Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium - May 16th at Palm Beach Atlantic

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I have already registered. If you do so before May 4th, you will be assurred a "free lunch". Let me know if you are interested in going. If so, we can arrange a car pool there. This should be a great program! Hope to see you there.

City Commission to Discuss Wireless Technologies...

Common Ground...

Every person has a unique perspective. And yet, the things we all have in common are far more numerous than our differences.

Behind every difference of opinion, behind every disagreement, behind each conflict there is common ground. And that common ground can be the starting point for resolving the conflict.

Finding common ground does not mean giving in or forcing the other person to accept your point of view. Instead, it means discovering the areas in which you already share a similar perspective.

It is well worth the effort to find things upon which everyone can agree. For that sets the stage for true understanding.

Often, every person seeks the same ultimate outcome, and the disagreement is about the details of how to get there. Even when you are unable to agree, it is always possible to understand.

Seek to focus on that understanding, and work to find common ground. It is from that point that everyone involved can begin to create real value for all.

-- Ralph Marston

From Robert Genn - An Idea for Florida?

"One thing about Indianapolis," says the taxi driver as we pass by the almost hundred-year-old Indy 500 racetrack, "there's plenty of parking." I'm noticing that perhaps more than any other mid-sized city in the USA, Indianapolis embraces the automobile. There's urban sprawl in all directions. First-rate commuter roads head off over former farmlands into further subdivisions. Here and there, remnant woodlots or marshy bogs slope down to meandering rivers. Trying to save some of these remaining lands is why I'm here.

The Central Indiana Land Trust is one of 1,100 US organizations in the business of reserving and preserving natural lands and their threatened ecosystems. By purchase, gift, legacy or easement, the organizations round up parcels so future generations will be able to see what countryside was like.

We're having an art show--a fundraiser to draw attention to the cause. The Trust has chosen 15 prominent painters and asked them to paint on the Trust's lands. Each artist has contributed two works--most of them are plein air oils. These Hoosiers area hardy bunch; around here they've reinvented outdoor painting with gusto. I'm one of the jury. We get to hand out cash to the winning painters. More than three hundred supporters show up for the opening. It's a bash.Long ago and far away, Thomas Moran helped convince Teddy Roosevelt that the USA needed National Parks. Anyone who beheld one of Moran's panoramas of the Grand Canyon could see that the place needed protection. Many other artists such as John James Audubon and Ansel Adams have been instrumental in saving the picturesque and the natural. It seems to me that painters, more than any others, recognize the presence of sacred grounds.Going into a landscape and setting up an easel is an act of faith that just might bring further grace to the wild and beautiful. Unlike hunters and fishers, who also have a vested interest in preservation, artists take without taking. A painting made outdoors is a sacred event.

Long ago and far away, a passing hiker watched me paint a modest swamp near Mt. Rainier in Washington State. When he finally spoke to me, he did so in a whisper, as if he was in a cathedral. "Thank you," he said. "Now I see the beauty of it."About that time I began to see what my role might be, how we all had a job to do, and how we needed now to be more responsible.

Best regards,

Robert

Tonight's Truth Matters Show on Lake Worth Talk.com

Hey folks.

As you know by the previous post, my friend Andrew is in town. Just for kicks and giggles, he will be joining me tonight on the show. I plan on reviewing last week's show - we covered a lot of material ont he basics of the Comprehensive Plan. I will also be talking about what happened at last Tuesday's City Commission meeting - both the Compass matter and the non-appointment of yours truly to the Stakeholders Advisory Committee. We will also be taking your questions from the discussion board.

So, it is a little departure from the format. We will get back to "normal" next week - when I plan to go into more detail about the relationship between the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code - we'll also start exploring the various districts within the zoning code and looking at the City's Zoning Map.

Please join us on Lake Worth Talk.com this evening from 8 to 9 p.m. Thanks - hope to hear from during the show!