys are in addition to six popular mooring buoys installed in 2009 at a reef 1,000 feet due east of The Breakers resort.

Boaters now can tie up at three buoys over an artificial reef at Diamondhead Radnor Park in Jupiter; three buoys in the Singer Island area just north of the Palm Beach Inlet; six at The Breakers hotel, which is the center of a 4-mile-long natural reef; six south of The Breakers due east of Mar-a-Lago; and the 10 buoys near the Boca inlet.

The destruction caused by anchors is killing coral already suffering from pollution. Passengers flying out of Palm Beach International Airport can easily see the dark water of the Intracoastal Waterway laden with pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants flowing through the inlets and fanning out into the ocean.

“Our reefs are very challenged. The problem is just too many people. Have you ever watched the outgoing water into the ocean? It’s pretty nasty. That pollution is jeopardizing the reefs,’’ Phipps said.

A diver uses a jackhammer to install one of 28 new mooring buoys
placed at popular boating spots in Palm Beach County.  

 Photo courtesy of Palm Beach County ERM Department

The buoys will help keep the corals and other sea life safe from anchor damage. Set into exposed limestone close to the reefs, the buoys are popular with boaters who have to get to the ones near The Breakers early on Saturday mornings because they fill up quickly, she says.

“There are a lot more buoys in Broward County, Miami and the Keys, and we’ve seen how buoys really do protect the reefs,” she said. “The biggest expense is long-term maintenance. Boaters can make donations through the Wildlife Foundation of Florida.”

Phipps cautions boaters to properly tie up to the buoys. Careless or inexperienced boaters often loop the buoy pick-up line over a cleat on the boat.

The pick-up lines are too short for that purpose, and the boat ends up damaging the buoy, which costs about $350 per system, not including labor, she said. Boaters should tie their bow line to the buoy pick-up line. The buoys are not to be used for overnight stays.

The six buoys at The Breakers have been replaced about once a year because of damage caused from improper tying and from propellers. 

The cost for installation, monitoring and annual maintenance of the new buoys is about $97,000 and is paid by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boating improvement program grant and private donations. 

At a Boca Raton City Council Workshop Nov. 26, Phipps told council members the annual cost of maintenance for Boca’s 10 mooring buoys would be about $9,500 including $5,500 for labor and in-water work and $4,000 for replacing buoys.

“We’re finding about an 80 percent loss of buoys each year. They just disappear,” she said, adding that four buoys in north county were lost to Sandy. 

She expressed hope that the city of Boca Raton would assist in paying for Boca’s buoys. “If we run out of money we will have to remove the buoys,” she warned  Ú

In Highland Beach, (l to r) Rosalie DeMartino, Commissioner Dennis Sheridan and Deputy Clerk Valerie Oakes put final touches on the Town Hall tree. A Light Up the Holidays event is Dec. 10. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

A holiday tradition is returning to Highland Beach, back by popular demand. 

Started in 2005 by the town’s cultural society board, Light Up the Holidays was a celebration that included the lighting of a Christmas tree in front of Town Hall as well as entertainment. 

But when the board disbanded in 2011, the Light Up the Holidays celebration was discontinued. 

It will be back this year, however, on Dec. 10 after town commissioners fielded calls from disappointed residents.

“We had several requests to bring it back,” said Commissioner Dennis Sheridan, who is chairing the event along with Commissioner Lou Stern. “It’s an activity that town residents really enjoy.”

Town commissioners agreed to allocate up to $1,500 for the celebration, with money coming from the town’s reserves.  

This year’s festivities, which will take place in front of Town Hall, will include performances by baritone singer Lou Galterio, Cantor Margaret Schmitt and the Lawrence of Florida Four Scissors barbershop quartet. The Rev. Gerald Grace of St. Lucy’s Catholic Church will give the invocation.  

In addition to the Christmas tree, a menorah and a manger scene will be placed in front of Town Hall during the holiday season.

Cookies, hot chocolate and coffee will be provided for those attending the Light Up the Holidays celebration, which begins at 4:30 p.m. 

To find out more about Light Up the Holidays, call Town Hall at 278-4548.                                                    

By Cheryl Blackerby

Steven Engel won the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District’s Seat 5, vacated by Commissioner Dirk Smith at the start of the year, in the Nov. 6 election. The term is four years.

A senior advertising consultant to Forum Publishing Group, Engel won 59.9 percent of the votes (24,702). Opponent Tom Thayer, a real-estate broker and retired Delta Airlines pilot, got 40.1 percent (16,537).

