Part 1 of the Genesis Meeting held 1/26/15 at 6 p.m.: St. Andrews Lutheran Church

I will put the series of videos in a playlist so that you can watch the meeting in its entirety. But for expediency, I am posting them as I review them. This is an index by minute mark of the general content of the meeting.

Beginning: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

2:45 - Jamie Brown, Public Services Director, gives a talk on the status of road projects in the area, noting that 10th Avenue South, just outside the church, was completed through to A Street. He also said that, based upon community meetings, 7th Avenue South is being redesigned from a two way road, to a one-way road west, along with a meandering walkway. This will be coming back to the Commission for review. He distributed waste collection fliers and took questions regarding condominium waste collection rules, the reason for the bollards on some of the east/west roads in the neighborhood and the functional life of roads. He said that a new asphalt road is designed to last 20 years. His presentation concludes at the 12:45 minute mark.

14:10 PBSO Report. Deputy reports that two major incidents happened in the area within the past 30 days. One was a shooting on the railroad tracks and another was a high speed auto accident on D Street that scattered debris over three residential lots. There have been four residential burglaries, four vehicle burglaries, three stolen cars within the same period in the same area. He reminded people about the importance of locking doors to cars and keeping valuables out of sight or take them inside, do not leave them in your vehicle. He also talks about the difficulty seeing people at night and how sneaky perpetrators can be. He says that the sheriff can respond within 30 seconds if there are no priority calls ahead of the call. He encouraged people to call the non-emergency number (right hand column) for suspicious activity. He also talks about the difficulty deputies have with anonymous calls and how noise complaints and barking dog calls are challenging to resolve.

There is a general crowd shot (360 degrees) at the 26 minute mark if you are interested in the number of people and who attended. There were few residents from the area in relation to the size of the group there last night.

The sheriff deputy continues to the end of the video.

Part 2 of the Genesis Meeting held 1/26/15 at 6 p.m.: St. Andrews Lutheran Church

This is the second part of the video from last night's meeting. The sheriff deputy continues his talk and wraps up at the end of the video. In this segment, the deputy responds to questions from the audience related to drug dealing. He says that much of the work there is done by undercover officers and care is taken that what is done is within a legal framework that eventually leads to the arrest of dealers. The deputy says that most burglaries are prevented or solved with citizen input and information.

At the 4:20 mark, discussion turns to sober houses, their prevalence and what can be done, if anything, about them and that goes to the end of the video.

From Delray Beach, a murder threat on Facebook lands suspect in jail

From Adam Sacasa at the Sun Sentinel, not exactly the kinds of things you want to read on Facebook:

Delray Beach man is in jail after posting on Facebook that he wanted an officer dead, according to Delray Beach police.

Clinton Evans, 40, posted to the social media site on Jan. 14 and said in all caps, that an officer, who he said was harassing his family, needed to die. He also included a photo of the officer's car parked outside of his home.

Evans accused the officer of trying to intimidate his family by parking next to and across the street from his family's home

Three days before that post, police said Evans made another post, complaining about the officer's behavior, saying the officer had pointed a gun at children having dinner.

That post had what appeared to be a photo of the officer, taken from a video of a Dec. 27 melee on the 800 block of Southwest Third Court. That's where residents started arguing with officers and blocking officers from arresting Evans.

Two Briger protesters arrested after refusing to leave WPB office

Click title for link to the report of the protest yesterday. This is how it was reported on Channel 12 at noon. I don't think this did much to advance their cause, other than to draw attention to themselves. No word as yet if batteries were used at this protest.

Are Margaret Menge's benefactors raising the white flag? Signaling defeat?

The ink on the 2nd edition is barely dry and Lynn Anderson labels The Lake Worth Tribune "sunrise-sunset". 

Also note that Lynn Anderson deleted The Lake Worth Tribune Latin line under the masthead: Domine, ut videam (Lord, that I might see). Appropriate to erase as Margaret Menge only sees what she wants to see: 

Ignorantia est beatitudo [Latin: "Ignorance is bliss"]

Tonight: Meet the Candidates! Genesis' Neighborhood Association meeting

Genesis' neighborhood association quarterly meeting is tonight at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 928 South E Street, Lake Worth. The meeting will commence at 6:00 PM.

