Best Friends

News: Pink awning with white stripes a Federal case? Code Enforcement reaching new levels in Palm Beach

Alese Kopf at the Palm Beach Daily News (aka, The Shiny Sheet) has this article about a custard shop, balloons, and a store owner who challenged the Town of Palm Beach's social construct by changing a white awning to a pink one with white stripes and, of all things, ice cream cones! Thomas Tomas, the owner of the Sweet Spot custard shop hired Lesley Blackner to represent him. Does the name Lesley Blackner sound familiar? It should. Do you remember Amendment 4?

Anyhow, while cities such as the little City of Lake Worth work hard and look forward to the day when awning colors and their design are only things left for code enforcement to cite. . . Here is an excerpt from the article by Alese Kopf:

     A code citation case related to store awning changes was postponed until next month so Tomas’ attorney, Lesley Blackner, can attend. Tomas said he has an “extensive case to present” and that Blackner is considering filing a federal lawsuit against the town. [emphasis added]
     The board voted 5-2 to grant a continuance to Tomas, who originally requested a delay to give the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council time to review the town’s commercial sign rules.
     At its June 9 meeting, the council directed the zoning board to look at the ordinance and determine if amendments are necessary.
     After receiving a complaint, the town cited Tomas in April for changing the awning from white to pink with white stripes and adding ice-cream cone logos. 

Go get 'em Ms. Blackner!

News about the little City of Lake Worth from Jennifer Sorentrue

This appeared in today's print edition of The Palm Beach Post about prestigious awards the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County is expected to receive in Chicago later today:

Introducing the McBike (for those fans of McDonald's out there)

From Kimberly Miller: "Dry spell may spell trouble for South Florida"

It's dry. As you'll read below it was predicted to be on the dry side but not quite this much. Here's an excerpt with two members of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD):

     There is no current talk of more strict watering rules, said [SFWMD] water district spokesman Randy Smith. Lake Okeechobee’s level is 12.58 feet, within the strived-for range of between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet.
     While forecasters generally agreed Friday about the cause of the current dryness, there was less consensus about whether it’s something to worry about.
     Shaughnessy [Geoff Shaughnessy, SFWMD meteorologist] said El Nino may be withholding rain now, only to dump it in buckets through the beginning of the dry season.
     In May, the National Weather Service’s forecast for Florida’s rainy season predicted slightly-below normal rainfall because of El Nino.

Stay tuned and follow your community watering rules. Here are the watering rules for the City of Lake Worth:

• Home Addresses Ending With Even Numbers (including zero) May Water Lawns & Gardens on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
• Home Addresses Ending With Odd Numbers May Water Lawns & Gardens on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
• No Watering between 10am & 4pm

Secular Talk Radio: Anti-gay activist Michael Brown, author of "A Queer Thing Happened to America"

More about that tragedy in the City yesterday

Here is the NBC5/WPTV report. Some neighbors in the community were interviewed; you can see their devastation. Here is an excerpt from the text of the story:

     Friends say Waten moved here from Haiti in 1999. He then saved money to bring his wife to America. Friends who know them well can't imagine why anyone would want to harm them.
     "It's something you can't really believe," said Sontonay Clermont, a longtime friend. "They were such a quiet couple. You don't think they wouldn't have any trouble with anybody."
     The couple was a member of the Peniel Hatian Baptist Church of Lake Worth.

Lake Worth's College Park Neighborhood Assoc. (CPNA) Meeting TODAY (Monday, June 22nd)

College Park Friends and Neighbors,

We will hold our Neighborhood Meeting today at 6:30 PM at the Beach Club located at the Lake Worth Golf Course, One Seventh Avenue North. Our speaker for the evening will be Captain Rolando Silva, PBSO Commanding Officer for District 14 in Lake Worth.

Also on the agenda are details and final plans for the College Park entry in the Great American Raft Race on the 4th of July. Due to the success of the College Park social held last month, we are also going to be planning more social events for the rest of this year and your ideas and suggestions are most welcome.

Join us this coming Monday and support the Association that serves our Neighborhood!

Johnny Pickett, President, CPNA

Land Development Regulations—The Case of the Missing Back-up Material

Would suggest reading the information below prior to watching the video.

