Diane Hernandez del Calvo, who has worked for the railroad for more than two decades, was unanimously named by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board to temporarily run the more than three-decades-old operation that served more than 4.5 million travelers last year in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The board’s monthly meeting Friday was the last one for Dech, and it was his last day on the job.

An auditorium in the Tri-Rail headquarters building next to the rail line’s Pompano Beach station was heavily populated by staff members and contractors, as well as Dech’s wife, Kathy.

Last month, the career railroader from Ohio announced he was leaving to take command of a Midwest commuter line that operates between South Bend, Ind., and Chicago.

Confident in restored funding

Dech, who started with Tri-Rail in August 2022, said he would not have departed if he believed the Legislature would not restore a $27 million funding cut to the Tri-Rail budget incurred last year.

For the better part of 2024, Dech has spearheaded the railroad’s lobbying campaign to restore the money which was cut, a move that Dech estimates would bring Tri-Rail to a halt by July 2027 if the funds were not replaced.

“We’re in session and nothing is finalized,” he told the board Friday. “But the mood, the temperature in Tallahassee is very supportive. I have extreme confidence in the folks that are leading this charge in Tallahassee. The commitments that people have given us over the last six months — they are living up to the things they’ve said they were going to do. … I have no indication that this will not end up in committee and not end up in our favor.”

“If I thought that the funding was not going to be restored, if I thought this was a sinking ship, I would stay here and go down with it,” he said. “But I don’t think that. I have the utmost confidence the funding is going to be restored and with a clear conscience I can move on to where I’m going.”

Fare boost approved

Board members, understanding the railroad itself is responsible for contributing to the annual pool of funds, voted to move forward with a 10% fare increase that would be installed later this year.

All fares in Tri-Rail’s Byzantine pricing scheme would be rounded up to the next dollar, except for the line’s $5 weekend fare, which will remain in place. The weekend fare allows customers to ride anywhere all day within the system — one-way or roundtrip.

The proposed increase needs to be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for approval. Then, an FTA-mandated public hearing would take place and another 30 days would have to pass before the increases are implemented.

No timetable for those events has been set.

Both Dech and board member Raquel Regalado, who represents Miami-Dade County, noted there has not been any price increase since 2019.

Plaudits and proclamations

The board members agreed that the new executive director should have professional experience that mirrors the resume that Dech brought to South Florida: that of a railroader. He started his career with the CSX freight giant as a switchman, rising to engineer. He came to Tri-Rail from Capitol Metro in Austin, Texas, where he served as vice president of rail operations.

The firm K&A Partners, the Bethesda, Md., firm that located Dech more than nearly four years ago, will conduct the search for his replacement.

In both style and substance, members noted, Tri-Rail’s operations improved across the board under Dech’s stewardship, as he fostered an agency-wide culture of teamwork and accountability.

Among a long list of accomplishments, he is credited with activating a stalled plan for Tri-Rail to start serving the MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami, which it now shares with Brightline.

Under Dech’s tenure, Tri-Rail’s on-time performance dramatically improved, the rail corridor that runs from north of West Palm Beach to Miami International Airport was cleared of homeless camps, new locomotives were ordered, passenger coaches were fixed and cleaned up, and an array of other equipment has been ordered or installed to improve day-to-day train operations.

Equally important, members noted, Dech built and sustained working relationships with various individuals and private and public sector organizations that do business with Tri-Rail.

Board members from each of the three counties presented him with proclamations from their respective boards of commissioners recognizing Dech’s work.

Miami-Dade proclaimed Friday “David Dech Day.”

“Remember on your first day I told you this was going to be a painful experience?” recalled Regalado. “I apologized to your wife and said, ‘I’m so sorry we put him through all this stuff but we have a lot of cleanup to do.’ But you’ve been such a great sport.”

“It has been a heck of a ride,” Dech told the audience. “It has been one of the most humbling and honoring experiences that I’ve had in my life.”

“When you go to these jobs your goal is always to try to leave it in a better place than you found it,” he added. “I think we’ve done that. But personally the South Shore line is going to have to thank the people in this room. Because I am definitely stronger and better at what I do having spent the time here.”

John Arthur Adams, of Deerfield Beach, was driving a 2024 Chevrolet Trax shortly after 11 p.m. July 16, near Sandalfoot Boulevard and North Branch Road.

Alexander Daniel Acevedo, 28, of Boca Raton, was driving an electric scooter east on Sandalfoot Boulevard when Adams’ Chevrolet drifted over a center turn lane and partly into the eastbound lane where Acevedo was riding the scooter, the Sheriff’s Office said. The front of Adams’s car collided with the front of the scooter, violently flinging the scooter and Acevedo into the air, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Adams was driving at 82 mph, in a 30 mph speed zone, while maneuvering a left-hand curve in the road just before colliding with the scooter, a probable cause affidavit said.

Acevedo landed on the shoulder of Sandalfoot Boulevard, and his scooter was broken into pieces, according to deputies. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A deputy who spoke with Adams said Adams smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and seemed tired, the affidavit said. The passenger in his car told the deputy they had been at the beach and had “a few shots” of alcohol. Results from a blood test showed Adams’s blood alcohol content was at .07 percent a few hours after the crash,  under the legal limit of .08, and showed positive for THC.

Neither he nor his passenger were injured.

Adams was arrested Wednesday morning on a warrant for one count of vehicular homicide, PBSO said in a news release.

