Obituary
MATTHEW DUNCAN
By Ron Hayes
BRINY BREEZES — When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Matthew Duncan immediately quit his job at the Buick plant in Flint, Mich., and joined the Marines.
He was 20 then, and embarking on a lifetime of service to his country, community and friends, including 16 years on the Briny Breezes Town Council.
Mr. Duncan died Sept. 9, eight months after being diagnosed with cancer, and two days before his 63rd wedding anniversary. He was 88.
“He didn’t have spare time,” remembers his wife, Louise. “He always worked around the park, or on the council, and in a lot of organizations up home.”
Born Dec. 23, 1920, in Flint, Mr. Duncan served as a gunnery sergeant on Iwo Jima, Saipan and Tinian during some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific.
After the war, he joined the Flint Fire Department, working 24-hours on duty and 54 off, and ran the Matt Duncan Insurance Agency in between.
He was a 32nd degree Mason, a past chief of the Clan MacKenzie Scottish Rites, and a founding member and past president of the Springs Meadows Country Club in Linden, Mich.
The Duncans first came to Briny Breezes in 1975 and became permanent residents in the mid-1980s. In 1991, Mr. Duncan was elected to the Town Council and served as its president from 1999 to 2007, when he declined to run for re-election.
“He was a very fair person, that’s the first thing,” remembers Rita Taylor, who served with Mr. Duncan. “And always willing to assist. When they first put in our interior cable TV network, he acted as an unofficial handyman. Anybody who had a problem, he was the go-to guy.”
To his friends and neighbors, he was the friendly fellow who rode around town in a golf cart with his Shih Tzu, Lucky, forever at his side.
“He was nice guy, and a handy guy,” recalled his friend, Bob Kraft. “If you wanted something fixed, you could count on Matt.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Duncan is survived by two sons, Jeffrey, of Briny Breezes, and Bruce, of Flint; three granddaughters, Stacey Goforth of Virginia Beach, Va.; Stephanie Gerold of Wilmington, N.C.; and Bonnie Duncan of Flint; a grandson, Bradley Duncan, of Grayling, Mich.; and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Duncan was cremated, with plans for a memorial service at a later date.
Donations in his memory may be made to Hospice of the Palm Beaches, Teal Team, 5300 East Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33407, or the American Cancer Society.Read more…
By Margie Plunkett
The county started reef construction off the Ocean Ridge coast this summer, required to restore the natural reef covered by beach renourishment.
The mitigation reef, within an area of about 16 acres, will “get covered in critters” — attract fish — and should make great snorkeling, according to environmental analyst Janet Phipps of Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management.
“It provides a lot of nursery for juvenile fish coming out of the estuary at Lake Worth Lagoon. It’ll be covered with clouds of juvenile fish; they settle down and don’t get et,” Phipps said. “It’s a tremendous habitat.” Without the closer reef, the young fish head further out, a journey that reduces the likelihood of survival. About 10,000 tons of limestone boulders are being placed for the reef just south of South Lake Worth Inlet. The reef is constructed of about 62 pods that measure 20 feet by 40 feet and are space 30 feet apart. Engineers recommended the design and spacing of the reef to minimize drift and sand movement, Phipps said. “By creating it in pods, you have more edge — like the edge of the forest. It creates more diversity.” Work on the Ocean Ridge reef started in July — earlier than planned, after Mother Nature brought a halt to another county project off Singer Island. The county had to stop construction there to re-permit the work after too much sand covered half the planned reef area, Phipps said.
The Ocean Ridge project isn’t expected to be finished until next year. The construction has to be done in the flat seas season, which runs May through September, to allow the barge that places the rock to work in the shallow waters without getting damaged, Phipps said.
Once the construction is done, mooring buoys will be placed on the outside of the reef to delineate the area that’s off limits to boats, according to Phipps.
Not far from the reef, the county continues its $7 million project to reconstruct the South Lake Worth Inlet sand transfer plant, and has built a temporary bridge to Bird Island and started the new sea wall.
Concrete was poured for the sand transfer plant foundation, walls and, most recently, the roof. Once it cures, the forms will be removed and electrical work will begin, according to Tracy Logue, an ERM coastal geologist, who said completion was scheduled in February or March 2011.
“We’re a little behind — by a few weeks,” Logue said. “We wanted to be done by the end of September to take advantage of the calm seas in the summer.”
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By C. B. Hanif
Angeleta Gray says she will “continue to meet with people, listen to their views and bring all the players to the table. I think that will be instrumental in helping us to continue to move forward.”
There’s agreement that her fellow Delray Beach commissioners helped advance the city by appointing her to Seat 4 that was vacated by Mack Bernard.
Citing the former Community Redevelopment Agency board member’s longtime involvement with the city, commissioners chose Gray from among five candidates Sept.10.
Her credentials also include being a businesswoman who owns and operates the Top Notch Beauty Spa in the West Settlers Historic District.
Gray, born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but since age 10 a 34-year Delray resident, attended Atlantic High School and Delray Beach Elementary, now Old School Square.
“I am looking forward to working with the whole city,” she said. “My first priority would be trying to help out with the budget.”
Gray also offers the possibility of continuity: She had planned to seek the seat in next March’s election. Her appointment settles, for now, the political dominos set in motion when former Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene resigned in April, Gov. Charlie Crist on July 3 appointed former state Rep. Priscilla Taylor to that District 7 county seat, and Bernard, resigning his commission seat, won Taylor’s former District 84 seat in an Aug. 25 special primary election.
The appointment of the only African-American applicant maintains Delray’s four decades-long history of having a minority member on the commission, in a city more than a quarter of whose residents are of African descent.
“When I was at her swearing-in ceremony,” Bernard said, “where you had former Commissioner David Randolph there, former Commissioner Alberta McCarthy was there and I was there, it was amazing to see how the city of Delray Beach always continues to get great representation.
“I feel like she’s going to continue that same line of work that the previous commissioners have done. I’ve worked very closely with her. I’ve seen her at work on the CRA, and her work with the city. I felt like she was the best person to replace me.”
Someone else perceived yet another plus: “Thanks goodness for a woman,” said the Rev. Kathleen Gannon of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, who had opened that night’s commission meeting. “We need that voice.”
