By Steve Plunkett

If you thought construction crews would vanish from Interstate 95 as work on the Spanish River Boulevard interchange wound down, guess again.
In a combined open house/public meeting March 14, state transportation officials reviewed plans to convert high occupancy vehicle lanes from Deerfield Beach to Delray Beach into “express” toll lanes over the next eight years. The projects include redoing the I-95 interchanges at Glades Road and Linton Boulevard.
Work has already started on the $102 million first phase, adding two toll lanes in both directions from south of Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach to south of Glades Road. When finished in 2022, the interstate will be at least six lanes wide each way, two with tolls and four without.
Motorists on the express lanes in Miami-Dade County pay tolls of 50 cents to $10.50, depending on time of day and congestion. The goal is to keep traffic in the express lanes moving at an average speed of 45 to 50 mph, the Florida Department of Transportation says.
Also during the first phase, the bridge over the Hillsboro Canal will be replaced, and bridges over Camino Real and Palmetto Park Road will be widened.
The second phase, estimated to cost $130 million, will take the toll lanes from south of Glades to south of Linton and improve the exit and entrance ramps at both interchanges. Engineers will add traffic signals on entrance ramps to optimize the merging of traffic at both highways and at Spanish River, Yamato Road and Congress Avenue. Construction is planned to start in 2020 and end in 2024.
When it’s finished, “if you enter south of Congress, you can travel on the express lane system all the way to Miami,” state DOT project manager Vanita Saini said.
Bridges will also have to be widened in the second phase, notably the one over the C-15 canal separating Boca Raton and Delray Beach. The bridge on Clint Moore Road will be replaced.
FDOT spokeswoman Andi Pacini said 220 construction days, a little more than seven months’ time, was added to the Spanish River interchange project to widen the bridges in anticipation of the express lane work and “to avoid having major impacts to motorists.”
The Glades Road work will include adding triple-lane left- and right-turn lanes on both the southbound and northbound exit ramps, widening Glades Road and the bridges over I-95 and Military Trail to make room for auxiliary lanes and ramps, reconstructing both southbound entrance ramps, and building a bridge over Airport Road for westbound Glades traffic headed to I-95.
At Linton Boulevard, all the entrance and exit ramps will be reconstructed and Linton will be widened to add auxiliary lanes in both directions.

By Jane Smith

Hudson Holdings promoted its massive Midtown Delray project one last time prior to its City Commission review.
Before the March 6 Delray Beach meeting, two young women stood before the entrance of City Hall, holding baskets full of hand-held signs: APPROVE MIDTOWN YES!
More than six hours later, the 7-acre mixed-use project at the southwest corner of Swinton and Atlantic avenues received a conditional approval by a 4-1 vote.
“We’re obviously happy,” said Steven Michael, a principal in Hudson Holdings. “We are ready to move forward quickly with the design changes.”
He plans to submit design changes for the proposed building on Atlantic Avenue in the second week of April. Then, according to Tim Stillings, the city’s planning and zoning director, planning staff will take about four weeks to review the changes and get them onto a commission agenda.
“Practically speaking, the approvals they received are largely meaningless without approval of the main buildings,” then-Mayor Cary Glickstein said in an email. “I think it will be a great addition to the area, assuming it ever gets out of the ground.”
Midtown Delray was reviewed initially by the city’s Historic Preservation Board. The development houses some of the city’s oldest structures: Cathcart House and Sundy House, built in 1902, and the Rectory, built in 1912.
The board turned down the project twice last year. Members considered most of the new buildings too massive compared with the one- and two-story historic structures. The board also didn’t like that the historic homes would be moved closer to the street to allow the entire block to be stripped of its lush landscaping and a big hole dug for an underground parking garage.
The historic homes then would be moved a second time with better foundations and handicap access. They would sit on top of the garage in a faux park setting.
“This project is the antithesis of historic preservation,” said John Miller, historic board chairman, after the commission meeting. “There were many paths this project could have taken but the developer was out to maximize return from the beginning — which is their prerogative.
“But our boards and commission also have an obligation to protect our historic districts by allowing only appropriate infill which is sensitive and complementary to our historic districts … which in my opinion, they failed to do.”
Hudson Holdings agreed to 18 conditions, including paying $139,800 to the Delray Beach Tree Trust Fund to compensate for removing hundreds of trees; giving $100,000 grants to historic districts in Frog Alley and The Set, the new name for the northwest and southwest neighborhoods; creating a jobs program for residents of The Set; and putting up a $1 million bond that guarantees construction will start within two years.
For the project to work, the city will abandon an alley in the first block of Swinton. “How much is an alley worth?” asked JoAnn Peart, president of the Delray Beach Historic Preservation Trust, during public comment. “It’s got to be at least $1 million.”
Later, she said the city’s comprehensive plan specifically addresses not abandoning alleys in the historic district. Midtown Delray sits in the southern half of the Old School Square Historic District. The Midtown vote made an exception to the plan.
Peart was among 35 speakers who talked about the project.
Fifteen were for it, including Sophia Trionfo, who lives one block from Midtown Delray. She said it was a good project and asked commissioners to “throw us a bone” in the southwest neighborhoods.
“What about the remaining 60,000 residents who live in the city and the generations to come?” asked board chairman Miller, raising the question of whether the city was wiping out its history.
Then-Commissioner Shelly Petrolia cast the lone vote against the project.
“It flies in the face of what we should be protecting,” she said. “They would scrape the ground, move the homes, dig a big hole and then move them back and on top of concrete. They [the homes] wouldn’t be in a natural setting.”
Petrolia, who was elected mayor March 13, said she is not against development in that area or in The Set. She would like to see “South Swinton be redeveloped like North Swinton where historic homes are reused as offices and restaurants, surrounded by grass and trees.”
Midtown Delray is a joint venture between Hudson Holdings and its investor, Rick Marshall.
The development was scheduled to be reviewed by the commission in early February. But Hudson Holdings made last-minute changes the staff hadn’t seen. This included altering Building 9, on Southwest First Avenue, to be split into two buildings and Building 8, on Southwest First Street, to be broken into three buildings.
Even with those changes, the project’s main building, with four floors, on Atlantic Avenue was seen as massive by many in early March.
Then-Vice Mayor Jim Chard suggested removing the fourth floor so that the main building would be only three stories.
“I was all prepared to vote against it,” Chard said. “But then the developer discussed the change with his team and they agreed to make the change.”
Glickstein also wanted the back of the building redesigned to make it more aesthetically pleasing because it faced the historic structures. “Right now, it looks like a Motel 6 from behind,” Glickstein said.
Then-Commissioner Mitch Katz, who made the suggestion of requiring a $1 million bond, said, “If not this project, then what?”
Peart’s group issued this statement in late March: “We are encouraged by Mayor Glickstein’s insistence that they modify the façade of the building [facing Atlantic] that is so inconsistent with the historic district.”
After considering their options, the Historic Preservation Trust members decided not to sue the city to stop Midtown Delray.
“It’s so much better than in the beginning when the developer proposed moving the historic homes across Swinton to create a historic village,” Peart said after the meeting. “I have mixed emotions.”

ABOVE: When not competing, training or traveling, Kevin Anderson likes to relax in his Gulf Stream home with his guitar and new dog, Lady Kady. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

ABOVE: He spends hours stretching and practicing in an effort to remain competitive and prevent injuries. Anderson’s run of success includes reaching the quarterfinals at the Miami Open.

By Steve Pike
 
Trophies and traveling bags fill Kevin Anderson’s Gulf Stream home, but the world’s No. 8-ranked men’s tennis player seems oblivious to all of it except for the little dog at the feet of his 6-foot-8 frame.
“This is Lady Kady,’’ Anderson told a visitor in his South African accent. “My wife and I got her from Dezzy’s Second Chance Animal Rescue. She’s a ‘Chiweenie,’ part chihuahua and part dachshund. We saw her at the green market a year ago this past January. We always wanted a dog and went for her. She travels with us.’’
Lady Kady’s arrival as Kevin and Kelsey Anderson’s traveling mate has coincided with a run of success in Kevin’s career. He made his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open in September, losing to Rafael Nadal in three sets, and won the inaugural New York Open in February. It was the fourth ATP title of Anderson’s 11-year professional career and propelled him into the top 10 for the second time since 2015.
 Following a quarterfinal loss at the Indian Wells Masters last month, Anderson returned to Gulf Stream to prepare for the Miami Open, where he also reached the quarterfinals, dropping a tiebreaker in the decisive third set.
His swift start to the 2018 season is in contrast to his 2017 start, which was marked by several early-round exits, including a second-round loss in Miami, as he attempted to come back from an injury-plagued 2016.
“Last year was more about recovery,’’ said Anderson, who trains at the Delray Tennis Center, ProWorld Tennis in Delray Beach and Boca Grove Plantation in Boca Raton. “There are no more injuries.’’
Anderson’s return to the top 10 and his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open — he was the first South African to reach a Grand Slam final since Kevin Curren at the 1984 Australian Open — means he has a target on his back. But that’s much easier to handle than knee and shoulder injuries.
“My goals are set. I know what I want to achieve this year,’’ said Anderson, who has dual South African and U.S. citizenship and plays under the South African flag. “One was to get back into the top 10, which I’ve done. I want to finish the year in the top eight and qualify for the London Masters.
“Each match is its own challenge, regardless of what has happened in the past. I can draw from previous experience — maybe from a Grand Slam setting — but now that I’m back in the top 10, I know every opponent I’m playing is looking to beat a top 10 player. I know what that was like when I was playing a top 10 player. But I’ve worked hard to be where I’m at and have confidence in my game.’’
Anderson points to hard work — whether on the hard courts of the Delray Tennis Center, the clay courts at Boca Grove and even the grass courts in golf legend Jack Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach backyard — and improved health as making the difference in his game. In other words, no switch suddenly flipped to take his game to the next level.
“It’s a long journey, so many lessons along the way and so many hours behind the scenes,’’ said Anderson, who turns 32 in May. “It’s impossible to pick out one thing. You’re constantly building a game and so many different assets you put together from a mental standpoint, physical standpoint and tactical standpoint.
“You keep trying to add to your game. Last year I made some good strides from a mental standpoint. I’ve always been a strong mental player. I’ve tweaked a few things and continue to understand what works for me. I think I’ve done a better job of sticking to that more often.’’
Anderson’s mental toughness has been compared with that of American Jim Courier, a Hall of Famer who won four Grand Slam titles in the 1990s. It’s probably no coincidence that among Courier’s coaches was Brad Stine, who now coaches Anderson.
Anderson has shown more emotion on the courts the past year, something he has consciously worked on.
“Enjoy those moments, take confidence in those moments, sort of show it to the world and show it to yourself,’’ Anderson said. “It’s on the way to becoming more natural, but still requires me to extend myself. Every now and then I can feel myself going back into that mode where I’m looking to see, but those are becoming few and far between. It makes it more enjoyable out there, too.’’
It’s also enjoyable, Anderson said, for him and Kelsey and Lady Kady to live in the Gulf Stream/Delray Beach area, which they have for five years.
“We travel around so much, just coming back here we don’t face the hustle and bustle,’’ Anderson said. “We can relax. It takes me 10 minutes to get to practice. There is no traffic. Just things like that. We’ve been here for a while now, so we really feel like it’s home.’’

