Christine Stapleton in today's Palm Beach Posthas an article about the little Cape Sabal Seaside Sparrow today, relegated to page B2. This little bird first came to most people's attention when George Bennett wrote about it on March 12th; you can read about that here.
If you've been following the debate about the Everglades Land Buy, then good for you. It's an important topic. If you haven't been following the debate very closely, then here is how the little sparrow fits into the scheme of things: the little bird is hanging on by a thread and its habitat is a very precarious one. The supporters of the Everglades Land Buy want to restore 'sheet flow' from Lake Okeechobee flowing south into the Everglades which would destroy the birds habitat.
If sheet flow is restored then it's sayonara to the little sparrow and probably more than a few other species of animals as well. The irony here, if you haven't picked up on it yet, is you have the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) in the position of having to save the little sparrow from the environmentalists who love to hate the SFWMD. It's complicated.
Anyhow, there's a new plan to save the little Cape Sabal Seaside Sparrow and and here's an excerpt from Christine Stapleton on some details:
The endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow — a 5-inch long, drab-looking bird — has become a powerful player in the science and politics of Everglades restoration. Protecting the little bird was among the complications cited by the South Florida Water Management District during recent discussions about buying 46,800 acres of land from U.S. Sugar Corp. to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Last week, environmentalists filed a federal lawsuit to protect what remains of the sparrow’s habitat. Water experts today will discuss a program intended to get the water just right for the sparrow nicknamed the “Goldilocks bird” in what remains of its habitat in the southern Everglades. The program, called the Everglades Restoration Transition Plan, aims to maintain and improve conditions for the sparrow and other species during Everglades restoration. However, that task has proved difficult as water managers and the Army Corps of Engineers struggle to comply with mandates set in lawsuits and to meet the competing needs of other species.
Roger Kowalsky: Please advise what criteria you use in deciding what comments you accept and which you reject..
Me: It's completely left to my discretion. I post most comments and it is an exception if I don't.
Roger Kowalsky: "Discretion and most "are not very informative..Why not publish your criteria on your blog?
Me: Because it is not a list of hard and fast criteria. And I don't need a firm policy. It depends on the topic. Is there a comment that you submitted that you haven't seen posted? If so, we could start there and examine it as to why I chose not to post it. Or it could be as simple as a comment I missed in the hundreds I receive every week. Sometimes they slip through the cracks.
Roger Kowalsky: Nothing to do with me..Its not you that needs a policy..Its the readers of your blog .I don't think you are understanding the point I'm trying to make..Why not at least bring up the subject on your blog and ask what your readers think.
Me: I guess from my point of view, I do not need a hard and fast policy, especially when I am presented with anonymous comments. The point is that the comments I choose not to post are very few in number. So that also says to me that I really do not need to post a comment policy. I let most comments in. The exception being a guy in New Zealand that grew up in Lake Worth and fills comments up with all sorts of conspiracy theories and monorail, monorail monorail posts - and even then I let some of those in. If I approve 95% of them anyway, there is no need to talk about a comment policy. If I throw open the question, then it gives people an opportunity to say that they comment and never see their comments - which is not the case. Why give them that opportunity? There is no there there.
Roger Kowalsky: You are ignoring my request to put all of this on your blog..I quit since speaking to people who are deaf requires more skill than I have.
Here is an excerpt from The Lake Worth Herald out this week. Early next week will publish the entire editorial here on this blog. Much of the hysteria has abated, save for a few red signs around town, and as evidenced by public comment at the last city commission meeting. Now it's time for the public debate with the adults in charge.
The message has gotten through to most, it seems, that no one is considering"selling the Beach". The debate centers around the Casino building which has a known faulty business plan, operational deficiencies, design and construction flaws and the long ignored pool complex which need to be addressed. The conditions at the beach have been ignored more due to not wanting to re-hash anything related to the Casino complex, since it was thought to have been a completed project. To critically examine any problems there would necessarily point fingers at those in charge at the time (a previous city commission/city manager) prior to and during the redevelopment of the Casino building.
Here is the excerpt from The Lake Worth Herald:
Now we see the actual proposals and the hype about selling the beach and a convention center turn out to be highly inaccurate. This hype, perpetuated during a campaign cycle spread untruths to the voting public. Leasing the upstairs of the Casino to a restaurant at the offered twenty dollars a square foot, including common area maintenance and taxes will not help Lake Worth. This figure is much too low to be sustainable. It was said the cost to the city is closer to thirty dollars and even that won’t help pay back the six million dollars loaned from the utilities fund to pay for the building, much less offset the nearly three hundred thousand dollars the city spends to maintain the pool and keep it open twenty-nine hours a week. Leasing to a restaurant will not provide the revenue needed to fix the building shortcomings left as a result of a guaranteed maximum build price. Value engineering is not a good way to build a building that is intended to last many years, especially one sitting on the coastal dune exposed to salt air and spray at all times.
For those of you unfamiliar with "value engineering" here is how it's explained in Wikipedia:
The reasoning behind value engineering is as follows: if marketers expect a product to become practically or stylistically obsolete within a specific length of time, they can design it to only last for that specific lifetime. The products could be built with higher-grade components, but with value-engineering they are not because this would impose an unnecessary cost on the manufacturer, and to a limited extend also an increased cost on the purchaser. Value engineering will reduce these costs. A company will typically use the least expensive components that satisfy the product's lifetime projections.
While that definition applies to a product, you can interchange building with that word and apply it to our Casino building. We also cannot forget the design flaws in the site plan and the decision to keep the building where it was, rather than move it more towards the center of the property. This was all part of an intentional ruse to let the public think somehow the city "saved the building." We will be living with the fallout from that decision for a long while.
Don't forget the ill-fated decision to change the design of the building to prevent a two-story restaurant as proposed by Johnny Longboats. I can still remember Annabeth Karson, Laurence McNamara and Commissioner McVoy gushing about the beautiful second floor restaurant space and how its magnificent views would be an easy sell to a high end restaurant.
We are still waiting.
And if a restaurant did want to take over the vacant space on the second floor (pay rent and provide a decent return to the city's taxpayers and utility customers), where would all the tables and chairs be stored so that we could still host events in the ballroom? Where would staff work to make sure the Casino operations and property are run efficiently?
More on sober houses and an "important first step" in regulating sober houses in Palm Beach County; this is from Tim Pallesen at The Coastal Star:
The Florida Legislature has taken “an important first step” to regulate the sober homes for recovering addicts that cause concerns in Delray Beach, Boca Raton and other coastal communities. The new state law awaiting the governor’s signature offers sober homes a voluntary certification with the state. Drug and alcohol treatment centers could only refer patients to certified sober homes. Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said the new state law will help reduce the number of sober homes by “eliminating the bad operators with little regard to the people in their homes or the communities in which these homes coexist.” Communities don’t even know now how many sober homes are operating in their cities. “Hopefully, the law will help us get a handle on how many of these sober homes there are,” state Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, said. “Right now it’s just a guess.” [emphasis added]
Everyone's heard the story by now but here's the video if you haven't seen it yet. Here is the text from the NBC5 story:
If you were near the Lantana Bridge Wednesday evening, it's probably a sight you never expected to see. "I'm driving along and at the end of the street, I just see a plane just coming down sideways," says Thomas Van Halle, who was coming home from work around 6:30 p.m. The surprising sight of a plane on the the Intracoastal Waterway was captured by ground, courtesy of a YouReporter, and in the air by Chopper 5. "I went to the end of the street thinking 'Someone might need help,' Van Halle says. "I thought something was wrong at first." First responders rushed to the scene to find an empty plane, and no one in distress. It turns out, the situation was more party than panic. "The other fishermen said 'Yeah, it's Vanilla Ice'," says Max Slocum, who was fishing near the bridge.
Unbelievable! On the heels of Lake Worth City Attorney Glen Torcivia's presentation on the Sunshine Law and the Open Records statutes is this story from Tony Doris at the West Palm Beat. Is it any wonder the public is so confused? Technically, what our good neighbors in West Palm Beach did was outside the scope of the Sunshine Law; they had a meeting and there was no vote and there was no discussion of agenda items, either present or future. But. . .
With so much public confusion about the Sunshine Law it's not in the public interest to parse the Sunshine Law into technicalities. A good rule to follow is this: if you're not sure if a meeting should be noticed, open to the public, and minutes taken then notice the meeting, invite the public and have minutes taken. That way you avoid getting lit up by Tony Doris. Here are two excerpts:
Florida is famous for its sunshine. But in West Palm Beach, when it came to training city officials in the state’s Government-in-the-Sunshine law on April 24, the session took place out of the sunshine. The city staff, including Deputy Administrator Dorritt Miller, at least three members of the city attorney’s office, the finance director and ethics officer, conducted a three-hour, closed-door training session for Mayor Jeri Muoio and the city’s five commissioners on the third floor of the library next to City Hall, without notice to the public.
[and. . .]
Commissioner Shanon Materio, however, said the meeting should have been open. “I don’t understand why it couldn’t have been in the sunshine,” she said. “Why not?” Asked if the public might benefit, city spokesman [Elliot] Cohen agreed. “The topic itself is probably a good primer for the public,” he said. “But when it comes to asking questions, sometimes if you’re an elected official …” “What’s the harm?” [Barbara] Petersen said. “They should be open even if the law doesn’t require that they be open.”
[For the digitally challenged, the review of Benny's is in the Accent section of the Post, page D2; make sure to check out those 'Beach Breads' and let me know what you think.]
In the kitchen, Jeremy Hanlon can be as inventive as he is pragmatic. To wit: The chef-partner at Benny’s on the Beach has introduced a nifty sandwich wrapping at his Lake Worth oceanfront eatery. “Beach Bread,” he calls it. It’s a waffle creation that folds like a pita. But before you go and call it a waffle taco, you should know this bread was inspired by the chef’s childhood days spent on the Jersey Shore, noshing on waffle sundaes. Now, after experimenting with yeast in the bread dough, Hanlon offers an entire Beach Bread menu that includes six savory sandwiches and two sweet ones.
Benny's on the Beach is located at the Lake Worth Pier for those of you unaware. Make sure you go and check out Jeremy Hanlon's new creations and if you see Joseph Thompson III make sure to wave "Hi!"
It was a spectacular presentation last night by Glen Torcivia, the City Attorney for the City of Lake Worth. Soon will have the video available. You can go over the presentation yourself here (starts on page 9).
The video and this presentation will be readily available on a moments notice from here on out. So, the next time an "expert" wants to teach us about the Sunshine Law and the Open Records Law can set them straight and fast. The Sunshine Law and the Open Records Law are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS ENTIRELY. Many 'experts' have difficulty distinguishing the two.
It wasn't all that long ago when one of our local 'experts' went hysterical on Facebook about our Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell having lunch with Congresswoman Lois Frankel, remember that one? Members of Congress are not covered by the Sunshine Law.
