A construction worker died Nov. 9 when an excavator toppled over onto him at a home demolition in Delray Beach. Photo provided by Delray Beach Fire Rescue

By Larry Barszewski

A construction accident that killed a worker during a home demolition Nov. 9 on Lewis Cove was still under active investigation by Delray Beach police late in the month.

In a report released Nov. 30, police identified the victim as Eric Edward Guthrie, 56, of Loxahatchee. Guthrie is listed as owner of Guthrie Hauling Co. of Loxahatchee on the company’s website.

Around 8:50 a.m., an excavator being used to move debris with its claw teetered over and fell onto the cab of Guthrie’s nearby grappler dump truck, where Guthrie was operating the grappler’s controls from behind the cab, according to the police report. Guthrie was pinned unconscious under the claw arm with severe trauma visible to his right thigh, police said.

Guthrie was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he died. The medical examiner determined Guthrie died of “multiple blunt force injuries” and ruled the manner of death an accident, the police report said.

Police identified the excavator’s operator as William James Malkemes, 63, of Delray Beach. Both Guthrie and Malkemes had been subcontracted to remove debris from 1041 Lewis Cove, on the west side of State Road A1A a couple of blocks north of Atlantic Dunes Park. The property sold for $2 million in March.

Malkemes, president of Tip Top Tree Service in Delray Beach, told police he drove the Case excavator up the pile of demolition debris and he was using the excavator bucket to pick up debris when he felt the excavator shift, off-balance.

“As a result, Malkemes drove in reverse then forward in an attempt to regain equilibrium,” the police report said. “As Malkemes drove forward, the excavator lost balance and fell onto the grappler operation platform where Guthrie was sitting. Guthrie fell off the platform and onto the ground along the passenger side of the cabin.

“The excavator landed upside down with the arm on top of Guthrie and the bucket resting on top of the crushed cabin and platform of the truck.”

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating. An OSHA official said the office had no additional information to release. Investigators have six months to file a report, the official said.

The general contractor for the construction work being done was Matthew Wolf, police said.

Water treatment plant construction negotiations underway — Delray Beach received five proposals for design-build construction work planned for the water treatment plant and it is negotiating contract terms with CDM Smith Constructors Inc., the top-ranked firm.

Fire union contracts approved — Delray city commissioners approved two, three-year fire-rescue contracts, one for rank-and-file department members and the other for unionized supervisors, with modifications that will have a $20 million-plus impact on the city budget over the next three years. Only Mayor Shelly Petrolia voted against the contracts, concerned about their impact on the town budget.

The average work week for shift employees will go from one day on and two days off to one day on and three days off beginning in October 2025.

Planning and Zoning Board appointments made — Because of a revamping on how planning proposals are handled by different city boards, commissioners restarted the city’s Planning and Zoning Board from scratch, making new appointments for its seven seats.

Commissioners reappointed four members of the board — Christina Morrison, Chris Brown, Greg Snyder and Julen Blankenship — and named three new members: Alison Thomas, Morris Carstarphen and Aaron Savitch. Former Board Chairman Chris Davey, who filed an ethics complaint that was dismissed against Commissioner Rob Long earlier this year, did not make the cut.

Site Plan Review and Appearance Board appointments made — Commissioners also reconstituted the city’s Site Plan Review and Appearance Board. Reappointed were the previous chair, Dana Adler, along with members Annette Gray, Linda Purdo and Steven Cohen. Newcomers to the board are Jose Alvarez, Keith Beal and Adam Nelson.

Let’s get digital — The city received a Top 10 Digital Cities Award for 2023 by Government Technology magazine and the Center for Digital Government. The city’s website, social media and other information technology ranked No. 4 in the country in cities with populations under 75,000.

— Larry Barszewski

Work to replace a privacy wall came too close to more than a dozen Australian pines and their roots. Photo provided

By Steve Plunkett

People living on State Road A1A will face a higher level of scrutiny in the future if they plan any kind of construction near Gulf Stream’s beloved Australian pines.

Workers replacing the privacy wall at 2817 N. Ocean Blvd. caused a near-disaster when they dug perilously close to more than a dozen Australian pines, prompting an emergency visit from the town arborist and a $5,250 bill to the homeowner to save the trees.

Making things worse, Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro had been assured the construction would cause no harm before the project got permission to proceed.

“I specifically asked the applicant whether or not there was enough distance between the excavation and the Australian pines and she was under oath and she said yes. So I said, ‘OK, I’m going to trust what you’re going to say’ and that ended up not being true.

“So obviously that was not enough. We need some additional review,” Nazzaro told town commissioners on Nov. 9.

In an email to the landscape architect in charge of the construction, Nazzaro bluntly expressed the town’s fears.

“In addition to the significant damage to the root system, much of the dirt from the excavation was just thrown on top of the trees, which as I understand may suffocate them over time,” he wrote.

The arborist, Jonathan Frank of Bartlett Tree Experts, gave Nazzaro a document titled “Tree Preservation Standards During Construction” that he had created for another client and recommended using “tree preservation language” relating to industry standards in any change to the town’s ordinance governing construction applications.

“He mentioned that with our water main project along A1A, the contractor working for the town implemented tree protection fencing that worked very well with a goal to keep any construction equipment and things away from the roots and trunks,” Nazzaro said.

He and Frank also talked about requiring a meeting with the arborist before any excavation if the digging would happen within 10 feet of existing Australian pines, “something that’s very innocuous and easy that gives us some leeway to sort of lean on his expertise.”

Commissioners told Nazzaro to continue working on an ordinance for them to consider at their Dec. 8 meeting.

The arborist pruned the affected pines to reduce their height by 25% to make them less susceptible to wind, pruned damaged roots and excavated the trees’ root collars. He also treated the trees with potassium phosphite when the damage was discovered in October and will return in January for a second dose.

Brian O’Neill bought the oceanfront mansion for $29 million in September 2022.

The state planted Australian pines on both sides of A1A in the early 1900s to address high winds along the highway. “The Town of Gulf Stream is the only remaining stretch where the Australian Pine Canopy still remains,” the town boasts on its website.

By Steve Plunkett

After 19 months as a Gulf Stream town commissioner, Thom Smith has called it quits, resigning his position at the end of the board’s Nov. 9 meeting.

“I have been honored and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve the town I feel so strongly about,” he read from his prepared resignation letter. “We have a very special place to live and recreate and I look forward to it remaining so for many years to come.”

Outside the meeting, Smith said he resigned to have more time to devote to his accounting business and to family members who live outside of town.

He was not worried, he said, about having to disclose his net worth and other financial details on the state’s Form 6 had he remained on the dais. Filing the Form 6 is a new requirement this year for elected municipal leaders in office as of Dec. 31.

“I could have handled it,” Smith said.

Smith, who was born and grew up in Gulf Stream, was appointed to the commission in April 2022 after serving as chairman of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board. He replaced Donna White, who moved to Palm Beach Gardens.

Smith joined the ARPB as an alternate in May 2008 and became a full board member in March 2009. He took the reins as chairman in June 2018.

Also at the Nov. 9 meeting, town commissioners accepted the resignation of Jorgette Smith from the ARPB “for personal reasons” and elevated Michael Greene, an alternate member, as a full member of the board.

Jorgette Smith joined the planning board as an alternate in December 2017 and became a full member in June 2018.

Thom Smith’s departure will give the commission a chance to add someone from Place Au Soleil, whose residents filled a commission seat continuously from 1998 until Smith’s appointment last year. It’s up to commissioners to appoint someone to fill the seat, which isn’t up for election until 2026.

Though out of office, Smith was still expected to attend the December meeting and maybe more, lending his financial expertise to reviews of higher-than-expected bids for road and drainage work in the town’s Core District and of a proposal to make Boynton Beach the town’s provider of drinking water instead of Delray Beach.

“It makes sense to go to Boynton, but the costs seem very high,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.

Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said Boynton Beach’s water rates are lower than Delray Beach’s, but Gulf Stream would have to pay $2 million up front to connect to its system, making the break-even point seven years in the future.

Morgan also noted the September passing of Commissioner Joan Orthwein’s husband, Percy “Perk” Orthwein II, who Morgan hailed as a good husband, good father and a patriarch of one of the oldest families in town.

“What I remember best about Perk is that he was a remarkable raconteur,” Morgan said. “He was a wonderful man to tell a story. He could regale you with a story that (was) sometimes factual, sometimes apocryphal but always with a sense of humor. Sometimes a touch of sarcasm, but it always made for the most interesting story. And that’s how I like to remember my time with Perk.”

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream’s police officers soon will be adding a burst of color to their shoulders.

Police Chief Richard Jones tapped into his inner artist after deciding the current shoulder patch was “very poor, at best” and did nothing to connect his department to the town it serves.

“I looked at the patch and I was trying to figure out its significant value to us as an organization. We really could not figure that out,” he told town commissioners on Nov. 9. “So, we designed a new patch … that incorporates the town seal and the history of the town into the Police Department’s patch and insignia.”

The new patch is triangular and shows the town seal’s familiar golfer, polo player and sailboat with a cluster of palm trees and a rising sun. When he sent it to the company making the patches, “They were very surprised at the number of color elements that we were requesting,” he said.

Capt. John Haseley, who with an outside artist helped Jones create the new emblem, passed out samples to get commissioners’ reactions.

“I think it looks great, much nicer,” Commissioner Joan Orthwein said.

The patch it replaces used elements from the state seal: a less dramatic sun behind a cocoa tree, steamboat and an Indian woman.

Mayor Scott Morgan had Jones model the new patch by holding it up over the old one on his uniform.

“The white from the previous patch stands out very well on your blue uniform, whereas the background here is blue. You want to put that over your patch, let’s see what it looks like,” Morgan said.

All agreed the new one is an improvement. “The yellow kind of makes it pop,” Orthwein said.

Jones, who also created a new patch for Ocean Ridge three years ago when he was on that town’s police force, said the change to the new design will be gradual.

“It will take us, you know, probably a year to transition so that we’re not spending money unnecessarily on new uniforms,” he said. “But all of our new officers and all the uniform replacements that we will begin doing immediately, we will start putting the new patch on.”

Corey Merritt and his son Henry, 6, avoid the incoming tide as it crashes into and erodes the dunes at the north end of Delray Beach. Photos by Tim Stepien and Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Heavy weather just shy of a tropical storm rating brought days of wind, rain and intense waves in mid-November. RIGHT: Guests staying at Delray Sands Resort in Highland Beach take selfies with crashing seas behind them. BELOW: Diners eat lunch behind the protective plastic curtain at Caffe Luna Rosa in Delray Beach. High winds accompanied the rain, with some areas along the South Florida coastline experiencing gusts up to 70 mph.