Paul Todd and Paul Todd Jr. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Paul Todd is a Christian artist, but his love of music and skill as a keyboard player has taken him on musical journeys outside the church. He incorporates classical, pop, Broadway, the Great American Songbook and more into his work. He plays as many as six keyboards simultaneously and is a singer, songwriter and composer. He’ll be joined in concert by his son Paul Todd Jr. on percussion and vocals April 6 at Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton.
This evening of music and fellowship begins with cheese and wine at 6:15 p.m. followed by the concert at 7 in the sanctuary at the church, 300 E. Yamato Road. Tickets are $20 and available at www.adventboca.org. For more information, contact the church office at 395-3632.

The Club Singers concert
The Deacons of First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach present the Club Singers in concert at 3 p.m. April 8 in the sanctuary at the church, 33 Gleason St., Delray Beach. The concert will benefit the Deacons’ Scholarship Fund and the Milagro Center music program.  A free-will offering will be collected. Call 276-6338.

Leadership expert to speak
Glenn Edwards, author of Coming Into Your Own: How to Develop the Morals and Mindset of a (Future) Business Leader, will speak and sign books at 6 p.m. April 12 at Chabad of East Boca Raton, 120 NE First Ave., Boca Raton.
Edwards says a business degree might get you an interview. It might even get you the job. But climbing the corporate ladder takes more than a good GPA. To succeed, you need “a positive mentality, a value system and a willingness to put in time and effort to achieve your goals.” But where are you going to find that? Edwards has answers and 30 five-star reviews on amazon.com.
Tickets are $18, and sponsorships are available. For more info, visit www.chabadbocabeaches.com or call 394-9770.

Friar’s Fare 2018
A catered dinner and a special performance by Saint Mark’s Festival Choir take place at 6 p.m. April 13 in the parish center at St. Mark Catholic Church, 643 St. Mark Place, Boynton Beach. The concert will feature a program of kids’ shows on Broadway, including favorite songs from The Sound of Music, Oliver, Annie, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz.
Dinner is choice of roast beef or chicken marsala, potatoes, vegetable, salad and dessert catered by Ellie’s Diner. Purchase your tickets, $27, in advance at the parish office. Call 734-9330 for more information.

Yard sale to support trip
The youth group at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, 3300A S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach, will hold a yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 14 to raise money for its trip to the Kanuga retreat in North Carolina. Donations can be dropped off at the Youth House on Sunday and Wednesday. Email shannon@stjoesweb.org or call the church office at 732-3060.

The Amernet String Quartet (l-r): Michael Klotz, Misha Vitenson, Jason Calloway and Franz Felkl. Photo provided

Music at St. Paul’s
The Amernet String Quartet will perform at 3 p.m. April 15 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. It features Misha Vitenson, violin; Franz Felkl, violin, Michael Klotz, viola, and Jason Calloway, cello.
Tickets are $20. Admission is free for ages 18 and younger. For more information, call 278-6003 or visit www.music.stpaulsdelray.org.

Mission Outreach tour
First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach will host a Mission Outreach Agency Tour at 1:30 p.m. April 18. The tour will visit several of the agencies supported by the church’s mission outreach budget. If you want to know more about how that money is used and whom it benefits, this tour will have the answers. The trip will wrap up back at the church, 33 Gleason St., Delray Beach, at 4:30 p.m. It’s a free event, but reservations are needed for space reasons. Call 276-6338.

Young Singers concert
An intergenerational concert featuring the Club Singers and the Treble Choir, which are part of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, will take place at 3 p.m. April 29 at the Unity of Delray Beach.
The Young Singers is an award-winning community-based children’s choir in Palm Beach County with more than 350 singers who attend weekly rehearsals. The group is divided into six choirs based on age and grade, plus two satellite choirs in Belle Glade. The Young Singers is open to all singers in grades 2-12.
The performance will take place in the sanctuary at the Unity of Delray Beach, 101 NW 22nd St. A love offering will be taken. For more information, call 276-5796 or visit www.unityofdelraybeach.org

Trip to Israel
Have you always dreamed of seeing the Holy Land?
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is organizing a trip, led by Father Paul Kane and his wife, Irene. This Oct. 13-22 pilgrimage includes round-trip air from Miami to Tel Aviv on El Al.
The cost is $3,125 per person sharing a double room. A waiting list is forming and people will be accommodated as additional seats are acquired. The tour director, Orlando Padron of Magno Tours, can be contacted directly at 786-474-0573 or by email at groups@magnotoursinc.com.

Beer, Conversation & God
Pub Theology meets at 7 p.m. April 19 (and the third Thursday of each month) at Barrel of Monks, 1141 S. Rogers Circle, No. 5, Boca Raton, for conversation, fellowship and open discussion of mostly theological topics. The group also meets at 7 p.m. May 1 (and the first Tuesday of each month) at the Biergarten, 309 Via De Palmas, No. 90, Boca Raton. For more information, contact Pastor Marcus Zillman of First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton at mzillman@fumcbocaraton.org or call 395-1244.

The Interfaith Café meets
Join the theological discussion from 7 to 9 p.m. April 19 at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Light refreshments are served. The meeting is free, but donations are appreciated. The Interfaith Café meets the third Thursday of the month, and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of duties to keep this program going. For information or to volunteer, email Jane@Aurorasvoice.org.

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

The St. Lucy Council of Catholic Women, Highland Beach, organized the March 9 show at the Polo Club in Boca Raton, which brought in 350 guests. The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum contributed decor with vintage movie costumes and sponsored centerpieces. Proceeds will be directed fully to Birthline/Lifeline, Boca Helping Hands, AVDA, the Women’s Circle, FOCUS and A Place For Hope. ABOVE: (l-r): Marilyn Fontenelli, Marilynn Wick, Jeanette Schmitz and Kimberly Wick. Photo provided

Boca Raton Regional plans to identify a partner this summer.

By Christine Davis

Officials at Boca Raton Regional Hospital have established a list of five health care providers as potential partners from a group of 12 health systems that responded to the hospital’s request for proposals.
They are: Baptist Health South Florida, Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Healthcare System, Novant Health and Orlando Health.  
In June 2017, the hospital formed a steering committee to explore the possibility of a strategic partnership with another provider, with a goal to enhance the hospital’s ability to develop nationally recognized clinical programs, to mitigate the challenges of a stand-alone organization and to provide greater access to capital. The preferred partner is expected to be identified by this summer.

Darci McNally, director of oncology support services and community outreach at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute, received the Lane W. Adams Quality of Life Award from the American Cancer Society. She was recognized in February for her leadership in providing care and support to patients through support groups and one-on-one therapy.
McNally, a clinical social worker, is a member of the Association of Oncology Social Workers and the Florida Society of Oncology Social Workers. She completed the advanced psychosocial oncology training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and has received a specialty certification in oncology social work.

Juvy Villanueva, a senior physical therapist at Boca Regional’s Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute, was recognized in February as a multiple sclerosis-certified specialist through the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Partners in MS Care program. “A recognition of this caliber commends Juvy’s dedication to providing high-quality care to her patients,” said Genie Lieberman, director of the Drummond Institute.

Delray Medical Center announced in February that it received the Healthgrades 2018 America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award, which named it as one of the top 1 percent of more than 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for its consistently superior clinical performance. Healthgrades is an online resource for information about physicians and hospitals. Delray Medical Center has made this list yearly since the inception of the award 12 years ago.

Delray Medical Center announced in February that it was the first hospital in the United States to perform the robotic-assisted peripheral vascular intervention procedure using the CorPath GRX System. The procedure, performed by Dr. Joseph Ricotta, brings robotic-assisted precision to both percutaneous coronary and percutaneous vascular interventional procedures. Peripheral artery disease is a disease of blood vessels outside the heart that commonly affects arteries carrying blood to the lower extremities. It has affected an estimated 8.5 million people in the United States. For more information, visit www.delraymedicalctr.com.

Bethesda Health Quality Alliance was selected as one of 124 new Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations providing Medicare beneficiaries with access to high-quality coordinated care.
Through this alliance, physicians and other providers aim to transform health care delivery through a quality-focused, integrated approach intended to engage patients in their health choices. “Patients, taxpayers, employers, insurers and other stakeholders have long demanded better quality and greater value out of health care. Our alliance can respond by providing better integration, information sharing, and accountability for the cost, quality and overall experience,” said Shawn Franklin, executive director of Bethesda Health Quality Alliance.
“We believe a full-service network, including physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, is key to delivering on our mission of advancing the quality of health care in our community by delivering patient-centered, compassionate care through a culture of collaboration, transparency, integrity and innovation,” said Roger L. Kirk, president and CEO of Bethesda Health Inc. and a board member.

The YMCA of South Palm Beach County will hold a free community annual event, Healthy Kids Day, on April 14 as part of its national initiative to improve health and well-being for kids and families. Activities will include obstacle courses, a rock climbing wall, sports clinics and demonstrations, a bike rodeo, bounce houses and fun games to motivate and teach families how to develop and maintain healthy routines at home throughout the summer.
The event will be held both at the Peter Blum Family Y of Boca Raton, 6631 Palmetto Circle S., and DeVos-Blum Family Y of Boynton Beach, 9600 S. Military Trail, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 237-0974 or visit www.ymcaspbc.org.

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

Gospel singer Renee Rowan Basel will perform at Barwick Road Baptist Church, but often sings at Church of All Nations in Boca Raton, where her husband is pastor. Photo provided

By Steve Plunkett

She’s the daughter of a pastor, the sister of a pastor and the wife of a pastor.
But don’t ask Renee Rowan Basel to deliver a sermon. She ministers with her voice.
“I sing at churches all across America,” said Basel, who travels twice a month for church performances and works weekdays as the executive assistant at Gulf Stream’s Town Hall.
She describes her music as “a little bit of rhythm and blues, a little bit of country, a little bit of jazz all wrapped up into one.”
“That’s why I like gospel music — it doesn’t fit one niche,” she says.
When she’s not traveling, you can hear her for yourself at husband David Basel’s calling, the Church of All Nations in Boca Raton. She also just dropped an album, Nothing but the Truth, available on CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes and other online outlets. And she will give a special concert April 15 at Barwick Road Baptist Church in Delray Beach.
Basel, 52, was first exposed to gospel in Georgia at the Church of Atlanta Lighthouse, founded by her parents, Al and Linda Rowan. Sundays back then began with watching The Gospel Singing Jubilee on television, then real-life ministry. The family moved when she was 12, first to Pittsburgh and then Detroit. Memories of winters there make her appreciate South Florida all the more.
“It’s definitely paradise compared to the snow they’re having right now,” she said, referring to the late March storm that blanketed northern climes.
She graduated from Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo., won the Miss Southwest Missouri beauty pageant and got a job singing backup to five-time Grammy Award winner Larnelle Harris. Then she hit the road with her traveling solo act for 28 years.
“I like to touch people’s lives and bring a little joy, which I think gospel does,” she said.
She’s most proud of being the mother of Daren, whom she and David adopted when Daren was just 24 hours old. She listens to classical music when she’s feeling devotional and jazz at dinnertime.
“My son has a fit about that—‘Do we have to listen to jazz?’ And I’ll say, ‘Yes we do.’”
The Basels moved to Delray Beach three years ago. The timing was right — the Church of All Nations had an opening and Daren was about to start middle school.
Basel’s favorite artist is R&B songstress Patti LaBelle. She counts Harris as her strongest professional mentor and her parents as her spiritual guides.
“They’re probably my biggest role models in the church,” she says. “They’re my best friends; they’re who I call … almost every day.”
Harris taught her everything from how to warm up her voice to how to deal with other people.
“If a little kid comes up to me I always make eye contact,” just as Harris did, she says.
She also continues to take voice lessons. “You can always be learning a little as a grown-up,” she says.
Basel said she never turned down an opportunity to sing, whether the audience was 3,000 or merely 10. Her advice to young people starting out is simple: “Go with your gut and walk through every open door that is put before you. That’s how I started out.”
Basel came to Gulf Stream as a temporary worker in 2015 and was given a permanent position soon after.
“She fit right in,” Town Clerk Rita Taylor said.
Basel’s favorite quote is not a musical lyric but a verse from the Book of Romans: “Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

If You Go
What: Renee Rowan Basel in concert
When: 10:30 a.m. April 15
Where: Barwick Road Baptist Church, 500 Barwick Road, Delray Beach
Cost: Love offering
Info: 496-1252

A bottlenose dolphin captures a houndfish off Palm Beach. Scientists with the Taras Oceanographic Foundation’s Palm Beach Dolphin Project, which began offering dolphin-watching tours to the public in January, shot the photo.

By Willie Howard

Seeing a bottlenose dolphin in the wild is not that uncommon for boaters in South Florida, though I must admit that I’ve gone for months without seeing one, even though I spend three or four days a week on the ocean.
Knowing where to look makes a big difference, as I discovered during a dolphin-watching cruise aboard the 32-foot Osprey with Stefan Harzen, director of the Taras Oceanographic Foundation. The Jupiter-based nonprofit’s scientists have been studying Palm Beach County’s wild dolphins for more than a decade. (That’s dolphin, the air-breathing marine mammal, not dolphinfish.)
We started our afternoon dolphin trip in late February from Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores, where Capt. Chris Thalmann helped everyone don an inflatable life jacket before we stepped aboard the 32-foot Osprey — a spotless hard-bottom inflatable boat rigged for touring with saddle-style seats in the bow.
As we moved into the ocean outside Lake Worth Inlet (aka Palm Beach Inlet), Harzen encouraged all of us to watch the water for signs of bottlenose dolphin while he shared a few details about Palm Beach County’s dolphin population.
About 400 bottlenose dolphins live in the waters between Jupiter Inlet and Boynton Inlet, the foundation’s primary study area. Most live here all the time, while others come down seasonally, like snowbirds, and still others appear once every few years.
Adult dolphins are 10 to 12 feet long and weigh about 600 pounds. They live 50 to 60 years in the wild and can swim 35 mph in short bursts, sort of like a person sprinting, Harzen said. They spend much of their day searching for food because they eat about 25 pounds of fish and crustaceans daily.
Most of the county’s bottlenose dolphins live in shallow water, between 60 feet of water and the beach. Atlantic spotted dolphins, a separate species with distinctive spots, are usually found in deeper water offshore.
Less than 30 minutes into our cruise on a cloudy afternoon, George Kaufenberg, visiting from Minnesota, pointed out a dolphin snout jutting out of the waves in 23 feet of water just north of Mar-a-Lago.
A few seconds later, two dolphins appeared on the surface and swam alongside the Osprey. They came up for air a few times before going on their way.
Thalmann kept the boat headed south along the beach and did not attempt to steer close to the dolphins.
Harzen’s dolphin research permit allows him to approach closer, but part of the mission of the Palm Beach Dolphin Project is to teach proper dolphin-watching etiquette.
Harzen handed out postcard-size information cards that instruct boaters to stay 300 feet away from dolphins and to move away slowly if the dolphins demonstrate signs of stress, such as tail slapping. The instructions warn boaters not to touch, feed or swim with dolphins.
Those were the only dolphins we spotted on our afternoon cruise, but Harzen noted that dolphins lingered around the boat for an hour during the morning cruise in the waters off John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.
These are wild animals and, as the foundation’s website notes, Mother Nature does not guarantee anything. Harzen said his groups see dolphins on eight out of 10 cruises. If no dolphins are spotted, participants can return for another cruise free of charge.
Three-hour dolphin-watching cruises cost $85 for adults and $65 for youths ages 10-16.
For details, go to www.palmbeachdolphintours.com or call 855-346-7400. Organizers generally give participants two days’ notice if a cruise will be canceled because of weather.
For a trip-booking calendar containing dates, times and departure locations, go to www.dolphinexpeditions.starboardsuite.com.

Goliath groupers such as this one are often found in ships scuttled for artificial reefs. Photo provided by FWC

FWC set to discuss limited goliath grouper harvest
Divers and anglers are expected to attend the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s April 25-26 meeting in Fort Lauderdale, where commissioners are scheduled to discuss the possibility of allowing a limited harvest of goliath grouper — a large, slow-growing grouper that has been protected from harvest since 1990.
The commission is expected to consider more than 5,000 public comments on the possibility of allowing a limited harvest of goliath grouper. Comments were submitted online and in public workshops such as the one held July 31, 2017, at the Lantana branch library.
Several Palm Beach County divers have adamantly opposed the possibility of allowing anglers to keep a limited number of goliath grouper, noting how the groupers attract divers from around the world when they gather on wrecks during the summer.
Divers from Palm Beach and Broward counties are expected to show their opposition to the goliath grouper harvest proposal during the FWC meeting, said Ed Tichenor, director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue.
Some anglers have supported the proposed limited harvest, noting that it could benefit research on goliath grouper if the carcasses of caught fish were given to FWC biologists.
Goliath grouper populations have “substantially” recovered, but not fully recovered, the FWC says.
The April FWC meeting will be held at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott North, 6650 N. Andrews Ave.

Ocean expo

The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo, featuring experts on scuba diving, free diving, spearfishing, underwater photography, paddleboarding and dive destinations, is set for April 14-15 in Fort Lauderdale.
Longtime Boca Raton resident Sheri Daye founded The Blue Wild Ocean 11 years ago as a way to gather ocean lovers together and to benefit the Twin Palms Center for the Disabled in Boca Raton. Daye is an avid scuba diver, free diver and spearfisher.
Experts will share tips on a wide range of topics, including fishing knots, cooking lionfish, spear-gun rigging, fish filleting and adventure travel.
“What began as a small charity event has evolved into an exciting, must-attend event,” Daye said. “For marine art fans, we truly have one of the country’s most impressive collections.”
Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. Admission is $20. The event is free for children younger than 12. For details, go to www.thebluewild.com.

West Marine opens in Lantana, donates to youth
On March 17, West Marine, a “waterlife outfitter” store, celebrated the opening of its new 9,000-square-foot location at 1385 South Dixie Highway, Lantana. That day, it donated 10 percent of its sales, up to $3,000, to the Youth Sailing Foundation of the Palm Beaches and West Marine’s nonprofit BlueFuture program.
West Marine, an outfitter for cruisers, sailors, anglers and paddle-sports enthusiasts, has 250 stores and an eCommerce website.
For more information, visit www.westmarine.com

Coming events
April 7: West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s annual Marine Yard Sale featuring used rods, reels, tackle, diving and boating gear, 7 a.m. to noon at the club, 201 Fifth St., West Palm Beach. Free. Call 832-6780 or go to www.westpalmbeachfishingclub.org.
April 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 ($20 for ages 12-19). Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
April 20: Early-entry deadline for Lantana Fishing Derby. Fishing tournament for kingfish, dolphin and wahoo set for May 5 based at Old Key Lime House restaurant. Captain’s meeting May 3 at Lantana Recreation Center. Entry fee $200 per boat by April 20 or $250 thereafter. Call 585-8664 or go to www.lantanafishingderby.com.
April 21: Boynton Beach Firefighters Fishing Tournament and Chili Cook-off, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, Boynton Beach. Target fish: kingfish, dolphin and wahoo. Captain’s meeting 5 to 7 p.m. April 19 at Bru’s Room Sports Grill, 1333 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach. Entry fee $250 per boat by April 14 or $300 thereafter. Call 252-0769 or go to www.boyntonbeachfirefighters.com.
April 28: Basic 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 $25. Register at the door. Call 704-7440.
April 28: St. Clare Catholic School’s Big Fishing for Little Smiles tournament for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo and snapper. Captain’s meeting April 27 at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. Weigh-in 1-3 p.m. April 28 at Sailfish Marina. Entry fee $275 per boat by April 10 or $300 thereafter. Call 622-7171 or email tourney@stclarecatholicschool.org.

Tip of the month
Help state biologists keep tabs on wildlife with Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s new FWC Reporter app for iPhone and Android applications. The free app allows users to report observations of fish kills and nonnative species as well as trapped or injured wildlife. To contribute a report, select a category, provide relevant information and submit photos if they’re available.

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

ABOVE: An orange-barred sulphur butterfly drinks nectar from a firebush. BELOW: Strangler figs line the path of the Ashley Trail. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

It’s easy to find the Ashley Trail from the parking lot at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton. Just follow the zebra longwing and monarch butterflies painted on the sidewalk.
The Ashley Trail is a quarter-mile loop through a hardwood hammock, a teeming butterfly garden and mangroves with their feet in the brackish waters of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The trail is also a way to step back into a landscape that would have been here when the first settlers arrived and the Seminole Indians plied the waters in dugout canoes.
You can navigate the trail on your own or take a guided tour. Ours begins in the parking lot where Susan Elliott, environmental program coordinator for the center, points out a number of gumbo limbo trees.
Of course, she reminds us that these trees are nicknamed the tourist tree because their peeling bark is reminiscent of the sunburned skin of tourists who neglect their sunscreen.
But her knowledge of local flora and fauna allows her to add that although most trees have chlorophyll in their leaves, the gumbo limbo has a green layer of chlorophyll on its trunk that you can see under its peeling bark.
This adaptation allows the tree to make food for itself and survive even if it’s defoliated during a hurricane.
After we enter the trail through the white trellis, Elliott quickly points out other special trees such as the lancewood. Its limbs quickly grow toward any light that comes through the dense canopy, resulting in straight and long branches. The Seminoles used the wood for lances, spears, arrows and fishing poles.
To make her tour appeal to children as well as adults, Elliott includes stimulation for all the senses. “I like to find things that will draw everyone in,” she says.
For example, as we move along, she suggests you might recognize the smell of a skunk as that peculiar aroma permeates the air. Although the park is home to spotted skunks that can climb trees, she looks for a white stopper. It’s a tree that gives off a similar scent.
When it comes to the sense of touch, she has us feel thickened bumps, or galls, on the leaf of a pigeon plum tree. They form when a wasp inserts eggs into the leaf that trigger the plant to repair itself. The galls protect the tree from the eggs and the eggs from predators, she explained.
Elliott enjoys the flora but doesn’t neglect the fauna as we move along the trail and come to a butterfly garden. It’s teeming with zebra longwings, yellow sulphurs, monarchs, giant swallowtails, ruddy daggerwings, gulf fritillary, long-tailed skippers and mangrove skippers. They are just some of the varieties attracted to the garden’s many nectar and host plants.
As we head down the trail, the path loses elevation and soon we are among the red, white and black mangroves. Elliott explains that because these trees sit in brackish water, they need to be able to exclude or exude the salt from their systems in order to survive.
Black mangroves exude the salt through their leaves. Put your tongue to a leaf and you can taste it.
On the other hand, red mangroves exclude salt. They have drop roots that shoot from their branches down to the water. “These little guys are responsible for keeping the salt out,” Elliott says.
She explains that the roots are covered in suberin, a waxy waterproof substance that acts as a filter when the roots absorb salty water. It’s the same substance you find on netted melons such as cantaloupes, where it keeps juice in and mold out.
As our tour ends in the shade of a chickee hut built by Seminole Chief Jim Billie from more than 5,500 cabbage palm fronds, it’s easy to understand why this spot is so popular. In fact, the center welcomed about 200,000 visitors in 2016.
“There’s something here for everyone,” Elliott says.

Contact Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley at debhartz@att.net.

If You Go
What: The Ashley Trail at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. The butterfly garden is in full bloom during May and June.
Where: 1801 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton.
Information: www.gumbolimbo.org; 544-8605.
Admission: $5 donation requested per person.
Hours: The Ashley Trail is open 7 a.m. to sundown.
Tours: Guided tours of the trail are available Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. Meet on the front porch of the Nature Center.

Gardening tip
If you want a butterfly garden at your house, it’s easy. The first thing to plant is firebush with some milkweed and you’ll be off to a good start. You can find them at native nurseries and they’ll propagate themselves.
Then you can add some firecracker plants when you are ready. The butterflies seem to like their red flowers.
— Susan Elliott, environmental program coordinator, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

TOP: Caterpillar on lily by Jo Ann Ricchiuti.
ABOVE LEFT: Curious raccoon by Ricchiuti.
ABOVE RIGHT: Barnacle-covered flip flop by Connie Wagner.
LEFT: Ricchiuti at Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Photos provided

By Mary Thurwachter

Nature photography requires patience, says Jo Ann Ricchiuti. And patience paid off for the South Palm Beach shutterbug this year. She not only won the best in show in the Mounts Botanical Garden’s 11th annual photography contest, but took first place in the animal life category and second in landscape.
“It was a good year for me,” she said. “I entered three pictures and won with all three.”
Her best in show image captures a caterpillar climbing onto the petal of a lovely blooming flower at the Mounts.
“The caterpillar was in the butterfly garden,” Ricchiuti said. “It wasn’t quite ready to turn into a butterfly and was just kind of snooping around.”
Patience was equally important when she used her trusty Canon 7D Mark II to photograph a raccoon for a win in the animal life category. The raccoon wasn’t her original target, however.
“I was down on the ground trying to get an iguana when all of a sudden a raccoon was coming right at me,” she recalled. The raccoon commanded her attention — and got it.
For winning the best in show, Ricchiuti received a Family and Friends membership and $100 Mounts gift certificate. Other prize winners received Mounts gift certificates, and the environmental winner won a monetary award.
Ricchiuti was happy to learn that the winner in the environmental category was Connie Wagner, a woman who lives in the same South Palm Beach condominiums she does.
“We’re friends,” she said. “We often go out and shoot together.”
Ricchiuti’s husband, Tony, also has taken up photography.
“We were high school sweethearts,” she said. She’s been taking pictures for 40 years, but her husband has been doing it for only two. “We took a trip to Africa last year and we had dueling cameras,” she said.
The Ricchiutis are members — and big fans — of the Mounts. They have a home in Maryland but have been wintering in Florida for decades.
The photography show was held in conjunction with Mounts’ current exhibit “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea.” The show spotlights 10 large sea life sculptures made of marine debris to illustrate the tragedy of plastic pollution in the oceans and waterways and to encourage conservation.
Except for the environmental category, all photographs were taken within the boundaries of Mounts Botanical Garden. The guest judge was nature photographer Alan Chin-Lee.
Mounts Botanical Garden, at 531 N. Military Trail in West Palm Beach, is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest botanical garden, offering displays of tropical and subtropical plants, classes, workshops and other events. The garden is home to more than 2,000 species of plants, including Florida native plants, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, bromeliads and more.
The garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Washed Ashore exhibit is on display through early June. Admission to the garden is free for members and children 4 and younger; $15 for nonmembers; $5 for children (5-12); and group tours are $18 per person (5 and older). 
For more information, call 233-1757 or visit www.mounts.org.

The Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County welcomed 80 beautifully clad guests to a high tea with a harpist staged on the Great Lawn adjacent to the butterfly garden. The Feb. 3 event was preceded by a mimosa stroll through the exhibit ‘Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea.’ Attendees wore their best hats for the hat show and participated in an auction of rare and exotic plants. More than $7,000 was raised to fund educational programs. ABOVE: Elaine Zimmerman with Margaret Blume. Photo provided by Jacek Gancarz

Water and your own clothing can provide emergency first aid. Arden Moore/The Coastal Star

By Arden Moore

I keep a well-stocked pet first-aid kit in my home and a travel size in my vehicle. In case of a pet emergency, I want to be prepared.
The reality is that not all cut paws, bee stings, sprained limbs or other pet injuries conveniently occur when a first-aid kit is handy or a veterinary clinic is nearby.
As a certified master instructor in pet first aid and the founder of Pet First Aid 4U, I recognize that pet emergencies can and do happen anytime, anywhere. In some cases, minutes count in saving the life of a dog or cat.
So, in honor of Pet First Aid Awareness Month — and in homage to MacGyver, one of my favorite television shows of the late 1980s (now in a 2.0 version on CBS) — I created a litany of “Mutt-gyver” tips and tricks. I’ve tapped into Angus MacGyver’s ability to think outside the box and applied it to aid pets in trouble.
No pet first-aid kit handy? No problem. Let me run down a list of everyday items you can use to render aid to a pet and if necessary, stabilize and transport that pet to your veterinary clinic:
Cool down an overheated dog. Dogs do not sweat like we do. They perspire through their paws. If possible, time your walks with your dog in the morning or evening to avoid the hottest hours under the South Florida sun. On a walk, bring a bottle of water. You can cool down your dog by getting him to shade and dipping his paws in cool water. If you are wearing a baseball cap, pour the water in there and dip the paws. Otherwise, take a spare plastic poop bag to use as a makeshift bowl for drinking and dipping.
Treat bee stings and minor burns. Curious cats and prey-minded dogs can’t resist the fast movements of flying bees. But they pay the price for engaging with bees on pollinating missions with stings, often to their face or paws. Reduce the chance of your dog’s getting stung by keeping him from reaching ground cover on leashed walks. If your dog or cat gets stung and you can see the stinger, simply scrape out the stinger using your driver’s license or a credit card. Do not try to remove the stinger by using your fingernails or tweezers, as you risk rupturing the venom sac.
You can dab a little moistened baking soda on the sting site to alleviate pain. If you have an aloe plant nearby, you can apply gel from the plant. Aloe also works on minor burns. However, never use the white sap (latex) from the aloe plant on a dog or cat because that sap is toxic to pets.
If the sting site swells and your pet has trouble breathing, contact your veterinarian immediately. Your veterinarian may recommend you give your pet an over-the-counter antihistamine. I recommend you keep this product handy in gel form and tape a safety pin to the packaging so you can squirt in the medicine easily and quickly. And read the label: Only give antihistamine products containing diphenhydramine and never give products that are cherry-flavored or contain the pain reliever acetaminophen.
Ease jellyfish stings. If your beach-loving dog gets stung by a jellyfish, coax him to the sand. Rinse the sting site with salt water and use a seashell to safely scrape the tentacles off your dog so you do not get stung.
Sock it to cut or bloody paws. If your dog cuts a paw on a long hike or on cut glass in your home, here are some Mutt-gyver tricks to consider. You can squirt bottled water to clean the paw. Then elevate the paw above the dog’s heart and apply pressure with a folded bandanna to stop the bleeding. You can take one of your socks to cover the injured paw and snug it in place using a spare plastic poop bag or hair tie if you are wearing one.
Muzzle pet to keep you safe. Even the sweetest dog or cuddliest cat can bite or claw you if he’s in pain. Keep yourself safe. You can make a temporary muzzle by using the drawstrings from a hooded sweatshirt, your shoelaces or a spare 6-foot nylon leash. You can calm a cat by wrapping him in a thick bath towel or popping an empty plastic laundry basket over him. Then slide a slick piece of cardboard underneath and flip it upright to have a makeshift cat carrier.
Splint a sprained or broken limb. Depending on the length of your pet’s leg, you can use Popsicle sticks, emery boards or paint stirrers as splints. You can place a water bottle against the injured leg. To hold the splint in place, you can use a rolled-up magazine or folded newspaper and tie with shoelaces. The goal is to stabilize and prevent your pet from putting any more weight on the injured leg.
In the veterinarian-approved Pet First Aid 4U classes I teach with the help of pet safety dog Kona and pet safety cat Casey, I always welcome Mutt-gyver tips and tricks from my students. One shared how she used her bra to lasso her loose dog. That’s quick thinking! What are your favorite tips to keep dogs and cats safe? Email me at arden@ardenmoore.com.
My parting message: Our pets give us unconditional love and loyalty 24/7. One of the best ways we can show our love for them is by taking a pet first-aid class. Knowing what to do and what not to do in a pet emergency when minutes count is a great way to truly become your pet’s best health ally.

Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. She hosts the Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more at www.ardenmoore.com.

The ninth annual Hot Works Boca Raton Fine Art Show honored seven of 140 juried creatives whose original works were showcased for three days with prizes worth a total of $1,500. A Budding Artist competition was integrated into the show at Sanborn Square for students in grades six through 12. The Best Budding Artist was Daniel Pan, 15, of Westglades Middle School in Parkland. Savannah Carpenter, 13, of Boca Raton Middle School, Rebecca Fazio, 15, of Grandview Preparatory School in Boca Raton and Sophia Vigne, 17, home-schooled in Boca Raton, won Budding Artist Awards of Excellence. ABOVE: (l-r): Boca Raton City Council members Andrea Levine O’Rourke and Robert Weinroth with Vigne, show executive producer Patty Narozny, Fazio and Pan. Photo provided

Carlos Rivera with his sister, Adriana, at her high school graduation. Carlos likely will follow her to the University of Florida, unless Southern Cal calls. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Senior Carlos Rivera, a native of Lake Worth, chose Atlantic High School in Delray Beach for his high school because of its “very rigorous” International Baccalaureate diploma program. He knew it would give him the best chance of achieving his dreams for college.
Rivera is a filmmaker and writer whose biggest project is an 84-minute feature film called The Usuals: Or the Helpfulness of Others and How to Use It, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in.
“Not to sound too corny, but the main theme is friendship. It’s a story about how we’re all interdependent,” Rivera says.
“I’ve always loved writing,” he says. His dad, Carlos A. Rivera, an engineer, and his mom, Odemaris, a freelancer with Estee Lauder, encouraged him. They self-published his first book, The Lost and the Holocaust, in 2013 when he was 12. The story follows teenage survivors living through a second holocaust. Rivera admits it’s not historically accurate — hey, he was 12 — but it does show his affinity for history and his appreciation of its lessons.
Rivera is also fascinated by cultural anthropology and linguistics and plans to focus his studies on those subjects as well as film production in college.
He’s been accepted into both Florida State and the University of Florida, but he’s anxiously awaiting a decision from his first choice, the University of Southern California, as long as there’s a satisfactory scholarship package attached. He’s also considering New York University. If he chooses UF, he’ll already have a supporter in place: His sister goes to school there.
Film study will put Rivera in a competitive career path, but he has already proved he’s a critical watcher and a watchful critic. His analysis of the Coen brothers masterpiece No Country for Old Men, which won an Academy Award in 2008, is thorough, thoughtful and astute.
“My dad is definitely big on good movies,” Rivera said. “He’d have my sister and me sitting on the couch watching movies over and over.” It’s where he learned what makes a movie compelling to watch.
Although he’d like to make his own films using his own stories, there are a couple of books he’d like to try to turn into films. One is Joseph Conrad’s 1904 seaboard tale, Nostromo.
“I’m really into history and I’d love to adapt a piece from history. The other is the ‘unfilmable novel,’ ” Rivera said, referring to Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.
In fact, Rivera tweeted in January: “I will be the guy who adapts Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian into a film by the time I am thirty-five.”
Rivera said much of the difficulty of converting literature to film is the condensation of the plot. “Two or two and a half hours, that’s the sweet spot. How do you tell the story in that time?” he said. “What works best is thinking of both art forms independently. You need to use the book as inspiration to make the film. Following the plot too closely may lose the message. Following the themes may lose the story. How do you keep both?”
Directors Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott have both been connected at some point with the Blood Meridian project, as have Tommy Lee Jones and John Hillcoat. But as yet no film version exists of one of the greatest American novels ever written.
In his own writing and filmmaking, Rivera said, “I like to get a bunch of characters together in a grand mosaic of people interacting. I see life as this interconnecting thing.”
Rivera was Atlantic’s nominee in the communications category for The Palm Beach Post’s Pathfinder scholarship.
Rivera will graduate in the top 5 percent in his class at a school known for its academics. He credited his teachers at Atlantic for challenging him and pushing him to be the best student he could be, but he laughed when he remembered “the best advice” he got from a teacher in his first AP class, World History.
“We had to write an essay, and mine was extraneous and it was just too long. I got a note from the teacher that said, ‘Cut the bullshit and get to work.’
“It was good advice,” he said, laughing again.

Hurricane Helping Hands project members (l-r) Naven Parthasathy, Brianna Detamore, Zoe Deitelbaum and Kiah Kimpton won a $12,000 grant to provide emergency supplies to seniors. Jim Karp (center) made the presentation. Photo by Capehart

Philanthropy Tank awards announced
In March, we wrote about the community-minded students participating in the third annual Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank program, in which they pitched solutions for issues such as cleaning up the environment and bringing music lessons to underserved kids.
Each group of eight finalists made a presentation to a four-judge panel March 12 at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach and received grants totaling $100,000 from local philanthropists who are part of Advisors for Philanthropic Impact, which developed the Philanthropy Tank.
The project we profiled, Hurricane Helping Hands, received a $12,000 grant to provide emergency hurricane supplies to low-income older adults. The group consists of Zoe Deitelbaum, Brianna Detamore, Kiah Kimpton and Naven Parthasathy, all students at American Heritage School in Delray Beach.
Other awards were:  
Surface 71 — $12,000. Reduce plastic use, improve marine habitats, educate and promote awareness about our environment.
Shoes2You — $14,000. Collect and distribute gently used and new shoes for adults and children in need in Palm Beach County and abroad.
Read With Me — $10,000. Provide people with dyslexia an opportunity to practice reading in stress-free environments.
Uniformity — $7,000. Assist western Palm Beach County students in need to obtain uniforms mid-year so they can focus on academics and not their appearances.
Aquaponics Educational Enrichment — $15,000. Construct two more outdoor aquaponics systems at a middle and elementary school to promote sustainable farming and donate produce to organizations in need.
Find the Keys Music Program — $15,000. Offer free music camps, lessons and instruments to underprivileged and musically ambi­tious students throughout the year.
Cancode — $15,000. Provide computer programming classes and teenage mentors for young minds across Palm Beach County. 
The judges, who also serve as donors and mentors to the winners, were Palm Beach residents Jim Karp, John Scarpa, Christine Stiller and Rick Stone.

By Steve Plunkett

The U.S. Postal Service says its downtown post office is too big and it wants to move into smaller quarters, according to Mayor Susan Haynie.
The office at 170 NE Second St. is about 8,000 square feet; Haynie said postal officials told her they want a 4,000-square-foot facility.
The first step in relocating the post office is a public meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. March 29. A USPS real estate specialist based in Dallas, Texas, will answer questions and solicit written input on the proposal.
Delivery service would not be affected if the post office moves, a spokeswoman said.
The meeting will be in the Community Center at 150 Crawford Blvd. behind City Hall. The Postal Service originally planned to hold the public outreach in the lobby of the downtown office. Haynie persuaded them to move it to accommodate more people.

ABOVE: Parade founder Maury Power and Dennis Gallagher with Porkchop the piglet, 1988

LEFT: Colleen Rolfes Beckner and ‘Papa’ Joe Rose march in 1978. Photos courtesy of Delray Beach Historical Society

BELOW: Kevin and Mary McCarty ride in the parade, also in 1988. Photo provided

Manager of Delray gala says it’s his last

By Mary Thurwachter

This is the time of year when fans of the Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade give a tip of the derby to Maury Power, the Irish saloonkeeper who founded the legendary procession in 1968.
A Chicago transplant, Power donned a tailcoat and top hat and carried a shillelagh to make an impromptu march down Atlantic Avenue in honor of the patron saint of Ireland.
“I’m Maury Power,” he would say to onlookers. “Come down to my bar and have a drink.”
The farther he walked, the more people would join him.
Since he died in 1996, people often bow down in front of large photographs of Power that are carried in the parade, said Pat Robinson, a friend and business owner who has been in 33 parades.
Local lore claims Power, who owned Power’s Lounge, carried a pig on his historic first march. Truth is the tinted green porker became part of the tradition a few years later. No one is sure exactly why.
“I think it was just something that, at the time, made perfect sense,” said Power’s nephew Terry.
The first piglet, Porkchop, instantly became a crowd pleaser. Porkchop has had many successors, many of them predictably hefty — including 200-pound Patrick, a star in the 2011 parade, and his predecessor Petunia, the potbellied pig famous for her fancy ruffles and sparkly tiara.
Occasionally, some of the pigs strayed from the parade path.
“Sometimes they would run free and into a store,” said David Cook, owner of Hand’s Office and Art Supply. “Some of them got so fat that they had to ride in the back of an SUV.” Animal activists protested the pigs’ involvement.
Two celebrity pigs are being driven down from Jacksonville for this year’s parade, and, while they won’t be painted green, parade manager John Fischer of Code 3 Events Inc. expects they’ll be costumed appropriately. “One of them is quite portly and won’t be able to walk the whole route, but he can ride in a stroller,” he said.
This year’s parade, which begins at 2 p.m. March 17, is the 50th and may be the last one, according to Fischer, a retired captain with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride with the [city’s] special events policies — the fee structure, pricing, what have you,” said Fischer, who has managed the parade for five years. “We’re a nonprofit, not a business. Maybe a large, corporate-level entity can afford these prices. But I don’t see a nonprofit coming in and being able to afford the fee structure. That’s why we have to respectfully bow out.”
The estimate for this year’s parade is $65,000.
“We’ve been given a $50,000 sponsorship by the city, which means we’re responsible for $15,000,” Fischer said. “That is a far cry from what we got hit with last year when we were given an estimate of $56,000. But on top of that there were hidden costs that were mandated on us like $14,000 for barricades. That wasn’t in the contract. That was a side mandate that we had to have.”  
On top of that, Code 3 had to pay about $1,500 for insurance and a few other costs.
New Delray Beach City Manager Mark Lauzier said comparing costs from last year to this year is complicated and the side-by-side comparisons are not apples to apples.
“For example, barricade costs were paid separately by the promoter last year and we had to add those costs to create the comparison,” he said. “That said, the cost increase is 9 percent and approximately $6,200. Of that amount, service fluctuations are the main reason for the change. Assuming personnel costs increased at plus 5 percent, to obtain that portion of the cost increase yields a rough guess of $2,500, but that’s really hard to determine.”
Lauzier said the decision on continuing the parades is a matter for further discussion.
“After this year’s event where I will get to experience the parade firsthand, I will be talking to the fire chief, because it is a great promotional and community-building event opportunity that I believe he would be interested in continuing. No decision on that yet, but we will be talking soon after this one ends.”

Huntington Resort of Delray entered a giant papier-mâché leprechaun in the 1986 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Photo courtesy of Delray Beach Historical Society

Despite financing concerns, Fischer says this year’s parade will be special. Three members (maybe more) of Maury Power’s family have agreed to be grand marshals. Maury’s cousin James Power is flying in from Ireland. Terry Power, a nephew from Safety Harbor, will be there, as will Katie Power, Maury’s granddaughter from Delray Beach.
As they have for the past three years, organizers have injected the nonprofit organization Honor Flight into the front wall of the parade. Sixty or more World War II veterans in their Honor Flight wheelchairs will be pushed by police officers and firefighters.
“There hasn’t been a dry eye on the street when the veterans go by,” Fischer said. “People are crying their eyes out, in a good way, just looking at that visual of veterans being treated with such honor and respect.”
When the veterans reach the parade review stand, on the second story of 32 East restaurant across from Old School Square, former interim City Manager Terry Stewart (now city manager in Arcadia) will sing the national anthem.
Also at that location at Swinton and Atlantic will be two fire department ladder trucks hanging a 20-by-30-foot U.S. flag. Those two will be part of a 12 ladder-truck team from fire departments from Miami up to Martin County.
Several large fire and police bagpipe bands are coming in from places like Long Island and Washington, D.C.
“I tell people it’s not all about the firefighters, it’s not all about the police, you’re going to see the rest of society behind them — your schools, your civic groups, organizations, businesses, nonprofits, arts and entertainment, everything from A to Z,” said Fischer, a bagpiper himself.
In conjunction with the parade, a St. Patrick’s Day Festival will be March 16-17 at Old School Square. “The festival is a major fundraiser for the parade,” said Fischer, who has rallied firefighters, police and drum and bagpipe bands to participate since 2009.
The crowds have grown beyond expectations since then. The all-time high came in 2012, when an estimated 100,000 people watched and celebrated.

2012 crowd out of hand
“It was scary how many people came,” Fischer recalled. “It was like Times Square on New Year’s Eve.”
The liquor consumption was out of control and there was a shortage of portable toilets. Downtown business owners were not happy.
“With all the drinking and the 85-degree heat, people were falling over like Weebles,” said Cook, a former member of the city’s Downtown Development Authority. “As a merchant, you can only take so much public urination. It just got out of hand.”
To remedy the predicament, parade organizers didn’t ask for an open container waiver after 2012.
“It caused a little bit of an uproar in town,” Fischer said. Red Solo cup protesters showed up at City Hall. But the brouhaha subsided after a while.
The liquor ban irked Robinson, owner of The Man of Steam carpet cleaning business. “We used to be able to drink in front of stores and they put the kibosh on that. It used to be fun.”

Parade manager John Fischer is also a bagpipe player.

File photo/The Coastal Star

After 2012, crowd size decreased — between 40,000 and 50,000 attended last year’s parade. “But the quality increased,” Fischer said. “Businesses were saying ‘now I’ll sponsor, contribute.’ So that’s what it did in a good way. It attracted more families. It improved the cultural value, with firefighters and cops coming in from five different countries.”
Bringing in first responders from different states and countries has boosted tourism revenue, Fischer said.
“These people are coming here and getting hotel rooms,” he said. “That speaks to economic impact. If you talk to the tourism council, they’ll tell you what heads on beds means. Once you start killing tourism in your town, for whatever reason, whether it be a handful of merchants on the avenue that are complaining bitterly against shutting that street down, they’re not looking at the big picture.”
While everyone agrees the parade has been the source of merrymaking, not everyone thinks the current incarnation is better.
“It has turned into a firefighters’ convention,” said Mary McCarty, a former city (and county) commissioner who appeared in several parades on behalf of the Village Pub, where she was a bartender in the 1980s. When the parade ended, she said, people would pile into Power’s Lounge for corned beef and cabbage, and drinks of course.

Less local ambience
“It used to be a small-town, community thing,” McCarty said. “It was good fun and something everybody looked forward to. But it got so big and a lot of locals don’t go anymore.”
Robinson said the parade at which he carried his two small sons years ago has lost its luster. He remembers when the parade entry fee was a $50 donation. “Now they want your first born and a bunch of legal stuff,” he said.
The business-class entry for a float currently starts at $425 depending on size (nonprofit donations begin at $100).
“This is the price charged by the organization before us,” Fischer said. “And when we took the parade over, the parade costs were around $35,000 — now it’s $65,000.”
After Maury Power died, Ed Gallagher, owner of a former downtown nightclub called City Limits, took charge until 2007, when Nancy Stewart’s company, Festival Management Team, took the reins. Fischer’s Code 3 Events took over after the 2013 parade.
Since Code 3 officially took over, more than $12,000 has been given to first responder nonprofits, Fischer said. “And we have devoted over $1.2 million worth of personal volunteer time, and cash out of pocket, putting together the parade and running it. This has afforded the platform for many other local, national and international nonprofits to showcase themselves and get their word out.”
Robinson didn’t go to last year’s parade, although he may attend this year’s. He has many fond memories.
“For years, our float was the entertainment,” he said. “We had a deejay and at the end of the parade we would put the flatbed in the parking lot behind Power’s and people danced. A good time was had by all.”
For several years, he hired the Florida Brass drum and bugle corps to come down from Lakeland. They played iconic Irish tunes like Danny Boy.
Before Maury Power died, Robinson was charged with cleaning up Power’s Lounge, at the railway tracks (now the site of Buddha Sky Bar), the day after the parade. “I wore my boots because there was 2 inches of slop covering the brown and white plaid carpet in the back room.”
The raspy-voiced Maury Power, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, would be in the pub with Robinson as early as 6 a.m. And Power always offered his assessment.
“Jesus, kid, we had a hell of time,” Power said to Robinson.
And they had a hell of a lot of company.

If You Go
The Delray Beach
St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival
When: Festival is in Old School Square 5-10 p.m. March 16 and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 17. Parade starts at 2 p.m. March 17
Route: Runs on East Atlantic Avenue from the Intracoastal Waterway bridge to Northwest Fifth Avenue.
Cost: Free to attend the festival or watch parade.
Information or to donate: www.stpatrickmarch.com

By Dan Moffett and Mary Thurwachter

Up and down the coastal communities, from the condo walls of South Palm Beach, to the mobile homes of Briny Breezes, to the old polo homes of Gulf Stream, a common question resonates from neighbor to neighbor.
“When is that Publix going to open in Manalapan?”
No one has heard it more than Stephanie Young, the marketing director for Manalapan’s Plaza del Mar, where a $10 million renovation is nearing completion, anchored by the supermarket chain’s new 28,000-square-foot store.
Construction is on schedule and so is a grand opening in June.
“Publix gets the keys to the building in June,” Young said. “And everybody can’t wait. We’re all very excited.”
The excitement of new development along the coast isn’t confined to Manalapan. A half-mile north, South Palm Beach is awaiting the opening later this year of a 30-unit luxury condo building at 3550 South Ocean, the site of the old Hawaiian Inn hotel. With unit prices between $2 million and $6 million, the project could increase the town’s tax base by 30 percent or more.
“It definitely will raise property values,” said Mayor Bonnie Fischer, “and boost sales in other buildings more actively than we’ve seen in a number of years.”
The project is a joint venture by New York-based DDG and developer Gary Cohen’s Boca Raton-based Paragon Acquisition Group, and Fischer says the developers have “tried very hard to accommodate the town” during construction.
Christine Mang, who lives next door in the Tuscany condominiums, said the 3550 is a welcome improvement over the dilapidated hotel. Recently the developers offered to install a Japanese garden as a buffer for Tuscany residents.
“The Hawaiian, the Ocean Inn, was falling apart,” Mang said. “Anything will look better there than what we had before. Will it increase the value of our property? I would say yes.”
South Palm Beach Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan hopes the stylish architecture of the 3550 will inspire neighboring condo associations to renovate their 1970s-era exteriors.
“I hope that seeing the modern design will make some of our other buildings want to modernize, too,” Jordan said. “It’s a good thing for our town.”

Two projects boost Lantana
Meanwhile, across the bridge in Lantana, a fishing village with small-town appeal is growing and becoming even more appealing, Mayor Dave Stewart says. Two potentially transformative projects are underway. The larger one, Water Tower Commons, a 72-acre retail and residential project east of Interstate 95 on Lantana Road, is expected to bring shops, restaurants, offices and residential units to the town.
“Water Tower Commons will be a gateway to our town and the whole surrounding area,” Stewart said. “The development will be a great employment center for businesses and a place where people can live, work and play in the community.”
The second major project, Aura Seaside, a high-end apartment complex north of Hypoluxo Road on the east side of Dixie Highway, will offer 248 rental units and 10,000 square feet of office space. The 10-acre waterfront property, across from the Kmart Shopping Center, was home to the Cenacle Spiritual Life Center for 52 years. Trinsic Residential Group is the developer.
“Aura Seaside is very near total completion and it will be a great addition in the eastern portion of our town,” Stewart said. “It can have a positive effect for the Dixie Highway corridor.”
Lantana Chamber of Commerce President Dave Arm is full of optimism about both developments.
“The new residential developments at Water Tower Commons and Aura Seaside are welcome additions to Lantana,” Arm said. “We’re hoping that these modern, upscale communities will attract many young, affluent individuals and families to our town.”
Arm said Lantana’s small-town seaside image will be “enhanced by an influx of new people who will appreciate the charm of the town. We hope that many of them will eventually purchase homes and set down roots here.”
Water Tower Commons is the biggest development in Lantana’s 96-year history, according to David Thatcher, the town’s development services director. The site plan for the residential portion was approved in January and permit applications are expected in a month or two, Thatcher says.
The project, on the site of the former A.G. Holley tuberculosis hospital, is from Lantana Development, a partnership between Southeast Legacy and Wexford Capital. The residential portion of the project, on 16 acres, is being managed by the Related Group, a leading private developer with 40 years of building and managing high-quality communities throughout the world. Ten years ago, the Related Group built the Moorings about a mile away along the Intracoastal Waterway in Lantana.
“The addition of a company like the Related Group for the residential end, based on their history, should have a positive effect for not only Lantana but all the surrounding areas,” Stewart said.
Construction on the retail portion of Water Tower Commons is about a year behind schedule, in part because of the challenging retail environment, developers say. But construction on the first phase of the residential portion, to include 360 apartments in 14 buildings, will begin this year.
“It’s exciting to see these projects, as well as many other new sites that are planned or already under construction on Lantana Road and Dixie, including the new stores at the Winn-Dixie/Kmart center on Dixie and Hypoluxo,” Arm said. “The seaside fishing village nature of Lantana will remain intact, while this commercial and residential construction attracts new businesses and residents, and increases the tax base of our town.” 

Customized Publix welcome
Manalapan’s Publix is expected to draw significant numbers of shoppers from Lantana and other communities across the bridge. Winning approval for the store wasn’t all that easy for Kitson & Partners, the Plaza del Mar landlord. It took more than a year of haggling with Manalapan commissioners and residents to agree on the supermarket’s architectural details and operating rules.
“The addition of this industry-leading grocer to the property has been critical to the redevelopment of Plaza del Mar,” said Tom Hoban, president and chief investment officer at Kitson. “We at Kitson & Partners would like to thank the town of Manalapan, its residents and Publix for their hard work. Without everyone’s cooperation and collaboration this would have never become a reality.”
Manalapan Mayor Keith Waters helped broker final concessions from Publix over sign designs last summer, and the town gave the project the green light.
“The grocer is creating a unique store to this market that does not exist in its portfolio today,” said Kitson retail Vice President Matt Buehler. “It’s not a stock set of plans that came off the shelf.”
Besides adding the Publix, Kitson will give the mall a sweeping facelift, adding dozens of royal palms and new LED lighting. The plan is to turn a struggling plaza into a trendy boutique mall with an equally trendy boutique grocery store that appeals to high-end shoppers such as those in South Palm Beach’s 3550 condo.

John Miller prepares a Key lime pie with his sons Luke, 13, and Jack, 15, at their Delray Beach home. The boys’ brownies won first place at last year’s Real Men Bake. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

The chairman of the Delray Beach Historic Preservation Board grows a Key lime tree in his backyard, just like the one his parents grew in their Swinton Avenue yard.
Last year, Chairman John Miller used the limes to make mini Key lime tarts in the Real Men Bake contest. He won second place. His two sons, who had helped him in previous years, baked their own dessert. Their s’mores brownies won first place.
“It was the cuteness factor,” Miller said of his sons’ victory. “We bake two or three times a week.”
Miller met his wife, Karen, because his co-worker was so impressed with his baking abilities that she introduced him to her college friend.
That’s when he learned women like men who can bake, he said.
Miller, 50, is still pondering what to make for the March 19 event at Old School Square. He has to bake 200 pieces for the eighth annual Real Men Bake and Rock at the Sock Hop.
The Delray Beach native reminisces about his carefree childhood, filled with biking to the beach, fishing in Lake Ida for bass and bluegills, and painting in the annual Halloween contest on Atlantic Avenue. Each child received a 2-by-3-foot section of storefront window to paint, he said. The painters were judged by age groups.
Miller serves on the Historic Preservation Board to help preserve that small-town feel. “People are moving here because of the way the city looks,” he said. “It’s important to preserve that.”
The board twice turned down the Midtown Delray project last year. In June, Miller said, “It results in the Disney-fication of Delray, allowing an artificial, contrived, homogeneous, sanitized and oversized development right in the middle of our most significant historic district.”
Midtown Delray would sit on South Swinton Avenue in the southern half of the Old School Square Historic Arts District and include the Sundy House, home of Delray Beach’s first mayor. Less than 2 percent of the city’s properties are part of historic districts, Miller said.
“If we can’t save this historic district, we might as well resign our seats on the board,” he said in December.
Miller became a local history buff because his great-grandfather and grandfather were Delray Beach mayors. His great-grandfather was the first volunteer fire chief in the city.
“I like to be involved,” he said. “I prefer to stay behind the scenes, not run for office.”
He belongs to the Delray Beach Historical Society and co-chaired its 2016 Fish Tales! exhibit.
“I provided a lot of fishing insight,” Miller said.
He lent old photos and old fishing equipment for the exhibit and built display tables that the Historical Society still uses today.
Miller owns a 25-foot SeaCraft center console boat with his brother. “We usually have fresh fish a couple times a week if the weather is good enough to go out,” he said.
Miller, who works for 3M Inc. in Delray Beach, also served on the city’s comprehensive plan steering committee. In 2016, he was among a group of 20 people invited to apply because of their knowledge about the community. The city will use the plan to map out how it wants to grow in 13 areas, such as housing, historic preservation and education.
He hopes his boys will catch his volunteer spirit.
“I try to involve my sons,” Miller said, “but my wife keeps reminding me that we don’t have to sign up for everything.” 

If You Go
What: Real Men Bake and Rock at the Sock Hop fundraiser (including hula-hoop contest)
When: 6-9 p.m. March 19
Where: Old School Square Field House, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
Sponsor: GFWC Woman’s Club of Delray Beach
Cost: $35
Benefits: Local nonprofits that serve women and children
Tickets: www.RealMenBake.eventbrite.com

By Mary Hladky

Steve Homrich watched with growing unease over three nights as young people arriving for parties at his neighbor’s home left rubber on the road while doing doughnuts on his street.
Then Friday night rolled around.
“My wife said, ‘Oh my God, look out the window,’ ” he said. “Groups of 10 and 20 kids were walking down the street to the house. They kept coming. My wife stopped counting at 300.”
That night’s party in June was big — with about 500 guests — and loud, complete with a DJ.
When police arrived, the kids scattered, with some jumping over the fence into Homrich’s yard.
Homrich learned that his neighbor, Thierry Chevrier, had rented out his Boynton Beach waterfront home on Northeast 15th Place through the vacation rental company HomeAway.
Chevrier, who could not be reached for comment, told Homrich he thought he was renting to an 84-year-old writer.
The actual renter secured the reservation with a stolen credit card. Chevrier’s house was trashed and some of his property stolen.
“It is going to become a bigger and bigger issue,” Homrich said of vacation rentals. “You feel you are living in a desirable area, and then you very well may end up with a rental property next to you. To me, it changes the character of the neighborhood completely.”
The vacation rental business is growing rapidly. Pegged as a $30 billion industry in the U.S. two years ago, it is forecast to top $36 billion this year.
As the industry has grown, so have complaints from neighbors about vacation renters partying into the early morning hours, jamming streets with cars and disrupting the quality of life in once-quiet residential neighborhoods.

State wants to set rules
Yet the state Legislature has been hostile to allowing local governments to set the rules for vacation rentals. In 2011, lawmakers prohibited cities from regulating short-term vacation rentals. The legislation, though, allowed cities that had put regulations in place before 2011 to continue to enforce them.
In 2014, the Legislature relented a bit, allowing local governments to adopt vacation rental ordinances that addressed issues such as noise and parking. But cities still could not prohibit short-term rentals or regulate their length or frequency.
This year, bills have been introduced in the state House and Senate that would take away control from local governments.
A Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, would prohibit local governments from setting rules for short-term rentals and give that power to the state. Vacation rental companies support the bill.
It originally would not allow cities to enforce rules they set before 2011, but that has since been removed.
A House bill, introduced by Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud, prohibits cities and towns from adopting ordinances specific to vacation rentals.
“I think it is horrible,” Homrich said of the proposed legislation. “That just seems to go against what local cities are all about. They are about making sure single-family neighborhoods stay single-family neighborhoods.”

