Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches’ signature Better Ball Golf Tournament brought in more than $160,000 to the organization, which is dedicated to helping families in crisis return to stability.

Proceeds will enable services to be provided to 2,000-plus families in the area facing homelessness.

“We are once again blown away, and incredibly grateful for, the tireless dedication and support of not only our golf committee but each and every person that came out for the event,” said Matthew Constantine, the organization’s executive director.

The seventh annual event took place in May at Dye Preserve Golf Club.

For information, visit adoptafamilypbc.org.

Festival of the Arts Boca receives cultural grant

PNC Arts Alive awarded $102,500 in grants and sponsorships last month at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County to six area arts organizations, including one from South County.

Festival of the Arts Boca received $21,000 for Tough Turkey in the Big City, which will take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 18. The performances are presented in collaboration with the The Symphonia, Plumosa School of the Arts and the Palm Beach County School District. Through Tough Turkey in the Big City, children can experience dance, drama. music and narration. Following the performances, the students will enjoy an interactive experience where they can touch and play musical instruments.

“The PNC Arts Alive program adds tremendously to the Palm Beaches’ ongoing commitment to reaching new audiences and nurturing emerging talent in our region,” said Dave Lawrence, president and CEO of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. “In a short amount of time, we’ve already seen how these grants and sponsorships have had a profound effect on the impact of culture in Palm Beach County and have improved the quality of life and education through greater access to art, music and theater.”

Foundation presents awards to Boca schools

Last month, the Golden Bell Education Foundation presented its annual Golden Bell Awards Breakfast at the Boca Raton Marriott, where more than $97,000 was given to Boca Raton public schools for books and materials to help students succeed. Bluegreen Vacations sponsored the event. The Golden Bell Foundation is the Boca Chamber’s educational support arm.

Students, pets, police benefit from fundraisers

Rooney’s Golf Foundation recently distributed more than $31,000 to nine local charities as a result of two fundraising events early this year.

The 11th annual 5K Run/Walk at the Palm Beach Kennel Club raised $15,435 for the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, Forever Greyhounds, the Police Athletic League, Potentia Academy and the Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency. Next year the event is scheduled for April 20.

The third annual Spring Golf Tournament at Abacoa raised $16,225 for the Autism Project of Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic University, Greyhound Pet Adoption and Wounded Veterans Relief Fund. The fourth annual tournament will take place May 2, 2019.

“Our goal every year is to raise money and awareness for amazing local charities, all the while making sure our participants, charities and volunteers are having fun,” said Alexis Barbish-Sommer, the foundation’s executive director.

For information, visit rooneysgolffoundation.org.

Literacy Coalition receives high marks

The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County was awarded a four-out-of-four-star rating in July from Charity Navigator for the 10th consecutive year.

Charity Navigator’s ratings are a nonprofit’s equivalent of an Academy Award. The rigorous evaluation examines an organization’s financial health and accountability, as well as its transparency.

“We are proud to be among an elite group of nonprofits across the country to achieve 10 consecutive four-out-of-four-star ratings from Charity Navigator,” said Kristin Calder, the coalition’s CEO. “This exceptional designation assures donors of our financial efficiency, integrity and transparency.”

One percent of the nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates have achieved such a feat, meaning the coalition outperforms most other charities in country.

For information, visit literacypbc.org.

Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

The Plate: Lobster Salad

The Place: Al Fresco, Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course, 2345 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach;

273-4130 or www.alfrescopb.com.

The Price: $23

The Skinny: We joked that if Georgia O’Keeffe had created a salad, it would look like this masterpiece.

     Plump chunks of herbed lobster were served over a bed of mixed greens and diced tomato. The lobster was sweet and cool and contrasted nicely with the tangy balsamic vinaigrette that dressed the salad. We also enjoyed a swordfish special and a pizza with a lighter-than-air crust.

— Scott Simmons

By Jan Norris

Even if the thermometer doesn’t show it, the calendar says it’s fall. In South Florida, that means the return of the green markets — along with the beginning of “the season.”

The first to return is the Lake Worth Farmers Market, opening Oct. 20.

In its 13th year, the market held waterside at A1A and Lake Avenue next to the bridge is popular for its authenticity. Local farmers and plant growers bring their goods to market following the growing season. Shoppers can expect leaner bins at first, then increasing as the season progresses with farm-fresh goods.

Along with produce and landscape and garden plants and herbs, prepared foods are available, including a hot breakfast at Shirley Rigdon’s booth, and lunch made fresh at the gyro spot.

This market is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Both Delray Beach GreenMarket and the Boca Raton GreenMarket open Oct. 27.

The Delray Beach GreenMarket draws more than 65 vendors. Photo provided

Delray’s vendors, numbering more than 65, turn out Saturdays on the green at Old School Square Park. Artisan breads — many gluten-free — tropical fruits and juices, farm-fresh eggs, raw milk and butter, artisan cheese and more are available here.On alternating Saturdays the market will feature a “Chef Showcase” with local chefs shopping the market and creating a dish on site.

Samples will be handed out to marketgoers. Recipes for the dishes are posted on the GreenMarket Facebook page, along with the schedule for the showcases.

The market has grown in its 22 years, with vendors offering more organic and vegan choices, along with indie home food makers bringing hummus and jams, fresh baked goods and pastries, pickles and more.

Plants and orchids are a mainstay, and there’s live music here, as well.

Special events are staged at the market throughout the year, such as their popular chili cookoff.

The market kicks off with Trick or Treating for families, and the annual Witches of Delray Charity Bike Ride. The market is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Boca Raton’s GreenMarket is known for its orchids and specialty foods.  Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star 

Boca Raton’s GreenMarket is known for its orchids as well as specialty foods.

