Pafford: State Budget Doesn’t Help Those In Need

Representative Pafford gives his take on the past state legislative session. From the article:

He acknowledged that some great projects were included, but questioned why 35,000 people in Florida were on waiting lists for healthcare and other aid while the legislature allocated money for road beautification.
“Thirty-five thousand people we chose not to help,” Pafford said. “We don’t report how many people die on wait lists. We’re talking frail, elder seniors.”

You can check out Representative Pafford when he was a recent guest on "High Noon in Lake Worth"  Click title for link to article. 

Using the “Transportation Revolution” to Sell Real Estate in Miami | Streetsblog.net

Some residential projects in downtown Miami are using car share and bike share programs, in addition to proximity to "premium" public transit.  This in place of including parking spaces as a physical part of the project off-site.  Arrangements are made with parking garages nearby for people with vehicles, but they are actively marketing the project as if people can live without owning cars themselves.  Click title for link.

Happy Saturday!

World's 50 best beach bars - CNN.com

Sorry, no Mulligan's or Benny's, sad to say.  Click title for link.  There is a place to leave comments for your own suggestions.

West Palm Beach and social media...

West Palm Beach has a Discover West Palm Beach FaceBook page that is run by City Hall.  They also use Twitter and are on Instagram, which is more of a photo sharing app.  This came up today on the FaceBook feed:

Earlier in the day they had posted this red emergency announcement for their cover photo:

What is Lake Worth's procedure?  Do we have social media capability as part of the new website? Other than the CRA, does the city have a regular stream of press releases?

Example of what the Town of Palm Beach sends out on a regular basis...

This is by e-mail through Constant Contact:

They probably come out 2 to 3, sometimes more, a week.  The point is, there is a constant drum beat of information being dispensed to the public.

It happens to the best of us...

Koskoff at the Stonzek (6/3/13)

Sharon Koskoff with the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches gave this talk at the Lake Worth Playhouse's Stonzek Theater last Monday (6/3) night.  There were about 70 or so in attendance.  She recently participated in the 12th International Art Deco Conference in Havana, Cuba.  You may also want to check out her recent guest appearance on "High Noon in Lake Worth."  In this video, Ms. Koskoff shares pictures of the architecture she encountered in Cuba, and in Havana in particular.  She distributed the following guidelines to look out for when identifying buildings with Art Deco elements.

Note that there were some technical problems at the end of her presentation which prevented those pictures from being shown.  So, this is a truncated version of the entire presentation.  She mentioned that she will be doing a more exhaustive presentation next year during  the "season" at the Armory Art Center.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on the time and date for that.

Florida Municipal Electric Association releases April 2013 average rates for electric users in Florida

Lake Worth's residential rates for households that consume 1000 kilowatts of electricity equals the state average.  Beyond that, things change.  Good idea to bookmark this website for future reference.  Click title for link.

High Noon in Lake Worth - Hiatus for 6/7/13

Sorry, the stars didn't align this week in scheduling a guest, so if you haven't listened to one of the recent shows you can check these out below.  Working on next week's guest now.  Note that on June 21st, we will have Senator Jeff Clemens on the show to talk about this past legislative session, how is it different to be a Senator compared to a Representative and any future plans he may have in the coming years.

Again, thanks for visiting this blog and enjoy listening to the following shows.

Listen to internet radio with High Noon in Lake Worth on BlogTalkRadio

From last Tuesday's City Commission meeting - State legislative updates from Representatives Berman, Kerner and Senator Clemens:

Due to redistricting, we have five different state representatives in the House.  We heard from two of them at the June 4, 2013 meeting:  Representative Lori Berman, District 90 and Representative Dave Kerner District 87.  We also heard from Lake Worth's former Mayor, now Senator Jeff Clemens District 27.  All are Democrats.  Interesting to note that Senator Clemens' district includes a population of 650,000 people!

They talked about their various achievements and regrets.  One of the regrets was the failure of the Lake Worth Enterprise Zone to make it through as law this past session.  It seemed to be no slight on Lake Worth, but that the majority party simply does not want to provide sweeping tax incentives.

