A question for everyone interested in Lake Okeechobee, blue-green algae, and "Send The Water South!"

Let's say a community along a waterway in Palm Beach County, it can be a small or large one, decided that the cost of County sewage line maintenance and human waste disposal to a treatment facility was too expensive and will switch to septic tanks instead. There would be outrage from the environmental community, right?

Question: So why isn't the environmental community outraged that so many communities in Martin County are polluting their waterways with feces and urine now?

Shouldn't the cry be to have all that human waste disposed of like most of Palm Beach County does with modern waste disposal technology? Below is J. P. Sasser's thoughts on this subject. He is the former mayor of Pahokee. From his public comment given at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council on May 20th of this year:

". . . we are not the ones flushing septic tanks into our own waters."

"324 salmonella infections linked to pet chicks, ducklings since January"

Image above from 2009 by the inimitable Tom McGow. For more on this issue look in the right-hand column for "Raising chickens, aka 'Urban Chickens' IS NOT allowed in Lake Worth" or use this link.

CNN had this news from last month. Here is an excerpt:

     "Health investigators have interviewed 238 of those who became sick and found most of them had contact with live fowl at home, school and work in the week before their symptoms began. Some of them also said they bought live baby poultry from several suppliers in multiple states. Those include feed supply stores, co-ops, hatcheries and friends, according to the outbreak summary issued Thursday.

     'Results from these investigations showed that contact with live poultry in backyard flocks was the likely source of these outbreaks,' the agency said.

     Symptoms of salmonella infection include abdominal cramps, fever and sudden onset diarrhea that can last for several days. Nausea, vomiting and headaches may also occur."

Lake Worth news from our neighbor to the south: Lantana

News like this from Alexandra Seltzer is a "shot-in-the-arm" for Lantana and the cities nearby too. This proposed community of residents "geared toward young families" aren't going to shelter in place. They're going to explore Lake Worth and spend money here too. Below are two excerpts from the article:

LANTANA — Fifteen three-story apartment buildings will be developed as the first phase of the residential section of the Water Tower Commons project. They’ll be behind the row of 11 retail spots including a fitness center and grocery store, according to plans submitted to the town.

[and. . .]

     The apartments are only a small piece of the overall residential area, which can have up to 1,091 units. [emphasis added] The apartment section will be geared toward young families. It includes a pool, a clubhouse and a green space on the left of the property in the middle of a circle of five buildings. A park near the center of the apartments will also have a connecting road to the commercial area. There will be a park around the 127-foot tall water tower and an entryway there, also.

The Post article on the bond referendum is available online

The Palm Beach Post finally has an article on the upcoming bond referendum online and will be published in tomorrow's print edition on Lake Worth's So Very Special Monday. Lake Worth is featured each and every Monday and it's anyone's guess as to why:

Note the Very Special Cities. There are also a few other cities in the County worthy of attention too. Like Greenacres, Lantana, The Acreage, The Great Walled City of Atlantis, Palm Springs, Belle Glade, Riviera Beach, Highland Beach. . .

For regular readers of this blog there's nothing new in the Post article but this excerpt sums up the nonsense by Mrs. McGiveron and her CAUT PAC quite nicely:

     [City Manager Michael] Bornstein told The Post that McGiveron is misguided.
     “She has genuine concerns, but she’s not an elected official,” he said. “She has stated she wants to be involved on the level my mayor and commissioners are involved, but if she wants to be engaged at that level, she needs to run for office.”
     Attempts to reach McGiveron were unsuccessful. [emphasis added]

Big surprise, huh? Anyhow, the reporter Kevin Thompson, along with being a contributor to Lake Worth's So Very Special Monday edition is also the reporter for Greenacres, suburban Lake Worth, and the Lake Worth Corridor.

If you have news or an event you would like to promote, here is the reporter's contact information:

• Email: kthompson@pbpost.com
• 561-820-4573
• Twitter: @kevindthompson1

The Blueway Trail and the need to educate yourself and your family

Take note supporters of the Blueway Trail: The propaganda/mis- and disinformation campaign against the Blueway has begun.

This Letter to the Editor published last Wednesday in the Post demonstrates perfectly how ill-informed people can be. Next Tuesday at the Lake Worth City Commission the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council will give a presentation about the Blueway Trail and you are strongly urged to attend. Here is an excerpt from that letter by someone who should most definitely attend and learn the facts before jumping to conclusions:

West Palm Beach has plans [not true, it's not a city project] to connect the chain of lakes to allow small boats access to the Lake Worth lagoon. My concern is for the quality of marine life, human life [huh?] and tourism from discharge that will be flowing into the Intercoastal [sic, s/b "Intracoastal"] Waterway, eventually contaminating beaches.

