Stet News“There’s no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday in announcing the closure after one year of the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center that drew criticism and lawsuits and cost the state as much as $1 billion. (Miami Herald $$$)
⬆️ Tri-Rail is raising rates 10%, its first fare increase since 2019. Under a complex six-zone fare system, which carries a baseline price range of $5 to $17.50 for one-way trips, the new range would be $6 to $20. It’s part of a $150 million annual budget that includes up to $60 million from the state. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🛑 Alexander Lambridis, a 22-year-old Florida Atlantic University student, was knocked off the state House District 91 ballot after he mistakenly wrote his qualifying check for $1 less than the required fee. While he wrote the correct amount, $1,781.82, on the check in digits, he wrote the incorrect amount — “one thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars and eighty-two cents” — in words. His departure moves Democrat Luis Garcia into the general election against incumbent Republican Peggy Gossett-Seidman. (Florida Politics)
🌇 A 17-story, 16-unit condo building is proposed for just east of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach at 201 and 203 Arkona Court by Easton Street Capital, a Palm Beach firm consisting of executives from the Frisbie Group real estate firm. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🏥 Jupiter Medical Center broke ground last week on a 29-bed hospital in Palm Beach Gardens’ Avenir community. It will have four operating rooms, 24-hour emergency services and diagnostic laboratory and imaging services. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
⚽How far will soccer fans go to meet players from Portugal’s highly regarded World Cup club? Team Portugal, featuring superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, is staying at the Four Seasons Palm Beach, just up the road from Lake Worth Beach’s public beach. Privacy rules at the hotel haven’t stopped fans from figuring out ways to make contact. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
🛥️ Port 32 Marinas, which is rebuilding its boat storage facility on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens, has merged with Acme Marinas LLC, backed by Koch Real Estate Investments. Adding Acme’s seven marinas gives the new company 17 locations with about 4,000 slips. (Megayacht News)
📆 Riviera Beach leaders will consider extending the contract of interim City Manager Bill Wilkins past the 120-day appointment the City Council agreed to when he was hired in April. Chairperson Bruce Guyton is proposing that his colleagues name Wilkins city manager during their meeting Wednesday until a new top administrator is hired. (City Council agenda)
🤖 Project Tango goes before the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission at 9 am Thursday on its proposal to increase the square footage of development allowed from 2.02 million square feet to 3.6 million square feet. (Zoning Agenda)
🛍️ The Town Center at Boca Raton mall’s shuttered Sears store and parking lot would be transformed under a proposal from Simon Property Group with a 197-room hotel, a 374-unit apartment building, a parking garage and a 157,000-square-foot main street with eight retail buildings. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🏠 A playful, art-filled redesign of the 1940s Palm Beach home of Casey and Erik Waldin. (Architectural Digest)
📖 Actor Monte Markham remarks on his Palm Beach County days, lessons from renowned drama teacher Watson B. Duncan, Burt Reynolds and his memorable role on TV’s “The Golden Girls” in an engaging look back at the 91-year-old actor from West Palm Beach. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, focuses with computer expert Alan Crowetz on finding truth in a world consumed by artificial intelligence that goes so far as to create fictional news websites. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today.)
