The Coastal Star December 2024 Boca

Along the Coast

Condos mostly meet year-end deadline for inspections

Reports are first step toward recertification

By Rich Pollack

Time is running out for several dozen remaining area condo associations that are required to file state-mandated inspection reports by the end of the year.

Under a state law passed in the aftermath of the 2021 collapse of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South, condominium buildings that are over three stories in height and more than 30 years old must submit a Milestone Inspection Report prior to Dec. 31.

The requirement affects more than 200 coastal associations from Boca Raton to South Palm Beach.

Those that miss the deadline could — in most cases — face penalties imposed by the municipality they are in, which is responsible for collecting and reviewing the reports.

A survey of south Palm Beach County coastal communities shows that Boca Raton and Highland Beach — both of which passed their own ordinances that are more detailed than the state law — have had the most success in getting reports from condo communities filed on time.

See CONDOS on page 19

Along the Coast

Along the Coast

Taking stock of turtle season

winter. ABOVE: Sea Turtle Adventures monitor Darlene Duggan adjusts the stakes and ribbon that discourage beachgoers from disturbing a late-season nest in Gulf Stream. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Down year for nests hints at another surge in 2025

By Steve Plunkett

Following a record-breaking 2023, people who monitor sea turtle nests up and down south Palm Beach County’s coast faced an easier workload this season. And the season, which officially ended Oct. 31, isn’t over yet.

While South County sea turtle nests were down almost 40% this year from the year before — from 4,851 to 2,995 nests

for the 14 miles from Boca Raton into Ocean Ridge — those who monitor the marine mamas were not surprised.

Instead of focusing on the decline, “one could also ask: Why such a big year last year?” said David Anderson, who leads Boca Raton’s sea turtle conservation team at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Green sea turtles kept to their usual roller-coaster pattern in digging far fewer nests than the year before.

‘I’ve never been in any water like that’

Family beach outing turns deadly for teen; unpredictable surf kills five in county

By John Pacenti

Sherry and Glen Smith exchanged vows at the beach at sunrise and for the last eight years took their children to greet the day at Gulfstream Park. It was a weekly tradition for the Lake Worth Beach family.

So Sherry Smith took the four children to the beach as usual on Sunday, Nov. 10, with her husband to join the family a bit later in the morning. Then everything inexplicably changed.

“It happened so fast,” Sherry Smith said.

The eldest of the children,

Prestyn, disappeared in the surf. The 15-year-old who liked to build computers, who easily picked up his dad’s carpentry skills, a budding artist, a young man who never complained about doing his chores — he was one of five drowning victims in Palm Beach County’s coastal waters in November.

As her two oldest boys played in

See DROWNING on page 24

Boca Raton, for example, had 328 nests by greens in 2023 and only 72 this year, said Anderson.

“They broke their high year/low year pattern the last few years, but since this year was so low, we expect nesting numbers for greens to be high again next year,” Anderson said, referring to their tendency to nest every other year.

Nearby monitors reported similar

See TURTLES on page 14

was

of many volunteers and first responders who tried to rescue 15-year-old Prestyn

Star

Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton

Diver Shane Cooper

one

Smith at Gulfstream Park. Jerry Lower/The Coastal

TOP: A loggerhead hatchling makes its way into the surf in July. LEFT: Rebecca Germany, the sea turtle conservation assistant at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, repaints stakes used to mark nests before storing them for the

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Editor’s Note

Reciprocity. A word that might be hard to pronounce, but whose definition seems especially appropriate during the holidays. If we understand that the giving of gifts almost always initiates a reaction, and we listen to, or observe, that response, we’ll understand the nature of the gift exchange — even if only in words, smiles or thank-you notes. Each of those responses is also a gift. Sometimes the most important of all.

Gift-giving does not have to be extravagant or costly. It can be, if you wish, but sometimes a gift made by hand or simply with love is the most welcome of all. Often a simple act of kindness can make someone’s day — especially those who are alone or going through difficult times.

Holiday events are already underway this month: Christmas tree lightings, parades, concerts, religious services. Whether wrapped,

unwrapped or simply spread across a child’s face, gifts will be all around us.

This year, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins on the same day as the Christian holiday of Christmas, with Kwanzaa beginning only one day later. Each holiday provides its own special gift. Inside this edition you will find many, many ways to celebrate this December. Take a look, then go out, take your visitors, enjoy the lights and beautiful weather. Reflect, praise, celebrate. And if you give or exchange gifts this season, please consider both the spirit of giving and the reciprocity of thanks.

Happy holidays!

— Mary Kate Leming, Executive Editor

A news brief on Page 9 of the November 2024 Coastal Star incorrectly identified the board that Delray Beach City Commissioner Rob Long and Chris Davey served on together. The two served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board at the same time.

Just in

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Coastal Star

Hump Day Hymn Lady lifts spirits with weekly songs on social media

By Hannah Spence

Renee Basel wears many hats, but her role as the Hump Day Hymn Lady has made her popular on social media.

Every Wednesday (or hump day), Basel graces people’s screens via TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, singing hymns a cappella. She mostly records herself in her car because it’s convenient.

Basel said the hymns “bring hope, and we need that in the day and age we live in. Music is healing and sometimes says things when you can’t. I think the hymns are good at filling a void that might be out there right now.”

She also sings in an effort to uplift listeners in the middle of the week.

“They’ve had Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and I come on and try to be joyful,” she said. “I go into the hymn and then I tell them to have a blessed rest of their week.”

Basel, 59, who lives in Boynton Beach, was inspired to provide the weekly posts by her son, Daren.

After she and her husband, David, started their Delray Beach church, Worship and The Word Fellowship, Basel was asked by one of the members to sing Because He Lives. When she looked at her son while performing, she noticed he wasn’t singing. She asked him about it later, and he told her that he didn’t know the song.

Basel explained that with all the new technologies used in churches, many no longer sing hymns. She wants the younger generation to be exposed to them. So, in 2019, she started posting videos of herself singing hymns, shedding light on the older verses. Now, people from all over the world watch her content.

Basel said that the name Hump Day Hymn Lady was coined thanks to a young fan with special needs.

“I have some friends in Pennsylvania who called and said their autistic son would say, ‘it’s the hymn day lady,’ when I was on,” said Basel. “I just took it and ran with it.”

Basel is the town clerk for Gulf Stream. She started working for the town almost nine years ago as a temp and within two weeks, she was hired as an executive assistant before later ascending to her current position.

“I’ve a wonderful, fabulous place to work,” she said. “It’s something new every day.”

Basel was president of the Palm Beach County Municipal Clerks Association and is vice president of the Florida Association of City Clerks.

Recently, Basel was contacted by a Grammy award-winning composer/conductor, David T. Clydesdale, after he saw her videos on Facebook. Clydesdale invited her to collaborate on a hymn album with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Basel first thought it was a scam, but later agreed to it after a phone conversation with Clydesdale.

She raised money with help from family and friends before going to Prague to record in October.

“I could just tell from the hump day thing that Renee was going to be a character,” said Clydesdale. “I thought she had lots of personality and that proved to be true. While in Prague together, I think we laughed 90% of the time.”

Although Basel was familiar with Clydesdale’s work before meeting him, having done his songs at her prior church in Michigan, the two had not met until their European trip.

“There was just something special in her voice,” said Clydesdale. “You could tell she believed it and she was trying to communicate the song.”

Although Basel has gained celebrity within the past few years, she had experience singing for spectators before becoming the Hump Day Hymn Lady.

“I was a voice major in college, so I always wanted to do this,” said Basel. “And before I got married, I was a backup singer for Larnelle Harris,” a gospel singer.

This month, Basel will go to Nashville to record the background singers, and finally she will do her lead vocals in February to complete the album. Clydesdale orchestrated all the songs.

The album will be available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music by next April.

Basel selected five of the 10 songs by asking her family what their favorite hymns were. The others are songs for which she developed a love throughout the years.

“I feel great when I’m doing this,” said Basel. “I feel like I am ministering Jesus to people. I want it to uplift their spirits and minister to their hearts, minds and souls.” P

Renee Basel sings in the parking lot of Gulf Stream Town Hall, where she is clerk. She says her car is a convenient place to sing and send out her image via phone (below). Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Letter to the Editor

Leaf

I am in sympathy with the discontent and dismay expressed with regard to the omnipresent use of blowers. This ubiquitous tool can be heard anywhere and everywhere at any time.  Its unregulated use has become a public nuisance. However, the article in your November edition blatantly omits other major issues: 1) The harm done to insect and

blower story could have gone further to discourage use

bird habitat. 2) The potential harm to personnel wielding these machines, their hearing and exposure to exhaust fumes. 3) The cumulative cost of destroying habitat and nourishment for small creatures, derived from and within leaf debris, i.e. environmental health, and also human health.

Complaints about noise from a purely human

LETTERS: 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 editor@thecoastalstar.com.

perspective completely miss the larger picture. The degree of manicured perfection expected in Florida, indeed across the country — whether on individual properties or in public spaces — has driven this mania of blowing off the slightest unwanted droppings or clippings that naturally fall from trees and shrubs, or from mowing.

This “debris” feeds the soil! The very plants shedding their leaves, buds, flowers, etc. in turn feed the environment. This is a natural cycle.

The landscape aesthetic we demand is counterproductive. To compensate for the absence of leaf cover on beds or under

trees, additional costs are then incurred with an application of mulch.

The noise complaint is essentially a complaint about the environment we ourselves have created, to maintain an aesthetic we demand, without regard to consequences to nonhumans.  This is unsustainable. Time to reconsider priorities.

The writer scoffs at the use of rakes! But not the use or cost of fossil fuels and their pollutants — aside from noise. Why not consider the benefits of raking leaf debris under hedges, onto beds and under trees? Eliminate the nasty trick of blowing this debris onto your neighbor’s property, or the expense of

hauling it off to yet another landfill.

End the harm and its consequent costs, end the noise, and help bring about a return to healthier environmental outcomes and enjoy far greater tranquility. Demand the greater good!

Some neighborhoods of Palm Beach have succeeded in banning blowers, allowing their regulated use only on larger properties with fewer immediate neighbors who must endure the noise. Doesn’t that sound like a great idea?

Delray Beach News

New City Hall talk being put on hold — Although Delray Beach is looking to build a new water treatment plant, a new Pompey Park complex, a new police headquarters and a redo of the municipal golf course, it will not seek to build a new City Hall.

City Manager Terrence Moore said in a Nov. 8 memo to the commissioners that the most cost-effective method is to renovate the existing space.

Public Works Director Missie Barletto says there is enough space in City Hall to meet the current departmental needs for the next 10 to 15 years. For residents, though, there is a pretty big caveat.

“In the meantime, we are looking at expanding staff that currently is housed in City Hall into the adjacent Community Center, which likely will require some operational changes for the current use of that facility,” Barletto said in a Nov. 8 email to Moore. The next step, Barletto said, will be for Public Works to present construction plans.

City hires new CFO — The former chief financial officer for Norwalk, Connecticut, will now fill the same position in Delray Beach, City Manager Terrence Moore said in his Nov. 1 report to commissioners.

Henry Dachowitz also served as CFO in Wayne County, Michigan, and Nassau County, New York.

“He likewise brings to the city of Delray Beach considerable and comprehensive experiences that directly align with our respective needs and expectations,” Moore said.

He also no longer will have to shovel snow.

Dachowitz is finalizing his pre-employment arrangements and is expected to start on Dec. 27. He replaces Hugh Dunkley, who left the position in September to become CFO of the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.

— Ann Flinn, Delray Beach

— John Pacenti

Dachowitz

Delray Beach

Advocate: City fumbles opioid settlement money

By John Pacenti

One of Delray Beach’s top substance abuse recovery advocates said the community is outraged with the City Commission’s decision on how to spend $239,000 in opioid settlement money.

The city has vacillated on a plan since June on how to use what is now said to be $239,000, a pittance from the $50 billion nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical companies whose products killed millions and ruined the lives of countless families.

Lissa Franklin, executive director of the Delray Beach Drug Task Force, said the commission at its Nov. 19 workshop decided to use some of the money to fund DARE — a police program that she says research has shown not to be effective — and to spend $130,000 on Narcan for street boxes and restaurants when the medication can be obtained for free from the state.

“Their intentions started out well, and if they would have kept it in the community and

with the community advisory board like originally discussed, more gaps would have been filled, and it would have gone a lot further,” Franklin said.

Delray Beach is expected to receive a total of $1.48 million through 2040. “These are not a tremendous amount of funds. The highest being about $92,000 a year,” said Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris.

Commissioners in the summer decided the plan was to allow stakeholders in the recovery community to decide as a committee what to do with the money on hand.

Then last month the plan was for city staff to decide what to do with the $239,000 now and have the advisory committee weigh in on future money that is received.

Mayor Tom Carney and City Manager Terrence Moore insisted a second workshop be held on Nov. 19. Commissioners were frustrated.

“I’ve been trying to do this for a year,” said Commissioner Angela Burns. “It’s been a year already, so I think that we should go ahead and formulate this advisory committee is not that hard. We have people who are qualified.”

Vice Mayor Juli Casale

was more blunt: “Why are we having this meeting? This is our fourth meeting on the subject. … At some point, we have to wrap it up.”

“I know it’s a very small amount of money but it’s a very important issue to a lot of people,” Carney said. “I just want to get it right.”

Oris recommended restarting the DARE program that educates young people about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Franklin said there is plenty of research on how the “just say no” approach does more harm than good. She said the Living Skills program in the school system has shown to be more up-to-date and effective.

As for the Narcan boxes and distributing the anti-overdose medication to businesses, Franklin said the city staff failed to do its research for the life-saving drug that can be had for free from the Department of Children & Families.

She fears the Narcan money will end up laundered through the city’s budget — a process called supplantation where the opioid money would end up in the general fund.

Another group was supposed to make a presentation at the Nov. 19 meeting, Franklin said.

“The Palm Health Foundation was supposed to present why they should bring in qualified professionals to advise on how to spend the money instead of city employees. And that did not happen,” she said.

The commission must still approve the plan at its regular meeting on Dec. 10 where again, if the past is prologue, it can change course. P

Franklin

Manalapan Commission opposes FDOT proposal for road markings catering to bicyclists

By John Pacenti

The Manalapan Town Commission pushed back on a proposal by the Florida Department of Transportation to place markings on State Road A1A to indicate motorists must share the lanes with bicyclists.

Nadir Rodrigues, an FDOT traffic services engineer, said at the Nov. 22 commission meeting that the agency is proposing safety measures in the wake of the Jan. 4 accident when a 77-year-old driving a subcompact SUV struck a group of bicyclists on A1A in Gulf Stream, injuring six of them.

FDOT says it will look to resurface A1A in Manalapan so it can stencil what are called sharrow markings on the road, stencils of bicycles with two chevrons that indicate that bicyclists and motorists are to share the lanes. There is no room for separate bike lanes in Manalapan on A1A, Rodrigues

said. The idea fizzled with commissioners and Police Chief Carmen Mattox.

“You put those down in the middle of the road like that, they’re going to think the whole road is theirs. It’s going to be backing up traffic, it’s going to make it more complex, and it’s going to be very difficult to enforce,” Mattox said.

He said he dedicates an officer on Saturday and Sunday mornings just to bicycle enforcement.

Commissioner Cindy McMackin said pelotons of up to 50 cyclists already block A1A. “They don’t care about the rules,” she said.

Town Manager Eric Marmer suggested FDOT educate the bicyclists by putting up signs instructing them to ride single file. “The drivers are very courteous in my experience here. It’s more so the bicyclists who are not following the rules of the road,” he said.

Rodrigues noted the bicycling community is organized and writes to FDOT frequently and will be protective of its ability to ride on picturesque A1A.

Commissioner Dwight Kulwin is a bicyclist and a trauma surgeon who has witnessed numerous car vs. bike injuries. He won’t ride his bike down A1A anymore, feeling it is not safe. He doubts sharrow markings will help.

“I’ve never seen any data that shows putting things down like this has any measurable effect on decreasing accidents or really having any positive effect,” he said.

Marmer told Rodrigues the town would get back to the agency; however, the situation may be out of Manalapan’s hands since A1A is a state road. Rodrigues was, more or less, making a courtesy call.

“The signage that is going to go in other municipalities are to share the road,” she said. P

Elected lineup remains the same in 2025

All remains the same on the Manalapan Town Commission after it saw quite a shake-up a year ago.

Four seats — including the mayor’s — were up for grabs in 2025 and only the incumbents filed to qualify by the Nov. 19 deadline.

That means Mayor John Deese, 66, who took over the mayor’s duties following the resignation of former Mayor Stewart Satter, will enjoy another term, as will Commissioners Cindy McMackin, 57; Simone Bonutti, 50; and David Knobel, 66.

McMackin moved into Deese’s seat in March after he ascended to the mayor’s position. Orla Imbesi, Dwight Kulwin and Elliot Bonner were appointed to the commission in December 2023 to fill other vacancies and secured new terms in March because no one filed to run against them. Deese said he was happy that no one else decided to run because the commission with its new members has been working well together in addressing the town’s needs.

— John Pacenti

The seven-member commission did get a makeover beginning a year ago after Satter and four other members resigned, worried about new state financial disclosure requirements that were set to take effect but have since been stayed by the courts.

Pickleball request lands in commission’s court

By John Pacenti

It seemed like a simple request for a new home under construction in Manalapan: to allow the building of a sports court for pickleball and basketball.

Yet, at their Nov. 22 meeting, Manalapan commissioners heard that pickleball can be a noise nuisance. They also wrestled over whether the town’s code even allows pickleball courts, as written.

Jennifer Adams, general manager of La Coquille Villas, said residents have had to put up with the torturous sound of the game since the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa converted tennis courts next door.

“So you can imagine sitting down for dinner on an outside patio only for the parties to be spoiled by the pop, pop, pop sound and then yelling that accompanies the game,” Adams said.

She urged the town to adopt an ordinance, as other municipalities have done, that prohibits courts from being installed in residential neighborhoods and limits the

game to certain hours.

In Gulf Stream, Adams said, a compromise was reached where the Little Club’s pickleball court was placed away on an adjacent golf course.

The noise of pickleball is a growing concern nationwide as the popularity of the sport has skyrocketed, especially among seniors. The New York Times in June 2023 published the story, “Shattered nerves, sleepless nights: pickleball noise is driving everyone nuts.”

What the Manalapan commission heard on Nov. 22 was a request for a text amendment for the property at 1140 S. Ocean Blvd. to allow a sports court.

Commissioner Dwight Kulwin said recordings have shown pickleball sounds can be heard up to a half-mile away and that manufacturers of the paddles are trying to address the noise concern.

Town Attorney Keith Davis said the request is for just the zoning area south of 700 S. Ocean Blvd. and that the commission may want to make a uniform decision for the whole town on the issue.

Commissioner Cindy McMackin noted that currently, a home could install what is called a sports court and just not call it pickleball. “Or if they say this is going to be a parking area on our lot, and then they convert it later,” she said.

Now there is a noise ordinance, Davis noted, that could be taken into consideration. Police Chief Carmen Mattox said that when the Police Department gets noise complaints on pickleball, by the time officers arrive the game has often concluded.

Mayor John Deese weighed in, saying pickleball is not prohibited but is also not permitted.

“The way our zoning code is written, lighted tennis courts are allowed as a special exception. None of this other stuff is in the code,” Davis said. “And the language in the code, if it’s not called out as being allowed, then it’s not allowed.”

The commission decided the pickleball issue would need to be decided at a later date when an official with the Building and Zoning Department can be part of the discussion. P

Delray Beach Code Enforcement dispute heats up as commission rejects manager’s request

By John Pacenti

Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore appeared visibly upset as commissioners failed to approve his request to hire a private firm to investigate his embattled Code Enforcement Division.

The city had already asked Palm Beach County’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the division following the Oct. 3 arrest of Khatoya Markia Wesley. The code enforcement officer was accused of threatening two residents with code violations unless they paid her personally. The State Attorney’s Office on Nov. 7 declined to file charges in the case.

The OIG has yet to respond to the city, so Moore asked the commission to approve up to a $25,000 expenditure to hire Calvin, Giordano & Associates — a firm with other contracts with the city.

The commission deadlocked 2-2 on Nov. 19 with Commissioner Rob Long absent. Mayor Tom Carney, who favored the measure, said he would bring it back for reconsideration at the Dec. 10 commission meeting.

“I need to get to work beginning tomorrow,” an irritated Moore said. “My

interest is not engaging back and forth at the commission level.”

Moore said he was heading upstairs after the meeting to “change the program so that we can get down to business.”

Then, on Nov. 24, the person who oversees code enforcement resigned. Sam Walthour, director of Neighborhood and Community Services, had been with the city since September 2020. He will remain on staff for the next two months, according to an email from Moore to the commissioners, as the city seeks to find a replacement.

Moore tried to dampen the ongoing controversy at the Nov. 4 meeting.

Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris talked about the scope of the 17-employee division and how an internal review was being commenced.

Vice Mayor Juli Casale told Moore she was not impressed. “We thought you were going to come back and tell us how you are making sure that this isn’t just one person who had a problem,” she said.

Casale has also questioned Moore as to why Wesley was suspended with pay for several months while police investigated the complaints about her. She was eventually fired.

Then came the Nov.

19 proposal to hire the outside firm. Commissioner Tom Markert said he had reservations.

“I was concerned about the selection of the firm that we chose, because they’re already a million-dollar vendor, right? They’re already on the inside. They’re already part of this. I’m concerned about our internal staff choosing them,” Markert said.

Commissioner Angela Burns, who voted to hire the firm, said she has heard of code enforcement officers threatening residents with littering citations for putting out items for trash pickup.

After the meeting, Casale said from the start it has been difficult to get answers to simple questions from Moore about the Code Enforcement Division. She is certain the OIG will take on the investigation.

“Hiring an outside firm to look at efficiencies, at this point in time, makes it appear as though someone is trying to circumvent any potential OIG investigation,” she said.

Delray Beach police conducted an extensive investigation into Wesley, including triangulating text messages and pay apps. State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s office decided not to file charges to

prosecute Wesley for the four felonies and dropped the case. However, prosecutors still have 180 days after her arrest to file a formal complaint.

The investigation of Wesley occurred after a whistleblower complaint filed from within the department said she asked for money from John “The Ribman” Jules, who sold barbecue ribs out of the home he rented on Sunset

Avenue.

Attorney Brian Pakett, who represented Wesley, said his client never accepted any money or food from Jules and, in fact, was trying to help him.

“Regarding her doing her job, she acted throughout her time with the city in a very ethical manner,” Pakett said. “We maintain she did nothing wrong.” P

Council

By Mary Hladky

The images presented to the city by Terra/

for the pro

posed

views first images of a new City Hall campus, seeks more ideas

Moving into high gear to redevelop 30 city-owned acres around Boca Raton City Hall, City Council members on Nov. 18 gave developers 60 days to submit proposals that would transform the area into a civic center that also includes residential and commercial projects.

Once the council approved a public bidding process, consultant Clarissa Willis, vice president of CBRE, said she would “blast out” the project advertisement the next day to about 25,000 developers worldwide. The council quickly did so.

Ever since the Brightline train station opened in 2022, city leaders have eagerly anticipated that developers would want to redevelop the area around it. But they were slow to establish a framework allowing it to happen.

That changed over the summer as word circulated that at least one developer was about to submit an unsolicited proposal for a public-private partnership to remake the area. It became reality in late October, when two well-known developers submitted proposals that council members found compelling.

Yet both city staff and CBRE did not want to be limited to those two, and wanted a public bidding process in hopes that more developers would come forward.

They suggested a 90-day timeline, but council members wanted to move more quickly and reasoned that developers already are well aware that the city wants redevelopment and so are likely poised to deliver proposals quickly.

Their deadline to do so is Jan. 9, and the council plans to consider them on Jan. 13 and select one within a few months.

Council members limited the proposal advertisement to a general statement about what the city wants to see, minus specifics, with the intention of allowing developers to be creative and put forth ideas that city leaders may not have considered.

But spurred by Deputy City

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A new multistory City Hall; multiple garden and park spaces; athletic facilities ranging from pickleball to basketball; and residential units ranging from two to 10 stories. Rendering provided

Manager Andy Lukasik to flesh out their ideas, council members agreed that the Downtown Library, a relatively new building, can stay where it is.

They also voiced support for a city staff proposal to rebuild the outdated police station on cityowned land east of the Spanish River Library, which would free up land for redevelopment. But several said they want a police substation in the downtown.

They also want a new City Hall and Community Center, both old and crumbling, to remain somewhere on site.

Council member Fran Nachlas asked that the large banyan trees be preserved.

The two unsolicited proposals were submitted by Coconut Grove-based Terra and Frisbie Group of Palm Beach, and by

Related Ross, led by Miami Dolphins owner and Palm Beach resident Stephen Ross, who is stepping down from his New York-based Related Companies to focus on his new company.

The Terra/Frisbie proposal is detailed and includes initial concept renderings by the Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates architectural firm. Related Ross’ entry provides far fewer specifics, instead touting the many projects built by Related Companies.

Both are proposing a publicprivate partnership, or P3, with the city. While the terms were not spelled out, generally developers assume the cost of building public facilities such as a city hall and community center and, in return, the city leases or sells the remainder of

the land for redevelopment.

Terra/Frisbie proposes building a new City Hall, Community Center and a racket sports center that it would pay for. It also calls for 1.16 million square feet of commercial and residential development, including a hotel, along with public parks and plazas.

The project would be built in three phases, with a total of 1,163 residential units, a 130room hotel, an office building and 3,073 parking spaces in a garage and on surface lots and streets, as well as retail shops and dining. The new City Hall and Community Center would be part of the first phase.

The height of residential buildings would range from two to 10 stories, while the hotel and office building would be seven stories and two garages would

be four stories.

The company plans to move quickly, with the entire project completed by July 2028.

Related Ross has a similar but more bare-bones proposal. The company is offering a new “civic center” and recreational facilities, Class A offices, a hotel with event and banquet space, a parking garage, residential and retail and “significant public realm improvements.”

Unlike Terra/Frisbie, it did not include renderings that show where the buildings and green areas would be located. It said its “capital contributions” to the project “will alleviate the city’s capital burden to undertake a public development of municipal improvements of this scale.” P

Frisbie

-

overhaul of the Boca Raton City Hall campus and surrounding area included a community center built into a hill with large sculptures.

Boca Raton

declines, with greens dropping from 283 to 84 in the southern part of Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream, from 96 to 14 in Delray Beach, and from 530 to 127 in Highland Beach.

“But the very exciting news for us is that we had a very late nester,” Highland Beach monitor Joanne Ryan said.

“After no new nesting since Sept. 3, we thought we were done. But a green turtle decided to come up and nest on Oct. 12, so we will be checking on that nest right into the beginning of December,” she said.

“And funny, but Ocean Ridge had one about a week after us.”

Delray Beach’s season had a more customary finish.

“We documented our last nest on Aug. 23, the last crawl on Sept. 17 and removed the last marked nest from our area on Oct. 16, just in time for the end of daily monitoring on Oct. 31,” said Grace Botson of Ecological Associates Inc., which monitors turtle nests for the city.

As for loggerhead turtles, it was “an average year,” Anderson said.

“We finished 2024 with 824 nests, which is about average considering the last five to 10 years of data,” he said. His five miles of beach had 1,038 loggerhead nests in 2023 and 898 nests in 2022.

“Loggerhead nest numbers were declining for decades, bottoming out in 2009 for a lot of beaches. Since 2010, there has been a steady increase (overall) in loggerhead nest numbers,” Anderson said.

Still, as in Boca Raton, the loggerhead totals this year were down from last year’s stellar numbers: from 989 nests to 795 in Highland Beach, from 406 to 292 in Delray Beach, and from 1,051 to 724 in Gulf Stream, Briny Breezes and the south of Ocean Ridge.

Anderson said each year is unpredictable, primarily because loggerheads take 20-plus years to reach sexual maturity, an individual female typically nests every two or three years, and each female deposits anywhere between four and eight nests during the season.

For leatherback sea turtles, the nesting totals were mixed.

“The leatherbacks had a great season,” said Emilie Woodrich,

data manager for Sea Turtle Adventures, which monitors the three miles of beach from Gulf Stream into Ocean Ridge. Her group found 19 leatherback nests, up from 15 the year before.

While Highland Beach also saw more, with 13 leatherback nests (up from seven last year), Delray Beach had only 12 leatherback nests (down from 30 last year), and Boca Raton had 19 (down from 28 last year).

“Leatherbacks are critically endangered, so it’s nice to see their nest numbers gradually increasing statewide over the last several decades,” Anderson said.

Overall, this year’s sea turtle nest totals were 827 in Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes and Gulf Stream, down from 1,377 the year before; 318 in Delray Beach, down from 532 last year; 935 in Highland Beach, down from 1,548; and 915 in Boca Raton, down from 1,394.

Declining hatch success

Nest numbers are only part of the story of the survival of these threatened and endangered animals, Anderson noted.

“Not all eggs in sea turtle nests hatch,” Anderson said. “This year, out of over 700 nests inventoried post-hatch, we discovered only 56% of eggs hatched.”

On average, he said, hatch success has declined over the years.

“This can most likely be attributed to climate change. Sand temperature during the two-month incubation period often exceeds the thermal tolerance level of developing embryo. The eggs cease from developing, resulting in an unhatched egg with a dead embryo inside,” Anderson said.

“In addition to 44% of all eggs not hatching, we lost 49 nests due to storms and high tide events, had 170 nests dug into by predators (most with no damage to eggs), and 88 nests that experienced hatchling disorientation events during hatch-out due to artificial light pollution,” he said.

The moral of the story, Anderson said, “is that total nest numbers can be deceiving.”

“A high number of nests doesn’t mean much when a small percentage of eggs hatch, nests are lost to predators and storms, and hatchlings never make it to the ocean because of light pollution.” P

TOP: A portion of the turtle stakes that Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton uses to mark the nests it monitors.

MIDDLE: Volunteers (l-r) Suzie Hiles, Joanne Ryan and Jayne Elder on Nov. 22 monitor and straighten the stakes of the last remaining turtle nest in Highland Beach from the 2024 season.

BOTTOM: The bulldozer-like tracks that a female green sea turtle leaves in the sand will be seen again after the 2025 nesting season begins.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star and Joan Lorne

After Highland Beach Fire Rescue responded to an accident involving a car and bicyclist, more than eight fire and police officers came to the aid of the cyclist, who was taken to a hospital as a precaution. This was part of a 24-hour shift that began on a recent morning. Photos by

Highland Beach

A day in the life of the fire department; after half year, ‘I think we have exceeded expectations’

By Rich Pollack

It was the first call of the day and one that many fire departments might have handed off to a hired locksmith.