Try to be there on time to hear the invocation by Pastor Serge Jerome. After the Pledge of Allegiance by Mark Anthony Parilla (Genesis President), a presentation will be given by Jamie Brown, the Lake Worth Public Services Director.

Following several interesting agenda items, towards the end of the meeting, you will meet the incumbents and candidates running for Commissioner of Districts #2 and #4. Each will have five (5) minutes to address the community. There will be a Q & A after the completion of the Genesis NA agenda.

See you there. And try to be on time for the invocation by Pastor Serge Jerome.

'Editor/journalist' taking a Lake Worth resident "out of context" and twisting "tone" of story

Margaret Menge's 2nd Edition of her 'newspaper' came out on Friday (1/23/15) and it is, being kind, sort of a mess. Typos, missing text, inaccurate leaders, a "Correction" (already!) to the 1st Edition, and now a Lake Worth resident, Dina Clingman-Bell, who was "taken out of context" to identify just a few missteps. Margaret Menge's newspaper is only 8 pages but I need a staff to keep on top of this amateurish effort from a purported professional. One can only imagine a Charter School, proposed by Ms. Menge, specializing in the Classics and how that would be run on a day-to-day basis.

On January 16, Margaret Menge, in her story about the house fire at 313 North Palmway, deceptively quoted Dina Clingman-Bell and took her observations out of context. Anyone who has participated in an emergency situation knows how these settings are fluid and change in seconds. However, Margaret Menge had the opportunity to besmirch Lake Worth Fire Rescue and she did so with zeal. Ms. Menge wrote this on 1/16/15, taking Dina Clingman-Bell (North Palmway resident, immediate neighbor to the south of fire location) out of context:

Ms. Menge reported Dina Clingman-Bell saying: " 'Why isn't this [the existence of a gas-powered generator] something the fire department knows immediately?' asked the neighbor, Dina Bell. She [Dina Clingman-Bell] says she watched as the firefighters got the fire under control, and then saw it reignite again and flames shoot into the air [...]".

To Ms. Dina Clingman-Bell's credit she wrote a "Letter to the Editor [Margaret Menge]" on Ms. Menge's "out of context" and "negative" portrayal of the events of the house-fire on January 9th on the 300 block of North Palmway:

Ms. Dina Clingman-Bell wrote:

I do feel some of the article [by Margaret Menge] may be taken out of context. The affected home and ours are less than 10 feet apart. The brave men and women, of the thirteen fire crews responding, persistently not only battled the blaze at 313 against many odds, but also managed to protect our home and I am certain, many others, as well.

Ms. Dina Clingman-Bell ended her "Letter to the Editor" with this:

Any reference to the negative [by journalist/editor Margaret Menge] was certainly not implied by me personally.

Here is what Margaret Menge wrote about her last real journalism job: "I was a deputy editor of a terrible [emphasis added] little newspaper there [in Key West], a job that tied me down to an ugly office in a strip mall next to a Ross store. And that's all I have to say about Key West". I guess this is the sort of job you get when no one else will hire you, unless you want someone to distort the truth prior to an election in a small town. This seems to be this editor's niche.

Everglades EarthFirst!ers (EEF) storm offices of Kolter! Arrests and appeals for bail money shortly

From Tuesday Gilliam, spokeswoman for EEF, comes this BREAKING NEWS:

West Palm Beach, FL: Two activists with Everglades Earth First! have just locked their necks together with bicycle u-locks inside the 701 S. Olive Avenue offices of Kolter Group's "Kolter Urban" division after a group of more than twenty people stormed the building with signs, banners, air-horns and other noisemakers, demanding that the permits for Kolter's development of the Briger Forest be revoked.

The group opposes Kolter's plans to build 360 houses and townhomes in the Briger Forest, a 681-acre tract of land that runs along Donald Ross Blvd. and I-95. The protestors claim that the developers are working off deeply flawed permits and have cleared a massive access road which was never approved by South Florida Water Management District. They are also concerned about the recent relocation of the area's gopher tortoises and the destruction of the tortoise's burrows, which provide habitat for several other species, including the endangered Eastern indigo snake.

It appears the folks at EEF are getting clever and learning from mistakes. Last night Ms. Gilliam sent out a newsflash at 10:00 about a protest in Palm Beach Gardens. I reported on it last night. At 10:00 this morning Ms. Gilliam reports on a protest and arrests at 701 S. Olive in West Palm Beach! For some odd reason I am on their list of contacts. Hmmmm. Was this news release by Ms. Gilliam misdirection? Trying to throw off the authorities?

This is the link to the Channel 12 report of the incident. It is on-going.

What do Lynn Anderson, Katie, Dennis Dorsey,...

...Dan Liftman, Drew Martin, Jennifer Marchal, and Christopher McVoy all have in common? Dee McNamara! Here is an email Dee McNamara sent out slandering District 2 Candidate Serge Jerome. I blacked out innocent names and everyone's email addresses:

I can forward the email to anyone who requests it; just give me a valid reason. Here is the text from the email by Dee McNamara:

Dr.McVoy is a responsible, moral scientist, not a belle Glade car mechanic, who has to preach what people want to hear to hustle money out of them.Belle Glade may be the perfect education ground for primitive liars,hustlers,con artists.I have the privilege,good fortune, of not knowing it.
I prefer the highest Academic level of education for our Commission positions with extensive knowledge of our City and its' Municipal Laws.
Only his inferiro , would smear his name with the usual lies.
Liars are dangerous,toxic elements..

Dr Christopher McVoy(Phd.Cornell and M.S., F.U., is South Florida Watermanagement District Environmental Scientist (not environmentalist, educated people know the difference, primitives don't.).

I think it goes to Dee McNamara's state of mind when she refers to Mr. Serge Jerome, a successful Haitian-American, as a "primitive". Tomorrow night you can watch for yourself as this "primitive" Mr. Serge Jerome gives the invocation at the Genesis Neighborhood Association meeting. I wonder if the people Dee McNamara communicated with agree with the thinking of Dee McNamara? If they are willing to stand up against it, which is what most honorable people should do, they should do so in a meaningful way. Silence equals complicity. That includes you Larry.

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

URGENT URGENT URGENT...EARTHFIRST! PROTEST TOMORROW 08:30 PALM BEACH GARDENS

From Tuesday Lee Gilliam, Everglades EarthFirst! spokeswoman: press release at 9:51 PM TONIGHT!!!!! PROTEST TOMORROW IN PALM BEACH GARDENS. 

PROTEST TOMORROW MORNING AT 08:30! IN PALM BEACH GARDENS! 

Most Everglades EarthFirst!ers don't stir out of bed until noon on a busy day. But to rally them out of bed at 05:00 or 05:30? On a Monday? 

WE CAN ONLY HOPE THE PBSO AND PALM BEACH GARDENS PD TAKES THIS SERIOUSLY! 

IS EARTHFIRST! GOING TO EMPLOY DIVERSE TACTICS TOMORROW? 

STAY TUNED, AS THEY SAY.

Lake Worth District #4 Commissioner John Szerdi on a neighborhood cleanup

From last night's Paella Party at "Lady Grace": Fundraiser for the Cottages of Lake Worth

Everyone that came out (70+ people) seemed to have a good time at the Paella Party fundraiser for the Cottages of Lake Worth. Thanks go out to Regina Miller who graciously hosted the event and showed off her historic cottage that is part of the Old Lucerne historic district, shown in purple below.

Portion of Historic District Map from the City of Lake Worth

This is one of six historic districts within the city. Its southern boundary darts in and out north of Lucerne, generally between Lakeside Drive and Federal Hwy, and ending at 7th Avenue North.

Prior to the party, Ms. Miller shared an early photo of the house which appears below.

And here is a photo of how the building and property look today:

The city's designation report for the district says that the house was originally built in 1925. The Property Appraiser's website indicates 1932 as the year of construction. You could make a case for either for this frame vernacular building. It was built from available, generally local materials by the owner or a contractor. This particular example shows the decorative raftertails and brackets under a deep eave. There are also elements of the bungalow style, clearly seen in the older picture. You can see some of that detail here:

In the older picture, you can clearly see the gable on the south end of the house. There was an addition constructed in the late 40s and early 50s that extended the first floor of the house and expanded the second floor. Either then, or sometime before, the original sleeping porch on the east side of the building was weatherproofed and closed-in. This is common with many of the city's historic structures, particularly cottages. Most were originally designed with open air porches. Over time, especially with the advent of air conditioning, many of these were closed in. Back in the day, an eastern porch was preferred for sleeping as it caught the ocean breeze and kept the occupants comfortable during our subtropical nights.

Most of our collection of cottages show this adaptation over time to add more living space or a garage for the car, as the automobile became more predominant during the 20th century.

So, "Lady Grace", as the current owner lovingly refers to her house is indeed a survivor. Last night I wondered what other events and family gatherings happened over the 90 year history of this cottage and the yard. Here is a description by the current owner of some of the recent trials the house has experienced:

I like to refer to her as Lady Grace as she has faced head strong the many storms straight off the intracoastal. Most recently, Francine, Jeanie and Wilma left her for demolition with sinking foundations gaping holes from roof to first floor. But even then she emanated a charming architectural character that couldn’t be refused and was restored in 2008.

Renovations included new engineering to the foundation by lifting first and second floor joists and re-roofing the front half of the house. Also the rebuild of the caved in s/e side that left nothing to tie the roof in. She further received a new configuration to the upstairs master bed room, then the kitchen, and bathroom to allow for a laundry room. Although all the original wood flooring in the home could not be saved, the modern finishes created more flow throughout and enhanced her inner beauty. By the will of man, Lady Grace prominently withstands tests of time as with many of Lake Worth's historical homes. I am blessed to be her keeper in a most beautiful neighborhood. 

Violations of the SPJ Code of Ethics: More Yellow Journalism by Margaret Menge

Ethical lapses abound in the latest issue of our new "rag" in town and we will get to those in a minute. Let's examine one of her latest 'articles' as a background. On Friday, January 23rd, the latest issue of her free Lake Worth newspaper, Ms. Menge writes a story titled, "Townhouses Are Back!" This is written not in the tone of welcoming the possibility of new investment and quality housing in an underutilized area of the city, in and around the downtown, and on the city's edge. It is more written in a tone as if a new scourge had descended on a city unprepared.

Here is how Ms. Menge describes the location of one townhomes project that was approved: 

"They'll be built on land north of Wayne Akers Ford, just across the water from Lake Clarke Shores, west of Detroit Street."

It would have been much more clear to readers to write, "off 10th Ave North behind Wayne Akers Ford", would it not? To be clear, here is a city-produced map with labels added to show the location of the Townhouses to be built:

On January 7th, at the Lake Worth Planning & Zoning board meeting, as reported by Margaret Menge "A woman" and "the woman" was there at the meeting. Here is the video of the Lake Worth 1/7/15 P&Z meeting. I haven't watched the video yet but you can. Did "the woman" and "a woman" speak at this public meeting? Margaret Menge didn't indicate in her article that "the woman" requested anonymity. Then why not give the name of this "woman", Ms. Menge? That is a standard requirement of anyone providing testimony or comment on items being reviewed by a board. The chair says something like, "Please state your name and address for the record." Most comply. Some notable people leave out their address number, like the ones that stand up and say they are so-and-so from "North Lakeside Drive" or "Lake Osborne Drive." Those are the exceptions. Even still, they speak and one has a sense of where they reside.

Here is what Margaret Menge reported "A woman" said in her news story:

"A woman who attended the meeting, whose backyard will be looking across the water at the townhomes, disagreed.

     "You cannot get through. Its just total gridlock," she ["the woman"] said of traffic on 10th Avenue North."

Here is where Margaret Menge's "the woman" resides:

The unidentified, anonymous "woman" Margaret Menge references (a Will-o'the-wisp?) lives in one of six houses in Lake Clarke Shores. How would one deduce this? There are only six houses in Lake Clarke Shores that have backyards "looking across the water at the townhomes". Here are those six houses on East Mediterranean Road in Lake Clarke Shores (courtesy of the Palm Beach County Property Appraisers website):

The strangest thing is, unless Margaret Menge's "woman" has a boat or a zipline over the canal, she is completely unaffected by what happens across the canal, in another municipality. Look at the map above! Margaret Menge's "the woman" would need a GPS device, and a working knowledge of same, to get her from Mediterranean Road in Lake Clarke Shores to 10th Ave. North. Margaret Menge couldn't find one single Lake Worth resident upset about these townhomes? So she includes anonymous testimony just because.

In response to Margaret Menge's "A woman" our Lake Worth Sustainability Director, William Waters outlined how, "It will get better" due to infrastructure upgrades. Then Margaret Menge quoted 'the woman' saying, "I lived in Miami and they said that too". Hmmm, Margaret Menge, could that be considered Advocacy? Or is it Commentary? Either way, Margaret Menge, what "the woman" said is NOT NEWS. And Miami is a big place. Who is "they" and what was "that" which they said? And how can we interpolate whether whoever said what applies in this instance? Are we just to read between the lines and know?

By including that ONE LINE Margaret Menge, by an anonymous source, a self-described reporter/editor/journalist discredits themselves and any professional integrity they may have. 

Margaret Menge violates these 4 codes in the long-standing Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics:

1: Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.

2: Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.

3: Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.

4: Label advocacy and commentary.

And consider this my Dear Fellow Citizens in Lake Worth:

Margaret Menge is publishing a newspaper. She is paying for an office and at least two staff members. She has bills to pay.

She is not charging for advertising.

Question: In full disclosure shouldn't a journalist disclose who is paying for this venture? 

Or are rules for other people?

AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt writes a lovely article on my presentation at Suri (Jan. 15)

Here from AnnaMaria's blog:

Recently I attended a presentation by Wes Blackman at Suri and there he gave this very informative talk. Why do I share this? It’s come to my attention that I have a readership that is interested in Lake Worth. Checking I found that it is being followed by approx 95 regular daily readers but most interesting was that going back a month 30 some foreign countries are also listed having checked in and obviously interest in my subject matter. Well not my blog per say but in our City of Lake Worth. For them, who do not daily read my blog, here is what we are all about in the City of Lake Worth.

The special part about AnnaMaria's blog post isn't so much my presentation, but the wonderful pictures she added to the story. Thank you so much, AnnaMaria.

You can see these great pictures and the text of my presentation on The Cottages of Lake Worth at AnnaMaria's blog here.

An idea from Ryan Maier (candidate for Lake Worth commissioner) that needs to stay in the coop...

Imagine walking out your back door and seeing this in the neighbor's yard...

Image from the Lake Worth Chickens facebook page, 3/16/2013

In 2009, Lake Worth came very close to allowing chickens, ducks, and bees to be farmed for 'personal' use IN THE CITY. Lake Worth even had a mayoral candidate (Rachel Waterman) who thought the Park of Commerce would be great for a large chicken breeding/egg production facility. Besides chickens needing much maintenance and coop cleaning, chickens spread viruses/bacteria and also attract predators. Raising poultry in an urban environment is a public health issue. In a city that is plagued with blighted properties, it doesn't need one more thing to regulate. And, in fact, the chickens are out of the hen house already as many readers can attest by sightings in their neighborhoods. And then there are the roosters...

For some historical perspective, here is a blog post from Tom McGow on April 18, 2009 titled, tongue-in-cheek, Farm Living Is The Life For Me. . . 

In the image below from Mr. McGow's blog, notice item 'C' from the Lake Worth Commission agenda back then:

Then-commissioner Cara Jennings was a big proponent of raising chickens within the municipal boundaries of Lake Worth. Below is one of Tom McGow's classic photoshops, note the image of Cara Jennings (top right).

So why the big deal about the raising of chickens in Lake Worth? One of the District 4 candidates challenging Commissioner John Szerdi is Ryan Maier. Mr. Maier founded the Facebook site Lake Worth Chickens. You can read the article here about Ryan Maier where Cara Jennings is quoted saying:

"There's a whole clandestine chicken army out there," said former City Commissioner Cara Jennings, who mother-henned the 2009 effort but is lying low this time.

On election day in Lake Worth this coming March there are 2 commission seats and 5 candidates seeking election. One candidate, Ryan Maier, is a reminder of an era in Lake Worth we would all rather forget. Onto the important business in front of us as a city, like fixing our infrastructure and streets.