Also celebrating its 22nd year, the market that meets at the southeast corner of the Royal Palm Place has locally grown produce, baked goods, including gluten-free and organic, fresh cut flowers and plants, herbs, soaps and lotions, candles, oils and vinegars and dog treats.

It’s a social scene as well, as shoppers mingle and grab a bite from the vendors or the plaza restaurants.

Live music is featured here from 10 to noon on certain Saturdays; the market is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday.

A live music venue with Southern roots is coming to the former Smoke location in Delray Beach. Tin Roof of Nashville, a national chain, is slated to open this fall.

Live bands, favoring local groups, are the focus for music. Some national acts may come through as well.

A menu of bar foods such as wings, barbecue chicken, quesadillas, sandwiches and pizzas made on flour tortillas is featured.

The restaurant began in 2002 near Music Row in Nashville as a spot for performers to gather when not on stage.

The casual restaurant takes over the large patio next door as well.

This will be its second Florida location, with one in Orlando.

The restaurant is at 8 E. Atlantic Ave.

A new owner has taken over one of the most hidden restaurants in the county. Jessica Scialetti bought the Winemakers Table on Congress in Delray Beach in May, and made changes throughout.

The menu also changed, with the arrival of chef Joshua Bradley, formerly of the acclaimed Market 17 and Cafe Maxx in Fort Lauderdale,

The concept, formerly American cuisine, is now “creative and European,” as Scialetti, a Swiss-born restaurateur, describes it.

The menu changes monthly, and features a number of fine wines both domestic and international. Wine dinners are planned monthly.

A private room for 12 is available here, and the restaurant can be booked for private parties on Mondays.

Winemakers Table is at 2875 S. Congress Ave. and is open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday.

Loch Bar is scheduled to open this month in the former GiGi’s, Karma and Spin Ultra Lounge space in Mizner Park.

The same group, Atlas Restaurant Group of Baltimore, has made a success of Ouzo Bay, a Greek-themed eatery nearby in the plaza.

Loch Bar’s menu is centered on a raw bar and craft whiskeys, in an upscale-casual setting. Live music will set it apart from other oyster bars, along with a more modern vibe.

In brief

Rok:Brgr in Delray Beach’s former Tryst location has closed. Another restaurant with a different concept is rumored to have bought the space and a fall opening is planned.

The Wine Room, a successful wine bar from Winter Park featuring pay-by-the-glass auto-dispensers, is expected to open sometime soon in the former Caffe Martier in Delray Beach. Wine Room owner Bruce Simberg has spent $2 million on restoration and renovation in the buildings, which once housed the historic Arcade Tap Room. A full menu is planned at this location, along with specialty cheeses and wine sales.
  Truluck’s, recently closed in Mizner Park, is said to be taking over the former Piñon Grill on the back side of the Town Center mall. No word on its opening date as of this writing.

Boynton Beach’s Palermo Bakery is doing its patriotic duty by supporting the USO’s Military Morale program. Palermo donates baked goods, unsolicited, to the Marine and Navy reserve troops staging in the county through the USO, a support organization for the military. Florida’s USO is based in Tampa.

Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com. Thom Smith is on leave.

By Mary Hladky

Defeated Boca Raton mayoral candidate Al Zucaro intends to step away from politics and from the BocaWatch blog that he founded seven years ago.

Shortly after he conceded the race to Scott Singer on Aug. 28, Zucaro told The Coastal Star that he does not anticipate another run for election.

He also said he will will look for someone to take over the blog, which has been critical of the city council and what he and his supporters see as over-development in the downtown. The changeover will take place in about a month.

 “It no longer needs a warrior,” he said of BocaWatch. “It needs a reconciler.”

 BocaWatch has achieved its purpose by alerting city residents to the need to control development and to encourage them to take a more active role in city affairs, he said. His allies include new city council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte.

“I have done what I set out to do by creating BocaWatch,” Zucaro said.

Rhodes Villa Avenue is getting new lines to improve stormwater drainage and make reclaimed water available for irrigation.

Patience, cars among casualties, with some relief due by October

By Jane Smith

Iris Cohen traveled to Rhodes Villa Avenue twice daily during August to feed her ex-husband’s Maine Coon cats.

An easy 2-mile drive for Cohen, who works at the Lang Realty office on East Atlantic Avenue, right?

Not.

A1A is often down to one lane south of Casuarina Road due to water main work, but Rhodes Villa Avenue is ground zero.

The once tranquil street, flanked by million-dollar homes with boats docked out back, now resembles a disaster zone.

For four months, anyone trying to navigate Rhodes Villa — and four nearby streets in southeast Delray Beach — has had to dodge ruts, trenches, pooled water, bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks during a $4 million project to install new reclaimed water and sewer lines.

When the project is finished, stormwater drainage will be improved, reclaimed water will be available for irrigation and new fire hydrants will be installed.

Cohen, a Realtor, can’t wait for work to finish. “I’m scared to drive down the street. I worry that my car will get stuck in the mud,” she said last month. “My car is getting filthy.”

She drives a BMW, which she likes to keep shiny clean to ferry prospective luxury home buyers.

Her ex-husband took his family out of town for a month, hoping the roadwork would be finished by the time he returned in late August.

“That’s not going to happen,” Cohen said.

A runner skirts a barrier on A1A near Rhodes Villa Avenue. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Cohen is not alone in her dismay.

“It’s been a freaking nightmare,” resident Joy Buckley said in a phone interview. “Our cars and shoes are filthy. They were supposed to fill in potholes, but they didn’t. It’s treacherous for people riding bikes and pushing strollers.”

