By Dan Moffett

    Briny Breezes moved a step closer to hiring the first town manager in its history when the Town Council on Sept. 28 gave preliminary approval to an ordinance creating the position.
    “We’re in desperate need of administrative help,” said Alderman Bobby Jurovaty. “We can’t keep putting this off.”
    The ordinance provides a broad description of an employee who would assist council members in handling administrative duties and implementing town policies, Council President Sue Thaler said.
    “We have not advertised it yet, but we have four people already interested in the position,” Thaler said.
    Town Attorney John Skrandel said specific terms of the manager’s contract would be approved through resolutions by the council as part of the hiring process. Thaler said the council envisions the new position as a part-time job, with the manager working less than 35 hours a week and earning around $40,000 a year, without benefits. The money for the hiring is included in this year’s budget.
    Skrandel said it would be possible to hire an independent contractor to fill the position, a move that would allow the town more flexibility of scheduling and avoid overtime pay requirements. The ordinance passed on a 3-0 vote by Jurovaty, Thaler and Allen “Chick” Behringer. Christina Adams and James McCormick were absent.
    The proposed new law is scheduled to come up for a second reading and final vote on approval during the next council meeting on Oct. 26.
    In other business:
    • The council scheduled a workshop beginning at 4 p.m. Oct. 10 to consider applications for legal services and potential Local Mitigation Strategy projects for state and federal grants. LMS projects are plans by a local government that are designed to reduce or eliminate risks to people and property from natural disasters and some manmade problems. Mayor Jack Lee and resident Keith Black volunteered to develop a list of possible projects in Briny that could be eligible for grant money.        

    Council members decided in August to advertise for legal services applicants who might replace Skrandel. The deadline for applying was pushed back a week because of Hurricane Irma. Thaler said the council will review the applicants for the town attorney job during the Oct. 10 workshop.

By Dan Moffett

    Those rusted and ragged shade sails lining the parking lot at Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park are soon to give way to aluminum solar canopies as part of Florida Power & Light’s growing campaign to promote clean energy across the state.
    “The sails have been a nightmare problem for us,” Jeff Livergood, Boynton’s director of public works and engineering, told the Ocean Ridge Town Commission on Oct. 2. “The canopies will help educate people about solar power and also provide more shade.”
    The sails have cost Boynton Beach about $25,000 a year to maintain because of corrosion to poles and wind damage to fabric. The two new canopies will pay for themselves, each generating 200 kilowatts of power for FPL and $4,000 annually for Boynton Beach that the company will pay to rent the space. FPL handles all maintenance during the 20-year lease agreement.
    The Ocean Ridge commission unanimously approved the canopy plan — approval Boynton Beach and FPL needed to receive the required state permits to begin construction.
    FPL has already installed a solar tree on the lower level of the park, near the Turtle Cafe, that can charge residents’ cellphones and provide park and area information on screens. The trees cost between $22,000 and $32,000.
    FPL engineers say the canopy structures are built to withstand the 170-mph winds of a Category 5 hurricane. Livergood said the canopies can be adapted to charge electric cars, if demand warrants. The project’s canopies slant 18 feet to 14 feet tall, and cost nearly $1 million each. In all, about 22 parking spaces will be covered.
    FPL is spreading them throughout South Florida as part of its Solar Now program that asks customers to pay $9 more each month to help promote public use of solar power. More than 450 Boynton residents are enrolled in the program.
    Solar canopies are currently in use at the West Palm Beach Zoo, and at parks in Naples and Palm City, as well as the Young at Art Museum in Davie. Pompano Beach just approved several canopy projects for public buildings.
   In other business:
    • In its continuing battle against noise in neighborhoods, the commission on Sept. 26 unanimously approved an ordinance restricting the hours of construction and lawn work.
    The ordinance prohibits construction and lawn maintenance work from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and allows them only from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Construction and lawn work are not allowed on Sundays and certain federal holidays. The ordinance provides exemptions for emergency repairs — for air conditioning units, water heaters or essential services such as plumbing and electrical — and for hurricane preparation.
    The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the changes, and Chairman Jerry Goray said the panel had no shortage of opinions on what hours should be restricted. Mayor Geoff Pugh said the ordinance is a compromise of opinions that the commissioners can always adjust later if residents find the time limits unacceptable.

Apartments and town homes would be part of a development that extends between Third Street and the railroad tracks.

SOURCE: City of Boynton Beach 

By Jane Smith
    
    The Villages at East Ocean Avenue project has finally been approved after two years of wending its way through the Boynton Beach approval process.
    “It’s been a long two years for all of us,” Bradley Miller, the project’s land planner, said after city commissioners finished several mostly unanimous votes at their Sept. 19 meeting.        

    Miller represents Boca Raton lawyer Arthur D’Almeida, who assembled the parcels over nearly 15 years. D’Almeida set up limited liability corporations to buy individual pieces, paying about $3.9 million.
    The Villages project straddles Ocean Avenue and has two parcels containing slightly more than 5 acres. The project sits next to the FEC Railway tracks, possible home to a future Tri-Rail Coastal Link station.
    Boynton Beach commissioners gave his corporations another .7 acre in abandoned alleyways as part of their approval in September.
    Miller said it would take about one year to complete the design and permitting process. His client likely would seek a developer partner with construction experience to enter into a joint venture.
    “With an approved project, you get more attention,” Miller said.
    On the north parcel, fronting Boynton Beach Boulevard, an eight-story apartment building is planned with 336 units of various sizes from 700-square-foot studios to three-bedroom, two-bath units with up to 1,530 square feet. The majority of the apartments, 181, will have two bedrooms and two baths.
    The building along Ocean Avenue will be three stories, a design feature requested by residents and approved by the commission during discussions earlier in the year. Architect Juan Caycedo said, “The whole idea is to create a village-like project, respecting the scale the residents wanted and keeping it pedestrian friendly.”
    But that design didn’t sit well with at least one resident.
    “The design looks really contemporary to me,” said Cindy Falco-Dicorrado, a member of the city’s Art Commission. “I see a large building with square lines. It seems like the stepsister to the Town Square.”
    Caycedo insisted his design would fit well with Town Square. The 16-acre project, which includes public buildings and private uses, will sit west of the Villages.
    “The design looks square to me,” Falco-Dicorrado said. “But I am an artist and I respect your design.”
    The proposed complex will have a two-story fitness center that fronts Boynton Beach Boulevard with room for spin classes and a cyber café, Miller said.
    He also said it will have a pedestrian zone along its perimeter with up to 18.5-foot-wide sidewalks, 17,000 square feet of walking space and three public plazas.
    The main entrance for the Villages will be on Northeast Third Street, Miller said. That plaza will be 4,400 square feet.
    The secondary entrance on Boynton Beach Boulevard will have a 1,350-square-foot plaza. The Ocean Avenue plaza was upgraded by 400 square feet to have 2,150 square feet.
    The Villages will have 79 trees, required by the city. Seventy-two will be shade trees, the majority cathedral live oaks. Alexander palms will be used as accents around the swimming pool on the project’s north side.
    The complex will have a 644-space parking garage on the north parcel, with three spaces of street parking available on Boynton Beach Boulevard, 11 on Northeast Third Street and five on Ocean Avenue, Miller said.
    Apartment residents won’t be allowed to park their vehicles on the first floor and part of the second floor of the garage, Miller said. But he declined to be more specific about how many spaces would be available for the public.
    D’Almeida bought the southern lots from the heirs of Bob Katz, a Boynton Beach real estate investor who died in 2006. Katz was a client of D’Almeida.
    Three pieces on the north were purchased from the heirs of Harvey Oyer Jr., a former Boynton Beach mayor.
    Resident Susan Oyer, whose family extended a mortgage to the D’Almeida corporation, asked about train station access. She also wanted to know how “green” the project would be: Would it have solar panels on the rooftops, would it use reflective paints for the exterior and would it have electric car chargers in the garage?
    A new member of the Boynton Beach Planning and Development Board, Oyer had to step down from the dais when the Villages project came before the board in August. While she couldn’t vote on the project because her family would benefit from its success, she could still ask questions about it.
    The Tri-Rail Coastal Link commuter line is in the planning stages; construction is at least five years away.
    Along the railroad tracks, the project’s eastern pedestrian path will be fenced for safety and security reasons, Miller said. The fence will prevent people from crossing over the tracks and the project won’t have apartment doors on the first floor to provide security for the residents, he said.
    “People will be able to walk up to Boynton Beach Boulevard or down to Ocean Avenue to the train station,” Miller said.
    As to the paint colors and solar panels on the roofs, they will be considered, said architect Caycedo. “The need for electric car chargers will be market driven,” he said.
When the retail space on Boynton Beach Boulevard was discussed, the vote split the commission. Vice Mayor Justin Katz and Commissioner Mack McCray wanted the property owner to stick with the plan to put in retailers there.
    But Mayor Steven Grant and commissioners Joe Casello and Christina Romelus wanted to give the land owner an option. If no one wanted to rent, then the space could be converted into live/work units with the renter having a business tax receipt from the city. Artists and designers were mentioned as likely renters, Miller said.
    For the southern parcel, about 1.8 acres fronting Ocean Avenue, the complex would contain 30 apartments and five townhomes along Southeast Third Street. Each townhome would have a two-car garage, Miller said.
    Along Ocean Avenue, the complex would have ground floor retail space and stand three stories tall, about 35 feet. Along Southeast Third, the complex would have a building that stretches to five stories. The townhouses would be in a separate, three-story building. Each unit would have three bedrooms and three baths.
    “I like this design,” Falco-Dicorrado said.

