Stet NewsGood morning. Busy week. For you today, Tampa General’s objectives, an unpublished letter to the editor, what last week’s elections mean in Gardens and Jupiter, lots of fresh Juice and Happy Sunshine Week!
🏥 Why Tampa General is here
For insight into why Tampa General Hospital is buying doctor’s practices and investing in Palm Beach County, we offer short takes from Tampa General CEO John Couris, who once led Jupiter Medical Center.
Couris hosted about 150 doctors, health care professionals and community members for dinner and a presentation Wednesday at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion.
He emphasized the academic nature of Tampa General, a 981-bed not-for-profit hospital and academic health system based since 1927 on Hillsborough Bay in Tampa. Here are some of his comments:
1. Why is Tampa General investing heavily in Palm Beach County?
“Now, what you probably hear a lot of … from other systems is, we’re coming to Palm Beach, because the Palm Beach residents, they need and want world class health care. … My comment to those folks who do say that and only say that, is, ‘Why aren’t you in Lake Okeechobee? Why aren’t you taking care of migrant workers? Why aren’t you in the sugar cane fields helping those patients out? Because you’re not here for everybody. You’re here because this part of Palm Beach is wealthy, well-heeled. It’s a great demographic.’”
2. Why not build a hospital here?
“Right now we’re feeling like maybe that’s not the right decision. … We’re going to be building clinics that are going to dot the landscape from, I’m giving you my perspective, from basically Boca to Tequesta and everything in between. We’ll build a massive ambulatory network, surgery centers, imaging centers, clinics, think, everything but a hospital. Why not partner with the hospitals that are already in the community? Why would we unnecessarily compete?”
3. Why partner with Mass General Brigham, the hospital system where Couris got his professional start, on a 20,000-square-foot oncology center in Legacy Place in Palm Beach Gardens?
“We’re building out a very traditional, classical world class academic health system for the entire state with Mass General Brigham. This is just the start. There is a much bigger vision at play. … This is not like we’re just coming here for a little swath of the geography. We’re coming here and we’re going to stay here, and we’re going to design it in a way that’s for everybody.”
Couris had more to say about why Tampa General is partnering with the Health Care District of Palm Beach County to run Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade. Click here to see the rest of the story.
— Joel Engelhardt
📬 Civic leaders protest editor’s firing
Former leaders of the ACLU of Florida have written to the editor of The Palm Beach Post calling the firing of its editorial page editor “shameful and dangerous.”
- But in a widely circulated email, West Palm Beach attorney Louis Silber said last week that the newspaper declined to publish the letter.
Why it matters: The firing of Tony Doris comes as an independent press is under pressure from governments, legal challenges and shrinking public trust.
What they’re saying: Silber wrote in his email that The Post and owner Gannett media company “displayed a lack of courage by not standing up for one of its journalists, and then censoring a letter that disclosed this shameful conduct.”
Catch up quick: Gannett terminated Doris in February after he approved publication of a syndicated cartoon condemned as antisemitic.
- The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County took out a full page ad in The Post saying the cartoon 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.”
- The group’s local leadership met with Gannett executives to express their concerns.
Doris, 68, had been editorial page editor since April 2021. He told Stet News he viewed the cartoon by Jeff Danziger of Counterpoint Media, which appeared on Jan. 26, as anti-Israel but not antisemitic.
The letter writers agreed. Silber and his colleagues wrote, “The so-called reasoning for Mr. Doris’ termination was the implication the cartoon was antisemitic. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
“The Israel/Gaza war is unquestionably divisive. However, censorship of one’s views, intimidation and the termination of a journalist will do nothing to eliminate antisemitism,” they wrote.
Of note: The letter is signed by Silber, past co-chair of two Anti-Defamation League events; James Green, past president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida; retired state Executive Director Howard Simon; and retired Palm Beach County Circuit and appellate Judge Fred Hazouri, a recipient of the ADL jurisprudence award.
The other side: The Post cited a policy against publishing letters about “internal policies” and “personnel decisions,” Silber wrote.
When reached Monday, Rick Christie, statewide opinion editor for Gannett and interim Palm Beach Post editorial page editor, declined to comment.
