Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Four candidates vie for two open at-large seats, each with a two-year term. The top two vote getters will each win a seat.

Elvadianne Culbertson
(Incumbent)

Personal: Declined to give her age; B.S. in business administration from Pacific Western University and M.S. in environmental management from Chadwick University; full-time South Palm Beach resident for nearly 14 years. Married, two grown sons and one stepson, one grandchild, four step- grandchildren, three step-great-grandchildren.

Professional: Retired; was a documentation specialist/consultant for the Center of Naval Analyses.

Political experience: Has held a seat on the South Palm Beach Town Council for the last three years.

Positions on issues: Wants improved fiscal accountability; supports better transparency in town government; favors local government more effectively governing itself rather than the state doing it.

Quote: “I think the town is better off with a detail-oriented person such as myself. Having served the town by being on both the Community Activities Advisory Board and the Code Enforcement Board, as well as editing the town newsletter, I was unanimously appointed to serve on the Town Council. I won honorable mention for innovative participation in the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County’s ‘Read for the Record’ and take part in the Keep Florida Beautiful program that has removed 3 million pounds of debris from Florida roads and has planted 30,000 trees and plants.”

Kevin Hall

Personal: 58; no college; married, two children; resident of South Palm Beach for eight years.

Professional: Currently is property manager of Palm Sea Condominiums. Was self-employed for 35 years in his painting contracting business and ran a construction company with his wife.

Political experience: None.

Positions on issues: Opposes construction of a new town hall, but wants the old one restored; concerned about the slow speed at which projects, police officers and town officials get approved; concerned about delays on the town’s storm sewer needs; wants to see beach renourishment go forward.

Quote: “I’m for a restored town hall, but not a brand new, five-story one. We’ve been waiting about three years for that to happen. We’ve been through yet another town manager and now we have an interim one instead of a new one. Things just take forever to get resolved around here. It took six months to a year to get a new police chief. We still don’t have our storm sewers done. That’s been going on for 2-3 years. We budgeted for two new policemen, but never hired them. Beach renourishment is another issue. If we’re not going to get it passed, I believe we need to move on and come up with a Plan B or just forget about it. We talk about a lot of things, but we do nothing.”

C.W. “Bill” LeRoy
(Incumbent)

Personal: 66; master’s in English from Bradley University; married, two children; resident of South Palm Beach for three and a half years.

Professional: Retired; was a real estate broker for 30 years.

Political experience: Has served one year on the South Palm Beach Town Council.

Positions on issues: Favors keeping local Police Department in place; wants better signage at the Town Hall; would like to see better management over traffic congestion.

Quote: “We have very few issues in our town. It’s a small town. We haven’t had any tax increases. We have a wonderful town and I’d like to see it stay a wonderful town. I don’t want any radical changes made to it. I want to preserve what we have here.”

Mark F. Weissman

Personal: 70; B.A. in administrative studies from Nova University and an A.A. in mortuary science from Miami-Dade Junior College; married, six children; resident of South Palm Beach for two and a half years.

Professional: Semi-retired; owned a funeral home in South Florida from 1973-1995, sold the business and stayed on for another 12 years as a consultant. Opened more funeral homes in Broward County in 2010 and sold those in 2014. Also has done consultant work for Delray Beach’s city cemetery.

Political experience: Former state legislator (2000-2002) and city commissioner of Parkland (1996-2000 and 2006-2016); served on the State League of Cities Environmental Committee; was vice chair of the Elder and Long Term Care Committee in the Florida House.

Positions on issues: Supports beach renourishment; favors maintaining first-class emergency medical services, police and fire protection teams; wants to keep millage rates and taxes low.

Quote: “My goal is to bring experience to the South Palm Beach Town Council, to protect the beauty and environment of South Palm Beach, as well as the safety and security of all residents in the city.”

Candidate profiles compiled by Steven J. Smith

Related Story: Commission candidates talk sea rise strategy at forum

One three-year term and a partial one-year term are contested this time around for the Ocean Ridge Town Commission. The top vote getter receives a three-year term and the runner-up gets a one-year term, which is the remainder of Jim Bonfiglio’s term. Bonfiglio resigned his seat to run for the Florida House. Seats are at-large.

Steve Coz
(Incumbent)

Personal: 61; Cum laude in English & classics from Harvard University; full-time Ocean Ridge resident for 32 years. Married, three grown children.

Professional: President of Coz Media since 2004, serving clients in the health field.

Political experience: Three years on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission and was appointed mayor in late 2018; has also served on the town’s Planning and Zoning Board and Board of Adjustments.

Positions on issues: Wants to hire a permanent town manager; concerned about population growth, town drainage, protecting beaches, traffic-related issues.

Quote: “I’m running again because I have experience. We have a relatively young commission and I’ve helped them deal with town matters for the last three years. I’m very familiar with the town, the challenges the town faces and the residents of the town. I’m also familiar with our various neighborhoods. We face challenges and I feel I can best help our town successfully overcome those challenges.”

Susan
Hurlburt

Personal: 63; Attended the University of Florida and graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a bachelor’s degree in art history with a minor in art education; full-time Ocean Ridge resident for five years. Married, three grown children.

Professional: Retired; spent her career in museum administration as a curator and gallery director at the Fort Lauderdale Museum, the Boca Raton Museum and the Schmidt Gallery at FAU. Also went into interior design and ran an antique shop in Delray Beach called Bad Blonde Designs.

Political experience: Never held public office, but was appointed to Delray Beach’s Historic Preservation Board, serving for nearly a decade. She also served 12 years on the Beach Property Owners Association in Delray Beach.

Positions on issues: Supports managed growth; concerned with aging infrastructure; wants to preserve the town’s quality of life; favors emphasis on environmental protection.

Quote: “I believe in proactivity. If I’m going to be part of a community, I want to be the part of it that speaks up, listens, hears the issues and works toward making everything better. I love my town. That’s why I’m running. I want to preserve and protect our slice of heaven.”

John D.
Lipscomb

Personal: 60; Graduated from Columbia College in Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in business and a minor in marketing; full-time Ocean Ridge resident for six years. Married, two grown children, three stepchildren.

Professional: Realtor with The Presson Group for the last year. Also a property manager for the Villas of Ocean Ridge and author of two books — The Painting and the Piano and Through Jasper’s Eyes.

Political experience: None.

Positions on issues: Wants to see more preparedness for climate change; concerned about flooding; wants a city sewer system; supports mitigation of beach erosion.

Quote: “I’d like to speed up the process of the way things work in Ocean Ridge, so that we don’t get caught behind the eight ball in terms of being prepared for climate change. Ocean Ridge is a great town and I want to keep it the way it is. We’re the best-kept secret in Florida. I want to preserve our town and keep developers from coming in and overrunning things. I’m big on technology. I think that can help us a lot, in terms of modernization.”

By Mary Thurwachter

As work at the luxury condo project at 3550 S. Ocean Blvd. reaches its finishing stages, construction hours have been extended. The South Palm Beach Town Council agreed to the added hours during a special town meeting on Feb. 14 and a workshop meeting.
“Kast Construction is requesting to extend hours of operation to help achieve the projected schedule — Sundays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Monday through Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.,” Hector Gomez, construction manager, told the council. Previously, work hours were from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“All we’re doing is trying to get this project done as soon as possible,” he said.
Not everyone was onboard with extra hours at the site of the old Hawaiian Inn hotel.
“We have a town rule and that should be our priority,” said Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan. “We should stand as is. I don’t think we need to keep on accommodating issues such as this.”
Jordan said she was concerned about noise from electric saws and other machinery.
“We are conscious of the neighbors and would limit this work during extended hours to the interior of the units only,” Gomez said. “We are at the finishing stage of the project, so this work will be limited to quieter activities such as painting, grouting, trim out, appliances, cleaning, etc.; in other words, activities that would not affect the neighbors in any way.
“We do not anticipate having to do this every day or every week, but when we do work outside of standard hours, we would only limit the work to these types of activities and would not work outside of the condo units.”
Mayor Bonnie Fischer said she and interim Town Manager Bob Kellogg had recently visited the project and were impressed with the soundproofing.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a noise issue,” Fischer said. “They have much better windows and doors than any building in town.”
Council member Bill LeRoy said the project needed to be finished.
“I want it to be done. I want everybody to be happy. … Let’s get this done, be over it and talk about something else.”
Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb agreed.
“The sooner we can collect taxes the better the town is,” he said. “We would encourage you to finish sooner.” With condo units selling for up to $5 million each, the town’s tax base could rise significantly.
Gomez said everybody working on that project “would like to finish earlier and as soon as possible.”
Extended work hours are good through May 1.
Jordan also objected to work being done on Sundays, saying residents, especially those who live in buildings on either side of 3550 S. Ocean Blvd., should have one noise-free day.
Developed by Manhattan-based DDG real estate investment group, the 30-unit condo building is expected to open this summer.
In other business:
• The council approved unanimously a contract with Kellogg, whose nine-month probation as interim town manager will end on Sept. 30. Kellogg’s $95,000 annual salary will jump to $100,000 in October, assuming he receives a favorable evaluation. He will not get the $300 monthly car allowance he requested. If terminated without cause after the probationary period, Kellogg is eligible to receive 20 weeks of severance pay.
• By a 4-1 vote, the council approved Police Chief Mark Garrison’s request for a reclassification of a second sergeant position to lieutenant. “The person chosen will have the experience and knowledge to act on the chief’s behalf in his absence,” Garrison said.
This move won’t increase the budget and is only a title change. He said the position has been posted to receive applications.
Jordan cast the dissenting vote.

Three-year-old Luke Howard gets a push from his father, Jake, during the Hypoluxo Island property owners annual picnic at McKinley Park on Feb. 24. They were in town visiting grandparents Diz and Sally Howard of Hypoluxo Island. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter

The Town Council made some revisions to its 12-year-old polices and guidelines, even though the old policy had generally provided good guidance, according to Dave Thatcher, Lantana’s development services director.
“It was incredibly wordy and confusing,” he said at the Feb. 25 meeting. “The new one is a more user-friendly document and should be easier to understand by the public and easier to use by staff.”
Town staff worked with several groups of residents in a variety of situations in adopting the new policies, Thatcher said.
Since the guidelines were first adopted in 2007, there were 10 requests for calming projects. Three failed to meet the criteria.
Those applying for traffic-slowing measures must provide a petition signed by at least 66 percent of area property owners before a traffic study is done.
Due to pending litigation, Mayor Dave Stewart handed over the gavel to Vice Mayor Ed Shropshire to preside over the discussion.
In October, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that the mayor violated state statutes after a resident alleged he said he’d “make sure” her neighborhood would get the speed humps for which she petitioned the town if she had sex with him.
Stewart is fighting the claim and the case is headed for an evidentiary hearing this year.
Stewart voted with the rest of the council in favor of the guidelines. He said the goal was to trim them from 15 pages to 5.
The town agreed to take a look at speed bumps already in place on South Lake Drive beside the Old Key Lime House after restaurant owners Wayne Cordero and his son Ryan said the traffic-calming measures there were not performing well. Ryan Cordero said he had been struck by a car on South Lake and worried about children being hit.

By Brian Biggane

GULF STREAM — Alice Dye, a golfing icon who built a strong reputation for her charity work in South Palm Beach County, died Feb. 1. She was 91.
Dye, who with her husband, Pete, formed a legendary golf course architecture team that designed 145 courses around the world, was named First Lady of Golf by the PGA of America in 2004. She was one of the top female amateur players of her day, winning 11 Indianapolis city titles and nine Indiana state championships.
One of her solo designs was the par-3 St. Andrews Club course in Delray Beach, which had been planning to honor her at its ladies member-guest event on March 6.
“Coming to a golf course that she designed, and getting to meet her, and seeing all the things she has done for women in golf, it was truly an honor,” St. Andrews club pro Amy Carver said.
Dye had signed 80 copies of her book, From Birdies to Bunkers, which will be distributed to all participants in the event.
“We asked her permission to do the member-guest [event] in her honor and she thought that was great,” Carver said. “And I asked her if it would be too much to sign these books, and she said she would do it, and she did.”
Born Alice Holiday O’Neal in Indianapolis on Jan. 24, 1927, she was a student at Rollins College in Winter Park when she met Pete Dye, who had just returned from serving in World War II.
The two were married in 1950 and for much of their time together spent their winters in Gulf Stream and their summers at a home off the 18th green at Crooked Stick Golf Club near Indianapolis.
Gulf Stream neighbor Tony Graziano fittingly called the pair “golf royalty” but said, for all they’ve accomplished, their humility sets them apart.
“You go in their house and it’s a simple house that any one of us could live in, not pretentious at all,” he said. “The only thing pretentious is the golf memorabilia, which comes from a family life of golf success.
“And the personalities that go with them — they are and were absolutely regular folks. They never changed from being good, solid Midwestern people, no matter how famous they were.”
Perhaps the only way Mrs. Dye rode her reputation was in her work for charity. Her brother, the late Perry O’Neal, was a longtime president and board member of the Wayside House, a treatment center for women in Delray Beach. For more than 25 years, the Dyes hosted the Alice & Pete Dye Golf and Bridge Invitational each November at St. Andrews.
“For a long time, we had just the golf tournament,” Wayside President Kathryn Leonard said. “But then Alice said some of her friends no longer played golf, but all of them played bridge. So, it was her idea to add the bridge tournament and that brought in 100 more people.”
Last year’s tournament raised more than $25,000.
In addition to her prowess as a golfer — she won the 1978 North and South Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur in both 1978 and 1989 and was a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup team in 1970 — Mrs. Dye worked hard to help women enjoy the golf experience. She is considered the person most responsible for the advent of ladies tees that typically shorten par-72 courses by 1,000 yards or more.
She was the first female board member of the PGA of America and the first woman to serve as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
It was also her inspiration that brought about one of the most famous holes in golf. Pete had removed so much sand from what was intended to be the par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra that he had no idea what to do next, whereupon Alice pulled out a napkin and drew a lake with the green in the middle. That lake has since become home to thousands of errant shots.
Other courses designed by the Dyes include Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, which will host the 2020 Ryder Cup matches, The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island in South Carolina and PGA West in California.
St. Andrews in Delray was always a favorite of Mrs. Dye, and former greenskeeper Charley Crell recalled what an honor it was to be hired there about eight years ago.
“That was part of the reason I took the job,” Crell said. “It’s a smaller golf course, but it’s really special because of the people who are there, in particular the Dyes. She really enjoyed being at the club, playing bridge and going out and playing. She did a lot for St. Andrews, loaning her expertise to different things. A great lady.”
Crell left St. Andrews last year for Reunion Golf and Country Club in Mississippi and said Mrs. Dye played a role in his getting that opportunity.
“She put in a good word for me, and it made a difference,” he said. “That meant a lot to me and my family.”
Mrs. Dye spent much of her time in recent years caring for Pete, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
The Dyes have two sons, Perry Dye of Colorado and Paul Burke Dye of Ohio, who are also golf course architects.
Pete Dye along with Perry’s wife, Ann, and Paul’s wife, Jean, are among Mrs. Dye’s survivors.
A celebration of life was held at the Gulf Stream Golf Club on Feb. 20. Another celebration of life is planned for 2-5 p.m., May 29, at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.
Donations can be made to Wayside House, 378 NE Sixth Ave., Delray Beach, FL  33483; waysidehouse.net; or the Indiana Golf Foundation, 2625 Hurricane Road, Franklin, IN 46131.

DELRAY BEACH — Linda Bailey Searle died at her home in Delray Beach on Jan. 16. She was 93.
Born March 14, 1925, in East Orange, N.J., to Clifford Sherwood Bailey and Ellen Laird Bailey, she grew up in Darien and New Canaan, Conn., and graduated from Ethel Walker School and Finch College.
In June 1945, she married John “Jack” Endicott Searle Jr., who was in the Army Air Corps.
Upon his discharge, Jack enrolled in MIT and the couple moved to Cambridge, Mass. In late 1947, they moved again to Marblehead, Mass, where they raised their two daughters.
Mrs. Searle was very creative and had beautiful style and taste. 
The couple bought a home at St. Andrews Club in Delray Beach in 1973, where they became very involved in the club. In particular, Mrs. Searle was very active within St. Andrews and led a number of the club improvement projects.
The couple were also members of nearby Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis, and The Little Club.
They maintained a presence in New England, owning a condominium in Beverly Farms, Mass. They were members of Essex County Club in Manchester, Mass.
Mrs. Searle was predeceased by her husband in 2012. She is survived by her daughters, Ellen “Kip” Searle Abbott and her husband, John H. Abbott, of Manchester, Mass., and Carol Putnam Searle, and her husband, Andrew J. Ley, of Dedham, Mass. She leaves a granddaughter, Kelsey Searle Abbott, and her husband, Peter T. McDougall, of Osprey. Also surviving her is her sister, Mary Bailey Lumet of New York City.
The family is very grateful for the loving care provided by her caregivers Nadine Holloway and Claudette Kirlew Smith.
Arrangements will be private. Contributions in her memory may be made to St. Andrews Club, Jack Searle Golf Tournament Fund, 4475 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach, FL 33483.

— Obituary submitted by the family

OCEAN RIDGE — William Andrew Benton of Ocean Ridge and Morristown, N.J., died on Feb. 14 in Boynton Beach. He was 86. Mr. Benton was born Jan. 21, 1933, in South Orange, N.J. He attended high school at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. He graduated from Bucknell University in 1958 following two years of Army service during which he was stationed in California in a bomb disposal unit.
While at Bucknell, Mr. Benton was a standout wrestler, serving as captain of the wrestling team. His accomplishments on the mat resulted in his induction into the Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame and later into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
After graduation, Mr. Benton began his career as a member of the New York Stock Exchange until his retirement in 1990. He served the town of Madison, N.J., as a councilman and was a member of the board of the Madison YMCA.
He continued his service in Florida as a supporter of Bethesda Hospital and the Palm Beach Habilitation Center.
Mr. Benton was well-known for the size and strength of his hands, which he used both to rip Manhattan phone books in half and to make beautiful jewelry and stained glass creations that graced his home and the homes of family and friends. He also enjoyed boating, fishing and spending time with his loved ones.
Mr. Benton was preceded in death in 2014 by his beloved wife, Marilee (Lee) Fuller Benton, after 59 years of marriage. He was also predeceased by his parents, Thomas Henry and Mary Zimmerman Benton, his brother, Clark, and his sister, Elnora.
He is survived by his children: Jeff and Wendy Benton of Madison, N.J.; Karen and Tom Crawley of Sea Girt, N.J.; Tim Benton of Greer, S.C.; Marge Williams of Anderson, S.C.; and Gary and Ann Benton of Madison, N.J. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life was held Feb. 20 at The Little Club in Gulf Stream. A second celebration will be held at a later date in New Jersey.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at giving.mskcc.org.

— Obituary submitted by the family

Patricia Maguire, a painter from Ocean Ridge, sits at home in front of a few of her works with her dog Shiloh, a 9-year-old golden retriever. Maguire also has a studio in downtown Delray Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

Patricia Maguire has paintings hanging in the Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach, the Boca Raton Museum of Art and homes and galleries throughout the country. But the idea that she has ever painted to be a commercial success is one she outright rejects.
“My feeling is you paint because something compels you to do it,” said Maguire, 64, who lives with her husband, Steve, in Ocean Ridge. “The time you spend painting is so involving and absorbing that you don’t notice the passage of time.
“What I tell people — and I usually get a laugh, even though I don’t mean it that way — is it’s kind of like sex in that you’re so absorbed you don’t know if five minutes have gone by or 40 minutes.
“Most painters I know do it because they want to do it. Whether it sells, or whether it’s going to be successful, is a totally different aspect.”
She has a studio in downtown Delray Beach in which to work, exhibit and teach classes.
Born in Argentina, Maguire spent much of her upbringing in Venezuela and Rio de Janeiro before coming to the Northeast for her education. A resident of Ocean Ridge for two years, she also has a home and studio in the Vail Valley of Colorado.
She enjoys volunteering and serving on the boards of several organizations: Old School Square, Plein Air Palm Beach, which promotes outdoor painting, and In The Pines, which is dedicated to the housing and education of agricultural workers. 
“Giving back to my community is my way of showing gratitude for the incredible opportunities I have been given, and it connects me to a variety of like-minded people,” she said. “I also care deeply for our natural environment, especially the health of our ocean. I joined the Ocean Ridge Garden Club when we moved here in order to learn how to care for our dunes and meet my neighbors.
“Nature, education, animals and children are the causes closest to my heart. Painting is how I best express my love for nature and people.”

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My father was born in Germany and left in 1938, when life for the German Jewish population became increasingly difficult. 
My mother arrived in Argentina in 1946 from Yugoslavia/Hungary. Only she and my grandmother from her family had survived the war. My mother spoke seven languages fluently, although she never had a chance to finish high school.
Buenos Aires is a very international city and at the time there was a large group of young Europeans starting a new life. We spoke German at home, and of course, my brother and I spoke Spanish with our neighborhood friends. We went to a Swiss German school.
When I was 9, we moved to Venezuela. At 13, I spent one year at a girls boarding school in Massachusetts. And when I was 14, my mother remarried and we moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Moving around, adapting to different countries, speaking several languages had a huge impact in how I view the world. I learned that although food and humor change from country to country, people are basically the same all over the world. 
I consider myself a real American: a blend of cultures with a sense that the world is what we make of it. 
I met my husband when I was a high school girl in Rio at the American School and Steve came from college to spend summer vacations with his family after his father had been transferred there by U.S. Steel from Pittsburgh. We became friends and started dating when I was 16. 
I went to Skidmore College in upstate New York, and although Steve was in Pittsburgh, our romance continued. Here we are now, still together 47 years after we met.
We were transferred to Venezuela by Steve’s work upon graduation, and I had a wonderful job with American Express. Due to my languages, I traveled quite a bit. I was in my 20s, feeling like a hot shot, with my high heels and briefcase, being sent to Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Madrid and, of course, New York. I painted on the side.
We moved to Florida in 1983. I got my MBA at FAU, while working full-time during the day. 
In 1988 our eldest daughter was born, and I wanted to raise our kids. I taught international business at FAU as an adjunct professor for about nine years, as a part-time job while our three children were little.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: My advice to anyone is the same: Keep your dreams close to your heart and don’t give up. Do your best to play the hand you are dealt with the best attitude. But if you hold on to your dream, and keep trying every chance you get, you will eventually get there.

Q: How did you choose to live in Ocean Ridge?
A: We lived in Delray Beach for 25 years, in a boating community. Our kids grew up on our boat, swimming and going to the beach. But I’ve always had my eye on Ocean Ridge as a little magical, unspoiled corner of South Florida. When it came to downsizing and an opportunity to own a home on the beach came along, we jumped at the chance.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Ocean Ridge?
A: Our three wonderful children live nearby, and we are proud grandparents. Our kids and grandkids spend part of every weekend swimming and playing on the beach with us. As I said, we are living our dream life!

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. From books I’ve learned about the ways of the world. Books have always been my refuge, my friends. Historical fiction is my favorite genre.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want inspiration? When you want to relax?
A: While I paint, I listen to music. My playlist is varied: light classical music, classic rock, reggae, Spanish guitar, and West African music (which is similar to Brazilian music).

Q: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness,” by Mark Twain.  I’ve lived in different places and found people are people, no matter how rich or poor. We all aspire for the same things for our kids, wanting them to be healthy and happy. When people are isolated, they think they can only relate to others like them. But when they’re exposed to other cultures, they see that’s not the case.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: My parents and my maternal grandmother were my biggest mentors. I learned from them never to give up, even when your whole world has crashed down and you have to start over with nothing.
From them I also learned that books will teach you everything, even when you can’t go to school.
From my husband I learned about optimism and self-confidence, and from my children I learned humility, unconditional love and self-sacrifice.

Q: If your life were made into a movie, who would play you?
A: My husband says Catherine Zeta-Jones. Because I have dark hair and, like her, have a European background.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: I laugh a lot at myself. I have a fairly dark sense of humor and a husband with a wonderful sense of humor. I love to laugh at movies. Peter Sellers, all I have to do is to look at his name on the marquee and I start laughing.
Kids and dogs also make me laugh.

These new white LED lights at A1A and Atlantic generate significantly less glow than the old lights, but they’ll be replaced with red LED lights for turtles. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

The busy beachside intersection of State Road A1A and Atlantic Avenue faced the prospect of going dark on March 1, the start of turtle-nesting season, after Florida Power & Light said it could not install turtle-friendly red LED lights by then.
FPL and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also are working on approving amber lights by summer’s end to quell concerns about darkness on the rest of the 1.1-mile municipal beach.
City staff and FPL worked quickly in February on an agreement to replace seven newly installed white LED lights with red ones on poles near the corner of Atlantic and A1A, said Richard Beltran, company spokesman.
“The utility has two red LED lights in stock and ordered the remaining five from the manufacturer,” Beltran said. “It won’t be possible to have the red lights installed by March 1. We are working as quickly as possible.”
The red LED lights are considered turtle-friendly and can remain illuminated throughout the year. The white LED lights will be turned off from March 1 through Oct. 31 during sea turtle-nesting season.
The FWC approves the lights along the beach to protect sea turtle hatchlings. Once hatched, they are often disoriented by bright lights at the beach, including the glow from white LED lights.
The seven lights were chosen by the city and FPL to enable them to be swapped quickly, Beltran said. The city wanted the red LED lights to be installed so that they can remain lit during the turtle-nesting months. Otherwise, the beach would be dark eight months of the year.
But the Beach Property Owners Association members want to see a safer stretch for the entire municipal beach, which has parking spaces on the east side of A1A.
“The Delray Beach leadership has now accepted the option to have red lights installed rather than let this area go dark for the eight months of the turtle season,” wrote Bob Victorin, association president. “If a decision was made, as has been suggested, to provide only seven streetlights covering a few blocks north and south of Atlantic Avenue, that would not be acceptable to us.”
The association wants to see “the entire length of A1A from Casuarina Road to the north end of the beach have street lights to provide pedestrian and automobile safety, as well as security and protection for the residents of the many condominiums and home sites located on the west side of A1A,” Victorin wrote.
FPL and the FWC agree they are working to approve amber LED lights.I t might not be until late in the year when those lights are installed, Beltran said, which would remove red lights from the discussion.
Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia was not aware that only seven white LED lights would be replaced near the Atlantic Avenue intersection.
“I hope that the entire strip of A1A along the city beach could have the amber LED lights,” she said.
Jim Smith, a Delray Beach resident who chairs the bike and pedestrian safety advocacy group SAFE, said, “Adequate street lighting remains a major safety and security issue on most streets and neighborhoods throughout Delray.”
Delray Beach had its own amber fixtures on FPL poles for many years. Last August, FPL decided it wanted to have its own fixtures on its street lights and asked Delray Beach to choose the lighting type along the beach.
The choice was red LED lights that could stay lit throughout the year or white LED lights that would be turned off during nesting season.
The City Commission picked white LED lights after staff said the red lights would not provide enough illumination at night. The white LED lights were installed in early January.

Ned Wehler had to resort to hand watering when the recycled water system went down. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

Ned Wehler had to use a hose in early February to water his flowers and plants. The reclaimed water system was down again in Delray Beach.
“I went outside this morning and noticed my flowers were wilted,” Wehler said on Feb. 6. He lives on Ingraham Avenue on the barrier island.
After watering his flowers, Wehler went inside to check the city’s website. That’s when he saw a red banner strip across the top that read: “Reclaimed water is unavailable until further notice.”
It was the second failure within five weeks. Wehler said he was never notified either time until his flowers started to wilt. His sprinkler system uses reclaimed water.
Wehler and other barrier island residents from George Bush Boulevard south to Linton Boulevard are provided reclaimed water for their sprinkler systems. It was part of a settlement that Delray Beach reached with state and federal environmental regulators to stop sending wastewater into the ocean.
The wastewater treatment plant that serves Delray Beach sent its last raw sewage discharge into the ocean on April 1, 2009, according to Doug Levine, operations chief at the plant. The plant is still allowed to discharge treated wastewater from heavy rains, from testing its pumps and from “plant upsets.”
Delray Beach received state grants to hook up the residents to the reclaimed water system.
Marjorie Craig, Delray Beach’s utilities director, wrote in an email that providing reclaimed water for irrigation helps to reduce demands on the aquifer Delray Beach uses to provide drinking water to its residents. The reduced use of the aquifer helps to fend off saltwater intrusion.
Reclaimed water is treated wastewater, not suitable for drinking, cooking or bathing. Reusing that treated wastewater helps the city by reducing demand for drinking water, Craig wrote. In turn, that saves the city millions from seeking new water sources.

Failures may be linked
to work on treatment plant
The reclaimed water problem first occurred late last year when the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant needed the city’s outfall pipe to send treated wastewater out to the ocean. It’s the same pipe Delray Beach uses to supply reclaimed water to its residents.
When the treatment plant needs to use the pipe for wastewater discharges, reclaimed water becomes unavailable to customers in Delray Beach. That’s because the treated wastewater might not meet the standards for reclaimed water so it’s not used, Craig said.
The joint treatment plant processes wastewater from both Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. City commissioners from the two cities sit as the governing board of the plant.
Delray Beach agreed to provide the outfall pipe for dual purposes about 10 years ago because it was in place, already carried treated wastewater and was cheaper than adding another line that would become obsolete in six years.
By 2025, the six Southeast Florida cities will be required to stop regular ocean discharges under the Leah Schad Memorial Outfall Ocean Program, signed into state law in 2008. The program was named for Schad, considered the grande dame of Palm Beach County environmentalists, who died earlier that year.
Craig, who was not with the city when that dual-purpose decision was made, wrote via email that the treatment plant’s chemistry was knocked out of balance by an unknown cause in February. That’s technically called a “plant upset.”
The recent reclaimed water shutdowns mark the first times the treatment plant had to use the outfall pipe for more than two days in about 10 years, Craig wrote. The outfall pipe had been used for a few hours after heavy rains in the past, but this was the first multiday incident, Craig said.
She thinks the cause is likely from upgrades in progress at the $20 million treatment plant, which might have disrupted the chemical balance needed to treat wastewater. Delray Beach and Boynton Beach are sharing the upgrade cost.
The upgrades cover aerators, headworks where the wastewater first enters and other improvements, Craig said. “The treatment plant needs aerators to provide air to the bacteria, otherwise the bacteria die,” she said.
The major construction at the 40-year-old treatment plant began in October, Craig wrote. “This will continue over the next nine or so months and may take another three to six months afterwards of ensuring correct adjustments,” she wrote.

Long-term plan
includes Boynton Beach
That information, though, was not communicated to the city’s reclaimed water customers who are east of the interstate. The western area receives its reclaimed water from another pipe, Craig said.
That’s why Wehler and his neighbors became upset when the reclaimed water was not available for their automated irrigation systems.
The first failure happened on Dec. 28 and lasted until Jan. 4, according to the city. But Wehler said he noticed the system was down on Dec. 23. The second one started on Feb. 4 and lasted until Feb. 8.
“This is getting pretty frustrating, plus my recently transplanted plants are dying as are my flowers,” Wehler wrote Jan. 2 to the Beach Property Owners Association. “And I have been watering by hand daily to keep the plants healthy.”
Craig’s staff is trying to improve communications to the city’s reclaimed water users by determining the best way to reach them: emails, automated phone calls, automated text messages or some other method. “We have to figure that out,” she said.
The Utilities Department is working on a short-term fix for its reclaimed water system. “When we have final regulatory approval and a design, we will share more details,” Craig wrote. That is expected in 60 days.
For the longer term, the city has hired a consultant to look into storage of reclaimed water.
“The biggest challenge is the lack of available land for a storage tank or tanks,” Craig wrote. “The barrier island uses about 500,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water, typically overnight.”
Within the next two years, when Boynton Beach expands its reclaimed water service to the properties it serves on the barrier island, Craig wants to connect with that system to avoid shutdowns of the Delray Beach system if there’s a need to use the outfall pipe. In that case, Delray could then supply reclaimed water by connecting to the Boynton Beach system.
Meanwhile, the treatment plant has to file monthly reports on outfall discharges to the West Palm Beach office of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. January’s report was due Feb. 28.
The December report included two days — Dec. 28 and 29 — when the treatment plant exceeded its allowed fecal coliform limit by eight times. On Dec. 29, the discharge of treated wastewater had more than three times the allowable limit of solids.
The West Palm Beach office is investigating the discharges, wrote Jill Margolius, the office spokeswoman.
She wrote that the department’s first priority is to work with the treatment plant to correct the “plant upset,” then identify any corrective measures needed to prevent this issue from happening again.
“Once this is complete, the department will then evaluate this from a regulatory perspective,” Margolius wrote. “If ultimately there are any identified violations on the part of the treatment plant, the department will address them as appropriate.”
The two discharge days did not coincide with any cautionary notices about water quality at the municipal beach in Delray Beach. The county office of the state Department of Health tests the water quality at beach locations biweekly, according to its Beach Water Sampling webpage.
The department reports on the water quality. Then, each locale decides whether to take action, said Alexander Shaw, local Health Department spokesman.

The kapok tree to be moved sits just east of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum on Ocean Avenue. It will be sold or wind up on other city-owned land. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach will save the kapok tree on Ocean Avenue property that it sold to the Town Square development team.
“We always planned to save that tree,” said Colin Groff, assistant city manager in charge of Town Square.
To prepare for moving, the roots of the 80-year-old kapok tree were pruned and its canopy was trimmed in mid-February, Groff said. Green Integrity’s Inc. of Deerfield Beach will move the tree.
If a buyer can’t be found in the next 60 to 90 days, then Boynton Beach will have the kapok tree moved across Ocean Avenue to city-owned property, Groff said. “The cost will not exceed $35,000 and that cost will be offset because new trees will not be required in that area,” he said. The estimated moving cost for a buyer will depend on how far the buyer wants to move the tree.
A taller kapok tree, just west of the historic high school on Ocean Avenue, will remain as part of the Town Square project, a private-public partnership between E2L Real Estate Solutions and Boynton Beach.
The 16-acre Town Square will create a downtown for Boynton Beach. The development will feature a combination City Hall and public library building, new fire station, a renovated historic high school that will have arts and rec classes on the first floor and banquets on the second floor, amphitheater, playground, downtown energy plant and parking garage.
The development team plans to construct apartment buildings, a hotel, retail and restaurant space, and parking garages on land it bought from the city.
The private kapok tree sits just east of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum on Ocean Avenue. Not a Florida native, the kapok tree has withstood hurricanes while providing shade and shelter to those who gathered below it.
“As an historian, I support saving this vestige from the past,” said Janet DeVries Naughton, archivist and webmaster for the Boynton Beach Historical Society. 
“Obviously, it’s not the same as having the tree in its time-honored and familiar place, and that saddens me.”
Even so, she recognizes that life involves change.
“The tree and her magnificence have been documented and frozen in time through photographs,” DeVries said. “That’s why it’s important to chronicle history. … What came before fades away, unless we share it through written, oral or visual preservation.”

By Rich Pollack

President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach have hurt businesses operating out of the Palm Beach County Park Airport, better known as the Lantana Airport.
Now, thanks in large part to U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, some of those aviation-related businesses may be receiving federal dollars to help cover revenue lost because of Air Force One flights into the area.
Frankel announced last month a $3.5 million grant for relief to businesses and aviators at Lantana and at a New Jersey airport affected by temporary flight restrictions when the president visits. The money was included in last month’s government funding bill.
“Local businesses and aviators at Lantana Airport have been unfairly impacted by Mr. Trump’s frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago,” Frankel said in a news release. “They will now have an opportunity to receive financial relief.”
Frankel, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, estimated that businesses at the Lantana Airport had lost about $1 million in revenue as a result of the temporary flight restrictions in place during presidential visits.
Frankel, whose district encompasses much of south Palm Beach County, said the airport has 25 small businesses that support 250 jobs.
As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Frankel worked with former Rep. Leonard Lance of New Jersey and Sen. Marco Rubio to get funding for the airports included in the transportation appropriations bill. The grants will be administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which will determine criteria and put out a notice for businesses in the near future.
Frankel’s actions received praise from the chief executive of Stellar Aviation group, which provides services to aircraft owners at Lantana.
“She took the time to understand the impacts to the affected business at the airport and worked with both the local and federal government to try and find solutions to alleviate these significant impacts,” Jonathan Miller said in the news release.

Atlantic football players join donors who raised money to put them in new blazers for signing day. Macy’s provided the jackets and most of the funding. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

The issues football coach T.J. Jackson deals with at Delray Beach’s Atlantic High School go beyond football and beyond the field. Food insecurity, drug abuse, mental illness, lack of medical care and teenage pregnancy plague a significant part of the local population, and many of Atlantic’s football players live this reality.
The chasm that separates Jackson’s players from their affluent neighbors is wider than the Intracoastal Waterway that separates them geographically. 
Last month, the two groups came together when men and women from Ocean Ridge, Gulf Stream, Boca Raton and Delray Beach slipped navy blue Ralph Lauren blazers onto the muscular shoulders of 32 football players before a signing day ceremony celebrating a handful of seniors who had earned scholarships for college or for a year at McDougle Preparatory Institute in Deerfield Beach.
The blazers, which retail for about $400, were donated in part by Macy’s, but the balance (about $100 per jacket) came from donors in the community, rounded up by Janie Souaid of Gulf Stream, an energetic advocate for and kind-hearted mentor to the young men.
Souaid said it took about six hours to raise the $3,200 she needed to pay the balance owed. She said, at first, the people she called couldn’t understand why the students’ families failed to come up with the difference. “One of the players was homeless, and I told them this is a true Blind Side story,” a reference to the 2009 film The Blind Side.
When she began to call around again and ask for money to embroider the students’ initials inside in gold thread, her husband, Bob, who had weighed in on the blazers’ style and fabric, said he’d pony up the cash if she “would stop asking people for money.”
He was joking and it’s a good thing, because Souaid is not finished asking for money to help them.
Souaid is a motivational speaker and author, and Jackson invited her to speak to his players last year about hard work and excellence. Souaid shared her knowledge with the 150 freshman, JV and varsity players who made up the football program. “I have fallen in love with this team,” she said.
At first the players were skeptical, but Souaid, 58, has become someone kids can really talk to. A mother to two grown children, Souaid was an athlete in her youth — she excelled at water polo — and still loves fitness, exercise and eating right. Her background and fitness level give her credibility with the players, whom she calls “gentlemen.”

Bob and Janie Souaid of Gulf Stream check out Lincoln Jackson’s initials, embroidered in gold.

Coach sets behavior standards
The 32 seniors — the football program has a 100 percent graduation rate — showed up early to mingle with the donors on signing day. Polite, soft-spoken, but making eye contact, they shook hands and behaved respectfully and responsibly, Jackson’s well-known standards for behavior.
Player Jose Bush said, “It’s a gift some people have to connect with other people, and Coach has it.”
Jackson gets weekly academic progress reports (A’s and B’s are OK, C’s are not), and players must make the grade if they want to see any time on the field, where Atlantic was unbeaten during the regular season. The teachers are behind him.
Principal Tara Dellegrotti-Ocampo calls Jackson her right-hand man.
“I couldn’t do it without him,” she said. “There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t ask me what he can do to help.”
As much as he has instilled unity and pride in the team, Jackson has brought unity and pride to the school’s 2,300 students. But it hasn’t been easy.
Jackson helped the team shoulder a terrible loss last year when a popular player was killed in a dirt bike accident.
Marc’Allen Derac was a beloved leader and a shoo-in for a scholarship. Tight end Kamareon Williams dedicated signing day to Marc’Allen, he said, because everyone knew Marc’Allen would have signed, maybe with one of the big dogs: Miami, Florida or Florida State.
Kamareon announced his commitment to Florida International University with a touch of sadness.
It’s not the first time Jackson has lost a player, someone he loved, and it likely won’t be the last. But he encourages students to keep forging forward, being grateful, and doing the right thing.
Jackson knows from experience that education will last after football ends. A ticket to the NFL or a full ride to a Division I school is a great dream, and one worth pursuing, but not a reality for most of his players.
But a college scholarship and a bachelor’s degree? That is within their grasp. This year, thanks to tutoring, hard work and dedication, 85 percent of the team made the honor roll.
Quarterback Kalani Ilimaleota’s mom and sister came to see him sign his letter with St. Thomas University. Taking the stage in his pressed white shirt and carved wood necklace, he could have just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren commercial. Kalani’s words, “Thank God for my family,” were echoed by his mother’s: “Thank God for Coach T.J.”
Kalani learned discipline and independence from Jackson, but the coach says he doesn’t do it alone. He says his assistant coaches, the athletic department, the administration, teachers and even the food service folks all stand as role models.
Neighborhood merchants also step up, Souaid says. Walmart donates Muscle Milk, a high-protein supplement, and the store has hired a handful of players who need work. Carrabba’s provides a hearty game-day meal for the team each week.
“People want to help,” Souaid said, “but they don’t know what to do.” She’s happy to tell them.

The importance of giving back
Signing day was emotional for both the donors and the students.
Dr. Patti Thrower of Ocean Ridge came to help her player into his jacket.
“It made my heart sing,” she said. “There’s a true joy that comes from giving that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s important to give back, not just with money, but by mentoring these kids.”
Thrower, who grew up poor in New Jersey, cried as she recalled her own struggles putting herself through college in Pennsylvania, then dental school.
“I’m proof that it can happen, that it is attainable: college, a career, a great future,” she said.
Through their own hard work and dedication with support from Jackson and the school, the young men now have skills, mental toughness, a winning attitude, discipline and maturity.
And thanks to Janie Souaid and their neighbors to the east, they’re dressed to succeed. Ú

Lord & Taylor President Vanessa LeFebvre visits the Mizner Park store last month before hosting a luncheon to outline changes and seek feedback on how the store can improve. She heard no criticisms from the people who spoke. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

As the venerable retailer Lord & Taylor works to revive its flagging fortunes, its newly installed president, Vanessa LeFebvre, visited the Boca Raton Mizner Park store on Feb. 14 to outline coming changes and to solicit feedback on how the store can improve.
But the 20 top Lord & Taylor customers, business people and community leaders invited to attend a luncheon offered no criticisms, and many were ardent fans of the store. They praised the service provided by the store’s employees and lauded store general manager Mindy Horvitz.
“We want you to be here for the long haul,” said one invitee. “You are a vital part of the success of Boca Raton.”
LeFebvre’s visit was part of a “listening tour” of the company’s 45 stores that she launched shortly after returning to the company in May as president. She began her career as a Lord & Taylor assistant buyer and rose through the ranks before leaving for positions with Macy’s, TJX Cos., Daffy’s and online retailer Stitch Fix.
In an interview before the luncheon, LeFebvre did not commit to keeping the Boca Raton store open, saying such promises are impossible to make in today’s difficult retail environment.
Although she declined to provide sales figures, LeFebvre described the store as a “top performer” that benefits from having loyal customers in northern states who spend the winter or vacation in South Florida.
“We feel really good about being here in Boca,” LeFebvre said. “We knew the brand resonated with the Boca customer who is living here as well as the customer who is visiting here, so it is a great match.”
The tour of stores is one of the ways she hopes to learn about how the company can knit more closely to the communities where the stores are located.
“I am here to find that sustainable future for us,” she said.
Lord & Taylor stores dotted South Florida in the early 2000s. But the retailer exited the state in 2004, closing stores in Boca’s Town Center mall, the Mall at Wellington Green and the Palm Beach Mall, among others, in the wake of an ill-fated expansion strategy.
As the chain regrouped, Lord & Taylor opened in Mizner Park to much fanfare and rejoicing in 2013, and is its only brick-and-mortar store in Florida.
More troubles beset the company last year, and it closed 10 stores, including its New York City flagship on Fifth Avenue.
Lord & Taylor is now trying to right the ship once more under the direction of new leaders. The parent company, Hudson’s Bay Co., brought in Helena Foulkes as its CEO last year, then hired LeFebvre.
One big change already underway is Lord & Taylor’s partnership with walmart.com to create an online store that offers about 125 fashion brands, including Tommy Bahama, Vince Camuto, La La Anthony, H Halston and Effy.
It is billed as a “premium” shopping destination, and marries Lord & Taylor’s desire to reach a wider audience and Walmart’s hope to attract more affluent customers by offering higher-end fashion brands.
LeFebvre intends to personalize stores to meet the needs of the community.
As an example, she said she visited the Mizner Park store shortly after becoming president. She wanted to buy shorts, but learned they had sold out. That might not have been a big problem in Connecticut at that time of the year, but shorts needed to be available in Boca.
Discontinuing swimwear also was under consideration, but no longer.
Personalizing stores is one of three tenets the company has set out as it aims for a profitable future.
Lord & Taylor also wants to be a “smarter store” that will soon alert customers to which items are “customer favorites” in an effort to help them quickly select the best items for themselves.
It’s also emphasizing innovation. That will include new ways of providing personal shopping and virtual personal shopping online and improving the chain’s website to make it easier for customers to find what they want online.
The company’s base customers are ages 35 to 75, and LeFebvre wants to add younger people to the mix. But she noted that the oldest millennials are now 38 and have families.
“We cater to a female customer who is shopping for her family,” she said.

Owners and associates from Seaside Builders and Premier Estate Properties celebrate their teamwork on Cove 4 at 344 Venetian Drive, one of several properties Seaside is developing in the neighborhood. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Christine Davis

Cove 4, developed by Seaside Builders, held a Delray Beach ground-breaking ceremony in February at its 344 Venetian Drive location. The building will be a residential fourplex on the Intracoastal Waterway, with prices starting at $3.5 million.
Other properties currently being developed by Seaside in the neighborhood include a four-bedroom home priced at $4.395 million at 202 Venetian Drive; a four-bedroom home priced at $4.25 million at 1201 Seaspray Drive; three units at 917 Bucida Drive starting at $2.895 million; four units at 104 Andrews Avenue starting at $2.495 million; and units at 101 and 105 SE Seventh Avenue, each priced at $1.595 million. For information, call Premier Estate Properties broker associates Pascal Liguori at 278-0100 and Antonio Liguori at 414-4849.

The Edwards Companies, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, took out a $94 million loan from Fifth Third Bank for Atlantic Crossing, a four-story mixed-use complex under construction on a 9-acre site at Atlantic Avenue and Federal Highway in Delray Beach. Financing includes $16 million that the bank lent in 2016, records show. The development will include 83,000 square feet of office space, 73,000 square feet of space for retail stores and restaurants, 261 rental apartments and 82 condominium units.
Edwards Cos. filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging the city deliberately stalled the project, which was first proposed in 2011. The developer and the city settled the lawsuit in 2017. Records show Edwards paid $15.8 million for the land in 2016.

Two adjoining office buildings at 5201 Congress Ave. and 901 W. Yamato Road in Boca Raton sold for $68.35 million. The seller was Mainstreet CV North 40 LLC, a joint venture between Fort Lauderdale-based Mainstreet Capital Partners and Minnesota-based CarVal Investors, and the buyer was PG Mainstreet North Forty LLC, managed by Mainstreet Capital Partners and an unidentified partner. BankUnited provided a $47.58 million mortgage to the buyer. Cross Country Healthcare has its headquarters at 5201 Congress Ave. The 901 W. Yamato Road building has the U.S. headquarters of Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corp.

The New York-based real estate investment group InvestCorp sold University View, a 55-unit development at 2190 NW Fourth Court in Boca Raton, for $20.8 million in January. The buyer is University View Apartments Funding Company LLC, a Delaware company, which secured a $14.3 million loan from JP Morgan to make the transaction. InvestCorp purchased the development for $20.25 million in 2016 as part of a $105 million portfolio sale that included two other Palm Beach County multifamily properties. InvestCorp’s parent company is based in Bahrain.

Cleveland Clinic Florida purchased 35.4 acres of vacant land west of Lake Worth in January. It paid $4.63 million to the Diocese of Palm Beach for 19.1 acres at 8765 Lake Worth Road, and another $4.63 million to Herbert F. Kahlert for 16.3 acres at the southeast corner of Lyons Road and Cypress Springs Road. Cleveland Clinic spokeswoman Heather Phillips said there are currently no plans for the land.

The trust of Ridgway Harding White bought a waterfront home at 1495 Lands End Road in Manalapan in January for $5.17 million. The sellers, Gregory and Monica Oberting, bought the house in 2015 for $4.115 million, property records show. White is the president and CEO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which supports nonprofits throughout Flint, Michigan. His great-grandfather Charles Stewart Mott was the original U.S. partner of General Motors Corp. and later bought the company that became U.S. Sugar, which is now partly owned by the Mott Foundation.

Nick Malinosky and his team, The Randy & Nick Team at Douglas Elliman, were selected to lead sales for the Gulf Stream Views townhomes on Old Ocean Boulevard that are in the pre-construction phase in the County Pocket. Gulf Stream Views, offered by NR Living Platinum, will consist of 14 four-bedroom units priced from $1.495 million to $3.3 million. The build team includes architect Richard Jones, DMR Construction and Carrie Leigh Design. The developer paid $5.4 million for the 2-acre site and scored a $16.5 million loan from Trez Forman for the land and development.

Lang Realty recognized its top agents and teams of 2018 at a special awards breakfast at Aberdeen Golf and Country Club in February. In the south county coastal area, a Diamond Award winner was Warren Heeg. Diamond Team Awards winners included Olive Belcher and Brittany Belcher and the Pearl Antonacci Group. A Ruby Award recipient was Julie Giachetti, and a Ruby Team Award was presented to Kathy Pendleton and Phil Metzler. Emerald Award winners included Laura Urness and Robin Winistorfer, and Emerald Team Award winners included Michael Gallacher and Anne Bernet.

Palm Beach State College earned national Top 10 rankings from two military publishers for the second consecutive year. Viqtory and Military Times have placed the college fourth and seventh respectively on their lists of the best higher education institutions for veterans, which made the college the highest-ranking Florida school in its category.
Palm Beach State College launched its Innovation Lab at a ceremony in February. The 1,264-square-foot center is in the Technology Center on the Lake Worth campus.
“The lab is designed to connect PBSC students with industry, providing students with hands-on experiences that prepare them for placement upon graduation,” said Kimberly Allen, the college’s associate dean for business and computer science.  The Innovation Lab was set in motion by Alireza Fazelpour, a Palm Beach State College computer science professor, and developed through the collaboration of faculty, staff and business partners.

Boca Raton-based Gladiator Lacrosse LLC, led by 18-year-old entrepreneur Rachel Zietz, has acquired All Ball Pro, a company headquartered in St. Louis that manufactures and distributes professional-grade balls and rebounders for sports. Zietz, a freshman at Princeton University, founded Gladiator Lacrosse in 2012, when she was 13. At 15, she appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank, and in 2016, she made a deal with Dick’s Sporting Goods to carry her line of products.

Discover the Palm Beaches, the tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County, hosted its third Customer Advisory Board meeting at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in February. Members of the advisory board are professionals representing groups that include SunTrust, National Dental Association, Americans for the Arts and American Society for Microbiology. They serve as volunteers to give feedback on how the marketing organization can better promote the area for conventions and meetings.

Jeb Conrad, president and CEO of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, welcomed 120 members and supporters to the Chamber’s annual Membership Luncheon & Installation of Officers in January at the Delray Beach Golf Club.
Bill Branning was sworn in as chairman. Named to the Executive Board were Rob Posillico of the Scirocco Group; Noreen Payne of All About Florida Homes/Keller Williams; Cathy Balestriere of Crane’s Beach House & Luxury Villas; Robert Hickok of Hickok Law Firm, P.A.; Alan Goodman of  Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce, P.A.; Ron Kaniuk of Kaniuk Law Office, P.A.; and Jim Chard of Human Powered Delray.
The Board of Directors includes: David Beale of Law Offices of David A. Beale; Sarah Crane of the HOW Foundation; Mark Denkler of Vince Canning Shoes, Inc.; Evelyn Dobson of Delray Beach Community Land Trust; Charlene Farrington of Spady Cultural Heritage Museum; Jesse Flowers of CenterState Bank; Roger Kirk of Bethesda Hospital; Amanda Perna of The House of Perna; David Schmidt of Law Offices of Simon and Schmidt; Barbara Stark of Milagro Center; Jeff Dash of Dash Travel; Mark Lauzier, Delray Beach city manager; Johnny Mackey of Shamrock Restoration; Steve Mackey of Mack Industrial, Inc.; Manish Mehta of Doughnut Works/PixelGlue; Kristen Noffsinger of Kristen Rose Agency; Dan Paulus of GFA International, Inc.; Scott Porten of Porten Companies; and Dr. Marcie Young of Young Dentistry, P.A.
Roy Simon was recognized for 60 years of Chamber membership.
The Chamber named Payne as director of the year and John Campanola from New York Life as ambassador of the year. Recognized previously were the Delray Beach Elks Club as business of the year; Balestriere as businessperson of the year; and Schmidt as the Crystal Palm Award winner for community service.

The Boca Chamber honored Ethel Isaacs Williams as its Diamond Award recipient during its 13th annual Diamond Awards luncheon last month at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. The event recognizes a professional woman in South Palm Beach County who contributes to the vibrancy of the community. Williams, a senior vice president at Kaufman Lynn Construction, serves as immediate past chair of the Chamber’s board of directors, and she is part of several civic and professional associations, including the national and Palm Beach County bar associations.
The 2019 Pearl Award recipient was Casey Hill, who designed the Piston Trainer for trumpet players. The award is given to a young woman who is a graduate of the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy. Hill, a junior at Boca Raton Community High School, launched her company in August.
The Chamber’s Community Cookout will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16 at the YMCA of South Palm Beach County, 6631 Palmetto Circle South. There will be hot dogs, hamburgers, veggies, chips and more, as well as games for all ages, with bounce houses, slides and a DJ. Admission is free, and meal tickets can be purchased for $5. To register, visit bocaratonchamber.com/events.

MDG Advertising, a company that sponsors Boca Raton Eco Trail Trekker, put out a call for runners to take part in the Sports, Health and Wellness Expo at Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus on March 30-31. Runners will raise money for charities. For each team entry, organizers will donate 50 percent of money received to Achievement Centers for Children & Families in Delray Beach. For information, visit ecotrailtrekker.com/boca-raton-team-entry-form/

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

By Steve Plunkett

Construction has begun to replace Interstate 95’s bridge over the Hillsboro Canal, South Palm Beach County’s key high-speed conduit to Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale and points south.
Work on the northbound I-95 bridge started Feb. 4, with demolition and dredging expected to last three to four months and construction another eight months. A second phase, for the median in both directions, will follow and also take a year. The third phase, for southbound I-95, will consume most of 2021.
The new bridge will not only be wider, to accommodate new express toll lanes in both directions, but also higher, giving watercraft beneath it 12 feet of clearance at mean high water instead of the current 8 feet.
The activity is part of a $102 million project to replace the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes from south of Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach to south of Glades Road with two toll lanes in each direction. The overall project includes widening the interstate’s bridges over Camino Real and Palmetto Park Road.
In Delray Beach, the north sidewalk on Atlantic Avenue on both sides of the interstate was closed in mid-January for work to improve that interchange. Pedestrians are being routed to the south side of Atlantic until spring 2020; the $5.2 million project will add dedicated turn lanes to northbound I-95 and new turn lanes for westbound Atlantic traffic turning north or south onto Congress Avenue.
Andi Pacini, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation, gave the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations an update on the express lanes Feb. 5.
“As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a lot of construction going on the main line, I-95, now,” Pacini said. “The idea is to build a very fast, multimodal commute from Palm Beach County all the way down to Dade. It’s not meant for getting on and getting off. It’s more like a straight shot, fast, take you all the way down approach.”
Motorists on the express lanes in Miami-Dade County pay tolls of 50 cents to $10.50, depending on distance, time of day and congestion. The goal is to keep traffic in the express lanes moving at an average speed of 45 to 50 mph, the FDOT says.
Craig Fox, president of the federation and owner of an electric vehicle, also noted that EVs travel free in express lanes.
The state DOT foresees more and more traffic on I-95 in coming years, growing from 290,000 vehicles a day now to 360,000 daily in 2030, Pacini said.
The express lanes connecting Fort Lauderdale to Miami have boosted average speeds 300 percent in the toll lanes and 200 percent in the local lanes, she said.
The express lane project will also improve drainage on I-95, lessening the chance of hydroplaning during rain, and use “class 5 anti-graffiti paint” that makes graffiti easy to wash off, Pacini said.
A second phase, estimated to cost $130 million, will take the toll lanes from south of Glades north to south of Linton Avenue. Work is planned to begin next year and end in 2024.

Savor the Avenue has been celebrating Delray Beach restaurants for more than a decade. Photo provided by Delray Beach DDA

By Jan Norris

For a decade, Delray Beach has been blocking off Atlantic Avenue in the tastiest of detours. Savor the Avenue, the five-block-long dinner party staged in the center of the street, returns for an 11th year on March 25, with downtown restaurants showcasing their food, wine and elaborate table displays.
Sponsored by the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority and Boca magazine, the event has garnered national attention and spawned several copycats. It’s all flattery for the city, said Laura Simon, executive director of the DDA.
“We are thrilled once again to bring the downtown to life and our community together with this experiential event in a very social and very Delray Beach way. The restaurants are excited and have created themes for their table décor from fun to elegant as they compete for Best in Show,” she said.
Fourteen restaurants were scheduled to participate, some that have been with the event since the start. Among those are Cabana El Rey, The Office, Caffe Luna Rosa, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, and Vic & Angelo’s.
Others set to participate: 50 Ocean, Che, Death or Glory, Lemongrass, Rack’s Fish House and Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen, L’Acqua, Rocco’s Tacos and Salt 7.
Nearly all reservations, made directly with each restaurant, were sold out by mid-February, according to the DDA website.
Atlantic Avenue will be closed, and long tables for the restaurants will line the middle of the street from Swinton Avenue to Fifth Avenue, with the railroad tracks the main gap. Each restaurant is responsible for its own table decor, food and paired wines, and service staff.
A contest for best table decor brings out elaborate, creative themes. Guests each leave with a gift bag. All restaurants prepare a four-course menu, though some chefs are known to slide in some extras during the evening.
Chef Ernie DeBlasi of Caffe Luna Rosa says it’s a tricky dinner to cater — especially preparing food in a tent as he does. Caffe Luna Rosa, on State Road A1A, is too far away for hot food to travel for 110 diners.
“A lot goes into it — more than you would think,” he said. “It’s enough of a feat if you’re cooking four courses for 110 people at once in your own restaurant during service. Doing it in a tent with unfamiliar equipment under unpredictable conditions, it’s definitely more difficult. Any number of things can go wrong, and you just have to be ready.”
The restaurants along Atlantic have it easier. “If you’re fortunate enough to have a restaurant that’s on the street with your table nearby, it’s easier,” though still problematic if you’re open for service to other diners, DeBlasi said.
From writing the menu, to planning equipment and prep lists, and pulling the staff to work the street dinner (“I get the guy with the pickup truck who can carry our coolers,” he said), details must be checked off far in advance.
“You have to get there early and check all your equipment. You don’t want to show up and find out your pilot light isn’t working,” he said. “Been there, done that.”
The tent kitchen must be up to code, so city and fire code compliance officers come to inspect for fire extinguishers and three compartment hand- and dish-washing sinks.
The event attracts hundreds more than it did 11 years ago. “We had 30 people the first year, and this year we’re up to 110,” DeBlasi said. “We sell out early. I’d say 50 percent of the people have been here every year, and the other 50 percent just happen in.”
DeBlasi does all this while still running dinner service at the restaurant; a trusted staff helps. “We’re ready to go home at the end,” he said. “It’s a long day.”
The dinner starts with walk-around cocktails provided by the restaurants at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner. A list of the menus and information about the event are at DowntownDelrayBeach.com/SavortheAvenue.

In Boca Raton, they’re preparing for Boca Bacchanal, hailing all things wine and food. It’s April 4-6, with events at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.
Team members announced in February the select pairings for the vintner dinners, the exclusive hallmarks of the event. They’re held in private homes in Boca.
The dinners are designed and executed by noted chefs from around the country. Their four-course menus are paired with a winery whose owner or representative is at the dinner.
This year, Barbara and Bobby Campbell have Craggy Range Vineyards of New Zealand, and chefs Lior Lev Sercarz of La Boîte, New York, and Justin Smillie of Upland in New York and Miami.
Joyce and Thom DeVita and Joni and Al Goldberg will host representatives of ZD Wines of Napa, with chef Matt Gennuso of Chez Pascal in Providence, Rhode Island.
Maria and Todd Roberti host vintners from Darioush, Napa, along with chefs Brian and Shanna O’Hea of Academe at the Kennebunk Inn in Maine.
Holly and David Meehan host representatives of Silver Oak/Twomey Cellars of Napa, with chef Russ Aaron Simon of GG’s Waterfront in Hollywood, Florida.
Diane and Robert Bok host vintners from Maison Louis Jadot’s Resonance of France and Oregon. Chef Adam Jakins of Hall’s Chophouse in Charleston, South Carolina, will cook.
These intimate dinners are the big-ticket event at the festival, at $350 per person with limited seating in each home. Dinners are at 7 p.m. April 5.
Other events include the new Bubbles & Burgers, April 4 at the Boca Beach Club at the resort. Guests can mingle with others and meet the chefs of the bacchanal. Specialty burgers and Champagne are on the menu. Tickets are $75 per person.
The finale of the weekend is the Grand Tasting, April 6 at the resort. Tickets are $125 per person, with an international representation of wines and winemakers on hand to talk about them. Dozens of chefs from area restaurants will prepare small bites off their menus in a walk-around setting, and more than 100 lots will be offered for bid in a silent auction. For more information and for tickets to all events, visit bocabacchanal.com.

South Florida is getting on the “environment-friendly” train, with cities voting to ban plastic-foam dinnerware and take-out containers, plastic bags and straws. Delray Beach voted in the plastic straw ban in February.
Now Boca Raton wants to recognize restaurants and other businesses it deems eco-friendly by giving out star ratings for their efforts. The symbol for the ratings is a starfish.
Up to three stars can be awarded to each business, given in the form of a certificate to be posted. The rating will depend on the level of sustainability and eco-friendly practices, such as plant-based menu items.
The program is aimed at the reduction of single-use plastics often found on beaches, in waterways and public parks where fish, turtles and birds mistake it for food. With the largest coastline of all cities in the county, Boca Raton has much at stake.
It’s an initiative brought to the city by Lindsey Nieratka, the new sustainability manager. She hopes the recognition for some restaurants will lead others to participate in the program.
It’s part of a larger Coastal Connection initiative, a more ambitious program teaching and encouraging environment-friendly practices by businesses as well as restaurants.
Restaurants can earn one starfish if they offer plastic straws only by request, use biodegradable takeout containers and offer sustainable menu items such as vegetarian dishes.
Two starfish can be achieved if the restaurant adheres to the one-starfish rules and works to conserve water and energy and recycle within the restaurant.
The top rating, three starfish, goes to the restaurants that practice all the above, plus use techniques that reduce light pollution and cut food waste in the kitchen.
These top restaurants also will use sustainable seafood (if they serve seafood), and those fish and shellfish on the Seafood Watch list compiled by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Seafood Watch program has been around for decades and uses research on sustainability and endangerment of fishes from the aquarium.

In brief: A third Beehive Kitchen, a fast-casual bowl restaurant, officially opens this month in Boca Raton at 1914 NE Fifth Ave. The Florida-based restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, serving gluten-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free menu choices, with an emphasis on vegetables. It’s a cafeteria-style counter service eatery. Call 341-0496 for information.
In a move that has Delray’s food community talking, Bruce Feingold stepped away from the stoves at DaDa after 18 years as chef. He’s moving on to pursue other ventures and spend time with family.
The Delray Beach Wine & Seafood Festival returns to downtown Delray Beach and Old School Square on March 9 and 10. Event-goers can sign up for seminars from top chefs or vintners to learn how to pair wine and seafood. The event will feature live music as well as arts and crafts for sale. Admission is free. For the event schedule or to purchase tickets to food and wine pairings, visit WineandSeafoodFest.com.

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

The Plate: Turkey sandwich
The Place: Mission BBQ, 1100 Congress Ave., No. 130, Boynton Beach; 335-1514 or mission-bbq.com.
The Price: $6.99
The Skinny: I’m on a quest for the best smoked turkey. Don’t ask why, but I’ve never been a rib man, and brisket does not interest me. To me, there’s nothing more satisfying than finding delicately smoked, tender, juicy turkey sliced thick and served on a fresh roll. Mission BBQ does it beautifully.
I came to like Mission’s food when I visited the small chain’s Fort Myers store — the Boynton restaurant is the company’s only location in Palm Beach County.
Sides are nice, if not noteworthy — fries are always crisp and clean tasting, and the mac and cheese offers oodles of gooey goodness. The collards I tried last visit were earthy and hearty on a rainy night.
There’s fine cuisine and there’s good eating.
I’ll take good eating any time.
— Scott Simmons

Larry Okun, Eric Adams and Ron Simon (l-r), volunteers from Temple Sinai, and Chris Bentley, whose company bought the four-stall shower truck, take a selfie in front of it at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

On a brisk Friday morning earlier this year, Judy Fenney and Kathleen Megan awaited the start of the mobile shower program in Delray Beach.

The two volunteers, wearing pink pullover sweaters and blue jeans, checked in 14 homeless people who had signed up for showers.

The shower truck is parked in a lot behind St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church.

The women handed each person a toiletry kit, a towel, new socks and underwear. Men each received a new T-shirt and women got new bras.

That Friday was the first day of the six-month pilot program, which gained city commissioners’ blessing in December.

The showers are offered on Fridays during lunchtime and limited to people who eat at the Caring Kitchen meal sites, at St. Matthew’s, Cason United Methodist Church and, effective Feb. 28, First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach on the barrier island.

People also can request showers through Ariana Ciancio, the special populations advocate in the Police Department.

The City Commission wants to make sure the program serves only the homeless population of Delray Beach.

“We started two years ago on the transition committee for the Caring Kitchen,” Megan said of the CROS Ministries program. “It’s been an amazing journey.”

Ezra Krieg, who chairs the city’s Homeless Task Force, called Fenney and Megan “superstars” for their efforts to bring the mobile shower truck to Delray Beach. He praised the Rev. Marcia Beam, pastor of St. Matthew’s, for allowing the shower truck to sit on church land behind the sanctuary at 404 SW Third St.

And he commended Ciancio for her soft touch with homeless people.

“Our mission is to try positive solutions,” Krieg said. “We can’t arrest our way out of the homeless problem.”

In 2017, the City Commission wanted the Caring Kitchen to move from a city-owned location on Northwest Eighth Avenue where it had prepared and served meals, offered clothing and shoes, and provided social services. The neighbors had complained about litter and disturbances on their properties.

CROS Ministries decided to have the Caring Kitchen focus on providing free meals. Ruth Mageria, executive director of CROS, asked Fenney and Megan, longtime Caring Kitchen volunteers, to offer the social services the organization could no longer provide.
The two women, members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, became co-chairwomen of the Delray Beach Interfaith Committee for Social Services. They’ve started the process of the committee’s filing to become an official charity.

That would allow the committee to apply for grants and allow it to accept direct donations, instead of the donors’ making out checks to St. Paul’s and writing shower program on the memo lines.

The committee meets monthly at St. Paul’s to talk about its needs, such as backpacks to give to shower-takers with tattered packs, Fenney said at the February meeting. The program also needs bras.

The committee started with a handful of churches, she said. Now it has members from 12 churches, a Jewish temple, local nonprofits and the city.

“Because it involves churches, we have a different quality of volunteers,” Fenney said. “It is very much the ministry of the churches to feed the hungry and provide services.”

Patti Alexander, who sits on the CROS board and is a member of Cason United Methodist, said the church trustees offered Cason as a serving site when they heard the Caring Kitchen had to move.

“Then, the trustees agreed to allow the food to be prepared at Cason,” she said. “It snowballed from there.”

The initial six-month contract expired Feb. 1 and was renewed for another year, with options, Alexander said.

That allows CROS Ministries time to search for a countywide site for its food distribution offerings, Mageria said.

Cason also serves lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

First Presbyterian Church was starting an eight-week trial with a Thursday meal, said Wally Hartung, the church’s Caring Kitchen representative.

As part of the effort to help homeless people, college interns from Family Promise of South Palm Beach County staff two sessions weekly at the Delray Beach Public Library. They help people apply for birth certificates and get ID cards.

“Each appointment takes at least 90 minutes and can take up to two and a half hours,” said Jennifer Raymond, executive director of the Family Promise branch. The social work students also do mental health assessments and referrals.

More than 270 people have been served, Raymond said. “Many are repeat clients because homeless people often lose their IDs or are robbed of their belongings,” she said.

“You can’t do anything these days without an ID,” said Jackie Ermola, president of the St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Care Ministry. “Even for a county bus pass, you need a photo ID.”

Kathleen  Megan of St. Paul’s Episcopal works check-in at the showers, which are open each Friday for homeless people who sign up. They leave with donated items such as clean clothes.

The St. Vincent group uses donations from church members to purchase the toiletry kits, socks and underwear in bulk for distribution on shower day. It also pays to launder the towels.

The shower truck has become the most visible sign of the interfaith committee’s social services role.

Chris Bentley, founder of Live Fresh Inc., said he got the idea for a mobile shower program when he was enrolled in a master’s program at Columbia University in New York City.

“The homeless there often came into the coffee shops,” Bentley said. “But no one wanted to sit next to them because they smelled.”
Bentley says that when he felt low, he could “take a shower and get a haircut” and feel better. But homeless people could not do that easily, he said.

He received a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 of the Palm Beaches to purchase the first mobile shower, which has six stalls and is in Fort Lauderdale. Later, his company bought a four-stall unit that is parked at St. Matthew’s.

“I feel great,” one man said after his shower in early January.

Wearing a feather in his cap, he came out of the unit holding his socks and shoes. He said he didn’t want to take up more than his allotted time. He also said, “They need a garbage can in the units.”

The truck has two propane tanks to heat the water, lessening the financial demand on St. Matthew’s, Bentley said.

Even so, the Rev. Beam said her governing board was willing to let the unit hook up to the church’s water. “That’s what churches should do,” Beam said.

Chris Bentley (center) and volunteer Judy Fenney check in people to use the showers parked at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach.

Temple Sinai congregants also volunteer on shower day. Eric Adams, an interfaith committee member, said the congregants look for opportunities to help others.

On the first day, Adams, Ron Simon and Larry Okun took turns timing the showers. Each person is allowed 15 minutes and receives a warning after 13 minutes. Showers are sanitized after each person is finished.

Ciancio, the special populations advocate, told city commissioners on Feb. 12 that no incidents required police response at the shower site.

Her dream is to have everything come together for a homeless person in a short period of time, from visiting the city’s Career Cottage to finding a suitable job interview.

She hopes that interview would take place on a Friday afternoon. That would allow the homeless person to get a shower, eat lunch at St. Matthew’s and select business clothes from her stash to wear to the interview. “I feel like a million bucks when I’m clean, food is in my belly and I have new clothes to wear,” Ciancio said.

She mentioned one success story about a homeless man who now works on Atlantic Avenue. Soon, she said, he will have saved enough money to get into housing.

A client heads in to take a shower, which is scheduled for up to 15 minutes.

Through mid-February, 63 people had taken advantage of the mobile shower program, Fenney said. That translates to 12 to 14 people each Friday.

She said many are repeat clients who find the showers refreshing and empowering.