It takes a village to raise a newspaper — or at least to open a newspaper office! We couldn’t have done it without all of our friends who contributed their time and effort toward making this move a reality. As of this edition, we are publishing from 5011 N. Ocean Ave. in Ocean Ridge.
Thank you!
And it takes a whole bunch of talented journalists to put out an award-winning publication. Our latest accolades are from the Florida Press Club and confirm what we already knew: we have an exceptional staff of contributors. In our circulation category, we won the following:
1st place: Feature Photo Essay/Staff
1st place: Artist Illustration/Bonnie Lallky-Seibert
1st place: Info-graphic Presentation/Bonnie Lallky-Seibert
2nd place: Photo Illustration/Tim Stepien
3rd place: Religion Writing/C.B. Hanif
Congratulations, and again, Thank you!
And finally, it takes a lot of people in an adjoining community consistently — and politely — asking us to include them in our coverage area for us to expand our size and scope. That is just what happened with South Palm Beach. Our neighbors to the north have been asking us for most of the past year to include them in our news coverage. With this edition, we do just that.
Please welcome South Palm Beach.
— Mary Kate Leming, editorRead more…
See slide show from Sunday morning yoga
By Ron Hayes
When the Colony Hotel opened on Atlantic Avenue in 1926, the dining room glittered with smartly dressed ladies and gents, come to winter in sunshine and style. They dined, they danced, and they smiled for the cameras.
You can still see black-and-white memories of those colorful decades, captured in fading photographs on the dining room’s walls today.
And then you turn around and, oh, how times have changed!
Where the wine glasses tinkled and the dance bands played, the bare floor is a human mosaic of men and women bowing and bending, twisting and turning, spreading, stretching, squeezing and breathing their bodies into a series of startling poses.
Instead of trombones and clarinets, the live music is echoes and drones from bamboo flutes and Balinese gongs, wood blocks and Tibetan prayer bells.
Every Sunday morning for the past two years, between 70 and 100 men and women have gathered in The Colony’s dining room for 90 minutes of yoga to live music.
“I look forward to this every Sunday because it just sets me up for the day,” says Nikki Dean of Boynton Beach, a devotee of the ancient Indian blend of exercise and meditation for eight years. “It gives me strength and serenity at the same time.”
While the flutes drone and the gongs echo, the class is gently led through its poses by a soft-spoken, middle-aged man who picks his way among the students while speaking into a headset.
“Take a big inhale like a lion,” he tells them. “Ahhhh! And let your body melt into the Earth, and send your love to the Earth while you’re there.”
A student of yoga for 19 years, a teacher for 15, Keith Fox is the founder of YogaFox, which counts 4,500 students between Jupiter and Fort Lauderdale. A native of San Francisco, Fox had schools in Miami and Sebastian Inlet before finding Delray Beach in 2002.
“It’s like Key West in South Florida without having to go south of Miami,” he says.
Fox’s Sunday classes had been attracting fewer than 15 students until he added live music two years ago. Now there are never fewer than 70, and often around a hundred students spreading their mats side by side until The Colony’s floor resembles a hardwood beach.
Cathy Rosenberg of Delray Beach, a student for 10 years, says the uninitiated mistake yoga’s slow routines for a lack of exertion.
“The biggest misconception is that you sit around with your legs crossed and say ‘Om’,” she says. “The stretching is about getting into the pose, but the challenge is in the strength required to maintain it.”
Indeed, by the time Fox brings the class to a close, most of the participants are glowing with sweat and inhaling deeply.
“People don’t realize what a great cardiovascular workout this is,” says Catherine Bigatao of Boca Raton. “Banging on cement while you jog is bad for your joints.”
As the gong echoes its long fade to silence, the students lie perfectly still, breathing deeply. And then, after an hour and a half of deceptively strenuous exercise, all together now …
“Ommmmmmmmmmmmm.”
For information, call (561) 703-1236 or visit www.yogafox.com.Read more…
Get the 'Mad Men" style
Witness a mid-century style makeover!
To everything there is a season, and this fall seems the perfect time to embrace the burgeoning popularity of AMC’s Emmy award-winning Mad Men, now in its third season.
The show chronicles the mid-century rise of the modern advertising industry in New York City with scenes of incessant workplace alcoholism and incredibly limiting gender roles.
What’s not to like?
It’s a comfort to those who are perhaps nostalgic for the good old days, and a fascinating history lesson to those of us who’ve never heard of a Brandy Alexander.
It might be a stretch to say that the show is having its influence on today’s fashion, but it reminds us women that we don’t need an excuse to get dolled-up. Form-fitting dresses, perfectly coiffed hair, white driving gloves — I only wish I could spend hours in front of the mirror every morning getting ready for my day, a luxury afforded the women in the show, but at a cost.
If you’re looking to pull off the 1950s-’60s housewife look this fall, try working the hair and makeup in with your current daily wardrobe, or camp it up for a stunning, pinup Halloween costume.
And don’t let the fun stop with just one costume — throw a grownups-only Mad Men theme party! Just don’t forget the hard liquor and your cigarette holder.
— Mary Katherine Stump
For a lesson in mid-century primping, I visited with Tatianah Predestin at Paradise Salon and Spa in Delray Beach for some how-tos:
French twist: One thing I’ve never been able to figure out is how on Earth all of these women got their hair to stay in these fancy up-dos. Tatianah recommends starting with dirty hair, since it is able to hold curl better. Coat it with thickening spray if you have fine hair, curl with your choice of rollers, and then separate your hair into three sections: the back of your head and the two sides. Focus on each section separately. Begin by teasing the sections at their base. Take the back section, and pin in with bobby pins into a half-moon. Then, use the two side sections of your hair as the décor. Tease them up in the front, or lay them flat, but pin them around the twist you created with the back section of your hair for the look’s final flourish.
Makeup: Lips and eyes are the key. Use a lip liner to dramatically define your lips, then coat in a matte lip color, preferably a deep red. For the eyes, use black liquid eye-liner and draw across the lash line, from the inside of your eye to the outside, turning the brush up right before you get to the end of your lash line to create the effect of thicker lashes.
Clothes: You can find ’50s-’60s era cocktail and day dresses at most vintage shops in the area, including House of Vintage, who along with the Delray Beach Historical Society is sponsoring a Vintage Clothing Exhibit and Sale at Cason Cottage during October and November.
If you go:Tatianah Predestin at Paradise Salon and Spa
140 NE 2nd Ave., Delray Beach
561-330-3434
House of Vintage (also, House of Sweets, in the back)
123 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
561-276-7477
Vintage Clothing Exhibit and Sale at Cason Cottage(Sponsored by the Delray Beach Historical Society and House of Vintage)
5 NE 1st St., Delray Beach
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 am – 3 pm — October 1 through November 27.
10% of all sales benefit the Delray Beach Historical Society
Mary Katherine is a local freelance writer and stylist. Check out her blog on fashion and interiors at www.everydaycurator.blogspot.comRead more…
By Mary Thurwachter
Deborah Sargeant’s mind races at 2 a.m. That’s when she does her best thinking, she says, and lately her nocturnal thoughts have to do with plans for the Women of Grace Luncheon.