A 'birthday card' is NOT a public record. Every now and then will re-post this for the public. If you would prefer to watch the slide presentation go here and proceed to page 25.
Not anytime soon so don't get your hopes up. If you're curious how a train horn works you can start your journey here. As Kim Miller at the Real Time blog explains the "louder" horns have more to do with pitch and frequency than the actual volume. The new horns have five chimes versus just three for the old horns most people are accustomed to hearing. Either way the new horns are within the Federal guidelines.
Here's an excerpt from the Real Time blog:
Florida East Coast Railway will test a different horn configuration for its new locomotives hoping to quiet blasts that have drawn hundreds of complaints from the Treasure Coast to Fort Lauderdale. FECR spokeswoman Debra Phillips said horn manufacturer Nathan Airchime is looking to replace one of the chimes on the new engine’s five-chime horns. Florida East Coast Railway will then test to determine if the change makes a difference. “There is no set date for the test and no set cost,” [emphasis added] Phillips said. Still, the idea that FECR is at least working on a possible solution may be some consolation to residents who live and work along the tracks.
Here is Lake Worth Commissioner Ryan Maier's account of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) meeting last month (April, 2015) from the minutes approved on May 5th of the Lake Worth City Commission meeting on 4/21 (go to pages 80 and 81):
Commissioner Maier: announced his attendance at the Treasure Coast
Regional Planning Council meeting on April 17, 2015, and said the big issue
which affected Lake Worth was discussion about the train horn noise. He
said Lake Worth was not the only municipality experiencing the excess train
noise, there was a new type of train engine that was louder than Florida
East Coast’s (FEC) older train, an FEC study on train noise found that the
noise was within its range, a quick fix solution was to remove the number of bells to make the horn quieter, and the City needed to petition the FEC and
request the number of bells be removed to make them quieter because FEC
said they were operating within the range. He commented that it was a
lovely experience to see other cities having the same experience. He said
All Aboard Train would have a station in West Palm Beach and they had the
same horn, so noise would increase. He suggested writing an ordinance
about the noise. He said the Metropolitan Planning Organization had put
together staff and funding to change how the railroad crossings worked,
which was the reason why train horns were blown.
Small point but relevant: train horns do not have "bells"; train horns are made of "chimes". As was pointed out by Mayor Pam Triolo many of the issues Maier has have already been addressed by the City the previous year (in April of 2014). Maier proposes an "ordinance about the noise". The City Commission can draft one or a hundred ordinances about the train noise. The FEC tracks fall under Federal Law, not state or local laws. Federal law takes precedence by the way.
Commissioner Maier said the "big issue" which affected Lake Worth at the TCRPC was the train horn noise. Going through the draft minutes of the meeting the issue of train horns only came up once:
Commissioner McKinlay asked if anything can be done in terms of the volume the horns of the new
locomotives. Staff stated that this issue has been raised with the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] and they have conducted an
evaluation to measure the volume of the horns, and they appear to be within the permitted range.
Staff indicated that there have been a series of requests to FECI [Florida East Coast Industries] to dampen the sound, and they have
indicated they are considering ways to lessen the noise.
Maier seems to be confusing two separate issues, and they are train horns and quiet zones. This is very important to understand: the railroad was here first. Any railroad crossing you see is access the railroad allows over its right-of-way. Train horns are required and regulated by Federal law at all railroad crossings (unless it's a quiet zone). Quiet zone locations will be determined over time using calculations of traffic, population density, safety, infrastructure needs, etc. Not every crossing is going to get a quiet zone but you can be sure everyone will want one near their house.
The next TCRPC meeting is on Friday, May 15th. The All Aboard Florida Update is #12 on the agenda. Hope to be there with my camera; its been a while since I attended a TCRPC meeting.
I have Maier's comments at the City Commission meeting on video and will have those comments up soon. Along with that video will have additional comments about the FEC, quiet zones, and how working and being cooperative with the railroad generally is a good idea.
Timothy Hullihan doesn't pull any punches; but more on that a little later. Last Thursday (4/30) this map appeared in The Palm Beach Post (in the Real Estate section):
There are 9 new communities west of the Turnpike and 25 total west of I-95. Looking east of I-95 south of Northlake Blvd all the way to Boca Raton there are only two—and that got me to thinking.
Prior to the recent municipal elections (March 10th) in the City of Lake Worth one of the candidates, Commissioner John Szerdi, received a candidate questionnaire from Drew Martin of the Loxahatchee Sierra Club. At some point in the future will publish the entire questionnaire, all the questions and answers, but one stands out, Number 9:
Above is Drew Martin's question on the candidate questionnaire.
Above is John Szerdi's answer.
I have no idea how the other candidates, Commissioner Chris McVoy and Ryan Maier, answered this question but we can safely conclude the answer was "Yes" or something very close. What exactly would a "moratorium on further development" in the City of Lake Worth achieve other than forcing more housing to be built west? John Szerdi's answer absolutely nails it.
While areas along I-95 and east towards the ocean are showing some signs of development it's still comparatively scarce in light of the amount of new housing needed in south Florida, so the need gets filled by Minto and Avenir to name just two. As much as you may dislike these new western developments and western sprawl they're filling a need. Look no further than the new census numbers.
