By John Pacenti

Gregg Brian Weiss — a well-known figure in Delray Beach’s civic, business and nonprofit sectors — is facing felony fraud charges for allegedly bilking a senior of $30,000, according to a Palm Beach County sheriff's affidavit.

Weiss, 58, was arrested following an investigation spanning more than a year and faces charges of obtaining property by deception from a person 65 or older, a second-degree felony, and engaging in fraudulent investment transactions, a third-degree felony.

He was taken into custody on March 31, the same day he appeared in front of the City Commission to defend restaurateur Rodney Mayo and the coffee shop Subculture.

The case against Weiss began in February 2025, when the alleged victim, a 75-year-old woman, and her son reported suspected fraud to authorities. 

The alleged victim said she met Weiss through a Facebook group and hired him for $900 to prepare a will. 

Investigators allege that Weiss identified himself as an investor with Ruby Capital Management. He told the woman that he could help her accrue enough money to afford a move into a Wellington assisted living facility, according to an affidavit by Sheriff’s Deputy William Goldstein.

In January 2025 the woman, who lives west of Boynton Beach, provided Weiss with a $30,000 check, intending to invest $15,000 each into two different certificates of deposit.

The subsequent investigation revealed significant red flags regarding Weiss's business operations. 

Records from the Florida Division of Corporations indicated that Ruby Capital Management had been administratively dissolved and was inactive as of September 2024.

Furthermore, Weiss allegedly provided the woman with "client confirmation of trade" documents for the CDs. But the woman’s existing financial firm reported no record of any such communications or transactions.

Although Weiss had been a registered investment adviser for nearly two decades, state records confirmed his registration had ended in January 2023.

Detectives used subpoenas to track the woman’s $30,000 deposit and found that the funds were placed into a Ruby Capital Management account that Weiss controlled.

Instead of being invested, the affidavit states the money was shifted through various accounts and used for personal gain. 

New Delray Beach City Commissioner Judy Mollica, who is president of Friends of Delray, said Weiss served as secretary and would take minutes of any meetings. The group sent out newsletters on development and other pertinent issues to the city.

“It’s too unbelievable even to conceive,” Mollica said of Weiss’ arrest.

Bank records allegedly showed that over $14,000 of the alleged victim’s money was transferred to a personal checking account held by Weiss and another individual, with the funds being used for food, gas and personal bills. 

Additionally, records from the Seminole Tribe of Florida showed Weiss had a slot cash buy-in of over $41,000 between January and May 2025, with documented losses during that period.

When the woman grew weary of the investment and requested her money back, Weiss reportedly sent her a letter claiming his business was entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. 

The letter informed the alleged victim she would receive follow-up information once the firm had direction from the courts, yet a search of the Palm Beach County Court Clerk showed no record of a bankruptcy filing for the business or for Weiss personally. 

Weiss, who lives west of Delray Beach, has been a visible member of the community, previously serving on boards for several nonprofits and working as a community justice planner. He is also an administrator of the Facebook group Delray Beach Community Forum.

Weiss spoke at the March 31 commission workshop reviewing whether Mayo’s coffee shop was in compliance regarding special events and parking. He said the eccentric restaurateur — who also owns DaDa in the city — was being attacked.

He gave a list of his community service before speaking in public comments: “I've been involved in Delray Beach over the past 30 years in many capacities, including chair of the Chamber of Commerce, chair of economic development for four years, as well as working with the city CRA on multiple committees for business purposes.”

A message left for Weiss seeking comment was not returned. He was being held as of April 2 on a $67,000 bond at the Palm Beach County Jail. Weiss needed to show that the bond money posted is from a legitimate source, the sheriff’s office said.

Highland Beach goes to condos to teach; Delray has new defibrillator mandate

Cameron Abraham, a Highland Beach Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic, explains to Dottie Turcotte how to position AED pads on a mannequin. Photos by Rachel O’Hara/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Jason Chudnofsky knows that having automated external defibrillators — AEDs — easily accessible when someone is in cardiac arrest can be the difference between life and death. 

He also knows it’s important that people know how to operate the device and do CPR that is used in tandem. 

“Having a tool to save a life without knowing how to use that tool does no good,” said Chudnofsky, a Highland Beach town commissioner and staunch AED advocate. “You can’t always rely on someone else.” 

Throughout coastal southern Palm Beach County, with its large senior population, there is a growing emphasis on making sure defibrillators are accessible and that people are knowledgeable enough to use them and CPR properly.

Delray Beach, for example, now requires AEDs on every other floor of a residential building with five stories or more, while other municipalities  are encouraging condo boards in their communities to install AEDs on multiple floors.

In addition, fire departments serving the coastal communities all incorporate AED training into CPR classes. 

In Highland Beach, a town effort led by Chudnofsky is championing a new program that is bringing AED and CPR training to condos. 

Rather than wait for residents to request the training, Highland Beach is coming to them and initiating the classes.

“We’re bringing it to each of the condos because we find that’s more effective,” said Chudnofsky, “It’s in the best interest of all residents for us to go to them.” 

Geoff Squires, Max Mirochnik and Fred Daniels (l-r) practice giving chest compressions during a training session at a Highland Beach condo.

Taught by a certified instructor, the training sessions in Highland Beach are the result of a partnership between the Highland Beach Police and Fire Foundation and the town’s fire rescue department and are offered for free, with the nonprofit foundation footing the bill. Chudnofsky, who chairs the town’s police and fire foundation, is also behind Highland Beach’s proclamation of April as CPR and AED Awareness Month. 

In addition, he helped the Coronado condominium board donate AEDs to the Highland Beach Police Department after residents decided they weren’t needed on every other floor because of the community’s proximity to the fire station. 

In Delray Beach, an 18-month grace period, during which residents were educated about the new requirement to have AEDs on every other floor, is over and the mandates are now being enforced during fire safety inspections. 

The new rule, included in a revised ordinance that also requires bleeding control kits on every other floor of a five-story or more building, has guidelines for commercial and other buildings where you’d expect large gatherings of people. 

No other municipality on the south Palm Beach County coast requires AEDs on every other floor.

Delray Beach Fire Marshal Joe Mazzeo says that having AEDs on alternate floors, as opposed to just in a lobby, makes them more rapidly accessible to someone on higher floors and can save valuable minutes and save lives.

“Anything we can do to improve survivability is important and every second counts,” he said. 

While AEDs are self-guided, with a recording giving step-by-step instructions, fire department leaders believe the AED training — in coordination with CPR — can have a beneficial impact. 

Elyse Carhart, the community education supervisor for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, which serves Manalapan and South Palm Beach, believes that the training helps build confidence in those who may have to use CPR and an AED.

“The more comfortable people are with doing something, the more likely they are to do it,” she said. 

For Highland Beach residents like Dottie Turcotte, who took CPR classes years ago, the training offered in her condo proved to be a refresher that will likely make her feel more comfortable should she need to use it and an AED. 

Turcotte said she had to know CPR when she worked with children but “I’m not sure I remember it.” 

Like most of the area’s fire departments, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue offers free “hands only” CPR and AED training and will come to buildings or specific locations. Those classes do not offer certifications, although Boca Raton Fire Rescue offers CPR certification classes at a minimal cost. 

“We’re always happy to see when people are using AEDs prior to our arrival,” says Lt. Karl Richards of Boca Raton Fire Rescue. “The early use of CPR and AEDs together gives the patient the highest sustainable rate of walking out of the hospital.” 

In the classes she leads for Highland Beach condos, Diane Lea of Lifesavers Inc. has those participating do actual CPR on mannequins and has them work with the AED. 

She is good at going beyond just the mechanics and takes time to explain the difference between CPR and defibrillation and why they should be used together. 

“Instead of just saying ‘do it,’ I want them to know why they’re doing it,” she said.

CPR, she explains, is about getting oxygen into the body once the heart stops in cardiac arrest. Defibrillation is about getting the heart back into a normal rhythm.  

“I wish everyone would learn CPR and AEDs,” she said. 

AED tips

Having an AED accessible for use can make a difference between life and death. Here are tips to ensure your device is ready:

Set up the AED according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Register the device with the manufacturer so you’ll get updates and other important information.

Make sure the device is visible and accessible.

Put the address of the location on the cabinet and the device.

Designate two people to ensure the AED is properly maintained.

Evolving technologies  keep an eye on public as police fight crime 

Technology advances have led local police departments to invest in systems that improve results in fighting crime. LEFT and TOP: License plate reader cameras mounted on major streets are linked to real-time systems that alert police to information such as arrest warrants and expired vehicle tags. Ocean Ridge Police Officer Aaron Choban keeps track in his squad car. ABOVE: Boca Raton uses a robotic dog as part of its bomb squad. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star and provided

By John Pacenti

When Ocean Ridge police found an 84-year-old with dementia walking down a street on a recent Monday morning, they turned to their network of surveillance cameras.

Once the officer coaxed the senior to give him her name, police were able to get the license plate of her car from a state database.

“We were then able to enter the tag into our LPR (license plate reader) system, which allowed us to determine when the vehicle entered town and how long it had been present,” Police Chief Scott McClure said. “This information ultimately led to locating the vehicle parked within the town.”

The cameras — LPRs and static video — had recorded when the car had come into town that Monday, March 16, and how long the woman had been walking the streets. Soon, she was sitting in the lobby of the police station at Town Hall, waiting for a relative to pick her up.

The age of surveillance

A few feet away from the chief sits the department’s new drone — another type of technology many law enforcement agencies are using. Down the road in Manalapan, the department will receive new body cameras this month that can translate 101 languages on the spot.

