Stet NewsHappy election day, voters! For you, a survey of the top races, a preview of North Palm Beach’s election later this month, meet your new inspector general, more oversight of the Southland rock mine and biotechs strut their stuff.
🗳️ Residents can vote today in 20 cities
The hotly contested race for three seats on the Juno Beach Town Council reaches its zenith today as voters cast ballots in Juno and at least 20 cities throughout Palm Beach County.
Campaigning has become heated in tiny coastal Juno as candidates and their supporters send out a conflicting mass of mailers and newsletters. Emails from mostly anonymous groups are popping up, introducing Juno Guardians, Protect Juno Beach and Shoreline Sentinel into the vernacular.
Two factions have emerged: incumbent Marianne Hosta with Eddie Gottschalk and mayoral candidate Elaine Cotronakis vs. Scott Shaw, Max Fraser and mayoral candidate David Santilli. Read Jane Musgrave’s story in Stet to learn more about the candidates.
Why it matters: Easily the most overlooked elections are those deciding the local policies that most closely influence the lives of residents. Police, fire, garbage pickup, street lighting and how much you pay in local property taxes depend on their decisions.
- Polling places rarely have crowds during these light-turnout March campaigns so no need to worry about a long wait in line to vote. Polls are open 7 am to 7 pm.
Stet News is here to help before you head to the polling place. Aside from Jane’s story about the Juno candidates, we published advance looks at these races:
In Palm Beach Gardens, three candidates are vying for the open seat vacated by term-limited Chelsea Reed: former Council Members Rachelle Litt and David Levy and newcomer Heather Deitchman. In Group 5, incumbent Dana Middleton faces a challenge from newcomer Damien Murray.
In West Palm Beach, incumbent Cathleen Ward faces Martina Tate-Walker and incumbent Christy Fox faces Roger Lee Jackson III. Steve Sylvester won the seat vacated by Christina Lambert when his opponent, Matt Ferrer, dropped out.
In Lake Park, Mayor Roger Michaud faces a challenge from Ralph Moscoso for a three-year term as the city faces litigation over its marina lease with a developer.
In Lake Worth Beach, residents can vote on five amendments to the city charter, two of which could make it easier for developers to lease prime city properties, like its beach pool and casino. The Lake Worth Beach Independent has written several stories on the ballot measures, most recently this story Sunday night.
A major turnover could await Boca Raton as voters will choose among 12 candidates to fill four seats, including mayor, and decide key referendums on a police station and the private One Boca downtown development.
Delray Beach has three candidates to fill state Rep. Rob Long’s open seat; Wellington has six candidates for two seats; Royal Palm Beach has four candidates for two seats; and Palm Beach has a hot race between incumbent Lew Crampton and challenger John Corey.
Read more by checking the candidates’ responses to a League of Women Voters questionnaire here.
🗓️ Two more weeks until voting in North Palm Beach
In North Palm Beach, voters will go to the polls March 24 to decide who serves the remaining one-year term of the late Council Member Kristin Garrison, who died Dec. 31.
Three candidates are running for the Group 4 seat: former longtime Councilman David Norris and two political newcomers, Ron Okolichany and Kendra Zellner.
Norris, 67, served on the council from 1996 until December 2023 when he resigned rather than comply with a state financial disclosure law scheduled to take effect the following month. But a judge blocked the law so he’s back.
What he’s saying: “With me, (voters) know what they are getting,” he said. “You know I am going to evaluate the issues and make decisions and I think the track record is pretty darn good. I can come back in, and there’s no learning curve, and get right back to work.”
Okolichany, 66, is “mostly retired” after a 40-year career in real estate acquisition, development and management. He said he is a fourth-generation village resident who is active in village affairs and he has built a following on social media, where many residents encouraged him to run.
What he’s saying: “I will be the voice of the people,” he said.
Zellner, 37, secretary of the village’s Environmental Committee, said she bought a home in North Palm Beach 10 years ago. She said she works from home as a senior project manager and data analyst for CDK Global, an automotive software company.
What she’s saying: “What sets me apart is that coming from the environmental committee I’m able to look at this project through an environmental lens but I’m also able to make data-driven decisions since I do that every single day,” she said.
Of note: Zellner considers herself “the happy middle ground” between Norris and Okolichany on the Twin Cities Mall redevelopment proposal, with Norris more supportive and Okolichany less so.
