Ocean Ridge News

Debi Preston-Jarvis' two-year lease was up on her Hummer, so she bought another one.

The Woolbright Road bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Boynton Beach will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic through early September, county engineers said.

The Sand Sifters' July beach clearing has a patriotic theme. Volunteers are invited to help clean up the beach after Independence Day activities by removing spent fireworks and other litter left behind from 8 ...

Music teachers generally agree that Robert Sheldon is one of the most performed composers of wind band music today.

Storm spotters this morning saw waterspouts form briefly off the coast of Boca Raton and Delray Beach, according to the National Weather Service.

All kinds of reconnaissance missions were carried out Thursday when Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama visited a Boca Raton synagogue to reassure skeptical Jewish voters.

After Town Manager Ken Schenck broke his ankle in three places, the town had to appoint former manager Bill Mathis in the interim. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“The bridge may be in a stage where there may not be anything to drive over”

The Woolbright Avenue bridge will close for three months of repairs just as hurricane and summer beach seasons start. via Palm Beach Post

Sara Ross Skillern, 45, Ocean Ridge: She became a first-time mom at 43. Her son, Ross, is now 2. She's been married to Eric, 50, for six years. via Palm Beach Post

Police Chief Edward Hillery sent out a notice to all residents to remember to set their alarms after three homes in the same area of town were burglarized in the past week. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Ocean Ridge Garden Club is getting down and dirty with maintenance projects throughout the town.

The all-volunteer group of 40 green thumbs started in the 1960s.

'It's not just a social organization,' said club president Zoanne Hennigan. 'We are trying to educate ourselves on horticulture and help our community.' In February, the club started providing input to the town's landscapers on upcoming projects. 'They have the expertise in gardening and knowing different types of plants and I don't,' Town Manager Ken Schenck said. 'Any help they can provide, we appreciate.' One project involves restoring native plants to the dunes along the coast. The exotic plants that sometimes grow along the dunes crowd out native plants that help protect against erosion, said garden club member and Town Commissioner Terry Brown. The club will work with property owners to see if they are willing to plant native landscaping. Read more

“If it's just for aesthetically to make the area most pleasing, then groups of people banding together at the same time is a more cost effective way of doing it”

There's at least one old-fashioned feature many residents in Palm Beach County don't find too charming: overhead power lines.

'It would be lovely to not have them,' said Ocean Ridge resident Christina DeAngelo. 'It just seems so 1950s when I see those poles out there.' Homeowners in Ocean Ridge and beyond are paying out-of-pocket to get their lines buried, sometimes costing them tens of thousands of dollars. Whether or not to bury overhead lines is something facing many South Florida towns, many of which try to get Florida Power & Light Co. to cover some of the cost. Read more

Arriving our first afternoon, we quickly unloaded our luggage at Dennis and Patti's home in Ocean Ridge, Florida, with hopes of getting to beach as fast as possible. via Associated Content

PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE JOHN MCCAIN IS DUE IN PALM BEACH COUNTY LATER TODAY . via WBZT-AM West Palm Beach

“If he is the candidate, many Jewish voters that I've heard have some reservations”

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain will stop in Palm Beach County on Monday to raise money from pro-Israel donors amid Republican talk of improving the party's fortunes with overwhelmingly ... via Palm Beach Post

“What's that overpowering cheese smell?”

News item: Palm Beach County commissioners tentatively approved a plan that requires taxi and limousine drivers to pass a proficiency test in English and local geography to be licensed to drive here. via Palm Beach Post

South Florida Business Journal - by Ed Duggan The real estate meltdown continues, but pockets of Palm Beach County are bubbling with new projects. via South Florida Business Journal

“I'm not saying it's not harmful, but there are a lot of things more harmful they could spend money to ban”

The cigarette butts, the smell. That can be tolerated. The maintenance costs and the health issues smoking is generating, though, are a different story. via Palm Beach Post

“I think my comments should still apply”

Ocean Ridge has decided to continue doing business with a civil engineering firm at the center of a recent corruption scandal in Palm Beach County .

West Palm Beach-based SFRN Inc., which has been under contract with Ocean Ridge since 2001, works on major town projects, including an ongoing $6 million drainage project that improves water flow throughout the low-lying town.

The firm, which changed its name in January to Engenuity Group Inc., according to state records, was involved in a corruption scandal that is sending former Palm Beach County Commissioner Warren Newell to prison for five years. Newell helped found SFRN and caused controversy by not declaring conflicts of interest between his work at SFRN and county business. Read more

“You know how they say snowbirds are wealthy? Well, most of them live in small one-bedroom condos or mobile homes. They came to Florida decades ago, when it was affordable. Well, it's not affordable anymore”

Despite hours of testimony from home and business owners angry about their hefty property tax bills, Florida's powerful tax commission on Monday rejected a plan to impose spending caps on government or require ... via South Florida Sun-Sentinel