From the Post editorial board today: “OUR VIEWS: WORKFORCE HOUSING CRISIS”.

Here’s the title of the editorial in The Palm Beach Post (Sunday, Oct. 29th):

“Builders must step up, create housing
that is affordable”

Maybe tomorrow the editor(s) at the Post will try and tackle the issue of homicides and the senseless violence in West Palm Beach (twenty-three homicides this year). Click on this link to read an article by reporter Olivia Hitchcock about the “Walk Against Violence” on Friday, Oct. 27th.

And whilst on this topic PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw may be in a position to help WPB. Recently, the editor at the Post praised Bradshaw who “smartly requested $1.8 million to hire 15 entry-level deputies” by applying for a highly coveted federal COPS grant.* So stay tuned for when the editor at the Post reaches out to discuss this possibility of Bradshaw helping out.

Back to the issue of affordable housing. . .

The link for this latest piece of work from the editorial board is not yet available, but in the meantime check out the “HOMES” section today.

There aren’t too many affordable homes listed in the “Featured Community” or “Hot Properties” section: There are two houses in Palm Beach Gardens for $3.1M and $3,495,000, one in North Palm Beach for $2.1M and one in Singer Island for just $734,900.

However, when it comes to the subject of affordable housing here is an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor published earlier this year:

“I urge prospective buyers to look into the [City of Lake Worth] home market for their families. . . . a charming, diverse and culturally rich area, there are abandoned homes looking for someone to love them. Ask your Realtor to show you some.”

The City of Lake Worth had its very own “Special Keepsakes Series” published in the Post last March.
The only city in PBC to ever receive that honor.

It’s this “Hometown Destinations” series which confirmed the obvious: Delray Beach is in decline and Lake Worth is a city truly in ascendance.

However, despite being a “Hometown Destination”, it’s sadly very rare for a positive Letter to the Editor (LTE) to be chosen by the editor and actually published in the print edition portraying our little City in a positive light. So take 5–10 minutes today and change that!

How to write a LTE:

• Keep your LTE to 150–200 words in length. The “shorter the better” is a good rule.
• An LTE submitted by email (see below) is the best method and remember to include your phone number and complete address.
• Engage like-minded “average citizens” to write LTEs on the same subject.
• Listing your credentials will help greatly; then always follow up your LTE!

This is the trick!

• Follow up your LTE with an email or fax later that day or the next morning.
• Then later, call or contact the editorial department and explain why your letter is important.
• Don’t be timid! Stay pleasant and respectful but make a strong pitch.
• To seal the deal, just ask outright, “Are you planning to publish my letter?”.

So get cracking and have your LTE published in
the Post, maybe even in the Sunday paper:

• Email: letters@pbpost.com
• Fax: 561-820-4728
• Phone: 561-820-4441

Using snail mail:

Palm Beach Post
ATTN: Letter to Editor (LTE)
2751 S. Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, FL 33405

Good Luck!

*COPS  =  Community Oriented Policing Services: This program is “the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.”