Angler Doug Sarmousakis holds what remains of a kingfish that was mostly eaten by a shark during the Aug. 10 Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament. Photo provided by John Miller

By Willie Howard

Sharks are lingering around fishing boats and eating hooked fish from lines along the coast of Palm Beach County — a familiar problem for South Florida anglers that many captains say is worse this summer than in years past.

Several tournament fish were lost to sharks during the Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament, held Aug. 10.

“It was clear that local populations of sharks were celebrating Shark Week,” tournament chairman Tim Knapp wrote in his summary of the tournament. “Numerous anglers reported donating their fish to the sharks as they were being reeled in.”

John Miller said his fishing team caught a bull shark and lost a nice kingfish to another shark off Manalapan during the Gerretson tournament.

Capt. Chip Sheehan of Chips Ahoy Charters in Boynton Beach said sharks have been “out of control” in the waters off Boynton Inlet. Sheehan also reported losing half of a large kingfish to a shark during a tournament.

Sea Mist III drift boat Capt. Ryan Carr said the sharks have been stealing fish from his customers’ lines all year. In the past, they seemed to disappear for a few months and return.

Carr said the sharks seem to be most problematic for anglers right in front of Boynton Inlet and north of the Lake Worth Beach pier.

“I won’t even go to my big mutton (snapper) spots right now because I don’t want to feed them to the sharks,” Carr said.

Capt. Tony Coulter, a veteran dive charter operator, said he has seen more than the usual number of lemon and hammerhead sharks in the waters off Boca Raton and Delray Beach this summer.

“We had a thresher shark hanging around for a few weeks here in Boca as well,” Coulter said.

Florida Atlantic University shark researcher Stephen Kajiura said there were more blacktip and spinner sharks moving along Palm Beach County beaches this year than in the previous two years, possibly because of cooler winter weather.

But the number of those smaller sharks is still down from eight years ago, Kajiura said.

Mote Marine Lab spokeswoman Stephannie Kettle said Mote could not confirm the species of sharks that are eating hooked fish or estimate whether South Florida’s shark population is growing based on anglers’ reports.

“It’s important to remind readers that sharks and anglers both want the same thing: tasty fish,” Kettle said. “Sharks follow where the food goes, as do fishermen.”

In the Bahamas, a vacation turned fatal for 21-year-old Jordan Lindsey, a California college student who was bitten by a shark June 26 while snorkeling near Rose Island.

In Florida waters, 26 species of sharks are protected, meaning they must be released.

To protect sharks (and beach swimmers), the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission requires anglers targeting sharks from shore to take an online class and obtain a shore-based shark fishing permit.

The new shore-based shark fishing rules include a prohibition on removing any protected shark from the water, mandatory use of non-offset circle hooks and a prohibition on chumming the water from beaches.

To take the free shark-education course and obtain a shore-based shark fishing permit, go to www.myfwc.com/sharkcourse.

Angela Garber stands beside Jim Gerretson as he weighs a 14.3-pound kingfish that earned her the prize for top lady angler at the Mark Gerretson Memorial tournament. Jim is the brother of Mark, who died in 2005. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

28.4-pound mahi mahi wins Gerretson tournament

Joe Cozzolino of Delray Beach and his fishing team aboard Anticipation won this year’s Mark Gerretson tournament with a 28.4-pound dolphinfish (mahi mahi).

Cozzolino said he and his fishing team ran way offshore looking for dolphin. On the way back toward land, they spotted two small sargassum patches holding dolphin in about 500 feet of water off Palm Beach.

None of the dolphin around the floating weed mat was large enough to hit a live goggle-eye, Cozzolino said. But after they fished the spot for a while, the tournament-winning big dolphin finally came along and hit a goggle-eye.

Cozzolino said his team’s dolphin, caught by Chris Shores, also won the Mariner’s Cove tournament that day because he registered for both tournaments.

Team Getting’ Jiggy won top kingfish in the Mark Gerretson tournament, at 25.4 pounds. Sheehan on Chip’s Ahoy won the mystery fish division with a 23.4-pound blackfin tuna.

No wahoo came to the scale in the tournament, which attracted 19 boats and was based at Veterans Park in Delray Beach.

This was the 25th year for the tournament created by Delray Beach resident and fishing fanatic Mark “Rock” Gerretson, who died in 2005. Proceeds from the  tournament support several causes, including the Delray Beach Police Department’s annual holiday toy drive and scholarships for Atlantic High School students.

Blackfin tuna update

State regulators approved a draft rule in July that would create a recreational bag limit for blackfin tuna.

The proposed daily limit: two blackfin tuna per angler or 10 per boat, whichever is greater.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has proposed extending the blackfin tuna bag limit into federal waters (more than 3 miles off Florida’s east coast).

FWC commissioners are expected to hold a final public hearing on the blackfin tuna bag limit during their Oct. 2-3 meeting in Cape Canaveral.

Coming events

September: Snook season opened Sept. 1 on Florida’s east coast and remains open through Dec. 14. To be legal to keep, a snook must measure between 28 and 32 inches in total length. Bag limit: one snook per person. A Florida saltwater fishing license and snook permit are required, unless you are exempt. Details at www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater.

Sept. 14-15: Florida Marine Flea Market and BBQ Festival featuring boats, fishing gear, marine art and barbecue, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach. Admission $10. Youths 12 and under free. Call 954-205-7813 or visit www.flnauticalfleamarket.com.

Sept. 19: Coastal Conservation Association Florida South Palm Beach County Chapter banquet and auction, 6-10 p.m., Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach. Tickets $140 or $270 per couple. Call Rebekah Bourque at 676-5265.

Sept. 21: X-Generation Anglers for Soldiers KDW fishing tournament for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna, bonito, mutton/yellowtail snapper and cobia. Captain’s meeting and final registration 5-8 p.m. Sept. 20 at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. Weigh-in 1-4 p.m. at Sailfish Marina. Awards luncheon 3 p.m. Sept. 22 at Sailfish Marina. Entry fee $350. Call 577-0706.

Sept. 28: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom building next to the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $20. Register at the door. Call 331-2429.

Tip of the month

Develop a plan for securing your boat before a hurricane approaches Florida. Tips on where and how to secure a boat and a hurricane preparation checklist can be found at www.boatus.com/hurricanes.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Delray Beach is inviting people who love music to join one of its musical programs. Opportunities are available for young people and adults, and participation is open to people of all faiths who share a love of music. Rehearsals begin soon. Programs include:

The chorister program includes the Cherub Choir, Jubilate Youth Choir, and Chancel Choir. The Cherub Choir is a pre-reading choir for children ages 4 through 6. Kids must be available to participate in sets of four weekly rehearsals, with a performance for the 5 p.m. Saturday Illuminated Worship service at the end of each set. 

The Jubilate Youth Choir is for ages 6 and older, and it performs monthly during the academic year for the 10 a.m. Sunday service and at special events using the Royal School of Church Music “Voice for Life” curriculum. It rehearses from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursdays, followed by family dinner from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The Chancel Choir is for teens through adults, sings weekly at the 10 a.m. Sunday liturgy and for Choral Evensong and Lessons and Carols services. Music reading skills are helpful. Rehearsals are 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Sundays.

St. Paul’s also offers opportunities for teenage and adult instrumentalists. A teen ensemble made up of guitars, percussion and piano, the Illumineers, performs jazz- and rock-based music to support the casual atmosphere of the Illuminated Worship service, at 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Palm Beach Recorder and Early Music Society meets on the second Saturday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and is open to performers of period instruments and vocalists.

