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Please continue to check up on all the latest community news developments in Palm Beach County, Riviera Beach and on Singer Island by going directly to the web site of The Palm Beach Post and checking out the Headlines, Local News links and Business links. Links to The Palm Beach Post articles stay active for approximately 30 days after the articles first appear in the paper. So, the links on this page are now inactive. I have left the title of the articles we had linked to and the date of the article to enable our web site visitors to have some leads to follow up when they link directly to The Palm Beach Post web site. Scripps Cools to Riviera Beach, The Palm Beach Post, 7/31/2004 Riviera CRA Board Brainstorms Jump-Starting Growth Plans, The Palm Beach Post, 7/31/2004 Riviera Beach Making Push on Scripps, The Palm Beach Post, 7/30/2004 Peanut Island Spruce-Up Nearly Done, The Palm Beach Post, 7/27/2004 Riviera Weighs Pick for CRA Chief, The Palm Beach Post, , 7/26/2004 Put Scripps In New Harbourplace, By C.B. Hanif, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer, 7/18/2004 Mecca Site For Scripps Gains Critical Approval, The Palm Beach Post, 7/17/2004 Put Scripps in Riviera? It's An Appealing Idea, Palm Beach Post Editorial, 7/16/2004 Riviera Mayor to Lead C.R.A., The Palm Beach Post, 7/15/2004 Soot Holds Shock for FPL Plant Singer Island Neighbor, The Palm Beach Post, 7/12/2004 Riviera Residents See Ups, Downs of Scripps, The Palm Beach Post, 7/11/2004 Riviera Beach Settles on Possible Scripps Location, The Palm Beach Post, 7/10/2004 From Tall Tales to Fishtails, Marina Has Many Stories, The Palm Beach Post, 7/4/2004 Despite Riviera Beach Failure, Developer Still Interested in Area, The Palm Beach Post, 6/29/2004 Sailfish Marina Being Sold But Kept the Same -- For Now, The Palm Beach Post, 6/26/2004 Riviera Tries To Catch the Wave, By C.B. Hanif, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer, 6/20/2004 Riviera Beach Weighs Creating District to Secure Loan With Collateral, The Palm Beach Post, 6/16/2004 Riviera Beach Needs To Regroup, The Palm Beach Post, 6/15/2004 Developer Drops Ocean Mall Plan, The Palm Beach Post, 6/12/2004 $300 Million Singer Island Project Clears Hurdle, The Palm Beach Post, 6/3/2004 Riviera Beach CRA to Rule on Proposed Twin Towers for the Days Inn Site, The Palm Beach Post, 6/2/2004 Lake Park Seeks Eatery at Marina, The Palm Beach Post, 5/31/2004 Change Sweeping Singer Island, The Palm Beach Post, 5/30/2004 County Eyes Bonds for Waterfront Buys, The Palm Beach Post, 5/26/2004 Save Sailfish and More , Palm Beach Post Editorial , 5/25/2004 Sailfish Owner Prods County, The Palm Beach Post, 5/20/2004 Deal For Sailfish Marina Is Sunk, The Palm Beach Post, 5/14/2004 Riviera Beach Takes More Time To Go Over Ocean Mall Outline, The Palm Beach Post, 5/13/2004 Action taken Wednesday May 5th by the Riviera Beach City Council. All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted: Awards. Mayor Michael Brown recognized city firefighter Cpl. John J. Wright IV, a soldier in the National Guard, for his military service in Iraq from March 2003 to November. Funds. Agreed to ask County Commissioner Addie Greene for $275,263 in discretionary money for improvements at Lone Pine Estates. The city will use the money for landscaping, irrigation, speed bumps and to replace the mailboxes and stop signs. EPA Officials Outline Riviera Beach Cleanup Plan, The Palm Beach Post, 4/30/2004 Keep Sailfish Open, Editorial, The Palm Beach Post, 4/29/2004 County May Try to Save Sailfish Marina From Builder, The Palm Beach Post, 4/23/2004 Condo King Nets Sailfish Marina, The Palm Beach Post , 4/22/2004 At the Riviera Beach City Council meeting on Wednesday January 20th, the following issues were voted on. Condominium Development: Approved a site plan and a special exception for wetland modification for a 15-unit condominium at 5310 N. Ocean Drive (just south of Eastpointe and north of The Reaches). Amended Zoning Map: Approved changing the zoning from single-family residential to community facility to permit the construction of a charter school on 6 acres of land south of Blue Heron Blvd. and west of Avenue U. Riviera Beach and Developer Discuss Housing Project, The Palm Beach Post , 12/28/2003 Riviera Beach Condo Project Planned, The Palm Beach Post, 12/17/2003 Let Riviera's School Ship Come In, The Palm Beach Post, 12/4/2003 Riviera Beach Chooses Six Finalists for CRA Job, The Palm Beach Post, 11/28/2003 City Using Bait and Switch on Singer Island Development, The Palm Beach Post, 11/26/2003. (Scroll down the "Letters to the Editor" page to find this particular letter.) Riviera Council Approves Homes Atop Possible School Site, The Palm Beach Post, 11/21/2003 Choice for Ocean Mall Rehab "Committed to Riviera Beach", The Palm Beach Post, 11/14/2003 Riviera Beach Names Ocean Mall Developer, The Palm Beach Post, 11/12/2003 Riviera School Site Official; Law Suit Threatened, The Palm Beach Post, 11/11/2003 Riviera Beach to Pick Builder for Ocean Mall, The Palm Beach Post , 11/10/2003 Riviera Beach Loses Debate Over School Site, The Palm Beach Post, 11/9/2003 Riviera Beach Angles for Scripps Business, The Palm Beach Post, 11/5/2003 County Commissioners: Scripps Deal may Lead to Backlash, The Palm Beach Post, 11/5/2003 Riviera Tornado Victims Still Await Aid, The Palm Beach Post, 10/26/2003 Letters to the Editor: Riviera can't carry whole burden of solving homelessness problem, The Palm Beach Post, 10/24/2003 Builders Grabbing Waterfront Land for Condos, The Palm Beach Post, 10/19/2003 Official Suggests Not Building Riviera Beach High School , The Palm Beach Post, 9/30/2003 Session to Discuss Planned Riviera Beach High School Set , Palm Beach Post, 9/27/2003 Residents Complain About FPL Riviera Beach Plant , Palm Beach Post, 9/24/2003 Riviera Beach OKs Boat Ramp Plan , Palm Beach Post, 9/18/2003 FPL's Power Plant in Riviera Target of Clean Air Battle , Palm Beach Post, 9/16/2003 Catalfumo Plans Condos on Singer Island , Palm Beach Post, 9/7/2003 Night Out Against Crime The City of Riviera Beach Police Department participated in the 20th Annual National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 5th, 2003. SICA was once again a sponsor of this event. The Special Event was held on Tuesday, August 5th from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.,at the Police SubStation here on Singer Island in the Ocean Mall. We had goodies to eat, got to know the police patrolling our Island, and were visited by our Police Chief, Clarence Williams, during the 3 hour event. The National Night Out Against Crime is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. We want to thank all of you who came to this important community event! Resignation of Riviera Beach C.R.A. Chief The following from the Palm Beach Post Local News Section: James Baugh, who as head of the city's redevelopment agency, is credited with turning its lofty development notion from impossible to possible, is resigning as of August 13, 2003. Baugh who has been with the City as a full-time consultant since April 2000, is returning to the private sector where he still runs several real estate businesses in Reston, Virginia. Baugh who had been commuting to Riviera Beach from Virginia about twice a month, is making $200,000 a year as a consultant. Baugh believes the City's redevelopment plans are still on track. All five Riviera Beach City Council members, who also serve as the Community Redevlopment Agency (C.R.A.), are confident about the city's future. The C.R.A. recently approved a lavish resort condominium tower to be built by Toll Brothers on the ocean, and a new grocery store in the redevelopment area is in the works. And, the City is soliciting proposals from developers for other areas of the City. The Riviera Beach redevelopment plan seems to be well known among top developers and the billion-dollar plan has gotten important approvals from the state including the OK to move a stretch of U.S. 1 a block west. At its Wednesday June 18th meeting, the Riviera Beach City Council made the following decisions. Regarding the Stormwater Management Utility, the Council set the rate for the new stormwater utility fee scheduled to go into effect in August 2003. The cost for most homeowners will be $4.50 per month. If your home has less than 1,473 sq. ft. of water-shedding area, your cost will be $3.15 per month. If your home has more than 3,740 sq. ft. of water-shedding area, your cost will be $7.65 per month. Condo owners will be charged $3.60 per month. Any customer who has a question or disputes their bill, will be given one year from the start-up date to pursue a resolution. Regarding the Canopy Palms/Island Spa Resort, the council approved a settlement with the residents who sued the city over its approval of construction of the proposed new Resort at 3800 North Ocean Drive. According to the settlement, the developer, Oceanfront Hotel, LLC, has agreed to reduce the number of units from 370 to 306, reduce the size of the buildings and move the buildings farther west. The developer will also pay the city's legal expenses. SICA Board member, Martin Rosen tells us that SICA has instructed its attorney Trella White to review the provisions of the Little Munyon Island Settlement offer and make changes in the terms of that offer so that it reflects the philosophy of SICA. At it's Wednesday May 7th meeting, the Riviera Beach City Council delayed a decision on revising rules to limit hotel development on Singer Island. Within the next two months, a workshop will be held to discuss the issue further. Updates on time and location will be posted here. Also at the May 7th meeting, the City Council agreed to hold a Public Hearing on the proposed 60 unit Talavera Condominium. That meeting will be on Monday, May 12th at 6:30 p.m. at the Riviera Beach Municipal Complex. Various objections have been raised to the Talavera project including those cited by the residents of the Cote D'Azur condo. It is feared that the project would harm wetlands and disrupt a bird sanctuary. Please attend this important meeting and let your views be heard. The City will be holding another Public Meeting, this one on Tuesday, May 13th at 7:00 p.m. at the City Municipal Complex. At that time representatives of the City will be discussing the proposed Stormwater Management Utility. All interested parties may appear at the meeting and be heard with respect to this proposed utility. The proposed ordinance to establish this utility may be inspected in its entirety in the Office of the City Clerk during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except holidays. The Stormwater Utility will be considered for adoption by the City Council on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 at the City Council meeting which begins at 7:30 p.m. If you have any questions about this meeting or the Stormwater Utility, please call 845-4080. The New Year 2003 promises to be a very active one for SICA and we look forward to working on your behalf to represent the Island and our community. As the Riviera Beach re-development plan continues to move forward, SICA will remain actively engaged with the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the City in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the Island and Riviera Beach. Toward this end, SICA has been invited by the CRA to preview and comment on any future public presentations. Additionally, SICA has been invited by the City Manager to meet with staff to review and comment on the ordinances that control the newly re-zoned hotel district which runs from Ocean Reef Park to the Days Inn. We continued talking with all parties involved in the Canopy Palms project to find a mutually acceptable resolution and in a related action, the Board of Directors approved the exploration of a potential legal remedy which could lead to a formal mediation of the issues. Attempts by the City of Riviera Beach to address a long-standing problem of contamination of the water supply by Honeywell/Solitron have been unsuccessful, and costs to the City for the clean-up have been very high. While we know that the EPA Superfund exists to address such problems, there has been no success in accessing this fund. SICA agreed to send a Resolution to County, State, and Federal representatives requesting their assistance and requesting that the EPA take over the financial and operational responsibility for the clean-up and that it reimburse the City of Riviera Beach for all costs incurred to date. Dateline: 2002: This good news comes from the Palm Beach Post, staff writer Thomas R. Collins. "The hopes of a North Palm Beach man to build a dream house on his own island have dimmed even more. David Struhs, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, agreed with a judge's finding that Robert Simmons Jr.'s plans for a multimillion-dollar mansion didn't provide enough assurance that the environment wouldn't be harmed, according to a ruling releaased (recently). The Singer Island Civic Association and the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida filed a legal challenge last year when the DEP said it intended to give Simmons a permit for the project on his 1 1/2 acre Little Munyon Island, located in the Lake Worth Lagoon. Residents and environmental advocates breathed a sign of relief when they heard about the ruling. "I think it'll be better for everyone, not just on Singer Island, but everyone, because it will help keep the waters clean" Singer Island resident Bernice Haydu said. Struhs' order leaves Simmons with few attractive options. His attorney, Ernie Cox of West Palm Beach, said Simmons would consider either appealing Struhs' decision or applying for another permit with a revised plan that could include a smaller dock and other adjustments. "The reality is that Little Munyon Island is privately owned and there is no smaller use than a single-family home and a dock," Cox said. After a hearing in August, Administrative Law Judge J. Lawrence Johnston ruled against Simmons. He wrote that he disagreed with assertions by both DEP and Simmons on such issues as where power would come from, whether water treatment equipment would pollute the water and whether the lagoon bottom would be stirred up by boats, blocking out sunlight needed by valuable sea grasses. Cox maintained....that the potential waste-water discharge would be minimal and that DEP officials "did their homework on this project" when they planned to give Simmons his permit to build an 8000 to 10,000-square-foot mansion. In his ruling, Struhs agreed with Johnston that DEP hadn't done its job well enough and wasn't familiar enough with reusing waste water -- whether it could seep through the ground and damage the Lagoon."