drugs - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T08:50:17Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/drugsDelray Beach: Feds accuse doctor of $681 million fraud in substance abuse treatment billingshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-feds-accuse-doctor-of-681-million-fraud-in-substance2020-09-02T17:00:00.000Z2020-09-02T17:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Larry Keller</strong></p>
<p>Coastal Delray Beach osteopathic doctor Michael Ligotti was a man in whom investigators had long been interested as they probed fraudulent practices in one of Palm Beach County’s largest industries — substance abuse treatment centers.<br /> Numerous people have been charged and sentenced in recent years in connection with abuses at halfway houses — or sober homes — including medical insurance scams. Now some of them have turned on Ligotti.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960962466,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960962466,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" alt="7960962466?profile=original" /></a>The doctor was arrested at home in late July. The U.S. Justice Department charged him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud — fraudulently billing private insurance companies and Medicare of around $681 million, for which they paid $121 million over a span of nine years. His attorney said Ligotti “looks forward to establishing his innocence.”<br /> A federal judge Sept. 1 in West Palm Beach conducted a preliminary hearing and concluded that the government’s evidence established probable cause for the case to move forward.<br /> Ligotti, 46, is free on a $1.5 million bond that requires him to be electronically monitored, observe a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and surrender any passports.<br /> He has shuttered his medical practice, Whole Health, at 402 SE 6th Ave. One of his homes and the medical building are for sale. A second home was recently taken off the market. Investigators also executed a search warrant for computer hard drives, financial records, patient files and numerous other documents from Ligotti’s office, as well as for his cellphone.<br /> While he has not been charged in connection with any patients’ deaths, Ligotti also recklessly prescribed 265,000 pills of buprenorphine to more than 2,800 patients, investigators say. A dozen of those patients died while still receiving the drug, and he repeatedly prescribed drugs to more patients than his license permitted, investigators contend.<br /> Buprenorphine is an opioid approved for suppressing withdrawal symptoms and blocking the effects of other opioids. Like other opioids, it is addictive and can be misused.<br /> “What we’re investigating is culpability and responsibility,” FBI special agent William Stewart testified at the daylong preliminary hearing.<br /> Ligotti’s attorney, Ben Curtis, said in a written statement before the hearing: “As is always the case with any criminal matter, the burden of proof rests entirely with the government. And in this instance, we do not believe the U.S. Department of Justice’s claims — and that is exactly what they are at this point, just one-sided claims — will reconcile with actual evidence at a future trial. <br /> “Dr. Ligotti thus looks forward to establishing his innocence.”</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960962667,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960962667,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960962667?profile=original" /></a><strong>FBI cites years of abuse</strong><br /> Ligotti’s arrest is the latest development in federal and state efforts to thwart the insurance frauds and shams at sober homes that earned Palm Beach County in general, and Delray Beach in particular, a national reputation as the epicenter of these schemes.<br /> While the alleged fraud in Ligotti’s case wasn’t limited to Palm Beach County, “we believe this to be the largest drug treatment/physician provider fraud in terms of dollar amount” locally, Alan Johnson, Palm Beach County chief assistant state attorney, said in an email.<br /> Substance abuse treatment in Palm Beach County was once estimated to be a $1 billion-a-year industry. Rampant misconduct led to the formation of a federal task force as well as a Sober Homes Task Force by the county state attorney’s office. Ordinances enacted in Delray Beach were passed in an effort to stymie the opening of sober houses that were little more than flophouses.<br /> Federal and state agencies combined efforts in the Ligotti case. The probe began in April 2014, FBI agent Stewart testified. Ligotti knew he was under investigation since at least October 2016, when he was served with a grand jury subpoena for Whole Health records. Yet the alleged conspiracy continued until “at least July of 2020,” Stewart testified.<br /> “Numerous former patients, employees and associates working with Ligotti have provided information to law enforcement regarding fraudulent activity being conducted” by him, his staff and others, according to the FBI’s 62-page affidavit in support of establishing probable cause for Ligotti’s arrest and a search warrant.<br /> Ligotti was the only physician at Whole Health, which included nurse practitioners and other medical professionals. <br /> Details of investigation<br /> Investigators allege the scheme worked like this:<br /> Ligotti would, for a nominal or no fee, become the medical director of sober homes and treatment facilities. He provided them with “standing orders” enabling them to require urine tests from their residents that investigators assert were medically unnecessary. Brokers often connected sober homes with laboratories that would do the urinalyses.<br /> Sober home operators would bill patients’ insurance companies for the urine tests authorized by Ligotti’s standing order. The labs in turn billed insurers for the tests, and some paid kickbacks to the brokers and sober houses. Ligotti profited by requiring businesses that received his signature on standing orders to send their insured patients to Whole Health for treatment, investigators allege. He charged for office visits and routinely ordered unnecessary urine and blood samples from patients at his own in-house lab, and billed hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent and unnecessary treatments, including nonexistent therapy sessions.<br /> He billed one patient’s insurer $25,900 in tests during a single office visit, plus hundreds of dollars in additional fees. Investigators say Ligotti billed another patient’s insurer more than $840,000 in a little over six years. Another insurer was billed $707,000 in less than four years for a single patient.<br /> Ligotti, who earned an undergraduate degree from Florida Atlantic University and his medical degree from Nova Southeastern University, was the purported medical director for more than 50 addiction treatment facilities, and signed 137 standing orders authorizing fraudulent tests, investigators say.</p>
<p><strong>Business partner identified</strong><br /> One target of the probe, identified as a “business partner and close friend” of Ligotti, told the FBI last year that he was a “matchmaker” who introduced Ligotti to drug testing lab operators, according to the FBI affidavit. He was identified in court as Donte Stewart.<br /> Stewart received about $1.6 million from four labs over a span of 14 months, the complaint alleges. He invested the money in Arrow Passage Recovery, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Massillon, Ohio, in which he and Ligotti were co-owners, investigators say. The company’s website says Stewart is the CEO. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, according to his Facebook page.<br /> Patients were often brought to Ligotti’s office in passenger vans — “druggy buggies” — a nurse practitioner told investigators, carrying 10 to 15 addiction treatment patients.<br /> One patient said that he and others living in a Fort Lauderdale sober home in 2013 were required by the owner to be driven in a van to Delray Beach to see Ligotti. <br /> The patient said that in October 2018, while he lived in a sober home in Boynton Beach, patients were transported once a week in a van to visit Ligotti’s office.<br /> “I would occasionally see vans,” Mark Armstrong, who lives in a townhome facing the Whole Health parking lot, told The Coastal Star. <br /> “It actually was quieter than I expected. I’ve never seen more than three or four cars at one time.”<br /> A nurse practitioner who worked at Whole Health in 2016, however, told investigators that the practice saw more than 100 patients a day.<br /> Urine tests were especially lucrative. One lab billed insurance companies about $5,500 per test three times per week for urinalyses, the complaint states.<br /> Investigators interviewed Whole Health patients who said that even though their urine was frequently taken at their sober houses and sent to labs, they nevertheless had to repeat the process on visits to Ligotti. The doctor got angry at nurse practitioners who didn’t collect urine samples from patients, regardless of the reason for their visits, two of them told agents. One of them said that Ligotti insisted, “Even if you have to scoop urine out of the toilet, you have to do it.”<br /> Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare eventually placed Whole Health under “prepayment review”because of the clinic’s billing practices.<br /> “The evidence provided both by Whole Health patients ... and employees shows that Ligotti’s primary concern was obtaining blood and urine from insured patients,” the FBI affidavit states. Not for use in patient care, but rather “to make money from insurance companies.”<br /> The document cites five defendants, previously charged or about to be, in sober house insurance schemes who have cooperated in the case against Ligotti in the hope of receiving reduced sentences, favorable plea deals or lesser charges.<br /> One of them is Eric Snyder, who owned a halfway house and treatment center and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced last December to 10 years in prison. In pleading guilty, he agreed to testify against others suspected of involvement in patient brokering and insurance fraud. Snyder’s outpatient program was located a short walk down the street from Whole Health. Ligotti was listed as its former medical director, Snyder told investigators.</p>
<p><strong>Defense attacks FBI case</strong><br /> Ligotti wrote a letter to regulators in 2013 stating that he was “astonished and outraged” to learn that his name and license were being used by drug addiction treatment entities without his permission.<br /> Ligotti may have written the letter as a “manufactured defense” that he could point to later to show that he was unaware that treatment facilities were using his name and license to order expensive urine tests, according to investigators. Defense attorney Curtis scoffed at this during the September preliminary hearing. He noted that the government’s investigation of his client didn’t begin until the following year, so it made no sense that Ligotti would draw attention to himself by drafting such a letter if he were breaking the law. Throughout the hearing, Curtis got Stewart, the FBI agent, to concede there weren’t written contractual arrangements between Ligotti and his alleged co-conspirators, nor was there evidence in the form of checks or cash paid to his client as kickbacks. He also questioned the veracity of former Whole Health patients who were interviewed by investigators, getting Stewart to concede that, “yes, as a general construct,” drug addicts can be dishonest. Four or five of Ligotti’s staff helped in his scheme, including his office manager, according to Stewart. Former nurse practitioners at Whole Health said the office manager was the “pivot point” at the clinic and helped Ligotti interview job applicants and asked one of the nurse practitioners to write prescriptions for drugs that patients didn’t need, the FBI affidavit states. In addition to leveling the fraud charges, investigators suspect that Michael and Christine Ligotti, his wife, have tried to conceal assets. In May, the seven-bedroom home the Ligottis own and live in with their three children on Seagate Drive in Delray Beach was listed for sale at nearly $5.7 million. They paid $3.3 million for the home in 2014. Records show that it features a chef’s kitchen, media room, exercise room, library, wine cellar, air-conditioned garages, a tiled pool with hot tub, a half-basketball court and a batting cage.<br /> The couple also owns a six-bedroom home on one acre west of Interstate 95 in Delray Beach, with a pool and slide and waterfall, a koi pond and a bocce court. It was listed for $799,000, but was recently taken off the market. Michael Ligotti’s parents and a pet pig live there.<br /> The Ligottis also placed the Whole Health medical building up for sale in May for $4 million. If all three properties fetched close to their listed prices, they would total more than $10 million. The federal government, however, will seek to take the properties through forfeiture if Ligotti is convicted. As part of his scheme, the complaint says, Ligotti even created a shell company named Kruger Industrial Smoothing. Sound familiar? It’s the name of the fictional company George Costanza worked at in Season 9 of “Seinfeld.”</p></div>Along the Coast: Brightline tries to deal with nation’s worst death rate on trackshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-brightline-tries-to-deal-with-nation-s-worst-deat2019-12-04T18:46:03.000Z2019-12-04T18:46:03.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong></p>
