Patriotic fervor is on full display this month, with Fourth of July fireworks extravaganzas up and down the coast — including in Lantana, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton —  and even a reading of the Declaration of Independence as part of Delray Beach’s festivities.

It is quite a feat that America is still standing 250 years after that declaration was first read throughout the 13 colonies.

Let’s keep that exuberance going as we head into the fall and the upcoming election season.

Nothing is more foundational to the ideal that is America than the right to vote, giving each citizen a say in the direction our country takes.

It’ll be up to people like Wendy Sartory Link, Palm Beach County’s elections supervisor, to make sure the rules are followed and the elections go off without a hitch. That’s no easy task when you realize that in Palm Beach County alone, there are close to 870,000 registered voters.

I attended an Elections Experience Tour in June that Link offered to teach “about the election process, voting equipment, ballot security, and the steps taken to ensure accurate and transparent elections.”

Link’s tour was impressive, detailing and demonstrating the steps taken during each part of the process to ensure the integrity of our elections. 

The system’s machines can move ballots at incredible speeds — yet still have time to weigh every ballot being mailed out as an added precaution — with built-in redundancies to verify an accurate count.

While the mailed-in votes zip through many parts of the system, the voter signatures on them are all checked manually by trained staff. When it comes to counting the vote, the results are tabulated by two separate systems, providing an automatic audit of every precinct’s results.

When irregularities or issues pop up, the county’s canvassing board — made up of Link, a county commissioner and a county judge — steps in to make a final determination.

But there will be plenty of places for confusion to pop up. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that states that allow mailed-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted can continue to count them.

Just remember, Florida isn’t one of those states. Florida elections supervisors can only count ballots from regular voters that arrive in their offices by Election Day. 

There are also battles taking place that could impact the vote here, such as over what exactly is a free and fair election.

It has to be that everyone eligible to vote — and only those eligible to vote — are allowed to vote. However, some people place the emphasis on making it as easy as possible for all eligible voters to be able to cast a ballot, while others stress the need for additional safeguards to find and stop any ineligible voters from doing so.

In the end, it’ll be up to the courts to determine what steps are OK and which go too far — and just how easy or difficult it should be for citizens to take part in the election process.

The founders didn’t create a perfect system. Each generation has struggled to keep the promise of America going. Two steps forward, one step back; that’s the history of our country.

We just need people willing to stand up for the rights and values that got us this far, especially the right to vote, to provide hope as America sets its sights on that next looming milestone — our tricentennial — 50 years from now.

— Larry Barszewski,

 Editor 

Ilona and Malcolm Balfour were instrumental in the creation and maintenance of the Lantana Nature Preserve and were honored by the Town Council for their service. Jim Rassol/The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter 

A presentation during the June 8 Lantana Town Council meeting turned the spotlight on one of the town’s most beloved couples, Malcolm and Ilona Balfour. They were recognized for their dedication to the town, especially the Nature Preserve. 

Born in South Africa, the Balfours, now in their 80s, celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary recently. Their life hasn’t always been easy (Ilona says her husband often worked multiple jobs to provide for the family), but has been marked with a love of community.They moved to Miami in 1968, where Malcolm, the son of a South African journalist, began writing for Reuters and UPI. One assignment had him covering a ball at the Breakers in Palm Beach, where he ended up dancing with Rose Kennedy. 

That news caught the attention of media mogul Generoso Pope of The National Enquirer, which was headquartered in Lantana. Pope hired Balfour, which brought the couple and their two small children to Lantana in 1972. By 1975, they had moved into the house where they still reside on Hypoluxo Island. Nestled between the beach and the newspaper, it was perfect for the young family. Malcolm rode his bicycle to work.

The location also put the Balfours in good position to overlook the Lantana Nature Preserve. It opened at 440 E. Ocean Ave. in 2000 and was practically in their backyard, with a small waterway between. 

The preserve hadn’t existed when the family first arrived. The Balfour kids waded through the water to play games on the property.

Ilona and other concerned residents were instrumental in the preserve’s creation. In the 1970s, Ilona and others founded Save Our Parks to make sure valuable town waterfront land wasn’t sold for development.

Other members of Save Our Parks included Rod and Elizabeth Tennyson, Andrea Babkie and Veronica Rauch, Ilona said at the presentation.

Save Our Parks’ first victory came with the creation of Bicentennial Park in 1976. It looked like the town mayor then was going to sell the land to build shops on the waterfront property. 

Save Our Parks rallied for a park and won. That same year, the Balfours, caught up in Bicentennial fervor, became U.S. citizens.

Next targeted for sale and development was the town dump, a 13-acre plot between the beach and Hypoluxo Island. Plans called for a luxury home community to be built on the site, but residents, particularly the Save Our Parks crew, lobbied and were ultimately successful in securing a park.

Developers built a luxury senior living home, the Carlisle, on 7.5 acres. 

The 6.5 acres beside it became the Lantana Nature Preserve, designed to look much like what pioneers who arrived in 1865 would have seen. 

As part of the negotiations with the developer, the Carlisle agreed to pay for maintenance. 

That fee has grown over the years. This year, the town will receive $65,000 to care for the park. Carlisle residents are regular park visitors.

“We visited every bar in town to get the local fishermen involved and filled the council chambers with people who wanted a park,” Ilona said.

Ilona is part of local tree lore. Folks say that when the preserve was being constructed, Ilona chained herself to a ficus tree to protect it from destruction as she held a sign that read “Leave my tree Ilona,” a wordplay on her first name. She didn’t actually do that.

“I threatened to tie myself to the tree,” she says. But the ficus wasn’t a native and had to go. It was replaced with a strangler fig. “The birds seem to like it,” she says.

Since it opened in 2000, the Balfours have been active visitors and staunch supporters of the preserve’s wildlife and conservation efforts. Malcolm was a member of the Town Council for nine years. Environmental and preservation issues remain part of his public service record. 

By the late 1990s, the town began clearing the debris and grading the terrain to mimic a coastal dune. Nonnative plants were removed and replaced with mangrove seedlings and coastal grasses.

The Balfours, as members of the Friends of the Lantana Nature Preserve, were active visitors and supporters. In the early years, Friends of the Lantana Nature Preserve sponsored educational tours for children to teach them about native plants. 

“We’d give them prizes when they correctly identified plants,” Ilona said. “Before Mother’s Day, we gave them each a butterfly plant to take home to their mothers.”

If a bathroom visit was necessary, they marched the children next door to the luxurious Carlisle. 

“The kids were more excited about the marble restrooms than the plants,” Ilona remembered.

Former Mayor Dave Stewart, who drove down from his home in St. Augustine to witness the presentation, said the Balfours were dedicated to preserving the small-town feel of Lantana.

“They have done their best to make sure the town was a pleasant, nice place for people to live, work and play,” he said. “They have always tried to do what is best.” 

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By Rich Pollack

Highland Beach has put the brakes on plans to ban electric bikes and other battery-operated vehicles from its 3-mile-long walking path on State Road A1A after learning that any such moves would have to be blessed by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Further knocking the town off balance is a proposed Palm Beach County ordinance that could be implemented throughout the entire county regulating the vehicles.

Highland Beach town leaders, led largely by Vice Mayor David Stern, have expressed concerns about electric bikes and other electric vehicles on the walking path, which is popular among walkers and people on non-motorized bicycles.

In response, Town Attorney Len Rubin drafted an ordinance prohibiting motorized scooters, e-bikes and other motor vehicles from being operated on the path, but he said it would be difficult to enforce without FDOT’s consent.

“The town could not enforce the ordinance or erect any signage warning operators of the prohibition without the approval and consent of FDOT,” he wrote.

Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the town will reach out to FDOT officials to see if it is possible to implement the ordinance on the walking path.

Rubin said that even a proposed county ordinance being circulated would most likely need FDOT approval if it was to be enforced on FDOT rights-of-way.

Regarding the electric vehicles, the draft of the county ordinance requires “operation with due care and prudence, having regard for pedestrian activity, traffic conditions, visibility and other attendant circumstances that does not endanger the safety of persons or property.”

It would also prohibit operation on sidewalks and shared-use paths within designated commercial or high pedestrian areas and would allow the designation of zones where electric vehicles are prohibited.

While that ordinance could be applied countywide, Rubin said that municipalities would have the ability to not adopt it.

Already several area municipalities have been considering ordinances regulating electric vehicles on sidewalks. Boynton Beach has discussed a proposed ordinance, but not adopted it, and staff in Delray Beach is doing research into possible regulation. Boca Raton relies on state law and prohibits e-motorcycles on sidewalks.

In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposed new state law that would have required e-bikes to go no faster than 10 miles per hour on sidewalks or pedestrian areas if a pedestrian is within 50 feet. The law also would have required those on e-vehicles to provide an audible warning, such as a bell, before passing a pedestrian on a shared-use path or park trail.

The law, that was passed unanimously by both houses of the legislature, would have also required riders under 16 to wear a properly fitted helmet.

In vetoing the bill, the governor said that it would be difficult for e-bicycles to measure their speed while safely operating the vehicle.

DeSantis also said that the new law would eventually lead to more public surveillance through radar or other devices.

“Certainly, I don’t want to anything that’s going to lead to more surveillance,” he said during a news conference on June 26.

In Florida, the legislature can override a veto with two thirds of members present in each house voting in favor. It is likely, however, the vote would have to come at the end of the next legislative session in 2027.

Manager gets pay boost — Manalapan Town Manager Eric Marmer will get a $40,000 pay boost in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, pushing his annual salary to $235,000, Town Commission members decided on June 23. Commissioners made no comments about Marmer’s performance or the 20.5% pay hike.

After serving about a year as assistant to longtime Town Manager Linda Stumpf, Marmer was promoted to the top job in September 2024 and given an annual salary of $170,000. That grew to $195,000 this year. Marmer is coming up on the final year of his current three-year contract with the town.

At his new salary, Marmer will be paid less than the $255,200 that Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie is earning this year.

Eminent domain for Town Hall land — Plans to replace Town Hall moved closer to reality when a judge in June gave town leaders the go-ahead to seize the site of a former bank on South Ocean Boulevard for their new headquarters.

As ordered by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Darren Shull, the town on June 23 deposited $2.85 million into the court registry so it can begin negotiating a sale price with the New York owners of the former bank in the Plaza del Mar. The roughly 1-acre site is across from the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, a short way north of the town’s cramped 45-year-old offices that have been plagued by air conditioning and drainage problems.

