Saturday, June 14, 2014

Spray paint campaigning...recycling redux


From the Tom McGow archives.

London, 1965 - Dealing with abandoned cars on streets

Two arrested for spray-painting walls in Lake Worth, say deputies - Sun Sentinel

Caught in the act, pretty much. Click title for link. From the article:
With the in-car audio-video recording system activated, the pair leaned down and started whispering to each other, according to the report.
The teen said to Marcano that "they found the stuff in the (alleys) but not the ones of the roof tops," the report stated, although it wasn't clear from the report what exactly the teen was referring to.
The teen also said that the graffiti on Marcano's backpack resembled the graffiti on the walls, deputies said. The teen is also accused of saying that if he got out of jail that same night, he'd come back to spray paint more walls to make it appear as if somebody else had done the graffiti, the report said.
Inside Marcano's backpack, deputies said, there were six cans of spray paint and a small glass pipe with suspected marijuana residue.
Marcano faces charges of felony criminal mischief, possession of drug paraphernalia, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Another sport in search of a stadium, Palm Beach County?




TALLAHASSEE: Jim Greer’s salacious book, 'The Chairman,’ blasts Charlie Crist, tea party - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com

More evidence that the GOP's wheels are coming off their wagon. Not sure about the potential damage to Crist, but I am not a fan anyway. Click title for link.
The book is hitting store shelves as Crist is seeking the Democratic nomination to oppose Republican Gov. Rick Scott in November. Asked if the book could pose problems for him, Crist said: “A book written by a convict? Zero. Zero.”
Greer [former Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer] calls Sarah Palin “as dumb as a box of rocks,” Carole Crist “a New York Jew and a liberal” and the GOP the party of “old white people.”
The book has factual errors, misspelled names and places. Crist is said to have been “named” education commissioner in 2000, but he was elected; Delray Beach is spelled Del Ray; and Republican strategist Pat Bainter is identified as Pat Baynor.
Greer blamed his downfall on the takeover of the Republican Party by tea party members, whom he calls “crazies,” “wingnuts” and “wackadoos.” He likened them to members of the racist John Birch Society of the 1950s and ’60s, and said their constant calls for his ouster made him physically ill.

Water/Street/Sidewalk Project Information from City - Summer 2014


Meals on Wheels expanding service to Lake Worth - wptv.com

More news on Meals on Wheels expansion to serve Lake Worth. Click title for link to Channel 5 video and story.

Chapel-by-the-Lake developers sue neighborhood group | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

A legal quagmire is coming together over the Chapel-on-the-Lake project in West Palm Beach. The developer is now suing the group that sued the city for "torturous interference." Click title for link. From the article:
 Citizens [Citizens for Thoughtful Growth], which claims 400 members, most of them in or near downtown, argues the commission violated the city’s growth plan and state statutes when it voted 5-0 in January to approve the 295,000-square-foot luxury high-rise with 70 to 74 units on Flagler Drive just south of Okeechobee Boulevard.
Proponents had called it an attractive addition to the waterfront, while some residents decried it as blight.
G.A.K. [Chapel-by-the-Lake developer] has said it’s spent a lot of time and money, which involved several contentious public meetings lasting several hours each. The developer said Citizens’ action is costing it big dollars in delays. It claims Citizens spread disinformation to city leaders and neighbors.

Free Activities | Lake Worth every minute

AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt puts together a list of free weekend activities happening in Lake Worth. Don't forget this one!


Lake Worth High School Flea Market moving this summer | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Big changes under the I-95 overpass as it relates to the Flea Market that has operated there since 1987. It will still go on, only on school property. City Manager Bornstein weighs in on the situation.
Lake Worth City Manager Mike Bornstein said the city also likely will start requiring the flea market operators and the individual vendors to start paying some sort of licensing fee to the city. Bornstein said not having the vendors at the flea market pay to do business is not fair to all of the other businesses in downtown Lake Worth that have to get business licenses and pay fees to the city.
“Everybody has to play by the same rules,” Bornstein said. Staff is still determining the exact licensing fee. School District Real Estate Manager Barry Present said the flea market change would likely occur in July.

Branding...Remember the "Resource Center?"

From the Tom McGow archives.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Three Downtown Lake Worth Organizations to Receive Grant Funds from Florida Legislature

LAKE WORTH, FL. — Over $375,000 in grant funds have been appropriated by the Florida Legislature to three reputable downtown Lake Worth organizations. These funds were recently approved by Governor Rick Scott as part of Florida’s 2014-2015 final budget. The funds will be made available through the State’s Division of Cultural Affairs ( www.florida-arts.org ).

The three recipients of the grant funds are the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), the Lake Worth Playhouse and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County and the Lake Worth Playhouse will be receiving $150,000 and $75,000, respectively, which will be used for their general program support.

The Lake Worth CRA was granted $150,000 to be used towards facility renovation of the former Shuffleboard Court building located at 1121 Lucerne Avenue in downtown Lake Worth. Renovations include interior demolition, new lighting, new fire suppression system, new artist workstations, new floors & walls and removal of the acoustical drop ceilings. These physical renovations are being made to help retain a local arts organization which is using the facility for artist workshops, classes and gallery space. Renovations of the building are expected to begin in late 2014 and be completed by summer 2015. Earlier this year, the Armory Art Center entered into a one year lease agreement to use this building for classes and exhibitions. Classes at the new art center are scheduled to begin June 23rd. A list of available classes and registration procedures can be found at www.armoryart.org/Armory_Annex or www.lakewortharts.com.

In addition, the Lake Worth CRA was granted $1,600 in seed money to be used for specific cultural projects. Funds from this grant will purchase high definition film equipment which will be used at a new outdoor film series taking place in downtown Lake Worth in 2015.

The CRA would like to thank the Florida Legislature for sharing the vision of making Lake Worth the center of the arts community in Palm Beach County.

For more information about the Lake Worth CRA, please visit: lakeworthcra.org or lakewortharts.com or call (561) 493-2550.

Everybody sing!

Greenfield, California Crime Report

Assault
06/11/2014
500 Block 12TH ST & WALNUT AV

Theft
06/10/2014
800 Block OAK AV

Homicide
06/09/2014
300 Block PASQUE AV & HUTCHISON DR

And the winner is!

From the Tom McGow archives.

The early days of the FEC Railway...

Courtesy of Historic Boynton Beach on Facebook. This is of the Boynton station.

Make sure to pick up a current copy of "Art Hive" magazine...

You can read about the "Lake Worth Renaissance!" Some interesting details about what is included in the re-opening of the Gulfstream Hotel. But you will have to pick up a copy yourself to find out. Click here for the on-line edition.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Fellow travelers, you must watch this video

This guy made this video on his iPhone while stranded overnight at the Las Vegas, McCarran International Airport. It is priceless.
All by myself from Richard Dunn on Vimeo.

"If you're on your way to Minnesota..." Breaking News from EF!


Attention all registrants and others planning to attend the Driftless EF! Climb Camp [June 16-22 2014]:

Organizing for this upcoming camp has been moving forward expecting to use one of several possible locations on private land in the Driftless Region of MN. Unfortunately, those locations have fallen through due to a variety of concerns from community members about the impact of the camp on their land and campaigns.

While we could hastily relocate to a less-central public land location, this situation has made it clear that there is still work to do in building support and connection in the community which is an essential goal of the camp.

We have decided to postpone the camp until August in hopes that some of these concerns can be addressed if given more time.

We are hoping that we can find a future date that will work for as many registrants as possible. If you have a time frame preference we would love to hear from you and try our best to accommodate. Also, if you have spent a significant amount of money in your mode of travel to get here we are happy to talk with you about compensation.

Click here for more information and click here to register. Sorry if you are already on your way.
Dear Blogger, I was recently in your charming city and had a most unfortunate experience. I live in Delray Beach and have a small consulting firm. Received a message from one of your Lake Worth business owners about a project she was considering in the downtown. We set up a meeting at the restaurant Brogues Downunder for early afternoon, just a casual meeting we both agreed. I took the shuttle in downtown Delray Beach to the TriRail en route to Lake Worth and then the cab to your downtown.

On the cab ride received a call that our meeting was now to include not just my contact but other Lake Worth residents with influence in your city. Now here I am dressed Florida casual with nice shoes, fashionable short sleeve shirt, and SHORTS! Exquisite shorts, Hilfiger, but still shorts. I was so upset I instructed the cabbie to hurry to the downtown area so I could purchase a pair of men's business pants for the meeting. Just the thought of being at a professional meeting at Brogues wearing shorts was horrifying. Not having a suit jacket is one thing but not having long pants is downright uncivilized.

I get to the downtown and I rush madly down your Lake Avenue looking for a men's pants store. Then I traverse over to your Lucerne Avenue and cannot find a men's pants store there either. I couldn't believe it. Frantically I stopped a man on a Segway and he told me, “Sorry, Sir, Lake Worth doesn't have any men's pants stores.” Appaling. With just minutes to go, now desperate, I happened on a store with women's clothing and did what I had to do.

