A simple red and green theme conveys the essence of Christmas.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Everything we do centers on food. After all, we’re only human.
And at no time is that more obvious than during the holidays.
Think about it: Near the end of each year, we savor Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas fare. We bid farewell to the old year with parties and welcome the new with brunches at which we recover from festivities the night before.
So why not feed the eye as well as the belly?
This year’s holiday gift guide offers options to treat our friends and ourselves to the quirky and the fun for our tabletops, as well as the elegant and the refined.
Surrounding those tables with people we love transforms those spaces into something exquisite.
Perhaps that’s the greatest gift of all.
— Scott Simmons

Your shopping guide to 12 gifts

for the perfect host or hostess (or yourself!)

Naughty/Nice matches
Who’s naughty and who’s nice?
We can’t say for sure. But this is the perfect gift for that matchless friend.
Most folks tend to light a lot of candles during the holidays.
These boxes of long matches offer an elegant alternative to burning your fingers while using a cigarette lighter to do the job.
And the naughty folks on your list? Isn’t it nicer to give them a box of matches than a lump of coal?
Available at $5 a box at Spice, 521 E. Atlantic Ave. (just west of The Colony Hotel), Delray Beach; 562-8869.

Stylish salad tongs
It’s easy to put on a few pounds over the holiday season.
But these salad tongs by Michael Aram may inspire hosts and guests alike to dine sensibly.
As always, Aram’s style embraces organic motifs of leaves and vines.
They’re fanciful enough for everyday use, but fancy enough for even the fussiest of entertainers.
Priced at $100 each at Clive Daniel Home, 1351 NW Boca Raton Blvd. (at Glades Road), Boca Raton; 440-4663 or www.clivedaniel.com.

Holiday spreaders
For hosts and hostesses who spread themselves a little too thin, we offer these cute enameled knives, perfect for a schmear of cream cheese, hummus or whatever suits you.
I was especially partial to the cardinal- and the poinsettia-handled blades, but all were pretty and work in any setting.
Plus, at $8 apiece, they’re perfect to throw in with a gift of jam or cheese and crackers.
Available at The Fancy Flamingo, 640 E. Ocean Ave., Suite 20, Boynton Beach; 735-8848.

Plates that are a feast for the eye

At first glance, these colorful dinner plates are pottery from France, Portugal or Italy.
Pick one up. It’s sturdy melamine, making it perfect for dinner on the deck or a picnic on the beach.
Le Cadeaux, the company that makes these plates, cups and bowls, infuses the dishes with deep, lustrous colors that will hold up to years of parties without fading or chipping.
That rooster plate truly is something to crow about.
Available at $14.95 each at Gulfstream Pharmacy, 4998 N. Ocean Blvd., Briny Breezes; 276-4800.

A centerpiece of silvered fruits and vegetables

Mom always told you to eat your vegetables.
But now that you’re all grown up, you can simply admire them.
These life-size Ruzzetti & Gow creations would be appetizing at the center of any table.
The ear of corn is especially beautiful in its detailing, right down to the tiniest kernel.
But I also went nuts over that exquisitely crafted walnut. Hungry yet?
Priced at $1,200 (for all) at Great Stuff, 901 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach; 243-0010.

Abalone jar
Picture the tea table. You have the water pot and the teapots, the cream, the sugar, some cups and saucers.
But what’s missing? A biscuit jar.
This seaside-themed glass and metal container is whimsical enough for a casual setting, but classic enough in its design to fit in with a more formal space.
Available for $83 at Excentricities, 117 NE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach; 278-0886 or www.excentricities.com.

Flamingo party napkins

We offer you two options — cloth and paper.
The venerable Pioneer Linens in downtown West Palm Beach had a huge selection of witty embroidered cocktail napkins. The “Monkey See, Monkey Drink” motif napkins drew a chuckle, but these flamingo-themed “Flock Tails” napkins reminded me of our coastal communities.
Don’t feel like washing or ironing?
The stylish Quigley Maguire is selling these elegantly simple paper cocktail napkins by Caspari. I’m not sure whether the flamingo has had one too many, but it is smiling and wearing a hat and a wreath.
“Flock Tails” napkins available for $36 for a set of four at Pioneer Linens, 210 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; 655-8553 or www.pioneerlinens.com.
Caspari paper napkins are available at $5 per package at Quigley Maguire Collections, 301 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 450-7471 or www.quigleymaguire.com.

Food-themed ornaments

These blown glass ornaments have appetizingly crisp detail, from the pomegranate seeds right down to the veins on the leaves of that Brussels sprout.
Picture a whole bowl of these ornaments as a table centerpiece. Or use them as table favors at each place setting.
It’s a nice way to give guests a souvenir of good times and good company.
After all, isn’t that what the holidays are all about?
Prices start at $10 apiece at Sur la Table, Mizner Park, 438 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 953-7638 or www.surlatable.com.

Venetian glass
For centuries, the glassblowers of Venice have cornered the market on elegant flights of crystal fancy.
This set of 1920s goblets, part of a larger set that includes plates, bowls and other stems, has fanciful enameling of mythical centaurs.
Priced at $2,800 for a set of 12 at Devonia Antiques, 3703 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; 429-8566 or www.devonia-antiques.com.

Handpainted peppermills
Lois Brezinski always has a nice selection of artwork, handcrafted items and other accessories that harmonize with life along the shore.
Picture one of these unique peppermills painted with scenes of pelicans, sea turtles and other motifs that evoke the sea and remind us of why we live in South Florida.
These are painted stylishly enough that you could dress them up or down, using them in either formal or casual settings.
Available at $75 and up at Lois Brezinski Artworks (next to The Colony Hotel), 533 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 400-8869 or www.loisbrezinskiartworks.com.

The Pioneer Cook
The Boca Raton Historical Society has the recipe for a little nostalgia this holiday season with its reprinting of Donald W. Curl’s The Pioneer Cook, offering recipes from late 19th- and early 20th-century settlers of Southeast Florida.
Some recipes, especially those involving sea turtle eggs, are outdated. But society Director Mary Csar points out that many, including coconut cakes and pies, would be right at home on any table this holiday season.
Available for $18.95 at the Boca Raton Historical Society’s Fire Bay Gift Shop, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 395-6766, Ext. 302, or www.bocahistory.org.

An elegant holiday bouquet

Nothing says, “I love you,” quite like flowers.
And nothing says, “I really love you,” like this centerpiece by Joseph Roehm of From Roehm With Love.
He combined roses, amaryllis and magnolias for color, the red berries of prickly heath, plus seeded eucalyptus, James Storie orchids from Bangkok and gray Dusty Miller for texture, and lit it all up with underwater lights. “It’s truly an international bouquet,” he says.
We think that you’ll agree it’s one harmonious mix.
Priced at about $365 From Roehm With Love, 257 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 274-0190.

About the cover

Our holiday table is one at which friends and family could gather for lunch or dinner.
We wanted something that was simple, yet elegant and could transcend time and holiday traditions.
The 1930s Minton Lyre pattern dishes and 1930s ruby Candlewick goblets evoke the season without hitting you over the head with a Christmas theme.
The 1920s Towle sterling flatware lends a sophisticated touch, as do the 1920s Fostoria Irish Lace needle-etched stems, perfect for raising a glass to those we love and to that exquisite floral centerpiece by Joseph Roehm and company at From Roehm With Love.
 Special thanks to Val and Steve Coz, who lent us their Ocean Ridge dining room in which to create this scene.
China, crystal, silver and styling provided by Scott Simmons.

Talia Vessal and Christelle Singh show their plans for adding an outdoor gym to Barwick Park.

The gym will include an elliptical machine, leg press, chest press, pull-up bars, dipping bars and an abdominal bench.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Janis Fontaine

    Atlantic High School seniors Christelle Singh, 17, and Talia Vessal, 18, are in their final year in the international baccalaureate career program. The students, whose career paths focus on drafting and engineering, paired up to develop a plan and design for a community asset.
    After brainstorming, they suggested designing an outdoor gym in Barwick Park in Delray Beach. Similar gyms have been popping up elsewhere, but there weren’t any in Delray Beach.
    The project quickly gained momentum and got a lot of support from their teachers. The more work they did, the more support they got, and the more enthusiastic they became.
    They chose Barwick Park because it is a little run-down from overuse. Barwick Park, at the intersection of Lake Ida and Barwick roads, has a 1¼-mile running trail, a children’s playground, a large field used for sporting events, and pavilions. “It’s in constant use by its large residential population,” Christelle said.
    A meeting with the Delray Beach Parks and Recreation Department ended with approval from the city for them to raise money to build the first public outdoor gym in Delray Beach.
    Now the students needed money, so Christelle and Talia created a GoFundMe web page.
    The two plan to build the gym in four phases, especially if they don’t raise all the money they need right away. On Dec. 6, they’ll present their plan to the City Commission.  They’re hoping to get some funding from the local government.
    They’ve got a list of positive outcomes that could come from the gym: “We believe building an outdoor workout gym will create a healthier community, mentally and physically.”
    Most people know about the physical benefits of exercise, but the mental and emotional benefits are sometimes overlooked, they said. Exercise improves mood by releasing endorphins, which are your body’s natural feel-good chemicals.
     Christelle notes that since Delray Beach has become ground zero for a lot of people in recovery, “a gym could really help them.”
    “And other low-income people who can’t afford a gym membership,” Talia said.
    “Through this project, we’ve grown a stronger sense of community,” Christelle said, “and an appreciation for the people who get things done.
    “We want to get people out of the house into the park. It has a lot of potential. We’re planning a renovation day to get the community out there to fix it up.
     “We’ve been Facebooking, but we also made fliers. And we’ll talk to anyone who will listen.”
    Neither Christelle nor Talia is a resident of Delray Beach. Christelle is from Boca Raton and Talia is from Boynton Beach.  
    “If things go well, we’ll be breaking ground by spring,” Christelle said.
    Check out their page at www.gofundme.com/BarwickWorkoutPark. For more information, email Talia.Vessal@gmail.com.
    “We need sponsors,” Christelle said, “but any donation is greatly appreciated.”

