Guests were treated to celebrity stories by entertainment attorney Donald Ephraim and antiques dealer to the stars Bruce Newman. Ephraim’s experiences working with movie reviewers Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, as well as Newman’s encounters with Woody Allen and Dustin Hoffman, were among the highlights. ABOVE: (l-r) Newman, Corporate Partners Executive Committee Chairman Jeff Stoops and Ephraim. Photo provided by Lila Photo

The debut of South Florida’s newest contemporary art fair — Art Boca Raton — began with a preview evening benefiting the Boca Raton Museum of Art and its art school. About 350 guests gathered to meet and mingle with international artists, collectors and gallerists while enjoying a cocktail party with dinner-by-the-bite. More than $35,000 was raised for school operations and scholarship support. RIGHT: (l-r) Lee Ann Lester, FAU President John Kelly, Andrew Duffell, Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, hostess Dalia Stiller, Irvin Lippman, Elaine Baker and Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth. Photo provided

The Hanley Center Foundation disclosed at its annual event it received more than $1 million from eco-conscious jeweler Alex and Ani. The money will help women throughout Florida seek recovery treatment. LEFT: George Elmore with Marti LaTour. Photo provided by Capehart

The 34th-annual affair benefited the National Society of Arts and Letters’ Florida East Coast Chapter. Nearly  220 friends and supporters attended. Gerard Schwarz, music director of the All-Star Orchestra, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. LEFT: Gala Chairwoman Alyce Erickson with Donald Mandich. Photo provided

Nearly 400 admirers of fashion icon Iris Apfel were treated to a glimpse into the 93-year-old designer’s career and life during a presentation titled ‘Attitude and Style: A Conversation with Iris Apfel.’  The event was part of the Artsmart lecture series led by Steven Caras, who interviewed Apfel. ‘To this day, I don’t care about going to a party or being at a party,’ she told Caras. ‘I just like the process of getting dressed for a party. My mother worshiped at the altar of the accessory and taught me about inherent good taste.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Barbara Silver, Jodi Walker and Debra Harvey. Photo provided by Corby Kaye’s Studio

What an April … no foolin’.

Briny Breezes General Manager Theresa Pussinen has a prize photo with actor Robert De Niro, in town to shoot The Comedian. Photo provided

First comes word that Robert De Niro is hanging around Briny Breezes. OK, OK, it’s a stretch, but Briny is a hot little neighborhood/town. And at 72, De Niro could be its poster boy, but no, he’s not buying and, no, he wasn’t hanging out with some distant cousin from the Village. Nor was he scouting deals for son Raphael, who works in the New York real estate market.
    De Niro was doing what he does best — making movies — and Briny may have a minor role in his next one, The Comedian. That’s right, the guy who played a dying baseball player, a psychotic taxi driver, a bullish boxer, a mob boss and other assorted tough guys, stars as an “acerbic” stand-up comic.
    “They weren’t here long, maybe 20 minutes,” Briny administrative assistant Sharon Holden said. “Just a couple of shots in front of the clubhouse.”
    A crowd of some 30 residents gathered, she said, and General Manager Theresa Pussinen did manage to score a two-shot with the actor, but otherwise it was no big deal. Brinyites, after all, are pros at this. First there was Folks! with Tom Selleck and Don Ameche way back in 1991 and In Her Shoes (2004) with Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine.
    De Niro, of course, is no stranger to the area. He terrorized much of the Glades in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear and last year he played Zac Efron’s Dirty Grandpa.

Actress Helen Mirren celebrates Easter with two hostesses at Caffe Luna Rosa in Delray Beach. Photo provided

    Director Taylor Hackford likes the area, too. Three years ago he had cars screeching around Boca for Parker. This time the Oscar-winner brought along his wife, also an Oscar-winner. He and Helen Mirren even took time out for Easter brunch at Caffe Luna Rosa in Delray Beach.
    Mirren has won her Academy Award, two Golden Globes and four Emmys largely for playing English queens. In her latest outings she takes serious turns as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Trumbo) and as a military officer ordering drone strikes against terrorists (Eye in the Sky). But on Easter Sunday, when two Luna Rosa hostesses asked if she would mind a photo, she not only obliged but asked if she, too, could don a set of bunny ears.  
    “Neither has any pretenses,” Palm Beach County Film Commissioner Chuck Elderd said of Mirren and Hackford. “They’re just regular people. When he was shooting Parker, we couldn’t have had a better relationship.”
    And it’s good, clean business, although the state may lose some of that cash since Gov. Rick Scott declined to renew the $200 million-plus in tax credits for film projects. By comparison, Georgia claimed $6 billion in film revenue last year, and expects to see more if HBO’s Ballers (Miami) and Netflix’s Bloodline (the Keys) head north, as promised.
    Hackford and company stayed only four days but spent $400,000, Elderd said. The company also shot along the Intracoastal at Seagate Manor condos in Delray, on A1A in a princely yellow Corvette and at the studios of WXEL in Boynton. The cast includes Leslie Mann, Cloris Leachman and Edie Falco plus funny men Danny DeVito, Gilbert Gottfried and Jimmie Walker.
    De Niro’s “grandson” Efron was back in March with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to film scenes at Boca’s South Inlet Park for a Baywatch flick. That large tent across the inlet at the Boca Raton Resort & Club’s beach was erected to accommodate the crew, which stayed on site. The two-week gig added $7 million to the local economy.

