It’s that time of year when high tide gets even higher, flooding low-lying areas. The appearance of king tides coincides with autumn’s full-moon and new-moon phases. Residents should expect flooded streets and soggy yards during these peak upcoming king tide periods: Oct. 14-17, Oct. 27-30, Nov. 12-15 and Nov. 26-29. Palm Beach County emergency managers suggest residents have a plan in place to move their vehicles to higher ground before a king tide event. Also, they recommend residents remove waste carts and recycling bins from the curb as soon as possible when a king tide event is expected. Another warning: Don’t walk through flood water if possible because it can pose a health or safety issue.
ABOVE: A delivery truck sent 3-foot-tall spray and waves as it traveled down Ocean Avenue in Ocean Ridge in late September. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Larry Barszewski

Ocean Ridge commissioners on Oct. 2 approved applying to the Florida Legislature for a $250,000 grant to find, fix or replace the buried water valves in town. The grant would cover half the estimated $500,000 cost of the work.

“If you have matching funds … if you have some money put aside to help that project, whatever that may be, it always helps. It looks good on the application. You have some skin in the game,” said state Rep. Joe Casello, D-Boynton Beach, who attended the meeting and has assisted the town with information on the grant process. “As far as appropriations go, they’re big on water projects.”

According to an application included in the commission agenda packet, “The project will verify the accuracy of GIS maps for shutoff valves, place valve can extensions & concrete collars at buried valve locations.”

“We are talking about potentially raising the valves in the water distribution system by putting a valve can extender and then a concrete collar” around each valve, Town Manager Lynne Ladner said. “It doesn’t raise the actual valve off the water line. What it does is it puts an extension onto the can that surrounds the valves … to make them more easily accessible. And then the concrete collar keeps them from being overgrown by people’s grass and different things like that as they mow.”

In addition, the application says the town “will strategically place new valves on existing pipes to enable public works staff to check existing old pipes, reducing emergency repairs & emergency shutdowns. Installation of insertion valves would reduce disruption to residents.”

In other news:
• The owner of a home under construction for more than eight years at 6273 N. Ocean Blvd. has until Feb. 15 to complete the work or face a $5,000 daily fine up to a maximum fine of $150,000. In addition, if the work isn’t finished even earlier — by the end of the year — including receiving a certificate of occupancy, owner Andrew Rivkin has agreed to pay the town $50,000 to make up for missed property taxes the town would be entitled to if the home were finished in 2023.
• New regulations are still on the way concerning where and how big oceanfront property owners in town can build. Final approvals have been delayed as commissioners continued to tinker with the wording of the proposed ordinances in recent months. Final approvals are now expected at the commission’s Nov. 6 meeting.
• The commission voted to end its contract with Blue Iguana for iguana removal services “without cause.” The company had removed more than 1,800 iguanas from town property over the past year, officials said, but at a recent meeting commissioners questioned if those numbers could be verified.
• Ladner has been appointed to serve on the Florida League of Cities 2023-2024 finance, taxation and personnel committee, one of the league’s five legislative policy committees. Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy was appointed to the league’s utilities, natural resources and public works committee.
• The town has decided to continue posting notices about lost pets on its Civic Ready site.

By Steve Plunkett

In the end, the discussion of Ocean Ridge’s budget for 2023-24 was a matter of nickels and dimes, with an emphasis on the nickels.

For the Town Commission’s fifth meeting on the budget this year, Town Manager Lynne Ladner prepared scenarios with a tax of $5.50 per $1,000 of taxable property value — the same rate as the 2022-23 budget year — as well as at $4.89 per $1,000 and five stops in between.

“I’ve also provided you with additional breakdowns at every 5 or .05 amounts so that you can see what any change between $5.25 and $5.50 does and what it does to your anticipated unaudited fund balances,” she explained at the start of the Sept. 5 session.

The town tax bill for a $500,000 property would have ranged from $2,445 to $2,750 in the different scenarios, a difference of $305. For the five intermediate 5-cent steps, $5.25 to $5.50, the difference narrowed to $125.

“We’re really talking about peanuts,” Vice Mayor Steve Coz said.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It really comes down to, like, nickels and dimes,” Mayor Geoff Pugh said.

After almost endorsing $5.45, commissioners settled on the $5.40 rate per $1,000 for a bill of $2,700 on a $500,000 home.

“I was hoping for 5.35 and, you know, given what we understand about the budget, that would work. But you know, 5.4 I’d be OK,” said Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy, who participated via telephone and could not vote.

Coz had argued for the highest rate.

“I think I said this last year when we had the 5.5. I said we’re going to have to go through two to three years of this in order to have the money to deal with our infrastructure problems,” he said.

Commissioner Philip Besler agreed.

“We’re going to start putting money away for the septic-to-sewer. It’s going to happen. It might not happen till 10 years but it’s sort of like retirement plans. Do you want to start putting your money away when you’re 50 years old or is it better to put it away when you’re 30 years old?” he said.

This was Ladner’s first year of preparing Ocean Ridge’s budget, and friction was apparent as she and commissioners continued to get used to each other.

When Cassidy suggested trimming costs to reach a lower tax rate, Ladner said she should have proposed that at the earlier budget meetings.

“Right now we’re at the tentative budget hearing,” Ladner said. “If we were going to have cut expenditures, it would have been appropriate for the commission to have given some input on where they wanted those cuts to be.”

At a later point Coz complained that Ladner was earmarking money for items such as the Harbour Drive drainage project when the work was not close to beginning. Ocean Ridge customarily kept such money in reserves until it was needed, he said.

“I’m, I’m lost and I cannot believe these numbers,” the vice mayor said.

At the final budget hearing on Sept. 18, Coz directed his disappointment toward former manager Tracey Stevens, saying she left no budget information behind. Commissioner Ken Kaleel, who did not attend the Sept. 5 session, thanked the staff for putting the budget together under “tenuous circumstances.” Commissioners then approved the $5.40 tax rate per $1,000 of taxable value.

The tax revenue will fund the bulk of an $11 million operating budget, up 7.4% from the year that ended Sept. 30. Ocean Ridge’s tax base rose 12.9% to $1.36 billion.

In other business on Sept. 5, the commission approved a new beach sign ordinance that allows signs to be placed only at the dune toe line, to face east or west, and to be no bigger than 18 inches square. It also permits “No Trespassing” signs to be strung across private stairways over the dunes.

Police Chief Scott McClure reported at the Oct. 2 commission meeting that police have since issued three notices of violation, giving the property owners 30 days to comply with the sign ordinance.

By Larry Barszewski

The nonprofit group that ran Delray Beach’s Old School Square for decades wants back in — specifically to operate and program the Crest Theatre and associated classrooms on the city-owned downtown cultural arts campus.

A new City Commission majority that played no role in the 2021 decision to cancel the group’s lease — a decision made following financial controversies between the city and the group — is good with the idea. So are most members of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, which currently holds an agreement with the city to manage the entire campus on the northeast corner of Atlantic and Swinton avenues.

The DDA’s agreement goes through September 2024, with the possibility of two five-year extensions. Besides the theater, the campus includes the Cornell Art Museum, the Fieldhouse (the former gymnasium) and an outdoor performance stage called the Pavilion.

Under a proposal suggested in a Sept. 15 email from DDA Executive Director Laura Simon to City Manager Terrence Moore, which commissioners supported, the DDA’s agreement will be amended to remove the Crest Theatre from the DDA’s control. However, commissioners won’t automatically give control of the Crest Theatre back to the nonprofit. Instead, they plan to hold an open solicitation process to see if any other organizations want to compete for the job or share in the operation.

The tentative plan is to request proposals over a 30-day period and have commissioners reach a decision this year. The theater building is being renovated and the work won’t be finished until the end of the year.

“To be realistic, we’re not going to have any programming in there for this season, more than likely, because it takes time, it takes months for people to do programming for the most part,” Mayor Shelly Petrolia said at the commission’s Sept. 18 meeting.

The mostly finished renovations include work to the classrooms, kitchen and other non-theater space in the Crest building. The city is spending $1.2 million on the renovations, but commissioners were told it could take an extra $4 million to make the building usable for theater productions, in part because the former operators removed much of the theater’s electronic equipment prior to vacating the premises in February 2022.

City officials said even though the auditorium needs major renovations, it’s possible it could be used in the meantime for things like a lecture series or community meetings. There is no current plan to renovate the theater.

The former operators — Old School Square Center for the Arts — told commissioners at a Sept. 7 workshop that they have a plan to move forward with the building.

“We know that we’re ready and able to activate the Crest Theatre building, which housed the beloved Creative Arts School and the historic Crest Theatre. We already have a program planned for the new kitchen. I can’t wait to see that,” said Elise Johnson Nail, one of its board members. “We are ready right now with things, as soon as that building’s ready, to get started.”

However, regarding the theater itself, even if it were stage-ready, the nonprofit said it could take up to 18 months for performances there to start because of the lead time needed.

And the nonprofit group can’t begin negotiating for performances until it has a lease for the theater.

“Old School Square Center for the Arts is working thoughtfully on all issues pertaining to the Crest Theatre Building and is committed to working directly with the parties involved,” Board Chair Patty Jones said in an email to The Coastal Star. “If we were selected, yes, we would be able to mount shows and once again activate the Crest Theatre as we had done for decades. Since a site visit can’t be given without a CO [certificate of occupancy] and we haven’t been in the building since February 2022, we do not know the condition of the Crest Theatre and are unable to provide a timeline.”

City resident Lori Durante sued the city because the Sept. 7 workshop on Old School Square’s future included commissioners, DDA board members and representatives of the former operators — and that’s it. Durante said the city should have allowed other nonprofits to present their own proposals during the workshop for operating or making use of the Crest Theatre building.

“Equal consideration, time and space should have been given to all entities to pitch their ideas for the Crest Theatre and/or OSS especially since other entities have expressed interest and the property is city-owned,” Durante wrote in an email to The Coastal Star about the lack of inclusion of other groups in the City Commission workshop.

Durante isn’t dropping her suit just yet “because the action of issuing the public solicitation has not happened yet,” she wrote.

Vice Mayor Ryan Boylston, who voted in 2021 against kicking out the former operators, said the commission’s joint workshop with the two groups had accomplished three things:

Focusing on what the three sides have in common, sending a message that “we’re done fighting,” and starting to build a new model for Old School Square’s future.

“We’re not looking backwards. We’re not looking to undo things that we weren’t a part of or that we were in opposition to. We’re building a new collaborative model and I think this is a big first step,” said Boylston, who ran the workshop in Petrolia’s absence. Petrolia is the only voice left on the commission opposed to the former operators returning to the campus.

Petrolia was part of the majority that ousted the Old School Square group over missed deadlines for fiscal audits, accounting flaws, the renovation of the Crest Theatre building the group started without notifying the city — though the operators said pulling the necessary building permits was notice — and the group’s approval of a construction bond for the renovation work that protected the operators but not the city.

Boylston is discouraged by the amount of work that’s expected to lie ahead.

“It is disheartening to read that we have a 10-year plan in place to get back to where we were two years ago,” Boylston said.

Boylston described the DDA and Old School Square’s former operators as “yin and yang,” with the DDA having needed marketing experience for the campus and Old School Square Center for the Arts having the programming and arts knowledge.

While the DDA supports having someone else responsible for the Crest Theatre building, its board members would still like a say in the decisions that are made.

In her email to Moore, the DDA’s Simon said her board members “want to be at the table for the decision of who may get the opportunity and will have additional agreements and conditions in place surrounding our roles in marketing, narrative for the campus and programming synergies between any entities involved.”

Pati Maguire, a member of the nonprofit group’s board of directors, said she was impressed with what the DDA had accomplished in its short time in charge of the campus.

“We think the DDA has done a very good job under very difficult circumstances,” Maguire said.

In response to Durante’s concerns, Maguire said her group is willing to create opportunities for other nonprofits on campus.

“We’ve worked with other nonprofits before on programming over the 30 years,” Maguire said. “We look forward to doing that again, if given the opportunity.”

By Mary Thurwachter

After two public hearings, the Lantana Town Council adopted a $28.3 million budget with the same tax rate as last year — $3.75 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value.

That compares to the roll-back rate of $3.3321 per $1,000 of assessed value, which would have kept the taxes collected flat except for those from new construction. The adopted rate amounts to a property tax increase of 12.54% because of rising property values, which have gone up about 12% this year.

A resident who owns an average homesteaded house valued last year at $360,000 saw his taxable value increase to $370,800, the maximum 3% increase allowed, which means he will pay about $40 more in town taxes, Finance Director Stephen Kaplan said.

Anticipated property tax revenues are $6,414,754, an increase of $939,313 compared to the previous year’s budget. Property taxes are projected to account for 39.1% of the town’s anticipated general fund revenues in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, compared to their being 36.6% of revenues in the previous fiscal year.

The town’s new general fund budget, which covers day-to-day operations of town government, is $16.4 million, a 2% increase.

To balance the budget, the town will take $146,134 from its $19 million in general fund reserves, Kaplan said.

Compared to last year, when many residents complained about the tax rate increase from $3.50 to $3.75 per $1,000 of assessed value, few objected this time.

Town Manager Brian Raducci said having a visioning workshop in April helped pinpoint spending priorities and made the budget process run smoothly. Only a handful of residents appeared at the budget and tax rate public hearings on Sept. 11 and 20.

Town employees are set to get a 5% cost-of-living raise and could get merit raises of up to 5% based on their annual evaluations.

Insurance costs (general liability, property, casualty, and workers compensation) increased 20% partly due to increased insured values and payroll costs. “Additionally, we’ve continued to elect increased liability limits to reduce exposure,” Raducci said.

The town’s insurance broker, the Rhodes Insurance Group, negotiated a renewal which included an 8.8% health insurance increase and no increase for dental insurance. “The estimated town cost is $1,549,992, an 8% increase,” Raducci said.

The police pension benefit plan is projected to remain relatively constant, decreasing from 47.67% to 47.32% of covered payroll for 34 active/budgeted employees, 30 who are retired and two who are vested but no longer work for the town. The cost will increase from $1,080,416 to $1,221,397 in the current fiscal year, of which the state is anticipated to provide $153,631 from insurance proceeds.

The general employees’ pension plan includes a 7% contribution from the town and a match of an employee’s contribution up to 2% of salary, for a total of up to 9% per employee paid by the town. The cost for 69 employees is $469,641, an increase of $41,110.