This, however, is Highland Beach, so when the call came in about a resident’s keys locked in his truck last month, a Highland Beach Fire Rescue crew was there to help out.

A couple of hours later, fire rescue raced to a crash involving a car and a bicycle that could have been worse than it was.

Injuries, if any, were minor, although the bicyclist was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

It was, for the firefighter paramedics working that 24-hour shift, a busy day in Highland Beach, one that exceeded averages when all was said and done, but one that was not totally unexpected.

In the first six months since the town launched its fire department in May — the first new fire rescue department in Palm Beach County in more than 30 years — firefighters and paramedics took on 400 calls, all just about as diverse as the ones handled by the team on duty that November day.

That averages out to just more than two calls a day, but that number doesn’t tell the story.

“We’ve had a couple of days where we had nine calls,” Chief Glenn Joseph said. “We could have as many as 15 calls in a day or we could have none. You

Highland Beach personnel respond to a call of keys locked in a truck. From left are driver/ engineer Daniel Rush with a flashlight, Capt. Alex Fernandez, driver/engineer T.J. DiGangi and firefighter/paramedic Rodrigo Landeo. They got the keys out without breaking into the truck but the process took a while because they were hampered by the tinted glass.

never know.”

The number of calls per day is about what Joseph and others had expected, but chances are that number will rise as more part-time residents arrive.

In October, for example, the department responded to 84 calls; a month earlier it worked only 48 calls.

On the day last month when The Coastal Star spent several hours with the department, firefighter paramedics handled

six total calls: the locked car, the crash, a medical call and three fire alarm calls. One of those alarm calls was just before 4 a.m. and was followed by a medical call after a person fell while evacuating the building. Another alarm was just before the end of the shift, a few minutes before 6:30 a.m.

As expected with Highland Beach having a largely retired population, medical calls have amounted to more than half of

the total number of calls, with falls accounting for about 35% of all calls.

One particular medical emergency call, Joseph said, involved a resident who went into cardiac arrest in the elevator while paramedics were taking her to the hospital after she complained of not feeling well. She was brought back from having no pulse within a few seconds and was talking by the time she was wheeled into the emergency room.

In the first six months since it began, the department put out four small fires that were quickly contained. Among those was a fire in an air conditioner unit tucked into a closet, with smoke soon filling the resident’s adjacent apartment. There was also a construction accident in which a worker fell two stories, as well as a handful of minor motor vehicle crashes.

The department has built a strong relationship with residents and has developed a reputation within the industry for being a good place to work.

“From the comments we have received from our residents, I think we have exceeded their expectations,” Joseph said. “Without exception, the interactions with the firefighters have been overwhelmingly positive, and I could not be prouder of our responders.”

The reaction from the firefighter community also appears to be positive.

Recently, more than 60 applicants applied for one firefighter paramedic position that opened up. The department is in the process of filling that position.

“There’s a buzz out there that Highland Beach is great duty and that people of the town are very appreciative,” said Jason Chudnofsky, who chairs the Highland Beach Police and Fire Foundation. It helps fund items for the police and fire departments not covered in the

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

town’s budget.

Chudnofsky saw the department in action when a water pump in his building in the Coronado community broke, flooding the first floor of the garage and making the sprinkler system inoperable. Fire rescue personnel turned the water off and helped people organize and stay safe.

“I am so impressed,” he said. “What impressed me the most is the response time we’re getting. The response time is just fabulous.”

The department’s average response time, which Joseph

says is one of the best in the county, is 4 minutes 47 seconds, with the average time from dispatch to when a truck or rescue vehicle leaves the station being less than one minute.

Joseph said that while Highland Beach has the advantage of being geographically small in area, the department has to take into consideration “vertical response time” — how long it takes for responders to reach an apartment in a high-rise building.

Highland Beach Fire Rescue, which took over fire service after

town leaders severed a contract with Delray Beach, operates with seven people on a shift, with each shift working one day on and three days off, which is quickly becoming the industry standard.

With the current staffing, the department has been able to run two rescue units simultaneously — frequently when one is transporting a patient to the hospital — and has the ability to put one of the fire trucks into service should a third call come in.

A source of pride for the department is that it has been

ABOVE: Firefighter/paramedic Ricardo Robinson concentrates on the use of a bailout device that is securing him to an open window during a training exercise.

LEFT: The workers on the recent shift cook their meals at the station. At the stove is driver/engineer T.J. DiGangi, with (l-r) firefighter/paramedics Rodrigo Landeo, Robinson and Kristian Williams.

able to respond to every call and has not needed to call for mutual aid from neighboring departments.

In addition to responding to calls, Highland Beach Fire Rescue has an active Community Risk Reduction program, which provides fire inspections as well as plan reviews. The department also instituted Community Connect, which allows residents to provide information that could benefit first responders, including about pets in the home or individuals with special health needs.

Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the department is operating on budget, which is about $5.5 million a year — about the same as it last paid Delray Beach for a full year of service — and a number he believes is less than what the town would be paying if it had continued to contract with Delray Beach since costs continued to increase.

“Financially we’re tracking as expected,” he said. “The budget is where we thought it would be.” P

Gulf Stream

Boynton Beach agrees to supply town’s drinking water

By Steve Plunkett

On its way to faucets in Gulf Stream next fall: better tasting water delivered with higher water pressure and a lower cost.

That’s the promise of a 25year agreement Gulf Stream made with its soon-to-be new water provider, Boynton Beach. Town commissioners approved the deal at a special meeting Oct. 28; Boynton Beach commissioners ratified it Nov. 19.

“Good job,” Gulf Stream Commissioner Joan Orthwein told Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro, who spent 18 months negotiating the agreement. “We’re going to save a lot of money.”

Delray Beach has been the town’s main supplier of drinking water since at least 1976, with Boynton Beach being the town’s backup supplier in case Delray Beach’s water system had a problem.

But Delray Beach is designing a new water plant for its residents only and told Gulf Stream in April that it will stop providing the town with

Along the Coast

drinking water in June 2025. Nazzaro said he will continue to work with Delray Beach to extend that arrangement until the Boynton Beach connection is finished.

Under the new deal, Boynton Beach will charge Gulf Stream $3.75 per 1,000 gallons of drinking water, or 25% more than what Boynton Beach residents pay. Delray Beach raised its rate for Gulf Stream in October to $4.49 from $3.81 per 1,000 gallons and plans to increase the rate to $5.28 per thousand gallons next October.

“Our connection with Boynton Beach may not be completed until the fall of 2025, so upon connection the town’s rates will drop from $5.28 to $3.75 per thousand gallons,” or 29%, Nazzaro said. “That’s a $5 million savings during the first 10 years of this 25-year agreement and will offset all costs to connect.”

Boynton Beach will not be able to raise Gulf Stream’s rate without doing so for other city customers, Nazzaro said.

Boynton Beach estimates the town will pay $150,000 for

design costs and $1.5 million for construction of a water main from Seacrest Boulevard east along Gulfstream Boulevard to a connection just inside the entrance to Place Au Soleil. The town will also pay $330,000 for a 10-inch water meter.

The water main will be built in conjunction with a roadway improvement project on Gulfstream Boulevard, which separates Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. Both cities are sharing the cost of improving the road.

Gulf Stream will continue to operate a looped system, with two connections between Boynton Beach and the town. One will be at Little Club Road with the system that feeds St. Andrews and some of the properties along State Road A1A; the other will be the existing connection in front of Place Au Soleil that crosses under the Intracoastal Waterway and enters the barrier island on Golfview Road.

The agreement also has an option to renew for additional 10-year terms. P

Local police seek help for hurricane-battered colleagues

By Steve Plunkett

The Cops Caring for Cops Fundraiser has started.

The Palm Beach County Association of Chiefs of Police is “adopting” or supporting 20 police officers who were significantly harmed by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall Oct. 9.

The officers work in the Treasure Island area, just north of St. Pete Beach, and were in some of the most impacted areas. They were selected because Palm Beach County agencies sent officers and other resources to them immediately following the storm and saw firsthand the devastation suffered by the Treasure Island police.

Lantana Police Chief Sean Scheller asked for — and received — his Town Council’s approval for Scheller’s department to send the Treasure

The next edition of The Coastal Star will be delivered the weekend of Jan. 4

Island Police Department $2,000.

“Throughout the year we’re given donations and those are primarily earmarked for certain programs, but some funds are not,” Scheller said. He suggested taking $2,000 of the undesignated donations and sharing it with the Treasure Island Police Association on behalf of the town and the local department.

“As we assist these other communities, we think about how lucky we were to be spared by Mother Nature during this hurricane season,” said Gulf Stream Police Chief Richard Jones, who also is president of the county chiefs association.

“We also know that if our communities would have been impacted, these brave and honorable men and women from Treasure Island would have deployed here to help and support our needs.”

Lantana News

The chiefs association has partnered with a foundation that will assist it in supporting these officers by acting as the receiver and distributor of the funds. This process will allow 100% of the money raised to go directly to those in need. The foundation’s name is Treasure Island Police Association, or TIPA, and any checks should be made payable to that foundation.

All donations should be delivered to the Gulf Stream Police Department or Town Hall in early December so that the chiefs can hand-deliver the funds to the foundation in time for the holidays.

Jones said he would like to “make sure these officers and their families are able to have the Christmas they deserve.” P Mary Thurwachter contributed to this story.

Special meeting on Kmart development — During a special meeting on Dec. 10, the Lantana Town Council will consider proposed changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning code for a potential mixed-use development at the former Kmart site, at 1201 S. Dixie Highway. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 500 Greynolds Circle.

Raducci rewarded — Town Manager Brian Raducci was the subject of favorable review from the Town Council in October. Raducci, whose current salary is $210,687, will receive a 5% raise, an increase of roughly $10,500.

— Mary Thurwachter

Continued from page 1

In Highland Beach, for example, Building Official Jeff Remas says that all 49 of the condos that needed to file reports have done so.

Still needing to file

In Boca Raton, city officials say that 52 of 55 buildings in one coastal area had filed their milestone reports by late November with three asking for extensions. In the second coastal zone, 37 of 42 buildings filed their reports, with five asking for extensions.

In Highland Beach 14 buildings have become recertified, meaning they have completed all repairs identified in the milestone report as well as in a Phase 2 report that identifies structural deficiency.

In Boca Raton, six buildings had been recertified as of late November.

In Delray Beach, 15 of 25 buildings submitted milestone reports as of midNovember with three of those buildings required to complete Phase 2 reports.

Under the state law, which is not as strict as the ordinances in Boca Raton and Highland Beach, those buildings that have completed their Phase 1 reports without major structural issues being identified will not need to be reinspected for another 10 years.

While the bigger communities have been successful in collecting Milestone Inspection Reports, some of the smaller communities are awaiting reports.

In South Palm Beach, 14 of the 24 buildings that need to be certified had completed the process through the end of November. In Ocean Ridge, only one of the seven buildings required to file

milestone reports had completed the process by late November.

South Palm Beach Town Manager Jamie Titcomb said the town will wait until after the deadline to pursue

outstanding reports unless state criteria require specific follow-up.

In Gulf Stream, which contracts building inspection services to Highland Beach, two of nine buildings had

filed their milestone reports as of late November, according to town reports.

Associations that do not file on time could face fines through the local municipalities’ code enforcement process, according to the state law.

Reports have benefits

Highland Beach’s Remas says that many of the buildings that were recertified are receiving benefits as a result of the work that was done.

“We’re seeing that some of these buildings are benefiting with their insurance,” he said.

Another advantage, he says, is that many of the buildings will not need extensive repairs the next time they’re inspected — every seven years for those over 40 years old in Highland Beach and 10 years for those less than 40 years old — because much of the work will have been done already.

To remove some of the burden from condo owners, state Rep. Peggy GossettSeidman, R- Highland Beach, has been pushing for changes to the state laws requiring condos to do inspections and collect additional reserves for anticipated repairs. She and other South Florida lawmakers, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, have focused on extending deadlines for inspection reports and reserve studies — that spell out when and how money to do the repairs must be raised — as well as related requirements. She sees another advantage to having the inspections done.

“There were a lot of buildings with unknown issues that were discovered in this process,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want to make sure their building isn’t going to fall down in a few years.” P

El Cortijo Condominium in Gulf Stream had yet to provide its milestone report this year as of late November, according to the Highland Beach building officials who handle inspections for Gulf Stream. Work was being done on El Cortijo last month (above). Larry Barszewski/The Coastal Star

City studies proposed changes to agreement with arts center

By Mary Hladky

The Center for Arts and Innovation officials have proposed changes to a development agreement with Boca Raton that substantially push back their fundraising deadlines for the Mizner Park project.

City officials were reviewing the proposal, delivered to them on Nov. 25, and did not comment on it before The Coastal Star ’s deadline. Mayor Scott Singer and Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker also did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

The proposal comes after TCAI chief executive Andrea Virgin stunned and angered City Council members on Oct. 21 when she told them that her group had fallen far short of meeting city-imposed fundraising requirements. She had not given them a heads-up until shortly before the meeting.

TCAI met its fundraising targets in 2023, but needed to raise a total of $50.8 million by this year. Donations, however, totaled only $32 million.

The revelation imperiled city support for the ambitious cultural arts center planned for Mizner Park. The council could have terminated the 2022 project development agreement and the lease of city land in Mizner Park to TCAI.

But shortly thereafter, the council moved back from the

brink, giving TCAI officials until Jan. 7 to come up with a revised fundraising schedule that the city could accept. The council was scheduled to discuss it at a Jan. 13 meeting.

Due to the holidays, council members, who consider the TCAI project as Community Redevelopment Agency commissioners, meet only once before then, on Dec. 9. It was not clear if they might take this up on Dec. 9, or how they will react to TCAI’s proposal since they had rejected

renegotiating the development agreement in October.

“The proposed updates reflect lessons learned over the past two years and present an opportunity to better align the agreement with the needs of the city, the center and the transformative vision we are building together,” Virgin said in a letter that accompanied her proposal.

The development and construction timeline TCAI submitted shows groundbreaking in late 2028 or

relented to give Virgin several more months to provide it.

The city and TCAI had agreed to use a cost index that compares the cost of a construction project in a specific city to the national average in order to create an estimate of the minimum TCAI project cost.

This year, the estimate is $101.6 million. But that amount is certain to increase once TCAI provides the city with a firm budget. Until that happens, the total of $50.8 million that TCAI needed to raise this year is 50% of the estimated minimum cost.

Under the proposed framework Virgin submitted, she would have more time to raise money from donors.

early 2029. The center would open in 2032, which meets the city’s 2033 deadline.

Virgin had originally aspired to opening it during the city’s 2025 centennial year, but has pushed the date back several times. Last summer, she said opening would be in 2030.

The proposal said that the project’s final design and budget would be in place by August 2026. Council members in October were insistent that they wanted to know the total project cost immediately, but then

She would have to raise 40% of the project’s cost by 2028. When that is achieved, she wants the city to give TCAI a building permit. She would have 100% of the project’s cost by 2032 so that the city would issue a certificate of occupancy.

Responding to complaints by council members and City Manager George Brown that she had withheld information about fundraising shortfalls and had not been transparent, Virgin is proposing to brief city officials annually on her progress. She also said she would provide the city with audited financial statements annually and unaudited statements twice a year. P

Holiday parade is no more after number of boats declines

By Mary Hladky

Boca Raton has terminated its annual holiday boat parade, a staple of city celebrations since 1975.

City officials decided to bring the tradition to an end this year due to a decrease in participation despite increased promotion of the event, said city spokeswoman Ileana Olmsted.

Contributing to the declining interest may have been the 2016 decision by Delray Beach and Boynton Beach to combine their boat parades, while Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach did the same at least six years ago. As a result, more boaters and attendees were drawn to those events, she said.

The city has received no complaints about the decision, she said.

Last year’s boat parade was canceled and not rescheduled after severe weather warnings were issued for the night of the Dec. 16 event.

Gene Folden, chairman of the city’s Marine Advisory Board, said residents who have learned of the cancellation are disappointed, “but they do understand the number of boats that have participated over the

years have been dwindling to some degree.”

Yet the city isn’t skimping on other holiday celebrations, and has even added some this year, including a Holiday Pops concert at the Mizner Park Amphitheater on Dec. 7.

“Merry in Mizner” pop-up events will be held in Mizner Park on Dec. 20 and Dec. 28, and another such event in Sanborn Square on Dec. 12.

A partial list of other major events included the Holiday Tree Lighting and music performances, held on Nov. 23 in Mizner Park; the FAU Tuba Christmas concert on Dec. 1 at the amphitheater; the 52nd annual Holiday Street Parade featuring decorated floats and music on Dec. 4 along Federal Highway; the second annual Deck the House home decorating contest with a Dec. 20 application deadline and winners announced on Dec. 22; and Gumbo Limbo Aglow, with refreshments, crafts and yard games on Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27 at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

These and additional events are listed by the city’s Recreation Services Department on the city’s website. P

Andrea Virgin, chief executive of The Center for Arts and Innovation, listens with (l-r) Brian Hickey, the group’s attorney; Derek Bellin, its development officer; and board member Glenn Kaufman on Nov. 4 as the City Council considers ending a deal to lease land at Mizner Park for a new performing arts center. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Council demurs on options for E. Palmetto Park Road

By Mary Hladky

More than two years after backing an effort to improve a five-block section of East Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton City Council members are no closer to deciding how to make that happen.

After a consultant presented three options on Nov. 18, council members sidestepped a decision on which they preferred and instead said the matter needs more study.

“This is a dialogue that will continue,” said Mayor Scott Singer.

The first option presented by Alta Planning + Design principal Alia Awwad would not change the number of travel lanes but would eliminate some on-street parking so sidewalks could be widened and more landscaping added. Crosswalks also would be improved.

The second would eliminate one eastbound lane, also to allow wider sidewalks, more landscaping, shade trees and public art.

The third would eliminate one eastbound lane and one westbound lane.

Relaying an idea suggested by city residents, Awwad said the council could consider building a “Sun Line,” an elevated walkway and bikeway above the road’s median similar to New York City’s High Line.

Alta submitted data showing that residents are accurate when they complain that main downtown arteries are unsafe.

From 2018 through 2023, 1,868 crashes occurred in the downtown, with 28% on East Palmetto Park Road, 21% along Federal Highway and 15% on Dixie Highway. Six people died and 466 were injured.

While any of Alta’s proposed changes would make East Palmetto Park Road more attractive, there are trade-offs.

If the road remains as is, travel time between Northwest Second Avenue (Boca Raton Boulevard) to east of the Intracoastal Waterway drawbridge would increase by one minute in 20 years. If one eastbound lane is removed, travel time would increase by slightly less than two minutes.

But removing one lane in each direction would increase travel time by more than nine

minutes.

“That is not sustainable,” Singer said.

Furthermore, the changes don’t take into account the fact that East Palmetto Park Road is a hurricane evacuation route. Consideration also has to be given to potential impacts on emergency vehicles.

Former Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke, who for years championed improving East Palmetto Park Road between Federal Highway and Northeast Fifth Avenue, became so exasperated by the lack of progress that, while still on the council in 2022, she formed an ad hoc group of about 15 influential residents — including land use attorney Ele Zachariades and architect Juan Caycedo — to offer their own ideas.

The group is named Workshop 344+, reflecting the 344 acres in the core downtown area. Members did not put forward a specific plan for the street but pressed the city to hire a consultant that would reimagine it. The city hired Alta.

Group members attended the Nov. 18 meeting to speak. But current Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker made it very clear that she did not want to hear a “rebuttal” from them, in part because they had already met with Alta staff.

After Council member Fran Nachlas, who chairs the Community Redevelopment Agency, said she had invited them, O’Rourke forged ahead, saying, “It’s not rebuttal. It is collaboration.”

She pressed the council to take action to improve walkability, connectivity and placemaking on the street and the rest of downtown.

While the group members do not have a specific proposal for East Palmetto Park Road, they generally favor reconfiguring it to have three lanes, one of which would accommodate emergency vehicles.

Council members did not respond.

“We thought there would be a collaborative conversation,” O’Rourke said after the meeting, “but that didn’t happen.”

The group plans to meet with other city organizations. P

Questions

During her remarkable career as an audiologist, Briny Breezes resident Susan Brannen dealt with many of the issues facing the estimated 50 million Americans with hearing loss.

In her eight years as a member of the Briny Breezes corporate board of directors — the last three as president — Brannen has had firsthand experiences with neighbors who are among that population.

“If you’re not hearing, there’s research to show that it will speed up cognitive decline,” Brannen said.

Brannen, who spends six months a year in Briny Breezes and the rest in Rochester, New York, said she sometimes joins a group that convenes at the town’s clubhouse veranda for cocktails at 5 o’clock and has noticed individuals who react to their hearing loss differently.

“One person was always saying, ‘I’ll take the seat on the end,’ and the reason was because that way they only had to listen to the person to one side of them. And that’s all they could talk to,” she said.

Brannen said she has addressed hearing issues with two of her neighbors, one of whom has since been fitted with a hearing aid.

“Communication has become a problem and they’re both much more cognitive of what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” she said.

“People resist. Vanity is a huge part of it. I’ve even worked with kids and they don’t want their hearing aids to be seen. But people should know hearing aids have become much smaller and less visible, they can be connected wirelessly to your telephone, your TV. They will help in many, many situations to be able to follow a conversation.”

Brannen, 74, whose husband is John Henry “Hank” Greenwood, keeps busy during her time at Briny Breezes cooking for neighbors and as a member of the Hobby Club. She also enjoys sewing.

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Susan Brannen

A: I grew up in Pleasant Valley, New York, a small town in the Hudson Valley. I lived in a neighborhood of homes built in the 1940s. We were a pretty close-knit neighborhood, we played with kids our age across maybe 15 homes, we walked together to elementary school. Many of our mothers did not work [outside the home] or worked part-time. None of us were of great means, but we looked out for each other as neighbors did. I am still in contact with some of these folks. A small-town environment is what I have always coveted.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?

A: My undergraduate degree was in English literature with a minor in Russian. I had been fortunate in studying the Russian language in seventh through 12th grades and visiting the Soviet Union in 1968. I thought perhaps I would be an author. That did not work!

I went on after a bit and got a master’s in audiology from Geneseo State, with course work completed to work as a speech language pathologist as well. My goal was to be a rehabilitative audiologist.

I volunteered for many different professional associations. I served for 10 years on the New York State Licensure Board for speech language pathology and audiology, serving as its chair for two years. I served as the president of the New York Speech Language Hearing Association for two years after serving in several other capacities. I served as vice president for the American Speech and Hearing Association again after serving in several other capacities.

I was very active in local speech and hearing groups, as well as the Special Education PTA. I received my Au.D, a clinical doctorate, from the University of Florida in 2007, as the profession was transitioning to a doctoral level.

But the professional accomplishment I am most proud of is that I started an audiology program at a BOCES [a collaborative program among school districts that did not have the means to offer their own programs], providing services to 13 school districts for students with hearing loss or auditory disorders. When I retired we were a department of four audiologists, one technician and two clerical supports. It was an

amazing career.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?

A: Choose a mentor or at least look for one. Don’t be afraid to start at the bottom, take some risks, be open to learning and be willing to give each task a try to the best of your ability. Accepting that learning is equivalent to growth and achievement is critical in the process of moving up the ladder, if desired. Work hard, be on time, try to please.

Q: How did you find your home in Briny Breezes?

A: Having a home in Briny Breezes has been a dream since I was 16. My great aunt and uncle bought in Briny in the early ’60s after visiting the Tin Can tourist area. I missed maybe two years visiting since that time. My son, John Henry Greenwood, who is 39 [and shares his father’s name], has missed only one year. As a family we love what Briny Breezes offers us: the water, the people, the activities. While we live there only six months a year, we consider it home. Community is so very important and Briny offers that.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in Briny Breezes?

A: I am an active participant in several clubs at Briny, mostly the hobby, I am very involved in the bazaar, serving as treasurer, and I have been on the board of directors for eight years, serving as president for three. I love all of these activities, but the very best are the people. We have made many, many friends.

Q: What book are you reading now?

A: The Ride of Her Life, by Elizabeth Letts, a selection by an online book club offered through Marist College where I received my BA. A recent favorite book was The Women, by Kristin Hannah.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?

A: When I really want to relax or be inspired, I listen to several female artists: Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell and a more recent artist, Brandi Carlile. I also enjoy classic rock ’n’ roll.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?

A: One of my best mentors and advocates was when I was interning as an audiologist. Her name was Nancy Huffman, and she was a no-nonsense professional who caught on quickly who I was. She was a strong advocate for me. As the years proceeded, we went on switching roles between mentor and mentee. We presented the transition and the beauty of these roles at statelevel professional meetings.

Q: If your life story were to be made into a movie, who would play you?

A: This is not one I have an easy answer to, so I reached out to family and a couple of close friends. The list was interesting: Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Bette Midler, Glenn Close. Regardless, all of the actors would be way cooler than me.

Q: Is there something people don’t know about you but should?

A: Important to know: While I am seen as direct and very pragmatic, I am a very caring person looking to provide some support or solace to those who need it. And I am a pretty good cook, so taking meals to folks is an easy opportunity in Briny.  My husband helps with the deliveries.

Susan Brannen, president of the board of Briny Breezes Inc., dreamed of having a home in Briny Breeezes since she was 16 and began visiting relatives there. She loves the water, the people and the activities the town offers. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Delray Beach

Art school’s rebirth a turning point for restoration of city’s cultural center

By John Pacenti

Amid the gathered Delray Beach glitterati — including the mayor, the commissioners, and the city manager — Brandon Lai hung in the background with his daughter Ava, 13. They were there to get information on the hoopla: the Nov. 1 ribboncutting for the Creative Arts School at Delray Beach’s Crest Theatre.

When asked what kind of classes she might take, Ava shot for the moon: “I don’t know. Sculpting, maybe.”

Call it what you like: a comeback, a phoenix rising, or just a long wait — the art school reopening marks a turning point for Delray Beach. It restores what was for decades — as the city says on its website — “the cornerstone of cultural enrichment and artistic expression within our city.”

Of course, the Old School Square campus has been mired in tug-of-war politics and the theater itself is still under renovation with questions about the integrity of its balcony. But the ribbon-cutting was a chance for the city to take a bow — especially city Communications Director Gina Carter, who was

Briny Breezes

the driving force to offer classes in November.

Carter was almost a little sheepish at the ribbon-cutting, avoiding the spotlight, but the art school was her brainchild, and its birth was due in no small part to City Manager Terrence Moore’s equal dedication to making it happen now. In July, the City Commission allocated $118,000 for “rapid activation.”

“Since then, I’ve been working on it nonstop, and this is the first moment where it’s really a reality and I can see people’s reaction, and it feels amazing,” Carter said.

“I think people are really going to love the space. The teachers are excited; the residents are excited.”

Mayor Tom Carney said the wow factor was readily apparent in the renovation of the classrooms, saying the reopening of the art school stood at the intersection of Delray Beach’s vibrant past and its hopeful future.

“Old School Square has always been a symbol of the city’s rich cultural heritage, and with the reopening of the creative arts school, we are ensuring that this legacy continues to inspire future

generations,” he said. “This school will serve as a beacon for creativity, a place where ideas are born and artistic voices are heard.”

Up on the staircase that led to the classrooms — it’s worth a visit just for the glossy restored floors — was Gayle Clarke of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust, nearly posing like some background character out of The Great Gatsby. Clarke says she might take an adult acting or improv class.

“I’m happy that things are going in a positive direction,” Clarke said. “I go to the green markets. I go to a lot of the concerts. So, this is a great addition for this to be going again.”

Ana Puszkin-Chevlin, a longtime Delray Beach resident, said the art school’s rebirth is “firmly grounded in this kind of hip arts community of the city’s past. Seeing it come back to life after a little dormancy makes me really happy.”

For more information on the Creative Arts School, contact Program Administrator Yamilett Abejon at abejony@ mydelraybeach.com or 561-2437209. P

First-time candidate, two incumbents win council terms unopposed

Briny Breezes Town Council members Liz Loper and Bill Birch will start new two-year terms in March with a new face joining them on the dais: David Duncan White.

All three filed to run in the March election but drew no opponents during the November qualifying period, ushering them into office without a single ballot being cast.

White, 66 and a newcomer to town politics, bought his home on Lark Drive in February 2023.

LETTERS: 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 editor@ thecoastalstar.com.

He will fill Seat 1, which is being vacated by Keith Black after a partial, 13-month term.

Loper, 73, who currently serves as council president, was first appointed to Seat 3 in January 2022 after Alderman Allen “Chick” Behringer died.

She kept the seat when no one filed to run against her the following year.

Birch, 70, the Seat 5 alderman, has been on the council since March 2018.

—Steve Plunkett

DROWNING

Continued from page 1

the surf, Sherry Smith sat with her 13-year-old daughter around 7 a.m.

“My daughter says to look, there’s some jellyfish or something. And so I turn around to take a picture of it. I looked back at my sons and I didn’t see Prestyn’s head. So I run and I jump to go get him. And that was pretty much how it happened.”

The ocean, which for so many is such a blessing in South Florida, takes lives every year through rip currents. It takes and it takes.

About 100 people drown from rip currents along U.S. beaches each year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. More than 80% of beach rescues annually involve rip currents.

The deadly month started at a Singer Island beach on Nov. 2 when a 64-year-old man drowned.

The next day Maximilian Sadowski, 34, of Lake Worth Beach drowned near the Boynton Inlet. Experts say inlets, piers, jetties, and even rock croppings are notorious for rip currents.

The third was Gerald W. Julian, 50, a Canadian resident of Niagara Falls, Ontario. He took a swim on Nov. 6 in Ocean Ridge near the Colonial Ridge Club with a friend.

“The wives were at the pool, and I guess the two men decided to go down to the ocean.

“It was as rough as can be,” Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure said. “The rip current got to one and his friend lost him.”

Another drowning occurred the very same day that Prestyn perished — a 55-year-old New York man vacationing with his fiancée at Tideline Palm Beach Ocean Resort. Rip current warnings were posted for the Palm Beach County coast later that day.

Exhaustion and panic

Sherry Smith dove into the water where she last saw her son

Billy Blackman, an avid surfer who lives near Gulfstream Park, spent hours on his paddleboard looking for and eventually helping to recover the 15-year-old who had drowned. He was one of many volunteers who helped in the effort.

next to his 11-year-old brother. Soon she found herself in the same predicament.

