Miss Texas Regan Hutsell was crowned Miss America in West Palm

If you do business inside city limits, your Business Tax Receipt expires on September 30. A local business tax is required of any individual, business or profession operating in West Palm Beach. It is paid once a year on the fiscal year that runs October 1 through September 30, and the receipt is good for that year only.

Anything unpaid becomes delinquent October 1 and picks up a penalty. Renewal notices went out over the summer with the amount owed; card payments, Visa or Mastercard only, run through the city's eGov portal. Operating without a valid receipt is a code violation that can bring fines. Questions go to businesstax@wpb.org.

The city's first public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget is tonight, September 8, at 5:01 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at 401 Clematis Street. It covers the tentative budget and millage rate; final approval is set for September 23. Written comments go to mybudgetinput@wpb.org.

Property values rose more than 9%, bringing in over $12.4 million more even with a slight tax-rate cut, and nonprofit properties like churches and private schools will start paying a fire protection fee. The firefighters union says the plan replaces retiring fire and EMS staff without adding positions and wants three support staff. Mayor Keith James counters that the city added 84 sworn fire positions between fiscal 2020 and 2026.

The revised Downtown Master Plan is back for a vote tomorrow. The Downtown Action Committee meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday, September 9 in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 401 Clematis Street, for an up or down recommendation. It is the first review since Mayor Keith James paused the process in July.

The 25-story waterfront allowance from Datura Street to Lakeview Avenue is gone, along with all incentives to build higher on that corridor and a 12-story option from Banyan Boulevard to Datura Street, principal planner Chris Kimmerly confirmed to Stet News.

One holdover remains: a proposal to move the Myers Auto Group Jaguar dealership site at 915 S. Dixie Highway into downtown zoning that allows 25 stories.

Out in the Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area, county archaeologists are rewriting the story of who lived here first. The county-owned preserve sits west of modern-day Palm Beach Gardens, and crews are cutting through caprock once thought impenetrable.

The haul runs to roughly 250,000 artifacts, some older than Egypt's pyramids: tools made from animal bones and teeth, charcoal and fiber-tempered pottery shards. They may be as monetarily worthless as modern trash, but they prove people have called this part of the county home for more than 5,000 years. "In academia, there is the notion that nobody or very few people lived in South Florida before 2,000 years ago. We now know that is incorrect," County Archaeologist Christian Davenport said.

YouRun Crew's next community run is Tuesday, September 15, at 7 a.m. from Arya Tea Bar, 508 Clematis Street. The group runs every Tuesday morning, wraps by 8 a.m., and the run is free. It is open to anyone training, building consistency, or just looking for a positive way to start the day.

Run clubs around West Palm Beach are seeing more participants, WPTV reports. Christina Damis, founder of West Palm Beach Pacers, said her club started with a couple of friends and now can draw more than 50 people to group events. Kameren Maharaj, co-founder of Runners Xscape, puts the first step simply: "Just showing up, showing up for yourself."