Stet NewsWelcome back. For you today, insights from Mike Caruso’s supercharged divorce; the latest on plans for the Old Twin City Mall in North Palm Beach; Vanderbilt steams ahead; what our Community Voices teens did this summer; and Palm Beach Improv’s new digs.
⚖️ Disturbing charges against Mr. Nice Guy
The reputation Mike Caruso, the former county clerk and seven-year state House member, built as a genial politician blew apart last week when he was accused of five felonies, including child molestation involving assault on a kindergarten-age relative in Orlando in 2024 and 2025.
Yes, but: Allegations of sexual misconduct were not new to Caruso. They are referenced in his divorce file, a file maintained by the very office he headed before his arrest.
Catch up quick: During a 14-year court fight with his now former wife, Beverly, Caruso said in court papers that he had been accused of molesting another young male relative. The case file doesn’t offer any documentation for the allegation, and he vehemently denied that it happened.
- He blamed Beverly for making up such allegations.
Why it matters: The stunning charges against Caruso and his arrest at his Lake Park condo led Gov. Ron DeSantis to suspend him as clerk and comptroller one year to the day that DeSantis appointed him to fill the vacancy left by Joe Abruzzo. Longtime deputy Shannon Ramsey-Chessman is the new clerk.
- Caruso’s name remains on the ballot as the Republican nominee for clerk, but the party likely will find a replacement to run in November against Democrat Yvette Drucker, a Boca Raton City Council member.
Zoom in: Three years before Caruso filed for divorce from Beverly in 2012, she went to court, accusing him of domestic violence and asking a judge to order that he be barred from the home they shared in Delray Beach.
- She referenced him driving 100 mph on Interstate 95 and screaming at her, “I want a divorce,” and “I want to make you suffer.”
What they’re saying: “The husband has severe emotional problems which consist of anger, rage and a history of physical and emotional abuse of one or more of the children,” Beverly’s attorney, John Christiansen, wrote in divorce pleadings.
The bottom line: Caruso appeared Wednesday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, where his attorney, Jason Weiss, put out a statement saying, “Mr. Caruso is innocent of these allegations and intends to vigorously defend himself against these charges.” He is being held without bail in the Orange County jail in Orlando. A bond hearing is scheduled today.
Read more about the supercharged divorce between Mike Caruso and his first wife at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
🌴 Village at a crossroads
The fate of the old Twin City Mall property in North Palm Beach hinges on a court fight.
Developer Cypress Real Estate Advisors, whose NP-Devland Holdings owns the 13-acre site, thought it was giving the village what it wanted in 2023 when it proposed a mini-CityPlace for the critical Northlake Boulevard and U.S. 1 crossroads.
Why it matters: The Village Council wouldn’t get behind the developer’s proposal for more than 1,000 apartments and condos in buildings rising 14 stories, a potentially jarring addition to the 70-year-old village of 13,000 residents.
Catch up quick: The developer sued in May 2025. The suit has been moving through Palm Beach County Circuit Court slowly, with a quickly aborted move into federal court and an allegation that the village manager violated the Sunshine Law, leading him to plead the Fifth Amendment 25 times in a deposition.
Zoom in: NP-Devland says it met all the village requirements in a new zoning district and in its master plan and the village must allow it to build up to 14 stories. The village claims NP-Devland did not meet the requirements, falling short on its promise for public benefits. And the village insisted that its approval of the developer’s master plan does not include height guarantees.
Read in-depth coverage of the actions that led to the court fight in front of Circuit Court Judge James Sherman at StetNews.org.
— Valerie Staggs
📚 Vanderbilt’s first vision for West Palm
Nine buildings, four with towers potentially rising 10 stories, are planned to transform 9 acres of downtown West Palm Beach into a satellite for Vanderbilt University, based in Nashville, Tenn.
The university has accepted gifts of land from the city and the county appraised at nearly $60 million. Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene also has contributed eight lots.
To square off one of the key blocks, the university paid $6.25 million in June to buy two lots at Tamarind Avenue and Datura Street from Commercial Florida Solana LLC.
Why it matters: In a rapidly growing downtown confronting a rising chorus of objections from new citizens groups, Vanderbilt’s impact is being watched closely.
What they’re saying: “Have they contemplated build-out for affordable housing? Where are they going to put the students, the staff, the teachers, plus whoever else is needed? For the traffic, what does the spillover look like between Tamarind and Banyan?” said Jessica Swift, chair of the West Palm Beach Residents Coalition
What’s next: Vanderbilt’s first building, which will eventually be connected to two other buildings, will be about 115,000 square feet and four stories.
Site plans show the campus’ main entrance on Datura Street, with the first building at roughly 810 Datura St.
Catch up quick: Vanderbilt started exploring a move to West Palm Beach in March 2023 after a University of Florida satellite campus fell through.
- In 2025, billionaire Stephen Ross announced he would spearhead an effort to make it happen with his own $50 million contribution to Vanderbilt.
- Plans accelerated in March when Greene and his wife, Mei Sze, agreed to donate eight lots.
- Greene continues to own land on the block south of Evernia Street. That land is not included in the plans.
Read more about how the university will look at StetNews.org.
— Anne Geggis
🌻 What we learned this summer
This summer, five student journalists took stories about Riviera Beach that they reported for Stet, such as the city’s new water plant and its Youth Council, and turned them into videos made for people their own age.
- They chose the stories and decided how to tell them, in their own voices.
Why it matters: Riviera Beach has deep civic energy but historically thin local coverage. Stet’s teen journalism program, Community Voices, trains and pays high school students from Inlet Grove High School in Riviera Beach to cover their own city. During the school break, we challenged those teens to reimagine reporting in a way that would appeal to their peers and make local news relevant.
