Team Tuppens members Christopher Sprague, 12, Steve Sprague and Mike Folsom show off some of their catch. Christopher’s 6.2-pound dolphin netted him the prize for top junior angler. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Aaron Budney checks one of the hives he keeps at his mother’s home west of Lake Worth. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

Catnip bores them.They don’t chirp. Wouldn’t fetch a stick to save your life. And they sometimes kill.
Why in the world would anyone want to keep bees?
“No, they’re not really a pet,” concedes Colleen Paul-Hus, who set up her first hive in the living room of the Gulf Stream home she shares with her husband, Rich, and four young children. “But you can learn from them. They give you an insight into nature. And we’re curious people.”
She’s not alone. Last year, Bee Culture magazine estimated that the U.S. has about 120,000 amateur beekeepers, and the number is growing as a result of colony collapse disease. First identified in 2006, CCD is a phenomenon in which worker bees suddenly abandon a hive. Left without the bees that bring nectar and pollen to the queen bee and her babies, the hives die.
Suspected culprits include parasites, insecticides and climate change, but whatever its cause, the damage has devastated the commercial bee industry.
Between April 2014 and April 2015, about 42 percent of domestic honeybee colonies died, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture — an 8 percent jump from the year before.
“Colony collapse disease has brought an increase in backyard beekeepers because it made news,” says Lee Wisnioski, vice president of the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. “People heard nearly half the hives were dying and felt this was something they could do to help.”
Established in 1974, the local group has more than 200 members, Wisnioski said, of whom about 180 are hobbyists with just a few hives in the backyard.
Beekeeping is legal throughout Florida, he added, except that communities governed by homeowners associations may forbid them. However, all hives must be registered, and a modest annual fee paid, based on the number of hives. For backyard beekeepers with fewer than five hives, the fee is only $10.
“I’m fearful of the bees going into decline,” Paul-Hus agreed, “and I felt this would be a safe haven for them and a learning experience for the children.”
Paul-Hus, raised on a farm in Ohio, has made her home on North Ocean Boulevard a testament to the family’s love of flora and fauna. The garden grows tomatoes and potatoes, cucumbers and spinach, oranges, tangerines, parsley, rosemary and thyme. The family has a very large, very friendly silver Lab named Sandy, and once kept Japanese fighting fish until someone put too much food in the tank and the fish succumbed.
“And we had nine or 10 chickens,” she reveals, “but you needed a permit for the coop and we had to get rid of them.”
And so, two years ago, she added a beehive.
In the living room.

Beekeeper Colleen Paul-Hus and her son Max wear suits and veils for safety while checking the family’s backyard hives in Gulf Stream. Max says he has yet to be stung. They keep an observation hive in the living room of her Gulf Stream house. Bees enter and exit via a small passage leading from the honeycomb to the world outside.

• • •

“It’s called an observation hive,” she explains.
Imagine a box about 2.5 by 1.5 feet square and perhaps 3 inches deep, with a glass front. This transparent box, which can hold up to six honeycomb frames, is attached to the wall, with a small passage leading from the honeycomb to the world outside, so worker bees can come and go.
 Whereas other families watch TV or a crackling fire, the Paul-Huses can watch their bees make honey, without fear of being stung.
“That observation hive makes a lot of people want to keep bees,” she says.
In June, she added an outside hive capable of holding up to 30 honeycomb frames.
“I’m the only one except my dad who hasn’t been stung,” boasts Max Paul-Hus, 8, who helps his mother tend the hive. “At first I was afraid but now it’s fun.” He dips his finger in a bowl of the very honey he helped harvest. “There’s nothing I don’t like about it.”

• • •

Aaron Budney found his first hive in a discarded orange traffic cone on the vacant lot beside Briny Breezes Boulevard.
“I was interested in getting involved with nature,” he says, “and my mother was interested in getting a tax deduction.”
Budney, 21, who lives in the County Pocket, contacted the PBC Beekeepers Association, which provided a mentor to help him extract the hive and start a hobby.
Today he keeps two thriving hives behind his mother’s house in the agricultural area west of Lake Worth, where they qualify for the deduction.
“I’m a novice beekeeper,” he says. “I haven’t had a honey harvest yet, but I’m fascinated by the whole process of caring for and observing them. There’s so much more to it than just the honey.”
On a sweltering Thursday afternoon, Budney donned the beekeeper’s traditional garb — white hood and veil, shirt, pants and gloves — and began inspecting the hives while his mother watched from a distance.
As he worked, Budney grasped a hand-held smoker, a small can filled with burning pine needles. Bees sting when they feel threatened, and the sting releases a pheromone that brings other bees in a swarm. The burning pine keeps other bees from smelling that first release of pheromone and swarming.
“When you’re stung, it’s a sudden, sharp pain, and then it radiates like a hot needle and swells for about an hour,” Budney said. “And then it itches for a couple of days.”
Budney has been stung five or six times, but never attracted a swarm.
On June 21 in Boca Raton, a beloved family dog named Delilah wasn’t so lucky.

Nancy Palilonis checks on beehives at her home in Delray Beach. Her father and uncle got her involved in beekeeping when she was 7

• • •

The 7-year-old rottweiler mix died after being swarmed in the backyard of Debbie Leonard’s home near Mizner Park.
When Delilah took refuge in the garage, Leonard’s teenage children were able to reach her. The family veterinarian removed nearly 60 stingers from her body, but she’d gone into toxic shock and, despite repeated antibiotics, had to be put down.
At first, experts from the state Department of Agriculture speculated that Delilah may have been killed by a colony of feral “Africanized” bees found on a nearby tree. Imported from South America in the 1950s, the subspecies is more aggressive than Florida’s common, Europeanized honeybees.
However, after testing bees from a nearby hive, the experts determined the dog was killed by the more common species.
Apparently a honeycomb had blown away from a hive in a nearby tree and landed in Leonard’s yard. The dog was attacked when she came to investigate.
Bee attacks are rare, but any time a hive is threatened, the bees will become aggressive, no matter the species.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90-100 people are killed in this country every year as a result of allergic reactions to the stings of bees, hornets and wasps, making bees the second-most deadly animal in the United States — after human beings. But that’s out of the many thousands stung by bees each year.
“Lightning is a much  greater danger than bees in Florida,” the beekeepers association’s Wisnioski says. “Walking quickly is what we teach. Get inside a car, a house. You do not stand there and swat at them.”

• • •

“I didn’t pick this hobby,” Nancy Palilonis says. “The bees picked me.”
When she was growing up in Binghamton, N.Y., in the 1950s, her father and uncle bought some beekeeping equipment for $20.
“We got enough honey to take care of three families,” she remembers. “And when I turned 7 my father said, ‘You’re old enough to help now.’ It was a family process to harvest the honey.”
In 2009, Palilonis bought a home off Lindell Boulevard in Delray Beach and found bees had invaded the garage wall. An extractor from the PBC Beekeepers Association who removed the hive encouraged Palilonis to renew her childhood friendship with bees.
Today, she keeps three hives, three smaller “starter hives” and volunteers as a mentor with the association.
“It’s work,” she says, sweating behind her hood, veil and long-sleeved coat. “But I enjoy the social element, interacting with other beekeepers and introducing people to it.”
Her hives yield about 20 pounds per hive a year, which she harvests through a strainer placed atop a 5-gallon bucket. The honey drips from the frame to the bucket, and she stores the remaining wax in her freezer, to be melted down someday.
“I’ve bought a candle mold,” she says.
She’d like more hives — a few more, anyway — but hesitates to name a number.
“I’d have to think about that,” she says.
It’s not for fear her neighbors might complain.
“I give my neighbors honey,” she says.

• • •

The first time Colleen Paul-Hus and her children harvested the hive, they came away with about 3 pounds of honey, which gave them seven Mason jars full and a huge sense of sweet satisfaction.
“It’s like getting your first egg from a chicken,” she says.
And that’s why people want to keep bees.
The stinger stings. But the honey’s sweet.

For more information, contact the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association at 206-4483 or visit www.palmbeachbeekeepers.com.

Underwater photographer Sandra Edwards shows a photo of a goliath grouper nicknamed Wilbur that stays around the M/V Castor wreck off Boynton Beach. She was one of many divers who came to a July 31 Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting at the Lantana branch library to oppose the possibility of a limited goliath grouper harvest. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

Divers are fighting a proposal to allow a limited harvest of goliath grouper — the large, slow-growing grouper that have become the darlings of many South Florida divers.
    Fishing for goliath grouper, formerly known as jewfish, has been closed since 1990 in both state and federal waters after populations were hurt by decades of harvest by anglers and divers armed with spear guns.
    Populations of the long-lived grouper have “substantially recovered” since the prohibition on harvest took effect 27 years ago, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission says.
    Goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, are known to live at least 37 years and can grow to 8 feet in length and up to 800 pounds. The largest goliath caught on hook and line in Florida weighed 680 pounds, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
    The FWC is gathering public comments on the possibility of allowing anglers to harvest a limited number of goliath grouper.
    The FWC’s initial proposal calls for issuing tags that anglers would purchase, limiting the harvest to 100 goliaths per year statewide. To be legal to keep, the groupers would have to be between 47 and 67 inches long, and harvesting would not be allowed during the spawning months, July through September.
    If a limited harvest is allowed, the FWC hopes to expand its knowledge of goliath grouper by gathering carcasses that fisheries biologists could study.
    Divers adamantly opposed the possibility of a limited goliath grouper harvest during the FWC’s July 31 workshop at the Lantana branch library, noting that gatherings of goliaths during the summer spawning season attract divers from around the world to the waters off Palm Beach County.
    “It’s become a phenomenon,” said Lynn Simmons of Splashdown Divers in Boynton Beach. “They are so gentle. Sometimes they will come to you and let you hold them.”
    Simmons said the spawning months of August and September are the best to find goliaths on wrecks along the coast of Palm Beach County.
    “All of the wrecks have a resident population,” Simmons said. “But when it’s time for their orgy, they all come.”
    A favorite local goliath, nicknamed Wilbur, lives on the M/V Castor wreck off Boynton Beach and has his own Facebook page.
    Charter fishing Capt. Danny Barrow of Lantana said he would support a limited take of goliath grouper — but only if anglers paid for harvest tags, generating money for research, and each grouper taken was reported to the FWC and its carcass donated for research.
    “If they’re going to allow it to happen, make sure it all goes to research,” Barrow said.
    Capt. Carl Miller of Miller Time Fishing Charters in Boynton Beach likes to catch and release goliath grouper. He devised a weight system that pulls groupers to the bottom before releasing them, reducing the chance that distended swim bladders would prevent them from returning to deep water.
    Miller said he often removes multiple sets of hooks from goliaths before releasing them. He said he doesn’t oppose a limited harvest of the protected groupers, but wonders why anyone would want to keep one because they’re not great table fare, and the flesh of larger groupers is laden with mercury.
    Ed Tichenor, executive director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue, said the goliaths should be left alone.
    “They haven’t been recovered that long, and the population is fragile,” Tichenor said.
    The FWC’s next goliath grouper workshops in South Florida are scheduled for Oct. 11 in Stuart and Oct. 12 in Davie.

This goliath grouper was caught near a wreck off Boynton Beach by anglers fishing with Capt. Carl Miller of Miller Time Fishing Charters in Boynton Beach. Miller says he has removed several sets of hooks from the large groupers before releasing them.
Photo contributed by Miller Time Fishing Charters

    To submit comments about the possible limited harvest of goliath grouper, go to www.myfwc.com/saltwatercomments or email Marine@myfwc.com.

Boynton Fishing Club organizational meeting
    The Boynton Beach Fishing Club held a special meeting Aug. 1 in hopes of boosting interest in the club.
    President Ken Sorensen said Teddy Green of Boynton Beach has joined the club to promote membership and club activities.
    The club meets at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month in the classroom building next to the boat ramps at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park in Boynton Beach. The next meeting is set for Sept. 5. For updates, go to www.bifc.org.

Coming events
    Sept. 16: International Coastal Cleanup seeks volunteers to remove trash from waterfront locations. Check-in sites include South Inlet Park in Boca Raton, Sandoway Discovery Center in Delray Beach, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park in Boynton Beach and Lantana Beach. Most cleanups begin at 8 a.m. Registration is suggested. Go to www.keeppbcbeautiful.org.
    Sept. 23: X Generation 440 Challenge fishing tournament for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo, snapper, cobia, blackfin tuna and bonito. Captain’s meeting 5-8 p.m. Sept. 21 at Lakeside Anchor Inn, Lantana. Weigh-in 1-5 p.m. Sept. 23 at Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Awards party at noon Sept. 24 at Lakeside Anchor Inn. Entry fee $225 per boat by Sept. 9 or $250 thereafter. Call 296-7637.
    Sept. 23: Boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom next to the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $20. Discounts for ages 14 to 18 and for family groups. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.
    Sept. 27: CCA/Florida South Palm Beach County Chapter’s seventh annual banquet, 6-10 p.m. at Seagate Country Club, 3600 Hamlet Drive, Delray Beach. Open bar, dinner, silent auction, live auction and raffle. Tickets $130 or $250 per couple. Call Caitlin Mitchell at 407-401-7677 or go to www.ccaflorida.org.

Tip of the month
    Looking for some quick how-to information on boating? Check out the instructive BoatUS videos at www.youtube.com/boatus. The free, short videos demonstrate how to trim, dock, launch and beach powerboats and include tips on maintenance, such as how to change a propeller.

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

K-9 officer Duke of the Boynton Beach Police Department with Dr. Melanie Thomas at Coral Springs Animal Hospital. Photo provided

By Arden Moore

Sometimes, the dangers facing K-9 police dogs can be invisible but still very deadly. But thanks to a partnership between veterinarians and many police departments in South Florida, these working dogs stand a stronger chance of surviving the unexpected in the field. And, that makes police officers like Chris Schalk feel grateful.
    Officer Schalk of the Boynton Beach Police Department works the night patrol with Iro, his 5-year-old German shepherd. Iro (appropriately rhyming with the word hero) is strong, quick and able to use his trained scenting skills to track down bad guys and even illegal stashes of currency.
    But Iro and other police dogs can become ill — even die — if exposed to narcotics due to accidentally getting the substance on their paws or inhaling while working a case.
    “Opiates have become not only a Florida problem, but a national problem,” says Schalk, an eight-year veteran on the Boynton Beach force who fulfilled his law enforcement dream earlier this year to become trained as a K-9 officer. “These working dogs are very valuable, and we want to make sure to take care of them. They are working hard to protect us and we should work as hard as we can to protect them from harm.”
    Enter the veterinary team at Coral Springs Animal Hospital. Led by Melanie Thomas, DVM, and Bruce Sullivan, DVM, the hospital team is training and educating K-9 police officers in about 15 departments in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
    “In the field if a K-9 dog gets exposed to opiates, every minute counts in saving his life,” says Thomas. “The sedative effects of these drops can impact a police dog’s respiratory system. Untreated, the dog’s heart and brain can stop.”
    She and Sullivan train police on how to give antidote medications to their affected dogs in the field. Schalk now carries this lifesaving vial and syringe in his first-aid kit in his patrol car and knows now how to inject the antidote into the lower hip if Iro should be exposed to these opiates.
    “Let’s say Iro, who is trained to track and sniff for money, bites a suspect in a pocket, penetrates that pocket with his teeth and we discover the pocket contains narcotics,” says Schalk. “Iro could become lethargic — not being able to stand up — and collapse. I am glad I know how to give him the antidote.”
    As Thomas explains, “These police dogs have high drives and [are] motivated to learn.”
    Some could have inadvertent exposure to narcotics through the skin, such as the paw pads, or ingest toxins nasally.
    “A small cut on the paw or inhaling the narcotic can quickly enter it in the dog’s bloodstream,” she says. “The team may be far from a veterinary hospital. That’s why we felt it was important to train the officers on how to administer these medications in the field.”
    In addition, the veterinarians are conducting training workshops to educate K-9 police officers on how to stop bleeding, provide basic wound care and address conditions like heat stroke in their dogs. These pet first-aid protocols help an officer stabilize his four-legged partner so he can transport him to a veterinary hospital for medical treatment.
    “These dogs are trained to put their faces near things and some are trained to sniff for illicit substances,” says Thomas. “Cocaine in powder form can go up a dog’s nose quickly. We are ready to help these dogs when they arrive here, but we want to make sure the officers know what to do in the field as well.”
    Schalk just completed a seminar on injury prevention and now has Iro go through some stretching exercises before they begin their patrols. He also has learned how to spot early signs of overheating so he can cool down Iro quickly and safely.
    During his 10-year tenure in law enforcement, Schalk has done road patrol, been a police training officer and served on a SWAT team, but his No. 1 goal has always been to become a K-9 police officer. He got the chance in December 2016 and has partnered with Iro for the past several months.
    “The training to be a K-9 officer is constant and ongoing — which I love,” he says. “And I love dogs. Being in the K-9 unit for me is everything I wanted. It’s in my heart and my blood. I love every bit of it and I am very grateful to have a great dog like Iro. He is very social and well-trained. He can go from tracking a bad guy to then letting people pet him. We make a good team.”
    And thanks to the veterinarians at Coral Springs Animal Hospital, the team is even safer.