The town was forced to use eminent domain to seize the land when landowner Salute Realty LLC failed to respond to a purchase offer. Town attorney Keith Davis said price negotiations will begin soon. If no agreement can be reached, a jury would decide how much the town will be forced to pay.

Salute bought the former bank in 2019 for $1.2 million. Since then, property values in Manalapan have skyrocketed.

Town officials have said they will likely have to buy additional land in the plaza to accommodate city administrative offices as well as the police and fire departments. Town Manager Eric Marmer said plans likely will begin to take shape next year.          

— Jane Musgrave

Correction and clarification: The print version of this story, and an earlier online version, incorrectly reported that Town Manager Eric Marmer received a new contract. Beginning Oct. 1, Marmer will be in the third year of his current three-year contract. The commission voted him a $40,000 raise for the coming year.  

In some locations the oyster strands are hung with poly-rope (below right); city staffers hung the ones in Boca Raton’s Rutherford Park (above) on stainless steel cables that can provide longer lifespans. Photos provided

The fishing pier at Rutherford Park is now home to the city’s first “vertical oyster garden.”

City staff installed 25 strands of recycled oyster shells under the park’s pier on the Intracoastal Waterway in May. The strands, which were assembled by volunteers at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, provide a surface for oyster larvae to attach and grow, creating living reefs that support fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine life, the city said.

Oysters are powerful natural filters, with a single adult capable of filtering up to 50 gallons of water per day, the city said. As oyster populations grow, they improve water clarity, reduce excess nutrients and support seagrass growth.

The West Palm Beach Fishing Club partnered with restaurants to collect and recycle the oyster shells. The shells were drilled, strung on stainless steel cables and assembled into vertical gardens at Gumbo Limbo in April. Their weights were recorded to help track oyster growth and habitat development over time.

The project supports the city’s goals of improving water quality, restoring marine habitat, enhancing coastal resilience and engaging the community in environmental stewardship, the city said.

— Steve Plunkett

By Rich Pollack

After years of back-and-forth discussions and letters, Delray Beach in June filed a lawsuit against neighboring Highland Beach, claiming the oceanfront town owes the city $3.8 million for past fire rescue services. 

As they have for at least the past four years, Highland Beach town officials dispute the contention.

“The amount claimed is not substantiated by the exhibits they provided,” said Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie. 

In April 2025, Highland Beach responded to a request from Delray Beach for mediation by saying the town sees the advantage of settling the dispute without going to court, but it wouldn’t do that until it received detailed records it has been seeking for several years.

Now it appears mediation may be one of the first steps in the effort to resolve Delray Beach’s claims that Highland Beach is in breach of contract. 

“Now we have an opportunity to get to a place where we can resolve this issue,” Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore said. “This is the next step.”

In the lawsuit, the city said it initially sent the town a breach-of-contract notification in 2023 for $517,654 for moneys owed in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. 

The suit said that in 2025, the city further reviewed “all transactions and amounts for services rendered and determined the town owed the city $3.8 million.”

Highland Beach’s Labadie said that the town has not received a bill from Delray Beach since 2023. 

For more than 30 years, Highland Beach and Delray Beach had an agreement in which Delray Beach provided fire and rescue services to the town using a town-owned fire station 

In May 2024, Highland Beach started its own fire department, following notification to the city in October 2021 that it would terminate the contract. 

During the final years of the contract, Highland Beach disputed the way Delray Beach calculated how much it was owed. 

In years prior to the split, Delray Beach began using the actual costs of the 21.5 firefighter paramedics assigned to the station in Highland Beach to determine the town’s cost for service, about $5 million per year. 

Highland Beach has argued, however, that the agreement between the two municipalities clearly states that such cost should be calculated based on the average “in-rank” cost of fire rescue personnel throughout the city.

Since that time, the two municipalities have exchanged correspondences, including one in which Highland Beach Town Attorney Len Rubin wrote that the town thinks the city actually owes it money because it overcharged the town almost $238,000 for fiscal years 2021 and 2022. 

While the city in the lawsuit says it provided the town with additional materials and data in 2023, Highland Beach leaders have said they have not received all the detailed information that substantiated Delray Beach’s contentions. 

“There is nothing to validate their claims,” Labadie said. 

In March 2023, State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a former Highland Beach town commissioner, took the issue before the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee that she served on. The committee referred the matter to the state auditor general’s office, which reported that November that Delray Beach had mismanaged its billing and had not charged Highland Beach for $2.2 million the city was owed. The anticipated mediation following that report has yet to occur.

The new lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on June 10, came just a short time after Delray Beach City Commissioner Juli Casale asked for an update on efforts to collect money owed by Highland Beach. 

Labadie said that he believes the dispute will eventually be resolved, but he doesn’t think that will happen quickly. 

“It will eventually work itself out in time,” he said. 

An auto engine, a wheel and an overturned SUV litter the northbound lane of A1A in Gulf Stream after the June 29 crash. Work to restore the road continued for hours into the next morning. Photo provided by Gulf Stream Police

The driver of a car speeding northbound on State Road A1A in Gulf Stream late at night on June 29 lost control of the Land Rover SUV, which hit a water pipe, struck several trees and then flipped over onto the roadway. 