“We understand the inconvenience to each and every resident that this type of project includes,” Missie Barletto, assistant director of the city’s Public Works department, said in an email. “Once the project is completed, each property will have access to the city’s reclaimed water system, which has cost and usage benefits for irrigation. They will have a new road, an upgraded potable water system and drainage improvements to mitigate flooding.”

The barrier island reclaimed water installations, which started in 2012 and include all of the city’s neighborhoods east of the Intracoastal, will be finished later this year once this final section of the project is completed and residents can begin using reclaimed water.

Barletto said the work is supposed to be “substantially completed” by Oct. 7, with final completion Dec. 6.

Lanzo Construction Co., the contractor, met the Aug. 15 deadline set by a water-district grant for the reclaimed water lines, Barletto wrote. Delray Beach received a $400,000 grant to supply reclaimed water to the area.

The city knew it would be messy, so it held two open houses — the first in April 2017 and the other in January — to describe the project to residents. Only four showed up for the events, Barletto wrote. The contractor’s workers also distributed contact information for project updates and the city provided weekly advisories on Twitter and Facebook.

All five streets in the project area flood during extreme high tide events. The contractor is upgrading the stormwater system on each street, adding extra pipes and catch basins to direct runoff to the Intracoastal Waterway. There will also be valves installed at outfalls to deter water from pushing up through the storm grates.

But, Barletto noted, while this work will improve stormwater management, it will not prevent flooding completely if water overtops the seawalls.

Pumps push ground water on Rhodes Villa Avenue into a filter before release into the Intracoastal. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

In order to dig the trenches, workers needed to use large sedimentation tanks to store ground water. Because of construction debris, the water had to be filtered before it was released into the Intracoastal Waterway. It was a precarious balance, and sometimes, residents said, a sewage smell emanated from the tanks.

At one point in early August, the city asked residents to refrain from using dishwashers, taking showers and washing their clothes between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In May, when it was raining nearly every day, Rhodes Villa Avenue resident Glen Urquhart was returning from church in a rainstorm and his new Mercedes stalled in standing water, but not before the turbocharger sucked water into his engine and destroyed it, Urquhart said in a phone interview. He was told he needed a new hand-built engine, costing $90,000. 

Urquhart wants to be reimbursed for the cost of the new engine, his $1,000 deductible and loss of use of his Mercedes for 2½ months.

If the damage to Urquhart’s vehicle was the result of construction activities, he would need to submit a claim to the contractor, according to Barletto. 

“Any valid claim of damages will be the responsibility of the contractor,” she wrote.

Realtor Cohen said the area’s luxury home market was destroyed for the summer. “Who would come to buy a house in these conditions?” she asked.

Two other residential brokers, Steven Presson of Corcoran and Pascal Liguori of Pascal Liguori & Son, agreed with her in the short-term. But they also see a solid future for luxury home sales in coastal Delray Beach.

“Ultimately, the improvements are very positive and will benefit home values,” Presson said.

Added Liguori, “It shows Delray Beach is taking care of its infrastructure.” 

FPL changing rules on power pole lighting

By Jane Smith

Sea turtles and humans could be in the dark each night along the mile-plus stretch of Delray Beach’s public beachfront during the eight- month turtle-nesting season.

Good news for sea turtles. Not such good news for folks walking across A1A to visit nightspots.

But, when confronted with three lighting options from Florida Power & Light, the majority of city commissioners voted last month for the nesting season blackout.

The city now has turtle-friendly, amber-glowing light fixtures mounted on FPL-owned poles. They illuminate 1.2 miles of State Road A1A between George Bush Boulevard and Casuarina Road year-round. But FPL no longer allows customer light fixtures on its poles, Susan Goebel-Canning, the city’s Public Works director, told Delray Beach commissioners at their Aug. 21 meeting.

Utility spokesman Richard Beltran confirmed this in an email, saying FPL has told coastal customers that it will no longer service fixtures that are owned by municipalities on its light poles.

FPL wants to switch out the old sodium-vapor lights for new LED lights that are 50 percent more energy efficient and fall within state Public Service Commission guidelines. FPL presented three choices to the city, Goebel-Canning said.

The utility could install white, LED lights that would be illuminated November through February, which coincides with the height of the tourist season. Starting March 1 through Oct. 31, the turtle-nesting season, the stretch of A1A would be dark at night.

Or, FPL could install turtle-friendly lights that would cast a red glow. Those lights would stay on year-round.

The first two options would be at minimal or no cost to the city.

The third choice would be for the city to install its own fixtures and poles along the west side of A1A. The cost is estimated to be $520,000.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends red or amber LED lights to keep sea turtles from being distracted by ambient light during nesting and when hatchlings search for the ocean.

Beltran told The Coastal Star after the meeting that FPL has selected a turtle-friendly LED lighting that is approved by the FWC. “That light gives off an amber-reddish hue,” he said. “The old sodium-vapor lights were more amber-looking.”

Four commissioners voted for the turtle season blackouts because the red lights were seen as not providing enough illumination. They want to have some lighting on A1A, but they also didn’t want to add another cost onto the city budget.

Deputy Vice Mayor Shirley Johnson voted for the city’s putting in its own fixtures and poles. “If you want something, you’re going to have to pay for it,” she said.

Goebel-Canning alerted FPL about the commission’s preliminary decision.

That prompted the utility and city to start working on an agreement for FPL to take over the fixtures on the 34 light poles, and Beltran said in late August the two were “pretty close” to a deal. Once that is finished, FPL will create a schedule to replace the fixtures. The change will take four to five months, Beltran said.

Some light on promenade

Once the second phase of the city’s beach master plan is completed, the promenade area will not be completely dark. Amber pedestrian lighting will be installed along the sidewalk on the east side of the promenade, according to city staff. That plan is in the design phase, with work set to start next May.