By Dan Moffett

    Brad Biggs’ 11-year relationship with South Palm Beach ended abruptly Sept. 25 when the town attorney submitted his resignation, saying he had lost the support of some council members.
    “Some council persons now do not believe that I am the person they would desire to provide legal services for the town and they are unwilling or unable to accept such counsel from me,” Biggs wrote in a resignation letter. “I believe that ultimately, the only thing an attorney really can offer is wise and considered legal counsel.”
    Biggs said he needed the “full backing of every council member” to do his job, and without it, the only choice was resignation.
    “He’s been with us through thick and thin for 11 years,” said Vice Mayor Robert Gottlieb. “That was a real shocker.”
    Actually, it wasn’t that much of a shocker.
    Biggs had been pleading with the council for two years to approve a new contract for his services, and the council repeatedly ignored the request or postponed considering it. The attorney had been working on what was little more than a month-to-month handshake agreement since 2015.
     Meanwhile, Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan emerged as Biggs’ harshest critic on the council, faulting him for not advocating strongly enough for the town on the 3550 S. Ocean project at the old Palm Beach Oceanfront Inn site.
    Jordan also criticized Biggs for not being accessible enough and not ensuring council meetings were run in an orderly manner.
    “I honestly have no idea what she’s talking about,” Biggs said at one point during the dispute. He told the council:  “I very much feel kind of bullied.”
    The attorney offered to work out of Town Hall to improve accessibility and agreed to run a workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order to educate the council on meeting protocols. Neither action materialized, and instead Jordan encouraged the council to advertise for legal services and consider replacing Biggs.
    Last spring, the attorney lost his staunchest supporter on the council with the sudden death of then Vice Mayor Joe Flagello, who had described Biggs’ job performance as “outstanding.”
    Mayor Bonnie Fischer said the council will move quickly to find an interim replacement for Biggs and then fill the position permanently.
    It has been a stormy period for relations with high-level staff.
    In late 2014, the town hired Jim Pascale of Princeton, N.J., to fill the town manager opening. Six months later he resigned after philosophical disputes with the council that included whether South Palm Beach should continue to exist as an incorporated municipality.
    The town went about six months without a manager until Bob Vitas, a former Key West city manager, was hired in November 2015. Vitas, 60, has complained repeatedly in recent months that the town’s charter requires that the council review his contract and performance each year — consideration that includes possible merit raises,  benefits and perks such as car allowance. But that hasn’t happened, so Vitas is working under a contract the town may have breached.
    Vitas’ relationship with the town may be sealed at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting. On Sept. 28, council members approved a budget for 2018 — but excluded dealing with the manager’s pay issues. The council plans to take that up at the October meeting, and Jordan says she wants to settle her difference of opinions over compensation with Vitas then “once and for all.”
    Kevin Hill, a resident of Palmsea condominiums, told council members he was concerned about losing experienced employees the town needs to oversee big projects that might be coming, including the possible renovation of the Town Hall, the 3550 S. Ocean development and beach stabilization.
    “I think you guys really need to pay attention to what you’re doing,” Hill said. “If you have a mass exodus of employees, the town could be in trouble. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to take care of these people.”

By Steve Plunkett

    Former Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella will sue the town and at least one of the officers who arrested him in an October 2016 shooting incident at his home, one of his lawyers told a Palm Beach County circuit judge.
    Lucibella believes, “among other claims,” that Officer Nubia Plesnik “used unnecessary force, that he was wrongfully arrested, that he was injured, and that as a result of his wrongful arrest he was divested of his business interests and forced to resign from his government position,” lawyer Laurie Adams says in a document filed in the civil case Plesnik brought against him.
    But Lucibella said the statement was primarily a counterclaim to Plesnik’s lawsuit.
    “To date, I have not consulted with any attorney regarding taking action against the town,” he said.
    Lucibella, who is set to go on trial this month on felony charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, asked that Plesnik’s lawsuit be postponed until the criminal trial is over.
    Lucibella has pleaded not guilty to both felony charges and a third, misdemeanor charge of using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. Judge Charles Burton has blocked off four weeks for the criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.
    Plesnik, fellow Officer Richard Ermeri and Sgt. William Hallahan went to Lucibella’s home last Oct. 22 after neighbors reported hearing gunshots. They confiscated a .40-caliber handgun and found five spent shell casings on the backyard patio.
    Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, their supervisor, was with Lucibella, and both men were “obviously intoxicated,” the officers said. Police later determined the confiscated handgun belonged to Wohlfiel.
    Plesnik’s lawsuit against Lucibella claims he intentionally pushed and injured her. Her lawyer said she can perform all her duties as a police officer but continues to feel pain in her shoulder.
    Lucibella has a $10 million insurance policy for personal liability protection. He resigned as vice mayor and town commissioner in December.
    The lawsuit put Lucibella in a legal Catch-22 situation, defense lawyer Adams said. If it were to proceed, Lucibella would want to use his Fifth Amendment privilege to not jeopardize the criminal case.
    But under court rules, he must file his counterclaims against Plesnik when he first responds to her lawsuit, and making a counterclaim would allow her lawyers to compel him to answer questions.
    “Essentially, the defendant is placed in the position of choosing between two constitutional rights,” Adams wrote.
    Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe had not ruled on the postponement request prior to The Coastal Star’s deadline.
    Lucibella’s criminal defense attorney, Marc Shiner, has previously said that his client was wrongfully arrested.

By Jane Smith
    
    The contractor has begun installing a fence to block people from taking a short cut across the FEC Railway tracks in downtown Delray Beach.
    The work started on Oct. 3. It will take about two weeks for the aluminum rail fence to be finished along both sides of the tracks between Atlantic Avenue and Northeast First Street, said Joe Frantz, deputy director of public works. The fence will have pink bougainvillea planted at both ends and other native plants in between.
    The trespassing problem became a Delray Beach focus after the August 2016 death of Robin Landes, of Boca Raton. She was killed by a passing southbound freight train when she used a well-traveled path to cut across the tracks. Landes and her husband had left Johnny Brown’s on Atlantic.
    “On any given day or night, I can see multiple people, including adults with children, trespassing across the tracks between designated crossings,” said Mayor Cary Glickstein.
    “It may seem easy to cross the tracks, which is a trespass, with slower-moving freight trains using very loud horn blasts,” he said. “It’s quite another with high-speed trains that will eventually pass through Delray 32 times daily without any audible warning horns.”
    Brightline, the new name for All Aboard Florida, plans to start its express passenger rail service on the FEC tracks by the end of the year. In South Florida, Brightline will make three stops — West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
    The county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization paid to install quiet zones at most intersections, allowing the Brightline trains to zip without horn blasts through the southern part of the county. The quiet zones can include such items as dual gates on the travel lanes and a concrete median between the travel lanes.
    Delray Beach resident Patrick Halliday, vice chairman of Human Powered Delray, brought up pedestrian-safety concerns to the City Commission following the death of Landes.
    “I’m pleased to see this day coming,” Halliday said. “I got involved because of my concerns for pedestrian safety in my city of Delray Beach.”
    He thanked the mayor and City Commission for their efforts to push for a pedestrian barrier.
    FEC will have a worker present during the fence installation, Frantz said. The fence sits on FEC-owned land and the company wants to make sure that its signals and other electronics are not disturbed during the fence installation process, he said.
    Bill Wilsher, the city’s landscape planner, helped to select the plants.
    The bougainvillea at both ends will be the dwarf variety, he said. “The FEC people didn’t want anything growing over the top of the fence line,” Wilsher said.

    “The safety barrier is very much needed to push people down to desig-nated crossings,” Glickstein said.

The swimming pool at the Carlisle. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

    There’s been an ownership change at Carlisle Palm Beach in Lantana. The senior living community, at 450 E. Ocean Ave., sold for $77,197,300 on Sept. 15, according to property records.
    The new owner, Palm Beach FL Senior Property, LLC, is an affiliate of Bridge Investment Group, a real estate investment and property management firm based in Salt Lake City. Bridge Seniors principals have acquired, developed, managed or disposed of approximately 350 seniors housing projects. They have $1.9 billion of assets under management, and 53 communities with more than 6,200 units.
    The Carlisle has 290 units and 302 beds and is made up of independent-living, assisted-living and memory-care units, with monthly rents that start at nearly $4,000. More than $10 million has been invested in the complex during the past five years.
    Cushman & Wakefield coordinated the sale. The team included the executive managing director, Richard Swartz; executive director Jay Wagner; director Jim Dooley, and associate Caryn Miller. On behalf of the buyer, Wagner, senior director Aaron Rosenzweig and director Tim Hosmer arranged for a $55 million mortgage from Wells Fargo to finance the deal.
    “We had strong interest from a mix of private equity and public REITs as well as several offshore investors, including Asian and Middle Eastern capital,” Swartz said.
    The Carlisle was built in 1999. The previous owner, SHI Carlisle Palm Beach LLC, a joint venture between Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle and Boston-based AEW Capital Management, bought the property in April 2011 from Palm Beach Club for $53 million. Senior Lifestyle will continue to handle the community’s operations.
                                ***
    A sold-out crowd of 230-plus guests attended the Education Breakfast at the Delray Beach Golf Club.
    Originating in the 1970s, the event, hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, gives teachers a chance to hear from principals about challenges and successes for Delray Beach’s school system.
    Teachers and principals received backpacks, school supplies, flowers and gift cards that were sponsored by Source1 Purchasing, Office Depot, Caron Renaissance/Ocean Drive, Professional Security Consultants and Monthly Express.
    Keynote speaker Bill Bone inspired the audience with a talk titled “Grit and Gratitude.” Robert Avossa, superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County, gave updates on the new school year.

***

Making way for Publix

Workers remove debris Sept. 21 from the former theater that had long been part of Plaza del Mar in Manalapan. Considerable clearing of old buildings at the center of the mall remains to be done before construction of the new grocery can begin. The opening of the Publix is targeted for June 2018. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

***

                              Luminary, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce’s annual fundraiser and awards presentation, is scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Grand Ballroom of the Delray Beach Marriott. Tickets are $150 per person or $2,500 for eight tickets to the VIP Lounge. To RSVP, call 278-0424 or visit www.delraybeach.com/Luminary.
                                ***
    In August, the Boca Chamber and JM Lexus hosted the Chamber’s signature event, “Wine & All That Jazz,” at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Fine wines and food from more than 20 restaurants were provided for 600 guests. A portion of the proceeds will  fund efforts of the Chamber’s Golden Bell Education Foundation, which provides money and programming support to Boca Raton public schools.
                                ***
    The International Downtown Association recognized the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority with the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence for Delray Fashion Week 2017, and with a Certificate of Merit award for the Inside Downtown Delray Beach Video Series. The awards were presented during the 63rd annual conference and trade show in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
    “It is the collective mix of our merchants and businesses and their collaborative spirit that enable programs such as Delray Beach Fashion Week to be successful, and the ability to showcase the beauty, diversity and uniqueness of downtown Delray through their perspective in the video series,” said Laura Simon, executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority.
                                ***
    Congratulations to Annie Davis, president of Palm Beach Travel. She’s a winner of a 2017 Magellan Award and will be featured in the Oct. 30 issue of Travel Weekly. Her entry, “Palm Beach Travel Merges Travel + Art,” won her a silver award in the category of Travel Agent Organizations, Overall, Travel Agent Innovation. In her entry, she described Palm Beach Travel’s 2017 expansion to include the Palm Beach Art gallery, which gives her clients the opportunity to explore affordable art while making their travel plans.
                                ***
    Lang Realty supported Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine’s seventh annual “White Coats 4-Care” event with the sponsorship of two white coats, as well as personalized welcome notes for the school’s incoming medical students. This event was created to welcome, dress and equip the college’s incoming class.
                                ***
    In July, 35 real estate firms spanning 22 states received the Quality Service Certification’s QE Award, based on service excellence for exceptional customer service satisfaction.  Among the recipients was the Keyes Company, South Florida, which was a winner in the “Top 5 Large Companies” category.
 “There is no greater honor than earning the highest ratings from our customers for the hard work of our agents touching all the bases and bringing home a fantastic service experience for every one of our clients,” said Mike Pappas, president and CEO at Keyes in South Florida. “That’s why winning a QE Award is the best award any brokerage in real estate can receive.”
                                ***
    Local real estate agents were among those named to Real Trends America’s Best Real Estate Agent list based on their excellence in real estate sales during 2016. “This group of highly successful real estate sales agents represents less than 1 percent of all real estate practitioners in the United States,” said Steve Murray, president of REAL Trends.
    To qualify, an agent must have closed at least 50 transaction sides (representing either the buyer or seller) or $20 million in sales volume in 2016. For real estate agent teams, the minimum is 75 transaction sides or $30 million in closed sales volume.
    Within the top 100 individuals by volume in Florida, local agents in the top 10 were Pascal Liguori, Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, with $224,767,500 in sales at No. 2, and David Roberts, Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, $180,642,500, at No. 4.
    Within the top 100 teams by sides listed in Florida, the top 10 local team was The Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Boynton Beach. It ranked No. 7 with 338 side transactions.
    D’Angelo/Liguori, Premier Estate Properties, Boca Raton, ranked at No. 10 within the top 100 teams by volume in Florida with $115,501,000 in sales.
                                ***
    On Aug. 28, Douglas Elliman agents Randy Ely and Nicholas Malinosky listed four waterfront properties: 3232 Polo Drive, Gulf Stream, for $5.95 million; 50 Spoonbill Road, Manalapan, for $3.875 million; 13 Ocean Harbour Circle, Ocean Ridge, for $3.375 million; and 124 Marlin Drive, Ocean Ridge, for $3.25 million.
    Also, on Aug. 17, Douglas Elliman Florida agent Devin Kay listed four properties in the estate section of Seagate, Delray Beach. They are being marketed as an opportunity for a developer to build new single-family homes.
    They can also be purchased separately. The properties are a 15,069-square-foot lot at 912 S. Ocean Blvd. and a home on a 15,069-square-foot lot at 914 S. Ocean Blvd., each listed for $1.99 million; a fully renovated home on a 11,284-square-foot lot at 911 Seagate Drive for $1.8 million; and a home on a 10,731-square-foot lot at 919 Seagate Drive for $1.5 million.
                                ***
    August’s market statistics from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale show a 7.9 percent year-over-year decrease in closed sales of single-family homes in Palm Beach County and a 7.9 percent increase in the median sales price to $340,000. The report showed a 4.7 percent year-over-year increase in closings for condominiums and townhomes and 9.4 percent increase in the median sale price to $175,000. Cash transactions decreased 2.3 percent to 499. 
                                ***
    An educational event, “Renegades of Real Estate,” on Oct. 20 and 21, hosted by David Dweck at the Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel, will feature speakers covering real estate investing, as well as offering entertainment and networking opportunities. Cost is $199. To register, call 391-7325 or visit www.RenegadesofRealEstate.com.

