29 August, 2018 0 Comments

Things We Loved In August: From Birthdays to Penne Pasta

August 29, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Lt. Bobby Keating retired after a long and distinguished career at the Delray PD.

Things we liked August

Seeing Delray’s Coco Gauff  in the pages of Sports Illustrated which celebrated her becoming the youngest number one junior in the world at age 14.
The article also noted Coco’s desire to follow in Serena Williams’s footsteps and noted that both played at Delray’s Pompey Park.

Speaking of tennis..Delray Open champ Frances Tiafoe was also featured in SI as one of four future greats who may take the mantle from Federer, Nadal and company. Good to see. Tiafoe is coming back to Delray in 2019. The tournament is becoming known as the birth place of future stars.

The penne ala vodka at Domus in Boca Raton.

Happy hour at Che’

An amazing dinner at Apeiro with good friends at the Delray Marketplace.

A great article on Fifth Avenue Grill by one of my favorite writers Diane Feen in one my favorite paper the Delray Newspaper.

Catching up with my friend Yulia @ The Corner Porch.

Checking out the sea turtle hatchlings at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Seeing the magnificent documentary Three Identical Strangers at The Living Room Theatre.

Seeing Celsius on the shelf at Fresh Market.

Great to see Ethel Isaacs Williams | Senior Vice President, Development & Public Affairs, Kaufman Lynn Construction, in  Delray Beach chosen for Leadership Florida Class 37. As a proud member of Class 24, I can speak with confidence that Ethel is in for a great experience. Congratulations.

Meeting Alex Redfearn the bright new owner of CityWalk. That was a project I was thrilled to support back in the day. It transformed a key corner in Pineapple Grove and gave us Brule’ one of my favorite spots. Alex will do great things.

Thanks to Francis and his wonderful staff at La Cigale for hosting my birthday dinner. Thanks to Kim Thomas for sharing her special birthday with me and for including me in her formal party at the wonderful Pinball Museum.

What can we say about Jimmy Christe? Just a wonderful guy, who served his nation as a Navy diver (underwater demolition expert) and quietly served his city as one half of a fundraising team with our friend Chuck Halberg. The duo rode thousands of miles together on motorcycles raising money for local charities. We lost Jimmy (far too soon) in August. But we will never lose his memory. Rest easy my friend.
We also mourn the losses of Kevin McCarty, Alan Armour and Col. Bill Condry.
Kevin served on our CRA and chaired the South Florida Water Management District board among other civic endeavors .
Alan chaired Old School Square and was instrumental in securing the funding for the pavilion we all enjoy.
Colonel Condry was a dear man. After serving his country he served his city supervising Pompey Park, mentoring key city staff and always providing stellar leadership through the years.

Congratulations on a job well done to Lt. Bobby Keating who retired after 24 years of service to our police department. Just a great officer. He will be missed.

Congrats to Jeff Goldman on his new position as Assistant City Manager after a successful stint as Delray police chief.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jeff since he was a very young police officer where he was generous enough to allow me to ride along when he was on the tact team which was tasked with cleaning up street level drug sales which were rampant in those days. Men and women like Jeff and Lt. Keating did much to enable Delray’s success. They deserve our thanks and gratitude.

Congratulations also to the great Patty Reed for her many years of service to our Chamber of Commerce. Patty always made you feel special and was such an integral part to making the Delray Chamber a warm and inviting organization.

Happy birthday to Pam Halberg. Another local star and lovely person. Chuck is a lucky man. And he knows it, which means he’s also a smart man.

Happy 90th birthday to Virginia Schmidt, mother of Mayor David Schmidt. We were honored to be on hand to celebrate the milestone at the Elks Club.

Last but most certainly not least, my wife Diane celebrated a birthday in August. She makes every day feel like my birthday.

27 August, 2018 0 Comments

Life Lessons At Gumbo Limbo

August 27, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Visit Gumbo Limbo to see some leatherbacks.

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is one of those local treasures that you may miss if you don’t slow down and visit.
Nestled off of A1A near Red Reef Park in Boca Raton, Gumbo Limbo is beautiful and if you are looking to reconnect to nature and experience a different Boca, this is the place.

We used to go to Gumbo Limbo years ago, when the kids were little or when we had visitors with children. It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours, visiting the marine life, walking the boardwalk and gazing at the marine life in the aquariums.
But we hadn’t been there in years, so we jumped at the chance to go with a friend to witness a sea turtle hatchling release event recently.
It was a blast.
An educational and thrilling blast. We even met founder Gordon Gilbert which was a real honor.

We highly recommend you go if you have an opportunity and we also urge you to get involved if you are so inclined.
Sea turtles are amazing.

There are three types of turtles who hatch on our shores and all three species are in peril.
Loggerheads, leatherbacks and greens nest and hatch here and they face  long odds to live to maturity—about 1,000 to 1. That’s not a typo.

Between predators—foxes, raccoons, birds and sadly people—hatchlings have to cope with pollution, warming sands in Boca (which are creating an astounding 95 percent female population) and natural hazards as they swim miles to their nursery in the Sargasso Sea.

When you attend a sea turtle event you learn these things from a very informative and dedicated marine scientist. You come away from the experience as an advocate. It’s hard not to get caught up in the hatchling’s plight and to draw some parallels to life itself.

Watching the little turtles work their way to the ocean— pushed back by the tide, veering off to the seaweed, wandering toward the artificial light from the Deerfield pier or the cars on A1A is alternately thrilling and sobering.
Thrilling because it’s so beautiful to see these little ones scampering in the sand where if they beat the odds and make it they will spend 20 years at sea before returning to the sand.
And sobering because of those long odds made worse by human pollution such as plastic that they often choke on or get entangled.
It may sound silly but when you see the hatchlings rush to the sea you can’t help but draw a parallel to our own existence.

Life presents so many obstacles,  we’re so fragile and yet life is  immensely beautiful.

7 February, 2017 0 Comments

Shop and Support Friends of Gumbo Limbo

February 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

There are many ways to enjoy and support the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.

Editor’s Note: Our partnership with Goodshop allows you to shop at your favorite stores and support local non-profits.

Shopfunding for Delray/Boca — This week’s cause:  Friends of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

 

Since 1984, the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center has been a local beacon for research, education and conservation. Encompassing 20 acres of protected land, it provides a refuge for thousands of plants and animals, many of which are threatened or endangered. Programs they offer include school day/field trips, turtle conservation volunteer opportunities and cooperative research with Florida Atlantic University.

 

The mainstay of the Center’s cause is the experience visitors have when they visit the center. Hosting more than 190,000 guests annually, this thriving Boca Raton staple offers relaxation and learning opportunities to tourists and locals alike.

 

We’d like to honor the work the Nature Center is doing this week, and raise free funds while saving at thousands of online stores. You can join our shopfunding campaign, where a percentage of what you spend will go back to the Center. Here are some of the savings you can find:

 

Strawberries.com: 10% off any order, and 5% goes back to the Center.

 

Tilly’s: 20% off one item, and 3% will go to help the turtle conservation.

 

Wolferman’s: 30% off and 3.5% will go to preserve the animal refuge.

 

Petco:  40% off aquarium supplies, and 4% is donated to protect endangered land.

 

 

5 March, 2014 0 Comments

Weekend Best Bets: WellFest and Unique Florida Experiences

March 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment
WellFest Founder Bob Lipp and Sandra Tribioli want to position Delray as a wellness destination.

WellFest Founder Bob Lipp and Sandra Tribioli want to position Delray as a wellness destination.

WellFest Tops Our List


Bob Lipp and the WellFest team believe that Delray Beach can become internationally renowned for health and wellness.
Who are we to disagree? Plus, in the interest of full disclosure I own a small piece of the festival, but the reason we find Lipp’s vision so compelling is that he is tapping into a serious trend that Delray Beach is well positioned to capture: the desire of people to live, full, healthy and productive lives.
WellFest will be at Delray Center for the Performing Arts all weekend with top notch speakers at the nearby Hyatt Place.
Do yourself a favor and visit the expo where you will be able to sample great good and talk to top notch practitioners.

Visit www.wellfestusa.com for tickets and information

Safari in the Glades

Feeling adventurous?
Have we got an idea for you.
How about a “Sunset Safari” at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, in Boynton Beach.
Inteprid souls can take a VIP tour of the refuge, which includes an airboat ride, guided canoe trip, nature walk, a reception, dinner, music and live music all to benefit the Marshall Foundation for the Everglades.
The cost is $1,000, but the experience is completely unique and one of a kind. The Safari takes place from 3-7 p.m. Saturday, March 8.
For more information call 233-9004 or visit www.artmarshall.org

Delray Home Tour Offered

We know next Thursday is not technically this weekend, but it’s our blog and we like the cause so we are urging you to get tickets for a Delray Home Tour of the terrific Palm Trail neighborhood, March 13 to benefit the Achievement Centers for Children and Families.
The time of the tour is 10 a.m. 4 p.m. and the cost is $100.
Palm Trail is one of Delray’s premier neighborhoods and features a wide variety of design and architectural styles.  For information call 266-0003 ext. 16 or visit www.delrayhometour.com.

Cousin Brucie in Boca

Remember Cousin Brucie?
The legendary DJ will be in Boca March 7 for “Pop, Rock and Doo Wop Live” a tribute to the legends of 50s and 60s rock and roll.
Featuring Shirley Alston Reeves of The Shirelles, The Vogues, The Legendary Teenagers, Jimmy Clanton and The Reflections, tickets range from $39-$75.
The event will be held at Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium at the University Center at FAU.
Call 800-564-9539 or visit www.fauevents.com for more information.

A True Florida Experience

How about something completely different for kids of almost all ages (10 and up).
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca is offering a “Seining the Lagoon” program, March 8.
Explore the grasses and flats of the Intracoastal Waterway. Hand held dip nets and large seine nets allow participants to catch and release a variety of fish, shrimp, crabs and other marine life.
Cost is $5 for members, $8 for non-members. Call 544–8615 for times and reservations.