The Palm Beach Post
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Goodbye Palm Beach, and thank you!

radaronline_logoIt’s hard to say goodbye when you’re having fun!

Yet, this is my last Page2Live entry.

On Tuesday, I became executive editor of Radar Online, one of the country’s biggest celebrity websites.

The sandbox I get to play in now is a lot larger, and the gig often will take me to Los Angeles and Las Vegas and New York City.

But I leave The Palm Beach Post and the readers who supported me with news tips, kudos and criticism for the past seven years with a heavy heart.

I love Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, and not just because it’s my home. There are few places in this country as quirky as Palm Beach, Stuart, Boca and Wellington. News people who work here know they’re lucky because, indeed, there never is a dull moment.

For more, look below or click (Read more…)

DUI killer in minimum security camp

Zegeye

Zegeye

The former Benjamin School student who pleaded guilty to being drunk when he drove into another car stopped at a red light  in Palm Beach Gardens two and a half years ago, killing the driver, has found a new home.

Beruch Zegeye is expected to celebrate his 20th birthday this summer at the minimum-security Lancaster Correctional Institution near Gainesville.

He’s scheduled to be released in January 2017 although he could receive credit for good behavior.

Lancaster is listed as a medium- to low-security camp for young criminals, and that isn’t sitting well with his victim’s family.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections’ website, the camp houses about 570 offenders between 19 and 24 years old in dorms.

Lancaster is mandated to provide its residents with 12 hours of a day of activities and classes like graphic and culinary arts, sports, weight training and wellness.

Oh, yes: There’s a stress management program, too.

For more, look below or click (Read more…)

Asleep at the desk: PBSO lieutenant catches up on sleep during classroom training

Rough day for Lt. Swank (Special to the Palm Beach Post)

Rough day for Lt. Swank (Special to the Palm Beach Post)

I’m told the snoring could be heard across the room!

To the right, fellow taxpayer, is Lt. Jeff Swank, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs executive officer!

And this cell-phone picture of Swank sound asleep obtained by Page2Live has been making the rounds among the chuckling rank and file.

How do I know he’s snoring?

Well, there’s a video, and the sound is quite clear.

I’ve been trying to get a hold of it, but I’m told by an insider that Internal Affairs head Capt. Larry Easton, to0, is hot on the trail of the footage.

Swank was among 70 local enforcement officials at a three-day class last week at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport.

The classroom training focused on the handling of police-involved shootings.

But Swank apparently got so bored he dozed off while fellow policemen, who must have been just as bored, snapped away with cell phones.

Swank’s I.A. squad, by the way, does investigate incidents in which deputies are “rude” during such training sessions.

Said PBSO Chief Deputy Mike Gauger: “Lt. Swank attends college after hours and he was called out twice the previous night.

“Things happen. I fall asleep at church sometimes!”

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly: Donald Trump factors into presidential politics

(Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

(Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

Fox News star Bill O’Reilly (above) spent most of his keynote address at a Palm Beach fundraising gala Friday imagining a world where Donald Trump (above) would be president.

Click here for the Mike Jachles photo gallery of the event

Trump, 64, who hosted Friday’s fiesta for the It Happened to Alexa Foundation at his Mar-a-Lago club, is weeks away from announcing whether he’ll run for the land’s highest office as a Republican.

“It’s gratifying to have the next president of the United States introduce me,” the host of The O’Reilly Factor said to thunderous applause from the 200-plus at the dinner.

Some of the guests paid $1,500 for a few seconds with the 61-year-old O’Reilly (below), a photo and an autographed copy of his latest tome, Pinheads and Patriots.

(Click on the photo for more)

(Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

Tall head O’Reilly, for whom it was the second appearance at the victims’ advocate foundation’s gala, then dreamed out loud about a Trump White House. At time he seemed to joke. At others he appeared serious. Always, he seemed to take a Trump candidacy for granted.

For more, and the poll, look below or click (Read more…)

Burt Young opens Palm Beach International Film Festival

(Click on the photo for more)

(Click on the Thomas Cordy photo for more)

Hollywood character actor Burt Young (above), 70, helped open the 16th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival Wednesday at the CityPlace Muvico in West Palm Beach. Young, best known for his Oscar-nominated role of Pauly opposite Sylvester Stallone in the 1976 Rocky, attended a showing of his new flick with Paul Giamatti, Win Win. (Click here to see who else is in town)

C

Young, with festival CEO Randi Emmerman (Click on the photo for more)

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