In keeping with a town tradition, Carolyn Cassidy receives an unofficial, private swearing in on March 23 with Town Clerk Kelly Avery. Photo provided

By Joe Capozzi
 
Newcomer Carolyn Cassidy and incumbent Martin Wiescholek won seats on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission on March 14, capping a bitter election that changes the power dynamics at the top level of town leadership.
Mayor Susan Hurlburt finished third and, as a result, will leave office when Cassidy and Wiescholek are sworn in for three-year terms at the next Town Commission meeting on April 3. 
“I’m so thrilled. I’m so excited that Ocean Ridge has spoken so loudly and clearly that they trust me with their vote, and that just means the world to me,’’ Cassidy said at her house, where supporters cheered the results.
The top two vote-getters in the three-way race won seats, with Cassidy the overwhelming top choice, taking 533 votes, or 50.33%. Wiescholek got 277 votes, or 26.21%. Hurlburt finished third with 248 votes, or 23.46%.
“People want change. People want things to be back to this wonderful little seaside village that we all love,’’ Cassidy said. “This is just a cry for, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s do it together.’ I’m excited to work with this commission as a whole and let’s get to work.’’ 
Cassidy, a member of the town’s advisory Board of Adjustment, was endorsed by Commissioners Steve Coz and Geoff Pugh, a pair that often voted on the losing ends of decisions dominated by Hurlburt, Wiescholek and Vice Mayor Kristine de Haseth.
 Cassidy ran for commission in 2021 and finished third, 16 votes behind runner-up de Haseth in a four-way race for two seats. Pugh finished first and endorsed Cassidy in that race. 
In the latest campaign, her supporters held signs urging voters to cast ballots for only Cassidy, even though two seats were up for election, an apparent attempt to water down the vote totals of Wiescholek and Hurlburt, who campaigned together. 
Wiescholek said he was happy to be reelected but disappointed Hurlburt was not. “It’s a huge blow. I hope that it’s not going to negatively impact the town down the road. Congratulations to Carolyn. The town has spoken. The town has given its voice in a fair election and we are going to move on.’’
The arrival of Cassidy potentially creates a new majority with Coz and Pugh, putting de Haseth and Wiescholek in a new minority voting bloc.
Cassidy, a loyal attendee of Town Commission meetings, has voiced concerns shared by Coz and Pugh about several issues, including private property rights, more interaction at commission meetings between residents and elected officials, and what they view as a lack of efficiency in the Building Department. 
Before Election Day, and after Cassidy voiced her intentions to run, three top officials left Ocean Ridge: Town Manager Tracey Stevens (last fall), Police Chief Richard Jones (who announced plans to leave Feb. 10), and building official Durrani Guy, who resigned March 13. 
None of those former officials publicly cited the election as their reasons for leaving. But Wiescholek, a vocal supporter of the Building Department, is among those in town who think the timing of the departures was not a coincidence. 
“I’m really hopeful that my fears will not come to fruition and we can have a community that is up to certain standards and protected,’’ said Wiescholek, who has served on the commission since 2020.  
Repeating a pledge he made when his campaign started, he said this will be his last term and he will not seek a third term, the maximum allowed under the town charter.
Cassidy’s arrival has the potential to overturn some recent moves by the commission, including a 3-2 vote in February to withdraw a January vote that had given interim Town Manager Lynne Ladner the full-time job.
Another decision that could be overturned is the commission’s March 6 endorsement, by 3-1 vote (Pugh was absent), to consider an ordinance requiring a supermajority vote on changes to the Floor Area Ratio and other rules dictating the appearance of town property and, by extension, the character of the town. A supermajority means four commissioners instead of three.  
Wiescholek proposed the idea, but Coz voted no because he said “supermajority removes the word ‘democracy’ from the equation.’’ At a candidates forum in February, Cassidy shot down the idea of a supermajority: “Advocating for it suggests you don’t have faith in your elected officials,’’ she said. 
Hurlburt, who served on the commission since 2019, said she was looking forward to enjoying life outside of politics. 
“I am thrilled,’’ she said of the results, “because if it wasn’t going to be Martin and I together, then I am glad he won. He’s honest and he has good character. You cannot manipulate him.’’ 
Hurlburt declined to comment on Cassidy’s win. 
“I wish them all the best of luck,’’ she said. “What I’ll miss most is the support of staff and residents who wanted to work for the betterment of the town, but I will not miss politics over government. The tone of this town has gotten very negative, and that’s not me.’’

The Irishmen, a bar less than a mile from Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, was rocking during the Elite Eight round of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament. A packed house watched FAU defeat Kansas State 79-76 and win a trip to the Final Four. The Owls advanced to a semifinal against San Diego State on April 1 in Houston. Among those cheering for FAU were (l-r) Jonathan Posada of Delray Beach, along with FAU alumni Steve Bond of Delray Beach, Tarik Sadik of Coconut Creek, Merritt Bird of Tampa, Alex Rudchenko of Deerfield Beach and Ryan Pitis of Fort Lauderdale. Larry Barszewski/The Coastal Star

By Larry Barszewski

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and more than 500 art and craft exhibitors will combine for a traffic-stopping April weekend in downtown Delray Beach.
Gauff and Pegula, professional tennis players from Delray Beach and Boca Raton, respectively, will play in a major tournament at the Delray Beach Tennis Center at the same time that artists and craftspeople will fill Atlantic Avenue from in front of the tennis center through to Federal Highway as part of this year’s Delray Affair.
If you’re not planning to attend the 61st annual art festival, which will shut down eight blocks of Atlantic Avenue, or the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier tournament that will pack thousands into the tennis center, then it might be best to just avoid the area.
The tournament is Friday and Saturday, April 14-15, and the Delray Affair will be up-and-running April 14 to 16. Affair officials anticipate about 110,000 people coming out during the three-day festival, while the tennis center has a capacity exceeding 8,000 available for the tournament.
If you do plan to attend either event, organizers suggest you save yourself a headache and park at the Tri-Rail station and Palm Beach County Administrative Complex at 345 S. Congress Ave., then take a free shuttle bus into downtown. The shuttles will run regularly throughout the weekend, dropping people off at the police station just west of the events or at the tennis center.
The tennis tournament is tentatively scheduled to start at noon on Friday and Saturday. The Delray Affair is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on those days and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The shuttles run from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, accommodating people who might want to spend more time at downtown restaurants and enjoy the nightlife, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
There’s no similar shuttle service on the east side of the festival, officials said.
Despite the added crowds coming for the tennis tournament, the Delray Affair isn’t flustered.
“We aren’t concerned about the tournament impacting the Delray Affair. I think both events will benefit from potential additional attendees,” said Nancy Stewart-Franczak of Festival Management Group, which is handling publicity for the Delray Affair.
The good news for barrier island residents is that the Atlantic Avenue bridge will be operating under normal conditions throughout the weekend, even though most of Atlantic Avenue will be closed in the downtown area from 2 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Sunday. Still, if you’re not going to one of the events, organizers suggest people coming from the barrier island use either the George Bush Boulevard bridge or Linton Boulevard bridge instead.
Parking garages at the South County Courthouse and next to Old School Square will be open, with Boy Scouts on hand to collect a $5 parking fee that will go to support their activities.
A valet parking service will be available at Delray Beach City Hall on a first-come first-served basis.
Some potential parking places on the Delray Affair’s east side are at the Village Lot at 50 SE Sixth Ave., the Gladiola Lot at 51 SE Sixth Ave., and the 4th & 5th Delray Garage at 25 SE Fourth Ave.
The Delray Affair will fill up Atlantic Avenue from Southwest Second Avenue, in front of the tennis center, to Northeast Sixth Avenue.
Although you won’t be able to drive across Atlantic Avenue at Swinton, Northeast Second Avenue or Northeast Fourth Avenue, traffic will be flowing over it on northbound and southbound Federal Highway.