She may have an idea about an ad, or a sponsor, or an item for the silent auction. Sometimes, she’ll reach for her Blackberry and text Megan Huisinga, her co-chair for the Oct. 29 event to benefit Bethesda Hospital’s Women and Children Services, primarily to support the creation and renovation of a new, state-of-the-art maternity unit.
Megan has burned the midnight oil many nights in editing a holiday cookbook to be used as a party favor for those at the luncheon’s VIP tables. The books will also be sold at the event and in local shops.
The cookbook will have the same name as the event’s theme: “Ten Years of Giving Thanks.” Since printing costs have been underwritten, sales from the book will add another $20,000 to the event’s proceeds this year.
The luncheon, started by the Bethesda Hospital Foundation 10 years ago, was inspired by Trudy Willms, who volunteered more than 73,406 hours at Bethesda since 1976. Trudy was honored at the inaugural event and still attends each year and serves on the Women of Grace committee.
Since 2000, more than 50 women have been honored with the achievement of Women of Grace by the Bethesda Hospital Foundation. “Deborah and Megan are perfect co-chairs because they are extremely dedicated and passionate about our community hospital and raising awareness about the importance of supporting our hospital,” says Kristin Calder, public relations director and annual giving director for the Bethesda Hospital Foundation.
The luncheon is very inspiring, says Megan. “I’m not a crier, but when you watch the videos of the women (being honored) and what they do, it’s very moving.”
Co-chairs forged partnership from varied backgrounds
The work of co-chairs requires considerable time and commitment. It began last March, when Deborah, a member of the board of the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, was chosen as chairwoman and invited Megan to be co-chair. Deborah and Megan, a New York native, have known each other since they met as moms of new students at The Gulf Stream School. Deborah hosted a get-together before school began and the two forged a friendship.
When Megan, a former book and magazine publisher from New York, became chairwoman of the Delray Beach Historical Society’s Antique Show, she asked Deborah to be her co-chair. The duo co-chaired that event for the past two years.
“She’s the wind beneath my wings,” Deborah said of Megan, who once worked for media icon Tina Brown at The New Yorker. Megan, who delivered her son at Bethesda three years ago, moved to Florida seven years ago with her husband, Jeffrey. She has been visiting the area since the 1960s.
“I got married when I was 20 and Megan has had this big career,” Deborah adds. “She shows me how to do things and she really knows a lot about computers. I’m always learning something.” A Florida native from Haines City, Deborah and her husband, Harry, are alumni of Florida State University and strong supporters of the school’s booster association. She is a fundraiser involved in state politics and serves on the board of the Delray Beach Historical Society and is president of the Governor’s Mansion Foundation.
In Aspen this summer, Deborah wrote countless personal letters to people in the coastal communities asking for support for the hospital and the Women of Grace Luncheon. “The responses” she says, “were incredible.”
With the economic downturn, there was concern about securing sponsors.
Between Deborah’s lovingly crafted letters and Megan’s gentle prodding; the pair has been very successful. They made up for any sponsor shortfall from businesses by securing more personal donors. And they’ve become good at asking for help and/or money.
“I feel like people can say no,” Megan says. “But the money goes to such a good cause. We’re doing this on behalf of helpless babies. We’re giving people an opportunity to help.”
The committee they formed, about 40 members strong, is a big help. Both sought to attract new members as well as welcome those who had served previously.
“I grew up with an incredible sense of family,” Deborah says, “and that’s what I want for my committee. “If I’m good at something it’s getting others interested and involved. They feel they’ve accomplished something and it makes me feel good.”
Seeing tiny infant puts effort in perspective
In mid-September, the co-chairs, committee and past and present honorees toured the newly renovated and under-construction areas of Bethesda’s Women & Children’s Services area, which the event benefits.
They got to see the new maternity delivery rooms, the stylish waiting room for daddies, and most impressively, the neonatal intensive care unit, where specially designed infant beds called Giraffes help to keep premature babies alive.
The beds are a Cadillac version of an incubator, where caregivers have access to the baby from all sides. The beds are equipped with built-in scales for frequent weighing and provide humidity which helps reduce skin breakdown. Nurses say the Giraffe bed is one of the best environments for critically ill babies.
Last year, 2,900 babies were born at Bethesda and, of those, 345 spent their first days in the hospital’s Level III NICU.
During the tour, Deborah and Megan had a chance to observe a premature baby boy less than a day old and weighing slightly more than one pound. Because of the Giraffe bed and the good care he was receiving at Bethesda, the infant had a better chance to live.
“That baby really put a face on it for me,” Deborah says.
Megan agrees. “I’ll never forget seeing that child.”
With support from the foundation and the Women of Grace event, two more of the $37,000 beds will be added to the four already in place. The nurses are already saying “thank you.”
Read more…
By Kelly Wolfe
It’s a typical summer afternoon in paradise.
A large, black cloud hangs low over the Ocean Ridge beach and the air is so muggy, a short walk results in impressive sweat stains.
No wonder the only figure on the sand is Jim McCracken, 61, of Michigan, who’s “just passing through.” “Nope,” he answers, when asked if he knew there was a line on Florida’s beaches delineating the public from the private.
Did he know he might be standing on private property?
McCracken shrugged. “I have no idea.”
That’s the problem, said Ericka D’Avanzo, Florida regional manager for the Surfrider Foundation. According to state statutes, the only guaranteed public part of the beach is below the average high-tide mark — the compact part of the sand closest to the water. Anything above may be private, except at parks. But, like McCracken, few visitors know that.
For example, D’Avanzo said, vacationing beach goers in the Panhandle were recently arrested on a private beach. They were told to move along, but thought all the beach in Florida was public — a common misconception.
At the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, resort guests were given wristbands to wear. Police monitored the beach for naked wrists.
“Our police are not supposed to be working for individuals to keep other individuals off our public beaches,” D’Avanzo said. “That’s not what our money should be spent on.”
D’Avanzo said the Surfrider Foundation wants the state Department of Environmental Protection to step in and say what’s private and what’s public.
A request to interview a beach specialist at the DEP was ignored, but a spokesman did issue a statement reiterating the high-tide mark rule.
But that’s not enough, D’Avanzo said. “We have people putting up signage, roping off the beaches, putting up [signs citing] statutes that don’t even exist, building a structure where it’s very difficult to climb over. Those are some of the issues we deal with on a daily basis.”
Last year, D’Avanzo worked with state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, on a beach access bill, but it died in the Senate in March. Now, the only way to know for sure if you are standing on private property is to look at a deed, said Ocean Ridge Town Commissioner Terry Brown. And the property owner would have to be the one enforcing the rule.
“The property owner would have to run out and give a warning,” Brown said. If the trespasser didn’t leave, then the property owner could call the police, he said. Plus, Brown said, even if beach property is privately owned, it is still subject to reasonable regulation.
“For example, it might belong to you, but you can’t build a building on it, you can’t park a car on it.” So, who’s to say you can’t keep the public off it?
“Our goal is a no net loss,” D’Avanzo said. “We want to preserve what we have before we lose anymore.”
