To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Florida Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, please visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling (866) 779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

Productions of the musical comedy Gigi scheduled for 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 14, and 4 p.m. March 15 at Keith C. & Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University have been postponed due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Gigi is Lerner and Loewe’s musical comedy about a free-spirited young girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and the wealthy young playboy who falls in love with her as she is transformed into a poised courtesan. It includes songs Thank Heaven for Little Girls and I Remember It Well. See www.lynn.edu/events for regular updates about the status of Gigi and other events at Lynn.

— Mary Thurwachter

The International Beatles On The Beach Festival, scheduled for March 26-29 at Old School Square and other venues throughout Delray Beach, has been “postponed.”

     “Although we received countless messages not to cancel, the powers that be have temporarily closed down our venue for your safety,” organizer Daniel Hartwell said in a statement late Friday.

     Asked if and how ticketholders could apply for refunds, Hartwell said, “I'm trying to figure out the rest with Old School Square and Ticketmaster. I'll get back on that.”

     A note on the Ticketmaster website states “Unless notified otherwise, your tickets will be valid for the new event date,” but provides no information regarding refunds.

— Ron Hayes

The Save the Seas – Plastics Free event scheduled March 21 in Ocean Ridge was postponed “out of an abundance of caution” due to the corona virus. “We look forward to seeing you when the event is able to be rescheduled,” the Town of Ocean and the Garden Club said in their announcement. The daylong event was planned to begin with a beach clean-up and included sessions at Town Hall such as “Rise Above Plastics,” as well as family art activities and exhibitor booths.

— Margie Plunkett

Update: Beatles on the Beach Festival postponed

    Ron Campbell, an animator who contributed to the Beatles' 1968 cartoon feature “Yellow Submarine” has canceled his appearance at this year's Beatles On The Beach festival, March 26-29.

     Scott Segelaum, Mr. Campbell's representative, said the cartoonist, who is 80, was withdrawing as a precaution against the caronavirus.

     However, festival organizer Daniel Hartwell reports that as of March 13 the remainder of the four-day festival will continue.

     “Everything is looking fine here,” Hartwell said. “We are canceling no shows. In fact it looks like we may get a real boost in attendance with all the other shows canceling

— Ron Hayes

By Amy Woods

The Bethesda Ball would have celebrated its 65^th anniversary March 14 at The Breakers on Palm Beach. Instead, because of concern about the coronavirus, the biggest fundraiser of the year for Bethesda Hospital has been canceled.

Nelson Lazo sent an email March 12 to supporters, apologizing for the short notice.

“We take the health of our community very seriously…but as we see a growing number of updates from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other sources regarding novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we feel it is in the best interest of our Bethesda community to cancel this year’s event,” Lazo wrote in the email. “As always, we are most grateful for all you do to support Bethesda Hospital in our commitment to maintain the highest standards of clinical and service excellence, rooted in the utmost integrity and moral practice.”

Upward of $600,000 was expected to be raised for upgrades to the emergency room, registration areas and the women’s center, among other projects benefiting local healthcare.

For information, call 561-737-7733, Ext. 85398 or visit www.bethesdahospitalfoundation.org.

In an effort to help Delray Beach residents who have been without their reclaimed water service since early February, employees like Curtis Duscan, (center)  and city contractors Clay Carroll (left) and Anthony Coates have started watering lawns on the barrier island.  Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Related: City failed to report residents sickened by wastewater | Timeline of troubles

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach began providing a watering service on March 5 to barrier island residents who signed up for it.

The residents have been without reclaimed water service since Feb. 4. The city turned off the system to prevent the state Department of Health from issuing a citywide boil-water order.

The city has 613 residential reclaimed water accounts on the barrier island, according to Gina Carter, Delray Beach spokeswoman. On March 3, the city offered watering service and asked residents to sign a waiver allowing workers on their property to water lawns and shrubs.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater that the city supplies to irrigate lawns and shrubs on the barrier island and other areas of the city.