Commissioners (l-r) Kristin Rosen, Simone Bonutti and John Deese and Mayor Stewart Satter take their oaths of office. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Larry Barszewski

Stewart Satter was sworn in as Manalapan’s new mayor March 28, succeeding Keith Waters, who had served six years in the position and could not run again because of term limits.
Satter, who has served on the Town Commission since 2019, most recently as vice mayor, ran unopposed for mayor. Also elected without opposition were John Deese, Simone Bonutti and Kristin Rosen.
“I’m looking forward to working with everyone,” Satter told commissioners.
The overall Town Commission has a new look, with three women on the seven-member board for the first time in town history. Rosen is a first-time commissioner and Bonutti returns to the board after a year’s absence. They join Commissioner Aileen Carlucci, who was appointed last year to fill the seat that Bonutti had to give up because of term limits.
Rounding out the board are Commissioners Chauncey Johnstone and Richard Granara, whose terms expire next year, as does Carlucci’s.
The changes on the commission were done without a single vote being cast, as all four candidates this year ran unopposed. The commission voted to name Deese as vice mayor and Bonutti as mayor pro tem.
The mayor and commissioners are elected to two-year terms and receive no compensation. There is a three-consecutive term limit for the mayor’s position, and the same limit for each commissioner, and there is a combined four-consecutive term limit for serving both as mayor and as commissioner.
In other town news:
• The commission agreed to discuss at their next meeting the need for pickleball restrictions in the town after two La Coquille residents complained of a tournament held at the neighboring Eau, and that the sport participants are much noisier than those in tennis.
• Police Chief Carmen Mattox submitted a report to commissioners that the Florida Department of Transportation may have found a reason for the flooding being experienced on State Road A1A near Ocean Avenue. FDOT subcontractors cleaning out the drainage system did a video inspection of the drainage pipes.
“During the video inspection process a portion of the FDOT drainage system was discovered to be collapsed,” Mattox wrote in his report to commissioners. “FDOT is assuming that a heavy vehicle drove off the road and parked over the section of pipe causing it to be damaged sometime last summer which is when they believe the flooding began. FDOT is currently discussing options for replacing the broken section of pipe and restoring the system.”

Delray Beach has a healthy dune and easy public access. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

It’s the Michelin star for beaches.
Delray Beach is on the verge of joining the elite as it is one of only two continental U.S. seashores to be considered for the Blue Flag designation, an international honor that means not only prestige but also more eco-tourist dollars.
“It is a big win,” said Missie Barletto, director of public works for Delray Beach. 
“The questions that the international committee is coming back with are getting more and more simple, and less complicated. So, I think that means that they must be close to being on board.”
The 36-year program that designates beaches — as well as marinas and tourism boats — worldwide is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education. The United States is just now being considered — though seven beaches in Puerto Rico and four others in the U.S. Virgin Islands hoist the Blue Flag.
The application process is formidable and only Delray Beach and Zuma Beach in Malibu, California, have made the cut for this year.
The committee looks at more than 30 criteria that cover water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, services provided and promoting sustainable tourism.
The city’s environmental education will include information boards at the beach pavilions. There are talks about installing televisions in the rafters that would explain why the beach is one-of-a-kind.
The city was able to point to sea turtle nest excavations (after hatchlings have left) and a dune walk as part of its educational offering. It is working on putting together games for children, such as scavenger hunts. The city’s Sandoway Discovery Center across State Road A1A from the beach also was a selling point. The city is getting its recycling bins in place on the beach and there will be buckets that people can grab for trash pickup on the sand. They can dump the garbage and leave the bucket for the next person.
“So, just a lot of things like that where the community can also participate and understand why it’s a really special place,” Barletto said.
Bill Petry, as a vice president of the Beach Property Owners Association, was on a 12-person committee working to bring the banner to Delray Beach. 
“What it does is give the town and beach a designation that is very important to Europeans and there is some cachet with the South American traveler,” he said.
“They are trying to make it a designation that will attract a high level of tourist who really enjoys the beach and spends a lot of money — especially during the offseason.”
Annie Mercer is the program coordinator for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association that managed the application process for U.S. beaches before forwarding the finalists to the international committee.
Mercer said five U.S. beaches initially applied. The other three were East Beach on Galveston Island, Texas; Lovers Key State Park in Lee County; and Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.
More than 5,000 ocean and river beaches and marinas and boating tourism operators in 50 countries hoist the eco-friendly Blue Flag label.
Delray Beach, like a horse coming from the rear in a Triple Crown race, became a candidate in February of last year and raced to the front. 
So, what seems to be putting Delray Beach over the top with the judges? The dunes, for one.
“They absolutely love their dunes. They have an amazing, amazing dune system, which I’m excited to highlight for the program,” Mercer said.
Barletto said the dunes have been a community project for decades before the city took over their maintenance recently.
“If you would contact the historical society for a picture of what the dunes looked like even in the ’50s or ’60s, you would see that there’s a very, very thin amount of beach,” she said.
“Over the years through dune plantings, sand accumulation and beach renourishment, we’ve managed to build a beach now where it is maybe 150 yards wide.”
The city should know the final decision by the end of April. Barletto said there is a tentative May 19 date to celebrate.
“We’ll have all of our informational boards up and have all of the environmental education pieces in place, and all the recycling bins will be up there and the flag will be flying,” she said.

By Steve Plunkett

Town commissioners made Gulf Stream School’s newly raised 300-student limit a permanent one after twice postponing their decision so residents could come to Town Hall to give input.
The school won permission on Jan. 13 to raise the limit from 250 students to 300 but just for this school year — an approval that came after the school had already blown past the 250-student cap both this school year and last. Town commissioners held off on making the 300 number permanent in order to allow more residents to comment, promising to alert them to the proposal via newsletter.
But the next Gulf Stream newsletter omitted any mention of the school’s request, so commissioners decided on Feb. 10 to mail postcards telling residents they would discuss the student cap along with artificial turf and massing in the Core district at their March 10 meeting.
Only four people commented.
Jorgette Smith, who lives on Old School Road, was concerned about a document the school had prepared that suggested it could accommodate 320 children.
“I’m just scared we’re going to creep up to that the next thing you know,” she said.
But Dr. Gray Smith, head of the school, quickly reassured her that would not happen.
“That is the max number we could technically have in capacity on the campus,” Smith said. “We have no intention of going to 320. The reason is … we think we can achieve our mission at 300, and that’s the number that we want. Going beyond that would just jeopardize the mission.”
Barbara Sloan, who lives across the street from Town Hall, said, “The traffic is terrible.”
But Cuppy Kraft, a real estate agent who lives on Little Club Road, said, “It’s terrible everywhere” and that she was “very much in support” of the 300-student cap.
“I think it’s vital. The school is the jewel in the crown. And nobody’s going to the office anymore, nobody’s working five days a week. They’re all working from home. And these big new houses that have been permitted in Gulf Stream, they all house children. There may be a ramification down the road that we can’t sell those houses if we can’t keep attracting young families with children. I hope you get 320.”
Michael Tiernan, whose grandson attends the school, agreed with Kraft. “The reason my son is living in Gulf Stream is because of the school,” he said. “It is just kind of the heart of this community.”
The town also received a few emails, all in support of the higher enrollment figure, Assistant Town Manager Trey Nazzaro said.
Despite the 250-student cap, Gulf Stream School has 293 children enrolled this year. School officials say having 300 will generate a “modest” budget surplus.
Tuition at the K-8 school ranges form $23,105 a year for pre-K students to $32,765 a year for students in fifth through eighth grades.
Nazzaro gave a brief history of the school’s dealings with Town Hall, starting with the June 10, 1994, developer’s agreement that limited students to 250, and a 2013 amendment that required the school to certify its enrollment to the town each year.
But 2013 was also a year the town was struggling to process hundreds of public records requests and it did not ask for the certification.
Commissioner Joan Orthwein was concerned about who would monitor the enrollment certification in the future.
“I mean, no offense, but when you come in and say, ‘Oh gosh, we have 305 students,’ we’re not going to say five go home,” Orthwein said.
Nazzaro said Town Clerk Renee Basel already had the task on her calendar to check in October.
He also said the school, which does not pay property taxes, will pay the town $14,346 this year for police to help manage traffic, a requirement from a 2001 amendment to the agreement.
He will bring back to the commission a formal amendment to the agreement in April and start the procedure to have approved a small food service building planned for the school’s parking lot.
License-plate reading cameras approved
Commissioners briefly talked about how to deal with massing in the Core district and with artificial grass — but decided to have a full discussion in April.
They also approved a contract to install solar-powered license-plate reading cameras at Avenue Au Soleil, County Road, Sea Road, Lakeview Drive and Golfview Drive, with each having a camera where they meet State Road A1A, and on Banyan Road at Oleander Way because of Banyan’s tree canopy.
Nazzaro said the one-year agreement, which will cost $15,000 for the service — $2,500 per camera — plus $2,100 for installation, will “not be a pilot program but just an initial step.”
Mayor Scott Morgan asked if the town could paint the camera mounting poles green to match other signs in the town, and Lyndi Gurevitch of the Atlanta-based vendor Flock Group Inc., said, “It’s kind of like, don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“You guys can paint the poles if you want to. Just obviously stay away from the camera. You don’t want to … get any paint on the actual camera.”
But commissioners decided to stick with the black poles Flock delivers to avoid the possibility of paint peeling later. The security cameras will be installed six weeks after permits are approved, Gurevitch said.
Neighborhoods such as Hidden Harbour that have private roads will be able to opt in to the LPR system by paying the same installation and service fees for a camera that the town would be charged.

