UPDATE—November 8th referendum to fix our roads: the AD VALOREM TAX CALCULATOR is available on City's website

Use this link for the Ad Valorem Tax Calculator.

Do you live on North 'J' Street? Find out how much it will cost you to fix that pothole in front of your house.

Remember 2 years ago when all these red/white signs lined North 'J' Street, Lakeside Drive, and North Palmway? With only 43 days to go until the Nov. 8th referendum those critics still can't answer that question: "How to fix our roads?"

Vote "Yes" on November 8th.

Spread the word:

Pool party today cancelled due to the weather. Rescheduled to October 8th.

This image is from the file, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

Today's (9/24) FREE OPEN SWIM* from 5:00–8:00 is sponsored by the Bryant Park Neighborhood. Bring a cooler, floats, and music. Fun times will be had by all!

Here is more information about this neighborhood association: The Bryant Park Neighborhood extends from Lake Ave. to 5th Ave. South and from Federal Hwy. to the Intracoastal. Meetings are held on the 4th Monday of the month and take place at The Beach Club, One 7th Avenue North at the Lake Worth Golf Course. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m.

Membership is open to all residents of the Bryant Park Neighborhood. Dues are $10 per person or $15 per family. Use this link for their Facebook page.

*Regular parking rates apply. The pool rules are no glass bottles and no alcohol.

News from Post reporter Zach Dennis: Our Stonzek Theatre "celebrates indie theater in Lake Worth"

Spread the word about this news also featured in today's (9/23) print edition. Here is an excerpt from the article:

     Come out and support your local art house movie theater with the first national Art House Day.
     In Palm Beach County, the Lake Worth Playhouse will recognize the day with a handful of independent showings at the Stonzek Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 24. [emphasis added] For families, the theater will be showing “A Town Called Panic,” a 2009 French and Belgian stop-motion animated film, that follows the misadventures of three characters (named Cowboy, Indian, and Horse), who live in a town known as Panic and get stuck in a series of improbable events that keeps Horse from his one true love, Madame Longray (who is also a horse).
     That showing will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday and costs $9 for general admission and $6 for film society members.

The trailer for one of the movies, "A Town Called Panic":

In this week's Lake Worth Herald: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING (do you know what "curbstoning" is? Click link below.)

Please take notice that the City Commission of the City of Lake Worth will hold a public hearing in the City Commission Chamber, at or after 6:00 pm on October 4, 2016, on the following ordinance:

ORDINANCE NO. 2016-27 OF THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 7, “BEACHES, PARKS AND RECREATION”, ARTICLE VI, “MUNICIPAL BEACH AREA AND MUNICIPAL BEACH”, SECTION 7-69, “COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES; PEDDLING”; AMENDING CHAPTER 21, “TRAFFIC”, ARTICLE I, “IN GENERAL”, SECTION 21-21, “APPLICABLITY OF “PALM BEACH COUNTY CURBSTONING ORDINANCE”

All interested persons may appear and be heard with respect to the proposed ordinance. The proposed ordinance may be inspected by the public Monday–Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the City Clerk’s Office, 7 North Dixie Highway, Lake Worth, Florida.

Reminder—Lake Worth Library celebrates 75th anniversary: Open House tomorrow (9/24) from 3:00–5:00

The entire story detailing the history of Lake Worth's Library is in last week's Lake Worth Herald. If you don't subscribe to the Herald you can pick up the print edition at the City's newsstand at 600 Lake Ave, across the street from the Cultural Council. Here are two excerpts from the article:

     The building was built at 1 North “M” Street. This building was given by the citizens of Lake Worth. The Lake Worth Free Library opened with its Mediterranean style of architecture costing $61,321 [completed in 1942]. It was a gift to the City and its people.

[and. . .]

     Today, under the direction of Vickie Joslin, Head Librarian, the 2016 Library offers programs for children and adults. Members and visitors can explore the world on computers and digitized material of the classics are available.

For more information contact Vickie Joslin at 561-533-7354 or email vjoslin@lakeworth.org

Coastal Cleanup tomorrow (9/24) and again on October 1st

To register and learn more use this link. ; also on Facebook.

Gulfstream Hotel and another legal delay. Whatever you do, don't get angry or despondent. That's EXACTLY what they want you to do. Stay upbeat!

Decided to move this post back to the top of the blog. JoAnn Golden's paperwrenching does have an upside, it's drawn more and more people to the cause of getting the Gulfstream Hotel redevelopment project moving forward, and quick.

The public spoke. Loudly. Patience and the public mood are wearing very thin.

This blog post was first published Wednesday, 9/14. The public mood to see something happen with the hotel is wearing very thin. Commissioner Andy Amoroso attended a neighborhood meeting on Monday, 9/19, and the crowd was "boisterous" on this issue. 

The Gulfstream Hotel redevelopment will be delayed again. This structure is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's an important part of our history and Palm Beach County's as well. I've toured the hotel. It will take a total renovation; looks from the outside are deceiving. Time empty is not good for its future and we all know that is not good for the City. But JoAnn Golden et al have the money to delay this project and that's exactly what they did.

The redevelopment plan for the property was approved by the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) earlier this year. That carries the solution and opens the door for the Gulfstream's future. Its completion, along with the additional parking, will allow the use and preservation of the building and bring much needed hotel rooms back to our downtown.

Certain people, the one's that sued the City over the height issue, know that the Gulfstream being open and operating would represent a turning point for the City's redevelopment. It's that important and they know it. They are just miserable and mean people. The City needs to fight back and we all need to have faith the legal team will do anything and everything possible to end this nonsense.

We simply can't let the malcontents continue to hold this City back. They are making matters worse for everyone and flail around the court system as a way of expressing their anger. Sadly, the taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill for all this. Again.

Historic hotels are special and need to be saved while there's still time. There is one in Texas that is facing the same economic forces as the Gulfstream Hotel. Other hotels in Florida faced similar forces and eventually succumbed. I was the "undertaker" for one in Belleview, Florida called the Belleview Biltmore that had fallen into such disrepair nothing could be done to save it.

I was called in to document the Belleview Biltmore's history prior to demolition. It was one of the largest wooden hotels ever built and it rivaled the Royal Poinciana in Palm Beach that went down in the 1930s. It was part of Henry Plant's railroad network on the west coast. Henry Flagler concentrated on the east coast by a sort of gentleman's agreement.

The hotel being empty is a threat. It's not playing the role it should be in our local economy. It is of another time and challenged to survive no matter who owns it. One of the problems is a hotel operating there is an abstraction now. Many people can't remember it open so they just accept the fact it sits there empty and deteriorating.

Most of the public don't sense the urgency. But they should. The ones behind the latest legal maneuvering understand all this but they don't care. A 65′ height limit for the adjacent hotel on the site IS NOT a "tall" building. It is considered "mid-rise" in the planning and zoning world, certainly not a "high-rise".

The new hotel, along with the additional parking which is crucial, will all stand much lower than the Gulfstream. Not accepting this is MADNESS.

We can't let this latest 'paper-wrenching' get the best of us. Stay calm. Stay upbeat. And please attend meetings and let your thoughts be known. This latest legal 'monkeywrenching' will fail in due time. Let's just all hope the Gulfstream Hotel survives all this madness by those wish it a date with the wrecking ball.

Video and more information: Lake Worth PBSO (District 14) update at City Commission on September 20th

First there's this important item: To help fund anti-gang and the Annual Christmas Gift Giveaway in Lake Worth, the golf tournament is coming up on October 9th. Use this link to learn more and there's a bonus too! You'll also read one of the rare positive articles about PBSO in The Palm Beach Post. Not kidding. It actually happened.

Use this link to learn more about PBSO District 14. The video of Cpt. Baer at the City Commission is below.

Arrests are up 5.5%,

PBSO is working with the NAPC on a new community policing program with the assistance of homeowners. To learn more use this link.

The big news is Lake Worth now has its own Assistant State Attorney.

Here is the video. The video quality is poor since it was recorded off a TV screen but the audio is very good. Please share this information with your friends and neighbors:

More rumor control: Why there was no CRA update at the last City Commission meeting

No, Weetha. It's OK. It's not a conspiracy.

On this blog last Tuesday (9/20), reported that item 5B, "Community Redevelopment Agency update" was on the City Commission agenda. CRA Director Joan Oliva was out of town and the item should have been deleted from the agenda.

If for some reason you're still disturbed about this use this link to contact someone at the CRA.

To learn more about the Lake Worth CRA, mission statement, history, and awards use this link.

For everyone who wants to learn more about the 1¢ sales tax on the November ballot:

Literature being passed out to the public. To learn more go to this website: OneCountyOnePenny.org

Random notes and observations about the Lake Worth City Commission meeting last Tuesday (9/20)

By request from a blog reader, "important news everyone has to know":

I wasn't able to attend this City Commission meeting but did watch parts of it from the City's video. Here are random thoughts in no particular order:

• Mayor Pam Triolo got $3 million for Lake Worth from the MPO! Check back for more on that soon. Of course, news like this doesn't quite make the cut at The Palm Beach Post. Here is the video to watch for yourself:
• The City's Fiscal Year 2016/2017 budget passed unanimously. The 5 added PBSO deputies will start this October.
• PBSO Captain Baer's update was very good. He said many of the assaults and robberies have a connection to heroin and former sober home residents.
• It's about time the City replaces the microphone at the podium.
• Big news: Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell had a very productive trip to Washington, D.C. on issue of sober homes. He said there will be a joint statement soon by HUD and DOJ on "group homes" and distance restrictions. 
• Awaiting information to smack down Commissioner Ryan Maier's assertions about the Blueway Trail. Salt water intrusion? Manatees are being ignored? Nonsense. Maier attended the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council where they gave support for the Blueway Trail to proceed.
• From Maier, again, no quorum at the last Sister City board meeting. Sigh.
• Commissioner Andy Amoroso attended Monday's Parrot Cove neighborhood meeting and those in attendance were "boisterous" about JoAnn Golden's latest effort to stop the Gulfstream Hotel redevelopment project. They want the City to recoup all the money spent on legal fees.

This meeting was a short one but think many items on the agenda will have reverberations until the municipal elections next March, especially Maier's support for the homeless and panhandler's over the needs and concerns of residents in his very own district.

This weekend (9/24 & 9/25): Premiere of Opera Fusion's musical drama about murder of Matthew Shepard, "Not In My Town"

“Not In My Town,” is the story of the events surrounding the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student who was beaten and left tied to a fence.

First Weekend: Saturday, September 24th at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday (9/25) at 3:00 p.m. at the University Theatre, Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton Campus, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Tickets $20 via Opera Fusion.

Second Weekend: Friday, September 30th at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, October 1st at 8:00 p.m. at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets from $35 (see Opera Fusion link above).

Status of 2 PAC's: Will one or both go active to campaign against fixing potholes and repairing our roads?

What is the status of the two PAC's? See images below. The November 8th bond vote to fix our roads is only 47 days away (from today, September 22nd). How long before those $1,000 checks start rolling in from the Great Walled City of Atlantis? A wonderful city with such fine streets and sidewalks?

Mrs. McGiveron and Commissioner Chris McVoy started early working the press to spin the City's bond in a bad way so can win again like they did in 2014, by just 25 votes:Here is the latest:

The September 7th report, like previous campaign finance reports, snow no activity. Yet. Use this link to keep checking what McGiveron's CAUT PAC is up to.

Here is McGiveron's Save Our Neighborhood Inc PAC. The latest report (August 31st) shows no activity like the previous report on August 2nd. 

Or will another PAC form to try and scuttle the City's plan to fix the streets in Lake Worth? Stay tuned as they say.

Herman Robinson says, "For the Love of Lake Worth"

Curious? Then call Herman at 561-352-4252 for an explanation.

New Community Policing program to help solve property crime in the little, tiny City of Lake Worth

Below is the news from a recent article in the Lake Worth Herald:

     "In an effort to solve property crimes, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office District 14 is seeking assistance from Lake Worth homeowners with video surveillance on their properties. In a request through the Neighborhood Association Presidents Council (NAPC), PBSO is asking those residents to provide their contact information so road patrol deputies would know exactly where to go and who to contact regarding possible video footage of property crime incidents in the neighborhoods.
     The information will be kept confidential in a database and used only as an investigative tool by PBSO deputies."

To register for this PBSO District 14 Community Policing program:

Contact coordinator Benito Gaspar at gasparb@pbso.org or call 561-202-9624

Information requested:

• Name (who to contact retrieving video)
• Address
• Phone number
• NAPC Neighborhood Association. Not sure? Use this email to find out: napcinfo@gmail.com
• Security company (if applicable)

You may also be interested in finding out more about PBSO's Citizen On Patrol (COP) program. And, as always, if you see anything suspicious:

Take A Book. Leave A Book. The Little City of Lake Worth's Little Free Libraries Belong to Everyone!*

If the Little Free Libraries (LFL) weren't cool enough, well, you're incorrect. The latest news is use this link to see the location of each and every LFL, the ones ready to be painted, and where future LFL's are to go. How cool is that! 

Keep an eye out for this: The new logo!

"Neighbors, friends and people passing by are welcome to browse through the selection at each of the Little Free Libraries. If you see a book you’d like to read, just take it. You may keep it as long as you like.
     When you’ve finished, please pass it on to a friend or you can return it to any of the Little Free Libraries all over Lake Worth.
     If you have a book or two you’d like to share with your neighbors, drop them off on your next visit. If you have lots of books you’d like to donate, please take them to the Lake Worth Library in downtown Lake Worth.
     These Little Free Libraries are brought to you by your Friends and Neighbors through a grant made possible by Palm Beach County."

For more information:
Email: LakeWorthLFL@gmail.com
Call the Lake Worth Library at 561-533-7354

*Give the information below to your non-English speaking friends:
     Para obtener mas informacion pongase en contacto con Pequena Biblioteca Gratis de Lake Worth a LakeWorthLFL@gmail.com o con la Biblioteca Publica de Lake Worth 561-533-7354.
     Pran yon Liv ! Kite yon liv! Pou plis enfòmasyon, tanpri kontakte Konsèy Prezidan Asosyasyon Katye a nan LakeWorthLFL@gmail.com oswa Lake Worth Bibliyotèk la nan 561-533-7354.

The perplexing high number of conspiracy theorists is part of what makes Lake Worth so charming

Don't get me wrong—not complaining, the craziness is all part of our City's charm. From a former 'editor/journalist' whose Crime Blotter resembled one from ISIS-controlled territory, Weetha Peebull's thoughts on fluoride, a neighborhood group nicknamed "The Hermit Kingdom", and don't forget the "smart" meters (!). . .  it's all part of what makes this City so special.

Although am reluctant to fuel the entertaining nonsense every once in a while one of those crazy theories makes a lot of sense. Watch the video below, certainly high on Weetha's must-watch list, from America's Finest News Service that explains everything you need to know about NASA:

Lake Worth City Commission meeting today (Tuesday, 9/20): Agenda, highlights, and will there be another "torpedo"?

Excerpts and highlights from the agenda are below. More news about this meeting (including second public hearing on Fiscal Year 2016/17 budget) can be found on the City's website: Use this link.

To watch this meeting Live Streaming use this link at 6:00, then click on "Video of Public Meeting". If no video appears wait a few minutes and try again:

Do you know what "curbstoning" is? This practice, which you see all the time around the City, is a topic of discussion at tomorrow's meeting (see agenda item 12A below). Also below are instructions on how to watch City Commission meetings Live Streaming.

This should be a short meeting but then again, it only takes one commissioner to decide it's time for a lecture or try to monkeywrench the process. For instance, at the last Special Budget Meeting on September 6th, Commissioner Chris McVoy accused the majority* on the City Commission of trying to "torpedo" the Beach and Casino complex fund.

Sadly, behavior like this by McVoy (and other tactics as well) are the norm:

McVoy likes to remind everyone all the time he has a PhD (it's easy to forget). For him it's never too late in the budget process to "raise the question" and lecture "at great length".

Here is the agenda with highlights:

City Commission Meeting
Tuesday, September 20th, 6:00
1. Roll Call
2. Invocation or Moment of Silence: On behalf of Commissioner Ryan Maier
3. Pledge of Allegiance: Led by Commissioner Andy Amoroso
4. Agenda - Additions/Deletions/Reordering
5. Presentations (there is no public comment on Presentation items)
    A. Palm Beach Sheriff's Office Community Police update
    B. Community Redevelopment Agency update
    C. City Recreation Board update
6. Commission liaison reports and comments
7. Public participation of non-agendaed items and Consent Agenda
8. Public hearings
    A. Resolution No. 42-2016 - Second Public Hearing - establish the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 final general City millage rate

[and. . .]

12. New business
A. Ordinance No. 2016-27 - First Reading - adopt the County's curbstoning ordinance and schedule the public hearing date for October 4, 2016
B. Ordinance No. 2016-28 - First Reading - adopt the County's solicitation and distribution on public roads ordinance and schedule the public hearing date for October 4, 2016

[and. . .]

14. City Attorney's report
15. City Manager's report

*The majority on the City Commission (all re-elected by landslide results) are Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso. Here is what The Palm Beach Post had to say leading up to the elections last March:

[UPDATE] Video and the big news from Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell on subject of sober homes—Save the date: Monday, September 26th

Spread the word: Next Monday is also the first presidential debate which starts at 9:00. Tell your friends and neighbors to set their DVR's if this debate is of interest. Stress to everyone how important it is we have a big turnout at next Monday's meeting on sober homes at the Scottish Rite. We need to send a message, loud and clear, to our elected leaders locally, in Tallahassee, and in Washington too.

The sober home Tip Line is 844-324-5463. Call to report issues and get helpful advice.

Copy and paste the following information to your calendar: Monday, September 26th, 7:00, at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple located at 2000 North 'D' Street. Vice Mayor Maxwell broke this news at the City Commission meeting on September 6th (see video below).

Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson accepted Maxwell's invitation to speak to residents about the vexing problem of sober homes. State Attorney Dave Aronberg formed a task force to address this problem and our Commissioner Andy Amoroso is a member. Keeping the pressure on, Maxwell will be heading to Washington shortly to get lawmakers up-to-date with what is happening vis-à-vis the issues so many residents are experiencing on a daily basis.

Please proceed to the 5:40 mark in the video to hear what Maxwell says for yourself. He concludes his remarks at the 9:00 mark:

Lake Worth's Very Very Special Monday Collector Print Edition (VVSMCPE) is every Monday. Each and every Monday and no one knows why.

The good citizens, elected leaders and staff in Riviera Beach, Palm Springs, Delray Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Lantana, Belle Glade, Great Walled City of Atlantis, Pahokee, Lake Clarke Shores, Loxahatchee Groves, and The Acreage are all probably wondering why their cities are being ignored. "What makes Lake Worth so special", they wonder, scratching their heads.

Last week's VVSMCPE was the best one ever! No update on what Ariana did the previous week so stay tuned for more on that. Also conspicuously absent were any references to Hollywood movies:So, how did Lake Worth come to be so very very special each and every week in The Palm Beach Post? Why aren't Greenacres and Palm Springs special? No one knows exactly.

The Post's "In Your Community" section features the same cities, over and over and over again, each and every week. Why can't cities like Greenacres and Palm Springs be special too?

For everyone truly interested in the goings-on in Lake Worth here are some suggestions to get your information unfiltered and straight from the source:

• For information on City's Neighborhood Streets Bond Program, use this link.
• To sign up for the City's free newsletter, Worth Noting, use this link.
• To rent the ballroom at the BEACH!, use this link.
• For events, new and ongoing, use this link.
• To learn about City's prestigious International Dark Skies designation, use this link.
• Do you know who the mayor and commissioners are and what style of government Lake Worth has?
• Have questions about public safety?
• The Lake Worth Electric Utility is also a current topic. Do you know who the director is and want to learn more how the utility operates?
• Heard about the city manager? Use this link to learn more. 

The point is you don't need the Post to educate you about Lake Worth. The City's very own website does that quite well. And FYI, The Lake Worth Herald online edition comes out on Thursday and you can pick up the print edition on Friday at the City's newsstand across the street from the downtown Starbucks on Lake Ave.

The Herald is still just ¢50! The Post costs 3× that.

If you've followed the Post's coverage of Lake Worth you can see how there would be a certain level of trepidation being featured each and every week. Remember the "curfew" nonsense (that was never a curfew at all) that just so happened to precede the municipal elections last March?

In conclusion, browse the City's website to learn more about this little 6 square mile area called Lake Worth. And while you're at it, subscribe to The Lake Worth Herald too. And if you're wondering why Lake Worth is so very, very special to the Post. . . a lot of other people are also wondering about that too.

Mosquitoes and preventing Zika in Lake Worth: Video from City Commission and also front page news in last week's Herald

First, received a call from Commissioner Andy Amoroso stressing this point: the so-called "green pools" are not the problem with the spread of Zika as you'll read in excerpts from the The Lake Worth Herald below. These un-maintained pools are a code issue but the Aedes aegypti mosquito does not breed in places like this. Also, the Zika case discovered in Lake Worth is still being investigated by the Health Dept. and may end up being travel related or some other cause.

The video of Chris Reisinger's presentation before the City Commission is below. Reisinger is from the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM). Here are excerpts from the Herald:

     Reisinger informed the commission the Aedes aegypti mosquito only hatches in containers. They only need about a teaspoon full of water to hatch.

[and. . .]

     Aedes aegypti only travel up to about 100 feet. The Palm Beach County Health Department is teaming with ERM to identify and spot treat areas. They cannot venture onto private property without permission so it is up to residents to police their properties. Many residents object to spraying and ERM teams only spray when requested.

[and. . .]

     Resinger recommended a repellent with at least 25 percent DEET. There are also other products to ward off mosquitoes, Thermacell makes three products that put off a vapor and keeps mosquitoes out of the area about 15 feet around it. There are also candles, torches and various other items to keep mosquitoes away during outdoor activities.

To subscribe to my Lake Worth YouTube channel use this link. Near the top of the page is a red "Subscribe" icon. Subscriber's get an email when new videos have been uploaded. Please feel free to share this video, use this link: https://youtu.be/9_Wsols0QU0

Video: At the Tropical Triathlon this morning on the corner of Federal Hwy. & Lucerne Ave

The action starts at about the 40 second mark (video below). I set up the tripod and camera facing east at the corner of Federal and Lucerne Ave. The cyclists ride from the Beach! after the ocean swim for the two loops around the City before returning to the Beach! for the run part of the triathlon.

There were no incidents, thankfully. A lot of warning was given to the cyclists of the first hard right turn on to Federal. The weather was wonderful and most of the racers gave thumbs-up to all the volunteers who showed up to help. Kudos to all the PBSO deputies who were there at this intersection and all around the downtown as well.

Didn't add music to this video like I usually do, the buzzing of insects and chirping of birds is actually quite entertaining. The loud voice you hear, "Turn to the right! Everyone turns right! Keep to the right! Slow down!" is Yours Truly letting them all know about the upcoming turn back on to Lucerne Ave. into the Downtown.

Just another day in the little City of Lake Worth, Florida! Enjoy the video: