By Hector Florin
Coastal cities are jockeying for a piece of the $787 billion stimulus package, with a focus on water utility projects, but many are not convinced their area will benefit much in the short term. Aside from Delray Beach, coastal cities from Gulf Stream north to Manalapan are collectively eyeing a dozen or so improvements that city leaders believe could qualify for about $4 billion in state and federal funds — an estimate provided by U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s office. The stimulus money could save or create 200,000 jobs in Florida, he said. Municipal representatives met with Klein on Feb. 18 in West Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach County League of Cities discussed the stimulus package on Feb. 25. The early estimate shows just more than half of the $4 billion expected to trickle down to Florida is dedicated to programs related to food and nutrition programs, families and education. In other words, not enough for small cities to take advantage of by looking for dozens and dozens of projects. Exactly how much will go to Palm Beach County has not been forecast. “The barrier islands, I don’t think, can hope for very much,” said Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel, who is the current county League president. “We’ll give it a shot. All they can do is say no.”
Delray Beach, on the other hand, has identified 27 “shovel-ready” projects reaching into the tens of millions of dollars. With a population of 65,000, the city is open to a wider array of grant money.
“Design is basically funded for all of these projects,” City Manager David Harden said.
Palm Beach County has a slew of road-paving and water infrastructure plans ready to go, said Todd Bonlarron, the county’s legislative affairs director. Much emphasis will be made on job creation through local economic development programs.
Here is where coastal towns stand on seeking stimulus money:
Ocean Ridge: Town Manager Ken Schenck identified three projects, all drainage-related, to the state. At the top of the list is $500,000 for pumping water through a catch basin at the Coconut Lane cul-de-sac. Kaleel said he would like partnering with Palm Beach County to perform some work at Ocean Ridge Natural Area. Getting rid of non-native animals and improving the health of the mangroves would enhance the 25-acre nature preserve.
Lantana: A well west of Interstate 95 is under construction, and the town will look into applying for money to build a second new well nearby, Town Manager Mike Bornstein said. The estimated price tag is $750,000. Funds for drainage projects and renovation of the town’s main lift station might also be considered. Gulf Stream Town commissioners on Feb. 13 confirmed their interest in seeking funds to cover up to $4.9 million to build a sewer system, as the town relies on septic tanks. Tens of thousands of feet of piping, 103 manholes and 9 lift stations are part of the project. And commissioners asked Town Manager William Thrasher to express a desire for underground utilities funding, which became part of a $3.5 million request sent to Klein’s office. Commissioner Chris Wheeler said at the commission meeting he considered it a “shovel-ready project.”
Manalapan: The town is confident a 2,000-foot water main project near Town Hall — already designed, and with a company already selected to do the work, estimated at $300,000 — would qualify for stimulus money. Similarly, water treatment plant improvements and a reverse-osmosis well project — about $1.2 million worth of work — are ready for construction, Town Manager Gregory Dunham said. Add the replacements of four hydro-pneumatic water tanks, two located at the water plant and another two at the library, totaling at least $500,000. The tanks are at least 35 years old, Dunham said.
“We’re making sure some of our more valuable assets, if not our most valuable asset — the water facilities — are up to date,” he added.
Delray Beach: A $12 million recreation and fitness center, on city-owned land at the northwest corner of Congress Avenue and Lake Ida Road, tops the city’s wishlist. Downtown road resurfacing projects and other infrastructure improvements throughout the city also qualify as “shovel-ready projects,” City Manager Harden said.
Briny Breezes: Is all rosy in Briny? That’s the sentiment for now, as the town has not expressed any interest in seeking funds. “We have nothing in the pipeline, so there was no sense to apply for anything,” Mayor Roger Bennett said.
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By Ron Hayes
DELRAY BEACH — A resident of the coastal communities since 1964, Elizabeth “Betty” Adams Sligh died peacefully Jan. 30 at Hospice By The Sea in Boca Raton. She was 88.
Born May 3, 1920, in Latrobe, Penn., Elizabeth Adams was an identical twin, born minutes before her sister, Barbara.
“They were called the terrible twins because as children they were always in trouble,” recalled her daughter, Elizabeth Wiggins Oestreich of Delray Beach. “They were so glamorous, those two twins, the life of the party, so this is the end of an era for us.”
In 1941, Mrs. Sligh married William David Wiggins Jr., the father of her four children. Following his death, she wed Charles R. Sligh Jr. of Holland, Mich.
The couple began spending winters at the St. Andrew’s Club in Gulf Stream beginning in 1964. After her husband’s death in 1997, Mrs. Sligh became a full-time resident until 2001, when she moved to the Seagate Manor condominiums in Delray Beach.
A graduate of the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston, Mass., Mrs. Sligh was a champion golfer in her youth and an excellent diver and amateur painter.
In addition to Oestreich, she is survived by daughters Mary Phebe Wiggins of Delray Beach and Jane Wiggins Amis of Burlington, Vt.; a son, William David Wiggins III, of Delray Beach; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service was held Feb. 27 at Seagate Manor for Mrs. Sligh, a member of the Christian Science Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice By The Sea, 1531 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486.
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By Mary Thurwachter
Classically elegant and newly renovated — to the tune of $100 million — the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has an extra reason to celebrate this month. Its $30 million addition, Eau Spa, opens at last. The hammering has stopped, the paint has dried, the furniture has been thoughtfully arranged and now it’s time for guests to “pause, play and perfect.” That “three-P” philosophy is evident throughout the 42,000-square-foot spa with an emphasis on sensory experiences with touches of wet and whimsy and blended with Baroque designs with strong modern accents. Eau Spa guests can pause to light a candle and send it sailing into a large copper Wishing Well and relax on a waterfall bench allowing the cascading water to massage their shoulders. Another option: lazily swinging from a wire basket chair as their toes stir up little waves in a shallow pool. They can belly up to the scrub and polish bar, where a mixologist stirs up a personalized blend of aromatic herbs, gritty sea salts and soothing oils. Spa director Amal Elbahnasawy refers to this as scrub couture.
“You can experiment with the mixture and discover a perfect combination of skin detox and polishing, resulting in a customized body cocktail they can play with in the bath lounge and later bring home to ensure the Eau Spa experience lingers even longer,” Elbahnasawy says.
When it comes to play, spa customers will find plenty of opportunities, from playing chess or singing in the showers to finding themselves surrounded by thousands of stars, the result of a disco ball on the ceiling in the steam room. Any of the spa’s 19 villas can be customized to the taste of the customers. Color therapy through LED lighting defines wall colors with shades outlined by ancient cultures that evoke specific moods, says Elbahnasawy. Blue tones are used for those looking to relax (pause); red for those interested in energizing (play); and gold for those seeking balance (perfect). Results are also achieved through choices of oils, aromatherapies and musical selections.
Choose lavender aromatherapy and dreamlike music to relax; pick tart lime aromas and upbeat lounge music to energize; or select rosewood aromatherapy and mellow jazz if you’re seeking balance. Twelve of the villas come with outdoor gardens and three villas are designed with couples in mind. Oversized tubs, rainfall showers and lavish gardens with herbs and orchids are all part of the décor. Specially designed wine glass chandeliers, at $40,000 apiece, will sparkle in the men’s and women’s relaxation areas.
A pretty, full-service salon offers six chairs, including a master chair for special occasions and weddings, as well as manicure and pedicure stations for more pampering. The fitness center, only open to hotel guests (for now, at least; this may change) offers a complete state-of-the-art workout center with exercise equipment, kickboxing, spinning and step classes, as well yoga, Pilates and meditation. But don’t be surprised if you’re offered a cupcake.
You’ll have plenty of time to work it off on the elliptical! Come for a treatment and you’ll be tempted (and welcome) to lounge around all day in a thick, white, hooded terry robe and slippers, says public relations director Christine DiRocco.
Eau Spa’s focus on water — “eau” in French — encourages guests to relax and enjoy ancient spa rituals in a spontaneous setting, says Simon Lewis, owner of the Manalapan hotel.
“Our vision for Eau Spa was centered on the guest’s sensory awareness and ability to be present,” he said. “Eau Spa is about letting yourself have a good time in a completely carefree and open environment, not necessarily a sacred place where you have to whisper.”
Box: A private ribbon cutting for Eau Spa is set for 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11. “Pause, play, perfect” specialty cocktails will be served, along with hor d’ oeuvres. Beginning March 12, the spa will be open to the public from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, with treatments beginning at $40. For reservations, call (561) 540-4960.
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By Hector Florin
OCEAN RIDGE — Should dogs be prohibited from roaming private beaches? A kink in the town’s code forbids animals on public town beaches, but doesn’t specify all beaches, Commissioner Terry Brown said at the Mar. 2 meeting.
“Virtually all of the beaches in Ocean Ridge are privately owned,” Brown said, but residents have approached him saying they’ve seen dogs, leading to various interpretations of the law. Town Attorney Ken Spillias said there would be complications in identifying what exactly constitutes private beachfront land and setting a demarcation line, but Brown asked the town to look at changing its code to clarify the situation.
Signs along the public beaches state dogs aren’t allowed there. Some residents said many dogs appear on the beach during the winter population boom, and some waterfront homeowners allow their dogs to run down the sand for yards.
The commission also discussed the following:
• Employee bonuses: Granted initial approval to allow Town Manager Ken Schenck to work with town commissioners in setting standards to determine whether town employees qualify for performance-based bonuses. Under the ordinance, Schenck would evaluate which employees surpass standards to become eligible for bonuses, but the commissioners would decide whether to award the bonuses at all each year, as well as the amount.
• No-see-um spraying: Informally decided to wait until the summertime budget process to see if no-see-um spraying will return. Commissioners Betty Bingham and Terry Brown mentioned allowing individual property owners to spray if they choose — and pay for it themselves — instead of having the town decide to reinstitute the weekly spraying. “The ones that want it ought to pay for it,” Brown said. However, scientists have shown that it is one of the more ineffective methods to curb the impact of the pest. “You can’t spray one house and expect there’s going to be an impact,” Mayor Ken Kaleel said. Added Brown, who said the spraying can harm “beneficial” insects like butterflies: “You're never going to get rid of no-see-ums.” Commissioners cut the $62,000 spraying contract with Clarke Mosquito Control in September to trim town expenses.
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By Lucy Whitmarsh
Some 3,807 manatees were counted in January by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, a record high number since it began the annual surveys in 1991.
The survey found 589 manatees in Palm Beach County. Buddy Powell, a biologist at the Sea to Shore Alliance, an environmental organization based in St. Petersburg, said that an aerial survey in February spotted about 400 manatees tightly collected in the output of the Florida Power and Light plant in Riviera Beach. The mammals, he says, have been going there to get warm “for more than 30 years.” Jim Reid, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that the animals tend to congregate in large numbers around the FPL plant when it is very cold, and then spread out when it is warmer.
“While FPL is often a stopover point for those on their way further south, it is also a destination for many,” Reid said. “Not only do they get warmth from the discharge of the plant, but the vicinity of Port of Palm Beach, in general, is warmed by the Gulf Stream.”
Manatees are frequently found at Peanut Island, the Earman River near Northlake Boulevard, and the Lake Worth Lagoon. They collect in the northern part of the lagoon, which is also warmed by the Gulf Stream, and they often forage in the southern part. According to Reid, they commonly look for food at Munyon Island and south in Manalapan.
“During warm-weather periods, they go on mini-migrations north to the Jupiter Inlet and the South Indian River,” Reid said.