St. Paul’s also offers musical instruction for children and adults through group and private lessons, including Gracie’s Little Groovers, a parent/child music and movement class led by Gracie Schreffler on Thursday mornings. Instructor Myngoe Brashears will offer private lessons on Mondays. 

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is at 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Contact Dr. Paul Cienniwa, director of music ministries, at drpaul@stpaulsdelray.org or 278-6003;  or visit www.stpaulsdelray.org.

5K run to benefit CROS Ministries

CROS Ministries’ annual Hustle2EndHunger 5K takes place Oct. 5 at John Prince Park, 4759 S. Congress Ave. in Lake Worth.

All proceeds support CROS Ministries’ mission to serve hungry people in Palm Beach and Martin counties by distributing food at eight pantries, serving a hot meal through the Caring Kitchen, offering a summer camp with lunch, a snack, and breakfast as needed, and recovering fresh produce at local farms.

Packet pickup starts at 6 a.m. The race starts at 7 a.m. The fee is $40 plus a $3 registration fee, which includes T-shirt, chip, bib and medal. Registration closes at noon Oct. 4. There’s also a walk beginning at 8:15 a.m. A recognition ceremony takes place immediately after the race.

Register at www.crosministries.org/hustle2endhunger or runsignup.com/Race/FL/LakeWorth/Hustle2EndHunger5K.

Volunteers are also needed. Contact Jody Young at jyoung@crosministries.org.

Boca Helping Hands seeks Thanksgiving volunteers

It’s not too early to start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, especially if your plans include giving back to the community.

Boca Helping Hands feeds hungry people every day and uses volunteers for almost everything it does. BHH distributes more than 70,000 pantry bags each year at three Palm Beach County locations and serves over 55,000 hot meals annually, six days per week, plus BHH sends weekend meals home with elementary school students via the BHH Backpacks Program.

Although Helping Hands would love for volunteers to commit more time, here are five other ways you can help hungry people this Thanksgiving:

• Host a food drive at your home or office. Ask friends and neighbors, coworkers and clients to help you fill a box with canned goods and donate it to the food pantry.

• Volunteer for the Thanksgiving Box Brigade and Turkey Distribution Day at Boca Helping Hands’ Remillard Family Resource Center, 1500 NW First Court, Boca Raton. Volunteers are needed from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 18 to hand out boxes, each with all the fixings, plus a turkey and a roasting pan — everything needed to make a Thanksgiving dinner at home — to several hundred families that registered.

• Volunteers are needed from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 18 for the Boynton Beach Thanksgiving Box Brigade and Turkey Distribution at First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach, 301 N. Seacrest Blvd. Families that registered will drive through the parking lot to pick up their boxes with everything they need to cook Thanksgiving dinner at home.

• On Nov. 28, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, Boca Helping Hands volunteers are needed to hand out dinners donated and prepared by the Boca Raton Resort & Club to registered families. The event takes place at Boca Glades Baptist Church, 10101 Judge Winikoff Road, in the parking lot.

• Boca Helping Hands volunteers are needed on Thanksgiving Day to help distribute meals prepared by the Addison at the First Baptist Church of Boynton, to registered families.

Boca Helping Hands is at 1500 NW First Court, Boca Raton. To volunteer or make a donation, call 417-0913, ext. 202, or email Karen Swedenborg at karen@bocahelpinghands.org. For more info, visit www.bocahelpinghands.org.

Send religion news to Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue plans a fundraising dinner comedy show Oct. 4 in Boca Raton and a beachside blessing service for your pets Oct. 6 at Lake Worth. Photo provided

By Arden Moore

Sure, some dogs fetch the TV remote. And some cats come when you call them by name — at their self-decided pace. But no matter the age, breed or species, scientific studies continue to confirm that companion animals can be good for your soul and your funny bone.

So, it is fitting that a hard-working nonprofit rescue group named the Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue is about to treat you to a double dose of pet goodness.

Mark your calendars — twice. First up, head to the Boca Lago Country Club on Oct. 4 to “Laugh Your Tail Off” — a comedy benefit dinner show featuring Glenn Miller, “Master of Comedy Hypnosis.” Then, head to the Lake Worth Beach at 10 a.m. Oct. 6 with your well-mannered pet (or his photo) to participate in the annual Blessing of the Animals performed by Michael King, a minister.

“We are hoping to reach pet lovers and decided that October is the best month to do these events,” says Tracy Green, in charge of social media for this rescue group. “My rescued dachshunds are Gracie and Wee George. They are a bit naughty but beautiful. My dogs truly have a blessed life and I love them very much.”

She is teaming up with Janet Diamond, a retired teacher, who has been involved in animal rescue for more than a decade. She now returns to schools throughout Palm Beach County to give presentations on rescue pets and work with job coaches on helping students earn community school credit for learning pet care skills.

“We are a small but mighty nonprofit and we know these events will help rescue animals,” Diamond says.

The all-volunteer animal rescue is named in honor of Justin Bartlett, a lifelong animal lover who died at age 24 in an automobile accident in 2008. The all-foster-based rescue was formed in his name in 2012 and now has expanded to include the Justin Bartlett Animal Hospital in Royal Palm Beach. Since opening in 2015, this nonprofit hospital has treated more than 28,000 animals and offers low-cost spay/neuter surgeries.

Headlining the dinner show on Oct. 4 is Miller. I caught up with him as he was heading into a Petco store in Boca Raton to pick up fliers about the show to distribute. The store is also posting the flier in the store and online.

“I am a huge animal lover, crazy nuts for animals,” he declares. “My wife, Wendy, and I have three rescues: Shevva Ellen, Jack and Murray. The best people in the world are dogs.”

Miller explains the first pet’s name: “My wife decided she should have two v’s and a middle name.”

Miller, 69, has made a career as a radio deejay, cruise ship art auctioneer and television show scriptwriter, but found his true calling as a stand-up comedian. His specialty? Hypnosis.  He got his training at the American Institute of Hypnotherapy in Irvine, Calif., and he is a certified member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. In his private practice, he helps people in one-on-one sessions to lose weight, stop smoking, overcome a fear of flying and more issues.

But his mission on Oct. 4 is to recruit people from the audience and hypnotize them on stage.

“We plan to do some silly acts, maybe hypnotizing them to be dogs meeting each other for the first time or becoming Victoria Secret models and strutting to the music,” he says. “I rely on body language to tell who is really under and who is not hypnotized. For those, I gently put my hand on their shoulder and thank them for coming up, tell them to open their eyes and invite them back to the audience to join their family and friends.”

Playfully, I asked Miller if he would ever want to hypnotize people so that they would adopt dogs, cats and other homeless animals.

“Unfortunately, you will not do anything under hypnosis that you wouldn’t do awake, but I would love that superpower,” he said. “It would mean that there would eventually be no more homeless animals, and wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Details about the two pet events

Registration is required to attend the fundraising events to benefit the Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue. You can get more details by calling 795-9999 or emailing peter.torres40@gmail.com or visiting www.justinbartlettanimalrescue.org.

• Laugh Your Tail Off dinner show Oct. 4: Tickets are $75 and include complimentary valet parking, two drinks, dinner and Miller’s comedy show. The event will take place from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Boca Lago Country Club, 8665 Juego Way, Boca Raton. You can also book your reservation through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laugh-your-tail-tickets-65114800120?aff=ebapi.

• Blessing of the Animals event Oct. 6: Bring your well-mannered leashed pet to be blessed at the beach at Mulligan’s Beach House Bar and Grill, 10 S. Ocean Blvd., Lake Worth Beach, at 10 a.m. Admission is $25 and that includes a brunch. Register early as seating is limited. Here is the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blessings-of-the-animals-tickets-56157073318.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, author, speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. She hosts Oh Behave! weekly on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.ardenmoore.com.

Bright, happy colors can have a cooling effect, Kathie Orrico says. ‘It's hard to feel miserable when you're smiling.’ Photo provided

By Joyce Reingold

Fans twirl on the sidelines and from ceilings, supporting the work of A-list air conditioners that chug, chug, chug 24/7. We have breathable clothing, wicking fabrics and cooling towels for our necks. There are nerdy misting water bottles and geeky wearables like Embr Wave bracelets, touted to help you feel 5 degrees cooler at the touch of a button.

We have all this and more and yet sometimes, it is still not enough — especially come September. By now, we’ve had it with the heat and the humidity.

Northern friends and family yammer on about fresh apples, the first crisp-air mornings and forecasts for optimum leaf-peeping. Here, we’re studying cones of uncertainty and wondering, in language often NSFW, when is it ever going to cool down?

Nine months into the Florida year, staying cool is a mental game. An attitude adjustment. It’s the harmony, in Health & Harmony. And it’s in that spirit that we offer these keep-your-cool ideas:

Vitamin sea

Add Jay Magee to mad dogs and Englishmen, the only two groups Noel Coward believed were foolish enough to brave the midday sun. The quasi-official “Chairman of the Beach” is found most days, from noon to 4, at Oceanfront Park with a group of semi-regulars.

“The best way to beat the heat is to sit down by the water, have a good umbrella and bring water. A nice breeze doesn’t hurt,” the Ocean Ridge resident says. “We are rarely hot at the beach, maybe once in a blue moon. There’s usually a nice sea breeze off the water and it’s pretty comfortable. I always have a couple of bottles of frozen water that I end up drinking during our stay. To be honest, the only time I usually go in the water is during my morning swim. I just don’t go in during the afternoon. Crazy, huh?”

Retail therapy

When you experience heat-induced ennui, shopping lighter and brighter may lift the spirits.

“Nothing cools you down like bright, happy colors,” says Kathie Orrico, “because it’s hard to feel miserable in the heat when you’re smiling.” She and sisters Casey and Colleen are the joy-sparkers behind the C. Orrico boutique on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. 

“Dresses are our No. 1 go-to for summer,” she says. “Put them on and you’re done, you’re chic. Bohemian off-the-shoulder is popular in tropical prints. I can’t tell you how many girls come in for that look because they think that’s what Stevie Nicks would wear, or Linda Ronstadt. If you’re timid about color, add a splash of color with hoop or beaded earrings and you’re rockin.’”

Guys are jazzing it up, too. At FSB Mens on Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach, proprietors Giovanni Marquez, his wife, Grace Marquez, and his sister, Gloria Ciongoli, offer a color palette that includes French blue, Amalfi yellow and tea green.

“How you beat the humidity in South Florida is cottons, or linens,” Giovanni says. “And now, what they’re doing with the cottons, is they might give you a 97 percent cotton and they’ll give it like a 3 percent stretch fabric. This way, the garment is going to move with you as well, and it’s nice.”

(Comfort is another cooling coping mechanism.)

Supplemental hydration

Staying hydrated is one of our most important jobs as heat-beaten Floridians. “Drink more water than you’re used to — and don’t wait until you’re thirsty,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges.

There are lots of suggested ways to calculate how much water you should drink. The best idea is to ask your doctor.

When you’re fully hydrated and looking for a recommendation for a late-summer cooler, ask a beer maker. We asked Justin Rick, head of brewing at Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach.

“People tend to enjoy refreshing beers with a lighter taste, light body, lighter color, and lower ABV during the summer,” he says, referring to alcohol by volume. “Our most popular summer beer is Passion Pit, a 4.2 percent fruit ale made with real passionfruit. It is light, drinkable, with a slightly tart, slightly fruity flavor that isn’t overpowering.”

Autumn beers drop in October, when fall seems a notch, maybe two, closer to reality.

Soul survival

Air-conditioned homes, cars, offices, malls, movie theaters … really, what are we even complaining about? September may not be the best month to spend outdoors, but it’s a great time to get outside ourselves.

Become a mentor and inspire children from underserved communities at the Milagro Center in Delray Beach. And watch them inspire you.

Sign up for a training session at the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to learn how to help adults and children improve their reading skills. You can also volunteer to read to a preschool or kindergarten class.

Call 211 Palm Beach (or visit online) to find out more about the Sunshine Daily Telephone Reassurance program, and how you might volunteer.

Drop off water and snacks to the men and women who labor outside, rain or shine. Pay it forward. Pay it backward. (Let’s make that a thing.)

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

White Coats-4-Care, FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine’s principal scholarship fundraising event, raised more than $185,000 to “dress and equip” the incoming class of 2023 and fund scholarships.

Several donors increased their annual gifts.

The initiative, developed nine years ago and co-chaired each year by Bonnie and Jon Kaye, has raised more than $600,000 since its inception.

Supported by honorary co-chairs June and Dr. Ira Gelb, the planning committee had Melissa Azrack, Robin Bresky and Dr. Kenneth Bresky, Phyllis and Dr. Michael T.B. Dennis, Dr. Joanna and Bryan Drowos, Beth and Dr. Kenneth Garrod, Bonnie Halperin, Arlene Herson, Beth Johnston, Dr. Allen Konis, Deborah Leising, Loretta Litten, Elizabeth and Dr. Stuart Markowitz, Francine and Dr. Nathan Nachlas, Lynn and Dr. Joseph Ouslander, Constance Scott and the Hon. Thomas Scott, Robin Trompeter, and Dr. Thomas L. and Eugenia Tzikas.

Jerry Fedele, retired president and CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital and a resident of coastal Boca Raton, has a new position:  an executive adviser at Blue Sea Capital, a West Palm Beach private-equity fund that invests in health care, aerospace and manufacturing start-ups.

“Although I’ve retired from the hospital, I couldn’t go from 100 mph to nothing,” Fedele said. “The role will allow me to stay engaged on a part-time basis in meaningful work while stepping back from the 24/7 demands of a hospital president and CEO. I am excited about this position that will draw on my industry and legal experience while providing me with new learning opportunities in the private-equity industry.”

Six Baptist Health South Florida hospitals, including Bethesda Hospital East and Boca Raton Regional Hospital, earned a total of 32 high-performing awards spanning 14 types of care in U.S. News &World Report’s annual ratings. That made Baptist Health the most honored health care system in South Florida.

Categories were gastro-enterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery, urology, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, colon cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung cancer surgery.  Also, six Baptist Health Centers of Excellence, including Lynn Cancer Institute and Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute, were recognized as high performing.

In July, a team of physicians performed the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement at Bethesda Heart Hospital. The minimally invasive procedure was performed on a 79-year-old woman from Delray Beach, who was out of bed within 12 hours and went home the next day.

In July, Healthgrades named Delray Medical Center a 5-star recipient in the hysterectomy category.

For the January 2020 Susan G. Komen South Florida Race for the Cure, discounted registration fees are available through October, $25 for adults and $10 for youth. To register, visit www.komensouthflorida.org/race. ;

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

Bill Dorton, co-founder of Head Injury Treatment Corp in Delray Beach, speaks to students at St. Joseph’s Episcopal School about sports-related head injuries. Photo provided by Carol Cunningham

By Janis Fontaine

For kids who play sports, back-to-school means back to the playing fields. When the girls’ lacrosse team at St. Joseph Episcopal School in Boynton Beach takes the field, the players will sport new protective headgear donated by Head Injury Treatment Corp, a Delray Beach-based nonprofit.

Bill Dorton, a personal trainer from Delray Beach, co-founded HiT Corp in 2018. Dorton sustained as many as eight concussions when he played football in middle and high school. He suffered from post-concussion syndrome, a constellation of symptoms of neurological damage usually resulting from repeated concussions.

