History, architecture and community spirit came together when the Boca Raton Historical Society honored the notable Addison Mizner and the city’s centennial. Guests gathered in the landmark building, originally Mizner’s office, for an evening filled with delectable hors d’oeuvres, specialty cocktails and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours. Visitors were treated to rarely seen spaces, including Mizner’s private quarters where his credenza, signed documents and other treasured artifacts were on display. ‘This was truly a one-of-a-kind celebration,’ said Mary Csar, executive director of the society. ‘You could feel the pride and connection in the room.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Csar, Ryan Alman, Maria Liguori and LeAnn Berman. Photo provided

Boca Helping Hands commemorated its 27th anniversary with a celebration by the Heart & Spirit Society honoring Pattie Damron and Peggy Jones. The annual event brings together current and former board, staff and volunteer members for service activities including cooking hot meals and distributing pantry bags. ‘We were so pleased to celebrate our 27th birthday by honoring two key volunteers who helped us in the early days of the organization,’ said Andrew Hagen, executive director of Boca Helping Hands. ‘The first volunteers at our original soup kitchen would be amazed to see where we are now, providing not only food but financial assistance and job training to nearly 35,000 of our neighbors every year.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Jones, Gary Peters and Damron. Photo provided

Benny’s on the Beach in Lake Worth Beach offers deals for lunch or dinner featuring its Palm Beach shrimp tacos, famous Key lime pie and other choices. Photos provided 

By Jan Norris

September is a great month to be a local if you’re dining out. Deals abound, both from individual restaurants and the special area-wide Flavor South Florida.

Formerly Flavor Palm Beach, the program of affordable prix fixe menus extends from Boca Raton through the Treasure Coast.

More than 100 restaurants are participating. Menus range from $25 to $65 for multicourse meals — lunch, brunch and dinner.

Many dishes represent foods restaurants want to showcase or try out before season, and both casual and upscale restaurants are in the program. 

It’s also a chance for diners to try a new restaurant, or revisit a forgotten favorite. 

In Boca Raton, look for a rack of lamb, or double cut pork chops at Abe & Louie’s (2200 Glades Road; 561-447-0024; abeandlouies.com). At the upscale Chicago Italian at Mia Rosebud (150 E. Palmetto Park Road; 561-462-3000; rosebudrestaurants.com), diners can choose from dishes such as vitello Marsala, or cavatelli rapini. 

Choose from seafood such as Norwegian salmon or upgrade to Chilean sea bass at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood (201 Plaza Real, Mizner Park; 561-237-0067; m.eddiev.com) in Boca Raton.

Go French at Chez Marie (5030 Champion Blvd., Boca Raton; 561-997-0027; chezmariefrenchbistro.com), where escargot, French onion soup, and pate de campagne are among the first courses. Coq au vin or duck a l’orange is the entree, and a lavender crème brûlée, lemon tartlette or chocolate mousse is served for dessert.

At The Melting Pot in Boca Raton (5455 N. Federal Highway; 561-997-7472; meltingpot.com), a four-course dinner is $49. Start with a raclette dip, then a salad, then choose from a number of meat, seafood and vegetable mixtures before moving to a dessert fondue.

Also in Boca Raton, try the new restaurant Stage Kitchen and Bar (5377 Town Center Road; 561-409-2376; stagekitchenandbar.com), an elevated Mediterranean experience and Michelin-recommended restaurant, for its lunch prix fixe. A bang-bang cauliflower, the C.A.B. burger, and trendy banoffee pie are part of the menu.

Chef Daniel Dore serves up American favorites for a $39 dinner at Dada (52 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach; 561-330-3232, sub-culture.org/dada). Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, chorizo and almonds is one of the appetizer choices; pork schnitzel is an entree choice. 

Delray Beach’s Wine & Spirits Kitchen (411 E. Atlantic Ave.; 561-243-9463; wineandspiritskitchen.com) has tiered pricing for its Flavor prix fixe. A number of soups, salads and small plates are on the first course list. Entrees are broken into $45, $55 and $65 plates. Faroese salmon and mushroom orecchiette are on the $45 menu; barbecue roasted cod, and a Prime Denver steak, are on the $55 list. Choose from crab-crusted snapper or surf & turf for the $65 meal. A $15 wine card comes with all meals where an entree is ordered.

Driftwood in Boynton Beach has a deal for a multicourse dinner with several vegan and gluten-free dishes offered. Sweet and sour cauliflower and a roasted cabbage red curry are on the menu.

Driftwood (2005 Federal Highway, Boynton Beach; 561-733-4782; driftwoodboynton.com) has a deal for a multicourse dinner with several vegan and gluten-free dishes offered. Sweet and sour cauliflower and a roasted cabbage red curry are on Chef Jimmy Everett’s menu.

Boynton Beach’s award-winning Nicholson Muir (480 E. Ocean Ave.; 561-336-3977, nicholsonmuir.com) features a wagyu carpaccio and marinated pork tenderloin with crepes among its prix fixe choices.

Want to take visitors to a Flavor deal? Try Benny’s on the Beach (10 S. Ocean Blvd. on the pier; 561-582-9001; bennysonthebeach.com) in Lake Worth Beach for lunch or dinner. Palm Beach shrimp tacos, and Benny’s famous Key lime pie are choices.

Oceano (512 Lucerne Blvd., Lake Worth Beach; 561-400-7418; oceanolwb.com) is also participating with special dinners. Sophisticated flair is evident on these menus, with dishes such as a white gazpacho, Long Island duck with farro verde, and the Oceano version of Boston cream pie.

The full list of restaurants and their menus are on the Flavor South Florida website, flavorsouthflorida.com. Diners are encouraged to make reservations for the promotional Flavor menus at each restaurant.

The promotion runs through Sept. 30.

Delray’s Restaurant Month

More than 50 restaurants in Delray Beach are participating in the 10th annual Downtown Delray Beach Restaurant Month, which started Sept. 1.

At the restaurants and cafes, special prix fixe menus and dining deals are available for lunch and dinner, happy hours, specials and unique culinary experiences.

Diners must sign up for the Downtown Delray Restaurant Month pass through the website DowntownDelrayBeach.com/LoveDelray.

The pass is free and gives access to all the dining deals listed. Diners can check in to the restaurants or experiences on the pass to get points and win prizes. Visit five restaurants or cafes and win a $10 restaurant gift card, or go to 15 and get a $50 card, or visit 25 and redeem points for a $100 gift card.

With all deals, reservations are suggested.

Some participating restaurants offering prix fixe menus include Amar Mediterranean Bistro, Avalon Beach House, Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina, Brule Bistro, Caffe Luna Rosa, City Oyster and more.

Happy Hour specials are at Cut 432, El Camino, Johnnie Brown’s, Rosewater Rooftop by Akira Back and others.

Cafe deals and quick bites are offered by 3Natives, Colombian Coffee House, Death by Pizza downtown, Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen, Jimmy’s Bistro, Tin Roof, Two Fat Cookies and several more.

For culinary experiences, visit Akira Back, Craft Food Tours, Ramen Lab Eatery and Table 165.

For more information, visit DowntownDelrayBeach.com/RestaurantMonth.

Boca/Boynton promotion

A restaurant promotion that encompasses eateries in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach is sponsored by the Boca Raton/Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Restaurants that participate hand out a Restaurant Road Show Passport. A code is added to the passport each time a diner visits or takes out from one of the restaurants.

At the end of the summer promotion (Sept. 30), diners who collect the most codes will be entered in a raffle to win a free one- or two-night stay at a Chamber member hotel.

For more information visit https://web.bocaratonchamber.com/events/2025-Summer-Restaurant-Road-Show-11773/details

Shake-up at SubCulture 

Rodney Mayo of SubCulture Restaurants is changing up some restaurants in South County and bringing back an area favorite. Penelope’s, a New-Orleans-themed restaurant in Mizner Park that opened last year, will change into Tryst by the beginning of season, Mayo said. 

Tryst is the old gastropub on Atlantic Avenue that lost its lease and closed.

Still in progress: Man Ray on Lucerne Avenue in the old KWS spot in Lake Worth Beach. “It’s similar to Dada, chef-driven. We’re looking for a chef for it now,” Mayo said. He’s hoping to open by year’s end.

In brief

Troy’s Bar-be-cue on Federal Highway in Boynton Beach has shut its doors. Fans were informed on its Facebook page where owners wrote: “After years of serving up smoked meats, Southern comfort, and good vibes — we’ve officially closed the doors at Boynton Troy’s BBQ. But don’t hang your apron just yet ... this isn’t goodbye. It’s a transition. A reset. A chance to reimagine what’s next. And trust us — it’s gonna be worth it!” No word on what that looks like. …

Also closed: Gary Rack’s Fish + Oyster House on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Rack cited “crazy” rent increases as the cause. He’s expanding, however, and putting a Farmhouse Kitchen in Coral Springs in spring of 2026…. 

Shaker & Pie is still under construction in Mizner Park. It may undergo rebranding before it opens, Mayo said. ...

Benny’s on the Beach in the Oceanwalk plaza at Lake Worth Beach has been granted a two-month waiver on its rent. The City Council granted the rent abatement to cover lost revenue expected as Benny’s closes beginning on Labor Day to fix air-conditioning problems in the city-owned casino building. The restaurant is expected to reopen in November. The Benny’s on the Beach pier location remains open for business.

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

Delray Medical Center vascular surgeon Dr. Joseph Ricotta recently used the Spur Peripheral Retrievable Stent System to treat narrowed arteries below the knee. The device is a temporary support tube that helps keep arteries open after they’ve been widened with a balloon. 

Unlike a regular stent, it can be removed once the artery is stabilized. Ricotta is the national medical director of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy for Tenet Healthcare, a professor at Florida Atlantic University’s School of Medicine, and founder of the Prime Vascular Institute.

Hospital receives Center of Excellence recognition

HCA Florida JFK Hospital was recently recognized as a Comprehensive Resuscitation Center of Excellence, a statewide initiative launched in 2022. The program was created by the Florida Resuscitation Center Committee, which aims to improve survival rates for sudden cardiac arrest. 

Each year, about 350,000 individuals die from cardiac arrest in Florida, and it remains the third-leading cause of death in the United States as survival rates remain low despite advances in health care technology and in medical care. 

“We bring together a multidisciplinary team, collaborate with the American Heart Association, and engage community partners to increase CPR training and awareness,” said Ken West, CEO of HCA Florida JFK Hospital. “Working hand-in-hand with local EMS agencies, we’ve built an aggressive, coordinated system of care that extends from the moment of cardiac arrest through recovery.” 

New assistant chief nursing officer on leadership team

Lisisbell Melendrez, RN, BSN, has joined HCA Florida JFK Hospital’s leadership team as assistant chief nursing officer. Previously she worked at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where she served as director of telemetry, the central monitoring unit, and the medical specialty unit. 

She earned her bachelor of science in nursing from Grand Canyon University and is pursuing her master of science in nursing from Walden University. 

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

Major sits in an ample dog cage. The best recommendation is one pet per cage during an evacuation. Photo provided 

By Arden Moore

The first hurricane I experienced in South Florida was a whopper. Hurricane Andrew pummeled South Florida with a Category 5 strength. The year was 1992. 

My two cats and I hunkered down in my bathtub. Since then, Florida has experienced more than a dozen hurricanes with strengths of Category 3 or higher.

I try to tell myself that the only so-called benefit about hurricanes is that unlike tornadoes and wildfires, people have time to prepare and execute a safety plan. 

That plan definitely needs to include your pets.

Palm Beach County residents are in the heart of this year’s hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30. Many pet champions are stepping up to protect companion animals. 

One of them is Courtney Delfs. Since 2016, she has volunteered to be what’s called a “storm rider” at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach, where she serves as its animal care manager.

“I feel motivated to stay at the shelter to do everything I can to help the animals maintain a sense of calm throughout the storm,” says Courtney. “While I can’t control the weather outside, I can make sure that the animals in our care have new bones, toys, comfortable blankets and continued care throughout the duration of the storm.”

About 20 staffers make up the storm rider team trained to protect about 500 animals. But everyone on the staff undergoes emergency planning each year just before hurricane season kicks off in June. Disaster preparedness training is also offered to foster volunteers.

“The earlier you can prepare, the better it is to avoid last-minute confusion and chaos,” says Courtney. “We maintain a supply stock sufficient for the duration of the storm and after. We ensure the building is secured and that the outdoor areas are cleared to avoid them becoming hazardous.”

When hurricanes strike other parts of Florida, Peggy Adams is ready to lend assistance.

Dr. Alyssa Comroe, director of veterinary medicine at Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, says Florida’s strong disaster response network links shelters, allowing pets to get temporary housing, supplies and skilled care. Photo provided 

“While we hope Palm Beach County is spared from the worst of hurricane season, experience has shown the importance of having a strong, statewide disaster response network,” says Alyssa Comroe, director of veterinary medicine at Peggy Adams. “When one shelter is hit by a storm, others across Florida can step in, providing temporary housing for displaced animals, delivering supplies and offering skilled hands to help with rescue and recovery.”

Fortunately, disaster preparations to protect pets have come a long way since the days of Hurricane Andrew. Professional pet sitting and pet boarding businesses recognize the lifesaving importance of training their staff.  

“I hope we don’t get any hurricanes,” says Tony Maturo Jr., who works at the family-owned Barkingham Palace in Delray Beach. “We haven’t had to evacuate yet. We do have a generator on the premises, and all of our dog runs are inside runs, not outside runs. 

“Our employees are on site seven days a week and there is an overnight team to provide emergency monitoring of our facility.”

Right now, if you haven’t already, identify pet-friendly hotels as well as friends’ homes outside the hurricane evacuation zone. Hurricanes can change course, so locate these welcoming places in different areas. 

Make sure that your pet is:

• Sporting an identification tag or collar with a microchipped ID with leash;

• Current on vaccinations; 

• Able to fit inside a carrier, one per pet in the household;

• Participating in practice hurricane drills at home and is given treats to encourage this as a positive experience.

Your pet to-go bag should include:

• Your pet’s medications and medical records inside a waterproof bag;

• Lightweight food and water dishes;

• About two weeks’ supply of pet food;

• A favorite toy and a blanket;

• Litter and litter box for cats;

• Cleaning materials. 

Do not leave your pets at home if you live in an evacuation area. The storm could trap them inside without food or water, or scare them enough so they flee and become lost.

You could also be convicted of a felony because of a new bill called Trooper’s Law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.  

The law was inspired after a highway patrol officer discovered an abandoned, chained dog standing in water outside his home in the path of Hurricane Milton last October.

It makes it a third-degree felony to restrain and abandon a dog outdoors during a declared natural disaster. Those convicted of this felony can face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

Final tip: Pack a virtual bag. Download your pet’s medical records, photos of your pet for identification, your pet’s microchip information as well as your personal documents —that may include your passport, insurance policies, medical records and bank information — onto Google Drive, Dropbox or other online backup. 

I can’t believe it’s been 33 years since Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. Memories are still vivid to me today. I vowed to always have a safety plan for my family and that includes my pets. I hope you do, too. 

Arden Moore writes about pets and can be reached at fourleggedlife@gmail.com.

Rabbi Leibel Stolik plans to make several stops with his shofar to usher in the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

This Rosh Hashanah is Rabbi Leibel Stolik’s 20th year leading High Holidays services in coastal Palm Beach County. At Chabad of South Palm Beach in Manalapan, there are no fees or tickets, Rabbi Stolik says, because “I believe that everyone should be able to celebrate the Days of Awe irrespective of their background, affiliation, or ability to pay.”

Part of Chabad of SPB’s program includes Shofar on the Avenue, a service beginning at the Lantana Nature Preserve, 440 E. Ocean Ave., on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. After the Kiddush at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 23, the uplifting blowing of the shofar and the Tashlich ceremony are planned. 

Then the rabbi will travel up A1A with the shofar, making scheduled stops at The Carlisle at 4, The Mayfair at 4:15, The Barclay at 4:30, The Patrician at 4:45, The Atriums at 5:05, and the east end of the Lake Worth Beach bridge at 5:40 p.m. The finale will take place in Lake Worth Beach Cultural Plaza, 414 Lake Ave., under the banyan tree at 6. 

The rabbi explained the importance of the shofar this way: 

“The ram’s horn shofar is the symbol of Rosh Hashanah,” he wrote. “The shofar blasts are not a single, clear note but a series of straight and broken sounds that represent simplicity and the fractured heart. On Rosh Hashanah, we stand before God not as perfect beings, but with humility and brokenness. Our self-reflection and vulnerability open the door to sincere repentance and divine mercy. Our brokenness is not a weakness but a source of strength.

“The broken heart is not meant to stay broken. The shofar’s final long blast is a complete sound that follows the broken notes, symbolizing the possibility of renewal and restoration. 

“I pray that we acknowledge our vulnerability and that after, we experience the strength and wholeness inside ourselves. Shana Tovah (Good Year) to all.”

HIGH HOLY DAYS CALENDAR

TEMPLE SINAI OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

2475 W Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach 561-276-6161; templesinaipbc.org

Tickets are required for some events. 

7:30 pm - 9/13 - Selichot 

Rosh Hashanah

7:30 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah; dinner follows; reservations required. 

10 am - 9/23 - Morning service

1:30 pm - 9/23 - Family service 

10 am - 9/24 - Morning service

Yom Kippur

7:30 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidre Service   

10 am - 10/2 - Morning service

1:30 pm - 10/2 -  Family service 

3:30 pm - 10/2 - Afternoon service

4:30 pm - 10/2 - Community Yizkor service

5:15 pm - 10/2 - Neilah & Concluding Service

BOCA BEACH CHABAD JEWISH CENTER

490 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton

561-394-9770; chabadbocabeaches.com

Rosh Hashanah

7 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah/Candle Lighting 

8 pm - 9/22 - Mincha/Maariv; followed by a community dinner and a talk by Rabbi Barber;  reservations required. 

9 am - 9/23 - Morning Services

10 am-1 pm - 9/23 - Children’s Program 

10-11 am - 9/23 - Family Style Power Hour with Rabbi Yosef New 

11 am - 9/23 - Sermon (Main Sanctuary)

11:20 am - 9/23 - Shofar Blowing

11:30 am - 9/23 - Musaf

1:30 pm - 9/23 - Community lunch and talk by Rabbi Barber; reservations required. 

5:45 pm - 9/23 - Mincha

6:30 pm - 9/23 - Tashlich and second shofar blowing at Wildflower Park on the NE corner of 5th Ave and Palmetto Park Road 

7 pm - 9/23 - Maariv

7:49 pm - 9/23 - Light candles from a pre-existing flame after 8 pm, followed by a community dinner and talk by Rabbi Barber; reservations required. 

9 am - 9/24 - Morning services

10 am-1 pm - 9/24 - Children’s Program 

10-11 am - 9/24 - Family power hour with Rabbi Yosef New. 

11 am - 9/24 - Sermon in the main sanctuary. 

11:20 am - 9/24 - Shofar blowing

11:30 am - 9/24 - Musaf

1:30 pm - 9/24 -Community lunch; reservations required.

6:45 pm - 9/24 -  Mincha followed by a talk by Rabbi Barber: The Kabbalah of Men and Women: Different but Equal

Yom Kippur 

7:30 am - 10/1 -  Morning Services

3:30 pm - 10/1 - Mincha

6:48 pm - 10/1 - Candle Lighting (available at Chabad)

6:48 pm - 10/1 - Fast begins

7 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidrei

7 pm - 10/1 - Children’s Program 

9 am - 10/2 - Morning services

10-11 am - 10/2 - Family power hour with Rabbi Yosef New. 

10:30 am-2 pm - 10/2 - Children’s Program 

11:45 am - 10/2 - Sermon in the main sanctuary. 

12:15 pm - 10/2 - Yizkor

12:40 pm - 10/2 - Musaf

5:15 pm - 10/2 - Mincha

6:20 pm - 10/2 - Neila and Shofar Blowing

7:40 pm - 10/2 - Fast and Holiday ends

B’NAI TORAH CONGREGATION 

6261 SW 18th St., Boca Raton

561-392-8566; btcboca.org

8:15 pm - 9/13 - Selichot; refreshments followed by a service at 9 pm; registration requested at shulcloud.com/form/selichot2025

Rosh Hashanah

6 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah;  Mincha/Ma’ariv in the Main Sanctuary

8:30 am - 9/23 - Main Sanctuary service

9 am - 9/23 - Weiner Cultural Center service

9 am - 9/23 - Young children’s service

10:30 am - 9/23 - Youth Service

6 pm - 9/23 - Mincha/Ma’ariv in the Main Sanctuary

8:30 am - 9/24 - Main Sanctuary service

9 am - 9/24 - Weiner Cultural Center service

9 am - 9/24 - Young children’s service

10:30 am - 9/24 - Youth service

5:45 pm - 9/24 - Mincha/Ma’ariv 

Yom Kippur 

6:15 pm - 10/1 -  Mincha/Kol Nidre in the main sanctuary

6:30 pm - 10/1 - Mincha/Kol Nidre in Weiner Cultural Center

6:45 pm - 10/1 - Teen Discussion 

9 am - 10/2 - Main sanctuary service 

9 am - 10/2 - Weiner Cultural Center service

9 am - 10/2 - Young children’s service

10:30 am - 10/2 - Youth service

4:45 pm - 10/2 - Mincha/Ne’ilah 

7:29 pm - 10/2 - Break the Fast

BETH AMI CONGREGATION

1401 NW 4th Ave., Boca Raton 

561-347-0031; bethamicongregationboca.com

7-9 pm - 9/13 - Selichot: Changing the Mantles  

Rosh Hashanah

6:30-8:30 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah 

9 am-noon - 9/23 - Day 1 

9 am-noon - 9/24 - Day 2

Yom Kippur 

7-9 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidre  

9 am-noon - 10/2 - Morning service 

5:30-6:30 pm - 10/2 - Mincha

7:30-8 pm - 10/2 - Shofar sounding 

8-9:30 pm - 10/2 - Congregational Break the Fast 

CHABAD OF SOUTH PALM BEACH

224 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan

561-889-3499; chabadspb.org

There is no fee or membership required, but RSVP is recommended.

Rosh Hashanah 

7 pm - 9/22 - Erev evening service; dinner follows the service; reservations required. 

9:30 am - 9/23 - Morning service

11:45 am - 9/23 - Shofar sounding

7:50 pm - 9/23 - Light candles 

9:30 am - 9/24 - Morning service

11:45 am - 9/24 - Shofar sounding

Yom Kippur 

6:50 pm - 10/1 - Kol-Nidrei Service 

9:30 am - 10/2 - Morning service

Noon - 10/2 - Yizkor service 

5:30 pm - 10/2 - Mincha and Ne’eilah; A break-fast follows the service. 

CONGREGATION B’NAI ISRAEL

2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton

561-241-8118; cbiboca.org

Reservations and tickets are available for select events at cbiboca.org/hhd/hhd-tickets

7:30 pm - 9/13 - Selichot 

Rosh Hashanah

7 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah Service

8:30 am - 9/23 - Children’s service 

10:30 am - 9/23 - Sanctuary Service

10:30 am - 9/23 - Junior congregation

2 pm - 9/23 - Family prayer experience 

3:30 pm - 9/23 - Tashlich

10:30 am - 9/24 - Sanctuary service 

Yom Kippur 

7 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidre Sanctuary service

8:30 am - 10/2 - Sanctuary service

8:30 am - 10/2 - Junior congregation

Noon - 10/2 - Sanctuary service

Noon - 10/2 - Junior congregation

3:30 pm - 10/2 - Children’s service

4:45 pm - 10/2 - Afternoon Minchah followed by Yizkor, Neilah, Havdalah and sounding of Shofar. 

TEMPLE BETH EL

Schaefer Family Campus, 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton

561-391-8900; tbeboca.org

7 pm - 9/13 - Selichot; registration requested 

Rosh Hashanah

7:30 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah service

10 am - 9/23 - Morning service

1:30 pm - 9/23 - Family participation service for families with children 8-12; tickets required. 

4 pm - 9/23 - Young children’s service for families with children younger than 8; registration requested; no tickets required. 

10 am - 9/24 - Morning service 

Yom Kippur 

7:30 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidre Service in the sanctuary; tickets required. 

7:30 pm - 10/1 - A candlelight Kol Nidre Service takes place in the chapel; tickets required; space is limited. 

9 am - 10/2 - Young children’s service for families with children younger than 8;  registration requested. 

10:30 am - 10/2 - Morning service; tickets required. 

10:30 am - 10/2 - A second Morning Service in a Garden of Reflection; tickets required;  space is limited. 

1:45 pm - 10/2 - Family participation service for families with children 8-12; tickets required. 

2:30 pm - 10/2 - Service of Healing and Renewal 

4 pm - 10/2 - Yizkor & Afternoon Service 

CHABAD OF EAST DELRAY 

101 SE Second Ave., Delray Beach

954-283-7261; jewisheastdelray.com

Rosh Hashanah 

10 am - 9/23 and 9/24 - Services; reserved seating, $75. Open seating by donation.

11 am - 9/23 and 9/24 - Shofar

Yom Kippur 

7-8 pm - 10/1 - Kol Nidrei

10 am - 10/2 - Services; reserved seating, $75. Open seating by donation. 

11 am - 10/2 - Yizkor 

7 pm - 10/2 - Neilah

SHALOM BOCA MESSIANIC SYNAGOGUE

1300 NW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton 

561-487-3839; shalomboca.com

Rosh Hashanah 

7:30-9:30 pm - 9/22 - Erev Rosh Hashanah 

10:30 am - 9/23 - Rosh Hashanah service

Yom Kippur

7:30-9:30 pm - 10/1 - Erev Yom Kippur service 

10:30 am-12:30 pm - 10/2 - Yom Kippur service 

Former opera singer Shir Rozzen, whose first name means ‘song,’ has joined Temple Sinai of Palm Beach County in Delray Beach as its cantorial soloist. Photo provided 

By Janis Fontaine

When Shir Rozzen sings at Rosh Hashanah services this month, it will be her first High Holy Days at her first cantorial job. 

As a transplant from the opera world, she’s up to the singing challenge. As for the rest, she says, “I’m excited and I’m happy and I’ve got a lot to learn!” 

Rozzen joined Temple Sinai of Palm Beach County in Delray Beach as its cantorial soloist on July 1. Sitting at her desk at the synagogue, which is covered with papers and books and sheet music, Rozzen says she never dreamed of being a cantor, but “I was always more spiritual than everybody else. I read Bible stories at bedtime.”

Born in Israel 35 years ago, she was raised on an Israeli Air Force base (her father was a fighter pilot and later base commander). Her love of music wasn’t encouraged by her mother, who once had dreams of singing, too. 

But Rozzen knew her voice was special. “I would sing, and the neighbors would come with chairs to listen.”

At age 8, she took singing lessons behind her parents’ backs. At age 11 (and two years too young), Rozzen auditioned at a performing arts high school without her parents’ permission. The school made an exception and admitted her. 

Rozzen’s chutzpah didn’t falter. She told her father she was using her bat mitzvah money to go to New York to audition at Juilliard, and rather than argue, he took her there. “My father and I were the closest of souls.” 

With only the name and a photograph of the woman who would decide her future, Rozzen entered Juilliard’s lobby and began to sing. She performed for 45 minutes before the woman she needed to impress came down the elevator. Juilliard found a place for Rozzen. 

Later, she transferred to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, which brought her to Palm Beach for a performance when she was 20 years old. She says she knew from that first visit that she would live here some day. 

No surprise, she did. Rozzen moved to Boca Raton eight years ago, and when COVID hit and performances were canceled, she reinvented herself. 

She opened the Rozzen School of the Arts, a hybrid online and in-person private teaching program that is home to the American College Agency for Young Artists, a program that helps young musicians pursue admission to the best performing arts institutions. Student enrollment exploded and Rozzen felt blessed for her success. 

Still an Israeli citizen, Rozzen qualified for a green card to stay in the United States because of her extraordinary ability in the arts. She will be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship in three years, she said.

About 18 months ago, her father got sick and Rozzen returned to Israel to care for him. While she was there, she met David Yanas, an Israeli Air Force mechanic. He offered his support as she nursed then grieved for her father. They were engaged after three months, and they married five months ago. 

Now the newlyweds have a new home together and Rozzen has a new job. Yanas is pursuing a college degree that will let him continue his aviation career in the United States.

When you ask how she plans to balance all her responsibilities, she says, “On two feet,” with a wide smile, proof a sense of humor always helps. “I’ve come to the confident realization that there is so much I don’t know, and I’ve found peace with that.”

Shir means ‘song’ 

Performing an aria on stage and singing in the house of the Lord are similar but different, Rozzen says. “I get joy from both, but it’s a different kind of joy. In both cases, I’m singing from the heart. When I am singing at services, I get love from the first row. I feel the souls in the audience responding to me. It’s intimate. 

“In opera, when I sing, I’m performing a character. The audience is there to escape and forget. At services, you deal with your problems, you confront the deepest scars on your soul. My goal with my singing is always to make them feel something.” 

Rozzen felt a connection to Temple Sinai Rabbi Steven Moss the first time they met. “He opened the door for me. I saw his eyes and I knew he saw me.” 

Rabbi Moss felt it too. “I’m appreciative of genuine and authentic people and she is one,” he says. He said one of the congregants asked Rozzen to sing at her birthday and requested “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis. “I saw their souls connecting. When she is singing, she’s interacting deeply with people.” 

Moss has worked with many cantors in more than four decades as a rabbi. “I know what to look for,” he says. “I think her close relationship with her father gave her a determination to succeed that has served her. She needs that because she has so much to learn.”

And what a time to begin! Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are intertwined days of reflection and repentance. Rosh Hashanah has lots of beautiful songs, Rozzen says, and she and Rabbi Moss worked together to choose the music. “Our goal is to keep tradition but bring color.” 

Each day of Rosh Hashanah, prayers ask for help correcting mistakes from the past year. Jews ask for assistance to become better Jews and better people.  

“These are not holidays,” Rabbi Moss says. “These are Holy Days. They begin a period of self-reflection, followed by asking oneself, ‘What do you do going forward?’ Our spiritual life should follow us all year long.”

These are also days of hope, Rabbi Moss says. 

“I’m very concerned about the future and our place in it. But I believe one of the core values of Judaism is hope for the future. We have to believe God has given us the ability to make the world better. We are a people of hope.”

L’shana tovah u’metukah! (“For a good and sweet year.”)

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

By Janis Fontaine

St. Lucy Catholic Church honors the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sept. 8 on this feast and day of prayer from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church at 3510 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach. 

The day begins with Mass at 8:30 followed by a presentation, “The Role of Mary in the New Testament,” at 9:30, a Q&A at 10:30 when the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available, and lunch in the parish hall at 11:30 catered by The Grille on Congress. Lunch is $30. That includes a donation to Caritas Jerusalem, which provides essential relief to those in impoverished communities in the war-torn Holy Land.

Call 561-278-1280 or visit stlucy.net/events/birthday-celebration-for-the-blessed-virgin-mary-1.

Special prayer service at Unity of Delray Beach

Unity of Delray Beach will host a prayer service, “Be Still and Know,” at 7 p.m. Sept. 10. The Rev. Jeanmarie Eck will speak, with music by D. Shawn Berry and Bree Gordon. Unity of Delray Beach is at 101 NW 22nd St. Call 561-276-5796 or visit unityofdelraybeach.org/events.

Interfaith Vigil to support immigrants at St. Gregory's

The Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, a group of community members from a variety of religious traditions, hosts an Interfaith Vigil supporting the immigrants at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd. 

The public is invited to stand in solidarity for the dignity, honor and humane treatment of all immigrants and refugees.

Rabbi Greg Weisman (Temple Beth El), Pastor Andrew Sherman (St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church) and Rabbi Hector Epelbaum (B’nai Torah Congregation) will be joined by members of the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, Boca Raton community and civic leaders for this event. 

Call 561-395-8285 or visit tbeboca.org/vigil-2025.

Rabbi Jack Moline joins B’nai Torah Congregation 

B’nai Torah Congregation has announced the appointment of Rabbi Jack Moline as interim senior rabbi following the retirement in July of Rabbi David Steinhardt, the congregation’s spiritual leader for 31 years. 

Rabbi Moline is a nationally respected pulpit rabbi, teacher and interfaith leader with more than 35 years’ experience. 

A native of Chicago, he was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1982 and holds a degree from Northwestern University. 

Rabbi Moline served as the rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, for 27 years. He is president emeritus of Interfaith Alliance, a national organization dedicated to safeguarding religious freedom and the First Amendment. He and his wife, Ann, have three children and are grandparents to five. 

In August, he joined B’nai Torah Congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida, at 6261 SW 18th St., Boca Raton. Call 561-392-8566 or visit btcboca.org.

CityLead Boca to meet at Boca Raton Community

Boca Raton Community Church hosts CityLead Boca from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at the church at 470 NW Fourth Ave. This monthly event for the business community is designed to inspire leaders to use their influence to serve others. Reservations are recommended. $20 includes lunch. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Call 561-395-2400 or visit citylead.com/boca.

Churches to celebrate Blessing of the Animals

A few local churches are celebrating St. Francis with blessings of the animals. 

St. Lucy Catholic Church: Oct. 4, time to be announced. 3510 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach. 561-278-1280; stlucy.net.

St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church: 3 p.m. Oct. 5, 3300 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach. 561-732-3060; stjoesweb.org.

Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea: Oct. 26, time to be announced. 141 South County Road, Palm Beach. 561-655-4554; bbts.org.

Improvement plans moving forward for Jewish center

Now that an appeal that would have prevented Boca Beach Chabad Jewish Center from securing its new home in an office building on East Palmetto Park Road has been dropped, plans are moving to complete the “mostly cosmetic” modifications to the property. 

The building, which was purchased by Boca Beach Jewish Educational Center Inc. for $13 million a year ago, has three floors, each about 10,000 square feet, Rabbi Ruvi New said. 

The plan is to upgrade the synagogue and religious center on the first floor where it is now and convert the second floor into meeting and administrative space, with a place for the active and growing young professionals group (CYP DoBo, aka Downtown Boca). The third floor will be converted to office suites that Chabad will lease. 

Plans to convert the empty space are under review by the city, but Rabbi New says there will be five or six office suites available in the building at 490 E. Palmetto Park Road.

The rabbi says participation has increased dramatically since Chabad acquired the new space. 

“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” he says, referring to the acquisition. His congregation loves that they can walk to services, and the location is ideal for visitors from out of town who want to attend.

The campaign to raise money for the improvements continues. Rabbi New invites the public to tour the facility and to commemorate the High Holy Days at Boca Beach Chabad. Visit chabadbocabeaches.com.

Send religion news to Janis Fontaine at fontaine423@outlook.com.

Capt. Steve Anderson holds a nice snook he caught on a recent fishing trip in the Jupiter Inlet. September is a good time to catch snook in local inlets. Photos by Steve Waters/The Coastal Star

By Steve Waters

Tom Greene used to look forward to September like most people look forward to Christmas, because the first day of this month was when the snook season opened.

The snook is Florida’s favorite inshore gamefish. It fights hard and often jumps, it hits all types of lures and baits, you can catch one from land or from a boat, and for many anglers a snook is their favorite fish to eat.

South Florida’s guru of snook fishing, Greene used to freely dispense information on where, when and how to catch snook when he owned Custom Rod & Reel, a Lighthouse Point store that he sold after 60 years in the fishing tackle business. He got his start at Boca Tackle when he was 12 years old.

Greene also practiced what he preached in September, fishing around inlets, spillways and beaches — wherever he thought the snook fishing would be best based on the scouting reports provided to him by his customers and a network of trusted sources from Jupiter to Miami Beach.

The snook season is closed from June 1 to Aug. 31 on the Atlantic coast of Florida because that’s when the fish gather at inlets as they prepare to spawn, which makes them easy to target. The fall season runs through Dec. 14. Anglers can keep one snook a day measuring 28 to 32 inches long with the tail squeezed.

The majority of snook are finished spawning by September, but some remain in local inlets and off beaches and around fishing piers. With a full moon on Sept. 7, Greene said the snook fishing at inlets should be especially good because the fish spawn on the full moon.

“The fish will still be around the inlets and off the beach,” Greene said. “The No. 1 time to fish them is early morning daylight and sunset.”

Because of heavy rains this time of year, snook also hang around spillways, where excess fresh water is released into the Intracoastal Waterway. When the spillways are opened, snook will be there to eat bluegills, shiners, shad and other small fish swept through the spillways with the moving water.

Tom Greene, considered South Florida's guru of snook fishing, holds the book he wrote about his fishing exploits, A Net Full of Tails.

Greene said swimming plugs, crankbait and jigs that get down to where the fish are will all catch snook at spillways, including those in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach. He recommended using tackle with 20- to 50-pound main line and 30- to 50-pound fluorocarbon leaders.

Greene, who wrote a book about his fishing exploits titled A Net Full of Tails, said that the hour before and after tide changes is usually the best time to catch snook in inlets and from bridges, especially at night and first thing in the morning.

One of my most memorable snook tales was a night trip with Greene and Capt. Steve Anderson. Trolling Rapala X-Rap swimming plugs through Jupiter Inlet, we caught and released more than a dozen snook up to about 25 pounds.

I had fun because I had never tried that technique. I had even more fun listening to the two old buddies tell stories about fishing from South Florida piers, beaches and bridges. Greene was so addicted to snook fishing as a young man, he missed his sister’s wedding ceremony because the snook were biting so good that day.

As Anderson slowly drove his boat in the inlet, Greene and I stood on opposite sides at the back of the boat with the lures swimming in the water behind us. The results were immediate, as Greene hooked a snook on our first three passes through the inlet.

My lure got hit when I started reeling so it didn’t get tangled in Greene’s line. After Greene landed his 11-pounder, I landed my 20-pounder for a successful doubleheader release.

Anderson and I then took great pleasure in giving Greene a hard time for catching such small fish. The old pro quickly got even by catching eight snook in a row, including several over 20 pounds.

Outdoors writer Steve Waters can be reached at steve33324@aol.com.

By Mary Hladky

The Boca Raton City Council has selected Mark Sohaney, who has an impressive resume but no experience running a city, to succeed George Brown as city manager.

In so doing at an Aug. 12 special meeting, the council rejected two highly qualified in-house candidates — Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer James Zervis and Deputy City Manager Jorge Camejo whose focus is on the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

Sohaney is the former chief executive officer of Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. Before that, he was chief executive officer of Naval Air Station Key West and has held other positions with the U.S. military.

The vote for Sohaney was unanimous. Before the vote only council member Andy Thomson voiced support for Zervis, and said Camejo was his second choice.

The others praised both Zervis, the former chief administrative officer for Kern County, California, before he joined the city in 2024, and Camejo, who rejoined the city earlier this year after serving as executive director of Hollywood’s CRA.

But council members said Sohaney would provide a fresh perspective and brings experience with complex infrastructure projects at a time when the city is planning redevelopment of its downtown government campus.

They expect to finalize an employment contract with Sohaney in September.

Brown, who is retiring in January, is a 43-year city employee who served as deputy city manager for 21 years until he was promoted on Jan. 1, 2024, replacing longtime City Manager Leif Ahnell.

Sheriff’s office announces arrest of serial shooter who took aim at homes in Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and elsewhere

The Glock 9mm handgun that officials say was used in 16 separate shooting incidents around Palm Beach County in recent months. Photo provided

By Rich Pollack and Larry Barszewski

Smart detective work by the Ocean Ridge Police Department helped lead to the arrest Thursday of a man described as a serial shooter who is charged with firing bullets into 16 residences and businesses throughout the county in a spree that began in February.

While some of the homes 29-year-old Sterling Maloney is accused of shooting up were occupied at the time, there were no reported injuries.

“We’re very lucky that no one was hit, killed or injured with these shootings,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Col. Talal Masri, who said that Maloney kept a ledger detailing the locations he shot up and a list of 10 more places he was planning to target.

“This arrest today potentially saved lives even though we were lucky no one got hurt," Masri said. "We don’t know what was going to happen the next time.” 

PBSO had not previously reported that police were investigating such a string of shootings involving the same handgun.

Sheriff’s investigators began looking into the shootings more than five months ago after buildings in Royal Palm Beach were struck by bullets. There were more shootings in the months that followed, including six in Delray Beach and four in Boynton Beach.

One of those shootings in Boynton Beach in May occurred at a home where four people, including children, were sleeping. Delray Beach police said that at least one of the homes struck by bullets in their city was occupied at the time of the shooting.

Most, if not all of the shootings, appeared to occur in the early morning hours before daylight.

A case in Ocean Ridge

PBSO and the other police agencies had used a central database and found the shell casings in all the shootings matched and appeared to come from the same Glock 9mm handgun. Who was firing that gun remained a mystery until the shooter took aim at a vacant home in Ocean Ridge in the early morning hours of July 11.

“They had so many shootings, but they didn’t know who was doing it,” Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure said.

In Ocean Ridge that morning, at least a dozen shots were fired at an unoccupied home on Thompson Street. One of the bullets went through a window.

Ocean Ridge Police Sgt. Keith Ramirez investigates the scene July 15 outside a home near Thompson Street and Old Ocean Boulevard where the shooting took place days earlier. The orange cones mark the location of three of the bullet casings found on Thompson. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

The shooting was noticed the next day when a passerby saw bullet holes and contacted a police officer who was in the area on another call, McClure said.

McClure said that through the use of technology, including license plate recognition cameras, static cameras and video taken from home-security cameras in the area, his officers were able to identify a vehicle they suspected was involved.

Ocean Ridge police put out an alert July 17 to all the police departments in the area to be on the lookout for the vehicle. Six hours later that same day, Boynton Beach police officers pulled over the vehicle, a blue Hyundai Sonata driven by Sterling Maloney.

McClure said Ocean Ridge police were called to the scene and met with Maloney.

“Our detectives interviewed Sterling the day of the traffic stop,” McClure said, adding that Maloney was released for lack of probable cause to hold him.  

But the car was impounded because of its tie to the Ocean Ridge shooting, and after obtaining a warrant, investigators found the gun — later linked to multiple shootings of businesses and homes — ammunition and the ledger with past targets and a list of potential targets.

“It was good on our part that we got these breaks to stop them in their tracks,” McClure said. “They’d been looking for him since February.”

McClure said the investigation in Ocean Ridge was a team effort.

“Everybody had a hand in this,” he said. “It’s good detective work and I’m proud of them.”

Masri, of the sheriff’s office, said that Maloney was surprised when he was arrested Thursday morning.

A diagram provided by police points out the timeline and location for the various shootings being investigated. The diagram indicates there was also a shooting in Broward County. Diagram provided

He said that sheriff’s detectives, who took the lead in building the case against Maloney, are now looking to determine a motive and are following up to see if there are any commonalities connecting all of the victims. 

Maloney is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail on a dozen charges of firing a missile into a dwelling. He is also charged with two counts each of discharging a firearm from a vehicle and criminal mischief damage to property.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified when Ocean Ridge police learned of the shooting in town. Officers found out about it the next day.

Coral outcropping at proposed Milani Park — an out-of-the-way lure for snorkelers — once  attracted Japanese settlers, indigenous tribes Japanese settlers of Yamato Colony shown circa 1922 at Yamato Rock, once known as ’Jap Rock.’ It was a hub for the colony’s social gatherings and fishing. Photos provided by Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

By Rich Pollack

For the Japanese farmers who settled the Yamato Colony in Boca Raton during the early 1900s, the area surrounding what is now known as Yamato Rock was an oasis of sorts.  

With their village centered near the railroad tracks and present-day Yamato Road, colony members often trekked by foot or by boat, by horse-drawn wagon or car or motorcycle, to fish from the coral outcropping or for community gatherings, picnics and celebrations. 

“It was the primary recreational community space,” said Larry Rosensweig, founding director of the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach. 

The area that had been described as remote — sprinkled with saw palmettos and pine trees amid its sugar sand during the early part of the 20th century — is now known for its near-shore snorkeling and fishing opportunities. It has been placed in the spotlight as Palm Beach County continues its plans to develop Milani Park there, which would make the area more accessible to visitors. 

The controversial park, which has drawn opposition from Highland Beach residents for decades, would envelop the beach and dune areas adjacent to Yamato Rock — named “Jap Rock” until 2006 — as well as a parcel on the west side of State Road A1A at the south end of the town. 

Oscar Kobayashi circa the 1920s. The Yamato Roack area is being considered for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Historical significance

The county is hoping to add the proposed site to the National Register of Historic Places because of its link to the Yamato Colony and its inclusion of a Native American burial ground believed to be more than 1,000 years old. The county has submitted a nomination that is being considered. 

Rosensweig and others who have studied the Yamato Colony say the site is the last undeveloped parcel that can be linked to the Japanese farmers. 

The area near the railroad tracks that was known as Yamato Village, the hub of the community, is now the site of office buildings, retail shops and condominiums. 

Photos of the colony members on the beach and recollections from the farmers and their families help provide the documentation of the parcel’s historic significance. 

“It’s one of the few pieces of concrete evidence we have left,” says Carla Stansifer, curator of Japanese art at the Morikami. “It’s an important part of history.” 

Through diaries and interviews with descendants of colony members, historians and researchers have been able to understand the important role the area played in life there. 

“The Yamato Colony’s roots can best be traced back to Jo Sakai, a U.S.-educated Japanese entrepreneur who was looking to establish an agricultural community in Florida,” said Susan Gillis, the curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society. “He came to Boca Raton in 1903 and liked what he saw.”

The colony's roots go back to 1905 and it had its heyday in the 1920s. Stansifer thinks the colony members may have been attracted to the coastal area because of its appearance. 

“It’s very much like the coastline of Japan,” she said of the coral outcropping. “They may have thought ‘this looks familiar, it looks very homey.’”

Men celebrate a good harvest at the mound, circa 1916. The mound, as the early Yamato colonists called it, is the Native American burial mound near Yamato Rock.   

Source of sustenance

Yamato Rock became a prime fishing ground that served as a food source for sharing among members of the colony.

“Some of the men would go and fish and what they caught they brought back for dinner with the whole community,” Stansifer said. 

In his book The Amazing Story of Highland Beach, author Sandy Simon includes a description from Tomiko Kobayashi, who was a member of the colony, of what it was like during the Great Depression and how important fishing at the rock was at the time.

“Nobody had any money and nobody could get a job,” Simon quoted Kobayashi as saying. “All we could do was work in the fields and since it was too hot to grow anything during the summer we would go over to Yamato Rocks to the beach and fish for food. There were lots of fish there and it was much cooler.”

During a presentation at the Delray Beach Historical Society in July, Bryan Davis, a principal planner with Palm Beach County, said that fishing is discussed prominently in diaries and oral histories. Among the fish caught from the rock or surrounding area were bluefish, pompano and cubera snapper, he said. 

Oscar Kobayashi with a large snook he caught near Yamato Rock.

Place for celebrations

Besides fishing, the beach area near Yamato Rock was important for weekend picnics and special occasions, including a New Year’s celebration. 

Photos from members of the colony show gatherings on the Native American mound, and Simon, in his book, quotes locals as recalling groups of Japanese families getting together there on the weekends.

“It was an important place for the community to gather,” Stansifer said. 

Rosensweig said the area's preservation is important due to the evidence there of Native Americans and the history of the Yamato Colony members. 

“It’s one of the last remaining examples on the South Florida coast of the continuum of human existence,” he said. 

Residents put the mic in their own hands to take leaders to task via social media sites

By John Pacenti

Elected leaders routinely reach out to Delray Beach resident Ingrid Lee through text or social media. The mayor has met her for coffee to discuss issues.

Lee, administrator of the Facebook group Delray Matters, said it used to be that you had to be a white, wealthy landowner to have access to elected officials to have power and influence. “Now with social media, anybody can have discourse within the community and with leadership and be anybody,” Lee said.

In places as politically active as Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Lantana, officials may control the microphone at government meetings, but residents have found other ways to have their say and influence decisions. 

They are frequently turning to social media and its kissing cousins — newsletters, blogs, etc. — to influence, interact and participate in their local government. The flip side of this free-for-all marketplace is that these vehicles can be agenda-driven, censoring opposing viewpoints and allowing personal attacks and proliferating misinformation.

In one case involving Lantana elected officials, violence was endorsed, the vice mayor says.

The proliferation of social media sites focused on municipal government is so profound that it’s hard to track them all down. Whether they influence the government is a matter of debate that reflects the polarizing politics of the day.

In other words, you either love it or loathe it.

Besides Delray Matters on Facebook, there are Delray Raw and the Delray Beach Community Forum. Then there is the anonymously published Delray Gazette, which often has incendiary articles that are picked up by Delray Matters and other groups.

Into the mouth of the rat

In Boca Raton, there are the websites BocaFirst.org and 4Boca.com. The Nextdoor app for Boca Raton can get into the municipal weeds. Right now, the hot topic is the redevelopment of the city’s 30-acre downtown campus — and the “Save Boca” opposition movement.

Former Boca Raton City Council candidate Brian Stenberg posted on Nextdoor on July 23: “Hearing the constant ‘Government Campus/Memorial Park’ drumbeat is tiring, but it’s an important point in Boca Raton’s history. It’s about the difference between cost and value. It’s about our relationship with our local government.”

Boca Raton resident Holli Sutton says she has used Nextdoor to organize the resident opposition that killed the construction of an assisted living facility next to her home in Palmetto Park Terrace — a proposal rejected by the City Council. 

“Nextdoor was essential in helping us spread the word,” said Sutton, who is now building opposition to a proposed condominium complex for the same space by the same developer.

Digital marketer Jason Pelish, who publishes 4Boca.com, says he knows more than he would like about social media influencing local government. Pelish worked with Al Zucaro when the politician produced BocaWatch before running for Boca Raton mayor.

However, the BocaWatch that Pelish first encountered gave true meaning to Boca’s translated name: rat’s mouth. A schism occurred when Pelish, as he tells it, tried to clean up BocaWatch from “nasty and really just mean people hurting genuine political dialogue.” 

Zucaro shuttered BocaWatch after he lost his second mayoral bid in 2018 — then tried to start it up again a half-year later — while Pelish eventually started 4Boca. That site aggregates links to relevant content from other publications that focus on Boca Raton.

Meanwhile, BocaFirst.org publishes original content and addresses the issues of the city head-on. In July, the site addressed such in-the-weeds topics as the city losing its director of mobility and coverage of the Citizens’ Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Board meeting,

Pelish relishes his role as government watchdog, saying that he is good at knowing the inside scoop at City Hall. “When they see me coming, they run, basically,” he laughs.

But Pelish says this intersection between social media and local government is the Wild West, especially where people are using Facebook groups, blogs and other matters to post anonymously.

“There are a number of anonymous people on social media — Facebook, particularly, not so anonymous on Nextdoor — who really control, for the most part, what gets exposed, what doesn’t get exposed, what gets discussed and what doesn’t get discussed online.”

Anonymous potshots

Anonymously run Facebook groups, websites and newsletters allow certain candidates to get their messages across while censoring others, Pelish said.

 “I think it is textbook campaign fraud,” he said.

Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney said he also has a problem with anonymous social media posts and newsletters.

“I like to know who is writing it so I can understand the context of the comment, because you can have a political objective and post something anonymously,” he said.

The administrators who allow anonymous posts, Carney said, are taking a risk. “Freedom of speech does not protect you from a defamation lawsuit,” he said.

Zucaro, now years away from making waves with Boca Watch, said his site was nothing like the social media free-for-all that is present today.

“I think we simply were attempting to provide an information vehicle and provide a thesis for people to have their voice heard,” he said. “It was very effective, but it clearly wasn’t used in the manner that social media is being used in today’s world.”

A post on Nextdoor by this reporter asking what residents of Boca Raton think in regards to social media’s influence on municipal government got diverse responses.

“Nextdoor is full of mostly naysayers who don’t know all of the facts and jump to very lopsided conclusions. Then the misinformation spreads and spreads,” said one resident.

Another said, “It definitely changes municipal gov’t. It can be used by the gov’t to sway the public. A savvy citizen can do the same thing.” This was disputed by a woman who said, “I don’t believe it influences gov’t in the least.”

The Delray scoop

In his protracted ongoing contract battle with Delray Beach’s police union, Carney wanted to get an opinion on the reach of the city’s health center.

Did he call a doctor, a patient, or a director at City Hall? No, Carney called Lee of Delray Matters. The mayor said he didn’t call Lee as the administrator of the Facebook group, but she says, “He has called for other reasons and met for coffee” on different topics.

When it comes to scoops, Delray Matters posted in June a redacted portion of a whistleblower complaint filed by Jeri Pryor, the city’s director of neighborhood and community services, before any television or newspaper did. Pryor’s complaint against City Manager Terrence Moore and Vice Mayor Rob Long was found “unsubstantiated” by an independent investigator.

Pryor has told the city attorney that the publication of the whistleblower complaint in Delray Matters, as well as The Coastal Star and the Sun Sentinel, has led to public attacks that have contributed to a hostile work environment.

Rodney Mayo, a well-known restaurateur who claims Pryor’s code division has targeted him, sent another screed to the media in July titled, “The City of Delray Beach has Lost Its Mind!” Delray Matters ran it all.

Lee weighed in: “Why would a brand new Code Mgr target a business when she is new to the City?”

The latest edition of the Delray Gazette was also posted in Lee’s Facebook group. The publication is anonymously written and has the motto, “Because you CAN handle the truth.” Identifying the person or persons behind the newsletter is like playing a local game of Clue, and everyone is sure who has a firm grip on the pen — the name just changes depending on to whom you speak.

“Buckle up, because if the mayor has his way with the budget cuts, Delray Beach is about to get a whole lot less fun,” said one op-ed piece in the Gazette on Carney’s proposed budget cuts that would include some signature events.

Instant interaction

Gregg Weiss, who runs the Delray Beach Community Forum, said the blogs, Facebook groups, and newsletters give residents something that traditional media failed to deliver.

“Reporters were always really good about talking about government issues, in other words, issues within the cities. But where I feel they fell short, and this is just my opinion, was engaging citizens,” Weiss said.

Social media, especially hyperlocal groups, interact with people in the moment, whether it’s a lost dog or wallet, or municipal issues.

“Somebody has an issue with code enforcement? You know, they get solutions and answers,” Weiss said. “It’s very communal.”

Vice Mayor Long said he was one of the first to get into the newsletter game to reach his constituents. But he also sued former Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Chris Davey over a post on social media.

“I stay deliberately out of the groups because they are so overwhelmingly negative,” Long said. “And unfortunately, I think it creates these silos, and it creates these factions. These factions may already exist, but I think they actually end up getting strengthened, oftentimes by these Facebook groups that share a lot of disinformation.”

Filling a void

Former Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia has battled the social media horde and won. Petrolia ousted the nonprofit that ran Old School Square, which split the hoi polloi in the city right down the middle, earning her all kinds of shade and vitriol on social media.

“I think social media has been around for a long time, and what it has done is, I hate to say this, but it has somewhat started to fill the gap that we’ve lost with a lot of our news coverage,” she said.

Zucaro echoed that sentiment: “Boca Raton is in the middle of nowhere. I mean The Post barely covers it and the Sun Sentinel, I don’t think they even think it exists.”

Seasoned journalist Randy Schultz has been filling the gap with his City Watch items in Boca Magazine, but he can tiptoe the line between commentary and news. He was not a fan of Petrolia’s ousting the nonprofit that ran Old School Square.

Petrolia said she started a newsletter when she was in office “that was very popular” to address issues in City Hall that were not being covered by television stations and newspapers.

Carney has a newsletter and tries to use it not only to sway public sentiment but also the commissioners. He torched them not once but twice in July for not suggesting cuts to the budget. It didn’t work; they voted against him.

In June, Carney blasted the Police Benevolent Association in his newsletter — which is sent out via email — for wanting an increase in retirement benefits, saying the money would go only to the upper echelon and not the rank-and-file troops.

The Lantana threat

Lantana Mayor Karen Lythgoe and Vice Mayor Kem Mason take a different approach. They want as little to do with social media as possible, finding it toxic.

It’s hard to blame them.

Mason said that, in 2021, a comment on a Facebook group endorsed throwing sulfuric acid on some elected officials. Mason, first elected in 2022, said the group administrator endorsed the post.

The former firefighter called out the post at a council meeting during public comments. “Bullies are only stopped if you stand up to them,” he said.

Mason said he feels people lose their civility on social media, emboldened to attack their government and elected officials.

“[They] feel as though they’re protected behind their screen or their keyboard,” he said. “If people had to face the person that they’re criticizing, they probably would be more civilized.”

Lythgoe in February addressed misinformation on social media during a council meeting. She says social media is a bad method for residents to interact with their government.

“The people who seem to have the most negative things to say are not people who interact with any of us,” she told The Coastal Star. “We do not see them at the meetings.”

Lythgoe says she gets frustrated when seeing the misinformation online about the town she loves and her initial reaction is like a lot of people’s — to respond with equal venom.  

“I was on Nextdoor and there was this guy who said Lantana was so disappointing. And I was like, ‘Whoa, Karen. Don’t. Don’t.’ And then I politely and nicely said, ‘You need to get your facts straight.’”

Mason said he stays off social media altogether — so anybody using it to criticize him is usually wasting time, though some comments trickle back to him. “I’ve been called a liar, a bully and a cheat on there,” he said.

His campaign staff had to beg him to use social media when he ran for office.

“I don’t do Facebook. I don’t do Twitter, or X. I don’t do Tinder,” he said, laughing. 

Holly Schuttler (l-r), Liz DeBiase, Jon Pearlman and Dawn Alford Zook, of Save Boca, hold signs in support of their agenda. The group’s petitions call for amendments to a city ordinance and to the City Charter that would not allow the City Council to lease or sell any city-owned land greater than one-half acre without an election. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

What started as contained protest has morphed into all-out rebellion, as residents step forward to oppose Boca Raton’s plans to redevelop the city’s 30-acre downtown campus, which includes government and park space.

With the new residents group Save Boca in the lead, the opposition now has the trappings of a movement with Save Boca lime green and bright navy T-shirts and yard signs — and volunteers going door-to-door to collect signatures on petitions that would force the city to let residents vote on the project.

Organized by Jon Pearlman, Save Boca has a website, SaveBoca.org, where petitions are available, and a Facebook page. Residents can go to the Downtown Library every Tuesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. to sign a petition or pick up a yard sign.

Save Boca exhorted residents to voice their opinions at the July 15 City Council meeting. They responded in force.

Project opponents filled every seat in the council chambers and spilled over into a foyer. More than 30 spoke.

“This is too big,” Brett Lassen said of the project. “We are taking paradise and putting up a parking lot.”

Said Joe Majhess: “Traffic will drastically increase. Our quality of life is being sacrificed. We are done. Put it to a vote.”

“I have not heard one single person who wants this development. Not one,” said Patricia Dervishi. “They want it completely scrapped. Not changed. Scrapped.”

“People are shocked,” Pearlman said. “This project has brought to light we the citizens do not have any power over our public land.

“That is what the petitions seek. We need to put the protection of our public land back in the hands of the people.”

As he shouted “Save Boca!” the audience cheered.

The two petitions call for amendments to a city ordinance and to the City Charter. They would not allow the City Council to lease or sell any city-owned land greater than one-half acre without an election.

Mayor faults petition words
The city, in a public-private partnership, plans to lease the 30 acres for 99 years to a joint venture of Terra and Frisbie Group for redevelopment.

An analysis by city consultant CBRE found the deal would yield the city $3.6 billion. That includes lease payments to the city and a $2.2 billion increase in tax revenue the property will generate over the 99 years once redeveloped. Pearlman contends the revenue would be far less.

What Pearlman and Save Boca supporters see as an issue of resident control over what happens to city-owned public land, Mayor Scott Singer sees as a grave impediment to governance.

“Unfortunately, these petitions are confusing to many residents because they have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond just the downtown campus,” he said in statement to The Coastal Star.

“The language could imperil all our longstanding relationships with core nonprofits, facilities and cultural centers, including the Boca Museum of Art, Boca Raton Historical Society, Fuller Center, Tri-County Animal Rescue and many more groups.”

Every time the city wanted to lease land to such groups, there would have to be a costly election, he said. Either the groups would have to pay for it, or the City Council might decide not to pay that cost and so not provide leases.

“Residents who have concerns may prefer to give feedback to the evolving (downtown campus) plans, rather than sign this petition that may prevent nonprofits in the future from providing many benefits to our city,” he said.

Jon Pearlman and Dawn Alford Zook of Save Boca review petitions outside the Downtown Library that are aimed at halting Boca Raton’s downtown campus redevelopment plans. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Ballot initiative
Save Boca must collect at least 6,112 signatures for the charter change and 3,676 for the ordinance change to get either measure on a ballot.

As of late July, Pearlman did not have an exact count of how many signed petitions have been collected, but said it was over 1,000 for each of the two measures.

“I am very confident we will get the amount of signatures we need for this petition to become successful,” he said.

There is no specific deadline for submitting the petitions. Once they are filed with City Clerk Mary Siddons, she would coordinate with Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link to verify the signatures and voter registrations. If the petitions meet the requirements, the measures would go to a vote.

The next city election is on March 10, 2026, when voters will determine the next mayor and who will fill two City Council seats. A special election with only the two measures on the ballot would cost about $200,000.

Was city outreach enough?
Several residents complained at the council meeting that they did not know the scope of the redevelopment project that will bring residential, retail, two office buildings and a hotel to the downtown site. It also will include a new, but smaller City Hall, larger Community Center and a police substation.

They criticized city officials for poor communication and outreach.

But city officials insist they have worked diligently to keep residents informed.

All documents detailing the project are on the city’s website.

Officials also post regular updates there and on social media about the project’s status. They have held two charettes that allowed residents to see the plans and speak with Terra/Frisbie officials. For more than six months, city officials and CBRE have provided updates at every council meeting and allowed the public to comment.

And yet, many residents either were unaware or assumed the project was limited to building a new City Hall and Community Center, which they generally support.

The exception is users of the campus’ recreation facilities, including the tennis center, skate park and softball fields. They know the city plans to move most of those to other parks and have strongly objected.

Most recently, the city said it would build a $12 million softball complex at Sugar Sand Park, which is owned by the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District. Once it is built, the district will own and maintain the complex.

In responding to criticisms during the meeting, Mayor Singer said, “It disheartens me that despite so many communications so many people are unaware.”

He noted that Mizner Park was created as a public-private partnership that “transformed that area of the downtown. We have the opportunity to do the same thing here. … Everyone would say (Mizner Park) is successful.”

“This is an ongoing process,” he said after residents had weighed in. “We appreciate your comments and will see what we can make better.” 

We are delighted to share some good news about the future of The Coastal Star.

We’re welcoming Harvey Oyer III as a shareholder in the ownership of our publishing company. Our newspaper has been locally owned and operated since we published our first edition in November 2008. 

As we think about the future of our newspaper, we very much want to maintain our local roots. Harvey is, of course, as local as you can get. He is joining the ownership of our company to help us ensure the longevity and continued excellence of our publication.

Harvey is probably known to many of you, or at least his family name is. He is a fifth generation native of Palm Beach County, his ancestors having planted the coconuts from the wreck of the Spanish ship Providencia in 1878 that gave the county its name. 

His great-great-grandparents homesteaded on Hypoluxo Island in 1873 and his great-grandmother in 1876 was the first non-Native American child born in southeast Florida. Later, in the 1890s, his great-grandparents brought Maj. Nathan Boynton, William Linton and David Swinton to our area, which led to the creation of the cities of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach.

Harvey’s father was the mayor of Boynton Beach who had a waterfront park named in his honor.

Harvey loves our history and shares our same core values of community and freedom of speech.

He was a writer for his college newspaper and is an accomplished author, who has written five bestselling children’s books that are used throughout Florida to teach elementary school students Florida history. His books have received numerous awards and Harvey was named Florida’s Distinguished Author in 2013. 

Harvey is passionate about historic preservation and led the effort to save and restore the county’s historic 1916 Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach. He also led the effort to create the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum at the courthouse, restore historic Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, and most recently, restore the Harriet Himmel Theater in CityPlace. He served seven terms as chairman of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.  

Harvey was elected Phi Beta Kappa when he graduated with high honors at the University of Florida, and was selected the Most Outstanding Male Leader of the Class of 1990. He has been inducted into both the UF student hall of fame and the UF alumni Academy of Golden Gators.

After further study at The Australian National University as a Rotary International Scholar, and earning a master’s degree in archaeology at the University of Cambridge, England, Harvey returned to UF and received a Juris Doctor with honors from the College of Law. He also served honorably in the Marine Corps, attaining the rank of captain.

He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1998, and is a partner in the Shutts & Bowen law firm.

Local ownership is critical

We believe the long-term future of community journalism is based on the commitment that owners have to the ongoing success of their local publications. The Coastal Star’s current owners have each lived in our coastal communities for more than 40 years. Mary Kate Leming — my wife and the paper’s semi-retired executive editor — and I founded the paper in 2008. Chris Bellard, our advertising director, along with Price Patton and his wife, Carolyn, a Delray Beach native, became part of the company's ownership in 2011.

As Harvey joins The Coastal Star team, its mission to produce strong local journalism remains the same as always.

Harvey is a noted local attorney who represents a broad range of clients. If Harvey or his firm is included in a Coastal Star story, we will — as we always do — include full disclosure in the story so our readers are aware of the relationship.

Succession planning is an important task for business owners, and I can tell you that we have been looking for the next owners of The Coastal Star for a few years. Harvey’s involvement will give our staff and this community a sense of security that a sale to faraway owners would not provide. 

We hope it will also provide stability for our advertisers and satisfy the expectation of meaningful community journalism for our readers for years to come.

— Jerry Lower, Publisher

By John Pacenti

For months, Manalapan commissioners sought to determine whether or not Palm Beach County’s sand transfer plant at the Boynton Inlet was to blame for erosion of its shores.

An engineer and beach erosion expert hired by the town to look at its erosion issue says the transfer plant — which pumps sand south to Ocean Ridge and beyond — is not the big, bad bogeyman after all. 

The culprits are old-fashioned sea walls, lack of a comprehensive dune policy and Mother Nature, particularly tropical storms like 2012’s Hurricane Sandy from which the town’s beaches never truly recovered.

The conclusion is no surprise, but still grim: Manalapan faces critical erosion challenges, especially on the town’s north end, where one-time residents Billy Joel and Yanni could dig their toes into the sand.

Where a luscious beach once stood outside of the Vanderbilt estate, now at high tide the sea wall often juts into the ocean. 

It appears residents will have to decide — more likely sooner than later —  if they want to truck in expensive sand to replenish their beaches.

“Your primary issue that you should focus on is ‘how do we get enough sand, how do we maintain the sand location’ and not try to correlate that too closely with what residents — individual residents — have done,” said Doug Mann, lead coastal engineer with APTIM.

He gave an hour-plus presentation, including a question-and-answer session, at the July 8 Town Commission meeting.

Mann’s comprehensive knowledge of all things beach and erosion in Palm Beach County was on full display. He said there was actually a bit of a benefit from the sand transfer plant on the south end of Manalapan, but that any “accretion” is not present north of the Chillingworth Curve at 1500 S. Ocean Blvd.

“One day, the plant runs, and you move some sand off the beach, and it gets bypassed. The next day, there’s not enough energy or enough sand there to bypass. So the county turns the plant off, and the beach starts to accrete again,” Mann said. “So you have both of these processes going on at the same time.”

The study revealed significant beach narrowing over the decades. “The beach is lower and it’s not as wide as it used to be,” Mann said, showing photos of changes since 2001.

The northern portion of Manalapan’s beach appears the most vulnerable, eroding “pretty substantially” over the last 30 years, Mann said.

Existing sea walls complicate the situation. While doing a bang-up job of protecting multimillion-dollar properties, Mann said sea walls “cause a redistribution of sand” that may “push some sand directly offshore, particularly when you have a severe storm.”

Sea walls have been rebuilt along the former Vanderbilt estate after failing during storm surge from Hurricane Sandy. Yet, Mann showed a picture with a sea wall jutting into the ocean where the beach was nonexistent.

While there had been some dune renourishment in the 2000s by a homeowner, the town has never adopted a dune master plan or renourishment policy, Mann said.

The town in May disbanded its beach committee after it found beach erosion, the sand transfer plant, and beach raking to be areas of concern. Now the matter is in APTIM’s hands.

The Manalapan report shows the extent of erosion in the 1300 block of Ocean Boulevard. There is no berm, a mild sloping beach to the sea wall and no dune plants.

The initial study, presented July 8, cost $10,000, with additional APTIM work in a second phase to cost taxpayers between $17,000 and $20,000.

“We’re going to complete the analysis of some coastal data,” Mann said. “Look at what beach nourishment may look like in town. We’re going to look at whether the selective use of some coastal structures in combination with future dune nourishment may be appropriate.”

Potential solutions include “groins, breakwaters, or a combination of both” to maintain the shoreline. However, Mann warned that any intervention must consider environmental factors like near-shore hard bottom — where corals grow — and nesting sea turtles.

Public funding remains a significant hurdle. “Your beach is fairly private, with limited public access,” Mann said, meaning the project “would have to be funded by the town itself and its residents.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “will only work on beaches that are public and open to the public,” he said.

Commissioner David Knobel highlighted the urgency, stating the town needs “to slow the decline of this beach and have a long-term plan, whether it’s publicly or privately funded.” 

“Get dunes back there, get groins if it’s needed,” he said. 

Paul and Andrea Fazzino head the Delray Beach nonprofit Beach Keepers Inc., which is dedicated to keeping beaches and other public spaces free from trash. The organization uses regular volunteers and runs special cleanup events. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Hannah Spence

Most people don’t like the sight of garbage where it doesn’t belong. However, few do anything about it. But Paul and Andrea Fazzino’s Delray Beach nonprofit, Beach Keepers Inc., is dedicated to keeping South Florida clean and beautiful.

“We started the organization because we saw an excessive amount of pollution and felt we could make a difference,” said 59-year-old Paul Fazzino.

Beach Keepers is a 501(c)(3) disaster relief and environmental beautification organization combatting pollution to benefit public spaces, inhabitants, ecosystems and communities.

The siblings, retired construction workers, started the philanthropic organization after moving to Florida from Georgia in 2017.

“We decided that working for free to benefit everyone equally was better than working to earn a living,” said Andrea Fazzino, 56. “It served us better to personally give back seven days per week than to work for money.”

Although they live in Boynton Beach, the Fazzino brothers work from Martin County south to Miami and as far west as Wellington.

A typical day includes getting up around 5 a.m., checking and writing emails, then heading to the Delray Beach office by 7 a.m. The office on southbound Federal between Southeast First and Second streets is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 

“Arriving early is important to me and helps me to set the pace for the day,” said Paul Fazzino. “Not long afterwards our volunteers begin to arrive and head out in the community to clean up areas we’ve identified as unappealing or needing attention throughout Delray Beach’s downtown district and beyond. 

“Managing the influx of amazing volunteers, scheduling events, hosting events, recycling and disposing of the material we collect happens throughout the day.”

Paul and Andrea can often be seen hosting large beach cleanups and picking up litter from along Federal Highway. 

The brothers have created alliances with like-minded organizations like Surfing’s Evolution and the Florida Department of Transportation, where they manage FDOT Adopt-A-Mile program roadways — such as one in Briny Breezes and another in Delray Beach.

Beach Keepers Inc. provides volunteers at city events like the Delray Affair and Savor the Avenue to keep the event spaces clean and free of obstructions. Among the volunteers are people who are fighting addiction and trying to get clean, those who have been sentenced to do community service hours, and students who are donating their time in addition to working on their studies.

Paul shared a story about a volunteer named Kayla who had confided in him about her struggle with paying her student debt. This inspired him and Andrea to think of ways they could help her and other volunteers with the same issue.

The Beach Keepers Student Debt Initiative Program was started in 2023 and offers students and graduates the opportunity to help the community while receiving financial support toward student debt and educational needs. Participants can earn up to $800 monthly by doing up to 40 hours per month.

Even though Beach Keepers keeps them busy, Andrea and Paul still find time to engage in hobbies. Andrea loves to play drums and has found an outlet every Wednesday evening at the Downtown Delray Drum Circle held at Old School Square. 

Paul enjoys swimming and biking. Both are classic car aficionados and have enjoyed owning, restoring and showing their favorite Dodge/Plymouth classics, which enthusiasts call Mopars after the parts brand servicing the vehicles.

The brothers share a condo.

“We want to be held to the same standards others are,” said Andrea. “Just be kind to people, invite them with a generous spirit. Our approach is simple: See it, pick it up, get it out of there, put it where it belongs.” 

Workers paint over rainbow street art — celebrating gay pride — in Boynton Beach on East Ocean Avenue after federal and state officials threateaned to withold millions of dollars for transportation improvements if the artwork isn't removed. Photo provided by WPBF

By Jane Musgrave

When Delray Beach Vice Mayor Rob Long learned city officials were planning to comply with federal and state demands to paint over a 4-year-old rainbow-hued gay pride intersection, he got angry.

But, realizing that the city would risk losing millions of dollars in transportation improvements if it defied the orders, he decided to find ways to keep the spirit of the pride streetscape at Northeast Second Avenue and Northeast First Street — and the road money.

Recognizing that neither the state nor the federal government holds the purse strings for city parks, Long said he is mulling over the possibility of establishing a gay pride symbol on city land. Painting a mural on a city building is another suggestion he is exploring.

By the commission’s Aug. 12 meeting, he said he plans to have something for his fellow elected officials to consider.

“It’s just such vindictive, petty bullshit that our state is focusing on instead of addressing real problems,” Long said.

Other gay rights advocates, who have watched similar streetscapes erased in other cities, share his view.

The stage for the erasures was set on June 30 when the Florida Department of Transportation sent a letter to cities and counties, warning that state road funds could be cut off if “non-compliant traffic control devices and surface markings, including pavement art installations” aren’t removed.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a similar letter to all 50 governors. “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks,” Duffy said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

By July 16, Boynton Beach had painted over its colorful streetscape on East Ocean Avenue. West Palm Beach said it, too, will remove a rainbow-patterned crosswalk in the Old Northwood neighborhood.

West Palm Beach, however, is already moving forward with plans to re-create the streetscape at a small park nearby.

Boynton Beach City Manager Daniel Dugger said the city also wants to do something to replace the streetscape. But, no specific plans have been made.

“The city remains committed to finding appropriate ways to honor and celebrate our diverse community and will consider alternative memorial options at a future date,” Dugger said in a statement.

Rand Hoch, president and founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, said the recent dictates on the streetscapes are just another attack by the Trump administration on marginalized groups.

Faced with the threat of losing millions in federal grants, Palm Beach County commissioners and the School Board in recent months temporarily abandoned programs designed to help women, minorities and other disadvantaged groups.

“It makes no sense to blackmail cities,” said Hoch, a longtime gay rights activist. But, he said, sadly it works.

Hoch has been fighting to protect the Delray Beach streetscape since the human rights council paid $16,000 to make it a reality in 2021.

Since then, it has been vandalized three times — most recently in June when a driver burned tire marks into the painted pavement. The driver of the pickup that was captured on video has not been caught by Delray Beach police.

But, Hoch said, the two men who were caught — one who left black marks on the painting during an ad hoc parade to celebrate Donald Trump’s birthday shortly after the streetscape was completed, and another in 2024 — were placed on probation. 

“A slap on the wrist,” said Hoch, who wanted both to be charged with hate crimes. All of the vandalism occurred during June — Gay Pride Month.

Hoch bristled at claims by both federal and state transportation officials that the road art causes accidents by distracting drivers.

He claims studies, including one done in 2022 for Bloomberg Philanthropies, found that crashes declined when intersections were painted. 

“If you put in colorful crosswalks and intersections, people will slow down,” Hoch said, summing up the findings  that prompted cities across the country to paint asphalt.

Likewise, he said, the notion that tax money is wasted is flawed. In Delray Beach, he pointed out that his group paid for the project and the two men who were arrested paid to have it restored.

“The only thing taxpayers are paying for is to cover it up,” Hoch said. 

He said he has no plans to fight the decisions. He understands cities need federal and state money to operate and can’t risk losing either.

He applauded West Palm Beach and other cities that are working to find alternative ways to support the gay community.

But, he said, his real reason for not fighting is that, after years of progress, he now has more important battles to wage. 

“I’d rather use my political capital to make sure LGBTQ+ people continue to be protected,” he said. 

Hailey Clark, a marine biology student at Florida Atlantic University and a volunteer for the Coastal Stewards, releases Sparrow, a green sea turtle, into the ocean on July 10. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

The gift shop at Boca Raton’s Gumbo Limbo Nature Center should reopen “quite soon,” but answers to what will become of the signature sea turtle rehabilitation efforts there remain elusive.

The nonprofit Coastal Stewards, which ran the rehab unit until suddenly deciding to close it and the gift shop it ran June 12, released its final patient, a green sea turtle named Sparrow, into the ocean at Red Reef Park across from the nature center on July 10. The same day, it released one named Blossom in Stuart.

In its July newsletter, the group — previously known as Friends of Gumbo Limbo — said it has shifted away from rehab work and “evolved to focus on youth leadership and coastal conservation programs that protect Florida’s ecosystems today.” 

“As we enter a period of transition,” it continued, “the Board of Directors is thoughtfully evaluating the best path forward for the organization and its mission.”

Boca Raton officials were also trying to draw a map to Gumbo Limbo’s future.

“We’re looking at a number of options to, first of all, restore the gift shop, which is very popular,” City Manager George Brown told the City Council on July 15. “We are considering whether or not we should be in the turtle rehab business. We will continue to have turtle people being able to engage with the turtles, but whether or not we run a turtle hospital is something we’re exploring.”

Rehab options

Brown said his staff has been talking with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach for a possible solution.

“Our concern there is whether or not we want to actually hire them and pay them to operate the facility, whether we want to be in the (rehab) business and be responsible for it,” Brown said.

He said the first conversation “was more of a simple partnership, that they would use the facility and we would have an agreement. And then it seems that they are interested in being a contractor to us. And we are evaluating whether or not we will recommend doing that.

“But we’re definitely working toward the gift shop. We actually have a couple of options for that, and it should be open quite soon,” Brown said.

Mayor Scott Singer was pleased that staff was looking at maintaining the rehab facilities.

“That is an important component of what we have there at Gumbo Limbo,” he said.

The day before, Commissioner Craig Ehrnst of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District implored council members to issue a request for proposals to see whether other groups would like to run the sea turtle hospital. The Beach and Park District reimburses the city for operating expenses and capital improvements at Gumbo Limbo and Red Reef Park.

“It is one of our world-class jewels that we have, a top thing for Trip Advisor,” Ehrnst said. “We need all the things that it has.”

Clearing out

Meanwhile, the Coastal Stewards van is parked on the grass in front of the nature center “so we can use it to help move equipment and it will be moved as soon as the board decides the plan moving forward,” said Melissa Perlman, the group’s spokeswoman.

“The Coastal Stewards are working on donating medical equipment to several nonprofit sea turtle/wildlife rescue organizations based on each of their needs and the equipment the team can provide them with,” Perlman said. “According to (its veterinarian Shelby) Loos, that way we know the equipment will continue to directly help with conservation missions.”

Perlman also said over the next couple of weeks the Stewards will continue to pack and help move everything as those organizations come to pick up their donations.

The nonprofit Coastal Stewards group had run the rehab unit and gift shop since April 2024, but declining contributions and increased competition for donations led its trustees to curtail operations at their June 12 meeting.

That decision came after the Coastal Stewards in April vacated rented office space in an unincorporated county pocket between Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.

The closure of the rehabilitation center did not affect the three “resident” sea turtles housed in outdoor tanks at Gumbo Limbo, which remain on display and available for public viewing. Also still open are the city-run turtle nesting and hatchling programs, youth camps and community education, the butterfly garden, boardwalk and observation tower. 

The Manalapan Town Commission has tentatively set the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year, maintaining the same rate as the previous three years. 

However, because property values rose again this year, property owners will still be paying more in town taxes.

The commission formally voted in July to set a maximum rate of $3.00 per $1,000 of taxable value — the same as last year. It can still decrease the rate before approving the final budget in September.

According to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office, taxable property values rose in Manalapan, on average, nearly 7.6%.

Under state law, homesteaded properties can have their taxable value raised a maximum of 3% each year. All other residential and commercial properties can have their taxable values increased by a maximum of 10%.

The average home value in town is $3.7 million. For owners of that average home capped at a 3% increase, taxes would go up roughly $330.

A non-homestead property would pay more. Based on the average 7.6% increase in taxable value this year, a similarly valued $3.7 million property would see a town tax increase of roughly $840. 

— John Pacenti