Stet NewsWelcome back! For you today, two contenders for office in Palm Beach Gardens reflect on their past mistakes, a new trial for a former Palm Beach psychiatrist, a statewide journalism contest honors Stet News, a showcase of Black artists in West Palm Beach and a 20-year adventure at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre.
🔎 2 Gardens candidates have court records
Two of the four candidates for Palm Beach Gardens City Council have police records, one involving two domestic violence reports and two DUIs, the other a burglary and a disorderly conduct charge.
- Both served short stints in jail.
- Both say they’ve changed since those incidents and learned from them.
Yes, but: That’s where the similarities end.
Chuck Millar is the frontrunner for an open seat against firefighter John Kemp. He has endorsements from key business groups, has been running for nearly a year and has raised twice as much as Kemp.
Scott Gilow is a little-known candidate challenging incumbent Marcie Tinsley. He filed to run on the last day possible and has raised no money and campaigned little.
Millar, 65, has a court record based on statements nine years apart from two women, one his then-wife, describing him as hot-tempered and threatening; and two DUIs, one of which led to a 23-day stint in the Martin County Jail.
What’s he saying: “It’s not a good part of my life. It’s not who I am today.”
Gilow pleaded guilty to felony burglary and served 20 days in jail after he and some friends, at age 19, broke into a ski lodge near his Green Bay, Wis., home in 1994 and took ski equipment.
What’s he saying: “I was an overactive child. I’ve grown up. You can look at my record. … It’s in my past. It’s not my future.”
Stet’s Joel Engelhardt has combed through the court files and offers a detailed look at both candidates’ court records.
Read about Millar’s court record here.
Read about Gilow’s court record here.
Of note: Campaign contributions to Gardens candidates are online here.
Gardens residents can view their March 11 election ballot here.
– Joel Engelhardt
⚖️ Truth in sci-fi
A federal judge last week made good on his promise to order a new trial for Mark Agresti because the prosecution’s star witness lied to the jury about the former Palm Beach psychiatrist’s role in a $31 million health care scam.
U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II got to the point in the first sentence of his 27-page order.
What he ruled: “The famed science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein once wrote that the ‘slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time — and then shut up.’ The star witness in this case, Kenneth Bailynson, might have been wise to follow Heinlein’s advice — instead, he forgot to shut up.”
Instead, the 52-year-old accountant told more than a half-dozen fellow inmates, friends, crime partners and others that he lied about how much money he paid Agresti for what prosecutors claimed were hundreds of unnecessary tests for residents of a sober home Bailynson ran out of a dilapidated condominium in West Palm Beach.
The judge didn’t mince words. “As is now clear — largely because Bailynson decided to brag about it to anyone who would listen — Bailynson committed perjury,” Ruiz wrote.
What’s next? Ruiz will meet with prosecutors and Agresti’s attorneys on Feb. 12. Federal prosecutors, who don’t discuss pending cases, will likely indicate whether they plan to try Agresti a second time on 13 charges of health care fraud.
What about Bailynson? In exchange for his testimony against Agresti, he pleaded guilty in 2022 to one of the 14 charges he faced. He was handed what Ruiz described as a “lenient” six-year sentence with credit for the two years he had spent in lockup and has been free since July.
- While he could be charged with perjury, one of Agresti’s attorneys said it is unlikely.
As for Agresti: He was released from prison in August 2022, weeks after he began serving an eight-year sentence while FBI agents investigated reports that Bailynson told multiple people he lied. In January, state regulators revoked Agresti’s medical license because of his conviction.
– Jane Musgrave
🏆 Stet captures 4 awards
Stet News staff members won first prize for community news coverage and best newsletter in the 75th Florida Press Club awards, announced Saturday in Ocala.
Why it’s important: This statewide recognition for excellence in journalism – and feedback from our readers – tells us our work for you matters.
Stet co-founder Joel Engelhardt took first and second place for community news coverage.
- Joel won first place for his West Palm Beach stories last year, including the failed plan for a marina on the West Palm Beach waterfront and Vanderbilt’s interest in opening a campus here.
- He won second place for his coverage of Riviera Beach, including the city’s $665 million redevelopment plan and the proposal to rezone a yacht repair yard.
- Joel competed in the contest’s largest circulation category.
Stet staff’s first-prize-winning newsletters included exclusive coverage of the Margaritaville hotel planned in Riviera Beach, the Vanderbilt story and a developer’s intention to build twin 25-foot condo towers on Broadway in Riviera Beach.
- The prize covered entries from all news outlets.
Stet News also took second place in all size categories for best independent news site.
The contest’s top award, the Frances DeVore Award for Public Service, went to The Villages Daily Sun for telling the stories of the 172 people who died from Hurricane Ian, documenting 15% more deaths than the government found and that 90% were senior citizens, disabled, homeless or migrant workers. (See the stories.)
Keynote speaker Vivienne Serret, a University of Florida journalism student, told of her work exposing the extraordinary spending of former UF President Ben Sasse.
Many Stet contributors and friends were honored.
- Joe Capozzi, a Stet stalwart, won four first-place awards.
- Stet contributors Jane Musgrave, John Pacenti, Sharon Geltner and Janis Fontaine all took home awards for their work for other South Florida publications.
- Independent nonprofit news sites The Florida Trident and Florida Bulldog also won.
See the full list of awards here.
Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to the readers who support our work.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🎭 Spotlight on young Black artists
It’s Black History Month and West Palm Beach will celebrate with free live performances downtown.
Why it matters: These outdoor events amplify voices of young Black artists in our community. Residents who identify as Black or African American account for 31.5% of the city’s population, according to the Census Bureau.
The series, called “Black Art Matters,” will be at 6:30 pm every Thursday this month in the CityZen Garden, 400 Datura St.
- It is presented by the Downtown Development Authority.
Here’s the schedule:
Thursday: Vocalist Mikayla Smith
Smith is pursuing a vocal performance degree at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She earned the Young Artist Award from The Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook and was featured in Downbeat Magazine.
Feb 13: BSTEW Jazz Trio
The trio features pianist Bashaum Stewart, bassist Kirk Green and drummer Hosny Franck. They are known for their blend of traditional and contemporary jazz and their focus on original compositions and creative arrangements.
Feb 20: Interactive artist Jess Kirby
Kirby combines acrylic painting, digital design and animation to explore the themes of vision and connection. With a foundation in fine art and a background in animation from Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts, Kirby invites viewers to step into her imaginative realms.
Feb. 27: Afrique Ngozi Dance & Drum
Khinuu Nefer is a professional West African/Caribbean dancer, choreographer and founder of Afrique Ngozi Dance and Drum Inc. Based in Palm Beach County, Khinuu has over a decade of dance experience and teaches weekly West African Dance classes in Lake Worth.
The CityZen Garden opened in 2018 on the corner of Datura and South Dixie Highway as part of West Palm Beach’s Art in Public Places program.
- There is a small amphitheater, a zen garden and striking humanoid statues made of copper.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🍊 The Juice
🚨 West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James announced Monday that he’s naming interim Police Chief Tony Araujo, on loan from the county sheriff’s office, to take over the agency full-time. (WPTV, includes 25-minute video of news conference)
⛳️ London-based private equity firm Henderson Park closed its deal to buy the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, although the price, reportedly $425 million, was not disclosed. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🗳️ West Palm Beach City Commissioner Joe Peduzzi announced last week that he’s running for the open Palm Beach County Commission seat held by term-limited Gregg Weiss. Weiss recently announced that he’s running for West Palm Beach mayor. (Florida Politics)
🔬 Nobel laureate Thomas Südhof, a Stanford University School of Medicine professor, gave a lecture last week on the molecular logic of synaptic connections at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology in Jupiter.
🏗️ Four development teams, including one led by Stephen Ross, unveiled proposals Jan. 27 for more than 1 million square feet of residential, commercial and civic center uses on 30 acres in downtown Boca Raton. Ross, the developer of CityPlace in West Palm Beach, recently restructured his company and said the bid is part of the new company’s mission to further develop Palm Beach County. (South Florida Business Journal $$$ and focus on Ross in the Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🐍 Two lunar New Year celebrations are planned this month in West Palm Beach. The Norton Museum will host a free community day from 11 am to 4 pm Saturday to mark the Year of the Snake. The Downtown Development Authority is planning its first Lantern Festival on Feb. 15 at the CityZen Garden.
⭐️ 561NSIDER: Andrew Kato shines at the Maltz
Twenty years ago, Andrew Kato asked his partner if he wanted to leave New York to go on an adventure. “We packed up a U-Haul Beverly Hillbillies-style and moved into a small townhouse in Abacoa.”
Kato, then 40 and a powerhouse theater producer, and Milton and Tamar Maltz, the owners of Jupiter’s community theater, shared a vision for what the theater could be. The Maltzes had the money and they believed Kato was the man who could make it happen.
Why it’s important: The not-for-profit Maltz Jupiter Theatre is the state’s largest award-winning regional theater and one of Florida’s preeminent professional playhouses.
What’s happening: Now 60, Kato will celebrate 20 years at the Maltz Jupiter Theatreon Indiantown Road at State Road A1A in August.
“I don’t think people understand the depth of Andrew’s talent,” said Beth Neuhoff of Jupiter, a longtime Maltz subscriber and supporter. “In many ways, he’s like the Wizard of Oz pulling strings behind the curtain.”
Catch up quick: A recently completed $47 million renovation included a redesigned lobby, a gift shop, a box office, a deeper and wider main stage and expanded orchestra pit.
- A new third story of the center added 30,000-plus square feet, nearly doubling the theater’s size to more than 63,000 square feet with the same footprint. There’s also more space in the newly excavated basement.
Maltz is a producing theater, which means that everything you see on stage is created on site. The just completed run of “Frozen” wasn’t a national production with sets and costumes provided by Disney. The costumes and sets were constructed right here.
Keep reading: Stet’s Janis Fontaine has much more about Kato’s Jupiter adventure and what’s next for the theater. Read her story here.
– Janis Fontaine