For 15 years Dorton suffered, but he hid his condition from most people until about a year ago when he was treated at the Plasticity Brain Centers in Orlando. Instead of taking drugs to mask symptoms as doctors had given him for years, he had an extensive week-long course of therapy. In response he founded HiT Corp with Jarrett Solimando and Brad Chapman to raise money to pay for other PCS patients to get treatment.

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain gets sloshed around inside the skull. It doesn’t take a catastrophic blow to cause brain tissue to stretch and cells to bruise. Because the brain is the body’s control center, damage to it can cause chemical and metabolic changes within brain cells, causing a plethora of symptoms.

Dorton’s symptoms were debilitating. For 15 years he had headaches, nausea, insomnia, memory issues, confusion and loss of focus, but he kept working: “No matter how bad you’re feeling you can’t let your client know. That’s an important hour to them so I got good at hiding my symptoms.”

Matthew Antonucci, a chiropractic neurologist and co-founder and president of Orlando’s BPC, says his team uses cutting-edge technology to isolate and identify the part of the brain that isn’t working properly. Then the team develops a comprehensive rehab plan specific to that person, using treatment such as oculomotor training, chiropractic and physical therapy, speech and occupational therapy, and vestibular rehab to improve balance.

For Dorton, 33, the work included exercises to strengthen the connection between his eyes and his brain. Dorton describes the breakdown as “My eyes were telling my brain that my head was sideways.”

Concussions can be difficult to diagnose because everyone’s symptoms are different. There’s no “classic presentation” or blood test or biomarker that can determine if a concussion has occurred.

The smartest treatment involves taking measures to avoid injury in the first place.

Dorton, a friend of St. Joe’s coach Kristina Bosch, was surprised to learn that helmets were optional for middle-school lacrosse teams (except goalies). “Helmets optional,” Dorton knew, was antiquated thinking. Scientific American reported that one in five student athletes will suffer a concussion this year, and females produce symptoms that are greater in number and severity, take longer to recover, and result in worse outcomes than males, but males are more likely to hide an injury.

On Sept. 6, HiT Corp planned to present St. Joseph’s lacrosse team with 26 shiny, logoed helmets, plus two goalie helmets, one for every player. Dorton says the money is well spent, but what he would really like to see is the rules changed so helmets are required.

On Sept. 21, to mark the first anniversary of the founding of HiT Corp and to support National Concussion Awareness Day, the nonprofit will hold a 5K relay race at Anchor Park in Delray Beach.

Teams of three compete, with each person running just over a mile, Dorton said, so it’s a great bonding experience. Funds raised will support HiT Corp’s primary promise to help people who need but can’t afford treatment.

For more information about Dorton or HiT Corp, visit www.hitcorp.org.

For information on St. Joseph’s Episcopal School, visit www.sjsonline.org.

If You Go

The inaugural HiT Corp 5K Relay Race: 7:30 a.m. Sept. 21, Anchor Park, South Ocean Boulevard at Casuarina Road, Delray Beach. $40 per team. Register team of three at www.runsignup.com/hitcorp.

Contact Janis Fontaine at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

The Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center is redoing its front patio as part of the Town Square redevelopment in Boynton Beach. Many of the bricks are worn and need to be replaced.

If you donated to have an etched brick and would like to have that brick returned, please contact the museum’s executive director, Suzanne Ross, by Aug. 30. Call: 561-742-6780 or email: suzanne@schoolhousemuseum.org. Let her know when you can retrieve the bricks.

The museum will be installing a plaque inside with the names of the brick donors.

— Jane Smith

By Dan Moffett

 Briny Breezes’ three-year partnership with the Boynton Beach Police Department ended Thursday afternoon and a longstanding relationship with Ocean Ridge was restarted.

 The Town Council voted not to renew its law enforcement contract with Boynton and instead approved hiring Ocean Ridge, whose department had provided services to Briny for 33 of the last 36 years.

 “It was our history of working with Ocean Ridge,” said Councilwoman Christina Adams about her vote to make the switch. “I think it’s about Ocean Ridge knowing the uniqueness of Briny.”

Adams said cost was also a factor. Ocean Ridge proposed charging Briny $180,000 for the first year of the three-year contract, which officially begins Oct. 1, and Boynton Beach wanted $219,000.

The vote was 3-1, with Council President Sue Thaler absent with notice. Councilman Bill Birch voted for Boynton Beach. He said he intended to vote for Ocean Ridge but erroneously marked his ballot.

 “Response time was important to me,” Councilman Kathy Gross said. “I think Ocean Ridge’s is very good.”

During a presentation to the council, Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins said his department was prepared to offer Briny a “concierge level of community-based policing” and have officers patrol the town with a low-speed electric vehicle to discourage trespassing and parking violations — two issues that residents have complained about for months.

Hutchins said, since his officers last policed the town in 2016, the department has enhanced its use of technology and also added license plate recognition cameras. He said the department has its own dispatchers and its average response time on emergency calls is about three minutes.

Boynton Beach Police Chief Michael Gregory, a former assistant chief with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department who took his current job a year ago, said his large and growing agency — with 155 sworn officers compared with Ocean Ridge’s 19 — had a full range of law enforcement resources to offer Briny.

“We’re like a Swiss army knife,” Gregory told the council, citing marine, K-9, SWAT, computer crime investigation and lab capabilities.

“We have the resources which means we don’t have to ask for them,” Gregory said. “We can respond quickly with what we need and that can mean everything.”

 But size didn’t matter to the council. Ocean Ridge’s proximity and the price tag did.

 “They’re our neighbor and they’re right next door,” Councilman Chick Behringer said. “It’s really like they never left.”

By Dan Moffett

Conflicted over whether to close a sizable budget deficit with reserve funds or a tax increase, Ocean Ridge commissioners are asking for advice from the people who elected them to make decisions.

The commission has scheduled a special budget meeting beginning at 2 p.m. on Aug. 5 at Town Hall. The public is invited to attend and weigh in on which option the town should choose.

“Let’s float that bubble out and see what residents want,” Commissioner Phil Besler said at a budget workshop on July 15. “When we say we might be going to raise taxes, then a lot of people are going to show up.”

Because of long overdue repairs and upgrades to stormwater systems and drainage infrastructure, the town faces a possible budget deficit as high as about $600,000 — if commissioners decide to maintain the current tax rate of $5.35 per $1,000 of taxable property value.

Commissioners could increase that tax rate to $5.55 per $1,000 to cover the deficit, the maximum rate they approved unanimously during the budget workshop. Or, they could settle on a lower rate and use some of the roughly $4.8 million the town has saved in reserves to make up the difference.

“We’re in a favorable position,” Mayor Steve Coz said during the workshop. “We’ll have at least 50 percent of (annual) operating expenses in reserves, no matter what we do.”

Besler agrees that either choice the commission makes is justifiable.

“There is no wrong answer here,” he said. “Everyone agrees we got a deficit budget. So you either take it from the reserves or you take it from the residents in taxes.”

Ocean Ridge has an $8.1 million total budget for 2019-2020, up about 13.7 percent over last year because of the infrastructure projects and increased salaries for police and other employees. Property values have risen 6 percent.

Town Manager Tracey Stevens said she’ll have a clearer picture of the town’s finances by Aug. 5 because Briny Breezes should have decided whether to hire Ocean Ridge’s Police Department to handle the town’s law enforcement.

If Briny decides to drop Boynton Beach and hire Ocean Ridge, Stevens said, that could bring in about $180,000 for the commission to put toward the deficit. Also, by the next workshop commissioners expect to have more accurate numbers on the town’s insurance costs for the new fiscal year.

“What you really want to see is a big audience for the next budget workshop,” Commissioner Kristine de Haseth said.  

By Dan Moffett

In an effort to improve accessibility for contractors, Briny Breezes council members agreed to expand the hours Town Hall is open for public business.

Beginning in August, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The office used to close at noon on those days.

Donna Coates, Briny Breezes’ corporate park manager, told the council she has received complaints from contractors who tried to pick up building permits at Town Hall but found it closed.

Town Manager Dale Sugerman said he has heard no complaints from contractors and that typically, he and Town Clerk Maya Coffield lock the doors at noon but respond to anyone who knocks and needs assistance. Sugerman and Coffield do administrative work in the office after doors close to the public.

Sugerman said the town will track the impact of the new hours over the next 90 days to determine whether they should be made permanent.

In a related matter, the council, on a 2-1 vote at the July 25 town meeting, rejected a proposal to shift more control over building permit requests to the corporate office.

Alderwoman Kathy Gross had called for changes to the permit process in May, but she voted against the measure, saying it was unacceptable. Christina Adams also voted no, and Chick Behringer voted for it. Council President Sue Thaler and Alderman Bill Birch were absent for the vote.

Coates opposed the proposal, telling the council the changes would have made the process too cumbersome and burdened the corporate office.

In other business:

• For the 11th consecutive year, Briny Breezes homeowners are likely to pay the maximum tax rate allowed by state statutes. The Town Council unanimously approved setting the millage rate limit at $10 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. The council scheduled Sept. 12 and Sept. 26 for final budget hearings and approval.

With property values up a healthy 8.8 percent over last year, homeowners will pay about 9.6 percent more in taxes, Sugerman said. The rollback rate that would keep tax bills flat year-over-year is $9.24 per $1,000.

Overall, property tax revenues are up 9.9 percent over last year as values in Briny Breezes climbed to $53.8 million.

• Town Attorney Keith Davis said, after reviewing decades-old property platting records, that it is still unclear exactly where the southern boundary of Briny Breezes is and whether the town owns part or all of Briny Breezes Boulevard.

Council members want to determine ownership of the 30-foot-wide right of way so they can consider traffic control options. Davis and Sugerman told the council they would do more research. Ú

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach will use $500,000 from its penny tax proceeds during the next fiscal year to upgrade the eastern end of Boynton Beach Boulevard, the city’s public works director said July 16.

Andrew Mack told city commissioners on the second day of a two-day budget workshop that the project would run east from Federal Highway to the eastern edge of the pond located between the Casa Costa condominiums and the mangroves — a distance of about 850 feet.

The project will enhance the secondary entrance to the city marina, he said. The primary entrance is off Ocean Avenue just west of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge.

The project includes removing existing planters, landscape and sidewalks and replacing these with new landscape islands and sidewalks. It also includes adding more street and walkway lighting and adding an irrigation system. The city also wants to add on-street parking in that area. Depending on the design chosen for the parking, between 10 and 30 spaces will be added, Mack said.

Overall, Boynton Beach will spend $7.06 million of its penny tax proceeds on 91 projects during the next financial year, which begins Oct. 1, Mack said. Other projects include $1.4 million for information technology and $878,500 for improvements at the Ezell Hester Community Center on Seacrest Boulevard.

In the Nov.  8, 2016, election, Palm Beach County voters approved the extra penny on the 6-cent sales tax. The money began flowing into city coffers in March 2017 and will end on Dec. 31, 2026.

The cash is doled out by city population, giving the three largest South County cities (Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach) the most money. The county receives about 30 percent of the money from the extra cent sales tax and the school district gets the largest share at 50 percent.

The money the cities receive can be spent only on repairing or building new roads, sewers, water lines, fire stations or park improvements.

In other news at the budget workshop, Mack discussed doing a feasibility study for a pedestrian bridge over Federal Highway to link senior center activities at the historic Boynton Beach Woman’s Club and a parking area on the west side of Federal.

The state Department of Transportation would have to approve the bridge because Federal Highway is controlled by the state, he said.

Mack said if the state approves it, the pedestrian bridge would help solve the parking problems at the Woman’s Club, which the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency owns. Ú

By Steve Plunkett

Police patrol officers and sergeants will get a one-time $3,750 raise to bring their salaries more in line with comparable towns in Town Manager Greg Dunham’s proposed 2020 budget.

The increase will set Gulf Stream’s starting police pay at $51,250 — behind Ocean Ridge ($53,902) and Palm Beach ($52,274) but ahead of Manalapan ($51,200) and Highland Beach ($50,400). The figures were drawn from a Jan. 1 salary survey.

“That really puts us in the middle of the five cities up and down the coast here in Palm Beach County,” Dunham said.

Dunham also recommended that town commissioners set a tentative property tax rate of $3.86 per $1,000 of taxable value, which is the rollback rate and will bring in roughly the same $4.6 million as this year’s $4.05 rate did. A house with a taxable value of $1 million would be charged $3,860 in property taxes to the city under the proposed rate.

Gulf Stream property values rose 5.5 percent this year to almost $1.2 billion.

The biggest expense in Dunham’s proposed budget will be the first year of construction in Gulf Stream’s 10-year capital improvement plan.

The town will spend $2.5 million from its water fund and about $579,000 from the general fund to upgrade the State Road A1A water main from Golfview Drive to Sea Road, then the water main north on North County Road to Little Club Road and finally on Little Club Road to the Intracoastal. The project also includes road restoration or construction.

“The total budget for this year is around $10 million; last year it was $7 million. But that increase is primarily all due to the water project,” Dunham said.

The first public hearing on the budget will be at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 13.

Dunham said the Palm Beach County School Board’s decision to hire about 150 new school police officials put pressure on small towns to examine police pay.

Mayor Scott Morgan agreed. “We need to maintain a steady and competent police force. It’s getting more and more difficult to attract new officers,” Morgan said.

Coastal communities traditionally have hired experienced officers who have retired from other forces, Dunham said.

“Most of them are not really interested in going to Boca Raton, because Boca Raton’s salary is way up there, $66,000. They would be more interested in going to the School Board — you don’t work nights, you don’t work summertime — and so I think that’s what’s happening,” Dunham said.

Town Commissioner Paul Lyons said he was “totally in favor” of boosting police pay and that he hears only “very nice things about our officers.”

“The entire team is highly professional — and I mean it, I’m not making this up — and courteous,” Lyons said. “They’re well put together; they don’t look like they just rolled out of bed.”

In other personnel moves, Dunham proposed making executive administrative assistant Renee Basel the assistant town clerk and staff attorney Trey Nazzaro the assistant town attorney.

Receptionist Dena Gillion will take on some “internal control” duties such as accepting payments for water bills.

The three, along with Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Tew, will receive raises from 5.3 percent to 12.5 percent. Dunham, Police Chief Edward Allen and other town employees will get 3 percent salary increases.

“We have a very good staff. I’d like to try to keep them here,” Dunham said.

Besides Allen, Gulf Stream’s police force has eight patrol officers, two sergeants and one lieutenant.

By Mary Thurwachter

The streets of Lantana are about to get brighter at night. The reason: The town is switching out its high-pressure sodium street lights with energy-efficient LEDs, or light-emitting diodes.

The Town Council on July 8 approved an agreement with FPL to make the conversion, expected to save more than $844 in annual energy costs.

FPL’s business development manager, Francisco Arbide, said the new lights will distribute light more evenly. “Right under the lights, it’s very bright and there are dark spots around it. The LED lights have no up light, so there’s no light going up into the atmosphere. Obviously, that light doesn’t help anybody: It’s wasted light that creates issues with not being able to see stars at night and affects birds and animals with that light pollution.”