***
                                
Growing up on the streets of Pittsburgh, Bobby Campbell tried just about every sport that could be played between the parked cars and streetlights. But he was hardly a jock.
    In fact, he was a musician. “I played trumpet. I still have a great trumpet at home, but I don’t use it,” the Boca Raton resident admitted, because he’s hooked big time on collegiate sports in Boca Raton and can’t wait to see them hit the big time.
    The kickoff took place at Lynn University in 2012 when Campbell donated $1.2 million to help build what is now Bobby Campbell Stadium, the home ground for soccer and lacrosse.
    Early on, Campbell had little to give. When he was 15 his mom sought better prospects in Detroit. Campbell landed a job at Kinney, first stocking shoes, then selling them. He liked coming home that first week with $35 in his pocket. Eventually he made store manager, then district manager and so on, ultimately going corporate with Kinney’s parent company, Woolworth.
    But Campbell had the hot foot, and in 1975, he hit the ground running with his own company. He built BBC International into a worldwide leader in footwear, especially for kids. Among the brands: Cole Haan, Teva, Polo Ralph Lauren, Heelys.
    BBC has been based in Boca since 1998 and Campbell has made many friends, such as Dick and Barbara Schmidt. Following their lead, he began  donating millions to Lynn, Boca Raton Regional Hospital and dozens of other causes.
    The latest is $5 million for FAU’s Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence. Dick Schmidt baited the hook, and FAU President John Kelly, with help from football coach Charlie Partridge and athletic director Pat Chun, reeled him in.
    Campbell is convinced that Kelly has FAU on the path to national prominence. The Schmidts also like FAU’s prospects and in 2014 started the ball rolling with a $16 million gift. To be built next to FAU’s new stadium, the 12,000-square-foot center will include an indoor training facility and areas for strength training and conditioning, sports medicine, health and wellness. Within the complex, the Bobby and Barbara Campbell Academic Success Center will offer tutoring suites, a career center, computer labs and two study halls.
    The centers will cost $50 million. Campbell’s gift brings the total raised to $28 million.
    “I’ve been going to games for a long time,” Campbell explained. “More and more I got involved. I even went to the Super Bowl with Charlie.
    “Beside, Boca is my community. There are three things I really like. Lynn, the people at the hospital, and FAU. It’s a real community school. … And it was time to do something for the kids.”

***
                                 
    Oh, what a night! This was no time for cutoffs, baggies, T-shirts and flip-flops. Decked out in flowing gowns, tuxes, even some madrigal costumes, dozens of students from Florida Atlantic and Lynn and a large contingent of supporters mostly from South County were truly in awe as they first entered the ornate ballroom at The Mar-a-Lago Club. Say what you will, but Donald Trump’s little club can stage an awesome party … in this case the 34th Red Rose Gala to benefit the National Society of Arts and Letters.
NSAL’s mission is to provide a springboard for rising young talent through scholarships and performance opportunities. The chapter, presently serving college and high school students in Boca Raton, has a fairy godmother in Alyce Erickson. She lined up philanthropists Marilyn and Mark Swillinger to co-chair the gala and Palm Beacher Patrick Park to serve as honorary chairman.
    Political rhetoric was easily forgotten as FAU’s Cantemos Singers served the first musical course, the perfect complement to the virtuosity of the NSAL scholarship winners from Lynn — oboist John Weisberg, pianist Darren Matias and violinist Yasa Poletaeva — backed by the Lynn Philharmonia under Maestro Guillermo Figueroa.
    In accepting a lifetime achievement award for leadership and community service, Maestro Gerard Schwarz cited research that shows music in schools can improve academic performance by as much as 30 percent.
    “There is a great need for cultivating talent,” Schwarz said. “It improves not only your life, but everything about your life.”
    Both Lynn and FAU have developed exceptional music programs that attract students from across the globe. The Philharmonia’s cellists, for example, hail from Venezuela, Iran, Uzbekistan, Chile, Brazil and the United States. Many hail from countries that are historical enemies, yet all must work together or music becomes noise.  
    Boca Raton native Weisberg will soon complete his degree in performance at Lynn, but his skills go deeper than notes on a page: He builds instruments — guitars, violins, even an oud, one of civilization’s first instruments. By summer’s end, he must finish a harpsichord.
    “This is what I do,” he says.
    Poletaeva, who graduated from Russia’s St. Petersburg Conservatory, blew the audience away as featured performer in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody, then showed how forceful she could be at the podium:
    “Four years ago, I left my home to follow my dream. I left behind not only my family, but the city where I was born and where I fell in love for the first time. I left much more — the culture I inherited, the native language I spoke for 20 years … and my entire understanding of the world.
    “They say in order to be born again, you have to die first. For me, moving to the United States, to Florida, was like a small death. In the time I’ve lived here, I have transformed into a new person. I have built a beautiful community of friends. I’ve become an open, smiling and trusting person — and I’ve found a new home.
    “Through your support of NSAL, I am able to bring my ideas … and my beliefs … to people from other countries and continents all over the world.”
                     ***          
The 21st edition of the Palm Beach International Film Festival is history, but aside from lots of photos on Facebook — most including festival Executive Vice President Larry Richman — little information has been released about attendance, awards or accolades.
    Names? Let’s see. Former Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio and Entourage’s Rex Lee (Guys Reading Poems). A screening of Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru did, in fact, attract the motivational speaker, personal finance instructor and self-help author. The film is scheduled for a July release through Netflix in 170 countries.  
    Among the award winners, The House at the End of Time  from Venezuela won Best Horror Picture. (It was not about the Hugo Chavez regime.) Best Documentary Feature went to When Elephants Were Young, narrated by William Shatner.
    The festival’s new boss, Jeff Davis, suggested the next Star Wars might be in the lineup. Despite their noble efforts, how can the filmmakers succeed if festival organizers don’t spread the word a little better?
                                ***
    The film fest opened April 6 at Muvico Parisian in West Palm Beach with the world premiere of Money, a caper film from Spain. Next night in Boca as The Pickle Recipe played at Cinemark Palace, The Dubliner in Mizner Park was coming alive with “Randi’s Festival of Friends,” or as former PBIFF Executive Director Randi Emerman actually preferred: “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to party.”  
    “It was really just getting together with my friends that would have been at the festival. Taking my mind off what was happening up the road,” explained Emerman, who guided the festival through nearly two decades. Emerman, who was next off to Cinema Con in Vegas, is busy. As marketing boss for Coconut Creek-based Silverspot Cinema, she’s opened multiplexes in Naples and Chapel Hill, N.C., with more on the way.
                                ***

