■ Olympian Lochte to dedicate swim to Nicholas Dworet.
Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte is dedicating his next Olympic swims to the captain of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School swim team who was killed in the shooting at the school.
Nicholas Dworet, 17, a senior, had just committed to swimming competitively for the University of Indianapolis when he was gunned down Feb. 14 in the mass shooting at the Parkland high school.
Lochte, a Daytona Beach resident, is in Plantation this weekend for the Florida sectional swimming championships and on Friday he took some time to make an unannounced visit to the school to meet with Dworet’s parents, classmates and coaches. He follows high-profile visits that have included Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“Words cannot describe the emotions that I felt while at the school and how grateful I am that I was able to meet with those incredible students,” Lochte wrote on his social media accounts Friday.
On Instagram and Facebook, Lochte said he wore the high school swimming team’s cap — and won. Results posted on Swim Swam show that he placed first in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter freestyle and the 100-meter events.
Dworet aspired to swim in the Olympics, according to a statement his family provided to the Sun Sentinel when his death was announced.
“I told his parents that I will dedicate my swims in the 2020 Olympics to Nicholas,” Lochte wrote, using the “MSDStrong” and “NeverAgain” hashtags. “One of his goals was to swim in the Olympics and now he will with me!!” backstroke
ageggis@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6624, or @AnneBoca . Visit our Deerfield Beach community page at SunSentinel.com /FacebookDeerfield. He appeared in City Hall briefly Tuesday, where commissioners approved the deal without comment.
Construction of the new, casual seafood eatery is taking longer than expected. In a letter to the city, Crush attributed delays to city-ordered changes in architecture, and relocation of an underground water line, among other things.
The city has owned the choice land since 1947. Broward’s older residents might remember a Sinclair gas station there in 1948. In the 1970s, the city’s beach patrol had its quarters on the property. John Amodeo’s Oasis Cafe was next, signing a lease in 1994. After the 2015 eviction vote, Oasis comptroller Ted Sabarese said “all rents and any other charges were paid in full,” but the city’s expectation for rent was too high to remain in the location, he said.
Amodeo is still a restaurateur, with the Drunken Taco at the beach and Giovanni’s Coal Fire Pizza in Sunrise.
In other action, Fort Lauderdale commissioners Tuesday:
POLICE: Held a ceremony to promote and swear in Police Chief Rick Maglione, Assistant Chief Luis Alvarez, Major Dana Swisher, Lts. Nicholas Coffin, David Cortes, Avery Figueras, Ronald Magno; and Sgts. Margaret Dryden, Kenneth Giles, James McDowell, Matthew Moceri, and Tanisha Stevens.
PARKING: Postponed to March 20 a decision on whether to remove a requirement that the county allow public parking after hours in a relatively new, 1,000-car county garage on South Andrews Avenue and Seventh Street. The county is complaining that the requirement is holding up construction of a 500-car secure garage for judges. County officials say they intend to allow the public to park in the garage eventually, but for now it’s not possible because some judges and senior courthouse staff use it after hours.
CAMERAS: Agreed to accept a fully operational camera system with license plate readers and security cameras for police use in the Bermuda Riviera finger islands neighborhoods west of the Galt Ocean Mile, on the Intracoastal Waterway.
ELECTION: Agreed to give the Broward elections office $311,492 for staffing during Tuesday’s city election.
Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@sun-sentinel .com or 954-356-4541. Find her on Twitter @BrittanyWallman.