What is Public/Private?
in Florida, the part of the beach falling landward of the mean high water mark is typically owned by the owner of the adjacent lot. The only publicly owned part of the beach is that part falling between the mean high and low water lines: the foreshore region. However, while beachfront property owners in Florida generally have title to the dry sand beach down to the average high tide line, ownership of this property does not necessarily mean that the exclusion-of-others stick is within the bundle of rights attached to this part of the property. Title to any property may be subject to explicit or implied easements, limitations based on traditional right of use, or common law prohibitions of activities considered nuisances.
— Florida Bar Journal, June 2009.
Maury Jacobson was born Aug. 18, 1920, the youngest of five siblings. Their father died in an explosion when Maury was 9. Growing up during the Depression, he learned important life lessons from his mother. “We shared meals with strangers who’d knock on our door,” he said. “We didn’t have any money, but she’d invite them in, split our dinner with them, and treat them like old friends.”
His parents had emigrated from Lithuania in the late 1890s. The Jacobson family lived in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn, where most of the neighbors were not born in the United States. “I was from a generation that talked about issues,” he said. “We always discussed what was going on in the world.”
Jacobson has been involved in all levels of government, and served South Palm Beach as a commissioner and mayor from 1993 to March, 2009.
A widower, he has two daughters. Lynn, a social worker, lives in Israel. “She has a daughter, Livia, who recently gave birth to my great grandson, Be’eri.” Janet has a company in Paris.
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I went to public schools in Brooklyn. At Brooklyn Tech, I studied mechanical engineering, but I had to leave to go to night school because I had to take care of my mother, Sarah.
She taught me a great deal about life and to have an understanding and empathy for people. Over the years, I developed the feeling that the great treasures of life are people. Most people try to do the right thing.
I have never missed an opportunity to go to technical and cultural seminars and cultural affairs. My brother, an attorney, introduced me to music and books.
My wife, Fran, was my greatest inspiration. We were married 51 years, 7 months, 22 days — give an hour or two — until she expired in JFK hospital.
Q. What professions have you worked at outside of public service? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I had a number of jobs before working for the government. Since I was a machinist, after the war, I decided to go into business and repaired appliances and air conditioners. My middle sister, Minerva, was a serious heart patient. Her husband latched on to an air conditioner, which extended her life. That inspired me to enter that field. The air-conditioner industry was so new, and I was a part of a national organization, which became the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.
Q. Why did you decide to run for public office?
A. I have always been active in federal, state, county and local government.
I was the national president of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America in 1974 and 1975, and presented a paper on energy and the economy to President Ford at the White House. In 1976, I was appointed to the Palm Beach County Advisory Board to the County Commission on energy and, at the same time, I was appointed to the county’s Citizens Task Force. I was also the longest sitting member on the advisory to the county commissioners concerning zoning and development.
In 1993, a friend asked me to attend a meeting of 15 or more people and they asked me if I would run for town commissioner. I was surprised, talked to my wife about it, and decided to run.
Q. What was your favorite part about being mayor and commissioner of South Palm Beach for so many years? What were your major accomplishments while in office?
A. The pride of being a mayor and commissioner — I tried to be open, responsive and reflective on issues so that people could feel free to speak their points. The development of our present phenomenal staff was a contribution I’m most proud of — our town manager, Rex Taylor, town clerk, Janet Whipple, Yudy Alvarez and Sandy Fine, on staff, and Charles O’Neal, in charge of landscape maintenance. I’m proud of our town attorney, Trela White, and our police captain, Roger Crane, and his staff, who are outstanding and responsive to people on an individual basis, and give them caring attention. All these things happened doing my “tour of duty.”
I’m proud of our contract with the Palm Beach County Fire Department, which has given us a level of service absolutely outstanding.
I was instrumental in bringing together county, state and federal levels of government involved in beach restoration, along with our neighbors in Manalapan, Palm Beach and Lantana, to address the issue of beach erosion and installation of breakwaters to provide beach stability.
Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?
A. I have always been a strong advocate on education. That’s yours and becomes a part of you. Expand on it, and make it as broad as you can.
I think young people should learn everything that there is to know about their careers, and be the best there is to be. They should be like a sponge and not leave any door closed. They should have broad concepts, rather than tunnel vision. The higher your status is in the chain or an organization, the broader your vision should become.
Don’t ever accept success at the expense of values and principles in life.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach?
A. While living in Bethesda, Maryland, we came to Orlando for a convention, and then visited South Palm Beach based on a friend’s recommendation. It was a small, undeveloped town with a growing community. We fell in love with it, moved here in 1974, and have had a wonderful life here.
Q. What is your favorite part about living in South Palm Beach?
A. I love the ambience of the community.
At first, cultural activities were limited. Today, it’s a strong cultural center and residents have the opportunity to listen to guest speakers, and interact with different ideas on issues that confront our world at large. South Palm Beach affords opportunities for residents to enjoy life to the fullest, grow as individuals, and know that they are still part of the world that we live in.
Q. What do you feel is the single most difficult decision the town will have to make in the next five years?
A. The most important issue we face is beach erosion, restoration and stability.
Concerning development, I don’t want South Palm Beach to become a concrete jungle. Change should reflect the people of the community.
Q. Who or what makes you laugh?
A. I laugh very easily. I enjoy people. I think that people are great. I can laugh with everybody.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. South Palm Beach is a village of and by the sea, bound by it on all sides, and although we love and adore the sea, it doesn’t always love us.
Read more…
By Tim O’Meilia
A controversial proposal that would allow a 99-unit, 10-story hotel will go to the South Palm Beach Town Council without the endorsement of the South Florida Regional Planning Council.
The planning council labeled the change to the town’s comprehensive plan inconsistent with regional planning policy after hearing the objections of three town residents at the Sept. 18 meeting in Stuart. The members of non-profit South Palm Beach Preservation Inc. complained that the proposed beachfront hotel is too high and would further degrade the town’s eroded shoreline.
The decision reversed the planning council staff’s recommendation. “The council’s thinking was that if this were allowed everywhere (along the beach), would it make a better region?” said council Executive Director Michael Busha. “The council decided it wouldn’t.”
The planning council’s finding is advisory only, and not binding on the Town Council.
The town’s own planning council made no recommendation on the plan after a raucous public meeting Sept. 21 that included the ejection of a resident by police. The board forwarded comments from residents to the Town Council.
The hotel would replace a 49-year-old two-story motel of 58 units that was long known as the Hawaiian Inn. The Paloka family bought the property five years ago, but their plan to erect a 12-story hotel condominium was rejected by the Town Council in 2007.
Read more…
Brinyite Terry Kline fondly recalls the “summer of giving,” with her neighbor, Celene “Candy” Alexandra. “I gave her some tomatoes one day, and the next day she shows up at my door with peaches and pears. As soon as you give her one thing, you get back 900 things. We spent the summer trying to one-up each other with giving.”
Giving is something that Alexandra has done for many years with many, many children. Nearly three decades ago, Alexandra began soothing troublesome children with a music therapy program she developed and incorporated in public schools across Palm Beach County.
With her trademark songs, You are so Beautiful to Me and Sweetness in the Morning, Alexandra — known to the kids as “Dr. A.” — whisked these children to a quiet, serene place “under the waterfall” and helped them to focus and calm down.
