The GE Innova 3131 is the newest piece of equipment at the Delray Medical Center Neuroscience Center.

It cost the Delray Medical Center $3 million to install, but hospital officials said the GE Innova 3131 is an important piece of equipment that can be used in stroke treatment and aneurysm intervention. Pristine images are helping the Neuroscience Center staff move small medical devices to capture 3-D images used in interventional, neurovascular, cardiovascular and electrophysiology imaging.

“We have a whole team made up of techs, nurses and doctors involved in the process. It’s a team and everyone has a role,” Delray Medical Center Imaging Director Theresa Griffith said.

The GE Innova 3131 has its own large room in the Neuroscience Center at the Delray Medical Center. The large device is anchored in the middle of the room; offshoots of the room are filled with doctors and techs monitoring computer imaging screens.

Delray Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Jeff Welch said the benefit to patients is that the state-of-the-art GE Innova 3131 equipment is minimally invasive, safer and gets the patients back to normal lives quicker.

“This was important for us to invest in,” Welch said.

Doctors using the GE Innova 3131 agree. Interventional Neurologist Dr. Ali Malek came over from St. Mary’s Medical Center to work in the GE Innova 3131 Neuroscience Center.

“The specialized images I’m seeing are cutting edge. The picture quality is outstanding,” Malek said.

For more information call Delray Medical Center at 561-498-4440 or visit www.delraymedicalctr.com

Doctors and technicians can monitor a patient by way of a variety of state-of-the-art screens in the neuroscience center.

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Florida Marlins Community Foundation Executive Director Nancy Olson, left, and Billy the Marlin receive a check from Brooklyn Water Bagel Company owner Steve Fassberg.

“The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company owner Steve Fassberg celebrated the grand opening of the 14451 S. Military Trail store with a $500 donation to the Florida Marlins Community Foundation. Brooklyn Water Bagel Company has 18 bagel flavors. Fassberg plans to open 1,200 stores in just the next few years. But, before he kicks off that endeavor he paused to celebrate the Florida Marlins Community Foundation, a supporter of hundreds of charities.

“I also support the Humane Society. We’re big on dogs and children. This community foundation supporting children and baseball is already dear to our heart,” Fassberg said.

Nancy Olson is the executive director of the Florida Marlins Community Foundation. Olson said the foundation gives 25 $100 grants every quarter to charitable causes in South Florida counties including Monroe, Collier, Lee, Dade, Palm Beach and Martin.

“We get in-kind donations from around the state. We’ve given back $6.5 million back to the community through events,” Olson said.

Olson said money is made up of a variety of sources including payroll deduction from players and partnerships with sponsors.

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Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Marjorie Ferrer says retail sales volume in the downtown area had increased by 49 percent from 2003 to 2008, according to a report obtained by the city from the state's Department of Revenue. Those numbers, combined with a 42 percent growth in food and beverage sales downtown, Ferrer said made for $87,559,672 of additional sales.

“Clothing, retail, food and beverage, were included in this cluster demographic study done by the Florida Department of Revenue,” she said. “It’s specific shopping data.”

Numbers have been collected downtown by the Downtown Marketing Cooperative since Ferrer began as director in 1993. Major studies also occurred in 1998, 2003, 2005 and 2008.

The recent study was done by consultant H. Blount Hunter, and Ferrer said the results were released officially by the Florida Department of Revenue. Hunter marked geographic borders of a downtown area from Interstate 95 to State Road A1A, which was encompassed by eight retail and food/beverage clusters.

Ferrer said the reason Delray Beach retail and food/beverage sales are ballooning is because of a key relationship with merchants, the Downtown Deverlop Authority, Downtown Marketing Cooperative, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, Community Redevelopment Agency and the city of Delray Beach. The six-way partnership made recommendations that first helped businesses and hiked the city’s prestige stock.

Downtown Marketing Cooperative events like Art & Jazz on the Avenue, Summer Night’s on the Avenue Celebration, Shop Red - Valentine’s Day Shopping Promotion, a Mother’s Day promo, the Christmas Tree at Old School Square, the July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza and First Night- a New Year’s family celebration, have helped make the downtown area a destination.

The studies are available at www.downtowndelraybeach.com

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"Grandma Fish" is Boca Raton resident Judith Levy. She's collecting tuna cans in Delray Beach. Tuna is the most expensive item in the Forster Family Kosher Food Pantry, a program of the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in Boca Raton.

In 2007 Judith Levy and her husband Herb were rewarded as Grandparents of the Year in Florida, now Judith is known as “Grandma Fish,” a moniker given to her by peers after the grandmother of five began the endeavor of collecting full tuna fish cans, the most expensive item in a basket given to the needy by the Forster Family Kosher Food Pantry, a program of the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in Boca Raton.

But, what does that have to do with Delray Beach?

“I attend the current events forum every Tuesday morning at the Delray Beach Public Library. I recently got up in front of the huge crowd that turns out weekly and told them that Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service desperately needs tuna for food baskets for the needy,” Levy said.

The outpouring of giving was tremendous. Just one week later, Levy received 70 cans of tuna from her current events peers.

“Tuna is the most expensive item in this basket. I volunteered to collect the tuna. You don’t have to be Jewish to get the food basket,” Levy said.

Levy also said that 25 percent more families are coming to the food pantry than last year.

“Yet the budget for that service has been cut a bit,” Levy said.

“Grandma Fish” saw the need and said the task means a lot because she knows she’s helping people in need.

To donate, bring cans of tuna to the Current Events group at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays downstairs in the large meeting room at the Delray Beach Public Library or contact Cara Zimmerman at the Forster Family Kosher Food Pantry, a program of the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service in Boca Raton, at 561-852-3171.

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Lauren Brown, certified therapeutic recreational specialist at Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center at Delray Medical Center, Pete and Watson standard-size poodle show dogs, and Page Athan, therapy dog handler, stop briefly while visiting Pinecrest.

Page Athan’s two standard-size poodle dogs are hypoallergenic, empathetic and enjoy attention, a combination making them perfect candidates for therapy dogs at Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center at Delray Medical Center.
Athan, a Wellington resident, was looking for a place to bring Watson, who is about 21 in dog years, and Pete, who is 70 in dog years, where the two could volunteer to help physical rehabilitation patients either hurt or in pain. Watson is also an obedience show dog, and both dogs carry certifications from Therapy Dogs Inc. and have experience at facilities similar to Pinecrest. Medical records of the dogs are kept on site.

“Pete and Watson have visited very ill people in their beds at Hospice. They’ve worked at a huge rehab nursing home in Hollywood. They’re a perfect fit at Pinecrest because this is natural and normal for them,” Athan said.

But, Hollywood is far from Athan’s Wellington residence. She was determined to find a suitable fit and that to turned out to be Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center at 5360 Linton Blvd. Athan offered one day of volunteer dog therapy to Lauren Brown, certified therapeutic recreational specialist, who gladly accepted.

“The dogs are the ones who do the work of cheering people up,” Brown said.

For more information call Page Athan at 561-722-7081 or e-mail Lauren.brown@tenethealth.com

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Artist and resident Stan Slutsky puts faith into some of his mixed media and acrylic artwork. Recently Slutsky was asked to show 28 pieces of art, including Judaic pieces.

“It’s nice they chose me, which is an honor to my artwork. They’re going to display some of my Judaic art work. I’m shocked they picked that [Slutsky’s Shield of David]. I’m tickled pink!” he said.

In all, the Coral Springs Museum of Art will display 11 pieces of Slutsky’s acrylic on canvas artwork from 1993-2003, and 17 pieces of mixed media constructions from 2004-09. The Shape of Things” will open on Sept. 10 and run through Dec. 12 at the Coral Spring Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Drive.

“I do a lot of Judaic artwork. I also donate a lot of my artwork to different organizations,” Slutsky said.

Some of Slutsky’s artwork has been exhibited at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie, and the Jewish Community Center of the Palm Beaches Boynton Beach site.

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DaDa chef Bruce Feingold, left, and Paul Maresca are enjoying the benefits of a coupon partnership in Delray Beach.

With the recession looming on, a Delray Beach-based entrepreneur has introduced a service he said is free, uses simple tools that doesn’t require extensive computer knowledge and offers coupon deals in southern Palm Beach County. The question is: Would you take the time to print out a coupon from your home computer if it saved you money on children’s clothing, automotive repairs or a night out with a significant other? Boynton Beach resident Paul Maresca and his clients say yes.

For $99 per year, business owners register their company on Maresca’s GreatDealsInMyCity.com Website that features 20 different categories for consumers to choose from in terms of deals by category or zip code. For the business owner they can login throughout that year and add, or edit any coupons throughout the year, or the site can do the work for them.

“It’s template based, very easy for the business owner. The business is in control, we’re here to help but it’s important to know these coupons come directly from the businesses,” Maresca said.

In fact, when searching for a restaurant, the site lists all coupons in a 25-mile radius and each coupon features a two-week expiration date.

For more information visit www.greatdealsinmycity.com or call Paul Maresca at 561-414-5602. DaDa ‘s can be reached at 561-330-3232.

Read more about this story in the Aug. 19 issue of the Delray Forum.

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Fred Schott, left, is the outreach and education coordinator at the Deaf Service Center of Palm Beach County, Inc. based in Delray Beach. He exhibits a phone designed for hearing loss with Kathlyn Maguire, founder of Empowerment Through Hearing. Together they plan to raise awareness of preventing hearing loss in school-age children.

Kathlyn Maguire used her own money to fund the start of Empowerment Through Hearing in 2004, and she just recently partnered with the Delray Beach-based Deaf Service Center of Palm Beach County, Inc. to publish the educational and amusing book, “Listen Up!,” which is included in the curriculum of all Palm Beach County schools. A veteran of the public relations business in New York City, Maguire, now retired from a storied career, focuses on hearing loss issues, most importantly creating awareness for parents to get proactive with their schools about hearing loss. Her organization increases awareness about hearing loss, relying only on her own funds. In 2009, her book launched nationwide, but her focus after that endeavor is back to Palm Beach County students.

“Today, because of the excessive noise our children are exposed to in cranked-up iPods, car radios, at concerts and sports events, one in eight students between the ages of 6 and 19 has some degree of hearing loss,” Maguire said.

ETH has implemented a Sound Advice informational column about back-to-school hearing screenings. They asked for the communities in Palm Beach County help in alerting students, parents and teachers, to the detailed causes and the dangers of hearing loss.

Her Delray Beach ties started 14 years ago when Maguire met Fred Schott, the Deaf Service Center outreach and education coordinator.

“We need to create awareness and education on noise induced hearing loss and then get those students involved in programs or devices that will build confidence and well-being. A student who can’t hear misses consonants and vowels,” Schott said.

The two met due to Maguire’s hearing loss and her search for advancements in hearing loss devices and prevention of losing more hearing. Now, they’re focused on schoolchildren's hearing loss.

“Right now because of the HIPAA laws, the only thing that’s done is that a letter goes home. Half of those letters go unresponded,” Schott said.

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State Sen. Ted Deutsch came by to recognize Office Depot and the cities of Delray Beach and Boca Raton for the work they've done to make sure that every student who needs a backpack gets one.

Office Depot Foundation President Mary Wong brought 500 backpacks to Delray Beach completing an endeavour that helped half a dozen Delray Beach organizations strap backpacks on to students.

Johnny Bennett came to collect 150 backpacks for students of all ages, Bennett is the director at the Beacon Center/Family Resource Center at 400 SW 12th Ave.

"We're part of the Achievement Center as well in Delray Beach. Together we represent 700 school children. That's 700 children who use our services, 150 of which will have brand new colorful backpacks," Bennett said.

Lt. Coleman of the Delray Beach Police Department is recognized by the Office Depot personnel at the event. Coleman has been instrumental in the recent success of the Office Depot backpack giveaways in Delray Beach.

Lt. Coleman from the Delray Beach Police Department received a pink backpack, and plans to donate 75 backpacks to the Delray Beach Public Library.

"I see these kids benefiting from the free backpacks on a daily basis," Coleman said.

Wong said pink backpacks are extremely popular during the giveaway, something that Office Depot, previously based in Delray Beach, and now based in Boca Raton, has been doing for nine years.

"The pink backpacks were very popular in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I was approached by a little girl who wanted a pink backpack. The Office Depot Foundation had hundreds made... Now we give out thousands of pink backpacks free of charge to students," Wong said.

Office Depot Foundation President Mary Wong (left) and Mayor Woodie McDuffie (second from left) promote the backpacks during the event. Wong and McDuffie are flanked by the Military Trail Office Depot manager and Office Depot representative.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie, Delray Beach City Commission Member Fred Fetzer, Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce's Beth Johnston, the Downtown Marketing Cooperative's Marjorie Ferrer, the S.D. Spady Cultural Heritage Museum's Daisy Fulton, Charlene Jones, Brandy Brownlee and Florida State Sen. Ted Deutsch, were in attendance as well as 50 or so local dignitaries and schools children.

Students represent the Hispano-Latino Cultural Alliance located at 1107 SW Ninth Ave. in Delray Beach.

The Delray Beach Public Library Backpack Giveaway is at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. on the first floor of the library near the children's section.

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David Cormia Jr. holds a framed picture of him and his father David Cormia Sr., a 40-year-resident of Delray Beach that was found unresponsive near a steak dish he ordered sometime after 5 p.m. Aug. 1 at Empire Buffet, 5040 W. Atlantic Ave.

Cormia Sr., 62, has been in a coma at Delray Medical Center's Neuro-Intensive Care unit since Aug. 1. Cormia Jr., 27, said he had just heard from his father on the phone one hour before the incident happened. Cormia Sr. is a resident of High Point of Delray Beach.

"My father was healthy. In New York State he held the record for fastest pin in wrestling. I talked to him on the phone one hour earlier and he sounded healthy. I see him all the time; he is a healthy man," Cormia Jr. said.

Cormia Sr. recently owned his own business and ran a nonprofit in Delray Beach.

"We took nature walks together. He ran businesses in Delray Beach. I grew up in Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. He came here 40 years ago... came to Delray Beach because he loved this area after visiting with family members," Cormia Jr. said.

All he knows now is that his father is unresponsive in the hospital and may have choked on his steak, possibly falling into or near the entree he was eating for dinner. Cormia Sr. was eating alone.

"My dad asked me to join him but it just didn't work out because I had a prior engagement," Cormia Jr. said.

Cormia Jr. works as a personal trainer and has a second job fixing motorcycles. Just last week he completed CPR classes. After learning about something happening to their father, Cormia Jr., his mother Rosario and 20-year-old sister Erica, drove to the restaurant and asked the Empire Buffet management what happened to their father. What they said they learned hurt the family. The Cormia family said a manager at the restaurant told them in the parking lot that they didn't help out David Cormia Sr. because they thought the man was drunk.

"My father wasn't drunk. We want witnesses to come forward and tell us what happened. We know there were as many as 10 witnesses in the restaurant," Cormia Jr. said.

Empire Buffet manager Shirley Chen said she did the right thing and never said the man was drunk.

"When he fell I called 911 twice. A customer at another table called 911 the third time. None of our employees said he was drunk," Chen said.

Delray Beach Fire Rescue arrived on-scene at 5:37 p.m. They arrived at Delray Medical Center at 6 p.m. with Cormia Sr. on Aug. 1.

"He could have been unresponsive for a half an hour. He may have choked. We do know he lost a huge amount of oxygen,” Cormia Jr. said.

Witnesses can call the family's representative at
561-998-9300.

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Delray Beach-based S+D Architecture, Inc. is not necessarily looking to cash in on the green architecture boom associated with LEED certification in commercial and residential design in South Florida. The think tank team of S+D president Keith Snider and his colleague James Downey, the vice president of the architectural firm since its 2002 inception, are focused on energy efficiency at a small scale, designing socially responsible buildings with the least impact on the environment.

The S+D duo just recently released “S+D’s 10 Tips for Energy Efficiency in the Home” available free by e-mail. Those tips include how to incorporate day lighting into a design and good ventilation, all while controlling or decreasing the internal heat load of a commercial or residential building.

“We accomplish this by designing our buildings to be site specific, taking inspiration from our clients’ needs, the local environment and the cultural context in which they are located. The goal of our practice is not only to design buildings that reduce their effect on environment, but also counteract the loss of identity that has taken place through generic design practices,” Snider said.

For more information call S+D Architecture Inc. call 561-330-9511.

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After 30 years of professional experience in life insurance and estate planning, Alan Topchik moved to Delray Beach and started a modern-day problem solving business in neighboring Boca Raton. Topchik, 52, said The VIP Solution Master LLC is the only one globally doing detailed consulting work that is saving Delray Beach and Boca Raton residents money, time and aggravation. He opened business this spring, and one of his early calls was from a senior who was unsure about the estimate she had gotten from a serviceman for work she wanted done on a screen enclosure. The estimate was for $30,000.
“I found a few independent contractors and got the screen work done for her at a cost of $1,500,” Topchik said.
Last week, the VIP Solution Master helped a local homeowner who had a serious overcharge issue with tile installed in his home. Topchik helped the man dispute a fraudulent credit card charge, then typed up three letters, contacted the credit card company, and called the tile company to let them know they were violating consumer’s rights. The fraudulent credit card charge was resolved shortly thereafter. This week Topchik is helping a woman about to buy her retirement home with his expert advice in a real estate deal.
How much does this type of advice cost? Well, Topchik says per day it’s lower than the cost of a coffee at Starbucks.
For more information visit www.thevipsolutionmaster.com or call 561-981-2501 or email: info@thevipsolutionmaster.com.

Read more about this story in the Aug. 12 issue of the Delray Forum.

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While the hot food continues to be served from heated kettles at the Caring Kitchen, another facet of Christians Reaching Out to Society Ministries' work in Delray Beach is suffering due to low food pantry levels. A new campaign “Unite to Help Community Food Pantry” has been established to combat the shortcomings with pantry food stock. The Community Food Pantry’s Juanita Bryant-Goode, the South County coordinator of the Caring Kitchen/Community Pantry, is finding it hard in this dire economy to fill the shelves of the less fortunate in society.

“We could really use help stocking our pantry in August. Our numbers are rising each week and donations are very low in summer. Right now I'm struggling with the possibility of having to close some days when we don't have enough food to give
Out,” Bryant-Goode said.

The Community Food Pantry locations in Delray Beach is located at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave. Locations also exist in Lake Worth at the Department of Children and Families and in Riviera Beach at the Housing Partnership location. Goode said some of the non-perishable food items needed include macaroni and
cheese, pasta, peanut butter, rice, beans (dried or canned) and soup. She said that just last year 49,572 people received emergency food, half of them children.

Jennifer Aracri, owner of Curves in Delray Beach, is a member of the
Delray Business Partners, part of one of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber Group’s that’s coming together with the “Unite to Help Community Food Pantry” campaign.

"I know we are all struggling. Summers are slow at our businesses. Our kids are getting ready to go back to school so we're buying school supplies. Our fixed incomes are just that - fixed, but I think we can all admit that in many ways we are
blessed,” Aracri said.

She’s made her business a drop off point for the goods to help the Community Food Pantry.

Curves is located at 1316 North Federal Highway in Delray Beach. Anyone wishing to drop-off non-perishable food items should do so at Curves, or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

For more information call Juanita Bryant-Goode at 561-619-5113 or e-mail communityfoodpan@bellsouth.net
C.R.O.S. Ministries official site is www.crosministries.org

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Delray Beach resident Rick Leffel said he knew about the detour in advance and that he’s made plans for an alternate route via north Congress Avenue.

“I’ve seen the signs up for over a month now letting motorists know about the closing,” Leffel said.

Leffel normally takes Linton Boulevard to work. He’s a business man in the southeast portion of Delray Beach just east of the Linton Boulevard exit at I-95.

“I saw the warning signs so I’ve planned my commute over the next week that the road will be closed,” Leffel said.

For more information on the detours, please call Marlin Engineering, Inc. and spokesperson German Sanchez at 305-477-7575.

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About $20,000 was raised last year by "The All-American Tailgate Party" hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce Men's Group. This year, the group wants to raise that total higher at the annual baseball event designed to help the community of Delray Beach.

"This year's event has been renamed The All-American Tailgate Party and will reflect on other sports as well. It is scheduled for Oct. 21. We are still working with several venues," group member Tom Kriete said.

Last year's venue, City Limits, has closed. Kriete hopes to finalize one partner within the next few days to keep the growth of the men's group.

"This year's goal is $25,000 and despite the economy, we believe we can do it," Kriete said.

He said those interested in helping out or joining should attend the Chamber Men's Group third anniversary celebration Thursday, Aug. 6 at Old Calypso, 900 E. Atlantic Ave. located on the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach.

For more information, or to learn how to get involved call Tom Kriete at 561-417-6680.

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