A condition of his pre-trial release is to be monitored by GPS and to surrender his passport, court records show.

Beachside development currently is enforced by two amendments in the city’s charter, both of which are the result of residents’ efforts for a referendum that appeared during the Nov. 5, 2002, election. A group called the Original Save Our Beach banded together and gathered signatures needed to get the issue on the ballot, and 75% of voters approved the change.

“The voters confirmed what previous polls by the city stated, that our residents do not want high-rise buildings near the beach, they want parking, but not in massive soaring garages, they want an open space feeling around all buildings,” a resident wrote in a letter to the editor to the South Florida Sun Sentinel in November 2002.

Those two amendments are titled “Protection of beach area from excessive development” and “Protection of main beach parking areas.” They identify specific restrictions on beachside development and beachside parking, such as maximum building height, zoning and the floor-area ratio, or the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the land it sits on.

“The city of Deerfield Beach recognized that its ‘beach area’ (defined as the area between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean) is a unique area where the citizens desire to preserve the ‘village’ feel and have protections from the excessive development so as to not exacerbate traffic congestion,” the amendment states.

Now, nearly 24 years later, Deerfield Beach’s entire charter is being reviewed, including the two beachside development amendments. The charter is due for a cleanup, City Commissioner Daniel Shanetzky said.

The city intends to bring amendments for the entire charter to a referendum in November, the city’s Deputy City Manager Eric Power wrote in an email.

In the meantime, the city’s Charter Review Board will continue reviewing the charter, including the beachside development provision, with the goal of making recommendations to the City Commission. The commissioners will then have the final say on any referendums that go before residents.

To help inform decision-making on the beachside development amendments, the city recently hosted a two-day community forum for residents to ask questions, convey concerns and hear insight from an independent group of volunteers made up of planning, construction, development and legal experts who generated recommendations on how to proceed with the beachside development amendments.

“The reason why we’re here today is to hear from you, the public, on what you feel is good, bad and ugly,” Power said during the first meeting. “What you like about it, what you don’t like about it and what we can do for the future.”

Staying the same vs. building an identity

Two opposing viewpoints became clear during the community forum. Some residents want the amendments to stay exactly the same, concerned that modifications will bring unwanted development. But others fear that by refusing to change, growth in Deerfield Beach will remain stagnant.

No time limit on public comment existed the way it does during City Commission meetings.

Some residents made the most of it, veering off into unrelated topics and protesting when Power attempted to move the meeting along by giving the microphone to someone else.

The group was diverse, by civic engagement standards: Retirees, teachers, lawyers, environmentalists, real estate agents and business folks all came forward to share their thoughts.

Finding beauty in Deerfield

Ira Wechterman, who founded the nonprofit Friends of Deerfield Island Park, said during the meeting that he moved to the city because it’s not like its neighbors.

“It’s not overhyped, it’s not oversold. It’s not like Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and now Pompano Beach,” Wechterman said during the first community meeting. “When you drive down Hillsboro toward the beach, you’re not looking at a wall of monstrous hotels and condominiums. … We don’t need tall shadows covering the beach area.”

Kim Cornelius, another resident, said during the meeting there’s no reason to make any “great changes” to the charter.

“What do I envision for the future? I would like it to pretty much remain the same,” she said at the meeting.

But those in the business community wouldn’t mind seeing the beach development amendments altered for the sake of economic growth.

Claude Dubois, the general manager for Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort, said during the meeting that the hotel’s owner would like to grow business on the beach but aren’t convinced it would be worth it.

“There are multiple properties for sale on the property that are no interest to the investors due to the height of those buildings,” Dubois said. “We want to respect the family feel that Deerfield Beach offers. We don’t want the high towers that Pompano Beach, Miami has, but we would like to be able to increase the height of potential new acquisitions, to eight, 10, maybe 12 floors, nothing crazy.”

Joe Chancy, who works in real estate, said during the meeting he’s experienced several businesses pass up on the opportunity to operate in Deerfield Beach because it has “nothing to offer.”

“I know a lot of us are more of, ‘Hey, keep things the same,'” Chancy said at the meeting. “I’m not for 20, 30, 50 stories, but at the same token, we need to be competitive. … We have to have our own identity.”

Rethinking the charter provision

After the initial feedback session, the independent panel presented findings and recommendations. Their primary conclusion?

“It’s very atypical for you to find very strict zoning and land-use regulations in a city charter. It’s not in the right place,” Nelson Stabile said in an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel after the second community forum meeting. Stabile is the chair of mission advancement for the Urban Land Institute, which is a nonprofit aimed at helping communities and governments with sustainable development and growth.

Stabile explained how the specific rules set forth in the city’s charter amendments — such as the maximum height for a multi-family property being 55 feet — should belong in the city’s land development code.

“We’re not saying increase the height, that we need to be very clear. We’re not saying increase floor area ratios, increase lot coverage, increase basically anything,” Stabile said. “Modify it to a typical regulatory framework and then put all of those criteria of height, specifics, in place at that point, and whether they want to change or not, they could keep it exactly the same way as it is currently in the charter but just in the right place.”

The beachside development rules’ existence in the charter — which can only be amended through an election — creates a very restrictive environment for the city, “to the point where it’s detrimental to property values,” Stabile said.

A land development code, on the other hand, can be amended by the City Commission with an ordinance. Most Florida cities have a land development code, according to the city.