“You change their thoughts, you change their behavior. It works on everybody,” said Alexandra, 63. While she has no children of her own, every week Alexandra would work with 300 children at 16 schools across the county.
“I had five classes of autistic children in middle school. When the class was done, some of the children applauded,” Alexander said.
Kline substitute teaches on occasion and recalled the day Alexandra walked into her classroom. “When she came in, the kids were wild and wooly. And when she left, they were so calm. It is an amazing program.” Unfortunately, budget problems prompted school district officials to cancel the program this summer and Alexandra now works as a pre-K facilitator, a task she says doesn’t take full advantage of her musical skills. Alexandra earned a master’s degree in music education from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in music therapy from Florida State University, and an Ed. D. in early childhood education from Nova University and hopes the district will reconsider its decision.
She keeps a scrapbook of fonder days with her school children. “Thank you. I needed you,” wrote one child. “You make my every Thursday happy,” wrote another.
Alexandra first came to Briny Breezes in the early 1950s with her parents and lives there today, caring for her mother.
As a child, “I begged my mom to take piano lessons,” Alexandra said. “I’d practice for three hours every day and the time would just fly by.”
Her personal favorites: Bach. The Beatles. Irving Berlin. Easy listening of the 1930s and 1940s.
She enjoys living in Briny Breezes, where she says her late father and mother were quite active until their later years. “I have such wonderful neighbors,” she said.
Kline shares Alexandra’s remorse about the end of the music therapy program. “It’s just a shame,” she says. “She invented that program. It’s sad when bad things happen to good people.”
Still, music will forever play a big part in Alexandra’s life. “I have always had music in my house and in my heart,” she said.
Celene A. “Candy” Alexendra was nominated to be a Coastal Star by her Briny Breezes neighbor, Terry Kline.Read more…
By Tim O’Meilia
Even though the 2010 budget year is just beginning (Oct. 1), town councilmen agreed to chop more than $1 million out of the 2011 budget. Yet it won’t save South Palm Beach residents any money. The council agreed unanimously Sept. 22 to revise its 10-year agreement with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue to allow property owners to be billed directly for fire service as part of their annual property tax bill. Currently, the town pays the annual cost from its operating budget. “That one line item is a third of our budget,” said Town Manager Rex Taylor. The town will pay nearly $1.1 million for fire service this year from a $3.06 million operating budget. “It’s certainly better for the town, taking it out of the budget.” Both methods of payment are based on a fire-rescue tax rate of $3.50 per $1,000 of taxable property value so the cost to taxpayers won’t change. But residents could save a few pennies in November 2010 by paying property taxes early. Early payers get a slight discount on their bills. The council must given final approval at the Oct. 27 meeting and the Palm Beach County Commission also must approve the change by Dec. 31.
Read more…
In other business, Mayor Martin Millar’s well-publicized trip to Rachel’s, his request for a police ride home and his conduct during a rowdy budget hearing last month have galvanized the opinions of townspeople, based on comments at the Sept. 22 meeting.
“Your leadership is causing irreparable harm to the town,” said resident Stella Jordan. “We are now the laughingstock of our entire Treasure Coast area. Make your last official act one you can be proud of. Resign. Here. Now. Tonight.”
Others supported Millar, including residents Linda DeCaro and Walter Knapp, who praised his support of a proposed 99-unit, 98-foot-tall hotel to replace the two-story Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn.
“The mayor was voted in fair and square,” DeCaro said.
Resident Bud Krasnow also was critical of the mayor. “Have you no shame? What you have done to the reputation of this town is unbelievable,” he said.
— Tim O'Meilia
Read more…
By Thomas R. Collins
Mayor Tom Gerrard lives just seven houses down from where Tom Petters used to live. And as mayor, he probably comes into contact with more people than just about anyone else in town.
But Gerrard said he never heard of, let alone met, the former Minneapolis businessman and part-time Manalapaner. It’s probably just as well.
Petters, in a federal prosecution with echoes of the Bernie Madoff scandal, is accused of masterminding a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme. In Minnesota, he’s gone from high-flying businessman to high-profile defendant, although the case has generally flown below the radar locally.
Petters says he’s innocent and his trial is scheduled to start Oct. 26.
The corporate titan seems to have stayed low-key in Manalapan, where he bought a house at 1840 S. Ocean Blvd. in 2004 for $8.75 million.
“I never even heard of the man,” Gerrard said. “If he had been involved in Manalapan locally, I would most likely have heard of him and I have not.”
The more Manalapan would have known of Tom Petters, the worse it might be feeling these days.
Petters was founder and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide, a collection of 20 companies, including Polaroid and Sun Country Airlines.
Federal prosecutors say investors in one of Petters’ companies, Petters Co. Inc., were led to believe they were buying merchandise which was then being re-sold for a profit to retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. But, prosecutors allege, there was actually little or no merchandise and the operation consisted mostly of faking documents and keeping the cash.
Petters’ former six-bedroom, three-level house in Manalapan — it was sold in July for $8.98 million to a former Bear Stearns executive and his wife — includes 11,179 square feet of living space and a total of 20,798 square feet. There’s a beach house and private dock.
The owner before Petters was Amway co-founder Richard DeVos.
It was originally listed at $11 million, but the timing was bad: The Madoff scandal had just broken when the house went on the market, and a bunch of mega-mansions had just been put up for sale.
“The Realtor down there told us we were running into the Madoff effect,” said Minneapolis attorney Doug Kelley, the receiver in charge of corralling Petters’ vast wealth.
The Manalapan house appears to have been the priciest of all the items in Petters’ glittering array of luxury possessions.
Petters’ former Minnesota house was listed for sale at $8.25 million. A mountainside home in Colorado sold earlier this year for $1.5 million. A second Florida house, in Winter Park, is assessed at $655,000. And still another of Petters’ houses was valued at $670,500.
It’s been quite a challenge for Kelley. He said he’s been comparing notes with the receivers who are trying to sort out Madoff’s assets. And they told him, “We have more money involved but yours is infinitely more complicated.” Madoff’s scam involved just one main company, while Petters had more than 150 corporations, Kelley said.
Petters’ companies did some work in Palm Beach County. “There was a local office that was down there and he conducted some business from there,” Kelley said. “I’m finding assets that run to the Charlie Chaplain estate in Switzerland to the Jamaican Lottery,” he said. “There are just so many things that are out there.” Petters’ monthly expenses totaled $227,000, according to court filings.
His 590-bottle wine collection just sold for $7,080 — $2 more per bottle than the appraised value.
Petters’ 37-foot yacht, kept at his Manalapan house, sold earlier this year for $127,000, Kelley said.
In the Midwest, Petters was philanthropic, donating $8.3 million to the College of St. Benedict for a study-abroad program and an arts center and $4 million to Miami University for a chair in Asian business.
He founded the John T. Petters Foundation, which awards scholarships for study-abroad programs. It’s named for Petters’ son, who was murdered in Italy in 2004. The foundation is a separate entity from Petters’ corporations and continues to operate.
He also gave $12 million to Rollins College in Winter Park, where his daughter Jennifer went to school.
The director of a Minnesota domestic abuse center, where Petters helped with fundraising, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he was “a compassionate man who, when asked, will help people out.”