Now to Tim Hullihan. He is not happy at all about what is happening in Palm Beach Gardens vis-à-vis "Avenir 3.0". You can read his entire blog post here and encourage everyone to read it. To me though these three paragraphs stand out:
Palm Beach County is still in the honeymoon period with growth. Cheap land and steady tourism have perpetuated this romance too long. Hopefully the relationship will mature soon enough to save us from becoming Dade and Broward look-alikes, but Minto West, and other recent windfalls for developers, make it seem as if the puppy-love will last forever. Mature urban areas, like the New York City example, enjoy the benefits of an adult relationship between community and growth. Within this deeper, less ephemeral commitment to community, mature cities get to discuss how they can improve from within rather than how too accommodate a growing burden of external distractions. New York City has some of the world’s finest hotels, restaurants, museums, and venues for the preforming arts, because it matured a long time ago and has continual improved the quality of its heart rather than the size of its being. Palm Beach Gardens is just north of 50,000 residents, and I have no idea how big they want to get, but I feel certain they would be better served by a mature and sustainable approach to growth and future development. Refreshing its eastern neighborhoods; exploring options for creating walkable communities; and adding density and quality-of-life amenities to the existing urban core are among some of the trends that are energizing cities around that country that have far less heart than Palm Beach Gardens. [emphasis added]
Barbara Marshall has this in The Palm Beach Post today, in the digital edition. Find out at the end of the article this "originally ran on May 6, 2010." Apparently her view of Mother's Day hasn't changed much; she republished the piece again this year:
I love my kids — they are my heart, my life — but I hate Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it and it feels… good. Cathartic. And a bit traitorous. In the American cult of Momism, we’re all supposed to feign delight at being hoisted on a pedestal for a day this Sunday and showered with corporate-sponsored symbols of our sacrificial Motherhood. No, thanks. Besides, none of my family or friends would ever mistake me for Saint Mom of the Immaculate Family Room. But the worst part of Mother’s Day is the mawkish, overheated sentimentality it revs up. All those obligatory treacly cards and cheesy “mom gifts.” For me, they’re always a bad fit, like mom jeans. OK, maybe mom jeans aren’t such a bad fit these days. But I still object to a holiday cooked up by advertisers to sell my kids a needlepoint pillow that reads “Home is where the Mom is.”
So, Barbara Marshall, why don't you tell us what you really think?
[Re-Post: this is getting a lot of attention; originally published on 12/29/2014] In yesterday's (12/28/2014) Palm Beach Post was a highly interesting article by Jane Musgrave
about the brain cancer "cluster" in the Acreage. In a stunning turn of
events the attorneys, Jack Scarola and Mara Hatfield, have conceded that
Palm Beach Aggregates is "blameless". Wow. Remember this is an effort
that Scarola and Hatfield have pursued for many years now, not a small
expense for a private law firm.
For those of you in Lake Worth you might think, hmmm, that name "Jack Scarola" sounds familiar.
You would be correct. Recently Mr. Scarola made the news as the "volunteer legal counsel
to the Guatemalan Maya Center [GMC] of Lake Worth" and wrote a letter
to United States Attorney General Eric Holder on the GMC's behalf. On October 22nd
the GMC staged a protest against the alleged abuses of our PBSO. If you
recall, that is the protest where the "PBSO Deputies Are Worthless"
sign was a significant part of the protest.
Mr.
Scarola, of course, is performing his civic duty as a volunteer for the
GMC. We all thank him for fostering an atmosphere of community between
the PBSO, the City of Lake Worth, the GMC, and the fine citizens of our
City of Lake Worth.
In the letter referenced above by Mr. Scarola to former Attorney General Eric Holder, he references the Peelian Principles. From Mr. Scarola:
Local law enforcement has
lost sight of the Peelian Principles—if they ever had those essential
principles in sight to begin with. They do not know how they are
supposed to do their job because they have no clear understanding of
what their job is. Instead of working to "secure the willing cooperation
of the public", the occupying troops dress for war and their leader
publicly defends their compliance with the "rules of engagement".
Is
Mr. Scarola alluding to the PBSO and the fine deputies who protect us
every day in our City of Lake Worth? When you see a deputy do you see
him/her as an 'occupying troop dressed for war'? Do you think our PBSO
Captain Silva is complicit is this 'war' and defending his 'troops'?
The
most interesting thing about Mr. Scarola's letter to the U.S. Attorney
General is not what it includes but what it leaves out. There are 9
Peelian Principles. Mr. Scarola references Peelian Principles 2 through
9. The one principle Mr. Scarola didn't reference was Peelian Principle
#1:
To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
Perhaps Mr. Scarola would be interested
in volunteering for the Lake Worth Neighborhood Association Presidents'
Council? Perhaps Mr. Scarola can research the human rights abuses
suffered by the Guatemalan/Maya community prior to PBSO taking over for
the Lake Worth Police Department? Or the horrific gang problem Lake
Worth had just six years ago and continues to address? That would be enlightening.
Kevin D. Thompson at the Posthas this update on an interesting development in Greenacres (a continuing story from that city):
An 18-year-old, chain of command policy that has been under attack in recent months and one that outlined how City Council members are supposed to communicate with city workers was scrapped at Monday’s meeting by a 3-2 vote. Council members Judy Dugo, Jonathan Pearce and Lisa Rivera voted to kill policy No. 14, while members Peter Noble and Paula Bousquet were in opposition. “This policy is demoralizing and not constructive,” Dugo said. “I want a policy that allows for open communication.” Drafted in 1997 when the city was having issues with the city manager position, the policy states that any council member who wants to discuss city business with a staff employee must get the OK from the city manager. It also says city employees can’t talk to a council member regarding city business without prior consent of the city manager.
