The Parklander Magazine – Connecting you to our community
The family friendly magazine since 1991
Join us for this episode is Alex Zand, who is running for commissioner from Parkland’s district 1. Alex shared his priorities and what motivates him to run for city commision. Check out his website: https://www.zandforparkland.com
The Fish Joint on the corner of Wiles & Lyons roads in Coconut Creek features an all-star menu of your favorite seafood options. They are open for takeout and have plenty of space for socially-distanced dining and outdoor seating.
Quality, fresh fish is the key to any great seafood place. The Fish Joint is no exception. Walking up to the counter, you’ll find fresh catches from local fishermen on display.
The special of the day was the lobster roll. They offer both hot and cold options. I had the hot option, which was a classic roll filled to the brim with delicious lobster meat. The owner, Brian, said they use the highest grade lobster meat for their rolls, and these have been a popular item.
On the menu is another of my favorites, conch fritters. I fell in love with queen conch meat when I was in Turks and Caicos. Queen conch, which used to be found in high quantities in the Florida Keys until the 70s, are often sourced from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. The Fish Joint orders large quantities when they are in season, and the fritters provide a delightful crunch.
The seafood platter I ordered consisting of mahi-mahi, diver scallops, and shrimp was delicious and cooked to perfection. The locally sourced mahi-mahi was tender and not dry. The blackened shrimp and scallops had the perfect amount of spices, so as not to overpower the delicate flavors.
All the food came in takeout boxes, because of the new normal. The box is specially designed to allow for steam to escape and minimize humidity and condensation for the trip home. It made it easy to take the leftovers home, with all the food staying fresh until reheated the next day. It’s good to see The Fish Joint taking the extra effort to ensure a great experience for takeout customers.
The menu also contained other items like the crab boil and fish tacos, and for landlubbers, a great burger and grilled cheese. So if you are looking for incredible, local seafood at reasonable prices, check out The Fish Joint, you won’t be disappointed.
By Curiously Hungry
Once a month, we at the Parklander magazine hope to provide Broward and Palm Beach county residences with fresh and informative perspectives. We could not do this without many local partners, and we want to share the process with you.
Thanks to local businesses who advertise in our magazine,
our editorial staff is able to provide articles and columns of local interest. Our graphics department melds editorial and ads in what we hope to be an attractive presentation with an ever-watchful eye to our printer’s deadline.
For those not familiar with the ‘offset printing’ process, our magazine design is first etched onto aluminum plates representing cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
Our printing partner uses Akiyama presses with environmentally-friendly, vegetable-oil-based ink. The presses use aluminum plates with tiny holes to indicate where the ink should be deposited. Since oil and water don’t mix, water keeps the ink where it belongs, producing the vibrant colors you see in our magazine each month.
After giant sheets of paper are printed with magazine pages, they are bound with glue. Excess paper is cut off to create individual books and all excess paper is recycled.
After the magazines are completed, they are bundled, wrapped, and delivered to a United States Postal Service center for weighing to determine the postage before being sent out to individual post offices associated with local zip codes.
Pallets of magazines are separated into mail routes by clerks and sorted to individual homes by mail carriers.
Neil Rickette, who runs the Coral Springs Post Office on Atlantic Avenue, explained the magazines are distributed by clerks to the individual mail carriers for each of the city and rural routes. The carriers sort them to individual houses before delivering them to your mailbox.
Many thanks to our local printer and the post office for their work producing and delivering the Parklander to you. They are key to keeping our community connected during these challenging times.
By Li Pan
Joining us today is the host of World of Saltwater Fishing, on Discovery Channel. He is a local Parkland resident, and South Florida native. Go to his website for more fishing excitement: https://georgepoveromo.com
Simeon Brier is a long time local resident, and a candidate for Parkland city commissioner, from District 1. He is a lawyer, and have been involved with local Chamber of Commerce for many years. You can reach out to him: brierforparkland@gmail.com
Check out Simeon’s webpage: https://www.brierforparkland.com
Check out previous episodes in: https://theparklander.com/podcasts.
Bill Reicherter, is a candidate for Parkland city commissioner, from District 1. He is a local businessman, who is always looking to hear from the local residents. Reach out to him via email: bill4parkland@gmail.com
Check out previous episodes in: https://theparklander.com/podcasts.
A friend on the west coast texted the invitation. The annual gathering for rafting is on, with Colorado allowing those activities based on their reopening. After holing up at home for three months, never venturing beyond two miles from where I sleep, it was exciting. Soon I was searching for flights.
I have lived through change in travel. During spring break over 25 years ago, I was with a group of college dorm mates driving south from Canada. Crossing the border, the only question the friendly agent asked the five of us was, “Are you all Canadians?” A quick nod, a verbal yes, and we were off, headed down I-95 to Florida for the first time.
Since then, I have traveled often between Canada, the US, and overseas. Air travel felt not much different than hopping on a bus. The world felt smaller.
Just over a month after the horrible attack on 9/11, I was flying through London on my way to Rome, and for the first time, I experienced the enhanced security that was being established.
Over two hours in a line to go through the security check during transfer was very stressful. Times had changed forever.
Over time, things have improved. I was traveling regularly, and sometimes I would go two weeks around the world internationally. I got used to spending more time in airline lounges. TSA precheck and Global Entry made my life going through security easier. I again started to be comfortable arriving less than one hour before the gate closed.
