Results:
MANALAPAN Louis DeStefano - 77.88% | Gerald Kent Shortz - 22.12%
Total votes: 208 Howard Roder - 57.64% | Thomas Thorton - 42.36%
Total votes: 203
Gulf Stream School eighth-grader Olivia Gaudree is one of only four students in America recognized by the USA Today Sportsmanship Essay Contest on March 2. Read her touching essay below:
Une, deux, trois, quatre, cinq- I counted with my eyes closed. Reaching twenty, I slowly scanned the lawn for any obvious hiding places, while keeping my eyes on the ball in the middle of the field. Although this was only the second time that I played cache-cache football, I felt confident enough to be the keeper. It felt good not to have to be skilled in order to play. My cousins were well hidden, just like the rare form of bone cancer my grandfather has, and had been before all of the test and x-rays discovered its hiding place. I knew that running through everybody’s mind in the old house in Briollay was happiness because of our return and sadness for the reason why we had come. But as we kids congregated on the lawn, we knew that this was our getaway; a place where we did not have to think about cancer. We could run and hide and sneak up to kick the ball, ending the game. This was the life of cancer. It hides in different places of the body, but then one day it sneaks up on you, and before you can begin to wonder what is wrong, it is over. Unlike cancer, as soon as our game had ended it would begin again. Anything was possible. Although my cousins and I spoke different languages and grew up on different continents, this sport connected us. We all felt the adrenalin rush through our veins before the seeker called out “Olivia, derrière l’arbre.” I knew that I would have another chance even if our team did not win. And if we won, we would all gather round and congratulate each other. This was true sportsmanship. I loved the feeling of family in this sport and how if one of us fell, someone nearby would rush to our aid with a hand held out. I felt the freshly fallen leaves crush beneath my feet as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Although I am not very athletic, I was sure that this was the feeling that many of my friends experienced from playing their favorite sports. I belonged here playing this sport. And the feeling that I had when I did score, and my family crowded around to congratulate me, could not be described in words. However, I knew that the game could not last forever. One day, the ball would be kicked for the last time as cancer will take my grandfather. But although the outcome is absolute, my family and I will always have a smile on our faces; we will always help him up when he falls. That is what true sportsmanship is.
In South Palm Beach two incumbents aren’t seeking re-election March 9. The top two vote recipients among six candidates will win the two open seats on the Town Council. The candidates in order of appearance on the ballot:
Richard Akin PERSONAL: 64; married; no children; journalism degree Georgia State University. PROFESSIONAL: Retired television producer and writer. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Participated in political campaigns; first run for political office. POSITION ON ISSUES: Our tax rate is 7.65, more than double what our neighboring towns are. A lot of our owners are going to see their property taxes go up. We also in the next couple of years are going to be seeing beach refurbishment that’s going to cost us a lot of money. So we really seriously need to be more circumspect of how we’re spending our money. We’re in a recession. Ideally we would be cutting back. But at least quit expanding. Supports redevelopment of the two-story Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn, the only commercial property in town, to nine-stories with 99 units, and says the issue has gotten overblown. Spending is No. 1 issue. Doesn’t think a town of its size needs such expensive talent on staff. QUOTE: “All the buildings surrounding the motel are that height, so I really don’t see an issue with it.”
Stella Jordan PERSONAL: 70; widowed; three children; course work in business and finance at Florida State University; courses in banking. PROFESSIONAL: Retired; former first vice president of SunTrust Bank Tampa Bay; former president of National Association of Bank Women, southwest Florida region; former marketing director, Tampa Children’s Ballet Theater. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Member of South Palm Beach code enforcement board; former president, Rizon East Condominium Association for three terms; currently treasurer, Rizon East Condominium Association, serving fourth term. No prior elected office. POSITION ON ISSUES: Running united campaign with Susan Lillybeck to ensure comprehensive plan is not changed to allow high-rise condo hotel redevelopment on Oceanfront Inn site. Favors reasonable redevelopment with residents’ input. Favors keeping our local Police Department. Favors breakwaters to protect the beach. Favors fiscal responsibility and transparency. QUOTE: “The issue of beach restoration is a top priority.”
Iris Lieberman PERSONAL: Married, two children. Associate degree in applied arts, certification for religious school. PROFESSIONAL: Retired real estate broker/owner. Former New York state Realtor and owner/broker in New York. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Served on condo board; first run for political office. POSITION ON ISSUES: Lowering taxes are a priority. Tax revenue is very much needed and whatever it takes, that’s what people have to do. Would like more discussion of the plusses and minuses of the Oceanfront Inn redevelopment. If it would help the community in tax revenue to pay for part of beach erosion, then it’s something that has to be looked into, according to the planning board, because that’s only commercial building that can bring revenue. It has to go before a planning board and give the owners an opportunity to satisfy residents. Wants to go with what the majority of people in the community want to increase revenue and lower taxes. The beach is very important; the beach should be real wide. QUOTE: “The people here if you speak with them, they’re under the impression they’re going to build a world trade center. They’re not. They’re trying to build a resort that could increase the value of the properties and lower the tax rate.”
Susan Lillybeck PERSONAL: 59; married; one child; attended Millikin University. PROFESSIONAL: Owner for 28 years of Donut Delite in Moline, Ill.; former rate analyst for the Rock Island Lines railroad. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Worked on gubernatorial campaigns in Illinois; no prior elected office. POSITION ON ISSUES: Running united campaign with Stella Jordan to keep the current comprehensive plan and not allow a high-rise condo hotel on the Oceanfront Inn site. Wants to keep the Police Department; use business experience to promote fiscal responsibility; push for beach restoration to protect condos. Would work diligently with the entire council and seek input from all residents to build a consensus on what the town could do to keep tax rates at acceptable levels. Wants to accelerate the implementation of plans already in place. One of highest priorities will be to work closely with all public safety agencies to ensure safety and security in South Palm Beach. QUOTE: “I strongly believe in the town's present land development regulation, which regulates future development to a height restriction of 60 feet.”
Isabella Ralston-Charnley PERSONAL: 66; single; no children; attended King’s School in England. PROFESSIONAL: Worked in administration in family owned private hospital in England; retired from health care administration in U.S. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: None POSITION ON ISSUES: With budget looming, the priority is to lower the expenses in this very small town. Wants to see what more can be done to help counter beach erosion, “which is just dreadful, we have no beach.” Supports redevelopment of a new hotel on the Oceanfront Inn site. Would not vote for anything above 10 stories. QUOTE: “The thing is really to get the expenses of the town down.”
Clare M. Semer PERSONAL: 63; widowed, two children; associate degree in business Orange County Community College. PROFESSIONAL: Former legal secretary; former medical office manager; owner of harness racing and breeding business; Realtor. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Former elected New York state fire commissioner; former alternate on South Palm Beach planning board; currently on community affairs advisory board; served on condo board. POSITION ON ISSUES: Wants to remain in compliance with the existing comprehensive plan regarding hotel zoning. Would pay attention to renourishing the beaches and preserving the shoreline. Wants to be fiscally responsible with tax money. QUOTE: “Watching over the budget hasn’t really been a hot item right now. People really are on the hotel, that’s their main focus, and there’s nothing on the table right now about the hotel. The community is making that apparently the hot issue.”
