Tomorrow at 4:00: “Zimmermann’s Café: Music Written Today; Composers Here and Now at St. Andrew’s”.

Below are two excerpts from this week’s Lake Worth Herald:

Back by popular demand for a second event to complete its inaugural season, Zimmermann’s Café Chamber Music will present a concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 30 in the parish hall of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Lake Worth.
     Emulating J.S. Bach and the Collegium Musicum he directed in Leipzig, Germany, who gathered regularly to perform recent works for one another and discuss them with friends in the informal atmosphere of a local coffeehouse, Zimmermann’s Café Chamber Music will present new works and works-in-progress by South Florida composers Ferdinando DeSena, Clare Shore, Gregory Stepanich, Timothy Thompson and Donald Waxman.

and. . .
 
     Tickets are $20 payable at the door (no reservations will be taken); Free for students w/ID.
     St. Andew’s Episcopal Church is located at the corner of Lucerne Avenue and Palmway, just three blocks west of the Lake Worth Bridge.
     For additional information call 561-586-0532.

Use this link to contact the Herald or call 561-585-9387.

Pick up the print edition at the City’s newsstand, 601 Lake Ave., across the street from the Palm Beach County Cultural Council.

Did you know The Palm Beach Post increased rates for delivery? What will subscribers get in return?

Also, who do you contact when you see a false, inaccurate, or misleading news report in the Post? Find that out below.

Two weeks ago I cancelled the delivery of the print edition of The Palm Beach Post after receiving a notice they were raising their rates. Interestingly enough, they did this just as the last of the Snowbirds left for home back in Canada and elsewhere up north. Our Snowbirds had already cancelled their subscriptions until they come back in the Fall. The Post is keeping their fingers crossed they won’t notice the increased cost when they return.

Frankly, paying more for substandard local news reporting just didn’t make any sense. How many articles can you read about Code Enforcement here in the City of Lake Worth and meanwhile other cities in Palm Beach County are struggling with many of the same issues and that goes unreported?

Click on image to enlarge. Ending of letter from the “Director of Audience” at the Post:

The letter from Mr. Mark Sasser, the “Director of Audience”. “The cost to you” is going up because “we need to make adjustments to our delivery rates.” Reply with an email to “Dear Audience Director”: msasser@pbpost.com

Anyhow, earlier this week readers of my blog asked me if I’ve seen this item below in the Post, here’s the opening paragraph from a blurb last Tuesday in the print edition:

LAKE WORTH — The Lake Worth Pioneers’ Association will be honored at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County‘s annual meeting Tuesday at the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum, the old county courthouse at 300 N. Dixie Highway.

Two little problems with this item: No time was given for the meeting and the Palm Beach County History Museum isn’t in Lake Worth. The museum is located in West Palm Beach. How many people drove up and down Dixie Hwy. in Lake Worth looking for the museum last Tuesday?

It’s great that my readers care enough to notice false and inaccurate news reports; however, going forward it’s time for the City to step up and get more involved in monitoring the news media and the press. So. . . If you see a false, inaccurate, or misleading news report about our City here is what you do: Please forward that information to:

• Mr. Ben Kerr, the City’s Communication Specialist
• 561-586-1631
• Email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

The actual “City of Lake Worth”. A mysterious concept for a lot of reporters:

Why do reporters such as Julius Whigham at the Post and Charlie Keegan at NBC5/WPTV understand municipal borders and so many other reporters don’t? Use this link to find out.

Another option is to contact your City commissioner or even the mayor if this topic is a concern of yours. Not satisfied with the response or received no response at all? Then go up the chain of command and contact the City Manager, Michael Bornstein.

And don’t forget this. Journalists should:

• “Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.”
• “Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.”
• “Disclose unavoidable conflicts.”
• “Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.”

—Source: New York Times’ Learning Network, Chapter 4.11: “The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics”.

Very interesting item at the TCRPC. Addressing truck traffic on I-95 and train traffic on FEC/CSX lines: The “U.S. 27 multi-modal corridor initiative.”

Again. What happens at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) is very important to cities like Lake Worth. The next meeting is on May 19th; the agenda is not yet available.

The two excerpts below are from the minutes of the meeting on March 17th (with emphasis added):

Staff also provided information on Commissioner Fielding’s [Ed Fielding Commissioner, Martin County] U.S. 27 multi-modal corridor initiative. This initiative is to add rail and improve the U.S. 27 corridor between PortMiami and cities around Lake Okeechobee. Staff noted this initiative is trying to bring more jobs to the Glades community as well as add a level of transportation for locating a logistics facility in the area. Staff explained this will relieve some of the truck and rail traffic on our coastal routes like I-95 and the Turnpike.

and. . .

Staff also noted the South Florida Regional Planning Council, which represents Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties, has expressed interest in participating in this project. Commissioner Valeche [Hal Valeche, Vice Mayor, Palm Beach County] asked if there is current rail service on that line. Staff indicated not on U.S. 27, but around Lake Okeechobee there are a lot of rail spurs, and the CSX line is very close to that corridor. Commissioner Valeche asked who will be the owner of the proposed rail. Commissioner Fielding indicated they are looking at getting federal and state funding. He said he sees this as having the operators lease the lines.

Stay tuned as they say.

