office - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T05:12:08Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/officeBoca Raton: Voters to decide on adding fourth year to council termshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-voters-to-decide-on-adding-fourth-year-to-council-term2023-01-04T16:10:10.000Z2023-01-04T16:10:10.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>With few residents voicing opposition, City Council members have approved amending the city charter to increase their terms of office from three years to four.<br />But voters will have the final say. The change will take effect only if a majority of voters support it in the March 14 municipal election.<br />The longer council term was proposed by Mayor Scott Singer, who said that of the state’s 25 largest cities, Boca Raton is the only one that does not have four-year terms. Of the 50 largest cities, nearly all have such terms, he said.<br />According to the Florida League of Cities, 35% of all cities have four-year terms, 27% have three-year terms and 38% have two-year terms.<br />Singer said that if council members stand for election less frequently, they would be better able to focus on city issues.<br /> “You would get more focused on policy, less on politicking,” he said.<br />They also would gain more time to bolster their expertise on city matters, he said.<br />The change would be particularly beneficial now, he said, because the city is about to lose the experience of its highest ranking officials. City Manager Leif Ahnell, Deputy City Manager George Brown and City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser are expected to retire within the next few years. Deputy City Manager Mike Woika retired last summer.<br />Only two residents opposed the idea at the Dec. 13 council meeting. Brian Stenberg, who lost election to the council in 2021, pointedly asked whether residents were clamoring for the change and who would benefit from it.<br />Singer’s proposal also drew opposition from the BocaFirst blog. One writer noted that no recent council candidates have campaigned on the issue. “This is politics pure and simple — it will be politicized,” he wrote.<br />Another wrote that more frequent elections result in council members staying in touch with voters’ concerns, while a longer term would make them “lazy towards voter interests.”<br />That writer also said Singer, who won reelection on Nov. 8 when he drew no opposition, stood to gain by getting a one-year extension on his term if voters approve the change.<br />But Singer and all other current council members, except for Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke who is term limited from seeking reelection, would get four years in office under Singer’s proposal.<br />Fran Nachlas, participating in her first council meeting since she also won election in November when she was the only candidate who filed to run for the seat vacated by Andy Thomson, said she could not support a change that would benefit her.<br />She said she had received more than 20 emails from residents urging her to vote no, at least some of which apparently came from those responding to a BocaFirst request that readers tell council members that they oppose the longer term. No one, Nachlas said, asked her to vote yes.<br />O’Rourke also opposed the change, saying that council members should be knowledgeable about the job when they run for office and should not need a longer term to improve their effectiveness.<br />With council members Monica Mayotte and Yvette Drucker joining Singer in support, the proposed charter change passed with a 3-2 vote.<br />In other business, the council unanimously supported a resolution, requested by O’Rourke, urging the Florida Legislature to designate a section of Glades Road between Dixie and Federal highways in the Pearl City neighborhood as Lois D. Martin Way.<br />Legislative action is needed because Glades Road is under state jurisdiction.<br />The effort to rename part of the road was spearheaded by Developing Interracial Social Change, or D.I.S.C.<br />Martin, a teacher and community leader, died Jan. 9, 2022, at the age of 93. <br />She was well known for her volunteer work on city boards and organizations including Boca Helping Hands and Habitat for Humanity. She also led efforts to obtain a historic designation for Pearl City. The Lois Martin Community Center at Dixie Manor in Pearl City is named in her honor.</p></div>Along the Coast: Property Values Risehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-property-values-rise2020-07-01T15:00:00.000Z2020-07-01T15:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Appraiser likes 5.9% growth as county awaits impact of pandemic</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The taxable value of Palm Beach County properties has increased for the ninth year in a row, although the rate of growth continued a multiyear trend of slowing down.<br /> The numbers, however, do not reflect any impact from the coronavirus pandemic since they are based on market conditions as of Jan. 1.<br /> Countywide taxable property values jumped 5.9% from 2019 to 2020, down from last year’s 6.2%, according to the 2020 preliminary tax roll that the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office submitted to the state.<br /> The total taxable value of countywide properties is $210.3 billion, up from $198.9 billion last year.<br /> The total market value of countywide properties increased to $288.6 billion from $277.6 billion in 2019.<br /> New construction added to the tax rolls totaled $3 billion, up from $2.6 billion in 2019.<br /> The taxable value rise “is very healthy,” said Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks. “It is not too high and not too low.”<br /> It is too early to predict what impact COVID-19 will have on next year’s values, Jacks said, but she expects hotels, non-essential retail and restaurants will take a hit.<br /> “A lot of that property is a tenant-landlord relationship,” she said. “If tenants don’t return, or tenants ask for some dispensation from their rent for a period of time, all that impacts the owner’s income. Their income will be reduced.”<br /> As of mid-June, she had not seen an impact on the residential market. “But what it will be over the next six months is the real rub. We are just not sure if there is going to be a larger recession that will cause a decline in residential.”<br /> So far, signs are hopeful.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960952686,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960952686,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960952686?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p>Lots of Realtors report people from New York and the surrounds are looking, maybe making decisions to move up retirement, or work from home. A lot of people have ties to this area. They may choose to move on their plans sooner rather than later. That helps the market, Jacks said.<br /> Since 70% of the county’s taxable value comes from residential, a solid residential market would offset commercial market losses, she said.<br /> Despite the pandemic, the Palm Beach County median home sales price was holding steady at $365,000 as of May, Jarrod Lowe, president of the Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors, announced on June 22. <br /> That’s virtually the same as last year. Yet the median sale price usually increases year over year. Last year’s increase was 3.1%.<br /> But Lowe was upbeat.<br /> “Most would assume that the market would be derailed after the past few months, but this just goes to show how resilient our county is,” he said. “If you are looking to sell, there are also fewer competing properties right now and fewer days on market.”<br /> Closed sales decreased by 47% because many closings were postponed due to the coronavirus, he said, adding that he expects to see the market begin to normalize this summer.<br /> Like last year, new apartment complexes, hotels and warehouses bolstered the rise in new construction.<br /> Boca Raton’s taxable property value, which increased $1.1 billion from last year’s $25 billion, continues to outpace every other city in the county. The city’s value rate was up 4.75%, compared with 4.9% last year.<br /> “We are continuing to see robust investment and steady growth in our assessed values,” Mayor Scott Singer said in an email. “Even with the COVID-19 downturn, residential properties are selling briskly and we are seeing even more interest from people and companies from other states.”<br /> Delray Beach’s taxable value jumped 7.6%, up from last year’s 6.6%. Boynton Beach’s value increased by 6.8%, down from 7.4% in 2019.<br /> Delray Beach added $225.6 million in new construction to its tax roll, narrowly besting Boca Raton’s $223.7 million.<br /> High-value redevelopment projects in the city’s eastern communities and downtown added to the tax roll, said Anthea Gianniotes, Delray Beach’s development services director.<br /> “We are growing like crazy,” she said. “A lot of this is a realization of a lot of the hard work that went into revitalizing our downtown over the last 20 years. We have created a beautiful downtown.”<br /> Gianniotes said next year’s new construction numbers would be strong as well, as the iPic theater building, Ray Hotel and portions of the Atlantic Crossing project will be added to the tax roll.<br /> The overall taxable value percentage growth leader in south Palm Beach County was South Palm Beach, which jumped a whopping 21.7%.<br /> Town Manager Robert Kellogg attributed that to the addition to the tax roll of 3550 South Ocean, a seven-story oceanfront luxury condo, as well as a new single-family home on the ocean.<br /> That’s a one-year boon for the town, as Kellogg said he does not expect any new construction to take place in the foreseeable future.<br /> Property values increased by 11.1% in Briny Breezes, 2.8% in Gulf Stream, 2.5% in Highland Beach, 6.8% in Lantana, 1.5% in Manalapan, and 4.8% in Ocean Ridge.<br /> The largest Boca Raton projects added to the tax roll this year were a new $57 million headquarters for prison and immigrant detention center operator GEO Group at 4955 Technology Way, new construction at Cade Boca Raton apartments at 950 Broken Sound Parkway NW, and a six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion at 1160 Royal Palm Way.<br /> Delray Beach’s largest were the 66-condo 111 First Delray Beach at 111 SE First Ave., the Aloft Hotel at 202 SE Fifth Ave., and a Courtyard Marriott at 135 SE Sixth Ave.<br /> Boynton Beach’s biggest were the 324-unit Pacifica apartment complex at 1080 Audace Ave., The Club at Boynton Beach assisted living facility at 623 S. Federal Highway, and an Aldi supermarket at 3452 W. Boynton Beach Blvd.<br /> Local governments use the taxable value numbers to calculate how much property tax money they can expect in the coming year so they can set their annual budgets and 2020-2021 tax rates.<br /> The overall increase in taxable values was welcome news for municipal leaders since a decline would have meant less tax revenue coming in and forced difficult budget decisions.<br /> But as the coronavirus pandemic continues, cities will see a decrease in other expected income, including sales tax revenue. As of late June, it was not yet clear how big those losses would be.</p>
<p><br /> <em><strong>LETTERS:</strong></em> <br /> <em>The Coastal Star welcomes letters to the editor about issues of interest in the community. These are subject to editing and must include your name, address and phone number. Preferred length is 200-500 words. Send email to news@thecoastalstar.com.</em></p></div>Briny Breezes: Town Hall to test longer business hourshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/briny-breezes-town-hall-to-test-longer-business-hours2019-07-31T15:28:43.000Z2019-07-31T15:28:43.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Dan Moffett</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">In an effort to improve accessibility for contractors, Briny Breezes council members agreed to expand the hours Town Hall is open for public business.</p>
<p class="p3">Beginning in August, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The office used to close at noon on those days.</p>
<p class="p3">Donna Coates, Briny Breezes’ corporate park manager, told the council she has received complaints from contractors who tried to pick up building permits at Town Hall but found it closed.</p>
<p class="p3">Town Manager Dale Sugerman said he has heard no complaints from contractors and that typically, he and Town Clerk Maya Coffield lock the doors at noon but respond to anyone who knocks and needs assistance. Sugerman and Coffield do administrative work in the office after doors close to the public.</p>
<p class="p3">Sugerman said the town will track the impact of the new hours over the next 90 days to determine whether they should be made permanent.</p>
<p class="p3">In a related matter, the council, on a 2-1 vote at the July 25 town meeting, rejected a proposal to shift more control over building permit requests to the corporate office.</p>
<p class="p3">Alderwoman Kathy Gross had called for changes to the permit process in May, but she voted against the measure, saying it was unacceptable. Christina Adams also voted no, and Chick Behringer voted for it. Council President Sue Thaler and Alderman Bill Birch were absent for the vote.</p>
<p class="p3">Coates opposed the proposal, telling the council the changes would have made the process too cumbersome and burdened the corporate office.</p>
<p class="p3"><b>In other business:</b></p>
<p class="p3">• For the 11th consecutive year, Briny Breezes homeowners are likely to pay the maximum tax rate allowed by state statutes. The Town Council unanimously approved setting the millage rate limit at $10 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. The council scheduled Sept. 12 and Sept. 26 for final budget hearings and approval.</p>
<p class="p3">With property values up a healthy 8.8 percent over last year, homeowners will pay about 9.6 percent more in taxes, Sugerman said. The rollback rate that would keep tax bills flat year-over-year is $9.24 per $1,000.</p>
<p class="p3">Overall, property tax revenues are up 9.9 percent over last year as values in Briny Breezes climbed to $53.8 million.</p>
<p class="p3">• Town Attorney Keith Davis said, after reviewing decades-old property platting records, that it is still unclear exactly where the southern boundary of Briny Breezes is and whether the town owns part or all of Briny Breezes Boulevard.</p>
