Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Just in case you missed this blog post: “Making the case”:


 The City of Lake Worth
needs a name change.


Name this City “Lake Worth City” or “Lake Worth Beach”? Or be bold and change the name to “Jewell”?


Is this a new idea, changing the City’s name? No. This was a serious matter of debate first brought up by Commissioner Scott Maxwell back in 2012. Continue reading to learn more about that.

A case example.

Recently in The Palm Beach Post in the ‘LOCAL’ section was a heartbreaking story about a family losing their home and pet in a house fire. The dateline reads, “LAKE WORTH”. However, this incident took place off Lantana Rd. just east of the Florida Turnpike, to the south and east of the Village of Wellington and west of the City of Greenacres too. But it has a ‘Lake Worth’ zip code. No connection to the actual City of Lake Worth.

Note that news organizations such as WPTV (NBC5) and the South Florida Business Journal have been doing very accurate news reporting educating and informing the public about what is the City of Lake Worth vs. unincorporated areas in Central Palm Beach County.


The location for that news story in the Post, published
in the LOCAL section, is shown in this map.

Click on map to enlarge:

Note at bottom of map (south) is Lantana Rd.
and the Florida Turnpike in zip code 33467.
The actual City of Lake Worth has two zip codes: 33460 and a portion of 33461.


Another recent example.

Not far from that tragic house fire reported in the Post is more ‘news’ about a future housing development “west of Lake Worth” (see Tweet below). This location is also west of Greenacres and east of Wellington. But the Post reports this future site for development is ‘west of Lake Worth’?

Really? Why not report it as “east of Wellington”?

However, in the ‘LOCAL’ news about that house fire is a monumental change by the editor(s) at the Post in citing this incident occurred in “suburban Lake Worth”. But ultimately, until the City of Lake Worth takes a big step forward in branding itself (e.g., “Wayfinding”) there will continue to be confusion about exactly where this City is located in Central Palm Beach County.

We can’t count on the press and news media to do that work for us.


Gee Wiz, Palm Beach Post!

This development is ‘west of Lake Worth’?



Now back to the “City of Lake Worth”
changing its name.


If the City of Lake Worth did begin the process to change the City’s name that would immediately become news all over the U.S. and abroad as well.

What names for this City do you think are real good or really bad? “New Lake Worth”? “Lake Worth City”? Make it officially “City of Lake Worth”? Or make it “Jewel” or “Jewell”? About the history of this City circa 1890, information from Wikipedia:

“The initial name for the post office [future Town of Lake Worth, est. 1913] was Jewell (sometimes spelled Jewel). Fannie James was the first postmaster.”*

Here’s another example, the Lake Worth Dollars for Scholars Golf Tournament is coming up at the Palm Beach National Golf Club, “Join us for golf, food and drinks, a raffle and a silent auction, a ball drop, and tons of fun!”

Question. Do you know where the Palm Beach National Golf Club is located? Hint: It has a ‘Lake Worth’ mailing address. Continue reading to learn more about this annual event.


Remember Post reporter Willy Howard?

He sat down with Maxwell to talk about changing the name of our City and the reasons why back in 2012. Read an excerpt from that news below.

Historic sign at the Lake Worth Auditorium,
which is now Lake Worth City Hall. Tourists and visitors saw this sign back in the day when driving south on Dixie Hwy. (U.S. 1).


The idea of changing the name of Lake Worth, the actual City of Lake Worth, comes up from time to time. Interest seems to spike after a sensational or gripping news story ‘in Lake Worth’ that isn’t in the City of Lake Worth. There’s the always-stuff-happening at the Palm Beach State College “Lake Worth” campus that isn’t in Lake Worth — the college is located in unincorporated Palm Beach County, or called, “suburban Lake Worth”. Garlic Fest isn’t held “in Lake Worth” either.

John Prince Park is not in Lake Worth. Neither is the South Florida National Cemetery, the Lake Worth Tax Office, or the Lake Worth Swap Shop. And, no, there is no such thing as “western Lake Worth” when referring to anything outside the City. That false and misleading geographic designation is resurrected now and then from our friends in the press and news media.