William Shatner’s 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton went for $29,700 at Barrett-Jackson’s auction at the South Florida Fairgrounds. The gavel struck at a bargain $55,000 for his 2002 Aston-Martin DB7, autograph included. The convertible retailed for about $150,000. Photo provided

    The original Captain Kirk didn’t make the festival, but Shatner did stop by the South Florida Fairgrounds to watch the sale of two personal automobiles at Barrett-Jackson’s 14th annual auto auction.   
    “I am selling them because I have too many cars and I am ready to go onto another phase,” explained Shatner, who breeds horses in Kentucky and breathes high-octane gasoline on the road.
    His 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton, essentially 12-cylinder Bentley in “volksy” clothing, went for a bargain $29,700. In 2002 an Aston-Martin DB7 convertible, beige on beige, V-12 with 420 horses retailed for about $150,000. At Barrett-Jackson, the gavel struck at a bargain $55,000, Shatner’s autograph included.
    Eight special vehicles, including a first off the line 2017 Corvette and a similar Camaro, raised more than $1 million for charities. Top choice was a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Commando that raised $225,000 for the Patriot Foundation. The auction took in $23.2 million, a record.
                                ***
    Chef turned country rocker Zac Brown offered up a 2004 Hummer. Not just any Hummer, this baby came with a full custom-built kitchen, roof storage and two air compressors. It raised $30,000 for Brown’s Camp Southern Ground for special needs children.
    Brown was lucky he didn’t need the cash for bail.
In the early hours of April 8, Palm Beach police responded to complaints about a strange car in the parking lot and a noisy party at The Four Seasons Resort. Cops found cocaine in the car and charged the driver and the two women he brought to the party — employees of Pure Platinum, a Lauderdale strip club — with felony drug possession.
    Brown told police he was invited to the party by a friend and didn’t know drugs were involved until the police arrived 10 minutes later.  The cops didn’t charge Brown, but they did ask for his autograph.
    Brown last month had the No. 1 single on the country charts, his 13th. Titled Beautiful Drug, it’s a love song.
    “My dad always said nothing good ever happens when you stay out late,” the chastened Brown wrote on Facebook. “It’s a lesson I learned the hard way … being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everyone is responsible for their actions, and I regret using poor judgment and putting myself in that position.”
    Brown’s “friend” was likely one of two North Carolinians whom police questioned: Dale Ledbetter and Kenny Habul, both of whom were connected to the auto auction. Ledbetter (10 to 1 he was named for Dale Earnhardt) was charged with marijuana possession. He works for Hendrick Motorsports, the legendary auto racing operation and donor of the top-grossing charity Jeep. Born in Australia, Habul, 37, has been racing cars since he was a teenager and currently drives for JR Motorsports, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.
    Maybe for his next single, Brown could release a cover of Dr. John’s Right Place Wrong Time.  

***
                                
    If all goes to plan, Lake Worth may have something that Delray doesn’t: a rooftop bar, with a view. The City Commission has approved zoning changes that will allow Hudson Holdings to renovate the Gulf Stream Hotel — $60 million worth, including a restaurant, a champagne room and a rooftop bar. From six stories up, you can see the ocean and feel the breeze. At Hudson’s Sundy House in Delray, the view is shrubbery.
    By the time work is done, the Gulf Stream will be nearly a century old, which gives Hudson plenty of time to resolve some historical and geographical issues. Hudson’s website refers to “The Gulfstream Hotel, Circa 1925 … located two hundred yards from the ocean.”
    It’s Gulf Stream. Lake Worth history buff and consultant Wes Blackman has reported that construction began in May 1923 at the height of the first land boom, but two months later financial problems halted work for eight months. With design changes, a new board and new contractor, work resumed in March 1924.
    Three months later it was being billed as the “Gulf Stream, Lake Worth’s $400,000 fireproof hotel.” After a soft opening on Dec. 10, it was finally dedicated on Jan. 20, 1925, even as the boom was busting.
    While it may sit 200 yards from the body of water known as Lake Worth, the Atlantic Ocean is three-quarters of a mile east.  The building was designed by Atlanta-based architect G. Lloyd Preacher, who later designed Atlanta’s neo-Gothic City Hall. The online New Georgia Encyclopedia notes that “the El Nuevo Hotel (1923; later Gulf Stream Hotel) … visible for miles, is especially noteworthy as the town’s only skyscraper.”
                                ***
    A few blocks away, another space with Roaring ’20s roots — Bamboo Room —  has a new tenant, and not exactly the type you would expect to find in a nightclub. But then Common Ground Church isn’t your typical house of worship and Pastor Mike Olive isn’t your typical minister.
    Olive initially held services at Common Grounds Coffee Bar, also on South J Street, but a few months ago he moved Sunday services to Bamboo, paying rent on a day-to-day basis. Now Olive and co-owner Ryan Mueller have agreed to a lease. Terms are not final, and should Mueller get his asking price — it’s listed at $1.5 million — Olive would have to move his pulpit again.
    Common Ground has had a few run-ins with city officials, in part because of public proselytizing and because many of its parishioners are dealing with drug problems. But Olive claims all is well. In addition to Sunday services, he will add another on Wednesdays and hopes to launch a Thursday comedy night, yoga and exercise classes, a juice bar and a vegan kitchen.
    Mueller intends to keep the nightclub running on Fridays and Saturdays.
                                ***
    Some win, some lose, some change.
    How could it not be a winner! On Atlantic Avenue. A deck overlooking a dock on the Intracoastal. Plenty of parking. Lots of managerial experience. Owners with deep pockets. Yet less than a year and a half after it opened, Hudson has closed. Restaurant broker Tom Prakas has listed the 7,000-square-foot eatery for sale at $7.9 million or lease at $450,000.
    According to news reports, Bryce Statham, who owns Blue Moon Fish Co. in Fort Lauderdale, backed out at the last moment because the lease was too steep to override concerns about slow off-season business. Other suitors are calling, an optimistic Prakas reports, and a deal could be cut in a matter of days.
                                ***
    Less than a year after Gary Rack opened his second Fat Rooster, at the corner of Atlantic and Second Avenue in Delray, he’s changed it. Faster than you can say farm to table, GR Restaurant Management Group is converting the Rooster to Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen. Opening is expected this month, with the same guilt-free, farm-fresh dishes offered for two years at the first Farmhouse Kitchen in Boca.
    Gone is the Frito Pie — layers of corn chips smothered in chunky chili, topped with cheddar cheese, red onions, and pickled jalapeños in a steel pan. Instead try roasted chicken and apple with almonds, Vermont cheddar, dates and ricotta or perhaps bison meatloaf with a cheddar gouda mash and red wine jus.
                                ***
Anthony Pugliese is out of jail … after four months. Claiming he’s claustrophobic, the Gulf Stream-based developer, wheeler-dealer and memorabilia collector had hoped to serve no time after copping a plea on fraud charges, but the judge decided six months — could have been 18 — in an 8-by-12 was appropriate. With good behavior he was out in four.
    For what?
    Pugliese, 69, took Subway founder Fred DeLuca for more than $1 million in a scheme to develop Destiny, a massive real estate venture in Central Florida. Never happened. Pugliese also was ordered to reimburse DeLuca more than $1 million, but it won’t do DeLuca any good. He died last September from leukemia, but at least he knew that Pugliese would pay for his deeds.
    Pugliese is perhaps best known as a collector of memorabilia, some of which he has used to finance his philanthropy and business ventures. An auction to raise money for Destiny brought in $57,500 for the bullwhip Harrison Ford used as Indiana Jones, and $110,000 for the steel-rimmed bowler tossed by the villain Oddjob in Goldfinger. Pugliese perhaps is best known as the owner of the pistol Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald.     
                                 
