Related story: Atlantic Avenue business sales drive Delray’s value increase

By Mary Hladky

    As the housing market collapse fades into memory, the taxable value of Palm Beach County properties has risen to within striking distance of the historic high set in 2007.
    Estimates released by Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits’ office on May 27 show that taxable values have increased for the fifth year in a row.
    Countywide, the amount grew by 7.85 percent from 2015 to 2016, to $164.5 billion. That is just short of the record high of $169.5 billion, and well above the low point of $124.4 billion in 2010.
    Delray Beach bested other cities and towns in south Palm Beach County, with taxable values rising 10.1 percent. Boynton Beach jumped 7.7 percent and Boca Raton rose by 6.7 percent.
    The county and its 38 cities and towns could soon completely wipe out the losses of the recession, Nikolits said.
    “It is probably within the next couple of years. We are practically there now,” he said. “We will be back to where we would have been if we had not gone through all the upheaval.”
    Local governments will use Nikolits’ estimates to calculate how much property tax money they can expect in the coming year and to set their annual budgets and 2016-17 tax rates.

    A preliminary tax roll will be submitted to the state on July 1, and governments then approve new budgets and tax rates — a process that ends in about mid-September before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
     An increase in taxable values means that the county, cities and towns will collect more money from property owners if they keep their tax rates the same as last year.
    While elected officials can increase the tax rate, most typically are loath to do so and anger residents. They also can reduce the tax rate any amount or enough that the new rate will bring in the same amount of tax revenue as last year.
    “It is a double-edged sword,” Nikolits said of the rise in taxable value. “It is good news for the property owner. It is bad news for the taxpayer, who is usually the same person, because it affords the taxing authorities the ability to take in even more tax revenue. It is a very rare taxing authority that won’t take advantage of that.”
    Indeed, only seven of the county’s cities and towns lowered their property tax rates enough to avoid tax increases last year.
Boca Raton was among those that did not do that. But Mayor Susan Haynie notes that the city has the lowest tax rate of any “full service” city in the county, meaning a city that does not outsource any of its municipal services. The current property tax rate is $3.67 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
    “The important thing is we are able to provide world-class municipal services at the lowest tax rate in the entire county,” she said.
    Delray Beach City Manager Don Cooper said his city’s gains in part reflect development in the central business district. The projects fall within the Community Redevelopment Agency area and, as a result, any additional tax revenue generated will remain within the CRA rather than benefiting the city as a whole.
    Cooper said it’s too early to predict next year’s property tax rate since the 2016-17 budget is still being worked on. The current rate is $7.33 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
    “We certainly are not going to go up,” he said. “We will stay the same or drop.”
    Boynton Beach officials declined to talk about the tax rate. It currently is $7.90 per $1,000 of assessed value.
    Taxable values increased by 7.3 percent in Briny Breezes, 5.5 percent in Gulf Stream, 6.5 percent in Highland Beach, 9.1 percent in Lantana, 9.9 percent in Manalapan, 7.5 percent in Ocean Ridge, and 7.9 percent in South Palm Beach.
    While estimated taxable values have gone up, the property appraiser’s numbers show growth has slowed in recent years. Taxable values jumped 9.7 percent countywide last year. In just two other examples, Boynton Beach was up 10.1 percent while Boca Raton increased 7.6 percent from 2014 to 2015.
    Before the real estate crash, a 4 percent to 7 percent increase “was considered a normal market,” Nikolits said. “What we are seeing over the last two years is that we are returning to a more normal market — not double digit (increases).”
    The average increase for all cities was 8.22 percent.
    Realtors have noted that increases are slowing.
    “Sales prices for high-end properties in the coastal communities have regained ground lost during the recession and then some,” said Pascal Liguori, a broker associate with Premier Estate Properties. “Now prices are beginning to level off, reflecting a more normal rate of appreciation.”
    Yet the market remains very active, he said. “It always goes back to the fact that there is more demand for property in the coastal areas than there is supply,” he said.
    Jack Elkins, an agent with Fite Group, agrees demand remains strong in the coastal communities, although values now are edging up rather than skyrocketing.
    One change he is seeing that bolsters business is that instead of buying vacation homes, more out-of-staters in the market for luxury homes are opting to become Florida residents. As a result, he said buyers are willing to pay more for a permanent home than a vacation property.
    While not certain why this is happening, he posits that changes in tax laws up north are making it more expensive to live there. Florida has low taxes and owners can homestead for additional tax savings.

Michelle Quigley contributed to this story.

By Steve Plunkett

    Talk of the city annexing five subdivisions north of Clint Moore Road has the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District crying foul.
    District commissioners were already chafed by the 2013 annexation of the Royal Palm polo grounds, which also are north of Clint Moore Road and outside district boundaries. Royal Palm polo residents are able to use beach and park district facilities but do not pay beach and park taxes.
    “It is unfair to tax some people and not others. Whatever it takes to make it fair to everyone is what needs to be done,” District Commissioner Dennis Frisch said.
    The Boca Raton City Council heard a preliminary analysis of the possible annexation of Le Lac, Azura, Fieldbrook Estates, Boniello Acres and Newport Bay at its May 9 workshop session. Combined, the 435 residences in the neighborhoods would bring in an additional $505,567 in city taxes, Deputy City Manager George Brown said.
    Arthur Koski, the beach and park district’s interim executive director, estimated that the Royal Palm annexation, with a planned 247 homes, would mean about $250,000 a year in unpaid district taxes when built out. A buyer paid $2.2 million for the first residence there in December, according to county property appraiser records.
    “This is not small change,” Commissioner Earl Starkoff said, adding that the missing revenues over 10 years would pay for most of a beach renourishment project.
    The five targeted neighborhoods would bring the district about $277,000 a year in taxes if the new residents also become part of the district. But if not, they too will get free use of beach and park facilities.
    “It would seem to me, simply, that all the existing city residents and the existing district residents would be subsidizing those annexed citizens as they come into the city. Everyone else would be paying the [$1 per $1,000 of taxable value] to the district except for these annexed citizens,” Koski said.
     Koski also said that if the annexed residents were to pay district taxes, existing residents might see a tax decrease. But changing the district’s boundaries is not a simple task; it requires a state legislative act, and city officials must give their approval first.
    Commissioners told Koski to write the City Council and ask its members to support a change to the district’s legislation to include newly annexed areas. Frisch said to also request that they consider the matter at their June 14 meeting since the council meets less frequently in the summer.
    “If we get a letter there next week and it doesn’t get put on until the July or August agenda, it defeats our purpose of making things go,” Frisch said

The Early Literacy Backpack program is giving Suzanne Endruschat’s daughter, Maggie, 4,

a head start on developing her reading skills.

Photo provided

By April W. Klimley

    Maggie Endruschat just turned 4, but she’s already getting ready to read — and enjoying it — says her mother, Suzanne, thanks to Boca Raton Public Library’s new Early Literacy Backpack program launched in April.
    The libraries offer 12 backpacks that parents can borrow: six at the downtown branch, six at Spanish River. Each backpack is filled with books, toys, educational puzzles and even puppets and stuffed animals.
    The idea is to help children up to 5 years old become familiar with the concepts of reading — such as the alphabet, phonics and storytelling — and thus prepare them for learning to read in kindergarten.
    The themes of the backpacks range from the basic ABCs and numbers to pets, bears, toys and bugs. The program is based on the six skills identified by the American Library Association for successful reading readiness: print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness and narrative skills.
    “All the backpacks were checked out in about a week,” says Amanda Liebl, the library’s youth programs director. Liebl says that many parents found out about the program during story time for their tots. Now there is a waiting list.
    Maggie has already gone through the ABC and Number backpacks, so she was ready for new themes, according to her mom. The bear backpack is based on the popular folktale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It contains a stuffed bear, several board books, a puzzle in a frame, a lacing card and laminated sheet with pictures of the three bears story.
    Suzanne Endruschat, who works in accounts services for the library, says Maggie has enjoyed all the backpacks so far. And now, with the bear backpack, her little girl has started telling the three bears story herself. Maggie points to different pictures on the laminated story sheet as she tells the story to her mother.
    Lynne Holloway, collection services librarian, observes that the backpack program is not just for the children. “It’s for the parents, too,” says Holloway. “The backpacks give guidance to the parents or caregivers.” They enable adults to learn new ways to help their children become “reading-ready,” whether or not the children also attend a day care program where they might be learning these skills as well.
    Endruschat also believes the backpacks benefit parents. “I do think the backpacks are really fun for her,” she says. “But they also give me ideas on how to do other things with her. It makes you think of ways you can engage your child to enrich the stories you tell. It’s all about engaging your kids.”
    A further appeal of the backpack program may be the packaging itself. “The tinier kids see the big kids carrying backpacks for school,” says Endruschat. “So part of the appeal is the ‘big kid’ feel of the backpack.”
    For more information about the Early Literacy Backpack program, visit www.bocalibrary.org.

By Steve Plunkett

    Night owls behind the wheel can expect to encounter up to 30-minute delays on Interstate 95 on select Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Work on the Spanish River Boulevard interchange this month will include erecting bridge beams across the highway from 11 p.m. June 7 and June 9 until 5 a.m. the next day.
    The Florida Highway Patrol will restrict northbound I-95 traffic beginning at Southwest 10th Street; motorists can expect a half-hour delay. The I-95 northbound entrance ramps from westbound and eastbound Glades Road will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. those days in conjunction with the pacing operation. Traffic will be detoured via Federal Highway.
    I-95 southbound bridge beam work is scheduled for 11 p.m. June 14 and June 16 until 5 a.m. the next day. The FHP will restrict southbound I-95 traffic at Atlantic Avenue; motorists can also expect a half-hour delay there. As part of this operation, the I-95 southbound entrance ramps from westbound and eastbound Yamato Road will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. both days; traffic will be detoured via Congress Avenue.
    Continuing work on the $69 million project means I-95 northbound and southbound between Glades Road and Congress Avenue may have up to three lanes closed, with the first lane closing at 9 p.m. and the second lane and third lanes, if needed, closing from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Friday. The new interchange is expected to be completed in summer 2017.
    Drivers can visit www.d4fdot.com or call the Florida Department of Transportation at 954-777-4090 or 561-214-3358 for more information.

By Steve Plunkett

    The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District is sending a counterproposal filled with additions and deletions to the City Council, which wants “sole discretion” to make changes at parks.
    The district and the council now must compromise when they don’t see eye to eye. District Chairman Robert Rollins says the city plan would be “an unlawful delegation of our legislative authority.”
    “The only thing left for the district is to tax our constituents and write a check,” Arthur Koski, the district’s interim executive director, said.
    “That’s the way I interpreted it,” Commissioner Susan Vogelgesang said.
    Rollins said he told Mayor Susan Haynie he was unhappy with the city’s proposal and wanted to scrap it and start over. But Haynie urged him to suggest changes instead.
    The city and the district have eight contracts with each other governing the operation and maintenance of one park or another, Koski said. He saw nothing wrong with trying to consolidate the agreements into one provided the new document was “properly worded.”
    Commissioners compiled a list of changes they want in the contract at their May 24 meeting. Koski said they did not have to accept the document as proposed.
    “Keep in mind, we are not a board of the city. We do not respond to City Council wishes,” he said.
    Rollins objected to a clause that would let the city bill the district for any work the city decided was not up to its standards and had to be redone.
    “When I’ve had somebody come to my house, I typically tell them what work I want them to do for me. This is totally opposite of that,” he said.
    The kicker, he said, was a statement that the city could terminate the agreement for any reason, “or no reason,” with six months’ notice. There was not a similar out clause for the district.
    “This contract was in play for five months before we saw it,” Rollins said. “This was a great opportunity for us to have some communication, I thought.”
    Commissioner Earl Starkoff said city officials “sideswiped” the district with the proposal and called it a “threat to our existence” and a “totally one-sided money and power grab.”
    “We never asked them to consolidate the agreements,” Starkoff said.
    Commissioners also decided to seek a 10-year contract with automatic renewals instead of 30 years, and the ability to send the city payments via electronic transfer rather than U.S. mail. They also planned to invite the City Council to a joint meeting on July 25, when council members are scheduled to have a workshop session.
    “I don’t want us to send this and find another five months goes down the line,” said Commissioner Dennis Frisch.

By Steve Plunkett

    Arthur Koski, longtime attorney for the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, will relinquish his additional role as interim executive director of the agency Oct. 1.
    Koski, who has been under attack from city officials seeking a full-time director, said his decision to step aside was not a result of outside pressure.
    “None whatsoever,” he said. “It takes an issue off the table.”
    Boca Raton city officials last year included a clause in a proposed contract between the two government entities requiring the district to have a full-time executive director. City Council member Robert Weinroth made a similar demand in a March 15 email.
    “For the record ... I believe the District needs to [make] securing a permanent executive director as a top priority,” Weinroth wrote.
Koski became the district’s interim director after Robert Langford retired in 2012.
    In Koski’s private law practice, he represents two city residents who are suing Boca Raton to block construction of a chabad on the barrier island.
    Koski, who announced his intention to quit at the district’s May 24 meeting, recommended that district commissioners promote Briann Harms, the assistant executive director, into the top spot.
    “She’s ready,” he said.
    District Chairman Robert Rollins signaled his desire to change the status quo earlier in the meeting.
    “We probably need a full-time executive director,” he said.
    Harms has been with the district since 2005. She started as a recreation center supervisor at the district’s Sugar Sand Park, became information supervisor for the district in October 2013 and was named its assistant director a year later.
    She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Florida State University.
    Commissioners appeared ready to embrace Koski’s recommendation for his successor. They will make a decision at a future meeting.
    “I think you can see, we all appreciate the talents you bring to the board,” Rollins told Harms.
    “It’s really a joy, Briann, to see young professionals coming up and fulfilling their potential,” Commissioner Earl Starkoff said.

By Sallie James

    The Boca Raton City Council after much disagreement last month again delayed approving an ordinance that would limit building heights in areas zoned local business and multifamily residential.
    The proposed ordinance would limit building heights in certain zoning districts to 30 feet and accessory buildings in another type of zoning district to 25 feet. Both zoning categories currently allow heights up to 50 feet with council approval.
    Discussion centered on whether eliminating an option that allows for increased height was a good idea. In the end, the ordinance was tabled until the fall.
    Robert Eisen, who works for Investments Ltd., at 215 N. Federal Highway, spoke on behalf of himself and 16 other property owners. He said eliminating an increased height option could pose problems in the future as land becomes more scarce and commercial demands increase.
    Architect Doug Mummaw echoed his concerns.
    “Change is inevitable and zoning codes are meant to be flexible,” Mummaw said.
    Mummaw and Eisen suggested establishing a planning task force that would focus on the B1 zoning in the neighborhoods east of the Intracoastal Waterway and include homeowners on the barrier island, business owners and Chabad of East Boca, which has already been granted approval to build a much taller structure in the area.
    Council member Robert Weinroth even suggested consideration of a completely different zoning district in light of the concerns.
“I think the community and everyone who has spoken ... is of a mind that we have something special on the barrier island and it needs to be handled differently,” Weinroth said.
    In other action in May, the City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, delayed action on approving an updated rule requiring developers to set aside green space and open space in front of downtown buildings. The move delays the proposal until the July 25 CRA meeting, which will give the public more of a chance to speak on the issue.

    The public is invited to attend an architectural roundtable from 6:30-8:30 p.m. June 8 at Boca Raton City Hall, 201 W. Palmetto Park Road.
    The focus of the roundtable is to discuss the creative reinterpretation of the Mizner tradition as it relates to community redevelopment.
    Members of the Boca Raton City Council, the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency, the Planning & Zoning Board and the Community Appearance Board are expected to attend.
    Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie and Community Appearance Board Chairman Juan Caycedo will host the roundtable.
— Sallie James

Stratford Arms’ use of multiple kinds of palm trees makes for a stunning entrance feature.

BELOW: The Atrium uses colorful plants to make the assisted-living facility more inviting to its clients.

Photos provided

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    On May 26, Jo-Ann Landon, of the Boca Raton Beautification Committee, presented the Annual Landscape Excellence Awards to 11 properties throughout the city.
    “Award recipients take great civic pride in what they do and work to maintain their landscaping at a high level,” said Mayor Susan Haynie, who helped present the awards.
    “The nomination process is pretty simple,” said Dick Randall, who co-chairs the awards program with Landon. Committee members look for commercial properties, homeowner’s associations, residential communities, schools, parks and other public spaces that are worthy of consideration. Then they consider them in a variety of categories, such as High-Density Ungated Residential, City Property and Shopping Center.
    The award criteria include tree canopy, proper pruning, variety, color and texture as well as how the property is fertilized, irrigated and maintained.
    “All that plays into landscape excellence,” Randall said.
    Residents living on the beach at the Stratford Arms Condominium, at 2600 S. Ocean Blvd., contend with not only sun but also salt and wind. Sabal, royal and date palms are the perfect landscape choices for this High-Density Residential winner.
    Farther north, at Broadstone North Boca Village at 7801 N. Federal Highway, this High-Density Ungated Residential property is screened from traffic and the railroad by southern red cedars, royal palms and magnolias.
    “The cedars are a first for Boca Raton,” Landon said.
    Charlene Smith-Plaisted, co-owner of Treasure Coast Landscape Services in Boynton Beach, was proud that the Woodfield Hunt Club, at 4420 Woodfield Blvd., took this year’s award for Low-Density Gated Residential. Properties that she and her husband have landscaped or maintained have taken seven awards since 2008.
    Along with residential properties, the awards honor Boca businesses such as Choice Mortgage Bank, at 40 SE Fifth St., which took the Large Commercial category.
    “There are a lot of cars driving by our bank so we want our building to look professionally maintained; not like a mishmash,” said CEO Michael Kodsi.
    The awards committee gave the property kudos for properly pruned palms. Landon explains that you should think of the top of a palm tree as a clock face where none of the fronds above 9 and 3 o’clock should be removed.
    Silver Companies, at 1001 E. Telecom Drive, in the Large Industrial category also won for its landscape techniques as well as its natural buffer along Yamato Road.
    In the Small Industrial Category, the owners of Custom Artisan Cabinetry, at 1070 NW First Ave., eschewed professionals to do the landscaping themselves.
    “For us, it was all about color,” said Sara Barni, who hand-picked and planted the shrubs and trees to create an “oasis in an otherwise industrial area.”
    In the Institutional category, the Atrium at Boca Raton, at 1080 NW 15th St., also won for its colorful plants that welcome the up to 150 residents who call this assisted-living facility home.
    Landscaping that doesn’t need much fertilizer, maintenance or water helped Office Depot, at 6600 Military Trail, garner an environmental designation as well as a landscape award.
    And in the Shopping Center category, Glades Plaza North, at 2300 W. Glades Road, was chosen because it is “manicured like a high-end residential property.”
    That’s just how general manager Jerry Busbee wants to keep it.
    “We’re on the highest-density road in Palm Beach County, so we want our place to look great,” he said.
    Victory Church, at 3499 NW Boca Raton Blvd., was a standout in the Place of Worship category. Here, Loxahatchee grass and butterfly-attracting fire bush form a border that softens and screens the parking lot. Spreading oaks shade the property.
    Oaks also provide a dense canopy at Boca Isles Park, at 1200 SW Second Ave., a small neighborhood attraction that won as a City Property.
    “Through all of this, our main goal is to encourage people to plant trees,” said Bob Jennings, who is chairman of the beautification committee. “They have a lot of scientific benefits, but this time of year when it’s hot out there, we can all appreciate the shade.”

Eddie James and Tommy Woodard, known as The Skit Guys, will perform June 10 in Delray Beach.

Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

    The Skit Guys — Tommy Woodard of Edmond, Okla., and Eddie James of Sachse, Texas — have been using comedy and drama to teach God’s word for more than 20 years. Best friends since high school, they’re the class clowns but with an important message.
    The duo performs around the world and also creates videos and scripts that are used by thousands of churches. Both are husbands and fathers and, when not touring, are active in their community churches.
    They return to Cason United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. June 10 as part of the church’s Run & Fun event. Tickets are $15; $25 for VIP, which includes early admission and preferred seating. The church is at 342 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. 276-5302; www.casonumc.org.

Good works recognized
    Three local humanitarians were honored for their contributions with awards from Catholic Charities Interfaith Health & Wellness at its annual Faith Community Nursing Awards luncheon in April.
    IFHW presented Dr. John Whelton of Palm Beach, a rheumatologist, with the event’s highest award, the Mother Teresa Humanitarian Award, because he “exemplifies profound care and compassion to help and care for those in need.”
    Registered nurses Jennifer Hynes of West Palm Beach and Patricia Weaver of Lantana were recognized for their roles in IFHW’s Faith Community Nurse Program, which provides churches, temples and faith communities with lifesaving interventions, free health assessments, screenings, health education and referrals.
    More than 100 people attended the luncheon, held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach. www.catholiccharitiesdpb.org.

Join the pack
    A mobile food-packing event takes place June 4 at Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton in partnership with Feed My Starving Children, a Christian nonprofit organization that sends prepackaged meals to more than 70 countries — including Haiti, which is facing its worst food crisis in more than 15 years.
    It’s a sobering topic, but this is a fun event with everyone working together on a big assembly line to package meals to feed the children of Haiti.
    Volunteers will be filling 100,000 plastic bags with cups of chicken-flavored rice and freeze-dried vegetables fortified with vitamins and nutrients. Just add boiling water — each MannaPack provides six servings of food.
    Advent Life Ministries has received community support from sponsors Florida Community Bank, Tijuana Flats, All County Pavement Management Solutions, Sonitrol Verified Electronic Security, Duffy’s Sports Grill and Chick-fil-A. 954-427-2222, ext. 4020, or www.FoodForThePoor.org/jointhepack.

Spirited discussions
    The Interfaith Cafe meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Coffee, tea and light desserts are served. Suggested donation is $5. Email jane@aurorasvoice.org.
    JAM & the All Broward County Interfaith Group meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. the third Monday at the Istanbul Cultural Center, 2500 W. Sample Road in Pompano Beach. The group, which has been meeting since the 9/11 attacks, promotes an interfaith dialogue and understanding by uniting people of different faiths in conversation. A different topic is discussed each month over coffee and tea. Admission is free. 954-600-6848 or email kathleenleonard@bellsouth.net.  

Dinner helps campers
    At 5:30 p.m. June 4, join the congregation of First United Methodist Church, 625 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, for dinner and games in support of the church’s Children and Student Ministries. Dinner: $15 adults, $8 ages 10 and younger.  Proceeds will help send campers to Warren Willis Camp and for the high school summer mission trip to Tennessee. www.fumcbocaraton.org.

Join the fun
    • Temple Sinai is hosting a cruise Dec. 4-9 to the western Caribbean on the Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. Fares begin at $471 and include port charges, taxes and a bus from Delray Beach. 496-6137 or 803-548-9165.
    • Advent Lutheran Church of Boca Raton will host a trip to Italy on Sept. 21-30 led by Pastor Andy Hagen. The itinerary includes Rome, Vatican City, Tuscany, Florence, Chianti, Siena and San Gimigano. Tickets for double occupancy are $2,650. The single supplement is $590. Prices do not include airfare. 843-7261 or email ahagen@adventboca.org.
    • Temple Sinai of Palm Beach County is hosting the Israeli Scout Show at 3:30 p.m. June 12. The Israeli Scout program, designed to connect kids in Israel with the American Jewish community, began in the early 1960s.
    The group uses dancing, music and an old-fashioned meet-and-greet with the Tzofim summer delegation. These 16- and 17-year-olds are high achievers who have proven leadership experience, a broad knowledge of Israeli and Jewish history, fluency in English and strong communication skills. They go through extensive interviews and intensive preparation to make the team.
    Tickets are $8 or $11 for premium seating. 276-6161, Ext. 133, or templesinaipbc.com/activities.htm

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

Dr. John Strasswimmer is helping bring skin cancer screenings and treatments

to the local migrant community. Behind Dr. Strasswimmer at Caridad Center

are Dr. Sherry McQuown and Wilfido, a patient of Dr. Strasswimmer’s.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O'Connor

    Between his private practice in Delray Beach and his volunteer work at Caridad Center in western Boynton Beach, dermatologist John Strasswimmer treats people of every way of life and every skin tone. What they often have in common is their lack of knowledge about melanomas, the skin cancer that is Strasswimmer’s specialty.
    Strasswimmer, a nationally recognized skin cancer expert and surgeon, is using a $68,000 grant from the American Academy of Dermatology, the Pfizer Foundation and the Palm Beach County Dermatology Society to build a skin cancer education program for Caridad’s clients.
    At the end of this year, Strasswimmer and his team are scheduled to produce a report detailing their results.
    “What’s really exciting is that this will be a platform to train community health educators, a way for them to get the knowledge they need to educate the public,” said Strasswimmer. 
    The study is the first of its kind for a low-income population in South Florida, who have not been involved in a melanoma study despite the fact that many of them work outdoors. 
    The largest free clinic in Florida, staffed by volunteer medical professionals, Caridad Center serves the working poor and recently uninsured clients. This summer Caridad is scheduled to open a melanoma center, including free screenings and treatment, just one part of the $5 million expansion of its facility from 7,500 to 15,000 square feet.
    Caridad CEO Laura Kallus has a long wish list of equipment to fill the expanded center, including items as basic as a standard operating table. The doctors have so far made do with a gurney they adapted for surgery, shared by several doctors.
    Educated at Tufts, Harvard and Yale, Strasswimmer served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the staff at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to Palm Beach 10 years ago with his wife, Karin, an economist. He’s been volunteering at Caridad since then.
    Strasswimmer is the medical director of the melanoma and cutaneous oncology program at the Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. He also serves on the faculty at FAU Medical School in the surgery and biochemistry departments.
    The couple has gone on several medical missions to Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
    On a recent day at the clinic, he greeted staff and checked on patients, flowing easily from English to Spanish, which he learned in high school.
    “It’s a very satisfying way to remember why you became a doctor,” he said.
    
Skin cancer facts
    Whether sun exposure comes from work or play, snorkeling or landscaping, many South Floridians are at risk.
    Here are a few points Strasswimmer makes to dispel misconceptions he encounters:
    • Melanoma is the No. 1 cancer for people ages 25-29.
    Fair-skinned people are not the only ones vulnerable to skin cancers. Dark-skinned people who never get sunburns can have melanoma and other deadly skin cancers.
    • Among the results he is soon to publish is that 20 percent of people in minority communities think they can never get skin cancer.
    “My wife’s boss at MIT, an Armenian American professor, refused to wear a hat when he went fishing,” says Strasswimmer.
    • Sun exposure increases risk, but cancers can appear “anywhere you have skin, even areas not exposed to the sun,” Strasswimmer says.
    One of his patients at Caridad is a 30-year-old mother of three who had a skin cancer on her foot, which had to be amputated. Strasswimmer and his colleagues were able to provide her free treatment, including a prosthetic foot.
    “Expect the dermatologist to look for them in places you never thought anybody would look,” Strasswimmer says.
    • Not wearing sunblock in order to absorb Vitamin D?  “The level of Vitamin D that an internal medicine specialist would like us to have in our bodies is almost impossible to get by sun exposure,” he says.
    • In addition to skin cancer, long-term sun exposure can lead to pterygium, sometimes called “surfer’s eye,” a cancer that can cover the surface of the eye and cause blindness.
    •  Melanoma is not always a dark splotch on the skin. It could be pink, red or clear. And it does not have to be large to be deadly.

Send column ideas to Lona O’Connor at Lona13@bellsouth.net.

More information
    American Academy of Dermatology: www.aad.org
    Skin Cancer Foundation: www.skincancer.org.

Boca teen’s prototype harnesses ocean energy

and wins her a ticket  to the White House

Hannah Herbst, at an FAU lab, shows her floatable prototype designed to provide

a power source by using untapped energy from ocean currents. She won the Discovery Education

3M Young Scientist Challenge for her work.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Hannah shows her creation to President Barack Obama at the White House Science Fair.

Photo provided

By Lucy Lazarony
       
    Two years ago, Hannah Herbst was on a boat in the Boca inlet that was rocking back and forth due to the power of the ocean’s currents.     
    She wondered at the time why no one had collected this power.     
    So she decided to do it.      
    “I started to develop my prototypes late in my seventh-grade year,” says Hannah, 15, who just finished her freshman year at Florida Atlantic University High School.     
    With help from a 3M scientist, whose company sponsors the annual science challenge, Hannah created an ocean energy prototype that aims to provide a stable power source to developing countries by using untapped energy from ocean currents. The scientist she was paired with is Jeffrey Emslander, a chemical engineer at 3M who works at a Minneapolis lab. The two communicated via Skype.    
    The prototype they came up with is suited toward those who live near the ocean, as Hannah’s family does.
    “It’s for anybody who lives near moving water,” she says.      
    Hannah explains her prototype this way:      
    “The ocean currents spin the Pelton wheels that are attached to a generator.
    “The generator transfers the energy. It doesn’t create it. It transfers it because energy doesn’t get created or destroyed. It’s one of Newton’s laws.”     
    In October, Hannah’s project won the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.   
    Her idea and hard work took her all the way to the White House.       
    On April 13, she participated in President Barack Obama’s sixth annual White House Science Fair, with other top science, technology, engineering and math students from around the country.     
    How was her trip to the White House?       
    “It was so cool,” Hannah says. “We saw all the rooms I watch on TV. It was pretty amazing.”     
    And she was the very first student the president talked to at the science fair.

