09/09/2021 ISSUE 36

St. Edward’s drowning victim
not able to swim. P10
New gyrocopter
training academy. P16

State funding will pay for
street sweeper, body cameras. P12

U.S. 1 shopping For breaking news visit
plaza getting a
major upgrade New covid cases,
hospitalizations
here trend down

BY STEVEN M. THOMAS BY LISA ZAHNER
Staff Writer Staff Writer

A new restaurant and retail New COVID-19 infections
plaza is coming to the Kmart
center on U.S. 1 at the same here trended downward for the
time as impressive new ten-
ants are being lined up for first time in 10 weeks, with cas-
the old Kmart building itself,
according to developer and es down 14 percent this week,
landlord Michael Rechter.
and more importantly, hospi-
And those are just two of
what Rechter calls “a laundry tal admissions for COVID 31
list” of upgrades and additions
coming to his U.S. 1 retail percent lower than the previ-
properties, which include Ma-
jestic Plaza as well as Kmart ous week on top of a 9 percent
Plaza and encompass 34 acres
stretching from Linus Buick to decrease the week before.
16th Place on the west side of
the highway. Still, 1,119 people tested pos-

A wine store that offers tast- itive in the week ending Sept.
ing events and a luxury salon
brand are coming to Majes- 2, an average of 160 per day. To
tic Plaza; The Green Marlin is
Guests attend the soft opening of Sailfish Brewery in Vero. put that into perspective, dur-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
ing last summer’s surge, cases
Vero City Council race
reminiscent of 2009 Local restaurants doing OK, and new ones coming toppedoutat55ontheaverage
day, fewer than 400 per week.
BY LISA ZAHNER Statewide numbers for new
Staff Writer infections in Florida are on a

Talk about names from the BY STEPHANIE LABAFF The informal dining concept Patrons can eat onsite or take similar downward trend, and
past. Three candidates who Staff Writer will be located in Pelican Plaza. their meal to go. According to roughly 2 percent of the state’s
were on the ballot for Vero Chau hopes to open on De- Chau, the menu will be light, 21 million people are getting a
Beach City Council in 2009 –
Charlie Wilson, Brian Heady Across the country, COV- cember 1 with a grand open- with popular favorites, includ- vaccine shot each week in re-
and Ken Daige – are trying
again 12 years later. ID-19 has wreaked havoc in the ing to follow on New Year’s Day. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 restaurant industry. But Vero’s

restaurants have fared better

Noah Powers resigns as town manager of Orchidthan most. Only a small num-

ber have closed their doors

permanently, while several BY SAMANTHA BAITA events have given me cause
new restaurants have emerged Staff Writer to re-evaluate my employ-

with a few more getting ready ment status with the Town of

to open their doors. After almost six years as Orchid,” continuing: “Con-

You won’t have to cross the Town Manager of the Town sequently, it is with great re-

bridge much longer to satisfy of Orchid, Noah Powers has luctance that I share with you

cravings for Asian food. Asian tendered his resignation, to my intention to resign my

Fusion owner Dun Chau, who take effect Sept. 24. position of Town Manager.”

owns several restaurants in In a letter to the Town Powers stated that he

Orlando, is bringing his ver- Council dated Aug. 9, Powers Noah Powers would like to complete the

sion of an Asian tapas-style stated, in part, that “recent CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

restaurant to beachside Vero.

September 9, 2021 Volume 14, Issue 36 Newsstand Price $1.00 Onward and upward
for the expanding
News 1-12 Editorial 24 People 13-18 TO ADVERTISE CALL Crossover Mission. P14
Arts 35-38 Games 29-31 Pets 52 772-559-4187
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CALL 772-226-7925

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2 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Shopping plaza getting upgrade tenants who love high-traffic areas,”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 says commercial real estate broker
Billy Moss.
getting an expansive outdoor dining
deck; and Rechter will close on the old Meanwhile, Transformco, owner of
Poinsettia Groves property in October, the Kmart and Sears brands, which
gaining space to add another brand leases the Kmart building from Rech-
that fits with his vision for his shop- ter, plans to put three national retail-
ping centers. ers in the vacant 85,000-square-foot
building.
Plans for the new restaurant/retail
development filed with the city of Vero “Tractor Supply has signed a letter
Beach show two 4,500-square-foot of intent,” says Rechter. “Hobby Lobby
buildings separated by a dining patio and Floor & Décor are two other ten-
going in at the front of Kmart Plaza on ants that have been mentioned.”
the site of an old retention pond.
Tractor Supply, which handles a
wide range of farm and ranch, home
and garden, tool and hardware and

PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES

Rechter says the design by Atelier d other supplies, may not sound like
Architecture is flexible enough to ac- a glamorous addition to Vero’s re-
commodate two 3,000-square-foot tail scene but it is a highly successful
restaurants with additional outdoor brand that reported a 42 percent in-
dining space along with a couple of crease in revenue in the first quarter
upscale retailers or a 4,500-square- of 2021.
foot eatery in one building with small-
er restaurants and shops in the other.

The plaza will front on U.S. 1, sepa-
rated by a landscape buffer, with park-
ing behind the buildings. Rechter ex-
pects it to be complete by late 2022.

“It is an awesome design – very CO-
VID-friendly – and will attract national

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 3

NEWS

“We collect the same rent whether brought it up to a contemporary look for a million reasons,” Rechter told line work gives people the ability to live
the building is empty or occupied but is fabulous. Vero Beach 32963. “It benefits from in Vero and keep their jobs in Miami.”
I love the idea Tractor Supply and the the megatrends of people moving to
other stores going in there because “He is a progressive developer who southern states for better weather or “And then you have the country’s
they bring more life to the plaza,” says brings in amenities you would find in tax purposes. aging demographic. Boomers are go-
Rechter. “The guy that comes in to buy a bigger city while still keeping a Vero ing to keep moving to places like Vero
fertilizer or a riding mower may stop feel. His plazas have a great rhythm. “At the same time, the price of prop- when they retire.
for a smoothie or a meal at one of the He has a lot of heart for Vero and has erty in south Florida is giving people
restaurants.” been a game changer in the retail pause and causing them to look at plac- “Vero is a jewel. It really is. As more
scene here.” es likeVero Beach that are a little quieter people realize that, it grows in geo-
Hobby Lobby is a multibillion and more affordable. The drive to on- metric fashion, one person telling two
brand that is steadily opening stores “I think Vero’s future is really bright others and so on.” 
around the country, and Floor &
Décor is another rocketing retailer
where sales have more than doubled
in the past five years, from $1.05 bil-
lion to $2.4 billion. Amazon doesn’t
pose much of a threat since people
like to see and touch flooring prod-
ucts before buying them.

“Transformco has a below-market
lease that I inherited when I bought
Kmart Plaza in 2005 and they can
make a good profit subleasing to other
retailers,” says Rechter.

When the pandemic hit, Rechter,
CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based In-
tegra Corporations, shifted his focus
from expanding his Vero real estate
holdings to upgrading his existing
properties.

He estimates he has sunk half a mil-
lion dollars into new impact glass,
roofing, LED lighting and other im-
provements at the U.S. 1 shopping
centers in the past two years, includ-
ing $100,000 in new TV screens in Vero
Bowl, which he owns and operates.

“We are hyper-focused on driving
value through improvements and cu-
ration of better tenants,” he says, not-
ing that wine tasting events at the in-
coming Cellar Door are likely to attract
the kind of clientele he is looking for.

With a movie theater, newly-reno-
vated bowling alley, upscale billiard
parlor with a full bar, and a dozen
places to eat – including Green Mar-
lin, Izziban Sushi and Spiro’s Taverna
Greek restaurant – Rechter sees his
plazas as a lifestyle center, “a place
where a couple can go on a date to
see a movie or go bowling and then
eat out and finish with a drink at Stix.
There aren’t many places in Vero like
that.”

The lifestyle component is sup-
ported by scores of utilitarian ten-
ants that keep people coming and
going seven days a week, including
the Vero Post Office, Treasure Coast
Community Health, two churches
and a wide range of retailers and ser-
vice providers.

According to Transformco’s website
there are 132,528 households with a
median income of $51,758 within 10
miles of Rechter’s U.S. 1 plazas, which
are almost fully leased.

“Michael Rechter has a lot of vi-
sion,” Moss says. “He has done a great
job recreating Majestic Plaza. People
buy with their eyes and the way he has

4 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

New restaurants ural foods menu, including steaks and
seafood with a healthful South Ameri-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 can twist, cooked on the unique Argen-
tinean wood-fired Asador Grill, which
ing egg rolls, gyoza, ramen, udon, fried will be a centerpiece of the restaurant.”
rice, pad thai and sushi.
In the heart of downtown Vero, in the
“Asian Fusion means it’s a little bit space long occupied by the Melody Inn
of everything. You are going to travel and more recently Bistro Fourchette,
across Asia as you eat. We’ll have some- Chef Chris Lawrence has opened The
thing for everybody,” explained Chau. Oar Restaurant offering Mediterranean
fare. The menu ranges from vichys-
Meanwhile, down on the south end of soise to lamb ragout.
Ocean Drive, Sailfish Brewing Company
opened its doors Sept. 1 to a northern Chef Sean Tuohy, who moved to Vero
extension of its Fort Pierce craft brewery Beach to open Post & Vine with co-
in the Portales de Vero building. owner Bobby Del Campo, has decided
after several successful years to venture
The Vero location has eight of the 24 out on his own and anticipates open-
on-tap drafts they offer at the down- ing Tuohy’s Downtown with his sisters,
town Fort Pierce location, but the big Audra and Kimi, across the street from
news locally lies in the menu. Sailfish the Post Office on 13th Avenue.
has brought on Vero’s own Chef Chris
Bireley as consulting chef, according Tuohy will be offering approach-
to Taylor Hacker, Sailfish brand pro- able, modern American cuisine with
motion and events manager. fresh, quality ingredients. The menu
will include burgers and sandwiches
Bireley, known most recently for with an extensive wine list. With the
his old downtown restaurant, Osceola 21st Amendment Distillery opening
Bistro, has created a menu for the Sail- in the adjacent space, Tuohy says they
fish Brewery’s beachside taproom that have plans to collaborate. You will be
includes small plates, shareables, and able to order menu items in the dis-
some composed entrees – things like tillery, and Tuohy already has plans to
smash burgers, Buddha bowls, shrimp incorporate some of the spirits made
and grits, Scotch eggs, flatbreads and next door in some of his dishes.
curry skewers.
Finally, big news for fans of Mexi-
Over on the mainland, Royal Palm can cuisine. Casa Amigos, the highly
Pointe will have two new dining op- regarded family-owned restaurant in
tions. Port St. Lucie, will be opening in the
Indian River Mall near the AMC Movie
KittyWagner, who closed her Blue Star Theater entrance in December.
restaurant earlier this summer, will be
opening Kitty’s at 48 Royal Palm Pointe. After remodeling the former TGI Fri-
days Restaurant & Bar, which closed
Wagner said the new location will of- its Vero location during the pandemic,
fer a more intimate dining experience Casa Amigos co-owner Jaime Aguilar
with indoor and outdoor seating and said patrons could expect a big menu
water views where guests can nibble with dishes you won’t find anywhere
on small and medium plate fare. The else in the area.
chalkboard menu will reveal “what
I feel like making that day based on Among the featured items are ta-
whatever is fresh and looks good. bleside guacamole, homemade torti-
llas and the El Molcajete – a sizzling
“It was time to try something new,” lava rock topped with grilled chick-
she explained. “I can be more creative en, steak, chorizo, carnitas, shrimp,
in a smaller space. To be able to cook cheese, onions, peppers, cactus, avo-
in an open kitchen and look outside, cado and jalapeño toreado. For drinks,
it’s a rare treat.” of course, there are Margaritas.

Across the street, construction Don’t be surprised if a few more res-
has begun again on the oft-delayed taurants pop up. Billy Moss, a Lam-
Tradewinds 41 at the former location bert Commercial Real Estate Broker
of the Dockside restaurant. Owner specializing in retail and restaurant
Tim Girard now is projecting a mid- properties, said: “We’ve had a lot of
2022 opening for what he promises to inquiries from people who want to go
be a “unique dining experience on the into the restaurant business, and even
Indian River Lagoon.” some national chains have been pok-
ing around.” 
Still keeping the menu close to his
vest, Girard described a 1950s Tiki bar-
themed restaurant featuring an “all-nat-

Orchid Town Manager bons said that while Powers’ contract
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 is scheduled to terminate “at the end
of this calendar year, he has tendered
budgeting process “that I began back his resignation to coincide with the
in May.” end of the town’s fiscal year” which
begins Oct. 1.
In a message to Orchid residents on
the town’s website, Mayor Bob Gib- Gibbons said he has been working
with Powers and City Clerk Cherry

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 5

NEWS

Stowe “to effect an orderly transition valued our friendship, as well as our nity described on its website as “luxu- and the Town Council will discuss how
into the town’s new fiscal year.” working relationship. I look forward to ry living cradled between the Atlantic to find the sixth town manager at its
the opportunity to join the other Town ocean and the Indian river lagoon,” council meeting on Sept. 13.
As mayor, he said he appreciates Council members in paying tribute to on Dec. 28, 2015 after the departure
“that Noah will be guiding the town Noah at the upcoming meetings.” of Deb Branwell, who had been town In his letter of resignation, Powers
through the budget and millage rate manager since 2008. Powers is only the writes, “I am especially proud that I
setting process prior to completion Powers took the administrative fifth person to serve as town manager, was able to fashion an agreement with
of his tenure as town manager. I have helm of the tiny north county commu-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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6 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Orchid Town Manager people have attended college through In one of their first official actions, After Wilson’s ouster, the qualifying
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 the program. the council took a vote to invite Flor- requirements to run for office were
ida Power & Light to a meeting to be- changed and candidates now need to
the County that has potential for the Powers could not be reached for gin the conversation about FPL pur- live in the city for a solid 12 months
Town of Orchid to receive approxi- comment, but stated in his letter that chasing the city’s electric utility. The prior to their election.
mately $1 million in FEMA reimburse- he has “thoroughly enjoyed’ his time conventional wisdom said the sale
ment for expenses associated with as town manager. “Your trust, confi- couldn’t be done. But that dream final- Wilson did not shrink into the back-
our dune renourishments after Hur- dence and support has allowed us, as ly became a reality a decade later and ground, but remained involved, ad-
ricanes Mathew, Irma, and Dorian. a team, to make significant positive former Vero power customers now en- vising, promoting and fundraising
The revenue will benefit the Town of changes,” concluding, “I will sincerely for city council candidates who were
Orchid for years to come and should miss my interactions with you (Town joy the lowest rates in the state. committed to make the Vero electric
contribute to a lower millage rate in Council), our residents and the staff of Daige, who had served on the coun- sale to FPL a reality. He spearheaded
the future.” the Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club Operation Clean Sweep in 2010, which
and the Community Association.” cil but was turned out in the 2009 elec- finished the job he and Heady started
Describing Powers as a gentleman, tion, fought the electric sale and still in 2009, wiping the balance of the an-
Town Council member Mary Jane With a population of nearly 500, hasn’t made peace with the reality ti-sale incumbents off the Vero Beach
Benedetto commented simply: “He roughly 80 percent of whom spend more than two years after the closing. City Council.
has done a very good job for the town, summers elsewhere, Orchid is both a
and he will be missed.” municipality incorporated in 1965 and He is among a group of hangers- This time around Wilson aims to
an upscale master planned communi- on who still whine about the electric prevent and fight crime by making sure
A multi-generational Florida native ty, with most town residents members sale on a regular basis. They complain the Vero Beach Police Department has
from Lee County, Powers moved to In- of the Orchid Island Golf and Beach about FPL’s service and about how the city’s full support. Among his goals,
dian River County in 1988 to work for Club. The population of Orchid has FPL trims the trees. Mostly they moan Wilson said he wants to reach consen-
the county school district as executive doubled in the past 20 years.  about how much they miss skimming sus on a plan “to remove the old power
director for business and administra- nearly $6 million per year off utility plant and make it useful to the public”
tive services. He left for an assistant Vero City Council bills into Vero’s general fund.
administrative position in another CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “Opponents of the electric sale la-
district and continued to work in the A vote for Daige would be a vote for mented that taxes would soar, but they
Florida education and juvenile justice In 2009, Wilson and Heady won – a person who didn’t want to sell Vero were wrong. Vero Beach does not need
systems, including at the state level, for victories that turned out to be short- electric. new taxes of any kind. I will oppose
years, according to the Orchid website. lived for Wilson, and one-of-a-kind any new taxes, period,” Wilson said.
for perennial candidate Heady – on Heady and Wilson opened the door
He also oversaw the implementa- a wave of voter unhappiness about to the FPL sale and they deserve cred- In addition to these voices from the
tion of Florida’s Lottery Funded Bright soaring electric rates. it for that. But what would a vote for past – and incumbent Rey Neville, the
Futures scholarship program. Since its them mean this November? The only vice mayor, who is seeking re-election
inception, more than 840,000 young guarantee is that things would get in- – three other candidates are seeking
teresting. seats on the City Council dais.