“We all appreciate (the charter’s) purpose, its intended purpose, and what it has achieved,” said Michael Marshall, a land-use attorney with Nelson Mullins. “Over the course of two decades though, as we can see, it’s led to some undesirable consequences at least when you look at it objectively from purposes of economic development, for maintaining quality of construction and for inviting or incentivizing the private sector to reinvest and to keep investing into the community rather than to disinvest.

“We really, really strongly recommend you need to rethink that charter provision,” Marshall said. “And then it may be that you go through a visioning process, develop something that works for you.”

This will be the 40th annual edition of the festival, and change is a theme: Along with its new home in February, FLIFF will be a leaner affair, with a nip here and a tuck there, some changes having been long discussed, other moves coming in response to cuts in state and federal support.

This also will be the first festival in more than 30 years not curated with help from former FLIFF president and CEO Gregory Von Hausch, who left shortly before the 2024 festival to take a job in Hawaii. The 2025 festival was postponed until this year.

FLIFF 40 will show more than 50 features and documentaries at venues across Broward County, with most high-profile screenings taking place at Savor Cinema in downtown Fort Lauderdale. For those keeping score, the 50+ films represent less than half of the lineup at FLIFF last time out.

But FLIFF managing director Hal Axler says the number is misleading: Many of the short films that would typically plump up the festival were redirected to FLIFF’s new Savoir-faire Shorts Film Festival, which showed more than 100 titles across four days in November.

There will be no repeat of 2024’s celebrity-packed, opening-night gala at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood — in its place this year will be a red-carpet block party at Savor Cinema for a Feb. 21 showing of “Miami Nights,” with stars Terrence Howard, Danay Garcia and other cast members on hand.

The historic romance of Savor Cinema — in a building more than 75 years old that once housed the First Methodist Church of Fort Lauderdale — is more consistent with the intimate art-house atmosphere of FLIFF, Axler says.

“Everyone loves Savor,” he says.

The nonprofit festival has long been a showcase for global filmmakers and art-house titles. It was among the first U.S. venues to screen “The Artist,” a French-Belgian silent film that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 2012. But FLIFF 40 seems intent on being accessible to a wider audience.

Among the unique events will be a free screening on Monday, Feb. 23, of “Mr. Goalie,” a documentary about the late NHL Hall Of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, on the ice at the Florida Panthers’ Baptist Health IcePlex. A screening of the documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” will include a “Caddyshack”-themed party with Chase in attendance.

The lineup also includes a wacky comedy about wrestling fans starring Paula Abdul and a comic showdown between Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney set in Ireland, as well as compelling documentaries about heroes of the Holocaust and the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

“There’s a really strong variety, everything from some very serious documentaries and topical feature films, but also a lot of really good, just fun comedy films as well. I think the variety is maybe broader than it’s been,” says Axler, who curated the festival with longtime FLIFF film programmer Rob Davis.

The move of FLIFF from its traditional November window to February is also an attempt to be more convenient for filmgoers, Axler says. The change, which he says had been under consideration for several years, removes the festival from the distraction of elections, hurricane-related travel issues and the shadow of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

“We’re certainly thrilled so far with the way ticket sales are going,” Axler says. Indeed, by the time you read this, films scheduled with appearances by Chase, Reiser and Harvey are likely to be sold out. Additional screenings for some films are being added.

Here are things to know before you go to FLIFF 40, including a list of standout films and events to see.

Tickets

Prices vary by film, with general-admission tickets for typical screenings ranging from $6 to $13. Films with receptions and other special features may carry an extra charge. Memberships, which come with discounted tickets to films and other events, start at $100. For more information on tickets, visit FLIFF.com or call the Savor Cinema box office at 954-525-3456.

Venues

Savor Cinema: 503 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale
Cinema Paradiso: 2008 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
Paragon Theaters Ridge: 9200 W. State Road 84, Davie
Paragon Theaters Deerfield Beach:  3984 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach
African American Research Library and Cultural Center: 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Alvin Sherman Library, Nova Southeastern University: 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie
Flamingo Gardens: 3750 S. Flamingo Road, Davie
Baptist Health IcePlex: 800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
AutoNation IMAX Theater at Museum of Discovery & Science: 401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale

Highlights

Among myriad films and events on the schedule at FLIFF 40, here are a baker’s dozen worth noting, in chronological order. Unless otherwise noted, all of these screenings are at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale. Many of these films and others will have multiple screenings throughout the festival. A complete schedule can be found at FLIFF.com.

“Inside the Oasis”: Friday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. World premiere of a 47-minute documentary subtitled “The Story of South Florida’s Gay Mecca,” which traces more than 60 years of history in Wilton Manors and Broward County as an LGBTQ+ “oasis.” Actor Sharon Gless narrates, describing the film as “a tribute and warning of what was, what is and what could be again.” Among the locals appearing in the film are U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, State Sen. Shevrin Jones and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. Director Andy Perrott is scheduled to attend. Tickets: $8.

“Miami Nights”: Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. FLIFF’s formal opening-night feature is a crime thriller, shot on location in Miami, about two dishonorably discharged war heroes whose attempt to rebuild their lives draws them into a plot to steal a diamond. It stars Terrence Howard (Oscar nominated in “Hustle & Flow”), Jeremy Sumpter, Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven and Danay Garcia, with an original score by Serj Tankian, Grammy-winning frontman of System of a Down. This world-premiere screening will be preceded at 6 p.m. by red-carpet arrivals at Savor Cinema, with a post-film block party and a Q&A session with Howard, Sumpter, Garcia and cast members Sydelle Noel and Manu Bennett. Tickets: $50.