    “There were 40 kids displaying but he came to six,” Hannah says. “He said, ‘How are you?’ ”
    They spoke for about 10 minutes. What did the president think of her ocean energy prototype?     
    “He said it was cool,” Hannah recalls. “And he said he thought it would be a pretty good solution to the energy crisis.”      
    Did she take a selfie with the president after their chat?     
    “I did not take a selfie with him, but I got a selfie with Bill Nye the Science Guy,” Hannah admits.
    The next stop for the budding inventer is the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Arizona. “It’s the largest pre-collegiate science fair in the world,” she says.         
    Where did Hanah get her great love of science and innovation?     
    “In the seventh grade, my parents (Julie and Joel Herbst of coastal Boca Raton) took me to a science camp here at FAU. That’s where my love of science was born,” Hannah says. (Her dad is assistant dean of the pre-college schools and educational programs at FAU).
    “It was a camp where we built robots.      
    “It was really empowering, and I began to do more stuff that I couldn’t do before.”

    She has a younger brother,   Max, 13, who is also interested in science.

Dana Cook holds two of his Sea Turtle Hatcher fishing lures.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    Many Palm Beach County anglers know that mutton snapper linger in shallow water during the summer months, waiting for baby sea turtles to enter the water from the beach.
    Dana Cook of Boynton Beach, a lifelong angler and fly-tier who holds a degree in fine arts from Florida Atlantic University, knows that many ocean fish eat sea turtle hatchlings.
    Watching a documentary on the hatchling sea turtle feeding frenzy led Cook to develop the Sea Turtle Hatcher, an imitation sea turtle lure made from a “leather-like” material tied to a 9/0 circle hook.
    Cook says his lures will catch snook, tarpon, snappers and groupers along with pelagic fish that feed along the offshore mats of floating sargassum, where hatchling sea turtles spend the first year or more of their lives.
    “Grouper have been caught on them. Sailfish have been caught on them. Pelagics love them,” Cook said.
    Cook said the imitation sea turtle lures feature legs that move independent of the body, giving the Hatchers a realistic appearance in the water. Once saturated, the sea turtle lure suspends in the water and moves up when the angler’s rod tip is lifted.
    Cook grew up tying flies in Philadelphia. After moving to Boca Raton, where he attended high school, he started fishing more and continued to create fish-catching lures on his fly-tying vise.
    At one point in the early 1990s, Cook worked as a mate on the Two Georges drift boat, where he sold his buck-tail streamers, a drifting jig made with double hooks designed for catching kingfish with dead sardines.
    Cook’s marketing plan for the Sea Turtle Hatcher goes beyond selling to American tackle shops. He says the lure can prevent poaching of real sea turtle hatchlings that are used as bait.
    “My ultimate success is going to be selling to countries like Trinidad that are in dire need of an alternative to prevent poaching,” Cook said, adding that he’s contacting government officials in the Bahamas, Belize and the Dominican Republic about his imitation sea turtle lure.
    Daniel Evans, research specialist for the Gainesville-based Sea Turtle Conservancy, said people catching sea turtles for bait might pose a threat to hatchlings in some areas, but “it is certainly not a major threat to sea turtles on a regional or global scale.”
    But Evans noted that tarpon, dolphinfish, jacks, snook and “pretty much any large predatory fish found in tropical and subtropical waters” will eat sea turtle hatchlings.
    The Sea Turtle Hatchers are available through Cook’s website, www.dcclures.com, along with trolling darts, snapper lures, two imitation shrimp, buck-tail streamers and an imitation field mouse for freshwater anglers trying to fool largemouth bass.
    Still in development: life-size spiny lobster and stingray lures for large grouper and snapper.

Lake Worth Lagoon Fishing Challenge set for June
    Fishing and fisheries science will come together in June during the Lake Worth Lagoon Fishing Challenge — a fishing tournament that will help scientists better understand Palm Beach County’s largest estuary.
    Participants in the challenge will submit photos and other information about fish caught in the Lake Worth Lagoon, the estuary that extends 20 miles from North Palm Beach to Ocean Ridge.
    Deadline for submissions is midnight June 30.
    “By sharing details about the fish being caught in the lagoon, participants will help us better understand this local treasure that we are working hard to protect, restore and enhance,” said Rob Robbins, director of Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management.
    To receive points in the Fishing Challenge, anglers must submit the date and time of their catch, the type and length of the fish caught as well as the location, which can be done through the tournament app.
    For more details, go to www.LWLI.org/FishingChallenge or call 233-2400.

Michael Wood shows the 50.6-pound kingfish that won biggest overall fish in the Sail Inn KDW Fishing Tournament

and the Lantana Fishing Derby. The Sail Inn Tournament raised $11,000 for the Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Team Woody’s kingfish wins two tournaments
    Michael Wood of West Palm Beach, fishing with his father, James, and two sisters, won heaviest fish awards in two fishing tournaments May 14 with a kingfish caught off Jupiter.
    Wood said the big kingfish hit a live goggle-eye rigged with titanium leader and a stinger hook in 100 feet of water around 9:45 a.m.
    Bull sharks were in the area, so the Wood family made sure to move their 25-foot boat Woody to the fish and gaff it as soon as possible.
    “We were really fortunate we got him in the boat,” Michael Wood said.
    The kingfish weighed 50.5 pounds on the scales at the Old Key Lime House in the Lantana Derby and 50.6 on the Sail Inn’s tournament scales at Boynton Harbor Marina.
    The Wood family registered for both tournaments. Their hefty kingfish won them the $2,500 top prize in the Lantana Fishing Derby and $7,220 from the Sail Inn Tavern.

Delray brewery developing edible six-pack rings
    Plastic six-pack rings that can entangle marine life could be replaced with something more biologically friendly.
    Delray Beach-based SaltWater Brewery recently partnered with New York-based WeBelievers to produce an edible six-pack ring made from wheat and barley.
    The first prototype batch came out in April and was offered to customers at the SaltWater Brewery’s tasting room in Delray Beach, brewery spokeswoman Katelyn Perkins said.
    “Over the next three months, we plan to perfect the product and produce 400,000 of them,” Perkins said. Beer should be available in the rings later this summer, she said.

The Bootleggers fishing team won the $10,000 top-fish prize in the May 21 Downtown Showdown KDW tournament

with this 86-pound wahoo caught on a live goggle-eye in 160 feet off Jupiter. From left are team members

Mike Minia of Boynton Beach, Brian Humphreys of Wellington and Alicia Lipscomb of Boynton Beach.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Coming events
    June 4: Palm Beach County KDW Classic fishing tournament for kingfish, dolphin and wahoo based at Riviera Beach Marina. Captain’s meeting and final registration 6 p.m. June 3 at Riviera Beach Marina. Entry fee $275 per boat. 832-6780 or www.kdwclassic.com.
    June 4: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary in Boca Raton. Class is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the headquarters building at Spanish River Park, 3939 N. Ocean Blvd. Fee $35. Register at the door. Bring lunch. 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
    June 5: Memorial service for Flip Traylor of Ocean Ridge, who died in March at age 86. Friends and family with gather from noon to 3 p.m. at the Boynton Beach Woman’s Club. RSVP by emailing Pam Anwyll at panwyll@verizon.net.
    June 18: Gold Coast Lionfish Derby, Waterstone Resort & Marina, 999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton. Weigh-in 4-6 p.m. Free lionfish tasting after the weigh-in. Cash prizes for largest, smallest and most lionfish. Entry fee $200 per four-diver team. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. June 17. 368-2155 or world-of-scuba.com.
    June 18: Horizon’s Fishing Tournament for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo, grouper and snapper. Captain’s meeting 5 p.m. June 16 at Riviera Beach Marina. Weigh-in 1-4 p.m. at Riviera Beach Marina. Entry fee $200 per boat by June 15 or $300 after. 494-6888 or www.hpbcf.org/fishing.
    June 25: Lake Worth Fishing Tournament for kingfish, dolphin, wahoo and snapper. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. June 24 at Tuppen’s Marine & Tackle, 1002 N. Dixie Highway, Lake Worth. Weigh-in 1-3:30 p.m. June 25 at Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Entry fee $175 per boat through June 20 or $250 after. 588-3366 or www.lakeworthfishingtournament.com.
    June 25: Coast Guard Auxiliary offers basic boating safety class, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, 2010 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Fee $40. Register at the door. 331-2429.