Petters’ lawyers have shown no signs of backing down.
“Mr. Petters maintains his innocence,” his attorney Jon Hopeman said when the case first broke a year ago, “and intends to fight this.”
Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
Local lawmakers may wish they could forget this 2009/10 budget-crunching season, but in September they put their stamps of approval on financial plans that will be a constant reminder for the next year.
For many residents, the result is rising taxes and sometimes, declining services. Plummeting property tax revenues and rising costs forced government leaders to look at options, including seeking other revenue, cutting services and salaries, dipping into reserves, and in many instances, boosting millage rates from last year.
Residents tax bills are made up not only of municipal taxes, but several taxing authorities, including the county. Palm Beach County boosted its tax rate by 14.9 percent to fund its $999.8 million general fund — part of a $4.1 billion overall budget — setting it at $4.34 for each $1,000 of assessed property value. That increased from $3.78 previously. The county cut hundreds of jobs, among other things.
Here is a snapshot of municipal results in The Coastal Star’s area:
Delray Beach
Delray Beach approved a millage rate* of 7.19, compared with a rollback rate — the rate that would bring in the same amount of dollars as the previous year — of 7.3833, and a $96.6 million budget, $2.1 million lower than last year.
Faced with a 14.4 percent decrease in taxable property value, the city cut funding for 14 positions, resulting in two layoffs, and froze two vacant code officer positions and eliminated animal control. Facility schedules were altered, including at the Pompey Park pool, and after-school field trips were eliminated, among other things.
Vocal Delray Beach residents turned out for the city’s public hearings on the budget, equally divided between those imploring commissioners to spare residents from tax increases and those defending against budget cuts. Commissioners’ views also represented the extremes, with Adam Frankel, for instance, supporting the proposed millage rate of 7.3833, equal to the rollback rate, to avoid hurting city employees and residents. He wanted to explore more cuts and tap the reserves. On the other end, Commissioner Fred Fetzer wanted the millage rate to stay at last year’s level of 6.39 and hold the line on taxes. He wanted to explore more cuts as well as tapping the reserves.
Other viewpoints were somewhere in between. “Delray is a product; we can’t cut the investment in the product,” said Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos, who added that reserves should be preserved for catastrophic events like hurricanes. He favored a millage rate lower than the rollback.
Mayor Woodie McDuffie said cutting back is the simple thing to do, but said it is reckless to cut back to last year’s millage rate.
Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream left its 2.8655 millage rate the same as last year, but lower than the 3.0437 rollback rate. Commissioners approved a balanced general fund budget of $2.6 million and a water fund budget of $865,000.
Considering a 5.9 percent decrease in taxable property value, and a fire services rate increase of 84 percent, Mayor William F. Koch Jr. said, commissioners did a pretty good job to keep a healthy budget for their residents.
Briny Breezes
Briny Breezes voted unanimously for a proposed rate of $10.0 per $1,000 of assessed value, more than triple the initially proposed rate of $3.00. It approved a budget of $555,193.
The approved tax rate compared to a rollback rate of $2.70 and last year’s rate of $2.76.
Mayor Roger Bennett had earlier said the final rate was likely to be much lower, but ultimately factors including rising police costs, dissipated reserves and a citizen’s initiative that could cap tax revenue in the future kindled support for the $10.00 rate. Reserves were tapped to lower taxes when the deal to sell the town was still alive, Bennett said.
Even with the county's only taxable property value increase — 2.3 percent — Town Council expressed the sentiment that Briny Breezes has been cheap for a long time and with no sale in the works, it’s time to begin building funds to assure the town’s existence. While public comment was light, Sue Thaler of Briny’s corporate board said residents had questioned whether raising the park’s assessments was more equitable to the taxpayers since it would be raised per share, not based on tax rolls.
“We’re going to pay one way or another,” Alderman Nancy Boczon said.
Ocean Ridge
Ocean Ridge passed a $5.4 million budget with a millage rate of $5.40, lowering it from the previously proposed $5.50 rate. With a 13.3 percent drop in taxable property value, the town will turn to reserves to fully fund the budget.
While $5.40 is below the rollback rate, it still increases from last year, which equates to an increase of about 7 percent, according to Commissioner Terry Brown. But going with the lower millage rate still means keeping the reserve level at about $2 million, commissioners said in their September meeting.
Manalapan
Manalapan approved a $2.80 tax rate, 8.839 percent under the rollback rate of $3.07, and a $3.6 million budget. A divided commission voted to freeze wages for town staff and turned to reserves, among other measures, to make up for lower tax revenues.
Commissioners Peter Blum and Marilyn Hedberg, proponents of a 2.7 percent cost-of-living increase for the staff, proposed boosting the millage rate to the same level as last year to fund it.
But Mayor Tom Gerrard and Commissioners William Bernstein and Robert B. Evans noted their businesses had to make difficult adjustments to staffing in the past year, necessary in this economy.
At the second public hearing, police officers protested the inequity of a freeze in the step plan that determines promotions and retirement, claiming only a few unfairly shoulder the burden of the freeze. While Manalapan did not alter the freeze for budget purposes, it told officers it would review both the step system and alternate cost savings offered by the police chief.
Lantana
Lantana voted to keep its existing millage rate of $3.24 during its preliminary public hearing on the proposed $14.8 million budget. $8.5 million of which is for the general fund.
The budget reflects lower than anticipated liability and workers compensation costs — but rising health insurance and a 13.3 percent decrease in taxable property value.
Employees will forego cost of living increases as well as merit increase this year.
Town Manager Mike Bornstein praised the town staff and thanked them for their sacrifice.
Mayor David Stewart told Bornstein he did a good job, adding: “I hope it doesn’t shoot us in the foot down the road. I hope it doesn’t tie us terribly to where we can’t function in the long term.” He listed several entities compelled to raise taxes, including the county that boosted the tax rate by 14.9 percent.
South Palm Beach
Council approved the $3.06 million budget and a higher tax rate by a 3-2 vote. “I did vote for the budget for four years in a row,” said Mayor Martin Millar, who opposed it this year. “I should have asked more questions and I didn’t.”
South Palm Beach, which saw taxable value fall 17.1 percent, cut its budget 4.5 percent from last year’s $3.17 million. The tax rate was increased to $7.65, up 16.4 percent from last year.
The town’s 13 full-time employees will get no raises and a part-time, $12,000 clerical position will be cut. Town Manager Rex Taylor also eliminated a $5,000 short-term disability policy, saying it was adequately covered by the current sick-pay plan. Actual dispatching costs will fall by $26,000 as the town of Lantana takes over that task.
The council will dip into reserves for $217,000 to pay for the town’s $175,000 share of a beach-renourishment design plan and $42,000 for radio communications modifications.
*Each mill equals $1 in taxes for each $1,000 of the taxable value of a home. And the rollback rate is the figure required to generate the same revenue as the prior budget, using the new assessments of the current year.
— Mary Kate Leming and Tim O’Meilia contributed to this reportRead more…
By Nirvi Shah
The future of the old Boynton Beach high school could be in city residents’ hands next March, when voters will decide whether to spend money on its restoration.
