Despite recent lawsuits against cities installing red light cameras, Boynton Beach has plans to move forward with the concept.

Stephanie Slater, spokeswoman for the Boynton Police Department, said there is no time table for the installation of these cameras that take pictures of red-light runners, then send a $125 fine for the violation.

“Everything is still just in the planning stage at this time,” Slater said.

Sgt. Michael Kelley, who supervises Boynton’s Traffic Unit, said the plan, when it comes to fruition, is to have cameras at five intersections within the city’s limits.

He said at this time, the corners of Southeast 23rd Avenue and Federal Highway, and Boynton Beach Boulevard and Congress Avenue are scheduled to have cameras installed, among others.

What makes red light cameras legal is the fact that the speeding tickets are issued as a code violation rather than traffic one, where state law comes into play. With these code violations, no points are added to a resident’s license for poor driving.

The contractor with Boynton Beach installing the cameras is American Traffic Solutions.

ATS serves more than 170 municipalities and government agencies with red-light programs using their cameras.

Despite what seems like a way to stop reckless drivers, some local lawyers would like to and are trying to eliminate the cameras by suing the communities installing them.

South Florida attorney Jason Weisser has filed 16 lawsuits in the area in seven or eight different counties, including Miami-Dade.

He said the new red light cameras are completely unconstitutional for two main reasons.

First, Weisser said the cameras ticket the owner of the car and not the driver.

“My kid could take my car, blow past a red light and I’ll get the ticket,” he said.

Next, the burden of proof is switched in these cases.

“Usually, the state has the burden to prove me guilty if a cop pulls me over,” he said. “With this, the burden is switched, and you have the burden to prove yourself innocent.”

He said the cameras eliminate the innocent till proven guilty principle.

The one thing that both sides, lawyers and the local governments, can agree on is that the new cameras might be a new source of revenue.

Weisser said Orlando made $2.5 million in the ticket issuances last year and the City of Aventura makes $175,000 each month.

“With Aventura, the first offense is $125, the second is $250 and the third is $500,” he said. “There is no other law I can think of that has a graduating penalty. It’s all about the money.”

He said he does not think the spread of these red light cameras will stop until the courts decide it is illegal.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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Both doctors Ben Naar and Tina Schechter have family members that they saw at a young age helped tremendously by chiropractors.

“My dad, Howard, was a basketball player back in the day and got thrown into the bleachers,” Schechter said. “I saw how chiropractors helped him and I always had a passion for it.”

As for Naar, it was his mother Gladys that was helped by his current profession.

“She would faint from her lower back pain,” Naar said.

In addition to their family histories rooted deep in chiropractic help, Naar and Schechter started their own family history at New York Chiropractic College, where they met and got married.

“He threw me a line and I fell for it,” Schechter said.

The husband-wife combo is now celebrating their 18th year in Boynton at the Bentin Chiropractic Wellness Center, 3379 Woolbright Road.

The center treats an array of problems in multiple ways including chiropractic adjustments, electrical muscle stimulation, trigger point therapy, massage therapy and computerized spinal analysis.

“The technology we have here is great and ables us to treat patients in a non-forced manor,” Schechter said.

Naar said the facility is 2,863 square feet and has new instruments like the proadjuster and the powerplate.

The proadjuster is a NASA creation that Naar said only 4,000 offices in the country have access to.

The powerplate produces vibrations to the body that create 60 minutes worth of training in only 10 minutes, Naar said.

The office is open 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 2 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It is also open 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday and for emergencies Thursday.

Naar said they take insurance including Cigna, Medicare and even Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“We also have four massage therapists with 60 years of combined experience,” he said.

Brita Gerx, a Delray Beach resident, has been dealing with lower back pain for more than 10 years.

“I’ve tried everything, maybe it is time to finally try a chiropractor,” she said. “If they can help in a noninvasive way, I’m all for it.”

For information, visit www.boyntonbeachchiropractor.com or call 561-736-9355.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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I laughed when I got the e-mail invite on Nov. 3.

“The concept is very simple BYO, in other words, everyone is bringing a little treat or favorite beverage to the gathering,” said Jay DePalma, a local artist who opened what he called an upscale, arts and entertainment establishment in Pineapple Grove in Delray Beach, 245 NE 2nd Ave.

My first thought was BYO, as in bring your own? Is this high school and are we going to a kegger with BYOB (bring your own beer) after the football game at Josh’s house?
Did you hear that Courtney cheated on Brad, the team quarterback, and kissed his best friend Jeremy, the team’s running back?

I kept an open mind and arrived to find out that DePalma was a flamboyant Cuban with two earrings and red Elton John sunglasses. He was an art diva and I liked it. Where is Jason Parsley when you need him?

I opened the front door and there was so much fine art in the gallery, I felt like I was walking into my grandmother’s antique apartment.

There were drawings of all the ancient celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner and Liz Taylor. It was like a 1950s U.S. Weekly magazine. Plus, every section of the gallery was different. One part would have large decorative Asian vases, while another part looked out of a cabin during Thanksgiving, with harvest décor.

A couple couch areas were set up with floral designs. Tea and crumpets anyone?

Toward the back of the gallery was a country-style wooden table with two large roosters as decorations and a bowl of salty nuts. Now, you all know what I am going to say so I don’t even have to.

There were also some Cheez-It crackers and grapes, but I’m solely focusing on the two cocks aka roosters and the cashews.

The gallery also has a nice Sony 40-inch TV for viewing of vintage movies while drinking wine and creating art.

The next dialog I couldn’t make up if I tried. A young woman had brought honey garlic meatballs to the opening. You know where this is going.

“These are magic balls, you can’t eat just one,” she said.

“All balls should be eaten in pairs of twos,” I quickly quipped.

To be honest, they were delicious. You know what? As the evening wore on, I started to feel at home like I was at a Hanukkah dinner party. There were lots of red wine and plenty of tasty treats.

Then someone brought a special edition bottle of Absolut Vodka. This really is starting to be like a Rothman family party.

The BYO concept was a little different but interesting. Next time, I’m bringing Jager Bombs.

For information about the gallery, call 561-860-7748.

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With November as National Diabetes Month, the Caridad Center, 8645 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., is amping up its Prevention Education and Treatment Program to help out at-risk residents who can’t afford treatment otherwise.

The PET Program is designed to reduce patient's risk of developing a chronic disease or to help patients reduce complications if already diagnosed.

The program goals include early detection and education for patients, the monitoring of the newly diagnosed and the reduction of complications with the disease.

Megan Doney, special events and marketing coordinator for the Caridad Center, said the PET Program also offers diabetes nutrition classes and exercise education.

Doney said a health fair in the center’s parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 14 will also be available to help those in need screen for diabetes and other diseases. The fair will provide free lab testing for blood sugar, hepatitis, blood pressure, cholesterol, HIV, vision tests and urinalysis.

The Caridad Center provides free medical and dental care, and education programs for more than 7,000 who live and work in Palm Beach County but can’t afford healthcare. The center sees mostly children and families of agricultural workers, laborers and the underserved.

Carmen Nieves, clinic director, said the PET Program started with diabetes but that it was so effective that it expanded to cover other diseases such as hypertension and obesity.

Nieves said anywhere up to 60 percent of the clinic’s patients are at-risk of diabetes due to ethnicity and family history. The Caridad Center’s clinic population is 90 percent Hispanic.

“We have a high number here,” Nieves said. “We don’t just work with already diagnosed people but highly at-risk people referred to us by doctors.”

Patients are screened for diabetes risk factors through appropriate measures such as laboratory tests, BMI calculations, and risk factor assessment surveys, which include questions regarding age, physical activity, family history, and other illnesses.

Nieves said it is crucial to diagnose diabetes early because it is a gateway disease that leads to cardio-vascular disease and kidney failure.

For information, call the Caridad Center at 561-737-6336.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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To belly dance is a term originated here in the West for an Arab dance technically called raqs sharqi, which means, “dance of the Orient.”

Most of the unique movements in belly dancing involve only certain parts of the body, including the hips and stomach, while other parts remain somewhat still.

Residents can satisfy their belly dancing crave and learn all about the art form Nov. 13 through 15 at the first International Belly Dance Festival at the German Club Lake Worth, 5111 Lantana Road.

Boynton resident Daniela Adriaenssens has been studying the dance for more than seven years and has brought in instructors from all around the globe for the weekend’s festivities.

“This is a chance for woman to study from different teachers that aren’t readily available to them,” she said. “We have teachers coming in from Holland, Miami and San Francisco.”

Adriaenssens said one of the main aspects of belly dancing is the help empower women and make them feel comfortable in their own skin.

For the past five years, she has been instructing classes. She currently teaches from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Avenue Pilates, 430 NE 5th Ave., in Delray Beach.

“My mom [Chris] got me lessons for my 18th birthday and I was hooked,” she said. “I was always too tall for ballet.”

She said the three-day workshop would start 9:30 Nov. 13 and would run each of the three days until all the classes and workshops were finished.

Some of the activities include fire dancers, a drum circle and dancing on the beach.

In addition to the three-day festival, free tickets and funds from a raffle will be donated to Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse.

Adriaenssens said the owner of Avenue Pilates, Jean Magrella, already has a strong relationship with AVDA and even applied to be on its board.

Magrella said the drive to help AVDA stems from knowing someone who needed the group’s help.

“They have a hotline and even transition housing for women up to two years,” she said. “Just knowing what they do for people, I just have a big heart for them.”

As for the three-day festival, Magrella said anything Adriaenssens does with her dance is exciting and should be enjoyed by he entire community.

One such resident who plans to attend the festival is Boynton Beach’s Ashlee Privan, who said she has always wanted to know more about the art of belly dancing.

“I am just hearing about this festival now but you can count me in,” she said. “I have always wanted to take classes but never had the time. For a three-day event, I will make time.”

For information about the festival, visit www.TheSharqiExperiment.com

 or www.bellydancebydaniela.com, or call 561-302-6174.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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Bethesda physician Richard B. Raborn is a recipient of the Community-Based Teacher Award from the Florida Chapter of the American College of Physicians
He has a practice at 2800 S. Seacrest Blvd., Suite 180
Raborn was nominated by his colleague, Daniel M. Lichstein, M.D., F.A.C.P., for the award.
The award is given to a physician who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and who has contributed to the education of medical students, residents, and fellows as an office-based internist.
Raborn is a volunteer assistant professor for the University of Miami School of Medicine and he is a founding physician of the Caridad Clinic in Boynton Beach where he volunteers.
Age 58
Born – New Orleans
Married to Barbara Raborn
Lives now – Delray Beach
Activities – fishing and working on an electric car
Children – Robert Raborn, Erik Raborn and Trevor Raborn
He is a fan of researching information technology.
He became a doctor in 1981.
He graduated from Emory in 1972 and did internship and residency at Tulane University.

How did you get into your line of work?

“I am a third-generation physician. I did other things in college but found that medicine was a great path for me.”

What is the best aspect of what you do?

“Offering preventative care. That really goes beyond acute problems and changes people’s lives to helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s.”

How did you get into teaching?

“I always wanted to be involved in teaching or leading another. It has been a great experience for the past six years instructing young students about the best aspects of personal care.”

What was your reaction to the recent award you received?

“Initially I was surprised by the honor. It represents all the doctors in Florida doing community-based teaching.”

You also volunteer at the Caridad. How did this start and why?

“I went out there after Hurricane Andrew. I have put extensive time in there and it keeps me involved with taking care of children. There are a lot of children that need help there.”

What is in your future?

“I’m just really excited about what my sons are doing. One is working with human trials to destroy cancer in humans for the first time. Another is working with stem cell research.”

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The men’s room is wallpapered with old pinup magazines. There is a section dedicated to Marilyn Monroe and one booth has a mosquito net covering it for privacy.

The new Living Room in Boynton Beach has a little of everything to make the customer feel like they are at home, said owner Lisa Mercado.

“It is not a new concept,” she said. “Though it is not a franchise, there are Living Rooms all over.”

The new Living Room at 1709 N. Congress Ave. still features elements other similar spots do not - like acoustic music from Keith Michaub, which can be heard at the venue, sometimes till 1 a.m.

The menu is as eclectic with fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, curry, meatloaf, coconut shrimp, crab cakes and fish tacos all grace the menu.

Not to mention the beer, wine, coffee and other refreshments that are available.

The mix of items available at this collision-of-themes lounge comes from Mercado’s background owning the Red Lion in Boynton for 23 years, only to sell it three years ago. Mercado also created all the desserts for the Bizarre Café in Lake Worth for 12 years.

“I wanted to come back to Boynton Beach for some time now,” she said. “I missed my customers.”

Mercado said the response from her Red Lion patrons was a unanimous sigh of relief at her return with the opening of Living Room in early October.

One former customer of the Red Lion missed the place so much that he helped Mercado construct the new Living Room.

Lamar Venegas frequented the Red Lion for almost 18 years and said he bonded with the other patrons and Mercado while spending time there.

“It is nice to have a place back here in Boynton where all the old patrons can get together again,” he said. “I think everything turned out nice. It has a nice finish with a homemade feel.”

Jennifer Cunway, a Boynton resident for two years, said she never got a chance to go to the Red Lion but that after visiting the Living Room, she wises she had.

“Well, if she missed Boynton Beach then it missed her,” she said. “I never went to Red Lion but I am glad she opened Living Room. It is unlike any other place around.”

Cunway said she was especially fond of the mosaic tables and purple chairs, where you can sit after a long day at the office and have a glass of wine.

For information, call the Living Room at 561-742-4399.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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Classic rock band Kansas’s lyrics to “Dust in the Wind” exemplify the human condition of “what have you done for me lately.”

Often the residents of Boynton Beach forget what veterans in World War I, World War II and other efforts some 50 years ago, did to protect the freedom of this country and other countries assaulted by tyrants.

Tom Kaiser, spokesman for the Boynton Veteran’s Council, said his mission is to remind local residents about veterans, both alive and killed in action.

Kaiser said the group has plans to erect a World War I monument at 10 a.m. Nov. 11 at Bicentennial Park, 411 N. Federal Highway. The group will continue to erect monuments thereafter, celebrating those who have fallen in every major war from the past century.

Kaiser, 81, joined the Navy in 1945 at 17 because his brother Robert had lost his life one year prior on Feb. 29, 1944.

“He [Robert] was one of only 407,000 that died in World War II,” Kaiser said.

The theme of the new World War I monument is a pigeon with a medal around its neck to celebrate the bird that flew to the American forces to deliver a note that 500 American soldiers were in danger.

“The war was over in 1918, but 500 soldiers were surrounded by 5,000 Germans,” Kaiser said. “The Germans shot the pigeon down, but it got back up and flew 30 miles to deliver the note. The soldiers were eventually rescued.”

Anthony Nastasi, 84, remembers a group of soldiers that were not so lucky during World War II.

Nastasi was in the 45th Infantry from Oklahoma for the Army. He was active from 1943 through 1945 and was witness to battles in Anzio, Italy that lasted three months, resulting in 40,000 casualties.

“You have memories of different buddies and guys that when you turned around they were not there anymore,” he said. “It is still happening today, where you see these guys on the news who are killed and you really feel for them.”

For information about the Nov. 11 event, call 561-276-1796.

Read more about this story in the Nov. 4 issue of the Boynton Forum.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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West Palm Beach artist Maxine Schreiber said she is always trying to be a master painter like her father Herman Schreiber.

To honor her late father and also show some of her own work, the URS Gallery Group has an exhibit running through Jan. 10 with nine pieces from the father-and-daughter combo at the URS studio, 802 N. Federal Highway.

“Four of the paintings are my father’s in pastels and five are mine in oil,” Maxine Schreiber said. “It is nice to get his work out to show. We have 70 of his tucked away.”

Herman Schreiber was a well-known artist in New Jersey and Delray Beach before his death in 1995. He was featured in numerous exhibits, including the Montclair Museum of Art in New Jersey and the Society of Four Arts in Palm Beach.

Maxine Schreiber took a more roundabout route into the professional painting business.

After not being able to make money in the painting industry in the 1970s and '80s, she turned to professional psychology, but was drawn back after 20 years. In 2001, she could not fight the painting fever anymore and started to pursue the craft full time.

Since returning to her passion, Maxine Schreiber has become a member of Women in the Visual Arts and has exhibited in numerous shows including the Armory Art Center, Palm Beach County Art in Public Places and the All Florida Juried Fine Art Exhibit in the Cornell Museum.

Suzette Urs, owner of the URS Gallery Group, said the quality of the work of the two artists was the first thing that caught her eye.

“We have regular clientele and we want them to have something to talk about and bring in new guests,” she said. “The second thing that caught my eye was that there is a lot of violence and anger in our climate today and these paintings don’t reflect that at all.”

Urs said the art from the father-daughter combo shows attention to detail and the appreciation for beautiful things in the world.

Information about the art can be found at www.schreiberstudio.com. For information about the gallery, call 561-734-6926.

Read more about this story in the Nov. 4 issue of the Boynton Forum.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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Audrey Arian, a resident in Banyan Springs, came down with the flu a few years back and was stuck in bed for weeks.

To avoid this from happening again, Arian got her flu shot during a two-week program sponsored by the Coalition Of Boynton West Residential Associations that ended Oct. 14.

The two-week program, in which 47 communities and 6,434 residents participated, was for just regular seasonal flu shots.

Arian said she also plans to get the H1N1 shot when COBWRA gets them in and starts that program.

“I know there are reports that people born before 1950 are sometimes immune to H1N1 but I don’t want to be that person who is not,” she said.

The seasonal flu shot program that COBWRA had from Sept. 30 through Oct. 14 was administered by Maxim Healthcare Services, where residents could use Medicare, and HMO, another insurance carrier or self pay for $30.

Joan Brunswick, COBWRA flu shot chairwoman, said in addition to the seasonal program, the coalition sent out a survey to see what communities would be interested in the H1N1 program.

“We have 45 communities that said they would participate,” Brunswick said. “The time for the program is undetermined because we don’t know when the vaccines will arrive. But when they do, we will be ready to go.”

Brunswick said residents like the flu programs COBWRA has because they are afraid and want the vaccine.

Ken Lassiter, COBWRA president, said there have been delays with the H1N1 vaccine but that when they get them the coalition can have the program up and running in a few weeks.

“We can’t do it overnight,” he said.

Even local West Boynton doctors are stepping up to promote the use the H1N1 flu shot and how safe it actually is.

Dr. Scott 
Friedberg took his H1N1 vaccine and gave his staff the vaccine Oct. 21 at his office at 6611 W. Boynton Beach Blvd.

He said there are five groups recommended to receive the 2009 H1N1
influenza vaccine by the Center for Disease Control.

“The way I approach it, is that it is the same as the regular season flu vaccine, just altered to fight this particular strain,” he said. “If you fit into one of the five categories, there is no reason you shouldn’t get the vaccine.”

The five high-risk groups include pregnant women, employees watching children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and medical personnel, persons age 25 through 64 years who have health conditions with a higher risk of medical complications from the flu and all people from 10 years through 24 years of age.

For information from Friedberg, call the 
office at 561-369-2428.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.

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