From Vox: We don’t say “plane accident.” We shouldn’t say “car accident” either.

Start paying close attention to news reports about vehicle 'accidents'. Words do mean things so an effort is being made to change how these events are reported. From Vox is this article on the subject:

     To most people, the terms "car crash" and "car accident" are largely interchangeable. But a growing number of traffic safety advocates have been pointing out that there's actually a big difference — and they want journalists, public officials, and everyday people to say crash, not accident.
     The two groups behind the recent campaign — Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets — argue that the term "accident" makes it seem like crashes are inevitable, rather than preventable. In a subtle way, it normalizes the crash and discourages us from looking more deeply into their causes — whether alcohol, reckless driving, or bad street design.

[and. . .]

     All this might seem pedantic, but there's a real point here. We live in an era when most Americans drive around in multi-ton machines at high speed, and these vehicles kill with surprising regularity. They cause 30,000 or so deaths per year, as many people as are killed by guns. If we want to cut down on that number, it's worth examining the language we use to describe these events.

Video from last Sunday's neighborhood walk in District #1

The Lake Worth CRA and the City of Lake Worth on Twitter: 'Follow' them here

Click on the "Follow" button in the images below to see news from the City and the CRA:

Free movie at the Cultural Plaza this Friday 8 pm Willy Wonka Free Wonka Candy for kids while supplies last! Info call 561 4932550

— LULA Lake Worth Arts (@LakeWorthArts) July 20, 2015

Palm Beach Illustrated covered the Lake Worth "renaissance." Very exciting! pic.twitter.com/zNCjJUuKdn

— Lake Worth (@LakeWorthPBC) July 20, 2015

Memory Monday: Back to school

Click title for link. This is from yesterday's Palm Beach Post and includes a picture of Lake Worth High School at the top of the page. Other Palm Beach County schools are shown at various times through their histories.

Premature Death Notice: Published last November by the Palm Beach County Tea Party

From Ed Wolff, the Founder and Director of the Palm Beach County Tea Party, we have this wildly premature death notice called In Memoriam:

United States Constitution
Born September 17, 1787
Died November 20, 2014
Cause of Death: The amnesty executive order of Czar [sic] Barak [sic] Hussein Obama.

A Blast From the Past: Anarchists Stylin' in the L-Dub...

A history lesson: L-Dub is slang for 'Lake Worth' in the ever-dwindling Anarchist community here in south Florida. The 'L' is short for "Lake" and the 'Dub' is short for "double-'u' " as in the letter "W", hence the term L-Dub. I've got to keep reminding myself there are a lot of new residents in the City who don't know this stuff. Welcome to L-Dub dude!

Note sign in black letters:

"PLEASE EMPTY OUTHOUSE BUCKET WHEN FILLED HALF WAY AND RINSE TO KEEP IT AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE". Keepin' it classy in the L-Dub.

Below is a video of the El Dub Anarchists when they weren't so risk-averse and dependent on the conveniences of modern society (aka the glory days):

Here is the Tweet of the day

If I'm elected President, who should we attack? Retweet for Iran, Favorite for Russia.

— Jack Kimble (@RepJackKimble) July 20, 2015

Live in Lake Worth? You're going to hear the acronym "ITN" very soon

What is an ITN? You've come to the right place. Sans the wild speculation and half-truths an ITN is an 'Invitation to Negotiate'. It's a tool the City of Lake Worth chose to solve a problem: namely, the failed business plan at the City's Casino complex at the BEACH. Think of an ITN as a city saying to the world, "we have a problem and we're looking for ideas to solve it". It's that simple.

City Manager Michael Bornstein in the video below starts from the beginning: what an ITN is and why the ITN process was chosen. The video is a little more than 7 minutes long. Enjoy.

If you're wondering how we got into this mess in the first place you can blame this jovial group in the image below:

Note that the "failing Lake Worth Casino" is now a confirmed failure. Hence the present city commission's responsibility to move forward in seeking new ideas.

Keep Uber in Palm Beach County

[You can read Jesse Bailey's take on Uber here. He writes for the Walkable West Palm blog.]

On Tuesday, the Palm Beach Board of County Commissioners will discuss new ridesharing regulations. Entrenched special interests are trying to corrupt the sensible framework currently in place that has been working so well for the community. They want the Commission to make changes that would threaten Uber’s ability to continue operating in Palm Beach County.

Make your voice heard by letting Commissioners know what access to safe, reliable transportation means to you: Contact your Commissioner.

Palm Beach County has been a leader in Florida on this issue, with a Temporary Operating Agreement in place that ensures local entrepreneurs can continue to earn a living and residents have access to safe, reliable transportation options. These benefits would be secure if the Commission passes the same framework into law.

More than 20 U.S. states and dozens of other counties and cities have passed modern, sensible ridesharing legislation that creates a permanent home for Uber. Help us make sure the Commission doesn’t eliminate your access to safe, affordable transportation options in Palm Beach County.

Uber South Florida
FOLLOW US
Uber Technologies Inc.
1455 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94103

If growth in Palm Beach County is the biggest item of debate county-wide, then why did the Post do this?

Wayne Washington at The Palm Beach Post is doing a series called, "A Question of Growth". He is doing articles featuring the opinions and concerns of developers, farmers, government officials, environmentalists and others.

For some reason this work by Mr. Washington ended up below the fold on the front page of the Post on Sunday; it was trumped by Joe Capozzi's article about the minor crematory incident in Lake Worth almost 3 weeks ago.

"REAL NEWS STARTS HERE"?

The crematoriums Capozzi refers to have been in Lake Worth since at least the 1980's, possibly earlier than that. I wrote a post about this topic on Saturday (7/18) and speculated as to why this story hadn't made the print edition since it had been on-line for several days. I suggested the Post was holding back on publishing this in the print edition to make a big splash in the Sunday paper, and I was right: there it was on Sunday, front page above the fold. Here is how Wikipedia explains above the fold:

Above the fold is the upper half of the front page of a newspaper where an important news story or photograph is often located. Papers are often displayed to customers folded so that only the top half of the front page is visible. Thus, an item that is "above the fold" may be one that the editors feel will entice people to buy the paper.

Would it fair to conclude the Post's editors used this story to sell more newspapers? Mull on this for a few days: "REAL NEWS STARTS HERE"?

Recently closed South Shores Tavern in Lake Worth to be replaced by "seasoned" restaurant pro

Appears Chris Fleming is not wasting any time finding a new tenant. Kevin Thompson has this news about the property at 502 Lucerne Ave:

     “We’re looking to add a little spark to Lucerne Avenue,” Fleming [Chris Fleming partner/co-founder of Strategic Realty Services] said. “There are a lot of people looking to get into the restaurant business, but that’s probably not going to be our first-choice tenant. We want somebody who’s seasoned in the business.”
     Fleming didn’t want to say what kind of restaurant will move into the building, built in 1955.
     “I don’t want to be nailed down to a specific concept,” he said. “But there will be a limited menu and entertainment.”
     Fleming said he’s already talked to restaurant operators in Key West and the borough of Brooklyn in New York. [emphasis added]

If you have other good news to share with Kevin Thompson at the Post (Crime Walks with PBSO for example) here is his contact information:
Email: kthompson@pbpost.com
561-820-4573
Twitter: @kevindthompson1

The thing that keeps Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa up at night

Andrew Marra has this sobering news about PBC's public school system:

     Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa has plenty to worry about as he finishes up his first month on the job.
     But the thing that he says keeps him up at night? The county school system’s decaying infrastructure.
     “I would argue that it’s almost a crisis,” he told The Post’s Editorial Board Thursday.
     It’s no secret that the county’s public schools are suffering from breakdowns, decay and poor maintenance.
     The problem, school administrators say, is a perennial shortfall in the school district’s budget for construction and maintenance.

Information about West Palm Beach's AAF train station being constructed

You can view pictures and find additional information on "furthering Henry Flagler’s vision for Florida" using this link. Here are some transportation changes and improvements you can expect from All Aboard Florida's new station:

• Connect with the neighborhood’s existing vehicular, trolley, and pedestrian networks and establish links to the Tri-Rail and Amtrak West Palm Beach Station, creating a new transportation hub for the West Palm Beach area.
• Give travelers access to downtown West Palm Beach, as well as beaches, shopping, wildlife sanctuaries, boat tours, botanical gardens, museums and more.
• Consist of a nearly 60,000 square foot future station and platform in downtown West Palm Beach located between Datura and Evernia Streets, with CityPlace and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Center to the South, and the government center district and Clematis Street to the North.
• Create more than $164 million in economic impact for Palm Beach County through 2021 and more than 1,200 jobs in Palm Beach County through the construction of the station and rail line.

