Psychodrama therapist Pamela Goffman adorns her office in Delray Beach with colors and heart figures that help her bring comfort to clients. Goffman is a lover of the arts and an ardent supporter and former board member of the Arts Garage. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

The Arts Garage didn’t exist when Pamela Goffman moved to Delray Beach in 1998, and once it came into being in 2011 it took her another year to get involved. But once she did, becoming a member of the board of directors in 2013, she was all in.
“When I do something I really dedicate myself to it,” said Goffman, a psychodrama therapist based in Delray Beach. “And I felt I did that with Arts Garage because I just love it.”
Health concerns prompted Goffman, 60, to give up her board position this past fall, but she plans to continue her involvement.
The Arts Garage — a nonprofit organization and multidisciplinary performing arts venue dedicated to providing arts experiences to the community — is her favorite cause.
“First, because any community is enriched by the arts, and second, for the education,” she said. “The reason we raise the money we do is to serve all people, but especially kids who can’t afford it. We want it to be successful for everybody. And we succeed. Two summers ago we had two sessions of theater of summer camp that were completely funded by donations. This past summer we had three.”
She will continue to support the Arts Garage and CEO Marjorie Waldo.
“I’m a frequent audience member, give money when I can, get people to go,” she said. “And now Marjorie is bringing theater back, too. There’s several classrooms there now. It’s really great.
“I have been a lover of the performing arts my entire life, and it’s why I do psychodrama.”
Goffman also enjoys traveling with her husband, and especially loves visiting Portugal, where she has colleagues and enjoys collaborating with them professionally while she’s there. She also enjoys going to the theater, movies and swimming.

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and had the good fortune of going to a Quaker high school, and that informed a lot of what I do today. It made me think in a spiritual vein, and psychodrama has a very strong spiritual component.
When I went to college my family moved to Manhattan, so I spent my young adult life in Manhattan. I did my undergraduate work at Ithaca College and then got a master’s degree in social work at Fordham.
Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: My first career was teaching movement to actors in New York City. And when I decided to go back to graduate school … I studied acting and directing, so I worked in the theater and did some television work, mostly in soap operas, little stuff.
Professional accomplish­ments start with the training institute, having trained other health professionals in this fabulous method. That’s something I’m proud of, though I don’t do much of it anymore. But I would say long-term sustainability for me is just the work I do every day with each individual client: working with couples, getting them to access their vulnerability so they can have truth between them, and also my individuals.
And I love my groups. Magic happens within psychodrama. One of the hallmarks of that is you get to reverse roles. And it’s incredible how people 50, 60, 70 years old grow up, because they get to see themselves in the role opposite of what they are. The level of insight and the shifts they make, to become responsible for who they are, is amazing.
The other thing is I give hope to people. What I tell people who come in hopeless and anxious is we have all roles available to us, but we have not been trained to take on those roles. We’re all raised in families and we’re all given a role. When we realize, oh, I could be the bad one, or the nasty one, or the leader or follower, or I could be the good one. How do I do that? It’s not easy to take on a new role, but it’s so freeing and we can expand who we are.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career?
A: Try a lot of things. Like taking new roles. Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t be afraid to try all kinds of things. We don’t really find out who we are for a long time. And until our dying day we need to give ourselves permission to try new things. So just don’t be afraid.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Delray Beach?
A: When I moved to Delray 21 years ago, the reason I chose it is for what I knew of Florida — which wasn’t a lot — it was the one place I saw that had a soul. And to me the soul comes from art. There was art here. Arts Garage wasn’t here yet, but there were performing art venues, music venues, stuff like that.
They maintain the older buildings, and it didn’t feel like it was something along a highway, brand new. And it was anchored by the ocean, which to me is a very spiritual kind of feeling. So I just fell in love with Delray, and I’ve been in love with Delray ever since.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Delray Beach?
A: Has to be the Arts Garage. When it came on the scene, I was like, “Wow, finally, this is fantastic.” They asked me when I came on the board what my interest was and I said arts education for kids, because they’ve taken it out of the schools.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I just finished reading American Snake Pit, written by Dan Tomasulo, a psychodramatist, and it’s both horrifying and hysterical at the same time. It’s kind of fictional autobiography, about the time he was getting his Ph.D., and it was written during the deinstitutionalization movement in the late ’60s, early ’70s. A great read.

Q: What music do you listen to you when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: When I want to relax, standards, like the Great American Songbook. And when I want to be inspired it’s usually either R&B or Motown, if I want to clean the house, or Stephen Sondheim, for pathos. He’s one of my favorite composers.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: I’ve had some incredible teachers who are role models and mentors. And in my field, they’re mentors as therapists, as teachers, but also as human beings. Nina Garcia, Jackie Siroka and Dale Buchanan. Nina and Dale have published a lot, while Jackie is well-known. They’ve influenced me with their compassion, undying passion, brilliance, spontaneity and creativity. And huge hearts.

Q: If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?
A: I asked my family and we came up with Sally Field. There’s a physical resemblance, I think, and because she expresses great joy and pathos. She’s spunky. And I think I’m spunky.

Q: Who or what makes you laugh?
A: My husband, Sam Snyder, has an adorable sense of humor. A turn of a phrase, clever wordplay, physical humor, like Tim Conway. Seinfeld. And Kevin Hart, his movies make me laugh. He’s very self-deprecating. I like that.

By Mary Hladky

Seven municipalities and Palm Beach County have joined forces to determine how they are threatened by climate change and to devise ways to protect residents from its effects.
Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana, Ocean Ridge and the county have approved an agreement to conduct a climate change vulnerability assessment. The County Commission was the last to sign on, voting Dec. 17.
Once the municipalities and county have data on the threats they face, they will take up the task of making the region more resilient.
“We have put a lot of work into the development of this interlocal agreement and are very proud to see it materialize,” said Rebecca Harvey, Boynton Beach’s sustainability coordinator. “This collaborative approach will enable us to confront the challenge of climate change as a unified front, and we hope it will serve as a model for other communities nationwide.”
The municipalities and county set a Jan. 15 deadline for consultants to submit proposals on how they would conduct the vulnerability assessment, and will select one in February to do the work.
The consultant’s tasks will be completed in two phases, with two tasks to be completed by June 30. The remaining tasks will be finished and a final report issued by March 31, 2021.
The consultant also will create a geographic information system-based interactive mapping tool that can be updated with new data and will allow users to zoom in on a specific neighborhood to see climate change impacts or zoom out to see regional impacts.
The assessment will evaluate the vulnerability of people, property, water and transportation infrastructures, critical facilities, the economy and natural resources.
The governments have budgeted $366,797 to do the work and will share its cost, supplemented by a $75,000 Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant to Boynton Beach.
Students at Harvard University Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic determined how much each municipality and the county would pay, based on the size of the city or town, its property values and median resident income, Harvey said.
Boca Raton will pay the most, with the City Council approving the $85,000 expenditure on Nov. 26. The county will pay the least, $20,000, since only small pockets of unincorporated areas are located within the assessment region.
“It is hard to know what to do until you know where you are,” said Boca Raton City Council member Monica Mayotte, an advocate of environmental initiatives. “This assessment will hopefully be our baseline and tell us where we need to go.”
By working together, the cities and towns reason they can get more bang for the buck by avoiding duplicate spending and operating more efficiently.
The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, a collaboration of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and many South Florida cities, calculated about seven years ago that the area could lose as much as $4 billion in taxable real estate with a 1-foot rise in sea level.
But the compact’s data, centered on sea level rise, is now dated, said Katelyn Cucinotta, environmental analyst with the Palm Beach County Office of Resilience. The vulnerability assessment will update the data and take into account additional threats, including storm surge, extreme heat and rain, hurricanes, saltwater intrusion and pest and disease outbreaks.
“What we are doing now is not sea level rise-centric,” she said. “We are looking at different threats. We are taking a much deeper dive.”
Although some cities, such as West Palm Beach, have done their own assessments, Cucinotta said this initiative differs because eight governments are working together and looking at a region.
“It is novel in that it is a collaborative micro-regional effort” that will not be limited to each city’s individual boundaries, she said.
Florida governments are beginning to grapple with how to pay for climate change adaptation.
Monroe County officials have concluded the county would need billions of dollars to remain a viable place to live in the near future, an amount the county would not be able to pay.
Delray Beach learned in February that it will have to pay more than $378 million to raise roads and seawalls to protect against rising waters.
The consultant is tasked with finding ways to pay for adaptation.
Possibilities, according to interlocal agreement documents, include state and federal funds, special taxing districts, revolving loan funds, public-private partnerships and new types of insurance programs.

By Steve Plunkett

Residents got a “friendly reminder” in their mail last month to check how often their sprinklers turn on.
Town Manager Greg Dunham said a combination of tides, rain and the core area’s low geography was causing a slippery situation.
“There’s water standing, you know, on the streets all the time,” Dunham told town commissioners at their Dec. 13 meeting.
He planned to send a mass mailing with a copy of Gulf Stream’s rules on landscape irrigation. “We’ll approach it, you know, in a friendly way,” he said.
Commissioner Joan Orthwein said some people are not even aware of how often their grass is watered.
“Oh, my lawn people have taken care of it,” Orthwein said those residents say.
Vice Mayor Thomas Stanley said some lawns on Polo Drive are watered twice a day. “It’s just a little much,” he said.
And, said Dunham, “In some cases they’re being watered five days a week.”
Earlier in the meeting, commissioners were told excess water had slowed the underground connection of homes to Comcast’s new fiber-optic system.
“We had the king tides, which caused some issues with some of the houses where we were digging. Now when you dig down a foot and you hit water, you need to stop and wait till the tide comes out,” Comcast subcontractor Steve Rosa said.
Rosa said 35 out of 100 homes had been connected and he hoped to finish the job in late January or early February.
AT&T is connecting customers to underground phone lines after Comcast has finished a section.
In other business:
• A decision on the Little Club’s request to install pickleball courts near the Hillside House and St. Andrews Club will not come until April. Mayor Scott Morgan and Dunham made a field trip to the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club to hear the differences between tennis and pickleball and decided to hold another demonstration from inside a Hillside House condo.
• Outside attorney Jeffrey Hochman told commissioners that Martin O’Boyle filed a federal lawsuit similar to one by his former employee Denise DeMartini, claiming the town’s unsuccessful RICO action was unlawful retaliation against him. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued what Morgan hailed as “a very significant decision” in November that the town had good legal reason to pursue the RICO claim against DeMartini and others.
• Morgan and the town’s four other incumbent commissioners were re-elected Dec. 17 after no one filed to run against them in the coming election. The town’s registered Democrats still will vote in Florida’s March 17 presidential primary. Ú

One of Kristine Kreidler’s goals is to make the library more appealing to young readers. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

For nearly 23 years, Sid Patchett devoted himself to seeing the Lantana Public Library shine in quality where it couldn’t compete in quantity.
Five days a week, from September 1996 when he became its director until shortly before his death last Sept. 18, Patchett drove from his home in Miami’s Coconut Grove to 205 W. Ocean Ave., determined to honor the mission he’d placed on the library’s website.
“A Place For Serious Readers.”
“We don’t stock multiple copies of the bestsellers,” he would say without apology. “We use our limited budget to create the thinking person’s library. We’ll get just one copy of a new Stephen King, and then we’ll get, say, The Princeton Guide To Evolution.”
Now the library Sid Patchett loved and led is evolving.
On Nov. 13, Kristine Kreidler began her first day as its new director. She didn’t have to drive from Miami.
Kreidler, 38, was born in Lantana. She attended Lantana Elementary School, Lantana Middle School and Santaluces High School. She still lives in town.
“I want a community library where people of all backgrounds and ages feel welcome,” she said recently. “Think about it. A library is still one of the few places where you’re not expected to buy anything.”
Her first week at work, she was off to Tallahassee to attend the Florida library directors meeting. In early December she was back, but still settling in.
Waiting to be explored on her desk were the three large file boxes her predecessor had labeled “Urgent” and “Less Urgent.” On her computer, she found the letter she’d written back in 2010, applying for an internship at the library she now leads.
“I didn’t get it, and I never met Sid,” she recalled. “But the more I find out about him, the more I wish I’d met him. I don’t know how he drove from Miami for so long. I had trouble driving to Boca Raton.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and women’s studies from Florida Atlantic University and a master’s in library and information science from Florida State University — and failing to receive that internship here — Kreidler began her career with a year’s internship at the Broward County African American Library and Cultural Center, then became the youth services librarian at the Boynton Beach City Library from 2011 to 2019.
She comes to Lantana from the Boca Raton Public Library, where she supervised 17 employees and saw 45,000 patrons attending youth programs in a single year.
“This is my dream job,” she said. “I get to be the boss, but the library’s small enough that I can also interact with the patrons on a daily basis. Most library directors don’t get to do that.”
Yes, the library is small, but it’s growing. When Patchett was interviewed by The Coastal Star in February 2015, he counted about 23,000 volumes on the shelves. Kreidler arrived to find 24,194.
In 2015, the annual budget was $170,000. Today, it’s $217,000, including $20,000 for purchasing new books.
Now Kreidler is eager to bring a younger, more expansive vision to the library’s mission.
“Sid marketed us as a library for serious readers,” she said. “But are serious readers really coming here?” To find out, she plans to sponsor community surveys and focus groups. She wants to ask the library’s patrons, “What do you want?”
What she wants is the best of all worlds.
“I see lots of kids and teens walking by here,” she said. “Our children’s collection needs work, and I’m going to create a young-adult collection.”
The library has only two computers for public use. Kreidler wants more.
“I’d like to create a digital studio for teens, where they could use Photoshop and be more content creators instead of just passive consumers.”
She envisions working with AmeriCorps volunteers and perhaps the Friends of the Library’s 175 members to offer free GED training, homework help and English language classes.
She wants to start a children’s story time.
And she plans to order books based on patrons’ requests and suggestions from the online Booklist, in which the American Library Association recommends upcoming titles.
“I think our strength lies in our size and our neighborhood library status,” she said. “We’re walkable for so many, our staff knows you by name and what you enjoy, so we can recommend books you might like and anticipate your needs. We’re a small municipal library so we have more flexibility in responding promptly to patron requests for materials or programs.”
In short, Kristine Kreidler wants the Lantana Public Library to be a place for all readers, young and old, serious and not so serious.
“I don’t know if I’ll follow Sid’s philosophy,” she said. “If there’s a new Stephen King novel, I might buy two or three copies.”
For more information, call 561-540-5740 or visit www.lantanalibrary.org

By Dan Moffett

The Briny Breezes Town Council spent the holidays examining the résumés of candidates for the open part-time positions of manager and deputy clerk.
During a special meeting on Dec. 19, the council interviewed three candidates for manager and decided one of them was right for the town’s opening.
He was a familiar choice: William Thrasher, who worked for 21 years as the town manager next door in Gulf Stream, until retiring in 2017.
“The love of management has never left me,” Thrasher told the council.
His familiarity with Briny and experience dealing with code enforcement and his record of working with other Palm Beach County municipalities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency impressed council members.
They voted 5-0 to authorize Mayor Gene Adams to negotiate a contract with him. The town will offer up to $38,500, and council President Sue Thaler says she’s hopeful a new manager will be on board within weeks.
The other two candidates the council interviewed were Lee Evett and James McCroskey. Evett is the former city manager of Jupiter; Pueblo, Colorado; Clayton, Missouri; Cape Coral; and most recently Frostproof.
McCroskey is the former city manager of Holly Hill, assistant manager of Daytona Beach Shores and most recently interim manager of Estill, South Carolina.
In November, Town Manager Dale Sugerman and Deputy Clerk Maya Coffield told the council they would resign at the end of 2019. Sugerman and Coffield complained that the workload for their part-time jobs had steadily increased during the last two years, and their pay was inadequate compensation for the growing responsibilities.
Adams consulted with the senior advisers group of the Florida City and County Management Association to recruit candidates for the manager’s job. The advisers help municipalities find qualified applicants for administrative positions.
Thaler said interest in the deputy clerk position has been strong after the town posted a job listing on indeed.com. She said 33 qualified applicants sent résumés, and the council is considering at least five candidates with significant municipal experience.
The deputy clerk currently earns about $30,000 a year in hourly wages, including some overtime. Both the clerk and manager positions call for working three days a week and roughly 20-25 hours.
Sugerman and Coffield attributed much of the reason for their increasing workload to nagging problems with the town’s building permit process.
During Briny’s Dec. 5 town meeting, the council unanimously approved giving Mayor Adams the authority to terminate the existing contract with C.A.P. Government Inc., the town’s building inspection contractor.
Sugerman told the council that C.A.P. continues to cause the town problems because of inspectors who aren’t qualified for mobile home assignments and chronic permit processing errors. He said the company has been unresponsive to staff’s calls for changes.
“We’re at wits’ end trying to get this resolved,” Sugerman said.
The council is considering terminating the C.A.P. contract and switching to another inspection vendor that is more experienced in dealing with mobile home cases.
Alderwoman Christina Adams proposed hiring a part-time permit clerk to help reduce the workload at Town Hall. Her motion was defeated 4-1, but council members said they were willing to re-examine the idea after the hiring of a new manager and clerk.
Besides starting the year with a new staff, the town could have new faces on the council.
Charles Swift and Lynne Weiner have qualified to run against three incumbents in the March 17 municipal election. Seats held by Christina Adams, Bill Birch and Kathy Gross are up for re-election. Ú

By Sallie James

OCEAN RIDGE — Faith, family and friends are the values that defined the life of Ocean Ridge resident Thomas M. Roland, a proud World War II veteran, husband and father who also served his country with stints in the U.S. Border Patrol and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He died on Dec. 15 after a brief illness at age 92.
His grandchildren were pallbearers at his funeral.
The former New Yorker married Eleanor Hakkerup on May 2, 1954, in New Hyde Park, New York. The couple were together 65 years and had three daughters. A son preceded him in death.
“We had a lovely life together,” Eleanor Roland said.
The two lived most of their married life together in Baldwin, New York, traveling to Florida for nearly 30 years as snowbirds before moving here permanently about 12 years ago.
“His biggest thing was family. My dad grew up without a father and his most important thing was to be a good father,” said his daughter Jean Callaghan, of Yaphank, New York. “He never missed a good party and he was very, very funny. He could laugh at himself and he taught all of us to be able to laugh at ourselves.”
During his retirement, he became an avid card player, theater lover and reader. He and his wife were active members of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach and the Ocean Ridge Crown Colony condo community.
A wide-ranging career took Mr. Roland to faraway places such as Thailand, Africa, China, Haiti and Ireland, his daughter said.
“He’d be gone for two or three months at a time,” Callaghan recalled. “He couldn’t have done it without my mother.”
Mr. Roland assisted foreigners with the paperwork they needed to move to the United States, she said. His assignments included being a refugee officer in Indochina and Africa, and working with the Haitian Migration Interdiction Operation with the U.S. Coast Guard, and Northern Ireland’s Project Children Operation.
Most recently, the former U.S. Marine participated in the Southwest Florida Chapter of Honor Flight and traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2018. Relatives saw him off in Florida and more relatives greeted him when he landed in the nation’s capital, his daughter said.
His military service was a source of pride: Mr. Roland enlisted in the Marines shortly after the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Pearl Harbor, becoming a member of the Marine Corps 5th Marine Division “Spearhead” on Dec. 14, 1943. Two years later, he was shot three times during the invasion of Iwo Jima. He was evacuated to Guam, becoming one of 6,218 Spearhead Marines wounded in action.
Upon his return to the States, Mr. Roland attended Seton Hall College. He joined the Border Patrol in 1951 and served in Texas and New York. He eventually transferred to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Montreal.
Mr. Roland was not one to sit still so when he retired, he took another job helping guide couriers with fine art cargo through JFK Airport in New York. He subsequently escorted the couriers to their New York City museum destinations, his daughter said.
“He knew his way all around JFK,” she recalled. Burial was Dec. 23 at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth Beach.
“He is going to be missed. He loved my mother very much. Everybody should be loved like that in their lifetime,” his daughter said.

At issue is the proposed structure atop the three-story duplex. Rendering provided

By Jane Smith

Some barrier island residents are hoping the Delray Beach City Commission will tighten the rules to allow only mechanical devices on the roofs of single-family homes and duplexes in residential multifamily districts.
That way, the maximum height of structures in those districts would be 35 feet with a 6-foot parapet on the roof.
The commission will decide Jan. 16 whether to review the issue.
For single-family homes and duplexes, this translates into three stories and another 6 feet for a parapet on the roof. Behind the parapet wall, there could be an elevator shaft, an air handler and other mechanicals.
But not a grill or a wet bar, said Debbie Lynott of Miramar Drive during the Dec. 11 meeting of the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board. She lives next door to a duplex that is under construction at 100 Gleason St. in a residential multifamily zoning district that begins just south of Atlantic Avenue and extends a half mile south to Bucida Road.
“This is the first time (an appurtenance) is being built on a single-family home or a duplex,” she said. “It looks out of character for the city.”
The issue came up because the city stopped construction of the Gleason Street duplex and forced the architect to seek approval from a city advisory board for its appurtenance — a structure that sits on the roof and is not considered living space. According to the city’s rules, these can exceed height limitations when specifically approved by the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board.
The owners of the duplex, retired podiatrist John DeLeonibus and his wife, Sally, demolished a one-story duplex in March and are replacing it with a three-story duplex, designed by architect Richard Jones. The couple will live in one half. Their son, Jones said, will live on the other side.
The DeLeonibus couple had received a city building permit in July to proceed with a 35-foot-high duplex with a 230-square-foot, 12-foot-tall roof structure that shields the elevator shaft, air-conditioner mechanicals and a grill and a wet bar.
But the city’s newest development services director, Anthea Gianniotes, said the duplex needed city board approval because of the appurtenances. Most duplexes and single-family homes don’t require this approval because they lack this rooftop structure.
At SPRAB’s Nov. 20 meeting, five members directed the architect to reduce the size of the rooftop appurtenance. (Two board members were absent.)
Jones made these changes: reduced the height by 2 feet, moved the air-conditioner mechanicals to the third floor, increased the western setback by 4.25 feet and reduced the area from 230 square feet to 195 square feet.
The elevator shaft, a grill and a wet bar remained.
At the board’s December meeting, when the reduced appurtenance was reviewed, Jones said he was back because of “confusion in the city’s zoning code.”
One- or two-unit residential structures don’t need board approval and can go directly to the building permit stage, Jones said.
“One sentence in the code, a needle in the haystack that Anthea found, says turn left and we went right,” Jones said.
“The neighbors are upset because their ocean views will be blocked by my developed property,” John DeLeonibus said at the December meeting. “They all want to be the last man in paradise.”
He said 47 other appurtenances have been approved by the board.
But the property owner did not say they were all on multifamily buildings. Jones later said they were all his designs, representing six or seven projects.
Veteran residential real estate broker Peg Delp also spoke in favor of approval.
“The community has changed from one where people would need a beach cottage for a month or two to one with more year-round residents,” she said. “Homeowners have certain amenities they want in their homes. … They want rooftop decks and need to have access to them.’’
But the duplex neighbors disagree.
Lynott said she was in favor of only the 6-foot-high parapet on the roof.
“The modifications are excessive, unnecessary and don’t fit in with the character of the neighborhood,” said Lauren Lynch, who lives just south of the duplex.
“If approved, it would open the doors for applications of greater height and permanently change the character of our neighborhood.”
Neighbor Herb Sidel, also living south of the duplex, said, “If we don’t have codes, we have anything-can-go and that’s what is happening here.”
Even so, a majority of the approval board members sided with Jones, voting 5-2 to recommend approval to the City Commission.
“I’m sympathetic with the neighbors who want to keep the character,” board member Todd L’Herrou said when voting for approval. “The role of SPRAB is to approve the things that keep the town moving forward.” Ú

By Jane Smith

Seven candidates are vying for two City Commission seats in Delray Beach.
The incumbents for each seat met the city’s qualifying deadline of noon Dec. 19, along with their challengers.
Bill Bathurst, who last time ran unopposed to fill the remaining two years of Jim Chard’s seat, now has three challengers. They are Juli Casale, a community activist; Jennifer Jones, a self-employed businesswoman; and Debra Tendrich, a nonprofit founder.
Shirley Johnson, the other incumbent, has two challengers for her commission seat: Angela Burns, an educator, and Chris Davey, a commercial real estate broker.
Bathurst, a residential Realtor and previous member of the city’s Historic Preservation Board, has raised the most money of the seven candidates by collecting $65,685, as of Nov. 30.
His donors include developers with projects proposed or under construction in Delray Beach.
Hudson Holdings, which sold its share in the Midtown Delray project in early 2019, donated $3,000 through three entities. In January 2019, the developer submitted a plan to build an eight-story apartment building called Hudson Flats. The project sits west of Interstate 95, south of Atlantic Avenue and between Congress Avenue and the CSX railroad tracks.
BH3, which won the bid to redevelop three blocks of West Atlantic from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, contributed $3,000 through four related businesses, including its law firm. Bathurst sits on the agency’s board through his City Commission role.
Another Delray Beach developer, Menin, donated $2,350 through six related entities. Menin has two projects underway near downtown: The Ray hotel on Northeast Second Avenue and Delray Beach Market, a four-story food hall on Southeast Third Avenue.
A few weeks after the City Commission gave valet operators a six-month reprieve to remove their stands from East Atlantic Avenue, eight restaurants donated $1,000 each to the Bathurst re-election campaign.
He also received three $1,000 donations from the Walsh family, whose hotel holdings include the recently rebranded Delray Beach Marriott, now called Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa.
In contrast, Casale is running more of a grass-roots campaign. As of Nov. 30, she raised $11,660, including a $5,000 self-donation. She also serves on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board.
Her donor list includes associates from the Delray Beach Preservation Trust. Co-presidents Carolyn Patton donated $500 while Joy Howell gave $200.
Linda Oxford, a longtime resident and trust board member, gave $100. Gayle Clarke, also a trust board member and a residential real estate agent, donated $250. Allen “Sandy” Zeller, trust treasurer and Johnson’s campaign treasurer, gave $300.
Price Patton, Carolyn Patton’s husband and a member of the city’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board, donated $500 to Casale.
The two remaining challengers have raised less than $10,000 each.
Tendrich, founder of the Eat Better Live Better nonprofit, raised $8,976, including a $100 self-loan.
Her donors include former CRA board Chairman Reggie Cox, who gave $100.
Cox has promised to campaign against Bathurst for going along with Johnson to have the commission take over the CRA board.
Jones raised $200 in two $100 self-donations.
In the other race, Johnson has raised $31,809, including two self-donations of $100 each and a $400 self-loan.
As with Bathurst, most of Johnson’s campaign donations are connected to developers, hoteliers and restaurant owners.
She received three $1,000 donations from Hudson Holdings-related firms. Johnson also received $1,000 from Pebb Capital, the new owner of the Midtown Delray project on Swinton Avenue, renamed Sundy Village.
Johnson collected four $250 donations from the Walsh family, which owns and manages more than 125 hotels on the eastern seaboard.
Two months after the approval of Joe Carosella’s plans for Delray Place South over the objections of Tropic Isle residents, the developer donated two $1,000 amounts from different entities in November.
His land use attorney, Bonnie Miskel, also donated $1,000 to Johnson’s campaign.
In addition, her law firm held a November fundraiser for Johnson at the Harvest Restaurant in Delray Place, a Carosella holding. The cost was $726.52.
Johnson joined Bathurst in giving the six-month reprieve to the valet stands’ having to move off Atlantic Avenue.
A few weeks later in October, eight restaurant owners donated $1,000 each.
Challenger Burns has raised $3,575, as of Nov. 30. The amount includes two self-donations, one for $50 and the other for $200.
Burns’ donors include Reggie Cox, who donated $500, and Charles Ridley, president of the West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition, who donated $250.
They both have criticized Johnson, whose actions led to the City Commission’s taking over the CRA.
Johnson’s latest challenger, Davey, entered the race on Dec. 13. His civic experience includes former vice chair of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, current chairman of the city’s Board of Adjustment and current member of the city’s Comprehensive Plan Update Committee.
He also is a member of the nonprofit Delray Beach Preservation Trust.
Davey lost a 2014 City Commission bid to Al Jacquet. Davey was ahead at the polls by 429 votes, but he lost by 265 votes when absentee ballots (now called mail-in ballots) were counted.
Because of his late entry, Davey has not reported any campaign contributions.
The seats are not restricted. All Delray Beach voters can pick a candidate for each seat on March 17. City voters also will decide on a charter amendment that changes the date for commissioners’ and mayor’s salary increases:
“Commissioner/mayor salaries currently, any ordinance proposing to increase the annual salaries of the mayor and commissioners is not effective unless adopted at least six (6) months prior to the next regular city election. The charter amendment eliminates the six (6) month requirement and proposes that mayor and commissioner salary increases become effective at the next organizational meeting held on or after the last Thursday in March.”

The Pattons are founding partners in The Coastal Star.

By Mary Thurwachter

Council members up for re-election in Lantana on March 17 will face opposition from two political newcomers and longtime residents.
Mark Allen Zeitler, 63, an air-conditioning contractor, will challenge Edward Shropshire, 67, for the Group 3 seat that Shropshire won by a 2-vote margin in 2017. Shropshire is semi-retired from Cemex (formerly Rinker Materials) but continues as a driver trainer and safety coordinator.
Karen Lythgoe, 60, is running for the Group 4 seat held by Philip J. Aridas, 65, who has been in office since 2011.
Zeitler and Shropshire live across the street from each other in the Lantana Heights neighborhood and have different views about code enforcement.
“Part of the reason I’m seeking office is that neighbors, some of the longtime residents that I grew up with, encouraged me to run,” Zeitler said.
“Lantana to me has always been a middle-class, working man’s type of area, and to me it’s going the wrong way in terms of code enforcement,” said Zeitler, whose family moved to Lantana in 1959. “I remember back when people had no yards and boats were parked in the swales and things like that, and to me it’s really starting to come along.
“But I don’t think we need to have more code enforcement laws and create a gated-type community with condo commandos. That’s what I’d like to put a slowdown on. We do need code enforcement, but we just don’t need to be making new codes to basically benefit what appears to be just him,” referring to Shropshire.
A resident since 1979, Shropshire has said that Lantana is no longer the seaside village it was and voted to add an additional code enforcement officer because the town was “looking terrible.”
Lythgoe, a security analyst for a Fortune 500 company, has lived in Lantana since she was 4.
“I had a wonderful childhood here and I want to make sure other children have the same memories,” she said. Her late husband was David Lythgoe of Lythgoe Plumbing, a business that was in Lantana since 1947.
“I’ve not been active in government,” she said. “Someone called me and said, ‘Come on, these two guys are running unopposed; we’d like to shake things up a little bit.’ I’m comfortable in my life and I’d like to give something back to the town that gave me such a great childhood. I’ve been a political junkie all my life.
“I’ve got an awesome granddaughter and I’m running for her,” she said. “I’m doing this to show her you can do anything at any age.”
One issue that concerns Lythgoe is traffic.
“As a child, I rode my bike all over this town through all the little streets, and now people just go racing up and down the roads. Everybody is in a hurry. There’s just so much traffic. It’s just not safe for kids,” she said.
She would like kids to play outdoors more, away from their electronic devices.
Aridas, a resident of Lantana since 1977, works for Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation and wants kids and adults to spend more time outdoors, too. He’s pleased with the council’s implementation of the first dog park in the town at Maddock Park, as well as having made significant improvements to the skate park there. He has been a staunch supporter of the new Lyman Kayak Park and thinks it’s important to provide residents with fun things to do within the town. Council members are elected to three-year terms with no term limits and are elected townwide. Ú

By Sallie James

The beloved Boca Raton Children’s Museum temporarily closed its doors on Dec. 19 to make way for changes that will take place under a new boss: the city’s Recreation Services Department.
Boca Raton is taking over the popular, but cash-strapped, kids’ destination in hopes of keeping the facility open for a long, long time. A reopening date had not been scheduled.
Florence Fuller Child Development Centers handed over the keys last month after taking charge on Oct. 20, 2014, when the museum nearly closed because of dire financial straits. The museum has been on life support for years.
Museum officials are hopeful the new arrangement will give the museum a new lease on life.
“The city has the resources and the ability to really enhance the museum and bring it to the level it should be,” said Ellyn Okrent, president and CEO of Florence Fuller. “A lot is going on with the city with the (Brightline) and the revitalization of the downtown. It was just a good time.
“It’s a great story. There are no secrets. The city is going to make the investments to reopen it and make it better and an even more exciting place for our families.”
No one from the city could be reached for comment during the holidays.
A Dec. 13 memo on the museum website noted that the city will “communicate with residents and visitors about the status of the assessment, programming and reopening dates.” The memo says questions and comments can be sent to ChildrensMuseum@myboca.us.
Mary Sol Gonzalez, chair of the museum’s board, told City Council members in September that 25,858 people visited over the past year. The council gave the nonprofit a $20,000 general grant in its 2020 budget.
Boca Raton also gave the museum $100,000 two years ago to renovate its cottage.
Okrent said the takeover is good news for the museum.
“They want to make it a destination place for children and families for our community,” Okrent said. “We gave it a lifeline for over five years.”
Okrent said the buildings have been refurbished with new roofs, new air conditioning and that they were tented for termites. Sidewalks were also installed.
“I think it has a really bright future and we’re very excited about it,” she said.
Any outstanding museum memberships will be paid back on a pro-rated basis. 

Carolers from the County Pocket delight their neighbors on Dec. 22 with song before Christmas. Caroling has been a tradition in the neighborhood off and on for the past 20 years. ABOVE: In the front row (l-r) are Lincoln Paul-Haus, Holly Harris, Jillian Chapman, Finn Chapman and Paris Paul-Haus. In the back row (l-r) are Patricia Lenihan, Marie Chapman, Glenn Chapman, Katherine Moseley, Liz Loper and Colleen Paul-Haus. BELOW: The carolers sing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ to Bill and Nancy Aceto in Briny Breezes. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

A judge has recommended that the Florida Commission on Ethics dismiss allegations of sexual harassment against Lantana Mayor David Stewart.
Administrative Law Judge Cathy M. Sellers, in her official Recommended Order to the Commission on Ethics filed on Dec. 16, wrote that Stewart did not violate ethics law.
Sellers presided over a full evidentiary hearing on the case in West Palm Beach on Sept. 24.
Stewart, 67, was accused of misusing his position to obtain a sexual benefit for himself and soliciting sex from a constituent based on an understanding his vote, official action or judgment would be influenced.
The Commission on Ethics is set to take final action on the matter March 6 in Tallahassee. But the panel, its website notes, “is limited in its ability to modify findings of the ALJ.”
In October 2018, the commission found probable cause to pursue both allegations.
“My attorney advised me that the administrative law judge has entered a favorable recommendation,” Stewart said. “I’m very grateful that the judge was able to see the truth. I’m hoping that the Commission on Ethics will concur and that my family and I can move on with our lives and I can focus on the needs of Lantana residents without these false allegations.”
The complaint was filed in January 2018 by Lantana resident Catherine Padilla, 55, who said the two had become friends when both attended meetings of the Hypoluxo-Lantana Kiwanis Club. The friendship took an objectionable turn in 2015, she claimed, when the two had lunch after a morning Kiwanis meeting, after which he drove her to a motel and propositioned her for sex. Padilla said she told him she “wasn’t interested” and that he drove her back to her car.
Padilla said Stewart called her a week or two later and said he would guarantee her street would get speed tables, a safety measure for which she had lobbied, if she would have sex with him at the motel.
In August 2015, the Lantana Town Council unanimously voted in favor of the traffic-calming speed humps for Padilla’s street.
Stewart has consistently maintained that Padilla’s accusations were totally false and that he has never asked for, or accepted, anything in exchange for a vote.
Padilla said she had not received official word of the recommendation but was expecting to hear something by the end of the year.
“I never for a minute thought that this would be dismissed,” she said. “I believe in karma. People will get what they deserve in the end.” Ú

The six armed forces monuments will go in front of the Bicentennial Park marker. Rendering provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Monuments recognizing the U.S. armed forces are in the works at Lantana’s Bicentennial Park on East Ocean Avenue. Individual markers about 20 inches high will honor the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Merchant Marine.
The town approved the plan at its Dec. 9 meeting after hearing details of the proposal from council member Ed Shropshire, who first pitched the plan in June. Shropshire has worked with community leaders to secure funding.
Last January, when the Dollar Tree was seeking approval for its site plan, the Town Council requested the business erect artwork in the town, preferably on its site. In lieu of the artwork, the developer, Steve Dworkin, agreed to pay for the veterans monuments, including installation.
Shropshire said the town has “a bit of a dedication to our veterans” at the Recreation Center on South Dixie Highway, “but I felt we needed something more.”
“Walking through Bicentennial Park, I realized what a perfect location for something like this. I talked to Mr. Dworkin and he said he’d love to be able to donate funding for the entire project.”
Shropshire said people had asked him why he included the Merchant Marine. “People don’t realize that during World War II and Vietnam and Korea, they did serve as part of the American armed forces moving men and materials.”
While all council members said they liked the idea of honoring veterans, Mayor Dave Stewart had concerns about both the location and the funding source. He said the Recreation Center, where a large mural honors veterans, would be a more suitable location for the monuments.
“I’m not saying this is a bad project,” Stewart said, “but it’s taking money that was supposed to be used for another reason: art. I think back to 2003 when we did the memorial at the end of the rec center. Stanley Gundlach (of Gundlach’s Marina) and myself went out and secured about $10,000 in donations to have that painting done.”
The mayor said he has learned from the Cultural Council and other towns that art increases the value of a municipality, and he wants that for Lantana.
“That was the purpose of requesting it for Water Tower Commons, the 7-Eleven and certain areas that have art, and I would like to make sure we still have art going,” he said.
Shropshire said he and Dworkin had talked about art, and Dworkin and his people came up with a dead end. “One afternoon, I brought up the idea of the monument and he said he would like to do that with this money,” Shropshire said.
As far as getting new development sources to put up public art, Shropshire said: “We requested, we didn’t demand it. He just more or less volunteered for the art in public places and he and I think that this would be a good substitute because it is artwork in a sense and will honor the brave men and women of this town and provide a beautiful backdrop and be another addition to a downtown waterfront area.”
Council member Lynn Moorhouse said he thought adding monuments at Bicentennial was a nice idea.
“I frankly would rather see the six services recognized than a big butterfly at the end of the Dollar Tree or something,” Moorhouse said.
When the vote was taken, the mayor voted to approve as did the others. Council member Phil Aridas was absent. Ú

Antonio Falvella teaches an Italian language survival class for travelers at Nada’s Italy. From left are Alan Levy, Joanne Weingarden, and Jeff and Kim Jolicoeur. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lucy Lazarony

Not everyone has the time or money to fly to Italy.
But anyone can tap into the culture with a visit to Nada’s Italy in Delray Beach. And when people do want to experience the real deal — a country known for its contributions to the worlds of art, architecture, food, fashion, opera, literature, design and film — Nada’s Italy can help with that as well.
Nada Vergili owns Nada’s Italy, a travel and tour company in Pineapple Grove, and whether leading a tour or a class, she loves sharing the very best of her home country.
On Saturdays, starting at 4 p.m., her company provides free classes, each with something different about Italy. For example, this month’s classes include language (Jan. 11 for intermediate and advanced speakers of Italian and a Jan. 25 survival guide for travelers) and a presentation on Naples and the Amalfi Coast (Jan. 18).
“One of the best parts of my job is sharing Italy with the rest of the world. My home is one of my passions and it is a pleasure to share this beautiful country with so many people looking to experience la dolce vita,” says Vergili, 42, who was born and raised in Florence, capital of the Tuscany region. She moved to the United States when she was 22.
Vergili designs her tours to provide authentic travel experiences.
“We have small groups — never more than 12 — and we move around in executive Mercedes vans with a private driver, not the big-bus style of mass tourist transit,” she says. “We work mostly with small, boutique hotels. Some only have seven or eight rooms, but they’re luxury. You could be in a medieval castle. You could be staying in a Renaissance villa in the countryside. You could be staying at a family-run boutique hotel in the Amalfi Coast, overlooking the sea. Our excursions are authentic Italian experiences. We provide a view of Italy the way it is supposed to be seen.”
What is the best part of a tour with Nada’s Italy?
“Many would say the food but, more than anything individuals absolutely love the experiences,” Vergili says. “The tours we provide throughout the days and evenings are led by an amazing group of English-speaking Italian guides. One word that is found within our reviews time and time again to describe our tours is ‘magical.’”
When and why did Nada’s Italy move to Pineapple Grove in Delray Beach?
“In 2012, a road trip down the East Coast with a friend, after her marriage ended, brought me to Delray Beach. Both my friend and I fell in love. The vibe of Delray is eclectic. I thought this is going to be my new home, immediately. It took a few years of house hunting and visiting as a tourist, but I purchased a home in Lake Ida three years ago and subsequently the office in Delray was a must-have,” Vergili says.
“Our most popular tours are: Jewels of the Amalfi Coast, Italian Treasures, and Northern Delights. Some of our more seasoned travelers love Flavors of Verona and Lake Garda, as well as our Tuscan Villages and Cinque Terre tour,” Vergili says.
Nada’s Italy is at 119 NE Second Ave. It has a second location in Charlotte, North Carolina. Call 877-959-8365 or visit www.nadasitaly.com.

Sometimes it’s nice to be home for the holidays. Sometimes it’s nicer to get away, especially for people who’d like to experience sun, warmth and beach rather than clouds, cold and snow.
As usual, the Boca Raton Resort & Club was fully aware that guests would be arriving and was all decked out for the holidays. It ranked No. 3 among the 10 best hotels for the holidays in USA Today’s  Reader’s Choice awards, which polled travel experts, editors and readers from around the world.

How do South County cities stack up against other cities in America where populations and job opportunities are rising rapidly? The personal finance website SmartAsset, in a study of boom towns, has some answers.
SmartAsset looked at data for 500 of the largest cities across seven metrics: population change, unemployment rate, change in unemployment rate, GDP growth rate, business growth, housing growth and change in household income.
It listed the top 50. Boca Raton was rated No. 20, and Boynton Beach placed No. 47.
Delray Beach was unranked.
For Boca Raton, over five years, its population increased 8.67%. Its average yearly gross domestic product grew 3.39%. Over five years, its number of establishments grew 10.32%. And it had a 19.42% five-year housing growth rate.
For Boynton Beach, over five years, its population grew 6.72%. Its average yearly GDP grew 3.39%. The number of its establishments grew 10.32%, and its housing market grew 4.34% over five years.

See full report: https://smartasset.com/mortgage/top-boomtowns-in-america-2019

The Lantana Kmart at 1201 S. Dixie Highway will be closing by February, according to TransformCo, the company that purchased the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation (including Kmart stores) last February. Shoppers will notice “Going Out of Business” signs on the doors.
With the rise and convenience of online retail, big-box stores like Kmart are scaling back their brick-and-mortar operations because they are not finding the same type of economic vitality experienced in the past.
In September, the Lantana Town Council approved a change to its comprehensive land-use plan that could pave the way to replace the shopping center anchored by Kmart at the northwest corner of Hypoluxo Road and South Dixie Highway with apartments.

Webber International University in Babson Park elected entrepreneur and real estate developer Harold “Sonny” Van Arnem to its board of trustees at its annual board meeting in October.  Van Arnem, an Ocean Ridge resident who has founded and owned a number of businesses, is chairman of Van Arnem Properties, a real estate development firm at 265 NE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach.

Shannon Duff has joined Oxbridge Academy as associate director of academic advising, student services and college counseling. Duff earned a BA in history at Yale and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She worked as an analyst and, later, as an associate at Lehman Brothers in New York.
Oxbridge named Tyler Grimes as distinguished visiting artist in musical theater for the school year. Grimes is the managing director of the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts in Fort Lauderdale, which conducts musical theater workshops internationally.

Catherine Strader, assistant vice president of sales and service manager at Legacy Bank of Florida, 50 NE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach, and vice chairman of the Boynton Beach Professionals leads group, won the monthly Boynton Beach Professionals’ recognition award for November. For information on the leads group, email boyntonbeachprofessionals@gmail.com. 

Real estate agent Deborah Bacarella earned the Commitment to Excellence endorsement from the National Association of Realtors, in recognition of her knowledge and competency in her real estate practice. Bacarella is an agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus, 900 E. Atlantic Ave., Suite 10, Delray Beach.

The Boca Chamber says a Diamond is a dedicated, inspiring, accomplished, motivated, outstanding, noble and driven businesswoman, and each year, it selects a deserving recipient for its Diamond Award. In December, the Chamber chose Clara E. Bennett, executive director of the Boca Raton Airport Authority, as its 2020 Diamond Award recipient.
Bennett leads a team of aviation professionals in the business, operations, marketing and development of the Boca Raton Airport.
In addition to her 28 years as an airport executive, she maintains several professional affiliations, which include twice serving as chair of the Florida Airports Council. She is also a member of the board of directors of the National Air Transportation Association.
Rhea Jain, creator of her clothing line, Renoosh, received the Pearl Award, which is given to a young woman who has graduated from the Boca Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy program. The award recognizes her leadership abilities.
Bennett and Jain will be recognized Feb. 21 at the Chamber’s annual Diamond Awards luncheon at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. 

Amy Snook, a partner in the All About Florida Homes team of Lang Realty, Delray Beach, was inducted into the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Honor Society, during the Realtor Revolution Conference and annual meeting at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. 
“We are very fortunate to know highly involved, passionate, and dynamic members such as Ms. Snook,” said Jessica Lowe, vice president of programs for the association. “We are beyond thankful for her contribution to our association and participation in events, volunteerism, education, conferences and governance, global and commercial alliances.”  

The Institute for Regional Conservation, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection, restoration, and long-term management of biological diversity, celebrated its 35th anniversary with events to share its story and the importance of its work in Delray Beach and Miami. Sponsors in the Delray area were John Campanola, agent for New York Life, BCoSF Media, attorney Erin Deady, Central Park Taekwondo, mental health counselor Martin Nathan and Valentina’s Pizza and Pasta. 

Erin Deady, a Delray Beach resident who operates a law practice and consulting firm, for the sixth time participated in an AIDS/HIV bicycle ride from Miami to Key West.
The ride raised more than $1.36 million, with proceeds to benefit South Florida charities such as Broward House, Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Metro Inclusive Health, Pridelines, AIDS Help, Miracle of Love, and Compass Community Center.

Real estate investor Sharon Restrepo will speak about how you can increase profits with less stress while renovating at the Boca Real Estate Investment Club’s monthly meeting, set for Jan. 9 at the Double Tree Deerfield Beach, 100 Fairway Drive. Cost is $20. For more information, call 561-391-7325.

Christine Davis Mary Thurwachter contributed to this column.

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

By Amy Woods

The board of trustees of Quantum Foundation has approved six new grants totaling $424,000 to Palm Beach County-based nonprofits.

The agency’s mission is to fund initiatives that improve the quality of health in the community.

“This grant cycle focuses on greater access to health resources and stronger connections to result in an overall healthier community,” foundation President Eric Kelly said. “We fund organizations that take an upstream approach to making Palm Beach County a healthy place to live, work and play.”

Among the allocations was a $75,000 distribution to Palm Health Foundation’s BeWellPBC, an initiative that targets the behavioral health needs of youths and families.

“BeWellPBC works with local partners to bridge relationships and current gaps in care coordination throughout the county, especially to the underserved communities,” Executive Director Lauren Zuchman said. “We are grateful to Quantum Foundation not only for providing funding but for being a true partner in this initiative.”

Food delivery truck gifted to Boca Raton nonprofit
Boca Helping Hands finally unveiled its new refrigerated truck, made possible by $150,000 in donations from the community.
The funds were raised in short order following media reports about the sudden death of the old truck, affectionately known as “Grandpa Bear.”

“We are simply astounded and so grateful for the incredible outpouring of support from the community and particularly appreciate the media getting the word out about this,” said Greg Hazle, the nonprofit’s executive director. “Even a couple of our clients pitched in after seeing our story on TV and online, giving us what they could to help and wishing they could give more.”

Hazle said the 24-foot vehicle will enable the organization to fulfill and expand its efforts to feed families in need.

In other Boca Helping Hands news, West Boca Medical Center sponsored a Thanksgiving food drive. In all, more than 520 pounds of nonperishables were donated by each hospital department.

Lang Realty donates to American Cancer Society
As part of its Open the Door for a Cure campaign, Lang Realty contributed more than $13,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The money was raised through proceeds from the sale of each home in October.

“This was a company-wide effort that included donations from each closing contributed by our agents,” company President Scott Agran said. “Many of our own agents and staff have personally battled this disease or have gone through this with loved ones.  We are delighted to support this worthy cause.”

Super Bowl raffle to help local children’s charities
Boca West Children’s Foundation is raffling off VIP packages for Super Bowl LIV, taking place Feb. 2 in Miami.

Packages include a pair of seats near midfield, limousine service to and from Hard Rock Stadium and a $400 gift card for dinner at the restaurant of the ticket-holder’s choice.

Tickets cost $100, and a recipient will be selected for every 500 sold. The drawing is set for Jan. 10. All proceeds benefit local children’s charities.

To enter, visit www.bocawestfoundation.org/ways-to-give and earmark the donation for the raffle. For more info, call 488-6980.

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

The patio at Jewell Beach, in the Ambassador Hotel, will offer sunset views. Photo provided

By Jan Norris

Big news for fans of Dak Kerprich, the chef who originally made his chops with South County diners at Pizzeria Oceano in Lantana.
The owner of Jewell Bistro on Dixie Highway in Lake Worth Beach plans to move across the bridge.

Jewell Beach is taking over Sergio’s in the Ambassador Hotel, a Palm Beach co-op that will become a boutique hotel under the ownership of the Richard Schlesinger family.

At Schlesinger’s request at the end of December, Kerprich is setting up a deal that puts him in as the operator of the 150-seat restaurant with patio space and a full bar. Marsha Kerprich, his wife and business partner, will handle the front of house as well as pastries.

Upgrades are planned, as the main oceanfront hotel was built in 1947, with buildings added in the 1960s.

The new owners are making cosmetic changes for this season: “painting, new furniture, things like that,” Kerprich said. New ceilings and floors have been installed. A major renovation is planned for the following year, he said.

The restaurant faces west. “It’s big and bright, and overlooks the pool. We’ll have tables outside on the patio. The sunsets are spectacular,” Kerprich said.

The kitchen is hotel-sized and a big change from the barely 80-square-foot one he leaves behind at the Dixie Highway restaurant.
Along with favorites from the small, daily bistro menu, a few items will be added for the lunch and dinner service. It will remain a manageable list, however, with fresh local products and fish as the backbone.

“It’s still all about the seafood,” Kerprich said. The oceanfront location makes it that much more relevant, he said. “The burger will be the only red meat. No other red meat — seafood and vegetables will be the main focus,” he said. “Light and casual.”

A grab-and-go or continental breakfast will be offered featuring Marsha’s pastries.

A Sunday brunch set around the pool is planned once the place is up and running. Restaurant guests will be able to use the pool as well.

Live music, bingo and other activities are being discussed as part of the Sunday brunch, making it a party-like setting.

“We’ll be modern casual. We don’t want to be as formal or stuffy as some of my other neighbors,” Kerprich said.

Those neighbors include The Four Seasons Palm Beach, and Tideline, a hotel formerly known as the Omphoy, and owned by the Schlesinger family.

Jewell Beach at the Ambassador, 2730 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach.

Michael Salmon grills chicken, the centerpiece of his Flybird restaurant menu in Delray Beach. Photo provided

The latest celeb chef to open in South County is Michael Salmon, a former finalist on the Food Network’s “The Next Food Network Star” and “24 Hour Restaurant Challenge.”

His Flybird on Linton in Delray Beach is drawing attention for its simple menu centered on char-grilled chicken and flavorful side dishes.

Salmon has cheffed for then-Mayor Ed Koch in New York and led the kitchen at Mickey Mantle’s — a former sports bar near Central Park once a watering hole for the Yankee and his buddies.

His talents got him to the finals on Food Network contests that produced other stars such as the Hearty Boys Dan Smith and Steve McDonaugh, Guy Fieri and Jason Smith.

Salmon is living in Delray Beach. He opened the chicken takeout in May with the thought of making a chef-created meal to respond to an “I don’t want to cook tonight” demand. With an average meal around $15.95, it’s not fast food, but fast-casual and chef-created.

Everything from Mexican Vacation Soup (chicken, hominy, poblanos, jalapeños, cilantro and tomatillos) to desserts (chocolate pecan tart, or sugar-gluten-dairy free mango-tapioca pudding) are made in house.

On the menu front and center are the chickens, dry-brined to keep the meat moist and flavor infused, then cooked to a char over a wood-fired grill. The birds start out as vegan-fed, with no preservatives, hormones or other additives. They’re available as a quarter-, half- or whole-bird meal.

More chicken: Crispy — fried served on a potato bun; in a pie — char-grilled pulled chicken with mac ’n’ cheese, gravy, hot sauce and crowned with his lofty, buttery mashed potatoes; on a salad — char-grilled on either Greek or Caesar.

Flatbread made in-house is served as a side, and with encouragement, maybe he’ll turn it into a dish of its own — diners rave about it singly in reviews.

Sides are taken to that hands-on-chef level: house crispy fried potato chips, those mashed potatoes with gravy, coleslaw, char-grilled vegetables, roasted beets with lemon and dill, green beans dressed with soy, garlic and chili, and roasted wild mushrooms with herbs.
Salmon, whom you can find behind the line stoking the grill, has a mantra emblazoned on his website and spelled out on the shop’s uniform T-shirts: “Just feed me.”

According to lore, it stems from his college days when he was the DC — designated cook — for friends. It always seemed to be the answer to his question, “What do you want to eat?”

Now, he’s doing just that for the public.

Flybird, 335 E. Linton Blvd., Delray Beach. 243-1111; www.flybirdfood.com. Open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday.

In brief: A new “restaurant-driven complex” at the corner of Butts and Town Center roads in Boca Raton is planned. A call for upscale Mexican, American, Italian and sushi restaurants was issued by the developers. Spaces are large: four 5,000-square-foot spaces plus patios are available. …

A new chef is in place at 3rd and 3rd in Delray Beach. Emerson Frisbie, most recently of West Palm Beach’s Butcher Shop, will be taking over the stoves at the bar and grill. …

In Boca Raton, the former Tilted Kilt for a brief time was replaced by Sammy J’s Kitchen and Cocktails, a 180-turn from the “breastraunt” chain format. The more family-friendly and upscale sports-themed restaurant closed abruptly Dec. 23. In an interview before the closing, owners Samir Changela and Jason Levine hinted there would be other Sammy J’s; stay tuned. ...

Boca Bacchanal 2020’s schedule has been announced, and tickets are on sale. Events are slated each month leading up to the main events March 6 and 7. Visit www.bocabacchanal.com for info and tickets. …

Owners of Farmer’s Table, a “clean and green food” themed restaurant in Boca’s Weston Hotel, opened a second one in the rebuilt North Palm Beach Country Club. It debuted in December. Others, we’re told, are in the planning stages.

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

Laugh With the Library Co-Chairwomen Amy Snook (left) and Chiara Clark play piano with funnyman Sarge Pickman, a Delray Beach resident. Photo provided by CAPEHART

By Amy Woods

The producer and personality behind the former syndicated program The Best Damn Sports Show Period will headline Laugh With the Library Chapter 14.

Sarge Pickman, a Miami Beach native and Delray Beach resident who parlayed his Fox Sports gig into a stand-up comedy career, takes the stage Feb. 7 at the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa (formerly the Delray Beach Marriott).

“He’s hysterical,” said Amy Snook, co-chairwoman of the Delray Beach Public Library fundraiser. “His son goes to the same school as my son, and I recommended him only because I sat next to him at some sporting events and he made me laugh out loud. I called him and asked him, and he was so flattered and said yes like in about a millisecond.”

The 2020 installment will celebrate the importance of local businesses — several are sponsoring the event — and the connections they bring to the community.

“This is his town,” Snook said of the entertainer known as Sarge. “He has a vested interest just as much as anyone else who lives here.”

More than 400 guests are anticipated, and they will get to hear from a hilarious host, enjoy dinner by the bite and participate in a silent auction. Proceeds will support programming at the library.

“It will be a night of fun — probably somewhat unexpected fun — but an opportunity to support such an important asset,” Snook said. “It will make you more passionate about supporting the library.”

Library programming “has just gotten better and better each year,” Co-Chairwoman Chiara Clark added. “It’s all free and all open to the community all throughout the year.”

Clark said a portion of the evening will be dedicated to educating guests about the library.

“The library is the cornerstone of the community,” she said. “We really are the university for this entire town. We serve everyone.”

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

The Depression glass show will feature mid-century glass by Fenton and other firms. Photos provided

By Scott Simmons

Boca Raton long ago made a name for itself as a playground of the elite.

And Depression glass was the dinner and barware of the masses.

But the city is proving to be a more affordable venue than cities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties for one of the state’s biggest shows of the glassware, Jan. 25-26 at Florida Atlantic University.

“I think we’re getting out-priced for space a little farther south. We’ve also been competing with the Super Bowl. It’s going to be in Miami, so things are increasing rather quickly,” said Greg Xiggoros, president of the South Florida Depression Glass Club and a Boynton Beach resident.

He says FAU should be a good fit for the show, now in its 46th iteration. The show slowly has been moving its way north, from an armory in North Miami to the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale to Emma Lou Olson Civic Center in Pompano Beach, where it had been held for a decade.

The exhibition hall in which the show will be held is a new space, and it’s better located for vendors and shoppers from points north.
And it’s not just your grandmother’s pink or green Depression glass.

Xiggoros promises that the 21 vendors, who come from across the country, will offer plenty of glassware and pottery you won’t see elsewhere.

Then, there is this year’s theme: “Nudes in Glass.”

It sounds risqué, but the Depression era also was the Art Deco era, with motifs of stylized nymphs and goddesses, so it’s not all that far-fetched.

This charger by the Consolidated Glass Co. dates from the 1930s.

“There’s at least 14 companies right off the top of my head that have featured nudes in their glass, and this is major manufacturing. It’s not a private little company that did two or three pieces. We’re talking production with a nude in it,” Xiggoros said.

Cambridge, Morgantown and Consolidated are three of the companies that had noteworthy patterns with that motif. So did Lalique.
But Grandma wouldn’t be totally shocked at the show — there will be plenty of the pink and green Depression glass that she used every day.

“The glass that most folks think of, it’s called really A to Z Depression glass,” Xiggoros said. “The items that were found in cereal boxes, inside movie theater giveaways, inside laundry detergent. It’s a pressed glass with a raised design. And we have major dealers showing that type of glass.”

But Depression-era glassware wasn’t just items given as premiums.

“There were still the families that could afford the Heisey, the Morgantown, the Fostoria, and that tends to be a lot lighter in weight, a lot more delicate, a lot more work,” he said of the glassware collectors have dubbed “Elegant” glass. “One of the stems of Fostoria alone took 14 steps to make.”

There also will be plenty of that so-called Elegant glass, as well as such pottery as Homer Laughlin’s Fiestaware and Roseville.
The Roseville display, of Ohio pottery, will be a 100-piece collection.

Xiggoros says he started collecting Roseville in 1970. “That’s when we amassed the big collection. I sold 300 pieces at an auction to establish a scholarship in perpetuity at its height in value,” he said. “That scholarship still exists today. It’s been 21 years of getting out scholarships.”

He’s been collecting Elegant glass for about a decade — his mom’s set of Fostoria Chintz pattern was the impetus.

Xiggoros has since branched out, courtesy of a shop in St. Petersburg.

“I looked on a shelf and there was a cocktail stem called Adonis and it had a green stem and foot and the glass bowl had Roman soldiers in three different poses. ... That was the first piece in my collection. And after that it was procure, procure, procure.”
So it goes with collecting.

If You Go
Antique Vintage Glass and Pottery Show & Sale
Featuring “Nudes in Glass: This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Glass Show”
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 25 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 26.
Where: Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton (GPS address is 1995 Dade Ave., Boca).
Cost: $5 with card or ad, $6 without; early buying 9-10 a.m. Saturday, $10.
Info: www.sfdgc.com or Showinfo@SFDGC.com

Artist Doretha Hair Truesdell and Boynton Beach Historical Society President Randall Gill at the 2019 show. Photo provided

The Florida Highwaymen are a group of African-American painters from the Fort Pierce area who produced paintings of Florida landscapes beginning in the late 1950s. Several of the original artists are scheduled to appear at the second annual Show & Sale. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; there is no entry charge or parking fee.

By Christine Davis

Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s $250 million fundraising effort, Keeping the Promise, got an early holiday present. Philanthropists Toby and Leon Cooperman made a $25 million gift to the campaign during a St. Andrews Country Club event in early December.

In recognition of the gift, the hospital’s new Medical Arts Pavilion will be named in their honor.

The Coopermans are signers of Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge effort “to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy.” The Coopermans plan to give all their wealth away, to organizations, institutions and individuals that have made a difference to them. These have included Hunter College in New York City, Columbia University and St. Barnabas Medical Center.

They have also launched the Cooperman College Scholars Program and the Cooperman Family Fund for a Jewish Future.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation recently created its Charles Levitetz Advanced Symptom Support and Individualized Care Program at the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute. This program, which was funded through a gift from the Levitetz Family Foundation, intends to offer relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida, recently launched a long-term monitoring program for cryptogenic stroke patients to help reduce their risk of a secondary stroke.

The stroke team at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute offers the option to insert a small cardiac monitor to capture such things as abnormal heartbeats and rhythms, which often go undetected and can increase stroke risk. The data are relayed to specialty cardiac physicians so that they can promptly initiate treatment when it is required.

The device is implanted using a minimally invasive procedure and lasts up to three years as patients continue their everyday activities.

“Patients that have suffered cryptogenic stroke often have undiagnosed atrial fibrillation or other cardiac complications months after being discharged from a hospital. Traditional programs typically end weeks or even days after the initial stroke,” said Brian Snelling, M.D., medical director of the Marilyn and Stanley Barry Center for Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke at the neuroscience institute. “The Reveal LINQ system is enabling us to detect heart disturbances on a long-term basis to facilitate proactive treatment when needed.”

Endocrine surgeon Jessica L. Buicko, M.D., has joined Bethesda Health Physician Group. Buicko earned her medical degree at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

She completed a general surgery residency at the University of Miami program at JFK Medical Center. She completed a fellowship in advanced endocrine and metabolic surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Buicko, who is affiliated with Bethesda Hospital East, will see patients in her office, General and Vascular Surgery Specialists, 2800 S. Seacrest Blvd., Suite 200, Boynton Beach. 

Jill Shutes, a geriatric nurse practitioner, was named the new vice president of Alzheimer’s Community Care Services.

Previously, Shutes worked as an assistant professor of nursing in the graduate nursing program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She has more than 20 years of experience as a geriatric nurse practitioner working in long-term care, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities throughout South Florida.

Santa Fe Suites, a health care executive-office-suite complex at 306 NE Second St., celebrates its 10th anniversary in Delray Beach. The suites house 22 businesses with spa and health service functions.