Liz Capozzi🎓 Congratulations to the Class of 2025! The first of 33 Palm Beach County public high school graduation ceremonies start this afternoon with Indian Ridge and Palm Beach Virtual schools. The schedule is here.
For you today, a major setback for West Palm Beach’s decades-long drive to block the expansion of State Road 7, a $50 million offer for a North Palm Beach condo, 223 county administrator hopefuls, our youth summit report and artistic adornments at the Norton
🛣️ State Road 7 extension is an environmental go
An administrative law judge has ruled against the city of West Palm Beach’s challenge of an environmental permit for the extension of State Road 7 alongside the Ibis Golf and Country Club.
Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes found in favor of the Florida Department of Transportation, which has pursued the 4-mile road extension from 60th Street to Northlake Boulevard since the 1990s.
Why it’s important: The road would connect Okeechobee and Northlake boulevards on the west side of the city’s vast Grassy Waters Preserve, giving commuters an alternative route to avoid daily rush-hour backups.
Zoom in: Ffolkes’ 134-page ruling creates a record certain to play a role if the city appeals the ruling or challenges a permit to be considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Catch up quick: City officials have long argued against the extension on environmental grounds, saying the four-lane road would harm Grassy Waters. The roadway also is the third-rail of city politics, with elected officials fearing the loss of a key voting bloc at the 1,870-home Ibis community if they were to allow the road to be built.
Yes, but: The roadway is considered a critical alternative for daily traffic flowing from The Acreage, a community west of Ibis with 15,000 single-family homes between Okeechobee and Northlake boulevards.
Construction had been scheduled to begin in 2023. But as first reported by OnGardens.org, FDOT pushed the project back five years to await the outcome of the city’s challenge.
Of note: The trial took seven weeks over eight months from October 2023 to May 2024. Transcripts of the hearing with at least 30 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits filled 33 volumes.
- Fees for lawyers and expert witnesses undoubtedly will be in the millions of dollars, all paid by taxpayers.
Click here to keep reading and see the points the judge made to support her ruling.
— Joel Engelhardt
🗝️ Another incursion into Old Florida
A Miami developer has offered $50 million to the owners of three buildings at Shore Club, a North Palm Beach waterfront condominium.
Why it matters: With booming prices for residential development and limited supply, developers are making a play for property to redevelop along the Intracoastal Waterway throughout Palm Beach County. The effects will be seen for generations.
In a letter of intent obtained by Stet News, Mast Capital offered the 132 owners of Shore Club units $300,000 to $455,000 depending on the size and location of their home. Mast officials haven’t said what they want to build and didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Other new developments threatening to alter the last traces of Old Florida in many communities include:
- Bristol developer Al Adelson has offered $150 million to owners of Portofino waterfront condominiums in West Palm Beach.
- Miami-based Fort Partners paid $20 million for two aging apartment buildings between Washington Road and South Flagler Drive just north of the Southern Boulevard bridge in West Palm Beach.
- Related Group of Miami is preparing to build the 21-story, 39-unit Apogee condoon North Flagler Drive in the place of one single-family home.
Shore Club is a 55-and-over community east of U.S. 1 at Northlake Boulevard built in 1967.
- It is an attractive property because it is directly on the Intracoastal Waterway overlooking the Earman River.
- The complex falls under the state’s strict rules enacted after the 2021 collapse of the Surfside condo in Miami Shores that help make it a target for developers.
The condos are across the street from the planned Village Place mixed use project at the old Twin Cities Mall site.
Context: Mast Capital helped develop the Edera apartment complex at the former YMCA site on Congress Avenue in Palm Springs. A one-bedroom unit there starts at $2,100 a month.
What’s next: Condo owners will vote on whether to accept Mast’s offer.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
💼 The applications are in
More than 220 people applied to be the next Palm Beach County administrator.
Among the 223 candidates: Two high-ranking county administrators, Patrick Rutterand Isami Ayala-Collazo, and County Clerk and Comptroller Joe Abruzzo.
County officials expect about half will not make the first cut because they don’t meet the minimum criteria for the job.
- That will leave more than 100 applicants to be reviewed by a County Commission-appointed task force, which met for the first time Thursday.
Why it’s important: County government is one of the area’s largest employers, with 6,500 workers. It collects and spends $1.5 billion in property taxes as part of a $9 billion budget. The new administrator will answer only to the seven-member elected County Commission.
