🍊 THE WEEKLY SQUEEZE

👛 A local citizens group has sued to stop the downtown Lake Worth Beach mixed-use project anchored by the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts. Lake Worth For All is accusing the city and the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency of misusing nearly $2 million in penny sales-tax money for the WMODA project. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)

🔌 To attract AI data centers, Florida legislators are weighing a measure that would grant a year of secrecy from the public despite the centers’ huge effects on local water and energy resources. Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing legislation that protects consumers from the costs of such centers. (Florida Trident)

🚰 South Florida water managers issued a water shortage warning for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties on Friday. The lower half of the state, from St. Lucie and Manatee counties south to the Keys, is in severe drought. (WLRN)

📲 Text messages from former County Commissioner Mary McCarty to Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney indicate she’s still involved in city politics. (The Coastal Star) 

🛞 Lake Worth Beach is catching flak for inviting Tesla to offer test rides at the city’s Sunset on the Avenue concert Feb. 13. “Whether or not you hate Elon Musk, show up for the city,’’ Commissioner Anthony Segrich urged. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)

📢 The Tributary, an independent news website based in Jacksonville, is now the Florida Trib. “In a state that ranks dead last in the nation for news outlets per capita, The Trib is stepping up to ensure that in-depth, trustworthy news about our state is available to all,” it announced Feb. 4. “Our team — from Tallahassee to Miami —  will cover issues that, like the groundwater beneath us, connect millions of backyards across hundreds of miles.” (Florida Trib)

🚗 The first phase of the extension of North Congress Avenue at Northlake Boulevard opened Jan. 30. Drivers can use the fresh asphalt to wind their way through a neighborhood to Richard Road and Alternate A1A. The route is meant to relieve traffic on a busy section of Northlake near Target. On Feb. 5, the Palm Beach Gardens City Council agreed to annex 4.3 acres along the second phase of the expansion route, the former Hi Acres mobile home park. (Stet advanced the road’s opening in December)

🧲 Billionaires Stephen Ross and Ken Griffin have backed a $10 million campaign to attract businesses and executives to South Florida. Ross’ pitch: “It’s clear that the next generation of companies belongs along Florida’s Gold Coast from West Palm Beach to Miami. This region offers a clear competitive advantage — a strong operating environment, a flourishing innovation ecosystem and public leadership that works constructively with the private sector.” (South Florida Business Journal $$$)

✝️ The Palm Beach Gardens City Council voted Feb. 5 to annex nearly 10 acres west of Christ Fellowship on Northlake, land the church assembled west of Howell Lane. The church did not say what it plans for the property. (Feb. 5 meeting video, Ordinance 6)

💼 Maryland-based Meso Scale Diagnostics, a bioscience company, will pay the town of Jupiter $9 million for 9 acres west of Florida’s Turnpike to build a medical-device manufacturing plant, bringing between 100 and 200 jobs. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)

🛎️ A foreclosure lawsuit over the Historic Hotel Biba in West Palm Beach was quickly withdrawn by the lender, who said filing the case was a mistake. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)

2️⃣ New York socialite Jean Shafiroff wants $17.2 million for her Jupiter home — with two kitchens, two bars and two libraries. (New York Post)

🌴 Shakespeare by the Palms: The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival brings drama, intrigue and a touch of romance to Valentine’s Day weekend with its free production of “MacBeth” in Royal Palm Beach. (Press release)

🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, welcomes Stet News’ writer and editor Holly Baltz, who shares insights from her decades in journalism. The conversation explores why traditional media failed to adapt, how social media toxicity drives good people from public service, and why nonprofit journalism may be the future of accountability reporting.  (Listen now; watch.)