“At this point, even though they’re rescuing me, I’m screaming, ‘Get my son. Get my son.’ And they’re trying to calm me down,” she said. “I’ve never been in any water like that. That’s my first time dealing with that.”

Gulf Stream Police Sgt. Bernard O’Donnell, searching for Prestyn, broke the news to the family.

“The officer that pulled me out, they got him out, and he’s out and he’s sitting on the sand, and he’s like losing it. He’s crying, and he’s saying, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,’” Sherry Smith recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Did you see my son?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes, I saw your son, and I’m so sorry.’”

Rip currents are exactly what they sound like — a tear in the continual wave action coming ashore. Waves create a sandbar that eventually gives

way — often no wider than 10 feet. This creates a river flowing out to the sea, like uncorking the ocean, said Robert Molleda, meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service’s Miami office.

You don’t need to be a lifeguard to spot a rip current. It’s where there suddenly are no waves. You could spill dye on shore and it would simply be sucked out up to eight feet per second.

For the swimmer, often exhaustion sets in, then panic. The solution is to swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of the rip current — but that needs to happen before exhaustion and panic.

“We have rip currents that are usually on breezy to windy days,” Molleda said. “It doesn’t have to be extremely windy. Even a moderate onshore wind like a 15-mile-an-hour could be enough to cause rip currents.”

On Nov. 10 the wind was gusting in Gulf Stream at 20

mph. Yet even as a helicopter searched for Prestyn above the surf, the beaches were packed and people were in the water.

In Florida, rip currents can occur year-round. “Especially on the east coast of Florida where we have that easterly wind,” Molleda said.

In June, six people drowned in rip currents in two days, including a couple vacationing on Hutchinson Island from Pennsylvania with their six children, and three young men on a Panhandle holiday from Alabama.

Surfers know about rip currents. They are often out on windy days when the surf is rough. But even experienced swimmers can be caught unaware.

“My 15-year-old, his favorite thing is to build sand castles, that’s his thing. He grew up on the beach. I mean, we’ve been going to the beach since I was pregnant with him,” said Sherry Smith.

The question remains with rip current deaths going unabated, can something more be done?

“I’ve beat myself up over the last 10 to 12 years that I’ve worked on the coast, trying to figure out how we could potentially warn people of these dangers,” Gulf Stream Police Chief Richard Jones said.

“Unfortunately I think some people don’t take the conditions of the ocean seriously and they don’t realize the dangers that lurk beneath the surface of the water.”

Look for lifeguards

He said the solution is always to swim at a beach where there is a lifeguard and keep abreast of public warnings. Sound advice, but why has it proved so impractical?

One reason could be that invincibility is hard-wired into the human psyche. No other animal finds a way to put itself intentionally in harm’s way.

Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh said when he was a teenager he and his friends would snorkel the Boynton Inlet, where the spearfishing

was unparalleled back then. Yet, the sheriff’s deputy not once but twice had to run them out of the dangerous inlet water — the second time he went out in his boat to get them.

“He takes the boat all the way down to the Lake Worth Pier, and he drops us off and just goes, ‘Now walk back and if I catch you again I’m going to throw you in jail,’’’ Pugh said.

Another reason that the messaging could be failing is that a lot of beaches — emphasis on a lot — do not have lifeguards.

“There’s hundreds of miles of beach in Florida and there’s a lot of condos and what, and they’re basically private accesses to the beach,” said Tom Mahady, ocean rescue chief for the city of Boynton Beach.

It is not unusual for a sunbather to start at a guarded beach only to walk down to one in front of a condo and find trouble where there is no lifeguard within a football field, he said.

Palm Beach County’s beach lifeguards arrive at 7:30 a.m. and do training and daily preparations before manning their towers at 9 a.m. It’s during those preparations that they will post if necessary a red-flag warning, meaning dangerous conditions.

“I came to understand this was the third incident in one week that we had no knowledge of,” Sherry Smith said. “If they would put out flags before they open the gate that would be the easiest and quickest fix.”

Glen Smith said he thinks the park shouldn’t have been open with conditions persistent the previous week.

“We’re thinking the gates are open, it’s safe, you know. And there’s no flags, there’s no signs that said don’t go in the water,” he said. “You’re assuming that it is safe to go in. So my thing is, if the water is not safe, just don’t open the gate and let people in.”

The guru of rip currents is Dr. Gregory Dusek, a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Two volunteer divers, Ocean Ridge police and Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies convene on the beach at Gulfstream Park, where a teenager drowned Nov. 10. Gulf Stream police and Boynton Beach fire rescue personnel also were involved in the search and rescue. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Continued from page

Administration’s National Ocean Service in Washington. He said technology may be key to finally putting a dent in the rip current fatalities.

The idea is to use artificial intelligence to detect rip currents by either their visual appearance — dark gaps in the breaking waves — or by tracking how water moves in videos on the surface.

“We can use these detections to potentially help monitor hazardous conditions in real time, as well as improve our NOAA rip current model to provide even better rip current predictions,” Dusek said.

Sherry Smith wants the public to take heed but also wants them to know her son was so much more than another drowning fatality.

“He was the kind of soul you’d call too good to be true,” Sherry Smith said at her son’s Celebration of Life in Lake Worth Beach on Nov. 18. “Such souls often don’t stay with us for long.” P

Steve Plunkett contributed to this story.

Rip currents, rip tides and undertow may be used interchangeably, but they are different phenomena. They can all be deadly.

Undertow Especially dangerous to small children, the undertow is created by big waves breaking on the beach, generating a large uprush and backwash of water and sand. Waders can feel like they are being sucked underwater when the wave breaks overhead. The pull, however, goes only as far as the next breaking wave. Time your escape between waves.

Rip tide A powerful current caused by low tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach. Rip tides can also

What it’s like being caught by a

By John Pacenti

Author John Irving called it the “Under Toad” in his classic novel, The World According to Garp, a monster who dwells under the surface to grab unsuspecting children swimming in the ocean and pull them to its Neptunian netherworld.

Call it the undertow, a rip current or a rip tide — all different depending on the water’s dynamic — the ocean’s grip can be terrifying.

Being caught in a rip current in South Florida is to know pure helplessness. I know because nearly 20 years ago, I experienced that desperation. There’s a fish out of water and there is the opposite — we humans flailing in the water against a force so much larger than us. It happened when I joined my wife, my in-laws, and my daughters at Boca Raton’s Red Reef Park, which is known for its rocky outcropping that depending on the tide and ocean conditions can be teeming with fish.

I was snorkeling around the rocks

and then ventured about 30 yards off the wedgeshaped rock cropping near the shore. Watching my children play on the beach — about ages 4 and 8 at the time — I decided to head back and join in the fun.

But I wasn’t heading back to shore. I was going the other way.

The realization that you are helpless against the ocean leads to panic. I didn’t know what was happening, even though I had been schooled on rip currents as a reporter covering tragic drownings. Being caught in one myself was a different story.

What snapped me out of my growing anxiety was the whistle. Now on the beach a lifeguard was waving his arms and tooting away. Certainly, it couldn’t be me that he was trying to signal, was it?

Oh yes, it’s me. I’m the problem. It’s me.

He motioned me to swim parallel to the shore, around the rocks, and then to

occur in bays and lagoons. Swimmers should avoid inlets and the waters around them as these powerful tidal jets carry large amounts of sand. A bather’s best bet is to wave for help from boaters. Rip currents Powerful, concentrated channels of water moving quickly from shore. They are prevalent around inlets and other structures that jut out into the water, such as piers and rock croppings. Generally 10 feet wide, they can be difficult to escape as the ocean runs through the channel. Don’t fight the current; swim parallel until you are out of the ocean’s pull.

Source: State University of New York

panic-inducing rip current

swim in. I remember the lifeguard telling me as I thanked him that it was not unusual for snorkelers to get caught in that particular rip current.

I am no Olympic swimmer but I was in my 30s and knew the fundamentals of freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.

Yet, I didn’t even know I was in a rip current. I just knew I was going nowhere fast.

Tom Mahady, ocean rescue chief for the city of Boynton Beach, told me recently that it’s the exhaustion and panic that lead to tragedy. He said the swimmer “gets out of rhythm” and becomes so confused that breaths for fresh air are taken underwater.

Not surprisingly, the day I was whistled to safety I was doing one of the top no-no’s in Mahady’s book. With my children watching, I ventured too far from shore. Kids are apt to ape their parents’ actions, Mahady said. “Monkey see monkey do” can be deadly when it comes to rip currents.

“Parents, sure, some of them are great swimmers, ex-lifeguards. But don’t

create the herd effect by diving under the water, body surfing, that type of thing,” Mahady said.

Of course, it was all drama for the children and the in-laws — the wife just rolled her eyes. Yet, I don’t know what I would have done if the lifeguard hadn’t been doing his job and whistled me to safety.

It’s not surprising that a lot of drownings occur when there is no lifeguard on duty. So that is the first rule: swim in the presence of a professional. If rip currents are present, the lifeguard will hoist a red warning flag.

If you realize you are in a rip current — raise your hand or wave — but don’t fight the current. Float on your back.

The National Weather Service says a rip current will take a swimmer out between 50 and 100 yards — then you can paddle parallel to the beach and then come to shore.

And be prepared. Before even heading to the beach, check the NWS forecast, which can be accessed at https://www. weather.gov/tae/ghwo_ripcurrent. P

Rescue training

Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park Nov. 11

Just one day after the drowning at Gulfstream Park, dozens of Boynton Beach lifeguards and fire rescue personnel took part in open water life-saving training. The every-two-month classes emphasize team response to emergency situations.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Prestyn Smith

Rip currents can be hard to detect. If you feel like you are being swept out to sea, try swimming parallel to the beach. Graphic provided

Pacenti

The signs at the main entrance to the beach at Gulfstream Park offer a barrage of information for visitors.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

24

The ocean’s pull

Boynton Beach

City’s oldest house gets one more chance for a new life

By Tao Woolfe

The historic Andrews House, the oldest house in Boynton Beach, has escaped the wrecking ball — at least for now.

The beloved, simple 1907 wooden house suffered a neardeath experience just before Thanksgiving, and the City Commission, at its Dec. 3 meeting, decided it would explore saving the house and moving it after hearing many, many residents’ pleas to do so.

Here’s what led to the commission’s determination:

In the early morning hours of Nov. 25, neighborhood residents saw — with dread — a yellow demolition excavator sitting on the Andrews House site at 306 SE First Ave.

Among them was historian Ginger L. Pedersen, who is one of the preservationists who has long advocated for the house to be saved and moved to another spot.

Pedersen and others raised the alarm, calling on the mayor and commissioners to step in and stop the imminent demolition.

Their efforts worked.

That same day, Mayor Ty Penserga and Commissioner Thomas Turkin intervened, asked the developer (who is listed in property records as Manuel Mato, of BB South, LLC) to hold off until the city determines whether there are alternative options.

At the Dec. 3 commission meeting, Boynton Beach residents — and even an out-of-town historian — spoke up. They urged the commissioners, who also serve as the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board, to preserve the city’s heritage by saving the Andrews House, moving it to a nearby space, and letting it be used as a boutique or small business.

“It’s a beautiful home. I really think it’s an asset to the community,” said resident Flynn Holland. “I walk by there all the time. It’s a magical little home.”

Victor Martel, an Ocean Ridge

resident, said he, too, walks past the house every day.

“Look into your heart. This building is not something we can put back,” Martel said. “It would be an atrocity to take it down.”

And Barbara Ready, chairwoman of the Boynton Beach Historic Preservation Board, said her board has been asking the city to save the house for many years, but no action has been taken.

She said in an email that a group of “incredibly devoted preservationists” had met the day after the demolition scare to see what could be done.

They came up with the idea of moving the Andrews House next to the historic Magnuson House and creating a historic nook that could accommodate boutiques or other small businesses.

The commissioners seemed receptive to the idea of creating a historic area, but cautioned that the expense of moving the little house and bringing it up to current building codes could be costly.

Commissioner Turkin suggested exploring the possibility of having developers pay an impact fee — like the fee they pay for public art projects — to offset development impacts.

Mayor Penserga directed the city staff to come back — after the holidays — with estimates for moving the house and economic and structural analyses of how to save the Andrews House.

Pedersen, too, suggested that the house be moved to the nearby Ocean Avenue site of the Magnuson House, which — until recently when its approved developer failed to secure financing — had been considered as the centerpiece for a barbecue restaurant.

The Andrews House, built in 1907 by Dutch pioneer Bert Kapp, has some unusual features — including built-in steel rods that can be tightened to hold the house together during a hurricane, Pedersen said.

The Pierce, a planned downtown anchor, prepares to move forward

By Tao Woolfe

The Pierce, a huge mixed-use project considered a centerpiece of Boynton Beach’s downtown revitalization, has emerged from circuit court and is expected to file for a building permit this month.

The 15th Judicial Circuit Court on Aug. 14 declined to hear an appeal from a neighbor challenging some street abandonments — a portion of the north alley, the entire south alley, and Northeast First Avenue.

Neighbor F. Davis Camalier (FDC Associates, LLC) had filed the appeal in 2023 claiming that the city improperly abandoned the three roads to accommodate Affiliated Development’s project.

Now that the city has prevailed, however, Affiliated has a Dec. 12 deadline to submit documents and applications necessary to obtain building permits for the project, said Timothy Tack, acting director for the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

“The house survived the hurricanes of ’28, ’47, and more recently, Wilma, Jeanne and Frances,” Pedersen said.

“Its significance goes beyond its age; the structure embodies the craftsmanship and character of Florida’s early settlers,” Pedersen said. “It’s a very cool little house.”

The house was completely renovated several years ago, restored to its former glory, and updated for modern use.

“Despite these efforts, the property’s fate was sealed amid shifting priorities and development pressures,” Pedersen said. “Its loss represents a growing challenge in preserving the architectural and cultural identity of Boynton Beach.”

Pedersen said she’s pleased that the city is stepping in, but she worries that the cost of moving the home — especially if it is moved far away — will be prohibitive.

“I think its best chance is somewhere close to Dixie Highway or U.S. 1 where it could be made into a permanent residence,” she added.

A private person could buy it, move it, and turn it into a home or a guest cottage, she suggested.

Moving costs could run as high as $200,000, Pedersen estimated, but even so, it would be a relative bargain.

“Where else could you buy a house made of Dade County pine for $200,000?” she asked.

“Right now, we’re trying to figure out who should coordinate the efforts to save the house,” Pedersen said. “There is nothing wrong with that house — it is tightly sealed and has no water damage.”

Randall Gill, former president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society, said the house serves another function, as well.

“The Andrews House is a symbol of a more gentle time, when people treated each other with respect and dignity,” he said.P

The Pierce, originally envisioned as a $73 million downtown complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space at 115 N. Federal Highway, is now expected to cost at least $100 million, Affiliated owner Jeff Burns has said.

The 2.3-acre complex will offer 150 units each of workforce apartments and market-rate luxury rentals. It will have 17,000 square feet of commercial area that will accommodate restaurants, office space and retail stores.

It will feature public art projects including murals and a large, perforated metal corner treatment on the south parking garage emblazoned with nautical images and lettering that says “Welcome to Boynton Beach.”

The restaurants, including a freestanding new building for the popular Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant, and wide sidewalks will provide “an active, engaged area with day and night activity,” Burns has said.

The garages will offer 450 spaces, 150 of which will be for public parking. P

Former HR director files whistleblower suit, claiming racial discrimination

Tennille DeCoste, the former Boynton Beach human resources director, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in November, claiming she was fired because she complained the city manager had told her to stop hiring too many Black women.

City Manager Daniel Dugger has denied making any such comments to DeCoste.

DeCoste was fired on Feb. 23 by the city for intermingling her job duties with her campaign for the Delray Beach City Commission, which she eventually lost. She was employed with Boynton Beach for 14 months at a $188,000 annual salary.

According to the Nov. 6 lawsuit, DeCoste filed a complaint with Mayor Ty Penserga that Dugger had told her to stop hiring so many Black women. Five days later she was placed on administrative leave.

An independent investigator looked not only into anonymous complaints that DeCoste let her political campaign bleed into her duties, but her allegation against Dugger as well.

The investigator, Stephanie Marchman from the GrayRobinson law firm, said she found DeCoste to be untruthful when questioned. Marchman concluded DeCoste misused a city debit card and asked city employees to contribute to her political campaign, among other violations of city policy.

DeCoste in her lawsuit said the city circumvented policy by not using progressive discipline and that she was never afforded an opportunity to clear her name at a formal hearing.

While she was on administrative leave as Marchman investigated, the city terminated four Black women hired during DeCoste’s employment, the lawsuit stated.

John Pacenti

History enthusiasts hoping to save Boynton Beach’s oldest house showed up in front of it Nov. 25, the day the Andrews House was scheduled to be demolished. City officials intervened and the demolition has been postponed for now. Tim Stepien /The Coastal Star

County, town share thoughts on Milani Park design

By Rich Pollack

With construction of the controversial Milani Park no longer in doubt, a spirit of cooperation between Highland Beach and Palm Beach County appears to be gaining traction.

Last month Highland Beach Mayor Natasha Moore and two residents sat down with Palm Beach County Commissioner Marci Woodward and other county leaders to get an idea of an emerging vision for the 5.6acre park at the south end of town.

They also had a chance to voice concerns and share ideas to a receptive audience.

At the table was the lead architect hired by the county to design the beachside park. Along with members of his firm, he shared thoughts on what the property might look like when completed.

“It’s going to be a very beautiful park with trees and lots of landscaping,” said town resident Maggie Chappelear,

whom Woodward invited to the meeting. “Part of the emphasis will be creating parking that doesn’t look like parking.”

Highland Beach residents for decades have resisted efforts to build a park on the property the county acquired from the Milani family more than 35 years ago. Following legal battles and deadline extensions, county commissioners agreed in May to move forward with development.

With that in mind, Moore and other members of the Town Commission are focused on putting the battle to stop the park behind them and are looking at how they can be involved in the process.

“It feels like a reset,”

Woodward said of the town’s willingness to work with the county. “Instead of wanting to stop the park, it’s now, how do we get the park we want.”

Moore said some in the community still believe the town should continue its efforts to stop development but that

at this point working with the county might be the better path to take.

“We’ve done all that we could possibly have done to stop the park,” she said. “If we continue to be difficult, the county may not take into consideration our preferences in the design of the park.”

The park property straddles State Road A1A. Designing both the east and west sides to be aesthetically pleasing to residents and others is one of the missions given to the architectural firm.

“The design team is doing the best it can to make the park as attractive as it can and to maintain it to high standards,” said County Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Cirillo.

Hamstringing the design team’s efforts, however, may be the need to comply with a decades-old settlement agreement that followed a lengthy court battle with the town over the park property.

Highland Beach/Boca Raton Gossett-Seidman returns to Florida House

By Rich Pollack

In a hotly contested race for Florida House District 91, which encompasses all of Highland Beach and Boca Raton as well as unincorporated areas west of the city, incumbent Peggy Gossett-Seidman was able to hold on to her seat, derailing the heavily funded efforts of political newcomer Jay Shooster to serve in Tallahassee.

GossettSeidman

Republican Gossett-Seidman, who narrowly won the seat two years ago as part of a red wave that swept the county, secured almost 55% of the more than 95,000 votes cast this time in the Nov. 5 election while Shooster, an attorney, received 45%.

Gossett-Seidman attributed her victory to her success in the Capitol during the last two years and to “hard work and knocking on doors.”

“I think voters understood that I was working for them to fulfill the needs of the community,” she said. “Our success was also greatly due to the wide swath of friends and colleagues who know me from having lived here so long.”

Shooster, 34, who lives west of Boca Raton, far outspent Gossett-Seidman, 71, a former Highland Beach town commissioner who worked as a sportswriter and publicist. Shooster raised almost $1.1 million and spent about $953,000, whereas Gossett-Seidman raised just over $338,000 and spent $232,000.

House District 91, once a Democratic stronghold, shifted to the right in 2022 following redistricting that added more conservativeleaning coastal neighborhoods. Democrats, who hoped to take back the seat, make up about 32% of the registered voters in the district, while Republicans account for 35%.

Gossett-Seidman said that once she returns to Tallahassee her focus will be on finishing work on the safe waterways act and on addressing condo recertification and HOA issues. At the same time she plans to address overall homeowner’s insurance issues.

During her campaign Gossett-Seidman touted her success in bringing $10.3 million in state appropriations back to Boca Raton and Highland Beach. P

Cirillo said the county will stick to the conditions of that agreement, which will include having a lifeguard at the beach and a staffed gatehouse at the parking lot, but will also look for some flexibility.

“We’ll address the concerns of residents to the degree that we can,” she said.

One of the main concerns of the town leadership and of residents has always been the number of parking spaces on the west side of A1A. While it appears the county is sticking with the agreement, which allows for more than 100 spaces, it is making an effort to make the parking lot as attractive as possible.

Cirillo said the design team is looking at the feasibility of using permeable grass pavers in portions of the parking lot and is focusing on native trees.

Both Cirillo and Moore, who led Highland Beach’s contentious fight against the park, said there was a spirit of cooperation at the meeting.

“The tone was very collaborative,” Cirillo said.

Moore said she was pleased with the county and the design team’s willingness to address town concerns.

“I walked away feeling that they really listened to us,” she said.

Among the town’s issues raised at the meeting, the mayor said, were the number of parking spaces on the west side, excessive traffic, safety of beachgoers around Yamato Rock, and environmental concerns.

During a Town Commission meeting last month, Moore said she believes there is still an opportunity to incorporate the preferences of Highland Beach into the design.

A follow-up meeting with Moore, Chappelear and resident Laura Thurston and the county is scheduled for early next year, with a meeting open to the public likely coming several weeks later. P

Chudnofsky unopposed for Town Commission seat

By Rich Pollack

Community leader Jason Chudnofsky will be a new Highland Beach town commissioner in March after no one else filed to run for the town’s one open seat by the Nov. 26 deadline.

the bargain book business, and has served on the boards of many businesses and industry trade organizations.

Chudnofsky, 81, will fill the commission seat that is currently held by Commissioner Evalyn David, who was term limited from running again. The term of office is three years.

“I’m looking forward to being a commissioner and following in the footsteps of Evalyn David who I have admired for many years,” Chudnofsky said.

A business leader with a background in publishing and trade-show production, Chudnofsky is known internationally for serving as president of the company that ran COMDEX, the leading technology marketplace and then the largest computer trade show in the world. He was simultaneously president of the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas.

He has also been the chief operating officer for World Publishing Group, a leader in

Chudnofsky moved to Highland Beach in 2012 as a part-time resident while continuing to run COMDEX. He moved here full-time with his wife, Judy, in 2017. Since then, he has served on the board of his condominium association at the Coronado — where he is president — and has been active in town government.

He currently serves on the town’s planning board and is chairman of the Highland Beach Police and Fire Foundation. He has helped serve as coordinator of the Mingle and Jingle celebration this year and is a frequent member of the community at Town Commission meetings.

“As a member of the commission, I’m planning to continue my focus on safety, health and security for the people of Highland Beach and build on the professionalism of the existing commissioners and town leadership,” he said.

Born and raised in Boston, Chudnofsky holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northeastern University. He and his wife have two daughters and several grandchildren. P

Chudnofsky

Highland Beach How town grew from wilderness to prime destination in 75 years

By Rich Pollack

In the beginning, concerns about water and a possible trailer park led to the creation of Highland Beach.

Back in the late 1940s, what is now Highland Beach was just a sparsely populated unincorporated area of Palm Beach County relying on wells for drinking water.

When salt water invaded those wells, the handful of residents sought alternatives, including reaching out to adjacent towns Delray Beach and Boca Raton.

Turned down by both, a small group of residents agreed to build their own water treatment facility. To fund the project, they decided to appeal to state leaders in Tallahassee and begin the incorporation process.

By December 1949, the town of Highland Beach became official, with 21 residents signing on to what was known as “Highland Beach’s Declaration of Independence.”

This month — and for much of the next year — Highland Beach will celebrate its founding 75 years ago with events and a revisiting of the town’s unique history.

Over the past seven and a half decades the town has evolved, from a tiny enclave with just a few homes and apartments for vacationers, to a coastal beach community with a Florida Keys feel, and later to a thriving full-service community with towering high-rises and multimillion-dollar beachfront homes.

Highland Beach manages to maintain a small-town feel, though it is hard to imagine what some of the original founders would think of it today.

Although there is no official history of the town, information available in the Highland Beach Library, pieced together with excerpts from the book The Amazing Story of Highland Beach by Sandy Simon and combined with stories from longtime residents, offer a glimpse of the town’s past.

Among Highland Beach’s 20 or so founding fathers were five men who formed the first Town Commission: Mayor Robert Totterdale, Vice Mayor R.S. Weeks and Commissioners Rudolph Hertwig, H.H. Dubendortt and J. Morrison Smith.

Along with concerns about water quality, this handful of residents also worried that trailer parks — which were springing up nearby — could fill the area if zoning restrictions were not in place.

Within a short time after incorporation, the population had risen to about 125.

The name Highland Beach was selected by town leaders because the land rose 20 to 25 feet above the high tide line, which was higher than dune crests in other nearby beach

communities.

In the town’s early years, State Road A1A ran atop the dune, a bit east of where it is now, and wildlife abounded. It was not uncommon to see foxes, even panthers and bobcats, wandering through what was a swampy wilderness.

Land in Highland Beach in the 1940s was going for about $45 a foot, including land on what is now the west side of A1A, which was considered less valuable because it was swamp and mangroves. By the 1950s land values had grown to $125 a foot.

Scenes from the past in Highland Beach:

TOP: The Bel Lido neighborhood in 1963 before homes were built.

MIDDLE: The old Town Hall in 1975.

LEFT: Peggy Gossett-Seidman’s parents were early residents and enjoyed fishing. Photos provided

Throughout the late 1950s, the 1960s and 1970s, Highland Beach grew at a relatively modest pace. One of the first high-rise buildings in town was Highland Towers, which was built in 1958 and remains in place today.

“Back then, Highland Beach was a sleepy beach town undiscovered by just about everyone,” says longtime resident and now state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who came as a vacationer in the 1970s. “It was filled with natural wildlife and you could just disappear.”

Gossett-Seidman remembers A1A being barely paved and recalls an ocean plentiful with sea life.

“It was heaven, just a beach heaven,” she recalls.

By the late 1970s, Highland Beach began a development boom, with condo buildings springing up on either side of A1A.

The town, which in the mid1960s had just one employee, grew with its own police department and a functioning Town Hall that would later include a library inside the building and a post office of its own.

As construction continued, crews unearthed reminders of Highland Beach’s past, long before development began.

In the 1980s, workers discovered bones believed to belong to Native Americans who lived on the coast where they fished and lived off the land.

Then in 2003 a worker digging a trench for an underground pipe at the south

end of town discovered 22 bones that turned out to be that of a woman and a child about 2 years old.

The bones were believed to be more than 1,000 years old and were part of a well-documented ancient graveyard where more than 170 skeletons were found years earlier.

The beach at the south end of town later became a favorite gathering place for members of the Yamato colony, which was founded by Japanese pineapple farmers. The area near the outcropping that is now known as Yamato Rock became known as a great place for beach parties attended by families and individuals.

Gossett-Seidman says she is pleased that the town has been able to keep its small-town feel over the years.

“Throughout its history, Highland Beach has remained a family-oriented beach town, even with all the changes,” she says. “It’s kept some of its humble beginning.” P

Sandoway Discovery Center honored as mid-level nonprofit of the year

The Sandoway Discovery Center won the mid-level Hats Off Nonprofit of the Year from Nonprofits First. Sandoway Executive Director Danica Sanborn attended the ceremony in October at the Kravis Center.

“Since ’95, we’ve won awards for our programming, but this is the first time we’ve won a pure achievement award like this,” she said. “We were surprised and happy to receive it. It’s a wonderful honor.”

The Delray Beach center’s submission form put forward several achievements in the last year and a half for consideration.

The center renovated its 15,000-gallon shark tank and built a new 1,000-gallon stingray touch tank. These enhancements are integral to its Junior Naturalist Program, benefiting more than 6,000 students annually, including many Title 1 (low-income) students.

The center secured a $130,000 matching grant from the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County to rebuild its front porch, a project slated to begin soon and be completed by the end of 2025.

The center introduced Sandoway’s Service-Learning Program for teens, who gain hands-on experience with Sandoway’s rescued animals. That aims to help youths

develop skills in animal husbandry, public speaking and leadership.

The center also launched Sandoway’s Science Leadership Academy, which addresses gaps in science education for fourth-grade Title 1 students, through a focus on fundamental concepts like plant structure and photosynthesis.

The American Heritage School campus at 6200 Linton Blvd., Delray Beach, was ranked

by Niche as the No. 1 private school in Palm Beach County for the seventh consecutive year.

Some ranking factors include SAT/ACT scores, the quality of colleges students consider, student-to-teacher ratio, and private school ratings. Niche is an organization that connects colleges and schools with students and families.

Delray Beach Parks and Recreation and Delray Beach Fire Rescue were recognized

for several events by the International Festivals & Events Association at an awards ceremony in Pittsburgh.

The 100-foot Christmas Tree won the silver award for Best Promotional Brochure and bronze for Best Promotional Poster. The Delray Beach July 4th Celebration won the gold award for Best Printed Materials. The Delray Beach Holiday Parade won the silver award for Best Printed Materials. The Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival won the bronze award for Best Event Website and Best Street Banner.

The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce announced honorees who will be acknowledged at the Chamber’s 2025 Diamond Awards Luncheon at The Boca Raton in February.

Restaurateur Danielle Rosse, owner of Oceans 234, was named the 2025 Diamond Award recipient. Rosse supports numerous nonprofit organizations, including serving on the boards of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, the Deerfield Beach Economic Development Council, and the George Snow Scholarship Fund.

charities across Palm Beach County.

The Citizen of the Year award went to Rosemary Mouring. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mark Easton, chief editor and publisher of the Lake Worth Herald and the Coastal Observer.

Florida Atlantic University’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center was awarded an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office.

The center will work in collaboration with Lake Worth Beach Electric Utility, 3U Technologies, 48 North Solutions, IDOM Incorporated, Braid Theory and European Marine Energy Centre in a study to set up an ocean current test facility offshore from Palm Beach County.

The project’s goal is to improve the nation’s competitiveness in marine energy technology, encourage domestic manufacturing, and create jobs while helping to achieve the nation’s energy goals.

Zoe Abbott won the Pearl Award, created to honor an emerging female entrepreneur. Abbott, who is making strides with her hair growth business, is a graduate of the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a program of the Golden Bell Education Foundation. The awards luncheon will be Feb. 21 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

To purchase tickets, visit https://web.bocaratonchamber. com/events/diamondawards%20 Luncheon-10993/details. For sponsorship opportunities or to purchase a congratulatory advertisement, contact Kaley Jones at kjones@bocachamber. com.

The Greater Lantana Chamber of Commerce’s second annual Awards Gala in November at Winston’s on the Green honored businesses and individuals who have helped the Lantana community.

The Emerging Young Leader of the Year award went to Sarah Vega. The Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Lori Shore, owner of Pet Wants Palm Beach. The Small Business of the Year award went to Old Timey Joe Handyman. New Business of the Year award went to Le Dor Café

The Business of the Year award went to Chick-Fil-A of Lantana. The Nonprofit/Not-forProfit of the Year award went to the Friends of Foster Children Several special honors were also acknowledged. The Community Champion Award was presented to Monica Lewis of Total Shredding, in recognition of her efforts to donate proceeds to various

“Southeast Florida is ideal for ocean current energy projects not only because of its favorable ocean current conditions but also due to several supportive socioeconomic factors,” said Gabriel Alsenas, principal investigator and director of the university’s renewable energy center.

“Major ports, such as the Port of Palm Beach and Port Everglades, straddle (the center’s) proposed test site offshore Palm Beach County to provide excellent access. Local utilities such as the city of Lake Worth Beach’s municipal utility and Florida Power & Light offer essential grid connections and support for a clean energy transition.

“Additionally, (the center) has a strong network and extensive experience assisting current energy conversion technologies developers at various stages, further enhancing the region’s attractiveness for these projects.”

Travelers departing from Palm Beach County and using Fly Alliance for charter with their jet cards or their memberships can choose additional perks this season. The private aviation company now offers the option to add wellness and beauty services such as Botox, facials, lashes, chiropractic adjustments, reiki, EMS workouts and/or private Pilates sessions. For more information, visit https:// flyalliance.com/ally or call 407747-0037.

Since the group’s inception in 2019, the 30 members of the Boynton Beach Professionals leads group have generated more than $1,026,680 of

The

shark tank is one of the recent improvements at the Sandoway Discovery Center. Photo provided

Debby O’Connell, 561-573-5099

Gulfstream Shores $649,000

3851 N. Ocean Blvd., #211 – Gulf Stream 1/1 with impact windows and SE views, completely turnkey by Laura Larkin Interiors. Ceramic tile. Building has heated pool, outdoor shower and BBQ oceanside. Debby O’Connell, 561-573-5099

Gulfstream Shores $699,000

N. Ocean Blvd., #410 – Gulf Stream 2/1 with impact windows and SE views, completely turnkey by Laura Larkin Interiors. Ceramic tile. Building has heated pool, outdoor shower and BBQ oceanside. Debby O’Connell, 561-573-5099

Tuscany $510,000 3211 Tuscany Way, #3211 – Boynton Beach 3/2, completely renovated. Oversized terrace. Intracoastal waterway location. Building has heated pool and waterside boardwalk, basketball court, fitness rooms and tennis. Debby O’Connell, 561-573-5099

by doing business with one another and by referring their colleagues in the group to other potential clients. Founded by John Campanola, Rick Maharajh and Paul Lykins, the group meets twice a month.

Boynton Beach Professionals became a part of the Boynton Beach Online Chamber of Commerce one year ago. For more information contact info@ BBOCFlorida.com.

Lang Realty and Lang Management are hosting their annual fall food drive, Season of Giving, to benefit Move for Hunger through Dec. 10. People who wish to contribute can bring their nonperishable food items to Lang’s offices from Port St. Lucie to Boca Raton. For more information on Lang Realty or Lang Management, including a list of office locations, visit www.langrealty. com or www.langmgmt.com.

The Delray Beach Housing Authority recently disbursed Family Self-Sufficiency funds to Patricia Sampson’s daughter, Jasmine Queeley. This funding program links housing assistance with public and private resources to help families increase earned income, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-

sufficiency.

For Sampson, who has home ownership as a goal, obtaining a college education for Queeley has been challenging. However, to alleviate the financial strain of student loans and college tuition for the next two years, Sampson requested escrow from the Housing Authority’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program. Queeley, currently enrolled at Stetson University, plans to be the first generation of her family to complete a four-year college education.

Whole Foods Market is set to open a 42,024-square-foot store at 7395 Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach, on Dec. 10. On opening morning, customers will get complimentary coffee and cookies from Gringuita Cookies. The first 300 customers in line will receive a custom tote bag and Secret Saver coupon offering up to $100 off.

Palm Beach Harvest will receive a food donation on opening day as part of Whole Foods Market’s Nourishing Our Neighborhoods Program. For more information, visit www. wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/ boyntonbeach.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@ gmail.com.

OCEAN HEIGHTS | $4,600,000

5-bedroom, 5-bathroom residence, nestled in the highly sought-after Golden Triangle of Boca Raton. Situated on an oversized lot, the outdoor space is an entertainer’s dream with a heated saltwater pool, hot tub, and ample room for relaxation.

Erik Nissani 917.547.9950 | eriknissani@gmail.com

CHALFONTE | $3,169,000

Experience breathtaking ocean views in this exceptional dual-unit offering. One unit is fully renovated with an open layout, and both feature expansive oceanfront terraces and tranquil Japanese gardens. Together, these adjacent units total 3,605 square feet. Ana Londono 561.843.1171 | a.londono@langrealty.com

CHALFONTE | $2,300,000

This stunning 8th-floor corner residence offers panoramic views of Boca Raton’s coastline. Featuring 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, elegant porcelain floors, a sleek kitchen, and an expansive oceanfront terrace perfect for entertaining or relaxing with the sound of the waves. Ana Londono 561.843.1171 | a.londono@langrealty.com

CHALFONTE | $1,600,000

Beautiful, light-filled 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom residence, nestled in the highly sought-after Golden Triangle of Boca Raton. Situated on an oversized lot, the outdoor space is an entertainer’s dream with a heated saltwater pool, hot tub, and ample room for relaxation. Ana Londono 561.843.1171 | a.londono@langrealty.com

TROPIC ISLE | $3,299,999

Stunning waterfront home in prestigious Tropic Isle neighborhood, Delray Beach. The perfect blend of coastal luxury & modern comfort. On a tranquil canal with direct ocean access.

Brittany Belcher 561.716.8125 | selling@olivebelcher.com

Olive Belcher 561.271.6922 | selling@olivebelcher.com

SEA RANCH CLUB | $2,399,000

Boca Raton “condo in the sky,” 3BR/3BA, panoramic views of the Atlantic, Intracoastal, and Cityscape. Enjoy breathtaking sunrises and sunsets from your masterpiece.

Brittany Belcher 561.716.8125 | selling@olivebelcher.com

Olive Belcher 561.271.6922 | selling@olivebelcher.com

CHALFONTE | $1,749,000

Elegantly crafted beachfront residence, combining condo convenience with a single-family home feel. Breathtaking sunrises and ocean views from the master bedroom, spacious patio for outdoor entertaining, seamlessly connecting your living area to the fresh sea air. Ana Londono 561.843.1171 | a.londono@langrealty.com

EIGHT HUNDRED OCEAN PLACE | $1,595,000

Renovated 3 BR, 2.5 BA townhouse, steps from the beach and 8 blocks to Atlantic Ave.

Impact glass, 24” porcelain flooring, LED lighting, and a spacious backyard. Blake Morris 561.901.6960 | blake@morrisreg.com

Jeannine Morris 561.703.0999 | jeannine@morrisreg.com

Health & Harmony

Volunteers feel rewarded at holidays. Page AT21

Paws Up for Pets

Therapy dogs help readers stay on the page. Page AT24

On the Water

Great gifts for lovers of the great outdoors. Page AT26

Outdoors

Page AT27

Centennial celebrations!

1920s land boom accounts for why so many places are marking their 100th birthdays

By Jane Musgrave

Janet DeVries Naughton is nagged by a book on her to-do list. If and when she gets time to write it, she knows what she will call it: 1925

It’s a no-brainer, said Naughton, a prolific writer who teaches history at Palm Beach State College and is former president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society.

“That was the prime year,” Naughton said. “It was the biggest land boom bubble we’ve ever seen.”

West Palm Beach attorney Harvey Oyer III, a local historian and author who is a descendant of Boynton Beach pioneers, agreed.

In a few short years following World War I, Florida overall and Palm Beach County in particular were transformed.

For roughly five years, beginning in 1920, the county’s farm fields and mosquito-infested swamps became magnets for industrialists, architects, builders and thousands of others looking to get rich while basking in perpetual sunshine.

See CENTENNIALS on page AT6

Gumbo Limbo atwitter with visit by rare bird.

Life in the 1920s: TOP: Sun bathers enjoy Boca Raton's surf. ABOVE: Members of the Cason family, pioneers in Delray Beach.

Dancing and fishing got top billing at this shack in Boca Raton. Photos provided by the Boca Raton and the Delray Beach historical societies

Boys & Girls Club fundraiser to celebrate Cuban culture

By Amy Woods

A mojito bar, a cigar roller and a Cuban coffee station will highlight the sixth annual fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Delray Beach.

The theme of this year’s Cocktails for the Club is “Havana Nights,” and organizers of the Dec. 10 party are doing their best to bring the vibes of the island nation to the St. Andrews Club.

“Aside from being a fantastic night with amazing food and entertainment, I think it’s an opportunity for attendees to really feel like they are giving back on a very local level,” said Virginia Kinsey, event co-chairwoman. “I feel so grateful to be such a big part of this — and the Boys & Girls Club in general.”

Kinsey said she and the other event co-chairwomen — Hannah Childs, Laura Compton, Whitney Garner and Jenny Streit — are “upping the ante with

If You Go

What: Boys & Girls Club of Delray Beach’s Cocktails for the Club

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 10

Where: St. Andrews Club, 4475 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach

Cost: $195

Information: 561-676-5472 or bgcpbc.org/event/ 6th-annual-cocktails-for-the-club

regard to the pomp and circumstance” of the end-of-the-year gala.

An elaborate exhibition of photographs taken in Cuba by professional artist James Knill will be on display courtesy of the Amanda James Gallery.

“We do our absolute very best to underwrite and limit the costs so that the maximum amount of money can go

back to the Boys & Girls Club,” Kinsey said. “The impact will be exponential for the club.”

An anticipated 200-plus attendees are expected to raise close to $300,000 to help the club with its mission of enabling youths to realize their full potential.

“For me personally, I think the Boys & Girls Club is one of those organizations that desperately needs to be supported in a bigger capacity,” Kinsey said. “A lot of these children

Note: Events are current as of 11/27. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER

Tuesday - 12/10 - Boys & Girls Club of Delray Beach’s Cocktails for the Club at The St. Andrews Club, 4475 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach. Kick off the holiday season with a social featuring professional dancers, a salsa band, live and silent auctions, action stations and signature cocktails all fitting the theme

Delray Green Market Every Saturday 9am-2pm Old School Square Order Online: larrygraner.com Call Us: 785-764-5992

need a place to go after school. Sometimes it gets taken for granted that kids always have a safe and supportive environment. The Boys & Girls Club offers those services to the Delray community.

“Our kids need to be actively engaged with other individuals,” she continued. “Where we are slowly losing everybody to technology, for these children to have a club to go to is an absolute imperative.” P

of “Havana Nights.” 6-9 pm. $195. 561676-5472 or bgcpbc.org.

Sunday - 12/15 - Hanley Foundation’s Brice Makris Brunch at The Boca Raton, 501 E. Camino Real. Have a day of fun featuring entertainment and live and silent auctions to raise funds that will help save lives from substance abuse. 11 am-2 pm. $200. 561-268-2346 or hanleyfoundation.org.

JANUARY

Saturday - 1/11 - The Rotary Club of Boca Raton’s OPAL Awards at Boca West Country Club, 20583 Boca West Drive, Boca Raton. Celebrate Outstanding People And Leaders with cocktails and dinner and a special tribute to the life and legacy of Spencer Siegel. 6:30-11 pm. $375. 561-477-7180 or rotaryclubbocaraton.com.

Monday - 1/20 - Spady Cultural Heritage Museum’s Martin Luther King Jr. Brunch at Indian Spring

The next edition of The Coastal Star will be delivered the weekend of Jan. 4

Country Club, 11501 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach. Begin the new year by celebrating the life and legacy of the historical figure with more than 300 guests from Palm Beach and Broward counties. 10 am-noon. $55. 561-2798883 or spadymuseum.com.

Friday - 1/31 - Delray Beach Public Library’s Laugh with the Library at Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa, 10 N. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach. Laugh out loud at this year’s installment of an evening of comedy, featuring actor/ comedian T.J. Miller. 7-11 pm. $500. 561-266-0798 or delraylibrary.org/ laugh.

FEBRUARY

Saturday - 2/1 - Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s 62nd Annual Ball at The Boca Raton, 501 E. Camino Real. Help raise funds for the advancement and enhancement of patient care and enjoy entertainment by the legendary band Chicago. 6-11 pm. Sponsorships start at $5,000. 561955-6634 or donate.brrh.com

Monday - 2/10 - Woman’s Club of Delray Beach’s Real Men Bake & Valentine Sock Hop at Boca Delray Golf and Country Club, 5483 Boca Delray Blvd., Delray Beach. Sample sweet and savory delights baked by a who’s-who cast of male volunteers at a ‘50’s-themed benefit for local charities. 6-9 pm. $40. 561-870-6345 or 561-7068577 or delraywomansclub.com.

Childs

Streit Kinsey Garner Compton

Marcus Foundation gives record grant to Boca Regional Hospital

An unprecedented $32 million gift from the late co-founder of the Home Depot has been made to the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

One of the last acts of generosity personally directed by Bernie Marcus, who died in November at age 95, the grant from the Marcus Foundation will elevate the institute to a premier destination for neurological care.

“We are incredibly fortunate to be part of a community where individuals like Bernie and Billi Marcus are driven to make such profound impacts,” said Dr. Warren Selman, director and chief medical executive of the institute.

“Thanks to their support, we now offer a program that not only rivals but stands alongside the best in the nation.”

The grant comes on the heels of Keeping the Promise ... The Campaign for Boca Raton Regional Hospital, which exceeded its $250 million goal.

“We are forever grateful to Bernie and Billi Marcus for their foresight, relentless spirit, selfless generosity and commitment to their passion to Marcus Neuroscience

Institute,” hospital CEO Lincoln Mendez said. “This grant reflects their deep commitment to improving health care and ensuring our hospital remains a leader in medical excellence for years to come.”

For more info, call 561-9554142 or visit donate.brrh.com.

Scholarship fund honors guidance counselors

At the George Snow

Scholarship Fund’s annual High School Counselor Appreciation Breakfast, honors were bestowed upon counselors at the Palm Beach County School District.

The event celebrated the essential role counselors play in guiding students into the next stage of life as they plan for higher education and careers.

“I want our counselors to know that their commitment does not go unnoticed,” said

Tim Snow, president of the fund. “Your work shapes futures in profound ways. While you may not always see the immediate results of your efforts, know that your compassionate work will resonate in students’ lives for years to come.”

Scholarship applications for the 2025 academic year now are being accepted.

For more information, call 561-347-6799 or visit scholarship.org.

Boca Helping Hands appoints trio to board

Kathy Adkins, Eric Gebhard and Zach Pechter have joined the leadership at Boca Helping Hands.

Since she moved to Boca Raton in 1994, volunteerism has been a part of Adkins’ life. Her involvement includes Impact 100 Palm Beach County and the Junior League of Boca Raton.

Gebhard served as a vice president for JM Family Enterprises and Bank of America, putting his degrees from the University of Chicago and Virginia Tech to use.

Pechter, who grew up in Boca Raton, is the founder and CEO of Proteris Compliance

Solutions. He began volunteering at SOS Children’s Village at an early age.

“We are so pleased to have three outstanding members of our community join the board,” said Gary Peters, Boca Helping Hands’ board president. “I know their extensive knowledge and experience will greatly benefit Boca Helping Hands.”

For more information, call 561-417-0913 or visit bocahelpinghands.org.

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

Adkins

Billi and Bernie Marcus. Photo provided

Pechter

Gebhard

Celebrations

Boca Raton Historical Society VIP reception

Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum Nov. 14

Dozens of guests were dazzled by the grand-opening celebration of ‘Boca Raton 1925-2025: Addison Mizner’s Legacy.’ The exhibit, open to the public through May 30, marks the city’s centennial with a showcase of the visionary work of the architect and his profound influence on the city. The reception ‘was a wonderful way to launch this milestone exhibition,’ said Mary Csar, executive director of the historical society. ‘As we celebrate Boca Raton’s centennial, this exhibit offers an inspiring look at the past 100 years while setting the stage for an even brighter future.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Vanessa Carosella, Joyce DeVita, Karen Sweetapple and Betsy Fletcher. Photo provided

Les Girls luncheon Ocean Club of Florida, Ocean Ridge Oct. 29

Les Girls of Palm Beach opened its 53rd season with a festive gathering of members of the international group. The 42 women, who represented 28 countries, welcomed President Rita Sullivan. Martina Covarrubias, past president, will continue to serve as historian. Covarrubias said, ‘I enjoyed being president. The relationships are so important. Everyone is kind and supportive. I feel blessed and will treasure forever these friendships.’

ABOVE: (l-r) Margarita Abrishami, Xiomara Ordonez, Genevieve Lancaric, Jeanine Guerrero and Poon Pierce. CENTER: Christiane Francois and Monique Sheft. BELOW: Michele Weiss and Stephanie Lefes. Photos provided

Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon

The Boca Raton Nov. 1

The Junior League of Boca Raton’s 37th annual affair sold out with more than 900 attendees. Terry Fedele, nominated by Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, earned the volunteer award while Nancy Brinker, nominated by the Promise Fund, took home the Lifetime Achievement Award. A total of 43 women were nominated by nonprofits from across the county. ‘We were thrilled to recognize 43 outstanding volunteers and were so impressed with the award winners and all that they have accomplished,’ Junior League President Nikki Stelzer said. ABOVE: (l-r) Maureen Mann, Stelzer, Fedele, Brinker and event CoChairwomen Khrisna Kellerman and Meryll Bangsil. Photo provided by Kelly O’Brien/Coastal Click Photography

Charity bicycle ride

Downtown Delray Beach Oct. 26

Achievement Centers for Children & Families cast a spell on the general public during its event organized by the Witches of Delray. The witches started out at City Hall, flying down Atlantic Avenue and zipping back to Old School Square. Nearly 300 decked-out women rode. ‘As we marked the 13th anniversary of our witches ride, we were reminded of the incredible community spirit that has made this event so special,’ Achievement Centers CEO Stephanie Seibel said. ‘It’s not just about the costumes and the fun — it’s about coming together to support a cause that has such a meaningful impact.’ ABOVE: (l-r) Geiselle Surette, Susan Carriegos, Kathleen Chase, Christina Dernick, Myah Brollini, Heather Thomas and Danielle Tofini. Photo provided

Read for the Record Boynton

The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County welcomed classrooms, libraries and communities throughout the county to come together to read the same book on the same day. The goal was to improve awareness about the importance of early literacy and supporting children’s language development. This year’s chosen book was ‘Piper Chen Sings.’ ‘PNC is proud to join the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County in bringing this event to our community and highlighting the critical importance of early literacy,’ said Cressman Bronson, a regional president for the bank, which sponsored the initiative. ‘Through programs like this, we can help students establish a lifelong love of reading and create a foundation for success in school and life.’

ABOVE: (l-r)

Katiana Scruggs (Atkins TLC preschool), Evangelina Hiraldo (Glades Family Education), Cindy Pilloni (PNC Bank), Kristin Calder (Literacy Coalition) and Tania Rogers (WPTV-5). Photo provided

Beach Arts & Cultural Center Oct. 24

Celebrations

Open house

3100 NW Boca Raton Blvd., Suite 312, Boca Raton Nov. 7

Her 2nd Chance, a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to empowering women in recovery, celebrated two significant milestones at its yearly mixer getting its 100th woman hired and raising $57,000 in support of its mission. Bringing together program participants, board members, volunteers, donors and community supporters, the event shined a spotlight on the progress made in the past year. ‘Our family supports Her 2nd Chance because it meets a need in our community offering women in recovery the chance to transition into the workforce at their own pace while providing a sense of purpose and belonging,’ benefactor Lynn Lawless said.

TOP: (l-r) Jim and Helen Ballerano, Greg and Michelle Bernardo and Neil Gillman.

CENTER: (l-r) Peter Austin, Jeanette Austin and Ted Campbell.

BOTTOM: Joseph and Karen Sena. Photos provided by Minnerly Media

Impact 100 fall kickoff Neiman Marcus, Boca Raton Oct. 29

Impact 100 Palm Beach County launched its 2024-25 giving year at an affair that drew more than 200 members and guests. Celebrating 14 years of philanthropy, the organization has invested $6.8 million in South County through 112 grants. Of those grants, a total of 65 are $100,000 high-impact grants, and the remaining 47 are merit grants. At the event, the importance of strengthening the community through collective giving was highlighted.

TOP: (l-r) Gina Griffin, Susan Lampert, Sarah Ponczek and Julie Peyton.

CENTER: (l-r) Sarah Retzer, Jacqui Moroco Maloney, Donya Meade and Ona Steele.

and

BOTTOM: Noreen Payne, LuAnn WarnerProkos

Ingrid Kennemer. Photos provided

CENTENNIALS

Continued from page AT1

“It actually makes today’s growth look slow,” said Oyer.

People would line up for hours outside real estate offices to buy land sight unseen. After they bought the mystery property, many would go to the end of the line and sell it for an instant profit.

“It was a crazy time,” Oyer said. “It was like the wild, wild west.”

The land boom, which was burst by the combined forces of deadly hurricanes that cut off routes for building materials and the 1929 stock market crash that drove the country into the Great Depression, changed the face of the region.

A record-setting 30 of Florida’s 411 towns and cities were incorporated in 1925. Boca Raton and Gulf Stream, along with Jupiter and Deerfield Beach, were among them.

Entertainment venues, like the Lake Worth Playhouse and the Gulf Stream Golf Club, opened while the Delray Beach golf course began to take shape.

Families that flocked to the county needed schools for their children. In 1925, a new high school opened in Delray Beach. The buildings now house the Crest Theatre and the vintage gym as part of the city’s iconic arts complex, Old School Square.

As the population grew, police and fire protection were also needed. Boynton Beach in 1924 established its first Fire Department, an all-volunteer force that would remain so for nearly 30 years.

Now, not surprising, the various places are celebrating their past, their longevity and their contributions to the area. Here’s a look at those that not just survived but flourished and their unique plans to mark their centennials.

Boca Raton

The city’s history is wound tightly to famed architect Addison Mizner. Best remembered (incorrectly, according to city historian Susan Gillis) for strolling the city with his pet monkey while dressed in a bathrobe, he came to Boca Raton from Palm Beach. He arrived shortly before Boca Raton was incorporated as Boca Ratone

on Aug. 2, 1924, and then, as simply Boca Raton, on May 26, 1925.

Snapping up tens of thousands of acres, Mizner said that his Mizner Development Corp. would create “a resort as splendid in its entirety as Palm Beach is in spots.”

But, according to Gillis, curator for the Boca Raton Historical Society, Boca Raton’s gain was Boynton Beach’s loss. Mizner originally planned to build his “Dream City of the Western World” along the ocean in Boynton, what is now Ocean Ridge.

But Mizner angered Boynton’s mayor and its residents by ripping up State Road A1A in the middle of the night to create direct beachfront access for his planned palatial community.

Shunned in Boynton, he shifted his attention to Boca Raton, where he was named town planner. Many of his grandiose ideas, such as making El Camino Real a 20-lane highway, never materialized.

Bankruptcy thwarted his plans.

Still, his influence is everywhere, from the famed resort and club now known as The Boca Raton, to the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, to a smattering of houses in the Spanish Village and the Old Floresta Historic District neighborhoods.

The city has already begun

its centennial celebration with a contest, challenging residents to write an “Ode to Boca” in five lines, with each line containing the number of words in their ZIP codes. (For instance, if your ZIP code is 33427, the first two lines would each have three words, etc.) Entries are due by May.

Other events planned include Boca Street Fest on Jan. 25; a Centennial Cup golf tournament in February; a centennial concert at Mizner Park Amphitheater on May 24; a centennial drone show at Boca Raton Innovation Campus on May 25, and a centennialthemed holiday parade in December.

Gulf Stream

Mizner’s influence extended to nearby Gulf Stream. He designed the regal clubhouse while famed golf course architect Donald Ross laid out the greens and fairways at the Gulf Stream Golf Club, which opened in March 1924. The club celebrated its 100th birthday in March.

Members of the town’s civic association are planning ways to mark Gulf Stream’s 1925 incorporation. In February, a dinner will be held at the Little Club, a private golf course that was built on the town’s former polo grounds where the town took root.

The family of Henry Phipps Jr., who along with Andrew

Carnegie founded the company that became U.S. Steel, saw Gulf Stream as an ideal place to build a golf course, polo fields and seasonal homes.

The Phipps real estate company filed papers to incorporate the town. The company wanted to call it Phipps Beach, but it was known as Gulf Stream and the name stuck.

The polo fields along the Intracoastal Waterway established Gulf Stream as the “Winter Polo Capital of the World.” Hundreds of people, some in yachts, watched the matches. With land values skyrocketing, the Phipps family sold the fields for homesites in the 1960s, sending polo to the county’s western reaches.

Kirsten Stanley, president of the civic association, said she lives in one of the six surviving “polo houses” where star players spent the season.

More events, such as a Gulf Stream Gives Back Day organized with a nonprofit, are planned to celebrate the centennial, she said.

Lake Worth Playhouse

The county’s oldest working theater and its oldest art deco building has been through a lot in its 100-year history, says Michael McKeich, a local historian.

Founded by two brothers from Pittsfield, Illinois, it started showing silent movies, then talkies and then, when multiplexes threatened small movie houses throughout the country, it survived on X-rated fare, including, famously, Deep Throat, McKeich said. Since the mid-1970s, it has been home to live community theater.

While its offerings have varied, the building has remained surprisingly unchanged, he said. Its pecky cypress ceilings are still marked with a large “O” and “T,” the logo of Oakley Theatre, its name when Clarence and Lucien Oakley opened it on Nov. 3, 1924.

Four years later, the $150,000 theater was ravaged by the 1928 hurricane, which killed at least 3,000 people in the county, mostly in the Glades.

Less than four months and $50,000 later, the theater reopened, McKeich said.

Having survived Mother Nature, the Oakleys couldn’t survive the financial windstorm brought on by the Great Depression.

In 1931, deeply in debt, Lucien Oakley killed himself. A year later, his brother died of a heart attack, McKeich said.

The building was bought by the Chicago-based Publix Theatres Corp. and renamed the Worth Theatre. (Fun fact: Lakeland grocer George Jenkins, who founded the Publix supermarket chain, named his store after the theater company, fondly remembering the time he spent at the movies.)

In the 1960s, the business fell on hard times again and became the Playtoy Theatre, euphemistically called an “arts theater.” Raided by police, derided by ministers and shunned by elected officials, it eventually closed and fell into disrepair, McKeich said.

In the mid-1970s, the nonprofit Lake Worth Playhouse bought it for $60,000 and refurbished it. With occasional surprise appearances

Delray Beach has grown, but there is no mistaking Old School Square, with the Crest Theatre in the background, as seen from Atlantic Avenue in its early days.

LEFT: A newspaper ad from the 1920s promoted Addison Mizner’s dream community in Boca Raton.

ABOVE: The parking lot and landscaping have changed a little, but the exterior of the Gulf Stream Golf Club still keeps its 1920s Mizner style. Photos provided by Boynton Beach City Library, Boca Raton Historical Society and Delray Beach Historical Society

by actor Burt Reynolds, a Jupiter native now deceased, it became a success.

The theater will celebrate its centennial on Dec. 13 with a 1920s-themed party. Guests are encouraged to wear Roaring ’20s-style outfits to watch silent films accompanied by a piano.

Information is available at lakeworthplayhouse.org/ special-events.

Crest Theatre

Once the home of school plays and high school basketball games, the 100-yearold Crest Theatre and the Vintage Gym, along with its older neighbor, the 1913 Delray Beach Elementary School, for decades have formed the heart of Delray Beach arts.

Renovated and repurposed more than 30 years ago to become Old School Square, the theater and gym that made up the 1925 Delray Beach High School are key spokes in the city’s cultural wheel.

A controversial fallingout in 2021, when the City Commission fired the square’s longtime management company, has divided oversight of the buildings. The city’s Downtown Development Authority manages the Cornell Art Museum in the former elementary school, the gym and outdoor amphitheater. The city oversees the theater.

After years of construction, still not finished, the Creative Arts School reopened in the

theater building in November.

With questions about the safety of the theater’s balcony and the need to replace rigging and electrical equipment, it is still not known when the estimated $3 million to $5 million project will be underway, much less complete, city executives have told Delray Beach commissioners.  City Manager Terrence Moore said there are no current plans to mark the theater’s centennial, according to Gina Carter, city spokesperson.

But Laura Simon, DDA executive director, said her office is working to raise money to have some events to mark the milestones. It is trying to book a national act for a ticketed outside concert, she said. Details for a community celebration, possibly with a Roaring ’20s theme, are still being worked out, she said.

“Our town is all about history,” Simon said. “We want to celebrate it.”

The three-bedroom cottage that serves as home to the Delray Beach Historical Society isn’t the oldest building in town, although it has the most impressive lineage.

The Casons were a formidable force in Delray Beach’s history, said Kayleigh Howald, a historical society archivist. “They were mayors. They were judges. They were doctors. They were community leaders,” she said.

The house was built in 1924 by the Rev. J.R. Cason, who moved to Delray Beach from Arkansas to be closer to his children and grandchildren.

The pastor quickly immersed himself in civic affairs. He served as a municipal judge, was chairman of the Palm Beach County Board of Instruction and founded the Methodist Children’s Home in Volusia County, the first orphanage in the state.

When the 1928 hurricane leveled the First Methodist Church, he returned to the

pulpit and helped rebuild the church on Swinton Avenue. It was named in his honor.

Meanwhile, his extended family members were making their marks. One of his sons, Dr. John R. “Roy” Cason Jr., was the town’s first doctor — the only one between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

One of his daughters, Jessie Cason, married James Love, the city’s first pharmacist who operated Love’s Drugs on Atlantic Avenue. Love also served as a mayor, town commissioner and a municipal judge.

Another son, Andrew E. “Van” Cason, a banker, Realtor and gasoline wholesaler, built a house across the street from his parents. Dubbed Tarrimore, it is home to Dada restaurant.

The restaurant celebrated Tarrimore’s 100th birthday in May. The historical society, which turned 60 this year, held a barbecue in November to mark its milestone and the 100th anniversary of the cottage.

Public safety was one of a town’s first duties.

FAR LEFT: The first Boca Raton fire station (and police station, library and Town Hall) is now home to the historical society.

LEFT: Boynton’s first volunteer fire department in this 1925 photo.

Boynton Beach Fire Department

The agency’s first fire truck was a two-hose cart pulled by a Model T that belonged to the water department. A year later, technology arrived. It got a used 500-gallon pumper truck that remained in service for at least 43 years.

Originally staffed with volunteers, the department hired two firefighters in 1953, according to the Boynton Beach Times. The paid firefighters were required to work 24hour shifts every other day. Volunteers relieved them. Clearly, times have changed.

In a television interview, Chief Hugh Bruder remembered his early career when firefighters hung onto the back of the truck when rushing to calls. “Riding the tailboard,” he called it.

The department celebrated its centennial on Sept. 14 with a community party at Centennial Park & Amphitheater. P

Cason Cottage

Aspiring chefs get real-world practice at school’s commercial kitchen

Anew commercial kitchen comes with a plan to train food service workers of the future.

The 1,000-square-foot space, part of the Hub at the alternative school Space of Mind in Delray Beach, is set up to give students and adults a chance to work in hospitality or start a food business, or to use as a catering kitchen.

Its rooms are set up as individual labs used as a creative learning center.

“Along with traditional curriculum, we teach life skills,” said Ali Kaufman, founder of the Space of Mind home-school program.

“We work with families and students who find traditional classroom learning stressful. Our mission is to rethink education and provide experiential learning.”

After beginning with a family coaching company in 2004 and growing it into Space of Mind, Kaufman has added the Hub. With money from the Community Classroom Project — the nonprofit arm of the school to engage the public — a multiuse space was built in a former event space next to the school.

The Hub building was started in 2018, Kaufman said, but “COVID and construction delays sidelined us.”

It opened in 2020, with a number of labs open to students and the public. After-school as well as adult programs include art, music, science, coding and animation, photography, studio recording and more.

The commercial kitchen, Kaufman’s ultimate goal for

the school, was completed and certified in April. It serves as a commissary for student meals, and it is where students help produce the Mason Jar Munchies sold at the city green market as an entrepreneurial project. If they come up with an idea for a food product, the teaching chef, Debra Dickinson, can help with it.

Teaching life skills is crucial, Kaufman said. “Kids weren’t developing skills to leave home” in traditional schools, she said. Cutbacks and other issues took away vocational skills education.

“Our mission is to create well-rounded adults,” she said.

Kaufman’s own background includes management with restaurants such as the Cheesecake Factory. She

opened several of the chain’s locations, and says that working in hospitality can lead to management careers.

The kitchen also serves as an incubator for outside food entrepreneurs, as well as a classroom for public cooking classes and a catering kitchen for events.

“We have a collaboration with local chefs — Blake Malatesta of the Wine Room, Jimmy Everett of Driftwood in Boynton, Michael Salmon of Flybird, Daniel Diaz at the Ben Hotel,” Kaufman said.

The group meets monthly to discuss the hospitality industry and ways the school’s students can help staff restaurants and kitchens in the area.

“There is a big lack of workforce,” Kaufman said. “We

hope we can help train and fill positions to make a positive impact.”

The chefs not only mentor older kids at the school, offering them jobs, but teach public classes or have special dinners, such as a chef’s table to benefit the school.

Classes held at the Hub are taught by Dickinson. Most cost $75 per person.

In December they include:

• 6 p.m. Dec. 6: By the Book. Tackle recipes from the cookbooks of rock and roll music icons.

• 10 a.m. Dec. 15: Buche de Noel. Learn how to create a Buche de Noel and take home the classic cake shaped like a Yule log.

• 6 p.m. Dec. 18: Latkes

• 6 p.m. Dec. 20: Dumplings

• 10 a.m. Dec. 21: Cookies for your cookie exchange.

The kitchen will be formally opened in January with a special event. Kaufman is expecting people who want to ease into owning their own food facilities to take advantage of the space to cater events or test and produce products for market.

She also invites area chefs to ask about staging cooking classes or special dinners.

Costs for kitchen rental vary by class and use; contact the Hub at Space of Mind for more information.

Hub at Space of Mind, 101 NW First Ave., Delray Beach. 561-894-8772; https:// findspaceofmind.com/registerfor-a-program/.

Usher in the New Year Looking to ring in 2025 with a party? Here’s a sampling of events at area venues. Reserve now to ensure a seat —  it’s all about reservations on New Year’s Eve.

Crazy Uncle Mike’s (6450 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 561-9312889, crazyunclemikes.com) will host an extravaganza with Guavatron, beginning at 8 p.m. The band from West Palm Beach will jam and perform a special set, “Guavatron Does Daft Punk.” A la carte menus are upscale pub food; a full bar and champagne at midnight are available.

Akira Back, in the Ray Hotel (233 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 561-7391708; akirabackdelray. com) offers a special menu for two seatings New Year’s Eve. Japanese-Korean fusion is highly rated. Reservations ensure entrance to the Rosewater Rooftop Bar with champagne at midnight, Amar Bistro (25 SE Sixth Ave., Delray Beach; 561-8655653, amardelray.com), which recently expanded in its new location, will showcase its Mediterranean menu and belly dancer entertainment at special late seatings. Champagne at midnight.

Throw Social (29 SE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 800-5610755; throwsocial.com) will swing into the New Year with an open bar, breakfast buffet, party favors, live music and a balloon drop at midnight. The party starts at 7 p.m. and goes to 3 a.m.

Deck 84 (840 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 561-6658484, deck84.com) offers free entry all night to the waterfront deck. Kitchen open till 11 p.m. Live bands, a la carte food items. Free champagne toast at midnight. Walk-ins only until 6 p.m.; dinner reservations 6-10 p.m.

Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@ gmail.com.

Kaufman

The Hub at Space of Mind educational center in Delray Beach provides a professional-grade kitchen for would-be chefs and food entrepreneurs to learn skills of the trade. Photo provided

Works included in the Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing exhibit at the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach are:

TOP: How a Fall Can Make You Real, 2023, oil and acrylic on canvas by Caleb Hahne Quintana, and ABOVE: Untitled III, 2024, oil on canvas by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe. Photos provided

What a knockout!

Norton exhibit celebrating art of boxing packs a punch

By Jan Engoren Contributing Writer

Perhaps it’s no surprise that on the 50th anniversary of the iconic Muhammad Ali-George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle,” the historic and memorable boxing match in Kinshasa, Zaire, the Norton Museum of Art brings Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing, an exhibit showcasing artistic representations of the sport of boxing.

The title comes from a poem by Gabriele Tinti inspired by the ancient Greek sculpture Seated Boxer, in the National Museum of Rome.

The exhibit, on view through March 9, is a collaboration with New York galleries The FLAG Art Foundation and The Church. It brings 60 new works and pieces by Hernan Bas, Amoako Boafo,

Katherine Bradford, Zoë Buckman, Rosalyn Drexler, Jeffrey Gibson, Allegra Pacheco and Gary Simmons to South Florida. A companion book is also available.

“I had the idea for this show floating around in my Notes app on my phone,” says Arden Sherman, Glenn W. and Cornelia T. Bailey senior curator of contemporary art at the Norton. “When I learned of the exhibits in New York, I decided to join forces, rather than duke it out.”

Exploring the global sport and its cultural impact through the lens of 80 artists and 100 pieces of art from the 1870s through the present day, the exhibit features paintings, videos, sculptures and works on paper by JeanMichel Basquiat, Edward Hopper, Ed Ruscha and Alison Saar.

And, as Sara Cochran, founding chief curator of The Church, writes in the book : “We cannot honestly contemplate boxing without acknowledging its

violence and pain as well as the skill and training that it demands, along with its symbolism, relationship to masculinity and the role of the audiences who witness this spectacle.”

The spectacle of the sport is on full display at the museum, with the goal of bringing in a non-traditional audience and extending the reach of the museum.

“This exhibit is unlike anything we’ve done before,” says Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art. “The exhibition has a raw intensity that visitors can feel and explores themes of power and resilience that speak to sports fanatics and art lovers alike.”

The show is organized into 11 categories: tools, the body, race and culture, in the ring, fantasy, sexuality, movement, practice and posture, artist as boxer, ephemera and women in boxing.

Greeting you as you enter the exhibit are videos from the Library of Congress

See BOXING on AT13

South Florida jazz duo has been ‘running toward the art’ for 30

By Bill Meredith ArtsPaper Music Writer

Perhaps the preeminent jazz duo of all time, and definitely the top historic vocal-and-guitar jazz duo, was the pairing of singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) and guitarist Joe Pass (1929-1994).

The two larger-than-life artists primarily led successful separate careers, other than occasional live performances together, releasing only four duo albums between 1973 and 1986 and thus always leaving audiences waiting for more.

But if you think that comparable dynamism couldn’t possibly exist in South Florida, then you haven’t seen or heard Davis and Dow (www. davisanddow.com).

The Pompano Beach-based duo of vocalist Julie Davis and guitarist Kelly Dow actually met

with Fitzgerald in mind when Davis placed a 1994 classified ad in RAG magazine — does anybody remember that South Florida print publication? — that read, “Looking for a musician. Singer into Ella Fitzgerald.”

Dow, whose primary influences include a holy trinity of jazz guitarists in Pass, Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt, responded while on break during a cruise ship gig. The two met at an open mic; performed the jazz standard “How High the Moon,” and haven’t come down since.

That’s because the meeting eventually resulted in a honeymoon.

The two got married in 1997, and now have more than 30 years of dueting on multiple levels, including performances in New York City, London, and Japan.

“Japan was around 25 years ago,”

Davis says, “for a New Year’s Eve gig. And there, instead of singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ as the clock strikes midnight, they sing ‘Top of the World’ by the Carpenters! So we all sang, ‘I’m on top of the world lookin’ down on creation.’ It was a fun and interesting cultural experience.”

The couple, each a native Texan, took different routes toward Florida and music in general.

Dow graduated from the esteemed University of North Texas music program in 1990 before getting called for lucrative South Florida cruise ship dates. His expertise on an Eastman seven-string guitar results in lush, gorgeous melodies and harmonies that, like his predecessors, often sound like more than one guitarist. A true instrumentalist, the introverted

years

Julie Davis and Kelly Dow will bring their repertoire of jazz standards and originals to numerous local venues this month. Photo

JAZZ DUO

Continued from page 9

Dow speaks sparingly and in measured tones, opting to allow his hands to make the bulk of his statements.

“A lot of the people at UNT were getting those cruise ship contracts,” he recalls. “I hadn’t traveled that much in my life, so to me, it was all pretty cool, especially getting a gig like that for the first time. And I liked it in Florida, and being able to make a living here through playing music.”

Whether she is singing or speaking, Davis’ effervescent, extroverted personality practically always bubbles over. Her self-taught vocal phrasing, humor and improvisational skills are showcased on everything from soothing ballads to explosive scat-singing.

She relocated to the Sunshine State on advice from her mother.

“I was spinning my wheels in Texas, working at Blockbuster Video,” she says with a laugh.

“My mom lived here, and said there was a thriving jazz scene in and around Fort Lauderdale. She said, ‘Come down here and live with me. You need to be singing. You need to see what you can do with your voice.’ And she’s been equally gracious and giving ever since in supporting my habit.”

Primarily a performing duet, Davis and Dow also play occasionally with bassist Paul Shewchuk’s Swing All-Stars with fellow regional luminaries like saxophonist Jesse Jones Jr., keyboardist Michael Masci and drummer Orlando Machado. Davis and Dow also pay the bills with jobs at North Broward Preparatory School — Dow as an instructor and Davis in an administrative role.

“I never wanted to be one of those singers who worked in hotels and made a lot of money playing corporate events,” Davis says. “I’m too connected to jazz and improvisation. That earthy, gritty, dirty, making mistakes realm of music. For us, the answer has always been to run toward the art, even if it’s not what everyone else wants to hear. We decided that was what would feed our souls and make

Clarification

An article in September’s edition of Palm Beach ArtsPaper about Russian soprano Anna Netrebko’s forthcoming appearance in February for a fundraising gala at Palm Beach Opera contained some statements that should have been clarified. Netrebko has condemned the current war in Ukraine in Facebook posts,

If You Go

See Davis and Dow 6-9 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Lake Park Town Green, 720 Park Ave., Lake Park (561-8813300); 1-3 p.m. Dec. 8 with Paul Shewchuk’s Swing All-Stars at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach ($35, 561-832-5328); 6-8 p.m. Dec. 11 at Bonnet House, 900 N. Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale (954-5635393); 6-10 p.m. Dec. 12 at The Wilton Collective, 1414 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors ($20, 754-701-5040); 5-8 p.m. Dec. 19 at Bona Italia, 2468 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors (954-565-7222); and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 26 at Pier 6 Rooftop, 200 N. Ocean Blvd., Pompano Beach (954-9432525).

us happy forever. And for the most part, that’s been true.”

“There’s an arts academy within the school at North Broward Prep,” says Dow, “and I have students who are already amazing. Their names will be known. And Julie does a great job as the school’s guest substitute teacher coordinator.”

Davis and Dow have three album releases: All Shades (1996), Naked (2001) and Loverly (2009), featuring original compositions, pop interpretations, and jazz standards written by giants like Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Irving Berlin. An overdue, long-awaited fourth release would equal the output of Fitzgerald and Pass.

“Oh, we know all about how many albums they did!” Davis exults. “We have some newer recordings that are done; we just haven’t figured out quite how to best present them yet. Vinyl is making a comeback. Digital? Hard-copy CDs?”

“We’re huge fans of John Pizzarelli,” Dow says of the singing jazz guitar icon. “Music has become all about click bait now, but he has a new CD out and was selling hard copies at a gig recently and said, ‘Next year, I’m going to sell CD players too!’”

while rejecting pressure to voice her political opinions in public. Also, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which canceled its contracts with Netrebko following the outbreak of the war, was ordered in February 2023 to pay her $200,000 for 13 performances she would otherwise have given. ArtsPaper regrets the errors and apologizes for any misinterpretation that may have resulted.

Theater Reviews

What’s happening on Broadway: Three new musicals offer promise

Editor’s note: Our theater writer, Hap Erstein, heads to New York every year to see what’s new in the theater. Here’s one of his reports:

By Hap Erstein ArtsPaper Theater Writer

Maybe Happy Ending (Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St., $59-$311. 212-239-6200):

On a Broadway landscape filled with movie adaptations and celebrity biographies, a genuinely original musical — from Korea, no less — is bound to stand out. Factor in that it is a romantic comedy between two outdated robots in the year 2064, who didn’t know they were looking for love or even quite what love is, and you have an unexpected emotional journey, exactly what a musical should aspire to deliver.

As in most rom-coms, Claire (Helen J Shen) and Oliver (Darren Criss) meet cute, when she knocks on his apartment door, eager to get a battery charge from him before her power is depleted. You see, they are both Helperbots, android assistants to their human owners, though both are now living out their retirement across the hall from each other, unaware of their existence until Claire’s power emergency. And while Oliver is initially annoyed by her intrusion, he is soon curiously drawn to her with previously unrealized feelings.

Oliver has been waiting for a reunion with his master. But now, with Claire’s assistance — being a newer-model bot, she is able to drive — the two head off on a road trip of discovery and, perhaps, romance.

Criss (best known for TV’s Glee, but with plenty of stage credits) is entirely committed to his robot persona, which involves mechanical movements that he manages to make endearing. Shen, in her Broadway debut, is every bit as appealing, and together they conjure a palpable chemistry albeit of a robotic kind. Both are strong vocalists, rendering well the score by Hue Park and Will Aronson, which while melodic, is entirely absent of the bombast that has taken hold of musical theater by the throat.

Maybe Happy Ending is as unlikely as it is intoxicating. Where the ride leads should be left for the viewer to discover; but it is after all a rom-com, with all the genre’s traditional expectations intact.

Death Becomes Her (LuntFontanne Theatre, 205 W. 46th St., $79.75- $319.50. 212-239-6200): This laugh-aminute stage adaptation of the 1992 Meryl Streep-Goldie Hawn flick is actually improved in its new, pardon the expression, incarnation. It would be far better if the score by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey — both making their Broadway debuts — were better than

serviceable, but you can’t have everything.

The story revolves around aging stage star Madeline Ashford (Megan Hilty in the Streep role), who learns of a potent concoction that not only restores her youth, but makes her immortal. For a price, of course. But first she is reunited with her longtime frenemy, writer Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard, taking over for Hawn), which unleashes an eveninglong torrent of poisoned zingers, penned by the droll Marco Pennette (veteran of TV’s Ugly Betty and others).

The animosity and comedy level of the two women increase exponentially when Madeline marries Helen’s fiancé, plastic surgeon Ernest Menville (Christopher Sieber in the role first played by Bruce Willis).

Tony-winning choreographer (Newsies) Christopher Gattelli steps up into the director’s

chair with assurance, keeping the farcical hijinks tight and delivering live equivalents of the movie’s numerous special effects. Add in a parade of dazzling sets by Derek McLane and Paul Tazewell’s cleavageflashing costumes to make a production where no expense was apparently spared.

Yet the effects cannot upstage Hilty and Simard, a pair of vocal belters who also know how to get the most out of a laugh line. Canny producers would do well to consider other properties to team up the two of them. Until then, however, Death Becomes Her will do just fine. Perhaps not a great musical, but one that certainly entertains, probably for a long time to come.

A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical (Studio 54, 254 54th St., $69-$308. 212-239-6200): In building a biographical

musical of legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong, his catalog of jazz hits is a given. The more important quality — the one where other attempts at celebrating Satchmo have come up short — is in the charisma of the principal performer. Fortunately, star James Monroe Iglehart is as personable and talented as any production could want.

Iglehart is no stranger to stepping into big shoes, having wiped away our image of Robin Williams’ genie on his way to winning a Tony Award in the Disney stage adaptation of Aladdin. And from the opening moments of A Wonderful World, as Iglehart stands alone at center stage blowing into his trusty horn, he is Louis Armstrong, mountainous frame, raspy voice and all.

The show is entirely conventional, being a chronological account of

Armstrong’s life, career and legacy, although most of it will probably be new to much of the audience. Scripter Aurin Squire has divided the evening into four sections, coinciding with Armstrong’s four wives, from an expendable union with a New Orleans hooker to a more enduring marriage with a Cotton Club headliner. Each is well-represented — Dionne Figgins, Jennie Harney Fleming, Kim Exum and Darlesia Cearcy — and missed when he abruptly jettisons them.

But Armstrong’s most important relationship was with his music, which remains prominent throughout the show and reflects Armstrong’s philosophy of optimism despite the racial prejudice he encountered along the way.

A Wonderful World adds up to a satisfying biography and jazz fest, largely because of the larger-than-life Iglehart.

Works from Spain’s Golden Age make a splendid, passionate showing in Boca

By Jan Engoren Contributing Writer

Kicking off its 75th anniversary season and the 100th anniversary of the city, the Boca Raton Museum of Art is showcasing Splendor and Passion: Baroque Spain and Its Empire, a collection of 57 paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries on loan from the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York City.

The HSM&L, as it is known, has the most extensive collection of Hispanic art and literature outside of Spain and Latin America.

At the Boca Museum, paintings considered masterpieces by El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), Diego Velázquez and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo — some religious and others allegorical — have been rarely seen and are making their first (and probably only) showing in Florida.

Other artists from that period include Jusepe de Ribera and Francisco de Zurbarán.

“The museum’s 75th anniversary coinciding with Boca Raton’s 100th anniversary called for a special exhibition,” says Irvin Lippman, executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, who is ending his tenure at the museum in February. “Splendor and Passion offers a rare glimpse into Spain’s rich artistic heritage during a dynamic, transformative and complex era of colonial expansion.”

Guillaume Kientz, CEO and director of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, said: “We are thrilled to partner with the Boca Raton Museum of Art for the world premiere of Splendor and Passion

“We don’t like to keep our works in storage,” he says. “We

If You Go

Splendor and Passion runs through March 30 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real (Mizner Park), Boca Raton.

Admission: $16; seniors, $12.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Wednesday through Sunday (till 8 pm Thursday).

Info: 561-392-2500 or www. bocamuseum.org.

want our works of art to be on view to the public, especially in places with Latin American or Spanish connections, such as Florida.”

According to Kientz, highlights of the Splendor and Passion exhibit — which runs through March 30 — include the works by El Greco, considered the last great artist of the Renaissance, with his 1590 portrait St. Luke, his Saint James the Great, painted in 1610, and his 1575 Pietà (The Lamentation of Christ).

Also a highlight from the Spanish Golden Age are the works of Velázquez, the most important painter in Spain, known for his formal state portraits of King Philip IV and other figures of the Spanish monarchy.

On display are his 1650 regal portrait of Cardinal Astalli, and his 1640 Portrait of a Little Girl, known for its naturalism and sense of intimacy, plus a selection of his works from his early period through his later works, which become more flamboyant in style.

To coincide with the museum’s anniversary, the museum has on display Las Meninas from an Artificial Light, a meticulous copy by Spanish conceptual artist Félix De La Concha of Velázquez’s famous 1656 painting that hangs in the

Prado in Madrid, painted from an online high-resolution image.

Also on view is a triptych by De La Concha, commissioned by the museum as a tribute to the city’s centennial in 2025. Painted en plein air, the local scene depicts Dixie Highway, the Flagler railroad and Camino Real, with Addison Mizner’s building, The Addison, as the centerpiece.

Another highlight from the Siglo de Oro, a period that saw the rise of the Spanish Empire and its influence on Europe and the Americas, is Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s The Prodigal Son Among the Swine (16561665), an oil on canvas depicting the plight of the poor.

The exhibit also includes a Latin American section featuring works from Mexico and Peru, highlighting the artistic vitality of work from this part of the world.

“It’s a story of immigration,” Kientz says. “Many of the artists born in Spain migrated and became established in Mexico and Peru, and others who were born in those countries adapted and established a new artistic language.”

The Spanish Baroque style spread throughout the region and merged and blended with the cultures and styles of each country to create new and innovative styles combining Western influences, local traditions and indigenous techniques.

These works went on to influence not only European artists, but also artists across the globe, shaping artistic movements in the Americas and beyond.

As South Florida has become a global art destination, and a mecca for Latin American art and artists, Kientz believes the exhibit will speak to its viewers.

The Wedding at Cana, 1696 by Nicholás Correa (oil and mixed media on wood panel, inlaid with mother-of-pearl). Photo courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York

Continued from page 9

and a short humorous film by William K.L. Dickson and William Heise, made in 1894, of two cats boxing.

Also noteworthy are a large 2014 charcoal drawing by New York artist Shaun Leonardo of Mike Tyson titled Champ; an acrylic-and-silkscreen painting of Ali, created by Andy Warhol in 1978; and a conceptual painting titled Weekly Pillow Fight Tournament by Bas, showing two young boys on a poster bed, symbolizing the boxing ring, in the sixth round of a pillow fight, feathers flying in the air.

Other highlights include the iconic Harry Benson photograph, Ali Hits George, taken at the 5th Street Gym in Miami in 1964 of Muhammad Ali posing with the Beatles; a 1985 Michael Halsband photograph of Warhol and Basquiat posing in boxing gear; and four original drawings by Ali in which he depicts the ring and the crowd, two created during the peak of his career in the mid-1960s and two from the 2000s, illustrating his ongoing love of the sport.

German-born and Romebased artist Marcel Hüppauff’s painting, AC/JJ, a 2015 oil on canvas, depicts the 1916 boxing match in a bull-fighting stadium in Barcelona between Swiss provocateur Arthur Cravan and American Jack Johnson (aka

“Galveston Giant”), the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion.

Johnson, who boxed during the early days of the Jim Crow era, experienced much racial hostility.

Excited to be a part of the show, Hüppauff, who flew in from Rome with his girlfriend, Ellen Wolf, also an artist, for the opening, says: “The exhibition is wonderful and there are so many amazing pieces in the show, especially the Muhammad Ali drawings and the 2003 Ed Ruscha painting, ‘I Told You Nobody Ought Never to Fight Him.’”

Hüppauff — who first created AC/JJ for an exhibit about Cravan at 8.salon in Hamburg, Germany — grew up watching boxing matches with his dad late at night and training at a boxing gym for 20 years — “no fights, but a lot of sparring,” he says.

The artist takes inspiration from the round cards held up prior to each round in a boxing match.

Using black and white to represent the two fighters, in the first round, they are both standing and wearing hats. By the sixth round the white figure is on the ground while the numbers turn more red each round.

The actual fight was fixed, and Cravan, a mediocre amateur boxer who was billed as the “European champion,”

If You Go Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing runs through March 9 at the Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach Tickets: $18 general Info: 561-832-5196; www. norton.org

had no chance against Johnson. The match, which could have ended in the first round, lasted six, but made money for the two showmen, who were both looking for a payday.

“A boxing match is like a dance between opponents,” says Hüppauff. “Of course, the two fight against each other, but also with each other, just like the colors in a painting.”

Also fighting against each other are women. Both women artists and women boxers are represented.

Photographer Delilah Montoya’s Women Boxers: The New Warriors captures the female boxing community in the Southwest, raising issues of family, motherhood and gender stereotypes.

Rose Marie Cromwell’s Pugilista documents female boxers in Cuba, while British artist Zoë Buckman uses typical women’s domestic trappings, such as dish towels, tablecloths and beads, in Like Home, Like Something, to create a series of boxing gloves, challenging the

notion of women in boxing.

Her neon, glass and leather sculpture, Champion, depicts boxing gloves as ovaries and makes a political statement about women’s reproductive rights.

Additional highlights include Jeffrey Gibson’s Manifest Destiny (2016), a repurposed punching bag inspired by

Native American culture; Roy Lichtenstein’s 1965 Pop painting Sweet Dreams Baby; Michel Comte’s black-and-white print, Mike Tyson with Dove (1990), and other works by Amoako Boafo, Katherine Bradford, Rosalyn Drexler, Gary Simmons and Costa Rican artist Allegra Pacheco.

A Rest Between Swings, 2023, oil on canvas by Jared McGriff. Photo provided

Reviews

Here are excerpts from reviews on the Palm Beach ArtsPaper website. For the full reviews, visit palmbeachartspaper.com.

Lost in Yonkers (Palm Beach Dramaworks, closed Nov. 23)

As word association goes, if I said “Neil Simon,” chances are you would respond “comedy.”

After all, there has been no more commercially successful purveyor of comedies in American history. Yet some of his best plays came in the latter half of his career when Simon learned to hold back on punch lines and wade into deeper, more heartfelt, dramatic waters.

Consider, for instance, 1991’s Lost in Yonkers, the tale of a tough-minded GermanAmerican grandmother, her emotionally damaged adult offspring and the two young teen grandchildren forced by dire circumstances to live with her in the title New York suburb during World War II. There are plenty of laughs in the first-rate Palm Beach Dramaworks production that jump-starts the company’s 25th anniversary season, but at its core, this saga of family and family dysfunction is certainly — as the organization’s name suggests — a drama.

Soon after we have taken in the visual pleasures of Bert Scott’s sizeable, though austere apartment set, we notice Jay and Arty Kurnitz, sweltering from the heat and fidgeting from their imminent encounter with their humorless, cane-wielding grandmother. Their challenge will be to persuade her to take them in while their weak-willed father travels through the South hawking scrap iron to pay the medical debts of his late wife.

Will the boys survive the ordeal unscathed or will they become damaged like their father, their mobster uncle Louie, their psychologically speech-impaired aunt Gert and, especially, their emotionally stunted, 35-going-on-15 childwoman aunt, Bella?

By all rights, Jay and Arty should be the focus of Lost in Yonkers, or perhaps steely Grandma Kurnitz should be. But thanks in no small part to a beautifully modulated performance by Fig Chilcott as Bella, she steals the play from the others and, as she learns to stand up for herself and reach for some personal happiness, steals the audience’s heart.

Simon had been churning out comedy hits for 30 years by the time he also garnered critical and institutional acclaim with Yonkers, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the best play Tony Award. He had long felt under the shadow of such “serious” playwrights as Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, and there are echoes of The Glass Menagerie in Grandma Kurnitz’s manipulation of her crippled daughter.

This Dramaworks production

is helmed by Julianne Boyd, the recently retired founding artistic director of (Massachusetts’) Barrington Stage Company, who stresses the reality in these stressed-out characters. The result is a touching truthfulness that also yields lump-in-thethroat laughter.

Most of the seven cast members made their Dramaworks debut, with the standout exception being Laura Turnbull (Grandma). We hear about her before we see her, and her first entrance is preceded by the ominous thumping of her cane. Although her face will be frozen in a perpetual scowl, she manages to express wordlessly the tough love beneath the surface.

Much of the play’s narrative rests on the shoulders of the two boys, and Will Ehren (Jay) and Victor de Paula Rocha (Arty) handle those chores with charm and ease. The rest of the cast is fine, but it is Chilcott’s Bella — a woman whose mind may be “closed for repairs,” but whose yearning for love you are likely to find irresistible.

Over the course of its quarter-century, Dramaworks has forged a reputation for savvy play selection and first-rate design. Both are evident in its embrace of Lost in Yonkers, as the West Palm company heads into its next 25 years. — Hap Erstein

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Kravis Center, Nov. 19)

After the once-in-a lifetime appearance of the legendary Vienna Philharmonic last season, the Classical Concert Series at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts scored another point by securing the no less prestigious Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam to open the current one.

Led by the celebrity conductor Klaus Mäkelä, the ensemble has achieved acclaim for its readings of the Central European repertoire, especially the symphonies by Mahler and Bruckner, none of which were featured at the program. It was a missed opportunity.

The all-Russian evening started with Mikhail Glinka’s Overture from Ruslan and Ludmila, his second opera, written between 1837 and 1842. In the West, the opera is virtually unknown, although the overture played last month appears in programs here and there as an opening number.

It is easy to understand why the overture has survived, as it is brilliantly written, highlighting all sections of the orchestra.

Mäkelä and his band gave it a most exceptional reading. The clarity and accuracy of the passagework in the string section was nothing short of miraculous, and woodwinds played with elegant phrasing. A true showstopper.

There was more musical substance in the next selection, the Violin Concerto No. 2 (in G minor, Op. 63) by Sergey Prokofiev. Written in 1935, it is one of his last works written before his permanent return to the Soviet Union. As such, it more intricately conceived, shying away from the easy effects the composer would employ after his conversion to the cause.

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili joined the Concertgebouw for a virtuosic rendition that made a strong case for this less wellknown concerto. Her flawless intonation, energetic rhythmic drive, and solid technique found worthy partners among the orchestra musicians.

Mäkelä’s direction was highly expressive, but also technically clean. His gestures ensured a clarity that it is remarkable for such large ensemble.

The second part consisted of Sergey Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 (in E minor, Op. 27), one of the most performed works by visiting ensembles at the Kravis Center. It was disappointing to hear one of the world’s greatest orchestras spend one hour with a work that, with all due respect to its admirers, is truly epigonic in more than one aspect.

Surely, the Royal Concertgebouw inundated Dreyfoos Hall with the lushest sounds ever heard. Furthermore, there is no question that Mäkelä has great affinity to the work, although the nostalgic element, so characteristic of renditions by Russian orchestras, was absent in his reading. But, why not Mahler, Bruckner, Brahms?

Still, the musicians deserved the usual “standing/walking” ovation received, which they obliged with a short encore, the Gopak from the opera The Fair at Sorochynsti by Modest Mussorgsky. One can only dream of an unlikely return of the august orchestra with a more satisfying program in the near future. — Márcio Bezerra

Conductor Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw presented an all-Russian concert at the Kravis. Photo by Marco Borggreve

Editor’s note: Events listed through Jan. 4, 2025, were current as of Nov. 29. Check with the presenting agency for any changes. Ticket prices are single sales unless otherwise specified.

ART

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens: Through Jan. 26: Slim Aarons: Gold Coast, photographs from Florida’s southeast. $15; $10 seniors. 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach. 10 am-4 pm W-Sun. 561-832-5328. Info@ansg.org

Armory Art Center: Through Dec. 28: Introspection, a work by West Palm Beachbased Colombian artist Milena Arango; Day in the Life of Palm Beach, a juried show featuring works by local artists. Free. 811 Park Place, West Palm Beach. 9 am-5 pm M-F, 9 am-noon Sat. 561-832-1776 or armoryart.org

Boca Raton Museum of Art: Through March 30: Splendor and Passion: Baroque Spain and its Empire; Félix de la Concha. Through Feb. 23: Julie Evans: Eating Sunshine $16; $12 seniors 501 Plaza Real (Mizner Park), Boca Raton. 11 am-6 pm W, F, Sat, Sun; 11 am-8 pm Th. 561-3922500, bocamuseum.org

Cornell Art Museum: Through January: Nature’s Palette: Art Inspired by the Earth, works by 42 regional artists on nature themes; through February: Hot Glass Free. Noon-5 pm W, Sun, noon-7 pm Th, F; 10 am-5 pm Sat. 561243-7922 or oldschoolsquare.org

Cultural Council for Palm Beach County: Through Jan. 18: Quintessentially We. Free. 601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach. Noon-5 pm T-F 561-471-290, palmbeachculture.com

Flagler Museum: Through Dec. 29: In the Golden Dreamland of Winter: Henry Flagler’s FEC Hotel Company $28; $14 ages 6-12. 1 Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. 10 am-5 pm M-Sat, noon-5 pm Sun. 561-655-2833, www.flaglermuseum.us

Lighthouse ArtCenter: Opens Dec. 5: Celebrate! Art from local underserved communities. Through Dec. 14. $5 nonmembers. 9 am-5 pm M-Th; 9 am-4 pm F; 10 am-4 pm Sat. 561-746-3101, lighthousearts.org

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens: Through Feb. 16: Time Flows Like Water: Works by Masumi Sakagami $15; $13 seniors; $9 children; free for members, ages 5 and under. 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach. 10 am-5 pm T-Sun. 561-495-0233, morikami.org

Norton Museum of Art: Through March 9: Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing Through Jan. 19: Dragons: Commanders of Rain Through Jan. 26: Surroundings: Video Encounters of Nature, films by Nadia Huggins. $18 adults; $15 seniors; $5 students; free for ages 12 and under, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. 10 am-5 pm, M, T, Th, Sat; 10 am-10 pm F; 11 am-5 pm Sun. 561-832-5196, www.norton.org Society of the Four Arts: Through Jan. 19: Past Forward: Native American Art from the Gilcrease Museum 100 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach. 10 am-3 pm M-F. 561-655-7226, fourarts.org

CLASSICAL

Thursday, Dec. 5

Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach: Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester returns for a concert of music by Brahms, Beethoven, Arvo Pärt and German composer Robert Kahn, who fled the Nazis in the 1930s and settled in England. 7 p.m., Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach. $35-$75. Visit cmspb.org.

Saturday, Dec. 7

The Symphonia: The Boca Raton-based chamber orchestra offers an outdoor Holiday Pops concert led by the conductor of Miami’s NuDeco Ensemble, Jacomo Bairos. 7 p.m., Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. $15-$40. thesymphonia.org.

Tuesday, Dec. 10

Palm Beach Symphony: Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos joins Gerard Schwarz and the orchestra for the Brahms Violin Concerto. 7:30 p.m., Kravis Center, West Palm Beach. $25-$95. 561-832-7469 or kravis.org.

Wednesday, Dec. 11

Seraphic Fire: The splendid Grammynominated Miami concert choir performs its annual Christmas concert. Guest conductor Anthony Trecek-King leads the group songs such as Elizabeth Poston’s “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.” 7:30 pm, Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center, West Palm Beach. $50-$60. 561832-7469 or kravis.org.

Sunday, Dec. 15

Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches: The community chorus presents its annual reading of Handel’s Messiah (the Christmas portion) at Palm Beach’s Royal Poinciana Chapel, 60 Cocoanut Row. 7 p.m. $35 and up. Visit masterworkspb.org for tickets. Curtis Symphony Orchestra: Australian violinist Ray Chen joins the orchestra of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute for the Violin Concerto of Samuel Barber, a Curtis alum. Conductor Teddy Abrams also leads the orchestra in Copland’s Third Symphony. 2 pm,

Kravis Center, West Palm Beach. $35-$90. 561832-7469 or kravis.org.

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Parker Ramsay: The Tennessee-born harpist performs as part of the Young Artists Classical Series at the Kravis Center; he will play the complete Goldberg Variations of Bach. 7:30 pm, Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center. $40. 561-832-7469 or kravis.org

DANCE

Friday, Dec. 6-Sunday, Dec. 8

Ballet Palm Beach: Colleen Smith’s Palm Beach Gardens company settles in at the Kravis Center for five performances of The Nutcracker 7 pm F, 2 pm and 7 pm Sat, 1 pm and 5 pm Sun. $20 and up. 561-832-7469 or kravis.org.

Saturday, Dec. 14-Sunday, Dec. 15

Harid Conservatory: Boca Raton’s professional dance school offers its Winter Performances, which include the sweets lineup from Act II of The Nutcracker. 3 pm both performances at Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton. $40. 561-998-8039 or harid.edu.

Saturday, Dec. 7

JAZZ

Alan Broadbent Trio: The New Zealand-born pianist has three new albums out at age 77, and he stops by the Arts Garage with bassist Harvie Swartz and drummer Billy Mintz. 8 pm, Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave., Delray Beach. $45-$50. 561-450-6357 or artsgarage.org.

Wednesday, Dec. 11

Bobby Watson Quartet: The veteran saxophonist and composer spent years as musical director for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. 7:45 pm, Amaturo Theatre, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. $65. browardcenter. org or goldcoastjazz.org.

Friday, Dec. 13

Dick Lowenthal Big Band: The bandleader promises “newly discovered” music by Duke Ellington at this show, which features vocalist Lisanne Lyons. 8 pm, Arts Garage, Delray Beach. $50-$55. 561-450-6357 or artsgarage.org.

Sunday, Dec. 7

OPERA

Florida Grand Opera: The company opens its season with a new production of Mozart’s 1791 singspiel The Magic Flute. Director Jeffrey Marc Buchman has reimagined the admittedly loose libretto as a take on fantasy gaming. Ricardo Garcia is Tamino, Alex DeSocio is Papageno and Sydney Dardis is Papagena, Sara Kennedy sings Pamina, Laura León is the Queen of the Night, and Andrew Potter sings Sarastro. Christine Brandes conducts. 7:30 pm at the Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale. arshcenter.org, browardcenter.org, or fgo.org

POPULAR MUS I C

Friday, Dec. 13

Old Dominion: The Nashville-based country quintet has won fistfuls of awards and written songs for some of the biggest names in the field. 8 pm, Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. $45-$155. ticketmaster.com.

Pat Travers Band: The Canadian guitar wizard has a loyal following of fans called “Hammerheads.” 9 pm at the Funky Biscuit, 3030 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton. $40-$60. 561-395-2929 or funkybiscuit.com.

Friday, Dec. 27-Saturday, Dec. 28

Maroon 5: The chart-topping Los Angeles pop sextet is led by Adam Levine. 8 pm both shows, Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. $105-$355. ticketmaster.com

THEATER

Through Dec. 15

Once: The Tony Award-winning 2011 musical, based on the 2007 movie, about an Irish songwriter and a Czech immigrant who meet cute on the streets of Dublin and share a passion for music. $74-$120. Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road. 561-5752223 or jupitertheatre.org.

The Producers: Comedian Mel Brooks repurposed his 1967 film for this Tony-winning 2001 musical. Through Dec. 15 at the Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9 th St. $45 and up. 561-272-1281 or delraybeachplayhouse.com.

Opens Friday, Dec. 20

The Dresser: Ronald Harwood’s 1980 tragicomic play about an aging Shakespearean actor who insists on touring during World War II, and his devoted dresser. Through Jan. 5. Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. $92. 561-514-4042 or palmbeachdramaworks.org.

Through Dec. 22

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1972 musical based on the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis began life as a pop cantata in 1968 and has since become one of the most popular of all community theater musicals. $119. Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. thewick.org.

Religion Notes

Houses of worship planning to go all out this holiday season

As they sometimes do, Hanukkah and Christmas fall at the same time this year, as does the annual African American-inspired celebration of Kwanzaa. No matter what you plan to celebrate, we’ve got some of the details for you.

Christmas services

Delray Beach Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service: 6 p.m. Dec. 24, Old School Square Amphitheatre. Hosted by the Avenue Church, this candlelit service blends uplifting music and an inspiring sermon. Musical performances begin at 6 p.m. followed by the candlelight ceremony at 6:30.

51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. delrayoldschoolsquare. com/events

The Journey Church: Celebrate Christmas Eve from 6 to 7:05 p.m. Dec. 24 by recalling the words the angels spoke when they announced the birth of Jesus: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” (Luke 2:10)

This family-friendly candlelight service offers thanks for the year behind and hope for the year to come. The service is topped off with hot chocolate and caroling. Dress is casual and ugly sweaters are welcomed.

2200 NW Boca Raton Blvd., Boca Raton. www.bocajourney. com or 561-420-0606

Religion Calendar

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER

8-14

Sunday - 12/8 - Zoom Bible Study at Ascension Catholic Church, 7250 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Every Sun 7 pm. Free. Zoom link: communications#accboca.net; 561-997-5486; ascensionboca.org

Monday - 12/9 - Women’s Bible Study via Zoom at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, 33 Gleason St. Every M 10 am. Free. 561-276-6338; firstdelray.com 12/9- Rosary for Peace at St. Vincent Ferrer Family Life Center, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. Every M 5:45-6:15 pm. Free. 561-276-6892; stvincentferrer.com

Tuesday - 12/10 - Tuesday Morning Prayer Service at Unity of Delray Beach Church, 101 NW 22nd St. 10 am. Free. 561276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

Wednesday - 12/11 - Men’s Spirituality Hour via Zoom at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. Every W 8 am. Free. For link: 561-395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org

12/11 - Wednesday Evening Meditation Service at Unity of Delray Beach Church, 101 NW 22nd St. 6:30 pm. Free; love offering. 561-276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

Thursday - 12/12 - Thursday Morning Telephone Prosperity Coffee presented by  Unity of Delray Beach Church, 101 NW 22nd St. Phone meeting (605-475-6006, passcode 3031030). Free; love offering. 561-276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach will be all decked out for Christmas services. Photo provided

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: St. Paul’s Festival of Lessons and Carols takes place at 3 p.m. Dec. 8. This cherished tradition features St. Paul’s Chancel Choir of eight singers in its most treasured annual performance under the guidance of David Macfarlane.

A Christmas Eve family service is planned from 4 to 5 p.m. Dec. 24. A second service with the choir and musicians is 7-8:30 p.m. A late Christmas Eve service with the choir and musicians is 10-11:30 p.m.

The Christmas Holy Eucharist is at 10 a.m. Dec. 25.

188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. 561-276-4541 or www. stpaulsdelray.org

Cason United Methodist Church: The Christmas

12/12 - Men’s Fellowship at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach Courtyard, 33 Gleason St. Every Th 8:30 am. Free. 561-276-6338; firstdelray.com

12/12  - Women’s Bible Study at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church Youth Room, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. Every Th 1 pm. Free. 561-395-8285; stgregorysepiscopal.org

Friday - 12/13 - Legion of Mary at St. Vincent Ferrer Family Life Center, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. Every F 9:30-11 am. Free. 561-276-6892; stvincentferrer.com

12/13 - Bible Study w/Dave Kirk at Advent Boca Raton Fellowship Hall, 300 E Yamato Rd. Every F 10-11:30 am. 561-3953632; adventboca.org

12/13 - Virtual Shabbat Service at Temple Sinai of Palm Beach County, 2475 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Every F 7:30 pm. Free. 561-276-6161; templesinaipbc.org

DEC. 15-JAN. 3

12/24 - Christmas Eve Candle Lighting Services at Unity of Delray Beach Church, 101 NW 22nd St. 6 & 8 pm. Free. 561-2765796; unityofdelraybeach.org

12/24 - Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at Ascension Lutheran Church, 2925 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach. 7 pm. www.ascensionlutheranchurch.net

12/24-25 - Christmas Services at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church 3300 Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach. 12/24 4, 6:30, 9:30 & 10 pm; 12/25 9:30 am Free. 561-732-3060; stjoesweb.org

Cantata is at 3 p.m. Dec. 8. A Cookies and Carols Sing-Along will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 11.

342 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach

First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach: Christmas Eve worship services are 5-6 p.m., 7-8 p.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. Dec. 24.

33 Gleason St. 561-276-6338

First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton: Christmas Eve contemporary service is 5-6 p.m. Dec. 24 in the Gathering Place. The Christmas Eve traditional service is 8-9 p.m. in the sanctuary.

625 NE Mizner Blvd. 561395-1244

Advent Church: Christmas Eve services on Dec. 24 will include Lessons & Carols, a traditional service, at 10 a.m. Family worship is at 4 p.m., with activities to follow. The candlelight service with Praise Band begins at 6 p.m.

300 E. Yamato Road, Boca Raton. 561-395-3632

Hanukkah celebrations

Hanukkah party: 6-8 p.m. Dec. 26 at B’nai Torah Congregation, 6261 SW 18th St., Boca Raton.

Chanukah Celebration with Palm Beach Synagogue: Noon-2 p.m. Dec. 29 at CityPlace, 700 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach.

Grand Delray Beach

Chanukah Festival: 6-8 p.m. Dec. 29 at Old School Square Amphitheatre. Latkes and donuts, fresh pizza by the Gifted Crust, face painting,

crafts, games, live music and bounce houses are planned but the focus is the lighting of the ceremonial menorah. The event is hosted by the city of Delray Beach and Chabad East Delray. 51 N Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. delrayoldschoolsquare. com/events

Kwanzaa celebration

Kwanzaa Festival: The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum will host Kwanzaa festivities from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 26. An afternoon filled with giftmaking workshops, lively music performances, art activities, and engaging storytelling sessions captures the spirit of this cultural, festive community gathering.

170 NW Fifth Ave., Delray Beach. spadymuseum.com/ events/kwanzaa

Send religion news to Janis Fontaine at fontaine423@ outlook.com

BOYNTON BEACH CONSIGNMENT

We Buy, Sell & Consign

Sports Memorabilia, Art, Furniture, Clothing, Handbags, Jewelry

Open Tuesday thru Friday 10am-5pm Saturday & Sunday 11am-4pm

625 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach 33435 • 561-905-0055

Finding Faith

St. Gregory’s music ministry soars with master organist in charge

From the time Tim Brumfield accepted his first professional job at age 12 as the pianist at his hometown Red House Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky, he has been mindful of the responsibilities inherent in his work.

“I fell in love with church music and the show of it very early,” Brumfield said.

“Even though it’s not really a performance, you’re in performance mode. You want everything to run smoothly, from the liturgy to the lighting. A lot of people think it just happens, and that’s good. The purpose of any production is for it to seem seamless.”

The flip side of making it look easy is that sometimes discouragement sneaks in. “Once in a while, I do wonder if anyone is really listening,” Brumfield said. “But then, invariably, I get an email or a card in the mail or a phone call from someone thanking me.”

Brumfield, 62, is an internationally renowned organist, and his extensive career has taken the softspoken man who never lost his Kentucky cadence to perform in the greatest cathedrals.

From serving as the chief organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City to performing in England’s famed Salisbury and St. Paul’s cathedrals and France’s Notre-

Dame, there is little Brumfield hasn’t achieved.

When he resigned a decade ago after more than 12 years at St. John the Divine, he continued to perform and compose, and he wasn’t really looking for a permanent position. But he was in Manhattan in winter.

Longing for the warm sand and sunshine, Brumfield googled “organist Florida” on his laptop. At the top of the list was a position at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton. It was an older listing, and he assumed the job had been filled, but he mentioned it to his sister, who urged him to

Organist Tim Brumfield’s career has led him around the world, including a stint at St. John the Divine cathedral in New York City. But when he saw an opening for the job at St. Gregory’s in Boca Raton 10 years ago, it proved to be divine inspiration.

Photo provided

check it out. He sent an email, and Father Andrew Sherman emailed back. The position of organist and musical director was open, and St. Gregory’s staff would love to meet him.

In the end, Brumfield said he and Father Sherman “kind of chose each other,” and it’s a relationship that has only grown in the 10 years Brumfield has been there.

But when he first arrived, the church, though lovely, was an acoustic dud.

Father Sherman assured him that renovations were coming and invited him to meet with the liturgical designer. When they met, Brumfield praised

God’s quiet hand: He had known Terry Byrd Eason for years for his work on St. John the Divine. His trepidation about renovating evaporated like the dew.

The sanctuary underwent a total remodel. Its valuable pipe organ — a $500,000 Austin purchased in 1994 — was hermetically sealed to protect it while the sanctuary was gutted, repaired, painted and its carpet replaced with a stone floor, improving the acoustics dramatically. “Now it’s glorious,” Brumfield said.

Like puzzle pieces falling into place, just over a year ago Brumfield sat before a superior instrument to play in an acoustic setting designed with God’s sacred words and music in clear focus.

The organ is an important element in St. Gregory’s goal to be the “cultural and sacred hub of arts and service.”

Each week, the music Brumfield chooses is designed to reinforce Sherman’s message. “Hymns are a retelling of stories tailored to the liturgy and lectionary,” Brumfield said. His years of studying the music of his faith have broadened and deepened his knowledge and appreciation for the gospel.

As Brumfield continues to grow in his journey, he expands St. Gregory’s musical offerings, too, to the delight of listeners.

He leads the choir and the choristers, a junior choir that always welcomes new members.

He traveled to New York the weekend before Halloween to perform the organ music for the screening of the silent film

The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney (1925) at St. John the Divine, as he has for the past 27 years.

Nowadays, Brumfield flies back to Boca Raton to perform it again on the Austin pipe organ at St. Gregory’s on

Halloween. He said it’s likely the church will repeat the performance in 2025 as it’s the 100th anniversary of the film. St. John the Divine has already begun promoting its showing.

But personally, Brumfield considers the Evensong concerts to be St. Gregory’s hidden treasure. These evening services are offered monthly at 6 p.m.

“These are sunset prayers, so the only time this music can be heard is the evening, and I’d really like more people to hear them,” he said.

The prayers set to music have inspired thousands of compositions, including his own. Brumfield’s goal is to build a culture around Evensong, to break people out of the Sunday morning church routine and get them to attend on a Sunday evening, or even go to both services.

Brumfield is also proud of the Great Music at St. Gregory’s Concert Series, which has scheduled performances by Seraphic Fire, the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Symphonia.

Brumfield said he doesn’t have any significant goals beyond working with St. Gregory’s to improve its music ministry. He has traveled and performed at more venues than he ever dreamed possible.

“I would like to go to Australia and New Zealand,” he mused.

Maybe he should google “organist Australia.”

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@ outlook.com.

Finding Faith

St. Gregory’s: Concerts and events through holidays and beyond

St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd. in Boca Raton, has an impressive roster of musical celebrations on offer in the coming months:

Holiday Gala

Tickets are still available for the Holiday Gala at 5 p.m. Dec. 7, with jazz musician Wycliffe Gordon and his band, along with the choir of St. Gregory’s and special guest musicians.

Guests will dine on boneless prime rib, teriyaki glazed salmon, hors d’oeuvres, and an assortment of desserts.

This evening of music and readings will be curated and led by St. Gregory’s music ministry director Tim Brumfield.

Tickets are $150 at www. stgregorysepiscopal.org/gala.

Comfort and Joy:

Holiday Concert

This event, at 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 14, will be performed by the Master Chorale of South Florida. It’s part of St. Gregory’s Great Music Concert Series.

Tickets are $45 at the door.

A St. Gregory’s Christmas: A Musical Celebration

This concert, at 6 p.m. Dec. 22, brings together the church’s choir, string musicians and soloists in a free, spiritually uplifting performance.

Christmas Eve services

The Children’s Pageant takes place at 4 p.m. Dec. 24.

A Service of Lessons and Carols with the choir of St. Gregory’s is offered at 7 p.m.

A Festal Choral Eucharist begins with a Prelude at 10:30 p.m. The processional begins at 11 p.m.

Choral Evensong: A Sacred Musical Tradition

This Anglican tradition dates back centuries. Led by Brumfield and featuring the St. Gregory’s choir, Evensong highlights beloved musical settings for the liturgy, including the Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, and the Psalms. The free services, held at 6 p.m., will take place Jan. 26, Feb. 23,

March 16, April 27 and May 25.

2025 Concert Series

As the cornerstone of St. Gregory’s cultural outreach, musicians and ensembles from around the globe are invited to perform at the church.

Past performers include Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort, the American Spiritual Ensemble, cellist Eugene Friesen and jazz vocalist Dee Daniels. In 2025, South Florida’s Grammynominated vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire returns. Parking is $8 for each performance.

Concert II: 3 p.m. Jan. 12, performed by the Symphonia, South Florida’s premier chamber orchestra. $55-$90.

Renaissance — The Capilla

Flamenca: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16, featuring Seraphic Fire. $45$65.

Concert III: 3 p.m. Feb. 9.

The Symphonia returns, with Brumfield as guest artist. $55$90.

Enlightenment Festival — Romantic: Schumann & Mendelssohn: 4 p.m. March 2, featuring Seraphic Fire. $45$65.

Baroque: Angels Behind the Walls — 7:30 p.m. April 10, featuring Seraphic Fire. $45$65.

American Voices: 8 p.m. May 10, the Master Chorale in concert. $55-$90. — Janis Fontaine

St. Gregory’s Holiday Gala on Dec. 7 will feature jazz musician Wycliffe Gordon. Photo provided

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER 7

Saturday - 12/7 - Morning Beach Yoga at The Seagate Beach Club, 401 S Ocean Blvd, Delray Beach. Every Sat 8-9 am. $20/person. Tickets: 561-330-3775; eventbrite.com/e/sunrise-beach-yogatickets-336433921917

12/7 - Saturdays @ Sanborn: Yoga Class at Sanborn Square, 72 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. 8:45 am registration; 9 am class. Free. 561-393-7703; downtownboca.

org 12/7 - Zumba Class at South Beach Park Pavilion, 400 N State Rd A1A, Boca Raton. Every Sat 10 am. Free. 561-393-7703; downtownboca.org

12/7  - Yoga Class at South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 S Ocean Blvd. Every Sat 9 am. $5/class. 561-588-8889; southpalmbeach.com

12/7 - Yoga at the Beach at Red Reef Park West, 1221 S Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Held on grass overlooking the Intracoastal. No cash accepted on-site. Every W 6:30 and 1st & 3rd Sat 10-11 am. $10-$12.50/class; 60-day membership $65/resident, $81.25/ non-resident. 561-393-7807; myboca.us

12/7  - Judo Class at Boca Raton

Community Center, 150 Crawford Blvd. Warm-up exercises, instruction, practice, tournament training. W 6:30-8:30 pm mixed ages/ranks; Sat 10 am-noon all groups. Per month $21.50/resident; $27/ non-resident. 561-393-7807; myboca.us 12/7  - AA Meeting at Unity of Delray Beach Fellowship Hall, 101 NW 22nd St. Every Sat 5:30 pm. Free. 561-276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

DECEMBER

8-14

Sunday - 12/8 - Coco Market at Old School Square Amphitheater, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Monthly wellness market: 30 local vendors, health/wellness professionals w/various healing modalities;

live music; 2 free yoga, meditation or fitness classes per event. 9 am-3 pm. Free. 561-870-4090; thecocoyogi.com/market

12/8 - Yoga at the Beach at Red Reef Park East, 1400 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Held on grass overlooking the Intracoastal. No cash accepted on-site. Every Sun 4:30 pm. $10-$12.50/class; 60-day membership $65/resident, $81.25/non-resident. 561393-7807; myboca.us

Monday - 12/9 - Zumba Cardio at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Basic modern western square dancing. Adults. Every M/W 5:30-6:30 pm. $10. 561-742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/9 - LGBTQ ACOA Meeting at Unity of Delray Beach Prayer Room, 101 NW 22nd

St. Every M 6:30 pm. Free. 561-276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

Tuesday - 12/10 - Al-Anon Meeting at Unity of Delray Beach Fellowship Hall, 101 NW 22nd St. Every T 7 pm. Free. 561-2765796; unityofdelraybeach.org

Wednesday - 12/11 - Tai Chi Class at South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 S Ocean Blvd. Every W 9 am. $5/class. 561-5888889; southpalmbeach.com

12/11 - Yoga at the Library at J. Turner Moore Memorial Library, 1330 Lands End Rd, Manalapan. Every W/F at 10 & 11 am. $200/members; $300/non-members. 561383-2541; manalapan.org

12/11 - Stretch & Strengthening Mindfulness Class at South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 S Ocean Blvd. Every W/F 10:30 am. $5/class. 561-588-8889; southpalmbeach.com

12/11 - Chair Yoga w/ Mike Mitchell at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Adults. 10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/11 - Wellness Wednesday: Yoga at Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Every W 11 am-noon. $8/class. Registration: 561-6542220; delrayoldschoolsquare.com/events 12/11 - LGBTQ+ AA Meeting at Unity of Delray Beach Prayer Room, 101 NW 22nd St. Every W 7 pm. Free. 561-276-5796; unityofdelraybeach.org

Thursday - 12/13 - Alateen Meeting at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 643 NE 4th Ave, Boynton Beach. Every Th 7:30 pm. Free. 561-278-3481; southpalmbeachafg.org

DEC. 15-JAN. 3

Tuesday - 12/17 - Yoga with Sophia at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Adults. 6:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561266-0194; delraylibrary.org

Thursday - 12/19 - Yoga Under The Stars at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. 6-7:30 pm. $20/member; $40/ non-member. 561-392-2500; bocamuseum. org

Health & Harmony

How residents beat holiday blues with feel-good acts of kindness

One good way to make yourself feel good over the holidays is to “pay it forward” by helping others.

One small act of kindness or generosity can make a difference in someone’s life and have a ripple effect.

Frances Guidone Haser of Delray Beach likes to go to a laundromat and put lots of quarters on top of the machines for others to use.

In Boynton Beach, Alison Chambers has paid off school lunch accounts that were overdue.

Brooke Alexandria, 36, a businesswoman from Boynton Beach, says that “a little bit of extra money over the holidays can go a long way to pay a bill or to buy gas.”

Through her bocafamfest and bar.event.group pages on Instagram, Alexandria sponsors a $1,000 giveaway to a family in need.

Another of her favorite acts is to buy a gift card at Publix for the person behind her in line.

“Sometimes it’s hard to accept a blessing,” she says. “This way there’s no embarrassment and more opportunity for blessings to happen.”

Occasionally she will go with a friend to the mall and drop $5 or $20 bills and watch people’s faces light up as they find the money.

This year she also plans to volunteer with the food drive at Christ Fellowship Church in Boynton Beach.

For Jen Keough, 50, who works at Baptist Health in Boynton Beach, a traditional Christmas celebration is a day

Health Notes

spent with family.

For the past nine years, the married mother of Brandon, a recent University of Central Florida graduate, has participated in National Wreaths Across America Day at the South Florida National Cemetery west of Lake Worth Beach.

Both her mother and stepfather are buried there, along with other family friends.

“It’s a way to feel close to my parents and to do good for others as well,” says Keough, who separately visits her mother’s grave every week with her sister and brings fresh roses to leave.

“We make a day of it,” Keough says about the national initiative. “And we make sure each soldier has a wreath, regardless of their faith.”

It’s something important for her to do, she says, and a way for her family to share in the

experience.

“After, we all go out for a nice meal,” she says. “I know my mom and stepdad are loved, but there are many other graves that don’t get visitors.

“We lay a wreath on those graves out of respect for them,” she says. “This is a family ritual that brings us closer as a family and sets the tone for the holidays.”

Some ways to volunteer:

Salvation Army

A Christian-based ministry, the organization provides disaster relief, fights human trafficking, works to end homelessness, and offers respite care and veteran and youth empowerment programs.

Volunteer to ring a bell at the Red Kettle, adopt an angel from the angel tree, assist with disaster relief programs or serve with the women’s auxiliary. The Salvation Army counts on volunteers to help the organization “Do the Most Good” for people in need.

Call 561-686-3530 or visit westpalmbeach.

salvationarmyflorida.org.

Caridad Center

The largest free and charitable clinic in Florida provides medical, dental, vision and behavioral health and social services, along with health education.

Medical practitioners, including doctors, dentists, nurses and medical assistants, are needed. So are Spanish and Creole interpreters, clerical staff, data entry people, fundraisers and finance volunteers, as well as volunteers to assist with a quarterly newsletter and social media.

The center is west of Boynton Beach. Call 561-7376336 ext. 116 or visit caridad. org.

Feeding South Florida

Feeding South Florida provides food assistance and other support to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and hunger.

