PBAU will scale back plans for West Palm parking garage 'monstrosity' after controversy
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach Atlantic University has agreed to scale back its plans for a massive parking garage along South Dixie Highway after two weeks of controversy and scathing criticism from the city's mayor.
The private Christian college won permission from the City Commission on April 14 to build a 25-story tower and 11-story garage.
If built, the garage would have been the largest parking structure in the city. Mayor Keith James had called the plan 'a monstrosity' and had tried unsuccessfully to persuade commissioners to block it.
In a turnabout, James announced April 28 that the university had agreed to amend its plans and will lower the garage's height to no more than seven stories.
OPINION: Good PBAU campus parking worth an 11-story 'monstrosity' in downtown West Palm
'I'm appreciative of PBAU's willingness to work with my vision of a city that creates attractive public spaces, and sustains neighborhoods with attractive streets designed for people, not just cars,' James said in a news release announcing the move.
The change represents a significant reversal for the school. City planners had asked the school previously to lower the garage's height to seven stories but the school had declined.
Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the garage at 11 stories anyway.
The controversy led to the resignation last week of the city's top development official.
Rick Greene, the city's longtime development director, left office abruptly April 24 after he said James ordered him to fire a city planner over her handling of the garage.
RELATED STORY: West Palm development boss: I resigned after mayor ordered me to fire a city planner
Greene, who had overseen the city's building and planning departments since 2012, said he stepped down rather than fire the planner, who he said did not deserve termination.
This is a developing story. Check back at www.PalmBeachPost.com for updates.
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Atlantic University West Palm parking garage scaled back
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Abuse scandals throw Church of England into staffing crisis
The organisation that manages a large part of the Church of England's assets is bracing itself for a recruitment crisis in the wake of its latest abuse scandal, a report suggests. The Church Commissioners of England has described its reputational risk as 'at an elevated level' after the Anglican Church apologised for more historic safeguarding failures and a review into one prolific abuser prompted the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation. It comes as the body that manages the Church's endowment fund – its largest source of revenue – announced a 10.3 per cent return last year, taking the value of the fund to £11.1 billion at the end of last year. In November, the extent of abuse carried out by barrister John Smyth, who abused up to 130 boys and young men over several decades, was revealed in a damning report. Smyth, who died aged 77 in 2018, used his role at Christian summer camps to meet victims, yet his crimes were not reported until 2013, decades after many were carried out. The 2024 Makin review, found that the 'abhorrent abuse' by Smyth could have been exposed four years earlier if Justin Welby, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, had contacted the authorities and done more to follow up on reports. Mr Welby announced his resignation days after the report, and formally ended his tenure earlier this year. A replacement for the highest position in the Church of England is yet to be decided, with the selection process not set to conclude until later this year. A section of the 2024 Church Commissioners for England annual report suggested there were concerns about the effects on its own recruitment. The report said: 'Reputation is important for any charity, and the Church Commissioners considers its reputational risk currently to be at an elevated level. 'Members of the public, whether they consider themselves part of the Church of England or not, can quickly form opinions about the Church as an institution based on what they see/hear/read in various forms of media, which understandably impacts their perception and view of the Church Commissioners.' Referring to the Smyth case and Mr Welby's resignation, the authors wrote: 'This case and other safeguarding failures undermine public confidence in the assertions made by the Church, including the Church Commissioners, about the importance of, and priority given to, safeguarding. 'The potential reputational impacts could be far reaching; for example they may in turn make it more difficult for us to attract and retain staff.' The same part of the report also referred to controversial slavery reparations, which were set to total £100 million over a nine-year period. It named the Fund for Healing Repair and Justice, an investment fund that will aim to raise £1 billion for members of communities affected by slavery, following criticism that the £100 million sum was not enough. Acknowledging the reparations issue, the report read: 'The highly significant and contested nature of the Church Commissioners' work researching and responding to historical links with African chattel enslavement also attracted significant attention, comment and, in some cases, criticism. 'Further reaction (including negative comment) to this programme of work is expected when the intended new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is launched, making investments and issuing grants.' Meanwhile, it was revealed that clergy would receive a pay rise of nearly 11 per cent next year as their stipends continue to catch up with salaries. The two key measures for clergy pay, the National Minimum Stipend and the National Stipend Benchmark, will both rise by 10.7 per cent next year, to £33,350 and £34,950 respectively. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Business Wire
