Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
July 2019
Volume 12 Issue 7
South Palm Beach
Along the Coast
South Palm approves merger deal with sheriff By Dan Moffett
Clayton Peart of Universal Beach Services rakes sargassum into the sand on Delray Beach’s beach. The sargassum, which began to arrive in February, helps preserve the beach and protect and nourish sea turtles. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Sargassum more friend than foe
Influx may be ‘new normal,’ force beachgoers to adapt By Cheryl Blackerby Scientists say sargassum, a goldenbrown seaweed, is overwhelmingly a beneficial and essential part of the environment. But what had been a small scattering of seaweed in summer months years ago is now piles of seaweed arriving on beaches starting in winter. When the sargassum rolled onto Florida beaches in early February, some snowbirds were irate. The seaweed is ugly, it smells, it brings
plastic and other trash tangled in the mats, say beach residents, and it mars the white beaches that are Florida’s tourism bread and butter. Others are worried that the seaweed is disturbing turtle nests. So far it hasn’t. To make matters worse, a new species of sargassum is piling up on South Florida’s beaches, and that isn’t good news for beachgoers. Scientists have confirmed there are now three species of sargassum coming from two places, not just the traditional species originating in the Sargasso Sea — which means there’s a lot more of it. Two species ride the currents from the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic to
Florida, but the third species comes from the equatorial Atlantic. This sargassum, which has thicker mats and broader leaves, first arrived in 2011, the result of an enormous, unprecedented seaweed bloom that now stretches from Brazil to Africa and up to the Caribbean and Florida. “This seems to be somewhat of a new normal, and we don’t know how long it might go on. But the world is changing,” said Dr. Amy Siuda, assistant professor of marine science at Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. “It likely has to do with climate change, and we have to adapt as humans to these changes. Unfortunately, See SARGASSUM on page 10
After running its own police department for more than a halfcentury, the town of South Palm Beach has decided to join forces with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The Town Council voted 4-1 on June 18 to approve a draft contract for services with the sheriff that would begin on Oct. 1 and run for 10 years. Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan voted against the merger agreement, saying she wanted to see the final version of the contract before considering approval. “I just hope everybody is happy with us moving forward in this town,” said Mayor Bonnie Fischer. “It was a big step but I think it’s going to be good.” Interim Town Manager Robert Kellogg told the council the deal could save the town as much as $1 million over the first five years of the contract. The terms call for the town paying the Sheriff’s Office $1.05 million for the first year, with 2 percent increases the following two years. The agreement sets a 5 percent limit on increases for the last seven years. Council members credited Kellogg and Town Attorney Glen Torcivia, who oversaw Lake Worth Beach’s switch to the Sheriff’s Office a decade ago, with negotiating the 10year commitment, an unusually See SHERIFF on page 13
Hypoluxo Island
Don Edge at his Hypoluxo Island home, which he designed and built 60 years ago. Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star
Architect outlasts landmark designs By Ron Hayes
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On a cold January afternoon in 1952, a young man named Donald Edge stepped off a curb in downtown Detroit and landed in West Palm Beach. “I was leaving home in the dark and getting home in the dark,” he remembers, “so when I stepped into that pile of slush, I said, ‘That’s it, I’m going to Florida.’” Edge arrived in town that year with a degree in
THE NUMBERS ARE IN Interpreting newly released census, property value and crime figures. Pages 14-15
architecture from the University of Michigan, a few months’ experience as a draftsman for a boss he didn’t love, a new brown Chevy with a mortgage on it, and $100 in his pocket. He was 24 then. He is 92 now. In the 68 years between, Don Edge helped create Manalapan’s swanky La Coquille Club, where the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa stands today. See EDGE on page 12
Summer dining deals
Hungry? Area restaurants are offering specials that help you beat the heat. Page AT1
Nightlife hub?
Delray grapples with transition to ‘bar town’ late at night. Page 19