By Jane Smith and Christine Davis

Bounce Sporting Club has abandoned its game plan to open in downtown Delray Beach at Atlantic Crossing, where neighbors opposed the late-night crowd the club sought to serve.
The sports bar/nightclub is going into Delray Beach Market instead, four blocks to the west. The market is inside the city’s Entertainment District, where staying open until 2 a.m. on weekends does not require special City Commission approval.
“It is the right move for Bounce that will be able to stay open later,” said Claudia Willis, who lives in the Marina Historic District, south of Atlantic Crossing, where residents were concerned about the potential for late-night noise. “I’m ecstatic for the neighborhood.”
Bounce now plans to open early next year in the market, a food hall at 33 SE Third Ave. owned by Menin Development.
Deputy Vice Mayor Juli Casale said the Bounce attorney visited commissioners individually earlier this year to try to garner votes for the club’s staying open past midnight at Atlantic Crossing. The establishment would have been at the northeast corner of Northeast Seventh and Atlantic avenues, outside of the Entertainment District. When the votes were not there, the Bounce waivers were pulled from the February commission agenda, she said.
Bounce, part of the Brandit Hospitality Group, is a sports bar and nightclub where guests can “bounce” through culinary experiences and live performances. The establishment, with New York and Chicago locations, shows major sporting events, allowing customers to enjoy an upscale experience in a hybrid venue known to attract professional athletes, DJs and socialites.
Residents who live near Atlantic Crossing are breathing sighs of relief that Bounce won’t be their neighbor.
“We did not want it so close to an established neighborhood,” said Jack Indekeu, president of the Palm Trail Homeowners Association to the north. “I personally think the nightclub is more appropriate for South Beach with its late-night party image and not for Delray Beach with its village-by-the-sea image.”
Residents of the Barr Terrace condominiums were equally elated. That building sits across the Intracoastal Waterway to the east of Atlantic Crossing.
“The initial plan of expanding the Entertainment District for Bounce was considered irresponsible and concerning to many,” said Rita Rana, a member of the Barr Terrace’s board. 
“Moving Bounce to the Delray Beach Market … may be a win-win for the club and the market owner,” Rana said.
Bounce’s decision comes as the market, which opened in April 2021, is revamping its business model.
“We spoke with Bounce prior to the pandemic about potential locations, but at the time Menin didn’t have any space available for lease, whereas the Delray Beach Market was focused on multiple small vendors rather than larger restaurants,” said Jordana Jarjura, president and general counsel of Menin Development.
“Many of the original tenants were mom-and-pop vendors or first-time operators who had lost their jobs during the pandemic restaurant closures,” she said. “But with food costs soaring as well as labor costs and labor availability, it became tough for those operators to be financially viable.”
Coupled with other pandemic problems affecting business — such as fewer downtown customers due to remote working and less foot traffic in general — the market had to pivot, she said.
“The addition of Bounce to the market furthers our desire to house entertainment, food and fun in an oversized community watering hole, while also ensuring the success of a smaller group of vendors,” Jarjura said. 
Bounce will cover 5,200 square feet on the north side of the market. At Atlantic Crossing, Bounce would have leased about 4,400 square feet.
To date, three restaurants are signed to open at Atlantic Crossing. The eateries are Le Colonial, The Hampton Social and Ora Cucina & Bar.
“We’re in active discussions with others to find the right fit for the remaining restaurant space,” Don DeVere, of the Edwards Companies, said in an Oct. 24 email. Edwards is building the complex.

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach has denied it retaliated against a former water quality inspector, who was reorganized out of her city job in January.
In its Aug. 31 motion to dismiss Christine Ferrigan’s federal lawsuit, the city said that it followed procedures and that Ferrigan had avenues to protest her denial of promotions and new jobs, but did not make use of them.
Ferrigan, who had received Florida whistleblower protection in September 2020 from the county’s inspector general for her reclaimed water information, said she was let go in January after filing a written retaliation complaint against two of her Utilities Department supervisors.
No hearing date was set as of Oct. 31 for the city’s motion. A trial date is set for April 2023. Before the trial, federal lawsuits must go through mediation. On Sept. 9, Robyn Hankins of Jupiter was selected to be the mediator.
Since December, Delray Beach has been operating under a five-year consent order, a legal agreement, with the state Department of Health for the city’s reclaimed water problems.
Hired in June 2017, Ferrigan often sided with the barrier island residents and provided information to the Health Department, which began its investigation of the city’s reclaimed water system in January 2020.
That is when a South Ocean Boulevard resident complained she was not properly informed of a 2018 cross connection found on her street. A cross connection occurs when reclaimed water pipes are wrongly connected to the drinking water lines. Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater suitable only for irrigation, not consumption.
When that cross connection was discovered, the city issued a boil-water order for a southern piece of the barrier island. The then-utilities director did not report people and their pets were sickened possibly from drinking the contaminated water, as required by the Health Department. Ferrigan told her supervisor about the illnesses.
In February 2020, the city agreed to turn off its reclaimed water system and inspect each location. It has spent more than $1 million on inspections and adding the backflow preventers to stop the reclaimed water from mixing with the drinking water. The state fined it $1 million.
The county’s Office of Inspector General released a report in May 2021 that did not find any person or agency or city department liable for the reclaimed water problems.
The city started its reclaimed water program in 2008, using outside contractors to design, install and inspect the pipes, primarily on the barrier island. Most of the records from the first 10 years no longer exist and no one has been with the city long enough to explain what happened to the documents.

Ed Scalone, a Korean War veteran and cartoonist, calls himself ‘the governor’ of the Carlisle in Lantana, where he lives. He moved from South Palm Beach two years ago after the death of his wife, Pat. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Walk into the dining room at the Carlisle in Lantana with Ed Scalone and you won’t be walking for long.
Scalone stops at the first table and introduces a couple having breakfast. After the formalities are concluded, he turns to his guest and asks, “Can you believe it? He’s 100 and she’s 101. Isn’t that something?”
The same scene is repeated over and over until a free table is located and we sit down. Then the stories begin: of his strict Italian immigrant father; of his stint during the Korean War (“I was never in combat,” he’s quick to say); of spending most of his working years in the investment business; and of his wife, Pat, who died two years ago, prompting his move from an oceanfront condo just a few hundred yards away in South Palm Beach.
Over and over friends and acquaintances stop by to say hello because Scalone is one of those people: Either you know him or, if he has anything to say about it, you soon will.
“I’m not the mayor of this place, I’m the governor,” he says.
At 92, he should be slowing down, but he’s still sharp enough to dress well and make sure his fellow residents do, as well.
“Some guys who have been very successful in life will come to breakfast with their shirts all wrinkled, and the wife will say, ‘Do something for him,’” Scalone says. “So, I give him a nice shirt and next thing you know he walks in and gets a standing ovation. A lot of guys here are wearing my shirts now.”

— Brian Biggane

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. When I finished up at Ansonia High School in Connecticut in 1948, where I was fifth in my class, a woman came and offered me a scholarship to either Yale or Dartmouth. But my father had promised his father, who had a factory called Shelton Hosiery, that I would go to work for him after I finished school. So, he wouldn’t sign the paper and I went to work there as a machinist for a year.
After that I found Quinnipiac University, where I had my classes in the morning and worked as a truck driver in the afternoon. I graduated in their first four-year class, then went in the Army and served in the Korean War, and when I came out I used the GI Bill to get a master’s in education and went into teaching.
I then met my wife, who wanted me to go to law school. But I was a crusty Italian who figured I had to work. I was even thinking about getting my doctorate and teaching at the college level, but then I got recruited by an investment firm.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I taught for a couple years and then worked for an investment company for more than 20 years. In 1981, at age 50, I finally opened my own office in investments. The people at the company I left kept telling me I was too easygoing, that I couldn’t make it on my own in that business, but I built it up and ultimately sold it to Jefferson Pilot in the late ’80s. I stayed in that business until 2005, when we came to South Palm Beach. If I had to do it all over I would have become a lawyer.
I liked people and helped everybody I could. When I started out they used and abused me because I was so easygoing, but I made it and brought a lot of people into the business. They call me all the time to catch up.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A. Find what you want to do and just do it. But the other part of my advice is pay yourself first every month and you’ll wind up pretty well off. I’m not saying I did that; I didn’t like the investment business. But I did OK.

Q. How did you choose to make your home in South Palm Beach and Lantana?
A. Back in 1999 we were renting in Singer Island, then came down and spent a season in Hillsboro Beach. My wife, Pat, said one day she wanted to take a ride up A1A and she looked at about 30 condos, and walked into the Concordia on the ocean side. They took her up to the ninth floor and she liked it but that one wasn’t for sale. We were in the parking lot talking and a gentleman came over and said his place was for sale on the same floor. We bought it from him.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Lantana?
A. Everything is so close to us here — restaurants, shopping — and the people are so nice. Most mornings I go down to the Palm Beach Bakery & Cafe. I’m chairman of the board of the discussion group. We have a group you wouldn’t believe: multimillionaires, a CIA agent, a lady who worked for the U.N., a Bible scholar from Tel Aviv — unbelievable group. We have discussions sometimes until 3 p.m. I’m a regular at John G’s and know everybody over there, as well. It’s like being in your own neighborhood.

Q. What book are you reading now?
A. I read primarily nonfiction. I just finished Bill O’Reilly’s Killing the Killers and Malcolm Gladwell’s The Bomber Mafia about World War II. Now I’m reading April 1945 about the end of the war in Europe. My brother-in-law from New Jersey sends me about 10 books a month. I read most of them and donate the rest to the library.

Q. What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A. I love Artie Shaw. I play Begin the Beguine 10 times every day. Greatest record ever made. One take, 1937. I met Tony Bennett a half-dozen times in passing, so I like his music. And what stirs me up is the British Royal Marine Band, the greatest military band in the world. I go on YouTube and play that and I cry like a baby.

Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. When I was in Army basic training at Camp Breckinridge in Kentucky this young corporal, a couple years older than me, came along one day and said, “I need a couple college graduates for the orderly room.” In the States everything goes through the orderly room, and there’s a person who is in charge of it, and he was it. His name was Alan Saks. Brilliant guy and he became my mentor.
He had inherited a family business of about 10 hardware stores. Big ones. He taught me everything to do in the orderly room, and mentored me in business. He told me, “When you come out of the Army there’s a place for you in my company.” But my father constricted my thinking and I never went to see him in Chicago.
Cut to 1960 and I pick up a Time magazine and he’d just sold those hardware stores for $500 million. He became a philanthropist. He always told me to surround myself with people who are very confident, and don’t give advice unless somebody asks for it. My father never brought it out of me that I was a leader, but the Army saw something in me and I did pretty well.

Q. If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?
A. Leonardo DiCaprio. Perfect. I looked like him when I was young. Good dresser, slim. I filled out this waist about 10 years ago.

Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. A good clean story, as I call it, or a funny joke. I draw cartoons and I laugh like hell with them. They come to me, somebody will say something. I write it down. I meet Dr. Roth, a psychotherapist, for breakfast one day a week and he has them hanging all over his office. I have a mailing list that I send them out to about 30 people.

By Jane Smith

A rejected Federal Highway rezoning for an auto dealership near Gulf Stream’s Place Au Soleil community came back before the Delray Beach City Commission on Oct. 25, after the property owner filed a legal complaint seeking a rehearing.
Commissioners agreed to rehear the case, which is now scheduled to be decided at a final public hearing Nov. 15.
Property owner John Staluppi Jr.’s attorney, Beth-Ann Krimsky, was not allowed to cross-examine people who spoke at the original Aug. 16 hearing, where commissioners voted 3-2 against the rezoning request.
Staluppi challenged the decision in court, saying the public hearing should have been a “quasi-judicial” one that allowed for cross examination. City Attorney Lynn Gelin admitted to commissioners she made a mistake.
Gelin had advised commissioners in August that the rezoning hearing could be “legislative,” which does not allow for such cross examination.
“You did nothing wrong,” Gelin said. “I fall on the sword.”
Commissioners decided not to wait for a judge to rule on the issue, which likely would have resulted in an order for a rehearing anyway.
At the Oct. 25 quasi-judicial hearing, speakers were sworn in by the city clerk. Only two people testified. Neither one lives in Delray Beach.
Trey Nazzaro, Gulf Stream’s assistant town manager and in-house attorney, said the 4.4 acres of parcels to be rezoned were only 220 feet deep between North Federal Highway and the homes in Place Au Soleil. The Gunther dealerships that sit south of the site are double the size, Nazzaro said, and have a 35-foot buffer.
“Only four auto dealerships abut residential properties in Delray Beach,” he said. “Most are separated by a road.”
He was then cross-examined by Krimsky, a partner in the Greenspoon Marder law firm in Fort Lauderdale.
Krimsky asked Nazzaro whether he was aware of any challenge by Gulf Stream to the Delray Beach comprehensive plan passed in February 2020, which designated the parcels as possible places for new car dealerships. He said no.
She also asked if Gulf Stream commissioners had voted on his appearance before Delray Beach on this issue. The commissioners did not take a formal vote, but they knew he would be coming to speak against the rezoning, Nazzaro said.
The second speaker, Gulf Stream resident Shana Ostrovitz, objected to expected noise from the constant use of key fobs, alarms, industrial-grade power tools and garage doors opening and closing. Her backyard abuts the proposed Hyundai dealership.
“The lights from the dealership would be so bright that it will feel like daytime all of the time,” she said.
Krimsky asked Ostrovitz if prior to buying her home in May 2021 she had reviewed Delray Beach’s long-term plan to see what was proposed for those North Federal properties. Ostrovitz said no.
The commission moved the rezoning request on to a second reading and public hearing Nov. 15, where presentations will be allowed from city staff and the property owner. To save time, commissioners decided earlier this year that they did not want such presentations during a request’s first reading.