Read the letter to the editor here.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
Stet co-founders Carolyn DiPaolo and Joel Engelhardt are former staff members of The Palm Beach Post.
🍫 Hoffman’s flagship Greenacres location closes
After more than four decades, Hoffman’s Chocolates closed its store Friday on Lake Worth Road in Greenacres.
“They sold the property to Saito Facility three years ago, March 2022,” said Kip Hunter, Hoffman’s spokesperson. “The new owners have plans for the property,” she said, and they don’t include the beloved chocolate factory and shop.
Five other Hoffman’s Chocolates stores remain open, including three in Palm Beach County, she said.
Hoffman’s began in 1975 as a tiny shop in downtown Lake Worth Beach, created by Paul Hoffman, an engineer. He moved it to the Greenacres location and expanded it to a factory where the public could watch the chocolates being made. It soon became a tourist destination.
It remained in the family until 2013, when it was sold to BBX Capital Corp. BBX took the corporate brand under its Las Olas Confections.
Hunter said for the last two years, the company’s chocolates have been made in Orlando by Las Olas Confections.
The flagship shop’s closing came as a shock to many in the area, who remember making a special trip to there at the holidays, watching through the window as factory workers made chocolate Santas or Easter bunnies.
The owners put on an elaborate Christmas light and music display, Hoffman’s Winter Wonderland, in the lush garden next to the Swiss-chalet style building, with kid-friendly activities — and free hot chocolate.
Hoffman’s is also known for producing more than 70 specialty chocolates, including elaborate holiday boxes, panoramic Easter eggs hand decorated with the children’s names, and enormous Easter baskets, cited by national food magazines as among the tops in the country.
They produce candies for restricted diets, such as sugar-free or nut-free, as well as a certified kosher line of confections.
Hoffman’s Chocolates shops are open in Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Plantation and Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
— Jan Norris
Editor’s note: This story was updated with the correct location where the company’s chocolates are made.
💂🏼♀️ A changing of the Gardens
There’s a shakeup coming to Palm Beach Gardens city government.
Voters broke with the establishment-backed candidate, Chuck Millar, and elected county firefighter John Kemp on March 11.
Yes, but: The county firefighters union, of which Kemp has been a member for 27 years, and the longtime Gardens city manager, Ron Ferris, do not get along.
- Ferris even blamed the union last year for opposition to his proposal to annex neighborhoods with 8,300 residents. The city’s neighbors voted resoundingly against annexation.
Why it matters: Ferris, 78, has led Gardens for nearly 25 years, making him the longest-serving city manager in the county.
- One of his most staunch supporters, Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed, campaigned for Millar against Kemp and even posted a blog championing city firefighters over county firefighters that proved so controversial she removed it days later.
What’s next? One of the new council’s first tasks will be to decide if the term-limited Reed will get a fourth consecutive year as ceremonial mayor.
Zoom in: Reed endorsed incumbent Marcie Tinsley, who won election to her second consecutive three-year term easily over newcomer Scott Gilow. But last year, a three-vote majority led by Reed skipped over Tinsley in promoting council newcomer Dana Middleton to vice mayor.
What he’s saying: “I’m looking forward to bringing the voice back to the people and more openness on the council,” Kemp told Stet News. “We need more transparency. We need more open communication during meetings.”
Keep reading: More details on the new relationships in one of the county’s largest cities here.
— Joel Engelhardt
🚒 Jupiter residents ready to fight fire with their own department
Jupiter voters have reelected Mayor Jim Kuretski and Council Member Malise Sundstrom, both supporters of the town’s plan to create its own fire services starting in October 2026.
- Kuretski won with 56% of the vote against county firefighter and Council Member Cameron May.
- Sundstrom secured 52% of the vote, avoiding a runoff.
In District 1, Phyllis Choy (44%) and Teri Grooms (40%) will face off in a March 25 runoff.
Why it matters: The election results solidify Jupiter’s commitment to breaking away from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and starting its own department by October 2026.