Due to a current revamping of the FPL plant in Riviera Beach, the emissions there have been greatly reduced, even though the plant is required to release output when the water temperature falls to 61 degrees. According to Dr. Holly Edwards at the FWRI, many of the manatees that collect around the plant have gone south, most likely to the plants in Broward.
“That is a good sign,” she said. “Often, manatees get so used to the warm water at a plant that they become fixated and do not know to go elsewhere. The fact that many are going south shows that they know of alternatives.”
According to 2009 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission records, as of Feb. 22, 29 mortalities statewide were caused by cold stress, making it the leading cause of death for that time period. That is 30 percent of the total of 95 mortalities, the highest in six years. The average figure for cold stress deaths over the past four years during that time period is 21 percent. The FWRI reports seven deaths in Palm Beach County, two resulting from cold stress.
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By Hector Florin
Bob Montgomery wants to take a break from two decades as a Florida real estate broker. So the 69-year-old is reaching into his grab bag of real estate tricks to lure a buyer for his Hypoluxo Island home. Montgomery is dropping the price of his waterfront property by $5,000 a day. While no faux-Lotto billboards update the latest asking price (now at about $1.55 million), signs planted on swales along Ocean Avenue announce his stunt. It kicked off Feb. 1, with the Barefoot Lane home carrying a listing price of $1.7 million. Montgomery, of Ocean and Intracoastal Properties, was itching to take his luxury RV on a cross-country trip, and decided it was time to take a swing on selling his home and property — even in such a meager market.
“I’ve gotta find out where the bottom is,” Montgomery said. Following the home’s fifth Sunday home showing on March 1, Montgomery sounded cheerful about the turnout, though he didn’t indicate any serious offers at hand.
“It seems to at least pique their curiosity,” he said. Hypoluxo Island has not been immune to the massive drop in real estate prices that has blanketed South Florida. Palm Beach County appraisals have dropped the market value of Montgomery’s home and land 10 percent in the last two years, to just under $1 million.
But that’s nothing like the plummeting prices and deals available farther inland and in suburban subdivisions, said Steve Presson of Corcoran Group in Palm Beach. And in a suffering economy, there are few contenders for homes floating above the seven-figure price tag.
“Clients aren’t buying the property. They’re buying the deal,” Presson said.
Diana Reed of Illustrated Properties in Palm Beach said she’s seen an uptick in calls and showings over the last month and a half.
“I’m hoping that helps translate into sales,” says the 10-year real estate agent and Hypoluxo Island resident. Inquiries have come from western communities like Wellington, and Weston in Broward County, as well as Northeasterners.
“They just look at [waterfront living] as the trophy when living in Florida,” Reed said. Montgomery predicts any buyer would very likely knock down the 1960 home, as the value is in the land. And he thinks his work ethic will result in his beating the real estate doldrums and jumping into his RV.
“If you have a plan, and you work your plan, then you’ll be more successful than if you don’t,” he said.
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By Florence Kizza
DELRAY BEACH — Several city residents living on the Intracoastal Waterway were lit up last month, thanks to an illuminating move by a local business. Old Calypso restaurant installed new lights on its building that ended up causing a stir among nearby residents.
“The lights were strobing like something out of the Las Vegas strip and shining in my window,” explains Delray Beach resident Jenie DePonte. “I found it very disturbing.”
Old Calypso is a three-star restaurant serving up New Orleans-style cuisine right on the Intracoastal near Atlantic Avenue. Live island music and steel drums create a festive ambiance in the establishment. Tom Blum is the owner of Old Calypso and its sister restaurant, Fifth Avenue Grill, on Federal Highway.
DePonte found the lights annoying, and she was not alone. Several of her neighbors along Marine Way shared the same sentiments, and one of them called the police. The lights were shut off immediately and have not come on since.
But that was not the end. DePonte wants to make sure that the lights do not return.
“I'm writing the city,” she said, in the hope that it will not allow the lighting. She started by writing to the city engineer, who directed her to the Code Enforcement Board. She recently got a letter from the city stating that the situation is in the hands of Paul Dorling and his Planning and Zoning Department.
“I'll keep writing letters,” DePonte insists. “I think the ambiance of Marine Way will be negatively affected by strobe lights from across the waterway. “
“I think its horrendous, it's horrible, it's so not Delray.”
The restaurant confirmed that the lights have remained off, but no one was available to make an official comment.
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By Hector Florin
BRINY BREEZES — Parking tickets are causing a fuss in Briny Breezes. Corporation director Robert Purcell described the volunteer Boynton Beach group’s parking enforcement “an embarrassment — it’s harassment” at the Feb. 26 Town Council meeting. He and Town Mayor Roger Bennett also engaged in a brief verbal tiff during the discussion. Purcell said he once inadvertently forgot to give a guest — parked in Purcell’s driveway — a visitor’s parking pass. A volunteer parking enforcement specialist with Boynton Beach wrote down a violation. Purcell said he approached the same volunteer specialist with his guest-parking pass. The volunteer still gave the $30 ticket, Purcell said. Purcell also questioned where in the town’s laws it states it has authority to issue the parking tickets. Bennett affirmed that right belonged to the Town Council, which Boynton Beach Officer John Huntington confirmed the day after the Feb. 26 meeting.
“The Town Council has the say,” Huntington said. The work of the 18 volunteers “doesn’t have anything to do with the corporation.”
During a short exchange, Bennett snapped as Purcell approached the council dais and asked Alderman Nancy Boczon to find the law that gives the town that authority. “You tend to be fairly belligerent,” Bennett told Purcell. “Would you sit down? We’ve had enough of this, please.”
Two residents offered milder criticism over the handling of parking tickets. One said she was “mortified” when one guest got a ticket last April for not immediately placing a parking pass on the guest’s car. The town should revisit its parking ticket policy, if it indeed has control of the issue, she said. Another resident suggested the town was becoming “a police state.”