Tip of the month
    Want a chance to win a boat, a truck or scholarship money by fishing this summer?
    Check out CCA/Florida’s STAR tournament.
    The statewide fishing tournament began May 28 and continues through Sept. 5.
    Anglers must be CCA/Florida members (or junior members) and registered for the STAR tournament to be eligible for prizes in several divisions.
    The first seven registered anglers who catch one of 160 tagged redfish released around the state will be eligible for prizes, including a truck.
    Anglers can also win prizes, including boats and college scholarships, by catching and submitting photos of a variety of other fish: snook, seatrout, cobia, sheepshead, dolphin, kingfish and lionfish.
    An adult CCA/Florida membership costs $30. The entry fee for the STAR tournament is $35.
    For details, go to www.ccaflstar.com.

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

Agnes Simon and her poodle-Pekinese mix, Benji, celebrate his 11th birthday

at The Carlisle Palm Beach senior living community in Lantana.

Photo provided

By Arden Moore

     Inside The Carlisle Palm Beach senior living community in Lantana, you expect to see activities like people playing cards, swimming laps in the pool and learning to paint with oils. But also inside generating smiles, sparking conversation and providing loyal companionship are the dogs and cats belonging to residents such as Agnes Simon.
    Simon feels much younger than her 83 years, and she gives much of this credit to her poodle-Pekinese mix, Benji.
    “I love everything about him and he is very spoiled,” she says. “He listens to everything I say and I definitely think my health is better because of him and Harmony, my black cat. If you love your dog or cat, this is the place to be, for sure.”
    Recently, Simon celebrated Benji’s 11th birthday by inviting residents with dogs to attend a paw-ty (that’s how it was spelled on the invitations) complete with dog-safe cookies, ice cream and, of course, party hats for the seven or so canines in attendance.
    Karen Delgado, director of resident programming, says that pet parades, doggy fashion shows, play dates and visits from certified therapy dogs also occur on a regular basis inside The Carlisle. Cats and dogs less than 20 pounds are welcomed four-legged residents.
    “Residents who have dogs have seemed to network with one other,” says Delgado. “Pets are so therapeutic. They give unconditional love and also give our seniors a reason to care for another — their pet. Some here who are alone get a lot of comfort from their pets.”
    It’s true. Dogs, cats and other companion animals bonded to you don’t care if you’re tall or short, young or old. They unleash love easily and consistently.
    One of my favorite ageless friends is Flo Frum. She helped deliver a litter of five healthy miniature schnauzer pups four months shy of her recent 92nd birthday. She lives in Oceanside, Calif., with a senior friend and together they thrive, sharing their home with the momma dog, Tyler, and one of the pups they kept, the spirited and friendly Tiny.
    “I’ve had dogs all my life and don’t intend to stop now that I’m 92,” declares Frum. “Tyler and Tiny give me so much love and they make me laugh and smile. That is priceless.”
    Seniors like Agnes and Flo recognize that the secret to longevity and maintaining good health may be just a tail wag or a purr away.
    Clinical studies sponsored by prestigious places such as the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University confirm what pet lovers have always known: Companion animals boost their people emotionally, physically and mentally. Studies indicate pets have the ability to elevate our levels of serotonin, endorphins and other feel-good body chemicals.
    One vital way to return this unconditional love is to have a plan in place in the event your pet outlives you. Spearheading this effort on a national scale is Amy Shever, founder and director of 2nd Chance for Pets (www.2ndchance4pets.org), a nonprofit, all-volunteer group that provides information and solutions — including pet trusts — to help ensure pet owners have “lifetime care” in place for their pets.
    The group’s goal is to reduce the number of beloved pets relinquished and euthanized each year due to the death or disability of their owners.
    “If every responsible pet owner had a written plan in place with a named caregiver, we could save 500,000 pets a year,” says Shever. “Regardless of age, every responsible pet owner needs to have a plan of care, should their pets outlive them.”
    Key points in including pets in your will and estate planning include:
    • Choose the best plan. Your choices include a pet trust or naming care instructions for your pet in your will or estate documents.
    • Choose caregivers now who agree to care for your pet if you die or are not physically able. Carry an emergency pet ID card with you that contains the names and contact numbers for these designated caregivers.
    • Create a written plan that states exactly how you want your pet to be cared for, including the type of food, grooming and other activities.
    • Provide money for your pet’s care. And if your pet dies with money left in the fund, select where that money should go — say an individual or a pet charity.
    • Talk about it. Let trusted friends and family members know where your trust or other document is and let them know your care plans for your surviving pets.
    “Having these care instructions makes it so much easier for whoever is taking care of the pet if the owner is in the hospital or nursing home,” says Shever. “This makes this transition so much easier, especially on the pets.
“We even encourage giving copies of your pet estate plans to your veterinarian. Consider laminating a copy and keep it in a place where people can easily find it in your home.”
    I urge you to “sniff” around the www.2ndchance4pets.org site; it has plenty of resources to help you protect your pets should they outlive you.

Arden Moore, founder of www.FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the Oh Behave! show on www.PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

The school’s Academy of the Arts presented Let Your Hair Down, Rapunzel, the 11th stage performance

that showcased the talents of middle-schoolers. In addition to the play, students presented the Great Wall of Art

featuring hundreds of works created throughout the year. ‘Our students express themselves through academic strengths,

athletic endeavors and creatively through the arts, and I am pleased to help them exhibit their talents,’

teacher Jackie Jacobs said.

ABOVE: (l-r) In front are Jenna DeFrances, 13, Natalee Sama, 13, and Sophia Goldin, 13;

in back are Mason Reese, 12, Ryan Flynn, 14, and Stella Hansen, 15.

Photo provided

By Steve Pike

    “I was born addicted to heroin.”
    That Garcia Marquez-esque line opens The Painting and the Piano, co-authored by Ocean Ridge residents John Lipscomb and Adrianne Lugo. The self-published book follows Lipscomb and Lugo from seemingly well-adjusted childhoods through the rock bottom of addiction and finally to lives of discovery, redemption and recovery.
    As the opening line of the first chapter implies, The Painting and the Piano is not meant to be an altogether pleasant read. It is, however, a “must read” for anyone whose life — directly or indirectly — has been touched by addiction, a broken family, abandonment and isolation.
    In other words, The Painting and the Piano (available on Amazon.com for $16.95, and e-book, Kindle, Nook and Apple I-Books for $6.95) is well-written but not an easy read.
    Neither Lipscomb, a recovering alcoholic, nor Lugo, who was addicted to pills, pulls punches nor makes any excuses about laying bare their lives. One family friend of Lipscomb, in fact, discouraged him from writing the book as it would divulge secrets of Lipscomb’s family life in the well-to-do community of Ladue, Mo., near St. Louis.
    “All I knew was barbecue with beer,” Lipscomb said. “I was a mess getting on a plane.”
    Lugo’s story drew headlines more than four decades ago when a judge removed her from her middle-class foster parents on Long Island in favor of a heroin-addicted mother and father who lived in a dirty Brooklyn apartment. The book includes pictures of headlines from the highly publicized custody trial between Lugo’s foster parents and her biological mother, whom she described as a “monster.”
    “Even now it’s hard for me to look at those pictures the day she came and got me,” Lugo said. “I don’t think she really wanted me.”
    Lipscomb and Lugo tell their stories as a tandem, but each of their stories blends into a fine piece of writing rarely seen in first-time authors.
    “My story isn’t very unique, but Adrianne’s is,” Lipscomb said. “Its combination of our stories and our coming together turns it into a love story.”
    But before the love, there were drugs and booze. It’s not pretty, but it’s compelling.
    “We’re doing this to help other people,” said Lipscomb, who now lectures on addiction and together with Lugo, sponsors people with addictions. “It’s kind of a gritty book — an emotional roller coaster. We don’t look great in it, either. But it’s our lives.”
    And in the end, their love story.

First ‘Little Cup’ a pleasant competition

Golfers roll in to The Little Club for the first Little Cup tournament in Gulf Stream.

The tournament trophy remains at The Little Club since no overall winner was awarded.

Photos by Taylor Jones/The Coastal Star

Tom Rubel of  The Ocean Club at the tee at The Little Club.

By Brian Biggane
     
    Gulf Stream Golf Club member Andy Laidlaw offered a smile when asked if the first Little Cup golf tournament, contested in early April at The Little Club in Gulf Stream, offered an opportunity to network for its 40 competitors.
    “It’s more of a social event,” he replied. “The people that are here are done networking.”
    A well-heeled clientele representing nine clubs — most of them either east of the Intracoastal or close to it — enjoyed a low-key afternoon of fellowship and fun on a relatively cool, breezy day on the par-3 layout.
    “It was great,” said Charlie Begg of The Ocean Club, which fielded a four-man team despite the club’s absence of a golf course. “Everybody had a great time. Beautiful weather, and the course is in great shape.”
    The tournament came about when Little Club members John Lynch and John Smith got together with Michael Mullin of neighboring St. Andrew’s and kicked around ideas for an event to celebrate the end of the season.

Michael Mullin (left) of Gulf Stream, playing for the Wianno Club,

chats with Bill Egan of Delray Beach, playing for the Seminole Golf Club.

    “We thought we’d call 10 of our buddies and ask if they’d like to bring a foursome up here,” said Lynch, who teamed with fellow Little Club member Jay Carey to win the two-ball event with a low score of 43. They teamed with Smith and John Doering of Indian Creek to win the four-ball with a net of 40.
    “About half of us know each other already,” Mullin said. “This way we mixed it up a little.”
    While the original plan was to have teams play as foursomes, Lynch decided it would be more fun to pair twosomes from different clubs. St. Andrew’s had a conflict — the final day of its men’s league season — so Mullin put together a team from Wianno, a club he plays out of in the summer in Cape Cod.
    Other clubs represented included Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis, Country Club of Florida, Seminole and Everglades. Gulf Stream had two foursomes, everyone else one.

David Lloyd of The Bath & Tennis Club hits out of a bunker

during The Little Cup at The Little Club in Gulf Stream

Photos by Taylor Jones/The Coastal Star

     “It’s good for the club,” said Little Club member Andre Lemire. “It makes the club better known, and people will appreciate the difficulties. It’s a tough course; the greens are hard to read.”
    The greens were a topic of discussion throughout the day. Gulf Stream resident and iconic golf course architect Pete Dye installed new greens last summer and the consensus was that, while they’re coming along nicely, they remain a work in progress.

    “They’re still a little hard, so it’ll take awhile,” said Begg, also a Little Club member. “We’re getting some new members here and everything looks good.”

    Bath & Tennis member Duke Felt, whose parents were Little Club members, said he hadn’t played the course in 10 years but that the improvements made during his absence are noticeable. “It’s changed; it’s gotten better,” he said.
    Gulf Stream member Curtiss Roach said anyone expecting the par-3 layout to yield low scores was in for a surprise.
    “I played worse than many of my rounds at Gulf Stream,” he said. “But it was great to have gotten a lot of these clubs together, so you run into people you haven’t seen for months, if not years.”
    St. Andrew’s has signed on for next year and Smith said he expects the second annual Little Cup to be on the spring schedule.
    “I hope so,” he said. “It sure sounds like everybody would like to come back.”

By Dan Moffett
 
    Preliminary results of a barrier island fire district study suggest that six coastal communities could benefit from joining forces to provide their own services, Gulf Stream Town Manager William Thrasher said.
    “There seems to be an opportunity for more efficient service at a reduced combined cost,” Thrasher said. “But there’ll need to be a redistribution of the costs.”
    The study, released in April by Texas-based Matrix Consulting Group, examined how much the six communities — Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Briny Breezes, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan and South Palm Beach — pay mainland providers for fire-rescue services and what the towns get for their money.
    Matrix also studied the feasibility of redirecting those tax dollars into an independent fire district through which the communities would provide for themselves.
    During the next fiscal year, the six barrier island communities will spend about $7.8 million for their fire-rescue protection. If they provide their own services, the consultants estimate it would cost them about $6.7 million in operating expenses, a savings of about $1.1 million per year.
    However, the communities would need to make a substantial expenditure for stations and equipment to get started — about $4.2 million for nine vehicles and $3.2 million for a new station somewhere in the middle of the proposed district and renovations to the existing stations in Manalapan and Highland Beach.
    So, it would require the communities to come up with roughly $7.4 million to get the district off the ground, according to the preliminary numbers in the report.
    Thrasher, who has played a leading role in organizing support for the study, said the results are encouraging enough to warrant further exploration.
    Representatives from the towns planned to meet May 5 in Ocean Ridge to consider the next steps.

Response times vary
    Robert Finn, the study’s author, found that response times of the fire-rescue agencies that serve the towns vary considerably.
    Gulf Stream, which contracts with Delray Beach for services, ranked worst with an average of 9 minutes, 20 seconds per call during the 2015 fiscal year — at least three minutes longer than any other town.
    Ocean Ridge, which contracts with Boynton Beach, came in at 6 minutes, 19 seconds, followed by Highland Beach, another Delray Beach-served town, with 6 minutes, 3 seconds.
    South Palm Beach and Manalapan, with their station staffed by Palm Beach County firefighters close at hand, had the lowest response times with 5 minutes, 9 seconds and 5 minutes, 12 seconds, respectively.
    “Response times are something we need to watch closely,” said South Palm Councilman Robert Gottlieb, who noted that times have steadily crept up over the last five years. “We can’t continue to see them increase.”
    Briny Breezes (5 minutes, 41 seconds), which contracts with Boynton Beach, was the only other community with times under 6 minutes.

Other key findings
    • Of the combined $7.8 million for fire-rescue services in the current fiscal year, Briny Breezes is at the low end with $343,000 and Highland Beach is the high with $3.2 million.
    • Annual levels of demand vary among the communities. Highland Beach had the most calls for service with 632, followed by South Palm Beach (288), Manalapan (161), Ocean Ridge (144), Briny Breezes (107) and Gulf Stream (90).
    • Nearly three-quarters (71.2 percent) of the calls in the six communities are for emergency medical services.
    • Matrix also conducted an open, unscientific online survey in February that drew 282 participants. Highland Beach had the most respondents with 96, followed by Ocean Ridge with 84 and Gulf Stream with 63. The fewest respondents came from Manalapan with three, Briny Breezes had 20 and South Palm Beach 16.
    Nearly all the survey participants said that response time to emergency calls was extremely important or very important. Generally, people said they were satisfied with the response to emergency calls, fires, auto accidents and medical emergencies — all categories that polled between 96 percent and 98 percent satisfactory ratings. About 51 percent of participants rated their emergency medical services as excellent or good.
    Roughly 70 percent of the respondents said they were interested in having the six communities work together to provide services. Nearly half (46 percent) said they were willing to pay more in a fire district or a joint authority.