Money to add a few employees is also included. The Police Department will add an assistant chief and the library will add a manager.

The town previously received more than $6.3 million through the American Rescue Plan Act. More than $4.6 million worth of those funds has been committed for various projects — including license plate recognition cameras for the Police Department, and sea wall projects at Bicentennial Park, Sportsman’s Park and the beach — leaving nearly $1.7 million for other projects.

“Due to the nature and timing of how and when projects are considered, designed and ultimately awarded, no additional projects are included in the FY 2023/24 proposed budget at this time,” Raducci said. “Staff will continue to evaluate which projects are eligible to be funded from this source as they must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, and expended by Dec. 31, 2026. As eligible projects are identified throughout the coming year, they will be brought forward for Town Council consideration and approval.”

Depending on if and when the use of these funds wins council approval, any related budget amendments will be incorporated and considered in future budget amendments.

The town also got $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.

By Mary Thurwachter

Lantana’s snazzy renovated library will soon have a sensory garden.

To that end, the Town Council at its Sept. 11 meeting voted to submit a $52,623 Community Block Grant application to Palm Beach County to help fund the project.

Library director Kristine Kreidler said the current outdoor space of the garden will be replaced with an area designed to accommodate and engage individuals with physical disabilities and sensory processing disorders.

“This project,” Kreidler said, “will focus on adding elements that engage the five senses, making the space more inviting for those individuals who utilize mobility devices.”

The plan includes an ADA-accessible winding path, accessible raised planters, a shade structure, outdoor musical instruments, and an educational activity station for youth.

The library, at 205 W. Ocean Ave., held a grand reopening in March after a $1,505,000 redo that took more than a year to complete.

Appointments made to Planning Commission
The council reappointed Lyn Tate of Hypoluxo Island to the Planning Commission and appointed Veronica Cobb to three-year terms.

Since the other incumbent, Erica Wald, also of Hypoluxo Island, did not reapply, her seat was up for grabs with several residents seeking to fill it.

Candidates included Cobb, Stephanie Forman, Chad Lamar, Annemarie Joyce, Ryan Joyce, Nina Pozzi, Ed Shropshire (a former council member and an alternate on the Planning Commission), and Jorge Velazquez (also an alternate on the commission).

Council member Kem Mason made a motion to elevate Shropshire to fill Wald’s position, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Instead, the council chose Cobb to fill the vacancy. Vice Mayor Lynn Moorhouse made the motion, which passed by a 3-2 vote with Mason and Vice Mayor Pro Tem Mark Zeitler dissenting.

Mason said it was customary to bring up an alternate to fill openings on the commission. Mayor Karen Lythgoe disclosed that Cobb, general manager of The Carlisle Palm Beach and a former member of the Planning Commission in Bradenton, is a friend who is very qualified for the position.

In other action, the council:
• Approved a piggyback agreement with ParkMobile for the implementation of a parking fee collection system. As of Oct. 1, parking fees at the beach and elsewhere in town have gone from $1.50 to $2 an hour. ParkMobile’s clients include Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach.
• Presented the family of the late Rob Caldwell a plaque for his years of service to the community as part of the town’s Marine Safety Division. Caldwell died July 13 at the age of 67. A career lifeguard and surfer, Caldwell worked for the Lantana Fire Department from 1976 to 2009 and was captain of the beach patrol. Over the years, he saved more than 100 people. 
• Held a special tribute to commemorate those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

ABOVE: Don Brown loves the beach life and the County Pocket he calls home. BELOW RIGHT: His custom-designed home reminds some of an inverted pyramid. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

If you meander through the neighborhood east of State Road A1A between Briny Breezes and Gulfstream Park, you’ll find narrow streets with bungalows and surfer shacks that comprise the County Pocket. You can almost hear Jimmy Buffett strumming his six-string. Amid the relaxed residents in their swimsuits and flip-flops are at least a handful of success stories. Among them is Don Brown, who bought his first property there in 1979.

“I grew up surfing Lake Worth,” said Brown, 67. “To live on the beach was a dream come true. Surfing, sailing Hobie cats, and catching lobsters is what I enjoy best about the pocket.

“I have been here 43 years now and made a lot of very close friends. There is no other place in Palm Beach County like the pocket. With the narrow roads and tiny lots the county engineers and zoning officials don’t know what to do with us.”

Brown learned how to deal with people while working at his father’s clothing store in Lake Worth and later, West Palm Beach, and went into the real estate business after earning a degree in history from Florida State.

He opened his real estate firm, Southdale Properties, in 1995, and like others in that business struggled through some lean years in the 2000s.

“I was leveraged to the hilt, but worked my way through it and now I’m proud to say I’ve been debt-free for six years,” Brown said.

After living next door to what was his empty lot for nearly 20 years, he built his three-story dwelling in 2009.

“It was a non-conforming lot, too narrow, so I had to get a waiver from the county to build it,” he said. “It’s a townhouse concept and 35 feet high, so I can see the water from the top floor.

“It attracts a lot of attention. If I’m out in the driveway washing my car at least two or three people will stop and ask about it in that short time.”

It remains a work in progress; he and fiancée Donna Kirby spend most of their time in a studio over the garage while work continues.

Brown played all the team sports as a kid but turned to golf and surfing as he got older and still enjoys both: golf as a member of the Lost City Club at Atlantis and surfing in what amounts to his backyard.

“The good thing about both is being self-employed,” he said. “I play golf every day and if the surf is up I can disappear for a couple of hours and nobody notices.”

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I was born and raised in Lake Worth. I grew up in College Park, which is in the northeast end of town bordering West Palm Beach, and went to Lake Worth High School, graduating in 1974, and then on to Florida State, where I got a degree in history.
My father started a men’s clothing store called Brownie’s Men’s Shop in 1946. I excelled in school, but working in the family business meeting hundreds of customers taught me about customer service. The 1960s and ’70s in Palm Beach County were special since it was still a small-town feel. When I was in high school, I-95 was not yet completed in Lake Worth.
My father sold the location in downtown Lake Worth and moved the store to West Palm Beach. As a young boy and teenager, I worked in the store, and after my father passed away when I was 16 I helped my mother run it.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I have always been self-employed. From paper boy and mowing lawns as a kid to eventually running the family business. When we closed the store in 1989, I opened a real estate office because I didn’t want to go and get a real job. Real estate is a profession, not a job. I parlayed the people skills I learned as a kid into a successful real estate business.
I am most proud of the idea that I never sold out to a big company and remained independent. We have more than 40 agents in the office and a good reputation in the local market. Southdale Properties is in Lake Worth two blocks from where I was born.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Figure out how to go to college. When you finish high school, your brain is ready to learn, and four years is enough time to figure out what you really want to do.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in the County Pocket?
A: When I got out of college, I bought my first home in Lake Worth with a vacant lot next door. I built a duplex. My brother came home for vacation and saw an ad in the paper for a house in the pocket. My brother and I partnered up to purchase the property and in a few years he wanted to sell his half, so I figured out how to buy him out. During that time, we bought the two lots next door; I sold the back one to my friend Mark Foley and gave all the money to my brother, keeping the front lot for myself. That is where I live today. It took me 35 years to figure out how to build a house on it.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in the pocket?
A: It’s self-evident. It’s a great spot, being on the beach. I surf, and I still surf to this day whenever there’s waves. It’s kind of a spoiled life to be able to walk out your door and walk down to the beach before your coffee gets cold.
I do a lot of business here in Ocean Ridge and one of my selling points is if you live east of A1A it’s a four- to five-minute walk to the dune.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Ben Hogan, An American Life, written by James Dodson. I have been playing competitive golf since I was a junior player. My mother used to drive me to tournaments all over. There are several Hogan books out there but this one is the best.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: I have always been a big Steely Dan fan. There is no other band like them.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: When I first became a Realtor I was inspired by my first broker, Tony Locastro, who ran a tiny office with just his wife. He talked me into selling business opportunities instead of homes. This is how I got started. My first deal turned out to be a restaurant, and that led to a lot more restaurant transactions. Half of my business is commercial every year. Tony had two sayings: 1. You cannot sell from an empty cart, and 2. Knowledge is strength.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a move, who would play you?
A: Billy Bob Thornton. I like him, and I’ve had people tell me I look like him. Don’t know if I do or don’t, but he’s got the sense of humor I’d have if I was him. He’s a cool dude.

Q: What makes you laugh?
A: Old Seinfeld reruns. My fiancée Donna will attest to this, I don’t laugh a lot. I’m serious about almost everything and don’t laugh much at jokes. But there’s something about the interaction among the cast; those guys are priceless. Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t use profanity in his act and all his humor is G-rated. And George plays the perfect character.

By Steve Plunkett

St. Joseph’s Episcopal School and its wealthy benefactor have lost their courtroom quest to reverse the decision by St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church not to renew their lease.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Bradley Harper, invoking the separation of church and state, dismissed the school’s lawsuit on Sept. 6.

“There’s no way for this court to adjudicate this matter based upon neutral principles of law,” Harper said. “I quite frankly don’t see any way around it. It would require judicial inquiry into internal church matters and constitutes a subject matter which this court, a secular court, lacks jurisdiction.”

Harper in February had denied the school’s request for an injunction to let it continue to operate on the church’s grounds until the lawsuit was resolved, ruling that the school did not have “a substantial likelihood of success … given the absence of any writing which establishes the existence of a 99-year lease agreement.”

School trustees subsequently notified the families of St. Joe’s 175 students that classes would not resume this school year. The last graduates are now freshmen, most at American

Heritage School in Delray Beach, St. John Paul II Academy in Boca Raton and Cardinal Newman High in West Palm Beach.

“We are all devastated over this and still can’t believe the Church is closing the school,” the school’s admissions director, Mary Aperavich, wrote on a Facebook post congratulating the rising ninth-graders.

St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, which owns the property on which the school sat for 60 years, told the school in April 2022 that it would not renew its lease. The school tried to find a new location, “only to learn that extensive permitting and remodeling would prohibit the completion of any move for at least two years,” the trustees said.

In its lawsuit, the school claimed it had an oral, 99-year lease to stay where it is, at 3300B S. Seacrest Blvd., until 2093.

But the church’s attorney argued that under Episcopal rules, any encumbrance of property would have had to be approved in writing by the diocese and the bishop.

The church also said the school signed a five-year written lease in 2012 and was given a five-year extension that expired in November 2022. Both sides last year agreed to extend the lease until June 30, 2023, while the dispute headed to court.

The church has not given its reasons for not wanting to renew the $5-a-year lease.

The school’s 175 students were in pre-K through eighth grade. While the two entities share the St. Joseph’s name and the same location on Seacrest Boulevard, the school split off from the church in 1995.

That was a year after William Swaney, most recently president of the board of trustees, gave the church about $2.5 million worth of stock in his company, Perrigo, “for the express purpose of the church constructing buildings and facilities for use by the school,” said the school’s lawsuit.

Swaney, the suit claimed, made it clear to the church’s vestry that he was making the gift in exchange for a promise, made orally several times, that the school would never be displaced from the property. The church sold the stock and built a gymnasium, library, classrooms and administrative offices.

GULF STREAM — Percy James Orthwein II, known as “Perk,” died Sept. 19 following a magnificent life — having spent 42 years with his beloved wife, Joan Kroeger Orthwein. He was 76.

Mr. Orthwein grew up in a well-known and respected family, in which hard work, creativity and integrity were the cornerstones. His great-grandfather was August Busch, CEO of Anheuser-Busch Inc.; his grandfather Percy Orthwein was president of D’Arcy Advertising; and his father, James Orthwein, owned the Patriots football team.

A native of St. Louis, Mr. Orthwein was an established businessman, investor, marketing aficionado, boatsman and lover of the outdoors. He attended Washington University in St. Louis Olin School of Business and graduated with an MBA from St. Louis University.

Mr. Orthwein was senior vice president and management supervisor worldwide for the Anheuser-Busch account at D’Arcy Advertising, where he worked from 1973-1984. From 1985-2018, he was owner and chairman of the board at Double Eagle Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler in South Florida. During this time he also served as president of Eagle Snacks, until its sale to Procter & Gamble in 1996.

Mr. Orthwein started Boomers family entertainment center in 1993, which merged with Race-O-Rama and sold to Palace Entertainment in 2002.

He was very involved in the community and served many years as a trustee for the Bethesda Hospital Foundation and as a Palm Beach County Hospital commissioner.

He was a member of The Gulf Stream Golf Club, The Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis Club and The Little Club in Gulf Stream; The Watch Hill Yacht Club and The Misquamicut Club in Watch Hill, Rhode Island; and the St. Louis Country Club and the Racquet Club in St. Louis.

“Perk” was the quintessential character, known for his charm, humor and compassionate nature. He could often be heard quoting August Busch’s famous tagline, “Making friends is our business.”

His enthusiasm for life, people and animals was contagious and he embraced them all with a full heart. With a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, he left an indelible impression on everyone he met.

He was most adored by his three children: Katherine Busch Orthwein (Brendan Boyle of Gulf Stream), Elizabeth James Orthwein (Delray Beach) and William Chase Orthwein (Delray Beach).

He was predeceased by his father and mother, James Busch Orthwein and Katherine Gatch Wheeler. In addition to his wife, a Gulf Stream town commissioner, he is survived by his sister, Katherine Orthwein Snowden, his brother, James Busch Orthwein II, and his half-sister, Romaine Clara Busch Orthwein.

He will be profoundly missed by his family, including his loving grandchildren, Alexandra Grace Boyle and Hunter Charles Boyle.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Gulf Stream School or Baptist Health Foundation.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Ron Hayes

OCEAN RIDGE — The gas station was closed that Monday morning, with a sign on the door to tell you why.

“VINNY’S GONE FISHING”

This wasn’t news. Vinny went fishing every chance he got. The news was below.

“11/30/55 – 9/18/23
Love You Forever”

Gulfstream Texaco is the only gas station along State Road A1A in the 47 miles between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, which makes it unusual.

For almost three decades, Vinny Dinanath made it more than a gas station.

When he died in his wife’s arms, at home in Wellington shortly after midnight the morning of Sept. 18, his family lost a husband, father and father-in-law, the gas station lost an owner, and his neighbors lost a loyal friend, an honest mechanic, and a magical fishing buddy. He was 67.

“He could talk to you about anything — geography, martial arts, history and science,” his wife, Gemma, wrote on Facebook that same afternoon. “He taught so many people how to fish, how to make jigs, how to fix their cars.

“He helped people be better. He loved his family more than anything, and he had a special relationship with animals, especially cats. He worked hard and took pride in everything he did. He was strong, sincere, honest and kind.”

Vinoo Dinanath was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, an industrial city on the island’s southwest coast. In 1985, he and Gemma came to New York City. He worked for Pep Boys. He worked for Firestone. He worked as a mechanic for an Exxon station in Queens.

Eight years later, they left the New York winters behind and came to Florida seeking what so many seek here —independence, warm weather and fish.

“He didn’t want to work for someone else who’d be pressuring him to charge for more hours than it took to do a repair,” Gemma said. “He couldn’t help people that way.”

He found work at a gas station between Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes that had opened in 1948 as a Marathon station, spent time as a Gulf station, and then was born again as a Texaco station.

When the owner gave up the lease a few years later, the Dinanaths took it over.

“The station was Vin’s dream,” Gemma said, and for the next 28 years, they made the dream come true.

Marie Speed, the longtime editor-in-chief of Boca Raton magazine, was already living just across the road when he arrived.

“When you’re a single woman and you have to see a mechanic, you’re filled with dread,” Speed said. “Two guys told me I needed new tires. I went to Vin and he came out and looked at them and said, ‘You don’t need new tires. I’ll tell you when you need new tires.’

“I felt like he was my protector in some way.”

Richard Jones was Ocean Ridge’s police chief from 2014 until this past March, when he took over the Gulf Stream Police Department.

“When I started in Ocean Ridge, Vinny was taking care of all our vehicles,” Jones said. “You could take anything to him, a department vehicle or a personal vehicle. Vinny was our go-to guy.”

In time, the station became a kind of club, a gathering spot for neighbors and friends.

Most afternoons, the men — mostly men — would wander over and claim a lawn chair outside the office to watch the world pass up and down Ocean Boulevard.

“The main rule is, no drugs,” Vinny would tell them. “If you’re a druggie, you can’t hang out here. Also, no idiots. We had one guy that was an idiot, so he got a 99-year ban.”

They told jokes, sipped beers, smoked and chatted with Vinny — mostly about fish.

“Vin was about as serious a fisherman as there is around,” said Charles Kittler, who knew him since moving to Ocean Ridge 20 years ago. “When he wasn’t working, he was either thinking about fishing or fishing.”

Kittler had fished back home in Illinois. Vinny taught him how to fish in an ocean. Later, they fished in Colorado together.

“He loved to drift fish, and he was a good captain on his boat and a very honest gentleman,” Kittler said.

Vinny fished in Cape Cod, Alaska, Colorado, Lake Tahoe, Montauk, Staten Island. To hear his fishing buddies talk, you’d think his way with a fishing rod transcended talent into something almost mystical.

“He’d say, ‘What do you want to catch today?’ and he’d catch it,” said Tyrone Halfhill of Briny Breezes, who fished with Vin almost every Wednesday for years. “He called it dumb luck, but it wasn’t dumb luck. I use the same equipment. He just did something a little bit different.”

They used to fish Lake Okeechobee for crappie, Halfhill remembers.

“He’d get 50 per person and have a big fish fry at the station with anywheres from 20 to 50 people stopping by. Ocean Ridge cops and stuff.”

Bill Armstrong, Ocean Ridge’s public works director, knew Vin for nearly two decades. They fished together on Lake Okeechobee and worked on cars at the station.

“He could fish the sun down,” Armstrong said. “He taught me how to fish for yellowtail snapper. He was kind of like a mentor to me. He was quiet and soft-spoken, but also right to the point. He was a man that words can’t describe.”

A few years ago, when heart and respiratory problems emerged, he stopped working on cars.

Now, his friends wonder, what will happen to Gulfstream Texaco? With Vin gone, will the station go, too?

No, Gemma Dinanath insists. The whole family worked at the station. The station will remain theirs.

“He got everything he wanted,” she said. “He wanted this station, and he wanted to fish, and he wanted to die at home. He knew, and he refused to go to the hospital. He was holding me when he died.”

Vin and Gemma Dinanath were together for 48 years. In addition to her, he is survived by his son, Darryl, of Wellington, and his daughter and son-in-law, Janelle and Miles Hamrick, of Atlanta.

A celebration of his life will be held at Benvenuto Restaurant & Banquet Facility in Boynton Beach on Nov. 29, a day before what would have been his 68th birthday. The celebration is by invitation only.

DELRAY BEACH — Ellen Kelly Dickson died surrounded by family on Sept. 24 after a battle with cancer. She was 71.

Ellen was born Nov. 5, 1951, in Boston and raised in Dedham, Massachusetts, by Edward and Josephine Kelly. She grew up in a vibrant and busy household with seven younger brothers. Her parents had lived through World War II and pursued careers in social work. They instilled a deep commitment to community in Ellen at an early age.

Both of her parents received master’s degrees from Boston College, and her dad spent his career with the Massachusetts Welfare System after serving under Patton in Africa and Europe during World War II.

Ellen made her mark at an early age. She attended the University of Massachusetts Boston where her drive to get involved in organizational community activities was evident.

She became the first student trustee at UMass Boston, gaining the same voting power as the rest of the board. She was also chair of the organization “18 by 72,” an effort to change the voting age in Massachusetts to 18 by 1972, which was accomplished. She graduated in 1973 and was a speaker at her class commencement exercises for UMass Boston. She was credited with having “served with distinction as a university trustee. She has been a positive activist at this university and has shown insights and interest in academic student affairs.”

Before entering the MBA program at Babson College in September 1975, she followed her parents’ path into social work. In her first semester at Babson, she met the love of her life, Henry “Chip” Dickson, in her classes. After graduation in May 1977, Ellen and Chip started married life in Cleveland, where she began her career in portfolio management and where the couple’s three children were born.

Ellen and Chip moved to Summit, New Jersey, in 1993 and called it home for 25 years after two years in Chicago. In Summit, Ellen served as mayor during a time that included Hurricane Sandy, which demanded her constant presence. Her service included six years on City Council, several years on the Zoning Board, president of the PTO of a local elementary school and high school and support of various other organizations like Rotary.

Some of the awards she received included Boy Scouts of America “Good Scout” Award in 2011 and in 2012, the Summit Business and Professional Women honored her as Woman of the Year.

In 2018 they moved to Florida, where Ellen joined the boards of the Beach Property Owners’ Association of Delray Beach and the Florida Coalition for Preservation.

Ellen’s greatest joys were her family and friends. A true extrovert, she had a talent for getting to know people and never met a stranger. She fielded daily phone calls from her adult children and loved her life as “Grandma.” She has instilled her kindness and love of Cape Cod in her grandchildren over the last seven years.

Ellen was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Her spirit lives on with husband of 46 years, Henry “Chip” Dickson; children Laura Goldstein and her husband, Justin, Julia LaTaille and her husband, Jim, and Henry Dickson Jr. and his wife, Amanda Yang-Dickson; brothers Ed, Tom, Fred, Jim, Frank, Chris and John; sisters-in-law Lina, Sue, Marianne, Dotty, Mona, Claudia, Tracy, Joy, Andrea and Wendy and brothers-in-law Bart and Ace; grandchildren James, Elliot, Martín, Mila, Nora, Ella and Dylan; 24 nieces and nephews, and a large network of family and friends. Ellen was predeceased by her parents, Edward and Josephine Kelly.

