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Fay business briefs

Palm Beach Post staff reports

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Think of it as a not-so-dry run before the next storm.

Gas stations filled up, and air traffic was controlled. A Palm Beach Gardens theater reported a full house as patrons squeezed between raindrops. And the malls? A life preserver.

"We're a logical place to come when we have bad weather," said Jim McCarten, general manager of The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens , which reported a busier-than-usual Tuesday.

After being cooped up inside for almost a day by Tropical Storm Fay, 35-year-old Lake Worth resident Joni Livingston, her husband and two children - ages 4 and 5 - drove to The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington.

"It's kind of hard to stay cooped up all day with two young kids," Livingston said.

In another part of Wellington Green, Elizabeth Diaz of Pinehurst , N.C. , sat in a chair with her 8-year-old son Edward on her lap. She and her husband had tried to leave town and head back home to escape the storm Tuesday morning but were blocked by an accident on Interstate 95.

Instead, she was at the mall, "just killing time before we drive home," Diaz said.

The Gardens Mall, the Boynton Beach Mall and the Town Center at Boca Raton all reported a busy Tuesday. And a box-office worker at Cobb Theatres in Palm Beach Gardens reported business was up by 50 percent.

Fueling those trips was not an issue, said Jim Smith, CEO and president of the Tallahassee-based Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

Some panic buying occurred Monday, including instances in which motorists filled as many as 20 5-gallon gas cans. But supplies were plentiful.

"After 2005, you can bet there is never going to be a problem with supply," said Smith, referring to shortages that ignited statewide criticism following Hurricane Wilma. "We learned. We know we have to be better prepared."

Palm Beach International Airport experienced just a few delays and cancellations due to Tropical Storm Fay, said Bob McNamara, operations director of PBIA.

By 11 a.m. Tuesday, most flights were running close to schedule, McNamara said.

"We're surprised how well it is going," he said.

Will Beck, owner of Sea Tow Services of the Palm Beaches, reported "some damage, but it's not the sort of things we've seen in the past with hurricane-force winds."

True, some boats came unmoored. Gregory Reynolds, executive director of Lagoon Keepers, a nonprofit group, said he knew of about a dozen boats that are "not where the owner left them, that's for sure."

But marinas weathered the storm well, he said.

"It wasn't terribly traumatic," said Beck.

Fay played rougher in Martin and St. Lucie counties, where Martin Memorial Health Systems closed its outlying facilities such as diagnostic imaging and rehabilitation centers.

Seacoast National Bank closed at 1:30 p.m. The bank branches were high and dry, said Susan Bergstrom, a bank vice president and marketing director.

"It's more of a concern that our employees get home safely," said Bergstrom.

Staff writers Allison Ross, Susan Salisbury and Phil Galewitz contributed to this story.