Swiss chard can come in many colorful varieties.

Michael Page says that tending the vegetable garden at Mounts Botanical Garden is a relaxing task.

Chinese cooking staple bok choy.

Amethyst bush beans will turn green when cooked.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

   Wend your way to the southwest corner of Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach and you’ll find tomato, red cabbage and other tender young plants laid out in well-organized rows.
    This is Mounts’ half-acre vegetable garden where we find Horticultural Supervisor Michael Page bending down to plant young basil stems.
    “This garden has an educational purpose to show people what they can do in their back yards,” he says.
    Page has been tending the Mounts gardens for 17 years. Ask him how he decides what crops to plant each year and he’ll tell you that he looks for vegetables that do well in South Florida’s climate, are disease-resistant and “catch my eye.”
    This year his choices include red, purple and white carrots; purple beans that turn green after cooking (“kids love them,” he says); Sierra onions that he has grown to the size of soccer balls; and cheddar cauliflower that’s actually yellow.
    There also are plenty of fruit trees, including mango, cherimoya, star fruit and jaboticaba, which has grapelike fruit that grows from the trunk of the tree. The trees are kept small by selecting dwarf varieties and selective pruning that makes harvest easy.
    Ask Page what he won’t plant and he’ll tell you: corn and anything in the cucumber family like zucchini that are susceptible to disease. “They are a nightmare. If you want to spray the heck out of them, be my guest. But for me it’s just too time-consuming,” he says.
    After all, there’s always something to keep him busy. To prepare the soil, he uses composted cow manure available in bags at big box stores. He pores over seed catalogs from Johnny’s Selected Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com) to decide what to purchase.
    He has a file drawer full of catalogs but sticks with this company. “I’ve never had a bad package of seeds from them,” he says.
    After receiving the seeds, he begins planting. “Perhaps the biggest mistake people make is placing the seeds too deeply in the soil. Many need light to germinate,” he says.
    He shows us where, the day before, he planted carrot seeds by raking the ground, scattering the seeds and then lightly tamping them in with his rake.
    “You just have to make sure they come in contact with the soil and boom, you have a garden,” he says.
    As one type of crop matures and is harvested, he replaces it with another. He hopes to replant the rows three times during the growing season that ends in the spring.
    It ends sooner for people who overwater their gardens. “People water everything and end up killing it,” he says.
    Instead of traditional irrigation systems that use sprinklers, he has changed the garden over to drip irrigation. “It makes a big difference,” he says.
    As we walk through the garden he proudly points to the straight rows of Italian dandelion greens, bulbing fennel, Chinese cabbage and kale, many of which are swathed in straw. That helps keep the weeds down and the moisture in the soil. It also forms walkable paths between the crops so he and volunteers can lovingly tend each of the plants.
    “We just want to show you how simple it really is to grow this stuff,” he says, hoping he can persuade you to go home and start digging.

Gardening tip of the month
“If you don’t have room for raised tomato beds, grow them in pots. Just be sure to put the pot on something like a growing cloth or cement surface. You don’t want the roots growing out the hole in the bottom of the pot and coming in contact with the soil. Once the roots touch the soil, nematodes or small worms can get in and damage the roots. Then you have a problem.”

Michael Page, horticultural supervisor, Mounts Botanical Garden

If You Go
Mounts Botanical Garden, 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach
Hours: The garden is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 4 Sunday. Suggested donation for entry is $5 per person. Mounts Botanical Garden nursery, where you can purchase plants, is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Potted plants also are available at the gift shop.
Information: 233-1757; www.mounts.org

Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley is a master gardener who can be reached at debhartz@att.net.

The private school joined Jumpstart’s literacy initiative to help break a world record for the most students

reading the same book the same day. The book at hand was ‘The Bear Ate Your Sandwich’ by Julia Sarcone-Roach.

'Our children love to read,’ said Milka Santos, the school’s advancement director. ‘They often get to school early

to visit our Richard J. Schmeelk Family Library and check out books.’ A total of 200 readers participated

and were read to by WPTV-TV’s Ashley Hinson and Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo. Above are students,

administrators and board members (l-r): Nathaniel Sasser, 12, Cristina Balestrieri, Cynthia Ansel,

Denis Coleman, Frankie Stevens, Triolo, Isabella Walker, 11, Carla Cove, Hinson, Tomaxa Nazier, 12,

William Finneran, Samantha Gilles, 11, Candace Tamposi and Colleen Fitzgerald.

Photo provided

Students in prekindergarten through eighth grade gathered to show their support

against bullying in a celebration of Unity Day, a national initiative. To demonstrate acceptance,

inclusion and kindness, they created posters with uplifting messages and participated in an afternoon rally.

From left, fourth-graders Kylie Trainor, 9, Olivia Scott, 10, and Alivia Pugliese, 9, join fifth-graders

Ryan Fellowes, 10, and Cash DuBois, 10, at the rally.

Photo provided

Harriette Margolin, a patient at Bethesda Hospital, enjoys a visit from therapy dog Harley and Boynton Beach Detective Astrel Labbe, who investigates crimes against children and older adults.

Boone, Boynton Beach’s other therapy dog, led Harley on a tour of the hospital.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Arden Moore

    The city of Boynton Beach is doubly blessed with canine charm and compassion. And they answer to the names of Harley and Boone.
    Boone, a 4-year-old labradoodle, has been on the job since 2013 and mingles with city employees, occasionally attends City Commission meetings and spends a lot of time lifting spirits of children battling illnesses at local hospitals.
    Harley, a 5-year-old beagle mix, came on board in September. She reports to the Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and her task is to help children who are victims of abuse or neglect to feel safe and secure when being interviewed about criminal cases by detectives and attorneys.
    Harley represents a new breed of therapy dogs starting to be specially trained all over the country to help law enforcement, legal and health officials reach out to help people of all ages cope with stress, fear and traumatic experiences.
    Only two months into her role, it appears that Harley is perfect for this mission.
    She received training at the Paws & Stripes College at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Just before graduating, she was paired with Boynton Beach Detective Astrel Labbe, who traveled up to Brevard County to undergo training with this former shelter rescue.
    Labbe has been with the Boynton Beach Police Department for 15 years, spending the past decade in the Special Victims Unit, where he handles child neglect and abuse cases as well as sexual battery cases involving children and adults.
    “Harley is very perceptive, very quiet and very helpful toward children who are stressed by these circumstances,” says Labbe, a former social worker. “Some of our cases involving children can be very challenging and it can be very difficult for some of them to open up and talk. But the kids love and trust Harley. She welcomes their hugs.”
    Harley’s quiet, even-keeled nature is an asset to kids in need. Children are in a living room-like space where they are interviewed by police, forensic specialists and other officials. When Labbe enters the room, he quickly introduces Harley to the child.
    He gives each child the option of having Harley with them during the interviews and when necessary, during medical examinations.
    “A lot of the kids pick the option of having Harley with them,” he says. “In one of our first cases with Harley, a 5-year-old girl who was an alleged victim of child abuse was being very quiet. I then introduced her to Harley. She started petting Harley and then started to answer my questions.
    “Harley is an extra special tool we can use during our investigations. She is a great dog.”
    He spends 24/7 with Harley. At home, Harley hangs out with Labbe’s personal dog, Leah, a 6-year-old boisterous miniature pinscher.
    “Leah likes to yap, especially on walks, and the two get along pretty well,” notes Labbe. “Once I remove Harley’s vest at home, she knows she is off duty and is more playful than when at work.”
    Boone, on the other hand, shines as the city’s canine goodwill ambassador. He was undergoing extensive training to be a service dog by the Dogs for the Disabled organization in Martin County when he injured his anterior cruciate ligament in a rear leg. He was released from the program and then adopted by city employees Wally and Debbie Majors.
    Wally Majors is the director of recreation and parks administration while his wife serves as the city’s grant and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator.
    “Boone comes with me every day to work and on weekends, Debbie and I take him to Bethesda Hospital where he meets with patients,” says Majors, now in his 31st year with the city. “Boone has proven to be too much of a gift to just be a pet. Before he was released, he had learned more than 80 skills, including turning on lights and putting socks in a laundry basket.”
    On occasion, Boone and Harley get to combine their canine talents in public appearances. The goal is for Boone to show Harley “the ropes” in putting her therapeutic talents to use at hospitals and schools, says Wally Majors.
    “Harley is definitely more quiet and reserved — perfect for her mission to work with children involved in something traumatic to help them feel more comfortable in communicating with police officers,” says Majors. “Boone is very energetic, playful and loves to chase a ball. When he visits kids in hospitals, he brings smiles to their faces when he performs a bow, waves or does some other trick.”
    Boone’s good nature also seems to be embraced by family members visiting terminally ill patients as well as hospital nurses.
    “One-third of Boone’s friends are nurses and yes, he has his own Facebook page,” said Majors, ushering me to view it (www.facebook.com/BooneMajors). “More and more people are recognizing the incredible impact therapy dogs like Boone and Harley have on people and how they help them deal with stress in a more manageable way. The city of Boynton Beach is very lucky to have these two dogs.”
    Paws down, I heartily agree.

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 popular Oh Behave! show on www.PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com.

Ryan Jones of Nautical Ventures demonstrates the Hobie Eclipse’s handlebars and pedals.

Steve Sprague of Tuppen’s Marine in Lake Worth stands near the stern of a Jupiter 38 FS.

Photos by Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    When one of the world’s largest boat shows comes to Fort Lauderdale in November, it’s almost impossible for those of us addicted to boating to stay away.
    I made my annual trek to the 57th annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show on opening day, Nov. 3.
    For fellow boat lovers who weren’t able to make it to the show, here’s a sample of powerboats, paddlecraft and accessories I found there:

Catamaran paddleboard:

    The twin-hulled paddleboard by Live Watersports is billed as more stable than a traditional paddleboard.
    The “cat board” is designed as a fishing platform and can be fitted with a variety of accessories.
    The 14-foot L4 Expedition model on display at the boat show was rigged with an electric outboard motor, a depth finder, a Power Pole stake-out system, a marine audio system and a live bait well.  
 “I tried to turn a paddleboard into a micro skiff,” said Ryan Jones of Nautical Ventures in Dania Beach, who takes his board offshore, onto the Florida Keys flats and into freshwater canals.
 The 14-foot model sells for $2,699 (without the add-ons) and can carry 700 pounds. The smaller L2 Fish (12 feet, 6 inches) will carry 500 pounds and sells for $2,299.
    Divers use the catamaran boards as platforms to rest and to carry gear and the dive flag, Jones said.
 No trailer is required for paddleboards such as the L2 Fish, which weighs 51 pounds (without accessories). Carry them in the back of a truck or on top of a car. Launch at the beach or anywhere you can drop in a kayak.

Boston Whaler 13:

    The 13-foot Boston Whaler, formally known as the 130 Super Sport, has been a go-to skiff for generations of boaters.
    The 2017 model sells for about $15,000 rigged with a 40-horsepower Mercury four-stroke outboard, optional padded seats with folding back rests and a galvanized trailer.
    Other options include a bow pad for sun lounging and a Bimini top for shade.
    This wee Whaler is rated to hold four people, draws 7 inches of water and weighs about 850 pounds including the engine and fuel.
    Boaters often choose the smaller 11-foot Whaler with a 25-horsepower outboard for use as a tender behind larger boats and sailboats, said Danny Brown of Marine Max in Palm Beach Gardens.  

Paddle or pedal board:

    For people who have trouble paddling and balancing on a standup paddleboard, Hobie offers the Eclipse.
    The Eclipse features handlebars extending up from the front of the board — both for balance and for steering.
    Users stand on pedals that enable them to use their legs instead of their upper bodies to propel the board through the water with the MirageDrive — flipper-like blades under the board driven by the pedals.
    The 12-foot Mirage Eclipse sells for $2,599 and will support up to 275 pounds. Tie-down straps hold a small cooler or life jacket on the back of the board. The rudder kicks up when the board is beached.
    Board riders who would rather paddle than pedal can remove the MirageDrive and the steering bar to paddle the Eclipse.
    For details, go to www.hobie.com.

Pursuit C-260 center console:

     This slick-looking center console is rated for 400 horsepower, making it a good match for a pair of the relatively light, four-cylinder outboards that produce 200 horsepower.
    Standard features include a 30-gallon live bait well, a 31-gallon insulated fish box (with separate cooler in the transom) and a forward-opening center console door that provides access to a small head (toilet).
    The C-260 comes with a smooth-edged hard top, padded forward seats and coaming bolsters to protect legs when they’re leaning against the gunwales.
    Rigged with twin 200-horsepower Yamaha four-stroke outboards, the C-260 weighs 6,130 pounds (dry weight) and gets 2.49 miles per gallon at its optimum cruising speed of 28 mph, according to Pursuit.
    Base price: $112,000 with twin 200 Yamaha outboards.  For details, go to www.pursuitboats.com.

Regulator 25:

    Regulator is known among offshore anglers for building beastie boats that handle big seas well compared with other boats of the same size.
    One reason: They’re heavy. The 25-foot Regulator FS (forward seating) weighs 7,500 pounds (dry) with twin 200-horsepower Yamaha outboards. That’s almost 1,400 pounds more than the comparable Pursuit C-260 with the same engines.
    Another reason: Regulators are built in North Carolina, where inlets are notoriously rough and a run into the Gulf Stream can easily be 30 to 40 miles.
    All hatches on the Regulator are insulated, gel-coated and lighted. They include a forward deck fish box large enough to double as locking rod storage when the fishing day is over.
    Standard features include a surfboard-style, smooth-edged hard top, triple batteries, a standup head in the console, bow seating pads, and coaming bolsters all around to pad the legs when the boat is rocking.
    The 25 Regulator also has a flush-folding transom seat and a yacht-style transom door that fully seals the transom when closed.
    Base price: $156,000 with twin 200 Yamaha outboards. For details, go to www.regulatormarine.com.

Jupiter 38 FS:

    This center console offers a lot of fishing space but is still fast and trailerable (with a strong truck and a highway permit).
    The Jupiter 38 FS (forward seating) on display at the boat show will be visible in Palm Beach County offshore fishing tournaments. Dealer Steve Sprague of Tuppen’s Marine in Lake Worth will be at the helm during tournaments. (Look for the Jupiter 38 with triple outboards and a wahoo decal on the side.)
    The 38 FS comes standard with a 60-gallon live bait well. The Tuppen’s boat at the show was built with a second 60-gallon live well, giving it 120 gallons of bait-holding capacity.
    Jupiter Marine offers many options for the 38 FS, including a bow thruster for docking, a dive door for easy entry into the water, bucket storage in the aft bilge and a stern seat.
The base price for the 38 FS with triple Yamaha 300 outboards:  $357,900. The 38 FS at the boat show, rigged with triple 300 Yamahas, electronics and options, was priced at $483,723.
To learn more, go to www.jupitermarine.com.

Just float and relax:

    Once you’ve reached that idyllic boating destination, what then?
    Pull out the Nauti Buoy floating platform, inflate it with the electric pump and take a few hours to relax on the water.
    Unlike a basic inflatable raft, Nauti Buoy platforms are made for tough duty and are stabilized with ballast bags in the corners, similar to those used to keep life rafts upright.
    Nauti Buoy platforms were developed in Europe by former yacht crewmen who used inflatable platforms for hull maintenance near the waterline.
    Nauti Buoy platforms can be linked in sequence to produce makeshift docks extending from the side of a yacht or a dock.
    The top-of-the-line 800 model (13 feet, 1 inch by 6.5 feet) demonstrated at the boat show can support 1,543 pounds and was fitted with a leisure package, including comfy lounge seats.
    Price for the 800 model with the leisure package: About $7,600. For more info, go to www.nautibuoymarine.com.

Company founder Troy Faletra of Fort Lauderdale holds a yellow Throw Raft float.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

Throwable flotation device easy to tote on boat

    Carrying a Type 4 (throwable) flotation device such as a ring buoy or seat cushion can be a hassle on a boat.
    The Coast Guard requires throwables and wants them to be out and accessible in case someone suddenly goes overboard.
    At the same time, if your boat runs more than, say, 30 knots, a seat cushion or ring buoy is likely to flap around or might even blow out of the boat if it’s not strapped down.
    Throw Raft came up with a solution: a compact, inflatable, throwable device that’s Coast Guard-approved.
    The little orange packet inflates automatically when submerged. Or it can be manually inflated and thrown after it’s inflated.
    The Throw Raft is far smaller than a ring buoy or seat cushion and less likely to flop around. Deflated and packed, it measures 11 inches by 4 inches. (Inflated, it measures 22 inches by 21 inches and provides 20 pounds of buoyancy.)
    One drawback: Like an inflatable life jacket, the Throw Raft must be dried, repacked and rearmed with a CO-2 cartridge after it’s used.
    The Throw Raft Type 4 inflatable sells for $129 or $199 with a protective mounting case. For details, go to www.throwraft.com.

Shark fishing regulations
on hold in Palm Beach
    The Palm Beach Town Council postponed action in November on proposed shark-fishing regulations for town beaches.
    Approved on first reading Oct. 10, the ordinance would prohibit shark fishing and chumming within 300 feet north and south of town beaches and beach-access points.
    The council was scheduled to take a final vote on the shark fishing ordinance Nov. 8 but instead sent it back to the ordinances, rules and standards committee for review.

Coming events
    Dec. 3: 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. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
    Dec. 9-10: Operation Sailfish, a sailfish release tournament, based at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. This is the first leg of the Quest for the Crest sailfish tournament series organized by Bluewater Movements. Entry fee $4,770 per team. Call 954-725-4010 or visit www.operationsailfish.com.
    Dec. 9: The Boynton Beach/Delray Beach Holiday Boat Parade kicks off at 6 p.m. with music at Boynton Harbor Marina. Decorated boats will line up at the Ocean Avenue Bridge in Lantana and begin moving south through the Intracoastal Waterway at 7 p.m. Boats will continue south through Delray Beach this year to the C-15 Canal. It’s free. Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be collected along the parade route. For details, call 600-9097.

Tip of the month
    Want to stop your boat near shallow snorkeling spots along the beaches of Palm Beach County?
Consider using a mooring buoy instead of dropping anchor and risking damage to corals and hard bottom.
    Ten mooring buoys can be found at the Boca Raton patch reefs — about 2 miles north of Boca Raton Inlet in about 25 feet of water. (Look for the floating balls that hold the pickup lines.)
Farther north, mooring buoys can be found off Mar-a-Lago, off The Breakers hotel, off Singer Island and at the Diamondhead Radnor Reef north of the Juno Beach Pier.
To use a mooring buoy, have a boat hook or gaff available to reach out for the loop on the end of the floating pickup line.
    Pass your boat’s bow line through the loop on the pickup line, then secure it to a cleat.
    Mooring buoys are designed for boats up to 40 feet and for use in seas of 2 feet or less. Using them with larger boats or in bigger seas could rip them out of the bottom.

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

Brightline celebrates a construction milestone at the station in West Palm Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Road work to wrap as Brightline comes

on board and airports upgrade

By Mary Hladky

    If there’s one constant in South Florida, it’s the never-ending hassle to get from Point A to Point B.
    Woefully inadequate public transit forces people to remain behind the wheels of their cars. All those cars clog roads and highways. An accident can bring Interstate 95 to a standstill for hours. Road construction intended to make things better brings with it detours and delays.
    But 2017 is expected to usher in the completion of some major projects that will bring some relief. No cure-all, mind you. Enough, though, to ease the burden a bit — until the next major disruption comes along.
    Mark your calendars for a big one. Construction of I-95 express lanes will extend into Palm Beach County in 2018, as existing HOV lanes are converted into two express lanes in each direction. While the project will move into the southern part of the county that year, most of the work — from just south of Glades Road to Linton Boulevard — is scheduled to launch in 2020.
    Drivers using the lanes will pay a toll using SunPass, with the amount varying depending on how congested the express lanes are. Toll amounts for Palm Beach County have not yet been announced.
    For those commuters who want nothing more than to never venture onto I-95 again, All Aboard Florida’s Brightline is promising to begin train service next summer between Miami and West Palm Beach, with a stop in Fort Lauderdale.
    Brightline’s plans to run 32 trains each day will offer a transportation alternative to Palm Beach County residents who need to get to a meeting in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, or want to catch a Miami Heat game or performance at the Adrienne Arsht center.
    The start of service will mark the completion of the first phase of Brightline’s vision to eventually run trains from Miami to Orlando — in all, a $3 billion project. The company also is considering expanding service north to Jacksonville.
    Stations in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale hit construction milestones in September, and work on the MiamiCentral transportation hub — which also will include office, retail, entertainment and rentals — is well advanced.
    As part of the project, Brightline is adding a second track to the Florida East Coast Railway line and improving 178 grade crossings between Miami and West Palm Beach. The work has caused a series of road closures and detours.
    The second track and crossing work, as well as construction of a maintenance station for trains just north of downtown West Palm Beach, are expected to be completed later this year.
    Brightline President Michael Reininger says South Florida residents will welcome Brightline as a way around I-95 gridlock and parking woes.
    He cites the modern trains, the 30-minute transportation time from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale, another 30 minutes to Miami, and conveniently located stations.
    “We understand we are challenging the monopoly of the car and therefore need to give riders the incentive to change their behavior to take an alternative form of transportation,” Reininger said in an email. “Overall, we believe that if we provide a better experience, something that people like and it gets them to their destinations faster and more relaxed, then we will attract many riders.”
    Tri-Rail has offered commuter train service between Mangonia Park and Miami International Airport on the CSX rail line since 1989. But Brightline will operate on the FEC tracks, which run farther east through the three cities’ downtowns — an advantage for many commuters.
    A Brightline spokeswoman said ticket and frequent rider pass prices will be announced in the spring.
    “In terms of pricing, we are being very thoughtful and looking at it from the perspective of the frequent traveler who is already spending quite a lot on gas, tolls, parking and insurance,” as well as experiencing the unpleasantness of the drive, Reininger said.
    Brightline’s success would be better assured if it is able to complete the proposed route to Orlando, and ferry tourists wanting to experience both amusement parks and South Florida’s beaches.
    For now, that outcome is in doubt. Indian River and Martin counties filed a suit in federal court that challenges the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to allow the privately owned railroad to sell $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to complete the project. In August, a judge allowed the challenge to proceed.
    Brightline officials have said that they have other financing options, but have not offered specifics.

Spanish River/I-95 work has year to go

Construction on the $69 million Spanish River interchange on Interstate 95

includes new entrance ramps to Florida Atlantic University.

Photo provided

    For drivers who have no intention of ditching their cars, one major headache will end late next summer.
    That’s when construction of the $69 million Spanish River interchange on I-95, begun in 2014, is scheduled for completion. As of the end of October, 81 percent of the work was done, said project public information officer Andi Pacini.
    The massive project, which includes construction of 13 bridges, will provide direct access to Spanish River Boulevard from I-95 as well as Yamato Road.
    It includes widening Spanish River west of FAU Boulevard, signalized intersection improvements, the addition of auxiliary lanes on Yamato Road, sound wall construction along Yamato and on the east side of I-95 north of Yamato.
    The long-planned interchange originated as a way to alleviate congestion on Glades Road and to give drivers another way to get to Florida Atlantic University. It is also expected to help ease traffic on Palmetto Park Road, which has been used by drivers avoiding Glades, and to end the long lines of motorists backed up on I-95 trying to exit at Glades.
    The construction has caused complications for drivers, with a series of lane and ramp closures on I-95, street closures and detours. The misery was compounded in October by the nearly weeklong closure of the Yamato railroad crossing to make improvements for Brightline.
    The Spanish River interchange is the biggest Florida Department of Transportation project along I-95 in Palm Beach County, but not the only one. The agency also has been upgrading the Woolbright Road, Hypoluxo Road, 10th Avenue North and Donald Ross Road interchanges for a total cost of $28.1 million. All that work is expected to be finished next summer.

Tri-Rail aims to go beyond airport routes

Stacks of ties lie alongside the CSX tracks as a Tri-Rail train pulls into the Boca Raton station.

The service remains popular with airport passengers.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Faced with competition from Brightline, chronically underfunded Tri-Rail is trying to up its game.
    A key for the commuter rail line is the ability to transport passengers directly into downtown Miami. Now, passengers who want to get downtown have to transfer to Miami-Dade’s Metrorail line in Hialeah — an inconvenience that adds to the commute time.
    After much drama earlier this year when Tri-Rail ran into an impasse with the Florida Legislature, it arranged to borrow money so it can move forward with plans for service to the MiamiCentral transportation hub.
    “We are in the final stages of getting our funding in place,” spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold said in mid-October. “Our main goal is to get into the MiamiCentral station.”
    Tri-Rail’s big advantage is that it services many more cities than will Brightline. In south Palm Beach County, for example, it has stations in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.
    But since it operates on the CSX tracks, many passengers need to take its shuttle buses to get to downtown destinations. And for years, its reputation with riders was hurt by frequent train breakdowns and delays.
    But if the downtown Miami station becomes reality, Tri-Rail hopes to expand further by using the FEC corridor. Plans for a Coastal Link service call for 28 stations. It would first offer service from Miami to Aventura, and eventually on up the coast.
    “What we are hoping is to be able to run service as far north as Jupiter,” Arnold said.
    Tri-Rail would not ditch its service on the CSX corridor. But at three points along the line — West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach and Miami — passengers could use a rail connector to transfer to Coastal Link.
    Judging by the frequently crowded luggage racks on Tri-Rail, the train is a popular option for travelers going to and from airports. Parking at Tri-Rail stations is free.
    Tri-Rail resumed direct service to Miami International Airport in 2015 upon completion of the Miami Intermodal Center. Take the train to the Miami airport station, then board the MIA Mover for the short ride to the terminals.
    A round-trip ticket from the Boca Raton station to the Miami airport station on a weekday costs $9.70. Travel time to the airport is about 80 minutes. Go to www.tri-rail.com to get schedule and fare information.
    To get to FLL, take the train to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport station and transfer to shuttle bus route FLA 1 to the airport. To get to Palm Beach International Airport, take the train to the West Palm Beach station and transfer to shuttle route WPB 1.
    One possibility on the horizon is opening a new Tri-Rail station on the CSX corridor at Military Trail and Northwest 19th Street in Boca Raton. A new station has been on the radar for several years, and has strong support from Boca Raton officials.
    Crocker Partners sees the station as an important component of its ambitious plans for MidTown Boca, a walkable mix of residences, retail and offices between Glades Road and Town Center Road just west of I-95. The developer has not yet submitted plans to the city.
    Arnold confirmed that Tri-Rail officials have been in discussions with Crocker Partners about building the station, but said Tri-Rail is focused for now on getting a downtown Miami station.

