Wednesday, July 29, 2015

City of Boca Raton keeping residents informed by social media

Here we have a follow-up to the pre-Council meeting announcement regarding the appeal of the Chabad project. The Council acted to uphold the Planning and Zoning Board's site plan approval. A continuous stream of quality information coming from local governments is one way to battle rumors and untruths being circulated within a community. Just this week, there was an article by Kevin D. Thompson from The Palm Beach Post on how Lake Worth is considering hiring a Public Information Officer. To this we sing:

From AFNS: California Officials Assure Residents There Still Plenty Of Other Natural Resources To Waste

From America's Finest News Source is a comforting story from California. Despite their lamentable shortage of water there are still plentiful natural resources left to waste in the state, which is encouraging. From the story:
With residents struggling to adjust to newly imposed restrictions on water usage amid the state’s continuing drought, California officials assured citizens Monday there are still plenty of other resources available for them to waste. “Although we as a state must take serious and difficult steps to conserve water, we want to make it clear that residents are still welcome to keep squandering every other resource as usual by leaving TVs on in empty rooms or throwing out perfectly good food,” said Department of Water Resources spokesman Mark Aronow, adding that, while it is crucial that Californians observe constraints on decorative water features and other nonessential uses of water, individual residents and businesses should feel free to continue their regular practices of putting recyclable containers into the trash, paving over soil to expand parking areas, and leaving storefront doors open with the building’s air conditioning turned up.

[UPDATE] Suzanne Mulvehill and her about face: She's now pro-development!

[UPDATE] Wayne Washington at The Palm Beach Post has an article on development in the Ag Reserve today and he has this about former Lake Worth Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill:
     She [Mulvehill] has said the Ag Reserve is more myth than reality, adding that it should be open to all types of development.
     “They should be looking at all the sites that are remaining — whether they had commercial zoning now or not – rather than just granting more commercial zoning to those that have some,” Suzanne Mulvehill said. 
Lake Worth Commissioner McVoy (left) and Suzanne Mulvehill at campaign event (circa 2010).
[Original post from 7/25 follows:] Trust me when I tell you I was fortunate to be sitting down when I got to the editorial page in The Palm Beach Post today. Already reported on this earlier but seeing Suzanne Mulvehill's picture and reading her Point of View about developing the Ag Reserve was eerily disturbing. How many times did we in Lake Worth hear her cohorts and supporters call for low-rise buildings and community gardens, of saving the Casino building from destruction in the name of historic preservation, etc. And we all know the Casino building was demolished.

But such standards are different when it comes to her family's property. Here is an excerpt from Mulvehill's piece:
     Whether you are for or against development, the Palm Beach County Agricultural Reserve doesn’t exist anymore. Long gone are most vegetable crops, farmland and all the flower farms. In the 1950s, Delray Beach was the “Gladiolus Capital of the World” and a major center for growing vegetables and flowers.
     Do you realize that, today, no gladiolus or flowers are grown here, and only 1 percent of the vegetables grown in Palm Beach County are grown in the Agricultural Reserve? [emphasis added]
While campaigning for and as an elected city commissioner in the little City of Lake Worth Suzanne Mulvehill's schtick was all about being GREEN, sustainable, resilient, and saving the Mother Ship Earth; she even went to a conference in Bonn, Germany to study more on the subject. How much things have changed. Below is a photoshop by Tom McGow of Mulvehill in May, 2010:
Also note that Mulvehill was instrumental in the now-failed Lake Worth Casino complex.

"El Bodegon" now open in the Town and Country Plaza in Lake Worth

This past Monday was the "soft" open for the new El Bogedon grocery store in the former space where the Lake Worth Road Publix, and then the Publix--operated "Sabor" store, operated for years. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the store and how they were able to use the space. The aisles seemed wider and the whole space seemed brighter too. This may relieve some of the pressure from the downtown Publix, as people who used to shop at this location had little choice but to go to the downtown location. A formal grand opening is planned down the line, but look for one soon.

Here are some pictures they allowed me to take inside the store. There is also a cafe within.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

[FINAL UPDATE] EarthFirst! and PBCEC: Failed petition drive against Kolter Group/Scripps in Palm Beach Gardens (Alton Tract)

[FINAL UPDATE: Effort stalled at 443 signatures.]

 [Update 3, March 22: EarthFirst! is a tenacious bunch. Now they've set their eyes on 500 SIGNATURES. Stay tuned, the sky's the limit.]

 [Update 2: EarthFirst! is 30 signatures short of 200! Remember, you can live anywhere on the planet Earth and sign this petition. Been through the list and don't see any current or former Lake Worth elected officials. Why?]

 [Update 1: EarthFirst! has reached 100 signatures and NOW THEY'RE GOING FOR 200! They have signatures from Austin, TX and Portland OR. You don't have to live in Palm Beach Gardens to get involved. No signature from Lake Worth Commissioner Chris McVoy yet but it's early.]

 [UPDATE: How is this even possible? EarthFirst! is STILL short of 100 signatures on their petition as of 7:30 a.m. today (5/9). My prediction was they'd reach their goal by "dinner bell" last night. Surely the lack of enthusiasm must be disturbing to some.]

[ORIGINAL POST PRIOR TO FIRST UPDATE:] Here is a petition on Change.org that's trying to stop the building of houses at the Briger Tract (now Alton Tract) in Palm Beach Gardens. The petition organizer is the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) which is the legitimate news outlet for EarthFirst!, in case you didn't know.

They're seeking 100 signatures for their petition and they should have those by the dinner bell tonight; they have almost 70 now. My question is why set the bar so low? Wouldn't 1,000 or 10,000 signatures be more impressive?

They're petitioning the Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens Eric Jablin [correction: Bert Premuroso misidentified as Mayor in previous post], Councilman Bert Premuroso, Councilman Joseph Russo, and Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Valeche. I don't think any one of them will be impressed with a 100-signature petition. All of them have a kid or know a kid that can have 100 hundred signatures banning broccoli by noon tomorrow.
"Say No to 331 unnecessary Homes", they write. Meanwhile how many homes are proposed for Minto and Avenir? How many are proposed in the Ag Reserve? West of the Turnpike?

"Wes, you're beating a dead horse!" I know. So is EarthFirst!.

Isn't the Internet wonderful! Look what I found

For more information visit this website. To sign up for updates and get new information as it becomes available use this link.

Water Utility Director, Larry Johnson, responds to Lake Worth College Park resident vis-à-vis flushing of hydrants:

I spoke with Ms. XXX at XXX this morning and explained the reasons for the high levels of hydrant flushing required recently. The extra flushing is needed during the summer, due to high temperatures and the corroded 2 inch steel water pipe in the College Park area. These conditions cause the chlorine in the pipe to be reduced quickly and flushing water is needed to assure adequate chlorine levels are maintained. Unfortunately, this requires large amounts of water to be discharged from the hydrants. We cannot direct this water to plants, etc. because the volume of water would damage landscaping, and it would require much more labor.

The department is taking both short term and long term actions to reduce the amount of water flushing:  
  • The department will perform another chlorine flush from August 14th to September 6th. This will reduce the amount of flushing after September 6th. 
  • The department is planning capital projects to replace the 2 inch steel water piping in the longer term. A pilot project will start this fall, and the piping in College Park is planned for replacement by the end of 2017.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Thanks,
Larry Johnson

Video from the April 28, 2015 Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) Selection Committee Meeting


[Note the icon 'PLAYLIST' at the top left corner. There are a total of five videos and you can see the list and choose which video to watch or skip to another video.]

I thought it would be a good idea to re-post the video from the ITN selection committee regarding recommendations on the proposals for the Lake Worth Casino complex.

There is a meeting this coming Thursday night (6 p.m., City Commission Chambers) when the Commission and the public will hear two presentations for the first time. One will be for Hudson Holdings and the other from Anderson & Car. You can see the agenda and back-up for the meeting by clicking here. The agenda appears below:

The big issue of the day: Why babies in medieval paintings look like ugly old men

Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency Launches NEW & Improved CRA Website!

Lake Worth, FL, July 28, 2015 - The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has launched a re-vamped version of their CRA website (www.lakeworthcra.org). The new site includes faster navigation, easier accessibility, smarter interface and sharp new features. Features include:

  Comprehensive listings of galleries, restaurants, shops and services
 Interactive Map
 CRA News Blog
 Event and LULA information
 Social media integration

 This cutting edge site will provide a significant change to the CRA’s internet presence and will serve as a platform to deliver more information to residents and visitors through electronic communications. By registering your details on the Contact Us page, you will be added to our database and receive regular updates on CRA programs and events.

