Latest news with #PalmBeachCountyCommission
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palm Beach County suspends DEI policies to save nearly $330 million in federal funds
The Palm Beach County Commission has taken emergency action to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from its policies to reduce the risk of losing millions in federal funding. This action on Tuesday was spurred in response to President Donald Trump's executive order that prohibits the use of federal funds for the promotion of gender ideology and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs. For Palm Beach County, this action will mean several changes to county policies, including: — Suspending portions of the county's Equal Business Opportunity Ordinances, removing the enforcement and utilization of preferences or distinctions based on sex or race. — Eliminating the county's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, though this office never was staffed. Masimba Maxwell Mutamba, who is with the county attorney's office, told county commissioners during a public meeting on Tuesday that the goal of the emergency ordinance is to 'minimize the potential that a federal agency will independently decide that Palm Beach County is not fulfilling the terms of the grant conditions that incorporate these executive orders.' 'Basically, what we are recommending is that this board pass an emergency ordinance that suspends certain provisions of programs we currently have in place that may subsequently be found or determined by a federal agency to be violative of certain grant conditions,' Mutamba said. For the 2025 fiscal year, the county received nearly $330 million in federal grant funds, according to county documents. 'Although staff believes all county policies, programs and ordinances are consistent with the current interpretation of federal law by the courts with jurisdiction, the new interpretation of federal law by federal regulatory agencies raise concerns and could subject the county, the county commissioners and staff to potential legal liability,' county staff wrote. In need of a four-fifths vote by the County Commission to go through, the county commissioners voted 6-1 to put the emergency ordinance into effect but not without much turmoil expressed by some of the commissioners about the decision. 'I am committed to fairness, opportunity and inclusion for everyone in Palm Beach County because when we invest in every part of our community, we all rise. With that being said, I don't want to risk $329 million that come into our neighborhoods to provide essential services that we all rely on,' Commissioner Joel Flores said during Tuesday's meeting. 'There's no bone in my body that wants to approve this suspension. But I will do it only because I don't want jeopardize the livelihood of some.' Commissioner Gregg Weiss called the decision one of the hardest votes he has had to cast in public office. 'It's attack on local control, and it threatens the fairness that we all have been working on so hard to build into our system,' he said. 'For years, we've made sure that small businesses, especially those owned by women, minorities and historically excluded groups have a fair shot at doing business with the county. This new policy puts that progress at risk.' Not every commissioner shared these sentiments. 'I don't agree that this is a terrible thing to happen. I don't agree that having the best person for the best job at the best price for our taxpayers is a bad thing,' Vice Mayor Sara Baxter said. 'I can't be any more in support of something that gets rid of things based on race, whether it's one way or the other. That's a terrible way for society to thrive, and we got rid of it, and to go back to it is awful.' Mayor Maria Marino said she viewed the decision to go forward with the emergency ordinance as a 'temporary insurance policy for our taxpayers and our grant programs.' The Palm Beach County School Board set out to take similar emergency action in April, removing references to affirmative action in hiring, minority preference in vendor selection, racial balance in student assignments and racial diversity on some district committees, among other changes.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Courthouse law library renamed after civil rights trailblazer, late Judge Edward Rodgers
WEST PALM BEACH — The law library inside the Daniel T.K. Hurley Courthouse now bears the name of one of Palm Beach County's most revered civil rights figures and legal pioneers: Judge Edward Rodgers. The Palm Beach County Commission voted in April to rename the library the Judge Edward Rodgers Law Library, honoring the late jurist's groundbreaking career and enduring contributions to justice and public service. The renaming, initiated by Chief Judge Glenn Kelley, was commemorated with an official unveiling ceremony on May 29. Rodgers made history throughout his 22-year tenure in the 15th Judicial Circuit. He became the first Black judge appointed in Palm Beach County in 1973, having already broken barriers as the county's first Black prosecutor. He later served as the circuit's first Black chief judge, leading the judiciary from 1983 to 1985. Born in Pittsburgh in 1927, Rodgers moved to West Palm Beach in 1950 and experienced firsthand the segregation that defined the region. Denied admission to the University of Miami School of Law due to his race, he instead attended Florida A&M University's law school. After entering legal practice, Rodgers quickly emerged as a civil rights leader, pushing to desegregate institutions like the West Palm Beach Police Department and what is now Good Samaritan Medical Center. Read more: Hundreds gather to mourn Edward Rodgers, civil rights trailblazer and legal giant Rodgers built a reputation as both a compassionate judge and a fierce advocate for equality throughout his career. In 1991, he founded the Riviera Beach Civil Drug Court, among the first of its kind, offering treatment and rehabilitation rather than incarceration. The effort earned him the Jefferson Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize for public service. After retiring from the bench in 1995, Rodgers remained a powerful voice in public life. He served as mayor and councilman of Riviera Beach and was the first chairman of the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. His final years were spent mentoring public servants and challenging the conscience of local institutions. Rodgers died in 2018 at the age of 91, survived by three children and a legacy that helped shape Palm Beach County's legal and civic landscape. Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Law library renamed to honor late judge and civic icon Edward Rodgers
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida wants to ban fluoride and not because it makes you (or frogs) gay
During public comments at a recent Palm Beach County Commission meeting, a speaker told commissioners to make sure that local governments here are removing fluoride from the drinking water. 'I do hear there are executive orders coming down that will require that anyway,' Candace Rojas said. 'But I think you should be leaders and start that, since it makes everyone dumb, docile and gay.' Fluoride in the drinking water makes you gay? Seriously? We've already sunk this far this quickly in the so-called "Golden Age of America"? First, a little background. Florida is poised to be the second state to ban fluoride in drinking water. Talk about 'dumb.' The bill passed this session by the Florida Legislature would preclude local governments from adding fluoride to drinking water as an effective cavity-fighting tool. That removes the authority of cities such as Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, and unincorporated Palm Beach County to make their own decisions on protecting the dental health of their citizens. Fluoridating drinking water used to be considered sound science. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had called the addition of fluoride in drinking water, a process that began in 1945, as one of the 'Ten Great Public Health Achievements' of the last century. But now that President Donald Trump has appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services with a 'go wild on health' mandate, water fluoridation, like life-saving vaccinations, are being marginalized. Spreading alarm about water fluoridation has become one of the pillars of MAHA — Make America Healthy Again —that is revolutionizing public health in ways that used to be unthinkable. Traditionally, the stated rationale for removing fluoride from the drinking water is that at high concentrations — far higher than those used in drinking water — fluoride could cause discoloration and pitting of teeth in a condition called dental fluorosis. Opinion: Why isn't Congress doing anything about Trump? They want to be re-elected. But Kennedy has turned fluoride into something far more sinister. 'Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,' Kennedy wrote in a social media post. And he is mainstreaming the widely debunked claim that people's sexuality can be altered through chemicals in drinking water. 'The capacity for these chemicals that we are just raining down on our children right now to induce these very profound sexual changes in them is something we need to be thinking about as a society,' he said in a three-year-old appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. Kennedy talked about how adding the herbicide atrazine in water populated by frogs castrates and feminizes the male frogs. 'What does this do to sexual development in children?' Kennedy said. 'Nobody knows. We know what it does to frogs.' Kennedy's gay-frogs riff was borrowed from an old rant by conspiracy theory maestro and Infowars creator Alex Jones. Jones has claimed for years that the U.S. government uses chemicals to turn people gay and that the Pentagon has been developing a 'gay bomb' to drop on enemy combatants. 'The reason there's so many gay people now is because it's a chemical warfare operation, and I have the government documents where they said they're going to encourage homosexuality with chemicals so that people don't have children,' Jones said on his broadcast 15 years ago. Editorial: With Trump's tariffs and federal cuts, Florida's tax plan comes at a bad time He later claimed that the government is 'putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin' frogs gay.' 