The decades-old green buttonwood at Town Hall was among trees in Gulf Stream damaged during Hurricane Ian. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

How strong was the wind that toppled Town Hall’s large green buttonwood tree as Hurricane Ian battered Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 28?
“We did have what we suspect — and the weather service is looking into it because we’ve given them all the pictorial evidence of it — but we did have a tornado that came off the beach. And that’s why our big tree over here was knocked over,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said.
Dunham told town commissioners at their Oct. 14 meeting that the suspected Ian-related twister blew roof tiles off Town Hall and from buildings across the street.
“It was moving in a northwesterly direction. It actually went over the building and there was a straight debris trail that went out over the [Little Club] golf course. And it’s my understanding it blew over a big tree close to the clubhouse,” he said.
Town Hall’s tree, which Dunham said was not covered by insurance, “was in very bad shape.”
“It had been infested by carpenter ants,” he said, with a hole at the base and tunnels throughout the root system, “and so, you know, the first big blow was going to make that tree fall over like that.”
Replacing it may be difficult, said Anthony Beltran, the town’s public works director.
“In order for us to really be able to find a specimen that’s going to be remotely anywhere near the size of what was there, it’s not going to happen because they have to be able to transport it. And the corridor to get it here is very narrow,” Beltran said.
The largest tree that could be trailered in would have only about a 12-foot canopy, he estimated. Commissioners told him to investigate what was available for a maximum $12,000 and report back in November.
In a special meeting on Oct. 28, commissioners:
• Set Nov. 1 to Nov. 15 as the dates to qualify as a candidate for the March election. Challengers could target all five commission seats.
• Raised the maximum height of sea walls in town by 2 feet, to a total 8 feet NGVD, for property owners building new or replacement sea walls.

By Mary Thurwachter

With his first year under his belt, Town Manager Brian Raducci got a big attaboy from the Lantana Town Council on Oct. 24 — one that came with a substantial pay hike.
Raducci, a former assistant city manager of Aventura, received a 4% raise, which when added to a 5% cost-of-living adjustment jumps his salary of $175,000 to $191,100.
“He’s done an excellent job,” said Vice Mayor Karen Lythgoe, who has been running the town meetings since Mayor Robert Hagerty announced his resignation in September. “He’s done his job very well. And I think that gives him a little incentive to keep going.”
Lythgoe had proposed a 3% merit raise, but Vice Mayor Pro Tem Lynn (Doc) Moorhouse said Raducci, 52, deserved a 5% hike like the ones awarded to department heads.
“My God, you deserve anything you get and more.” Moorhouse said. “I think he has done a superb job.”
The council settled on 4% after council member Kem Mason suggested it as a compromise.
Last year, Raducci agreed to a 5-year contract with 1,040 vacation hours, 400 hours of sick time, $12,000 a year to lease a car, health and dental insurance, cell phone, laptop and scanner. The town also contributes an amount equal to 15% of his salary to a retirement account.
“Our faith in you has definitely been well placed,” Lythgoe said. “We’re moving in the right direction” on some of the infrastructure changes “that we’ve been putting off. ... I can’t say enough about you.”
Raducci said the Town Council has been extremely supportive of his initiatives and was “intimately involved in the establishment of the budget priorities/goals and action plans which have been incorporated into the budget.” To balance that budget, however, the council raised the tax rate from $3.50 to $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value — despite a 15.8% increase in the town’s tax base.
One of his goals for the town in the year ahead, Raducci said, is to maintain infrastructure. That includes repairing water mains, replacing wooden decking and rafters at the beach, repairing the sea walls at Bicentennial and Sportsman’s parks and designing the second phase of the water mains and pipes project.
He also wants to continue beautification projects — such as installing holiday lights around Greynolds Circle and adding benches and trash receptacles in the parks — and to continue responsible development through the town’s master plan.
In other action, the Town Council voted to disband the town’s Education Council. It was created in 2001 to serve in an advisory capacity and give Lantana a voice in decisions made by the county School Board, particularly concerning issues with finding a permanent location for a school in Lantana.
Since the education committee met that primary goal, the Town Council didn’t see the need for it to continue. Members of the Education Council discussed disbanding at their Sept. 12 meeting and the majority agreed.

Upcoming elections
Lantana has two council seats and the mayor’s job up for grabs in the March election. The Group 4 seat, held by Lythgoe, is available, as is the Group 3 seat held by Mark Zeitler.
Lythgoe said she would make a run for mayor and not seek re-election to her Group 4 seat. Should she win her bid to become mayor, the unexpired term will be only until March 2024, at which time she would need to run again.
Zeitler, who like Lythgoe is completing his first three-year term, will seek re-election to the Group 3 seat.
Other candidates have not been formally announced, although several are showing interest, including former council member Ed Shropshire, who was ousted by Zeitler three years ago; and John Raymer, who came in second earlier this year in his attempt to outpoll five-term incumbent Moorhouse.
The candidate qualifying period begins at noon Nov. 14 and ends at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 18, according to Town Clerk Kathleen Dominguez.
Lantana does not have term limits and all council members, including mayor, serve three-year terms.