Delray Beach has seen property crime plummet in areas where LPRs are deployed. In March, LPRs helped police track down those stealing wallets out of vehicles at construction sites in Manalapan and Boca Raton. 

And they frequently catch suspects wanted on warrants — because those suspects are often driving stolen vehicles.

LPR technology has evolved from a passive tool for finding stolen cars into a predictive, AI-driven surveillance dragnet. Modern systems can identify cars by unique traits like roof racks, bumper stickers, or dents, even when plates are missing or obscured. These networks analyze billions of data points to flag “suspicious” travel patterns and coordinate real-time alerts across state lines.

“Anytime that we get that kind of data coming into us before a crime has been committed, it gives you an opportunity to prevent the crime,” said Manalapan Police Chief Jeff Rasor.

But civil rights organizations and some academics have raised concerns about the blanket of surveillance, saying it can easily be abused. 

“It’s understandable that some folks may be a bit apprehensive about cameras,” said Boca Raton Police spokesman Dylan Huberman. “Tools like cameras are used to help prevent crime, respond quickly to emergencies, and gather evidence when incidents occur. We operate within the scope of the law to protect people’s privacy and rights.”

Huberman put it another way: “At home, you may choose to have a doorbell camera. Some people may view it as unnecessary, but others can’t imagine their lives without that sense of security.”

Flocking to Flock

The Boynton Beach City Commission at its March 23 meeting debated the ins and outs of upgrading its LPR system and awarding a 10-year, $7.7 million contract to Flock Safety — the leader in the industry, and the most controversial.

Flock Safety’s public affairs director, Trevor Chandler, sought to address privacy and security concerns directly: “Flock does not sell data,” he said, adding that image ownership would remain with the city and that Boynton Beach policy would enforce a 30-day retention period for footage.

Still, there have been incidents of LPR abuse that cause concern among civil rights groups.

The ACLU reported that in Texas, a police officer tapped into the LPRs from Flock Safety — the same company used by Ocean Ridge, Gulf Stream, Lantana and Highland Beach — to search for a woman who had self-administered an abortion. 

In Kansas, police used an LPR database to pursue a man who wrote a critical op-ed about the department.

“We don’t think that law enforcement should be using license plate readers to retain information on where people are going and when, unless their vehicle is on a legitimate ‘hit list’ of wanted vehicles,” wrote Jay Stanley, a senior ACLU policy analyst, for the organization’s website in February.

“Nonetheless, police in many communities around the nation are using this surveillance technology as a mass surveillance system storing information about everybody’s movements.”

Boca case set precedent

The concerns about LPRs are similar to the ones raised about police use of cell-site simulators, known as Stingrays. These devices masquerade as legitimate cell phone towers to “trick” all mobile phones within a specific radius into connecting to them instead of the network.

A violent robbery at Boca Raton’s Josephine’s restaurant in 2012 led to a landmark ruling against such devices used without a warrant. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office was found to have exceeded the scope of its warrant by using a Stingray to locate the suspect’s cell phone inside his Fort Lauderdale residence.

The case set the stage for the current litigation against LPRs filed in California regarding the millions of times federal agencies allegedly accessed local license plate data — especially with the leader in the industry, Flock.

The increasing commingling of private industry and law enforcement has created a marketplace where vehicle location data can be shared or, in some cases, sold to determine citizens’ travel and purchasing habits, critics say.

“Flock has created an Orwellian mass-surveillance infrastructure that is practically impossible to avoid,” according to the federal complaint in California.

Since the start of 2025, at least 30 cities and counties across the U.S. have canceled or declined to renew their contracts with Flock Safety.

McClure said he learned of concerns about data being sold on newscasts.

“The big concern is, ‘Oh, they’re tracking your habits and whatnot.’ But you know your phone and other devices are tracking you,” McClure said.

“In law enforcement, we use it for investigations into criminal activity. It’s a detective’s dream. We have been able to solve several cases that would not be possible without the use of LPR readers.”

Cameras and legwork

Case in point: Sterling Maloney.

Maloney is suspected of a months-long shooting spree where he sprayed bullets into houses and businesses throughout Palm Beach County as he worked down his grudge list of his perceived enemies.

After bullets were fired at an Ocean Ridge residence, the town’s police turned to their network cameras and those of some residents to help hone in on the perpetrator from the car he drove.

“It’s a trifecta when we are able to use private cameras tied into our LPR system and our live static cameras,” McClure said. “That was an ace in the hole for us. We solved 16 shooting cases for several jurisdictions, including Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach.”

Ocean Ridge has LPR readers at the entry and exit points in town.

Up the road in Manalapan, Chief Rasor has not only seen what LPRs and high-tech policing can do in the small town but also in Delray Beach, a community he served for 23 years.

When Delray Beach installed LPRs at Interstate 95 and Atlantic Avenue, property crime went down. 

“Now Atlantic at I-95 is a huge intersection,” Rasor said. “We’re not talking 50 vehicles an hour, we’re talking thousands of vehicles an hour. But that was a huge advantage for the Delray Beach Police Department because it gave them opportunity.”

Rasor said suspects hitting construction sites in Manalapan and Boca Raton on Fridays to steal wallets from workers who just got paid was a crime du jour for several years. The chief couldn’t get into a lot of detail, but said recently a suspect vehicle was able to be tracked after wallets were stolen from Manalapan and Boca Raton construction sites.

Rasor said without the LPR cameras, the theft cases in Boca Raton and Manalapan would not have been solved.

Manalapan has six LPRs, but can also ask to tap into static cameras at Plaza del Mar.

Boynton deliberates

The Boynton Beach commission postponed its decision on the Flock contract until its April meeting, as some commissioners felt the issue was a late addition to the agenda and wanted more information.

Flock’s Safe City Initiative would provide Boynton Beach with an additional 31 LPRs, 80 cameras and upgraded drone capabilities, along with other bells and whistles.

“It’s becoming a force multiplier where we’re not just relying on officers and boots on the ground,” said Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin, who was ready to approve the new contract at the March 23 meeting. “If we didn’t have one of the highest violent crime rates, maybe this wouldn’t be such an urgency.”

Boynton resident Harry Woodworth, though, said there are simply no controls over this very powerful technology. He noted cities pulling back from the LPR dragnet and predicted the issue would end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“What I have a problem with is the lack of controls. There are no controls anywhere being discussed. The public doesn’t have a clue what this is,” Woodworth said.

Other technologies

Manalapan’s Rasor said the new body cameras his department is getting will help keep the public safe with features, such as a language translator. The chief said with so many languages spoken in South Florida — including rare Central American Indian dialects — the translator is a “game changer.”

“It’s one of the huge advantages for law enforcement that I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.

Rasor said he understands privacy concerns, but that Rubicon has long been traversed.

“I think at the end of the day, most Americans understand the cameras are part of everyday life,” he said. “I don’t think you’re getting away from it. And if you step out, you’re going to be videotaped.”

Drones, equipped with infrared and other enhancements, are another technology police departments are using. 

The Florida Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, expanded in 2025, prohibits police from using drones to gather evidence or information without a search warrant signed by a judge. It is widely considered one of the most restrictive drone privacy laws in the U.S. 

Ocean Ridge’s McClure said the drone provided by the town’s Starbright Civic Collective will save lives — not spy on residents. He said the civic group wants the drone to be used to help save swimmers caught in dangerous surf.

“We could launch, hover out, drop a preserver to that person and speak to them over the loudspeaker,” he said.

In Boca Raton, Huberman said, the department’s drones can help track missing persons as well as criminal suspects. The city also has 286 LPR cameras — including those in police patrol cars — and 625 static cameras.

Huberman pointed to other advancements that have been made, such as using DNA to solve crimes and using speed cameras around school zones.  

Since the cameras in the three existing Boca Raton school zones were activated in October, 1,295 citations have been issued, he said.

Then there’s the city’s famous four-legged “Spot” robot, primarily used for the Bomb Disposal Unit. It can navigate stairs, open doors, and enter areas too dangerous for humans.

In Gulf Stream, police will be trained in April to use new “night vision” gear courtesy of the town's Civic Association. 

Police Chief Richard Jones recounted a recent incident in which a suspect vehicle entered the Place Au Soleil neighborhood at night and several people got out. 

“He knew the car was there and he knew that they were there to do no good, but because it was dark and there’s so much vegetation, that made it almost impossible” for the officer to see the suspects, who in the end were arrested, Jones said. 

The night vision equipment will be installed in all vehicles that patrol after sundown. 

“That will allow the officer in the car to actually see — in daytime mode — while they're driving their police car at night,” Jones said. 

Coastal departments, like Boca Raton, have also turned to virtual reality, which seems scripted right out of the movie Minority Report.

“Using VR headsets, officers can run through ultra-realistic scenarios to enhance rapid decision-making during interactions with the public,” Huberman said. 

“Whether it’s a traffic stop, crisis intervention, anything really, decisions to attempt de-escalation or use of force can be practiced in a more comprehensive way than ever before.”

Overflow crowd welcomes new council as incoming mayor lays out his agenda

Council members (l-r) Adrian Burcet and Sandra Beckett, Mayor Rafael Pineiro and members Fran Attardi and Ray McMillan attend the first council meeting after an election in which Burcet, Pineiro and Attardi defeated incumbents. At the March 17 meeting, Pineiro recommended that all work on the Town Hall project be suspended. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Related: Town Hall construction concerns led voters to overhaul council

Related: Editor's Note: New Boca, South Palm council majorities face challenges

By Brian Biggane

While Election Day was a mixed blessing for newly elected South Palm Beach Mayor Rafael Pineiro, the first Town Council meeting for him and fellow newcomers Fran Attardi and Adrian Burcet proved to be an over-the-top celebration.