The man, whose name has not been released, was transported by Trauma Hawk helicopter following the crash, with police shutting down A1A for about two hours following the 11:20 p.m. incident. Hours later, on the morning of June 30, A1A traffic was detoured for about 4 ½ hours as crews for Boynton Beach worked to repair the damaged water pipe.

Workers repair the broken water line hours after the crash. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Gulf Stream Police Chief Richard Jones said one of his officers was stationed in a cruiser along northbound A1A when his car shook from the Land Rover speeding past at an estimated 80 mph.

“As he looked up, the car was about beginning to lose control,” Jones said. The car struck a large water valve and crashed into multiple trees before flipping over, he said. The car’s engine could be seen along the roadway, having been knocked out of the car.

Jones said he could not release details about the driver while the crash is under investigation. The condition of the driver was not known as of press time June 30.

The crash occurred in the 4300 block of A1A, near the Ballantrae condominiums. Debris was scattered for several hundred feet, Jones said.

— Larry Barszewski

By Larry Barszewski

More than 500 juveniles and young adults swarmed the Delray Beach pavilion and surrounding area June 6 in a “Beach Takeover” that police said “had been promoted extensively on social media.”

Police said they were aware of the postings and were on hand in force to maintain public safety during the gathering, with officers clearing the area once the beach officially closed at dusk. 

Officers “managed several disturbances, fights, and acts of disorderly conduct that occurred as the crowd moved through the downtown corridor,” Police Chief Darrell Hunter wrote in an email to commissioners and the city manager the next day. 

“Multiple arrests were made when individuals resisted lawful orders, interfered with officers, or engaged in criminal activity,” Hunter said. “Despite the size of the crowd and the challenges presented, officers effectively controlled the situation, prevented escalation, and restored normal operations without any major injuries or significant property damage.”

As of June 23, the Police Department was denying The Coastal Star’s public records request for police reports of the incident that City Commissioner Tom Markert described as a “mob scene at A1A and Atlantic,” with police saying the reports concerned an active criminal investigation.

At the City Commission’s June 9 meeting, Markert said the gathering was one of several “takeovers” that had occurred in Palm Beach County during the previous week. He had seen social posts for a June 5 takeover of the Wellington Mall and another June 6 at the beach on Singer Island. There have been other reported “teen takeovers” happening across the state over the past several months.

While Markert said he doesn’t want to see juveniles being arrested, he also said the Delray Beach incident was a “scary situation” from his perspective. 

“We had several merchants that called me that had to close their doors because the conditions were unsafe,” Markert said. “I don’t want our residents to feel unsafe, and I certainly don’t want our merchants closing up their doors early on a Saturday night.” 

By Sephora Charles 

Delray Beach commissioners plan to invest nearly $396,000 in state opioid settlement funds toward housing, job assistance and a new mobile health unit designed to connect residents with support services. 

The city is receiving the money from annual distributions from a statewide opioid litigation settlement, established to address the effects of the opioid epidemic. The suits concerned the overdoses, addictions and deaths linked to manufacturing, distribution and over-prescribing of the painkillers. 

“These funds should be allocated in a way that reaches the entire community, most importantly those who are currently still alive, but struggling to stay alive and are the victims of these horrible practices,” Lissa Franklin, the executive director of the Delray Beach Drug Task Force, said during public comments at the commission’s June 9 meeting. 

Delray Beach currently has $395,524 available for opioid-related services, Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris said during the commission meeting. 

The commission’s approved expenditure plan includes $125,500 for a mobile integrated health unit run by the fire rescue department, $135,000 for workforce and job assistance grants, and $135,024 for affordable housing grants for residents in recovery.

The mobile integrated health unit is designed to follow up with residents who were transported to the hospital due to opioid-related issues, recurring substance use or mental health issues. Through this program, residents who aren’t connected with recovery resources after their hospital visit will be referred to the appropriate professionals and services to help maintain long-term stability. 

“This program, at its core, is meant to address on a local level a hole that we know exists in our health care system,” Fire Chief Ronald Martin said. 

Settlement funds for the unit will finance up to 50% of the program’s anticipated $251,000 total, covering part of the salary for a paramedic and a licensed clinical social worker. No source of funding has been identified for the remaining cost.

Commissioner Juli Casale voiced her concern about funding a new two-person unit instead of contributing to an existing program from a private provider. 

“I’m just wondering if it’s more financially efficient for us to find somebody doing it and fund them,” she said. 

Casale worried that the unit will need additional funding in the next budget year to hire more staff —  as the city prepares for potential budget reductions. 

Martin acknowledged the commission’s concerns about the city’s financial uncertainty but emphasized the program’s importance. 

“This is the right thing to do for the community,” he said.

The city is taking the community’s feedback to shape its spending priorities, Oris said. 

“Treatment is not the issue right now; support for those in treatment and those who have come from treatment is the real issue,” he said.

As a next step, city staff is submitting the spending plan to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The city will then advertise a request for proposals for the approved services.

Staff will review applications before referring qualified proposals to the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, consisting of seven members appointed by the City Commission. The committee will then make funding recommendations to commissioners for final approval. 

ABOVE: The headstone of a World War II veteran is nearly obscured by leaves. BELOW: A worker prepares rebar for the floor of a new mausoleum being built to increase the cemetery’s capacity. Photos by Jerry Lower and Rachel O'Hara/The Coastal Star

By Sephora Charles 

Delray Beach city commissioners plan to discuss problems at the city’s cemetery after hearing residents’ complaints about deteriorating conditions there and a lack of upkeep — with one commissioner saying she can’t even determine where her father is buried.