While this lighting will improve pedestrian safety on the sidewalk, it will not provide sufficient roadway illumination, Goebel-Canning said.

If commissioners want to install poles and lights in the high-pedestrian area one block north and south of Atlantic, they could submit a change order to the beach master plan, she said.

The Beach Property Owners Association learned of FPL’s request in early August and will discuss it at the board’s Sept. 6 meeting, said Andy Katz, trustee of the organization.

“It’s dangerous to have no lights for eight months of the year,” said Katz, who was speaking for himself and not the board. “You’re asking for trouble.”

If you parked on the east side of A1A in Delray Beach and wanted to cross the street in the summer to eat at a restaurant, you might not be seen by a driver, Katz said.

Katz said the street lights between Atlantic Avenue and Casuarina Road were out for one month earlier in the summer. “That’s how long FPL took to make the fix,” he said. “It was foreboding.”

Highland Beach and Boca Raton use the LED lights that are turned off eight months of the year, but they don’t have the active beachfront establishments that Delray Beach has, Katz said.

Ocean Ridge, which has a stretch of public road along the beach, has not been approached by FPL about changing out its light fixtures, Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said.  “Our lights are already shielded for turtle purposes,” he said. 

By Janis Fontaine

A former Catholic priest living in a condo on A1A in Boca Raton and who helped at a local church for four years has been named in a grand jury report as one of hundreds of priests accused of sexually abusing children in dioceses across Pennsylvania.

Thomas J. Benestad was named in the report as one of the priests whose reprehensible behavior it specifically referenced in its introduction.

Benestad, 73, was listed as president of the Atlantic Cloisters Homeowners Association on its most recent annual report, filed April 4. However, Benestad recently gave up the position and resigned from the board at the request of board members, according to a letter sent to residents.

Through his lawyer, he has denied the allegations made in the grand jury report, which covers 70 years of abuse.

“Monsignor Benestad has never done anything that would be deemed inappropriate with any individual,” attorney John Waldron wrote in a formal response to the grand jury dated June 8. “Monsignor Benestad has never done anything that would be deemed immoral by the church with any individual.”

Waldron added that officials in Rome investigated and in 2014 cleared Benestad, ruling he could again practice as a priest.

Benestad could not be reached for comment.

Joseph Bordieri has lived at Atlantic Cloisters for 28 years and said he has known Benestad since he moved in. He said the association sent an email to all the residents in late August.

“I just found out about it. … I know the man,” Bordieri said. “We say ‘Hello.’ He lives across the way. He treated me well.”

Overall, Bordieri said, “We were friendly,” but added that he and Benestad didn’t socialize.

Another neighbor, who chose to remain unidentified, said Cloisters residents are distressed, adding that there are 83 owners and “a lot of children.”

“It’s a “big, open community,” she said. “We are over the top upset about this. We’re deeply concerned.”

According to a news release from the Diocese of Palm Beach, Benestad in 2007 “relocated on medical leave of absence from the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania,” to Boca Raton.

At that time, Ascension Catholic Church in Boca Raton accepted his offer to assist.

After an inquiry into his status in the Diocese of Allentown, the Diocese of Allentown advised the Diocese of Palm Beach that Father Benestad “was a priest in good standing, that there were no impediments to his ministry, and that the Bishop of Allentown at the time, had no objection to his ministry in the Diocese of Palm Beach.”

When the allegations surfaced in 2011, the Diocese of Palm Beach said in the release, Benestad was ordered to “refrain from all forms of public ministry, including wearing a clerical collar” and “has not functioned as a priest in any parish in the Diocese of Palm Beach since 2011.”

The diocese also reported that it sent a written reminder in 2014 to Benestad that he does “not possess the faculties of the Diocese of Palm Beach and that he may not present himself publicly as a priest.”

Benestad’s alleged victim said the abuse took place between 1981 and 1983, and that Benestad forced him to perform oral sex many times over the two-year period.

The grand jury summary references Benestad’s alleged acts: “Even out of these hundreds of odious stories, some stood out … the priest who made a 9-year-old give him oral sex, then rinsed out the boy’s mouth with holy water to purify him.”

The grand jury, law enforcement and the Diocese of Allentown found the testimony credible, according to the grand jury report, but Benestad could not be prosecuted because of the number of years that have passed since the alleged incidents.

Grand jurors called the 1,356-page report, released in early August, their “only recourse” to detailing widespread child sexual abuse in six dioceses over seven decades. The jurors looked at the entire state, except Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown, which had been the subject of previous grand jury investigations. In all they reviewed the parishes in 54 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

“We heard the testimony of dozens of witnesses concerning clergy sex abuse. We subpoenaed, and reviewed, half a million pages of internal diocesan documents. They contained credible allegations against over three hundred predator priests,” the report said.

“Because of the statute of limitations, the grand jury could bring few charges against these men for their repulsive acts, so the grand jury is naming names of both the sex offenders and those who concealed them. We are going to shine a light on their conduct, because that is what the victims deserve.” 

Michelle Quigley contributed to this story.

We enter journalism contests with mixed emotions. There’s something about journalists judging journalists that feels somewhat self-serving, and writing about these winnings feels unnecessarily boastful. Still, the staff at The Coastal Star are almost all freelancers and they work long and hard for modest financial compensation, so entering the fruits of their labor for professional recognition seems like the least we, the paper’s owners, can do.

This year our entries in the Florida Press Association Weekly Newspaper Awards Contest resulted in first-place recognition for two of our longest-tenured and hardest working employees: Tim Stepien and Rich Pollack.