    Nobody asked me, but …
    The Atlanta Braves have a lot of nerve. For years they were the only Major League Baseball team in the Southeast, and even before moving to Atlanta from Milwaukee they spent the spring at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium — 4,200 seats for $1 million. Palm Beach County adopted the Braves and later the Montreal Expos, but with the arrival of the Marlins and the Rays, allegiances changed.
    Two decades ago, the Braves ditched the Palm Beaches for Disney. No big deal. The county built Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter for $28 million, and whaddaya know, the Expos and Cardinals flew in. In 2002, however, the Expos and Marlins worked a trade, with the Marlins leaving Viera near Melbourne for Roger Dean.
Next year new allegiances will form as the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros (please, no floods) move into the $148 million Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
    Following the money, the Braves seem to be attempting a double steal. Not wanting to sign a new lease at Disney, they’ve been talking with Sarasota, St. Pete, Fort Myers and, yes, maybe they could play at John Prince Park. Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Valeche, who represents North County, doesn’t see a problem with the Braves building on half of the county’s showcase park.  
    Who will put up the money? How many additional fans would a fifth team actually attract?
    “I can’t imagine it,” one county parks employee said. “They take all that land and when the lease is up, they go somewhere else. That park is a such a gem.”

Reach Thom Smith at thomsmith@ymail.com.

By Greg Stepanich, ArtsPaper Writer

Delray Beach’s Arts Garage, an arts performance space featuring theater, jazz, blues and pop, opened five years ago last month on the bottom floor of a parking garage on Northeast First Street. Its director for the first five years was Alyona Ushe, a Russian-born arts professional whose background includes the founding of a Washington, D.C., theater company and the executive directorship of the New Orleans Opera.
Arts Garage was the outgrowth of a 2006 cultural plan adopted by the Delray Beach City Commission, and implemented by the Creative City Collaborative with major funding from Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency. Although the Garage was almost immediately successful in establishing itself as an arts venue, it had a couple near-death experiences over its lease, its funding, and its management, particularly after the Creative City Collaborative expanded into Pompano Beach in 2014.
Ushe resigned as Arts Garage’s director April 4 (she was replaced by Keith Garsson) to concentrate full-time on the Collaborative’s work in Pompano, where a new cultural center is being constructed. Ushe spoke with Palm Beach ArtsPaper in her offices at Pompano Citi Center about the financial controversies that accompanied her last months at Arts Garage, and what she’s planning. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation:

Stepanich: You left Arts Garage on April 4. Did you want to leave, or after the appearance before the CRA, did the higher-ups say, “Alyona, maybe you want to think about doing something else”?
Ushe: The fact is the cultural center that we are beginning to open here (in Pompano Beach) is a beast. It is a huge undertaking. And my passion has always been launching new entities. I did that in D.C., I did it at Arts Garage. And so as I was looking at everything, and the choices we were facing, it seemed like it was the perfect time for me to really focus on the next big thing, which is so critical, and which we were responsible for already.
Arts Garage has a foundation, Arts Garage has got the programming. I have a very clear conscience in terms of leaving it where it is, as it is. We’ve gone through all the major hiccups, so we were definitely on our way out of the misunderstandings. And it was really becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our financials were not in disarray. The first audit addressed some of the improvements that needed to be made. The current draft we presented to the (City Commission) addressed those issues, and that was before this (controversy) started.
So it just seemed at that time that we had more important things to focus on, that were really critical, that required our attention, and so my senior staff and I picked up and left. We’d been talking about this a while.
S: But apparently you didn’t have the kind of accounting the CRA wanted.  
U: I think it was just a perfect storm, to be honest with you. The whole roller-coaster ride started with us submitting our report late. The reason why that report was submitted late to the CRA was because we had to finish the audit. And the audit was late because of some additional information the CRA was requesting.
Now again, all I had to do at that time was put in a written request. I should have re-read the contract. I should have been aware of what it is that I was supposed to have done to avoid this. But to withhold $70,000 just because the report was submitted late seems to me a punishment that surpassed the crime.  
And that started the whole snowball rolling. And it picked up momentum. And the city looked at us and said, “Your management let us down. We don’t have all the credit card receipts.” What they didn’t mention was that out of a sample of 30, we were missing two. And instead of listening and trying to understand what the situation was — we’re supposed to be partners. We’ve created something absolutely magical that every other city is trying to emulate. And we were in a challenging situation, and that’s when the city should really have come together.
Now I’m not blaming anyone. I think in the end, everything worked out for the best. In the end, it has forced the organization to pay much more attention to details. But as we were going through this, the question that popped into my head over and over again was, “Considering the crime, is the punishment really appropriate?” And we were this close to closing our doors. We had no funds coming in.
S: $70,000 is not really a great deal of money.
U: Not for the city, no. But for us, as an organization that has lived payment to payment — we would submit a budget, and we would typically break even — you take (the CRA funding) out of our budget, and what do you do? For the CRA, it’s nothing. For the city, it’s nothing.
But again, I think everything happens for the best, it happens for a reason. And in this case, the reason was that we needed to tighten the organization so that nothing like this ever happens again. And for me personally, that is a lesson I will never forget.
So (now) when it comes to contracts, I have the whole thing memorized. I can tell you every single letter and every single paragraph no matter how big the document is.
S:  What kinds of programming were you encouraged to bring to Arts Garage when it got started? Did they say: We need jazz and blues?
U: When I first came to interview, and I was meeting with key officials, the description was very vague at that time. There was something about the cultural aspects of Delray Beach, there was something about the (projected Arts) Warehouse, a whole bunch of stuff. And I remember specifically asking, “What exactly are your expectations?” And the response was, “That’s for you to figure out.”
Which was daunting at that time. I mean, how do you go into a foreign city and you’ve got to figure out what your goals are? That’s almost a formula for failure right there. But with Arts Garage, initially, experimentation was critical. First of all, I believe in diversity of programming. So the more interesting things you can put on stage, the more you mix it up, the more audiences get involved and engaged. ...
There’s a lot of experimentation to be made, and I think, and I hope, and I wish for Arts Garage that they don’t get boxed into doing jazz and blues, and that they do continue to be creative and try different things. Because there is nothing more damaging or more frightening for any arts organization than inertia.
There will be seven judges for the competition: Andrés Cárdenes, Charles Castleman, Gudny Gudmundsdottir, Daniel Heifetz, Ilya Kaler, Vera Tsu Wei-ling, and Elmar Weingarten.

Palm Beach Dramaworks’ 16th anniversary was a gala evening of dining, dancing and delight as 250 guests spent the night swingin’ in a ballroom transformed into a chic nightclub of decades past. The theater’s Shelly Award was presented to longtime patron and former board member Jan Winkler. LEFT: Sponsors Linda and Don Silpe. Photo provided by Alicia Donelan

The Friends Auxiliary of the Boca Raton Museum of Art welcomed a fresh slate of leaders during a special luncheon ceremony of the support group. Members already are hard at work planning an itinerary for art and culture lovers for next season.
ABOVE: (l-r) Third Vice President Patricia Gould-Peck, Recording Secretary Katia Delouya, Recording Secretary Trudy Helfand, President Amy Hogaboom, First Vice President Peggy Stein, Second Vice President Regina Peters, Treasurer Melissa Meyers and Assistant Recording Secretary Marjory Bitson. Photo provided

The annual affair celebrating the joy of reading raised $200,000 to support the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County’s mission and programs. Luncheon speaker, international bestselling author and literacy advocate David Baldacci was a huge hit with the crowd, autographing books following the event. ABOVE: (l-r) Kristin Calder, CEO of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County; Baldacci; Fabiola Brumley, of Bank of America; and Bettina Young, luncheon chairwoman. Photo provided

A beautiful weekend was the perfect backdrop for more than 1,000 guests at the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum’s annual fundraiser. A VIP pre-party Friday sold out as did Saturday’s vintner dinners. The event raised more than $200,000 for community programs. ABOVE: Boca Bacchanal Chairs Kathy and Rick Qualman. Photo provided

Nearly $500 was raised for Daughters of Zion through a car wash benefiting the Junior Academy’s after-school reading program. ‘Our thanks go to Jack Foley for supplying the eco-friendly cleaning products and to Chuck Halberg for the hoses,’ said Allison Turner, chairwoman of the Delray Beach Initiative, which is geared toward enhancing the lives of local children. ‘Great day!’ ABOVE: (l-r) Turner, Halberg, Donald Schneider, Jim Nolan, Carol Eaton, Stephen Greene and Brooke Jones. Photo provided

The Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys & Girls Club of Delray Beach’s fourth-annual fundraiser brought in more than $132,000 and honored Tony Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of Seagate Hospitality Group. The Youth of the Year of Delray Beach award went to club member Karah Pierre, 15. More than 200 supporters attended the event. ABOVE: (l-r) Chip Sander with Susan and Michael Mullin. Photo provided

The Plate: Fried Gulf Shrimp
The Place: Two George’s, 728 Casa Loma Blvd, Boynton Beach; 736-2717 or twogeorgesrestaurant.com.
The Price: $17.99
The Skinny: What can I say?
Fried shrimp is my weakness. Oh, I love the shellfish in all forms.
But that combination of flour and hot oil takes me back to my childhood and the wonderful fried shrimp we had decades ago at Hudgins in West Palm Beach and Dino’s in Fort Myers.
Two George’s did a nice job with the shellfish during a recent visit.
I typically go for the conch chowder (among the best anywhere) and a sandwich when I visit, but decided to forgo those in favor of this plate of shrimp.
The eight large shrimp were plump and were fried until tender.
The side of fries was crispy. They appeared to be battered — there was a coating — but they and the medley of squash served on the side almost were superfluous.
Who needs anything else when shrimp are this pretty?
— Scott Simmons

By Steve Plunkett
    
Following what he called an “extraordinary” visit to the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, the city’s deputy mayor wants district commissioners to replace their interim executive director with someone full time.
“Understandably, the incumbent has other issues he must balance with the demands of the district,” Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth said in an email to the district’s chairman.
Arthur Koski, the interim director, is also the district’s longtime attorney.
“With regard to a full-time director, I am serving at the pleasure of the district and at the request of the district. I am prepared to step aside at any time the commissioners so desire,” he said.
Weinroth’s demand for a new executive comes after a “dustup” over Red Reef Park’s master plan brought communications between the city and the district to a near standstill.
During an unscheduled appearance at the district’s March 14 meeting, Weinroth said he was alarmed by an email from Assistant City Manager Mike Woika to Koski.
    “The first sentence just really made me concerned that we’re really not making progress in our attempt to have better communication,” Weinroth said.
    Woika’s email acknowledged that he received two emails from Koski regarding capital projects on city property, Weinroth said.
    Woika’s email continued: “I’m shocked and disappointed that you suggest that the district attempts to communicate with the city and the city ignores the communication, when in fact just the opposite is true.”
    Koski said the acrimony began after he and the district’s assistant executive director, Briann Harms, scheduled a meeting with Miller Legg, the consultant firm developing the Red Reef plan.
    Jim Miller and Michele Peel, of the Friends of Gumbo Limbo, inquired about the status of the plan and Koski invited them to sit in, he said. Harms then invited Buddy Parks, the city’s deputy director of recreational services, who was not available.
    Woika thinks the city was specifically excluded from the meeting, Koski said, “which was absolutely false.”
    “There was never an intention to exclude anybody,” Koski said, “and in fact, immediately after the meeting, Briann physically took all of the documents which were discussed at that meeting to Buddy Parks’ office at the city.”
    Koski said he sent a one-line email on March 3 to Woika: “Can we get together and discuss the master plan?” Woika responded that evening that he was out of the office and would call the next day, Koski said.
    “I’ve not heard from him since,” he said.
    “Basically, up until the point of not getting the callback, the dustup was a dustup,” Beach and Park District Commissioner Earl Starkoff said.
    “It was all over with,” Koski said. “But here we are [on March 14] and we still have not had any reply to the request.”
    Koski also said having conversations with Mickey Gomez, the city’s director of recreational services, “may be somewhat difficult.”
    Gomez told Koski he is “out of pocket because of some issue of him being involved at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center,” part of Red Reef Park. Boca Raton owns the park; the Beach and Park District pays all costs for operating and maintaining it.
    Weinroth said he is frustrated that the Beach and Park District and the City Council have not held a joint session since June 9.
    “I know [council member Scott] Singer during that meeting had said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could have meetings on a quarterly basis and then we could again try to address some of the situations that we need to work on together? Things like the interlocal agreement, things like the capital plan for Gumbo Limbo, things like the tank, like the pump for the water being brought out of the ocean.’ There are a lot of issues that really need to be addressed,” Weinroth said.
    Koski has said he started suggesting possible dates for a joint meeting in August without success.
Both Woika and Gomez disputed Koski’s version of the events, Weinroth said in his March 15 email to District Chairman Robert Rollins.
“For the record ... I believe the District needs to [make] securing a permanent executive director as a top priority,” Weinroth wrote.
Koski became the district’s interim executive director after Robert Langford retired in 2012. He also has a private practice and represents two people who are suing the city to block construction of a chabad on the barrier island.
Weinroth called the legal situation “problematic.”
“I think at a time when we’re trying to build bridges between our two bodies, I don’t think that this is helpful,” he said.
Koski, in an interview March 29, said he had spoken with Gomez about the master plan but still had not received a phone call or email from Woika.
“I don’t want to blame anybody ... but I feel any criticism of the district is unwarranted,” Koski said.
Weinroth’s appearance was the second high-level get-together between the two bodies in three weeks.
    Rollins had what he called “a wonderful meeting” with Mayor Susan Haynie in City Hall on Feb. 24. He told Haynie that the district would pay half the local costs of renourishing the central beach area and expects to reserve more money each year for future beach restorations.
    Rollins originally planned to address the full council at one of its workshop sessions, but Haynie advised him to talk directly with City Manager Leif Ahnell, he said. Rollins said he has also offered to meet with Singer for coffee.
    “When you get eyeball to eyeball and you sit there at the same table, communications are greatly improved,” Rollins said. “And my objective is to help facilitate that for us this year.”
Rollins is scheduled to meet with Ahnell on April 4.
Starkoff thanked Weinroth for coming.
    “We don’t have to have a joint meeting in order to have a nice conversation and see how messages get conveyed. That’s very nice,” Starkoff said.
At the next council meeting, Weinroth encouraged his colleagues to reach out to the district.
“I think that it’s incumbent upon us, one on one with these commissioners, to have conversations and let them know our concerns, because obviously we can’t do it as a body. We can’t seem to put these [joint] meetings together.” Ú

By Sallie James

    Property values in Boca Raton have jumped to an estimated market value of $26 billion for 2015, ranking first out of 38 municipalities countywide, according to Palm Beach County Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks.
That’s an increase from $23.5 billion for 2014.
    Jacks made the remarks during a March 22 presentation to the City Council.
    “It’s got the highest market value of any city in the county, with the second-highest parcel count to West Palm Beach,” Jacks said, referring to Boca Raton’s 42,460 individually owned properties. The city’s taxable value for 2015 is $19.5 billion.
Market value, or what buyers will pay, is often higher than taxable value.
    And there’s more good news: Residential values are expected to continue rising in 2016, increasing an estimated 6 to 8 percent, she said. Predictions for commercial values will come later in the year.
    Nearby Highland Beach’s 2015 market value totaled a tidy $2.6 billion, with a taxable value of $2 billion for its 4,207 properties. Overall values there are expected to rise an estimated 9 to 12 percent in 2016.
At the end of 2014, market value  for Highland Beach was about $2.3 billion, according to the property appraiser’s office.
    So why the uptick in Boca Raton?
    “Thoughtful planning” is creating “interesting opportunities” for growth, Jacks said.
    “What we have noticed about Boca Raton is that they have started this interesting development on the Congress Avenue corridor north of Glades Road near the mall,” Jacks said. “It is very pedestrian-friendly. A lot of sales activities have occurred around that area, and of course, everything around the university is booming.”
    “Remarkable” is how Jacks described the city’s commercial zone development and she described the Congress Avenue corridor projects as a “very thoughtful way to move your city westward.”
    “It seems Boca Raton often sets the trend in our county,” Jacks said. She noted that Delray Beach is also starting to redevelop its Congress Avenue corridor.
    “Boca Raton is a big city in a lot of ways. It’s good to see Boca Raton raising values and then maintaining them,” Jacks said. “It just points to a well-run city. Boca Raton has always been a well-run city. They are always thinking about their future.”
    Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie said the city has become an employment hub with a successful transportation network, a growing university and affordable housing that is being built close to retail and business.
    “All facets of our community are world-class and that has been reflected in these property values,” Haynie said.
    She added, “We are very fortunate that those who came before us understood the value of a very vibrant tax base and we also are fortunate our city manager is also a CPA.”
    “It seems well thought out,” Jacks said of Boca’s growth.

By Sallie James

    The city has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit that claims Boca Raton officials improperly created a special zoning classification to allow construction of a synagogue on the barrier island.
    The court action is the latest development in an ongoing controversy surrounding plans by Chabad of East Boca to build an 18,000-square-foot synagogue and Israel museum at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road. In May 2015, the city voted to allow Chabad to build a structure that exceeded the 30-foot limit allowed by city code and rise to a height of 40 feet, 8 inches.
    City spokeswoman Chrissy Biagiotti declined comment, citing ongoing litigation.
    The newest motion, filed on March 8 by the city and joined by Chabad, urges the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by residents Gerald Gagliardi and Kathleen MacDougall. The motion says the city’s actions have “a secular purpose,” “a neutral effect on religion” and “do not excessively entangle government with religion.”
    Gagliardi and MacDougall sued the city on Feb. 4 in federal court seeking to bar the project’s construction. The federal lawsuit claims the pair’s rights to equal protection were violated when the city created a zoning classification that paved the way for the synagogue’s construction, and accuses the city of holding “secret internal and nonpublic discussions” to allow the project.
    Their lawsuit, filed by lawyer Arthur Koski, who is also interim executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, seeks costs, attorney fees and compensatory and punitive damages.
    Opponents insist the project, especially the museum, will snarl traffic in an already congested area and claim the increased height of the building will mar the area’s ambience.
    Proponents say the project will increase area property values and disagree that traffic will worsen, noting that congregants walk to services.
    The motion to dismiss states there was no violation of the equal protection clause because the city’s actions were “rationally related to a legitimate government purpose” and because the plaintiffs failed to identify “similarly situated persons.”
    It further states that Gagliardi and MacDougall’s lawsuit fails to identify an “unconstitutional custom or policy” by the city or any basis for compensatory and punitive damages.
    The motion notes that the Establishment Clause of the Constitution prohibits government from promoting or affiliating with any religious organization and concludes that the city’s actions “easily fit within the ‘tension’ created by the ‘establishment’ clause and the ‘free exercise’ clause of the First Amendment.”
    The related motion to dismiss filed by Chabad states that Gagliardi and MacDougall have no standing to file their lawsuit, have not sufficiently proved they suffered personal injury and failed to state an equal protection claim.
    Rabbi Ruvi New has said repeatedly his congregation will not be deterred.
    “We are moving forward with our campaign and excited to be part of the growth and development in east Boca,” New said.
    Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth said Koski’s participation in the lawsuit “is problematic while [the council and the beach and park district] are trying to work together.”
    Taxes from the beach and park district pay for operating and maintaining some city parks and facilities and also finance some capital projects. Ú

ABOVE: Glades Road looking northwest at Airport Road.
BELOW: With a proposed elevated ramp to northbound I-95. Renderings provided by FDOT

By Steve Plunkett
    
Looking to ease traffic on busy Glades Road, state engineers plan to segregate I-95’s on-ramps to let east-west vehicles flow more freely.
    Luis Costa, a consulting engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation, said the project, which could begin as soon as next year, would add a physically separated “auxiliary lane” for westbound cars planning to go north on I-95 and for eastbound drivers going north or south.
“Basically we take out the traffic that’s going to I-95 early enough at both ends of the project, so that traffic can flow freely on Glades Road that is Glades Road traffic only,” Costa told the City Council at its March 7 workshop.
    Glades Road itself would stay three lanes in both directions with the addition of buffered, 7-foot-wide bicycle lanes, up from the standard 4 feet wide.
    “That’s a very exciting design, very unique. I think it really achieves the purpose without adding a lot of asphalt,” Mayor Susan Haynie said.
    Costa said the FDOT plan in 2009 was to make Glades Road eight lanes between Butts Road and Northwest 13th Street/East University Drive.
    “That was not well received. There was a lot of opposition,” he said.
    The old plan would have taken right of way from several businesses west of I-95 and from Boca Raton High School, the University Commons shopping plaza and the city water plant on the east side. The proposal would also have required a new bridge over railroad tracks and two new bridges over the interstate.
    And it would have created a 187-foot crosswalk at Glades and Airport Road, making long green lights necessary to let pedestrians cross.
    The new, more pedestrian-friendly design puts a bridge over Airport Road for the interstate access ramp and trims the crosswalk to 125 feet.
    “We don’t have to provide as much green time for the pedestrians,” Costa said.
    Traffic lanes will be cut from 12 feet wide to 11 feet wide to make room for the wider bike lanes.
    Fausto Gomez, the FDOT’s project manager, said at this point the Glades Road work has funding only for right of way, not construction. Money could become available in 2022, he said. But the department just received $140 million in federal funds and could include the project in the work next year to add express lanes to the interstate, he said.
    The Glades Road improvements would keep the traffic flow good through 2040, Costa said.

