November 2016
Serving Hypoluxo Island, South Palm Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Gulf Stream and Coastal Delray Beach
Along the Coast
LIVING ON THE COAST comes with a potential FLOOD WARNING
Travel relief: South Florida projects set for completion Roadwork to wrap as Brightline comes onboard and airports upgrade
Ocean Ridge
What lies ahead for vice mayor after arrest? By Dan Moffett
By Mary Hladky If there’s one constant in South Florida, it’s the neverending hassle to get from Point A to Point B. Woefully inadequate public transit forces people to remain behind the wheels of their cars. All those cars clog roads and highways. An accident can bring Interstate 95 to a standstill for hours. Road construction intended to make things better brings with it detours and delays. But 2017 is expected to usher in the completion of some major projects that will bring some relief. No cure-all, mind you. Enough, though, to ease the burden a bit — until the next major disruption comes along. Mark your calendars for a big one. Construction of I-95 express lanes will extend into Palm Beach County in 2018, as existing HOV lanes are converted into two express lanes in each direction. While the project will move into the southern part of the county that year, most of the work — from just south of Glades Road to Linton Boulevard — is scheduled to launch in 2020. Drivers using the lanes will pay a toll using SunPass, with the amount varying depending on how congested the express lanes are. Toll amounts for Palm Beach County have not yet been announced. For those commuters who want nothing more than to never venture onto I-95 again, All Aboard Florida’s Brightline is promising to begin train service next summer between Miami and See TRANSPORT on page 22
Volume 9 Issue 11
Sara Wilkinson, visiting her old neighborhood, steps into floodwaters generated by king tides at Marina Delray, along the Intracoastal Waterway. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
King tides expected to rise Nov. 14, 15 and 16 to near October levels By Cheryl Blackerby South Florida got two worrisome weather alarms in October: a warning in advance of Hurricane Matthew and, two weeks later, a National Weather Service coastal flood advisory for king tides. Coastal residents usually don’t pay as much attention to king tides as they do to dramatic TV graphics tracking hurricanes across the Atlantic, although high tides can cause tremendous damage on the coast. But king tides are starting to get their due. Alarmed by flooded streets on clear days
and waves that wash over docks and seawalls, coastal residents have become increasingly familiar with the phenomenon of king tides, the name for the highest tides of the year, which occur in the fall. Flood advisories, issued to coastal community officials and residents, have been given in the last few years by the National Weather Service because of increasing problems with street flooding, sometimes as high as 1 or 2 feet. The king tides, a five- to seven-day event that happens at the full and new moons in See TIDES on page 21
Inside
A quiet Saturday night on an Ocean Ridge patio ended with gunshots, the vice mayor bloodied and handcuffed, a senior police lieutenant under investigation, two officers seeking treatment for injuries and a town roiling again in political turmoil. Ocean Ridge residents who complain about visitors from the mainland bringing trouble across the bridge have a new worry. It appears the town is capable of bringing it on itself. The quiet night by the sea turned raucous shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 22, when Lucibella police responded to reports of gunshots on Old Ocean Boulevard, and officers went to the rear of Vice Mayor Richard Lucibella’s home to investigate. There they found Lucibella and one of their department’s supervisors, Lt. Steven Wohlfiel, “obviously intoxicated based upon their demeanor and behavior,” according to police reports that cited beer and mixed drinks on a table between the men. Officers Richard Ermeri and Nubia Plesnik say Lucibella was holding a black .40-caliber Glock handgun and greeted them with a barrage of obscenities. Police say the vice mayor also had a small silver handgun in his back pocket. Plesnik said she found five shell casings on the patio, hollow-point rounds that police believe were fired from Lucibella’s Glock. They say they found seven live rounds in a magazine that holds 12. Wohlfiel used an expletive in ordering the officers “to get out of here” and told them he did not want to make a statement, according to Sgt. Bill Hallahan, who was also at the scene. “You put us in a very bad situation, Lieutenant,” Ermeri See ARREST on page 13
Nature’s shell game
Place of gratitude
One woman’s dedication energizes Boynton’s Community Caring Center. Page H1
Native visions
Flagler Museum hosts exhibition of images by Edward Curtis. Page AT9
A look at the beautiful treasures of the beaches. Page AT1
House of the Month A jewel of a unit at Ocean Ridge’s Portofino. Page H23