Breaking news from the Neighborhood Association Presidents Council (NAPC)

PRESS RELEASE:

The Neighborhood Association Presidents Council is pleased to announce that a date has been set for the 2015 NAPC Candidate Forum at the Lake Worth Playhouse.

Monday, March 2, 2015
Lake Worth Playhouse
713 Lake Avenue

Doors open at 6:30 PM
Forum begins at 6:45

The public is invited and there is no entry fee, although baskets will be circulated through the audience for donations to the Playhouse to cover expenses for electricity, a/c, lighting and sound technicians etc. To keep a clear line of sight for everyone in the audience, no yard signs or banners may be brought in the Playhouse. Candidates have been asked to urge their supporters to hand out campaign literature outside the Playhouse and no unattended stacks of campaign literature will be allowed inside the Playhouse.

To read the entire press release go to the NAPC website. While you are at the NAPC site please look up your neighborhood association to find out more about your neighborhood association and discover who your neighborhood association officers are. 

Three comments from The Other Blogger (TOB). So very charming aren't they?

Do we have a new nickname for Mrs. McGiveron?

Wit and charm. Obvious satire.

The reference to Callero's and the Sunshine Law is Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell having lunch with Congresswoman Lois Frankel. The rest of us know members of Congress aren't covered by the Sunshine Law. 

Everything & Anything you need to know about this weekend in the little City of Lake Worth

Here is a fabulous source for information on what's happening in Lake Worth this weekend from AnnaMaria. Please share this information with your friends and family.

The Street Painting Festival is this weekend, of course. The kick-off for the Festival is Compass' The Taste of Lake Worth, the NAPC Front Porch, and of course The Evening on the Avenues in the downtown Cultural Plaza.

The next day is the Festival! See you there and thank you for visiting my blog.

Commission Responses to Public Comment from last night's meeting...Vice Mayor Maxwell tells it like it is

Check out Vice Mayor Maxwell's response starting around around the 8 minute mark of the video. At 8:30, he responds to Peter Timm's comments about non-ad valorem financing. At the 10 minute mark, he hits his stride talking about what led to the state of the city's infrastructure. Around 11:30 he addresses financial mismanagement by previous administrations; it is not the fault of this current Commission or city administration.

Call Security! And put down those peppers and tomatoes!

Andy Reid at the Sun Sentinel on a contentious meeting about the Palm Beach County Agricultural (Ag) Reserve:

Peppers and tomatoes intended as decorations were instead at risk of becoming projectiles at a debate Tuesday over the development future of Palm Beach County's Agricultural Reserve.
     Tempers flared between those who want to ease building limits on agricultural land clashed with those who want to block more suburbia from spreading to the 21,000-acre, fertile farming region west of Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.
     At times, frustrated people stormed out and security was called in. There were calls of "B.S.!" from some in the crowd — and they didn't always abbreviate.
     "We really needed to come up with a middle [ground] and we are not there," development consultant Bob Bentz said. "There needs to be a solution."

Very interesting article by Andy Reid. Noteworthy is Drew Martin was not quoted in the article. As we all know his talent for compromise and finding common ground is legendary.

Public Comment on Non-Agendaed Items from last night's City Commission meeting—2/17/15

Note Mrs. Katie McGiveron at the 9:17 mark of the video. Her comments set up a confrontation in front of the dais during the Commission meeting break. (Note: doesn't Katie know the city's camera is still taping? There is no sound but the video continues.) More to come. Below is a picture at the beginning of the histrionics. After Katie was finished with Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell she went looking for other targets: Commissioner John Szerdi and Commissioner Andy Amoroso.

I will use the city's video of Katie's histrionics, sans audio, and publish it with a nice musical background. If anyone has suggestions please forward them to me. The Way We Were by Barbara Streisand is my first choice.

Here are the first two lines:

Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were

As of 10:00 this morning the city's video of last night's meeting is not available. Check back tomorrow and thank you for visiting my blog.

Commissioner Comments and Liaison Reports from last night's (2/17) meeting (cancelled meetings explained)

Important to point out that at the beginning of the this video, Vice Mayor Maxwell talks about the reasons that the next two City Commission meetings are cancelled. On March 3rd, the entire Commission is taking part in Palm Beach County Days in Tallahassee. This will allow them to interact with state legislators and talk about how the state can help us fund infrastructure projects here. The other meeting, on March 10th, is cancelled due to it being election day. Since it is a local municipal election, our own City Clerk Pam Lopez, is involved in the process. The statement was made partly in response to claims that this Commission meets more infrequently than others. It is clear that these situations are out of the Commission's control. The trip to Tallahassee will provide a public benefit to the city over the long term.

Channel 5 (WPTV) is the best at TV news reporting but every now and then...

The little City of Lake Worth doesn't have a Drive In movie theater. The city of Palm Springs does. The shaded area in the map below is the city of Palm Springs and in the middle of the map you can clearly see the "Lake Worth Drive In" within the borders of Palm Springs, FL. Why do they call it the "Lake Worth Drive In"? You have to ask them but this is probably the reason: the address for the Drive In is: 3438 Lake Worth Road, Palm Springs, FL 33461.

Generally, but not always, when you see the zip code 33461 that's a clue you might want to ask someone what city you are in, or you might be in Unincorporated Palm Beach County. The Drive In has a Lake Worth mailing address and that is all it shares with our City. It is not located within the borders of the City of Lake Worth. 

Here is the news report by Meghan McRoberts. From the text of the story on the Channel 5 website:

LAKE WORTH, Fla. -- The movie racy, adult-themed story line of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has gained plenty of attention.
     But, some young kids could also be getting an easy peak into the plot at a Lake Worth drive-in movie theater.
     The Lake Worth Drive-In and Swap Shop has aired the R-rated movie at the same time as it has aired the new G-rated "SpongeBob" movie numerous times.

Here is a screen grab of the beautiful Meghan McRoberts:

Clearly "Lake Worth" is an error. And you can see how these errors are made. If anyone in the press can take ten minutes here is a lesson on what is the City of Lake Worth and what is not the City of Lake Worth. If anyone in the press would like to chat for a few minutes about this and ask some questions you can email me any time. 

Oh, in case you missed it the story by Meghan McRoberts, it is quite entertaining.

Mr. Greg Rice needs your help this weekend

Mr. Greg Rice, an outstanding Lake Worth citizen/volunteer, needs your help:

I [Greg Rice] need some help. Nadine [Burns] and Maryanne [Webber] have just let me know that we are going to add another shuttle bus to cut down on the wait time for our visitors coming to Lake Worth for the 21st Annual Lake Worth Street Painting Festival. If you would like to host the shuttle for a couple of hours this Saturday and/or this Sunday to welcome our guests, please contact me as soon as you can. You can email me with your contact info.: name, email/phone number with the day/time you're available to ride the shuttle and talk about how great Lake Worth is! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. My email is gregrice33460@gmail.com. Thank You everyone for supporting us this weekend. 

Sincerely,

Greg Rice

Question for residents of Lake Worth, Florida, a little City in Palm Beach County: Are we better than this?

An American of Haitian descent, Serge Jerome Jr., is challenging Commissioner McVoy for the Lake Worth District 2 seat. Another blogger in the little City of Lake Worth ("The Other Blogger" [TOB]) has endorsed City Commissioner Christopher McVoy for re-election. That is her right. However, I have a question: Does Commissioner McVoy agree with TOB that "a large segment of black America has waged a war of violent retribution against White America"?

Look at these images taken from that 'other blog' in Lake Worth, Florida:

If that's not disturbing enough, you can read an email from Mrs. Dee McNamara about what she thinks of Mr. Serge Jerome Jr.; very unkind to say the least. Mrs. McNamara refers to Mr. Serge Jerome Jr. as "a primitive". 

TOB was one of the recipients of this email from Mrs. Dee McNamara. And so were these people:

–Dan Liftman

–Jennifer Marchal

–Lake Worth Commissioner Christopher McVoy

–Drew Martin of the Sierra Club

–Dennis Dorsey

The Ribbon Cutting at Mama Gizzi's in Lake Worth today

From left to right: Delores Key, City of Lake Worth Economic Development Manager; City Manager Michael Bornstein; City Commissioner Andy Amoroso; the Mama Gizzi crew with Mama Gizzi (in white jacket); Mayor Pam Triolo (with big red scissors); Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell; Lake Worth CRA Director Joan Oliva.

Mama Gizzi's is located at 2212 North Dixie Highway in the little City of Lake Worth, 561-642-9996. This is in the College Park neighborhood in the City. Make sure and stop by for the best pasta in the known world.

FREE SHUTTLE to the Lake Worth Downtown Street Painting Festival this Saturday & Sunday

Take the Free Shuttle To The Street Painting Festival!

A FREE Festival Shuttle will be making a continuous loop from Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth Campus and the Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station to downtown Lake Worth from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Saturday and Sunday, February 21 & 22.

Learn more about the little City of Lake Worth's Street Painting Festival here.

Visitors can take Tri-Rail to the festival or park their car at Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth Campus and ride the shuttle.

Self-Parking and Valet Parking are also available throughout the downtown area in the little City of Lake Worth.

Entire Video from the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association Candidate Forum—2/16/15

The main room at the Lake Worth Golf Course Clubhouse was full to over-flowing last night. Candidates and the moderator had to struggle with a wireless microphone that would periodically "fuzz out". About half way through it was abandoned and the candidates just spoke louder in order to be heard. More out-takes on the way. Serge Jerome, Jr. did an excellent job during his introduction and that will be the first one pulled out individually.

Stay tuned!

Some selected pics from last night's Parrot Cove NA candidate forum...

VIDEOS COMING SOON!

Full house last night— easily over 100 people in attendance. Next Monday night is the Bryant Park NA forum at 7 p.m., Lake Worth Golf Course Clubhouse.

Mr. Anthony Marotta, President of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association.

From left to right, Lake Worth District 4 Commissioner John Szerdi, District 2 Commissioner Christopher McVoy, candidate Ryan Maier, and candidate Serge Jerome Jr.

The town of Gulf Stream followed through: now it's game on

On December 5, 2014, I wrote this post about an article by Dan Moffett in the Coastal Star. The town of Gulf Stream was considering using the RICO Statute against a very litigious resident. They're not considering doing that any more; they've decided and they are going full speed ahead. Read here from Alexandra Clough at the Palm Beach Post:

     The town of Gulf Stream is fighting back against litigious resident Martin O’Boyle by filing a lawsuit of its own: A federal class-action RICO lawsuit against the millionaire gadfly, his son and the son’s law firm.
     On Friday, the town filed a 49-page complaint in U.S. District Court, alleging the men engaged in a conspiracy to extort money from municipalities and other organizations.
     The complaint alleges that O’Boyle uses the public records process “in an abusive fashion” to file thousands of requests and numerous frivolous lawsuits. When Gulf Stream’s staff couldn’t keep up with the requests, O’Boyle filed “spurious” lawsuits or pre-suit settlement demands for an amount in excess of costs and fees.
     The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations lawsuit said O’Boyle and his son, Jonathan, a 2012 law school graduate, realized they could use the public records to generate profit for themselves and “extort money” from local governments.

Read the full story here. Alexandra Clough is a top-notch reporter at the Post and I'll keep you up-to-date on this story as it unfolds.

Stay Tuned, as they say.