News from the Cultural Council: Spread the word.

Press Release: Free Grant Application Training for Small and Emerging Nonprofits.

The Palm Beach County Cultural Council* is located in Downtown Lake Worth, open Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00–5:00.

For more information about grant application training leave a message with Judith Czelusniak at the Cultural Council: 561-471-1602: email: judith@palmbeachculture.com

Cultural Council of Palm Beach County Offers Grant Application Training to Small and Emerging Nonprofit Organizations

Lake Worth — On May 8 and May 10, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County will provide free training for its C-I grant application process for small or emerging nonprofit organizations offering community cultural programs and projects.
     As Palm Beach County nonprofit organizations prepare to submit FY 2017/2018 grant applications that are due in July, the Cultural Council invites Category C-I grant applicants to in-person and Webinar training.
     The training schedule for FY17/18 Category C-I Round 1 Application Training is:

• May 8, 2:00 p.m. at the Council – register using this link.
• May 10, 2:00 p.m. via Webinar – register using this link.

     The deadline for application is July 7 for projects covering all of Fiscal Year 2017/2018. There are later deadlines in November and March for organizations requesting partial year funding. Applicants are eligible for up to $15,000, depending on their operating revenues. This is a matching grant program for Palm Beach County-based nonprofit organizations to promote and expand cultural activities for residents.

The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County administers the Category C-I program under contract with the Board of County Commissioners. Total program funding is dependent upon County Commission approval each fall.

*The Cultural Council galleries, visitor information center and store are located at 601 Lake Ave. in Downtown Lake Worth. For a complete calendar of cultural activities in The Palm Beaches use this link or call 561-471-2901. To plan a personalized cultural itinerary connect with the Cultural Concierge at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

City Commission agenda for next Tuesday, May 2nd, now available online.

And there’s another big meeting next week as well. Read more about that below.

Use this link to download the Commission agenda and look it over. There’s not much that really stands out as a “hot button” issue but only time will tell. Commissioner Amoroso’s appointment of Michelle Sylvester to the ‘C-51 Canal Advisory Board’ is a good sign though. If we’re going to have boards like this in our City it’s good to know there will be people on the board to closely watch and monitor what’s going on.

And we also get a look at what’s likely to happen at the Commission meeting on May 16th; hopefully we’ll get some good news:

Item 5A. Legislative update provided by Representative Berman and Senator Clemons [sic]

When the official agenda becomes available it might be a good idea to spell the name of Lake Worth’s former mayor and current State Senator correctly. Just pointing that out.

The big news about City meetings is the Planning and Zoning Board meeting next Wednesday:

Item G2. PZB Project# 17-01000001 and 17-01400006 requests for a rezoning from Single Family Residential (SFR) to a Residential Planned Development District (RPDD) and a Major Site Plan to allow for the construction of a 53 unit single family subdivision.

This folks is a very big deal. Why? This will be a new community here in our City east of I-95 (see image below). After all that’s been going on in Palm Beach County with western sprawl it’s good to see a new housing community proposed within a coastal city. What will be interesting to see is who lines up in opposition. Stay tuned for more about that.

To look over the agenda and backup material for this project at the Planning and Zoning Board use this link to download and go to page 29:

“The vicinity in which the project site is located is a single family residential community. The applicant is undertaking the redevelopment of the site that will result in a viable single-family development. The type of compact urban development proposed by the applicant is consistent with the Single Family Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan. The redeveloped site is expected to serve as a catalyst for investment in Lake Worth.”

Click on image to enlarge:

“This project is located at 1728, 1730, 1732 and 1734 19th Ave. North, the subject property is a vacant ± 12.85 acre site consisting of four separate parcels.” The area to the north is called Vernon Heights in the northwest area of the City, east of I-95.

This Sunday: All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast. Just $5.*

News in this week’s Lake Worth Herald:

“Eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit and more! Everyone is invited.”

Sunday, April 30th from 8:00–11:00 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center (2000 North D St. in Lake Worth). Courtesy of the Gulf Stream Masonic Lodge #245.

“What’s in a name: is Delray Beach really the ‘recovery capital?’ ”

Pay attention, Lake Worth, below are excerpts from this news report by Charlie Keegan at NBC5/WPTV:

Attorney Jeffrey Lynne represents some owners of recovery residences. He wanted to create a council within the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce for leaders in that community to collaborate.
     Lynne sent out invitations for Tuesday’s inaugural meeting with the words “make Delray Beach the recovery capital once again.” [emphasis added]

and. . .

     The jargon quickly caught the attention of city hall. Mayor Cary Glickstein said the label takes away from the work the city’s done to clean out bad players in the recovery industry.
     “Those same people would love the city to retain the label of recovery capital of the U.S. as well as their enablers, as well as all the money sloshing around to prop up this industry,” Glickstein said.

and. . .

     “This is not in any way directed to those suffering from addiction,” he clarified. “What our efforts are directed toward are those profiting off that misery.”

In order to solve this problem it’s important to pay attention to what’s happening in other cities as well.

Remember the meeting at the Scottish Rite last September when everyone thought nothing would ever change? A lot has. As evidenced by the recent community meeting with West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio and Lake Worth Commissioner Andy Amoroso. Stay vigilant.

TOMORROW: “The Art of Brew — Zoning and the Craft Beer Revolution”.

FREE lecture and discount tickets to the Northwood Village Beer Festival:

• When: Saturday, April 29th from Noon to 1:00.
• Where: Northwood Village Main Street, 2501 Spruce Ave., West Palm Beach.
• For more information contact Adam Kerr, P.E., AICP, President, Palm Beach County Planning Congress, Inc.: 561-523-0677; email: adam.kerr@kimley-horn.com
• 1.0 CM-AICP credit will be applied to this event.

Join Palm Beach County Senior Planner Scott Rodriguez, and craft cidermaker Matt Stetson from Accomplice Brewery as they discuss the challenges of zoning for breweries along with the benefits and obstacles they bring to communities. This free event comes with a $10 discount to the Northwood Village Craft Beer Festival which starts immediately after this lecture.

The Beer Festival organizers are offering a discount to all Planning Congress members that register for our pre-event lecture from noon to 1:00. This lecture will discuss how communities are addressing the rapidly expanding craft beer industry in South Florida, which often has both retail and industrial/distribution elements.

Hope and pray for the citizens and city leadership of Greenacres and West Palm Beach.

Very sad news. In 2016, by April 28th, there were 30 homicides in Palm Beach County. So far this year there are 41. The hopes that last year may be setting a new downward trend for murders in this County is still very possible but the numbers so far do not bode well.

Sadly, there were 2 more murders yesterday of young men in the City of Greenacres. 

There have been 9 homicides in West Palm Beach so far this year. By this time last year there was one. To put this in perspective, in all of unincorporated Palm Beach County there have been 7 homicides this year.

Of the nine homicides in WPB so far this year, 7 were Black males, and 5 of them were between the ages of 20–34; the weapon used was a firearm.

Several years ago the Post database, “Homicides tracker”, had a search filter for ages of murder victims. That was removed. Why? Draw your own conclusions.

In early April the banner headline in The Palm Beach Post was “County to tackle heroin epidemic”. Don’t recall seeing any banner headlines in the Post warning about all the Black males being murdered in Palm Beach County — fully half of all homicides — almost all Black males between the ages of 20–34.

Something happened last year in Palm Beach County when the number of murders dropped so significantly, from 109 in 2015 to 87 in 2016. This should be front page news in The Palm Beach Post: You know, “Real News Starts Here”. They should have reporters scouring the County and cities to find out why that happened last year. Possibly, there’s a lesson to be learned.

However, back in 2015 and well into mid-2016, the Post reporters and editors were reporting and editorializing about things even more important to them than the “Opioid Epidemic” — which by then was already tearing apart our cities and communities — do you remember what was so important to them in 2015–2016? Use this link to find out.

By the time the Post took up reporting about the scourge of “Opioids” last year, they were already too late for cities like Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Central Palm Beach County.

Remember. The heroin epidemic didn’t begin in 2016. It began much further back than that.

Still waiting for a response from the environmental activists in Lake Worth.

The blog post below, first posted in November of 2016 and re-posted several times since, continues to be unanswered and ignored by the environmental community here in the City of Lake Worth. The questions posed below could have been addressed by Drew Martin last year, or any one of a number of experts, or self-described experts, in the field of environmental science including a former commissioner with a PhD.
But no one ever did step up to the challenge. Why? Probably the prospect of reading more excerpts from the book, “Eastward Ho!” would be too much to bear, let alone try to answer.

At a recent Lake Worth City Commission meeting Mayor Pam Triolo, again, expressed frustration with what are called “County impact fees”. These are fees developers, builders, etc., have to pay to move forward with a project. The amount of money these developers, et al., had to pay was not insignificant — dollars that were then sent by the County to communities, some far out west near the Everglades — and the City of Lake Worth received just pennies on the dollar in return.

You can understand now the frustration of Mayor Triolo. And you’re probably more unhappy, or maybe even angry, many of you had to vote for a $40M bond to fix our roads.


Without further ado. . .
 

Thirty-one per cent of the vote in the primary last year surprised no one.

We need to have an open conversation about development in Lake Worth. But that’s a difficult task when so many in the environmental community just say “No” over and over again to development along the I-95 corridor and east towards the coast. Cities like Lake Worth are being severely hurt by urban sprawl out west, taking much-needed tax dollars needed to fix our crumbling infrastructure, ergo the $40 million that Lake Worth voters agreed was needed last November 8th.

Below is “Eastward Ho!” with highlights from Yours Truly:

From page 13, “Eastward Ho! Development Futures: Paths to More Efficient Growth in Southeast Florida” published in 1999, an excerpt:

“This approach [sprawl development] to development often takes land in subdivision-scale parcel sizes to accommodate detached single-family homes and strip nonresidential centers along the outer beltways and spokes from the core of the metropolitan area. Lands are skipped over en route to rural and exurban locations as inner-core city lands are left behind. This pattern is not purposeful or intentional; it has developed because of the belief that there are no societal consequences for consuming land in this way: Land is cheaper there and it can and should be consumed. New infrastructure must be built to accommodate a scattered pattern of low-density land uses, while older infrastructure is undermaintained and abandoned.

Typical features of sprawl are as follows:

• Very low density new residential development
• Automobile dependent
• Uneconomical for utility expansion/extension or other public services
• Scattered rural subdivisions
• Strip residential development along county roads
• Diminished rural character and small-town atmosphere
• Suburbanization of landscape
• Loss of unique character; transformation to ‘anytown’ U.S.A.
• Reduced retail shopping opportunities downtown
• Strip commercial development at the edges of town
• Land consumption
• Inefficient energy storage
• High ratio of road surface to development served”

Take note, this document is almost 300 pages. And special thanks to an old friend who decided to clean out a closet and found this important, and very timely, information.

From the Miami Herald: “Negron and Corcoran work to negotiate an end to the budget deadlock”

In case you didn’t know, The Palm Beach Post shut down their Tallahassee news bureau last December — let two veteran reporters go — and they still haven’t given their readers an explanation why.

But there is still the Tampa Bay Times (winner of 12 Pulitzer Prizes) and the Miami Herald (also the winner of two recent Pulitzer Prizes) if you’re looking for the latest news about Florida statewide.

Use this link for the latest about the budget negotiations in Tallahassee from the Miami Herald reporter Mary Ellen Klas, an excerpt:

“If the House had wanted to promote policy changes that said we will not fund much without non-recurring revenue, we should have reviewed it, had public input,” said Karen Woodall, lobbyist for the left-leaning Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy. “Instead, the House is using the budget as a tool to for the Senate's hand on philosophical policy differences.”

Staff writers Steve Bousquet and Kristen Clark contributed to this report.

Calling All Artists—Join a neighborhood renaissance “in the heart of Lake Worth, Florida”: the Arts Lofts of West Village.

Use this link to learn more. Developed by Neighborhood Renaissance, Inc. with cooperation of the Lake Worth CRA.

This is wonderful news about the northeast corner of Lucerne Ave. and North F Street across from the Armory Arts Annex beginning later this year. Some of the details:

• Ground floor studio space with street visibility
• Work/create: ground floor studio with street access
• Live: light and bright open floor plan
• Sleep: two bedrooms each with en suite baths
• Park: garage with 1 tandem parking space
• Conserve: built to certified Green building standards
• Each home is individually owned, not a condo

“Join an established creative community. Located across the street from the Lake Worth Arts Center and the Urban Arts Lofts, a community of 12 similar homes. The location is highly walkable so get rid of the auto, save gas and walk to downtown (3 blocks), groceries (3 blocks) and Tri-Rail (1/2 mile). Ride your bike to the beach!”

Been thinking about thumbing through “The Cottages of Lake Worth” hardcover book?

Thinking about purchasing a book? Well. There’s good news, bad news, and where you can purchase one of these hardcover books:

“We are running out of books!”

Out of an initial printing of 1,000 books, 950+ have been sold already. Our printer can’t believe it. But it’s true. Below are the ways to purchase the hardcover book which, with tax, is a little less than USD$35.

FYI, Mr. Carleton Varney recently wrote a book review about “The Cottages” book for the Palm Beach Daily News, aka, The Shiny Sheet.

The conventional belief in the publishing world is you need an on-line retailer to sell books so quickly. “The Cottages of Lake Worth” hardcover book is what’s referred to as an “outlier”, showing that commonly accepted beliefs aren’t always true.

And it doesn’t hurt upon learning Lake Worth Commissioner Andy Amoroso dropped off books on his recent trip to Washington, D.C. to Congresswoman Lois Frankel and Senator Bill Nelson. What’s happening now is the book is beginning to transcend just this region in Central Palm Beach County and getting attention elsewhere in the country.

Who knows, maybe soon the book will get attention in places like our too-long-neglected Sister Cities of Lappeenranta in Finland, Saint-Marc, Haiti, and our Sister City in England, Southend-on-Sea.

To go and purchase a book, here are the ways:

• Go Downtown and visit Andy at the City’s newsstand located at 600 Lake Ave. (corner of Lake Ave. and ‘L’ Street).
• Visit Awe Flowers located around the corner at 5 North ‘L’ St., a brand new flower shop here in the City.
• Go and see Barry at the Lake Worth Beach Tee Shirt Co., located at our wonderful Beach!
• Another Downtown location that has the book is the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County located at 601 Lake Ave. (open 10:00–5:00, Tuesday through Saturday).
• Or visit the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County Historical Museum Gift Shop located at 300 N. Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach.
• And, of course, the book can also be purchased on-line.

Some time very soon we’ll know how many books have been ordered and soon thereafter learn when the books will arrive here in the little City of Lake Worth.

The heart of Lake Worth: Its community of volunteers and so many of our City nonprofits.

The public meeting room at the Lake Worth Golf Course was filled to capacity last Monday night with many people who work day after day to make Lake Worth a better place to live and to help those most in need in our City.

Likely the First Annual “Showcase of Lake Worth Non-Profits” was a big hit, sponsored by the Bryant Park Neighborhood Association. And special thanks to The Beach Club for accommodating the meeting participants.

Our community has a lot of heart and it was surely on display when 20 City of Lake Worth not-for-profit organizations lined up to share their mission in 5 minutes presentations. We are a community with many diverse populations and some of these organizations have acute needs that require extraordinary levels of cooperation.