Boynton Mayor Jerry Taylor said the vote will finally settle the issue of saving or demolishing the 30,000-square-foot building, which opened in 1926. Taylor has repeatedly balked at the idea of preserving the structure.
But in the middle of a recession, preservationists fear asking voters to pay for renovations, which could seal the fate of the beleaguered building.
At a city meeting in September, commissioners were hard-pressed to keep the measure off the ballot, because they had already approved asking voters to decide whether Boynton should build a new police station. Only Commissioner Jose Rodriguez opposed the measure to put the high school project on the ballot, too.
The city doesn’t have money for either project. Some estimates say it would cost as much as $8 million to restore the old school.
Taylor said a small but vocal group has insisted for years that the entire city wants to save the building. “Now we’re giving them a chance,” he said.
But the timing is off, say those who support the school.
“You’re talking about one of the worst economic times that most living human beings are aware of,” Brian Edwards told the City Commission. Edwards is on the board of the Children’s Schoolhouse Museum. That facility is on the National Register of Historic Places and is next door to the high school on Ocean Avenue. “Why in the world would you set the old high school up for failure? Because that’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Edwards told the commission.
Commissioners still have to approve the ballot language. The wording has to be finalized by December. In the meantime, the commission will also discuss proposals to build a new police station and city hall. One of the four proposals includes suggestions for the school.
“We do not have that much left of our history,” said Barbara Ready, chairwoman of Save the Boynton Old School Space, who is organizing a petition drive to save the school.
She and others note the school was designed by William Manly King, architect of what is now the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach and other school district buildings built in the 1920s and ’30s. Some envision the old school becoming a rental facility for events, office space, a restaurant and community center.
“The high school is an existing asset,” Ready said. “Figure out what the community wants in that building. Breathe some life into that downtown.”
Read more…
By Thom Smith
Signs of the times. Signs because of the times. Signs in spite of the times.
Despite all the economic doom speak, Delray maintains its All-American City attitude.
Oh sure, shops, restaurants and businesses are closing, but it seems that no sooner does one owner lock up for the final time than another is waiting with a new key.
“We can’t just sit back and wait,” said Francis Taboul, as he surveyed the renovations at La Cigale on South Federal. “We have to take this as an opportunity to make our place more appealing.”
Taboul has relocated the entrance and added a dining room to his “very healthy” Mediterranean eatery, and this only months after opening Atlantique Cafe, his breakfast- and lunch-only bistro/bakery in Atlantic Plaza next to the Intracoastal.
To witness entrepreneurial enthusiasm at its best, talk to Pauline Smith. She and husband Tom are about to open Marley’s Island Time Grill at 800 Palm Trail, No. 5, just off George Bush Boulevard. For those of you who may have missed the change, the Smiths took over what used to be the Pineapple Grille. If the new name doesn’t tell you what’s coming, you must be from another planet.
“We’ll have Caribbean and tropical food,” Pauline said, through her big smile. Originally from Jamaica by way of New York, they decided after a couple of years in Delray to attempt their first restaurant.
A block west, however, the Snappy Turtle Outlet and Thrift is gone, but a few more doors inland, the Sail Inn, one of the all-time great dives, recently celebrated its 56th year. Good beer, good darts, good vibe, even if you’re not a Yankees fan.
The yin to Sail Inn’s yang, Boston’s on the Beach will celebrate 30 years in a few weeks. World Series or not, the party level will be high, and only slightly dampened if the Sox shouldn't make it past the Bronx Bombers. It’s hard to fault a joint that offers all Boston games on the tube, flown-in-fresh steamed clams, whole (with the bellies) fried clams and a cheese steak sandwich called the “Big Papi.”
Beachside Boston’s could provide some home away from home comfort for one newly arrived Bostonian, but for the moment William Sander is busy readying his Seagate Hotel and Spa for an early November opening. A major task for Sander, former general manager at 15 Beacon in Boston, has been hiring a staff, but for him the slouching economy has been a blessing. He arrived at work on the first day of an announced job fair in early September to find a line stretching out the main entrance and around the corner. For 200 available positions an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 hopefuls turned out.
“It’s really bittersweet,” Sander said, “because we’re seeing people come through who are our peers or we’ve known in the industry and have lost jobs. But it’s a plus, too, because we can really get the best.”
Billed as a boutique hotel despite 162-rooms, the Seagate is tied to the rebuilt Seagate Beach Club at the south end of Delray’s public beach. One hire Sander didn’t have to make was a kitchen boss. Adam Gottlieb, executive chef at the Beach Club, will oversee the food operation at both spots.
In these tough times, many beachfront hotels are doing what they can to keep from washing away in the tide. Some are cutting back, some are innovating and some are doing a little of both.
Still building steam after a major renovation, The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has closed Angle, its fine dining restaurant, electing to place the emphasis on its popular Temple Orange ocean-view eatery and Breeze, the Caribbean-influenced outdoor cafe.
As part of its renovation, the Ritz put a little sole into its Presidential Suite: a shoe wall, featuring displays of footwear created by Miami designer Robert Tabor to capture the essence of such famous women as Hillary Clinton, Betty Ford, Evita Perón, Imelda Marcos, Margaret Thatcher, Marie Antoinette, Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth.
And coming in January, the Michelle Obama shoe. Described as a sleeveless style silhouette of lemongrass-colored lace with a velvet and jeweled bow, a heel resembling a White House column, with a first family photo, finished with a red, white and blue ribbon and an Obama ’08 campaign button on the toe.
The Ritz hopes to arrange a promotional tour with the Obama shoe and others, proceeds going to the Literacy Coalition, and, with a little luck, to lure the first lady to Manalapan in the new year to check out the shoe wall first hand.
Not all the hotel restaurant news is bad, however. The Seacrest Grill at the Delray Marriott has become a dining destination and peers in the industry are taking notice of Executive Chef Adam Savage. In September he appeared at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and on Dec. 3 he’s been invited to display his talents at Nirvana for chefs— the prestigious James Beard House in New York.
Pig out for a cause. More than 30 restaurants and food vendors will show their stuff Oct. 9 for the American Lung Association at the Lake Worth Food & Wine Experience 2009. Grand Wine Meister Greg Rice will offer the opening toast at 7 p.m., in the Lake Worth Cultural Plaza. Total Wine will provide the wine, Ketel One the vodka ice bar. The food will come from the likes of III Forks, Brogues, Island Jack’s, John G’s, John Bull, Saito’s, City Oyster, 251 Palm Beach, GOL!, Havana and even Costco. Only 500 tickets ($50) will be sold, so it’s advisable to buy them online at www.lakeworthfoodandwine.com, or over the phone at (561) 659-7644. If any are left, they’ll be sold at the event.
Thom Smith is a freelance writer. He can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.Read more…
By Stephanie Slater
Seconds.
That’s how long it takes for someone to steal your purse or wallet.
Days, months, years.
That’s how long you’ll be dealing with creditors and banks when the thieves use your credit cards or steal your identity.
It all begins when you become distracted.
They might ask you for directions while you’re loading items into your car.
Or stop you in the grocery store and ask you about an item on a shelf. Others have even faked medical conditions.
Some will follow you around a store, waiting for the moment when you turn away from the shopping cart, leaving your purse unattended. That’s when they reach in and swipe your wallet.
You probably won’t notice your credit cards are gone until you get to the cash register.
No matter what the technique, these thieves are counting on you to become distracted. They will always be polite and take advantage of your willingness to help others. And they prey on senior citizens. There are many ways you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of distraction theft.
• Use purses that have a zipper or locking flap. Keep those closed when not using your purse and carry your purse close to your body.
• Consider not carrying a purse. Put credit cards and cash into a wallet that can fit inside your front pants pocket. Never carry your wallet in your rear pants pocket without a chain or button to secure it.
• If someone you don’t know asks you a question, make sure to hold on to your purse.
• Beware of loud arguments and commotions in crowded areas. Thieves may stage these incidents to distract you while they pick your pocket.
• If you are unnecessarily bumped or crowded, be aware that a pickpocket might be responsible and immediately check your valuables.
Following these tips can help you avoid becoming a victim. But if someone does steal your purse or pick your pocket, call police as soon as possible.
Stay safe!
Stephanie Slater is the public information officer for the Boynton Beach Police Department. For more crime prevention tips, visit the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Web site, www.bbpd.org.Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
Lantana Town Council gave its final nod to a zoning change for the Cenacle property on the Intracoastal — to commercial from residential —though it won’t become effective until after site plan approval.
The Cenacle sought land-use and zoning changes as part of a proposal to sell the 1400 Dixie Highway retreat, operated by the Catholic Cenacle sisters, to Palm Beach Resort Partners LLC. The buyer wants to develop a $100 million luxury resort and spa.
A residents group appealed the project following council’s initial vote in April that allowed a land-use change to commercial. The developers and opponents have worked out an agreement to let the process continue even as the appeal stands.
Under the agreement, the zoning change approved by council Sept. 28 will only become effective at the end of the process, after the comprehensive plan goes into effect and the challenge is ultimately resolved, the developer’s attorney, Al Malefatto of Greenberg Traurig, told council members at their Sept. 14 meeting. The residents group that challenged the development is very interested in working on the site plan, Malefatto said, adding that his client hoped to have approval of that plan by the first quarter of 2010. The site plan will also be the subject of public hearings.
The developer has promised residents a deed restriction that would limit building on the property to the upscale hotel if the sale closes. In response to repeated concerns, Malefatto said Palm Beach Resort Partners had no intention of flipping the property to another buyer.
Residents have objected to the proposal at public hearings for both the land-use change and the zoning change. They have voiced suspicions that changing land use could pave the way for unwelcome commercial uses on the property as well as concerns about its impact on the environment and the small-town atmosphere of the neighborhood.
Although the site plan hadn’t been submitted yet, the developer’s representatives presented a preview at the April council meetings, describing a 300-room hotel with restaurants, bars, ballroom, sandy beach and a pool on the 10-acre waterfront property.
Malefatto said then that the project could provide an enormous economic boost to Lantana, creating 300 full-time local jobs and $300,000 in annual tax revenue from a property that’s not now taxed.
Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
The moon flexed its strength in September, pulling tides a half foot to a foot-and-a-half higher as it swung through its perigee.
The lunar perigee, when the moon’s orbit takes it closest to the Earth, occurred near the time of the Sept. 18 new moon, causing the higher than normal seas, according to Robert Molleda, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.
The moon’s power over the tides is usually strongest during the new and full phases, when the positions of the moon and sun are aligned, he explained. The effect is amplified as the moon’s gravitational pull becomes more influential when the orb draws closer to the Earth. And the tides are higher at the spring and fall equinox.
In Briny Breezes, the tidal waters rose into some streets near the Intracoastal. “We have these every spring and every fall, and fall is usually the highest,” Town Council President Sharon Kendrigan said.
The water comes across the street and up to Kendrigan’s second step. “There’s no damage, it comes in and goes out,” she said. The town discourages cars from driving through the brackish water, in part to prevent damage, she said. In addition, she said, at 10 miles an hour, they have a wake.
The seas have subsided now; they were down to within a half-foot of expectations by late September, according to Molleda.
The next lunar perigee is Oct. 13, which alone can mean tides of one to six inches higher, depending on local geography, according to NOAA. The closest new or full moon is Oct. 18.
The combination by itself will cause higher waters, but can become a critical influence when other weather that affects tides — such as a hurricane —is present, Molleda said.
The perigean-spring tides came into play earlier this summer, causing some minor flooding when seas were running higher up and down the Eastern U.S. coast, from Maine to Florida, according to an August report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The moon wasn’t the primary reason behind those tides, which were up to 2 feet higher than expected, mainly in the mid-Atlantic, in June and July, according to the report. NOAA scientists said the event was caused by persistent northeast winds and a weakening Florida current transport, a current that feeds into the Gulf Stream, although they still needed further study.
Read more…
By Nirvi Shah
It was a huge victory last year for coral reef preservationists when the National Marine Fisheries Service designated a swath of the Florida coast as a protected area for two species of coral.
But discovery of one species of threatened coral north of that protected region has reef advocates asking for the boundary to be pushed north — to the vocal objection of the coastal powerhouse of Palm Beach County: Palm Beach. The town objected in writing, concerned that the extra layer of review it would have to endure if the designation were extended to their shores and affect beach renourishment projects.
The fisheries service labeled the coast from the Dry Tortugas to the Boynton Inlet as a critical habitat for elkhorn and staghorn coral last November. Then, Palm Beach County Reef Rescue discovered staghorn coral further north, director Ed Tichenor said. So his group petitioned the federal government to move the boundary north to the Lake Worth Inlet.
“Our goal for moving the boundary is really for National Marine Fisheries to comply with the Endangered Species Act,” he said. The boundary “has to encompass all areas where the species is found.”
He said the original critical-habitat designation would have gone as far north as the current proposal, but the federal government backed off, saying it had no evidence the coral was growing north of the Lake Worth Inlet.
The National Marine Fisheries Service could make a decision as early as November.
Lake Worth supports the measure. The city would become the first in the county to ban pumping sand onto the beach from offshore, if voters approve the measure in November. Manalapan Town Manager Greg Dunham said his council hasn’t discussed the boundary change because the town historically hasn’t done any beach renourishment projects.
“It’s just the way Mother Nature works,” he said. And in South Palm Beach, Commissioner Charles McCrosson said he doesn’t think changing the designation will affect his town’s proposed breakwater project. The plan is to build a rock formation about 300 feet offshore to curb the power of the waves against the beach, he said.
The project hasn’t yet been approved and wouldn’t begin before the end of next year.
“We want to do everything environmentally correct,” McCrosson said. “Our hope is it will not slow down the (permitting) process.”
Staghorn and elkhorn coral had declined sharply since the 1970s, the state Department of Environmental Protection has said. Disease and water quality issues are blamed for their decline. In 2006, the species were classified as threatened. Since 2006, the coral population has been revived, although no one is sure why. Southeast Florida’s coral reefs provide a place for more than 6,000 species of marine animals to live, generate $5.7 billion in revenue each year and provide 61,000 jobs, the state says.