Many Palm Beach County voters also will have a chance to vote March 24 in the state House race to replace Mike Caruso, a Republican who left House District 87 to become Palm Beach County clerk. Republican Jon Maples faces off against Democrat Emily Gregory.
Read more about the North Palm Beach candidates at StetNews.org.
— Joe Capozzi
🔎 Meet your new inspector general
After a two-month search,a Palm Beach County panel selected Kalinthia Dillard to lead the Inspector General’s Office, where she has worked for a decade.
Why it matters: The Inspector General’s Office is an independent agency that monitors the county’s 39 municipalities, the Solid Waste Authority and the Children’s Services Council. Established in 2009, the office conducts audits and investigations aimed at preventing fraud, waste and mismanagement.
What happened: Dillard, the deputy IG, competed against Jim Kirdar of the U.S. Capitol Police for the job. Kirdar has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement and federal work, while Dillard has decades of experience in Florida, particularly in Palm Beach County.
- She served as an attorney for many agencies, including the Palm Beach County School District, and has worked in the IG’s office as general counsel and deputy inspector general.
The seven-person panelinterviewed the two finalists after two others dropped out in an hour-long round-robin format on March 5. Each panelist asked questions, giving one candidate three minutes to respond, followed immediately by the other finalist, alternating who answered first.
Context: Dillard will be the county’s third inspector general, following Sheryl Steckler and John Carey. She said she wants the office to be “good stewards of taxpayer dollars” as budget challenges arise. In the interview, she also said she would like to address artificial intelligence’s benefits and limitations in local government affairs.
What she’s saying: “I want the community, and I want our staff to know that leadership is changing, but the mission isn’t,” Dillard said. “We will continue to do the hard work of rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, and building trust in our government.”
What’s next: Committee Vice Chair Peter Cruise, the county’s Human Resources Department and the county attorney will work together to negotiate Dillard’s contract, including a starting salary of $260,000 to $280,000.
- Once the contract is finalized, Dillard will work alongside Carey until he retires in June.
Keep reading to find out more about Dillard’s plans for the office at StetNews.org.
— Sephora Charles
⛏️ Southland rock mine revisited
A permit to allow the first phase of constrution on the massive Southland rock mine in Palm Beach County’s Everglades Agricultural Area has cleared a key legal hurdle.
A settlement signed Feb. 18 by environmentalists and the rock mine operator ends an administrative challenge to a May 2025 “Notice of Intent” issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Why it matters: Palm Beach County’s May 22 decision to approve zoning to allow 8,632 acres of cane fields to be mined over three decades galvanized public opinion. The mining site is between Lake Okeechobee and a major Everglades restoration project featuring a 10,500-acre reservoir. Environmentalists feared mining could harm restoration.
- The mine only met county criteria based on a brief letter from the South Florida Water Management District saying the site could one day “provide viable alternative technologies for both water management and water treatment for ecosystem restoration.”
Yes, but: The legal challenge didn’t focus on the district’s stance. Instead, it took aim at the scope of DEP’s approval.
Catch up quick: The DEP issued its permit on May 29, allowing first phase construction of 1,337 acres of mines on 2,242 acres. The mine also is undergoing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review.
Tropical Audubon Society and two veteran birders represented by seven lawyers, including four from the Everglades Law Center, challenged the permit. Phillips & Jordan, which plans to build the mine on land owned by U.S. Sugar and a Florida Crystals subsidiary, intervened.
- The settlement came about five days before the start of a scheduled two-week hearing before Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes.
Zoom in: In a pretrial motion, Phillips, represented by Tampa-based Bartlett Loeb Hinds Thompson & Angelos, argued that the environmentalists overreached, assuming points not spelled out in DEP’s conceptual permit.
Less than two weeks after they filed the motion, the lawyers came to an agreement to insert more specificity into DEP’s permit:
- The changes clarify that the DEP conceptual approval authorizes only the general location of the 13 future cells for excavation.
- It requires water quality monitoring be revisited if water is discharged to or from the site, including potentially testing for phosphorus.
- It requires a new permit or permit modification if changes are made to the design of the mine or to a pump station.
The changes are meant to assure more public scrutiny, the Everglades Law Center said on its website. However, the statement said, the settlement does not limit the size of the project or preclude future development of all 8,000-plus acres as a water resource project.
“Any such development, however, will require new or modified permit authorization and full environmental review under applicable law,” the statement said.
— Joel Engelhardt
🍊 The Juice
🔬 Federal subpoenas, seeking records, that were delivered last week to Riviera Beach City Hall may have played a role in the city’s decision to postpone its selection of a developer to complete the reconstruction of the city’s Marina Village. (WPBF)
⏰ While many residents fighting the Project Tango data center proposal in Palm Beach County had high hopes for state legislation to limit data center construction, the bill backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is stalled and likely dead. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🚔 In 107 traffic cases over the past year, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper John Petrofsky, who patrols Lake Worth Beach, did not identify a single driver as Hispanic. Petrofsky identified 87 drivers as white, 19 as Black and one as other. Among the white surnames: six were Hernandez, four were Martinez, four were Cruz, and three each were Perez, Rodriguez and Gomez.
- The Florida Immigrant Coalition’s Renata Bozzetto said the lack of racial or ethnicity data reflects poor training or an attempt to mask bias. (WLRN)
🛒 West Palm Beach agreed to sell Publix nearly an acre north of Banyan Boulevard at Sapodilla Avenue for $3.5 million to build a full-service grocery store to replace its smaller store in CityPlace. Developer Related Ross has assembled most of the rest of the block, as Stet reported in 2023, and also will provide land to Publix. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
📋 The agency headed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, who criticizes counties for overspending and demands public accountability, has failed to fully post 200 contracts worth $342 million on a state website within 30 days as required by state law. (Florida Bulldog)
🛋️ As first reported by Stet in February 2025, The Breakers moved ahead with its purchase of 1.3 acres in West Palm Beach for employee housing, paying $8.5 million for property at 2460 and 2508 N. Australian Ave. The city previously agreed to sell 1.16 acres at 2410 N. Australian for $660,000. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚚 An innovative mobile pantry program launched by the Lake Worth Beach-based Palm Beach County Food Bank is combining access to nutritious food with practical education at stops throughout the county. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
🔨 Boynton Beach leaders are considering a range of redevelopment projects intended to put the city in the limelight, similar to efforts in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton. They include a new city entryway on Boynton Beach Boulevard, an entertainment district on Ocean Avenue and expansion of Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park on North Federal Highway. (The Coastal Star)
✨ Before it was Glazer Hall, the Royal Poinciana Playhouse was a political and social hub. On Friday, it will host the premiere of a film celebrating famed fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. (The Palm Beach Post $$$, Tickets)
📻 In “Top of Mind Florida,” podcasters Michael Williams and Brian Crowley talk about America’s 250th anniversary with American history professor Robert Watson of Lynn University. Watson breaks down the three Cs of the nation’s founding — cooperation, compromise, and consensus — and makes the case that today’s political environment has abandoned all three. (Listen now; watch)
561NSIDER: 🐊 Biotechs pitch in UF competition
Five biotechnology startups gave live elevator pitches in a make-or-break effort to win the GatorPitch competition in Jupiter, but only one came out on top.
Driving the news: In a riff on the television show “Shark Tank,” three venture capitalists had open ears Thursday to the fast-paced pitches from University of Florida-linked companies working to turn their research into products to advance drug discovery and the human health field.
Why it matters: Small biotech companies have led the development of 55% of FDA-approved drugs in the United States from 2011 to 2020, according to Vital Transformation statistics.
What happened: The judges saw the strongest case in Jupiter-based Ribonaut Therapeutics, a company developing drugs to treat neurological diseases and movement disorders.
What they’re saying: “This type of pitching event isn’t like you won an Oscar and you carry on. It’s a step in a journey, but it’s an exciting step,” said Nikolai Naryshkin, chief scientific officer at Ribonaut, who pitched on behalf of the company at the event.
Zoom in: Ribonaut Therapeutics’ top focus is Huntington’s disease, which Naryshkin described as a progressive loss of brain cells and their ability to function over time. There is no cure, but the small startup is seeking one.
Matthew Disney, a professor at the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, founded Ribonaut at the same campus where the event was held.
Zoom out: This was the fourth edition of GatorPitch since its launch in 2024 in Miami and the first held in Jupiter, with a focus strictly on biotech research.
What’s next: The visibility of being named the GatorPitch’s Panelist Choice will help Ribonaut in the long run, Naryshkin said.
- The company will advance to the 2026 Biopitch competition at the BioFlorida Innovation Conference in October, a similar contest with a top prize of up to $60,000.
Keep reading about the other four biotech startups at StetNews.org.
— Michael Cook
