ISSUE 1 · SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2026 · LIFE BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH This Week |
Welcome to the first West Palm Beach Herald. Every Sunday: what your local government is about to decide, what’s happening around town, and one thing you can do about it — sourced, local, and short enough to finish with your coffee.
Good timing for a first issue. The City Commission meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. for final votes on how new development pays for roads and transit — and on Saturday, the GreenMarket opens its season on Clematis.
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Liberty Watch |
Mon 9/28 Commission 5:00 p.m. | 8.1308 operating millage ceiling (flat) | +5.71% above the rolled-back rate | Oct 6 Downtown Master Plan workshop |
Monday, September 28, 5:00 p.m. — Commission Chambers, City Hall, 401 Clematis St. (also streamed on the city’s YouTube). Second readings set for Monday:
- 2050 Mobility Plan and a citywide Mobility Fee (Ord. 5182-26) — how new development pays toward the ways people get around.
- Commercial waste collection franchise changes (Ord. 5184-26).
Already done: on September 14 the Commission ratified a contract with the Professional Managers and Supervisors Association — a 5% raise in FY 2027, then 3% in each of the next two years — and rezoned 625 N. Flagler Dr. for research and development uses.
Coming up: a Commission workshop on the Downtown Master Plan on Tuesday, October 6, reportedly including a rooftop helipad on the Hibiscus Street garage and adding the Jaguar dealership site at 915 S. Dixie Hwy, where a tower of up to 25 stories could go. The Planning Board recommended both.
| Your move: to speak Monday, fill out a comment card with your name, address, and the agenda item number. The next regular meeting after that is Tuesday, October 13 (moved for the holiday). |
Sources: Commission meeting page · Sept 14 pass/fail agenda · City Commission · Hoodline — Planning Board
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Mapping Our Community: Flat Rate, Bigger Budget |
Florida makes every city publish a rolled-back rate — the rate that would bring in the same property-tax money as last year from the same properties. In July, West Palm Beach set its maximum operating millage at 8.1308, the same as this year.
$813.08 city operating tax per $100k at 8.1308 | $769.15 per $100k at the rolled-back rate | +$43.93 the difference, per $100k |
Those per-$100,000 figures are our arithmetic on taxable value (one mill is $1 per $1,000). Keeping the rate flat while values rise means a bigger budget; the final hearing was September 23, and we’ll report the adopted numbers next week.
The lens worth keeping: a mobility fee, a master plan with a 25-story site, and a flat millage are all the same question from different angles — who pays for growth, and does new development cover the streets, pipes, and services it will need forever?
| GO DEEPER The West Palm Beach record is being built. The Council on Local Relations publishes sourced city records — see how it works at councilonlocalrelations.org. Start here — the Primers: 01 The Long Flat Line (how the family changed) · 02 The Documents We Live Under (the written rules that limit power) · 03 The Household (what a household buys, priced in years of work) · all primers → |
Sources: Millage ceiling vote, July 16 · City Budget Division
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Around the Block |
| Soul Line Dancing — 5:30–6:30 p.m., Mandel Public Library. And the City Commission at 5 p.m. | ||
| Clematis by Night: Oktoberfest — 6–9 p.m., Great Lawn / Centennial Square. The Goodnicks play Oct 8. | ||
| Art After Dark at the Norton Museum, 5–10 p.m. (“Nuestra Cultura” kickoff). And the pumpkin patch opens at Centennial Square. | ||
| GreenMarket season opener — 8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., 100 N. Clematis St. Every Saturday through May. Plus the Antique & Flea on the 300–400 blocks of Clematis. | ||
| Downtown Master Plan workshop, City Commission. |
Run a West Palm event? Send it by Thursday.
Sources: Downtown WPB events · Clematis by Night · Norton — Art After Dark · GreenMarket 2026–27
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Prosperity Spotlight |
Howley’s — on South Dixie since 1950
Howley’s opened in April 1950 and has changed owners only three times. In 2004 it was restored to its original look — terrazzo floors, tin ceilings, boomerang Formica tables — and it still runs on its old motto: “Cooked in Sight, Must be Right.” No microwave on the premises. Thrillist named it one of the 21 best diners in America.
| Howley’s · 4700 S. Dixie Hwy · 561-833-5691 · Sun–Thu 7 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 7 a.m.–midnight |
Sources: sub-culture.org — Howley’s · Florida Rambler
✦ Trivia Question |
Which came first as an incorporated city: Miami or West Palm Beach — and by how much? (Answer at the bottom.)
✦ Quote of the Day |
“Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science.” — Alexis de Tocqueville
✦ Secret Little Hack |
Pothole, dark streetlight, broken sidewalk? Report it in the WPB Key app or at wpbkey.wpb.org and get a tracking number to follow the repair — you can pay the water bill in the same app. Rather call? The non-emergency City Hotline is 561-822-2222.
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Real Estate Pulse |
$530,000 median house sale (Aug, +1.8%) | 40 days houses on market | 4.5 mo house supply | 8.6 mo condo supply |
Houses are holding value; condos are a different market, with a median of $231,265 and more than eight months of supply — a buyer’s market. Your move: check your assessed value and exemptions with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser (pbcpao.gov).
Sources: BeachesMLS data via PBP Real Estate
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Service Opportunities |
Speak up Monday: the mobility fee decides how growth pays for getting around — a comment card takes two minutes. Buy local Saturday: the GreenMarket is built on small growers and makers; opening day is the best day to meet them.
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Growth & Learning |
A lesson that fits on a napkin: one mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of value. Have your kids figure the city’s share on a $300,000 home at 8.1308 mills (answer: about $2,439), then ask what they think it pays for. More at unrivaledacademy.com.
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Local Theory & Remnant Radio |
 | Now playing: Sovereign Ground — the latest Local Theory album (April 3, 2026 · 15 tracks). Listen · vote on the mixes. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog 24/7 at radio.thinkandactlocally.com · Spotify. Fourteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. |
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Weather Forecast |
Sun Mostly sunny 83° 75° | Mon Mostly sunny 84° 77° | Tue 40% rain 85° 77° | Wed 70% rain 84° 79° | Thu 70% rain 85° 81° | Fri 70% rain 86° 81° | Sat 50% rain 86° 80° |
Mostly sunny Sunday and Monday. A chance of showers and thunderstorms arrives Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday through Friday showers and thunderstorms are likely — 70% each day — with a 50% chance Saturday. Highs stay between 83 and 86 all week, and nights stay warm, from the mid-70s to near 81.
Forecast for West Palm Beach from the National Weather Service (MFL), retrieved Sep 27. Check the latest before you plan outdoors.
Sources: National Weather Service
✦ CrowdHealth |
 | David and his family left traditional health insurance for CrowdHealth — a community that funds each other’s medical bills. Bills get negotiated down first; no claims department, no denial letters. See how it works. Referral link. David is a paying member. |
✦ Unrivaled Travels |
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✦ Unrivaled Marketing Solutions |
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✦ They Told Him He Was Crazy |
David sold his metals. Not trimmed — sold. He kept the receipts, every decision sourced, so you can decide for yourself: conviction, or crazy? Read the filing →
David’s own account; affiliate link. Support never touches coverage.
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Community Voices |
This is issue one, and this section belongs to you. Who in West Palm Beach deserves a thank-you this week? The crossing guard who knows every kid’s name, the neighbor who mows the widow’s lawn, the team that brought home a trophy. Hit reply — one or two sentences — and we’ll run the best next Sunday.
✦ Take Action |
- Show up Monday, Sept 28, 5 p.m., City Hall, 401 Clematis St.
- Visit GreenMarket’s opening day, Saturday, Oct 3.
- Download WPB Key and report one thing that needs fixing.
✦ Submit Your Content |
Events, business features, volunteer calls, letters from West Palm Beach: david@thinkandactlocally.com. Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday.
✦ Answer to Trivia |
West Palm Beach, by two years. It was incorporated on November 5, 1894; Miami followed in 1896 (West Palm Beach history).
THE HERALD ✦ WEST PALM BEACH Keep the Herald Free |
No advertiser sets our coverage — readers keep it alive. This is the first West Palm Beach edition, and it grows one neighbor at a time: forward this to someone who’d want to know what their commission decides on Monday.
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The Herald is a project of the Council on Local Relations. Portions drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publication. Reply anytime: david@thinkandactlocally.com
