Festival of Trees coming to Lake Worth | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Notice in the Post about our Festival of Trees. Click title for link. Here is Richard Stowe, chair of the Tree Board telling the City Commission about the event at this week's City Commission meeting. The Festival is Saturday, January 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cultural Plaza.

This in from the Town of Palm Beach - note that it was sent out at 4 a.m.

Flash Flood Warning for the Town of Palm Beach

National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated Heavy rain will continue over already flooded areas of the Town of Palm Beach and will extend the Flash Flood Warning through the early Friday morning hours. Heavy rains caused flash flooding beginning at 8:00pm. and caused several areas of the island to be completely incapacitated. Roads were blocked at County Rd. near the Breakers Hotel, N. Lake Way from Wells to Country Club, the 1800 block of South Ocean Blvd, and the 1100 block of S Ocean Blvd. An additional 2 to 4 inches with locally higher amounts will remain possible through daybreak, especially if the band of heavy rainfall persists or lifts back to the north along the Palm Beach Coast. Locations In the warning include but are not limited to Palm Beach. Port of Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Tequesta. Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Juno Beach precautionary/preparedness actions.

Palm Beach Police advise resident and visitors to never drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually deeper than they appear. Just one foot of flowing water is powerful enough to sweep vehicles off the road. When encountering flooded roads make the smart choice, turn around.

Be aware that flash flooding can occur. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
If you must prepare to evacuate, you should do the following:

- Turn off utilities at the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
- Secure your home. If you have time, bring in outdoor furniture. Move essential items to an upper floor.

Be aware of stream, drainage channels, and other areas known to flood suddenly. Flash floods can occur in these areas with or without typical warnings such as rain clouds or heavy rain.
If you have to leave your home, remember these evacuation tips:

- Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
- Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move to higher ground if you can do so safely. You and the vehicle can be swept away quickly.

Please contact the Palm Beach Police Department with any questions at the non emergency number 561-838-5454.

From FPL's Power Tracker Page

Click title for real time link.

Weather Alert!

AT 1104 PM EST A BAND OF HEAVY SHOWERS EXTENDING SO. AND
SOUTHWEST FROM BOYNTON TO THE BOCA RATON AREA INCLUDING THE VILLAGES OF ORIOLE CONTINUES TO PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES OF 2 TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR. THE LATEST RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE RAINFALL TOTALS ARE NOW IN THE 3 TO 5 INCH RANGE.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.

A FLOOD ADVISORY MEANS PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN OR OTHER AREAS IS
OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT. RUNOFF MAY ALSO ELEVATE WATER LEVELS IN
CANALS & DITCHES.

Worth watching and listening to. From last Tuesday's meeting, second reading on regulating what can take place in the right-of-way.

Seems that Commissioner McVoy likes the idea of people on push carts and bicycles selling things like falafels. He says it comes from his experience in the developing world. He voted "no" on an ordinance that would require people conducting business to be in a specific, previously identified location - they couldn't roam about. This is meant to prevent people stopping in front of someone's house and start selling seafood out of their trunk.

Second reading on the fine tuning changes to the LDRS, from last Tuesday's (1/7/14) City Commission meeting...

Last Tuesday's City Commission discussion on Item 10(b) - Land Development Regulations - Clean up

From last Tuesday's City Commission meeting (1/7/14), discussion about distance waivers for alcoholic beverage establishments...

A lot of discussion and a lot of confusion related to regulation of bars and restaurants in the downtown. Mr. Waters asserts that there is only one bar that has come for review and that was the day that he began work with the city. Restaurants that serve liquor have had the distance requirement removed two years ago. Commissioner McVoy had a lot of questions and halted the proceedings prior to the vote being taken. In the end, the vote was unanimous regardless. It is a discussion that is worth listening to.

How air travel used to be...Miami International Airport, 1955

"This clip includes footage shot in 1955, and airport operations almost sixty years ago may have more closely resembled those of 1929 than today's. For one thing, nobody in this footage is taking his or her shoes off, although it looks like a lot of walking was a feature of air travel -- mainly walking across the bare tarmac from terminal to aircraft and vice versa.

This video and audio is copyrighted/owned by the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives."

Picture taken during the City Commission's first break - Meeting of 1/7/14

Ian Lockwood P.E., Livable Transportation Engineer 01/10 by High Noon in Lake Worth | Politics Podcasts

Join your host Wes Blackman as he welcomes Ian Lockwood to the High Noon in Lake Worth studios. Some of you may recall that Mr. Lockwood was the transportation planner for the City of West Palm Beach and while there instituted some significant changes to the city's transportation network. According to his bio, Ian has Bachelor & Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from Carleton University & is a Harvard University Loeb Fellow. As the former City Transportation Planner for the City of West Palm Beach (1996 to 2001), Ian led changes to the state arterials & local streets to help evolve the City’s blighted condition into one of economic & social health. Ian’s current work includes aligning infrastructure investments with community goals through walkability projects, restoring 1-way streets to 2-way, shared spaces, main street design, taming arterials, campus design, downtown design, parking strategies, & policy reform. Ian has guest lectured at several universities & is occasionally interviewed on National Public Radio. For fun, he does photography, cartooning, & road cycling. 

It should prove to be an interesting show in light of the city of Lake Worth's preparation of the 2020 plan. Click title for link to live show tomorrow, Friday at noon or afterward for archived version of the show. Leave questions as comments below.

Editorial: Protect open space by again rejecting development... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Contrary to the Miami Herald editorial I just posted this morning, the Post is saying "no" to the redevelopment of a golf course property in the eastern part of the county that would be converted to a residential project. The Mizner Trail project is before the County Commission today. Click title for link.

Tri-Rail first rolled out of the station 25 years ago | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Eliot Kleinberg recalls the initial slow start to Tri-Rail back in 1989. In 2009, the transit rail line had about 50 million riders. It has always been held back by its western location and distance from most of the population and employment centers that are along the eastern part of the three county area. He notes the coming of transit service that we have talked about here many times that will link the eastern municipal centers by starting a passenger transit service on the FEC tracks. Click title for link to article.

A more practical route would have been along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, which follow U.S. 1 and would have brought people to within walking distance of the many government buildings and businesses lining that road. But the FEC wouldn’t make its track available.
This past fall, officials unveiled a $47 million plan to connect the FEC and Tri-Rail tracks in West Palm Beach’s Northwood neighborhood. That will enable Tri-Rail’s extension to Jupiter and a downtown commuter rail along the East Coast.

PUTNAM PLANS TRIP TO PANAMA CANAL .: News Service of Florida

Our state agricultural commissioner is headed to Panama to check out progress on enlarging the canal. It is thought that larger ships going through the canal will increase cargo traffic in ports along the east coast of the United States. Here our agricultural commissioner is attempting to identify the sorts of goods from Florida that can fill ships for their return voyage. Click title for link.

Making progress - Editorials - MiamiHerald.com

This editorial makes a like of good points and provides of summary of where we stand in many areas related to Everglades restoration. One of the most important points is the one made as the last paragraph, click title for link to article:

Another potential environmental threat is population growth. Florida will soon surpass New York as the third-most populous state. More people equals more development, especially along our coasts. Rather than easing growth-development rules, as the Republican leadership in Tallahassee has been doing in recent years, the state should prepare for more residents with smart-growth plans that discourage sprawl on undeveloped land and direct redevelopment in established urban areas, concentrating demand for expanding roads and schools and increasing other public services. We must grow wisely, without endangering our precious natural resources.

Can someone tell me how overly restricting building heights in Lake Worth is consistent with smart growth principles?