“My wife called the water department Wednesday (March 4) and they said they hoped to get to our house this week to water the lawn and shrubs,” said Bill Petry who lives on Vista Del Mar Drive North. “They also said they would return 2 to 3 times per week.”

The water truck came by the next morning, much to the relief of Petry. There had been little rain in the past week and afternoon temperature reached an unseasonably hot 90 degrees.

The reclaimed water was supposed to return by March 7. Delray Beach leaders could not be reached for comment about the delay.

As part of the effort to hold back the citywide boil-water order, every reclaimed water installation was checked citywide, City Manager George Gretsas wrote to the Health Department on Feb. 11. No “cross connections were found,” his letter said.

But the city found that between 200 to 300 reclaimed water systems did not have backflow preventers citywide. The devices prevent reclaimed water from flowing back into the drinking water when pressure builds up in that system.

Since the reclaimed water program started on the barrier island in 2009, the city has spent $5.5 million to install it. About 30% or $1.6 million of the total came from South Florida Water Management District grants, according to Carter.

Six 40-foot-tall wooden posts have stood since last spring at the site of the tower project. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The estimated price of installing an inclined elevator at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center to make a long-awaited observation tower ADA-compliant has ballooned from $500,000 to $1.2 million.

That has the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, which promised to fund the elevator’s construction, scrambling to find an alternative.

The Friends signed a memorandum of understanding with the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District last July that called for the district to front the construction costs and be repaid by the volunteer organization. 

“At the time the MOU was done, I’m sure we thought the project would move on very quickly. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case,” Jim Miller, president of the Friends, told district commissioners Feb. 18.

Miller said city officials told his group in November that the cost was increasing “to something over $600,000.” The Friends and the district asked for more details.

“We didn’t hear too much until [Feb. 6]. Then we heard from the city again that they’ve … found some other issues and now their cost estimate is more like $1 million or more to build the facility,” Miller said.

“All these things are happening very quickly and we don’t have a lot of detail,” he said.

The city’s estimates include $179,400 for piles, foundation and below-grade structure for the incline; $46,525 for a mechanical shed; $67,500 to connect electricity; and $65,000 for an elevator engineer and additional engineering consultants.

City officials also predicted operating costs of more than $100,000 a year. The figure includes $11,725 to wipe down the elevator once a week and pick up trash every day and $82,125 to open and close it daily and have an attendant on hand eight hours a day.

Miller said his group is looking at a possible alternative in Pinellas County’s Wall Springs Park, near St. Petersburg. That county opened a three-story observation tower overlooking the Gulf of Mexico with a wooden ADA access ramp in 2018.

“We ended up with a $1.2 million ramp to get people to the top of a $900,000 observation tower,” Paul Cozzie, Pinellas County parks and conservation resources director, told Wisconsin’s Peninsula Pulse magazine.

Gumbo Limbo’s hugely popular observation tower and boardwalk were closed to the public in early 2015 after engineers warned they were near collapse. The planned replacement tower would be built with composite wood decking rather than natural timber, but otherwise be a replica of the original.

The boardwalk reopened last July. A few months before, the Friends found a couple, Stephen Kosowsky and Sharilyn Jones, willing to donate $250,000 for the inclined elevator in memory of their son, Jacob, who had recently died in a car accident. The group launched a Save the Tower fundraising campaign and collected another $250,000.

“I’m constantly amazed at how many people remember the tower and look for it,’ Miller said. “I’m a guide over there and almost every day that I’m doing that, somebody asks me, ‘When is the tower coming back?’”

Workers installed six 40-foot-tall wooden posts embedded in 3-foot concrete bases at the planned tower site last spring, then left the area while the city, district and Friends looked for an ADA solution. The city favored scrapping the tower and building an educational pavilion instead.

“I think there’s a lot of anxious people waiting to see what’s going to happen. We are anxious. We’d like to see it happen,” Miller said.

Palm Health Foundation’s ‘Let’s Move! ‘ program this month encourages people of all fitness levels to exercise.  Photo provide

Seventeen local people took part in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2019 Light the Night Executive Challenge, an eight-week fundraising competition leading up to the West Palm Beach and Boca Raton Light the Night walks. The people, mainly executives from throughout Palm Beach County and cancer survivors, raised $316,468 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The 2019 challengers included Bill Burns (Cross Country Healthcare), Bill Rucker (Florida Power & Light Co.), Brian Follbaum (FPL Energy Services), Bridget Hayes (Avella BriovaRx), Heather Stubblefield (FPL), Jeffrey Dunn (FPL), Joe Lopez-Cepero (Good Samaritan Medical Center), Keith Pence (Caler, Donten, Levine, Cohen, Porter & Veil PA), Ken Namerow (survivor), Lisa Myers (Gerstle, Rosen & Goldenberg PA), Mike Blackman (survivor and retired IBM executive), Naomi Gersh (in memory of her husband, Barry Gersh), Richard Brooks (survivor), Rick Farah (Salesforce), Salvatore D’Amico (Privaira), Sam Forrest (FPL) and Tony Bajak (Good Samaritan Medical Center). 

For more news about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society visit www.lls.org/lls-newsnetwork. ;

Former professional athletes faced off against local police in February to raise money for breast cancer programs at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s 11th annual Pinkball event. Proceeds benefit the Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, through the hospital’s Go Pink Challenge. It supports women in need of mammograms or breast ultrasounds, but who lack health insurance.

Athletes included Jorge Posada, Mo Vaughn, Tanyon Sturtze, Johnny Damon, Tino Martinez and Ki-Jana Carter.

Palm Health Foundation has undertaken its eighth annual Let’s Move! Commit to Change Physical Activity Challenge, a monthlong event that kicked off March 1. The challenge asks people to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. It offers physical and wellness activities across Palm Beach County and logs participants’ minutes to motivate them to achieve fitness goals. To participate and for more information, visit www.letsmovepbc.org. ;

Delray Medical Center has received a Healthgrades 2020 America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award, placing it in the top 1% of nearly 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for its consistent, year-over-year superior clinical performance. 

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the care we provide. It means we are doing our job in giving patients the highest quality care and best experience possible,” said Maggie Gill, chief executive officer at Delray Medical Center. “Our outstanding physicians, nurses and staff earned this achievement on behalf of the hospital.” 

Delray Medical Center is one of only five hospitals in the country to be recognized as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 14 consecutive years. It has also been recognized among the top 10% in the nation for stroke care and critical care in 2020 and has been a five-star recipient for treatment of heart failure for 18 years in a row.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Marcus Neuroscience Institute recently entered Phase II of its grant agreement with the Marcus Stroke Network to continue reducing the high rates of death and disability for stroke in the southeastern United States.

As a result of Phase I, the institute significantly elevated the quality of stroke treatment. The institute provided tissue plasminogen activator within 45 minutes for 100% of eligible patients in 2019, up from 58% in 2017 and 79.3% in 2018. 

The institute was also honored with the Stroke Gold Plus and Honor Roll Elite Plus, the highest quality achievement awards from the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines program. 

A major accomplishment during Phase I was the institute’s recognition as a certified thrombectomy-capable stroke center by The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Phase II of the grant will build upon the success of Phase I and be completed in May 2022. 

During this period, the institute will aim to secure comprehensive stroke center certification by the Joint Commission, continue to expand its expert telestroke service and complete a third interventional neuroradiology suite with direct-to-angiography capabilities. Phase II also includes an analysis to be completed to determine the viability of a mobile stroke unit in Palm Beach County. 

The Hospital for Special Surgery has just opened a 60,000-square-foot facility in West Palm Beach. HSS Florida announced its medical team and leadership structure and that nearly 1,000 patient appointments have already been scheduled. 

HSS has ranked No. 1 in the nation for orthopedics for the past 10 consecutive years, according to U.S. News & World Report. 

A large academic medical center specializing in orthopedics, rheumatology and related specialties, HSS attracts patients nationally and internationally as well as high-performance athletes. In 2019, nearly 3,000 Florida residents travelled for care to the HSS main campus in New York. 