Call 561-331-5441 ext. 2507, or visit feedingsouthflorida.org.

Boca Helping Hands

More than a soup kitchen, Boca Helping Hands is one of the largest nonprofit service providers in South Florida, serving more than 35,000 clients annually.

Volunteers are needed to register clients for the pantry bag program, answer phones, prepare hot meals, screen clients for financial eligibility, pack food or pick up donated food items.

Visit bocahelpinghands. org or email Nicole@ BocaHelpingHands.org.

United Way

United Way works to ensure that everyone in Palm Beach County has access to a quality education, a place to live, financial stability, good medical care and enough to eat.

Help create literacy kits on Dec. 7 at the United Way office in West Palm Beach, or help sort toys on Dec. 14 at the Palm Beach County Food Bank in Lake Worth Beach.

Call 561-375-6600 or visit unitedwaypbc.org/get-involved/ volunteer.

Boca Raton Toy Drive

Donate toys, money, or volunteer your time, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 8 at Sugar Sand Park. Visit https://tinyurl. com/srbkvz2p or email info@ bocaratontoydrive.com.

Wreaths Across America

Dec. 14 is National Wreaths Across America Day, committed to teaching all generations about the value of freedom and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed to protect that freedom.  Sponsor a veteran’s wreath in honor of or in memory of a loved one, lead a sponsorship group or coordinate a ceremony location. Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org.

Jan Engoren writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to jengoren@ hotmail.com.

Boca Regional has a new chief medical officer

Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health, has appointed Dr. William Holubek as its new chief medical officer.

“With his proven track record of leadership and operational excellence, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Holubek to be a part of our team here at Boca Raton Regional Hospital,” said Lincoln Mendez, North Region executive of Baptist Health and CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

“With a focus on innovation and patient-centered care, Dr. Holubek aligns perfectly with our mission, and we look forward to the impact he will have on our organization.”

Most recently, Holubek served as chief medical officer at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, a 519bed comprehensive academic medical center serving as the

principal teaching hospital of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Healthgrades recognizes Delray Medical Center

Delray Medical Center received from Healthgrades an America’s 100 Best Hospitals for pulmonary care excellence award, placing the hospital among the nation’s top 5% for overall pulmonary services. The center also earned Healthgrades’ 2025 Critical Care Excellence award, placing in the top 5% in the nation for critical care.

Dr. Yoel Vivas at Delray Medical Center recently completed the hospital’s pulsed field ablation system, a device that received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January.  This system selects specific tissues in the heart and uses electric fields rather than heat in order to avoid damage to surrounding tissues.

Vascular surgeon Dr. Joseph Ricotta at Delray Medical Center successfully implanted

the Esprit BTK Everolimus eluting resorbable scaffold system, a dissolvable stent for people with chronic ischemia below the knee.

Jessica DeVore was named the administrative director of surgical services at Delray Medical Center. With more than 20 years of nursing leadership experience, she recently served as the director of surgical services for Palms West Hospital.

Aganette Parks was promoted to Delray Medical Center’s chief operating officer. She had been serving as the interim chief operating officer since July.

Caron welcomes doctor to Delray Beach center

Dr. Mohammad “Mo” Sarhan has become an addiction medicine physician at Caron Treatment Centers’ Keele Center in Delray Beach, where he oversees medical care for patients in Caron’s Ocean Drive and Renaissance programs.

Previously, Sarhan was an addiction medicine fellow

at Caron’s Wernersville, Pennsylvania, campus.

Baptist Health offers new carpal tunnel procedure

Dr. Michael Cohn, an orthopedic hand surgeon with Baptist Health Orthopedic Care in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach, offers minimally invasive surgery to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, via live ultrasound visualization and a single-use device.

Known as “carpal tunnel release,” it is done in minutes using only local anesthesia and does not require stitches. The procedure has been

shown to decrease patients’ pain and reduce recovery time, compared with standard methods.

Palm Beach Health imaging center open Palm Beach Health Network opened its new Palm Court Women’s Imaging Center at 5130 Linton Blvd., Suite I-1, Delray Beach. To schedule a mammogram, call 561-567-7246 or visit PalmBeachHealthNetwork. com.

Send health news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail. com.

Jen Keough and her family participate in the annual Wreaths Across America Day at the South Florida National Cemetery, ensuring that all veterans’ graves are decorated. Photo provided

Holubek

Keough

Tots & Teens

A special effort goes into Boca playground

By Faran Fagen

At the start of 2023, Boca Raton resident David Ogman posted a picture on his social media of an inclusive playground from his family vacation in Nashville.

The caption: “If they can do it in Nashville, why not in Boca Raton?”

Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District Commissioner Steve Engel saw the post. He’s Facebook friends with Ogman, whose son has special needs. Engel immediately accepted the challenge, along with District Chairwoman Erin Wright and Executive Director Briann Harms.

“This is what we’re meant to do,” Engel said. “We’re meant to serve all residents in the community — special needs included.”

Thanks to this partnership, park district commissioners ceremoniously broke ground on the $4 million inclusive playground at Patch Reef Park on Nov. 7.

Ogman appeared before the Beach and Park Board at several meetings last year to advocate for the inclusive playground.

The playground, expected to open in the summer of 2025, will enable David’s son, Jordan, and other children with special needs to play side-by-side with friends and family.

“The park’s not strictly for people with disabilities,” Engel said. “It’s for all children.”

The new facility will replace the current Pirates Cove playground at Patch Reef Park, 2000 Yamato Road.

Pirates Cove, equipped with slides adorned with red ship sails as well as a pirate-themed play area, temporarily closed for the renovation on Nov. 6. Nearly all of the park’s natural features, including grasses, trees and rocks, will remain.

The existing splash pad will receive a makeover, adding new interactive elements. Climbing structures, swings and slides will have softer

artificial turf underneath, along with shade structures for year-round comfort.

The ceremony took place at the current Pirates Cove playground at the west end of the park between the softball fields and the basketball courts. Members of the Ogman family, Wright, Engel and Harms spoke at the groundbreaking.

“Jordan will be thrilled when it’s open,” Ogman said. “Once he goes, he’ll be asking to go every day.”

Jordan was diagnosed with a rare brain disease, related to the TECPR2 gene, when he was 4 years old, and the family was told he had only months to live. Today, the Ogmans are raising money to help develop Jordan’s life-saving gene therapy at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.

When Jordan, now 9, played at Patch Reef Park, he fell in the mulch and tripped over high curbs. Anything that’s a steep structure was not accessible for Jordan, nor other kids with special needs. When Ogman saw Jordan playing with ease at the inclusive playground in Nashville, he realized what was missing.

“Unfortunately, there’s not very many options for kids with disabilities,” Ogman said. “This new playground is going to be tremendous for Jordan and other special needs kids in South Florida. They also need socialization, and the new park will offer that.”

According to Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation’s website, the county also offers three barrier-free, sensoryfriendly playgrounds. They are at Burt Aaronson South

County Regional Park west of Boca Raton, Lake Ida West Park in Delray Beach, and John Prince Park in Lake Worth Beach.

Jacob’s Park at 8500 Jog Road in Boynton Beach also was built to allow special needs kids and other kids to play together. Jacob’s Park was created in memory of Jacob Rappoport, who died at 9 months of a genetic spinal disorder in 2002.

Engel marvels at the courage of the special needs families the inclusive playground in Boca Raton will serve.

“Jordan is a bubbly young boy full of courage, and the fight in him is something to be admired,” Engel said. “How can we let the Ogmans and the other families down?”

Once the playground is finished, features like a wheelchair-compatible swing set and slides mounted on grassy hills rather than ladders will afford easier access.

For parents, additional benches will provide better, shaded sight lines for them to monitor children’s play. Picnic areas and restroom facilities will be new, and additional parking that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be available.

A fence will surround the entire inclusive playground area to keep curious children from wandering unsupervised into different areas of the park.

“I think we will be living there,” Ogman said. “We’ll probably close the park down every night.”

Engel said this was the No. 1 project he’s worked on as commissioner.

“Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness,’” Engel said. “The Ogmans are a perfect example of this light.”P

Learn more about Jordan and donate toward the Ogmans’ research at SavingJordan.org

The playground at Patch Reef Park, to open next summer, will be easier to navigate for kids like Jordan Ogman (foreground below), who has a genetic brain disease Rendering and photo provided

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER 3-9

Saturday - 12/7 - Drop-In Family

Storytime at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Up to age 5. Every Sat 10-10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/7 - Bones to Books at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 5-8. Held again 12/7. 11 am-noon. Free. 561-2660194; delraylibrary.org

12/7 - STREAM Genius Hour at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 5-12. Held again 12/7. 11 am-1 pm. Free. 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/7 - Audition Prep Workshop at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Grades 4-5: 11 am-2 pm; grades 7-8: 3-6 pm. $125. 561586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

12/7 - Tail Waggin Tutors at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Elementary school children read to certified therapy dog. Ages 6-8. Participants select time slots. Held again 1/ 4. Noon-1:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/7 - Bones to Books at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Children read to friends from Bonafide Therapy Dogs. All ages. Held again 12/7. 1-2 pm. Free. Registration: 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary. org

12/7 - Sandoway Discovery Center

Daily Feedings at 142 S Ocean Blvd, Delray Beach. All ages. Shark & stingray feedings 1 pm; aquarium feedings 2 pm; animal encounters 3 pm. T-Sat. Free w/$10 admission. 561-274-7263; sandoway.org

12/7 - Got Gaming Club at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Age 13-17. 3-4:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-2660194; delraylibrary.org

Monday - 12/9 - Kindergarten

Readiness Story Time at Delray Beach Children’s Garden, 137 SW 2nd Ave. Age 3-5. 9:30-11:30 am. Free. Registration: 561266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/9 - Teen Writer’s Corner at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Age 13-17. 3-7 pm. Free. Appointments: 561-742-6883; boyntonlibrary.org

12/9 - Family Board Game Hour at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Ages 4+. Every M 4-5 pm. Free. Registration: 561393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/9 - K-Pop Club at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Age 13-17. 5-6 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0197; delraylibrary.org

DECEMBER 10-16

12/9-11 - Homework Help - Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. For grades K-5. Not available 12/23-1/3. M-W 3:30-4:15 & 4:15-5 pm. Free. Registration: 561-2660194; delraylibrary.org

Tuesday - 12/10 - Teen Tech Sandbox at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Age 13-17. 3:30-4:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/10 - Family Lego Challenge at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave.

All ages. Held again 12/17 4-5 pm. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/10 - Teen Tuesday at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Ages 13-17. Every T  5-7 pm. Free. 561-742-6393; boyntonlibrary.org

Wednesday - 12/11 - Special Guest Storytime: Snow Queen at Boynton Beach Library under the banyan tree, 100 E Ocean Ave. Stories, rhymes, more. 10-10:30 am. Free. 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

12/11 - Pop-Up Pages at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Literacy enrichment: stories, music, movement. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Ages 0-5. Held again 12/18. 10-10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/11 - Inventors Academy: STEMBased Book Club at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 9-12. 4-5  pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/11-12 - Frozen Jr. at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. 7 pm. $20/adults; $15/children. 561-272-1281; delraybeachplayhouse.com

Thursday- 12/12 - Special Guest Storytime w/Gumbo Limbo & Luna at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Up to age 5. 10-10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/12 - Create-a-Comic! at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Ages 13-17. 6-7 pm. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

Friday - 12/13 - Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth presents The Gingerbread Man at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. For grades K-5. 11 am. $8. 561-5866410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

Saturday - 12/14 - Little Wonders at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Hike, crafts, stories. Age 3-4 w/an adult. 10-10:45 am. $8/resident & member; $10/non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/calendar. aspx?CID=47

Saturday - 12/14 - Madden NFL Tournament at Hester Center, 1901 N Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach. Age 12-14. 10 am-2 pm. $10/resident; $13/nonresident. 561-742-6550; boynton-beach.org

12/14 - Storytime with Mandy at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 0-5. 10-10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/14 - STEM Camp: Hour of Code at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 5-17. 10:30-11:45 am. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary. org

12/14 - Nature Detectives at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. New mystery each month. Age 5-6 w/an adult. 11:30 am-12:15 pm. $8/resident & member; $10/non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/ calendar.aspx?CID=47

12/14 - Make & Take: Holiday Charm Bracelets at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Ages 5-12. 4:30-5:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.

org

Monday - 12/16 - Epic Crafters Book Club at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 6-8. 3:30-4:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.

org

12/16 - Visual Adjectives Graphic Novel Workshop at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. 4-week workshop: instruction in art, writing, production. Registrants must commit to each of the 5 sessions. All materials provided. Age 9-12. 4-5:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0197; delraylibrary.org

12/16 - TAB (Teen Advisory Board) Meeting at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. 5-6 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/16 - Movie Screening: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022 - PG-13) at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. 5-7 pm. Free. Registration: 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

DECEMBER 17-23

Tuesday - 12/17 - Chapter Masters

Book Club at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 9-12. 4-5  pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.

org 12/17 - Teen Book Club: The Summer of Broken Rules at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 13-17. 5-6pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.

org

Wednesday - 12/18 - Outdoor Storytime at Boynton Beach Library under the Banyan tree, 100 E Ocean Ave. Stories, rhymes, more. May be cancelled in inclement weather. 10-10:30 am. Free. 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

12/18 - Bouncing Babies Story Time at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Ages 3 mo.-2.5 yrs. 10-10:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.

org 12/18 -Young @ Art: Square Off the Square at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Create fun arts/crafts, learn principles of art. Age 6-8. 3:30-4:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

Thursday - 12/19 - Drop-In Family Storytime at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Up to age 5. Held again 12/26 1010:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/19 - Picture Book Club at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Ages 5-12.

4:30-5:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-7426393; boyntonlibrary.org

Saturday - 12/21 - ColorSpace: Teen Art Studio at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Age 13-17. 11 am-noon. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary. org

Sunday - 12/22 - Rookie Rooks: Introduction to Chess for Youth at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Ages 9-12. 10:30-11:30 am. Free. Registration: 561393-7968; bocalibrary.org

Monday - 12/23 - Holiday Movie Matinee at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Featuring Trolls Holiday; Kung Fu Panda Holiday; The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper; and Dragons, Gift of the Night Fury. 2-3:30 pm. Free. 561-742-6393; boyntonlibrary.org

12/23-30 - Winter Break Camp at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Age 3-8 (must be fully potty trained). Held again 1/2-3. 9 am-1 pm. $95/ day. 561-203-3742; thestudioatmiznerpark. com

12/23-1/6 - Holiday Break Camp at Sims Center, 225 NW 12th Ave, Boynton Beach. Age 5-12. M-F 7:30 am-5:30 pm. $182/ resident; $224/non-resident. 561-742-6640; boynton-beach.org

DEC. 28-JAN. 3

Saturday - 12/28 - Families Bring in

the New Year - 2025! at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. Based on artwork at the Museum, links art making w/learning about art. 11 am - 1 pm. $25/ member family; $40/non-member family. Registration: 561-392-2500; bocamuseum. org

Monday - 12/30-1/3 - Winter Break Theatre Camp at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Age 7-15. M/T/Th/F 9 am-4 pm. $350/child. 561-586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

Thursday - 1/2 - Lego Lab at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Ages 5-12. 4:30-5:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-7426390; boyntonlibrary.org

1/2-3 - Winter Break Camp at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Games, crafts, educational activities. Young conservationists learn about the importance of caring for/ protecting sea turtles, other marine life. Age 9-11. 8:30 am-noon. Per day $30/member; $37.50/non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/ calendar.aspx?CID=47

Saturday - 1/4 - Saturday Morning ART (smART) at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. Based on artwork at the Museum, links art making w/learning about art. Ages 5+. 10-11 am. $15/ member family; $25/non-member family. Registration: 561-392-2500; bocamuseum. org

Paws Up for Pets

These reading buddies lend motivation with a woof and wag

Now this just may surprise you: The individual who may spark an interest in your child to read is one who cannot read a single sentence. In Palm Beach County, there are a score of such reading motivators who communicate with a friendly lick and a happy tail wag.

Libraries within the Palm Beach County system plus some municipal libraries are opening their doors throughout the year to well-mannered therapy dogs who quietly sit as grade school and middle school children read aloud from the pages of books.

The county programs are referred to as A.R.F.— for Animal Reading Friends. City libraries, such as Boca Raton’s, describe these kids-readingto-therapy-dog events as “tailwagging tutors.”

“Our mission is to connect communities, inspire thoughts and enrich lives,” says Sandra Frens, manager of integrated marketing and communications for the Palm Beach County Library System. “As such, a therapy dog reading program accomplishes all three.”

I can personally attest to that statement. Kona, my sweet terrier mix, and Casey, my confident orange tabby, are both certified therapy pets. We never turn down an invite

from libraries or schools to engage kids in reading and to inspire them to bond with pets. These therapy dog visits enable children to hone their reading skills and much more.

I met someone recently who I regard as the top dog in therapy dog volunteerism in Palm Beach County. Alan Levine is the founder and president of Certified Therapy Dog, an all-volunteer group based in Boynton Beach.

Levine survived a health scare in his early 50s.

“I was given a second chance at life and realized how dogs can make you feel better,” says Levine, of Lake Worth Beach, a

retired market researcher who devotes his time to connecting people with therapy dogs.

He adds, “Alerting others of the impact of therapy dogs has been a personal mission to me.”

He launched this nonprofit about 15 years ago. He is now recognized nationally as a certified AKC training evaluator and in-demand speaker spotlighting the many qualities pets can bring out in people.

“Yes, we are based here, but I get calls for help about setting up therapy pet programs from people from all over the country,” Levine says. “You name the state, we’ve probably

Therapy dogs at libraries

If you are interested in booking a reading session with a therapy dog for your child at a library, reach out to the library of your choice. Typically, the sessions are about 15 to 20 minutes in length.

Each library requires a parent/guardian signed waiver and asks participants to arrive early to select books to read to the therapy dogs.

If you want to learn more about teaming up with your dog by completing therapy dog training, contact Alan Levine, founder of Certified Therapy Dog, at www.certified therapydog.com or by calling 561-512-0015.

talked with someone about creating a therapy dog program there. The whole concept of therapy dogs has really grown in recent years.”

The local Certified Therapy Dog teams include medical doctors, psychologists, business owners, retired military, homemakers, teachers and other volunteers who range in age from 18 (minimum age required to participate) to their 80s. Their four-legged partners include a variety of canine breeds and sizes that include Maltese, Doberman, Great Dane, lots of golden doodles and many mutts.

Therapy dogs are often regarded as the goodwill ambassadors of the canine world. When they enter libraries or schools, smiles often pop up on people’s faces.

“Therapy dogs really pose a nonthreatening and nonjudgmental environment for kids learning to read in schools and at libraries,” Levine says. “We operate in the currency of smiles.”

Libraries set aside a spot for the reading experience. Kids may sit in chairs or on blankets by the therapy dog with the handler nearby.

“We don’t care if the children hold their books upside down when connecting with our therapy dogs,” Levine says. “Our primary objective is to create a positive experience for that child when he or she is holding a book. Our dogs are there to provide encouragement.”

Certified Therapy Dog teams also visit area high schools during final exam weeks.

“These students come into the media center and play with our therapy dogs before they go to take their tests,” Levine says. “Our dogs are helping them focus on their tests and not be so nervous.”

For many years, Levine’s four-legged partner has been a golden doodle named Sophie. Together, they have logged more than 8,000 therapy dog visits. He shares their antics in a book he wrote called Sophie The Amazing Therapy Dog: A Passion for Compassion

“My book is about kindness and the search for your own happiness starts with being kind to others,” he says. “Sophie is a very loving dog who is now 14 and retired.”

Carrying on this therapy mission is Loki, an 8-yearold cocker spaniel who was surrendered several times to animal shelters before Alan and his wife, Paula, adopted him.

“We love Sophie and Loki,” he says. “It is us who feel so blessed to have them in our lives.”

Arden Moore is an author, speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Learn more by visiting www. ardenmoore. com.

A youngster works on her reading in the company of a therapy dog at the Palm Beach County Library. Photo provided

On the Water

Our guide to the perfect gift for the outdoors lover on your list

If you don’t spend time outdoors, you probably find it challenging to purchase holiday gifts that will be used by the anglers, boaters, kayakers and hikers on your shopping list. Here are products that people who spend time outdoors will be thrilled with:

Rēvo sunglasses

People who love the water can always use a pair of quality polarized sunglasses. Rēvo glasses were created in 1985 by a NASA engineer who thought that the coatings used to protect satellites from space radiation could be applied to sunglasses.

Rēvo sunglasses come in a variety of styles, lens colors, lens materials and vision options.

The revo.com website lists all the styles and suggested activities for the different lens colors. The lightweight Dune is available in graphite, blue or green lenses and has wide side-shield frames for glare protection on the water.

The wraparound Jasper, which has blue or green glass lenses, also is recommended for fishing. Most items on the Rēvo website range from $199 to $299, with additional costs for prescription lenses.

Revant replacement lenses

If you have sunglass frames

is a dressier option that you can wear while exploring the outdoors or a nice restaurant’s menu. The wrinkle-free pants are made from a soft, stretchy polyester that is coated to repel water and stains. Among the thoughtful features are a dedicated phone pocket, a hidden zippered pocket inside one of the back pockets, a gusseted crotch and a stretchable waist. Available in classic and slim fits, the Outset pants cost $129.99 at www. nomatic.com.

Protalus insoles

you like but the lenses are scratched or broken, Revant offers replacement sunglass lenses for a wide variety of makes, including Rēvo, Oakley, Ray-Ban, Costa and Maui Jim. Lenses are available in a variety of colors. Most nonpolarized lenses are $24.99; polarized are $34.99 to $39.99. Visit revantoptics.com.

Rux waterproof bag

This bag is ideal for anglers, divers, kayakers, beachgoers, campers and anyone else who

needs to prevent everything from wallets, cellphones and electronics to clothing, towels and snacks from getting wet.

The roomy Rux bag comes in five colors as well as clear. It has handles and a comfortable, removable shoulder strap. It has a compression strap that hooks to a loop across the top of the bag to keep the contents under control if needed.

Inside the nylon bag is a rolltop that folds out so you can roll it down and secure it with a snap closure to make the Rux

completely waterproof, which is perfect for kayakers.

I bring my gear-filled Rux on boats and take it with me when fishing from shore. The waterproof bag retails for $135 and is available at rux.life.

Hook & Tackle shirts

Miami-based Hook & Tackle was a pioneer in offering UPF 50-plus sun protection buttondown and T-shirt fishing shirts. The company — which also makes shorts, pants, swim trunks and fishing hoodies for men and women — has several new long-sleeve and shortsleeve shirts that can be worn for any outdoor activity as well as around town.

The long-sleeve Coastline is made from a new, extremely lightweight microfiber stretch material that feels great against your skin. It has snap-secured chest pockets as well as an inner zippered pocket. The moisture-wicking mesh lining and vented back keep you cool on the water.

The lightweight, durable short-sleeve shirts also have UPF 50-plus protection, stretch fabric, rear air vents and secured chest pockets. Prices for all the shirts range from $55 to $65 at hookandtackle.com.

Coalatree Trailhead pants

I’ve worn these hiking through the woods and on the beach in cool, windy weather. They are made from durable, breathable ripstop nylon that is water resistant and stain-proof. The four-way-stretch pants have deep front pockets, so your valuables won’t fall out while you’re fishing or hiking.

There are two back pockets, one of them with a secure closure. The elastic waistband has tie strings as do the cuffs, so you can raise them up in wet or muddy conditions. The Trailhead pants, which come in seven colors, sell for $99 at coalatree.com.

Protalus insoles can help you hike or fish all day. The T-100 Elite insoles replace the ones that come with your boots and shoes, offering a more secure fit. They have a deep heel cup that guides your heels and ankles into the proper alignment, which results in pain relief and less muscle fatigue. Go to protalus.com/ collections/shop.

Active Skin Repair

If you’re like me, whenever you go to the woods or you’re bouncing in a boat around fishing hooks and spiny lobsters, you invariably end up with scrapes, cuts, blisters, bug bites and sunburns.

Unlike typical first aid creams, Active Skin Repair has hypochlorous acid, or HOCl, and no toxic chemicals, synthetic antibiotics or petroleum. HOCl is produced by the body’s white blood cells to promote healing.

I used the antimicrobial hydrogel on cuts on my arm and hand and scrapes on my leg and was impressed by how quickly those wounds healed.

The company also has a skin repair spray, a kid spray and a baby spray. The gel is $34.97 and the spray is $29.97 on the bldgactive.com website, and a bundle package of a gel and a spray is $59.97.

Licenses to fish, hunt

Licenses are needed for ages 16-64 to fish, catch lobsters and hunt in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering discounted licenses for residents through Jan. 3. Annual and five-year Gold Sportsman licenses are half-price and an annual freshwater/saltwater fishing combination license is only $5 plus applicable fees. The regular price is $32.50. Licenses can be purchased at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com and at tax collector offices.

com.

Outset trousers

This model by Nomatic

Outdoors writer Steve Waters can be reached at steve33324@aol.

TOP: Rēvo Jasper sunglasses feature glass lenses available in green or blue. They are ideal for activities on the water.

ABOVE: Active Skin Repair is available in a spray and a hydrogel and heals scrapes and cuts fast.

Coalatree Trailhead pants are comfortable and durable and perfect for hiking or cool weather. Photos provided

Rare sighting sends birders flocking to Boca’s Gumbo Limbo

Outdoors Calendar

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER 7

Saturday - 12/7 - Outdoor Marine

Aquarium Feedings at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. All ages; child must be accompanied by an adult. Daily 12:30 pm. Free. 561-5448605; myboca.us/calendar.aspx?CID=47

12/7 - Coast Guard Auxiliary Boat

America: A Boating Safety Course at Spanish River Park HQ Building, USCG Auxiliary Classroom, 3939 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Boating terminology, boat handling, navigation rules, regulations, more. Course provides knowledge needed to obtain a boating certificate; possible insurance discount. 9 am-5 pm. $35/adult; $5/teen. 561-391-3600; peauxboca@gmail. com

DECEMBER 8-14

Sunday - 12/8 - Intracoastal

Adventures: Intro to Kayaking at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Includes short talk about South Florida’s unique animals/ecosystems. Age 7-adult; each child under 13 must be accompanied by one adult. 9-10:30 am. $20/resident & member; $25/non-member. Registration: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/ calendar.aspx?CID=47

Tuesday - 12/10 - Beach Treasures at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Learn about seashells, the animals that make them. Caravan to Red Reef Park, 1400 N State Rd A1A, to search for ocean treasures. All ages; child must be accompanied by an adult. Held again 12/24 2-3:30 pm. Free. Reservations: 561-544-

By Rich Pollack

For all intents and purposes, the small bird camped out in the butterfly garden at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton shouldn’t have been there.

But then in late October, a lone bananaquit, a sugarloving bird that usually stays in the Bahamas, made its first appearance and well, the birding community went bananas.

“The first few mornings, no less than two dozen birders showed up with binoculars and large cameras,” said David Anderson, Gumbo Limbo’s sea turtle conservation coordinator. “They came from all over.”

How the bird got to southern Palm Beach County’s coast is a bit of a mystery, with enough theories flying around to fill a small aviary.

“If you talk to 10 people, you’ll get 10 theories on why it got here,” said longtime birder Al Pelligrinelli, who is sure of one thing. “It didn’t fly here on purpose.”

Pelligrinelli, who first saw a bananaquit in the United States on New Year’s Day 2011 at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton and hadn’t seen one anywhere since, says that birds sometimes get off course or get confused and end up where they don’t belong.

Others say it could possibly have followed other species by accident or gotten blown off course in stormy weather.

One thing is for sure, once the bananaquit landed in the

accompanied by an adult. Held again 12/31. 10-10:30 am. Free. 561-544-8605; myboca. us/calendar.aspx?CID=47

Gumbo Limbo garden and found nectar-rich firespike, it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

It was still being seen at Gumbo Limbo as late as the middle of November and still attracting birders like Aidan Rodriguez, who came all the way from Athens, Georgia.

“The bananaquit is only there because it found an island of food for itself,” said Rodriguez, who was planning on a birding trip to Florida later in the year but moved the visit up when he learned of the bananaquit’s arrival.

Knowing that sightings of the species are rare, he said he didn’t want to take a chance of missing the bird.

“It’s not predictable,” he said. “It’s not something you can rely on.”

Although it looks very much like a warbler in size,

myboca.us/calendar.aspx?CID=47

the bananaquit is actually a member of the tanager family. It uses its long pointed bill to probe into flowers in search of nectar, acting much like a hummingbird.

Why have so many birders and photographers flocked to Gumbo Limbo to see the bananaquit? It’s rare in South Florida, but it’s also especially attractive and bold.

“They are a very colorful bird and they’re easy to see,” said Pelligrinelli. “They’re not shy at all.”

The host of Gumbo Limbo’s Early Birding with Al — a free birding adventure one Thursday a month — says he wanted to be sure he had a chance to see the bananaquit before it flew off.

“It’s a life bird for many birders,” he said. “I just wanted to put it on my list again.” P

DEC. 21- JAN. 3

8605; myboca.us/calendar.aspx?CID=47

DECEMBER 15-21

Tuesday- 12/17 - Island Treks at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Take a guided, short trek along the shaded boardwalk through the tropical hardwood hammock forest, pausing for some intracoastal views through the mangroves. All ages; child must be

Saturday - 12/21 - Intracoastal Adventures: Advanced Canoeing at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Includes short talk about South Florida’s unique animals/ecosystems. For experienced paddlers age 13-adult; child under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. 9-10:30 am. $20/member; $25/ non-member. Registration: 561-544-8605;

Sunday - 12/22 - Intracoastal Adventures: Advanced Kayaking at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Includes short talk about South Florida’s unique animals/ecosystems. Age 7-adult; each child under 13 must be accompanied by one adult. 9-10:30 am. $20/resident & member; $25/non-member. Registration: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/ calendar.aspx?CID=47

Thursday- 12/26 - Early Birding w/Al at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Learn about native & migratory birds from an experienced birder. Binoculars recommended. Meet on nature center front porch. Age 10+; child must be accompanied by an adult. 8:30-10 am. Free. 561-544-8605; myboca.us/calendar. aspx?CID=47

Merti Rittgers (above from left) of Delray Beach, Derik Bowen of Coconut Creek and Kari Longshore of Montana came to Boca Raton on Nov. 12 to catch a glimpse of a rare and beautiful bananaquit (Coereba flaveola), which was feasting on firespike nectar in the butterfly garden at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER 7

Saturday - 12/7 - Deck The HouseDecorating Contest is open for residents of the City of Boca Raton ONLY. Entry application due 12/20 5 pm. Winners announced 12/22. 561-393-7810; myboca. us/2350/Deck-the-House---DecoratingContest

12/7 - Christmas Market at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, 3300 Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach. 9 am-2 pm. Free. 561-7323060; stjoesweb.org

12/7 - Annual Boynton Beach Holiday Parade in Downtown Boynton, Federal Hwy & Ocean Ave. 4-6 pm. Free. 561-7426010; boynton-beach.org

12/7 - Holiday School Spectacular at Old School Square Amphitheatre, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Local schools take center stage. 6-8 pm. Free. 561-2437250 x3; delraybeachfl.gov

12/7 - Divas Holiday Party at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Ages 18+. 8 pm. $25. 561-586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse. org

DECEMBER 8-14

Sunday - 12/8 - A Festival of Lessons & Carols at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 3 pm. Free admission; collection taken. 561-276-4541; stpaulsdelray.org

Thursday - 12/12 - Snapshots with Santa at Ocean Plaza, 640 E Ocean Ave, Boynton Beach. 4-7 pm. Free. 561-6009097; boyntonbeachcra.com/businessdevelopment/snapshots-with-santa

12/12 - Merry in Mizner: Meet & Greet with Olaf at Night Market in Sanborn Square, 72 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton.

6-8 pm. Free. 561-393-7890; myboca.us/ specialevents

12/12 - Cocoa, Cookies & Crafts at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 6-8 pm. Free. 561-243-1077; delrayoldschoolsquare.com/events

Friday - 12/13 - Gumbo Limbo Aglow! at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Experience holiday ambiance w/special evening visit to “glowing” outdoor aquariums. Holiday refreshments, yard games, festive photo op w/mascot Luna. Age 7+; child under 18 must participate w/an adult. Held again 12/20 & 27. 6-7:30 pm. $15/member; $19/ non-member. Reservations: 561-544-8605; myboca.us/calendar.aspx?CID=47

12/13 - Lantana Tree Lighting & Winterfest at Lantana Town Hall, 500 Greynolds Circle. Tree & Menorah lighting ceremony, giveaways, arrival of Santa &

Mrs. Claus, food/holiday craft vendors. 6-8 pm. Free. Lantana Residents Only. 561-5405754; lantana.org/enjoy-lantana-events

12/13 - 5th Annual Toy Drive by The Starboard Foundation at Delray Beach Historical Society, 3 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. Activities, music, food, drinks and a chance to make a difference in a child’s life. Bring a toy or a donation. 6-9 pm. $20/admission; free w/ toy donation at the door. 954-2552266; starboardgroup.com

12/13 - Annual Holiday Boat Parade from Lantana Ocean Ave Bridge south to C-15 Canal. In partnership w/City of Boynton Beach, Town of Hypoluxo, Town of Lantana, City of Delray Beach. Viewing at Boynton Harbor Marina (735 Casa Loma Blvd), Boynton Beach Intracoastal Park, Jaycee Park, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, Delray Beach Veterans Park, Knowles Park. 6:30 pm parade starts. Free. 561-600-9097; boyntonbeachcra.com

Saturday - 12/14 - Breakfast with Santa at Intracoastal Park, 138 Harbors Way, Boynton Beach. Santa & his ASL Signing Elf make a special stop for a magical morning; breakfast holiday craft included. 9-11 am. $18/resident; $23/ non-resident; free/kids age 18 months & under. Registration; flboyntonbeachweb. myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/iteminfo. html?Module=AR&FMID=9232217

12/14 - Wreaths Across AmericaRemember, Honor, Teach at Palm Beach Memorial Park, 3691 Seacrest

Blvd, Lantana. Wreath placement immediately following ceremony. Noon. 561-585-6444;wreathsacrossamerica.org

12/14 - Master Chorale of South Florida: Comfort & Joy at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Harris Hall, 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton. 4 pm & 8 pm. $40/advance; $45/at the door; free/student. 954-641-2653; masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org

12/14 - 4th Annual A Night in Bethlehem at First United Methodist Church Boca Raton, 625 NE Mizner Blvd. Authentic Bethlehem Village; families wander through town, hear about the baby being born in the stable; visit different shops, create keepsakes to take home. 4:30-6:30 pm. Entry fee: Diaper donation. 561-395-1244; fumcbocaraton.org

12/14 - Blue Lights & Holiday Nights at Boynton Beach Police Department, 2100 High Ridge Rd. Featuring hot chocolate bar, holiday crafts with BBPD Officers, a bike raffle, gift giveaway, gift wrapping and photo opportunities w/ Santa & Mrs. Clause. Ages 0-12. Must be a Boynton Beach resident. 5:30-8 pm. Free. Registration: eventeny.com/events/ bluelightsholidaynights-15646/ 12/14 - Annual Holiday Parade: A Grinchy Holiday on Atlantic Avenue from the Intracoastal to NW 5th Avenue, Delray Beach. Over 70 floats, marching bands, walking groups. 6-9 pm. 561-243-7277; mydelraybeach.com

12/14 - Annual Lake Worth Beach Holiday Parade at Cultural Plaza, 414 Lake Ave. 6-9 pm. Free. 561-586-1600; lakeworthbeachfl.gov

12/14 – Christmas Concert - We Are The Reason at St. Vincent Ferrer, 840 George Bush Blvd, Delray Beach. 7 pm. Free. 561-276-6892; stvincentferrer.com

DECEMBER 15-21

12/15 - 5th Annual Pooches & Presents in The Park at Old School Square Front Lawn, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Noon-4 pm. Free. 561-243-7250; delraybeachfl.gov

12/15 - Annual Christmas Concert at First United Methodist Church Boca Raton, 625 NE Mizner Blvd. 7 pm. Free. 561-3951244; fumcbocaraton.org

12/19 - Crafty Holidaze at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. All ages. 3-4:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/19 - Snapshots with Santa at

Boynton Harbor Marina, 735 Casa Loma Blvd, Boynton Beach. 4-7 pm. Free. 561-600-9097; boyntonbeachcra.com/ business-development/snapshots-withsanta

12/20 - Merry in Mizner: Cookies & Cocoa Mizner Park, 327 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 6-8 pm. Free (while supplies last). 561-393-7890; myboca.us/specialevents 12/20-21 - Ghosts of Winter: A Christmas Carol presented by Organic Movements at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. F: 7 pm; Sat: 2 pm. $35-$45. 561586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

12/21 - Delray Beach Jingle Bell Jog 5K and Little Elf Dash at Anchor Park, 340 S Ocean Blvd. All participants will receive a Santa Suit costume and a pair of Jingle Bells to tie to running shoes. 5k: 7:30 am, $45; Elf Dash: 8:45 am, $20. runsignup.com/Race/FL/DelrayBeach/ JingleBellJogDelrayBeach

12/21 - Anthony Nunziata - My Italian Christmas w/ Special Guests Avery Sommers & Meri Ziev at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 8 pm. $50-$55. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

DECEMBER 22-28

12/24 - Christmas Eve at Old School Square Amphitheatre, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 6-7:30 pm. Free. 561-2431077; delrayoldschoolsquare.com/events 12/26 - Kwanzaa Celebration at The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 NW 5th Ave, Delray Beach. Gift making, live music, art activities, storytelling for children, food. 2-5 pm. Free. 561-278-8883; spadymuseum.com

12/28 - Merry in Mizner: Let It Snow, Snow Cones at Mizner Park, Public Open Area, 327 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 11 am-2 pm. Free (while supplies last). 561-3937890; myboca.us/specialevents

12/28 - Deck the Square: A Disney Tribute Concert at Old School Square Amphitheater, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 5-9 pm. $60/VIP; $20/General admission; free/kids 2 & under. 561-2431077; delrayoldschoolsquare.com/events

DEC. 28-JAN.3

12/29 - Grand Delray Beach Chanukah Festival at Old School Square Amphitheater, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Menorah Lighting, live music, game trucks, holiday snacks, crafts & more. 6-8 pm. Free. 561-243-7250 x5; delraybeachfl. gov

Community Calendar

Note: Events are current as of 11/26. Please check with organizers for any changes.

DECEMBER

7

12/7 - Free Fun Saturday at The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N Federal Hwy. 10 am-4 pm. Free. 561-395-6766; bocahistory.org

12/7 - Freestyle Saturdays Art Class at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Ages 18+. Every Sat through 12/28 10 am-12:30 pm. Per class $29/ resident; $35/non-resident. Registration: 561-742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/7 - Tree Giveaway at Delray Beach Green Market, 180 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. Must be a City of Delray Beach resident to receive a tree. First come, first served, limit 3 trees per household (1 fruit tree max). 10 am. 561-927-8733; communitygreening. org

12/7 - Workshop: Sunny Strokes:

Beginners Sunflower Watercolor at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 10:30 am-12:30 pm. $40. 561-3309614; artswarehouse.org

12/7 - Meet & Greet w/Jewelry

Designer Sana Doumet at Boca Raton Museum of Art Store, 501 Plaza Real. 11 am-2 pm. Free w/ pd admission. 561-3922500; bocamuseum.org

12/7 - Virtual Saturday Morning Writers’ Group w/Caren Neile at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. Every 1st & 3rd Sat 11 am-12:30 pm. Free. Registration: 561-393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/7 - Workshop: The Fun of Painting Without a Brush at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. Age 18+. 1:30-4:30 pm. $65. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/7 - Workshop: Five Color Abstract Landscape Painting at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 2-4 pm. $65. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/7 - Repertory Dance Theatre

Ensemble at FAU Theatre, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 2 pm & 7 pm. $25/general public; $18/faculty, staff, alumni. 561-2976124; fauevents.com

12/7 - Heather Forest: Earthson - A Musical Monologue - A Story Central Performance at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 3-4:30 pm. Free. 561393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/7 - Rock the Block in Downtown Boynton Beach, 100 NE 4th St. Spotlight of business on East Ocean Ave between NE 3rd St. & Federal Hwy. Holiday market, face painting, bounce house, craft activities, appearance by Santa. 4-9 pm. Free. 561600-9097; boyntonbeachcra.com

12/7 - Symphonia Holiday Pops Concert at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 7 pm. $10-$40. 561-376-3858; thesymphonia.org

12/7 - Macbeth at Sol Theatre, 3333 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. 7:30 pm. $40. 754-228-7228; shakestroupe.org/ eventlistings

12/7 - Sick Puppies Improv Comedy Extravaganza Show at Doghouse Theater, 105 NW 5th Ave, Delray Beach. Held again 12/21, 28 & 1/3-4. 8 pm. $30$35. 954-667-7735; sickpuppiescomedy. com

12/7-8 - 24th Annual Downtown Delray Beach Art Festival, 401 E Atlantic. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 561-746-6615; artfestival.com

DECEMBER 8-14

Sunday - 12/8 - Verdi’s Rigoletto at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Part of the Palm Beach Opera - Fall for Opera series. 2 pm. Free. Registration: 561266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/8 - Lecture - Paper, Puppets, and Paintings: Thinking about Art in Golden Age Spain at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. 3-4 pm. $8/ member; $18/non-member. 561-392-2500; bocamuseum.org

12/8 - An Evening of Chicago Blues w/ Wayne Baker Brooks at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 7 pm. $45-$50. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org Monday - 12/9 - Pickleball at Hester

Municipal Meetings

12/9 – Ocean Ridge Town Hall, 6450 N Ocean Blvd. 6 pm. Agenda: oceanridgeflorida. com

12/9 – Lantana Town Hall, 500 Greynolds Cir. 6 pm. Agenda: lantana.org

12/10 – South Palm Beach Town Hall, 3577 S Ocean Blvd. 2 pm. Agenda: southpalmbeach.com

12/10 & 12/17 – Delray Beach City Hall, 100 NW 1st Ave. 5 pm. Agenda: delraybeachfl. gov

12/10 – Boca Raton Auditorium, 6500 Congress Ave. 6 pm. Agenda: myboca.us

12/12 – Briny Breezes Town Hall, 4802 N Ocean Blvd. 4 pm. Agenda: townofbrinybreezes-fl.com

12/13 – Gulf Stream Town Hall, 100 Sea Rd. 9 am. Agenda: gulf-stream.org

12/17 – Boynton Beach City Hall, 100 E Ocean Ave. 6 pm. Agenda: boynton-beach.org

12/17 – Highland Beach Town Hall, 3614 S Ocean Blvd. 1:30 pm. Agenda: highlandbeach.us

12/17 – Manalapan Town Hall, 600 S Ocean Blvd. 10 am. Agenda: manalapan.org

Center, 1901 N Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach. Combines badminton & tennis. Adults. M-F 9 am-noon. $5; $50/24-visit pass. 561-742-6550; boynton-beach.org

12/9 - Russia and the Rise of the Terror State: The Kremlin’s Global Influence from Lenin to Putin w/Jeffrey Shapiro at Florida Atlantic University Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 1011:30 am. $60/annual membership; $30/ member; $35/non-member & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/9 - Advanced Squares at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Adults. Every M 2-4 pm. $6. 561-742-

6221; boynton-beach.org

12/9 - Monday Movies - Documentary: The Truffle Hunters directed by Michael Dweck at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 5:30-8 pm. Registration: 561393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/9-10 - Auditions: The Play That Goes Wrong at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Production dates 2/28-3/6. 7 pm. 561586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

Tuesday - 12/10 - Career & Employment Help w/CareerSource PBC at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Representative fluent in English, Creole, French. Adults. Every T 9 am-4 pm. Free.

Public Library Classes

Local libraries offer hundreds of adult classes each month. To discover what you can learn at your library, please visit:

Boca Raton Public Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. 561-393-7906; bocalibrary.org

Boynton Beach City Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

For children and teen classes, please see our Tots & Teens calendar. "Libraries are the free universities of the people." — Andrew Carnegie

561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

12/10 - Who Are the Houthis and Why Are They Anti-American and Anti-Israel? w/ Robert Rabil, Ph.D. at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 10-11:30 am. $60/annual membership; $35/member; $40/nonmember & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/10 - The Woman in Gold: Separating Fact from Fiction: Issues of Nazi-Looted Art w/ Laura Reich, Esq. presented by FAU Lifelong Learning Institute at The Field House at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 10:30 am-noon. $30/member; $35/ non-member & guest pass 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/10 - Workshop: Experimental Printmaking with Gelli Plates at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 10:30 am-2:30 pm. $90. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/10 - ESOL Conversation Corner at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. Every T 11:30 am-1 pm. Registration: 561-393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/10 - When Washington Burned w/ Robert Watson, Ph.D. at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 12:30-2 pm. $60/annual membership; $35/ member; $40/non-member & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/10 – Socrates Café at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Philosophical discussions. Every T 1:30-3 pm. Free. 561393-7852; bocalibrary.org

12/10 - Woodstock: A Cultural Revolution w/Garrett Kealer at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 3-4:30 pm. $60/annual membership; $35/member; $40/nonmember & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/10 - The Leavers by Lisa Ko part of Tuesday Book Group at Delray Beach

Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. 6 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary. org

12/10

- All Arts Open Mic Night at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 2nd T 8-10 pm. $10-$15. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

DECEMBER 15-21

Wednesday - 12/11 - GFWC Woman’s Club of Delray Beach Meeting at Duffy’s Sports Grill, 1750 S Federal Hwy. Those who wish to participate should bring a $20 wrapped gift for the Holiday Swap. 11:15 am. Free. delraywomansclub.com

12/11 - American Jewry, Israel and the Crisis of Zionism: Pre and PostOctober 7th w/ Robert Rabil, Ph.D. at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 10-11:30 am. $60/annual membership; $35/member; $40/nonmember & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/11 - Book Buzz Adult Book Club at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Adults. 10:30 am-noon. Free. Registration: 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

12/11 - Drawing the Outlines of the Middle East: A History Rooted in Bad Faith w/ Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D. at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 12:30-2 pm. $60/ annual membership; $35/member; $40/ non-member & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/11 - Pastels Made Easy Class at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Ages  18+. Every W through 12/18 1-4 pm. Per class $35/resident; $44/ non-resident. Registration: 561-742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/11 - Leonardo’s Mona Lisa: The Most Famous Painting in the World? w/ Emily Fenichel, Ph.D. at FAU Friedberg Auditorium, 777 Glades

Green Markets

12/7 - Lake Worth Beach Waterside Farmers Market every Saturday, under the overpass at A1A and Lake Ave, Lake Worth Beach. 9 am-1 pm. Free. 561-547-3100; lakeworthfarmersmarket.com

12/7 - Delray Beach GreenMarket every Saturday through 5/17, at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave. Fresh local produce, baked goods, gourmet food items, plants, live music, children’s activities. 9 am-2 pm. 561-276-7511; delraycra.org/greenmarket

12/12 - Night Market at Sanborn Square Park, 72 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Food options, beer & wine, local artisans and live music. 6-9 pm. Free. myboca.us/2324/ Night-Market

Rd, Boca Raton. 3-4:30 pm. $60/annual membership; $30/member; $35/nonmember & guest pass. 561-297-3185; olliboca.fau.edu

12/11 - Plein Air Palm Beach at Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Adults. 3-5 pm. Free. Registration: 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/11 - Art Happy Hour: Expressive Botanicals Drawing at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 6-8 pm. $40. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/11 - Delray Beach Orchid Society Meeting at Veterans Park, 802 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. 2nd W 7 pm. Free. 561-5732422; delraybeachorchidsociety.org

Thursday - 12/12 - Quilters meet at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Share quilting information, perpetuate quilting as a cultural & artistic form. Every Th 9 am-noon. $1/lifetime membership. 561-742-6886; boyntonlibrary.org

12/12 - Tech Talk Thursdays at Boynton Beach Library, 100 E Ocean Ave. Adults. Every Th 10:30-11:30 am. Free. Registration: 561-742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org

12/12 - Line Dancing at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Basic modern western square dancing. Adults. Every Th 10:30-11:30 am. $6. 561742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/12 - Concert: Merv Johnston Jazz Quartet at Highland Beach Library, 3618 Ocean Blvd. 5:30 pm. Free. 561-278-5455; highlandbeach.us

12/12 - Intermediate Tap for Adults at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Ages  18+. Held again 12/26. 5:30-7 pm. $20/drop-in. 561-586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

12/12 - Acting for Adults Class Community Showcase at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 7-9 pm. Free. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

Friday - 12/13 - Friday Artisan Market at The Shops of Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle. Every F through December 27. Unique artisan and handcrafted items from local makers, artists, crafters and live music. 5-10 pm. Free. bocacenter.com

12/13 - Beginner Squares at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Adults. Every F 6-7 pm. $6. 561-7426221; boynton-beach.org

12/13 - Latin Dance Class at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Ages  18+. Held again 12/20. Salsa: 6-7 pm; Slow Waltz & Tango: 7-8 pm. Per class $15/resident; $19/non-resident.

Registration: 561-742-6221; boyntonbeach.org

12/13 - Castoffs Square Dance at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Basic modern western square dancing. Adults. Every F 6-9 pm. $6. 561742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/13 - Centennial Celebration at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. 6-10 pm. $100/couple; $60/single. 561-586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

12/13 - South Florida Studio Showdown Artist Blow-Out at Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts, 1105 2nd Ave S, Lake Worth Beach. 6:30-9:30 pm. $25-$50. Reservations: 561-508-7315; benzaitencenter.org

12/13 - Sick Puppies Stand-Up Comedy Show at Doghouse Theater, 105 NW 5th Ave, Delray Beach. Every F 8 pm. $30. 954667-7735; sickpuppiescomedy.com

Saturday - 12/14 - Calling All Serious Writers! Saturday Writers Studio presented by Delray Beach Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. 10 am. Free. 561-266-0194; delraylibrary.org

12/14 - Workshop: Watercolor & Wonder - Modern Holiday Wreath Painting at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 10:30 am-12:30 pm. $40. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/14 - Open Figure Studio w/Model at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. Ages 18+. Held again 6-8 pm 12/19. 10:30 am-12:30 pm. $15. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/14 - Workshop: Paint Your Pet Portrait at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 1-4 pm. $110. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/14 - Latin Dance Class at Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E Ocean Ave. Ages  18+. Held again 12/21. Salsa: 1-2 pm; Salsa & Cha Cha: 2-3 pm. Per class $15/ resident; $19/non-resident. Registration: 561-742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/14 - Pop Up and Shop Up Artisan Market at The Shops of Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle. Held monthly through December. Unique artisan and handcrafted items from local makers, artists, crafters and live music. 2-7 pm. Free. bocacenter. com

12/14 - Artist at Work - Mariana Monteagudo - Not Your Ordinary Paper Mache - at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. 3-4 pm. $5/ member; $10/non-member. 561-392-2500; bocamuseum.org

12/14 - Festivals of India: Cultural Heritage Performance at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. 3-4 pm. Free. Registration: 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

12/14 - Live Music Series: Thursday Evenings at The Shops of Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle. Enjoy the talents of local musicians in the courtyard. 5:307:30 pm. Free. bocacenter.com

12/14 - Listen To The Music - A Tribute to The Doobie Brothers at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 8 pm. $45$50. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

12/14-15 - Boca Raton Fine Art Show at Sanborn Square Park, 72 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 941-7553088; hotworks.org

Sunday - 12/15 - Friends of the Uffizi Lectures: Portraits from the Court of Cosimo de Medici at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real. Speaker Dr. Kevin Cole. 3-4 pm. Free/member; $18/nonmember. 561-392-2500; bocamuseum.org

12/15 - Story Central Storytelling Slam at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 3-4:30 pm. Free. 561-393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/15 - Boynton Beach Gold Coast

Band Concert: Sounds of the Season at Boynton Beach High School, 4975 Park Ridge Blvd. 3 pm. $10. goldcoastband.org

12/15 - Mr. Yunioshi - Written, Directed, and Performed by J. Elijah Cho as Mickey Rooney at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 7 pm. $30. 561450-6357; artsgarage.org

Monday -12/16-17 - Auditions: Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Production dates 2/6-16. By appointment only at 7 pm: 561-586-6410; lakeworthplayhouse.org

12/16-18 - Bachelors of Broadway at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. M-W 2 pm & 7:30 pm. $65-$75. 561-2721281; delraybeachplayhouse.com

Tuesday - 12/17 - Book Talks - NonFiction/Biographies: Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life by Clare Mac Cumhaillat Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 2-3 pm. Registration: 561393-7906; bocalibrary.org

12/17 - Movie Night at Highland Beach Library, 3618 Ocean Blvd. 5:30 pm. Free. 561-278-5455; highlandbeach.us

12/17 - Pep Rally for Boca Raton Bowl at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 6-9 pm. Free. bocaratonbowl.com

12/17 - FAU Astronomical Observatory public viewing at Florida Atlantic University Science & Engineering Building 4th floor, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 1st F & 3rd T 7:30 pm. Free. Schedule subject to change; check website: 561-297-7827; cescos.fau. edu/observatory

12/17 - Spoken Word Open Mic: Poetry, Storytelling & Lyrics at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. Every 3rd T 8-10:30 pm. $10-$15. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

Wednesday - 12/18 - Workshop: Place and Play - Mixed Media & Collage at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 10 am-12:30 pm. $50. 561-3309614; artswarehouse.org

12/18 - 10th Annual Roofclaim.com

Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. Postseason college football. 5:30 pm. See website for tickets: bocaratonbowl.com

Thursday - 12/19 - Workshop: Color & Mood Unlocked: Paint Your Emotions! at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 10 am-12:30 pm. $60. 561-3309614; artswarehouse.org

12/19 - Twilight Tribute Concert Series: No Doubt/Blondie Tribute at Old School Square Amphitheater, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 5-9 pm. $50/VIP; $10/ General admission; free/kids 12 & under. 561-243-1077; delrayoldschoolsquare.com/ events

12/19 - Concert: JayCee at Highland Beach Library, 3618 Ocean Blvd. 5:30 pm. Free. 561-278-5455; highlandbeach.us

12/19-22 - The Dean Martin Story: A Christmas Special starring Drew Anthony at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. 3 pm. $59-$69. 561-2721281; delraybeachplayhouse.com

12/19-23- Holiday Evening Tours at Whitehall, One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. Discover the wonder and magic of a Gilded Age Christmas at the Flagler Museum. Tours begin at 6, 6:15, 6:30, 6:45 and 7 pm. Includes holiday reception with refreshments. 561-655-2833; flaglermuseum.us

Friday - 12/20 - The Boss Project: A Bruce Springsteen Tribute at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Two shows: 7 pm & 9:30 pm. $45. 561-2033742; thestudioatmiznerpark.com

12/20 - Otis Cadillac: Home For The Holidays at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 8 pm. $45-$50. 561-4506357; artsgarage.org

Saturday - 12/21 - Oceanfront Bark at Oceanfront Park, 6415 N Ocean Blvd, Boynton Beach. Well-behaved dogs welcome to “paw-ty” on the beach. Dogs allowed off leash on the beach & in the water. Dogs must be appropriately licensed and well-behaved. 9 am-noon. Free. 561742-6221; boynton-beach.org

12/21 - Workshop: The Fun of Painting Without a Brush V2 - Fluid Paint & Texture at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St,

Delray Beach. Age 18+. 1-4 pm. $65. 561330-9614; artswarehouse.org

12/21 - Eric D’Alessandro at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Two shows: 7 pm & 9:30 pm. Tickets start at $35. 561-203-3742; thestudioatmiznerpark.com

DECEMBER 22-28

Sunday - 12/22 - The Original Studio 54 Band at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 7 pm. $50-$55. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

Monday - 12/23 - Monday Movies - Feature Film: Past Lives directed by Celine Song at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 5:30-8 pm. Registration: 561-393-7906; bocalibrary.org

Tuesday - 12/24-26 - Sarge the Comedian at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Held again 7:30 pm 12/30 & 8 pm 12/31. T/Th 7:30 pm; W 2 pm. Tickets start at $59. 561-203-3742; thestudioatmiznerpark.com

Wednesday - 12/25 - Christmas Day 12/25 - Hanukkah begins 12/26 - Kwanzaa begins

12/26 - Friends Virtual Book Club: The Art Thief by Michael Finkel presented by Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Adults. 6:30-7:30 pm. Free. 561-393-7968; bocalibrary.org

Friday - 12/27-28 - Comedy Night with Jose Sarduy at Sol Theatre, 3333 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. F: 7:30 pm; Sat: 6 & 8:30 pm. $30-$35. comiccure.com/boca-raton 12/27-28 - David Koechner at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. F/Sat: 7:30 pm; Sat: 9:30 pm. Tickets start at $30. 561-203-3742; thestudioatmiznerpark.com

12/27-29 - Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus Live! at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. F/Sat: 8 pm; Sat: 4 pm; Sun: 2 pm. $55. 561-272-1281; delraybeachplayhouse.com

Saturday - 12/28 - The Office Trivia hosted by Todd Packer starring David Koechner at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. 4 pm. Tickets start at $30. 561-203-3742; thestudioatmiznerpark.com

12/28 - Matt Stone as Elvis in Person at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. Two shows: 4 pm ($40-$45) & 8 pm ($45$50). 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

DEC. 29-JAN. 3

Sunday - 12/29 - Lisa Maci - Moments of Gold - A Tribute To The Music of Celine Dion at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 7 pm. $25-$30. 561-4506357; artsgarage.org

Tuesday - 12/31 - Lance Lipinsky & the Lovettes at The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum, 7901 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Early show: 5-7 pm, $85; Late show: 10:30 pm, $125; VIP package: 7 pm, $500. Reservations: 561-995-2333; thewick. org

Wednesday - 1/1 - New Year’s Day

Thursday - 1/2 - Coastal Creature Conversations: Sea Turtles w/ Harrison Albert at Boca Raton Library, 400 NW 2nd Ave. Part of the Coastal Stewards Talks Series. Adults. 6-7:30 pm. Free. 561-3937906; bocalibrary.org

1/2-3 - A Tribute to Aretha & Whitney Starring Charity Lockhart at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. Th/F: 8 pm; F: 4 pm. $49. 561-272-1281; delraybeachplayhouse.com

Friday - 1/3 - First Friday Art Walk at Arts Warehouse, 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. 6-9 pm. Free. 561-330-9614; artswarehouse.org

1/3 – The Art of Laughter with Headliner Gus Tate featuring John Charles at Arts Garage, 94 NE 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. 8 pm. $35. 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org

Saturday - 1/4 - We Are The Champions - The Ultimate Queen Tribute Show at The Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St. Two shows: 4 pm & 8 pm. $59. 561-2721281; delraybeachplayhouse.com 1/4-5 - Supper Club: Clint Holmes at The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum, 7901 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. 6 pm. $175. Reservations: 561-995-2333; thewick.org

West Indies home in Bluewater Cove

Agracious entry foyer opens to a great room with soaring ceilings and wall-to-wall sliding doors that pocket, providing an abundance of natural light. Oversized porcelain tile runs throughout the living areas. There is a refrigerated wine room within the great room and a built-in entertainment center. More built-in cabinetry and wood molding at the ceiling coffers are in evidence in the club room, which can be used as a media room, an office or game room. The bedrooms all have hardwood floors; the primary and another bedroom (ensuite) are downstairs. The other two bedrooms, on the second floor, are ensuite.

One of the 14 homes at Bluewater Cove in Gulf Stream, it provides a peaceful haven for relaxing, gathering, and savoring the sweet life. Courchene Development and Ironwood Properties have collaborated to create the Bluewater Cove community with the expertise of Affinity Architects. This home at 2913 Bluewater Cove in Place Au Soleil is the Coquina model, a southern exposure, twostory with four bedrooms and four and one-half baths with 5,454 total square feet.

A covered loggia has a gas fireplace set in a travertine facade. A built-in barbecue area has a sink and cabinet. Off the primary suite is an outdoor shower, including fully tiled wall and floor and stepping pad, near the pool. An attached two-and-a-half-car garage, a deluxe laundry room, along with impact windows and doors complete the essentials of this residence. Offered at $4,875,000. Contact Linda Lake, 561-702-4898, linda.lake@corcoran.com, and Kelley Johnson, 561-703-3839, kelley.johnson@corcoran.com, of the Corcoran Group real estate.

A tongue-and-groove ceiling runs through the designer kitchen as well as the loggia and second downstairs bedroom.

LEFT: The exterior of the Coquina model is influenced and crafted from the breezy architecture of the West Indies. RIGHT: The outdoor entertainment area is surrounded by lush tropical landscaping with a heated pool and spa with seating shelf and saline chlorination system.

The primary suite is on the first floor and features two spacious walk-in closets, a sitting area and a bath with dual sinks, a soaking tub and large shower with two shower heads.