Cities urged to embrace crowdfunding - San Francisco Chronicle

Interesting way to fund public projects through donations and not through traditional taxation or special assessments.  Click title for link.  From the article:

He co-founded Citizinvestor, a crowdfunding site that started in Philadelphia in September. Rather than raise taxes or issue bonds, the idea is for municipalities to submit "shovel-ready" projects for the public to fund via voluntary donations.
"People are willing to pay above and beyond taxes for the projects they really care about," he says. "We're building a platform to empower citizens to invest in their communities at a time when government has no other way to pay for them. ... Municipalities are really, really broke."
While he couldn't provide specifics yet, Raynor says Citizinvestor will expand to at least 10 municipalities in California, including a few in the Bay Area, in the coming months.

Keeping Venice Weird — Los Angeles Ordinance Bans Commercial Activity Except Art | Untapped Cities

I can envision some people here in Lake Worth thinking that this would be a good idea.  This restriction relates to the actual Venice Beach area, and not the entire city.  Click title for link.  There is also a related Wall Street Journal article.

Forgot your beach umbrella? Lake Worth will soon have rentals... | www.palmbeachpost.com

This a good idea to bring back.  I remember for a long time there were rentals for collapsible cabanas, umbrellas, etc.  In some of the older pictures you can see them being used by many people.  Don't know why this went by the wayside for a while.  Click title for link.

Compass celebrates 25 years...

This helps put things in perspective...

T.E. Lawrence

"All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible."

Fane Lozman in the news...

Thanks to Chaz Stevens for pointing out this video.  Fane Lozman appeared on Fox News about his fight with the City of Riviera Beach over confiscation of his house.  You might recall that both Chaz and Fane were "High Noon in Lake Worth" guests a few months ago.  Mr. Lozman took his case to the Supreme Court where he won.  Now he is attempting to get compensation from the City of Riviera Beach for taking his home.

From a loyal and concerned reader comes this (too big to post as a comment)...

Dear Wesley, since you've been accused of being a “cyberbully” have some real examples of “cyberbullying” from Pinkie the Blogging Clown's blog (Pinkie aka Lynn Anderson). These comments attack, in order: State Senator Jeff Clemens, Lake Worth Parks and Recreation, the manager of Starbucks downtown, PBSO Captain Silva, Commissioner Andy Amoroso, City Manager Michael Bornstein, Commissioner Scott Maxwell, City Attorney Glen Torciva, Joan Oliva from the CRA, and lastly, yourself. All these comments from just May 20, 2013 to June 3, 2013! Sit back and enjoy!

doris said...
I am sorry, but this man [State Senator Jeff Clemens] is an evil spirit, vile, hateful and disgusting, one of the most disgusting men in Lake Worth to date.
May 29, 2013 at 3:55 PM

anonymous said...
How does clemens get away with receiving kick-backs? Explain this Jeff and what that tracking blog said.
May 29, 2013 at 10:06 AM

anonymous said...
Clemens was horrible as mayor and is horrible in his other state roles, he doesn't care about anyone but his own pocket, it is all about money and power. He didn't care about that poor lady that moved to PSL after loosing her two children to gang violence here in Lake Worth either. Very sad and ineffective man and politician, he needs are prayers badly, real bad. Even he knows that.
May 20, 2013 at 11:50 PM

anonymous said...
City Dept. employees running wild, closing of the Taxpayers paid for swimming pool by a brazen Parks and Recreation employee whose salary is paid by those Citizen owners.
He denies young children to learn swimming, hoping they will drown,so he does not have to work.
The spineless Commission occupants, are afraid to tell him that is his duty! If he does not like it, throw the bum out ,we have 100 others who want that job!
May 21, 2013 at 3:44 PM

weetha peebull [aka Suzanne Squier] said...
Does Starbucks OWN or RENT 25 ft from their building? We ALLOW them to put tables and chairs on OUR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS! Who the heck do these people think they are? NOT THE BOSS OF ME or YOU EITHER!
Lake Worth Starbucks
Luke is the manager
(561) 582-97XX (number hidden to protect Luke)

anonymous said...
please starbucks cant even controll the people that sit out in front allday without buying anything--good luck lake worth cant contain anything or anybody--its a drug dealers dream to live in lake worth because even when the police knows what going on --alot of us think some of the pbso are envolved---like dylan harrison convicted criminal who runs the kava bar downtown---kava bar made a comment that dylan employees many cops----mr captain silva is responsible for letting things get out of hand---
June 2, 2013 at 10:58 AM