Look in the right-hand column for Public access to Intracoastal bypassing S-155 Spillway on C-51 Canal or use this link. And then there's this:

"Beautiful blues!" at the Lake Worth Pier at the BEACH! Two published comments below are more examples of uneducated, unhinged hysteria.

On education and schools in Lake Worth: Two excerpts from a Letter to the Editor published in The Lake Worth Herald

"Dear Editor of The Lake Worth Herald,

     I think there are a lot of problems with how schools as a whole and our children are tested and lots of ambiguity on what those grades mean in any given year. Year to year comparisons are also suspect when certain qualifying factors are added or deleted. That said, it appears there may be cause to feel hopeful for Lake Worth schools. 
     According to the Florida Dept. of Education for the school year just ended, Barton, Highland and South Grade Elementary Schools improved from a D to a C and North Grade Elementary, Lake Worth Middle and Lake Worth High remained unchanged with a C.
     So where’s the hope in all the ambiguity and the mediocrity implied by our local schools coming in with a solid C? Is a slight improvement or simply maintaining an average rating enough to feel hopeful about? Those are essay questions, boys and girls, and here’s my answer: Palm Beach County is one of the largest school districts in the State of Florida. It is an unfathomably cumbersome bureaucracy. It’s also the governing body of how our children and our teachers spend most of their waking hours - so it matters and yet it doesn’t. That little ‘yet’ is where I find reason to hope."

[and. . .]

     "I see civic groups donating dictionaries and raising scholarship funds. I see Elected's taking turns reading to classrooms and mentoring students. I see incredibly innovative early education programs at our Public Library with sign up sheets that run two or three pages long. I see businesses donating old computers and volunteers re-booting them to serve anew. 
     I see Little Free Libraries springing up everywhere with children’s books flying out faster than the speed of love. I see a Community that stands with our teachers pushing past the frustration, the bureaucracy and the endless, pointless testing.
     The Florida Department of Education has handed us a report card that says Lake Worth is average. They’re wrong and the grown-ups around here are not signing it. This is a Community so outstandingly well and far above average in their commitment to education. I am hopeful and I’m proud to call Lake Worth my home.
     Pencils down. 

     Mary Lindsey
     Lake Worth"

When is turtle nesting season? And take the quiz: how long do you think the Lake Worth BEACH is?

First, let's examine how many miles of Florida beaches exist: When you add up the total miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Straits, and the Gulf of Mexico it totals 825 miles. If you total the northeast, central, and southeast regions of the Atlantic Ocean beaches the total is 362.7 miles of beach. If you didn't know turtle nesting season if from March 1st and ends October 31st.

Now all you Lake Worth residents, with turtle season here, how many of that 362 miles of Atlantic Coast beach do you think the Lake Worth BEACH comprises?

THE QUIZ: How many miles long is our BEACH (approximately)? Is it:

1. Two and ¾ miles long?
2. Five and ¼ miles?
3. One and ½ miles?
4. 0.26 miles (1,280 feet)?
5. One mile and 57 feet?

Stop here. Watch the short video below and think about it.

The answer is 4! 0.26 miles/1,280 feet.

For perspective that means the Lake Worth BEACH! makes up just 0.072 of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean coast. Of ALL Florida beaches? 0.032.

A party at the Lake Worth BEACH! Recognize anyone? This is a classic photoshop by the inimitable former City blogger Tom McGow.

[UPDATE] The endorsements are rolling in for State Senator Jeff Clemens in redrawn District 31*

Update—The latest from Florida Politics about Jeff Clemens' challenger:

     Rep. Irv Slosberg has dropped another $50,000 of his personal wealth into his Senate District 31 campaign, bringing his self-funding to a significant total of $170,000 in loans, new campaign reports show. [and. . .] Clemens, who has criticized Slosberg for not living in the Senate district, sent out a fundraising appeal Thursday again questioning Slosberg’s motives.
     “Fact: my opponent isn’t a progressive, and he’s really not much of a Democrat, either,” Clemens wrote.

From an earlier article in Florida Politics: “It’s humbling to know other elected officials and advocacy organizations have confidence in the job I’m doing,” Clemens said. “Especially in places like Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, where I haven’t represented them previously.” Here is Clemens' partial list of endorsements:

• State Representative Dave Kerner
• State Representative Bobby Powell
• County Commissioner Shelley Vana
• County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay
• Former County Commissioner Burt Aaronson
• School Board Member Erica Whitfield
• Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Mack McCray
• Boynton Beach Commissioner Joe Casello
• Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein
• Delray Beach Commissioner Mitch Katz
• Delray Beach Commissioner Shelly Petrolia
• Lake Worth Commissioner Andy Amoroso
• Greenacres Mayor Samuel Ferreri
• Greenacres Commissioner Jonathan Pierce
• West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio
• Lake Clarke Shores Mayor Robert Shalhoub
• South Palm Beach Mayor Bonnie Fischer
• South Palm Beach Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello
• Lantana Mayor David Stewart
• Lantana Councilman Philip Arydas
• Atlantis Councilman Michael LeCoursier
• Riviera Beach Councilmember Terence Davis
• Service Employees International Union Local
• Palm Beach Police Benevolent Association
• Florida Planned Parenthood PAC
• Palm Beach Human Rights Council

*FYI: Did you know Jeff Clemens is the former mayor of Lake Worth and that he has never lost an election in his political career? It's true.