Palm Beach counters that the beaches also generate billions in revenue for the state each year and require maintaining. The town also said the staghorn coral north of the existing critical habitat boundary is found in such insignificant patches that protecting the area isn’t necessary. The town wants the proposal put on hold, at the least, until its effect on beach erosion projects is evaluated.
Tichenor said he thinks their worries are misplaced, because beach replenishment projects already must stay far from the reef — protection of which is critical to boosting the coral population.
“I think their concerns are unfounded,” he said, but he doesn’t discount the town’s ability to squelch the proposal.
He suspects the town’s efforts kept its coast free of the critical-habitat designation last year, so his organization began a letter-writing campaign in to counteract the influence of the town.
Tichenor noted that past campaigns helped persuade Delray Beach to stop dumping partially treated sewage into the ocean and kept the county’s only hyperbaric chamber open at St. Mary’s Medical Center, among other things.
“The town of Palm Beach exerts a disproportionate amount of influence on Florida and national politics,” the group wrote in an e-mail encouraging vocal support for the critical habitat to be enlarged.
“Politicians do listen, when enough e-mails are sent.”
Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
Boaters once clamored for a spot in Delray Beach’s marina, but the ebbing economy has left nearly half its slips vacant and forced the city to drop rates to entice new business.
Acknowledging increasing competition among area marinas, Delray Beach commissioners cut annual rates to $16 per foot per month from $21 in September, even as live-aboard residents of the marina argued that more drastic action was necessary to revitalize their waterfront neighborhood.
“We don’t have a waiting line any more, we have a leaving line,” said Vice Mayor Gary Eliopoulos. “I want to see boats there.”
The lawmakers dropped the rate even lower than the $18 recommended by Linda Karch, director of Parks and Recreation, during the commissioners’ Sept. 22 meeting. “I could support $16 without a problem,” said Karch when commissioners solicited her opinion. “I think at that price we’d be able to fill it.”
While no public hearing was scheduled, commissioners allowed some residents who live aboard boats at the marina to speak. “You ought to consider charging less. At this rate, you’re going to lose more boats,” said Bob Rilling, a former manager of a New Hampshire marina.
He pointed to the 198-slip Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, developed by H. Wayne Huizenga, which is charging $9 per foot per month and had more amenities.
Speakers also said Boynton Beach’s rates were low, about $14. Delray Beach staff pointed out, however, that the Boynton marina doesn’t accommodate live-aboards.
Eleven of the Delray Beach city marina’s 24 slips are currently open, with eight of them giving notice in the last two months, according to a memo from Karch. Vacant marina slips — whether for permanent or transient boaters — mean less revenue for Delray Beach. Marina residents likened it to living in a neighborhood where half the houses were empty, adding that it invites crime and the homeless.
“We’ve lost a lot of people recently,” said George Aspland, a live-aboard boater. “This is my neighborhood. I’ve lived there for 15 years. That neighborhood has been abandoned.”
Rilling noted a rash of attempts to break into the marina facilities. “An empty marina is a dangerous marina,” he said. Meanwhile, vacancies encourage boaters to sneak slip usage, tying up their boats at night and leaving before being noticed — and charged — in the morning, he said.
In an e-mail, Aspland told the city that the proposed rate reduction still wasn’t competitive, because marinas use their posted rates as a starting point that can be negotiated down. Delray Beach doesn’t have that luxury.
“For the 20 years prior to the rate increase in 2007, the marina was 100 percent occupied and had a waiting list of upwards of 100 people. After the 2007 increase in rates, many long-term marina residents departed and the city called the 100 people on the waiting list, and still, we have occupancy of only 50 percent,” Aspland wrote. “It is pretty obvious that the Delray Beach Marina has missed the market by quite a bit.”
Delray raised rates to $21 (70 cents per foot per day from 45 cents previously) for live-aboards in August 2007 and applied it uniformly to transients as well in September 2008. Three slips were empty at the time. At the current rate of $21 per foot per month, Delray Beach revenues are $138,600 and would be $235,620 if the marina were full. At $16.50 (55-cent daily rate), current revenues would be $108,900, or $185,130 if the marina were full, according to staff calculations.
In addition to lower annual rates, Karch recommended offering one-month rent free for boaters who paid their annual fee upfront. The current fee for daily boaters is $60 a day or $1,800 a month. Karch recommended offering a $200 discount for a monthly rental and a $1,500 discount on a six-month rental, discounted at the end of the agreement.
Karch said she hoped the lower rate will attract more boaters, including the transient boaters who add more to the coffers while staying a shorter time. Currently, there are very few of them, she said.
Earlier in the meeting, commissioners voted not to charge boats under 35 feet the 35-foot rate to moor, but left for its Oct. 6 meeting action on what minimum size boat should be allowed. Residents argued the marina isn’t made to safely accommodate smaller boats.
Read more…
By Thomas R. Collins
Another deal might have turned to static for perennially for-sale WXEL.
Nine months after the Palm Beach County School District expressed an interest in buying the public radio and TV stations from Barry University, the School Board voted to pull half the money it had set aside for the deal to balance its economy-rocked budget.
The pullback might clear the way for other groups to again begin making a bid for the stations.
The School Board never officially voted no on the proposed buy, but the purchase of the stations is no longer up for a yes vote, either.
“Where is it exactly? I don’t know,” district spokesman Nat Harrington said.
That has left the stations, which Barry has wanted to sell for about four years, in its familiar position: on the air, but up in the air.
Barry spokesman Mike Laderman said he hadn’t heard from school district officials about their next step. “We’re looking for the right organization to take over the stations, so right now the ball is in the School Board’s hands,” he said. “We’re not doing anything assuming something will or will not happen with the School Board.”
The Community Broadcast Foundation of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast is hoping that it can re-open negotiations with the university about buying the stations.
“We’re very actively interested in it,” said Murray Green, vice president of the foundation’s board and a retired radio and television broadcaster. “We felt that it was not right for the School Board to operate it. Most areas around the country, school boards and colleges and universities haven given up their public broadcasting stations and found that it was not the right business for them.”
The foundation was part of a deal crafted in 2007 in which the stations would have been sold to a New York station, WNET. But the Federal Communications Commission shot it down because of what it said was a lack of local control.
Green now says the FCC made the right decision.
The school district sought to include the foundation in its bid to buy the stations, but the partnership didn’t happen.
Green has publicly criticized the board’s approach to the proposed partnership.
“The district has said it will not be responsible for any financial shortfall in the budget,” Green wrote in a newspaper column for Scripps newspapers in April.
“The School Board wants to hold the license, sit as the board of directors of the stations, but have an outside party be responsible for management and finances. We will not accept these terms.”
Miami station WPBT has also expressed interest in buying the stations.
Green said the station takes in about $6 million a year, but would probably need $10 million for the first two years after being acquired because the building and equipment need upgrading.
“There is a major, major amount of work and a sizable amount of money that has to be put into it,” he said. Green said he has commitments from donors who would supply the stations with the cash they need. “What we have is a sizable number of people who have said ‘we will support you when we know that you have the license’,” Green said. “The problem has been that it has been sitting out there for so long, almost all of that has to start from scratch in many ways. We have commitments, but we feel that when the license is obtained those commitment would magnify.”
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