anonymous said...
andy [Commissioner Andy Amoroso] wont tell anyone anything he is a true coward and needs to be watched very close which he is
May 20, 2013 at 8:31 AM

anonymous said...
Where does Commissioner Amoroso live? It appears he hasn't lived at {XXX} N M St for over a year. [street number removed]
June 3, 2013 at 1:41 PM


anonymous said...
Congrats. How many citizens and citizens groups can you screw over, Scott. Sickening. We need to kick this Commission and their boss Bornstein out on their asses.
May 22, 2013 at 2:42 PM

anonymous said...
This guy Maxwell is a real doozy. He uses such foul language when he speaks, ever other word is a swear word, he is very vulgar. 
I remember when he was sworn in for this current term he went on a rant about how his main priority was gong to be addressing blight in this city, what a joke, What has he done, it is even worse now. That man stinks, we need to vote him out next term. We can not accept or allow this mediocrity or low class trash running our city any more, we all deserve better than what this man can offer.
Vote out Scott when hi term is over!
May 22, 2013 at 2:40 PM

peggy said...
I am sure one big reason was our horrible CM [City Manager Michael Bornstein], he is a not a nice man, seems like it, but treats people like crap, talks down to people or ignores them, intuitive people can see through his phony ways.
May 30, 2013 at 8:31 PM

anonymous said...
Hope that Glen Torcivia will enjoy the Bar complaint that is going to be filed on his ass!
May 24, 2013 at 6:15 PM

anonymous said...
God speed your journey through life. We are the only ones who created jobs and revenue. The Joan Oliva CRA is undoing it with its low-income housing forced upon Lake Worth, to drag down the Tax base and create future dangerous slums! 
May 29, 2013 at 11:56 AM

joann [Golden?] said...
Too bad a blog that won blog of the year [Wes Blackman's City of Lake Worth Blog] went from that to one no one respects anymore. Glad he couldn't get in as a comm. imagine how he is with his blog up on the dias? His bullying needs to stop, I agree with you Lynn, he is not very nice to you or your blog either, how does he think the people of LW can respect him? He is a big bully, was one during his campaign too, very negative and hateful.
May 31, 2013 at 9:58 AM
----------------
Remember Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, Rule number 4. Attack accusing others of the very tactics you employ.  

When I think about this sentence on the city's website: "Where the power of potential turns every day into a blank canvas."

Something like this comes to mind.  I don't think it is a good thing to speak about our dangling "potential."

Happy 100th Birthday City of Lake Worth!

On June 4, 1913, the state legislature approved the formation of the city of Lake Worth.  You might recall an episode of "High Noon in Lake Worth" that featured astrologist Amy Volkers.  In it, she discusses the natal or birth chart of the city of Lake Worth.  If you haven't listened to it, today would be a good day to do it.  She picks up on some traits that are hard to deny are not parts of this city's unique DNA.

She also put together this report which includes standardized traits of the "being" that is the city based upon where the planets were and their relationship to each other at the time of the city's' "birth."  This is part of that report describing the astrological character traits of the city:

Sun in Gemini:
    You are, in many ways, an eternal child. Your mind is bright, alert, curious, flexible, playful, and always eager for new experiences - and your attention span is often quite brief. You grasp ideas quickly and once your initial curiosity has been satisfied, you want to go on to something else. You crave frequent change, variety, meeting new situations and people.
    It may be hard for you to decide just where your talents and true vocation lie, for you have a multitude of interests and are loathe to limit yourself by concentrating on just one. You are easily distracted by all of the other fascinating possibilities. Your curiosity and restlessness propel you into many different experiences in life, and you are willing to taste or try anything once. Doing the same thing over and over again, even it is something you do well, is real drudgery for you.
    You live in your head a great deal - reading, observing, thinking, spinning ideas around - and you need mental stimulation every bit as much as you need food and drink. In fact, if you had to choose between a good book or movie and a good lunch, you would very likely choose the former. You have a creative mind and often live by your wits.
    You are also a very social creature, with a strong need to communicate and to interact with people. You enjoy using and playing with words and have a real flair for getting your ideas across in a clever, interesting, articulate manner. Writing or speaking are areas you have talent for.

Something to have fun with.  See if you find any coincidences :)

Links to Tonight's (6/4) City Commission Agenda and Add/Delete Item

Click here for the City Commission agenda for tonight's meeting - sorry no back-up material with this.

Here is the Add/Delete item - Senator Jeff Clemens will make a presentation tonight.

The city's website does not have this available at the moment.

Update at 3:20 p.m. - the entire agenda with back-up is on the new website.

Under the Elections and Referendums portion of the website...

Someone might want to spell our Mayor's and our District #3 Commissioner's name correctly.  And I don't think Commissioner McVoy is running in 2014.  Has he announced for 2015 already?

And, for what its worth, I can't find a link to tonight's City Commission agenda on the new website.  The "Pay Utilities" function is not up and running yet.

That being said, it is a VAST improvement over what preceded it.

Welcome to Lake Worth,

"...a vibrant Florida community at the intersection of form and function. An extraordinary place where tranquility meets creativity. Where the sun shines bright, and the ideas shine even brighter. Where warm tropics meet hot topics. Where the power of potential turns every day into a blank canvas.
This isn't just a lifestyle. It's an art form."

That's some rich stuff there.  Click title for link to the NEW city website!

City's New Website Debuts Tomorrow!

According to Commissioner John Szerdi at the Downtown Jewel Neighborhood Association meeting tonight at Brogue's DownUnder.

Good News!

This is the pothole we stumbled upon yesterday on North Palmway, just south of 2nd Avenue North.  I e-mailed Jamie Brown yesterday with pictures and heard back from him the same day that a crew would be out there sometime today, weather permitting.

We went by on our bike ride today and a crew was there working on it around 3 p.m. - so THANK YOU city of Lake Worth for being responsive!  Don't have an "after" picture.

Jaime Lerner Architect, urbanist, former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil

“The lack of resources is no longer an excuse not to act. The idea that action should only be taken after all the answers and the resources have been found is a sure recipe for paralysis. The planning of a city is a process that allows for corrections; it is supremely arrogant to believe that planning can be done only after every possible variable has been controlled.”

Rome’s Centrale Montemartini Museum – Gods among the Machines | Untapped Cities

A former coal power plant in Rome is reused as a museum of ancient sculpture.  Perhaps we can use the Smith Plant for such a re-purpose once the city of Lake Worth gets out of the electric power business. Click title for link.

Cities for Everybody: Walking the Jane Jacobs Effect in Buenos Aires | This Big City

An article that is a little bit on the planner geek side of the spectrum.  Much reference is made to Jane Jacobs work The Death and Life of Great American Cities.  This is considered a "must read" book in the planning profession.  I urge you to pick up a copy if you can.  This is a quote from the article related to gentrification:

Today, gentrification is a big deal in the US – partly due to a more commercialized interpretation of the ideas originally expressed by Jacobs – but in Latin America it’s a little known trend only experienced in the largest cities. In the US, gentrification represents something quite different. In most US cities, density had for decades been synonymous with poverty, as anyone who could afford to leave dense areas did so. Gentrification in the US represents shifting attitudes by elites in favor of dense zones. On the other hand, dense zones in Latin America have always retained a significant elite population, so gentrification in this area isn’t a question of elites moving into dense zones so much as from one dense zone to another.

Like it or not, Lake Worth's grid pattern, its walkable neighborhoods and denser urban fabric is attractive to the aging Baby Boomer generation, as well as those referred to as Millennials. Click title for link.

Cardboard Bike Creator May Soon Start Peddling His Product : The Two-Way : NPR

A slightly more optimistic view of the inventiveness of the human species.  Click title for link to article with more links.

Animation that appears on the EF! Newswire - Slightly disturbing view of human progress...

Information about the animator and graphic artist that put this together and his work can be found by clicking here.

Attorneys working on vacation home compromise in Lake Worth | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Ms. Cannizzaro, the attorney representing the owners of vacation homes, appeared at the last City Commission meeting.  She seemed sincere in working out a solution between her clients and the city, and the city seems to think the same way.  It is too bad that we didn't better define in the code, and in turn regulate these sorts of uses in single family residential districts before the state law intervened.  Perhaps if we had our land development regulations in place sooner than 8 years after the beginning of the project, we might have had a chance.  