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

Alex Schulze captains the boat as Andrew Cooper scoops trash from Lake Boca. Schulze and Cooper are owners of 4Ocean, a company that removes trash from area waterways. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Sallie James

    Andrew Cooper leaned over the bow of his boat and peered intently into the brownish water lapping against the seawall. He’d spotted a huge, colorless plastic bag beneath the surface and it was time to get to work.
    “Here’s a big piece,” he shouted to co-captain Alex Schulze, who maneuvered the blue-and-white, 24-foot Carolina Skiff closer to the trash. Cooper reached for a net and began to scoop.
    Welcome to 4Ocean, a for-profit company founded by Boca Raton residents Cooper, 27, and Schulze, 26, to clean up the ocean and coastlines. Their goal is to create a sustainable future for the ocean by active cleanup.
    They’re doing it one scoop of trash at a time.
    To date, the company has removed more than 90,000 pounds of trash from local waterways. 4Ocean is supported by the sale of $20 bracelets made from recyclable plastic and glass and promoted on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
    “We wanted to sell something that was socially conscious. A bracelet is easy and every one funds the removal of 1 pound of trash from the ocean,” Schulze said.

    The bracelets —  clear beads on a blue string — can be purchased through the company’s website at www.4Ocean.com.
    “We really combined everything we love,” explained Schulze. “We’re both certified captains, we both fish, surf and dive. We essentially started a business so we could both do what we love every day.”
    The duo met during college at Florida Atlantic University and founded their company in January with four employees and one boat. Today the company has 40 employees, including seven boat captains.
    4Ocean crews work out of seven boats, seven days a week, along waterways stretching from West Palm Beach to Hollywood.
    The pair chose to focus on waterway and beach cleanup because they both love water sports and were horrified to see how much trash turns up in the ocean.
    “The craziest thing is we find trash from all over the world. It’s unbelievable to see where it all comes from and how it ends up here,” Schulze said.
    During a recent pass along the Intracoastal Waterway near Silver Palm Park, their scooping expedition yielded numerous water bottles, a Gatorade bottle, a plastic whiskey bottle, a yellow tennis ball and lots of soggy plastic bags.
    “No bodies yet,” Cooper chuckled.
    As the boat approached the dock at the Marbella condo in Boca Raton, security supervisor Gary Ramirez came out to say hi.  
Ramirez said 4Ocean does a “fantastic job.”
    “This should have been done a long time ago,” Ramirez said.
    The trash is immediately sorted into 50-gallon drums for glass, plastic and garbage. Later, the recyclables are transported to a recycling plant and the trash is disposed of at a dump. On a busy day, the work crews can collect anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of trash.
    Lots of trash means greater success.
    “It’s our impact. The more trash we get, the more seriously we’re taken,” Schulze said.
    4Ocean also holds beach cleanups about once a month, mostly in Boca Raton.
    Schulze said the endeavor has been a huge leap of faith that’s already paying off.
    “We invested our entire life savings in this. We’ve essentially been able to develop the brand and company based on what we love,” he said.

Schulze (left) and Cooper say 4Ocean has removed

more than 90,000 pounds of trash.

Marti LaTour and Michelle Klinedinst launched Viamar Health, which provides specialty services for the treatment of eating disorders, represented here by the elephant in the room. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O'Connor

    When Marti LaTour decided to join Michelle Klinedinst in launching a treatment facility for eating disorders, she wanted to be sure she knew exactly what she was getting into.
    “The only thing I knew about eating disorders was Karen Carpenter,” she said, referring to the late pop singer.
    She sat in on a therapy session, a sobering experience.
    “I was the only one crying besides the person who was speaking,” said LaTour.
    Klinedinst has decades of experience working with people with eating disorders and LaTour has a business background.
    “Marti has connected on a deep level,” said Klinedinst. “It’s important to understand what we’re doing.”
    LaTour, of Gulf Stream, and Klinedinst, of Singer Island, formed Viamar Health in November 2016 in West Palm Beach. Viamar offers a variety of therapies for adults and adolescents with eating disorders — group sessions, art, yoga, relaxation and meditation and nutrition education.
    The National Institutes of Health defines eating disorders as serious and often fatal illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors.
    “People with eating disorders are very detached from their bodies, they distract themselves from feeling what their body feels like,” said LaTour. “We want them to listen to their bodies.”
    Eating disorders, including bulimia, binge-and-purge and anorexia, have a higher mortality rate than major depressive disorders, LaTour said. Symptoms usually appear in adolescence. As eating disorders continue, they begin to damage the major organs. Patients can die of heart failure.
    “The earlier you intervene, the better the chance of recovery,” says Klinedinst.
    Clients get a meal plan from the dietitian, who monitors their consumption of food.
People with eating disorders often view circumstances around them as chaotic and seek to regain control at least over one aspect of their lives, by controlling what they eat.
    “An eating disorder is one way you can control your world,” said Klinedinst. Clients with eating disorders can also suffer from anxiety disorders and depression.
    Klinedinst worked for musician Eric Clapton, who founded the Crossroads Centre, a rehabilitation facility in Antigua. She developed the clinical program there, as well as other programs in Arizona and California.
    “People search Michelle out,” said LaTour. “People who take care of people with eating disorders.”
    People with eating disorders can be secretive, making it hard for loved ones to know what’s going on. They also tend to be high-functioning people who want to succeed.
    “It’s so insidious,” said Klinedinst. “It starts to progress and the body starts to unravel.”
    Klinedinst has treated people with body mass indexes of 8 (normal BMI is in the mid-20s) and one who weighed only 48 pounds.
    Klinedinst’s team was able to save that patient.
    “That’s why I do what I do,” she said.
    Another of Klinedinst’s patients was a man who weighed 71 pounds. After successful treatment, he has returned to work to help others with similar problems, she said.
    LaTour’s significant other is George Elmore, the founder of Hardrives Paving. They met on boards where they were both members.
    “He was a great mentor for me,” she says.
    Elmore put Klinedinst and LaTour together at a social occasion. “We hit it off right away,” says LaTour.
    Klinedinst’s background is 20 years of training and supervising clinical psychologists and building counseling programs.
    LaTour, whose expertise is finance, held a variety of executive positions in the Pepsi bottling business.
    “When this opportunity came up, I thought that it was a lot more interesting,” said LaTour.
    Viamar offers a six-hour-a-day partial hospitalization program, day and evening hours, family and group therapy sessions. Its staff includes a variety of licensed professionals and a dietitian. By mid-summer Viamar was working with 18 clients. Costs of treatment vary and are usually covered by insurance.
    Klinedinst and LaTour are now planning to open Casita del Mar, a residential program in Juno Beach, for patients who are medically compromised by their eating disorders and need more extensive treatment.
    “When they’re that compromised, they have to stay in bed, with intravenous feeding,” said Klinedinst. “They completely resist eating.”
    Others who may be starting to eat food again can be so malnourished that they are in danger of heart attack, she said.
    Two other forms of eating disorder are less obvious: exercise anorexia, when people exercise compulsively, and orthorexia, which includes people who eat only raw foods or juices or restrict calories or eat only certain healthy foods.
    Neither exercise nor careful eating is dangerous in moderation. When such practices are followed to an extreme degree, an individual can endanger his or her health.
    Klinedinst and LaTour are also making presentations to local schools, colleges and groups. They describe clients whose refrigerators are completely empty, who have to be gently led to grocery stores, which they have grown to fear, and taught by a nutritionist how to buy food.
    “Your body is such an interesting and powerful instrument,” said LaTour. “People with eating disorders have to learn that. It’s really hard work. They are very brave.”