“Raging Midlife”: Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m., Paragon Deerfield Beach. A screwball comedy about two midlifers on a quest to recover “the greatest trophy in entertainment sports history” — a tank top from their favorite old-school wrestler, Raging Abraham Lincoln. If that were not enough, its stars include Paula Abdul, Eddie Griffin and Walter Koenig, the original Chekov of “Star Trek” fame. Says Axler: “It’s just a really, really funny comedy about, you know, these two 40-year-olds who are obsessing over a wrestler from the 1980s and trying to meet him. That’s what I mean when I talk about variety. It’s the least likely film you’d be expecting to play at a film festival.” Director Rob Taylor and co-writer Nic Costa are expected to be on hand for the screening and a Q&A session, joined by cast members Bryna Smith and Matt Zak. Tickets: $6.

“My Underground Mother”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at noon. An extraordinary documentary from journalist Marisa Fox, who discovered that her late mother, a New York doctor’s wife who always claimed she fled Poland in time to avoid the Holocaust, had kept a secret until the end. In researching a story that spans the globe, Fox uncovers her mother’s true experience from Nazi slave to freedom fighter, from refugee to spy and saboteur. Says Axler: “She finds out … that her mother kind of had a heroic role during the Holocaust. You know, one of those things you don’t find out until after the fact, as we do with our parents, it seems. … I love anything about history and I love the storytelling in that one.” Fox is scheduled to take part in a post-screening Q&A session. Tickets: $13.

“Land of the Mustaches”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. This compelling autobiographical documentary by actor and writer Rutanya Alda (“The Deer Hunter,” “Mommie Dearest”) recounts her experience as a child growing up in refugee camps with her mother and grandmother after World War II, starving and stateless, and how she triumphed over this dark history. The screening and 1:30 p.m. reception will include a special guest appearance by Alda. Tickets: $6.

“Mr. Goalie”: Sunday, Feb. 22, 4 p.m. at Savor Cinema; Monday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. at Baptist Health IcePlex. Documentary by Florida Atlantic University graduate Ryan McInerney on the life and career of NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Hall, who played goaltender without wearing a mask. Hall died in January at age 94. The film will make its U.S. debut on Feb. 22 with McInerney joined by NHL legends Scotty Bowman and Gerry Cheevers, among others. On Feb. 23, the Florida Panthers will host a free 7 p.m. screening at the IcePlex with numerous NHL players expected to attend the film and after-party. They include legendary goaltenders Martin Brodeur, Grant Fuhr, Darren Pang and Mike Vernon, as well as NHL Hall of Famer Mark Recchi and former Panthers general manager Dale Tallon. Tickets for the Feb. 22 screening cost $20; the Feb. 23 screening is free.

“Uvalde Mom”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m., Paragon Theaters Deerfield Beach. A profile of Angeli Gomez, a mother who captured national attention when, in the face of police inaction, she rushed into an elementary school to save her two sons from a mass shooting that left 21 dead in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. Gomez is expected to attend the screening in its Florida premiere with filmmaker Anayansi Prado, who also wrote and produced the film. Tickets: $13.

“California Scenario”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. A story of intergenerational trauma and healing told through the eyes of a Japanese American father whose forebears were incarcerated during World War II and a Jewish-American mother descended from Holocaust survivors. A pre-show reception at 5:30 p.m. will include cast members Will Yun Lee (“The Good Doctor”), Jon Huertas (“This Is Us”), Brooklynn Prince (“The Florida Project”) and Abby Miller (“Home Before Dark”), along with director James Takata. Tickets: $13.

“The Problem With People”: Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. A culture-clash comedy set in a small town in Ireland about cousins previously unknown to each other — one from America (Paul Reiser) and one from Ireland (Colm Meaney) — and a simmering family dispute that they seem committed to making worse. Reiser (“Diner,” “Mad About You,” “Stranger Things”) is scheduled to be on hand for an Irish-themed party at 6:30 p.m. and a post-film discussion led by writer-comedian Wil Shriner. Tickets: $40.

“Hello Beautiful”: Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. Based on model and breast cancer survivor Christine Handy’s novel “Walk Beside Me,” the film follows a model, Willow (Tricia Helfer of “Battlestar Galactica”), on her journey after a breast cancer diagnosis. The cast also includes Tarek Bishara (“Law & Order SVU”) and Susan Shalhoub Larkin (“Stranger Things,” “Sleepy Hollow”). The evening will include a 6:30 p.m. reception and book signing with Handy and director Ziad H. Hamzeh. Tickets: $20.

“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not”: Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. This deeply human documentary about flawed and enigmatic film and “Saturday Night Live” icon Chevy Chase, from CNN Films, is one of the must-see films of FLIFF 40. The evening will include a “Caddyshack”-themed, red-carpet arrival at 6 p.m. and a post-film Q&A session with Chase, recipient of the 2026 FLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award, and intrepid filmmaker Marina Zenovich. Tickets: $40.

“Wingman”: Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. This comedy, directed by actor-comedian Harland Williams, follows a stuck-in-the-’80s wingman-for-hire struggling to find hook-ups for his clients. Comedians Jamie Kennedy and Russell Peters co-star. The screening will include a 6:30 p.m. reception and post-film Q&A session with Kennedy, as well as co-writer Justin Levine. Tickets: $15.

