News

By Rich Pollack

After months of meeting virtually, municipal government leaders throughout south Palm Beach County are about to take their seats on a dais — but they won’t be getting too close.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to end an order that allowed

Jody Sorrels stands amid dance props at her shuttered studio in Boynton Beach. She hopes to teach somewhere else.

By Mary Hladky

When Jody Sorrels closed her Boynton Beach dance studio on March 17 because of the coronavirus pandemic, she expected to

By Mary Hladky

The city has received additional money that it is making available to residents who have fallen behind on their mortgage or rent because of COVID-19.
The state allocated the city $230,285 that it received through the federal CARES Act i

By Rich Pollack

Municipalities in southern Palm Beach County that are holding virtual meetings can continue to do so for another 30 days, but officials should be prepared to convene in person come Nov. 1.

An executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSanti

There are no high-fives in Julie O’Brien’s kindergarten class at St. Vincent Ferrer School. Ditto for circle time and close encounters.
Students, teachers and staff don masks, classes are smaller and there’s social distancing — not the easiest concep

The Rev. D. Brian Horgan of St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach has been on the front lines of war before as a chaplain in the Air Force early in his pastoral career. Now, with COVID-19, he feels like he’s in a war again.
The pandemic has chan

COVID-19 is far from done with Palm Beach County, but emergency room physician Dr. Bill Benda is less stressed than he was early on in the pandemic.
Doctors knew very little about the novel coronavirus or how to treat it in March. But the county’s sta

The threat of COVID-19 is always on Kevin Saxton’s mind, but the Delray Beach Fire Rescue battalion chief won’t let the highly contagious disease prevent him from fully serving the community.
“It’s something I think about all the time,” says Saxton, w

Sue Brown has undoubtedly encountered nearly every challenge in the restaurant business.
But COVID-19 was a game changer. Brown, the general manager of Oceano Kitchen in Lantana, had a lot more to worry about than inventory when the eatery had to halt

During the 20 years that Valerie Jacoby has been behind the counter of the Highland Beach Community Post Office, she’s gotten to know many of the residents.
Over the years, folks would come into the small-contract postal station, established in 1964

When Michael Varesio joined the ranks of Shipt shoppers in January, he never anticipated a pandemic that would turn him into an essential worker.
It was overwhelming: The 47-year-old Boynton Beach resident worked 61 days straight, took a day off, th

By Jane Smith

Delray Beach commissioners sent staff back to find more cost savings at an Aug. 11 budget workshop, even though the interim city manager advised that additional cuts could lead to layoffs. Commissioners were against using reserve money

By Dan Moffett

When it comes to preparing municipal budgets, Bill Thrasher has seen about every extreme South Florida has to offer.
Before taking over as Briny Breezes town manager in January, Thrasher spent 21 years as the manager next door in Gulf

Chef and restaurant owner Louie Bossi, who speaks openly about his recovery, is joined by staff members at Louie Bossi’s Ristorante in Boca Raton. Bossi often hires recovering addicts at his restaurants, and says at least three members of his staffs

The Wyndham Boca Raton and others ‘have been annihilated’ as never before, an industry executive says. Photo provided

By Mary Hladky

COVID-19 has slammed the Wyndham Boca Raton.
“It is grim,” said general manager Phillip DiPonio. His average occupan

By Mary Hladky

The city soon will be making available to residents federal funding it will receive to help those who have fallen behind on their mortgages or rent because of COVID-19.
The state allocated Boca Raton $317,332 that it received through th

By Mary Hladky

Virgin Trains USA has pushed out the expected completion of its Boca Raton station to early 2022, about a year later than company officials anticipated when the City Council approved a station construction deal in December.
Among the re