Stet News🏛️ The Florida Legislature has voted to ban building things like pickleball courts, golf courses and big hotels at state parks. The State Park Preservation Act, HB 209, came in response to a state plan last year that would have put such developments in parks including Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. It now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis. (WUSF)
📺 WPTV Channel 5 has sold its downtown West Palm Beach building for $40 million to Related Ross, Wexford Real Estate Investors and Key International. Channel 5’s owner, EW Scripps, has at least 2.5 years to move out. The 4.7-acre site is at Banyan Boulevard and Australian Avenue. Interesting note: WPTV’s last site on the water at North Flagler Drive and Quadrille Boulevard is now the One Watermark high-rise. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🆓 We told you about the 18-month sentence handed down by a federal judge in West Palm Beach to Paul Walczak, son of local Republican donor Betsy Fago. Walczak was convicted of bilking the federal government out of nearly $11 million in taxes and sentenced on April 11. Less than two weeks later, President Donald Trump pardoned Walczak. (The New York Times $$$)
🏥 Five Tenet hospitals in Palm Beach County have filed a lawsuit accusing national hospital-rating organization Leapfrog Group of orchestrating a “pay-to-play” scheme, favoring hospitals that participate in its surveys and failing those that don’t. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
💎 The former Saks Fifth Avenue space in Palm Beach will be redeveloped as a hub for retail, boutique office and lifestyle offerings by O’Connor Capital Partners, a 42-year-old real estate development firm from New York. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🍽️ Restaurateur and coffee house owner Rodney Mayo finds himself in the center of a code enforcement dispute in Delray Beach in which the code director is asking to be treated as a whistleblower. (The Coastal Star)
💼 Coworking space and business incubator 1909 more than doubled its office space with a new headquarters in the 100-year-old Comeau Building, 319 Clematis St. The space includes 15 private offices, three conference rooms, multiple kitchens, game rooms and a 24/7 gym for members. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🎨 Just about every weekend, the amateurs and professionals of Urban Sketchers Palm Beach meet for an on-location “sketch off.’’ Urban sketching for them is like batting practice for professional baseball players. Now their work is showcased in an exhibit at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