ABOVE: Residents of Southeast Wavecrest Way in Boca Raton drive through their flooded neighborhood in a golf cart. BELOW: Ocean Ridge resident Edward Sivri works to clear his driveway after winds knocked over this sea grape tree.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana voters will have a choice for mayor in the March 19 election.

Challenging incumbent Karen Lythgoe will be George Velazquez, 57, an alternate on the town’s planning and zoning board. Although his legal name is “Jorge,” his friends call him “George” and he is using that name.

Velazquez is a political newcomer, but he has helped friends with campaigns and served on the county’s Hispanic Vote committee. He was born in Chicago, raised in Miami, and has had a home in Lantana since 2017. A former commercial real estate agent, Velazquez worked in a federal prison in Miami from 1996 to 2009.

“I’ve thought about this for a while,” he said, when asked about running for office. “I saw that there was a need in Lantana. I’d like to see more transparency in our town.”

He speaks three languages — Spanish, English and a little Italian — and was on Lantana’s education committee until it was disbanded about a year ago.

Lythgoe, 64, says she is seeking election to a full three-year term “so that I can continue the work our current council is doing to improve public safety, replacing our aging infrastructure and ensure property values stay up.”

She was elected to the council in 2020 and was acting mayor after Robert Hagerty resigned last year. During a special election earlier this year, she ran unopposed to complete the rest of Hagerty’s term, which ends in March.

Lythgoe, who works for LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said that during her tenure “we were able to obtain $6 million in grants and have the projects in flight to upgrade our water mains throughout the town. What the council has been doing is having the effect of reversing the look of the town in general. The synergy between council and staff is the best it has been in recent memory, and I don’t want that to stop.”

By Mary Thurwachter

For the second consecutive year, the Lantana Town Council gave a generous merit raise — 5% — to Town Manager Brian Raducci and heaped praise on his work.

“We’re one of the luckiest councils in Palm Beach County having him as our manager,” Vice Mayor Lynn “Doc” Moorhouse said during the manager’s yearly performance evaluation on Nov. 13.

“He has done an absolutely amazing job in catching up the infrastructure and going forward with some preemptive stuff. We’re getting a lot of grant money, we have a person in Tallahassee working for us and this town is moving in the right direction better than it ever has.”

Moorhouse also praised Raducci for uniting the council. “There’s nobody on this council that’s mad at anybody — Brian’s brought that closer together.”

Other officials also extolled Raducci’s virtues.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Brian and I agree with what Doc said about the grant money bringing a lot of improvements,” said Chris Castle, the council’s newest member.

This year, the town received $2.8 million in grants and appropriations. The bulk of the money — $1.2 million each from the federal and state governments — will be used for water main replacement.

Grant money will also go toward improving the stormwater drainage system and a future-needs analysis; an asset inventory and Ocean Avenue vulnerability assessment; and to pay for ADA door openings and parts of the library garden.

Council member Kem Mason said Raducci has “dragged us into the 21st century” and works well with law enforcement, receiving nothing but praise from the police and their union. “He’s a great communicator. He’s always available to answer any questions and is doing a great job.”

Vice Mayor Pro Tem Mark Zeitler said “so far, so good. I like the grant money, and he has brought us all together.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe was as effusive as Moorhouse.

“You make all of our lives much easier,” Lythgoe said. “The whole staff looks up to you. You’ve empowered your directors, you guide them. Everybody knows what they’re supposed to do.”

With that said, Lythgoe said she wanted to keep him.

“I brag about you when I go off to be with the rest of the folks at Florida League of Cities and I have to tell myself ‘shut up, Karen,’” fearing someone will steal the manager away.

Raducci began working for the town in October 2021 with a starting salary of $175,000.

Last year, the council gave Raducci a 5% cost-of-living adjustment and a 4% merit raise, bringing his salary to $191,100. This year on Oct. 1, he got a 5% COLA increase, upping his pay to $200,655. The latest advance brings it to $210,687.

Resistance to setback change — An ordinance to modify the rear setback requirements related to waterfront lots sailed through the Town Council on its first reading in October, but it faced pushback from Hypoluxo Island residents on the second reading Nov. 13.

“This is a staff-initiated text amendment in an effort to mitigate some of the more commonly council-approved variance requests,” said development director Nicole Dritz.

Currently, all above-ground structures on waterfront lots are required to maintain a 20-foot rear setback from either the high-water line or the existing sea wall, Dritz said. “Such structures located on non-waterfront lots in both the R1A and R1 zoning districts are only required to have a 10-foot rear setback. The ordinance proposes to amend this regulation to allow structures that are less than 8 inches above the surrounding grade to be constructed within 10 feet of either the high-water line or the existing sea wall.”

Media Beverly, a Hypoluxo Island resident who has been successful in getting the council to reverse decisions in the past, fell short this time, despite preparing a diorama to illustrate negative aspects of the proposed change.

“Just because a few builders wanted to add pavers inside the 20-foot waterfront setback, doesn’t support changing the entire ordinance allowing pools to be built 10 feet from the water,” Beverly said. “Little by little, Lantana, as we knew it, is on the way out.” 

Two other island residents voiced objections.

Ann McGlinn-Work said the ordinance was poorly written and left the door open for future issues. Erica Wald said sea walls are already crumbling and easing up on setbacks would only exacerbate the problem.

But Town Attorney Max Lohman said the current ordinance wasn’t working and needed to be changed. The council agreed, unanimously.