The meeting went very well and your city is so charming. The people of Lake Worth are so nice and pleasant. Must say the potential of your city is limitless. Oh, and the Grilled Mahi at Brogues Downunder was the best Mahi ever. Superbly cooked. 
After the meeting went to a friends house to change back into my casual clothes and thought, hey, why don't I take picture of myself first! What better way to show the need for men's fashion in your City of Lake Worth.

So here is my picture below.

Sincerely,
GRH








All Aboard Florida: Small-Town Politicians Are Trying to Ruin Your Shot at Miami-Orlando High Speed Rail | New Times Broward-Palm Beach

The New Times calls out northern Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast communities for making All Aboard Florida a political, NIMBY issue. Click title for link.
A change.org petition set up by Florida NOT All Aboard demanding the project move its tracks west has almost 10,000 signatures. The concerns among the opposition run the gamut from reasonable --- environmental concerns, bridge issues -- to downright cranky -- noise!, traffic!, ambulances will get held up at crossings!
They're basically throwing the kitchen sink of NIMBY shit at All Aboard Florida, just hoping something sticks. And in these areas of the state that are being blown by the project, the opposition is finding a foothold.
For these small-town city council members and county commissioners, it's an easy political layup to bash a high-speed rail project that doesn't even stop in your community. It's become a whipping boy for the election season -- which should really piss off you, South Floridians, because your shot at having access to high-speed rail is being threatened by whether Treasure Coast pols thinks it'd be expedient to bash the project for a town council seat.
Look, we're all for cracking down on billion-dollar developments. But this isn't some redundant supermall but something that's actually going to haul Florida into the 21st Century. Yes, let's hash out the environmental issues, look at congestion. But don't use an actual meaningful project as a political football 'cause it's easy to lemming out in opposition.

Army Corps closes more of Lake Okeechobee trail due to dike... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

I didn't realize that the trail was so long. Here they are working on the northern part of the dike. Click title for link. From the article:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closing another section of the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail as it continues repairs to the aging dike around the lake.
A three-mile stretch of the trail at the north end of the lake, between Taylor Creek and Nubbins Slough, will be closed June 16 until early fall, according to a news release from the corps Monday.
The 110-mile Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail became part of the Florida National Scenic Trail in 1993. More than half of the trail is paved, and the remainder consists of a two-track gravel roadway on top of the 35-foot high Herbert Hoover Dike. The trail is popular with hikers, anglers, horseback riders, cyclists and bird watchers.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Aerial View - La Joya Villages - another CRA project


No word yet on whether the "Hot Dog Park" event is on or not this year...

You'd have to check with these people.

PhotoShop art by Tom McGow.

Police: Man fearing gun shots jumps from City Place garage 3rd... | www.palmbeachpost.com

And then there is this. Click title for link.

WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Raw News - Fists and Chairs fly in Clematis Street Brawl

Things get a little wild on Sunday night in downtown West Palm Beach. Click title for link to video.

A story worth sharing from last night...

I don't doubt its veracity. The person who told this story is an attorney and soon-to-be member of a non-profit board that I am on. He told us that he is a first generation immigrant and his father came to this country from Peru in the early 1960s. He was trained as a surgeon and found a job in the Detroit area where he practiced his profession. After getting settled into a place to live near his work (the hospital),  he felt it necessary to have a car. This is a natural reaction, especially back then, since Detroit was the Motor City and banging out some pretty good products back-in-the-day.

After performing surgery all day, he wasn't much concerned about the way he looked after-work and would wear simple clothes - jeans, t-shirt etc. on his walk home. In between the hospital and where he was living, there was a Ford dealership. He walked in and, in broken English, he said that he would like to buy a Thunderbird. That happened to be the most expensive car in Ford's line-up. The sales person was more than a little incredulous about whether this disheveled foreigner had the resources to buy such an expensive car. So the sales guy said, "Why don't you come back with a month's worth of pay stubs and we will put that as a down payment on one for you."

So, the gentleman left, continued his surgery work at the hospital, and he collected his pay stubs over the next four weeks.

A month later, he walks back into the dealership and his month's worth of pay stubs was more than the price of a Thunderbird. The dealership balked at honoring their pledge, having been caught judging a book by its cover. The doctor got an attorney and soon he drove out of the dealership with a free Thunderbird. He couldn't take it back to the dealership to have it serviced - they refused to do it. So, he had to take it elsewhere for mechanical work.