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By C.B. Hanif
Sundown on Friday, Sept.18 marked the beginning of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
The next day, others began observing Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the completion of Ramadan, the Muslim month of rededication.
Still others, including Christian friends (some of whom The Washington Post noted had joined in Ramadan fasting) were honoring both holidays with wishes of “L’shana tova” (for a good year)’ and “eid mubarak” (a blessed Eid).
Among them all are those gearing for the second annual Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues Across American and Europe, Nov. 13-15, dedicated to the proposition of stronger relations between Jews and Muslims. In South Florida, that includes members of JAM & All, “An organization of Jews, Muslims, Christians and All Peoples.”
Last November, the New York-based, not-for-profit Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, headed by noted Rabbi Marc Schneier and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, united 50 mosques and 50 synagogues across North America in the first Weekend of Twinning, with the theme of “Confronting Islamophobia and anti-Semitism Together.”
This year 75 synagogues and 75 mosques in North America may take part, with “Building a Common Agenda” the theme. FFEU in July hosted more than two dozen rabbis and imams who will join in from European synagogues and mosques.
JAM & All is part of that and more, said Kathleen Leonard of Delray Beach, a vice president and founder of the nonprofit organization whose membership extends from Miami to Delray and is expanding.
Leonard explained that as a member of TAO, the Center for Reform Judaism in Fort Lauderdale: “Right after 9/11 we got together with the Islamic Foundation of South Florida (of Sunrise) and had an open forum and created this organization to give the opportunity for education and socializing.
“We’ve developed very deep friendships. At the same time we’re presenting events like conferences, town hall meetings, an annual picnic. So there are a variety of activities we do in JAM in order to promote our mission to develop peace and understanding.”
JAM also is participating in sustained dialogue based on the guidebook, Children of Abraham, Jews and Muslims in Conversation. In addition to the pairing between TAO and the Islamic Foundation, in some cases the twinning is going to be a kickoff weekend for the beginning of dialogue groups.
“This is what JAM has been all about, is the ability to educate, socialize and learn from each other and about each other,” Leonard said. She welcomes calls at 561-289-4621 from groups that would like JAM’s assistance as facilitator.
C.B. Hanif is a writer, editor and media and inter-religious affairs consultant. He visits or speaks at synagogues, churches and mosques, seeking folks who are making the Golden Rule real, not just an ideal. On the Web at www.interfaith21.com.Read more…
Mary Alice Pugh
By Ron Hayes
DELRAY BEACH — Mary Alice Pugh’s life was all about finding new horizons.
Born Mary Alice Selby on Jan. 14, 1944, in Martins Ferry, Ohio, she earned a bachelor’s degree in laboratory medicine at West Virginia University. She married David Pugh in 1966; they started a family.
After her two sons were raised, Mrs. Pugh returned to college to earn a master’s degree in education from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, and began a second career as a teacher.
And then, in 1993, she and a colleague founded New Horizon Academy in the basement of a Boca Raton office building.
At the time of her death, Sept. 2, New Horizon Academy was thriving in its own building, a fully accredited private school dedicated to small classes.
“There were schools for dropouts and schools for the gifted, but we saw a need for the average student who just needed smaller classes,” recalls Dr. Barbara Rackett, who co-founded the school with Mrs. Pugh. “For the first couple of years we both taught. She taught anatomy and physiology to high school students, and she was very, very active and with a lot of energy.”
Mrs. Pugh was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, but remained active with the school until April.
“She always had a real commitment to education,” her husband recalled. “Even when raising our two boys, she was very active in the schools and started a leadership conference in the high school. She had been a good student herself; I guess that’s why,” he said. “New Horizon will continue.”
A resident of Delray Beach since 1991, Mrs. Pugh was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Todd and Michael, both of Chicago, Ill.; two brothers, John, of San Diego, Calif., and Edward, of Middlefield, Ohio.
A burial service was held in Martins Ferry on Sept.10.
Donations in her name may be made to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265, and Hospice by the Sea, 1521 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486.Read more…
By Arden Moore
Lacking thumbs makes it tricky for dogs to use utensils, but that shouldn’t stop them from displaying good manners when dining out with their people. In fact, inviting dogs to eateries is proving to be a smart strategy in these lean economic times. Case in point: the Saba Sushi Bar and Lounge in Boca Raton. Every night from 4 to 7 p.m., well-mannered dogs (on leashes) are welcome to participate in “yappy hour.” Canine guests lap up bowls of water while their two-legged pals dine on sushi or Thai food. “In Boca Raton, it seems there are a lot of toy dogs and their owners want to take them when they are out and about,” says Zack Gardner, Saba owner/manager. “I have two Labrador retrievers and can understand people wanting their dogs to be with them.”
Gardner says has hosted this weeknight yappy hour for more than two years without any feisty Fido fracases.
More than two dozen eateries with outdoor patios welcome well-mannered mutts and pedigrees from Lake Worth to Boca Raton. You may find yourself sidestepping dog water bowls along restaurant row on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.
And staging yappy hours as a way to benefit worthy causes is also on the rise. Just ask Cheryl Lee Gorman, owner of Club Bow Wow, whose yappy hour earlier this year at Mizner Park aided the Veterans Helping Today’s Returning Heroes group.
“This group helps raise funds to provide service or guide dogs for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,” says Gorman, who operates a cage-free pet resort with her brother, Sean. “We hope to sponsor another yappy hour event early next year.”
Ensuring that the number of pet-welcoming eateries and pet-attended events stays steady — or increases — depends on those at the other end of the leash: the owners. Let me share 10 “petiquette” pointers for you and your pooch to master the next time you head for a pet-accepting eatery:
* Test your dog’s obedience-heeding commands at home and on walks. Your dog should be able to ace the “sit,” “stay” and “leave it” commands.
* Exercise your dog before dining out. A tired dog is less apt to be rambunctious and more apt to want to snooze under your table while you enjoy your meal.
* Give your dog ample time to take care of his bathroom needs before you head to a restaurant. Just in case: Bring extra poop disposable bags so your dog doesn’t create a “stink” at the restaurant.