Every student rebuilt a text story as a video, learning to script, shoot and edit along the way. The young journalists quickly learned to reframe a story for a new audience without losing what mattered. For some students, the question was what to keep, for others, what to cut.
What we learned: We were challenged by the natural rhythms of summer break; vacations, jobs and family obligations meant deadlines became fluid. Nonetheless, all five students turned text reporting into video, a transition none had made before. With guidance and editorial feedback, they quickly grasped such skills as scripting and framing the story for a different audience.
The bigger takeaway showed us something worth exploring: that student-made video could help Stet fill a gap in our news coverage.
What’s next: We’re working with the students on how video fits for Community Voices — and Stet — in the future.
As we kick off our second year of Community Voices, we’re more committed than ever to bringing young people into news coverage.
Watch their work: Watch the videos here. Please comment and share!
— Liz Capozzi, co-founder, Stet News and C.B. Hanif, Inlet Grove High School.
The Community Voices summer project was supported by the API-Knight Youth Engagement Fund, part of the American Press Institute’s Local News Summit on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience.
🍊 The Juice
🗳️ Election results are in from Florida’s midterm primary and the biggest surprise is Democrat Angie Nixon’s defeat of Alex Vindman for U.S. Senate. Nixon and the state party’s chief, Nikki Fried, got into a heated conversation Friday that included a yelling match about the impact of socialism and the challenges of campaigning in a red state like Florida. (Axios)
🔎 Florida Tax Watch, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization, said it would be better if voters defeated Amendment 3, a major property tax cut for homeowners, asserting it fails to keep municipal spending in check and hurts vulnerable Floridians.
- The Legislature will have a greater opportunity next year when the 25-member Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission convenes to review the state’s overall tax structure, Tax Watch President Jeff Kottkamp said. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🚂 The federal government pledged $78.9 million toward rebuilding the century-old bridge that carries Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway trains over the St. Lucie River. It’s part of a $130 million federal commitment to the $262 million project that would rebuild the bridge with two tracks 50 feet higher than the old bridge, allowing for more boat clearance. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🤿 Catch up quick on developer Stephen Ross’ deep dive into West Palm Beach from a national perspective. (The New York Times gift link — email required)
- Local note: Stephen Ross had nothing to do with the 1980s clearing of downtown land that later became CityPlace. David Paladino and Henry Rolfs, who assembled that property under the name Downtown/Uptown, razed all the homes at the city’s insistence.
🦖 Two homecomings for Lake Worth Beach. Former Commissioner Andy Amoroso, who suffered a stroke Aug. 16, returned home to a downtown gathering after convalescing for two weeks at his sister’s home in Jupiter Farms. And Dino the dive-bar dinosaur returned to the rooftop of Harry’s Banana Farm bar for the first time in five months after city commissioners dropped code enforcement fines, clearing the way for its return. (Lake Worth Beach Independent, Amoroso story, dinosaur story)
🚁 A sarcastic look at Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter and where she fits in the county’s colorful history from original Stetter Pat Beall. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🔬 A research group led by biochemist Luiz Pedro Carvalho of The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology in Jupiter has found that one of the supposedly “known” genes in tuberculosis has a completely unexpected biological role. The work could impact research on TB antibiotic resistance and new drug development. (University of Florida Health newsroom)
🥞 John G’s, the iconic Lake Worth casino restaurant, has been sold and is being franchised. Plans call for expansion as far north as Port St. Lucie, heading south to Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton. (The Coastal Star)
✈️ From Morrison Field to President Donald J. Trump International Airport, taking a measure of the former Palm Beach International Airport as the new three digit code — DJT — becomes official. (The New York Times gift link — email required)
🍽️ 10 signature dishes in Palm Beach County restaurants, according to Michelin. (Michelin Guide)
🧮 Census data shows St. Lucie County surging as Palm Beach County growth slows. (CBS12)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, explores the globe-trotting corporate story behind the career of Delray Beach City Commissioner Tom Markert. He helped run Nielsen’s ratings business across the globe and moved his family 14 times before settling in Delray. His third book, a CIA psychic thriller called “Death Watch,” is out. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today.)
561NSIDER: 🎤 Palm Beach Improv’s second act
The Palm Beach Improv will open in its new home at The Mall at Wellington Green just in time for Labor Day weekend.
Why it matters: The 20-year-old club’s return will fill a gaping hole in the local comedy scene.
Catch up quick: An anchor at CityPlace in West Palm Beach starting in 2001, Palm Beach Improv needed a new location in 2023 when the Related Cos. elected to build office space where the Improv once reigned.
Coming soon: Nate Jackson’s Big Dog Comedy Tour opens the new Improv on Sept. 4-6. Jackson’s 2025 Netflix special, “Super Funny,” earned him a bushel of new fans, and he’s been touring internationally while producing “OpinioNATEd” podcast.
- Other acts are a mix of classic comics, including such fan favorites as Damon Wayans and Mike Epps plus niche talent: TikTokers and podcasters like Jackson.
What they’re saying: Palm Beach Improv owner/operator Chris Carbo expects to leverage the location. “We can tap into those people who might not want to come all the way downtown,” he said.
Zoom in: The Improv and its sister company, Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen, will be in the southeast corner of the mall between CMX Cinemas and Macy’s. The venue’s 450 seats are a mix of booths and high-top and low-top tables.
What’s next: Carbo has booked more than 40 shows between now and New Year’s Eve.
Keep reading to learn the owner’s favorite things about the new location at StetNews.org.
— Janis Fontaine