And it is too bad since historically, Lake Worth had a series of properties that were called "tourist homes."  These weren't quite motels and they generally on the main streets.  There are a few remaining examples, but most of them are being used as multi-family rentals and most are in multi-family zoned districts.  When I am out and about I'll attempt to get some pictures of a few.

Click title for link to article.

Art Deco Cuba! Koskoff returns from Havana World Congress - Presentation at the Stonzek Theatre Tomorrow Night 8 p.m. (6/3)

Sharon Koskoff  is a full time professional artist known for her Decometric murals, graphic designs, children’s programming and love of architecture.  As a fine arts major, she received a cum laud bachelor of arts degree from Brooklyn College, as well as a degree from the New York School of Interior Design. Koskoff is an instructor at Old School Square, and is well known as a lecturer on the architecture and styling’s of Twentieth Century design. She has painted hundreds of murals in Palm Beach County public schools. In Lake Worth, Koskoff recently painted a mural at the LULA 9 Arch Mural Project, designed the Lake Worth Playhouse neon marquee, gives walking tours of downtown and even painted a fire hydrant that stands in front of the Robert Montgomery Jr. Building.

Mentored by the queen of Art Deco in Miami Beach, Barbara Baer Capitman, she is the founding president of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches, a non for profit historic preservation organization since 1987.

Koskoff will present a power point lecture entitled Havana Deco 2013! Art Deco Cuba at the Stonzek Theatre on  Monday Eve June 3rd at 8 p.m. Her book Art Deco of the Palm Beaches by Arcadia Publications will be available for sale and signing too.

Click here for show.  There is a short slide show of pictures from her recent trip to Cuba that is part of the player for the show.

Major pavement wash out on North Palmway, east side of road, south of 2nd Avenue North...

E-mailing city staff about this one.

Bike ride through the beach today at noon...

Bill and I extended our usual ride through the beach around noon today.  It was fairly busy and the weather showed no threat of rain, yet.  This was the tail end of our ride so it would have been nice to have some easily accessible shade where you don't feel obligated to pay for something like a $2.50 soft-drink.  That would be in the arcade area near the Casino shops.  There are relatively few places to sit in the shade period.  The pergola here provides some, but one would have to ask if a solid material that provided uniform shade would have been a better choice. Maybe this is an improvement that could be made in the future?

Otherwise, it was a lovely day on the bikes and the ocean looked very inviting.

A Streetcorner Serenade for the Public Plaza - NY Times

A Streetcorner Serenade for the Public Plaza
Nationwide, urban pedestrian zones — “parklets,” plazas and public spaces — are growing in popularity, as city dwellers seek alternatives to suburbs and cars. Click title for me - from the article:

As more and more educated Americans, especially younger ones, are looking to move downtown, seeking alternatives to suburbs and cars, they’re reframing the demand for public space. They want elbow room and creative sites, cooked up by the community or, like the plaza program, developed from a democratic mix of top-down and bottom-up governance.

Melbourne, Australia's Bike Sharing Program struggles against the mandatory helmet law there...

The following is a commute by bike from the outskirts of Melbourne to the downtown area.  They drive on the left there and this person keeps up a pretty good pace.  This is not taken from one of the ride sharing bikes, but check out the dedicated bike lines through parks and along the river, the number of people using bikes to commute, etc.  Most importantly, if you think the video is a little long, check out the last few minutes.  The rider enters a bike park station, it appears to be an "attended" area where you can pick up a towel, park your bike in a spacious weather-proof facility and take a shower so that you arrive fresh to work.

Mayor Bloomberg's Official Announcement of the NYC Bike Sharing Program

Click here for the official CitiBike website.

Wall Street Journal launches vitriolic attack on New York City bike share program | Mail Online

Perhaps some unintended consequences with New York City's bike sharing program, like fire truck access blocked at subway stations.  Click title for link.  Don't miss the video!

Town to look for holes in state pay law | www.palmbeachdailynews.com

The Town of Palm Beach is questioning its share PBSO's proposed budget and wants the County to hold the line on its tax rate for the coming year.  Click title for link.