What they’re saying: Jupiter residents “want us to move forward with creating our fire rescue department. There’s no doubt about that,” Kuretski said. “They (opponents) gave it their best. Voters said ‘no, thank you. We’re happy with the direction the town is going.’”
Sundstrom had warned that any delay in building the fire department “puts our public safety at risk.”
Of note: After 24 years on the council, Kuretski, 70, is vowing not to run again.
What’s next: A decision on preservation of the historically significant 10-acre Suni Sands property along the Loxahatchee River. Kuretski said he hopes to see 4 acres go into public ownership, while property owner Charles Modica has proposed building a hotel, condos and stores.
Continue reading: See May’s comments and check in with the candidates for the runoff here.
— Laurie Mermet
🍊The Juice
🛒 Two years ago, Stet reported that Related’s Stephen Ross was buying land north of Banyan Boulevard in downtown West Palm Beach. Now we know why. The block on Rosemary Avenue at the entry to the historically Black Northwest Neighborhood is where he wants to build a larger Publix. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🎟️ Related also is working with Live Nation to build an indoor entertainment complex on the property immediately east of the Publix site — the Palm Beach County-owned courthouse surface parking lot. The news came as Related broke ground Wednesday on two CityPlace office towers with 1 million square feet of offices. (The Palm Beach Post$$$)
🤖 Silicon Valley-based software company ServiceNow is exploring a major expansion in West Palm Beach. The firm employs 26,000 people. (Bloomberg via Yahoo News)
🎥 The mayor of Miami Beach is proposing to terminate a lease agreement and discontinue thousands of dollars in financial support for an independent film theater after it screened an Oscar-winning documentary, “No Other Land.” The film about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis offers “a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents,” Mayor Steven Meiner said. (Miami Herald $$$)
💵 Myosin Therapeutics, a Jupiter-based biotech company developing medications to treat brain cancer and meth addiction, secured $3 million from investors. CEO Courtney Miller is a professor at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
⁉️ Insurance regulators struggle to explain why a stunning 2022 report revealed by the Tampa Bay Times in February wasn’t made public. The report said companies made billions while raising premiums for Florida property owners. (Florida Politics)
☀️ 561NSIDER: Sunlight, the best disinfectant
👋 Carolyn here, to talk about Sunshine Week, a national event that celebrates the role of open public records in a democracy.
Why it matters: Access to public records is essential to government accountability.
Here are four examples of Stet News’ records-driven reporting from the last year:
💵 In April, Joel reported that Palm Beach Gardens had ended an agreement with a developer to build a fieldhouse at Gardens North County District Park after negotiationshit a snag over financing.
- The city had not announced the termination of the agreement with Mammoth Fieldhouse and had not presented it for discussion at City Council meetings. But Joel pored through months of city emails to document the project’s demise.
🪜 In May, Joel dug up city records showing that the transformation of the historic Harriet Himmel Theater at CityPlace into a food hall would eliminate the stairway to the 1926 church’s north entrance.
🐢 In September, Joel reported the details of a contract to clear-cut 14 acres at Gardens North County District Park in August where a daily park visitor worried that the city may have destroyed the habitat of gopher tortoises.
- The other side: The city said a licensed gopher tortoise inspector in March 2024 found no tortoises on the site, where the city now intends to build a fieldhouse and parking lot. But city records revealed the city had not followed state rules in initiating the project.
🌴 Public records requests from Stet yielded a contract that confirmed that West Palm Beach hired a consultant to conduct a public study last year of the downtown waterfront after a disastrous effort to contract for a marina there.
- In December, I used a public records request to obtain a 78-page draft copy of the still yet-to-be-released final report on the waterfront.
Of note: Sunshine Week is a nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, education, government and private sectors.
- It has its roots in Florida, building on Sunshine Sunday launched by newspaper editors in 2002.
- The observance is coordinated by the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.
The bottom line: We are proud to join in promoting the significance of government transparency and your right to know.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
⚾️ And, finally, we leave you with a spring training season feature from friend of Stet Joe Capozzi: A Roger Dean Stadium clubhouse attendant says he found unopened Cardinals fan mail in the trash in 2014. Guess what he did next. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