Stepien has been with The Coastal Star since the beginning (almost 10 years!) and is our go-to photographer for everything from portraiture to breaking news. His first-place recognition for a portfolio of work over the past year seems especially appropriate.

The collection of photos included a touching image of a daughter with her 100-year-old mother and a robotic pet at a local senior living center, a fun shot of young boys viewing the total eclipse of the sun through special glasses at Florida Atlantic University, an intriguing look at work being completed at the rebuilt playground at Sugar Sand Park, ballroom dancers competing at the Boca Ballroom Battle and a sea turtle being released at Red Reef Park as it seems to wave goodbye to the gathered observers. This photo of the turtle also won first place for feature photo.

Also receiving a well-earned first-place award was Pollack. His award came in the business reporting category for his story showing how the president’s visits to Mar-a-Lago disrupt traffic at our busy local airports.

The story dug deep, looking at the number of aircraft and pilot registrations in Palm Beach County and how that compares with other parts of the country. Staff researcher Michelle Quigley helped with the research, and Rich turned the information gathered into an explainer quantifying the impact of the president’s visits on private aviation in our area.

Also recognized at the FPA Awards luncheon held Aug. 10 in Orlando were second-place winners Dan Moffett and Cheryl Blackerby in the agricultural and environmental reporting category for their package on local beaches and the area’s search for sand.

Also recognized with a second-place award was Stacey Singer Deloye in the health, medical and science reporting category. Her entry featured Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s use of honey as a healing agent for injured sea turtles.

Third-place winners included a trio of stories by Janis Fontaine in the faith and family reporting category, a trio of editorials by Coastal Star Editor Mary Kate Leming and the staff of The Coastal Star for overall graphic design. For the first time the organization created an awards category for best reader-generated photograph. Delray Beach resident Joseph Vincent placed third in this category.

The Coastal Star competes in FPA’s Division A, which includes the largest weekly newspapers in Florida. These are all excellent newspapers making a difference in their local communities.

We are proud to be a part of this group of Florida journalists and congratulate all of them on their awards. When you see any of the above Coastal Star winners, please congratulate them on the professional recognition they’ve received for their long, hard work.

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor

Gordon Gilbert stands between the trunks of a gumbo limbo tree at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, which he helped found in 1984 in Boca Raton. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

In the next several weeks, Gordon J. Gilbert, the visionary behind the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, will judge a professional barbecue contest, attend his umpteenth meeting of Boca Raton’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and be a guest of honor at the 50th reunion of Boca Raton High School’s Class of 1968.

“I still stay a little bit active in a lot of things,” said Gilbert, 87, who started taking Boca High students on field trips to the barrier island in 1965, the year he moved to the city, before any of the island had been turned into a park.

Almost immediately, Gilbert joined other like-minded residents in a crusade to save the undeveloped acreage from becoming high-rise condos. Their efforts resulted in a series of bond issues that financed the purchases of Spanish River, Red Reef and South Beach parks.

“There was a lot of us that worked diligently on that. And there were some people that called us names because that would raise their taxes. But oh well,” he recalled.

Gilbert taught biology at Boca High until 1976, then transitioned into teaching environmental and marine science to third-, fifth- and seventh-graders in a picnic shelter at Spanish River Park. Eight years later, with help from the city, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District and the Palm Beach County School District, he opened the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

“I never dreamed it would blossom into what it is today.”

Gumbo Limbo, where he stayed until he retired in 2003, was built in part to keep people from trampling the plants and animals that live on the island. The facility at Red Reef Park is on the largest West Indian hardwood hammock between Boca Raton and south Miami-Dade County, he said.

“We felt that if we had a nature center, that people would come and enjoy it, but they wouldn’t meander at will through it and just soon destroy it. So that’s why we had pathways for them to follow.”

Along with teaching, Gilbert served as a commissioner or chairman of the Beach & Parks District from 1978 to 2008 and was reappointed in July to the city’s Parks and Recreation board for a 23rd two-year term.

“I know my background is an asset to the board and definitely for the future. I love my city,” he wrote on his advisory board application.

Gilbert credits his childhood on a farm in Fairfield, Ohio, to his eventually choosing biology as his college major.

“Growing up in the country, as a country boy, I used to spend hours in the woods, just noticing the different animals, the different things. I could just pass the time away there,” he said.

Gilbert considers himself a laid-back person without an enemy in the world.

“There may be some people I don’t like as much as others, but they’ll never hear it from me.”

Since retiring from teaching, he has become a “master barbecue judge” and member of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and the Florida BBQ Association.

“I go all over the country and judge barbecue,” he said.

He met his current “lady friend,” real estate agent Connie Smith, at a ballroom dance class when they were paired up because they were the only two singles there. His wife of 54 years, Pollye, died in 2008.

A fall from a bicycle last September left him with pins in a fractured hip and reliance on a walking cane, but that hasn’t stopped his travels.

In August he visited a great-granddaughter in Tennessee before she started college, and on Sept. 1 he planned to evaluate the taste and tenderness of various offerings at the Big Belly BBQ Battle in Davenport, near Kissimmee.

“The professional tour — it’s not like going here to one of these places. … On the professional tour it’s got to be perfect,” he said. 

Some of Gilbert’s many accomplishments are cited on this plaque at Gumbo Limbo

OCEAN RIDGE — Jeffrey Cail Ireland, 32, died unexpectedly on Aug. 21.

He was born March 26, 1986, in Merrillville, Ind., to Jeffrey L. and Sandra (Rolfs) Ireland. 
Mr. Ireland’s family was proud that he graduated with a 4.2 GPA from high school.