“HSS is committed to the health, wellness and lifestyle of our patients,” said Dr. Bryan Kelly, surgeon-in-chief and medical director. “We are always advancing innovative pathways to provide better care, and an important part of that process is providing access to more people in new locations.”

HSS Florida is led by founding Medical Director David Altchek, MD, a renowned sports medicine surgeon, chief emeritus of the HSS Sports Medicine Institute and medical director for the New York Mets. Nick Sama, MD, orthopedic trauma surgeon, will serve as associate medical director for inpatient services. Ryan Simovitch, MD, sports medicine and shoulder surgeon, will serve as associate medical director for ambulatory services. 

Located at 300 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., HSS Florida-West Palm Beach offers comprehensive outpatient orthopedic care, including physician consultations, advanced diagnostic and imaging services, specialized rehabilitation, sports performance programs and surgery. 

Physicians practicing at HSS Florida include those based in Florida full time as well as those who split their time between New York and Florida.

Eric Moum, MD, has joined Clearlyderm Dermatology at the Delray and Boynton Beach locations. Moum is board certified and has practiced in Boynton Beach for more than 30 years. Every year since 2000, he was selected by Castle Connolly as an “America’s Top Doctor.”

Clearlyderm is an independent dermatology group with six locations in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Visit www.clearlyderm.com for information or to book an appointment.  

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has announced Pua Cooper as recipient of the Chapter Leader of the Year Award for 2020. Cooper is the assistant vice president, chief clinical informatics officer for Boca Raton Regional Hospital, where she oversees the operations of clinical informatics and the infection prevention department. Cooper will be recognized during the 2020 HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition, March 9-13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

Cardiologist Heather Johnson, MD, has joined the medical staff of Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. She specializes in cardiovascular medicine, preventive cardiology, hypertension management and vascular health. 

Send health news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Mya Breman uses craniosacral therapy to relieve tension and pain. Breman (right) calls it ‘body psychology.’  Photos provided

By Joyce Reingold

In her serene, sun-splashed patch of paradise in the Ocean Ridge Yacht Club, Gayle “Mya” Breman found both roots and wings.

When she first arrived at the townhouse in the late 1980s, she was working in radio and TV but yearning for a more meaningful career. Little did she know that the path to her life’s work was waiting just outside the front door. 

“When I moved in here 32 years ago, the Merrells — Allen and Elizabeth — were the first people in this complex,” says Breman, best known to family and friends as Mya. “They’re the people who funded and created and started the Upledger Institute. 

“My background was working at CBS and NBC for years. So, they needed a marketing director. And they kept at me and kept at me, because we really became best friends. And finally, I went and met Dr. John and I was the marketing director for four and a half years.”

Dr. John Edwin Upledger, a doctor of osteopathy and professor of biomechanics at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University, co-founded what is now the Upledger Institute International in Palm Beach Gardens in 1985. Upledger, who died in 2012, is best known for developing craniosacral therapy, a gentle form of bodywork intended to release tension and relieve pain and dysfunction.

“Using a gentle, noninvasive touch generally no greater than 5 grams—about the weight of a nickel—practitioners release restrictions in the soft tissues that surround the central nervous system,” the institute explains. Clients receive CST treatments for conditions that include migraines, neck and back pain, TMJ, chronic fatigue, scoliosis and central nervous system disorders. Sessions last from 45 minutes to an hour, during which clients remain fully clothed. While she was marketing director, Breman trained in CST and became certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork so she could offer demonstrations at conventions and meetings. After a satisfying stint in the role, Breman had another job opportunity and told Upledger she would be leaving. 

He had other ideas, pointing her toward the second floor, encouraging her to immerse herself in the institute’s intensive program.

“You don’t say no to Dr. John,” she says, smiling broadly. “And you know, he just changed my life.” 

With Upledger as her mentor, she earned a master’s degree in social work and became a licensed clinical social worker. She’s a diplomate in CST, the top level of certification available.