By Joe Capozzi

Just in time for the return of winter snowbirds on wheels, town officials are rolling out two safety initiatives to protect residents walking along South Palm Beach’s popular sidewalk next to busy State Road A1A. 
Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies plan to patrol condo entrances to remind drivers entering and exiting the parking lots to watch for pedestrians.  
“We will focus on the influx of residents coming in for the season and try to make the sidewalks as safe as possible,’’ Sgt. Mark Garrison said when he announced the “November Sidewalk Safety Initiative” at the Town Council’s meeting Oct. 18.
Vice Mayor Bill LeRoy said he knew of at least two incidents this summer where people on the sidewalk were nearly struck by vehicles entering or exiting condos. 
As a result, town officials in October started circulating flyers and electronic messages reminding motorists headed to and from A1A to stop and yield to sidewalk pedestrians.  
“Remember to stop. Don’t run over your neighbors,’’ LeRoy said. Motorists “are used to just rolling on out, so please pay attention and stop every time and look both ways, just like they taught you when you learned to ride a bike.’’
Deputies patrolling the walkway will aim to educate motorists, but “a citation can be issued if warranted and is ultimately at the discretion of the deputy stopping the offender,’’ Garrison said after the meeting.
Meanwhile, the pathway along A1A will be enhanced in November with the installation of 44 new solar lights. The posts, technically called bollards, will cost the town $67,000 and complement existing street lights.
“When we have all these people walking up and down the walks this winter, they’re going to have some new lights,’’ LeRoy said before the council passed a resolution with the Florida Department of Transportation allowing town officials to install the lights on the state-owned road.
The lights will turn on automatically every day at 7 p.m.
The two initiatives are just the latest sidewalk safety measures that town officials have approved this year. In April, the commission passed an ordinance requiring commercial vehicles that block sidewalks to provide flagmen or hire off-duty law enforcement officers to help protect pedestrians.

In other business:
• In his comments Oct. 18, Councilman Robert Gottlieb mentioned a report about Hurricane Ian’s storm surge rising 15 feet across part of southwest Florida.
“If we have a 15-foot surge in South Palm Beach, what would happen to us?’’ he said. “We need to take a look at that and learn from the west coast what’s happening and see if we can be better at preparing ourselves for a future, hopefully not, hurricane.’’
Heavy rainfall in October prompted town officials to issue reminders to residents about the remaining king tide forecasts: Nov. 6-9 and Nov. 23-27.
• Waste Management, the town’s trash collector, will ask the council Nov. 15 to approve a monthly rate increase to help the company cover unexpected costs of labor and material. If approved, the increases for each condo unit would range from 41 cents a month to $2.31 cents a month depending on the volume of trash collected. • The council postponed until Nov. 15 a discussion about Town Manager Robert Kellogg’s contract renewal.

By Joe Capozzi

South Palm Beach officials in late October announced two special Town Council meetings for early November to interview architects interested in designing a new Town Hall with structural insulated panels — a cost-efficient construction system known by the acronym SIPs.
On Nov. 2, the council planned to interview CPZ Architects at 2 p.m. and REG Architects at 3 p.m. On Nov. 4, the council plans to interview Slattery & Associates at 1 p.m.
The interviews will be conducted over two meetings because all three firms could not meet with the council on the same day, said Mayor Bonnie Fischer.
The three firms were the only ones that responded to a request for qualifications to design using SIPs.
“It’s a fairly new technology and it’s just starting to catch on and there’s not too many (firms) doing this in South Florida,’’ said Town Manager Robert Kellogg.
The Town Council on Oct. 18 expressed a desire to offer a contract to a firm at its next regular meeting, Nov. 15. If that happens, it will mark the second time in 13 months the council has hired an architect to design a new Town Hall. 
On Oct. 12, 2021, the council hired Synalovski Romanik Saye but parted ways with the firm less than a year later on Sept. 19. The town paid SRS $55,199 for designs for a $6.5 million building before Fischer persuaded the council this summer to start over using the SIPs method.
She said her research suggests a town hall made of structural insulated panels could cost just $2 million. 
Since 2016, the town has spent about $114,000 on studies and drawings for a new Town Hall.

Trappers contracted by the FWC secure the alligator that showed up in the surf at the Delray Beach public beach. Photo provided by Kristen Cairns

By Larry Barszewski

Coastal beaches have signs advising visitors when dangers like sharks, riptides or jellyfish are present, but Delray Beach needed a different kind of warning at its public beach Oct. 12 — one for alligators.
An alligator was spotted in the surf near Vista Del Mar Drive that morning and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dispatched a nuisance alligator trapper to the area. Trappers caught and transported the alligator alive to a farm.
Onlookers estimated the large alligator to be about 12 feet in length.
“It was surreal,” said Kristen Cairns, who arrived at the beach with her 20-month-old son at about 9:40 a.m., in the middle of the effort to capture the gator. “It took a few seconds for it to sink in. You’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s an alligator in the ocean.’ Then you start wondering how often does that happen.”
FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said it’s not a typical situation, but possible.
“While the American alligator prefers freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, they are seen in brackish water habitats occasionally,” Callender said in a statement about the incident. “Alligators can swim in and tolerate saltwater for short periods of time, but it is not their preferred habitat.”
Cairns said the alligator seemed lethargic and didn’t put up much of a fight — “she wasn’t really thrashing or moving around” — but was still quite a challenge for the trappers because of its sheer size.
The trappers were having difficulty getting a noose around its neck, Cairns said, then one of the trappers got behind it and started pulling it out of the water by its tail. They finally got a rope around it, which they tied to a four-wheeler, but that didn’t end the troubles, she said.
“The four-wheeler was like digging into the sand, creating a hole” as it tried to pull the gator up the beach to the sidewalk, Cairns said, so some of the workers gave the vehicle a push from behind. The gator was then put in a truck and taken away.
Delray Beach police, fire-rescue workers and lifeguards were also on scene. No injuries were reported.
Callender said people who find an alligator near them can call FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.

By Larry Keller

More than two years after his arrest in a massive insurance fraud scheme involving drug treatment centers and sober houses, Delray Beach physician Michael Ligotti has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge that will net him a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
Ligotti, 48, pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to a single count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud. Federal prosecutors dropped 12 other counts of health care fraud and money laundering.
The doctor also could be fined up to $250,000, and with other defendants be held liable for paying $127 million in restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 13.
Ligotti was arrested in July 2020 and subsequently indicted on charges of fraudulently billing private insurance companies and Medicare of approximately $746 million for which they paid $127 million over a span of nine years. He is free on a $1.5 million bond.
The doctor opened Whole Health medical practice at 402 SE Sixth Ave. in 2005. It purported to be an urgent care facility, a family practice and an addiction treatment medical office, but most of its patients were addicted to drugs and alcohol and had private insurance. Ligotti was the only physician, assisted by nurse practitioners and other medical professionals.
Ligotti’s scheme worked like this, according to the government:
Ligotti became the medical director at more than 50 sober homes and treatment facilities. He signed approximately 137 standing orders for these businesses, which then required their patients to submit to urine drug tests three or more times per week on Ligotti’s orders.
These were sent to laboratories, which billed insurers for the tests and paid kickbacks to the sober home and treatment center operators. They in turn would require their patients to regularly visit Ligotti’s Whole Health practice for additional testing and treatment — the clinic had its own in-house lab — or they would permit Ligotti to send staff to them for this purpose.
“This allowed Ligotti to profit by billing patients’ insurance for duplicative, unnecessary and expensive tests and treatments,” prosecutors said in a statement of facts to which Ligotti admitted. The result often was “double-billing the same services for patients at Whole Health that had already been billed by the substance abuse treatment centers, sober homes and/or the clinical testing laboratories.”
A Whole Health nurse practitioner told investigators that sometimes 10 to 15 addiction patients were transported there in vans dubbed “druggy buggies.”
Ligotti and Whole Health ordered urine and blood drug testing so frequently that additional tests were often ordered before any medical professional had received or reviewed the results of earlier tests. And when a patient did test positive for a banned substance, Whole Health and the treatment facilities seldom imposed consequences.
The drug screens were lucrative. Whole Health billed one patient’s insurer more than $840,000 in a little more than six years, and the insurer of another patient $707,000 in less than four years, prosecutors said.
Ligotti also billed insurers for other services, such as psychiatric therapy sessions that didn’t occur and for which Whole Health didn’t have qualified staff.
Ligotti originally had a trial date set for April 2021, but the complexity of the case contributed to its being delayed. In July and August alone, the government produced more than 88,000 pages of documents such as patient charts, billing records, insurance claims and patient interview reports, Ligotti’s lawyer said in court papers. There also was a “voluminous” amount of material released earlier, he said.
The doctor “is drowning in the amount of information he must analyze to get ready for trial, and his attorney is similarly drowning,” the attorney, Jose Quiñon, wrote in late August in a motion seeking a trial continuance of at least six months.
Complicating matters further, one of Ligotti’s three children contracted COVID-19 in August, and then he and his wife also were diagnosed with the virus.
Before his legal woes, Ligotti lived well. His Whole Health practice paid $128,600 to a Boca Raton jewelry store, according to court records.
The doctor and his family lived in a seven-bedroom home on Seagate Drive in Delray Beach, and owned a second six-bedroom house nearby. The homes and the Whole Health building have been sold for a cumulative $9.3 million. Net proceeds after mortgages and other encumbrances have been paid will be forfeited to the government.

Delray Beach commissioners voted 4-1 to make no changes to the downtown ride service. Photo
provided

By Jane Smith

A free ride service will continue operating in downtown Delray Beach, but its service area won’t be expanded to include trips to and from the city’s Tri-Rail station or to additional areas on the beach.
The City Commission on Nov. 1 went against a staff recommendation to expand the service and voted to maintain the current service, which will cost $508,205 annually and roughly $2.5 million over the five-year contract. Staff had recommended a $4.2 million, five-year contract that would have used Tesla sedans and expanded coverage of the barrier island and Southwest neighborhoods.
The city’s free ride service will continue with five open-air electric vehicles.
In reaching their decision by a 4-1 vote, commissioners were conscious of other budget expenditures that may be on the horizon, such as possibly having to raise $1.3 million for a new nonprofit to run the city’s Old School Square campus.
While the city won’t expand the free ride service to Tri-Rail, the commuter rail’s operators already offer to pay for the last mile of travel for customers at select stations using Uber, a ride-sharing vehicle, said Sara Maxfield, the city’s economic development director. Delray Beach will be one of the stations, she said.
That solved the Tri-Rail issue for Mayor Shelly Petrolia.
“It’s easier to add service, than to take it away,” Petrolia said. “We have the Tri-Rail station covered.”
Commissioner Shirley Johnson, who cast the dissenting vote, wanted to serve an expanded area on the barrier island, along with Southwest neighborhoods in the city. She wanted more vehicles to serve the residents and not make them wait.
The beach service area now goes to State Road A1A, four blocks north and south of Atlantic Avenue.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has been paying for the service in the past, but the agency now wants to concentrate on other projects. The bid process attracted only the CRA’s current vendor, Beefree LLC of Miami.
Delray Beach is trying to reduce downtown traffic and vehicle emissions by offering the free car service.
Also Nov. 1, the City Commission decided to continue with Johnson as chair of the CRA. Angie Gray, a CRA board member, will continue as the vice chairwoman. The commission also approved adding five years to the life of the CRA, setting a new sunset day of Sept. 16, 2044.
Elections news: Qualifying for two commission seats is open until noon Nov. 21 for the March 14 municipal elections.
Deputy Vice Mayor Juli Casale plans to run again for her Commission 2 seat. Johnson is term-limited from running again to fill her Commission 4 seat.

