Please do not become alarmed! Will there be a protest this week in the City of Lake Worth? It’s very possible. Even likely.

But there is nothing to fear! Please remain calm. At the end of this blog post is an explanation why you have nothing to fear and why after March 13th — just 27 days from now — everything will return to normal.

It’s very possible, even likely, there will be a protest this week against the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) following this news last weekend.

However, besides the big signs, bullhorns and banging of pots and pans the only real danger are protesters causing a fender-bender by a distracted driver. SO PLEASE FOCUS ON SIGNALS AND INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOUR PBSO DEPUTIES!

Do not watch the protest from your car or whilst using a scooter! It’s very important to find a safe place to park unless you have three or more parking citations, in which case you’ll want to hightail it out of Lake Worth and quick!

Let’s not be like West Palm Beach where two young people were severely hurt and hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle at a protest. All of us can work together in this City of Lake Worth and protect everyone: the public and out-of-town protesters.

The only real danger these protesters present is to themselves. Some of these protesters are the very same ones who are up all night stealing and vandalizing political campaign signs.

So if you really want to help you can stop by Starbucks and pick up a small carton of coffee and a bag or box of cookies like those “large buttery, chewy cookies loaded with premium chocolate chunks” for those dreary-eyed protesters that didn’t get enough sleep the night prior. And don’t forget about extra cups, creamer, sweeteners, stirrers and recycled napkins.

Whilst on the topic of protests. . .

Just to reinforce the point about protests and public safety, what follows is a blog post from last week with more information:

“I’m furious”, said the elementary charter school principal to an eager and rapt reporter on the scene.

The word ‘furious’ used as an adjective means, “full of fury, violent passion, or rage; extremely angry; enraged . . . intensely violent”. [emphasis added]

Dear residents of this little City of Lake Worth: Please. Do not be alarmed. On a school day right after lunch expect a protest near the 1100 block of N. Dixie Hwy.

Do not worry or be concerned when you see the press and TV news vans racing up and down Dixie Hwy. looking for a place to park, then tripping and falling all over themselves looking for tiny little protesters to interview, all the while yelling at their crew and intern, “How do I look!”.

All of this ‘furious’ activity is completely
normal this time of year.

Why? Every year around the middle of January, typically 6–7 weeks before Election Day, the press and news media will try to arouse and create passion in the public, confusion too, and content “laced with not too subtle fear-mongering”, e.g., try to start protests and that sort of thing to keep the public rapt.

But all of this ‘furious’ news can be explained quite easily.

Click on this link to read a blog post titled, “Where O Where Have All the Protesters Gone?” and also note the image below.

There never was a ‘curfew’ in this City of Lake Worth in 2016. Note that this headline, of course, was published about 6 weeks before Election Day that year:

The word ‘curfew’ in the headline is an example of “loaded language” used to confuse the public. However, if you recall following Hurricane Irma last year, there was an actual curfew for a brief time in this City of Lake Worth.

So the recent ‘furious’ news about a charter school on Dixie Hwy. is to be completely expected. But whenever you happen to see ‘news’ such as this just relax and enjoy the show. Never get angry or upset. In fact, if you have the time stop at a dollar store and pick up some party favors and some ice too. There’s never enough of those at a protest. And don’t forget balloons for the kids!

However, if you’re familiar with the side story how this protest came to be in the first place, you can think about this topic for a bit and ask yourself some questions:

• Do we really need an elementary charter school on Dixie Hwy.? On one of our main commercial corridors?
• Why would anyone want to put a charter school so close to Dixie Hwy. anyhow?
• Nearby that charter school is a store selling beer and cigarettes and there’s a bar also nearby that serves alcohol. Do you really want little children exposed to that?

But anyhow, after Election Day — this year it’s on March 13th — everything will return to normal and the ‘furious’ pre-Election Day news reporting will fade from memory. Or, well, as normal as things can be if you’re a newspaper reporter in Palm Beach County or even worse yet, working for ABC25 (WPBF).