An overflow crowd packed the council chamber at Town Hall — the building whose future was at the heart of the election campaign — and filled it with boisterous applause.

Pineiro, whose election night victory celebration was interrupted for health reasons, wasted little time after being sworn in to unveil a five-point checklist ­— highlighted by dismissing the firm CPZ Architects and calling for the cessation of the Town Hall replacement project.

Pineiro revealed after the March 17 council meeting that he was in agony for much of Election Day on March 10, staying in town only briefly after learning he had been victorious over long-standing incumbent Bonnie Fischer before heading to the hospital for a five-day stay to have two kidney stones removed.

“We had a party to celebrate but I just stayed for a few hugs,” he said, adding he was heading back to Boca Raton Regional Hospital the day after being sworn in.

Fischer and defeated Council member Elvadianne Culbertson expressed little emotion after opening the March 17 meeting on the dais and then taking seats in the audience. 

Fischer stayed silent throughout while Culbertson asked just one question during the 95-minute proceeding. The former council members did, however, receive one of the loudest ovations of the proceeding when thanked for their work by Pineiro.

Monte Berendes, the other council incumbent defeated on March 10, was absent due to illness, but monitored the meeting by phone. 

Much of the discussion at the meeting revolved around Pineiro’s five-point plan, which consisted of:

• Stopping all work on the Town Hall project and dismissing CPZ; lead architect Joe Barry had been scheduled to give an update and was in attendance;

• Hiring an engineering firm to determine whether the current Town Hall can be retrofitted or needs to be replaced;

• Coordinating with the Lake Worth Beach Regional Sewer System to fast-track work on a new lift station to ensure, as Pineiro put it, “our toilets continue to flush”;

• Working with the Florida Department of Transportation to replace the deteriorating sidewalk running the length of town on the west side of State Road A1A; 

• Working with Florida Power & Light to run power lines underground throughout the town, as has been done in other local municipalities.

While Pineiro’s alliance with Attardi and Burcet assured that his proposals would all be approved by the five-person council, Council member Sandra Beckett, the only incumbent to win a seat on Election Day, voiced opposition and demonstrated she will likely be a foil to the majority as she embarks on her two-year term.

“This just seems like an overwhelming step forward to do all of these at the same time,” said Beckett. 

She also reminded the newcomers that the council had worked many years on the Town Hall project and nearly brought it to fruition, and that a representative from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council is scheduled to make a proposal regarding the sidewalks at the council’s April meeting.

Pineiro responded that while he appreciated Beckett’s comments, “the March 10 election was a referendum” on the council’s direction.

Council member Ray McMillan, who won’t be up for election until 2028, voted with Pineiro and his associates on every issue without objection. 

Even Burcet, who at 27 has become the youngest elected official in Palm Beach County, had more input.

The council appointed Attardi to be vice mayor.

Pineiro rained praise on Town Manager Jamie Titcomb and said that, while his workload going forward will certainly be considerable, he expects Titcomb and his staff to be up to the challenge. He also said he expects monthly progress reports on each of his proposals.

Pineiro said late in the meeting that a principal reason he, Attardi and Burcet were elected was his hard work spreading their message, knocking on hundreds of doors in the community. He said for the most part residents were unaware of the workings of the council, including the Town Hall project that had been expected to consume about half of the town’s $12.8 million general fund.

“Two days before the election, as I went door to door, eight out of 10 doors that opened (the people) did not even know what was going on,” he said. “And I know it’s incredible, but I actually have witnesses.”

During the comment portion to close the meeting, town activist Ellen Salth scolded her fellow residents, pointing out that fewer than 40% of them turned out to vote — though that was among the highest turnouts in a county that, overall, had only a 17% turnout. Pineiro’s margin of victory over Fischer was 17 votes.

“We’ve got some big elections coming up, a new governor, a lot of new offices up for grabs, so people need to get involved,” Salth said. 

Related: City starts over on downtown campus

By Mary Hladky

Save Boca’s endorsed candidates trounced the opposition in the city’s March 10 election, sweeping three City Council races. 

Boca Raton voters also soundly defeated the city’s efforts to redevelop its 31.7-acre downtown campus and to build a new police headquarters.

Residents turned out in droves for the most consequential city election in memory, with the 19,000 who cast ballots — roughly 30% of city voters — vastly outpacing the more typical election turnout of about 12,000.

The mayoral race was a nail-biter.

Mike Liebelson, who is not a Save Boca member but opposed the campus redevelopment, at first appeared to defeat City Council member Andy Thomson when the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office posted its first tally of all the city’s precincts.

Thomson, a lawyer first elected to the council in 2018, was the only council member who opposed the redevelopment project.

The third mayoral candidate, Deputy Mayor Fran Nachlas — a retired surgical nurse who was appointed to fill a council vacancy in 2022 after her candidacy was unopposed — favored it.

Liebelson’s apparent 26-vote lead over Thomson disappeared within minutes on election night, when a final update showed Thomson ahead by six votes.

With Thomson’s lead so small — less than one-half of 1% of total votes cast — a machine recount was required.

Voters were left in suspense until Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link conducted that recount on March 13, with Thomson’s lead shrinking to two votes.

That minuscule difference forced yet another recount — a manual one — which gave Thomson his official five-vote victory: 7,572 to 7,567.

“THANK YOU, BOCA RATON,” Thomson told voters online after winning election. “…Today, the residents of Boca Raton have spoken, and I am deeply honored and humbled to serve as your next Mayor. 

“The message from voters is clear,” he wrote. “Our city wants experienced leadership that listens. … Now the campaign is over. It is time to come together and get to work for the city we all love.”

While Thomson’s margin of victory was small, he defeated Liebelson in 24 of the city’s 38 voting precincts.

Nachlas, who drew 3,967 votes, won only two precincts.

Concession — and lawsuit

Liebelson considered contesting the election, citing what he believed were anomalies in a final batch of vote-by-mail results that disproportionately favored Thomson.

On March 23, the deadline to contest, he announced that he would not do so because he had accomplished his mission “to help take Boca Raton back from the influence of big developers, support Save Boca, and return the City Council to the people who live here,” he said in a statement.

“As an outsider candidate in my first race, coming this close sent a message,” he wrote. “People are paying attention. They want leadership that puts residents first, and they want real accountability when it comes to growth and development.”

He also has filed a lawsuit against Thomson, in which he restates complaints he made before the election that Thomson’s campaign consultant made false and misleading statements about him in political flyers sent to residents.

The lawsuit, filed on March 3, alleges that Thomson and other defendants in the case acted to “adversely affect his mayoral campaign.”

Thomson succeeds Scott Singer, who was term-limited from another run. A strong supporter of President Donald Trump, Singer now is running for Congress as a Republican and hopes to unseat Democrat Jared Moskowitz to represent Florida’s 23rd Congressional District.

Council races

While the mayor’s race was extremely tight, the other election results were clear-cut.

Incumbent Marc Wigder, a real estate lawyer who now focuses on his companies Greenhouse Property Co. and GreenSmith Builders and was elected in 2023 to Seat B, was trounced by Save Boca founder Jon Pearlman. Pearlman garnered nearly 53% of the vote to Wigder’s nearly 32%.

Also losing out in that race was Meredith Madsen, founder and CEO of Sunshine & Glitter.

“We did it!” Pearlman posted to the Save Boca website after the election. “Thank you for your support and for believing this was possible. Together we Saved Boca!”

Save Boca member Michelle Grau, a certified public accountant, convincingly beat her two opponents for Seat A, receiving nearly 67% of the vote.

Defeated were Christen Ritchey, a family law attorney and former member of the Planning and Zoning Board, and Bernard Korn, a real estate broker and a perennial candidate who has never won election.

Save Boca member Stacy Sipple, a clinical oncology pharmacist, easily prevailed over her two better-known opponents for Seat D — Robert Weinroth, a former member of the City Council and the County Commission, and Larry Cellon, a former member of the city’s Community Appearance Board and its Planning and Zoning Board.

Sipple received nearly 56% of the vote.

The council is now transformed. Three veteran members — Singer, Nachlas and Wigder — are gone. 

Other than Thomson, the only remaining council veteran is Yvette Drucker, who was not up for reelection. She now is the only council member who supported the campus redevelopment plan.

Thomson’s positioning 

Early on, Save Boca members were skeptical that Thomson was a true redevelopment opponent because he had ranked developer Related Ross as his first choice to partner with the city on campus redevelopment even though Related Ross’ proposal had the highest density of the four submitted.

The fact that he said that he was endorsing Related Ross as a capable city partner, but not its proposal, didn’t reassure them.

But his consistent opposition, voiced at nearly every City Council meeting, assuaged many doubters.

Thomson reinforced that by supporting a key Save Boca demand — that residents should get to vote on the redevelopment. 

Thomson asked officials of developers Terra and Frisbie Group in September if they would agree to condition city approval of the project on a positive vote by residents. They did so, and the rest of the council endorsed that.

Residents got their say on March 10. By an overwhelming margin of nearly 75%, they killed the project.

While the council majority touted the benefits of a public-private partnership with Terra/Frisbie, more recently known as One Boca, Thomson said the project was too dense and had been pushed forward too quickly by other council members to allow for adequate consideration and revision.

He also voiced concerns about how the project was financed and doubts about the accuracy of financial projections showing the city would gain $4 billion in revenue from One Boca’s 99-year lease of 7.8 acres of city land and property value increases.

Pricey race for mayor

The mayoral race was especially notable because of the astounding amount of money the candidates raised for their campaigns, stunning election observers.

Thomson and Nachlas are expected to top a combined $1 million in contributions once the totals raised by their political action committees are reported in April.

