Stet News🚫 Florida was tops in the nation for book bans for the third year in a row during last school year, and PEN America, the free speech organization that tracks them, is worried that it’s more a result of pressure from public officials than parental objections. Gov. Ron DeSantis calls book ban claims a hoax. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
A few hours after the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, vulgar antisemitic graffiti was painted on the side of a drug store at a prominent Lake Worth Beach intersection. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
✅ West Palm Beach city commissioners approved Great Gulf’s proposal Sept. 29 for a 31-story, 360-foot condominium with 97 units at 5400 N. Flagler Drive. The project had the backing of the Northwood Harbor neighborhood association. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
Longtime Palm Beach Gardens developer Joel Channing, who built PGA Commons and homes in PGA National and BallenIsles as well as projects in Miami-Dade County, died Sept. 30 at age 84. (Legacy.com)
🗳️ Maria Zack defeated Bill Reicherter Sept. 30 in the Republican primary to face Democrat Rob Long, the Delray Beach vice mayor, in the Dec. 9 election for the state House District 90 seat vacant since the July death of Rep. Joe Casello. Zack received 53% of the 2,680 votes cast. (WPBF)
Prosecutors in Leon County are convening a grand jury related to the Hope Florida Foundation scandal. The charity, started by first lady Casey DeSantis, is accused of funneling $10 million in state money into the foundation for the governor’s political purposes, namely to defeat the recreational marijuana amendment on the ballot last year. DeSantis has denied wrongdoing. (Miami Herald $$$)
💵 Billionaire developer and CityPlace owner Stephen Ross has launched the Related Ross Foundation, a nonprofit and grantmaking arm in West Palm Beach to focus initially on the Northwest, Coleman Park and Pleasant City neighborhoods. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🔨 Delray Beach’s beachside pavilion, last built in 2013, is being rebuilt at a cost of $817,400 because the wrong fasteners were used to hold it together and it began falling apart. (The Coastal Star)
🍰 A visit to Ganache Bakery, which got its start at the West Palm Beach Green Market. (WLRN)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, talks with Steve Abrams about the future of mass transit across Florida. Can Tri-Rail survive Florida’s latest budget cuts—or will 15,000 daily riders be left stranded? (Listen here; watch after 4 pm Wednesday)