Clerk works from Tennessee — Town Clerk Kathleen Dominguez will be working remotely from 856 miles away. Dominguez says she has the town’s blessing to do her job from Nashville, Tennessee, where her husband has taken a job. Holding down the fort locally will be Maria Rios, the executive assistant to the town manager and deputy town clerk hired in July.

Dune Deck’s canopy takes flight — Vice Mayor Pro Tem Mark Zeitler took a spin around town the morning of Nov. 16 to check for any damage caused by the wind storm the previous night. The main casualty: the Dune Deck Cafe at Lantana Beach. High winds tore apart a large blue and white striped canopy over the café’s outdoor seating area, ripping the metal framework out of the concrete where it was anchored. It landed on the roof of the restaurant’s northern section, Zeitler said. The restaurant was closed for about 24 hours but reopened with table umbrellas replacing the canvas canopy.

Employees recognized — Department directors presented employees with service awards at the Nov. 13 Town Council meeting. The longest-serving employee honored was Jerry Darr, who has been with the town for 35 years. Other long-serving workers recognized were Darrell Blom, 30 years; Karen Dipolito and Gerardo Aponte-Rentas, 25 years; Suzanne Woodward, 20 years; Thomas Dipolito and Joseph Margolis, 15 years; and Peter Cummings, 10 years.

Recognized for working for Lantana for five years were Shanker Doobay, Christian Vargas, Charles Benedict, Justin Dorfman, Anthony Harvey, Miguel Perez, Carla Smart and Loretta Miller.

— Mary Thurwachter

By Steve Plunkett

Final asphalt paving completed? Check.

Drainage ponds at Glades Road interchange done? Check.

Tolls being collected on Interstate 95’s new express lanes? Check.

The clock is winding down on the Florida Department of Transportation’s multiyear $148 million project to add toll lanes on I-95 from south of Glades Road to south of Congress Avenue, raze and rebuild the Clint Moore Road overpass between Congress and Yamato Road, and build a diverging diamond interchange, in which traffic on Glades flows to the left side in each direction above the highway.

The agency started collecting express lane tolls in both directions on Nov. 18. And Dec. 1 marks day 1,627 of 1,680 planned construction days and the work being 96.8% completed.

“We are anticipating final acceptance ahead of schedule,” project spokesperson Andi Pacini said.

But it will be years before the express lanes, or “managed lanes” in FDOT lingo, are extended north through Delray Beach and beyond, said Guillermo “Billy” Canedo, the agency’s district communications manager.

The FDOT is currently conducting a Project Development & Environment — or PD&E — study to provide additional managed lane capacity along I-95 from south of Linton Boulevard to north of Okeechobee Boulevard, he said.

“The design and construction phases are currently unfunded in the department’s Draft Tentative Work Program for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2029,” Canedo said. “The expected completion date of the study is May 2025.”

Boca Raton’s diverging diamond interchange, or DDI, opened on April 3. Pacini said the FDOT’s traffic operations team continues to work with the city’s Traffic Engineering

Department to observe, modify and optimize signal timing for all movements. Both the FDOT and the city continue to emphasize that the posted speed limit within the DDI is 35 mph.

Still ongoing are installation of small signs, laying of sod, and final thermoplastic striping.

Roadway, lighting, ramp signals and Intelligent Transportation System elements await final inspection and punch list work.

For southbound I-95 traffic, entrances to the express lanes are south of Congress Avenue and south of Glades Road; exits are north of Glades and north of Hillsboro Boulevard.

On northbound I-95, entrances are north of Hillsboro and north of Glades; exits are south of Glades and south of Congress. Customers must have an active SunPass or a Florida-compatible transponder properly affixed to the windshield.

Tolls in Miami-Dade County, the first to get I-95 express lanes, vary from 50 cents to $10.50, depending on distance, time of day and congestion. The goal is to keep traffic in the express lanes moving at an average speed of 45 to 50 mph, the FDOT says.

Motorists with hybrid or fully electric vehicles travel toll-free after registering.

Ellen Barnes has been picking up trash from the beach near her home in South Palm Beach for more than 20 years. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Like many of her South Palm Beach neighbors, Ellen Barnes takes frequent walks along the beach. Unlike most, however, she grabs her canvas bag on her way out the door and collects the trash that washes up, then drops it in a nearby trash can or back at her residence.

“From the time you’re a little kid, you’re taught that when you see a paper you pick it up,” said Barnes, 64. “The beach is special.”

Barnes’ activities earned the attention of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Donna Korb, who nominated her for a Star Resident award she received from the PBSO in October for her contributions to the community.

A resident of South Palm Beach for 22 years, Barnes said she’s made the brief trip across State Road A1A at least a couple of times a week over the years, and almost daily during the times she’s been between jobs.

“I love the ocean,” she said. “I walk across the street and swim down to the Eau and swim back. I was on the swim team for a while. So, you want that to be clean.”

She said that although she occasionally sees a few beer bottles lined up against a wall, the vast majority of the trash she collects washes up from the ocean.

“Plastic bags, pop-top cans, Clorox boxes. They have little creatures on the sides. Old ropes that come out of the ocean, and things somebody tried to float on, like bottles or milk jugs that are tied together. If it washes up, I throw them in the recycling here at my house. Whatever it takes.”

She said the situation has “definitely” gotten worse in the past five years.

“There’s more stuff that washes in now. I wasn’t aware of it as much as I am now, but it’s probably because there are more people out there now.

“They say there are places in the world with big expanses of trash. That’s a nightmare for me.”