Boczon defended the role of the volunteer police force.
“They’re trying to do their job,” she said. In other developments from the Feb. 26 Town Council meeting:
• Traffic enforcement: Engaged in a question-and-answer session with a representative of Gatso USA, a company that could be chosen to install a two cameras at the town’s street light on Briny Breezes Boulevard. Gatso is one company seeking to install cameras at intersections in the city of Boynton Beach, and Briny Breezes is leaning toward piggybacking on the city’s selection. Mark Bedard, a regional sales manager for the 50-year-old Massachusetts-based company, said that according to initial studies, traffic on South Ocean Boulevard merits the installation of the cameras, which would photograph red-light runners. Installing the cameras would not cost the town money. Gatso would get about $30 from money collected from any violations, whose price the town has not set but could be approximately $125. “Our purpose for this is not money. Our purpose is safety,” Bennett said. The cameras are also capable of capturing photos of license plates when Amber Alerts are issued.
• Water meters: Discussed what to do to lower water leaks and overuse of water, and whether it’s feasible to install individual water meters at each home. Earl Harvel, president of Harvel Utility Construction, wrote in a memo that it would cost at least $738.50 per unit, a cost of more than $360,000 to the town. That price does not include work to upgrade the town’s codes and other materials necessary to switch.
• Council election and appointments: Due to lack of opposition there will be no official election on Tuesday. Mayor Bennett and Alderman Kathleen Bray have been automatically re-elected. No one ran for Town Clerk, so it is expected Bray will be appointed to that seat this month. A replacement still needs to be found for Alderman Thelma Gannon, who decided not to seek re-election.
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By Margie Plunkett
BOYNTON BEACH — The City Commission called for developer proposals to fashion a new police station and City Hall at its Feb. 17 meeting, after contemplating a $30 million pitch to move the city complex to Renaissance Commons.
Earlier at the meeting, developer Compson Associates withdrew the Renaissance Commons proposal, which included refurbishing the nearby 1927 high school. President Jim Comparato said it had become “politically charged” and that Compson would include its plan as part of the request for proposals. Commissioners voted at the meeting to seek three proposals: for a new police station on a city-owned tract at High Ridge and Gateway; for a police station elsewhere; and a joint project with both police station and City Hall. They told planners to note the 1927 high school in the request for proposals as well.
The vote was the culmination of a meeting at which City Manager Kurt Bressner presented six options for the police station/City Hall development involving the Compson proposal. That plan included a land swap between Renaissance Commons at Congress and Gateway and the current city site. Retail space and up to 376 workforce housing units would be built where City Hall is now. Fire Station No. 1 would be replaced. The plan’s price tag of about $30 million was similar to an estimate for building a stand-alone police station without moving City Hall, the city manager’s report said.
Several residents spoke against moving City Hall, arguing it would kill the area’s economy.
“Once a major employer moves out, they’re really hard to replace,” said Victor Norfus. “City Hall is a major employer.”
The 1927 high school could serve a dual purpose, once refurbished, housing some city offices, Norfus suggested. “That will revitalize the downtown.”
The question is whether more affordable housing is still necessary, given lower housing prices in a market that still appears to be seeking bottom. One resident implored commissioners to take a trip around town to see all the empty housing units already.
Some commissioners and residents alike voiced reluctance to spend taxpayer money in a spiraling economy. “In this day and age with the economy being what it is, I’m torn with the idea of moving City Hall,” said Commissioner Woodrow Hay.
“I don’t want to rush into anything,” Hay said. “It wouldn’t hurt us to wait a little longer and do it the right way.”
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March 1 marks the official beginning of sea turtle season in Palm Beach County. Please be aware of your beach activities and night lighting during the coming months. These special visitors to our shores are threatened and endangered species. They were here long before we were. Please show them respect.
-- Mary Kate Leming, Editor
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By Ron Hayes
BRINY BREEZES — “When I was young, I wanted to be an artist,” Marion Roddin recalls. “I could have gone to the Fashion Institute of New York, but my mother didn’t want me to become a hippie.”
After her husband’s early retirement and their move to Florida, Roddin joined the Briny Breezes Art League and started taking watercolor classes. That was 15 years ago, and come the weekend of March 21, you’ll see proof that youthful dreams can blossom with age at the league’s annual art show.
Roddin’s watercolor Nantucket is a delicate rendering of that New England island’s weathered clapboard cottages, summery warm and thoroughly professional.
“I also do stained glass and teach knitting and crotcheting,” Roddin adds. “I’m painting now like I never painted before. And you know what’s funny? My mother wanted every painting I made.”
Compared to the league itself, Roddin’s 15 years of painting make her a youngster. This month’s exhibit will be the 57th annual show and sale, and the league’s 59th anniversary.
Founded in 1950 with a class of about 20, the league held its first classes in a cottage, now long gone, where the town’s beauty parlor stands. In 1953, the league moved to a newer building at the site of the current swimming pool, which arrived in 1967, forcing another move to the current location in a Quonset hut just behind the beauty parlor.
In fact, the art league has been around so long it can boast a second-generation teacher. In the early days, Mildred Miller, a retired fashion designer and illustrator, taught oil and acrylic painting. Miller died in 1997, and for the past six years her daughter, Janice Vizino, has taught watercolors.
Among those early members was Bill Strucker, who had just opened the Gulf Stream Pharmacy in 1956 when he and fellow painters Guy Helps and Peter Colean started painting together.
“There was nothing there except Briny Breezes,” remembers Strucker, 78, who still works part-time at the family business. “It was a pretty isolated area, so painting sort of became a hobby. We’d go on location and paint the old Boca bridge and a few scenes around the area. They have some good artists now. It’s come a long ways.”
Stucker’s worked in oils. Today, most of the league’s 74 members favor watercolor or acrylics, but one member, Terry Welty, is devoted to the world’s oldest known form of painting.
