Mary Kate Leming's Blog – April 2012 Archive (54)

By Tim Pallesen

   The Caron Foundation can’t sue Delray Beach for denying a Seaspray Avenue sober house because the request hasn’t been officially denied, an attorney for the city argued Monday.

    The surprising twist came during a…

By Tim O’Meilia

About that plan to build high rise condos, an oceanfront hotel and shops where the mobile homes of Briny Breezes have set for decades?

Never mind.

The nine-member board of the corporation that owns the park unanimously decided April 11 not to pursue the proposal by a New York developer to buy the park at a price to be named later.

“We did not have enough information on the sales price or the cost that would be incurred for…

Three commissioners and the mayor took part in a TV ad supporting challenger Frank Chapman. YouTube Video

By Tim Pallesen

    

The winner in Boca Raton’s city election credits his victory to an…

By Tim Pallesen



    A judge says the Caron Foundation must pay $27,788 to Delray Beach in a public records request for more than 200,000 emails that Caron wants to investigate in its lawsuit against the city.

    Caron wants to review all email communications sent and received by 16 city officials since August 2007 to learn who said what to whom before Delray Beach approved three ordinances to restrict sober housing in February.

    “We’re trying to uncover…

Police were called last month when vandals destroyed about 60 signs that coastal residents had placed in their yards to protest transient housing in their neighborhoods.

About 35 signs were destroyed or stolen March 28 from Seaspray Avenue and two neighboring steets. Residents replaced them, only to have 25 new signs taken three nights later.

“We want to know who is behind not wanting us to express our right to free speech,” Seaspray resident Ray Jones said.

Police dusted for…

The Delray Beach Club, located just south of Linton Boulevard, has provided beach and recreational activities to its members since 1969. Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star

By Mary Thurwachter



    Stretching out on a chaise longue with a Kindle in your hands and the Atlantic Ocean as a…

I have lived in Ocean Ridge for going on 30 years. In that time I’ve felt the need to contact the Police Department on very few occasions. To me that means I live in a safe place.  

    When I tell people about Ocean Ridge I always mention the frequently patrolling police cars, the dark house inspections and friendly cops with dog biscuits. Every time, the response is, “Really? I wish I lived in a town like that!”  

    Our commission should not forget this.

    How many real…

By Paula Detwiller

    

One of Joelen Merkel’s fondest memories was the day her son graduated from the University of Florida.

    As a trustee for the university, she was perennially invited to take part in the pomp and circumstance of graduation. But this day was different: Not only was…

In a March story, “Sides agree to plan for crowded property line landscaping,” it may not have been clear that although Manalapan resident E. Peter McLean was asked to serve as an alternate on both the architectural and zoning commissions, he was not able to and was never sworn in as a member of either board.

John J. Murphy (right), an elected county committeeman in New Jersey for 20 years, was sworn in March 27 succeeding Robert Evans in Manalapan’s at-large Seat 2 post. Evans did not seek re-election after serving four years on the commission.            

    “I’ve always been interested in government and been involved in county and municipal government all my life,” said…

By Steve Plunkett



    The intrusion of unwelcome outsiders into Manalapan has only gotten worse in Vice Mayor Donald Brennan’s eyes.

    “The beach is a war zone,” Brennan declared at the town’s March 27 commission meeting.

    Brennan said an armed robbery in Ocean Inlet Park in December and two more incidents since then also involving guns had him “very, very worried.”

    “I personally was recently in a confrontation with somebody on the front…

By Margie Plunkett and Tim O’Meilia



    The Ocean Ridge police chief has started the search for a new officer to bolster a force the chief said has been understaffed due to a medical leave.

    A posting at the town’s website said applications for the position, which has a salary of $47,953, would be accepted until April 20.

    The Town Commission, which had said no during the last budget rounds to hiring a police investigator, moved to back Chief Chris…

Curiouser and curiouser.  Of course, Alice has nothing on David Manero, whose restaurant wonderland in Delray Beach has turned into a nightmare. Oh sure, the restaurants he ran — Vic & Angelo’s, The Office and Burger Fi — seem to be doing fine, but David is nowhere in sight. Which had the Atlantic Avenue rumor mill working overtime with claims that his partners had him banned from the premises and that the FBI wanted him…

A rendering of Delray Villas by the Sea shows one and two-story cottages.

By Christine Davis

    

Most new homes developed on the ocean are mammoth, fashioned to please buyers looking for ultra luxury estates with umpteen square…

By Angie Francalancia



Any efforts at moving Boynton Beach’s downtown fire station to Ocean Ridge are “on hold” and may remain so for perhaps months as Boynton Beach continues to try to sell three parcels of property that affect the city’s space needs.

The Boynton Beach City Commission rejected the single bid it got on one of the three parcels and agreed to change the city’s rules for sale of disposable property so it can enlist a real estate broker rather than…

Bruce Anderson volunteering at Palm Beach State College. Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal Star

By Steve Pike



    John F. Kennedy once said: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

    Bruce Anderson was living that belief long before JFK entered the White House. The Gulf…

By Steve Plunkett



Gulf Stream’s project to bury electric and other utility lines is at least two months behind schedule even before a shovel hits the ground.

Consulting engineer Danny Brannon told town commissioners at their March 16 meeting that he is already in the middle of designing the south half of the project, but Florida Power & Light Co. has not designated one of its engineers for the project.

“FPL’s delay in getting us an engineer assigned is…

Sophia Isaac (left), Chairman of the Library Volunteers, counts stacks of books to be purchased by Manalapan resident Jeff Solomon (center) as library volunteer Betty Howson awaits the final tally at Manalapan’s  J. Turner Moore Memorial Library book sale on March 10. Mr. Solomon purchased $233 worth of books.  Kurtis Boggs/The Coastal…

Breakers on the Ocean was purchased by Ocean Properties Ltd last month. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By  Tim Pallesen 

    

The Breakers on the Ocean resort in Delray Beach has been sold for $4,750,000 to the owner of the Delray Beach Marriott.

    Ocean Properties Ltd., which owns more than 100 hotels…

By Angie Francalancia



    Renovations at Sunshine Square are more than halfway complete, with several new tenants, including a Panera Bread and TD Bank, anticipated for the shopping center at the southwest corner of Woolbright Road and Federal Highway.

    The enlarged Publix is expected to open in September with 14,000 more square feet than the old building and a more accessible design, according to spokesperson at Edens, the Columbia, S.C.-based, owners of the…