September 2016
Volume 9 Issue 9
Serving Highland Beach and Coastal Boca Raton
Boca Raton
Boca inlet’s sand shoal giving boaters fits By Willie Howard
A recurring sand shoal off Boca Raton Inlet has gotten shallower and more dangerous over the past six months, causing some boats to bump bottom as they come and go and others to run aground.
Boaters familiar with the inlet have taken note and are doing what it takes to come and go without problems. Most turn south after clearing the south jetty and run south along the beach before heading east into the ocean. But some boats are going
A boater makes a hard turn after leaving Boca Raton Inlet to avoid the sand shoal on Aug. 22. Willie Howard/The Coastal Star high and dry on the shoal. The Fort Lauderdale office of TowBoatU.S. has freed four boats in the past few months that were stuck on the shoal outside Boca inlet. The towing franchise office knows of five others that have run aground there.
Some freed their boats without assistance by waiting for the tide to rise. Barney Hauf, of TowBoatU.S., said some boaters stop outside the inlet after seeing the shoal and call his office on their VHF radios to ask for advice before attempting to enter.
Highland Beach
See INLET on page 16
Along the Coast
Zika worries grow
Town manager to retire in December By Rich Pollack For the second time in two years, Highland Beach is looking for a new town manager. At the Aug. 30 meeting, Town Manager Beverly Brown, who had been under fire for what some commissioners viewed as a lack of timely and accurate communication, submitted a letter announcing her intention to retire as of Dec. 2. In the letter, Brown, Brown 70, said the advanced notice will give the opportunity to find a replacement and also time for her to help bring the new manager up to speed on key issues. “This also provides time for me to share a guideline of approved projects on the books and communicate the history of the policies and procedures now in place with the new manager,” Brown wrote. “If additional time is required, I would be willing to provide whatever services are needed on a consultant basis.” Brown, who has a current salary of $130,400, asked that commissioners allow her to be compensated for all accumulated leave time to date — about 10 weeks — and also requested that she be given the opportunity to purchase her iPad. At least one commissioner, however, asked Brown to reconsider, and encouraged other members of the commission to join him. “I don’t think she really wants to leave,”
County hesitant to begin spraying coastal area By Stacey Singer Mosquito bites have gone from nuisance to real worry after the city of Lake Worth reported on Aug. 25 that a resident had tested positive for Zika infection. It was the second case of what health authorities are calling nontravel Zika in Palm Beach County in August. Zika is spread through two routes, either through the bite of a viruscarrying mosquito, or through unprotected Answers sex with an infected to Zika partner. questions It appears that 42 Page 7 out of Florida’s 43 nontravel Zika cases so far were spread through a mosquito bite, Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip said during a visit to Boca Raton on Aug. 29. She was traveling with Gov. Rick Scott, who is holding Zika roundtable discussions with local officials statewide. The state still believes ongoing transmission is taking place only within the small identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach in Miami-Dade County, Scott said, reiterating that in Palm Beach County, public health workers have been unable See ZIKA on page 7
See TOWN MANAGER on page 13
Inside ELECTIONS Two runoffs in Beach and Park District races; voters approve council raises. Pages 10, 11
Hauf said the TowBoatU.S. staff usually advises boaters to enter the inlet from the south. But even that route can be tricky at low tide. A boat that draws 5.5 feet of water bumped bottom using the south passage at low tide recently, he said.
Savory menace
Chefs and seafood sellers have recipes for the invasive lionfish. Page H1
Old Boca bridge
FAU exhibit explores art of A.E. Backus and Florida Highwaymen. Page AT7
House of the Month
Grand estate in Highland Beach offers ample space, luxurious amenities, private beach. Page H15