OCEAN RIDGE — James Francis Weege, a much-loved veterinarian and longtime resident of Ocean Ridge, died suddenly on Oct. 22. He was 77.
Dr. Weege was an active, practicing vet until the day before his death. He is survived by his wife, Susan (nee Ross).
The couple were active members of the Ocean Ridge Garden Club. And his commitment to the town was long-standing and generous. There is a plaque acknowledging his dedication to the care and maintenance of the beautiful koi pond at Town Hall.
Dr. Weege grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a doctorate in veterinary medicine.
His love of the ocean and expertise in reptile health ultimately landed him in South Florida, where he had a 30-year affiliation with Florida Atlantic University and research projects with sea turtles.
Dr. Weege’s oversight of the sea turtles’ health at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center enabled no fewer than 20 masters of science and Ph.D. students, along with several hundred undergrad students, to pursue their sea turtle studies. Dr. Weege was magnanimous in sharing his time, knowledge and boat to help with off-shore turtle releases.
He was able to assist an international film crew get to just the key spot to film turtles at sea. The feature-length film Turtle: The Incredible Journey was released in 2009.
Dr. Weege built the building and practice at Colonial Animal Hospital on Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach in the mid-1970s, where he practiced for 30 years. He was the only local vet who took care of all kinds of animals, including reptiles.
Dr. Robert Martin, who now runs the practice after purchasing it from Dr. Weege in 2004, recalls a shared love of the outdoors which was a common thread for their friendship. “I loved him and will always respect what he accomplished at Colonial Animal Hospital. It was his invention and he developed a huge following at that location,” Martin said. “He will be remembered for his kindness and compassion when dealing with his animal patients and their families. He was truly a 24/7 veterinarian, answering calls on the weekends and often taking sick animals home to be tended.”
Martin said working with Dr. Weege was a great experience, and as the years went by he noticed how Dr. Weege understood his role in the human-animal bond and the desire to establish and maintain client relationships.
“This is why so many clients saw him as a friend and not just their trusted veterinarian,” Martin said. “The East Boynton Beach, Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach communities have lost an amazing man.”
Dr. Weege was a passionate hunter, fisherman and diver, and a 28-year member of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Gertrude Weege of Ixonia, Wisconsin, and nine of his 11 siblings.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Weege is survived by his brother Patrick (Phyllis) of Ocnomowoc, Wisconsin, and sister, Sandra (James) Pritzlaff of Dousman, Wisconsin.
He is also survived by his sons Brad (Jennifer) Weege of Denver, and Stephen (Patricia) Weege of Port St. Lucie, stepson Andre Walia, stepdaughter Lauren (Corey) Funk, and six grandchildren: Gavin, Andrew, Nicholas, Blake, Mason and Brooke.
Dr. Weege will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him. Many stories have been posted on the Lorne and Sons Funeral Home website, where associates have written about their shared experiences.
A celebration of life will be held at the Ocean Ridge Town Hall, 6450 N. Ocean Blvd., on Nov. 26. The family will receive friends from 10:30 to 11 a.m., with an 11 a.m. memorial service. A gathering and repast will immediately follow.

— Obituary submitted by the family

A battered migrant boat washed ashore at Yamato Rock — the outcropping located at the south end of Highland Beach — on Oct. 12. The vessel was man-made of lumber, roofing tin and foam. A portion of the boat burned and was found nearby.

A hand-made boat, of aluminum rails with a hull of spray-foam that had been sewn into a canvas cover, floated ashore in Ocean Ridge near Anna Street on Oct. 28. The boat had a crude sail made from an iron pole and an old tarp. Items on the boat had reference to Havana, Cuba, printed in Spanish.
Both boats had been marked OK by the Coast Guard, meaning they had been searched and no one was found on board.

By Oct. 30, another vessel was found on the public beach in Delray Beach near the permitted sailboat storage area. The Coast Guard says this summer and fall have been a busy time for migrant interdictions.
Photos by Tim Stepien and Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Tao Woolfe

The Boynton Beach City Commission is considering capping the maximum height allowed for downtown buildings at 85 feet in an effort to make the city more inviting.
The commission has twice publicly discussed the idea, and expressed support for limiting skyscraper development, but has stopped short of codifying height limitations.
Height limits on the two mixed-use zones in the downtown core are 100 and 150 feet.
At their Oct. 18 meeting, city commissioners heard comments from residents that in recent years the city has become taller and denser at an unsustainable pace.
“Twenty years ago I voted for a four-story height limit. Next thing you know, 100- and 150-foot buildings are popping up all over the place,” said longtime city resident Barbara Ready, summing up the prevailing sentiment among the audience. “It’s not the city I want and it’s not who we are.”
Resident Vanessa DelMonte said she had lived in Delray Beach — which strictly limits height and density — before moving to Boynton Beach.
“There’s nothing like having a small city feel,” she said. “We don’t want high buildings. I don’t want us to be Fort Lauderdale.”
The commissioners also heard, however, from two attorneys who warned that taking away developers’ design options could result in very expensive lawsuits.
A height limit “isn’t going to accomplish all the goals of the city,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Barbara Hall. “If you take entitlements away from a property, the developer can file a claim for millions of dollars.”
Height limitations would “reduce enthusiasm” for building in Boynton Beach, and with such restrictions, “who’s going to invest in the city?” Hall added.
Lowering maximum building height was first proposed by Commissioner Thomas Turkin in May, after he had heard on the campaign trail numerous complaints about overdevelopment.
He is a proponent of a less- intimidating, more pedestrian-friendly downtown with green spaces for people and wildlife.
When his colleagues expressed concern about potential lawsuits during the commission’s October discussion of the matter, Turkin urged them to “do the right thing.”
“We agreed that we would walk away from high density and add more green space,” Turkin said, referring to the May meeting. “I want to see this city thrive and have its own identity.”
But his colleagues urged caution.
“I have concerns about the legal aspects of this,” said Commissioner Aimee Kelley. “We have to be careful how we approach this. … We have to be attractive to everyone.”
Commissioner Woodrow Hay agreed with Kelley.
“I’m all in favor of reducing the height, but we may be moving a little too fast,” Hay said. “I want to look at all this before making a decision that could affect the city for decades.”
Amanda Radigan, the city’s principal planner, suggested the city could thread the legal needle by creating a new zoning code amendment that would exempt any existing, or in-progress, development from the new height restrictions.
“Allow us to address multiple zoning standards for mixed use downtown,” Radigan said. “No one would be affected that has rights now. It would only apply to new development.”
Mayor Ty Penserga culminated the discussion by saying he is in favor of keeping things simple.
The simple choice, he said, would be to allow the city’s planning and legal staff to look into creating a new zoning district and cleaning up the code to accommodate all interests.
The matter is expected to come back to the commission for final discussion — and possibly a vote — in the coming weeks.

Adam Temple, who has served as Boynton Beach’s director of development services and as director of community standards, has been promoted to assistant city manager.
The City Commission unanimously endorsed Temple at its meeting on Oct. 18.
“The city has made an excellent choice,” said Commissioner Woodrow Hay. “I look forward to working with him.”
Mayor Ty Penserga was even more effusive.
“If this was America’s Got Talent, I would be pushing the golden buzzer,” the mayor said. “I look forward to seeing what you’ll do.”
Before going to work for Boynton Beach in 2020, Temple served as director of code compliance and chief compliance officer for the city of Doral.
He served as a petty officer in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in business administration from Florida International University.

— Tao Woolfe

Christmas is just weeks away and in downtown Delray Beach, shoppers can buy gifts and enjoy holiday fun on Nov. 25 and 26. They can also get a surfboard ornament by local glass artist Robert Schmidt of Schmidt Stained Glass, if they save their receipts of $200 or more from downtown retailers on those days and turn them in. The ornaments can be picked up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 26, at Downtown Development Authority booths in front of Sara Campbell, 1051 E. Atlantic Ave., and Global Pursuit, 400 E. Atlantic Ave. Through December, other holiday offerings in downtown Delray Beach include a new Holiday Light Trail, 100-foot Christmas Tree, and the new Yuletide Street Festival as well as parades and fireworks on New Year’s Eve. For more information, visit https://downtowndelraybeach.com/holidays. Photo provided

By Christine Davis

Renaissance Properties New York, led by Kenneth L. Fishel and Bradley Fishel, purchased the South City Plaza office building, 1515 S. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, for $49.678 million. The seller was 1515 Associates Ltd., managed by Mark A. Gensheimer, CEO of Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida Cos.
South City Plaza last traded for $26.5 million in 2006. Mark M. Rubin and Bastian Laggerbauer of Colliers International represented the seller, while Maria Gomez of Powerful Real Estate represented the buyer. Tal Bar-or and David Strongwater of Lantern Real Estate arranged the financing for the deal.
South City Plaza, which was built in 1986, will be rebranded as 1515Boca. Architect Vladimir Arsene of New York-based Westfourth will design enhancements that will include electric vehicle charging stations, a restaurant, a renovated gym, a redesigned lobby and collaborative meeting spaces. The occupancy rate is 85%.

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Pebb Capital, the real estate and private equity investment firm developing the Sundy Village mixed-use project in Delray Beach, donated $12,000 worth of school supplies to S.D. Spady Elementary, Village Academy and Carver Middle School. Pebb is also a sponsor of the Atlantic High School Eagles football team this year.
“The Delray Beach community has been rooted in our company for decades, and we are honored to assist teachers and families with needed items and ease the financial burden they may be facing at this time,” said Todd Benson, a principal with Pebb Capital.

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The private aviation company XO, an air-charter broker that buys and resells seats on shared flights, plans to expand its app-based route between metropolitan New York and South Florida. Four daily flights will be offered between private terminals in Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Opa-locka, White Plains and Teterboro, with seats starting at $1,500, along with options for first-class services, such as cuisine cooked by a Michelin star-trained chef.
 “XO pioneered and continues to lead the shared-flight opportunity, so private fliers can enjoy private flying benefits at one-tenth of the cost of a full charter,” said Lynn Fischer, XO’s chief marketing officer.
“In addition to economic value, shared flights offer significant sustainability advantages. While, on average, fewer than three passengers travel on board a private aircraft, shared flights accommodate 10 or more passengers, increasing the efficiency of seating capacity by 230 percent.” For more information, visit www.flyxo.com.

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Solar United Neighbors’  Palm Beach 2022 Solar Co-op is accepting new members until Jan. 17 among residents and business owners in Palm Beach County. Together, co-op members learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase their new solar systems at a competitive price and top quality. Battery storage and electric vehicle charger options are also available to group members. 
The co-op is funded by the Green Corridor District, and partners include the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach, the Climate Reality Project of Boca Raton, the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, and Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida.
“The co-op savings, combined with federal tax credits, make it the perfect time to go solar. The savings are even greater for city of Boynton Beach residents, who can receive up to $1,500 back on their solar panels through the city’s Energy Edge Rebate Program,” Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga said.
To sign up for the co-op or an information session, visit www.solarunitedneighbors.org/palmbeach.

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Kelly McLoughlin has joined the Institute for Regional Conservation as a coastal biodiversity restoration intern. She helps coordinate the institute’s Restoring the Gold Coast program, which presents workshops and events to educate the community about restoring native coastal biodiversity. She also oversees event volunteers, conducts site assessments and facilitates collaborations. McLoughlin graduated from the University of Miami with degrees in marine science and biology.

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Frank Hawkins of Delray Beach was appointed assistant director of food services for the Lord’s Place. He will assist in overseeing the preparation and delivery of food to Café Joshua, which serves lunches to people who are homeless.

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Visitors can experience a taste of reggae through food and music at Reggae Fest FL, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Boynton Beach Amphitheater, 120 E. Ocean Ave.
The event is organized by Delray Beach Arts, a nonprofit organization that produces events in Palm Beach County to serve as a fundraising source for nonprofits and to support art and educational business programs.
To purchase tickets, priced from $25 to $125, visit www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=2045.
 
Send business news items to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

Roots and Wings in Delray Beach, which encourages children’s reading skills and teachers who inspire learning, is a beneficiary of Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The foundation marks its 50th anniversary this year. Photos provided

Related: Philanthropy Season Preview

Community Foundation has propelled the power of philanthropy to change lives for half a century

By Charles Elmore

What began with a $50,000 gift from a coastal couple in 1972 has turned into an arsenal of philanthropy celebrating a milestone 50th year.
Today, the fingerprints of Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties can be found all over the region. It helps connect dollars with charitable doers, from preschool programs in Delray Beach to college scholarships financed from Highland Beach and Florida’s largest free health and dental clinic in Boynton Beach. Navigating weather emergencies, a pandemic and an evolving set of needs and challenges, the foundation has raised more than $366 million from 9,000 donors over five decades, resulting in 15,000 grant awards and more than 2,500 scholarships.
“What really fires me up is the power of philanthropy to change lives,” said foundation President and CEO Danita R. DeHaney.

Highland Beach residents Nadine Allen and Sanjiv Sharma are longtime supporters of the Caridad Center in Boynton Beach.

Highland Beach resident Sanjiv Sharma describes, in the foundation’s annual report, why he thinks it is so important to support a venture like the Caridad Center in Boynton Beach, described as the largest free medical and dental clinic in the state and one of the largest in the nation. The center has more than 28,000 patient visits per year. Sharma is on the board there.
“If you look around at the people who cut your lawns, board your horses, or cook your food, most of them do not have health care,” Sharma said. “The need is never-ending, but the impact is immediate.”
Sharma said foundation funding, among other resources, helped the center stay open and operating through most of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, Sharma’s family has established two college scholarship funds, turning to the foundation to help administer them.
“They know what the community needs are,” Sharma said. “I couldn’t have done it myself.”
A Lake Worth High School graduate, Dodlee Mosilme, said he wants to become a surgeon with the aid of another scholarship recognized in the foundation’s annual report, the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Scholarship. “That’s what my family sees in me: value, purpose, and hope for the Haitian community,” he said.

Winsome and Michael McIntosh started Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties in 1972 with a $50,000 gift.