By Rich Pollack

A war of words that started after Delray Beach commissioners rejected a proposed fire-service agreement with Highland Beach appears to be at a ceasefire, with both sides deciding to come to the table to try to hammer out a workable contract.
In March, Delray Beach City Manager Don Cooper, Fire Chief Danielle Connor and Finance Director Jack Warner met with representatives from Highland Beach to discuss an agreement in which the larger city would continue to provide fire and paramedic services to the smaller coastal town.
“I’m very confident we’ll be able to work this out,” Cooper said.
Highland Beach Town Commissioner Carl Feldman, who was in the meeting, is also optimistic about an agreement being reached. He said, however, that the town is also talking to other possible providers, including Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and Boynton Beach Fire Rescue. Highland Beach town leaders also have interest in hearing the result of a study being done exploring the possibility of a coastal fire district.
“Something good will come as a result of all of these meetings and it will benefit our residents as well as residents of surrounding communities,” Feldman said. “Everything is going along right on schedule and we’re very pleased with what we’re hearing.”
During the meeting with Highland Beach, Delray Beach representatives discussed terms of a proposed 10-year-contract in which the city would staff the town’s fire station. Under the agreement, personnel from Delray Beach would continue to staff and operate a ladder truck the town currently leases from Delray Beach and a rescue vehicle owned by Highland Beach.
The current agreement between the two municipalities expires in September 2017.
Highland Beach officials say they will review the proposal and respond at an April meeting.
“We’re hoping to find common ground,” said Highland Beach Town Manager Beverly Brown.
Brown said both Delray Beach and Highland Beach leaders are optimistic that an agreement can be worked out that would allow the two communities to continue a business relationship.
“We all agreed that we have a long-term relationship beneficial to both of us that we’d like to continue,” Brown said.
Still, she said, the town is keeping its options open.
Highland Beach town officials ended 2015 thinking they had reached an agreement with Delray Beach on a $3.3 million annual contract. In fact, town officials had even signed the proposed agreement.
Delray Beach commissioners, however, balked, saying it appeared the city would lose money under the proposed contract. The City Commission voted to add a 20 percent administrative fee to the proposal.
“There was a perception that Delray Beach was subsidizing Highland Beach,” Cooper said.
Highland Beach officials, however, later discovered the rescue truck stationed in town — and owned by the town — responded to about 35 calls per month in nearby areas of Delray Beach.
That information, as well as other revelations, led Delray Beach commissioners to suggest reopening negotiations.
“The notion that Highland Beach gets more out of this than we do is not factually accurate,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said.
At their workshop meeting in March, Highland Beach commissioners agreed to extend a deadline for a new contract into April. The original deadline was March 30.

By Mary Hladky

    A long-awaited report on whether downtown building projects are in compliance with the city’s open-space requirements is now scheduled to be delivered at the April 11 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting.
    City Manager Leif Ahnell launched an examination of 74 downtown projects approved since 1988 after the discovery late last year of a 2003 memo used to guide planning staff on what developers can and cannot count as open space in their projects.
    Ahnell and City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser say the memo misinterprets a 1988 city ordinance that sets out open-space requirements. As a result, developers may have been able to skirt the rules on open space intended to create attractive downtown projects.
    Ahnell has given no hint about what the report will say, even though CRA chairman Scott Singer has repeatedly asked him at meetings for an update.
    BocaBeautiful.org, which wants limitations on downtown development, wasn’t content to wait.
    President John Gore said the group hired Ames International Architecture of Delray Beach to evaluate three projects: the massive Via Mizner mixed-use complex, the Tower One Fifty Five condominium and the Palmetto Promenade mixed-use development, formerly known as Archstone.
    “We knew that would take forever,” Gore said of the city evaluation.
    The conclusion? “There was no violation” of the open-space requirements, although Via Mizner, which will include apartments, condos and a Mandarin Oriental hotel, just barely met them, according to Ames International.
    But that doesn’t mean all is well, Gore said.
    Ames International also found that “clearly there are a number of buildings that are in violation of the architectural design provisions,” he said.
    While Gore said that doesn’t necessarily mean they violate the “letter of the law,” they fall short of the “spirit of the law” that new projects should be harmonious with Boca Raton’s signature Addison Mizner architectural style.
    “There is no way Via Mizner Phase 1 comports with the Mizner style,” Gore said. “If the City Council had been enforcing the spirit of the law and architectural guidelines, they would never have allowed that building to be built.”
    Gore exempts from his critique Tower One Fifty Five, saying the design is acceptable. The two others are “ugly boxes.”
    So, BocaBeautiful.org will continue urging the City Council to prevent downtown overdevelopment and “to approve development that is consistent with the architecture and history of Boca Raton,” he said.
    Gore and other downtown activists say the city went overboard in analyzing buildings constructed since 1988.
    “We are not worried about something built 15 years ago,” he said. “What we are concerned about is development going on right now.”
    The open-space requirements are contained in Ordinance 4035.
For example, if a building is taller than 75 feet, 40 percent of the land must be open space. At least 65 percent of the required open space must be uncovered from the ground to the sky. The remainder can be in covered areas such as colonnades or areas under balconies.
    But Downtown Manager Ruby Childers told the City Council on Jan. 11 that the 2003 memo incorrectly allows developers to count certain features as open space, such as areas under archways. Over time, the list has been expanded to include upper-story balconies, pool decks and more. It also incorrectly states that open-space language in the ordinance was adopted as a guideline, not a requirement, she said.
    Since the memo was unearthed, the approval process for downtown development projects has ground nearly to a halt as the city conducts the open-space evaluation. Ú