WAFC Local News – February 26, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Rosita Salama, the owner of The Quick Stop on W.C. Owens, would like the city of Clewiston to do more to help small business. She had her business up for sale. She says the economy has never been this bad in Clewiston. She wants to have more options to eat out and wants the city to allow more food trucks. I never see Clewiston in this point, like, in 25 years. Roley Gonzalez agrees that some Clewiston businesses need help. Moving forward, how are we gonna move the economy in the city? As a matter of fact, like, for example, I wanna go eat now and there’s only, and correct me if I’m wrong, there’s only one place open. Drift smoke from the Everglades wildfire impacted Hendry County yesterday. The wildfire burned more than 25,000 acres near Alligator Alley. It’s dubbed the national fire. It also impacted Glades and as far north as Highlands County. The drought index continues to be high as the county continues to have a burn ban. Moorhaven City Council has been closing City Hall at one o’clock every day. It gives employees a chance to have a lunch break. Marcus Decker says it is an inconvenience for people to come to City Hall and find it closed. The City Hall is a service to the people that live in Moorhaven. Come in here any time of the day and pay their bill and not have to worry about going back home and running down here again no matter where they live. Rashawn Drakoski wanted to help out the employees knowing they’re overworked and deserve a break. It can be overwhelming sometimes and I don’t see nothing wrong with that hour lunch break. Clerk Ashley Wills says many employees don’t ever leave City Hall at lunch and when they get busy in there, they often interrupt their lunch break to help out at the counter. Pahokee City Commissioners continue to work on hiring a permanent city manager. It’s been a tumultuous process. Tammy Bussey was named the interim manager some four months ago. Resident Robert Love says they should hire her, noting they never interviewed any of their prior managers like Rodney Lucas, Greg Thompson, or Michael Jackson. I don’t care who y’all got to interview tonight. They are not more qualified than she is. Know why? Because she’s been a city manager for four months. They ain’t been one for minutes. Bussey doesn’t want other candidates to be interviewed and wants the full-time job, but her family has also come to meetings and confronted. Mayor Keith Babb and Vice Mayor Sankwita Cowan-Williams and anyone who is opposed to hiring her. Bussey told the commission that they don’t appreciate the work she’s doing. Normally I sit up here and tell everybody what I’ve done since the last meeting and it hasn’t done any good. She says she still will be making some changes at City Hall in the interim. I am bringing in a selection team who is going to work with me to change the perception of Pahokee and we all know the perception. Even her husband came and got into a verbal squabble with the mayor, Keith Babb, over a perceived slight at a community event. You say she’s not your first, second, or third and all that garbage coming out your mouth. What I want to ask you, is that based on what? What’s that based on? It was based on the qualifications of the other candidates. Qualification of what? And their experience. We had at least three other candidates that had proud city manager experience. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Foundation announced the recipients of its 2026 youth scholarship program, 15 Palm Beach County High School seniors who were nominated by a sworn employee of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, each received $2,500 scholarships for their freshman year. In the Glades, those graduates will be Mykonor Regis Jr. at Glades Central High School, Adriana Ramirez Delgado at Glades Central High School, Xavier Mitchell at Pahokee High School, and Terrenza McKelvin Jr. at Glades Day School. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).