By Mary Hladky

New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns had just received a rave review in The New York Times for her portrayal of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake when she traveled to Boca Raton to guest-star in the roles for Boca Ballet Theatre.
With Mearns’ renown and the latest review celebrating her talents, it would seem that Boca Ballet tickets, priced well below those in New York, would be snapped up in nothing flat.

Related story: Deal on arts center reached, but council vote postponed

But that didn’t happen, and Dan Guin knows why.
“We were struggling to sell tickets to the same artist, largely due to the fact (the performance) was in a high school theater,” said Guin, Boca Ballet’s executive and co-artistic director. “Venue has been one of our largest challenges from the beginning.”
While that performance took place in 2014, Guin said attracting audiences is an ongoing issue for all of Boca Raton’s cultural organizations because the city does not have a professional performing arts theater.
That is the void that the backers of the Center for Arts and Innovation are determined to fill if the City Council approves a deal that would allow the center to be built. A planned Sept. 28 vote was delayed by Hurricane Ian until Oct. 12.
Andrea Virgin, the driving force behind the center who brought together the city’s cultural nonprofits to create a vision for a performing arts complex in Mizner Park, says the intent is not to compete with the Kravis Center, Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Arsht Center or to bring in large Broadway spectacles like Hamilton.
In fact, it would make no business sense to do so, she said. Local cultural groups, including Boca Ballet Theatre, the Symphonia and Harid Conservatory, that need a professional theater don’t need a venue that large, and building and operating one could triple the cost.
“There is so much more exciting programming that does not seek a 3,000-seat venue,” Virgin said.
The vision is a center that complements those larger theaters while providing the latest innovations in design and technology. It would be the first “multi-form” theater in South Florida.
“We believe technology has changed how audiences respond to art,” said project consultant Brett Egan, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. “Performing arts centers in the future need to do (more) things at once and not stick with the status quo of the last two millennia.”
The complex would include a completely revamped amphitheater that can continue to operate as an outdoor venue with a capacity of up to 4,200 patrons or can be enclosed to create a studio theater to accommodate as many as 500.
A performing arts center with 900-1,100 seats would be built next to the amphitheater along with a parking garage that would be available to the public provided all the spaces are not needed for events at the center.
Other venues include a jewel box theater, a rooftop terrace and event lawn. An outdoor performance area would front the performing arts center.
The main venues can function as a traditional theater or concert hall. But what sets them apart is that they will have no fixed seating, walls, ceilings or floors. All these elements can be reconfigured to meet the needs of whatever they are used for, which gives the venues great flexibility.
The new technology that allows this flexibility extends to new ways that people can experience the arts. For example, an event in the performing arts center can be simultaneously broadcast on the outside amphitheater walls.
This will give people the ability to experience artistic events without buying a high-priced ticket or dressing up. If they are smitten, they may become regular patrons and so help boost the center’s bottom line.
As to how the flexible spaces can be used, “your imagination can run wild,” Virgin said.
Think corporate events, political debates, career fairs, fashion shows, product pitches, auto shows, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, pop-up festivals.
“We intend to be the most adaptive, most friendly center in South Florida,” Egan said.
While the center will have many uses, the primary focus now is improving the profitability of local cultural groups without a home.
“Servicing organizations in Boca is the core of the project,” Virgin said.
“When those nonprofits do well,” Egan said, “the center will do well.”
Boca Ballet’s Guin is long past ready for the change.
While he is deeply appreciative of local high schools that have allowed his organization to use their theater spaces, their venues have limitations.
No will-call. No ability to provide drinks. And there are other matters.
Since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, stepped- up security has limited the time Guin has to get into the schools to prepare for a performance.
Dressing rooms are in short supply, as are bathrooms and showers.
“The physical ability to present the shows we do are definitely limited by the venues available,” Guin said. “The hope is not only that we will have a space, but we will have several.”
He believes enough donors will step forward to finance the center’s construction. “I almost feel it is inevitable we will do this,” he said.
Irvin Lippman, executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, is a strong supporter of the cultural groups’ efforts to build the center.
“All are deserving of a facility that can accommodate the quality of what they present,” he said.
The center will be a “positive opportunity” for the museum as well, he said. The museum will face the event lawn and attractive new theater buildings instead of the current down-on-its-heels amphitheater.
The museum has no land on which to expand and Lippman foresees opportunities to use the center’s facilities for museum programs and events.
“It is a project that is wor-thy of support,” he said, “that I think is quite doable.”

