Deborah Hartz-Seeley's Blog – February 2011 Archive (21)

By Steve Plunkett

Nestled among Highland Beach Town Manager Dale Sugerman’s e-mail last July was a message he wasn’t supposed to see: a collection of jokes Town Clerk Beverly Brown forwarded to him by mistake via the town’s official e-mail.

Sugerman investigated and found more jokes, some “sexually-oriented or defamatory,’’ that Brown had forwarded during work hours, including one alluding to President Obama and using the N-word. He decided a…

By Steve Plunkett

A 20-year-old man crossing A1A at the Highland Beach Club crosswalk was struck by a car on New Year’s Eve and hospitalized.

Casuarina snowbird Alan Zuniss, 71, told the Florida Highway Patrol his sandal got caught on the car’s brake pedal and he couldn’t stop in time.

The FHP report said Zuniss was headed south in his 2004 Saab convertible and Tyler Wilson, age not given, Jess Itzikowitz and Drake Laurie,…

By Steve Plunkett

For land that’s lain idle more than 17 years, Ocean Strand swirled into 2011 with a flurry of activity. 

• Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District Commissioner Dirk Smith met with the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations to invite ideas on what kind of park Ocean Strand should be. 

• Keep Your Boca Beaches Public submitted 1,522 signatures demanding that  “development for private uses…

The Boca Raton Resort & Club as it stand today.

The original Cloister built by Addison Mizner is at right.

Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Resort & Club

 …

Jack Fox has piloted his own planes,

including this Beechcraft Baron, for

more than 50 years. He keeps this plane

at Boca Raton Airport. Photos by Tim Stepien  …

In 1967, Arvida tears down part of the original

Cloister to build the tower. It is the tallest structure

between Tallahassee and Miami at the time.

Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Resort &…

Addison Mizner

Courtesy Boca Raton Historical Society

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

Five things you might not know about Addison Mizner:

1. The Boca…

 By Mary Thurwachter, managing editor

A yellowed newspaper clipping floated out of the Christmas card my sister Susie sent in December. 

“That’s me!” I yelped, getting a quizzical look from my husband across the breakfast table.

Beneath a photo of a smiling me was story about how, at age 23, I had become the youngest community newspaper editor in the state of Wisconsin.

The realization hit me like a ton of ink: I’ve been working…

A new I-95 interchange at Spanish River Boulevard in Boca Raton has been officially adopted as a future development project by the Florida Department of Transportation.

So says County Commissioner Steven Abrams, who is a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Numerous traffic analyses performed during the past few years have shown that this segment of I-95 does not meet the required standards, mainly because of the high levels of congestion. 

“I have been…

By Thom Smith

If you had hoped to catch a pre-Oscar screening of Black Swan or The Social Network at the Sunrise Cinemas 8 in Mizner Park, change your plans. The multiplex closed down in mid-January amid a wealth of rumors and misinformation.

This much is true: The cinema is closed. Furnishings and signage are gone, but it is expected to reopen in several months. The new tenant will be the original tenant,…

The Boca Raton Symphonia quartet offers some classical

fare for partiers at the home of Patti Carpenter.

From left: Mei Mei Luo (violin), Rob Prester (piano),

Christopher Glansdorp (cello) and Jeff Kaye…

Marliss Hadeed, who has lived in Highland

Beach nearly 30 years,  heads the FAU Foundation's

University Club. Photo by Tim Stepien

By Mary Thurwachter

After Hurricane…

By Steve Plunkett

The city, which last summer installed parking meters on Palmetto Park Road east of the Intracoastal Waterway, might now assume ownership of the road.

Palm Beach County, which owns the highway, told city officials it will not permit meters there, City Manager Leif Ahnell told City Council members in January. The alternative, Ahnell said, was for Boca Raton to take over the road, which would require repaving every…

Red Reef Park’s splintery boardwalk is getting a 21st-century makeover. “They’ve been out there 30 years, and it’s time,’’ said Bob Langford, executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District. Low bidder for the Red Reef project was Hollywood-based Enco LLC, at $928,859. The firm will rebuild the coastal dune boardwalk, pavilions and four dune crossovers. 

Enco also will reconstruct a pavilion at James A. Rutherford Park on the west side of the Intracoastal for…

By Mary Thurwachter

HIGHLAND BEACH — Friends say Anne Iffland Ryan was a loyal friend, a quick-witted conversationalist, a competitive bridge player and an avid golfer. 

Known as “Nancy,” Mrs. Ryan died on Jan. 14 at the age of 90.

The only child of William and Anna Brennan Iffland, Mrs. Ryan attended schools in Stamford, Conn., and Delray Beach. She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Stamford and the College of New Rochelle in New…

Wonder what the weather is like at the Boca Raton Inlet?

Wonder no more. You can find out by visiting www.pbcgov.org/erm/beachcams.htm. You’ll find up-to-date photos of the area, a service that will be especially useful for boaters, surfers and beach goers.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams, who announces a new beach camera was installed early in January, says he is already hearing from residents who are happy the…

John J. Chluski

By Ron Hayes 

BOCA RATON — As a top executive with ITT, John J. Chluski lived what many would consider a dream…

John R. DeMarco

By Emily J. Minor

HIGHLAND BEACH — John R. DeMarco, who left his beloved Long Island in 1989 to retire to Highland Beach, died Jan. 12 surrounded by his family. He was 85.

Mr. DeMarco’s…

By Steve Pike

TaylorMade R11 Driver

For: Low- and medium-handicap players. 

Suggested Retail Price: $499

Details: TaylorMade-Adidas Golf takes moveable weight…

By Steve Pike

So you want to be like Tiger and Phil? 

Good luck. But you can get a little closer by doing one thing each of them does. That is, get fit for clubs — even a golf ball. And don’t let your ego get in the way. With a little bit of time and research, chances are good you will find the correct club and ball for your skill level. 

Ever-evolving golf club technology has made it almost impossible to buy a bad golf…