<p>When it comes to fast and furious, Brightline — Florida’s neon-yellow passenger express train service — has proved to be the deadliest train system per mile in America.<br />According to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Railroad Administration records for the nation’s 821 railroads, 41 people have been killed by Brightline trains since July 2017, when someone died during a railroad test run.<br />Brightline’s death rate — of more than one person per month since it began operating — equals about one death per every 29,000 miles the trains have traveled, the study showed.<br />“This is something we obsess about. … It’s tragic,” Brightline President Patrick Goddard told the AP. “There is nothing we want more than for that number to go to zero.”<br />Brightline, soon to be Virgin Trains, said it planned to match any amount provided in a $500,000 appropriations request in a bill from state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, aimed at suicide prevention. The money would go to the 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Helpline.<br />Tri-Rail’s commuter service had one death about every 110,000 miles, the AP reported. Most other urban passenger lines average about 100,000 miles per fatality, some many times that, the AP said.<br />British billionaire Richard Branson of the Virgin Group announced last year a partnership with Brightline that included putting the Virgin name on the trains. Virgin Group owns less than 2% of the rail company, according to regulatory filings.<br />Brightline runs about 17 trains each way daily between Miami and West Palm Beach and plans to expand another 170 miles to Orlando by 2022. The trains speed up to 79 mph through some of the state’s most-densely populated areas.<br />The Federal Railroad Administration said U.S. trains strike more than 800 people annually, with an average of about 2.5 daily. About 500 are suspected suicides.<br />Michael Hicks, Brightline media relations director, called the incidents “tragic” but “all the result of deliberate, unlawful actions to ignore warning signs or safety barriers.”<br />“The vast majority of incidents involving our trains have been suicides or are drug related. We have and will continue to take a leadership role in raising awareness for rail safety and mental health issues in our community,” Hicks said.<br /> “We are rolling out innovative new technologies at crossings and putting in place fencing and landscaping to serve as barriers and reminders to stay off the tracks. ... We have run thousands of safety PSAs, distributed thousands of safety materials, worked with local law enforcement and schools,” he said.<br />“Most importantly we implore people to stay off the tracks and to treat rail safety warnings no different than red lights or stop signs.”</p></div>Health & Harmony: Delray Shores Pharmacy offering hemp-infused treatshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/health-harmony-delray-shores-pharmacy-offering-hemp-infused-treat2019-02-27T00:58:27.000Z2019-02-27T00:58:27.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960834653,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960834653,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960834653?profile=original" /></a><em>Rhyan and T.J. Dildine at the Delray Shores Pharmacy and Soda Fountain. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Joyce Reingold</strong></p>
<p>The Delray Shores Pharmacy and Soda Fountain on Northeast Fifth Avenue is a bright, cheerful family affair owned and operated by second-generation pharmacist T.J. Dildine.</p>
<p>Inside the Art Deco-style building, Dildine greets pharmacy patrons by name while his wife, Rhyan, helms the old-timey soda fountain. Together their goal is to serve customers by offering the best of the old and the new.</p>
<p>That vision has come into focus at the lunch counter, where diners can choose a traditional tuna salad sandwich, or a cannabidiol-infused ice cream treat, soda or brownie from the “Adulting” menu — just for the 21-and-older set.</p>
<p>The store carries a curated selection of traditional drugstore items, while on the pharmacy counter, CBD gummies, salves and tinctures from brands like Ananda Professional and Funky Farms await interested customers. “Ask us about CBD!” a sign says.</p>
<p>The Delray Beach pharmacy is one of a growing number of retail and online businesses selling the hemp derivative to consumers who have heard CBD may provide relief for ailments ranging from anxiety to pain.</p>
<p>Now that the 2018 Farm Bill has recognized hemp as an agricultural commodity, and delisted it as a controlled substance, some experts predict CBD is on its way to becoming a $22 billion industry. However, health departments in some municipalities, like New York City, have ordered restaurants to stop selling CBD-infused foods.</p>
<p>“This is just getting started,” affirms CBD enthusiast Josh Hoffman, who with business partner Sal Mirtalebi owns and operates Health Synergy, a Boca Raton-based company that offers a full line of CBD products from its storefront on North Federal Highway. “Cannabis is the new everything.</p>
<p>“These oils will be in every single product that you use, from your beverages to your makeup, to your shampoo, to your soap to your pet products, to your vitamins, to every single thing under the sun.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960834857,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960834857,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960834857?profile=original" /></a><em>It takes just a few drops of CBD to top an adult float. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p>CBD is a cannabinoid found in hemp and marijuana, both of which come from the Cannabis sativa family. Hemp has a high concentration of CBD and, unlike its cousin marijuana, has low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive agent that causes euphoria.</p>
<p>Hemp’s THC concentration is .3 percent or less. “That’s what keeps these products legal” says Hoffman. “Marijuana, it could be up to 30 percent.”</p>
<p>Hoffman and Mirtalebi also operate ALLleaf, a medical cannabis education and certification center.</p>
<p>At Delray Shores, T.J. Dildine says customers curious about CBD often are dealing with “chronic pain, anything inflammatory in nature, arthritis, autoimmune conditions, fibromyalgia, insomnia, anxiety. Those are certainly the most common conditions where we see patients looking for an alternative option.”</p>
<p>In research, CBD has shown promise in treating seizures, leading to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Epidiolex (cannabidiol), a medication for patients with two rare forms of epilepsy.</p>
<p>Other small-scale studies have suggested CBD may have anti-anxiety properties and the ability to reduce inflammation. More research is ongoing for the CBD-curious, and much more research is needed. And it’s always a good idea to check with your pharmacist or physician.</p>
<p>Lynn, a Boynton Beach resident in her 30s, did just that. With her doctor’s OK, she added CBD to the mix of medications she takes for inflammation, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and pain.</p>
<p>“The first night I took it, I was able to get a good night’s sleep. When I woke up, I wasn’t groggy and had relief,” she says. (We’re using Lynn’s first name only, for privacy reasons.)</p>
<p>Now she takes CBD nightly and says she has decreased her prescription drug use. “It’s helped with pain and inflammation, and it’s helped me with sleep and anxiety.”</p>
<p>CBD comes in different strengths, formulations and forms, but if you plan to try it, before deciding between oil or a capsule, Hoffman says there’s a more important place to start.</p>
<p>“The first question you should always ask: Does this product have a third-party lab analysis? If it doesn’t, conversation’s over because you don’t know what’s in it.”</p>
<p>Health Synergy’s products are third-party tested twice, he says. The entire Delray Shores CBD lineup is third-party tested as well. <br /> Dildine begins conversations with new customers by explaining the formulations.</p>
<p>“I think the oils, the tinctures, have a lot more flexibility with dosing,” he says. “We tend to recommend a starting dose of 10 to 15 milligrams a day in the evening, just to kind of see how their body responds. And depending on what they’re using it for, if they want to increase the dose after a period of time, or incorporate a daytime dose as well, we certainly can do that. It’s very individualized.”</p>
<p>Hoffman says a month’s supply averages $80, but it varies by customer. “And that’s not to say this is like a miracle silver bullet, you know, a one size fits all. It’s an adjunct. You’ve got to be eating healthy, you’ve got to have enough sleep. It’s never one thing. But in conjunction with other things, it can be pretty powerful.”</p>
<p>The Farm Bill that legalized hemp recognized the FDA as the regulatory body for products containing CBD, and the next few years are likely to be lively as boundaries are defined and tested. Today, many working in the CBD space cite “gray areas.”</p>
<p>But there is at least one non-gray area: The FDA prohibits manufacturers from making health claims about CBD products. “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease” is common terminology on the websites of CBD purveyors. </p>
<p>“The FDA has sent warning letters in the past to companies illegally selling CBD products that claimed to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure serious diseases, such as cancer,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.</p>
<p>As Funky Farms explains on its website: “We are not allowed to make medical claims regarding CBD, but encourage you to do your own research and reading online and offline to find the answer. What we can tell you is that CBD is a very interesting discovery, indeed.” <br /></p>
