Stet News🚧 After uproar over a plan backed by developer Stephen Ross, West Palm Beach is pausing a plan to move Flagler Drive west to create a waterfront park. Last week, Mayor Keith James put out a video embracing the approach. Now, he’s suggesting residents should be consulted first. (The Palm Beach Post $$$, WPB Channel 18)
- Troubles for Related Cos.’ $2 billion Hudson Yards deal in New York City. (The New York Times gift link)
👑 Concord Wilshire Capital is the owner of the 43-acre Tuttle Royale town center, paying $60 million in a bankruptcy court sale. Local developer Brian Tuttle planned nearly a half-million square feet of retail at the site, southwest of State Road 7 and Southern Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚪 Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Director Chris Brown resigned this month after an investigation found he verbally and physically accosted his staff. Instead of addressing the allegations, he blasted the organization, saying its finances were in shambles, and called the work environment “hostile.” (The Coastal Star)
🥃 Roxy’s Pub, a downtown West Palm Beach mainstay, could be sold at auction over a $1.1 million debt stemming from a personal injury lawsuit. (WPBF Channel 25)
💰 Billionaires from South Florida gave away more than $1 billion last year, led by Palm Beach hedge fund founder and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper. The majority of his gifts were directed toward food banks and education. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🗺️ The state Legislature will be in session starting today to consider redrawing congressional districts, installing regulations on artificial intelligence and expanding exemptions to vaccine requirements. Leaders say they will revisit the state budget during a session from May 12-29. (News Service of Florida)
🛋️ Rooms To Go, which already has a store on Okeechobee Boulevard, is seeking approval for a “superstore” on 3.6 acres at 1800 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. The site near Target and the Tanger Outlets is occupied by a 135-room Best Western hotel. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🌠 Three place-making projects won $15,000 grants in a Downtown Development Authority competition.
- Mobile Origami Studio will invite community members to create life-size origami animals representing endangered Florida species using recycled materials. (DDA release)
- Downtown Stories will invite residents, business owners, artists and visitors to share personal stories and perspectives. Content will be developed into a 13-episode podcast.
- The People’s Reading Grove will host twice-monthly bookstore pop-ups, four community-led book clubs and a free monthly literary salon over the course of a year.
⛪ The church bells at Sacred Heart Catholic in Lake Worth Beach have started ringing again after an absence of more than five years. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
🥊 Actor Sylvester Stallone played a role in booting boaters from the waterways around Palm Beach. (Florida Trident)
🐨 The Palm Beach Zoo announced the first birth of a koala at the West Palm Beach conservation center and a renovated habitat for the creatures that opened Saturday. (The Associated Press)
🖼️ Palm Beacher Frances Fisher has been appointed to the influential Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The 15-member board advises Florida’s Secretary of State Cord Byrd about grants. Palm Beach County has not had a representative on the council in about two decades. (Palm Beach Daily News $$$)
🎨 See art in the making at the annual Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday at more than 125 artist spaces across the county. (Cultural Council for Palm Beach County)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, explores “American democracy at a Crossroads” with Dianna Wynn, president of the League of Women Voters. Wynn explains why her 106-year-old organization has declared a constitutional crisis for the first time in its history — and what she says is at stake for Florida voters in 2026. (Listen now; watch)