Candidates for the March 9 Delray Beach City Commission election in order of appearance on the ballot:
Seat 2
Fred B. Fetzer (incumbent) PERSONAL: 65; Bachelor's mechanical engineering, University of Tennessee. PROFESSIONAL: Retired from AT&T. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: City commissioner 2006 to present; liaison to the Delray Beach Education Board; director and former president of Tropic Isle Civic Association; served on the Delray Beach Board of Construction Appeals; served on Mayor Perlman’s R.A.C.E. relations committee and Delray Beach Neighborhood Advisory Council. POSITION ON ISSUES: Hold the line on property taxes by creating more efficiency in city government and setting spending priorities. Support economic development by fostering a business friendly environment and recruiting new businesses. Strongly support public safety. Improve and protect the quality of neighborhoods. Support quality education. QUOTE: “One of the top initiatives must be to minimize property taxes on residential and commercial properties. In addition, we must be proactive in supporting economic development by supporting incentives for new business development and being a business friendly community.”
Darin Wade Mellinger PERSONAL: 35; single; bachelors political science and African-American studies Duke University; juris doctor University of Miami School of Law. PROFESSIONAL: Attorney. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: No political experience. POSITION ON ISSUES: The most significant change needed is a realistic plan. There’s not been an intelligent and reasonable review of the spending and the revenues. Would like to see more interaction among the city’s different eclectic communities, and more acknowledgment of Delray’s diversity. Wants to maintain the level of services and image of the city, keep development reasonable and improve the quality of life by going back to the budget. QUOTE: “What the people have to make a decision on is, if you want the quality of life to be sustained, you’re going to have to pay for it. And I know this is a difficult time to ask people to pay for anything. But I think what’s missing in this seat is analysis on our budget. I just want to offer an analysis. I think that’s the biggest issue there.”
Seat 4 Angeleta E. Gray, unopposed incumbent
Read more…
Candidates for the March 9 Ocean Ridge Town Commission election in the order of their appearance on the ballot:
Lynn Allison PERSONAL: 59; two children; married; BA psychology, American University; MSW, Howard University, PhD management and administration, Indiana University Watson Institute. PROFESSIONAL: Owner, International Enterprise Development consulting firm. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Ocean Ridge commissioner since 2004; vice mayor 2007; served on school and charter school boards; administers Northwest Pompano Beach Business Loan Fund; on Education and Government Programming Advisory Board for Palm Beach County public station Channel 20. POSITION ON ISSUES: Priority is ensuring enough revenue to keep our outstanding police force and staff because the revenue for each town has been so drastically reduced. Focus should be on protecting and preserving the community in light of tough economic times. Traffic and traffic patterns on Old Ocean Boulevard, and natural gas and sewage are two concerns the community would like to resolve. Few issues are in great dispute right now. When I came in we were battling the state on bike lanes. We have resolved almost all, if not all, of our drainage problems — a very big issue when I came in. We have a new Town Hall which has been completed during my tenure, and that was an issue. QUOTE: “We have a wonderful commission right now and we want keep it. We all get along, we all work well together. This is an extremely strong commission with outstanding staff. We have a great town manager and a good team. That’s why I’m staying.”
Nancy L. Hogan PERSONAL: 62; married; two children; business degree from the College of Saint Rose; masters in public administration from the State University of New York. PROFESSIONAL: Real estate broker. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Elected to commission in 2005, lost 2007 re-election bid and 2009 election; served in campaigns of former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty and U.S. presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. POSITION ON ISSUES: The town has needed to shore up fiscal oversight and professionalism since 2005 when I first was elected. If you don’t have your fiscal house in order, you can’t do anything else with good efficiency and the right planning. So fiscal responsibility and the financial oversight of expenditures out of Town Hall would be one major thing. The commission since 2005, and going back to 2001, has been very willing to spend at way above the inflation rate every year and burden the town with an immense amount of debt. You can’t just go out and burden a municipal system, especially with what we have with the police costs and retirement costs, then have a brand new Town Hall so there’s a debt on that of $10 million. Term limits have got to come to Ocean Ridge. QUOTE: “Fiscal accountability and responsibility are by far my two biggees, and until the day that they wheel me away to a nursing home, and I live here and I’m working hard every day so I can afford to live in this wonderful town, I’m going to make sure that Town Hall is being fair, honest, efficient with my money.” Read more…
Candidates for the March 9 Manalapan Town Commission election in order of appearance on the ballot:
Seat 2 Robert Evans, unopposed incumbent
Seat 4
Louis DeStefano PERSONAL: 67; single; bachelor’s in English, Long Island University. PROFESSIONAL: CEO of Thermatix company. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Serves on town zoning commission; former chair and vice chair of Manalafest; former architectural commission vice chair, former library board member. POSITION ON ISSUES: Favors single-family homes over development of parcels with multiple dwellings and town homes. Wants to keep setbacks and height restrictions and maintain and continue the style of living. Would be vigilant regarding the new sand transfer plant and maintaining the beauty of the beach. QUOTE: “I am the only candidate who is a homeowner both on the Point and on the barrier island on the ocean. That has made me uniquely sensitive to issues that pertain to both.”
Gerald Kent Shortz PERSONAL: 73; divorced; two children; premed degree, Wabash College; medical degree, Northwestern University. PROFESSIONAL: Former Air Force flight surgeon; retired orthopedic surgeon. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Manalapan commissioner, 1978-2002; mayor 1988-2002; vice mayor, 1984-88. POSITION ON ISSUES: Opposes any density increase. Priority is beach preservation, on which he long has worked, including currently developing protocols for the new sand transfer plant at the inlet. Also strongly supports refurbishment of the new library through private funds rather than public funds. QUOTE: “The hot button in this town right now is density, and I’ve always been opposed to any increase in density. I’m a great believer in green space, adequate setbacks for buildings, etc.”
Seat 6
Howard Roder PERSONAL: 73, married; one child; bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s in administration, University at Albany-State University of New York. PROFESSIONAL: Retired; formerly one of largest independent propane distributors in New York State. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Serves on town architectural commission; no previous elected office. POSITION ON ISSUES: Against any townhouses or multiple-family dwellings in any part of Manalapan. Priorities are to aggressively guard against fiscal waste, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the water department operation that he considers the town’s most important asset. QUOTE: “The main thing is not to accept the statue quo. We need people that have the time, the knowledge and the expertise to make sure we’re carrying out all these functions in the best interests of all the residents. I’m retired, I have the time and the knowledge.”
