Pics today from bike ride as storm threatened, moody seas and sky...

And Biking in the "Land of the Midnight Sun..."

This will run as a series of promotional videos from the VisitFinland YouTube Channel. Enjoy! (Best viewed full screen)

Winter Biking in Helsinki, Finland

Monument to Finnish Immigrants in Bryant Park

This pair of geese is forever flying south in Bryant Park. Geese are migrating birds that follow the warmer weather by spending the Winter here in the United States. This is an appropriate representation of the profound impact Finnish people have had on the development and character of Lake Worth. It is universally recognized that, at one time, the city had one of the largest concentration of Finns outside of Finland.

An image of the country of Finland appears on the east side of the monument.

To commemorate that fact, in 1985, Thor and Saimi Soderholm, gifted this monument to "commemorate the immigrants from Finland." The monument exists in the middle of the park, north of the band shell and south of  Lake Avenue.

We are also one of a list of cities that has an Honorary Finnish Consulate. The Honorary Consul here in  Lake Worth is Peter Makila who has an office on Lake Avenue.

The contribution of the Finnish people is an important part of Lake Worth's history to remember as we celebrate our city's centennial year.

STARKE, Fla.: Atheists unveil Fla monument near Ten Commandments - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com

This article, click title for link, tells about the dedication of the atheist monument in Starke, Florida today and the counter protest. David Silverman, president of the American Atheists attended and is widely quoted in the piece. He was my guest on the last episode of High Noon in Lake Worth which you can check out here.

Click here for photos taken at the event.

PBCHRC: Palm Beach County (Florida) LGBT History Timeline ...

Given the momentous ruling by the Supreme Court this week which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, it's time to look at the trajectory of the gay rights movement in Palm Beach County. The list is prepared by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. Click title for link.

CRA Neighborhood Meeting - NET Program 6/26/13

This is a video of most of the meeting held last Wednesday night at the Shuffleboard Board Court building, put on by CRA staff Chris Dabros - Project Manager, Emily Theodossakos - Project Coordinator and CRA Board Member Oswaldo Ona. It was fairly well attended as these meetings go, with about 25 -30 in attendance throughout the meeting and discussion. There was a substantial representation from PBSO, but no one from Lake Worth city staff. Most conspicuously absent was any representation from Code Enforcement. Commissioner Andy Amoroso attended the meeting and ended up fielding the bulk of questions and comments from those in attendance. The focus of the meeting was forming a Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) for the area west of Dixie Hwy. and from 7th Avenue North to 7th Avenue South, east of I-95 as a way to further improve the area and address some chronic problems.

Editor's note: It is probably better to listen to this video than to watch it, since I kept the camera on those that were at the head table rather than turning to get the many responses, comments and questions from those in attendance. The first part is a PowerPoint presentation prepared by the staff that didn't come out too well on the video. But, the content of the discussion should really be the focus here and for the most part that came through loud and clear. I got all that I could given the life of the battery in the camera. I probably only missed the last few minutes. 

This comes in the wake of the CRA's successful $23 million NSP2 grant program that improved dilapidated structures in this general area, built some new homes and the artist loft project. The program also brought a lot of homeowners to the area and housed them in these rehabilitated structures. Some of these residents attended this meeting.

We heard recurring themes of problem properties and absentee landlords, challenges in communicating to a diverse community which uses languages other than English, social norms present in other cultures that are different than our own, the importance of children in the communication link to the parents, clean-up efforts and how to encourage participation in those. Some suggested grant monies to fund the clean-ups, others thought of a social "block party" where food is provided as a means of promoting community improvements.

There was frustration expressed at the large scope of some of the problems and the city's apparent inability to solve them - and the bureaucracy and laws that impede enforcement and compliance with codes. Caution was expressed about use of pronouns such as "them" and "those people" as we really are talking about the quality of living conditions in a geographic area of the city rather than something intrinsic to the populations that live in this area. And, again, one of the main themes is the challenge of bridging the communication gap between the city and its residents and the manifold problems inherent in that effort.

Yet another example of the city of West Palm Beach using social media...

Found on Facebook, the city of West Palm Beach is directing people to their Twitter account for a special giveaway during their 4th on Flagler event. They are encouraging people to re-Tweet for two tickets to get in. Note too that the post comes from somewhere near Palm Beach Gardens, which says to me that the city of West Palm Beach has contracted an outside provider for these social media services.

Cool "time capsule" view of what streets looked like in the 1930s...

This was shot with a movie camera by someone sitting in a rumble seat as the car was being driven down Wilshire Blvd., in Beverly Hills, CA sometime during the 1930s. I've looked at it a couple of times and note that a gallon of gas appears to be 9 cents. There are also no lanes marked.

I am sure that U.S. 1, our Dixie Hwy. through Lake Worth wouldn't have looked that much different than this view. Interesting to ponder as we think about our city's past during our centennial year.

Could 30-Story Wood Skyscrapers Be the Ultimate Green Building?

Take this Respectful Planning PAC peeps. Click title for link. Here's a preview and WATCH THE VIDEO!

So what exactly is Vancouver-based architect Michael Green thinking when he proposes using wood to erect urban skyscrapers and multifamily structures of up to 30 stories? “Earth grows our food,” he says in his 2013 TED Talk. “We should move toward an ethic that the earth should grow our homes.”
For one thing, Green argues, using wood in a more systematic way would be good for sustainability. Buildings account for nearly 50 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. In the construction process, 3 percent of the world’s energy is used for making steel, and 5 percent for concrete. 

Picked up at CRA Neighborhood Meeting

If you think that Lake Worth's overgrown lots are bad...

Check out Detroit's. This particular one had the added benefit of a broken water main that went unfixed for months, and might continue to this day. Sort of an impromptu water sprinkler system.

This image comes from Detroiturbex.com

By the way, I attended the CRA neighborhood meeting last night at the Shuffleboard Court building. The meeting's focus was on the western neighborhoods of the between 7th Avenue North and 7th Avenue South. I'll have more later on the meeting in the form of video and some still shots. Fairly well attended, as these meetings go.

First of Lake Worth’s artist lofts now occupied | www.palmbeachpost.com

Nice article highlighting the new owners moving into the units and how they will use the space for artistic and creative pursuits. That is, if people are still reading the Palm Beach Post. Click title for link.

TRNA meeting (Tropical Ridge)

"Our next meeting is Monday,July 1st, 7:00pm at the Shuffleboard Courts.

We have planned something special for this month.

We will be having a 'Popcorn and a Movie Night'. The movie is 'The Goonies' which is an 1980's movie that is our theme for our 4th of July raft.

Which brings me to the 4th of July    The parade starts at 10:00am at J street and Lake. The raft race starts at 11:00am at Bryant Park and the festivities continue at Bryant Park until the 9:00pm fireworks flash their final sparling showers and boom their final deep resonating crashes.

Hope to see you all there,      Carolyn"

Don't Miss Shakespeare by the Sea XXIII: "Coriolanus" at Seabreeze Amphitheater

The Shakespeare Festival and Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation present Shakespeare by the Sea XXIII: Coriolanus . Performances will be held Thursday through Sunday, July 11-14 and July 18-21, 8 p.m., at Seabreeze Amphitheater in Carlin Park.

Blankets, beach chairs, coolers, picnic baskets, and pets on leashes are permitted. Concessions will be available on the park premises. Performances may be cancelled due to inclement weather. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Seabreeze Amphitheater is located at 750 South State Road A1A, Jupiter.

Bryant Park anyone? Hello?