Lake Worth narrows field for internal auditor

The city is making progress fulfilling the requirement for an internal auditor, as mandated in the City Charter.  The position has been vacant since City Manager Stanton and the City Commission at the time decided they didn't need someone pointing out more problems.  Our former City Attorney said that it was o.k. not to include the position in one of the budgets at the time.  Click title for link to article.  One of the finalists is an internal auditor for Benihana restaurants.

‘Farm City’ Panelists Discuss Future Of Everglades

Good overview of the Everglades restoration process and the challenge of balancing multiple interests.  Click title for link to an article that appeared in the Town Crier newspaper - covering the western part of urbanized Palm Beach County.  From the article:

Barnett said a notion of restoring the 4 million acres of Everglades to its original state is not reasonable, logical, rational or attainable. “What is attainable is the 2 million acres that are left. How can we best re-create the hydrologic conditions, the ecologic conditions and the biological conditions that existed prior to the drainage?” he said.

Lake Worth's Holiday Wonderland 2012 - A Six Week Series!

LAKE WORTH HOLIDAY WONDERLAND 2012 is a 6 week series of festive fanfare at the Cultural Plaza in Downtown Lake Worth to celebrate the holidays and the upcoming Centennial December 1- January 5, 2012. This 6 week holiday series is Free to the public.

December 1st 6pm-9pm sponsored by the Community Redevelopment Agency “Holly-Days Lake Worth” is a family event that includes: 

Bounce House & letters to Santa
Pictures with Santa Claus
Our tree lighting ceremony along with multicultural acts on stage include:

 6:00 – Tree Lighting Count Down with Lista Faircloth  Lucy ( I Love Lucy) & Santa rides in on a fire truck
6:15- For the Children
6:30- Suzuki School of Music
7:00- Hispano Latino Cultural Alliance
7:30- Florida Dance Conservatory 
8:00- Lake Worth Community Kids Choir
8:15-TBA
8:30-9:00- Lake Worth High School Band

December 7th – 6pm-10pm Evening on the Ave- Cultural Plaza 

December 8th 12pm to 6pm “Santa’s Wonderland Workshop” sponsored by Kiwanis Club is a fun filled family event. The City of Lake Worth has a bike giveaway in the afternoon. By the evening, The City of Lake Worth presents “Light up the Night Parade” from 6pm-8pm. This is a hometown style parade featuring local high school bands and floats that bring you back to the good ole days, featuring: 
Santa and Mrs. Claus
Home Depot workshop crafts
Cultural entertainment
Night parade with local high school bands and floats

December 15th 6pm to 9 pm Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor “Sounds of the Season”. Start a family tradition, bring the family and enjoy a fun-filled evening celebrating the Sounds of the Season. This musical extravaganza featuring all types of holiday music will to set the mood for the holiday season.
Local choirs and musicians
Cultural entertainment
Local high school and community bands

December 21st – 6pm-10pm Evening on the Ave- Cultural Plaza

December 22nd 5pm-9pm “Downtown Holiday Shopping Stroll” sponsored by the Downtown Cultural Alliance and “Holiday Concert in the Plaza” 6pm-9pm at the Cultural Plaza 
Experience a night like no other when the downtown merchants decorate their windows dressed for the holidays; and enjoy an evening of shopping and festive treats under the holiday lights with a holiday concert in the Cultural Plaza

December 29th- Ring in the New Year Early Party Champagne & Chocolate Stroll
Local shops will be offering Chocolate and Champagne to toast in the New Year. Enjoy the festive holiday windows while you stroll down Lake and Lucerne and experience one of the many unique shops. 

January 5th from 6pm to 9pm The final event will take place after the new year “The Nightmare AFTER Christmas” sponsored by the Community Redevelopment Agency, LULA and the Lake Worth Playhouse. Mixing Halloween and Christmas together to set the stage for the night will add the ingredients that makes Lake Worth a unique jewel in south Florida. 
Cultural entertainment & Divas Professional Drag Show

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joanna Macy

‎"If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear."

How Allen West blew it - Alex Isenstadt - POLITICO.com

Apparently Mark  Foley attempted to guide the former Congressman early on, getting him to moderate his tone.  It didn't work.  Click title for link.

Recent Aerial of the CRA Urban Arts Lofts...

WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Top Stories - Parking dangers at new local hot spot

The new local hot spot referred in none other than the Casino building.  It is dark and the night we were there was when the woman fell into the bushes trying to pay for parking.  How about we suspend parking fees during the construction?  What a great idea!  Click title for link.

Pics of the new fitness park on North H Street, west of Compass

 

Creative Strategy

Allen West Concedes Election to Patrick Murphy, Finally - Broward/Palm Beach - News - The Daily Pulp

And Pinkie weeps.  Click title for link.

The 9 Arches Mural Project - A Video by Jon Faust

Four arrested in Keystone XL pipeline protest on Royal Palm Way

Could this be the work of Panty Goat?  Click title for link.  From the article:

Eyewitnesses reported that after entering the bank Claar and a fellow demonstrator, who gave his name as “Pana,” took the elevator to the fifth-floor executive suite, while another protester attached a bicycle lock to the ground-floor entry doors. The man who locked the doors also was charged, as was another protester.

Allen West falls further behind - Alex Isenstadt - POLITICO.com

Mature Driver Course

PALM BEACH, FL - Palm Beach Crime Watch and the Palm Beach Police Department are sponsoring the Mature Driver Course given by the Safety Council of Palm Beach County, Inc. The course is scheduled on Tuesday, December 4th from 9:00AM until 4:00PM. It will be held at the Palm Beach Police Department, 345 South County Road. Lunch will be provided.

The course has been developed for senior drivers with years of experience, and reviews basic driving techniques. It is designed to introduce skills to help offset the effects of the aging process on driver performance. Some auto insurance companies offer a discount to those who have completed the course.

The cost is $10; registration and payment can be made through the Safety Council of Palm beach County at (561) 845-8233. Be sure to mention the Palm Beach Police Department.

For more information, please call the Palm Beach Police Community Relations Unit at (561) 838-5467.

To Get America Growing Again, We Have to Look to Our Most Productive Metro Areas - Jobs & Economy - The Atlantic Cities

Click title for link to a revealing article and graphic related to productivity of metro areas in the U.S.  But only do so if you think economic growth is something that we should nurture.  If you don't think it is important and you are living in Lake Worth, you might have found the right place to live. From the article:

The metros with the highest levels of consistent productivity growth over the past decade are those with high-tech knowledge based economies or strong energy economies.

On the flip side, the other metros with the lowest ratios — less than .5 — all come from three states: Arizona, Texas, and Florida. They include McAllen and Brownsville, Texas; Lake Havasu and Prescott, Arizona; and Punta Gorda and Palm Coast, Florida.

Some of the tortured logic of McVoy supporters, via FaceBook re: LW Utilities

Telise Vaughn Maquaire: "Lake worth Utilities is OURS and it keeps out the WELLINGTON BIG BUSINESS, BIG TALL BUILDINGS, BIG is NOT better. If Harry doesn't like paying a little more to keep out the developers then he can relocate to Lantana, or Delray or any one of a number of big wannabe towns. Lake worth is little and we like it that way. Thats why many of us moved here and why we stay. Turn it into Wellington and we're leaving and it won't be long before the BIG WHITE FOLKS get tired of the tiny little wood houses and move on after destroying the small town feel."

This comment was left in response to someone posting a picture of Harry's sign with this message.

After years of decling population, downtowns are being redeveloped and attracting new residents.

Click title for link to brief article.  Here, downtowns are defined as being within a two mile radius of City Hall.  More evidence of Lake Worth's attractiveness to future residents given various factors identified in the article.  Anecdotally, many have told me that many people from the Wellington area associated with the equine community are buying homes here - many times second homes.  They like being close to the beach and being able to bike and walk around easily.  As long as they ignore our politics, they should enjoy their lifestyle here.

Lake Worth joins ‘green’ financing program for commercial...

This is a good program.  The first "High Noon in Lake Worth" show featured Erin Deady who is promoting the PACE program.  From the article:

Commissioner Christopher McVoy said energy-saving upgrades should pay for themselves faster in Lake Worth than in neighboring cities because the city’s commercial power rates are higher than those charged by Florida Power & Light Co.
Lake Worth Utilities charges commercial customers $361 more for 6,000 kilowatt-hours of power than FPL charges in neighboring cities, according to the Florida Municipal Electric Association.

When dealt lemons, attempt to make lemonade...click title for link.