Stet NewsTuesday, news day. For you, a record-setting budget for the sheriff, catch up quick on DOGE, the Riviera Beach Marina District’s latest groundbreaking, restaurant news roundup, CSX beats its deadline and a new chapter for Jack the Bike Man charity.
🚔 Sheriff budget tops $1 billion
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw requeste a $170 million budget boost for the coming year.
- That would put the sheriff’s office budget over $1 billion for the first time.
Why it’s important: Spending on the sheriff’s office and county jails absorbs 44 percent of the county’s $2.45 billion general fund budget, which gets about two-thirds of its money from property taxes.
To help balance the budget, former County Administrator Verdenia Baker persuaded the sheriff to reduce his request by $37 million. But without the backing of county commissioners, she failed to get another $20 million from the sheriff.
What she said: “We can’t balance any more on your departments. We are bare bones,” Baker told commissioners at a May budget workshop. “Unless you want me to cut basic services on our side of the table in order to give the sheriff an additional $20 million. We just don’t have it.”
Counterpoint: “We had three deputies die because they were fixing a motorcycle that had broken down. That is unacceptable,” Commissioner Sara Baxter said. “I would like you to find the dollars for the sheriff.”
Yes, but: The county found an immediate $10 million when updated figures showed it would collect more from property taxes and promised the sheriff another $10 million at mid-year.
Justifying the budget increase, the sheriff said:
- Rising personnel costs add $91.5 million to the payroll for nearly 4,600 employees. Retirement contributions and payroll taxes add another $27.7 million.
- New vehicles and computer equipment, left out of last year’s budget, would cost $47 million.
- Updating computer software for body-worn and cruiser cameras is $15.1 million.
- The cost of feeding and providing health care to jail inmates adds $2.2 million.
What’s next: The county will present its $9.5 billion overall budget at public hearings on Sept. 9 and 16.
Read more: How the numbers add up to Sheriff Bradshaw’s largest budget request ever.
— Jane Musgrave
🔎 ICYMI: DOGE is coming
Palm Beach County’s date with DOGE is set, as Stet reported Friday.
Catch up quick: A team from the government efficiency office created by Gov. Ron DeSantis will arrive in county offices Monday to begin combing through financial records, regulations and policies. The governor’s DOGE team, based on billionaire Elon Musk’s federal DOGE effort, went to Broward County in mid-July and has since visited Orange, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and Gainesville and Jacksonville.
Why it matters: Evidence of misspending by counties could fuel the governor’s push to eliminate property taxes, the main source of money to run cities and counties. Palm Beach County alone generates about $1.5 billion from property taxes.
Zoom in: DOGE submitted questions in advance and wants access to county data systems.
Among targets outlined in the letter:
- Salaries for top administrators.
- County contracts.
- County property sales.
- The county’s Youth Services Department.
- Mounts Botanical Garden.
- Traffic calming.
Incoming County Administrator Joe Abruzzo, a former Democratic state legislator, is unfazed by the state’s attention but said he has heard concerns from workers.
- “Are we going to be fired?” Abruzzo said one worker asked him during a recent visit.
Of note: Abruzzo starts his county job Tuesday, a day after DOGE arrives.
Read more: What DOGE is asking Palm Beach County to produce at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
🔨 Affordable housing on Riviera Beach’s Avenue E
Riviera Beach launched an affordable housing project last week in its booming Marina District off Broadway.
Villa L’Onz will be at 11th Street and Avenue E on the city’s south end, one block west of Broadway.
- The first phase will be a $7.5 million development with 12 two- and three-bedroom townhouses.
- An identical row of townhouses will follow to the north.
- Then, builders will begin to construct 30 apartment-style condominiums and space for a store.
Why it matters: Palm Beach County has an affordable and workforce housing crisis, the county’s Housing and Leadership Council said last year.
- Home prices and rents continue to rise at a pace that outstrips the increase in workforce income and challenges the ability to retain and attract workers.
The project’s partners, the Riviera Beach CRA and the city’s Community Development Corp., are investing $3 million and have borrowed $4.5 million to get Villa L’Onz off the ground, CDC Executive Director Annetta Jenkins said.
Of note: Villa L’Onz borrows its name from the Creole language and translates to “Homes on 11th.”
What they’re saying: Building affordable housing in this market is incredibly difficult, Jenkins said at a groundbreaking Friday. “You know how difficult it is to find insurance,” she said as an example of the challenges. “When I got the bill for the builders’ risk for this project, I almost fainted. But we had to pay it.”
Villa L’Onz was designed by REG Architects of West Palm Beach with a Dutch-Caribbean architectural style that pays homage to Riviera Beach’s heritage.
“It’s really an amazing time to be working here,” REG Architects’ Rick Gonzalez said Friday. He noted that Riviera Beach has more than a dozen high-rises planned for on or near Broadway.
The townhomes will be across Avenue E from a 508-unit condominium recently approved by the Planning Commission on Broadway between 11th and 12th streets.
- The mammoth project will be buffered from Villa D’Onz by a park-like strip along Avenue E.
What’s next: All-Site Construction of West Palm Beach President Ezra Saffold expects the first townhouses to be ready by the end of 2026.
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— Carolyn DiPaolo
🍽️ Shanghai’d on Clematis launches this wee
There’s a reboot afoot at the former Kapow! Noodle Bar on Clematis Street.
What’s happening: It is now Shanghai’d, but still owned by Rodney Mayo. He’s head of Subculture Group — a major player in the hospitality scene in Palm Beach County.
