Developer's offer could knock the Washington Nationals and Houston Astro's out of a ballpark - wptv.com

John Prince Park is still in the play for a spring training baseball facility. Click title for link. Check out the video and what West Palm Beach spokesperson Eliot Cohen says.

This just in from "Mighty Thumbs" McGiveron...

Justin Snyder, Chief National Correspondent for "The Florida Squeeze" 09/19 by High Noon in Lake Worth - Archived Edition of Yesterday's Show

Join your host Wes Blackman as he welcomes Justin Snyder to the High Noon in Lake Worth studios. He is the Chief Correspondent for the "The Florida Squeeze" which is a source for Florida politics, history and society. Justin Snyder, a Palm Beach County resident, began his political career at Stetson University after being elected as the College Democrats President. During his tenure, Justin helped author the Florida College Democrats Constitution. In 2008, Justin interned and then organized for the Barack Obama Campaign in Volusia County. Since that time, Justin has worked on several political campaigns all over the country from Nevada, to Arkansas to right here in the Sunshine State including Heather Beaven’s Congressional campaign,  Bill Halter’s Senate Campaign (Arkansas), and most recently as District Director CREDO SuperPac’s Take Down Allen West Campaign and as Field Director and Deputy Campaign Manager for Jeff Clemens For Florida Senate Campaign which resulted in a 17 vote victory.

Justin studied political science and economics at Stetson University and is a strong advocate for the middle class and progressive causes. His writing focuses on the Florida political scene and finding solutions to our most pressing issues be them political, economical, or cultural.

Click for live show beginning at noon this Friday (9/19) or after the show airs for the archived version. Leave questions as comments below.

Murphy/Domino agree on debate schedule

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, and Republican challenger Carl Domino have agreed to two debates in their campaign for the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast District 18 seat — but the Domino camp wants at least one more.

The two candidates have agreed to appear at an Oct. 21 debate sponsored by the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce at the Palm Beach Gardens campus of Palm Beach State College. Murphy and Domino are also slated to appear with WPTV-Channel 5’s Michael Williams for a debate to be taped Oct. 24 and air Oct. 26.

Click title for link to a short article by George Bennett of the Post.

Video-on-demand finally comes to Broward County Commission meetings | Broward Bulldog

The Broward County Commission crawls out the the cozy cave they have been meeting in and will now have on-demand, archived video of their meetings. There was much discussion about this before and, for some, it was a surprise that so many other communities were doing this as a matter of course. Many were practicing this method for years. Not so for Broward County government, but they've now caught up with the Joneses. Click title for link.

Broward County took a step toward greater government transparency last month with the start-up of a new system of on-demand video for commission meetings and public hearings.
The changes mean the public can now accessonline archived videos of county meetings and hearings for anytime viewing. Comprehensive agenda information and minutes are also available. The new video archive began with the commission’s August 12th meeting.
BrowardBulldog.org reporter William Hladky reported last October that Broward was the only county in southeast Florida, and the only major government within the county, that did not archive its recorded commission meetings for later on-demand viewing by the public.
“The public is far better served as a result of this,” said Commissioner Lois Wexler, who led the county’s push to implement on-demand video. “That story empowered me with information about the situation. I never realized how many cities and counties had it and we didn’t.”

Wellington Village Manager Paul Schofield’s job possibly in...

Sunshine law shenanigans in Wellington? No better a red flag than to have an elected official tell you that they have lined up three votes to terminate your employment. You just can't do that sort of thing outside a public meeting. Things have gotten more rough and tumble out in Wellington recently. Click title for link.

A council member reportedly advised Schofield [Village Manager Paul Schofield] on Sept. 10 to resign before Tuesday’s meeting because the council member said he had secured the three votes needed to fire Schofield, the source told The Post on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the council.
Schofield was on vacation this week and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Such a coordinated arrangement by members of the Wellington Village Council would be a violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law, which requires all council decisions to be voted on at advertised, public meetings.
Mayor Bob Margolis said he hadn’t heard the rumor before talking to The Post on Friday. He said he was concerned by it and the potential implications of a Sunshine violation.
“I have no knowledge of that,” he said. “My goal is to review Paul’s performance.”

