Blue-green algae, Flolfie, press/news media, and the Great American Raft Race on Independence Day, July 4th.

Now is the time to start paying very close attention to beat reporters and press/news media! In just two days is the 17th Annual Great American Raft Race and they’ll all be sneaking around looking for green stuff in the water.

Please remember, this is very important. The 2016 Great American Raft Race in the City of Lake Worth didn’t have to be cancelled. The Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC) was forced to quickly move the event to the now-condemned pool at Beach and Casino complex. Why?

The event was sabotaged!

However, the Raft Race last year went off with no problems at all because City officials, the NAPC, and the public were well prepared and informed ahead of time about that harmless green stuff in the Lake Worth Lagoon.

So to make certain nothing happens again like what happened in 2016 — counting the hours before the big day — now is the time to become vigilant, especially along the Intracoastal and the C-51 and L-4 (Keller) canals here in the City of Lake Worth.

For example, remember the monkeywrenching
by Flolfie two years ago?

The closer it gets to the Raft Race everyone needs to monitor reporters and the media looking around for green stuff. However, The Lake Worth Herald is exempt from scrutiny and can be trusted completely when reporting about green stuff, which is mostly harmless algae that occurs naturally when the rays from the sun cause a reaction with organic matter like decaying grass floating around.

Back in June/July 2016 it was ‘reporters’ at The Palm Beach Post and other local media outlets who acted irresponsibly and misreported about that “blue-green algae” nonsense and forced City officials to cancel the Raft Race, which once again, never had to be cancelled in the first place.

It was images like this that were circulated by the media to frighten the public here in our City.

False ‘news’ reports in The Palm Beach Post fueled the frenzy about “blue-green algae plaguing” our City. Plaguing?

Please remember. It was because of nonsense like this in the press and news media that the City of Lake Worth had to hire a Public Information Officer (PIO).

So if you happen to come across a reporter asking about algae ‘plaguing’ our City get the reporters contact information (e.g., name, business card, phone number) and get that information to the City’s PIO, Mr. Ben Kerr: 561-586-1631; email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

The best thing everyone can do is begin working together to educate the public, press and news media about algae and how beneficial algae can be for our waterways. Not all algae is ‘blue-green algae’ like the algae that is plaguing the Treasure Coast and Indian River Lagoon.