Zoom in: The task force picked longtime conservative business leader John R. Smith as its chairperson, with accountant Jay Nisberg as vice chairperson. County Commissioner Sara Baxter appointed Smith. Commissioner Gregg Weiss appointed Nisberg.
Catch up quick: The task force includes seven prime members and seven alternates. Members agreed to select two finalists each to narrow the pool to no more than 14. They are expected to interview finalists before submitting up to five names to county commissioners in early June. County commissioners will make the final decision.
The new administrator will replace Verdenia Baker, who announced Feb. 28 that she would retire May 31 after nearly 10 years in the job. Baker, an internal candidate, was selected over another internal candidate, Shannon LaRocque, after a national search in 2015.
What’s next: The task force scheduled its next meeting for 9:30 am May 14.
Click here to see the applicants
Click here to see a list of task force members
— Joel Engelhardt
📝 4 takeaways from last weekend’s youth summit
Saturday’s Stop Throwing Rocks at the Chain Gang summit offered wisdom and warnings to young people and ways for the community to help.
Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s criminal justice panel, which kicked off the day organized by Donte and Yolanda Bates, co-founders of the nonprofit Love, Hope and Healing, Inc.:
- The severity of mandatory minimums and zero tolerance laws. Assistant Public Defender and Chief of Youth Defense Maegan Young sees middle schoolers racking up a criminal record for something they may not even realize could be a crime: texting a threat to do harm at school or sharing a fight video or an indiscreet Snapchat of their boyfriend or girlfriend.
- “I’m speaking to the kids now. You don’t get second or third chances as a 14- or 15-year-old kid,” Riviera Beach Police Chief Michael Coleman said. “Now they’re going to adjudicate you as an adult for serious crimes.”
- Show up for a family member. Circuit Judge Bradley Harper said he often sees young people in his courtroom without anyone except perhaps a mother or grandmother to support them. “As a community, I implore you to stand by them,” defense attorney Young said, “even when they do make mistakes and they possibly may end up serving some time.”
- Show up for jury duty. The Palm Beach County court system has to call 100 jurors to get 20 to appear, the judge said. “When you fail to show up to serve on that jury, you have thrown away your responsibility to your community,” he said.
- Show up at a school board meeting to advocate for reading programs. The chief pointed out that half of all third-graders in Palm Beach County public schools cannot read at grade level. “There are two schools in my city that are at 19%,” Coleman said. “If you can’t read at third-grade level, you will have a hard, hard life.”
What they’re saying: “We wanted to create an environment where everybody – not just the youth – could learn,” Donte Bates said Monday. “I was so happy to see regular people who came out of nowhere and they want to be involved.”
What’s next: Enrollment is open for Love, Hope and Healing’s youth summer camps at Keiser University and Palm Beach State College. More information is available here.
The next summit will be April 18, 2026.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🍊 The Juice
🚫 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)
561NSIDER: 👑 Norton offers art to be worn
The Norton Museum of Art’s latest exhibition comes from French collector Diane Venet.
Her relationships with some of the most famous artists of the 20th century, including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, resulted in a rare collection of more than 150 pieces of jewelry by 140 artists, which she helped arrange at the West Palm Beach museum.
Why it’s important: Visitors can see how the jewelry would look adorning their arms or hanging around their necks through the unique placement of some pieces.
What they’ll see:
- Charms by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
- Headpieces by Claude Lalanne and Man Ray.
- Brooches by Salvador Dali and Dorothea Tanning.
- Pendants by Frank Stella and Kenny Scharf.
What they’re saying: “The story of this collection is largely that of my friendships in the art world over the past 40 years,” Venet said in a press release. She called the collection “an intimate museum that I can take everywhere with me and the treasure trove which I can find on my return home.”
Zoom in: “Optic Topic,” a shimmering gold mask by Man Ray, mimics a race car driver’s mask, with alien-like perforations instead of eye slots.
- A 23-karat gold pendant by Picasso, called “The Great Faun,” takes on the shape and colors of the sun, with a wry smile.
Where to see it: The exhibit is on display until Oct. 5 at the museum, 1450 S. Dixie Hwy. Tickets are $18 but West Palm Beach residents get in free on Saturdays.
Click here to read more about the unique jewelry on display at the Norton.
— Erik Kvarnberg
Joel invites Stet lovers to say hello from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday, May 10, at the Loxahatchee River History Day at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum. There will be guest speakers, demonstrations and living history exhibits. He’ll be at the table for the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