Boca, Palm Beach airports upgrading

Reliable Jet MX, which services aircraft, is among companies that have moved to the growing

Boca Raton Airport. The expected completion of a $4.3 million Customs and Border Protection facility

next summer is likely to attract more companies.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

    Prefer to get above it all and fly? Boca Raton Airport and Palm Beach International Airport have changes in the works.
    The Boca Raton Airport is expected to complete construction of a $4.3 million Customs and Border Protection facility in June or July, said executive director Clara Bennett.
    Once it is open, pilots and their passengers on international flights will be able to clear customs at the airport, rather than first landing at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport or at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or PBIA.
    That will be a big convenience, and will help the airport attract more international flights.

Boca Raton Airport is adding a safety system of crushable concrete at both ends

of the runway to stop aircraft if they overrun the pavement.

    The airport also is in the midst of a safety improvement project, adding a system on both ends of the runway that will stop aircraft if they overrun it.
    The first half of the project, costing $5.5 million, was completed in July. The second half, for the end of the runway closer to Glades Road, is being designed and could be completed next summer at a cost of about another $5 million, Bennett said. The system is in use at about 65 other airports across the country, she said.
    The airport had about 63,000 takeoffs and landings in the past 12 months.
    PBIA is adding new flights and resuming seasonal ones.
    As of Dec. 15, Sun Country, an airline new to PBIA, will launch direct flights between West Palm Beach and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport four days a week through April 23, the airport announced last month.
    Delta Air Lines is adding a daily flight to Minneapolis effective Dec. 17. Frontier Airlines launched new service to Chicago effective Oct. 31. Air Canada will increase service to Montreal to once daily beginning Dec. 16.
    These and other airlines are resuming seasonal service in November and December.
    The airport’s Travel Plaza is expected to open at the end of this year, at the southwest corner of Belvedere and Florida Mango roads. It’s built to meet airport customer demand. It will include a 7-Eleven, Dunkin’ Donuts, car wash, cell phone lot and free Wi-Fi.

Sara Wilkinson, visiting her old neighborhood, steps into floodwaters

generated by king tides at Marina Delray, along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Crews repair a pump as water from the Intracoastal Waterway floods Briny Breezes’ marina area

during the October king tides.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

King tides expected to rise
Nov. 14, 15 and 16 to near October levels

By Cheryl Blackerby

    South Florida got two worrisome weather alarms in October: a warning in advance of Hurricane Matthew and, two weeks later, a National Weather Service coastal flood advisory for king tides.
    Coastal residents usually don’t pay as much attention to king tides as they do to dramatic TV graphics tracking hurricanes across the Atlantic, although high tides can cause tremendous damage on the coast.
    But king tides are starting to get their due.
    Alarmed by flooded streets on clear days and waves that wash over docks and seawalls, coastal residents have become increasingly familiar with the phenomenon of king tides, the name for the highest tides of the year, which occur in the fall.

    Flood advisories, issued to coastal community officials and residents, have been given in the last few years by the National Weather Service because of increasing problems with street flooding, sometimes as high as 1 or 2 feet.
    The king tides, a five- to seven-day event that happens at the full and new moons in October and November, reached their highest October level this year in the middle of the month. Although the tides were exacerbated by strong winds, they were not related to the hurricane.

Jennifer Turton of Lantana shoots a video of her dog, Campbell, walking through standing water

in the parking lot at Sportsman’s Park in Lantana just after high tide Oct. 14. The water is from king tides

that are common around the full moon in the fall.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

    “We’re very lucky king tides didn’t coincide with the hurricane,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Hagen. King tides can be greatly enhanced by factors such as rain, strength and direction of winds, and storms.
    “There was one additional factor this year that made king tides a little bit higher,” Hagen said. “We had pretty strong east/northeast winds about 20-25 mph blowing from the ocean to land. If winds had been calmer or from the west, water levels would have been lower.”
    Coastal residents in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties should be prepared for more high tide water Nov. 14, 15 and 16, when tides are predicted to rise again near October levels.
    Delray Beach issued its own advisory prior to the tides, saying, “The public may notice excessive water in roadways as well as water levels higher than some seawalls and docks.”
    The city’s precautions, according to the notice, included checking and cleaning storm drains, monitoring pump stations to ensure efficient operation, installing back-flow preventers on some storm water outfalls, and inspecting basins and tidal valves in flood areas.
    The city asked residents not to walk through floodwaters, not to drive on flooded streets, and to pick up debris that could obstruct storm drains.
    Residents should be aware that there is a big difference between flood advisories and flood warnings, said Hagen.
    “An advisory means there is 6 to 8 inches of water in some streets and sidewalks but not a lot of cases of water entering buildings, and that most roads are still open,” he said. “A flood warning means there is significant water entering buildings and residences, and there is a major impact produced by high water that could be life-threatening.”
    National Weather Service advisories are updated every 12 hours during high tides. Residents should keep in mind that the first high tide of the weeklong king tides is not the highest. Peak high tides will hit the third day.
    The term “king tides,” unknown a few years ago except to meteorologists and the most passionate of weather enthusiasts, is now common in South Floridians’ vocabulary. Most residents now know that the tides are dictated by the alignment of the moon, the sun and Earth in the fall.
    Another high tide, though not as high as king tides, occurs in the spring.
    Made more dangerous by rising seas related to climate change, these tides can add 12 inches or more of water to the average high tide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, parent agency of the National Weather Service. NOAA scientists say the high tides give a preview of what rising seas will be like in the future.
    To check for high tide updates, go to www.weather.gov/mfl and look under “Watches, Warnings and Advisories.”

Water topped the sea wall on the north side of Lake Boca Raton. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

    Thanksgiving. A single word that combines two acts of grace: giving thanks and simply giving. Both actions have been top-of-mind as we head into November.
    In this edition you will find stories of organizations and individuals who are working to combat one of our area’s most difficult struggles: hunger.
    According to Palm Beach County’s 2015 Hunger Relief Plan, there are more than 200,000 people in our county struggling with hunger. Over 20 percent of all children in the county live in “food-insecure” households and up to 28 percent of residents older than 60 may not have resources to consistently access healthy food. When you study the demographics, you might be surprised to discover how many of these people are your neighbors. Hunger can — and does — exist in the midst of plenty.
    But you will also find friends and neighbors who are working to help.
    We cover efforts as diverse as the Junior League of Boca Raton’s community garden, Boynton Beach’s Secret Garden Café and its related veggie mobile initiative, and the Palm Beach County Food Bank’s Empty Bowls fundraiser in Delray Beach.
    So as you prepare to gather for the American tradition of a Thanksgiving feast, I suggest you stop for a moment and reflect on the plenty we’ve been given and then practice gratitude beyond the dinner table. In the spirit of the holiday, give thanks and give.

— Mary Kate Leming
Editor

Then-Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel prodded the city to donate land for a community garden in 2010.

Since then, the Junior League of Boca Raton has managed and supported the garden,

which has 97 plots that are leased to city residents.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    As Boca Raton’s mayor during the national economic meltdown, Susan Whelchel could see — and feel — the impact the crisis was having on her city.
    “You could just sense in the community that it was time to bring people together,” said Whelchel, who served as mayor from 2008 until 2014.  
    With bringing people together in mind, she came up with the idea of creating a community garden in Boca Raton — one that would provide a living oasis downtown.
    She realized, however, that the city couldn’t do it alone. So she turned to an organization she knew could get the job done well — the Junior League of Boca Raton.
    After Whelchel and the league spent a couple of years planning and securing support from city leaders, the Boca Raton Community Garden became a reality in 2011. Today it continues to thrive as a partnership between the city and the Junior League.
    Whelchel, 72, a resident of the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club, is one of 40 women who will be the focus of attention as nominees during the Junior League of Boca Raton’s 29th annual Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon on Nov. 18. (See names of all nominees in Philanthropy Notes, Page AT3.)
    Whelchel, a Junior League member, says she is humbled to be considered along with other community volunteers.  
    “Every single one of the nominees is a star and a leader in their organization,” she said.   
    Whelchel’s role in creating the community garden was a factor in her nomination, but the league is also recognizing her overall leadership in the community and in the community-service group itself.
    “Susan has been a mentor and an inspirational figure,” says Kirsten Stanley, president of the Junior League of Boca Raton. “She is an example of how you can translate volunteerism into community activism.”
    A league member for more than 35 years, Whelchel is always available to lend a hand to the organization, serving as a celebrity bartender at fundraising events and also as emcee for the annual Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon for several years.
    She has been a speaker at several other events, sharing her experiences during her years in public service, which included serving as a City Council member, mayor and member of the county School Board.
    Now retired, along with her husband, John, they enjoy traveling (they have a second home in Colorado) and spending time with family, including 10 grandchildren.
    Her thoughts on politics?
    “The national political scene has been so disappointing and I, along with everyone I speak with, are hopeful that that type of politics does not filter down to the local or state levels. Politics should bring out the best in people, not the worst.  People ask me what I miss about not being in politics any longer. I miss the people. I worked with many wonderful people and I don’t get to see them as much.”
    Whelchel’s league involvement dates back to a few years after she moved to Boca Raton in 1978. She was introduced to the organization when friends invited her to join what was known as the Junior Service League of Boca Raton.
    She credits the league with helping her to become more involved in the community.
    “I don’t think I would have ever run for office had I not had the opportunity to learn the leadership skills they were teaching,” she said.
    Whelchel serves or has served on the boards of organizations such as the Boca Raton Historical Society, Spirit of Giving Network, Boca Bowl and the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority.
    She still feels a sense of pride when she walks through the community garden, which has grown to 97 plots. Ten percent of the food grown is donated to Boca Helping Hands.
    “We accomplished something special,” she said. “We did something specifically for the welfare of the community.”

If You Go
What: 29th annual Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon
Where: Boca Raton Resort and Club
When: 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18, reception and runway raffle; 11:30 a.m. luncheon
Tickets: $95 to $250 per person for luncheon; $100 for after-party
Info: Call the Junior League office at 620-2553 or visit www.jlbr.org and click on “events.”

By Mary Thurwachter

    No stranger to “employee of the quarter” awards from the Lantana Police Department, Officer Edward Tavcar made another appearance at the Town Council’s Oct. 24 meeting. This time, he was recognized for his diligence in investigating a theft incident that resulted in the recovery of about $15 million in paintings, statues and relics.
    “I appreciate all of them (awards), but this one is kind of special,” Tavcar said after Chief Sean Scheller recognized him. “This wasn’t a one-man show. There were a lot of moving parts and there was a lot of cooperation. It was really a team effort between 20 or more law enforcement officers from Lantana and PBSO.”
    “The case,” Tavcar said later, “was like a movie. How did little Lantana ever get involved in something like this?”
    The case involved millions of dollars of artwork, a scorned lover, days of surveillance, lots of police and a couple of New York lawyers.
    At the end of October the victim’s lawyers were still in the process of identifying the stolen artwork, 99 percent of which had been recovered, Tavcar said.
    According to Tavcar, on Sept. 20, Hypoluxo Island homeowner Nicholas Zoullas told police his ex-girlfriend, Stacy Cliett, 43, had stolen “millions in artwork, relics and statues” from his home.
    Two days later, Zoullas’ lawyers met with Cliett and her friend Todd Stephens, 52. The two told police they had to take the art away from Zoullas’ home (where Cliett still resided) because of a mold problem in the house. But they refused to reveal where the artwork had been taken.
    “We found out the mold had already been mitigated during the summer,” Tavcar said.
    A private investigator contacted police a few days later to tell them the couple used a Lake Worth warehouse to store the artwork. Police said surveillance observed Cliett and Stephens loading artwork into a Lexus. When confronted by police at a gas station later, Stephens told police he was just helping Cliett move the artwork.
    After securing a search warrant for the warehouse, police found much of the missing artwork and crates bearing shipping labels with Zoullas’ name on them.
    Cliett and Stephens were arrested and face grand theft charges. Both bonded out of jail. Stephens, police records show, was out on bond for a separate money laundering case.
    In other Lantana news last month, the Town Council approved a Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grant application to the state for construction of a recreation center picnic pavilion.
    The project would include a roof, flooring, picnic tables and lights at a cost of $148,000. Lantana would need to provide a 25 percent match of $37,000.
    The pavilion would replace the old shuffleboard courts at the Recreation Center.  If the state awards the grant, construction would take place next year.

Richard Lucibella (at left in white shirt) stands in his backyard after his arrest. He refused

medical treatment from paramedics for a wound near his left eye. Lt. Steven Wohlfiel (in black shirt,

facing camera) has been assigned alternate duties during the department’s investigation.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Related: Read initial incident report

By Dan Moffett

    A quiet Saturday night on an Ocean Ridge patio ended with gunshots, the vice mayor bloodied and handcuffed, a senior police lieutenant under investigation, two officers seeking treatment for injuries and a town roiling again in political turmoil.
    Ocean Ridge residents who complain about visitors from the mainland bringing trouble across the bridge have a new worry. It appears the town is capable of bringing it on itself.
    The quiet night by the sea turned raucous shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 22, when police responded to reports of gunshots on Old Ocean Boulevard, and officers went to the rear of Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella’s home to investigate.
    There they found Lucibella and one of their department’s supervisors, Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, “obviously intoxicated based upon their demeanor and behavior,” according to police reports that cited beer and mixed drinks on a table between the men.
    Officers Richard Ermeri and Nubia Plesnik say Lucibella was holding a black .40-caliber Glock handgun and greeted them with a barrage of obscenities. Police say the vice mayor also had a small silver handgun in his back pocket. Plesnik said she found five shell casings on the patio, hollow-point rounds that police believe were fired from Lucibella’s Glock. They say they found seven live rounds in a magazine that holds 12.
    Wohlfiel used an expletive in ordering the officers “to get out of here” and told them he did not want to make a statement, according to Sgt. Bill Hallahan, who was also at the scene.
    “You put us in a very bad situation, Lieutenant,” Ermeri told his off-duty supervisor, according to the police reports.         Wohlfiel and Lucibella maintained they knew nothing about any gunshots. The situation deteriorated rapidly from there.

    Lucibella told the officers to get off his property and tried to go inside his home to get another drink, police say. Plesnik and Ermeri tried to block Lucibella. The officers said they believed Lucibella had more firearms inside.
    Things got physical near the doorway, according to the reports. Ermeri said the vice mayor “began to aggressively poke” him in the chest and then “began to physically resist” Plesnik.
    The officers wrestled Lucibella to the ground. He suffered an injury near his left eye that would send him to the hospital for treatment, and his attorney says he also had three broken ribs.  
    Ermeri and Plesnik would require treatment for an assortment of bruises, abrasions and muscle pains.
    Lucibella bonded out after a few hours in the Palm Beach County Jail and faces charges of resisting arrest with violence, a felony, and two misdemeanors: discharging a firearm in a residential area and use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
    This was Lucibella’s second clash with the town’s police since he won his commission seat in 2014. Last year, a dispute with then-Chief Chris Yannuzzi forced Yannuzzi out of a job, divided residents, packed the Town Hall for contentious commission meetings and led to an unsuccessful recall attempt against Lucibella.
    A judge ruled the recall group’s petitions were legally insufficient, but hundreds of residents signed them and wanted Lucibella removed. The vice mayor says he hasn’t decided whether to seek election to another three-year term in March, knowing that opposition against him is rising again and his ability to work with the town’s Police Department is in question.

    “I don’t recall ever saying I was looking to make a career in local politics,” Lucibella said in an email. “I’ve not really thought too much about whether I’ll run again. But I truly love Ocean Ridge and I’ve obviously never been much swayed by the shrieking of the ‘torches and pitchfork’ minority. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
    Mayor Geoff Pugh says the vice mayor is facing a political future that may be even stormier than it was last year.
    “For anybody, this is pretty hard to come back from,” Pugh said. “The problem is public perception. In the court of public opinion, he’s found guilty and should resign. Unless it’s proven that it’s not his fault, then there might be a different opinion.”
    Lucibella’s lawyer, former prosecutor Marc Shiner, has dismissed suggestions that the vice mayor should resign: “Mr. Lucibella is the victim here.” Shiner has claimed Ermeri and Plesnik used excessive force and conducted an illegal search over alleged misdemeanor firearms violations, without any witnesses. He says the town police violated the vice mayor’s rights, and he is calling for battery charges against Ermeri, his resignation and an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Investigation underway
    Police Chief Hal Hutchins says an internal affairs investigation of the incident is already underway, and his department doesn’t need help from the FDLE at this time. But Hutchins said he is open to bringing in independent investigators from county, state or federal agencies if it’s warranted.
    “We’re ready to reach out to appropriate outside agencies if needed,” Hutchins said. “I’ll be the first one to make contact with another agency if one needs to be called in.”
    The chief said his investigation has no timetable and will go wherever the evidence leads. He said his investigators are still gathering witness accounts and that the probe “is a fluid situation” — with much work to do.
    “It will be a full internal review of this incident,” he said. “We’ll do it as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. That’s the only thing I can promise anybody.”
    Pugh agrees that the FDLE isn’t needed and the Police Department “has competent people that work for it who can do a competent investigation.” He said the town shouldn’t make decisions about disciplining or firing anyone until after the investigation is complete. Pugh said the presence at the scene of Wohlfiel, 48, a veteran with the department who rose through the ranks and has served as the police union representative, complicates matters.
    “I believe we should know what his culpability is,” Pugh said. Wohlfiel has been assigned to alternate duties during the investigation, Hutchins said. Ultimately, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office is expected to make the call on who gets prosecuted and for what charges.
    Though Lucibella has an uncertain political future, he says he is proud of the achievements in his political past.

    “We accomplished a great deal in my first term,” he said, “including returning control of our Police Department to the people, managing through the near simultaneous loss of a clerk, police chief and manager, and creating a balanced budget in the absence of a clerk who had done that work for 30 years — to name just a few.”
    Pugh said Lucibella “can be acerbic,” which sometimes obscures his contributions to the town. The mayor said the Nov. 7 commission meeting figures to be as well-attended as those during last year’s storm over Yannuzzi’s ouster.
    “If anything, it would be easier for the town if he doesn’t show up,” Pugh said. “With Rich, you never know what he’s going to do. He’s a fighter. Basically, I want people to know that he’s done good things for Ocean Ridge.”

    Read a copy of the initial incident report at www.thecoastalstar.com.

    In 2014 and early 2015, the town of Gulf Stream found itself under assault from Martin O’Boyle and Christopher O’Hare, two residents who overwhelmed the town with thousands of public records requests and dozens of lawsuits. Town Hall became virtually unable to serve Gulf Stream residents.
    To defend against this ongoing public records abuse, Gulf Stream brought in legal staff to create a policy to respond to records requests. In addition, Gulf Stream learned through its RICO investigation about other Florida abuses committed by the O’Boyle Law Firm and a related O’Boyle company called Citizens Awareness Foundation, which it added to the town’s defenses in the public records lawsuits.
    Since Gulf Stream took these actions, public records requests have dropped from 80-plus per day down to several a week. In addition, there has not been another public records lawsuit against Gulf Stream in over a year and a half. Of the old lawsuits, Gulf Stream won or forced the dismissal of four of them, and won verdicts or forced the dismissal of six additional non-public records lawsuits.
    I cannot overstate how the volume of lawsuits and records requests back in 2013 and 2014 overwhelmed our small staff. The clerks regularly worked nights and weekends; they put off other town responsibilities; they hunted through old file cabinets and closed land-use folders trying to respond to requests pouring in almost daily; they called commissioners, board members, past employees and active and retired police to identify documents and their possible locations. But, the quantity of these requests was simply not manageable, and some documents were inadvertently missed.
    At no time did staff refuse the legitimacy of O’Boyle’s or O’Hare’s requests or try to prevent them from receiving documents. For example, one such request required production of “All photos of people riding bicycles on N. Ocean Blvd. in the town’s public record.” Since town records go back to its founding in 1925, this request necessitated a needle-in-the-haystack search, and for which we were still sued over a “gotcha” photograph.
    A case currently being litigated involves some inadvertently missed documents. Despite a good-faith effort to locate all requested records, missing records constitute a technical violation of the public records law, so the town offered to settle the case. O’Boyle’s settlement demand, however, was so outrageously high that the town concluded it was in its best financial interest to go to trial and let a judge determine reasonable fees. That case was tried recently and there will be a hearing on fees in the near future.
    The town is confident that under Florida law, the court will award fees up to the performance of the records request and not beyond. This is why the town elected to try this case, as it will any other case where it appears that O’Boyle built up large attorneys’ fees.
    Gulf Stream will continue to defend the remaining O’Boyle and O’Hare lawsuits until our two litigious residents drop the meritless cases and negotiate reasonable settlements in good faith on the others.

Scott W. Morgan
Mayor, Gulf Stream

An outside seating area and pergola are part of the Plaza del Mar supermarket site plan.

Rendering provided by Cuhaci & Peterson

By Dan Moffett

    Manalapan’s Architectural Commission and the landlord for Plaza del Mar have agreed on the final design details for renovating the center, clearing the way for construction of a new Publix supermarket to begin next year.
    During an Oct. 19 meeting with the town’s Architectural Review Board, representatives of Kitson & Partners said their project was designed to revive the languishing shopping center without causing traffic problems or annoying neighbors.
    Emily Brown, project development manager for Kitson, said that even with the 28,000-square-foot Publix, the center’s total retail space would be reduced by about 20,000 square feet and the number of parking spaces increased.
 “We are rebuilding a smaller version of what exists today,” she told the commissioners.
    Plans include an outside seating area with a pergola in front of the supermarket. An 8-foot wall will run the length of the plaza behind the buildings on the south side to screen neighbors from noise, with a 15-foot wall shielding the truck loading dock. Kitson’s Matt Buehler said delivery vehicles would be rerouted behind the buildings to keep them away from pedestrians.
    “This gets the truck out of the front of the property,” Buehler said, calling it a change in traffic flow that will enhance safety. He said no deliveries would be permitted before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
    Brown said the South Florida Water Management District has signed off on the drainage plan for the site and approved a permit.
    The developers say they will work with town staff to design signs for the supermarket that satisfy residents’ requests for minimal size and lighting.
    Commission Vice Chairman Ben Hanani said he liked the plan, but told Kitson to consider some cosmetic changes. Hanani requested more landscaping in front of the supermarket, arches between the portico columns instead of straight lines and shade trees instead of palm trees to cool the parking lot in summer.
    Kitson agreed to the requests, and the commission voted 5-0 to approve the design, removing the project’s last significant administrative hurdle. Demolition is expected to begin early next year, with work scheduled to take most of 2017.

By Jane Smith

    In what was described as a “transition year” for special events, Delray Beach commissioners approved a small-scale New Year’s Eve gathering hosted by the city.
    The New Year’s Eve First Night event won’t be advertised or promoted outside the city and it will be free for families, said Stephanie Immelman, who heads the city’s Marketing Cooperative. After a special events committee rejected the First Night event proposal because of its unspecified high public safety costs, she appealed to the commission in early October.
    “We can’t go from a hundred miles per hour to zero,” said Mayor Cary Glickstein. Had the commission known about the $35,000 expense, it could have been a line item in the budget, he said. The commission approved taking the money from the city manager’s discretionary fund to pay for this year’s family-friendly First Night.
    Commissioner Jordana Jarjura was the lone dissenter. “There’s a plethora of events in December,” she said. “It’s an improper use of the city manager’s discretionary account. … We have to hold ourselves to the same standards as the private sector.”
    Her colleagues, though, feared that killing the nearly 20-year-old public event would have them perceived as Scrooges. The commissioners were happy, however, “to buy down the impact of the event.”
    In previous years, buttons and wristbands were sold to allow patrons to participate in activities from 5 p.m. to midnight, with two fireworks displays. Last year, about 30,000 people attended First Night festivities.
    For this New Year’s Eve, First Night will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. No buttons or wristbands will be sold. The event will feature free activities for families and have the carousel, ice skating rink, miniature golf and kids train ride at their usual ticket prices.
    Immelman wanted to bring in food trucks and a DJ, but the mayor said he would not support having any vehicles on the Old School Square grounds. Commissioner Shelly Petrolia pointed out that the circular driveway in front of the Crest Theatre is paved and could possibly be used as a location for food trucks.
    Last year, the event grew out of control. With crowds clogging Atlantic Avenue the police had to close the street to vehicle traffic. This year, the avenue between Swinton Avenue and southbound Federal Highway will be closed starting at 4 p.m. and reopen early on New Year’s Day.

    In other business, the commission approved splitting its police and firefighter pension board into two boards after hearing that the state had approved the split. On the new boards, the City Commission will appoint two members, the police and firefighters union will appoint two members to the respective board and the fifth member will be picked by all four.
    Petrolia voted against the split because the state’s opinion was not in writing. Even so, she selected her picks for both boards. Vice Mayor Al Jacquet selected his picks at two October commission meetings.
    Glickstein said it was “a big accomplishment for the city” to gain control over its public safety pension funds by negotiating with the unions for three years. It also means the city will collect $1.3 million to pay down the unfunded pension liabilities and another $504,000 in discretionary money.

By Jane Smith

    The owner of the proposed iPic luxury movie theater in downtown Delray Beach received a seventh extension of a purchase contract from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
    The agency extended the contract until Jan. 31 to allow time to reach an agreement with the city on the parking garage.         “I feel strongly we need to move this project forward,” said Cathy Balestriere, CRA board member.
    Most of her colleagues agreed while saying they were frustrated with the delay. The CRA will receive $3.6 million from the property sale to iPic.
    Only one board member voted no at the Oct. 20 meeting.
    Since signing the agreement more than three years ago, iPic has built six other theaters, said Daniel Rose, the CRA board member who voted against the extension.
    “What about Delray’s?” he asked.
    CRA Attorney David Tolces assured the board members. He said if they agreed to the extension, they would show they were “operating in good faith … and acting as a facilitator to allow the city and the developer to reach a [parking garage] agreement.” Then if iPic needed more time at the end of January, the board would be in a better position to take action.
    The CRA owns the 1.59-acre site, which once housed the city library and chamber of commerce. The developer proposes to build a multilevel garage with 315 parking spaces, with 90 reserved for public use. The City Commission took over the garage agreement in March to ensure the public parking spaces would be included in the iPic garage.
    City commissioners approved that agreement Nov. 1. The contract calls for construction to start within a year of the property purchase date, completion in three years and public spaces reserved on the second floor and part of the third.
    The developer agreed to pay the city $162,620 for seven parking spaces. The money is due when iPic receives its building permit from the city.
    People who want to use the public parking spaces will be able to bypass the iPic valet, the spaces will be labeled “public parking” and drivers will have the ability to turn around safely inside the garage. It will be open the same hours as the other city garages, 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
    The iPic developer is responsible for maintaining the garage, but may contact the CRA to pay for the maintenance of the public parking spaces.
    Separately, the city’s Downtown Development Authority is working with CRA staff and the iPic development team to find 90 parking spaces that customers and employees can use while the project is under construction, said Laura Simon, DDA executive director.
    In March, the iPic complex received city approval to build a mixed-use development with eight movie theaters having 497 seats and taking up 44,979 square feet of space, 43,880 square feet of office space and 7,487 square feet of retail space.
    Another condition of approval requires iPic to move its corporate headquarters to Delray Beach and occupy 20,000 square feet for five years.
    The third condition covers traffic on southbound Federal Highway, requiring iPic to station a police officer near its pedestrian entrance to prevent drivers from stopping to drop off passengers for the movies.
    The fourth condition covers the public terrace on the third floor of the complex. The iPic developer will allow free access to the terrace at least between normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    In other CRA action, the Currie Sowards Aguila Architects firm was awarded a $90,000 contract to create a new design for the city’s historic Old School Square grounds. That contract calls for site analysis, designs to be delivered in six months, meetings with a “core committee” appointed by CRA staff to review the progress and plans, two community meetings and presentation of the master plan to the CRA board and City Commission for approval and adoption. CRA members voted 6-0 after Balestriere left the meeting.
    The CRA and the city also won a statewide award from the Florida Redevelopment Association at its annual meeting in October. They received an outstanding achievement in the Transportation/Transit Enhancements category for the U.S. 1/Federal Highway beautification project.
    The roadway was narrowed by one travel lane in each direction to make room for on-street parking, a bike lane and wider, landscaped sidewalks. The nearly $14 million project began in 2004 and finished last year with five partners: $5.1 million from the state, $3.6 million from the CRA, $3 million from the city, $2.2 million from the federal government and $178,734 from developers.