Heady served two years on the John Cotugno has nothing on Heady,
council, and while there he worked Daige or Wilson in terms of the times
hard and was always accessible to the he’s sought public office, but he has
public. He understood the issues and likely learned a great deal running for
voted his conscience, even if it meant City Council the past three years in a
playing the contrarian. He insisted on row. Cotugno won the island vote in
full transparency at all times. That’s 2020, but Honey Minuse outperformed
the Heady you got when Good Brian him on the mainland and won the seat.
showed up.
Cotugno is a professional, he had a
When Bad Brian showed up, he did successful career in marketing in the
things like sue the city in federal court high-tech sector and worked exten-
while a seated member of the City sively overseas. He has paid his dues
Council in 2010. All of this was to point serving on multiple city advisory com-
out some injustice and root out cor- mittees, including the Three Corners
ruption. There were so many injustic- Steering Committee and the Utilities
es and so much corruption that Heady Commission. He’s current on the city’s
documented it all in a book, “Liars, big issues and he’s committed to keep-
Cheats, and Thieves,” self-published ing taxes low.
under the pen name Kris O’Brian.
Heady is like a box of chocolates, you For better or for worse, Tracey Zu-
never know what you’re gonna get. dans is probably best known as the
spouse of controversial former mayor
A vote for Wilson might rival one for and local eye surgeon Val Zudans –
Heady in terms of drama and legal in- unless voters are followers of her work
trigue. on the Indian River Hospital District
Board.
Wilson served one month on the
City Council before he was removed Zudans’ frequent dissenting opin-
by a judge after a voter filed suit claim- ions became a signature of her tenure
ing Wilson did not meet the residency on the hospital board, consistently
requirement. The widely followed and voicing an anti-taxation, small-govern-
entertaining case read like the board ment point of view. At the same time,
game Clue. It involved a Realtor lock she was an energetic board member,
box, mysterious visits to Wilson’s well organized in her presentations
home, Wilson’s refrigerator, shower and generous with her time – the po-
curtain and toothbrush, plus a spying sition is one of the few unpaid elected
Chihuahua. offices in the county.

Last but not least is Taylor Dingle.
When Dingle declared his candidacy,
his only negative seemed to be his lack

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8



8 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Vero City Council But Mayor Robbie Brackett and COVID cases down were available last Friday, and 52 per-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Councilwoman Minuse, who are not CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 cent of COVID intensive-care beds
up for re-election this year, are both were available, according to the CDC.
of life experience. Then on Aug. 27, the longtime mainland residents. sponse to concern over the Delta vari-
mainland resident and founder of Ve- ant, or requirements for travel, work, COVID testing reported to the Flor-
ro’s Young Republicans club posted a “The majority of the current coun- or college out of state. ida Department of Health was also
Facebook video seeming to take issue cil and other candidates in this race down by 26 percent this past week.
with the barrier island majority on the are beachside residents and that’s The soaring number of people getting With that many fewer tests, the positiv-
City Council. great but we must not forget, we are ill from the virus and its Delta variant ity rate did rise a bit, less than 1 percent.
not the island of Vero Beach,” Dingle this summer has stressed the health-
Councilman Bob McCabe and Coun- said. “We are the city of Vero Beach care system, but pressure on hospitals Over the past year and a half we’ve
cilman Dick Winger, who is not seeking and there must be a representation has begun to ease – at least statistically seen a cascading trend in the numbers,
to remain on the council, live on the for said demographic, now more – according to the latest numbers from with cases rising first, then hospital-
barrier island, as does Neville, who is than ever after the economic impact the Centers for Disease Control and izations, then deaths going up in the
seeking re-election. Tracey Zudans and caused by this pandemic.” Prevention’s county-level data tracker. following weeks. It takes time for the
John Cotugno live in Central Beach. weekly death count to subside once
How that appeal plays remains to In the week leading up to Sept. 1, cases and hospitalizations start to de-
be seen.  Indian River County’s hospitals ad- cline. The CDC COVID Tracker fore-
mitted 82 COVID-19 positive patients, casting page predicts that the number
down from a peak of 124 per week last of daily deaths across the nation will
month. Forty percent of COVID beds continue to rise for another 10 days or
so, then start to decline. 

BEACHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
REOPENING AFTER COVID SHUTDOWN

BY GEORGE ANDREASSI positive for COVID-19, Moore said.
A total of 12 staff members and 44
Staff Writer
students had tested positive for CO-
Beachland and Treasure Coast el- VID-19 since the school year started,
ementary schools were set to reopen the school district’s Sept. 2 COVID
this week after being shuttered be- Dashboard shows.
cause too many staff members were
out with COVID-19. “A high number of students were
coming in sick and being sent for test-
Schools Superintendent David ing,” Moore said.
Moore said he expected Beachland
Elementary to be at full staff Tuesday The short-term school closures were
(Sept. 7) after the school closed down needed to get the virus under con-
Aug. 27 because 14 educators had test- trol, Moore said. “It was just the right
ed positive for the virus. move,” Moore said. “If we don’t make
this move, we’re going to have extend-
“God willing they’re faring well, we ed closures.”
believe they are, and will be ready to
return after the long, extended (Labor The presence of the virus in the
Day) weekend we all have deserved,” public schools seems to have peaked
Moore said Friday. “They’ll be up and in late August and started trending
running and ready to go. We’ll be at full downward, Moore said.
staff.”
“We think we’re in a very good place
A total of 16 out of the 51 staff mem- right now,” Moore said. “We have seen
bers at Beachland Elementary had a drastic reduction over the course of
tested positive for the virus as of Sept. the last week of positive (test results)
2, the last day the school district’s CO- for staff. We’re looking to maintaining
VID-19 statistics were updated. That’s that and continuing that downward
about 31 percent of the staff. trend.”

A total of 29 students at the bar- A total of 164 staff members had
rier island’s only public school tested tested positive for COVID-19 as of
positive for COVID-19 since schools Sept. 2, the district’s dashboard shows.
reopened Aug. 10, the school district’s
Sept. 2 COVID Dashboard shows. “Cases for students has leveled off,”
Moore said. “I wouldn’t say it’s gone
“There will still be a few students down yet.”
who are on quarantine because they
came down with COVID after the clo- A total of 671 students have tested
sure, which is what we anticipated positive for the virus. A total of 826
happening,” Moore said. “But all in all, students have been directed to quar-
we’ll have that school back up at full antine after coming in contact with
strength.” someone diagnosed with COVID-19,
the district’s dashboard shows.
Treasure Coast Elementary is sched-
uled to reopen Friday (Sept. 10) after “We have a high number of students
being closed Aug. 31 because more who are quarantined, which is really
than a quarter of the staff had tested making the life of a teacher hard be-
cause so many kids are out,” Moore said.

“As bad as it is now, it was worse last

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 9

NEWS

week,” Moore said. “What we’re seeing The school district’s updated strate-
right now: There is a high correlation gies for reducing quarantines and en-
of quarantined students who are com- hancing health and safety procedures
ing down with COVID, compared to at schools will be presented to the
last year.” School Board on Sept. 14, Moore said.

In other words, more students are “We’re going to have to take on
being infected at school or during quarantines,” Moore said. “The last
a school activity. That did not hap- thing we want to do is keep a child
pen until February of the 2020-2021 home who is healthy and safe.”
school year, when a student who had
been quarantined for close contact “You have kids who are quaran-
with a COVID-19 positive person at tined,” Moore said. “There are a high
school had in turn been diagnosed number of students who are out. It’s
with the virus, Moore said. hard. We need to get them back in.
That’s got to be Job No. 1.” 

HMEY ANTI-MASK ACTIVIST SEEKS TO
VERO
UNDERMINE SCHOOL MANDATE

BY RAY MCNULTY gitimate?” Barefoot asked. “Do they
care that they’re potentially putting at
Staff Writer risk the health of students, faculty and
staff? Or that they’re potentially put-
Jennifer Pippin, the local activist ting more strain on the local health-
who has railed relentlessly against our care workers during this recent surge
School Board and school superinten- in the pandemic?
dent for having the audacity to ignore
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ill-conceived ban “I don’t know what’s worse: Pippin
on mask mandates, claims to have encouraging people to do this, or the
found local medical professionals parents going to this extreme so their
willing to aid parents in exempting children don’t have to wear a mask.”
their kids from wearing masks in class.
For the record: School Superinten-
In an 11-minute video on her Face- dent David Moore, who recommend-
book page, she’s advertising an uneth- ed the mandate the board approved
ical way to get around the two-week in a 3-2 vote, said only 67 medical ex-
mask requirement the board approved emptions were granted last week.
on Aug. 24 and promises to revisit at
Tuesday’s meeting. “That’s less than 1 percent of the
Pre-K through eighth-grade students
“If you need a mask mandate ex- in the district, so we’re not seeing a
emption, please private-message me high volume,” Moore said. “But we’ll
on Facebook,” Pippin says in the vid- see how things go. It’s early.”
eo. “This is a public video, and I will be
happy to get those resources to you.” That’s a far different scenario than
what’s happening across the state inVen-
She then warns that the names of ice, where one chiropractor – yes, a chi-
the medical professionals with whom ropractor – signed more than 500 forms
she is conspiring must be kept private. exempting students in Sarasota County
from the district’s mask mandate.
“I cannot post it here because we do
not want those doctors and their prac- According to the Washington Post,
tices compromised,” Pippin says, add- the superintendent responded by rais-
ing, “None of them are associated with ing the threshold, empowering only li-
the Department of Health or Cleve- censed medical doctors, osteopathic
land Clinic Indian River. They have physicians and nurse practitioners to
their own private practices and they’re sign the exemption forms.
able to write the exemption forms for
the School District.” Pippin had posted on her Facebook
page that a local chiropractic practice,
Pippin follows up by asking her au- along with an urgent care clinic in Se-
dience to provide the names of other bastian, were included on her “list” of
medical professionals who share her medical professionals.
anti-mask sentiment so she can “add
them to the list.” Moore hinted last weekend that he
might follow Sarasota County’s lead,
School Board Chairman Brian Bare- saying the district’s legal team ap-
foot called Pippin’s attempt to sabo- proved the current policy here but it
tage the mask mandate “outrageous,” could be updated at next week’s board
and he wondered what respectable meeting “if this continues.”
medical professional would engage in
such a practice. The decision whether to extend the
mask mandate – and limit which med-
“Would the doctors signing these ical professionals may sign exemption
forms be willing to testify under oath forms – will depend on the COVID
that the medical reasons cited are le-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

My Vero bers had raised, as of Saturday night, a
paltry $175 of the $10,000 she seeks.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
Pippin’s account, you’ll notice, states
case numbers in the community and that any unspent funds will be used to
the pandemic’s impact on students support School Board candidates who
and teachers, Moore said. embrace her parents-rights agenda. It
doesn’t mention that she recently moved
In addition to promoting a list of to Sebastian – into District 1, where
medical professionals willing to skirt Schiff is up for re-election next year.
the district’s mask requirement, Pip-
pin also has launched an online peti- I would’ve asked Pippin about her
tion asking DeSantis to remove Moore future plans, but she won’t talk to me.
and the three board members who
voted in favor of the mandate: Bare- She is talking to you, though.
foot, Mara Schiff and Peggy Jones. “I hate to scare you, but right be-
hind this is vaccines,” she says in her
The petition – endorsed by two groups video. “If they can get away with mask-
she has helped organize, “Moms For ing your child eight hours a day – even
Liberty Indian River” and the “We The though the governor put out an execu-
People Indian River County” Facebook tive order (and) we have the Parental
group – claims the three board members Bill of Rights, which is a law – guess
violated both DeSantis’ executive order what’s coming next? Vaccines.”
and Florida’s new “Parental Rights” law. I haven’t heard Moore or any board
member mention a vaccine mandate,
As of Saturday night, the petition but Pippin and her anti-mask mob
had drawn only 269 signatures in a don’t seem to care much about facts.
county of 160,000-plus residents. They’ve deluded themselves into
believing they’re right, their cause
Similarly, the GoFundMe account is just and the ends they seek jus-
Pippin created last week to cover any le- tify whatever means are necessary to
gal action she might take to remove the achieve them. 
superintendent and three board mem-

ST. EDWARD’S SCHOOL DROWNING
VICTIM DID NOT KNOW HOW TO SWIM

BY RAY MCNULTY In addition, the report states two stu-
dents told a detective that, prior to re-
Staff Writer turning to campus for the seniors’ last-
day-of-class festivities at 2:15 p.m., some
The St. Edward’s School senior who classmates had participated in “get-to-
drowned after ceremoniously jump- gethers” at their parents’ homes, where
ing off a campus dock last spring alcoholic beverages were available.
didn’t know how to swim and pan-
icked almost immediately after enter- One senior said Termidor attended
ing the water, where he desperately at- at least one of those gatherings and,
tempted to grab onto two classmates though he didn’t see his classmate
before sinking to the bottom of the drinking there, he believed Termidor
Indian River Lagoon. “might have been under the influence.”

Those tragic details were among D’Angelo Lumenes, a senior who
the findings of an Indian River County said he and Termidor jumped off the
Sheriff’s Office report released Friday, dock together, told a detective the two
after detectives completed their in- of them “were originally not going to
vestigation into the April 30 death of participate” in the school’s traditional
Bidensky “BT” Termidor. rite of passage because they couldn’t
swim, but they ultimately decided to
Detectives, who interviewed dozens join their classmates.
of witnesses and watched videos of the
incident, determined the drowning was The jump began at about 3 p.m., and
an “unfortunate accident,” Sheriff’s Of- witnesses said Termidor and Lumenes
fice Lt. Pat White said, adding that no were among the last of the seniors to
criminal charges would be filed. leave the dock.

The report, which also referred to Lumenes, who struggled so notice-
autopsy results that revealed Termidor ably in the water that a classmate
had a blood-alcohol level above Flori- swam over and helped him get back
da’s legal-driving limit and evidence of to the dock, said he saw Termidor
marijuana use in his system, included “splashing around,” the report states.
statements from classmates who said a
group of about 15 seniors left campus One detective reported that he
earlier that day and had been drinking spoke with several students and par-
alcoholic beverages on the beach. ents, and “multiple people stated they
had been told or personally knew”
Termidor, 18, was among the group, Termidor was unable to swim.
witnesses said.
The detective wrote he was told Ter-

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 11

NEWS

midor previously “had to wear a life could get only so close without risking
jacket to stay afloat” during a swim- injury to other students in the water.
ming exercise at the school – which ex-
plains why, realizing he was in trouble, Jennings gave her video to detec-
the senior became so terrified that he tives.
tried to grab onto two girls who were
within his reach in the water. Detectives also interviewed St. Ed-
ward’s Head of School Stuart Hirstein,
One of the girls told a detective she who was hired on July 1, 2020, and,
jumped off the dock after Termidor and, according to the report, said the tradi-
once in the water, he started “pulling on tion of seniors jumping off the campus
her” and “pulling her under the water,” dock has been a school-sanctioned
forcing her to push him away, the report activity since 2007.
states.
He said he wasn’t made aware of
The other girl said Termidor was “try- the tradition until a month before the
ing to hang on to her” and that she saw event and didn’t supervise it, but he
him trying to grab onto other students, was in attendance – along with other
too, before he briefly treaded water school officials and parents – for the
and went under for the final time. jump in April.

Students immediately began searching Hirstein said he knew Termidor but
the lagoon’s murky bottom, where one didn’t see him jump. He said he didn’t
of them found Termidor – not far from know anything had gone wrong until he
where his gold hat was floating – and observed a commotion on the dock and
raised him to the surface. Another class- heard someone shout, “I can’t find BT.”
mate helped pull the body to the dock.
He told detectives he acquired a phone
Efforts to resuscitate Termidor be- number for Termidor’s mother and in-
gan immediately and continued until formed her that her son was involved in
paramedics arrived. He was taken to an accident and had been transported to
Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, the hospital’s emergency room.
where he was later pronounced dead.
Stephen Fenning, the school’s
According to previous witness state- aquatics director since January 2016,
ments, Termidor was submerged in 6 to wasn’t interviewed until Aug. 26, when
12 feet of water for as long as 20 minutes. he told detectives he attended the
jump – he stood on the beach area
The autopsy performed by 19th Cir- adjacent to the dock – but had no spe-
cuit Chief Medical Examiner Patricia cific responsibilities during the event.
Aronica ruled the drowning an “ac-
cident,” and she said she was unable The reports states that Fenning said
to determine whether the alcohol and he “was not asked by anyone to watch
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Ter- over the students as they jumped in”
midor’s blood were factors that con- and that there weren’t life-saving de-
tributed to his death. vices on the dock “due to theft.”

According to the toxicology report Neither Jennings nor local attor-
included in the autopsy, Termidor had ney Will Murphy, who is representing
a blood-alcohol content of .083, just the school, returned messages left on
above the state’s .08 limit to drive legally. their cellphone voice-mail Saturday.

St. Edward’s Communications Direc- Termidor’s family could not be
tor Monica Jennings attended the jump reached for comment on the Sheriff’s
and was video-recording the event from Office report, but it already has sent a
40 feet away in a boat manned by Wil- letter notifying the St. Edward’s board
liam Stribling Jr., the report states. of trustees that it has retained an attor-
ney with the intention of filing a wrong-
Stribling told a detective he saw Ter- ful death claim against the school.
midor “throwing his hands up in the air
and struggling in the water,” and then Termidor was a beloved, two-sport
watched him “go under” with several athlete who was about to graduate
students near him. He said he started to with honors and continue his educa-
drive the boat towards Termidor, but he tion at the University of North Florida
on an academic scholarship. 

Judge Croom to hear arguments
in Strunk Funeral Home lawsuit

BY RAY MCNULTY registry at least part of the $300,000-plus
Staff Writer in back rent sought by the man who
claims to own the local properties on
With a jury trial set for Nov. 1, Circuit which the longtime business operates.
Judge Janet Croom will hear arguments
next week on whether the Strunk Fu- The funds would remain in the
neral Home must deposit into the court court’s custody until lawsuits filed

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

12 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

NEWS

Strunk Funeral Home owe more than $300,000 in back rent for
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 the three properties – the funeral homes
in Vero Beach and Sebastian, and the
by Glenn Strunk’s adult children and crematory,” said Louis “Buck” Vocelle,
JamesYoung Jr. – the nephew of Strunk’s the local attorney representing Young.
wife, Dorothy, who bought the proper-
ties from her for $3.1 million in July – are “The Strunk kids are claiming they
resolved. don’t owe any rent because of the bet-
terments they’ve made to the proper-
The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 ty,” he added. “They’re also challeng-
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. ing the sale, saying it was fraudulent.”

Strunk, who owned the funeral home Young, who said he has owned
business since 1973 and ran it for 47 more than a dozen funeral homes and
years, died in February 2020, sparking currently owns three crematories, also
an ugly dispute between his children wants Strunk Funeral Home evicted
and their stepmother. Glenn and Doro- from the properties.
thy Strunk were married for 41 years.
Barring a settlement, however, that
Young filed his lawsuit under the matter will be decided by jury.
name of his business, Millennium Fu-
neral Home and Crematory, in response Fort Pierce-based attorney Richard
to a suit filed by Strunk’s three children, Sneed, who is representing the Strunk
including Mary Kopchak, who, accord- siblings, did not respond to multiple
ing to state records, replaced her father emails and phone messages.
as president of Strunk Funeral Homes
on Feb. 24, 2020 – two days prior to his Sneed’s clients contend the disputed
death at age 79. properties were jointly owned by the
Strunk Funeral Home because business
Young’s suit was filed in response operations covered the costs of their ac-
to a lawsuit filed in June by Strunk’s quisition, maintenance and capital im-
children, who are challenging the sale provements, as well as expenses such as
on the grounds that their stepmother taxes, insurance and debt service – even
wasn’t authorized to sell the properties. though the land was titled in the names
of Glenn and Dorothy Strunk.
“When Millennium bought the prop-
erty from Dorothy, there was an assign- Young claims in his countersuit that
ment of rents, and we’re claiming they Strunk Funeral Home hasn’t paid rent
since March 1, 2020, and its owners
have refused to vacate the premises. 

State funding to pay for street sweeper, body cameras

BY LISA ZAHNER $80,000 per year, funded via the half-
cent optional sales tax. Finance Direc-
Staff Writer tor Cindy Lawson gave the council the
good news last week, and a first public
When Vero concluded its budget hearing of the revised 2021-22 budget
workshops, the city still had a wish list was set for Tuesday evening, with a re-
of needed items there was no money play video available at www.covb.org.
to pay for. But updated revenue num-
bers from the state will make two of the Police Chief David Currey asked the
wished-for items a reality. city council for body cameras and a
cloud-based video file storage system
The city already owns one street to increase accountability, and to serve
sweeper truck which collects debris to as a tool for his officers while on the
keep it from going into storm drains and beat. The $57,000 to purchase the cam-
eventually into the lagoon. A second eras and system also came from state
street sweeper plus a driver, uniforms, sales tax money.
fuel and maintenance were on the wish
list. Funded by two different pots of Currey said the cameras are on
money collected by the state and then backorder but that they are not the
shared with municipality, the new street type of tool his officers will unbox and
sweeper should be on the road this fall. put to use immediately. “We need to
write a General Rule for how the cam-
Mayor Robbie Brackett wanted the eras will be used and when, and then
street sweeper placed as a high prior- there’s training, so it will take a while.
ity on the budget wish list, as he said The body cameras are the same as the
it’s a cost-effective way to not add un- ones we have in the cars so everything
wanted nutrients to the estuary, plus will synch up,” Currey said.
the city gets environmental credits for
the debris collected and diverted from The boost in state funding also freed
the lagoon. The whole council agreed. up money to increase street resurfac-
ing by $375,000 in the coming year, and
Lease payment on the vehicle will be for the next two years. Vero has had a
$56,000 per year to be funded through $1.75 million backlog of street paving
state communications tax dollars, and projects that need to be done, accord-
the driver salary, uniforms, supplies, ing to City Manager Monte Falls. 
maintenance and disposal fees will cost

ONWARD AND UPWARD FOR
EXPANDING CROSSOVER MISSION

14 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Onward and upward for expanding Crossover Mission

Cathy De Schouwer, AJ Jennings and Antoine Jennings. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES

BY MARY SCHENKEL Phase Two is the build-out of the “They’ve been awesome,” said De for us to be there practicing,” said
academic area, partially funded Schouwer. De Schouwer.
Staff Writer through a 2021 Impact 100 grant,
which they hope to have completed Basketball takes place in the gyms There are now 78 students, ages 8
Crossover Mission is continuing by February. A downstairs café area at Gifford Middle School and oc- to 18, in their weekly mentoring and
to grow, quite literally, in leaps and already has some appliances and casionally Oslo Middle School, as basketball program, and they hope
bounds. The nonprofit organization, furnishings but will likely not be school schedules allow. to have 90 by year’s end.
founded in March 2014 by Antoine completed until Phase Three.
Jennings and Cathy De Schouwer, “We often are there on the week- About a dozen are girls, described
motivates at-risk students through With the project underway, they ends; Sundays are a very usual day as “amazing athletes.” Jennings,
basketball, using athletics to ad- are now in the quiet phase of a Capi- Crossover’s chief operating officer,
vance academic excellence. tal Campaign to buy the building. said they plan to have a girls basket-
Its $2 million purchase price was ball team in the spring.
To meet current growth and ex- part of their three-year lease-to-buy
pand into the future, Crossover agreement. It was signed in March “The middle school group is grow-
is in the process of refurbishing a 2020, just as COVID hit, which ing dramatically and that’s good be-
30,000-square-foot former citrus slowed everything down. cause we like to start them young, in
packing house, so that athletics and upper elementary,” said De Schou-
academics can be housed in one lo- “We hope to accomplish that by wer. “The earlier you get them, the
cation. the end of this calendar year, wheth- more they get accustomed to the
er it’s partial like a mortgage or col- academic structure of what we do,
Phase One of the multi-phase lecting likeminded people who are and they’re training earlier, so their
project has been funded and in- willing to invest in it now,” said De skillset is rising faster.”
cludes laying flooring on the ground Schouwer. “Because of all the in-
floor, which will primarily be their vestment in the building, we need An adult basketball league is be-
sports area, installing indoor stairs to buy it, whether we mortgage it or ing formulated, consisting of pro-
to the second level, where academ- not, because you can’t invest mil- gram alumni ages 18 to 21, and they
ics will be housed, and putting in a lions in something you don’t own.” often host large camp groups, either
firewall there. their own or with the school district.
As Crossover grew, their programs Still others sign on to their competi-
“We expect that to all be finished by were frequently on the move. Aca- tive travel teams, minus the aca-
mid-October, which means we hope demics are currently housed in office demic portion of the program, but
to have a temporary certificate of oc- space on 14th Avenue owned by the they must maintain strict academic
cupancy at that time, so we can use Banack family, which also owns the and attendance standards.
the basketball court,” said De Schou- warehouse.
wer, Crossover’s executive director.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 15

PEOPLE

“I think the majority of the kids year and it was awesome; it was so of Crossover Mission in motion in the beginning. And then they start-
originally come here for basketball awesome,” said De Schouwer. “It 2013, when Jennings began training ed feeling like, maybe Division 1 is
and then over time they start devel- was just wonderful for them to meet Louis in basketball alongside AJ. not for me,” said Jennings, adding
oping interests and understanding the coach and work with the play- that many smaller and junior col-
the importance of academics,” said ers. The players were their coaches, AJ graduated from Saint Edward’s leges are becoming feeder schools
Jennings. so when they watch FSU on TV this this year and is now playing bas- for athletics.
year, they can say, ‘I know that guy!’” ketball for Northland Community
“They don’t see it at first; we have College in Minnesota. De Schouwer De Schouwer said they continue
to convince them that academics Students stayed on campus in said Louis, who graduates from St. to cultivate interested supporters,
are important. And then you see the dorms, and during dinner they Edward’s this year, will likely attend financially and as volunteers will-
shift. They build confidence and see talked about everything from what FSU. ing to academically mentor students
that all their hard work and effort it takes to get into FSU, including and help them reach their full po-
has paid off.” coping with the extensive applica- After visiting larger university tential through positive guidance.
tion, financial aid and scholarship settings, Jennings said his son was
Older students often mentor the processes, to the overall college ex- among those opting for colleges To schedule a tour of the facility,
younger ones, sharing their own ex- perience. with smaller, more personal class call Jennifer DeHaven at 772-257-
periences about the commitment sizes. 5400 or, for more information, visit
and sacrifices needed to succeed. Their own sons, AJ Jennings and crossovermission.com. 
Louis De Schouwer, set the creation “Some of them, well I think all of
“So everything that we try to them, wanted Division 1 schools in
teach them in the beginning, that
they seem to resist, towards the end
they really get it. There’s a sense of
gratitude and appreciation for all
the people that have helped them
along the way,” said Jennings. “But
I think the bigger part is their sense
of belonging and family. We’re all
really close; our staff, the kids, men-
tors. I think that’s the part that re-
ally keeps them here. It’s almost like
home away from home.”

“When we lost Bidensky (Termi-
dor), the young man who drowned,
there was even a closer bond that
formed,” said De Schouwer. Termi-
dor, a Saint Edward’s School gradu-
ate and one of Crossover’s found-
ing student athletes, was a beloved
“rising star” at the time of his trag-
ic death. “Kids we hadn’t seen in
a while, all the way back, they all
came back. It was amazing. There’s
this very interesting connection
that we all feel.”

Initially, Jennings said, staff
would corral the students for activi-
ties and encourage them to support
each other. Now they do it on their
own, carpooling or walking togeth-
er to attend games.

“It’s really amazing to see how
much they’ve bonded together and
to see the newer kids identifying
with them. They’re already picking
it up,” said Jennings. “I think that
the new kids are going to buy into
the program a lot more easily, be-
cause the others have already laid
the foundation.”

Students who are now in college
or working continue to stop by or at-
tend games when they’re able.

“And then, of course, while they’re
in college, we are very much in com-
munication, because they still have
constant needs,” said De Schouwer.

One of their more motivating ac-
tivities has been taking students to
summer basketball camps; this year
at Florida State University. Addi-
tional funding from an angel donor
enabled them to double the number
of students.

“We had 23 that went to FSU this

16 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Air of excitement over new gyrocopter training academy

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF about 30 years in aviation under his copters, outside of aeronautic cir- extending along the coastline as far
Staff Writer belt, including 20 years’ experience cles, they have been around since north as Cocoa Beach.
as an instructor in fixed-wing air- the 1920s. They have evolved over
A new company has taken flight craft and helicopters and two years the years to what is known today as “Our main focus is instruction.
at the Sebastian Municipal Airport. as a gyrocopter instructor. the modern sport gyrocopter. We train here to make sure that you
are prepared for anything that might
The Gyrocopter Flight Training Latshaw’s civilian career has in- “The gyro is like a little roller arise when you’re up there flying,”
Academy, which recently opened volved everything from writing coaster on air wings,” says Latshaw. says Latshaw.
its hangar doors, is owned and op- training manuals for the military
erated by Tom and Sonja Latshaw. to teaching oil riggers how to fly at He explains that the gyrocopter “Flying is more difficult than driv-
Sonja retired from her career as the FlightSafety International West has a propulsion motor that propels ing because you have to use both of
a registered nurse to manage the Palm Beach Learning Center. it forward, likening it to a pinwheel, your hands and both of your feet.
business while Tom handles flights as opposed to a helicopter, which All of your extremities are moving.
and training. His interest in gyrocopters was relies on an engine to power its Once you get it down, it becomes
piqued during a trip to the Sun’ n spinning rotor blades. second nature.”
The couple met in Illesheim, Ger- Fun Aerospace Expo two years ago.
many, while Tom was stationed After earning his Certified Flight In- Gyrocopters do require more Latshaw says the majority of his
there during his time in the U.S. structor designation, he purchased space for takeoff and landing, but students come to him to fulfill a life-
Army, and they eventually moved to an Argon 915 gyrocopter and real- they’re significantly less expensive long ambition.
Florida in 2001. ized there was a niche he could fill than helicopters to operate.
while doing what he loves – flying “These people looked up at the sky
Latshaw began his Army ser- and training. “The operating cost of the heli- when they were children and said,
vice as a mechanic and ultimately copter we have runs at about $680 ‘I’m going to be a pilot someday.’”
became an aviation officer flying Latshaw is both an instructor and per hour. Our gyrocopter is about
Apache helicopters. After leaving distributor for the aircraft, so that $80 per hour. That’s a big cost dif- One such student was finally
the military, he obtained a contract once individuals have completed ference,” says Latshaw. able to fulfill his dream at the age
in Afghanistan teaching the Af- the approximate 40-hour flight- of 92 recalls Latshaw. “He didn’t
ghanis how to fly Black Hawk heli- training process, they can purchase Want to take it for a spin? Train- care about being certified to fly. He
copters. a gyrocopter through the academy. ing at the Gyrocopter Flight Train- just wanted the satisfaction of ac-
ing Academy runs $220 per hour. complishing something that he has
He continued his career as a pilot While gyrocopters are not as Latshaw also offers several helicop- wanted to do all of his life. A big part
and instructor, and currently has widely known as planes and heli- ter tour packages starting $70 per of this business is fulfilling people’s
seat for a 10-minute ride, with trips dreams.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 17

PEOPLE

A 915 Series Gyrocopter. PHOTOS: KAILA JONES Garry Varley.

View from a Robinson R44 Helicopter. Sonja Latshaw holds a gyrocopter model in the classroom
at the Gyrocopter Flight Training Academy.

Tom Latshaw.

18 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

PEOPLE

Art lovers quickly sold on First Friday Gallery Stroll

Sue Dinenno and Penny Aliyetti. Pat and Charlie Martin.

George Pillorgé and Lila Blakeslee. Dinah Gabany and Debra Mill. PHOTOS: STEPHANIE LaBAFF Despite inclement weather at the start of last week’s First Friday Gallery
Christine and Dan Brogna. Amy Speen and Rachel Speen. Stroll, discerning art aficionados made their way to the Downtown Arts Dis-
trict to view works by talented local artists. “We already had one sale, right
off the top,” said Lila Blakeslee, a Gallery 14 partner. “Usually, someone will
walk in, and a piece of art will just speak to them.” Summertime is tradi-
tionally when galleries are closed or have reduced hours, enabling artists to
work on their craft and gear up for season. And despite the pandemic forc-
ing the closure of a couple of galleries, an air of positivity prevails. Artist’s
Guild Gallery member Sue Dinenno said Covid triggered a reduction from
19 to 10 members, but that it was ultimately beneficial. “The gallery looks
wonderful, because now every artist has their own space,” agreed Penny
Aliyetti. And for something completely different, Blakeslee told us to make
sure to visit Jekyll’s Basement, where Joe Stallings offers a cornucopia of pop
culture memorabilia and special goodies just in time for Halloween. 

PROPERTY INSURANCE REFORM IS HERE.
Below are highlights of the revisions effective July 1,
2021 relating to property insurance claims in Florida.

Contact us to discuss additional questions on how this
might impact you or your business.

• Deadline to submit claims reduced to
two years from the date of loss, with an
additional year for supplemental claims.

• Prohibits any written or electronic
communication by a contractor encouraging
contact with a contractor or public adjuster
for the purpose of making an insurance
claim for roof damage.

• Bans offering of anything of value in
exchange for allowing someone to inspect a
roof, interpret an insurance policy, or file a
claim on an insured’s behalf.

• Requires contractors to provide a good faith
estimate of the itemized and detailed cost
of the services and materials required to
complete repairs related to an insurance
claim. The actual cost of repairs may differ
from this estimate.

Julie Lewis Hauf, Esq., a graduate of Boston College Law School, has been practicing
law for more than 20 years in the areas of civil, business, and insurance litigation. The
firm is based in Vero Beach, Florida, and maintains offices in Central Florida, South
Florida, and Southwest Florida, serving clients around the state.

700 Beachland Blvd., Vero Beach, FL 32963
www.lewishauf.com (772) 492-6591



20 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT COVER STORY

James Rebanks walks with his border collies in
June on his farm in Matterdale, England. He is
on a mission to ensure farming contributes to
nature rather than abuses it as a commodity.

Britain's rock-star shepherd and best-selling author, As the best-known farmer in the whole of the home in England’s poetic Lake District and the do-
James Rebanks, is out at the family farm in Matterdale, United Kingdom, Rebanks finds himself at the cen- ings of his beloved Herdwick sheep.
England, giving the tour, waxing rhapsodic about his ter of this transition. In agriculture circles, he’s a su-
manure. The glory of it – of the crumbly, muffin-top per influencer, famous for his Twitter feed. He has The shepherd riffs on the circle of life, the frenzy of
consistency of a well-made plop from a grass-fed cow. nearly 150,000 followers, who check for his posts lambing season, the deliciousness of grilled mutton
and postcard-perfect videos and photos of his idyllic and the wisdom of sheepdogs – speckled with rants
“Has anyone in your life ever truly explained against the alleged ruinous stupidity of industrial
grasses to you?” he asks. And we think, not really. The farm has four flocks of Herdwick sheep. farming “where the field has become the factory floor.”

It’s not just ruminant digestion. Don’t get the man In his tweets as well as in person, the 47-year-old
started on soil health. Rebanks is a soil geek, with the Rebanks is by turns rapturous, frustrated, hopeful
zeal of the convert. We’re soon on our knees, grubbing and angry. He cannot fathom that the planet, and
in the dirt. Sniffing. He’s distracted by a red-tailed his little corner of it, has been so messed up. He also
bumblebee, then by the surround-sound of birdsong. cannot make up his mind whether we are doomed
“I don’t trust a quiet farm,” he says. “It should be noisy or just might pull through, a feeling that resonates
with life.” with many.

Rebanks represents one possible future for farm- He wrote two books about all this, both interna-
ing, which is set to be transformed in the promise of tional bestsellers. The latest, published to stellar re-
a zero-carbon world. In the new post-Brexit era, the views this month in the United States, is “Pastoral
British government plans to strip away all tradition- Song: A Farmer’s Journey.”
al farm subsidies and replace those payments with
an alien system of “public money for public goods.” On one level, the book is about how cheap food
culture, globalization, and super-efficient, -hyper-
What are these public goods? Not food. Bees! mechanized, highly productive modern farms (giant
In 21st-century Britain, the goods will be clean monocultures of beets, wheat, corn) are terrible for
water, biodiversity, habitat restoration, hedgerows, nature (insects, rivers, climate) and our health (obe-
pretty landscapes, wildflowers, flood mitigation and sity, diabetes) and our farmers (indebted, pesticide-
adaptation to climate change. All the stuff the public dependent, stressed).
wants, according to the pollsters.
This transformation could be huge: Farmland is On a deeper level, though, the pages are about
70 percent of England’s landscape and produces 10 healing, about how one farmer in Cumbria is trying
percent of its greenhouse gases. There is no net-ze- very hard to turn his landscape into a sustainable,
ro-carbon future without farmers. profitable little Eden by deploying both ancient and
cutting-edge techniques.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 21

INSIGHT COVER STORY

Buttercups and wildflowers flourish in the Herdwick sheep gather under the
fields above Racy Ghyll farm, part of farmer shade of an old tree on a warm,
James Rebanks’s efforts to rewild his land. sunny day on Rebanks’s farm.

Two hens embrace their free-range
freedom on the farm, which is home to

chickens, sheep and cows.

Through his books, his online ubiquity, his lec- Wild purple foxgloves grow sidies. Without the dole, government figures show, 42
tures, interviews and tours, Rebanks has become on Rebanks’s farm in England. percent of all farms here would operate at a loss. Most
the man of the moment in British farm policy. small operators wouldn’t survive without the checks.
The farms of tomorrow will grow food and se- The payments – $3 billion annually – are to be phased
When he started on Twitter a decade ago, he was quester carbon. out over the next seven years.
an anonymous bloke with a chip on his shoulder,
a history degree from Oxford, an inherited farm, a Or at least that is the idea. Rebanks is supportive, Rebanks worries that many traditional farmers on
small herd of sheep. Now, he’s a guru, whether he but wary. less productive land won’t make the transition and
likes it or not. will be forced to retire or sell. The government con-
British farmers, like their counterparts elsewhere in cedes this is a likely outcome for some.
British politicians make the pilgrimage to see what Europe, have subsisted for three generations on sub-
he has done. So do British journalists. He has made If taxpayers and consumers don’t want to pay the
the cover of the Financial Times magazine and is the high costs of regenerative, sustainable, zero-carbon
subject of a 30-minute documentary on the BBC. He farming, he fears, “then all the little guys will just go
pens guest columns for the right-wing Daily Mail bankrupt,” and big farms “will just turn up the inten-
and the left-wing Guardian. sity dial and fiddle with nature around at the edges.”

A fellow farmer observed without rancor last year: As presented, Rebanks doesn’t think the plan is
“When turning on the TV, listening to the radio or nearly smart enough or big enough, or that the pub-
opening a newspaper, it was impossible to avoid up- lic understands how much it will cost to have a real
land farmer James Rebanks espousing his views on impact for farmers, nature and climate. He thinks $3
the future of sustainable farming as he publicized billion year is “a drop in the bucket.”
his new book.”
A few thousand pounds here and there to plant
With Brexit a done deal and Britain free from the some wildflowers at the edge of fertilizer-dosed
European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, the fields? “It’s not going to cut it, and we’re deluded if
government is embarking on the biggest change in we think it will,” he stressed on a recent morning.
the management of its countryside since the end of
World War II. If anyone can make the switch to this new system
of “public money for public goods,” surely it should
No longer will farmers live on the Basic Payment be Rebanks. He seems more than halfway there al-
Scheme. They will be paid for those new public goods; ready.
the old subsidies for “food security” will end. It is a rad-
ical experiment, to be carried out on a national scale. His Racy Ghyll farm is green and gorgeous, yet at
only 185 acres, it’s smaller than it looks on the In-
Yesterday’s farms grew food and outgassed methane.
COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

22 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 INSIGHT COVER STORY

Two horses graze in their own
open space opposite the
Rebanks family’s farmhouse.

Cattle gather at the Left: A nesting
gate to say hello. box is attached to
newly erected fencing
around a pond on the
farm.

ternet. The majority of British farmers just to sell their beef, but also for the He grows hay, too, harvesting it later shepherding in Cumbria for 600 years.
work land of similar size. animals to trample the fields with in the season to give the curlews a His methods – moving sheep between
their hoofs, to break up and improve chance to raise their chicks. the communal hilltop fells and the val-
Rebanks and his border collies the soil. ley below – would be recognizable to
tend four flocks totaling about 450 His critics in Britain, along with the Vikings, who did the same when
Herdwick sheep this summer. That’s Three dozen chickens live in a hen some farmers in the United States they settled here more than a mil-
his main income. He also has 15 house on wheels, which allows him and Australia, have suggested that Re- lennium ago with a similar breed of
Belted Galloway cows, a stocky, fat- to easily spread their manure around, banks is a nostalgic romantic. A hob- hearty sheep.
bellied breed that can overwinter and he puts the eggs out on the lane byist. A dilettante.
outdoors. He bought the cows not for customers who leave a few coins. Over the past 10 years, with help
He disagrees. His family has been

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 23

Open fields and bucolic INSIGHT COVER STORY
landscapes epitomize Racy
Ghyll farm in Matterdale, restored and 30 acres revived as a wild- of his farm out of active production. In the post-Brexit world of free-
England. flower meadow. “Listen, the truth is there must be trade deals, British farmers will not
be able to compete, because the Brit-
A botanist told Rebanks that the farm some letting go,” he said. “You can’t ish landscape doesn’t allow for large-
now supports 200 species of flowers and drain it all and use it all for farming or scale or intensive agriculture without
grass. grazing. You have to set some aside.” grave damage to its remaining biodi-
versity.
Based on study and advice, Rebanks That setting aside should be com-
has radically altered his grazing pat- pensated, he believes. Despite many Asked whether this calls for protec-
terns, moving his animals much more laws, protections and preserves, Eng- tionist policies, Rebanks said it cer-
frequently from pasture to pasture. land’s farmland birds have declined tainly does – and that the public will
“There’s no vegan grassland,” he said. by 57 percent since 1970. The summer have to decide how seriously the twin
The cows and sheep have to turn over swarms and buzz of insects are disap- crises of climate change and biodiver-
the soil. pearing. The story is the same in Eu- sity loss should be addressed.
rope and the United States.
He’s chopping up the farm to small- “Pay me to do my regenerative farm-
er and smaller fields – “it’s all hedges “So it’s lovely here, okay? But we don’t ing,” he said. “Or go into a shop and pay
and edges, which is good for nature.” need a little bit of lovely somewhere, me twice as much for my steak.” 
He estimates he has taken 15 percent we need a lot of it everywhere,” he said.

from conservationists and support-
ers, he and his family – his wife and
four kids – have “re-wiggled” a drain-
age ditch and created a natural stream
plus wetland.

They’re planting 25,000 saplings.
There were no ponds on the property
before. There are 25 now, with otters.
Three miles of hedgerows have been

24 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT OPINION

For decades, Pakistan has recklessly pursued nu- Now, again in power, the Taliban can return the ders in Pakistan and Iran. Sadly, the Trump-Biden
clear weapons and aided Islamist terrorism – threats sanctuary favor to Pakistani Taliban – the Pakistani withdrawal policy canceled that insurance policy.
that U.S. policymakers of both parties have consis- counterpart of the Afghan Taliban – and other radi-
tently underestimated or mishandled. With Afghani- cals. Obviously, the world doesn’t need another ter- From Cold War conflict against the Soviets in Af-
stan’s fall, the time for neglect or equivocation is over. rorist regime, but the risk in Pakistan is of an entirely ghanistan to our own efforts since 9/11, Pakistani-U.S.
different order of magnitude, even compared with the cooperation has been essential. It led Washington to
The Taliban’s takeover next door immediately pos- menace of al-Qaeda or the Islamic State gaining se- temper vigorous criticism of Islamabad’s nuclear and
es the sharply higher risk that Pakistani extremists cure bases in Afghanistan. pro-terrorist polices.
will increase their already sizable influence in Islam-
abad, threatening at some point to seize full control. While Iran still aspires only to nuclear weapons, Now, after Kabul’s surrender, America is less de-
Pakistan already has dozens, perhaps more than pendent on Pakistan’s good will and logistical sup-
A description once applied to Prussia – where some 150, according to public sources. port. Acknowledging the enormous uncertainty, giv-
states possess an army, the Prussian army possesses a en Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities, the United States
state – is equally apt for Pakistan. Nuclear weapons in the hands of an extremist Pak- must now come down hard on Islamabad if it con-
istan would dramatically imperil India, raising ten- tinues supporting the Taliban and other terrorists.
Islamabad’s military, often referred to as Pakistan’s sions in the region to unprecedented levels, especial-
“steel skeleton,” is the real government on national ly given China’s central role in Islamabad’s nuclear It has been said that Pakistan is the only govern-
security issues, the civilian veneer notwithstanding. and ballistic-missile programs. ment consisting simultaneously of arsonists and fire-
fighters. The firefighters need to step up their game.
Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, has long been a Moreover, the prospect that Pakistan could slip They must convince their fellow countrymen that the
hotbed of radicalism, which has spread throughout individual warheads to terrorist groups to detonate government’s recent path has made Pakistan less se-
the military, to higher and higher ranks. Prime Min- anywhere in the world would make a new 9/11 in- cure, not more.
ister Imran Khan, like many prior elected leaders, is comparably more deadly.
essentially just another pretty face. Absent clear evidence that Pakistan has terminat-
These dangers provided compelling reasons to ed assistance to the Taliban, the United States should
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, ISI exten- sustain the U.S. and NATO military presence in Af- eliminate its own aid to Islamabad; strike Pakistan
sively supported Afghanistan’s mujahideen against ghanistan. We could have continued overwatch not from the list of “major non-NATO allies”; impose an-
the Soviet military, for religious and national secu- just of potential new terrorist threats in-country but ti-terrorist sanctions; and more. Our tilt toward India
rity reasons. Washington made the mistake of fun- also observed what was happening across the bor- should accelerate.
neling much of its assistance to “the muj” through
Pakistan, thereby relinquishing control over which Most important, we must devote maximum atten-
politicians and fighters actually received the aid. tion to Pakistan’s nuclear stockpiles and weapons-
production facilities. If a future terrorist regime in Is-
Pakistan also enabled terrorist groups targeting lamabad (or even today’s government or like-minded
India, its main regional rival, over Kashmir, a con- successors) appears ready to transfer nuclear capa-
tinuing flash point emanating from the 1947 parti- bilities to terrorists, we should take preventive action.
tion and independence from Britain.
This is highly unpalatable, but the alternative of al-
After Moscow exited Afghanistan in 1989, ISI un- lowing these weapons’ use is far worse. China must
surprisingly pirouetted to support the Taliban and be made very aware of our intentions and serious-
others who subjugated the country in 1996. Paki- ness, including that Beijing’s long-standing, vital as-
stani military doctrine holds that a friendly Kabul re- sistance to Islamabad’s nuclear efforts makes China
gime ensures “strategic depth” against India, which responsible for any misuse. 
Pakistani leaders believed the Taliban provided.
A version of this column by John Bolton first ap-
When the U.S. coalition overthrew the Taliban in peared in The Washington Post. It does not necessar-
2001, ISI provided sanctuaries, arms and supplies in- ily reflect the views of Vero Beach 32963.
side Pakistan, although Islamabad routinely denied it.

During the coronavirus crisis, our Pelican Plaza office is closed to visitors. We appreciate your understanding.

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 25

INSIGHT OPINION

Ticketmaster owes Matthew Gerstman ter and they were inconsistent in re- Ticketmaster's refund policy is clear. are trying to resolve a problem – those
a $2,031 refund for a canceled Taylor sponding. Eventually, a representative All sales are final, and refunds are only methods become problematic. In the
Swift concert. A year later, he is seeing red. informed me that they had processed allowed in "limited circumstances." If end, you had to share a Dropbox folder
a refund. They gave me a confirma- you qualify for a refund – which you do with screenshots. That can make it a
QUESTION: tion number. A few weeks later, after – you'll see a “Request a Refund” link in little challenging for a customer service
I didn't see the refund on my credit your online account. agent to follow the progress of a case or
I had three tickets to a Taylor Swift con- card, I emailed Chase's executive team lack thereof.
cert in Inglewood, Calif., in the sum- and received two voicemails and a let- "After submitting your request, your
mer of 2020. In February, Ticketmaster ter verifying that they rejected the re- refund will be processed to the origi- I think a few carefully written emails
notified me that the show had been fund because Ticketmaster had sent nal method of payment used at time to Ticketmaster might have gotten your
canceled because of COVID-19. the refund to a closed account. of purchase, once funds are received case moving and prevented any more
from the event organizer," according bad blood. I list the names, numbers
Ticketmaster had shut down phone I've tried to contact Ticketmaster sev- to Ticketmaster's site. and email addresses of the Ticketmas-
and email support. The only mecha- eral times about my refund, but Ticket- ter customer service executives on my
nism I had to contact them was Twit- master still has $2,031 – and it's been It appears the event organizer paid consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
more than a year. Can you help me? Ticketmaster, and then Ticketmaster
tried to refund the original method of It appears that there's one blank
ANSWER: payment – and failed. space in your file: An official letter
from your former credit card company
Ticketmaster should have refunded your I reviewed the correspondence be- that says it received and rejected the
tickets swiftly. It knew that you had closed tween you and Ticketmaster. It looks payment sent by Ticketmaster. With-
your account and should have contact- like you used various methods to com- out the letter, Ticketmaster will not re-
ed you to make alternate arrangements. municate with the company, including process your refund.
Instead, it sat on your $2,031. That's not phone, text and social media. Those
something you're likely to shake off. The can be effective under some circum- You found the document, sent it to
money belongs with you. stances. But when you're trying to build me, and I forwarded it to Ticketmaster.
a paper trail – written evidence that you In May, more than a year after your con-
cert had been canceled, you received a
resolution. 

Get help with any consumer prob-
lem by contacting Christopher Elliott at
http://www.elliott.org/help

26 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BOOKS

In January 2011, less than a year after the most valuable compa- money, ideas and unwavering push for excellence forced
Tesla Motors became a public company, nies on Earth. The facile the young firm to meet seemingly impossible goals as it
a recruiter named Rik Avalos was trying answer is that the firm tri- became increasingly adept at building electric cars. Yet
to woo new employees to the firm by ask- umphed because it made Musk was Tesla’s biggest liability, too. Whether it was his
ing them to envision the future. At the innovative electric cars – ill-conceived engineering demands that led to produc-
time, Tesla was still trying to sell its first first the Roadster, then the tion nightmares for the Model X SUV or his intemperate
vehicle, an expensive, blazingly fast sports Models S, 3 and Y. All of use of Twitter (as when he suggested taking the com-
car known as the Roadster.The company’s these vehicles were sleek, pany private, drawing the scrutiny of the Securities and
stock was trading at around $25. “What if Exchange Commission), his missteps have brought the
we hit 50 bucks a share?” Avalos would say fast and emissions-free. firm close to crashing, time and again. Thanks mostly
to a prospective hire. It was another way But as Higgins explains in to Musk, Higgins notes, this is a company that has con-
of asking: What if you came here and your “Power Play: Tesla, Elon stantly “grappled with unnecessary, self-inflicted crises.”
stock options were to double in value? Musk, and the Bet of the
Century,” that’s not near- Reading “Power Play,” I wondered if Musk’s acolytes – a
The idea, he knew, sounded a bit crazy. ly the whole story. powerful and aggressive bloc on social media – might tag
But then Tesla was a bit crazy, too. Avalos Higgins as a Tesla hater, since he is unafraid to chronicle
worked for a company that intended to In fact, Musk didn’t the chief executive’s behavior in telling detail. But it’s hard
make a fleet of increasingly affordable elec- actually start the firm – to make excuses for Musk’s frequent episodes of anger
tric cars, using a novel lithium-ion battery that distinction goes to and dysfunction. Perhaps building a new mass-market
technology that had never before succeed- Martin Eberhard and car company could push anyone to the brink. Before
ed in the automotive industry. Even more Marc Tarpenning, two Tesla, no American start-up had succeeded at the task in
astounding, the fledgling carmaker had Bay Area entrepreneurs nearly a century. And the complexity of the job – sourcing
ambitions to end the dominance of the world’s largest who in 2003 discerned the potential and assembling thousands of parts into a safe, drivable,
automakers and displace the modern era’s fundamen- of an electric sports car. By chance, they connected with appealing vehicle – is fairly astonishing, especially in light
tal transportation technology, the internal-combustion Musk, a young engineer who had just made a fortune of how any entrepreneur brazen enough to enter the car
engine. with an Internet start-up that came to be known as Pay- business still has to make a profit. The emerging car-
Pal. Musk put a large investment into the new car compa- maker also has to roll out another new model. And then
Meanwhile, Tesla faced almost too many challenges to ny and assumed a large chunk of the ownership; he also another. Higgins’ narrative explains that Tesla’s innova-
name. Insiders and outsiders alike could see that it was became Tesla’s first chairman. The team hired a battery tions were not just about bringing to market a desirable
beset by operational problems and sometimes seemed wizard named J.B. Straubel, along with some young en- electric vehicle, but also about improving and expanding
on the verge of collapse. Under the direction of its volatile gineers who grasped the possibilities for electric motors. upon its early concepts. Some of the company’s success
CEO, Elon Musk, the firm was not so much a functional Then they set to work building their first car. came from forging alliances with battery manufacturers,
company as an organized kind of chaos, whereby a res- To a fair degree, the story of Tesla’s early days is the like Panasonic. But lesser-known executives were essen-
tive corps of engineers and a ragtag sales staff caromed story of how Musk moved from being a hands-off inves- tial in accelerating its progress, too.
from crisis to crisis, trying vainly to adhere to ambitious tor to overseeing virtually every detail of the company’s
production schedules as cash reserves ran dry and man- engineering, design and marketing. In the process, he Early on, Straubel, the battery wunderkind, helped
ufacturing delays escalated. Early on, even Musk thought pushed out the founders and poured a good deal of his come up with a system that could manage the heat gener-
the odds favored his company’s failure. So too did a le- personal fortune into the firm — usually at its most peril- ated by a pack of lithium-ion batteries and thus avoid the
gion of short-sellers, who tried to profit in the stock mar- ous moments, to save it from financial ruin. Musk’s per- dangers of explosions and fires. A few years later, George
ket by betting on Tesla’s demise. And yet: By late August sonal story and aspects of his management style, both at Blankenship helped Tesla set up stores at upscale malls
2020, Tesla shares had passed $440, making the electric- Tesla and at his rocket start-up, SpaceX, were explored in around the country, so that the firm could sell its Model
car firm worth more than General Motors and Ford com- AshleeVance’s engaging 2015 biography of the billionaire, S luxury car directly to buyers. More recently, Doug Field,
bined. Six months later its stock hit $880. The latter spike “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic a former Apple executive, oversaw the company’s suc-
in valuation made Musk, for a while, the richest person Future.” Higgins’ focus is narrower – this is ostensibly a cessful launch of the more affordable Model 3. All of these
in the world. One can only imagine the good fortune of book about Tesla, not Musk – but also more contextual. men, Higgins points out, deserve tremendous credit for
those early Tesla employees who signed on to a $50-a- “Power Play” allows us to see how Musk aligned Tesla Tesla’s ahievements. And all of them happen to be former
share future. As long as they could endure the misery of with his personal vision (“the cars were built in Musk’s employees, having parted ways with Musk. 
80-hour workweeks, along with the lash of their boss’ dis- image,” Higgins tells us) and how he in essence became
pleasure, the company must have exceeded their wildest indistinguishable from the brand. POWER PLAY
expectations. That isn’t to say Musk deserves total credit for the au-
tomaker’s ascent. One of the more enlightening aspects TESLA, ELON MUSK, AND THE BET OF THE CENTURY
Tim Higgins’ compelling and deeply reported history of “Power Play” is the paradox Higgins presents: Tesla
of Tesla addresses the essential question of how this up- couldn’t have possibly succeeded without Musk, whose BY TIM HIGGINS | DOUBLEDAY. 377 PP. $30
start automaker came from nowhere to become one of REVIEW BY JON GERTNER, THE WASHINGTON POST

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 27

INSIGHT BOOKS

In his 1891 nov- deeply considered,

el, “Tess of the might have en-

d’Urbervilles,” Thomas abled more origi-

Hardy evokes with a nal conclusions.

single sentence the slow But the details of

fading of a constellation his innumerable

of once-dominant atti- examples are often

tudes about time, space very intriguing. In

and money. His heroine, a medieval cathe-

Tess, “started on her way dral in Lübeck,

up the dark and crooked Germany, an as-

lane or street not made tonishingly intri-

for hasty progress; a street cate mechanical

laid out before inches of clock behind the

land had value, and when altar included

one-handed clocks suf- niches with

ficiently subdivided the carved figures

day.” As Tess traverses representing

the street, Hardy sketches a broader the deadly sins; zodiac signs surround-

cultural path: from an older era when a ing a calendar; and a dial showing the

rough delineation of hours sufficed to an moon’s age, religious festival days and

age when even inches of land are precisely solar as well as lunar eclipses. A nearby

measured and appraised. From our own inscription articulated the intended

harried vantage, late-19th-century Eng- moral of this extraordinary display: “So

land might seem like an idyllic era of rustic often as Thou hearest the melody of the

leisure, but Hardy’s novel depicts a world sonorous bell, think then of God who

in which the meandering of a dark and governs the Stars; and at the same time

crooked lane is already an anachronism. praise Him.”

How have different ages conceptual- A decidedly more worldly motive

ized and marked the passing of time, and spurred the invention of increasingly

how do these various attitudes manifest accurate chronometric devices that en-

in culture and consciousness, from the abled the calculation of longitude at sea.

straightness of our streets to the subjective Though Philip II of Spain offered a cash

experience of those moving along them? reward in 1567 for a practical longitude

In “About Time: A History of Civilization reckoning system for sailors, it was not

in Twelve Clocks,” David Rooney, a former until the 1750s that John Harrison devel-

museum curator and director of the Anti- oped sufficiently accurate timekeeping

quarian Horological Society, assembles an devices that could withstand the swings

engaging miscellany of stories and details in humidity and temperature at sea, al-

about timekeeping technologies spanning lowing an accurate fixed reference time

a huge range of cultures and periods – from to be compared with the time at sea, as

ancient Rome and China to 14th-century the difference in times tracks longitude.

Italy, 19th-century India and many others. The accuracy of a clock, of course, is

Though the book aspires to engage grand a matter of degree, and the subsequent

themes of ethics, power and historical technical achievements in this domain

transformation, it rises only intermittently would have astonished Harrison. In the

above the thickets of moderately interest- 1920s, the best mechanical pendulum

ing trivia to survey this broader landscape. clocks would gain or lose no more than

The book is not in fact a history of civi- a second every two or three months.

lization in 12 clocks. Each of the 12 chap- By 1955, an atomic clock was accurate

ters is organized around a broad theme to one second every 300 years; in the

– virtue, resistance, knowledge, identity, 1980s Britain’s National Physical Labo-

etc. – that a collection of loosely related ex- ratory made atomic clocks accurate

amples of timekeeping devices is supposed within one second every 300,000 years.

to illuminate. Much of this material is quite Atomic clocks currently being devel-

interesting, but the book’s frenetic pace can oped have an accuracy of plus or minus

make it hard to catch more than occasional one second in 30 billion years.

glimpses of meaning. In the space of just With its hasty rushing between ex-

two pages, for instance, Rooney leaps from amples and themes, Rooney’s book

a tower clock in 14th-century Italy to a can- itself feels calibrated to slot into the

non fired at noon each day by the British schedule of an overly busy reader

in 19th-century Cape Town to a boom of snatching a few minutes at the end of

clockmakers in Australia in the 19th cen- an overstuffed day. One longs to wan-

tury to clock towers in British India in the der with Hardy’s Tess down a dark,

1850s. When he does surface for a broader winding path, tracking the time only

reflection, it’s banal: “Whatever the cir- by the sun overhead. 

cumstances of any indi-

vidual clock, power politics

was never far away.” Closer ABOUT TIME

analysis of these individual A HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION IN TWELVE CLOCKS

circumstances, and a small- BY DAVID ROONEY | NORTON. 271 PP. $28.95
er set of examples more REVIEW BY NICK ROMEO, THE WASHINGTON POST



Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 29

INSIGHT BRIDGE

NORTH

THERE ARE SO MANY POINTS AT STAKE A2

By Phillip Alder - Bridge Columnist A Q 10 8 7 5

Caroline Wozniacki said, “Reaching my first grand slam final was amazing, and I didn’t A K 10 4 3
expect it at just 19 years old.” But she probably also thought that she would win her
first grand slam title before 27. WEST —
5 EAST
Recently, I have seen several interesting slam deals. Look only at the North hand. J
What would you do after West opens three clubs? J875 KQ9874
AQ87653
When you have decided, look also at the South hand and decide how you would play K6
in six hearts after West leads the spade five.
962
Over three clubs, North has a nightmare decision unless he has some way of
announcing a big two-suiter that can include diamonds. (Most pairs treat four clubs 42
as showing both majors.) If North makes a takeout double, South might pass that out
and probably collect 800 (one spade, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs after SOUTH
the diamond-ace lead). Alternatively, South might advance with three hearts. Then
North would drive to six hearts. If North overcalls four no-trump, surely six hearts will J 10 6 3
be reached.
9432
In six hearts, the lead must be a singleton, but it also leaves South with two potential
major-suit losers. How to eliminate one requires some guesswork. But it seems Q
reasonable to assume that West has the club ace-queen for his vulnerable pre-empt.
Then the play goes: Win with the spade ace, cash the heart ace (no luck), play a K J 10 9
diamond to the queen and lead the club king to ruff out West’s ace. After trumping
a diamond in hand, South leads the club jack and ruffs away West’s queen. Back to Dealer: West; Vulnerable: Both
hand with a second diamond ruff, dummy’s last spade disappears on the club 10.
East’s ruff is too late. The Bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST OPENING
3 Clubs ??
LEAD:
5 Spades

30 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT GAMES

SOLUTIONS TO PREVIOUS ISSUE (SEPTEMBER 2) ON PAGE 54

ACROSS DOWN
1 Lofty (4) 1 Alphabetical list (5)
4 Overhead shelves (5) 3 Large flatfish (7)
8 Clock regulator (8) 4 Send in payment (5)
9 Factory (4) 5 Order (7)
10 Practical joke (4) 6 Latin American dance (5)
11 Treachery (8) 7 Previously (6)
12 Leave (6) 13 Non-professional (7)
14 Make smaller (6) 14 Round domed building (7)
16 Clearly visible (8) 15 Exclusive group (6)
19 Post; armour (4) 17 Evidence (5)
20 Fool; information (4) 18 Bird of prey (5)
21 Liberal; charitable (8) 19 Month (5)
22 Compel (5)
23 Dull pain (4)

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

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 31

INSIGHT GAMES

ACROSS Reese in The Terminator “concerning” The Washington Post
1 Card game 92 Balkan nation: abbr. 38 “The thief of bad gags”
7 Chug-a-lugs 93 God, to Godard 40 Business abbr. REGULAR FOLKS By Merl Reagle
12 Con game 94 Big hauler 45 Pianist Claudio
16 Library stock: abbr. 95 Went nowhere at the 47 Not beyond fixing THE Art & Science
19 Robin’s love 49 Damage slightly
20 Danny’s daughter box office 51 Author Deighton of Cosmetic Surgery
21 Bear with a mushy mattress 97 French cheese 52 It fights for your rights: abbr.
22 Living on a pension: abbr. 99 Take ___ (snooze) 53 Charlotte and Emily’s druggy SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
23 Dodger exec who signed 101 School org. • Minimal Incision Lift for the
103 Become unsteady brother
Jackie Robinson in 1947 107 Award-winning saxophonist 54 Founder of Virgin Atlantic Face, Body, Neck & Brow
25 Pauline Friedman, to 111 “I think; therefore, I am” guy • Breast Augmentations
112 Unabridged, in effect Airways
readers that need advice 113 “Dirty” Cajun dish 56 “___ but known ...” & Reductions
26 Meth finish 114 Frolic 57 The Emerald Isle • Post Cancer Reconstructions
116 “The Greatest” 58 Solemn assent • Chemical Peels • Botox
27 Humerus spot 117 Stand-___ 60 Startling remark • Laser Surgery • Tummy Tucks
28 Philosopher Immanuel 118 Gas price number 61 Palindromic Bible name • Obagi Products • Liposculpture
29 Blood vessel dilator, ___ 120 The Prophet author 64 Literary inits. • Skin Cancer Treatments
124 Ronny & the Daytonas hit 66 It means “equal”
nitrite 125 Briny septet 69 “Needs more ___”
31 Ms. Goolagong 126 Certain Peruvian 70 Sailboat setting
33 Kaua’i keepsakes 127 Clift-Taylor classic, ___ in 71 Slangy dent
35 Self-esteem guru 72 Was over
39 Francis of Assisi was one the Sun 73 Believer’s suffix
41 Hither and ___ 128 The chicken on the egg 75 “You said it!”
42 Going on 1 a.m. 129 Shade sources 77 W.C. Fields woe
43 Carrot, basically 130 Disappear gradually 81 Coiled choker
44 High rating 131 Type of dog 82 Gallipoli backdrop, briefly
46 On-the-job frill 83 “___ a Symphony”
48 Part of M*A*S*H DOWN 84 Washerwoman
50 Eric Lindros’s org. 1 Preserve, in a way 85 Inclined accesses
52 Bric-___ 2 Liar Liar star 86 West Side Story girl
55 Geneva’s river 3 A Musketeer 87 Duck down
57 First name in scat 4 Tin Tin’s predecessor 91 Mayberry matron
58 “___ delighted!” 5 Approach 93 A cabinet department
59 Reviewer’s job: abbr. 6 Heighten 94 Crack filler
60 Johnny Hart’s The Wizard of 7 Walter Berndt comic of the 96 Rave review of a sort
98 Present participle finish
Id co-creator 1950s 100 Pal, to Pagnol
62 Guest star on Ellen’s 8 Enlistee in a skirt, 102 Like chalet country
104 Pull and rip, dino-style
coming-out episode ca. 1940 105 Intertwine
63 Fond du ___, Wis. 9 Bother 106 He played Meathead
64 Way 10 Cull 107 He was bounced from the
65 “Softly ___ Leave You” 11 Bean beverage
66 Where corn is king 12 Banter Bounty
67 Durham campus: abbr. 13 Pickup part 108 Bay window
68 Supreme Court justice, 14 “America the Beautiful” color 109 Broadcast again
15 “Your mileage ___” 110 “___ be back”
1916-39 16 Shane kid 115 “Holy moly!”
74 Actress Claire or Balin 17 Memorable Hamlet 119 Battleground for
76 Big clumps of gum 18 Dutch painter Jan
78 The one below the Majors 24 Some cell chains Westmoreland, briefly
79 ___ many words 30 Voter’s word 121 Managed-care entity: abbr.
80 On the ___ (at large) 32 Longtime Dakota Apts. 122 Tom or Huck
81 Parks at a pageant 123 Deli sandwich
82 Former chancellor resident
87 Drop-off point 34 Ermine in summer
88 88 or Cutlass 36 Harley rider’s invitation
89 “Says which?” 37 Old word meaning
90 Farmer portrayer
91 Michael who played

The Telegraph Proudly caring for patients over 28 years.

3790 7th Terrace, Suite 101, Vero Beach, Florida

772.562.5859

www.rosatoplasticsurgery.com

Ralph M. Rosato
MD, FACS





34 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

INSIGHT BACK PAGE

How to help a teenage daughter with a chaotic friend

BY CAROLYN HAX dent of how the two girls feel about each other.
Washington Post Another favorite suggestion is to use this as an

Dear Carolyn: My 15-year-old opportunity to teach your daughter to think more
deeply about people and friendship and, ultimately,
daughter has a friend from a com- herself. For example, a friend with a dysfunctional
home life is an opening to discuss compassion. Get-
plicated household – mom is an ting stood up is a chance to talk about where miti-
gating circumstances and accountability overlap
alcoholic and just got out of jail for on a Venn diagram. Unreliable plans are platforms
to talk about expectations, respect, limits, discre-
her second drunk-driving offense. tion, boundaries – when, where, how, and why to set
them. Let your values and concerns set the agenda
Parents’ marriage has been rocky here.

for years – and dad overshares with friend about it. I say “discuss” and “talk about,” but that really
means “ask leading questions about, judiciously,
There is also a lot of chaos and drama surround- when she’s receptive, lest she flee.” You want your
daughter to navigate this friendship in a way that
ing this friend – switching plans, changing schedules, doesn’t drive both of you in circles, and the produc-
tive changes will be the ones arising from her ideas;
changing times, no-shows, telling one friend to lie to otherwise, it’s just Mom telling her what to do.

another,leaving camp days early (leaving my daughter More important, though, you want her to emerge
from this friendship – regardless of whether it lasts –
alone), etc. Basically, this friend is a kiddo who seems not as the person getting switched and rescheduled
and canceled on and endlessly jerked around, but as
to schedule with several people at once and then picks a thoughtful participant in her own social transac-
tions. Difficult people are everywhere, so help me;
the plan that looks best. Scheduling any activity with 15 is a good time for her to develop skills to interact
with them productively, not just in her social circles
this friend is complicated and always involves several but also at work, in the neighborhood, in the check-
out line, and at every Thanksgiving for the rest of her
changes, often after I’ve already changed my schedule natural life. 

to make the plan happen.

As a mom, I’m struggling with how to support my a driver, the situation in the friend’s home, the roles
these girls play in each other’s lives. The greatest pre-
daughter without trashing her friend. I won’t cut off dictor of the end of a friendship is adolescence itself.

the relationship, and can’t, but it’s been frustrating to Time might be the second-best predictor, but
chaos is right up there with it. Chances are just as
watch as a mom – and frustrating as the driver. The good your daughter will tire of this friend’s turmoil
as her friend will tire of your daughter’s steadiness.
friend is a nice and pleasant young lady at our house Or friend and daughter both will mature into calm.

and my daughter does enjoy time with her – when she It’s also possible the miasmas of their lives and
interests will swirl off in other directions for any
shows up. Any suggestions? number of other reasons that are totally indepen-

– Mom

Mom: To start, my favorite suggestion: Trust this
to pass. Whatever “this” is – the reliance on you as

Multi-talented artist
adores Vero scene and scenery

36 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST ADORES VERO SCENE AND SCENERY

BY STEPHANIE LaBAFF | STAFF WRITER

Some things are just meant to be. Katherine Larson
Katherine Larson attributes the discov- and Maestro.
ery of her talents as an artist and oper-
atic singer, and the road that eventually PHOTOS BY KAILA JONES
led her to Vero Beach, to providence.
Larson describes herself as an “op-
A commission for a mural project in timistic artist.”
Fort Myers brought Larson to the Sun-
shine State in February 2021, but as “I don’t like to bring anything ugly
soon as she reached Georgia, the cli- into the world. I paint landscapes the
ent called to cancel the project due to way that they should be. It’s mostly
a funding issue. about communicating something
beautiful; that touches you.”
“It was the middle of winter. I was
almost to Florida. There was no way I Larson attributes her love of art to
was going back,” she recalls. However, the unwavering support of her mother
after spending a short time on Florida’s and an art teacher in grade school.
West Coast, Larson was ready to leave. She first realized she could make a liv-
The congestion was just too much for ing doing what she loved after a suc-
someone used to rural life in Michigan. cessful day selling caricatures during
a county fair for the exorbitant fee of
Rather than stay in Fort Myers, she $2.50 each. She used the money to buy
packed up and made the drive across her first stereo.
the state to visit with relatives from
the Sturgis side of her family, who had Not long afterward, she landed her
established themselves in Vero Beach
in the 1950s. Although she had lost
touch after her mother passed away,
she worked up the courage to call
them and says, “they welcomed me
with open arms.”

It didn’t take long to realize that she
had found her new home in a house
that was perfect for her and Maestro,
a Weimaraner by Larson’s side wher-
ever she goes. In a way he made the
decision, by refusing to get back in
the car after looking at the house, and
the quick sale of her Michigan home
sealed the deal.

Now that she has settled here, she
says, “I can’t wait to start painting the
scenery with watercolors. Watercolors
kind of paint themselves. You just have
to know when to let it run and bleed
and when to firm up. Oil is the last me-
dium I felt comfortable working with
and is what I primarily work in today.”

first job, at 16 becoming the country’s need to come to class. He would give
youngest courtroom artist for WSBT- her an ‘A’ based on her sketchbooks.
TV in South Bend, Indiana.
The summer of her freshman year,
Although accepted to the Pratt In- Larson overheard a man discussing an
stitute, her father said she needed to opening for a fashion illustrator at the
get a degree in something that she L.S. Ayres and Company department
could “make a living doing. You’re go- store and quickly applied for the job.
ing to have to get a real job.”
Admiring her chutzpah, the depart-
He sent her instead to Ball State Uni- ment manager gave her a layout to try
versity, where Larson took every art and when she went back the next day
class they offered, mostly taught by the with the finished design, Larson was
same instructor. Moved by her dedica- hired on the spot. When one of Larson’s
tion and innate talent, he said she didn’t girdle ads won a national advertising

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 37

ARTS & THEATRE

when she paints, music runs
through her head and feeds her
visual art.

“You don’t want to have dis-
turbing things going through your
mind when you’re trying to paint
something. It actually activates
the right side of your brain.”

To support herself while train-
ing to try out for the Metropolitan
Opera and for European travel

award, it garnered the attention of the to study Italian and German, Larson
higher-ups. She was offered a job at the picked up freelance graphic design
store overseeing special promotions, work and eventually began painting
complete with her own office and dou- murals.
ble her salary.
Larson’s work also includes chil-
She chose it over returning to dren’s book illustrations and fine art,
school, figuring she could always go and now, with a new environment to
back to school if the job didn’t work explore, she spends a great deal of her
out. time painting en plein air.

“That’s how the commercial part “I’ve just started painting down
of my art career got launched,” says here, and I’m so excited. There’s
Larson. just so much to paint. Where I come
from in Michigan, we couldn’t paint
She would go on to own two suc- outside for very long. Every day I see
cessful advertising agencies, but at something that I want to paint. I can’t
age 27 decided it was time to get mar- stop painting,” says Larson.
ried and start a family.
“Your skies are different. I had to
She took a friend’s suggestion to join break out turquoise for the first time.
a church choir as a way to meet men. It’s in the landscape, it’s in the water,
Despite not being able to read mu- it’s in the sky. You can’t really capture
sic, she doubled down on her efforts it with the normal paint colors. You
to learn “How Lovely is thy Dwelling have to approach the canvas com-
Place” from the Brahms Requiem. pletely different.”

When the choir director asked her She’s also having fun experiment-
to stay after practice, she thought she ing with purples, whites and greens,
was going to be told ‘Sorry, we can’t noting “we don’t have colors like that
use you. You’re too loud,’ but instead in Michigan.”
said she wanted Larson to be a soloist.
Larson said she is excited about the
After Larson performed Bach’s “Mag- challenge of capturing Florida’s sun-
nificat,” the choir director played a re- rise and sunset colors on canvas.
cording, seemingly of another woman
singing the same piece. In fact, the love- “It seems like it’s an exaggeration, but
ly voice she heard was her own. it’s not. It’s actually what the eyes see.”

“I said, ‘If I sound like that, maybe I Larson says she sees her gifts as a
should do something with the voice,’” means to bring more beauty into this
she recalls. world.

Against her father’s wishes, Larson “I know there’s a lot of pain and bad
moved to Ann Arbor to study with Lor- stuff going on. But if you look, nature
na Haywood at the University of Michi- is still beautiful, our pets are beauti-
gan and announced to the family, “I’m ful, and there’s still beauty in people.
going to become an opera singer.” Those are the things that I try to bring
forth, and those are the things that I
Chuckling, Larson says, “my sister focus on. The things that are beauti-
accuses me of getting in line twice ful. The same thing with music. I’m
when God handed out talent.” careful about how I use my voice.”

Larson is categorized as a spinto so- Larson is the featured artist in for
prano, whose robust, high range and September at the Main Street Vero Beach
warm, full-bodied lower range makes Studios and Gallery. For more informa-
her perfect for dramatic, passionate tion, visit katherinelarson.com. 
operatic roles.

She has performed as Tosca, Mad-
ama Butterfly, Turandot and Aida, as
well as with symphony orchestras in
Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

“Opera and art dovetail because
one is quiet and very introverted (vi-
sual arts) and then the other is very
out there,” says Larson, sharing that

38 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

ARTS & THEATRE

COMING UP! Vero’s Tunnel to Towers 5K honors 9/11 heroism

BY PAM HARBAUGH 2 If you have a child who knows all
Correspondent the lyrics to “Frozen” and likes to

sing them to you frequently, or perform

1 Vero Beach joins a legion of them for family and friends in your liv-
other cities throughout the
ing room, then maybe you need to get

country to remember and honor the that young one into a theater program.

fallen of Sept. 11, 2001, by partici- There’s none better than Riverside’s

pating in the nationwide Tunnel to Theatre for Kids. And there will be no

Towers 5K Run & Walk, which runs program more than “Elf the Musical,

virtually from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sat- Jr.” These “junior” versions of big Broad-

urday, Sept. 11 at Riverside Park. The way shows are so close to the originals

event is semi-virtual. There will not you’ll be hard pressed to tell the differ-

be any timing or ceremonies. You ence – as far as the libretto and songs

are invited to register and then run go, that is. And any patron of Riverside

at the park from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Theatre knows that professional orga-

9/11, or in your own neighborhood. nization spares no expense in produc-

Registration is $30 for adults, $20 for ing the best possible shows, whether it

first responders and military, $15 for be those with a cast of New York profes-

children 13 to 17 years. Moreover, sionals or a cast of those little darlings

virtual runners/walkers also can destined for the Great White Way. To

register for $30 and can get a T-shirt get your child considered for “Elf the

and run/walk any time during the Musical, Jr.,” you need to send in a video

week. For more information, visit audition by Wednesday, Sept. 15. The

t2t.org, then hover your mouse over video should have your precocious one

“Get Involved,” scroll down to “Reg- singing 32 measures (no more than two

ister for a Climb or 5K” and click. minutes) of an up-tempo song, some-

Then, on that page, scroll down to what similar in nature to the modern

Vero Beach and click. jazzy style of “Elf the Musical.” They

need to sing it a’ cappella, which means at 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach.
without benefit of CD of other musical Call 772-231-6990 or visit RiversideThe-
accompaniment (read: Mom playing atre.com and click onto “Education”
piano). Callbacks will be held via Zoom. then “Student Auditions” and finally, at
If your child is called back, you’ll receive the bottom of that page, click onto “Au-
an email from director Kevin Quillinan. dition/Learn More.”
There is no cost to audition, but if cast,
the tuition will be $300. And there is tu- 3 Riverside Theatre is also the place
ition, because this is an educational ex- for comedy. But this time, it’s
perience for your child, resulting in the
musical production. “Elf the Musical, adults only. This is “The Comedy Zone,” a
Jr.” follows the story of Buddy, a young
orphan who grows up at the North Pole. stand-up locale that brings in comedians
When he’s grown much taller than all
the other elves, Santa allows Buddy to making their way around the country
go to New York City to try to find his
birth father. Needless to say, hilarity en- on their way into the national spotlight.
sues and that feel-good holiday promise
fills the air. Rehearsals will be held 4:30 This weekend’s comedians are headliner
p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays, Oct. 1 to Nov. 21. The show Kevin Lee and opening act Corey Hunter.
runs Nov. 19-21. Riverside Theatre is
Established 18 Years in Indian River County The shows are 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday

(772) 562-2288 | www.kitchensvero.com and Saturday, Sept. 10 and 11. Tickets
3920 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach FL 32960
are $20 plus a $2 processing fee. There

are also free outdoor concerts before

the shows. And, there are bar menus for

those needing a bite. Call 772-231-6990

or visit RiversideTheatre.com. 

DENTIST’S IN-HOUSE LAB SPEEDS UP
DELIVERY OF DENTURES

40 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Dentist’s in-house lab speeds up delivery of dentures

BY KERRY FIRTH Dr. Julie Cromer.
Correspondent
PHOTOS: KAILA JONES
Dr. Julie Cromer, of Cromer and
Cairns Dental, learned early on that
there’s more to dentistry than just fix-
ing cavities.

Good oral health is important to
overall health, with gum disease linked
to a wide range of secondary health
problems, including dementia and
heart disease. Teeth, too, are critically
important to health – they are needed
to properly chew and digest food and
are an important factor in self-image
and social confidence. For those rea-
sons and more, when teeth fail, people
don’t want to go without them for an
extended period of time while dentures
or partials are being made in a distant
lab.

To meet that need, Cromer and
Cairns Dental has its own in-house
lab which can cut the time to make the
dentures from a couple of months at an
outside lab, to a couple of weeks.

Having an in-house lab allows the
dentist to take impressions of your
teeth and oral tissues and control each

$79 COSMETIC DENTISTRY
GENERAL DENTISTRY
NEW PATIENT SPECIAL DENTAL IMPLANTS
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COMPREHENSIVE EXAM WALK-INS WELCOME
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*Not in combination with any other offer. Offer
good for new patients only and cleaning in absence
of periodontal disease. Xrays are non transferable.

(D0150) (D1110) (D0210) (D0330)

Call 772-562-5051

CromerAndCairnsDental.com

The patient and any other person responsible for payment has a right to refuse to pay, cancel payment, or be reimbursed for
payment for any other services, examination, or treatment that is preformed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding
to the advertisement for the free, discounted fee, or reduced fee service, examination, or treatment.

1225 US HWY 1, VERO BEACH, FL 32960 JULIE A. CROMER, DDS

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 41

step, eliminating the need to refer them HEALTH
out for fabrication of the restoration or
appliance. With her in-house lab, Dr. dentist to look out for your best in- offer an array of cosmetic and den-
Cromer has complete quality control terest and listen to your concerns, tal services and surgeries including
over your treatment from beginning to whether it’s about routine checkups, bridges, composite bonding, den-
end, accurately and precisely custom- cosmetic dentistry or a dental emer- tures, dental implants, dental fillings,
izing your restoration using advanced, gency. Of course, you’ll want a dentist Invisalign, teeth whitening, tooth ex-
leading-edge technology. whose office is easy to access from tractions and emergency dentistry.
your home with convenient office
“A lot of dentists don’t like doing par- hours. And you may want to find one Dr. Julie Cromer graduated from
tials or dentures because if you have with its own in-house lab. You can ask West Virginia University School of Den-
a situation where the lab is not right a trusted friend or relative for a sug- tistry and has practiced dentistry in
there, it can be difficult,” Dr. Cromer gestion or check with your local den- Florida since 2005. She opened Cromer
said. “Over the years my lab technician tal society for a referral. Visit the of- and Cairns Dental in Vero Beach in
and I have perfected the process and fice and meet with the dentist to get a 2011 and is committed to providing her
we are able to do what we need to do feel for your comfort level and a scope patients with the best dental and oral
in-house and make it a very quick turn- of their services. services in Vero Beach. She welcomes
around. We can make any adjustments you to stop in her office at 1225 U.S. 1,
right here without having to send it In addition to general dentistry, Dr. Suite 3, in Vero Beach, or call 772-562-
back and forth to an outside lab. We Cromer and her 10 female colleagues 5051 for an appointment. 
also use the best materials to give the
most natural appearance.”

Having your dentures made in house
also gives you the ability to change the
look and fit immediately. Some patients
will try them on and decide they want
to make the front teeth larger or smaller
or shift the arch forward or backward.

With an in-house lab, those modi-
fications can be made on the spot to
achieve a better look and fit. Wearing
dentures is a huge adjustment and Dr.
Cromer spends as much time as needed
to assure a flawless fit and appearance.

Finding a dentist with an in-house
lab is important when it comes to den-
ture repairs, too. People drop their den-
tures and don’t have the time to stay
home toothless while their dentures
are being sent out to a lab. At Cromer
and Cairns Dental they can get them
fixed the same day and be at a dinner
party that night. They can even modify
the fit of a denture constructed else-
where.

“Veneers and crowns fit over the
tooth, so we do send those out to a lab
in Jacksonville,” explained Dr. Cromer.
“We used to do them on-site but we
found the strength wasn’t quite as good
as when they were fired overnight. That
being said, the turnaround time is still
very quick, and I will construct a tem-
porary crown, so the patient is never
without a tooth. Our patient’s self-es-
teem and confidence are just as impor-
tant as their dental health.”

The atmosphere in Dr. Cromer’s of-
fice is calming and serene and she has
been chosen to work with the Veterans
Administration in Orlando and West
Palm Beach to treat veterans’ dental
needs. “We see veterans with PTSD,
and they are anxious and sensitive to
loud noises. We calm them with com-
passion and understanding, and while
we do have valium for sedation, about
99 percent of them will get the work
done without medical intervention. It’s
all about making them feel comfort-
able.”

Choosing the right dentist shouldn’t
be taken lightly. You should trust your

42 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

HEALTH

Don’t blame midlife weight gain on a slow metabolism

BY CARA ROSENBLOOM uses to break down food and convert expenditure, known as the doubly la- days to 95 years, provided a wide-angle
The Washington Post it to energy. Past studies of metabo- beled water technique. view of metabolism over many years,
lism and aging weren’t able to provide and the researchers found that the
A lot of Americans have been fret- a clear understanding of how the two To overcome the hurdle of conduct- changes in metabolic rate across the
ting about the extra pounds they’ve are related; their sample sizes weren’t ing costly research, more than 80 co- life span were larger than expected.
put on during the pandemic. But if large enough because of the expense of authors pooled 40 years of studies for
you believe your sluggish middle-aged the best method for measuring energy this report. Data from more than 6,400 According to the new study, metabo-
metabolism has been contributing to participants, ranging in age from 8 lism can be viewed as four distinct life
your weight gain, it’s time to rethink. stages: Energy expenditure accelerates
Researchers who conducted a study re- rapidly to 50 percent above adult val-
cently published in Science have new ues at 1 year of age; declines slowly to
and surprising insights into how me- adult levels by age 20; remains stable
tabolism actually works as we age. between ages 20 and 60; and declines
steadily after age 60.
“Our paper provides the first road
map of metabolism across the life “We knew going into the study that
span,” says study co-researcher Her- body size, particularly lean mass,
man Pontzer, professor of evolution- would be the biggest factor affecting
ary anthropology at Duke University the calories burned each day: Larger
in Durham, N.C., and author of “Burn.” people burn more energy,” Pontzer
“Metabolism is incredibly steady from says. “Our study was able to show the
20 to 60 years old, despite the wide- relationship with size very clearly and
spread perception of our metabolisms then ask new questions: Once we ac-
slowing as we age,” Pontzer says. count for size and fat percent, how do
age and sex affect metabolism?”
Let’s look at how the researchers
came to their conclusions and what it Learning that metabolism slows
means for efforts to maintain a healthy down after age 60, rather than at 30
weight throughout life. or 40, was a surprise to the research-
ers, but so was the difference found
Metabolism is the process your body between males and females. It’s long

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 43

HEALTH

been assumed that men have a “faster that obesity can be caused by many overall health. Maybe your body size Although it may be frustrating
metabolism” than women, but Pontzer different factors. The calories-in-calo- is exactly right for your age, and you to learn that you can’t blame extra
says that theory was not really sup- ries-out theory (you lose weight when can learn to love it, even if you’re a few pounds on your metabolism, it also
ported by the research. you consume fewer calories than you pounds heavier than you were at age 30. offers an opportunity to dig deeper
burn) is always important, but it’s not and learn more about your weight. A
“Men do burn more calories per day the whole story for weight control. If your weight gain is unhealthy or healthcare professional can help you
than women, on average, but only be- It doesn’t account for how different troubles you for other reasons, the key determine whether lifestyle changes
cause men tend to be larger and carry foods affect your hormones, nutrient to losing it will be figuring out why are necessary or whether you require
a bit less body fat,” Pontzer says. “Once needs and satiety levels. you gained it. If you are under 60, you a medical consultation for a more
you control for those differences, their can rule out a slow metabolism, but complex weight-related issue involv-
metabolism is the same. A man and “Studies have shown that the onset it’s worth investigating your diet, ex- ing poor food environments, hor-
woman of the same body weight and of obesity is frequently triggered by be- ercise patterns, sleep schedule, stress mone issues or unresolved past trau-
same fat percent will have the same ex- havioral, medical and socioeconomic levels, hormones and overall health. mas that affect your eating habits.
pected metabolic rate.” factors,” says Mary L. Rosser, director Consider keeping a diet, exercise and Look for a practitioner who does not
of integrated women’s health in the sleep journal to get a clear picture of have weight stigma and who prac-
At this point, many of you may be Department of Obstetrics and Gyne- your current habits, then find a sus- tices wit h unbiased, intuitive eating
recalling weight you put on in midlife cology at Columbia University Irving tainable plan that works long-term. principles in mind. 
and thinking: “This study is wrong!” Medical Center in New York City. “Sed- (So, not a fad diet.)
And perhaps you did gain weight after entary lifestyle, poor diets, stress, men-
age 40. But this study suggests it was for tal health, sleep deprivation, medical
reasons beyond metabolism, perhaps a issues such as hypothyroidism, PCOS
change in lifestyle, diet, exercise levels [polycystic ovary syndrome], diabetes
or hormones, or a medical condition. and others contribute.”

Or you may be an outlier to the pop- For those other factors, I’d add ge-
ulation-based results. The research- netics, medications, muscle loss (sar-
ers’ data showed that some people copenia), hormones, the gut microbi-
had metabolic rates 25 percent below ome and all of the social determinants
or above the average for their age. But of health. The last category includes
these outliers did not change the over- access to and quality of education,
all pattern of metabolic rates over the health care, neighborhood supports,
life span. economic stability, gender, race and
more.
If you’ve spent years buying metab-
olism-boosting supplements such as Freedhoff points to unhealthy food
cayenne, caffeine and green tea, you’re environments as another trouble-
wasting your money. “Our paper pro- some factor, saying: “There is no event
vides more support for the view that too small to be celebrated with food,
our metabolism is hard to budge: Our where ultra-processed foods and their
bodies follow a programmed course advertising is ubiquitous.”
throughout our lives, and there’s not
a lot we can do to change the energy Rosser also believes weight changes
burned per day,” Pontzer says. in women between age 20 and 60 are
tied to pregnancy and menopause.
Catherine M. Champagne, a pro- Weight gained during pregnancy isn’t
fessor of nutritional epidemiology at always lost, and multiple pregnancies
the Pennington Biomedical Research often account for weight increasing at
Center at Louisiana State University in mid-age.
Baton Rouge, says there is “inadequate
research on supplements used to boost And menopause, a normal part of
metabolism. The evidence for supple- aging marked by a decrease in estro-
ments such as green tea or cayenne gen and progesterone, also may be re-
stems from anecdotal promotion – not lated to changes in body composition
from evidence-based research.” and fat distribution. “Changes related
to fluctuations in these hormones be-
Champagne explains that prod- gin to occur in the mid- to late 40s and
ucts such as caffeine and ephedrine may last for four to 10 years,” Rosser
– touted for metabolism-boosting and says. She adds that estrogen therapy
weight loss – may negatively affect me- does not prevent weight gain in post-
tabolism and are potentially danger- menopausal women, although it may
ous for some. minimize fat redistribution.

Does exercise help boost metabo- “Several studies have shown that
lism? It may help a bit. Yoni Freedhoff, perimenopause, independent of age,
associate professor of family medicine is associated with increased fat in the
at the University of Ottawa and medi- abdomen as well as decreased lean
cal director of the Bariatric Medical body mass,” Rosser says. This explains
Institute in Ottawa, says resistance the transition from a pear-shaped
training that increases muscle mass body, with more weight below the
can help boost metabolism, but he waist, to an apple-shaped body, with
adds that the increase isn’t dramatic. more weight above the waist.
Furthermore, he says, “we decondition
quickly following injury or life getting There are as many methods to lose
in our ways.” weight as there are reasons we gain
weight in the first place. But first, con-
I wasn’t surprised to learn that a slow sider whether that excess weight is
metabolism isn’t a leading cause of putting your health at risk. Remem-
weight gain at midlife. In my 22 years ber: A number on the scale alone is
as a dietitian, I’ve learned how com- not an adequate determinant of your
plex weight control can be, and I know

44 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

Dolce & Gabbana just threw the fashion show of the year

BY LISA ARMSTRONG
The Telegraph

Dolce & Gabbana were at it again:
art directing another spectacular
happening for their Alta Moda and
Alta Sartoria collections, this time in
Venice.

Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria are
the apex of this label. These are the
collections of lavishly embellished,
made to measure outfits that start
at about $59,000 and top out at hun-
dreds of thousands. Not that any-
one is meant to discuss the prices
with journalists, but some clients
can’t resist sharing details of their
trophy buys.

Dame Helen Mirren, J.Lo, Jennifer
Hudson, Monica Bellucci, Kate Bos-
worth and the offspring of famous
deities such as Christian Bale and
Heidi Klum, were present. The off-
spring were not just at the parties
but walked in the Alta Moda show,
which broadened the age span of
Dolce’s muses considerably. Puff
Daddy had three daughters in the

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 45

show, one of whom is 14. deployed to help guests in ballgowns
What began 10 years ago as an ex- and stilettos up and down stairs and
on and off boats.
perimental foray for Dolce & Gabbana
into made-to-measure luxury has be- If that little storm was unexpected,
come its own ecosystem. One client the weather the following evening was
reflected that the only place she can biblical. Half way through the al fresco
now wear Alta Moda finery is to Alta men’s show (Alta Sartoria, a stupen-
Moda events. dous collection of crisp tailoring over-
laid with embroideries and beading),
As well as the main Alta Moda show, the acid blue skies opened and un-
there is Alta Gioielleria. That’s the leashed an artillery of giant, 56-carat
jewelry line - think 56 carat diamonds hailstones so vicious the show had to
and a presentational cocktail party at be abandoned. Not so much soak the
which 15 similarly proportioned piec- rich as flay them. “That,” remarked
es sold in the first few hours. Then Vin Diesel, the action hero star who
there is Alta Sartoria (the men’s ver- seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself,
sion of Alta Moda) and as of now, there “is how you end a performance.” 
is Alta Casa (homeware).
into a model superhighway as they
If there were fewer journalists than arrived by gondola before being es-
usual (Conde Nast’s recent purge of corted onto the catwalk by gondoliers
editors in chief and their teams and wearing classic stripy tops, which on
the evisceration of other magazines closer inspection proved to be smoth-
has taken its toll) there were, it seems, ered in sequins.
even more clients, notwithstand-
ing the absence of the Chinese, who Sparkle was the order of things.
are unable to travel. There were 500 Against a molten sky, Jennifer Hudson
guests in total, bringing some much performed “Nessun Dorma” in a vast
needed custom to those legendary gold ballgown with so many underlay-
five star Venetian hotels such as The ers of tulle that when the wind blew
Gritti, The Bauer and The Danieli. the top layer over her head, modesty
was preserved. In the front row, Dame
“It seems people were really waiting Helen Mirren’s gold corseted silk
for us to do something like this,” re- skirted ballgown was almost as vast
marked Domenico Dolce. “There was as Hudson’s. The previous evening
no push-back at all from clients. No she wafted past me in a black feather
one told us they were afraid to travel. trimmed chiffon cloud as we headed
If they could, they came. It’s been im- towards dinner. “No party is ever as
portant for us as a business to do this glamorous as this in Hollywood,” she
too, because creativity is the energy said. Big, in every sense, is back, or at
that drives us.” The mayor of Venice, least it is at Dolce & Gabbana.
he continued, had been keen to wel-
come the designers back – they last On the catwalk, dresses that looked
staged an Alta Moda show here eight as though they were made from Mu-
years ago. Like so many tourist spots, rano glass but were in fact plastic
Venice’s small businesses are in peril. (a nod to that rarest of qualities in a
couture show, practicality) tinkled as
While some tourists are back, the models moved. Ballgowns rustled
there are dusty, empty shops flecked and searing shots of yellow, fuchsia
around the edges of St. Mark’s Square, and cobalt silk billowed as the wind
so why not let Dolce & Gabbana sprin- intensified and the unthinkable hap-
kle some of their gold dust over the pened. It rained. Some guests extem-
city? If that sounds like gilding a lily, porized with the table cloths, whip-
it was more a case of watering it. Ven- ping them around their heads. Anna
ice’s famous fish market was turned Wintour dashed for shelter. A team of
into a giant, twinkling buffet whose staff were designated the job of Um-
highlights included vats of caviar and brella Holding. Another squadron was
vegan ice cream. Earlier that evening,
the Grand Canal was transformed

46 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Style Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

WHY THE KARDASHIANS HAVE HAD A GREAT MAKE-UNDER

BY SONIA HARIA have shaped the way young millen-
The Telegraph nials and Generation Z wear makeup.
They are responsible for the revival of
If you think of the term ‘Instagram contouring, the trend for XXL lashes
makeup,’ your mind will likely jump to and the avalanche of pout-defining
an image of a heavily made-up, over- nude lipsticks now on the market.
contoured and super-glamorous aes-
thetic. We have the Kardashian sisters But change is afoot. The Kardashian
to thank for that. It is no exaggeration sisters have had a dramatic make-un-
that in the past 10 years, the sisters der. Although Kim has a healthy dose
of ‘glam’ looks posted on her social
media, there are photos of her skin

scrubbed clean and her hair scraped In her 2021 trend report, Alexia
back in equal measures. Last month Inge, co-founder of Cult Beauty, notes
Kourtney, the eldest sister, ditched that ‘health signaling’ – to look visi-
the signature Kardashian long mane bly healthy, with good skin and pared
of hair – and likely extensions – for a back makeup – is the new humble-
shoulder-skimming, simple bob and brag. “In beauty, the post-pandemic
hardly a scrap of makeup (by Kar- health obsession is manifesting in
dashian standards, that is). Also at many ways. From a hearty hiking
the weekend, Khloe wore her natural, glow, to exuding positive ‘vibes’ to
curly hair for the first time, explain- honing the appearance of the expen-
ing to her 175 million followers that “I sively facialed (or Micro-facialed), the
rarely wear my natural hair texture. new beauty currency is all about ex-
Felt kinda cute with it (please don’t uding health from within.”
ruin the feeling).”
That certainly rings true for the
“The Kardashians certainly know sisters and their focus on exercising
their influence and while they be- and wellness. On their social media,
came famous by emphasizing the there are frequent posts of them work-
most attractive parts of their bodies, ing out, in the gym with water bottle
they now know that their fame is well (and phone, obviously) in hand. This
established but also that their influ- ‘health signaling’ stretches to the
ence is impactful and important,” trio’s fashion choices, too. Gone are
says psychologist Dr. Becky Spelman. the skimpy dresses, and in its place,
“Perhaps now they are older, they are wardrobes full of athleisure. Kim’s
able to take a more mature perspec- own fashion line Skims has a strong
tive and realize that they will still be focus on pared-down basic wardrobe
loved by their fans if they maintain a classics – think leggings, crop tops
more natural look whilst also having and vests – and it seems she’s given
a positive impact on their following.” her makeup bag a similar overhaul.

While in the past, their makeup “Makeup trends are always evolv-
was expertly-applied, their lips were ing, as people do,” notes the makeup
defined and their cheekbones chis- artist Ruby Hammer. “During the
eled to perfection, the sisters have pandemic the Kardashians would
turned away from dramatic cosmetic have also been home, without their di-
looks, in favor of ‘glowy’ and natural- ary packed with events or the same ac-
looking skin. As makeup trends move cess to their ‘glam’ teams of hair styl-
toward more sophisticated textures, ists and makeup artists. Just as we’ve
which often leave a far less cakey and all downscaled with less makeup and
heavy finish on the skin than old- more skincare, so have they. It’s lib-
fashioned formulas, there’s certainly erating not to have so much pressure
a bigger movement happening post- on how you look and they’re definitely
pandemic. not disengaged from that.” 

Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 47

The outfit trick to make you look chic in 5 minutes

BY KRISSY TURNER
The Telegraph

I can pinpoint exactly how I waste
time getting ready in the morning. My
hair and makeup take 10 minutes at
most, but it’s the faffing about which
top works best with which pair of
trousers that can take up to the best
part of an hour.

Just last week while getting ready
for the office, I was set on wearing the
longline striped shirt I’d just ironed, so
my bed was strewn with trousers. Natu-
rally I was looking for a seamless pair-
ing; separates that looked like they were
made to go together. Eventually, while
tidying up around myself, I spotted
my plisse black co-ord set (past season
from & Other Stories) hanging up in my
wardrobe and laughed.

The ease of top-and-trouser co-ords
is unrivalled: I’d argue they’re even
easier than a dress as they’re unfussy
and you needn’t worry about whether
you’ve shaved your legs. They’re in-
finitely chic, too, as they’re effortless

yet impactful at the same time. I love, which is named ‘lemon linen
I do love a printed set, but they require shirt’ for example, I’ll always search for
the matching bottoms by typing ‘lem-
extra consideration. A matching print on linen’ in the search bar, just in case
plus a silky material veers into pajama they haven’t been pictured together.
territory, which can be great if you get it
right. I’d steer clear of stripes and stick My top shopping tip though is to buy
to graphic prints. Much like dresses and the set at the same time if you’re keen on
skirts, silky sets are easier to wear in the the matchy look. I’ve known of incidents
evening, as a smattering of jewelry and where a friend went back to pick up the
some sort of heel will elevate them far matching blush trousers to her blouse
enough away from nightwear. and the color match was slightly off as
they were produced at different times.
That’s not to say you need to make
such a bold statement, however. Even When you find the right pairing, how-
the most minimal co-ords offer maxi- ever, such an easy outfit means you can
mum impact, because there’s some- focus your attention on accessories.
thing quietly confident and luxurious These four sets will work for all occa-
about such a pared back look. sions: I’ve found you can dress most co-
ords down with black loafers or white
Oddly, some stores haven’t cottoned sneakers and a cross body bag. Then you
on to the fact we want to buy these sets can dress them up, and pair them with
as, well, sets, so you might have to do strappy mules, red lipstick and gold jew-
some clever filtering on the websites elry, with ages to spare. 
to find matching pieces. If I find a top

48 Vero Beach 32963 / September 9, 2021 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™

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