My resignation letter from the Lake Worth Historic Resource Preservation Board last week

[I am still getting contacted by people who've heard about my resignation last week and have questions. I would direct them to my blog post and their concerns are allayed (assuming since I haven't heard back from them). If you have any questions or concerns please read the letter and feel free to email me if you wish. Thank you, Wes.]

July 16, 2015

Lake Worth City Commission
7 North Dixie Highway
Lake Worth, Florida 33460

Dear Mayor and Commissioners:

It is with regret I submit my resignation from the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB). Currently there are many professional responsibilities that require my attention. Resigning from the HRPB is regretfully necessary in order to pursue those professional commitments.

During my 23 years in Lake Worth I have been honored to serve on many volunteer boards. My first experience was the former Leisure Services Advisory Board. It was an opportunity to learn about Lake Worth and meet other residents who were working very hard to improve our City. That board’s focus was the municipal pool at the beach, the need to heat the pool, and how to bring swim teams in from other areas to use it.

Prior to the public general obligation bond referendum in 2002, I was part of the Beach Steering Committee where we worked with residents, existing tenants, and planning professionals for what was conceived as a city-designed and city-run redevelopment of the beach property.

The advisory board upon which I served the longest was the Planning, Zoning and Historic Resource Preservation Board. During my tenure we created the six historic districts within the City, reviewed many development projects and proposals, and orchestrated a “zoning in progress” that allowed the City to rein in development during the early 2000’s boom era.

While on the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), I made the motion for the CRA to apply for the $23 million NSP2 federal grant program. The city commission at the time could have applied for the grant but expressed no interest in doing so. As a result of the Lake Worth CRA’s NSP2 grant award many City residents benefited and households were improved that would otherwise not have been. The money also created the LuLa Artist Lofts, new homes, and many other projects around the City.

Most recently I was a member of the HRPB, serving as its Chairman for the last three years. We were able to approve quality residential renovation projects in keeping with the City’s historic character and played a role in the continual adjustment and refinement of the City’s land development regulations. I thank the staff of the Department of Community Sustainability for their professional support of the board’s important work and the interaction with applicants that came before the board.

I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve the City in various appointed roles over the years and will continue to remain active in the community. I strongly urge the city commission to take the role of advisory boards seriously and to utilize their skills, knowledge, and counsel. In conclusion, I will continue to make myself available for those with questions, concerns, or observations concerning historic preservation, planning or zoning in the City of Lake Worth.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve our City.

Respectfully submitted,

{signed}

Wes Blackman, AICP
241 Columbia Drive
Lake Worth, Florida 33460

c: Michael Bornstein, Lake Worth City Manager
    William Waters, Director of Community Sustainability

Miami New Times: Restore Calle Ocho to a two-lane, pedestrian/bikeable friendly street?

In the article by the Miami New Times they have present and historical pictures of Calle Ocho in downtown Miami. Local planners are working hard, pro bono, to restore it to its past glory. Right now it's a 3-lane, one-way, downtown 'highway'. Here are two excerpts:

     Juan Mullerat argues that Calle Ocho is Miami’s most historic street, but sometime between now and the 1960s it was transformed into a three-lane highway to absorb the brunt of the city’s growing east-west commuters. [emphasis added]
     “I’m driving down it down and I don’t see anybody walking, just cars,” Mullerat tells New Times on his commute home. “I think the solution is in the back of everybody’s mind. It’s not visionary. It’s removing a highway and putting a real street where it’s supposed to go.”
     Mullerat is the director of PlusUrbia, a small design firm in Coconut Grove. After the Florida Department of Transportation announced plans to redevelop roadway designs of Calle Ocho from NW 27th Avenue to NW First Avenue, his team began working. For the last few months, Mullerat and a team PlusUrbia designers tackled the “Highway Ocho” problem pro-bono, trying to return Calle Ocho to the calm, pedestrian-friendly main street it was 50 years ago.

[and. . .]

    Whether or not the FDOT accepts PlusUrbia’s proposal, Mullerat fears that FDOT won’t take the opportunity to bring real change. “There’s an effort out there to make better streets. We just want to make sure they are better. I would hate for the powers that be to just put a couple of trees and benches and call it a day,” he sighs.

Now about those one-way streets in Lake Worth . . .