A painter for 20 years, Welty works in encaustic — literally, “to burn in” — fashioning her large, colorful paintings from blocks of pigmented beeswax that are melted and applied to the canvas, hardening so fast that the distinct colors don’t merge. The ancient Greeks heated the wax on an open fire. Welty has a more modern approach.
“My palette is a pancake griddle,” she jokes, “and a very messy one.”
Like Roddin, she found her vocation later in life.
“When my youngest went away to college,” she says, “I started taking classes. It was one of those empty-nest things.”
In the coming show, she’s displaying an encaustic of roseate spoonbills taking flight and leaving nests of their own.
Sure to sell out every year are Barbara Mulvey’s cartoon-style impressions of Briny Breezes itself. A retired art teacher, Mulvey creates cheerful montages that capture the beach umbrellas and the palm trees, the sunsets and trailer homes that make up the community.
“I can get $30 for one, if it has a frame on it,” she says.
Indeed, the league likes to think of its annual exhibit as “The Affordable Art Show In Palm Beach County.”
Legend has it that, back in the early days, a proud husband altered the price tag on his wife’s work from $20 to $200 — and it sold.
Last year, 37 artists displayed 127 paintings ranging in price from about $50 to $300. But no one seems to be entertaining dreams of getting rich off their art.
“Why don’t I play golf?” says Jim McCormick, a retired newspaperman. “Well, I was never good with any kind of ball.”
Not long after moving to Briny, he struck up a conversation on the beach with an art teacher named Maureen Burns.
“Oh, I used to like to paint,” he told her. Of course, that had been 50 years before, in school. Ten year later, McCormick is still not playing golf.
But don’t look to buy his paintings.
“Oh, no, no,” he says. “I’ve never sold anything.
“I give it all away to family and friends.”
IF YOU GO:
What: 57th Annual Briny Breezes Art Show
When: Saturday & Sunday, March 21-22
Hours: 10 a.m–4 p.m.
Where: On State Road A1A, just south of Woolbright Road
Admission: Free
For more information: Call (561) 276-7405 or (561) 274-3597
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By Rochelle E.B. Gilken
I swam in alligator-infested lakes. I went rock climbing without a harness. I fought until I was bloody in a boxing ring.
But I was never more nervous about my mortality than I was while preparing to embark on this journey: a death-defying bike ride from Linton Boulevard and A1A to the Ritz Carlton in Manalapan.
It may not sound frightening, but I calculated the odds.
Even a Smart Car, hitting the scales at 1,600 pounds, outweighs me and my bike by the equivalent of six Mike Tysons.
And there’s a little more room in a boxing ring to avoid getting hit than there is between a hedge and a hatchback negotiating a two-lane curve at 35 miles per hour.
My challenge was to join the other daredevils with pink baskets, silver hair or spandex shorts who take this route on a daily basis.
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By Ron Hayes
Talk to the mayors, managers and civic activists who run the coastal communities once represented by Mary McCarty and you'll hear a common theme. Gratitude.
Whatever her failings or felonies, they say, the former District 4 commissioner was a loyal supporter of local government, and a generous friend to the cities in her district.
“I think District 4 cities to a one will tell you she was always the commissioner who stood up and was a strong advocate for them,” says Lantana Town Manager Michael Bornstein. “She was the one who was least apt to support countywide rules that affected home rule, and the cities always appreciated that.”
Beginning in 1998, when county commissioners were given $1 million a year in gas tax revenue to distribute at their discretion, subject to their colleagues’ approval, McCarty was generous to Lantana.
The town soon received $40,000 to renovate its Bicentennial Pavilion, and another $50,000 in 2003 to construct a parking area and driveway for the nature preserve on East Ocean Ave.
In 2002, she passed along about $400,000 to help the town bury its electrical lines east of the Intracoastal Waterway.
“We ran into such snags with FPL that we just couldn't do it,” Bornstein recalls. “We ended up using some of that money for beautification. We put in streetlights, sidewalks and plantings.” An unused balance of about $300,000 was returned, according to county records.
In 2005, McCarty joined County Commissioner Warren Newell and Mayor Ken Kaleel in supporting the Ocean Ridge Natural Area, a 12-acre preserve with a boat basin and 1,300-foot nature trail that opened in December 2006.
The $4 million project was primarily paid for by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Inland Navigation District, with McCarty adding $250,000 from her discretionary fund.
The commissioner had also pledged $100,000 toward a proposed boardwalk to be built behind the new Town Hall, but that action had not been acted on when she resigned.
“We’ve had our share of disagreements,” Kaleel says, “but I don’t think you’re going to find any mayor in her district that she wasn’t supportive of.”
In Manalapan, the town library already had a popular lecture series under way, but for each of the past four years, McCarty has found about $10,000 to support it. “Other than that, we’ve had no county funding,” says Town Manager Greg Dunham.
“Our water upgrades were done with state funds, but Commissioner McCarty always had regular meetings with the mayors and managers. She kept an open line with all of us.”
Even tiny Briny Breezes found a friend in McCarty until they split over a proposed sale of the town to developers.
In 2004, McCarty led the successful fight to ban dogs from Pelican Beach, a 600-foot stretch of county land just south of the mobile home community. The area had become so popular with canines and their owners that it earned the nickname Dog Beach.
“She was very instrumental in getting Dog Beach closed,” says Briny Mayor Roger Bennett. “For anyone else, it was a piddly issue, but for us it was a big issue, and she arranged to have it brought before the County Commission.”
McCarty was even a regular on the town’s closed circuit TV station until 2006, when Ocean Land Developers, a Boca Raton firm, offered $510 million to buy the park and turn it into a resort. Surrounding communities opposed the sale, arguing it would create a high-rise city on the narrow barrier island. McCarty sided with opponents.