    Lona O’Connor has a lifelong interest in health and healthy living. Send ideas to Lona13@bellsouth.net.

Delray Medical Center honors hospital volunteers with Quilts of Valor for their military service. (l-r) Ron Price, Julio Mastrovito, Russell Sultenfuss, Mel Fishman and Charles Carroll. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

    Bethesda Health, headquartered in Boynton Beach, and Baptist Health South Florida, headquartered in Coral Gables, have officially merged their organizations as of Oct. 1, following 21/2 years of due diligence. With their merger, Baptist Health expands to 10 hospitals, more than 40 physician practices and approximately 50 outpatient facilities and centers in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Through their partnership, both organizations will achieve an expanded level of care in Palm Beach County.
    “Hospitals across the country are positioning themselves to strengthen their capabilities in patient care and enhance their resources,” said Bethesda Health Chief Executive Officer Roger Kirk. “This partnership with Baptist Health gives our community expanded access to healthcare services.”
    “Our organizations share similar values and a steadfast commitment to providing quality healthcare to our patients,” said Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health.

    “Together, as not-for-profit mission-driven organizations, we will enhance our capabilities and carry out our common goal of providing compassionate, patient-focused comprehensive care to our community.”
                                 
    Delray Medical Center’s local chapter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation honored five Delray Medical Center volunteer veterans with handmade quilts in patriotic colors. They were Ron Price, Navy, Vietnam War; Julio Mastrovito, Navy, Korean War; Russ Sultenfuss, Army, Vietnam War; Mel Fishman, Army, Korean War; and Charles Carroll, Army, World War II.
                                 
    Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine students and Delray Medical Center recently collaborated on research that consisted of three projects aimed at potential treatments for trauma patients. The projects were about palliative care treatment, case studies on rib fractures, and evaluating pain management options in orthopedic trauma patients. Trauma medical director Dr. Ivan Puente, trauma director Maggie Crawford and trauma research director Alexander Fokin led the team.
                                 
    Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute now has a new method to biopsy suspected prostate tumors. The method fuses MRI images with information derived through ultrasound. The procedure is more efficient and effective. “Specific lesions of the prostate, especially very small ones, cannot always be captured by ultrasound due to its poor resolution,” said David Taub, MD, MBA, FACS, a urologist at the Lynn Cancer Institute who specializes in the treatment of malignancies of the prostate, kidney and bladder.
“In the final analysis, MRI/TRUS fusion biopsy is better than conventional approaches in finding tumors we need to treat and allows us to pass on areas that we should not have to worry about,” said Dr. Taub.
                                 
    In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute board chair and donor Christine Lynn unveiled lighting that will illuminate the Institute’s building pink for the entire month of October.
                                 
    Toby & Leon Cooperman Sinai Residences of Boca Raton, a continuing care retirement community, hired Linda Nelson as director of nursing at its Health Center. Nelson, a registered nurse since 1983, has worked in numerous nursing management positions in both skilled nursing and rehabilitation.

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

Rene Gross says wakes from boats have pushed up planks and yanked mooring cleats from the wooden dock where he keeps his boats. His dock is on one of the spur canals perpendicular to the Intracoastal Waterway south of Woolbright Road. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    Rene Gross says wakes created by boats speeding down the Intracoastal Waterway south of Woolbright Road have sloshed over his sea wall and rolled into the spur canal where he keeps two boats, knocking planks out of his wooden dock and ripping out the mooring cleats used to secure boats to the dock.
    Gross, who lives on the west side of the waterway at 823 Palmer Road, is gathering signatures from other waterfront property owners in support of a slow-speed boating zone in the ICW extending about 1.5 miles south of Woolbright Road — a narrow stretch of the waterway where several residents moor boats in perpendicular canals.
After gathering more support for the slow-speed zone, Gross is expected to present the petition to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and possibly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    Gross says large boats throw big wakes that roll over his sea wall, washing into his swimming pool and dousing his lawn with salt water, causing it to brown, especially at high tide.
    Gross said wave damage forces him to rebuild his sea wall every other year.
 “Boats speeding by at 30 to 40 mph are creating waves up to 2 to 3 feet,” Gross said in a letter summarizing the problems. “Boats parked in the canals are taking a terrible beating.”
    The existing speed zone allows boats to run up to 30 mph during the summer and 25 mph in the cooler months, but only after they clear the slow-speed zone on both sides of the Woolbright Road bridge.
    Enforcement of the slow-speed zone immediately south of the bridge is a problem, too, said Sandy Turner, general manager at Prime Catch, a restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Woolbright Road that offers dock space to patrons.
    Turner said some boat owners won’t tie up at Prime Catch because they worry that wakes will damage their boats.
    “We see people go full-tilt right under the bridge,” said Gary Lachman, a charter boat owner who lives just south of the bridge at Ocean Ridge Yacht Club.
    Lachman said a slow-speed zone is needed south of the Woolbright Road bridge, noting that he has seen manatees lingering around the undeveloped shoreline on the west side of the waterway just south of Prime Catch.
    But Lachman said some fellow boaters have resisted the idea of creating a slow-speed zone for 1.5 miles south of the bridge, as suggested in Gross’ petition. Long slow-speed zones increase the time required to reach an inlet or inshore destination by boat.
    Following Hurricane Irma in September, Gross said he suspended his petition drive because many waterfront residents of Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach have been away for the summer. He plans to resume gathering signatures this month.
    Highland Beach residents have long complained about the effects of boats speeding through the 3-mile stretch of the ICW that borders their town, but efforts to create a slow-speed or idle-speed boating zone there have not been successful.

Goliath grouper workshops
    The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold its goliath grouper public workshops Oct. 11 at Flagler Place, 201 SW Flagler Ave. in Stuart, and Oct. 12 at the Old Davie School Historical Museum, 6650 Griffin Road in Davie.
    Hours for both workshops are 5 to 8 p.m.
    The FWC is holding workshops to gather public input on a proposal to allow limited harvest of the slow-growing, long-lived groupers, protected since 1990.
    The FWC’s initial proposal called for anglers to buy tags that would allow the harvest of 100 fish annually.
    Many scuba divers attended a July 31 workshop at the Lantana branch library to oppose the possibility of a limited harvest.
    To submit comments about the possibility of allowing anglers to keep a limited number of goliath grouper, go to www.myfwc.com/saltwatercomments or email Marine@myfwc.com.

New rules for hogfish
    New rules governing the harvest of hogfish, approved last year by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, took effect in August.
    Hogfish are considered overfished in the Florida Keys and on Florida’s east coast. Conservation measures apply in state and federal waters along the state’s east coast.
    New hogfish rules include:
    • A one-fish daily bag limit.
    • A 4-inch increase in the minimum size, to 16 inches, measured to the fork of the tail.
    • A harvest season of May 1 through Oct. 31. (The season is closed in the colder months.)
    For details, go to www.myfwc.com, then click on saltwater fishing, recreational regulations and hogfish.
Coming events
    Oct. 7: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the headquarters building at Spanish River Park, 3939 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton. Fee $35 for adults or $20 ages 12 to 19. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
    Oct. 28: Boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the classroom next to the boat ramps, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $20. Discounts for ages 14 to 18 and for family groups. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.

A tarpon leaps out of the water while chasing a school of mullet near the beach on Sept. 18. Large schools of mullet and other baitfish will migrate for the next few weeks. This school was just south of Briny Breezes. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Tip of the month
    Walk the beach to witness (and fish) the fall mullet run — the annual migration of small “finger” mullet. Look for dark, underwater clouds of small mullet moving in the surf and the splashing of mullet leaping from the water as they try to escape from predators.
    Surf anglers can pitch a silver casting spoon, a jig or a favorite lure around the mullet to catch jack crevalle, snook, bluefish and possibly tarpon.
    Snook must be between 28 and 32 inches long to be legal to keep. (Others should be handled gently and released promptly.) A Florida saltwater fishing license and snook permit are required to keep legal-sized snook, unless you’re over 65, under 16, or otherwise exempt.

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

Patricia Mendell comforts her mother, Margaret Mendell, who lies with robo-cat Butterscotch at Abbey Delray. Margaret Mendell turned 100 in June. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Arden Moore

    Every day and in many ways, Butterscotch and Rusty demonstrate the healing power of pets toward residents, their visiting family members and staff at Abbey Delray. Even Hurricane Irma did not diminish the positive impact made by these robotic pets inside this Delray Beach senior living center.
    You read right: RoboPets. While they do not require being fed, taken for walks or having litter boxes scooped, Butterscotch and Rusty exhibit many behaviors that real cats and dogs do. On cue, they purr, bark, cuddle and even roll over.
    In fact, it’s easy to forget for a moment that they are not real pets. That’s because, like pets often do, they spark engagement and interaction from all who come in contact with them.
    And they seem to unlock fond memories of beloved pets from residents’ childhoods.
    “Having these RoboPets around makes you smile and relax,” says Lori Eisele, the life enrichment engagement lead at this center. “These RoboPets are easier for some of our residents in bed to hold and we don’t have to worry about these pets wiggling too much. The cat actually purrs, opens and closes its eyes and the dog wags his tail and makes a cute panting sound.”
These RoboPets, manufactured by Hasbro, represent a third way for residents to get their “fur fix.”
    In addition to real pets allowed in some private residences at senior communities as well as certified therapy pets who make weekly visits, the robotic animals are built to delight. Each RoboPet features built-in sensors that respond to motion and touch. These battery-operated pets sport realistic soft fur that beckons to be touched and petted. And yes, they also are programmed to take naps and even seek belly rubs.
    “It’s wonderful to see the smiles on the faces of residents as they interact with the robotic pets,” says Vicki Brown, Abbey Delray Health Center administrator. “They provide a little something extra to look forward to each day.”
    Lifespace Communities, which owns and operates Abbey Delray and 11 other such communities in seven states, purchased these robotic cats and dogs for six of their communities, including about 30 at Abbey Delray.
    Ann Walsh, Lifespace senior vice president of operations, says the robot animals made sense as an investment in residents’ well-being:  “The impact the robotic pets have had on our residents has truly been remarkable. As crazy as it might sound, these little robo-dogs and robo-cats are changing lives.”
    In some cases, the RoboPets have aided in motivating some bedridden residents to resume eating healthy meals and engage in conversations with others again.
    “The first one I gave out was to a woman with end-stage cancer and her family was glad that she had this robo-cat for the last few days of her life,” recalls Eisele. “She knew it wasn’t real, but it was comforting to her.”
    Patricia and Andy Mendell agree. They first were introduced to a robo-cat presented to their mother, Margaret Mendell, during her 100th birthday celebration at Abbey Delray on June 20.
    “People were coming into the party room just to see this robo-cat,” says Patricia Mendell, a clinical social worker and psychotherapist in New York who is now having RoboPets available in her practice.
    Although his mom is bedridden, Andy Mendell says he can see the spark in her eyes when she holds the robo-cat.
    “She talks to the robo-cat and asks if she needs anything or wants anything,” says Andy Mendell, who retired as a budget director for a university in New York. “She really loves it. I’m amazed by how it purrs, moves its ears, blinks its eyes and rolls over to be petted on its belly.”
    The RoboPets answered the call when Abbey Delray was contending with the violent winds, steady rains and swirling debris unleashed by Hurricane Irma last month. With a  community curfew enforced for safety, some family members rode out the weekend storm inside the center with residents and staff. To ease the tension, the RoboPets were passed around.
    “We had generator power when the storm hit, but these robo-cats and robo-dogs were effective in relaxing residents, young family members and even our staff,” says Eisele. “One resident named one of the robo-dogs Liberty and told it, ‘I am so glad you made it though the storm.’ These RoboPets helped a lot of people get through this hurricane.”
    Paws up to the power of pets — no matter if they are real or simply really believable in the goodwill they provide.

    Go to joyforall.hasbro.com to look at RoboPets. Dogs sell for $119.99 and cats for $99.99.

    Arden Moore is a pet health and safety coach, animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor.  Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on www.PetLifeRadio.com. ; Learn more by visiting www.ardenmoore.com.

Although the parking lot and paths of the Lantana Nature Preserve are covered in palm fronds and leaf litter, the trees and shrubs appear to have taken Hurricane Irma’s abuse in stride. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    Soon after Hurricane Irma left us, I visited the Lantana Nature Preserve to see how it weathered the storm. I remembered how inviting it was last spring when I had visited this natural area with horticulturist Gene Joyner.
    But today I found the gates chained shut.
    Peeking through the wire fence, I could see that the wooden pavilion looked unharmed. However, a sea grape tree was down and there were plenty of brown leaves covering the paths.

Sea grape trees usually lose most of their large leaves after a storm.

    I remembered sitting under that pavilion with about 20 other people on a Saturday morning in April for Joyner’s annual preserve tour, which he’s offered for the past 15 years.
    It was then that he described this place as “a little hidden oasis.” But today with the paths hidden under brown debris, it’s hardly a safe and verdant haven.  
    In fact, Lantana Operations Director Linda Brien recently toured the damage and said, “You can hardly see the paths, there are so many leaves and fronds and things scattered across them. The dense vegetation definitely got pruned and thinned by the winds.”
    Too bad Mother Nature left her pruning refuse for someone else to pick up.
    But seeing this bit of land covered with debris is nothing new for Joyner, 70. He was just a kid fishing nearby when this 6½-acre piece was a town dump filled with rusting refrigerators, stoves and even abandoned cars.
    By the late 1990s, the town of Lantana decided to reclaim the land by clearing the debris and grading the terrain to mimic a coastal dune. Nonnative plants were removed and replaced with mangrove seedlings and coastal grasses. By 2002, 3,000 cubic yards of fill, 500 trees and 10,000 shrubs and groundcovers had been added. The preserve now resembled a coastal hammock that looked much like what you would have seen if you were among the original pioneers arriving in 1865.
    You would have seen that a little over 1,800 feet of walking trails traverse the native vegetation and wildlife. As you followed the coquina-stone paths, you’d have seen sabal palmettos or cabbage palms, Florida’s state tree.
    You’d also have seen gumbo limbo trees with their peeling rust-colored bark. They are commonly known as “tourist trees” because they are always red and peeling, said Joyner, who retired in 2007 after 35 years with Palm Beach County UF/IFAS Extension service.
    A thick canopy of sea grapes covered the land, and it’s their large saucer-sized leaves that now cover the paths post-Irma.

Jamaican Caper is a native plant with small leaves that keep their color and shape even after exposure to hurricane-force winds.

    As the preserve is brought back to its earlier condition, its butterfly garden will once again help swallowtails thrive. And the firebushes — a must for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds — will be showing off their orange-red flowers that bloom year-round.
    A small path branching off the main trail leads to the highest point in the preserve, which proves to be only a few feet above sea level. As nature heals itself after this major storm, the towering banyan tree at the top will once again offer shade and a place for visitors to enjoy the gentle side of nature.
    “Eventually we will reopen the preserve. I just can’t put a timetable on it right now,” Brien said. However, Town Manager Deborah Manzo said the property will be ready for the town’s annual Haunted Preserve celebration on Oct. 20.

Post-hurricane tips
    Find out the steps you need to take now to ensure the trees left after Hurricane Irma flourish in the days and years to come:
Assessing Damage and Restoring Trees After a Hurricane: monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/Hort/Assessing_Trees_After_Hurricane.pdf
Restoring Trees After a Hurricane: indian.ifas.ufl.edu/Emergency-Disasters/Restoring_Trees_ENH1054.pdf

    Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley can be reached at debhartz@att.net.

If You Go
    The Lantana Nature Preserve, 440 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana (between The Carlisle senior living facility on East Ocean Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway), is closed until further notice.  Get updates and information by calling customer service at 540-5000.
    Horticulturist Gene Joyner’s annual tour is usually held in April. He also hosts tours of his Unbelievable Acres Botanic Gardens (unbelievableacresbotanicgardens.org) in an unincorporated area west of West Palm Beach. But now he could use volunteers for storm cleanup. For more information about the tour and volunteering at his Unbelievable Acres, reach him at 242-1686.

Deacon Ben Thomas

By Janis Fontaine

     Deacon and soon-to-be priest Ben Thomas is the new assistant rector at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton. He sees himself as a reconciler in his new role, and he’ll be involved in building bridges between adversarial groups — within the church, within the community and in the world.
    “We’re called to the difficult work of reconciliation,” Thomas said. “Meaning, we’re here to fix what’s broken, bring peace to discord and mend relationships, within ourselves and with others, with the way we treat the Earth, this beautiful gift, and especially our broken relationships with God. The starting point is self-awareness. ‘Mindfulness’ is the big word for it now.”
    Reconciliation demands both patience and diplomacy, and Thomas brings a distinctly diplomatic perspective to the church. He lived a life of service since long before he started seminary. After earning a bachelor’s degree in literature and philosophy and a master’s in humanities and social thought from New York University, Thomas worked in social entrepreneurship, international economic and community development, and investment and finance for more than a decade, what Thomas describes as “helping wealthy people spend their money.”
    He didn’t help them buy rare art or gold bricks; he helped them invest in programs that seek to eradicate poverty from the globe. “I’ve always worked for the ultra-wealthy, but I didn’t grow up privileged,” Thomas said.
    Born in Roanoke, Va., in 1977, the middle child of an insurance agent and a homemaker, he and his family had a barely middle-class existence. It was a devout Christian home where the family sacrificed greatly so the kids could attend a private Christian school.
    After high school, Thomas was chosen to attend a cutting-edge college consortium in Washington, D.C. That program introduced the small-town boy to the world. After that, every chance he got to travel or study abroad, he took. He’s been to 35 countries so far.
    Thomas said his ah-ha moment came on a rooftop in Morocco after a 14-hour cab ride in a ’79 Mercedes diesel — six people making their way across the Sahara Desert with no air conditioning, windows rolled up tight to keep the sandstorms out.
    They were there to visit midwives, American women who came to help deliver the babies of the local women.
    “We were hanging out on the roof in Morocco, and it’s so dark you don’t even have to look up to see stars. They’re right out in front of you on the horizon. It’s like you’re in a big cup. I felt the inner nudge at the sheer beauty of it. We have so much, but we don’t incorporate our faith into the daily operation of our lives,” Thomas said.
    The way the women’s spirituality was interwoven in their lives, that was what Thomas wanted for himself. He decided the best way to satisfy his spiritual needs was to enter the seminary, and then to help others fulfill theirs.
    Thomas graduated in May from the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee. He’ll become ordained a priest on Nov. 18 at Trinity Cathedral in Miami.
    In August, he moved his family — wife Anna, whom the Rev. Andrew J. Sherman of St. Gregory’s called a “grace-filled partner,” and their five kids, ages 3-10 — into a church-owned house on Northeast Second Street, just in time for his first hurricane.  Six days without power didn’t dampen his enthusiasm.
    “Cultivating a deepening of your spiritual life, that’s what I’m all about,” Thomas said. “Helping others reach their faith on a deeper level, I’m charged with that. The future lies in the hands and hearts of the church’s lay people.”
    To do this, Thomas started a new “sort of graduate-level class” in September that uses the detailed chronology of the church calendar as a map to talk about spiritual life. The class will use only two books: the Book of Common Prayer and the Bible. “We’ll be stripping it down,” Thomas said, “with a goal of really helping people.”
    Some of Thomas’ time is spent helping Sherman, the rector of St. Gregory’s, shoulder his many responsibilities,  and one of Thomas’ primary duties is serving on the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, a group representing the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions in the Boca area. The group meets to support and serve the community and to discuss issues of importance to all faiths.
    One of the first activities Thomas helped plan and execute was an Aug. 21 candlelight vigil in Boca’s Sanborn Square to condemn the violent acts and speech of Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen, white supremacists and white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va. About 350 people and two dozen clergy attended the event.
    In its official statement, the BRICA wrote: “As religious leaders of Boca Raton representing churches, synagogues and mosques, we come together with respect for each other: for the values we share and for the differences we honor. We recognize that this is a challenging time in the life of our nation.”
Peace-making. Compromise. Win-win. Agreement. These are the words that pepper Thomas’ vocabulary. He believes it’s possible to find solutions where both sides get some of what they want. He wants to teach others that our differences don’t need to divide us. He knows that there are problems that we can solve only by working together.  
    “At the vigil, we were called to do the difficult work of reconciliation,” Thomas said. “At the vigil, we said ‘yes’ to solidarity.”

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

The Greater Lantana School Community Education Council collected and distributed school supplies Sept. 25 to Lantana Middle, Lantana Elementary and The Maritime Academy.  The group collected binders and notebooks, composition books and backpacks along with pens and crayons, glue sticks, erasers, pencils, markers, calculators and more. ABOVE: (l-r) Lyn Tate,  chair of the Education Council; Teresa Wilhelm, vice chair; Ed Burke, principal, Lantana Middle School; Lantana council member Ed Shropshire; Janyn Robinson, principal, Lantana Elementary School, and  Greg Ganim, a member of the Education Council. Photo provided

The Rev. Angela Cortiñas blesses a dog at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

    St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church will host a new and improved pet blessing at 11 a.m. Oct. 7 on the front lawn of the church, at 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton.
    The event will feature a short service, music and a special blessing of pets by clergy. Following the blessing, the church will host a community block party in the parking lot featuring a reptile show, food trucks, worship music, face painting and arts and crafts.
    All pets are welcome. For more information, call 395-8285 or visit www.stgregorysepiscopal.org.
   

St. Gregory's season opener

    The 2017-18 concert series at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton kicks off with acclaimed organist Timothy Brumfield improvising a live organ score for the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21. Individual show tickets ($30) and season subscriptions ($99) are available online.
    Subscriptions feature three additional shows: The Amadeus Trio on Jan. 14, Wycliffe Gordon on Feb. 11 and Talise Trevigne on March 2. Visit www.stgregorysboca.eventbrite.com.

Weekend music fest
    Congregation B’nai Israel, an inclusive Reform congregation in Boca Raton, welcomes the Nefesh Mountain bluegrass band to headline a weekend music festival Oct. 13 and 14 at the synagogue, 2200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton.
    Founded by a husband and wife team, Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff, the band has developed a fresh blend of soul and bluegrass with a distinctly Jewish flavor. It’s difficult to imagine an Appalachian mountain cabin with a Jewish band picking on the front porch, and Old Testament tunes replacing familiar gospel, but Bluegrass Today called the band’s music a “highly effective blend of these two spheres.”
    At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13, the band performs at a “Shabbat Experience” with the CBI clergy.
    At 7 p.m. Oct. 14, doors open for a reception featuring music from the Shade Tree Pickers, followed by a concert from Nefesh. Premium reserved tickets including the dessert reception are $118. Reserved seats are $54. General admission is $36 and student admission is $20.
    Also planned is a performance for children by Zasloff in her role as Mama Doni, at 2 p.m. Oct. 15. Arrive early for pre-concert fun with Miss Susan. Tickets are $18 adults, $10 for ages 12 and younger. To purchase tickets, visit www.CBIBoca.org. For more information, call 241-8118.    
Advent’s Octoberfest
    Advent Lutheran Church, 300 E. Yamato Road, Boca Raton, will host an Octoberfest celebration for ages 21 and older from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21 in the church’s Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to this salute to German culture. Enjoy German food, craft beer and lively German music guaranteed to get toes tapping. Tickets are $20. Cash bar. For more information, call 395-3632 or visit www.adventboca.org.

‘Music’ returns to St. Paul’s
    The Music at St. Paul’s concerts return with a special performance by the Trillium Piano Trio at 3 p.m. Oct. 22 at the church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach.
    The Trillium Piano Trio features award-winning pianist Yoko Sata Kothari, violinist Ruby Berland and cellist Susannah Kelly. The program is Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49; Claude Debussy’s Piano Trio in G Major, L. 3; and Franz Schubert’s Sonatensatz in B-flat Major, D. 28. Arrive early for a conversation with Kothari and St. Paul’s Music Ministry Director Dr. Paul Cienniwa at 2:30. Tickets are $20 for adults and are available at the door. Admission is free for ages 18 and younger. For more info, visit www.music.stpaulsdelray.org.

October meetings
    Pub Theology: Beer, Conversation & God meets at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 (and the third Thursday of the month) at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton (and also the first Tuesday of the month at Biergarten, 309 Via de Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton). Conversation, fellowship, open discussion. 395-1244; www.fumcbocaraton.org.
    The Islamic Center of Boca Raton hosts a monthly open house from 7 to 9 p.m. the first Thursday of the month, at 3480 NW Fifth Ave., Boca Raton. No reservations are needed. Drop in and meet your Muslim neighbors, take a tour of the mosque, ask questions and enjoy some snacks and refreshments. For more information, call 395-7221 or visit www.icbr.org.

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

    The Coastal Star earned five first-place awards, three seconds and two thirds in the Florida Press Association’s Better Weekly Newspapers competition.
    First place-honors went to Scott Simmons, Jerry Lower, Tracy Allerton and Steve Plunkett for overall graphic design; to Hiram Henriquez for a two-page informational graphic on lionfish; and to Steve Plunkett in the local government reporting category for a story about the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District’s longtime lawyer also working as its executive director and construction administrator.
    Mary Hladky’s story about four friends at Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach who invented a biodegradable alternative to plastic rings, won first place in business reporting; and Ron Hayes took first in education reporting for a feature about Gulf Stream School students learning geometry and statistics via a field trip to a Miami Marlins baseball game.
    Taking second-place awards were Executive Editor Mary Kate Leming in the editorial category for columns on the sober home crisis; Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley in agricultural and environmental reporting for a column about efforts to repopulate Delray Beach with native plants; and Lona O’Connor in health, medical and science reporting for a story about a Boca Raton woman’s fight against cancer.
    Third-place prizes went to Janis Fontaine in faith and family reporting for a story about a Boca Raton congregation turning $8,000 into $30,000 in donations; and ArtsPaper Editor Greg Stepanich in arts, entertainment and review reporting for an interview with the former director of Arts Garage.
    The annual contest received 1,154 entries from 56 newspapers. The Coastal Star competed in the nondaily over-15,000 circulation category, for the largest newspapers.

By Jane Smith

    Delray Beach is on its way to living up to its brand of being a safe haven for trees.
    In early August, the Delray Beach City Commission unanimously approved an updated tree ordinance making preservation the No. 1 priority.
    “If there is a specimen tree on site, we want developers to plan around that tree rather than disregard that tree in their plans,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said Aug. 2. “It comes back to: Are we penalizing enough financially to have the developer comply?”
    Planning Director Tim Stillings said, “Yes, ultimately, we’d rather have the tree than the money.”
    However, the city decided it needed an ordinance with more bite because several projects downtown were removing trees and the developers were just paying the penalties, Stillings said.
    Stillings presented in the updated rules a list of fees the property owner must pay when removing shade trees. For trees with a trunk diameter of more than 18 inches at breast height, the fee would be $1,000 per diameter inch.
    Previously, the fee was $100 per inch regardless of trunk diameter.
    Delray Beach has a tree canopy of about 20 percent citywide, but its goal should be about 40 percent, Stillings said.  
    Vice Mayor Jim Chard asked about the policy of allowing developers to replace a hardwood tree with three palms. Stillings said the preservation ordinance calls for like kind replacement — a hardwood for a hardwood.
    “The city’s landscape code allows three palms to replace a hardwood, but that’s only for 25 percent of the trees removed,” he said.
    The ordinance demands that developers must try, in order, to leave the shade tree where it sits; to keep the tree onsite; replace it with a tree of equal size if it must be removed; and as a last resort, remove the tree and pay the fee.
    At the second August commission meeting, Chard brought up another option: He wants to start a tree gifting program where developers donate mature trees to public spaces in the city, such as parks, schools and water retention areas.
    That option would be No. 4, ahead of removing the trees and paying the fees. The developers would also pay to move the trees, Chard said.
    The city’s planning department will bring back the amendment at a future commission meeting.
    Chard said Swinton Avenue and Linton Boulevard have projects with large trees. Swinton Commons/Midtown Delray Beach has 200 trees, he said. The Sports Authority shopping center and the Lavers International Plaza on Linton Boulevard also have mature trees.
    Chard recently was behind the moving of three yellow tabebuia trees from the iPic project site in the downtown to the Achievement Centers for Children and Families on Northwest Fourth Street.
    Twelve royal palms, also from the iPic site, were moved to Lake Ida Road, near the retention pond.
    The tabebuias, about 20 feet tall, were severely cut back for the move, Chard said. The royal palms also had most of their fronds removed for the move.
    Chard became a shade tree advocate through his work with Human Powered Delray.
    “We need shade trees if we want people to get out of their cars and walk and bike,” he said. “Mature trees can be worth several thousands of dollars to a city.”

By Dan Moffett

    In a sharply worded letter, an attorney for the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa has warned South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer that the town can expect a lawsuit if it goes forward with plans to install groins on its beach.
    West Palm Beach attorney Gregory Coleman said that the resort shares the concerns of Manalapan officials that using groins in the South Palm shoreline stabilization project will disrupt the natural flow of sand and damage beaches to the south.
    Coleman, former president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, told Fischer in the letter sent in late July that the Eau is prepared to go to court to stop the project:
    “This letter is to place the town and adjacent property owners on notice that if you proceed with your groyne (sic) implementation strategy, and our property suffers detrimentally as a result of your groynes, then we will proceed against any and all responsible persons, entities or municipalities, to recover monetary damages for our financial loss.”
    Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters in recent weeks has suggested his town would take similar legal action, as Palm Beach County and South Palm Beach have begun work on obtaining the permits necessary to get their joint project started by November 2018.
    Eleven years in the making, the $5 million plan calls for installing seven concrete groins from the northern South Palm Beach line to Lantana’s municipal beach to slow the erosion that encroaches on the town’s condo buildings.
    Waters and Coleman cite the experience of Hillsboro Beach in Broward County as compelling justification to oppose the project. Deerfield Beach installed dozens of groins in the 1960s and Hillsboro, its neighbor to the south, has been losing its beachfront ever since, the critics say. The two municipalities are fighting out their dispute over stolen sand in court, with millions in damages at stake.
    Fischer has expressed optimism that South Palm’s project can move forward without legal delays. She says her town’s project bears little resemblance to what Deerfield Beach did.
    The mayor said she has talked to County Commissioner Steven Abrams and their hope is that the Eau and Manalapan will drop their opposition if they take a closer look. “If engineers come and have them understand the project, [Abrams] feels it can move forward,” Fischer said.
    Bob Vitas, the South Palm town manager, says the fate of the plan is uncertain until opponents are satisfied.
    “We don’t know whether they’re going to litigate and literally create a delay in the project,” Vitas said. “Any litigation is going to stop that project cold.”

    We went on vacation.
    That may not sound like much to you, but for the “family” behind a family newspaper it’s a big, big deal. It’s not often we have the chance to take a break from our monthly production schedule.
    We couldn’t have done it without the able assistance of our key editorial and production assistants. They worked hard while we were traversing the Pacific Northwest in search of the totality of the solar eclipse, and their competence made returning to the grind of deadline much easier than expected.
    I should have known we were leaving the newspaper in good hands. Each year their freelance contributions to The Coastal Star garner accolades from professional news organizations across the state.
    These folks are pros at what they do. Most (like me and my husband) are showing a little gray these days, but they each believe in the importance of community journalism. And for that (and my vacation), I am grateful.

— Mary Kate Leming,
Editor