Stet NewsHigh summer is upon us and we are sweating along with you. For you today, your commute may depend on a legal battle between Palm Beach County and Palm Beach Gardens; good news/bad news for Florida arts and culture organizations; an extraordinary, edible training program; a new watering hole in Lake Park; and we’re No. 3!
🎧 Plus, hear about how Stet is positioning itself to deliver local news as Joel takes to the airwaves on “Top of Mind Florida” with Michael Williams and Brian Crowley. (Listen here)
🚘 Lawsuit pits city vs. county over traffic
The lawsuit between Palm Beach County and Palm Beach Gardens over how government keeps up with traffic is in its fifth year and showing no signs of abating.
Catch up quick: The lawsuit dates to May 2021 when the county sued Palm Beach Gardens because the city instituted a mobility fee that it would control and stopped collecting county impact fee payments from developers that the county would control.
Why it matters: Cities want the freedom to ease local traffic nightmares with alternatives such as mass transit, bike paths and wider sidewalks. The county resists diluting its revenue, saying developments in cities draw from a wide area, requiring a robust road network crossing city lines that only it can provide.
- The lawsuit could shape future growth decisions for every city in the county.
Zoom out: The county won the first skirmish in court three years ago, when Circuit Judge Paige Gillman issued a temporary injunction ordering Palm Beach Gardens to return to its past practice of collecting road impact fees on behalf of the county.
Yes, but: The city pushed for a state law last year that it says frees it of those constraints. In April, the Palm Beach Gardens City Council passed a new mobility planthat halts payments to the county.
After an appellate court upheld the injunction, the county asked the city to turn over $3.1 million in impact fees. The city resisted, filing a motion with the court to clarify Gillman’s order.
Zoom in: To help determine how much money is at stake, the county submitted a voluminous public records request to the city. The city responded that it would take one worker 7.5 years to fulfill the request at a cost of $1.2 million; advance payment required.
- The county dropped the request and sought the records through court discovery.
What’s next: A two-hour hearing on the city’s motion to clarify the judge’s order is scheduled for Aug. 11 before Circuit Judge James Sherman. A full trial is set for November.
Read more on why the city believes it has the right to determine its traffic fate at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🎭 State arts money cup half full
Palm Beach County arts organizations landed about $1.6 million in this year’s $117 billion state budget.
Most of the arts money will go to 13 organizations that scored at the very top of a state ranking.
- Thirty-five Palm Beach County organizations are in line for a tiny amount of their grant request, perhaps 3%, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County estimates.
Nonprofits including the Kravis Center, the Lighthouse ArtCenter and the School of the Arts Foundation will receive their full grant requests. But Loggerhead Marinelife Center, the Norton Museum and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre will not.
Why it matters: Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts funding in the state budget noting it included $78,000 for two “fringe” festivals. The unexpected veto shut out local arts groups and put Florida ahead of only Georgia in U.S. state arts funding.
- The state’s decision to restore a portion of the arts grant requests this year – $21 million – shows people’s voices make a difference, said Jennifer Sullivan, senior vice president of the Cultural Council.
What she’s saying: “I have heard some say, ‘There’s plenty of donors who fund the arts,’” Sullivan said Friday. “The arts are not just large museums and major theaters. They are historical museums, historic locations, botanical gardens, choruses and chorals. Some of these small organizations have a big impact, but they don’t have a big donor base.”
Back story: When the governor vetoed arts grants last year, many arts organizations had already put in their applications for the yearlong process of vetting for this year’s budget.
- In past years, organizations that scored 80 or higher in the state’s ranking were awarded grants. This year, the cutoff was 95 out of 100. Sullivan said the change came as a surprise.
Context: While the state support is a vote of confidence for cultural organizations, Sullivan pointed out that Palm Beach County contributes more than $7 million in grants to local arts nonprofits.
“I’m very proud to say we restored arts funding at the state level,” Sullivan said.
The following Palm Beach County organizations scored 95 or above and will receive a Cultural and Museum grant:
- Boca Raton Philharmonic Symphonia – $90,000
- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary – $150,000
- Cox Science Center and Aquarium – $150,000
- Florida Atlantic University – $60,500
- Lighthouse ArtCenter – $150,000
- Lynn Conservatory of Music – $150,000
- The Morikami – $150,000
- Palm Beach Opera – $150,000
- The Palm Beach Symphony Society – $150,000
- Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts – $150,000
- Resource Depot – $25,000
- School of the Arts Foundation – $149,532
- Young Singers of the Palm Beaches – $114,000
Keep reading to find out which nonprofits were shut out of a full state grant at StetNews.org.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
🧑🍳 Recipes for Success opens culinary doors
Delicious magic is happening at Extraordinary Charities on Old Okeechobee Road in West Palm Beach.
What’s happening: Students from age 14 to young adults are learning skills that will start them on the road to self-sufficiency and independence through Recipes for Success, the organization’s newest program.
- Some students are referred by local agencies; others want to learn to cook for themselves or their families or a career, Executive Director Christine Raymond said.
- About half of the students are neuro-divergent, which means they experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways. The term is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or learning disabilities.
Why it matters: Opportunities for neurodivergent or other marginalized young people are limited, but in many cases, these workers are underestimated and over-analyzed. Working in the restaurant or food service industry requires a skill set that many are able to master. This allows them to staff jobs that restaurants find hard to fill with dependable workers and it starts them on the road to self-sufficiency and independence.
The Recipes for Success program is twofold:
- First, they provide culinary training and nationally recognized certification to underserved people. Students participate in an eight-week training program. Students who complete the program are matched with jobs with restaurant partners or in-house with Recipes for Success’ catering division, which is part two.
- Extraordinary Charities’ catering business provides employment opportunities for Recipes for Success graduates and provides revenue that keeps the school solvent.
Zoom out: The ultimate goal is employment in food prep in a professional kitchen. Extraordinary Charities has a strong connection with The Breakers Palm Beach resort and with Rodney Mayo’s Subculture Group, which owns restaurants including DADA, Hullabaloo, Howley’s, Sassafras and Kapow.
What’s next: “We’d love to add more restaurant partners,” Raymond said. “We’re working on a way to get the word out to them.” Recipes for Success teacher Chef Greg Schiff believes restaurants would and should welcome his students, who he says “are like sponges. They suck up everything.”
Keep reading to find out how Extraordinary Charities got its start at StetNews.org
– Janis Fontaine
🥉 Third-best newsletter: We try harder
Stet News produces the third-best newsletter in Florida and throughout a 12-state region of the South, judges with the Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards have decided.
- Also, Stet’s local elections coverage in 2024 ranked second in the annual contest once known as the Pulitzers of the South.
Why it matters: The awards mark a high point for a 2-year-old independent startup supported by readers as it vies with major regional newspapers to fill the ever-widening gulf in local news coverage. The contest draws entries from 12 states: Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The award recognized Stet News co-founders Joel Engelhardt, Carolyn DiPaolo and Liz Capozzi with a third place finish for best digital newsletter behind The Assembly in North Carolina, and Worth Your Time by Al.com in Alabama.
Stet’s award-winning newsletters:
- Aug. 13, 2024: The failed effort to preserve the historic stairs at the Harriet Himmel at CityPlace, new housing in Riviera Beach, restaurant coverage and the giant orchid sculpture in downtown West Palm Beach.
- Oct. 29, 2024: West Palm Beach’s new code rules for Broadway, Riviera Beach’s court battle with resident Fane Lozman, plans for opioid settlement money headed for Palm Beach County, another layer of county protection for natural preserves and a Jupiter Halloween story.
- Dec. 3, 2024: West Palm Beach’s draft recommendations for its downtown waterfront, qualifying for Palm Beach Gardens’ first municipal election in four years, a ballot standoff in Riviera Beach and a Spanish painter’s exhibition at the Norton Museum.
Engelhardt and Stet contributor Jane Musgrave won second place for state and local elections reporting.
The award honored:
- Joel and Jane’s coverage of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s health concerns when he sought reelection last year
- Joel’s story that revealed how a candidate for West Palm Beach City Commission dropped out after a job offer to work for an unregistered and unknown charity, clearing the way for incumbent Cathleen Ward to retain her seat without opposition.
- Joel’s reporting on Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Varisa Dass’ threat to cut off a port tenant unless the tenant tripled campaign contributions to her.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Bluestein won first place, and the Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks took third.
See the full list of winners here.
The bottom line: These awards and our statewide recognition are encouraging, but the deepest satisfaction we find is in serving you, our Stet readers and supporters. We don’t exist without you.
🍊 The Juice
⛳️ From the new trend at golf communities comes this story that leads with a planned $6 million, 10-hole short golf course with holes ranging from 80 to 160 yards at Ballenisles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz. Mixed among the detainees accused and convicted of crimes are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions or pending charges. (Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times)
🏖️ A former Lake Worth Beach lobbyist has left that role to pitch a massive makeover of the city’s beach and golf course for developers. Richard Pinsky is reaching out to neighborhoods and the business community as the City Commission considers a citywide vote that could open the door to the development proposed by Copperline Partners, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Hyatt World International, Fortress Investment and Stiles Construction. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
💌 Palm Beach County Business Development Board sends 500 mailers to New York City firms after Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary win. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
👮🏼♀️ A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office employee has been suspended for three weeks for spreading rumors about Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s health after he was reelected. (CBS 12)
🌊 A message from suffragette Susan B. Anthony makes waves at the annual raft race in Lake Worth Beach. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
Philanthropist Pat Johnson, who with her husband founded the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in West Palm Beach, died July 4 at her home in Palm Beach. She was 94. (Palm Beach Daily News $$$)
🎙️ Stet’s own Joel Engelhardt is the guest on this week’s “Top of Mind Florida” podcast. Joel joins hosts Michael Williams and Brian Crowley for a look at Florida journalism, the public’s need to know and Stet’s new approach to news. (Listen here)
561NSIDER: 🦎 Purple Lizard welcomes all
The Purple Lizard bar and grill is open for drinks in Lake Park, taking over the spot left by Pho and Hot Pot.
It’s aimed at the LGBTQ crowd, “But we want this to be a place where anybody can come and feel safe,” said owner Joe Saccal.
- A soft opening Saturday featured beer, wine and cocktails.
Back story: Saccal brings years of business experience to the small spot in a strip mall at 826 Park Ave., one block west of the Kelsey Theater. Saccal has decades of strip club and bar experience, most recently as a manager at the Thirsty Turtle in Juno Beach. His dad was the owner of Joe’s on Singer Island for years.
His builder is Rafael Vasallo, who helped remake the interior. It’s painted black with deep violet lighting and accents. A wrap-around bar lines two walls while tables fill out the room.
What he’s saying: “We’re still hiring. We have hired bartenders, but need kitchen workers before we start serving food,” Saccal said.” We’ll have a limited menu in the beginning. Some apps — good wings — and flatbreads, a few desserts. Bar food. Eventually, we’ll have a full menu.”
The idea began years ago, Saccal said. “I’ve had the gay bar idea for 20 years. After COVID, the rental prices went crazy. But I’ve been actively looking for a place for it for two years.”
Keep reading to find out why he chose Lake Park at StetNews.org
– Jan Norris