<p><em>Joyce Reingold writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.</em></p></div>Paws Up for Pets: Vets teach K-9 officers how to protect dogs from dangers of drugshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/paws-up-for-pets-vets-teach-k-9-officers-how-to-protect-dogs-from2017-08-29T18:09:13.000Z2017-08-29T18:09:13.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960740301,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960740301,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960740301?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>K-9 officer Duke of the Boynton Beach Police Department with Dr. Melanie Thomas at Coral Springs Animal Hospital. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Arden Moore</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes, the dangers facing K-9 police dogs can be invisible but still very deadly. But thanks to a partnership between veterinarians and many police departments in South Florida, these working dogs stand a stronger chance of surviving the unexpected in the field. And, that makes police officers like Chris Schalk feel grateful.<br /> Officer Schalk of the Boynton Beach Police Department works the night patrol with Iro, his 5-year-old German shepherd. Iro (appropriately rhyming with the word hero) is strong, quick and able to use his trained scenting skills to track down bad guys and even illegal stashes of currency.<br /> But Iro and other police dogs can become ill — even die — if exposed to narcotics due to accidentally getting the substance on their paws or inhaling while working a case. <br /> “Opiates have become not only a Florida problem, but a national problem,” says Schalk, an eight-year veteran on the Boynton Beach force who fulfilled his law enforcement dream earlier this year to become trained as a K-9 officer. “These working dogs are very valuable, and we want to make sure to take care of them. They are working hard to protect us and we should work as hard as we can to protect them from harm.”<br /> Enter the veterinary team at Coral Springs Animal Hospital. Led by Melanie Thomas, DVM, and Bruce Sullivan, DVM, the hospital team is training and educating K-9 police officers in about 15 departments in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. <br /> “In the field if a K-9 dog gets exposed to opiates, every minute counts in saving his life,” says Thomas. “The sedative effects of these drops can impact a police dog’s respiratory system. Untreated, the dog’s heart and brain can stop.”<br /> She and Sullivan train police on how to give antidote medications to their affected dogs in the field. Schalk now carries this lifesaving vial and syringe in his first-aid kit in his patrol car and knows now how to inject the antidote into the lower hip if Iro should be exposed to these opiates.<br /> “Let’s say Iro, who is trained to track and sniff for money, bites a suspect in a pocket, penetrates that pocket with his teeth and we discover the pocket contains narcotics,” says Schalk. “Iro could become lethargic — not being able to stand up — and collapse. I am glad I know how to give him the antidote.”<br /> As Thomas explains, “These police dogs have high drives and [are] motivated to learn.”<br /> Some could have inadvertent exposure to narcotics through the skin, such as the paw pads, or ingest toxins nasally. <br /> “A small cut on the paw or inhaling the narcotic can quickly enter it in the dog’s bloodstream,” she says. “The team may be far from a veterinary hospital. That’s why we felt it was important to train the officers on how to administer these medications in the field.”<br /> In addition, the veterinarians are conducting training workshops to educate K-9 police officers on how to stop bleeding, provide basic wound care and address conditions like heat stroke in their dogs. These pet first-aid protocols help an officer stabilize his four-legged partner so he can transport him to a veterinary hospital for medical treatment.<br /> “These dogs are trained to put their faces near things and some are trained to sniff for illicit substances,” says Thomas. “Cocaine in powder form can go up a dog’s nose quickly. We are ready to help these dogs when they arrive here, but we want to make sure the officers know what to do in the field as well.”<br /> Schalk just completed a seminar on injury prevention and now has Iro go through some stretching exercises before they begin their patrols. He also has learned how to spot early signs of overheating so he can cool down Iro quickly and safely. <br /> During his 10-year tenure in law enforcement, Schalk has done road patrol, been a police training officer and served on a SWAT team, but his No. 1 goal has always been to become a K-9 police officer. He got the chance in December 2016 and has partnered with Iro for the past several months.<br /> “The training to be a K-9 officer is constant and ongoing — which I love,” he says. “And I love dogs. Being in the K-9 unit for me is everything I wanted. It’s in my heart and my blood. I love every bit of it and I am very grateful to have a great dog like Iro. He is very social and well-trained. He can go from tracking a bad guy to then letting people pet him. We make a good team.”<br /> And thanks to the veterinarians at Coral Springs Animal Hospital, the team is even safer.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Safety tips at home</strong><br /> In your home, you can sidestep an array of medicine-related calamities by heeding these prevention tips:<br /> • Don’t stash medicine for you or your pet on kitchen or bathroom counters. Dogs and cats can counter surf and reach these medications.<br /> • Recognize that so-called childproof bottles are no match for the crushing jaws of a nosy dog or cat.<br /> • Store medications in pet-safe places, including inside dresser drawers, nightstand drawers, kitchen cabinets or shelves in enclosed china cabinets.<br /> • Teach your dog the “leave it” cue. In the event you accidentally drop one of your pills on the floor, this command could save your dog’s life. Be sure to reward his obedience for leaving the pill with a healthy pet treat.<br /> • Use visual markers to help you easily distinguish medicine for you and medicine for your pet to avoid any mix-ups. Consider placing brightly colored duct tape (like neon orange) on the top of the bottles of medications for your pets.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><em> Arden Moore, founder of www. ardenmoore.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first-aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on <a href="http://www.PetLifeRadio.com">www.PetLifeRadio.com</a>. Learn more by visiting <a href="http://www.ardenmoore.com">www.ardenmoore.com</a>.</em></p></div>Delray Beach: City leaders going after drug makers related to opioid crisishttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-city-leaders-going-after-drug-makers-related-to-opio2017-08-02T13:51:12.000Z2017-08-02T13:51:12.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> Beleaguered by increasing overdoses in the city and receiving little help from state and federal agencies, Delray Beach leaders plan to sue big drug makers. They want to offset the financial drain on their public safety budget of responding to overdoses.<br /> In the first six months of 2017, drug overdoses rose 36.4 percent to 412 when compared with the first six months of 2016, according to the Delray Beach Police Department. Fatal overdoses were up by 27.6 percent to 37 in the same period, the data showed.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960730872,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960730872,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-left" width="99" alt="7960730872?profile=original" /></a>“Our city, indeed our state and country, struggle with an unprecedented crisis of people addicted to heroin and synthetic opioids,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said at the mid-July commission meeting. “No pathogen, virus, or war on this country’s soil has caused the death and destruction as the scourge of opioid addiction.” <br /> Commissioners unanimously voted to work with the Boca Raton office of the Robbins Geller Rudman & Heller law firm. The agreement, which calls for no up-front tax dollars from Delray Beach and the law firm to share a portion of the proceeds if the city wins, was to be reviewed Aug. 2, a day after press time. The law firm’s proposed contingency agreement calls for a 23 percent share of the recovery, plus costs and expenses, for filing a lawsuit through a motion for summary judgment. Anything after that filing, the firm wants a 26.5 percent share.<br /> Robbins Geller will represent the city against leading drug makers, distributors and possibly insurance companies. Delray Beach may be the first city in Florida to take such action. Palm Beach County is considering whether to file such a lawsuit.<br /> At least four states and 12 cities have sued the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of narcotic pain relievers with claims similar to the tobacco litigation. Even Mike Moore, former Mississippi attorney general, has become involved in the opioid lawsuits, representing the state of Ohio. <br /> As Mississippi attorney general in 1994, Moore filed the first state lawsuit against tobacco companies, claiming they harmed the public health by misrepresenting the dangers of smoking. He spearheaded national efforts that led to a $240 billion settlement. <br /> Many public health officials think heroin users started when they were prescribed prescription pain relievers for injuries. When people become addicted to the prescription pain killers but can no longer get them legitimately, they often turn to street drugs such as heroin. The street drugs are often much cheaper. <br /> Pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma was said to have made billions of dollars in profits from selling OxyContin, “a highly addictive and dangerous painkiller originally designed only for end-stage cancer pain where addiction didn’t matter, but marketed as nonaddictive,” Glickstein said.<br /> In Florida, prescription pain killers in 2015 were written at the rate of 72 to 82 per 100 people, meaning that number of people were taking them at a given time, said Mark Dearman, a Boca Raton partner in the Robbins Geller law firm.<br /> Dearman touted the firm’s big wins: $17 billion against Volkswagen, a $7.2 billion settlement against Enron Corp. and a $1.57 billion settlement against HSBC, a banking and financial services company.<br /> Glickstein also railed against insurance companies for “paying billions in insurance claims” for counseling and urine tests “as if these were established medical procedures, which they are not, and which have, in fact, provided little in the way of sustained recovery for suffering addicts and desperate families.”<br /> Nearby Boynton Beach has seen a more shocking rise in the numbers of overdoses and fatalities. For the first six months of 2017, overdoses more than doubled to 331 from the same period the year before, according to the Boynton Beach Police Department. Fatalities increased about 2.5 times, with 32 deaths, the data showed.<br /> Mayor Steven Grant plans to talk to the city attorney so Boynton Beach doesn’t miss an opportunity to offset its costs of dealing with the opioid crisis.<br /> “I want to talk with the city attorney and my commission colleagues about whether it makes more sense to pursue a case on our own or go to an outside counsel on a contingency basis,” he said. <br /> The claims of negligence and deceptive marketing seem “like milquetoast when people are dying,” Delray Beach Vice Mayor Jim Chard said.<br /> Dearman said, “We don’t have the ability to go after them criminally; we have the ability to go after them civilly.”</p></div>Heroin linked to rising drug death tollhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/heroin-linked-to-rising-drug-death-toll2016-03-03T01:00:00.000Z2016-03-03T01:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Related Story: Delray police now carry <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/delray-police-now-carry-nasal-spray-antidote-for-heroin-overdose">nasal spray antidote</a> for heroin overdose</strong></span></p>