Asked why they needed to raise so much, both Thomson and Nachas said only that they needed to get word out about their campaigns.

Liebelson largely self-financed his race, raising $203,390, mostly from loans and donations he made to his campaign as of year’s end. He said in March that his PAC received another $25,000.

Thomson and the new council members were sworn into office on March 31.

They unanimously selected Grau as deputy mayor, Thomson to also serve as chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency and Drucker as CRA vice chair.

“The opportunity to be this city’s next mayor is an incredible blessing, for which I praise and thank God,” Thomson said.

In reference to the divisions among residents that manifested in the election, he said, “The greatest task before us is to help unite the city.” One step to do that, he said, is to remember that “all of us are first and foremost neighbors.”

Pearlman, uncharacteristically wearing a dark suit and a tie instead of his green and bright navy Save Boca T-shirt, also looked forward. “We have been sent a strict mandate by the voters to put them first,” he said. “I take that responsibility seriously. I am honored by that responsibility and I am ready to get to work.”

“This will be the most important job of my career,” Grau said. “It is time to build trust and move forward together.”

Also noting the division, Sipple said, “What divides us pales to what unites us.”

Speaking of her own role as a council member, she said, “I am not here to climb. I am not here to take the next step in a political journey. I am here to serve. ...”

Police HQ defeated

In addition to defeating the redevelopment project, nearly 55% of voters said they did not want to finance the construction of a new police campus on city-owned land near the Spanish River Library.

City officials said the current police headquarters just east of City Hall is dilapidated and far too small to meet current department needs. The cost of the new campus was as much as $190 million.

The city had planned to issue up to $175 million in tax-exempt general obligation bonds for a 30-year term. City property owners would have paid for the new police headquarters through a tax rate increase of 26 cents for each $1,000 of taxable value, an increase of $260 a year for a property with a $1 million taxable value. 

New mayor, manager see a way forward after voters’ veto 

Voters wait in line at Grace Community Church in Boca Raton. Citywide, more than 19,000 people cast ballots, while a typical election draws about 12,000. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related: Save Boca ushers in a new era in city government

Related: Editor's Note: New Boca, South Palm council majorities face challenges

By Mary Hladky

The voters could not have been clearer.

Almost 75% casting ballots in the March 10 Boca Raton election rejected the city’s plan to redevelop the downtown campus in partnership with developers Terra and Frisbie Group.

But left unresolved is what to do with the 31.7-acre campus, a contentious subject that gave rise to the Save Boca grassroots movement and ushered in a new City Council dominated by the group’s members.

That’s the main issue now before new City Manager Mark Sohaney, hired in August, and new Mayor Andy Thomson, a veteran council member who won election by the narrowest of margins.

The two are generally aligned on how to move forward.

There will be no public-private partnership with a developer. The city will take over the task of replacing the old and crumbling City Hall and Community Center while also developing a plan to improve the campus’ recreation facilities.

Residents will have far more say on how that is accomplished now that the city is picking up the reins.

“We will do it,” Sohaney said. “We will not let an outside firm drive it for us. We can do this.”

“The biggest priority we have is dealing with the aftermath of the vote,” Thomson said of the election. “The good news is there is a path forward. We can undertake and accomplish the improvements we want by doing it ourselves, and not partnering with a developer.”

That’s what Save Boca members have wanted since the group formed early last summer.

They didn’t oppose improved buildings and recreation facilities, although they differed on details.

But they didn’t want a public-private partnership with developers who would lease city land for 99 years to build residential, office and hotel buildings on the campus. They also scorned the financial terms of that deal.

Creating a new plan

While the City Council will provide direction and guidance, the nuts-and-bolts will be done by Sohaney and city staff. Sohaney has been planning for the possibility that voters could reject the campus redevelopment plan for several months.

A key component, he said, will be creating a parks and recreation master plan for the city, something city officials past and present have said is needed.

Comprehensive outreach to all residents will be critical “to make sure all residents are aware of [the city’s plans] and understand how they can provide input,” Sohaney said.

“This is an opportunity for that reset,” he said. “Let’s really get the community involved.”

What he envisions is a “Memorial Park that is similar to what it is now, just upgraded and enhanced” with a new City Hall, Community Center and recreation facilities and an architectural style “that looks like Boca Raton.”

Sohaney estimates the cost at $250 million, which would include expensive but needed electrical undergrounding and new underground pipes.

The city can probably pay for about half that cost, but no decision has been made on financing the rest. The possibilities are a bond issue or “other financial solutions.”

The city does not have enough cash on hand to pay the full cost of new buildings and other upgrades. 

A new police headquarters remains in the mix to be located on city-owned land near the Spanish River Library, financed with a bond issue. Voters on March 10 did not approve that financing, but there was far less opposition to it than to the campus redevelopment, with only 55% opposed.

If the City Council agrees with his final plan on the downtown campus, Sohaney said construction could begin in about one year.

Thomson also sees the support of residents as critical to moving ahead with revamped plans. “We need plans that are the product of community outreach and have the buy-in of the community,” he said. “We won’t make that same mistake again” of not doing enough to involve residents.

Future costs

Thomson was more specific than Sohaney on project financing. The city can use reserve funds for some of the cost and can finance the rest, but not with a general obligation bond that would require a tax increase, he said.

He wants to reduce the projected cost of a new City Hall and Community Center to “make them more suitable and a little less extravagant,” he said.

He agrees that recreation facilities should be improved but remain on site. Moving some or all of them to city parks would be far more expensive, he said.

Building a new police headquarters is necessary, he said, because the existing one is old, in poor condition and no longer meets the department’s needs. 

But he wants to see the cost reduced from the previously projected $190 million. While a majority of voters did not support financing a police campus, Thomson noted that the measure did not fail by a large margin. If it had not been on the same ballot as the government campus, voters might have approved it, he said.

“We will study what it was about that request people didn’t like,” he said. Reducing the cost might be enough to change the outcome if the matter is placed on a future ballot, he said.

“I think in another opportunity the residents of this community will recognize public safety needs to be a top priority and this is something that should be approved.” 

How opposition grew

Although voter rejection of the downtown campus project may seem a stunning denouement, the end was probably obvious the moment Save Boca stormed onto the scene in June, distributing T-shirts and yard signs and petitions.

It rapidly became clear that the group had touched a chord among residents who have complained for years that the city is the victim of overdevelopment and clogged streets. Residents have pleaded with city officials for years not to let Boca Raton become another Fort Lauderdale. 

Much of this angst is focused on the downtown, although the reality is that most of the city’s growth has taken place west of Interstate 95.

Widespread resident concerns weren’t immediately apparent when the city received proposals from developers to redevelop the downtown campus last year.

The first opposition came from avid users of the recreation facilities, who didn’t want them displaced by the project.

It seemed at the time that city officials could alleviate their concerns. 

Some seemed to become resigned to the fact they would lose at least some facilities on the campus, but saw merit to the pitch that, in turn, they would get brand-new, up-to-date ones, albeit not on the campus. 

But Save Boca was a different kind of opposition. Led by Jon Pearlman, it was visible, omnipresent and organized with a strong social media presence that kept residents engaged.

Pearlman — who in March capitalized on his Save Boca efforts by winning a seat on the City Council — was a natural showman. After Save Boca gathered more than 5,000 resident signatures for an ordinance change, his supporters cheered wildly in August when he dramatically handed the tall stack of papers to the city clerk.

Save Boca members volunteered their time. They formed friendships. They saw themselves as part of a cause worth fighting for. And they showed up at every City Council meeting to make full use of the three minutes each was allowed to speak.

Although a few prominent residents did speak in favor of the redevelopment, no residents ever formed a countervailing force to press for the project to be approved.

That job fell to then-Mayor Scott Singer and council members who supported the project.

But their pitch — that a new City Hall and Community Center were badly needed and that “One Boca,” the downtown campus name its developers used as a marketing tool, could deliver a quality project that would breathe new life into the stagnant downtown campus and become a destination akin to Mizner Park, with shops, restaurants and green space — never caught hold.

Broken trust

One reason was that, in the eyes of many residents, the city pulled a bait and switch.

Residents were led to believe that One Boca would pay for a new City Hall, Community Center and other civic improvements to the campus.

For example, a city presentation to residents last summer said, “Not a giveaway, but a return: The City gains billions in financial return, avoids raising taxes and secures modern civic infrastructure at no cost to residents.”

But shortly thereafter, residents learned that the improvements would cost the city $201 million for new city buildings, improved recreation facilities and infrastructure improvements.

Residents were told they would not bear any of those costs and the city was looking at financing options. Even so, they felt deceived.

Another reason was that many project opponents distrusted Singer, the redevelopment’s biggest booster.

Singer’s unrelenting push

He had successfully lobbied Brightline to build a station in Boca Raton adjacent to the campus, an achievement that many residents applauded.

Fresh off that win, he envisioned a transit-oriented development on the downtown campus and pressed for regulation changes that would allow that to happen. 

Singer saw urgency to do so. He expected that the city would receive unsolicited proposals from developers and wanted its staff to be prepared.

Those proposals did come in October 2024 from One Boca and Related Ross, led by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. 

Both well-established developers proposed public-private partnerships with the city under which they would lease city land for 99 years. 

Singer then set an aggressive timetable to seek additional proposals, vet the plans and approve one.

He kept up that pressure, pushing tight deadlines to finalize a complex deal with One Boca, the council’s top choice.

Along the way, residents could speak out, but many felt they were never adequately consulted. It was left to One Boca to hold forums where residents could meet with company officials, ask questions and voice their opinions.