Barnes works as the clinical coordinator for nursing simulations at Keiser University in West Palm Beach, running the skills and simulation labs. Her husband, Ned, now retired, was president of the Palm Beach Civic Association.

The couple travel frequently, visiting Key West “at least a couple times a year,” Barnes said. They also visit her family in Portland, Oregon, and his family in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

The couple have two sons and seven grandchildren. Son Cory Lewis lives in Boca Raton and is a captain in the Boynton Beach Fire Department. Zach lives in Denver and runs Airbnbs.

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. I attended Christ the King elementary school and Lexington Catholic High School.
I grew up on about 10 acres with horses, chickens, bunnies and lots of gardening chores. At the time I did not appreciate it, but later on in life, it taught me love of the land and the natural beauty around us — such a gift. In retrospect, attending Catholic school taught me how important it is to be there for one another, and that our highest calling is taking care of one another.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I worked for four years as a paraprofessional with severe and profound-to-trainable adults and children. I almost became a special-ed teacher. Shortly after that I had an amazing birth experience which led me to nursing, my chosen profession.
Working side by side with fellow nurses, midwives and doctors as a labor and delivery nurse has always been a great source of pride for me.
I have also worked as an educator, which has been almost half of my 32 years in nursing. I feel I have been able to share my strengths and experiences with nursing students and to emphasize how important it is to be a compassionate and competent caregiver.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: The path is not always clear. Start moving in a direction and that experience, if it is not the right one, will lead you to something suited for you. Your accomplishments and especially your failures on that path are invaluable in learning who you are, and what you will be best at.
Keep moving — there is something for you! Also, I’ve been telling nursing students for a long time that if you know what you want, but can’t get right into it right away, get as close as you possibly can: I mean emotionally, physically, mentally and even geographically. Keep your ears and eyes open and that will lead you to an opening in the career/position that appeals to you most. Then go for it.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach?
A: My boyfriend (now her husband)lived in South Palm Beach when we were dating. In love, and on the water, beautiful paths to walk on, and the stunning ocean right across the street. What could be better?

Q: What is your favorite part about living in South Palm Beach?
A: I have made incredible friends here alongside the beauty of the ocean. It is my happy place!

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Horse, by Geraldine Brooks. I was raised in Lexington and this book takes place there during the Civil War. One family that owned slaves had a Black man who worked as a trainer, which was unheard of at the time. My sister read it and recommended I read it. I rode horses all the time growing up.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: Traveling Wilburys, Paula Sinclair, Jimmy Buffett, Adele. When I want to be inspired, the sound of the ocean does the trick. I guess it’s hard to see a pattern there. When I’m driving to work I listen to Paula Sinclair, who’s like a folk singer. I like Jimi Hendrix, too. I’m kind of all over the place.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions? 
A: My parents raised 14 children: I was the ninth child in a mix of eight girls and six boys. My father, who passed away more than 25 years ago, was a pediatric surgeon who worked amazingly hard and loved the land.
My mom, the bearer of all those children, kept that whole unit together, which is spectacular. Today she is 100 years old and living happily in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by several of my siblings.
They inspired me to work hard, always to be persistent and always keep showing up. They led by example. I know it was not easy; they had their struggles but kept showing up. I feel my life has been truly blessed because of their presence in my life.

Q: If your life were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A: People tell me I look exactly like Linda Hamilton, who was the female lead in the movie The Terminator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They tell me I should be in that movie.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: Pickleball and the friends I have made because of it. What could be better than sweating and laughing with really fun people?

By Rich Pollack

The battle between Delray Beach and Highland Beach over who owes who money for fire service fees heated up after a preliminary report from state auditors showed the city failed to bill the town $2.2 million, mostly for pension contributions dating back several years.

At the same time, Highland Beach leaders are sticking to their claim, made before the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee earlier this year, that Delray Beach owes the town money because the city used the wrong calculation to determine the fees.

How the conflicting viewpoints will be resolved could end up being decided through mediation or even in a courtroom, with Highland Beach Town Manager Marshall Labadie telling commissioners that the town is developing a pre-litigation strategy.

“If we have to go to mediation, so be it,” he said, adding that he spoke to an attorney specializing in these types of issues within days of the preliminary audit report being made public early in November. The audit was ordered by the state committee in March.

While Delray Beach officials have not come right out and said that they will seek to get the $2.2 million that they should have billed Highland Beach, City Manager Terrence Moore said that the city will use forensic auditing services to determine the precise calculation of the balance due to the city.

“Final data analysis from this exercise will be reported to the City Commission, enabling consideration relative to mediation and/or other opportunities available to both parties,” Moore wrote in a note to his commission.

In Highland Beach, town leaders said if it turns out the state auditors are correct and the city didn’t bill the town properly, the town shouldn’t be responsible for resolving the issue.

“Because they underbilled us, doesn’t mean we should have to pay,” said Highland Beach Commissioner Evalyn David, an attorney. “There’s an argument to be made that this is on them.”

In the preliminary operational report, which focused on the financial processes used by Delray Beach’s Fire Rescue Department as part of its agreement with Highland Beach, the auditor listed a handful of findings that showed flaws in how numbers were calculated. 

“During the period October 2019 through December 2022, the City experienced significant turnover in certain key management positions, which may have contributed to the control deficiencies and instances of noncompliance disclosed in this report,” the auditor from the State Auditor General’s Office wrote.

Among the findings were:
• Firefighter salary and benefit amounts recorded in the city’s accounting records and billed to the town did not agree with employee timekeeping records.
• City purchasing policies and procedures did not ensure that goods and services ordered, received and distributed to the town’s fire station were accurately billed to the town.
• The city didn’t perform timely collection efforts on the town’s nonpayment of billed services totaling $517,654.

The auditors also found that Delray Beach didn’t use consistent actuarial information to calculate how much Highland Beach should have contributed to the pension fund for the firefighters who were assigned to serve the town.

Some members of the Delray Beach commission in published reports have portrayed the auditor’s report as a win for the city, but Highland Beach leaders say it is just the opposite.

“I would be embarrassed if I was Delray,” said Town Attorney Glen Torcivia. “Delray looks like it wasn’t mismanaged, it looks like it wasn’t managed at all.”

Labadie told commissioners that Delray Beach’s financial issues and inability to provide the town with adequate records were factors behind Highland Beach’s decision to start its own department, which will take over from Delray Beach in May.

“That’s one of the reasons we wanted to leave,” he said.

By Brian Biggane

LANTANA — Longtime Hypoluxo Island resident Carol Titcomb died surrounded by family on Nov. 23. She was 91.

Born Carol L. Milemore in Northport, New York, on Jan. 14, 1932, Mrs. Titcomb planned to attend Cornell University to become a brain surgeon until she met Ray, who became her husband of 73 years. After a brief romance, the pair was married and headed to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Ray studied to become an industrial engineer.

Not long after, Mrs. Titcomb became pregnant with the first of their four sons and became a full-time homemaker.

In 1952 the couple learned Woodbury Pewter in Connecticut was up for sale and decided to buy it and began selling reproductions of early American pewter.

“If Ray needed something shipped out at night,” Mrs. Titcomb told The Coastal Star earlier this year, “I would have the kids fed by 6 o’clock and go to the shop and help Ray pack until 12 or 1 o’clock.” The business remains in the family, now run by son Brooks.

Mrs. Titcomb became “very involved” with the Newtown (Connecticut) Town Players, producing a play, doing makeup, production and promotion.

In 1985 the couple took a trip to Florida and found a house on the water on Hypoluxo Island. Learning the “For Sale” sign was about to go up, they arrived early the next day to check it out.

“We looked out to the water and said, ‘This is fabulous,’” she said. “We made an offer, and they took it.”

In her nearly 40 years in south Palm Beach County she traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe, particularly enjoying Italy; was a member of the Hospice Guild of South Palm Beach County; and enjoyed card games with the ladies at St. Andrews Club and The Little Club.

“We have gotten literally hundreds of messages pouring in from all over the place,” said son Jamie Titcomb, the town manager of South Palm Beach. “My mom was very influential in her effect on every person she met.

“Other people would call her ‘Mom.’ She had the ability to make everybody heard and listened to, give them sage advice, and everybody came away feeling enriched by the experience.”

Mrs. Titcomb is survived by husband, Ray, sisters Barbara and Lois, sons Jeffrey, Brooks, Jamie and Gordon, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Per her wishes, there will be no funeral, but a celebration of life will be held on a date to be determined.

“If you knew her, you loved her … and she loved you too!” her son Gordon wrote in a Facebook post.

By Mary Hladky

The Beach Condo Association of Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach is all about safety.

To that end, members have surveyed the Spanish River Boulevard bridge and portions of State Road A1A, documenting needed road and pavement repairs and giving that information to the state Department of Transportation so the work can be done.

They also lobbied Boca Raton officials to install 11 crosswalks on A1A. Pedestrians can press a button to activate flashing lights that alert motorists to stop.

On Nov. 21, they invited Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann and Boca Raton Bicycle Club President Michael Simon to speak on how drivers and bicyclists can coexist safely on the road.

Their presentations answered questions many residents have, such as why do bicyclists often travel in large packs and why do they veer out of the bike lanes onto A1A.

Bikers ride in groups because it is safer to do so, Hartmann said. “The bicycle club will tell you to ‘ride big.’ Bikes are hard to see. They will tell you it is safer in bigger groups.”

It is perfectly legal for bicyclists to leave the bike lanes and ride on A1A, Hartmann said.

That’s because the existing bike lanes are not actually lanes. They are paved shoulders. That distinction allows travel on A1A.

But that will change when the FDOT installs new actual bike lanes on A1A in Highland Beach next year and in Boca Raton in 2027. That is part of a large and long-awaited road improvement project.

Highland Beach’s lanes will be 4 feet wide, and Boca Raton’s will be 6 feet.

Once the new bike lanes are completed, bicyclists will have to use them exclusively.

Simon offered safety tips.

He said bicyclists can buy a radar detector that informs them when cars are behind them and getting closer, giving them time to pull over to the right side of the road.

He urged bicyclists to wear reflective clothing so they can be easily seen. And even though they can ride on A1A, he encouraged them to use the existing bike lanes for greater safety.

Above all, Simon said wearing a helmet is a must. In fatal accidents, 97% of the bicyclists were not wearing one.

By Mary Hladky

The Florida Department of Transportation is preparing to embark on a $7.3 million project that will completely make over the nearly 5-mile stretch of A1A that runs through Boca Raton.

The project is still four years off, starting in the fall of 2027, but planning is well underway.

FDOT District 4 officials outlined the project during a Nov. 15 in-person and virtual public meeting in the city’s Downtown Library and took questions from the audience.

A major component of the project is adding 6-foot buffered bike lanes on both sides of the road. The city’s avid bikers have long pressed for robust lanes to improve safety.

