Monday, March 18, 2019

Had a very nice conversation with journalist Linda Trischitta last week. . .


Yours Truly, activist Wes Blackman, was quoted in the Sun Sentinel about the City of Lake Worth Beach and below is an excerpt from that article. Acknowledging it was a close vote here is one of the opening lines in the news from in the Sentinel last Thursday:

Not everyone agreed with the change: The vote was close, 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, according to unofficial results.

And announcing this news Linda Trischitta sent out a lively and billowing Tweet (see below) with the headline, “The Lake Worth Beach hopes to make waves with new name”.

Whilst on that topic The Palm Beach Post went much more activist with this headline, “By slimmest of margins, it’s Lake Worth Beach”. But of course on ‘slim margins’ the Post beat reporter wasn’t around in August 2014 when the Lake Worth 2020 Road Bond vote failed by just twenty-five (25) votes.

And Commissioner Omari Hardy avoided going into a run-off election with activist Chris McVoy, PhD in 2017 by just eighteen (18) votes. In other words a win is a win is a win is a win and no one will remember the score after a little while.

Anyone who truly feels heartbroken about this City changing its name really needs to relax. What happened in 2014 was truly heartbreaking. Maybe tomorrow at the City Commission meeting, if you wish, one can ask Commissioner Scott Maxwell about what happened in the Summer of 2014. But then in November 2016 came along the Neighborhood Road Bond and the rest is history.


Moving on. . .


It was a real pleasure speaking with the reporter yesterday and encourage everyone to read the news in the Sun Sentinel. Without further ado, an excerpt from Linda Trischitta:


“People don’t have to change the name of their business or change their driver’s license or stress that they have to do something,” Bornstein [City Manager Micheal Bornstein] said. “This is about changing the name of this entity. The other things will fall in place.”

 City activist Wes Blackman voted in favor of the name change. An urban planner, he is a former chairman of the planning and zoning board and the historic preservation board.

 “I think it’s an affirmation that we have a 19-acre beach,” Blackman said. “We are acknowledging our geographical location and differentiating ourselves from the other Lake Worth mailing addresses. They don’t have the beach or our cute historic beach cottages. Places west of I-95 can’t claim that identity. We are unique.”


In conclusion, would guess Yours Truly is officially an activist now!

And it’s sort of fun being an activist here in the City of Lake Worth Beach:


On Twitter? Then please follow Linda Trischitta: