Monday, February 24, 2014

Memories...


You know, with the swirl of events around our annual Lake Worth Street Painting Festival, it is easy to overlook some events of our not-too-recent past. Why it was just last year, right before the festival that a large banner was raised along the westside of our landmark Gulfstream Hotel. It was done by a group of ambitious Lake Worthians to underscore the charter height amendment question and the importance of voting "no" to save the future of the hotel. Those for the amendment decried the need for a special election and the expense that would cost, rather than have it at our former, usual November election time.

Well, things have a way of working themselves out, don't they? Most of the people behind the charter amendment decided not to run any candidates against three incumbent commissioners. Thus, there will be no election this year. These were by-and-large the same people that chastised the Commission for not changing the height regulations to reflect the results of the election. The Commission did not make the change since it would have violated a new state law that made such elections "null and void." So, in the big picture of things, we broke even on the cost of an election and, in a way, it is indeed as if it never happened.

Here are some Palm Beach Post articles from last year that help us memorialize the event. Click here and here.

Here are some pictures from the roof of the Gulfstream Hotel that has been there since 1925.


And it just so happens that we are starting to hear murmurings from many quarters about a possible buyer for the property and that their intent is to return it to a hotel operation. Nothing official yet, but stay tuned!

In the meantime, let's keep having those high hopes!