A memorial service was held Sept. 30 at Grace Church of East Dennis in Dennis, Massachusetts, followed by a celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to umb.edu/dicksonscholarship.

A service later in the year will be held in the Delray Beach area.

— Obituary submitted by the family

By Sallie James

SOUTH PALM BEACH — She was a doting mother and a devout Methodist who could sing, play the violin, speak like a lawyer and, as a lover of floppy hats, style her clothes like no other. She was also a civic warrior whose years on the Town Council were dedicated to preserving the ambience of the hometown she loved.

Stella Gaddy Jordan, who served on the South Palm Beach Town Council from 2010 to 2020, lost her years-long fight with multiple sclerosis on Sept. 4 at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. She was 84.

Those who loved her remembered her as a fierce advocate who taught them the value of ambition, persistence and humility. Mrs. Jordan downplayed her illness for many years, confounding friends and family with a determination and an unearthly stamina that kept her moving forward no matter what.

“She was a chameleon. She could be sick in bed and the next day she would pull herself together looking amazing,” said South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer. “She was strong in her faith and always a very positive person.”

Fischer credited Mrs. Jordan with getting her into politics.

A native Floridian, Mrs. Jordan was born on April 17, 1939, in Plant City. She grew up in Tampa, graduating from Jefferson High School. She eventually landed a job in banking, where she worked her way to the top.

Mrs. Jordan served as president of the National Association of Bank Women, southeast region. She spent most of her professional career at SunTrust Bank Tampa Bay, retiring as first vice president after approximately 20 years. She was also the former marketing director of the Tampa Children’s Ballet Theater.

She met her husband, George Jordan, through her best friend. He was her friend’s older brother, and the two married in 1957 while he was in the U.S. Coast Guard. After he was honorably discharged, George Jordan became a firefighter for the city of Tampa. He died at age 69 in 2006 after an illness.

In the wake of her husband’s death, Mrs. Jordan became an activist.

Mrs. Jordan slipped into politics by way of the Rizon East Condominium Association, where she served as treasurer for four terms and president for three terms.

She was elected to the South Palm Beach Town Council in 2010. She quickly became a fierce advocate for preserving the town’s ambience and kept close tabs on all things related to redevelopment and high-rise buildings.

Mrs. Jordan was instrumental in getting a charter amendment placed on the ballot in 2010 that gave residents greater control over redevelopment, said Christine Mang, president of SPB Preservation Inc., a nonprofit citizens group dedicated to preserving the town’s character.

“Our town was in good hands with her. She would listen to people and act in their interest. We are all going to miss her very much,” Mang said.
 Council member Robert Gottlieb remembered Mrs. Jordan as caring, fun, smart, nice, outspoken, hardworking and special. The two worked together side-by-side for several years.

“She was always upbeat, even when she was not feeling so well. She did a good job for the town of South Palm Beach. Her service was appreciated by the town and the residents,” Gottlieb said.

Her three daughters said their mother loved to entertain and often threw parties to stir up excitement for whatever her latest cause might be. But always, she downplayed her failing health.

“To say she was hard-headed would have been an understatement. She was determined to not let it keep her down. And so she did endure. That was one of her favorite words,” her daughter Donna Culloty said. Her children described her as “the life of the party.”

Her generosity was regular and random. Culloty recalled her mother quietly folding cash into the palms of people she thought might be struggling.

“If she heard a young mother tell their young child ‘we can’t afford that’ she would just take a $20 or $50 or $100 and say ‘please take this,’” Culloty said.

Mrs. Jordan is survived by three daughters, Donna Culloty, Denise Walker and Deanna Garcia, all in Florida; a sister, Joyce Sanchez in Sunrise; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sister Sandra Bell of Tampa and a grandson.

A celebration of life is being planned for sometime in October. Edgley Crematory in Riviera Beach is in charge of arrangements. 

By Sallie James

BRINY BREEZES — To his South Florida friends and neighbors, “Doc” Harold Burton was a beloved retiree with a cheerful disposition and a sly sense of humor. But nearly eight decades ago, the young veterinarian from Hereford, Maryland, helped keep 960 horses healthy in the middle of Atlantic storms until they reached Gdansk and the Polish farmers struggling to recover from the war.

Once a seagoing cowboy who helped transport horses to needy countries after WWII under the auspices of Heifers for Relief, Dr. Burton died on Aug. 31 of undetermined causes at his Abingdon home. He was 102.

“Some of the happiest times of his life were with his friends in Briny,” said his daughter Barbara Abbott.

In 2015, Dr. Burton recalled for a Coastal Star reporter his adventures transporting horses on the high seas.

“The majority of countries like Poland were just countries of small farmers, and they had nothing to farm with,” Burton said in the interview. “The Germans had gone across it one way, and the Russians had gone across the other way, and there was just nothing there.”

On one occasion, he was severely bitten by a horse, so he asked his family doctor if he should become an MD or a DVM.

“Well,” the wise old doctor said, “if you become a physician, the patients lie to you all the time, but if you become a vet, the animals will never lie to you.”

Young Harold Burton became a vet. “And I never did have an animal lie to me,” he said. “The owners sometimes, but never the animals.”

The son of Edmund Burton and Olive Burton, Harold Burton was born in Baltimore and raised in a home at York and Mount Carmel roads in Hereford.

He met his future wife, Betty Duval, while serving as an associate professor at the University of Maryland and the two were married in 1947. They were together 75 years.

Doc and Betty Burton began visiting her parents, Hazel and Claiborne Duval, in Briny Breezes around 1960. They became shareholders when they purchased lot L-16 from her mother.

Years later the couple known as “Trouble” and “Saint Betty” moved to a different lot to make room for a dog and grandchildren.

Dr. Burton was also a frequent prankster who attended any meeting where donuts and coffee were served. He belonged to several clubs and organizations that were dear to his heart.

He graduated from Sparks High School in 1938 and then attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore before earning a degree in veterinary medicine in 1943 from the University of Pennsylvania.

Eventually he purchased the Towson Veterinary Hospital on York Road. Dr. Burton sold his practice in 1978, went into semi-retirement and finally retired from veterinary medicine in 1980.

Services were at Evans Funeral Chapel in Monkton, with interment at the Hereford Baptist Church Cemetery, a few steps from his boyhood home.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Burton is survived by two sons, Russell W. Burton of Jacobus, Pennsylvania, and Paul M. Burton of Hagerstown; two daughters, Barbara B. Abbott of Lutherville and Patricia B. Bowden of Hanover, Pennsylvania; and three grandchildren.

— The Baltimore Sun contributed to this obituary.

Center for Arts and Innovation CEO Andrea Virgin stands with board member Matt Cimaglia (left) and Antoine Chaaya, the partner in charge of the project for Renzo Piano Building Workshop, during a Sept. 6 event at which Virgin announced the architect’s selection. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

The Center for Arts and Innovation has selected Renzo Piano Building Workshop, whose partners include Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Renzo Piano, to design its performing arts complex.

Center Chair and CEO Andrea Virgin announced the selection on Sept. 6 outside the Mizner Park Amphitheater where the project will be built to an audience that included center board members, Boca Raton City Council members and project supporters.

“The ability to announce Renzo Piano Building Workshop on this project is everything,” Virgin said. “The fact that this firm only takes two to three commissions a year just underscores that this project is enticing to the global market.”

RPBW, established by Piano in 1981 and with offices in Genoa and Paris, has completed more than 140 projects worldwide. A partial list includes the Shard in London, the new Whitney Museum in New York, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The center’s building committee selected 10 finalists to respond to a request for proposals, and four were short-listed.

The architectural firm will begin work later this month. Virgin aims to break ground in 2025, which is Boca Raton’s centennial year. The project is to be completed in 2028.

The City Council one year ago authorized the lease of city-owned land in Mizner Park to the center for 74 years, with two 10-year renewals, clearing the way for the project to go forward.

The city is not providing funding. Center officials must raise enough through donations to construct the complex and fund reserves and endowments. The cost was estimated at $115.4 million last year.

Virgin sees the complex as fulfilling the original vision for Mizner Park as the city’s cultural hub.

The complex is planned to accommodate 6,000 people in all its performance and event spaces. It will include a complete makeover of the city’s beloved amphitheater.

***

Delray Upholstery Co., a longtime Delray Beach family business, has moved from its shop at 143 NE Fourth Ave., Delray Beach, to 3267 SW 14th Place, Boynton Beach.

“Delray was amazing,” said Daniel Brooks, the fourth-generation upholsterer in the Brooks family who now runs the business. “It was sad to leave Delray. I spent more of my life in that building than anywhere else on earth and it was nice working with my dad all those years. But, if you don’t change with the times, you find yourself left behind.” 

By moving, Brooks has reduced his overhead. And, finding new employees adept at upholstering has become difficult, he said.

“There’s nobody to grow the business with. There’s a ton of demand for upholstery work. It doesn’t stop,” Brooks said. “But it’s the electronic age, and people are working with computers rather than working with things.” 

Daniel’s great-grandfather, Henry Elwood Brooks, found work in an upholstery shop during the Depression and picked up the trade. When his son, Henry Jr., went off to war, he taught the trade to his grandson, Henry III, Daniel’s father. Henry III moved his family from Falls Church, Virginia, to Delray Beach in 1971, and worked for Jessup Inc., a Palm Beach design and upholstery studio.

“My dad would bring little projects home from work, and I’d help him in the garage,” Daniel said. “After Polly Jessup died, Dad opened his own business in Delray in 1993, and I started working there and never left. I thought I would go into construction or be a mechanic. I didn’t think upholstery was what I would do, but I’ve always been a hands-on person.

“I took over the business in 2007, but my dad was working with me until this spring, when he retired at 85.”

Daniel and his wife, Jen, live in Boynton Beach, and Henry III still lives in the Tropic Isle, Delray Beach house where he raised his family.

***

Four alumni of Research Park at Florida Atlantic University are on the Inc. list of 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the United States.

Honorlock is a service company that offers proctoring solutions for educational institutions and organizations. A graduate of FAU Tech Runway, it was assisted with market information and strategy by the university’s Global Ventures. Honorlock, on the Inc. list for the third time, ranked 667. Honorlock has also been honored as the 2023 EdTech

Breakthrough award winner for online proctoring solution of the year.

ShipMonk, a third-party logistics provider, is also an FAU Tech Runway graduate. On the list for the past six years, it ranked 1,328. 

The SilverLogic, a software engineering and consulting company, has been on the list for the past four years, and now ranks 2,360. 

ModMed, a health care cloud-based company that places doctors and patients at the center of care, has been on the list eight times, and this year it ranked 3,702. 

“We use the term alumni for companies that started with us at our old incubator or now, Global Ventures, or spent a considerable amount of time in the Research Park at FAU,” said Andrew Duffell, president of the Research Park at FAU.

***

Levenger, a Delray Beach retailer of home and office products, named Stuart Till as its new chief financial officer. Till had been CFO/COO for Penha Duty Free, a wholesale distributor and retailer of upscale and luxury goods.  

***

Joseph “J.B.” Bensmihen, president and CEO of Apollo Mediation Group, received the Recognition Award from the Boynton Beach Professionals Leads Group. 

“J.B. strives to be a trusted business adviser to his clients. He has been tirelessly working to promote the group and all of its members,” said John Campanola, the leads group chairman.

***

The Manalapan compound at 1400 S. Ocean Blvd., Villa Oceano Azul, with 200 feet both on the Intracoastal Waterway and ocean, recently re-entered the market for $64.995 million.  

The owners, Raj and Padmaja Mantena, bought the estate for a recorded $48.37 million in January from Francis and Dolores Mennella. It entered the market at $74.99 million in January 2022 and went through price changes before settling at $62.988 million in October 2022. It was a record-breaking deal for Manalapan when the Mennellas bought it in July 2016 for $25.2 million.

Sited on almost two acres, the property comprises a 16,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom main house and a 1,200-square-foot guest house. Completed in 2015, it was built on speculation by Manalapan Mayor Stewart Satter’s Carnegie Hill Development Corp.

The estate will be sold furnished with interiors by Marc-Michaels Interior Design. The property has two swimming pools, with one facing the ocean, and a 50-foot dock on the Intracoastal.

Agent Mark A. Griffin of The Bear’s Club Sotheby’s International Realty holds the new listing. 

***

Developer William Joseph Scaggs, a partner in Boca Raton-based home builder SRD Building Corp., sold the five-bedroom, 8,344-square-foot mansion in Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club at 329 Royal Palm Way in Boca Raton for $16.15 million.

 The buyer is listed in public records as 329 Royal Palm Land Trust, with Citibank providing a $6.675 million mortgage. Overlooking the golf course, the home is on a 0.34-acre lot.
David W. Roberts of Royal Palm Properties brokered the deal.

***

William Raveis Real Estate recently won the National Top Brokerage Award at Inman Connect in Las Vegas. Inman, a company that provides agents with information about the real estate business, gives its Innovator Awards to companies, individuals, and new technology that improves productivity, efficiency and transparency.

Out of more than 150,000 real estate firms in the country, only a handful of companies met the criteria to qualify, with William Raveis Real Estate taking the top award.

“We’ve been on a winning streak with number one for global, HGTV ‘Ultimate House Hunt,’ best local agency awards, and now we are officially the number one real estate company in the United States,” said William Raveis, founder and CEO of his eponymous firm.

***

Florida Atlantic University has moved up on the U.S. News & World Report list of Top Public Schools. FAU ranks 112, up from 131, and it placed 209 for Top National Schools, up from 262 last year.  

FAU also placed 26 in the social mobility ranking, up from 41. This number is computed using graduation rates of students receiving Pell grants and includes public and private national universities.

In other rankings, it placed 22 in undergraduate international business, 150 in undergraduate engineering programs, 159 in undergraduate business programs, 210 in undergraduate computer science, 234 in undergraduate psychology, and 240 in undergraduate economics.

***

Bloomin & Buzzin! will be hosted by the Delray Beach Historical Society from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18. There will be food, a bar, music, children’s crafts, silent auction, raffle and history exhibits. The event will benefit the Institute for Regional Conservation, a nonprofit that aims to protect, restore and manage biodiversity regionally, and prevent the local extinction of rare plants, animals and ecosystems.

The event will be at the Historical Society, 3 NE First St. Costs are $40 per person, $75 per couple, and $5 per child. To purchase tickets, visit www.regionalconservation.org.

***

The Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Merchant and Business Association will host Art & Jazz on the Avenue from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in Delray Beach. There will be food, live music, art, kids’ zone, and local businesses will sell their wares.

Streets will be closed along East Atlantic Avenue, east of the Intracoastal, from Venetian Drive to Andrews Avenue for this free event. For more information, visit www.downtowndelraybeach.com/artandjazz.

***

The Salvation Army of Palm Beach County received 150 backpacks filled with school supplies from AT&T in support of its after-school youth programs at the Northwest Community Center in West Palm Beach.

Mary Hladky contributed to this column.

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

To help prepare students for the 2023-24 school year, the Boca Raton Airport Authority had its sixth annual Back to School Supply Drive in collaboration with the Spirit of Giving Network.

The effort collected about $15,000 worth of items such as backpacks, notebooks, pencils and hygiene products, setting up students for a successful academic year.

“This is our sixth year hosting the Back to School Supply Drive at the airport, and it is always a great honor to collaborate with our tenants and the local community to get Palm Beach County students prepared for the new school year,” said airport Executive Director Clara Bennett. “I am grateful to be a part of such a generous community that has made this drive a success every year.”

For more information, call 561-385-0144 or visit www.spiritofgivingnetwork.com.

Grant to improve access to child care at Fuller Center
The Jim Moran Foundation has awarded a two-year grant totaling $90,000 to the Child Care and Early Education Workforce Development initiative at the Fuller Center.

The initiative was created by the center to increase the low number of early education professionals as the demand for child care rises. The foundation’s support is in recognition of the positive impact of the initiative.

“Quality, affordable child care and early education are becoming nearly impossible to find because it’s become nearly impossible to make a living as a child care and early education professional,” Fuller Center CEO Ellyn Okrent said. “This hurts not only the children and their families, but also our economy by removing countless hardworking parents from the workforce and sending them back into the home — and for many, back into poverty.”

For more information, call 561-391-7274 or visit www.fullercenterfl.org.

New NSAL president ‘thrilled to lead’
The National Society of Arts and Letters Florida chapter has named Boca Raton resident Kirsten Stephenson as president.

Stephenson is well-known in the South Florida philanthropic community for her leadership and innovative fundraising initiatives. She has served NSAL as an executive board member for several years, providing the organization with creative new programs and chairing important events.

“I am thrilled to lead this incredible organization,” she said. “During my tenure, I am determined to enhance NSAL’s impact by expanding our support base while developing exciting new platforms to showcase our brilliant emerging artists.” For more information, call 561-654-8151 or visit www.nsalflorida.org.

Walk of Recognition inductees announced
The Boca Raton Historical Society/The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum is preparing for the annual event that pays tribute to local leaders and organizations for having served the interests of the community.

The Walk of Recognition award also honors leaders posthumously on the Wall of Honor, a permanent memorial beside the Addison Mizner monument in Royal Palm Place.

This year’s inductees are:
• Mike and Amy Kazma, whose contributions have left an indelible mark on the city.
• Junior League of Boca Raton, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism.
• The late Len Baker, who in addition to serving as office manager of Florida Atlantic University for more than 22 years was a passionate force in the community.

The 27th annual affair will take place Nov. 1. For more information, call 561-395-6766 or visit www.bocahistory.org.

League event to raise funds for voter campaign
With the mission of “Empowering Voters, Defending Democracy,” the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County wants the public to attend its Oct. 18 fundraiser.

Titled “I Stand with the League,” the event will include a luncheon, speakers, a silent auction and the opportunity to connect with local business, community, legal, media and political leaders. In addition, the Heroes & Mavericks Award will go to Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link.

“This fun and informative event will launch the league’s yearlong countdown to the 2024 election,” league President Kathi Gundlach said.

Everything begins at 11 a.m. at Benvenuto’s in Boynton Beach. Tickets cost $75. For more information, call 561-247-0221 or visit www.lwvpbc.org.

Send news and notes to Amy Woods at flamywoods@bellsouth.net

Witches finish last year’s ride on A1A, which this year makes up the full route. Photo provided

By Rich Pollack

For the first time since it began in 2012, the annual Witches of Delray Witch Ride will be off the Avenue and instead, hundreds of witches will be riding their brooms — also known as bicycles — up and down State Road A1A with an ocean view right before their eyes.

“It’s sisterhood by the sea,” says Andie DeVoe, the longtime leader of a now signature event which raises money for the Achievement Centers for Children and Families. “We have exclusive flight clearance to fly seaside.”

The move to the beach, which will take the witches who gather Oct. 28 at Delray Beach’s Anchor Park at Casuarina Road to George Bush Boulevard and back, will make the ride accessible to more witches than ever before and improve safety. Previously it used only part of A1A and ended at Anchor Park.

A community event that brings together women for a good cause, the Witches Ride started with just 11 riders and has topped out at the maximum 300 for the past couple of years.

Now with the route moved to A1A, the capacity has increased. This year's ride, with 400 witches registered, is already sold out. “It’s fun, it’s creative and it’s a great way to get together with friends,” DeVoe said.

Because the ride is on the seaside road, which will be closed to traffic from 6:30 to 9 a.m., there is no longer a need for rolling roadblocks at heavily traveled intersections such as the one last year that resulted in an injury to a sheriff’s deputy.

“We’re always trying to improve the ride to make it safer,” said DeVoe, better known among Witches Ride loyalists as the Alpha Witch.

This year, witches will gather at the park by 7 a.m. Oct. 28. While the route has changed, many of the happenings and contests will continue.

“The ride may be the main event, but we have other events that bring our community together,” DeVoe said.

One of those events is the Witches Brew, a happy hour from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20 at Tim Finnegans Irish Pub.

It lets witches show off their costumes, which are often more formal outfits than what they ride in, and offers them a chance to bid on silent auction items and win prizes, including a fully decorated bicycle.

Tickets for the Brew, which includes an appetizer buffet and a signature drink, are $40. A highlight of the evening is the presentation of the Golden Broom, given to only one witch a year for outstanding contributions to the community.

“The Brew is a great place to go to kick off the holiday season with friends,” DeVoe said.

Although the route has changed, the ride will still include many of the contests that bring out riders. They include best broom (bicycle), best cackle, best costume and best group.

Witches will be asked to bring their bikes through a safety check either at the ride or during a pre-flight inspection available at Richwagen’s Bike & Sport.

While the focus of the event is fun, it takes on the serious witch business of raising money for a longtime community nonprofit organization.

Last year’s ride, DeVoe said, raised about $28,000 for the Achievement Centers for Children and Families.

“The Witch Ride is an event that directly gives back and supports our community,” she said.

If You Go
What: Witches of Delray Witch Ride
When: Oct. 28. Witches will gather at Anchor Park by 7 a.m. Takeoff at 8 a.m.
Entrance fee: $75. Limited to 400 participants, the ride sold out by Oct. 2
Where: On A1A from Anchor Park north to George Bush Boulevard and back
Benefits: Achievement Centers for Children and Families
Info: www.witchesofdelray.org

What: Witches Brew Happy Hour with silent auction
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20
Where: Tim Finnegans Irish Pub, 2885 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach
Cost: $40. Includes free drink and light bites
Info: www.witchesofdelray.org

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