“Guy Harvey: The Documentary”: Saturday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale. This dazzling documentary follows Guy Harvey from his boyhood in Jamaica, fishing and creating sketches of the majestic blue marlin, through his training as a marine biologist and evolution into a famous wildlife artist and prominent advocate for ocean conservation at the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center at Nova Southeastern University. The world-premiere screening on the IMAX screen at MODS includes red-carpet arrivals at 5:30 p.m., cocktails and a Q&A after-party with Harvey and director Nick Nanton. Tickets: $50 (sold out); tickets for a second screening at 2 p.m. March 1 cost $13.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.

“It was July,” he recalled. “It was very warm in the [rail] car. There was a pungent odor in the car. You couldn’t see out the windows. The windows were all fogged up. There was a fellow in a hospital gown sitting on the end of the platform.”

Later, Dech would find the existing 18 stations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties — from north of West Palm Beach to Miami International Airport  — “were in need of real TLC.” The rail corridor that Tri-Rail shares with Amtrak and the CSX freight railroad west of Interstate 95 was lined with trash and homeless camps.

These days, the outgoing executive told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Tri-Rail is a rail line he’d “put up against any railroad in the country.”

“Over the last three years we’ve changed 850 windows. We’ve replaced air conditioning — sometimes more than once on the cars,” he said. “We have cleaners at both ends. Top to bottom on the railroad we’ve cleaned the garbage out and worked with the counties on relocating homeless camps.

“Today the cars ride better. They’re not perfect. They’re old. We re-wrapped them, we changed the windows, we changed the air conditioners, we replaced the bathrooms in the cab cars.

“I’m just exceptionally proud of the efforts between our team and our contractors to really turn this railroad and make it into where I think I can put this railroad up against any railroad in the country,” he said. “It’s a good-looking railroad. It’s clean. Stations are cleaner, we’ve increased security, we’ve increased fare collections.”

Tri-Rail also completed an extension project that allows regional rail riders to travel to and from downtown Miami at Brightline’s MiamiCentral station.

“We’re in a good place,” Dech said on Thursday, after saluting the start of the rail authority’s first Transit Oriented Development project called Link at Boca, adjacent to Tri-Rail’s station in Boca Raton.

Two SFRTA board members have told the Sun Sentinel that a national search is likely for Dech’s replacement. An interim appointee will be named to fill the post immediately after Dech departs in March.

Dech is leaving for a new job to run a 90-mile commuter line that serves a string of cities from South Bend, Ind., to Chicago. His resignation is set for mid-March. The move, Dech said, will position him to maximize his railroad retirement benefits.

“I’m not going to better weather, that’s for sure,” he said. “This opportunity came up and they don’t come up often.”

In fact, there are only 28 commuter rail systems in the U.S., according to Tri-Rail’s website. And the “South Shore” line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is one with which Dech, an Ohio native, became familiar as an engineer for CSX.

“Up there — that’s where I started running trains,” Dech said.

In the meantime, he has continued to spearhead Tri-Rail’s lobbying effort in Tallahassee to restore a muli-million dollar annual subsidy cut by the state last year, a move that left Tri-Rail with the prospect of running out of money by the summer of 2027.

“I feel really good with the conversations I’ve been having in the counties and the state level,” Dech said. “We’re really in as good a place as we can possibly be going forward.”

Started in January 1989 as a public utility to ease burgeoning traffic on I-95, Tri-Rail operates mostly on subsidies from the state and the three counties it serves.

A veteran of the giant CSX freight railroad and a transit system in Austin, Texas, Dech joined Tri-Rail and embarked on multiple tasks that included activating the extension to downtown Miami, and literally cleaning up a railroad operation not known for stellar customer service.

Last year, his third full year, Tri-Rail served more than 4.5 million passengers, a system record.

During his visits to state lawmakers, he’s made that figure a top-of-mind point while walking the halls of the Legislature. The railroad has also signed a deal for seven new locomotives, and intends to replace “about a third of our coaches.”

“The reception in Tallahassee for us has been warm,” he said. “There is very strong support from elected officials in this area. There is active support in Tallahassee. I don’t know what’s said behind closed doors. From what I see there is great support for rail in Florida.”

Value proposition

The trash and aging rail cars and engines aside, Tri-Rail’s reputation as a reliable mode of inter-county transportation has not always been favorable among the millions of commuters who cross over county lines.

“I think once people come down and understand we had 4.5 million people ride this train last year, and when you start thinking about that, you start putting it in perspective,” Dech said, “You really have to sit on I-95 and then come over here and ride the train to understand the real value.”

He asserted that elected officials who have ridden the train ride it again.

“They’re advocates,” he said. “I don’t think there is any more room to expand I-95, so you’ve got to do something. The answer is to put more people on the train.”

But many critics have argued that trains that do not turn a profit probably shouldn’t run at all.

“That’s a misconception nationwide — not just the public here,” Dech said. “I’ve heard people say if they can’t pay for themselves don’t run it. That would eliminate 99.9% of the railroads in the world. Because there is not a public railroad — a passenger railroad —  in the world outside of, probably, Japan that turns a profit.

“They’re all subsidized by the government — it’s just a matter of at what level,” Dech added. “When you look at police and fire departments and utilities like that, they’re not expected to make a profit. But they are necessary. This is a necessary product that we have here.”

Acting like a business

Still, the critics’ arguments were not lost on either Dech or the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board, which consists of elected local politicians from each county, as well as private sector and community leaders.

Since last year, they have opted to find ways to show the Florida Department of Transportation and county governments that Tri-Rail is capable of acting like a business with an eye toward easing costs to the taxpayer.

Among other things, Tri-Rail cut service that was sparsely used, such as late-night trains to and from the Miami airport. The board also voted to end rideshare partnerships that it determined had delivered nominal numbers of passengers to and from Tri-Rail stations.

On the revenue side, the board this month will be weighing ticket price increases for fares that have not been raised since 2019.

As for Thursday’s groundbreaking of the “Link at Boca,” a mixed-use development at Tri-Rail’s station in Boca Raton, Dech acknowledged the revenue flow in leasing dollars to Tri-Rail will be helpful.

“It’s not going to hurt,” he said. “We’ll get rents from this for the next 99 years. The people who live here will have very quick and easy access to the station.”

Moreover, the retail element of the project “makes it a destination.”

“It’s going to be one more reason to use the train,” Dech said. “Individually these [projects] are small slices. But when you start putting them together … Boynton Beach will probably be next. We have some properties down south.”

“We want to demonstrate to everybody we are willing and able to get these things done,” he added. “I don’t think you are going to be able to strictly fund the railroad on TODs.”

But the greater SFRTA goal, he said, is to ease the expenses covered by the local and state governments.

“What we can do is have cost sharing between the state and the counties,” he said. “Our job now is to try to generate as much as we can to lessen the burden on the counties and the state.”

“Every bit that we can do, whether it be advertising, whether it be rents and TODs [Transit Oriented Development] … makes it easier for them,” he said. “We feel like we have skin in the game as well.”

The ultimate bottom line

Even if a daily motorist has no intention of riding a train or a bus, Dech said, “you want every person around you to ride that bus or train.”

“I don’t think anyone wants to see an additional 4.5 million people on I-95,” he added. “I hope we don’t play chicken long enough to get there. That would be horrible for everybody.”

“This is a really rare occasion where our success benefits everybody,” he added.

Full circle

In Indiana, Dech expects to face familiar issues akin to an aging railroad.

“We’re going to start working on new equipment,” he said.

There will be trips to Indianapolis, the state capital, to lobby for funds for a rail operation whose heritage can be traced to the early 1900s.

“It‘s a little romantic for me to kind of take it full circle and finish off where I started,” he said.

But there will be something new for Dech to learn. Along the South Shore Line, the trains are powered by electric engines.

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Kamikaze Fireflies perform at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Washing Well Wenches perform at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Lady Ettie at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Adrian Empire Steel Combat perform at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Adrian Empire Steel Combat perform at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Washing Well Wenches perform at the Annual Florida Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Annual Florida Renaissance Festival kicked off at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The festival continues on weekends only (Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to sunset, February 7th – March 29th of 2026. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The Florida Renaissance Festival returned to Quiet Waters Park on Saturday for its 34th annual season, beginning an eight-week run in Deerfield Beach. The opening “Gamemasters Unite” weekend featured the Royal Court of King Robert Rivera alongside jousting by the Hanlon-Lees Action Theater, falconry displays, and live musical performances. View photos of the costumed crowds, artisan vendors, and 16th-century themed entertainment as the festival kicks off its 2026 calendar. Click here for more details!

Keshon Litesha Rivers, 32, of Fort Lauderdale, is the owner of Lock and Key Designs LLC, based in Fort Lauderdale.

Rivers used her professional connection with Event Décor Direct in Deerfield Beach to take money from the event decoration business over a three-month period in 2025, in part by making dozens of fraudulent transactions and credit card purchases, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday.

Rivers “created a fictitious individual” and blamed the fraudulent charges on the nonexistent person when questioned, according to the news release. Purchases included more than $85,000 worth of gold and diamond jewelry, a $55,000 private jet flight from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles and rentals of mansions in Miami Beach and Los Angeles totaling more than $43,000.

The alleged fraud spanned from May to August 2025, the Sheriff’s Office said. Florida Department of Corrections records show Rivers was placed on felony probation in April for fraud-related charges in Polk County, scheduled to end in 2030.

Rivers was arrested on Wednesday and is being held in the Main Jail without bond on charges of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft of more than $100,000 and money laundering.

Court records and attorney information were not available Thursday afternoon.

Dech, who has been executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority since 2022, resigned the post effective March 16 after accepting an offer as president of a commuter rail line in Indiana.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Broward County Commissioner Lamar Fisher, who serves on the SFRTA board, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the resignation was not a surprise to the 10-member board as Dech informed them earlier this month he was in talks to become president and general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.  The line’s trains serve a 90-mile stretch on the south shore of Lake Michigan between the Michiana Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana, and Randolph Street Station in Chicago, according to its website.

“Mr. Dech called us a week ago,” Fisher said, adding the executive director “wanted to call each board member personally.”

Dech is out of the office this week and unavailable for comment, a spokesman said.

“His main reason behind it was that it’s a family matter, and I couldn’t argue with that at all,” Fisher said. “His knowledge and expertise was parallel to none in this industry. I’m sure we will find a replacement to carry it on, and he will be sorely missed.”

One of the key contributions Dech made was his leadership in rallying support among state legislators to restore millions in subsidies that are critical to Tri-Rail’s operation. Dech has said the cuts placed the railroad, a public utility that relies heavily on county, state and federal funds, on a path where it would run out of money by mid-2027.

Although slightly shorter in length than the Indiana line at 73.5 miles, Tri-Rail served a record 4.5 million passengers last year among 19 stops in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Last week, Dech told the authority’s board that he was “encouraged” by the responses in Tallahassee to Tri-Rail’s pitch for funding.

Fisher said he did not believe Dech’s departure would hinder the lobbying effort. Besides Dech, SFRTA chair and Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Marci Woodward and others have been visiting legislators in Tallahassee.

“David was the leader but we have a tremendous team behind him,” Fisher said. “David has felt all along it will be a positive outcome. We will keep that momentum going.”

“The need is there and we are confident we will get the funding back in place to continue this great service,” Fisher said.

Search forthcoming

As for a search for a replacement, Fisher said, “we’ll decide that as a board at our coming board meeting in February.” The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 27.

“We’ll need to put someone in during the interim,” Fisher said. He said his personal vote would go to Diane Hernandez Del Calvo, the deputy executive director whose Tri-Rail career spans nearly 27 years.

“She’s very knowledgeable and she could very well be our selection,” Fisher said. “It’s up to the board [to have] that conversation.”

Woodward said in a separate interview Thursday that she expects the selection of a permanent successor would not occur until after the Tri-Rail funds cut by the Florida Department of Transportation are restored, thereby giving candidates a sense of confidence that the railroad would have sufficient financial support.

“I think we all realize that’s going to be delayed until we get the funding restored,” Woodward said.

“We don’t know how long this [legislative] session is going to last,” she said, adding that she “wouldn’t blame anyone to be hesitant.”

She agreed with Fisher’s view that an internal candidate would likely be selected to run Tri-Rail in the interim and that Hernandez Del Calvo could be that person.

“She’s always right beside Dave all the time,” Woodward said. “We would feel pretty comfortable with her taking the reins for now.”

Service, ridership growth

Dech started working at Tri-Rail in August 2022, bringing with him a reputation as a detail-oriented executive who was vice president of operations at Capital Metro, the mass transit system in Austin, Texas.

His immediate task at Tri-Rail was to complete a project to expand service into downtown Miami at the MiamiCentral station now shared with Brightline. Passengers can get there by using an 8-mile extension controlled by the Florida East Coast Railway from Tri-Rail’s main line.

Among Dech’s other accomplishments, according to Tri-Rail:

• Increased weekday trains from 50 to 76 and weekend trains from 30 to 53.
• Introduced Tri-Rail express service between West Palm Beach and MiamiCentral, reducing travel time by more than 30 minutes.
• Achieved full ridership recovery post-pandemic, with Tri-Rail reaching 4.4 million riders in 2024 and more than 4.5 million rides in calendar year 2025, the highest in system history.
• Set new weekend and special-event ridership records with highest Saturday during Tri-Rail’s 2024 Rail Fun Day and Lake Worth Beach Street Painting Festival, and highest Sunday during Ultra Music 2024, with special train service added to accommodate concertgoers.

Well, here comes the Florida Renaissance Festival to — in the most entertaining way — mess up all those plans by taking you to the past.

Thou wilt have a turnt time.

Ren-Fest, as it’s known by its loyal followers, will run Saturdays and Sundays, from Feb. 7 to March 29, sprawled throughout Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach.

For those of you stubbornly holding on to the here and now, Ren-Fest features jousting knights, swordfighters/archers, musical minstrels, animatronic installations, comedic stage shows, magicians, strolling performers, as well as crafts, food and drinks. There will be more than 100 entertainers and more than 100 artisans.

Costumes are encouraged. And you can either stick to the different themes that take place each weekend (everything from Viking valor and pirate pantaloons to Celtic chic and steampunk style) or play fast and loose with your fashion choices.

“We delve into fantasy,” said Bobby Rodriguez, the festival’s founder and organizer. “There’s a lot of fantasy elements in the show. And even last year, for the very first time, we actually had an area that’s dedicated to steampunk. It’s by popular demand, so we’re bringing it back again. We’re kind of mixing it up.”

DOTH THEE NEED THE SCHEDULE?

Feb. 7-8 — Gamemasters Unite: The Campaign Begins

Feb. 14-15 — Cupid’s Lullaby: Pulling at the Harpstrings

Feb. 21-22 — A Viking’s Valor: Shields, Scales, Tails, and Ale

Feb. 28-March 1 — Sirens and Shipwrecks: Party ’til the end of the Plank

March 7-8 — His Majesty’s Marketplace: Haggle If You Dare

March 14-15 — Clover the Rainbow: A Gathering of Green

March 21-22 — Rise of the Cog-Keepers: Tinkering in Time

March 28-29 — Fantastical Fables: A World Beyond the Page

WHAT’S NEW AT YE OLDE FAYRE

“This will be our 34th year,” Rodriguez said. “People say to me all the time … ‘After doing it for so many years, it’s got to be easy doing this.’ I said, ‘No, it actually gets harder every year.’ And the reason it gets harder is because we raise the bar. Raising the bar means we’re giving it more attention to detail, more attention to detail means more time and effort. And we’ve only got X number of days to put the show together. So we’re constantly trying to cram in all of these new decorations, new props.”

• Midwife Crisis: “We have the R-rated Tent (The Great Hall). We have a new act that’s coming in there: Midwife Crisis. It’s a very funny person that talks about being a midwife and the stories that come with it. It’s almost like a Las Vegas stand-up comedian kind of thing.”
• Musical Acts: “For those who like ancient music, we have a wonderful quartet that play ancient instruments that are going to be at the Fife & Fiddle Stage. We’ve got madrigal singers in that tent as well. We have a new act called Shake, Rattle, and Rogue with Celtic and Greek music.  And we have a group called The Crimson Pirates. There’s five singers that do a musical act but a lot of comedy in it as well. I’m excited about that.”
• Cashless Box Office: “So many places are going cashless [that] we felt that it was time, that it would help the long lines that we’ve had in the past. Even if people don’t buy [tickets] before they come to the show, we’ll have QR codes throughout the area before they enter that they can buy their tickets before they even get in the security line or while they are waiting in that line. People are waiting at the security checkpoint … for five minutes, waiting to get checked out. In that five minutes, they can buy their tickets and then just walk right in.”

NEW VITTLES OFFERINGS

• Jamble Tasty Egg Roll — Chicken  and shrimp egg rolls, pork-on-a-stick, noodles
• Ali Baba’s Tribal Treats — Shawarma (falafel, chicken or lamb) wraps, fries, salads and pitas, saffron rice bowls, hummus and curly fries
• Jupiter Donuts — Gourmet doughnuts, breakfast sandwiches, coffees
• Kahve Hikayeci — Turkish coffee
• Caldwell Concessions — Bourbon chicken, cheese and crab wontons, noodles, fried cabbage, potstickers, Chinese doughnuts, mochi ice cream
• Tanghulu Booth — Candied strawberries, blueberries, oranges, grapes and mixed fruit

PRITHEE, FIRST-TIMERS, HEED THIS TIP

Plan on arriving as early in the day as you can, Rodriguez said. Then “you don’t have to pay for VIP parking because you’ll already be parking close [to the entrance],” he added. “That’ll save you money there. It’ll save you time online.”

Not only will you benefit from the parking situation, but there’s a lot to take in and you need all the Ren-Fest strolling/watching time possible.

“What I get 99% of the time is people say, ‘I had no idea the show was this big.’ And I tell them, if you come at 10 when we open and you leave at sunset when we close, there’s still no way you can see the entire show in one day. People have no idea,” he said.

DOST THEE NEED A SPECIAL SHOPPING OFFER?

On the fifth weekend of Ren-Fest (March 7-8), which is themed “His Majesty’s Marketplace,” you can get a free ticket to another festival day if your vendor receipts add up.

“We tried something like this last year for the first time, and it was very successful,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to have a theme that revolved around our vendors and the shops because, again, people who have not been to the show don’t know that a lot of our vendors have handmade wares, stuff that you can’t find at other shows.

“And so what we did was, as an incentive, if you spent $250 or more in the day that you’re there — it doesn’t have to be with one vendor, it could be with 10 vendors — but if you spent $250 or more, you get a free ticket. If you think you’re going to spend that kind of money, get a receipt and at the end of the day, you turn the receipts in and then you get your ticket for another day.”

IF THEE GO

WHEN: 10 a.m. to sunset Saturdays-Sundays, from Feb. 7-March 29

WHERE: Quiet Waters Park, 401 S. Powerline Road, Deerfield Beach

COST:

• Admission is $39 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-11; free for kids age 5 and younger).
• Adult group rate (at least 20 people) is $31 per ticket.
• Season pass is $175 for adults and $75 for children ages 6-11.
• Active military and senior (65 and older) discounts are available at the Box Office only ($3 off admission tickets); proper identification required
• Parking is free; $12-$25 for V.I.P. parking.
• The Pub Crawl is $39 per adult (21 or older ); festival admission not included.

INFORMATION: 954-776-1642; ren-fest.com

Dech, who is executive director of Tri-Rail’s governing body, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, stunned his staff with a phone call from Tallahassee announcing his resignation Monday, spokesman Victor Garcia said Wednesday.

His new position: president and general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. His hiring becomes effective March 16, according to The Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana, which first reported the leadership change.

Garcia said the staff expected an update on Tri-Rail’s efforts to close a funding gap in Tallahassee after the Florida Department of Transportation slashed its annual subsidy last year. But they received news of Dech’s career change instead.

“He did say he feels confident this is going to be worked out,” Garcia said.

There was no public indication Dech had been interviewing for another job.

As recently as last week, Dech, who was not immediately available for comment late Wednesday, was focused on telling Tri-Rail’s story to Florida lawmakers and making the railroad’s case for additional funds.

At a Friday SFRTA board meeting, he said he was encouraged with how state lawmakers had received Tri-Rail’s pitch.

Veteran railroader

Dech joined Tri-Rail in 2022 from a transit agency in Austin, Texas. He is an Ohio native with 29 years of railroad experience, including time as an engineer with the giant CSX freight line. He’ll be the Indiana line’s third president.

Dech has forecast that Tri-Rail, which has served Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties since 1989, will run out of funds by June 2027 without additional contributions from the three counties the railroad serves and/or the FDOT.

Among other things, he is credited with completing a stalled project to link Tri-Rail with Brightline’s MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami. He also worked to make Tri-Rail safer, installing more protection measures at grade crossings, eliminating homeless camps along the Tri-Rail corridor west of Interstate 95, and setting the stage to acquire locomotives and passenger coaches.

Last year, Tri-Rail set ridership records, carrying more than 4.5 million passengers in 2025.

Garcia said he had no immediate information on how the SFRTA board will proceed to replace Dech, but it is likely a national search will be conducted for a new top executive.