Stet NewsHappy Election Day to candidates and voters across the state! And here’s to the 5,000 election workers greeting Palm Beach County voters today at the polls. It’s going to be a long day, but we’re with you in spirit!
Meanwhile, the Project Tango proposal enters a new phase; an urgent plea from a City Council member; promising news for Baby Mabel Rose; an accidental Sunshine Law violation; what’s next in West Palm Beach’s skyline; an ode to a favorite teahouse; and a last call for voters.
📽️ Project Tango Take 2
Another high-profile hearing could be in the offing for the Project Tango AI hyperscale data center proposed at Palm Beach Aggregates.
PBA Holdings, the longtime landowner of the site, has filed an appeal of the County Commission’s July 15 rejection of its rezoning request under the Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act.
Why it matters: With an estimated value of $34.5 billion, the data center and warehouse complex proposed by PBA promises a huge boost to the county tax base. But residents in neighboring Arden and elsewhere fear a data center could create noise, vibrations, heat, lighting and potential water contaminants that could sicken their children and destroy their property values.
Catch up quick: The county and PBA have until today to select a special magistrate, who would be hired to hear the challenge, much like a mediator.
- The magistrate would hold a courtlike hearing and issue a report for the County Commission to consider. If the commission rejects the rezoning for a second time, PBA could sue or refile its zoning application and try again.
Read the “request for relief” here that PBA filed to challenge the commission’s 5-1 denial of its proposal for 3.6 million square feet of development. It includes about 1 million square feet devoted to the data center, on a 202-acre site at Southern Boulevard and 20-Mile Bend.
But there’s more. PBA also sued competing landowner TPA Group, whose WPB Logistics Owner bought 60 acres from PBA and holds an option to buy another 75 acres. WPB Logistics previously had sued PBA.
- That deal was meant to be for warehouse development, but TPA surreptitiously began pursuing data center options, PBA says in its suit.
Read the zoning challenge here.
Read Stet’s full story here on the zoning challenge and the corporate intrigue behind the scenes that has led the competing landowners to file competing lawsuits.
— Joel Engelhardt
✉️ Lanier: ‘I am caught in their net’
Riviera Beach City Council Member Shirley Lanier has made an urgent plea for her colleagues to help her fend off an FBI investigation, saying that if she doesn’t mount a defense, “an indictment becomes more likely.”
Driving the news: In a six-page letter dated Aug. 7, Lanier wrote that she has served the city with integrity, but “I am caught in their net.”
Why it matters: It is the first time any Riviera Beach official has publicly confirmed that the FBI is focused on Community Redevelopment Agency projects. The letter also, for the first time, raised the possibility of an indictment.
The law enforcement agency delivered subpoenas to the city on Feb 24.
The latest: Council members declined Wednesday to advance a $9,129 payment Lanier owes her defense lawyer despite her statement in the letter that she does not have the money.
No criminal charges have been announced.
Between the lines: WPBF Channel 25 reported in March that the subpoenas requested records involving communications by Lanier, Council Chair Bruce Guyton and then-Council Member Doug Lawson and are related to the city’s Marina Village redevelopment.
Zoom out: It was Lanier’s second attempt to persuade her council colleagues to approve payment to her lawyer, Jeffrey Sloman of Miami. She said he has stopped work and the grand jury is meeting without her. Sloman did not return a call Thursday from Stet News.
“I need a defense to prove my innocence, to stop this fishing expedition, and to protect this Board from further scrutiny,” Lanier wrote.
The other side: In May, Council Members Glen Spiritis and Miller-Anderson said Lanier should not be paid until the end of the case. Guyton expressed concern about approving the fees for Lanier based on the invoice she submitted and no proof of payment.
“We have a lot of people looking at us now,” Guyton said.
The bottom line: Lanier’s letter warned council members, “If this can happen to me, it can happen to any of you,” she wrote. “Stand with me. Protect this Board.”
Share this story. Lanier’s letter.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
🫀 A new heart for Mabel Rose
Mabel Rose Correal of Lake Worth Beach, born with a remote chance of survival because of multiple severe congenital heart defects, has a new heart.
On Aug. 5 — her grandmother’s birthday — Mabel Rose’s parents, Hanna and Mateo of Lake Worth Beach, walked their baby down the hall at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville to undergo the 12-hour transplant surgery.
Hanna announced the good news on Facebook, but first she expressed her gratitude to a grieving family she probably didn’t know.
- “A family in the hardest time of their lives made the decision to give our baby girl a chance at life through the donation of their child’s heart,” Hanna said.
The back story: Mabel Rose was born at a Royal Palm Beach birthing center on Dec. 13, missing the lower left chamber of her heart.
- A heart valve also was leaking, and one of her kidneys had made its way through a hole in her diaphragm to sit atop one of her lungs.