“To do the best job possible, I make it a point to speak to as many people as I can. I’ve talked to probably hundreds of people since August,” Engel said after the election.

His priorities on issues presently before the district include charging no park facility user fees for district residents, which he calls “effectively a double tax for the same service”; a continued pay-as-you-go policy for district budgeting; and barring private development on district public property.

“Public beaches are there for the public. We can’t allow private development. You get a short-term fix in rental revenue, but you really don’t have any control. We have a responsibility to maintain control,” he said.

Beach restoration is another hot topic, particularly after beach damage from Hurricane Sandy. “That’s going to be an ongoing issue we need to figure out now that the federal government is no longer involved, and we need to do it properly. One of the possibilities is working out partnerships with adjacent towns.”

Other issues include “over-development of Boca Raton, environmental problems, litter and the rise in sea levels — that’s not a problem right this moment, but it will have to be addressed.”

This was the first run for public office for Engel, 62, a resident of Florida for six years and of Boca Raton for four years.                          

Yuletide carolers sing holiday favorites at the annual Holiday Lighting Extravaganza at Boca Raton’s Mizner Park Amphitheatre on Nov. 23. Attendees were encouraged to sing along.  Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

In November, for the first time in nearly 50 years, someone from Boca Raton — former Mayor Steven Abrams — became chairman of the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners. 

Abrams said he looks forward to a productive year with a focus on public safety, economic prosperity, and sustainability. Another priority will be to heighten the board’s visibility by increasing public awareness of the role of the Commission.

Abrams, 54, represents District 4, which includes 12 municipalities from South Palm Beach to Boca Raton. He was appointed to the commission in 2009 by then Gov. Charlie Crist to fill a vacancy left by Mary McCarty. The following year, he was elected without opposition to a four-year term. 

He was Boca Raton’s mayor from 2001 through 2008.

Before moving to Boca Raton, Abrams was a law clerk in the White House to President Ronald Reagan and Chief Justice John Roberts. He graduated from Harvard University and earned his law degree from The George Washington University.

— Staff report

Pat and Rick Howard greet guests for the 10th anniversary celebration of their store, Sklar Furnishings on Federal Highway in Boca Raton.  Dozens of invited guests were treated to hors d’oeuvres and live music during the evening event.  Photo provided

The sold-out luncheon honored five volunteers for their work and accomplishments and raised more than $200,000 in support of Bethesda Hospital’s Center for Women & Children. 

Photo: (l-r) Todd Crawley of Wells Fargo, the Women of Grace Title Sponsor with Honorees Barbara Whittaker and Rosemary Krieger, Women of Grace Chairman Susan Duane, Bethesda Hospital President Roger Kirk, honoree Sheila O’Boyle, emcee Suzanne Boyd and honorees Laurie Gildan and Mary Pittman. Photo provided

Phoebe Wiener and Hinako Fujita sit at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach.  Hinako lived with the Wiener family in Highland Beach while participating in a foreign exchange program.  Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Most 16-year-olds don’t usually sing arias from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro as they’re on their way to school; but then again Phoebe Wiener is not like most 16-year-olds.

One of the few school-age residents living among the retirees of Highland Beach, Phoebe will tell you that classical singing is one of her passions — but her list is a long one. “My friends know that I’m interested in things a typical teenager isn’t,” she says.

A junior in Atlantic Community High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, Phoebe is part of her school’s debate club and also volunteers as a student attorney in Palm Beach County’s Youth Court. In between, she finds time to get her schoolwork done and stays focused on her education.

Amid all that, Phoebe not only was selected to visit Miyazu, Japan, in June as part of the Delray Beach Sister Cities program, but also found time just a few weeks ago to host 17-year-old Hazuki, a Miyazu high school student who spent a week with Phoebe and her family.

The trip to Miyazu, Phoebe says, not only exposed her to another culture, it also provided her with a view of Japanese life that few high school students will get to see.

In addition to seeing all the sights of Miyazu — including spending time in a Japanese high school — Phoebe spent several days living with a Japanese family and eating a traditional Japanese diet that included raw eel and rice for breakfast.

“The Japanese people are the kindest people you’ll ever meet,” she says.

Last month, Phoebe and her parents, Mayde and Jonathan, were weekend hosts for another student from Japan, Hinako Fujita, who was taking a three-week course in Fort Lauderdale.

