Top vote-getter Monte Berendes follows a long-standing town tradition and is sworn into office by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Joe Capozzi

Mayor Bonnie Fischer and council members Bill LeRoy and Monte Berendes were sworn in March 15 by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley, a former resident of South Palm Beach. 
Fischer was automatically re-elected when she didn’t draw an opponent for the March 8 election. 
Newcomer Berendes (31% of the vote) and incumbent LeRoy (29.8%) won election by finishing first and second, respectively, in a field of four candidates. 
Berendes replaced incumbent Mark Weissman, who finished with 21.2%, followed by newcomer Cindy Furino at 17.7%. Votes were cast by 630 of the town’s 1,347 registered voters. 
After the swearing-in ceremony, LeRoy was appointed vice mayor by the Town Council. Weissman did not attend the meeting, even though the agenda called for the attendance of the previous council before the ceremony.
Later in the meeting, LeRoy asked the town attorney to look into creating an ordinance prohibiting non-town residents from campaigning outside the Town Hall voting precinct.
On election day, LeRoy said, at least four members of the Police Benevolent Association showed up at Town Hall with plans to campaign for him and Weissman.
He said they initially wore PBA shirts before pulling on Weissman campaign T-shirts. LeRoy said a PBA representative contacted him the night before about their plans to campaign on his behalf but he told them not to. 
“I said, ‘No, you’re not. It’s not your job,’’’ LeRoy said at the March 15 Town Council meeting. “I don’t want strangers coming in here and campaigning for me. I told them right then and there, ‘You are not supporting me. I won’t be part of this.’’’
Outside Town Hall just after 7 a.m. on election day, LeRoy said a PBA representative “asked me if I wanted them to wear my shirt or their shirt. I said, ‘I don’t want you to wear either.’’’
LeRoy said he asked one man wearing a Weissman shirt where he lived. “He said North Palm Beach. I said, ‘Why are you here?’ He said, ‘To support Dave.’’’ 
The man then corrected himself and said he meant to say Weissman, LeRoy said.  
Seeing that LeRoy was getting angry about their presence, LeRoy said, the man tried to calm LeRoy by pointing out that they’d campaigned in Wellington the day before.
‘‘This town should decide who runs this town, not outsiders,’’ LeRoy told the council. “I think we should have an ordinance, only for local elections: If you don’t live here, you shouldn’t be campaigning here.’’’ 
Town Attorney Aleksandr Boksner said he’d look into the legality of creating such an ordinance but warned the council: “We are very, very limited at the local government regarding what is constitutionally protected speech.’’
In an interview after the meeting, LeRoy said he has no desire to fight the police union, which endorsed him and Weissman. “If you don’t live here, you shouldn’t be campaigning here.’’

By Larry Barszewski

Don’t expect a downtown medley of shops, restaurants, apartments and offices that is planned for city-owned land along the west side of Federal Highway in Boynton Beach to rise anytime soon.
Even if Affiliated Development’s proposal for the property between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard proceeded on the company’s schedule, it could still be as long as nine years before the first shovel of dirt is turned. The project mix also includes a public parking garage and open space to attract downtown visitors.
It’s not even certain that Affiliated, which was selected in November, will get to do the job. The company had been picked by city commissioners, who were serving in their role as the Community Redevelopment Agency’s board of directors. The CRA owns the property.
Now, what company is awarded the project — and the fate of the project itself — is in the hands of a newly reorganized commission that has two new faces on it following the city’s March elections. A third new member will be appointed by the new commission to fill a vacant seat and finish the term.
Former Mayor Steven Grant worked to nail down an agreement with Affiliated for its $73 million development proposal before he left office, but that effort ran into tough resistance at his final CRA meeting on March 9. After hours of attempting to cram through negotiations at the meeting, other commissioners decided more time was needed.
Departing Commissioner Christina Romelus asked commissioners to ditch Affiliated and go instead with Related Urban, the second-ranked applicant that had offered to make a portion of its apartments be affordable workforce housing in perpetuity. She called the last-minute bartering between the CRA and Affiliated President Jeff Burns at the meeting “highly inappropriate.”
CRA attorney Tara Duhy acknowledged the unusual nature of the all-out push to get the deal done.
“To be clear, obviously we’ve made some changes, to the extent the board wishes to approve this tonight,” Duhy said. “In normal circumstances, I would recommend that we bring it back to you for final approval. We’re going to go through all of these and I will have to do a final legal, technical review because we have been working at Mach speed to get this before you tonight.”
In the end, it was the two commissioners who are remaining — Woodrow Hay and commissioner-turned-Mayor Ty Penserga — who forced a middle ground. Departing Commissioner Justin Katz was absent.
Penserga and Hay did not support Romelus’ request to cut ties with Affiliated or Grant’s rush to finalize a deal with the company. They agreed to have CRA and city staff spend more time negotiating with Affiliated.
That decision came after City Manager Lori LaVerriere, who does not usually participate at CRA meetings, joined the discussion virtually to say more time was needed.
“I just ask that you give it time and don’t negotiate from the public dais. That’s not the way to do that,” LaVerriere said after commissioners had spent three hours doing just that. “And to provide some further input to staff to let us continue to weigh in and see if this is a workable deal.”
Some of the major project elements discussed at the meeting included:
• Affiliated offered 118 of its 236 apartments as workforce housing for 15 years using income-eligibility guidelines, with 11 of those units kept as workforce housing in perpetuity. Commissioners wanted more workforce housing apartments to be kept that way forever, as Related had offered to do with 63 of the 213 units it proposed building.
• Affiliated said it needed to keep all of the increased tax revenue its project produces for a 15-year period as a subsidy to make the workforce housing portion feasible. Commissioners said that was too much and would provide the CRA with no additional money during those years to support other projects. By the end of the night, Burns proposed receiving only 95% of the increased tax revenues annually, and only to an $8 million maximum over the 15 years.
• Affiliated originally wanted the city to pay for and take ownership of the parking garage, which would include 150 public spaces and 423 private ones. Officials did not support that idea. Instead of reimbursing the CRA $5.5 million for the land, as Affiliated initially planned, the company proposed dropping the price of the land to $100 and treating the $5.5 million it would have spent as the city’s purchase price for the public parking spaces. It would be up to the city to decide whether to charge the public to use the spaces or offer them for free.
• Affiliated plans to move Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant from its Ocean Avenue location to a new home at the north end of the project, along Boynton Beach Boulevard next to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. The developer said there may be a lag between when the restaurant would have to vacate its current location and when it could open at its new site.
A major difference between the Affiliated and Related proposals is that Related did not include the current century-old Ocean Avenue buildings, including Hurricane Alley’s home, as part of its project. Instead, it planned to contribute money to help restore them, which also would allow Hurricane Alley to continue business uninterrupted.
Resident David Katz told commissioners that saving those buildings, previously owned by the Oyer family, which has historical roots in the city, was a reason he thought the CRA should go with Related.
“For that reason alone, this developer should not be chosen. To tear that down is, well, maybe not a crime, but it’s a shame,” Katz said.
Related has said it could “restore these important buildings back to life as vibrant landmarks, maintaining the existing commercial fabric of historic Ocean Avenue.”
Grant said the buildings, for which the CRA paid $3.6 million in December to include in the project site, were an impediment. He said the Oyer building “is in gross need of repair but, it’s too gross. It’s something where there’s a reason why it was never historically designated.”
He lamented that the agreement with Affiliated was not accomplished under his leadership.
“It’s very weird for me to have another project on the doorstep of the CRA, and then all of a sudden, it kind of gets pulled back. It reminds me of the Cottage District, where one of the board members felt that they had better options and now it’s vacant and we have no idea what’s going to happen with the 4 acres,” Grant said.
“For the board to say, ‘You know what, Chair, we don’t really want you to make this decision; it’s better for the next people to make these decisions,’ after you’ve been here for six years. It hurts a little and I’ll let you know that.”
• In other action at the March 9 meeting, commissioners approved an agreement with restaurateur Anthony Barber, subject to final legal review and the CRA’s receiving outstanding financial documents, to purchase and turn the historic Magnuson House on Ocean Avenue into a restaurant that will use corrugated steel shipping containers for kitchen, restroom and storage space. Barber anticipates construction will take about 18 months.

By Tao Woolfe

Thomas Turkin, the final candidate to emerge victorious from Boynton Beach’s complicated March elections, would like to see the city strictly enforce a moratorium on tall buildings.
The newly elected city commissioner for District 3 said that as an animal lover and environmentalist, he believes towering structures — especially those near the coast — interfere with birds’ migratory patterns and nesting areas.
“I think development is great, but it needs to be effective,” Turkin said, adding that smaller buildings make cities friendlier.
“I don’t want to see our city turn into Fort Lauderdale,” he said, adding that Delray Beach seems to have an effective formula. “Although Delray has a lot of development, it doesn’t have many tall buildings.”
Turkin, who got about 53% of the vote in a runoff election on March 22 against Marit Hedeen, manages veterinary hospitals and animal care businesses, he said. He is also a U.S. Navy reservist.
The new commissioner said in a telephone interview that public safety is his top concern and that he would like to immediately see what he can do about slowing down speeding traffic and, if possible, increasing police presence.
Three of the five commissioners had to leave their posts because of term limits: Mayor Steven Grant, Justin Katz and Christina Romelus.
With the election of Angela Cruz to the District 1 seat in the March 8 municipal election, only Mayor-elect Ty Penserga and Woodrow Hay are holdover members.
One of the new commission’s first tasks will be naming a commissioner to fill the District 4 seat that Penserga vacated. That term runs until March 2023. Commissioners will announce the opening and likely discuss filling the seat at their April 5 meeting.
Penserga, who won his new seat with about 57% of the vote on March 8, will be Boynton Beach’s first openly gay mayor.
Penserga, who previously served as vice mayor, campaigned on a promise to bring affordable housing and revitalization to the city.
“As mayor, my priorities will include enhancing public safety through technology, promoting workforce housing, creating high-paying jobs, reducing taxes, creating a vibrant and exciting downtown, revitalizing the Boynton Beach Mall, and ensuring all parts of our city benefit from our shared success,” he said in his campaign posts.
Penserga is a scientist, educator and lifelong Florida resident.
Cruz, who got more than 62% of the votes cast in District 1, has served on the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency advisory board, as well as the senior advisory board. The longtime Boynton Beach homeowner has also served as a volunteer for Palm Beach County nonprofits, according to her campaign literature.
Hay, the District 2 commissioner and new vice mayor, said he would continue the hard work the commission has begun.
“We will be working on the distribution of ARPA funding. That’s a huge undertaking,” he said, referring to the American Rescue Plan Act. “There are also a lot of development projects going on that I’m very excited about.”
Hay was elected in 2020 after previously serving two terms on the commission, including a stint as mayor. He was first elected in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. Born and raised in Delray Beach, Hay has also served on the Boynton Beach Housing Authority and the city’s planning and development board.
He also serves as an associate minister at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Boynton Beach.
Hay said he hopes to work well with the new commissioners and promises to be patient with them. “I remember when I was new,” he said. “The other commissioners and the staff were very patient. We have wonderful people working for the city.”
Departing Mayor Grant said he enjoyed his time in city office and wishes the new mayor and commission well.
His advice for the new mayor? “Try to say ‘yes’ as often as you can,” he said with a smile.

GULF STREAM — Shirley Coulter Cleveland, 86, of Gulf Stream, Florida, and formerly of Houston, Texas, passed away suddenly on March 6, 2022. There are a lot of trios now looking for a fourth for bridge.
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, Shirley was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, on August 29, 1935. After finishing high school in Michigan, Shirley spent a year thawing out at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Apparently a year was enough and Shirley returned to finish her education at Michigan State University, where she was a member of Delta Zeta Sorority. While at Michigan State she met her first husband, Roger, the father of her three wonderful children, Scott, Kim, and Kerry.
When Shirley met the light and love of her life, Al Cleveland, the adventure truly began. He was her knight in shining armor, and if you found an old card from her to him (which we did) you would have seen that she wrote in it to Al “You Are My Life.” And he was.
The first priority for Shirley and Al was creating an “outstanding” blended family. Stepchildren Coree, Christine, Bob, and Jim joined Shirley’s three. We know that they are happy with their success in this family venture as they see us sitting here collectively writing this remembrance as a family of seven loving siblings.
Shirley and Al’s 25 years together were filled to the brim with tennis, travel, and all manner of family celebrations: college graduations, 60th/70th/80th birthday festivities, holidays and beyond. Wherever and whenever, what was important to Shirley was together time with family. She loved the water, from Cherry Beach, to backyard pools, to the Gulf of Mexico (navigating the Houston Ship Channel with Al in their post-retirement boat the “New Life”), to cruising the world together.
Shirley was devastated in 2004 by Al’s passing. In the years since then Shirley lived an active, full, happy life surrounded by family and dear friends who were blessed by her presence. She enjoyed playing the slot machines in Las Vegas and weekly Friday game nights. After she relocated from Houston to Florida to be closer to family, Shirley’s days were filled with playing cards (especially bridge), shopping, reading (highlights include World War II books and, most recently, books on Navy SEAL Team Six including Fearless and Black Hawk Down), meals with friends, watching movies, visits to out-of-state family, college football, and March Madness. The hours spent watching her twin grandsons play tennis were highlighted when their coach mistakenly thought she was their aunt, not their grandmother.
Shirley was gracious, warm, easygoing, considerate, fun-loving, lively, young at heart, and always up for an adventure. She was incredibly chic, customarily wearing vibrant colors that reflected her perpetually sunny disposition. Her answer to every question that began with “Do you want to …” was “Yes!” She made everyone around her feel important. And she really loved mashed potatoes.
Shirley was greatly loved and will be missed by her seven children and 13 grandchildren. She was the best of mothers to Scott Miller of Houston, Texas; Kimberly Miller of Houston, Texas; Kerry (Chris) Metz of Boynton Beach, Florida; Corinne (Dave) Henderson of Vienna, Virginia; Christine (Dan) Ewell of Boerne, Texas; James (Debbie) Cleveland of Wilmington, Delaware; and Robert (Donna) Cleveland of Vineland, New Jersey. She is also survived by her brother Doug (Sheila) Coulter of Newport Beach, California.
She was Grandma and Grandma Shirley to Kylie (Zack) McDonald, Matthew C. Metz, Thomas Coulter Metz, Tyler L. Henderson, Anna Elise Henderson, Katherine E. Ewell, Grace V. Ewell, Charles A. Ewell, Victoria A. Cleveland, Ryan B. Cleveland, Calysta G. Cleveland and daughter Aspen, Collin L. Cleveland, and Caulten E. Cleveland.
Her family will celebrate her life privately at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston, Texas. The family would be honored if you choose to make a donation to the charity of your choice in her honor.

— Obituary submitted by the family

BRINY BREEZES — Patricia M. Barnes, the valentine of her mulitgenerational family, died Feb. 14 after a two-month illness. She was 103.
Born Tressa May Gorham on May 25, 1918, she and her twin brother, Charles, were among the eight children of Tressa and Charles Gorham of White Cloud, Michigan.
Tressa grew up on the family farm and attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade. At the age of 15 she dropped out of school, left the farm and started working as a maid and nanny in Grand Rapids. 
Since the lady of the house was also named Tressa, she was asked to use another name while in their employment. She chose the name Patricia from the popular song by that name — and was known as Patricia ever after.
In 1936 she married Judd Barnes. They moved to Lansing, where she devoted her life to raising her four children. 
In 1964 the couple traveled down to Briny Breezes and fell in love with the community.
They spent their retirement years wintering in Briny and in summers motor-homing around the U.S. and Canada until Judd died in 1978.
Some years later Mrs. Barnes married Matt Otey. They shared 21 years together before his death. Mrs. Barnes was a resident of Briny for 58 years. She was active in the craft, bridge and euchre clubs and enjoyed her weekly golf outings, walks on the beach, dancing and bicycling. Pat will be remembered for her great wit, kind soul, a bright smile and her homemade doughnuts and pies.
What a wonderful life. Mrs. Barnes leaves behind a legacy of four children, 10 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren. On May 25, 2018, the entire family along with many close friends came together to celebrate Pat’s 100th birthday at Briny’s clubhouse. 
The family would like to give special thanks to Teresa Shelton for her four years of service as caregiver and her around-the-clock care in Mrs. Barnes’ last days.

— Obituary submitted by the family

Whole Foods plans to open a store as part of a development called the Boynton Beach Marketplace at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Hagen Ranch Road. Rendering provided

By Christine Davis

Good news for Whole Foods fans in Boynton Beach. A store will soon be available closer to home.
SJC Ventures, a grocery-anchored retail and multifamily development firm based in Atlanta, recently signed a new lease with Whole Foods Market, which will be in the Boynton Beach Marketplace, 7499 W. Boynton Beach Blvd.
Other expected tenants once the center is complete include sit-down restaurants, fast casual eateries, service establishments and boutique fitness options.
“This will be a fantastic addition to the Boynton Beach area and we are thrilled to bring a tenant such as Whole Foods Market to the community,” said Jeff Garrison, principal at SJC Ventures. “Our firm seeks to find regional sites that fit the demographic of specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods Market, and Boynton Beach certainly matches that.”
An opening date has not been announced.

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South Florida-based real estate investment management group Grover Corlew announced that it has acquired the Palmetto Park City Center office building, 120 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton, for $25.2 million.
The sale was recorded on March 9. Palmetto Park City Center is adjacent to another commercial property, the Bank of America Tower, which Grover Corlew acquired in July 2021.
“We have been making continuous investments in Boca Raton since 2016, when we originally purchased 1499 W. Palmetto Park Road and subsequently purchased the adjacent 1489 building,” partner Mark Corlew said in a news release. “Our headquarters are here, and we’re raising our children here. We see these two properties as an ideal opportunity to invest in our hometown.”
Partner Anuj Grover added: “This is a strategic move for us as we continue to set our sights on underrealized areas of South Florida.” 
A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Dominic Montazemi and Scott O’Donnell brokered the latest transaction. According to public records, $21.85 million in financing for the deal was provided by Wells Fargo Bank.

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California-based Brickstar Capital bought Spanish River Plaza, 500 NE Spanish River Blvd., Boca Raton, in a transaction totaling $12.6 million recorded Feb. 25. The seller, Chart Organization, a real estate investment and management company based in Lynbrook, New York, paid $8.1 million for the two-building plaza in 2015.
Mark M. Rubin and Bastian Laggerbauer of Colliers | South Florida Investment Services Team represented both sides in the deal.
Brickstar’s intent was to buy the plaza “as an investment, re-tenant it 100%, and when the time is right, reposition the site as a redevelopment opportunity,” Laggerbauer said.
Sited on 4.5 acres, the buildings were completed in 1974. Spanish River Plaza is 14% vacant, according to Laggerbauer, who added that tenants include Ascend Properties, IntensityX3 Fitness & Kickboxing, Mane Coffee and Dunetz Wellness Center.

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The Delray Beach Housing Authority, partnering with Smith & Henzy Advisory Group, received approval from the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board for their Island Cove project. It includes 60 affordable-housing buildings and a clubhouse.
The site, which has been vacant for more than 10 years, is between Southwest Eighth and 10th streets and Southwest 12th and 13th avenues.
The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency is contributing $1 million, in the form of a grant, toward the $27 million project.
“Rents for the 40 two-bedroom/two-bathroom and 20 three-bedroom/two-bathroom apartments are expected to range between $500 and $1,800 a month,” said Shirley Erazo, CEO of the Housing Authority.
“The units in Island Cove will be set aside for residents earning between 30% to 80% of the area median income. This phase of the redevelopment will focus on community heroes: firefighters, teachers, law enforcement officers, nurses and other members of the essential workforce.” 

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Here’s some big (as in price and size) news in single-family home sales:
Paul Saunders, founder of the Virginia-based James River Capital Corp., and his wife, Victoria Saunders, paid $34.7 million for the oceanfront estate at 2445 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach. The sale, recorded Feb. 22, represented a record high price for the town.
The home was owned by the late Mark Hamister, who had paid $12.5 million for the property in 2014.
The 16,582-square-foot house, situated on 1.1 acres, has seven bedrooms, a 14-car garage and 120 feet of beach frontage, according to realtor.com. Features include a full wing guest suite, screening room and a club room wing with a six-bay auto museum.
The property was listed for $42 million in November 2021. Joseph Liguori, Carmen D’Angelo Jr. and Gerard Liguori of Premier Estate Properties represented Hamister’s estate in the recent deal. Marcy Javor of Signature One Luxury Estates represented the Saunderses.
Gerard Liguori said an estate at 3715 S. Ocean previously held the record for Highland Beach. Public records show that it sold for $29.5 million in late 2021.  
“We’ve just returned from a conference, and there’s a sense of uncertainty with inflation and the stock market, and what’s happening in Ukraine, and people are going into hard assets such as real estate,” Gerard Liguori said.

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Speaking of Premier Estate Properties, the firm has represented properties exclusively in excess of $1 million for 28 years, and it has paid off. The 2021 rankings by T3 Sixty Almanac, an independent report that analyzes and quantifies top real estate companies in the United States, put Premier Estate Properties No. 1 for highest sales volume per agent, No. 2 as the brokerage achieving the highest sales price, and No. 225 among the Mega 1,000 top brokerages.
Additionally, Premier garnered $4.9 billion in sales and new listings over 12 months, all with only 42 agents. 
“The reason we earn market dominance year after year is that our agents function as trusted advisers to our high-net-worth clientele,” says Gerard Liguori, one of the broker/owners at Premier. “We have the in-depth knowledge of these communities and of the market to enable us to skillfully tailor the buying or selling experience to each client’s needs.”

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3545 North Ocean Trust, managed by Palm Beach attorney Guy Rabideau, bought the 14,000-square-foot mansion at 3545 N. Ocean Blvd., Gulf Stream, for $33 million in a sale recorded March 3. Built in 1958, the five-bedroom mansion rests on a 1.96-acre lot with 230 feet of ocean frontage. The seller of the property, Gulf Stream Ocean Properties FL, is a Florida limited liability company managed by Gary Clinton Scheier, who paid $14.25 million for the property in 2018.
Candace and Phillip Friis, agents with the Corcoran Group, represented the buyer and seller, according to realtor.com. The property was listed for $34 million one day prior to the sale.

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Lang Realty, through its community outreach arm Lang Cares, is leading a month-long diaper drive in April to benefit several South Florida charities through The Diaper Bank, Covering South Florida.
Diapers can be dropped off at these Lang offices in South County: 4400 N. Federal Highway, Suite 100, Boca Raton; 9858 Clint Moore Rd., Suite C-124, Boca Raton; 2901 Clint Moore Rd., Suite 9, Boca Raton; 8855 Boynton Beach Blvd., Suite 340, Boynton Beach; 3700 Clubhouse Lane, Boynton Beach; 900 E. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 16B, Delray Beach.
Donate via Amazon at https://smile.amazon.com/registries/custom/3GK2RJJINGME/guest-view.

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The Boynton Beach City Library has received a grant of $93,084 that will fund “Technology Training for Entrepreneurs and Career Advancement.”
This grant is funded under provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The money will be used for a mobile laptop cart with 24 laptops, a printer, a projector and a full-time professional trainer to teach classes for library cardholders.
Classes cover topics such as basic computer literacy, Microsoft Office products, Adobe Photoshop Elements, QuickBooks, creating art with software, job-interview preparation, and résumés.
Classes are posted on www.boynton-beach.org/city-library in the Library Program Calendar. For more information or questions about obtaining a card, call 561-742-6390.

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The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum hosts “The Future Began Here/The Future is Here,” a talk about the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, which will be held at the museum at 6 p.m. April 7.
What began as a location for IBM’s research and development is now a 1.7 million-square-foot office park known as the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, home to 18 national and 19 regional office tenants with up to 6,000 employees. Boca-based CP Group acquired the office park in 2018.
As part of the program, CP Group managing partner Angelo Bianco will share IBM anecdotes as well as the firm’s progress toward transforming BRiC with amenities that include a food hall, STEAM lab, and presentation space.
Before and after the session, attendees can visit the museum’s IBM Gallery. The cost is free for museum members and $10 for nonmembers. To RSVP, email office@bocahistory.org or call 561-395-6766, ext. 100. The museum is at 71 N. Federal Highway.

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The YMCA of South Palm Beach County’s drowning prevention program was chosen by the USA Swimming Foundation to receive $4,000 in grant money toward providing free or reduced-cost swim lessons. The foundation vetted more than 250 applications and chose 102 youth and 40 adult programs to receive funding. For more information, visit www.ymcaspbc.org.

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

Crowds are expected to return by the thousands for the Delray Affair as it resumes along Atlantic Avenue. Photos provided

After a 2-year hiatus, the Delray Affair is returning — and so are the gladiolus bulbs

By Rich Pollack

For the thousands of people who have made an annual pilgrimage to Atlantic Avenue for three days each spring, the Delray Affair is more than just a street festival.
It is a tradition — one that evolved from a flower festival with parades and beauty queens — and one that has endured for six decades.
After a two-year pandemic-related hiccup, the Delray Affair is returning to the Avenue April 8 through 10, bringing with it a few of the icons that have defined the event for 60 years.
Once again this year, there will be entertainment, a kids zone and yes, conch fritters, a staple of the event. More than 500 booths of artists and crafters as well as vendors with a wide array of items for sale will line the streets along 12 city blocks.
To celebrate the gala’s 60th anniversary, there will be a ’60s theme, with some participants dressing in ’60s attire, and, of course, plenty to eat and drink.
More than anything else, however, there will be tradition.
“There’s something in all of us that likes to hang on to tradition and the Delray Affair is probably the first and oldest tradition that still exists in Delray,” said Nancy Stewart, whose Festival Management Group produces the event for the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce.
For many, the return of the Delray Affair means a chance to gather with friends and family for a yearly visit and perhaps run into acquaintances they might not have seen since the last festival.
“The Delray Affair was founded to help the business community but has grown to become a beloved event that brings the community together,” said Stephanie Immelman, the chamber’s CEO. “We need that now more than ever.”
It is that sense of community that brings artists like Deborah LaFogg Docherty — a Delray Beach resident who paints wildlife images — back every year. “The Delray Affair is like coming home to family and friends,” says LaFogg Docherty, who has been a regular at the show for at least 30 years. “It gives you that warm feeling that this is where you belong.”
This year, the Delray Beach Historical Society will give visitors a chance to stroll down memory lane via photos from Delray Beach’s Gladiola Festival, a precursor of the Delray Affair.
The historical society will sell gladiolus corms (bulbs), with the hope that residents will plant a little reminder of the community’s history in their yards.
“It is our vision to have this iconic, perennial flower growing in everyone’s backyard,” says David Cook, the Delray Affair chairman for the historical society.

Workers harvest gladiolus in the fields west of Delray Beach.

Miles of color
The bulbs are the closest thing you will see to the grown gladiolas that the festival used to sell. With the disappearance of the last gladiola farms in the area — and in most of the U.S. — several years ago, organizers discovered it was too costly to import them from overseas. Gladiolas, according to longtime resident Roy Simon, considered by many to be the founder of the Delray Affair, were once so plentiful that gladiolus fields stretched from Military Trail to U.S. Highway 441, creating a miles-long splash of many colors when the flowers bloomed.
“It was just a beautiful thing to see,” Simon said.
In all, there were believed to be 11 nurseries growing as many as 14 varieties of gladiolas, according to the historical society archives.
During the early 1950s, Delray was the nation’s leading producer of gladiolas, with about 1,600 acres under cultivation.

A float at the 1986 Delray Affair transported the 1948 and 1986 Gladiola Queens.

The gladiolas were so important to Delray Beach that from 1947 to 1953 the community held an annual Gladiola Festival with parades through the then relatively small town.
The Gladiola Festival eventually faded away as vegetable farming all but replaced the floral industry, but it was reinvented in 1960 to recognize the shift after Simon saw a street festival while visiting relatives in the Central Florida town of Winter Park. “I came home and said, ‘We ought to have this in Delray,’” he said.
A committee was formed and an agricultural exhibition was created, showcasing everything grown in Delray Beach including vegetables, flowers and citrus. There were even cows on the Avenue.
At the time, Delray Beach was known as a haven for artists, cartoonists and writers and by 1962 community leaders decided to expand the festival by inviting them to be part of the event, transforming it into a street festival that became the Delray Affair.
Even then, the party stretched from Swinton Avenue to the Intracoastal Waterway, with artists painting in Veterans Park.

Joyce Totterdale Murphree (center) serves punch during an early Gladiola Festival.

Soon, vendors asked to take part but Atlantic Avenue was strictly for writers and artists. A Thieves Market, where all sorts of merchandise was sold, was opened in the parking lot north of Atlantic just east of the railroad tracks and remained for many years.
“The ultimate goal was to show off our town,” Simon says. “If you want to show off your town, you need an attraction to bring people in.”
Back then, the Delray Affair helped keep businesses afloat after the end of the tourist season. And it remains an important fundraiser for the chamber, while at the same time helping merchants.
“I’m happy that it’s still going on and that we’re still showcasing our city and drawing people from all over,” Simon said.
Some traditions, it seems, are worth keeping.

If You Go
What: The 60th annual Delray Affair
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. April 8-9, 10-5 April 10.
Admission: Free
Info: 561-278-0424 or www.delrayaffair.com

Visitors look at a display of historic photos at a past Delray Affair. Photo provided by Delray Affair/Julia Rose

Coming April 10: Broadway legend Avery Sommers and piano virtuoso Lisa Leonard will be honored by the National Society of Arts and Letters' Florida East Coast Chapter with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Time is 6:30 p.m. Cost is $275. Call 561-391-6380 or visit www.nsalfloridaeast.org. ABOVE: (l-r, seated) Shari Upbin, Dr. Ron Rubin, Gerry Ehrlich, and Sommers; (standing) Kimberly Wick, Judi Asselta, Leonard, and Kim Champion. Photo provided

Impact 100 Palm Beach County President Holly Schuttler (in red) is joined by past presidents (l-r) Helen Ballerano, Sue Diener, Kirsten Stanley, Kathy Adkins, Karen Sweetapple and Susan Duane. Photo provided

By Amy Woods

A vote by members of Impact 100 Palm Beach County will change the quality of life in South Florida for the better.
On April 19, the Grand Awards take place at Lynn University, where, inside an unassuming auditorium, more than $600,000 will be dispersed to nonprofit organizations with big plans.
“The night of Grand Awards is really a wonderful celebration of all of the women who have joined, and it is the moment in time where all of the nonprofit finalists who have applied for grants present,” communications co-chairwoman Jeannine Morris said. “It’s a very exciting event where all of the members come together.”
The annual gathering marks the culmination of the season for the charitable group that, to date, has donated more than $4.5 million in high-impact grants to 41 local organizations. Impact 100 Palm Beach County collects $1,000 from every woman who joins, pooling those funds for large, difference-making, truly grand awards.
“It’s an effective way of broadly impacting our community,” Morris said. “Powerful giving is our mission.”
Five finalists, whittled down from a list of 21 semifinalists, represent five focus areas — arts, culture and historic preservation; education; environment and animal welfare; family; and health and wellness. Each will receive $100,000. The remaining $100,000-plus gets divvied up among select semifinalists. A reception kicks off the evening, followed by presentations about the proposed projects. Then a vote is taken.
“I am just thrilled because of the proposed projects we have and how relevant they are as to what our community is facing right now,” President Holly Schuttler said. “COVID decimated not only businesses in our community but several nonprofits.”

Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net.

If You Go
What: Impact 100 Palm Beach County’s Grand Awards
When: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. April 19
Where: Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton
Cost: Free
Information: 561-336-4623 or www.impact100pbc.org

Korean-born chef Akira Back’s passion is to provide an experience that connects diners with aspects of his food, personality and life. Photos provided

By Jan Norris

Celeb chef Akira Back has debuted his first namesake Florida restaurant at The Ray, Delray Beach’s new luxury hotel in Pineapple Grove.
Back, a Korean-born chef who was raised in Aspen, Colorado, brings modern Japanese cuisine with a variety of signature dishes to Akira Back, the third restaurant in the hotel. This marks the Michelin-starred chef’s 18th restaurant in his critically acclaimed portfolio. Many American food enthusiasts know him from Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant and Lounge in The Bellagio Resort and Casino, Las Vegas.
He draws inspiration from his worldwide travels as a professional extreme snowboarder, leaning on his Korean heritage and culinary school’s professional techniques.
An eclectic cooking style, along with a lively, innovative dining experience at each venue, earned Back a Michelin star.
Top ingredients are key to many of Back’s dishes, and he’s widely known for sourcing pure A5 wagyu beef for his interpretation of tacos, and high-end fish for sushi and sashimi that fill the menu.
He will incorporate specialty items for this menu specific to Delray Beach to blend with the tropical climate, while also bringing signature items from other Akira Back menus.
In a statement for the news media, Back said, “The South Florida dining scene has exploded over the last few years and continues to attract more diverse tastes and options in the culinary market. This restaurant blends my cultural roots and sophisticated culinary training resulting in an imaginative and unforgettable dining experience.”

One of Back's signature dishes is Angry Yellowtail.

Noted dishes from the menu include AB tuna pizza with umami aioli, micro shiso and white truffle oil; a “New Carpaccio” of octopus, salmon, or flounder served with hot oil, yuzu soy, hoisin garlic, ginger and Szechuan salt; and a 48-hour wagyu short rib with root veggies, quail egg and braising jus.
Robata, or food cooked fireside, is served, and includes lamb chops with smoked jalapeño anticucho, and king crab legs with dynamite sauce and pickled shimeji. The A5 wagyu (top Japanese wagyu) includes toban-yaki with Japanese mushroom, umami sauce and truffle, or tataki with garlic, spicy daikon and ponzu.
Diners also can choose the Nazo 9 — the chef’s mystery box, unveiled tableside. A minimum of two diners must order.
There is an extensive wine list as well as a sake menu, and a cocktail program featuring several Japanese whiskys from Suntory’s three distilleries as well as American and international offerings.
Akira Back joins the Ember Grill, a steakhouse, and Rosewater, a rooftop bar and grill serving breakfast, lunch and late night, at The Ray.
Akira Back’s first-floor space was designed by Celano Design Studio. Teak panels wrap the facade. The bar is a backdrop for the open dining room that features round banquettes upholstered in a fabric patterned on a painting done by Young-Hee Back, the chef’s mother. Counters for sushi and the charcoal robata grill overlook the semi-open kitchen.
“We are thrilled to welcome chef Akira Back to The Ray Hotel and believe that his creativity, technique and attention to detail will elevate and bring international attention to the growing dining scene in Delray Beach,” said Craig Menin, founder of Menin Development, The Ray developer.
The chef expected to be at the Delray restaurant for its opening, then to appear periodically. Daily operations will be supervised by executive chef Eric Berlin, under the direction of Back.
Akira Back in The Ray, 233 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner, starting at 5 p.m. Phone 561-739-1708; akirabackdelray.com. Reservations through OpenTable.com. Valet parking at The Ray.

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Boca Bacchanal, which has drawn thousands of wine and food lovers since it began in 2003, missed last year because of the pandemic but is returning May 6-7.

Boca Bacchanal, which shut down last year because of the pandemic, is returning this year for two nights’ celebration May 6-7.
The festival, which has drawn thousands of oenophiles and food lovers since it began in 2003, will bring together noted chefs from around the country, and pair them with notable vintners for five-course dinners staged at private homes, historical sites and other locations on May 6.
Vintners are Silver Oak & Twomey Cellars, DAOU Vineyards, Masi Agricola, Château la Nerthe, and St. Francis Winery & Vineyards. As of mid-March, the chefs and homes to be matched with them had not been announced. Tickets are $350 per person.
The weekend culminates 7-10 p.m. May 7, with the Grand Tasting at newly renovated The Boca Raton. Numerous vintners will have tastings of their wines and champagnes. Area chefs will offer samples of their signature dishes. Also featured are a silent auction of wines, and dining, travel and lifestyle packages. Tickets to this are $200 per person.
Tickets to the chef-vintner dinners and the Grand Tasting benefit special programs and exhibits hosted by the Boca Raton Historical Society.
Mary Csar, executive director of the historical society and chairwoman of Boca Bacchanal, said the events offer the community “a delightful opportunity to support the heritage education programs of the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum and the Boca Raton Historical Society.”
The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum is open to the public in old Town Hall at 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Call 561-395-6766 for more information.
For Boca Bacchanal schedule of events and to buy tickets, go to www.BocaHistory.org.

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An update on the changes coming to Mizner Park dining starting this summer:
Kapow Noodle Bar will move to a larger space across from its current location around mid-June.
It will have an indoor-outdoor bar, an eight-seat omakase bar, and three private karaoke rooms with full restaurant service, along with a large outdoor seating area.
Penelope’s, a New Orleans-themed brasserie, will take over Kapow’s old digs. It’s scheduled to open sometime this fall.
Principals in the Subculture Group behind these restaurants also announced their newest concept — an Italian trattoria dubbed Shaker & Pie. At the same time, they brought the news that longtime Irish favorite the Dubliner is closing to make room for it. St. Patrick’s Day was its last big shindig. Work on Shaker & Pie is now the focus, with a target opening of spring 2023.
Vaughan Dugan, a Subculture partner, said, “We started developing the Shaker & Pie concept in 2015 and for one reason or another, it just wasn’t the right time or location. It was a tough decision to close the Dubliner, but the silver lining is that it is a great opportunity to bring Shaker & Pie to life.
“I ran a multi-location pizza concept earlier in my career so it’s rewarding to see things come full circle as we work on the menu for our wood-fired pizzas and small plates.”
Finally, Subculture Coffee, the third of these coffee shops in the county, should be open as you read this — late March was the goal. It will roast its own coffee beans in-house and offer prepared breakfast, lunch and snacks. Plans are to open another in Delray Beach and in Palm Beach Gardens later in 2022.

In brief
Burt Rapoport, a South County restaurateur for more than 30 years, has opened a Chinese restaurant, Pagoda Kitchen, reminiscent of his classic favorite, Betelnut in San Francisco. We love the Peking duck among a menu of approachable favorites — bao buns, pork fried rice, dumplings and egg rolls, along with wagyu beef potstickers and giant spicy prawns.
Pagoda Kitchen is in the Delray Marketplace on West Atlantic Avenue. Expect to wait — and the food is served family style, by the way.

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The Gringo Empanadas replaced the old Surf Shack in Delray Beach on Southeast Fifth Avenue. It has a simple menu of seven empanadas (plus one for breakfast), along with a few açai bowls and a couple of wraps. It is closed Mondays.

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The newest hot pizza place in the area is Mister 01, in Boca Raton, noted as the best in Florida by Food and Wine magazine. The Miami franchise’s star-shaped, thin crust sets the pies apart, along with creative toppings (classics, too). Check them out at 555 N. Federal Highway.

Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com

The Butterfly Garden, formerly the Shade House Garden, is near the corner of State Road A1A and Briny Breezes Boulevard. Photo provided

This is the fourth in a series on five local garden clubs.

By Jan Engoren

What, you may ask, is the Briny Way?
Briny Breezes Garden Club President Doris Hambacher says the Briny Way reflects the residents’ commitment to work together as a whole to always better the community.
Compared with other garden clubs in the area, the Briny Breezes club is smaller. It is private and open exclusively to residents of Briny Breezes. 
Founded in 1985 to encourage and promote cooperative projects for upgrading the town’s general appearance, the club works to stimulate interest and concern for South Florida horticulture through education and participation of the residents.
One of the club’s signature events is the Mad Hatter Tea Party, last held before the pandemic began in March 2020.
Typically, the club has between 25 and 30 members who meet for a work session the first Thursday of the month and for a business meeting on the third Thursday of the month. Annual dues are $5.
Hambacher says, “My family is in its sixth generation coming to Briny and we all think it is special.
“One of Briny’s hidden gems is the Butterfly Garden, a place that can be cool and calming,” she says. “I love to garden and our unit in Briny has limited gardening options with almost no shade. Working in the Butterfly Garden provides a gardening fix while helping to keep this special space going another year.”
Hambacher, 67, is a retired global records and information manager from Chicago. She is in the process of creating a map of the garden with plant descriptions and care guides. 
“Hopefully, this will allow us all to provide better care for the garden and identify/replace any plants lost over the summer or in storms,” she says.
Other future projects include replacing the water feature with one that can be dismantled at season’s end (Hambacher says people love the sound and its calming effect); developing more educational opportunities; replacing the orchids in the trees, and creating a mosaic-top table.
The garden club claimed the space next to the corner of State Road A1A and Briny Breezes Boulevard, formerly a kids playground. It was originally called the Shade House Garden, and some of the initial plants such as the Queen’s wreath (Petrea volubilis) vine with its cascading purple flowers are still thriving, according to Hambacher.
Hambacher says that the garden has become quite lush under the various palms and large shade trees, including a pitch apple tree (Clusia rosea), also known as the Autograph Tree because you can write on the fleshy leaves with your fingernail. 
But visitors beware: The “apples” are poisonous to pets.  
As with other South Florida garden clubs, Briny’s club focuses on introducing native plants as well as those that will provide for the life cycle of butterflies. To that end, some of the plants in the garden include bougainvillea, elephant ears (Colocasia), different varieties of croton and Star of India (Dracaena reflexa).
Vice President Beth Fowler, 56, took over her mother’s place in Briny Breezes in 2017. The retired teacher and administrator from New Hampshire gives credit to Hambacher for her vision and dedication to the garden.
“Dory takes the time to figure out the garden and choose the right varieties of native plants,” she says. “She’s thoughtful about which plants to add.”
Fowler has been going to the Briny garden for as long as she can remember. “My mother always told us, “Briny is a healing place.’”
She credits the Briny Way for residents’ support of clubs, whether or not they actively participate. Some offer support as a way of perpetuating the Briny legacy of their parents and grandparents.
Back home in New Hampshire, where Fowler goes each summer to be with grandchildren, she enjoys foraging for medicinal plants such as purslane, St. John’s wort, chamomile, dandelions and wild mushrooms.
She’s surprised by the rate at which plants grow in Florida — morning glories that took 10-15 days to sprout in New Hampshire sprouted in only two days here.
Besides enjoying the omnipresent ocean that is her backyard, Fowler takes respite in the Briny garden — open to all residents and guests.
“It’s a wonderful, peaceful place to meditate, do yoga or enjoy a conversation,” says Fowler. “Besides the beach, this is the only other place I can sit for hours and be by myself — it’s very relaxing.”
And that is the Briny Way.

The Briny Breezes Garden Club meets twice a month, for a work session the first Thursday of the month and for a business meeting on the third Thursday of the month. Annual dues are $5. The club is open only to Briny Breezes residents.

Doris Hambacher, left, is president of the Briny Breezes Garden Club.