Tom Thornton (incumbent) PERSONAL: 63; married; two children; BA Notre Dame; MBA Long Island University. PROFESSIONAL: Consultant in restaurant and retail industry; former CEO of several retail and restaurant chains. POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Seeking fourth straight two-year term. POSITION ON ISSUES: Very important how to handle two major pieces of property, the Benjamin property and Plaza Del Mar. In best of worlds, Plaza Del Mar would have all retail, and Benjamin only single-family homes. Also the large water plant that serves the town and almost all of Hypoluxo. It’s tough to be as efficient as we’d like to be, because of the very small amount of customers. We’re a small town with a large water plant. Normally you wouldn’t find that. So we really have to focus and pay very close attention to the water plant in terms of the infrastructure, in terms of the age of the pipes, in terms of what we build. All of that needs constant scrutiny. So that’s an issue for the future in terms of the future spending of this town. QUOTE: “As far as I know Manalapan has the lowest millage rate in Palm Beach County. That’s been a lot of hard work by the current commission, in tough times economically. We’re very strict with our money and consequently able to get the lowest millage rate.” Read more…
Chief Edward Hillery Age: 69 Years in Ocean Ridge: 17 years as chief of police Past life: Spent 23 and a half years with the Boynton Beach Police force, retiring as chief of police before coming to Ocean Ridge; spent seven years as a county investigator in Essex County, N.J. before coming to Florida for the weather; spent four years in the Air Force after graduating high school. Biggest hurdle: Came to Ocean Ridge following a financial scandal involving Chief Bruce Schroeder, who resigned. He quickly had to lift morale at the department. “I called everybody into a meeting and explained that the squabbling was over. After about 18 months, everything settled down.” Known for: Hiring a psychic to help solve a murder while chief of Boynton Beach Police Department. The psychic did not help solve the crime, but when an inmate later confessed to the crime, his story matched a lot of what the psychic told Hillery. The psychic knew the woman was a twin, that she’d been killed with a knife with a wooden handle, where the knife had been hidden, and what the killer was wearing. Last day as chief of police: March 31
Lt. Chris Yannuzzi Age: 54 Years in Ocean Ridge: four, hired to be Ocean Ridge’s first full-time investigator. Past life: Spent 25 years with the Boynton Beach Police Department; Spent four years as a police officer in Bound Brook,N.J., before fleeing the snow and coming to Florida; began his career as a police dispatcher in Watchung, N.J. Biggest hurdle: It may be ahead. He’s going to have to figure out how to offer the same level of service with fewer tax dollars to spend. Known for: Directing the new building’s construction. First day as chief of police: April 1
By Kelly Wolfe
In this seaside village Police Department, sunlight floods every room, coffee is offered in a real mug with a coaster and a choice of creamers (vanilla or regular). The guy who runs this place — Chief Edward Hillery Jr. — is a relaxed presence in a white, polo-style shirt with a badge embroidered over his heart. It’s pulled tight and tucked into dark blue shorts. He’s been here 17 years, and said in that time he’s received more complaints about bicyclists on A1A than anything else. But Hillery’s last day is March 31. He’ll pass the torch to Lt. Chris Yannuzzi, who is happy to take over. Sure, being chief of police of Ocean Ridge is not the biggest torch in the world — if you want to go around comparing torches — but it burns bright with history and stories that are funny, endearing and, for some people, infuriating. But they are told they same way a large, dysfunctional family might rehash the past around the Thanksgiving table. “We’re very protective of our police,” said Gail Adams Aaskov, Ocean Ridge’s unofficial historian. If she recognizes the irony of this statement, she doesn’t let on. Everything she’s got to say she already wrote down in her book, The History of Ocean Ridge, back in 1995, she said. Other people want to tell stories about the Ocean Ridge Police, just not for publication. “I don’t want to get Doc in trouble,” one longtime resident said of her favorite patrolman. “Doc” is Senior Officer Wavell Darville — the Ocean Ridge police officer known for keeping dog biscuits in his cruiser. “Sophie gets so excited, she climbs into the car with him,” she said of her dog. Hillery appears to know his residents as well as Sophie knows Doc. An outsider vaguely describes an Ocean Ridge homeowner and Hillery brightens. “I know that guy,” he said. “Keeps his house as neat as a pin. Always working on it.” But not everyone is as charmed by the ORPD. And vice versa. “I’m your man,” said Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino, when asked if he had ever had a run in with Ocean Ridge’s finest. It was about 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning and Cerabino was bicycling with a friend on A1A when they both cruised through a yellow light, he said. Soon, they were being followed by a cruiser. And then, on a loudspeaker: “Please pull the bikes over to the side of the road.” The police officer asked for a driver’s license. “I don’t have a driver’s license, I’m riding a bike,” Cerabino answered. That’s when the police officer took Cerabino’s fingerprints — right there on the side of A1A. Then he was given a $206 ticket for running a red light. But Cerabino wasn’t going to let it go that easy. “We weren’t throwing ourselves into traffic,” he said. “We were just a couple of guys riding bikes.” So he took his ticket to court. “The judge laughed,” he said. He ordered Cerabino to pay $100 and court costs — which he still thought was unfair. “Whatever,” he said, more than a year later. “I wasn’t going to dispute it. It was clearly, to me, a fundraising effort.” But it’s still a lot better than it was in the bad old days, said Tom Warnke, a lifelong area resident. He was a teenager during the regime of Ocean Ridge Police Chief James Kelly,who, according to Warnke and news reports, had an antagonistic relationship with the local youth — especially surfers. “I don’t think anyone got along with him,” Warnke said. Back then, he said, Ocean Ridge was best known for being listed in AAA guidebooks as being a speed trap. “Kelly would stop teenagers for no reason, and cuss us out in front of our girlfriends,” Warnke said. The teens, in turn, would drive Kelly crazy by jumping off the Boynton Inlet Bridge and into the waves below — where Kelly wouldn’t follow. “Some people would wait for him to get close, then wave to him and jump off the bridge,” Warnke said.
Warnke said to combat large groups of youngsters, Kelly would write people up for unlawful assembly if they gathered in groups of more than three. Under Kelly’s rule, the town was declared the Safest Town in America. Kelly received special recognition from the Nixon White House. Later, it was discovered Kelly hadn’t been reporting his crime statistics to the state. Hillery doesn’t leave under such a cloud. If there’s a favorite story about Hillery it’s the time he, as police chief in Boynton Beach, hired a psychic to help solve a murder. (Ask him and he’ll tell you about it.) To be here, in this town, he said, is “something you couldn’t put a price on… The people treated me very well. I hope I’ve met their expectations.”
Past Ocean Ridge Chiefs of Police Edward Hillery — 1993 to 2010. Retires March 31. A retirement dinner celebrating his 17 years of dedicated service with the Ocean Ridge Police Department and 48 years in law enforcement will be held April 16 at Benvenuto’s in Boynton Beach. James Olejniczak — Acting chief end of 1992. Bruce Schroeder — 1989 to 1992. Resigned after town found evidence he had fixed tickets and mismanaged money. Louis Spano — 1969 to 1989. Became frustrated with Town Council. Said in newspaper article, “asking for $600 was like asking for $6,000.” James Kelly — Start date unknown, but published reports show him as police chief in 1961. He was fired in 1969 for “lack of proper management and administration.” Kenneth O’Rourke — 1958 to unknown - Previously worked as a Boynton Beach patrolman and District 4 constable. 1964 newspaper article calls him “former police chief who cleaned out the old town hall and burned the records at the dump.” Ray Newmann – June to September 1958. Newmann was the first Ocean Ridge police chief. Previously the town received law enforcement and protection from Boynton Beach.