She’s traveled the world — from Pennsylvania’s Amish country to Australia — practicing and teaching noninvasive body therapies. She developed her own signature practice called “body psychology,” blending her singular combination of skills to address psychological and physical pain. She’s studying for a Ph.D. And now, she is a freshly minted author.

She and Susan Vaughan Kratz are co-authors of A Touch Better: Two Therapists’ Journeys and the Lessons They Learned From Dr. John E. Upledger About CranioSacral Therapy. 

“It took about five years to really get this thing done,” Breman says of the 253-page book. “My passion was to keep Dr. John Upledger alive … his legacy, his passion, his teachings and the things we did there.”

Just as Upledger mentored Breman, Breman mentored Kratz.

“I think I represent the next generation of therapists learning the work from the sages,” says Kratz, a CST diplomate and occupational therapist with a clinic in Waukesha, Wisconsin. “After practicing this method for 20 years now, I’m as passionate about it and the results it promises as I was when I first learned craniosacral therapy. Together, Mya and I wanted to assemble parts of the story of Dr. Upledger’s work that had not been told, and yet include compelling scientific evidence that is demanded of practitioners in this day and age.”

The authors devote the book’s last chapter to scientific research into CST. One example is a study published in the May 2016 edition of The Clinical Journal of Pain, which concluded: “CST was shown to be specifically effective and safe in reducing neck pain intensity and may improve the functional disability and the quality of life up to three months after the intervention.” 

The researchers suggested further study to allow for “rigorous methodological designs and long-term follow ups.” 

The practice attracts its share of skeptics, but Kratz and Breman welcome the scrutiny. “Scientific research increases the exposure and acceptance of this very valuable treatment,” they write. “In order to reduce the ‘voodoo’ perception of therapeutic touch and mobilizing tissues and fluids, we need to validate the work.”

CST adherents need no further convincing. Louise, a 50-year-old Palm Beach resident, says she found relief in CST after a car accident left her feeling like she had “shaken baby syndrome.”

“The major benefits included reduction of pain and greater mobility. It is amazing what a good craniosacral therapist can do in a very gentle noninvasive way,” says Louise, who prefers to remain anonymous. “I have continued with my craniosacral therapist. What I have learned is, when injuries and issues are addressed quickly, they tend to be resolved quickly.” 

Sitting in her airy Ocean Ridge living room, a stone’s throw from where neighbors pointed her in surprising new directions, Breman talks about the work she’s done with children on the autism spectrum, a young man with schizophrenia, a client with Alzheimer’s. “It’s my joy to help them,” she says of the work — which is, after all, her “soul purpose.”

A Touch Better is available on the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators website, www.iahe.com, for $26.95. To learn more about the Upledger Institute International or CST, visit www.upledger.com.

Joyce Reingold writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.

Baby Jesus lay in his manger at St. Lucy Catholic Church before he was stolen Jan. 1 and taken to Broward County. He was returned several days later. Photo provided

By Rich Pollack

It was a whodunit with biblical overtones — and a mysterious happy ending.

In broad daylight on New Year’s Day, a brazen thief sprinted across State Road A1A and absconded with the baby Jesus statuette from the Nativity at St. Lucy Catholic Church. 

The thief, described by witnesses as a woman in her 20s, ran with baby Jesus in her arms back to a waiting car that sped away.

For six days the culprits were on the lam while some of the wisest men in the Highland Beach Police Department searched for the missing statuette.

Then, almost a week after the heist, the congregation’s prayers were answered when staff at St. Lucy learned the missing Jesus had been found in the parking lot of a Catholic church in Parkland. Nearby was a note that said: “Please return to St. Andrew’s Church in Delray Beach. God bless.”

Although there is no such place in Delray Beach, members of the church in Broward County did some detective work of their own and contacted St. Lucy’s.

“Thank God it came back,” said Jeanette Schmitz, St. Lucy’s director of family life and Catholic outreach.

The significance of the name of the Parkland church — Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church — wasn’t lost on Schmitz or others in the St. Lucy congregation.

“Jesus was returned back to Mary,” she said. “When you look at it that way, it’s the perfect ending to the story.”

Although police had some pretty strong leads, the Rev. D. Brian Horgan, St. Lucy’s pastor, told investigators his congregation had no interest in pursuing the investigation.

“We got back what we had asked for,” Schmitz said. “In the spirit of the season, it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.”

This season marked the first time that St. Lucy’s had a Nativity in the front of the church, just steps away from State Road A1A. But it ran out of time and didn’t secure the Jesus with rebar on Christmas Eve.

The parishioners were excited about the Nativity, Schmitz said, and raised close to $20,000 in just two weeks to pay for the life-size statues. Were baby Jesus not found, Schmitz said, the church would have needed to purchase a whole new Nativity, because the statues are sold only as a package. 

While the new baby Jesus was gone, the church tried to put a substitute statue — one it had kept from years ago — in the creche, but found it wasn’t the right fit and removed it.

“It just looked so hokey,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz said the congregation prayed for the return of the statue as did many Highland Beach residents.

“It just meant so much to the community to have it back,” she said.

The church is planning to put the Nativity back close to the road next holiday season, and baby Jesus — tightly tethered — will be there come Christmas Eve.

“Next year, he’ll be rebar’d in,” Schmitz said. 

Dune Deck Café owner John Caruso persuaded the Lantana Town Council to give him five additional decal-parking spaces for his employees. Appearing at the town’s Jan. 27 meeting, Caruso said the outdoor café at Lantana beach currently has 15 parking spaces for employees, but that’s not enough.

“My employees are getting $50 tickets and they can’t afford that,” he said, adding that code enforcement was stricter than ever. Often, others are taking the spots allotted for employees, forcing workers to park elsewhere.

“Even on our busiest day, there are a lot of decal parking spots open” for the public, he said.

He requested 10 more spots but was grateful for the town’s compromise of five more.

“Your busiest time is our busiest, too,” Councilman Phil Aridas said before offering five more spaces. Council members said if other people use parking spots reserved for employees, Caruso should have the vehicles towed away.

“I’m in a bad position if I tow my customers away,” Caruso said.

Caruso has operated the seaside restaurant since 1992. His contract extends until 2022.   

— Mary Thurwachter

Janie Swanko Souaid is surrounded by Atlantic High seniors during a college football signing day event at the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa in December. Souaid started a program that provided them with blazers for the occasion. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

It was four years ago that a chance meeting at a cocktail party put Janie Swanko Souaid on a path that has since turned into her life’s mission.

The Gulf Stream woman was at a party in Ocean Ridge in early 2016 when she was approached by Kevin Logan, then the athletic director at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, who asked whether she could use her skills as a motivational speaker on the Atlantic football team.

When she arrived, she learned the coach of the team was Tavarius “T.J.” Jackson, who had worked with her two children on their lacrosse skills a few years before.

“Two days later T.J. showed up at my door and said, ‘The kids love you, come back,’” she said. “I said I’d do my best, and I tried to come once a month. But when you get involved with these kids. …”

Souaid quickly learned that the environment in which these teenagers live is extremely challenging. Eighty percent of Atlantic’s students live at or below the poverty level. The vast majority of the players she deals with come from one-parent homes, which in many cases is a grandparent. At least a few of those kids are homeless.

But what really drew her in was Jackson, or more specifically the standards he set for his program. Players had to earn mostly A’s or B’s to play for him, with the honor roll as the target — and 85% of his roster achieved that in 2018. Tutoring help was provided to prepare players for ACT and SAT testing; 98% of the same group met or surpassed NCAA requirements in that area.

And when someone did something nice for the players, Jackson made it clear a thank-you note was in order, courtesy of an etiquette class that he made mandatory.

Souaid got a taste of that this past fall when defensive end Henry Bryant, the No. 2 area recruit on the Palm Beach Post’s Big Board, came to her for help after making a visit to the University of Louisville. He later signed with the Cardinals during the early signing period in December and is taking classes as an early enrollee.

