Stet NewsGood morning, Stetters near and far. For you today, finding God in recovery, new names for Southern Boulevard and new momentum for State Road 7. Plus good news about your favorite Stet.
⛪️ How ‘Drunk Church’ grew into a booming recovery movement
In 2011, an alcoholic pastor felt called to start a new kind of church: One run by addicts for addicts. Called Recovery Church, it blended the teachings of two life-changing books: The Bible and “The Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Why it matters: Philip Dvorak of Jupiter is that pastor. Today his tiny movement is spreading across the United States and to Canada and Costa Rica. At the end of 2024, the Recovery Church Movement had 81 congregations under its umbrella.
Back story: Recovery Church began when the reluctant preacher was recruited by a secular addiction treatment facility to establish a Christian program within its walls. Members held their first service in the middle of the work week and the response was good. Dvorak said he was surprised by the number of people who had never heard the gospel.
His parishioners started calling the weekly meeting “Drunk Church,” telling others, “You may have been to church drunk, but you’ve never been to Drunk Church.”
Dvorak took Drunk Church out of the treatment center and into the public.
- The first services packed Common Grounds coffee shop in Lake Worth Beach. Alcoholics and addicts in varying stages of recovery spilled onto the sidewalks.
- Pastor Phil and his team baptized dozens of faithful in a kiddie pool in the alley behind the coffee shop over the next few months.
As the Christian addiction ministry gained momentum, Dvorak politely declined people who urged him to start a second location. Dvorak had a wife and growing family and more work than he could do.
Finally, a group of men who drove down from Vero Beach every week begged Dvorak to start a church farther north. He still said no, but he agreed to help them start their own location.
Today, more than 4,000 people attend Recovery Church services each week, Dvorak said.
- Last year, the church baptized more than 900 people.
Keep reading to learn what makes Recovery Church successful at StetNews.org.
– Janis Fontaine
🛣️ Palm Beach County considers Trump Boulevard today
The state Legislature paved the way to add an honorary designation to Southern Boulevard from Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago for President Donald J. Trump.
- Palm Beach County commissioners will vote on the designation today.
Also on the agenda: A vote to rename a portion of the western stretch of Southern as the PBSO Motorman Highway for three Palm Beach County sheriff’s officers — Cpl. Luis Paez and deputies Ralph “Butch” Waller and Ignacio “Dan” Diaz — killed there in November.
Why it matters: The naming would be a mark of pride for Trump supporters and a mark of shame for his detractors. The designation would be honorary, meaning businesses would not need to change their addresses.
Zoom in: Legislation signed into law June 13 by Gov. Ron DeSantis requires that all municipalities along the highway sign off on the designation. But even though county commissioners haven’t voted and neither West Palm nor Palm Beach have scheduled it for consideration, Google maps already refers to the highway by its unapproved moniker.
What they’re saying: “I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle,” said Thomas Strauser, who argued in an email to commissioners that the road shouldn’t be named for a felon.
Zoom out: A 2020 proposal to rename Palm Beach International Airport for Trump went nowhere. In 2022, a bill to designate the U.S. 27 from Georgia to Miami for the former president also died.
Of note: The name changes will occur under the consent agenda early in the meeting, which starts at 9:30 am, and can be viewed on Channel 20 here.
What’s next: Once the various governments sign off, the Florida Department of Transportation is charged with designing, constructing and installing honorary road markers.
Read more on the machinations behind today’s vote at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
📋 Exclusive: State Road 7 extension permit granted
The South Florida Water Management District is all-in on the environmental permit needed to extend State Road 7 to Northlake Boulevard.
Catch up quick: In a 79-page order last week, the district’s top attorney, Maricruz Fincher, rejected all but one small part of 29 challenges put forth by West Palm Beach tothe May 1 decision of Florida Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes.
Why it matters: Ffolkes’ recommended order is now final, clearing a critical hurdle to the long-awaited construction of a four-lane extension of State Road 7 from Okeechobee Boulevard to Northlake.
- The failure to build the extension after decades of wrangling plays a role in the lack of options for thousands of drivers preparing for the closure of the CSX Railway tracks at Northlake. Officials now say the eight-day closure will not begin before Aug. 1.
Zoom in: The city had to show that Ffolkes’ decisions after a seven-week trial “were not based upon competent substantial evidence” or the proceedings “did not comply with essential requirements of law.”
Fincher found fault with Ffolkes in just one instance: The recommended order cited testimony from a state witness who did not testify but whose findings were mentioned by another state witness. Fincher ordered that the finding be reworded, concluding: “Unlike the city, however, the district finds this error to be immaterial to the (administrative law judge’s) ultimate findings and conclusions.”
Zoom out: West Palm Beach officials have long argued against the extension on environmental grounds, saying the four-lane road would harm Grassy Waters Preserve. 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 allow the road to be built.
Of note: The legal challenges forced the Florida Department of Transportation to push back construction from 2023 to 2028 at the earliest. The permit request was submitted in 2021.
What’s next: West Palm Beach, led by Tampa attorney Edward de la Parte, has 30 days to challenge the order to the 4th District Court of Appeal.
Keep reading to see examples of what the city contested at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🍊The Juice
💰 Related Ross is seeking $1.3 million from West Palm Beach to help transform the historic Hibiscus House property near CityPlace into a $13 million destination restaurant. (The Palm Beach Post $$$
🏖️ Benny’s on the Beach is asking Lake Worth Beach for a $50,000 rent waiver while it closes its Oceanwalk restaurant in October for renovation. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
🚧 Vanderbilt University, which is planning a West Palm Beach and New York Citycampus, is launching a 40-acre campus expansion in Midtown Nashville, Tenn. (The Vanderbilt Hustler)
🎭 The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival is back in Jupiter this weekend with “A Winter’s Tale.” (Palm Beach ArtsPaper)
🎥 CMX Cinemas, owners of movie theaters in Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington, filed June 30 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
📖 Former Palm Beach Post columnist Leslie Streeter will talk about her new novel, “Family and Other Calamities,” with WLRN’s Wilkine Brutus at 6:30pm Wednesday. The conversation at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach is free, no registration required. (Facebook)
Cultural critic Hap Erstein, one of Palm Beach County’s most prolific writers, died Saturday. He collapsed last week at a theater where he had gone to do a movie review. He was 74. (Florida Theater on Stage)
🎙️ This week’s episode of the “Top of Mind Florida” podcast is a conversation with state Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Stuart, who just announced he is running for Florida Senate in 2028. He discusses property tax reform and his role in crafting a potential constitutional amendment. Listen here.
561NSIDER: 🎉 Stet News a finalist for 3 statewide awards
We are happy to share that Stet News is a finalist in three categories of a prestigious statewide competition.
Why it matters: The Sunshine State Awards are Florida’s oldest and largest recognition of excellence in journalism.
The categories where Stet is a finalist are:
🌐 Independent news website — StetNews.org.
- Entries are judged on overall value to readers and depth and originality of news content.
✉️ Digital newsletter — Stet News’ weekly newsletter.
- We entered newsletters that covered Palm Beach Gardens’ decision to lease a neighborhood park for an ice rink, the dismantling of the historic steps at the landmark Harriet Himmel Theatre in CityPlace and the heart-health of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw when he was seeking reelection.
- Stet news partner WLRN’s The arts newsletter by Alyssa Ramos is also a finalist.
🕵🏼♂️ Community beat reporting — Stet Co-founder Joel Engelhardt.
- Joel’s stories covered Juno Beach’s crackdown on public comments at meetings and the fallout that led to the resignation of a council member.
- Stet contributor Joe Capozzi is also a finalist in this category for his work at ByJoeCapozzi.com.
Of note: Joe is a finalist in another category, obituary reporting, for his story about Willie Parson, “the mayor of Clematis Street.”
Flashback: Joel won first place in the Sunshine State Awards last year for reporting about the environment, science and technology, an award he shared with FAU student journalist Jessica Abramsky.
- Your Stet newsletter was a finalist for best in the state in 2024, the first year we were eligible to compete.
What’s next: The Society for Professional Journalism will announce winners and runners-up in September in Fort Lauderdale.
Here is the full list of finalists.
– Carolyn DiPaolo
🎆 Thank you to everyone who answered our Independence Day fundraising appeal. We are better with you.
