WAFC Local News – May 05, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Cleveland City Commissioners discussed the Waterfront Improvement Project and what the city wants to construct there. Molly Gardner didn’t want to compete with private business. She thought of a walking area and non-business uses like a marina. I just don’t want to cannibalize anything that we have private business by using taxpayer dollars to ruin, you know, viable marinas already in town. Mayor Jason Williams says he thinks there’s enough business to go around up there to add commercial uses. Henry County unemployment dipped two-tenths of a point in February in the latest report from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Unemployment stood at 5.1 percent in February, with 21,283 employed, 1,444 out of work, and a workforce of 22,427. This compared to January numbers of 5.3 percent unemployment, with 21,019 employed, 1,187 out of work, and a workforce of 22,206. The state rate in February was 4.8 percent, with over 531,000 people out of work. Around the region, Broward County at 4.6 percent, Charlotte 6.2 percent, Collier 5 percent, Clays County 5.8 percent, they had 264 out of work there, Lee at 5.3 percent, and Palm Beach at 4.8 percent. Pahokee’s Economic Development Director Peggy Boulay-Washington and Commissioner McDonald visited Boynton Beach to tour a project called the Heart of Boynton. We were looking at creating the Heart of Pahokee. Washington sees it as a way for Pahokee to develop a project that might lead to urban renewal. She says it would be a mixed-use development. Two of the restaurants are big community-based restaurants, things that we know our community would frequent, as well as visitors and tourists alike. Lovebugs are back across Florida. They’re covering your cars, bumpers, and windshields. They can cause problems for drivers as they drive, but also can damage your paint job. Car washes say they see business pick up this time of year as drivers try to stay ahead of the damage to their paint job. Experts recommend washing your car frequently during lovebug season. Clays County Commissioners have continued the suspension of impact fees for years. They’re awaiting this month the results of an impact fee before reinstating the fees. They would impose fees for schools, parks, roads, and emergency services, potentially. The commission discussed noise at the cemetery in Ortona. Jeff Patterson attended a funeral recently and the family and onlookers couldn’t hear the preacher talking due to the traffic. Just the traffic that travels that road. And not that I don’t think anybody was coming by and revving motors or anything like that. It was just the amount, the sheer amount of traffic. The county could look at a vegetative buffer. County Manager Paul Carlisle says if you impact the visual impacts, you may not be able to watch and catch vandals. I just don’t know what we do that we don’t create another challenge. A maintenance issue and then also the, how do you, what do we do with the people who want to do nefarious things in a cemetery when they’re, you know, you can be seen on the road, you’re less likely. So I don’t know. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).