“She was very opposed to the sale,” says Bennett, “so we never tried to lobby her. We knew we’d be butting our heads against the wall.”
To fight the plan, residents of Gulf Stream formed the ad hoc Florida Coalition for Preservation and named civic association president Robert Ganger its director. “Early on, she asked to attend one of our meetings,” Ganger remembers. “We didn't know if she was for or against it, but she gave us quite a balanced, unrehearsed talk.” He praises her for listening to both sides and keeping both opponents and proponents informed.
“I felt she was treating us fairly and had the interests of the broader community in mind,” Ganger says. The deal fell apart in 2007, but last year McCarty assigned $850 in discretionary money to have No Parking signs installed along Briny Breezes Boulevard, where beachgoers had been parking illegally.
In addition to heading Gulf Stream’s opposition to the Briny Breezes sale, Ganger is also president of the Delray Beach Historical Society. In 2002, McCarty was instrumental in transferring $200,000 in bond money from the stumbling Cartoon Museum in Boca Raton to help finance the relocation and renovation of the historic Hunt House from Federal Highway to the Delray Beach Historical Society grounds on Swinton Avenue.
“And that project (the historical society property) was not in her district,” Ganger adds. “It’s in Addie Greene's district, but I don’t think she was nitpicking. She just felt it was right for the whole community. I felt then she was a straight-shooter.”
But that was then. Now McCarty has resigned, accused of illegally benefitting from her office.
“I don’t think she’s a bad person," says Ganger. “I just think she made some dumb mistakes.”
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By Thomas R. Collins
After years of taking on her fellow county commissioners, calling her own shots, blazing her own trail, Mary McCarty was the picture of obedience.
More than punctual to her first court appearance on federal corruption charges — she got there two hours and 10 minutes early, perhaps to avoid clicking cameras and microphone-thrusting reporters — McCarty sat in the front row of the courtroom. Then she was told the row was reserved, and the former commissioner retreated to the back row.
McCarty, who had won respect from many leaders of the coastal towns for her help in their times of need, has become another drumbeat in the cadence of corruption, following on the forced resignations and imprisonment of County Commissioners Tony Masilotti and Warren Newell and West Palm Beach City Commissioners Ray Liberti and Jim Exline. Now McCarty faces a possible five years in federal prison for allegedly steering bond business to her husband’s companies and accepting free lodging from a developer.
McCarty, who pleaded not guilty, faces a possible five years in federal prison. Her next court appearance hasn’t been scheduled, but her husband has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in late March. In the meantime, the couple is no longer living in their coastal Delray Beach house and have moved out of the city. The judge also allowed them to stay at their house in Maine before sentencing.
The charges have left coastal town officials who looked to her for leadership trying to reconcile the McCarty they knew during her 18 years as commissioner with the McCarty portrayed by federal prosecutors.
“There’s no question that when it came time to try to solve an issue that affected a particular community she was actively involved; so from that perspective she deserves a lot of credit. But that was her job, that’s what she was supposed to do,” Ocean Ridge Mayor Ken Kaleel said. “As a government official, it is betrayal. Because when you have respect for somebody and they breach that trust, if you will, sure it’s a betrayal.”
McCarty, the federal charging documents say, secretly plotted to award bond deals that financially enriched her and her husband, Kevin McCarty, who represented the firms, including Raymond James and Bear Stearns. Over and over again, she cast votes on those deals, —which, in the end, totaled hundreds of millions in bond money —but disclosed the conflict only occasionally. Once, she left a meeting on purpose to avoid having to disclose a conflict, the documents say.
She also helped engineer bond deals for firms represented by her husband in Delray Beach, the documents say. And she accepted gifts from developers to whom she awarded development deals; the gifts, according to the documents, included free hotel stays in Key West and in Delray Beach at the Marriott, owned by Ocean Properties.
The dissonance brought on by the sight of a once-powerful leader standing before a federal magistrate and seeking mercy is striking, if familiar by now. But McCarty’s history of bombast helped accentuate the effect. She has practically fallen over herself to fall in line.
After each of eight questions by U.S. Magistrate Ann E. Vitunac about whether she understood the ins and outs of her case and the charges, she repeated the refrain, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Asked whether she had any assets outside the United States, she answered, “No.” Then, seconds later, she added, “Your Honor.” At one point, Vitunac called her “McCarthy” — as did the guards downstairs — before correcting the name. When she left the courthouse, McCarty pointed the finger at herself. “This is a course that I set out and I have no one else to blame,” she said.
The new McCarty emerged even before the court hearing. Five days after resigning from office, she sent an extraordinary letter to her former constituents through the local media.
“For the past week or two, it’s as if I have been at my own funeral, and I have to say, it’s not exactly the stuff of dreams. To be honest, my legacy isn’t either. “It’s taken me a while, but I get it. I’m a hypocrite. “By accepting free hotel rooms, rooms in hotels that many of my constituents could never afford to visit, I hurt people. By voting on bond issues that benefited my husband’s employers, I hurt people. By violating my oath of office and failing to provide the honest services due each and every County resident, I hurt people. “Here I sit, in the corner, observing my own funeral, sickened by the fact that I should have gotten it a lot sooner. ”
The drama may not be over. In their filings with the court on the sentencing, prosecutors sometimes trot out additional details of a defendant’s acts.
And, it remains to be seen which public officials and other supporters choose to write letters asking the courts for leniency.
Mayor Bill Koch of Gulf Stream was “shocked” when he heard about McCarty’s resignation. “I’m deeply saddened with something like this because her service to the south county was exceptional, I thought,” he said. Even now, he gives her the benefit of the doubt, saying she most likely didn’t realize, at the time, that she was doing wrong. “I don’t think there was probably any real intent,” he said.
Kaleel takes a tougher line. Credit for doing good as a county commissioner — coming up with money for county roads or hurricane recovery — only goes so far, he said. She never belonged on a “high pedestal.”