A three to four hour flight with my trusty mask, and a quick in and out through the airport, separated me from a fun weekend with guys I had only seen on video chat, rafting down the cold waters in Colorado. Or so I thought.
Soon I realized, the number of direct flights to Denver from Florida is near zero. In fact, there was only one flight and it landed near midnight. Which means I would need to stay a night that I wasn’t planning, or take a chance at a connection at one of the hubs.
After a day of back and forth, playing out the odds in my mind, I decided to drop out.
I started to wonder, will traveling change after this?
Not able to just travel to NYC to see my sister, or Pennsylvania to visit my parents, or the wedding of a friend in Canada makes me realize the vast distance that now separates us. We are all fighting our individual battles against COVID-19, the illness and the psychological stress.
In a couple of years, I hope we will look back to the current day as a blip in our ever-shrinking world. But for now, we are blessed to live where others come to vacation, and expand your local connections. It’s amazing what you can find in our little corner of South Florida, and many interesting experiences that you can have and still obey the safety rules to minimize risk. We will continue to share our experiences in adapting to the New Normal, and you can send in yours if you want to share by sending an email to submissions@theparklander.com, or click on submit on our homepage.
By Li Pan
Joining us for this episode to talk about wealth management is Evan Wolk (evan@wolkfinancial.net) . Evan is the managing director of Wolk Financial Management Inc (www.wolkfinancial.net). We discuss what is wealth manager, and how to navigate the rollercoaster market we have seen this year.
Many people move to Parkland and other area communities for their “A” rated schools, sprawling parks, and small-town community feel. Our towns are bustling with children. Over time, however, those children grow up and become teenagers. At some point, your teenager will ask for the keys to your car. At that time, you are faced with a decision: Do you trust that your baby girl is responsible enough to drive?
As anyone with a teenage driver knows, auto insurance for teenage drivers is extremely high. Like eye-popping, pull your hair out, scream to the mountain tops high! Ever wonder why there is such a HUGE increase in your premiums when your son or daughter turns 16?
Auto insurance carriers are in the business of accounting for risk. Their premiums are not arbitrarily pulled out of thin air. Teenage drivers are inexperienced and are more prone to make bad decisions. According to the CDC, the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher amongst teens than any other age group.
According to AAA, about 72 percent of teen drivers admitted to engaging in one of the following risky behaviors in the past 30 days:
• Driving 10 mph over the speed limit on a residential street (47%)
• Driving 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway (40%)
• Texting (35%)
• Red light running (32%) • Aggressive driving (31%) • Drowsy driving (25%)
These are the risky behaviors teenage drivers ADMITTED to. Expect that these percentages are significantly higher.
As a personal injury attorney, I can attest to the fact that teenage drivers are more likely than their parents to be involved in, not only a car accident, but a significant car accident. In many crash reports, teenage drivers admit to the police that they were texting or “distracted”. As a result, insurance companies simply do not want to insure your teenage driver – unless you pay through the nose.
To make matters worse, we are now in the heart of the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers. According to AAA, more than 30 percent of deaths involving teen drivers occur during a period that runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
What can you do to protect your teen driver?
AAA advises that parents talk with teens early and often about abstaining from dangerous behavior behind the wheel. This advice seems obvious and trite; however, we are in 2020 – there is an app for everything! Here are a few apps that can monitor your teenage driver’s activity:
• Life360: Through this tracking app you can share your real- time location with one another no matter where you are.
• True Motion Family: Tells you when your teenage driver is using their phone behind the wheel and allows you to monitor their driving habits.
• Driver Mode (i.e. AT&T Drive Mode): Driver mode turns on when the car is moving. This feature silences and automatically replies to text message notifications.
• Bouncie: Notifies parents when their teenager is speeding or braking abruptly.
• Lifesaver: Uses a carrot instead of a stick, awarding points to teen drivers when they drive without their phone.
• Autobrain: Plugs into a diagnostic port of your car and can report if your teenager speeds, goes to the wrong place, or has an accident.
• Safe Driver: Monitors the location and driving speed of your teenage driver. You can also set speed limits which alerts your phone.
Teenage driving is inevitable, but there are things we can do as parents to keep them safe. Please impress upon your teenager the dangers of driving – especially through Labor Day. These apps will not only allow your teenage driver to be accountable for their actions but will afford you some control over their actions. As an added bonus, a safer driver will (over time) lower your car insurance premiums.
Philip Snyder is a partner in the Delray Beach law firm Lyons Snyder Collins
On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, two peaceful protests were held at the corners of Holmberg and Pine Island road.
On the MSD side of the street, Black Lives Matter/Change the Ref protesters were calling for justice, with chants including “Breonna Taylor, say her name”, “George Floyd say his name”, along with “Black Lives Matter”.
On the other side of the street, a “Back the Blue” Rally was being held. With many waving US flags, along with many “thin blue line” flags, and chants of “All lives matter”. A golf cart drove up, blasting the COPS theme song.
The two sides faced each other for a while, until the planned march for the Black Lives Matter event started up Pine Island Road.
Both sides were very enthusiastic, with many residents driving by honking to show support, though it was tough to tell if they were supporting one or the other rally.
One mom and her toddler were holding a sign saying – “I can back the blue and want equal justice for ALL.”