Easter lilies were displayed at First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach last year. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

This year, Dr. Doug Hood, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, will celebrate 10 years of leading his congregation through some hard times, but he never imagined the challenges a pandemic would bring to bear.
As he thinks about his Easter sermon, Hood is taking inventory of the losses congregants have sustained.
“We lost loved ones and friends, and there are empty seats at the table that will never be filled,” Hood says.
But almost greater than those personal losses is the loss of a united community in churches and beyond. “We lost civility, humility and respect,” Hood says. “We focus on what we disagree about instead of focusing on where we agree: We love God and we love our nation.”
Hood says people must “lower the temperature of the room. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection, a reminder that we are one people celebrating God’s love.”
At First Presbyterian, a beautiful stained-glass window of the Last Supper has always troubled Hood because it depicts only 11 disciples. When he asked about it, Hood was told that the artist took “the liberty” of leaving Judas out of the depiction because he, the artist, didn’t think Judas deserved to be there.
Hood laughs as he thinks about it. “It reminds me of the rhetoric we hear so much: Who is in and who is out. But Jesus welcomed Judas to the table even though he knew who he was,” he says.
In a nutshell, man excludes, God includes.
“We have to stop throwing pejoratives, and welcome others to the table. We argue as if we are absolutely right. There’s no humility. We should be thinking, ‘I could be wrong. Maybe God has something to say to me through this person,’” Hood says.
Anger prevents the growth of fresh ideas, he says. When he encounters someone with whom he disagrees, he says, “Thank you for sharing that. I hadn’t really thought about it that way.”
After the 2020 election, a parishioner told Hood that since they had voted differently, he could no longer attend First Presbyterian. It felt like cancel culture at work, so the senior pastor asked the man to come by and talk.
They spent an hour or more talking about Christ and discussing the man’s feelings about all manner of things. When he left, the man recommitted himself to the church and doubled his annual donation.
Hood says it promotes positive dialogue if we begin where we agree. For a lot of people, that means looking outside themselves at the bigger picture. The quickest path to misery is by focusing on yourself. Another stumbling block on the path to inner peace is mistaking wants from needs, Hood says.
“How much is enough tends to be a moving needle,” Hood says. “The more we have, the more we worry about scarcity. We’re so focused on getting stuff that we forget that God loves a generous heart.”

Ukraine is an eye-opener
Hood says our riches come not from what we accumulate but from what we give away. When we look at the pictures of people fleeing Ukraine with just a suitcase or knapsack, we realize what we really need to survive is our families.
“We stopped thinking about COVID, which is thinking about ourselves, and started thinking about others in Ukraine,” he says. That’s a positive step.
The choir at First Presbyterian has two members from Ukraine, and they taught the choir a hymn which they all performed in Russian at a service in March. “It was tremendously moving,” Hood says.
Hood, who earned his master’s degree from Columbia Theological Seminary and his doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary, in 2018 published a book called Nurture Faith: Five Minute Meditations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ.
Spending just a few minutes refocusing on God helps, and prayer works better than worry. Hood says that walking with Christ isn’t easy, but it is comforting and fulfilling.
The true test of a Christian heart may be this: To love others, especially when loving them is difficult.
Easter Sunday services at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach are at 7, 9 and 11 a.m. April 17. The church is at 33 Gleason St. Call 561-276-6338.

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com.

The Girl Choir of South Florida will perform April 24 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Music at St. Paul’s will feature The Girl Choir of South Florida at 3 p.m. April 24 at the church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The choir, for girls and young women ages 6 through 18, aims to transform girls’ lives through musical excellence. It provides a safe space for girls and young women to hone their skills and share their voices and build supportive, lifelong friendships. Tickets are $20 at the door. Free for ages 18 and younger. https://musicstpauls.org.

Supplies needed for Pahokee church
St. Lucy Catholic Church parish is collecting items for St. Mary Catholic Church in Pahokee through Palm Sunday, April 10. Especially needed are baby items like food and formula, towels and blankets, wipes and diapers. Clothes in sizes 2T-3T are also needed. Drop off donations in the vestry. Cash donations are also welcome. Call Alice Marie Dill at 561-278-1280.

Raffle drawing at St. Lucy offers several prizes
The St. Lucy CCW raffle ticket fundraiser drawing is on April 10. Prizes include dinner for four hosted by Father Brian Horgan in the rectory, $1,000 cash, and four tickets to dinner and a show at the Wick Theatre. Tickets are $10 each or three for $20. https://stlucycommunity.com.

Traditional agape feast planned at Advent Boca
The Last Supper or Agape Love Feast will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. April 14 in the gymnasium at Advent Church, 300 E. Yamato Road, Boca Raton. The Love Feast, or agape meal, is a Christian fellowship recalling the meals Jesus shared with disciples during his ministry and expressing the community, sharing and fellowship enjoyed by the family of Christ. Tickets are $20; children eat free. Register by April 10 at https://adventboca.org.

St. Gregory’s yoga Mass scheduled for courtyard
The next St. Gregory’s Episcopal yoga Mass led by Father Ben Thomas takes place at 4 p.m. April 23 in the courtyard of the church at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. The event begins with about 20 minutes of yoga, followed by Mass and a wind-down at the end. Call 561-395-8285 or visit www.stgregorysepiscopal.org or www.frbenjaminthomas.com.

Nutrition expert Joy Bauer says when you take care of yourself and eat the right food, you ultimately feel better psychologically, physiologically and emotionally. Photo provided

By Joyce Reingold

Joy Bauer says her fans and followers ask her everything. How tall are you? How can I get my spouse to eat more vegetables? But what she’s asked most, she says, is how can I get started living a healthier lifestyle, and how do I stay motivated?
And who better to ask than Bauer, the nutrition and wellness expert who inspires, educates and entertains from a dizzying number of platforms including the Today show, Amazon Live, best-selling cookbooks, social media and her website, https://joybauer.com. At 7:30 a.m. April 8, she will be the keynote speaker at the Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches More Than a Meal breakfast fundraiser at the Kravis Center.
“Those are really big questions from a behavioral standpoint, because I think 50% of starting and staying with a health plan is your attitude, without a doubt. And so, maybe finding your reason: Why do you want to get healthier and start eating better and exercising more? Everybody has to do some soul-searching. You want to make sure that your reason is significant and personal and enduring,” she says.
“It can’t be a flimsy little, ‘I want to fit into a certain dress.’ I think like the bigger reasons are: I want to be around for my grandkids, or I want to reduce the risk of a breast cancer recurrence, or I want to lower my cholesterol so that I live a long, healthy and energetic life.
“And also, I think a really significant one is, I want to be able to go into my closet and wear anything I want to wear and feel more comfortable in my skin and have more energy.”
After that, Bauer, a registered dietitian nutritionist, suggests creating a series of smaller, short-term goals that are “tangible and concrete” to fuel your journey and keep you tracking toward your goal.
“I love the action-oriented goals, like I’m going to try two new dinner recipes this week, or I’m going to walk 30 minutes every single day this week, or I’m going to think ahead and brown bag my lunch for work. … Or maybe it’s, I want to try two new fruits or something like that.”
Each week pick as many as you think you can accomplish — even one — and make sure to celebrate your wins, she says.
“Obviously, give yourself a great big hug. But maybe you also want to come up with some sort of fun, non-food reward system. Like manicures, pedicures, massages when you accrue 10. … It’s so well worth taking the time to plan the format for these short-term goals, because at the end of the day, the payback is ginormous. It’s your health, it’s your energy, it’s your feel-good attitude,” Bauer says.

Food should be easy
Eating for good health should be joyful, too. And if all the at-home cooking during the coronavirus pandemic has depleted your cooking mojo, “you can learn to love it again or learn to love it a little,” Bauer promises.
“People really want easy, delicious. They want to be healthy … but they don’t want to compromise on the foods that they love. So, what I try to do is figure out how to make all of these foods that we crave, and we obsess over, in a healthier and a lightened-up fashion. And it’s so fun because really, you can make just about anything better. You really can.”
Bauer mentions her spinach artichoke dip and smashed Parmesan Brussels sprouts, which are a new family favorite. Her BBQ salmon bowl hit a home run when it made its Today show debut.
If you have a sweet tooth, she even has a healthier take on a classic candy bar. Bauer calls her chocolate peanut butter dates “copycat Snickers bars.” She stuffs medjool dates with peanut butter and salted peanuts, drizzles them with melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, sprinkles chopped peanuts on top and chills them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
“I dare you not to think that it has similar flavors as a Snickers bar,” she says. “And when you use medjool dates, it’s about the same size as the fun-size Snickers. It’s so good. It’s got all the candy bar feels.”
Bauer, whose books include Joy Bauer’s Superfood! 150 Recipes for Eternal Youth and From Junk Food to Joy Food, publishes these and a host of other recipes on her website. You’ll also find Joy Bauer’s Food Cures, articles about “food as nature’s medicine.”
“You know, when you take care of yourself, you ultimately feel better psychologically, physiologically, emotionally. It really elevates every single aspect of your life. And the best part is, it’s just food. It’s so easy. We eat several times a day and just by being more thoughtful and selective over what we put into our bodies and on our plate, we have the capability of feeling markedly better,” she says.
“And with so many things that are out of our control these days, I think it’s so empowering that food is really within our control.”

Joyce Reingold writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.

If You Go
What: More Than a Meal breakfast to benefit Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches.
When: 7:30 a.m. April 8 Where: Kravis Center
Tickets: Start at $175, with a limited number available through April 4. Call 561-802-6979, ext. 5, or visit www.MOWPB.org. 
Guest speaker: Joy Bauer, whose mother was a Meals on Wheels volunteer, says she feels “super connected” to the organization, which delivers nutritious meals to homebound seniors.
“I have so many fond memories,” she says. “I used to go on a lot of the runs with my mom. … This has always been an organization that’s near and dear to my heart.”

Susan Anthony holds a dolphinfish she caught off Palm Beach County in July 2021. Florida regulators reduced the daily bag limit for the fish to five per angler, but the limit remains 10 in federal waters, beyond 3 miles offshore. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

The new daily bag limit for dolphinfish (mahi mahi) caught in state waters is five per person, down from 10, effective May 1.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission approved the change in March after anglers expressed concerns about seeing fewer mahi, especially large ones, in the waters off southeastern Florida and the Florida Keys.
The daily boat limit for recreational boats also dropped to 30 fish, down from 60.
The FWC’s rule also clarifies that the captain and crew on charter boats do not count in the bag limit.
The change could cause some confusion because the bag limit for federal waters (beyond 3 miles offshore) remains 10 per person.
During the summertime, many, if not most, of South Florida’s mahi are found more than 3 miles offshore in federal waters.
When boaters travel from federal waters toward land with more than five mahi per angler, they should transit through state waters directly to shore without stopping to fish in state waters, the FWC says.
The minimum size for mahi remains 20 inches to the fork of the tail.

FWC approves limited goliath grouper harvest
Also in March, the FWC gave final approval to a limited harvest of goliath grouper, a slow-growing fish that was harvested down to low numbers during the 1980s and has been a no-take fish in Florida since 1990.
After years of discussion and public workshops that included opposition from scuba divers and dive charter operators, the FWC agreed to allow recreational anglers to harvest up to 200 goliath groupers annually in state waters.
Notably excluded from the harvest area are the waters from Martin County south through the Atlantic coast of southeast Florida and the Florida Keys.
The harvest will be limited to anglers who obtain a harvest permit through random-draw lottery and pay the tag fee: $150 for Florida residents, $500 for nonresidents.
Goliath grouper harvest will be limited to hook-and-line fishing only during the open season (March 1 through May 31 beginning in 2023). To be legal to keep, the groupers must measure between 24 and 36 inches in total length.
Anglers who obtain a tag will be allowed to harvest only one goliath grouper per year. Tag holders must report harvest data and submit a fin clip for genetic analysis.
“Post-harvest data reporting will help guide future management decisions for this species,” FWC Commissioner Robert Spottswood said.

Fishing club yard sale scheduled for April 9
The West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s annual yard sale, featuring fishing rods, reels, tackle, lures, outdoor apparel and boating accessories, is set for 8 a.m. to noon on April 9.
Admission is free to the sale at the fishing club’s headquarters at 201 Fifth St. (at the corner of Fifth Street and North Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach).
Proceeds benefit the Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation, which funds the club’s annual Kids Fishing Day summer program.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Email tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

Upcoming fishing tournaments

Warm-weather fishing tournament season begins in April, a month known for stout breezes and just a hint of lingering cool air. Here’s a partial list of tournaments planned in Palm Beach and northern Broward counties.

April 23: The KDW (kingfish, dolphin, wahoo) tournament season in Palm Beach County kicks off with the Boynton Beach Firefighters Fishing Tournament and Chili Cook-off at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park. Captain’s meeting for the tournament is scheduled for 5 p.m. April 21 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, 3001 Old Boynton Road. Entry fee: $250 per boat by April 10 and $300 thereafter.

May 14: Lantana Fishing Derby. Captain’s meeting set for 6 p.m. May 12 at the Lantana Recreation Center, 418 S. Dixie Highway. The awards party is set for May 15 at the recreation center. Entry fee $200 per boat by May 1 or $250 thereafter. Register at www.lantanafishingderby.com. For more details, call the Greater Lantana Chamber of Commerce at 561-585-8664.

May 14: Saltwater Shootout based in Pompano Beach. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. May 12 at Pompano Beach Civic Center, 1801 NE Sixth St. Weigh-in at Alsdorf Park. Entry fee $401.25 by April 29 and $508.25 thereafter. Register at www.bluewatermovements.com.

June 4: The Palm Beach County KDW Classic organized by the West Palm Beach Fishing Club and based at Riviera Beach Municipal Marina. Entry fee $225 per boat ($200 for fishing club members) by May 20 or $300 thereafter. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. June 3 at Riviera Beach marina, 200 E. 13th St. Register at https://westpalmbeachfishingclub.org. For more details, call 561-832-6780.

June 11: Saltwater Slam based in Pompano Beach. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. June 9 at Pompano Beach Civic Center, 1801 NE Sixth St. Entry fee $401.25 per boat by May 27 or $508.25 thereafter. Weigh-in at Sullivan Park in Deerfield Beach. Register online at www.bluewatermovements.com.

June 25: Big Dog, Fat Cat KDW Shootout based at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. Kickoff party 7 p.m. June 7 at Sailfish Marina. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. June 24 at Sailfish Marina. Weigh-in at Sailfish Marina. Early entry fee $150 per boat. Register at www.bigdogfatcat.org.

July 16: Lake Worth Fishing Tournament based at Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Check the Tuppen’s Marine & Tackle website at www.tuppensmarine.com for updates.

Aug. 13: Mark Gerretson Memorial Fishing Tournament. Captain’s meeting Aug. 11 at Delray Beach Elks Lodge. Weigh-in at Palm Beach Yacht Center. Check www.mgmft.net for updates.

Lori Joyce owns Muddy Paws Pet Care, which is based in Boynton Beach. Eight-year-old Teddy is one of her favorite dogs to walk. Photo provided

By Arden Moore

If you want to win popularity points from your dog, take a walk on the wag side. Truly. The gleeful sounds and wiggling rump from your canine pal clearly convey that walks are the doggy equivalent of your scratching a winning lottery ticket.
But there is so much more to a successful and enriching walk with your dog than simply grabbing a leash, saying, “Let’s go!” and heading out the door.
Whether the leashed walk is around your neighborhood, during a doggy vacay or at a dog-welcoming beach, safety needs to be a priority. Dog walks are no time to stare at our phones or drown out nature’s sounds with our favorite tunes blaring into our earbuds.
We need to activate all our senses, especially sight and hearing, to keep our dogs and us safe during the outing.
Dogs need and deserve daily walk outings, even if their owners have less time at home as the pandemic subsides. I reached out to a couple of professional dog walkers and pet sitters for advice.
Lori Joyce owns Muddy Paws Pet Care based in Boynton Beach, and Monika Stefaniak owns House and Hound Care based in West Palm Beach.
One of Joyce’s favorite dogs to walk is a lovable and goofy Labrador retriever named Teddy. He is a popular pooch on her Facebook page.
“Teddy is now 8 years old and I have been blessed with his love and care since he was a puppy,” says Joyce. “He innately brings a smile to everyone’s face who meets him. People love seeing photos of Teddy relaxing or walking on the beach.”
Joyce, a professional pet groomer, launched Muddy Paws in 2010 and offers a full slate of pet services to people from Gulf Stream to Jupiter. She unleashes these tips:
• Remember that dogs tune into our emotional states. “Pets read energies of the ones they love and know,” she says. “Therefore, if you stay calm and happy while walking your dog, then you both can have a joyful, fun, happy experience.”
• For your dog, the walk is a lot about the smells. “Let them sniff,” she says. “Be more like your dog and enjoy life’s smallest treasures, such as allowing your dog to drink from the sprinkler that randomly and unexpectedly goes off during your walk. Let your dog walk through puddles and give him time to sniff the flowers. Be like your dog and enjoy every moment!”
• Stay calm and focused when an unfamiliar dog with his owner approaches during a walk. “Do not pull your dog close to you and hold the leash tightly because you will send a signal to your dog that he needs to protect you and that can cause a negative reaction from him,” Joyce says.
“Remember to stay calm when unfamiliar dogs approach so you are not giving off stress signals to your dog.”
Stefaniak has been a professional pet sitter since 2004, but founded House and Hound Care in 2017. She oversees a team of 25 dog walkers and pet sitters who provide service throughout Palm Beach County. Stefaniak offers these tips:
• Remember the mission of the dog walk. You and your dog are getting not only healthy exercise, but mental and social benefits. “Walks can help reduce stress and anxiety in dogs by providing them an effective way to focus their mind and attention on the walk,” says Stefaniak. “Walks also strengthen the bond between dogs and their owners. Socialization can lead to positive behavior in dogs.”
• Choose the right dog-walking gear. She recommends attaching a 6-foot leash to a harness and not to the dog’s collar, to prevent neck injuries and to maintain better control of the dog. “I do not recommend retractable leashes because they are dangerous,” she says. “Some stretch out 20 feet and that distance makes it difficult for an owner to reel in their dog if there are any dangers around. Also, retractable leashes can harm dogs because of the constant and sudden tugs and pulls on their collar that can injure their necks, tracheas and spines.”
• Do your homework on selecting a dog walker. Make sure the company is licensed, insured and bonded. “Apps that let you randomly order a dog walker may seem convenient, but having a stranger walk into your house can be as stressful to some dogs as being left alone for the day. All our pet sitters are vetted and trained to ensure that your pets are properly treated and enjoy the adventures with us,” says Stefaniak.
During my walks with my dogs, Kona and Emma, we’ve encountered loose dogs heading our way as well as dogs darting out front doors to charge us on the sidewalk. I always bring a handful of easy-to-toss dog treats and purposely toss them away from us to divert these dogs. I’ve even channeled my inner “I-mean-business” voice and ordered the door-darting dog to stop and head home — now!
Most of the time, our walks are free of any issues. I remind myself that these walks are ideal times to be in the present moment and to sideline fretting about past or future issues.
Kona, Emma and I love investigating new beaches, parks and trails locally and during road trips. I use these walks to reinforce their doggy manners to sit, stay, lie down and walk nicely. Both are rewarded with treats and praise.
So, got leash? It’s a doggone great time for a walk.

