Honorary Executive Chef Patrick Duffy with Flavors 2020 Chairwoman Richalyn Miller (left) and Cristy Stewart-Harfmann at The Addison in Boca Raton. Photo provided

By Jan Norris

Once again, the Junior League of Boca Raton kicks off its year with the annual food and wine extravaganza Flavors 2020, on Feb. 6 at The Addison.

The 11th year of the dine-around format has 30 South Florida restaurants serving up tasting plates for guests. They get to vote on their favorites this year, and a people’s choice will be awarded.

Among the participating restaurants: Harvest Seasonal Grill, Kapow Noodle Bar, Loch Bar, M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom, Melting Pot, Lemongrass Asian Bistro, Just Salad, Ramen Lab Eatery, Benihana’s, Burton’s Grill and Bar, and Rebel House.

The theme is “Fall in Love with JLBR” — a tie-in to Valentine’s Day.

Flavors committee Chairwoman Richalyn Miller of JLBR worked with the volunteers who stage the fete. Patrick Duffy, The Addison chef and honorary executive chef of the event, serves as coordinator for food and beverage.

Along with the food stations, unlimited wine, craft beer and spirits are available. A raffle, a number of pop-up shops and a live auction are included.

A DJ and live entertainment, including Fred Astaire dancers, will perform.

VIP ticket holders will have their own lounge and get early admission at 6 p.m. and swag bags.

It’s typically a sold-out event with only 600 tickets available.

Proceeds from the all-volunteer event benefit the Junior League of Boca Raton and its community projects, including promoting children’s welfare, eliminating hunger, and supporting Boca’s community diaper bank. 

Junior League of Boca Raton’s Flavors 2020, Feb. 6 at The Addison, 2 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton. Tickets are $100 general admission, $165 for VIP entry. For information and tickets, call the Junior League at 561-620-2553 or go to www.JLBR.org.

Boca Bacchanal is ready to rock the town March 6 and 7. Several events lead up to Boca’s largest wine and food festival, including this month’s Bubbles and Burgers.

Feb. 20 at the Boca Beach Club, Bubbles and Burgers is hosted by the Alina residences. It’s an informal bash with a wide variety of specialty burgers and a selection of Champagne, sparkling and still wines to taste.

Tickets for the party, 6-8:30 p.m., are $100.

Vintner dinners are set for March 6 in private residences and historic sites around Boca Raton. Limited tickets to the dinners are $350.

Six chefs or pairs of chefs have been matched with local resident hosts and vineyard representatives. A multicourse dinner prepared by visiting chefs is the highlight.

The Grand Tasting, set for March 7, is usually a sell-out. The dine-around at the Boca Raton Resort and Club features top wineries pouring samples to match foods prepared by local and visiting chefs.

More than 100 live and silent auction items will be up for bid, including travel packages, wine, perfume, electronics, art works, and experience packages.

To learn more about any of the events or to buy tickets, go to www.bocabacchanal.com.

Prime Catch in Boynton Beach is opening its new dock-and-dine Prime Island bar with events Feb. 7-9. The restaurant has already redecorated the dining room, which now offers water views from every table.

With the new docks, Prime Catch will accommodate more boats. The bar is situated right on the docks. A special Bar Bites menu is in place as well.

For a look, get to one of these events:

Feb. 7, Happy Hour: At all bars, 3-6 p.m. and again 9-11 p.m. Live music, complimentary chef’s table with light bites from the new menu, signature cocktail specials and more.

Feb. 8, Prime Island: Boat display, live music, special tastings and half off Bar Bites menu.

Feb. 9, Prime for Brunch: New brunch menu, Bloody Mary bar with $5 Grey Goose, bottomless mimosas for $15, live music and boating “Funday” on Prime Island.

Prime Catch is open daily for lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more info, phone 561-737-8822 or go to www.primecatchboynton.com.

Lionfish, a sustainable seafood restaurant, is a San Diego import coming to Delray Beach, opening this spring on Atlantic Avenue.
The James Beard Foundation twice recognized the restaurant as a Smart Catch Leader for its sustainable “sea to table” menu.

It will go into the former Luigi’s Coal Fired Pizza space next to Johnny Brown’s.

Lionfish — the namesake fish — is the invasive species decimating reefs locally, as it has nearly no predators. The meat on it is sweet and marketable, but handling the fish’s poison-laced spines is a drawback to mass harvest.

The fish isn’t on the menu at the San Diego location, but with the restaurant’s commitment to locally sourced seafood, there’s a good chance it will appear on the South Florida version.

Sushi and entrees featuring sustainables such as snapper, octopus, shrimp, lobster and mussels are on the San Diego menu and expected to be on Delray’s.

Chef Jose “JoJo” Ruiz of the San Diego restaurant will oversee the startup of this second location. A March opening is expected.
The group behind the restaurant, Clique Hospitality, operates a number of “boutique” restaurants in Las Vegas and California and presents celebrity events featuring foods.

Lionfish will be at 307 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach.

The Butcher & The Bar, coming to 510 Ocean Ave. in Boynton Beach, aims to be a full-service butcher shop, restaurant and old-school bar playing vinyl records. Chef Daniel Ramos of Red Splendor Sausage, and former chef at the Sundy House in Delray Beach, is behind it. No opening date is yet set. Watch the progress at www.butcherandbar.com.

We reported last month that Jewell Bistro would be moving from Lake Worth Beach into the Ambassador Hotel in Palm Beach. After press time, we learned owner Dak Kerprich could not reach an agreement with the owners of the hotel and the deal is off. Jewell remains open in Lake Worth. No word on what restaurant will go into the former Sergio’s at the Ambassador.

Briefly:

The Boca Raton City Council gave a nod to Restaurant Row, an area in front of the new complex approved at Butts Road and Town Center Road. Four 5,000-square-foot spaces are available, plus patios. Already there’s a call out for a bakery, sushi and “high-end Italian” from Prakas & Co., broker for the complex.

The South Florida Garlic Fest, now held in John Prince Park in Lake Worth Beach, is celebrating its 21st anniversary Feb. 8-9. Among the new offerings this year are a garlic-avocado grilled cheese, sensory play zones for people on the spectrum and others; and “luxury potties” available to $5 all-day potty-pass holders. Tri-Rail offers a $5 “ride all day” weekend fare. Go to www.garlicfestfl.com to get all the info and tickets.

Jeremy Bearman and spouse Cindy Bearman, owners of Oceano Kitchen in Lantana, are opening the doors at their new seafood restaurant High Dive, in downtown West Palm Beach. The 5,000-square-foot space in Rosemary Square, formerly B.B. King’s Restaurant and Blues, will focus on small plates of globally inspired seafood. The creative pastry and dessert menu was created by Cindy, a veteran of noted restaurants across the country. Jessie Bell will lead the beverage program. https://www.loc8nearme.com/florida/lantana/oceano-kitchen/3401308/

Another South County name is also opening in Rosemary Square. Andrew Weil will open a second True Food Kitchen in the old Restoration Hardware space sometime this year. Its sister location is in Boca Raton.

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

By Christine Davis

Dr. Peter Asnis has been appointed medical director of HSS Florida, the soon-to-open new home of Hospital for Special Surgery, which has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for orthopedics for the past 10 years by U.S. News & World Report. 

A specialist in knee and shoulder sports injuries, Asnis was trained at HSS in New York before serving as the lead physician/medical director for the Boston Bruins, head team orthopedic surgeon for the Boston Red Sox, and a team physician for the New England Patriots. He rejoins HSS from Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was chief of the Sports Medicine Service.

He earned his undergraduate degree cum laude in biology at Harvard College and his MD with honors in research from what is now known as Weill Cornell Medicine.

Asnis completed his orthopedic residency at HSS in New York. He completed a fellowship in orthopedic sports medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, afterward joining the hospital staff. Asnis is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School.

A board certified orthopedic surgeon with subspecialty certification in sports medicine, he is a member of the Team Physician Societies for the National Football League, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball. 

HHS Florida is at 300 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach. The new 60,000-square-foot center will offer outpatient orthopedic care, including radiology, ambulatory surgery, rehabilitation and sports performance programs.