The work, which will take one year to complete, will be done between Southeast 31st Street, the city’s southern limit, to south of Grand Court in Highland Beach.

It includes milling and resurfacing the travel lanes, shoulders and an asphalt shared-use path.

Travel lanes will be reduced from 12 feet to 11 feet to accommodate the wider bike lanes.

A new sidewalk will be built along the east side of A1A between Southeast 31st Street and Camino Real.

New lighting will be installed at the Camino Real and Spanish River Boulevard intersections so drivers can better see pedestrians and cyclists.

Pedestrian curb ramps will be upgraded to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Drainage improvements will be made in front of the Marbella Condominium, located immediately south of East Palmetto Park Road, to eliminate localized flooding on both sides of A1A.

A similar project on Highland Beach’s 3.3 miles of A1A will start next spring and end in summer 2025. That work will overlap a project in Delray Beach on 1.6 miles from Linton Boulevard to Atlantic Avenue starting in fall of 2024 and continuing to winter 2025.

Attendees at the Boca Raton meeting were told that work will be done in phases so that not all of the road will be torn up at once.

Residents will not lose access to their properties at any time, no detours will be required and no work will be done on Sundays.

One meeting attendee said he would prefer that a barrier be used to separate the bike lanes from vehicle traffic, rather than FDOT’s plan to use white lines as a separation.

Another said he had the impression that the agency’s plans were final, and no design changes would be made as a result of audience comments.

Henry Oaikhena, FDOT District 4 project manager, said that was not the case.

“We can go back and make the design better,” he said. “We will be doing that.”

By Mary Thurwachter

A Lantana contractor is among four men indicted for their alleged roles in fraudulently obtaining a multimillion-dollar construction contract from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Matthew West, 52, chief executive of West Construction, Inc., in Lantana, was indicted on Oct. 4, according to the Middle District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa.

Also indicted were Kevin Kutina, 61, of Ramona, California, Roberto Gonzalez, 58, of Palmetto Bay, and William Gonzalez, 51, of Orlando.

The four were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive counts of wire fraud, and major fraud against the United States.

West Construction did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this year, in work unrelated to the case, West completed a job remodeling Lantana’s Town Library.

According to the indictment issued by U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg, the VA issued a request for bids in July 2016 for a contract to build the Cancer Infusion Therapy Center at Bay Pines in Pinellas County. The contract, valued between $5 million and $10 million, was for construction of a 14,909-square-foot building to augment the VA medical center’s existing radiation oncology clinic. The contract was set aside for small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans and required bids from qualified businesses.

The indictment claims that the conspirators used Maxon Groupe, LLC, a company owned by service-disabled veteran Roberto Gonzalez and William Gonzalez, to submit a bid containing false statements and omissions. That led the VA to award the contract to Maxon, the indictment said.

The conspirators falsely represented that qualified employees from Kevcon, Inc., owned and operated by Kutina, would serve in supervisory roles, the indictment said.

The conspirators also failed to disclose to the VA contracting officials that Maxon was a pass-through for West’s company, which managed the work for the contract and received most of the payment, the indictment said.

West Construction was not eligible for the VA’s disabled veterans set-aside contract.

The indictment alleges that between March 2017 and January 2019, the conspirators submitted multiple invoices for payment, with the U.S. Treasury paying Maxon approximately $4.8 million. During the same time, the conspirators transferred approximately $4.2 million of that money to West, and in turn, West transferred approximately $1.1 million to Kevcon, the indictment said.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts, and a maximum of 10 years behind bars on the major fraud count against the United States.

By Steve Plunkett

Alderwoman Kathy Gross was reelected without opposition Nov. 28 when qualifying for the March election ended, and Briny Breezes residents will have a choice to make in the mayor’s race.

Ted Gross, the alderwoman’s husband, and Keith Black, who sits on the Planning & Zoning Board, filed papers to run for mayor.

Both also submitted letters of interest in being appointed to the position, which Mayor Gene Adams is leaving effective Dec. 15.

No one filed to run for the seat being vacated by the Town Council’s president, Christina Adams, who like her husband is resigning effective Dec. 15. But Jeffrey Duncan, a son of onetime council President Matt Duncan, sent a letter of interest in being appointed.

Duncan’s parents moved to Briny in the mid-1980s, and his father spent 16 years on the Town Council, from 1991 to 2007, the last eight as its president.

Kathy Gross was first elected to the council in 2018.

The council will meet on Dec. 7, the first Thursday of the month, instead of its customary fourth Thursday, which conflicted with both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Council members have asked Town Attorney Keith Davis to prepare a resolution for the December meeting asking the county supervisor of elections to hold a second qualifying period the first two weeks of January, in case there were not enough candidates because of the state’s new requirement that municipal office holders disclose their personal finances in detail.

Alderwoman Liz Loper declared at the October meeting that she is staying on the dais. Davis encouraged the other council members to decide as soon as possible if they will stay or quit.

Flowers on the west side of State Road A1A in South Palm Beach memorialize Hatixhe Laiqi, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Nov. 10. There were no skid marks or other easily visible evidence that showed an accident had occurred. The condo in the background is the Barclay, where Laiqi lived. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Brian Biggane

The hit-and-run death of a pedestrian on State Road A1A the evening of Nov. 10 and what comes next brought a large crowd to the November meeting of the Town Council in South Palm Beach.

Hatixhe Laiqi, 73 and a resident of the Barclay condominium, was struck crossing A1A just after 6 p.m. by a 2016 GMC Terrain and pronounced dead by first responders shortly afterward.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced three days later it had recovered the vehicle and identified the driver as a 43-year-old Boynton Beach woman. Charges depended on the outcome of an investigation.

“This is a wake-up call,” council member Robert Gottlieb said. “Other people have been hit and injured in the years before. A1A is not our road. We need to do something because people are scared.”

Mayor Bonnie Fischer recalled a man was killed in 2019 in front of the Imperial House and said there have been several near-misses since on the north-south highway that falls under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Transportation.

“It’s such a tiny, little street and a lot of people,” Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy said. “I haven’t come up with anything, nobody has come up with anything. It’s not my job, it’s FDOT’s job. They need to get in here and figure it out.”

Since the only pedestrian walkway alongside the road is located along its west side, Fischer said repeated efforts have been made to build another along the east side. But the town’s homeowners associations would all have to agree to it, making it highly unlikely, if not impossible.

A crosswalk with flashing lights was suggested, but that would be FDOT’s decision. Council member Monte Berendes said residents need to wear light and even reflective clothing and carry flashlights to call attention. The latest fatality occurred around nightfall.

James Donatelli, one of two residents who spoke, suggested that the kind of blue lights on airplanes would create less glare for drivers and that the streetlights could be brighter, though Fischer said they were installed just six years ago.

“A tragedy happened and we don’t want it to happen again,” Fischer said. “This is a very active community that likes to go on walks and I’ve had a lot of complaints from my neighbors. We’re going to try to move forward with some solutions.”

Palmsea fence and gate installation debated — The Town Council meeting in November featured a spirited conversation regarding the approval of a fence and gate installation at 3520 S. Ocean Blvd., on the property of the Palmsea condominium.

Palmsea ultimately received the council’s approval.

Palmsea representative Kevin Hall said sheriff’s and fire departments would have access to the beach through the new gate to address emergencies but that other town residents would not. Residents without access to the beach typically have negotiated through their homeowners associations to pay for beach access through agreements with the beachside condos. Otherwise they must walk or drive to Lantana beach.

Council member Monte Berendes said he doesn’t feel it’s fair that people who don’t have access to the beach are still paying taxes for beach improvements, which he said results in “taxation without representation.”

“It should be that anyone who lives in South Palm Beach should have access,” he said.

Added Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy, “The fact some of these condos are making money off their neighbors is terrible.”

Hall said a phone app now in use tells those with electric bikes they can access the beach through the Palmsea easement, resulting in several calls to the Sheriff’s Office in recent weeks.

“And if (that rider) breaks his neck going through there, that’s our liability,” Hall said. “We just can’t stand the liability.”

Gottlieb opts not to run — Longtime council member Robert Gottlieb, who attended his first meeting in person in November after spending several months up North, has decided not to run for reelection in March. Gottlieb said at the last meeting that he was concerned about having to divulge more of his financial information under Form 6 but had not yet decided. Raymond McMillan, whose four-year term also expires in 2024, has filed to run. The council voted to hold a special qualifying period Jan. 2-7 for people interested in filling the vacancy.

Grant received — Manager Jamie Titcomb reported the town has received the $75,000 grant it requested from the state for a vulnerability assessment study. The town has until 2026 to implement it.

Bids expected for new Town Hall — Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said he is “pretty confident” he will have by the December meeting the minimum of three bids for the council to determine both the owner’s rep and design and build contractor for the new Town Hall project.

— Brian Biggane

By Mary Thurwachter

One by one the last occupants of those cute, colorful — but ramshackle — Key West style cottages on the north side of Lantana’s Ocean Avenue have moved elsewhere.

First, Jeannie’s Ocean Boutique relocated to Plaza del Mar in Manalapan. Then Mario’s moved to Lake Worth Beach. And just last month, the owners of Oceano Kitchen, whose lease was not renewed, took their popular restaurant to Lake Worth Beach.

Other locations on the 200 block have been tenantless since 2004.

Town officials have wanted to amp up business on the avenue for years and have been frustrated with the declining condition of the 12 cottages between Oak Street and Lake Drive.

Last month they reported some progress, and Nicole Dritz, Lantana’s development services director, said: “It is expected the structures will be demolished and redeveloped.”

Mayor Karen Lythgoe found this news encouraging.

“For the first time in years something is finally happening,” she said. “We look forward to entertaining proposals for redevelopment.”

The cottages are owned by Marsha Stocker and Steven Handelsman, who are siblings. They plan to hold on to the land, but may be open to development ideas.

“They have indicated a desire to enter into a land lease, not sale,” Dritz said.

Although no developer has expressed interest yet, Town Manager Brian Raducci, Town Attorney Max Lohman and Dritz have been working with the property owners to find one.

And Lythgoe said she has been talking to residents who have contacts with developers to try to find someone interested.

Stocker and Handelsman inherited the properties after their parents, Burt and Lucille “Lovey’’ Handelsman, died. The Handelsmans once owned a real estate empire worth $550 million, including properties on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

But the cottages have fallen into so much disrepair that code violations for the properties have resulted in fines in excess of $833,000 and are growing at $1,000 per day, Dritz said.

Any new development would need to be in line with the town’s new master plan for the C1 Downtown Overlay. The master plan suggests “a balance between preserving existing structures with the greatest architectural and historical character and building new.”

Attempts by The Coastal Star to reach the property owners have been unsuccessful.