“The Japanese students are surprised by how wide our roads are,” Phoebe says. “They also are impressed by our schools and how much freedom we have in school.”

— Rich Pollack

Q. What do you like most about high school?

A. The diversity of the students that I have met at Atlantic and the rigorous academics.

Q. What has been your most exciting adventure?

A. Other than Japan, touring Alaska was extremely exciting to see glaciers, animals and historic sites. I love traveling all over the world.

Q. What’s your favorite part of living in Highland Beach?

A. The relaxed atmosphere. It’s so nice to have the beach easily accessible for me to enjoy and to live in a place in the middle of two major towns, but have the option of staying in Highland Beach for the quietness.

Q. What was the best part about being a foreign-exchange student?

A. The best part was definitely being immersed in the Japanese culture. From a young age, I have always been fascinated with Japan. It was truly amazing to actually have the opportunity to attend school and live with a host family there, all thanks to the Delray Beach Sister Cities program.

Q. What do you like most about hosting a student from Japan?

A. It is so much fun, for it is so interesting to see what foreign visitors find fascinating about our country! For example, students from Japan have been so amazed at the large width of our streets, which is something Americans never even notice.

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

A. Myself. I actually love to act! I attended Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, where I studied theater. I was also enrolled at a very young age in Dolly Workman’s children’s theater program at the Delray Beach Playhouse.
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?

A. My favorite artist is Regina Spektor. She is a wonderful pianist whose songs are so beautiful and different from most music my generation listens to nowadays. Her songs are about important issues, and she reaches out to all different age groups and people. When I want to relax, I like to listen to classical music and Norah Jones.

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?

A. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

I think this is a really important motto for life; it’s self-explanatory.

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

A. Woman at Point Zero, by Nawal El Saadawi. I would recommend it to people who don’t mind graphic topics. It definitely was an eye-opener about the treatment of women in different parts of the world.

Q. Who or what makes you laugh?

A. Ellen Degeneres, Stephen Colbert, family and friends, and my dog!                           

Dressed as a Christmas tree, Boca Raton resident Kathy Krepp searches for treasures at The Christmas Emporium at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton. The church’s annual holiday sale took place Nov. 9-10.  Photo by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jan Norris

Longtime restaurateur Dennis Max (Max’s Grill, Max’s Harvest) and his partners go south of the border with his new restaurant, The Mexican, in Boca Raton’s Royal Palm Place.

Growing up on the Pacific coast where Mexican street food was common gave Max the basis for the menu at the “cocina and tequila bar” he has long been planning. Through his spokeswoman, he said, “Mexican food is dear to me, having grown up in Southern California during the 1950s and ’60s. Border town cuisine is part of California’s fabric, much in the way that Italian food is part of New York’s culture.”

Max’s new approach to restaurant fare using sustainable, locally sourced food, is touted on the menu.

Dishes include a ceviche del dia, sopa de tortilla, a variety of tacos including crispy pork belly, shrimp al pastor, carne asada, and beef and pork meatballs. Fajitas and enchiladas also are on the menu, along with rotisserie chicken and Rancheras — short ribs. Other small plates, salads and desserts round out the list. A wide tequila selection is on the bar menu.

Indoor and outdoor seating is available at the 4,000-square-foot restaurant, open for lunch and dinner. 

The Sunshine Blues Festival is taking over Boca’s Mizner Park Amphitheatre on Jan. 19, with the Tedeschi Trucks Band (Derek Trucks  and his Grammy-nominated wife, Susan Tedeschi) as one of the headliners. 

Dr. John, one of New Orleans’ star piano players, and slide-guitar legend Sonny Landreth also are scheduled.

Others on the bill are Walter Trout, formerly with the Bluesbreakers, Allman Brothers drummer Jaimoe and his Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Brit blues strummer Matt Schofield, The Wood Brothers, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Joe Louis Walker, Bobby Lee Rodgers and Sean Chambers.

Tickets are $49.50; order at livenation.com or call (800) 745-3000.

Everybody’s clucking over the haute henhouse in the Neiman Marcus Holiday Book. One of the top luxe items listed this year in the retailer’s annual holiday catalog is a custom-designed chicken coop. 

For a mere $100,000, you can become a dandy chicken farmer — providing you can buy off the zoning folks in your neck of the woods. 

The coop will be designed and installed by Svetlana Simon, a Boynton Beach farmer who sells fresh eggs, honey, goats’ milk and yogurt at the Delray Beach Green Market each Saturday. The eggs are plucked from the nests of Cooco Marans and Chilean Araucaua hens she keeps at her Heritage Hen Farm. 

