William M. Hartnett

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
FORT PIERCE - Nearly one out of every three dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon has come down with mysterious and sometimes grotesque skin disorders.
Eager to find out what’s going on, alarmed scientists from Harbor Branch and other marine institutions in recent weeks have started using cutting-edge methods [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
HOBE SOUND - Tom Fucigna Jr. has found his niche in a post-Sept. 11 world: He’s a minuteman in the battle against poor automotive flag etiquette.
The 42-year-old environmental consultant has recovered hundreds of American flags from roadsides all over Palm Beach and Martin counties in the past few [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT and ANDREW MARRA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Students and parents at South Fork High School have long complained about the taste, smell and appearance of the school’s water. A top school district official even acknowledged recently that “the water’s never been good there.”
School officials point out that the problem stems from aging [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Head west into the heart of Florida on U.S. 98 up north of Lake Okeechobee and, as you near the bridge into Highlands County, you’ll pass a road sign that’s either hopelessly optimistic or tragically out of date.
“Kissimmee River,” it announces in slim white letters on an interstate-system [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Cosmic forces point to a fortuitous future for the Treasure Coast under its new area code, 772.
So says James Tucker - numerologist, mystic oracle, master psychic, palmist, reader and healer and Jensen Beach resident.
The new area code could begin replacing 561 in calls to Martin, St. Lucie and [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Florida’s first line of defense against West Nile virus is lying on its back, strapped to a wooden contraption on the tailgate of a pickup, its legs held aloft in a pair of stirrups.
With a flick of his thumb, a man named Bob, who will later observe that [...]

By WILLIAM M. HARTNETT
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
A decade of unprecedented economic growth and racial diversification did little to change demographic disparities between people of different races across Florida and in Palm Beach County.
Blacks remain far less likely than whites to own their own homes, face a life expectancy six years less than the population [...]

I wrote about fish quite a bit during my Treasure Coast days, but this one is, without a doubt, the best story I have ever written about ceremonial fish portrayals.

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Just a little block of text I wrote to accompany a photo story about a 76-year-old barber, and included here because it features the only 73-word lead I’ve ever written. Note, as well, the use of 11 commas in a single sentence. Shorties, don’t try this at home.

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I got in the plane, we flew about in an adventurous manner, and I didn’t vomit. I consider that a noteworthy accomplishment to this day.

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