Stet NewsThe 2025 hurricane season is about to end Sunday without a mainland U.S. landfall for the first time in a decade.
- Yes, but: It was one of the most intense Atlantic seasons on record with three Category 5 storms: Erin, Humberto and Melissa.
- Hurricane Melissa caused nearly 100 known deaths and at least $10 billion in damage as it ravaged the Caribbean. (Forbes)
⚖️ Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, said Thursday that he will force a vote on expelling Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-West Palm Beach, from Congress after she was indicted last week on charges of stealing $5 million in FEMA money. Cherfilus-McCormick, whose District 20 includes part of Palm Beach County, said in a statement that she is innocent. (Axios. Read the 42-page indictment.)
🪧 The teachers union declared an impasse for the first time in more than a decade of Palm Beach County School District salary negotiations. The union wants a 5% raise. The district is offering 1.5% and a bonus. (WLRN)
🦁 A company led by billionaire Larry Ellison, the former CEO of Oracle, acquired Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee for $30 million. Lion Country pledges its core focus will not change. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
📣 Related Ross unveiled a 10,000-square-foot showroom last week in the old Cheesecake Factory building in CityPlace. Across the street, Eataly is set to open Dec. 5 in the former First United Methodist Church building that most recently housed the Harriet Himmel Theater. Related Ross Executive Vice President Jordan Rathlev said the company has 20 to 30 projects in the pipeline throughout Palm Beach County. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
- One of the projects is South Flagler House at 1355 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, which hosted a topping off ceremony last week. The twin 28-story condo towers are expected to be complete in 2027. (YIMBY)
🏬 Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida Co. plans a retail, residential, office and hotel complex on 77 acres near I-95 and Spanish River Boulevard north of Florida Atlantic’s campus. The developer presented plans at last week’s Boca Raton Community Appearance Board meeting. (University Press)
🔎 One of the largest workforce housing apartment complexes in Palm Beach County overcharged tenants by tens of thousands of dollars over five years, an audit by the county inspector general, prompted by a 2022 Palm Beach Post investigation, shows. Auditors found $32,000 in overpayments by a sampling of 10% of tenants at Wellington Club apartments. The IG also criticized the county government for its lack of oversight. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🎧 In “Keeper and Killer,” WLRN environmental reporter Jenny Staletovich dives deep into the world of mental illness and the criminal justice system through the story of Daniel Weisberger, a 17-year-old who killed his 14-year-old brother in the Florida Keys five years ago. (WLRN podcast)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, talks sea turtle conservation with Loggerhead Marinelife Center CEO Andy Dehart. He talks about the 1-in-1,000 survival rate for nesting sea turtles and the fight to save our oceans. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm Wednesday)
