The Butcher and The Bar opened in August and offers takeout and dining inside and out. Table service wasn’t available at first, but customers could place orders at the sandwich bar. The establishment includes a retail butcher shop. Photos provided by Jupiter Compass Digital Marketing Agency

By Jan Norris

Partners in The Butcher and The Bar worked through the COVID-19 shutdown and have managed to open — at least partially — their new eat-in butcher shop in Boynton Beach.

Eric Anderson, business partner, says the old-school, retail butcher shop and sandwich counter are open for takeout, and diners can sit inside or out and eat, but as of late August there was no table service.

“We were kind of supposed to open in April, but then contractors couldn’t send as many people at once to a job so there was a delay. We opened early August,” he said.

“Once Phase 2 is in place... we’ll be able to open the bar. We’ll start serving small plates there.”

In late August, the partners were still waiting for their liquor license to be approved.

From the counter, they serve breakfast biscuits from 9 a.m. until they’re sold out, and offer a variety of sandwiches and other prepared foods at lunch. The retail butcher case is open all day.

First and foremost, TBTB is a whole-animal butcher shop, Anderson said. “We bring in whole cows, pigs, chickens, and butcher them on site.” Fresh meats and poultry, most sourced in Florida, are cut to order in the retail side.

Jason Brown, a junior partner, is the butcher. He is largely self-taught but has taken classes in butchering from noted chefs. He and others from the shop visited several farms in Florida to see animal operations before choosing their meats.

Pork and chicken sausages and slaw are among the menu items. Everything is made from scratch. Photos provided by Jupiter Compass Digital Marketing Agency

“We get our hogs from HertaBerkSchwein Farms in Groveland, and cows from Watkins High Pasture Ranch, and Fort McCoy near Zolfo Springs,” Anderson said. For now, Bell and Evans chickens from Pennsylvania are on the menu until they find a quality poultry producer in Florida, he said.

All ground and smoked meats from the kitchen are house-made, including pork and chicken sausages, smoked bacon, tasso ham, porchetta, chicken meatballs and kielbasa.

“Everything is from scratch,” Anderson said. “All our condiments — our mayonnaise, ketchup, bone broth — we make everything here.” They have a “pickle program” as well.

Daniel Ramos, of the critically acclaimed Red Splendor Bone Broth, is a chef/partner, overseeing the menu, which changes daily.
Anderson said despite the name and concept, the shop has vegetarian and even vegan offerings.

“We had a party of three vegans who came in, and Chef Dan made them a whole vegan meal. There’s a joke there,” he laughed.

“Three vegans walk into a butcher shop. ...”

Hours for the shop are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but once Phase 2 is initiated and the bar is open, hours will change.

The Butcher and The Bar, 510 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. Phone 561-903-7630; www.butcherandbar.com.

Feeding South Florida, the food bank that partners with other nonprofits throughout the county, has expanded with a 5,000-square-foot kitchen and food prep area that can now handle the production of 10,000 hot meals weekly. The Boynton Beach facility on Park Ridge Boulevard opened in July.

It’s just in time to meet much greater needs, said Sari Vatske, executive vice president.

“The need has doubled because of COVID,” Vatske said. She listed as recipients homebound older adults, school kids out on summer break, and numerous nonprofits that help food-insecure populations across the county.

Add to that people who are newly unemployed in the food and hospitality business, who find themselves needing basic help, and a potentially threatening hurricane season.

The organization also took over serving Boynton Beach’s homebound seniors for the Community Caring Center of Boynton Beach.

“We’re doing 1,000 meals weekly for CCC,” Vatske said.

The new facility has a pantry up front. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients can come in and get cleaning supplies, canned goods and dairy perishables as part of the program. The facility acts as a drive-through distribution center as well, providing boxes of SNAP benefit food weekly.

In the main production area, a gleaming new commercial kitchen line is in place.

“This is the culinary training kitchen,” Vatske said. “We’re going to have 10 to 12 people at a time, for 16 weeks, training here.”

Feeding South Florida chefs, led by Chrissy Benoit, will team with volunteer guest chefs from the community to train people to work in the culinary field, both kitchen and front-of-house positions.

The goal is for graduates to find work in commercial restaurants. The program is open to anyone with at least a GED who wants to get into the culinary field or improve his or her career, she said.

The plan is for classes to be sponsored, Vatske said, with the goal that they are free for the trainees.

For now, the teaching kitchen is idle because of COVID-19. “We are hopeful by October we’ll have teaching and training,” Vatske said.

The organization also will add commercial events, such as catering large affairs.

“We will have a revenue-generating component. The money earned will be reinvested into our program,” she said.

In the past, Feeding South Florida relied on vendors to help produce its meals; FSF now will become a vendor to others, supplying hot meals for recipients of other programs.

For special events and catering work, the agency will hire from its grad pool.

“We’ll also have an incubator program for food products,” Vatske said. Entrepreneurs can learn to make and market their own products in a commercial environment.

“Right now, we’re focusing on scaling our production. We’re still hiring and training for current production.”

Workers on the production side are cooking and packing meals for distribution. Soups are prepared in one of the giant tilt skillets — cream of celery was the choice on a recent day. The menu rotates through a four-week plan.

Meals are cooked rapid-fire in the new combi ovens. These are high-volume ovens that perform multiple functions such as baking, steaming, poaching and roasting.

“These are amazing,” Vatske said. “They are state-of-the-art,” allowing them to turn out hundreds of complete meals much faster.

Volunteers are used to pack and seal the food trays.

A cold storage area is being added; for now, it shares space with the major distribution area. There’s also a small laundry room where kitchen linens and uniforms are laundered, keeping everything in house.

The agency also works with FEMA and Florida’s CERT (the emergency response team coordinators), as well as community groups to provide meals for emergency workers and people in shelters during disaster relief efforts.

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana in 2017, wiping out resources for food, spurred a new program for Florida, Vatske said.

The state funds FSF and other organizations, which have high-production meal-distribution plans ready whenever a storm approaches.

Other funding comes from federal agencies, as well as a number of local partners such as Publix, the Quantum Foundation and other private groups.

Volunteers and donations are still needed from the community, she said, more than ever to help people outside the government programs.

Vatske said FSF is grateful for all donations. “Absolutely. We have general programs and supplies to fund.”
For information about the programs or volunteer opportunities, go to feedingsouthflorida.org.

Chef James Strine has taken the helm at Taru, the new moniker for the restaurant at the Sundy House.

It is billed as “New Florida Cuisine,” and puts a twist on Florida influences from the Caribbean (jerk ribs with tamarind barbecue sauce); Cuba’s croquettes (turkey and stuffing croquettes with cranberry mayo), or a Florida bouillabaisse (local fish, clams, shrimp, grits). He also dips into Asian influences, with Dynamite rice (furikake, crab, pork belly) and rice noodles and clams, with wine, garlic, bone marrow and Thai basil. Taru also gives a nod to a hot trend by offering poutine (fries covered with burrata and foie gravy).

Though Strine is a master at meats — he’s noted for charcuterie and his butchering skills — he knows vegetarian plates as well (cauliflower steak and waffles).

Strine comes from a string of noteworthy kitchens, including Cafe Boulud, Buccan and Grato, as well as his most recent gig at The Trophy Room in Wellington.

The restaurant is still open for its acclaimed Sunday brunch in the garden — a romantic setting on any occasion.
Taru at the Sundy House, 106 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Phone 561-272-5678; www.sundyhouse.com. Open for dinner Monday-Saturday; brunch Saturday (a la carte) and Sunday (prix fixe buffet).

In brief … Viva La Playa, a new Latin restaurant, takes over the former Mulligan’s space at the Lake Worth Casino beachfront plaza. Chef Jeremy Hanlon of Benny’s on the Beach, the sister restaurant, brings flavors from South America through Latin America to the menu. The eatery planned a September opening. ...

Plans are still on hold for the season’s green markets, but Delray’s GreenMarket is celebrating its 25th year anyway — with a new cookbook. Residents are asked to send in their favorite recipes to be included in the Community Cookbook Tastes of the Season. To participate or for more information, email Lori Nolan at nolan@mydelraybeach.com. The Vol. 2 cookbook is still available for $12 by calling the Community Redevelopment Agency at 561-276-8640.

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

By Christine Davis 

COVID-19 vaccine development is in the works across the globe with one Phase 3 trial — the final step before U.S. government approval — in progress locally. Massachusetts-based Moderna Inc. — in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health — aims to enroll 30,000 adults in Phase 3 of its testing with volunteers from all over the country.

In West Palm Beach, at the Palm Beach Research Center, a clinical trial began July 31 and has already enrolled and vaccinated hundreds of volunteers. It is still enrolling, said David Scott, president and CEO of the research center.

The study will continue for two years. The first visit takes 3-4 hours, with other quicker visits at days 28, 57, 209, 395 and 759, plus or minus a couple of days, he said. Participants will be paid up to $1,190.

Scott describes the vaccine: “Moderna uses a biodegradable lipid nanoparticle, which allows it to more effectively be absorbed by the body than any current vaccine technology. It carries a messenger RNA, which creates a protein that looks like COVID-19’s outer shell.

“It causes the body’s immune system to create proteins that look like COVID-19 (with spikes), but they are empty — they don’t have COVID-19. Since it looks like COVID-19, the body will be prepared; in the future it can recognize COVID-19 and eliminate it.

“While the trial is ongoing, if the data shows it’s effective, Dr. Fauci is confident the FDA may do an interim analysis and begin to manufacture it this winter and distribute soon after,” Scott says.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is one of the government’s top advisers on the coronavirus pandemic.

This is a randomized, double-blind trial, which means that volunteers are randomly assigned to either receive the vaccine or a placebo, and neither the vaccinated person nor the researcher knows which was given to each person until the end of the trial.

To volunteer, go to https://palmbeachresearch.com/2020/03/02/covid-19-vaccine-study/ or call 561-689-0606.

Researchers at Brain Matters Research are looking for participants age 50 and older with no memory loss to take part in the Alzheimer Prevention Trials web study, an online study that detects if people experience memory loss over time and need early intervention.

Volunteers take no-cost tests online every three months to monitor memory changes. If changes are observed, volunteers may be invited to in-person evaluations to determine eligibility for additional Alzheimer’s studies. To learn more and enroll, visit www.APTWebstudy.org.

Four researchers from Florida Atlantic University received the National Science Foundation Early Career Awards in August. The awards support early-career faculty members who have the potential to lead advances and serve as academic role models.

The award winners are Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., associate professor; Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., associate professor;  Feng-Hao Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor, all within the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Marianne E. Porter, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
Asghar received $500,000 over five years to develop a low-cost disposable point-of-care platform to detect current and emerging infectious diseases.

Ghoraani, who is also a fellow in FAU’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering, was given $524,191 over five years to develop a cognitive screening tool for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease using wearables and a smartphone.

Liu got $500,000 over five years to develop new ways of coding to enhance cybersecurity.

Porter’s $625,943 over five years is for research to better understand how marine animals tune, or dynamically adjust their movements using their skin and skeletons.

In July, Boca Raton Regional Hospital received certification from DNV GL Healthcare as a comprehensive stroke center.

This signifies that the hospital’s Marcus Neuroscience Institute meets standards for providing care to all stroke patients, including endovascular embolization and surgical clipping of brain aneurysms, tPA administration and mechanical endovascular thrombectomy, a procedure used to remove a blood clot from the brain during an ischemic stroke.

JFK Medical Center received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in July, recognizing the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment.

Additionally, JFK Medical Center received the association’s Stroke Honor Roll Elite award, recognizing that the hospital meets quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment.

JFK was also recognized by Healthgrades with a Five-Star Recipient Award for Treatment in Stroke for three consecutive years, 2018-2020.

The Palm Beach Health Network’s Delray Medical Center also earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Stroke and Heart Quality Achievement Award.

The hospital achieved high performance marks in the category of heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for the state of Florida in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-2021 Best Hospitals rankings for adult clinical specialties.

Dr. Lloyd Zucker, who has more than two decades of practice in South County, was named medical director of neurosurgery for Delray Medical Center and Good Samaritan Medical Center.

An honor graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Zucker was invited as an undergraduate to do research at the National Institutes of Health.

A neurosurgical residency at the University of Connecticut-Hartford Hospital followed his medical training at Rutgers University/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. His extended training was completed by a fellowship in complex spinal surgery at the University of South Florida/Tampa General Hospital.

FoundCare, a nonprofit health center, has expanded its women’s health services to include OB/GYN care, well-woman exams, preventive care and screenings, bone density testing, breast and cervical cancer screening, sexual health services, birth control, Pap smear and HPV testing, pregnancy services, and prenatal and postpartum care. 

With 35 years in the community, FoundCare Inc. has several locations throughout Palm Beach County, offering services that include pediatric and adult primary care, new women’s health services, chronic disease management, behavioral health services, dentistry, pharmacy, laboratory services and X-rays.

FoundCare’s mission is to fulfill unmet health care and social service needs of individuals and families in Palm Beach County. For more information, call 561-432-5849 or visit www.foundcare.org.

A new exhibit at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, “Real Bodies,” will run from Sept. 28 through April 11.
It will give visitors a tour of human bodies that have been preserved using a process known as polymer impregnation, where bodily fluids are replaced by liquid plastic, which is then hardened to create a solid, durable anatomic specimen that will last indefinitely. The process leaves fine delicate tissue structures intact, down to the microscopic sphere, making the process invaluable for medical study.

The exhibit will feature a COVID-19 component, where visitors can learn more about the pandemic’s impact on the human body.

The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium is at 4801 Dreher Trail N., West Palm Beach. For more information, call 561-832-1988 or visit www.sfsciencecenter.org. ;

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

Carol Ann Keller for years has incorporated gratitude into her meditation sessions, but the practice can be as simple as jotting down thoughts on paper. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Joyce Reingold

Gratitude swept into Carol Ann Keller’s life in “full force” in 1993, when she felt she had absolutely nothing to be grateful for.

“Everything was a giant mess, mostly of my own making,” says Keller, a Lantana resident who works in the interior design field. “I had to make extreme life changes in order to change my own life. It was introduced to me that maybe a power greater than myself existed — whatever that looked like, whatever that would be called — and that was very humbling. And once humility started entering into my existence, the gratitude just came up, and I really learned … what gratitude looks like.”

She started with baby steps, acknowledging her good fortune at having a roof over her head and food in the refrigerator — basic but life-sustaining needs. Keller says as her gratitude practice grew, so did her sense of peace and well-being.

While skeptics may regard practicing gratitude as woo-woo, a phalanx of researchers says otherwise. Keller’s experiences mirror findings reported in “The Science of Gratitude,” a 2018 report from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California in Berkeley, a locus for research into the psychology, sociology and neuroscience of well-being.

“In general, more-grateful people are happier, more satisfied with their lives, less materialistic, and less likely to suffer from burnout. Additionally, some studies have found that gratitude practices, like keeping a gratitude journal or writing a letter of gratitude, can increase people’s happiness and overall positive mood,” writes author Summer Allen in the report, which documents more than two decades of research. (To read more, visit ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Gratitude-FINAL.pdf)

In one cited study, Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough define gratitude as having two components: “Recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome and recognizing that there is an external source for this positive outcome.” That external source can be a higher power, as it is for Keller, or someone whose actions have bestowed a kindness, or gift.

The important part, experts say, is to get outside of ourselves, acknowledging that navigating life does, indeed, take a village.
Expressing thanks to others directly is another way to practice gratitude. It can come in many forms, such as a letter of thanks. (And you can say thanks to the U.S. Postal Service at the same time by ordering its “Thank You” stamps, just issued in August.)

You might share appreciation in a conversation or as a random act of kindness. The nightly cheering, clapping and pots-and-pans clanging to honor front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic upped the feel-good ante by giving thanks and building community.

As the pandemic upended life as it was, it prompted many of us to reflect on what we previously may have taken for granted — from lingering with a friend over lattes to visiting far-distant family members or hugging loved ones just across town. With gratitude, surely hindsight counts, too.

Keller says gratitude is helping to sustain her through the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic.

“When everything just kind of blew up, and nothing looked like it ever did before, I had to take myself down a notch to relieve that inner angst, because when I get anxious, it’s usually because I’m trying to control things that are out of my control,” she says. “And so, I go back to gratitude. Gratitude brings me back and I have so much to be grateful for in my life, I really do.”

Michelle Maros, co-founder of Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life in Boca Raton, a nonprofit organization offering mindfulness classes and workshops and other inspiration activities, believes gratitude is especially beneficial during times of crisis.

“Finding things to be grateful for, no matter how small, can allow us to feel a sense of optimism, hope and peace,” she says. “During difficult times, our minds may convince us that everything is going wrong. Gratitude can help shift that mind-set and allow us to remember that there is still so much light in the world, even when it feels dark.”

If you have room in your life to grow your gratitude, the good news is that you already have everything you need. Think about the people, pets, places and things for which you’re grateful. You decide on the where, when and how.

Some jot down their thanks on paper, a couple of nuggets at a time. Keeping a running list builds a storehouse of goodwill that may boost your mood when you review it.

Others, like Keller, make it part of a meditation practice, “an inner journey” that starts and ends her day. “Gratitude keeps me out of the headspace of, oh, why does that person have that, and I don’t?” she says. “It really alleviates any of that because when I’ve been grateful for really small things, bigger things have come along. And I don’t know how that works, I don’t know why that works, but it’s worked.

“My gratitude is increasing by leaps and bounds the older I get. I don’t know. Maybe I’m growing up at 66. Hopefully not,” she says, laughing. “But I’ll still be grateful.”

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

By Janis Fontaine

Just as the response to the coronavirus varies in different cultural, social and political arenas, the same is true in local churches. The one thing they share is a desire to serve and help, and they are on the front lines when families are in crisis.
Here’s what’s happening at some churches.

At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, Father Paul Kane reports that “our Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida has mandated closure of all churches at least until there is a 14-day, gradual decrease in COVID-19 cases in Palm Beach County. So far, our numbers are not heading in the right direction.”
Kane says the church has a reentry plan that gives details on the protocols it will follow when it is deemed safe to reopen for in-person worship.
In the meantime, Kane says that online giving, the backbone of the church’s community support, has increased. People who used to put cash in the collection plate have signed up to give online. The congregation’s needs have increased as well, but its members have stepped up to help.
Kane says the complexity of the pandemic, and the myriad issues driving the demand for church support, make everything harder to manage.
“Consider,” he says, “we’re dealing with the health and well-being of our congregants, especially those living in nursing homes and crowded public housing facilities; the mental health of our entire community, especially those who live alone and those who suffer from addictions; the strain on our health care system; the economic impact, especially on small businesses and newly unemployed people; and the spiritual impact of not being able to gather in-person for worship.”
To help, Kane says, “Our clergy provide ongoing pastoral care by phone, and we have six ministries who have dedicated themselves to praying for those people on our parish prayer list. We have also initiated a Prayer by Phone ministry, with prayer partners available five days per week.”
Kane said the church hadn’t lost any members to COVID as of mid-August, but members have lost family, friends and co-workers to the virus. The prayer partners have been especially helpful to people who are grieving, he said.

Advent Lutheran Church reports in-person worship resumed at both its locations — Boca Raton and Lantana — under CDC and local guidelines. In Boca, attendance was increasing in August.

One happy first: Andrew Hagen, lead pastor for Advent Life Ministries, says the church performed its first socially distanced baptism in the church since the crisis began.
Hagen says donations are up slightly over previous years.

At Unity of Delray Beach, the Rev. Laurie Durgan reports, “We’re keeping members and guests close via digital virtual means.”
Programs to help keep people connected include:
• Sunday: Guest speakers and meditations, minister talks and children’s videos and music by musical director D. Shawn Berry and soloist Daniel Cochran.
• Tuesday: Prayer services
• Wednesday: Meditation services
• Thursday: The Morning Prosperity Class with Charlene Wilkinson (phone) and the Lunch Prosperity Class with Dymin Dyer (Zoom).
If you need prayer, listen to new prayers on the Dial-a-Prayer line at 561-900-2559, email a prayer request to unitychurch@unityschool.com or speak to a prayer chaplain at 561-276-5796. Info at www.unityofdelraybeach.org.

Hot news!
In early August, Pastor D. Brian Horgan of St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach says divine intervention woke him in the middle of the night to alert him to an electrical fire in the rectory, “right outside my bedroom door.”
The parish priest likes to play the radio to fall asleep at night, and the radio, plus the breathing device he uses for his sleep apnea, prevented him from hearing the smoke alarm. Instead, he says, God woke him.
Horgan tried to use a fire extinguisher he keeps on hand to fight the flames, but the fire was too big. He called the Fire Department, which quickly traveled the quarter-mile to the church to take care of the blaze.
“The place is mess,” Horgan said, and his clothes all smell like smoke, but he’s grateful.
“I was very lucky,” Horgan said. “I used to joke about divine intervention. I don’t anymore.”

By Janis Fontaine

The Jewish High Holy Days — Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement — both take place in late September.

In Judaism, these are two of the most important holy days, and services featuring special prayers, feasts with significant foods, and 25 hours of fasting are planned. Congregations gather together with great joy to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the universe during Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 18-20).

Then the devout come together again a week later for Yom Kippur (Sept. 27-28), the holiest day of the year. Having spent time evaluating their lives, repenting their wrongs, praying and fasting, the worshipers are granted acquittal and the cleansing of their sins. The congregation dresses in white for solemn — but not sad — services at the synagogue.

This year, because of COVID-19, communal worship is limited, and some synagogues won’t have in-person services.

Rabbi Shmuel Biston of Chabad of East Delray expects 30 or 40 people to attend his socially distanced, carefully abbreviated services.

“The service will last about 30 minutes,” he said, “and if we get more people wanting to come, we’ll add a second staggered service and clean in between.”

For those who still don’t feel comfortable in a group setting, Chabad of East Delray offers “Stay at Home” kits, so people can mark the holidays at home. The Chabad resumed weekly services in August and Biston meets in private (socially distanced, masks required) with people who are struggling.

“We want to offer any type of safe interaction we can, any way we can connect,” Biston said.

Most of what he does is listen and talk things through, so the phone is good, but in-person is better for some people. “A lot of people are lonely and they really need that personal connection. It’s been tough for some people to adapt.”

Rabbi Joe Fishof of Temple Beth Ami in Boca Raton agrees. “Many are afraid, and we don’t want to subject them to a situation that makes them uncomfortable.”

So, this year, a limited number of members will come to services, but most will watch them on Zoom, Fishof says.

Many synagogues depend on the sale of tickets for these two important holidays for financial support throughout the year, but most have received special donations from members.

“We reminded them, ‘Don’t let the shul suffer,’” Fishof says, “and people were generous.”

Tickets for services are lower in cost this year, from $50 to $120, but these are suggested donations and no one is ever turned away because he can’t pay.

Leaders of Temple Beth El in Boca Raton suggest that with so many in the congregation suffering as a result of COVID, members who have purchased High Holy Day tickets in the past should consider making a donation in the amount they would have spent.

At Beth Ami, two 90-minute services are planned. Guests will be limited to 50. Cleaning is planned in between services. Fishof is keeping most of his sermon under wraps, but he plans to comfort and encourage people whose routines have been disrupted.

“With so many people suffering, we should make an effort to be more compassionate,” he said. “I also want to remind them to be grateful for what they have. I want to tell them to have hope, to pray and stay in faith.”

To Fishof, Yom Kippur is about “cheshbon hanefesh,” a spiritual accounting of the soul. Self-improvement, perfecting one’s character and forging closer relationships with God and our fellow men are the essence of Yom Kippur.    

“It’s about introspection,” Fishof said. “Look inside yourself and ask, ‘How can I be a better person, more compassionate, more understanding this year?’”  

Local services
• Temple Beth Ami — 1401 NW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. www.bacboca.org.
Temple Beth Ami will hold both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services by reservation only and by following CDC guidelines. Masks will be required. Bring your own hand sanitizer. Temperatures will be taken at the door. Two 90-minute services are planned: 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with cleaning planned in between. Call for tickets: 561-347-0031.

• Temple Beth El — Schaefer Family Campus, 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. www.tbeboca.org.
Temple Beth El’s services will be celebrated online. The synagogue invites everyone to watch services livestreaming on the website, Facebook page or YouTube channel. For members, there are additional benefits, like a special High Holy Day gift bag for pickup and the ability to borrow a High Holy Day machzor (prayer book). For more info, call 561-391-8900.

• Boca Beach Chabad — 120 NE First Ave., Boca Raton. 561-394-9770 or www.ChabadBocaBeaches.com
Rabbi Ruvi New said the synagogue plans to host its services at Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, instead of its facility. He said Mizner Park has enough room to accommodate everyone even with social distancing. Ages 12 and older. Some programs require tickets.
Services are as follows:
Rosh Hashanah evening: 7:05 p.m. Sept. 18
First-day Rosh Hashanah: 9 a.m. Sept. 19
Mincha: First-day Rosh Hashanah: 7:05 p.m. Sept. 19
Second-day Rosh Hashanah: 9 a.m. Sept. 20
Shofar sounding: 11:30 a.m. Sept. 20
Mincha: 6 p.m. Sept. 20, followed by tashlich and second shofar blowing at the Intracoastal at the northwest corner (Wildflower) of east Palmetto Park Road and Fifth Avenue, Boca Raton, at 6:45 p.m.
Kol Nidrei: 7 p.m. Sept. 27. Reservations required. Seats are $120.
Yom Kippur morning: 9 a.m. Sept. 28
Yizkor memorial: Noon Sept. 28. Reservations required. Seats are $72.
Mincha: 5:15 p.m. Sept. 28
Neilah closing service: 6:15 p.m. Sept. 28

Additional events:
The synagogue will host Mincha at 3:15 p.m. Sept. 27 at the synagogue.
Three special children’s programs are planned at the synagogue: first-day Rosh Hashanah at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 19; second-day: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 20; and Yom Kippur: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28

• Chabad of East Delray — 10 SE First Ave., Delray Beach. www.jewisheastdelray.com.
An outdoor shofar-blowing and shortened services in both Hebrew and English are planned complying with social distancing guidelines. All seats are reserved. Adults only. Masks required. Between services, the shul will be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly. A donation of $50 is suggested.
For congregation members who feel more comfortable staying at home, kits are available for pickup with a selection of the key prayers and insights, apple and honey, challah and candles. To reserve a kit, email rabbi@jewisheastdelray.com.
Services are:
First-day Rosh Hashanah: 10-10:45 a.m. Sept. 19.
Second-day Rosh Hashanah: 10-10:45 a.m. Sept. 20.
Outdoor shofar blowing: 5 p.m. Sept. 20 (location TBA)
Kol Nidrei: 7:15-7:45 p.m. Sept. 27
Yom Kippur day: 10-10:45 a.m. Sept. 28
Neilah: 7:15-7:45 p.m. Sept. 28

Costa d’Este Beach Resort in Vero Beach offers humans a free stay if an accompanying pet pays a rate starting at $184 a night. Photo provided by Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa

By Arden Moore

Raise your paw, er hand, if you are feeling a little stir-crazy. Got a dose of cabin fever due to the worldwide pandemic that seems to hover over Florida?

The silver lining for many stuck at home since mid-March is having a safe companion who never disagrees on which Netflix show to binge watch next. Yep, I’m referring to our dogs and cats, who have sacrificed oodles of me-alone-at-home nap time to cuddle and console us during our many moods.

Paws up for pets, for sure. At this stage of the coronavirus, opportunities are growing for us with pets to engage in safe activities and to take short getaways to pet-welcoming places. If you are ready to sport your mask, bring plenty of gloves and hand sanitizer, the

Visit Florida team may have a fit for you.

Visit Florida represents more than 13,000 tourism industry businesses throughout the Sunshine State. Recognizing that pet adoptions have surged by more than 300% since April, this group is promoting “fur-babymoon” adventures for people and their well-mannered pets.

From the Panhandle down to the Florida Keys, opportunities exist for you and your pet to safely paddleboard, take beach strolls, hike, sail, rent pet-friendly Airbnbs and dine outdoors.

One of the most fetching options includes free stays for people at the Costa d’Este Beach Resort & Spa in Vero Beach. The catch?

Their accompanied dogs must pay daily rates from $184 a night.

“We put a playful spin on a traditional hotel package from the dog’s perspective,” explains Jessica Milton, regional director of public relations for Benchmark Global Hospitality. “This is a small hotel with 94 rooms, so you won’t be walking into a massive resort. The hotel has plenty of safe things to do outside and definitely will pamper your dog with a beachside dog massage, water bowls and toys your dog can take home, use of a plush doggie bed in the room and even a doggie menu that includes Muttballs.”

Lisa Radosta, DVM, a veterinarian who operates the Florida Veterinary Behavior Service in West Palm Beach, recently spent a month living in a pet-friendly hotel while her family’s new house was being completed. Their old home sold quickly, so the entire family, including Maverick, a Labrador retriever, and a cat named Chewie were hotel dwellers.

“We chose the hotel based on the fact that they took pets and that we would have enough room (a suite) for us and both pets,” she says. “Factors to consider when traveling with your pets these days definitely include the ability to have space for the pets, a place to safely walk pets and pet-friendly restaurants and attractions nearby.”

Equally important is knowing your pet’s temperament and adaptability to being in new places with new sights, sounds and smells.
When they arrived, their normally easygoing Maverick had issues with the hotel elevator. But having a veterinary behaviorist for a pet parent helped as Radosta steadily built up Maverick’s exposure to elevator rides.

“My husband and I are pretty fit, so we took the four flights of stairs up and down as much as possible to give Maverick a break from the elevator,” she says. “We learned that he needed treats before he got on the elevator and tolerated the ride much better if I asked him to lie down. He rides the elevator just fine now.”

If you want to bring your pet on a day trip or overnight at a hotel, vacation rental, RV campground or cabin in a park, Radosta advises making a pros/cons list with your pet’s needs and personality in mind.

Some pets are genuine homebodies, who prefer staying at home under the care of a professional pet sitter who is practicing CDC health and safety guidelines. Dogs feeling stressed may chew or damage hotel furniture or bark excessively.

“You can’t come and go as you please on vacation, because you have to go back to the RV or hotel to take care of your pets,” Radosta adds.

Know your pet’s likes and dislikes.

“Going out with your dog is really fun — for you! Is it fun for your dog?” she says. “If not, take some time to get your dog used to going to the beach or getting on the kayak before you expect him to spend significant amounts of time in that activity.”

For well-socialized pets, however, such trips are viewed as added adventures spent with their favorite humans. Never before has the unconditional love unleashed on us by our pets felt so good.

If You Go...
Taking COVID-19 precautions into account, numerous pet-welcoming places and activities are available in the Sunshine State. To learn more, go to www.VisitFlorida.com.
To learn more about Dr. Lisa Radosta’s practice, visit www.flvetbehavior.com. Radosta is the co-author of From Fearful to Fear Free. The book spotlights the national Fear Free program created by veterinarians to reduce fear, anxiety and stress in pets at home, in the car, at veterinary clinics and during outdoor activities.

The crew of the Hypoluxo-based Southern Comfort IV holds the 51.3-pound wahoo caught July 11 to win the Big Dog/Fat Cat KDW Shootout. From left are mate Josh Joyner, Capt. Bill Cox and mate Ashley Mann. Winning angler Mark Boydston reeled in the wahoo, which hit a trolled bonito strip/sea witch combination in 250 feet off Sloan’s Curve. It was the heaviest fish of the 233-boat tournament. Photo provided by Southern Comfort Charters

Hurricane Isaias passed Florida as a tropical storm. It provided a morning of rough seas, then an afternoon of beautiful surf and spectacular dismounts. Thousands of surfers hit the beaches along Florida coasts, including these off Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes. By the following day, the surf was back to its normal summertime flatness.
Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Patricia Maguire and her granddaughter Daniella. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Patricia Maguire of Ocean Ridge and her granddaughter Daniella Maguire of Boca Raton have always been exceptionally close, so the social distancing protocols of the coronavirus had them both craving more of a connection than FaceTime and phone calls could offer.

At the same time, Dani, 9, was empathizing with her mother, Viviana, who is Pati’s oldest daughter. She was struggling to virtual-school Dani while caring for Dani’s brothers, Mikey, 1, and Noah, 3. When Viviana’s birthday came around, Dani wanted to make her a special gift and enlisted Pati, whom she calls “Noni,” to help.

Dani wanted to write a story that portrayed her mom as the heroine and she wanted Pati, an accomplished artist, to illustrate it. “I wanted my mom to know how much I appreciate her,” Dani said.

“Dani is very creative, and I’d been wanting to get her involved in a game or a project to stay in touch,” Pati recalled, and so she jumped on board.

Dani had learned to write essays in the fourth grade at Addison Mizner Elementary. “I wanted to be the author,” Dani said, but neither realized how big the project would become or how much work it would take.

In the end, the duo created Fiona the Fox and the Magic Crystal, an 18-page book with 14 color illustrations. Pati learned to use a medium called gouache, an opaque watercolor-like paint thickened with a binding agent.

Many discussions took place over the phone. Dani would write a few pages, and send the story to Noni, who would type it up. They would discuss how to best illustrate each of the scenes. Later they met a few times outdoors — at the beach or the pool, practicing social distancing — to work on the project.

“I kept it a surprise from my mom,” Dani said, so they had to be secretive. Afterward Dani apologized to her mom for “being mean and shutting her out.” But such is art!

Dani loves most animals (“I don’t like reptiles”) and knew they would be central to the story.

Her story was inspired by the pandemic and something she saw happening around her. Dani noticed there were more birds singing and squirrels playing. The news reports said air pollution was clearing up in the biggest cities because people were traveling and driving less.

“We noticed how nature responded,” Pati explained.

Their central theme — if nature could cause the pandemic, nature could fix it — depended on Fiona the Fox and the brave and brilliant mom solving a mystery together, with the help of all the forest animals and a bit of magic, of course. In all, it took Dani and Pati almost three months to complete their book, which Pati had self-published at www.blurb.com.

“I was so excited to see it and I was so proud of her,” Pati said. Dani had stuck with the project long-term, which can be tough when you’re not even in fifth grade yet.

“Dani got to experience the creative ebb and flow,” Pati said. “We motivated each other.”

“I was really proud of myself,” Dani said, “and my mom was really happy.”

Now if we could just find that magic crystal.

Pati and Dani’s book, Fiona the Fox and the Magic Crystal, is available for purchase at www.amazon.com. See Pati Maguire’s paintings, including several inspired by COVID-19, at www.patimaguire.com or at her Facebook page at patimaguirepaintings.

By Steve Plunkett

The number of COVID-19 cases in South County cities and towns is up by more than five times the total reported two months ago, state health figures show.

On June 4, when Boynton Beach (669 cases) overtook Boca Raton (660 cases) as the most infected South County municipality, they and other coastal towns posted 1,922 coronavirus reports.

On Aug. 5 Boca Raton had easily retaken the lead with 4,807 cases, a 628% increase, while Boynton Beach had 3,154 cases, up 371%.

Also on Aug. 5 Highland Beach posted its first case, losing its distinction as the only coastal municipality from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach to be COVID-19-free. The next day it added three more cases.

“We have mostly older residents and they’re being more cautious,” Highland Beach Mayor Doug Hillman said.

In all, the pandemic in South County grew from the 1,922 coronavirus cases on June 4 to 10,802 cases on Aug. 5. Delray Beach went from 518 cases to 2,418 in that time, a 367% increase, and Lantana’s cases grew from 66 to 375, up 468%.

Among smaller towns, South Palm Beach went from 1 case to 4, Hypoluxo from 7 to 27, and Ocean Ridge from 1 to 9. Towns that had no cases on June 4 but have since shown up on the daily counts are Briny Breezes (1), Gulf Stream (4) and Manalapan (2).

Meanwhile the total caseload for Palm Beach County rose from 6,688 cases on June 4 to 35,737 cases on Aug. 5, an increase of 434%. Boca Raton has the third highest concentration of cases, behind West Palm Beach (8,945) and Lake Worth/Lake Worth Beach (6,328).

The county-wide coronavirus positivity rate is 13.2 percent. More than 277,000 county residents have be tested so far, with a cumulative 36,600 having COVID-19, state figures show. 

Rich Pollack contributed to this report.

The bridge and bridge tender's house on A1A over the inlet will change from light blue to a darker blue. Photo provided

By Steve Plunkett

The bridge over the Boca Raton Inlet, which connects the south barrier island to all points north, will close to land traffic later this month for a 60-day paint job.

The Florida Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the bridge on State Road A1A, said the construction schedule is actually 80 days, not counting weather delays and holidays. It expects the project to be finished by late fall. 

"The bridge is anticipated to close in mid-August while it is being painted. Advance notice will be provided prior to the closure," project spokeswoman Angel Streeter Gardner said.

The bascule bridge, officially named the Haven Ashe Bridge after a long-term bridge tender, will change in color from light blue to a darker blue called Federal Standard 15052.

Tarpon Springs contractor Seminole Equipment Inc. won the $802,818 contract to clean and paint structural steel and concrete portions of the bridge as well as its concrete barriers, deck, overhang and bridge tender house.

Highway vehicles will be detoured to Federal Highway via Palmetto Park Road and Hillsboro Boulevard. The bridge, which normally opens on demand, will be kept raised so the repainting does not affect boat traffic.

The original wooden bridge was replaced by the current structure in 1964, a year after Ashe died. It opened electrically but had to be closed manually by Ashe, who became its tender in 1942, according to wikimapia.org.

By Mary Hladky

Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been pushed back for the third time.

The new trial start date is Oct. 26, but there is no certainty it will begin then.

Palm Beach County Chief Judge Krista Marx in early July extended her suspension of all trials until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen set the new date on July 10 after both the prosecutor and Haynie’s criminal defense attorney agreed on the change. They also agreed on the previous Sept. 21 trial date.

In both instances, they said the pandemic has made it difficult to complete pre-trial discovery and expressed concern that not enough potential jurors would be available.

The original date for Haynie’s trial was March 23.

Haynie, 64, was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if she’s convicted.

Prosecutors contend that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she received from him.

She has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, Bruce Zimet, has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.

Following a spike in COVID-19 cases in Florida reaching 100,217 cases reported as of June 21 and then doubling in two weeks to 203,376, local hospitals are adapting

Since the beginning of July, Bethesda Hospital-East, Bethesda Hospital-West and Boca Raton Regional Hospital are temporarily rescheduling elective procedures that require an overnight stay to ensure they have sufficient capacity to handle coronavirus patients. Hospital staff will communicate directly with affected patients. At this point, outpatient procedures remain as scheduled.

Delray Medical Center is still offering elective surgeries, and allows one support person for each elective surgery, maternity or pediatric patient.

In Boynton Beach, JFK Medical Center suspended services at its Freestanding Emergency Room on July 7. Temporarily closing the facility at 10921 S. Jog Road will allow JFK Medical Center to move key clinical staff and physicians to its other facilities across Palm Beach County that are experiencing a greater volume of COVID-19 and suspected COVID-19 patients.

“As a leading health care provider in the community, it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to provide care during this unprecedented challenge,” said Gina Melby, CEO. “Thank you to all of our staff and caregivers – and those throughout our community – for their continued selfless work caring for those in need throughout this crisis.”

JFK Medical Center’s main facility in Atlantis and its North Campus in West Palm Beach will remain open and will continue to treat COVID-19 patients in addition to offering inpatient services.

To see how many hospital beds are available in Palm Beach County, go to this website offered by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration: 

https://bi.ahca.myflorida.com/t/ABICC/views/Public/HospitalBedsCounty?%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aembed=y&%3Amobile=true

JFK Medical Center temporarily suspended services at its Freestanding Emergency Room in Boynton Beach as of July 7. Temporarily closing the facility at 10921 S. Jog Road will allow JFK Medical Center to move key clinical staff and physicians to its other facilities across Palm Beach County that are experiencing a greater volume of COVID-19 and suspected COVID-19 patients.

“As a leading health care provider in the community, it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to provide care during this unprecedented challenge,” said Gina Melby, CEO. “Thank you to all of our staff and caregivers – and those throughout our community – for their continued selfless work caring for those in need throughout this crisis.”

JFK Medical Center’s main facility in Atlantis and its North Campus in West Palm Beach will remain open and will continue to treat COVID-19 patients in addition to offering inpatient services.

– Christine Davis

Seaside Deli cashier Audrey Bazil rings up a purchase by Andrew Estevez as others wait at an appropriate distance. The deli refuses to admit people without masks and limits the number of customers in the store, near Briny Breezes. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

County masks up in renewed effort to contain virus

By Charles Elmore 

Within days of summer’s formal start, hopes for a season of easing restrictions on daily life collided with a wave of troubling reports of COVID-19’s spread, spurring Palm Beach County to make masks mandatory for customers at businesses like Annie Blake’s restaurant in Delray Beach.
She hopes people understand, and maybe also accept an “air hug” instead of a traditional embrace.
“It goes against the nature of us being hospitable, but it’s the new normal,” said Blake, who co-owns Death or Glory on Northeast Sixth Avenue.
She knows people want to relax, get together and enjoy life a bit after months of strain. Yet the situation has forced the rethinking of even the simplest human impulses, such as blowing out candles on a birthday cake that guests are about to eat.
Now masks in public no longer can be left to personal choice, as far as county commissioners are concerned. Palm Beach County was slower to take that step than other big counties in South Florida, but then went on to announce it would mail masks to all households in the county of 1.5 million people.
“From a guest perspective, it will be interesting,” Blake said. “I guess we will have to do some mask policing if people don’t wear them. On the other hand, it’s a little easier if we can blame someone as bad cop.”
Employees were already wearing masks, she noted, and now patrons are required to do the same under county rules passed June 23.
County Vice Mayor Robert Weinroth said he “hates” the idea of requiring people to wear masks. It goes against his grain, he said.
But Weinroth, whose district includes communities along the county’s southern coast, said he felt compelled to join fellow commissioners in a 7-0 vote to make masks compulsory.
“The numbers we saw this week were just out of this world,” he said.
Those numbers grew more challenging in the days after the vote, with Florida setting daily records of new cases including 9,557 by June 26. Four days later, the state reported more than 152,000 total cases.
In Palm Beach County, 18.2% of those tested were confirmed as positive for the virus on June 23, spiking above an average that has typically landed in single digits.
Palm Beach County had more than 14,000 cases reported by June 30, with 13% of those resulting in hospitalization and 4% in deaths, state records show.
The death rate, disproportionately affecting those 65 and older, has been falling as more people become infected. New infections are increasingly occurring among younger people, ages 25 to 34, who are statistically less likely to need hospitalization.
Still, county officials noted two 17-year-olds have died in Florida and many younger people have experienced painful symptoms. And in the larger picture, each new case increases the risk of spreading the virus to others of varying ages and health conditions, and it can take weeks or months to know how many cases of initial infection might end in hospitalization or death.
“This is our wake-up call, folks,” Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner said June 26.

Jess Lee and Bridgette Smith of Delray Beach talk with hosts Terraine Dowles and Alec Leonardo at Tin Roof in Delray Beach prior to entering the food, drink and music establishment. Tin Roof requires all patrons to wear masks upon entry, exit and while moving around the premises. Customers are not required to wear masks while sitting at tables. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Local officials voice support

The county’s mask order introduced a new layer of governmental authority to a range of policies that businesses, organizations and municipalities already had adopted.
Catholic churches in the Diocese of Palm Beach, for example, announced in a May 11 letter from Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito that “it is highly recommended that face masks be utilized while in church except for the reception of Holy Communion.”
The return of Sunday and daily Mass was accompanied by precautions, including social distancing of 6 feet and the “use of every other pew.” 
Under the county order, exceptions exist for people with medical conditions such as asthma, those eating and drinking, children aged 2 or younger, those exercising while social distancing, and people “for whom a facial covering conflicts with their religious beliefs or practices.”
The diocese “will follow the directives of the county commissioners and the CDC,” said Jennifer Trefelner, director of communications.
Before the county move, Ocean Ridge reopened its town meetings to the general public, with restrictions.
“Chairs are spaced out by 6 feet for proper social distancing and masks must be worn in Town Hall,” said Town Manager Tracey Stevens. “No-touch hand sanitizer stations have been installed. Teleconference is still available for those that wish to attend from home.”
Mayor Scott Singer in Boca Raton said he supported the county’s mask policy “instead of potentially confusing measures to be enacted city by city.”
Law enforcement officers are expected to issue warnings and correct people first, but fines start at $25 for individuals, $50 for a second offense and $100 after a third, under rules approved by county officials June 29. Businesses face fines starting at $250, and up to $500 after repeat offenses.
“Of course, some individuals cannot wear a mask because of health concerns, and it is our hope that neighbors continue to act with kindness and respect,” Singer said in an email to constituents. “If you see someone not wearing a mask, there’s no need to be confrontational.”
He asked residents not to call 911 to report someone not wearing a mask, saying that should be reserved for emergencies.
Instead, concerns about compliance can be relayed to covidcompliance@pbcgov.org or 561-242-6843, where county staff will track such matters, he said.
It all leaves businesses coping with a new form of hospitality that might not feel entirely comfortable to either customers or staff. But the alternative could mean a higher risk that someone ends up in a hospital.
“Some people say, ‘Hey, take off your mask and give us a hug,’” Blake said in Delray Beach. “I hope they are not offended. I would hope it would make us all hyper-aware.”

Turtle nest monitor Jim Jolley passes four marked nests on the beach in Ocean Ridge north of Beachway Drive. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Larry Keller

South Florida beach closures because of the coronavirus pandemic may have annoyed some people, but if sea turtles could talk, they likely wouldn’t complain.
The turtles’ nesting season along South County beaches is off to a strong start, and false crawls — incidents where turtles come ashore at night to lay their eggs but turn back without doing so — are down.
“So far this has been a very busy and successful season,” said David Anderson, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s sea turtle conservation coordinator. He oversees monitoring of sea turtle activity over 5 miles of Boca Raton beach.
False crawls can occur when turtles are disturbed by things like bonfires, flashlights, cellphone lights and beach furniture. With beaches closed for several weeks, those impediments all but vanished.
This season began with a success ratio of up to six nests to every four false crawls. That is a significant improvement from previous years, where the ratio was the reverse. Anderson said the ratio has dropped lately, with false crawls now exceeding the number of nests since people have been back on the beach.
It has been a similar story in Delray Beach. Last year, there were 290 nests and 538 false crawls, said Joseph Scarola, senior scientist at Ecological Associates Inc., which monitors nests on the 3-mile beach for the city. That’s a ratio of 65% to 35%, false crawls to nests. As of mid-June, Delray Beach recorded 170 nests and 180 false crawls — a ratio similar to that of Boca Raton at the time.

Impact of closings uncertain
Nobody can say for sure if closed beaches resulted in the reduction in false crawls or the robust number of nests so far.
Jackie Kingston, president and founder of Sea Turtle Adventures, is skeptical. Her organization monitors a 3-mile expanse of beaches in Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes and part of Ocean Ridge and has noticed fewer false crawls this year.
But, Kingston said, turtles “nest where they want to nest.”
In Highland Beach, there have been about 50% more nests than last year at this time, and fewer false crawls, said Barbara James, the marine turtle permit holder there. Since the beach has no public access, she said she couldn’t attribute this to fewer people being on the beach.

Most stretches of South County beaches are experiencing higher than normal nesting success, as evidenced by these markers. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Sea turtle nesting season is March 1 to Oct. 31, although small numbers of nests are dug before and beyond those dates. The first nest discovered this year in Boca Raton was on Feb. 23. It was a leatherback.
That was less than a week before a nourishment project began with beach bulldozers widening the northern 1.5 miles of Boca Raton’s beach from 50 to 250 feet. One early nest was moved to an unaffected area. The first loggerhead in Boca Raton was spotted on April 21, just after the beach nourishment project was finished.
“It went really fast, was really successful,” Anderson said.
Green turtles could be most affected by the wider beach. “Greens are notorious for nesting in the dunes,” Anderson said. Now “it’s a long crawl, but it doesn’t seem to matter to turtles.”
Green turtles have alternating high and low seasons. Last year, a record 393 nests were spotted, but there were only 19 the year before that. This season, 35 had already turned up by June 29. They usually continue to come ashore through September.

All local species are ‘listed’
Five sea turtle species nest on Florida beaches. All are listed as either endangered or threatened.
Only loggerheads, greens and leatherbacks typically deposit eggs in South County, and very few of the latter, which are the largest of the species, sometimes weighing 1,500 pounds or more.
By late June only 13 nests of leatherbacks had been discovered this year on Boca Raton’s beach. They usually finish nesting before June. Still, it’s no cause for concern. Only 18 leatherback nests were found in each of the past two years.
Boca Raton’s modest numbers were more than offset elsewhere. Delray Beach recorded 21 leatherback nests, surpassing last year’s record of 15, Scarola said.
And 20 leatherback nests were found on the beaches that have been surveyed by Kingston’s group for 21 years. That too was a record, topping the previous high of 16 in 2009, she said.
Leatherback nests are more common to the north. There were 397 nests for all of Palm Beach County, and 380 in Martin County in 2019, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That was 70% of all leatherback nests statewide.
There have been more nests overall so far this year on the beaches Kingston monitors. They include about 400 loggerhead nests, well above the total for the same time last year, she said.
“I think it will be a pretty good year,” Kingston said.
It’s been a banner year for loggerhead nests in Boca Raton too. There were 495 by June 29, putting that beach on track for a strong season, Anderson said.

Editor's Note: Delray commission owes taxpayers the truth

By Jane Smith

After five months of emergency repairs to the city’s botched reclaimed water system, 90% of the customers should have been back on line by June 30, the city said.
As of June 17, the cost of the repairs had grown to more than $850,000 in labor and materials and more than $100,000 in overtime pay for city employees, city spokeswoman Gina Carter wrote in an email response to questions from The Coastal Star.
Fixing the rest of the system could push the bill over $1 million.
“That’s a lot of money to fix a system that was working fine for most people,” said Bill Petry, a barrier island resident who did not yet have his reclaimed service restored. For Mayor Shelly Petrolia, the cost was unfortunate, but necessary.
“We cannot put a price on the health and safety of our citizens,” she said. “The city had to scrutinize the entire system at great cost in both time and expense.”
The system was poorly designed and maintained and has been mismanaged practically from its inception in 2006.
The city has hired a firm run by Fred Bloetscher, an associate dean at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, to conduct a total review of the city’s reclaimed water program, Carter said. Bloetscher’s firm will receive a maximum of $20,000 under an emergency order. The forensic engineering investigation will be finished in September.
These costs and ongoing system repair costs come at a time when Delray Beach has an $8 million deficit for the current budget year, Petrolia said. The city lost revenue from business tax receipts, parking meter income, parking violations, valet stand income and rental income from city-owned properties during the coronavirus shutdown.
“It’s in bits and pieces, but it all adds up,” she said.
In early May, City Manager George Gretsas apologized to the City Commission and residents and graded the program a D-minus. The only reason he didn’t give it an F was the initial good intention to stop piping raw sewage into the ocean.
The reclaimed water lines provide partly treated wastewater meant solely for lawn watering. The lines were installed as part of a settlement that Delray Beach reached with state and federal regulators.
The city must reuse 3.85 million gallons a day by 2025, according to the settlement. Its current level is 2.85 million gallons a day.
Most of the city’s water customers on the barrier island have reclaimed water service for lawn irrigation. Golf courses, city parks and facilities, and master-metered communities west of the interstate also use reclaimed water. There are about 1,500 reclaimed water customers citywide, according to Gretsas.
On Feb. 4, the city shut down Delray Beach’s reclaimed water program to avoid a citywide boil water order. The Florida Department of Health wanted that drastic move after it began an investigation into complaints that the city’s drinking water had become contaminated with reclaimed water.
In late April, the city discovered 30 barrier island homes had reclaimed water lines installed within three feet of the drinking water lines. The city requested that it be allowed to restore the reclaimed water service to the homes soon, instead of waiting for the lines to be moved in six months.
The close proximity of the lines was thought to be a potential Florida Department of Environmental Protection violation. In Florida, the local DOH enforces the DEP rules.
But when the local DOH leaders met with their counterparts at the Florida DEP, they “determined there was a distinction between the mains and service lines,” Steven Garcia, a DOH environmental supervisor, wrote in a May 28 email to his supervisor.
Delray Beach is inspecting each reclaimed location at the behest of the local DOH.
As the city made the inspections, it found 268 locations without any backflow prevention devices, which prevent the wastewater from mixing with drinking water. Slightly more than 71% served barrier island residences.
The city has not found records indicating why the backflow preventers were not installed.
Garcia has written that the DOH is waiting for the entire Delray Beach reclaimed water system to be restored before possible violations will be forwarded to the DOH legal team.

Pressure devices an issue
As of June 17, five condominium buildings on the barrier island were still not reconnected to the reclaimed water service, Carter wrote. One required a reduced pressure zone device, which is the owner’s responsibility to install, she wrote.
The RPZ is a type of high-hazard backflow device that protects the drinking water system by disposing of any backward-flowing water if check or relief valves fail.
Two other condo buildings have installed their RPZ devices and are ready for inspection, according to Carter. The other two are waiting DOH approval.
“However, all commercial accounts and when a larger than 2-inch meter is required, water customers must install an RPZ at their own expense and provide the city with annual testing and recertification of the RPZ,” Carter wrote.
The RPZs cost between $3,000 and $4,000 each, not including installation or testing. Basic backflow devices used with single-family homes vary in cost from $50 to $500, depending on quality and size.
Chris Heffernan, who lives in a seven-unit condo complex on Thomas Street, fought the installation of the RPZ device at his building. He thought the city was creating a two-tiered level of service on the barrier island when forcing the high-priced backflow devices on condominium buildings.
“Within two hours, city workers were at my condo,” he said. They installed a lower-cost dual check valve at the city’s expense.
His condo building likely was able to use a dual check valve because the meter size was less than 2 inches, according to Carter.
The Dorchester, with 20 units at 200 N. Ocean Blvd., never was connected to the reclaimed water program. The reclaimed water main sits on Thomas Street and is available to serve this property, according to Carter.
“There are no records to indicate why they were not connected,” Carter wrote in a June 19 email.

On Feb. 4, the city of Delray Beach was told by the Florida Health Department that it must implement a citywide boil water order after receiving complaints that the city’s drinking water had become contaminated with reclaimed water.
The order was avoided only by an agreement to shut down the reclaimed water system while the problems were identified and repaired.
Move forward to late June. About 90% of customers are back on line, and the cost for fixing the system is nearing $1 million.
Yes, you saw that right: $1 million. Add that to the $8 million budget shortfall already facing the city.
Taxpayers have a right to know who is to blame for this expensive debacle. After all, they are going to pay for it.
City Manager George Gretsas did the right thing in his first few months on the job by contracting with a consultant to analyze what went wrong, and hiring a highly respected director for fresh oversight of the Water Utilities Department. The DOH supports these decisions.
Then, on June 24, city commissioners voted 3-2 to suspend Gretsas and file a notice to terminate, even before an independent counsel released results of an investigation into a personnel matter that alleged bullying, gender bias and emotional abuse by Gretsas.
According to one complaint, Gretsas was irate over how the reclaimed water project repairs were being managed.
Is that a surprise?
Management failures have long plagued City Hall. There have been five city managers and three interim managers since the water project began in 2006.
That leadership void at the top allowed a revolving door in the department overseeing the project. Mismanagement and a lack of oversight were the result.
Whether anything criminal occurred has not been determined.
At press time, it was not clear if Gretsas’ termination is warranted, but there’s little doubt it would be dramatic, divisive and expensive for the city.
The residents of Delray Beach have had their health jeopardized by systemic mismanagement.
The truth must be known. Investigations begun by Gretsas must not be abandoned because of his suspension, and Hassan Hadjimiry, the new Water Utilities director, must be retained and given authority to assure confidence in the water system.
Elected officials owe taxpayers that much, and more.

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor

The proposed Mizner Ballroom will occupy 10,000 square feet and house conference and meeting facilities now in the resort’s Great Hall. Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

The new owner of the Boca Raton Resort & Club is planning a massive makeover of the iconic property.
In a frank admission that the 337-acre luxury resort has lost its luster, MSD Partners said in documents filed with the city that improvements are needed.
Despite renovations over the years, the resort “is not the global player in the luxury hotel market that it once was,” the company said in submissions filed by the Dunay, Miskel and Backman law firm. “Significant renovations internal to the building … improvements to the property and new world-class amenities are required to transform the property back to such a world-class resort.”
MSD Partners, formed by billionaire Michael S. Dell’s private investment firm, bought the resort last year for $875 million in Palm Beach County’s biggest-ever property deal.
While the planned changes will touch most parts of the resort, key elements include the demolition of the nearly 42,000-square-foot Great Hall and construction of a 10,000-square-foot Mizner Ballroom. The plans emphasize making better use of the resort’s location on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Built in 1969, the Great Hall is now dated, said John Tolbert, the resort’s president and managing director. What he and MSD Partners envision is the “most elegant” ballroom for all types of celebrations.
They also want to better connect members and guests to water views. “One of the most underutilized parts of the club is the 800 feet of waterfront,” he said.
Meeting and conference space will decrease, but “we will have better, more flexible and more relevant space,” he said, that is part of “revisioning our conference space for today’s market.”
The improvements “will allow us to have the foremost club and hotel and resort in the country,” he said.
Members of the city’s Community Appearance Board got their first look at the designs at their June 16 meeting.
Scott LaMont, principal of the planning and design firm EDSA, said the resort had “fallen behind” other resorts and that “we are trying to bring the resort back to its former glory.”
CAB members liked what they saw.
“I think you guys have done a crazy good thing,” Tiery Boykin told architects Jorge Garcia and Peter Stromberg of GarciaStromberg/GS4Studios in West Palm Beach. “I really like this project.”
Once the Great Hall is gone, its conference and meeting facilities would be relocated to the Mizner Ballroom, which will be located adjacent to the existing Mizner Center.
The Great Hall space would be redeveloped as a new luxury pool club and amenity area. The existing Flowrider wave simulator, slide, cafes and cabanas, now located north of the Great Hall, would relocate to this area.
The company also plans to upgrade the main resort entrance with new landscaping and add a new porte cochere, allowing improvements to valet service.
The Morimoto restaurant, which is open only to members and guests, will move and replace the existing Monkey Bar. The Lucca, Garden room and Palm Court restaurant area will be enhanced.
MSD Partners also plans renovations to hotel rooms and common areas.
The company’s plans were submitted to the city on May 12, and some of the changes will require city approval. The Planning and Zoning Board will review them on July 9 and will make a recommendation to the City Council. More presentations also will be made to the CAB.
A Fitch Ratings report one year ago said MSD Partners planned to invest $75 million over four years.
Tolbert said the cost of the project is still being calculated, but $75 million is the minimum. He said it would be “one of the most significant capital investments into a resort and club in the world.”
The project completion date is not yet set. Tolbert said the work would move forward as quickly as possible but will be done in a way that minimizes disruption to resort and club operations.
Tolbert, a high-profile member of the city’s business and philanthropic community, will depart in July after accepting an executive position with BRE Hotels & Resorts, Blackstone’s hospitality platform. An affiliate of Blackstone acquired the resort in 2004 and invested more than $300 million in the property before selling to Dell.
While the Fitch report described the resort as well maintained, it said the resort’s room revenues underperform those of its competitors, including PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, The Breakers in Palm Beach and Eau Palm Beach resort in Manalapan.
About 60% of the resort’s demand in 2018 came from meeting and group business, compared to 49% for the overall hotel market. Meeting and group bookings are at lower rates than leisure bookings.
That brought down overall room revenue. But the resort’s total revenue per available room in April 2019 was $620, “which is considered strong,” the report said.
The resort dates to 1926, when famed architect Addison Mizner opened the Cloister Inn on the shore of Lake Boca Raton.
It has since grown to 1,047 hotel rooms, two 18-hole golf courses, a 50,000-square-foot spa, seven swimming pools, 30 tennis courts, a 32-slip marina, 13 restaurants and bars and 200,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Boca Raton Resort & Club partly reopened on June 4 with new safety protocols after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of hotels and resorts in March.
While he is pleased with the number of people booking rooms, Tolbert said “our emphasis is on quality and luxury and not quantity at this time.”
Like other properties, the resort is offering incentives to lure back guests. Its website announces a “Your Summer Restored” package that offers a fourth night’s stay at no charge and a waiver of resort fees.

By Mary Hladky

Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie’s trial on public corruption charges has been postponed until Sept. 21 due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Prosecutor Brian Fernandes and Bruce Zimet, Haynie’s criminal defense lawyer, agreed to cancel a scheduled July 20 trial and to set the new trial date because the pandemic has made it difficult to complete pretrial discovery.
They also were concerned that not enough potential jurors would be available in July.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen agreed to the new trial date on May 28.
A March trial date also was postponed.
Compounding the difficulties of setting Haynie’s trial date is that the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, where her trial would be held, has been all but shut down since April due to the pandemic.
Only essential hearings, such as pleas and bond reduction motions, have been held in person or though video-conferencing.
Jury trials have been postponed, and on June 17 Florida Chief Justice Charles T. Canady ordered the postponement extended until at least July 17.
Haynie, 64, was arrested on April 24, 2018, on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office and failure to disclose voting conflicts. She faces more than 20 years in prison if she’s convicted.
Prosecutors contend that Haynie used her position on the City Council to vote on six matters that financially benefited James Batmasian, the city’s largest downtown commercial landowner, and failed to disclose income she received from him.
Haynie has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Zimet has repeatedly said she will not accept a plea deal.
Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office, but she never resigned.
Her option to reclaim the mayor’s post ended March 31 after Boca Raton voters elected Scott Singer, who was elevated from deputy mayor to replace Haynie during her suspension, to a full term as mayor succeeding her.