From Today's Water Aerobics Class at the Lake Worth Pool

Missouri Doctor: ‘It’s Just A Matter Of Time Before [Ebola] Is Carried To Every Corner Of The World’

Click title for link to associated article.

Ethics Commission considers adding fines for frivolous complaints

This is unfortunately necessary as some people fail to see the role of the Ethics Commission and what they were formed to address in the first place. Click title for link to the Sun-Sentinel article.

Imposing penalties for filing frivolous ethics complaints could be one of the enforcement changes considered by Palm Beach County's Ethics Commission.
The Palm Beach County League of Cities on Thursday called for the watchdog board to add a fine or some other cost for people who file ethics complaints against local officials that turn out to be unfounded.
"People can't use this for political purposes," Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the League of Cities, said about frivolous ethics complaints. "We have to come up with some way."
The Ethics Commission has the ability to require the payment of legal fees and other costs associated with a case if it finds an ethics complaint "frivolous," but hasn't done it before, according to according to Ethics Commission Executive Director Steve Cullen.

All Aboard Florida may bring passengers back to Flagler’s rail...

We are, as a county, going back to the future with our focus of railroad improvements. These include All Aboard Florida and eventually Tri-Rail's Coastal Link. Click title for link to article which reminds us of our beginnings and our future. From the article:

The passenger train shuttled wealthy tourists to luxury hotels on Palm Beach, opening the county’s wilderness frontier to new development. Cities began to rise as Flagler built new stations along his Florida East Coast Bramson, the company historian for the Florida East Coast Railway. “Everything grew up around the stations.”
Now, some historians say restoring passenger service on Flagler’s decade-old railway may be the only way for Palm Beach County to continue to grow. All Aboard Florida plans 32 passenger trains a day between Miami and Orlando on the FEC tracks, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The Miami-to-West Palm Beach service is expected to begin in late 2016 with the Orlando leg starting in 2017.
The proposed Tri-Rail Coastal Link would also run on the FEC tracks, providing city-by-city commuter rail service between Jupiter and Miami.
“Passenger rail was ceased because it wasn’t seen as being needed any longer,” West Palm Beach attorney and historian Harvey Oyer III said. “At this point, we cannot build enough roads to continue to provide transportation and infrastructure. We have come full circle and come back to using rail again.”

Check out the following High Noon in Lake Worth shows featuring Seth Bramson, FEC Historian:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with High Noon in Lake Worth on BlogTalkRadio

 

Check Out Politics Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with High Noon in Lake Worth on BlogTalkRadio

You may want to reconsider that trip to Greenfield, CA...

Mary Lindsey Reporting about Evening on the Avenues last night

"Amazing how each Friday Evening on the Avenue is unique. Tonight was no exception. The band was great, but the girl who soloed was amazing!!! Nice crowd of mostly locals, lotsa kids and lotsa people on the Porch. The big show was in the sky with really spectacular lightning. The rain held until about 9:30 I think, but not many people left; they just moved inside the beer garden tent and the Front Porch! We finally closed up about 10:30.
Thanks to Judy and Mark Easton who helped out all night and to Bill and Elizabeth O'Donnell who brought two extra large and very hot pizzas for everyone. We all enjoyed meeting a very young and talented artist (James) who kept us captivated as he twisted and wove palm fronds into roses and little creatures like a sunfish and a grasshopper.
Three or four new residents to Lake Worth stopped in to find out what the Neighborhood thing was all about and how they could get involved and Front Porch regulars, like Tammy Pansa, Greg and Lori Rice, Nancy Jarrell and Seamus were there to tell them! Sounds like any other night on the Front Porch, but I dunno - it just felt different. Maybe it was all the electricity in the air from the lightning. Who knows? Anyway, we'll be back for the next EOA in two weeks! See Y'all then."  Lake Worth Voice on Facebook, 10/3/14

"Yes We Can!!" - reposted due to unprecedented reader demand

October 03, 2014 Shooting Suspect Apprehended

At 9:51 this morning, Palm Beach Police were notified of a shooting at 2505 South Ocean Blvd, the President Condominium. The first officer arrived on scene at 9:53 am and determined former employee/suspect Charles Michael Croghan, 72 year old w/m (dob: 12/27/41) shot one male employee, and before fleeing the scene threatened a female employee with his firearm.

The male victim was transported by Trauma Hawk and is currently undergoing surgery and is listed in critical condition.

The suspect, Charles Michael Croghan, pictured below has been apprehended for Attempted First Degree Murder with a Firearm and Aggravated Assault with a Firearm.

Click on the link below for a copy of the news release.

Download News Release

This weeks excerpt from the Lake Worth Herald...

From the Editorial Page (10/2/14 edition):

"Recently, a seat was up for renewal and the person in the seat expressed interest in continuing, another person who sat on another board was bored and wanted to switch boards. The commissioner responsible for the appointment, had no qualms with appointing his friend to take the seat of a well qualified, active and hardworking member and leave the city with a less qualified, if qualified at all, volunteer board member while turning away a fully qualified, experienced member.
     This example shows just how dangerous individual appointments can be. There is no security for the city in board selections and it is time the commission reverses its position on board appointments.
     It is more work for the commission to interview every candidate, but boards are filled by consensus instead of friendship or political positions."

Click here for on-line version of paper. 

Palm Beach Police Working Shooting Incident at President Condominium (2505 S. Ocean Blvd.)

The Palm Beach Police Department is currently working a shooting incident at the President Condominium (2505 South Ocean Blvd). Police are looking for one white male suspect shooter named Charles Michael Croghan, who may be traveling in a 1978 black Ford antique vehicle, Florida tag M512PZ or a 1978 or 1979 Lincoln two door vehicle with two chrome tail pipes with a gray top and green body. Both vehicles should have an 8-ball hood ornament. The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. Please call 911 immediately if you see this suspect and/or vehicle. Do not engage this individual. See attached suspect photo.

Man shot at Palm Beach condominium; police searching for suspect

Click title for link.

A Trauma Hawk helicopter landed on the Par 3 Golf Course to pick up the man, who sustained a gunshot wound at the President condominium.

Message from Steven L. Abrams, County Commissioner re Preparations for Ebola

"I want to provide an update on Palm Beach County’s preparations concerning the Ebola virus. The County Health Department has been preparing since early August, as soon as they received the initial alert. County health officials have met with area hospitals, airports, the Port of Palm Beach, Border Patrol, the Sheriff’s Office, and many other agencies. The County operates Palm Beach International Airport, which is developing an Ebola Virus Disease Airport Response Plan. There are no direct flights to Africa from the airport, although obviously travelers can make a connection through PBIA. Health officials emphasize there is no cause for panic, but it is prudent to be prepared, and I wanted everyone to know we are on top of it."

Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association Meeting Reminder

Good morning friends and neighbors,

This is a reminder that Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association will hold their monthly meeting this Monday, October 6th, at 7:00, at the Guatemalan Maya Center, 430 N.G street.

Sadly, Mark Humm has stepped down from being our president. Thank you Mark for all you have done and all the time you have put in. As nominations for officers are due by November 15th we should probably start a conversation about who will take these positions for the coming year.

We will also be discussing our November block party'

I hope to see you all there.

Carolyn 

Delray Beach: City poised to take new direction

Click title for link to article from the Coastal Star about the "new majority" in Delray Beach. I find it interesting that the article mentions the importance of amending their land development regulations, much as Lake Worth did after eight years of nothingness. This was done to protect their "village by the sea" ambiance. From the article:

The new land development regulations to be approved later this year will eliminate the height and density incentives that developers got to build downtown.
    “We have seen projects approved in the past that fell far short of what we should demand for our city,” Jarjura said. “We must ensure going forward that we do better.”
    Glickstein said new rules will relieve the anxiety that became a campaign issue for residents seeking to preserve the city’s village-by-the-sea character.
    “I’m hopeful that the new LDRs [land development regulations] will take the development debate off the table,” Glickstein said. “People won’t feel fear over what might be slipping away.”
    With a new team at City Hall and the city’s character secure, the mayor can dream about Delray’s future.

Lake Worth Critical Mass ride tonight

The Lake Worth Critical Mass ride is tonight! Meet at Bryant Park in front of the Gulfstream Hotel and the ride leaves at 7:00 sharp. It's a ride for everyone including families, older or younger, doesn't matter.

Also, it is Evening on the Avenue in Lake Worth. That starts at 6:00 so you can plan your evening around that event at the Cultural Plaza in Downtown Lake Worth! Or, you can take in the Homecoming Football game at Lake Worth High School starting about the same time.

See you tonight!

And remember this going on in Wellington...

A lot of drama last week in Wellington concerning the vice mayor and the city manager, much of it fueled by the press unfortunately. If the situation interests you read this Town-Crier article by Ron Bukley in which he explains what happened very clearly and succinctly. Click title for link. From the article:

"Wellington Village Council members submitted performance evaluations for Village Manager Paul Schofield and Village Attorney Laurie Cohen on Tuesday, but a majority of the council refrained from sharing their opinions publicly.
Despite widespread speculation last week that the council might decide to dismiss Schofield, no such action was taken.
While Councilman Howard Coates and Councilwoman Anne Gerwig said that they were prepared to publicly evaluate Schofield and Cohen, Mayor Bob Margolis, Vice Mayor John Greene and Councilman Matt Willhite said that they would refrain from commenting on their written evaluations, pointing out that they are public record, available for anyone to review."

Broward County's Port Everglades - What's to come in the future?

Talk of freight on the Florida East Coast Railway and expansion to handle larger ships coming through the expanded Panama Canal.

Lake Worth Post Office - c. 1940 - soon after opening

Notice the bike racks on the left side of the picture.

NEW High Noon in Lake Worth episode 10/3 - Aaron Wormus "A Guy on Clematis" 12 to 1 p.m.

Join your host Wes Blackman as he welcomes "A Guy on Clematis" - aka Aaron Wormus to the High Noon in Lake Worth studios. Aaron Wormus is the Chief Technology Officer of HedgeCo Networks. Focusing on bringing technology solutions to the financial industry, Aaron Wormus was the lead architect in the development of the Hedge Fund Calculator, HedgeCo Websites Platform, and most recently HedgeCoVest.

With an eye for community development, Aaron Wormus authors the "a Guy on Clematis" blog, which has chronicled the growth of Downtown West Palm Beach and specifically Clematis St. over the last 5 years. In 2011, Sun Sentinal awarded "a Guy on Clematis" as the winner of the "Best overall Blog in South Florida". aGuyonClematis has also been profiled in the Palm Beach Post and The Palm Beacher magazine.

Aaron Wormus moved from Downtown into the South End of West Palm Beach in the beginning of 2010, when not working or blogging, Aaron can be found doing DIY projects on his house, walking his dog, enjoying South Olive Park with his two daughters, or writing about himself in the third person.

Aaron also helped arrange the following video:

Click title for link to live show or after it airs for the archived version. Leave questions as comments below.

From a loyal and concerned reader

"I am one of those few that actually watch city meetings on line regularly: city commission, P&Z, HRPB... It's usually in the background while I do other things. Imagine my surprise when I go to watch the P&Z and John Rinaldi is not there. Greg Rice was in the chair seat and some woman I never saw before was sitting to his right. What is going on? 

I go to Advisory Board section and look over P&Z. Commissioner McVoy's District 2 appointment which used to be John Rinaldi was now represented by Elise LaTorre. Did John Rinaldi not re-apply or did he resign? Does anyone know what happened?

As the meeting progressed they had a vote for the vice-chair and Mr. Sherwin was elected. Greg Rice is now the P&Z chair.

Shouldn't a press release be issued by the city? When the P&Z Chair suddenly leaves the scene the public should be aware, don't you think? P&Z is one of the more important boards in the city. 

If I find out something I will let you know. Thanks, Wes, for all that you do for the city."

Evening On The Avenue, callout for vendors and performers

Are you a vendor or a performer and interested in participating in this years Evening on The Avenue in Lake Worth? The new season is starting and it is All The Buzz about town!

Here is your contact info:
dcarson@lakeworth.org
emay@lakeworth.org
561.533.7353

See you there!

Great slide show featuring the Lake Worth Arts Lofts...

Click title for link.

Halloween came early in 2012

Grand opening at Mulligan's with "the gang." The date was October 17th. Apparently, they were running a special on demon possession that night.

Unbelievable College Republican National Committee ad supporting Rick Scott - Creepy and Patronizing

From the Post's Kimberly Miller about the latest on sober house in WPB

Click title for link. The evolving saga of the Green Terrace condominium. From the article:

Residents of the Good Decisions Sober Living home in West Palm Beach are looking for new places to live after being told Tuesday they had four days to move out.
Good Decisions, which houses recovering addicts in units at the Green Terrace Condominium, was raided by the FBI on Sept. 11, while the community’s condominium association is under investigation by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
John Lehman, president of the Boca Raton-based Florida Association of Recovery Residences, confirmed residents are being asked to leave by Friday.

The Broward/Palm Beach New Times looking for new writers!

The New Times is famous for reporting breaking news and then retooling the story until they get it right. Of note were the stories about the Fort Lauderdale Police and the confrontations with the Critical Mass rides in July and August. In typical fashion the police are assumed to be wrong, the aggressor, and the bike riders are assumed to be righteous, innocent, incapable of wrongdoing. 

The days after the initial reports showed a very different reality. The police were doing their job and the bicyclists had broken the law and the rules agreed to before the Critical Mass ride began. It was really that simple.

Now we have a new development at the New Times. They're looking for new writers to join their team. If you are interested click here.

From the story:

"Applicants should have solid news judgment and knowledge of current events. They should be able to discover relevant local stories, report hard news, and meet deadlines.
Interested candidates, please send a résumé and three clips to:
ryan.pfeffer@browardpalmbeach.com
No phone calls, please."

Political Advertisement with a cameo by our own Lisa Maxwell

Proven Leader from Ellyn Bogdanoff on Vimeo.

Clematis Street named one of America's Ten Best Streets

Click title for link to Planning.org website. This showed up in the Palm Beach Post in today's print edition by Eliot Kleinberg, but appears to be unavailable on line. Clematis Street is in good company with the other top streets on the list. Click here for a portion of that article.

I remember a time when this was the last street that would be eligible for such an award. Things do change, with intention and persistence.

L.A.: "Yes We Can!!"

Who can believe anything this person writes, does or says?

Ironic motivational picture in Supervisor of Elections' lobby

"Communication - Build bridges, not walls."

Chögyam Trungpa

"The goal of warriorship is to reconnect to the nowness of reality, so that you can go forward without destroying simplicity, without destroying your connection to this earth."

Town of Palm Beach 2014 Floodplain Management Plan Progress Report

The Town of Palm Beach has completed the 2014 progress report for its Floodplain Management Plan. The progress report is required as a part of the annual re-certification process for the Town's participation in the CRS (Community Rating System) Program. Participation in this program allows residents to receive a 15% discount on the purchase of flood insurance.

A copy of the report can be obtained by clicking on the title of this post.

October King Tide Brings Trove Of Data For Sea-Level Threat In Miami Beach

A group of Florida International University students are ready to record data for this October's King Tide in Miami Beach. It is thought to be a harbinger of things to come as sea levels rise over the coming years. Click title for link.

Saad Masud, a 15-year-old sophomore at MAST, believes it’s important work.
“If we can understand how the effects of this huge tide is going to be, we’ll be able to better enhance our drainage systems,” he says.
All that data, along with helium-balloon images of the coastline during the King Tide, will be studied to refine estimates of how degrees of sea-level rise will make life difficult or even impossible in coming years. Faculty advisor Robert Gutsche says it may provide some necessary answers.
“Here’s how we are going to build in the future," Gutsche says. "Here’s who’s going to be able to live here in the future. Here’s what our big problem is.”

Ag Reserve Round-table Discussion

From Andy Reid at the Sun Sentinel on the Ag Reserve round-table yesterday. Click title for link. And Drew Martin gets quoted! Probably one of Drew's best performances to date:

"County officials on Monday held a day-long discussion with neighborhood representatives, growers, developers, environmentalists and others to try to find common ground on whether to change the development rules for the Agricultural Reserve.
But at one point, some participants couldn't even agree on the idea that producing food and other agricultural pursuits should still take priority in the Agricultural Reserve.
'It is called the Ag Reserve,' said an exasperated Drew Martin of the Sierra Club."

Fort Lauderdale Critical Mass Ride

James Argyropoulos at the Broward New Times has some great pictures from the last weeks Critical Mass ride in Fort Lauderdale. Click title for link. The ride by the looks of it has become much more novice- and family-friendly. Good for them.

Remember! The Lake Worth Critical Mass ride is this Friday. I'll have details later in the week.

Economic Development Projects in Palm Beach County's Pipeline

Jeff Ostrowski reports on some very big business news for Palm Beach County. Click title for link. All of these are very cryptic, especially "Project Framework" - imagine what that would do for the Lake Worth Park of Commerce and our local economy!

"One company, which Smallridge [Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County] identified only by the codename Project Gemini, is looking for a place to build a $175 million manufacturing plant with 250 workers, she said Thursday.
'We need that really bad for the Glades area,' Smallridge told Business Development Board members during a meeting in West Palm Beach.
The other company, known as Project Carbon, would spend $7 million on a green energy facility with 100 jobs.
The Business Development Board has pushed for economic development in Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay, poor areas in an affluent county. Smallridge estimated that unemployment in the Glades is 36 percent.
Smallridge said she’s also wooing another company that would be a coup for the county. Project Framework is looking for a 200,000-square-foot facility somewhere in central or southern Palm Beach County. That company would bring 1,000 jobs."

There are standards...

Interesting editorial piece in the "Hot Topics" section of the Palm Beach Post today. You can read it here.

The commentary by Mr. Wasserman deals with the journalist code of ethics and specifically the Society for Professional Journalism (SPJ). Just last week I brought up the SPJ because a local "journalist" had publicly come to the defense of a blogger who is using violent images and harmful/personal attacks. The SPJ code of ethics does not encourage such tactics. No professional "journalist" would.

You can re-read my earlier post here.

The Post also seems to be grappling with issues in local reporting such as when it is appropriate to publish unattributed rumors. I think the state of the media in general has let go of what standards it had and is playing to the lowest common denominator.

Lynn Anderson Unmasked...

From the College Park Neighborhood Association comes this...

Since the College Park Neighborhood Association was founded in 1996, we have been fortunate to have had so many dedicated people step up to serve as officers and directors. Every year since then, each new board member has brought fresh ideas and unique talents to bear on the challenges and opportunities that are a part of living in College Park. Please consider bringing your own fresh ideas and unique talents to serve our neighborhood for 2015.

From the bottom of my heart, it's truly been an honor to serve as President of College Park NA for the last four years. Together with all of you and our other officers and directors during that time, we have achieved some wonderful goals. But there is always more to be done and more ways to do it. I am looking forward to supporting a new President next year and helping as a neighbor to continue all our efforts to make College Park a neighborhood we can always be proud to call our home.

I especially Thank our 2014 Board of Directors, Vice President Johnny Pickett, Secretary Kim McEvers, Treasurer Terry Brokovich and Directors, Wes Blackman, Rick Dytrych, Scott Eller, Charlotte Keshian and Kristine Olson for their dedicated service and I sincerely hope that each of them will consider serving again next year. On behalf of the entire board, I also Thank our neighbor, Ian Esplin, for his continued service as volunteer webmaster for our College Park website.

The election for 2015 officers and directors will take place on Monday, December 8th at 6:30 at our usual meeting place, the First Congregational Church, 1415 North K Street.

Your Neighbor,
Mary Lindsey, President CPNA 2011-2014

http://www.collegeparklakeworth.com/

For all of us missing the weekly quotes from Drew Martin in the Palm Beach Post...

Good news everyone! Drew Martin is fine and there is nothing to worry about. Joe Capozzi from the Palm Beach Post is tweeting live from the Ag Reserve round-table discussion and Drew Martin is working with a facilitator.

Maybe tomorrow Drew Martin will once again resume his position as THE SOURCE for quotes in the newspapers on environmental issues.

Stay tuned!

From a loyal reader, catch the moment while you can!

Latino workers dying at higher rates in job accidents, report shows

From the Broward Bulldog comes this story about the hazards faced by Latinos in the workplace, especially construction and related jobs. This was part of the issue when we had large groups of people assembling west of the Shuffleboard Courts for day labor in the early 2000s. I remember horror stories of on-the-job injuries and little regard for basic safety for some of the workers. Some would do work and not get paid or get paid less than others doing similar work. They were afraid to complain due to their undocumented status. Click title for link. From the article:

As Latino workers take on more and more of the nation’s toughest and dirtiest jobs, they increasingly are paying for it with their lives.
Preliminary federal figures released last week showed that of the 4,405 U.S. workers killed on the job in 2013, 797 were Latinos. That equates to 3.8 of every 100,000 full-time Latino employees in the U.S. dying in workplace accidents during the year.
The fatality rate for Latinos was up marginally from 3.7 per 100,000 workers in 2012, and was significantly higher than the 2013 fatality rates of 3.2 for whites, 2.9 for blacks and 1.5 for Asians.
Safety experts point to reluctance among many Latino workers, particularly immigrants, to protest job hazards. They commonly attribute the reluctance to language barriers or fears that complaining about working conditions will cost them their jobs or even lead to deportation.
In addition, worker advocates blame weak federal and state regulation and a trend of employers increasingly giving dangerous jobs to temporary workers, including some with little training.

Below: Complete Final Copy of Downtown West Palm Beach Walkability Report

  West Palm Beach Downtown Walkability Study by Wes Blackman

Two-thirds of Florida voters weren't wrong...

Lawsuit: Town goes too far on political sign rules and...

Lesley Blackner is suing the Town of Palm Beach for their zealous enforcement of the Town's political sign laws. Mind you, this is the same person who fought for a state constitutional amendment that would require a vote on every change to a local government's Comprehensive Plan. That was Amendment 4 of 2010, also referred to as Hometown Democracy. If it passed, which it didn't by a long-shot, it would have trampled on private property rights around the state and subjected land use regulations to the equivalent of mob rule. Our ballots would also have been at least 5 pages long. Here, she is asserting her First Amendment rights to display political signs on her property. She and the other blogger were pals and Blackner used the Sunset property case here in Lake Worth as a rallying cry for her effort. Click title for link.

Before the Aug. 26 primary, the couple [unidentified in article] placed two signs in the yard of their Australian Avenue home. One supported Attorney General Pam Bondi ; the other Palm Beach County School Board candidate Larry Rosensweig.
According to the suit, code officer Walton removed the Rosensweig sign a few days before the election, citing the limit on the number of signs. On Aug. 30, a code officer informed Blackner that the other sign should be removed because more than 48 hours had passed since the election. She refused. Walton removed the sign Sept. 1 and placed it, with a violation noticed stapled to it, at the door of the couple’s home.
Blackner [Lesley Blackner] is representing the couple.

Critical Mass Fort Lauderdale Is Happening Tonight With New Route

Click title for link to Broward New Times article. It appears that things are getting under control and there are rules now for this ride. It's been a bit of a rough-and-tumble experience of late, for the bicycle riders and the police. From the article:

"It was the consensus that we don't really want an exact repeat of last month, where traffic lights sliced the ride into a series of different groups, where tickets were issued instead of warnings, and even though we handed out a map some people got a little lost," the post adds. "That is why we were trying to work with the police for a better protocol on intersections. As of now we have not had a positive response from Fort Lauderdale Police Department about assisting the ride through intersections. The only definitive statement is that they will be out monitoring the ride and enforcing the law, like last time."
The new route is designed to avoid as many traffic lights as possible, as well as hit more localized roadways.
Fort Lauderdale Police has insisted that the mass be split at each traffic light, which has created small pods of riders. CM is going to try breaking riders into small groups prior to the ride starting, in a preemptive maneuver to avoid this headache.
Each small group will have an assigned leader who will dictate the pace of the group. Moreover, if a group gets accidentally split up by a red light, the others can simply pull over and wait for them to catch up.

Peter Pan

"Shall we have an adventure now, or would you like tea first?"

Mr. Nice Guy - Taste Test - Going back to one of my older product reviews

Today I reveal  my much-anticipated review of the drink called “Mr. Nice Guy.” First, here is a little background. On June 4, 2014 in the Palm Beach Post there was an article about entrepreneur Dylan Harrison. He got into a little trouble a while back; old news now. Anyhow, he partnered with a gentleman named Ron VanTassel to produce his new beverage called: “Mr. Nice Guy.”

After reading the Post article, I went to the 'Mr. Nice Guy' website. There I noticed a 'Contact Us' link and sent a quick note requesting a sample to review and giving well wishes to Mr. Harrison. Two days later, a pleasant young man came by the house and dropped off ten cans for me to sample and review. Just by coincidence I had a contest going on at the time and used 'Mr. Nice Guy' as the prize and received additional reviews. You can read about my contest here.

The cans are cute and fit easily in the hand. Upon opening, the smell is fresh and effervescent The drink flavor, upon tasting, can be described as "Chillicious Berry" and perfectly carbonated. I carried the beverage into my bedroom whilst I browsed through my Kindle for the day's readings. Soon, I felt a slight tingling sensation across my upper back. Something like you would feel after a gentle massage. Just the right drink before bed time which is exactly what 'Mr. Nice Guy' is for. In big letters they have the word, “RELAXINOL” and on the can they have their 'Mr. Nice Guy' motto:

“When the day is over, or work is done, get your head right & Relaxinol. Cool calm & carefree is the way of Mr. Nice Guy. ENJOY THIS CAN & BE NICE.”

Note to self: Save a can in reserve for the other blogger in town. She could use a little relaxation.

Soon, I found my eyes falling off the page and had to put my reading down. Turning off the light, I adjusted to the fetal position and soon it was morning. I was wide awake and fresh as a daisy.

The product is manufactured in the USA and the office of 'Mr. Nice Guy LLC' is in West Palm Beach, FL. Can you say, “Buy Local, Drink Local, Relax Local.”

The reviews, including my own, are very favorable for the product and it does exactly what it claims. On the can under “Supplement Facts” they list their proprietary blend of amino acids and other ingredients. No doubt these ingredients cause the calming and soothing effect of the drink. There is also a warning on the drink: “May cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate machinery after consuming.” Sound advice.

I give Mr. Harrison, Mr. VanTassel, and their product, 'Mr. Nice Guy' two thumbs up. Just be safe and wait until you get home before consuming. Drink Up, Relax, and Be Nice! And put down that heavy mechanical equipment.