It all began in 1972, when Palm Beach residents Winsome and Michael McIntosh gave $50,000 to get the foundation started. Michael died in 2015. Winsome lives in Washington, D.C.
Other donors have stepped in at critical moments. A 1991 gift of $15 million from Anna Marie Graber Martens of Boca Raton helped expand the organization’s footprint into Martin County.
Relationships with some groups go back decades. Take Achievement Centers for Children and Families in Delray Beach, which provides early childhood education, after-school programs, summer camps and family support services. Its first grant from the foundation came in 1989, and the total giving has exceeded $285,000, according to foundation records. That included $50,000 in 2020 to renovate a play area.
“The Community Foundation is one of our longest-standing community grantors,” said Achievement Centers CEO Stephanie Seibel. “They are a leader and an influencer on other organizations. They recognize we are better together.”
The foundation can serve as “a force multiplier,” she said.

Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has its headquarters in West Palm Beach.

Other targets of foundation grants have been the 211 Helpline, which connects people to services such as mental health support; Children’s Home Society of Florida; the Girl Scouts; Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Palm Beach County Food Bank. In 2021, the value of the foundation’s investments grew to $233.6 million, up from $176.4 million a year earlier, according to its online financial report.
But the foundation and others working for similar goals have faced obstacles, too. Fundraising events were frequently hampered during two years of off-and-on coronavirus restrictions and precautions. Such was the case with a Manalapan gala for the Caridad Center at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.
It drew about 200 guests in early 2022, compared to 330 when the last one was held, in 2020. Meanwhile, financial markets have slumped in 2022 compared with previous years, which can eventually affect how much individual donors and the foundation itself have to spend.
As for market dips, “we can’t control that,” DeHaney said. “What we can control is our effort and activity.”
Hurricane Ian in September caused tornadoes that struck Delray Beach among other places, but in addition to support locally, the foundation raised $75,000 to be sent to organizations in Southwest Florida, which bore the brunt of the storm, she said.
DeHaney, who has been on the job for 18 months, said she likes to keep her eyes open for innovative ideas.
One example: Techniques developed at Florida State University are designed to introduce children to ways of managing stress and emotional well-being, drawing on principles used in cognitive-behavior therapy.
Workshops have already taken place in Boys and Girls Clubs in cities including Delray Beach, she said.
“This is what a community foundation should be doing,” she said. “Our aspiration is to lead, to be up front.”

By the numbers

50 years at Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties:
• $366 million raised
• 9,000 donors
• 23,000 gifts
• $250 million in total assets
• $200 million distributed in scholarships and grants
• 15,000 grant awards
• 2,500+ scholarships awarded
• 3,400 organizations supported

Boca hospital donors Debbie Lindstrom and Bob Sheetz. Photo provided

Boca Helping Hands, in collaboration with Florida Atlantic University and Cereal4All, commemorated September’s Hunger Action Month by having a Tackle Hunger Cereal Drive during an Owls football game.
Participants donated 373 boxes of cereal, equating to 3,720 bowls and 394 pounds of food. People who donated one or more unopened cereal boxes got into the game for free, with all donations going to Boca Helping Hands.
“We were so pleased that so many people came out from the community to donate cereal,” said Greg Hazle, executive director of Boca Helping Hands. “Cereal is one of the least-donated items to food banks across the country, which means underserved kids and families do not always get to start their day with a nutritious breakfast.”
Cereal4All was started by twin brothers Jett and Luke Justin, of Boca Raton, now 14 years old.
After volunteering at Boca Helping Hands, Jett and Luke organized a cereal drive at their school when they were 8 years old. The boys since have expanded the program to more than 15 schools in the area.
For more information, call 561-417-0913 or visit www.bocahelpinghands.org/tacklehunger.

Boca Regional campaign closes in on $240 million
Bob Sheetz and Debbie Lindstrom have made another joint gift to Keeping the Promise — The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
Sheetz’s and Lindstrom’s generosity coincides with the $250 million campaign’s final stages and allows them to join an elite group of donors called the Golden Guild. The donation, amount undisclosed, brought the campaign total to more than $237 million.
“The expansion and modernization of the Boca Regional campus is extremely important to the future of health care in this community,” hospital CEO Lincoln Mendez said. “However, this vital initiative would not be possible without the philanthropic support of members of the community like Bob Sheetz and Debbie Lindstrom.”
Sheetz and Lindstrom are longtime supporters of the hospital and were inspired by the campus transformation. The reception area in the patient tower and new food hall will be named in their honor.
“Our goal is what everyone’s goal should be: to ensure that all of us — including our family members, friends and community residents — have access to the best medical attention available,” Lindstrom said.
For more information, call the hospital foundation at 561-955-4142 or visit https://donate.brrh.com.

Ferrara estate donates $2.5M to cancer institute
The estate of Frances Ferrara has made a $2.5 million gift to Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute.
The legacy will be used to support the needs of the institute as well as the programs at the Thomas E. Oxley Center for Cancer Survivorship & Wellness.
Ferrara was a strong supporter of the hospital and, after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2015, became a patient.
“Fran was a fixture at our Go Pink luncheons and annual balls,” said Mark Larkin, president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation. “Any time you would see her at one of our events, she always had a smile on her face. Her positivity was absolutely contagious. She was a treasure to our donor family.”

Nonprofits First awards give tip of hat to winners
Nonprofits First had its sixth annual Hats Off Nonprofit Awards, a sold-out event celebrating Palm Beach County charities last month at the Kravis Center.
The crowd of 650 donned hats of all shapes and sizes, from cowboy to hard hats and from top hats to homemade.
The honorees for Nonprofit of the Year are the Arc of Palm Beach County, Friends of Foster Children, and Youth Empowered to Prosper.
Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year is Lorraine Petrozza, of Community Partners of South Florida. Nonprofit MVP is Jackie Struller, of Restoration Bridge International. Nonprofit Professional of the Year is Trudy Crowetz, of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. Nonprofit Executive of the Year is Julia Dattolo, of CareerSource Palm Beach County.
Other awards are: Lifetime Achievement, Diana Stanley, of the Lord’s Place; Community Collaborators Award, CROS Ministries, the Delray Beach Police Community Outreach Team and the Interfaith Committee for Social Services; Nonprofit Innovation Award, Morningday Community Solutions; Best Hat Award, Holy Ground homeless shelter; People’s Choice, Hanley Foundation,
Funds raised from the evening benefit Nonprofits First’s educational programs that focus on helping nonprofit employees and volunteers lead and succeed.
For more information, call 561-214-7435 or visit www.nonprofitsfirst.

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