* Come prepared. Bring a portable water bowl and perhaps a bag of doggy treats.
* Play it low key. Don’t make a big fuss about your dog joining you at an eatery. Tether your dog’s leash to your chair.
* Reel in that leash. Keep your dog on a short rein, about 4 feet. Do not let your dog, even those itty-bitty cute ones, wander into tables occupied by other patrons. Here’s a shocker: Not everyone adores dogs.
* Be prepared to request a doggy bag to go if your dog acts up by barking, lunging at other dogs or insisting on sniffing other patrons.
Set your dog up for success by selecting times to test his dining manners at non-peak serving times.
Be candid with yourself. If you know your dog cannot bring his A-level manners to the restaurant (remember Marley?), then keep him at home.
Refrain from letting your dog sit in your lap or, worse, eat from your fork. Keep those habits inside the privacy of your own home so other patrons can enjoy their meals.
Finally, dish out a big tip — 20 percent or more — to show your appreciation to the restaurant staff for allowing four-leggers in their outdoor areas.
Bone appétit!
Arden Moore, an animal behavior consultant, editor, author and professional speaker, happily shares her home with two cats, two dogs and one overworked vacuum cleaner. Tune in to her Oh Behave! show on Pet Life Radio.com and contact her at arden@ardenmoore.com.
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The support of our readers and advertisers over the past 10 months has been truly inspiring.
Thank you.
As a result, The Coastal Star is taking a leap of faith and cracking open the piggy bank for some real office space — finally.
It's not very big, but the office is located in the geographic heart of our community. You'll find us nestled between Colby's Barbershop and Transition-Area Triathlon shop in that tiny commercial space that still exists on A1A in Ocean Ridge.
All are welcome.
By mid-September our advertisers will be able to use the space to collaborate with our sales reps, and our readers will have a place to stop in to share news and opinion.
Many of the amazing, award-winning writers, editors and photographers who help us create The Coastal Star and the Palm Beach ArtsPaper will bring their laptops by to work from time-to-time. And our local artist friends plan to display their work on a rotating schedule. We're even discussing regular bake sales!
Considering the current economy, it should come as no surprise that starting a new business during this past year has been challenging to say the least.
We've paid close attention to the struggles of other local newspaper and recently were saddened by the closing of the Boca Raton News: the first South Florida newspaper my husband and I both worked at, almost 20 years ago.
As a result, you'll find us pinching pennies and even engaging in a little old-fashioned horse trading as we settle into our new office.
So, if you've got a working window A/C unit, a water cooler, some gently used roll-up window blinds, office supplies, or materials that might help us to build shelves and a front counter, let us know. There's little doubt our decorating style will be "early garage sale."
Even so, it will be trudging down the steps to our basement business office, meeting at a Hypoluxo warehouse to load our cars up for delivery and designing the newspaper on the kitchen counter!
More than ever, we believe in our business model and in building a better newspaper. By opening our office, we are making a long-term commitment to this exceptional community.
Please join us.
We hope to see you at 5011 N. Ocean Blvd.
— Mary Kate Leming, Editor
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By Thomas R. Collins
Mention the condition of U.S. 1 in Boynton Beach and Delray Beach to Lantana Town Manager Michael Bornstein, and it’s all he can do not to roll his eyes.
Such tall buildings. So many condos. Not enough tenants. Not enough good jobs created. In that respect, Lantana is preparing to be the anti-Boynton.
With so much residential space already crammed into the coastal areas, especially along U.S. 1, Lantana is turning in the opposite direction: Its idea for the future along and near the road is for commercial and light industrial zones where people will be able to work.
“That’s why you probably haven’t seen a lot of large, flash-in-the-pan things like in other cities,” Bornstein said. “We said we want a sustainable, meaningful business model for our town — and that wasn’t right for us. So we’re on the long, maybe slow, track here.
“But what will happen, we believe, is going to be something really good for our residents. And not just the residents of our town, but regionally.”
The stretch of U.S. 1 through Lantana and Hypoluxo isn’t lined with empty lots and nearly finished condo projects or, worse, unfinished ones. The towns have stayed, for the most part, out of the way of the housing bust.
In Hypoluxo, just one project has come out of the ground on U.S. 1 in the last five years: Villagio Del Mar, a small collection of 38 townhomes finished in 2006.
Only one project that was planned was stalled by the market free fall: a townhouse and commercial mix called Porter Place at Hypoluxo Road and Overlook Road. “Everything went south before they went to any actual construction,” Hypoluxo Deputy Town Clerk Deb Fick said. “When things started going bad, they just held off just in case. And it was a good thing.”
In Lantana, they’ve generally said no to higher densities since the dense, mixed-use project The Moorings was approved in 2002, declaring that the amount of development now allowed in their state-approved comprehensive development plan is all they’ll build.
“Our council wanted to keep Lantana to scale. They genuinely said: We’re not going to overdevelop,” Bornstein said. “You’ll never see anything like The Moorings again.”
There have been some projects to stall along the road, though. A self-storage business on U.S. 1, on land owned by developer Anthony Pugliese, has been approved but not built. And an industrial park approved a year ago near the north border of Lantana along the west side of U.S. 1, land also owned by Pugliese, hasn’t been started either. At The Moorings, vacancy signs advertise commercial space on the ground floors on the east side of U.S. 1.
Realtor Lorraine Freed, who lives in The Moorings and handles listings there, is reluctant even to talk about sales there because “the market is really bad.”
The units are occupied — “the units have been selling more here than anywhere else,” Freed said — but prices have dropped 30 percent to 40 percent from what they once were. What was selling in the $300,000s might be sold in the low $200,000s now, or lower, she said.
“The upside of it is, I see this community turning into the diamond in the rough that it was always going to be,” Freed said. “It’s a beautiful community, it has kept its beauty.”
But by and large, the storyline of U.S. 1 in Lantana, has been one of patience and a respect for the town’s history and character.
The town envisions a low-scale commercial area along U.S. 1, between Lantana Road and Pine Street, that it’s calling a “train depot district,” which town officials hope will be anchored by a train station along the FEC railroad tracks. The station would be built as part of the state’s double-tracking project. It’s simple economics, Bornstein said. A recent study performed for area municipalities found that for every dollar of taxes paid, commercial and industrial properties require just 36 cents in services, while residential properties require $1.38 in services for each dollar, he said.
