Frankel at a green market in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel quietly left the city Wednesday for a five-day stay in New York City without telling her own staffers, including city spokesman Chase Scott, what she’s up to.

Why all the cloak-and-dagger stuff?

She’s visiting Manhattan green markets with other locals whose job it is to make of the new downtown waterfront a destination.

There’s a plan to bring a green market to the West Palm Beach waterfront, and I’m told you can only know about green markets if you actually go to one or two in exciting places like, say, Manhattan.

The motley crew with Herhoner on her Labor Day weekend jaunt includes: mayoral friend and waterfront manager Joan Goldberg, Downtown Development Authority associate director Rafael Clemente and Willie Perez, the fired Miami cop who runs a security service hired by the city to keep the waterfront peaceful. Sometimes, he’s Frankel’s bodyguard.

So, who’s footing the bills?

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

Among the 29,623 comments posted on Page2Live so far, some stand out by their laugh-out-loud humor, wry wit, clever reasoning, bald-faced meanness or abysmal stupidity.

Here are five from the past few days that caught my attention for any of the reasons above. You vote and I’ll print the one with the most votes in my column in The Palm Beach Post:

1. “My feeling is that every cop needs to have an annual mental evaluation and take psychology classes in order to work as a police officer. Just like some other professions that need to re-new their licenses every so many years, cops should have to do the same thing. Holding the amount of authority that they do, it only makes sense.” (by Eekabug, commenting on Jupiter Police Capt. Reggie Scurry under PBSO investigation)

2. “Well, I feel so much better now that LeBron has laid this vexing issue to rest for the American people. Now maybe we can get on to some really important stuff like whether he will get a matching Bentley with D Wade, or not. Whew, the suspense will be killing me.. whew!” (by Mike Katz, commenting on Where’s LeBron James going? This weekend, he’ll be in Miami Beach)

3. “Celine - Thanks for helping the economy and keeping our contractors busy and a staff of many to maintain the house. Also thanks for the 100k + per year in taxes and probably not sending any kids to our school system. We need more like you. Official US Taxpayer” (by Taxpayer, commenting on Liens pile up on Celine Dion’s Jupiter waterworld)

4. “Actually, it seems to be common practice in Palm Beach to make contractors beg for their last payment even when everything is perfect. And I do know what I am talking about.” (by Jaded, commenting on Liens pile up on Celine Dion’s Jupiter waterworld)

5. “I think that it is wonderful that Jim Exline is helping our illustrious mayor, Lois Frankel, out. I wonder if Mr. Ray Liberti is going to join with former Mayor Nancy Graham, and give a hand too? Now that’s a real rat pack!” (by Gladys Van Otteren, commenting on Mayor’s petition brings out convicted felon ex-pol Jim Exline)

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Exline (The Palm Beach Post)

Look who’s back in the political process!

Former West Palm Beach City Commissioner Jim Exline, who served 10 months in a federal prison for tax evasion, has volunteered to gather signatures for a petition to keep term-limited Mayor Lois Frankel in office.

Exline, 45, tells Page2Live he’s been asked to lobby his neighbors and acquaintances to sign the petition. It’s designed to force a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to allow West Palm Beach Mayor Frankel to run for a third consecutive term — something currently banned by the city charter.

“I’ve had a handful of them signed up so far,” Exline said. “I believe that the ultimate term limit is called an election. If a mayor doesn’t do a good job, the citizens can vote her out. I believe the voters want the option.”

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

Bullard (The Palm Beach Post)

Residents of Seminole Gardens in Riviera Beach are up in arms after cops opted not to test for DUI a politically-connected off-duty patrolman who plowed through his neighbors’ front yards and crashed into four cars.

West Palm Beach Police Officer Art Bullard Jr.,32, the son of West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel’s long-time executive assistant, was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving in connection with the 4:45 a.m. crash.

But residents say Bullard appeared drunk after the July 2 accident, in which he also destroyed a power box, and some who were woken up by noise asked Riviera cops to test him. They refused, saying they didn’t see why they would.

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

Among the 22,745 comments posted on Page2Live so far, some stand out by their laugh-out-loud humor, wry wit, clever reasoning, or abysmal stupidity.

I pick five comments from the previous week on Mondays, and print the one with the most votes in my Friday column in The Palm Beach Post:

1. “It’s important to recycle.” (By SWA, commenting on Greg Norman’s tangled love web: New galpal is his old mistress)

2. “I would sleep with Tiger for a few years if it meant I never had to work another day in my life. Good deal.” (By Brad, commenting on Two West Palm Beach divorce lawyers eyeing work on Tiger Woods split)

3. “I have not listened to WRMF since Jennifer (Ross) was fired, so I don’t know moronic it is. I do know that Danny could not walk and chew gum without assistance. Can’t wait til Jennifer is back on the air where she is appreciated.” (By Deb, commenting on WRMF in a free fall without Jennifer Ross)

4. “Warren Newell can parlay all that experience he gained running for office and get a job at Walmart as a greeter.” (By Procrastinator, commenting on Disgraced pol Warren Newell’s back, looking for work)

5. “The headline photo of Frankelstein . . . shows her giving the two horned satanic salute with her hand. Do we need any more evidence that she bows down to Lucifer, the dark one?” (By Rev. Archibald P. McGullicutty, commenting on Smile, Mayor Lois Frankel, you’re caught on your own red-light camera!)

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Check out the first car coming through on the video, West Palm Beach! This is your mayor, Lois Frankel, running a red light.

And yes, the city’s newly-installed camera at the corner of Banyan Boulevard and Australian Avenue — something Herhoner lobbied for — got her.

Page2Live obtained the footage from the website of American Traffic Solutions, the private company whose cameras are used to issue $125 red-light running tickets.

But here’s the kicker: Herhoner has yet to pay her fine!

The city Tuesday sent her a second notice of infraction, one threatening to send her case to a collection agency if she doesn’t pay. According to the paperwork, she now owes $150, including the late fee.

What gives? For more, and the poll and a copy of Frankel’s citation, look below or click (Read more…)

Whelan with CNN's Larry King in Palm Beach (Click on the photo for more)

Jim Whelan, the West Palm Beach media buyer allegedly robbed by Mayor Lois Frankel’s son near SunFest Friday, tells Page2Live exclusively that he may be willing to drop the charge.

On two conditions: That Ben Lubin, 32, a former Marine captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his alleged accomplice, Jason Elden, 31, apologize publicly to Whelan; and that Lubin and Elden undergo anger-management counseling.

“I think that’s fair, don’t you?” Whelan said late Saturday on a break from a bike trip to Fort Myers. “I’m not sure they should’ve been charged with robbery. That’s pretty harsh. Maybe assault would have been more suitable.”

A shameless self-promoting Canadian, Whelan added he wasn’t paid to beef up the ranks of those protesting budget cuts that could affect the police’s financial deal with the city. Whelan’s sign, “Clean up city hall with Frankel wipes,” may have set off Ben Lubin.

“I charge $7,500 to private clients to appear with posters behind reporters who go live on television,” Whelan said. “But in this case, I care that Mayor Frankel spent $30 million on a new city hall, and now she’s got no money for the police.”

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

Whether he’s carrying a sign that read “Jack Nicholson for president” at the Oscars in Hollywood (see video at the end) or one berating West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel near SunFest, the cowboy outfit-wearing Jim Whelan is a professional publicity seeker.

Literally.

Whelan with Elton John (Click on the photo for much more)

The website of his West Palm-based marketing agency James R. Whelan Agency names Whelan “the cowboy of free publicity and major media exposure.”

Actually, cowboy of self-promotion would be more like it. And the website has  pictures of himself with Elton John, actress Juliet Lewis, political heavies Mitt Romney, Ted Kennedy, Newt Gingrich, business leaders like Amway’s Rich DeVos and even — you won’t believe this! — Mayor Frankel to prove it.

Whelan, however, is probably getting a little too much exposure this weekend as the alleged victim of a weird incident that landed Ben Lubin, Frankel’s son and an ex-Marine, in jail Friday night. Lubin, who’s also the son of defense attorney Richard Lubin, was charged with robbery for allegedly attacking Whelan with a buddy, Jason Elden, and taking from Whelan a sign that read: “Clean up city hall with Frankel wipes”

– Click here for Whelan’s celebrity pictures

For more about Whelan, and the video, look below or click (Read more…)

Ben Lubin (Click on the mug for more on the alleged victim)

Police union boss John Kazanjian is taking the high road this morning, in the wake of the arrest of West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel’s son in an incident with a pro-police protester Friday night outside SunFest.

Ben Lubin, 32, Frankel’s son with criminal defense attorney Richard Lubin, was charged with robbery Friday night after he and a friend allegedly pursued a protester with the West Palm Beach Police’s picketing of the music festival.

A scuffle apparently ensued and Ben Lubin, a former Marine, took protester Jim Whelan’s sign mocking his mother. Whelan joined the protest on his own volition, according to Kazanjian, and has nothing to do with the police department.

– Click here for more about Whelan, the alleged victim

Protest organizers hope Ben Lubin will get a break.

“This is an unfortunate incident,” local Police Benevolent Association President Kazanjian said. “I hope the victim will consider dropping the charges. My understanding is that Ben Lubin is a good man and an upstanding citizen.

“He just got caught in the moment, when someone said something about his momma. He probably did something really stupid, but he should not be punished.”

Whelan’s sign read: “Clean up city hall with Frankel wipes.”

Kazanjian confirmed that WPBPD Chief Delsa Bush, who’s close to the mayor, did show up at the scene of the arrest but didn’t try to intervene.

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Benjamin Lubin's mugshot (Click on the photo for more about the alleged victim)

The son of West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel and high-profile local criminal defense atttorney Richard Lubin, was arrested downtown Friday night after allegedly harassing a pro-police protester near SunFest.

Mayor Lois Frankel welcomes home her son in March 2009 (Bill Ingram/The Palm Beach Post)

Benjamin Lubin, 32, who lives in an apartment on South Dixie Highway, was nabbed about 9 p.m. along with a Port Charlotte man, Jason Elden, 31.

Lubin and Elden were charged with robbery without a firearm, a felony, and released on their own recognizance shortly after midnight, according to jail records.

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