County plans aerial mosquito spraying west of Military Trail Sunday night

Park Tavern is closing after a 15-year run on Atlantic Avenue. The restaurant's own announcement gave no last day and no reason. A Facebook admin for the Delray Beach Community Forum group says the final dinner service is Oct. 18. Commenters mourned the espresso martinis, the Sunday brunch and the happy hour, and some decried rising downtown rents. It is the fourth Atlantic Avenue restaurant to close this year, after Cut 432, Lefkes Estiatorio and True Vegan. Modern Restaurant Group owned Cut 432 too, which leaves El Camino as the group's last concept, with four locations, including one in Delray Beach.

Delray Beach commissioners have approved 47 townhomes on about 4.4 acres around 2419 North Federal Highway, a stretch that has sat empty for years. The land has a history: the commission rejected a car dealership there in 2022, and in mid-July it turned down this same plan 3-1 before agreeing to reconsider. Ultra Luxury Homes LLC plans a gated community of eight buildings, six at two stories and two at three, plus a clubhouse and pool, with three bedrooms in every unit. Neighbors in Gulf Stream and Place Au Soleil spoke up for it at the planning board. They saw it as a safer bet than a denser project under Florida's Live Local Act, which could be approved administratively, without a public hearing. "The market has spoken about developing that parcel commercially," Commissioner Judy Mollica said. On the Gulf Stream side, the plan promises an 8-foot masonry wall and buildings no taller than two stories. A traffic study estimated 324 daily vehicle trips, within local standards according to county transportation officials. The developer owes the city $23,500 in parks impact fees, $500 per unit, before permits are issued.

A federal bankruptcy judge has let a lawsuit against Mayor Tom Carney and Peter Carney, his brother, move forward. The suit is tied to a Ponzi scheme, which National Realty Investment Advisors LLC ran, that cost investors hundreds of millions of dollars. The Carneys moved in May to have it dismissed; the judge has since denied that motion. A denial means the judge found the accusations plausible enough to proceed, not that they are true. One unproven claim is that the Carneys "aided and abetted, substantially assisted, and profited from" the scheme. The mayor's statement says the defendants deny the key allegations, believe the claims lack merit and will fight the case.

The ruling lands as the 2027 city races take shape. Commissioner Juli Casale, who has clashed with Carney many times and whose term ends in March 2027, is running for mayor, and Boca Raton Magazine expects the lawsuit to come up often in that race. Nick Coppola, who lost to Casale in 2024, will run for her seat, and Commissioner Thomas Markert has filed for re-election.

A free evening about banned books and Florida history starts at 4 p.m. today at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum on NW 5th Avenue. Banned Books, Florida Stories is a Let Freedom Read Day celebration featuring a BBQ, vendors, games and book giveaways. A panel on literacy, intellectual freedom and access to books brings together School Board member Edwin Ferguson, PEN America Florida director William Johnson, Dr. Ethel Kennedy, who runs the school district's Holocaust, Jewish, Latino, African and African American studies, and Power Builders founder Brian Knowles. At sunset, "Nickel Boys" screens outdoors; the film draws on the Dozier School for Boys and that chapter of Florida history. Bring lawn chairs and blankets.

The Monkee Men bring the 1960s TV band's hits to the Delray Beach Playhouse this weekend, with shows at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $59. Expect red button shirts and nods to the Rainbow Room, plus live takes on "Last Train to Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer." Every show adds a dance-off, a '60s costume contest and an on-stage serenade from "Davy" for one audience member. Ron McNeil, founder of the Emmy-winning Beatles tribute The Fab Four, created the show. The real Monkees sold more than the Beatles and the Stones combined in 1967.