Wayne Cordero, owner of the Old Key Lime House not far from U.S. 1, likes the town’s philosophy.
“I think they’re committed to more preserving the history of Florida rather than monster projects,” he said. “It’s easy to form more concrete and overbuild. It’s difficult to fill them.” Not every idea along U.S. 1 has been well-received, though.
Residents crammed into Town Hall this spring to protest a land-use change to commercial to make way for a $90 million resort and spa with a 300-room hotel planned for between South Dixie Highway and the Intracoastal Waterway north of Hypouxo Road, which is now a Catholic Cenacle Sisters retreat.
They worried it wouldn’t actually become a high-end resort, leaving open the possibility of a less desirable commercial project. One resident called the land use “totally incompatible.”
A rezoning hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.
But, at least for now, the town does not bear the scars that nearby towns bear.
“It’s a house of cards if you’re not careful,” Bornstein said. “We don’t have the problems that other cities have created chasing a market cycle.”
By Margie Plunkett
Briny Breezes was the poster child of budget uncertainty this season. The only town in the county with increasing property values, Briny Breezes at the last minute more than tripled its proposed tax rate to cover its bases on rising expenses that were still unknown variables in its budget equation.
While Mayor Roger Bennett expects the town will adopt something much lower than its proposed 10.0 millage rate, it had to play it safe: There is little leeway in its small budget to deal with unanticipated expenses, he said.
Coastal cities, including Briny Breezes, neared the final round of the budget process, wrestling to complete details in still changing budgets ahead of September public hearings that will finalize next fiscal year’s financial plans. Municipal taxes are only one of many that make up county residents’ total tax bill. Sagging property tax rolls this year pinched every municipality in the county — except for Briny Breezes. Other income sources were squeezed by the economy and expenses such as health insurance were on the rise. That pressured city officials to find replacement revenue, cut spending, dip into reserves and raise taxes. Discussions of salary freezes, layoffs and reduced hours were in the mix as well.
“We’re going to be walking a tightrope and it’s going to be difficult,” said Delray Beach Commissioner Adam Frankel at an August meeting. “No one wants to see cuts. No one wants to see tax increases. There’s going to be some on both ends. We’re going to have to find a balance.”
Discussions on rising taxes and reduced services echoed through governments across the area. At an August public hearing, resident Sharon Lev-Har told Delray Beach commissioners that at the business she owns, “We’re cutting down to the nitty gritty. We have to do that in government. I can’t afford more taxes. We have to make commitments in this city to lower taxes, not to raise them.”
Delray Beach’s proposed tax rate was at $7.38 per $1,000 of assessed value, about 15.5 percent more than last year’s.
In Gulf Stream, which faced challenges to its $2.7 million budget such as the $125,000 increase in fire-rescue services supplied by Delray Beach, the discussion turned to private sector vs. government. Everything is re-pricing in the contracting economy, said Commissioner Chris Wheeler, as he prodded the town manager to view the economic predicament as a permanent state and go through the exercise of looking for cuts in recurring expenses.
Ocean Ridge’s $5.4 million proposed budget drops $86,038, reflecting changes in personnel in the Police Department and employees picking up a portion of the deductible in their health insurance benefits. The proposed millage rate rises to 5.8 percent, up nearly 13 percent from last year.
In Boynton Beach, raising the millage rate from last year was necessary to avoid layoffs, according to the proposed $71.6 million budget. The proposed tax rate would rise to $7.30 per $1,000 of value from last year’s $6.46 and below the rollback rate — the rate that is needed to bring in the same amount of tax revenue as last year. If the city kept the rate the same as last year, it could lay off 37 employees, among other cuts, the budget document said.
Lantana voted against changing its existing millage rate in July after hearing from town residents struggling to pay increasing utility bills. Commissioners then charged Town Manager Michael Bornstein with finding other ways to fill the $341,000 deficit in its $14.8 million budget. Manalapan proposes a rate of $2.80 per $1,000 and a dip into its reserves to make up for the shortfall in its $3.6 million budget. “We’re reacting as we should to an economic decline,” Commissioner Robert Evans said at an August meeting. The town has reduced two employee positions to part time and has frozen salaries, while at the same time picking up a 15 percent increase in employee health benefits.
Commissioners agreed that budget reserves were designed for an emergency such as this year’s economy. “I’m OK with dipping into the reserves — as long as it’s not habit forming,” said Commissioner William Bernstein.
The budget discussion in Manalapan, like elsewhere, isn’t finished, however. The mayor’s poll of commissioners revealed division on whether the town should freeze employee salaries, keep the lower proposed tax rate, or the alternative, increase wages, keep the tax rate at $2.91 per $1,000 and put money back into reserves. “Lowering the millage rate to borrow from the reserve is almost a gimmick,” said Bernstein. “I’m a little troubled by that.”
2009/10 Budget SeasonProposed 2009/10 budgets and related information for coastal communities. Municipalities can still change budgets and millage rates, which are scheduled for the public hearings shown.
Municipality | 2009 Taxable Property Value | % Chg. from 2008 | Proposed 2009/10 Budget | $ Change from 2008/09 | Proposed Millage* Rate | Public Hearing Dates
(estimated, July 1) 2008 Budget Rate 1st/2ndBoynton Beach $4.6 billion | -18.2 | $71.6 million | -$2.4 million | 7.3000 | 9-14/9-22
Briny Breezes $38.9 million | +2.3 | $551,498 | -$29,393 | 10.0000 | 9-17/9-24
Delray Beach $7.0 billion | -14.4 | $97.4 million | -2.1 million | 7.3833 | 9-10/9-22
Gulf Stream $703.0 million | -5.9 | $2.7 million | +$10,464 | 3.0437 | 9-11/9/23
Lantana $869.7 million | -13.8 | $14.8 million | -$4.8 million | 3.2395 | 9-14/9-28
Manalapan $920.5 million | -5.3 | $3.6 million | -$201,396 | 2.8000 | 9-10/9-16
Ocean Ridge $727.2 million | -13.3 | $5.3 million | -$211,160 | 5.5000 | 9-10/9-17
All PBC Cities $96.0 billion | -12.2
SOURCE: Palm Beach County Property Appraiser; Municipalities
*One mil equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.Read more…
See more photos from the blessing
By Tim O’Meilia
When Roman Catholic Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito flicked a holy water sprinkler to bless the new chapel at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, he had some divine assistance.
The skies opened and heaven’s own rain christened the Perpetual Adoration Chapel, the new stained glass church doors, a new church roof and renovations at the school, the youth center and the parish’s St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Mary houses.
The bishop joked that he was thankful for the help.
“This is a celebration of these wonderful and beautiful renovations,” Barbarito said. “May they truly be a source of new beginnings for St.Vincent.”
“New beginnings” was the theme heard several times by the 200 or so people who gathered for the Saturday afternoon Mass and blessing Aug. 15.
Although much of the $500,000 in remodeling had been completed months ago, the blessing wasn’t scheduled until after the church’s past two pastors had been in prison for five months, ending three years of faith-challenging turmoil, ridicule and embarrassment for the parish’s 2,900 families.
The priests, both Irish-born, were accused of looting St. Vincent collection plates of several million dollars and spending much of it on travel, real estate, gambling, rare coins and friends. The Rev. John Skehan, 83, the beloved pastor of 40 years, pleaded guilty to grand theft of more than $100,000. The Rev. John Guinan, 67, was convicted by a jury of theft of less than $100,000. Skehan is serving 14 months and Guinan four years. The scandal resulted in Barbarito enforcing rigorous financial controls, including biennial audits of the books of each parish. The two convicted priests created their own slush funds to hide the true amount of collection plate donations from the diocese.
“We’ve put an end to these things. It’s all new beginnings,” said the Very Rev. Thomas Skindeleski, assigned to St. Vincent in 2006 to patch up the parish’s spiritual wounds. “That’s not to say all the issues have been resolved.”
Some parishioners left the church, although those who stayed continued to give generously. Enrollment at the parish school dropped.
The charming Skehan continues to have a loyal cadre of supporters. Some mumbled at converting the glassed-in pews behind the altar into a separate chapel.
“Our parish is not sitting and moldering any longer,” Skindeleski said of the building projects. “These are a symbol of our fresh, new approach.”
“We’re putting the past behind us,” said Angela Belmonte, an art teacher at the school. “Priests are human and humans make mistakes. You can’t lose sight of your faith because of one person.”
New principal Vikki Delgado has energized the school and faculty, Skindeleski said, and enrollment is up although he does not want it to exceed 300 students as it has in the past. “Ideally we want to have about 275 students so we can have a maximum class size of about 30,” he said.
Barbarito has visited the parish several times to speak to church members about the financial scandal, but he would not link the blessing ceremony to bringing closure to the parish’s woes.
“Whenever we have a renovation, we have a new beginning,” Barbarito said as he greeted churchgoers shortly after the blessing of the chapel. “Christ is the beginning and the end. This is a renewal of that faith.” Parishioner Donna Deschino waited until after the ceremony to get her own blessing from the bishop. “There was wrongdoing but the media blew it out of proportion to make the big story,” she said.
Barbarito credited Skindeleski with knitting the parish back together. “Father Tom,” as he’s called, cleaned house by encouraging those unhappy to leave, recruited the nuns, hired a new principal and encouraged the remodeling projects.
“The first thing you do is try to re-center the church after all its difficulties,” Skindeleski said. “Faith is what you bank upon. We’re doing that.”
Renovations completed in the last 18 months and blessed Aug. 15Perpetual Adoration Chapel — One hundred pews were removed and placed in to the main church and along the walls for use by those who have difficulty in pews. Forty-four upholstered chairs were installed in the chapel and its direct entry from behind the main altar sealed. Skindeleski said he preferred parishioners not attend Mass from behind the previously glassed-in pews. The chapel is always open but only those who register are issued key cards for entry to the chapel after 8 p.m.
New church roof, crucifix overlooking the altar and stained-glass side doors.
Old Convent — The two-story first convent in South Florida has been converted for use as a youth center for middle and high school students on the first floor. The second floor is for the diocese’s counseling center and homeless program.
St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Mary houses — All three were previously single-family homes donated to or acquired by the parish. All have been renovated. St. Peter houses the parish family life and religious education offices. St. Paul is a guesthouse for visiting clergy. St. Mary is a convent for two Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Cherry Hill, N.J., who teach at the school, a rarity in South Florida in recent years. One nun teaches kindergarten and the other handles sacramental preparation.
School improvements in the gym, cafeteria and science center, include new carpeting, new flooring and new paint.
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By Ron Hayes
Steven Leveen always assumed he’d volunteer at some point with the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition.
As the co-founder and CEO of Levenger, the Delray Beach-based purveyors of “tools for serious readers,” words are both his livelihood and his passion.
Of course, he’d become a literacy volunteer.
Once the kids were out of the house.
“Then my two sons had to fulfill a community service requirement in high school,” Leveen remembers.
Cal, his oldest, volunteered at a child-care center for the working poor, Corey at the Boys & Girls Club.
“I was a little suspicious of obligatory volunteerism,” Leveen says, “but I was very impressed. I had to change my opinion.”
Now Cal’s at Yale, Corey’s at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — and Leveen’s been a literacy volunteer for more than a year.
“I call it Tutor Tuesday,” he says.
Every week, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., he’s at the Village Academy in Delray Beach, helping adults — mostly working, mostly Haitian — learn to read and write English.
“Everybody in this class is here because they want to be,” he said before class one recent Tuesday evening. “They’re all working at least one job, and then they run home, clean up and come here to work their brains out for a couple of hours. How can you not want to help them?”
Leveen is one of about 14 volunteer tutors, says Darlene Kostrub, the coalition’s executive director, but rare in that, like his students, he has a day job, too.
“Most of our volunteers are retirees,” Kostrub notes. “So Steve’s proof that you don’t have to wait until you retire to get involved. Why postpone the fun?”