You can reach Lori Joyce at Muddy Paws Pet Care on Facebook at www.facebook.com/muddypawspc or by calling 561-512-3355. Monika Stefaniak, of House and Hound Care, can be reached at www.houseandhoundcare.com or by calling 561-801-8559.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. She hosts Oh Behave! weekly on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.ardenmoore.com.

By Janis Fontaine

The Philanthropy Tank was started in 2015 as a way to challenge young, fertile minds to tackle society’s pressing problems by equipping students with funds to implement sustainable, service-driven solutions. Using a format borrowed from television’s Shark Tank, the competition is open to Palm Beach County students in grades 8 through 12.
On April 11, a team from FAU High School — Mallory Thomas and Anna Jarvis of Boca Raton, Elise Siegel of Highland Beach and Alyssa Jiggetts of Coconut Creek — will pitch its idea to the Philanthropy Tank panel.
The girls’ project, Growing Native Oases Made for Engagement (affectionately known as GNOME), would establish community butterfly gardens to bring more stress-lowering green spaces to local communities.
“We hope these gardens will last for years to come,” Mallory said.
The primary purpose of their project is the human purpose: to use the healing power of nature.
Dozens of studies show that time spent in nature improves cognition and is associated with increases in happiness and well-being, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress, according to a 2019 article in Science Advances (Vol. 5, No. 7).
The secondary purpose of the garden is to promote the use of native plants in local landscapes.
The students chose community butterfly gardens because of their easy maintenance. They worked with experts to discover the native plants that flourish in different habitats. Choosing plants that do well without constant attention topped the list of “must-haves.”
Mallory, 16, has a passion for environmental science. She volunteers at Daggerwing Nature Center in Boca Raton and Sandoway Discovery Center in Delray Beach, and she’s been a butterfly enthusiast for years, purchasing milkweed at Home Depot for the annual monarch butterfly migration.
She had an outline for GNOME and she reached out to other students she knew who had volunteered on the FAU Biosphere Project. It engages the community along with FAU students and faculty in the exploration of the local biosphere — the plants and animals in backyards.
Elise, 16, loves science and riding her bike. She appreciates the benefits of getting outside in nature and its effect on mental health. But she felt she was missing a sense of community and that bringing people into a green space might help them make personal connections.
“Coming together as a community requires access to a community space,” said Elise, who collected data for the Biosphere Project.
Along with her interest in science, Elise is an artist who makes mosaic-like mixed media art using paint color sample cards she gets at hardware stores. She has developed an interest in creative writing since transferring from Boca High to FAU High School in her sophomore year.
Students there are all working on college credits while still attending high school. Many will graduate high school with more than half of their college degree credits, without paying a dime in tuition.
Mallory says that allows her to save tuition dollars for her post-grad degree, which she expects to be in environmental engineering or environmental law.
The pandemic made preparing for the presentation to the Philanthropy Tank a bit of a challenge. The girls have worked together for months, but meetings and mentoring sessions with Adriene Tynes have been virtual.
Tynes is well-known for her philanthropic work in Palm Beach County, including five years on the board of Community Greening, a collective effort to improve the environment, and as director of accreditation for Nonprofits First in Palm Beach County.
She’s been the perfect mentor for GNOME, Elise said, “with really helpful tips on formatting our slides for our presentation.”
Each team will have three minutes to pitch its idea to a panel of judges who decide who gets the funding and how much each group gets.
Since its inception, Philanthropy Tank has awarded more than $600,000 to more than 45 projects in Palm Beach County and the Philanthropy Tank’s second location, Baltimore. Fourteen of the programs have established 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
So, there’s a lot riding on those three minutes. Elise admits she has had a few nervous moments, but Mallory says, “I don’t like the word nervous. I like the word excited.” She says it’s the same feeling, it’s just how you choose to frame it.
“I want to make an impact on South Florida, to educate people, but still keep it light and fun and pleasant,” Mallory said. “If we inspire just a few people to appreciate science, that can make an impact. I read a quote recently: ‘Small drops make a mighty ocean.’”

For more information on the Philanthropy Tank, visit www.philanthropytank.org.

ABOVE: The covered loggia has built-in electric screens and shutters, and a summer kitchen with top-of-the line appliances, BBQ, bar and TV. BELOW: The house, designed by architect Randall Stofft, boasts master craftsmanship throughout and is designed to maximize ocean views. Photos provided

This elegant Gulf Stream estate, completed in 2021, boasts 110 feet of frontage on the Atlantic. It is situated on more than three-quarters of an acre of immaculately landscaped beachfront property, offering unparalleled beauty and privacy.
It is masterfully crafted in a beachfront Bermuda style and is built 17 feet above sea level to showcase the stunning panoramic ocean views and breathtaking sunrises.
This gated, private estate has a five-bedroom, 6½-bath main house, plus a one-bedroom, one-bath guest house. The multi-purpose living room overlooks the pool and ocean and has a designer gas fireplace with a focal feature wall.
The main home has a custom-built bar, a glass-enclosed walk-in wine room with space for 750 bottles and a comfortable lounge area. The elegant master bedroom has ocean views, two separate baths, an oversized shower, soaking tub and custom walk-in California closets.

Offered at $29,999,999 by Paula Wittmann, pwittman@raveis.com or 561-373-2666, and Michelle Noga, mnoga@raveis.com or 561-801-3885. William Raveis Real Estate. At press time this house was under contract.

ABOVE: The main house has expansive ocean views from every room. The property has a three-car garage, gym and a one-bed, one-bath guest house. BELOW: Adjacent to the master chef’s kitchen are a casual, elegant oversized dining area and an inviting gathering room.

Each month, The Coastal Star features a house for sale in our community. The House of the Month is presented as a service to our advertisers and provides readers with a peek inside one of our homes.

By Mary Thurwachter

Incumbent council member Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse and newcomer Kem Mason outpolled their opponents Tuesday to win Lantana’s two Town Council runoff elections.

Moorhouse, a retired dentist who has been in office since 2004, received 595 votes (59.26%) to John Raymer’s 409 (40.74%) for the Group 1 seat. Raymer is a 21-year Army veteran and manager of Ace Rental Place.

In the Group 2 race, retired firefighter Kem Mason pulled in 607 votes (59.05%) compared to Media Beverly’s 421 (40.95%). Beverly is a retired business manager and long-time council watcher.

Mason, reached by phone shortly after results came in, said he felt “surreal” after the win. “I wasn’t expecting that much of a lead,” he said. He was also surprised by voter turnout, with more than 1,000 residents casting ballots.

“I wasn’t even 100% sure that people would come out and vote,” he said. He thought it would be closer. He wasn’t hosting a victory party but said he may be thanking voters at a gathering later.

The Coastal Star was unable to reach Moorhouse for comment Tuesday night.

Moorhouse and Mason will be sworn in during the Town Council meeting Monday.

By Mary Thurwachter

Results of a Friday, March 11 morning recount confirmed that newcomer John Raymer received the second largest share of votes in Lantana’s Group 1 Town Council race on March 8 and will face incumbent Lynn Moorhouse in one of two runoffs on March 22.

The runoffs in the Group 1 and 2 races became necessary when none of the candidates was able to capture more than the 50% of the vote needed to win in either race. 

The recount, held at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Election’s warehouse, was automatically triggered in the Group 1 race when only five votes, less than a half-percentage point, separated Raymer and a third candidate, Joe Farrell, who has run for a council seat before. Moorhouse received 43.95% (498) of the votes, while Raymer got 28.24% (320) and Farrell came in third with 27.80% (315).

While The Coastal Star was unable to reach Moorhouse for comment, Raymer said he was feeling pretty good. “I know I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. I’m gonna get out there and hit it harder and try to connect with more people,” he said.

The Group 2 runoff is between newcomers Media Beverly and Kem Mason, the top two vote-getters in that contest. Mason collected 43.09% (499) of the votes, followed by Beverly with 39.46% (457). The third candidate, former council member Ed Shropshire. received 17.44% (202).

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 22 using the same precincts as during the March 8 general municipal election.

Runoff winners will be sworn in during the March 28 Town Council meeting.