By Mary Hladky

The city’s tax rate will hold steady for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1, in keeping with City Council members’ longstanding emphasis on keeping the rate low.
The rate they unanimously approved on Sept. 19 is $3.68 per $1,000 of taxable property value, the same as last fiscal year.
Even so, property owners will see higher tax bills because of soaring property values fueled by a strong real estate market. Boca’s taxable values surged by 14.5% this year, up from the previous year’s 3.8%.
The city would have had to lower its millage to $3.20 per $1,000 of taxable property value to bring in the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year. Keeping the tax rate unchanged translates to a 14% tax increase.
Yet most homeowners are shielded from the brunt of that because state law caps the taxable value increase for homesteaded properties at 3%. Non-homesteaded properties are capped at 10%.
Only two residents spoke against the proposed tax rate at a Sept. 12 budget meeting, and no one objected during the final budget hearing.
The taxable value increase was welcome news to city leaders, who are facing rising costs for materials, equipment and building projects due to price increases and supply chain issues.
The growing city also needs to hire more employees to keep service standards high and retain existing employees who have other job opportunities due to the strong labor market.
The city has less employee turnover than many other cities, City Manager Leif Ahnell has told council members. Even so, there is employee churn and it now takes more time to fill vacant positions.
While many residents will feel a modest impact because the tax rate was not reduced, the city is taking in more revenue in other ways.
The amount that homeowners will pay for fire protection will rise to $155 in the new fiscal year, up from last year’s $145. The hike is the result of the increased cost of providing the services, the city said.
The increase in the annual assessment for commercial and industrial properties is based on the class and size of the buildings.
Garbage collection fees will increase by 3%, or 73 cents, to $25.02 per month for single-family residences and jump 44 cents to $15.14 per month for multi-family buildings.
Water and sewer rates will increase an average of $3 per month, or just under 6%. Boca Raton has one of the lowest water and sewer rates in the state, according to the city.
Daily beach entry fees will increase to $35 from $25; annual fees will rise to $75 from $65.
The boat launch annual permit fees will rise to $200 from $60 for city residents, while non-residents will pay $675, up from $480, at the new Silver Palm Park downtown.
The Recreation Services Department also is increasing fees for dog park, dog beach and special event permits as well as camp program, tennis center permit and clay court fees.
Developers will pay higher fees for three routine matters and will see new fees, such as $1,300 for a master plan review.
At their Sept. 19 meeting, council members also approved a $614.9 million operating budget, up from $559.4 million.
The $208.8 million general fund portion increased by $11 million, or 5.7%, due to salary increases for city employees, rising pension and health care costs and replacing vehicles.
City employee ranks will increase by 16 in the new fiscal year, including adding four fire battalion chief positions, up from the current one battalion chief, a parking manager and four employees for the new Wildflower/Silver Palm Park.
The city continues to invest heavily in the Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club property that was donated to the city by The Boca Raton in 2020 and features an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis and aquatic facilities and a clubhouse.
The city will spend $3.5 million for renovations and improvements, such as replacement of the clubhouse and cart barn roofs. Other renovations and improvements are funded by the proceeds of the sale of the city’s municipal golf course.
The city’s decision in 2019 to continue to keep garbage collection and recycling services in-house rather than contracting with a private company also puts pressure on the city’s budget. The city is embarking on a $23.3 million bond-funded project to construct a new fleet maintenance building.
In related news, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District approved a tax rate of $1.08 per $1,000 of taxable value, up 15% from the rollback rate of 94 cents per $1,000.
Only one person spoke against the tax increase at the district’s final budget hearing, also on Sept. 19, and no one opposed it at the tentative budget hearing on Sept. 6.
Property taxes form the bulk of the district’s $67.7 million budget, which is up 27.9% from the previous year’s expenses. The budget includes $7.3 million to develop the Ocean Breeze property, which used to be the golf course at the Boca Teeca condominiums, and $1.6 million in debt payback for the purchase of the property.
The district also earmarked $5 million to build a tennis and pickleball center at Patch Reef Park.
In other business, the City Council on Sept. 13 approved Reve Del Mizner, five luxury townhomes on the southeast corner of East Boca Raton Road and Northeast Mizner Boulevard. The townhomes, developed by Reve Del Mizner LLC, will be approximately 8,000 square feet, with four bedrooms, six and one-half bathrooms, and four garaged parking spaces each.
The council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency on Aug. 22, approved a 144-room extended-stay hotel for Royal Palm Place. Investments Limited, the largest commercial property owner in the downtown, proposed the 12-story project with two parking garages. The hotel is intended for visitors seeking two- or three-month stays.
Steve Plunkett contributed to this story.

By Rich Pollack

It took three tries, but Highland Beach finally has its first legislative appropriation in the town’s more than 70-year history.
Town leaders were recently notified a request for $650,000 to fund two projects through the Florida House of Representatives Local Support Grants has been approved.
The funds, according to town Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who led efforts to secure the money, will help the town with plans for a new fire station and will be used to enhance a part of the town’s preparation for the potential impacts of sea-level rise.
“It’s nice to have recognition from the state that our residents deserve a fair share of state appropriations,” she said. “These grants will help ensure their safety and security and also help provide a cleaner environment.”
Highland Beach will receive $375,000 that will be used to create an Emergency Operations Center in the proposed new fire station.
It will also receive $275,000 to rehabilitate its six lift stations to ensure that wastewater removal systems operate efficiently even as sea levels rise.
Town Manager Marshall Labadie said that an Emergency Operations Center will make it safer for people coordinating rescue and cleanup efforts following a hurricane to remain in Highland Beach during the severe weather.
“The station will be a full EOC up to Category 5 hurricanes, allowing staff to remain on the three-mile barrier island during storms,” Highland Beach leaders wrote in the application for the funding.
In the request for dollars to rehabilitate the lift stations and prepare them to operate despite threats of rising seas, the town wrote that residents could be subjected to lower water quality without the improvements.
“Compromised lift stations can lead to sewage backups and leakages to the environment,” town leaders wrote.
The lift stations serve as sewage collection points throughout town and pump gathered wastewater under the Intracoastal Waterway to Delray Beach, where it is pushed through to a regional treatment and disposal facility.
The town will use the state funds to raise the levels of some lift stations and strengthen others to ensure they are impervious to rising sea water and other challenges.
Gossett-Seidman, who worked closely with state Rep. Mike Caruso (R-Delray Beach) to get the funding, said that appropriations are funds that come to a community as a result of requests for a specific project made to a local legislator.
“They are for projects beyond what the state would fund in the budget,” she said.
Earlier this year, Highland Beach suffered a setback in its efforts to win appropriations from the state when Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed requests for three projects, including the Emergency Operations Center.
The town had also asked for money for drainage improvements along State Road A1A and for additional crosswalk lighting.
Gossett-Seidman said the town decided not to ask again for help with the latter two projects in its request for money from the House of Representatives because drainage issues are being addressed in a Florida Department of Transportation A1A resurfacing project scheduled for 2024.
Embedding crosswalk lights in the pavement, she said, would have to wait until after the roadwork is completed.
An earlier appropriation request from the 2019-2020 budget year also made it through state committees and the Legislature but were axed by the governor. That year, most appropriations were cut so that the money could be used for efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19.
“We were approved both times up until the request got to the governor’s office,” Gossett-Seidman said.
The latest appropriation was from a fund controlled by the House of Representatives and didn’t require approval by DeSantis or the state Senate.

By Joel Engelhardt

A Boca Raton Democrat takes on a Highland Beach Republican in the most competitive of several legislative contests awaiting barrier island voters on Nov. 8.
Andy Thomson, a Boca Raton resident since 2016 and City Council member since 2018, is running for the open House District 91 seat against Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a 31-year Highland Beach resident and town commissioner since 2018. Instead of a single House member, as in years past, the barrier island — from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach — will be represented by three House members under newly drawn maps approved by the Legislature in February.

