Mary Kate Leming's Blog – July 2014 Archive (41)

Researcher Janet DeVries channels her inner Nancy Drew to unearth the roots of a photo collection that portrays a Florida lost to time. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal…

By Ron Hayes

 

  

In the beginning, there was only “Sigafoo”— an orange and white ambulance with No. 41 on the side, nicknamed after the manufacturer.

At 2:23 p.m. on July 19, 1974, Sigafoo answered its first call, a fire alarm at the Boca Raton Hotel.

    And before the hour was out, the fire department’s first Mobile Intensive Care…

ABOVE: (l-r) Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, FAU President John Kelly, National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation Director Frank Wojick, FAU Provost Gary Perry and Professor Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., of the the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science’s Department of Biological Sciences celebrate a ribbon-cutting to rededicate the research facility.…

By Cheryl Blackerby



    Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners were blindsided by news that their plans for building Phase 2 of the district’s biggest and newest project, Spanish River Athletic Facilities at DeHoernle Park, may not get the green light from the city.

    Art Koski, the commission’s acting director, said City Manager Leif Ahnell told him that the Phase 2 land might not be available because it has been used as a disposal area for…

By Cheryl Blackerby



    Wildlife at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is in peril because of long-standing problems with pipes and tanks, Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners were told at a commission meeting July 21.

    “Several weeks ago, there were catastrophic failures of all the pump systems that were Band-Aid systems put on in the last few years,” said Michele Peel, spokesperson for Friends of Gumbo Limbo.

    Peel said more animals may die if…

By Christine Davis



    Fans of Trader Joe’s are ready, waiting and hungry for the Boca Raton store to open at 855 S. Federal Highway. And, while they thought they might be waiting even longer when an onsite problem with power lines cropped up, the Sept. 26 opening date still stands.

    The city requires that power lines be buried at new development sites because its safer in severe weather — and it looks better. That’s the bottom-line story, and the city is…

By Cheryl Blackerby



    The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District adopted a proposed tax rate of .97 for every $1,000 of assessed value for 2014-15, the same rate as last year, at the district’s meeting July 21. Only property owners with a keen eye will notice the increase in taxes. Property values are expected to rise about 5 percent, lower than many adjacent beach communities, but enough to increase the district’s overall tax revenue.

    The taxable…

By Sallie James



    The municipal property tax rate in Boca Raton won’t be going up this year.

    And the way Boca officials see it, low taxes are just one more reason to brag about how great their city is. A recent survey by CreditDonkey.com named Boca Raton the No. 1 city in Florida to live and work, based on the odds of being a victim of violent crime, commute time, income, college and restaurants per capita.

    Add to that the lowest municipal tax rate…

By Mary Thurwachter



A report from the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s office calls into question the procedure Highland Beach used to raise its spending cap in 2012.

The cap had been $350,000, but commissioners raised it to $1 million through an ordinance rather than a referendum. Then, the town approved an $850,000 project to renovate town hall and the police department.

Raising the spending cap was proposed by the town’s Charter Review Committee in…

By Sallie James



    Motorists who park downtown may eventually have to feed a meter. But not yet.

    The city is mulling a variety of options to deal with a downtown parking crunch that has become problematic, due to a mix of construction workers using existing spaces and high numbers of vehicles during the seasonal influx of visitors.

    Exactly how to deal with the issue was the focus of a June 21 meeting of Boca Raton’s Community Redevelopment Agency.…

By Rich Pollack

    

While Highland Beach residents are likely to see a slight reduction in their municipal tax rate on their property tax bill in the next few months, the amount of taxes they pay for municipal services could actually increase.

    A proposed budget presented to town commissioners last month recommends keeping the town’s operating tax rate at $3.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the third consecutive year.

    Thanks to a…

A female marl pennant, an unusual species that breeds in brackish ponds and often along the coast, perches in Ocean Ridge. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

See more photos of…

Feast of the Sea’s third Maestro del Mar Chef Challenge took place July 24 at Salt 7 in Delray Beach. Chefs from four Delray Beach restaurants competed, presenting a signature dish that included mahi-mahi. The dishes were created in less than 60 minutes and judged on visual appeal, taste, creativity, execution and overall presentation.…

Soccer sensation Jozy Altidore (right ) poses with Boca High School student Michael Vanaki, and a signed American flag at Waterstone Resort & Marina.  Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Thom Smith

     Twenty minutes into the U.S. Team’s World Cup opener against Ghana,…

By Greg Stepanich

    This might be a good month to get your grunge on.

    The pestilential heat of an August in South Florida has to be tempered some way, and perhaps an evening of rough-edged rock from rain-soaked bands that made it big in the 1990s will do the trick.

    On Aug. 10, Seattle’s Soundgarden joins…

The Rotary Club of Delray Beach gathered for official business to install its 2014-15 board of directors. ABOVE: (l-r) Anne Bright, Bill Arnst, Ernie Simon, Peter Beck, David Harden, Mike Campbell, Betsy Owen, Jimmy Weatherspoon, Candace Etzler, Alan Kornblau, Harvey Brown, Jess Sowards and Tom Coyne.

Photo…

Members of Soroptimist International of Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach celebrated their organization’s 54th-annual dinner in special sunset style. Kathi Pease, past governor, installed the officers for the 2014-15 year as former President Kim Champion presented a gift to outgoing President Mariela Montgomery. Special guests included 11 past presidents, three new…

Students raised $3,000 to benefit the Brother Mutien-Marie School in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, West Africa, during a contest that saw a teacher kiss a pig. The teacher, Eufrasio Volpe, who heads the Italian Club, did the deed at a pep rally. The pig was on loan from a local farm. Proceeds will pay for annual tuition for 20 children in the…

‘Sea oats are our first line of defense in dune protection,’ Ocean Rescue Chief Tom Mahady says. So six students from Pope John Paul II High School joined Mahady in planting 250 sea oat seedlings. ABOVE: (l-r) Mahady with students Zachary Markle, Jonathan Gray, Christopher Cantazaro, Jonathan Pugh, Tim Morris and Dominic Polimini and marine…

A special evening with special prizes benefited The HARID Conservatory, a professional training school for ballet dancers. Guests enjoyed wine and hors d’oeuvres, along with hair, make-up and skin consultations with aestheticians. ‘We are thrilled that our inaugural event was so well-received and supported by our clients and guests,’ salon owner Shimi Avni said.…