In Lake Worth, the City Commission directs the City Manager, City Attorney and the Internal Auditor, hiring and firing personnel in those three positions. In a weak Mayor, City Manager form of government, direction to staff comes from the City Manager and the Mayor and Commissioners communicate their desires and directions to the City Manager. I don't think there is a hard and fast policy here where Commission members can't talk with department heads and other city staff, it's just that they shouldn't be telling them what to do. I am sure that there are many meetings between one member of the Commission, the City Manager and a department head.
Redevelopment seems to take place on Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach with little effort. Click title for link to a story on how the townhouses sold out on Antique Row, between Southern and Belvedere. From the article:
Then, in May 2013, Fort Lauderdale-based Label & Co. Developments broke ground on the Villas on Antique Row. The community’s 35 townhomes and 11 carriage houses sold out completely in December, less than two years after shovel met dirt. “We’re really happy with how it went,” said Harry Posin, president of Label & Co. Developments. Homes in the community, which is nestled between West Palm Beach’s distinguished antiques shopping district and historic communities east of Olive Avenue, sold at prices between $319,000 and upwards of $500,000.
There is new commercial development in the area as well. This new retail establishment is being built north of the townhouse project:
The Autozone store on South Dixie is also expanding. That is where a Subway restaurant used to be, but burned down a few years ago.
Maybe Pat Beall at The Palm Beach Post will fill us in on the details. Or maybe Tony Doris will. Anyhow this is another fight to end all fights to stop development along the I-95 corridor that's forcing development further west, Avenir, Minto, the Ag Reserve, need I go on? But I digress...the EarthFirst! meeting tomorrow:
For some reason I keep receiving these FlockNotes from the good people at EarthFirst!. You would think after the "Battery in the Lake" fiasco I'd be the last person they would send any information to.
I can only surmise they want me to help promote their event coming up, so here it is.
There is a mistake in the press release above: the meeting tomorrow is with the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition or the PBCEC, here is their website. Pat Beall at The Palm Beach Postmade the same mistake the other day in her story about the GEO Group when she referred to the Palm Beach Environmental Coalition. No such group exists.
The PBCEC is the media arm of EarthFirst!, of course. So the meeting on Wednesday is actually EarthFirst! going up to Palm Beach Gardens to have a meeting with EarthFirst! But you're welcome to join in.
Anyhow, good luck and hope you have a nice turnout!
Here is the link to the video by Tim Byrd at Palm Beach Live Work Play. Sheriff Bradshaw talks about how hard it is to keep the deputies motivated despite all the negativity they face all day long. This interview occurred BEFORE Lawrence Mower (Palm Beach Post) and Katie LaGrone's (NBC5/WPTV) "LINE OF FIRE" PROBEof the Sheriff so you can just imagine how hard that job is now.
“I’m [Rick Wiles] telling you there will be swift, sudden and devastating consequences for the United States of America [SCOTUS striking down gay marriage bans]. America will be brought to its knees, there will be pain and suffering at a level we’ve never seen in this country. The word that I hear in my spirit is ‘fire.’ I do not know if it refers to riots or looting or war on American soil or a fireball from space. I simply know that a sweeping, consuming fire will come across the United States of America and this country will be charred and burned.”
The City of Pahokee recently lost a proposal from the
Guy Harvey Group to lease and improve their City Marina.
The investor, proposing to invest over a hundred million
dollars and provide hundreds of jobs walked away from
the deal because of the greed of the commission. The plan would have created a couple hundred jobs in
an area that desperately needs them. Part of the reason
for the departure was demands by councilmembers for
the investor to provide every child under ten years of age
with free fishing equipment and tackle. Another reported
demand was for every student graduating from Pahokee
High School to receive a scholarship from the investor. The
deal fell through, mainly because of unreasonable demands
placed on a private corporation in an effort to provide
something for nothing to the community. Now, Pahokee
has no free fishing gear for the children, no jobs for the
adults, and no investor who might have made a profit. [emphasis added] Here in Lake Worth, we see the same mentality. It is
and has been costly to the local economy. The residents
of Lake Worth are fortunate to have a Publix nearby for
grocery shopping, other grocery stores have left the area.
Yet, we came real close to losing the Publix deal because a
then sitting commissioner tried to dictate what products
the store had to stock and sell. It is not the job of the city to dictate how a private
concerns run their business as long as they operate within
the boundaries of pertinent codes. If Publix had walked
away from the table then, how many jobs would not be in
Lake Worth now. Yes, with an unemployment rate higher
than the national, state, and county average, Lake Worth
continues to listen to those who will do everything they
can to keep unemployment high. They, include at least one one percenter, were responsible
for blowing through millions of dollars of city reserves with
nothing to show for it when they had control of the purse
strings. Ask yourself, do we need any more of that type of
leadership? Ask the question, Why do they want to keep
unemployment high? Blocking business at the beach will eventually lead to
a closed property, or an assessment on the tax bill to keep
the beach open. It is a proven failure of a business plan
this administration was handed by a previous group of
elected officials who were voted out of office and now want
back in to derail the train the city is on to improvement
and prosperity. Lake Worth needs to work with those who are capable of
improving the city. We hear how Lake Worth is much more
business friendly to contractors and this is encouraging,
but we have a ways to go. Lake Worth needs to cease being intimidated by those
who stand on the sidelines and scream foul to every idea
that “might” create improvement in the community.
[For other community news, community events, ads promoting local business, go to The Lake Worth Herald website here.]
The latest issue of The Coastal Star is out. Rich Pollack has this article on the incredibly successful Winter season here in Palm Beach County; hotel occupancy rates are at all-time highs. Here's an excerpt:
You can credit bad weather up North, the recovering national economy or the growing reputation of Palm Beach County as a popular winter tourism destination. [emphasis added] Whatever the reason, Palm Beach County continued to be a mecca for winter visitors this year, with occupancy rates reaching records in some areas and with local hotels being close to sold out for many days during the winter season. “This season has been unprecedented in terms of tourism for Delray Beach,” said Stephanie Immelman, executive director of the Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative, which promotes the area as a tourism destination. “Occupancy levels are up year over year even with a new hotel — the Fairfield Inn & Suites — opening.” Countywide, total occupancy rates remained strong, reaching almost 82 percent in January, close to 90 percent in February and a little more than 86 percent in March, according to statistics compiled by the county’s tourism agency, Discover the Palm Beaches.
Check out Tony Doris' story at the West Palm Beat. He has a survey up where you can vote. Here, from the article:
West Palm Beach ranks No. 1 among U.S. metro areas in the percentage of residents who’ve never regularly attended church [emphasis added], according to a new survey by Barna Research Group of California. San Francisco holds the top ranking for churchless residents, those who haven’t attended in at least six months other than for holidays. Seattle-Tacoma tops the “de-churched” category — people who used to attend regularly but haven’t in the past six months. According to the survey, though, 17 percent of West Palm Beach residents have never regularly attended church.
The Jupiter Police Department’s Citizen Survey is part of our continuing effort to provide professional and efficient police services to residents of the Town of Jupiter. Dear Citizen, The Jupiter Police Department’s Citizen Survey is part of our continuing effort to provide professional and efficient police services to residents of the Town of Jupiter. Your responses will be used to evaluate the service you have received and to recognize positive performance and identify opportunities for improvement. Your feedback will also provide valuable insight into how we might improve community relations and better serve the community. Sincerely, Frank J. Kitzerow Chief of Police Jupiter Police Department [If done here in Lake Worth, it would be best to do an online and an analog survey to get to residents who do not have access to the Internet, lack computer skills or who do not speak English.]
There was much information dispensed throughout this meeting. Many attended. In fact, the conference room was opened up for additional seating. So, given the public interest in the meeting and the topics being covered, I thought it would be helpful to annotate the video segments. This will save time, instead of readers having to watch two and a half hours of video, and you should be able to identify the topics and issues better. You can also check on the veracity of what is shared as I will use minute marks on the video for reference.
Christy Goddeau, of the Torcivia Law Firm, chaired the meeting. She introduces the reason for the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) which is consistent with what City Manager Bornstein told us at a previous City Commission meeting. It was an organized way to analyze requests to help utilize the facilities at the Casino building/pool better and entertain ways to make additional revenue to cover costs.
At the 4:15 mark, William Waters reviews the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development regulations related to the Beach and Casino designations. He talks about how the Comp Plan was approved in 2009 and amended in 2012, resulting in land development regulations being adopted in 2013. The beach property has a 0.1 floor-to-area ratio which limits the amount of square footage that can be built on the property. At the 7:08 mark he reminds us that the Casino site plan was approved by the Planning and Zoning Board in early 2011. Any changes based on these proposals would have to go before the Planning and Zoning Board.
After that, the proposal from Anderson and Carr is reviewed related to use of the second floor space, including the vacant space on the north side of the Casino building. This ended up going forward as a recommendation to the City Commission with the awareness that some policy issues have to be discussed related to the operation of the restaurant space and that the ultimate leasing rates and the numbers need to be examined.
At the 18:50 mark, Commissioner Amoroso says that by being liaison to the ITN from the City Commission, he learned a lot about the Casino building and pool. These included things that can and can't be done and things that were done and shouldn't have been done. He talks about the need for public meetings to talk about the pros and cons of anything the city is doing at the Casino complex. It's important to get a sense of what can actually happen there.
Discussion centers on the Hudson Holdings (HH) proposal at the 19:45 mark. Ms. Goddeau acknowledges that the committee received revised drawings last week and they were delivered with written responses to the committee's questions. In response to the Committee's request, HH agreed to pay for a traffic study related to their proposals. We find out the idea is to replace the current pool with a smaller junior Olympic pool. The size of what that means exactly was questioned and discussion followed. Its construction would be phased so that the current pool would still be operational during the construction of the new pool (north of the current pool's location).
At the 22:03 mark, Commissioner Amoroso asks about the current expense for the pool. We find out from Recreation Director Juan Ruiz that the pool's annual expenses are around $300,000, running a total of 29 hours per week. Revenue has been growing from the pool and may be $10,000 higher than the previous budget year. (Doing a little math that represents a total of 2,500 additional resident visits paying $4 per visit. This number represents an average of 48 more a week, or about 10 additional people per day of the pool's five day operational hours.) Mr. Ruiz says that the cost recovery is below 20% now and should be around 45 to 50%.
The HH proposal talks about a $20/square foot lease of 5,400 square feet (the second floor?) and it doesn't include the patio space. It would replace the parking lost from the project with a two level parking garage. (This would be one level of covered parking at grade level and a parking deck that would tie into the elevation of the dune to the east.) It would yield an additional 108 parking spaces. A total of 25,000 square feet of building space is proposed, but the leaseable area could be 26,500. This part was a little unclear.
We're still mourning the loss of an ALWAYS FREE publication here in our little City of Lake Worth but have some very good news for those in the throes of despair!
Keep your eye out for this new free publication that is headquartered right here in Lake Worth called Florida Food & Farm. Here is the Facebook page and here is their web page.
Front cover of Florida Food & Farm.
Back cover of magazine. Many major advertisers have ads, including Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Soon I'll have information on where you can pick up your free copy. Now and then I am going to post some excerpts from articles in Florida Food & Farm from writers such as Chris Felker, Dan Millot, Angie Francalancia and others.
Share this information with your family and friends. When you pick up a copy make sure you give it to a neighbor when you're finished.
In the magazine are some local restaurants listed you might recognize:
Yesterday I attended an event and someone very familiar with the recent upheaval in Tallahassee was there. Several people sat around and the main topic of conversation was the dysfunction in Tallahassee vis-à-vis the House walkout and still no state budget. This is an incredible political story not just statewide but has ramifications all the way to Washington, D.C. (and beyond). This story affects literally everyone in Florida.
The Palm Beach Post acknowledges this in an article by John Kennedy which appears below the fold:
Here is how Wikipedia describes the difference between "Above the Fold" and "Below the Fold":
Above the fold is the upper half of the front page of a newspaper where an important news story or photograph is often located. Papers are often displayed to customers folded so that only the top half of the front page is visible. Thus, an item that is "above the fold" may be one that the editors feel will entice people to buy the paper. Alternatively, it reflects a decision, on the part of the editors, that the article is one of the day's most important.
Here is what the editor(s) of The Palm Beach Post chose as the most important news in Palm Beach County:
This is the actual headline in the print edition of The Palm Beach Post. Not a photoshop. No doubt this story should be on the front page, sans the hysterical headline, but above the fold? Right next to the "LINE OF FIRE" probe of PBSO Sheriff Bradshaw? What kind of message are they trying to send? And to whom?
The public is invited to attend a Crime Walk uniting Lake Worth Neighborhoods against crime scheduled for Sunday May 3. Participants will gather in the City Hall parking lot at 4:30 pm. and the walk will begin at 5 pm. City Hall is located at Dixie Highway between Lake Ave. and Lucerne Ave. Tammy Panza, the spark plug of the event , said residents will team up with Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies to raise awareness of crime in Lake Worth. The walk will take place on local streets and in alleys in neighborhoods surrounding the area. Panza says, “during the walk, we will discuss our concerns and document the event with pictures and notes. With PBSO and our attentive neighbors “Making the Call,” we hope to make a difference.” There will be another Crime Walk on May 17, same time. Stay tuned for more details.
This is a great effort for the City, the public, and PBSO and everyone knows good-hearted, caring people are organizing this event.
But I am very concerned and here's why. A few days ago Bill DiPaolo at The Palm Beach Post did a story about the Guatemalan community in Jupiter and their concerns about recent events in their community. They had their meeting in a community resource center and maybe we'll hear more about what happened and the result from that meeting in the near future.
When you have a community meeting in a controlled environment you can control the message, and that's important. The stated purpose for the crime walk this Sunday is to unite neighborhoods, raise awareness, and getting the community to make "the call". All laudable and responsible goals.
But all it takes is one person to monkeywrench the entire message. Let's say you have a hundred people and one person carrying the sign below, what picture do you think is going to make it in The Palm Beach Post and the CBS12/WPEC News?
From an earlier protest in Lake Worth.
I support the message but I see too many opportunities for certain people, and everyone knows who I'm talking about, to try and steal the message. I hope I'm wrong.
My point is this: keep your eyes out, note any unfamiliar faces, make sure everyone is clear what the stated goals are, and keep your message "YOUR MESSAGE". You own it, you created it. Some politically opportunistic people out there will steal it if they have the chance. They're pros; they've been doing this stuff for a long time.
If everything goes well this week then great and that will bode well for many more crime walks in other parts of the City. If it doesn't go as planned there are many indoor venues that could also be utilized in the future. Either way, indoors or outdoors, it's a great idea and a big "Thank You" to the organizers.
The story by Alexandra Clough finally made the print edition today, in Sunday's 'Business' section. The very first line is this: "The fortunes of Lake Worth’s beachside casino and pool complex are troubled."
She quoted Commissioner Ryan Maier and being a business writer I'm sure she had to check her notes more than a few times to make sure she really heard what she did. Being an elected official and responsible for how tax dollars are used it was enlightening: he has no problem with taxpayers subsidizing the failing Casino and pool. Don't blame me. I didn't vote for him.
Must admit it's a guilty pleasure watching the hysteria in the community. There are a few sentences in the article that the unhinged will hold dear as they wail uncontrollably. "You see! I told you! They're stealing our BEACH!"
Check back in a few days and will have many excerpts from the article. A very good effort by the Post's business writer fairly representing all sides of this very important issue.
Jonathan Beaton does a real good news segment in West Palm Beach about the bike valet service at Sunfest. He's still transitioning from radio to TV news, though. I still remember his first news segment for WPEC; it sounded like a rendition of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.
Here is the link to the segment and I encourage everyone interested in West Palm Beach's efforts to better integrate walkability and bikeability into their current and future planning to watch.
Here is an excerpt from the text of Jonathan Beaton's news segment:
CBS 12 found out valet services are being offered for bicyclists, who may now drop their rides off right in front of the festival’s gates, which officials hope will relieve traffic congestion. Promoting health, staying green, and keeping traffic moving are just a few of the benefits Teneke James with the West Palm Beach Development Authority touts [emphasis added] with cruising to SunFest on your two-wheeled ride. “West Palm Beach is growing. It’s becoming more pedestrian and bike friendly,” said James. The free program isn’t new but we’re told it’s catching on fast. Already 4,300 people have taken part in years past. It’s a sensible, practical option that officials hope continues to be used to combat our dependency on driving.
You can also read about this at the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority. You can see the promotion of a bike valet service is an effort to get the public used to the idea. And a great idea it is. It's free now but eventually a small fee will be added. This is in context with All Aboard Florida service and the Coastal Link after that.
HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH
SUNDAY EVENING.
IMPACTS...STRENGTHENING ONSHORE WINDS ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST,
ALONG WITH A 1 TO 3 FOOT NORTHEAST SWELL SUNDAY, WILL LEAD TO A
HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST. THE WORSE
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THE SWELL PEAKS
AT THE SAME TIME AS LOW TIDE IN THE MID AFTERNOON.
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...YELL FOR HELP. REMAIN
CALM...DO NOT EXHAUST YOURSELF AND STAY AFLOAT WHILE WAITING FOR
HELP. IF YOU HAVE TO SWIM OUT OF A RIP CURRENT...SWIM PARALLEL TO
SHORE AND BACK TOWARD THE BEACH WHEN POSSIBLE. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT AS YOU WILL TIRE QUICKLY.
You are not going to believe this until you watch the video. A councilman in Texas forgets to take his mike off and goes to the bathroom and EVERYBODY HEARS THE WHOLE THING. The pee, the flush, and HE DOESN'T WASH HIS HANDS. This is just too funny:
The Fifth Annual Women for Women 5K Race will be held on Saturday May 09, 2015. The City will be closing down the Bryant Park boat ramps on Friday, May 08, 2015 at midnight and will reopen on Saturday May 09, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. For any further information on the 5K race or boat ramp closure please contact the Leisure Services Department at 561-586-1600.
Getting ready. A couple of minutes before the start. My guess there were between 90 and 100 riders. Huge turnout.
Yours Truly.
On Dixie Hwy, heading north towards Worthmore Drive. The 'corkers' are in charge of keeping traffic away from riders and alerting drivers. Great job tonight!
Making the turn on Worthmore Drive, heading west towards 'A' Street. Only a few people know what the route is, by the way.
It's about 7:50 now and the sun's setting. The ride ended about 8:40 in the Downtown. The driving public seemed surprised and pleasantly accommodating; it's not something you see every day. Mission accomplished!
"I want to thank those of you who have told me over these last few months how much you enjoy the paper, and to let you know, with regret, that I could not make it work as a business, and so have to close up shop. I began with the the idea, the conviction, that residents of Lake Worth needed more information about their community -- that they were hungry for it, and that they deserved it as citizens and taxpayers. I tried every week to give you the information that I thought you would want to know, and to present it in a way that was highly readable. I started with about $15,000 in savings, and took out a loan for $15,000. My father bought $600 worth of stock in the corporation and I assigned stock to an old friend from New York who once gave me $1000 when I was working to start a paper in Key West. I had a plan. That plan showed us selling enough advertising to cover the expense of printing and distributing a newspaper every week, and a little more. Unfortunately, I faced a number of obstacles. Many of them I expected. I knew going in, for example, what happens when you start publishing a spirited newspaper that shines a light on some things that some people would like to keep hidden. The bullets fly. This is a very good sign and I was cheered by it. But I didn't expect a sitting city commissioner to go to our downtown businesses and tell them not to advertise in the Tribune. And I didn't expect people to go up and down Dixie Hwy. stealing stacks of newspapers after the chair of a city board encouraged them to do it. I'm sad for Lake Worth that we have these sorts of people here. This is a wonderful town, in so many ways, and we have so many intelligent and kind people living here. Speaking of...I had lots of help with the paper. A number of friends helped in a number of ways. I won't soon forget it. I'm sorry I couldn't keep it going. Lake Worth really does deserve a good newspaper. It's a heck of a town. Margaret Menge, Editor and Publisher The Lake Worth Tribune"
[This post is from last Tuesday, 4/28. It's the cause of some hilarity in the City because it proves the general level of dysfunction and hysteria that an issue can create, despite all evidence to the contrary. So, without further ado, look at what Tony Doris has wrought...]
Yesterday published a post about a neighborhood meeting in West Palm Beach. You can read that here. Thanks to the hard work by West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio (and Lake Worth business owner) and many others, people are starting to look at the C-51 Canal in a different way.
The Post reporter Tony Doris was at that meeting and he wrote 6 words, that as soon as I read them, knew a certain unhinged woman with a blog would absolutely lose it. Here are those 6 words Mr. Doris wrote:
coordinating efforts with neighboring Lake Worth
When you combine the following elements, Mr. Doris, you're certain to create unhinged hysteria:
West Palm Beach
Lake Worth
Coordination
Shanon Materio
Put those elements in any story and Weetha Peebull's dosage increases, you're happy Lake Worth doesn't have tall buildings, and no one is surprised to see a naked woman running down the street yelling at the top of her lungs.
So, for the edification of Mr. Tony Doris, here is a sample of the unhinged hysteria you created as evidenced on a loony blog here in Lake Worth (this is just a sample; have it from a 3rd party source the comments are nearing 60 and climbing):
Note: West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio gets mentioned IN THE FIRST SENTENCE!
"Secret meetings"
"Muther Fuc$ers"? So charming isn't it?
How did Jimmy Fallon get mixed up in this?
"Please refrain from personal attacks; I won't let that happen on MY BLOG". Huh?
The "Falkirk Wheel"? Getting a little off topic here?
The Lake Worth CRA, as everyone knows, is a Shadow Government.
Bringing all the facts together and explaining the obvious: Kimberly Mitchell is the Devil!
Digital Domain. NOW I UNDERSTAND! How come I didn't understand this before?
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