In Boynton- and Delray- dominated District 90, Democrat Joe Casello takes on Republican Keith Feit. In District 87, which runs north of the Boynton Inlet, Republican Mike Caruso faces Democrat Sienna Osta.
The Boca-centered District 91, formerly represented by Emily Slosberg-King, used to run entirely inland. Now it encompasses all of Boca Raton and much of west Boca, as well as the coast nearly to the Delray Beach line.
The 2020 presidential results, with District 91 voters going 52% for Joe Biden and 47.5% for Donald Trump, offer Thomson an advantage. He calls himself a moderate able to work across party lines in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Gossett-Seidman says her ability to get legislative approval for three bills providing $1.1 million for Highland Beach projects indicates her ability to work in Tallahassee. 
“This isn’t just a popularity contest in Boca Raton,” she said. “It’s about how you get things done.”
Thomson countered that Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the spending.
“I’m not sure I buy that she will be able to bring more resources back,” he said. “It’s not borne by recent history.”
However, in July, the town received $375,000 toward a new fire station and $275,000 to rehabilitate sewage lift stations from a joint legislative committee. Gossett-Seidman said the governor anticipated that money being available when he made his vetoes. 
Gossett-Seidman, 69, a former newspaper reporter, defeated Christina DuCasse with 52.5% of the vote in the August primary. She credited her victory to knocking on doors and her work in Tallahassee.
She said she would focus on fighting inflation by reining in property insurance costs and fighting high housing costs. She pointed to her “reporter’s mentality” for helping to save Highland Beach $2 million a year by severing its decades-long relationship with Delray Beach for fire rescue services.  
On abortion, Gossett-Seidman supports the state’s 15-week ban but said she doesn’t expect the Legislature to seek an outright ban.
Thomson, 40, a lawyer with a degree from the University of Miami, points out that the Florida Supreme Court has upheld the right to abortion through a privacy right in the state Constitution, making it difficult for Republicans to enact an outright ban. He said he would not support criminalization of abortion. 
Thomson, who did not have a primary contest, is a father of five children, ages 1 to 10. He jogs 3 to 4 miles several times a week, picking up litter along the way and challenging himself to cover all 500 miles of city streets every year. 
He said he would press for action on housing affordability. One key is to do more about property insurance than what emerged from a special legislative session this year. 
Gossett-Seidman too anticipates more action on insurance, saying legislative leaders already have indicated an interest in reconsidering the issue. 
“That the Legislature is looking at it again tells you everything you need to know about how effective it was,” Thomson said.
He also would push for stricter gun background checks and red flag laws that would allow family members, not just police, to seek gun confiscation. 
Through Sept. 9, Thomson had raised nearly $208,000 plus a $30,000 loan from himself. He still had more than $200,000 to spend. 
Gossett-Seidman raised $95,000 and lent her campaign $200,000, about the amount already spent as she heads into the general election.

District 87: Caruso vs. Osta
Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso has represented the South County barrier islands since 2018. That ended with redistricting based on the 2020 U.S. Census.
Now he’s running in Republican-leaning District 87, which includes the barrier islands north of the Boynton Inlet, hugs the coast northward through Palm Beach and Singer Island and takes in half of Palm Beach Gardens and a slice of Jupiter. 
The change forces him out of his longtime Delray Beach base. Caruso is keeping his oceanfront Delray home but moving into a downtown West Palm Beach condo to live in the district. 
Caruso, 64, an accountant, beat back an August primary challenge from his political right, winning two-thirds of the vote against Jane Justice.
He’ll face Democrat Sienna Osta, who in her only previous race ran unsuccessfully for Florida House District 88 in 2020.
Osta, 34, is a first-generation Lebanese-American lawyer who lives and works in downtown West Palm Beach. Spurred by the media attention to the Gabby Petito missing persons case and lack of similar attention for cases involving Black and brown women, she is ready to propose legal requirements that police must meet within the first 48 hours of a missing-person report.
“We have Amber Alerts for minors up to 18 years old,” she said. “What about the rest of us?”
She also would focus on support for women’s rights and fixing Florida’s unemployment compensation system.
Caruso said he would emphasize measures to combat rising prices. 
“This election comes down to inflation, inflation, inflation,” he said. “Whether gas, rentals, food or interest rates, people are concerned that if they’re feeling the pinch, their young adult children are really feeling the pinch.” 
Steps the Legislature can take include suspension of the state gasoline tax, which it agreed to do for October, and reducing the commercial lease tax. Other actions: raising salaries and bonuses for teachers, police and firefighters. 
Caruso said House leadership has asked him to examine ways to reduce property taxes and he’s confident Republicans can find a way to keep property insurers from canceling policies over such items as the age of a roof.
He supports the GOP-enacted 15-week ban on abortion as “good law.” 
Through Sept. 9, Caruso had raised about $186,000, with about $61,000 remaining, to Osta’s $4,500.

District 90: Casello vs. Feit
Joe Casello has never campaigned in Delray Beach before. 
He’s a fixture in Boynton Beach, where he served five years on the City Commission before jumping in 2018 to represent the city in the state House. 
But newly drawn District 90 splits his district between Boynton and Delray and adds the barrier island from the northern tip of Highland Beach through Ocean Ridge.
As a Democrat, Casello, 70, is realistic about what he can accomplish in the state House. 
“One party dominates,” he said. “To get things done, I take pride in working across the aisle, earning their respect. In the end, it’s the agenda of the House speaker or Senate president and DeSantis. That’s just how it goes.”
While he says he won’t “bad-mouth” Gov. Ron DeSantis, he criticized actions he called “self-promoting,” like sending migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. 
“I will never be a Ron DeSantis supporter. I think he has control to do a lot more good than what he’s doing,” Casello said.
He objected to the Republican bill capping abortions at 15 weeks without exceptions for rape or incest and said he expects next year’s fight to revolve around a six-week ban, as approved in Texas.
He called his opponent, Keith Feit, “a far-right Republican.”
Feit, 47, a middle-school teacher at The Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens with a home in Boynton Beach, took issue with Casello’s voting record. 
“I’m not in this race because of any personal animosity toward Joe Casello. My concern is the way he voted,” Feit said. “He’s not representing the people.”
He cited Casello for opposing the Parental Rights in Education Act, educational choice and keeping critical race theory out of classrooms.
“I believe parents need to raise our children, not the government or administrators,” he said. “My representative votes against legislation that would keep that (sexual orientation) out of kindergarten to third grade. That’s not looking out for the kids. It’s a war on parents.”
DeSantis, he said, “hit it out of the park” on education. 
Feit said he supports the recently enacted 15-week abortion ban, although he would make exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. “Four months is enough time for a woman to decide whether or not to keep her baby,” he said.
While Casello raised $26,000 through Sept. 9 and spent $21,000, he has a political committee, JC PAC, that has raised $90,000, mostly from firefighters, and spent $11,000.
Feit has raised $20,450 and spent nearly $7,000. 

Senate races
Democratic-leaning District 26, which runs from Glades Road to the Boynton Inlet and spreads as far west as Belle Glade, pits state Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat, against Steve Byers, a Republican. Berman, who has served in the Legislature since 2010, has raised $134,000. Byers raised $1,700 and lent his campaign $54,800.
Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky is running against Republican William Reicherter in Broward-dominated District 30, which includes Boca and west Boca south of Glades Road. Polsky has raised $150,000 while Reicherter has raised $11,500.
The barrier islands north of the Boynton Inlet fall into Senate District 24. Those residents will choose between Democratic state Sen. Bobby Powell, who has raised $103,000, and Republican Eric Ankner, who has raised $3,300.

County Commission
The barrier islands from Boca Raton to Palm Beach fall into Palm Beach County Commission District 4, which features Democratic incumbent Robert Weinroth, a former Boca Raton councilman, against Republican Marcia “Marci” Woodward.
Woodward, who wrote on her website that she is running because she opposed county coronavirus pandemic mandates, raised about $45,000 through Sept. 9. Weinroth raised $314,000.

By Steve Plunkett

As chainsaws whirred into the limbs and trunks of large Brazilian pepper trees, archaeologist Rodrigo Cardenas kept a close watch on the work at Ocean Strand.
“We just guide them on how to do it in a way that’s not going to harm the archaeological site,” Cardenas said.
In their first day on the job Sept. 19, crews attacked the exotic vegetation that has overtaken the parcel; that evening commissioners of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District approved spending $15,207 for signs declaring the property “Ocean Strand Park.”
The vacant 14.6-acre site between State Road A1A and the Intracoastal Waterway is expected to open to the public by the end of the year, said Erin Wright, who chairs the district board and was behind the latest push to develop the park.
“They said that’s totally do-able,” Wright said. “So we’ll have a nice ribbon-cutting.”
After the workers remove the larger growth, they will tackle the underbrush, clipping non-native plant life just above ground level to avoid disturbing what remains of a prehistoric midden, or trash heap, left by indigenous people circa A.D. 600 to 1400.
“So it’ll be like open. It’ll be nice,” said Cardenas, of the Broward County-based not-for-profit Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, which discovered eight pieces of prehistoric pottery while studying the parkland for the Beach and Park District.
Cardenas said the pottery fragments confirmed the significance of the site.
“You’re never going to find a natural ceramic. That’s something they made here,” he said.
The district bought the land, which includes 1.6 acres on the beach east of A1A, and two additional parcels, for $13.1 million starting in 1994. It banked the property without creating plans to develop it until Wright began her push almost three years ago.
District commissioners at first budgeted $75,000 to make Ocean Strand a pedestrian park in September 2020. That amount swelled to $600,000 to add an ADA-compliant path and fully remove exotic plants, then dropped to the current $300,000 after Cardenas’ group issued its study. Instead of clearing Brazilian peppers from the entire western tract, crews are focusing on the central portion with extra care for the midden on its west side.
Ocean Strand Park will open with a mulch path for pedestrians from A1A to the waterway, an asphalt path for people with disabilities and for bicyclists, picnic tables, benches and a kayak landing area.
The acreage is at 2300 N. Ocean Blvd., between the much larger Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park.
Also at the site are private construction crews building a three-unit condominium on the Intracoastal just north of the park. JJ Morley Enterprises Inc. paid the district $15,000 for a temporary easement to stage construction equipment and materials, park vehicles and enter and leave the area. The easement runs until February 2023 or until construction is complete and can be extended if necessary for $1,000 a month. After the work is finished, Morley will repave the asphalt road.

By Steve Plunkett

An Opa-locka resident has been identified as the man who brandished a firearm and robbed two people on the barrier island early on July 24, police say.
Kwame Moorer, who turned 31 on Sept. 17, was arrested in Miami-Dade County on Aug. 31 on a Boca Raton warrant. Police Detective Scott Hanley used surveillance video and other investigative tools to determine Moorer was the perpetrator, the city’s Police Services Department said in a news release.
The victims arrived home on Banyan Road at 4:28 a.m. that Sunday after spending the evening at the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Hollywood. They both told police that when they parked and got out of the car, they were approached by a masked man who pointed a gun at them and demanded their belongings.
They gave the robber, who was wearing dark pants and a long-sleeve hoodie, their wallets, phones and cash. Both stated the man began to flee and turned before jumping over a concrete wall, then fired one shot in their direction. He got into a dark SUV parked on Banyan Road and fled north. Neither victim was injured.
Hanley determined Moorer followed the victims home from the casino before robbing them. Moorer faces charges of robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm, police said.
The incident happened in the 2700 block of Banyan Road. Banyan is a block west of State Road A1A and runs parallel to it from East Camino Real to Southeast 31st Street.

By Rich Pollack

It has been more than four years since David Del Rio was arrested on charges of defrauding an 85-year-old Highland Beach widow and her late husband, and now it appears the case likely will go before a jury in March.
At a trial set for March 6 in front of Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Gillen, Del Rio will face as many as 72 counts of grand theft and exploitation of the elderly, with prosecutors contending he siphoned nearly $3 million from Betty and William Cabral over six years.
The charges came as detectives were investigating Betty Cabral’s April 2018 homicide, only the second in Highland Beach’s more than 70-year history. No charges have been filed in connection with the homicide and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation.
Del Rio, who has been under house arrest since January 2019, had served as the couple’s financial adviser.
“Mr. Del Rio is looking forward to his day in court,” said defense attorney Michael Salnick.
While prosecutors have contended that Del Rio took advantage of his business relationship with the Cabrals and used their trust to deduct money from bank accounts, Salnick has argued that all the transactions were above board and with the Cabrals’ consent.
Salnick said that delays in bringing the case to trial are the result of the coronavirus pandemic and of the need for a lot of groundwork to be done.
“There is a lot of evidence in this case,” he said.
The body of Betty Cabral was discovered on April 30 in her Highland Beach condo by police after her car was found abandoned in Broward County. Her throat had been cut, according to statements made in court by prose-cutors.

Note: Events are current as of 10/22. Please check with organizers for any changes.

OCTOBER 2-8

Thursday - 10/6 - Sandoway Discover Series: Halloween at Sandoway Discovery Center, 142 S Ocean Blvd, Delray Beach. Outdoors, limit 10 students per class. Age 3-5. Held again 10/20. 2:30 pm & 3:15 pm. $8/non-member; $2/member child. RSVP: 561-274-7263; sandoway.org

OCTOBER 9-15

Thursday - 10/13 - Fall-Oween Spooktacular Show & Parade at Boca Raton Public Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Special show features Suzy Hammer as Grizelda the Sweet Witch. Child can dress in costume; trick-or-treat parade through the library follows. Child must be accompanied by an adult. All ages. 4-4:45 pm. Free. 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org
10/15 - Fall Festival at Centennial Park & Amphitheater, 120 E Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. Bounce houses, games, rock wall, petting zoo, sack races, pumpkin decorating contest, face painting. Kids receive free popcorn & candy. Community Greening giving away 200 trees (wild tamarind, slash pine, loquat and avocado). 3-6 pm. Free. 561-742-6641; boynton-beach.org
Saturday - 10/15-16 - Boca Raton Pumpkin Patch Festival at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real. Carnival rides, kiddie cornstalk maze, scarecrow dress-up village, sponsor giveaways, more. Pumpkins, savory & sweet cocktails, fair food for purchase. 10 am-6 pm. Per day $25/person age 3+; free/under age 3. Advance ticket purchase required: bocapumpkinpatch.com

OCTOBER 16-22

Thursday - 10/20 - Halloween Fall Fest at Delray Beach Historical Society, 3 NE 1st St.  Costume contest, games, outdoor movie, exhibits, refreshment stations, bake sale, more. 5-8:30 pm. $5/person; free/members & age 3 & under. Registration: 561-274-9578; delraybeachhistory.org
Friday - 10/21 - Ghoul’s Night Out Haunted House & Happy Hour at Milagro Junior Teen Center, 346 SW 6th Ave, Delray Beach. Benefits Milagro Center Junior Team Leadership Program. 6-8 pm. $25. 561-279-2970; milagrocenter.org
10/21 - Witches Brew at Tim Finnegan’s Irish Pub, 2885 S Federal Hwy, Delray Beach. Supports Annual Witches Ride (10/29); benefits Achievement Centers for Children & Families. 6-9 pm. $40/person. 561-276-0520; achievementcentersfl.org
10/21 - Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein at The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park, 300 S Military Trl, Boca Raton. Presented by Entr'acte Theatrix. Runs through 10/30. 8 pm & 2 pm. $20. 561-347-3948;willowtheatre.org

OCTOBER 23-29

Sunday - 10/23 - Halloween in the Garden at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Outdoor crafts, games, wear your coolest costume. Carpooling encouraged; insect repellent suggested. Age 2-6; child under 18 must be accompanied by parent/guardian. 4:30-5:30 pm. $10/member; $13/non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8615; gumbolimbo.org
Tuesday – 10/25 - Haunted Opera at Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Go behind the scenes, discover the stories, music, production of some dark & scary operas. Presented by Palm Beach Opera. 1 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org
10/25 - Halloween Celebration & Costume Contest at Boynton Beach City Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Age 13-17. 4-6 pm. Free. 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org
Friday - 10/28 - Costume Tennis at Boca Raton Tennis Center, 271 NW Boca Raton Blvd. Tennis fun & pizza for kids currently enrolled in the tennis program. Age 5-12. 5 & 6 pm. $3/child. 561-393-7978; myboca.us/bocaboodays
10/28 - Serve It Forward Glow in the Dark Tennis Experience at Delray Beach Tennis Center, 201 W Atlantic Ave. Live DJ, blacklights, costume contest, silent auction, prizes, fun for everyone. 6 pm. $75/player; $40/age 10-17; $35/spectator; free/children under 10. 508-886-4500; belikebrit.org/glow
10/28 - Little Scream at Bryant Park, 100 S Golfview Rd, Lake Worth Beach. Trunk or treating, children’s & pet costume contests, Screen on the Green movie, games, activities, more. 6-9 pm. Free. 561-586-1600; lakeworthbeachfl.gov
10/28 - The Haunted Nature Preserve at Lantana Nature Preserve, 400 E Ocean Ave. Guided haunted trail tours, DJ dance party, costume contest, hayride, kids carnival games, vendors, prizes, more. 6:30-9 pm. Free w/free event parking at Lantana Beach. 561-540-5751; lantana.org
10/28 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience at Mizner Park Cultural Center, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Age 18+. 7 pm & 9:30 pm. $25. Tickets: 561-347-3948, Info: 561-347-3948; miznerparkculturalcenter.com
10/28 - Haunted Hammock at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. 30-minute guided walk through shadowy, mysterious hammock forest along the boardwalk; learn about nocturnal critters that creep & crawl when no one else is around. Program is a little scary w/some frights along the way. No flashlight or cell phone use during program. Carpooling encouraged; insect repellent suggested. Age 7+; child under 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. 7:30-10 pm. $10/member; $13/non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8615; gumbolimbo.org
Saturday - 10/29 - 11th Annual Witches of Delray Beach Bike Ride starts at City Hall, 100 NW 1st Ave; ends at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave. Benefits Achievement Centers for Children & Families. 7:30-11:30 am. $40/rider. 561-276-0520; achievementcentersfl.org
10/29 - St. Gregory’s Annual Fall Bazaar at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 9 am-3 pm. Free/admission & parking. 561-395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org

OCT. 30 - NOV. 5

Sunday - 10/30 - Fall Festival at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, 3300 Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach. Held between 9:30 am & 11:45 am services. Free. 561-732-3060; stjoesweb.org
Monday - 10/31 - Halloween Spooktacular! at Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Children invited to come in costume; have fun with music, treats, win a prize for most creative costume! Age 6-12. 5 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org
10/31 - Halloween Party at Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Age 13-17. 5-7 pm. Free. Online registration required: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org
10/31 - Halloween at the Addison presents Gotham at 2 E Camino Real, Boca Raton. Benefits Boca Helping Hands. Age 21+. 7 pm. $250/VIP; $150/general admission. 561-372-0568; specialevents@theaddison.com

A portable traffic light directs traffic through the 4000 block of South Ocean Boulevard in Highland Beach on Sept. 2. A contractor for FDOT is installing drainage pipes as part of a $400,000 project to address chronic flooding. The project is expected to run through September. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

A construction project designed to address chronic flooding on a portion of State Road A1A in Highland Beach is creating headaches for both northbound and southbound motorists who face backups due to a lane closure.

 As part of the $400,000 project in the 4000 block of South Ocean Boulevard, a contractor working for the Florida Department of Transportation is installing drainage pipes along with a French drain and catch basins.

Begun in mid-August, the project just south of the Regency Highland condominiums is expected to be completed before the end of September, weather permitting. 

With the southbound lane portion currently closed round the clock for the project, the contractor is using a suspended traffic light as a traffic control device in addition to flag operators during peak hours. 

“Temporary traffic signals can be used for single lane closures on a two-lane, two-way road,” according to an FDOT spokesperson, who said the devices have been used on other projects in South Florida and throughout the state. The northbound lane will also be shut down for a period of time once work is finished on the southbound side and that side is reopened.

Highland Beach town officials say there has been one crash at the work site, when a car stopped at the traffic light was rear-ended by another vehicle. No serious injuries were reported.

— Rich Pollack

Questions about rising construction costs and the city’s potential liability prompted the CRA to delay a vote on a contract for the proposed center at Mizner Park. Rendering provided

By Steve Plunkett

Lawyers for Boca Raton and the cultural arts consortium that wants to build a performing arts center in Mizner Park are spending this month trying to resolve two sticking points in the way of a 94-year lease of city property.
The proposed lease was up for approval at a special meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency on Aug. 22, but City Council members and city staff balked at using old estimates of the construction cost that did not reflect recent inflation and a demand by the arts supporters that the city be liable for actual damages if it or the CRA were found to be in default.
Instead of voting on the proposal, council members sitting as the CRA decided to table the matter until Sept. 28.
“I really want this to be successful, so that’s why I think this additional 37 days is important to get this right. We need to get this right for both of us,” said council member Monica Mayotte, who chairs the CRA.
As presented, the proposed lease still had a minimum benchmark of $75 million for the performing arts center, despite the fact that construction costs have risen an estimated 30% in the past year.
Andrea Virgin, president of the board of the former Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corp., now renamed The Center for Arts and Innovation Inc., tried to reassure council members that the group would hit specified percentages of the construction money throughout the fundraising process regardless of the final dollar amount.
“Whether it’s $75 million or $150 million to build the minimum, that is what we are obligated to do,” said Ele Zachariades, one of the group’s lawyers. “Again, it’s a moving target.”
In the end, Virgin’s group said it would do what it could to produce updated figures.
The debate over whether the city should be liable for actual damages seemed to be at an impasse until the third hour of the meeting when City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser suggested a compromise that the arts group initially rejected.
“We floated the idea of a cap. That was not our first suggestion, but that’s the only place I can see any room,” Frieser said.
Virgin’s group then offered to cap any claim for actual damages to 25% of the value of the arts complex, but council members wanted city staff to vet the implications.
Lawyers on both sides had trouble describing what a possible breach of the contract by the CRA or the city might entail, but Frieser said the city’s “unlimited” exposure would be troublesome.
“Many things will happen in five years, in 20 years, in 80 years that nobody in this room can anticipate. No matter how well-written the contract is, there is no contract that, over that length of time, will not raise issues of uncertainty,” Frieser said.
The $130 million complex to be built on city-owned land on the north end of Mizner Park will include a performing arts center whose venues can accommodate 6,000 people, completely renovated amphitheater, jewel box theater, rooftop terrace and outdoor performing arts spaces.
Virgin said her group already has raised $13 million and has pledges of $25 million to come after the city approves the plan. But she worried about holding those donors to their word if negotiations continue.
“The longer we take to have this vote, the longer I have to keep my donors warm. The job is hard enough. I don’t need indecisiveness, delay to make that harder,” she said.
In other business, City Council members on Aug. 23 repealed the ordinance banning the practice of conversion therapy on minors. They approved a temporary repeal on Aug. 5 after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ordinance was unconstitutional.
Council members also approved on second reading an ordinance banning smoking on public lands on the beach and in parks.

— Mary Hladky contributed to this story.

By Rich Pollack

Highland Beach’s town employees will see a little extra in their paychecks come November, thanks to a 3% bonus designed to help offset rising costs.
The Town Commission late last month unanimously approved a one-time Economic Impact Payment that will be given to most full- and part-time employees who are on the payroll during October.
“If an employee has a satisfactory performance in October, they will get a check in November,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said.
In agreeing to offer the one-time bonus, town commissioners cited the rising cost of necessities including food, fuel and housing.
“Prices have spiked and people are feeling under the gun,” said Commissioner John Shoemaker.
While commissioners aren’t downplaying the positive financial impact the bonuses will have on the staff, they say that the message the extra money sends is equally important, if not more so.
“The town has done a great job of getting things done and this is really an endorsement of our entire team,” Shoemaker said. “The money is a real token to show that we value their contributions.”
Commissioners also said they hope that by showing their support for the staff, it will help the town retain top-notch personnel.
“We have a great staff and we want them to stay,” Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman said.
Labadie said the bonus would be paid to employees who are in the town’s two unions — once union leaders agree — as well as to those not covered by the union.
To cover the cost of the bonuses, the town will pledge about $150,000 from its almost $10 million in reserves but plans to replace that money with unspent funds from the current fiscal year.
In addition to the one-time bonus, which will not affect base pay, town employees will be eligible for merit increases up to 5%.
Labadie said that town employees in general have faced financial challenges in recent months and that bonuses will be helpful.
“Coming out of the pandemic and into a recession has been difficult for our staff,” he said. “This gesture from the commission speaks volumes and lets them know that they want them to stay a part of our Highland Beach family.”

Brightline President Patrick Goddard (in orange vest), Mayor Scott Singer (sixth from left), other City Council members and staff from Brightline and Kaufman Lynn Construction attend the ceremony for the Boca Raton train station and parking garage. Photo provided

By Mary Hladky

Brightline, its contractor Kaufman Lynn and City Council members celebrated a “topping-off” ceremony on Aug. 16 to note that vertical and structural work has been completed at its Boca Raton station and parking garage and the focus of work now shifts to completing the interiors.
“Our construction teams are working across South Florida and throughout the state to connect Florida like never before and we can’t wait to connect to Boca,” said Patrick Goddard, president of the rail service.
Brightline expects to launch passenger service to Boca Raton before the end of the year. 
The 22,000-square-foot station will be Brightline’s fourth in the state, connecting travelers in Boca Raton to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Its fifth expansion station in Aventura will also open in 2022 followed by service to Orlando in 2023.
“It’s a game changer for Boca Raton to have a Brightline station in our downtown,” said Mayor Scott Singer. “Our residents and business know how much it means to be a key part of a major transportation network. We’re excited to see the line build out to Orlando and possibly beyond.” 
The Boca Raton station received a federal grant for $16.4 million that obligates Brightline to build “Buy America Compliant,” which means the materials used for the construction were manufactured within the United States. 
The station, adjacent to the Downtown Library, will provide a major boost to the local economy, Brightline says. Approximately 1.8 million visitors annually by 2025 will use Brightline to visit Boca Raton and are projected to contribute up to $10.9 million annually in local spending.

