Down year for nests hints at another surge in 2025
By Steve Plunkett
Following a record-breaking 2023, people who monitor sea turtle nests up and down south Palm Beach County’s coast faced an easier workload this season. And the season, which offici
briny breezes (432)
Susan Brannen, president of the board of Briny Breezes Inc., dreamed of having a home in Briny Breeezes since she was 16 and began visiting relatives there. She loves the water, the people and the activities the town offers. Tim Stepien/The Coastal S
Briny Breezes Town Council members Liz Loper and Bill Birch will start new two-year terms in March with a new face joining them on the dais: David Duncan White.
All three filed to run in the March election but drew no opponents during the November qu
After Hurricane Milton exited Florida late Oct. 10, it left behind optimal surf conditions south of the Boca Raton Inlet. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Related: Carlisle and Eau open doors to Tampa evacuees from storm; Briny Breezes: County orders eva
By Steve Plunkett
After serving nine months on the Briny Breezes Town Council and with four months to go, Alderman Keith Black says that will be enough.
Black will not run for a full term, he announced at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting as Town Clerk S
While damage from Hurricane Milton was negligible in coastal South County, this half-sunken sailboat at Sportsman's Park Marina in Lantana was affected by its winds, crashing into the sea wall there. The photo was taken Oct. 10. Tim Stepien/The Coas
Jay Kelley (left) and his wife Jo Bennett help Briny Breezes resident Holly McCarthy secure the clam-shell shutters on her home in Briny Breezes. Lily the dog is an evacuee from Tampa who is staying with Kelley and Bennett during Hurricane Milton.
Water, sewer, other essential services get most attention
By Jane Musgrave
With nearly $48 million from the federal government to jump-start the economy from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities in southern Palm Beach County have upgr
Briny Breezes Building Official Deborah Nutter and Town Council President Liz Loper talk with Judith Kraft at a public meeting on the maps. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Kathleen Kernicky
Judith Kraft has watched the flooding worsen since she moved
By Steve Plunkett
Town officials are looking past the looming presidential election to next March, when voters will decide who will fill Seats 1, 3 and 5 on the Briny Breezes Town Council.
Mayor Ted Gross on Sept. 26 proclaimed March 11, 2025, as the
New beach lighting rules — The Town Council on Sept. 26 approved amendments updating its ordinance on sea turtles and beach bonfires after discussing the matter at three monthly meetings and a workshop and a “second first reading” of the changes in A
Paul Smith of Crown Colony Club says summer is when the major repairs get done. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
With part-time residents gone, construction workers sweat, security people manage slower pace, and diehards enjoy the peace
By John
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released new flood zone maps, putting thousands more Palm Beach County residents into high-risk flood zones.
The new maps are effective Dec. 20, requiring property owners’ immediate attention, particularly
One idea to improve bike safety on sections of State Road A1A where there are no road shoulders is to install sharrows, which are already in use in Delray Beach near City Hall. The pavement symbols indicate cyclists may use the full lane. Photo provi
Ocean Ridge Police Chief Scott McClure (right) and Lt. Aaron Tobin talk with longtime resident Edith Behm before escorting her and other residents out of the Briny Breezes Town Council meeting last month. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Residents agitat
By Steve Plunkett
Briny Breezes is taking steps to clarify that fires on the beach are banned during turtle nesting season and require a permit from November through February.
After inconclusive discussions on April 25, May 23 and July 25 followed b
By Tao Woolfe
While celebrating its 15th year in business, The Coastal Star received 13 awards for excellence from the Florida Press Association, a nod to the paper’s reporters, photographers, and artists who are showing how the paper endures.
“These
A 2022 home in Ocean Ridge was built to a raised minimum elevation based on its flood zone. Under new FEMA flood maps that take effect in December, if this home were replaced, the new base level would have to be three feet higher -- and the ground fl
The Briny Breezes Town Council tentatively set the property tax rate for the coming fiscal year at $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value, the same rate as the current year and the one Town Manager Bill Thrasher recommended.
At the council’s July 25 meeti
Should bonfires be allowed on the beach?
The Briny Breezes Town Council will wrestle with the issue once again, this time in a workshop set for 4 p.m. Aug. 15.
Alderman Bill Birch and Alderwoman Kathy Gross had missed the council’s May 23 discussion,