<p class="p3">Council members want to determine ownership of the 30-foot-wide right of way so they can consider traffic control options. Davis and Sugerman told the council they would do more research. <span class="s2">Ú</span></p></div>Lantana: Zoning change denied for Old Key Lime House office spacehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-zoning-change-denied-for-old-key-lime-house-office-space2018-10-31T17:48:39.000Z2018-10-31T17:48:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p>A zoning request that would allow the offices of the Old Key Lime House on Ocean Avenue to be moved next door to a historic home at 110 S. Lake Drive failed to win over the Lantana Town Council.<br />The home’s owner, Wayne Cordero, also owns the popular waterside restaurant. <br />Cordero, who appeared at the Oct. 22 council meeting, said business was so good at the restaurant that more space is needed for offices and parking.<br />“I live in the house now, but I’m planning to move to an apartment across the street,” Cordero said. “We could tear it down and use it for parking, but it’s a historic house (built in the late 1800s) and I don’t want to do that.”<br /> Instead, he wants to use the home for business offices, which are crammed in the restaurant. During daytime hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., up to 10 cars could park at the house, he said. For this to happen, the property would require a zoning change from residential to commercial.<br />A half dozen people spoke in support of Cordero’s plan, including Dave Arm, president of the Chamber of Commerce. <br />“This is a no-brainer for me,” Arm said. “You’ve got a property that is adjacent to and contiguous with existing business. They’re not going to change the aspect of the property. It’s a beautiful house. They’ll use it for bookkeepers, so it’s not like it will be a restaurant or a bar. It will add parking, which will definitely help our parking situation on Ocean Avenue. <br />“For the future as long as we can see, this would be used for the purpose of bookkeepers. There wouldn’t be anybody there after business hours in the evenings. It’ll be quieter even than if it was a residence.”<br />But next-door neighbor Alfred Brode, whose home was built in 1935, said he had a big objection to a zoning change. Brode said the dock behind Cordero’s house intersects with his property. “If the property becomes commercial, I may have to go to an attorney,” he said.<br />Brode said that property values would decline if the house was zoned commercial. “The historic home next to it was already torn down for a parking lot and I always thought the area should be a historic district.” If Cordero’s home becomes commercial, Brode said it could be sold and used for any commercial business.<br />“I don’t think you should be encroaching on South Lake Drive with the commercial district,” Brode said.<br />Michelle Donahue, of Hypoluxo Island, said she was a huge fan of the Old Key Lime House and a regular customer, but disagreed with the proposed zoning change.<br />“I have no question in my mind that Wayne Cordero and his family are going to do the right thing with that property,” she said. “I would like to see them keep the house there, maintain it properly and beautify it. However, there’ll be a day when the family will have to sell it and as they sell it, what does that do? What’s the comprehensive plan? I’m afraid that by zoning that commercial you’re opening yourself to a whole different ballgame that could change the dynamic of the center of our town.” <br />Council members said they understood the need for more parking and office space but were concerned about what would happen to the property in the future. They were also sympathetic to the neighbor’s concern about encroachment.<br />“We have to make a decision where to start and stop the commercial zoning, and we’re at that point,” council member Phil Aridas said.<br />Mayor Dave Stewart didn’t doubt Cordero’s sincerity but said “as you know, Wayne, we’re not always going to be around. So we’ve kind of got to be statesmen and look to the future. We can’t condition a piece of commercial property. Once we change it to commercial, you can have a petting zoo in there.”<br />The council voted 5-0 to deny the request.</p></div>Around Town: Ballroom Battle waltzes into Boca Raton Resort & Clubhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/around-town-ballroom-battle2010-09-01T19:20:51.000Z2010-09-01T19:20:51.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><span style="font-weight:bold;">Click</span> <a style="font-weight:bold;" href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/photo/bocas-ballroom-battle-3/prev?context=latest">here</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">to see photo slide show.</span><br /><br />By Thom Smith<br /><br />Affluent. Great weather. Diverse population. Good schools. Beautiful beaches. Great restaurants. Swinging nightlife. <br />But until recently it was always known as a resort town. Sprung from a hotel, it was a place to visit, not so much a place to live. No downtown to speak of. Aside from a few storefronts on Palmetto Park Road, major shopping required trips to Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach or West Palm Beach. <br />Little clusters began to appear: Royal Palm Plaza provided a spark; the Boca Mall fizzled. Thanks to I-95, Florida Atlantic University mushroomed, but remained primarily a commuter school. I-95 also drew retailers west to the Town Center and Boca Center, but they didn’t do much to enhance the town’s identity. <br />That task fell to some progressive residents who saw value in art, theater and good dining. They gave us the Caldwell Theatre, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Mizner Park. <br />OK, so not everything worked: Remember the cartoon museum? <br />But slowly and surely the town is becoming a city. Many of those early FAU grads now live in Boca. IBM and Siemens may have left, but other corporations have moved in and they’ve brought with them a sense of civic obligation. People move here because they want to, not because they have to. <br />Boca still doesn’t have a single “main street,” but its heart is taking shape as those old clusters pulsate with energy.<br /><br />Boca Festival Days<br />Nowhere is that energy more prevalent than in Boca Festival Days, a monthlong series of events planned and run by nonprofits, to raise awareness and money for the nonprofits with support from for-profits. The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce organizes and coordinates the festival, which that started Aug. 2 with a Shopping Spree at the Kosher Marketplace to benefit Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service. Teams competing for the title of “Shopping Queen” had two hours to buy as much food possible for the least money. The food was donated to the Rales food pantry. Festival days wrapped Aug. 29 with Bowling for Bread at Strikes bowling center to aid Boca Helping Hands. <br /><br />Boca’s Ballroom Battle<br />Spurred by Dancing With the Stars, Boca’s Ballroom Battle has become one of the hottest festival tickets. Held in the glamorous confines of the Boca Raton Resort & Club, the third edition was a sellout as eight prominent Boca residents risked all to win the coveted disco-ball trophy and raise money for the George Snow Scholarship Fund. <br />Adding to the pressure was a team of four judges led by Tony Dovolani, 2006 World Rhythm Champion and a dancer on DWTS. <br />Lawyer and bond counsel Denise Ganz cha-cha’d; Jerry Fedele, credited with reviving the just-renamed Boca Regional Hospital, foxtrotted; fashion designer and philanthropist Marleen Forkas tangoed; Office Depot exec Steve Schmidt jived; former recording industry exec Laura Stoltz sizzled in her rumba; business executive Jay Whelchel “hustled,” Miami Dolphin Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson waltzed; sales and marketing exec Robin Deyo closed the competition with a salsa. <br />For Whelchel, it was a matter of family honor. His mother, Boca Mayor Susan Whelchel, won the inaugural event in 2008. <br />“I taught ’em both everything they know,” Jay’s father, John, said before the competition, “but to tell you the truth, with Susan I didn’t worry a bit. Now it’s genetic. With Jay I worry like I did when he was playing in a soccer or football game.”<br />Brother Matt emphatically dashed any chance that he would appear next year, noting, “I don’t have any political ambition,” and sister Kristy Hartofilis, who just delivered her second child, added, “Not on your life.”<br />Nonetheless, Whelchel seemed to thrive on the pressure, strutting his best Travolta moves, even putting partner Mariya-Khristina Shurupova through several lifts and flips.<br />“I thought he had two left feet; it’s nice to know he has a right one,” the stunned mother said after her son and Stoltz were crowned male and female winners. <br />“I was apprehensive,” Jay Whelchel admitted. “It’s hard enough in front of friends and family, but there’s so many people out there that you work with. Still, we had a lot of fun.”<br /><br />Rolling out Red Carpet<br />Festival Days are gone, but Boca’s hardly slowing down.<br />On the Red Carpet, a food, dessert and appellation sampling from local restaurants, plus entertainment, silent auction and after hours shopping at the Town Center, at 7 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12, benefits The Haven. $50. <a href="http://www.ontheredcarpetsofla.com">www.ontheredcarpetsofla.com</a>. <br /><br />Food, wine, March of Dimes<br />The Fifth Annual Signature Chefs & Wine Extravaganza to benefit the March of Dimes features 31 chefs from area restaurants, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m. at The Boca Raton Resort & Club. Food, wine, auction including special dining experiences from the chefs. General admission: $100 advance, $125 event day. VIP: $125 advance, $150 event day. 561-276-2001 and <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/florida">www.marchofdimes.com/florida</a>. <br /><br />Think Pink for breast cancer<br />The Third Annual Think Pink Rocks concert to support breast cancer research charities features hip hoppers AKON, Asher Roth, Pitbull, Melanie Fiona and others, Oct. 9 at Mizner Park Amphitheatre. Tickets: $40, <a href="">www.thinkpinkrocks.com or</a> 888-711-9399.<br /><br />TooJay’s starts shipping<br />So Aunt Sophie in Topeka is on a diet and you want to punish her? Why not have TooJay’s send her a “Killer Cake”? The popular deli that spread from its original location in Palm Beach’s Royal Poinciana Plaza to 26 locations in Florida, including Boca, Boynton and Lake Worth, is going semi-national. <br />From the decadent Killer Cake ($37.95) to the Ultimate Deli Lunch (serves 6-8) for $74.95, TooJay’s Online Store will ship anywhere east of the Mississippi for just $19.95 and guarantee it’s fresh. Call 888-537-8380 or visit <a href="http://www.toojays.com">www.toojays.com</a>.<br /><br />Thom Smith is a freelance writer. He can be reached at thomsmith@ymail.com</div>Editorial: Brave hearts beat in feathered breastshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/editorial-brave-hearts-beat-in2010-06-03T18:00:00.000Z2010-06-03T18:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
See more photos of the <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=2331112:Album:15647">doves above the door</a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">May heralds summer and the newspaper office starts to heat up during the long afternoons. My husband calls it the “sweat pit.” He’s dead set on replacing the<br />
aging, noisy AC units above our doors. He’s only asking for cool and quiet<br />
after all. So, after much discussion, I agreed to part with hard-earned cash<br />
and get the wretched things replaced.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960295895,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Then, the doves arrived. We didn’t notice the nest-building atop the main door unit until it was too late and two<br />
perfect, small white eggs had been maternally installed. So much for the new AC<br />
— at least until the fledglings find their way out into the world.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Watching our little dove parents take turns incubating the eggs and then feeding the two tiny hatchlings has been better than a National Geographic production. Knowing<br />
doves are monogamous gives us reason to ascribe them with anthropomorphic<br />
characteristics — although we’ve refrained from giving them human names. I<br />
spent time on a farm as a teenager. I know better.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Friends have been less than kind: calling our dove parents nothing more than fancy pigeons and suggesting they would taste good grilled, with a little garlic and<br />
olive oil. Brutal.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">I scold that there’s nothing wrong with being a pigeon — or cousin of a pigeon. Consider Cher Ami (Dear Friend in French) — the most famous of the avian Allied<br />
Forces in World War I.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">As the story goes, during the battle of Argonne, late in the Great War, 200 American soldiers found themselves surrounded by Germans and under fire from<br />
confused American air support. With no working radios, they determined a last<br />
chance at rescue was to dispatch their sole remaining homing pigeon, Cher Ami.<br />
They attached a message to the bird’s leg and sent it aloft. Although the bird<br />
was wounded by enemy fire, it flew 25 miles in 25 minutes to its base; the<br />
shelling was stopped and the Americans were saved. Cher Ami was hailed as a<br />
hero by the U.S. troops and by the French, who awarded it the <i>Croix de</i> <i>Guerre</i> with palm leaf.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">It’s a good tale told on Memorial Day. Who doesn’t love a brave little bird?</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Our hatchlings will be leaving the nest soon. I’ve read that they’ll stay close to their father for the first couple of weeks before heading out on their own.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">It’s a good tale told on Father’s Day. Who doesn’t love a Dad taking time to explain the workings of the world to their little ones?</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">For now, we watch the hatchlings grow bigger each day and know that it won’t be long before our air-conditioning plans can resume. My husband is eager for<br />
cool, quiet air while he works.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">I’m in no rush. I fear survival is not going to be easy for our little, feathered friends.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">I hope they have brave hearts.</span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:right;" align="right"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-style:italic;">— Mary Kate Leming, editor</span></span></p></div>