The upcoming 17th Annual Dollars for Scholars Golf Tournament benefiting Lake Worth High School is at Palm Beach National Golf Club on October 27th. The mailing address for that golf club is 7500 St. Andrews Rd., Lake Worth. However, the zip code for that location is 33467. By car about a 20–25 minute drive from Lake Worth High and well outside the City’s municipal limits. If you plan on attending this Dollars for Scholars golf tournament click on this link. Please factor in the driving time so as not to be late.


The Palm Beach National Golf Club is located between the City of Greenacres and the Village of Wellington. For golfers on the course they “deliver frozen popsicles to help combat the Florida heat”.

As reported by a TV reporter at WPBF, was Barbie the miniature horse killed by coyotes ‘in Lake Worth’? No. That terrible incident occurred in zip code 33449, west of the Palm Beach National Golf Club and just east of Wellington.


Is a municipality considering a name change unusual?

No. For example, the city of Hollywood debated changing their name to something like “Hollywood by the Sea” in 2016–2017 but the elected leadership ended up backing off according to reporter Michael Mayo at the Sun Sentinel. And note that before the “Beach” was added there used to be cities called Dania, Deerfield, Boynton, and Pompano. But more about all this a little later.


Back in April of 2016 I was part of a conversation and debate about changing the name of Lake Worth and learned there were other discussions, albeit quietly, about bringing this up again. Who was it that made the last major push to do this? Below is an excerpt from a Willy Howard article in 2012:


“Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell is suggesting changing the city’s name to Lake Worth Beach to help distinguish Lake Worth from parts of unincorporated Palm Beach County that have Lake Worth mailing addresses. According to postal officials, places as far west as Wellington can use Lake Worth mailing addresses. [emphasis added]
     In a memo to the commission about the name change, Maxwell notes that crimes committed west of the city in unincorporated parts of Palm Beach County are sometimes reported by the media as happening in Lake Worth. Residents with Lake Worth mailing addresses who live west of the city mistakenly come to city hall seeking solutions to their problems.
     Maxwell said Lake Worth is distinctive, with its walkable downtown and beach, and that the new name would create an ‘instantly recognizable brand for the city.’
     With the 100-year anniversary of the city next year and the opening of the renovated beach site and casino scheduled for this fall, he said, this is a good time to change the city’s name.
     ‘The timing is just about right,’ Maxwell said. ‘It kind of gives us a renewed since of pride for the next 100 years.’ ”


Now to what the City of Hollywood debated as reported by Susannah Bryan the Sun Sentinel:


     “What if Hollywood ditched the name it’s had since 1925 and changed it to Hollywood By The Sea?
     ‘I think it’s catchier than just plain old Hollywood,’ said Commissioner Patty Asseff, who has already pitched the idea to the city’s marketing firm and plans to bring it up at a commission meeting in May [2016].”


More helpful information from reporter Susannah Bryan:


     “South Florida cities have a long, proud tradition of tacking bodies of water onto the end of their names so dim-witted [please note, not my words!] tourists will be reminded that, yes, there are beaches in South Florida. Some examples:
1939: Deerfield becomes Deerfield Beach
1941: Boynton becomes Boynton Beach
1947: Pompano becomes Pompano Beach
1998: Dania becomes Dania Beach
2005: Cutler Ridge becomes Cutler Bay
2016?”


If this City of Lake Worth became “Lake Worth Beach” or some other name change that would go a long way towards helping this City differentiate itself from all those cookie-cutter communities out west in suburban (unincorporated) Lake Worth.

And. . . what better way to let everyone know our City has a Beach?



Or do you have a better or more interesting idea for our City’s new name like “Jewel” or perhaps “Jewell”?


*Please Note: The “Lake Worth, Florida” Wikipedia page is a public page and includes information that is completely false and intentionally misleading.
     So please do you own research and verify information, for example, misleading and false data about the crime rate in this City.