By Pat Beall and Steve Plunkett
Jamie Daniels made it just 228 days in Palm Beach County’s fraud-ravaged addiction treatment system before overdosing in a local sober home seven years ago last month.
A college graduate and aspiring lawyer, Daniels la
By Pat Beall
When Delray Beach osteopath Michael Ligotti was sentenced in January to 20 years in prison, Department of Justice officials heralded his conviction and sentence.
Ligotti, they said, had been at the center of a $746 million addiction trea
By John Pacenti
For nearly a decade, a look at the Florida Board of Medicine’s website would find Dr. Michael Ligotti in good standing.
No emergency actions. No discipline. No public complaints.No indication of any investigation — criminal or administ
The inside lining of Ken Daniels' sport jacket had pictures of his son, Jamie, who died of a fentanyl overdose in December 2016 while in a drug treatment program under the care of Delray Beach physician Michael Ligotti. Daniels wore the jacket to the
By Jane Smith
Detective Nicole Lucas, who works for Delray Beach police and is a member of the State Attorney’s Sober Homes Task Force, was honored recently for her investigative work.
In collaboration with 13 other agencies, her work led to the arre
By Jane Smith
Two large coastal cities in southern Palm Beach County passed group homes regulations in mid-July.
The new rules, designed to rein in rogue operators of sober homes while preserving the single-family character of neighborhoods, co
Two south county coastal cities are reining in rogue sober homes by strengthening their group homes ordinances.
Boynton Beach will hold a public hearing July 18 on these proposed changes:
• Have at least 300 feet between group homes. In June, c
Two south county coastal cities continue to see rising numbers of drug overdoses along with increasing fatalities.
In Boynton Beach, police responded to 398 overdoses in 2016 resulting in 35 deaths.
As of May 22, Boynton Beach police responded
By Jane Smith
Sober homes will finally be regulated under a House bill that is on its way to the governor.
The bill, passed unanimously by state representatives and senators, allows the Department of Children and Families to write the rules regulatin
By Jane Smith
The three largest South County cities continue on separate paths to address problematic sober homes in their residential neighborhoods.
On Jan. 17, Boynton Beach city commissioners approved a moratorium on all group home appli
Related Story: Task Force offers recommendations
By Jane Smith
The three largest cities in southern Palm Beach County are taking different paths to regulate sober homes, following the November release of a revised statement by two federal de
As Delray Beach begins ordinance changes,
others stand pat
By Jane Smith
The U.S. Cavalry arrived last month in the form of a 20-page federal joint statement on sober homes, delivered by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel.
She hoped beleaguered cities in h
By Jane Smith
The feds may be coming to the rescue of South County coastal cities beleaguered by the proliferation of sober homes.
Their chief ally is U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel.
In mid-July, she met with one of the original authors of the Amer
By Jane Smith
The Florida Association of Recovery Residences is struggling to pay for its sober home certification program after it did not receive state money.
Starting July 1, Florida-licensed drug and alcohol treatment centers can no lon
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel addresses the media, flanked by HUD’s Gustavo Velasquez and Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein.
Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Related story: Delray Commission alarmed at drug-related public safety figures
By Jane Smith
A
'There is no one here who can guarantee how this is going to unfold,’ state Rep. Bill Hager said
about a new bill targeting dubious practices associated with the drug-rehab industry. He spoke during
a news conference at Delray Beach City Hall. ABOVE:
By Tim Pallesen
The Florida Legislature has taken “an important first step” to regulate the sober homes for recovering addicts that cause concerns in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and other coastal communities.
The new state law awaiting the governo
By Tim Pallesen
A proposed state law to regulate sober homes failed to pass the Florida Legislature, frustrating coastal residents who sought the state’s help.
“It’s deeply disappointing that certain legislators in Tallahassee did not take t
