Passengers at the beach on Arizona Street inquire about the new electric vehicle shuttle now available in Hollywood. The Sun Shuttle, operated by Circuit, is available for free in downtown Hollywood, on Hollywood Beach and along Federal Highway. To catch a ride, passengers can download the Ride Circuit app, wave down a driver, or go to a designated pick up location. (Mike Stocker / Sun Sentinel) You may have heard that in life there are no free rides. Forget about that. In a growing number of South Florida cities, you really can ride for free. So you’ll have to forego air conditioni...

Cat Uden, a Hollywood activist and chairwoman of the local Surfrider chapter, says Hollywood's paddle boarding rules are among the strictest rules in the region. But that's about to change. (Courtesy/Cat Uden) For plenty of South Florida beaches, paddleboarders are just another part of the seascape. Not Hollywood, where you’re more likely to see a pretty umbrella in the sand than a swift paddleboarder in the ocean. Paddlers say that’s because Hollywood is known for having strict rules when it comes to their sport. That’s about to change. Paddlers, led by Surfrider champ Cat...

Robert Stillman, founder and CEO of FarFromBoring Promotional Products in Boca Raton, will begin buying back plastic straws as well as selling paper straws as an alternative to plastic. (File photo) As more municipalities and businesses move away from plastic straws, one company that already offers an alternative is offering to buy them back. FarFromBoring Hospitality is offering to swap out local establishments’ current stocks of up to 20,000 plastic straws. The company founded an alternative paper straw called rhino straws, which it says is eco-friendly and reasonably priced. It’s...

From March through October these creatures will return to their home beaches to lay eggs. Hollywood residents and beach visitors can help sea turtles during the nesting season by keeping beaches clean, being aware of nesting sites and reducing artificial lighting near beaches that can distract and confuse mothers and hatchlings. Sea turtle hatchlings use light and reflections from the moon to find their way to the water at night. Artificial lighting discourages adult females from nesting on the beach.

Crews work on the first of Hollywood’s new lifeguard stands on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. The tower sits next to an old stand at Liberty Street. Another new tower is at Azalea Terrace to the south. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Two lifeguard towers stand side by side on Hollywood beach, one old and one new. The battered wooden shack with faded yellow paint has weathered the elements for a quarter of a century. Just a few steps to the north sits the new arrival, a sign of things to come. By the end of the year, 21 stylish new towers will dot the beach. The new l...

Hope you are all doing well. I wanted to take a brief moment to officially announce the latest addition to our HBBA board of directors. At our last membership meeting there was a unanimous decision made to have Debra Case rejoin our team. Debra brings a wealth of experience, including past HBBA president along with serving as city commissioner for district one for the past 2 years. She also owns a great restaurant on the Broadwalk Ocean Alley! I am pleased and excited having her back as she will be chairing the CRA, Chamber of Commerce and Government affairs topics reporting...