Received: Apology Letter from City re Cancelling of CRA Interviews

I hope this helps to not turn-off the other 30 people that wanted a chance to participate in making their city a better place to live. Would you be encouraged to serve the city having received this letter?

More support for changing copyright law to help newspapers

More support for changing copyright law to help newspapers. Dinosaurs' last gasp?

After the panel discussion concluded, I asked Klein whether his remarks mean that NNN or NAA plan to get behind the proposal put forth by brothers David and Daniel Marburger, a First Amendment lawyer and an economics professor. Their plan would limit the ability of "parasitic aggregators" to summarize and link to news stories. Klein declined to comment specifically on the Marburger plan, saying he wasn't familiar enough with its details.

Breaking All Previous Records for Blog Visits - Thanks for stopping by!

Municipal Lawsuit attacking SB 360

Cities suing to block lawmakers' growth-management re-write

posted by Aaron Deslatte on Jul 8, 2009 9:26:23 AM

TALLAHASSEE -- A group of South Florida local government has filed a lawsuit to block the growth-management re-write lawmakers passed last spring, which would dramatically scale back the state's requirements for developers to build roads around their projects.

The lawsuit filed was filed in Leon County Circuit Court against Gov. Charlie Crist -- who signed the law last month -- as well as legislative leaders on behalf of the City of Weston, the Village of Key Biscayne, the Town of Cutler Bay, Lee County, the City of Deerfield Beach, the City of Miami Gardens, the City of Fruitland Park and City of Parkland.

Jamie A. Cole, the lead attorney for the group, said Wednesday in a statement that the bill (SB 360) would have a detrimental impact on local governments, forcing "unfunded mandates" on them to build the infrastructure needed to support unbridled growth -- once it returns someday.

“We believe that the enactment of the Act was unconstitutional, violating both Article III, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution, which requires that every law embrace only one subject, and Article VII, Section 18, which prevents the legislature from imposing unfunded mandates on local governments without following certain procedures,” he said.

Abandoned Housing in Detroit

Ghost of Lake Worth's future? Click title for link.

Shout-out to White Apron Catering - 2nd time this week I went for the veggie pita and braised kale - Superb!

White Apron Catering Weekly take Out menu July 6-10

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Take-Out Menu Date: July 6-10, 2009

Sandwiches: (Price includes one Side dish of your choice)

* Grilled Free Range Chicken Caesar Wrap with crisp romaine and shaved parmesan reggiano $8.50

* Ham Salad with baby greens, sliced tomato and served on a fresh baked croissant $8.50

* Garden Vegetable Pita: Carrots, radish, tomato, cucumber, arugula, sprouts with a zesty hummus on a whole wheat pita $7.50

Dinner Entrees: (Price includes one side dish of your choice)

* Crab Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp with a lemon-saffron aioli $14.50

* Beef Braciola: All natural skirt steak, rolled with a spinach Fontina stuffing, seared and braised until tender $14.00

* Caribbean Jerk Style Chicken: Free range chicken breast roasted and served with a Caribbean salsa $14.50

Soup: Butternut Squash, Apple, Pear Soup $4.50

Sides:

* Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with a coconut Curry Dressing $8.50/lb

* Watermelon, Arugula, Red Onion Salad $8.50 1/2 lb

* Orzo salad with Black Beans, Garbanzos and Sweet Pepper, Cilantro-lime $ 8.50/lb

* Braised Kale $8.00/lb

* Grilled Garden Vegetable Platter $8.50/lb

*Chefs Selection of Freshly Baked Desserts: Priced per piece

Lake Worth moves forward with reverse-osmosis water plant

PB Post summary of last night's meeting. Click above for link. Not in the write-up, but apparently the Commission thought that it was more their fault for not giving clear direction to former City Manager Baldwin than it was his fault for executing the contracts. Reason and sanity prevailed - this time.

My two cents on the water issue...

Prediction: We will not be able to get out of the County contract and we'll go ahead with the Reverse Osmosis plant. The end result will be more water than we know what to do with - which may not be a bad position to be in if we start improving our reputation - read "brand" - and are able to sell our water to other municipal neighbors. This isn't happening because someone planned it, it's happening in spite of ourselves. The RO plant will erase any long term capital savings by going solely with the County.

We'll see what transpires tonight. It would be nice to get a fix on costs - broken down in thousand gallon increments for comparison, but I don't think that will happen.

Something you won't read on other sites: I could be wrong.

Tonight's (7/7) City Commission Agenda

Click title for link and full back-up material.

Found on YouTube - 1950s era Florida Tourist Ads

These are fun. Part of the propaganda that led Florida to be the fourth most populous state in the US - and why we remain wedded to a tourist based economy, but not as much as before. If you are short on time, make sure to watch the second one: "Roads to Romance." It was sponsored by Chevrolet and features Coral Gables.

Enjoy!

San Franciscans can Tweet to City Customer Service

Click title for link. Examples of what you can use this for include:

* Street Cleaning
* Graffiti Removal
* Pothole and Sidewalk Defects
* Abandoned Vehicles
* City Garbage Can Maintenance
* Department Information (office hours, location, phone numbers)
* ... and much more!

The service is operation 24/7/365

American propaganda - Capitalism (1948) - or "Mr. Brown Sells Weenies"

Interesting from a historic perspective at the dawn of the Cold War era. It's a little corny and little campy, but still reminds us about the economic system that our country is built upon - and is going through a major overhaul at the current time. One of the major themes here is the notion of private property rights. Zoning is not dealt with in this piece, but it is a police power exercised by government to control the impacts of land uses on the general public - essentially restraining the rights of property owners.

Now, grab some popcorn and let's learn a little about Mr. Brown's weenies...

Successful City Secrets and The Truth About Green Jobs

This comes from "Smart City Radio" - a series of programs on urban planning and how a city works. Click title for a link to the page where you can hear the show on how cities can be successful, sustainable entities. A lot of discussion about how density is the key to sustainability and how iconic landmarks are important for a city's signature (hmmm.) This is really from a worldwide perspective and is eye-opening.

The second interview talks about the economic development potential in green jobs and how cities are responding to the threat of global climate change. Surprisingly, they don't see much advantage by a city having its own utility in ways to encourage resulting industries and cites Austin, Texas as an example.

This episode aired on May 13, 2009.

I'll make it a point to look over some other shows and share them from time to time.

For those who don't think buildings can fail structurally...

"...building didn't meet city codes..."

EDITORIAL: Buying a ticket to oblivion

Click title for link to Palm Beach Post editorial on Tri-Rail finances. They're relying on former capital replacement monies to fund operations. This in the hopes the state legislature comes up with some sort of funding source (like the $2 rental car fee) in the next legislative session.