By Dan Moffett

    Manalapan town commissioners say they’re delighted to be negotiating with Publix to bring a supermarket to their Plaza del Mar.
    There is just one thing, however. They say they want it to be a Manalapan sort of Publix, and that could require some extra negotiating.
    So, at their April 26 meeting, the commissioners postponed giving final approval to an ordinance that would have allowed Publix to erect its trademark sign in the plaza, as they grappled with a flurry of newly minted worries:
    What about delivery trucks? What about the traffic and hours of operation? What about the displacement of other merchants? What about that familiar green-and-white Publix sign? And yes, what about the impact on the character of Manalapan itself?
    Come to think of it, there is more than just one thing.
    “It’s not that we don’t want Publix — far from it,” said Mayor David Cheifetz. “But we need more information.”
    Basil Diamond said he worries about disruptions to the peace and quiet of mornings in Manalapan.
    “Publix likes to have their trucks come early in the morning,” Diamond said. “We want to make sure they don’t come early in the morning.”
    Cheifetz said the com-mission should get involved in negotiating the new store’s hours of operation, but he expects the supermarket giant to be reasonable and sensitive to what the town wants.
    “We certainly would not be happy with a 24-hour Publix,” he said. “I’m sure they want to be good neighbors, too.”
    Sources close to the negotiations between the town and the Lakeland-based supermarket chain have confirmed that Publix wants to build a 26,000-square-foot store in the middle of the plaza.
    Kitson & Partners, the center’s landlord, has acknowledged in media reports that it intends to bring in a grocer as part of a redevelopment project scheduled to wrap in late 2017.
    Cheifetz said he expects Kitson and Publix to have a contract signed in early May. Neither Publix nor Kitson responded to requests for comments for this story.
    Former Commissioner and Vice Mayor Robert Evans told commissioners he believed the supermarket could attract some 20,000 customers a week and that could have a detrimental effect on Manalapan.
    “You shouldn’t trade the character of our town for a little convenience,” he said, and told the commission to consider requiring a tasteful Publix sign — such as the engraved stone sign at the Palm Beach store.
    “It doesn’t have to be an ugly sort of thing — if we do decide to go with Publix,” Evans said.
    Commissioner Ronald Barsanti worries that the sign might be backlighted and that tenants would be uprooted. He said the town “would be losing the flavor of the plaza” if the new store is too big or forces too many changes.

Merchants displaced
    Cheifetz said he believes the displaced tenants would have the chance to move to other spaces in the plaza.
    One of those displaced tenants could be Pedro Maldonado, owner of Jewelry Artisans, whose store sits in the eye of the redevelopment storm.
    Maldonado has been doing business in the same Manalapan location for 27 years, making him one of the plaza’s longest-term tenants. He has endured several recessions, several hurricanes and several landlords.
    Maldonado says Kitson sent him a letter telling him he must leave his spot in the heart of the plaza by Sept. 30 to make way for the redevelopment project. He’s been offered another space next to the Thaikyo restaurant at the western end of the center.
    “In my business, you don’t want to be moving from place to place,” Maldonado said. “We rely a lot on word of mouth and people knowing where we are. For us, moving is very damaging.”
    The cost of moving would be difficult for a small business to absorb, he says. Two years ago, Maldonado spent $50,000 to renovate and expand his store. He estimates the 100-yard move west will cost him $100,000. He says he will have to fit his new location with security systems to protect his jewelry and satisfy insurance carriers. His business will have to shut down for weeks to make the changes, then reopen in the dust of demolition and construction from the plaza’s overhaul.
    “Just moving my safe will cost me $1,500,” Maldonado said. “We are willing to make sacrifices to stay in business here. But give us a chance to make a living without having to go through more obstacles.”
    Maldonado’s neighbors in the plaza — among them Manalapan Italian Cuisine, Tiffany Nail Studio, Angela Moore boutique, Sheila Payne Art Gallery and Palm Beach Travel — face similar obstacles.
    Maldonado says 90 percent of his business comes from Manalapan residents, and several of his best customers sit on the Town Commission.
    “We will be sacrificed, and it will be a totally different environment here,” he said. “I don’t want to antagonize anybody. But then the truth is the truth.”

Katelyn Cucinotta joins an Earth Day beach cleanup at Ocean Inlet Park.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Katelyn Cucinotta was walking on the beach after surfing not far from her Briny Breezes home a few years ago when she came across several pieces of trash that appeared to have floated ashore.
    What Cucinotta found — a burlap sack, a clothes hanger and some clothing — led her to become a fierce and tireless advocate of preventing debris from making it into the oceans and being washed ashore.  
    “There’s not a single day I’ve spent in the ocean when I haven’t found debris,” Cucinotta says. “There’s always trash in the water.”
    Cucinotta, 23, is leading the charge to get the word out about the negative impact debris can have on marine ecosystems — including marine life ingestion of plastics and reef damage. It’s all part of her work on behalf of the Sea to Shore Alliance, a Florida-based, international nonprofit research and conservation organization that hired her about a year ago to create and manage its Healthy Habitats and Oceans — or H2O — program.  
    Finding time to share her experiences and advocate for cleaner oceans isn’t easy for Cucinotta, since she is in school to earn a master’s degree in marine and coastal studies while working a few days a week as a student technician for Palm Beach County’s Environmental Resources Management department.    
    But helping others understand the damage caused by marine debris is not just a priority for Cucinotta, it’s a passion.
    “I’m a scientist but I enjoy bridging the conversation between scientists and the community,” she said.
    Since joining the Sea to Shore Alliance, Cucinotta has developed plans for a mobile classroom for students and adults that will highlight the impact sea trash has on marine life and coastal environments.
    The group already has a 27-foot-long bus, but finding money to outfit it is proving to be a challenge for Cucinotta — who aside from everything else she’s doing, has taken the lead in fundraising.
    In all, she says, the Sea to Shore Alliance needs about $20,000 to outfit the bus with exhibits that will explain how sea turtles can get entangled in debris, the impact of ingestion of trash has on marine life and an explanation of gyres, five areas in the ocean where swirling current come together to create giant floating trash piles.  
    Plans are already in the works to bring the bus to schools in Broward County and to local festivals, once it is outfitted.
    Cucinotta says that through education, she is helping to raise awareness and at the same time being an advocate for the ocean and the creatures who inhabit it.
    “Sea turtles can’t speak up for themselves,” she said. “It’s up to us to provide a voice for all the seas.”
    Speaking on behalf of the environment is nothing new for Cucinotta, who grew up on the beaches of South Florida diving, snorkeling and surfing.
    While a student at Park Vista High School, she led an effort by the ecology club to bring recycling to the Boynton Inlet and led a couple of student cleanups.
    She even remembers being flabbergasted seeing a large television set floating in the Intracoastal Waterway when she was just 8 or 9.
    “There was no excuse for it being there,” she said.
    It was that walk along the beach three years ago, however, when she found the sack and clothing that got her really fired up about removing marine trash. She started an Instagram campaign using #Take4Florida that encourages others to remove four pieces of litter and send photos.
    The response was unexpected and broader than anything she had anticipated.  
    “I was inspired to continue this fight when I saw that the hashtag was being used around the world,” she said.

    To learn more or to contribute to the fundraising campaign, visit www.sea2shore.org/h2o