Palm Beach County's tree cutting rule changes trigger concerns - Sun Sentinel

The county used to regulate tree removal on private, single-family properties, but not since 2009. Some would like to see the same level of scrutiny as before, including Lake Worth resident Drew Martin. Click title for link.

Before 2009, a permit was required to remove mature native trees from a single-family lot planned for construction. Trees of a certain size were protected or plans were supposed to be made to plant new ones on the property. If replanting wasn't possible, property owners could pay a fee toward environmental protections or improvements elsewhere.
County officials say downsizing prompted by budget cuts during the economic downturn triggered operational changes, such as doing away with the tree-clearing permit requirement for single-family lots.
Those properties are still subject to county landscaping rules, which can require planting new trees if the old ones are cut down. Also building permits call for landowners to only remove native trees that are in the footprint of their planned construction.
Yet that's a big change from the county inspections and marking of protected trees that used to be commonplace before 2009.

All Aboard Florida to have minimal impact on environment,... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

The Environmental Impact Study is out, in draft form. It was required due to the federal loan involved in the All Aboard Florida project. The comment period starts now and ends December 3rd, with public hearings in various location between now and then. There will be one in West Palm Beach on October 29th. Click title for link to article and more details.

The Federal Railroad Administration last year began studying the impact of the rail project between West Palm Beach and Orlando. All Aboard Florida’s request for a $1.6 billion federal loan required that the study be completed.
The study found train noise on a 128-mile stretch of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks between West Palm Beach and Cocoa Beach would be reduced by the installation of less-noisy horns at rail crossings or the implementation of quiet zones along the corridor.
All Aboard Florida’s trains are not expected to have “significant adverse impacts” on protected species or habitat, the study found.
The project is also expected to improve air quality by encouraging mass transit, ultimately reducing vehicle emissions across South Florida, the study said.

From Eliot Kleinberg about the 1928 Hurricane

Every year around this time, we remind our readers, many of them relative newcomers, that the second greatest single event in U.S. history in terms of lives lost took place on Sept. 16, 1928, right here in Palm Beach County.
That day, a massive hurricane smashed the coastline from the Treasure Coast to Miami, then moved inland and washed out what then was a flimsy dike around Lake Okeechobee, sending a wall of water into the countryside. The official death toll is 2,500, but it could be as high as 3,000.
With 86 years now having passed, finding anyone who survived the storm, and was old enough at the time to have any memories now, has become nearly an impossible task. We were thrilled when longtime reader John Weigand of Delray Beach directed us to retired shop teacher Leslie Douglas, now living in Ocala.

Click title for link to complete article. Here is a picture of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the aftermath of the storm. The church was rebuilt at it's current location after the storm.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church after the 1928 hurricane, Lake Worth, Florida. Credit: State Archives of Florida. 

Always remember this...

Truer words have never been written...

This is a complete letter to the editor as it appears in the Palm Beach Post.

Bucher’s response to errors indefensible
I was disappointed in Susan Bucher’s response to questions about the voting process (“Poll worker errors disenfranchises 14 voters,” Monday). Though it was clear that some of the problems came from poll worker errors, she praised her workers and passed the buck. To paraphrase her words: we are only doing what the law requires; if you have a problem with that, take it up with the legislators.
I would expect a lot more from the supervisor of elections. How about: “Even one uncounted vote is unacceptable. I will hold my workers accountable for errors and do everything in my power to alert the legislators about the problems in the system as it exists to make sure the needed changes are made at their level.”
Susan Bucher is not the victim here; the voters whose votes were not counted were. Unfortunately, most of the questions asked in the article were answered by her attorney, which reveals her choice to defend her actions as legally correct over being proactive and taking action to improve the situation.
CINDY ANSELL, LAKE WORTH

‘Talk like a pirate day’ in Lake Worth has some up in arms | www.palmbeachpost.com

Remember these sad utterances from two years ago from the THERE SHALL BE NO MERRIMENT crowd? Click title for link to an archived Willie Howard article.