8 hours ago
- Business Wire
Indeed Appoints James Whitemore as Chief Marketing Officer
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Indeed, the world's #1 job site and a leading job matching and hiring platform, announced the appointment of James Whitemore as Chief Marketing Officer, effective today. Whitemore will join Indeed's senior leadership team and report to Chief Revenue Officer Maggie Hulce. In his role as CMO, Whitemore will lead Indeed's global marketing organization, overseeing brand, industry, category, lifecycle, country and field marketing, in addition to global communications and the Indeed Hiring Lab. His focus will be on reaching and engaging with job seekers and employers around the world, and showcasing how Indeed is making the hiring process simpler, faster, and more human. 'James brings a strong track record of helping business customers thrive through innovative, customer-first marketing,' said Hulce. 'As we continue to deliver on our mission to help people get jobs and simplify hiring for employers, James will play a vital role in shaping how the world sees and experiences Indeed—and how we create value for the businesses we serve.' Whitemore brings over 25 years of strategic marketing and sales leadership experience to Indeed. He most recently served as Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at Celigo, a leading cloud integration platform, where he oversaw the marketing and sales strategy to accelerate growth and expand the company's presence in a rapidly growing market. Prior to that, Whitemore was CMO and EVP at data storage provider NetApp, where he launched an award-winning integrated digital marketing strategy that resulted in rapid growth of its Public Cloud business. In addition to serving in executive leadership positions at IBM Europe and Intrado, Whitemore spent nearly a decade leading the marketing functions at Sun Microsystems Storage Products Group. 'I've long admired Indeed's commitment to connect people to opportunity and help employers find the right talent,' said Whitemore. 'As Indeed continues to lead with AI-powered innovation to transform hiring, I'm excited to help more job seekers and employers unlock the full value of Indeed — especially by harnessing our unmatched data, insights, and sister brands like Glassdoor and Indeed Flex to create smarter, more meaningful connections.' Learn more about Indeed's senior leadership team. About Indeed More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else. Indeed is the #1 job site in the world (Comscore, Total Visits, March 2024). With 610 million Job Seeker Profiles, people in more than 60 countries across 28 languages come to Indeed to search for jobs, post resumes, and research companies. Over 3.3 million employers use Indeed to find and hire new employees. Indeed is a subsidiary of Recruit Holdings, a global leader in HR technology and business solutions that is simplifying hiring and transforming the world of work.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Education notes: Sterling student graduates from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Jun. 7—MILWAUKEE — Sterling resident Mackenzie Arndt recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Arndt received a bachelor's degree from the university's School of Education. The commencement ceremony was Sunday, May 18. The ceremony awarded degrees to 2,919 students. Rock Falls student named to Pennsylvania Western University's dean's list ROCK FALLS — Rock Falls resident Claire Bickett recently was named to Pennsylvania Western University's dean's list for the spring semester. Bickett attends the university's Clarion campus. The dean's list honors students who earned a semester GPA of 3.4 or higher. The students also must complete a minimum of 12 graded credit hours. Dixon students named to Cedarville University dean's list CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Dixon residents Madisyn Rubright and Alivia Rubright were named to Cedarville University's dean's list for the spring semester. The dean's list honors students with a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher. The students also must complete at least 12 credit hours. Cedarville University is an evangelical Christian university that offers undergraduate and graduate art, science and professional field programs. For more information, visit Newman Central Catholic High School graduates earn over $3.3 million in scholarships STERLING — Newman Central Catholic High School recently announced that its graduating class earned more than $3.3 million in scholarship awards. The 42 students were involved in faith-based services, student leadership, athletics and fine arts. "These numbers are impressive, but they're only part of the story," Newman Central Catholic High School director of marketing and enrollment Gehrig Koerner said in a news release. "What makes our students truly special is how they balance their studies with service, sports, faith and friendship. They're ready to make an impact in our community."