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddha




Susan Stanton, former Lake Worth city manager, 4/4/11:

"Cutting code enforcement as a newly hired City Manager sent the wrong signal to the community... at the wrong time... for the wrong reason… in the wrong way."

Reminder: Pool Moon Party

The Neighborhood Association Presidents' Council is hosting a Pool Moon Party at the Lake Worth Pool at the Beach/Casino Complex this Friday, June 13th from 8-11pm. Everyone is invited. Children, accompanied by a parent are very welcome. There will be music, dancing under the stars, swimming in the moonlight, hot dogs on the grill and soft drinks. Admission is FREE. Metered parking will be in effect.

You can save some money if you don't have a resident parking pass. Ride your bike there under the light of the full moon. Make sure to have a white light in front and a red one in the back.


Jane Addams

"If the underdog were always right, one might quite easily try to defend him. The trouble is that very often he is but obscurely right, sometimes only partially right, and often quite wrong; but perhaps he is never so altogether wrong and pig-headed and utterly reprehensible as he is represented to be by those who add the possession of prejudices to the other almost insuperable difficulties of understanding him."

Monday, June 9, 2014

Retro visions of the future...

Amelia Earhart

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life and the procedure. The process is its own reward."

More from the Tom McGow archives...

The above proves that I was not immune from Tom's PhotoShop talents. This was when the second or third attempted takeover of the CRA's duties was launched by then-commissioner JoAnn Golden. It failed. This was supposed to be a "smack down" for the CRA applying for the $23 million NSP2 grant. The CRA eventually went on to receive the grant money, renovated many houses in the process and built the Artist Loft project. The city barely lifted a helping hand and the CRA was threatened with a take-over as a show of thanks.

Oh my! This is from that grim night back in 2009 when the other blogger's hero, Laurence McNamara, lost handily to Rene Varela. Here you see the ashen faces of Willie Howard, Lynn Anderson, Barbara-Jean Weber, JoAnn Golden and Helen (?) as they react to the trouncing. These are the kind of looks one would expect if one receives an ominous result from a medical test. I hope they are all doing better now than they appear in this picture. Lynn, it's okay...deep breaths.

The treasure trove of Tom's images is vast and deep. Many include the dismissing of the LWPD and the PBSO takeover. It should be a FUN summer.

Dateline Greenfield, California: The crime spree continues...

Assault
06/07/2014
1 Block 7TH ST & MAPLE AV

Assault with Deadly Weapon
06/05/2014
500 Block EL CAMINO REAL & WALNUT AV

Assault
06/05/2014
200 Block BURGUNDY DR & APPLE AV

Assault
06/04/2014
200 Block 3RD ST & PALM AV

Critical Mass rides in South Florida leave motorists angry, police concerned. - Sun Sentinel

The bicycle Critical Mass rides are getting a new moniker in some circles. Click title for link to the Sun-Sentinel article. The ride here in Lake Worth takes place on the first Friday of the month, leaving at Bryant Park around 7 p.m. Behavior of the cyclists varies from group to group, or event within the group. From the article:
A monthly ritual in cities throughout South Florida, Critical Mass rides are loosely organized and largely unsupervised. Often taking place near sunset on public roadways, the rides can draw anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand cyclists, many of them good-natured people in search of light recreation and heavy socializing. The group's putative goals are to encourage cycling in metropolitan areas, engender a sense of community among cyclists and motorists, and champion cyclists' rights. Even Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have joined in.
But as the number of Critical Mass participants has increased, and as more cities promote cycling as an environmentally friendly alternative to commuting by automobile, the relationship between cyclists and drivers has only gotten more hostile, as the rides tend to clog traffic and uncork aggression.
An April 25 ride, for example, drew about 4,000 cyclists, all but shutting down the Venetian Causeway and parts of Miami Beach and Miami. Inconvenienced drivers and residents unleashed a flurry of complaints on social media about "Critical Massholes."