City Manager Terrence Moore said he will provide a comprehensive summary of the issues there during a July 14 commission workshop meeting. 

Delray Beach Memorial Gardens Municipal Cemetery on Southwest 10th Street has reached capacity, and residents are worried about the maintenance of their loved ones’ resting places.

Ann Stacey Wright, a city resident, said during public comments at the commission’s June 9 meeting that she recently visited the cemetery and “was very upset at the condition of the headstone of my family members.” 

Grass had grown to nearly cover the tombstones, and damage was visible on the headstones, she said. 

Delray Beach resident Ann Stacey Wright tells city commissioners that she is very troubled about the condition of her family’s headstone.

Vice Mayor Angela Burns said during the meeting that other residents discussed the matter with her. After spending some time in the cemetery, she said she is “very, very concerned.”

The lack of plot space is leaving families scrambling to find a cemetery to bury their loved ones, including a young woman who went weeks without being able to bury her mother, Burns said.

“Families are not getting any closure,” she said.

Last year, the city announced plans to expand the historic cemetery with two mausoleum buildings, including more than 2,000 spaces.

Residents are also worried about a tree that may be removed, which they said could affect the surrounding gravesites. 

Burns shared feedback about the cemetery’s online database. She said that her father was buried there in 1974, and she does not know exactly where his grave is located. An error appears on the website when she searches for him. 

Moore said that there are “record-keeping issues that date back decades.”

Burns suggested holding the workshop to address these problems because the cemetery “is in bad shape.” 

By Mary Hladky

Related Ross, founded by billionaire and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, is in negotiations to buy the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

Jordan Bargas, executive vice president of Related Ross, confirmed the company’s intent in a mid-June statement.

“Related Ross is excited about the opportunity to expand into Boca Raton at BRiC, an incredible asset with a rich history,” he said.

The 123-acre campus at 5000 T-Rex Ave., immediately west of Interstate 95 off Yamato Road, now is owned by CP Group, Rialto, DRA Advisors and Las Olas Capital Advisors. A spokeswoman declined comment.

The campus, with its rich history as the place where IBM invented the personal computer, includes an iconic 1.7 million-square-foot office building designed by architect Marcel Breuer.

When CP Group acquired BRiC in 2018 for $179 million, it embarked on an ambitious plan to create a $1 billion live-work-play development. It since has spent $100 million upgrading the campus.

In 2023, the City Council approved zoning changes that allowed the company to re-envision the site by adding more than 1,200 residential units, 125,000 square feet of retail — including a grocery store — a 55,000-square-foot entertainment venue, 85,000 square feet of medical offices and a 140-room boutique hotel.

West Palm Beach-based Related Ross has shown its desire to expand into Boca Raton before. The company and Terra and Frisbie Group submitted unsolicited proposals in 2024 to redevelop the city’s 30-acre downtown campus.

With four companies eventually in the running, the City Council rejected Related Ross’ proposal on grounds its proposed 2.4 million square feet of development that included three office buildings was too dense.

Terra/Frisbie won out, but city residents on March 10 resoundingly voted against its redevelopment plan.

CP Group also is looking for opportunity.

It is negotiating to buy downtown Boca Raton’s Mizner Park. The current owner, Brookfield Properties, wants to sell that retail, dining and cultural destination.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency in February consented to transfer long-term commercial ground leases in Mizner Park to four entities led by CP Group.

Brookfield owns most of the buildings in Mizner Park and the CRA owns the land underneath them.

City pursues railroad crossing at Jeffery Street — Boca Raton has received a $2 million federal Congressional Community Project Funding award that will go toward the cost of a new Florida East Coast Railway crossing at Jeffery Street, near the city’s planned North Park.

As part of the FEC project, the Northwest 28th Street railroad crossing about two miles to the south will be closed.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Parkland, presented the city with a ceremonial check on June 22. The city is coordinating the project with the Florida Department of Transportation and the FEC. Construction is expected to begin in the fall.

In addition to the new crossing, the work will include intersection, sidewalk, drainage, lighting and signage improvements. Jeffery Street also will provide another link between Northwest Second Avenue and Federal Highway.

Jeffery also bisects the planned North Park at 5800 NW Second Ave.

The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District awarded a $19.7 million bid on June 22 to Butters Construction and Development to build facilities on the east 70 acres of the park, including extensive walking and bike trails, restrooms, a playground, fitness equipment, a dog park and a parking lot. The city will pay for a pedestrian tunnel under Jeffery Street to connect the separated sides.

— Mary Hladky and Steve Plunkett

Whole blood now available on special EMS vehicle — Boca Raton residents with medical emergencies and experiencing severe blood loss now will have access to whole blood transfusions before they arrive at the hospital.

The city’s Fire Rescue is among only 1-2% of emergency agencies nationwide equipped to provide whole blood, city officials said.

The blood is carried on a specially equipped EMS supervisor vehicle that can be dispatched anywhere within the city limits. It is stored in a temperature-controlled cooler that is constantly monitored.

All city firefighters are certified paramedics and have undergone specialized training on the storage, warming and administration of whole blood.

“Administering blood in pre-hospital environments is a critical intervention that can significantly improve patient outcomes,” said Fire Chief John Treanor. “Boca Raton Fire Rescue is now equipped to perform this vital procedure, enhancing our service delivery to those we serve.”

— Mary Hladky

ABOVE: South Palm Beach created a graphic explaining how Penny the Sea Turtle became the town’s official mascot. Graphic provided; BELOW: The statue former resident Penny Davidson created. Maria Biggane/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

Everybody loves a mascot. 

In their early years, the Miami Dolphins had Dolfan Denny, a man dressed in a garish orange-and-aqua outfit who ran around the Orange Bowl riling up the fans. (He was replaced by cheerleaders.) 

The University of Florida has Albert, a person dressed in what has to be a very warm alligator costume. And the University of Miami has the Ibis, which for some reason twists its orange beak in opposite directions every time it sees a TV camera.

Now the town of South Palm Beach, a sleepy hamlet five-eighths of a mile long just north of the Lantana public beach, has a mascot of its own with Penny the Sea Turtle. It’s a tribute of sorts to former artist-in-residence Penny Davidson, who constructed a life-size bronze turtle climbing over a rock in 2006 to commemorate the town’s 50th anniversary.

The mascot idea came from administrative assistant Emma Trotto, who attended a statewide meeting of municipal employees in Clearwater Beach in April aimed at improving communications with residents.

“We were in a brainstorming session,” Trotto said at the June Town Council meeting, “and a town north of us (DeBary) brought forward that they had made a mascot of a dinosaur for their town and anything that came from this dinosaur was getting the utmost respect and attention from the residents. 

“Anything that Danny the Dinosaur would say, the residents were like, fine. If it came from any other staff member, not so much. So, it was a great way to bridge that gap and make government communications a little more exciting.”

Deciding on the identity of the mascot was easy. The life-sized loggerhead turtle Davidson spent three years to create has easily become the town’s most recognizable feature.

“People know the turtle,” Vice Mayor Fran Attardi said during a brief discussion leading up to the council’s approval of the move by a 5-0 vote. “You say, ‘the town with the turtle,’ and people know exactly where you’re at.”

The move also underscores the town’s appreciation for Davidson, who not only sculpted the bronze turtle but also designed three glass mosaics that serve to hide unsightly electric boxes in front of the Sausalito, Southgate and Mayfair West condominiums.

Born in New Jersey, Davidson spent more than 30 years in Des Moines, Iowa, after marrying in 1949. She spent those years as a teacher of at-risk children before she and her husband, Sol, bought a houseboat in 1982 and spent five months cruising the Mississippi before finding their way to Delray Beach. 

Eight years later, in 1990, they moved to the Horizon West condo in South Palm Beach, where they would remain until Sol died in 2013.

“We didn’t like South Palm Beach,” Penny once said. “We loved South Palm Beach.”

And the town loved her back. 

“She was a warm spirit that made everyone feel welcome,” Town Clerk Yude Davenport said. “She was the kind of person who never hesitated to lend a helping hand, volunteer her time or support a community event.”

Davidson had demonstrated an artistic flair when she created a raw wool needlepoint named Flowering Shrub for the Judy Chicago Birth Project in the early 1980s. The piece is now part of the permanent collection at the Albuquerque Museum.

In South Palm Beach, Davidson became more active artistically, participating in the early Lake Worth Street Painting festivals and holding classes and workshops in the town.

“She had a very creative attitude toward life itself,” longtime resident and former Council member Elva Culbertson said. “She was very fun-loving, very social. One thing most people don’t know is she also started the town book club.”

Culbertson said after Davidson’s husband died, her two sons convinced her to move around the corner from South Palm Beach to the Carlisle, an assisted living facility. Culbertson said Carlisle officials wouldn’t allow her to do her artwork there, so she left her equipment at Town Hall and did it there.

“She couldn’t walk to Town Hall anymore because she was older, so one of us had to pick her up because she was still working on a mosaic,” Culbertson said. 

At least one of her works in the town features a penny as her signature; Culbertson said it could be several.

Davidson ultimately moved back to Iowa to be nearer her children in her final years. She died in 2020.

The South Palm Beach Town Council passed a resolution honoring her work in 2017 and the current council expressed its appreciation and enthusiasm for what the new town mascot could mean going forward.

“It’s a fantastic way to go, and it’s kind of preserving our town history and kind of glorifying it,” Council member Adrian Burcet said. 

Following a nationwide search, Jared L. Phelps has been selected to serve as Boca Raton’s police chief.

Phelps has served as chief of police for Jacksonville, North Carolina, since April 2024. Before that, he served nearly three decades with the Prince William County Police Department in northern Virginia, where he rose through the ranks to become deputy chief. Both are nationally accredited agencies.

Phelps was among 105 applicants for the position, of which 77 met the job requirements. The Jacksonville department has 136 sworn police officers, while Prince William County is authorized to have 749.

The only other finalist for the position was Nicholas R. Augustine, assistant chief of police for the Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland.

“Jared Phelps stood out for his depth of experience, sound judgment, and commitment to public trust,” City Manager Mark Sohaney said in a June 8 statement. “He understands the importance of supporting a high-performing police department and of continuing to build strong relationships with the community it serves.”

Phelps holds a master of public administration degree from George Mason University and a bachelor of science in political science and criminal justice from James Madison University.

His executive leadership education includes the FBI National Academy, the FBI National Executive Institute, the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, the Senior Management Institute for Policing through the Police Executive Research Forum, and the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia.

He replaces former Police Chief Michele Miuccio, a 37-year department veteran who rose through the ranks to become chief in 2020.

Sohaney terminated her and two deputy city managers, Chrissy Gibson and Jorge Camejo, in March as part of a major executive team shake-out. City officials did not say why the three were pushed out.

— Mary Hladky

The series of events commemorating Boca Raton’s centennial last year gave the city an economic boost.

A May 29 city report detailing the impact of the events found that the programs generated about $16.8 million in spending benefiting the local economy, as well as media coverage valued at about $8.7 million.

About 50,000 people attended the events, most of them city residents.

Even if they did not attend, 76,500 residents were aware of the celebrations as were nearly 2 million Florida residents outside the city.

Most popular were the Holiday Street Parade in December, attended by 25,000, the Boca Street Fest in January 2026 attended by 15,000, and workshops or public art unveilings throughout the year.

Most of the spending, $14.2 million, was by people attending the events. That included money spent in restaurants, on food and beverages at event sites, on parking or fuel and for event admissions and tickets.

“These findings collectively illustrate the wide-ranging economic, cultural and visibility benefits realized by the community,” the report states.

— Mary Hladky

Lift station update — Thomas Biggs, executive vice president of Mock Roos, which is building South Palm Beach’s new wastewater lift station, updated Town Council members on the project at their June 9 meeting and assured Mayor Rafael Pineiro that the project is on track for a spring 2028 completion.

Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the town is seeking grant money from both federal and state agencies. The “early indications are we might have some success in both those arenas,” he said. 

Pineiro said he is hopeful Resilient Florida, which offers grants to mitigate the impact of sea-level rise and flooding, will provide $2.15 million of the expected $4 million to $5 million cost.

A1A planning timetable accelerated — Kim DeLaney, a representative of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, appeared remotely at the June 9 council meeting and offered details on a plan for the revitalization of the State Road A1A corridor that has been accelerated by nearly a year.

DeLaney in April had told the Town Council her agency anticipated the final planning to be completed by early 2028. After Mayor Pineiro said he hoped she could speed that up, she returned to say the planning phase would now be completed by March 2027.

“This schedule suggests the process could begin immediately to work with town staff … and council members and begin a very careful public engagement effort,” DeLaney said. “It’s a complex corridor to resolve the challenges the town is facing and it’s going to take a series of complex solutions.”

DeLaney said a number of entities need to be brought into the conversation, including FPL, her district, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Palm Beach County, neighboring municipalities and the town’s own condo associations.

After preliminary meetings with the various groups, the process is expected to include a public workshop in November, followed by an analysis of steps to be taken through next January, with a draft project report in February and a final report in March.

A significant question facing the town has been the struggle to find a place to create a crosswalk where residents could cross A1A safely. Pineiro said the Florida Department of Transportation owns 50 feet on either side of the center line of the road, opening up the possibility for a crosswalk to be created. DeLaney said she would research that and get back.

Sea wall markings to be considered — The Town Council is considering requiring all condominiums facing the ocean to be marked with the numbers of their address to make it easier to communicate to police and fire agencies more accurately the exact location of beach emergencies. About half the buildings have already taken the step. A proposed ordinance will be on the council's July 14 agenda.

Board appointments — The council approved the appointments of Donna Pallante and Susan Saluru to the Community Activity Advisory Board.

— Brian Biggane

Correction: The print version and an earlier online version of these briefs incorrectly stated the status of the town's plans on beachside address markings. The council has indicated it wants to consider requiring the address markings. 

A Boynton Beach priest has been placed on administrative leave, with the Diocese of Palm Beach announcing that “serious allegations” had been made against him. 

The Rev. Alex J. Vargas, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Military Trail near Woolbright Road since August 2025, had his ministerial faculties withdrawn immediately on May 6 and he is prohibited from exercising priestly ministry.

The nature of the allegations has not been disclosed. The diocese has retained Renaissance Associates, Ltd., an independent firm, to conduct an investigation.

The allegations were reported to the Florida Department of Children and Families by Lisa Linnell, the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator, on June 18, according to a statement from the diocese.

Vargas had previously served the parish as an administrator and a vicar. He was born in 1971 in Honduras. The diocese appointed the Rev. Antony Pulikal as parochial administrator of St. Thomas.

The diocese encourages anyone who may have been a victim of abuse, misconduct, or criminal behavior by a representative of the church to come forward and report it through the diocese’s reporting line at 561-775-9558 or through the Florida Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline at 800-962-2873.

— Janis Fontaine

‘The 14th Colony’ on display at museum

What: Discover Florida’s role in the American Revolution through ‘America 250: The 14th Colony,’ a special exhibition exploring the territory’s unique place in the nation’s founding story. While 13 colonies declared independence, Florida remained loyal to the British Crown. The exhibition examines this often-overlooked chapter of history through imagery, Revolutionary War artifacts from local collectors, period costumes on loan from The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum, interpretive displays and more.

Where: Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway

When: Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. through Aug. 27, with a Town Hall talk July 22 and a historical re-enactment for kids Aug. 1.