Yesterday, I took a few minutes in front of the camera to talk about a situation that happened last week. It springs from last Tuesday's Lake Worth City Commission meeting (6/16) during a discussion about changes to the City's land development regulations (LDRs). It turns out that part of the back-up material the City Commission saw was different than what was seen by the Planning and Zoning Board (P & Z) and the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB). Both advisory boards made recommendations to the City Commission without seeing a key portion of the proposed revisions to the code. I thought doing a video was the best way to explain the situation in an attempt to correct misleading information being spread around the city.

I reference the videos below during my talk. This first video is from the P&Z meeting of June 3, 2015.

And this is the HRPB meeting of June 10,  2015:

Aside from this glaring omission, below is an example of the blurry back-up material that was included in the City Commission's back-up material:

Permitted Use Table as included in the City Commission back-up material.

Seen chatting during break before the item was heard:

Director of Community Sustainability William Waters and Ex-Commissioner JoAnn Golden (rumored to be running for the District #3 seat against Commissioner Amoroso in the upcoming March election)

Taylor Prewitt explains: Why Rhodesia's Flag Is A Symbol Of White Supremacy

Image from Wikipedia.

The AllDay website explains why this is. Here is the opening text by Taylor Prewitt:

Rather than cede to black majority rule in 1965, the government of Rhodesia declared its own independence, effectively launching a brutal 14 year civil war that killed 30,000, all for the benefit of white power. The country's flag is now used by white supremacists like the Charleston church shooter to convey racist ideology and hate.

There was a tragedy in our City today

Please say a prayer for everyone involved, the living and the deceased. In the next few days will have information on how you can help ease the pain for everyone involved. In time we'll heal as a community. Information is still forthcoming, until then withhold judgment and concentrate on what you can do to help.

The Lake Worth Herald editorial, June 18, 2015: To Light Or Not

The Lake Worth BEACH! is approximately 0.072 miles of beach on the Florida Atlantic coast and that tiny stretch of Earth took center stage at a recent city commission meeting. We all know the issues: poor lighting in the parking lot, unsafe traffic patterns, our need for jobs, an underperforming city pool, and a Casino complex that has failed expectations miserably.

But what is the main concern for Commissioners Ryan Maier and Chris McVoy at THE BEACH!? Turtles. Understand there are already State of Florida DEP guidelines and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission rules the City has to follow vis-à-vis turtles. 

Here is an excerpt from The Lake Worth Herald:

     The Dark Sky initiative would have total darkness ideally, but everyone knows that is not practical, so the debate over lumens and kelvins continues. [emphasis added] What is enough light for a safer environment and what is too much light for the health of people and the safety of wildlife? 
     It is amazing how many people in Lake Worth are experts on lighting. 
     Let’s pay attention to new science, after all, the old science was once new science until more science came along. What makes one comfortable that this new science won’t be trumped by a newer science tomorrow. Isn’t that how life goes, young people listen to old people until they are old enough to think on their own, then they discard the wisdom of the older to make room for their new wisdom, which, by the way, isn’t always better wisdom. 
     There is a common ground and we need to find it, both in lighting and wisdom. This common ground will never be found as long as neither side is willing to concede anything or work to meld ideas. 
     So, I guess, at least here in Lake Worth, we will continue to bicker and squabble over issues beyond our control while the things we can effectively control spin helplessly out of control due to lack of consideration.

All Aboard Florida (AAF) News: "Vertical construction to begin on Miami station this summer"

Jennifer Sorentrue at the Real Time blog has this news and a video about AAF's progress thus far:

From Vox: "The Charleston shooting is part of a long history of anti-black terrorism"

Christine Stapleton: "Miccosukee Tribe chairman speaks out on Everglades water quality"

The Post's Christine Stapleton reports on a Sierra Club sponsored summit on Saturday where the Miccosukee Tribe’s Chairman, Colley Billie, drew the line vis-à-vis the Everglades restoration efforts:

     [Colley] Billie acknowledged that some progress has been made, but said there are two issues on which the tribe will not budge: The Tamiami Trail bridge project and the maximum phosphorous limit of 10 parts per billion [emphasis added] for water flowing into the Everglades National Park. The Tribe believes raising the Tamiami Trail, which separates tribal lands from the Everglades National Park, will destroy two villages, invade their privacy and hurt their businesses along the road.

[and. . .]

     “I am here today to ask the Sierra Club and all of you to focus your efforts on restoring water quality,” Billie said. “It is only by working together that we will be able to restore the Everglades.”