'The majority of frogs in most areas of the United States are now gay,' Jones said. Water-supply crackpots are being mainstreamed right here in Florida too. Of course, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the fringe medical doctor appointed as Florida Surgeon General by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is firmly in the alarmist camp. And Ron Peri, a former Central Florida pastor who was appointed by DeSantis to the oversight board controlling Disney World's taxing district, has called homosexuality 'evil' and linked it to the drinking water. Peri blamed birth control pills, not fluoride. 'You know, there's estrogen in the water from birth control pills. They can't get it out,' Peri said. 'The level of testosterone in men broadly in America has declined by 50 points in the past 10 years. You know, and so, maybe that's a part of it.' I think what's behind all this drinking-water hysteria is that as narrow-minded people see the societal stigmatization of LGBTQ people melt away, formerly closeted people become more visible. And as a way to explain the greater visibility, the disappointed guardians of the past rationalize that it must be happening due to a secret water-tampering plot by the government to increase the population of LGBTQ people. So, yes. I agree with part of what the woman said during public comments at the county commission meeting. Something is definitely trying to make us stupid. But it's not the fluoride. Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at fcerabino@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fluoride in water isn't making Florida gay | Opinion
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As gridlock reaches maddening levels, developer for west of Boynton apartment complex regroups
Facing pressure from residents west of Boynton Beach, a development group looking to build apartments near Valencia Reserve wants to postpone a May 13 public hearing before the Palm Beach County Commission to address community concerns. The commission routinely grants postponement requests. In a May 9 letter to the county, the applicant for 'West Boynton Ranches' said it needs more time "to further conversations" with Valencia Reserve and Boynton Agricultural Reserve Communities to discuss how to make the project more palatable. "We are very pleased with the (likely) postponement," said Murray Gendzel, a spokesperson for the upscale retirement community that has collected more than 2,700 signatures on petitions opposing the project that calls for 259 rental units on 32 acres west of Valencia Reserve. "Now we can at least negotiate with them. That is something they had refused to do in the past." In court: West Palm man scammed out of $7M by son of longtime friend, LA film producer Gendzel and the Valencia Reserve HOA board met separately in early May with each of the seven county commissioners to discuss their concerns. The Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations arranged the meetings on behalf of Valencia Reserve. Gendzel said commissioners were warned traffic congestion could become so bad that it would be difficult for first responders to arrive on a timely basis at nearby Bethesda West Hospital. Boynton Beach Boulevard and Lyons Road, both already over their designated capacity, would be further affected. "The commissioner meetings went very well," said Gendzel. "I think the applicant (West Boynton Ranches LLC) knew things might not go very well on Tuesday, May 13, and that is one of the reasons for the postponement. We cannot live with the density as proposed or the four-story height of the buildings. We also want the apartments to be relocated so they are closer to State Road 7." Barry Fredson, a Valencia Reserve resident, provided evidence of the routine morning gridlock on Boynton Beach Boulevard between Hagen Ranch and Lyons roads with images and videos of traffic backed up for at least a half-mile. Housing: Planning board calls proposed community next to Valencia Reserve too dense Lauren McCllelan of JMorton Planning/Landscape Architecture, the agent representing the development group, credited the Boynton agricultural communities for a productive meeting on May 9 that resulted in her client agreeing to the postponement. She said her client still expects to build but will listen to changes that might make the project more acceptable to the community. The Planning Commission recently recommended to the commission that the project not move forward because of its density, eight residences per acre. But critics argued that the density was really 20 units to the acre because the complex would be clustered on a small portion of the property. The site is within the Agricultural Reserve Tier. It is on the south side of Boynton Beach Boulevard about one-quarter mile west of Lyons Road, near Bethesda West. The applicants need a zoning change for the project to move forward. Bottlenecked: Palm Beach County road projects lag behind massive population growth Gendzel said there is little trust with the development group, noting they built an illegal lake without permits adjacent to the community in 2020. Area residents demonstrated against the construction, calling on the county to seek an injunction to stop the illegal activity. It never did, but eventually a county magistrate cited the owners for violating the county building code. They paid a fine of $250,000, agreeing that no one would ever water-ski on the lake. The 'West Boynton Ranches' proposal would set aside 65 of the 259 apartments for workforce housing. The applicant, with the support of several housing advocate groups, argue there is a need for such housing in the region. The project, they say, would meet the need for more modestly priced housing in the Ag Reserve. It is being filed as 'Essential Housing,' a designation that allows for higher density. Such projects must be along either the Boynton Beach Boulevard or Atlantic Avenue corridors. The applicants consist of multimillionaire Doug DeBruin of Canada and two local water-ski enthusiasts, Chet Raley and Darin Montgomery. Raley is a sought-after water-ski coach. DeBruin is the executive chairman of Ontario-based Evertz Technologies Ltd., and Montgomery, like the other two, is a water-ski enthusiast. All of them have competed in national and state tournaments. The lake has dimensions that are similar to those that host national competitions. Sign up for our Post on Boynton Beach weekly newsletter, delivered every Thursday! Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues concerning HOAs. You can reach him at mdiamond@ Help support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Apartment developer regroups after pressure from Valencia Reserve
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As Trump's security bill escalates, Palm Beach County officials say they need federal help
Palm Beach County officials, stuck with annual presidential security costs of more than $45 million, continue to explore new avenues for reimbursements so that the costs do not fall onto the shoulders of county taxpayers. Assistant County Administrator Todd Bonlarron recently briefed county commissioners on the escalating costs and the efforts undertaken to minimize impacts. The bad news is that even if relief is obtained from the federal government, it won't come until next fiscal year. The Palm Beach County Commission has transferred $20 million into the budget of County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw to cover massive amounts of overtime incurred by deputies to provide security for President Donald Trump. From July 20 to Nov. 10, 2024, PBSO incurred $13 million in costs for more than 100,000 hours of overtime. In a letter to the county's congressional delegation, PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said his agency "remains steadfast in its commitment to assist with presidential protection activities as requested by the United States Secret Service. That being said, the designation of a federal funding source is critical to offset the very considerable expenses the Agency has incurred to date, and expects to incur moving forward." Meanwhile, Bonlarron explained that the impacts go far beyond overtime expenses for PBSO. County Fire Rescue, the city of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach are also incurring considerable expense although he did not have figures readily available. He said, though, they were not "inconsequential." Bonlarron said the county is working with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Brian Mast and Lois Frankel to support a bill similar to the one that was enacted into law eight years ago. The law passed by Congress reimbursed the county and New York City for security costs related to the travels of President Trump. Bonlarron noted that the county is currently trying to obtain reimbursement for when Trump campaigned for the presidency and for when he was president-elect. The county previously was only reimbursed for the time after he took office. PBSO: We need $45 million to cover extraordinary costs incurred for Trump security County: $20 million bill for Trump security will completely deplete special contingency fund Bonlarron said the county is also looking for direct help from the Secret Service since the agency requested that the county provide the extraordinary protection for the president. "We feel good about getting reimbursed but we will know more in the coming months," he told commissioners. Bonlarron noted that Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) has also experienced delays when the president visits Mara-a-Lago. Air Force One flies into PBI. Bonlarron acknowledged that costs to county taxpayers will depend on how often the president visits Mar-a-Lago. The more visits, the greater the impact. As of Feb. 22, Trump had already spent 10 days at Mar-a-Lago during the month, including a six-day stint from Feb. 14-19. Military aircraft enforce the flight restrictions. The Palm Beach Post reported last week that the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, confirmed there were three airspace violations of the imposed presidential protected space during Trump's six-day visit to Mar-a-Lago in February. Two occurred on Feb. 15 and one on Presidents Day, Feb. 17. Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues impacting homeowner associations. You can reach him at mdiamond@ Help support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: County calls on federal government to help pay for Trump security