Source: Ocean Ridge Town Hall, The History of Ocean Ridge, by Gail Adams Aaskov, and published reports.
By Thom Smith
Chilly temperatures be damned, we’re warming up. I mean, what else are we supposed to do in South Florida? Fortunately, a little chilly weather here is better than most of the weather up north, and the folks who live and work along the beach avenues don’t let a few degrees get in the way of a good time. There are not too many places this time of year where you’d find John McEnroe playing tennis in the middle of the street. But there he was in Delray Beach on the usually bumper-to-bumper Atlantic Avenue, on Feb. 19, trading shots and banter with Davis Cupper and Top 20 player Ronald Agenor. They were promoting the following week’s Delray International Tennis Championships. “Do we have to stop when the light turns red,” McEnroe joked to umpire de jour Woodie McDuffie, also known as Delray’s mayor. “Can we fix the road, mayor? We got a problem here,” McEnroe persisted good-naturedly. Of course, were this the real world and a quarter of century earlier, McDuffie might have longed for the civility of City Hall politics. But this time it was just for fun when hizzoner called a return out and Johnny Mac conjured up the past, tossing his racquet and uttering those famous words, “You cannot be serious!”
***
The weekend before, despite rain on Friday and the chilly weather, Delray’s Garlic Fest was a winner, thanks largely to the “no problem, mon” music of The Wailers. A week later, a reported 400 artists at Lake Worth’s 16th annual Street Painting Festival paved the streets with chalk works. With a crowd estimated near 100,000, perhaps the city needs to look at limiting the crowds, limiting the artists, increasing the space or all of the above. Too bad the art is temporary.
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More art is on the way in Lake Worth, for a cause — Haitian Earthquake relief. Area artists have pledged to craft and decorate at least 500 bowls for the Haitian Empty Bowl project. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 20, purchasers can take the bowls to 16 of the city’s restaurants and food specialty shops for samples of their menu items. The bowls will be sold at Clay Glass Metal Stone Gallery for $25 each (four for $80) in advance, $35 without reservation. All proceeds will benefit orphaned children of Haiti. For information, call 215-205-9441.
****
McEnroe was a passing fancy on Atlantic; chefs can be, too! For a year, Delray has been all abuzz about the teaming of restaurateur David Manero with legendary chef Mark Militello at The Office, Manero’s new “gastro-pub” at the corner of Second and Atlantic. Less than three months after The Office opened, however, Militello is gone. Manero’s Feb. 26 announcement was short and sweet: “Mark Militello was released from his duties by David Manero Restaurants. We wish him well in his future endeavors.” A member of the “Mango Gang” that gave South Florida its culinary identity in the mid-’80s, Militello has practiced his craft at several self-named restaurants — including Mark’s in the Park in Boca and Mark’s City Place in West Palm — all since closed. And as soon as the pairing of the two strong personalities was announced, some skeptics began wondering how long it would last. Larry LaValley, executive chef at Manero’s Vic & Angelo’s across the street, will run both kitchens. Francy Deskin remains chef d’cuisine. Manero will keep his gastro-pub concept: fish, chops and even burgers with “The Office” branded into the bun, an assortment of craft beers, impressive wines, imaginative cocktails, an indoor/outdoor bar and state-of-the-art sound system. Manero’s wife, Lynn, has handled the decor — her 15th restaurant — contrasting dark wood paneling in the dining room with glossy chrome-accented panels in the bar. Hundreds of books adorn the walls, from A Year in Architecture to Michael Jackson: The Man in the Mirror to Are You Hungry Tonight? Elvis' Favorite Recipes. Enhancing the office mood: an array of mailboxes from an old post office that serves as a wine rack and, near the front door, a bright red Royal Quiet Deluxe (a strange contraption called a typewriter). In their quest for green, the Maneros have gone green. They bottle their own water, distilled through a triple filtration system. The fireplace is powered by ethanol. All paper products, from the place mats to restroom towels, are made from recycled paper. Manero has worked hard to get the word out. Business has been brisk. Ultimately, its success could be determined by a phone call: “Hi, honey. Don’t fix dinner for me. I’m working late at The Office.”
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Before you know it, summer will be here and Florida Stage will be gone … at least from Manalapan. Rehearsals are in full swing for Dr. Radio, the penultimate production at the playhouse in Plaza del Mar, running March 24 through May 2. That will be followed by When the Sun Shone Brighter, and then the company will move to its new home at the Kravis Center. The current production, Sins of the Mother, which is sold out, is the most popular non-musical in the 23-year history of Florida Stage. “I think our fans see this at the beginning of the end and the beginning of the beginning,” marketing director Michael Gepner said. “There is some nostalgia — that there won’t be many more shows here — but ultimately, it’s the quality of the show. If it isn’t a good production, people aren’t gonna come.” Incidentally, Florida Stage recently attracted the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed Sins of the Mother and offered: “The cast is ideal, the staging ferociously right. This is a show with no weak links, one that in a better-regulated world would now be playing on Broadway.”
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Biologists are citing at least one positive from the recent arctic blasts: They weren’t kind to nuisance non-native reptiles such as pythons and, yuck, iguanas, which apparently died in record numbers. Unfortunately, the cold also hurt manatees and sea turtles, but if awareness can help, several beachfront hotels do their part by protecting nests and offering information to their guests. Now the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has gone a flipper further. In cooperation with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, the Ritz has adopted Gilda, a leatherback that has been fitted with a satellite-tracking device. Guests, staff and children in the resort’s AquaNuts program will be able to follow her movements on the Internet.
*****
And the Academy Award goes to … Oscar parties on March 7. Guests at Cafe L’Europe in Palm Beach dress as their favorite movie stars or screen characters. Four-course dinner, plenty of champagne, big-screen TV for $115. Reservations a must at 655-4020. The Fifth Annual Delray Beach Film Festival throws its own Oscar party that night from 7 to midnight at Bluefish Restaurant. Red carpet, live auction, dinner and one cocktail for $30. The festival, running March 22-28, will honor Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as its creative chair and Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey) and Jessica Walter (Play Misty for Me) with lifetime achievement awards. Tickets online only at www.dbff.us. The new Omphoy Ocean Resort Palm Beach will host Oscar Night America Live from Hollywood!, a benefit for the Palm Beach International Film Festival (April 22-26), at 7 p.m. Oscar attire. Cocktails and dinner at Michelle Bernstein Restaurant for $250, or cocktails and Oscar party with “an array of heavy hors d’oeuvres,” whatever they are, for $125. Info at pbifilmfest.org.
*****
Call it a consolidation. Boynton Beach’s green markets have moved east. Formerly at the Boynton Mall and the Schoolhouse Museum, everything now will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Green Market Cafe at 400 E. Boynton Beach Blvd. The program now includes a bakery, a deli, produce and an urban farming project with plans to establish a permanent downtown public marketplace. (561-752-8598).
*****
Afterthought: Channel 5 declares that Steve Weagle is South Florida’s “most trusted” TV weatherman. I want to know, especially after this crazy winter, the source of that appellation. Was it a Gallup Poll? The Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau? The Nielsen ratings? I suspect Weagle, a product of the Canadian Maritimes — he was born in Nova Scotia — got lonely for the far north and wished this weather upon us.