- In just a brief conversation, it’s clear Mayo, the man who ran for mayor of West Palm Beach before a court stopped his candidacy over his residency, is a constant mover with many irons in the fire.
Starting with Shanghai’d. “We’re just rebranding, and adding new menu items, bringing back favorites,” Mayo said.
- He parted ways with a partner in the modern Asian boite to settle “creative differences,” as he put it.
- The new menu and a sign will debut at the grand reopening planned for Thursday.
More Subculture restaurant news:
- At Hacienda, a food hall that’s been in the works since 2024 across the street from Shanghai’d, Mayo said he’s aiming for a late fall opening. Watch for a dozen restaurant stalls and shops, along with performance art and entertainment.
- El Segundo taco shack, on Georgia Avenue next to the Southern Boulevard bridge, will soon have a sister location in Palm Beach Gardens in the Donald Ross Village plaza.
- In south county, the former Penelope’s in Mizner will rebrand as the chef-driven gastro pub Tryst by late fall.
- In Lake Worth Beach, Subculture is still working on Man Ray on Lucerne Avenue in the old C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen spot. “It’s similar to Dada; chef-driven,” Mayo said. “We’re looking for a chef for it now.”
Learn more about what’s planned for Shanghai’d at StetNews.org
– Jan Norris
⭐️ CSX finishes work early, Northlake reopens
Motorists began crossing the CSX railroad track at Northlake Boulevard Saturday morning, reopening the crucial east-west route a day earlier than scheduled.
- The job took slightly less than eight days. Officials closed the road Friday night and said it would reopen no later than Sunday, which would have been nine days.
Why it matters: School started Monday without the need to reroute school buses for the 20- to 35-mile detour that changed life for many residents of The Acreage/Loxahatchee and those living along western Northlake.
Zoom in: New lanes established to separate construction from traffic will be in place for a year.
- The closure also allowed contractors to install a water main under the road.
The bottom line: Traffic flared up at times but never approached the massive congestion many predicted.
What they’re saying: The “united command” of the various police and fire agencies, county engineering, CSX and the Florida Department of Transportation “worked extremely well,” said Elizabeth Accomando, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District board, which oversees The Acreage.
What’s next: The $150 million-plus widening of Beeline continues, with work also extending east and west along Northlake to put in place an entirely new system for vehicles to turn off and on the highway.
Read more of Stet’s coverage of the CSX closure and see aerial photos here.
— Joel Engelhardt
🍊The Juice
🧑🏽⚖️ A Broward County judge dismissed a criminal case against Palm Beach County mega-developer Glenn Straub last week, concluding that prosecutors had not tied the businessman to fraudulent liens his company filed against his ex-girlfriend to keep her from leaving him. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
💊 How did a doctor, pharmacists and recruiters sell millions of oxycodone pills illegally for three years without two marquee Florida pill mill laws flagging their sales? In June, federal prosecutors accused Dr. Sergei Margulian, 58, of Hallandale Beach, of doling out oxycodone to clients he never examined, prescribing roughly 2.9 million pills out of clinics in Broward and Miami-Dade counties between 2021 and 2024. (WLRN)
🐴 An Anheuser-Busch family member pays $25 million for 42-acre equestrian training facility in Wellington. Palm Beach Equine Sports Complex LLC, managed by Scott Swerdlin, sold the equestrian training grounds at 13056 and 13026 Pierson Road to PBESC LLC, managed by Stephen Orthwein Jr. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚜 Jupiter Christian School plans to build a $68 million campus at the southeast corner of I-95 and Indiantown Road. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
📡 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast hosted by Brian Crowley and Michael Williams, welcomes Eve Samples, director of Friends of the Everglades. (Listen here. Watch after 2 pm here)
561NSIDER: 🚲 Jack the Bike Man charity’s next move
West Palm Beach favorite Jack the Bike Man is bringing its good work to Jupiter.
What’s happening: The 18-year-old charity known for giving away refurbished bicycles to children in need is expanding its reach thanks to a grant from the Admirals Cove Foundation.
Why it matters: Jack the Bike Man’s focus on bike safety and maintenance and the charity’s support for young people and their parents are on point with the foundation’s goal of enriching lives, Executive Director Rebecca Divine told Stet News.
“We’re proud to partner with them,” she said.
By the numbers: In 2024, Jack the Bike Man gave away nearly 1,500 bikes. This year, they’ve distributed 800 bikes, putting them ahead of last year’s pace. Director Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez estimates that since their late founder, Jack Hairston, started sharing bike wisdom from his front porch, the charity has given away about 30,000 bikes.
Zoom in: An increasing focus for the nonprofit is on north county, and the Admirals Cove Foundation is key to that growth.
The foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Club at Admirals Cove, at the huge gated community north of Donald Ross Road and east of Alternate A1A. It gives grants to nonprofits located from Northlake Boulevard to Tequesta, Divine said.
Last year, the foundation awarded more than $4 million in annual grants. Its allocation committee looks for charities that don’t give someone a fish, they teach him how to fish.
The bottom line: They found what they were looking for at Jack the Bike Man.
What’s next: Even as the charity powers through a busy month, Hernandez is gearing up for the holidays. “We’re going to be depleted after the back-to-school giveaways, so we’re asking the community for help.”
He is seeking donations of bikes and cash to buy helmets, tires, parts and tools for the Christmas giveaway, Jack the Bike Man’s biggest event of the year.
Keep reading to find out more about Jack the Bike Man’s work in Jupiter at StetNews.org.
— Janis Fontaine
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