 Please visit us at: www.lakeworthcra.org

Town of Palm Beach (33480) to hold elections in February; no help from the county

David Rogers at The Palm Beach Daily News (aka, the Shiny Sheet) has the latest on the town's election preparations:
     Details are being nailed down to allow the town to conduct Town Council elections in February with little or no help from the county.
     “I think things are going very well right now. We’re definitely keeping busy,” Town Clerk Susan Owens said. “There are new things to learn, but we have everything under control for now.”
     After the Florida Legislature scheduled both municipal and presidential primary elections for March 15, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told Owens that her office could not conduct more than one election at a time because of the significant preparation time necessary for the primary.

Staci Sturrock: Railroad pioneer Henry Flager is now on Twitter

This is the news from Staci Sturrock about Henry Flagler's new Twitter account. Remember, it wasn't long ago I had a link to God's Twitter feed. If you wish to "Follow" Henry Flagler click the 'Follow' button below. Welcome back Henry Flagler!

All Aboard Florida: street closings in West Palm Beach

The Post's Jennifer Sorentrue has this news about the street closings:
     Sections of Clematis and Banyan streets in downtown West Palm Beach will be closed in the coming days as All Aboard Florida works to upgrade train tracks near Quadrille Boulevard as part of its planned express passenger rail service between Miami and Orlando.
     Construction crews will close the intersection of Banyan Street at Quadrille Boulevard beginning Sunday in order to work on sections of the Florida East Coast Railroad tracks as part of its plan to build a 60,000-square foot station near CityPlace.

Monday, July 27, 2015

A letter from West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio on recent city shootings

Note from aGuyonClematis: This was sent out on the City of West Palm Beach insider mailing list:

You have no doubt heard about the recent rash of shootings taking place in our city’s north end. To say this violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated is the usual comment we public officials make at times like this. They are easy positions to take and make good material for sound bites. But it is not enough.

What they don’t do is cut to the heart of why these shootings are happening, or why our police department is facing significant challenges in arresting the shooters

Tragically our city does not have an exclusive on gun violence. It is a horrible reflection of our society that if you Google “movie theater shooting,” you now must specify which one you are seeking. I have long been focused on getting illegal weapons off our streets.

Last year we held a gun buy back program during which we collected over three hundred weapons. I am a member of Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns whose only focus is reducing the number of illegal weapons in our cities. But while getting the guns off our streets will help, the guns themselves are not the most significant obstacle facing our police department.

Our police have significantly increased patrols in the area. In many cases they know the young people involved. But our officers cannot arrest suspects and our prosecutors cannot convict criminals if no one is willing to come forward and help.

I understand the reluctance to come forward. It is based in fear. Fearful victims refuse to talk to officers about what happened and choose instead to seek revenge on their own terms. We have one case where a young teenage victim told his mother he knows who shot him but refuses to tell even her who it is.

And the refusal to cooperate extends beyond victims. Fear creates a situation where our detectives cannot find witnesses to these shootings. One shooting took place in front of a neighborhood party of over three dozen people, yet not a single witness has come forward.

This puts our police officers in the impossible position of trying to stop this wave of violence on their own.

Unfortunately our young people find it easier to reach for a gun than to reach for help.

On Wednesday of this past week we held a meeting with approximately two dozen clergy and community leaders. It is my hope that these men and women will do everything in their power to encourage our residents to join us in publicly standing up against violence.

In addition we decided to walk the community and reach out to those who live there. Together we must assure them we are there for them.

But there must be more. We need your help. If you see something or know something reach out to me or to your Pastor or to a community leader you trust.

Help us help you. Help us help our community.

It is easy for me to shout from the mountain top that this violence will not be tolerated. What we need is for all of us to stand together and work together to take back our city.

How another local government distributes information on controversial items

The City of Boca Raton recently approved a development application for a house of worship that generated a lot of concern among its residents. One of the concerns was the possibility for additional height, from 30 to 50 feet. Their Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the site plan and the height increase. The City Council approved the requested height increase. Now, the opponents of the project filed an appeal of the Planning and Zoning Board's approval of the site plan. That issue goes before the City Council at their July 28, 2015 meeting.

Here is the city using its Facebook page to communicate where people can find additional information on the process and status of this item:
Going to their webpage, items in the "News & Information" section are listed prominently in the left side of their homepage:
The item in question appears at the top of the list. Click here for the quick, two-page summary. This is what the top part of the pdf looks like:
This is the sort of information our City of Lake Worth should be providing as way to control rumors and quelling mis- and disinformation. Here is how another community handles rumors and gets its information out to the public.
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