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<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /> <br /> The number of drug overdose deaths has surged in Palm Beach County, jumping 62.8 percent over the last three years.<br /> The number of people who died from overdoses rose from 226 in 2013 to 368 last year, according to data released in late February by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960639090,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960639090,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="195" alt="7960639090?profile=original" /></a> The overdose death increase in Palm Beach County mirrors a national escalation that resulted in 47,055 deaths in 2014.<br /> “It is a crisis,” said James Hall, a Nova Southeastern University epidemiologist who studies substance abuse and drug outbreaks. “More people are dying from drug overdoses than traffic accidents in the United States.” <br /> The county medical examiner’s data list 21 overdose deaths in Boca Raton in 2015, 27 in Boynton Beach, 25 in Delray Beach and 41 in West Palm Beach. These 2015 death tolls could increase when pending toxicology reports are completed.<br /> The rising death toll is linked to the growing use of heroin.<br /> The top four drugs found in the bodies of Palm Beach County overdose victims last year were morphine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. Heroin metabolizes in the body into morphine. Dealers often mix heroin with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller that increases potency and reduces the dealers’ costs.<br /> “This is one of the worst epidemics I have seen, comparable to cocaine in the 1980s,” Palm Beach County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Bell told WPTV-Channel 5 in February. “I think the combination of mixing fentanyl with heroin is what is causing the epidemic.”<br /> The trend has the full attention of law enforcement. “Heroin and heroin laced with fentanyl is our No. 1 drug threat from a public safety point of view,” Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said in an email.<br /> In late February, West Palm Beach police said that heroin had killed 11 people in just more than two months, while the use of flakka, dubbed “$5 insanity,” has declined. <br /> “There’s been a replacement of flakka with heroin,” said Capt. Brian Kapper in a Sun-Sentinel report. He called the increase in heroin seizures, overdoses and deaths “shocking.”<br /> The decrease in the use of Chinese-manufactured flakka, which causes delirium, delusions, violent fits and aggression, follows the Chinese government’s October decision to ban flakka and 115 other synthetic drugs after pressure from the U.S. and other governments.<br /> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention minced no words in a January report: “The United States is experiencing an epidemic of drug overdose deaths.” <br /> Since 2000, drug overdose deaths have increased 137 percent, including a 200 percent increase in the deaths involving opioid pain relievers and heroin. Heroin overdose deaths increased 26 percent from 2013 to 2014 and more than tripled since 2010. From 2000 to 2014, nearly 500,000 lives were claimed.<br /> Midwestern and Northeastern states have been particularly hard hit, along with Alabama, Georgia, New Mexico and North Dakota.<br /> While the impact on Florida is serious, it is less severe than in some other states. Florida drug overdose deaths increased 4.8 percent in 2014, far below the two states with the highest increases — 125 percent in North Dakota and 73.5 percent in New Hampshire, according to the CDC.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960639480,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960639480,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="417" alt="7960639480?profile=original" /></a><br /> <strong>Addicts find alternatives</strong><br /> Yet Palm Beach County’s death rate is higher than the state average and Miami-Dade County’s. The rate was 20 per 100,000 population in 2014, while the statewide rate was 13.2 and Miami-Dade’s was 8.<br /> Nationally and locally, overdose deaths affect all age groups. In 2015, the newly released county medical examiner’s data show 10.9 percent of those who died were 15-24, 30.1 percent were 25-34, 24.9 percent were 35-44, 16.1 percent were 45-54, 13.7 percent were 55-64 and 4.4 percent were 65 or over. <br /> Males die more frequently from drug overdoses than women. In Palm Beach County in 2015, 69.9 percent of the victims were men and 30.1 percent were women.<br /> The vast majority of last year’s Palm Beach County victims — 92.4 percent — were white, with blacks trailing at 4.9 percent and Hispanics at 2.2 percent.<br /> Heroin’s roaring comeback as a killer locally is a result of the crackdown on pill mills that handed out prescriptions for highly addictive painkillers like oxycodone. Florida was hard hit by this scourge, with people from other states flocking here to stand in line for prescriptions.<br /> As pill mills were driven out of business beginning in 2011, the price of prescription drugs on the illicit market increased dramatically. “Heroin became the cheap alternative to prescription opioids,” Hall said.<br /> That history also explains why so many white men die of overdoses now. <br /> “White males were predominantly using opioids,” said Jeff Kadel, executive director of the Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition. Addicted but cut off from their usual supply, they turned to another drug.<br /> The heroin business has changed as well. Since the 1990s, most of the heroin east of the Mississippi came from Colombia. “What we have seen in recent years is a dramatic increase in heroin production in Mexico, as well as refining of production methods,” Hall said.<br /> To increase the potency, heroin is mixed with fentanyl that is produced in clandestine labs in Mexico or China. Fentanyl, up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, is even passed off as heroin because its euphoric effects are very similar, according to the substance awareness coalition.<br /> “Newer, more potent heroin cut with fentanyl is a far more dangerous and deadly addiction,” Hall said.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>More treatment needed</strong><br /> About 100,000 people are in treatment at the many rehab centers or sober houses in Palm Beach County and recidivism rates are high, Kadel said. That shows up in the overdose death statistics, he said.<br /> If people in treatment stop using drugs for a time, the tolerance they have built up decreases, Hall said. “If they go back to using the same amount, that can lead to an overdose death.”<br /> While the Florida Legislature has taken steps to eliminate pill mills and doctor shopping, it has reduced funding for treatment, Hall said.<br /> “Florida’s failure was it ignored the demand side and expanding treatment opportunities,” he said. “We are not getting rid of this until we expand treatment programs” and allow insurance to pay for it.<br /> Kadel, who heads a federally funded prevention organization, would like to see greater focus on prevention. “As a prevention organization, we are concerned (Congress) tends to throw money at the problem rather than trying to prevent the problem. I am hopeful some dollars will be sent to the prevention field.” <br /> <br /> <em>Researcher Michelle Quigley contributed to this story.</em></p></div>Along the Coast: Dark shoreline could be smuggling destination, some sayhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-dark-shoreline-could-be-smuggling-destination-som2013-10-02T18:26:59.000Z2013-10-02T18:26:59.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br />Are more drug bales washing up recently along South County coastal shores?<br />The Ocean Ridge police chief and a spokesman for the West Palm Beach office of Border Patrol think so.<br />Chief Chris Yannuzzi points to two recent incidents. On Aug. 6, 25 bricks of cocaine were bundled into one bale, with a street value of $2.3 million. That bale was turned over to the Border Patrol. On Sept. 7, a bale of marijuana also was turned over to the Border Patrol.<br />Why did the drug smugglers pick Ocean Ridge’s beach?<br />“My theory is,” Yanuzzi said, “location, location, location. We are close to the islands,” where he thinks most of the drug bales originate. Plus, during the turtle nesting season, which runs from March through October on the Atlantic Coast, no lights are permitted at night along the shore, allowing drug and migrant smugglers to come ashore undetected.<br />At Homeland Security Investigations, Edward Thompson, the assistant special agent in charge of the West Palm Beach office, said, “We noted the increase and we are trying to find out whether it is seasonal or something else.”<br />His office, which now includes Border Patrol, has seen an increase in both drugs and migrants smuggled onto the South County shores in the past nine months to a year. Because it is an open investigation, his agency would not provide any details.<br />At the Coast Guard office in Miami, details are provided only by the state and by the fiscal year. In fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012), the Coast Guard recorded 32 events of drug bales washing ashore in Florida.<br />“Each event could have multiple bales,” said Lt. Cmdr. Gabe Somma. The 32 events were broken down into 26 marijuana and six cocaine, he said.<br />In the fiscal year that started last October and through Sept. 17, the Coast Guard recorded 61 events, broken down into 37 marijuana and 24 cocaine.<br />“We’re monitoring the rise, but we don’t see it as significant even though it looks like cocaine events rose four times,” Somma said. “We think it’s because of increased reporting.”<br />In Delray Beach, beach-goers and workers reported finding cocaine bricks and marijuana packages five times since Sept. 25, 2012, along the city’s lengthy coastline.<br />The largest find came on April 17, when two workers, using front-loaders to disperse dredged sand on the beach, found a 4-foot broken PVC pipe filled with marijuana packages. The 14 black, cheese-wheel-shaped packages weighed 63.2 pounds, according to police records. The marijuana was valued at $100,000.<br />Two bricks of cocaine, about 1 kilo each, were found on Sept. 6 and Sept. 19, according to police records. The Sept. 19 brick was valued at $20,000, but no value was listed for the one found on Sept. 6. On March 23, a “very wet” cocaine brick, weighing 3.2 pounds, was found and valued at $40,000.<br />But in other South County coastal towns, few drug bales or none were reported.<br />In Gulf Stream, a marijuana bale, shaped like a beer keg, washed up on the beach behind 4001 N. Ocean Blvd., said Chief Garrett Ward. That was the first one he’s seen in five years. It was waterlogged, so they didn’t weigh it. The bale was turned over to the Sheriff’s Office for destruction, he said.<br />In Manalapan, two incidents of drugs washing up on the shore were recorded in the past two years. On April 30 of this year, a burlap bag of marijuana was found on the beach. It was turned over to Border Patrol, said Lt. Chris Fahey.<br />In Boca Raton, no drug bales washed ashore in the past five years, Officer Sandra Boonenberg reported after searching police records.</p></div>Judge hears arguments in Caron vs. Delray suithttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/judge-hears-arguments-in-caron-vs-delray-suit2012-04-16T18:00:00.000Z2012-04-16T18:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong></p>