I encourage you to watch the videos (see below). You are sure to be struck by how much of a community we are. If you’re not already involved in a volunteer effort offered by one of these organizations, please consider it.

Some non-profits experience unmet financial needs in the face of overwhelming demand for their services, so consider a monetary contribution if you are able. Other non-profits seek to have more people learn about our City’s unique history. Feel good about Lake Worth. We are doing a lot of things right.

There are four videos total. Here is the first one and following this video are the links to watch the other 3 videos:



Use this link for video #2. For video #3 use this link and for the final video click on this link.

To become a subscriber to my Lake Worth YouTube channel click on the red “Subscribe” icon in any of the videos; subscribers get notified when new videos have been uploaded.

Message from Lake Worth’s District 14 PBSO Cpt. Baer.

Yesterday [Thursday, 4/20] the South Region Motorcycle/Aggressive Driving Unit conducted a mini saturation patrol in District 14. The saturation was conducted from 10th Ave. North, south to the City limits, from Dixie Hwy. to the West end of the city. 230 citations/written warnings were issued from 0800–1300. Three arrests were made. Deputies assisted in apprehending a burglary suspect and a shoplifting suspect. A departmental crash was also handled. This patrol put approximately 15 additional deputies in our district for the day. These were regional assets not paid for by the city.

Regards,

Captain Todd Baer
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
District 14, City of Lake Worth

District 14 is located at 120 North G Street. Main phone: 561-586-1611; email: LakeWorth@pbso.org

One Month Ago: From the City of Pahokee, a Letter to the Editor in The Palm Beach Post.

On Sunday, March 19th, many were very surprised the news from Pahokee (see below) wasn’t on the front page of the Post — the big news that day was an open-ended question and a big photo of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw — the big news from Pahokee ended up on the front page of the “B” section instead.

On Friday, March 24th, a resident of Belle Glade had a Letter to the Editor published (two excerpts below). This resident, shall we say, is not very happy and writes about the “bumper sticker campaign that seeks to upend our way of life.”

An editor or editors made a very poor decision. The story about Bradshaw should have been in the “B” section and the news from Pahokee should have been front page news in the “A” section. Here is the news that didn’t make the cut for the front page on March 19th:


From Post reporter Susan Salisbury: “The auditorium was filled to its capacity of 400, and several hundred people who quietly waited outside were turned away. Police estimated the total number of people who turned out at 1,000.”

Click on image to enlarge:

The news from Pahokee in Sunday’s front page of the “B” section. The opening paragraph from Salisbury’s article:

“PAHOKEE — In a face-off Friday night at Pahokee High School, hundreds of Glades area residents came out in force to tell Florida Senate President Joe Negron his proposal to build a 60,000-acre reservoir on farmland south of Lake Okeechobee would kill jobs and economically devastate their rural communities.”

Excerpts from Letter to the Editor written by Robert Rease from Belle Glade titled, “Negron still giving short shrift to Glades”: 

I, along with many of my brothers and sisters in the Glades communities, attended the March 17 town hall meeting that state Sens. Joe Negron and Oscar Braynon conducted in Pahokee.
     It was thrilling to see nearly 1,000 of our residents and supporters peacefully attend the community meeting. It was disappointing to hear Negron repeat his talking points than actually listen to us, as we in the Glades are also members of his district.

and. . .

     Negron can now proclaim he came, he saw, and he left. Negron has checked the Glades communities off his list. Our work to protect our communities, our jobs and our lands continue despite the 90 minutes given to us in the seven months it took for Negron to visit.
     We will continue to pray for truth and equality to prevail in his bumper sticker campaign that seeks to upend our way of life. [emphasis added]

Powerful. The “bumper sticker campaign” mentioned above is, “Send the Water South!”.

“My future’s so bright I gotta wear shades. Know what I’m talking about?”

Is the light too bright? Then wear those shades! For the latest exhibits at the Cultural Council in Downtown Lake Worth, parking, and the Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach Store use this link.

Ben Vereen says in the video below, “Our future is so bright we have to wear shades because the goodness is coming to us if we but stand still and receivvvvvvvvvve it and get out of our own way.”

Please spread the word about our City’s Electric Utility and exciting energy news.

The blog post below, “Lake Worth Renewable Energy News: Sun Sentinel reporter scoops Palm Beach Post, all their local, regional, and science reporters as well”, is getting a huge amount of attention from scientists, engineers, policymakers et al., in the fields of renewable energy and energy research.

But locally however, reporters and editors here in Palm Beach County are having difficulty grasping the significance of all this news. Why? Possibly because these are new ideas about the future of energy in the County and outside dogmatic beliefs and expectations, e.g., their reliance and mirth with the performance of FPL, and complacency with natural gas, “While keeping bills among the lowest in the nation”.  

Please share the information below with everyone you think will be interested in this topic, including your friends and family in other areas of this state and country. And, as always, Thank You for visiting today.   

To learn more about this exciting energy news in this little City of Lake Worth, Florida:

• Contact Ben Kerr, the City’s Communications Specialist at 561-586-1631.
• Email Mr. Kerr: bkerr@lakeworth.org
• For our City’s Electric Utility use this link: Contact information and many helpful links as well.

This important energy news from the City of Lake Worth (see below; news by Jan Engoren) first broke on February 16th (as reported on this blog) — was also reported in The Lake Worth Herald as well — about a very high-level meeting at our Casino by numerous elected officials, dignitaries, as well as scientists via conferencing from around the nation and here in Florida.

The Post has shown no interest whatsoever informing the public in Palm Beach County about this news.

The Post has also not informed the public about what is happening along the C-51 Canal either (the Blueway Trail Project) between the cities of Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. For some reason both of these important news stories are being ignored. Why? Draw your own conclusions.

And. . . if that wasn’t interesting enough, also going unreported in the Post: News from the South Florida Water Management District: “Appeals Court Sides with SFWMD in Major Legal Victory”, a press release issued on January 18th, now 84 days ago.

Anyhow. Below are two excerpts from the scoop* in the Sun Sentinel by reporter Jan Engoren, this newly published article titled:

“Lake Worth to channel Gulf Stream energy for power”.

     Gabriel Alsenas, the center’s† general manager, said, “We’re excited to partner with the city of Lake Worth to help us establish a grid-connected offshore testing of the Gulf Stream capabilities and for the city to help move the industry forward.”

and. . .

     He said over the next few years the city hopes to attract leaders in the industry, encourage the public to participate and accelerate the process in which to make marine renewable energy a reality.
     City officials say they are proud of the city’s new leadership role in green energy.
     “The city’s electric utility progress over the past five years has been tremendous,” said City Manager Michael Bornstein. “We have gone from a time when the citizens wanted to sell [our Electric Utility] to now having rates equal to FPL’s, and a high reliability rating. We have also figured out how to have 2 megawatts of solar [energy] with plans to expand to 10 on an old closed landfill in the city.”

*Scoop, verb; used with object: “to get the better of (other publications, newscasters, etc.) by obtaining and publishing or broadcasting a news item, report, or story first”.
†Center referenced is the “Florida Atlantic University’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center” (use this link to learn more about this center for energy research).

The City of Lake Worth needs to seriously consider a Sister City in Guatemala.

Why? Because along with having a new Guatemalan Consulate here in the City of Lake Worth we will also be hosting another Palm Beach County celebration of “Día De Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead, #DayOfTheDeadLW2017) this November:

Para más información o oportunidades de venta llaman 561-493-2550. (“For information or vending opportunities call 561-493-2550”.)

If you’ve been following the latest, our City’s Sister City Board may very well be “sunset” (removed as a board). The entire volunteer Advisory Board system may soon be changed and updated, something that’s been needed for a very long time (how boards are added, removed, and the process of adding members to boards by the Commission); this was a topic of discussion at a City Work Session on April 11th (to read all about that use this link).

What also came up at that Work Session was an entirely new idea: Have the City itself, or an organization in our town, join Sister Cities International.*

Getting feedback from the The Guatemalan Maya Center (GMC) and our Guatemalan neighbors would be very helpful. Many of you will recall this recent news from Peter Haden at WLRN:

“Officials estimate more than 55,000 Guatemalans live in the county. . . . ‘We’re going to see cultural, commercial, economic affairs — in order to have a more intense and big link with Palm Beach County,’ said De Mora [Miami Consul General Rosa Maria Merida De Mora].”

Here is a recent message from the GMC:

“Estamos en la aperatura de un consulado de Guatemala en Lake Worth! Gracias por este apoyo para nuestras familias que antes pagaban $300 para llegar al consulado en Miami.”

Translation: “We are at the opening of a Guatemalan Consulate in Lake Worth! Thank you for this support for our families, that before had to pay $300 to get to the consulate in Miami.”

*The City of Lake Worth’s long-neglected Sister Cities and our too-long Forgotten Sister City are:

• The Forgotten Sister City of Lappeenranta, Finland.
• Saint-Marc, Haiti.
• Southend-on-Sea, England.
• Once rumored to be a Sister City of Lake Worth, Sopot, Poland, IS NOT. That is a myth.

News from Lantana in this week’s Lake Worth Herald: “Free drug disposal of expired or unused prescriptions.”

Clean out your medicine cabinets and help the environment. The public can voluntarily surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutic-controlled substances and other medications for destruction.

• When: Saturday, April 29th from 10:00–2:00.
• Where: Lantana Police Dept., 500 Greynolds Cir. in Lantana.
• For information email Reserve Sgt. Ronald Shearouse: rshearouse@lantana.org
• Or call the Lantana PD directly: 561-540-5701.

Just in case you missed this over the weekend:

The blog post, “Sober Home Conversation” with Commissioners Shanon Materio and Andy Amoroso at the Parrot Cove meeting on April 17th.


There are a total of three videos (see below) from this meeting. The president of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Assoc., Mr. ​Anthony Marotta, invited Lake Worth City Commissioner Andy Amoroso, member of the Sober Home Task Force, and West Palm Beach City Commissioner Shanon Materio, member of the Proviso Sober Home Task Force, to address this crucial topic.

Both of these task forces were created by State Attorney Dave Aronberg to address what many have come to see is a serious crisis. Both Commissioner Materio and Commissioner Amoroso updated those in attendance on recent efforts at the local, County, State and Federal levels and what other plans are being worked on to tackle this problem affecting so many local communities, especially our own.

According to Mr. Marotta, Parrot Cove* will have Boynton Beach City Commissioner Joe Casello scheduled for next month’s meeting to discuss some of the initiatives the City of Boynton Beach is pursuing. Stay tuned for more about that.

Here is the second video and below are the links to the first and third videos from that meeting last Monday (April 17th):


To watch the first video use this link.
For the third video use this link.

To become a subscriber to my Lake Worth YouTube channel click on the red “Subscribe” icon. Subscribers get notified by email when new videos have been uploaded.

As always, many thanks to the Beach Club Lake Worth (located at the City’s Golf Course, #1 7th Ave. North) for being such gracious hosts and opening up their space for neighborhood and other community meetings here in our City.

*“The Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association was formed in April 2000 as a non-profit organization with the goals of providing information about a wide range of issues and serving as a way to meet one’s neighbors and build a strong sense of community. Everyone is welcome to attend our general meetings which feature guest speakers, PBSO updates, and announcements about current events.”

Reporter Edward “Ed” Henry at Benny’s on the Beach, “BREAKFAST WITH FRIENDS”. Maybe CNN next week?

Ed Henry “was the moderator of the CNN Inside Politics broadcast when Robert Novak stormed off the set, on August 4, 2005, during a live discussion with James Carville, about Florida Republican Representative Katherine Harris’ just-announced 2006 bid for U.S. Senate. Henry carried on with just Carville for the remainder of the segment.”

Equal time for breakfast? Maybe somebody here in Lake Worth has a contact at CNN? Have a Live report by CNN’s “New Day” from Benny’s on the Beach next Sunday?

About “New Day” at CNN: Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota report the latest news and top stories from 6:00–9:00 a.m. Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul host weekends.

Neil Simon’s “They’re Playing Our Song” is a Hit! More news in this week’s Herald.

“South Florida’s Premiere Nonprofit Community Theatre in the Heart of Palm Beach County — the Cultural Capitol of Florida”.


“If you haven’t already been to the Lake Worth Playhouse to see They’re Playing Our Song by Neil Simon, you need to hurry as time is running out. The last performance is April 30.
     Shows run Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $29 and $35.”

To purchase tickets online use this link. For more information call 561-586-6410. The Lake Worth Playhouse is located at 713 Lake Ave.

Pick up the Herald print edition at the City’s newsstand in our Downtown (across the street from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, 601 Lake Ave., open 10:00–5:00, Tuesday–Saturday).

Just a reminder: Senator Jeff Clemens responds to a question on Facebook about Senate Bill 10.

Please spread the word about this very important topic:


“Why was Clemons [sic] one of 3 senators voting no on SB10 a huge step toward send [sic] Lake O [Okeechobee] water south and fixing the Alger [sic, “algae”?] problem by creating a southern reservoir. Is Clemons [sic] not for environment and on Bullsugar’s [sic, s/b “Big Sugar’s”] side? Really confused.”

State Senator Jeff Clemens responds:

“Hi Allen Falk. Yes, in previous campaigns I have received campaign contributions from companies that grow and process sugar, as well contributions from funders of Everglades restoration efforts and environmental activists. I am term-limited, so I am not raising any more dollars for my own campaigns.
     The content in SB10 has changed significantly since its inception and is likely to change again, so there will be future votes I very well may support. In other words, this is not over.
     The answer to why I’m not supportive of the bill quite yet is complicated, and involves planning for some 40-something projects across the spectrum, but I will do my best to summarize.
     SB10, as it has been amended several times, has improved from its original form. But there are still many questions that are left unanswered.
     There is no agreement between the state and our federal partners to execute this plan. It is hasn’t been vetted by state, water management district or University scientists as being the best way to increase flow and store water south. None of these scientists have concluded that this particular plan will reduce the blue-green algae issues faced in the counties to the north of us.
     The bill bonds for $1.2 billion dollars for an unvetted plan that elevates one potential project above 30-something other important environmental projects, again without any evidence that the project(s) in the bill will solve the problem, or that they will do so in a manner that is more effective than currently approved environmental projects.
     My opinion is that this bill will not result in a fix for the problem. Instead of using this bond money to accelerate planned and approved environmental projects, it is dedicated to projects that have not been appropriately studied, because the push for southern storage has become more political than science-driven. [emphasis added]
     FYI, the bill also potentially privatizes water that will now be moved to the C-51 [canal], and also bans any potential future use of eminent domain in the Everglades Agricultural Area. And for those who want to take sugar land out of production, it doesn’t do any of that either.
     There are many projects currently on the CERP* list that would have a more positive environmental effect on the problems we’re experiencing, including work in the C-43, the C23/24 reservoirs (north and south) and STAs [stormwater treatment areas], and projects in CEPP.†
     I believe those things would be a better approach.
     Again, the good news is that the bill is not finalized, and depending on changes that are likely to be made moving forward, there is a good chance I could support the final product in the future.
     All the best.”

To learn more about State Senator Jeff Clemens, including contact information for his staff in Tallahassee and office in the City of Lake Worth, use this link.

From Wikipedia: “Jeff Clemens is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing parts of Palm Beach County since 2012. He currently represents the 31st district, which includes Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Greenacres. He previously served one term in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 89th district from 2010 to 2012.”‡

*Use this link for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) explained by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).
†Use this link to learn about the goals of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District.
‡FYI: Jeff Clemens was the mayor for the City of Lake Worth prior to being elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

The “N-Word”. Given current events, the blog post below is worth another look:

From a former tabloid in the City of Lake Worth, below is #5 in the series titled, “Lake Worth city manager on racial slur uttered in Commission chambers, ‘I feel compelled to respond.’ ”*

The masthead for that short-lived former tabloid in 2015.

“Domine, ut videam” in Latin means “Lord, I want to see”. Many in the City of Lake Worth prayed for that tabloid’s day “to see”. But it never did.† The tabloid shut down 4 months later.

The clippings below are excerpts from Friday, April 10th, 2015, Volume 1,‡ Issue 10, page 2, above the fold.

Click on image to enlarge:

Both City Manager Michael Bornstein (hired in April 2012) and Dolores Key, Economic Development & Marketing Director, continue working for the City of Lake Worth.

Below is a video of former Commissioner Retha Lowe on March 24th, 2015, at the City Commission meeting following the incident that occurred 2 weeks previously (note: Lowe mentions an article in The Lake Worth Herald)§:

Footnote section:

*See list below for links to #1–4 in this series from a former tabloid in Lake Worth started prior to the elections in March 2015 and shut down shortly after commissioners Ryan Maier and Chris McVoy were elected, a little over 2 years ago now:

• For #1 in this series of excerpts from the “Worst Local Newspaper Ever” use this link. An excerpt: “It’s a big deal for us,” said Laurel Decker, who filed suit against the city in 2013 . . . “We’d like to get the dais back, and get the city moving forward again.”
• For #2 use this link: “Tree Board Switches to Gumbo Limbo!”
• For #3 use this link: “LAKE WORTH CRIME BLOTTER”!!!!!
• For #4 use this link: “Need money for Roads? Sell the Golf Course!”:

The City’s municipal golf course can never be sold. Why? It’s deed-restricted. Hello.

†The “Premiere Issue!” of this tabloid first appeared on January 16th, 2015 with a restaurant review by Joseph Thompson III. He later disappeared and was never heard from again. Whereabouts unknown.
‡There wasn’t another volume to follow. The tabloid failed from little advertising even though it was given away for free. Downtown littering became a big problem throughout the City following this tabloid’s release.
§A collection of archives for this tabloid remain, separate from and not to be confused with The Lake Worth Herald—the City’s oldest businesss, “Established in 1912”.

The future of the Lake Worth Beach: A “passive park” or a commercial enterprise for our City and a benefit for residents?

The historic images below are looking south along the barrier island. The Lake Worth Casino building is approximately in the middle of each image. I don’t think it’s necessary to label them “Before” and “After”.

In this image A1A is west of the Casino structure:

In this postcard, prior to the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, A1A was east of the Casino along the Beach:

Compare and contrast: The tremendous amount of “infill” development on the barrier island.

In the top image you can see the substantial amount of new land created by dredging and “filling in” the Lake Worth Lagoon. All of the area west of the western loop road at the City’s Beach property is infill. To the north (closest to you in the above pictures) there is an area of fill east and west of A1A. The area to the north of the Lake Worth bridge was done in two phases with the western side completed last.

Obviously there is a drastic difference between the 20s era postcard and the more current picture in the way of construction and pavement. However, the Lake Worth Beach is amazing for standing the test of time and remaining a public piece of property. I think that we can all agree on that. Remarkable.

But should the Casino and Beach be a “public” what? The argument bubbling up again is the idea of a more “passive park”. Returning the Beach property to a “less commercial” endeavor.

For a moment, let’s consider the option of a purely ‘passive’ public park with less commercial activity or with the same amount of commercial activity as there is today. One thing the images above show is whatever natural area was there circa the 20s, you have to look pretty hard to find anything natural that resembles the pristine conditions of yesteryear now. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a drastically altered eco-system that shows the impact of humankind over time.

Even a ‘passive’ park would need public access and public parking. For more Green space wouldn’t a multi-level parking structure be a way to consolidate parking? Are we ready to consider that yet? Or do we consolidate parking in our Downtown and shuttle people to the Beach? That may have merit with some in the environmental and ecological community but probably wouldn’t fly with the public.

Just a guess here, but don’t think the typical family from Wellington or Greenacres would be so cool with that idea.

The proponents of a ‘passive’ park and less commercial activity at the Beach like to refer to the Beach as a “dune”. But that’s only true if you then consider the entire barrier island a dune. No matter how you look at it, there’s nothing natural or pristine about any of it any more.

And lastly, going forward, taking in the entire Casino property and including the municipal pool in the equation, should the taxpayers here in the City of Lake Worth be tasked with subsidizing a new pool for other residents in the County to use? Building a multi-tier parking garage would make a profit over time.

A new pool at the Beach will not make a profit. It will be an amenity: an amenity the vast majority of Lake Worth residents will never use. But they will have to pay for it, nonetheless.

So to the question: If the City decides to construct a new municipal pool where should it be? At the Beach where it’s already $4 to park? Then for a family of four, $4 more for each adult and $2 for each child: that’s $16 each trip to use the pool and go swimming. That’s a high price to pay for a typical family here in the City of Lake Worth.