“He came back from his visit and said, ‘I need to write a thank-you note to my head coach,’” Souaid recalled, referring to the Louisville coach. “‘Could you help me write it?’”

“I said, ‘No, you write it and we’ll look at it together.’ He did and it was perfect. Later on Henry sent me a text the Louisville coach had sent him that said, ‘I just got your letter and of all our offers that was the only one I got. Welcome to our family.’

“Henry came to me four years ago and asked me to pray for him. He said to me a couple weeks ago, ‘Do you realize what’s happened to me since then?’

“I probably work 70 hours a week if not more, but I don’t even feel it. At least 20-30 hours of that is with this program.”

One product of all that work is the Blue Blazer program. Recognizing that players want to look their best on signing day, she went to Macy’s and arranged that every senior on the team would have one. Macy’s put up all but $100 for each coat last year; for this school year it was the full cost.

Then the community joined in. Real estate attorney Gary Lachman provided Tommy Hilfiger shirts. Macy’s donated belts. Hanes recently called Souaid, promising to participate next year.

On the field, Allstate’s Dave Beaumont came through with a year’s supply of Gatorade. Publix supplies breakfast for video review sessions on Saturdays, Bud’s Chicken a postgame meal on Fridays. When Jackson runs his summer workouts four mornings a week followed by afternoon tutoring, he has three restaurants — Carrabba’s, Bud’s Chicken and Anthony’s Pizza — taking care of lunch on three of them, and hopes to add a fourth by this summer.

And when the team needed a site for the signing day ceremony in December, the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa, formerly the Delray Beach Marriott, offered a conference room.

“You start with one thing and it’s, ‘They need this, they need that,’” Souaid said. “I worked for IMG and I’m good at this. I know how to partner businesses with athletes.”

The Atlantic program, meanwhile, is in full flower, being named the “Team of the Year” by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission in 2018 while sending 20 of its 32 athletes to college on either athletic or academic scholarships. Eleven members of this year’s senior class already have commitments for the fall.

Souaid, who is also an author, and her husband, Bob, an attorney and health care consultant, have two children: Bailey, 21, who is with a branding firm in New York, and Bob Jr., 20, a junior at the University of Alabama.

Souaid teamed with cinematographer John Sturdy to produce a 12-minute video on Jackson and the Atlantic program that she hopes can be a template for other programs around the country.

“I was looking at the film the other day and turned to (Sturdy) and he said, ‘Everybody’s happy.’ These kids are always smiling. We have 150 hours of film and keep looking at it, and everybody’s smiling.”

— Brian Biggane

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?

A. I grew up in Coral Gables and was one of 10 children; there were a lot of large families in our neighborhood. Everyone knew each other and to this day many are still very close. I have been a co-chair for all of Coral Gables Senior High School’s reunions, which are often attended by folks who didn’t go to school with us. We’ve always been told we had the best class and we did. As a result, other classes joined ours for the reunions, which usually last four days. The influence has literally lasted a lifetime. Everyone is there for each other in so many ways. The influence, an even larger extended family.

My parents studied at the University of Miami and I graduated from there as well. I attended UM during the school’s reign as national champions. My father … and I went to a lot of the Hurricanes’ football games.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?

A. I worked as a paralegal while attending school at the University of Miami. My senior year, I helped start a legal newspaper and covered Miami’s legal beat. I also wrote a weekly column entitled “Inter Alia.”

After graduation, I started a PR firm representing the top lawyers in Miami, publicizing their wins and the legal impact they made. I also represented IMG’s tennis division in South Florida, the Dreyfus Management Group and brokered several deals including one with Wayne Huizenga.

I used all my legal stories to write for television, creating three pilots that were entertained by Fox and USA television.

I published my first book, Just Ask, in 2005, which garnered me a stint producing special features for Fox’s affiliate in Miami, WSVN Channel 7. I became a motivational speaker and am currently producing a documentary on Atlantic Community High School’s football program.

