Commentary: All Aboard Florida a long-awaited,... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Dennis Grady, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, writes a strong op-ed piece in favor of rail transit improvements in south Florida, particularly All Aboard Florida. Click title for link.

While it seems there are issues to be resolved, such as how our communities will fund their desire for quiet zones, it is most important that we do not lose sight of what this transformational project will mean for Palm Beach County.
I am on board with All Aboard Florida and all of Palm Beach County should be, too.

Gayle Harrell Unveils Memorial to Light a Fire Under Congress for Everglades Restoration | Sunshine State News

A member of the House of Representatives from Port St. Lucie has put together a Memorial bill to urge Congress to have Everglades restoration projects to be a priority. This is a type of bill that urges action, but is more symbolic of the urgency that Floridians require as it relates to our water control and supply issues. There are many projects in the pipeline. One of them, of course, is the shoring up of the Herbert Hoover Dike. Click title for link. From the article:

Construction on the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake began in the 1930s after hurricanes killed more than 2,000 people and swamped much of the lower part of the state. It is now in such poor condition that it is ranked among the most likely to fail in the United States. Higher water levels put more pressure on the dike and because water can flow into the lake six times faster than it leaves the lake, the Corps tries to keep the lake level between 12.5 and 15.5 feet during the rainy season.

Independent special districts: Where lobbyists ride free and the public is in the dark | Broward Bulldog

Excellent review of the unique governmental species known collectively as "special districts." It turns out the lobbyist registration laws do not apply to many of the districts in the state. Lake Worth resident and attorney for special districts is quoted in the rather lengthy article. Here are some of his remarks. Click title for link to the article by Dan Christiansen.

“The issue is transparency: who is getting the benefit of governmental largess,” said Frank S. Palen, a West Palm Beach attorney who specializes in government law and special districts.  “If people don’t have knowledge it undermines legitimacy, but as a practical matter it would depend on the scale of the entities.”
Independent special districts have been around for 100 years. The oldest, the Hastings Drainage District in Putnam and St. Johns counties, was created July 1, 1913, according to Jack Gaskins Jr., who runs the state’s Special District Information Program.
Today, these agencies offer dozens of specialized governmental services – from water management, mosquito control and community development to public hospitals, children’s services, ports and airports.

Dateline "Lake Park, FL"...another Channel 12 story...

This is the copy from the Channel 12 website. We are fortunate that the dateline identified is "Lake Park", but not so in the video. Watch the video - you will see William Waters making an appearance and confirming that there are code issues that need to be addressed. If they aren't, then all the people in the building may have to be evicted. Not just the person who is not paying their rent due to the landlord not making the repairs. The landlord didn't know about the problems. Oh, well, another day in "Lake Park."

BREAKING NEWS: Incumbent West Palm Beach Commissioners Granted Two Year Terms

The end of West Palm Beach's qualifying period was today, 1/14/14 at noon, and none of the incumbent commissioners (Materio, Mitchell and Moffet) drew an opponent. So that means no municipal elections in West Palm Beach this year and the three will serve two year terms.

This probably comes as a relief to all of them, but especially for Shanon Materio since she just ran a year ago to secure her formerly appointed seat through an election.

Congratulations Shanon!

2014 Festival of Trees - Saturday, January 18, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cultural Plaza

Contact David McGrew

561-586-1677

dmcgrew@lakeworth.org

City of Lake Worth Annual Tree Festival

Lake Worth, FL – January 13, 2014 – The Lake Worth City Tree Board announces the 9^th Annual Festival of Trees on Saturday, January 18, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cultural Plaza, 414 Lake Avenue between Lake and Lucerne Avenues. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

The event will commence at 10 a.m. with a very special all-level yoga class led by Monica Hornung (yogamundo.com), who teaches at Moksha Studio in Wellington and Bee Organics in West Palm Beach and presentations by representatives of the Native Plant Society (Rufino Osorio, author of “A Gardener’s Guide to Florida’s Native Plants,”) the Audubon Society of the Everglades (Phil Weinrich, Jupiter High School biology teacher), League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County (Barbara Eriv, co-chair of the League’s Climate Change Working Group) and Environmental Resource Management of Palm Beach County (Carman Vare, Environmental Program Supervisor).