Tutor Tuesdays are not Leveen’s first volunteer work in Delray Beach. For eight years he served on the board of the Delray Beach Public Library.
Since 1998, Leveen has lived along the Intracoastal Waterway in coastal Delray Beach with Lori, his wife of 27 years. Now the boys are off to college, but the couple is staying put.
“We’ve lived in Delray Beach for 11 years,” he says, “and we absolutely love it. I kayak on the Intracoastal, and there’s a natural beauty. We’re able to walk to an authentic downtown, and we’ve got a beach that’s fairly uncontaminated by high-rises. It’s a wonderful place to have a business, and I sure feel good when I’m driving home from Tutor Tuesdays.”
Steven Leveen was nominated to be a Coastal Star by Darlene Kostrub, executive director of the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition. For information about literacy tutoring, call 800-273-1030.Read more…
Ocean Ridge commissioners upheld the termination of former Police Officer David Cazzolli, which the officer appealed during a special commission meeting Aug. 27.
Cazzolli was terminated in July after a citizen’s complaint prompted an internal investigation by the Ocean Ridge Police Department, Town Manager Kenneth Schenck wrote in a letter to Cazzolli that noted the file included violations of Police Department policy.
Cazzolli can further appeal the case to circuit court, according to Tara W. Duhy, attorney representing the Police Department. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also will review the case as a matter of procedure, Ocean Ridge Lt. Chris Yannuzzi said.
— Margie PlunkettRead more…
Boynton Beach city commissioners voted to roll back a recent water rate increase by 7 percent, effective in September. The reduction is across the board — applying to water, wastewater and the base rate and commodity charges, according to Public Affairs Director Wayne Segal.
The resolution on the rate reduction noted that the rate hike approved in April had a significant negative effect on ratepayers. That rate change boosted the base rate from $4.84 to $10.77 for residential users in the city. Under the 7 percent rollback, the base rate for residential users in the city falls to $10.02 from $10.77. Those who use up to 9,000 gallons of water a month, pay $1.41 per 1,000 gallons monthly. Before the reduction, the usage rate was $1.52.
For out-of-city residential users, the rate falls to $12.52 from $13.46. Those who use up to 9,000 gallons monthly pay $1.77 for each 1,000 gallons used, down from $1.90.
Towns including Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes are Boynton Beach water users. Ocean Ridge, which owns its water system, pays as a city resident, while Briny Breezes is an outside user.
— Margie Plunkett
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A Palm Beach League of Cities resolution wended its way through coastal cities in August requesting Gov. Charlie Crist to address beach erosion with appropriate funding and legislation. It also encourages the state to fund research and infrastructure to solve the problem.
Lantana and Gulf Stream were among cities supporting the resolution.
A 2008 study by the Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems for the state of Florida said five coastal counties have 96.8 miles of critically eroded beaches, including 31.1 miles in Palm Beach County, according to the resolution. The $15 million budgeted by the state last year related to beach projects “does not seem in keeping with the seriousness of the impacts to the state’s economy,” it said.
— Margie PlunkettRead more…
In Briny Breezes, if the proposed tax rate of $10.00 per $1,000 of assessed home value was adopted, a resident with a home valued at $170,000 would pay municipal taxes of $1,700 compared with $510 under a $3.00 rate. The town initially proposed the lower rate, but boosted it at an impromptu special meeting late in the month.
Property tax rolls rose 2.3 percent in Briny Breezes – not spectacular unless compared with neighbors like Boynton Beach, where property values sank more than 18 percent. Bennett attributed the increase to the failed deal to sell Briny Breezes. The publicity raised the area’s profile and led to higher priced home sales and therefore property values, he said.
Starting the budget season on that positive note, however, didn’t overcome rising water rates or the possibility of paying more for police protection – both currently services Briny Breezes takes from Boynton Beach. Briny Breezes calculates it’ll pay more than 60 percent higher water rates since a recent increase because it is classified as a user outside of Boynton Beach. Briny Breezes expects negotiations on the water bill early in September will shed light on what the budget line item will be.
As it stands, Briny Breezes $551,498 budget still reflects its initially proposed tax rate of $3.00. The town wanted to determine its expenses before going through the exercise of revising the budget higher.
-- Margie PlunkettRead more…
By Mary Thurwachter
In a small town rich with community spirit, talk of closing the lone post office really rankles residents. That’s what’s happening in Lantana, where the downtown office faces extinction.
Debbie Fetterly, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service for the South Florida District, said that of the 13 locations in South Florida being considered for closure, there is more local interest in the Lantana office than any other. Nationwide, 677 locations are being studied.
“Overall, South Florida shippers have seen a 16 percent reduction in mail volume compared to the same time last year,” Fetterly said. But decline or not, locals have not lessened their love for the post office in Lantana. “We have a petition at the library (next door to the post office) and a large traffic sign in front of the office asking residents to help save the post office,” said Lantana Town Manager Mike Bornstein.
“We’already got more than 1,100 signatures.”
South Palm Beach resident Daniel Colangelo, a regular customer for 25 years, was collecting signatures, too. “This is so convenient,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to shut it down.” Support is also coming from neighboring communities of Manalapan and Hypoluxo.
Bornstein agrees. “Our goal is to make it as clear as possible that the people here love our post office and want to keep it,” he said. “It’s the heart of our downtown.” Mayor David Stewart mailed a letter to U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, urging the post office be saved, and Klein, in turn, sent off a letter of his own to John E. Porter, postmaster general of the U.S. Postal Service.
Despite all the affection surrounding the little brick building at 201 W. Ocean Ave., the fact is that mail volumes throughout the country have experienced historic declines over the past few years as e-mail edges out snail mail and competition from various other sources, like automated postal centers, click-n-ship online postage and mailing labels, contract postal units and approved shippers.
Fetterly said there will be a study and that community members will have a chance to share their views through a public meeting or with questionnaires. Nothing will happen, not even the feasibility study, she said, until the beginning of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1.
And, she stressed, all this examination doesn’t necessarily mean closure. “We may move carriers from one unit to another or make other changes.”
