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Published by Vero Beach 32963 Media, 2018-03-01 15:48:10

03/01/2018 ISSUE 09

VB32963_ISSUE09_030118_OPT

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 51

INSIGHT COVER STORY

data, forming digital grids with each loop made by a For now, most car companies are testing the wa- spokesman Ray Wert said the company prefers to do
mapping vehicle around the same area. It's a bit like ters rather than cutting massive, multimillion-dollar its own mapping.
the way the mobile app Shazam recognizes a piece of deals for maps. A Ford spokesman described its work
music, said CEO Sravan Puttagunta. Ford is an inves- with startups as “research.” Argo, the automaker’s The new entrants know they can’t all survive. “It’s
tor and Puttagunta said his company is in the process self-driving bet, has looked at a variety of suppliers very similar to navigational maps or even the search
of raising additional money. but is currently relying on its own internal maps. GM engine,” said DeepMap’s Luo, a former Googler. “Who-
ever has bigger scale will have the advantage.” 

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54 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

TODAY’S QUIZ

WHAT MOST THREATENS THE AMERICAN ECONOMY?

BY ROBERT J. SAMUELSON | WASHINGTON POST the $20 trillion U.S. economy could be “insiders,” usually disgruntled workers For now, the Internet’s greatest threats
massive and, possibly, incalculable. “looking for revenge or financial gain.” are more theoretical than real. The costs
Here’s today’s quiz: What poses the In addition, there are various freelanc- can be huge for individual households,
greatest threat to the U.S. economy? (a) What we now know is that the Inter- ers: people with a political agenda or companies, government agencies (de-
federal budget deficits; (b) China; (c) net has many warlike features.The study who hack for fun. signs for the F-35 fighter were stolen
trade deficits; (d) ineffective schools; (e) has no discussion of Russia’s meddling and allegedly transferred to the Chi-
the Internet; (f) none of the above. in the 2016 election, but the omission According to the Verizon data, about nese, who incorporated some features
reinforces the basic message: Despite half the “threat actors” are criminals in their newest fighter, the J-31). But
The correct answer is (e) the Inter- the good it does, the Internet makes and about a fifth are groups affiliated the collective impact of these individual
net – the technological wonder of the possible destructive behaviors that, only with nation-states. Interestingly, about losses has yet to cause a breakdown of
age. a decade ago, were barely imaginable. a quarter of cyberattacks are caused by the broader economy through the wide-
insiders. spread attacks on critical infrastructure.
True, all the other threats are real. Run- Relying on data from Verizon, the
away budget deficits could raise interest CEA study classifies cyberwarriors into The CEA study provides many ex- Just how much of a burden comput-
rates. China could overtake the United four major groups: (1) nation-states that amples of computer breaches. In 2017, er crime now imposes on the United
States in some high-technology indus- spy on or disrupt their adversaries; the Equifax – one of the largest credit bu- States is hard to know. In its report, the
tries. Inadequate schools could mean major players here are China, Russia, reaus, rating consumers’ financial CEA estimated the cost in 2016 as some-
scarcities of skilled workers. All these North Korea and Iran (the United States reliability – was successfully hacked, where between $57 billion and $109 bil-
developments could slightly slow eco- should probably be added to this list); with attackers gaining personal re- lion. Though these are large amounts,
nomic growth or raise unemployment. (2) criminals engaging in identity theft cords (names, addresses, Social Se- they’re less than 1 percent of the U.S.
and “ransomware” – the stealing of data curity numbers) on up to 143 million economy (gross domestic product). For
By contrast, the Internet – if turned that is promised to be returned upon Americans. In 2014, hackers penetrated 2016, the estimates were between 0.3
against us through hacking and cyber- payment of a given fee; (3) business Home Depot’s computers through the percent and 0.6 percent of GDP.
attacks – could conceivably shut down competitors that steal proprietary tech- network of a supplier, compromising
most of the economy. It represents a nologies and trade secrets; (4) company more than 50 million accounts. Whatever the most realistic figure,
“potential threat to all Americans using says the CEA, it’s probably unrealistic.
any information and communications The reason: Many companies don’t
technologies” – that is, almost everyone. fully report cyberbreaches.

We have this warning not from some “Underreporting is pervasive,” says
obscure academic or business group the CEA. Companies fear that their
but from the annual report of the White stock prices will decline, that consum-
House Council of Economic Advisers, ers will stay away from their brands or
which devotes a whole chapter to the that their vulnerability to computer
dangers of a hostile Internet. It cites crime will invite more cyberattacks.
one study estimating $1 trillion worth And we are compounding our vulner-
of damage from an attack on “critical abilities by making more and more de-
infrastructure” – say, the power grid or vices dependent on the Internet (e.g.
the payment system. driverless cars).

Even this figure seems far too low. This is a treacherous moment. It
Virtually everything depends on reli- may be that all the countries that have
able electricity: elevators, lights, com- advanced cyberweapons are reluctant
puters, refrigerators. The list goes on. A to deploy them fully against critical in-
crippled power grid would broadly dis- frastructure for fear of retaliation. This
rupt everyday activities and routines. self-restraint, if that’s what it is, bodes
The potential damage and disorder to well. But will it last? 

GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE PARTIII TESTS © 2018 VERO BEACH 32963 MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Diagnosis and Treatment of GERD o Ambulatory acid probe test – To measure how much acid
is in your stomach over 24 hours, a gastroenterologist
For occasional bouts of gastroesophageal reflux, eliminate foods threads a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter through
and liquids that seem to trigger symptoms. Also, try over-the- your nose and down your esophagus. You wear a small
counter medications, make lifestyle changes (covered in previ- device that tracks the amount of acid coming into your
ous columns) and see if you feel better. esophagus or throat from your stomach. The doctor may
also attach a small device to the wall of your esophagus
But, if you start experiencing acid reflux and/or heartburn more that falls off and passes through your stool about two
than twice a week for a prolonged period, you may have gastro- days later.
esophageal reflux disease (GERD), a more significant problem. o X-rays – A radiologist will have you swallow barium to coat
the inside of your throat, stomach and upper intestine
GO TO THE DOCTOR which will show any problems in these areas on X-ray.
o Endoscopy – A gastroenterologist will thread a long, thin
The most common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux is heart- tube and tiny camera into your digestive tract to look for
burn. However, heartburn and chest pain can also be a symptom damage. The tube can also be used for a biopsy, if indicated.
of heart attack. If you have any question in your mind whether the o Manometry (also called esophageal motility testing) – A
chest pain is from acid reflux or a heart attack, go the Emergency gastroenterologist threads a long, thin tube into your
Room. esophagus to measure how your esophagus moves and
how it pushes acid upward.
Otherwise, make an appointment to see your primary care physi-
cian. He or she will review your symptoms and medical history,
perform a physical exam and probably make a recommendation SURGERY
from among the following:
If medications don’t help your symptoms or you experience both-
ersome side effects, you may be a candidate for surgery to tighten
PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES your esophagus and control acid reflux, such as:
o Linx surgery – The surgeon wraps a ring of tiny beads
o H-2 blockers – Pepcid, Zantac and Tagamet are all avail- around your esophagus where it goes into your stomach.
able in prescription strength. o Nissen fundoplication – The surgeon wraps the top part of
o Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – Medications such as Pri- your stomach around the lower part of your esophagus.
losec, Prevacid, Aciphex, Protonix and Nexium reduce acid The good news is that, for most patients, GERD is a manageable
secretion by turning down the pump that produces acid in disease.
the stomach. Your comments and suggestions for future topics are always wel-
o Prokinetics – These drugs help empty your stomach faster come. Email us at [email protected].
and make the muscles in the lower part of your esophagus
stronger.

56 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT WORLD

ENDY TORRES USED TO ENJOY
COMPANY-SUPPLIED MEALS OF
RICE, SALAD, A PROTEIN, FRUIT, JUICE
AND DESSERT. NOW HE GOES WITHOUT.

Venezuela, a socialist autocracy that Alirio Villasmil, a diver, does under-
once was South America’s most pros- water maintenance on ships trans-
perous nation, is suffering a collapse porting oil in Lake Maracaibo, in west-
almost without precedent, its gross ern Venezuela. He said in an interview
domestic product dropping 40 per- that three people he supervises faint-
cent since 2013. ed while working, and he had to rush
them from rig platforms to the hospi-
Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), tal. He has sent home others too weak
the government oil company and eco- to dive.
nomic linchpin, has fallen into chaos
as leaders replaced expert managers Luis Diaz, a PDVSA tugboat pilot at
with loyalists, padded the payroll and Puerto La Cruz, about 200 miles east of
channeled revenue to social programs Caracas, said his union has complained
– and to epic corruption. Production to management about malnourished
fell by half in the past 16 years. Daily workers passing out on the job.
output dropped to 1.77 million barrels
in January from a peak of 3.34 million The Puerto La Cruz region and
in 2001. its ports, where refineries and up-
graders are laid out against verdant
Much of the decline is due to lack of bluffs and postcard beaches, produce
money for maintenance and explora- about 89 percent of Venezuelan oil
tion. But now, hunger is hastening exports, according to ship-tracking
the ruin of Venezuelan’s oil industry data compiled by Bloomberg. About
as workers grow too weak and hungry 42,000 workers labor at PDVSA facili-
for heavy labor. ties there, processing crude extracted
from the plains of the Orinoco basin.
A survey by three Venezuelan uni- Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA, Total SA
versities released Wednesday found and Rosneft PJSC partner with the
that that more than 64 percent of re- state company to pump it into inter-
spondents lost weight in 2017, on av- national markets.
erage 25 pounds. More than 61 percent
of respondents said they had gone to For decades, PDVSA was a dream
bed hungry over the past three months. job in a socialist petro-state. The com-
pany supplied workers not only with a
Ivan Freitas, a PDVSA union leader good living and revolutionary-red cov-
and critic of President Nicolas Maduro’s eralls, but cafeterias that served lunch-
regime, said last week that in Zulia State es with soup, a main course, dessert
12 malnourished workers collapsed in and freshly squeezed juice. Now, the
November and December and had to cafeterias are mostly bare, the children
be taken off drilling platforms for treat- are hungry and employees are leaving
ment. More go down each day, he said.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 57

INSIGHT WORLD

to work as taxi drivers, plumbers or ment resigned in January. There are
farmers. Some emigrate. Some hold 263 plant operators remaining and 180
out as long as they can. vacancies at the Puerto La Cruz refin-
ery, he said.
Those who quit without notice risk
losing their pensions, as bureaucrats Absenteeism forces those who show
refuse to process paperwork.Many up to work extra hours and burn pre-
managers live in terror of arrest since cious calories. The lack of investment
the Maduro regime purged the indus- in equipment and maintenance has
try, imprisoning officials from low- increased technical failures, almost all
level apparatchiks to former oil min- in the early hours of the morning, he
isters. In one human resources office, said. When they occur, workers are too
a sign advertised a limit of five resig- fatigued to act quickly, and accidents
nations a day. occur.

“Management is holding them back “We have a physical exhaustion that
to stop brain and technical drain,” we can not avoid,” he said. “We are dy-
said Jose Bodas, general secretary of ing of hunger in the oil industry.” 
United Federation of Venezuelan Oil
Workers. He estimates 500 employees A PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA WORKER HEADS
have resigned at the Puerto La Cruz re- TOWARD A BUS STOP TO TRAVEL TO WORK.
finery and nearby processing facilities
in the past 12 months – even though venture among PDVSA, France’s Total
superiors have labeled them “traitors and Norway’s Statoil. Faced with the
to the homeland,” a phrase that often possibility of riots, PDVSA sends work-
precedes arrest. In the streets, families ers home when food is scarce.
sell their boots and the red coveralls.
Dr. Marianella Herrera, head of
JOSE BODAS, A UNION LEADER, SAYS PDVSA the Central University of Venezuela’s
MANAGERS BRAND THOSE WHO QUIT AS TRAITORS. health and development department,
said local health authorities recom-
“They’re giving up because of hun- mend consuming 2,300 calories a day.
ger,” Bodas said. “They’re leaving be- Since 2015, when the collapse of the
cause they get paid better abroad. This economy started to really be felt, re-
is unheard of, a catastrophe.” searchers found some rural residents
consuming as few as 400 calories a day,
Efforts to reach PDVSA and the na- she said, an “anemic” diet of grains,
tion’s oil ministry were unsuccessful. rice and tubers.

Wages made meaningless by hyper- John Hoddinott, a Cornell University
inflation force workers who remain professor of applied economics and a
to rely on the facilities for food. Some nutritional scientist, said people doing
change clothes to eat twice, or show
up on their off days. Many hoard meals ONCE COVETED, DISCARDED PDVSA
and take them home. Some have start- JUMPSUITS ARE FOR SALE IN STREET MARKETS.
ed to bring their children. When the
cafeterias stopped delivering food in strenuous work need at least 3,600 calo-
December, protests erupted. A crowd ries a day.When they get less, at first they
of angry men gathered in PDVSA’s merely shed weight. Then, torpor sets in.

AN OIL WORKER’S REFRIGERATOR IS BARE “Basically, they just can’t work as
AT A HOME IN ANZOATEGUI STATE. hard,” he said. “It’s a gradual process,
but in the long term it can have very
Puerta La Cruz headquarters chanting dramatic consequences”
“Our families are dying.”
Sitting in the living room of his
“A few weeks ago, punches were house, on his day off, Endy Torres says
nearly thrown at the food line, when he has lost 33 pounds over the past 18
the workers realized there was little months. He shows his PDVSA iden-
left,” said Leonardo Ugarte, a worker tification photo as proof: a chubby-
at the Petrocedeno upgrader, a joint cheeked man, weighing 176 pounds.

Ten years ago, he joined the company
expecting an ample salary and com-
fortable pension. Today, his 700,000
bolivars per month, plus a food bonus
of 1.6 million bolivars (about $9.50 alto-
gether) can’t fill the fridge at his grand-
mother’s house, where he lives.

About 10 people from his depart-

58 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW

Anne Spoerry was a French-born doctor who spent IN FULL FLIGHT doctor and “with having administered injections of
nearly 50 years in Africa, flying her plane from vil- Evipan and of air, leading to the death of at least one
lage to village and helping people all over the con- A STORY OF AFRICA AND ATONEMENT patient.” Spoerry, the court determined, “had en-
tinent, one vaccination, one improvised suture at a BY JOHN HEMINWAY | KNOPF. 316 PP. $27.95 gaged in ‘anti-French and anti-patriotic behavior.’”
time. Her work was fundamental to the eradication REVIEW BY ADITI SRIRAM, THE WASHINGTON POST She was exiled from the country. Spoerry resumed
of smallpox in Kenya. Spoerry’s patients dubbed her her medical studies in Switzerland, where she was
“Mama Daktari,” or “Mother Doctor,” and though terrible acts: throwing buckets of cold water at sick later imprisoned – Mory implicated her in a very
they were sometimes terrified of her short temper inmates, administering lethal injections and more. public trial in Hamburg – and finally, aided by her
and long syringes, they would wait expectantly for Spoerry, some former prisoners recalled, helped family, fled to Africa. In Kenya, Spoerry began prac-
her to appear in the sky, land with a lurch and bark guards select prisoners for the gas chamber. But oth- ticing medicine, her muddy personal history a secret.
instructions at them. ers testified that away from Mory, Spoerry treated the
sick admirably, even with tenderness – a trait that de- Heminway seems to suggest that Spoerry’s behav-
But Spoerry’s humanitarian work is only a small fined her medical career in Africa. ior is not entirely strange or evil, but part of a larger
part of her life story. In his fascinating biography, pattern of falling under the spell of others. Behind
“In Full Flight,” John Heminway offers a fuller pic- Spoerry was freed from Ravensbrück in 1945. She her strong, stubborn persona was a sister who craved
ture of this complicated woman. Though Spoerry resumed her medical studies and tried to return to a brother’s attention and an exiled European who
(pronounced Shpeuri) has been hailed by many as a a semblance of her prewar life. But in 1946, a French became enchanted with Africa. Just as she confessed
savior, her reputation has been marred by questions Court of Honor charged her with impersonating a that she had been “spellbound” by Mory, Spoerry ad-
about her actions during World War II. Shortly after mitted that she had joined the Resistance in 1942 be-
she died in 1999, a family member discovered, locked cause her brother François did.
away in a safe, a document indicating that Spoerry
had been wanted for war crimes – specifically for tor- The book’s subtitle, “A Story of Africa and Atone-
turing prisoners at Ravensbrück, a German concen- ment,” is a reminder that Heminway wants to focus
tration camp for women where she had been held for on Spoerry’s decisions over a lifetime, not an episode.
helping the Resistance in France. He – and others in the book – marvel at Spoerry, the
first female “flying doctor,” who was featured in aWer-
With this book, Heminway, a documentary film- ner Herzog documentary, “The Flying Doctors of East
maker who befriended Spoerry while working in Af- Africa”; vaccinated more than 120,000 patients; and
rica, seeks to figure out who Spoerry really was: Hero- ran 64 clinics around the continent. Heminway dili-
ine or villain? Healer or killer? It is a captivating – if at gently tracked down Ravensbrück survivors who were
times frustratingly told — tale of complex truths and horrified by her behavior there, but toward the end,
motivations. he quotes one, Louise Le Porz, who says: “What [Spo-
erry] did in Africa was admirable. She went there for
Heminway has done his research and is deter- redemption. Today, if she were still alive, knowing her
mined to weave a rich tapestry out of these com- suffering, realizing the beauty she made of her career,
plexities. He interviewed hundreds of people, dove and knowing how much she has done for humanity,
into family archives, visited Ravensbrück and read my reaction would be different. I would embrace her.”
Spoerry’s journals. He quotes women who survived
the camp and remembered Spoerry. Some cursed That Spoerry’s story is complicated is an under-
her; others praised her. He is respectful even as he statement, but Heminway escalates the dramatic
exposes Spoerry’s controversial past. elements in a way that is sometimes distracting.
The first five chapters end with cliffhangers, which
At the center of Heminway’s investigation is the seems more than one too many. The chapters jump
strange relationship between Spoerry and Carmen in time – from Heminway’s first meeting with Spo-
Mory, a “block elder” at Ravensbrück who became erry in Nairobi in 1980, to her 1948 escape from
Spoerry’s confidante (and perhaps her lover). Mory France, to her childhood in Switzerland and then to
took Spoerry under her wing and, Heminway sug- 1940s Paris. A narrative need not be chronological
gests, may have forced the young medical student to or linear, but here the storytelling feels abrupt and
harm fellow prisoners. According to interviews with jagged. Moreover, Heminway’s style obfuscates key
survivors, Spoerry became Mory’s accomplice in

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"A Reunion" with JOHN HEMINWAY 392 Miracle Mile (21st Street), Vero Beach | 772.569.2050 | www.verobeachbookcenter.com

MARY ALICE MONROE presents

discussing IN FULL FLIGHT
THE BEACH HOUSE books
A Story of Africa and Atonement
and introducing
BEACH HOUSE REUNION Monday, March 12th at 6 pm

Thursday, March 8th at 4 pm

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 59

INSIGHT BOOK REVIEW

details about how Spoerry ultimately which he has written three other books. the hunt,” he writes. “Even on the sun- “In Full Flight” is a daring and dev-
reconciled with the French govern- He frequently writes about the sky, hav- baked plain, marabou storks hush, like astating story of a woman who sailed
ment, among other events. ing accompanied Spoerry on several undertakers – bills half open, eyes fro- oceans and flew across a continent to
of her voyages across the continent: zen, legs as stiff as starch. They too ap- escape her past – even if it’s never fully
Where the author’s writing shines “Today the sky is as quiet as a hawk on pear to listen for the plane.” clear what that past was. 
is in his descriptions of Africa, about

In the mid-1990s, Rep. Christopher elistic as that book or as immersive as These high-rises – the first of which tors, who allowed the buildings to de-
Shays (R-Conn.), the chairman of Matthew Desmond’s “Evicted.” But were dubbed the Reds, because of their teriorate and on occasion took pub-
the House Government Reform and with a journalist’s eye, Austen explores brick color, to be followed by the Whites lic funds for themselves. There were
Oversight subcommittee on human the intersection between discrimina- – inspired a horror film, rap songs and the politicians who professed to care
resources and intergovernmental rela- tion and income inequality through multiple television shows. They were about Cabrini-Green residents but
tions, was scheduled to check into a were quick to abandon them when it
fancy Chicago hotel the night before the lens of the men and women expe- rolled out with glossy brochures in the was no longer expedient.
holding a hearing on the federal take- riencing some of America’s worst hous- 1940s but deteriorated into environ-
over of the Chicago Housing Authority. ing conditions. Austen’s tale has sev- ments where gangs feuded and security Faced with the daunting task of re-
But he told his staff that he didn’t feel eral compelling characters – including guards preyed on young women. constructing the rise and fall of the
right keeping the reservation given the an upstanding matriarch and a crafty towers, Austen tells the story through
hearing’s subject matter, and he opt- bootlegger who turned to activism after A native of Chicago, Austen is un- four central characters: Dolores Wil-
ed for a far less glamorous crash pad: an altercation with police – but its nar- sparing in his assessment of the politi- son, who moved in with her family in
the infamous Cabrini-Green hous- rative arc is anchored to the arrival and, cians and bureaucrats – mostly Dem- 1956 and “felt like a billionaire” in her
ing project. His tour guide at Cabrini- ultimately, demolition of a physical en- ocrats but some Republicans – who affordable four-bedroom apartment;
Green was Peter Keller, who went by tity: the massive cinder-block towers failed Cabrini-Green’s residents over Kelvin Cannon, who was mentored
the nickname “K-So” (for “Knowledge, that stood just blocks from one of Chi- the course of decades. There were there by both a legendary tumbling
Strength, Opportunity”) and who talk- cago’s wealthiest neighborhoods. corrupt and inept Chicago Housing coach and a gang leader; Willie J.R.
ed to the congressman about his time Authority (CHA) officials and contrac- Fleming, who left the comfort of the
in and out of prison. suburbs for the freewheeling chaos of
the projects; and Annie Ricks, a moth-
“It was an incredible 24 hours for er of 13 who moved from Alabama
me,” Shays recalled in a phone inter- as a little girl and anchored herself to
view. “He was a wonderful guy. I stayed Cabrini-Green. One of the most satis-
in one of his four girlfriends’ units. He fying aspects of this book is following
had four girlfriends.” the unexpected paths that these four
lives take, which can be infuriating,
There were some glitches, by the painful and redemptive in quick suc-
congressman’s account: K-So got high, cession.
became paranoid and took the door
handle to the unit when he left, effec- There is no happy ending for many
tively locking Shays into the apartment. former Cabrini-Green residents, but
But Shays described the experience as there is no question that they made
revelatory: The lack of air circulation their mark on not just the American
in the apartment was so stifling that “it psyche but public policy. Shays, for ex-
was like an oven,” he said, and from that ample, championed rental vouchers in
moment on, the congressman stopped the wake of his visit; there were signs
judging mothers in public housing for that it worked better in Connecticut
letting their kids stay outside late at towns like Stamford than in Chicago.
night. He realized that they were just Asked why, the former congressman
trying to escape the excruciating heat rattled off a few reasons: talented and
in the homes that the federal govern- honest housing officials, politicians
ment had made available to them. committed to financing it properly,
and a tolerant populace willing to live
In his new book, “High-Risers: Cabri- in mixed-income buildings.
ni-Green and the Fate of American
Public Housing,” Ben Austen recounts “You just can’t warehouse a concen-
Shays’ stay from the viewpoint of K-So, tration of very poor people,” Shays said,
a longtime resident who appreciates adding that the night he slept in that
the politician’s interest but is skeptical sweltering Chicago apartment ranks as
of whether the visit will make any ap- a critical moment in shaping his public
preciable difference. And like several policy vision.
other episodes during Cabrini-Green’s
roughly 70-year existence, it exempli- “Those are the moments. If you al-
fies the conundrum its inhabitants low yourself to experience what others
faced. Their home drew national atten- are experiencing, they are incredible
tion because it embodied everything eye-openers.”
that was wrong with public housing,
and sometimes that meant people in No one will be sleeping in a Cabrini-
power tried to help. But time and time Green unit anymore. But reading this
again, most of what they tried didn’t book, you understand why it might
work. have changed the way you think. 

In many ways “High-Risers” is a se- HIGH-RISERS
quel to Alex Kotlowitz’s “There Are No
Children Here,” the 1991 bestseller that CABRINI-GREEN AND THE FATE OF
chronicled two brothers’ lives in a dif-
ferent Chicago housing behemoth, the AMERICAN PUBLIC HOUSING
Henry Horner Homes. It is not as nov- BY BEN AUSTEN | HARPER. 384 PP. $27.99

REVIEW BY JULIET EILPERIN
THE WASHINGTON POST

60 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT TRAVEL

Jim Fox dreads flying. the amount of personal room has also Tall airline passengers are under- The struggles of tall passengers raise
With good reason. At 6-feet-10, the dwindled dramatically. standably furious. Ed Harrison, a tech- interesting questions. Do they deserve
former NBA player has to squeeze him- nology marketing executive from Bos- special protections when they fly? Tall-
self into economy class seats, which In a world of disappearing space on ton, stands 6-foot-6, and his approach ness isn’t considered a disability under
isn’t always possible. aircraft, tall passengers are coping by can be summed up in just a few words: federal law, so airlines aren’t required to
On a recent flight from Phoenix to avoiding air travel, paying more for their “I hate airline travel with a passion.” offer special accommodations to these
London, he wedged himself into the seats or honing their negotiation skills. large passengers. If they do, however,
seat for takeoff and landing. “The rest But a long-term solution may need to Harrison’s strategies include switch- then what about the wider passengers
of the time, I had to sit in the jump seat involve thoughtful government over- ing to the train, particularly for short who can’t fit into standard economy
in the back of the plane,” he remem- sight or at least a joint effort by the air- trips to New York or Washington. (Am- class seats? That discussion opens a
bers. The jump seats, usually located in line industry to help its tall passengers. trak’s coach seats offer a more gener- Pandora’s box and threatens to make air
the forward and rear of the aircraft, are ous 39 inches of seat pitch.) Or he just travel, America’s most class-conscious
normally used by flight attendants and Rarely does an airline announce it avoids air travel entirely. experience, even more segregated.
have ample legroom because there are will pull the seats closer together. In-
no seats in front of them. stead, it touts an “improvement.” For Danny Genung, who is the same height As a tall guy, I’m sympathetic to these
“The seats weren’t always this small,” example, British Airways announced as Harrison, can’t skip air travel.That’s be- passengers. I’ve experienced the indig-
remembers Fox, who began playing earlier this year that it would lock some cause he’s a travel agent for a Travel Lead- nities of flying while tall: bruised knees
professional basketball in 1967, a full of its economy class seats in place in ers Group-affiliated agency in Redlands, from bumping up against the seat in
decade before airline deregulation. 2018 to compete with discount carriers Calif., and must fly overseas several times front of me; having my legs run over by a
He’s right. The average seat pitch, a and keep fares low. That also removed a year for business. He’s grateful for the meal cart; bumping my head against the
rough measure of legroom, has shrunk the ability of taller passengers to carve “Economy Plus” sections, which offer too-low overhead compartment. And
from 35 inches when Fox started flying out a little more personal space for their only slightly less legroom – roughly 35 then hearing airlines and their defend-
in the late 1960s to about 31 inches to- knees. JetBlue Airways, which has the inches of seat pitch – than standard econ- ers claiming I “asked” for this torture
day. While some of the reductions are most legroom in economy class among omy seats did before airline deregulation. because I wanted a low fare and gener-
partially the result of new seat tech- the major domestic airlines, announced “Many people complained when airlines ously offering a roomier business-class
nologies that allow for thinner seats, an overhaul of its cabins last year that, started selling these seats,” he says. “But I seat for a few thousand dollars more.
by the way, would reduce its legroom by thought I won the lottery.”
two inches, to just 32 inches. But Fox, the former NBA player, says
Problem is, getting into those seats enough is enough. “I never asked for a
isn’t always possible. At Thai Airways, for smaller seat,” he says. “I don’t think pay-
example, premium economy class book- ing a lower fare means you’re asking for
ings account for 37 percent of U.S. reser- a small seat. That makes no sense.” He
vations. Thai may be an outlier, since it suggests airlines need to establish bet-
doesn’t have a reputation for scrunching ter internal rules for dealing with big
passengers into its economy class seats. guys like him. If airlines continue to
On some long-haul flights, it offers a gen- move their seats closer together, “They
erous 34 inches of seat pitch. All of which have to have some policy in place for
makes that percentage remarkable. the tall passengers.”
More than one-third of its passengers
still try to upgrade to better seats. Until then, there’s always the harsh
glare of negative publicity. Consider
On domestic flights, it’s not just the what happened last year when Ameri-
premium economy class seats that are can Airlines announced it would re-
full, but also the previously non-premi- duce the seat pitch from 30 inches to a
um seats preferred by tall people, such bone-crushing 29 inches on three rows
as seats in exit rows and bulkhead rows. in its new Boeing 737 Max planes to
Tall passengers say they have resorted fit 170 seats on the aircraft. It reversed
to negotiating for more room when course after passengers complained. 
buying it isn’t possible.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 61

