The Coastal Star November 2014

Page 1

November 2014

Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach

Along the Coast

New drains, pumps, parking lots prevent flooding during king tides

Gulf Stream

The tide of change

Town pursues RICO case against litigious residents

By Cheryl Blackerby Docked at Delray Beach’s marina, the sleek yacht named Amen rose to just 6 inches below the top of the seawall as local residents anxiously watched the tide come in. The king tides, the highest of the year, peaked at 10 a.m. on Oct. 8 and washed across the nearby narrow lane of Marine Way. Concerned neighbors waited to see if the water would rise as high, or higher, than last October, when high tides flooded Marine Way and the houses across the road. It didn’t. There was a collective sigh as the water receded before their eyes an hour later. Amen. Coastal residents marked the dates on their calendars, Oct. 8 and 9, when the king tides would arrive. Last year, those tides brought a foot of sea water onto Lantana’s beach parking lot, flooded streets in Briny Breezes, and swept over a portion of A1A in Manalapan. Because of new pumps and drains, new sea walls and raised parking lots, residents were relieved to see mainly dry streets on Oct. 8. Delray Beach’s historic Marina District still saw See KING TIDE on page 16

WORKING: The town of Ocean Ridge spent $450,000 to finish a drainage and pump project last year on Coconut Lane, a street that used to flood on a regular basis. Photographed at peak high tide, the system is working. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

NOT YET: Sarah Mitchell looks for a better photographic angle in the waters flooding Marine Way in Delray Beach during an event held to highlight flooding impact. The city plans more improvements to help control flooding on this street and in other neighborhoods.

Manalapan

Arts, animals, people keep Pope on her toes By Emily J. Minor It’s a Thursday, just a little past mid-morning, and Lois Pope is watching the NASDAQ on a flat-screen TV hanging in her office. The television’s small, Lois Pope. Photo provided and clearly she could afford

Inside

Looking back

something bigger. But news is news. The market’s down, slightly, but nothing alarming. “I’ve always been interested in topical events,” says Pope, a major philanthropist who recently moved from western

Pay it Forward

Remembering the Mar Lago. Page 20

Our guide to society and charity events. Page AT2

A Boynton cemetery stroll. Page 25

Seawall suits: Collapses generate legal action. Page 9

Volume 7 Issue 11

Delray Beach back to her beloved Manalapan. “I’m a reader. Always have been.” She’s also a visionary, an athlete, an art lover, a onetime Broadway performer, a mother, a grandmother, a widow, a dog See POPE on page 5

By Dan Moffett

The hostilities between the town of Gulf Stream and two litigious residents appear destined to get a whole lot more hostile in the weeks ahead. And the case the town is preparing against Martin O’Boyle and Christopher O’Hare could ripple through dozens of communities across the state. Gulf Stream commissioners have given unanimous approval to a legal strategy that will invoke the federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute against O’Boyle and O’Hare, alleging they have engaged in a pattern of behavior intended to intimidate, harass and force settlements from public officials and governments. Beyond Gulf Stream, town officials say, the classaction RICO suit will allege that O’Boyle used a group he founded called the Citizens Awareness Foundation to generate settlements from frivolous public records suits across the state — in communities such as Fernandina Beach, Miami, Bradenton, Cutler Bay and Miami Lakes. “We thought this was about a feud in Gulf Stream,” said Mayor Scott Morgan. “But we learned it was a lot more.” Commissioners unanimously approved hiring a team of outside lawyers that includes Gerald Richman, a prominent West Palm Beach attorney, who will spearhead the federal RICO case. R ichman told the commission that O’Boyle and his Citizens Awareness Foundation had used a “scorched-earth strategy” See RICO on page 6

Alphabet soup A look at Delray’s agencies – CRA, DDA, DBMC. Pages 26-27

House of the Month: An Ocean Ridge home that offers a taste of the tropics. Page H23

‘Kiss of the Ocean’ explores art of the Panama Canal. Page AT11


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