The finest spot in my thatched-roof bungalow was a white crochet hammock on the wooden porch. Only 10 feet from the sparkling Caribbean Sea, I was within constant earshot of crashing waves. Every free moment was spent swaying in the hammock, where I read my book or nodded off, stirring only to reach for a
Read MoreOn an unseasonably cool September night, a 16-year-old girl with a Kewpie doll face, curly brown locks and hazel eyes sat in the kitchen of her mother’s spacious single-family home inside a gated community in western Broward County. After finishing her math homework, Chloe grabbed a snack out of the stainless-steel refrigerator, quietly packed her
Read MoreWhen 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
Read MoreA Creek resident launches a nonprofit to help the Keys after Irma What began as a Facebook post asking for unused hurricane supplies soon became a nonprofit organization with long-reaching effects. Coconut Creek resident and Winston Park Elementary School teacher Krystal Langley began gathering goods for her hometown of Marathon, the day after Hurricane Irma
Read MoreThis past summer, Adyant Khanna, a junior at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, led a mission in India to provide clean water to more than 1,000 residents in three different villages. “My family is from India, and I’ve visited there for as long as I can remember,” he says. “It’s impossible not to notice the
Read MoreAs impressive as The Diplomat Beach Resort’s $100 million transformation seems on paper, it’s nothing compared to the sights and experiences awaiting travelers at a property that encompasses more than 1.6 million square feet. Everything about the renovation—including reimagined guest rooms, world-class restaurant additions and a sprawling, visually striking lobby area—speaks to a level of
Read MoreWith just a few words, 17-year-old Anh-Thu Le brings the room to silence. Not an easy feat, considering the room was packed with more than 200 guests from the county. Anh-Thu’s speech was part of the third annual Debate Initiative, a luncheon fundraiser for Broward County Public School’s debate programs. The Debate Initiative serves more
Read MoreThere were a few snags during Michael Sayih’s first race. It was a duathlon: a 5-kilometer run, followed by a 30-kilometer bicycle ride, followed by another 5k run. He was 5 and was strapped to the back of the tandem bicycle steered by his father, Jim. Jim found their position at the start line, braced
Read MoreSpecial for Lifestyle readers: Receive 25 percent off orders in January at floridacottonco.com by inserting the coupon code LifestyleVIP into your shopping cart. On paper, the résumé dots don’t connect. Why is someone who created and sold his own technology firm early in his prolific business career suddenly selling Egyptian cotton pullovers online? What
Read MoreYou might have seen videos of celebrities such as Tony Robbins or athletes such as LeBron James entering a metal, cylindrical chamber that looks like it came from a sci-fi movie. They’re not being cryogenically frozen; they’re undergoing a type of treatment called cryotherapy. Whole-body cryotherapy is a pain treatment that involves stripping down and
Read MoreWhen 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
Read MoreWith gently used soccer balls and cleats, Mica Wenger, a senior at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, helps give back by moving forward. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve watched my brother play competitive soccer,” she says. “Over the years, it’s been hard not to notice how easily his equipment would get destroyed
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