Thursday, July 23, 2015

Another Palm Beach Post article about a Lake Worth crematorium: sans the smoke "shroud"

Here is the first paragraph from Joe Capozzi's article that appeared above the fold on Sunday, July 19th:
The thick black smoke was hard to miss. It curled into the sky, swallowing the tops of palm trees and tumbling down like a shroud over the downtown streets around Lake Avenue just west of U.S. 1.
This latest article in the Local 'B' section today (7/23) is far less dramatic than what appeared in Sunday's print edition and includes some very helpful information. We learn that the operator of the crematorium is close to identifying/correcting the problem and is working with the local Lake Worth NAPC's Royal Poinciana Neighborhood Association. Here is an excerpt:
     The operators of a Lake Avenue crematorium have apologized to residents of a nearby neighborhood after heavy smoke from a cremation was released into the air last week for the second time in 16 days.
     All County Funeral Home & Crematory informed the Palm Beach County Health Department about the latest smoking incident, minutes after it occurred on the morning of July 16 and said it had identified a potential cause.
     “We won’t rest until we figure out the cause and we sincerely apologize to anyone who has been negatively affected by these incidents,’’ Shaun Luyk, All County’s general manager, wrote that day in a letter to Sarah Malega, president of the Royal Poinciana Neighborhood Association.
Now more about the story that appeared in Sunday's printed edition. Won't get specific but it appears my blog post that day (7/19) resonated with some at the Post. My point is simply this: the crematorium incident(s) in Lake Worth is/are news but have no place on the front page, 'A' section of the paper. This is a local story and belongs in the Local 'B' section. The City of Lake Worth was used to sell more papers. Burning bodies, smoke "shrouds", the (imagined) smell of cremated hair can achieve that purpose.

A month (or so) ago an article was published in the Post about crime in Lake Worth. Crime was down in the City in most categories which should have been the main focus but it was the spike in some violent crime that made the headline and stole the day at The Palm Beach Post. Look at the Tweet below they sent out promoting the news article by Kevin Thompson; does this sum up the general bias they have about Lake Worth?
Note: "good old Lake Worth".