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Article: SOUTH FLORIDA Palm Beach preps for 'season' after hurricanes; Paradise lost as royal palms shaved, sand reconfigured
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- October 17, 2004
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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PALM BEACH, Fla. -- In this privileged oceanfront enclave,
appearances count. Ficus hedges are pruned with the precision of a
plastic surgeon's scalpel, and privacy is so zealously guarded that
real estate signs are restricted, by law, to dimensions smaller than
those of a business-size envelope.
But in the aftermath of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, the town is
looking decidedly disheveled.
Though the barrier island's signature royal palms are still
standing, their once-luxuriant crowns were trimmed by Frances, which
blew ashore Labor Day weekend, and given a buzz cut by Jeanne, which
hit three weeks later. Poolgoers at the reopened Chesterfield and
Colony hotels, accustomed to preening ...