Solid Waste Authority's hazardous waste tips—More "news you can use" in this week's Lake Worth Herald

City news, photos, opinion, notices, events, community businesses, and so much more. . . all for just ¢50.

Below are excerpts from this week's Lake Worth Herald:

When exploring South Florida’s beautiful natural environments, be watchful of what you leave in your wake. Items such as:

• flares
• fire extinguishers
• deep cycle batteries
• mercury float switches
• fuels and oils
• cleaning products and
• even boats themselves all need to be disposed of properly.

     Fortunately, proper disposal of many harmful boating products is easy and free for Palm Beach County residents.

There are 6 centers listed in the article. The closest one to Lake Worth is: Central County Transfer Station, 1810 Lantana Rd., Lantana, Monday–Friday 7:00–5:00, Saturday 7:00–Noon. 

[and. . .]

     Proper disposal of old or expired hazardous boating items can be a real lifesaver. More disposal information for boaters can be found on the SWA website or by calling 561-697-2700 or 866-SWA-INFO (toll-free).

The Palm Beach Post wrote ANOTHER editorial about Lake Worth! Wow. Can you believe it?

Yes. It's true. With all the issues going on in Palm Beach County, the little City of Lake Worth is the focus AGAIN of the editorial board in today's (7/15) print edition—this time about Garlic Fest. This latest editorial comes on the heels of the dumbest editorial in years about the City's Casino.

The latest news made in the editorial is this:

The city is still wrangling with builders over flaws in its revamped [emphasis added] Lake Worth Casino.

When it comes to the Casino building they have pretty much exhausted the thesaurus. It's been "rebuilt", "renovated", "restored", "rehabilitated", a "restoration", "redone", "reconstructed", etc., and now its "revamped". Here is a picture of the structure after it was 94% demolished:

Nicely "revamped" is it not? Learn more about the Casino using this link and the "Greenwashing" too.

The editor(s) take some clever political snipes which isn't unusual. Everyone is pretty much immune to it. Maybe if I get around to it will do a blog post about this latest editorial effort but it's not really that important. What is important is what the City's Dir. of Community Sustainability had to say:

“A good number of people have come to realize that we need outside investment,” he [William Waters] said, “we need to be welcoming, we need to be attractive to outsiders to turn our city around."

Considering the latest news about Lake Worth's almost 12% increase in taxable property value over 2015, below is video I took of Waters' presentation at the Palm Beach County Planning Congress' 2016 Planning Challenges seminar. The event took place at West Palm Beach City Hall on June 7, 2016. It is well worth watching if the future of Lake Worth is important to you: Oh, and Thank You for visiting my "extremist" blog.

When it comes to 'extremism' the Post has their own problems to worry about.

You got pulled over by the police and you're a 17 year old Black male or an 84 year old White woman or an. . .

What do you do? Chief Jeffrey Katz of the Boynton Beach PD explains: You can follow Chief Katz on Twitter also:

The criminal element wants us divided. Take note of principle number 7. Residents & police are ONE community @BBPD pic.twitter.com/nMFEsJ3d8w

— Chief Jeffrey S Katz (@BBPDChiefKatz) July 11, 2016

More on the "wolf at the door" and those reasonless cries of 'gentrification' in Lake Worth

"You could make the case that poor people are displaced from poor neighborhoods because of their poor schools, their lack of jobs, their more chaotic public spaces, their lack of opportunity."
—Quote from a speech given by Daniel Hertz titled, "When cities change", at Congress for New Urbanism conference on June 14th, 2016.

"First, let’s acknowledge that, for the first time in 50 years, the market is moving in our [New Urbanism's] favor. People (and jobs) are moving to cities. We need to see that as the opportunity to get mixed-income neighborhoods and not fear good, thoughtful development.
     That means we can’t let NIMBYs win the day. The same people who complain about high prices also complain when developers show up to build more supply. We have to make the connection between supply and demand for the protesters and the press."
—Ibid.

How does this apply to the little City of Lake Worth? Simple. Look in the right-hand column of this blog for:

• 'Gentrification!' & politics of fear (or use this link)
• Did you know 2 of "19 Best Environmentalists in South Florida" are in Lake Worth? (link).
• And this current and relevant topic, Seniors struggle to pay electric, home repairs, conserve water. . . (link)

[PINNED POST] News on the upcoming bond referendum and the editorial in this week's Lake Worth Herald

If you've already read this blog post from yesterday (and tons have already) please scroll down for new content. This is a "Pinned Post" meaning it's kept at, or near, the top of the blog for a period of time as determined by Yours Truly. The first 2 paragraphs were meant to ruffle some feathers, so to speak, and hopefully provide some impetus for change. Enjoy:

First, a short comment about that ridiculous article in The Palm Beach Post last Tuesday: the Post editorial board will endorse this next bond referendum just like they did in 2014. Why? Nothing's changed much except it will be a smaller bond and the roads are still in terrible shape. But like in the 2014 "LW2020" bond vote it doesn't help much having the editor come in riding the White Horse to save the day after their reporter at the time did such a terrible job of reporting what was going on.

By the time your editorial came out, Dear Editor, it was too late. Most people had already made up their minds. So. . . is it too much to ask for accurate reporting? To have commissioners quoted accurately?

Now to the front page, above the fold, article in this week's Lake Worth Herald on what to expect vis-à-vis another bond referendum to get our City roads fixed; here are two excerpts:

     Lake Worth City Staff has asked the Commission to consider a referendum for a bond issue. In the wake of an ambitious bond request a couple of years ago, City Manager Michael Bornstein has issued a pared down request.
     The streets are falling apart and this bond request is only for the streets and roadway infrastructure part of the bond issue that failed by around 25 votes just two years ago. Many residents voted against the bond issue because of confusion over how the money was going to be allocated. 
     This new request, for a forty million dollar bond, will be only be used to improve the streets.

[and. . .]

     Staff was looking for consensus to bring a resolution before the commission to put the bond question on the November ballot but during the discussion, an unruly resident disrupted the meeting and caused the Mayor to adjourn the meeting.

To learn about the "unruly resident" look in the right-hand column of this blog for "Critics have 5 days now to write their own bond initiative (due July 19th)" or use this link. Now to the editorial titled, "Why Nothing Gets Done In Lake Worth"; here are some excerpts:

     It is the job of city commissioners and the mayor to represent the people and keep staff in line with the wishes of the people. Commissioners and the mayor are elected “by the people” to represent them. Most of them anyway.
     It is the commission’s job to debate staff’s recommendations and decide what the city can or is willing to pay for. They must weigh the needs of the staff and residents and determine what makes sense.

[and. . .]

     Now as staff is trying to get a referendum to ask “the people” to issue a bond so they can improve the infrastructure in Lake Worth, the two commissioners [Chris McVoy and Ryan Maier] who are always doing the twist, begin again.
     It is not about a bond they so ferociously object, it is about a referendum. Yes, a referendum that would ask “the people” to make it possible to fix the City’s streets. They will object to every form of language for a referendum without ever offering language themselves.

[and. . .]

     The unruly resident, the one who thinks she represents “the people” even though she has never been elected is also the one who organizes, and not by the rules, political pacs to fight any progress in the City. It is beyond time for the mayor to gavel them down.
     It is time she make an example of unruly residents during City Commission meetings. Put the deputy to work and allow the meetings to proceed.

To learn why the "LW2020" bond failed in 2014 use this link. And don't forget about another City resident who fought so hard to defeat that bond vote, he recently wrote this Letter to the Editor published in the Post:

Feel much sympathy? If the "LW2020" bond vote had passed that road would have been fixed already.

[UPDATE] Town Hall: "Toward a More Perfect Union" at Compass

This is a short update about the meeting held yesterday at Compass. First, I was invited to attend and take video but am having trouble uploading the files to YouTube. This happens now and then and isn't a big deal. Use this link to my Lake Worth YouTube channel and hopefully they'll be available for watching later today or tomorrow.

Some of you may have already heard or read things about what happened and I'll leave it at that for now. Except to say this: Some attendees were very disappointed about the focus and that continued after the meeting as well. Possibly next time, and hope there will be a next time, the agenda will be more explicitly explained so that people are more clear on what to expect.

Below is the opening of my blog post promoting "Toward a More Perfect Union" from July 11th:

Compass is located at 201 North Dixie Hwy. across the street from the Publix downtown. Use this link for the Compass website.

"Compass in Lake Worth is hosting a forum to address Palm Beach County’s awareness of the growing divisiveness of race, bigotry and bias that is tearing our country apart and to coordinate a response to some of the most horrific events of the last week."

Getting closer to Lake Worth! And notice the hashtag "Dreams Do Come True":

Guess who's coming to town?? #comingsoon #wawa #dreamsdocometrue #westpalmbeach #staytuned pic.twitter.com/rll5Bl8pdr

— PalmBeachPostJessica (@palmbeachpostJB) July 13, 2016

How many people can you recognize in the photo? I can recognize 8 for sure. How about you?