06/22/2023 ISSUE 25

For newcomers to Vero who fall in love with the 32963 barrier island, one of the constraints on moving here at the moment is the long waitlists for golf membership at some of the top island clubs. “The wait for golf memberships at Quail is eight to nine years and I think The Moorings is over five years now,” said Dale Sorensen luxury agent Cathy Curley. “I haven’t had deals fall through because of interest rates or economic uncertainty, but clients aren’t buying in some cases because they can’t immediately enjoy the lifestyle they are used News 1-12 Arts 39-42 Books 32 Dining 54-58 Editorial 30 Games 33-35 Health 43-49 Insight 25-38 People 13-24 Pets 59 Real Estate 61-72 Style 50-53 June 22, 2023 Volume 16, Issue 25 Newsstand Price $2.00 TO ADVERTISE CALL 772-559-4187 FOR CIRCULATION CALL 772-226-7925 Is Shores taking dispute to the Florida Supreme Court? P12 Super-processed foods super unhealthy. P46 New Riverside tennis director eager to get started. P10 Poetry and BBQ: A very ‘Marry’ fundraiser. P18 © 2023 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved. For breaking news visit Why did Sheriff Eric Flowers need to hire a well-known retired deputy to serve as civilian community affairs liaison for the agency? Better yet: Why now? The timing of Flowers’ decision to return Jeff Luther to the Sheriff’s Office payroll last week is at least curious, coming only six days after the sheriff launched what is expected to be a difficult run for re-election. Not only is the sheriff facing a strong challenge from one of his captains – Milo Thornton has raised a whopping $203,000 since announcing his candidacy two months ago – but Flowers also hired a ‘community affairs liaison’ at a time when he’s asking the county for more money to put more deputies on the road. If the agency is undermanned, shouldn’t Flowers have used the $50,000 annual salary he’s paying Luther to hire another deputy? Two vaccines for RSV likely available in fall Four new vaccines designed to protect against Respiratory Syncytial Virus are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s agenda this week, with two vaccines expected to be available this fall to help older adults fend off the potentially dangerous virus. Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV – discovered in the late 1950s – is a highly contagious, lower-respiratory infection that nearly went dormant during COVID-19 lockdowns, but the threat from RSV is now on the rise again here. Up north, RSV tends to be seasonal, ramping up in fall and peaking in the winter. But locally, RSV season runs 12 months of the year, and according to the Florida Department of Health’s weekly RSV report, the percentage of patients testing positive BY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 BY STEVEN M. THOMAS Staff Writer MY VERO BY RAY MCNULTY The curious case of new sheriff’s liaison CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Is libel suit in the cards over reprimand of top Vero bridge player? Bridge may be just a card game, but at the top of the game, players take it very seriously. Some would say far too seriously. The Vero Beach Bridge Club, a venerable 63-year-old institution that has become one of the top 10 bridge clubs in the country, is currently facing the threat of a lawsuit from its highest-ranking member, Reanette Frobouck. With more than 21,000 MasterPoints, far more than any other Vero club member, Frobouck is among the top 100 bridge players in the country. A petite 80-ish snowbird with homes in Orchid for the winter and Pittsburgh for the summer, Frobouck recently CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Of all the topics covered by Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno during his 45-minute “state of the city” presentation last BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer Inactivity on Three Corners development BY PIETER VANBENNEKOM notable downer in state of the city speech Staff Writer Emeritus week, he expressed disappointment with the progress of only one project. The Three Corners development. Specifically, Cotugno voiced CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Scarcity of golf memberships rough on newcomers PHOTO PROVIDED

2 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Surely, the Sheriff’s Office can func - tion effectively without a civilian li - aison. The agency already uses its website and social media outlets, es - pecially its Facebook page, to dissemi - nate information to the community. And for more compelling news, the sheriff can hold a press conference whenever he feels one is necessary. Which begs the question: Does a 500-member Sheriff’s Office need a full-time civilian employee to interact with local civic organizations, clubs and nonprofits, and promote the agency? Multiple sources familiar with the agency’s operations said Flowers cre - ated the new civilian position on June 7 – the day Luther was hired – and that the job wasn’t publicly posted. Sheriff’s Office Captain Joe Abollo, the agency’s public information offi - cer, did not respond to an email con - taining a list of questions regarding the seemingly sudden decision to hire Luther. Nor did Flowers or Undersheriff Thom Raulen, both of whom were copied on the email intended to con - firm with them the information pro - vided by the sources and provide an opportunity for the agency’s leaders to explain why Luther was hired now. In fact, Flowers has not responded to any questions from Vero Beach 32963 since he took office in January 2021, continuing his stubborn refusal to be held accountable by talking to only the local bloggers and journalist wannabes he deems friendly. As of Monday afternoon, the Sher - iff’s Office also had not responded to public records requests filed last week for the job posting, description of du - ties and salary – easily accessed infor - mation that the previous administra - tion would provide within hours. The current administration invites suspicion. Certainly, Flowers’ silence gives us reason to wonder whether Luther, through his efforts to promote the Sheriff’s Office, is essentially promot - ing the sheriff – and doing so during a re-election campaign while being paid by the taxpayers. It’s also fair to ask then: Is that why Luther was hired? Luther, who retired in 2015 as a Sheriff’s Office major and chief of staff under three-term sheriff Deryl Loar, said his new position isn’t political – but he understands why some in the community might question Flowers’ motives. “I had a feeling I’d be getting a call from you,” Luther said last week. “I know people will assume a lot of NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 My Vero things, particularly because of the timing, and I know this surprised a lot of people. But politics had no bearing whatsoever on this decision. “If you put that spin on it, that’s you,” he added. “That’s not me.” Luther, a 67-year-old Vero Beach na - tive who has been working locally as a Coldwell Banker realtor, said he re - joined the Sheriff’s Office because he enjoyed law enforcement and missed being a part of it. He said Flowers called and asked him to return to the agency, but ini - tially the timing wasn’t right. After giv - ing the offer more thought, however, Luther changed his mind. “I went in and asked Eric if I could come back and do some work, and it happened quickly,” Luther said. “I saw him one day and was hired the next, and I started a couple of days later.” He said his duties will be similar to the public-information and commu - nity affairs role he played under sher - iffs Tim Dobeck, Roy Raymond and Loar. Although he’s a civilian employ - ee, he will remain a reserve deputy. Will he also remain loyal to Flowers, who in March promoted Luther’s son, William, to captain of the agency’s Special Operations Division? On the day he was hired, Luther at - tended – and was listed among the hosts of – a meet-and-greet fundraiser at Quail Valley’s River Club for another sheriff’s candidate, Fellsmere Police Chief Keith Touchberry. Since then, Luther has withdrawn his support for Touchberry, who was the runner-up to Flowers in the 2020 Republican primary. “I’m kind of up in the air now,” Lu - ther said, adding that he told Touch - berry he was taking the new job. “I’ve been changing my mind on a lot of different things, so I’m not saying I’m for anybody at this point. I’m working for the Sheriff’s Office.” One source with knowledge of the situation said Luther “bailed on Touchberry” because he no longer be - lieved he could win. Touchberry said last week he was “surprised” when Luther informed him of his plans, but he did not want to comment further. As expected, Thornton said he would not comment on Flowers’ deci - sion to hire Luther. And, really, what can they say? We all know how it looks, and it looks as bad as it smells. But even if we’re right – if Flowers is flailing desperately in response to Thornton’s money and momentum – will it be enough? Flowers needs to overcome a couple of mistake-filled years. Incumbent sheriffs in this county have lost only twice since the mid1950s, when Sam T. Joyce began a 26-year run that ended with his re -

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 3 Cotugno said the earliest the Three Corners development would open is the summer of 2028. During Cotugno’s presentation via Zoom – the event was organized by local publicist Irina Woelfle’s “Let’s Talk Vero” website – he also spoke at length about the city’s efforts to create a master plan for the revitalization of downtown Vero Beach. He said the City Council this week would review the results of the first phase of a traffic study recently conducted by Kimley-Horn & Associates, whose analysis found that the Twin Pairs through downtown has the capacity to absorb the proposed lane reduction and still provide “acceptable operating conditions.” Given the results, the council was expected to approve the second phase of the study. The mayor then mentioned a “very important” study being conducted by nationally acclaimed urban retail planner Bob Gibbs to determine the types of retail the downtown area can support. He said Gibbs is expected to present NEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 tirement in 1980. Dobeck lost to Gary Wheeler in 1992, and Wheeler lost to Raymond in 2000. Flowers might be the next – no matter who he hires. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 State of the City address his frustration with the city’s ongoing struggle to attract and hire the right person to manage a project that is expected to transform 33 acres on the mainland’s waterfront – at the west end of the 17th Street bridge – into a social, dining, retail and recreational hub. He said the national epidemic of people of applying for jobs and then abandoning the process without notice has disrupted the city’s timetable for formally issuing a request for proposals (RFP) from developers. City Manager Monte Falls said in January he hoped to hire a Three Corners project manager, whose sole job would be to oversee the operation from start to finish, no later than March 31. The RFP was to be issued in April, with a deadline for submissions in July. “Everything you’ve heard on the news or anecdotally about being ghosted – signing up for interviews and not showing up, getting an offer and never responding, getting an offer and then disappearing off the face of the Earth – has happened,” Cotugno said. Falls said Sunday he was scheduled to interview another candidate this week. Even if someone is hired in the next couple of weeks, however, the RFPs probably won’t be issued until mid-August – four months later than expected. Cotugno called the RFP delay a “setback,” but he said a Three Corners traffic study already is underway, and an environmental study of the property is scheduled to begin early next month. The results are expected to be presented to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission in November. The mayor said the magnitude and importance of the Three Corners Master Concept Plan, which was enthusiastically embraced by the community and was unanimously approved by the City Council two years ago, demands a full-time manager. The hire, he said, would allow City Planning Director Jason Jeffries and his staff to focus on other major projects. “We’re trying,” Falls said, adding that he has interviewed nearly a dozen candidates. “The job market, if you’re hiring, is tough right now. If they’re not already living here, it’s hard to get people.”

4 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ his findings to the City Council, which paid for the study, no later than the first half of next month. Those findings will be incorporated into the downtown master plan, he added. Cotugno also noted the city’s efforts to provide affordable housing – possibly on a former nursery site near Crestlawn Cemetery on Old Dixie Highway – and rejuvenate Pocahontas Park, which he called the “gem of downtown.” He said the Jimmy Graves Sports Stadium and Vero Beach Community Complex “is going to happen,” adding that he’s most excited about the planned all-inclusive playground, which can be accessed and used by disabled people. The city donated $1 million for the construction of the facility, which will be built on the 11.6-acre parcel across 16th Street from Vero Beach High School. The Jimmy Graves Foundation donated the land to the School District in 2021. The stadium will include a regulation track and a lacrosse/soccer field for Vero Beach High School teams. Other projects on which Cotugno provided updates: Relocation of the municipal wastewater treatment plant from the western banks of the lagoon to the airport: He said plans will be finalized in December, allowing the city to begin seeking bids NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 State of the City address DISCLAIMER: Information published or otherwise provided by Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and its representatives including but not limited to prices, measurements, square footages, lot sizes, calculations and statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed and are subject to errors, omissions or changes without notice. All such information should be independently verified by any prospective purchaser or seller. Parties should perform their own due diligence to verify such information prior to a sale or listing. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. expressly disclaims any warranty or representation regarding such information. Prices published are either list price, sold price, and/or last asking price. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. participates in the Multiple Listing Service and IDX. The properties published as listed and sold are not necessarily exclusive to Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and may be listed or have sold with other members of the Multiple Listing Service. Transactions where Premier Estate Properties, Inc. represented both buyers and sellers are calculated as two sales. Cooperating Brokers are advised that in the event of a Buyer default, no commission will be paid to a cooperating Broker on the Deposits retained by the Seller. No commissions are paid to any cooperating broker until title passes or upon actual commencement of a lease. Some affiliations may not be applicable to certain geographic areas. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard any solicitation for services. Copyright 2022 Premier Estate Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Your Trusted Advisor for Vero Beach Luxury Real Estate 772.234.5555 675 Beachland Boulevard OUR INCOMPARABLE GLOBAL NETWORK 730 LAGOON ROAD $3.95 Million Info:www.V266875.com Bob Niederpruem 772.257.7456 726 RIOMAR DRIVE $3.295 Million Info:www.V263499.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 3 WEST SEA COLONY DRIVE $1.95 Million Info:www.V267725.com Hendricks | Schwiering 772.234.5093 618 LANTANA LANE $3.995 Million Info:www.V266562.com Brown | Talley 772.234.5148 745 LAGOON ROAD $4.399 Million Info:www.V266550.com Bob Niederpruem 772.257.7456 1025 ANDARELLA WAY $2.799 Million Info:www.V250160.com Brown | Talley 772.234.5148 OPEN HOUSE | SUNDAY 1 -3 PM Explore More Of Our Exceptional Vero Beach Collection PremierEstateProperties.com Open House | Sunday 1 -3 PM 4735 Pebble Bay Circle $2.65 Million Info: www.V269114.com Hendricks | Schwiering 772.234.5093 OPEN HOUSE | SUNDAY 1 -3 PM

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 5 in January or February with the awarding of a contract next June. He said construction is expected to take 30 months, and the new facility will be in “full start-up mode” in April 2027. Selling stormwater to John’s Island for irrigation: He said the pipeline that will be used to deliver water across the lagoon from the Main Canal is being designed, and the city is in the process of negotiating easements from the county at Gifford Dock Park, immediately south of Grand Harbor. Once the easements are secured, the city will initiate the bid process later this year. Construction of the pipeline is expected to take 9 to 12 months, with the pumping of water to John’s Island to begin in September 2024. Renovation of the city marina: He said plans to renovate the dock have been delivered to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will review the proposed improvements and seek community input. However, plans to build a new, larger boat-storage facility are on hold, pending a court ruling on an appeal filed by the marina’s “abutting neighbors.” He said he’s hoping for a ruling later this month, “but we’re at the mercy of the court.” Prior to Cotugno’s presentation, Woelfle released the results of an online survey conducted by “Let’s Talk Vero,” which asked about retail possibilities in the city, particularly the downtown area. NEWS DISCLAIMER: Information published or otherwise provided by Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and its representatives including but not limited to prices, measurements, square footages, lot sizes, calculations and statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed and are subject to errors, omissions or changes without notice. All such information should be independently verified by any prospective purchaser or seller. Parties should perform their own due diligence to verify such information prior to a sale or listing. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. expressly disclaims any warranty or representation regarding such information. Prices published are either list price, sold price, and/or last asking price. Premier Estate Properties, Inc. participates in the Multiple Listing Service and IDX. The properties published as listed and sold are not necessarily exclusive to Premier Estate Properties, Inc. and may be listed or have sold with other members of the Multiple Listing Service. Transactions where Premier Estate Properties, Inc. represented both buyers and sellers are calculated as two sales. Cooperating Brokers are advised that in the event of a Buyer default, no commission will be paid to a cooperating Broker on the Deposits retained by the Seller. No commissions are paid to any cooperating broker until title passes or upon actual commencement of a lease. Some affiliations may not be applicable to certain geographic areas. If your property is currently listed with another broker, please disregard any solicitation for services. Copyright 2022 Premier Estate Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Your Trusted Advisor for Vero Beach Luxury Real Estate 772.234.5555 675 Beachland Boulevard OUR INCOMPARABLE GLOBAL NETWORK 730 LAGOON ROAD $3.95 Million Info:www.V266875.com Bob Niederpruem 772.257.7456 726 RIOMAR DRIVE $3.295 Million Info:www.V263499.com Lange Sykes 772.234.5034 3 WEST SEA COLONY DRIVE $1.95 Million Info:www.V267725.com Hendricks | Schwiering 772.234.5093 618 LANTANA LANE $3.995 Million Info:www.V266562.com Brown | Talley 772.234.5148 745 LAGOON ROAD $4.399 Million Info:www.V266550.com Bob Niederpruem 772.257.7456 1025 ANDARELLA WAY $2.799 Million Info:www.V250160.com Brown | Talley 772.234.5148 OPEN HOUSE | SUNDAY 1 -3 PM Explore More Of Our Exceptional Vero Beach Collection PremierEstateProperties.com Open House | Sunday 1 -3 PM 4735 Pebble Bay Circle $2.65 Million Info: www.V269114.com Hendricks | Schwiering 772.234.5093 OPEN HOUSE | SUNDAY 1 -3 PM CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ NEWS The Finest Pre-Owned Rolex Watches Le Classique Jewelers and Watchmakers Every Rolex watch comes backed with our 1 year warranty. All Rolex service and repairs are done on premises. Get the Best Price For Your Pre-Owned Rolex We are proud to deliver exceptional customer service and high value offers for your pre-owned Rolex. As your trusted and reputable local jeweler, we make selling your watch a smooth experience with our guaranteed offers. Prices Upon Request 3001 Ocean Drive # 105, Vero Beach, FL 32963 772-231-2060 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 State of the City address CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 RSV vaccines More than 1,900 local residents responded – 68 percent from the mainland, 32 percent from the island, and 71 percent were city residents. A whopping 96 percent of respondents expressed a desire to have a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Vero Beach. As for types of retail that respondents wanted to see downtown: cafes, bistros and casual dining options (60 percent); a farmer’s market (48 percent); wine, cheese, specialty meats and gourmet shop (40 percent); bakery (39 percent); locally owned and operated businesses (33 percent); fine dining (32 percent); small bookstore, gift shop and stationery (25 percent); café with work space (22.5 percent); ice cream shop (20 percent); small grocery store (16.5 percent); florist/garden shop (15 percent); pet shop (6 percent) and hair salon/barber shop (4 percent). The survey revealed that only 43 percent of the respondents often shop downtown, while 52.5 percent rarely shop there and almost 5 percent never do. However, 91 percent of respondents indicated they would be more likely to go downtown if shopping, dining and strolling experiences were upgraded. Lastly, when asked for their shopping preferences downtown, along Ocean Drive and at the planned Three Corners site, 68 percent of respondents preferred smaller, mom-and-pop stores. Only 38.5 percent of respondents preferred large, big-box, department stores, while 45 percent don’t want them. Woelfle said she would send the survey’s results to Gibbs, whom she hopes will use them in his downtown retail study. for RSV is increasing in Indian River and St. Lucie counties. The likelihood that a safe and effective RSV vaccine will be available for the first time this fall is an exciting development, since there is no specific, widely recommended treatment for RSV once a patient is infected – only supportive care of the lungs with oxygen and bronchodilators. More than 14,000 Americans die from RSV each year. “I think that all individuals above age 60 should strongly consider getting this RSV vaccine. This is especially important for those with chronic health conditions,” said Vero Beach infectious disease expert Dr. Gerald Pierone of Whole Family Health. “I am looking forward to the roll out of these RSV vaccines because I think they will lessen the risk of hospitalization and death from this infection.” Dr. Kenneth Alexander, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida, sees RSV mostly from the pediatric medicine side, which has over the years developed some tools to prevent RSV while waiting for a vaccine. “Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has long been recognized as the leading cause of pneumonia affecting babies in the first year of life. RSV pneumonia can be especially severe in babies that were born prematurely, and in babies with congenital heart or lung disease,” Alexander said. “Unfortunately, we lack specific treatments for respiratory syncytial virus.” While doctors use expensive antibody drugs in at-risk pediatric patients in an effort to keep them out of the hospital, Alexander said that “right now, none of the active vaccines is approved for use in babies. Instead, they are approved for use in adults age 60 and over.” Over the past two months, the FDA vaccine panel has moved four different RSV vaccine formulas through the approval process – two for older adults, one for infants and one for pregnant women. Now the CDC will weigh the need for these vaccines and their efficacy in clinical trials. Local seniors with grandchildren, or friends and family who work in childcare or in the school system need to think about the risks of RSV. “We have learned in recent years that RSV is not just a disease of babies. It turns out that RSV is a particularly bad actor in the elderly and is a common cause of both hospitalization and mortality,” Alexander said. “Children get RSV and then share it with their grandparents. Hopefully, we will begin to see people over 60 get RSV vaccination to prevent pneumonia in adults.” Outbreaks of RSV must be reported to local health departments, but RSV can go undiagnosed because its initial symptoms – runny and/or stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, fever, chills headache and fatigue – resemble other common infections. Two out of three babies will contract RSV by the time they reach the one-year-old mark. When a patient shows up to an urgent care or doctor’s office in the post-pandemic new normal era, if a rapid COVID test is negative, an Influenza rapid test may be performed, and possibly a test for Strep, but the testing typically stops there unless the doctor suspects RSV. Most cases of RSV resolve in 10 to 12 days, but in a person at risk for complications, RSV can cause inflammation of the small airways of the lung (bronchiolitis) and pneumonia. Until the new single-shot vaccines – GlaxoSmithKline’s Arexvy and Pfizer’s Abrysvo – are available, Dr. Pierone reminds patients about the commonsense things they can do to avoid getting any type of viral infection this summer. “I think that because of COVID, there is much more attention being paid to avoiding contact with people who have an upper respiratory infection. In the past it was very common for people to go to work or school even though they were sick with a cold,” Pierone said. “So the right thing to do if someone is coming down with an infection is to avoid going to cocktail parties, dinner parties, and areas of common congregation to avoid transmitting different viral infections to others. There is also ample evidence that wearing a mask can lessen the risk of acquiring viral infections.” PHOTO PROVIDED

8 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Scarcity of golf memberships to,” Curley added. “When there is a shortage of club options, some people move on.” “The club waitlists have affected the real estate market a little bit,” agreed Marsha Sherry, longtime broker at The Moorings Realty Sales Co. “We try to find alternatives for clients – some clubs are offering different packages or limited membership – but I won’t say we haven’t seen some potential buyers move on, not just from The Moorings but from Vero because of waitlists.” “I dealt with a lot of disappointment this past season from buyers who wanted to jump right into the club lifestyle,” said Premier Estate Properties agent Lange Sykes. “There have been buyers for whom membership was such an important element of their decision that they decided to look elsewhere, where they could immediately plug into the lifestyle they desire.” True, some of the island’s prestigious private communities – such as John’s Island and the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club – do not have waiting lists, where purchasing property comes with membership opportunities. But even there, scarcity of real estate inventory poses a problem. As of Monday, John’s Island Real Estate had 18 homes listed and not under contract and broker Bob Gibb said there is no waitlist for new homeowners to join the club. “They have to be vetted, of course, as with any private club, but basically anyone who buys a property has access to membership.” The same is true at Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club, but as of Monday there was only one active real estate listing in the community, which doesn’t create much space for wouldbe golfers. Club general manager Rob Tench says there were 15 non-resident memberships available at one time but “they are all gone.” It is a measure of how desirable membership in a full-featured golf, tennis and beach club is that non-residents cheerfully paid $200,000 each to be part of the Orchid Island club’s elegant seaside lifestyle. The lure of membership actually helps explain the lack of real estate inventory. Anne Torline, broker at Orchid Island Realty said the availability of a golf membership for homebuyers is “a major incentive” and part of her sales pitch. “It makes us very attractive to buyers.” “A condo came on the market in Orchid recently, got multiple offers and went under contract in half a day,” recalled Curley. A shortage of country club golf slots may seem like a caviar problem to many people compared to other difficulties life serves up. But for buyers who have been club members in Connecticut or Chicago much of their adult lives, it matters a lot. “They don’t want to wait years to play golf and tennis and socialize at their club,” said Curley. “They want to start meeting people and having fun. Golf is a big part of social interaction in Vero and the waitlists is a major issue in dealing with high-end clients who want that lifestyle. For the clubs themselves, the backlog calls on membership directors’ diplomatic skills and creates some frustration but basically is a pretty good problem to have – people waiting in long lines to pay up to $100,000 or more to join and start spending money on greens fees, lessons, meals, drinks, spa appointments and other club services. The problem stems from several COVID-related factors, including the rebound in golf’s popularity since 2020 and the pandemic migration of remote workers and others seeking a less restrictive environment with more outdoor recreation opportunities that has flooded the Florida real estate market with more than 1 million new residents – and sparked intense competition for both houses and club memberships. Compounding the influx – 1,000 people are still arriving in Florida each day – are two types of stasis. Housing inventory on the island is low because many homeowners won’t list their homes for sale because, with the low inventory, they don’t see a place to go that appeals to them. In addition, many golfers – in a time of club scarcity – want to hang on to their club memberships. “Since COVID, people are not resigning,” said Michael Gibson, general manager at Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club just across the Barber Bridge on the mainland. “They are not leaving. They’ve found a refuge where everybody knows their name and everybody knows their drink. Some of the older members paid $20,000 or $30,000 to join and the cost is two or three times that now so they don’t want to make a move. Clubs typically want turnover but right now we don’t have much. Our attrition rates are about half of normal.” The good news is Vero’s mainland golf clubs are ready to welcome new residents with open arms, providing a temporary or permanent solution to the shortage of island memberships. At least four private mainland clubs have golf memberships available for approved members, including Grand Harbor, which has every country club amenity imaginable, including a recently remodeled beach club on the island. Gibson said the club has spent $11 million upgrading its two golf courses and other facilities in the past several years since members took over ownership. “We have sold almost 300 memberships in the past three years – about 60 percent to island residents – but we still have plenty of opportunities. “We can handle another 100 golf members,” Gibson added. “I would love to have them. Anyone who is interested should contact the membership office.” “Grand Harbor is a great option,” agreed Sykes. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bridge Club controversy was given a reprimand and put on probation for three months for allegedly questioning the integrity and impartiality of a game director who happened to be one of the club’s new co-managers, George Weber. The probation had little practical effect since it was handed down at the beginning of the summer season. Frobouck had been scheduled to spend the summer up north anyway at her home in Pennsylvania and playing in major tournaments, where she regularly competes with teams of bridge professionals that she hires. But Frobouck didn’t meekly fold her cards. To the contrary, she upped the ante and used her considerable means to pay her Pittsburgh attorney to fire off a “demand letter” to the Vero bridge club, demanding that the reprimand be rescinded, that the letter accusing her of misconduct be removed from the club’s bulletin board, and that she be given an apology for the alleged mistreatment. If no such apology was forthcoming, the letter said, the club should get ready to defend itself in a libel suit, since the wrongful accusations against her had caused Frobouck considerable “embarrassment and humiliation” in the community of bridge players. Bridge club president Denis Conlon, in a second stint as head of the local nonprofit’s board, said the club simply acknowledged receipt of the letter. “We did not think it was appropriate to respond to it,” Conlon said. Conlon’s letter of reprimand to Frobouck, displayed on the club’s bulletin board, accuses her of an “ad

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 9 NEWS hominem attack on the character” of director and club manager George Weber and expressed “absolute confidence in George’s professional competence and personal integrity.” Since neither side has shown any signs of backing down, a lawsuit appears likely. The altercation started at a normal weekly club duplicate game last month when during one hand, Frobouck put her cards down on the table and “claimed” the rest of the tricks. Such claims are encouraged in duplicate bridge matches to save time. In this case, the claim was “defective” because Frobouck did not precisely state how she would play the rest of the remaining tricks. One of her opponents, who happened to be Jan Weber, a co-manager of the club and director George Weber’s wife, disputed the “claim.” Weber still had a small trump left and might have taken one of the remaining tricks depending on how and in what order Frobouck played her cards. Director George Weber sided with the protesting player – his wife – disallowing Frobouck’s “claim,” and awarding her opponents an additional trick. The rules of duplicate bridge formulated by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) state that claims, even defective ones, should be upheld if the only way the opposition could take another trick would be by a “totally irrational or illogical” play. But what is totally irrational or illogical can sometimes be subjective. What happened next is the subject of considerable he-said, she-said. Director Weber says Frobouck loudly argued against his ruling (a definite nono) and tried to intimidate him, saying her type of “claim” was normal at the higher levels of the game where she plays. He also said Frobouck made mention of the fact that George Weber’s ruling benefited his own wife, insinuating a lack of impartiality on the part of a game director (an even bigger nono). Frobouck, on the other hand, merely alleges that she sought a private meeting with George Weber after the game in his office at the club to discuss the matter, but that Weber refused to see her. Although she has been known to be brash at times, Frobouck can also be very sociable, has many friends at the Vero bridge club, and has no trouble finding partners to play with her among the best players. But it’s not the first time that Frobouck has been involved in a dispute here. Just before the COVID pandemic shut down all face-to-face bridge for a couple of years, Frobouck launched a major letter-writing campaign trying to get the club to discipline a fellow member and former friend who had allegedly disparaged her bridge-playing ability, saying she had “bought” her MasterPoints by paying professionals to play with her. The club refused to intervene, saying it was a personal matter, but for months afterwards, Frobouck hounded the then chairperson of the club’s Conduct and Ethics committee who had refused to act. Disciplinary measures against members are fairly rare in the bridge world. The last suspensions handed out over the past five years by the local club were for defying the vaccinations-only policy and recklessly exposing fellow-members to COVID, for loudly berating a partner for making the wrong lead, and for telling an offcolor joke in mixed company. Lawsuits against clubs by disgruntled members are even rarer, but not unheard of. In a celebrated 2010 case, the Fort Lauderdale Bridge Club, then one of the largest in the country, expelled Samuel “Sandy” Rosen for “behavioral issues.” He was a feisty retired litigation lawyer who had become famous for aggressive courtroom tactics defending the Church of Scientology, and he sued the bridge club over his expulsion, winning the case when he was able to prove that the club’s board did not have the quorum required under its own bylaws at the time it voted to expel him. The case ran for four years with hundreds of motions and filings until 2014, when the club was forced to reinstate him and pay him $75,000, which was raised from member donations. The club eventually underwent a Chapter 11 bankruptcy court reorganization. The local Vero Beach Bridge Club is a member-owned registered nonprofit organization. Declining membership and attendance in the wake of COVID have caused the club to put half of its building up for sale. The club is trying to save money wherever it can and under the leadership of its new co-managers, the Webers, it is also trying to attract new players and members. A successful fundraising campaign this month netted $20,000 to re-upholster 200 chairs. The club has not yet hired outside counsel to defend itself against the lawsuit threat. Several of its members – even some of its board members – are retired attorneys, but none is believed to have substantive experience in the field of libel.

10 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ NEWS New Riverside Park tennis director ‘eager to get started’ BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer The new tennis director at Vero Beach’s Riverside Park Racquet Complex, hired by the United States Tennis Association’s Florida Section last week, arrived at work Monday with an open mind and committed to a waitand-see approach. “There will be no immediate changes,” Margot Carter said as she prepared to take over the operations and management of the 10-court facility. “After a period of time observing the current state of activities, some additions surely will be made, but that will be dependent on the needs and requests of the community.” Her ultimate goal, though, is to increase court usage – especially in the afternoons and evenings – and implement programs to entice more people in the Vero Beach area to play tennis. And while she brings to the job an impressive tennis background, Carter said she’ll welcome suggestions. “I am very excited to apply my knowledge and experience to building programs on the courts at Riverside,” said Carter, 38, who spent the past six months as a teaching pro at The Boulevard Tennis Club, where she ran clinics, taught private and group lessons, and worked with junior players. “I am eager to get started,” she added, “and I encourage the community to come out and share your input with us.” Having been ranked as high as No. 451 in doubles on the WTA Tour, Carter is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry as a “professional coach” and “coach developer.” She also is a United States Professional Tennis Association “elite professional.” In fact, Carter has made presentations at multiple tennis workshops, including those sponsored by the USPTA, International Tennis Association and Women Tennis Coaches Association. Nine years ago, she started her own company, Spherical Yellow, which is dedicated to teaching, coaching and growing tennis. “We conducted an extensive search for a tennis director who understands what it takes to serve this community and grow tennis at Riverside,” USTA Florida Executive Director Laura Bowen said. “Margot’s exceptional tennis background, service mentality and business acumen made her the clear choice to grow programs and play in this community.” Carter began playing tennis at age 5 in Winchester, England. At age 18, she came to the U.S. to attend Tennessee Tech University on a full scholarship. She competed in the top three spots in the lineup and set a school record for victories in a season playing at No. 5. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology, Carter PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS Margot Carter, the new tennis director at Riverside Park Racquet Complex. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

12 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ turned pro and competed internationally in doubles before returning to Tennessee Tech as an assistant coach. She used the opportunity to get a master’s degree. Carter continued to pursue a coaching career at the professional level, and again she traveled the world. During one stint in the Caribbean, she coached two girls who were awarded college scholarships to play tennis in the U.S. She would try playing professionally one last time in 2014, when she climbed to No. 850 in the world doubles rankings before her comeback was derailed by a ruptured Achilles tendon. One month into its takeover of the Riverside Park complex, USTA Florida has, as promised, resurfaced the four courts that weren’t refurbished by the city. The Orlando-based state chapter of the governing body for tennis in American also has installed a new digital court-reservation system. The complex currently has about 70 dues-paying members, and about half are city residents. Annual single-person memberships cost $250 for city residents and $300 for non-residents. The Town of Indian River Shores seems to be laying the groundwork to take its breach of contract dispute against the City of Vero Beach to the Florida Supreme Court. After Circuit Court Judge Janet Croom ruled in favor of Vero Beach saying there was no breach of contract, and Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals affirmed Croom’s ruling – a precedent which could be wielded to gut the authority of utility franchise agreements across the state – the Shores’ attorneys have petitioned for a rehearing on the matter to clarify “a matter of great public importance.” At the crux of the dispute is a promise made in writing in October 2012 by Vero Beach to match Indian River County Utilities’ rates. The promise was made to gain competitive advantage over the county, which was also vying for the town’s utility business. At the time, county rates were significantly lower than Vero rates for several commodities that were very important to Indian River Shores, including reuse irrigation water. All of the parties were aware that Vero had no say in how or when the county increased or reduced its rates. But Indian River Shores was an important customer to keep, so thencity manager Jim O’Connor made the deal anyway. In 2019 when the county reduced its reuse irrigation water rates from 67 cents per 1,000 gallons to 21 cents per 1,000 gallons, Vero said it could not afford to match that rate, so the city kept the reuse rate at 67 cents per 1,000 gallons for the Shores. Croom granted Vero its request for summary judgment, ruling in favor of the city and the town appealed. The appeals court affirmed Croom’s judgment, leaving Indian River Shores with a franchise agreement of dubious worth, to say the least, which is in effect through October 2027. Simultaneous to the court process, the Vero Beach City Council approved a set of sweeping water and sewer rate increases which went into effect in January to fund the city’s planned wastewater treatment plant at the airport. Vero front-loaded the biggest rate increases into the first three years of the 10-year plan so Shores customers would pay a substantial share of the plant costs prior to the expiration of the town’s franchise agreement in 2027. The Shores’ June 9 court filing cites what the town sees as inconsistencies between the 4th DCA’s ruling and previous rulings on similar matters, so the town is asking for clarification on all the disputed issues, or a re-hearing before the three-judge panel. “Indeed, the Florida Supreme Court has recognized that a municipality’s franchise agreement with an outside utility is a ‘permissible bargainedfor-exchange’ under which the utility cedes financial consideration to the municipality in return for the utility having access to the municipality’s rights-of-way, a monopoly utility franchise, and the municipality’s corresponding relinquishment of its power to provide such utility service to its citizens,” argued the Shores lawyers from Holland and Knight’s utilities division. The City of Vero Beach is ready to accept its wins at the circuit and appeals court and move on. City Manager Monte Falls said on Monday, “The City of Vero Beach does not believe that any clarification is needed for either of the rulings. They were clear, concise, and correct on the facts and the law. We will be filing a response to the town’s request for a rehearing. It is time to end this dispute and the needless waste of taxpayer resources.” The Shores has until April 1, 2024, to give Vero formal notice that the town will be leaving Vero’s utility system in October 2027. That deadline was this coming Oct. 1, but due to the pending litigation last year, Vero granted the town a six-month extension to give notice. Town officials are trying to convince Indian River County to expand its utility infrastructure to serve Indian River Shores from October 2027 going forward. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 New tennis director BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer Is Shores taking breach of contract dispute to Florida Supreme Court?

SPEAKEASY DOES IT WILKEY GIN & JAZZ BENEFIT NETS BIG HAUL MAX WILKEY, JANE WILKEY AND OLIVER WILKEY WITH BOOTS AND KING VAN NOSTRAND.

14 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The Grand Harbor Clubhouse looked a lot like a speakeasy during Gin & Jazz, a 1920s-inspired evening event to benefit the Sally Wilkey Foundation, but despite the décor, no G-Men burst in to raid the place. Proceeds from the evening will help fund the free, eight-week summer tennis program at the Vero Beach Tennis and Fitness Club, which the nonprofit offers to underserved youth. Their goal is to enrich their lives through tennis instruction, academic support and life skills development. Women in flapper dresses and men in pinstripes and fedoras worked up an appetite in the betting parlor, hoping that Lady Luck would be on their side as only one high roller would take home all the loot that night. And there was no graft during the live auction, which included a tempting dining experience, art, travel and even a Wimbledon championship experience package. The foundation was created after BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Staff Writer SPEAKEASY DOES IT WILKEY GIN & JAZZ BENEFIT NETS BIG HAUL Joe and Annie Marcelle. PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KODIS

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 15 the overwhelming outpouring of love for Sally Wilkey, who lost her battle with brain cancer at the tender age of 29. Sally had been a USTA junior and collegiate tennis player, so the tennis program developed organically. “People wanted to do something to honor Sally, so I started the foundation,” explained Jane Wilkey, SWF board president and Sally’s mother. “I kept thinking it was going to exhaust itself, but we’re going into our second year of summer camp, and Elizabeth Kennedy and Luis Van Cotthem. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 Jaymes Cole and Abbilyn Moyer.

16 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ this year, we’re doing eight weeks. We’ve even been able to employ some of our students and parents.” She said they have also taken the program one step further than tennis, by providing counseling and imparting employable skills. Gregory Simpson spoke on the impact programs like the SWF tennis camp can have on a child’s life. Having grown up in Fort Pierce with limited means, he benefited from community support and mentorships, and said the help he received was integral to his success. Today, Simpson is an accountant and a professor at Indian River State College, and his child attends the SWF tennis program. Conner and Christina Pickering. Dana and Jesse Larsen. Alycia Zalewski and Phil Barnes with Sabby Hightower and Gregory Simpson. Olga Kuraksa, Yuliya Jaffe, Mark and Tetiana Pieloch with and Daria Kuraksa. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 Gillian Rice and Sam Alter. Patty Raby, Nancy Nitardy, Veronica Dowling, Kris Miller and Colleen Crafton.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 17 “Supporting programs like these gives kids a chance to achieve something better than the way that they’re growing up. And having the opportunity to play a sport like this opens up so many doors for them,” said Wilkey, stressing that the educational component of their program is crucial. The organization hosts a free Saturday Clinic throughout the school year for students from local advocacy organizations and homeless shelters, where the children receive tutoring and homework help, are given lunch and, most importantly, play tennis. For more information, visit sallywilkeyfoundation.org. Sandi Smith Ross, Meredith Kitchell, Dr. Christina Namvar and Dr. Lindsey Bruce. Dr. Collin Kitchell, Lulie Arnold, Mark Morein and Richard Bradley. Oliver Wilkey and Louise Kennedy. Claudia Owen and Trudie Rainone. Tahlia and J.D. Hutchins. Daniel Bottero and Daniel Garza. Debbie Lindsay and Jeanine Nestor. Laila Grigley and Chase Gabbitas. Elena Lucaci and Paula Lopez. Max Laverty and Marybeth Darcy.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Devotees of poetry and literature convened for the 12th annual Poetry and BBQ, ‘Tying the Knot, When Poets Marry,’ featuring married couples James Davis May and Chelsea Rathburn, and David Kirby and Barbara Hamby. The fundraiser, to benefit the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation, was held at the at the Richardson Center on the Indian River State College Mueller campus, within site of the historic Florida “cracker” style house where the 20th century poet resided with husband Schuyler B. Jackson. Susan Lovelace, vice president of programming, noted that the foundation now has nearly 90 participants in seven adult writing groups, inviting anyone interested to join them. Current groups, which meet at various times, days and locations, include the Night Writers, Pole Barn Poets, Pen Points, Porch Poets, Poets Corner, Tuesday Writers and Write Life. This year’s local poets, who bravely read their poems to the appreciative audience, were Jacque Jacobs, ‘Inhale Exhale’; Ann Kenna, ‘Seeing Red’; Craig Pahl, ‘Meet Me at the Garden’; Susan Denison, ‘Chrome’; Kyle Potvin, ‘This is How She Weeps’; Fay Picardi, ‘The Scrub Jay Sits her Nest’; Christine Light, ‘Don’t Want to Know’; Mark Hinkley, ‘Shattered’; Jean Selander Miller, ‘My Heart is a Fancy Place’; Jackie Grady, ‘Aunt’; and Crystal Bujol, ‘205 Over 83.’ Acknowledging that the event was taking place on Earth Day, Sean Sexton, Indian River County Poet Laureate, read a poem by Laura Riding Jackson, titled “Earth.” And, in accordance with the theme, read a poem of his own about his 44-year marriage to Sharon Sexton, “And Now Our Aged House.” “We’re in our 30th anniversary of this organization, which is an amazing thing,” said Sexton. To celebrate, Billy Collins, who served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003, will speak at a fundraiser on Nov. 2 at the Community ‘Poetry and BBQ’ benefit: A very ‘Marry’ and moving occasion BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Robin Blanton and Sean Sexton. PHOTOS BY MARY SCHENKEL Chelsea Rathburn and James May. Pat Draper and Skipwith Coale. Marshall and Carrie Adams.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 19 Church of Vero Beach. Plans are also in the works for a luncheon with the poet. After a brief intermission, where folks stretched their legs, perused silent-auction items, and purchased books by the poets, raffle tickets, and hand-crafted ceramics, folks made their way back David Kirby and Barbara Hamby. Susan Denison, Craig Pahl and Ann Kenna. Mark Hinkley, Christine Light, Fay Picardi and Kyle Potvin. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

20 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ inside to hear from the featured poets. Later, guests enjoyed music and BBQ lunch on the outdoor patio. Introducing the featured poets, Sexton said that Chelsea Rathburn, appointed Poet Laureate of Georgia in 2019, has authored three full-length poetry collections. Her husband James Davis May, assistant professor of English at Mercer University, is the author of two poetry collections. Barbara Hanby, who teaches at Florida State University and is a Distinguished University Scholar there, is the author of seven books of poems. Her husband, David Kirby, has authored numerous books, is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University, and is the recipient of the Florida Humanities Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing. “Chelsea and Jim and Barbara and I have known each other for a long time. “We’re kind of like a bad band with four lead singers. And you know that any self-respecting band would get together at least two weeks early and rehearse. So, we’re not that kind of band,” quipped Kirby, before the two couples proceeded to enthrall the audience with their moving poetry, interspersed with humorous stories of their lives together. The nonprofit Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation focuses on the proliferation of poetry and the written word through teen and adult writing groups and workshops. For more information, visit lauraridingjackson.org. Carol Horn, Pam Elliott and Jean Gaul. Sara Wilson and Jacque Jacobs. Elena Lucaci and Paula Lopez. Crystal Bujol, Jackie Grady and Jeanne Selander Miller. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 James Dumais and Chad Leonard.

22 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ When members of the Vero Beach Museum of Art Athena Society met for their annual dinner, they took a leap into the future with the vote to purchase “Pacific Ocean A, B, C 2022 (triptych)” an absorbing artificial intelligence data painting by the trailblazing artist, Turkish American Refik Anadol (1985). Athena Society households, which now number a record 124, contribute an additional dues of $5,000 on top of their membership in the Chairman’s Club level or above. Each household is entitled to two votes to cast at the dinner to select significant art acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection. “It’s really very different,” says Anke Van Wagenberg, VBMA senior curator of the selected piece. Regarded as a visionary AI artist, Anadol combines art and technology to transform publicly available datasets into fluid digital artworks that are Book Today And SAVE $55 772-766-0079 SHACKSHINE.COM We’ll give you the shiniest house on the block Book your appointment today! BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY! We’ll give you the shinest house on the block. Book your appointment today! Future is now: Athena Society fetes acquisition of AI work BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Emily and Ned Sherwood. PHOTOS BY MARY SCHENKEL Peter and Pat Thompson.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 23 shown on high-quality monitors, similar to plasma TVs. The result is a mesmerizing artistic experience. For this work, Anadol utilized Pacific Ocean weather prediction datasets to produce three screens that continuously play individual 16-minute video loops, each one flowing with movement in soothing hues of blue and aqua. Van Wagenberg had searched art Carol and Peter Coxhead with Karen and Bob Drury. Caroline and Thomas Vandeventer. Jessica Jackson and Carla Friedman. Willie and Lisa Bullock. Lucinda Gedeon and Linda Kastory. Virginia and Warren Schwerin with Carol Henderson. Mary Ellen Brophy and Gordon Brunner. Susan and Jon Rich. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

24 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ fairs and galleries to select four impressive and completely dissimilar works for the Athena Society to choose from. The other offerings were: “Three Hearts from the Beginning of the Work 1986,” a colorful oil-on-canvas triptych by American artist Jim Dine (1935); “Portrait of Elizabeth Alexander 1924,” an exquisite oil on canvas by American artist George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925); and “Classical Head – Serenity c. 1917,” a stunning, Romanesque style, white marble bust on a square pink marble base by Polish American artist Elie Nadelman (1882-1946). For more information, visit vbmuseum.org. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 Barbara Ruddy, Dawn Michaels and Marilyn McConnell. Lois Appleby with Randy and Sandy Rolf. Rosie DeFrancisci, Brady Roberts and Marilyn Mustapick. Connie and Ron McGlynn. Priscilla and Jim Morphy. Anke Van Wagenberg and Sherry Ann Dayton. Debbie Weise, Pete Justi and Lori Maddox. Leslie Bergstrom and Jackson Stewart. George Cook and Maryann Kann. Camille Broadbent with Bruce and Gale Gillespie. Brooke Megrue and Anne Jamieson. Kate Graham and Buff Penrose. Dorann and Dennis Sheehan. Joan and Mike Hoben. Don Blair, Kathy Balderston and Mary Blair. John and Polly LaDuc with Roberta Titleman and Bob Logan. Linda Johnson, Mary Caberly and Pam Sandzen. Anna Roberts with Madeline and George Long.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT COVER STORY A new home for the New York Philharmonic opened in 1962, an optimistic, modern design intended to invite a music-hungry middle class (enamored with its charismatic and TV-friendly music director, Leonard Bernstein) and reinforce the city as a capital of culture. Designed by Max Abramovitz as a cage of glass wrapped in tapering white travertine columns, it was the vanguard venue of the massive new Lincoln Center arts complex. But the space immediately struggled with architectural and acoustic shortcomings. Just months after its inauguration, the tinkering began – and continued over decades. The latest iteration, a gut renovation costing an eye-popping $550 million, reopened last October, its auditorium reskinned in rippling wood panels by the Toronto architect Diamond Schmitt. Audiences have snapped up tickets and critics have been warm – if wary, since past fixes were initially greeted with critical hosannahs, until buyers’ remorse settled in over time. In past centuries, civic buildings for hosting concerts, operas, and dance performances were central to urban culture. Paris built its 1875 Palais Garnier with as much pageantry in the choreography of moving patrons to their seats as was seen on stage. Early 20th-century U.S. venues like Boston Symphony Hall and Severance Hall in Cleveland stood as defining musical and architectural institutions in their cities. In the Baby Boom era, lavish postwar cultureplexes like Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center became stages for what was thought of as an important middle-class pursuit. These days, this cultural infrastructure enjoys a less exalted role, and live classical music in specialized settings operates in a shrunken ecosystem. Symphony orchestras in many cities struggle to fill seats. Still, the allure of a showstopper concert hall is undiminished: In recent decades, superstar architects like Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, and Santiago Calatrava have designed ambitious performance spaces for orchestras, blowing past budgets and construction timelines in pursuit of norm-breaking signature structures. At its best, the acoustic elements of the architecture allow music to bloom and envelop the listener in ways still inaccessible electronically. And sheer The New York Philharmonic orchestra rehearses in the refurbished David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 27 INSIGHT COVER STORY New South Wales Premier John Joseph Cahill was more familiar with racetracks than opera when he embraced a 1955 plan by Eugene Goossens, a British composer and conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to build a concert hall, opera house and chamber music hall. Cahill saw it as the crowning achievement of his government, a substantial public work that would symbolize Sydney’s confidence. Jørn Utzon, a 38-year-old Danish architect who had never designed a performance hall and had never set foot in Australia, won an international competition for the project in 1957. He delivered a plan for two side-by-side rows of billowing nested shells that seemed to levitate above a mighty stepped platform on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbor, where it could be seen from much of the city. But difficulties arose at every stage of construction, attributable to Utzon’s daring design and the architect’s obsession with achieving a poetic unity of architecture, engineering and audience experience. Nine years into the project, with no end in sight, a new government stepped in, determined to move the project to completion and control its burgeoning costs. Utzon either walked away or was fired, depending on whom you believe. He was forced to turn over the as-yet unresolved plans to a new team headed by a government architect, Peter Hall. Utzon flew back to Denmark in April of 1966, thinking that they would have to ask him back. No offer would ever be forthcoming. The Hall team foundered repeatedly, but when the opera house finally opened in 1973, it was an spectacle can help rescue subpar sound. I call this the Sydney Opera House Effect. That famous composition of overlapping, sail-like shells was the product of a protracted, controversial and punishingly expensive 16- year design and construction process; when it was finally opened in 1973, musicians and audiences agreed that the concert hall itself sounded, at best, underwhelming. But the building looked so astonishing that it thrived, becoming a symbol of a nation and one of the most visited places in the world. It marks its 50th anniversary this year, fresh off a 10-year renovation that cost about U.S. $200 million. Sydney cemented the idea that grandiose political and architectural ambitions – some would say hubris – can merit the expenditure of much larger sums than bean counters would countenance. Some of these facilities ultimately proved transformative for their cities and nations. instant global sensation, drawing millions of visitors. (Utzon, who died in 2008, never returned to see his finished masterpiece.) On the inside, however, all was not well: Performers excoriated the venue’s acoustics. Conductor Edo de Waart compared the sound to a “car park.” By 1999 members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra threatened a boycott if something was not done. It took years longer for the Sydney Opera House leadership to find a way to improve the halls that did not entail expensive invasive surgery. Sound consultants from the Munich-based firm Müller-BBM were hired to install electronic enhancements in the 1,500-seat opera venue and alter its dank orchestra pit, so that musicians would not deafen each other. “We could not fix the hall by natural acoustic means,” said Müller-BBM’s Juergen Reinhold. Renamed the Joan Sutherland Theatre in honor of Australia’s superstar soprano, the opera stage reopened in 2017. The concert hall was less problematic, but few visible alterations to the architecture of the auditorium were permitted, according to architect Andrew Hayne, a principal at the Melbourne firm ARM: The Peter Hall design – though long reviled – had been deemed worthy of heritage protection. It reopened in 2022 after $150 million in discreet alterations. Neither space may ever be deemed world class, acoustically, yet the building is so legendary that artists of all kinds clamor to play there. Danish architect Jørn Utzon. The refurbished concert hall stage at the Sydney Opera House.

28 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT COVER STORY sic shoebox shape of historic halls, placing the stage near the middle of the room, with angular tiers of seats ranged steeply around it; he described the configuration “as a valley at the base of which can be found the orchestra surrounded by ascending vineyards.” To tune the space’s sound, the architect collaborated with acoustical consultant Lothar Cremer (who initially thought Scharoun was nuts). Cremer worked out how to configure the ceiling shape and the fronts of the seating tiers, which were the principal elements that selectively absorbed, reflected and diffused the sound across the hall. (Sound moving in a straight line from instrument to listener is only a small part of what most people hear.) The results proved very successful: Concertgoers embraced the high quality of the sound and the immersive nature of the experience that placed all of its 2,200 patrons in a close and remarkably exciting proximity to musicians and each other. The “vineyard” layout that Scharoun pioneered went on to become the most influential concert hall design of the 20th century. Visiting Berlin in the mid-1990s, I was surprised to find a crowd of people walking east across the desolate no man’s land that at that time still separated what had been East and West Berlin. They had made the trek on foot from their homes in the East to hear an orchestra concert at the Berlin Philharmonie, completed in 1963 to display the superiority of democratic culture to the Communist rulers of East Berlin. The design of the building was awarded to local architect Hans Scharoun in a design competition the same year Utzon won Sydney, 1957. The exterior, a little-loved gold-tinted metal mashup that rises to a scalloped tent-like roof, reflects the spectacular idiosyncrasy of the auditorium within, where the roof scallops become sound-diffusing convex surfaces. Scharoun abandoned the proscenium and the clasSome incredulity greeted the selection of Frank O. Gehry in 1988 as the architect of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. At that time, Gehry was known for his use of raw industrial materials like corrugated metal, plywood and chain-link fencing (though none of these would appear at Disney). Gehry and the Philharmonic had become enamored with Scharoun’s Berlin hall, and they brought on Nagata Acoustics, experienced in vineyard-style layouts. As Los Angeles County decided to add, then drop, a hotel and recital hall, Gehry tenaciously soldiered through redesigns. The city was convulsed by nationInside of the Berlin Philharmonic. Berlin Philharmonic. The concert hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, designed by architect Han Scharoun, proved to be highly influential. Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles in 2022. The building helped spur a surge of development nearby since its opening in 1992. Yasuhisa Toyota, an acoustician from Nagata Acoustics, poses for photographers during a media tour and press conference at Disney Concert Hall in 2003.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 29 INSIGHT COVER STORY Among the most spectacular of newest wave of vineyard-style concert halls is Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, by the Basel-based architect Herzog and de Meuron. It officially opened in January 2017 as the crowning glory of HafenCity, the new extension of downtown. The litany of overruns and delays that accompanied its development should have come as little surprise: The architecturally intricate 2,100-seat concert hall was erected atop an existing brick warehouse and nested between two towers, one containing a hotel and the other apartments. It appears as an iridescent fortress of bubble windows ready to set sail, its “prow” aimed down the Elbe River toward the Baltic. A scalloped roof evokes the waves of the sea (and occasionally hosts performances). In Paris, pundits predicted that audiences would Since the early 2000s, China has built about 70 “grand theaters” – multi-venue complexes inspired by Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center – in cities across the country. ally televised racial unrest in 1991, and philanthropic gifts slowed as a glamorous concert hall downtown seemed wrong for a wounded metropolis. Later, the Northridge earthquake wrought billions in damage. Fundraising flagged and the project ground to a halt. Though Gehry had received a Pritzker Prize in 1989, he found himself a pariah in his hometown, and he was asked to step aside, just as Utzon had been sidelined in Sydney. But Gehry would not accept that fate, and his global triumph with the titanium curves of the Guggenheim Bilbao in 1998 renewed faith in the project, which staggered back to life. Walt Disney Concert Hall finally opened October 4, 2003, with four soaring wedge-shaped lobby volumes that unfurled upward in glinting stainless steel outside the rectangular box containing the auditorium. Ribbonlike metal fronds wrapped it all, leaving gaps for glass walls that would bathe the gathering spaces inside with refracted daylight. The project had missed its initial opening deadline of May 1992 – by 11 years. But Disney Hall ended up exceeding every expectation. The public loved the building, and the intimacy and sound of the Douglas fir-lined vineyard hall won over music critics. Under the leadership of Esa Pekka Salonen and subsequently Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Philharmonic also enjoyed a renaissance, entering the top tier of American orchestras. never forsake the Salle Pleyel, the 1920s concert hall conveniently located in the heart of the city’s 8th arrondissement, for a new Paris Phiharmonie when the project was announced in 2006. France’s most prominent architect, Jean Nouvel, won the competition to design the new hall; covered in shiny mottled metal, it resembled a squashed flying saucer that crash-landed in the Parc de la Villette, far to the northeast. As its construction neared the finish line, several years late and with some elements cut to slim the bloated cost, Nouvel demanded – unsuccessfully – that the opening be delayed so that the hall could be completed properly. But musicians and audiences alike were delighted by how the vineyard-style seating tiers swirled together into a dazzling architectural effervescence. Some of the balconies float nearly free of the back walls – part of an innovative plan by the New Zealand sound consultant Marshall Day that enhances the envelopment of the sound. Despite their troubled developments, both the Paris and Hamburg halls have since been widely lauded, demonstrating that design spectacle and sound quality can go together: Orchestras vie to play in both, concerts sell out (vanquishing the Parisian skeptics), and tourists swarm the public spaces. Among the most remarkable of these new cultural showcases is the Changsha Meixihu Culture & Arts Centre in Hunan Province, which brings together a contemporary art museum, multipurpose hall, and 1,800-seat theater set between a lake and river. Designed by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects, the complex opened in 2019. Its sinuous plazas and pathways wander amid sleekly rounded structures that look like monumental scallop shells nested together. Designers of recent venues worldwide must consider not just the performance experience, but how these structures can make themselves essential to the communities that host them. There will always be a tension when the resources needed to bring such crown jewels to fruition come at the expense of more urgent needs. Resolving it isn’t easy, but city after city seems to have decided that the benefits of these buildings reach beyond the balcony seats. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, which opened in 2017, has been acclaimed both for its design and its acoustics. Like many modern concert halls, Jean Nouvel’s metal-skinned Philharmonie de Paris overcame a troubled construction process. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Philharmonie de Paris. Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre in China.

30 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT EDITORIAL Since the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza office has been closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding. No country except China has propped up Russia’s war economy as much as oil-thirsty India. And few big democracies have slid further in the rankings of democratic freedom. But you would not guess it from the rapturous welcome planned for Narendra Modi in Washington this week. India’s prime minister has been afforded the honor of a state visit by President Joe Biden. The Americans hope to strike defense deals. And Modi will be one of the few foreign leaders, along with Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelensky, to address a joint session of Congress more than once. The global clout of the South Asian giant is rising fast. Its economy is the world’s fifth biggest. Its 18 millionstrong diaspora is thriving, from America to the Gulf. And India has become indispensable to America’s effort to assert itself in Asia and deter Chinese aggression. Yet though huge, capitalist, democratic and wary of China, India is also poor, populist and dismissive of the vestiges of the post-1945 Western order. The relationship is therefore a test case for the messy alliance of democracies emerging in a multipolar world. Can both sides gain the business and security benefits of co-operation even as they share fewer principles than they may care to admit? India’s ascent is an uplifting story. One of the fastestgrowing economies, its GDP is expected to overtake Japan’s and Germany’s by 2028, even as it treads a novel path towards getting rich. In contrast to East Asia’s Tigers, India’s exports are powered by services, of which it is the world’s seventh-largest vendor. Think not just of call centers but data scientists for Goldman Sachs. Infrastructure has also improved under Modi and his immediate predecessors, and manufacturing may pick up as supply chains diversify from China: Apple assembles 7% of its new iPhones in India. India’s chief failing is its vast numbers of unskilled, jobless young people. It is trying to help them by pioneering a digital welfare state. Thanks in part to its diaspora, India’s soft power is world-beating. The bosses of Alphabet, IBM and Microsoft are of Indian descent, as are the heads of three of America’s five top business schools. Reflecting the accomplishment of Indian-Americans, 70% of the wider American public views India favorably, compared with 15% for China. You might think all this makes America and India natural partners. Certainly, a 25-year effort to develop ties has been unaffected by political changes in either country. India is part of the Quad, a security grouping that includes America, Australia and Japan. In order to augment India’s hard power, America is promoting a series of defence deals to enhance military-technology co-operation. Many reckon this would be the biggest milestone in the bilateral relationship since a civil-nuclear co-operation agreement in 2005. Yet the relationship faces two potential sources of friction. First, India’s pro-Western tilt – which became more pronounced after border skirmishes with Chinese troops in 2020 – is essentially pragmatic. Ideologically, it is suspicious of Western countries and flatly rejects their claim to global leadership. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Modi, India considers the post-war order to have offered it little more than another bout of domination by other countries. The result of these contradictory impulses is disorientating. India is an American strategic partner that mistrusts the West, is unlikely ever to enter a formal alliance with America and is attached to Russia, which supplies it with arms. It is not clear how much support, if push came to shove, America could expect from India. It wants to bolster its land defenses against China, not fight over Taiwan. The second sticking-point is Modi’s attacks on liberal norms. Under his Hindu nationalist, Islamophobic party, India is increasingly hostile to over 200 million of its own people. Lynchings and the dispossession of Christians and Muslims are becoming more common. The press is cowed and the courts are largely pliant. Though India seems sure to remain a democracy – Modi is almost guaranteed re-election next year – it is an illiberal one. The fact that only 60 million of its 1.4 billion people have formal jobs is a potentially explosive situation in a country prone to rabble-rousing. Some suggest that America risks repeating its history with China, by showering economic advantages on a rival that ends up turning against it. That seems unlikely. Mutual suspicion of China alone should keep India close. Primly rejecting co-operation with India because its ideology and democracy do not conform to Western ideals would only empower China. It would also show that America has failed to adapt to the multipolar world that lies ahead. Instead, America and its allies should be realistic about where India’s sympathy lies – with its interests, not theirs – and creative in their efforts to find overlaps between the two. That means layering the relationship with common endeavors. U.S. efforts to accelerate technology transfer to India seem a promising example. By boosting India’s defense industry, America hopes to wean it off dud Russian weapons and provide an affordable new source of arms for other Asian democracies. Other areas of co-operation could include clean energy and tech, where both seek to avoid relying on China. America’s foreign policy has always combined realism with idealism. So America must speak out against attacks on democratic norms and human rights, even as it works more closely with India. For its part, India must get used to the idea that, as it grows more powerful, it will face more scrutiny. Discount the expressions of unconditional friendship and brotherhood in Washington. To work, the relationship will have to function like a long-term business partnership: India and America may not like everything about it, but think of the huge upside. It may be the most important transaction of the 21st century. A version of this column first appeared in The Economist. It does not necessarily reflect the views of Vero Beach 32963.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 31 INSIGHT OP-ED American Airlines moved Allison Bilski's departure time from 11:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., which was impossible for her to make. Shouldn’t she get a refund? QUESTION: We are taking a cruise next month from Miami. I booked an 11:30 a.m. return flight from Miami to Chicago on American Airlines. A few months before our cruise, American Airlines canceled our 11:30 a.m. flight and moved us to a 9 a.m. flight. We will still be on the ship at 9 a.m. I called the airline and asked for a flight later in the afternoon. An agent advised me that all flights were full and they could not move my party to any other flights, even out of Fort Lauderdale. I waited a few weeks and called again. An agent told me to cancel my tickets and that I would get a refund. So I did. I have had an email conversation spanning weeks with American Airlines. They keep denying my refund. So I asked for an extension on my ticket credit. American Airlines denied that, too. Can you help? ANSWER: American Airlines shouldn't have canceled your flight, but I understand why it did. The airline, like many others, had scheduled more flights than it could reasonably operate, so it was downsizing its flight plans. But what’s wrong was telling you to take it or leave it. After all, American Airlines created this problem by moving your flight. It should show some flexibility – something the agent who promised you a refund understood. Too bad you didn't get that promise in writing. If you had, then this case would be easy to resolve. But American Airlines has a four-hour rule when it comes to changes. Its policy says that if it cancels or changes your flight, but can reschedule you to arrive within four hours of your original arrival, it is not required to refund your ticket. You were well within that window. Your circumstances, however, were special because you were coming off a cruise. Someone at the airline should have seen that and either offered you a later flight or extended your ticket credit. If you ever get stuck in a situation like this again, try reaching out to one of the American Airlines executives whose names I publish on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. You ended up booking a flight home on a different airline. I contacted American Airlines on your behalf. It offered to convert the $1,462 you spent on your flight into credits you can use any time next year. You are happy with that resolution. Get help with any consumer problem by contacting Christopher Elliott at http://www.elliott.org/help BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT POOL DECKS • DRIVEWAYS • WALKWAYS FIREPLACES • RETAINING WALLS STAIRS • ASTROTURF & MORE! 634 Old Dixie Hwy. SW Vero Beach, FL 32962 O: (772) 999-5136 C: (772) 563-8377 Licensed & Insured LIC #16674 INSTALLATIONS • CLEANINGS REFINISHING • REPAIRS Committed To Exceeding Expectations

32 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Much of the book’s final two chap - ters is devoted to LIV Golf, the Saudifunded breakaway league that, last Tuesday, after much contention, an - nounced its merger with the PGA Tour. Feherty jumped ship early, moving from NBC’s PGA broadcast team in the summer of 2022 to do analysis for LIV. Golf fans have spent the past year watching one well-known golfer after another defect, lured by LIV Commis - sioner Greg Norman’s offer of guar - anteed money and a lighter playing schedule – never mind Saudi Arabia’s well-known human rights abuses. “Greg’s been able to recruit some very good players and there’s no doubt that the PGA Tour has noticed,” Fe - herty tells Feinstein. “I hope at some point something will be worked out so the best guys can play against the best guys.” His comment was pre - scient, and the merger gives this book new relevance as golf fans consider the moral compromises that have been made along the way to the deal. Feinstein – a columnist for the Washington Post whose many books include “Moment of Glory: The Year Underdogs Ruled Golf” (2010), “Tales From Q School: Inside Golf’s Fifth Ma - jor” (2007) and “A Good Walk Spoiled” (1995) – is open about his friendship with Feherty, and there are occasions when he lets his subject off easy, re - peats anecdotes or seems unsure of how to handle his more controversial public comments. “Sometimes in life, mea culpa is enough. Especially if you’re David Fe - herty,” he writes, marveling at how his subject emerged unscathed after jok - ing in an article in a Dallas magazine about Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Har - ry M. Reid being killed by American troops. To his credit, Feinstein places the LIV Golf imbroglio in context, holding the necessary parties’ feet – including Feherty’s – to the fire while remaining clear-eyed about the complexities of the situation. Feherty, perhaps under - standably, wants to have it both ways. He openly admits that money was a motivating factor in his decision and tells Feinstein that he went out of his way to talk with a group of protesters before a LIV tournament. “I think I came away understanding their point of view,” he tells the author. It’s a telling comment: After all, Feherty loves play - ing to the crowd. Golf has produced some colorful characters – Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gary McCord, John Daly – but David Fe - herty is on a whole other level. John Feinstein’s entertaining new book, “Feherty,” captures it all – and adds a few more over-the-top tales to the Fe - herty legend. Here we learn that the Northern Irish golfer and commenta - tor once had a plate of salad thrown at him by Scottish golfer Colin Mont - gomerie and that Jack Nicklaus once offered him a ride on his private jet so Feherty wouldn’t miss an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Feherty played his 21-year golf career “as a function - ing alcoholic who also had drug addic - tion issues,” Feinstein writes in a book that shows, again, the author’s ability to get his subjects to open up. Though he enjoyed moderate suc - cess as a player on the European and PGA tours, Feherty became a sensa - tion as a golf analyst, bringing energy and irreverence to an often staid view - ing experience just when Tiger Woods began emerging as a pop-culture hero. Feherty is one of those people who is so charismatic that people dream up zany ideas for him: He hosted a nongolf talk show for the Golf Channel, starred in a sitcom pilot (that never aired) and was briefly in the running to take over for Andy Rooney on “60 Minutes.” He also, perhaps not sur - prisingly, does stand-up comedy. There’s a deep sadness behind Fe - herty’s humor, however, and he’s bru - tally honest about his self-perceived shortcomings. “There’s a part of every day when I’m sad,” he tells Feinstein. “I know it isn’t something where I can just take a pill and start to feel better.” He talks about his abuse of alcohol, relapses and unsuccessful stints in re - hab; his conversations with his thera - pist and daily regimen of psychiatric medications; the grief he carries be - cause of the drug-related death of his son; his worries that he’s a failure as a father and a husband. He grew up in a relatively apolitical Protestant family during the Troubles and spent a time as an assistant pro at an all-Catholic country club, and it’s unsurprising that one of the book’s implicit themes is Fe - herty’s desire for everyone to get along. And everyone gets along with David Feherty, from current faces of the PGA Tour like Rory McIlroy, who grew up about five miles away from Feherty’s hometown, to former president Bill Clinton, who was a guest on Feherty’s Golf Channel show. The one person he doesn’t seem to get along with is his first wife, Caroline, with whom he had what we’d today call a toxic relation - ship. “Some of the things he says about Caroline are right on the line between funny and mean,” Feinstein delicately puts it when describing some of his subject’s stand-up material. INSIGHT BOOKS FEHERTY The Remarkably Funny and Tragic Journey of Golf’s David Feherty By John Feinstein Hachette. 279 pp. $30 Review by Drew Millard The Washington Post

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 33 Concentrate on the matter at hand By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist There are times when your bidding will come off the rails. True, it is usually your partner’s fault, but when the dummy comes down and you see what a fine mess he’s gotten you in, don’t despair. Straighten your bowler hat and concentrate on trying to make the contract. In today’s deal, for example, how should South play in six – yes, six – spades against the lead of the club two? South traded on the favorable vulnerability to open four spades with only a seven-card suit. North might have tried to bid scientifically, making a five-club control-bid. But he wasn’t sure his partner would see it that way. His actual blast into six spades was a fair gamble. Without a heart lead, he could see 12 tricks: eight spades (or so he thought), two diamonds and two clubs. With a heart lead, tough! West, hoping his partner had the club ace, led his singleton. Declarer was faced with two potential lines of play: To run the lead to his jack, hoping West had led away from the queen, or to play to establish dummy’s fifth diamond. If there is no indication from the bidding, before the play begins, it is 50-50 that an opponent will hold a specific card. In contrast, the chance of a 4-3 diamond split is just over 62%. So that is the right approach. Win the first trick with dummy’s club king, cash the diamond ace, ruff a diamond high, draw two rounds of trumps ending in the dummy, ruff another diamond, cross to dummy with a club and cash the diamond king and seven, discarding two of your three losers. Dealer: South; Vulnerable: East-West NORTH K 6 3 Q 6 A K 7 6 4 A K 3 WEST 5 2 K 10 7 4 3 2 J 9 8 3 2 SOUTH A Q J 10 9 7 4 8 5 5 J 7 6 EAST 8 A J 9 Q 10 2 Q 10 9 8 5 4 The Bidding: OPENING LEAD: 2 Clubs SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 4 Spades Pass 6 Spades All Pass INSIGHT BRIDGE

34 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The Telegraph How to do Sudoku: Fill in the grid so the numbers one through nine appear just once in every column, row and three-by-three square. The Telegraph SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (JUNE 15) ON PAGE 60 ACROSS 1. Bird-headed god (5) 5. US lorry (5) 8. Greek philosopher (5) 9. Spree (5) 10. Sure thing (9) 11. Glide on snow (3) 12. Mend toaster (anag.) (11) 15. Initiate (3,2,6) 19. Boxer Muhammad (3) 20. Pasta strings (9) 22. Tour conductor (5) 23. Upper leg (5) 24. Unifying idea (5) 25. Male voice (5) DOWN 1. Rose mallow (8) 2. Rotten (6) 3. Medical sample (8) 4. Infertile (6) 5. Ancient garment (4) 6. African 18 Down (6) 7. Reggie or Ronnie (4) 13. Dusk (8) 14. Design and build (8) 16. Nectar (anag.) (6) 17. Acquire (6) 18. State (6) 20. Kind (4) 21. Loathe (4) INSIGHT GAMES CARPET ONE CREATIVE FLOORS & HOME Creative Floors & Home has more for your entire home from the floor up! With Flooring, Tile, Cabinets and even vacuum cleaners! 772.569.0240 1137 Old Dixie Hwy • Vero Beach creativefloorscarpet1verobeach.com Professional Cabinet Design Available

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 35 ACROSS 1 ___ brakes 5 Fizzy quaff 9 Speech stand 13 Addis addition? 18 Biblical twin 19 Nagano noodles 20 “___ that nice” 21 Half a 1960s group 22 (A Napa wine guy and a NAPA auto-parts guy meet at a party and the wine guy immediately starts with the jokes) ... “How ya doin’! Say, I woulda been here sooner but I hit a ___!” 24 “This wine reminds me of my car–___!” 26 Geology period 27 Emperor Nero’s successor 29 Actor G. Carroll 30 Handle, in Lyon 31 “Say, I bet you’ve ___!” 35 “So, what color’s your car, ___?” 37 Mayberry guy 38 Director Van Sant 39 Stomach woe 41 Fed. org. 42 DI doubled 43 Poet’s “above” 44 Get by 46 Utility bill factor 50 “Oh, this is wine? And ___!” 53 Pasture sound 55 Raised railways 56 Does sub work 57 The Chin Man 58 “Outta wine? ___!” 60 Guitarist Paul 62 Gillette razor 64 Cows, formerly 65 Picker preceder 66 “Of all the acronyms, why ‘NAPA’? Didn’t they ever hear of ‘___’?” 70 Underthing 71 Deli choices 72 Middle follower 73 Poet’s inits. 74 “I had a ’57 Chevy. Talk about a ___!” 76 Breve intro 78 Leg bone 82 Comics caveman 83 Part of RTO 84 “Are you a light drinker or do you need a ___?” 88 Japanese port 90 Where Pulp Fiction won Best Film 91 Glasgow glassful 92 Popular wood 93 USN rank 95 Against 96 Internet address, familiarly 97 Haggard word 98 “Oops, all gone. ___, please!” 101 “So, what’s your favorite drink, ___?” 105 Verdi opus 106 Cockpit abbr. 107 Easy ___ 108 Ungroovy groove 109 “I had a T-Bird once, till it got ___!” 112 (So the NAPA guy leaves abruptly) ... “Well, so long Mr. ___!” 117 Peaks 118 Patch up 119 Not on time 120 J ean Seberg’s birthplace 121 Closes in on 122 Track numbers 123 Cocteau’s La Belle ___ Bête 124 Have to have DOWN 1 Ball celeb 2 Metric starter 3 Rested 4 Affected 5 Intro to Juan 6 Final letters 7 Coffee order 8 Sock length 9 Actress Merrill 10 “___ see fit ...” 11 Encompass 12 Guide 13 Pal, to Proust 14 Wacko 15 “A terrible thing to waste” 16 Too heavy on the low notes 17 Evert contemporary 19 Went back 23 Buildable spot 25 Literary circumnavigator 28 Boss man, in Swahili 31 ___ up (overact) 32 Chilling 33 Language quirk 34 Of a brain membrane 35 Bygone midwestern NCAA conference 36 Same old thing 40 Cleveland player, briefly 43 Mary-Kate or Ashley 44 Green insect 45 Festoon 47 Eagle’s nest 48 Overabundance 49 Brain scanning? 51 Transfer software, perhaps 52 Audience member 53 Predicament 54 On one’s toes 58 Tinker 59 Cover the face, in a way 61 Scatter 63 Alias abbr. 64 Tollings 66 ___ line (write) 67 Cary married her 68 Open-mouthed 69 Agave fiber (anagram of TILES) 70 Bum’s rush 74 Mucilage, e.g. 75 Still a kid 77 FDR V.P. Henry ___ Wallace 79 First volume 80 “... bombs bursting ___” 81 Invited 84 Trash-day sights 85 A prov. 86 Inventory data 87 Sneezin’ reason 89 Hose down anew 90 Made a chess move 94 Chair piece 96 Straighten out 97 Get 98 Family member 99 Swelling 100 Historic fort 102 Impetuousness 103 WWII vessel 104 Capek play 105 ___ angle (askew) 107 Carries the 1, e.g. 110 Old covert org. 111 Last page 113 Vitamin amt. 114 His name, plus T, is what he was 115 Wool wearer 116 Lamentable The Telegraph The Washington Post NAPA Meets Napa By Merl Reagle INSIGHT GAMES

38 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT BACK PAGE Dear Carolyn: Our daughter got into the graduate program of her choice at a highly rated school and will be moving back to our city after four years away at college. She met a nice boyfriend at college, but he is less mature than she is and comes from a large extended family that is very involved with each other’s lives. He has never really lived away from them because he was only 30 minutes away from home and returned there on weekends. He did not get into the same graduate school as our daughter but did get into another, much-lower-ranked school near her. He turned down a better school to be with our daughter. They are planning on getting an apartment together. She told me his two siblings are coming out to visit for 10 days once our daughter and her boyfriend move into their apartment, and his parents are also coming out shortly after that. This visiting seems to be too much to us to impose on a young couple who won’t even have finished setting up their living situation and won’t have had time to settle into their lives together. They are also both undertaking professional doctoral programs that are very demanding. We are concerned about this new apartment being seen as a free vacation place by his family, and we don’t want our daughter to feel as if the entertaining and feeding are up to her because her boyfriend starts classes sooner than she does. She will need that time before her classes start to finish setting up the apartment and to get her mind in gear and ready for her course. But how can she say no to these visits? – D. D.: Tough to manage those “very involved” families, huh. Guess she’ll have to figure it out. Whenever all the answers to All the Things are pounding against your skull and begging you to express them to your obviously intelligent, capable and well-loved (adult!) daughter who has not asked your opinion, this is what you say to yourself: “She’ll figure it out.” Her taste in “nice” men you plainly deem inferior notwithstanding. (Yes, it’s that obvious.) Even when she asks you directly, ask for her perspective first. Bite on a stick. You’re here to help her think, not to think for her. The figuring out is more instructive than even the best advice. Dear Carolyn: After several years of trying, I could not conceive. We decided on artificial insemination, which was successful and gave us a beautiful daughter. My adult daughter has grown up not knowing this. My husband passed away 10 years ago. My husband has two children from his first marriage. We have all grown to love each other, and my daughter considers them her half-sisters, as they do her. Plus she has several aunts and uncles who are not technically “blood.” I am having an internal struggle trying to decide whether I should tell her how she came into this world. If she ever does a DNA test, she will certainly find out. I have a great, close relationship with her. Should I tell her? How? Or wait? – Questioning Questioning: Every day you wait is the day she could find out from a test. That day will be the worst one your “close relationship” ever has. The only good way for her to find out is from you. BY CAROLYN HAX Washington Post Parents fear boyfriend’s family will swamp their daughter

WONDERS OF WATERCOLOR GIVE ARTIST MERCER ENDLESS INSPIRATION

ARTS & THEATRE 40 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Watercolor artist Judy Mercer says she feels a sense of accomplishment when viewers of her art tell her it makes them happy. Mercer says that after trying oils, acrylics and pastels, she found “watercolor just spoke to me, and I’ve been loyal ever since. I love to paint in watercolors using transparent colors that are rich and fresh.” Her road to art was a somewhat circuitous one that included working for decades as a deputy court administrator in New Jersey, as the voice that said, ‘Please rise, the Honorable Judge Martin presiding,’ which she says was an interesting job. Prior to that, also in New Jersey, Mercer worked for seven years in a veterinary hospital, and before her marriage, she worked at AT&T in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband. The couple have a daughter, a son and grandchildren. The family was transferred every three to four years due to her husband’s job at AT&T, but Mercer didn’t see that as a negative. “It kind of made it interesting in our lives. I’d get restless feet after a while,” she says. In 1998, after retirement and one month after their daughter married, they moved to Florida where her life as an artist began to take off. “As a kid I doodled a lot, but never had formal art classes. I remember asking people to give me a squiggly line, and then I would make something out of it. Then in 1995, I flew out to Santa Barbara, Calif., to visit a cousin, who had become an artist,” says Mercer. As the cousin had “never done anything artistic in her life,” Mercer says she was spurred on, realizing, “If she can do it, I can do it.” She began taking classes and workshops, studying under several highly respected and nationally known watercolor artists. “A lot of people have misconceptions about watercolor,” says Mercer. “My adWonders of watercolor give artist Mercer endless inspiration BY DEBBIE TIMMERMANN CORRESPONDENT

ARTS & THEATRE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 41 vice is to play with it, because you learn a lot, learning what you can and can’t do. Don’t be afraid of the medium.” The biggest misconception with watercolor, she says, is that you can’t correct mistakes. You can. She uses a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser but cautions that you need to use high-quality paper. “You have to rinse really well. A lot of water takes most mistakes away. I try to get as much off the first try, but I don’t panic if I don’t get it right the first time.” Mercer prefers to use 300 lb Arches brand, which she says stands up to moisture, allowing her to mix and flow the paint without the paper curling up. In fact, the paper is so sturdy, she can turn it over and begin a new painting on the flip side if she doesn’t like it. “The better paper is worth the investment,” she adds, commenting that unlike 150 lb paper, 300 lb paper won’t buckle. Along with quality paper, Mercer uses quality paints such as Daniel Mercer Watercolors and she prefers to paint with transparent colors. “You may have to use a few layers to get the look you want. The transparency is guided by how much water you use, and how much paint you have on your brush,” she says. Rather than using pre-mixed colors, she prefers to combine hues to achieve the sought-after tone, adding additional layers for depth. “If I don’t like what turned out, I just start a new painting. I just say, ‘Go for it.’” Mercer comments that she prefers to work in her studio rather than en plein air and is regularly working on a number of paintings at a time, although she occasionally will put a painting away, sometimes for a year, before pulling it out again to finish. Local scenes, landscapes, birds and florals are the basis for most of her watercolors, many of which are painted using photographs she has taken. Although she primarily sells originals, she says prints give buyers the choice of size. The giclée printing process produces a very precise copy of the image and colors. It also enables the prints to be reproduced in various fashion, such as on greeting cards, phone cases and coffee mugs. “It’s just about identical, the printers have become so sophisticated,” Mercer explains. “The photograph of the painting determines the quality of the print. The pixels you end up with are determined by the camera. The pixels start breaking up the bigger you go.” Mercer is a member of the Artists Guild Gallery, currently serving as secretary. She originally joined in 2008, dropping out for a few years after her grandson developed brain cancer. He passed away at age 13 in 2019, what she says is one of the most difficult things she has ever experienced, and rejoined in 2012. “The personalities, the talent that exists, it’s a really great group. We celebrate other’s accomplishments. It’s very supportive, like a second family,” says Mercer. Mercer has been asked to judge shows for the Brevard Watercolor Society and the Melbourne Watercolor Society, and she is a member of the Florida Watercolor Society, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and Southern Watercolor Society, obtaining ‘Signature Status’ in all three. “It probably doesn’t mean anything to anyone else, but I now put letters after my signature on a painting. To me it shows an accomplishment. It has also been a conversation starter at art shows,” Mercer says. Her paintings are on view year-round at the Artists Guild Gallery, and she occasionally enjoys gifting her original paintings, appreciating the ability to present friends with something unique and personal. “It’s been fun over the years. I’ve won some prizes, and gotten into a lot of exhibits,” says Mercer. Best of all, she says, she treasures the people she has met through her art. Judy Mercer. PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KODIS

ARTS & THEATRE 42 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Burgers & Brews moves to a new location this Saturday – the Oaks Area at Riverside Park in Vero Beach. The annual event invites you to enjoy slider tasting and a best burger competition, a car show, an apple pie eating contest, live music, breweries, a kids zone and just a whole lotta outdoor family fun. The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 24. The Best Burger in Indian River County Competition runs 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. that day. Judges include Kenny Holmes, an NFL former defensive end and graduate of Vero Beach High School and the United of Miami. Those who bought $100 VIP tickets (they’re sold out already) will get reserved seating in air-conditioned comfort in the lounge which is near the stage; and they’ll get access to a cocktail bar, restrooms and that burger competition and brewery area. So remember that for next year and get those VIP tickets while they’re still available! The entertainment schedule begins 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Riptide, and winds up 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with Metalucious. The NAPA car show runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Food trucks will be on hand from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Apple Pie Eating Contest will be held at 4 p.m. Slider tasting punch cards are $20; brew tasting wristbands are $40; combo slider punch card and brew wristbands are $50. Service fees are added to the tickets. Tickets will be available for purchase through Friday, June 23, at BurgersAndBrews. org. Proceeds from the event with help the transformative programs at United Against Poverty of Indian River County. For more information, visit BurgersAndBrews.org. The 208th Army Band will present a “Patriotic Concert” next Wednesday evening at the First Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach. Based in Concord, N.C., the band is currently on tour in Florida. The free concert will be led by Chief Warrant Officer III Robert Slade. There are about 50 soldiers in the band. They will perform works by great American composers including Aaron Copland, Glenn Miller, John Phillip Sousa and more. The program will include a special recognition of Vietnam veterans who returned home 50 years ago. The concert begins 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, at the First Presbyterian Church sanctuary, 520 Royal Palm Blvd., Vero Beach. For more information, call 772-562-9088 or visit FirstPresVero.org. The Space Coast Symphony also has a free concert coming up. The 18th annual Red, White and Blue concert, “Spirit of America,” begins 2 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at the Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach. It includes conductor Aaron T. Collins directing the wind orchestra as it performs music by Corigliano, Greenwood and rousing works by John Phillip Sousa. There will also be Holsinger’s “To Tame the Perilous Skies,” the performance of which will be dedicated to the men and women of the Tactical Air Command and the spirit of the modern military aviator. In addition, there will be a world premiere of “Pulse,” composed by Christopher Marshall, a composer and teacher based in Orlando. Marshall composed the work as a response to the Pulse nightclub tragedy. Marshall has had his work featured in concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Barbican in London. For more information, visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org. If classical music is your love, then you might enjoy the program offered by the Melbourne Chamber Music Society. The organization is offering “early birds” season subscriptions for only $120 through June 30. Its upcoming season features: the Zemlinsky String Quartet, Oct. 20; the Ehnes String Quartet, Nov. 17; the Frautschi, Manasse, Makamatsu trio, Jan. 26; the Esmé String Quartet with Yekwon Sunwoo on piano, Feb. 23; the Phaeton Piano Trio, March 22; and Roman Rabinovich on piano, April 12. Performances are held at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 2030 N. A1A, Indialantic. Call 321-213-5100 or visit MelbourneChamberMusicSociety.org. Riverside Theatre’s Comedy Zone features Ken Miller and Kate Brindle this weekend with emcee Jim Harpring. The shows start at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24. All seats at $25. The theater’s “Live in the Loop” program presents free concerts 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24. Featured this weekend are Collins & Company on Friday and Melinda Elena on Saturday. Riverside Theatre is at 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach. Call 772-231-6990 or visit RiversideTheatre.com. There will be a “Meet and Greet” reception with Hezekiah Baker Jr., son of Highwayman artist Hezekiah Baker Sr., at noon Saturday, June 24, at Treasure Coast Collectibles and Manor Auctions, 8500 20th St., Vero Beach. Call 954-557-6226. 3 2 Sizzling Saturday of fun on tap with ‘Burgers & Brews’ 1 BY PAM HARBAUGH Correspondent 4 COMING UP! 5 6

HEALTH NEW TREATMENTS IN SIGHT ... for eye disease common in seniors 32963

44 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ New treatments in sight for eye disease common in seniors Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) affects millions of people worldwide, most of them elderly. It is a leading cause of vision loss and can significantly impact a person’s quality of life, but continuing medical developments offer new hope in the treatment of this debilitating condition. “In my 30 years of practice, I’ve never been more excited about the advances in treatments coming our way,” said Dr. Adam M. Katz, an ophthalmologist at Center for Advanced Eye Care. “AMD affects central vision, making it difficult to drive or recognize faces and up until about 18 years ago there was no effective treatment. Laser therapy, radiation and surgery simply weren’t successful. But with the advent of injectable medications, it’s a different world in which the progression of the disease can be slowed and, in some cases even improved.” New medications are being approved on a regular basis. There are two types of AMD: Wet and dry. According to the Academy of Ophthalmology, dry macular degeneration, also known as atrophic or nonneovascular macular degeneration, is the more common form of the disease, accounting for 80-to-90 percent of cases. It occurs when the lightsensitive cells in the macula, the central part of the retina responsible for detailed vision, gradually break BY KERRY FIRTH Correspondent down, resulting in a loss of vision. Wet Macular Degeneration, also called neovascular macular degeneration, is less common but more severe than the dry form. It arises when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina. These fragile vessels can leak fluid or blood, causing sudden and rapid vision loss in the central vision. “Every case of wet started with a case of dry,” Dr. Katz explained. “All those changes with dry is predisposing to the growth of abnormal blood vessels. Dry AMD progresses slowly and can turn into wet AMD but there are patients who never develop the wet form who [still] end up being legally blind. What happens is geographic atrophy or loss of cells. It’s kind of like a sidewalk that starts developing cracks. Those cracks preDr. Adam M. Katz. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS

Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 45 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ dispose to the growth of weeds. If you never get weeds in the cracks, it is the dry form. But if the weeds grow through the cracks like abnormal blood vessels it’s the wet form.” Happily, wet macular degeneration has been effectively arrested with the introduction of anti-VEGF therapy. VEGF stands for vascular endothelial growth factor, a protein that stimu - lates the growth of abnormal blood vessels. Anti-VEGF drugs are injected into the eye to block VEGF, prevent - ing the growth of these vessels and reducing leakage. These drugs have shown remarkable efficacy in slowing down vision loss and in some cases improving vision. “Getting a shot in the eye sounds horrific but in fact it is very tolerable,” said Dr. Katz. “I’ve given over 10,000 injections and most patients ask if that’s all it is when I’m done. The ba - sic protocol is one injection spaced a month apart for three months. After the injections, the patient has either active or inactive macular degenera - tion. If they are active, there is still a lot of fluid in there and regular injec - tions are needed. “If the patient is inactive there are three options: “One is to treat and maintain, meaning you may need an injection every six to eight weeks to maintain. “The second is to treat and extend the intervals between shots with each injection. The patient may get one shot in a month and another in six weeks and another in eight weeks. “The third option is to treat as needed. If the patient’s [disease] is inactive, I don’t recommend an - other injection. Instead, I have them come back in another six weeks and get reevaluated. I don’t do another injection unless it becomes active. My goal is to give as few as possible, and typically patients need them less and less. As new medications become available the time between injections may be extended. [How - ever] it’s important to remember that these injections are treatments and not a cure.” Just three months ago, the FDA ap - proved a new treatment for a specific form of dry macular degeneration. Syfovre is a prescription eye injec - tion used to treat geographic atrophy (GA), the advanced dry form of mac - ular degeneration. GA can progress when a part of the immune system in your eye over - works and mistakenly damages your retina. It’s called geographic atrophy because the expanded area of the at - rophy or loss of cells can resemble a state or country. “Syfovre is a bit controversial,” Dr. Katz explained. “The injection is giv - en once a month or every two months and studies show that after three years it slowed the progression of the expansion of the atrophy by about 20 percent. But the downside was that after three years there was no differ - ence in visual acuity. It didn’t make you see better. And it increased the chance of developing the wet form of macular degeneration. “It’s not for everyone, but for some - one who has lost their central vision in one eye and the other eye has vi - sion threatening geographic atrophy, I think it makes sense to consider the treatment because slowing down the expansion of the atrophy is better than doing nothing.” A more promising treatment for GA could be right around the corner, with FDA approval of a drug called Zimura expected by August. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that Zimura is an injectable drug that “works in the compliment pathway where it directly inhibits formation of substances that cause cell death.” “Zimura has been shown to de - crease the rate of vision loss by 56 per - cent, which looks like a better treat - ment option to me,” Dr. Katz said. Researchers are also investigating gene therapy as a potential treatment for AMD. In this approach, genes are delivered to the retina to counteract the underlying genetic factors respon - sible for the condition. By targeting specific genes, scientists aim to restore or preserve the health of retinal cells. Stem cell therapy is another av - enue being explored for both dry and wet AMD. Researchers are investigat - ing how to harness the power of stem cells to replace damaged retinal cells and restore vision. While this field is still in its early stages, gene therapy and stem cell therapy are promising approaches that offer hope for both dry and wet forms of the disease. “For a long time, I could only slow the progression of the disease, but now I can actually help some of my patients see better,” said Dr. Katz. “The advancements being made in the field of AMD research provide optimism for the future.” Dr. Adam M. Katz is board certified by the American Board of Ophthal - mology and dual fellowship-trained in disorders of the retina and vitreous. He was awarded his medical degree from Albany Medical College in New York and completed his internship in internal medicine at Lenox Hill Hospi - tal in New York City. He completed his residency at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan and retina fellowships at NYU and a second one in Mem - phis. He can be reached at Center for Advanced Eye Care, 3500 U.S. 1, Vero Beach, 772-299-1404.

46 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ BY JACKIE HOLFELDER Correspondent “Super” is usually a positive, upbeat adjective. Superstore. Superheroes. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. But you don’t want to see it describing what you eat – as in “super-processed foods.” In general, super-processed foods are those that have been altered in ways that remove or diminish nutrients like fiber and vitamins, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Then, fats, sugar and salt are added, often along with other potentially harmful chemicals, turning an otherwise healthy food into a high-calorie, low-nutrient substance that puts you at risk for hypertension, weight gain, unhealthy fats in your blood and other health conditions. Perhaps you’ve read or heard about the gut-brain axis. It’s been in the news a lot lately. Recent studies show that your brain affects your gut health and your gut affects your brain’s health. The communication system between your gut and brain is called the gutbrain axis. THOSE SUPER-PROCESSED FOODS ARE SUPER BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH Local nutrition counselor Barbara Truitt, MS, RD, LD/N, said what we eat has a tremendous impact on that axis. Rather than super-processed foods, she prefers the term ultra-processed food that has gone through an industrial preparation process and contains problematic additives. “What goes into your gut should be healthy and wholesome,” she says. “It’s going to affect your microbiome, which I compare to a computer hard-drive in your stomach that is constantly giving your body signals – which will be negative and cause inflammation if you’re eating ultraprocessed foods.” According to the 1907 Foundation, an endowment that funds brain health research, a microbiome is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and their genes, that naturally live inside us. Although microbes are so small that they require a microscope to see, they contribute in big ways to human health and wellness. So, the gut microbiome is all the genetic and bacterial components of the gut, also called the GI tract or digestive tract, as well as the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. “A little bit of inflammation is a good thing,” says Truitt. “It helps our bodies heal cuts and do other things that keep us safe and healthy. But the amount we get from consuming ultra-processed foods is something we all need to avoid. It triggers harmful inflammation and although everyone is affected differently, the bottom line is that it you’re going to feel it somewhere. It attacks your weakest link – your heart, liver, anywhere.” Barbara Truitt, MS, RD, LD/N. PHOTO: JOSHUA KODIS

Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 47 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Unfortunately, “for people on the run, ultra-processed food may become their go-to diet, sacrificing nutrition for convenience,” according to the American Medical Association. “While it may be convenient, consuming ultraprocessed foods on a regular basis increases a person’s risk of health complications including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression. But it can be hard to tell when these foods are on your plate.” Truitt says it’s easy get confused or bogged down when food shopping. “You don’t have to spend hours reading labels,” she says. “If you see something you wouldn’t add to a recipe, you probably want to avoid it. “We don’t want to confuse ultra-processed foods with normally processed foods (like mayonnaise) that have a minimal amount of chemicals or preservatives – in amounts approved by the FDA – to make them shelf-stable. While they’re low in nutrients and fiber and high in salt and sugar, they’re not in the same category as ultra-processed food. It’s the chicken nuggets and American cheese that we should be avoiding.” Truitt says to shop the outside aisles in the supermarket and buy the rainbow when choosing fruits and vegetables. You don’t have to buy organic produce if it’s not in the budget, she adds. “With prices so high, many people aren’t able to make that choice. But you can still have a clean diet, regardless.” HelpGuide.org is an independent nonprofit that runs one of the world’s leading mental health websites. It states that children are never too young to learn the negatives of ultraprocessed foods. Eating clean can have a profound effect on their health, helping them to maintain a healthy weight, stabilize moods and sharpen minds. It can affect a child’s sense of mental and emotional wellbeing, helping to prevent conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and ADHD. Kids aren’t born with a craving for French fries and pizza and an aversion to broccoli and carrots. This conditioning happens over time as they’re exposed to more and more unhealthy food choices. However, it is possible to reprogram your children’s food preferences so that they crave healthier foods instead. The sooner you introduce wholesome, nutritious choices into a child’s diet, the easier it will be for them to develop a healthy relationship with food that can last them a lifetime. Truitt cautions that another negative effect of a diet heavy in ultra-processed foods is the creation of harmful free radicals. Free radicals are defined as unstable molecules that can damage the cells in your body, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). They often occur as a result of normal metabolic processes, as well as environmental stressors. As we age, the body loses its ability to combat the effects of free radicals. This results in more free radicals, cell damage, oxidative stress and inflammation. The NLM report notes increased interest about the relationship between the consumption of highly processed foods and health. The growing incidence of chronic diseases in modern society has sounded alarm bells. Numerous studies support the claim that ultra-processed foods may partly explain the increase in chronic noncommunicable diseases and an overall higher mortality risk. Other research showed that ultra-processed foods may lead to overeating and facilitate the development of obesity or type 2 diabetes. A box of whole wheat pasta or brown rice, which keeps its natural fiber and nutrient content, would be considered natural or minimally processed food, but a box of flavored or seasoned white rice with added salt, fats, sugars and other chemicals would be categorized as ultra-processed. Homemade mashed potatoes are more processed than a plain baked potato. However, a potato chip, with large amounts of added fat from the deep fat fryer and a large portion of salt, is an ultra-processed food. As a nutrition counselor, Truitt tries to help people learn which products benefit their health and which harm health. Her virtual, online practice helps with the learning process. “If someone is in my office telling me what they’ve eaten that week, I have no idea what the oatmeal, bread and cheese look like. But if they walk around the kitchen with an iPad showing me the items, we’ll have much better information with which to start the journey towards a healthier diet free of ultraprocessed foods.” Barbara Truitt MS, RD, LD/N is a nutrition counselor in Port St Lucie with a 100 percent virtual practice. She has a BS and MS from Eastern Michigan University. She is a member Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Florida Dietetic Association and ASPEN (American Society for Parental and Enteral Nutrition), and is registered with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is registered in the State of Florida and is accepting new patients. Her number is 954-850-9118.

48 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The advice from dental experts for keeping your teeth clean sounds simple enough: Brush twice a day and floss. But choosing among the many products available to help you do this can be daunting. Electric toothbrush or manual? Soft or hard bristles? String floss or water flosser? The right answers depend partly on your preferences. “Hopefully what you experience with any toothbrush is that you’re getting your teeth clean, and then you’re going to want to use it again,” says Edmond R. Hewlett, a professor at the UCLA School of Dentistry in Los Angeles and a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association (ADA). But there are tooth-care products with clear advantages. We explain which dental hygiene strategies work best and what to consider when picking products. Q: Are electric toothbrushes better for your teeth? Most evidence suggests that they are, at least a little. A 2014 analysis of previously published studies by Cochrane, an independent, London-based panel of experts, found that over several months, powered brushes removed 21 percent more plaque and reduced gum inflammation by 11 percent more than manual brushes. Two more recent studies, by scientists who had funding from companies that make toothbrushes, found similar results. But the real-life significance of that research might not mean much for your overall oral health. Electric brushes might be better for some people, says Olivia Sheridan, a professor of clinical restorative dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania, because they can be easier to use for those who lack manual dexterity or have braces or permanent retainers, or those who care for someone who needs help brushing their teeth. But your technique may matter more than whether you use a manual or electric brush. Both types of brushes can be “completely effective in Expert tips on keeping your teeth clean and healthy plaque removal” and in helping to prevent gum disease, says Sheridan. What features should you look for? Cleaning ability is key, and it’s the most significant factor in Consumer Reports’ electric toothbrush scores. You should also seek out brushes with features such as a two-minute timer and a pressure sensor. The ADA says that most people brush their teeth for less than a minute, so a built-in timer can help. A pressure sensor can warn you if you’re pressing too hard with your brush, which can damage gums and enamel. Sheridan also recommends looking for brushes that pause when it’s time to move from one section of your mouth to the next. Q: What kind of bristles are ideal? Although you’ll find manual toothbrushes with bristles ranging from extra-soft to hard, mediumor hard-bristle brushes are best reserved for tasks such as cleaning the grout in your kitchen or bathroom tile. For your teeth, dental experts say you should use a soft- or extrasoft-bristle brush. That’s because harder bristles can injure your delicate gum tissue. They can also potentially damage your teeth, says Clifton Carey, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine at Anschutz Medical Campus. Q: Which is better, a rotating or a sonic electric toothbrush? Both kinds can do a great job of cleaning your teeth. Rotating toothbrushes have a round head that rotates or oscillates. Sonic brushes have a more typical elongated head shape resembling a manual brush, with bristles that move side to side so quickly they produce an audible hum. Some research suggests that rotating toothbrushes may have a slight edge over sonic types. But a 2021 analysis in the Journal of the American Dental Association designed to assess real-world effectiveness concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to pick a winner. And testing by Consumer Reports concurs: We found models of both types that performed well. If you’re not sure which type of electric brush you’ll like, check to make sure that you can return it if you decide it’s not right for you. Q: Do you really need to floss? Yes. You may have rejoiced over headlines a few years back that claimed there’s not much evidence supporting flossing. And in 2019, even the Cochrane panel characterized the evidence showing that flossing helps reduce gum disease as “low certainty,” with inconsistent results. But don’t toss out your dental floss yet. Although the evidence might not be especially rigorous, regular flossing is supported by basic biology, experts say. When done correctly, flossing removes bacteria in parts of your mouth that brushing can’t get to. Good flossing technique generally involves gently rubbing the floss strand in a C-shape against both sides of each tooth and at the gumline. Q: Which toothpaste should you use? Any toothpaste that has fluoride should do the trick. That’s the most important ingredient because it prevents cavities and helps you avoid tooth decay by strengthening the enamel. Fluoride is so important that the ADA doesn’t provide its Seal of Acceptance to fluoride-free toothpastes. There are other ingredients in some toothpastes that you may want to stay away from. For example, research has found that people who frequently get canker sores may get fewer ones when they avoid toothpastes that contain sodium lauryl sulfate. Various toothpaste ingredients fall in and out of fashion. “We have to be very careful of those fads,” says Dawn Smith, chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene at Howard University’s College of Dentistry in D.C. That’s because it can take a while for researchers to discern whether a particular ingredient is safe and effective. One newer trend has little evidence to support it: activated charcoal toothpastes, which are often marketed as whiteners. But some could cause damage, according to a 2019 paper in the British Dental Journal. Charcoal can be abrasive, which can wear down your enamel, damage your gums, and lead to tooth sensitivity. And many charcoal toothpastes don’t contain fluoride. Q: Should you use mouthwash? It’s fine to use mouthwash, says Smith, but it’s not strictly necessary and can’t take the place of brushing and flossing. BY CATHERINE ROBERTS The Washington Post

Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 49 HEALTH Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Certain types of mouthwash can help with specific conditions. For example, prescription rinses with chlorhexidine, an antimicrobial, can help people who have periodontal disease or are at high risk for tooth decay, Hewlett says. And if you live in an area where your water isn’t fluoridated (or you don’t drink tap water), you may want to consider adding a fluoridated mouth rinse to your family’s daily dental care routine, Smith suggests. That’s especially true if you have kids, and it’s something that can be helpful even if there’s fluoride in your toothpaste. Q: Are teeth whiteners worth trying? A: Some of the stains on the outside of your teeth can be removed during a typical dental cleaning. But you might wonder about bleaching your teeth, either at your dentist’s office or by using an at-home kit. The active ingredient in most tooth bleaching products isn’t the household bleach you use for laundry but hydrogen peroxide (or a related compound). At-home bleaching, which can involve products such as bleaching strips or gels and trays, can be effective, says Kenneth Markowitz, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in Newark. But it generally takes longer to see results with those treatments than with professional whitening, because in-office treatments are done with higher concentrations of peroxide. Still, it’s best to avoid trying to whiten your teeth quickly, he says. That’s because the higher the concentration of bleaching agents used, the more likely you are to experience the main side effects of whitening: gum irritation and tooth sensitivity (which often involves a tingly feeling of pain). High concentrations could even damage teeth. Instead, bleaching is best if done slowly over time, using low concentrations of bleaching agents. Carey recommends that people who bleach at home read the product’s directions and follow them exactly. Q: How often do you need a teeth cleaning? You’ve probably heard you should get cleanings every six months. But a 2020 Cochrane review found that adults who timed their visits based on their risk factors (which you can discuss with your dentist) did no worse than people who followed the six-months rule. The ADA says tailoring your visits to your individual health risks is a good one. If you’re not at high risk for cavities – your teeth are otherwise healthy and you don’t eat a lot of sweets, for example – seeing a dentist once a year may be sufficient for you, Carey says. On the other hand, people at higher risk may need to go in more often. If you struggle with a dry mouth, for instance, a common occurrence for people who are taking multiple medications, Carey says you may need to see your dentist more frequently, because saliva is one of the biggest protectors of teeth.

50 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style For the generation who grew up with “Sex and the City,” news that it is 25 years old is no less discombobulating than realizing that your baby is now an adult who can legally drink. Just like having an 18-year-old, having a favorite television show that first aired in 1998 can cause you to tumble down a wormhole, freaking out about the passage of time. When you first watched SATC, you were single, and thought you’d never find love. Now, you’re going through a divorce, and wishing you hadn’t. There is no point explaining its magic to people who dislike the show: You’ve either got the Carrie gene or you haven’t. For her fans, what Carrie drinks, thinks and (most of all) wears is as compelling now as it was in the show’s very first pilot episode – possibly more so. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha helped a generation of 30-something women navigate BY LAURA CRAIK The Telegraph Sarah Jessica Parker is still a style inspiration to women of all ages