“As I write this from the olive-laden hills of Kalamata. . .”

And as we once again approach the municipal elections.

Mr. Panagiotis Evangellos Nasios Tsolkas, also known as Mr. Peter Tsolkas, was the former leader of Everglades Earth First! (EEF!) and he used to like coming out with a communiqué every now and then for the citizenry of this City of Lake Worth.

For example, from Tsolkas’ 2011 treatise he was the:

• Sierra Club, Loxahatchee, ExCom member
• Everglades Earth First!, agitator
• PBC Environmental Coalition, co-chair
• Night Heron, steering committee member
• Earth First! Journal, editorial collective
• Lake Worth Community Relations Board, chair, etc.

And Mr. Tsolkas sums it all up this way,

“To put it succinctly, my agenda is putting an end to industrial civilization as soon as possible, and creating complete freedom and a society based on mutual aid rather than money: Anarchy. Some people believe in heaven. I believe making here and now better. Is that so hard to swallow?


In 2011 Mr. Tsolkas, “from the olive-laden hills of Kalamata” in Greece wrote, “please pass this on to whoever you think would appreciate it. Thanks, Panagioti”.

Without further ado, “Talkin’ strategy for funda-
mental grassroots change in Lake Worth. . .
to vote or to occupy?”

Excerpts from that rather long treatise follow:


So, election time is rolling around again in Lake Worth. I’m not around to be directly involved on this one. But I figure I might as well throw in my two cents from over here in Greece.
     Those who know me, or anything about me, know that I have an agenda. I should hope we all have agendas, otherwise the damn meetings could go on forever!

and. . .

     More than choosing a side, I’d like to see the following few issues/goals come up for discussion in the midst of the political dialogues surrounding election time, in hopes that whoever wins, these things get traction. . .

In bullet list form, some of Mr. Tsolkas’ “issues/goals” six years ago:

• Figure out what it would take to get support on voting rights for undocumented residents. For example, there are 6 municipalities in Maryland that have done this. . . . This could very well change the face of elections for decades to come in this town.
• Decriminalize chickens too. This is not really a campaign issue. But since it has been brought up so much, I think the best approach may be just to scratch ‘chickens’ from the books altogether (the same way iguanas and beta fish aren't listed as prohibited nor allowed pets). Perhaps there's no need for a special ordinance about this, at least not right now. It’s not a problem. Let the city stay out of it, and let local food activists do their thing. If it becomes a problem — which is highly unlikely, since cities all over the country allow it without issue — revisit it then.
• The Park of Commerce… I actually think [former mayor] Rachel Waterman was on the right track in proposing agricultural use for that land, during the debates over the summer (as awkward as it came across at the time). Local agriculture won’t make the city rich, but it is the most stable and long-lasting form of “commerce” (I hate that word) that the human species has managed to figure out.

Later in Mr. Tsolkas’ 2011 treatise, “Not to
be doom-and-gloom”:

Not to be doom-and-gloom, but things are not looking up in the world of conventional economics. As I write this from the olive-laden hills of Kalamata, the European Union is on the verge of crumbling. The writing is literally on the walls of every city I’ve been through (usually with black or red spray paint. . .).
     And despite the state of the EU, the exchange rate for the dollar gets lower by the day. Which is another way of saying, things are worse here in the US. Globally, things are worse than we are admitting. . . . Surely you’ve noticed some signs of this yourself. Anyone else notice that Wall Street has been “occupied” all month?! Nearly 1000 people arrested in NYC amidst the growing rebellion against the dictatorship of the market. I hear the “occupy everything” fever might even be coming to Lake Worth.

In conclusion from Mr. Tsolkas:

Ok. Well that’s all for now. . . . No wait. I’ll leave you with a particularly poignant letter-to-the-editor, printed in the PB Post a few month back. I think it gives a good kick in the ass to those of us engaging the political process as grassroots activists and visionaries, “Lake Worth selling out, losing its earthy charm”:

The 2011 Letter to the Editor published
in The Palm Beach Post:

What’s going on in Lake Worth? An over-the-top noise ordinance, metered parking and now the banning of smoking at the beach and all parks (“Lake Worth moves to ban smoking at beach,” Wednesday story).
     I moved to Lake Worth from Homestead in 1985 to get away from narrow-minded people and their meddling tendencies, settling here mainly because of the high tolerance/population of hippies, students, gays and active, tranquil retirees. . . . But we started taking our city back. We had a couple of mayors and city commissioners who actually cared for Lake Worth and its residents.
     I guess with the economy going to hell it’s left us with a political vacuum, which has been filled by anal-retentive, politically correct yuppies.
     Where are the Anarchists when you really need them?
—■■■ ■■■■■, Lake Worth, April 22, 2011”

Anyhow. . .

A lot has changed in the City of Lake Worth since 2011, for example we have a lot of new residents in this City and it’s very popular for a number of reasons, including the City’s “high tolerance/population of hippies, students, gays and active, tranquil retirees” and Millennials, Hipsters, and Apatharchists too!