“It wasn’t her money, it was taxpayers’ money,” he said. But it’s hard not to feel for her, at least to a degree, he said. “You do have a personal attachment that grows with people, so from a personal standpoint, I feel sorry for her,” he said.
“And for her family, there’s no question.” He said he has a sense that the apology letter isn’t just for show, not just a naked grab for mercy.
“I think she realized she blew it,” Kaleel said. “And I also believe that she is feeling a great deal of remorse over what she did, not only for the deceit on the taxpayers but for breaching her own personal trust or faith. And not everyone feels that. You don’t hear that from everybody, but you certainly get a sense that she felt that.”
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By Ron Hayes
MANALAPAN — Maureen and Peter Blum were baptized in the same church as children, met in high school, wed young and remained devoted to each other through 60 years of married life. “She was the love of my life,” said her husband, a town commissioner since 1973. “We married young, but we both had good families who loved us both, so that was part of our success.”
Mrs. Blum passed away Jan. 30 at Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton, seven months after suffering a stroke. She was 78 and had lived in Manalapan since 1971.
With her husband, Mrs. Blum opened Blums of Boca Raton, an interior design studio, in 1963. “We were in business together for 30-odd years,” Peter Blum said. “She was a brilliant designer with the greatest taste and feel for fabrics and so on. It was just a natural gift.”
While her husband kept a high public profile, serving on the Town Commission since 1973 except for one year, Mrs. Blum treasured her privacy.
“She minded the store so I could go out in the community and do all the civic things I love,” he explained. “She was the power behind the throne.”
After the couple’s retirement, Mrs. Blum devoted much of her time to a passion for gardening.
“She was out in the yard every morning as soon as it got light, working with the yard people,” her husband recalled. “Every plant was important to her. It was her lifelong love, next to me.”
Born April 4, 1930, in Peoria, Ill., Mrs. Blum was known as Teena to her family and friends.
“She was a lady in every way,” Peter Blum said. “Her dress was very stylish, but never overdone, and she did her own hair and make-up.”
She visited a beauty salon only twice in her life, he recalled.
“She didn't like to hear the gossip in a beauty shop,” he explained. “She was very reserved, a private person. She was not the kind that went to ladies’ parties and gossiped.”
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Randy of South Bend, Ind., and Larry, of Truth or Consequences, N.M., three grandchildren and six great grandchildren. A fourth son, Peter III, preceded her in death.
A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb.7, at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, 643 NE Fourth Ave., Boynton Beach.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice by the Sea, 1531 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486.
Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home, Boynton Beach, is in charge of arrangements.
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In working to encourage violence-free relationships and promote social change that can help end domestic abuse, Barbara Murphy and Ann Bennett have given extraordinary amounts of their time and talent to Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse Inc.
Most recently, the Gulf Stream residents have worked together to create AVDA's newest event — the Heart of A Woman Luncheon. This event celebrates the strength and courage of women, with proceeds going to support victims of domestic abuse and their children.
It is the efforts of volunteers like Barbara and Ann that help AVDA keep fundraising costs at a minimum, for the maximum benefit for those in need. AVDA's independent fiscal audit showed that 88.7 percent of all funds raised goes directly to program services. AVDA spends only 11.3 percent on administration and fundraising, combined.
Barbara Murphy and Ann Bennett were nominated as Coastal Stars for their AVDA work by Pamela A. O’Brien, executive director of Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse Inc.2/12 - 2nd Annual Heart of Woman Luncheon will feature best-selling author Gail Sheehy at the Royal Palm Yacht Club, 2425 Maya Palm Drive West in Boca Raton. The luncheon was created to involve the community in supporting women who are rebuilding their lives and the lives of their children following domestic abuse. AVDA is a nonprofit organization that has been providing support to survivors of domestic violence for the past 20 years. The event begins with a reception and silent auction at 11 a.m., with the luncheon at noon. $100 tables of ten are available. Call 265-3797 or visit www.avdaonline.org.
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By Hector Florin
A busted sewer pipe that led Briny Breezes officials to warn residents to limit their water usage is still being closely monitored, though the pipe is believed to be in good shape and won’t need to be replaced.
The 6-inch force main, operated by Boynton Beach and hooked up to Briny’s wastewater system, was clamped and repaired hours after the leak was called in Jan. 22 around 1:45 p.m. Someone near the sewage lift station at St. Andrews Country Club noticed a leak and reported it to Boynton Beach. The lift station was shut down within minutes and reopened later in the evening.
According to Boynton Beach officials, a boat anchor or other object could have pierced the pipe and caused the rupture.
News of the leak arrived moments before the monthly Briny Breezes Town Council meeting began. Mayor Roger Bennett announced the town would temporarily shut down the sewer system and sent a notice to town residents via the town’s cable channel. Bennett asked residents to conserve toilet flushing, showering and use of water. Septic trucks arrived in town that day to alleviate the problem, which was fixed overnight. Waste was transported to the Boynton Beach treatment plant.
“Somehow they made a temporary repair that’s serviceable,” Bennett said.
A group of Gulf Stream homes that are hooked up to the same pipe were also affected, Town Clerk Rita Taylor said.
Weekly tests of the county’s beaches were conducted on Jan. 20, and the following day results showed a “suspicious” amount of fecal coliform, Health Department spokesman Tim O’Connor said.
About 6,300 gallons of sewage leaked into the Intracoastal Waterway, said Wayne M. Segal, Boynton Beach’s public affairs director. The leak caused the Palm Beach County Health Department to issue No Swimming warnings at Ocean Inlet Park, Boynton Beach’s Oceanside Park and Gulfstream Park the afternoon of Jan. 22.
After conducting additional tests on Jan. 24, the beaches reopened the following day, O’Connor said. So far it’s not believed that the 25-year-old pipe will need to be replaced.