Bornstein has his fingers crossed. “The post office is part of our history here,” he said. Just like the Barefoot Mailman. And the city manager knows plenty about the Barefoot Mailman, who walked from Palm Beach to Miami barefoot along the hard sand at the ocean’s edge from 1885 to 1893. Bornstein recreates the trip periodically to teach children and others about the rich piece of Florida’s history.
Lantana Post Office stats
• During the winter, the office averages 2,058 customer visits a week or between 400 to 470 a day. During the off-season, the office averages 1,474 transactions a week or between 300 and 350 a day.
• There are 957 boxes and customers have 24/7 access to them.
• The closest office is 2.5 miles away in Lake Worth at 720 Lucerne Ave. The second closest is 4.3 miles away in Boynton at 217 N. Seacrest. Blvd.
• The facility is leased and has served the Lantana community since the mid-1970s and has been occupied by the Postal Service more than 30 years. Three people work the windows.
Mary Thurwachter is a West Palm Beach freelance writer and founder/producer of INNsideFlorida.com (www.innsideflorida.com)Read more…
In response to a request by the Beach Property Owners Association for creation of a master plan for the appearance of the beach area, the city of Delray Beach and the Community Redevelopment Agency have agreed to fund a collaborative effort to draft design solutions for the oceanfront and surrounding areas.
The CRA and the city have both agreed to spend $1,500 on a planning charrette to be held Nov.7 at the Delray Beach Marriott.
The charrette will focus on sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and other streetscape design issues.
For more information about the Beach Area Master Plan, contact BPOA President Mary Renaud at mprenaud@bellsouth.net or visit the BPOA Web site at www.bpoa-drb.com.
— Mary Kate LemingRead more…
Delray Beach authorized Coastal Planning & Engineering Inc. to proceed with preliminary engineering for the 2012 beach renourishment project for up to $428,412.
The funds are 100 percent reimbursable from federal, state and county governments, according to a memo from Paul Dorling, director of planning and zoning, delivered at commissioners’ Aug. 4 meeting.
The work will include analysis to determine the project size, scope and initial beach fill design, as well as preparation of a beach renourishment design that will be incorporated in the state and federal joint coastal permit application.
— Margie PlunkettRead more…
By Thom Smith
A few umbrellas popped up as an early evening shower gave the street a steamy luster, but boulevardiers along Atlantic Avenue were oblivious as they sought out queues and listened for that familiar invitation: “Passport, please!”
More than 2,000 hardy souls took part in the first “Tastemakers of Delray,” handing over $20 for a “passport” that entitled them to food- and wine-tastings at 18 of the city’s top restaurants. From the beach to Swinton, they sampled the likes of piña colada conch and lobster salad and Villa Solis wine from Sardinia at Sundy House, grilled sirloin (Brazilian style) and an Argentine Malbec at Gol! and baked shrimp and scallops with saffron and fresh herb butter and a Chilean sauvignon blanc at Boston’s on the Beach.
Those who ventured north into Pineapple Grove were delighted to discover — even if it is 2 years old — Brulé, a gourmet market and bistro that offered zucchini blossoms and Oregon truffle risotto, washed down with Newton Claret from Napa.
Vic & Angelo’s pear tortellini with white truffle cream sauce was so popular that the restaurant ran out just after 9 p.m., almost an hour before closing. Other participants included Ziree, 32 East, Olio Bistro, Cabana El Rey, House of Siam, Tryst, The Blue Fish, Cugini, Crepes by the Sea, Lemongrass Asian Bistro, Boheme Bistro, City Oyster and Cut 432.
Restaurant tastings usually are staged in hotel banquet rooms, and guests stroll leisurely from station to station. “We decided we wanted to get them into the actual restaurants,” Marjorie Ferrer, executive director of Delray’s Downtown Marketing Cooperative, said. “They have so much to offer, but you really can’t see that unless you go in them.
“We were really happy with it.”
Tastemakers took place Aug. 14 and 15, and wrapped up with a “Passport Party” and two-for-one drinks at Boston’s on the Beach. But the party really isn’t over. Throughout September, the passport will entitle the holder’s party to special offers at the participating restaurants: free wine or beer with your meal at Tryst, free dessert and other specials at Blue Fish, $10 off lunch and $15 off dinner at Cut 432.
Among the restaurants not participating were Pineapple Grille and Delray’s two Intracoastal-fronting eateries, Busch’s and Old Calypso.
“Absolutely not,” Old Calypso principal Tom Blum said to address rumors of its demise. He added he doesn’t intend to sell it or his other restaurant, 5th Avenue Grill on South Federal.
Across the bridge, however, Busch’s is history. The original Busch’s was located on A1A in Ocean Ridge and was founded by descendants of the beer family, who still run a century-old seafood house on the Jersey Shore. The building is one of many in Delray Beach and Palm Beach owned by Burt Handelsman, who, Marjorie Ferrer said, has never sold a building. Among those interested in leasing the property is J. Alexander’s, which has restaurants in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Fort Lauderdale.
Pineapple Grille, a nifty little eatery featuring Caribbean cuisine in the Palm Trail Plaza off George Bush Boulevard, has closed. However, a sign out front offers promise: coming soon, Marley’s Island Time. Stay tuned.
Keep Delray clean — no ifs, ands or BUTTS!
Because they’re ugly, unsanitary, expensive to clean up, harmful to the environment and are the “most littered item in America,” the city will soon implement a program to eliminate cigarette butts. Financed with a grant from Keep America Beautiful, the program includes public service messages and the placement of receptacles where individuals must put out their cigarettes: building entrances, bus stops and gas stations. Some smokers also will be given portable ashtrays to encourage them to get off their butts.
The program apparently works: In 2008, nearly 200 participating communities reported 46 percent fewer butts. For more info, contact Jennifer Buce, Litter Prevention Coordinator, at 243-7138.
First it was the noise, now it’s sidewalk space in Lake Worth. The City Commission will hold a public hearing Sept. 1 to discuss a revised sidewalk cafe ordinance. It doesn’t look like too big a deal, except that cafe owners will have to move their tables and chairs a foot farther from the curb. The existing ordinance requires only five feet, but state standards call for six.