By Mary Hladky

To the relief of many beachside residents, enhanced crosswalks to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety are being installed along State Road A1A.
Those living along the beach have long pushed for the upgrades. “It is really not safe to cross A1A,” said Emily Gentile, president of the Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton and Highland Beach. “People do not stop.”
The project was stalled, however, by government bureaucracy. A1A is a state road, so the Florida Department of Transportation normally would be responsible for improvements.
The FDOT said it would study the idea “in a couple of years,” City Manager Leif Ahnell told City Council members recently. If the agency agreed the work should be done, it would start in 2025.
“I said that is unacceptable,” Gentile said.
City officials felt the same way and negotiated with the state to take over the project. The work, costing about $260,000, is now expected to be completed this fall.
“Everyone is very excited about it,” Gentile said. “We have been taking safety very seriously.”
She credited Mayor Scott Singer and state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, with working to eliminate project roadblocks.
Work will be done at 11 locations between Highland Beach and Deerfield Beach.
The city will install flashing lights that warn motorists a pedestrian is crossing the roadway. Pedestrians can activate them by pressing a button.
In government parlance, the lights are called rectangular rapid-flashing beacons.
Some of them already exist on Palmetto Park Road and Mizner Boulevard.
Work will be done at 2531 S. Ocean Blvd.; the intersection of De Soto Road and A1A; the intersection of Ponce De Leon Road and A1A; 550 S. Ocean Blvd.; 400 S. Ocean Blvd.; the intersection of Northeast Fourth Street and A1A; the intersection of Northeast Sixth Street and A1A; 2150 N. Ocean Boulevard; 2667 N. Ocean Blvd. at the Yacht & Racquet Club of Boca Raton; 2871 N. Ocean Blvd. at the San Remo condominium, and 4201 N. Ocean Blvd. at the Sea Ranch Club condominium.
Gentile said buckets will be placed at the crosswalks on both sides of A1A holding orange flags that pedestrians can wave when walking across the roadway.

By Steve Plunkett

Nature lovers and Boca Raton’s threatened gopher tortoises are getting a boost in the coming budget year — new preserve land is being cleaned up and made accessible to the public south of Hidden Valley Boulevard and west of Dixie Highway.
The enhanced preserve will include 11.27 acres of sand pine scrub habitat, a quarter-mile pedestrian sand path through the preserve, 968 feet of ADA accessible concrete path, six parking spaces with one being ADA-compliant, a bicycle rack, educational kiosk and perimeter fencing. The kiosk will offer information on the history and importance of the site.
The work will be paid for with a $319,500 community development block grant from the federal government.
As part of the project, the site will be cleared of trash and debris that has been dumped over the years, making the site more accessible to the neighborhood.
Project designers WZA Architects and the city’s Recreation Services Department hosted a public information meeting about the preserve at the Spanish River Library on Aug. 17.
Besides the preserve area, gopher tortoises can be seen in an exhibit area at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Red Reef Park. Visitors to the Blazing Star Nature Preserve on West Camino Real, the Yamato Scrub Natural Area on Yamato Road and other sites have also encountered them.
In Florida, the gopher tortoise is listed as threatened, mostly by habitat destruction, with both the tortoise and its burrow protected under state law. The tortoises share their deep burrows with more than 350 other species, and are therefore referred to as a keystone species.
The long-lived reptiles must be relocated before any land clearing or development takes place, and property owners must obtain permits from the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before capturing and relocating tortoises.
Gopher tortoises occupy upland habitat throughout Florida including forests, pastures and yards, and forage on low-growing plants.

Plans to develop Ocean Strand into a passive park have won final approval from the city.
The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which owns the vacant property between Spanish River and Red Reef parks, announced the successful end of the permitting process on Aug. 26. Surveyors were to be on the site the following week with development crews expected shortly afterward for the $300,000 project.
“We are excited to bring this great park to the Boca Raton community,” District Chair Erin Wright said in a statement. “We intend to develop a park that puts Boca’s natural beauty on full display.”
Located at 2300 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Strand’s 16.2 acres stretch from the beach to the Intracoastal Waterway.
The first phase of construction, for the land west of State Road A1A to the Intracoastal, will include natural walking trails through the mangroves, ADA accessibility and educational opportunities.
The unbuilt park is one of 10 finalists in the National Recreation and Park Association’s “Perk Your Park” competition. The contest, sponsored by Niagara Bottling, awards the top three vote-getting parks $75,000 each based on the results of an internet election.
The Boca Raton community is invited to visit www.niagaraperkyourpark.com/parks/ocean-strand-park/ to cast a ballot. Community members can vote once a day through Sept. 12.
— Steve Plunkett

By Joe Capozzi

                  Ocean Ridge police are investigating the death of a Lantana teenager whose body was found Aug. 12 in a vacant lot just east of the Ocean Avenue bridge leading to Boynton Beach.

                 The body of Cassidy Craig, 18, had been lying in the vacant lot at 21 E. Ocean Ave. for two to six days before being discovered around 7 p.m. Aug. 12 by a man walking his dog, Ocean Ridge Police Chief Richard Jones told The Coastal Star.

                  Jones said police and the medical examiner’s office are awaiting results of toxicology tests before they can determine a cause of death. Although Jones said she might have died of a drug overdose, “the investigation will continue as a homicide until we prove otherwise.’’

                  Police said she might have died at a different location. 

                  “The scene doesn’t appear to contain all the evidence that would be contained if that is where she expired,’’ Jones said. ‘’We can’t definitely say she didn't die there, but the possibility she died somewhere else is also present — so we don't want to rule out either as an option.’’

                  The lot is owned by 21 Ocean LLC, which has a Fort Lauderdale address, state records show. Jones said permit applications at Town Hall indicate the owner is preparing to build on the land, which is less than half an acre. 

                  Crime technicians from the Delray Beach Police Department are assisting with the investigation. 

