Early Voting Begins Today...

Click here for a listing of early voting locations.  I am already hearing about long lines this morning as I type this.  Early voting continues through next Saturday, November 3rd.

For Lake Worth voters, please check your new voter registration cards that were mailed to you during the summer.  Many polling locations have changed.  For example, I live in the voting precinct 3040 which is no longer voting at the Congregational Church on North K Street.  My neighbors and I are now voting west of Dixie Hwy at the Scottish Rite Temple at the southeast corner of Worthmore and D Street.  There are other changes too.  There is no longer voting at the Shuffleboard Courts and an additional two new polling locations were added at the Oasis Health and Rehab Center on 12th Avenue South and the Lakeside Methodist Church at the southeast corner of Lake Osborne Drive and 12th Avenue South.

Here is a map of the city with the various polling locations identified and their associated addresses (click on image to make it larger.  You can also save it to your hard drive by right clicking and look for the option "Save image as...":

Below is a copy of the sample ballot I received this week.  Make sure to identify where the only Lake Worth race is on the ballot.  Check out the sample below where I placed a red blotch showing the general location of the District #2 candidates.

If you did receive a sample ballot in the mail, it may be a good idea to fill it out prior to going to the polling location.  You can than transfer your votes to the official ballot that will be scanned.  I hope that this is helpful information.

Major Power Surge in College Park - Just Happened

Personally lost a large screen TV - others have lost TVs, computers, printers...it seems everything that was turned on at the time is gone.  People heard a "pop" inside their homes then the power was out briefly.  There will be more on this.  Feel free to comment below if you lost any electronics.

Mourning the dead...

Part of Lake Worth without power

The news about the outage experienced by many of us last night.  It happened two different times here, separated by about 20 minutes.  The second time the power was out it was a little over two hours.  Reading the article the cause was a downed "wire and a damaged switch."  And why are West Palm Beach fire personnel responding to something here?  Wouldn't it be Palm Beach County Fire Rescue?  Click title for link.

Hurricane Sandy Update

This is a link to the City of West Palm Beach's website (click title).  It was also shared on their city FaceBook page.  As for Lake Worth, this is what we are told on our website's homepage:  That the pier is closed due to high wind gust and wave heights and that:

Prepare Now….

A tropical storm watch has been issued for South Florida’s east coast from Jupiter Inlet to the top of the Keys, the National Hurricane Center announced.  Forecasters expect storm conditions to arrive by Thursday night (October 25) and peak sometime Friday (October 26) as Hurricane Sandy comes closest to our area.

This represents a noticeable improvement over past information distribution efforts.

Cancellation

Halloween on the Avenues - scheduled for Friday, October 26^th - has been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.

"Work" currently being done on the seawall at the Lake Worth beach...

Tunnel area where wooden doors have been removed to store materials and "fix" what can be seen.

??  !!

This is what is protecting our $6 million investment in the NEW Casino building.  How much is this costing us?  Does this qualify as an "armoring device" under the Florida building code?

Can Bucher salvage the integrity of voting in Palm Beach County? | The Opinion Zone blog | The Palm Beach Post

A "recounting" of some of the grim gaffs by the Supervisor of Elections office this go around.  Do you trust anyone "copying" a ballot so that it can be counted?  Click title for link.

A Green Revolution in Chicago

Read about all the projects that have happened or are happening along Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront.  Click title for link.  Caution:  There is a reference to "skyline" in the article.

High Noon in Lake Worth Online Radio | Blog Talk Radio

Announcement regarding this week's (10/26) and next week's (11/2) "High Noon in Lake Worth" Internet radio shows.  Due to activities surrounding and leading up to election day, I will be taking two weeks off.  You are invited to listen to the archived shows in the meantime.  By clicking the title above, you will have access to all of the previous shows.

Note that I still hold out the offer to the McVoy campaign to have their candidate appear on the show prior to the election in the interest of providing equal time, as I also do for Mr. Hager in the District 89 State Representative race.  I would be able to accommodate any schedule - even of someone that spends most of his time in the Everglades.  We could even do a "remote show" - how exciting!