The lights at the beach are not included in the FPL upgrade project, which is expected to take place in 6-8 months.

Arbide said the new lights would provide more natural light than current lights.

The LED lights will make it easier to decipher white lines on the roads, he said.

FPL will provide installation and maintenance. The bulbs come in 3,000 kelvins and 4,000 kelvins. The council chose the 4,000 K, after the staff recommended them, and after Police Chief Sean Scheller said the brighter lights would be best for safety reasons.

Not everyone, however, favored the brighter lights.

Media Beverly, who lives on Hypoluxo Island, said during public comments, “I would be very disturbed to have 4,000 K coming down on me when I’m trying to walk my dog — and I don’t want that light glaring into my bedroom at night.”

The current vapor lights, Beverly said, are nicer, softer and prettier and the animals aren’t disturbed by them. “I’m really begging you to go to 3,000 K, at least for Hypoluxo Island.”

At the town’s second monthly meeting, on July 22, Beverly doubled down on her request during public comments at the end of the meeting.

“I know at the last meeting you voted to change all of the 538 streetlights in Lantana to 4,000 K and I had asked if you would consider putting the streetlights on Hypoluxo Island at 3,000 kelvins. You did not do that,” she said.

“There are about 46-50 lights on Hypoluxo Island — that’s almost 10 percent of the lights you’re changing out,” she said. “I took a survey of about 30 neighbors, and they all asked if I would get up here and ask you to reconsider changing the lights on Hypoluxo to 3,000 K. 

“It’s going to change the ambience of the island if you go to 4,000 K. At least if you go to 3,000 K, the light is somewhat softer. We’re not asking you to leave things alone as they are with the vapor lights. We’re just asking you to tone it down some to preserve what we’ve got there at some level.”

The council meets again on Aug. 12.

In other action, the council set the town’s proposed tax rate at $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the next fiscal year. Public budget hearings will be at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 in council chambers. 

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana police made quick work in nabbing a Belle Glade lawn maintenance worker charged with snatching $200,000 worth of checks from a mailbox on South Atlantic Drive on Hypoluxo Island.

According to the police report, Marchello Wilbon, 34, was apprehended at the beach shortly after a resident with a home business found that 39 checks she had placed in her mailbox were missing July 15.

She discovered that the checks were missing when she returned to place additional mail in the box the same day.

She called her mail carrier to find out if he had already stopped to pick up her mail that day, but he said he had not. So, she called police.

The police also received a phone call from a man who described a suspect taking mail from the mailbox.

A neighbor, Michelle Donahue, also called police. She was in her home office talking on the phone when she saw a man racing through her backyard and over a fence.

“I could identify the T-shirt he wore,” Donahue told The Coastal Star. “When I called the police, they were there in no time. They worked as a team and caught the man at the beach. I was so impressed.”

Donahue brought a “very big thank you” to the July 22 Town Council meeting, where the Police Department won praise and applause.

“I have never seen a more swift group of police come into the island and into our neighborhood who worked so professionally with each other and with the residents,” Donahue said.

“Before we knew it, they had tracked this person down and arrested him and it was done and over and left our neighborhood safe and sound and at peace.”

Charged with mail theft, a federal offense, Wilbon was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail and could face up to five years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000.

His case was turned over to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana has a big birthday coming up in 2021 — its centennial — and plans for the celebration are already percolating.

At the July 22 council meeting, Town Clerk Nicole Dritz outlined proposals from the Centennial Committee.

Suggestions include antique car and boat shows, carnival rides, a talent contest, stilt walkers dressed in old-time costumes, and food trucks.

While most of the activities would be held on one day — a Saturday in April 2021 — a centennial logo design contest would be held in 2020 and 100 trees with commemorative numbered tags on them would be planted throughout 2021.

The committee proposed a book on Lantana, and council member Lynn Moorhouse suggested enlisting the help of the Historical Society, which he says has an abundance of information and historical photos.

Council member Phil Aridas said fireworks should be part of the celebration, even if money had to come from the town’s reserves. Moorhouse said a possible alternative to fireworks would be a laser show.

Mayor Dave Stewart said he thought many of the events could be sponsored by local businesses.

And resident Erica Wald suggested the town’s 100th birthday would be a good time to bury a time capsule.

Other ideas presented included renaming a park or creating a new one in honor of the centennial, a “name the seagull in the town’s logo” contest, new town banners promoting the 100-year celebration, and a new piece of public art. New welcome signs for the town were another idea.

The centennial budget would be roughly $50,000, split between two fiscal years (2020 and 2021), Dritz said.

Members of the Centennial Committee, formed late last year, are town Parks and Recreation supervisor Nadine Shawah, community planner Tiffany Kapner, Police Chief Sean Scheller, town resident Lyn Tate, Dritz and an unnamed representative from the Chamber of Commerce.

By Stephen Moore

Manalapan Town Manager Linda Stumpf does not have all the figures to finalize the town’s 2019-2020 budget, but she does have enough information to propose increasing the tax rate for residents by up to 3.7 percent over last year’s rate.

The increase, which is scheduled to be finalized at the Sept. 18 Town Commission meeting, would place the tax rate at $3.1412 per $1,000 of taxable property value. Last year’s rate was $3.03, and the rollback rate that would keep tax revenues flat year over year is $3.02.

“There will be no raise at all” above the $3.1412 proposal, Mayor Keith Waters said at the July 15 workshop meeting. “We can go down but cannot go up. We try to set the millage rate so it absolutely covers everything, but we don’t know the final numbers yet.”

“The only thing we are waiting on is the cost of our health insurance,” Stumpf said.

In the June 26 budget workshop, Stumpf told the commissioners that the proposed budget was $5.5 million, which is $319,797 more than the previous year. Most of the increase comes from the police pension plan, additional police positions and other upgrades.

The commissioners discussed paying for the overage from the unassigned fund balance or increasing the tax rate. After the June meeting, Waters said, “I’d like for us not to raise the millage rate.”

It was a unanimous decision during the commission’s July 15 meeting to not use the reserves, or unassigned fund balance.

“We discussed it at the last meeting,” Stumpf said. “The commissioners did not want to use the unassigned fund balance. They wanted to use the millage rate and keep the millage rate down.”

Based on last year’s millage rate of $3.03, the town’s share of taxes on a $1 million house would increase from $3,030 to $3,141.

In other business:

• Sandra Foschi, the owner of the former BB&T bank building at 131 S. Ocean Blvd., will have to hold off on renovations until the commission removes a construction moratorium for Plaza Del Mar, the town’s commercial district.

Foschi wants to open a day spa in the building. Stumpf said she can continue to do landscaping maintenance on the property but cannot move forward on overhauling the structure. The commission is expected to lift the moratorium by October.

• The building permit for the property at 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. expired July 10,  and the permit extension request was denied. But the commission is giving the owner until Sept. 18 to bring the property up to the minimum standards of compliance by planting trees and shrubbery on the north side of the site. Commissioners want the homeowner to establish a buffer zone. Once that is done, the owner has to apply for another permit.

“On the north and south sides of the property, the contractor came in and took out a lot of shrubbery,” Waters said, “and now there is nothing between the houses on the north and south of the permitted building. We are trying to be fair and what we don’t want to do is put the property in position of starting over. It’s been sitting there for two years. We just need to get them back up to speed.  We need to get them to put the trees and shrubbery back.”

• The commission has decided not to meet in August. The next town meeting is scheduled for Sept. 5.  

David Anderson, sea turtle conservation coordinator at Gumbo Limbo, checks a loggerhead nest at Red Reef Park.