Vacation rentals surge
Meanwhile, the vacation rental business keeps getting bigger in Florida.
Airbnb, one of the best-known companies, posted 75 percent year-over-year growth in the number of Florida guests in 2017, with 40,000 hosts in the state renting their properties to 2.7 million guests and earning $450 million. In 2016, 32,000 Florida hosts rented to 1.5 million guests and earned $273 million.
Airbnb now has 2,300 hosts in Palm Beach County, up from 950 in 2015. Airbnb rented to 72,500 people last year and earned $17.1 million, up from $9.5 million in 2016, according to the company.
For years, vacation rental companies billed themselves as giving regular people a way to earn extra income by renting out a spare bedroom. At the same time, the companies offered a far less expensive and potentially more interesting alternative to hotels.
Indeed, many media reports told of hosts earning relatively modest amounts, but enough to stave off foreclosure during the Great Recession or to take a vacation.
But over time, the nature of the business began to shift.
Investors snapped up properties for the purpose of turning them into full-time rentals. The hotel industry, feeling the heat from vacation rentals and going on the offensive, released a report last year that said vacation rentals had become big business, with many hosts renting out entire homes. Hosts listing multiple homes for rent are the fastest growing segment of Airbnb’s business, the report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association said. Airbnb disputed the findings.
The vacation rental bills are among a flurry of proposed legislation that city officials say is attempting to strip them of governing powers that are enshrined in the state constitution and known as “home rule.”

Cities try to defeat bills
The effort so concerns the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties that they have made defeating the bills a top priority.
“We have dealt with this for many years, but this is the year it is the most pervasive,” said Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities. “We have had statements from legislative leadership that they feel they know better what is good for cities and people than we on the local level do.
“The bottom line is you can’t legislate a neighborhood from Tallahassee. That is what we do.”
Ocean Ridge Town Manager Jamie Titcomb agreed that the effort to strip cities and towns of the ability to regulate has intensified this year.
“There is a full-court press to preempt local government from matters we deal with on a daily basis. It is more ramped up than I have seen in the past,” he said.
“We aren’t worried about a person renting out a room,” added Titcomb, whose town prohibited rentals of fewer than 30 days before 2011. “We are concerned about the preemption of local codes, zoning and quality of life regulatory matters that impact our residents.”
With the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland consuming much of the oxygen in Tallahassee, the fate of the vacation rental legislation was not clear at the end of February.

Cities’ rules vary
Delray Beach has pre-2011 rules that do not allow a turnover in home occupancy more than three times a year and require a property owner who rents to get a landlord permit that costs $75 a year, said Michael Coleman, director of community improvement.
Boynton Beach has no regulations on short-term rentals. Boca Raton’s pre-2011 rules do not permit short-term rentals for less than six months. First-time violators can be fined up to $1,000 per day and repeat violators up to $5,000 per day.
Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said his city’s regulations, enacted before vacation rentals were widespread, fall short of what is needed to monitor and control the rentals. As things stand now, state law severely limits the ability of his city and others to do more.
“What we do have is inadequate to protect single-family and multifamily properties from de facto hotel uses,” he said in an email. “Private property rights should not supersede the reasonable expectations people have for the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their homes, and cities should be able to regulate and restrict … abuses of zoning laws.”
The proposed legislation, he said, “is irresponsible, reflecting ill-advised views of legislators, many of whom live in rural areas that have no appreciation for why well-run cities don’t need Tallahassee to impose their will or tell us what’s best for our citizens.”
Boca Raton’s code would appear to have strong enough teeth to keep people from renting through vacation rental companies.
But a look at Airbnb’s Boca Raton listings shows that quite a few are, apparently because they don’t know the rules or don’t care. The company declined to say how many hosts it has in Boca Raton or other south Palm Beach County cities and towns.
Rentals available in mid-February ran the gamut: a spare bedroom, a detached guesthouse and even an entire waterfront mansion.
Airbnb has similar listings for properties in all of southern Palm Beach County’s cities and towns. Listings for its competitors such as HomeAway and VRBO add to the tally.

Complaints alert cities
Boca Raton spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said the city has not received many complaints from neighbors — the chief way Boca Raton and other cities learn of problem vacation rentals.
City records show one vacation rental code violation in 2014, 16 violations in 2015 and seven in 2016. Total fines levied were $105.
If cities want to be proactive, they can do some sleuthing on their own by looking at the rentals listed online by vacation rental companies.
But Marc Woods, rental housing inspector for Delray Beach, said “it is difficult at best” to get information this way that would allow the city to take action.
Airbnb, for example, does not list the exact address of its rentals or the property owner, making it very hard to figure out if the owner is in violation of city or county regulations.
Delray Beach does not keep statistics, but Woods said he investigates 35 to 40 complaints about vacation rentals a year, and additional investigations are handled by code enforcement officers.
“A lot of vacation rentals are not a problem,” Woods said. “Some of them are a terrible problem.”
Complaints, he said, often arise from large parties on patios or pool decks, and the size of the problem “seems to be proportionate to the size of their pool deck.”
While cities and towns battle noise and crowd complaints, county and state officials have other concerns.

Some taxes shirked
Many hosts do not pay the tourist development tax, or bed tax, and sales tax due on rentals, because they are unaware that they should or just don’t want to. The vacation rental companies have not done so on their behalf.
Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon has sued the companies twice. In 2012, companies including Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity agreed to pay the county $1.9 million.
She sued again in 2014, alleging Airbnb, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and CouchSurfing International failed to register as rental dealers and did not pay the bed tax of 6 cents per dollar owed on short-term rentals. A trial date will be set in May.
“We are going to trial,” Gannon said. “We are not looking to settle.”
Her office also is doing outreach to homeowners to educate them on their obligation to pay the tax, which has improved compliance. Beginning in May, vacation rental owners will be able to register their properties and pay bed taxes online.
Counties have long been frustrated that bed tax money was going uncollected. But Airbnb’s tough stance against helping began to soften in 2015. In April, both the Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ commissions approved deals with Airbnb under which the company will collect the 6 percent Miami-Dade tax and the 5 percent Broward tax from its hosts and remit the money to the counties every month.
The tax deals were expected to bring in at least $6 million annually to Miami-Dade and $1 million to Broward. Both counties plan to seek similar deals with other home-sharing platforms.
The agreements don’t require Airbnb to release any information about hosts or their addresses and don’t require payment of previous uncollected taxes.
Thirty-seven other counties in Florida also have such deals, but not Palm Beach County. In an op-ed to The Palm Beach Post in May, Tom Martinelli, policy director for Airbnb Florida, pressed Gannon to follow suit, saying it would ease the county’s burden of collecting the taxes.
In response, Gannon said she is “willing, even eager” to do so, but could not agree to keep host and property location information confidential. That, she said, gives Airbnb a competitive advantage over its rivals. More important, without that information, she can’t check to see if Airbnb is paying all it owes.
Airbnb also reached an agreement in 2015 with the state Department of Revenue in which the company collects the state sales tax from its Florida hosts.
In 2017, Airbnb turned over $33 million in sales tax revenue to the DOR and $12.7 million in bed tax revenues to the 39 counties, the company said.

Outside help boosts compliance
For cities and counties at a loss on how to get hosts to comply with vacation rental regulations, private industry is offering solutions.
Delray Beach is considering contracting with Host Compliance, a Silicon Valley company founded in 2015. Gannon has used Host Compliance and two other similar companies but does not have contracts with them.
Host Compliance says it can identify which properties are being used as vacation rentals, ensure that renters and hosts comply with local ordinances, can increase vacation rental tax collections and free up city and town staff for other priorities.
The company uses big data and algorithms to gather information, although humans check the results.
Its clients in Florida include Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Hallandale Beach and Monroe County, but none so far in Palm Beach County.
A May memo drafted by Jamael Stewart, Delray Beach’s assistant director of community improvement, said Host Compliance would charge the city about $18,000 a year.
Host Compliance founder and CEO Ulrik Binzer said cities and counties get back five to 10 times what they spend to hire his company through increased collection of sales and bed taxes and fees for permits.
“Cities that wait for the phone to ring [with a complaint] are not having a lot of luck with compliance,” Binzer said. “Cities and counties that have decided they want to do something about it will actually make money.”

By Jane Smith

The big reveal for Town Square will come March 13.
That’s when Boynton Beach staff will unveil the final cost to residents and the prices the city-owned parcels will fetch from developers to build apartments, a hotel and a public parking garage, City Manager Lori LaVerriere told city commissioners on Feb. 20.
At the same meeting, commissioners approved changing the land use and rezoning of seven city-owned parcels in the 16-acre Town Square project area by 4-1 votes. They also approved the master plan for the project by a 4-1 vote.
Town Square consists of four blocks, bordered by Boynton Beach Boulevard on the north, Seacrest Boulevard on the west, Southeast Second Avenue on the south and Northeast First Street on the east. The project will hold the historic high school, the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum, a combined City Hall and library building, and a parking garage.
A new Fire Station No. 1 will sit just outside the project on the east side of Northeast First Street.
Commissioner Mack McCray voted no three times because he doesn’t think the city has the money to do the ambitious project, estimated to cost $133 million.
Boynton Beach plans to issue private equity bonds that it will pay off in 25 years, said Colin Groff, the assistant city manager leading the Town Square project.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency received county approval in January to use tax dollars to build the city hall and a fire station. Its share will be $81 million over 25 years, just before the agency will sunset.
The plan calls for the current library to be demolished. At the Feb. 20 meeting, resident Herb Suss said the library is a fairly new building and pleaded with commissioners not to tear it down. “That’s a no-no,” he said.
The library has leaks, said Vice Mayor Justin Katz. It would be more costly to fix and move City Hall to another site than it would be to demolish the library and build a combination building that houses City Hall and the library, he said.
Before the library is demolished, the city will have to find a temporary location. The historic Woman’s Club building was considered initially. But it does not have enough parking, and the historic nature of the building would make it difficult to do renovations needed to house the library, Groff said.
The city is looking at five sites, Groff said in late February. In addition, he is trying to find a 5,000-square-foot building near the current library for people who walk to the library to use, he said.
The historic high school renovation is expected to be finished in August. The city received a reprieve in December when the 4th District Court of Appeal dismissed a 4-year-old lawsuit. Architect Juan Contin sued the city over its decision not to let him go forward with a plan to turn the high school into an events and destination center. He lost on the lower court level.
The appellate review board did not issue an opinion, which means Contin cannot appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.