Former City Commissioner Jo-Ann Golden didn’t find the pirate proclamation humorous.
In an email to Bornstein, she called it “an insult to the people of the city of Lake Worth” and suggested that a better proclamation would have been Constitution Day on Sept. 17, the day Constitutional Convention delegates signed the U.S. Constitution.
“In these times when there is so much turmoil, ignorance and killing, this effort to further dumb down our government should be rejected,” Golden wrote.
Golden noted that modern pirates rob, murder and kidnap people for ransom. She noted that yachtsman Peter Blake was shot and killed by pirates off Brazil in 2001 during an environmental exploration expedition.
In another email, resident Lynda Mahoney said the pirate day proclamation sounded “juvenile, nonsensical — a day that might occur in a kindergarten class.” She said the city should not waste time on such foolishness because it has serious problems.

Well, it's back. You can check out the Front Porch at Evening on the Avenues tonight.

Unfortunately, I understand that the Evening on the Avenues is cancelled tonight due to expected torrential rains. So, big party and JoAnn and Lyndas! Bring your Parcheesi boards and vanilla waffers, they will provide the milk. Arrive at 6 and lights out by 8, no talking on the way home.

Coconut Grove Grapevine: Fred Hunt

Our condolences go out to AnnaMaria in her time of loss.

It was 2010 and I was communicating with someone from Coconut Grove via email. She was interested in moving to Lake Worth with her husband as she saw Lake Worth's potential as a haven for artists. We communicated off and on. In April of that year, my father's second wife past away suddenly and I was going to be spending time with him during the summer and would need someone to watch and/or stay in my house while I was gone, I off-handedly suggested that she and her husband stay in my house while I was away to make looking for properties here easier, rather than commuting back-and-forth all the time.

She liked the idea and thought that would work out. The ironic thing was that she was house-sitting at the time in Coconut Grove and the two dogs in that house were named "Moon" and "Star." My dogs names then were "Mars" and "Venus." Thus, this alignment signaled that it was a match made in heaven. I was able to spend quality time with my father, while Fred and AnnaMaria got to know Lake Worth better, watch my house in the meantime and take care of the dogs.

The rest is history.

I will miss Fred and his quiet wisdom and creativity. Click title for a link to a remembrance of Fred Hunt from the people in Coconut Grove.

Judge promises review of decision to throw out Lake Worth ballots | The Opinion Zone

Click title for link. Suddenly a member of the canvassing board is having a change of heart and wants to reassess their decision sometime before the November election!

Correspondence between Robert Earl Waples and the Senior Investigator of the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics

 I went ahead and copied the White House since this is definitely a need-to-know basis.

Stealth meeting in Lake Worth last Tuesday? - Re-post from 9/14

There was a ROLO (Residents of Lake Osborne) meeting last Tuesday at the Lake Osborne Presbyterian Church. Curiously the only public mention of the meeting is the graphic shown here. The meeting is not listed on the NAPC calendar, nothing in print (i.e., the Lake Worth Herald), no yard signs, and even the ROLO didn't mention the meeting on their own website.

The president of ROLO is Robert Waples and the treasurer is Katie Mcgiveron. Maybe they'll post some pictures of the meeting with some explanation of what was discussed and who was in attendance?

Also curious, why would ROLO schedule the meeting on Tuesday during a city commission meeting? The commissioner who represents ROLO, Scott Maxwell, wouldn't be able to attend. Was this done on purpose to exclude the commissioner from attending?

Lake Worth voters wrongly disenfranchised by PBC canvassing board | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Click title for link. MUST READ EVERY LAST WORD, OUT LOUD AND STANDING UP!

"What voters saw on Aug. 26, then, was a chain of failures, capped by a bout of voter repression with no obvious basis in law. Fourteen people had their voting rights taken from them just in the small city of Lake Worth. How many people countywide fell victim to this mash-up of error and legal invention? We still don’t know." 

Meet Palm Beach County's General Bumbles!

From Election Night 8/26

David Willson Cartoon

Letter from Supervisor of Elections Attorney re Special City Commission Meeting of 9/5/14

  Letter from the Palm Beach County Supervisor Elections Attorney by Wes Blackman

Response from Lake Worth City Attorney to Supervisor of Elections Attorney dated 9/12/14

  City of Lake Worth Response to SOE Attorney Letter

This is a strong letter which ends with a request for a meeting. It addresses the rather defensive stance taken in the September 9, 2014 letter from the Supervisor of Elections attorney.

Lake Worth City Commission Meeting re August 26th Palm Beach County's Supervisor of Elections Snafus, Pratfalls and General Bumbles.

Remember that of which some are capable...

ONLY 48 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4!

*DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 6

*DEADLINE TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BY MAIL: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29

*EARLY VOTING: MONDAY, OCTOBER 20 - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2

West Palm Beach Golf Course had 20 percent loss | West Palm Beat

But the golf course still is likely to post $116,000 in net revenue, which is contrary to what one would think reading the headline. Rain days and the lack of a clubhouse are to blame for the lower revenues. Click title for link to article.

The Gulfstream Hotel already appears on the VisitFlorida website...

 Another local establishment is featured too. Click title for link.

Broward Demos Plan Biggest Grass Roots Effort In Years For Crist - BrowardBeat.com | Politics, News & Views by Buddy Nevins

A strong canvassing operation is promised by Broward County Democrats who are still stinging from what some believe was low voter turnout four years ago when the state elected Scott as Governor. It is thought that a large south Florida Democratic turnout is necessary to overcome Rick Scott's strength in the northern half of the state. Click title for link.

Consultant: Narrow some West Palm streets, raise meter prices | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Report from Channel 5 on the Jeff Speck report, click title for link to the Palm Beach Post's related story. You will find a summary of the recommended changes there.

These are a series of videos that I took at Jeff Speck's presentation of the walkability plan from late May of this year. He has been working on the written report since then. That report was just issued and is now being formally reviewed for action by the West Palm Beach City Commission and Downtown Development Authority.

Apocalyptic images seem to be popular in political advertisements nowadays...

Did Domino's campaign use the same political consultant as the Citizens Against Unfair Taxation?

I've enjoyed Patrick Murphy's ads so far. Well produced, positive, some humor and stressing bi-partisanship. Domino comes off as a kook in this ad - have yet to see it on air.

All hell is breaking out in Greenfield CA

Theft
09/11/2014
100 Block 4TH ST & OAK AV

Theft of Vehicle
09/12/2014
500 Block OAK AV & 5TH ST

Breaking & Entering
09/12/2014
1000 Block GAVILAN DR & 12TH ST

Assault
09/12/2014
1100 Block ELM AV & 12TH ST

Assault with Deadly Weapon
09/14/2014
1000 Block CHALONE DR & FRANSCIONI DR

Breaking & Entering
09/16/2014
1200 Block ELM AV

Here is an image used from the June 13th Greenfield City Manager's report: Welcome to beautiful Greenfield!

Along with these pearls of wisdom from the City Manager:

David Russell once said "The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn". And, at times, our long journey in preparing, and now reviewing, the proposed FY 2014-15 budget has often felt like General Frederick Browning "bridge to [sic] far".

Action today in cleaning the pier...

Demolition of 124 South Ocean Breeze Today - 9/16/14

Crowdfunding Fans Are Crazy About Denver’s Mini-Bonds – Next City

Another way to address infrastructure issues in Lake Worth? Not sure about all the details, but this article is of interest in light of the process we just went through with the ballot issue for a general obligation bond. Click title for link.

Two types of $500 bonds were sold: A nine-year bond will mature 50 percent to $750, and a 14-year bond will mature 100 percent to $1,000. The money has been earmarked for recreational and cultural facilities, like the restoration of the McNichols Building, a historic building in Civic Center Park that will be re-opened as an event center.
Better Denver passed as a ballot initiative in 2007. That year the city sold $8 million in mini-bonds over the course of a week. Kennedy attributes the feverish excitement this year to the online ordering system: “Back [then], we didn’t have the online capacity. People had to visit the bank or mail in their orders. This time around people were sitting at home on their computers at 8 o’clock in the morning and those orders came in very quickly.”

"Zombie" Homes Haunt Florida Neighborhoods

A portion of Lake Worth's vacant house inventory is made up of these "zombie" houses. This is where people who own the homes walked away once served with foreclosure papers, but then the bank didn't follow through on the foreclosure since it would cost more than the property is worth. Or, conditions of the home or neighborhood didn't meet an investment "standard." The city established a registry process for financial institutions that have filed for foreclosure and also keeps track of actually foreclosed properties. Click title for link to the article.

Zombie foreclosures have become more widespread in recent years throughout the country, but are especially prevalent in Florida, where as of June 2, 48,630 homes in some stage of foreclosure sat vacant, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks foreclosure filings nationwide. That accounts for a third of the 141,406 vacant foreclosed properties nationwide.
Daren Blomquist, vice President of RealtyTrac says zombie foreclosures come in two forms. The first is the unintentional byproduct of Florida’s judicial foreclosure process, which can take months and result in “properties sitting in limbo,” according to Blomquist.
The second involves an intentional delay by lenders, who file a foreclosure case so they don’t lose the option when the statute of limitations runs out, but don’t move it forward because completing the foreclosure would not be financially viable.
“This type of foreclosure is more common in Cleveland and the rust belt cities, for example, banks not wanting to foreclose because of low values and little demand for buyers,” said Blomquist.
But it's not just rust belt cities that suffer.

NAPC Note from the Chair - Last night's, Sept. 15th, Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association meeting

District 3 Commissioner Andy Amoroso kindly recognized all the Neighborhood Associations for the work they do in neighborhood clean-ups, assisting residents with code compliance issues and other community beautification efforts.

He spoke about the inherent difficulties that cities and all government agencies face in trying to get things done. He said, "Twelve people have to touch every project", meaning that twelve different people from twelve different departments have to coordinate, communicate, reevaluate and finally cooperate to accomplish any worthwhile objective and that takes time.

"Twelve" may be a small exaggeration, but the point he made is that the Lake Worth Neighborhoods, acting independently or in unison, have demonstrated the ability to swiftly accomplish what government sometimes cannot do without untangling miles of red tape.

The NAPC and our Member Associations are not government agencies. Each and every one is made up of volunteers who give their time and dedicate their energies for one reason - to make our neighborhoods more attractive for residents and less attractive to vandals and criminals.

We cannot do what we rely on our city officials and Electeds to do; make law, set policy, fund and deliver City services. But my oh my, what the Neighborhoods and the City can accomplish together, each doing what we do best within the parameters of our very different organizations is nothing less than astounding!

So, Thank You to the entire Lake Worth City Commission, our city's administration and dedicated staff for choosing to pro-actively partner with the Neighborhoods and helping us achieve our goals.

Mary Lindsey, Chair of the NAPC

Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Fire aims to kill non-native plants in Everglades - Sun Sentinel

Actions being taken to rid the Everglades of invasive plant species, in particular the Old-World climbing fern. Click title for link to more details.

Ten thousand acres of Everglades National Park will burn Tuesday, as the park attempts to destroy an infestation of plants from Asia and Africa that can kill native vegetation.
Unless bad weather forces a postponement, a helicopter will drop plastic spheres of combustible chemicals over an area of sawgrass and tree islands just north of the main park road. On the ground, an engine crew will use drip torches to dribble flaming liquid on vegetation along about 200 feet of the road.
The object of this assault by fire is a plant called lygodium, or Old-World climbing fern, a plant that has overrun parts of the Everglades, from the southern end of Everglades National Park to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in western Palm Beach County.
The fern covers trees and plants with macabre green shrouds, killing them by depriving them of sunlight. It can kill mature trees, climbing up their trunks to smother them with dense green mats.

All Aboard's request to close rail crossings approved by WPB | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

West Palm Beach City Commissioners approve road closings to make way for the All Aboard Florida train station in downtown. Click title for link.

“Walkability” scholar submits report for downtown West Palm Beach | West Palm Beat

Former High Noon in Lake Worth guest Jeff Speck's walkability report for downtown West Palm Beach is out and will be available shortly. Click here for the archived version of Mr. Speck's time with me. I will share the report once it is widely available. Click title for link to Eliot Kleinberg's article.

This just in...

Here's the Channel 5 report on the coming demolitions

City ordinances to rid Lake Worth of abandoned, run-down properties | Local News - WPBF Home

Click title for link to Channel 25's coverage of the demolition yesterday at 105 South D Street. Our Mayor is featured and sounds great!

Late yesterday afternoon - Demolition at 105 South D Street

More from Mayor Pam Triolo

Mayor Pam Triolo's Monday Message - This one is about the demolition of blighted structures.

Forgiveness abounds on the other blog...keeping it classy...

And here is Ms. McGiveron commenting on this item posted on Facebook:

And for just a heads up on what the Sunshine Law is and isn't, click here. It applies to appointed or elected members of the same board or commission communicating with each other about things that are likely to come before that board or commission. It does not apply to conversations and communications between people on other appointed boards or elected bodies. It does not apply to members of the state legislature, and it does not apply to members of Congress, which would include Lois Frankel.

And as long as the word "ethics" is being bandied about, here are some frequently asked questions regarding the Palm Beach County Ethics Commission and applicable laws.

Next Monday - Joint Neighborhood Meeting - 6:30 p.m.

Real estate: Developer buys Delray Beach land for hotel, condos - Sun Sentinel

Click title for link. Another hotel/mixed use project coming to downtown Delray Beach.

Hotel developer Alan Mindel wanted to boost his portfolio beyond New York, so he flew to South Florida last winter in search of deals.
He figured Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood might offer the best opportunities, but then his brother suggested he consider Delray Beach.
"I landed in Delray one night, and I was out on Atlantic Avenue, and I just fell in love with the place, plain and simple," he said.
Mindel, managing member of Long Island, N.Y.-based Samar Hospitality, ended up spending $2.54 million for a 39,000-square-foot lot at 202-232 S.E. Fifth Ave. He's expected to close on another parcel immediately to the south this month.

Neighborhood Appreciation Thanksgiving Dinner - 11/15

All Aboard Florida to ask West Palm Beach to close rail crossings | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

One of the first steps of many to establish the West Palm Beach All Aboard Florida station. Click title for link. From the article:

All Aboard Florida will ask West Palm Beach commissioners Monday for permission to close two downtown railroad crossings so it can build a train station for its express passenger service planned to run between Miami and Orlando on the Florida East Coast railway tracks.
City officials, however, caution that the decision is largely ministerial. Ultimately it will be up to state’s Department of Transportation to determine whether railroad crossings at Evernia and Datura streets are permanently closed.
“They can do it with or without us,” West Palm Beach spokesman Elliot Cohen said. “Doing it with our consent just makes the process easier.”

The item was pulled from the consent agenda to allow for additional discussion.

Click here for an address given by our Supervisor of Elections on June 28, 2013

The report was given to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration when they came to Florida. The Commission has since issued a report that you can find on their webpage. Below is an infographic of what their goals are:

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher gave a talk on June 28, 2013. The following is the text of the talk she gave to this group a little over one year ago. Parts of the text are highlighted for emphasis, but I encourage you to read the entire text.

After doing some simple math, it turns out the Ms. Bucher gave this talk late during her fifth year in office. I don't know about you, but had I been in a job for almost five years, I wouldn't consider myself "fairly new." This could be in relation to the audience she was talking to, but I think it shows that she feels that she is still learning the ropes after five years. And then she acknowledges that her office is probably one of the "most scrutinized in the country when it comes to elections."

This is the second page of her report.

Here, more than a year ago, Ms. Bucher mentions "off-the-shelf" technology that will be employed soon in the form of "mini ipads." This was the new technology that caused many of the delays, especially early in the day of August 26th. She claims that "a picture will be taken." This means that some sort of electronic record would be available created by those mini iPads. Those pictures and information should be available as a check and balance to see who came out to the polls. So far, people have been told that information is unavailable or will cost $400 to retrieve that data. Furthermore, Ms. Bucher claims that this system "will go a long way in moving our voters more quickly", that it will be less difficult to use and is "a great example of moving election equipment forward using current technology." It seems that she is heavily invested in this new technology.

This is the third page of her report:

Here we find out that the manual process for counting Provisional Ballots is more "detailed and time consuming than absentee ballots." Really? From the descriptions of the experiences we heard from Friday night's special City Commission meeting, it sounded like the process was time-consuming, secretive, and less than detailed in the review of those Provisional Ballots.

Here is a report about Palm Beach County's election process and its standing, compared to other counties in Florida. Many factors are examined and you should really read the entire report. It just so happens that the number of Provisional Ballots taken in and the percent that are discarded are listed. Here are some snippets from the report that pertain to Provisional Ballots: (Data from 2012 election).

Title of Report

 

"...the high rates at which Palm Beach and Miami-Dade rejected provisional ballots raise questions as to why those counties found provisional ballots to be invalid much more frequently than other counties." Of the provisional ballots issued in Lake Worth on August 26th, more than 80% were found to be invalid, many due to clerk error.

At the bottom of the third page of her report, she briefly mentions the major snafu with the Wellington municipal election that "caused us to call the wrong winners." The blame is firmly placed upon the "vendors." Earlier in the page, she refers to another problem with a printer/vendor that incorrectly printed 25,000 absentee ballots that couldn't be scanned, requiring the hiring of temporary personnel to hand count the ballots. The Palm Beach Post's account of that mishap reported that it involved 60,000 ballots.

Back to Ms. Bucher's talk in June of 2013. This is the final page of her report:

Here Ms. Bucher proclaims that "future voting systems will use more current technology that contains off-the-shelf items, at decreased cost, that allows for improved administration of elections." How is your level of trust related to that prediction? "Finely," (instead of finally), Ms. Bucher concludes with one of the loftiest, and best Ted Kennedy quotes, as if she is of that caliber of public official. Why am I reminded of Dan Quayle?

She ends by sharing her email address, complete with a typo.

Commissioner McVoy sees the light, after the bond election...his Plan B? Raise taxes and utility rates.

An earlier email from Mr. Waples that went everywhere but nowhere at the same time.

Notice that the entire hierarchy of NBC and CBS News, along with the White House, was copied. I'm surprised that the Secretariat of the United Nations was left out.

Discussion from last Tuesday's City Commission (9/9/14) regarding the Capital Improvement Program budget

The entire discussion here lasts about 15 minutes. I will be making a separate video of the last 3 minutes where Commissioner McVoy seems to have an "ah ha" moment about how to fund infrastructure. That is, through higher millage and utility rates. This comes after the realization that, while there are road projects identified in the Capital Improvement Program budget, there is no money beyond what comes from the sewer fund now to address road repairs. Didn't we just go through all this in preparation for the vote on the bond issue?

Collection of items from the City Commission meeting agenda of 9/9/14

This segment includes minor changes to the LDRs, elections, adoption of minutes and consent agenda items.

College Park New and Replacement Street Banners

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

In 2011, ten banners were placed on street lights around the College Park Neighborhood. Over the years, three of those banners went missing and all seven remaining banners required cleaning and re-stitching. Eight new banners have been ordered and all 15 banners will be hung by the City's Public Services Dept. in the next two weeks at the same previous ten locations and at five new locations. Click here to visit the College Park Facebook page and view the photo album with the new and replacement banners in their virtual locations.

Thank you again to our College Park neighbor, Laura McGlynn for designing our beautiful street banner.

Monday, September 15th meeting of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association

LAKE WORTH CITY COMMISSIONER ANDY AMOROSO IS THE GUEST SPEAKER  at the Monday, September 15th meeting of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association.  

The meeting, which begins at 7:00pm, takes place at Believers Victory Church, 10th Avenue North and north Lakeside Drive.

Commissioner Amoroso will discuss the general state of the City and District 3.  At the end of his presentation he will take questions from the audience.

All residents are encouraged to attend for this informative meeting.  EVERYONE is welcome, you don't have to be an Association member or live in Parrot Cove. 

Always remember this...