<p> The <span style="border-bottom:2px dotted #366388;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1334598977_0">Caron Foundation</span> can’t sue <span style="border-bottom:2px dotted #366388;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1334598977_1">Delray Beach</span> for denying a Seaspray Avenue sober house because the request hasn’t been officially denied, an attorney for the city argued Monday.<br /> The surprising twist came during a federal court hearing where the city also argued that Caron can’t claim a loss of income because it hasn’t put recovering alcoholics and drug addicts into a second house where it has approval to operate.<br /> Federal judge William Dimitrouleas promised to rule on Caron’s request for a preliminary injunction “as soon as I can” after the hearing in Fort Lauderdale.<br /> Caron claims the city council violated federal laws on Feb. 21 when it approved three ordinances to make it more difficult for treatment providers to operate and on Feb. 22 when Caron says the city refused its request to open a sober house at 1232 Seaspray Ave.<br /> “We contend that the city had no reason to deny us other than the hostile and organized community reaction to our attempt to locate in an affluent area near the ocean,” Caron attorney James Green told the judge.<br /> Green claimed public comments by Mayor Woodie McDuffie and Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Cary Glickstein prove the city’s intent to discriminate against recovering alcoholics and addicts.<br /> But Matthew Mandel, an attorney representing the city, countered that Delray Beach is only trying to regulate transient housing. “The ordinance is not discriminatory because it applies to all single-family dwellings,” he argued.<br /> Mandel said the city is waiting for Caron to provide medical justification for its request to house seven clients at the Seaspray address. “They haven’t gotten a final decision from us,” he told the judge.<br /> Caron wants the city to pay $55,000 per client in monthly damages because it can’t open the Seaspray house.<br /> But Mandel countered that Caron has another house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. to place its clients. “They have to explain how they’ve had that house available for a year and not put one person in there,” he said.<br /> Dimitrouleas questioned the $55,000 monthly cost for treatment. “What if you can never get seven people who can afford to pay?” he asked. Green said Caron has “more than enough” wealthy clients.<br /> The judge encouraged the two sides to discuss a settlement, suggesting a compromise that would allow five rather than seven clients in the house. But a settlement appears unlikely.<br /> The non-profit treatment provider didn’t get a response when it wrote city officials on April 2 offering three incentives if Delray Beach would allow it to place seven clients at the Seaspray house.<br /> Caron offered to pay property taxes on both its houses for five years, waive its claim for damages and attorney fees, and pay for classes to prevent alcohol and drug abuse in six Delray Beach schools.<br /> Green also asked Mandel to discuss a settlement after Monday’s hearing, but the city’s attorney declined.</p></div>Delray Beach: Caron sues city over sober house restrictionshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-caron-sues-city-over-sober-house-restrictions2012-03-01T17:58:17.000Z2012-03-01T17:58:17.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960377474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960377474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960377474?profile=original" /></a><em>Neighbors of the home Caron purchased stand in front of portraits of former Delray Beach mayors and wear white to protest the rehabilitation center’s request to turn its property into a sober house during a meeting at City Hall. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /><br />The Caron Foundation has sued Delray Beach after the city denied its request to operate a sober house for seven recovering alcoholics and drug addicts at 1232 Seaspray Ave.<br /> City commissioners also had responded to outrage over sober houses near the ocean on Feb. 21 by approving three ordinances to make it more difficult and restrictive for treatment providers to operate in the city.<br /> “The city might not like it, but our rights are well settled by federal laws,” Caron vice president Andrew Rothermel responded, calling the city’s actions discriminatory. “I don’t think the commissioners had the will to do the right thing in light of the public outcry.”<br /> The denial to operate the Seaspray house came in a Feb. 22 letter from planning and zoning director Paul Dorling, who said Caron had failed to show why seven residents were necessary for the house to be “therapeutically successful” and “financially viable.”<br /> A parade of upset residents had implored commissioners at a Feb. 21 public hearing to protect their single-family neighborhoods.<br /> “Your taxpayers are angry,” resident Louise Kornfeld said. “We expect you to fight this battle with us.”<br /> “I’m sick and tired of bumping into every junkie who lives in Delray Beach,” Anita Casey agreed. “Let’s kick Caron out.”<br /> Caron’s Rothermel has asked residents to give them the chance to show they can be good neighbors. He has stressed the house is intended for wealthy executives in recovery who will be paying some $50,000 a month to live in the house. They will receive their treatment in Caron’s facility in Boca Raton.<br />The most significant new ordinance reduces the turnover of bedrooms rented to alcoholics and drug addicts from six to three times per year. City commissioners also passed ordinances to beef up the application process to operate a sober house and to obtain a landlord permit.<br /> “We designed our program to follow the city’s rules and they decided to change the rules midstream,” Rothermel complained after the three ordinances were approved. “If they use these ordinances to restrict us, they’re going to have a fight on their hands.” <br /> The suit, filed Feb. 24 in federal court in West Palm Beach, seeks an injunction to prevent the city from enforcing the new rules. Caron also seeks attorney fees and damages, which it says could be in the millions. <br /> Residents had urged commissioners on Feb. 21 to hang tough despite repeated threats of such a lawsuit.<br /> “This is a big fight that you’re signing up for,” resident Jack Barrette said at the public hearing. “But the neighborhoods are behind you.”<br /> The ordinance to limit rental turnovers would restrict treatment providers by forcing sober houses to operate at half their capacity, Rothermel said.<br /> Recovering alcoholics and drug addicts typically stay in a sober house for two months. With only three turnovers allowed per year, each bedroom could only be used for six months per year.<br /> “It’s really detrimental to have patients living in a house that’s half-empty,” Rothermel said. “They don’t get the benefit of a sober living environment.”<br /> The right for treatment providers to house up to seven patients in residential neighborhoods was established in 2007 when Boca Raton attempted to limit sober housing. A federal judge struck down Boca Raton’s limit of only three patients per house after the American Civil Liberties Union argued that patients have a greater chance of recovery with more patients in a sober house.<br /> The judge reaffirmed that recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are protected from discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.<br /> Delray Beach, anticipating Caron’s lawsuit, had hired outside attorneys to advise how the city could fight sober housing by other means.<br /> The new application procedure for sober house approvals requires that treatment providers provide an address for proposed sober houses so neighbors have time to object.<br /> Most neighbors of the Seaspray Avenue house have posted signs in their yards declaring “Just Say No” to Caron’s housing plan and another neighbor installed a motion-sensitive webcam for surveillance on Caron’s house. They claim that the treatment provider already has been serving meals to clients who live elsewhere.<br /> They also started a Facebook page, TakeBackDelrayBeach, where they update developments in the case and chronicle comings and goings at the house, such as a time police were called there. The page points out that police protection and trash removal are essentially free services, since Caron, as a nonprofit operation, pays no property taxes.<br />Neighbor Ray Jones said residents also considered an electronic protest sign outside the Caron Foundation’s gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on Feb. 25, but were discouraged by Palm Beach police.<br /> “The residents have created an environment where we were unable to find a win-win solution to this,” Rothermel said. “The silver lining for us is that we’re entitled in court to several million dollars per year in damages if this drags out.”</p></div>Delray Beach: Legal battle looming over recovery houseshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-legal-battle-looming-over-recovery-houses2012-02-02T16:19:00.000Z2012-02-02T16:19:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960366868,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960366868,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960366868?profile=original" /></a></strong><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960366868,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Kelly Barrette and Raymond Jones distribute signs around their coastal Delray Beach neigh-borhood to protest the planned upscale recovery houses for people with drug and alcohol addictions. <strong>Photo by Jerry Lower</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Tim Pallesen and Antigone Barton</strong><br /><br />As Delray Beach moves aggressively to restrict addiction-recovery houses amid single-family homes, the threat of a legal battle increases.<br />The City Commission will decide this month whether to limit how often rooms can be rented in single-family neighborhoods.<br />The city’s outside attorneys are advising whether a request by Caron Treatment Centers to house wealthy, recovering addicts on Seaspray Avenue can be denied.<br />And a city official says Caron lacks a necessary landlord permit to operate another sober house on Ocean Boulevard.<br />“If they do any of this stuff, they’re going to get a lawsuit,” Caron Executive Vice President Andrew Rothermel warned.<br />Meanwhile, residents living near the two, ocean-side million-dollar homes that Caron intends to convert into upscale recovery houses, are working to sabotage Caron’s marketing promise of recovery in “anonymity and discretion.”<br />Three large signs decorate the lawn across the street from 1232 Seaspray Ave.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960366673,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960366673,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960366673?profile=original" /></a>“Caron, your business is NOT WELCOME in our Single Family neighborhood …” the largest one reads.<br />“Paparazzi Welcome Here! We’ve got our eyes (and our lenses) on you!”<br />Neighbor Kelly Barrette has passed out some 100 additional signs that urge neighbors to “Just Say No” to transient housing.<br />“It’s a single family residence community,” Barrette said. “It’s the constant turnover of people who we never get a chance to know. It’s a transient issue.”<br />Those signs have spread across coastal Delray Beach and are posted across the street of another house Caron purchased at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. as well as along Nassau Street to the south, where Caron was once rumored to be eying a house.<br />Caron has said its clients will receive all their clinical treatment at its facility in Boca Raton. <br />But Caron’s assurances that the “boutique” center would offer “exclusive services” and house wealthy, elite and “discerning” clients paying upward of $60,000 a month has done little to comfort neighbors, Barrette said.<br />“Like having Lindsay Lohan in there was going to make it better,” she said.<br />Rothermel insists that Caron will maintain the values of the neighborhood. He asks that neighbors, “let us prove to them that we’re going to be good neighbors.”<br />He said one house would be for recovering men, the other for women. He added he hoped clients would be moving in by the end of this month.<br />Neighborhood resident and attorney Mindy Farber said she is concerned that Caron, citing federal regulations, won’t disclose the names of the clients or the nature of the problem being treated.<br />“They’re not saying if it’s sexual predators or people who are registered sexual offenders,” she said. “It’s one thing to be a friendly neighbor; it’s another not to be told who your neighbors are. It’s totally creepy.”<br />It’s also an issue that seems increasingly likely to end up in federal court.<br />Last month, the city hired its Miami and Washington, D.C., law firms after coastal residents learned in December that Caron was buying houses near the ocean.<br />City commissioners asked the city’s planning and zoning board to review a proposal to lower the number of times that bedrooms can be rented in a single-family home from six to three times a year. The planning board has recommended only two rentals per year.