Lake Worth Reports Train Horn Quiet Zone Infractions - West Palm Beach News Story - WPBF West Palm Beach

I saw this item on WPBF 25 News this morning - apparently the quiet zone was enacted June 17, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. Click here for a link to the Press Advisory issued by the city date June 16th. According to the news report, trains are not obeying the quiet zone order. This order only exists along the CSX (western) tracks and not along the FEC (eastern) tracks. The city is asking that residents e-mail jlamb@lakeworth.org (copy and paste for e-mail) when they hear a train horn in violation of the order - apparently a common occurrence.

My question is why was the finance department involved with this? Typically, in other cities, issues like this would be handled by professional staff in the planning department. Is part of the reason for bloated finance and office of management and budget departments to make up for lapses or voids in other departments?

Commissioner Maxwell's Blog

Our District #1 Commissioner started a blog.  I've included a link to it in the right hand column.  You can also click on the title of this post to quickly check it out.

Back in Florida!

Many comments pending - traveling today - I ask for your patience. If anyone cares to know, it's 11 hours from Nashville, Tennessee to Orlando, Florida by car.

Congratulations to Jeff Clemens on his State House District 89 Primary Win

Let's hope that we have seen the last of Lake Worth Mayors' use the position as only a stepping stone to higher office.

Don't forget to vote! It's your patriotic duty!

Most municipalities leaning toward raising tax rates

Click title for link to Palm Beach Post article.  The key paragraph which jumped from the article was this one

Lake Worth approved the steepest increase. The city set a tentative tax rate of $6.24 for each $1,000 of taxable value, a 24.8 percent jump over last year's rate. Lake Worth commissioners have said, however, that they hope to trim the budget enough to lower their rate before it gets final approval in next month.

Another local blogger chooses to whistle by the graveyard.  And, apparently, so does the City Commission, Mayor and the city administration.  The entire budget document and transmittal letter was designed to break the unions and force them into concessions that they are likely not going to want to give.  So while the initial headlines were that there would be no lay-offs and no increase in taxes, let's just wait and see if that will be the case or not.  The proposed budget assumed union and sheriff department cuts.

And then we have the city screaming poor while lending itself $6 million to rehabilitate the casino building and get on with the beach project.  What is wrong with this picture?

This is the result of the failed policies of much the current commission - don't go blaming past commissions.  Where is the new investment - private investment, not public - in Lake Worth?  Where are the jobs?  

We seem to have lots of affordable housing.

District 1 Community Meeting

The Office of Commissioner Scott Maxwell will be holding the District 1 Community Meeting on August 31, 2010 from 6pm to 9pm  at the Norman J. Wimbley Municipal Gymnasium located at 1515 Wingfield Street, Lake Worth, Florida 33460 for any information please feel free to call
 (561) 586-1730 thank you.

Soren Kierkegaard

I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power,
but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever
young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility
never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so
intoxicating, as possibility!

The forces of Mars and Venus combine to protect the Mango Altar