Steven Penniman and George Britt work on the town’s underground utilities project at the corner

of Golfview and Polo drives as phase 2 begins.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

    The threat of Hurricane Matthew bearing down on Gulf Stream made Mayor Scott Morgan an even more ardent believer in the virtues of putting electric wires underground.
    “Down in the south end of town, where with the slightest breeze we would lose power, we did not lose power in this storm, which had sustained 40-mile-an-hour winds and 60-mile-an-hour gusts,” Morgan said. “It’s the first time ever, where I live, that that occurred. And of course that’s occurring after we went underground.”
    Morgan and his wife, Lisa, bought their home on North Ocean Boulevard in 2004.
    “So I think it does lend some support to the reasoning that the town had in moving forward with the advantage of undergrounding,” Morgan said.
    The mayor’s observations came during an update on the utilities project. Phase 1 will be complete once streetlights are installed on State Road A1A from Pelican Lane to Golfview Drive, Morgan said. Florida Power & Light Co. has completed plans for the lighting, and the town expects the state Department of Transportation to issue a permit for the work in January, he said.
    The contractor has begun to install conduit on Golfview Drive and will be moving northward as phase 2 progresses. The contractor has 10 months to finish installing conduit for all overhead utilities and transfer the FPL service.
    In other business, commissioners elevated Curtiss Roach, the first alternate member of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board, to being a full member.
    “When asked to come down at the last minute, he does. He’s very responsive and committed to serving, so I think that would be a wise choice,” said Town Commissioner Paul Lyons, whose spot on the ARPB Roach is filling.
    Commissioners are looking for someone to takes Roach’s position as first alternate.

By Steve Plunkett

    Buffeted by thousands of public records requests and dozens of lawsuits, mostly from two town residents, Gulf Stream now has a full-time staff attorney to handle the workload.
    Edward “Trey” Nazzaro, who as a paralegal at Town Attorney John “Skip” Randolph’s law firm helped Gulf Stream write its public records procedures, started work at Town Hall in October.
    “He is a man of great integrity, intelligence, and he knows most of us here,” Town Manager William Thrasher told commissioners Oct. 14.
    Nazzaro has an annual salary of $87,500 plus pension, health insurance and other benefits, and office expenses. Thrasher moved $133,483 from “contract legal services” to cover the cost, leaving a net effect of zero on the town’s budget.
    “We probably should have done it years ago,” Town Commissioner Joan Orthwein said.
    Randolph will continue in his longtime role as town attorney.
    Thrasher said there are “a lot of things” Nazzaro can do. “For example, today he is at calendar call [at the courthouse in West Palm Beach], standing and waiting to yell out, ‘Yes,’” he said.
    Nazzaro’s pay translates to $61.77 per hour. “If you compare that to our lowest general or outside counsel, they use the figure $250; that’s a savings per hour of $188.23,” Thrasher said.
    Nazzaro, who was an Eagle Scout before attending college, was editor-in-chief of the law review and graduated magna cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens in 2014. That same year the Town Commission passed a resolution of appreciation for the work he did authoring Gulf Stream’s public records policy.
    Nazzaro spent the past two years as a law clerk in federal court in Miami.
    Mayor Scott Morgan, who also is a nonpracticing lawyer, said Nazzaro is “intimately familiar” with the town’s public records woes and would have plenty of work in his new position. “Almost any activity we consider here has legal ramifications,” Morgan said.
    Resident Chris O’Hare complained that starting lawyers at the State Attorney’s Office earn around $50,000 a year and asked why the town did not let attorneys bid for the work. “It seems like a waste of taxpayer money,” said O’Hare, who has filed numerous lawsuits against the town over public records.
    “That’s rich coming from you, Mr. O’Hare,” Morgan quickly responded. “You’re part of the problem that puts us in this situation.”

Plans for the revitalized shopping center would alter the entrance to the adjacent Tropic Isles neighborhood.

Rendering provided

By Jane Smith
    
    A city board denied the site plan for Delray Place South in a chaotic late October meeting. Board members voted twice on the shopping center’s site plan. It was denied both times by a 3-2 vote. The votes took place about 11 p.m.
    Delray Place South sits in the southeastern end of Delray Beach. It’s a 30-year-old center on the east side of Federal Highway just south of Linton Boulevard between Eve Street and Tropic Boulevard.
    The site plan features a crosscut connection from Delray Place, home to Trader Joe’s, across Eve Street, into the 22,089-square-foot Delray Place South. The Planning Department recommended speed bumps be installed on the two-way, main driveway of Delray Place South.
    The crosscut provides “better circulation of the overall area,” said the plazas’ owner, Joe Carosella.
    The site plan also called for a five-lane gateway on Tropic Boulevard. It would be achieved by reducing the 20-foot median to 14 feet and creating three exit lanes going west onto Federal Highway. Two westbound lanes would be designated left-turn only. The eastbound lanes also would be widened by 2 feet. The right one would go directly to Tropic Isles, prompting resident Renee Radabaugh to ask: “Does anyone want an express lane to their homes?”
    Site Plan Appearance and Review Board member Jim Chard, who voted against the site plan, said, “With this vote, we are changing the entrance to this community forever. It has narrow little lanes creating a village feeling with the shade trees.”
    After the first vote denied the site plan, Carosella came up to the speaker’s podium and asked board member Alice Finst whether she understood the site plan. His firm had provided the crosscut connection that she wanted.
    That approach offended acting City Attorney Janice Rustin, who reminded him to step away from the mic. Carosella already had spoken multiple times and coming up again was not allowed. His project was discussed at a quasi-judicial hearing with required procedures.
    Rustin asked Finst whether she was clear on the site plan and wanted a revote. Finst then made a motion to reconsider the site plan vote. Chard was the lone dissenter. The site plan revote also turned out 3-2, with Chard, Finst and Vlad Dumitrescu voting no. Dumitrescu said he normally supports connections between properties, but in this case he thought the owner could do more. Finst, reached after the meeting, said, “My main objection was changing the traffic patterns for people who have lived in Tropic Isles for decades.”
    Board Chairman Roger Cope voted for the site plan after he received a promise from Carosella to move the Dunkin’ Donuts northwestern tower 2 feet to the east. That move would improve safety for diners at the eatery’s sidewalk cafe and create more sidewalk space for pedestrians. Carosella was seeking a waiver from the 20-foot requirement to have the sidewalk width be just 7 ½ feet.  
    Shannon Dawson, a board member who also supported the site plan, said revitalizing the development was “a good thing.” She also commented that part of the problem was that the two shopping centers were not connected.
    Board member Frederick Kaub had to step down because he works for an engineering firm that did work for Delray Place and was hoping to get work from Delray Place South. The two shopping centers are owned by the same firm, Retail Property Group of Boca Raton. The seventh board member, Linda Purdo-Enochs, was absent.
    The meeting’s length was partly caused by the Tropic Isles Civic Association’s being granted an opportunity to present its side. Its attorney, Edwin Stacker, received the same amount of extended time — 15 minutes — that was requested by the project’s owner. The city Planning Department also was given the extended time.
    “We have no objection to the renovation of Tropic Square [now known as Delray Place South],” Stacker said. “But don’t make Tropic Isles residents pay for the traffic problems of the developer.”
    Twenty-six people spoke during public comment. Most objected to the site plan because of the traffic problems it would create at the entrance to their community.
    Christina Morrison, a real estate broker and Tropic Isles resident, said the community had a history of mistrust with the developer over Delray Place. She wanted to see all the exit lanes on the developer’s property.
    Despite the four meetings the property owner said he had with the Tropic Isles community, Valorie Loomer said she heard about the renovation from her hairdresser. She is in favor of redevelopment but not at the expense of the Tropic Isles entranceway.
    She brought her 9-year-old son, Dylan, to the meeting. “When my mom showed me the plans, I didn’t think it was a good idea,” he said. “When Delray Place opened, it was unsafe for me to scooter and ride my bike around the neighborhood.”
    The Loomers left at 9 p.m., already past Dylan’s bedtime, his mom said.
    Carosella has 10 working days to appeal the board’s denial to the City Commission. As of press time, the appeal was not submitted.