May 2016
Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
Along the Coast
Manalapan
Not everyone happy with Publix impact
Teeing off
for summer
By Dan Moffett
ABOVE: Golfers roll in to The Little Club for the first Little Cup tournament in Gulf Stream. TOP: The tournament trophy remains at The Little Club since no overall winner was awarded. Photos by Taylor Jones/The Coastal Star
First ‘Little Cup’ a pleasant competition By Brian Biggane Gulf Stream Golf Club member Andy Laidlaw offered a smile when asked if the first Little Cup golf tournament, contested in early April at The Little Club in Gulf Stream, offered an opportunity to network for its 40 competitors. “It’s more of a social event,” he replied. “The people that are here are done networking.” A well-heeled clientele representing nine clubs — most of them either east of the Intracoastal or close to it — enjoyed a low-key afternoon of fellowship and fun on a relatively cool, breezy day on the par-3 layout. “It was great,” said Charlie Begg of The Ocean Club, which fielded a four-man team despite the club’s absence of a golf course. “Everybody had a great time. Beautiful weather, and the course is in great shape.” The tournament came about when Little Club members John Lynch and John Smith got together with Michael Mullin of neighboring St. Andrew’s and kicked around ideas for an event to celebrate the end of the season. “We thought we’d call 10 of our buddies and ask if they’d like to bring a foursome up here,” said Lynch, who teamed with fellow Little Club member Jay Carey to win the two-ball event with a low score of 43. They teamed with Smith and John Doering of Indian Creek to win the four-ball with a net of 40. “About half of us know each other already,” Mullin said. “This way we mixed it up a little.” While the original plan was to have teams play as fourSee GOLF on page 14
See PUBLIX on page 17
Along the Coast
By Dan Moffett
Tom Rubel of The Ocean Club at the tee at The Little Club.
Preliminary results of a barrier island fire district study suggest that six coastal communities could benefit from joining forces to provide their own services, Gulf Stream Town Manager William Thrasher said. “There seems to be an opportunity for more efficient service at a reduced combined cost,” Thrasher said. “But there’ll need to be a redistribution of the costs.” The study, released in April by Texas-based Matrix Consulting Group, examined how much the six communities — Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Briny Breezes, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan and South Palm Beach — pay mainland providers for fire-rescue services and what the towns get for their See FIRE on page 16
Full sail
Younger at the top
Average age plunges on Boynton Beach commission. Page 19
House of the Month
Manalapan town commissioners say they’re delighted to be negotiating with Publix to bring a supermarket to their Plaza del Mar. There is just one thing, however. They say they want it to be a Manalapan sort of Publix, and that could require some extra negotiating. So, at their April 26 meeting, the commissioners postponed giving final approval to an ordinance that would have allowed Publix to erect its trademark sign in the plaza, as they grappled with a flurry of newly minted worries: What about delivery trucks? What about the traffic and hours of operation? What about the displacement of other merchants? What about that familiar green-and-white Publix sign? And yes, what about the impact on the character of Manalapan itself? Come to think of it, there is more than just one thing. “It’s not that we don’t want Publix —
Barrier islands’ fire study points to potential savings
Inside
Gulf Stream house offers oceanfront vistas. Page H19
Volume 9 Issue 5
Six decades
Give Mom time
Here are things the two of you can do together. Page AT1
Chafin Musicenter marks 60 years of tunes. Page AT9
Meet the folks who keep their catamarans at the north end of Delray’s beach. Page H1