Safety tips at home
    In your home, you can sidestep an array of medicine-related calamities by heeding these prevention tips:
    • Don’t stash medicine for you or your pet on kitchen or bathroom counters. Dogs and cats can counter surf and reach these medications.
    • Recognize that so-called childproof bottles are no match for the crushing jaws of a nosy dog or cat.
    • Store medications in pet-safe places, including inside dresser drawers, nightstand drawers, kitchen cabinets or shelves in enclosed china cabinets.
    • Teach your dog the “leave it” cue. In the event you accidentally drop one of your pills on the floor, this command could save your dog’s life. Be sure to reward his obedience for leaving the pill with a healthy pet treat.
    • Use visual markers to help you easily distinguish medicine for you and medicine for your pet to avoid any mix-ups. Consider placing brightly colored duct tape (like neon orange) on the top of the bottles of medications for your pets.

    Arden Moore, founder of www. ardenmoore.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on www.PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.ardenmoore.com.

After 25 years of service as the senior minister and CEO for Unity of Delray Beach, the Rev. Nancy Norman, the face of Unity and a resident of Boynton Beach, retired on Aug. 20.
Norman came from California to serve the spiritual community in Delray Beach as an associate minister at Unity in 1992. She built the Unity congregation and its reputation through her devotion, hard work and with the help of ministers, counselors, board members and volunteers.
Now, change is coming.
“It’s going on 26 years, and it’s been a wonderful time for me and it’s been fabulous to serve Delray, but I tell people it’s time for me to be a minister at large,” Norman laughs. “I’ll continue writing and teaching.”
The Rev. Cathy Norman, her daughter, will serve as interim minister.
    For most of her tenure at Unity, Norman rose extra-early every Thursday so she could host her 7 a.m. Prosperity Coffee. She especially loved the group and will greatly miss it.
    “I loved it because it’s a time of sharing ideas and what’s happening in the world and what we can do from a practical perspective,” she said. “I’m convinced that God wants us to live our lives to the fullest and we teach ways of empowering people so they can live happy successful lives.”
    The morning meeting is casual and relaxed so people can arrive and leave when they have to. Some members have been coming to the meetings for nearly 20 years to hear the positive message, which they say sustained them through the challenges of building a life worth living.  
    “I’m honored to have been of service here and I’m so optimistic about where the church is going. My daughter will come from California to spend six months as interim minister and she’s looking forward to it. She started out here and she’s coming full circle,” Norman said.
    “Eventually I plan to sell the house and move to Mount Dora, which is such a charming community. It’s full of creative people, artists and writers and musicians, and it has magnificent restaurants. And I just learned it’s called ‘The City of Festivals’ because they have so many.”
 Norman says she’ll miss Delray and its people, “but I’m looking forward to my next chapter with zeal and gusto.”
    You can still experience Norman’s wisdom and her message of “vibrancy, love, and hope for a greater expression of life” on her website, www.nancynorman.net.

New arrivals
    Rabbi Shmuli Biston has joined Chabad of East Delray and is eager to serve east Delray and the beach communities. The rabbi wants to share the events, activities and programs Chabad offers.
For more information, visit www.jewisheastdelray.com.

    •

Congregation B’nai Israel announced the appointment of two new rabbis. Allison Cohen and Rony Keller have joined the synagogue’s rabbinical leadership at the Boca Raton-based, inclusive reform congregation. B’nai Israel has a membership of almost 1,000 families whom Keller will serve as senior associate rabbi and Cohen will serve as assistant rabbi, joining senior Rabbi Robert Silvers.
    Congregation B’nai Israel is at 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton. For more information, visit www.cbiboca.org or call 241-8118.

    •

The Rev. Benjamin A. Thomas Jr. has accepted St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church’s call to serve as its new assistant rector. Thomas graduated in May from the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. Prior to seminary, he had a successful career in nonprofit finance and international development. He and his wife, Anna, have five children.
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church is at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. For more information, call 395-8285 or visit www.stgregorysepiscopal.org

Happenings
    The 24th annual Unity World Day of Prayer takes place Sept. 14, and Unity of Delray Beach will unite in global affirmative prayer during a 24-hour vigil held in the Silent Unity Chapel at 101 NW 22nd St., Delray Beach.
    Unity employees, ministers and students invite guests to be part of the annual tradition and gather to bless thousands of names submitted to Silent Unity for prayer.
    The theme is “Peace in the Midst,” which echoes prayers of the first men who ever offered a prayer for peace in the midst of chaos. To share a name for the prayer list, call 800-669-7729 or visit www.silentunity.org org.

Meetings in September
    Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation & God meets at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Biergarten, 309 Via de Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton, and 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton. Conversation, fellowship, open discussion. 395-1244; www.fumcbocaraton.org.

•

    The Interfaith Café meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 21 at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated.
    The Interfaith Café meets the third Thursday of the month, and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of duties to keep this program going. For information or to volunteer, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.

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

Boca Raton Regional Hospital chalked up several honors recently. First, it was named a top-ranked regional hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017–2018 annual review of best hospitals. It’s ranked 16th out of approximately 300 hospitals in Florida and sixth in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area.
    The report also rated Boca Regional a high-performing hospital in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, heart failure and lung cancer surgery.
    The hospital also was singled out for being the first in Florida and one of only five centers nationally to non-invasively map irregular heartbeats in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias, who did not respond sufficiently to other medicines and related treatments.
    The Medtronic Cardio-Insight Noninvasive 3-D Mapping System was introduced at Boca Regional by Dr. Murray Rosenbaum, director of electrophysiology at the hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute. The system uses a 252-electrode sensor vest that the patient wears. The technology creates 3-D electro-anatomic maps of the heart by collecting electrocardiogram signals from the chest, and combines these signals with data from a computed scan of the heart.
    Using this new mapping technology, the electrophysiologist can position a catheter on the rotor centers to end the atrial fibrillation and restore the heart to normal rhythm. The Medtronic CardioInsight Noninvasive 3-D Mapping System at Boca Regional was made possible through a philanthropic gift by Ronald H. and Joanne Willens. 

 BocaCare President Amy Cole, Senior Operations Manager Zulma Jairala and Director Heidi Rowe display the plaques awarded to them by Senior Airman Raphael Angel Delgado III and Lenny Miller, Florida vice chairman of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program. Delgado works at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Photo provided

                             
In other news at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, medical staff coordinator Senior Airman Raphael Angel Delgado III awarded members of the hospital’s BocaCare Physician Network with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award. The Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program offers resources in career development and assists in the resolving of conflicts that may arise from an employee’s military obligation.  
    After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Delgado transferred into the U.S. Air Force Reserves to get a degree in the medical field. While in the reserves, he was hired at the hospital. He credits his superiors with providing opportunities to members of the military.
                                
Congratulations to Maureen Mann, executive director at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute. She received the 2017 St. George National Award from the American Cancer Society for her service toward the society’s mission and goals. The distinction was awarded to 23 volunteers from across the country.
    Mann, who has been associated with the society for more than 15 years, has held positions on committees and was a Florida division board member since 2006. She was the board chairwoman in 2015 and is currently secretary to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network national board of directors.
     Joshua Rothenberg, DO, was appointed to Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s medical staff and BocaCare physician network as director of regenerative medicine for BocaCare Orthopedics. Rothenberg, a musculoskeletal joint and interventional spine specialist, is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and trained in sports medicine.
    He received the 2017 McLean Outstanding Resident/Fellow Award and the 2016 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Resident Scholarship Award.
                               
    And a final piece of news from Boca Raton Regional Hospital: Dr. Thomas Genuit was appointed to its medical staff and BocaCare physician network. Genuit is a board-certified general surgeon who is fellowship-trained in surgical critical care and trauma. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Critical Care Medicine.
                               
Delray Medical Center has been recognized by Healthgrades as a 2017 Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award recipient, placing it in the top 10 percent of hospitals evaluated, for providing outstanding quality outcomes in gynecologic surgery.
    To help consumers evaluate and compare hospital performance in gynecologic surgery, Healthgrades analyzed outcome data for patients in 17 states from 2013 through 2015.
    Patients treated in hospitals receiving the Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award had, on average, a 47.6 percent lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital. During that time, if all hospitals in the states included in the analysis performed similarly to hospitals receiving the Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award, 15,557 in-hospital complications could potentially have been avoided.
                                
    In August, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University celebrated its seventh White Coat Ceremony as it officially welcomed the 64 members of the class of 2017. The incoming class received their first doctor’s white coats, marking their entry into the profession of medicine, and they each received a Humanism in Medicine lapel pin.
    The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Darin P. Trelka, assistant professor of integrated medical science and director of anatomical programs at the college, and the 2017 recipient of the University’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year award.
    Members of the class were selected from 3,667 applicants. Fifteen percent of the class received their bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from FAU. Florida residents make up nearly 90 percent of the incoming class.
                              
This summer, 10 Florida Atlantic University medical residents began hands-on lessons at Genesis Community Health. They are tasked with examining, diagnosing and treating patients, while under the supervision and direction of Dr. Cornelia Charles, assistant professor of integrated medical science in the university’s internal medicine residency.
    The residents program at Genesis is part of the Graduate Medical Education Consortium with the university, established in 2011 by Bethesda Health, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Tenet’s Delray Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center.
 The consortium provides access to clinical settings for health care education, research and patient care services to support and enhance the college’s clinical training programs for residents.
                               
    Kindred at Home, a national provider of home health and hospice services, has introduced a specialized program for heart and lung patients available to residents in Palm Beach County. Kindred at Home Cardiopulmonary offers advanced home health treatments and education to heart and lung patients, helping them to better manage their conditions, live more independently and reduce their hospital and emergency room visits. For information, call 886-1500.

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

Tour leader Meridith Hootstein gets the group off to a healthy start with a short session of yoga and relaxation.

By Lona O'Connor

They hunted. They gathered. They tramped the streets of downtown Boca Raton in 85-degree heat. This intrepid group of six was in search of healthy food.
    Savor Our Cities, a new business that leads foodie tours in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, launched a new tour during the summer focusing on fresh juices, raw foods, vegan and vegetarian fare, all locally grown or produced when possible.  
Other Savor Our City tours try out restaurants and shops with a variety of food and geographic themes.

Grace Mendez at Raw Juce pours for Sarah Caines as her friend Dana Rakowski takes a sip during their tour of Boca Raton establishments. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    After a half-hour of yoga and relaxation on the roof of a downtown building, the group followed tour leader and yoga teacher Meridith Hootstein downstairs for their first tasting, at Raw Juce.
    They tried about a dozen blended juices, blue, green, red and orange, containing combinations of ginger, carrots, acai, goji berries, chia seeds, apples, cinnamon — any fresh produce that could be put through a juicer.
    Juices are considered helpful for digestion, energy and ridding the body of environmental toxins. For those not quite ready to give up caffeine, there was even cold-brewed coffee.
    Crossing Federal Highway, they headed to Royal Palm Place, first to GourmetPhile, a tiny shop packed to the ceiling with wines and exotic foods. After inspecting GourmetPhile’s offerings, they adjourned to a tasting room with chic raspberry walls where they tasted salad with a locally made ginger dressing, organic white and red wines, vegan cheeses and an assortment of olives, nuts and pickled vegetables. They tried vegan dark chocolate squares for dessert.
    GourmetPhile employs a raw food chef and offers a variety of milk-based cheeses, wines and other delicacies for private parties in its tasting room.
    Next stop: Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen, a few doors away in Royal Palm Place. The Farmhouse Kitchen serves locally sourced and organic meats (including bison), vegetables and wines. For her vegan/organic/raw group, Hootstein chose lettuce wraps with lentil and butternut squash filling.
    At this point, the group members declared themselves too full to eat another bite, but Hootstein coaxed them a few steps farther to LovJuice, which opened in Royal Palm Plaza this summer. LovJuice offers a variety of juices and energy shakes, but since the group had juiced up at the beginning of the tour, Hootstein directed the foodies to a piquant garbanzo bean salad and peanut butter bites, with shots of watermelon citron and spicy carrot juice.
    Hootstein, a yoga teacher, was introduced to Denise Righetti, the CFO (chief foodie officer) of Savor Our City, by their mutual friend Emily Lilly at the Boca Raton Green Market.
    Savor Our City offers a variety of themed food tours in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, including American and international tours and walking tours of restaurant-rich target areas such as Atlantic Avenue and Pineapple Grove in Delray and Royal Palm Place in downtown Boca Raton.
    The vegan/vegetarian/raw tour was Righetti’s idea for including a new group of eaters.
    “Denise was looking for someone to lead the vegan tour, and my name came up,” said Hootstein, who runs Blossoming Lotus Yoga.

Diet experiments don’t always work
    Elena Brodskaya, of Boca Raton, had a keen interest in the tour since she is the co-founder of the South Florida Vegan Education Group.
    “Meridith approached us to get our feedback for future tours,” said Brodskaya, who works at a women’s addiction treatment center and started the vegan group with her partner, Keith Berger, as a way to educate the public about the vegan lifestyle. She’s been a vegan for 10 years, Berger for 13 years.
    They are frank about the fact that sometimes dietary experiments don’t work out as expected. When they recently tried eating raw foods, Berger found he was “uncomfortable and cranky” for the first few days, although that passed.
    Brodskaya decided to step away from an all-raw-food diet. “I didn’t really take to it,” she said.
    Nonetheless, she picked up a bag of crunchy beet chips at LovJuice and offered them around to the group as they walked back to their cars.

Lona O’Connor has a lifelong interest in health and healthy living. Send column ideas to Lona13@bellsouth.net.

Checks from the Feb. 8 Ride 4 Orphans were awarded to Place of Hope at the Leighan and David Rinker Campus and 4 Kids of South Florida. The annual ride raises money for Spanish River Church’s orphan projects. (l-r) Matheus Macedo, first-place finisher; Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers; Keith Seago, race sponsorship committee; Monica Blake Speer, Place of Hope; Craig Kindell, event director; George Gaffey, sponsorship committee; Lauren Atchison, of Team zMotion, and Charlene Harrington Smith, five-time R4O participant. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

    Attention local high schools with theater programs:
    Applications are being accepted through mid-September from high schools that want to have their theater programs participate in the first-ever Dream Awards, a program sponsored by the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and PNC’s Arts Alive program.
    This program is designed to nurture and celebrate the best of high school musical theater in Palm Beach County, and Kravis Center theater adjudicators will view and critique the musical theater productions at participating schools.
    In June, both student ensemble work and individual performances in musical theater performance will be recognized and honored in Dreyfoos Hall. An inspiring local theater educator also will be honored.
    In addition, two local students, one male and one female, will be selected to travel to New York City next summer for an opportunity to compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards.
    The deadline to file an application is Sept. 15.
Educators who want to participate should contact Miranda Hawkins at 651-4251 or email her at hawkins@kravis.org.

Boca West Foundation provided a free golf camp to 50 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Boca Raton and the Wayne Barton Study Center this summer. In all, the foundation funded programs for 1,250 low-income children at seven camps, including tennis, where participants were given shoes and an outfit.  ABOVE: Mikayla Belanger prepares to hit during golf camp. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

The holiest day of the Jewish year is approaching.
    Yom Kippur, which starts the evening of Sept. 29, is a solemn day for reflection, a day of atonement. It follows 10 days after Rosh Hashana, which marks the new year.
    But there are no out-of-control parties celebrating Rosh Hashana. The only similarity to Jan. 1 is that Jews will spend time examining their lives and planning changes for the coming months.
    We asked some local folks to share their feelings about the High Holy Days. Here’s what they had to say:

•

As a kid, I used to spend the holidays with my grandparents in a little town in Slovakia. I never forget walking with my grandfather, holding his hand going to our little synagogue. I felt happy, secure and looking forward to meeting the other kids on the yard of the temple.  
It was a great time and I often try to re-create that childhood memories in my mind. My grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz.
After the Holocaust, I grew up in a communist regime where going to temple was not a safe thing to do, but I know when the holidays were and fasting in Yom Kippur was important to me. Gave me the feeling that I am walking with my grandfather.

Thomas Gabor
Delray Beach

•

    When people make New Year’s resolutions, it’s usually in some attempt at doing better the following year. So too, when we celebrate the High Holy Days, we try to embrace the idea of changing ourselves for the better, no matter how hopeless change might seem. This is done in a more serious manner during the holiday of Yom Kippur, which to me is an occasion where the Jewish people could in some way feel the presence of higher power in a timely manner, a connection only comparable to meditating on the very text of the Torah.
    Why, then, do we give such attention to an occasion which other people would simply put off half the time? Because Yom Kippur is not about the future, it is of course about the past, and to see the past year go by in the mind’s eye is equivalent to seeing one’s life flash before your eyes.
    Having such an experience is not only a transcendental way to let go of the past, it also encourages us to look to the future to redeem the mistakes we had made.
    To go through such a major change during a single day is a miracle, and so when we feel this change happening in such a noticeable way, all we could help thinking is the beauty of change and hope for the remaining year.
Kyle Dunton
Boynton Beach

•

    Few memories, if any, kindle that special pang than reflecting upon those formative years, walking behind my parents with my two brothers, to shul on the High Holy Days.
    I lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on an exclusively, by design, Jewish block when Brooklyn was Brooklyn. Belonging to an Orthodox shul, as almost all were in those treasured days, no one drove to Talmud Torah Beth Judah. Another cardinal sin would be a man without suit and tie … and women equally elegant upon Judgment Day.
My father, owing to his status as a major benefactor to the synagogue, as well as the recognized Talmud scholar that he was, enjoyed a prominent front-row seat in the special section abutting the eastern wall. My two brothers and I accompanied my father while my mother sat opposite on the far side of the mishits.
We were a traditional family. We were an observant family. We were a loving family. My father died in 1988 at the age of 73. Mom lived to 100. They live in my heart every day as luminaries to emulate. The High Holy Days bring for me tears of sorrow and tears of joy. I can so clearly see them now walking, together, heart-in-heart, followed by their three sons, ever so proud. How I miss those days.                                  
    But Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur endure. Our five children, their spouses and our eight grandchildren will have their memories.
Marty Teitelbaum
Boca Raton

Chaim Romano (l-r), Daniel Kay and Ben Scheiner started a Moishe House in Delray Beach to give young Jewish professionals a place to network with people of similar minds. The house is the third of its kind in Florida. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

At a spacious townhouse just off U.S. 1 in Delray Beach, three young, charming, single Jewish men are creating a community for young adults interested in knowing more about Jewish religion and culture. And being Jewish isn’t a prerequisite to participate.
    The place is called Moishe House, and this is the third of its type in Florida. There are Moishe Houses (Moishe is Yiddish for Moses) in Miami and Aventura; and now, with support from the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Delray Beach is on the Moishe House map.
    Here’s how it works: In exchange for a housing stipend and some cash for expenses, the residents must plan and execute about one “Jewish-related” event every week — in addition to holding down their full-time jobs.
    Moishe House’s purpose is to fill the gap between graduating from college and getting married and having children. Young professionals moving to a new town for work want a way to network with like-minded people. And young adults produce the kind of activities young adults want to attend.
    So — Moishe House.
    The first Moishe House opened in Oakland, Calif., in 2006 with four young men hosting Shabbat dinners for their friends. The casual atmosphere and the eclectic makeup of the group were just what the young, vibrant community needed. Young, fun, interesting programs attract young, fun, interesting people.
    Now there are 104 houses in 26 countries. According to moishehouse.org, an estimated 50,000 young people attended a Moishe House event last year.
    The South Palm Beach trio — Ben Scheiner, Daniel Kay and Chaim Romano, all of Boca Raton — moved into their house in July after making a one-year commitment. Scheiner’s brother lives at a Moishe House in Denver, and he brought the idea to Kay and Romano.
    Before long, they were picking out their bedrooms in a 3,000-square-foot home just a few blocks east of Federal Highway.
    Kay, 27, is the house’s cruise director. He’s the emcee and host. He has hosted a cooking challenge modeled after the TV show Cutthroat Kitchen and emceed “La Casa de Moises Jam Session,” a lively night of unscripted musical entertainment. Kay also steps up to lead Shabbat dinners.   The trio’s first event, a barbecue, drew about 50 people. The first Shabbat dinner drew about 30.
    Other events included a yoga class at Anuttara Yoga in Delray Beach and a Game of Thrones watching party. Coming up with a variety of events, which can be held on-site or off, takes a creative mind, or three.
    Scheiner, 26, is the scholar of the group, the one best versed in Jewish history. He chaired a podcast on Jewish history (you can watch it on Moishe House SPB’s Facebook page) and chaired a Q&A about Jewish traditions. “I’m always happy to educate and they can do with it as they please,” he says.
    Scheiner is also a nature lover who recently organized a nature walk at the Yamato Scrub Natural Area in Boca Raton. “I’m really into the outdoors,” he says.
    It’s all very casual and laid back, but the guys still have big aspirations.
    “What I hope is that the three of us can establish a community of Jewish young professionals, people who make a connection, and people that can rely on each other. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone and it’s also great just to be a listening friend. I feel honored to be in that role,” Scheiner said.  
   “I want non-Jews to feel welcome too,” Romano said.  "We welcome people of all creeds.”
    To learn more about Moishe House South Palm Beach and to find out about events, visit www.facebook.com/mohospb. For more information about Moishe House, visit www.moishehouse.org.

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.

Boynton Beach residents Brandon Hill and Julia Calderon celebrate Hill’s 31st birthday with friends Jordan Merritt and Crystal Law at The Melting Pot in Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

This month, restaurants from Boca Raton to Palm Beach are prepared to satisfy every craving with scrumptious, wallet-friendly creations too good to pass up

By Mary Thurwachter

Those of us who live in South Florida year-round find September delicious. The reason? Many of the area’s best restaurants deliver dining deals all month, giving us the opportunity to enjoy creative, inventive dishes from top chefs. Between Flavor Palm Beach (www.flavorpb.com), and Boca Raton Restaurant Month (www.bocarestaurantmonth.com), the choices are many.

Boca Raton Restaurant Month, new this year, has a theme of “Boca Loves New York,” a nod to Boca Raton’s large number of New York-inspired eateries.Participating restaurants offer three-course meals featuring signature dishes at reduced prices: $21-$25 for lunch and $36-$40 for dinner.  In keeping with the theme, each restaurant will have at least one New York-inspired dish or cocktail (think Manhattan clam chowder or New York cheesecake). For example, at the Melting Pot, an iconic Boca Raton eatery for 27 years, a New York cheesecake fondue dessert has been created for the September menu.
Participating restaurants include:
Roots Italian Kitchen, Italian, lunch and dinner; also offers a $29 sunset menu from 5-6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, 212 S. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 757-6581, www.rootsitaliankitchen.com
Tap42, Gastrogrub, lunch and dinner; 5050 Town Center Circle, No. 247, Boca Raton;  235-5819, www.tap42.com
Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, Mexican, lunch and dinner; 5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 416-2131, www.roccostacos.com
Brio Tuscan Grille, Italian, lunch and dinner; 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 392-3777, www.brioitalian.com/the_shops_at_boca_raton.html
Morton’s The Steakhouse, dinner; 5050 Town Center Circle, No. 219, Boca Raton; 392-7724, www.mortons.com/bocaraton/
City Fish Market, seafood, lunch and dinner; 7940 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 487-1600,  www.buckheadrestaurants.com/restaurant/city-fish-market/
Uncle Tai’s, Chinese, lunch and dinner; 5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 368-8806, www.uncletais.com
Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, Scottish, English and American comfort food and craft beers, lunch and dinner; 3320 Airport Road, No. 1, Boca Raton; 338-5458, www.tiltedkilt.com
Oceans 234, Seafood, lunch and dinner; 234 N. Ocean Blvd., Deerfield Beach; 954-428-2539, www.oceans234.com
 Henry’s, American, lunch and dinner; 6850 Jog Road, Delray Beach; 638-1949, www.henrysofbocaraton.com
Rebel House, American, lunch and dinner; 297 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton; 353-5888, www.lifetastesbetter.com
DaVinci’s of Boca, Rustic Italian, lunch and dinner; 6000 Glades Road, Suite 1229, Boca Raton; 362-8466, www.davinciofboca.com/home
Matteo’s, Italian, dinner; 233 S. Federal Highway, No. 108, Boca Raton; 392-0773, bocaraton.matteosristorante.com
Ditmas Kitchen & Cocktail, kosher New American fare, lunch and dinner; 21077 Powerline Road, Boca Raton; 826-8875, www.ditmasboca.com
Piñon Grill, American-Southwestern, lunch and dinner; 6000 Glades Road, Suite 1390, Boca Raton; 391-7770, www.pinongrill.com
Junior’s, deli, lunch and dinner; Mizner Park, 409 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 672-7301, www.juniorscheesecake.com
Max’s Grille, American, lunch and dinner; Mizner Park, 404 E. Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 368-0080, www.maxsgrille.com
The Melting Pot, fondue, dinner; 5455 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 997-7472, www.meltingpot.com
Ruth’s Chris, steakhouse, dinner except on Saturday; 225 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 392-6746, www.ruthschris.com
Café 5150, American, lunch and dinner; Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton; 392-4600, www.cafe5150.weebly.com/index.html
Café Med, Italian, dinner; 2096 NE Second St., Deerfield Beach; 954-596-5840, www.cafemeddeerfield.com
Zinburger, wine and burger bar; Town Center at Boca Raton, 6000 Glades Road; 393-3252, www.zinburger.com  
***
Flavor Palm Beach, in its 10th year, offers special prix fixe menus through Sept. 30.
Participating restaurants present a selection of specially priced three-course meals for lunch for $20 and dinner for anywhere from $30-$45. Diners may select from three choices for each course. Prices are per person and exclude beverages, tax and gratuity. Reservations are a good idea. Some of the participating restaurants:  

50 Ocean, American, lunch and dinner; 50 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach; 278-3364, www.50ocean.com  
Al Fresco, Italian, dinner; 2345 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; 273-4130, www.alfrescopb.com
Café Boulud, French, lunch Monday-Friday and dinner; 301 Australian Ave., Palm Beach; 655-6060, www.cafeboulud.com
Café L’Europe, French, dinner; 331 S. County Road, Palm Beach; 655-4020, www.cafeleurope.com
Capital Grille, steakhouse, dinner; 6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton, 368-1077, www.thecapitalgrille.com
Charley’s Crab, seafood, lunch and dinner; 456 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; 659-1500,  www.muer.com
Costa Palm Beach, Mediterranean, lunch and dinner; 150 Worth Ave., No. 234, Palm Beach; 429-8456, costapb.business.site
Echo, sushi, dinner; 230 Sunrise Ave., Palm Beach; 422-4981, www.echopalmbeach.com
Graze at the Four Seasons, American, lunch Friday, Saturday and Sunday; 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; 582-2800, www.fourseasons.com
Imoto, sushi, dinner; 350 S. County Road, Palm Beach; 833-5522, www.imotopalmbeach.com
Jové Kitchen & Bar at the Four Seasons, American, dinner; 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; 582-2800, www.fourseasons.com
The Leopard Lounge at The Chesterfield, American, lunch and dinner; 363 Cocoanut Row, Palm Beach; 659-5800, www.chesterfieldpb.com
Morton’s The Steakhouse, dinner; 5050 Town Center Circle, No. 219, Boca Raton;  392-7724, www.mortons.com/bocaraton/
Meat Market, steakhouse, dinner Monday-Thursday; 191 Bradley Place, Palm Beach; 354-9800, www.meatmarket.net
PB Catch, seafood, dinner; 251 Sunrise Ave., Palm Beach; 655-5558, www.pbcatch.com
Polo Steakhouse at the Colony Hotel, lunch and dinner; 155 Hammon Ave., Palm Beach; 655-5430, www.thecolonypalmbeach.com
Renato’s, Italian, dinner; 87 Via Mizner, Palm Beach; 655-9752, www.renatospalmbeach.com
Ruth’s Chris, steakhouse, dinner except on Saturday; 225 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 392-6746, www.ruthschris.com  
Sant Ambroeus, Italian, lunch and dinner; 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach; 285-7990, www.santambroeus.com
Seasons 52, American, lunch and dinner; 2300 NW Executive Center, Boca Raton; 998-9952, www.seasons52.com
Temple Orange at Eau Palm Beach Resort, American, lunch and dinner; 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan; 540-4923, www.templeorangerestaurant.com
The Italian Restaurant at The Breakers, dinner; 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach; 422-4979, www.thebreakers.com
The Melting Pot, fondue, dinner; 5455 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 997-7472, www.meltingpot.com  

More September specials:

Belle & Maxwell’s, teahouse café, lunch and dinner; three-course meal for $25; 3700 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; 832-4449, www.belleandmaxwells.com
Café Frankie’s, Italian, lunch and dinner; $7.99 lunch specials, $1 off beer, $2 off wine by the glass, $5-$8 appetizer specials between 4:30-6:30 p.m.; 640 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach; 732-3834, www.cafefrankies.com
Josie’s Ristorante, Italian, dinner; 15 percent off the entire check; 1602 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach; 364-9601, www.josiesristorante.com
 Pig-Sty BBQ, barbecue, lunch and dinner; smoked pastrami on Mondays and Fridays for $10, burnt ends on Tuesdays and Saturdays for $12, slabs of ribs for $20 on Thursdays, and Sunday platters with ribs, chicken and pulled pork and two side dishes for $12; 706 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach; 810-5801, www.pigstybbq.com Ú

Rotary Club of Delray Beach President Fred   Bonardi passed the gavel to President-Elect John Fischer and thanked members for their exemplary service during the 2016-17 season. Ernie Simon was recognized for 50 years of perfect attendance. Roger Caine was awarded as Rotarian of the Year. Betsy Owen, who received an Outstanding Achievement Award, recognized all of the women in the club, as Rotary is celebrating 30 years of female participation. ABOVE: Harvey Brown presents Simon with the perfect-attendance award. BELOW: Bonardi welcomes Robert Kelley.

ABOVE: Owen receives the Outstanding Achievement Award from Bill Arnst. Photos provided

Buddy Walk … Uncorked kicked off the 23rd annual Buddy Walk in style, raising nearly $3,000 for the Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization Resource Center. Sixty-plus supporters attended the party, which featured food, wine, auctions and a raffle. ‘It was very successful,’ executive director Anne Dichele says. ‘The nice thing about this event is that we have people who come who learn more about Gold Coast and more about the walk.’ The walk will take place Oct. 15. ABOVE: Kim and Gail Marino. Photo provided

Barb Schmidt will be honorary chairwoman of the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon, set for Oct. 5. Past President Kirsten Stanley will serve as event chairwoman. The affair (this year is its 30th) is considered one of the kickoffs to the South Florida social season. ‘Our Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon spotlights not only the Junior League of Boca but the entire nonprofit community,’ President Renata Sans de Negri says. ‘It is remarkable to see the difference we are making as female volunteers in the community when you see the women who take the stage on Oct. 5.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Mindy Shikiar, Schmidt, Stanley and Maureen Mann. Photo provided

Theatre Lab, Florida Atlantic University’s professional production company dedicated to the development of new work in American stage, has landed its first corporate donor. SunTrust joined the Theatre Lab Inner Circle, created to raise private support for the endeavor. ‘Theatre Lab and FAU are thrilled to have SunTrust Bank as a part of our artistic family,’ artistic director Lou Tyrrell says. ‘The trust that SunTrust has placed in us through their support will help to provide important and thoughtful theater experiences for our entire South Florida community, for which we are truly grateful.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Lisa Matthews and Evan Farrell, of SunTrust, with Francesca Daniels and Tyrrell, of Theatre Lab. Photo provided

More than 250 supporters gathered in celebration of the 2017 Golden Bell Education Foundation fundraiser and the nonprofit’s 26th anniversary. The occasion also marked the sixth anniversary of the Inner Circle Executive Club.
    Guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers while bidding in the silent auction. Proceeds topping $5,500 will go toward Boca Raton public schools.
    “It was a really fun night, and I can’t thank our generous donors enough,” foundation manager Christie Workman said.

Shuzz benefits from Realtors Association event
    The Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, through its Ready, Set, Glow! Pub & Grub event, gave a gift of $4,670 to Shuzz, an organization that provides new shoes to poor children around the world.
    Pronounced “shoes,” the nonprofit is supported by volunteers who distribute thousands of free shoes to those in need to prevent them from harm and risk.
    “Our members are very active in the community and love to give back through volunteering and fundraising efforts,” association CEO Dionna Hall said.

Bank of America gives $25,000 to literacy group
    Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s 2017 Workforce Development and Basic Needs Grant has named the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County a recipient.
    The $25,000 will support the coalition’s mission of improving the quality of life in the community by promoting literacy. It will go to help adult students in family programs obtain the skills they need to sustain jobs.
    “Thanks to Bank of America’s support through the Workforce Development and Basic Needs Grant, we are able to help families in our community achieve economic mobility,” said Kristin Calder, the agency’s CEO.

Grant creates new class on climate change for kids
    Sandoway Discovery Center has received a three-year, $62,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.
    The grant will benefit the Junior Naturalist Program, helping to launch an interactive environmental class called Our Changing Earth. The class covers climate change, sea-level rise and recycling and is offered to students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
    “We are so excited to bring environmental education to the children that need it the most,” said Danica Sanborn, executive director of the center. “We hope to inspire the next generation to conserve and protect our natural resources.”

Hunger relief for homebound seniors
    In an effort to reduce senior hunger, Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches will deliver food to low-income elderly residents on waiting lists with other agencies thanks to a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation.   
    The grant enables the organization to collaborate with United Way of Palm Beach County’s hunger-relief committee to serve homebound seniors.
    “Many of the seniors we will be serving have been waiting for nutritious meals to be delivered for years,” Meals on Wheels President Pamela Calzadilla said.

Friends of Mounts fetes supporters, raises $121,000
    Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden’s spring benefit was supported by more than 250 guests and raised $121,000, which will be used for educational programs, as well as the newly opened Windows on the Floating World: Blume Tropical Garden.

Proceeds from luncheon to purchase birthing simulator
Bethesda Hospital Foundation’s Women of Grace Luncheon returns Nov. 9 to honor five local philanthropists for extraordinary service in the community.
The nominees are: Yvonne Boice, of Palm Beach State College Foundation; Tammy Culmer, of Take Stock in Children; Linda Heneks, of YMCA of South Palm Beach County; Jacqueline Moroco Maloney, of Bethesda Hospital Foundation; and Kirsten Stanley, of Junior League of Boca Raton. A 2017 Future Woman of Grace also will be recognized — Claudia Cabral, a senior at Suncoast Community High School. Proceeds will benefit the Center for Women and Children at Bethesda Health through the purchase of a state-of-the-art, realistic mother and baby birthing simulator.
The luncheon begins with a reception at 10:30 a.m. followed by the awards ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. For information, call 737-7733, Ext. 84429 or visit bethesdahospitalfoundation.org/events.

Unicorn Children’s group names board members
Unicorn Children’s Foundation, a leader in the field of special needs, has appointed 11 incumbents and nine new members to the board of directors.
The group brings a wealth of business knowledge that will help the organization expand its impact and ensure children with special needs excel in their communities.
The 2017-18 panel consists of President Gregory Fried, Vice President Melissa Burkhardt, secretary Dr. Rafael Cabrera, treasurer Tabitha LeTourneau Meyerer, Alisa Bachana Jaffe, Marilyn Blanco-Corey, Lori Cabrera, Michael Church, Claude DuBois, Joseph Eppy, Angela Fisher, Barry Halperin, Madeline Hillsberg, William Kruegel, Jeannette Stark, Gwendoline Taylor, Gail Wasserman, Gale Wechsler, Michelle Yellin and Adam Ziffer.

Submit your news, event or listing to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

Terry Fedele and James Brann, owner of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, entrance the audience. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Thom Smith

     Seldom is the Boca Raton Resort & Club in such terpsichorean splendor. On Aug. 19, the Mizner Center’s Royal Palm Ballroom was filled with dancers from around the globe — pros, amateurs and pro-ams — for the Killick Klassik, a weekend-long competition with more than $50,000 in cash prizes, plus scholarships and trophies.
    If you appreciate top-notch ballroom dancing, this was the place to be.
    The crowd was much larger in the adjacent Grand Ballroom and the dancing was, shall we say, a bit less refined. The payoff was much greater, though not for the dancers.
 The 10th annual Boca’s Ballroom Battle paired community leaders, all rank amateurs, with professionals from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, for competition in fundraising for the George Snow Scholarship Fund. Their success was measured by how much money they raised and by the prizes for the best man and woman fundraisers: mirrored balls.
    Started in 1982, the fund has awarded $9.2 million in grants to more than 1,400 students, 300 who now receive assistance. This year it has awarded just over $1 million to 87 Snow Scholars.
    Among those on the dance floor were Lisa Kornstein Kaufman, who refuses to let multiple sclerosis hold her back; Elizabeth Titcomb, who, in costume a la La Cage Aux Folles, showed flashes of brilliance; and Logan Skees, a Marine veteran and director of business development at Trainerspace.
The mirrored balls went to community activist Terry Fedele, who raised $124,851, and John Tolbert, who runs the Boca Resort & Club. He raised a record $193,332 of the record $508,000 taken in, obliterating the 2016 total of $336,000.
    “We did things at the hotel, even a yoga event,” said Tolbert, who readily admitted to having two left feet, “but we did a lot in the community and when we could, all the dancers worked together. It’s a great cause and it’s great for the community. I loved the fundraising, and the dancing was just a lot of fun.”
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    The U.S. Professional Tennis Association holds its annual convention next month in Orlando. Among its 13,500 members you’ll find a few household names such as the Everts ­—  Chris, Jeanne (Dubin), Drew and John —  Kathy Rinaldi, and Jay Berger. But USPTA members are not, for the most part, players. They help create the household names. They are the teaching pros, the people who create and develop the players.
    Rick Macci runs the Rick Macci Tennis Academy at Boca Lago Country Club. But as a coach and guide to the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick and Mary Pierce plus up-and-comers Sofia Kenin, Vicky Duval, Tornado Alicia Black and Hurricane Tyra Black, he can claim an impressive résumé.
On Oct. 13, Macci  will become the 20th — and, at 62, the youngest — member of the USPTA Hall of Fame. A seven-time USPTA Coach of the Year and USPTA Florida Hall of Fame inductee, Macci is renowned for his technical, strategic and mental expertise. He has been named Coach of the Year seven times by the U.S. Tennis Association, which recently honored him and Billie Jean King with Team USA Legendary Coaching Awards.
     “Rick Macci is one of our sport’s greatest coaching minds, proven by the almost surreal list of champions he has coached and influenced,” USTA Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman said. “Rick’s expertise and passion for teaching continues to keep him as one of the world’s foremost instructors.”
                                ***
    Though they’ve dominated the women’s game for more than a decade, tennis is taking a back seat for the Williams sisters. Venus had completed her surprise run to the final at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open was a month away, and with sister Serena’s pregnancy in full bloom, why not throw a shower? But instead of a five-star hotel or the ballroom at their home club of BallenIsles, they chose Nick’s 50’s Diner on Okeechobee Boulevard, just west of Interstate 95.
    The guests, including Ciara, La La Anthony, Angela Beyince, Kelly Rowland and Eva Longoria, arrived in ’50s attire — poodle skirts and saddle shoes. Reddit co-founder and father-to-be Alexis Ohanian adopted a greaser look with white T-shirt and leather jacket.
    Baby’s due in mid-September.
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    Summer has certainly been lively up in West Palm Beach. Before launching his latest tour, seasonal Palm Beacher Rod Stewart rehearsed with Cyndi Lauper at G-Star Studios. And because G-Star is part of the sprawling G-Star School of the Arts for Film, Animation and Performing Arts complex on Congress Avenue, students served as crew, loading in, setting up and loading out truckloads of gear and watching the rehearsals.
    When the producer asked if anyone could play piano for a sound check, student Kiley Thibodeau stepped up to Stewart’s original Hammond B-3, vintage 1952, and rattled off a series of tunes while technicians dialed in the equipment.
    Stewart, who’s sold more than 100 million records, and Lauper, who has sold more than 50 million discs and won a Tony for writing the score to Kinky Boots, were impressed. Touring the campus, Stewart took note of the vintage C-47 cargo plane on display and left his autograph on it.
    “This is what we do that no other high school or college can,” G-Star founder and CEO Greg Hauptner said. “Many of our students receive real world, hands-on experience working on sets with the cast, crews and stars of multimillion-dollar films, commercials, music videos and rehearsals and more.”
    The tour opened July 6 at Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.
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David Aronberg and Lynn Martin in happier days. Photo by Mike Jachles

    Against all odds … Palm Beach State Attorney David Aronberg served in the Florida Legislature and is reputed to be considering a run for Congress against freshman Republican Brian Mast. He’s a lifelong Democrat. A little more than two years ago he married Lynn Martin, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader working in public relations. She’s a Republican and a committed Trump supporter. She even named her dog Ivanka.
    Early this year, she filed for divorce. The grounds: She wants to have a baby but says he doesn’t; and he wouldn’t stand up for her when his Democratic friends criticized her.
    Meanwhile, as the case plods through the courts, Lynn, a Boca Raton resident, is still in action, managing her own public relations business and Palm Beach Book Club, and hooking up with TransMedia Group, a large Boca PR firm and talent and modeling agency.
TransMedia chief Tom Madden, who first hired her years ago for his New York agency, plans to send her on an exploratory trip to Israel and said he might publish a book
by Lynn titled I Make a Great Ex-Wife.
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    Hadn’t heard much from pizza whiz Dak Kerprich since he sold Jerk-O, formerly Pizzeria Oceano, in Lantana to Jeremy and Cindy Bearman last February. They changed the name to Oceano Kitchen, added a canvas awning over the open-air dining deck and tweaked the menu.
    Kerprich disappeared, allegedly in search of another atypical spot in Lake Worth or West Palm.
    In early August, in true Kerprich style, he resurfaced — at Zapata Mexican Rotisserie on North Dixie in Lake Worth. But only on Mondays and only for a month.
    The menu was typical Kerprich — shellfish here, duck there, exotic salads, typical of the oddities for which he became famous in Lantana.
    But Zapata is just temporary.  
    “We are looking at a few spots on South Dixie in West Palm and in Northwood,” Kerprich confessed. “You know me. I don’t like new construction. The next space has to have character, and a good story behind it always helps.”
    Stay tuned.
                          ***      
    Speaking of chefs, Eau Palm Beach has a new boss in the kitchen. Like many veterans in the resort dining business, Executive Chef David Viviano is well-traveled, coming to Manalapan from Montage Kapalua Bay on Maui after an award-winning stint at the St. Regis Aspen Resort & Spa, where he claimed gold in the 2014 Aspen Mac & Cheese Festival.
In his 20-year career he also has seen action at Westin and Ritz-Carlton hotels and at such high-end standalones as Jardiniere in San Francisco.
    Before finding his way to the kitchen, Viviano, a Michigan native, took an ill-considered diversion, taking a college degree at Miami of Ohio in, of all things, journalism. He still enjoys writing but realized his true calling was as a chef.
    At Eau, however, he will have to make at least one sacrifice. He enjoys surfing, and with rare exception, Florida’s East Coast can’t match Maui.
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    Across the bridge from Eau Palm Beach, prospects for another restaurant taking over the space at 210 E. Ocean have dimmed. Paesano, the last venture, closed in 2016. Lantana resident Morris Costigan, who owns O’Shea’s Irish Pub on Clematis Street, made a pitch to the Lantana Town Council in July for a European-American bistro, but he said he was unable to reach agreement with property owner Small Corp. of Palm Beach.
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    A few miles south in Delray Beach, new exec chef Blair Wilson has already redone the menu at Max’s Harvest, adding such dishes as buffalo alligator (miso buttermilk, ’nduja hot sauce, blue cheese), tuna-wrapped oysters and charred cauliflower with feta cheese, aji amarillo, golden raisins and capers. And those are just the starters. Main dishes include vermilion snapper (jasmine rice, sorrel, pickled chile, shogun vinaigrette) and a bone marrow burger with aged cheddar, cherry pepper aioli, bread and butter pickles and malted fries.
    After serving as executive chef at The Social Club in Miami Beach, the Virginia native was looking for a small-town atmosphere where he could celebrate the best local ingredients.
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    A couple of blocks away, Smoke, the upscale barbecue spot just east of Swinton, has been shuttered after only three years. Owners Scott Kennedy and Stephen Chin cited rising rent and expenses, but they hope to resurface somewhere in Delray Beach soon. Meanwhile, any loyal customers can head south to Fort Lauderdale, where Smoke BBQ offers a more traditional barbecue spot near Galt Ocean Mile.
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The time has come... Sometime in the new year, 32 East, the granddaddy of Atlantic Avenue’s signature restaurants, will close after two decades. The buyer is Big Time Restaurant Group, a West Palm Beach-based multi-concept operation with footprints all over South Florida, from West Palm Beach to Miami. 32 East will give way to Big Time’s newest venture, Louie Bossi’s, which is billed as high-energy, handmade  Italian. Other Big Time spots in Delray include Rocco’s Tacos and City Oyster.
But regardless if Delray Beach is ready for a restaurant with a bocci court, as is the case at Bossi’s in Boca Raton, 32 East founder Butch Johnson, who’s been on the avenue since 1996, is ready to go.
“A lot of people are sad,” said Johnson, “but it’s not the same town.
“Delray is going to be dominated by high-volume restaurants. They’re going to put a lot of money into renovating this place.”
While Johnson and Big Time boss Todd Herbst have agreed in principle, the deal still faces legal and logistical hurdles. Johnson expects chef John Thomas and the veteran staff will remain in action for several months.
“We’ll probably have little farewell parties during the last months,” Johnson said. “We’ll bring back old bartenders, have a Nick Morfogen night (with the original executive chef, now at Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach). We’ll say goodbye the right way.”
Since Johnson owns the building that houses 32 East, he’ll still collect a tidy rent check, but he has no intention of leaving the business: “I’m looking around for another city with a CRA [community redevelopment agency] that would like to expand its profile.”

Thom Smith is a freelance writer who can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com.

The Plate: Risotto Fritters
The Place: Banyan Restaurant and Bar, 189 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 563-8871 or www.banyandelray.com.
The Price: $6 from 4 to 7 p.m. daily at the bar and high-tops; $10 on a regular menu.
The Skinny: Our happy hour gang has spent the summer checking out a different place each week. Our visit to Banyan was a happy one, with plentiful drinks and appetizers.
These Risotto Fritters essentially are balls of a lightly fried spinach, herb and saffron risotto with parmesan cheese. They were light, with a crispy crust and served with a slightly piquant marinara.
Good eating.
Also nice: the duck spring rolls, which were packed with savory bits of duck.
And not to be missed — the wonderful singer who serenaded us the night we were there with classics of the Great American Songbook.
— Scott Simmons