At the time of his death, he was a salesman for Massey Yardley Jeep Chrysler Dodge in Plantation. He was known as an athlete and a musician, and he loved animals. He will be missed by all who knew him. 
Mr. Ireland is survived by his father, Jeff L. Ireland of Ocean Ridge; mother, Sandra Ireland of San Antonio, Fla.; grandmother Marilyn Ireland; sisters Stacie (LaGarrick) Gantt of Lake Worth and Briana McGowan-Cece of Virginia Beach, Va.; and many other extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents Sheldon and Diana Rolfs and Hugh Ireland, and an aunt, Sharon Kirk. 
Mr. Ireland’s funeral was held Aug. 27 at Muir Brothers Funeral Home in Lapeer, Mich., with burial in Metamora Cemetery in Michigan.
Memorial contributions may be made to the family on a GoFundMe page, linked through Jeff L. Ireland’s Facebook page.

Condolences and memories may be left at MuirBrothersLapeer.com.

— Obituary submitted
by the family

By Rich Pollack

When students return to Gulf Stream School on Sept. 4, they’ll discover a campus more secure than ever before in the school’s 80-year history, and a staff more focused on safety.

Soon after the February shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the school’s leadership made procedural changes to enhance student safety. Then this summer, several additional physical security measures were implemented on the 5-acre campus.

“The school’s efforts to improve security for students, teachers and parents were essential,” Head of School Joseph Zaluski said. “We are all concerned about the safety and welfare of our students, and implementing several new procedures will better secure our campus.”

During the summer, more than 20 classroom doors were replaced with doors containing bullet-resistant glass and with easy-to-use locks on the inside. In the past, classroom doors could be locked from the inside only with a key; now it just takes the turn of a button to lock or unlock the door.

“Even the youngest child should be able to turn that lock,” Zaluski said.

The school now requires that every occupied classroom must be locked from the inside at all times. 

Another physical change to the campus includes the installation of several video cameras at strategic locations, including hallways and entrances.

Zaluski estimated the school spent in excess of $100,000 to replace the doors and about $40,000 for the cameras.

“Though expensive, all the steps taken were absolutely necessary,” he said.

Another significant change at the school this year is additional steps to restrict access to the campus.

The exit gate from the driveway in front of the school is closed throughout the school day but will automatically open for exiting vehicles after a gate mechanism is triggered. The front entrance gate remains open but is closely monitored with cameras.

Access to parking facilities used by faculty and staff is also restricted with a gate.

The school has implemented a new procedure for all vendors and visitors entering the campus.

Visitors must report to the main office where they are required to show a driver’s license. A photo is taken of the person and a badge is issued. Vendors and visitors are required to wear the badge at all times. The system also automatically performs a preliminary background check on all visitors.

The school continues its close relationship with the Gulf Stream Police Department, which has its headquarters a short distance from the campus.

Police officers will be on campus every morning when students arrive and at dismissal times throughout the day.

In addition, Zaluski said, police officers will often walk through the campus during routine visits.

“They have an increased presence,” he said.

Officers from the town are familiar with the campus and recently conducted a second active shooter drill at the school following one held in the spring.

This school year will also mark the beginning of a transition, as Zaluski prepares to retire after his 14th year as head of school.

A committee of trustees, parents and teachers has been conducting an international search with a goal of having the position filled by the fall.

After nearly three years of construction, there has been a recent increase in the number of workers parking their vehicles outside this home on Polo Drive. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Town Commissioner Paul Lyons already knows what he’ll be asked when Gulf Stream’s seasonal residents start to return next month.

“The first question’s going to be underground, the second’s going to be: What’s going on with that house?” Lyons said, referring to almost three years of construction at 3140 Polo Drive.

People who were hoping the end is near will not be happy with either answer.

James and Jennifer Cacioppo bought three lots on Polo Drive, had them replatted as two lots and won commission approval to demolish an existing house in July 2015. Seaside Builders LLC filed its notice of commencement of construction on Nov. 10, 2015.

Work has now taken so long the owners will have to repaint the outside of the 8,560-square-foot structure and clean the roof to get approval to move in, Town Manager Greg Dunham said at the commission’s Aug. 10 meeting.

Lyons said he fields “a lot of complaints” about the house and Commissioner Joan Orthwein said she does too.

“They keep saying, ‘Isn’t there something you can do?’ ” Orthwein said. “It’s unfortunate that they won’t get it done. … The people that own the house — they keep changing their minds, from what I gather, or something along those lines.”

Neighbor Bob Burns, who walks by regularly with his dog, gave an update from the audience.

“It seems like there’s three or four cars there where there used to be maybe one. So in the last 10 days or so I would say that there’s been — I won’t say significant but there’s been a slight improvement at least in the number of people that are there trying to do something,” Burns said. “I haven’t seen much, except it now has shutters, it now has outside lights, but as far as anything else … it doesn’t look like there’s any more work been done in the last week than there’s been in the last two months.”

Vice Mayor Thomas Stanley said the rule of thumb is 24 months for a 10,000-square-foot house. “They’re probably a little over that,” he said.

Staff attorney Trey Nazzaro said even if the town adopted an ordinance like Palm Beach’s spelling out time constraints for builders, it would not affect this project. “Based on the square foot calculations, this house is about within the time it would normally take,” Nazzaro said.

Meanwhile, the town was installing underground piping in an easement on the southern edge of the Cacioppos’ property to drain often-flooded Polo Drive into the Intracoastal. Dunham expected that project to end before Labor Day.

Commissioners asked him to contact the Cacioppos when the project was finished to see if they would put in landscaping and take down the chain-link fence while work on their house continues.

On the underground project, Wilco Electric still had a few homes to convert from overhead power, Dunham told commissioners. Comcast has already begun to connect its fiber-optic lines, then AT&T will come to put telephone lines into the underground conduit.

If they work one after the other, “it would probably be a year” before they finish, Dunham said. He said he would meet with the companies in hopes of getting them to work simultaneously on different streets.

“We’ll continue to move forward on it, and it will be done at some point,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.

In other business, commissioners on first reading approved an ordinance eliminating references to items in the town’s building design rules categorized as “discouraged” and declaring them “prohibited.” A proposal to paint the garage doors on a white house black prompted the change.

Also, Dunham withdrew his suggestion that Gulf Stream pay part of the health insurance premiums for the families of town employees. He said he would investigate compensation packages and bring the idea back next summer. 

Richard Lucibella gestures to supporters after receiving a postponement in his trial. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

UPDATE: Trial reset to 2019

By Steve Plunkett

Onetime Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella may offer a simple defense to charges he battered an Ocean Ridge police officer and resisted arrest with violence: The officer pushed me first.

A hearing on last-minute motions from prosecutor Danielle Grundt and defense attorney Marc Shiner a half-hour before Lucibella’s trial was set to begin Aug. 20 offered a preview of what jurors may eventually hear.

Shiner said officers Richard Ermeri and Nubia Plesnik and Sgt. William Hallahan had no lawful right to be in Lucibella’s backyard the night of the Oct. 22, 2016, arrest because they were not chasing a suspect or stopping a felony in progress.

Grundt disagreed. “They were responding to shots fired,” she told Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss.

“Right, nothing more,” Shiner said.

“Nothing more than shots fired?” Grundt said, sounding somewhat surprised.

The exchange followed a summary Shiner offered of Lucibella’s view of what happened behind his oceanfront house. After police arrived on the patio, Lucibella asked longtime girlfriend Barbara Ceuleers to get him a drink.

“She’s in the doorway with her arm extended with a drink. My client tries to grab it,” Shiner said. “Officer Ermeri, it depends on the witnesses but all the witnesses agree that he pushed him back, everyone but Ermeri agrees to that.

“It’s clear he then pushes him, he even grabs his arm. My client pokes him in the chest and says, ‘Don’t touch me. … You have no legal right to be pushing me or touching me. This is my house. I didn’t do anything wrong.’

“And that’s when the officer takedown is what it’s called, and places him flat on the ground. Hits his head on a side screen, had a couple of cracked ribs. And that’s pretty much the case.”

Shiner also complained that Lucibella was not given a breath test to measure his blood-alcohol level despite repeated requests. Lucibella also faces a misdemeanor charge of using a firearm while intoxicated. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Grundt filed a motion in limine (Latin for at the threshold) Aug. 15 to keep Lucibella and Shiner from, among other things, referring to Lucibella’s age (he was 63 at the time) and suggesting that the case is politically motivated, either of which Grundt said would “inflame the jury.”

She also wants to “wholly exclude and/or substantially limit” what Shiner’s expert witnesses can say on the stand, including whether Lucibella should have been permitted to go into his home while police were questioning him and whether the officers’ actions were excessive based on his age.

On Aug. 16, Shiner filed a motion for a “statement of particulars” from Grundt detailing “when, where and what specific conduct” Lucibella is charged with so he can “properly investigate and prepare a defense.”

The judge scolded him over the maneuver. “Really, the court could take this as the defense not being ready after two demands for speedy trial,” Weiss said.

Shiner withdrew the speedy trial demand and asked that the case be postponed.

“We’d like to try to resolve the motion in itself instead of wasting days of the court’s time,” he said.

Weiss agreed and told Grundt and Shiner to return Sept. 5 for a status check and possible rescheduling of the trial.

After the hearing Lucibella maintained his innocence.

“I will not accept anything less than a complete dismissal of charges. Not yesterday, today or tomorrow,” he said. 

By Dan Moffett

The much anticipated engineering report on Ocean Ridge’s Inlet Cay neighborhood is giving residents a clearer picture about why their streets routinely flood after heavy rainfalls.

Consultant Robert Higgins told town commissioners on Aug. 6 that the 60-year-old, 16-acre manmade island has more than its share of drainage issues to resolve.

Higgins said that the drainpipes are too small to meet modern standards and some of them need repairs.

In addition, a layer of peat and muck covers nearly all the island and over time it has compacted to the point where water cannot penetrate it. The houses are not settling because they’re built on pilings, he said.

“But everything else is settling,” he said.

“The layer of muck is compressing and that’s why you see some of the driveways are dropping,” Higgins said.

The water has nowhere to go during a heavy rainfall, because of the dense layer of muck. He said rainfall is solely responsible for the street flooding, refuting theories by some residents that an artesian spring contributed to the problems.

“Water cannot move downward, therefore water moves laterally into the streets,” Higgins said, “primarily from east to west on Spanish River Drive.”

Higgins, the eponymous president of his West Palm Beach engineering firm, offered several recommendations for limiting the flooding. First, he told commissioners to continue their aggressive maintenance and repair program of the town’s stormwater pipes, using closed-circuit television cameras to find breaks and blockages.

He suggested using a Stormceptor filter in the Inlet Cay neighborhood. The device costs about $18,000 installed and removes sediments, oils and pollutants from discharges.

Higgins also suggested adding exfiltration trenches along the roadsides. These are 12-inch perforated pipes that capture excess runoff and provide extra flood storage. He estimated the cost of a trench system at about $40,000.

Several other options come with significantly bigger price tags. Replacing paved street surfaces with permeable pavers costs about 10 times more than asphalt, Higgins said. Adding a pump station is impractical because the town would have to buy property to put it on. Continuing to raise the street levels isn’t cheap either.

Mayor James Bonfiglio said the commission would discuss Higgins’ report during the current budget deliberations, with an eye on making improvements over the next few years.

Briny Breezes residents Bill Birch and Susan Jaworski Gross,  along with recently hired Park Manager Donna Coates,  admire a new bronze statue of a leaping sailfish by artist John W. Townsend. The sailfish will be the centerpiece of a water fountain that the community is rebuilding in the main intersection of town. Photo provided by Ted Gross

By Dan Moffett

How to simplify Briny Breezes’ often complicated building permit procedures perplexed Town Council members as they considered a contract renewal for the town’s building services provider during their Aug. 23 meeting.

Three council members — Christina Adams, Bill Birch and Kathy Gross — balked at rehiring C.A.P. Government Inc. to handle building inspections and plan reviews.

Adams complained that too often residents had to “keep going back” to officials to satisfy what seemed to be changing permit requirements. Birch, an architect, said residents were confused by what often appeared to be excessive inspection demands. Why couldn’t one multilicensed inspector handle one small project? Gross questioned the use of “stop order” notices on projects that might not even require permits.

Council members cited recent frustrations over efforts to rebuild the water fountain at the town’s western Cordova Avenue entrance as evidence of the need for simplification — too many permit requirements, too many inspection requirements, too much confusion.

Carlos Penin, president of C.A.P., a 29-year-old company that provides inspectors and plan review specialists to 45 municipalities around the state, told them his employees were bound by the Florida Building Code. He said C.A.P. doesn’t make the rules and neither does the town.

Town Manager Dale Sugerman conceded that Briny Breezes has a building approval process that is inherently inefficient. “Because Briny is truly unique,” he said.

Briny Breezes’ hybrid makeup — part corporation, part town — adds a layer of bureaucracy other municipalities don’t have. Sugerman said the process is further complicated by Briny’s five districts that weigh in separately on projects. “There are five different districts with five sets of rules,” he said. “It’s convoluted.”

Sugerman said the key for improving the process is to improve plan reviews so that all requirements are made clear early on, before work begins.

Penin said his staff would be willing to put on a workshop to educate residents about what his company does and improve communication. The council accepted his offer, with a date to be determined.

“We look forward to improving what needs to be improved together,” he said. 

Adams, Birch and Gross were persuaded and joined Council President Sue Thaler in approving C.A.P.’s contract extension through the next fiscal year. (Alderman Chick Behringer was absent.)

The council first hired C.A.P. in 2016. The town pays the company 75 percent of permit fees collected and $60 an hour for code enforcement. CAP employs 180 people in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and on the Gulf Coast.

In other business, state officials have officially recognized Briny’s estimated population as 610 people, probably the all-time high.

Since January, Sugerman has lobbied the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida to use counting methods from the 2010 census, when the population was set at 601. Several years ago, the estimate fell to 420, because of a methodology change.

Getting a higher estimate is important because it increases the town’s revenue-sharing amount of state money. 

By Steve Plunkett

Late-night motorists on Interstate 95 from north of Atlantic Avenue to north of Gateway Boulevard should be prepared for lane closures for the next 14 or so months.

Work to resurface the 7.7-mile section in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach is scheduled to begin Sept. 9. The $15 million project includes drainage improvements, guardrail, rumble strips, signing and pavement markings, and traffic monitoring site installation. Community Asphalt Corp., which is trying to finish its overdue projects at the Woolbright Road and Hypoluxo Road interchanges, won the contract; the state Department of Transportation said it expects the resurfacing to be completed in fall 2019.

Lanes will be closed when needed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday nights through Thursday nights, with one lane closing at 9, two at 11 and three at 1 a.m. while crews are at work.

Meanwhile, the start date for improvements at the Atlantic Avenue interchange in Delray Beach was pushed back to Oct. 1. The $5.2 million project includes widening the northbound entrance ramp from Atlantic, creating a dedicated lane for I-95 northbound and southbound access from westbound Atlantic, and construction of two turn lanes from westbound Atlantic, one to northbound Congress Avenue and one to southbound Congress. Russell Engineering Inc. is doing the work, which is also expected to be finished in fall 2019.

By Steve Plunkett

Experience beat youth in the primary contests for District 89, with Mike Caruso and Jim Bonfiglio a big step closer to taking a seat in the Florida Legislature.

Caruso, 59, a barrier island resident and Delray Beach accountant, beat Matt Spritz, 35, a Boca Raton lawyer, to become the Republican standard-bearer. Caruso had 6,691 votes for a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.

Bonfiglio, 64, a lawyer and Ocean Ridge’s mayor, overcame Ryan Rossi, 33, a former high school teacher, to claim the Democratic nomination. Bonfiglio secured 7,025 votes, a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent.

In the November general election Bonfiglio and Caruso will also face Delray Beach business owner Deborah Wesson Gibson, who is not affiliated with a party.

District 89, which leans Republican, stretches along the coast from Boca Raton north to Singer Island.

Bonfiglio, who campaigned on a promise to make life “easier, safer and better,” has been on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission since 2014 after 14 years on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He resigned effective Nov. 6, Election Day, to run for the legislature.

Caruso, who qualified to run for the state House by collecting 1,241 petition signatures, says he will bring “real, experienced, community-based leadership” to Tallahassee. He has been a member of the Delray Beach Police Advisory Board and the West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition Board and also president of the Villas of Ocean Crest homeowners association and Atlantic Grove condominium association.

State Rep. Bill Hager, who won the District 89 seat in 2012, could not run again because of term limits. 

Shortly after sunrise on Aug. 22 a waterspout appeared over the ocean off the beach in Delray Beach. Delray resident Robert Schwartz was out for his morning walk between Casuarina Road and Bay Street when he captured this image with his iPhone. Photo provided by Robert Schwartz