Thirty years ago, life changed over the course of an August weekend.
A swirling mass off the coast of Africa had struggled to develop until it was on South Florida’s doorstep. Then it intensified so quickly that Hurricane Andrew rushed ashore less
And the rocket’s red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there
— “The Star-Spangled Banner,” 1814
July Fourth: A day filled with barbecue, patriotic baby contests, hula-hoop competitions and watermel
Read more…Welcome to hurricane season.
If you’re new to the area you may have recently encountered your first flooded roadways, rising groundwater and canceled windstorm insurance.
Add to that mix La Niña holding in the Pacific, a slowed Gulf Stream, a w
I can’t remember how I learned to swim. I’d like to think I gripped my mother’s hands with my pudgy baby fingers as she bounced me up and down in the water of some muddy, Midwestern lake until I was floating — still grasping one finger until I let g
Read more…It’s not that I’m slowing down or losing interest. There are no urgent responsibilities that must be addressed. My health is good. But like the dropping barometer before a storm, there’s an ever-present pressure nagging at me to slow down, urging me
Read more…A morning walk on my birthday produced an unusual find along our shoreline. Mary Kate Leming / The Coastal Star
Gifts come in many forms. Some wrapped, some written, some plucked from the side of the roadway. Flowers, music, books, chocolate, wine a
Read more…Someone stole my bike. It wasn’t new and I have another one, but it was the same aqua blue as the ocean on a summer day. You could feel the wind in your hair just looking at it.
The bike was also the color of this newspaper’s masthead logo and was a
The drama at the Delray Beach commission meeting was expected to come from an audit report on the Old School Square Center for the Arts. But another number came up — deeply disturbing and having nothing to do with the beloved and troubled nonprofit.
Read more…History is hard.
What passes as history is most often written by those with the means to quickly share their view of events with a wide audience. Often that means newspapers.
In 1943, journalist Alan Barth called news “the first rough draft of histor
The light falls differently once the clocks change. It’s brighter, easier, more transparent.
Increasingly the draw-bridges are in the up position and the tops are down on the rental convertibles cruising on A1A.
After a year of living oh-so-very-cau
By Mary Kate Leming, Editor
Most years at this time we’d be planning our annual Coastal Star holiday party. We like to kick off the new year by getting everyone who works for the newspaper together for an afternoon of socializing.
Many have worked t
Read more…I purchased the angel that sits atop our Christmas tree while on a trip to Mexico many years ago. She’s hammered tin with a painted face and poised to sing carols from a songbook clasped in her hands.
This year she’s going to take a break and sit o
