December 2018
Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
Delray Beach
Volume 11 Issue 12
Along the Coast
State Rep. Mike Caruso won the District 89 seat by a mere 32 votes. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Caruso didn’t expect to sweat out win
Room for
Wright by the Sea has been sold for $25 million and will be leveled in January to make room for condos. Rachel O’Hara/The Coastal Star
to the murmur of the waves. “The landscaping was more lush when we came back,” he said, “but the beachfront was exactly what I remembered, the pool and beach hadn’t changed at all. You drive in and it’s like it’s 1958 again.” John and Camille Mills have been back every year since 2006, but they won’t be
See WRIGHT on page 16
See CARUSO on page 14
End arrives after 68 years for seaside vacation haven
John Mills was only 5 years old in 1956, the first time his parents brought him to Wright by the Sea. They drove down from their home outside Indianapolis, stayed in one of the motel’s biggest rooms, down toward the dunes, and John would fall asleep at night with the windows open, listening to the murmur of the waves on Delray Beach.
They came every year until 1965. And then 40 years went by. “One day in 2005, I was thinking about that motel,” Mills remembered recently. “I figured it was probably condos by now, but when I went online, their website came up.” A year later, Mills returned to Wright by the Sea, back to Room 125, down by the dunes. He and his wife, Camille, sat on the patio, drinking wine and listening
By Steve Plunkett Lawsuits. Machine recounts. Protests. Overheated ballot machines. Manual recounts. November’s general election again had all the elements to push the state into the national spotlight. But while most people across the country focused on Florida’s U.S. Senate and governor’s contests, an even closer race was being decided in south Palm Beach County. In the end, Republican Mike Caruso defeated Democrat Jim Bonfiglio by a slim 32 votes out of 78,474 cast, but not before the totals went to automatic machine recount, a state-required hand recount and a successful effort by Bonfiglio to have the Florida House District 89 results tallied before those of the governor’s race. “I felt like I won twice,” Caruso said after leading Bonfiglio on
remembrance By Ron Hayes
Bonfiglio has no regrets about narrow defeat
Highland Beach
More charges filed against man accused of stealing from slain widow By Rich Pollack
As Palm Beach County sheriff’s detectives continued investigating the financial records of Elizabeth “Betty” Cabral — the 85-year-old Highland Beach widow who was found murdered in April — they discovered that nearly $2 million more than originally suspected had
David Del Rio sits in court during a bail hearing related to charges he stole nearly $3 million from Betty Cabral of Highland Beach. The judge set bail at $463,000. Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star
vanished from her life savings. As a result, county prosecutors last month filed 44 additional grand theft and exploitation of the elderly charges against David Del Rio, a financial adviser now charged with siphoning close to $3 million from Cabral’s bank accounts. See WIDOW on page 8
Inside Holiday Events ArtsPaper Page AT9
Calendar
Page AT18
Tennis hub
Delray Beach has become a top draw for the racket game. Page AT1
Season of Light Our holiday gift guide shines a light on ideas for giving. Page H1
‘Beauty and the Beast’ Maltz Jupiter Theatre takes new approach to Disney musical. Page AT9