Sleepy Lantana? Not on Ocean Avenue. Not even in summer. The Old Key Lime House is a great evening and after-boating hangout. Sushi lovers can get their kicks at Suite 225. Those who don’t want to raise Helsinki but would like a taste of the old country stop for pastry and a chat, probably in Finnish, at Palm Beach Bakery & Cafe. Recent arrivals, already noted, include Pizzeria Oceana, just east of Walgreens, and now for the latest: Directly across from the pizza shop, in the space formerly occupied by Il Cioppino and Sara’s Kitchen, entrepreneur and building owner Tara Pearl has opened R-Kitchen. That’s R, as in “our,” as in a cooperative effort of Pearl and her staff.
“We have three four-star chefs, and they’ve all helped put it together,” Pearl said. “It’s only going to be top quality. Everyone in the kitchen must have culinary school credentials. We'll serve gourmet food at family prices. Customers can get it simple or with a twist.”
Such as the “Three eggs A.K.A. Boring” breakfast; or international omelettes —Ecuadorean (corn, chorizo, manchego and cilantro), Eastern Europe (imported Italian goat cheese, tomato, chives) and Mediterranean (roasted red peppers, olives, manchego). Lunches run from sandwiches of tuna salad or seared and spiced tuna loin to platters of mahi mahi with jicama orange arugula salad or wild mushroom meatloaf. Aside from $14 for a pitcher of fresh-squeezed Florida orange juice, the most expensive item on the menu is ricotta cheesecake at $12.
Coming soon: dinner.
The mile-wide smile, the robust laugh, the outstretched hand, the twinkle in his eye. It didn’t matter to Wolfgang Baere if he was running one of the nation’s most prestigious resorts or his down-to-earth beachfront hotel and bar — everyone was worth a million bucks and more so was a friend.
Baere, the first general manager at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, died Aug. 12 after a brief battle with brain cancer. He was 67.
Born in Hanover, Germany, he came to the United States in 1963 and took a job as a waiter at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. He arrived in Palm Beach in 1991 to oversee the opening of the Ritz-Carlton and built it into one of the nation’s top resorts. Then in 2001, he left the glitz and glamour of Palm Beach for a little bit of old Florida, teaming with his son, Wolfgang, to buy the Island Beach Resort and the adjoining Shuckers Ocean Bar and Grill in Jensen Beach.
“What am I doing here?” Baere joked as he oversaw the conversion of his new venture from 120 rooms to 60 suites. Three years later, his good humor still intact, he again asked the question as he stood in the rubble left by Hurricane Frances. He wasn’t about to quit, and eventually rebuilt, shucking the Shuckers name for High Tide Beach Grill.
“He was the most extraordinary general manager I have ever worked for,” former Ritz public relations director Deb Hurd once told The Palm Beach Post. “He's inspiring.” Baere requested a small, family-only service. In a brief e-mail to friends, son Wolfgang added, “He would also have wanted all of you to raise a glass and say 'Prost!' to celebrate life.”
Prost!
— Thom Smith can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.comRead more…
By Margie Plunkett
Delray Beach commissioners signed on to an agreement to provide building permit and inspection services to Gulf Stream, a deal that could bring in $100,000 in permit fees at a time when municipalities are scouring every nook and cranny for new revenues.
The pact still must be reviewed and approved by Gulf Stream, which since 1985 has relied on Palm Beach County for the services. Gulf Stream wouldn’t pay for the services, but Delray Beach would keep all money collected from building fees. Municipalities throughout South Florida, in the final stages of the 2010 budget process, have seen income from property taxes shrink radically following the collapse of the housing market. The drop in property taxes has left gaping holes in budgets that have driven governments to scrutinize finances, searching for opportunities to boost revenue or slash spending.
Cutbacks in Palm Beach County pushed Gulf Stream to look for another provider for permitting and inspections, Gulf Stream Clerk Rita Taylor said. The county conducted less and less of the work at the closest offices to Gulf Stream, forcing contractors and the town on an inconvenient trek to Jog Road in West Palm Beach. County cutbacks also claimed the plan reviewer who handled Gulf Stream, she said.
Delray Beach staff recommended approval, noting the city had the capacity to take on the work. Gulf Stream is a residential community that’s not built out, with permitting conducted for new single-family homes and additions or renovations to existing home, a staff memo said. Gulf Stream reviews permits before the contractor applies to Delray Beach, looking at zoning, landscaping and architectural issues. The staff estimated the take from permits at about $100,000, based on results over the last two years.
In addition to the lure of permitting at Delray Beach’s nearby offices, the city offers Gulf Stream some inspection services the county did not. One example, the county issues permits for fences, but doesn’t inspect them because it’s overloaded, Taylor said, adding, “We would very much like to have that done.”
Recreation facility fees
Separately, Delray Beach could pull in an additional $46,730 in revenue for the coming fiscal year by changing rental fees for Park and Recreation facilities, a move commissioners also approved at the Aug. 18 meeting. Rental fees were charged for facilities, pavilions and fields, but not always consistently, according to Linda Karch, director of Parks and Recreation.
Under the new schedule of rental fees, homeowners and community/civic groups — which were not previously charged for facility use — are charged $30 per meeting. New facility rental fees include, for example, $90 for the first three hours at the “505” Teen Center facility and $20 for additional hours. Skate Park is $100 for the first three hours and $40 per additional hour. Renters who plan to charge admission would pay $250 for the first three hours plus 50 percent of ticket sales.
Pavilion fees are increased and made uniform, regardless of the facility’s size, at $50 for four hours and $90 all day, not including tax. Prices previously ranged from $30 to $35 for four hours and $60 to $70 for the day, according to Karch’s memo. Veterans Park Gazebo and Atlantic Dunes Park Pavilion, both popular for weddings, increased to $110 for two hours and to $200 for four hours. Veterans Park previously charged $85 for two hours and $170 for four hours, and Atlantic Dunes, $85 for four hours and $170 all day.
New field rental rates are $50 for two hours, compared with $35 previously, and the light fee will be $30 an hour, up from $10.
Beach parking fee increase
Delray Beach also will raise beach parking permit fees Oct. 1. Annual beach parking permits will increase to $80 plus tax from $60, according to Scott Aronson, Delray Beach parking management specialist.
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