CHRONIC NUISANCE SERVICES REMEDIATION – DEMOLITION DAY in Lake Worth

From a City press release (mentioned by Channel 5 here):

The City has scheduled a formal kick off for its Chronic Nuisance Service Remediation Program on Monday, September 15, 2014 at 9:00 am. With slit fences in place and permits issued, the demolition of 105 South D Street will be a welcomed sight. 

The City’s program includes demolishing unsafe structures, boarding and securing vacant abandoned buildings, and clearing vacant, overgrown lots. With more than 100 properties requiring these services, residents and property owners are eagerly looking forward to initiation of work and the removal of blight from across the city.

Initial activities include the demolition of three (3) unsafe structures including one (1) each at 105 South D Street, 315 South F Street and 124 Ocean Breeze as well as lot clearings and boarding & securing of many other properties. The demolitions are being done under continuing services contracts with Arbor Tree and Land and Cross Construction.

Commissioner McVoy's "Plan B?" - as reported by the Lake Worth Herald

In a front page story, above the fold, in this weeks Lake Worth Herald was a bombshell article titled, "[Commissioner] McVoy Suggests Raising Millage Rate and Electric Rates To Fund Roadwork"

Some excerpts from the article:

"Commissioner Christopher McVoy Ph.D stated he had been hearing requests from people for traffic calming on many of the city's streets. Without funding available, McVoy suggested there were a couple of ways to fund the road projects. He said Lake Worth could raise the millage rate and increase the electric rates to get the money to do the roadwork." [emphasis added]

[later...]

"The bond referendum recently voted down by Lake Worth voters was for 63.5 million dollars to fix the infrastructure in Lake Worth on a five year plan. The first phase included about 20 million dollars for roadwork."

[and later...]

"During the debate over the budget, Commissioner Scott Maxwell was talking about Lake Worth Electric rates, when he was elected, being the 'highest on the planet', a figure of speech. Commissioner McVoy said that was not true, taking Maxwell literally. McVoy then said there are countries in the world where they charge 30 cents per kilowatt hour. Asked during a break what country he was referring to he said Italy."[emphasis added]

To read the entire article, more news about Lake Worth, and the enigmatic musings our Lake Worth "Pelican Pete" visit LWHerald.com.

Eric Holder asked to investigate Palm Beach County sheriff office | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Click title for link to article citing multiple complaints about PBSO treatment of the Guatemalan community of Lake Worth. From the article:

Scarola’s letter also asserts that PBSO does not have one deputy of Guatemalan ancestry stationed in Lake Worth. That district includes 80 sworn officers, according to the PBSO website. Guatemalans make up 13 percent of the population in the city of 36,000.
“There is not a single uniformed officer drawn from the Guatemalan community to mitigate the ‘us — versus — them’ mentality and to bridge the war zone boundaries,” Scarola writes.
The Rev. Frank O’Loughlin, director of the Guatemala center, echoed Scarola’s criticism in an interview.
“Police are supposed to reflect the communities they are in,” he said. “But the sheriff’s deputies in Lake Worth are like aliens in the Guatemalan community and are uncomprehending of the people they are dealing with. That lack of comprehension is dangerous.”

Poll worker error disenfranchises 14 Lake Worth voters | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Click title for link for a story that will appear in tomorrow's edition of the Palm Beach Post. Joe Engelhardt writes about the high number of provisional ballots used in Lake Worth on August 26th and includes a breakdown of their ultimate fate. The Supervisor of Elections office remains defensive, but also indicates that one of its Lake Worth poll workers was terminated as a result. There is also this at the end of the article:

While voters casting provisional ballots are supposed to get paperwork describing their right to prove within 48 hours that they were entitled to vote, Matullo said she got nothing. Almost two weeks after the election, she didn’t know until told by a Post reporter that her vote had not counted.

What the article does not say is that the Canvassing Board met the day after the election, prior to the end of the 48 hour deadline after the Tuesday election. Voters were not told of their rights, but the door had been closed on them anyway. Voters were only given a website to go to where they could enter their name to see if their vote WAS counted. They were also given the main Supervisor of Elections office phone number, but that proved to be a run around for most.