Stores had a feel for the fabric of a community
Fran Prescott buys fabric at Joann’s in Riverwalk Plaza in Boynton Beach. ‘It’s a disaster,’ she says of the impending closings. ‘There are no other stores like this.’ Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coast
Stores had a feel for the fabric of a community
Fran Prescott buys fabric at Joann’s in Riverwalk Plaza in Boynton Beach. ‘It’s a disaster,’ she says of the impending closings. ‘There are no other stores like this.’ Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coast
Purchases in tens of millions of dollars aren’t immune from the wrecker’s ball
David MacNeil paid $38.5 million for an oceanfront house in Manalapan only to raze it, leaving the empty lot to the left. Now, he plans to buy the partially completed hous
Leneita Fix, executive director at The Reef Institute in West Palm Beach, with a miniature version of the Atlantic Ocean. The institute is advising Delray Beach on which coral to use to restore its reef. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
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Women relax under the buttonwood tree in this 1928 photo. The tree still stands at the center of the park in Boca Raton’s Por La Mar. Photo provided by Boca Raton Historical Society BELOW: Sherry, Joshua and Ken Lerner (l-r) with the tree during the
Spring is the season of comings and goings. Winter visitors will soon be leaving South County as they do every year. Even the moon left us, hiding in Earth’s shadow for about an hour on March 14 in the only lunar eclipse we could see here in 2025.
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Carol Besler is president of the StarBright Civic Collective, a nonprofit that has funded emergency medical training for Ocean Ridge police and classes for residents. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Kathleen Kernicky
Carol Besler was always mindful
The Coastal Star is converting all of its delivery to single-family homes, going from newspapers in plastic bags thrown in driveways to having U.S. Postal Service delivery in mailboxes.
We are doing this to improve service to our readers and adverti
I’ve lived in Highland Beach for 26 years. In spite of all the new and improved infrastructure put in place to deter it — the latest of which is pedestrian-activated warning lights installed at no small expense — vehicles continue to fly through cros
Firefighter Jesse Rivero was sworn in March 24 by Town Attorney Max Lohman. Rivero’s wife, Kerri, held the Bible. Mary Thurwachter/The Coastal Star
By Mary Thurwachter
Newcomer Jesse Rivero, a 50-year-old firefighter, defeated veteran Town Council me
By Steve Plunkett
Briny Breezes Town Manager Bill Thrasher is preparing a budget for fiscal year 2026 that will raise town property taxes to $6.75 per $1,000 of taxable value, up 80% from the current $3.75 rate.
“Its purpose is for covering debt serv
It took this southbound driver more than six minutes to clear State Road A1A tunnel construction about 5 p.m. March 26, even with signal timing adjustments made for the heavier southbound traffic flow. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Larry Barszewski
By Steve Plunkett
Town residents, acting as shareholders of Briny Breezes Inc., strongly endorsed allowing the town government to proceed with its plan to make “material alteration” of Briny Breezes, meaning its drainage and sea wall project.
The Feb
By Brian Biggane
The South Palm Beach Town Council heard 30-minute presentations March 13 from a pair of engineering firms regarding the long-awaited construction of a new lift station.
As Mayor Bonnie Fischer put it after the vote at the special mee
Town commissioners begin new terms — While voters in some towns were going to the polls March 11 to elect town officials, Manalapan Town Clerk Erika Petersen started the day swearing in Mayor John Deese and Commissioners Simone Bonutti, Cindy McMacki
Dog ban persists after split vote — Both the beginning and the end of the South Palm Beach Town Council meeting in March featured moves to rescind an ordinance adopted in September 2023 prohibiting dogs from being on Town Hall property.
Council membe
Ocean Ridge residents are upset that some dog owners are bringing their pets to the beach against town rules. They insist town officials enforce the rules and increase patrols to keep dogs off the beach. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
By Mary Thurwachter
Lantana police officers will add three in-car cameras to their fleet, thanks to the Town Council, which authorized the purchase on March 10.
Cost of the cameras, from Axon Enterprise, Inc., is $36,842 and funds have already been b
By Steve Plunkett
Work on Phase 2 of the town’s $13 million water main, drainage and road project — affecting homes on the east side of Gulf Stream’s Core area — did not start as expected in March, a delay that will push construction into 2026.
How f
New vice mayor — As the Lantana Town Council reorganized for the upcoming year, Kem Mason was selected by fellow council members to serve as vice mayor.
Chris Castle was chosen March 24 as vice mayor pro tem.
Mason is beginning his second three-yea
By John Pacenti
With the Florida Department of Transportation starting to repave East Ocean Avenue in March, Ocean Ridge Mayor Geoff Pugh wanted to make sure FDOT officials were aware of flooding on the road — especially during king tides.
The $1.3 m