Cost: Adults, $12; seniors and youth, $8

More info: bocahistory.org; 561-395-6766

An anonymous donor has gifted a Tesla Cybertruck to the Manalapan Police Department, which will see if the electric vehicle is cost effective. Design image provided

By Jane Musgrave

When a Manalapan resident said he wanted to give a Tesla Cybertruck to the town Police Department, Chief Jeffrey Rasor was dubious.

“I didn’t want them to donate something that couldn’t be used by the agency,” he said.

With no police departments in Florida to turn to for advice, Rasor called the Las Vegas Police Department, which has embraced the futuristic tank-looking electric trucks that still turn heads even three years after their debut.

What Rasor learned was that it was worth a shot. Whether the cost of maintaining and charging up an electric truck will be less than a traditional police vehicle with an internal combustion engine, remains to be seen, he acknowledged.

“Vegas’ opinion was that it can’t be tested in a matter of months,” he said. But, he said, after it’s been on the road for a while, he will be able to determine if the cost savings are worth it.

The truck, which is to arrive in Manalapan in the next several weeks, will mark the first time a Cybertruck has been used as a patrol vehicle in Florida, Rasor said. Nearby Highland Beach has a donated Tesla sedan, but police don’t use it for routine work.

Rasor readily admitted the truck, with its huge front and rear windows and angular design, is going to attract attention.

As a police car, it will be outfitted with all the necessary equipment - flashing lights, sirens and the department’s logo on the side. Unlike its civilian model, with an unpainted stainless steel body, the police car will be white.

Electric vehicles are slowly being added to police fleets throughout the country. 

Like Manalapan, Vegas benefited from a gift. It got 10 Cybertrucks from a multimillion-dollar donation from tech venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and his wife, Felicia.

The trucks are expensive. The Cybertrucks in Vegas cost roughly $270,000 each after the police upgrades are added. That adds to the calculus of whether buying them is cost-effective.

Rasor said he didn’t know exactly how much Manalapan’s truck cost. The donor wanted to be anonymous.

The use of Cybertrucks is still somewhat rare. It’s far more common for police departments to add electric sedans to their fleets.

South Pasadena, California, made headlines in 2024 when it announced it had swapped out all of its cars for electric cruisers.

Rasor said there are still some kinks to be worked out. The delivery of Manalapan’s Cybertruck was delayed because there isn’t a smooth supply chain for the police upgrades that are needed.

But, he said, if enough police agencies begin using the trucks, that will change eventually. 

In the meantime, he has some math to do. “There’s still a question of whether we’ll see a big cost savings or not,” Rasor said. 

By Mary Hladky

Even if Florida voters in November approve massive property tax cuts placed on the ballot by the state Legislature, those cuts won’t take effect until the 2027-28 fiscal year.

So Boca Raton city officials, while mindful of what they could face and considering options to deal with revenue loss, are largely staying the course as they make budget and tax rate decisions for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Yet they have taken the first steps toward reducing spending. Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Jim Zervis said that in analyzing expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, staff identified cuts that could be made now and pared $1.27 million from the proposed budget.

The proposed tax rate is $3.66 per $1,000 of taxable property value, virtually the same amount it has been since the 2015-16 fiscal year.

But it actually is a minuscule tax cut of $0.001 per $1,000, or 0.027%, which is in keeping with the city’s practice of making a minor cut so officials can claim a tax rate decrease.

Residents owning a home with a taxable value of $450,000 would pay $1,648.76 in city property taxes.

A preliminary estimate shows that the assessed value of Boca Raton properties increased by $2.6 billion this year, a 6.6% increase from the previous year. The new general fund budget, which covers day-to-day functions such as police, fire rescue, and parks and recreation, is increasing to $276.2 million, a 7.7% jump.

That includes money for 22 new full-time positions — 12 firefighters, four fire lieutenants, four EMS captains, a budget analyst and a vehicle technician — at a salary and benefits cost of $3.9 million.

That will provide additional personnel to staff Fire Station 8, on Southwest 18th Street just west of Dixie Highway, which falls short of having enough to operate both its two fire and rescue vehicles 24 hours a day.

An increase in EMS captains would allow the city to provide the same service levels on the eastern and western sides of the city.

The proposed residential fire assessment fee is increasing from $155 to $224 to cover the cost of the new fire rescue positions.

The lion’s share of the general fund budget — 63% — pays for police and fire rescue services.

Property taxes pay for 52% of the general fund budget. The rest of the revenue largely comes from charges for services, licenses, and permits and franchise fees.

The separate capital improvements budget includes $7.5 million to begin improving Memorial Park in the downtown campus, including the existing buildings and recreation facilities, now that city voters torpedoed plans to redevelop the area in concert with a developer.

Told at the June 18 city workshop meeting that the money would pay for planning, design and engineering work, Council member Jon Pearlman challenged the expenditure, calling it “outlandish.”

City spending must be reined in, he said, now that the city faces steep revenue decreases.

City officials hastened to tell him that the amount also includes beginning work to refurbish some of the facilities.

But Pearlman was not mollified. The city, he said, is concentrating on how to spend money, and not on how to cut costs. Officials need to differentiate between “nice to have” and “have to have.”

“Is anyone willing to come forward and make tough decisions on behalf of taxpayers?” he asked.

Public hearings on the budget and tax rate will be held in September, and the City Council will finalize both by the end of that month.