Featured Articles from the Sun Sentinel

1500 Degrees , 4525 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. 305-674-5594. 1500 Degrees at the Eden Roc Renaissance in Miami Beach will feature a Mother's Day brunch for $55 from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. Reservations are suggested. Atlantic Ocean Club , 217 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. 561-450-7557. The Atlantic Ocean Club will offer Mother's Day brunch from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost is $29 per person, and $12 for kids under 13. BLT Steak , 1440 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach. 305-673-0044.

Three dollars a gallon for gasoline may start to sound good by comparison this summer. With rising global demand for oil, gas could reach $4 a gallon in the coming months in some states, according to fuel forecasters. That means flying, shipping a package and ordering a pizza could all grow more expensive as companies pass along their higher energy costs. Over time, those higher fuel prices will work their way into almost all consumer goods, from groceries to clothing, as items travel by truck, train or plane before reaching the store.

It can be easy to be a leader when fate is smiling on you and times are good. It's a different question altogether to show selfless leadership when you are face-to-face with your own mortality. Earlier this month, on April 14, the organization Voices Against Brain Cancer awarded its Courage Award to Antonio "Tony" Goitia. Tony was diagnosed two years ago with glioblastoma, a malignant form of brain cancer. What had to be a stunning, crushing diagnosis didn't stop him — even after the doctor breaking the news did so with an ominous question, "What if I told you that you only had months to live?"

Prepare to pay more property taxes next year in Boca Raton . The city may need to raise property taxes by as much as 17.55 percent to maintain its current level of services, the City Council acknowledged last week. "Nobody wants to charge anybody any more money for things, but there are so many costs that are out of our control that we can't provide basic services at [the current] rate," City Manager Leif Ahnell said. The city is facing an $8 million budget shortfall for the 2011-12 fiscal year, he said.

A man crashed his motorcycle into a guardrail on West McNab Road and died early Sunday morning, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. Kevin Scott Beck, 42, of North Lauderdale, was heading west around 4:20 a.m. on his 1985 Harley-Davidson when he crashed. After impact, the bike skidded into a grassy ditch near the exit ramp to the Boulevard of Champions, according to a release from the Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement officials ask that anyone who witnessed the crash call the Traffic Homicide Unit at 954-321-4840 or Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-TIPS (8477)

A teenaged Olympic swimmer flew home to Austria on Monday with an unusual beach tale to share. Jakub Maly, 19, is recovering after he spent two hours on Sunday buried up to his neck in the sands of Pompano Beach. It took about five-dozen rescue personnel from Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale and an intense, concerted effort to free him. The accidental burial happened during an afternoon of fun at a private beach in the 700 block of North Ocean Boulevard, officials said. The team's nearly 20 swimmers and coaches had spent the past three weeks training in Pompano Beach, said Elaine Fitzgerald, their rental agent.

Sweet Almond verbena (Aloysia virgata ) is a large shrub/small tree that can be a useful addition to the fragrant garden. This new plant to South Florida gardeners should become popular if there is enough space. An arching plant, it will grow to 15 feet high and wide, although size can be controlled with pruning. You can grow it as a small patio tree if the lower branches are removed. It will serve as a background shrub as the strong vanilla/almond fragrance is strong enough to be enjoyed at a distance.

More than a year after courthouse foreclosure auctions moved online in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, bidders are still making mistakes, some worth tens of thousands of dollars. Novice investors who think they're getting great deals ultimately discover they've bought worthless second mortgages or other junior liens. "It happens every day," said Luis Valdeon, who publishes detailed reports for investors on homes to be auctioned in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

The Palm Beach County School District has just notified more than 500 permanent employees that their positions could be eliminated this summer because of a budget crisis, officials said on Tuesday. Classroom teachers, principals and nearly all school jobs have been spared under the proposal, but recommended department cuts include 17 school police officers. Administrators also said the number of potential layoffs would end up being a much smaller number, because of employee reassignments to various openings in the system.

Tri-Rail trains will take a bit longer to travel the 72-mile corridor between Miami and Mangonia Park starting May 4, officials said Thursday. But the 10 minutes added to the weekday schedule should help the trains run on time. The new schedule will give most of Tri-Rail's 50 weekday trains more time to turn around and switch directions at either end of the line. Many trains have 15 minutes to switch directions. If a train is running late at the end of the line, the delays can cascade and affect other trains the rest of the day, Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold said.

A pair of international investors are in the midst of the largest buy-up of property in the blocks behind the city beach since the end of the Spring Break era. Acting independently of each other, the two men have spent about $39 million to acquire more than two dozen small hotels, apartment buildings and shops. The change in ownership signals the start of the next wave of redevelopment on the barrier island after the construction of luxury oceanfront hotels such as the W and Ritz Carlton.

Warrants have been issued for two teens accused in the dragging death of a 16-year-old Pembroke Pines boy two months ago. Christian Tur, 19, and Dominic Rose, 17, are each charged with manslaughter with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of an accident with death, for allegedly beating Kevin Burton and dragging him with a car. Tur and Rose are also charged with attempting to buy cannabis. Rose is charged as an adult. Prosecutors filed the charges on Friday and the warrants were issued the same day, the Broward Clerk of Courts website said on Monday morning.

Accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband, Dalia Dippolito emerged from house arrest Tuesday for a court hearing in her divorce case from her husband of six months, Michael Dippolito. Michael Dippolito is asking a judge to remove his wife's name from the deed of the townhome they shared, something he said he did at her urging less than three weeks after they wed. Wearing a gray pantsuit - concealing her electronic ankle monitor - and suede burgundy pumps, Dalia Dippolito, 27, took the witness stand and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent when questioned about the validity of the quitclaim deed adding her to the title.

Those with low-income may quality for a free cell phone and up to 250 minutes a month through the government's Lifeline Wireless program offered in conjunction with TracFone's Safelink Wireless and Virgin Mobile's Assurance Wireless . The program, available in more than 30 states including Florida, is partially funded by the Federal Communications Commission and the telecom industry. It allows eligible households to get one free phone and chose from several plans that include local and long-distance calls, voicemail, texting, roaming, free 911 and 411 calls.