“The clamp that they used to repair the pipe can actually be a permanent repair,” Segal, the Boynton Beach spokesman, said in an e-mail. After studying a video, the city Utilities Department “concluded that the pipe seems to be fairly competent and exhibits little corrosion on the exterior surface,” he added.
In other Briny Breezes from the Jan. 22 meeting:
• 2008 Election: Upon the advice of Town Attorney Jerry Skrandel, Town Clerk and Alderman Kathy Bray announced that she cannot run for both positions in the March election. Bray was appointed alderman last year and earned the dual role in October when Alderman Nancy Boczon stepped down as town clerk and Deputy Clerk Janice Moore departed. Bray said she did not know which of the two seats she will run for.
• Red light cameras: Sgt. Michael Kelley, head of the Boynton Beach Police Department Traffic Unit, gave a presentation on red light cameras. Kelley said he spoke with vendors and studied ordinances passed by other municipalities to monitor drivers who run red lights. He offered general support for adding cameras as a public safety benefit and the Town Council also expressed interest in looking into adding cameras, which would monitor the town’s traffic light at Cordova Avenue and North Ocean Boulevard.
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To complete the transfer of library materials and furnishings, the Boynton Beach City Library will be closed from Monday, Feb. 16 to Friday, March 6.
The building will reopen with a pre-grand opening gala fundraiser to benefit the children and teen programs at the library the evening of March 6.
The library will reopen to the public on Saturday, March 7.,
Information for library patrons while building is closed:
* The northeast doors of the library building will stay open for access to the library’s Program Room and scheduled events will continue as planned.
* Through Feb. 14, library users can borrow up to 30 books with a limit of three books per subject. Return dates for books borrowed on, or after, Feb. 2 will be extended through March 16.
* Saturday, Feb. 7 is the last day DVDs, videos and music Cds will be available for loan. All of these recordings must be returned to the library on or before Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. to avoid late feeds.
* While the building is closed, a book drop will be available for return of borrowed items.
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By Hector Florin
The fight for underground utilities along some coastal towns continues, but it lacks momentum due in large part to the faltering financial markets.
Gulf Stream and Ocean Ridge commissioners last month voted to extend support with a group of about 60 Florida municipalities seeking to move power lines underground. Both towns have contributed a few thousand dollars each as part of efforts to negotiate the project’s cost with Florida Power & Light.
Gulf Stream officials twice addressed the topic at its Jan. 9 meeting; the second time in a spontaneous burst after a new town resident was quizzical about experiencing three power outages in four days.
Town Manager William Thrasher acknowledged the “strength in numbers” in having cities unite to look into the possibility.
“We would love to have underground power lines,” Vice Mayor Joan Orthwein said.
The Town Commission could soon vote on contributing another $1,000 to $1,500 into a fund created to study the issue.
A key sticking point so far during talks of a cost arrangement: FPL’s 25 percent “rebate,” a number that cities think should be higher because they say maintenance costs will drop significantly with underground lines. “In general we believe their participation should be about 50 percent,” Ocean Ridge Town Manager Ken Schenck wrote in a memo to commissioners ahead of the town’s Jan. 5 meeting.
Burying utility lines in Ocean Ridge would cost in the millions, but no estimate has been made, Schenck said.
Manalapan is also looking into burying power lines in town.
The town of Palm Beach has discussed the idea since 2003, but following the 2004-05 hurricane seasons, other coastal towns joined forces. Even with a 25 percent commitment from FPL, work on Palm Beach would run to around $70 million, Deputy Town Manager Tom Bradford said.
But it’s tough to push forward in such a dour economy, which has also hit public funding. “Times right now for cities are tough financially,” Bradford said.
Also at the Jan. 9 meeting:
• Golf cart issue: Continued discussion on golf cart safety issues. Commissioners wondered how to regulate residents who drive their golf carts while letting their pets, particularly dogs, off the leash. With four of five commissioners present, the board postponed deciding whether an ordinance should be drafted to regulate this and other golf cart issues, and what sort of enforcement would be needed.
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By Ron Hayes
BRINY BREEZES — Look for George Haller any sunny afternoon and you’d find him in his regular chair on the beach, joking, chatting and reminiscing with a group of friends known around town as “the raisins,” because of their devotion to the sun.
“We talked about Briny Breezes and our friends up in the cold,” remembers Paul Ruopp. “We talked about the girls that walked along the beach — George was a great one for that — and friends that were no longer with us.”
Now the raisins must reminisce about Mr. Haller.
A resident since 1988, he died Jan.14 at Bethesda Memorial Hospital while recovering from a stroke suffered over the Thanksgiving weekend. He was 84.
“Briny Breezes is a great little spot and the people are lovely,” said his daughter, Susan Haller of Baldwin, N.Y. “My father treasured the friendships he made there.”
In his retirement, Mr. Haller retained the discipline he learned during 30 years as a New York City police officer. He rose each morning at 6:30 and headed to the exercise room, and followed that with a few laps in the pool and a bike ride along Ocean Boulevard. Then he’d pack a lunch and head to the county pool in Delray Beach for another 40 laps, followed by his regular session with “the raisins.”
“George was a great guy,” said Roupp. “He lived a wonderful life, and he loved his routine.”
Born in Brooklyn on Sept. 4, 1924, George John Haller was a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. He joined the New York Police Department in 1951, the year before he married Dalma Prosperi. Mrs. Haller passed away in 1994.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Haller is survived by two sons, Stephen, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Robert, of Rockville Center, N.Y.; and three grandchildren, Kelsey, Elizabeth and Victoria Haller.
Mr. Haller was buried beside his late wife in Greenfield Cemetery, North Baldwin, N.Y., on Jan. 20.
The family requests that donations in his memory be made to the Briny Breezes Memorial Fund or the Briny Breezes Library Fund.
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