Quote by Michael Bornstein, “[U]nlike what Mr. Thompson wrote in the Post, who continues to prove his incompetence in how he writes things”.

You can watch and listen to Lake Worth City Manager Michael Bornstein yourself in this City YouTube video from the Commission meeting held on September 19th,

“Item 6C [added]. Presentation regarding Hurricane Irma”.

The quote below from Bornstein, transcribed from the Commission meeting (the first following Hurricane Irma), is in response to a very misleading and inaccurate article published by Post beat reporter Kevin Thompson.

Carl Stoveland, president of the Eden Place Neighborhood Assoc., was quick to ask Thompson for an apology that day (read more about that below).

[Please note: Bornstein’s “Presentation” about Hurricane Irma on Sept. 19th begins at the 1:03 minute mark in the City video and ends at 1:23 (20 minutes total); the transcription below is from 1:17–1:19 (two minutes).]

City Manager Bornstein
in his own words:

“I just want to address a couple of more things if I can. We had the incredible, gracious offer from several neighborhoods, they wanted to reach out and say, ‘Thank You’ linemen. ‘Thank You’ for such a great job . . . They wanted to cook for them.
     I just wanted everybody to understand that logistically these guys came in at 6:00 in the morning, they were fueled up, hit the street. We fed them there at the yard. We fed them in the field while they were working. Then they came home, we fed them and they went to bed. They got back up.
     That’s the life they’re living right now as mutual-aid [out-of-town] employees coming in. The more they work the more money they make, obviously. That’s something they’re focused on. They care about what they do. I think you met some of the folks, they’re really genuine people.
     But for me to try to figure out logistically, take in all this heavy equipment and cycle it through some spot in the City as well as get them out of the truck, it would have taken a lot of time and money out of their pocket, a lot of time and money out of the work day.
     It wasn’t like we didn’t appreciate it, unlike what Mr. Thompson wrote in the Post, who continues to prove his incompetence in how he writes things [crowd applause].”

Then referencing Mr. Stoveland, Bornstein says, “There is no need for an apology” from the
Eden Place neighborhood.

Bornstein continues,

     “He [Thompson] took a crack at us. . . . Don’t worry about what the Post says. But I wanted people to understand that we’re trying to come up with something to do for those folks [out-of-town linemen]. 
     They have these long-sleeved shirts. They trade them like trading cards. Linemen are crazy about that. So we’re coming up with a way to send them [long-sleeved shirts] from Lake Worth with [Hurricane] Irma and we’d like to put all the neighborhood associations on the back.
     If we send that to them they’ll love that.”

Here is the message from Eden Place’s Mr. Stoveland posted on Facebook, Sept. 19th:

Kevin D. Thompson [Post beat reporter] - You got this one all wrong. Kim’s [Lake Worth resident Kim Lingle’s] intent in speaking to you was to highlight the great people and businesses of Lake Worth who wanted to show our appreciation for the out of state linesmen. It was never meant to throw shade on the City Manager or the commission. We (Eden Place) tried to put together an event with the best of intentions, but an impossible deadline. I think you owe City Manager Michael Bornstein an apology. I for one apologize on behalf of the Eden Place Neighborhood Association.

City Manager Bornstein isn’t asking for much.

“We [the City] are held to a higher standard,
they [the press] should hold themselves
to a higher standard”:

The video below is Bornstein responding to another
“incompetent” and “egregious” article by Thompson
in September 2016: