22Editor’s E ditor’sNote/Coastal Note Star
The COASTAL STAR
November June2019 2019
Coastal Star Publisher Jerry Lower publisher@thecoastalstar.com
Advertising Executives Mike Mastropietro Jay Nuszer
Executive Editor Mary Kate Leming editor@thecoastalstar.com
News Operations Tracy Allerton Chad Armstrong Sara Babb Kathleen Bell Brad Betker Jodi MacNeal Steve Plunkett Victoria Preuss Michelle Quigley Clare Shore Scott Simmons Michele Smith Margot Street Tom Warnke Amy Woods
Advertising Manager Chris Bellard sales@thecoastalstar.com Managing Editors Henry Fitzgerald henry@thecoastalstar.com Mary Thurwachter maryt@thecoastalstar.com Founding Partners Carolyn & Price Patton
www.thecoastalstar.com
The Coastal Star is a monthly newspaper with two editions serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and coastal Delray Beach; Highland Beach and coastal Boca Raton. ©2008-2019
Send letters, opinions and news tips to news@thecoastalstar.com The Coastal Star 5114 N Ocean Blvd. Ocean Ridge, FL 33435 561-337-1553
Editor’s Note
Summer might be slower — but it’s not unimportant
S
ea turtle tracks are on the beach and TV weather maps already show suspicious-looking bright blobs in the Atlantic. The steady hum of air conditioners is all around and even the finest restaurants are offering enticing dining deals. It must be summer. Less traffic, more parking, cheaper admission. What’s not to love? Soon the ocean will be warm enough for natives to swim in and the predictable afternoon thunderstorms will pass, casting rainbows on balmy evenings. Now is the time of year when our publication scales back to allow our advertisers and employees to take vacations if they choose. As a result, we plan to produce a smaller newspaper each month. Beginning this month, expect two sections instead of three and know that some of your favorite columnists will be taking brief sabbaticals. It’s all planned. Nothing to worry about. All is good at The Coastal Star. We’re just trimming the sails for a smooth cruise through summer. That doesn’t mean we’ll stop covering news. Not at all. The summer months are when municipalities begin budget talks — discussions that decide how your tax dollars will be spent in the
coming year. We’ll be at those meetings and will write about what your elected officials decide. If you’re here year-round, we hope to see you there. It’s your money; make sure your voice is heard. And make sure the calm of summer isn’t used as cover for sneaking personal agendas through without input from seasonal residents. It happens. And, of course, we’ll write about more than budget news. We’ll also continue to find fascinating people to profile, interesting stories about our area to share and, as always, we’ll bring you information on coming events. Our advertisers will be around too, and you can count on them to show you the most attractive real estate along the coast and keep you informed about the year-round (and seasonal) services they provide to our community. So, even though many of us have vacations planned and we expect to deliver fewer pages in each monthly edition, we’ll still be around — as long as hurricane season is kind and the air conditioner keeps working!
Mary Kate Leming, Editor
Correction A May edition story about the second phase of Delray Beach’s beach master plan was wrong on the location where West Construction was deemed unresponsive; the problematic contract was for the first phase of the Northeast Second Avenue project.
Sweet Dream Makers founder Suzy Broad gets financial support from Neil Gillman and logistical help and donations from Marc Schiller of City Mattress. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Sweet Dream Makers on a mission to provide beds for kids in need By Janis Fontaine There is no substitute for a good night’s sleep. You can’t buy one. You can’t pay someone to sleep for you. Something happens when we sleep. We heal. We learn. We adapt. We solve problems. And we dream. No one knows exactly why, but experts do know sleep is just as critical as food and water. Fatigue from too little sleep increases the risk of accidents and injuries, and sleep deprivation contributes to the development of heart disease and other medical problems. For children, sleep is even more critical. Their brains are still maturing, and they’re constantly challenged with new learning and experiences. Teachers will tell you a child needs two things to set him up to learn: a good night’s sleep and breakfast. There’s a network of food pantries and free school breakfast programs working hard to get kids the nutrition their brains need to grow. On the sleep side, there’s Suzy Broad and Sweet Dream Makers. A dozen years ago, the former advertising executive volunteered at her synagogue, Boca Raton’s Temple Beth El. One of the first families she helped taught her a lot about the challenges families living at the poverty level face. Broad, 54, realized she had given them lamps but no light bulbs, and school supplies but no desk to work at or cabinet to store them. But Broad had also given a little girl in that family a bed. The house was in disarray, but the girl’s bed was neatly made, her new teddy bear propped lovingly on her pillow. Broad had an “aha moment.” Could there actually be a need for beds? There was. A big need. To fill it, Broad started what would become the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Sweet Dream Makers, which
NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR Send a note to news@thecoastalstar. com or call 337-1553. has given away nearly 3,000 beds so far. SDM grew so quickly it became Broad’s full-time job. Broad, who lives in Boca Raton, found her biggest hurdle was always logistics: Delivering and setting up beds and picking up donated used furniture required a truck and driver, some heavy lifters and bed assemblers, and a storage unit. Marc Schiller of City Mattress, who was looking for a local charity to support, heard about Sweet Dream Makers from a friend. Both he and Broad knew their partnership was meant to be after they met. Now Schiller, who lives in coastal Delray Beach, has filled the gap in the logistics area, and benefactors Neil and Doris Gillman have garnered financial support. Neil Gillman, who heard Broad speak about SDM at a meeting of the Boca West Foundation, told his wife, Doris, who immediately picked up the phone to call Broad. Since then the Gillmans have rallied around SDM, Broad said, and Doris gets the credit for connecting SDM with Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Now SDM ensures every baby born there goes home to a crib or other safe, sanitary place to sleep. In December, the Gillmans hosted the second annual “Be a Sweet Dream Maker Celebration” at their home in Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club. The event, which honored Schiller, raised more than $200,000, enough for about 600 beds. Broad, Schiller and the Gillmans sleep better knowing they’re helping other people sleep better. To connect with SDM, call Broad at 571-7363 or email her at suzyb@sweetdreammakers.org. Ú