My most proud professional accomplishment (so far) was a deal I worked on selling off Wayne Huizenga’s medical waste division. Wayne was an absolute genius and I considered myself very fortunate to have had the opportunities I had to work with him.    

Q. What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?

A. Keep moving forward. Learn a trade, get a job or an internship that teaches you a skill, and impress the boss. It makes for a stellar résumé, and a strong letter from the head of a company speaks volumes.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?

A. Gulf Stream reminded me of the then-small town I grew up in, Coral Gables.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?

A. Gulf Stream is nestled between the blues and greens — the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal and The Little Club and the Gulf Stream Golf Club. It’s a great town to raise your children in, and the best part is continuing to see all your children’s friends grow up and visit with them on holidays.

    Q. What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?

A. For relaxation and inspiration, I work out. A minimum of an hour. It clears my head and when you wake up at 4 a.m., a good night’s sleep is necessary.

Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?

A. Faith has always been my inspiration, but my parents helped me understand early on the importance of an education and putting others first. I was on a swimming team as far back as I can remember and started playing water polo at age 13. In two years, I excelled to the nationals. Having children definitely puts life into perspective — family is everything and coupled with education and structure is a solid foundation for a good head start in life.

    Q. If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?

A. Melanie Griffith as in Working Girl.

Q. Who/what makes you laugh?

A. I love to laugh and laugh so hard until my stomach hurts. I’m up for any humor.

    Q. Do you have a favorite cause? If so, why is it important to you?

A. Encourage education in an effort to eradicate poverty. And that’s not just a line … I really mean that.

Mayor David Stewart presented a basket of children’s books to library director Kristine Kreidler in January after the town won first place in the Read for the Record event on Oct. 27 for municipalities under 20,000. Lantana has been part of the event for 12 years and been best in the county 10 times. Stewart said it’s been a personal goal of his as mayor to beat Palm Springs, which took the title the two years Lantana didn’t win. This year, volunteers read to 1,316 kids in Lantana. The book was ‘Thank You Omu’ by Oge Mora. Boynton Beach was the winner in the large city category. Photo provided

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach residents who live in the Lake Ida district or north and south of Atlantic Avenue along the beach will be able to enjoy free rides to the downtown by March.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency approved the expanded service area by a unanimous vote on Jan. 28. Board member Adam Frankel was absent.

“I’m absolutely in support of this change,” said Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who sits as the CRA chairwoman. “We need to offer the Lake Ida and beach residents the same service that they had with the Downtowner.”

The new Lake Ida area starts at Lake Ida Road and ends at Northwest 22nd Street.

Along the beach, A1A will be served starting at Crestwood Drive on the north down to Casuarina Road on the south. (The four blocks of A1A divided by Atlantic Avenue are already in the CRA.)

BeeFree Holdings won the CRA bid for the point-to-point service in the summer of 2019.

The company operates under the Freebee name and has five open-air, electric-powered vehicles that cost the CRA $401,560 annually.

The Freebee expanded service area will be done as a pilot program with CRA staff collecting data for three months, said Renée Jadusingh, CRA executive director.

While the rides are still expected to be free for people in the expanded service area, users may have to wait longer for a driver to come, Petrolia said.

Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

The Downtowner stopped operating in Delray Beach on Oct. 1, 2018, when its business model changed from relying on advertising to one that required a subsidy from the city.

The Downtowner’s service area maps were not available, said Ivan Cabrera, CRA contract administrator.

More of the barrier island was served by the Downtowner, Bob Victorin, president of the Beach Property Owners Association, said during public comment.

He suggested a service area between the Intracoastal to A1A and from Casuarina north to George Bush Boulevard.

If the data show longer wait times, the city could provide some of its parking meter revenue to pay Freebee for  another car, Petrolia said.

When Freebee started operating Sept. 6, all rides had to begin or end in the CRA district.

That area has the interstate as its western boundary and the beach as its eastern one for the four blocks straddling Atlantic. It goes north to Lake Ida Road and south to Southwest 10th Street.