MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS ON MARCH 10 SEE STORY, PAGE 3
WINGROVE PROMISES SCHOLARSHIPS SEE STORY, PAGE 4
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INSIDE
Volume 47, Number 5 March 6 - March 19, 2026
Serving Palms West Since 1980
BLACK HISTORY MONTH PANELISTS
Westlake Begins Negotiations With New Manager Pick Brown
Westlake City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday, March 3 to begin negotiations with Howard W. Brown Jr. to become Westlake’s new city manager. Page 3
The Village of Wellington held its Black History Month Leaders Forum, along with the opening of the AfriKin Art Exhibition on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Wellington Community Center. The forum featured Black leaders sharing their insights, personal stories and strategies for advancing Black leadership in the workplace. Shown above are panelists Steven Graves, Jonathan Bostic, Marc Murray, Marcia Andrews, Alphonso Brooks and Reidel Anthony. MORE PHOTOS, PAGE 5 PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN/TOWN-CRIER
West Fest Brings Country Fun To Royal Palm Beach Park
Royal Palm Beach’s annual West Fest celebration was held Friday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 22 at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park. The three-day event included live music and family fun with carnival rides, a fun zone and more, including the Mister and Miss West Fest Contest. Page 16
Wellington Candidates Lay Out Positions At Town-Crier Forum
By Patrick Sherry Town-Crier Staff Report At a forum hosted Monday, Feb. 23 by the Town-Crier, residents heard why each of the six candidates running for seats on the Wellington Village Council deserves their vote in the upcoming municipal election on Tuesday, March 10. Candidates for Seat 2 and Seat 3 participated in the forum, held in a
packed Wellington Council Chambers. The candidates focused on their backgrounds and what they want to achieve if elected. Running for Seat 2 are Johnny Meier, Elizabeth Pandich and Tatiana Yaques, while Lauren Brody, Stephen Levin and Josh Zillmer are seeking Seat 3. All six candidates answered a series of questions moderated by Joshua Manning of the Town-Crier about
Polo For A Purpose Fundraiser At NPC
Polo for Life’s 11th annual Polo for a Purpose fundraiser was held at the National Polo Center in Wellington on Friday, Feb. 27 with a “Dolce Vita” theme. Page 18
(L-R) Elizabeth Pandich, Tatiana Yaques, Stephen Levin, Johnny Meier, Josh Zillmer and Lauren Brody. PHOTO BY FRANK KOESTER/TOWN-CRIER
Western Communities Flag Football Team Wins World Title
A girls flag football team comprised of players from the Acreage/Loxahatchee area and Westlake has earned the title of world champion. From Feb. 18 to Feb. 22, players that are part of the 9U squad from the Tru Skillz Academy traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World to compete. Page 21 DEPARTMENT INDEX NEWS...............................3 - 18 NEWS BRIEFS......................... 7 SPORTS..........................21 - 24 PEOPLE................................. 25 SCHOOLS.............................. 26 BUSINESS............................. 27 COLUMNS............................. 28 CLASSIFIEDS................ 29 - 30 Visit Us On The Web At WWW.GOTOWNCRIER.COM
village policy and community needs. The forum was sponsored by the Central Palm Beach Media Initiative. “I have always been willing to fight for what is right, and for others unable to fight for themselves,” Brody said. “I want to represent the people, do what they want, and bring my fight right here to Wellington.” Brody is running an uncompromising campaign to protect Wellington’s equestrian identity by slowing development and opposing any non-horse-related proposals in the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District. To achieve this, she intends to rely heavily on land-use rules and believes that any development needs to strictly follow the codes to be approved. Aside from those priorities, Brody is a supporter of expanding parks and recreation amenities for equestrians. She also wants more senior programs in the village and believes that the council needs to assist existing businesses to help them continue to grow in the community. To complement these policy See FORUM, page 14
Tango Developers Will Scale Back, But Committed To Site
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report Ernie Cox, project manager for the planned AI hyperscale data center and warehouse project near 20-Mile Bend, said after a contentious Wednesday, Feb. 25 informational meeting that owners of the property want to be good neighbors to nearby Arden residents because neighbors they shall be. “We are going to move forward based on the existing approvals on the property,” he said. Doing so would mean the property owner, Palm Beach Aggregates Holdings Inc., would not need further approval from the Palm Beach County Commission. Commissioners are scheduled to hear a request to increase the
allowable square footage at the site to 3.7 million square feet at an April 23 meeting. The current approvals, which date back to 2016, are for approximately 2.2 million square feet for warehouses and other industrial uses. Under the Palm Beach County Unified Land Development Code, data centers are listed among the permitted uses. There is no distinction made in the current code for “AI hyperscale data centers,” which did not exist in 2016. Arden Homeowners’ Association President Raymond Penuela said there should be. “There’s a difference… and [the developers] know it,” he said. “It’s more of a heavy industrial use.” Cox, founder of Jupiter-based Family Lands Remembered LLC,
said the Central Park Commerce Center — also known as “Project Tango” — is scaling back the AI data portion of the project from 1.8 million square feet to approximately 1.3 million square feet. The rest will be used for warehouses. The five data center buildings are being moved father west on the 202-acre property, and the cooling systems for three of the buildings are being housed in separate structures to decrease excess sound, Cox said. As a further sound buffer, warehouses will be located between the data centers and the large berm that surrounds Arden, he said. “Going forward, I think this is a better outcome that addresses See TANGO, page 4
FDOT Plans A More Environmentally Friendly Extension Of State Road 7
By Louis Hillary Park Town-Crier Staff Report Florida Department of Transportation State Road 7 Extension Project Manager Scott Peterson sat across the table with a hopeful smile prior to a Thursday, Feb. 26 informational meeting held at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Peterson was happy to talk about where the project is — in the design phase — and where he hopes it’s going — Phase 1 construction starting in the spring of 2028 — as the room populated with some 75 residents and numerous FDOT employees. Peterson, however, could give no assurance that the project won’t be sidelined again by legal wrangling with the City of West Palm Beach that has gone on for decades. “If they’d like to spend their money and [FDOT’s] in court, we can’t control that,” he said. “But we’re trying to work with them. We understand this is environmentally sensitive land.” West Palm Beach has long contended that extending SR 7 from
60th Street North, east along the south end of the Ibis Golf & Country Club, and then north between Ibis and the Grassy Waters Preserve to Northlake would damage the environment for wildlife and pose a risk to the city’s drinking water supply. During a 20-minute video presentation, FDOT zeroed in on environmental issues, listing the redesign steps it has taken to allay those concerns: • Conversion of more than 200 acres of transportation right of way to a preservation area with a perpetual conservation easement to protect snail kites and their foraging habit. • Provide wildlife fencing on the east and south sides of the corridor and wildlife crossings to assure “wildlife connectivity,” which refers to linkage between habitat areas and opportunities for animals to cross the roadway, enhancing migration, colonization and breeding opportunities. • Provide a wetland mitigation equivalent of 709 acres of wetland See STATE ROAD 7, page 4
FDOT Project Manager Scott Peterson discusses the State Road 7 Extension at the Thursday, Feb. 26 meeting.
Wellington Council Refuses Latest Proposal From Isla Carroll Developers
By Patrick Sherry Town-Crier Staff Report Another set of changes to the Isla Carroll development project was not enough to convince the Wellington Village Council to approve it on Tuesday, Feb. 24. In another blow to developers’ plans, the council shot down a rezoning and master plan approval request to convert one of the two historic polo fields on the property into a luxury equestrian development. For months, representatives from McCourt Partners and Discovery Land Company have gone before multiple Wellington boards to get feedback and recommendations on approval for the project, located off 120th Avenue South near the National Polo Center. Each time, most board members voted against it, leading to developers reworking the plan. In January, the Wellington Village Council narrowly approved
the rezoning request on its first reading. However, council members who voted yes did so to see what changes, if any, could solve what they saw as fundamental problems of having a luxury, country club development with limited equestrian amenities be built in the village’s Equestrian Preserve Area. At the council’s Feb. 24 meeting, developers returned for the second reading with a reworked development proposal. “We listened very, very carefully at the first hearing,” said Frank McCourt, founder of McCourt Partners. “As I think you’ll see, we’ve incorporated your feedback into our plan… We’ve gone above and beyond at considerable cost and expense.” The new master plan decreased the number of residential units from 40 to 27, with four of them being larger lots to accommodate See ISLA CARROLL, page 14
Nonprofit Responsible For Reuniting 10,000 Lost Pets
By Denis Eirikis Town-Crier Staff Report Pet lovers know that unbreakable bond. A lost kitty or doggy can feel like losing a child — catastrophe, heartbreak and tears for the entire family. That’s why many pet owners and residents across the western communities need to know about one of the area’s most active nonprofit organizations — Loxahatchee Lost and Found Pets. With more than 24,000 group members on Facebook looking out for each other’s pets, LLAFP is the go-to online clearinghouse where the local pet community exchanges information and pools resources to reunite “fur babies” with their families. When a beloved animal gets
loose or escapes, they often can’t find their way home. That’s when LLAFP springs into action. That’s what happened recently to Valerie Rangel. “It was horrible. My chihuahua got loose and was missing for three gut-wrenching days,” she recalled. “LLAFP volunteers help spread the word, and I am so grateful that members physically went out searching for Keke. Three long days and nights later, I remain so grateful that a member saw our post and cornered Keke in their yard.” Reuniting owners with pets is LLAFP’s primary mission. The group calls them “happy endings,” and it has happened about 10,000 times since Gail Ann Pennetta
Bass founded the group back in 2012. “I started this group because of a lost dog. As an animal lover, and knowing how hard it is to find an animal among so much acreage, I decided to start this formal effort committed to reuniting pets with owners,” she said. In addition, thanks to fundraisers, members also help each other providing food, supplies and emergency medical care for pets in need. Heather Duncan has found herself in need of this service. “This amazing group has helped me more times than I can remember,” she said. “I rescue cats and kittens, and I rescued a kitten that See LLAFP, page 7
Loxahatchee Lost and Found Pets leadership includes Dawn DiBari, Kris Miller and founder Gail Ann Pennetta Bass.