Stet NewsBrace for spring break! The state says this will be the busiest week. For you today, Gannett shows a top editor the door, the county manager will retire, a new beginning for West Palm Beach’s Currie Park, an oceanliner’s long goodbye and a chamber of commerce for creatives.
🥾 Gannett fires Palm Beach Post opinions chief
Backlash over an editorial cartoon deemed antisemitic led to the firing last month of The Palm Beach Post’s editorial page editor, Tony Doris.
The firing came just days after executives with the paper’s owner, Gannett, met in West Palm Beach to discuss the cartoon with representatives of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and the Anti-Defamation League.
Why it matters: In this era of cutbacks for local media outlets, publishers have become wary of controversy, refusing to take stands, for instance, on who should be president, or, in this case, whether an editorial cartoon takes criticism too far.
Catch up quick: Gannett, the nation’s largest daily newspaper publisher and operator of USA Today, did not respond to requests for comments. But its spokesperson, Lark-Marie Antón, told The New York Times that the cartoon “did not meet our standards.”
- She added that it “would not have been published if the proper protocols were followed.”
Doris, 67, who worked for the paper for 20 years and led the opinion section since 2021, said that no supervisor questioned his decision to run the cartoon. One of the people overseeing his work, former Executive Editor Rick Christie, has been named his interim replacement.
Doris said he viewed the cartoon by Jeff Danziger of Counterpoint Media, which ran on Jan. 26, as anti-Israel but not antisemitic.
What he’s saying: “They’re conflating criticism of the government of Israel with antisemitism,” Doris told Stet News. “I fully support Israel’s right to exist. … I think you can feel that way and still be open to discussion of the issue of violence that has taken place there. They don’t get to shut down the conversation just because they’re not comfortable with it.”
What the Jewish Federation is saying: The cartoon trivialized “the suffering of Israelis kidnapped and brutally held captive for 16 months” and “even worse, it spread dangerous antisemitic tropes, including the false and inflammatory accusation of bloodlust — a modern-day ‘blood libel’ used for centuries to incite hatred and violence against Jews.”
What the cartoon showed: Two Israeli soldiers help a hostage step over the bloody bodies of Palestinians with the headline, “Some Israeli Hostages Are Home After Over a Year of Merciless War,” and the words “Watch your step.” The bodies are labeled “Over 40 thousand Palestinians killed.”
Danziger, an 81-year-old veteran cartoonist, told Stet News the cartoon criticized war as a solution, a product of his experience as a Vietnam combat veteran.
Keep reading: Click here to find out why Tony Doris had been placed on probation over Gannett’s policy concerning presidential endorsements.
— Joel Engelhardt
🚪 Verdenia Baker steps down
Longtime Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker told county commissioners Friday that she is retiring.
Baker, 66, a county employee for 37 years and the top administrator since 2015, will leave her post at the end of May, she told Stet News.
What she’s saying: “I’m going to take some time for me and my family,” she said. “My husband is ready to travel.”
Why it matters: The county administrator oversees a $9 billion budget, including $1.5 billion from countywide property taxes. Her departure would end a remarkable string of 33 years in which the county has had just two people in the top job — Baker and her predecessor, Bob Weisman.
Of note: Baker started as a budget analyst and spent 15 years as Weisman’s deputy. She is the county’s first Black administrator. Her salary topped $460,000, The Palm Beach Post reported last year.
Baker said she leaves the seven county commissioners, including two newcomers elected in November, with potential successors among her top staff.
- Deputy Administrator Patrick Rutter, who Baker promoted last year, “would be very good,” she said. Assistant Administrators Todd Bonlarron and Isamí Ayala-Collazo, also promoted last year, are potential choices as well.
Zoom in: Baker cited dozens of accomplishments in an email Saturday to commissioners, including stewardship of grant money during COVID, construction of new county facilities and a second spring training baseball stadium and creation of workforce housing programs.
Yes, but: She also faced criticism last year over her staff’s handling of a minority hiring program and capital spending shortfalls.
- She faced calls to give commissioners more power, prompting a review to be led by Commissioner Maria Marino, who is now mayor.
- A proposal to publicly evaluate Baker remains as well.
What’s next: With commissioners heading to Tallahassee this week for Palm Beach County Day and the start of the legislative session, there’s no commission meeting until March 11.
— Joel Engelhardt
💡 What to do at the new Currie Park
The $35 million reconstruction of West Palm Beach’s waterfront Currie Park could finally begin in April, city leaders said last week.
Why it’s important: Planners are using the two years of construction before the 2027 opening to create programs that make the park a busy outdoor space that connects Northwood to downtown.
- They say the programming is as critical as the redesign to the success of the park.
Catch up quick: Currie Park has long been underused, falling into a resting place for unhoused people.
- The city fenced it off in February 2024 in anticipation that construction would begin.
- But it didn’t. In January, city commissioners approved a construction contract with West Construction of Lantana.
At the first of four community meetings, New York-based consultant Dan Biederman pointed to midtown Manhattan’s busy Bryant Park as a vision of what’s possible for the 14-acre park on North Flagler Drive.
What he’s saying: “There is no habit of going to Currie Park,” he told about 40 people who gathered Thursday at the Pleasant City Community Center. “It needs to be crowded with law-abiding users. In 2027, we need five to 10 to 15 things going on all day long.”
The plan for Currie Park includes an art plaza, tidal amphitheater, playground, events lawn, fitness areas, trails, native gardens and an expanded pier system. The memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the public boat ramp will remain at the park named for former West Palm Beach Mayor George Currie. He deeded the property to the city in 1920.
Sophia Kato, with Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, surveyed the audience on their preferences for the renewed park. The options are almost limitless, she said.
- Potential Currie Park programs include: fitness classes, music classes and performances, youth and adult sports, craft workshops, dance classes, pet activities, holiday events, yoga, markets, table games like chess and dominoes, cultural performances, drum circles, singles events, kayaking, toddler programs, movie nights, lawn games, historical and environmental education, comedy shows, fishing programs, music lessons, poetry readings and senior programming.
The $35 million cost is being paid for by the city, the CRA and state grants.
What’s next: Community Redevelopment Executive Director Christopher Roog said the city is waiting on a final environmental review by the state before construction can begin.
- More community meetings are planned. The next one is 6pm Thursday, March 31, at Safe Harbor Rybovich.
Read the 2021 Currie Park master plan here.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🚢 The final voyage of the SS United States
It was a bittersweet sight last week as a maritime masterpiece passed off the coast of Palm Beach County.
The SS United States, a 1950s ocean liner that garnered superlatives for speed, size and design, was under a slow tow to its last chapter above water.
Why it’s important: The ship once known as America’s Flagship left its berth at a Philadelphia pier Feb. 19 and was towed to the Atlantic, where it headed south around Florida’s Keys and then north to Mobile Bay.
- Plans are for it to be sunk off Destin, Fla., to become the world’s largest underwater reef after a stop in Mobile, Ala., to remove any remaining hazardous materials.
Yes, but: A group based in North Palm Beach wants to change that, and keep the “First Lady of the Seas” above water as a national monument, or at least, a multipurpose attraction.
What they’re saying: “This is the famous ship that didn’t sink,” said Carlos Camacho Jr., the communications director for the S.S. United States Preservation Foundation. Like the ill-fated Titanic, the United States was considered a marvel of ingenuity at its time. “It’s a testament to American shipbuilding and engineering.”
The ship arrived Monday in Mobile.
While Philadelphians are familiar with the ship that sat dormant for nearly 30 years, many who were watching it pass by were unaware of its notoriety.
Find out more: It’s going to be a lot harder than anticipated to turn the storied ship into a sunken reef, Jan Norris reports.
— Jan Norris
🍊 The Juice
🏘️ GL Homes is developing about 100 single-family homes on Huizenga Holdings’ property in the 10 blocks bordered by 40th Street, 45th Street, Broadway and North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. Separately, Huizenga is moving forward with four condo towers next to the two-tower Icon Marina Village at 44th Street. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
⚡️ Florida Power & Light is seeking a nearly $9 billion hike to customers’ base rates over four years, a sum that affordability advocates said represents the largest rate hike request in U.S. history. Under the proposal, typical residential customers would pay roughly $12 more monthly next year for their base rates. The rates would then increase each year for four years. (Tampa Bay Times $$$ via Sun Sentinel $$$)
📈 More than 12,000 condominium buildings in Florida are subject to new regulations put in place after the Surfside collapse to be inspected by the end of last year for structural problems. Fewer than 40% have disclosed the results of their inspections. (WLRN)
💰 The state subsidy to run Tri-Rail is running out. South Florida counties are being asked to pony up $10 million this year to cover an existing deficit. But the three counties, including Palm Beach, would need to cover an annual $90 million deficit as federal stimulus money dries up and state financing ends. (Sun Sentinel $$$)
🛤️ Meanwhile, Brightline expects to close by summer a licensing deal to let commuter trains run on its easternmost tracks in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Palm Beach County is not in negotiations because it doesn’t have the money. Miami-Dade officials plan to commit $337.8 million from transportation sales tax to establish the commuter rail. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🏥 Cleveland Clinic announced a $500 million campaign to build a downtown West Palm Beach hospital on Australian Avenue. It would replace Reflections towers at 400 and 450 S. Australian. Downtown developer Stephen Ross made a $50 million pledge toward the hospital and is in a partnership that paid $35 million for the Reflections complex in 2022. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
📺 With one week left in the regular season of TGL golf, an assessment of what is working and what is not for the league that plays at Palm Beach State University in Palm Beach Gardens. (The Athletic $$$)
🌈 561NSIDER: Free your mind at CreativeMornings
👋 Carolyn here. When Stet’s Liz Capozzi and I visited our first CreativeMorningsmeeting, the upbeat outdoor gathering felt too good to be true.
Why it’s important: For eight years, the Palm Beach branch of the international breakfast lecture series has gathered creative people one Friday a month for coffee, connection and reflection on a big idea.
- And no matter what you do, in CreativeMornings leaders’ eyes, you are creative.
CreativeMornings Palm Beach co-founder Jenni Schwartz moved to South Florida in 2016.
- Schwartz, the co-owner of a design studio, came from New York City, where the international volunteer organization began in 2008.
- She brought the idea with her, and a team of about 10 co-founders formed Chapter No. 140.
Today, the sun rises on CreativeMornings in 247 cities in 70 countries.
The organization is built on a simple concept: breakfast and a short talk one Friday a month. CreativeMornings are free thanks to the generosity of the venues and sponsors.
What they’re saying: “It’s an organization that’s cultivating our creative community,” Schwartz said. “It’s highlighting people who are making a difference in Palm Beach County, highlighting venues that you wouldn’t go to. We’re going into these really amazing spaces that are so excited to have us.”
In February, CreativeMornings speaker WLRN reporter Wilkine Brutus led about 100 people at Mathews Brewing Company through his reflection on Layers. February’s global theme was selected by a chapter in Switzerland.
- Every gathering is recorded and archived. See February’s meeting here.
What’s next: The creatives will gather at 8 am Friday in West Palm Beach to hear artist Camilla Webster. Her talk is part of the celebration of the first Women’s Art Week Palm Beach.
- Register for CreativeMornings Palm Beach here.
If you go: Say hello to Liz and me. We will be there.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