What does All Aboard Florida mean for home values? Verdict... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Click title for a link to an article which provides an overview of the impact, positive and negative, of increased train traffic primarily resulting from All Aboard Florida. That is the fast passenger service that would link Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. Some real estate agents are already promoting it as an asset in the downtown West Palm Beach area. Expert opinions differ on the impact depending on whether it is passenger or freight service and the proximity to the tracks. Fixed horns that are directed down the streets, rather than on trains that are omni-directional are one solution for that sort of noise nuisance. The shorter length of passenger trains compared to freight is another consideration. From the article:
All Aboard Florida’s proposal is to run 32 trains per day — 16 round trips — on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, which now handle only freight traffic. The trains are expected to make the journey from Miami to Orlando in about three hours traveling at speeds of 79 mph to 110 mph before turning west at Cocoa and increasing velocity to 125 mph.
Palm Beach County has 114 rail crossings and 170,690 people living within 1,000 feet of the FEC tracks, the easternmost rail line in the county. It also has more single-family homes (2,432) than Broward and Miami-Dade counties combined that would be severely affected by train noise if horns aren’t blunted by some form of mitigation. Another 7,241 homes would be moderately affected.

Friends of the Library monthly meeting Tomorrow!

Dear Friends,

The monthly Friends of the Library meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday, June 10th at South Shores Restaurant. I have not heard back from the restaurant yet but expect it will be fine.  If not you will hear again from me via email. This is the Agenda:

Agenda for the Friends of the Lake Worth Library for 6 p.m. June 10, 2014

1.      Previous minutes

2.      Treasurer’s report

3.      Librarian’s report

4.      Elise LaTorre is now on the Library Board, Hooray!

5.      Our Facebook page is up, thanks to Elise. Everyone please come "like" us. Suggestions for postings can be sent to Sam or Elise. Anything related to the library, books, or authors will be welcome. We can't do membership applications there, so we'll be setting up a separate site for that.

6.      Hear requests for additional funding of events/equipment from library staff.

7.      Other business

8.      Adjourn


Please note that his message has gone to all the members on the old list, from now on using the BCC function to provide a little privacy. If anyone wants to contact someone they meet at a meeting, just ask me or another officer and we'll check with them and if it is ok provide contact information to you. 
Thanks and apologies

Sam Goodstein
VP Friends of the Lake Worth Library

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Tale of Two Very Different Cities: Hoboken vs. Lake Worth

Commissioner Christopher McVoy said Hoboken, NJ set a good example for Lake Worth to follow as it relates to infrastructure improvements. Note the statistics below, Hoboken's density, and obvious tax advantages:

Hoboken, New Jersey

Homeownership rate, 2005-2009: 32.5%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2005-2009: 94.5%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2005-2009: $572,300
Median household income 2005-2009: $105,710
People of all ages in poverty – percent, 2005-2009: 9.4%
Accommodation and food services sales, 2007: $121,901,000
White persons not Hispanic, 2010: 73.2%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 74.4%
Land area in square miles, 2010: 1.28
Persons per square mile, 2010 39,219.6

Lake Worth, Florida

Homeownership rate, 2008-2012 51.5%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2008-2012 45.4%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2008-2012 $141,500
Median household income, 2008-2012 $36,827
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2008-2012 28.6%
Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) 47,136
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent, 2010 38.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2008-2012 20.1%
Land area in square miles, 2010 5.87
Persons per square mile, 2010 5,945.2

Lake Worth Flag Project

The NAPC is honored to serve as intermediary for the Lake Worth Flag Project! You may contribute in one of two ways.

1. You may donate online with a credit card by visiting this link. A widget has also been placed on the NAPC website at www.lwnapc.com OR

2. You may send a check made out to the NAPC to NAPC c/o Anthony Marotta, 327 North Lakeside Drive, Lake Worth Fla. 33460 Please write "Flags" in the lower left hand corner of your check.

This is a completely grassroots community based effort to purchase American flags and brackets to be hung in the City of Lake Worth on streetlights along our Dixie Highway and Downtown Corridors, where they will be illuminated 24 hrs a day beginning on Flag Day, June 14th until the 4th of July. The City of Lake Worth is donating Staff time to install the brackets, hang the flags, remove them after the 4th of July and safely store them for re-use year after year.

We are asking individuals, merchants, civic groups, neighborhood groups and other non-profits that are proud to call the City of Lake Worth our home for a minimum pledge of $35 to buy one flag and one bracket. The Lake Worth Neighborhood Association Presidents Council, Inc. (the NAPC, a not for profit Florida corporation) will act as intermediary and receive all the funds so one check can be sent to the City in payment of the flags and brackets they are ordering for this project.

This is a Flag Raising Event - not a fund raising event for the NAPC! All of the money received will go to the purchase of flags and brackets. Locations for the flags will be chosen by the City based on our objective subject to the availability of streetlights that are not obscured by trees or other banners.

West Palm Beach DDA sets a high standard for promotion...

From the Vault: A salute to the creativity of Tom McGow


Remember these? Caption these under comments.