                  Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Ocean Ridge Police Department at 561-732-8331.

By Joel Engelhardt

   The Aug. 23 primary whittled the field in three races critical to residents of coastal South County.

   In the closest race, Highland Beach Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman defeated newcomer Christina DuCasse with 52.6% of the vote, per unofficial results posted on Aug. 24. Gossett-Seidman, a Republican, will face Boca Raton City Council member Andy Thomson, a Democrat, for the House District 91 seat in November. 

   State Rep. Mike Caruso, moving into new House District 87, took 67.5% of the vote in defeating Republican Party activist Jane Justice. Caruso, who has spent more than half of the $208,000 he raised through Aug. 18, will face Democrat Sienna Osta, who has raised $4,900.

   In Senate District 26, Republican Steve Byers took 58.8% of the vote to defeat William Wheelen. Byers will face incumbent Democrat Lori Berman on Nov. 8.

   Gossett-Seidman, who won by about 500 votes from about 9,500 cast, spent nearly $194,000 in her race. DuCasse, a Russian-born American adoptee married to a Boca firefighter, spent less than $10,000 but had the support of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1560 of Boca Raton. 

   Gossett-Seidman, 69, raised nearly $290,000, including a $200,000 loan from herself. She credited her victory to hard work, going door-to-door and her success in getting Tallahassee financial support for local projects. 

   Thomson, who had no primary challenger, has raised $225,000 but spent just $30,000. The district includes all of Boca Raton, most of Highland Beach and much of west Boca.

   After four years representing the Delray Beach area and most of the South County barrier islands, Caruso moved into a new coastal district that starts at the Boynton Inlet and covers Hypoluxo, Lantana, Manalapan and South Palm Beach, as well as large swaths of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.

   He decried the split in the party that turned many local party members against him over his primary endorsement of Democrat Katherine Waldron, a Port of Palm Beach commissioner. He said he spent money fighting “untruths” that should have been saved for his Democratic rival. 

   Caruso, 63, said he took calls every day from voters concerned by allegations made by his opponent and his campaign knocked on 14,000 doors. 

   “We need to come together as a party,” he said. “We’ve got to keep Florida red, keep Florida conservative and keep Florida free.”

   Byers, 54, parlayed success in Amway sales into a consulting business that he said online did projects for IBM and the CIA. Among businesses he started since then is one as a beekeeper. 

   Byers sent out campaign mailers promoting himself and DuCasse. The mailers stated they were paid for by the Byers campaign but did not contain a similar disclosure on behalf of DuCasse, prompting criticism that they violated Florida election law. 

   He lent his campaign $54,800 and raised an additional $1,665, while spending nearly $33,000 (including $5,000 to repay loans to himself).

   Wheelen had been a party volunteer since 2015 and was honored with the local party’s Jean Pipes Award for Volunteer Service in March at a Mar-a-Lago dinner headlined by Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

   Neither Wheelen nor Byers returned phone calls seeking comment. 

   Byers will face Berman, who served eight years in the state House and has been a state senator since 2018. Through Aug. 18, she raised $130,000 and spent $35,000. 

   Senate District 26 extends along the beach from Boca Raton’s Red Reef Park to the Boynton Inlet and stretches west to Belle Glade.

By Joe Capozzi

Ocean Ridge police are investigating the death of a young woman whose body was found Aug. 12 in a vacant lot just east of the Ocean Avenue bridge leading to Boynton Beach.

Although police have identified the body, they are not releasing her name without permission from her parents, who were too distraught to make that decision when they were notified of her death on Aug. 22, Police Chief Richard Jones told The Coastal Star.

The woman is not from Ocean Ridge but she is a Palm Beach County resident between 18 and 25 years old, Jones said. 

Her body had been laying in a vacant lot at 21 E. Ocean Avenue for two to six days before being discovered around 7 p.m. Aug. 12 by a man walking his dog, the chief said.

He said police and the Medical Examiner’s Office are awaiting results of toxicology tests before they can determine a cause of death. Although Jones said she might have died of a drug overdose, “the investigation will continue as a homicide until we prove otherwise.’’

Police said she might have died at a different location. 

“The scene doesn’t appear to contain all the evidence that would be contained if that is where she expired,’’ Jones said. ‘’We can’t definitely say she didn't die there, but the possibility she died somewhere else is also present so we don't want to rule out either as an option.’’

The lot is owned by 21 Ocean LLC, which has a Fort Lauderdale address, state records show. Jones said permit applications at Town Hall indicate the owner is preparing to build on the land, which is less than half an acre. 

Crime technicians from the Delray Beach Police Department are assisting with the investigation. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Ocean Ridge Police Department at 561-732-8331.

By Tao Woolfe

Boynton Beach has broken off negotiations with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to take over city policing, according to a statement issued Aug. 15, by Sheriff Ric L. Bradshaw.

The Palm Beach County sheriff said the city cited “a substantial pension fund liability” as its reason for pulling away from the merger talks.

Boynton Beach officials declined to comment on Monday, but said in an email that Mayor Ty Penserga is expected to make a statement about the merger proposal at the Aug. 16  City Commission meeting.

In his statement, Bradshaw made it clear that Boynton Beach had  approached the PBSO about a possible merger — not the other way around.

“At no time did we ask for or initiate the discussions,” the sheriff said.

Bradshaw presented a $42.5 million proposal last month to provide Boynton Beach with “greatly enhanced security and depth of law enforcement,” if hired to provide police services to the city.

Specifically, the sheriff said, the city will benefit from gaining the “experience of advanced, cutting-edge training, equipment, and technology.”

The possibility of bringing PBSO in to replace the Boynton Beach Police Department was raised in April following months of tumult and anger — especially from the Black community — after a 13-year-old boy was killed during a December 26 high-speed police chase.

The Boynton Beach Police Department is still conducting its own investigation into the incident. Residents continue to ask City Commission members why the investigation is taking so long.

Nevertheless, many residents — Black and white — have said repeatedly at commission meetings that they did not want PBSO to replace the city’s Police Department. Instead, residents have said, the local force should be winnowed of bad officers and more enlightened policies enacted.

In a statement released on July 28, Mayor Penserga said no decision would be made about merging with PBSO until there is “significant community input, staff and commission reviews, and robust public discussion, including public hearings with citizen input.”

The sheriff said there are no hard feelings about the city’s change of heart.

“The Sheriff’s Office wishes the City all the best, and will assist them in any way if asked to do so,” Bradshaw said.