Thom Smith is a freelance writer. He can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com
None of us are happy with the speed of change. Many of our
neighbors who live in the Tradewinds and Place Au Soleil neighborhoods
are upset at how quickly the city of Boynton Beach has embraced and
approved a Walmart where the former Gulfstream mall sits crumbling
today. While no one debates the need to replace this strip-mall
eyesore, there is a strong feeling that the approval process has been
fast-tracked with too little public discussion. Contrast that with
the painfully slow process to approve a policy that could unite Boynton
Beach Fire Rescue and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue to protect the
lives of the people who live in the unincorporated area between Briny
Breezes and Gulf Stream. Right now, if you live in — or happen to
be in — this county pocket and require medical attention, fire-rescue
services are dispatched from a county fire station on Woolbright Road
west of Military Trail. This despite the proximity of a Boynton Beach
fire station on Federal Highway just across the Woolbright Bridge —
nearly four miles closer. The 13-minute response time from
County Fire Rescue to treat Bill Dunn was too slow and drove some in
the neighborhood to seek better treatment. Since his death in November,
and because of the diligence of pocket resident Mike Smollon, elected
officials have discussed the issue and agreed that something needs to
be done. The County has written an agreement, but nothing yet has been
signed. In oversimplified terms, here is how this mutual aid
agreement should work: When a life-threatening event happens in the
unincorporated area, the closest available rescue crew (Boynton Beach)
should be dispatched, while the county rescue crew is dispatched to the
Federal Highway station for backup. This provides the critical response
time needed for most cardiac or respiratory issues, while still
providing coverage in the rest of the Boynton Beach service area.
Representatives from Boynton Beach have suggest this inter-local
agreement may take some time and could include a fiscal component, so
is not yet scheduled to go before the Boynton Beach City Commission.
Once Boynton approves the agreement, it will return to the County for
final approval. Both government entities are working to move this
agreement forward, but in contrast to the speed of the Walmart approval
process, the wheels of government are moving slowly. There are
elderly people and infants living in the unincorporated area. Let’s
pray that another resident (or visitor) does not have a grave medical
issue arise before this life-saving agreement can be approved.
Jerry Lower, Publisher Mary Kate Leming, Editor Read more…
These days, news travels fast — even when you’re a bohemian sort like Billy Blackman — and that’s how Blackman found out a man died while kitesurfing up in Martin County. Fast, and right to the point. “I got a text,” Blackman said. “I was actually giving a (kitesurfing) lesson, and a friend of mine texted me.”
Blackman, 46, likes it on the edge. A Boynton Beach native who now lives in the county pocket, he’s been surfing since he was 13. He started kitesurfing in 1999 after he took a trip to Hawaii and saw a guy on this odd board, skimming across the water, a billowing kite zipping him along. “I flew back home and bought a kite on the Internet from Maui,” he said. “I taught myself — no video, no instructions, no nothing. It took me about a year to figure it out.” He has a day job, sure. He runs a tree-trimming business. But if the wind is kicking up, even just a little, Blackman’s on the water. Of course, when your playground is the ocean, things happen and what happened recently was this: Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, himself a bit of a bohemian sort, was attacked by sharks Feb. 3 while kitesurfing off Stuart Beach. He died after a lifeguard pulled him to shore. Unusual? Yes. Unnerving? Perhaps. “We were in the water at the very same time that happened,” said Blackman, also an inventor who was giving a lesson to local Internet entrepreneur John Ferber at the time. “That part was pretty weird.” Blackman said the day after the accident, he took his 81-year-old mom to the grocery story and steered her clear of her usual stop at the newspaper rack. He didn’t want her reading about Schafer. “She heard about it anyway on TV,” he said. Ferber, 36, admits the timing left him a bit unsettled. “You’re always … you’re thinking. ‘I hope there’s not a shark out there.’” But he’d been watching folks like Blackman kitesurf for years and had finally decided he “just couldn’t handle it anymore.” He was going to learn. Ferber went to Costa Rica for seven days, but the weather was too calm to get any surf time in. When he got back, he hired Blackman as an instructor. “There is so much pent-up desire for me to do this, I’m not going to be deterred,” said Ferber, who said he was surprised by the difficulty of kitesurfing. “I’m still working on the fundamentals,” he said. “It requires a lot of training.” And that’s why guys like Blackman and another local kitesurfer, Tyrone Halfhill, 38, of Briny Breezes, go out as often as they can. “It’s a heck of a rush,” said Halfhill, who said he’s had only one skittish moment while kitesurfing. Back in 2005, he was off Boynton Beach and saw that he was in the water with some migrating sharks. He got out and walked home. “That just got to me,” he said. Blackman said the way they’re positioned — up on the board, skimming the surface, legs not dangling in the ocean — he feels it’s safer than surfing, shark-wise. But of course — as we learned from the recent Olympics — for every daredevil kid, there’s a supportive parent. Mikee Rulli, Tyrone Halfhill’s mother, said she’s whispered a lot of prayers through the years. “I have four sons,” Rulli said. “And every one of them has told me, ‘Mama, if anything ever happens to me, I’ll die doing what I love doing.’ “That young man up in Stuart, he died doing what he loved best.”
Plant signs and you might grow safety and cooperation: At least that’s the hope of a cyclists’ advocacy campaign that would use new road signs to instruct A1A motorists and bicyclists how to share the road. The Florida Department of Transportation is working with cycling group zMotion to post bicycle safety signs with two messages at eight proposed areas on A1A, from Boca Raton to Manalapan, in a pilot program that could expand to other areas. The signs are part of zMotion’s “Ride Right. Drive Right” campaign to make roads safer and save lives by educating motorists and cyclists to share the road, according to Mike Schweiger, CFO of Zimmerman Advertising. Schweiger is also co-founder of zMotion, the Fort Lauderdale cycling group that is footing the bill for the signs and working with the South Florida Bicycle Coalition. The campaign was started after a reported conflict between bicyclists and motorist in Boca Raton and following the death of a young woman who was biking a year ago, Schweiger said. Carmen Li, senior engineer in training at FDOT in Fort Lauderdale, said that the point is “mostly to better educate bicyclists and motorists to ease the conflict” between the two groups. The state has approved the signs’ content, including one that tells motorists to give cyclists a 3-foot berth when passing. The other says cyclists should not ride more than two abreast, Li said. It also approved, with minor modifications, a zMotion proposal that includes the placement of 16 signs, two in each of eight areas. ZMotion must now apply for a permit from the state. FDOT didn’t want to overdo signage. “We don’t want it to overkill. If we have a lot of signs, it will lose its target value,” Li said. The state will study the effectiveness of the signs once they’re in place, she said. ZMotion has spoken with municipalities in the area, Schweiger said. “They are all very supportive.” If all goes well with permitting and fabrication, Schweiger hopes to have signs in place in a month or two. The cost of posting the signs could amount to roughly $15,000 to $20,000, he estimated. Jim Smith, chairman of Safety As Floridians Expect, was glad to hear the test will go forward. Especially out-of-state motorists won’t become familiar with the requirement to give cyclists 3-foot clearance until signs are posted, he said. SAFE has also recommended Florida enclose notices about the law with mailed registration renewals, Smith said. The onus of safety isn’t just on the motorist, however, Smith said. “It’s a shared responsibility.” Part of the frustration and tension between motorists and cyclists on A1A is caused by bicyclists riding more than one abreast, he said. The cyclists could contribute greatly to easing the relationship by moving to single file when they see a car coming from behind, he said. Zimmerman Advertising employees initially formed zMotion to encourage healthy living and raise money for charity, but it has expanded its reach into the community. The A1A signs are part of a larger campaign that also includes a 30-second public service announcement and other marketing intended to educate the public.
Proposed locations for bike safety signs The following are approximate A1A locations where proposed bicycle safety signs would be placed. There will be two signs in each area, one telling motorists to give bicyclists a three-foot clearance and the
other instructing bicyclists to ride no more than two abreast.
1. South of Camino Real at Boca Inlet. 2. South of Spanish River near
Spanish River Park. 3. Near Ambassador East condo in Highland Beach. 4.
North of Pelican Lane and south of George Bush Boulevard in Delray
Beach 5. North of Ridge Boulevard in Ocean Ridge 6. At the intersection
of Ocean Avenue in Ocean Ridge 7. Just over the border into Manalapan,
just north of the bridge at Ocean Inlet Park 8. Just south of the Ritz
Carlton and Ocean Avenue
A few years ago, civic leader Peter Blum, heading home to Manalapan from the Peter Blum Family YMCA of Boca Raton, popped in at an animal shelter. “Our meeting ended early and I had some time to kill, so I decided I would go to the shelter and just look around,” he says. A lifelong dog lover, Blum convinced himself that he would just stroll up and down the shelter’s corridors to greet the leaping and yapping dogs vying for permanent homes. Then he turned the corner and spotted a Chow-collie mix sitting quietly and making direct eye contact. “The sign on her cage said that her name was Lady and that she truly was a lady,” recalls Blum. “I put my hand in and she licked it. I took her for a walk and she walked nicely by my side. I adopted her that day.”
Little did Blum know at the time that this dog was a lady — and more. She has proved to be an emotional lifeline to him and many others. On July 1, 2008, Blum’s wife, Maureen Ann (known as Teena), suffered a stroke and received care at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach and Harbour’s Edge in Delray Beach. Each day, Blum and Lady visited Teena. “I first met Teena when I was in the ninth grade in Peoria, Ill., and we married the year after we graduated from high school,” he says. “We had a great marriage — made it to 60 years — but she never recovered from the stroke. I’d say, ‘Lady is here’ and once in a while Teena would go, ‘Oooohhh.’ ” During their marriage, they built a successful furniture business and worked together to give time and money to many worthy charities in Palm Beach County. When Teena passed away on Jan. 30, 2009, Lady helped Blum find another way to bring joy to others. They underwent training to certify Lady as a therapy dog. Each week, they visit patients and staff at the same facilities where Teena received care.
“Hi, I’m Pete and this is Lady,” says Blum as he greets Harriet Doctor, on the mend from surgery for a broken arm. “Oh, she is absolutely beautiful,” says Doctor. “She reminds me of a dog I used to have named Inky. Thank you so much.” Outside the room, Kay Harvey, executive director of the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, watches the exchange. “Peter is a true people-person,” says Harvey. “He serves as vice chair of our foundation. He’s a great combination of being a first-level businessman and an amazing individual who reaches out to those in need. He’s the best.” A youthful-looking 80, Blum starts each morning with a six-mile walk with Lady in Gulf Stream where he proudly declares, “Lady knows every dog in Gulf Stream and everyone knows Lady. I’m sometimes referred to as that guy who is with Lady.” Blum smiles, content with being “that guy” to a dog who has proven to be a lady — and much more.
Is my dog a good therapy pet candidate? Even if you love visiting hospitals and schools, you need to candidly assess if your dog really wants to be a therapy dog. Dogs who thrive in therapy work: • Genuinely enjoy interacting with all types of people, including children and ill individuals in wheelchairs. • Welcome being petted and touched. • Heed obedience commands, especially sit, leave it and stay. • Remain calm and do not become startled by strange sounds, smells or sights of hospitals and nursing homes. • Get along with other dogs, as some therapy programs bring in teams of dogs into places. • Show enthusiasm when fitted with their therapy jackets and when they enter a facility.
Therapy Pet Resources
Therapy dogs are licensed and bonded. They must be well groomed, healthy and up to date on their vaccinations. They must also complete the AKC Canine Good Citizenship test ( www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm).
Learn more from these nonprofit organizations that offer therapy programs throughout North America: • Therapy Dogs International: Based in Flanders, N.J., and founded in 1976. Visit www.tdi-dog.org or call 973-252-9800. • Delta Society: Based in Bellevue, Wash., and founded in 1977. Visit www.deltasociety.org or call 425-679-5500. • Therapy Dogs, Inc.: Based in Cheyenne, Wyo., and founded in 1990. Visit www.therapydogs.com or call 877-843-7364.
Arden Moore, an animal behavior consultant, editor, author and professional speaker, happily shares her Oceanside, Calif., home with two dogs, two cats and one overworked vacuum cleaner. Tune in to her Oh Behave! show on Pet Life Radio.com and contact her at arden@ardenmoore.com.
Three town manager candidates, selected from about 300 resumes received in a search after Greg Dunham resigned from the job, will face Manalapan commissioners at a March 22 interview. Commissioners set a salary range of $80,000 to $120,000, but agreed that they could stretch higher or lower depending on the experience of the candidate when they finally make an offer. Each candidate will be interviewed separately by the panel during a special meeting that begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by a group lunch. Each commissioner will submit evaluations of the candidates and the results will be assembled at the commissioners’ regular meeting March 23. The candidates are: Michael W. Alvis of Roanoke, Va., a vice president of ITT Corp., Anthony G. Otte of Lake Wales, former city manager for Lakes Wales; Ronald W. Stock of Lamar, Colo., city administrator of Lamar and a former Leesburg city manager.
The Seahorse Bath and Tennis Club, a $90 million oceanfront condominium project swamped by the housing downturn, is being resuscitated by the Kolter Group LLC. The West Palm Beach-based developer is in the process of taking title to the property, Kolter Residential President Bob Vail said. “Once that happens,” he said, “we will begin a completely new design process in earnest, with the intention of creating a property that’s respectful of the location and surrounding communities.” The Seahorse, with 42 proposed residential units on a 3.5-acre plot of unincorporated county property between Gulf Stream and Briny Breezes, was scrapped in 2008. A foreclosure suit filed in 2009 resulted in a $21 million judgment for Bank of America Corp. The beach property that straddled A1A was put up for bid at foreclosure auction in Palm Beach County Feb. 25, with a minimum required bid of $15.5 million. But the offers didn’t come close, with the highest just more than $1.6 million. Evidence of the project’s revival appeared recently when the site was cleaned up. A Jan. 7 letter from John MacGillis, Palm Beach County zoning director, responding to Seahorse’s inquiry, confirmed that the site could be developed at a density of 12 units per acre for a total of 42 units, noting that minor redesign modifications to the plan wouldn’t necessitate a public hearing. Vail didn’t detail what the new design will include yet, but said, “The quality of the site, in terms of both location and ocean frontage, will dictate a very high caliber approach. We are greatly looking forward to bringing another exceptional Kolter property to the marketplace, at the appropriate time.” Gulf Stream commissioners briefly addressed changes at the Seahorse during their February meeting. The town has an interest in the property as a neighbor and also has an agreement with Boynton Beach that it won’t oppose annexations as long as restrictions such as a height limit of 35 feet and a density of 6 units per acre were heeded, according to the Florida Coalition for Preservation newsletter. The newsletter also says that a new developer of Seahorse, which it doesn’t name, may try to gain approval of a seven-story building, twice the height of the initial design, and has talked with Boynton Beach about possible annexation. “The developer has told a few people that he can design a building that maintains the density that’s approved by the county and give a considerable more land space than was the case with the Seahorse that was approved several years ago,” said Bob Ganger of the Coalition. “You could argue that it is not more than a mathematical exercise. Whether or not he has a design or a specific building that’s seven stories, we don’t know.” But Ganger made clear the Coalition’s position. “We’ve told him we’re not particularly pleased with the concept of a seven-story building, because we worked pretty hard with the previous builder to maintain the 35 feet.” The developer “is trying to think through what’s the best use of the land he bought, and I’m sure he’s exploring a number of options,” Ganger said. The Seahorse was first developed decades ago, in the 1950s or ’60s as Ganger recalls, as a 32-unit property with pool and restaurant. “It wasn’t pretty by today’s standards, but it was funky nice,” he said. The property was cleared after Cincinnati developer JFP Development Group proposed the new Seahorse condos in 2007, but reportedly presold fewer than a dozen units before the project was scrapped.
The Manalapan library’s refurbishment wish list could soon take shape if the newly kicked-off fundraising effort continues at the current pace: The drive has received more than $26,000 in donations and pledges, according to organizers. “We’re very fortunate to have this library. We want to make it more comfortable, inviting for people to come,” said Joan Bernstein, who is heading coordination and fundraising for the volunteer committee behind the project for the J. Turner Moore Memorial Library. Committee members Mary Thornton of MET Interiors and Sophy Isaac are volunteering design services. The committee detailed refurbishments with a total price tag of an estimated $75,000 in a Feb. 9 letter asking residents for contributions to fund the project. “This will be a work in progress,” Bernstein said. “We’re hoping to start this summer with the ceiling, electric and lights and maybe some furniture.” The drop ceiling that’s been in the library since it was built in 1981 would be replaced with new raised panel tiles and recessed lighting would replace the current fluorescents at a cost of about $35,000. The refurbishment list also includes replacing paneling on the library’s round wall — a reminder that the library was built around a 400,000 gallon municipal water tank — with Sheetrock at an estimated $5,000. The carpet would be replaced, either with vinyl hardwood or new carpeting for about $15,000. Painting would cost $10,000 and replacing or reupholstering furniture, $10,000. In addition to providing books and other material for members to check out, the library hosts presentations, group meetings including the book club, a reading hour for children and computer classes. One of the latest events, for instance, a February lecture by Dr. Christos Papatheodorou on the Olympics, drew about 60 people to the small facility, Thornton said. Because Manalapan has its own library, residents don’t pay the Palm Beach County Library Tax, which the library committee estimated would be $550 a year for each $1 million of assessed home value — or a total $500,000 for the whole town, the letter to residents says. Library members pay annual dues of $25 for residents and $35 for nonresidents. The library welcomes all donations and will give special recognition to those who donate $2,000 or more at the benefactor level or $5,000 or more at the Friends of the Library level, Bernstein said. The committee asks that contributors make checks to the Town of Manalapan, but also note on the check it’s for Library Refurbishment. About $14,800 has been collected for the refurbishment fund, Finance Director Linda Stumpf told Manalapan commissioners at their Feb. 23 meeting. The balance of pledges hasn’t yet been received. “The response from the community is extremely positive,” Bernstein’s husband, Commissioner William Bernstein, said at the meeting.
Read more…
Delray Beach commissioners will pay Waste Management in full for last month’s bill, declining to deduct possible discrepancies until the city’s Financial Review Board has completed a study of the account. “Until we’re absolutely certain of our numbers, we pay the bill until we know no other reason to act differently,” said Mayor Woodie McDuffie before the panel unanimously voted to pay the city’s contracted trash hauler in full. Commissioners turned a review of Waste Management’s account over to the Financial Review Board in January following resident Ken MacNamee’s contention of billing inaccuracies. MacNamee began his own study of Waste Management billing after he learned he was being charged for rear door trash pickup he wasn’t receiving, commissioners said previously. The review was turned over to the Financial Review Board following a vote of no confidence against City Manager David Harden and Finance Director Joe Safford because the Waste Management question was still unresolved a year after it was raised. The Delray Beach staff is conducting a field audit in addition to the Financial Review Board’s study. “I would like to give the review board an opportunity to do what we asked them to do,” said commissioner Angeleta Gray, echoing the sentiments of other commissioners. In a memo to commissioners, Harden said MacNamee has been insistent that the city immediately deduct an identified discrepancy from the next bill. Harden, however, recommended in the memo that commissioners pay the February invoice because: Waste Management has now challenged unit counts developed last summer, there’s no significant financial reason this month as opposed to next and a large deduction could trigger litigation with Waste Management. “I agree with the Financial Review Board that we should first complete our analysis of supporting data and arrive at a conclusive finding,” Harden said in the memo. The memo also suggested commissioners follow the Financial Review Board’s recommendation and “refrain from making any further public comments regarding Waste Management, including any potential billing discrepancies,” until it’s reached a conclusion. The suggestion didn’t sit well with all commissioners, who didn’t vote on it. “I got the memo about any potentially slanderous comments,” said Commissioner Adam Frankel. “We certainly need to follow those. In respect to the Review Board, I don’t like being censored.” In adding his yes vote to pay Waste Management, Frankel said, “I don’t think anyone’s acting in bad faith.” The Delray Beach staff worked 712 hours on the Waste Management project, not including overtime, in the two-and-a-half weeks ended Feb. 25 alone, said coordinator Rich Reade. "We've established an employee working group that has a key staff from each department that may be involved, " Reade said. "We're working on it at the same time." In addition to makin sure data is accurate, "we want to improve our process of getting information to and from Waste Management, " Reade said. We've identified some really strong recommendations that we'll be able to present to the Financial Review Board shortly. We've already started to implement some of these."
Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn owner Pjeter Paloka filed complaints with the state ethics commission against two South Palm Beach Planning Board members in February and said he plans to file against a third. Paloka alleged that Planning Board Chairman Michael Nevard and member Dee Robinson were biased against his family’s plans to replace the two-story hotel with a 10-story hotel-condominium and actively worked against the proposal while sitting as board members. The complaint against Robinson, released by Paloka, claims Robinson “breached the public trust” and failed to disclose that she was “materially affected” by the proposed hotel, both violations of Florida law. Robinson and board member Pat Festino’s mother live in the condominium just north of the planned hotel and Nevard lives west. Paloka suggested that the ocean views of all three would be partially blocked by the hotel, a fact they should have disclosed. “The information is self-explanatory,” Paloka said. Allegations against Nevard and Festino, which has yet to be filed, are similar, he said. Complaints to the ethics commission are confidential unless released by either the complainant or the accused. The commission’s investigation is secret until its conclusion. Nevard declined to comment on the complaint other than to say he would respond to questions by the ethics commission investigators. In June, the planning board recommended against land use changes that would have allowed the 99-unit luxury hotel and the Town Council rejected the changes in September. Paloka complained several times at later meetings about the three planning board members. In November, the Town Council asked the ethics commission to review the planning board’s actions, but the commission declined to give an advisory opinion because the facts are in dispute.
One day in January 2009, a neighbor on Del Haven Drive asked Ken MacNamee a casual question. “Do you realize we pay more for trash pickup than people on the other side of the Intracoastal?” That can’t be, MacNamee thought. But he decided to investigate. His monthly charge was $23.60. On the mainland, it was $13.50. MacNamee kept investigating, and a year later, the Delray Beach City Commission has unanimously approved a vote of “no confidence” in City Manager David Harden and Finance Director Joe Safford, and a nine-member Financial Review Board is exploring MacNamee’s claim that Waste Management Inc. has overbilled the city about $500,000 over several years while underpaying $52,989 in commercial franchise fees. “I have a file of work here that proves it,” MacNamee says, plopping on his kitchen table an Office Depot file-storage box filled with printouts, contracts, utility bills and letters to and from city and county officials.
“I’m an anal-retentive,” he announces without apology. “I’m a tough-sell. I’m a nonbeliever. I’m from Missouri — show me.” Actually, he’s from Philadelphia, a retired certified public accountant and the former chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Coral Gables Federal Savings & Loan. At 59, he is the father of two grown children, and shares the house on Del Haven Drive with his wife, Mary, and a friendly poodle name Dutch. When not wading into the minutiae of garbage pickup, he’s a volunteer referee at high school lacrosse, basketball and soccer games. When he asked about his pickup charge, MacNamee says, he was told the $10.10 discrepancy was because residents in coastal Delray Beach get rear-door pickup service. “Most of us didn’t know we were entitled to that,” he says. MacNamee told all his neighbors to stop bringing their garbage to the curb. Then he asked how the city verified the number of rear-door pickups Waste Management was billing. “We don’t,” he says he was told. He kept digging, and the Office Depot box kept filling. “This has nothing to do with my ten bucks a month,” MacNamee insists. “It’s that I live in a city that’s been taken to the cleaners. This city is looking out for Waste Management’s interests and not the residents’.” He is quick, however, to distinguish between the bureaucracy and the men on the trucks. “The guys who pick the stuff up are good workers,” he says. “My problem is with management, the guys we used to call the suits.” He is not, he insists, planning on running for office, and considers the contents of that Office Depot box public record. “They can come here and check my work any time,” he says. “I’m a passionate person. I don’t do things half-baked. I want to go to sleep tonight knowing I got something done. It’s not personal, I just want to see the city run properly.” But now that his work has inspired an official review board, MacNamee is cautious. “I’m not a firm believer in big committees unless you clearly define the duties of each committee member,” he says. “If you’re just going to sit around talking in generalities and platitudes, that’s not how work gets done.” He ponders the Office Depot box. “I’m a little over halfway done,” he says. “I got a lot of work to do yet.”
For the 2010 "Read Together Palm Beach County" campaign, almost 3,000 area book lovers have reached back to Nazi Germany in 1939, to choose a title they hope will steal readers' hearts this year. They also made local history by choosing, for the first time, a young adult novel for the "One Book, One Community" project.
"The Book Thief," a 2005 novel by Australian author Markus Zusak, is the story of 9-year-old Liesel Meminger, who falls in love with reading when she finds a "Grave Digger's Handbook" buried in the snow by her brother's grave. Soon she is stealing books wherever possible and sharing them with a Jew her family is hiding in their basement. In a mordant twist, the novel is narrated by Death. The widely praised book beat out Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, Run by Ann Patchett and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffere and Annie Barrows in voting at local libraries, bookstores and Starbucks coffee shops. A winner of the Book Sense award for children's literature and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, The Book Thief has spent 123 weeks on The New York Times children's bestseller list. "Now we want everyone to come up with ways to engage your employees, friends and co-workers in discussion groups," said Darlene Kostrub, chief executive officer of the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition. The official reading campaign will kick off March 26 and end April 30. For more information, call the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition at 1-800-273-1030 or visitwww.literacypbc. org.
By Christine Davis Quiet please. Counting calories is voluntary. Taking part in the census count is mandatory. South Palm Beach’s ice cream social on Feb. 21 at Town Hall, offered an opportunity for free ice cream and cookies, free U.S. Census T-shirts and a free talk explaining the census. “We have been pushing hard since day one — Jan. 6.” Town Councilman Donald Clayman said about his group of 16 volunteers. “We want to make sure residents know how important it is. It will affect our congressional representation and Florida has millions to lose in federal funds, if enough people don’t fill out their census forms.” Town Manager Rex Taylor asked Clayman to organize a volunteer group in conjunction with the National Census Bureau to ensure that South Palm Beach residents are informed on the census and its impact. The federal government allocates $400 billion annually to states and communities based partly on census data. “That is money spent on infrastructure, schools, hospitals — the Lantana bridge is an example,” Clayman said. “We lost out on $160,000 in the last census,” adds Lee Zimmerman, a past councilman and vice mayor from 2002 to 2008, who was attending the social. “If we don’t fill out the forms correctly, we will lose out again.” South Palm Beach is comprised of 1,849 condominium units, four single-family homes and one business: a hotel, the Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn, with 58 units. According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimates for 2009, South Palm Beach had a permanent population of 1,523. The town’s estimate of its seasonal is 3,200. “Last Census, 45 percent of South Palm Beach residents filled out their forms,” Clayman said. “We are going for 80 percent this time.” “If you are residing in South Palm Beach at the time of the census, we want you to fill out the forms for South Palm Beach. If you are a vacationer for a short period of time — two to three weeks — you would fill out your form at your permanent residence. You do not have to be a citizen. Anybody who resides at the house where the census form is delivered should be included on that form. An accurate count can do good for our community. It can help us get more services, which means a brighter future for everyone,” Clayman told the full house at the social. South Palm Beach residents who have questions can find Clayman and volunteers wearing census T-shirts at Town Hall on Fridays during Bookmobile visits, from 10 a.m. to noon. Additional talks are scheduled to coincide with community events from 2 to 4 p.m. on March 7, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 9, 10 a.m.-noon on March 10 and 10 a.m.-noon on March 12. These events are held at South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 S. Ocean Blvd., South Palm Beach. For information, call (561) 588-8889. Info for caption: “By March 10, the census forms are rolling out. Fill them out and get them in as fast as you can,” Town Councilman Donald Clayman told his audience, while giving out handouts covering census information and questions most frequently asked, as well as T-shirts that read, “United States Census 2010. It’s in our hands.”
