Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
April 2017
Volume 10 Issue 4
Local Airports
President’s visits disrupt busy airports By Rich Pollack
When situations are normal, the two-hour Angel Flight that pilot Kelly Gottlieb flies to Gainesville a few times a year with a passenger who needs special medical treatment is fairly routine.
These days, however, normal has been redefined for pilots like Gottlieb who fly out of Palm Beach County Park Airport at Lantana, thanks to temporary flight restrictions activated every time President Donald Trump is in town. Now, Gottlieb says the
certainty of the free flight she’s planning for a woman later this month is, well, up in the air because the airport for all intents and purposes is shut down during the president’s weekend visits to his “winter See AIRPORTS on page 24
Boca Raton Airport has seen an increase in traffic because of temporary flight restrictions impacting the area’s heavily traveled airspace. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Spring has Sprung
Along the Coast
Homelessness taxing efforts of providers By Mary Hladky
Twenty minutes before lunch was served, homeless men, women and a few children began lining up outside the Caring Kitchen in Delray Beach. A few chit-chatted and a man and woman with a disagreement shouted at each other, but most waited silently. Precisely at 11:30 a.m., the doors opened and the people filed in past a table with free toiletries. Franklin Nelson, an Army veteran who was volunteering at the hot meals program that day in February, exchanged pleasantries with each person and made sure the line moved smoothly. Other volunteers ladled pasta with meat sauce, salad and a piece of garlic toast into Styrofoam containers. After taking one, each person could then head to the dessert table, where more volunteers offered homemade cookies and chocolate cake. Some people sat to eat at tables squeezed
Children look at an inflatable shark as kites fill the sky during the Air Waves kite-flying event March 18 at Boynton Beach’s Oceanfront Park. The kites were mostly designs of aquatic creatures. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
INSIDE: Have fun with grandkids, AT1
See HOMELESS on page 22
Summer Camp Guide, H13
Along the Coast
Councils seat new members after decisions too close to call
Lantana recount upholds 2-vote victory By Mary Thurwachter Newcomer Edward Shropshire edged out incumbent Lantana council member Tom Deringer by two votes in the March 14 election. Shropshire won 262 votes to Deringer’s 260. That razor-thin margin triggered a recount three days later on St. Patrick’s Day.
Deringer, who says he has some Irish blood, was hoping for a little luck to give him the victory. But that didn’t happen. Initial results held up and Shropshire remained the victor. “I’m just happy it’s over,” Shropshire said. “I worked hard, went door-to-door, See LANTANA on page 18
Briny draws name from bag to pick alderman By Dan Moffett
For what is believed to be the first time in its 54-year history, Briny Breezes had to invoke Provision 32-32.15b to fill a seat on its Town Council. Provision 32-32.15b? That’s the section in the town’s code that tells how to handle things when council
members deadlock over appointing an alderman. How do you handle things? The answer is somewhat biblical: You “cast lots,” the code says. It’s something Briny’s founders put in place to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. See BRINY on page 18
Inside What’s blooming at the beach? Flowering plants also nourish dunes. Page H1
‘Pirates’ in West Palm
Palm Beach Opera takes to the high seas with classic tale. Page AT11
A familiar face for Gulf Stream town manager. Page 11 South Palm’s vice mayor, 51, dies. Page 30
Hypoluxo Island history
Reinstituted Brown Wrapper takes a look back. Page 27