More than 20 years ago, Joan and Bob Nast often would visit local hospitals and pray for sick children. Though they saw many children recover and go on to lead happy lives, they also saw a lot of pain—pain they felt they could help alleviate in some way. “Bobby and I said to each other
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The Hideaway stands out amid the changing winds of downtown Fort Lauderdale. The speakeasy-style bar, juxtaposed with the construction of modern high-rise apartment complexes nearby, makes its home in the Bryan Building, a sturdy brick structure named for Thomas Bryan, one of Fort Lauderdale’s pioneers. The building, protected by its inclusion in the National Register
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Though her arc on the reality-competition show may not have ended the way she had hoped, Brooke Simpson found nothing unlucky about Season 13 of NBC’s “The Voice.” Her journey to the finals (she finished third) resulted in two No. 1 recordings on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart (“O Holy Night” and “Amazing Grace”), nearly
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On the days when she dons her traditional white chef’s coat, it can be said that Paula DaSilva wears her heart under her sleeves instead of on them. That’s because the Coconut Creek resident and chef de cuisine at Burlock Coast on Fort Lauderdale Beach has three (visible) tattoos on her arms that give glimpses
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The president of the Coral Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce admits with a laugh that the chamber didn’t do anything special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its incorporation in 2017. But Cindy Brief notes that something special did happen—a partnership that unites two cities. In August, the chamber announced that it had integrated with
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When Lyons Creek Middle School last year received its first A grade since 2010, Principal Horace Hamm and his team of teachers and administrators started the school year celebrating. But something gnawed at Hamm: The latest student data showed more than a third of the school’s nearly 2,000 students weren’t performing at grade-level. “We wanted
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Creek’s Eduardo Souza shares some long-distance insights on the eve of the butterfly run Eduardo Souza isn’t one to let himself fall behind. When his mother, then in her early 60s, started running and placed in a local church race, he realized that nothing was stopping him from winning races as well. He started small
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It’s been more than 20 years since Jeff Sandler and Vinny Munno, then mobile DJs living in Boca Raton, were searching for a place to call their own in South Florida. They made it a habit to check out large, empty buildings that were available for rent, look inside, and maybe even call the agent
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Some people need to find their talent before they translate it into a calling. Not Shelly Berg. The dean of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music could play piano with two hands before he even started attending Cleveland Institute of Music at age 6. “If you had asked me when I was 6
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When Erika Valbuena first told her students that they would be part of Coconut Creek’s first art show for students with special needs, many of them couldn’t contain their excitement, asking her every day when they could start on their creations. As the autism coach at Tradewinds Elementary School, Valbuena always looks for ways to
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Coconut Creek resident Irene Feldman had no idea that a trip to the cardiologist would lead to 10 years of generosity. Every holiday season since that visit a decade ago, Feldman has donated toys to needy children through the Fort Lauderdale-based Children’s Aid Club. “There was a sign on the door [from the Children’s Aid
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In the late 1960s and early ’70s, the young city of Coconut Creek saw an explosion of growth in education. Coconut Creek Elementary debuted in 1968, Coconut Creek High School opened its doors in 1972, and Atlantic Technical College followed one year later. Another higher-education entity planted roots during this era—Broward College’s North Campus, then
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