Mayor Pam Triolo will read a proclamation declaring January 18, 2014 - Lake Worth Arbor Day between 12 and 1 p.m. After reading the proclamation, Mayor Triolo will dedicate an East Palatka Holly that will be planted on the Lake Avenue side of City Hall Annex. The memorial tree is in honor of Josette Kaufman, late Chair of the City Tree Board and Executive Director of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation for The Everglades. Josette is the daughter of Nancy Marshall, President of the Arthur R Marshall Foundation for The Everglades and step daughter of John Marshall, Chairman and Founder of the organization. They will both will be present at the dedication.

“The annual Festival of Trees is always a big draw for the downtown,” said City of Lake Worth Horticulturalist, David McGrew, staff liaison to the board. “It’s a festive day for families, locals, and out-of-town visitors to enjoy our beautiful park, learn about trees and plants and visit our restaurants and shops.” Home Depot will provide an activities tent for children all day.

“Exhibitors will provide demonstrations and plants and trees will be for sale,” added Richard Stowe, Tree Board Chair. “We’ll have specialists in native trees, plants, xeriscape, pruning and more.”

Music, provided by Afinka Funk, featuring Tom Regis (www.tomregismusic.com), Raul Hernandez, Tommy Benson, Nelson Colon, Jon Zeeman, Phil MacArthur and special guests, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

Paying for parking in downtown Delray up for discussion - Sun Sentinel

Parking meters and pay parking look like they are headed for downtown Delray Beach. What is being discussed is having day parking still be free and have the pay parking start in the evening. Adjustments would be made where store and restaurant employees park. It sounds like they are looking at the problem holistically. Click title for link.

The proposed fees range from $5 a day maximum in a garage to $2 an hour on the main strip, and they wouldn't start until 5 p.m. There would be meters on the street and pay stations in the garages. So morning coffee runs, lunch meetings and quick afternoon shopping trips on Atlantic Avenue would still be free, which pleases some downtown merchants.
"It's called parking management," said Bruce Gimmy, who owns the Trouser Shop downtown and serves on Delray's Parking Management Advisory Board. "The plan is not just to charge for parking."

Commissioner McVoy - look, they have a men's pant store in Delray!

Editorial: Flood waters have fallen, but raise awareness of... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Much of the build up of rainwater from last week's epic storm depends on maintenance of local swales and drains. This may be the case for some of the hard hit areas of Lake Worth. Click title for link to article. Here is what they are doing now.

Last year, Bob Brown became director of the Lake Worth Drainage District, which includes southeastern Palm Beach County and last week got the heaviest rains — 22 inches in Boynton Beach. Brown spent 26 years at the water management district, and Monday he said the drainage district was conducting its “post-storm assessment,” focusing on areas where flooding lasted the longest. The district “is OK,” Brown said, if communities “can get the water to us.”
Many reasons can explain why communities can’t always move the water. Lawn crews can blow clippings into the wrong places and clog drainage systems. Homeowners associations or property management companies can let maintenance slip. Some HOAs may not know the flood control system beyond those lines on the property tax bill for the water management and drainage districts. Brown said his agency conducted 60 slide shows last year for communities.

Click here for recent High Noon in Lake Worth guest Jose Lambiet's article on how wrong our local TV weather persons were on that night. 

Video: Bill Gates says GM traits critical to improve drought resistance seeds, feed developing world | Genetic Literacy Project

Check out this video. He has the money to help do this.

David Beckham, investors hire Tallahassee lobbyist for Miami soccer push - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

Many financing obstacles before this new Miami soccer team reaches its goal. The County has agreed to help the franchise look for a stadium site, but the County was clear that any site it owns would carry annual rent payments, not a token amount like $1 a year. There are other hurdles in Tallahassee where the environment for these sorts of stadium deals has soured after the Dolphin's escapade last year. Click title for link. Here are some of the details that have to be worked out.

For Beckham’s team to obtain funding, lawmakers would first have to add Major League Soccer to the state’s list of professional sports teams. A state representative tried to make the change last year — and secure a subsidy of up to $2 million a year for 20 years for an Orlando franchise — but the effort stalled.
Last year, MLS announced an expansion Orlando team. The league has also sounded supportive of a Miami rival owned by Beckham, who retired from MLS last year with an option in his contract to purchase a franchise for a discounted $25 million.
After adding soccer to the list of sports, legislators would have to craft a competitive funding mechanism for new franchises to apply for the sales-tax funds, Ballard said. If a soccer franchise makes the case that it’s going to generate more money than it would receive in its subsidy, then legislators have an incentive to grant the funding.

Don't blame state woes on growth management - Sun Sentinel

Former Governor Bob Graham, who was in office at the time of the landmark 1985 growth management legislation shoots down the notion that Florida's current "recovery" is due to repeal of many of those laws and the gutting of the Department of Community Affairs. That agency is now the Office of Economic Opportunity. Furthermore, he shoots holes in the notion that the original growth management laws somehow created our housing bubble and resulting recession. Click title for link. Here are some major points:

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which investigated the great recession, did not find that growth-management policies such as Florida's were the cause of the collapse. Rather, the collapse of Florida's housing market — like those in other Sunbelt states such as Arizona, California and Nevada— was driven by a variety of factors including rampant speculation, lax regulatory policies, weak underwriting standards and old-fashioned greed and fraud. These were the same causes of Florida's crashes in the 20th century, before the state's growth-management laws were enacted.
From 1990 to 2000, Florida added, on average, more than 100,000 housing units per year. But in the years leading up to 2007, housing starts exceeded 200,000 units per year. On top of this, between 2007 and 2010, 660,000 more residences of all types were authorized to be constructed, as well as more than 6 billion square feet of commercial and institutional space, most of which has not been built.

Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association Happenings

We have a fun, busy week ahead of us.

Friday (17th) evening TRNA is manning the Front Porch at the evening on the avenues.

Saturday (18th) morning NET and TRNA is teaming up for a neighborhood cleanup at the TRNA Fitness Park on N. H street between 2nd and 3rd Ave N. from 8:30-11:00am.

Also on Saturday (18th) from 10:00-4:00 Lake Worth is celebrating Florida's Arbor Day with the Festival of Trees in the Cultural Plaza across from Lake Worth Library. The festival will include demonstrations, activities for kids, plants for sale and great music.

Then on Monday (20th) TRNA is presenting its new Mid Month Mixer. This will be a social get together held at Clary's in the Lake Worth Towers. The Mixer starts at 7:00. We are asking that for this first meeting if you could please RSVP to this email address, by Friday, so we have an idea of numbers.  

WITH SO MUCH GOING ON WE ARE HOPING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY SO THAT YOU CAN ALL GET INVOLVED.   LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU.

Carolyn

Obituary – Tim O’Meilia: 1948-2014 - The Coastal Star

Another great piece about Post reporter Tim O'Meilia's passing by a colleague of his through the years. Very well done. Click title for link.

Under Construction: South Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach

1/13/14 - This was last posted in late August of 2013 after discovering that the Lake Worth Dunkin' Donuts was closing and a new one was being built on South Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach. It also was around the same time that we learned about the closing of Park Avenue Barbeque in Lake Worth. I am re-posting it now as it is getting a lot of hits today.

Dunkin' Donuts is open now and has been for about two weeks. The former location in Lake Worth is dark. There is activity across the street to the south. The former "Pet Shop" building is opening as a coffee shop I hear.

The former Park Avenue Barbeque property is being used for World Thrift customer parking. The arrangement is make-shift at best. People coming from World Thrift have to physically lift their shopping carts over curb stops and other barriers between the two properties. Most people continue to park in the Arbor Plaza shopping center immediately to the north of World Thrift.

Dunkin' Donuts w/ drive-thru

 Across from:

Walgreen's - Southern Blvd. and South Dixie

Villas of Antique Row - Monroe and South Dixie

America's Best Main Streets | Fodor's

Here are fifteen of what Fodor's calls America's best small town main streets. Duval Street in Key West is one of them, but no other Florida city made the cut. Interesting narrative and pictures identifying what creates a "charming" downtown environment. Note that most of the write-ups include links to tourist information websites. Click title for link.