INSIGHT ST. ED’S

Multi-sport athlete Ross values ‘cool’ St. Ed’s experience

BY RON HOLUB ST. ED’S SENIOR ALLAN ROSS kept swimming as my cross training
PHOTOS BY GORDON RADFORD and it all worked out really well.”
Correspondent
Ross excelled in three sports while
St. Ed’s senior Allan Ross was a wide- at St. Ed’s. He is looking at several col-
eyed 12-year-old when he left his na- leges with the desire to diversify his
tive South Africa and came to the Unit- sports portfolio even more. He has
ed States with his father Gavin. The been accepted at Florida State Uni-
elder Ross had accepted the position versity, Drew University in New Jersey,
of director of aquatics and varsity swim Trinity University in Texas, Queens
coach at St. Ed’s, and Allan became a University in North Carolina, and the
Pirate midway through sixth grade. University of Denver. He is waiting to
hear back from Colorado State Uni-
The ensuing years haven’t always versity and the University of Colorado.
been easy. Actually they have been
downright rocky at times. His parents “Drew is a small D3 school and I
divorced and his father lost his coach- would be quite excited to play soc-
ing position at the school. Despite the cer there. I’ve been playing soccer for
turmoil surrounding those and other my entire life. I play year-round, every
events, Allan remains as enthusias- year. It’s one of my biggest passions. It’s
tically wide-eyed as ever as he plots always been my number one sport and
out the next adventure in his adopted I’ve enjoyed it a lot.
country.
“But things have changed over the
“This has been a really cool experi- last couple of months. I’ve started
ence,” Ross told us. “When we moved training more for just general running,
here I went straight into it and started swimming and a little bit of cycling for
school. My dad was the swim coach triathlons. That is what prompted me
and I was swimming every day after to look into the Colorado schools and
school. It was tough at first. Every- some other bigger schools that offer
thing was very strange and I had never that sort of thing.
experienced anything like it.
“I’ve just been going with the flow
“The long three-month summer these last couple of years. I’ve been
was a surprise. I couldn’t believe how enjoying myself, loving sports, keep-
much time I had off. But overall it ing up with my academics, and trying
has been really cool and I’ve adapted new things. It’s been wonderful.

for two sports at the same time. Ross “I’m excited about leaving for college.
did exactly that and discovered that I’ve been waiting for this for a while. I’m
swimming would have to take a back not that picky when it comes to schools.
seat to cross country. I just want to move on. Going on to col-
lege and expanding my education is re-
“I was excited to start doing both ally going to be super cool. I can’t wait.
and all of a sudden I was clocking some
good (5K) times competing against “I don’t want to say that I’m not go-
some really good runners. At that point ing to miss certain things, but I just
I decided that maybe I should start fo- want to keep moving forward and try
cusing on running a little bit more. I new things. I feel like my life has been
headed that way ever since I moved to
the United States.

“I thought I might as well make the
most of my experiences here and see
what the United States has to offer.” 

ALLAN ROSS, SPENCER GREAVES, THOMAS BOTERO AND COLEMAN KRAMER Don’t get nervous, call Scott Tree Services

well. I’ve met some students, teachers his freshman year rolled around and a SCOTT TREE BILL BARRY
and other people here who are really third sport entered the equation. SERVICES
amazing. The school has been really CERTIFIED ARBORIST
good to me and my family.” “I had been swimming for the past CELL: 772-473-7150
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Ross came to Vero Beach with the a big advocate for swimmers to take OFFICE: 772-569-3874
love of soccer and swimming already up running,” Ross recalled. “As it OAK TREE SPECIALIST
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on the varsity throughout high school. because I was doing so well.”
Formal varsity swimming had to wait
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first endless summer, but the pool was seasons run concurrently in the fall.
always open for club training. Then The coaches for both teams decided
to share athletes interested in training

62 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT ON FAITH

Turning energy that feeds anger into something positive

BY REV. DRS. CASEY & BOB BAGGOTT to express our anger about both triv- Well, according to some, anger cer- it together with impurity, drunken-
Columnists ial and significant matters nowadays. tainly has its uses. Anger has been ness, and carousing, as something to
But does indulging in anger actually said to stir the blood and sharpen be generally avoided. Instead, he pro-
Is it just us, or are you also noticing accomplish anything? the wits. It’s been called a useful tool moted the virtues of love, joy, peace,
that we’re all a lot angrier these days? when harnessed and employed as a patience, kindness, generosity, faith-
Inconsiderate driver in our path? motivator for change, or as a spur to fulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There’s a reason to be angry. Incom- tackle great injury and gross injus- He called these virtues “fruit of the
petent sales clerk? Another reason to tice. Spirit,” suggesting that as we allow
be angry. No cellphone service? More God’s Spirit to infuse our lives and
anger. Inadequate customer service? But while anger over what is pa- guide our thoughts and actions, these
Angry again. And these are the small tently unacceptable is one thing, an- greater gifts will naturally flourish. Of
matters. How about the greater issues ger courted and indulged for lesser course, allowing those fruits to flour-
we face that frustrate, irritate, out- matters is another. When we feed ish within us will likely require some
rage, or alarm us? We seem readier and nurture our anger too readily, dedicated tending on our parts.
supposing that our anger is a brave
and virtuous response to whatever An individual we have long ad-
has wronged us, we may soon find mired who tended to the greater vir-
ourselves moving from anger’s use- tues was Florence Nightingale, the
ful side to its darker dimensions of first woman ever awarded the Order
vengefulness, pettiness, spitefulness, of Merit by the British crown. Appar-
and resentment. ently Nightingale had been publi-
cally scorned throughout her career
Maybe it was because anger is so by a man who ridiculed her work in
difficult to manage and so prone to nursing on the battlefields of Europe
misuse that the Apostle Paul lumped as trivial and unnecessary. A story is
told that on the day when Nightin-
gale was awarded the Order of Merit,
this man was observed in the receiv-
ing line, waiting to shake her hand.
A friend standing beside Nightingale
warned her of the man’s approach.
When Nightingale seemed unper-
turbed, the friend asked, “Don’t you
remember what he said about you?”
And Nightingale replied. “No, I don’t.
I have had to work very, very hard to
forget it.”

Perhaps Nightingale deserved in
her moment of glory to lash back in
anger at the man who had belittled
her. But she didn’t. She apparently
harnessed the energy that might
have fed her anger, and channeled
it instead into tending the fruits of
forgiveness, kindness, and gracious-
ness.

There’s only so much room in the
garden of our lives. What’s taking root
and flourishing in yours? 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 63

INSIGHT GAMES

NORTH

TAKE THE LOW ROAD TO AVOID LOSERS 32

By Phillip Adler - Bridge Columnist 72

Randy K. Milholland, a web comic author, wrote, “Friendship is being there when J 10 6 5
someone’s feeling low and not being afraid to kick them.”
J9643
I hope that Milholland picks the right friend to kick; for some, that would be a bad idea.
The psychology of the individual is an interesting subject. WEST EAST
J974
North knew not to say anything at the end of this deal. What should South have done in 10 5 —
four spades after West led the club ace? K83
AK85 J9863
North’s three-club rebid was a double negative, showing some 0-4 points. Three hearts,
a new suit, was forcing for one round. South could have passed out three spades but AQ94
could see 10 potential winners in his own hand: seven spades and three hearts.
Q 10 7 2
This deal would trip up almost everyone — and to be honest, 90.4 percent of the time
the spades will not be 4-0. SOUTH

The original declarer ruffed the club ace, cashed his spade ace, then took his two A K Q 10 8 6 5
top hearts and led another heart. However, West ruffed in and shifted to a diamond.
East won with his ace and returned a heart. West ruffed that as well, then cashed the AKQ4
diamond king for down one.
72
Later, North pointed out that it was right to discard a diamond at trick one. (Yes, at
double dummy, South could have survived by leading a diamond at trick three, but —
if hearts were 4-3 and West had only two diamonds, that would not have worked.)
Assuming West continues with the club king, South pitches his other diamond. Then Dealer: South; Vulnerable: East-West
East can never get on lead for a trump promotion.
The Bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
2 Clubs Pass 2 Diamonds Pass
2 Spades Pass 3 Clubs Pass LEAD:
3 Hearts Pass 3 Spades Pass A Clubs
4 Spades Pass Pass Pass

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64 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™
SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (MARCH 1) ON PAGE 80
INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS DOWN
1 Song of praise (4) 1 Theory (10)
3 Assuage (5) 2 Retribution (7)
7 Celtic tongue (4) 3 Contributing (6)
8 Diva (5,5) 4 Extent (6)
9 Coarse file (4) 5 Long (for) (5)
12 Right now! (4,7) 6 Employs (4)
13 Subsist (5) 10 Tiny particle (4)
15 Send back; scope of 11 A Christian (10)
14 Scintilla (4)
authority (5) 16 Feeling (7)
19 Skyscrapers (5,6) 17 Lebanese capital (6)
21 Quarrel (4) 18 On (the ship) (6)
23 Solid ground (5,5) 20 Freshwater mammal (5)
24 Mature (4) 22 Agony (4)
25 Valued (5)
26 Tidy (4)

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 65

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS 80 Last letter 17 Mahler’s mate discrimination, The Washington Post
1 Early wake-up 81 Sandy getaway (who later etc.
85 Go over again married Walter 82 Leonard ___
call 86 Llama land Gropius) (Roy Rogers)
7 Frankenstein, 88 Top number? 83 Regan’s dad
89 Bit of grade-B 18 Recreation 84 Work unit
___ Modern 20 Spell 87 Stay down, as a
Prometheus entertainment for 24 Doing yo-yo
12 Rabbit run beer drinkers? 29 “What ___ 89 Murray and West
15 Onset of cold 92 Brosnan’s sleuth 90 Eye part
19 Valley girl’s 94 Jonathan Kozol without 91 ___ vu
reaction to classic, Death at the beasts?” 93 Station ending
her first beer? an ___ (Chief Seattle) 94 Fleecy one
21 Mock, in a way 95 Allen or Robbins 31 Join this 97 Grew into
22 It makes a 96 Smarter about 32 Zoic preceder 98 Peter Lorre in
freeway into a beer? 33 Closely trimmed, Casablanca
feeway 100 Subaru model as meat 99 Unexciting
23 The ___ (bending 102 Memory-testing 34 Anti-smoking org. 101 Snare hit, usually
the elbow?) game show 35 Queue after Q 103 Level
25 TV Johnny, the hosted by Bill 36 Old photo tint 104 Mrs. Charles
rebel Cullen, 1966-69 37 Pizzeria Laughton
26 “Star Wars,” 103 Last one to know appliances 105 Walk out
really: abbr. 104 Outfit 38 Fend off a fencer 106 Free, in a way
27 Global turning 108 East of Eden 39 Jog 107 News tidbit
point brother 40 Hawaii city 109 Earth goddess
28 Tyson’s home, for 109 Street-name 41 Scrape with a file 110 Opposite of “fer”
a while word 42 Susan’s Kane 111 Amtrak stop:
29 Pig Latin 112 Startling syllable 43 Desilu partner abbr.
cancellation 115 Fontanne’s guy 44 Suspicious 113 “Coffee, tea,
30 Con vote 116 One-beer bars? 47 Doctors’ org. ___?”
32 Rattles 122 Slaw, for one 49 Like some beers 114 Free, in a way
36 Lethargy 123 Pay this: abbr. 51 1906 car 116 Truck part
39 Beer-lover’s 124 Getting romantic 52 Bulletin board 117 ___ Na Na
dinner? in a bar? abbr. 118 Derek doubles
45 North by 125 Split this 53 In ___ (very 119 Mr. Wallach
Northwest star’s 126 Country contest soon) 120 Letters on a
first name 127 Indian or Korean 54 Vex video
46 Guam et al. 128 Respect 58 “The wolf ___ the 121 Scud missile, for
48 Feathered DOWN door” one: abbr.
“friend”? 1 Three after E 59 Milit. person
50 Beery attorney? 2 Angers 62 Ashes holder OKTOBERFEST By Merl Reagle
52 Swiss river 3 Invalid 63 Palindromic
55 Forty-___ 4 Ocean phenom Swedish group BRADLEY H. REINER, DMD
56 Memo opener 5 Enzyme tail 64 Malaprop or
57 On the tip of 6 Jim of ABC Robinson HAGEN V. HASTINGS, DMD
58 “___ the bag” Sports 65 ’60s Atty. General
60 See 45 Across 7 Everything: prefix 67 Impediment to Family, Cosmetic & Laser Dentistry
61 Start of a 8 Evidence of humility Caring Dentistry for the Entire Family
Shakespeare dreaming 68 Calibration: abbr.
comedy 9 ___ degree 69 Saber alternative
63 What Rip Taylor 10 Slangy Nazi 70 Attractive
says even when 11 Time for quality?: abbr.
he’s on the vacances 71 TV sidekick in
wagon? 12 Must buckskin
66 With 71 Across, 13 First game 72 Reagan’s third
a beer drinker’s 14 For each Interior secretary
bio? 15 A river, or Nike’s 73 “___ a vacation!”
71 See 66 Across mother 75 Pull a boner
74 Ataturk’s first 16 Part of speech 76 Grocery section
79 Tranquillity Base 77 Let in or on
place 78 Like clay
79 Rustic parents
81 Drug abuse,

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66 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

He’s smothering my daughter with inattention …

BY CAROLYN HAX a good chance she’ll do that in her own time, when it
Washington Post finally occurs to her there are better lives to be lived
than the one she’s stuck herself with.
Dear Carolyn: My daughter
There’s also a good chance, though, this “aha”
is in a relationship with her moment will strike her only after she’s even more
deeply invested than she is now – through mar-
high school boyfriend. They riage, a jointly owned home, a child.

are now living together in a So there can be a role for someone like you, who
has enough distance and experience to see the risk
different state with no rela- more clearly than she does. You just need to play
this role with great care not to pin everything on
tives nearby. My daughter, 25, the terrible boyfriend chosen by your pristinely
blameless and wonderful child.
is a people person with a bub-
To remain grounded, repeat to yourself as need-
bly personality and makes ed: She’s half of this. She chose this. She has a need
this pairing fulfills.
friends easily. Her boyfriend does not. He prefers to
Then respond to any unhappiness you perceive
stay home, work every now and then, and stay up all in her only as it relates to her. Not, “What did he do
to you” or “Why do you put up with him,” but in-
night playing video games online with other gamers. stead “You don’t seem happy about [factual state-
ment].” Or, “Is something bothering you?” Or, “You
She is a hard worker with a very well-paying job say you feel guilty – why?” And always: “I see. Any
ideas for dealing with that?” No lectures, no advice
and owns her own home. However, she comes home unless asked – except perhaps, “Don’t do anything
that doesn’t feel right.”
to this situation.
She’s your daughter and you’re used to guiding
In fact, when they are home together, there is no her, but she’s an adult who clearly is equipped to
take care of herself – even if she isn’t doing the best
communication because he is doing his “own” thing job of it emotionally right now. (And who nails all
of it, really – I sure don’t. Do you?) Accordingly, the
while she just sits and becomes depressed. He tells best way to “start the conversation” is with your
mouth closed and your eyes and ears open. Let her
her to go out with friends but she feels guilty and tell you what she needs. 

refuses.

This is the only boy she has ever dated and he is

smothering her. I am going for a visit soon and want

to talk to her about everything. Please advise me ulation and control by the boyfriend that you’ve
skipped over, no one’s suffocating anyone.
how to start the conversation without her thinking I
Your daughter has agency. She’s merely squander-
want to control her life. ing it alone in a chair feeling sorry for herself while the
man she incompatibly clings to plays video games.
– Frustrated Mom
That’s a problem, certainly – it’s just a very differ-
Frustrated Mom: He is smothering her with sug- ent one from the one you’re itching to rescue your
gestions that she go out with friends? daughter from.

Um. It’s also a rescue that only she can perform. There’s
Unless there’s a whole backstory here of manip-

TRUEBEAM SURGERY STILL ON
‘CUTTING EDGE’ AS CANCER-KILLER

68 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

TrueBeam surgery still on ‘cutting edge’ as cancer-killer

BY TOM LLOYD Dr. Paul Pagnini with the
Staff Writer TrueBeam STx.

Newly arrived radiation oncologist PHOTOS BY DENISE RITCHIE
Dr. Paul Pagnini of the Scully-Welsh
cancer center is up for a knife fight.

Sort of.
That might seem wildly out of char-
acter for this personable graduate of the
Tufts University School of Medicine, but
there is method to Pagnini’s madness.
Back in 2014, before the Vero Beach
cancer center’s doors had even opened,
one of the most impressive pieces of
high-tech cancer-fighting equipment
ever developed, the TrueBeam STx ste-
reotactic radio-surgery system, was
being set up at the Indian River Medi-
cal Center in a special room with walls,
ceilings and floors encased in 50 tons
worth of lead.
Today, that TrueBeam system, ac-
cording to the Norton Cancer Insti-
tute, remains “the latest and most
advanced technology in the world for
treating cancer.”
Like other forms of radiation ther-
apy, stereotactic radio-surgery works
by damaging the DNA of the targeted

tumor cells, says the Mayo Clinic, add- called a “Gamma Knife” – was finally
ing that it “causes tumors to shrink and developed and put into use.
blood vessels to close-off, robbing the
tumor of its blood supply,” effectively Two decades after that, in the 1980s,
killing the cancer. Dr. John R. Adler, a professor of neuro-
surgery and radiation oncology at Stan-
So what about that knife fight? ford University Medical Center, devel-
Well, the idea of treating cancers oped the “CyberKnife” system, which
through radiation isn’t exactly a new allowed radiation oncologists to treat
one. tumors anywhere in the body.
In the 1950s two Swedish professors
first conceived the idea of combining The TrueBeam system in use at Scul-
radiation with stereotactic guidance ly Welsh today is even more advanced
or 3-D imaging to pinpoint and attack than Dr. Adler’s system. And faster.
tumors within the brain, but the com-
plexity and cost of the effort put the According to Pagnini, with the
project on hold. TrueBeam system “you can do radio-
Years later, in 1967, the first radia- surgery in 10 minutes. The same treat-
tion tool for treating brain tumors – ment with the CyberKnife could take
up to an hour.”

Part of why Pagnini was recruited

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 69

HEALTH Head radiation therapist
Ellen Benson assists
Dr. Paul Pagnini and Dr. Paul Pagnini.
radiation therapist

Allison Votzi.

from the University of Southern Cali-
fornia in Los Angeles was to help build
what he calls “a very strong radiation
oncology and neurosurgery team and
a great radio-surgery program” here in
Vero Beach, and helping to educate the
public about the capability of the True-
Beam technology goes hand in glove
with that task.

One issue Pagnini faces is that both
the Gamma Knife and CyberKnife tools
are decades older than the TrueBeam
and so are more familiar to some people.

In his brief time here, Pagnini says,
he’s already heard people say, “I’m
gonna drive down to Jupiter to the Cy-
berKnife or to Palm beach to the Gam-
ma Knife, or up to Melbourne,” even
though a faster, more accurate option is
available right here in Vero Beach.

At the same time, Pagnini is quick
to note TrueBeam treatment is not the
best therapy in all cases.

“Let me tell you something,” Pagnini
says. “Cancer is complicated and any
center that treats cancer has to be mul-
tidisciplinary in nature. A lung cancer
patient might be suitable for the True-
Beam and get a cure with that, or they
may have a diffuse, distant or refractory
disease that you can’t target. There’s
just too much of it for the TrueBeam.”

“If we put them on Keytruda or
OPDIVO [instead of doing radiologic
surgery], these immunotherapies or
targeted therapies based on their mo-
lecular genetics, we might hit a home
run and cure them. So what we want
to focus on is having options and a
multidisciplinary approach.”

In the meantime, Dr. Abraham Wu,
director of the radiation oncology resi-
dency training program at Memorial
Sloan Kettering, says that while there
are “a lot of different machines and a
lot of different marketing terms thrown
around,” he relies on the TrueBeam op-
tion and that certainly appears to put
Pagnini and the rapidly developing
Scully-Welsh program into some very
good company.

Dr. Paul Pagnini is now with the Scul-
ly-Welsh cancer center at 3355 10th Court
in Vero Beach. His phone number is 772-
226-4810. 

70 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Just think: Study eyes mental method to lower anxiety

BY MARIA CANFIELD cesses fear and emotion and other brain tal health to see if they were at risk for Dr. Whitney Legler.
regions are associated with anxiety dis- developing an anxiety disorder and
Correspondent orders, but researchers can’t say for sure to undergo a brain scan while solving PHOTO BY DENISE RITCHIE
whether the connectivity abnormalities math problems to activate their pre-
New research from Duke University came first, or whether excessive worry- frontal cortex. anxiety-producing thought train.”
suggests that improving activity in ing shaped the brain by reinforcing par- In encouraging news for those who
the brain’s “executive control center” ticular neural pathways.” During the scan, the students also
may protect against anxiety for at-risk were shown images designed to acti- suffer from the sometimes-crippling
people. The researchers, led by Ahmad vate their amygdala (the “fear” center effects of anxiety, the researchers
Hariri, a professor of psychology and of the brain) and ventral striatum (the say that the prefrontal cortex is very
In a nutshell, the study found that neuroscience at Duke, focused on “pleasure” center). adaptable, and can be trained to func-
clear or complex thinking, or quieting the prefrontal cortex – the so-called tion at a higher level, a strategy that
down the thinking process, reduces executive control center – the area of In follow-up testing conducted will allow people with anxiety to re-
anxiety and the risk of anxiety disorder. our brains in charge of how we orga- several months later, the researchers
nize our thoughts, think abstractly found that those students at-risk for
This study arose from previous re- and make complex plans. Although it anxiety because of their “high fear,
search, also conducted at Duke, which seems unrelated to those functions, low pleasure” brain responses were
showed the brains of people at-risk for the prefrontal cortex is also in charge less likely to actually feel anxious if
anxiety exhibited an intense fear re- of impulse control and the organiza- they had high activity in their pre-
sponse to threat, but a low pleasure tion of emotion. frontal cortex.
response to reward. Armed with that
knowledge, the researchers set out to “Anxiety, or any emotion for that Speaking about the study results in
investigate strategies to help those at- matter, is a function of a thought,” terms of the brain’s anxiety markers,
risk for anxiety from developing an says Dr. Legler. “We have no emotions Professor Hariri says, “We found that if
anxiety disorder. without thoughts. When we focus on you have a higher functioning prefron-
changing our thoughts we can gener- tal cortex, the imbalance in these deep-
About that previous research, Vero ally reduce anxiety.” er brain structures is not expressed as
Beach clinical neuropsychologist changes in mood or anxiety.”
Whitney Legler says, “There are stud- In the study, Professor Hariri and
ies that show differences in brain wir- his colleagues asked 120 Duke under- Vero’s Dr. Legler says, “I suspect this
ing between anxious and non-anxious graduate students to complete a series study has captured that there is a di-
individuals. Scrambled connections of questionnaires assessing their men- version process going on – the math
between the part of the brain that pro- problems – which in essence breaks the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 71

HEALTH

duce or stave off symptoms. Tech expands range of at-home exercise options
According to Dr. Legler, a well-estab-
BY STEPHANIE KANOWITZ lete, though. programs, which can be streamed to a
lished psychotherapy technique called The number of consumers in the computer, TV or mobile device, for $99
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) The Washington Post a year – compared with the $60 on aver-
can be effective as a prefrontal cortex United States who used a health club age that gymgoers pay per month. Since
“exercise.” It used to be that working out at home in 2016 broke records, at 66 million, ac- then, it’s grown by 188 percent and gets
meant donning leg warmers and pop- cording to the International Health, about 5 million page views each month.
In CBT, a psychiatrist, psycholo- ping a Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons Racquet and Sportsclub Association.
gist, licensed clinical social worker or tape into the VCR. These days, though, “An important aspect of an in-home
other mental-health provider helps the technology has made the at-home exer- The driver behind the popularity of workout is you’ve got some sort of peer
person become aware of inaccurate or cise options seem endless. brick-and-mortar gyms? Motivation. accountability, that you feel connected
negative thinking, so challenging situ- to some community, even if it’s vir-
ations can be viewed more clearly and There are big-box gyms that bring “That’s the problem with home exer- tual,” said Carl Daikeler, Beachbody’s
responded to in a more effective way. personal trainers to you through apps. cise. Unless you’re intrinsically motivat- CEO. That’s why the program includes
For instance, Gold’s Gym launched ed – that is, you’re doing it for personal coaches who run challenge groups
Dr. Legler also says another effec- Gold’s AMP in October as a “digital reasons – things get in the way,” said through Google Hangouts or Zoom
tive way to train the prefrontal cortex personal trainer” that coaches users Walt Thompson, president of the Amer- calls, to push accountability.
is mindfulness meditation, which is through workouts, including walking, ican College of Sports Medicine. “The
designed to develop the skill of pay- running, biking and rowing, for $9.99 gym, on the other hand, provides “That accountability keeps them on
ing attention to our inner and outer per month. you the social support and the track with what their goals are, but they
experiences, being present to what is extrinsic motivation.” don’t have to be in the gym, all made
actually happening in the moment, Boutique fitness studios are also go- up, all dressed up in this quasi-meat
instead of allowing the mind to spin ing digital. In November, Flywheel Whatever the venue or market just to get their workout done,”
fearful fantasies about what might Sports, which has 42 indoor cycling cost, the biggest indicator that Daikeler said.
happen in the future. studios nationwide, began selling FLY someone will stick with a workout
Anywhere, a bike and streaming con- program is enjoyment, Miller added. Use your weight to work out: Func-
A number of mindfulness medita- tent platform. “The most effective exercise is the tional training – movement your body
tion techniques can be found on the one that you’re going to do,” he said. is designed to do using your weight – is
Internet; one is to focus your atten- This year, ClassPass, which pro- one of the easiest in-home workouts
tion on your breathing, “watching” vides access to thousands of brick- Here are three at-home options for because it doesn’t require much, if any,
the breath flow in and out for one and-mortar gyms, will start streaming every budget. equipment, and online how-to videos
minute, 10 minutes or more. Keep workouts through ClassPass Live for are plentiful, said Derrick Inglut, a per-
your eyes open and breathe normal- $15 a month. It’s little surprise then Bring a cycling studio to you: FLY sonal trainer based in Washington and
ly. Your mind will wander; just keep that online streaming by health clubs Anywhere users pay $39 a month to West Hollywood.
bringing your attention back to your and fitness studios ranked high on the stream live classes – four to six are of-
breathing. American Council of Exercise’s list of fered five days a week – or choose from “Try to do two pushing exercises, two
2018 fitness trends. a library of about 100 archived ones pulling, two legs and two abs over the
Practiced regularly, the technique of through Apple TV, an iOS device or a week,” Inglut said. “Generally, that cov-
watching the breath gradually makes “The consumer wants specialization, $400 optional built-in display on the ers all the major muscle groups.”
the mind fundamentally calmer, and they want community, and they want $1,699 bike. (Classes will also be avail-
can actually change its physical struc- it whenever, wherever they can get it,” able on Roku and Chromecast and for Push exercises include push-ups on
ture in beneficial ways, according to a said Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Flywheel’s Android devices this year.) By compari- the floor or against a wall and triceps ex-
growing body of scientific research. chief executive officer. son, a single Flywheel class at the two tensions, while examples of pull moves
D.C.-area locations costs $30. include pull-ups and biceps curls.
The Duke study was published in the Other options have no association
scientific journal Cerebral Cortex. with a physical location. These include Based on high-intensity interval Avoid boredom by changing moves
free YouTube or Instagram videos, training, the classes are available in periodically, Inglut said, but realize
Anxiety disorders are the most com- and subscription services with brand 20-, 30- and 45-minute lengths, and that building strength takes time. “If
mon mental illness in the U.S., affect- names such as Beachbody, a fitness three formats: Method, an interval- you’re doing the same thing over and
ing 40 million adults (18 percent of the and nutrition program that gets more heavy ride with hills and sprints; Pow- over, obviously you’re more likely to
population) every year. According to than 5 million monthly unique visits to er, which has longer races and steeper plateau, but you do need to repeat ex-
the Anxiety and Depression Associa- its digital platforms. hills; and Beats, a rhythm-based ride. ercises to get better at them,” he said.
tion of America: “I try not to repeat things more than
A recent search for “workout videos” The bike is Bluetooth-enabled so once a month unless it’s a standard
• Anxiety disorders are highly treat- on YouTube yielded 62 million results, that Flywheel could incorporate its exercise like a push-up, a sit-up, a
able, yet only 36.9 percent of those suf- including Leslie Sansone’s “1 Mile in Torqboard performance-tracking tech- crunch or anything cardio.” 
fering receive treatment. Home Walk” and FitnessBlender’s nology into FLY Anywhere. It lets riders
“1,000 Calorie Workout.” see how they’re doing compared with
• People with an anxiety disorder are virtual classmates. Home riders can
three to five times more likely to go to FLY Anywhere users pay $39 per also use Pacer, a feature studio-goers
the doctor and six times more likely to month to stream live classes – four to don’t get, which lets them set goals
be hospitalized for psychiatric disor- six are offered five days a week – or such as sprinting faster than they did
ders than those who do not suffer from choose from a library of about 100 ar- during their last ride.
anxiety disorders. chived ones through Apple TV, an iOS
device or a $400 optional built-in dis- FLY Anywhere will also add access
• Anxiety disorders develop from a play on the bike, which costs $1,699. to Precision Training, which includes
complex set of risk factors, including (Flywheel Sports) 10-, 20- and 30-minute off-the-bike
genetics, brain chemistry, personality, sessions targeting the upper and lower
and life events. “If you can just go to a YouTube body, core and strength.
channel and do a 15-minute class
Duke’s Professor Hariri concludes, free, that absolutely opens you up to App subscription: Beachbody has
“We are hoping to help improve cur- a lot more things that you might be long banked on people’s desire to work
rent mental health treatments by first willing to try,” said Todd Miller, direc- out at home, offering video workout se-
predicting who is most at-risk so that tor of George Washington Universi- ries such as P90X, which House Speaker
we can intervene earlier, and second, ty’s Weight Management and Human Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) famously touted
by using these types of approaches to Performance Laboratory. in 2012. In March 2015, Beachbody on
determine who might benefit from a Demand came online, offering unlim-
given therapy.” This trend hasn’t made gyms obso- ited access to more than 700 exercise

Dr. Legler’s office is located at 3003
Cardinal Drive, Suite A on the barrier is-
land; the office phone is 772-231-5554. 

72 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Carolina Herrera, patron saint of elegance, says farewell

BY ROBIN GIVHAN Carolina Herrera takes a bow with her design
The Washington Post staff after presenting her final collection for

The small chamber on the ground her namesake label.
floor at the Museum of Modern Art was
nothing much to look at on its own – no and feminine sensibility. Gordon was Carolina Herrera and Wes Gordon.
priceless art, no revelatory architec- not a hipster designer but rather one
ture. But the glass wall at the far end of who tapped into the quiet formality “They’re trying to get people to pay at-
the space let in the sparkling light of the of modern Southern gentry. He put tention to them. In life, there should
city, and that is always something quite his label on hiatus last year when he be a little mystery.”
special. The music on the soundtrack, a began consulting at Carolina Herrera.
little Cole Porter, gave the Monday eve- She lamented the tendency of some
ning a kind of timeless, foot-tapping, The final collection under Herrera’s celebrities to wear provocatively re-
champagne-popping glamour. direction was mostly an homage to a vealing clothes in a bid for attention.
kind of discreet glamour that, while
And sure enough, at the end of the still admired, is often in short sup- “They’re supposed to be fashion icons,
Carolina Herrera fall 2018 fashion show, ply, requiring too much restraint and and they’re not wearing anything,” Her-
waiters shimmied through the crowd good posture to pull off. rera said. “It’s an obsession now.”
balancing silver trays of bubbly. After the
models had all walked and the applause The show opened with a group of And so when she offers a black dress
was finished, it was time to toast a fina- white shirts paired with black skirts embroidered with a graceful cloud of
le and a beginning. After more than 30 – a look that has become Herrera’s marabou, she is sure that the woman is
years, Herrera was stepping down from workday uniform. They were followed
her brand, settling into the role of am- by silky day dresses in turquoise
bassador and passing the creative reins and orange, along with rose-colored
to designer Wes Gordon. dresses emblazoned with sparkling
black panthers.
Gordon grew up in Atlanta and in-
terned with Oscar de la Renta and Tom But the brand is best known for its
Ford before launching his own collec- cocktail and evening wear, and this
tion, distinguished by its romantic collection was filled with airy dresses
in pink and gray tulle, evening dresses
Our Linen in layers of tulle with a bodice of white
Button-Downs embroidery and a particularly sleek
tuxedo in fuchsia and red.
offer the natural comfort of
100% linen in a Herrera has always turned out sen-
sual and elegant evening wear, but she
classic button down. Tailored has never been an advocate of plung-
in Italy with long sleeves, ing necklines or leave-nothing-to-the-
imagination sheerness.
single pocket. In orange, lilac,
pink, blue, black, or tan as Some designers think “it’s so mod-
shown. ern to be naked or almost naked. They
think it’s going to attract younger peo-
981 BEACHLAND BOULEVARD, VERO BEACH • (772) 226-5028 ple if they do those dresses,” Herrera
said to The Washington Post in 2015.
NAPLES • FORT LAUDERDALE • PALM BEACH
WWW.MAUSANDHOFFMAN.COM

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 73

tastefully covered. The dress only hints flected her personal sensibility, the the parties celebrating her husband’s diences applauded louder. Camera
at what lies just below the shadow of style of a woman born wealthy in Ven- 2005 inauguration. phones glowed in the dark salon, and
feathers. Her tulle is multilayered; it ezuela and married into Spanish no- the lights of Manhattan sparkled in
is not sheer. Her strapless gowns are bility. She has the posture of a dancer, After the last model made her final the distance.
properly placed along the torso. a style that shuns distracting frills and pass to the strains of “I’ll Be Seeing
a sharp, bawdy wit. You,” Herrera emerged to a standing Herrera’s design sensibility evoked
The finale included a parade of ovation and sustained applause. She a New York of long lunches full of wit-
models dressed in crisp white shirts Her clothes have always exuded so- was joined at the top of the runway by ticisms, cocktails with bon vivants
and a rainbow of long full skirts phistication and propriety. And they her studio team wearing their white and formal dinners that were raucous
paired with a wide belt. It’s a look that attracted a range of clients, including work smocks. Herrera, of course, was rather than prim. To some degree,
is Herrera’s evening uniform. To say Renee Zellweger and Michelle Obama, dressed in a crisp white shirt and that version of the city may always
that the designer is going to become who wore a Carolina Herrera ball- dark trousers. have been a bit of fantasy or, at best,
an ambassador for the collection is gown to a White House state dinner a rare truth. But Herrera made a con-
a bit like describing what she always in honor of France, and Laura Bush, After taking her bows, Gordon vincing argument that not only was it
has been. The collection has long re- who chose a Herrera gown for one of emerged from stage right to present real, it could be yours. 
her with dozens of red roses. The au-

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74 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Christian Siriano, the designer dressing women of all sizes

BY BETHAN HOLT as Selma Blair – one of the first actresses
The Telegraph to speak out in the #MeToo movement
– slinked out in a skintight catsuit, and
From the moment that supermodel noise levels reached football terrace
Ashley Graham, enveloped in red faux decibels for Danielle Brooks – the plus-
fur, stepped out to open Christian Si- size star of “Orange is the New Black” –
riano’s 10-year anniversary show at modeling a jade chiffon gown.
New York fashion last Saturday, cheers
and spontaneous rounds of applause The response could hardly have
drowned out the music. Whoopi Gold- crystallized better how Siriano has be-
berg, sitting on the front row, whooped come a safe haven designer for women,
famous or not, who had long felt that

what they saw on the catwalk was not as designer. Business has tripled since
applicable to them. “I kept hearing he introduced the new sample range
from customers ‘Oh, I can’t wear that and he’s worked with luxury fashion
because it only looks good on a model, site Moda Operandi to allow customers
so it’s not my size,’” remembers Siriano, to pre-order from digital trunk shows in
a slight, fresh-faced 32-year-old, when I his full size range. With many designer
speak to him the following day, just as labels failing to offer anything above a
he’s emerged from a sales appointment 14, it’s little short of revolutionary.
in which one size-16 customer ordered
most of the collection. “It was really On the red carpet, Siriano has be-
bothering me, because just as it looked come a new power player. He dressed
great on a model it could also look 11 women for January’s Golden Globes
great on a woman if she has a bust or all-black dress code, including Chris-
curvy hips. I don’t think there are rules tina Hendricks, whose elegant off-
in that way.” shoulder black top, trousers and full
overskirt look (which was finished just
Just three seasons ago (fashion speak hours before the event) was a pitch-
for around 18 months) Siriano trans- perfect blend of refined sophistication
formed the way he worked to become that factored in the message behind
completely size-inclusive. “We don’t the dress code.
have a set sample size any more, we just
make things in a range,” he explains of “Fashion is very visual; the moment
his radical new approach which he man- we look at something, we think of an
ages with an 18-strong team in his ate- idea. It was very powerful,” he says of
lier. “When we produce the collection the initiative instigated by the Time’s
for sale, it’s from a size zero to a size 26. I Up campaign. “The idea of black was
felt like we should start from the begin- a way for everyone to be in the same
ning that way, so we make a ton of sam- something – but all the women cele-
ples but in different sizes. brated themselves.”

“I understand why other brands Siriano has dressed Michelle Obama,
have the mentality that it would be too Oprah Winfrey, Celine Dion and Gwyn-
difficult, but the old way didn’t work eth Paltrow, to name but a few. His offer
for us any more. This does, because to design an outfit for “Ghostbusters”
it’s where the customer is.” actress Leslie Jones in 2016 after she
tweeted: “It’s so funny how there are
It’s a strategy that might seem like a no designers wanting to help me with a
no-brainer but as one of the very few premiere dress for the movie” went vi-
designers to embrace dressing women ral, and became a defining moment in
above a certain size, Siriano has trans- the conversation about diversity in film
formed his company and his reputation and fashion which still rages on.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 75

“I spoke to a lot of women who feel to the red carpet. I was so proud, but I didn’t know it had carpet? “Well, funny you should ask,”
how Leslie felt every day,” he says. “It Last October, Siriano’s rose pink ball made the cover until they sent it to me,” he confides, “but the moment my show
was very powerful for other people to he remembers. ended I got an email from this wonder-
see the dress I made for her (a simple, gown beat all the established design ful stylist saying ‘I need this dress for
meticulously fitted red column with a houses’ options to be worn by Claire Last week, Allison Janney, who is an actress for the Oscars, please can
split to just above the knee) and how it Foy on the cover of British Vogue’s No- nominated for Best Supporting Actress you keep it aside for me?’”
is possible to look great.” The dress is vember issue under the cover line: “The at the Oscars for her role in “I, Tonya,”
now displayed in New York’s Fashion Return of Glamour.” wore the designer’s ruffle-hemmed It was not always thus for Siriano,
Institute of Technology museum as an navy midi dress at the Santa Barbara who grew up in Annapolis, Maryland,
example of a refreshing new attitude “I loved that it was a big, beautiful film festival. So might we be seeing a and fell in love with fabric and the
ball gown on a cover which we don’t al- Christian Siriano on the Oscars red theatrical power of clothes thanks to
ways see, it’s usually a cropped image. his interior design-mad mother and
ballet dancer sister. He studied de-
sign at the American Intercontinen-
tal University London and interned
at Vivienne Westwood and Alexander
McQueen, learning “so much about
the value of craftsmanship in Eng-
land: everything in New York can be
so commercialized”.

His big break came when he won
the 2008 series of reality television
show Project Runway. His $100,000
winnings allowed him to begin his
own label but he struggled to find his
identity at first. “Siriano said his niche
was glamour, but to really move for-
ward, he’ll have to expand that one-
dimensional notion into something
more original and thoughtful,” read
Vogue’s review of his Autumn 2010
collection.

It’s advice which he patently took
to heart, and fashion is all the better
for it. 

Vernon
Scott

reSort WeAr

TRUNK SHOW FRIDAY MARCH 2
818 Beachland Blvd

772-231-3733 • Mon - Sat 10 to 5

76 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Streetwear and Seneca collide in Dolce and Gabbana's Catholic-themed show

BY LISA ARMSTRONG
The Telegraph

Backstage, before their ecclesiastical-
ly themed show began last Sunday after-
noon, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico
Dolce shared a snapshot from when they
were both cast as men of the cloth in Rob
Marshall’s musical Nine – the one that
purportedly starred Daniel Day-Lewis
but which we now know contained these
masterful cameos.

Their performance in that film was
significantly shorter than the delay
before the show, caused by a technical
hitch. Some of the audience wouldn’t
or couldn’t turn off their Wi-Fi, de-
spite repeated requests. This meant
the big opening sequence in which a
dozen handbags were shuttled down
the runway via drones, like storks de-
livering particularly costly babies, al-
most didn’t happen.

Fortunately, Dolce e Gabbana’s audi-
ence are tolerant about delays, which
merely provide them with more time
in which to observe and be observed.
On one side of the catwalk sit the jour-
nalists, editors and stylists – the below-

stairs staff – in their relatively drab uni- gold incense dispensers were turned
forms of navy, black and gray. On the into bags, and the classic Dolce e Gab-
other, high-net worth clients, in full- bana trouser suit stepped into the spot-
length lace ball gowns, tiaras, minks light in luxurious brocades from Venice
(including a pair of mink hot-pants), and Rome, where there is a thriving in-
wigs and jeweled capes – all at 2 p.m. dustry making these patterned silks for
Italy’s numerous priests.
While other designers spout on about
diversity, Dolce e Gabbana put it out Despite the many catwalk shows
there on their front rows, with custom- Dolce e Gabbana stage each year – more
ers from all over the world, in various than any other label – this one felt sin-
shapes and sizes, aged from about 75 to cere and was packed with standouts,
three (the latter, outfitted head to toe in from a floral embroidered parka or se-
silk Dolce e Gabbana entertained herself quin and houndstooth skirt and jacket
during the long wait by posing with her to oversized patchwork bomber jackets.
Dolce handbag for the photographers).
While Stefano Gabbana revealed
On the catwalk, the Roman Catholic that he goes to San Babila, Milan’s
Church had been exhaustively plun- 11th century church, every Sunday
dered for ideas; timely given the Met – not to listen to the sermon (‘that’s
museum Costume Institute’s Catho- boring’) but to sit in peace and pray
lic-focused fashion exhibition which – pop culture was clearly another big
opens in May and will feature several influence on this show. T-shirts and
of Dolce e Gabbana’s religion-inspired black dresses, minimalist as a nun’s
designs from across the decades. habit, but rather more body-con, were
decorated with slogans such as ‘Fash-
Cherubim romped across velvet ion Sinner,’ while Latin ponderings
tunics, shoes and coats. Crucifixes on love meandered across track suits
abounded. Papal purple found fresh – possibly the first time “street-wear”
meaning in velvet jogging “suits.” One and Seneca have collided. 
black shirt featured a white dog-collar,

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 77

Mara’s show confirms that leopard print is making a comeback

BY CHARLIE GOWANS-EGLINTON length gloves that tightly gripped the rameters have shifted. Women no longer vent tailored silhouettes in dark denim,
handle of a prim ladylike bag, with heavy need to man-up with boxy suits, unless but this season took the smart casual
The Telegraph eyeliner and lashings of black leather. they want to. Dress codes are looser, or clash to new heights.
gone altogether – today, newsreaders
Wealth, good taste, a lack of showy “Power dressing offered the keys to wear trainers, prime ministers meet for- Tour merchandise T-shirts, a collab-
exhibitionism: These are the timeless the executive suite. The price was strict eign dignitaries wearing leopard print oration with artist François Berthoud,
qualities which have made Max Mara conformity,” the collection’s manifesto shoes. Last season saw Max Mara rein- were tucked into full plaid skirts and
coats into modern classics. The camel- continued, acknowledging that the pa- high-waisted black cigarette trou-
colored wrap styles, particularly, have sers – was this Max Mara delving into
won fans in everyone from Hollywood punk territory? Suspenders hung from
stars to businesswomen while the fluffy waistbands, an element of the undone
teddy-bear versions are beloved of fash- to balance ladylike silhouettes with
ion editors. But what happens when details borrowed from “shadowy sub-
one of these coats comes dotted with terranean nightclubs.”
leopard spots? “Classic doesn’t have to
be conservative,” read the notes that ac- Max Mara has long proudly catered to
companied last week’s Milan Fashion women juggling a multitude of respon-
Week show – and conservative this most sibilities, for whom clothes which cater
certainly was not. only to work or play are out of date. These
are pieces that you could pare back for
Those classic coats were cinched in the office, amp up for the evening. Run-
at the waist with masculine belts and ning through all that classicism is a fe-
layered over voluminous skirts that line sexiness: quite literally, in the case
brushed the floor. Pencil skirts came in of looks that layered leopard print upon
herringbone and pinstripe. Creative Di- leopard print ad finitum – confirmation
rector Ian Griffiths, who has designed that wild cat spots will be all over the
for the label for more than 30 years, shops come autumn (we also saw them
used this collection as an opportunity at Victoria Beckham in New York). If a
to shake up his Max Mara woman, re- little of what you fancy does you good,
contextualizing everything, including a perhaps a lot of it will serve you even bet-
button-up shirt, a full skirt and elbow- ter, Max Mara seems to suggest. 

78 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

DINING REVIEW

Fire and Wine: Sublime dining well worth the pilgrimage

BY TINA RONDEAU Chocolate Strudel Tart
with Bittersweet Mousse
Columnist and Caramelized Banana.

An amazing number of island resi- Winter Seafood Stew. with fire grilled asparagus. The braised
dents have been venturing into un- beef short ribs, served with pimento
charted territory this winter, crossing PHOTOS BY GORDON RADFORD cheese ravioli and balsamic collard
the bridge and heading south on U.S. greens, drew raves. And the pan-seared
1 in search of a new restaurant in the Pepper Seared duck breast was very tasty, served over
Winn-Dixie strip mall on Oslo Road. Tuna Sashimi. a savory waffle with cherry compote,
Pan Seared Barramundi with drizzled with a tabasco maple syrup.
When they finally drive into the su- an Eggplant, Baby Spinach
permarket parking lot, the first clue the and Cheese Cannelloni. For dessert, one member of our party
goal is near is a sign that says “Diner” on went for the white chocolate crème bru-
the shopping plaza wall. lee ($7) while the rest of us enjoyed Chef
Chuck’s riff on a key lime pie ($8).
While that space, between a nail sa-
lon and a pizza joint, once housed the When we first visited Fire & Wine last
Oslo Diner, last summer the interior was summer, we were apprehensive about
totally transformed into a white-table- how an upscale restaurant – even a very
cloth bistro that is now home to Fire & good and very moderately priced one
Wine. The word “Oslo” has disappeared – would fare so far from most of Vero’s
from the exterior wall, but “Diner” re- other fine-dining establishments.
mains and a “Fire & Wine” sign still
hasn’t made it. We need not have worried. From the
number of 32963 diners we have recog-
The reason so many are making the nized on our visits here, the bigger con-
pilgrimage to South Vero, however, is Fire cern is that islanders may be crowding
& Wine has emerged as the best new res- out South Vero residents from this great
taurant to open in Vero Beach in years. new bistro.

Launched by Chuck Arnold, the very I welcome your comments, and en-
talented chef who a few years ago was courage you to send feedback to me at
wowing diners at Bijou in Vero’s Old [email protected].
Downtown, and another familiar Vero
restaurant face, Roger Lord, the smallish The reviewer dines anonymously at
bistro is now packed night after night. restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach
32963. 
You don’t want to even think about
going there as a walk-in; reservations Hours:
are best made a couple days in advance. Tues. - Sun., 5 pm to 9 pm
Beverages: Beer & Wine
On our most recent visit last Friday,
our party of four was warmly greeted by Address:
Roger – who presides over the front of the 2950 9th St SW
house. And veteran server Mike quickly
brought house-made rosemary rolls to Phone:
the table and briefed us on the specials. (772) 794-7587

On this visit, I decided to start with
the soup of the day, a luscious sweet corn
and dill soup with lump crabmeat ($7).
My husband went for one of his favorites,
the fried oysters ($11). Great as always.
And our companions decided to try an
unusual appetizer, the pecan crusted
crab cheesecake topped off with a tabas-
co remoulade ($10). The cheesecake, sa-
vory instead of sweet, was a definite hit.

Then for entrées, I chose one of the
specials of the day, the pan-seared
and pistachio encrusted corvina ($32).
My husband decided to have the pan-
seared Faroe Island salmon ($25). One
of our companions opted for the red
wine braised beef short ribs with ravi-
oli ($26), and the other went for the duck
and waffles ($27).

My corvina was a beautiful piece of
fish, finished off in the oven and served
over a ricotta pancake with fire grilled
asparagus as well as some marinated lo-
cally grown cherry tomatoes.

My husband’s salmon was also gor-
geous, perfectly cooked, and served

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 79

WINE COLUMN

Vintners seek to secure the future of California zinfandel

BY DAVE MCINTYRE
Washington Post

“You can’t find wines like these wants to order a glass of tribidrag? to be dependent on where the vines
anywhere else in the world but Cali- We’ll stick to zinfandel, thank you. grow. “We now know how zinfandel
fornia,” Chris Cottrell proclaimed to expresses itself and the important
anyone who would listen – or at least, Meanwhile, back home in Califor- role site plays in that expression.”
anyone with an outstretched hand nia, the founders of the trade group
holding a wine glass – during tastings Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, The answers aren’t yet definitive.
at this year’s Zinfandel Experience in ZAP, had a quandary. Those old vine- “We believe the Heritage Vineyard
San Francisco. yards can be spruced up and restored Project is 20 years into a hundred-
to health, but they can’t last forever. year effort,” says Rebecca Robinson,
Cottrell was preaching the gospel Nurseries lacked high-quality plant executive director of ZAP. “Our goal
of zinfandel. But zinfandel is having a material for new zinfandel vineyards. is that zinfandel will thrive for many
bit of an identity crisis. So along with the Viticulture and more generations, even though the
Enology Department at the Universi- original vineyards will one day be a
Zinfandel’s uniqueness stems from ty of California at Davis, ZAP created distant memory.”
two factors: its status as California’s the Heritage Vineyard Project in 1995.
grape, without an Old World para- There’s also a style question: Zinfan-
digm like cabernet sauvignon to Bor- Cuttings from old-vine vineyards del tends to be high in alcohol. If it’s not
deaux, or pinot noir and chardonnay throughout California were planted made carefully, the burn from the alco-
to Burgundy; and the “old vine” vine- at Davis and later in Oakville, in Napa hol can overwhelm the fruit. Tradition-
yards scattered throughout Califor- Valley. The original 90 selections were minded producers strive to make a re-
nia, which give the wines a romantic whittled down to 20 that were virus strained “claret-style” zin. Producers of
connection to the frontier days. free. Of those 20, four were selected this style to seek out include Bedrock,
to represent heritage zinfandel – from Carlisle, Limerick Lane, Robert Biale,
But those old vineyards aren’t en- the Moore, Teldeschi, Zeni and Lytton Ravenswood, Ridge, Frog’s Leap and
tirely zinfandel. Vintners knew there vineyards. These selections were Peachy Canyon.
were other varieties mixed in, such planted in experimental “heritage”
as alicante bouschet, petite sirah, vineyards around California, and The heritage zinfandels will never
mataro (a Spanish name for mourve- their cuttings are available to growers be able to replicate the old-vine vine-
dre) and carignane. But DNA testing, planting new vintages. yards. Just as successive generations
a science that has developed dramati- of immigrant families become more
cally over the past 20 years or so, has “The differences among the four American while preserving elements
identified many more varieties and selections are subtle,” says Joel Pe- of their heritage, these vineyards will
determined that zinfandel is actually terson, founder of Ravenswood Win- evolve zinfandel’s expression. All the
the minority in some of these vine- ery and one of the most famous zin more reason to enjoy the wines we
yards. Yet the wines are often better producers. And the differences seem have now. 
than 100 percent zins.

Zinfandel clusters tend to ripen
unevenly, so the wine has a peculiar
ability to taste underripe and over-
ripe at the same time. The immigrant
farmers, mostly Italian, who planted
those vineyards in the late 1800s and
early 1900s understood that a diver-
sity of grape varieties would produce
a stronger, more cohesive wine.

Some would add color, tannin and
structure for endurance. Some would
ripen early and be a hedge against
harvest rains, while late-ripening
varieties would contribute depth in
good vintages.

The DNA science also took zin-
fandel on an Ancestry.com-style
quest for its roots in Europe. And like
those people in the commercials who
find out they aren’t really who they
thought they were, the results were
surprising.

Zinfandel was determined in the
1970s to be identical to the primitivo
grape of southern Italy. (Primitivo is
now considered to be a distinct clone
of the variety.) And subsequent test-
ing identified zinfandel as an obscure
Croatian grape called tribidrag. It’s
no longer in commercial produc-
tion in Croatia, and no wonder. Who

80 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 81

Vero & Casual Dining

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82 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Vero & Casual Dining

Family of Five with Four Adult Meals EARLY BIRD DINNER MENU
get a Kid Meal for Free Mon-Fri 4:30-5:45

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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 83

Vero & Casual Dining

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84 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Vero & Casual Dining

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1749 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach, FL 32960 • (772) 567-6733

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 85

PETS

Bonz meets his first Potcake, a cutie called Bama

Hi Dog Buddies! of as a sorta unofficial breed, mostly a Caicos For Beaches, Snorkeling – and Queen of the Cuh-RIBBEE-un.”
mixture of German Shepherd, Labra- Puppies.’” “Queen of the … that is Seriously
Woof, do I love my job; what’s bet- dor an Foxhound. We get along with ev-
ter than innerviewin’ fellow pooches, erybody, humans an animals, plus we’re “Pawsome Dog Biscuits!” I exclaimed. Cool Kibbles!”
makin’ new frens, and learnin’ tons of real smart, loyal and loving, which we “I KNOW!” Bama said. “See, Potcake “Yes, it is, isn’t it,” she agreed. “Oh,
innnersting stuff? This week, I innerv- hafta be or nobody’d adopt us.” Place is near a popular beach, so, when
iewed a Potcake. Have you heard about humans come for a va-CA-shun, there well, full disclosure, I’m only the Queen
Potcakes? Me either. “Woof! Great story! But that sounds we are. Potcake Place gives ’em a leash, when Mommy’s away. When she’s
like a pretty challenging life.” toys an a water dish so they can take home, she’s The Queen an I’m The Prin-
Bama Maxwell (as in Alabama) is a one of us for a beach walk. By then, cess.”
pretty lady Potcake from the Turks and “It was. Lots of us get sick or starve or we’re all ready for a new life. If a visitor
Caicos, which is a buncha islands in the even worse. We love the beach an the “So, is it OK to call you just Bama?
Cuh-RIBBEE-un. We met on a (pooch- Bama How’d you get that name, anyway?”
frenly) beach up in Melbourne, cuz PHOTO: GORDON RADFORD
that’s where Bama’s most comf-tubble, wants to adopt one of us, Potcake Place “Bama’s fine, Bonz. Daddy named
cuz of being born onna beach an livin’ ocean, but the problem is, the humans helps with the paperwork. An, get this, me. My full name is Alabama Tusca-
there her whole, entire puppyhood, till down there don’t think of us as pets; the coolest part is, since you can’t just loosa Roll Tide Maxwell, but everybody
she found her Forever Family back in we’re just Big Pains in the Kazoo. So we stuff a puppy inna suitcase with your calls me Bama, thank Lassie. As you
2010. all hope we can someday be part of a socks, Potcake Place arranges for spe- probly guessed, Daddy is a HUGE Ala-
loving Forever Family. cial couriers to hand deliver us to our bama football fan. HUGE. He ackshully
Bama was runnin’ around in the liddle new homes.” went to the same school as the football
park by the duneline smellin’ the smells, “Anyway, this human lady, Jane Park- guys. He says it’s his Almuh MUTTer.
when me an my assistant arrived, and er-Rauw, decided to do something to “So is that what happened to you?”
she trotted right up for the Wag-and- help us Potcakes, so around 2004, she “Sorta. See, my Mommy works down “When I’m in the islands helpin’
Sniff. She’s a long-leggedy, middle-size started a pooch rescue CHAIRuddy, in Turks an Caicos. Spends a lotta time Mommy work, I always HAFTA to be
pooch, slim, with a short honey-colored Potcake Place, in Providenciales, Turks in the ocean, with those big funny right there on the boat, keepin’ track. I
coat and long darker-colored sniffer. An an Caicos. It’s run by all volunteers who things on her back. She’s workin’ on a just sit an stare at her bubbles, so I know
black eye-liner. Made her look real ex- gather us up an find homes for as many reef project. Important Stuff. Since she she’s okey-dokey down there. If I get left
otic. It’s called Smokey Eye. (Hey, I keep of us as they can. We get all spiffed up flies back an forth a lot, she’s one of the on shore, I dog paddle out to the boat.
up with the Trends.) an healthy; a nice vet checks us out Potcake Couriers. I’m not her first Pot- I can tread water forever. Hey, Bonz,
Sniffer-to-Tail; they make sure we’re so- cake, either. In 2010, she had Nigel, and I’ll race ya to the beach!” And away
“Delighted to make your acquain- cialized an well-mannered; an we hafta she thought he’d like a Potcake Pooch she flew, down the boardwalk, leaping
tance, Miss Bama.” go through the No Puppies Procedure, Pal, so she picked ME. He’s in Dog gracefully over the railing and straight
of course. The volunteers foster us, an Heaven now, but I have three Cool Kib- into the waves.
“Likewise, Bonz. May I call you Bonz? tourists come visit us at Potcake Place, bles brothers, all rescues like me. Mom
This is my Mommy, Maureen. My Dad- and maybe adopt us. There’s even a didn’t know it when she adopted me – I “Aren’cha comin’?” she called.
dy’s Toby. How about we yap here in the travel ad that says, ‘Travel To Turks and like to maintain a low profile – but I AM “Love to, but I should be getting
grass, then we can go out on the beach. back.”
So, whaddya wanna know?” Heading home, I wondered what
would have been the harm if I’d showed
“Well, first off, what’s a Potcake?” up a little late – with sandy paws.
“Potcakes are homeless pooches Till next time,
from the Bahamas an Turks an Caicos.
I myself was born on the beach. It’s The Bonz
fuzzy, but I kinda remember wanderin’
around, tryin’ to figure out what hap- Don’t Be Shy
pened, lookin’ for my pooch family, and
tryin’ to find food and water. Some- We are always looking for pets with
times, humans give us what’s left of interesting stories.
their food, caked on the bottom of their
cooking pots. So – potcakes. To set up an interview, email
“After years an years, we’re thought [email protected].

86 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CALENDAR

ONGOING at Emerson Center. 800-595-4849 2-4 Saint Edward’s School Trunk Show 3 Steve Martin Memorial Regatta hosted
– Kickoff Party Fri. 6 p.m. with cock- by Youth Sailing Foundation, 10 a.m. to 4
Vero Beach Museum of Art - Medieval To Metal: 2 Burgers & Brews Kickoff Party, 5 to 9 tails and entertainment, $50; general admission p.m.; starts at YSF facility by the southwest side
The Art & Evolution of the Guitar thru May 6, Paul p.m. at Riverside Park with 7 p.m. Bud- Sat. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., of Alma Lee Loy Bridge.
Outerbridge: New Color Photographs from Mexico weiser Clydesdales Parade within the park, $5 at door. 772-231-4136
and California, 1948-1955 thru June 3 and Shadow live music, brews, raffles, food and children’s 3 Treasure Coast Jazz Society presents John-
& Light: The Etchings of Martin Lewis thru May 13. activities to benefit United Against Poverty. 3 Wabasso School Run, Walk, Roll 5K, 7:30 ny Varro Swing 7, 12:30 p.m. at Vero Beach
Free admission. a.m. from Riverside Park. 772-978-8000 Heritage Center. 772-234-4600

MARCH 2 Opera on the River presented by Kurt and 3 Pelican Island Wildlife Festival, 10 a.m. to 3 Polo Ball hosted by Vero Beach Polo to
Marilyn Wallach, 6:30 p.m. champagne 4 p.m. at Riverview Park, Sebastian, with benefit Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 7
1 Live from Vero Beach presents Broken reception at their home, Palacio Del Rio, featur- wildlife and historical shows, exhibitors, vendors p.m. at Quail Valley River Club, with cocktails,
Arrow – A Tribute to Neil Young, 7 p.m. ing operatic divas Janet Rabe Meyer and Shirley and children’s activities. Free event; $20 boat auctions, dinner and dancing to Gypsy Lane.
Wang, to benefit CASTLE. $150. 772-567-8500 tours to Pelican Island. $250. 561-616-8682

Solutions from Games Pages ACROSS DOWN 4 EcoFest, Noon to 4 p.m. at Environ-
in February 22, 2018 Edition 1 DELIUS 2 EMOTE mental Learning Center, with live mu-
5 MYTH 3 INTEGER sic, canoe trips, nature crafts and family fun.
8 JOLT 4 SUAVE discoverELC.org
9 ATTORNEY 5 MIRTH
10 BEAGLE 6 TRELLIS 4 Space Coast Symphony Orchestra pres-
11 AWHILE 7 STRAIT ents Romantic Masterpieces, Brahms and
12 SCRUMPTIOUS 12 SPLURGE Schumann, 3 p.m. at Vero Beach High School
15 CLAMMY 13 MAYHEM PAC. $25; under 18 and students free. 855-
17 PEBBLE 14 ORBITER 252-7276
19 FRAGMENT 16 MIGHT
20 TANK 17 PITCH
21 PELT 18 LANCE
22 HORNET

Sudoku Page 66 Sudoku Page 67 Crossword Page 66 Crossword Page 67 (SPECIAL DELIVERY) 4 First Presbyterian Church Chamber Music
Concert Series presents trumpeter James
Jamerson , 4 p.m. in the sanctuary. Donations
appreciated. 772- 562-9088

VERO BEACH 32963 BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Advertising Vero Beach Services | If you would like your business to appear in our directory, please call 772-633-0753

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This directory gives small business people eager
to provide services to the beachside community an
opportunity to make themselves known to island readers at
an affordable cost. This is the only service directory mailed
each week during season to all 11,000+ homes on the
Vero Beach barrier island. If you are interested in a listing
in the Vero Beach 32963 Business Directory, please
contact marketing representative Kathleen Macglennon at
[email protected] or call 772-633-0753.

LAKEFRONT HOME IN JOHN’S ISLAND
DESIGNED WITH FAMILY LIFE IN MIND

205 Waxmyrtle Way in John’s Island Club: 8,480-square-foot home with 6 bedrooms, 8 full baths and 2 half-
baths on .73-acre, lakefront lot, offered for $5,750,000 by John’s Island Real Estate Company: 772-231-0900

88 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

Lakefront home in John’s Island
designed with family life in mind

BY SAMANTHA ROHLFING BAITA light-filled retreat for their multi-gen- touches were added by Jackie Danis, doors ensure plentiful natural light
Staff Writer erational family. a gifted decorator, detail-oriented, throughout. Pocket screens add to
with a spot-on eye for color and an the home’s versatility, and high, wide,
The big, beautiful home at 205 In close collaboration with the appreciation of whimsy. arched entryways between living
Waxmyrtle Way, on one of John’s Is- Danises, architect John Brennar spaces, coupled with soaring ceilings,
land’s most coveted lakefront lots, and builder Paul Parent brought The home is precisely positioned impart a feeling of endless space.
was visualized by its current owners, the 8,480-square-foot residence to on its lakeside lot so that each room
Jackie and Tom Danis, as a spacious, life with positive energy that flows has lovely views. Handsome, floor-to- As you step from the covered en-
through every room. Finishing ceiling windows and double French try onto the creamy Satunia marble

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 89

REAL ESTATE

floor, pause and take in the view
through a columned archway, past
the elegant living room and covered
logia to the infinity pool, which ap-
pears to flow right into the shimmer-
ing Lake Laroche.

One of the home’s many dramatic
features is a pair of 7-foot-wide gal-
lery hallways which have been fea-
tured in Architectural Digest. From
the foyer, the gallery sweeps to the
east and west wings.

Jackie Danis says, “I particularly
love the wide hallway gallery,” which
is perfect for her art collection – or
yours. Smiling, she shares that the
couple’s 10 grandchildren love to the
zoom back and forth along its length
on their vehicles of choice.

Making the front gallery even more
eye-catching are floor-to-ceiling win-
dows on either end, offering views of
the lush landscaping.

Exceptional millwork extends
throughout the home and each room
boasts a different, ceiling design, all
elegant, for which the Danises give
much credit to Parent.

Anchoring the living room is a
handsome fireplace with custom
stone surround, and, after dark, the
room is enchantingly illuminated by
a pair of candle-bulb chandeliers.

On either side of the fireplace, a
pair of wide double doors lead into
the den/office, which channels a
British gentlemen’s club vibe with its
dark wooden beam ceiling and pol-
ished dark wood floor. If privacy is re-
quired, its cleverly constructed doors
can shut the den off from the living
room, or simple “disappear” – folded
neatly and completely into special
wall “mini-closets,” another Paul Par-
ent feature, says Jackie.

The living room opens into a beau-
tiful dining room, with soaring,
white, coffered ceiling, pale butter-
cup walls and sumptuous gold metal
and candle bulb chandelier.

The den, living room and dining
room all open to the second gallery,
which leads to the master suite on one
end, and the family room on the oth-
er. The family room is large enough to

90 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

accommodate a second dining table, plus-grill Wolf stove and double oven
if desired, and the glowing hardwood with a pot-filler faucet above. There is
floor here and in the kitchen, ties the a side-by-side Subzero fridge set into
spaces together. Double French doors a wall-to-wall display and storage
from the family room let out to a “se- cabinet unit; four additional, sepa-
cret” garden courtyard and fountain. rate fridge drawers; a Bosch wine
cooler; a two-level island, two farm-
Even constructing a basic PB&J will house sinks tons of custom cabinet
be a culinary experience in this well- storage with pull-outs and a pantry.
equipped chef’s kitchen. You’ll be
inspired to create with the 6-burner- Across the breezeway, sharing a

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 91

REAL ESTATE

covered porch with the family room perfect” for enjoying Florida’s mag- master suite, a place that offers peace pair of sconces and marble splash.
is the attached cabana, with two nificent sunsets. Additionally, be- and privacy, ambient light from win- Across the gallery, in the same
charming end suite guest bedrooms cause this area is protected from the dows on three sides, and an excep-
with a comfy living room in between. chilly north wind, outdoor activities tionally lovely bathroom. The star of wing, is an en suite guest bedroom.
and entertaining can continue, even this indulgent room is the gleaming Above the garage is a wonderful
Tim Danis says the home’s posi- when the weather turns chilly. claw foot bathtub, sitting, in all its
tion on its lot, with the back loggia Victorian glory, in an alcove, with a space kids will love – the bunkroom.
and pool area facing southwest, “is Off the west front gallery is the It is the perfect hideaway. Jackie
painted it a cheery salmon pink, exu-

92 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

berant against the white woodwork. features a pair of vanities, each with
There are two custom-built, white a long trough sink; and two water
bunk beds, and plenty of room for a closets, one designated with a large,
comfy couch and a couple of easy bright pink G on the door, and the
chairs. The bunkroom bath is an- other with a B. The G-designated wa-
other under-the-rafters charmer: it ter closet sports pink wallpaper with

VITAL STATISTICS
205 WAXMYRTLE WAY

Neighborhood: John’ Island Club
Year built: 2009
Lot size: .73 acre

Home size: 8,480 square feet
Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 8 full baths; 2 half-baths
Additional features: Infinity pool w/spa and kiddie pool; 3-bay, air-con-
ditioned garage; covered loggias; hardwood floors; ceiling fans; premium

appliances; fireplace; two washer/dryer sets; custom volume ceilings
throughout; second level bunkroom; lavish landscaping; marble coun-

tertops in all bathrooms
Listing agency: John’s Island Real Estate Company
Listing agent: Bob Gibb and Kristen Yoshitani, 772-231-0900

Listing price: $5,750,000

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 93

white polka dots; and the B side has REAL ESTATE
friendly sea creatures.
a few minutes’ drive from the bou-
The Danises love the home they tiques, pubs and restaurants of Vero’s
built and have filled with nine years’ quaint beachside village. Also on the
worth of happy memories. But it is island are the renowned Riverside
time, they have decided, to downsize. Theatre (Equity), and the acclaimed
Vero Museum of Art, and a plethora
Residents of John’s Island are only of other activities. 

94 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

Homeowners’ tearful pleas add to ‘Millstone’ drama

BY KATHLEEN SLOAN PHOTOS BY GORDON RADFORD
Staff Writer

After tearful pleas from homebuy-
ers stuck in limbo due to a dispute
between the county and the devel-
oper of Millstone Landing subdivi-
sion, the County Commission voted
last week to issue eight certificates
of occupancy that had been blocked,
allowing people to move into com-
pleted homes.

Developer Starwood Land Ven-
tures was supposed to complete the
17th Street SW and 27th Avenue inter-
section by the end of 2017, but has not
finished yet, a violation of the com-
pany’s agreement with the county.

The incomplete work makes it
more difficult for homeowners to
enter and leave the 300-acre subdi-
vision that will eventually have more
than 600 homes.

Starwood has blamed the delays
on Florida Power & Light, which has
utility poles at the intersection that
need to be relocated, but county staff
and commissioners did not buy that
argument, and began withholding

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 95

REAL ESTATE

certificates of occupancy for com- has caused Starwood to step up the pace or do pass by March 6, while continu- Public Works Director Richard Sz-
pleted homes and building permits of road work, putting more workers on ing to withhold building permits un- pyrka said what the county is doing –
for new homes on Jan. 1 to pressure the project and working weekends. til all roadwork is done. withholding COs and building permits
the developer. in accordance with the terms of a de-
County Commissioner Tim Zorc Chairman Peter O’Bryan asked veloper agreement – is “very common.”
At a special call meeting Jan. 30,
the commission allowed a handful said the three homebuilders work- County Administrator Jason Brown A Google search bore out Szpyrka’s
of COs to be issued, so some people ing in the subdivision – Lennar, GHO if releasing certificates of occupancy claim, revealing multiple municipali-
whose new homes were complete Homes and D.R. Horton – were ex- will make other developers’ agree- ties that use the tactic.
could move in, but continued to with- erting enough pressure on Starwood ments “unenforceable.” Brown said it
hold other COs and new building per- that there is no need for the county to was a “concern.” Martin County Growth Manage-
mits, keeping pressure on Starwood continue withholding certificates of ment Director Nicki Van Vonno said
to finish the roadwork. occupation from homebuyers. Martin County withholds certificates
of occupancy and building permits to
The county’s tactics set up a push- One of the three builders con- ensure developers put in infrastruc-
pull with Millstone residents, who firmed it withheld the latest “take- ture in a timely manner, and St. Lucie
say they have waited long enough for down” payment for scheduled lot County Special Projects Coordinator
the work to be completed and sup- buys. Zorc said the payment was “six- for the Planning Division likewise
port what the county is doing, on figures, hitting the developer where it confirmed his division withholds
one side; and homeowners waiting hurts, in the pocketbook.” certificates of occupancy and build-
to move in, along with homebuilders ing permits to enforce developers’
working in the subdivision, on the “I would think all the builders are agreements.
other. withholding payment on lot buys,”
Zorc said, since Starwood is not deliv- Starwood Land Ventures pur-
The homebuilders and people ering “buildable lots,” the suspension chased 458 residential lots in Mill-
waiting to move into completed of building permits making them un- stone Landing from Regions Bank for
homes say they should not be pun- touchable. $7 million in May 2016 after the bank
ished for a failure by the developer, foreclosed on the original developer,
but the county says it has to enforce After discussion, the commission Shelby Homes.
its agreement with Starwood or risk unanimously approved a compro-
creating a precedent for laxness by mise motion, voting to issue certifi- Starwood took over Shelby’s 2005
other developers. cates of occupancy for all homes that developer’s agreement with the
have already passed final inspection county on September 2016, which
Before the vote last Tuesday, Alet was amended October 2016. The
Filmalter said she would lose her amendment included a Dec. 31, 2017,
4 percent loan rate if she couldn’t deadline for completion of the 27th
move into her home March 1 unless Avenue and 17th Street Southwest in-
she paid $87 a day to “maintain” the tersection. 
locked-in rate.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I’m
not the one responsible.”

Jeffrey Vaughn said he and his wife
have lived in a hotel for seven weeks.
His wife needs a brain operation but
they’re putting it off “so she can re-
cover at home.”

“I do not understand how you
can hold the homeowners hostage,”
Vaughn said.

Chairman Peter O’Bryan said, “The
only stick the county has to ensure
road construction is withholding cer-
tificates of occupancy and not issu-
ing any more building permits. We’re
balancing the needs of existing home
owners with future home owners.”

O’Bryan said the permit moratorium

96 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

Lenders continue to loosen requirements for home loans

BY MICHELE LERNER loan payments are calculated, and marginal easing in every aspect of Still, borrowers with shaky financ-
Washington Post the availability of low down-payment mortgage loans, said Jonathan Corr, es should not expect easy loan ap-
loans. Loans with zero, 3 or 3.5 per- chief executive of mortgage applica- provals like those in the go-go days
Pushback against overly tight cred- cent minimum down payments are tion processer Ellie Mae in Pleasan- of liar loans and rampant housing
it after the housing crisis, a shrunken readily available now. ton, Calif. speculation in the mid-2000s. People
proportion of first-time buyers and who are weak in some areas need to
worry about affordability has led to “Our challenge is always to in- “We’ve seen a slight drop in the compensate with stronger finances
some lending guideline tweaks that in other areas.
could ease financing pressures for crease access to sustainable credit,” credit scores of approved loans, a
homebuyers this year. Unlike the too- said Jonathan Lawless, vice president slight increase in the debt-to-income Despite the easing, some poten-
loose standards during the housing of customer solutions for the Federal ratios and an increase in loan-to-val- tial homebuyers are staying on the
bubble, today’s borrowers still need National Mortgage Association (Fan- ue, which means people are taking sidelines due to unfounded concern
to prove they can handle the loan. nie Mae) in Washington. advantage of low down-payment loan about credit worthiness.
programs,” Corr said.
“We are seeing thoughtful under- Since mid-2016, there has been According to the recent Ellie Mae
writing of loans and a greater un- Borrower Insights Survey, 29 percent of
derstanding that younger first-time renters think a 700 to 749 credit score is
buyers are in a growth phase of their needed to qualify for a loan. But lender
careers,” said John Pataky, execu- guidelines say a minimum credit score
tive vice president of the consumer of just 620 is required for many loan
division of EverBank in Jacksonville, programs. Some lenders will approve
Fla. “The approach is measured and loans with a lower credit score if the
guided, so we know people who are borrower has substantial resources or
becoming homeowners have the other compensating factors.
wherewithal to repay the loan as their
income and career grow.” The average credit score of a closed
loan was 722 in the Ellie Mae Origi-
Among the main recent changes to nations Insight Report in December.
mortgage loans are a loosening of the Although 82 percent of conventional
debt-to-income ratio requirements, loans had credit scores of 700 or high-
easing of rules about how student er, 13.6 percent had credit scores be-
tween 650 and 699, and 4.7 percent

2175 S Highway A1A

Reduced Riverfront
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Lowest Price/Acre Riverfront
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Please call
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Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 97

REAL ESTATE

had scores below 650. Federal Hous- livan, a senior mortgage consultant percent and as much as 25 percent in closure crisis, are now referred to as
ing Administration (FHA) loans were with American Financing in Aurora, some cases,” Taylor said. “nonprime” or “alternative” loans by
almost evenly split among borrowers Colo. some lenders to remove the stigma.
with a credit score of 700 or above (34 Jumbo loans also can be harder to
percent), between 650 and 700 (35 “A 50 percent debt-to-income ratio qualify for, requiring a higher credit “Unlike the subprime loans of the
percent) and under 650 (31 percent). is the new high-water mark,” Pataky score, a lower debt-to-income ratio past, we offer loan products not typi-
said. “But with each loan request, we and more cash reserves, Taylor said. cally offered by banks but with rea-
Other prospective homebuyers are look at factors and eligibility require- sonable mortgage rates and fees,” said
concerned about a predicted increase ments on an individual basis. Not ev- ‘Nonprime’ lenders Raymond Eshaghian, president and
in mortgage rates, which would make eryone can qualify at that 50 percent While tweaks to loan guidelines founder of GreenBox Loans in Los
loans more expensive. The Mortgage level, in which case a maximum of 45 by the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Angeles. “We offer special programs
Bankers Association predicts rates percent or less is necessary. We just Mac offer opportunities to more bor- for people with lots of equity and high
could rise to 4.8 percent by the end of have to make sure all the components rowers, consumers with more com- credit scores who can’t qualify for a
the year. But higher mortgage rates of the loan fit.” plex financial circumstances or sim- traditional loan because they are self-
could actually benefit some borrowers, ply a lack of credit history can turn to employed and their accountants have
said Jeff Taylor, co-founder and man- FHA loans allow for debt-to-income “nonprime” lenders. used creative accounting that doesn’t
aging director of Digital Risk, a provid- ratios as high as 55 percent, provided “Subprime” loans, considered to show enough income.” 
er of mortgage processing services and the rest of your loan application dem- be significant contributor to the fore-
risk analytics in Maitland, Fla. onstrates your ability to repay the
loan.
“The credit box is likely to expand
a little bit because lenders will want “The looser debt-to-income ratio is
to approve more loans when they can a big deal, because it’s easy for a cou-
get a better yield from higher rates,” ple with two cars, a couple of credit
Taylor said. “We expect more pur- cards and student loans to have a lot
chase loans and fewer refinances this of debt,” Sullivan said. “But what’s
year, so lenders will be competing for important is that we still verify all in-
borrowers.” come and assets, and look closely at
all factors to make sure the borrowers
Lower down-payment loans can repay the loan.”
FHA loans are popular with first-
time buyers because they require a Rethinking student loan debt
down payment of just 3.5 percent of Changes to the way lenders regard
the purchase price of a home. Now, student loan debt is simply a com-
conventional loans are also available mon-sense revision, Lawless said.
with as little as 3 percent required for In the past, lenders had to qualify
the down payment. borrowers based on a monthly pay-
“Awareness of the availability of low ment of 1 percent of the balance, even
down-payment loans and first-time if a different amount appeared on
buyer programs is essential, because their credit report.
many people don’t know about the “Now we allow lenders to use the
opportunities for homeownership,” actual amount being paid on an in-
Pataky said. “Many of these borrow- come-based student loan repayment
ers have good jobs and can afford the plan,” Lawless said. “And if a parent
mortgage payments, but they are not or an employer is making the student
cash rich.” loan payments, we can even exclude
Easing debt-to-income restrictions that debt from the loan application,
Guidelines from Fannie Mae and as long as we can see 12 months of
the Federal Home Loan Mortgage documentation of those payments.”
Corp. (Freddie Mac) previously re- Higher conforming loan limits
quired borrowers to have a maximum Rising home values across the na-
debt-to-income ratio of 45 percent, tion led to an increase in maximum
but last year, that ratio was increased loan amounts for conforming loans,
to 50 percent. Your debt-to-income which could make it easier for some
ratio compares the minimum month- borrowers to qualify for a loan this
ly payment on all recurring debt, in- year.
cluding your housing payment, with The Federal Housing Finance
your gross monthly income. Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae
“Debt-to-income ratios are impor- and Freddie Mac, and the Federal
tant to understand a borrower’s abil- Housing Administration both raised
ity to repay the loan,” Lawless said. conforming loan limits for 2018 to a
“But not everyone reports all of their maximum of $453,100 in most coun-
income. For instance, people may be ties, and up to $679,650 in high-cost
getting help from other family mem- housing markets. Borrowers who
bers for some expenses, or they are need to finance more than the con-
applying for the loan without their forming loan limit need a jumbo
spouse’s income. As long as we see loan, which has different guidelines.
another good compensating factor An estimated additional 2.8 million
that shows us they will be able to sus- homes in the United States will now
tain the payment, we think the higher be eligible for a conforming loan in-
ratio is justified.” stead of a jumbo loan, according to
The lower debt-to-income ratio re- analysis by Zillow.
quired in the past used to disqualify a “A conforming loan can save bor-
lot of borrowers, especially if they had rowers money compared to a jumbo
student loan debt, said Carolyn Sul- loan, because jumbo loans typically
require a down payment of at least 10

98 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

You may want to hold off on that home-renovation project

BY JUSTIN PIERCE ing to accommodate the demand for
Washington Post new homes and are having problems
finding enough craftsmen to cover
Low housing inventories and in- all of the projects they are taking on.
creased demand for homes does not
affect housing prices only – it also af- Tradesmen and contractors are
fects construction demand and pric- in greater demand because they are
ing more broadly. busy with new homes; at the same
time there is more demand for quali-
Right now home inventories are fied workers to do remodeling proj-
low, and home prices are up. Con- ects.
tractors and developers are busy try-
When home values go up, home-
LUXURY HAS A NEW ADDRESS FROM THE MID $400S owners feel richer and start more
renovation projects. They feel more
Allow yourself to be inspired by the Bermuda and West Indies architectural style of comfortable paying for that major
GHO Homes’ newest floor plans and elevations featured in Lily’s Cay. home improvement, and, as an add-
ed incentive, their home equity can
Located at the intersection of 41st Street and Indian River Boulevard, Lily’s Cay is just minutes be tapped to cover the costs. This
from five-star restaurants, trendy beachside boutiques, golf courses, medical care, theaters, increases the demand for contractor
museums, galleries and more! services.
MOVE-IN READY HOMES AVAILABLE
Because of these trends, this may
772.342.0061 y ghohomes.com be exactly the wrong time to do
that renovation project. The cost of
Prices and specifications are subject to change without notice. Oral representation cannot be relied upon as correctly stated representations of the developer. For correct representations, make reference to this construction is going up across the
advertisement and to the documents required by section 718.503, Florida Statutes, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee. Images displayed may not be the actual property for sale, but may be board: Labor and material costs are
model or other homes built of similar design. up, and contractors are making big-
ger margins.

Someone recently shared with
me an estimate they got from one of
the large home-improvement stores.
They simply wanted their tub and
their one-piece tub wall surround
replaced. It was a one-day job. I did
some research and learned that ma-
terial costs were less than $2,000.
Two tradesmen for eight hours at $50
an hour is $800, but their bid for the
work was $6,000.

I told these people to cancel that
work and call some local contractors
directly, but it was too late. They had
signed a contract, and they would
have had to pay 50 percent of the val-
ue of the contract to cancel.

I recently spoke to a tile contrac-
tor who works for a different big box
home-improvement store. He tells
me they are charging $25 per square
foot to set floor tile; that is just labor
costs. Around $12 per square foot was
the premium price I remember even
back in the midst of the last boom.
If a tile setter can make $25 a square
foot, then he or she can easily make
more money than most doctors and
lawyers.

Material prices are also skyrocket-
ing. Hardwood is a prime example.
Last winter I bought basic solid oak
wood flooring. It was not on sale. It
was the company’s basic line – it is
always in stock, and the salespeople
push it. By summer of last year that
same hardwood flooring had in-
creased in price by 30 percent – and
it stayed there.

The skyrocketing price alone is a
bad thing for the consumer. To make

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 99

REAL ESTATE

crease in structural deficiencies. you, contractors will be grateful for
The increased demand, profit mar- work again, and the market will once
again wield its natural selection
gins and labor rates do not go un- powers to trim out some of the less
noticed. These are the times when reputable and or less knowledgeable
the less reputable or at least the less contractors.
skilled come into (or back into) the
market. This abundance of work and If you just cannot wait to renovate
inflated rates incentivize people to then please get multiple bids, many
leave what they are doing now and multiple bids. Check references, a lot
strap on a tool belt. of them. Make sure the references
are recent, and check their online
If you are considering a major ratings.
renovation project, you might re-
ally consider waiting. The market Justin Pierce is a real estate inves-
will turn – it is just hard to say when. tor and real estate agent who regular-
The down side is it could take years ly writes about his experiences buy-
before it does. Eventually, I promise ing, renovating and selling houses. 

things worse, work quality often goes ers were taking what they could get.
down when contractors get busy. Es- They did not have much leverage
sentially, you pay more for less. since it was much easier for the con-
tractor to find another job than it was
I have noticed in my projects the for the client to find another contrac-
work is taking much longer to get tor. We are still feeling the effects of
completed, and the home inspectors poor quality craftsmanship from the
are finding a lot more serious work previous real estate boom.
deficiencies.
Remodeler magazine recently
This is not the first time I have published an article “Boom Town
seen this show. This same problem Falling Down.” The article points
was near epidemic in the last real out how the construction and real
estate boom. Contractors were nam- estate boom led to a significant in-
ing their price and terms. Consum-

100 Vero Beach 32963 / March 1, 2018 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

REAL ESTATE

Real Estate Sales on the Barrier Island: Feb. 16 to Feb. 22

The real estate market on the barrier island took a President’s Day breather with 6 transactions reported,
including one for more than $2 million.

The featured sale this week is of an oceanfront townhouse in the Surf Club. Unit No. 5 at 4760 Highway
A1A was relisted on Jan. 5 with an asking price of $2.995 million. The sale closed on Feb. 21 for $2.795
million.

The seller in the transaction was represented by Kay Brown and Clark French of Premier Estate Properties.
The purchaser was represented by French.

SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCES AND LOTS

SUBDIVISION ADDRESS LISTED ORIGINAL MOST RECENT SOLD SELLING
ASKING PRICE ASKING PRICE PRICE

$935,000
MOORINGS 1786 MOORINGLINE DRIVE 5/24/2017 $1,095,000 $999,000 2/22/2018
$585,000
ESTUARY THE 105 ISLAND COTTAGE LANE 1/9/2018 $685,000 $595,000 2/21/2018

TOWNHOMES, VILLAS, CONDOS, MULTIFAMILY AND INVESTMENT

SEAQUAY CONDO 4800 HIGHWAY A1A, #415 11/17/2017 $799,000 $799,000 2/20/2018 $770,000
PARK SHORES 215 PARK SHORES CIRCLE, #215A 12/20/2017 $273,900 $273,900 2/16/2018 $265,000
BAYTREE OCEANSIDE 8444 OCEANSIDE DRIVE, #D22 1/18/2018 $569,900 $569,900 2/16/2018 $535,000


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