<br />That proposal is scheduled to be back before city commissioners on Feb. 7 after outside attorneys review its legality.<br />“We are running absolutely everything by outside counsel now,” assistant city attorney Terrill Pyburn said.<br />The Miami law firm of Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske and the Washington, D.C., legal and lobbying firm of Patton, Boggs and Blow were hired to determine whether the city’s laws can be tightened to restrict either the number of the unrelated people or length of stay in a house.<br />A lawsuit would pit the same two attorneys who battled over Boca Raton’s attempt five years ago to restrict sober houses. Boca Raton was sued when it said no more than three unrelated people could live in a single-family home.<br />The federal lawsuit resulted in a judge reaffirming that recovering alcoholics and drug addicts have protection under the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.<br />The judge ruled in 2007 that Boca Raton’s limit of three patients created a “disparate impact” on patients. Attorney James Green, representing the American Civil Liberties Union, had argued that sober house patients have a greater chance of recovery if more patients are in the house.<br />The judge lifted his injunction after a procedure was adopted in which treatment providers can request a “reasonable accommodation” to allow more than three patients in a sober house. That procedure is followed now in both Boca Raton and Delray Beach.<br />Rothermel warns that Delray Beach will lose in court, too, if it attempts to restrict recovery houses in other ways.<br />“The politicians are clearly pandering to property owners east of the Intracoastal Waterway,” he said. “They can’t restrict sober living. They can veil their actions, but they’re clearly discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act. The city is going to waste a ton of time and money.”<br />Green now represents Caron. The city’s lead attorney is Matthew Mandel, who represented Boca Raton.<br />Caron on Dec. 19, requested a reasonable accommodation to allow seven clients to live in a five-bedroom, $3 million house at 1232 Seaspray Ave. it purchased last month. The city has until early this month to decide whether to grant the request and if it denies, Caron has 30 days to appeal to the City Commission.<br />A reasonable accommodation waiver has already been granted to Caron to house seven patients at 740 N. Ocean Blvd.<br />But a city official says that Caron can’t open the house until it gets a permit required for anyone who rents residential property. <br />“They will be required to have a landlord permit,” said Lula Butler, the city’s community improvement director.<br />Rothermel disputes that Caron needs such a permit. “Our patients are not renting real estate,” he said.<br />City officials early last year approved the reasonable accommodation request for 740 N. Ocean Blvd. without asking Caron for the address.<br />The planning and zoning board recommended at its Jan. 23 meeting that an address be required for future applications.<br />“We’re trying to come up with something that makes it difficult to operate in single-family neighborhoods,” board chairman Cary Glickstein said of the city’s efforts.<br />“Caron is exploiting something the fair housing and ADA laws never intended to allow addicts perhaps with criminal records to live there,” Glickstein said. “It’s just a matter of time before this gets shut down.”<br />And however long that takes, residents vow, the signs will remain posted. “This is a statement we felt like we needed to make,” Barrette said, “to make sure they continue to hear us.” </p></div>Along the Coast: Cities oppose new law being proposed for sober housinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-cities-oppose-new-law-being-proposed-for-sober-ho2012-02-01T23:30:00.000Z2012-02-01T23:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /> Boca Raton and Delray Beach are tracking a bill in the Florida Senate that would establish rules for a “sober house transitional living home.”<br /> The proposal by state Sen. Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, would require supervision of the residents of such a home, require that it comply with standards of occupancy set by the local government and provide restrictions on the provision of onsite substance abuse treatment services.<br /> Boca Raton City Manager Leif Ahnell said the city has “significant concerns” with the bill, SB 1026, as does Delray Beach, “because it would significantly alter how sober homes are treated and make them a lot more possible in our community.” Ahnell said he and his Delray Beach counterparts are monitoring the bill’s progress in Tallahassee.<br /> “We may be writing letters in opposition to that bill, to the League of Cities, who’s currently supporting the bill but we don’t believe understands it, depending on how it gets amended,’’ Ahnell told City Council members at their Jan. 24 meeting.<br /> Council Member Michael Mullaugh said the county League of Cities does not support Bogdanoff’s bill, “but they haven’t been able to convince the state people.’’<br /> “So we want to be careful in the letter to make it clear that the Palm Beach County League of Cities does understand … this bill is no bill at all,’’ Mullaugh said. “It’s truly a disaster.’’<br /> In a letter dated Jan. 23, Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie specified his city’s concerns. The bill, he wrote Bogdanoff and the Florida League of Cities, provides that “treatment, including ‘Detoxification,’ may take place in single-family zoning districts.”<br /> The bill would also allow a sober house in single-family districts to have up to six unrelated residents, McDuffie complained.<br /> “Based on the foregoing, we believe that if Proposed SB1026 passes, it will be more harmful than helpful,” McDuffie concluded.<br /> The state League of Cities downgraded its position on the bill from “Support” to “Watch” in its Jan. 27 Legislative Bulletin. Bogdanoff sponsored a similar bill in the 2011 legislative session; it died in committee.<br /> In the 2010 legislative session then-state Sen. Dave Aronberg introduced an amendment with input from Delray Beach and Boca Raton that would have prevented a sober house from opening within 1,000 feet of another sober house. The amendment was later dropped on a point of order. </p></div>Delray Beach: Neighbors post signs to protest proposed sober househttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-neighbors-post-signs-to-protest-proposed-sober-house2012-01-21T19:30:38.000Z2012-01-21T19:30:38.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960374273,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960374273,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="238" alt="7960374273?profile=original" /></a>By Antigone Barton</strong></p>
<p> Decorated with photos of the “calming Atlantic Ocean,” a brochure for a proposed residence for recovering addicts promises: “You can’t get more private than this — gated and secure with no signage. Anonymity and discretion set the tone . . .”</p>
<p> But if the Caron Foundation, a nonprofit addiction treatment organization, gets city permission to open a luxury sober house on Seaspray Avenue, it may not be able to keep that promise there.</p>
<p> Right now, three large signs decorate the lawn of the house directly across the street from 1232 Seaspray Ave.</p>
<p> “Caron Your Business is NOT WELCOME in our Single Family neighborhood . . .” the largest one, a weatherproof, roughly 3-by-4-foot poster says.</p>
<p> “Paparazzi Welcomed Here! We’ve got our eyes (and our lenses) on you!” another one says.</p>
<p> The third, and smallest, says “No transient housing!”</p>
<p> Signs with that last message also stand in front of every other house on the street, and are Seaspray Avenue residents’ response to a planned residence for affluent recovering addicts in their neighborhood.</p>
<p> The sign sums up the unifying theme of residents’ objections to the plan, said Kelly Barrette, one of the neighbors who had distributed close to 100 signs in four days during the third week of January.</p>
<p> “It’s a single-family residence community,” Barrette said. “It’s the constant turnover of people who we never get a chance to know. It’s a transient issue.”</p>
<p> The planned residence is seen as blight on a quiet and close-knit residential street.</p>
<p> Caron has said that its clients will receive all their clinical treatment at its facility in Boca Raton. But its assurances that the “boutique” center would offer “exclusive services” and house wealthy, elite and “discerning” clients has done little to comfort neighbors, Barrette said.</p>
<p> “Like having Lindsay Lohan in there was going to make it better,” she said.</p>
<p> Not one neighbor has turned down a sign, she added. </p>
<p> George Whitney of Nassau Street, who was alarmed at what turned out to be a false report of plans for a sober house in his neighborhood came over to “see what was going on” on Seaspray Avenue. He found a group of Seaspray neighbors discussing Caron.</p>
<p> “It affects every street, because it opens the door to similar businesses,” Barrette said.</p>
<p> “If it was <i>any</i> business,” insisted Beach Drive resident Steve Alport, “I’d be against it.”</p>
<p> The neighboring town of Gulf Stream, “doesn’t even allow Tupperware parties,” another in the group mentioned.</p>
<p> The nature of this particular operation, though, has clearly galvanized a street tucked off AIA where neighbors know each other, said Mindy Farber, a neighborhood resident and attorney.</p>
<p> Caron’s application in front of the city’s Planning and Zoning Department asks for “reasonable accommodation” that would allow more unrelated people to live together than the three allowed by current zoning.</p>
<p> The application seeks to house up to seven people in the five-bedroom, $3 million house. Caron has said the clients would pay up to $60,000 a month for a minimum two-month stay.</p>
<p> It also cites federal regulations that it says prohibits disclosure of the name of the client and the nature of the problem being treated.</p>
<p> “They’re not saying if its sexual predators or people who are registered sexual offenders,” said Mindy Farber, a neighborhood resident and attorney. “It’s one thing to be a friendly neighbor; it’s another not to be told who your neighbors are. It’s totally creepy,” she said.</p>
<p> Farber, who has served as vice president for the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Montgomery County Maryland, says the signs are protected by the First Amendment.</p>
<p> The neighborhood’s response has pitted “civil libertarian against civil libertarian,” she said. Caron’s pending application for “reasonable accommodation” in the neighborhood was filed by West Palm Beach attorney James Green, known for his many years of work on ACLU cases.</p>
<p> “The signs themselves may be protected by the First Amendment,” Green agrees. But he adds the future residents of a future Caron residence — wherever it may be — are protected as well by the Fair Housing Act. </p>
<p> Delray’s Planning and Zoning department has until Feb. 2 to make a decision on Caron’s application. If it denies the request, Caron has 30 days to appeal the decision to the City Commission.</p>
<p> The signs will stay as long as a house for recovering addicts is planned on their street, Seaspray residents say.</p>
<p> “This is a statement we felt like we needed to make,” Barrette said, “to make sure they continue to hear us.”</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960374097,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960374097,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960374097?profile=original" /></a></p></div>Neighbors criticize secretive purchase of home for rehabhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/neighbors-criticize-secretive-purchase-of-home-for-rehab2012-01-04T22:30:00.000Z2012-01-04T22:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Caron Treatment Center video: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/video/an-overview-of-ocean-drive">Ocean Drive</a> | <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960364894,original{{/staticFileLink}}">Ocean_Drive_brochure.pdf</a><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Tim Pallesen</strong><br /> <br /> Neighbors weren’t aware last January when Caron Treatment Centers applied to operate a top-tier sober house steps from the ocean.<br /> They weren’t aware a few weeks later when the city gave the Pennsylvania-based Caron approval to operate a five-bed facility without even knowing the facility’s address. <br /> They weren’t aware last April when Caron paid $1,595,000 through a local attorney to buy a house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd.<br /> And by the time neighbors learned early last month about the planned rehab retreat for wealthy executives, movie stars and pro athletes with addictions, it might have been too late to do anything about it.<br /> But they soon were fighting back. <br /> Mindy Farber, a civil rights attorney who owns a house in coastal Delray Beach, was contacted by angered coastal property owners seeking legal advice to oppose Caron.<br /> Farber said Caron’s application was “inadequate and required much more information and scrutiny.”<br /> She also believed the city would be on sound legal footing if it tightened its regulations regarding the number of people allowed to live in a sober house and limited the turnover.<br /> Word of the proposed seaside enclave for well-to-do rehabbing people trickled out last month after neighbors heard rumors and checked out Caron’s website. They noticed a familiar house.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960365653,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960365653,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960365653?profile=original" /></a> The website describe the house’s “away from it all” setting as perfect for paddle boarding, kayaking and walks on the beach just steps from “Delray Beach’s small town, urban chic charm.”<br /> “This is outrageous,” said Bill McCauley, one of the Ocean Boulevard neighbors urging Delray Beach officials to tighten laws to prevent transient housing in single-family residential neighborhoods. “This is not welcome in our quiet beach community.”<br /> Sober houses for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts aren’t new in Delray Beach. But no houses were known to exist east of the Intracoastal Waterway. <br /> Until now.<br /> Caron says it is marketing its “Ocean Drive” residence to a wealthy clientele that demands all the amenities. A lesser address won’t do.<br /> “These are people of influence and affluence who are running your brokerage firm or might be your banker,” Caron executive vice president Andrew Rothermel said. “They are high performing but they have a chemical dependency.<br /> “They don’t do well in a facility that has fewer amenities,” Rothermel said. Among the amenities planned for Ocean Drive, set to open this year: 24-hour staffing, and around-the-clock nutritionists and chefs, according to Caron’s website.<br /> About two weeks after residents began complaining about the Ocean Drive proposal, Caron removed from its website a video and brochure touting the facility.<br /> City records reviewed by The Coastal Star show that on Jan. 14, 2011, West Palm Beach attorney James Green applied for “reasonable accommodations” for a residence to house recovering addicts that would be operated by Caron. He cited federal housing and anti-discrimination laws for not having to divulge the address of the house.<br /> Attorney Farber’s response: Green’s request was a “misapplication of the law.”<br /> She added, “Since it does not appear that they are getting treatment in Delray, we see no reason for the confidentiality of the address and we see no basis for the residents being considered disabled.”<br /> Property records show Delray Beach attorney Michael Weiner acted as a trustee for an undisclosed entity when he purchased the 6,120-square-foot house last April.<br /> Weiner declined comment. Rothermel said that Weiner “has represented us from time to time on a number of issues.”<br /> Cary Glickstein, the chairman of the city’s planning and zoning board, blasted the transaction at a Dec. 19 zoning hearing.<br /> “This is a commercial enterprise using attorneys to take title so the corporation can remain anonymous as long as possible,” Glickstein said. “It just plain stinks.”<br /> Glickstein also criticized Paul Dorling, the city planning and zoning director, for approving Caron’s request to operate without asking for an address. <br /> Dorling said, considering legal rulings that protect the privacy of recovering patients, that the address was “irrelevant.”<br /> “It seems absurd that the city is granting approval without an address,” Glickstein responded. “It’s crazy.”<br /> City officials have said that federal housing and disability-rights laws classify recovering addicts as disabled and entitled to “reasonable accommodations” for their recovery. <br /> Those laws, city officials say, also prohibit them from asking for addresses of treatment houses because patients’ addresses are part of their medical records, and thus, confidential.<br /> Dorling said Caron has city approval to house seven unrelated adults in the five-bedroom house. He has, he said, approved dozens of such “reasonable accommodation” requests allowing treatment centers to exceed the city law that restricts to three the number of unrelated people living together. Many of those had no address for the proposed facility.<br /> Meanwhile, work crews in late December were busy reroofing and renovating the interior of the yellow Bermuda-style house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. <br /> Across the street, two oceanfront mansions are each on the market for $7.5 million.<br /> Realtor Wendy Overton said she notified the owners of one of the houses about the new neighbors after the zoning hearing. “They’re not happy,” she said.<br /> Neighbors who live on Southways Street, which borders the 740 N. Ocean house to the south, also are concerned.<br /> “It’s scary. I can’t think of anything I’d rather not have,” neighbor Lois Bromley said. “I certainly don’t believe it’s good to have these kinds of people close to children.”<br /> Heidi Sargeant said she is a next door neighbor, has three children and is vehemently opposed to transient housing. She said it has the potential to be unsafe, adding, “Where are we going to put the eight cars?”<br /> The house will have a chef and a masseuse, she said, adding, “Where are these people parking? I’m concerned about the value of our homes. Do you want that next to you? I don’t think so.” <br /></p></div>Coastal residents rally against recovery businesshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/coastal-residents-rally-against-recovery-business2012-01-04T22:30:00.000Z2012-01-04T22:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><strong>Caron Treatment Center video: <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/video/an-overview-of-ocean-drive">Ocean Drive</a> | <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960364894,original{{/staticFileLink}}">Ocean_Drive_brochure.pdf</a></strong></strong></p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Margie Plunkett and Tim Pallesen</strong><br /> <br /> Beach area residents rallied in December in protest of planned luxury beach-side sober houses, filling commission chambers at two meetings and spurring city leaders to scour law in search of changes that will protect residential neighborhoods.<br /> Neighbors protested laws that allow houses in residential neighborhoods to be rented in such a way that dozens of unrelated people can reside there during the course of a year.<br /> Residents argued that the safety and security of their neighborhoods were compromised by allowing sober houses — which they claimed are big business that’s contrary to residential use.<br /> “We’re asking for support for preserving single family neighborhoods,” said Mary Renaud, president of the Beach Property Owners Association.<br /> The city showed its support at its Jan. 3 meeting when commissioners agreed to hire the South Florida law firm, Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske as well as the powerful Washington D.C. legal and lobbying firm, Patton, Boggs and Blow to assess the city’s sober housing ordinances and regulations. A maximum expenditure of $125,000 was approved.<br /> The outcry was sparked when word leaked out that an addiction treatment center had purchased a house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. for $1.6 million and had been approved to house up to seven people while they went through treatment at another location. <br /> Residents pored through a stack of city records and determined that the Pennsylvania-based treatment center, Caron Foundation, sought and had been granted permission for the sober house.<br /> They also learned Caron had made a second “reasonable accommodation” request for another beach side house. <br /> While the application from West Palm Beach attorney James Green did not divulge the intended address, citing confidentiality protections, it did note that the house contained 7,481 square feet of living space.<br /> Through other records, they learned that a six-bedroom, five-bath house at 1232 Seaspray Ave. was on the market for $2.995 million. <br /> It has 7,481 square feet of living space. As of early this month, the house was still on the market.<br /> Andrew Rothermel a spokesman for Caron, a non-profit drug and alcohol abuse treatment agency with a center in Boca Raton, declined to comment on whether Caron had purchased the house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. <br /> Asked if there were any other houses Caron was interested in, he said, “There may be one more.”<br /> Rothermel added: “We’ve been good neighbors in Delray for 20 years,” noting Caron owns a 46-unit apartment building off Lowson Boulevard for patients who need more support. <br /> “We have every intention of maintaining the character of the neighborhood and being good neighbors.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Change sought requiring fewer annual tenants</strong><br /> Within a week of the initial Dec. 13 Commission meeting where the BPOA and other neighbors first protested, the Planning and Zoning board recommended commissioners lower the number of times a home in a single-family residential neighborhood can be rented to twice a year. That was stricter than both the three-times-a-year policy commissioners had asked the board to consider at its Dec. 19 meeting and current law, which allows for six rentals a year.<br /> The number of rentals, however, is only the beginning of review of the complex issue, City Attorney Brian Shutt said, adding there’s much research to do.<br /> Planning and Zoning Chairman Cary Glickstein acknowledged: “We’re not going to accomplish everything tonight. This is a step. We want to draw a line in the sand and build from that.” <br /> Members of the BPOA plus others grew noticeably perturbed at the Dec. 13 meeting when told that an ocean-side sober house had already been approved — but that the location of the property was protected by law and could not be revealed. <br /> Another outcry went up when Mayor Woodie McDuffie said that if sober house properties are kept up, they won’t affect neighbors’ property values. The mayor cut the public hearings short when the crowd’s emotions heated further.<br /> Warned at both meetings against making remarks that could be discriminatory when directed at “sober” or “halfway” houses, residents said they are against “transient” housing in all uses in residential districts, not just those that may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Fair Housing Amendment.<br /> Treatment centers have successfully argued in federal court that cities cannot discriminate against people with alcohol or drug addictions. In addition, they have maintained that they do not have to disclose locations of sober houses because the addresses of people in treatment are part of their medical records, and thus, confidential.<br /> <br /> <strong>Complex ordinance requires careful review</strong><br /> During the commission meeting, former Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos said that in July 2009 he and other city lawmakers had changed regulations, addressing the number of rentals as well as limiting the number of unrelated adults living in a house to three.<br /> Eliopoulos said there are instances in which the law has been interpreted to mean that each bed or room in a house can be rented six times a year.<br /> “I’m urging this commission to go back and look at that ordinance,” he said. “If we got it wrong, I would urge you to get outside counsel and get it right.”<br /> McDuffie later in the meeting discussed “not rushing it” in reviewing the complex ordinances. He also noted that it could cost the city to boost enforcement to make sure transient housing is following code.<br /> “This is going to send a clear signal that transient housing is going to be scrutinized,” he said.<br /> Heeding those words, the city has hired recently retired Police Lt. Marc Woods to inspect and monitor transient houses throughout the city as well as educate the owners to city regulations.<br /> McDuffie later sent a letter to the local legislative delegation, urging the state to step in to license and regulate the substance-abuse treatment industry.<br /> “We need your help on this issue more than anything else<br /> I have confronted since taking office,” McDuffie wrote. <br /> “Our Village by the Sea receives rave reviews for the beach, Atlantic Avenue, our events and how well it is run, but we have another name that is not so complimentary: The Drug Rehab Capital of the United States.”<br /> During the Planning and Zoning board meeting, Director Paul Dorling said that sober house owners come before his office to seek “reasonable accommodation” to allow more residents than the law permits. He did not recall denying any of the dozens of requests for sober houses throughout the city.<br /> <br /> <strong>Concern about ‘strangers’ and litigation</strong><br /> Resident Bill McCauley said he had been good friends with the owner of the home at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. that apparently was purchased by local attorney Michael Weiner for the Caron Foundation.<br /> “Rick was a great neighbor,” McCauley said, noting he died last year of cancer. Caron plans 48 or more different tenants each year, McCauley said. “How can I have a neighborhood relationship with 48 different strangers?”<br /> The possibility of a lawsuit blanketed discussion at both government meetings, from note of previous Boca Raton litigation that has guided Delray Beach policy over concerns of potential suits from neighbors or sober home operators. <br /> In that vein, attorney Weiner had a court reporter and videographer at the Dec. 19 Planning and Zoning meeting. <br /> Residents urged officials not to be swayed by the threat of a lawsuit. <br /> “There are going to be lawsuits no matter what,” said resident and lawyer Scott Richman, explaining that the board’s actions shouldn’t be formulated merely to avoid a suit. “First thing: You need to protect the citizens.”<br /> Warned Caron’s Rothermel: other cities have lost lawsuits when they opposed similar requests for sober houses in residential neighborhoods. <br /> “They suffered in court and spent a tremendous amount of money fighting it.” </p></div>Delray Beach: Island residents rally against recovery business in neighborhoodhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-island-residents-rally-against-recovery-business-in-2011-12-29T19:00:00.000Z2011-12-29T19:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>By Margie Plunkett and Tim Pallesen</p>
<p> Beach area residents rallied in protest of planned luxury beachside sober houses in December, filling commission chambers at two meetings and spurring city leaders to scour law in search of changes that will protect residential neighborhoods.</p>
<p> Neighbors protested laws that allow houses in residential neighborhoods to be rented in such a way that dozens of unrelated people can reside there during the course of a year.</p>
<p> Residents argued that the safety and security of their neighborhoods were compromised by allowing sober houses — which they claimed is big business that’s contrary to residential use.</p>
<p> “We’re asking for support for preserving single-family neighborhoods,” said Mary Renaud, president of the Beach Property Owners’ Association.</p>
<p> The outcry was sparked when word leaked out that a Pennsylvania-based addiction treatment center had purchased a house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. for $1.6 million and been approved to house up to seven people while they went through treatment.</p>
<p> Owners of beach side homes pored through a stack of city records and determined that the treatment center, Caron Foundation, had made a "reasonable accommodation" request for a second beach side house.</p>
<p> While the application from West Palm Beach attorney James Green did not divulge the intended address, citing confidentiality issues, it did note that the house contained 7,481 square feet of living space.</p>
<p> Through other records, they learned that a six-bedroom, five-bath house at 1232 Seaspray Ave. was on the market for $2.995 million. </p>
<p> It has 7,481 square feet of living space. As of late December, the house was still on the market.</p>
<p> Andrew Rothermel, a spokesman for Caron, a nonprofit drug and alcohol abuse treatment agency with a center in Boca Raton, declined to comment on whether Caron had purchased the house at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. Asked if there were any other houses Caron was interested in, he said, “There may be one more.”</p>
<p> Rothermel added: “We’ve been good neighbors in Delray for 20 years,” noting Caron owns a 46-unit apartment building off Lowson Boulevard for clients who need more support.</p>
<p> “We have every intention of maintaining the character of the neighborhood and being good neighbors.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Change sought requiring fewer annual tenants</b></p>
<p> Within a week of the initial Dec. 13 commission meeting where the BPOA and other neighbors first protested, the Planning and Zoning board recommended commissioners lower the number of times a home in a residential neighborhood can be rented to twice a year. That was stricter than both the three-times-a-year policy commissioners had asked the board to consider at its Dec. 19 meeting and current law, which allows for six rentals a year.</p>
<p> The number of rentals, however, is only the beginning of review of the complex issue, City Attorney Brian Schutt said, adding there’s much research to do.</p>
<p> Planning and Zoning Chairman Cary Glickstein acknowledged: “We’re not going to accomplish everything tonight. This is a step. We want to draw a line in the sand and build from that.”</p>
<p> Members of the Beach Property Owners’ Association plus others grew noticeably perturbed at the Dec. 13 meeting when told that an oceanside sober house had already been approved — but that the name and location of the property were protected by law and would not be revealed.</p>
<p> Another outcry went up when Mayor Woodie McDuffie said that if sober house properties are kept up, they won’t affect neighbors’ property values.</p>
<p> The mayor cut the public hearings short when the crowd’s emotions heated further.</p>
<p> Warned at both meetings against making remarks that could be discriminatory when directed at “sober” or “halfway” houses, residents said they are against “transient” housing in all uses in residential districts, not just those that may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Fair Housing Amendment.</p>
<p> Treatment centers have successfully argued in federal court that cities cannot discriminate against people with alcohol or drug addictions. In addition, locations of sober houses do not have to be disclosed by the health care provider because the addresses of people in treatment are part of their medical records, and thus, confidential.</p>
<p></p>
<p><b>Complex ordinance requires careful review</b></p>
<p> During the commission meeting, former Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos said that in July 2009 he and other city lawmakers had changed regulations, addressing the number of rentals as well as limiting the number of unrelated adults living in a house to three.</p>
<p> Eliopoulos said there are instances in which the law has been interpreted to mean that each bed or room in a house can be rented six times a year.</p>
<p> “I’m urging this commission to go back and look at that ordinance,” he said. “If we got it wrong, I would urge you to get outside counsel and get it right. There’s no reason we have to tolerate this.”</p>
<p> McDuffie later in the meeting discussed “not rushing it” in reviewing the complex ordinances. He also noted that it could cost the city to boost enforcement to make sure transient housing is following code.</p>
<p> “This is going to send a clear signal that transient housing is going to be scrutinized,” he said.</p>
<p> Heeding those words, the city is planning to hire recently retired Police Lt. Marc Woods to help with license compliance and educating owners of transient housing throughout the city.</p>
<p> McDuffie later sent a letter to members of the local legislative delegation, urging the state to step in to license and regulate the substance-abuse treatment industry.</p>
<p> “We need your help on this issue more than anything else I have confronted since taking office,” McDuffie wrote.</p>
<p> “Our Village by the Sea receives rave reviews for the beach, Atlantic Avenue, our events and how well it is run, but we have another name that is not so complimentary: The Drug Rehab Capital of the United States.”</p>
<p> During the Planning and Zoning board meeting, Director Paul Dorling said that housing owners come before his office to ask for “reasonable accommodation” to allow more residents than the law permits. He did not recall denying any of the dozens of requests for sober houses throughout the city.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Concern about ‘strangers’ and employee parking</b></p>
<p> Resident Bill McCauley said he had been good friends with the owner of the home at 740 N. Ocean Blvd. that apparently was purchased by attorney Michael Weiner for the Caron Foundation.</p>
<p> “Rick was a great neighbor,” McCauley said, noting he died last year of cancer. Caron plans 48 or more different tenants each year, McCauley said. “How can I have a neighborhood relationship with 48 different strangers?”</p>
<p> Heidi Sargeant said she is a next door neighbor, has three children and is vehemently opposed to transient housing. She said it has the potential to be unsafe, adding, “Where are we going to put the eight cars?”</p>
<p> The house will have a chef and a masseuse, she said, adding, “Where are these people parking? I’m concerned about the value of our homes. Do you want that next to you? I don’t think so.”</p>
<p> The possibility of a lawsuit blanketed discussion at both government meetings, from note of previous Boca Raton litigation that has guided Delray Beach policy over concerns of potential suits from neighbors or sober home operators.</p>
<p> In that vein, attorney Weiner brought a court reporter and videographer to record the Dec. 19 Planning and Zoning meeting. </p>
<p> Residents urged officials not to be swayed by the threat of a lawsuit.</p>
<p> “There are going to be lawsuits no matter what,” said resident and lawyer Scott Richman, explaining that the board’s actions shouldn’t be formulated merely to avoid a suit. “First thing: You need to protect the citizens.”</p>
<p> Resident Mark Fields suggested that Planning and Zoning not move too quickly and that the city should hire “excellent” outside counsel. “If you’re going to do something, do it right and fairly,” he said.</p>
<p> Warned Caron’s Rothermel: Other cities have lost lawsuits when they opposed similar requests for sober houses in residential neighborhoods.</p>
<p> “They suffered in court and spent a tremendous amount of money fighting it.”</p></div>