If it was abundantly clear to Singer that campus development would be a boon to the city, it wasn’t to many residents. Although broadly painted as anti-development, many who spoke at council meetings insisted that wasn’t the case. 

It was this project, pushed forward too rapidly and without adequate resident input, that they did not like.

That’s when Save Boca was formed and stepped in, giving residents an opportunity to organize and seek a vote that would let them make the final decision.

And that’s just what happened on March 10. 

Mayor

A. Thomson*            7,572

M. Liebelson             7,567

F. Nachlas                3,967

City Council Seat A

M. Grau*                 12,387

C. Ritchey                  4,612

B. Korn                      1,594

City Council Seat B

J. Pearlman*              9,822

M. Wigder (I)            5,941

M. Madsen                2,818

City Council Seat D

S. Sipple*^              10,332 R.

Weinroth                   5,063

L. Cellon                    3,120

$175 million Police HQ bond

Yes                            8,067

No**                        9,733

Downtown campus redevelopment

Yes                            4,832

No**                      14,122

(I) Incumbent

*Elected to three-year term

*^Elected to one-year unexpired term

**Ballot question defeated

Source: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections

Two maxims stand out from South County’s March 10 municipal races: Elections have consequences and every vote counts. Those maxims were true in one of the area’s smallest towns and in its biggest city. 

Boca Raton voters squashed plans for a major private development of restaurants, shops, a hotel and housing on city-owned land downtown. 

They rejected a new police headquarters — or at least the idea of paying $175 million of taxpayer money for one — and they put three novices in control of the City Council (to the extent that the victorious Save Boca slate chooses to stick together as a voting bloc).

Up the road in tiny South Palm Beach, they won’t be building a replacement Town Hall after all, now that a new council majority opposed to those plans has been elected.

Boca Raton and South Palm Beach also had too-close-to-call races where a few more votes could have made a difference.

Andy Thomson, Boca Raton’s new mayor, eked out a five-vote victory over political newcomer Mike Liebelson. Almost a third of eligible city voters took part in the election — considered a good turnout — but that means almost 70% stayed home.

Meanwhile, a four-vote difference relegated South Palm Beach incumbent Sandra Beckett to a third-place finish in the Town Council race, which won her a two-year unexpired term instead of a full, four-year term, which the first- and second-place finishers received. 

Liebelson and Beckett must have lost at least a little sleep thinking about those tiny margins and their would-be supporters who didn’t vote.

More elections coming

Given that, here’s some advice if you’re a state resident of voting age who cast a ballot in March — and even more so if you’re one of those who didn’t. Your vote matters, so be alert: More elections are on the way.

The statewide primary is Aug. 18 and the general election Nov. 3. The upcoming races feature everything from who will be your next governor and U.S. senator to seats on the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, understand that it may soon be more difficult, as new requirements are being considered by Congress. 

Challenges ahead

Finally, while an election victory feels good, governing can be trickier.

South Palm Beach’s new council majority campaigned on a Town Hall renovation being a more cost-efficient solution than building a $7 million new one, though consultants have said that’s just not so. Will the conclusion be any different after the next study is done?

And Boca Raton voters decided the $175 million the city wanted for its new police headquarters was just too much. Will the new council find a way to meet the city’s police needs for less? And what will happen if state efforts to cut property taxes — the lifeblood of municipal governments — become a reality?

In retrospect, Delray Beach was fortunate in 2023 when voters approved its $100 million public safety bond. But three years later, a new police station still hasn’t been built and its price — originally pegged at some $80 million — is now estimated to be $97 million, squeezing out some fire rescue-related projects that had been desired as part of the bond.

And the police station isn’t even designed yet, which typically means the cost will rise even higher. Just look at Delray Beach’s ongoing construction of a new water treatment plant (no voter approval required). It was estimated at $120 million just a few years ago, but with updated requirements is now expected to cost $287 million.

So, I’ll end by saying congratulations to March’s winners. You’ve got your work cut out for you. 

— Larry Barszewski, Editor

Peyton Presson, 18, here wearing Inter Miami colors, realized his dream of becoming a professional soccer player when he signed recently with LASK of the Austrian league. Photo provided

By Brian Biggane

Steven Presson says his son Peyton told him — when he was 6-1/2 — that he wanted to play professional soccer. Peyton himself tells a different story. 

“My mom would claim it was about 3.” 

After physical struggles that kept him sidelined for about two years, Presson, 18, realized that dream just a few weeks ago when he signed with LASK of the Austrian league. He followed that up in late March by making his first appearance for the U.S. Soccer program in an under-18 tournament in Portugal that also included England, Portugal and Iceland.

“This was his goal and I was going to do everything I could to help him achieve it,” said Steven Presson, who lives on Hypoluxo Island in Lantana and runs the Presson Team real estate group in Palm Beach.

Peyton, who grew up in Ocean Ridge and plays the No. 9 position in soccer — or center forward — remembers always having a ball at his feet growing up, resulting in the domination of his age group until his dad decided to pull him out of Gulf Stream School during his fifth-grade year and enroll him in a soccer academy in Port St. Lucie.

That began a ritual in which Steven Presson would wake up at 5:30 every morning, drive his son to the academy and return to Palm Beach for work, then repeat the trip in the evening.

“I was taking the initiative, but as soon as I say that, he was the one who would give me absolutely anything, any resource, anything I could possibly need to reach my goals,” Peyton said.

Peyton’s scoring prowess at the club level was starting to attract national attention when at age 12 he suffered his first significant injury to his knee, which sidelined him for six months. 

But it was three years later, after he had joined the academy program with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, that his real problems began. 

His mother, Kimberly, an Allentown, Pennsylvania, native, had moved with him to Philadelphia. Peyton got off to a flying start, scoring four goals his first game and 12 in his first seven, earning calls to the Union from almost every other team in MLS asking about this scoring machine.

Then came unforeseen physical problems, which Steven Presson attributes to a growth spurt that resulted in Peyton’s shooting up from 6 feet to 6-4 in just a few months.

For the next two years, which encompassed most of 2023 and 2024, Peyton was unable to play due to what were diagnosed as back and hip injuries. At one point Steven Presson said he took Peyton to 40 specialists over one 30-day period.

“I didn’t sleep for two years,” Presson said. “Every doctor has either an answer or another question, and you just keep going down these rabbit holes.”

After crisscrossing the country and visiting every specialist from LeBron James’ trainer to the Miami Dolphins’ chiropractor, Presson heard about Johnny Veira, a Delray Beach physical therapist, in September 2024.

“It was there everything started to come together,” Presson said. 

Peyton said, “His program follows the belief that your whole body is connected through something called myofascia,and training your body in a way that incorporates your whole body and realigning your posture and the way you move.”

By January 2025, Peyton was physically well enough to return, and hungry to prove he was still the same player. 

But he had lost weight and needed time to regain his form. 

After brief stops with the Union and the Colorado Springs Switchbacks of the United Soccer League — where he broke his arm but continued playing — he came home to join Inter Miami, where superstars like Lionel Messi and Leo Suárez were on their way to what became the team’s first MLS championship.

Playing with the under-19 team, Peyton, who now stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 194 pounds, scored two goals his first game, one in his second, and finished the season scoring at least once in each of his last nine games.

“The highlight of my time was getting to train one day with the first team, with all the superstars,” he said. “So, I’m warming up and I see Messi, (Sergio) Busquets, and I started getting emotional reflecting on everything it took to get back to this moment.” 

The owner of this retail center has been in a dispute with Lantana over  code enforcement at the site. Photo provided

By Jane Musgrave

What began as disputes over white rocks and mahogany trees has morphed into lawsuits that call into question the legitimacy of code enforcement in Lantana.

In the latest lawsuit filed in March in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Manalapan real estate investor John Bols claims the town is improperly using code enforcement to harass people and make money.

“The town of Lantana has intentionally devised and implemented a deliberate policy and plan of action which is … designed to levy fines against citizens and business owners, such as (Bols), with excessive penalties in an attempt to create profits for the town,” attorney Christopher Mills, who represents Bols, says in the lawsuit.

The claims aren’t new.

Since Bols was first cited by code enforcement in May 2023 for using white rocks to landscape his four-store retail center in the town’s small downtown on East Ocean Avenue, a legal war — and he claims a code enforcement one — has erupted.

After a special code enforcement magistrate ordered him to replace the rocks with grass, shrubs and flowerbeds at his property at 114 E. Ocean Ave. or face $250-a-day fines, Bols filed his first lawsuit against the town.

And he won. 

An appellate panel of county and circuit judges agreed that the town had used the wrong code against Bols. While a prior code required natural vegetation, one approved in May 2022 allowed the use of xeriscaping, the three-judge panel agreed.

“This is a clear violation of the essential requirement of law as the town applied the wrong law at the code enforcement hearings by applying the prior code to the violation,” the panel wrote. “It is widely acknowledged that the application of the incorrect law is a violation of the essential requirements of law.”

Other rulings, other fines

By the time the panel ruled in February 2025, Bols had been cited and fined $1,250 for trimming two mahogany trees on his property on two occasions in 2024, court records show.

Again, he asked county judges to reverse the decisions. This time, the judges denied his requests. Unwilling to take no for an answer, he appealed one case to the Florida Supreme Court. It refused to hear the case.

But, he has two other lawsuits pending, including the one filed last month. The suits could cost Lantana at least $100,000 and, if Bols has his way, could rein in what he sees as a rogue agency that is wreaking havoc in the small town.

Bols readily admits he is on a quest.

“Lantana has a distinct pattern of going after people,” he said. “It’s not about code enforcement. It’s about collecting money.”

