Commission moves toward higher tax rate, blocks 47-unit condo
Plus a Turnpike noise-wall deadline, a Delray gardener opting out of the grocery aisle, and a Santana tribute Friday night.
Delray Beach commissioners took three actions at their July 14 meetings, touching taxes, new development, and a troubled municipal cemetery. They moved toward a 4.5% property tax rate increase, a change that would affect what property owners across Delray pay the city. They denied a 47-unit condominium project proposed for North Federal Highway, rejecting that development. And they pledged a path forward on the cemetery, which the city has struggled with. The property tax rate is not final at this stage of the budget, so the 4.5% figure marks where the commission is headed rather than a settled number. Residents and property owners who want to weigh in on the rate, question the cemetery plan, or track what happens next at the rejected condo site can follow the commission through the rest of its budget work. All three moves came out of the same day. (Boca Post)
Turnpike widening near Delray heads to eight lanes
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and FDOT are widening the Turnpike to eight lanes near Boca Raton and Delray Beach. Residents near the corridor are pressing for noise walls as part of the project, and the state's public comment deadline is July 29. Anyone bothered by traffic noise, or who wants a say in how the wider highway gets built, has until then to weigh in before the window closes. (Boca Post)
A Delray gardener opts out of the grocery aisle as outbreaks spread
A Delray Beach man is growing his own fruit and vegetables at home as E. coli and cyclospora outbreaks push produce-safety concerns across South Florida. His home garden is one response to worries about what's on grocery shelves right now. The outbreaks are a regional issue rather than a Delray-only one, but the concern is landing locally, with residents deciding whether to change how they shop or start growing some of their own food. For anyone weighing the same move, the tradeoff is time and effort against more control over what ends up on the plate. (WPTV)
A Writers Studio regular's children's book comes full circle at the library
Mary Zaharko developed her children's adventure book, The Mystical Computer, at the Delray Beach Public Library's Writers Studio, first coming to sessions there in 2015. She went on to publish the book and donated proceeds from her 2017 and 2018 book signings to Alzheimer's Community Care. She later wrote a follow-up, Recall, Recoil, Rejoice. The Writers Studio has been a gathering point at the Delray library for writers who meet to trade ideas and develop their work. (Delray Beach Public Library)
Santana tribute Moonflower plays Arts Garage
Moonflower – The Spirit of Santana plays Arts Garage on Friday, July 24. The five-musician band performs a tribute to the music of Santana. It's one of a run of tribute shows on the Arts Garage summer calendar, so if this one isn't your speed, there are others close behind. (Arts Garage)
Rolling Stones tribute Start Me Up hits Arts Garage
Start Me Up! – A Tribute to the Rolling Stones plays Arts Garage on Saturday, July 25. The show is part of the tribute-band run on the Arts Garage summer calendar. If a night of Rolling Stones songs is your speed, it's the venue's next tribute date after Friday's Santana show, which puts two tributes on back-to-back nights this weekend for anyone building a music-heavy Saturday. (Arts Garage)
Comedy Open Mic night set for Arts Garage
Comedy Open Mic comes to Arts Garage on August 4. It's an open-mic comedy night at the venue, a break from the tribute-band shows filling much of the Arts Garage summer. It's a few weeks out, but worth a note now if stand-up is more your speed than a cover band, and you'd rather plan an early-August night around laughs than guitar solos. (Arts Garage)
Siempre Flamenco returns to Arts Garage
Siempre Flamenco returns to Arts Garage on Saturday, August 22, with a new show built around flamenco musicians and dancers. It's a farther-out date, but one to mark now if live flamenco is your thing, and a change of pace from the tribute-band slate filling much of the summer calendar. (Arts Garage)
Jimmy Buffett tribute lands at Old School Square in August
'Party in Paradise,' a tribute to the music of Jimmy Buffett, comes to Old School Square on Friday, August 28, at 5 p.m. It's a tribute night celebrating Buffett's catalog. It's weeks out, but worth a note if you're already mapping late-August weekends downtown. (Downtown DDA)