The catalog’s fantasy fowl palace is multilevel and includes a “living room” chandelier, a broody room for the pampered hens, and protected bedchambers — er, nests. It may be the most over-the-top roost anywhere.

Simon also will plant raised beds for herbs or vegetables around the hen manse. And the chickens — three to 10 — will be chosen to thrive in the specific environment.

If you’re not into getting up with the chickens, the Holiday Book also lists a special edition red McLaren 12C Spider. It’ll set you back a cool $354,000. Not exactly chicken feed.

Get a jump on those sugarplums dancing around in your head at the annual Bake for the Rescues at the Sundy House, 6-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 3.

Twenty celebrity bakers will bring their best baked goods to compete for the grand prize and help Dezzy’s Second Chance Rescues in the process.

Along with samples of desserts and pastries, chefs from the Sundy House will provide food stations and hors d’oeuvres. Dog bones will be handed out as well for four-legged friends. A silent auction and raffle, along with give-aways, are part of the activities.

For tickets or info, call (954) 588-7045 or  go to www.dezzyssecondchance.com.

A box of macaroni and cheese or a can of soup can get you off the hook for library fines in Delray Beach this month. The unique Food for Fines program returns to the Delray Beach Public Library (100 W. Atlantic Ave.) offering those who’ve kept The Da Vinci Code a few years past the due date to come clean by bringing a nonperishable food donation along with any overdue item. 

One-for-one is the deal — one box or can of food for every returned late item, and your slate is wiped clean. Without food, you must then pay fines on any late returns.

The program is good for Dec. 3 to 23 only.

Food donations are welcome without late books, too — just drop off nonperishables at the circulation desk. 

Coming soon to a theater near you: Frank McKinney as … Jesus. The self-described “real estate artist,” author and “philanthro-capitalist” was tapped to play “The Man” in the upcoming indie release, Infidel.

The faith-based movie is listed as a “psycho-spiritual thriller,” with McKinney portraying a modern-day Jesus.

Written and directed by George Monteiro, the film was pitched to McKinney as an audition by way of a Facebook message. He writes that he was seconds away from sending his “no” answer when the theme of one of his own motivational books “tapped” him to at least read the script.

The story of a gunman who bursts into a church and challenges a congregation to renounce their faith or die moved him, he says in a blog. 

It’s been years since he’s acted — he had bit parts in Miami Vice and a Chuck Norris film in his 20s.

On his blog, he tells of being nervous about auditioning against pro actors, yet he “nailed” the role, according to the director.

The short film debuts in 2013 — McKinney’s website, frank-mckinney.com will have details. 

Afraid to party in public on New Year’s Eve because of the drive home? The Boca Raton Resort & Club is planning a Countdown New Year’s Eve Poolside Bash — and for the price of the party — a DJ at the Tower Pool, open bar and hors d’oeuvres, dinner buffet, party favors and the champagne toast — guests get a deluxe room and a late New Year’s Day checkout.

Separate parties for kids under 12, and teens (they get dinner and a two-hour catamaran cruise) are planned.

The one-night-only party package is $499 for two. More info and reservations at www.bocaresort.com.

  Courtney del Filen (No. 120) loses the first of both shoes during the Delray Beach Stiletto Race, held Nov. 16 on Southeast Fourth Avenue.  More than 40 contestants participated in the race, presented by Vince Canning Shoes and Achievement Centers for Children & Families. It raised more than $5,000 to benefit programs of the Achievement Centers. Photo by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

 No Santas are allowed to march in the Delray Holiday Parade set for Dec. 8 along east Atlantic Avenue. That’s because the Fire Department has the jolly old elf covered — he’ll arrive at the end in ’80s pop style. Put on your Prince costume and wave them on.

The Arts Garage in Delray Beach is planning festive groups this month, focusing on jazz and blues. The Chassidic Jazz Project performs Dec. 8 in a Hanukkah celebration. Susan Behar, Ian Maskin and Jose Luis present a night of world music, with a touch of classical, flamenco and Latin rhythms. Mac Arnold, crony of B.B. King, James Brown and Otis Redding, among others, plays the blues guitar Dec. 15. Antonio Madruga, an award-winning 18-year-old jazz pianist, performs Dec. 22. Dec. 29 wraps up the Garage jazz performances with the Dr. Lonnie Smith CD Release Party. The keyboardist has been named organ keyboardist of the year five times by the Jazz Journalist Association. His new album, The Healer, debuts here. Tickets and information are at www.artsgarage.org.

Political debates are over, but diplomacy isn’t at Florida Atlantic University. The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team will end its Tribute Tour at FAU Stadium Dec. 15, facing off against China’s team. 

The U.S. women won with a 6-0-0 record at this year’s London Olympics, bringing home their third straight gold medal and fourth in the sport.

Expect to watch stars Abby Wambach and Hope Solo take on China as the teams meet for their 49th playoff. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or ussoccer.com.

In other sports news, the 23rd annual Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic raised $600,000 for Evert’s charities — all youth- and child-focused.  The tournament draws thousands to the Delray Tennis Center each October.

Mozart Café, a kosher-dairy Israeli restaurant with three other locations in South Florida, recently opened in the Fountains Center in Boca Raton. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant serves no meats, but focuses on healthful Mediterranean dishes such as fish, sushi, salads and pizza. Seating is at the bar and tables indoors, and in the courtyard, decorated with water elements.

In a unique program, once a month children with special needs will serve as greeters, kitchen workers and servers. Proceeds from the monthly event benefit Friendship Circle, an organization that helps families with children who have special needs. 

Culinary stars are aligning in Palm Beach for the newly expanded Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival, Dec. 7-11. 

New this year are daytime events and expanded collaboration with Food Network personalities. Also new is the charity component — Chefs Dish Back, which will support the participating chefs’ charities of choice. One hundred percent of the net profits will go to the charities.

Events include a golf tournament with a food truck contest at The Breakers golf course, a burger bash beachside at the Four Seasons, a pig roast at Pistache in West Palm Beach, a sustainable seafood dinner at PB Catch Seafood & Raw Bar, a wine and champagne food pairing at Virginia Philips Wine Academy in West Palm Beach, a collaborative chef’s dinner at Buccan, and the Grand Tasting with the Chef’s Throwdown at 150 Worth.

The tribute dinner Saturday night at The Breakers honors Sirio Maccione, of New York’s famed Le Cirque. Chefs cooking include Daniel Boulud, Jacques Torres, David Burke and Marc Murphy, working with The Breakers chef Jeff Simms and sommelier Virginia Philip to prepare the multicourse meal.

Tickets and information are at www.pbfoodwinefest.com. 

You can step up to the plates at Caffe Luna Rosa with a little lighter step, thanks to new menu items they’re cooking up. 

A first for one of the oldest Delray restaurants, the healthy additions include vegan, vegetarian and Weight Watchers-inspired dishes, along with low-cal cocktails. 

“The older generation is now eating healthier. I had to lose weight, and after going on Weight Watchers, I realized I couldn’t eat in my own restaurant,” managing owner Fran Marincola said.

His wife is a vegetarian, and her choices also were limited. 

The foods used in the restaurant are in many cases organic, but all are free of hormones. Vegan choices include the Luna Rosa Seven Vegetable Burger served in a cucumber wrap, or vegetarian pizza and omelets for breakfast.

The restaurant has also refurbished and freshened up cosmetically. A newly painted façade, new bistro chairs, a mahogany ceiling and a new awning dresses up the building’s entrance. 

Also new is Caffe Luna Rosa’s Rewards Program – diners earn a point for every dollar spent before tax and tip, and can redeem them for dining certificates. 

The Delray Beach Garlic Festival organizers have announced the headliners for the 14th annual “stinkiest” fest, slated for Feb. 8-10, 2013 in downtown Delray Beach. 

National acts include Lifehouse, performing Feb. 8, and Pepper, playing Feb. 9. They’ll join local and area bands including the Killbillies, the Fabulous Fleetwoods, Andy Childs, the Jay Blues Band, Captain Reese with Son of Man, Turnstiles and The Long Run.

The festival includes a Garlic Chef Stadium, where a garlic cook-off among area chefs is held, craft and food vendors and beer and wine.

For tickets and information, go to the website, dbgarlicfest.com.

Jan Norris writes about food and South Florida news on her blog, jannorris.com. Email her at jan@jannorris.com.

Thom Smith is on assignment working for FEMA in the Northeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  He will return to his Around Town column in the coming months.

Nearly 1,500 excited attendees welcomed celebrity couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic to Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s ninth annual Go Pink Luncheon, ‘Go Pink Goes Hollywood.’ Giuliana Rancic is a breast cancer survivor, and both she and Bill Rancic are advocates for breast cancer awareness and early-detection programs. The Go Pink Luncheon is the signature fundraising event for the foundation’s Go Pink Challenge, which supports the hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute. The luncheon raised more than $750,000.  ABOVE: Dick and Barbara Schmidt, Michelle Maros, and celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic. BELOW: Annie Green, Joan Wargo and Debbie Lindstrom.  Photos provided

Boca Raton Rotary Club Past President Doug Mummaw and Rabbi Merle Singer attend the OPAL (Outstanding People and Leaders) Awards nomination ceremony in advance of the 15th annual OPAL Awards Gala, set for Jan. 19, 2013. The OPAL Awards recognizes the accomplishments of five community leaders dedicated to making Boca Raton a better place to live, work and play. Nominees are Leif Ahnell, Bobby Campbell, Jay DiPietro, Kevin Ross and Rick Zimmer. The event raised awareness of the club’s mission: Changing Lives and Building Futures. Photo provided

Karen Walsh, Rennae Stubbs, Kevin McKidd and Chris Walsh dress their best for the Chris Evert / Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic’s 23rd annual gala, at which $145,000 in bids came in during stellar silent and live auctions. In all, the two-day event raised more than $600,000 for The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County. The gala featured red-carpet celebrity arrivals, dinner, dancing and live music. 

Photo provided

Some birds, such as this flock of sandwich and royal terns, are
a common sight along the coast during the winter migration season. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

 By Cheryl Blackerby

 “Hopes are shy birds flying at a great distance ... ” 

So said the great naturalist and artist John James Audubon about our fantastic winter visitors — the magnificent white pelicans with 8-foot wingspans, the pretty little red knot shorebirds, and the mighty peregrine falcons — that leave the far north flying 4,000 miles and more on a wing and a prayer on often perilous journeys from Alaska and Canada to South Florida. 

Audubon came to Florida in 1831 to research and paint birds for the third volume of his illustrated masterpiece Birds of America. He traveled through South Florida by foot, canoe, skiff and cutter tracking Florida’s spectacular resident birds and glorious winter visitors.

Bald eagles do not always live up to their patriotic image; this one
stole a fish from the osprey. 

 “We observed great flocks of wading birds flying overhead toward their evening roosts .... They appeared in such numbers to actually block out the light from the sun for some time,” he wrote.

Audubon would surely be heartbroken to learn that many of these birds fly in far fewer numbers today because of the draining of wetlands, habitat loss, human disturbance, pollution and pesticides. But there are success stories such as the elegant trumpeter swan and our national bird, the bald eagle.

We asked Jim Rodgers, avian biologist at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Research Lab, to tell us his favorite winter visitors. Some of his picks are extremely rare in Florida — such as the tundra and trumpeter swans — but he does see them them during his research trips in our area. Others are the common Northern cardinal and American robin, so familiar we may overlook them but shouldn’t.

His top pick? “By far, my favorite is the hooded merganser. It is spectacular.” See pages 2-3 for the lineup. 

Meanwhile, don’t miss Audubon’s 113th  annual Christmas Bird Count, which will take place Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. Volunteers gather for one day during this time period, depending on the area, to record bird sightings. Data collected in this longest-running wildlife census helps assess the health of bird populations. Go to www.birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count to find a Christmas Bird Count near you.

Photos of individual birds/U.S. Fish & Wildlife

 Painted Bunting 

Size / Color:5.5 inches. Perhaps North America’s most colorful bird. The male has bright red underparts, green back, blue head and red eye ring. The female is bright green all over, paler below.

Diet:Seeds, insects, spiders and snails.

Range:Breeds from Missouri to North Carolina and flies to Gulf Coast states in winter. 

Status:In South America it’s captured as a caged bird. It is sold in the markets of Mexico. Numbers have severely decreased in past 10 years.   

Notes:This bird is also known as a ‘nonpareil,’ meaning without equal. The female is one of the few bright green birds in North America.

 Red Knot 

Size / Color:10.5 inches. One of the prettiest shore bird species. Breeding adults have rich reddish brown face and breast with marbled dark brown  backs and pale feather edgings. Dark, straight bill, legs greenish. Fall birds are gray above and whitish below.

Diet:Hard-shell mollusks; arthropods and larvae at breeding grounds.

Range:Migrates from the high Arctic of Canada to Florida and south. 

Status:Population declining quite severely.

Notes:Those that winter in South America, passing through Florida, may make a round trip of nearly 20,000 miles each year.  During migration, they breed on tidal flats, rocky shores and beaches.

White Pelican 

Size / Color: 55 to 70 inches, 8-foot wingspan. Florida’s largest flying winter visitor. White with black wing tips, long, flat orange/yellow bill. In breeding season, has short yellowish crest on back of head.  

Diet: Fish.

Range: Seasonal migrant from British Columbia and Manitoba south to South Florida.

Status:Because of pesticides, human disturbance and draining of wetlands, they are in decline, their numbers dropping sharply.

Notes:You’re lucky indeed if you see them in flight — majestic birds in a long line flapping their 8-foot stretches of wings. The birds ride rising air currents to great heights, where they soar slowly and gracefully in circles.

Cedar Waxwing

Size / Color:6-8 inches. A beautiful, sleek brown bird, bright yellow below, with black mask, yellow tips on tail feathers and hard red waxlike tips on secondary wing feathers.  

Diet:Berries, insects.

Range:Migrates from the conifer forests of Canada to Florida and southern U.S.

Status:Healthy populations.

Notes:The social birds have the amusing habit of passing berries or even apple blossoms from one bird to the next down a long row sitting on a branch until one bird eats the food. 

 Long-Billed Curlew

Size / Color:12-16 inches. Our largest shorebird, the curlew’s most distinctive feature is the long, sickle-shaped bill. The bird, which is in the sandpiper family, has cinnamon wing linings, no head pattern. 

Diet:Small crustaceans and mollusks or berries and seeds, grasshoppers and crickets.

Range:Migrates from southern Canada and the U.S. Northwest south to coastal Florida and Mexico.

Status:With only 20,000 birds left, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan both designate this species “highly imperiled.”

Notes:  Sometimes called the ‘Sicklebill,’ the curlew was once a plentiful game bird of the Great Plains and the formerly extensive prairies to the east. Curlews are sociable birds when feeding, roosting and migrating.

 Sandhill Crane 

Size / Color:38-48 inches, 6-foot 8-inch wingspan. Very tall with long neck and legs. Largely gray with a distinctive bright red forehead and white cheeks. Immature birds are browner with no red on head. 

Diet:  They most often eat corn, plants and grains but also eat invertebrates, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles.

Range:These cranes migrate in great flocks from Alaska, Canada and northern states to southern states from Arizona to South Florida and Mexico.

Status:The resident Florida sandhill crane is a less common crane with only 5,000 birds remaining because of habitat destruction. The bird is state-listed as threatened and protected in Florida. The migrating greater sandhill crane has no current conservation concerns.

Notes: The mating dance is spectacular — birds face each other, members of a pair leap into the air with wings extended and feet thrown forward.

Baltimore Oriole

Size / Color: 7 to 8.5 inches. Male has black head, back, wings and tail; orange breast, rump and shoulder patch. The female is olive-brown with dull yellow-orange underparts and two dull white wing bars. 

Diet: Insects, fruit and nectar.

Range: Migrates from Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia south through the Dakotas and winters in Florida and southern coast.

Status: Healthy populations.

Notes: The birds have a flute-like whistle, single or double notes in short, distinct phrases with much individual variation.

Wood Stork 

Size / Color: 40-44 inches, 5- to 6-foot wingspan. It is easily distinguished by its large size, upright posture, dark head and neck that looks naked but is actually covered in scaly modified feathers. Its nickname is ‘iron head.’ It has a heavy bill with a downward curve at the tip. White with black flight feathers and tail. Head and neck dark gray. 

Diet: They eat fish by probing the water with their bills.

Range: Lives in colonies in Florida’s cypress and mangrove swamps.

Status: The wood stork is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. 

Notes: They are expert at soaring, sometimes seen circling high in the air on rising air currents. Unlike herons, storks fly with neck extended.

Peregrine Falcon

Size / Color: 15-21 inches. A large, robust falcon with a black hood and wide black  ‘mustaches.’ Adults are slate-gray on their head, back and wings, and pale gray below with fine black bars and spots.

Diet: On the coast, they prey on ducks and shorebirds. Urban falcons subsist mainly on pigeons.

Range: Breeds from Alaska and the Canadian Arctic down through the mountainous west and south to the Gulf Coast and Florida.

Status: Following an alarming decline during the 1950s and ’60s, this spectacular falcon is on the increase now due primarily to the banning of pesticides that caused thinning of eggshells and to an intensive program of rearing birds in captivity and releasing them in the wild.

Notes: Favorite nesting sites nowadays are tall buildings and bridges in

Hooded Merganser

Size / Color: 16-19 inches. The smallest of the mergansers, the male has a white, fan-shaped black-bordered crest, blackish body with dull rusty flanks and white breast with two black stripes down the sides. The female is dull gray-brown with warmer brown head and crest.

Diet: Feeds chiefly on small fish, which they pursue in long, rapid underwater dives, but also eats small frogs, newts, tadpoles and aquatic insects. 

Range: Migrates from Canada to Florida and the Southern states.

Status:  Healthy population.

Notes: When startled, they are among the fastest-flying of our ducks. Males perform a beautiful courtship display and, once mated, swim energetically around the female in further ritual displays.

Bald Eagle

Size / Color: 30-31 inches; wingspan, 6-7 feet. Large and blackish with a white head and tail and heavy yellow bill. 

Diet: It is primarily a fish eater, although it sometimes eats ducks and other birds.

Range: Migrates from Alaska and Canada south to the U.S. including Florida. But there are year-round residents in Florida, too.

Status: The bald eagle was listed as threatened on the U.S. Endangered Species List in every state except Alaska until June 28, 2007. Its recovering populations allowed it to be removed from the list, and it is one of the major success stories of the Endangered Species Act and the conservation movement.

Notes: The bald eagle’s beachcombing habit was its downfall, for it accumulated pesticides from contaminated fish and wildlife. Hunting, poaching and the encroachment of civilization reduced its population drastically. Now that the pesticides have been banned, our national bird is staging a comeback.

Liana Branscome (left), who performed during the Allegro Society’s third annual Musical Luncheon on Nov. 9 at the Delray Beach Club, won a $1,500 music scholarship from the organization. Marie Iandoli (right) was the music scholarship sponsor. The Allegro Society is Boca Raton Symphonia’s support group. Photo provided

Bill Finley has published a new book.  Photo provided

 By Steve Pike

The only stories better than those from William E. Finley’s fiction are those from his real life.

From flying 35 missions as a B-17 pilot in World War II (five air medals, three battle stars and two unit commendations) to being one of the nation’s foremost urban planners to a founder of West Palm Beach’s SunFest, the 89-year-old Ocean Ridge resident’s life would make Hemingway jealous.

War and peace and more than 50 years as an urban planner have given Finley a unique and insightful view of life and the ways of the world.

Those views come to the fore in Finley’s new book, Killing in BocaLand (A New Kind of Murder). The 345-page self-published book, strong on dialogue, follows the nefarious adventures of sexy Boca Raton title company executive Daisy Hoffman (a former Miss Florida with the scrapbook to prove it), her frustrated engineer-turned-insurance executive boyfriend, a Mexican billionaire, a Saudi prince and a real estate mogul who wants to build a 100-story apartment/hotel tower on the land that was once Briny Breezes.

Toss in a high-end Boca Raton hotel and a doomsday machine similar to Nikola Tesla’s fabled earthquake machine (it nearly destroyed the Serbian genius’s New York lab in 1898) and you have a terrific read that takes you places you know along A1A and makes you ponder what is possible.

Finley, who along with wife, Anita, publishes the Boomer Times magazine, describes Killing in BocaLand as a “bloodless murder” and an “adventure in science and fiction.”

“Pure fiction,” Finley said. “Nobody in the book is real. But a lot of the science in the book is real.”

Indeed. Just remember the policemen who found Tesla madly pounding away at his earthquake machine in an effort to get it to stop shaking his building on Houston Street in New York City. 

In Killing in BocaLand, Finley puts his characters through a lot of shake-ups — physical and emotional — that will leave readers surprised and curious for more.

Killing in BocaLand is Finley’s first book of pure fiction. His previous books are Air Force Cowboy, a historical novel based on his service in the Army Air Corps, and Curing Urbanitis, which outlines the problems and cures for America’s metropolitan areas.

In Killing in BocaLand, Finley at the same time aims for a more diverse but local audience than his previous two books — one familiar with the A1A culture and lifestyle.

“I wanted to find the audience first, make sure it’s a well-off audience, proud they live there,” said Finley, who has lived in Ocean Ridge for the past 27 years. “So I aimed the book at Boca Raton.”                           Ú

Killing in BocaLand ($20) is available at the Gulfstream Pharmacy in Briny Breezes, Hand’s Office Supply in Delray Beach and by calling 736-8000.