In addition to the roughly 15 citations he or his tenants received in the 28 months between April 2021 to August 2023, four nearby businesses were fined a total of nearly $109,000 for code violations. All were minor, Bols said.

A real estate office in his building was cited because pictures it posted in its windows, promoting its listing, violated a town code. Another tenant, a smoothie shop, was cited for an improper sign.

He was cited for “hat-racking” two mahogany trees, which is against town codes because it weakens trees. Two years later, he said the trees are thriving.

An issue for years

Then, there’s the infamous case of Zenaida “Sandy” Martinez. She was cited in 2013 and fined as much as $250 a day for parking cars on the grass near her driveway, not replacing a storm-damaged fence and not repairing a cracked driveway. At first unaware of the fines and then unable to pay them, she saw them balloon to $165,000.

While the town offered to settle the dispute for $25,000, that, too, was beyond the reach of the single mother who lived with her three adult children, her mother and sister.

In 2021, she sued the town. She lost, in part because she hadn’t appealed the decision eight years earlier. 

Circuit Judge Luis Delgado acknowledged the fines were “admittedly high.” But he rejected Martinez’s claim that they were “unconstitutionally excessive because they are grossly disproportionate to her offense.”

Noting that the Florida Legislature hadn’t put a cap on code enforcement fines, he ruled that those imposed on Martinez were “well within the range deemed appropriate by the legislature and substantial deference must be given to its determinations.” 

His ruling was upheld on appeal. The state’s high court declined to hear the case.

What happened to Martinez is heartbreaking, but not unique, Bols said.

“This is a pattern with them,” he said. “It’s not just me. They’re so used to getting away with it.”

Prior setbacks for plaintiff

Mayor Karen Lythgoe declined to address Bols’ allegations, saying she can’t comment on pending litigation. Town Manager Brian Raducci didn’t return an email seeking comment.

In court papers, the town’s attorneys pointed out that two judges rejected Bols’ claims of retaliation in a 2023 lawsuit that grew out of the landscaping and tree citations. 

U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in 2024 threw out Bols’ claim that Lantana went after him because he exercised his constitutional rights to sue the town and to speak out.

“Although (Bols) attempts to show that (Lantana) customarily issues retaliatory citations, (he) does not provide any facts demonstrating that any other citations issued were without basis or motivated by retaliatory intent,” Rosenberg wrote, sending the case back to state court.

Circuit Judge Carolyn Bell followed Rosenberg’s lead. While most of Bell’s 11-page order dealt with procedural flaws in Bols’ lawsuit, she ruled that Bols couldn’t sue Lantana for fraudulently and intentionally citing him for violating the wrong code. Lantana is protected from such claims by sovereign immunity, an ancient legal doctrine that protects governments from lawsuits.

While people can sue governments if they cause death, injury or loss of property, sovereign immunity protects them from being sued for financial loss, Bell ruled.

Further, she rejected Bols’ request to stop Lantana from engaging in “continued unlawful enforcement.” The request was akin to asking her to “weigh in on matters that have not and may never happen.”

Lantana’s attorneys urged the 4th District Court of Appeals to accept Bell’s “well-reasoned” order and reject Bols’ appeal.

The fights aren’t over

Bols’ attorney countered that Bell missed the point of the lawsuit.

“(It) alleges a clear pattern of retaliatory enforcement and policies causing substantial harm and seeks a declaration that the town’s entire code enforcement framework is unlawful,” Mills wrote.

While that suit continues to move through the appellate process, arguments in the other one are just beginning.

In the lawsuit filed in March, Bols wants the court to order Lantana to pay the $100,000 in attorneys fees he racked up fighting the improper landscape citation. 

He is also seeking damages, claiming he was the victim of malicious prosecution by the town and its attorneys who knew the code allowed xeriscaping but cited him anyway.

Bols, who bought the retail center in 2021 for $1.1 million, said he didn’t set up shop in Lantana to start a fight with the town.

“But they made it very clear to me that I was a wealthy guy who bought property in town and I should just pay up,” he said. 

If it is successful, Mills said, the lawsuit could help others. “There’s just so many people who took the repercussions, paid the fines and moved on,” he said. 

By Jane Musgrave

After looking at dozens of places to live in South Florida, Leah Mills said she and her husband settled on Hypoluxo Island because they fell in love with what she described as a “quintessential whimsical Florida Keys-style home.”

That whimsy, however, has turned into a nightmare since the couple last year made what seemed like a routine request to add two bedrooms to their dream home along the Intracoastal Waterway.

With a permit in hand from Lantana, the Oklahoma couple demolished parts of the house in February 2025. Since then, town officials have refused to give them permits to rebuild it.

“This has wrecked our life,” Brent Mills said of the couple's yearlong odyssey. “It would be better if a hurricane hit it. It’s an absolute mess.”

The crux of the dispute, which is playing out in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, is whether the estimated $875,000 addition is worth more than 50% of the value of the house. 

If so, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would require the entire house to be elevated and rebuilt at a cost the Millses estimate would reach at least $2 million.

But the bigger question in the dispute is why Lantana officials would give the couple a permit to demolish much of the house, making it unlivable, if they weren’t going to allow them to rebuild it. In the court battle that is becoming increasingly contentious, Lantana building officials insist that the two issues are separate.

“The demolition permit only authorized demolition and did not approve or authorize any improvements or construction associated with any improvements,” Elizabeth Eassa, Lantana’s assistant development services director, said in an affidavit. 

But, the Millses countered, they would never have torn down much of the house unless they were assured that their plans to double the size of the 2,300-square-foot house wouldn’t trigger federal regulations.

Banking on appraisal

Before they received the demolition permit they submitted an appraisal that showed the house was worth $2.2 million, which meant the cost of the planned addition was $250,000 below the FEMA threshold.

The Millses talked with town building officials before crews ripped out walls and part of the roof off the house, said Miami attorney Matthew Maranges, who represents the couple. They were assured that the cost of the addition was below the federal threshold.

“The town made clear that it would not issue the demolition permit absent satisfaction with the appraisal, precisely to avoid leaving the owners with a demolished structure that could not be lawfully rebuilt or improved,” Maranges wrote in the lawsuit.

Michael Desorcy, the town building official and floodplain administrator, disputed that such a conversation ever took place. He said the appraisal was received on Feb. 13, 2025, the same day the demolition permit was issued.

“The appraisal played no part in the determination of whether to approve or deny the demolition,” Desorcy said in an affidavit that is part of court records. “Appraisals are not required or used to make decisions whether to issue permits for demolition.”

It wasn’t until after the Millses submitted their building plans in September that the appraisal was reviewed. Desorcy and other Lantana officials said they didn’t believe it.

“In my years of experience as the floodplain administrator and building official, I have never observed any construction project for property on Hypoluxo Island that had a replacement cost of $1,200 per square foot,” Desorcy wrote, indicating that the value of the Mills house, as set by the couple’s appraiser, was inflated.

Conflict in valuations

However, in his report, Palm Beach appraiser Michael Vincent John Spaziani said he set the replacement value of the home at $1,200 per square foot based on recent sales of nearby homes. The square footage costs ranged from $1,100 to $1,300 per square foot, he wrote.

 Since the FEMA regulations apply only to the cost of the house, not the pricey real estate beneath it, Spaziani didn't include the land cost in his calculations. The price per square foot was only for the value of the Mills house and others nearby that had recently sold, Maranges said in the suit.

Desorcy was dubious. He instead used the valuation set by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. It put the house market value at about $268,000, meaning the value of the proposed $850,000 addition far exceeded the 50% limit.

Maranges said it was absurd to look to the tax appraiser to determine a home’s market price. The property appraiser’s values are “intentionally conservative” and don’t reflect the true cost of homes, particularly in coastal areas where prices are skyrocketing.

“In neighborhoods where residential properties routinely sell for several million dollars and continue to appreciate, using tax-assessment improve-ment values would virtually guarantee that any meaningful renovation or alteration would exceed 50% of the assessed structure value, regardless of the true market value of the building itself,” he wrote.

Judge puts town on notice  

Circuit Judge James Sherman has already issued an order, telling Lantana officials to either give the Millses a building permit for the addition or explain why they are refusing to do so and why they believe the 50% threshold has been met.

In court papers, Maranges said town officials have refused to try to resolve the dispute. So, he said, it will be up to Sherman to do so.

A timetable Maranges suggested would put any resolution at least two months away. The Millses, he said, need to move forward.

“(They) have been displaced for over a year,” Maranges said. “The construction cost continues to escalate.”

Brent Mills said he and his wife have been forced to live in hotels when they come to the county to keep watch on the shell of their house that could easily be vandalized.

The reason for the addition was simple, he said. He and his wife wanted to add two bedrooms so their adult children would be comfortable when they visited.

Mills said he is insulted by the town’s suggestion that he and his wife were trying to skirt the rules. Both are lawyers. They give back to the community.

“We hire the best appraisers, the best architects, the best engineers, the best contractors,” he said. “We follow the law to the letter.” 

Mayor ousted as three newcomers win seats; incumbent ’did not expect this at all’

Related: Overflow crowd welcomes new council as incoming mayor lays out his agenda

By Brian Biggane

In a surprising vote that all but ended the effort in South Palm Beach to build a new Town Hall, mayoral candidate Rafael Pineiro and the two first-time council candidates aligned with him swept to victory in the March 10 town election.

Pineiro ended the 11-year run of Mayor Bonnie Fischer, securing about 52% of the vote. Fran Attardi led all five Town Council candidates in the race for three council openings and newcomer Adrian Burcet finished second.

Pineiro, Attardi and Burcet won regular four-year terms, though a machine recount was mandated because of the closeness of the finish between Burcet and the third-place council finisher, incumbent Sandra Beckett.

Beckett was also elected, but her finish — with four fewer votes than Burcet received — left her with only a two-year unexpired term.

Defeated in the election were Vice Mayor Monte Berendes, who finished fourth, and Council member Elvadianne Culbertson, who came in fifth.

Council member Ray McMillan was the lone incumbent not up for election; his term runs until March 2028.

None of the three newcomers has any experience in town government.

Berendes said the results caught him totally by surprise.

“I am in complete shock,” he said. “This just blows me away. I did not expect this at all.”

Fischer, first elected to the council in 2011 and as mayor in 2015, was more subdued.

“It’s a disappointment,” she said after the results were posted. “We had a good council, working together, and it will be interesting to see now what happens with the town.”

The council spent much of the past two years working toward building a new Town Hall to replace the existing one. Fort Lauderdale-based CPZ Architects was hired and delivered drawings for a new two-story building expected to cost about $6-7 million. 

Pineiro made it the focal point of his campaign to stop the project and to hire an engineering firm to study the possibility of renovating the existing building. 

Berendes and Fischer have both gone on record in the past saying Pineiro didn’t have all the facts and that, after nearly 10 years of planning, the time for a new building had come.

“I feel like Rafael misled a lot of people,” Berendes said, “putting out a lot of misinformation on what was going on. But it’s on him now.”

Fischer said she was “calmer than I thought I would be” upon getting the results.

“I’ve had a good run,” she said. “I would have liked to have done more, especially with the beaches and the things I was working on. I’ve spent many years on beach issues.

“I never looked at it being a burden, I really didn’t. I enjoyed it. My position allowed me to meet a lot of people I probably wouldn’t, and that’s very important to me.” 

Mayor

R. Pineiro*         234                

B. Fischer (I)         217  

Town Council (three seats)

F. Attardi*         262  

A. Burcet*         237  

S. Beckett (I)*^         233  

M. Berendes (I)         208  

E. Culbertson (I)         177  

(I) Incumbent

*Elected to four-year term

*^Elected to two-year unexpired term

Source: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections

The huge tree sits near the golf course clubhouse (at left). John Pacenti/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

The giant banyan tree on the Delray Beach municipal golf course that has become a cause célèbre in recent months has weathered hurricanes and plenty of golf balls. But can it stand tall against bureaucracy?

Well, that answer remains to be seen after the Lake Worth Drainage District allowed the city to postpone its presentation on saving the tree for another month.

The city is seeking expert advice from arborists and engineers to obtain a variance from the district to allow the 50-foot tree — possibly the largest in the county — to survive.

The problem, as the district sees it, is that the tree impedes the E-4 canal and, if it falls in a major storm, would cause surrounding properties to flood. The tree stretches nearly across the canal.

The district has ordered Delray Beach to remove the 70-plus-year-old tree at its cost per an agreement the city signed in 1994.

State Rep. Rob Long, a former city commissioner, says after speaking to the district that there is simply no way that the decision it made in February gets reversed.

Long, though, has a radical idea: move the tree.

“While the tree may be ineligible for Champion Tree designation due to its non-native status, its size, age, and significance to the Delray Beach community and to the historic golf course itself warrant serious consideration of preservation,” Long wrote to the district.

Long says that the tree would have to be cut back before being relocated, but that the primary trunk and branches would remain.

Long, when asked, did not know how much such a relocation would cost.

The Lake Worth Drainage District Board will take up the issue on April 15 at a meeting where the city could learn the tree’s fate, said city spokeswoman Gina Carter. 

Ever since The Coastal Star was first published, I have found it an excellent local newspaper that I have always looked forward to reading. The publication has consistently covered southern coastal Palm Beach County news extremely well, with many interesting articles. Besides that, reading The Coastal Star has always provided a refreshing break from the national media which, on both sides of the political spectrum, reports news with a very biased slant.

Sadly, beginning with your article on Canadian visitors and then continuing with your stories on Florida property taxes and ICE, The Coastal Star is joining the mainstream media in not just covering the news, but in reporting in a decidedly biased way. 

The aforementioned stories are certainly pertinent to your readers, but your writing was clearly slanted towards the liberal view.

Our local community paper should not be a political paper, but if you are going to list political opinions you should give both sides equal coverage. I have spoken to many conservative friends and neighbors that feel the same way about your recent reporting. My wife, Linda, and I prefer the old Coastal Star that reported the news in our community without a partisan slant.

— Joe Carballosa, Delray Beach

As a resident and Briny author, I was pleasantly surprised to see a front-page article about Briny’s library and Briny authors (“Tiny Briny library has an abundance of local authors,” March 2026). 

I was equally disappointed to see that the one sentence in the article referencing me states that “... Snyder-Carroll offers her ‘Joe the Plumber’ mystery trilogy,” which incorrectly implies that is the entirety of my work.

Since 2013, I have written and self-published the following novels, most of which I advertised in your paper:

• The Dangerous Things Trilogy — Three suspense murder mysteries set primarily in Briny Breezes. 

• Click/Kill — an historical, sci-fi, murder mystery.

• Catch Me Some Sky — a YA murder mystery. 

• When the Moon Hits your Eye ... — just released last week, a quirky romance novel set in both Italy and America. 

All of my novels are available on Amazon.com, where you can read the beginning chapters. 

The Coastal Star is a great newspaper with high standards, and I understand there are space constraints. However, for such a lengthy article I do believe a better balance could have been struck. 

— Suzanne Snyder-Carroll, Briny Breezes

By Larry Barszewski

Widening the Boynton Inlet and replacing its fixed-span bridge on State Road A1A with one that opens should be a goal of Boynton Beach and neighboring coastal communities, city commissioners suggested during a March 26 workshop on the city’s comprehensive plan.

Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin said that while a slew of agencies at the federal, state and local level would need to be part of such an undertaking, the projects are important for the city’s future.

“Advocating for that to be an unfixed bridge, I think is a huge opportunity, not just for marine tourism, but also looking at property values, what that would do for the city of Boynton Beach” in the downtown and along the waterfront, Turkin said.

Commissioner Aimee Kelley said she, too, sees the inlet issue as important to be included as the city updates its comprehensive plan, which serves as a guide to the city’s future goals. 

The inlet, though widely used by boaters, was designed to flush out the Intracoastal Waterway and not for navigation. It is not maintained as a federal channel and is considered dangerous.

The city needs to figure out “what we can do to enhance it and make it more usable and more safe,” Kelley said. “A lot of our Ocean Rescue is due to that inlet and it being very difficult to traverse.”

City staff said there would also be environmental benefits to widening the inlet — officially named the South Lake Worth Inlet — including for water quality purposes.

The discussions were just that, with no specific plan developed yet for moving forward. The comments are expected to be included as staff finalizes the draft update of Boynton Beach’s comprehensive plan, which will then be sent to the state. A public hearing will be held by the city before its adoption.

“I think that is extremely important because there has been discussions I believe with other municipalities that are advocating for this,” Turkin said of inlet improvements. “So, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I want to make sure we try to be as squeaky as possible.”

Back in 2009, a special Boynton Inlet Committee looked at the very same issues. The City Commission at the time voted to adopt the committee’s recommendations to keep things as they are and bypass other options, which had included widening or deepening the channel, ebb shoal dredging, shifting the south jetty and replacing the A1A bridge over the inlet.

Engineers had warned that  widening or deepening the inlet would lead to greater flooding of property along the Intracoastal from storm surge. 

Although the committee at the time didn’t advocate any long-term structural changes, its members favored erecting more signs letting boaters know about dangerous conditions in the Boynton Inlet. 

The bridge is currently undergoing a $579,000 improvement project by the Florida Department of Transportation. The project includes “repairing, painting, and sealing the bridge, sidewalks, railings, and sea wall to strengthen the structure and extend its lifespan,” according to FDOT. 

The work is adding non-slip surfaces on the bridge deck and sidewalks to improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians.

The project began in January and is expected to be completed by the summer. 

The current bridge opened in 1975 and state reports list it in “fair” condition. 

Brave walkers and shell collectors brace themselves as large waves crash and erode parts of Delray's beach — even as more sand is being dredged up and placed on the beach. The gray sand is from the ongoing beach renourishment project. High-energy waves and rip current warnings were frequent in March. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

You’ve heard of the luck of the Irish? Well, could there also be the curse of the Carney?

Real estate broker Judy Mollica, a familiar face in local civic circles, defeated well-funded political newcomer Andrea Keiser on March 10 in a race she believed hinged on voter turnout and her long‑term ties to the community.

Her victory came in a three‑way Delray Beach City Commission race in which Mollica argued that roots and record should matter more than last‑minute campaign gloss. 

Mayor Tom Carney endorsed Keiser, saying she was the most qualified candidate on budget and policy matters. 

Mollica replaces Rob Long, who left the commission in December after being elected state representative for District 90. Mollica captured 40% of the vote to Keiser’s 34%. A third candidate, Delores Rangel, a former executive assistant for the city, had 26% to finish third. Voter turnout was 17%.

Commissioner Angela Burns won a second term without opposition.

“I think it’s just the work I’ve done in the community and that many of the residents saw my commitment,” Mollica said after the votes were counted. “I am incredibly grateful for the voters putting their trust in me.”

Mollica and Burns took their oaths of office on March 26. Pastor Lenard Johnson of Mount Olive Baptist Church swore in the new commissioner while her daughter and family watched remotely from their home in Denmark. 

Mollica — who had been on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board — got some key endorsements from the police and fire unions. She opposed the city’s ousting of the nonprofit that ran Old School Square and praised the Downtown Development Authority, often criticized by Carney as wasting taxpayer dollars.

