Police Look to Treatment, Not Jail, for Mentally
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WEEK OF MAY 7-13, 2020 www.FloridaWeekly.com Vol. X, No. 27 • FREE F Soul-searing Star tenor Michael Fabiano FLORIDA’SPAST performed for the Metropolitan UNEARTHED—ONE Opera’s gala from his mother’s FINDATATIMEFIND AT A TIME Florida condo. A21 X Brash youth Young leaders on road to success should ask themselves these questions. A15 X BY EVAN WILLIAMS ewilliams@fl oridaweekly.com X Barbourofelis TANDING IN A DESOTO COUNTY CREEK loveorum, an near the Peace River in mid-April, extinct large cat What to watch when the water is near its lowest once roamed here. Award-winning films, Scooby annual point, Ken Follmann sifted This one sits in the through the gravel in his screen. Florida Museum snacks and HBO Max will A large shark’s tooth emerged from the of Natural History soon be streaming. A23 X grit. Fossil Hall at the This nearly 3-inch fang from the creek University of bed conjured Florida’s ancient past, a Florida. lost world that seems almost mythical X Ken Follmann wades a tributary of the Peace River for fossils. SEE FOSSILS, A10 X DALLAS KRENTZEL / WIKIMEDIA PHOTO; EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY; ERIC RADDATZ ILLUSTRATION ERIC RADDATZ WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY; DALLAS KRENTZEL / WIKIMEDIA PHOTO; EVAN Police look to treatment, not jail, for mentally ill Collector’s Corner Favorite finds from our BY ROGER WILLIAMS 2018: “A schizophrenic inmate in Florida antiques columnist’s house – rwilliams@fl oridaweekly.com with a history of self-injurious behavior and yours. A7 X was unmonitored when he bit through Law enforcement offi cers had to deal his own wrist, teeth gnawing until slicing with him fi rst, before he ever got to a through his vein.” Download prison where the Florida Department of That case and nine others were part our FREE Corrections allegedly failed to provide of a lawsuit that pressured state legisla- App today adequate mental health treatment. tors last year to boost money supporting Available on What fi nally happened was reported the iTunes and this way by the news site Politico, in SEE TREATMENT, A4 X Android App Store. B4>B4<4\PX[<PaZTcX]VFTQbXcTb Full-Stack Digital 2^]]TRcTSCE?a^VaP\\PcXR3Xb_[PhEXST^ 0]S<^aT Marketing Solutions Florida Weekly offers a complimentary digital evaluation of your FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES website and recommendations to best achieve your goals. 561.904.6470 www.FloridaWeeklyDigital.com A2 NEWS WEEK OF MAY 7-13, 2020 www.FloridaWeekly.com PALM BEACH FLORIDA WEEKLY COMMENTARY What to do now was a nation, beginning in 1619 at James- Here’s the most important thing about or visual arts that can change their lives, town, Va., and continued the practice for that history and all those occasions: The too; and so does the Laboratory Theater almost another 250 years; we attempted the America celebrated by the Statue of Liberty of Florida (www.laboratorytheaterflorida. Roger WILLIAMS genocide of Native Americans right through survived wars, pandemics, prejudice and com/). “It is no small thing to take a theater the 19th century, aggressively in Florida; we discrimination, sexism and religious big- dark,” says Annette Trossbach, producing [email protected] arbitrarily seized part of Mexico and made otry. Painfully and slowly, we have always artistic director and founder of he Labora- it America in 1846 right up to the Arkansas moved forward. Eventually. tory Theater. River at the Royal Gorge, about 30 miles May that pattern repeat itself, now, and “The sheer logistics of the task are stag- I hope history repeats itself. from where my grandfather homesteaded may we be part of the pattern. gering and it must be done while your heart It never does, of course, but sometimes on land that had belonged to the Utes; we But how? is breaking. We don’t create art for the the patterns do. refused to let women vote until a single That’s easy. Vote, of course, but more money; we create it for the same reason we For example, the reprehensible and dead- century ago; we tolerated lynch mobs that immediately, grab a charity you can support breathe — we simply must.” ly arrogance, stupidity and vitriol of some murdered almost 4,000 blacks between 1877 and do it, for your favorite restaurant, the Just as watching or listening to the arts leaders — of their governments and employ- and 1950, including 331 in Florida, ranked poorest people you know, or the longest should be done (especially for children) for ees — along with the willing blindness of No. 1 per capita for that infamous status, unemployed living on your street. the same reason we breathe — to live, and large numbers of cheering supporters, has according to the Equal Justice Initiative; and Let me just take the arts, which I cel- in their case to grow. often been countered, however slowly, by we couldn’t pass a “Civil Rights Act” of any ebrate. Yes, we have to eat first, stay healthy and what I would only describe nowadays as consequence until 1964, a century after the In Palm Beach County, the Cultural maintain a safe retreat for all. But to do it the New Silent Majority: Those Americans Civil War ended. Council supports the arts, and therefore in any way that makes life rich requires art. who ultimately shove them aside in the vot- Most inexplicably to me: We were the human beings and especially children who In Charlotte County, Arts Plus (www. ing booth, without saying much beforehand most significant power on the planet to react to painting, singing, acting and others artsplus.org) aims the arts including music or even afterward. help win World War II in an essential battle like drought-time flowering plants react to at students of all backgrounds and ages — as It’s countered by countless acts of cour- for the mind and soul of humanity. Yet we water. The website, www.palmbeachcul- they say, “unleashing creativity, transform- age, generosity and selfless decency on embraced a liar and petty tyrant at home, a ture.com/support-the-council/, gives you ing lives and building community through display in every American community now, former Marine Corps officer who lied about a number of ways to help both groups and outstanding and accessible arts education.” every day. The volunteer mask-makers. The his war record and lied to Americans every individuals in the arts, especially children. From one tip of the Sunshine State to the food sharers and consolers to the griev- single day starting less than 24 months after In Collier County, you could support other, those claims are demonstrably true ing. The artists who perform for no pay to the Germans and the Japanese surrendered. Steffanie Pearce and her nonprofit effort based on research no one disputes. The Flor- remind people that goodness and beauty His name was U.S. Senator Joseph McCar- to bring “quality music education to at-risk ida Keys Council of the Arts, for example, exist in the world, and let them see it thy, a Republican from Wisconsin. youth” in a program called Harmony Choir. supports children, individual artists and pro- in themselves, taking hope. It’s countered McCarthy destroyed lives under an anti- The general manager of the Gulfshore grams that put voice and face to the beauty most courageously of all by the doctors, commie banner from 1948 to his death in Opera and a former international singer (a of the Keys from Key Largo to Key West. All nurses and other caretakers, by the grocery office in 1957. The real commies, those who soprano), Ms. Pearce and others have long of us can help do for one of the most storied store employees, the garbage collectors, the killed people they didn’t like and had been since realized that singing for children is and beautiful places in North America. police and firefighters who don’t get to stay doing so since 1917 — they had it easy, in like being touched by an angel. So she spon- But people still, sometimes, strongly dis- home in isolation. those days. All they had to do was steal sors an after-school, and now school-out, pute the need to pay for the arts. We are a people who have slipped the some atomic technology and sit back to choral program that can change lives. When they do contribute, however — bonds of our periodic stupidity and callous watch us screw around, stepping on our In Lee County, the Alliance for the Arts especially in a moment like this one — ambition to become better. own toes for years. (www.artinlee.org/engage/donate/) has Americans put the worst of our past behind Our nation embraced slavery before it But we put a stop to the mess, finally. programs for adults or children in stage us, and carry forward the best of it. ■ THE AUTHORITY in fabrics, draperies & upholstery! 535 24th Street | West Palm Beach 561.833.7000 | MacFabrics.com PALM BEACH FLORIDA WEEKLY www.FloridaWeekly.com WEEK OF MAY 7-13, 2020 NEWS A3 Impact 100 names 10 finalists for $100,000 grants Area nonprofits may need more help of Impact 100 Palm Beach County, said ern Palm Beach County in five focus ■ Compass Inc. — Compass HEALS than ever, given the economic hit many in a statement. “During this time of great areas: Arts, Culture and Historic Pres- ■ FAU Foundation Inc. Department of are taking courtesy of the current COVID- uncertainty, it’s gratifying to know these ervation; Education; Environment and Music — Keep the Music Playing! 19 pandemic. grants will help improve and strengthen Animal Welfare; Family; and Health and ■ GIVT Inc.