Dogs and golf carts
At the start of the meeting, Morgan said the commission would not consider an ordinance proposed by a resident to prohibit other residents from towing, walking or otherwise exercising pets while driving a golf cart.
“This is an ordinance that addressed the behavior of one individual, that is, one resident in our town. Gulf Stream is the type of town — we are a neighborhood, we are a neighborly town, and it just struck me that rather than immediately legislating from the dais, we are a neighborhood who should try to work things out amicably if possible.”
The resident, whom he did not name, has exercised her dog while riding in her golf cart for 20 years, Morgan said. “However, our town has changed. We have more people, we have younger people and maybe that’s the demographic reason, but we have more dogs.”
Police told him that about 25 dogs are out for walks in town from 7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., “and when a golf cart comes up to them at a rate of speed with the dog running beside it, it can be frightening, disturbing and exciting to some of the dogs.”
The woman, who is an early riser, has agreed to exercise her pet before the 7 to 9 a.m. crunch to avoid confrontations.
“I’m hopeful we can resolve this issue like neighbors,” Morgan said.

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach voters handed Mayor Shelly Petrolia a major defeat on March 14 — and she wasn’t even on the ballot.
They rejected the City Commission candidates Petrolia supported in favor of two who promised to return Delray Beach to an old way of doing business, eschewing controversial decisions and trumpeting civility. 
Those who showed up to vote also approved $120 million in two bond measures, which are slated to pay for a potential new police station, for renovations of existing fire stations and for park improvements.
About 15% of the city’s registered voters — a little more than 6,900 — cast ballots.
“I feel very disappointed that the city had a very weak turnout at the polls. I think it might have been a different situation had people actually come out to vote,” Petrolia said.

Businessman Rob Long defeated one-term Commissioner Juli Casale for the District 2 seat 3,654 to 3,271 — 53% to 47% — a margin of 383 votes.
Angela Burns, a former teacher and community organizer, defeated former Commissioner Angie Gray for the District 4 seat. Burns beat Gray 3,513 to 3,300 — 52% to 48% — a 213-vote margin.
She takes the seat vacated by Commissioner Shirley Johnson, who could not run again because of term limits. Johnson often voted with Casale and Petrolia on key issues.

Seeking ‘common ground’
The election may leave Petrolia playing Don Quixote against a stacked commission. 
Long said the election was a repudiation of Petrolia, who once called for his removal from the Planning and Zoning Board when he criticized the city’s water quality. “I think this election was a referendum on the mayor’s leadership style and the decisions that have been made over the last couple of years,” he said.
 “That being said, I hope the mayor and I can find common ground and work together to serve our residents at the end of the day. That’s all that matters.”
A 13-year resident of Delray Beach, Long serves as the chairman of the Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation District.
Casale was a political neophyte in 2020 who came to office after fighting a development in her Sabal Lakes neighborhood.
“The residents are either far more pro-development than I thought or far more apathetic than I thought,” Casale said in a text message the day after the election. “Either way the result is the same.”
Burns campaigned as the only non-politician running, saying that the people’s voices weren’t being heard at City Hall. “Our community has spoken loud and clear and it’s proof our message resonates,” Burns said.
Gray stayed positive after her loss. “We ran an excellent race and I am proud of my team who gave us lots of love and support,” Gray said. “Angela won by a small margin and I congratulate her on running an excellent campaign.”

Winning connections
Burns and Long hired the same political consultant and at public forums agreed on nearly every issue.
Both talked about bringing civility back to the City Commission after recent years brought a water quality scandal, an ousted city manager and the removal of the longtime nonprofit that ran Old School Square — Old School Square Center for the Arts, Inc.
But their victories may bode something else as both have said they want to return the running of Old School Square to the ousted nonprofit and wrest control of the Community Redevelopment Agency from the commission — decisions that won’t come easy.
The old commission voted in February to hand over the reins of the city cultural center to the Downtown Development Authority and in its last act voted March 28 to remove the commission’s ability to end the contract without cause until September 2024.
The commission also took over an independent CRA in 2018 after it said the CRA ignored the needs of businesses west of Swinton Avenue, instead supporting more affluent areas. Commissioners now hold five of the seven seats on the CRA’s governing board.
“My goal is to bring unity to the city to start more or less a healing process to bring civility and professionalism back to the dais,” Long told The Coastal Star.
He acknowledged that the election was close and the city remains divided. His victory will be seen by his opponents as a win for developers because he sat on the Planning and Zoning Board that green-lighted many of the new high-end developments that are under construction or in the pipeline.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in January that a lawyer representing developers funneled business to Long’s grassroots outreach business, Door 2 Door Strategies. Long voted on one project in question based on the advice of an assistant city attorney who said he didn’t have a conflict of interest.
The Long-Burns quinella was also a win for Commissioner Ryan Boylston, who is said to be angling for Petrolia’s job. He supported Long and Burns, deriding the “toxicity” of the commission and said, “I for one want the ‘Delray Way’ back.”
Certainly, Delray Beach’s old guard will be happy — five former mayors supported Long.
Police and fire unions will also be happy. Casale had pivoted recently to calling for an audit of the Fire Rescue Department and investigating overtime abuses in the Police Department. 
Both police and fire unions endorsed Long and Burns. Long said at public forums that it was critical to have good collaborative relationships with first responders.
The day before the election, the state Legislature’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee unanimously approved a request by Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (R-Highland Beach) for the auditor general to examine what Delray Beach has charged Highland Beach for fire service the last six years. 
The city and town are fighting over what is owed and the audit underlined what Long and Burns characterized as continued chaos. 
Team Petrolia’s upending of the applecart the last three years did produce drama. 
The firing of the nonprofit running Old School Square for lack of accountability and mismanagement occurred at a commission meeting where it wasn’t even on the agenda. 
The bloc continued what have become regular upheavals in the city manager’s office when it fired manager George Gretsas.
Both the nonprofit and Gretsas have sued the city.
The city also agreed in November 2021 to pay $1 million to the Florida Department of Health for water safety violations — the foremost being that reclaimed water was making its way into the drinking water system.
The water issues went back more than a decade but became public only in the past few years.

Two bond issues approved
In decisions that almost certainly have more long-lasting implications, voters overwhelmingly approved a $100 million public safety bond and a $20 million parks bond. Both bonds received support from more than 60% of voters.
City spokeswoman Gina Carter said the parks bond, which passed 4,120 to 2,438, will bring much-needed improvements. 
She said the public safety bond, approved 4,055 to 2,597, “will allow our police and fire departments to grow. It will enable state-of-the-art technology and hurricane hardening to be central to our public safety infrastructure.”
She said it will also provide a dedicated home for emergency operations during hurricanes and other disasters.
At a forum on the bonds in February, the city said $80 million would be allocated either for building a new police headquarters or a major renovation of the existing structure. The rest would go to help renovate aging fire stations.
The $20 million for parks will include improvements to Catherine Strong Park, such as covered basketball courts, a covered practice field, walking trails and improvements to restrooms and lighting.
The general obligation bonds will be paid for by revenue from property taxes.
The estimated cost over 30 years to a resident with a home having $1 million in taxable assessed value would be $428 for the first year of the public safety bond. That amount would decrease to $360 annually when the city retires two previous bonds next February.
The parks and recreation bond is a separate cost. The 30-year estimated cost will be an additional $88 annually for a home with a $1 million taxable assessed value.

By Rich Pollack

There will be two new faces on the five-member Town Commission following the March 14 vote, which saw about 22% of Highland Beach’s 3,900 registered voters casting ballots.
Newcomer Judith Goldberg defeated challengers Maggie Chappelear and Peter Kosovsky and will serve the year left in the term of Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who resigned to run for state representative, a seat she won.
“I am just thrilled to represent this magical town,” Goldberg said, adding that she believes her forthright conversations with residents helped her get votes. “I just spoke about the issues honestly.”
Goldberg received 434 votes, or 51% of the total votes cast, with Chappelear receiving 30% or 257 votes and Kosovsky about 19% or 159 votes.
In a two-way race for a three-year term, newcomer Don Peters defeated incumbent John Shoemaker 453 to 394, capturing 53% of the votes to Shoemaker’s 47%.  
“A lot of people worked hard for me and I’m very thankful,” Peters said.
The former police officer and town supervisor in Yorktown, New York, said he believes his victory is the result of residents wanting more of a voice in the way the town is run.
“People just want their government to listen,” he said.
Both Peters and Goldberg were backed by the Committee to Save Highland Beach, a political action committee that sends messages to more than 2,000 email addresses.
With about 850 voters casting ballots, the election marked the first time since 2020 that voters had an opportunity to select a town commissioner; all candidates running since then ran unopposed.
During this year’s campaign season, transparency and increased public input in decision-making was a common theme among the candidates.
Chappelear, who first got involved with the town when she supported safer boating conditions on the Intracoastal Waterway, ran her campaign with a focus on being the voice of residents on the commission. A 38-year resident of Highland Beach, Chappelear has also been a strong supporter of dune restoration.
Goldberg, an attorney and mediator, ran her campaign focus on transparency and having energy and vitality for good governance. She is a supporter of preservation of natural resources and property values and supports effective growth planning.
Kosovsky ran his campaign on public oversight, believing there needs to be more public involvement in the running of the town. In an unusual move in what had been a very civil election season, Kosovsky was openly critical of Goldberg for what he claims were violations of campaign rules. 
In the race for the three-year seat, Peters often spoke about keeping taxes low and wanting to see residents having a greater voice in the decisions made by town leaders.
Shoemaker, who served three years on the commission, ran on his experience and on the effectiveness of the current commission in addressing long-standing issues. He says he ran on continuity, collaboration and competence. 
The low turnout, Shoemaker said, may be a reflection of how well the town is operating.
“When things are going well, people don’t seem to have as much interest in local affairs,” he said.
The election in Highland Beach remained mostly civil, with candidates each spending less than $10,000 on signs, emails and online and print advertising. 
Goldberg, who had a strong online presence, led the pack in expenses, spending more than $8,200, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Kosovsky was next, spending just under $4,000, while Chappelear spent just under $1,400.
In the seat for the three-year term, Shoemaker spent about $2,250, while Peters spent only about $750.
In all, the five candidates spent about $16,500 for their campaigns.

Council member Mark Zeitler speaks from the dais after being sworn into office March 27 with Chris Castle (far left), who listens with Mayor Karen Lythgoe and council member Kem Mason. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

Not long after the polls closed in Lantana’s Town Council races March 14, the winners — incumbent Mark Zeitler and newcomer Chris Castle — celebrated with friends and supporters at Lantana Pizza.
“I’ve been up since 2 a.m., I’m so wired,” Zeitler, 67, the owner of an air-conditioning firm, said by phone after seeing the final results of his Group 3 race. “I look forward to doing good things for the town.”
He defeated newcomer Ray Lastella, 32, an entrepreneur with a boat detailing company, by a vote of 493 to 394, or 56% to 44%.
For the Group 4 position, Castle, 37, a maintenance facilities director for PetMeds, won 473 to 408 — 54% to 46% — outpolling John Raymer, 53, an Army veteran who manages Ace Rental Place in Lantana. This was Raymer’s second run for office. He ran unsuccessfully last year against veteran council member Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse.
“I’ve been through all the emotions from giggles to glee,” Castle said. Early results showing mail-in ballots had him worried, he said, but in the end he won comfortably.
Castle and Zeitler were sworn in March 27, as was Karen Lythgoe, who became mayor after running unopposed to finish the term of Robert Hagerty, who resigned in October.
Almost 900 residents voted in each race, about a 12.5% voter turnout. Council terms are for three years.
With 60% of the vote, Lantana residents also decided 509 to 345 to change the Town Charter to put an end to runoff elections. Currently, a candidate must receive at least one more than 50% of the votes in a race to be elected. If no candidate gets a majority, a runoff election is held between the two candidates receiving the most votes in the race.
Forced runoffs in two council races last year made some elected officials consider a change to a plurality system, where the candidate receiving the highest number of votes in a race — whether or not it is a majority — is the victor. Voters agreed. Pro-ponents of the change argued that runoff elections were an unnecessary expense.

By Mary Thurwachter

It’s back to the drawing board for a couple who asked the Lantana Town Council to grant a setback variance to build a 7,100-square-foot home on a .36-acre lot on Hypoluxo Island.
The council delayed voting on the variance at its Feb. 27 meeting and expected to take up the matter in March. But shortly after the postponement, the couple, Thomas and Mindee Borzilleri, formally withdrew the variance application, according to Development Services Director Nicole Dritz.
“They will be redesigning their site to meet our required setbacks,” Dritz wrote in an email to council members. “We hope to work with them through our building permitting process and get them on their way to construction.”
The couple had sought a variance from the required 20-foot rear setback for their waterfront property at 1423 Lands End Road. The Borzilleris bought the parcel in 2021 and tore down the existing house after they found mold issues.
They wanted to locate a retaining wall 13.5 feet from the high-water line, where the town code requires a 20-foot setback. The couple said flood mitigation rules issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were a hardship.
Attorney Trey Nazzaro, who represents the Borzilleris, said FEMA was requiring the finished floor elevation of the home to be 10 feet. The home that was on the property previously had an elevation of 6.5 feet. The retaining walls would hold in a significant amount of fill to bring the elevation up to 10 feet, he said.
A pool, ADA ramp and deck also would have encroached on the required 20-foot setback area from the high-water line.
Island residents appearing at the council’s Feb. 27 meeting urged denial, saying the proposed house was too large for the property and that the owners should have been aware of town building requirements before they made their plans.
• The council awarded a $179,600 contract to Boromei Construction Inc. for Maddock Park dog park with Community Development Block Grant funds. The work includes exer-cise equipment and upgrades to fencing, drinking fountains and pet waste station.

By Joe Capozzi

Former Ocean Ridge Town Manager Jamie Titcomb has emerged as the Town Council’s choice to be South Palm Beach’s next manager. Now the council must decide whether to allow him to serve as an independent contractor or a full-time employee.
Titcomb, the town manager in Loxahatchee Groves from 2019 until last June, wants to be South Palm Beach’s town manager as an independent contractor for $12,000 a month. 
Although he said he does not want a full-time position because of family obligations that led him to retire last summer, he suggested there could be a scenario that would satisfy the council. 
“I’m not necessarily your long-term solution,’’ he told the council at a special meeting on March 6. “I just retired last year. I’m kind of being pulled back out of the mothballs.’’ 
At the council’s direction, Town Attorney Glen Torcivia was expected to begin negotiations in late March with Titcomb, who would replace departing Robert Kellogg.
Kellogg announced his retirement in November, a day after council member Ray McMillan made an unsuccessful motion to fire him. Kellogg wanted to retire at the end of March but has agreed to stay on until the council finds a replacement. 
Torcivia is expected to give the council an update on the negotiations on April 11. 
“The most recent conver-sation I had with the attorney is, he believes if I am going to come here and stay for any duration that I’ll probably need to be an employee of the town,’’ Titcomb said in an interview after the March 14 meeting. 
But Titcomb did not indicate this would necessarily be a deal-breaker.
He told the council he could serve in “a transitional” capacity for a while, allowing the council to later seek “a long-term traditional manager.’’
“I have a lot of energy and expertise left in me,’’ he said. “The longer term prospects of this has yet to be seen.’’ 
Under Titcomb’s proposal, he would make $144,000 a year, assuming he worked 12 months. And since he is a contractor, the town would not be responsible for paying him any benefits. 
Kellogg, who has served as a town manager and South Palm Beach employee since 2019, is making $110,250 a year. 
When the search process for a new town manager was first discussed at a special meeting Jan. 30, council members agreed it should be a full-time position. 
Titcomb attended that meeting and told the council he was not interested in a full-time job but was available to offer advice. But he said that in the days and weeks after that meeting, several council members reached out individually to him and encouraged him to apply.  
He also attended the March 6 meeting, which started out with council members preparing to discuss the search process. When McMillan suggested the town save time and negotiate with Titcomb, a majority of the council agreed. 
One resident said the town should conduct a general search. But council members, noting how they’re trying to expedite long-debated plans for a new Town Hall, directed Torcivia to negotiate with Titcomb.
“I am more inclined to go with a work-agreement contract versus being a full-time employee of the town because of the flexibility and my circumstances at this time,’’ Titcomb said March 6. 
“I didn’t come forward thinking I am looking for a long-term assignment for years to come,’’ he said. “I know this is a full-time scenario in the sense that once you have the mantle and responsibility and the title, you’ve got to be there for the town as needed. But the details of how that plays out can well be articulated in the agreement to everyone’s satisfaction.’’ 
Mayor Bonnie Fischer, a South Palm Beach resident since 1976, said she can’t recall any time when the manager wasn’t a full-time town employee. 
Titcomb has applied for the South Palm Beach town manager’s job before, in 2015. But he wound up accepting the town manager post in Ocean Ridge, where he worked from October 2015 to March 2019. 
Titcomb lives in Atlantis.

Opposition is building to a proposed 4,000-square-foot restaurant at the Moorings at Lantana. Rendering provided

By Mary Thurwachter

When it comes to building a waterside restaurant at the Moorings at Lantana, residents say size matters.
Developers planned for a tiki restaurant of 1,500 square feet when the Intracoastal community was built in 2002. But now, a developer is proposing something much larger, and many residents aren’t having it. They have routinely expressed their concerns at Lantana Town Council meetings and have broadcast their complaints on TV, in newspapers and social media.
Gulfstream Hospitality, the firm that opened Atlantic Avenue Yacht Club in Delray Beach last year and is about to open Jupiter Grill in Harbourside Place, wants to construct Lantana Cabana on a man-made island at the Moorings, a 378-unit condominium complex off Dixie Highway in the northern part of the town. The company bought the land two years ago for $1.01 million.
The upscale grill with Intracoastal Waterway views will showcase dishes by Paul Niedermann of Hell’s Kitchen fame, according to Dave Magrogan, a partner in Gulfstream Hospitality and CEO and founder of Harvest Seasonal Grill in Delray Beach.
“We are designing a polished, casual coastal grill with exceptional culinary talent and a creative premium menu,” he says. “We are not designing a ‘burger, hot dog and beer joint,’ we are seeking to create one of the best restaurants in Palm Beach County to attract a premium clientele.”
Be that as it may, residents say the 4,000-square-foot proposal is too big for the .13-acre island connected to the mainland by a dock and bordered by land owned by the homeowners association and surrounded on three sides by moored boats.
It’s not just the size of the eatery that worries residents. It’s noise, traffic, parking and the two 45-foot towers to house restrooms that will block views.
“The main thing is, the residents don’t want it,” says Janet Kozan, a property owner and commercial Realtor. “The thing doesn’t follow the original development order and I think there is a safety issue for building with walls that close to a sea wall, where people have to leave the restaurant and walk around over 200 feet on a 36-inch dock to get to the restroom. It’s dangerous to the restaurant patrons and to the Moorings residents.”
Kozan says fire protection is another concern. “When the fire protection intervention service was first planned for a little, tiny one-story building, it didn’t have to have things like ladder trucks. There’s no way you could get a ladder truck down there now.”
Residents can’t reject a 1,500-square-foot cabana restaurant, Kozan says. “We’re happy with that. But we certainly don’t want towers and we certainly don’t want a 4,000-square-foot building put in that little parcel with a shoehorn. It will be vertical walls to horizontal concrete to the dock.”
Another Moorings resident, Duane Roderick, started a petition on change.org — “Oppose the Lantana Cabana at The Moorings at Lantana” — that collected more than 600 signatures from people who oppose the restaurant. “We have another 250 that do not overlap on paper petitions we did earlier,” he says.
“You go down to the pool here on any given weekend and that’s the chatter,” Roderick said of the restaurant and Magrogan. “This restaurant is horrendous.”
Besides being for restaurant customers, “he is saying those public bathrooms are for the boaters, the marina and residents and their guests, but we have our own bathrooms.”
Parking is one of Roderick’s key concerns.
“He says there are 200 unassigned parking spots in the garage,” Roderick says of the Moorings’ private garage. “That’s not true. You can walk in there any time of the week and it’s packed. And we have only one little street coming into here. He says he’s going to have his own valet and that most people will come by Uber, bicycle or walking, but where the heck are they going to walk from?”
Magrogan, who says the petition is misleading and inaccurate, responded to its allegations by writing a letter/email on March 5 to property owners. He insists plans always called for a 1,500-square-foot building with another 2,500 square feet of covered seating and service area, and says towers are an architectural detail designed to blend the building into the appearance of the rest of the Moorings complex. He wrote that he is considering adjusting the height and location of the towers, based on comments.
Kozan says she gets her information through research. “I’m dealing with the town and public records and black and white. I know how this commercial development approval process works. All arrows point to failure as far as I see approval on this thing,” she says.
Roderick says he can back up everything he put on the petition.
Magrogan maintains the restaurant will increase property values and be a valuable amenity to residents of the Moorings at Lantana, which was developed as a mixed-use community. He wants to organize an event on the property to have residents meet the chef and the management team, sample food and beverages, view renderings, and have constructive conversations.

The neighbors’ view
Neighbors who live on View Street, a mobile home park south of the Moorings, are also worried.
“The first thing I thought about was the noise that would impact my neighbors who are in their 80s and are dealing with various health issues,” says View Street resident Annemarie Joyce. “Having their sleep interrupted by a noisy open-air restaurant with a bar would certainly have a negative impact. And the steady breezes would carry more debris into the waterway and onto the peninsula at the end of View Street, leading to increased rodent population.”
Joyce says increased traffic on Dixie Highway would make the existing congestion much worse.
“There have been numerous accidents at both View Street and the Moorings intersections. Some of my neighbors are concerned that when people cannot access parking at the Moorings, some drivers will come onto View Street to find parking,” Joyce says.
View Street is a private street with no outlet and no guest parking.

Support for project
Although the proposed restaurant has garnered opposition from residents, the Moorings’ seven-member Master Association board supports the developer’s efforts. Magrogan, as the owner of commercial property there, is a member of the Master Association. The association president, John Underwood, who also owns a commercial property there for his appraisal company, didn’t return calls from The Coastal Star. Other board members represent each of the three buildings, the townhomes and the marina. Several board members do not reside on the property.
Ted Cook, who regularly attends town meetings, is a new member of the Master Association but was not on the board when it voted in favor of the restaurant with towers.
“I have no problem with the restaurant that was initially approved by the town for approximately 1,500 square feet,” Cook says. “In fact, I would be open to a small increase if those two towers were lowered, and the bathrooms were inside the restaurant for patrons only.
“The people, not all, that bought here thought there would be a small restaurant, but not the size proposed.” Cook says. “I’ll feel deceived if the larger size is approved by the Town Council, and I doubt I will stay in what will be a circus-type of environment and I’ll be paying almost $1,000 a month for my HOA.”

Council to weigh in
It’s too early to decide on the matter, says Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe, who says she has heard from quite a few Moorings residents in favor of the restaurant as well.
“Comments have been made that the restaurant was one of the selling points to buying into the mixed-use development,” she says.
“The council is pleased to hear from so many residents, but since this will likely end up being decided in a quasi-judicial hearing, we will have to decide based on the evidence presented at the time it comes before us and the petitioner has an opportunity to present their evidence and cross-examine witnesses.”
Lythgoe couldn’t estimate when the issue would come before the council.
“It is my understanding that staff is still working with the owner of the property on final plans that can go to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their consideration,” she said.

Malcolm Balfour enjoys a cup of tea on the dock of his Hypoluxo Island home. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

As a journalist, Hypoluxo Island’s Malcolm Balfour has pretty much done it all.
Associate editor of the National Enquirer for eight years when the tabloid was based in Lantana. Miami-based correspondent for Reuters and the now-departed United Press International. Weekend producer for one of Miami’s best-known TV stations. Longtime correspondent for The New York Post. And contributor to several nationally syndicated TV shows.
And Balfour, 85, hasn’t slowed down. His latest project is Mississippi Escape!, a book published in 2021. It reached back to his own history as a student at Mississippi State in the early ’60s, during a major turning point in the way colleges in the South dealt with Black athletes.
Coached by Babe McCarthy, the all-white MSU Bulldogs basketball team won the Southeastern Conference title four times in five seasons from 1958 to ’63, but the “unwritten law” at the time forbade any Mississippi team from playing a team with Black players.
Then a member of the track team, Balfour was affected as well. “I was eligible to compete in the NCAA championships but was not allowed because they knew Black athletes would be there,” he said.
During the 1963 NCAA basketball tournament, MSU President Dean Colvard went against the wishes of the governor and defied an injunction. The Bulldogs essentially sneaked out of Starkville to travel to East Lansing, Michigan, where they were matched in the second round against Loyola of Chicago, which had four Black starters.
“The Mississippi State guys were getting letters from the Ku Klux Klan saying they better not play against the Black guys,” Balfour said, “and the Black guys were hearing from the other side saying they shouldn’t play against the white guys. So, it was a frightening experience, but they went ahead and played and it changed everything about recruiting in the South.”
Loyola won what became known as the “Game of Change” by a 61-51 score and went on to win the NCAA championship. Meanwhile, “almost overnight,” Balfour said, Southern schools began recruiting Black athletes.
“I spent two days interviewing Dr. Colvard back in 2004 and went up to northern Kentucky to interview the captain of the team, Joe Dan Gold,” Balfour said, recalling the MSU story. “I had to get off my butt to finally put it together.”
Balfour, who served on the Lantana Town Council for nine years, and Ilona, his wife of 55 years, remain active in local politics and were major drivers behind the creation of the Lantana Nature Preserve. They have two children: Grant, a writer in the cruise ship industry, who lives in West Palm Beach; and Antonia, a doctor in Marina del Rey, California. They also have three grandchildren, Sofia, Sebastian and Scarlett.
— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I attended a rural boarding school in South Africa, then went on to Pretoria Boys High School which has many famous alumni: Max Theiler, who won a Nobel Prize for discovering the vaccine for yellow fever; Michael Levitt, who also won a Nobel, for chemistry, and Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink.
I came to the U.S. on a track scholarship to Mississippi State, where I placed second in the SEC championship freshman cross-country race and we won the team championship in track. I majored in English and minored in sociology. I returned to South Africa afterward and then came back to take some graduate courses at New York University on a student visa. That opened up opportunities for me to get work up there.  

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of? 
A: I was working for United Press International in New York and they transferred me to the bureau in Miami, which I thought was great. Then I got an opportunity with WTVJ in Miami, where I was a writer and producer. I produced the weekend news and I was hopeless, but I lasted three years. Then I was hired by the British news service Reuters, which was the greatest thing to happen to me.
I was doing some freelance work at the time for the National Enquirer and did a story with the owner, Generoso Pope, about how it was becoming a much better publication. Reuters repeatedly wouldn’t run it but on my last try a friend ran it and the big papers in New York, Boston, Chicago all ran it on their front page. Pope was so impressed he hired me.
I stayed at the Enquirer for eight years as associate editor. They paid an incredible amount of money in those days, so much I couldn’t reject the offer. But Pope would also fire people left and right, and after making that kind of money there you couldn’t get that anywhere else.
I never became reliant on the Enquirer. I spent most of my career becoming the South Florida correspondent for The New York Post, and also did freelance work for TV shows like Inside Edition, Hard Copy and A Current Affair.
We did some things at the Enquirer that were extraordinary. Once we were covering the annual American Medical Association convention in San Francisco. I was taking six reporters with me and Pope asked how many I was taking, and he said I should take three times that many.
One of my reporters who I had hired, David Wright, came up with the story that if you have one drink a day it’s good for your heart. The AMA asked us to hold the story to run concurrently with the story running in their journal. I thought Pope would never go for it but he did, which became a feather in my cap as well.
I had my own airplane and a pilot’s license so I could fly my crew anywhere. The British papers would hire me to fly their correspondents to the Caribbean to find government officials and their girlfriends.
When the Falklands War broke out I got a call at 4 in the morning from Britain telling me to fly down there. The editor was dead serious, but it would have taken me a week to fly down there because the island was so difficult to reach, so it didn’t happen.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today? 
A: Whatever happens, always show a positive attitude.

Q: How did you choose to make your home on Hypoluxo Island?  
A: What really convinced me to buy a house on Hypoluxo Island in 1971 was the island was exactly halfway between the ocean and my job at the National Enquirer. I rode to work on my bicycle. We sold our first house after about three years because we wanted to be on the water, so in 1974 we moved to where we are now.

Q: What is your favorite part about living there?  
A: Friendly neighbors and lots of trees. We’re close to the Lantana Nature Preserve so that’s a lovely place to walk.

Q: What book are you reading now? 
A: At the risk of sounding like a nepotist, I’m reading my mother-in-law’s memoir, Return of the Swallows. Her name was Dorothy Praschma and her family left South Africa for Germany in 1933 to claim her husband’s rightful inheritance. What they ran into between the Soviets and the Nazis is very much like what the Russians are doing now in Ukraine. My wife, Ilona, was editor of the book.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: Blues. There’s a trail in north Mississippi going up to Memphis known as the Blues Trail and I’ve been along that. I belong to a blues club in Cleveland, Mississippi, and heard a lot of blues there.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: Warren Burns, the assistant track coach at Mississippi State, was a huge help. I only had a partial scholarship so I really had no money my first year. He would give me a couple packets of cereal every morning so I’d have breakfast and lunch and sometimes even dinner. Then he got me a job on the college paper that paid me about $15 a month, and also got me a job selling programs at football games. Then after one year I got a full scholarship and he decided to concentrate on getting his master’s, so I took over as assistant coach. 
 
Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: Gregory Peck, if he were still alive. My wife likes him and he’s a good, handsome guy. One of my favorite movies is To Kill A Mockingbird. 
 
Q: Who/what makes you laugh?  
A: Seinfeld on TV. My wife hates him so she pretends to be asleep.

LANTANA — John Joseph Holloway passed away March 13 in Burnsville, North Carolina, at the age of 61. He was the son of Emma Holloway and the late John Holloway Sr.
Born in Detroit, he soon relocated with his family to Florida, where he attended school and graduated from the University of Florida and later received an MBA from the University of Miami.
When John retired, he was a successful CPA in Palm Beach. John was a longtime resident of Hypoluxo Island, East Hampton, New York, and Burnsville.
John was a founding board member of the Miami Children’s Museum and served with the Young Professionals of American Cancer Society in Miami.
John is survived by Devo, an American bulldog who was his constant companion; Rick Carroll; three brothers, Mike (Jeannie) Holloway, David (Sarah) Holloway, and Jim (Christine) Holloway; mother, Emma Holloway; several nieces and nephews, and his best friends, Paul and Kathy Cowan and their family.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Miami.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Paws4You Rescue at paws4you.org or at 8717 SW 134th St., Miami 33176.
Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home of Burnsville is serving the Carroll-Holloway family.
Condolences may be made at www.holcombebrothers funeralhome.com.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Sallie James

MANALAPAN — She was a dedicated volunteer who spent years helping in the town library and working at the polls, but it was the warmth that emanated from longtime resident Olga Cuyar’s bubbly personality that made her so unforgettable.
Mrs. Cuyar died at home on Feb. 27 of complications related to cancer. She was 96.
She and her husband, Bob, bought a house in Manalapan in 1980 and lived in town part-time before becoming full-time residents in 1994.
Those who knew her said she touched the hearts of everyone she met. Mrs. Cuyar volunteered her time serving as a deputy at the elections at Manalapan Town Hall and volunteered at the town library and at the Church Mouse resale shop in Palm Beach. Her love for people, her ability to “work a room,” her personal style, her affection for dogs and her amazing way of encouraging others will always be remembered, her friends and family said.
“The Bible teaches us that we should let God’s light shine through us to others, and no one did this better than Olga. She always reached out to people she had never met and instantly befriended them. Always shining that light,” said longtime friend and neighbor Monique Bubnow, who considered Mrs. Cuyar as family. “For Olga, there were no strangers in any room she would walk into. Her infectious, fun-loving spirit attracted everyone like no one could.”
A people person. A natural beauty. A world traveler. An animal lover. A social butterfly. Love. All are traits that distinguished Mrs. Cuyar and made her the memorable person she was, said her husband.
A native of Puerto Rico, Mrs. Cuyar was born on Jan. 11, 1927, in Santurce, but moved to Manhattan at age 4. She spent much of her adult life traveling. She lived in Spain, Morocco and Iceland before finally returning to Manhattan, her husband said. Mrs. Cuyar worked in the travel business most of her life, with stints at American Express and later, the Finnish airline Finnair.
Bob Cuyar met his future wife on a dog day afternoon. He was trying to find a pet for his mother and had heard about a woman at American Express who was selling a chihuahua. He thought it would be the perfect companion for his mother so he decided to take a look.
What he found changed the course of his life.
“When she opened the door, that’s who I was going to marry,” Bob Cuyar recalled, chuckling. “But there was a little complication. She was married.”
The two hit it off, and crossed paths again when she asked him to accompany her and her husband to a social event because he fit the bill.
“[Olga] was going to a party and the hostess asked, ‘Do you know someone who is a college graduate, has a tuxedo and some social graces?’” Bob Cuyar had the degree and the tux, scoring the invite with two out of three. But shortly thereafter, he lost track of his dream date, who disappeared into the mist for about three years.
The two crossed paths again by chance on the streets of Manhattan.
“I’m walking down Broadway and there she is, divorced but with a boyfriend. But when she was mad at the boyfriend, she would talk to me,” Bob Cuyar said.
It was an arrangement that ultimately worked out in his favor.
“Then we got married, and we were married for 53 years,” Bob Cuyar said. The couple traveled the world, never had children, but owned many dogs over time.
Bubnow said Mrs. Cuyar was a devoted Catholic whom she drove to church — Holy Name of Jesus in West Palm Beach — many times during the pandemic.
“She would get so excited and loved going, and of course, Father Antony!” Bubnow recalled, referring to Holy Name’s pastor, the Rev. Antony Pulikal. She said Mrs. Cuyar never complained about her advancing illness and remained smiling and upbeat.
“I guess the most important thing I’ve learned from Olga is that no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, we need to be strong and shine the light unto others everywhere we go,” Bubnow said. “There is always a way to uplift someone by showing kindness and bringing them out of their shell to feel alive and loved.
“It is certain that the world is a richer place for her having been in it, and she will be sorely missed,” Bubnow said.
Services for Mrs. Cuyar were held on March 14 at Holy Name of Jesus.

By Tao Woolfe

The Boynton Beach Arts and Cultural Center will be receiving an interior makeover that will allow audiences to better hear and see exhibits and presentations in its auditorium.
The City Commission last month voted unanimously to allocate $775,000 to buy audiovisual equipment and speakers, a new stage curtain and shades for the historic building’s massive windows.
The money will come from the city’s remaining $5.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Some of that money will also be used to purchase furniture and equipment for the historic Boynton Woman’s Club, City Manager Daniel Dugger told commissioners at their March 21 meeting.
“When the plans for Town Square were in the conceptual stage … we wanted an audiovisual system for the auditorium of the Arts and Cultural Center,” Dugger said.
The manager said the city is now leasing space from local restaurants and other vendors. “We need a place for local events,” Dugger said.
He suggested that once the improvements have been made, the city will be able to charge more for renting out the rooms.
“It’s an investment that will pay for itself over five to 10 years,” Dugger said.
The building at 125 E. Ocean Ave., which was built in 1927, originally housed Boynton Beach High School. It can be rented now, but customers have complained that it is difficult to hear in the auditorium.
Because the big windows let in so much light, it is also difficult to see what’s onstage, city staff told the commission.
Dugger said the city will invest in a huge digital screen, as well as two smaller screens, for the stage area.
About $80,000 of the $775,000 will be used to purchase refrigeration equipment and furniture for the Woman’s Club, located at 1010 S. Federal Highway.
The city is preparing a formal bid for the work, a process that will take months.
The Arts and Cultural Center is “a beautiful building that’s not being used to its fullest,” said Commissioner Aimee Kelley. “Schools can use it, we can use it. We can rent it out as a true theater setting.”
“We’ve invested a lot into this project already,” Commissioner Thomas Turkin said. “To put a lens on how we can turn it into an asset is important.”
The city decided years ago to preserve the original 28,000-square-foot building and maintain its character. Its interior spaces were reconfigured to allow for multiple uses as part of the Town Square project.
The auditorium has a 49-foot-high domed ceiling and can accommodate 250 guests for a seated dinner and 500 guests for performances, according to promotional material.
“I think it’s money well-spent,” said Commissioner Woodrow Hay. “It’s already getting popular. If we make it even nicer, there’s going to be a waiting line.”

David Del Rio was handcuffed and remanded into custody after pleading guilty to 36 felony counts and getting a 15-year sentence.
Photos by Jim Rassol/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Maureen Forte can find comfort in knowing that the man accused of bilking her aunt and uncle out of $3 million is finally behind bars, but she is hoping that the case that lingered for more than four years will serve as a cautionary tale for other vulnerable seniors.
Early last month, 39-year-old David Del Rio pleaded guilty to 36 felony counts in connection with the theft of millions of dollars from widow Elizabeth “Betty” Cabral and her late husband, William.
As part of the plea agreement, Del Rio was sentenced to 15 years in state prison, followed by 15 years of probation. He also agreed to turn over to the Cabrals’ estate two properties he owned fully or in part at Lehigh Acres in Lee County.
“Our family has some relief because he’s going to jail,” Forte, the Cabrals’ niece, said after speaking to Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Gillen during the March 2 hearing. “But it’s never going to be enough because nothing is going to undo what’s been done.”

Maureen Forte, niece of Betty Cabral, said ‘our family has some relief’ with the sentencing of Del Rio. ‘But it’s never going to be enough.’ The Cabral homicide case dating to 2018 remains unsolved.

In addition to accepting the prison sentence and agreeing to the property transfer, Del Rio agreed that he understands a homicide investigation into the death of Betty Cabral remains open and that he receives no “promises of leniency, nor immunities” as a result of the plea.
Cabral was found in her Highland Beach apartment with her throat cut almost five years ago. There have been no arrests made in that case. Her husband died about a year earlier.
Prosecutors said the investigation into Cabral’s death is continuing.
“You understand that this deal, as sweet as it is, has nothing to do with the homicide involving Elizabeth Cabral?” the judge asked Del Rio.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop more than 35 felony charges and to give the Cabrals’ former financial adviser credit for 116 days of time he served in the Palm Beach County Jail. He was under house arrest following his release from jail on bond.
Under terms of the deal, Del Rio pleaded guilty to several counts each of exploiting an elderly person, money laundering, organized scheme to defraud, fraudulent use of personal identification information and grand theft from a person 65 or older.
Defense attorney Michael Salnick said that had Del Rio gone to trial — which had been scheduled for early this month — and been convicted of the 36 counts, the lowest possible sentence he could have received under state sentencing guidelines would have been 71 years.
Like Forte and even Del Rio, Salnick expressed relief that the case, which lingered during the pandemic years, has come to a conclusion.
“I am happy that we were able to resolve this case for Mr. Del Rio,” he said.
In brief comments to the court, Del Rio appeared remorseful, saying he unfortunately couldn’t take back his actions. He apologized, expressing gratitude to the judge for accepting the deal.
“I feel it’s time to move on,” he said.
In addition to Forte, another of Betty Cabral’s relatives, niece Teresa Regan, told how she kept asking her aunt to come back to live in her home state of Massachusetts but that she always wanted to stay in Florida.
Regan said that the last time she spoke to her aunt, Cabral told her that she wanted to come back home but that Del Rio told her she couldn’t afford to go.
“I hate him for that,” Regan said. “That just goes to show what kind of person he is.”
Forte, during comments in court, told the judge a little about her aunt and uncle and how they enjoyed living in Florida, where they made friends.
“I just wanted to give the judge an idea of who they were,” she said after the hearing. “They were a lovely couple. This was their dream and then they came upon this opportunistic vulture who ingratiated himself to them and took advantage of them.”
Forte said she appreciated the efforts of Assistant State Attorney Aleathea McRoberts and sheriff’s office detectives, and was grateful to have a chance to let the judge know that allegations from Del Rio that she and her relatives didn’t care about her aunt were untrue.
“I wanted the judge to know how reprehensible the false story he was telling was,” she said.

Need for caution
Forte, who flew down from Massachusetts for the hearing, said she hopes this case will alert other seniors to the need to be cautious while entrusting others with money.
To help older Floridians avoid becoming victims of financial fraud, the state Department of Elder Affairs created a tip sheet that includes a warning for seniors not to sign anything they don’t understand.
Other tips include:
• Check your bank statements regularly for unauthorized withdrawals.
• Don’t sign blank checks allowing others to fill in the amounts.
• Request assistance from your bank, which may be able to help you control access to your account.

By Mary Hladky

Completion of major work on the Diverging Diamond Interchange at Glades Road and Interstate 95 was briefly delayed but expected to be finished on April 3.
The Florida Department of Transportation had intended to close the interchange — including traffic on Glades Road at I-95 — March 24 through March 27 to complete its configuration. Instead, the closures were pushed back to March 31 to April 3, which is after The Coastal Star’s deadline for this edition. The bulk of the project was forecast to be completed the morning of April 3.
“The unforeseen delay is due to an issue with material procurement necessary to complete the weekend operation,” said project spokesperson Andrea Pacini Baynham.
The final work involved the completion of a fourth lane in each direction to allow traffic to move more quickly on Glades Road through the interchange and improve safety, officials said.
The project won’t be completely finished until May 1, though. Still to be done are the removal of old ramps and creation of drainage ponds, which will be graded and sodded.
The FDOT and Boca Raton have worked together to synchronize the interchange’s traffic signals to further alleviate delays and congestion.
The state and the city have five cameras on the project, which allows them to make tweaks as they go. Aurelio Matos, the FDOT senior project engineer for the interchange, said there have been no issues with people driving in the wrong direction.
The project was launched in March 2021. The new interchange opened in “temporary condition” on Jan. 30. But without all the planned lanes open, and with light synchronization issues still being ironed out, drivers on Glades Road faced sporadic backups over the past two months.

Stand-in Commissioner David Stern has returned to the dais for a year in an elevated role in Highland Beach.
Late last month, commissioners unanimously appointed him vice mayor less than a week after he finished a temporary stint filling three months of the unexpired term of Peggy Gossett-Seidman, now a state representative.
Stern’s latest appointment comes after Vice Mayor Natasha Moore became mayor following Mayor Doug Hillman’s death earlier in March.
In choosing Stern to fill the one year remaining in the vice mayor’s term, commissioners cited his extensive experience on town boards and his three months on the commission.
Stern has served on the Financial Advisory Board, the Charter Review Board and on a committee auditing the town’s water plant. He also chaired the Code Enforcement Board and the Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
A 25-year-plus resident of Highland Beach, Stern is also president of Highland Place Condominium.

— Rich Pollack

By Steve Plunkett

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. is back offshore pumping sand from the ebb shoal just south of the Boca Raton Inlet to beaches south of the inlet.
The roughly 1 mile of beaches between the inlet and the city limit with Deerfield Beach will remain open to the public except for about 500 feet around each day’s active area.
The $6.5 million project started in March and is scheduled to be completed by May 1. The city’s permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection does not allow sand to be deposited on the beaches from May to November to protect nesting sea turtles.
While signs on State Road A1A say turtle season is March 1 to Oct. 31, intense nesting does not begin that soon.
The turtle conservation program at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, which monitors the city’s 5 miles of beaches every morning during the season, as of March 27 reported only two leatherback nests and no loggerhead or green turtle nests.
Boca Raton routinely nourishes its south beach every seven years, rotating the work with projects on its central and north beaches. Hurricanes and other storms can lead to emergency sand projects.
The cost of the current work will be partly offset by grants from Palm Beach County and the state DEP.
The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District uses its tax revenue to pay for 50% of beach nourishment projects.
Through separate contracts, Great Lakes will also pump sand onto Deerfield Beach and its southern neighbor, Hillsboro Beach. Those municipalities are paying for their own work, supplemented by state and federal money.
Besides widening beaches for visitors, moving sand south helps keep the Boca Raton Inlet navigable to boaters.
“So excited to hear they are dredging the Boca inlet! Needed badly, it has been a little bumpy on the north side going out!!” Boca Raton boater Cindy Galiardo posted on Facebook.