By Larry Keller

As surely as the sun rises in the east, David Anderson and others from Gumbo Limbo Nature Center are on the beach, excavating and cataloguing data as carefully as archaeologists. They’re searching not for fossils, but the nests of sea turtles — resilient reptiles that have been around since the time of dinosaurs.

“We’re having a great year for nesting,” Anderson, Gumbo Limbo’s sea turtle conservation coordinator, said at Red Reef Park recently as the sun poked up from the ocean.

Even a historic year.

By late July, a record number of green turtle nests were found on Boca Raton beaches this season, surpassing the previous high of 331 in 2013. Green turtles nest on area beaches from June to September.  They nest in greater numbers every other year, but that alone doesn’t explain the record high.

The highest number of loggerhead nests recorded by the center on the five miles of beach it patrols was 1,075 in 1990. This year, 880 nests had been discovered as of late July. Loggerheads nest here from April until September, so this season could be a record high for them too.

Leatherbacks — the largest of the sea turtle species — come ashore in small numbers from February through May. The center found 18 of their nests this year — same as last year.

Nesting season roughly parallels that of baseball — March 1 to Oct. 31. Stragglers may nest as late as November or December.

The turtle nesting tallies are encouraging elsewhere too.

“The greens have (nested) beyond belief,” said Barbara James, the marine turtle permit holder for Highland Beach. Green turtles began nesting in May, a month earlier this season on the town’s 3 miles of beach, James said. “They’re early and they’re coming on strong.”

It has been an average season for loggerhead and leatherback nests, she added.

There also has been a “significant increase” this season in green turtle nests on the 3 miles of beach monitored by Sea Turtle Adventures, said Jackie Kingston, the organization’s president and founder. It surveys a stretch of sand fronting Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes and part of Ocean Ridge.

“We’re predicting we may have our highest total number (of all nests) in 21 years, and it’s mostly because of the greens,” Kingston said. The record is 1,077 nests in 2017.

Kingston’s group counted 10 leatherback nests this year, which is average. Loggerheads “are about the same or a little bit higher than normal,” she said.

Typical of many nests, a couple of stragglers remain after most other hatchlings have emerged. Gumbo Limbo releases them at night. Photos by Rachel O’Hara/The Coastal Star

Predators abound

When monitors spot a new nest, they record the species — based on the type of tracks — and location, and place stakes with signs attached advising the public not to disturb it.

About two months later, 100 or so turtles will hatch, dig their way out of the sand and head to the ocean — typically at night.

Turtle teams wait 72 hours after spotting hatchling tracks to excavate the nest site by hand and take an inventory of hatched shells, dead embryos and hatchlings, live hatchlings trapped in the sand and so on.

At Red Reef Park, Anderson examined a green turtle nest raided by a raccoon. A small skunk lurked hopefully in nearby seagrass. Anderson found 18 damaged eggs, but those buried deeper were intact. He covered them with sand, then placed a screen made of welded wire over the nest to prevent foxes and raccoons from intruding again. The openings were still big enough for the hatchlings to emerge.

Anderson also carries hot habanero powder — “ass kickin,” the maker promises. His permit allows him to sprinkle some on slightly disturbed nests. It deters predators for a few days.

Anderson then moved on to excavate a nest in which loggerhead hatchlings had surfaced three days earlier. Among the detritus: one live baby stuck in the sand, and another still partially in an egg.

After he extracted them, one hatchling was particularly hellbent on high-tailing it to the sea, but Anderson placed both in a plastic bucket to be taken to Gumbo Limbo. They would be returned to the beach that night and released, improving their odds of making it safely to the surf.

Every successful hatchling matters because so few survive for long. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that only about 1 in 1,000 makes it to adulthood because most die from dehydration before reaching the ocean, or become food for predators such as birds and crabs. More predators await young turtles if they do make it to water.

“Probably the odds are worse than that now because of light pollution,” Anderson said. “The turtles get disoriented.”

He and Kingston said coastal residents for the most part have been good about complying with turtle-friendly light ordinances. But other sources such as beachgoers’ cellphones and flashlights, and urban sky glow can still confuse turtles.

Kingston added that it’s been a trying year in terms of people leaving things on the beach such as kayaks and chairs that impede mother turtles coming ashore and hatchlings crawling out to sea.

Mother turtles may opt for a “false crawl” and not nest on the beach when obstacles are in their way. As for hatchlings, Kingston said, “Expending any more energy hurts their odds to be one of the few to survive.” 

To learn more about sea turtle nesting, visit www.gumbolimbo.org/Sea-Turtles

City Council agrees to explore idea for downtown stop

By Mary Hladky

Many South Florida cities want a Virgin Trains station, but now it looks like Boca Raton will walk away with the prize if an agreement can be reached between the city and the for-profit rail service.

Virgin Trains, formerly known as Brightline, notified the city in a July 19 letter that it wants to locate a station in the city — the first city stop to be added since it built the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations.

Three days later, a company official made a pitch to City Council members, who quickly agreed to explore the idea.

“It is an extremely exciting opportunity for us,” said council member Andy Thomson. “We have to make sure it is done correctly.”

Two of the city’s largest employers — Florida Atlantic University and the Boca Raton Resort & Club — leaped on board.

“It is just so exciting. I am sure you can hear it in my voice,” said former Deputy Mayor Constance Scott, who now serves as FAU’s director of local relations.

“This is the best thing that could happen to Boca Raton,” she said, noting that 10,000 students commute from Broward County to the Boca Raton-based university each day when classes are in full swing.

Many other speakers also extolled what they see as the positive impacts of a station — an inducement to lure more corporations to set up headquarters in the city, a rise in property values, an alternative to clogged Interstate 95 and a way to draw visitors to the city’s cultural venues.

The only significant opposition came mostly from residents of the Library Commons neighborhood immediately north of the proposed station next to the Downtown Library. They complained of train horns even though quiet zones have been established, the potential of falling property values if Virgin Trains abandons the station and questioned why the city would give away land to multimillionaires backing Virgin Trains.

“I caution you to please go slow,” said one Library Commons resident. “What we have here is a nice residential community … that needs to be protected.”

Virgin Trains wants to move quickly, with the station in operation by the end of 2020.

Mayor Scott Singer, who got the ball rolling by contacting Virgin Trains officials earlier this year, said the city would move quickly to make a decision. But he anticipated it would take at least four to six months to finalize a mutually acceptable agreement and for the City Council to vote on it.

Singer sees the station as a potentially huge opportunity for the city. “History is replete with cities that got left behind because they did not have transportation connectivity,” he said.

Deputy City Manager George Brown said the project would require amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan, creation of new zoning regulations and a development agreement.

With the City Council’s blessing, city staff and Virgin Trains now will begin negotiations.

Virgin Trains is proposing to build and pay for the station along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on city-owned land where the Downtown Library, its parking lot and Community Garden now sit at 400 NW Second Ave., three blocks northeast of City Hall.

It pledged to help find a new home for the Community Garden, established by the Junior League of Boca Raton, and Singer suggested several city-owned locations.

Virgin Trains is asking the city to contribute that land and another vacant city-owned parcel directly south of the library, bringing the total amount of land it wants to about 8 acres.

The city would pay for and build a parking garage, and Virgin Trains would manage its construction.

The city would agree to fund and build an elevated pedestrian bridge over Dixie Highway so that people can walk from the station across the busy roadway and into the downtown.

Virgin Trains also wants the city to provide shuttle service from the station to various locations in the city.

Downtown parking

While the terms seem like a big request of the city, several dovetail with what council members have previously proposed.

They have long voiced the need for a downtown parking garage. With no downtown property owners willing to sell land to the city, council members are considering building one in the proposed downtown government campus.

They also want a trolley or electric car on-demand system to transport people around the downtown and have discussed a walkway across Dixie Highway as a convenience for people who would park in the garage.

The 6-year-old Downtown Library would remain at its current location but would lose most of its parking lot.

Virgin Trains would replace that parking with spaces on the ground floor of the garage that would be reserved free-of-charge for library patrons. Virgin Trains passengers would park on the upper floors.

The station and parking garage would be located on the library parking lot and Community Garden land.

But Virgin Trains also wants to develop portions of the city-owned land.

Brian Kronberg, Virgin Trains’ vice president of development, told the City Council that while plans aren’t finalized, he envisions ground-floor retail businesses with apartments above them, and co-working offices.

He did not offer more specifics or specify ticket prices and did not answer questions after his presentation.

Looking to buy land

But the company is eyeing privately owned land along Northwest Third and Fourth streets and Northwest First Avenue, located due east of the south portion of city-owned land Virgin Trains wants.

Mike Massarella, one of the owners of Boca Color Graphics on Third Street, said Virgin Trains offered to buy his property in July. Without divulging a price, he said it was a “fair and lucrative offer” but one he will not accept.

“We told them it wasn’t enough,” he said. “We can’t afford to move for what they are offering to pay us” because he cannot replace his building elsewhere in Boca for that amount.

Other business owners in the area also have been contacted, Massarella said, but he was not aware that any of them has agreed to sell as of late July.

He is awaiting a counteroffer. “I don’t expect I have heard the last of it,” he said.

Another nearby business owner, who asked that his name not be used, said he was contacted about one month ago. His lawyer is now reviewing a 40-page contract.

He said Virgin Trains is offering about 30 percent more than his property is worth. But he has not agreed to anything as he awaits word from his lawyer. He also wants to get a substantial down payment and a definite date on when the sale would take place.

While operating as Brightline, the company developed land near its stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to increase revenue. It’s a real estate play similar to that made by rail magnate Henry Flagler, who built hotels such as The Breakers in Palm Beach near his FEC tracks.

The MiamiCentral 11-acre project encompasses 1.6 million square feet, including two office towers, two apartment towers and stores and restaurants.

The West Palm Beach project includes Park-Line Palm Beaches, a 24-story, 290-unit apartment tower and retail space.

In Fort Lauderdale, Brightline owns about 8 acres near the train station and proposed a 14-story office tower last year.

The Virgin Group, headed by British billionaire Richard Branson, announced in November a partnership with Brightline that included putting the Virgin name on the trains. Virgin Group owns less than 2 percent of the rail company, according to regulatory filings.

Brightline long rejected pleas from cities along its tracks to add stations, saying that would increase passengers’ travel time.

But that stance changed this year as Virgin Trains started scouting for new locations.

Hollywood officials met with Virgin Trains officials recently, and Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Mark Marciano asked for a station as well.

Earlier this year, Virgin Trains said it was looking at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and PortMiami.

In a recent monthly report to bondholders, Virgin Trains said it would add stops at PortMiami, Aventura and Boca Raton, The Palm Beach Post reported.

Whether that is the final word on station additions is unclear. In his meeting with Boca Raton council members, Kronberg only said that the company is committed to building an additional station on the Treasure Coast.

In its letter to the city, Virgin Trains said it is “evaluating other south Florida cities to expand our service.”

Michael Hicks, director of media relations, declined comment before the letter was sent, saying “we aren’t getting into details about additional locations at the moment.”

Also unclear is how viable the train service is. Through the first half of 2019, Virgin Trains reported ridership of 481,320 and revenue of $11 million. In a document issued to bond investors in late 2017, Virgin Trains predicted its 2019 ridership in South Florida would top 2.3 million, while revenue would exceed $112 million, the Post has reported.

But Virgin Trains continues to expand. It announced in May it has started construction of long-awaited tracks between West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport. It expects to start service in 2022.

The company also has announced plans to develop service between Orlando’s airport and Tampa, with a station at Walt Disney World.

All Aboard Florida, which operates Brightline, is owned by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a global investment management firm.

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton property owners will see a minuscule decrease in the city’s property tax rate if the tentative rate set on July 23 wins final approval.

“Taking direction from our goal-setting session this spring, staff is not recommending an increase in the tax rate for next year,” Deputy City Manager George Brown told City Council members.

The tentative rate is $3.6787 per $1,000 of taxable property value, virtually unchanged from $3.6788 last year.

But if approved at a Sept. 9 budget hearing, it will amount to a 4.2 percent increase in taxes. That’s because the city’s property valuations increased 4.9 percent this year. Boca’s taxable property value is now $25 billion, more than any other city in Palm Beach County.

If the tentative rate is adopted, a home with a taxable value of $1 million would pay $3,678 in city property taxes.

To bring in the same amount of tax money as last year, Boca Raton would have to roll back its tax rate to $3.3388 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Homeowners also will pay $10 more for fire protection if the tentative rate wins approval. The fire services assessment is increasing to $145 from $135. It also increased $10 last year.

The city is assessing only 54 percent of what it is allowed to assess. It is spending $23.5 million on fire protection services this year.

The Sept. 9 budget hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers. Council members will be able to lower the rate at that time but cannot increase it.

By Mary Hladky

A prosecutor has introduced new evidence showing that suspended Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie cast a another vote that potentially benefited the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner.

Haynie was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison.

The charging documents stated that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on four matters that benefited James Batmasian and failed to disclose income she received from him.

New discovery filed by the state in June shows a fifth instance in which Haynie cast a vote on a Batmasian request.

Batmasian wanted to build eight townhomes on 1.1 acres at 101 Pine Circle, a couple of blocks west of City Hall. He sought city permission to rezone the property to allow 9.5 units per acre rather than the existing zoning of five units per acre and to abandon a 10-foot public utility easement, according to city documents.

The Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval on Aug. 20, 2015, and the City Council unanimously granted approval two months later, on Oct. 27.

After several neighbors expressed concerns about traffic safety on the street, Haynie proposed adding a condition aimed at improving safety, which other council members supported.

Batmasian bought the property for $737,000 in 2012 and sold it for $1.5 million in 2016, county property records show. The townhomes were never built.

Batmasian’s request generated no controversy at the time.

Haynie’s criminal defense attorney, Bruce Zimet, declined to comment on the new discovery, filed by Assistant State Attorney Brian Fernandes, after a brief July 15 court hearing on her case.

No trial date was set at the hearing, but attorneys are aiming to go to trial in October or November on the public corruption charges. The next hearing on the status of the case will be Sept. 10.

“She is engaged and anxious to be vindicated,” Zimet said.

Haynie, 63, a fixture in Boca Raton politics for 18 years, did not appear at the hearing. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended her from office, but she has not resigned. Scott Singer was elected mayor on Aug. 28 for the remainder of Haynie’s term, which ends in March 2020.

Before Haynie’s arrest, the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, which also investigated allegations she voted on matters that financially benefited Batmasian, reached a settlement with her in which it reprimanded and fined her for failing to disclose a conflict of interest but dismissed a second allegation that Haynie misused her public office.

The Florida Commission on Ethics in October found probable cause that Haynie violated state ethics laws in eight instances, but that case is pending resolution of the criminal case.

The state commission, which also probed Haynie’s financial links to Batmasian and his company Investments Limited, found that she failed to disclose income, acted to financially benefit herself and her husband, and improperly voted on matters that benefited Batmasian and his wife, Marta, without disclosing a conflict of interest.

The evidence gathered by the three agencies is similar. One key difference is that while prosecutors originally determined Haynie voted on four matters that financially benefited Batmasian from 2014 through 2017, state ethics investigators found 17 votes between 2012 and 2016. Ú