- She ended up at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where a doctor implanted a special machine known as a Berlin Heart meant to help babies until they receive a transplant.
People rallied to help the parents … The Kemp Legacy Foundation based in Palm Beach Gardens gave a large gift, according to co-founder Jennifer Kemp. It is accepting donations earmarked for “Mabel Rose.” Hanna has set up a GoFundMe for Mabel Rose’s “New Beginning.”
A bumpy ride: After the 12-hour surgery, a valve in Mabel Rose’s donor heart didn’t close completely, leaking blood backward into another chamber.
- Doctors and family opted for a procedure two days later that created a controlled leak in her heart to relieve the backflow.
- During the procedure, Mabel Rose went into cardiac arrest.
- They put her on a machine, known as ECMO, to pump oxygenated blood throughout her body.
Finally, some good news: They went back a third time Wednesday to repair the heart leak, but there was nothing to repair, Hanna reported on Facebook.
The latest: Mabel Rose was weaned off ECMO.
— Holly Baltz
☀️ Lake Park concedes Sunshine Law violations
Lake Park has conceded that it violated the Sunshine Law in 2021 and 2022 when it selected Forest Development to take over the town’s marina and build a hotel, restaurant and boat storage building.
A Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge blessed the town’s concession, reached in a lawsuit brought by resident Pablo Perhacs.
- The town and Perhacs agreed they no longer had any dispute since the town had admitted to the violations and agreed to pay Perhacs’ attorney fees of $17,325.
Why it matters: It’s unusual for a government to concede violations to Florida’s Sunshine Law, which requires government actions be conducted in public. The violations were not intentional, the judge found, so it would be difficult to pursue a criminal case. But the ruling could be used to throw out the marina leases.
Catch up quick: The leases call for Forest to pay $1.2 million up front and $3 million over 10 years to control the town’s waterfront property for 99 years. The town has criticized those terms and the amount of space Forest is proposing for public access.
The two sides reached the deal after Forest’s efforts to intervene in the lawsuit, including appeals, were exhausted and after a last-minute plea filed by Forest on Aug. 6 fell flat, rejected by Circuit Court Judge Darren Shull.
What they’re saying: “It’s a victory for open government and democracy,” Perhacs said.
The legal drama is not over.
- The town can use the ruling to try to dismiss Forest’s December lawsuit, in which the developer of the Nautilus 220 condo sued the town for slow-walking the marina deal.
Read more about how the Sunshine Law violations occurred at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🏗️ West Palm’s construction in the sky
Add another canopy of cranes to the skies above downtown West Palm Beach.
A proposal that stacks hundreds of thousands of square feet into a structure 296 feet high is poised to become concrete reality.
Developer Mast Capital earned final approval Wednesday to build Banyan Tree Residences West Palm Beach, a 22-story, nearly 204,000-square-foot residential development with 88 condo units, a four-level garage and 11,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
Why it matters: Controversy about high-rises shooting up in the heart of the city has reached historic proportions.
- Members of a citizens group that is pushing back against the pace of development showed up to oppose the project.
What they’re saying: “Halt any planned development not under construction … sanely create the long overdue modern city planning that is effective and sustainable, where the citizens have overriding input, so all can rightfully access and enjoy a quality of life,” said Harriet Janensch, who lives in City Plaza.
The other side: “Our downtown is thriving, not the opposite,” said Cory Hartstein, a lawyer living on South Flagler Drive. “West Palm Beach is at a crossroads, and we can be a city that embraces smart, responsible growth … or we can be a city that reflexively says ‘no’ to every proposal, watches its momentum fade and wonders a decade from now where all the investment and energy went.”
The property’s history: It was once home to the Arthritis Foundation.
- Its national organization wanted to cash in on the downtown real estate boom in 2023.
- The local Arthritis Foundation lost its site, and the property was sold for $4.5 million in 2023 and then sold to the developer in 2025 for $5.2 million.
Read more about the battle over downtown rising and see more renderings at StetNews.org.
— Anne Geggis
🍊 The Juice
🚌 West Palm Beach plans to open its low-cost transit service for areas reaching through downtown in late August or early September. The service offers $1 rides on a fixed route in mini-shuttle buses and an Uber-like on-demand service for $2. The wait times are required to be no longer than 15 minutes. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
📧 Lake Worth Beach City Clerk Melissa Coyne was suspended without pay for two weeks this summer after she admitted to altering a city document to cover up a mistake she made. The mistake put her in the crosshairs of City Commissioner Anthony Segrich, who doggedly pursued the matter. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
©️A string of bogus copyright infringement claims have been filed to Google, demanding that the search giant remove news stories about Michael Carbonara, a Republican candidate for U.S. House District 22. The complaints, filed by different entities with little information online, fraudulently claim that the articles are using copyrighted material. (WLRN)
💎 An affiliate of Miami-based developer Newgard Group is planning a luxury car storage and social club on about 3 acres it bought at 2500 N. Florida Mango Road. The two-story Palm Beach Auto Haus at the site of the former Verdes Tropicana Bowl would have 20 privately owned garages. Planned amenities include fitness equipment, padel courts, coworking spaces and immersive racing experiences. (News release)
💸 Is Brightline too big to fail? While it carries billions in debt, Brightline has fueled billions in transit-oriented development, offers a vital alternative to public transit and serves as an essential recruitment tool for employers.
- “Everything is great, except for the amount of debt,” Fort Lauderdale-based bankruptcy attorney Chad Van Horn said. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🔌 The Regulators Roundtable, a trade group that includes Google, hosted an all-expenses-paid retreat in July at The Ben hotel in West Palm Beach. Guests included members of the utility industry, tech firms and right-leaning utility commissioners who tend to support plans for rapid growth. (Washington Post gift link, email required)
🔎 Lobbyists whose clients include Sarasota homebuilders Pat Neal and Carlos Beruff secretly worked to stop state lawmakers from repealing the widely reviled Senate Bill 180 that has made it much harder for communities across Florida to manage growth. (Seeking Rents)
💯 Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, a champion of fiscal transparency, omitted from his public financial disclosure more than 100 properties tied to him through his companies. While Ingoglia’s disclosure shows three properties together worth more than $2 million, state corporate filings and county property records tie him to nearly $9 million more. (Florida Bulldog)
🥈 Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee ranked No. 2 on Forbes’ inaugural list of public historically Black colleges and universities. FAMU came in just behind North Carolina A&T State University. (Forbes)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, explores what’s driving voters to the polls: the economy, property insurance and the affordability squeeze. They dig into the generational divide reshaping both parties, draw a sharp parallel between today’s political shifts and the rise of the tea party, and preview the property tax amendment that will be on the ballot in November. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today.)
561NSIDER: 🫖 Put down your pinkies
Serenity Garden Tea House and Cafe with its rooms of Victorian decor and variety of teacups and saucers is closing on Aug. 23.
Audrey Farrelly, the business’ third owner, has leased the historic Craftsman cottage at Vallette Way and Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach for 13 years.
With rent and maintenance costs rising, she said she can no longer make it profitable.
Why it’s special: Customers have enjoyed tea in the quaint, three-room, 107-year-old cottage six blocks south of the Norton Museum for 28 years.
- It has hosted bridal showers, book clubs, Mother’s Day gatherings and more.
- Tea lovers booked months in advance for special “Royal Tea” service, as well as the children’s “Tot Tea” — with peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches, Goldfish crackers and cupcakes.
What they’re saying: “Serenity Tea House is a place where we gathered. We chatted about books, sipped our tea with our besties, dressed up and wore hats to celebrate a new baby arriving, a birthday, a retirement, Mother’s Day and friendships,” said Joni Garman. “I have wonderful memories that I have shared with my family and friends.”
The best sips and nibbles: Tops on the menu? “Scones. They’re the biggest seller. Full stop,” Farrelly said. The house-made orange and cranberry scones are buttery, sweet biscuits served with clotted cream and lemon curd jam.
- For tea, raspberry rose petal herbal concoction and the pineapple coconut black teas were most popular.
- The cafe favorites, the Waldorf chicken salad, and the daily quiche, along with a cup of soup, fed hundreds of pinky-raising tea drinkers.
For more sweet customer memories, read the story at StetNews.org.
— Jan Norris
🇺🇸 Last call: All of our primary election previews
As of Monday afternoon, turnout from early voting and vote-by-mail for today’s election stood at 14.1% countywide, with 13.6% of Republicans, 22.1% of Democrats and 5.5% of non-major party voters having cast ballots.
- While about the same percentage cast early ballots, 15% of Democrats and only 7.4% of Republicans went with the vote-by-mail option.
That still leaves nearly 800,000 county voters able to head to the polls today.
For your voting pleasure, we’ve gathered our coverage of some of the key local races right here for you to click on:
📓Baxter counts lodging at Breakers among campaign expenses
🫏 3 seek Democratic nomination for Baxter’s commission seat
🏁 Johnson, Whitfield face off for County Commission
🪑 2 Democrats want to unseat Brian Mast
📚Four vie for District 4 School Board seat
✏️ Three pursue western communities post on School Board
🛳️ Port of Palm Beach candidates go head-to-head
🇺🇸 Who’s who in all of the contested elections in Palm Beach County
❓ Want even more? Find information about every candidate on your ballot at the League of Women Voters’ Vote411.org.