HSS Florida will specialize in hand and upper extremity treatment, hip and knee replacement, physiatry, shoulder surgery, sports medicine, and treatment of trauma and fractures.

A satellite location is open at 1395 S. State Road 7, Suite 410, Wellington.

 
Dr. Larry Bush has become the 2020 president of the Palm Beach County Medical Society.

Bush has practiced in the specialized field of infectious diseases in Palm Beach County since 1989. He is an affiliated professor of medicine at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, as well as affiliated associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, and his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He did his residency in internal medicine at the Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, where he went on to serve as chief medical resident.

He completed specialty training as a fellow in infectious diseases at the Medical College of Pennsylvania before relocating to South Florida. 

 
In addition to walking in and waiting, anyone with a minor illness or injury can now reserve a spot at a Baptist Health South Florida Urgent Care or Urgent Care Express. With the “Save My Spot” online reservation system, patients can select a desired arrival time at one of the Baptist Health Urgent Care centers, complete a basic form and wait from home.

“During flu season, patient volumes in our centers can be high. With Save My Spot, our patients will spend considerably less time sitting in a busy waiting room when they’re feeling under the weather,” said Luis Bellmas, vice president of outpatient services, which includes Baptist Health’s Urgent Care and Urgent Care Express centers.

Moving from the No. 23 spot last year, Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing’s online master’s degree in nursing is now ranked No. 7 in the nation and is the top-ranked program in Florida for “Best Online Graduate Programs” in 2020 by U.S. News & World Report.

FAU’s College of Business, College of Education and overall online bachelor’s programs also made the list.

“Our college is grounded in caring science, which also extends to and is integrated into the delivery of our online graduate programs,” said Safiya George, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing. “Faculty, staff and students co-labor together to ensure a positive online learning experience, full engagement with the content and learning environment and mastery of content.

“A combination of exceptional talent, use of best practices, and great leadership from our associate dean for academic programs, Dr. Kay Edwards, and our assistant dean for graduate programs, Dr. Joy Longo, are the keys attributable to this success.”

The FAU College of Nursing’s online master of science degree programs include nursing administration and financial leadership, a 37- to 39-credit-hour program; clinical nurse leader, a 33-credit-hour program; and advanced holistic nursing, a 33-credit-hour program.

The College of Nursing also offers a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner post-master’s certificate, a 22-credit-hour program.

The crew aboard Old No. 7, including Capt. Jamie Ralph, pulls into Sailfish Marina on Jan. 10 after winning the 83rd annual Silver Sailfish Derby, with a two-day total of 17 sailfish releases. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

Three Delray Beach natives ran the top boat in the 83rd annual Silver Sailfish Derby, held Jan. 9-10 despite heavy seas and stout winds.

Capt. Jamie Ralph skippered the Old No. 7, while his brother, Dane Ralph, and another Delray Beach native, Nick Cardella, handled the rigging, fishing kites and lines in the cockpit to help the team’s anglers release 17 sailfish in the two-day tournament.

The Ralph brothers honed their fishing skills working out of Boynton Harbor Marina on various private and charter boats. Cardella grew up fishing the ocean with family and friends and bass fishing from a skiff in the canals around Delray Beach.

Old No. 7’s anglers — Austin Musselman of Louisville, Ky., John Duval of Lantana and Billy Bryan of Lantana — chalked up a respectable six releases on Jan. 9, then went on a roll the second day by catching and releasing another 11 sailfish to beat second-place Native Son, which finished with 14 releases. (Native Son Capt. Art Sapp of Pompano Beach ran the top boat, Liquid, in the 2016 Derby).

A few of the 50 registered teams chose not to fish this year because of heavy seas driven by easterly winds that topped 25 mph at times.

One captain said his heart was pounding as he ran his boat through the Palm Beach Inlet on the afternoon of Jan. 9 — when the outgoing tide was pushing against the wind to produce tall waves.

The ride was rough for the Old No. 7 crew, but the 62-foot Titan sportfishing boat was among the largest vessels in the Derby, a sailfish release tournament that the West Palm Beach Fishing Club started in 1935.

“It was so rough you couldn’t even see land half the time,” Cardella said, adding that the view through his sunglasses was blurred by saltwater on the lenses during much of the tournament.

The Old No. 7 team welcomed family and children aboard to celebrate the victory with champagne, some of which was sprayed on crew members who were already soaked in saltwater.

Capt. Travis Ralph of the Reel Captivating team stopped by to congratulate his brothers, Jamie and Dane. Reel Captivating finished 23rd, with five sailfish releases.

The Chips Ahoy fishing team, led by Capt. Chip Sheehan of Boynton Beach, tied for ninth place, with nine sailfish releases. Sheehan operates Chips Ahoy Charters based at Boynton Harbor Marina.

Team No Regrets, led by Capt. Chris Agardy, operator of Fish Envy Charters at Boynton Harbor Marina, finished 18th with six releases.

A total of 244 sailfish were released in two days of fishing. That compares with 201 sailfish released by 43 teams in last year’s Derby.

Restoration takes shape in Lake Worth Lagoon

The first phase of the Tarpon Cove island-building restoration project, located on the west side of the Lake Worth Lagoon in West Palm Beach, is complete, with the second phase to begin this spring. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Palm Beach County recently completed the first phase of Tarpon Cove — another island-building environmental restoration project in the Lake Worth Lagoon, the county’s largest estuary.

The Tarpon Cove project eventually will restore 46 acres on the west side of the lagoon near West Palm Beach’s historic El Cid neighborhood.

The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management used sand dredged for the Rybovich Marina expansion as well as the town of Palm Beach’s channel dredging and the Florida Inland Navigation District’s dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway to fill a dredged hole in the area that had accumulated muck, creating an unstable bottom.

The first phase of the Tarpon Cove project — two mangrove islands — cost $814,000.

Tarpon Cove’s restored shallows will create nearly 35 acres of bottom where sea grass can grow as well as 2.7 acres of mangrove tidal marsh and 2.1 acres of oyster reef.

The islands and shallows, planted in part with mangroves and cordgrass, will improve water quality and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. Limestone boulders surrounding the islands will protect them from erosion.

County environmental officials said coastal birds used the islands while they were under construction in the fall, including black skimmers, royal terns and ruddy turnstones.

Last spring, a pair of American oystercatchers nested on the piles of sand and produced a pair of chicks.

Phase 2 of Tarpon Cove, scheduled to begin this spring, will create three more mangrove islands and is scheduled for completion in early 2021.

Miami Boat Show set for Feb. 13-17

The Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show, based at Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin on Virginia Key, is scheduled to run Feb. 13-17.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Feb. 17, when the show closes at 5 p.m.

Adult admission (ages 13 and older) is $45 on Feb. 13 and $30 other days.

Free shuttles will be offered from Brightline’s Miami station and several parking garages.

For details and a transportation map, visit www.miamiboatshow.com.

Coming events

Feb. 1: New rules take effect for spotted sea trout in South Florida. Under the new rules, sea trout must be between 15 and 19 inches in total length to be legal to keep. For details, visit www.myfwc.com and look for rules on recreational saltwater fishing.

Feb. 4: Boynton Beach Boating and Fishing Club meets, 7 p.m. at the clubhouse building near the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Call 561-614-1550 or visit https://bbbfc.org.

Feb. 22: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom building next to the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $20. Register at the door. Call 561-331-2429.

Tip of the month

Fish in the surf for winter pompano. If you don’t have a long surf-casting rod, use a standard spinning rod holding a banana-shaped pompano jig, such as the Gulfstream High Jinks, which comes with a trailing tail.

Tie the jig to 30-pound leader and cast to a sandbar where waves are stirring up muddy water. Move it slowly, twitching, along the bottom and remember to pause. Pompano feed head-down, searching for crustaceans.

A Florida saltwater fishing license is required, unless exempt. Minimum size: 11 inches to the fork of the tail. Daily bag limit: six pompano.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

Shay Maimoni, founder of Loxahatchee-based Woof Dogs, has trained dogs for many roles, including police, service and therapy. With him here is Asia, a 6-year-old Dutch shepherd who is a trained patrol and drug detection dog. Photo provided

By Arden Moore

Whether you recently adopted a puppy or rescued a dog from an animal shelter, brace yourself for the first year you share with that canine. I dub it the Wonder Year.

You wonder where your sanity went. Unfortunately, fast-growing pups do not come with owner’s manuals. Shelter adoptees often need time to adjust to life inside your home.

Yep, expect shoes to be chewed, potty piddles to dampen your rugs and plenty of puppy mischief to occur. And, kiss goodbye your uninterrupted sleep at night as your pup’s bladder develops and he works on his bathroom etiquette skills.

But these disruptions and destructions are worth it. With the right training, your canine pal will blossom into a well-mannered dog you are proud to take on walks and trips and hang out with at home.

During this time of year, a lot of pups and dogs are trying to adjust in homes after being adopted during the holidays. The best gift you can give your new pet is to invest the time and patience to school him on the basic doggy commands like sit, stay and leave it, as well as hone his social skills in meeting other dogs and people and walking politely on a leash.

That’s why I reached out to Shay Maimoni, head dog trainer and founder of Woof Dogs, where his team’s motto is, “We speak your dog’s language.”

Born in Israel, Maimoni didn’t grow up with a dog. But while he served in the Israeli Navy and then the Air Force, his officers noticed the natural affinity he had working with the military dogs in training.

“I asked a lot of questions to the canine handlers on the base and after feeding and walking the dogs, I got to get into dog training and the head of the base told me that I was a natural at it,” says Maimoni.

He moved to Florida, and for nearly two decades he has trained all types of dogs, including police dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, aggressive dogs as well as friendly family dogs that needed to learn doggy manners.

He continues to expand his knowledge of dogs and is an in-demand speaker at dog training and behavior conferences. Recently, he launched a dog trainer school at Woof Dogs for people interested in entering this profession.

When it comes to working with aggression in dogs of any size, Maimoni follows three rules:

“Ignore fear, encourage curiosity and correct aggression immediately,” he says. “Never pet a dog if he is afraid or shows signs of fearful aggression. Use praise and treats to encourage desired behaviors and if a dog lunges at another dog or a person, correct that dog immediately with a leash and collar.”

Because no two dogs are alike in temperament or attitude, Maimoni customizes training for his clients.

Among them is Ellen DeRogatis of Delray Beach. Ten years ago, she hired Maimoni to help her train Bonaparte, a bichon frisé affectionately nicknamed Bones. Her beloved dog died recently and DeRogatis is back for training tips for her bichon frisé pup named Cassidy.

“What Shay does in dog training is just magic,” says DeRogatis. “When Shay worked with Bones and me, my dog listened to him immediately. He understands dogs and taught me. I had the most excellent pet in Bones and I owe that to Shay. Now, he is working with me and Cassidy. He makes it easy to learn.”

The happy and fast-growing Cassidy is learning sit, down and come, as well as resisting the urge to leap up to greet guests in the home DeRogatis shares with her husband, Brad Keller.

For her, training Cassidy is worth the time and the financial investment.

“Training enables you to have a pet you can really enjoy without the worry of the dog damaging your things, jumping on guests or doing annoying things,” she says. “Shay is teaching Cassidy and me about being consistent and repetitive in our training sessions.”

Maimoni shares his home in Loxahatchee with UT, a Belgian Malinois; Harley, a German shepherd he rescued from being chained in a backyard; Auggie, a Dutch shepherd; Lychee, a senior Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and Onyx, a Staffordshire bull terrier.

With his dogs, training is always part of the daily routine. Maimoni has used all the tools, including his training techniques plus the use of CBD oil to tame thunderstorm phobias in Auggie and improve mobility in 14-year-old Lychee.

“With dogs, it is generally all about giving guidance and building trust so that they feel comfortable around you and then are open to learning,” he says. “I feel very fortunate to be able to devote my life to training dogs and their people.”

For more information on Woof Dogs’ one-on-one, in-home training, group classes and its doggy boot camp, please click on https://woofdogs.com. If you are interested in becoming a dog trainer, learn more at https://edu.woofdogs.com.

Arden Moore, founder of fourleggedlife.com, is an animal behavior expert and host of the Oh Behave! show on petliferadio.com. Learn more at www.ardenmoore.com.

Carl Crispin (center), with his 321 Improv partners Mike Domeny and Jeremy Schofield, will perform Feb. 21 at a benefit for Boca Raton Christian School student activities. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Boca Raton’s Carl Crispin usually sees the funny side of things.

“I don’t remember being the class clown, but I joked around,” he says. “I was a character. I wasn’t afraid to get up and talk in front of people.”

Comedy was a natural avenue for the gregarious Crispin. He tried a little stand-up, but it wasn’t a good fit. All that moody introspection just wasn’t him. What he liked was thinking on his feet, coming up with a witty retort to something someone said. Improv was his major carpet ride to a national career in comedy that brings him back to Boca at the end of the month.

On Feb. 21, Crispin, the founder of 321 Improv, and his partners Mike Domeny and Jeremy Schofield will perform at a fundraiser benefiting Boca Raton Christian School’s student activities.

Crispin grew up in Michigan but moved to Boca Raton with his family in 2003. He formed his first comedy group, CPR Improv, in 1992 and toured with that group until he started 321 Improv in 2004.

For the past 16 years, Crispin and his band of brothers have been touring the United States performing “clean comedy” before groups ranging from fewer than 500 to more than 5,000 in 47 of 50 states. College campuses, corporate events, churches and civic groups are all interested in offering entertainment that doesn’t have to offend to be funny.

Crispin describes 321 Improv as “clean comedy for ministry purposes.” The trio is very conservative about the language and the message. “We don’t want to offend anyone. If we do, we’ve pushed it too far,” Crispin said.

For some comics, offending people is the goal. The comedy that dominates the entertainment landscape is designed to push the envelope, ride the razor’s edge of what’s tasteful and culturally acceptable and what’s not. It’s comedy that seeks to startle people.
Then you see 321 on stage, and it’s not much different from hanging out watching football with three funny, friendly guys. “It’s who we are,” Crispin says. “And it’s what God called us to do.”

The interactive element of improv draws audiences into the show. Using suggestions called out from guests, the group performs spontaneous antics that are funny on several levels and appeal to boomers and millennials alike.

“The best thing is to get both a 17- and 70-year-old laughing at the same joke,” Crispin said.

Improv is not easy. You cannot just phone it in. “There are no scripts, and we like that we’re engaged in every show,” Crispin said. “That’s why we don’t get bored.”

Another factor Crispin likes: The shows bring people to church who normally wouldn’t come. “You can invite someone to church a dozen times and they’ll say no, but you can invite them to a comedy show and they’ll come.”

That opens the door for 321 to show skeptics another side of Christianity, a side that doesn’t make them uncomfortable.

Crispin says comedy makes people happy, but that happiness is not the same as joy. Happiness is fleeting, ephemeral. Joy is deeply fulfilling, permanent, timeless.

Crispin and his comedy brothers say that true joy comes from having a personal relationship with God.

“We always point them back to Jesus,” he says.

If You Go
What: 321 Improv Comedy Night
When: 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 21
Where: Boca Raton Community Church, 470 NW Fourth Ave.
Tickets: $25 and up at www.eventbrite.com/e/321-improv-comedy-night-tickets-88851965621
Info: 561-395-2400; www.321improv.com

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

So Is Life, featuring (l-r) Josh Nelson, Rosalie Will, Ellen Dreskin and Dan Nichols, will perform March 1 at the Temple Beth El Schaefer Family Campus in east Boca Raton. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Cantor Stephen Dubov arrived at Temple Beth El of Boca Raton in 2006 with high hopes, but after just one month in Palm Beach County, died suddenly from an aortic dissection. He was 55.

He had been on his way to Detroit to help his family prepare for its big move from Michigan when he died.

The Stephen Dubov Memorial Concert has since become an annual tradition that rotates from year to year between Temple Beth El and Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton.

This year, its 12th, the concert will feature the musical group So Is Life at 3 p.m. March 1 at the Beth El Schaefer Family Campus in east Boca Raton.

So Is Life features cantor Ellen Dreskin, Josh Nelson, Dan Nichols and cantor Rosalie Will, and it will be led by New York composer/performer Elana Arian in a program of music that goes from sacred to secular and traditional to contemporary.

It reflects Dubov’s diverse life. He was born in Miami Beach, earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of Miami and his cantorial investiture and master’s degree from Hebrew Union College.

What set the cantor apart was his career as a professional actor. He had roles in more than 100 movies and television shows — including a regular role in the daytime soap The Guiding Light — as well as stage acting and performances on Broadway, with the Palm Beach and Miami operas, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The Schaefer campus of Temple Beth El is at 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton.

Tickets are $100 for reserved benefactor seating, $36 for preferred seating, $18 adults and $10 students for general admission.
Call 561-391-8900 or visit www.tbeboca.org.

Why is happiness elusive?

Community Church will host a seven-week series called Life Explored, a safe, informal conversation about faith and God, beginning Feb. 24 at the church at 600 W. Camino Real, Boca Raton.

Questions up for discussion include this big one: “Why is lasting happiness so hard to find?”

Guests are encouraged to ask questions, share doubts and join the conversation.

Life Explored will meet from 5:30 to 7:10 p.m. Mondays through April 6. Food will be provided. Admission is free but you must register in advance at 561-395-2811 or www.graceboca.org.

For more information about the program, email Lori Harding at lorih@graceboca.org.

Jewish Film Festival

The Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival continues through Feb. 16 at four locations in Palm Beach County: Cinemark Boynton Beach, Cinepolis Jupiter, Cobb Theatres at Downtown at the Gardens and PBSC’s Eissey Campus Theatre.

These are the showtimes for films at the Cinemark at Boynton Beach Mall, 1151 N. Congress Ave.

• Jewish Partisans — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 2
• The Last — 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2
• Leona — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2
• Amnesia — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 3
• Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles — 4:30 p.m. Feb. 3
• Winter Hunt — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3
• A Cantor’s Head — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 4
• Gloomy Sunday — 4:30 p.m. Feb. 4
• The Keeper — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4
• The State Against Mandela and the Others — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 5
• Latter Day Jew — 4:30 p.m. Feb. 5
• The Mover — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5.
• Witness Theater — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6
• The Last Supper — 4:30 p.m. Feb. 6
• Crescendo — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6.
• Back to Berlin — 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7
• The Rabbi Goes West — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8

For more info: 877-318-0071 or www.pbjff.org.

— Janis Fontaine

Agnes and Jeffrey Stoops with Barbarito. Photo provided

The 31st annual event, themed ‘Ignite the Future,’ raised funds for scholarships in Catholic schools and recognized people with distinguished service records at the Diocese of Palm Beach. Agnes and Jeffrey Stoops were honored for their work at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Delray Beach. ‘Thank you for your amen to Catholic education in our diocese,’ Bishop Gerald Barbarito said. ‘Your efforts make Catholic education a priority and ignite the future for our young people who are on their way to something greater.’

Bindi Evans of South Palm Beach wears a dress she designed for the Little Miss Nation pageant. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Pine Crest School fourth-grader Bindiya “Bindi” Evans has big dreams and a big personality to get her there. She’s already a model, pageant winner and a fashion designer; now she’s eager to try her hand at acting. “I think I’ll be good at it,” she says.

The 10-year-old girl has her fingers in lots of pies. She says her friends like her because she’s super-positive, doesn’t take sides and supports conflict resolution. “I’m a Libra,” she says. “I like to balance things.”

Bindi’s credentials include her own fashion line, Bindi Fashion Designs, with dozens of dresses — her strong suit — from frilly to red-carpet ready. She credits Nora Marvilli and her company Bella Fashion for showing her what’s possible.

The South Palm Beach preteen is the reigning “Little Miss U.S. Nation,” a title she won wearing a dress that revealed an American flag. But really, Bindi lives a multinational life. Her mother, Rahonie, is Indian and came to the U.S. from Guyana in South America. She is a family nurse practitioner working in cardiology and internal medicine and is pursuing a doctorate in psychiatric and mental health. Her father, Lee, was born in Missouri, and his heritage is French, Irish and German. He’s a medical technologist who works in a lab.

When Bindi was a baby, they hired a nanny who spoke only Spanish so Bindi would learn the language seamlessly.

She did, and being bilingual helped Bindi land a spot on a Telemundo television show in development, working title “Bella Divas.” Step one: Lessons to get her camera-ready in poise and etiquette, walking and sitting properly, and speaking well, skills she’ll use when she visits New York, London and Milan this spring. When she’s not busy preparing for filming the Telemundo show, she’ll explore fashion, modeling opportunities and show her clothes on those trips. Bindi loves the pageant world, but she’s a savvy girl so she knows that for some people, being nice is just an act. “You can tell who your real friends are,” she says.

They’re the ones who are genuinely happy when you win. Bindi wears her graciousness like an invisible crown. She knows that someone else’s success does not detract from her own accomplishments. She’s excited that in her next pageant, in March in Orlando, she’ll be working on the other side of the aisle, crowning the winners and being a featured performer on the violin.

“I think crowning and the titles inspire kids that don’t have confidence,” she says.

Confidence is one of Bindi’s strengths. She’s direct. She makes eye contact. She’s clever and funny. Her hands fly up to frame her face and to silence her mother so Bindi can tell her own story. Her pageant platform is “kids living without stress.” Stress is something she sees a lot.

Some of it comes from parents, she says, who are under stress too. “Be nice to your parents” is her advice. “You don’t know what they’re going through.” Bindi may not know the word empathy yet, but she already understands it.

Her world is full of the arts. She started violin at 3, is learning piano and guitar, loves to draw and paint and likes reading and writing in school. She finds inspiration and creativity everywhere she goes.

“I get inspired by nature,” she says. “It makes me want to design flowery dresses.” One of her most popular creations is a vibrant floral-print party dress with a wide pink sash. Her favorite pieces are a tutu-inspired two-piece leotard and poodle skirt and a neon green outfit that’s an age-appropriate ace-bandage dress but with a big skirt.

Ask what she loves, and she provides a list: “I love Harry Potter. I love anime. I love theater. I love my guinea pigs, Oreo and Sylvester Stallone. I love being unique.”

Her mom looks surprised when Bindi says, “My friends sometimes call me a weird goofball and I’m OK with that.”
But that’s Bindi. Just go with it.

Enjoy sunsets from two vantage points of the entertainment loggia, complete with outdoor kitchen.

This home, a waterfront estate designed by Randall Stofft on a one-acre-plus lot, has more than 470 feet of Intracoastal frontage and a dock with room for a 100-foot-plus yacht.

The home is comfortably spacious with more than 12,567 total square feet. A private, detached one-bedroom, one-bath house is situated on the property for staff or guests.

This home occupies a south point lot, has a gracious layout and panoramic views of the water.

Top-of-the-line details and marble tile flooring fill the formal living room overlooking the waterway.

The main home has a total of six en suite bedrooms and seven baths.

It features a spacious first-floor master, epicurean kitchen; informal dining room; formal dining room; sun-filled family room; state-of-the art home theater; dual offices; exercise room; massage room; loft area, and three-bay garage.

The home’s design incorporates charming elements such as this cozy spot in a bay window.

A five-star resort pool and spa are main components of the loggia.

Offered at $13,495,000. Contact the Friis team at the Corcoran Group, 901 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach, FL 33483. Office phone is 561-278-0433. Contact Candace Friis at candacefriis.com or 561-573-9966; Phil Friis at 561-706-1922.

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 houses.

Patrick Goddard, president of Virgin Trains, speaks during a news conference after the City Council’s 5-0 vote to OK a station in Boca Raton. From left are Andrea O’Rourke, Mayor Scott Singer, Jeremy Rodgers and Monica Mayotte. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

Even before City Council members cast their votes, a euphoric Mayor Scott Singer hailed their approval of a deal that would allow construction of a Virgin Trains station and parking garage on city-owned land.
“This will be a moment of triumph for Boca Raton,” he told residents at a jam-packed Dec. 10 council meeting.
A unanimous council quickly made it official: The city will lease 1.8 acres east of the Downtown Library to Virgin Trains for the much-coveted station and garage, beating out other cities that badly wanted this prize. Even station critics expected no other outcome.
Standing minutes later with Virgin Trains President Patrick Goddard, Singer declared, “Tonight was a great win for Boca Raton.”
“I think it is phenomenal,” Goddard said. “Creating mobility is what we are all about.”
But before shovels hit the ground, the city and for-profit rail company have more work to do.
Virgin Trains will submit a site plan for the station and garage that the council must approve. The plan will provide project specifics, such as the final designs of both buildings, which could spur new objections from station opponents.
Virgin Trains also will submit a study on how the station and garage will affect traffic on nearby streets. The traffic analysis will be used to determine if any road changes or improvements are needed. If so, decisions will have to be made on how to pay for them.
The City Council must approve a temporary parking lot on city-owned land south of the Downtown Library that patrons can use while much of the existing library parking lot is blocked off during station and garage construction.
One significant matter remains unresolved. Virgin Trains wanted the construction of an elevated pedestrian bridge that would let people walk safely across busy Dixie and Federal highways to Mizner Park.
Deputy City Manager George Brown said at the Dec. 10 meeting that the bridge may not be feasible since it would need approvals from Florida East Coast Railway, the county, state and property owners.
The bridge could cost between $7 million and $12 million. The potential price tag is high because the bridge likely would need to be enclosed and air-conditioned due to Florida’s climate. That has prompted concerns about vagrants camping out in the bridge.
An alternative is an enhanced pedestrian walkway at ground level that is less costly and easier to achieve, Brown said.
While Virgin Trains hasn’t crossed the finish line yet, the rail company is expected to move just as quickly to iron out final matters as it did to get the long-term lease. The city and company reached an agreement less than five months after Virgin Trains said it wanted to build a station in the city.
Virgin Trains hopes to break ground in February or March, with the station completed and operating by the end of 2020.
Residents filled every seat in the council chambers and spilled into an overflow room for the chance to speak for or against the project. More than 60 voiced their opinions during the nearly six-hour meeting.
Key business groups, employers and many residents are thrilled to have a station, saying it will lure more companies to locate in the city, increase property values, draw visitors to cultural venues and provide an alternative to clogged Interstate 95 to reach West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, where Virgin Trains already has stations.
“It certainly is a game-changer for our city,” said Troy McLellan, CEO of the Boca Chamber. “The overwhelming support throughout the city is loud and clear.”
Jorge Pesquera, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, said having a station in Boca Raton is like “winning the lottery.”
But residents of the Library Commons neighborhood just north of the station site objected to a 4.5-story garage looming over their homes and fear Virgin Trains eventually will damage the character of the area by developing adjacent city-owned and privately owned land.
Supporters of the heavily used Downtown Library also worry about the potential for multistory development and patrons losing easy access to the building.
Others expressed doubts that Virgin Trains is financially viable and sharply questioned city officials about their rationale for leasing land to the rail company for the nominal amount of $1 a year and paying most of the cost of the garage.
“It is basically a giveaway to a private company,” said Manju Pendakur, a retired Florida Atlantic University professor.
Library Commons resident Charles Bennardini said Virgin Trains’ goal is to develop land near the station.
“They are interested in using your tax dollars to further their revenue interests,” he said.
But opponents failed to sway council members.
“This is about an opportunity, a rare opportunity,” Singer said, later adding, “This is an investment worth making.”
Council member Andrea O’Rourke said 98% of the emails she received about the station came from people supporting it.
“To have the opportunity to have this train station is invaluable,” said council member Monica Mayotte. “The economic value this station will bring is evident.”
Virgin Trains will pay for the $25 million station and nearly $2 million for 64 garage spaces on the ground floor reserved for library patrons, who will park at no cost and will have their own garage entrance.
The city will pay the lion’s share — nearly $12 million — of the remaining cost of building the 455-space garage, which Virgin Trains will operate and maintain. Virgin Trains will give 50% of the garage revenues to the city. Drivers who don’t use the train or library also will be able to park in the garage.
The city’s share of garage cost will not result in a tax increase, Brown said. The money is coming from city reserves.
The city considers the lease a land sale because of its length. The initial lease term is 29 years but with renewals could total 89 years.
Virgin Trains initially asked the city to donate about 4 city-owned acres east and south of the Downtown Library. It wanted to develop about half of that.
The company put development plans on ice after hearing strong objections from residents, but that does not mean they have been scrapped. Virgin Trains has a right of first refusal if the city decides to sell the property after Dec. 31, 2024. The city would not sell it before then.
City code requires any sale or lease of city property to be done at fair market value. There is an exception, however, for the sale or lease of property that would be of “significant economic benefit” to the city.
Virgin Trains provided an economic impact study that says the station will contribute $15.5 million annually in economic benefits, including $10.9 million in money spent by visitors using the train to come to Boca Raton.
In a concession to Library Commons residents, Virgin Trains agreed in November to push the garage 25 feet south. Adding in a 20-foot easement, there will be a 45-foot buffer between the neighborhood and the garage.
The rail company also will pay up to $300,000 to relocate the Junior League of Boca Raton’s Community Garden, which will be displaced by the station and garage. City officials have identified Meadows Park as a potential new location for it because it has ample parking, room for expansion and is pesticide-free.
While that doesn’t satisfy some of the avid gardeners, most Junior League members and gardeners who spoke at the Dec. 10 meeting supported the Meadows Park location.
Virgin Trains’ financial viability remains a concern for some residents. A consultant’s report to the city found that while ridership and revenues are increasing, both fall significantly below projections.
But Jose Gonzalez, executive vice president of Florida East Coast Industries, told council members that the projections cited by Colliers International are outdated because they are based on Virgin Trains’ having service to Orlando. FECI is a subsidiary of the private equity firm that operates Virgin Trains.
Although the Orlando station is built, the start of service was delayed by litigation and is now expected to begin in 2022, he said.
Virgin Trains was on track to have 934,000 passengers in 2019, which Gonzalez said nearly meets the company’s targets.
The company also has approvals to build stations at PortMiami and Aventura. Those and the Boca Raton station will increase ridership by 2 million passengers once they are operational, the company has said.
To protect the city against the possibility that Virgin Trains could go out of business, its deal with the rail company says it may terminate the lease for the station and garage land if the company discontinues service or service diminishes substantially.
In that worst-case scenario, the city would take over the parking garage and could repurpose the train station for other uses.
Virgin Trains, the rebranded name of Brightline, has drawn scrutiny for the number of people who have died on its tracks.
While all railroads in South Florida have struck people, Virgin Trains is responsible for the most deaths, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
None of the deaths was caused by crew error or faulty equipment, according to federal reports. The majority have been suicides, while others involved people who tried to beat the train or ignored gates and warnings.
In early December, Goddard said the company would contribute $150,000 to support the 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Helpline, a service for people with mental health issues.
That would be added to $500,000 in state funding that State Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, is seeking in a bill intended to reduce the number of suicides by train.
The Florida Department of Transportation also has announced it will spend $60 million to make safety improvements to more than 4,000 rail crossings over the next two years.

Inside the work of Gumbo Limbo crew

that strives to be biggest ally of these at-risk sea creatures

ABOVE: Gumbo Limbo workers roll a 350-pound female green turtle named Yamato to the ocean at Spanish River Park before a crowd typical of such turtle releases. Yamato, who was treated for partial paralysis after being hit by a boat, wears a satellite-tracking device and is strapped into a custom-built gurney. BELOW: Veterinarian Maria Chadam raises her arms as sea turtle rehab coordinator Whitney Crowder hugs Gumbo Limbo manager Leanne Welch to celebrate the release of Yamato. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Larry Keller

It’s a typical Sunday afternoon at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and visitors cluster around the aquarium, stroll the boardwalk and explore the butterfly garden.
It’s the injured and ailing sea turtles in outdoor tanks, however, that inspire the most fervent reactions.
A little boy stands at one, gawking at a turtle named Cane swimming languidly. “That’s so ginormous!” he exclaims.
It’s doubtful many of the 200,000 annual visitors are aware of the array of scientists, educators, interns and 150 volunteers who work together to protect and heal turtles, and inform the public about them, or the specifics of what they do.
“They are the go-to place for the south end of Palm Beach County and south of that. These are very important nesting beaches,” says Larry Wood, a biologist affiliated with the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation.
Here are a few members of Gumbo Limbo’s sea turtle team:

Sea Turtle Conservation
& Research Program
“I absolutely love what I do,” says David Anderson, sea turtle conservation coordinator. “Being on the beach every morning at sunrise — that’s my office. You encounter something different every day.”
Plus, people thank him for what he’s doing, tell him how lucky he is to be doing it and snap photos of him at work.
“It must be a pretty cool job,” Anderson says with a laugh. “I feel very fortunate.”
Anderson and his team count and record data during sea turtle nesting season, and a whole lot more. He and marine conservationist Kirt Rusenko are the only full-time staffers in this unit of Gumbo Limbo.
Anderson has a bachelor’s degree in history from Auburn University and a master’s in physical geography from the University of Alabama.
Rusenko has a doctorate in zoology from Clemson University and has been Boca Raton’s marine conservationist since 1995. He was recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association in 2013 for his work in protecting sea turtles.
Five part-time staffers assist them during nesting season, March 1 through Oct. 31. They have degrees or are pursuing degrees in marine sciences, and each has spent two or three years with the team.
Anderson was a middle school and high school science teacher, and an adjunct professor at Broward College, when he began volunteering at Gumbo Limbo in 2006, then worked part-time there in summers.
“All teachers need a second job,” he quips.
When the job Anderson now holds became vacant in 2015, he applied and got it.
During nesting season, Anderson’s team meets at Gumbo Limbo about 30 minutes before sunrise. Then, equipped with tablet computers, water bottles and rain jackets, they head to the 5-mile section of beach that they survey.
Once there, they record information on the types of species that came ashore in darkness — they can tell by the pattern of their tracks — as well as geographic data, whether they found nests, the condition of them and other information.
Then they return to Gumbo Limbo to input the 1,300 data points.
“It’s very data-intensive work,” Anderson says.
He also supervises guided nighttime viewings of wayward hatchlings being released in the ocean, and group outings to search for adult females laying eggs. He estimates a 70% success rate at this — while being vigilant that nobody disturbs the turtles with lights from cameras, cellphones and the like.
In the off-season, Anderson remains busy fine-tuning data for submission to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, attending workshops and conferences and making presentations to civic groups.
One highlight of his job occurred when a high school girl from North Dakota, who wanted to be a turtle biologist for a day, visited courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
It wasn’t a banner year for green turtle nests, so when Anderson took her to the beach, they got a surprise. “One of the biggest green sea turtles I’ve seen was finishing her nest on the beach,” he recalls. “It was like it was purposely for her.”

Jeanette Wyneken, a professor of biological sciences who oversees the Florida Atlantic University Research Gallery at Gumbo Limbo, holds a pair of female 4-month-old green sea turtles that were part of her sex/temperature research.

Florida Atlantic University
Research Gallery
In one corner of Gumbo Limbo’s complex is an FAU research laboratory. Visitors can look down from the second floor upon tubs of turtles, and usually a professor or a student is on hand to answer questions about the work underway.
“Our lab is in many ways unique in the world,” says Jeanette Wyneken, an FAU professor of biological sciences and researcher who oversees the facility. “We’re not only doing the science, but we talk about it in real time.”
FAU researchers once had to lug jugs of saltwater from the ocean to the lab for their work. “It limits what you can do,” Wyneken says. Nowadays, ocean water is pumped directly there via underground pipes and into a storage tank.
Wyneken’s doctorate in biology is from the University of Illinois, far from any oceans. But she had small pet turtles as a child (after her mother explained that a pet dinosaur wasn’t an option) and eventually a box turtle that she kept for more than 50 years. It was more than 100 years old when it died, she says.
Her research at the Gumbo Limbo lab includes an ongoing years-long study into how temperatures affect the gender ratios of sea turtles. Gender isn’t established until after eggs are laid. She has found that the warmer the climate, the more likely hatchlings will be females. In seven of the past 10 years, loggerhead hatchlings have all been females, she says.
“If we have too much of one sex and not the other, we have a problem because we’re dealing with endangered or threatened species,” Wyneken says. A gender imbalance greatly affects reproduction and the survival of those species.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be documenting the effects of climate change,” Wyneken says. “The turtles tell the story clearly and non-threateningly.”
Hotter temperatures not only affect the hatchlings’ gender, but their very survival. Some 79% to 82% of loggerhead sea turtle eggs on the Boca Raton beach used to hatch, but that was down to 58%, and then 38%, in the particularly hot years of 2015 and 2016 respectively, Wyneken says.
“This is serious. They can’t dig themselves away from the hot temperatures, so they die.”
Green turtle successful hatch rates are on a similar track, Wyneken adds. (Leatherbacks nest in far smaller numbers in Florida and are harder to study for various reasons.)
The 2017 and 2018 nesting seasons rebounded somewhat, and 64% and 70% of clutches successfully hatched respectively, still lower than what used to be typical.
Other turtle research at the lab has long been conducted by Wyneken’s fellow professor Michael Salmon. He has shown, for example, that sea turtles can see color, and perceive some colors more clearly than others. One of Salmon’s clever students devised a turtle maze and reward system for the study.
“We now know another piece about the biology of these animals,” Wyneken says.
And the information has potential practical uses. Long-line fishing operators bait thousands of hooks on gear that contains lights. Using a lighting color that doesn’t attract turtles to the baits could help save them from being inadvertently killed.
Gumbo Limbo lab research isn’t exclusively devoted to sea turtles. Professor Stephen Kajiura and his students have been studying sharks, including their senses of smell and sight. And Professor Marguerite Koch is studying the effects of ocean acidification — caused by absorption of increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — on seagrasses.

Rehabilitation coordinator Caitlin Bovery photographs an albino sea turtle hatchling during a release at sea.

Sea Turtle
Rehabilitation Facility
The rehabilitation team could very well be renamed the creative team. Its members have made a brace from zip ties and epoxy. Learned to apply honey as a topical antibiotic. Used medicinal leeches to reduce swelling from fishing-line entanglements. Applied medicinal maggots to remove dead tissue from infections.
“You definitely get creative,” says Caitlin Bovery, an assistant sea turtle rehabilitation coordinator.
Perhaps never more so than last summer when two adult, eggs-carrying females were admitted to the rehab center with serious boat strike injuries.
The hospital team created a quiet environment in tanks for them and, several times, administered a labor-inducing drug. The tanks were drained and the turtles were elevated on a large tire so their eggs could drop with gravity. It worked, but when staff buried the eggs on the beach to incubate, no hatchlings emerged. Still, both mothers recovered from their injuries sufficiently to be released and perhaps nest again.
Not only turtles have received medical care. A porcupine fish in the nature center’s aquarium was sedated and kept damp with seawater-soaked towels while staff veterinarian Maria Chadam surgically removed a fishhook from its small intestine. The fish made a quick recovery.
Bovery is one of three full-time staffers in the rehab unit. She has a master’s degree from FAU in environmental studies. Before joining the rehab team, she was a volunteer.
“I fell in love with sea turtles when I was a little kid,” Bovery says. “I loved the idea of these magnificent creatures that have been around since the dinosaurs. They’re so charismatic.”
Emily Mirowski has the same title as Bovery. She was quoted in media globally in October after she removed 104 pieces of plastic that had been ingested by a sick baby turtle that died after being taken to Gumbo Limbo.
Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Coordinator Whitney Crowder has worked in sea turtle biology since 2002, including managing the Turtle Hospital in Marathon Key for two years. She was invited by Greenpeace to speak with ocean activists including Jane Fonda and Ted Danson at a rally in October at the U.S. Capitol.
Chadam, the veterinarian, is on site two days a week. Turtles whose injuries prevent them from ever being released are usually given to other facilities, such as aquariums. Two are permanent residents at Gumbo Limbo.
The turtle hospital was designed for 30 patients a year but treats from 50 to 100, Bovery says. Helping them all is a challenge.
“We find the space,” she says. “We make the time.”

Thank you for your excellent coverage of the septic-to-sewer issue in Ocean Ridge and surrounding coastal communities. We must, however, face the reality that during the estimated 10 years such a conversion would take, residents’ lives will be significantly disrupted while we are paying millions of dollars, our roadways are constantly torn up and additional hookup costs and user fees lurk.
Further, transferring from septic to centralized sewer will not stop sea level rise now occurring due to the warming climate. In 10 years, some roads will need to be abandoned, due to the extraordinary expense of elevating them. This is already happening in the Florida Keys.
Equally alarming, most of the processing facilities for coastal sewer systems are at the lowest elevation due to gravity flow.
Many such sewer sites are themselves at high risk of flooding, compromising the plant. These plants will need to be re-sited and upgraded, costing the public millions more to correct.
A more prudent expenditure of our funds would be to conduct a survey, as Monroe County/Key West has done, to determine which of our streets will have to be either abandoned or elevated and then issue a budget to cover such expenses.
It is urgent that Ocean Ridge, Hypoluxo Island (which on its own is particularly vulnerable), Manalapan and all the coastal and barrier island towns consider the upcoming costs associated with sea level rise.
The urgency arises because sea level increase is now known to be occurring much faster than previously predicted. All these communities are now experiencing periodic flooding cycles. Many of these roads are at near sea level most of the year.
Our failure to plan and budget for the inevitable would be irresponsible. We ignore it at our own peril. Property values will soon plummet, and insurance companies will no longer offer coverage for property in such high-risk areas.

Terry Brown,
Ocean Ridge

Welcome back to all snowbirds. Greetings to all permanent parties, too. I’m a very frequent walker and driver on Old Ocean Boulevard in Ocean Ridge. My request to everyone is not difficult: Please, when walking, walk facing oncoming traffic.
My mother many years ago taught me that was proper. Of course I always followed her advice.
But seriously, it is so much more comfortable when walking or driving to be facing whatever is approaching. Safer, too. Say hello: I’ll be the one with trekking sticks and the Tilley hat.
Joe Kirk,
Ocean Ridge

The week preceding the holidays, there was a bit of sensationalism going on concerning the community of Briny Breezes — none of it prompted by the board of directors of the corporation, members of the Town Council or the mayor or even a shareholder vote.
Another proposed “billion-dollar sale,” but this time to buyer President Trump to house his presidential library, build a hotel and rename our small community “Trump Town USA.”
Promulgated by real estate agent and shareholder James Arena, who had invited other shareholders to hear a yarn, the story suggested that the president might want to buy Briny Breezes for $1 billion and was supported by his son Donald Trump Jr. and a friend, rapper Vanilla Ice.
The following week on Fox & Friends — and later in tweets — we learned that Vanilla Ice and Donald Jr. were not involved. Tony Kovach of MHProNews.com blogged that “Arena is either being creatively pragmatic or is a con man who should have his real estate license revoked.”
Or perhaps this was all a figment of his imagination. The ethical standards of the National Association of Realtors do not permit Realtors to offer for sale/lease or advertise any property without authority. Arena has no such authority. He invited The Palm Beach Post to this shareholders-only event as he advertised this plan.
Regardless of the story and the unsubstantiated reports of Briny’s ills, Arena has no official capacity within our corporation or our town.
Arena pitched the idea of selling Briny Breezes for a billion dollars several years ago and the corporation received no offers. This sensationalism, while it might be nice to dream about, serves not only to spotlight Arena but it also negatively impacts the residents of our community.
After 60-plus years Briny Breezes is still vibrant. We have many second- and third-generation families as well as newer ones. Many folks are startled and confused by the intimidation factors and untruths being told. This all inspires general uncertainty in our community, all for a personal spotlight.
Briny Breezes is a corporation and would require a firm equipped to handle dissolution of such an entity. A local real estate agent would not be engaged to handle any such transaction.
Regardless of Arena’s efforts, the corporate board members of Briny Breezes will continue to serve their elected positions by always doing due diligence for all shareholders of the park.
The all-volunteer board takes the state of infrastructure, maintenance and financial matters very seriously and has nothing to gain from publicity. Rest assured, the board will always vet any purchase offer before asking shareholders for a vote to sell.
Our hope is the publicity surrounding Arena will not cause stress to our residents and everyone can enjoy a fabulous 2020.

Susan J. Brannen,
President, Briny Breezes Inc.

By Rich Pollack

Crime remained low in South County’s small coastal towns with just 65 incidents reported during the first six months of 2019.
The number of crimes reported in both Ocean Ridge and Manalapan remained flat year over year, according to statistics released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement last month, while Highland Beach, Gulf Stream and South Palm Beach all reported small increases.
The larger cities — Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Lantana — all reported drops in major crimes, with the number of reported incidents in Lantana dropped by 14%.
Law enforcement officials say increased awareness among residents is responsible for both the drop in some communities and the increase in others.
In Lantana, for example, Police Chief Sean Scheller says a number of factors could be responsible for the decrease, including an awareness among residents to report situations that don’t seem right.
“Our department has continued to increase community relations and educate our residents on reporting suspicious activity,” Scheller said.
Also helping to keep crime down, he said, is an increased police presence in residential and commercial areas.  
In Highland Beach, where the number of reported crimes increased from 17 during the first half of 2018 to 28 a year later, Police Chief Craig Hartmann says part of increase is due to residents being more diligent in reporting crimes.
He said residents are also more aware of the importance of locking their cars and removing wallets, jewelry and other items overnight.
“The community is doing a much better job of not leaving valuables in their vehicles,” he said.
Highland Beach reported five stolen vehicles in the first part of the year, and Hartmann said in most of those cases, keys were left in the ignition.
Highland Beach residents also reported several thefts from homes, with police believing some of the missing pieces may have been taken by workers or others who were invited into the homes.
His advice to residents: “Be aware of the valuables that are in your home and secure them.”
He also recommends remaining in your home while workers are present whenever possible.
Hartmann said it appears the town would finish 2019 with close to the same number of crimes as reported the year before.
Overall, crime in Palm Beach County dropped about 15% during the first six months of 2019, according to the FDLE, which compiles the statistics. Statewide, crime dropped about 6% during that time period.
In Gulf Stream, Police Chief Edward Allen reported two cases of suspected “porch thieves” striking in November, compared to none the previous year. Ú

Hundreds of South Palm Beach residents and Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies gathered to get acquainted at a Dec. 12 picnic event on the pool deck of the Barclay condominium. A downpour and blustery winds canceled a planned boat and helicopter demonstration by the town’s new police presence. ABOVE: Deputy Michael Canavan interacts with niece Amelia, who is the grandchild of resident Mike Cavanaugh.

LEFT: Joan Pickford, a resident for more than 20 years, deals with the downpour. She was a member of the preservation committee that gathered signatures to make sure the town kept its building height limit. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

In writing about the turn of the new year the standard is to look back at the events of the past or to look forward, anticipating what the turn of the calendar page might bring. At the end of this year, I’m finding both options to be difficult.
I’m even hung up on the simple act of typing the numbers 2020!
So, as I’m editing this edition of The Coastal Star, I’m searching out bits of wisdom shared by those in our community less paralyzed than I am by the turmoil of 2019.
In our Finding Faith column on Page 14 in the Home, Health and Harmony section, there is sound advice from spiritual leaders in our community. Insightful suggestions like searching out like-minded people to help us attain our goals, becoming more accepting, generous and empathic and removing the word “hate” from our vocabularies. All good advice.
I’d also toss in that dropping the word “should” can be helpful for maintaining healthy relationships and self-esteem.
One of the most intriguing pieces of advice I found came from Michelle Maros, who runs Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life in Boca Raton. She suggests selecting an intention word to help us stay focused on our highest ideal for the coming year. Words like truth or trustworthy (Barb Schmidt’s selections), or maybe grateful or empathetic can help us to focus on who we really hope to be in 2020.
You can read about Maros and Schmidt’s advice starting on the front page of our Home, Health and Harmony section. What would your word be?
As I’ve tried to shed my “Bah! Humbug!” feelings about the new year, it’s been helpful to recall that even the Grinch ended up embracing joy, kindness and generosity. So, as I reluctantly wade into the roiling surf of 2020, I’m embracing my inner Grinch and offering this toast: “To kindness and love, the things we need most.”
Happy New Year.

Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

In a tribute to the time, effort and money that Tom Kaiser has invested in the park, it is now the Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Stephen Moore

Tom Kaiser’s handprints are all over the Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park. The park was his idea and he began working on it in 2008. He raised money through fundraisers and by selling recognition bricks, worked with the city to secure property and hold event and has helped design and approve almost every piece of granite and every written word on the 25 monuments and 12 benches in the park.
He has even purchased or helped buy some of the monuments.
This year, a new monument will be added with a new name for the park — the Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park.
“I know every blade of grass in this place,” said the 91-year-old Kaiser, a WW II Navy veteran. “I love every one of the monuments and benches.”
Kaiser and Stan Gavlick, an 88-year-old Korean War Navy veteran, have been the driving forces behind this park, which is a tribute to all who have protected, fought for and died for the United States.
“Stanley is the co-chairman, finance officer and brains of the unit,” Kaiser said. “He deserves as much credit as I do.”
Gavlick said it’s been a labor of love. “Tom is so generous. Sometimes he would pay for the monuments himself.”
State Rep. Joe Casello, was the first to suggest the renaming of the park at 411 N. Federal Highway when he made a proposal to City Manager Lori LaVerriere in May 2019.
“He thought some of the guys on the City Council would OK this proposal,” Kaiser said. “But we ran into some opposition. It took three commission meetings before it was resolved.”
The first monuments went up in 2008, but there were some bumps along the way. When the city put up a flagpole, it was in the wrong place — in the middle, right in front of the large monument.
“You couldn’t take a picture without the flagpole being in the middle of the picture,” Kaiser said.
“It must have been about seven years ago,” LaVerriere said. “I went to meet Tom at the park, and I started looking at this flagpole and it is right in the middle of everything and I said ‘what is up with that?’ … I said ‘OK, we are not talking rocket science here, so let’s move the flagpole.’ It was a no-brainer to me.”
Two weeks later the flagpole was moved.
The two co-founders say the park is complete now.
“No more monuments are planned,” Kaiser said. “There is no room. The last one was the Purple Heart monument.”
The monuments include tributes to all of the branches of the armed forces, famous battles and groups that distinguished themselves. And for every granite monument, Kaiser has a story to tell.
A pigeon figure is perched atop the Lost Battalion monument, and Kaiser knows the history.
“Carrier pigeons were the most reliable means of communications during the First World War,” he said. “About 500 of our guys were surrounded and pinned down by the enemy and every pigeon we sent was shot down until the last one. Well the last one (named Cher Ami) also got shot down. He took one to the leg, one through the side and he was blinded in one eye. He hit the ground then got up and flew 30 miles to its cage to tell them that our guys were still alive. That pigeon saved a lot of our guys.”
Another monument is a testimony to the USS Trout, a submarine that went missing in 1944 with 81 sailors aboard, including Kaiser’s brother, Robert.
Other monuments include testimonials to Pearl Harbor, Gold Star mothers, the Night Stalkers (the team that was responsible for killing Osama bin Laden), Vietnam vets, African-American vets, the unknown soldiers and the Missiles of October 1962.
Every monument has been made by Lake Worth Monument, and Kaiser and Gavlick are quick to credit that company. “Through all these years, they never raised their prices,” Gavlick said. “We would still be building this park if they had.”
“We did all of those monuments (24 of them) at cost besides the (40-ton) centerpiece,” said Fred Menor, owner of the company. “I made money on the big monument but over the years I have taken them under my wing. I love to help veterans, it’s truly an honor.”
The new monument with the updated name of the park will be installed in early 2020 and replace the existing yellow sign with the heading of Recreation and Parks Department.
On each side of the monument will be a smaller plaque, one recognizing former Boynton Beach Mayor Jerry Taylor and late Vice Mayor Robert Ensler. The other will be a tribute to Gavlick.
“These are all my children,” Kaiser said of the monuments. “We raised each one of these kids. Stanley feels the same way.”

By Dan Moffett

Dozens of South Palm Beach residents seem to have disappeared over the past decade — gone missing with scarcely a trace or a clue.
Whole buildings appear to have been wiped off the town’s map, erased as if by some cosmic delete key.
What sounds like the script for a low-budget science fiction movie has been reality for Robert Kellogg, the town manager, who has spent much of the past year trying to unravel the enigma.
During the Town Council’s Dec. 10 meeting, Kellogg announced he has done just that.
“The mystery has been solved,” he said, “and what we discovered is what we suspected from the very beginning.”
Blame the U.S. Census Bureau.
It turns out the federal government’s people-counting agency made an unfortunate error when it conducted the 2010 census. The town’s two southernmost condo buildings — Imperial House and South Palm Villas — were counted as part of Lantana.
No one is quite sure how the error happened. But it cost the town about 130 condo units and perhaps as many as 200 residents in population. This helps explain why the 1990 census found 1,480 people in the town and the 2010 count came in at 1,171.
In between, there were major problems with the 2000 census, which first put the town’s population at 699 and then months later corrected it to 1,455. For some reason, the government has trouble counting South Palm Beachers.
The consequences of an inaccurate count can be far-reaching. Mail service to the two buildings has been affected. The Florida League of Cities says each person is worth about $1,600 when the state goes after some $700 billion in federal funds each year. Municipal population is also a factor in state and county decision-making.
Mayor Bonnie Fischer said she noticed the error when looking at FEMA flood zone maps that excluded the two condo buildings. This was especially alarming to Fischer, who lives in Imperial House and doesn’t want to go down in history as the first Lantana resident to be elected mayor of South Palm Beach.
Kellogg said he is working with the Census Bureau to correct the mapping mistakes, and the town is hopeful the agency will perform better for the coming 2020 count.
In other business:
• Council members say they are looking at internet alert systems or other ways to get emergency information to residents after a water main break Thanksgiving weekend exposed communication shortcomings.
The break occurred the evening of Nov. 29 outside The Mayfair condos, and part of the town lost water service for hours. Palmsea Condominiums reported damage to its pumps because of the interruption.
A boil-water advisory went into effect soon after the break, but officials were hard-pressed to get the word to residents. Officials resorted to posting fliers in condo lobbies.
“What good is it to put notices up at 11 o’clock at night?” Fischer said.
The city of West Palm Beach supplies the town’s water, and Kellogg said the utility department insists on controlling messaging. Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb said the council has to look at better use of the internet and social media to transmit essential information to residents.
• Three candidates have qualified for two open council seats in the March 17 election.
Gottlieb is seeking another term. Former Councilwoman Elvadianne Culbertson, who ran unsuccessfully last March, and Ray McMillan, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018, also have filed.
Incumbent Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan has decided not to seek another term. Ú

By Dan Moffett

Vice Mayor Don MaGruder’s decision not to run for a second term in the March 17 election left two seats open on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission with two candidates qualified and ready to claim them.
Incumbent Commissioner Susan Hurlburt returns for a full three-year term on the commission after serving out a partial one-year term that began last year.
Political newcomer Martin Wiescholek takes over the seat held by MaGruder, who announced in November plans to move to North Carolina after more than 30 years in Ocean Ridge.
Wiescholek, a frequent contributor during public comment periods at town meetings, says he looks forward to advancing MaGruder’s agenda.
“I will be filling his seat and hope to be able to make a smooth transition, carrying the torch of environmental responsibility and smart government he has held in town for so long,” Wiescholek, an ICT Group managing partner, said in an email to The Coastal Star. ICT Group is a private investment firm advising clients in wealth planning and international investment strategies.
On recent hot-button issues, Wiescholek has spoken in support of police body-worn cameras as a way to protect the town against lawsuits, and he supported letting voters decide whether to require supermajority commission votes to guard against excessive development.
A three-year resident of Ocean Ridge, Wiescholek says he wants to draw on the experience gained living in other Florida oceanfront communities to help guide his commission work. He has scheduled a meet and greet event for 6 p.m. on March 4 in Town Hall, to introduce himself to residents and discuss issues facing the commission.
Hurlburt was the choice of voters last March to fill the remainder of the term left by former Mayor James Bonfiglio, who resigned to run for the state Legislature. He was unsuccessful. Ú