On coastal issues, Mollica campaigned that the city should pursue reef‑based shoreline protection guided by marine scientists, rather than relying solely on trucked‑in sand and offshore dredging. She also backed exploring noise‑camera technology to ticket modified exhausts on vehicles on State Road A1A and address a long‑running quality-of-life complaint on the island.

In an era where campaigns often measure strength in the number of lawn signs lining major intersections, Mollica intentionally bucked that strategy. She said she refused to “litter the world with lawn signs,” opting instead for targeted yard placements only where homeowners specifically requested them.

“I’m door-to-door every single day, and I’ve got groups making phone calls, so we’re fighting till the end,” she told The Coastal Star before the vote.

Mollica also openly questioned Keiser’s $102,000 investment of her own money in the race, saying it showed her opponent did not have name recognition or a track record of civil service in the community.

Mollica is president of Friends of Delray, which has the motto “accountable government, sensible growth and civic pride.” She said she closed the gap with some late donations but ran her campaign “on a shoestring budget.”

The runners-up

On the trail and in interviews, Keiser framed herself as the most technically prepared candidate for a commission that spends much of its time on development and budgeting. The land-use and zoning attorney has touted that she is a board member of the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County, which manages a $300 million budget with 5% administrative costs.

She also promised to address permitting delays for residents.

“Although this election did not end the way we hoped, I remain incredibly optimistic about the future of our city,” Keiser said. “This campaign brought together many residents who care deeply about Delray Beach, and I look forward to continuing to stay involved in our community and working to make our city even stronger.”

Rangel was hampered by the flu during a key stretch of candidate forums and struggled with public speaking, failing at times to get her positions across. However, in a one-on-one interview, Rangel showed her expertise on a range of issues.

At one point, a meme surfaced on Delray Beach social media circles asking, “Where’s Delores?” showing a Where’s Waldo scenario with Rangel in front of the “Invisibility Office.”

Rangel thanked her team and congratulated Mollica.

“I am so grateful to all my volunteers and supporters, and especially to my family who I put to work for me during this campaign,” she said. “We did not get the result we wanted, but I am proud of my campaign, and running for office was an incredible experience.”

Before the election, she told The Coastal Star that the direction of the city regarding development and policies was at stake. She said she was the “only candidate who does not have donors hidden in a PAC, and I’m not supported by any developers and special interest groups.”

Mollica says she has no hard feelings toward Carney — who sent out a long memo endorsing Keiser.

“I’m not one of those vindictive people,” she said. “I just want to work and get the work of the city done.”

Mayor’s letter criticized

At the March 9 commission meeting the day before the election, Carney got quite a bit of pushback on the endorsement letter he disseminated. 

Commissioners Tom Markert and Juli Casale said the assertion that he was the only one who sought budget cuts last year while other commissioners were silent was false. Casale, especially, told the mayor that when discussing the 2025-2026 budget, she was open to cuts if they were feasible. She disagreed with Carney’s proposals. 

“This is yet another clear violation of the charter and our rules that we have up here,” Markert said. “You are not allowed to criticize once decisions are made, and you’ve continually done this. This behavior is chronic, it’s unnecessary, and it’s fostering a negative culture.”

Markert noted the criticism of his fellow commissioners follows Carney’s comments at the Feb. 24 meeting that he was committed to fostering mutual respect on the dais.

Casale added, “We campaigned on transparency and honesty, and that letter was remarkably dishonest. And I have to say, you know, it is true, you are violating our rules of decorum. I mean, you should be censured at a certain point.”

Paul Cannon, chair of the Police Advisory Board, also lit into Carney in public comments.

“As a voter in Delray Beach, I feel it is highly improper for a sitting elected official to tell me how I should vote, sir,” he said. “This is entirely inappropriate, and I do hope that it doesn’t backfire when you seek reelection.” 

City Commission

J. Mollica*     2,745      

A. Keiser        2,324      

D. Rangel       1,744      

*Elected to three-year term

Source: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections

Gulf Stream Commissioners (l-r) Joan Orthwein, Scott Morgan, Tom Stanley and Michael Greene are sworn in March 13 at the first meeting after they were reelected. Robert Canfield was unable to attend the meeting. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

As they usually do, Gulf Stream voters March 10 chose to keep the five incumbents running for Town Commission.

Returned to the dais are Scott Morgan, Tom Stanley, Robert Canfield, Michael Greene and Joan Orthwein, all officially receiving at least 294 votes, according to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.

The commissioners took their oaths of office at the start of their March 13 regular meeting and quickly chose Morgan to continue as mayor and Stanley as vice mayor.

Town Clerk Reneé Basel said 399 people voted in person and 67 by mail, making for a 57% turnout of Gulf Stream’s 818 registered voters. 

Newcomer Michael Glennon, who campaigned on bringing “a fresh perspective” to the commission, garnered 241 votes, more than double the 112 that Julio Martinez got in his losing effort in the last contested election in 2017 but 54 shy of winning a seat.

Glennon was picked by more than half the voters casting ballots in the town election, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the incumbents who each were chosen by between 63% to 73% of participating voters.

It was the first time Greene and Canfield stood for election after being appointed to the commission. Greene had 305 votes, Canfield 294.

Morgan, Stanley and Orthwein each received the most votes they’ve ever had. Morgan had 340, or 15 more than in 2014; Stanley clocked in with 333, up 16 from 2014; and Orthwein had 318, or five more than in 2014.

A PAC supporting the five incumbents took out an ad telling voters that “results require a team” and listing the commission’s accomplishments over the years, including zero tax increases for 10 years and 25% lower costs for drinking water once Gulf Stream switches to Boynton Beach’s system in 2027. 

Town Commission

(five seats)

S. Morgan (I)*         340          

T. Stanley (I)*          333          

J. Orthwein (I)*        318          

M. Greene (I)*         305          

R. Canfield (I)*         294          

M. Glennon              241          

(I) Incumbent

*Elected to three-year term

Source: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections

By Steve Plunkett

Mere months after raising the rates that residents pay for drinking water — with many paying up to 36% more — Gulf Stream town commissioners have scaled back the level of the increases.

After hearing complaints about “almost shockingly high” bills, Mayor Scott Morgan and the commission in February asked staff to review the increases they had approved in October after Delray Beach boosted its base rate. 

It did not help that water bills cover two months of use, doubling the perceived increase, and that residents before the change paid only $3.60 per 1,000 gallons of water for the first 20,000 gallons, effectively being subsidized by neighbors who use a lot more.

On Oct. 1, the rates for the town’s four “tiers,” categories based on lot size and water usage, each went up $1.30 per 1,000 gallons of water after Delray Beach’s rate for Gulf Stream rose to $4.90 per 1,000 gallons.

Commissioners, succumbing to complaints, on March 13 lowered each tier’s rate for each 1,000 gallons of water used by 40 cents, to $4.50 for the first tier, $4.73 for the second, $6.24 for the third and $10.20 for the fourth. That makes the overall rate increase for this year 90 cents per 1,000 gallons.

“I think it sounds good,” Commissioner Joan Orthwein said.

With the lowered rates, the town will break even with what Delray Beach charges it, said Mark Bymaster, the town’s chief financial officer. The higher rates would have provided a $100,000 cushion to cover repairs or capital expenses of Gulf Stream’s water infrastructure.

The town charges increasingly higher rates for residents who use increasingly greater amounts of water — a system designed to discourage property owners from watering their lawns too much.

Delray Beach, which has supplied Gulf Stream with drinking water for at least 50 years, told the town in 2024 that it had to leave the city’s system. The city is building a new water plant and says it can only afford one large enough to serve its own population, which is expected to grow by 7,000 residents.

Gulf Stream is in the process of switching providers and connecting to Boynton Beach’s system. When it does so, estimated to happen in April or May 2027, the cost to the town will plummet to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons under a 25-year agreement Gulf Stream and Boynton Beach signed last fall.

“Looking forward to lower rates in ’27,” Commissioner Michael Greene said.

But to do that, a water main must be installed from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard to a connection just inside the entrance to Place Au Soleil on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Along with lower rates, Gulf Stream expects to get better water pressure from Boynton Beach once it connects. 

A coastal Palm Beach County special election to fill a vacant statehouse seat attracted national attention when the Democratic candidate defeated her Republican rival in a district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

Democrat Emily Gregory, a small-business owner from Jupiter, beat Republican Jon Maples, a financial planner and former Lake Clarke Shores council member who had been endorsed by Trump — with the president voting by mail-in ballot in the March 24 election.

Gregory captured slightly more than 51% of the vote in the unofficial count reported on the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website as of March 27. 

The District 87 house seat includes most of Manalapan, the eastern part of Lantana, plus South Palm Beach and points north to Juno Beach. It had been held by Republican Mike Caruso, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller in August. The previous clerk, Joseph Abruzzo, left the position after being hired as county administrator.

DeSantis scheduled the election for Caruso’s replacement to be held after the 2026 session of the state Legislature was to have ended, but lawmakers are expected back in April because they still need to approve a state budget.

Gregory may not have much of a say as the GOP has a supermajority in the state Legislature.  

And she won’t have much of a chance to warm her seat, as it goes up for election again in November for a full two-year term.

The election provided fodder for the nation’s political pundits trying to divine clues for how Republicans who control the U.S. House and Senate might perform in November’s congressional elections.

The unofficial results of the District 87 race showed Gregory with 17,122 votes to Maples’ 16,322, an 800-vote margin. 

— Larry Barszewski

FL House District 87

Special election* 

E. Gregory      (D)  17,122      

J. Maples         (R)  16,322      

*Unofficial results

Source: Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections