02/16/2023 ISSUE 07

Long seen as one of the best neighborhoods on the island, Riomar has come into its own as a world-class real estate destination. With a series of recordbreaking sales and an average home price that is up more than 100 percent in just the past two years, Riomar was recently lumped in with La Jolla, one of the dreamiest parts of the California Dream, and elite Colorado resort town Telluride in an article about top luxury markets in Forbes Global Properties. “At this time three years ago, the average listing price in Riomar [including Riomar Bay] was $1.75 million. Today, the average is $4 million,” Forbes Global reported at the beginning 2023. When Vero Beach 32963 checked active listings a week ago on Feb. 8, the transformation in valuation was even greater, with an average listing price of $5.78 million for the 12 homes and lots in News 1-16 Arts 45-53 Books 40 Dining 74-77 Editorial 38 Games 41-43 Health 55-67 Insight 33-44 People 17-32 Pets 54 Real Estate 81-96 Style 68-73 February 16, 2023 Volume 16, Issue 7 Newsstand Price $2.00 TO ADVERTISE CALL 772-559-4187 FOR CIRCULATION CALL 772-226-7925 Diet and lifestyle changes can help reduce disease. P56 It’s time to stock up on Covid test kits. P15 25 years of ‘Gifford Youth‘ excellence. P24 ‘Garden of Glass’ artist details the how – and wow. P20 © 2023 Vero Beach 32963 Media LLC. All rights reserved. For breaking news visit On several occasions the past couple of weeks, I’ve found myself sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, waiting for lights to change, knowing there was no chance I was going to get through the intersections before being stopped again. Obviously, I wasn’t alone. Not on our major thoroughfares. Not during the weekday morning, evening and lunchtime rush hours. Not during peak season in the Vero Beach area. Not anymore. There are thousands of us out there each day, and many of us remember when we didn’t need to plan ahead to avoid traffic here. We knew exactly how long it took get to different places around town. If you were late, you might even be able to make up time on the road. Now, if you’re late, you’re only going to be later. There are too many roadLegislature edging toward checks on utilities like Vero’s Just as many island homeowners are opening their mail to find higher water-sewer bills this month from the first round of at least four steep Vero Beach Utility rate hikes, the Florida Legislature finally seems inclined to force localgovernment-owned utilities like Vero’s to justify their rates to the Florida Public Service Commission. No bill has been introduced yet, but there’s bipartisan support from leaders across the state for reining in the power of municipal utilities that serve customers outside their political boundaries, especially if the utility – like Vero’s – siphons off revenues to hold taxes down for city residents (see companion story, page 12). The Florida House Energy Communications and Cybersecurity Subcommittee has BY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 MY VERO BY RAY MCNULTY No solution in sight for traffic, so get used to it. The ‘will-they-be-back-orwon’t-they’ Elite Airways saga continues. The major announcement which Elite president John Pearsall in December promised was coming shortly after Publix is preparing to build a supermarket closer to shoppers on the northern half of the barrier island. The site plan for the new store – to be located on the south side of State Road 510, BY STEVEN M. THOMAS Staff Writer BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer BY RAY MCNULTY Staff Writer CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Publix moving ahead with new option for north island residents Riomar draws national attention as top luxury market The Elite Airways saga: Chapter 739 PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS less than a half-mile east of U.S. 1 – has been approved, and county officials say the supermarket chain hopes to begin construction later this year. Ryan Sweeney, the county’s chief of current development, said that Publix representatives believe the the calendar turned to 2023? Still no announcement. The only semblance of news posted on the airline’s website ? Last Friday, the log-in line at the top of the home page read: “Elite Airways will be announcing new service soon!” The website’s previous post PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

2 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ planned 34,000-square-foot store will become the grocery-shopping destination for island residents as far south as Indian River Shores. Currently, the nearest Publix supermarkets to island shoppers coming across the Wabasso Causeway are at the intersections of U.S. 1 and Barber Street in Sebastian, and U.S. 1 and 53rd Street, near Grand Harbor, north of Vero Beach. “Based on what we’ve been told,” Sweeney said, “this store will feature many of the upscale offerings you find at the Miracle Mile location, which serves a lot of island residents further south.” In fact, Sweeney said Publix representatives opted for the site – less than 2 miles west of Wabasso Beach Park – because “they couldn’t build on the island.” Sweeney was referring to Publix’s decision four years ago to abandon its plans to build a slightly smaller shopNEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 New Publix

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 3 Simply put: Our traffic infrastructure can’t handle it. “Even if you take away all the construction and train-crossing closures, you’re still going to have traffic during peak hours, especially during our peak season,” said Rich Szpyrka, the county’s public works director whose department oversees traffic engineering and road maintenance. “The road capacity just isn’t there,” he added. “Off-peak hours, everything moves fine, under normal circumstances. But you’re never going to build a road wide enough to eliminate the congestion and backups at rush hour, when you have so many cars on the road. “We know people get frustrated out there, but you can move only so many vehicles through an intersection in a given period of time.” It’s too easy, Szpyrka said, to blame the traffic engineering. Szpyrka said the county’s traffic engineer, Erik Ferguson, is actually very proficient and has played a crucial role in managing the impact of the railroad-crossing work being done NEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 ping center on a seven-acre parcel on 510 in Orchid, where the proposed development met with overwhelming opposition from town residents and their neighbors. Publix regional media relations manager Lindsey Willis did not respond to multiple messages left at her office. Under the plan Publix submitted to the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission last year, the new mainland supermarket will anchor the Bridge Marketplace shopping plaza that also will include a 6,400-square-foot retail store, 2,100-square foot liquor store and bank with drive-thru lanes. “It’ll be the prototypical Publix shopping center,” Sweeney said. The plaza will be built adjacent to a 100-acre tract on which DiVosta Homes plans to build 270 single-family homes in Harbor Isles, which it describes as a “waterside boutique community” that will feature a clubhouse, swimming pool and fitness center. Sweeney said the county is requiring Publix to make roadway and traffic-control improvements in the area. They include the installation of turn lanes from State Road 510 and a traffic signal at the entry to the shopping center’s parking lot. DiVosta will be required to build turn lanes at Harbor Isles’ main entrance on State Road 510, as well as a right-turn lane along northbound U.S. 1, where a second entrance will be located. Sweeney said Publix hadn’t yet submitted its building-permit applications and isn’t expected to break ground on the new shopping center for at least six months, possibly a year. As for the seven-acre Orchid parcel where Publix earlier had hoped to build, the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club purchased it for $2.3 million in December 2020 from the estate of longtime Vero Beach businessman and developer Ken Puttick, who died in May 2019. The club plans to use the property to build additional amenities, including pickleball courts. Opponents of the Publix plans for the Orchid site had said the proposed development was not in compliance with the town’s building and zoning codes, and was out of character with the town’s feel, quality of life and natural surroundings. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 My Vero work projects, too many closed railroad crossings and – because of the COVID-spawned surge in the county’s population the past three years – too many cars on the road at the same time.

4 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ to prepare for the Brightline passenger trains scheduled to start zipping through our community later this year. “Timing the traffic signals is a tough thing,” Szpyrka said. “We’re constantly monitoring the major intersections, trying to improve traffic flow and making tweaks to the cycles. “But there’s only so much you can do,” he added. “And no matter what you do – if you extend the cycle in one direction, the people waiting to go in the other direction have to wait longer – somebody is always going to be unhappy.” So what’s the solution? Widening roads and adding lanes increases capacity, which is what is being done along 58th and 66th avenues, as well as 43rd Avenue to the immediate north and south of State Road 60. But those projects are extremely costly, take years to plan and execute, and often require state approval and the necessary right-of-way, which isn’t always available. For example: Szpyrka cited the heavily trafficked intersection of State Road 60 and 58th Avenue. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 My Vero

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 5 “How do I put another 12-foot-wide lane in there without taking away a section of somebody’s parking lot?” he asked rhetorically. “And are the property owners going to allow us to do that?” State roads are built and maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation, which would need to address, approve and fund any improvements to A1A, 510 and even U.S. 1. Szpyrka said FDOT is preparing to embark on a multi-phase plan to widen State Road 510, from two lanes to four, between County Road 512 and 58th Avenue. The agency also has authorized a study to determine the viability of widening 510 east of U.S. 1, as well as evaluating the need for improvements to the intersection of 510 and U.S. 1. It’s much too soon to know what the study’s recommendations will be, which means it will be years before any such project is launched. But those two additional lanes on 510, east of U.S. 1, are needed now. One late afternoon last week, in fact, westbound traffic on 510 was backed up from U.S. 1 to A1A, with cars moving at a crawl over the Wabasso Causeway Bridge. NEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ I’ve also found myself held hostage by lunch-hour traffic on U.S. 1, between 37th Street and State Road 60, where it’s not uncommon to encounter red lights at two, three or even four consecutive intersections. The U.S. 1 intersections at 26th and 23rd streets have become especially congested at that time of day, often requiring two or three light changes to get through them. The intersection at 17th Street isn’t much better. Roadwork also has snarled traffic along Indian River Boulevard, and the backups on southbound A1A – headed to Beachland Boulevard – remain a peak-season daytime nightmare. My suggestion? Get used to it. According to the U.S. Census, the county’s population jumped from 113,000 in 2000 to 138,000 in 2010 to 160,000 in 2020. And as the calendar turned to 2023, we were already moving beyond 165,000. “Historically, the increases we’re seeing are higher than usual,” County Community Development Director Phil Matson said. “We’re usually at 1.6 or 1.7 percent growth. The past couple of years, we’ve been at about 2 percent. “So more people are moving here, and that puts more cars on the road,” he added. “For those who’ve been here for 20 years or more, it certainly looks more congested, when compared to what it was like when they first arrived.” Compounding the problem, Matson said, is the combination of road construction and railroad-crossing closures we’ve been experiencing. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many roads under construction or repair,” he said. “Traffic is ramping up at the same time we’ve got a lot of roadwork being done. Then you throw in the railroad crossings … “We’re in our busy season – and it’s been a very active season – so there’s an unusual demand on our roads,” he added. “But we’ve got several projects ongoing, and some in the planning stages, and we’re expanding our capacity. “It’ll get better.” For those wondering, FDOT projects we can expect to see in the coming decade include replacing the Sebastian Inlet bridge, building a new interchange at I-95 and Oslo Road, and extending Aviation Boulevard across U.S. 1 to the Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital complex. Matson went on to compare the traffic situation here to the troubles NEWS The Finest PreOwned 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. Prices Upon Request 3001 Ocean Drive # 105, Vero Beach, FL 32963 772-231-2060 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 My Vero found in other communities of similar size around the state. “Comparatively speaking, I don’t think you’ll find another place in Florida with less congestion,” he said, adding, “Vero Beach always gets compared to Stuart, but Stuart’s traffic is worse.” That’s small consolation for a community that’s struggling to retain its relaxed pace, friendly feel and smalltown charm. Maybe you’ve noticed: The congestion on our roads and backups at intersections have produced an alarming increase in aggressive driving and road CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Interviews scheduled for Vaughn’s judicial seat The 19th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission announced on Monday that it will interview applicants in March for the judicial seat that opened up when Judge Dan Vaughn retired. Interviews are scheduled to be conducted on March 8, and possibly on March 9 if more time is needed, at the Martin County Courthouse. On Feb. 6, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Michael Dadko and Nina Ferraro to serve on the Judicial Nominating Committee. Vaughn, who was elected in 1990 and served on the bench for 32 years, lives in St. Lucie County and most recently presided over the felony criminal docket in Indian River County, but also worked around the circuit covering civil and other courts. Vaughn was only two years into his six-year term when he retired in January. Qualified applicants can reside anywhere in the 19th Judicial Circuit, which includes Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties. The candidate chosen would serve out the balance of Vaughn’s term and, if they chose to run, would be on the 2026 ballot. When asked who he thought might apply for his seat, Vaughn didn’t have any names to toss out, but he thought the opening would attract a large number of applicants. BY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer

8 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ room home sold for $400,000 above the listing price, totaling $2.3 million.” Closed sales in Riomar since 2019 tell an even more impressive story than soaring list prices. In the final pre-pandemic year of 2019, there were 10 sales in Riomar and Riomar Bay with a total value of $22,359,500 and an average sales price of $2.23 million, according to the Indian River County Property Appraiser. Against all odds, the pandemic juiced the market and there were 20 Riomar sales in 2020 worth $40,650,000. Then, in 2021, there were another 20 sales with an average sales price of $3.14 million, up nearly 40 percent from the year before, with a total value of $67,277,000. By 2022, a fraught year for the real estate market as a whole, the average price in Riomar had jumped to $5.08 million, 60 percent above the prior year and up more than 120 percent from 2019. There were 16 sales in 2022 with a total value of $81,350,000 – almost four times the sales volume in 2019. That blockbuster $81 million number included a $20 million sale on the water in Riomar Bay that set a new record for riverfront property in Vero, fetching 60 percent more than the previous recordholder. Twenty million was three times the $6.5 million the sellers paid in 2014 and there were similar price jumps on the ocean where Sorensen in March 2022 sold a home for $13.9 million that had changed hands two years earlier for $4,425,000. The home had been redecorated and upgraded but there was no major structural renovation between the two sales. “Riomar has always been one of the most desirable areas and now the market has really taken off there, due to its beautiful setting by the ocean and its location between the bridges, within walking or biking distance to town,” said Sorensen, whose company was involved in half of the sales in Riomar in 2022, repping either the seller or buyer. Sorensen has a long history with the neighborhood. She and her husband Dale Sorensen Sr. have owned and lived in four houses in Riomar, starting in the 1970s, and currently are building a new residence there. She sold her first of many homes in Riomar in 1980 and has a $4 million listing on the market now. “We have tried [living in] other places in Vero but we always come back to Riomar,” Sorensen said. Cindy O’Dare, broker-associate at ONE Sotheby’s International Realty who has sold many homes in the enclave, agreed that “Riomar has become the most sought-after neighborhood in Vero Beach. “There is no other place I have been on the east coast of Florida besides Riomar that has the beautiful historical houses and sandy streets with canopies of live oaks that can survive salt breezes and hurricanes,” O’Dare said. Premier Estate Properties estate agent Lange Sykes said Riomar has a “mystique” that no other island neighborhood possess. He notes the country club and golf course at the heart of the historic community and the allure of the setting between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. “It has wide, accreting beaches and there is a reef close to shore that is like a National Geographic documentary at times,” with abundant, colorful marine life, he said. He also talked about the boating and fishing virtues of the Riomar Bay side of the community where most homes have docks and water views. Like Sorensen, Sykes knows Riomar well. His grandparents owned one of the original cottages in the development, which stayed in the family until 2019, and he spent much of his childhood in the community, soaking up the seaside beauty and Old Florida ambiance. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 My Vero 772.494.7660 l 3055 Cardinal Dr, Suite 305, Vero Beach, FL 32963 www.warrencapitalmanagement.com Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Warren Capital Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. Jenna Suleman, Barbara E. Magee, Thomas J. Rollando, Sue M. Tompkins, Alexander S. Batt, Jamie Burger and Raz Ilie YOUR AMBITIONS. OUR MISSION. We could spend time detailing our decades of experience in managing the complexities of family and wealth. But our focus isn’t on us. Our mission is you. Helping generations of families live the lives they love. rage exhibited by motorists who recklessly weave in and out of traffic and run red lights. And yet a wrongheaded majority on the Vero Beach City Council wants to reduce lanes on State Road 60 through downtown. Let’s hope enough folks in our community show up at FDOT’s public hearings and voice the opposition needed to kill the shortsighted plan. Meanwhile, the county’s population continues to grow faster than local and state officials can build and widen roads to accommodate the increase in traffic. So be careful out there, and try to be patient. You’re not alone anymore. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Riomar Riomar and Riomar Bay shown online at Realtor.com and similar sites. What the current listings will sell for remains to be seen but Matilde Sorensen, co-owner of Dale Sorensen Real Estate, told Forbes Global that “as recently as October 2022 a three-bed- CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ held two meetings to seek information from state utility regulators, legal experts, local officials and utility customers about these governmentowned utilities and how they operate. The committee chair invited Vero Utilities customers from the Town of Indian River Shores to speak at the Feb. 9 meeting in Tallahassee. Shores Mayor Brian Foley and Councilman Bob Auwaerter traveled separately to Tallahassee and both spoke at the meeting, which was televised and live streamed on The Florida Channel. Shores Town Manager Jim Harpring also added his remarks, as did longtime utility activist Glenn Heran, a local CPA who worked for nine years advocating the sale of Vero Electric to FPL. Foley felt buoyed after the meeting. “We received a very warm reception from both sides of the aisle,” he said. “They were genuinely interested in hearing what we had to say. I was encouraged that there was bipartisan recognition and understanding about what they referred to as rogue utilities and that they’re going to be exploring a solution.” Shores officials told the committee about the town’s 2012 utility franchise agreement, and how Vero has increased rates on town customers in a way that the Shores says does not honor that contract. That story added to what the committee had already heard about utilities from Gainesville to Miami-Dade County. What the committee found out from the two meetings was that the setting of rates, the imposition of surcharges, and the use of utility revenues to pay for things unrelated to providing utility services is often arbitrary, with decision making handled by a revolving door of elected city or county officials who, on the whole, are not utility or financial experts. For example, the Vero Beach City Council approved a multi-year rate scheme hiking rates double digits per year based upon an estimate of how much the construction of a new stateof-the-art wastewater treatment plant might cost – with no actual project bids or financing documents in hand. The new plant has not even been designed yet, and will likely not be operational until 2027 or 2028. The rate increases appearing on bills this month were programmed based upon a guesstimate from staff and consultants that the new plant would cost $82 million, with total debt service totaling about $156 million. Vero’s customers will start paying those rates years prior to the first shovel breaking ground, or the first debt service payment being due. “Riomar is a haven for people who might otherwise live at (John’s Island) or one of the other club communities on the island but who aren’t into club life,” Sykes said. “It is the same caliber of people,” but a different lifestyle. “It is a small neighborhood where everyone is very cohesive and friendly,” said Sorensen. Just how special Riomar is can be seen by comparing its home prices with values in two nearby subdivisions – Castaway Cove and the section of Central Beach south of Beachland Boulevard. Both neighborhoods offer high-quality housing and enviable lifestyles, with the village charm of Central Beach and suburban ideal embodied along the shady streets of Castaway Cove. Values in both were lifted by the same pandemic tide that quadrupled the prices of some homes in Riomar. But even though the neighborhoods are close by and partake of the same general island lifestyle that has such appeal to buyers these days, their values remain far below values in Riomar. According to county records, there were 20 sales in Castaway Cove in 2022 with a total value of $29,068,000 and an average sales price of $1.45 million. In Central Beach south of Beachland, there were 22 sales worth $39,275,000 with an average price of $1.78 million – just 35 percent of the average price in Riomar. There are commonsense reasons for the price differential – lots and homes tend to be larger in Riomar than in Central Beach or Castaway, and Central Beach lacks waterfront properties, which are the most valuable. But more of the difference seems to be due to the “mystique” that Sykes mentioned, that blend of history, architecture, natural beauty and country club amenities that set the neighborhood apart. And prices could go higher still. Forbes Global, which was founded by Jeff Hyland – Josh Altman’s boss in early seasons of “Million Dollar Listings Los Angeles” – and is co-owned by Forbes, claims its articles reach 140 million people. If 1/100th of 1 percent of those folks read about and were intrigued by the thought of living in Riomar, that would be 14,000 extra potential buyers to put upward pressure on prices in the approximately 240- home enclave. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Riomar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Vero Utilities

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 11 What would the Florida Public Service Commission have to say about that if that scenario was presented by an investor-owned utility as part of the rate cases they are required to face. If utilities like Vero only served customers within the city limits who could vote city council members out of office, and no funds were transferred out of the utility to keep property taxes artificially low, a Florida House committee likely would have no interest in these local issues. But electric and water-sewer utilities all over the state do serve millions of customers who reside outside their political boundaries. And they do use their utilities as piggy banks to pad their general funds. As Auwaerter put it in his remarks to the committee members last week, “It’s just open season on customers outside the city.” Vero Beach officials contend that the owners of the utility – Vero Beach city residents – have a right to a “fair rate of return” because the city investNEWS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

12 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ If the Florida Legislature clamps down on municipal utilities that use money from customers outside the city limits to defray city dwellers’ property taxes, Vero Beach’s financial practices – while perfectly legal the way the law reads today – could get some scrutiny at the state level. In the City of Vero Beach’s last fiscal year prior to the 2019 electric sale, the water-sewer utility had an annual budget of $16.3 million. From that, the utility made a $974,000 contribution to Vero’s general fund, and also was charged $732,000 to cover the cost of running City Hall. Of that $1.7 million, customers outside the city limits paid approximately 40 percent or $682,000. In 2019, with the electric subsidy gone, City Hall expenses were re-allocated to the various city departments. For the 2022-23 fiscal year which began Oct. 1, the water-sewer utility was budgeted to have revenues of $17.4 million, make a $1.03 million direct contribution to the general fund, plus be charged $1.38 million for City Hall operations. Thus, though the water-sewer utility’s budgeted revenue rose by 6.7 percent between 2018 and 2022, the total transfers were hiked 42 percent to make up for revenue the city was no longer getting from the electric utility. To put it into perspective, the watersewer utility – even without increased transfers from the January rate hikes – will add $2.41 million to general fund coffers this fiscal year, roughly 40 percent of which is funded by customers in Indian River Shores and the South Barrier Island. Utility customers who live outside the city limits – a high percentage of whom are customers in Indian River Shores and the unincorporated part of South Beach – will have $964,000 skimmed off their water-sewer bills this year to subsidize Vero’s general fund. So overcharging water-sewer customers in Indian River Shores and ed in building a utility many decades ago. Where does this idea come from? The legislators asked this very question at the Jan. 24 committee meeting. The deputy general counsel of the Florida Public Service Commission explained that the “reasonable rate of return” concept was developed for investorowned utilities like Florida Power & Light, and he wasn’t sure how or when it was broadened to municipal utilities. The rationale for allowing monopoly utilities to turn a profit is that these companies need to pay dividends high enough to attract the private investment needed to build and maintain facilities. Government-owned utilities, however, fund capital improvements by floating bonds that are paid off by raising customers’ rates. If the PSC gains jurisdiction over municipal utilities through a change in Florida Statutes, the PSC commissioners could examine the rationale behind a municipality taking profits from its utility. The PSC could write new rules. The PSC could also redraw utility service territories if a deal was apNEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 Vero Utilities proved for a different utility to serve customers outside a utility’s city limits. The Town of Indian River Shores’ officials are quite excited about these possibilities, as are some south barrier island utility customers like Sandpointe resident Doug DeMuth, who has taken up the late Dr. Steve Faherty’s fight on behalf of residents of the unincorporated county against what he called Vero’s “predatory rate practices.” “Our major points of contention were that the City of Vero Beach’s profits on these (utility) services were used to subsidize unrelated services for Vero Beach residents,” DeMuth said. DeMuth, Foley and Auwaerter all asked the legislators to impose some common-sense regulation on municipal utilities to protect the outside customers. “There ought to be some form of redress, other than going to the fox that’s guarding the chicken coop and saying, you know, we think your rates are unfair,” Foley said, closing his comments to the subcommittee. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Could Vero’s utility transfers finally get state scrutiny? BY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer

14 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ the South barrier island lets Vero hold down the property tax rate for city residents by diverting from their payments an amount that is about 10 percent of what it collects in taxes from the whole city. The recently approved “One Rate” plan makes this situation worse for customers outside the city limits. Water-sewer bills just rose about 15 percent on Vero’s “One Rate” plan, which will apply to seven months of receipts this fiscal year. Utility customers on the South barrier Island and in the Town of Indian River Shores will pay at least $1 million into Vero’s general fund in the 2022-23 fiscal year through their utility bills. That’s an average of roughly $250 per year, per household outside the city limits. When water and sewer rates rise by another 15 percent in October, transfers into Vero’s general fund will increase, too. With the three compounded rate increases in January, in October and in October 2024, the direct transfers will increase 52 percent over 2022 levels as utility bills and revenues rise. NEWS 710 15th Pl., Vero Beach, FL 32960 I 772.999.3292 I VBAutoSports.net Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm I Saturday: 10am - 4pm I Closed Sunday Buy I Sell I Trade I Consignment I If We Don’t Have It, We Will Find It 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL 550, 56K Mi. 2002 Lexus SC 430, 47K Mi. 2023 Corvette Stingray 3LT, 970K Mi. 2018 BMW 430i, 52K Mi. 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera, 43K Mi. 2004 Porsche Boxter, 57K Mi. $22K $30K $18K $40K $114K $46K Family Owned & Operated Follow Us On Vero’s Exclusive Destination for Exciting Automobiles Specializing in Exotic, Luxury & Collectible Automobiles • Now Offering Financing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Vero’s utility transfers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Elite Airways was a message stating that the carrier’s reservation system was offline and undergoing an “upgrade and maintenance.” Asked by Vero Beach 32963 if he would comment on the new posting, Pearsall responded Monday with a text message saying, “No, thank you. We will let you know soon.” Hard to tell what “soon” means. A week earlier, when asked about the status of the announcement he promised months ago, Pearsall replied with a text message: “Elite is not ready to release yet.” That message followed a Jan. 27 text in which he wrote that the announcement was “just a few days away.” He later amended that to say the release would need to wait until the “following week.” When contacted via text on Feb. 3, Pearsall replied, “Call you later.” The call never came. The next day, he agreed to talk “tomorrow afternoon.” Again, no call. He didn’t bother to respond to an interview request on Feb. 5, prompting a next-morning call to his cellphone, which he didn’t answer. There was no option to leave a voice message. Pearsall has operated this way for months, dodging direct questions about the fate of his boutique airline, which hasn’t flown into or out of Vero Beach since June 30. He has not provided answers or explanations to anyone here – not Vero Beach Airport Director Todd Scher, not the local news media, not Elite customers – nor offered any definitive plan for the future. This lack of communication and transparency has left Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno wondering if Elite will ever return, especially after this month’s arrival of Breeze Airways, which enjoyed a wildly successful launch to its commercial passenger service to Hartford, Conn., and Westchester County, N.Y. “If Elite shows up, we’ll talk about it,” Cotugno said, referring to the City Council. “But me, personally? I’m not counting on it. Until we hear something definite, Elite isn’t even going to enter my thought processes.” The mayor said he’d rather focus on the city’s budding relationship with Breeze, adding the airline appears to be “well-financed, professionally run and very interested in succeeding in Vero Beach.” Drawing a comparison with Pearsall’s recent interactions with the city, Cotugno said he sent well-wishing emails to two Breeze executives on the night of Feb. 5, and he immediately received responses expressing gratitude for the warm reception from the community. “We’re supporting the Breeze operations the best we can,” Cotugno said, “and they said they could expand their flights if the initial service is successful.” Asked if he had a message for Elite, Cotugno replied: “Take care and safe travels.” His remark wasn’t surprising, given Elite’s sudden and unexplained disappearance. Elite began offering non-stop passenger-jet service between Vero Beach and Newark, N.J. in December 2015, then added flights to Portland, Maine, Westchester County, N.Y., and Asheville, N.C. Last spring, though, the carrier began canceling flights before completely shutting down in June. In a text exchange with this newspaper in December, Pearsall wrote that he expects the airline to resume service during the first quarter of 2023, adding that he would make an announcement “right after New Year’s.” Scher is still waiting for it. He said Monday he hadn’t spoken to Pearsall in more than three weeks. Unless Elite solves its problems and talks steps to actually resume service to Vero Beach, this is the final story like this you will read in 32963

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 15 NEWS Now is the time to stock up on Covid home test kits As the number of new weekly COVID-19 infections continues to decline across most of Florida – with local numbers holding steady at 120 cases – the time to stock up on COVID home test kits and get a booster shot is now, before federal regulations change in May or supplies run out. The federal public health emergency declared for COVID-19 is set to expire. Unless it’s extended, test kits, vaccines and medications used to treat COVID illness will eventually shift to being sold on the “commercial market” without government stockpiles or subsidies. Some things won’t change immediately on May 11, provided that the federal government still has these products in stock purchased under contract during the emergency declaration. “As long as federally purchased vaccines last, COVID-19 vaccines will remain free to all people, regardless of insurance coverage. Providers of federally purchased vaccines are not allowed to charge patients or deny vaccines based on the recipient’s coverage or network status,” the Kaiser Family Foundation reported. After the federal stockpile runs out, the report said Medicare patients should still be able to get free COVID vaccines, but the uninsured or underinsured likely won’t have access to those needed boosters. At-home test kits, now widely available under Emergency Use Authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will be an outof-pocket expense for many people after the public health emergency expires. “After May 11, 2023, people with traditional Medicare will no longer receive free, at-home tests. Those with private insurance and Medicare Advantage (private Medicare plans) no longer will be guaranteed free athome tests, but some insurers may continue to voluntarily cover them,” Kaiser said. “For those on Medicaid, at-home tests will be covered at no-cost through September 2024. After that date, home test coverage will vary by state.” In the meantime, two ways to get free or reimbursed test kits are through insurance coverage (8 kits per month should be covered), or through the U.S. Postal Service’s free test kit distribution program at www.covid. gov/tests. For COVID-19 tests performed at a medical office after May 11, the test itself will still be covered for most insured people, but a copay may be required for the doctor’s visit. Telehealth flexibility for Medicare recipients has been extended through Dec. 31, 2024, but people with private insurance will need to check to see what their policy covers after May 11 for telemedicine. COVID oral treatments have been provided through a supply of medications purchased directly from companies like Merck and Pfizer by the federal government. That won’t change while those supplies last. “Any pharmaceutical treatment doses (e.g. Paxlovid) purchased by the federal government are still free to all, regardless of insurance coverage,” Kaiser said. “This is based on the availability of the federal supply and is not affected by the end of the public health emergency.” After that pre-purchased supply runs out, most insured people including Medicare recipients will need to pay a cost share for those treatments, just like any other prescription medication. For people on Medicaid, COVID treatments will be free through Sept. 2024, the report said. A separate issue from the supply and cost to patients of the vaccines, tests and treatments is that eventually, the emergency authorizations granted by the FDA will end, and drug companies will need to complete the process of obtaining full FDA approval for their products. The FDA has yet to issue a Federal Register notice on that topic. “Importantly, the ending of the public health emergency declared by HHS under the Public Health Service Act will not impact FDA’s ability to authorize devices (including tests), treatBY LISA ZAHNER Staff Writer CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

16 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ ments or vaccines for emergency use. Existing emergency use authorizations for products will remain in effect and the agency may continue to issue new EUAs going forward when criteria for issuance are met,” the FDA’s Jan. 31 update said. Though the timeline is unknown, when drug makers need to present their efficacy and safety data to the FDA to obtain traditional, nonemergency approvals, each test, vaccine and therapeutic medication should face a high level of scrutiny from FDA officials that the urgency and the politics surrounding a growing pandemic did not allow in 2020 when the EUAs were first issued. In other virus news, the number of hospital admissions for Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is up along the Treasure and Space coasts this month, but influenza activity is down across the state of Florida. NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 Covid test kits

Ken and Julie Mindt with Gail and Scott Alexander. ACHIEVING IS BELIEVING 25 YEARS OF ‘GIFFORD YOUTH’ EXCELLENCE P. 24

18 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation celebrated its 30thanniversary with a real chuckle fest, drawing a packed house to the Community Church of Vero Beach for (LOL) Laughing Out Loud with Carl Hiaasen. During her welcome, Marie Stiefel, LRJF president, shared that having a sister who is a writer and documentary filmmaker has given her a great respect for the effort it takes to produce a good poem, book or film, and said that she was hooked after learning about all the foundation does to nurture writers of all ages. “The support of writers, together with my interest in caring for the environment and preserving history, as we do with Laura’s 1910 house, attracted me to this foundation,” said Stiefel. “This year, LRJF is celebrating 30 years of service to this community. Something that seems so remarkable when we recall our first days as a small group of people, passionate to save a house and the incredible literary legacy of Laura’s work.” Over the past 30 years, she said, LRJF has preserved the historic ‘Cracker’ style home of Laura (Riding) Jackson, a noted poet of the 20th century. The nonprofit lovingly moved the house and pole barn to its current location on the Mueller campus of Indian River State College and planted a native Florida garden there. The foundation offers literary-based adult and teen writers’ programs and workshops, and hosts fundraising events so that all can rejoice in the love of language. Xaque Gruber introduced the “renowned newsman and novelist,” Carl Hiaasen, and noted that this was the single largest fundraiser for LRJF in its 30-year history. Hiaasen, a Florida native and Vero Beach resident, had a storied career as a Miami Herald columnist, which gave him endless fodder to humorously address environmental issues and political corruption in his numerous Florida-based novels over the years. Two of his novels, “Striptease” and “Hoot,” have been made into feature films, and an Apple TV series starring Vince Vaughn, based on “Bad Monkey,” is scheduled to air sometime this year. Hiaasen said his writing style evolved during his newspaper years, noting, “You write every day so that muscle gets pretty tuned up Hiaasen’s hilarity highlights special Jackson Foundation fete BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF Staff Writer Marie Stiefel and Jacque Jacobs. PHOTOS: AMANDA DUFFY Randy and Jody Old. Carl Hiaasen. Christine Light, Bruce Fraser and Christine Ryall. Judy Saydah with Susan and Tom Flannery. Patricia Meisol and Gary Goldberg.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 19 and then I would go home at night and work on the books.” Miami in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s provided him with a mountain of material for books, including stories that struck him as “bizarre and warped,” such as men sleeping with alligators, the theft of nativity figures, a woman who hid a baby gator in her pants, and even the theft of a foot stolen from a car accident. As a satirist Hiaasen said he takes the ridiculous and cranks it up a notch. For instance, his book “Razor Girl” was inspired by a car accident in the Keys that was caused by a woman who had been shaving her “private parts” while driving. “I have lived in Vero for about 17 or 18 years. There’s not a lot of headlines that come out of Vero or this area compared to what the rest of the state generates. That’s probably why a lot of us live here,” he added. On April 22, LRJF will host its 12th annual Poetry & Barbecue fundraiser. For more information, visit lrjf.org.

20 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Sponsors of the new Garden of Glass Exhibition at McKee Botanical Garden were invited for an afternoon wine reception to meet Seattle-based master glass artist Jason Gamrath, who created the 10 magnificent glass sculptures, including orchids, waterlilies, and even carnivorous pitcher plants and Venus fly traps, on display through April 30. Gamrath explained that what he does is considered glass sculpting, as opposed to traditional blown glass work. His process begins by watching as an actual flower grows over time, keeping track of the shapes during each stage of development, and sculpting pieces representing each stage. “I’m basically just taking the way the plant would grow and growing it in glass, not with my bare hands, because the glass is 3,000 degrees, but with different tools,” said Gamrath. “I take that molten glass and, like a living thing, you kind of push it into the shape you want it to be. The glass really is alive. It’s moving all the time, and gravity affects it, and centrifugal force affects it. So it’s a lot like how a plant normally would grow.” He explained that the vibrant colors in his glassworks are obtained by adding colored powders to clear glass and layering them one upon the other. “By the time you’re done, you end up looking through about five different colors. And all of those different gradients affect it and make it look more realistic,” said Gamrath. “What’s so fun about the complexity when we start working in those extravagant color patterns, is to just make those subtle things that nature does. Nature does it effortlessly. It takes us years and years and years to even get 1/10th as good as nature does something. Getting close is good enough for people, I think.” Gamrath said the beauty of having the large glass sculptures – the pieces in the exhibit range from 6 feet to 14 feet tall – next to the real thing is that they draw attention to the subtle details of the plants and how their own color gradients flow. “I love that you can have right beside it, something organic and living that just tells the whole story of how these small details can just blow your mind if you just stare at them,” said Gamrath. “That’s part of why I make them so large and exaggerated. Because I just love what they really are.” Each piece takes some 100 hours to complete, from the time the glass is taken out of the furnace to cooling it down over the course of the week. As a result, he said each piece takes a lot of people with very specific skill sets that can take at least six years to master. “Depending on the number of flowers, the number of pieces in each flower, it could easily take a year to build a piece. When I was starting out, it took me years and years and years just to get one single good flower.” For more information, visit McKeeGarden.org. Jason Gamrath and Christine Hobart. PHOTOS: AMANDA DUFFY Proudly Serving the Treasure Coast for over 40 years 640 Old Dixie Highway Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-569-3874 [email protected] ISA Certified Arborist Hazardous Tree Removal Oak Tree Trimming Specialist Professional Mangrove Trimmers Fully Licensed and Insured McKee ‘Garden of Glass’ artist details the how – and wow BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Liz Schroeder and Karen Meyer.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 21 King and Dace Stubbs, Jason Gamrath and Lindy Street. Barb and Dave Kaytes. Bob Formisano and Claudia Owen. Bob and Tina DiScipio with Susi and Russell Barton. Harry and Ilona Benham. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

22 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Paul Landry and Roz Allen. Karen and John Bozza. Avery and Russ Twiss. Toni Hamner, Sheila Marshall and Ann Hamner. Bob and Connie Wood. Julia and Conrad Herrmann. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

24 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ 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 Supporters of the Gifford Youth Achievement Center celebrated 25 years of ‘Changing Lives, Changing Futures’ at a Night to Remember fundraiser at the Oak Harbor Club that featured a look back at the history of the remarkable nonprofit. GYAC was founded by the visionary Chairman Emeritus Dr. A. Ronald Hudson, the late Dan K. Richardson and the late Rev. Dr. William Nigh, and is guided by executive director Angelia Perry, her staff and board, led by chairwoman Dr. Deborah Taylor-Long. Freddie Woolfork, director of public relations and facilities operations, said GYAC is as needed today as it was 25 years ago to continue that ‘old Gifford spirit’ of working in unity for excellence and self-motivation in the children they serve. Taylor-Long introduced Carolyn Dean, wife of the late John Dean, the architect who designed the GYAC building and then served 10 years as its first board chairman. “He loved beauty and buildings like GYAC. He liked to call buildings frozen music,” said Carolyn Dean, adding that designing and building GYAC had been one of John Dean’s greatest joys. “Thank you to our donors, collaborative partners and this community for making this celebration possible,” said Perry. A video presentation related that the “Miracle on 43rd Avenue” was the result of concerns over the drastic decline in graduation rates by Black students following desegregation. A quarter-century later, GYAC is thriving, with 230 students in the educational afterschool program and more than 300 in the academic-based summer camp. Achieving is believing: 25 years of ‘Gifford Youth’ excellence BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Bernadette and Mike Emerick. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Angelia Perry, Percy Perry and Betty Gibson. PHOTOS, STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 25 Bob and Karen Drury. Joe Idlette III with Denise and Winfred Smith. George and Marlen Higgs. Ellen and Jerry Zollenberg. Pat and Tim Brier.

26 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ “The high school graduation rate of African-American students in Indian River County for the 2020-21 school year was 93 percent,” said Perry in the video. “This is proof that when children know they have someone in their corner, someone who believes in them through the highs and lows of life, they can achieve things they never imagined.” Bradyn Harp, a Gifford Middle School eighth-grader, and Justin Woulard, a Vero Beach High School 10thgrader, spoke eloquently about their GYAC experiences. “GYAC is a place that allows me to excel academically, offers me a chance at special activities like field trips, and even lets me to talk to astronauts in space,” said Harp, who spoke about an activity-packed trip to Atlanta, having an “amazing” opportunity to speak with astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines in the International Space Station, and being exposed to job opportunities and training through the Youth Employability Program. “From the tutors to the trips and the chance to talk to someone in space, the center has helped me reach for the stars, literally,” said Harp. Nick and Liz Melnick. Sandy and George Kahle. Elke and George Fetterolf. Freddie Woolfork with Sandy and Randy Rolf. Sam and Linda Block.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 27 Woulard started at GYAC in kindergarten and is now ranked No. 1 out of 760 students in his sophomore class. “I attribute my academic success to GYAC and my family,” said Woulard, who interned with an engineering firm over the summer through YEP. “The list of opportunities that GYAC provides me and hundreds more kids goes on and on. It is programs like GYAC that encourage me to excel at high levels so that one day I can give back to the kids in my community. Please continue to change lives and change futures as you have done for me and my family.” “They are just two of our shining stars at GYAC, and the reason why we will continue, as Dr. Long has stated, changing lives, changing futures for the next 25 years,” said Perry. Following dinner, guests danced to their own devices, donning headphones for a ‘silent disco’ to boogie the night away. For more information, visit mygyac. org. 2018 AUDI A6 • 5,909 Mi. 2022 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE • 1,703 Mi. 2016 MERCEDES-BENZ SL 400 • 14,251 Mi. 2019 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER HSE • 28,595 MI. 2009 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4S • 26,105 Mi. 2018 MASERATI GRANTURISMO CONVERT. • 22,291 Mi. 2022 BMW X5 M50i • 62 Mi. 2018 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA • 9148 Mi. 2023 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CONVERT. 2LT • 180 Mi. $84,750 $94,830 $104,739 $34,750 $39,750 $52,750 $68,316 $69,750 $76,844 SELL US YOUR CAR. WE PAY TOP DOLLAR. IMMEDIATE PAYMENT. STATE OF THE ART SERVICE FACILITY • WE SERVICE ALL MAKES AND MODELS • FINANCING AVAILABLE WINTER HOURS Monday - Friday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM • Saturday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM • Sunday: Closed Service Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00AM - 5:00PM ROSNER MOTORSPORTS Contact Us Sales: (772) 469-4600 rosnermotorsports.com 2813 Flight Safety Dr., Vero Beach, FL 32960 TREASURE COAST’S LUXURY DESTINATION SHOP 24/7 AT ROSNERMOTORSPORTS.COM 52 Years In Business!

28 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The opulent Art Deco era took center stage at the Vero Beach Museum of Art Gala 2023: Art in Motion, which gave leadership donors and sponsors a first look at the stunning new exhibition, Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles. Cocktails in hand, more than 500 guests wandered through the museum’s Holmes, Titelman, Schumann and Stark galleries viewing an extraordinary collection of rare automobiles from an era known as much for its sumptuousness as for its excess. Those, along with forwardthinking innovation, are on display in the 20 cars and two motorcycles showcased here, as is a selection of Lalique hood ornaments. The event was chaired by Ron and Nancy Rosner, and the exhibit was co-organized by the museum with guest curator Ken Gross, an automotive journalist and former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Guests later dined in the Buck Atrium and the Holmes Great Hall, enjoying enjoyed a delicious repast catered by Elizabeth Kennedy & Co., and finished off the evening by dancing in the Post Rotunda. The Rolling Sculpture Exhibit will be on display through April 30. For more information visit VBMuseum.org. 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 Vero Museum all ‘Deco’-ed out for lavish Art Gala 2023 BY MARY SCHENKEL Staff Writer Mary Ellen and Rick McCarthy. PHOTOS: JOSHUA KODIS Liz and Tommy Farnsworth.

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 29 Ross and Connie Cotherman. Dawn and Mark Goldberg. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

30 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Dr. Alistair Kennedy with Mary Beth and Dr. John McDonald. Paul Russell and Beryl Raff. Bernie and Linda Kastory with Fran and Bob Zielsdorf. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 31 Tina Nickle and Annette Rodriguez. Ned and Emily Sherwood. Margaret Stephan, Doug and Dhuanne Tansill, and Trish Bailey. Julie Uyterhoeven, Sandy Rolf and Anke Van Wagenberg. Carter and Lucy Rise with Carol and Ted Price. PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

32 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 PEOPLE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Matilde and Dale Sorensen. Paul and Emily Kleinschmidt. Angela and Al Diaz. Virginia and Warren Schwerin. Ted and Dawn Michael. Don and Mary Blair. John Loughnane and Carole Sebbane. PHOTOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

34 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT COVER STORY The concrete and glass buildings just off Loudoun County Parkway in Ashburn, Virginia, look like an ordinary collection of offices, save for the spiked metal fences and a security guard posted at the parking lot entrance. Inside is the beating heart of the internet in the eastern United States. Informally known as the MAE-East network access point, the Ashburn site owned and operated by the Equinix digital infrastructure company is one of several “primary nodes” for the internet. From it springs a web of underground fiber-optic cables linking to the region’s growing number of data centers and to trans-Atlantic cables that connect Northern Virginia to other parts of the world. Northern Virginia is home to about 275 data centers, handling at least a third of the world’s online use. Dozens more of the massive structures are either under construction or planned as local officials seek to tap into the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue generated by an industry that requires few government services in return. And as more people use cloud computing devices in their daily lives – streaming video, storing files, Zooming to work – their actions fuel a demand for even more data centers to store, process and disseminate that digital information. The growth in the industry, underscored by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s announcement last month that Amazon plans to invest $35 billion by 2040 to build multiple data centers across the state, has sparked debates about local land use policies in neighborhoods where data center buildings – some the size of several football fields – sit less than 100 feet from the nearest home. Residents and some local legislators argue that the industry’s footprint in the region is expanding too much, too fast and in the wrong places, posing potential risks to the surrounding environment – and, in some cases, creating noise from cooling fans that disrupt neighborhoods. A view of the Loudoun Meadows neighborhood in Aldie, Northern Virginia, alongside a Microsoft data center under construction.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 35 CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 INSIGHT COVER STORY Ashburn became the center of the internet on the East Coast in the 1990s, after AOL and WorldCom Inc. moved their operations there, said Josh Levi, president of the Data Center Coalition trade group. Because the success of online computing is measured by the least amount of delay – or latency – in the movement of data, physical proximity to the MAE-East primary node is key, leading many of the earliest data centers to also set up their operations in Loudoun County, Levi said. Each new data center built has meant more fiber-optic cable laid, increasing the network’s density while broadening it outward – “and it becomes this kind of snowballing of connectivity,” he said. The spreading infrastructure – including electric transmission lines servicing the industry – has allowed surrounding jurisdictions to market their available land as data center sites. Today, nearly 13,500 people in Virginia work in the data center industry, which supports 45,000 total jobs, with the state offering tens of millions of dollars in tax exemptions to attract more data centers, according to state economic development officials. Local jurisdictions can tax the value of the computer equipment inside the buildings without having to provide many government services – giving Northern Virginia a steady stream of funds that, officials say, can go toward schools or affordable housing. Loudoun County collects about $576 million in annual local tax revenue from its 115 data centers, a third of its property value stream. A proposed 2,100-acre “Digital Gateway” project in Gainesville that hasn’t reached development stages would generate another $400 million, county officials say. And the industry is expanding across the Potomac River into Maryland, where Frederick County officials are preparing for a 2,100-acre data center campus planned for a long-dormant aluminum factory site. Levi said the demand for more large data centers will only increase as the world turns to self-driving vehicles, smart refrigerators, virtual-reality softA recently built data center behind homes in Northern Virginia.

36 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 INSIGHT COVER STORY ware and other forms of cloud-based technology. In the future, smaller “edge data centers” serving self-driving vehicles from one location to the next and connected via fiber-optic cables to larger data centers will also become part of the local landscape, he said. “You are going to see a lot of those smaller data centers moving forward, closer to people to help provide that more immediate compute power,” he said. Carlos Yanes believes he can tell when the world’s internet activity spikes most nights. It’s when he hears the sounds of revving machinery, followed by a whirring peal of exhaust fans that are part of the computer equipment cooling system inside an Amazon Web Services data center about 600 feet from his house. The sound keeps him awake, usually while nursing a headache brought on by the noise, and has largely driven his family out of the upstairs portion of their Great Oaks home, where the sound is loudest. Before his 1-year-old son, Derek, was born, he and his wife, Stephany, converted a bedroom near their own into a nursery decorated with cartoons of baby safari animals. The child hasn’t spent much time there, though, sleeping instead near a pile of suitcases and old toys in a basement storage area, with white-noise machines placed all over the house in hopes of drowning out the sound of the data center fans. Amazon has placed shrouds around the exhaust fans atop all three of its functioning data centers at the site. But those haven’t done much to muffle the sound, neighborhood residents say. The company also plans to install wind bands on the fans and replace the blades with quieter ones, a process that is likely to take several months. Gloria Biess, who lives with her husband, John, across the street from Yanes, said the sound has kept her from spending time in her backyard serenity garden. Biess, 74, raises the volume of her smart TV while reading the Google News site on her laptop, aware that her way of drowning out the sound relies on data centers like the ones that upset her. “I think about it all the time: All the technology we enjoy,” she said. “We’re addicted to it, aren’t we?” Part of the issue is related to Prince William County’s 33-year-old noise ordinance, which in residential areas like Great Oak limits daytime noise to 60 decibels, or what a normal conversation sounds like from about three feet away, and 55 decibels at night. But the ordinance exempts air conditioners, which are what the data center cooling systems and exhaust fans technically are. Ann B. Wheeler, chairwoman of the Ben Keethler, a member of the homeowners association board at Loudoun Meadows in Aldie, stands on the neighborhood beach, where the view across the lake now includes nearly finished Microsoft data center buildings.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 37 INSIGHT COVER STORY Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said the county is in preliminary discussions about updating the noise ordinance to regulate large commercial air conditioners. But, she said, that conversation is complicated because it could also affect other businesses, such as grocery stores. Prince William County, hoping to surpass Loudoun County as the industry’s largest hub, is trying to expand its specially designated “overlay district” for data centers into some rural areas while adding design standards, such as noise buffers, tree planting and building colors that blend in with the surrounding environment. Loudoun County officials are preparing similar “performance standards” for noise and environmental impact, said Supervisor Michael R. Turner, who chairs a county land use and transportation committee. The two data center buildings just outside the Loudoun Meadows neighborhood in Aldie are included in a 2020 lawsuit brought by Amazon, alleging that former employees and business partners ran a multimilliondollar real estate fraud scheme that has triggered a federal investigation. Homeowners see what appears to be a lack of activity at the unfinished site as a reprieve from a dark new reality – one where the shadows of the buildings fall over some houses in the mornings. During the past three years, their neighborhood has become ringed by data center buildings, with Microsoft developing another hub of data centers on a 66-acre site that sits across a manmade lake from Loudoun Meadows. When houses in the residential development began selling in the early 2010s, prospective buyers didn’t realize that what looked like farmland abutting the property was actually zoned for light-industrial use, allowing a data center to be built “by right,” without needing a vote from the county board, residents said. Instead, the Loudoun Meadows website featured pastoral photos of the lake, with a fisherman gliding past a red barn in one photo. “That was one of the selling points; it was the lake and the farm,” said Krista Geller, whose house, which she and her husband bought in 2013, now sits about 70 feet from one of the Amazon buildings. That was the scene until the data center construction began in 2019, a few months before many residents hunkered down during the pandemic and worked from home, said Ben Keethler, a member of the homeowners association board. Now, a pair of empty beachfront chairs at the lake look out toward a horizon of nearly finished buildings at the Microsoft site, a scene punctuated by the beeps of construction cranes. Carlos Yanes in his home's basement storage area, where he sleeps near his 1-year-old, Derek, because data center noise has driven the family from their second-floor bedrooms.

38 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT EDITORIAL During the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza office is closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding. The long-awaited release last month of the 2022 "Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP)" by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has disappointed both skeptics and supporters alike. Skeptics would prefer to see almost all UAPs dismissed as misidentified conventional objects such as drones and balloons and, indeed, nearly one-half of the 366 newly reported UAPs fell into that category. But remarkably, the other half did not and some were even said to demonstrate “unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, [that] require further analysis.” Yet this important admission hardly satisfies UAP/ UFO supporters who wonder why that analysis has not already been accomplished. After all, the UFO phenomenon itself is hardly new; unusual flight and performance characteristics have been reported since at least 1947 and it is totally naïve to believe that the military/intelligence community has not already commissioned some fairly sophisticated analysis of a small number of UAPs/UFOs that could pose a national security threat. In that regard, this latest unclassified report (is there a classified version?) is unhelpful and simply continues an official obscurantism with respect to important aspects of this mystery. Some UFO supporters have asserted for decades that the government has been hiding evidence that some UFOs/UAPs are extra-terrestrial. Perhaps, but no smoking gun has ever surfaced. On the other hand, skeptics have also asserted that some UFOs are a convenient “cover” for the government’s own clandestine flight/technology programs, designed to keep deep secrets and mislead potential enemies. Perhaps some are, but this theory – currently popular with the smart chattering Classes – has its own set of problems. First, solid military reports of UFOs that hover, perform extraordinary turns and accelerate without noise (exotic UFOs) have been accumulating since at least the 1940s. Are we to believe that the U.S. has had this particular advanced technology for the last 7 decades but that none of it has yet to openly surface in our own security regime? Hard to believe. Second, there are dozens of military reports of (very) close encounters of U.S. jets in pursuit of UFOs. There are solid non-classified reports of onboard jamming (EM) of radar and electronics. Very dangerous stuff. Again, it is difficult to believe that a cover for some clandestine program could ever justify repeated risky UFO pursuits and/or possible mid-air collisions with military jets or commercial planes and their passengers. But not difficult to believe if the actual purpose of such close inspections was to discover more about the technology of exotic UFOs. Third, UFOs that have exhibited “unusual…performance capabilities” have been observed all over the world, recorded on radar all over the world and chased by military aircraft all over the world...for decades. Almost every country in Europe and Latin America has a vast data resource on the phenomenon that contains reports that are identical to those in all previous U.S. collection programs. The point is that it is almost impossible to believe that any U.S. covert program would ever risk an accident or crash of its own decades-ahead exotic technology (with possible debris recovery by a foreign power) over Ukraine or Mexico City or Madrid or, frankly, even over the outskirts of Detroit. Does not pass the smell test. So what are exotic UFOs? What is “under the covers” so to speak? Certainly, the recent congressional concern that we get to the bottom of this mystery is hopeful, although there are many decades of official disappointments on this matter. Perhaps the next intelligence report will have some real answers. This one does not. Dom Armentano, Professor Emeritus in Economics at the University of Hartford (Ct.), lives in Vero Beach. This column does not necessarily reflect the views of Vero Beach 32963.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 39 INSIGHT OP-ED AeroMexico canceled Patrizia Azzellini's flight and offered her a ticket credit. She wants a refund. QUESTION: I recently booked a ticket on AeroMexico from Sacramento, Calif., to Sao Paulo, Brazil, with two stops in Mexico. The airline canceled my flight three weeks later and rebooked me on a different flight. The new itinerary added a ten-hour stopover and no longer met my needs, so I asked for a refund. I called AeroMexico three times to ask for my money back. Although the representatives were very friendly, they were no help. When I asked for a supervisor, there was never one available. AeroMexico gave me two options: Either I accept a flight voucher or I take the new flight. But I thought when an airline cancels a flight or makes substantial changes to someone's itinerary, I'm entitled to a full refund – even for nonrefundable tickets. Can you help me? ANSWER: You're correct, if an airline cancels your flight, you get a refund. That's a Department of Transportation (DOT) regulation. And not only that, but the airline must reimburse you within a week if you paid by credit card, which you did. Ah, but wait – does that apply to an AeroMexico flight to Mexico City? As a matter of fact, it does. DOT regulations affect any commercial aircraft operating in the United States, regardless of destination. Airlines would prefer you accept their new flights or a ticket credit. But you don't have to. We had a problem with airlines pushing vouchers on passengers during the pandemic. Airlines said they couldn't offer refunds because of "extraordinary" circumstances. But the DOT would not allow that and reminded airlines they were required to offer refunds. It looks like you tried to call AeroMexico to resolve this. Then you sent a formal request in writing – first through the airline's website and then to one of the executive contacts at AeroMexico that I publish on my consumer advocacy website. The airline ignored you. Asking for a supervisor in a phone call rarely works. Chances are, they will pass you off to a colleague pretending to be a supervisor and tell you "no" in a hundred different ways. You also told an agent you would take legal action against AeroMexico if you didn't get a refund. I understand your frustration, but if you do that, your complaint may get routed to the airline's legal department, which is often a dead end. Remaining calm and reminding the airline of its requirements under the law might have been more effective than threatening a lawsuit. You could have also filed a complaint with the DOT. The agency would have contacted AeroMexico, and I'm sure you would have had a refund quickly. But I reached out to the airline on your behalf, and it agreed to refund your ticket. Get help with any consumer problem by contacting Christopher Elliott at http://www.elliott.org/help

40 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ What better place than a museum to try to keep the dead alive? When cancer robbed Patrick Bringley of his 26-year-old big brother, Tom, he quit his job in the events department at the New Yorker magazine, “a bit blinded by the bright lights,” and went to work as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He stayed for 10 years. “I arrive at the Met with no thought of moving forward,” Bringley writes at the outset of “All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me,” his exquisite account of that decade. “My heart is full, my heart is breaking, and I badly want to stand still awhile.” Stand still he did. And walk, on “sole-slapping marble” (painful after 12 hours) and creaking wooden floorboards (sweet relief). And pace and pause and contemplate and direct visitors to the restrooms and the mummies. For days, then months, then years on end. He drank in the art, found community with the other guards and smiled to himself as museumgoers blew past masterpieces to take a picture of “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” What emerges is a beautiful tale about beauty. It is also a tale about grief, balancing solitude and comradeship, and finding joy in both the exalted and the mundane. Bringley’s communion with the art seems to fill a spiritual need, but it’s a corporal one, too. On one of his first mornings, before the visitors begin to troop in, he marvels at this perfect job he’s found: “It’s just me and the Rembrandts. Just me and the Botticellis. Just me and these vibrant phantoms I can almost believe are flesh and blood.” The $80 annual “hose allowance” the guards receive for socks belies the fact that he has nowhere to go where he isn’t accompanied by these phantoms pinned to the walls. It suits him. “I’ve surrendered to the turtleish movement of a watchman’s time,” he writes. “I can’t fill it, or kill it, or fritter it into smaller bits. What might be excruciating if suffered for an hour or two is oddly easy to bear in large doses.” The art can overawe him. His home section as a rookie is the old-masters wing, and Bruegel’s “The Harvesters” is his go-to painting, as it is for so many. “I responded to that great painting in a way that I now believe is fundamental to the peculiar power of art. Namely, I experienced the great beauty of the picture even as I had no idea what to do with that beauty. I couldn’t discharge the feeling by talking about it.” Bringley sometimes tries to tame his overwhelming feelings about the art by bringing it down to earth. He views the old-master wing as akin to a village, and over time he counts all the inhabitants: There are 8,496, scattered among 596 paintings, and they include “every little background cherub, bullfight spectator, and ant-sized gondolier,” he says in a footnote. Section B? It has 210 Jesuses. “If you’re wondering how I could possibly count all that,” he says, “you underestimate the kind of time I have.” Time is Bringley’s leitmotif. He singles out art that speaks to different concepts of time – the work of the Egyptians, with their “neheh,” whose essence was a circle; a Titian portrait of a young man in which “time appears to have pooled instead of frozen, as if past and future are subsumed by the vital present”; a Greek statue called the New York kouros that Bringley feels especially connected to “as a fellow transplant, and as one who also stands in the museum day after day.” His meditations on time seem intended to help Bringley heal from the loss of his brother, but they can deliver harsh truths, too. One morning he spends some time indulging inquisitive schoolchildren peppering him with questions about the mummies in the perennially popular Egyptian wing. “A minute later they bolt from the room, and I’m left behind to reflect on how ugly the mummifying impulse was, what a failure, what a brazen, feeble denial of a fundamental truth. The body doesn’t make it. Believe all you want that some piece of a person is immortal, but a significant part is mortal, inescapably, and mad science will not stop it from breaking down.” Bringley may put paint and marble at the center of his book, but he reserves affection for the people of the Met, too, whether visitors, laborers, passersby or fellow security guards. He observes the workaday churn with a keen eye. On his first day, the guard training him points out a well-tailored curator, eyes on the floor as he hurries toward his office behind closed doors. “The irony doesn’t escape either of us,” Bringley writes. “Those of us who spend all day out in the open with the masterpieces, we’re the ones in the cheap suits.” Bringley’s fellow guards are a diverse lot, drawn to the Met for diverse reasons. At the New Yorker, his peers were mostly recent graduates of elite private schools, but here, he knows sentries who have “commanded a frigate in the Bay of Bengal” and “painted facial features on department store mannequins.” An older Togolese banker named Joseph who survived an assassination attempt becomes his closest friend in the guard corps. On the last day of work for Bringley, who a decade later is still a young man, Joseph fantasizes about his own future in their shared language of art. He will retire to his mother’s village in Ghana, he says, and watch the fishermen: “‘You know the Winslow Homer painting in Section G of the Black guy lying on the raft? Sharks are circling around him, there’s a storm off in the distance, but he’s seen the worst already and he’s just relaxing like this’ – Joseph strikes a pose – ‘that’s me.’” Bringley clearly gets it. In his case it’s his old friend “The Harvesters” that helps him see his return to the forward-moving world. He views it for the “thousandth” time, focusing now not on the laborers in the foreground pausing for their meal, but on the distant “children throwing sticks at a helpless rooster, the monks bathing in a swimming hole, a cattle driver hauling a load of hay.” The arrested figures, this time, remind him that it’s time to go. “Standing is a skill that can rust,” he says, and “the world doesn’t make itself easy to draw.” ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AND ME BY PATRICK BRINGLEY | SIMON & SCHUSTER. 226 PP. $27.99 REVIEW BY MARY JO MURPHY, THE WASHINGTON POST INSIGHT BOOKS

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 41 INSIGHT BRIDGE THE BIG SLEEP WAS EXPENSIVE By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist Professor Noam Chomsky wanted to write a sentence that was grammatically correct but had no meaning. He produced: “Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.” At the bridge table, it doesn’t pay to sleep, whether furiously or calmly, unless you are the dummy and can trust partner not to lead from the wrong hand or renege. You must keep your eyes open and mind awake. A few contracts you can make “in your sleep,” but most of the time a catnap will result in im-purr-fect play! North’s sequence showed exactly what he had: a good six-card club suit with about 10 high-card points. (If playing two-over-one, I think North should respond three clubs, sending the same message.) South’s three-no-trump rebid was iffy with no guaranteed spade stopper and a blocking singleton club ace. The bid would have been much better if holding two clubs and one fewer diamond. West led a spade. East won with his king and returned a spade to declarer’s queen. South unblocked the club ace, then played three rounds of hearts. East won the last of these with the 10, cashed the heart queen and exited with the diamond jack. However South wriggled, he couldn’t come to nine tricks. As often happens, declarer was dozing peacefully at trick one. Under the spade king, he should have unblocked the queen. What can East return? If a suit other than spades, the spade ace still sits in the dummy as an entry to the club winners. If East plays back a spade, declarer wins in the dummy, cashes the second top spade and discards the club ace. Dealer: South; Vulnerable: North-South NORTH A 10 4 8 4 8 3 K Q J 10 8 3 WEST J 9 8 6 3 J 2 Q 5 9 5 4 2 SOUTH Q 2 A K 7 6 3 A 7 6 4 2 A EAST K 7 5 Q 10 9 5 K J 10 9 7 6 The Bidding: OPENING LEAD: 6 Spades SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 1 Hearts Pass 2 Clubs Pass 2 Diamonds Pass 3 Clubs Pass 3 NT Pass Pass Pass Shack Shine_SPEC_HI560 HOUSE DETAILING SERVICE MAKING YOUR HOME SMILE • Window Washing • Gutter Cleaning • Power Washing • Roof Cleaning • Christmas Lights We’ll give you the shiniest house on the block. Book your appointment today! SHACKSHINE.COM 772-766-0079 BOOK TODAY AND SAVE DRIVEWAY CLEANING FREE with Purchase of Exterior House Cleaning Up to 2500 sq. ft. Expires 3/31/23 BOOK TODAY AND SAVE FREE DRIVEWAY CLEANING with Purchase of Exterior House Cleaning Up to 2500 sq. ft. Expires 3/31/23

42 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT GAMES 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 (FEBRUARY 9) ON PAGE 80 ACROSS 7 Field (6) 8 Breakfast foodc(6) 9 Diary (8) 10 Remain (4) 11 Even (5) 13 Mysteries (7) 15 School bag (7) 17 Banquet (5) 20 Gravel (4) 21 Norm (8) 23 Supper (6) 24 Journey (6) DOWN 1 Empathise (6) 2 Brim (4) 3 Root vegetable (5) 4 Brilliant red (7) 5 Jam or marmalade (8) 6 Empty (6) 12 Thrilling (8) 14 Free time (7) 16 Scared (6) 18 Road (6) 19 Celebration (5) 22 Sketch (4)

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 43 INSIGHT GAMES ACROSS 1 ___ in a poke 5 Clear the decks? 9 Rein 14 Machine part 17 Area of London 18 Tempo 19 Bouquet 20 Composer Orff 21 P.D.Q. Bach’s calliope opus 23 Made of a certain cereal 24 Galop, e.g. 25 Instrument in Ricola ads 26 With 33 Across, P .D.Q. Bach piece with a lot of horn-blowing (and probably noseblowing) 29 At ___ for words 31 Telephonic 3 32 Flyer’s stunt 33 See 26 Across 37 Seeking, in want ads 40 Proliferates 43 “There it is!” 44 Uncork, to poets 45 “And it won’t cost you ___” 47 Male duck 49 Beethoven church work, familiarly 52 With 66 Across, the (luckily for us) hardto-get-to site of the P.D.Q. Bach Museum 55 Methods 57 Glass sheet 58 Wool wearer 59 Table scrap 60 ___ hunch 61 Kicker? 63 Zero 65 Regrets 66 See 52 Across 71 Legal wrong 72 Potato chip brand 73 Noted clinic 74 Bit of hope 75 Holder of ashes 76 Slogan ending 77 “Hop ___!” 79 Christmas and Easter 83 With 96 Across, P.D.Q. Bach’s portrait painter (who may or may not have had a partner named Lemmy O’Rears) 88 Silas Marner author 89 Ms. Fields 90 Scuffle 91 Nvmber of dwarfs 92 American rival 93 Quite a while 95 Handel, for short 96 See 83 Across 100 Actress Bonet 102 Deception 104 TV’s Emma (Peel) 105 P.D.Q. Bach oratorio that includes the duet, “Bide Thy Thyme” 111 Fitting nature 115 Composer Maurice 116 Actress Bara 117 A typical P.D.Q. Bach music direction 119 Pizzeria need 120 “Know what ___?” 121 Scoreless tie 122 Netters’ org. 123 Hankering 124 Color anew 125 Brought into being 126 “___ we forget” DOWN 1 Dog star 2 Shooting sport 3 Popular flapjack estab. 4 New York City 5 Goad 6 Wood linings on walls 7 Pretend 8 Gripe 9 Rhone feeder 10 Sell, often illegally 11 Composer Nino 12 U.S. 13 Quiz show group 14 Is unable to 15 Mus. group 16 ___ club 20 Auto shelter 22 Aria, e.g. 24 Desperate 27 Chime in 28 San Francisco cover-up? 30 Jr.-to-be 33 Scoundrels 34 See 108 Down 35 Serpico author 36 Spider-Man creator 38 Interstate limit, often 39 Singleton 41 Bizarre 42 Seoul’s land, in headlines 45 Body expert 46 “In” thing to do 48 Newt newbies 50 Pub order 51 Mailed 53 “___ my word!” 54 Curses 56 Austrian composer 61 Play the cook 62 In the spotlight 64 “So!” 65 Queenly 66 Woe 67 Fancy-schmancy 68 ___ corn 69 Pied Piper’s prey 70 Cruciferous veggie 71 Crop of hairs 76 Bible book 78 Vacationing 79 He started it 80 Actress Talbot 81 This answer’s direction 82 See 36 Down 84 Forbidden Planet star 85 Russian jet 86 Egg opening 87 Rear 94 Org. for 65-year-olds 96 Beer barrel 97 Strikes, as a door 98 “ ... straw ___ gold” 99 Studly 101 Up and about 103 Idiotic 105 Iliad subject 106 Possess 107 Square 108 With 34 Down, a worried cry 109 Lack 110 Condescending type 112 Ill-at-___ 113 Air France planes, once 114 Record book item 118 Ear opening The Telegraph The Washington Post AND NOW BACK TO P.D.Q. BACH By Merl Reagle

44 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ INSIGHT BACK PAGE Dear Carolyn: Several years ago, my parents faded and entered assisted living. My siblings and I quickly had to sell and empty their house. What made the most sense was giving their furniture and home goods to my sister who lives four hours away, for her children to eventually use when they move out. My parents and I talked frequently about how nice it would be for them to have practically fully furnished apartments right out of the gate. My parents died in 2020. A few weeks ago, I visited my sister and asked to see the stored furniture. She told me that she had taken what she could fit in her car but that it didn’t “make sense” to rent a truck and store furniture until her kids needed it, so she took the rest to the dump. I am so shocked and hurt. When I asked why she agreed to it, she said she just wanted to get Mom and Dad’s house empty. She lied to me, to our parents, and denied her children items to start their lives. My other siblings refuse to discuss this with me. My sister sent me flowers and a note, but it’s clear she doesn’t think she did anything wrong. I always considered my family to be close, but now I don’t know what to think. – Betrayed Betrayed: Your sibs (I suspect all of them) lied. I won’t pretend it didn’t happen or didn’t hurt. But I’d argue this was an act of pragmatism and compassion, not betrayal. First, a reality check on old furniture: When this happened, boomers had been downsizing for years, and there were more hand-me-downs than hands to receive them. Plus, tastes, lifestyles and needs change. Moving and storage, meanwhile, are pricey. Years of it would probably cost many times over what new stuff would cost when the kids launch. Plus, stored furniture doesn’t always fare well unless fussily packed and cared for – a job you fobbed off on your sister. Yes, there’s sentimental value – but you valued it, for others. Second, this stuff had to go “quickly.” Yikes. Third, you were at the time obviously upset and highly emotionally invested. Fourth, you were done with it all. Any saving was for others. So I’d wager your sibs told a lie of compassion. It’s like the pet dog who “goes to live on a farm.” You got to feel assured and see your parents at peace that their possessions “went to a farm,” too. It obviously backfired, but can you embrace any part of this as proof of sibs’ meaning well under duress? Re: Furniture: My sympathies, but oh, yes – this, a million times. After I called a dozen charities, one agreed to take the dining room set my mom practically worshiped as a sign of middle-class respectability. They wouldn’t take the china cabinet. (Too many they can’t get rid of.) I finally called a junk hauler. I still don’t know what to do with the porcelain dolls. Even the local heavy metal bands don’t want them for videos, because they say they’re too creepy. – True Story Readers’ thoughts: If you value something material, YOU are in charge of collecting, storing, refurbishing and finding a home for it. Can you imagine being 23 and being told you have to take Granny’s dresser because Mom has been saving it for you for 12 years because otherwise Auntie will be sad? Please send me the porcelain dolls. I’d like to arrange them around the homes of my enemies. BY CAROLYN HAX Washington Post Family treasures in ‘storage’ actually went to the dump

WONDER ON WHEELS ‘ROLLING SCULPTURE’ EXHIBIT IS RARE TREAT

ARTS & THEATRE 46 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Opulence and innovation are on display at the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles, featuring 22 rare automobiles and two motorcycles, most from the 1930s, on loan from private collectors and museums through April 30. “The show is unique to Vero Beach. This is not copied anywhere, and it won’t go anywhere else. The cars just go back to the owners all over the country,” says VBMA curator Anke Van Wagenberg. Guest curator Ken Gross, former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum, says back in 1951, curator Arthur Drexler first referred to the cars as “hollow rolling sculpture” at a show at the Museum of Modern Art. Gross shared his knowledge of the showstoppers, starting with the 1937 Delahaye 135MS, a sensuous roadster BY MARY SCHENKEL | STAFF WRITER Wonder on wheels: ‘Rolling Sculpture’ exhibit’s a rare treat Top left to right: 1934 Voisin Type C27 Aerosport, 1939 Graham Combination Coupe, 1934 Chrysler Imperial Model CV Airflow Coupe, 1934 Benix SWC Sedan, and 1936 Stout Scarab. PHOTOS BY JOSHUA KODIS

ARTS & THEATRE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 47 with Hermès leather interior, produced by Figoni and Falaschi for the 1937 Paris Auto Salon. Like others of the era, it was designed to appear in motion, even when standing still. “This particular car, I think, is one of the stars of the show. There may be 11 of these and they’re all hand built. It took a team of artisans about 2,100 hours to just build the aluminum body of this car,” says Gross. “It has a number of innovative ideas, besides its dramatic styling. Basically, these were an expression of taste and obviously means.” William Stout had better luck with his aircraft designs than his unusual 1936 Stout Scarab, which he envisioned as the car of the future. “He was absolutely right, but he was 50 years ahead of his time,” says Gross, likening it to today’s minivan. The 1933 Pierce Arrow Silver Arrow, one of five, competed in the Car of Tomorrow contest at the Chicago Century of Progress. “This, for 1933, was extremely radical and streamlined. Pierce Arrow loved putting its headlights in the fenders. In this case they ran that line all the way to the rear, so it’s really a dramatic looking car. With many of the cars here, functionality takes second place to style, elegance and drama.” The innovative 1938 Tatra T77a was one of the first cars tested in a wind tunnel. “It has a kind of a dorsal fin to stabilize at 100 miles an hour on an autobahn. This is a magnificent beast,” says Gross. “Another favorite is this 1938 TalbotLago. They built 12 of these Teardrop Coupes in this New York style. They may look beautiful, but it’s got muscle to it. You see this teardrop theme everywhere. Figoni and others thought that the teardrop was the perfect romantic form of this era.” Ettore Bugatti only built some 12,000 cars “but they were glorious,” says Gross. The elegant 1929 Bugatti Type 46 Semi-Profile, designed by his son Jean, boasts an elephant hide interior. “Not unusual for Bugatti and not unusual for that era.” Rust Heinz, of the Heinz 57 family, developed the 1938 Phantom Corsair as a prototype. It appeared as the Flying Wombat in “The Young at Heart” with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. “There wasn’t anything like it at the time and there really hasn’t been anything like it since. It’s just such a wonderful, sensuous bundle of a car. Sadly, he was killed in an automobile accident [at age 25], not in this car,” says Gross. “Who knows what might have happened if he hadn’t perished.” The 1938 Panhard & Levassor Type X81 Dynamic Sedan, one of three, offered perfect peripheral vision and the choice of steering wheels on the left, right or center. “It’s like an exercise in deco. Just all the elegance. I see something new every time I see it.” Gross says Chrysler was ahead of its time with its 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt – no grill, a disappearing metal top, and headlights behind doors. The war halted its development, but some design cues appeared in postwar Chryslers. Harley Earl developed a whole new look for General Motors with the 1938 Buick Y-Job Roadster. “Earl wanted cars that were exciting, and after this car was developed, General Motors used a number of these cues. It doesn’t look low to our eyes, but these little 14-inch wheels were long before anyone did anything like that.” Of the 1934 Packard Twelve Model 1106, one of four, Gross says, “This, to me, is just a wonderful, handsome car. Someone spent a lot of time crafting this to make a statement.” Interestingly, the car has had three owners. The couple who owned it 42 years ago now live in Stuart, and attended the recent VBMA Gala, excited to see it for the first time in four decades. The 1930 Ruxton Model C Sedan, one of the first front-wheel drive cars built in America, has a reversed three-speed transaxle. It allowed a lower silhouette, dramatized by no running boards, and an unusual, graded color scheme. The remarkably aerodynamic 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B “Xenia,” one of one, was created by aircraft designer Jean Andreau and commissioned by World War I fighter ace Andre Dubonnet, of the aperitif family. With its panoramic windshield, CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

ARTS & THEATRE 50 Vero Beach 32963 / February 16, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ curved glass windows and cantilevered doors, “it really looks like an airplane. When you rolled up in this car, you were somebody special.” The car was thought lost when the Germans invaded France in World War II and appropriated valuables, but it had been hidden. It reappeared at a 1946 auto show, to the delight of the populace. The 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster was one of about 20, most owned by Nazi bigwigs. “This car is all about arrogance. It’s got horns that could be perfectly suited for a diesel train. Only the very, very wealthy had cars like this,” says Gross. It also has a shortwave radio, with preset dials to European cities. This car, however, was owned by a lady who escaped the Nazis twice with her brother, mother and the car, first to France and when that was invaded to America. Decades later, she put the car in storage and returned to Europe, dying there with little money. The car was sold to pay the storage. “To me it’s very touching that she kept the car all that time. It was one of her joys and that’s why she kept it,” says Gross. The public called the 1939 Graham Combination Coupe the “Shark Nose,” because of its severely angled grill. Despite its wonderful design and conservative price, it was too outré and didn’t sell well. A wealthy, intrepid flyer and aircraft designer, Gabriel Voisin used aircraft principals in his 1934 Voisin Type C27 Aerosport. “He wanted to make his own statement, so his cars look like nothing else. I think they’re fabCONTINUED FROM PAGE 49 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster.