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ROAD CLOSURE ADVISORY- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ROAD CLOSURES ANNOUCED FOR THE PALM BEACHES MARATHON & RUN FEST TO BE HELD FRIDAY DECEMBER 6th & SUNDAY DECEMBER 8th, 2013

Expecting more than 2,500 participants 

WEST PALM BEACH & LAKE WORTH, FL– The following road closures will take place Friday, December 6th and Sunday, December 8th 2013 for the Palm Beaches Marathon & Run Fest produced by US Road Sports and Entertainment Group. The Friday night 5K/10K will begin at 6:00pm in front of the Waterfront Commons area and proceed down S Flagler as far south as Barcelona Road. On Sunday, the marathon and half marathon will begin at 6:30 am traveling north up to 58th Street and as far south as Gregory Road and then into Lake Worth. Once into Lake Worth runner will head south to turn around at 10th Ave S. On Sunday, all participants are estimated to be off the course by 1:30 pm for the reopening of the roads, however, some of the roadways will be clear before then due to the rolling reopening procedures. Roads will be closed and managed by the City of West Palm Beach Police & Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Road Closures on Friday for the City of West Palm Beach from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm  S Flagler Drive between 2nd Street & Barcelona Road  N Clematis Street between N Narcissus Ave & S Flagler Drive Road Closures on Sunday for the City of West Palm Beach from 6:30am- 1:30pm
 56th & 57th Street between N Flagler Dr & Spruce Street
 Poinsettia Ave & Spruce Street between 35th Street & 26th Street
 N Flagler Drive between 57th Street & Banyan Blvd
 29th & 27th Street between N Flagler Drive and Poinsettia Ave
 S Flagler Drive between Banyan Blvd & Dyer Road
 Washington Road between Monceaux Road & Greenwood Drive
 S Flagler Drive between Greenwood Drive & Gregory Road
 Gregory Road & E Lakewood Road between S Flagler Drive & S Olive Ave
 S Olive Ave between E Lakewood Road & Diana Place
 Diana Place between S Olive Ave & S Flagler Drive Road Closures on 
Sunday for the City of Lake Worth from 7:00am- 12:00pm
 Duke Drive between N Olive Ave & N Lakeside Drive
 N Lakeside Drive between Duke Drive & 12th Ave N
 Golfview Rd between 12th Ave N & 8th Ave N
 N Palmway Drive between 8th Ave N & 6th Ave N
 N Lakeside Drive between 6th Ave N & 2nd Ave N
 N/S Golfview Drive between 2nd Ave N & 2nd Ave S
 2nd Ave S between S Golfview Rd & S Lakeside Drive
 S Lakeside Drive between 2nd Ave S & 10th Ave S
 10th Ave S between S Lakeside Drive & S Palmway Drive
 S Palmway Drive between 10th Ave S & 9th Ave S
 9th Ave S between S Palmway Drive & S Lakeside Drive
For additional information regarding the Palm Beaches Marathon & Run Fest please email
US Road Sports media contact, Gary Ferman at garyferman@bellsouth.net

PALM BEACHES MARATHON RETURNS FOR 10TH YEAR

The Palm Beaches Marathon and Run Fest presented by Publix will return December 6-8
with its usual series of running events, an Expo and fun innovations such as a Friday 5K /
10K, a simultaneous half marathon on Sunday, wacky water stations and a post-race
downtown party at Waterfront Commons Park.

More than 5,000 runners are expected to participate in the weekend events. The Marathon
and Half Marathon will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday December 8 as the runners take in
miles of spectacular waterfront views along their path through the city of West Palm
Beach and Lake Worth. The finish line party will run until 2 p.m.

This is the event’s 10th year and the second under the operation of US Road Sports, which
has grown the Miami Marathon from 9,100 runners in 2007 to 25,000 and has similar
visions of a rise in stature for the premier running event of the Palm Beach / Treasure
Coast area. US Road Sports purchased the marathon from the founding Chamber of
Commerce of the Palm Beaches prior to the 2012 event.

Former Olympic great Bill Rodgers, a 66-year-old who was once the American record
holder in the marathon and dominated the sport in the 1970’s, will run in the half
marathon and also serve as a pre-race mentor to local running groups.

A unique feature of The Palm Beaches Marathon and Run Fest presented by Publix is the
capability of runners to enter as relay teams. Each team of four runners in each division
(male, female, mixed) will collectively run the 26.2 mile marathon distance. Participants
in the Marathon Relay will have the ability to split the distance, receive a finisher medal
and participant shirt.

The Publix Health & Fitness Expo will showcase health, sport and fitness products and
services at Harriet Himmel Theatre at CityPlace on December 6 from 4-8 p.m. and
December 7 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Runners will pick up their packets at the Expo.
A waterfront 5K / 10K will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at Flagler Drive at Banyan Street,
finishing at Clematis Street. Registration for the 10K is $45 until 10/24/13, $50 until
12/01/13, and $60 during Race Week. Registration for the 5K is $35 until 10/24/13, $40
until 12/01/13, and $45 during Race Week.

And even if they’re not a runner, residents can still participate by entering the Wacky
Water Station competition with friends, family, co-workers, religious groups, high school
groups, non-profit organizations or neighborhood associations. Entrants manage one of
15 water stations along the Marathon course and are judged based on theme, music,
costumes, decorations, & enthusiasm. The best overall group receives $1000 and there
are $500 awards for Best Theme, Best Cheer Zone and Most Unique Station. A minimum of 15 volunteers are required per water station.

"Anyone who is familiar with this area knows that Palm Beaches is one of the premier
destinations in the world," said US Road Sports Managing Partner and Founder Peter
Handy. "Partnering with the Chamber of Commerce is a unique strategy and will provide
a dynamic combination of strengths that will deliver a spectacular weekend of running
for years to come."

The Palm Beaches Marathon and Run Fest presented by Publix is part of US Road
Sports’ Florida Storm Series, a five-event circuit in which participating runners can earn
extra medals to show off their hard work and dedication. The medal they receive gets
bigger as runners complete more races. If participants finish three events they earn a
Category 3 Medal. If they complete four events they receive a Category 4 Medal and five
events gets them a huge Category 5 Medal.

The five races included in the Florida Storm Series are Allstate Life Insurance℠ Fort
Lauderdale 13.1 Marathon® (Nov. 10, 2013), Palm Beaches Marathon & Run Fest
presented by Publix (Dec. 8, 2013), Miami Marathon & Half Marathon (Feb. 2, 2014),
Miami Beach 13.1 Marathon® (Mar. 2, 2014), and First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon
& Relay (Mar, 16, 2014).

Race fees for the Marathon portion of Palm Beaches Marathon and Run Fest presented by
Publix are $110 until October 24, $115 until December 1 and $125 during Race Week.
The fees for the Half Marathon are $90 until October 24, $95 until December 1 and $105
during race week.

Email PBMinfo@usroadsports.com for more information or visit runpalmbeaches.com.
The Palm Beaches Marathon and Run Fest is proudly sponsored by the City of West
Palm Beach: the picturesque backdrop for all of the event's races. Runners, their
families, friends and spectators are encouraged to visit Downtown West Palm Beach for
spectacular night life, shopping, dining, and our activities on the beautiful waterfront.

December Meeting of the Friends of the Lake Worth Pool

I hope this finds you well.  I am writing to ask each of you to attend the December 4, 2013 Membership Meeting for the Friends of the Lake Worth Pool.  The meeting will be held at South Shores at 7 PM.

The meeting is important both for the future of the Friends of the Lake Worth Pool and its underlying mission of supporting water safety education and use of the Lake Worth Pool.  We will be setting the stage for a series of pool related events along  with planning the annual membership meeting (also in January) that will elect new officers for the year.

PLEASE make a point to attend the meeting and help us start 2014 off on the right note.  Your participation, energy and ideas are greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Keiran

Town considers temporary measures to protect eroded beaches | www.palmbeachdailynews.com

More details on the scaled-back plan for beach renourishment by the Town of Palm Beach. Click title for link to the Shiny Sheet article. Make sure to check out the first comment after the article. It sounds like someone has been paying attention to what has been going on over the years. Much money is being spent shovelling sand into the ocean, with little discernable result other than the pacification of residents, albeit on a temporary basis.

Part of their plan includes the examination of a seawall that is protecting a stretch of road along the ocean. Seems to me we, Lake Worth, have a seawall that needs to be inspected. It's the one that is in front of the new Casino building.

Community’s sign protesting Palm Beach Gardens stadium sparks... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Interesting discussion about the size of a sign in Palm Beach Gardens. Most zoning codes allow for a "freedom of speech" sign, but usually those signs are limited to 6 square feet, as the city does here. The group who put up the sign maintains that residential and commercial size regulations should be the same and therefore their residential "freedom of speech" sign is smaller than what would otherwise be permitted. The sign is staying up for now. Click title for link to article.

Delray officials to vote on voting - Sun Sentinel

This is usually covered by Roberts Rules of Order. We had this situation come up at our last Historic Resource Preservation Board meeting. The HRPB has seven full voting members. We have one vacancy and at November's meeting, we had two members absent. Only four people were there to conduct the board's business. We had a situation where a motion was made to approve an item, and it ended up in a 2 to 2 vote. The motion failed. In this case, an alternative motion to deny would have met with the same vote. So, our solution was to end up tabling matter to the next regular meeting with two wishes. One would be that the composition of those attending the meeting would change that would bring a different result, or that somehow the facts of the issue before us would have changed from before.

What Delray is doing here seems unnecessary and the emergency "unanimous two vote" policy shouldn't even be considered. Click title for link.

Lake Worth Grinchamas Celebration

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
An LDUB Grinchamas Celebration
Lake Worth, Florida, 12/3/13 — Lake Worth Second Saturday Events & The RedTrunks Swim
Program, in cooperation with the following sponsors: South Shores Tavern, Brogues Downunder,
Rudy's Saloon, Rhum Shak, Dave's Last Resort and Raw Bar, Igot's Martiki Bar, Havana Hideout,
Speakeasy Lounge, Trinkets & Treasures, Lake Worth CRA, LULA, DCA, Lake Worth Herald, Sticky
Business Signs & Grafix will be hosting the LDUB Grinchamas celebration in downtown Lake Worth
on December 14th.

The holiday season is once again upon us and even with all the hustle and bustle, everyone who is
anyone will be heading down to enjoy the LDUB Grinchamas Celebration where the only thing frosty
will be the adult sports beverages and the Snowmen may be hard to come by. However, there will be
more fun, cheer, costume contests, carolers, elves, and food than anyone will know what to do with.
The crawl begins at 8:00 PM (right after the Lake Worth Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting) and
includes a number of the best pubs and restaurants that will be giving away samples ("gimmes") in the
form of shots, shooters, snacks or food and offering some AMAZING specials for participants. There
will be a funtastic Scavenger Hunt, Karaoke Caroling, Costume Contests, an Ugly Sweater Contest (at
South Shores), swag, raffle prizes and more. For the more adventurous, there will be also be a Sexy
Klaus contest (for a Mr. & Ms. Klaus)!

Bring a toy to donate and receive 5 free raffle tickets for the Prize Raffle. Tickets are $15 and a portion
of the proceeds benefit the RedTrunks Water Safety and Swim Program, and all toys are being
donated to underprivileged youth in our community.

Tickets can be purchased from Studio 205 (600 Lake Ave., Lake Worth, FL 33460), South Shores
Tavern (502 Lucerne Ave.), Brogues Downunder, Rudy's Saloon, Rhum Shak, Havana Hideout,
Trinkets & Treasures), Dave's Last Resort, Speaskeasy Lounge. Toys can be dropped prior to the
event at the following locations: Lake Worth CRA (29 South J Street, Unit 1), Brogues Downunder
(621 Lake Ave), @The-Hair.net ( 621 Lake Ave ), South Shores Tavern and Trinkets & Treasures (712
lake Ave.) Help us show them that people do care!

So, dust off the antlers, don your favorite Holiday attire, pack up the sleigh and head on down for the
most family friendly and festive pub crawl this side of the North Pole.
For more information about LDUB Grinchamas celebration, the toy drive or the charities, contact
Keiran O'Shay at 772.261.4360 / brains@beachzombierampage.com or visit grinchamas.com
###
Contact:
Lake Worth Second Saturday Events/Beach Zombie Rampage
Keiran O’Shay
772.261.4360 or brains@beachzombierampage.com
###

The $2.4 million unbuilt Lake Worth Beach site plan...that would function...

Click for larger image.

Jerry Brown followed to events, heckled by California environmentalists over fracking - Capitol and California - The Sacramento Bee

It is refreshing to see some difference of opinion in the political sphere. This is especially true when it happens at the extremes of the political continuum. Click title for link. Here is something from the article.

Yet Pitney [Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College] said there is no political pressure on Brown to bend to the environmentalists’ concerns. If anything, the criticism may make Brown more appealing to moderate Democrats and independent voters, Pitney said.
“There are probably people out there who are thinking, ‘Well, if the environmentalist wackos are mad at him, he must be doing something right,’” Pitney said. “It feeds into the narrative of [Governor] Jerry Brown as the wise adult staying the hand of the hard left.”

Top 10 Terrible Mistakes in Landscape Construction

And speaking of mistakes in site planning, I came across this item. Entertaining, but for the fact that some people are left to live with the repercussions. Click title for link.

Delray group wants to make streets safer for bikers and walkers - Sun Sentinel

A group of Delray residents are working on increasing pedestrian and bicycle access and safety in Delray Beach. The group thinks that some areas are just plain too dangerous in their present condition. Click title for link. From the article:

Jestena Boughton, owner of the Colony Hotel downtown, agrees more bike lanes would not only help bikers, but strollers.
She said she is tired of watching the sidewalk war between walkers and those on two wheels.
Bastian hopes the city will allocate more money to adding sidewalks and put less into parking garages.
He sees linking landmarks, restaurants and shopping centers via sidewalks as aesthetically pleasing and convenient for all types of transportation.
"This is going to have a great impact," he said.

Art and Wine at the Eco - December 7th, 2 to 7 p.m.

At 3 p.m. next Saturday, yours truly will be dressed up as the "Cat in the Hat" and reading "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Come join us for a rousing holiday celebration and check out some interesting art as well.

Here are a few pics of me from last year. I met up with a mysterious female across from the EcoCentre. Not sure if she plans to make a return appearance.

Desperate villagers turn to wind to cut energy bills - Telegraph

This reflects the romantic notion of some here that by maintaining the city's own electric utility, we the citizens can be more "green" with our sources that generate electricity. And, even with wind-based power, there are still environmental concerns to consider, as we saw with the wind farm project proposed in Palm Beach County recently. Click title for link to article about a village in Great Britain that has invested in its own wind turbine to better control rates. But, according to Commissioner McVoy, our residents want lower bills, not necessarily lower rates. How that actually works, well, we are still waiting to find out. From the article:

The residents of one English village decided to put their own money into such a scheme to cut their bills, liberate themselves from the big power companies – and generate a decent 8pc return on their investment.
Their action came as millions of British households feel the chill this winter after being hit with above-inflation rises in their energy bills.

Who Profits from Florida's Mandatory Recycling Programs? | Sunshine State News

Our single stream recycling program was much ballyhooed when it was initiated about five or so years ago. That's when we ditched the two bin system and went to the one large bin. It would be nice to know just how much Lake Worth or the County makes off the practice and what that money goes for. Could the program pay for itself with no charge to the resident? Click title for link to article.

In Miami-Dade, Broward, St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Collier and Lee counties, among others, residents are required to use bulky green collection bins. That charge is added to sewer and water bills.
But any profit made from selling recyclables typically goes back to the private companies under contract. Residents don’t recoup a dime.