REMINDER! Deadline for New Times Best Blog 2012 is October 26th!

Gentle readers, please find time in your busy day to vote for this blog in the New Times "Best of" contest.  To vote, click here for details.  Remember too that another blog - Lake Worth Every Minute - is also a nominee.  Thank you for your support!

Jim Stafford on 1340 a.m. - Haitian Radio Show (now 5:12 p.m. 10/24)

Click here for link. Candidate for Lake Worth City Commissioner Jim Stafford is live NOW on radio. Tune in and listen!

Cisco helps build first U.S. “Smart+Connected” city of the future in Lake Nona, Florida | VentureBeat

From the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association:

"‎Cisco is helping build the first U.S. “Smart+Connected” city of the future in Lake Nona, Florida. The plan is for Lake Nona to become a research and development center for medical technologies, with six different research, training, and treatment centers."

Click title for link.

Editorial: Stafford over McVoy for Lake Worth City Commission | www.palmbeachpost.com

CLICK TITLE FOR LINK!

Priorities of the two candidates in their first six months...

Sell the utility? The Charter DOES allow it.

Charter Article IV, Sec. 9. - Public utilities.

The city commission shall not sell, lease, transfer or convey or otherwise dispose of any public utility plant or plants owned by the city without the affirmative vote of a majority of the city electors upon an ordinance stating the terms and conditions of such sale, lease, transfer, conveyance, or disposition.

McVoy's misuse of the royal "we"

Pic from last night's NAPC Lake Worth Playhouse debate...

Videos up soon...

Lake Worth commission candidates spar over electric utility,...

About last night's debate...click title for link. A fairly accurate assessment, I think.  I'll have some videos up later in the day.

How Small Is Too Small? - NYTimes.com

"Oh, the density!"

Could this be our urban future?  Is density our destiny?  Click title for link on micro living units - a growing trend.  From the article:

"Small housing units can be well designed, though their success is contingent on the success of the urban setting in which they exist. In other words, what’s outside the door needs to be compelling enough to make up for what might otherwise be internalized inside a larger home."

No wonder major roads are called "arterials"

Time lapse movie of Cincinnati - a living urban being?  Caution:  Video shows buildings higher than 6 stories - the height sensitive should watch only while supervised.

Hmmm, interesting...

From FaceBook just now (11:08 a.m., 10/22)

Town of Palm Beach - Beach Clean-up - North part of island...

On Thursday, October 25th from 5 to 7PM, the Town of Palm Beach partnering with Worth Avenue Association will hold a Beach Cleanup and Turtle Protection Event.  The Solid Waste Authority will provide the supplies and parking fees will be suspended in no-parking zones for volunteers.

Condition of the pool area at the Gulfstream Hotel...

Yesterday, in attending the Blues, Brews and BBQ festival at Bryant Park, we locked up our bikes on the fence that surrounds the pool at the Gulfstream Hotel.  There is a fairly dense landscaping screen, but there are some openings where you can see what is left of the pool area.  There is no water in the pool, except for when it rains - then it likely is a haven for mosquito breeding.  I made the city aware of it this morning and they already were.  They will be sending someone to check on the integrity of the fence.

With the property in foreclosure, there are limited options on how to address this situation.  In any case, it represents an "attractive nuisance" and we are fortunate it is not in an area that has a high concentration of curious children.

Now, what were Mr. Celi's complaints?  Where is he now to point out these conditions? Is the prospect of another 6 story building on the vacant portion of the property worth keeping the historic hotel vacant and this portion of the property in a dilapidated condition ?

Tonight's the Night!

Click here for rules and program information.

Mail Call « Lake Worth 100 Mail ART

Some initial entries in the Lake Worth 100 Mail Call - Where people are encouraged to send a decorated post card honoring the Lake Worth Centennial.  Click title for link.  Click here for more information on the LULA sponsored program.