TODAY. The 4th Annual “Great Give”.

“Today is one of the most important days for charity, philanthropy and non-profits in Lake Worth & the surrounding area. It is the 4th Annual Great Give of Palm Beach & Martin Counties. The fundraising event will be held on Wednesday, May 17th from midnight to midnight.

Every local gift made during the 24-hour period will be multiplied by additional dollars from a bonus pool raised by United Way of Palm Beach County. Over the last three years, Great Give has raised more than $8 million for over 500 nonprofits. The goal is to make an even GREATer impact this year!”

#GreatGive2017

Here are some local participating organizations:

• LULA’s Lake Worth Cultural Renaissance Foundation.
• Cultural Council of Palm Beach County located in Downtown Lake Worth.
• The Gray Mockingbird Community Garden.
• Lake Worth Art League.

Glass Quest 2017: Presentations, exhibitions, and roundtables from “glass visionaries and industry leaders.”

“Located in Palm Beach County, Florida since 1976 McMow Art Glass maintains an excellent working relationship with top builders, architects and designers and regularly ships their work throughout the US, Europe and South America.”

To learn more about this conference and to register, contact McMow Art Glass using this link or call 561-585-9011. Visit McMow at 701 North Dixie Hwy. in the City of Lake Worth.

The news below comes from Tony Doris at the Post:

Glass Quest 2017 is produced by McMow Art Glass and Wardell Products. Event sponsors include the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority, the West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District, Bullseye Glass Co., Habatat Galleries and Jen-Ken Kilns. It will take place May 26–28 at 522 Clematis St.
     “Glass Quest 2017 will give local artists the opportunity to network and learn about the evolving world of art glass from industry leaders from around the world,” said Taylor Materio, Creative Director of McMow Art Glass.

Welcome to Lake Worth! Atria at Villages of Windsor, “Discover what it means to age well”.

“There are 313 apartments, down from about 320, after developers realized renters wanted to live in larger spaces, Brown said [executive director Michael Brown Jr.]. So some one-bedroom units were combined into two-bedroom apartments due to market demand.
     Early leasing in the resort-style community has been strong even though the project won’t be completed until October. The demand has surprised the project’s developers. ‘We’re four months ahead of schedule. It’s been fast and furious,’ Brown said.”
—Excerpt from this article in the Post, datelined May 15th.

Excerpts from the Q&A.

About your company:

When completed this fall, the $105 million Atria at Villages of Windsor will bring a new generation of upscale, rental senior housing to Palm Beach County, where existing senior living communities were built an average of 22 years ago. Big Rock Partners is owner/developer of this flagship senior living community in Lake Worth, [emphasis added] which includes a total of 313 independent, assisted and memory care apartments, with the caliber of amenities usually reserved for top-tier resorts. Responsible for marketing and operating Atria at Villages of Windsor, Atria Senior Living is a leading operator of senior living communities at 196 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

What do you see ahead for Palm Beach County?

Continued growth with an influx of young professionals recognizing a great business community with true quality of life.

Power lunch spot:

The Falls Club in Lake Worth. Great atmosphere, Great food, scenic, but quiet enough to conduct business.

Community meeting at Our Savior Lutheran School, May 31st, 6:00–8:00. This year. Maybe next year too.

Click on image to enlarge.

Reunión de la comunidad, miercoles 31 mayo 2017. Ven todos los vecinos para compartir y discutir como una vida mas saludable parece en Lake Worth. Cena gratis.

Lake Worth’s C-51 Advisory Board: A looming issue of community concern, advise, and direction going forward.

As yet, there are no more updates about this blog post from 2 weeks ago: “Dredged material from Palm Beach to be dumped in Intracoastal, but not off West Palm Beach as planned.”

Note the dredged material from Palm Beach will not be dumped on the Lake Worth side of the Intracoastal (aka, Lake Worth Lagoon) but on the eastern side of the lagoon south of the Robert Harris (Lake Worth) bridge and north of Hypoluxo Island. But as you’ll read a little later, the C-51 Canal between the cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth is a significant part of this story; Lake Worth’s C-51 Advisory Board could play a vital role.

The news below in the Palm Beach Daily News (aka, the Shiny Sheet) slipped ‘under the radar’ so to speak. An article by Aleese Kopf titled, “Lake Worth Lagoon dredging project to begin this summer”:

Lakefront residents [Everglades Island in Palm Beach] are looking forward to an Intracoastal dredging project this summer that will allow them access to their private docks at low tide. [emphasis added]
     After a short pause to work out a dump site for the dredged muck, the project is on track and scheduled to begin this summer.

and. . .

     The project is to dredge three waterways from Midtown to the South End. The north channel is between Everglades Island and the Southern Boulevard Causeway; the central one is south of the causeway to Widener’s Curve; and the south waterway is south of Widener’s to north of Sloan’s Curve.
     The contractor had planned to dump the dredged material in John’s Hole, an underwater site on the West Palm Beach side of the lagoon west of Sloan’s Curve and John’s Island near the C-51 canal.
     “The property owners adjacent to that hole have expressed concern to the regulatory agencies,” Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the council.

and. . .

     Instead, Palm Beach residents are paying the extra money to haul the dredged material to Bonefish Cove. Bonefish Cove is a county “living shorelines” project to raise the elevation of the lagoon and create three small mangrove islands and oyster reefs between the Lake Worth Bridge and Hypoluxo Island.
     The channel dredging project is expected to take about seven months.

Learn more about Bonefish Cove using this link, another article by Aleese Kopf. This issue could be taken up by the City of Lake Worth’s C-51 Canal Advisory Board to find out what is happening vis-à-vis the permitting process at the County level. What were/are the concerns raised by residents of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth to dumping this dredged material in John’s Hole, “west of Sloan’s Curve and John’s Island near the C-51 canal”?

“Stay tuned”, as they say.

City Press Release: “City of Lake Worth Receives A1-Rating from Moody’s for Neighborhood Road Program Bonds.”

For more information and media inquiries contact Ben Kerr, the City’s Communications Specialist at 561-586-1631; email: bkerr@lakeworth.org

“We are LAKE WORTH. A hometown City that is committed to delivering the highest level of customer service through a commitment to integrity, hard work and a friendly attitude. We strive to exceed the expectations of our citizens, our businesses, our elected officials and our fellow employees.”

Press Release:

The City of Lake Worth’s 2017 General Obligation Bonds received an initial underlying rating of A1 from Moody’s Investor Service (the bond credit rating business of Moody’s Corporation) followed, 24 hours later, by a rating of AA− from Standard & Poor’s Financial Services. The General Obligation Bonds are the financial instrument being used to pay for the $40 million Neighborhood Road Program following last November’s successful referendum.
     Moody’s indicates that “the A1 rating reflects the city's above average tax base that continues to recover, adequate reserve and cash positions, low debt burden, and elevated pension liabilities.” Standard and Poor’s indicates that an obligor with an AA rating “has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated obligors only to a small degree.” An A1 / AA− rating places the City of Lake Worth’s bonds as upper investment grade with low credit risk which will allow for a lower interest rate to be set upon them at the time of sale (expected June 5th, 2017).
     The $40 million will be drawn down in two installments, to shield the City from excessive interest liability. This, the 2017 series, being valued at $21.2 million will leave $18.8 million to be drawn down as the Neighborhood Road Program progresses.

“The City is very pleased with the results of the credit rating. We feel that the strong investment grade rating, by the two major rating services, positions the City for beneficial pricing of the bonds. I would like to thank my team for their hard work in achieving this excellent initial rating.”
—Director of Finance, Marie Elianor.

“These ratings are a reflection of the hard work and effort put forth by the Mayor, Commissioners and staff to get Lake Worth on the right track. I am very proud of my City!”
—City Manager, Michael Bornstein.

Sensationelles Filmmaterial! Berlin nach der Apokalypse in Farbe [translated from German: “Sensational footage! Berlin after the apocalypse in color”].

Sobering. If you haven’t seen this video you should take the time to watch. It is only seven minutes long; a Technicolor compilation of film taken in Berlin after the end of World War II, 72 years ago.

“In early April, the Western Allies finally pushed forward in Italy and swept across western Germany, while Soviet and Polish forces stormed Berlin in late April. American and Soviet forces met at the Elbe river on 25 April. On 30 April 1945, the Reichstag was captured, signalling the military defeat of Nazi Germany.”



Sensationelles Filmmaterial! Berlin nach der Apokalypse in Farbe und HD from Konstantin von zur Mühlen on Vimeo.

“Stay tuned”, writes Post beat reporter. And don’t be “messing with the city’s hipster vibe”!

Below are some “hipster” fashion suggestions for the Commission meeting tomorrow night. So. . . as you explain your reasoning in two minutes why the City should allow three minutes for public comment, don’t forget fashion, style, and grace. You’ll be Live Streaming on YouTube, so keep in mind our “city’s hipster vibe”!

Also be respectful and act in a civil manner. Remember, the reason for lowering the time limit from three to two minutes was because of incivility and very un-charming behavior at the podium.

Once again. Today is The Palm Beach Post’s Lake Worth Very Very Special Monday Collector Print Edition (LWVVSMCPE, see below).

Question: When was the last time you read any news in that paper about PBSO in Greenacres since the switch from their own police dept.? Like our City, Greenacres is looking for ways to improve Code Enforcement. When was the last time you read about that in the Post? Read any news about public comment in Greenacres? How are they dealing with traffic? Development?

You would think one of the reasons for a regional newspaper in Central Palm Beach County is to educate the public how different cities are dealing with a multitude of issues. Interestingly, in both square miles and population, the cities of Greenacres and Lake Worth are almost the same size. But. . .

There are only 6 Special Cities. Each one gets its own Special Day (the City of Delray Beach IS NOT one of the Special Cities). All the Special Cities are coastal, except for one.

May 19th, 2015. An early dispatch from the Post’s latest beat reporter: “What’s going down at tonight’s Lake Worth City Commission meeting”:

      
     “Immediately following the regular meeting, there will be a City Commission work session where the fortunes of the city’s beachside casino and pool complex will be discussed.
     Since the casino reopened in 2012, the city has been trying to figure out how to fill the vacant space. While some residents embrace the idea of a $15 million expansion by a local developer, others in this artsy town don’t want to see a big developer coming in and messing with the city’s hipster vibe. Stay tuned. . .”

Don’t forget, you can’t truly be a Hipster without shopping at World Thrift, the comments on Facebook? Marvelous! World Thrift is the greatest thrift store east of the Mississippi River according to the New Times, located at 2425 N. Dixie Hwy. Open til 6:00 today. Call 561-588-4050.

When you visit World Thrift try to “coordinate” your purchases.

Example of Hipster Anarchist Millennial style. Note written instructions, “Please empty outhouse bucket when filled. . .”.

Following wave after wave of good news coming from our little City, if you didn’t know, the philosophy of Apatharchism has firmly taken hold here. Adherents include former 60s-style Anarchists, Millennial-Anarchists, Anarch sympathizers, and affinity members once focused only on the bad news, doom and gloom, and the “Wolf at the Door” that never appeared.

And guess what all you Hipsters? There’s another City Commission Work Session next week (May 23rd) to deal with the Casino complex and decrepit municipal pool. So ride your LDub ‘fixie’ to this meeting at City Hall with all your ideas. Here are some fashion tips:

Note how scarves are used as a fashion enhancer. Look at the shoes!

Not sure what a Hipster is? Use this link to find out.

Purses, trendy belts, big sunglasses, and dots!!!!

Why attend City meetings? Look around. What are other people wearing? Learn new fashion tips and remember, “don’t be messing with the city’s hipster vibe”!

Spread the word: Our Guatemalan community in the City of Lake Worth needs help.

Below is a sobering blog post from yesterday, titled “Teaching English or Spanish to Guatemalan migrants: Need a solution for a very big problem.”

Many of you, like myself, probably thought teaching English and Spanish to migrants from Guatemala was a top priority by many of the nonprofits and volunteer organizations here in the City of Lake Worth. Apparently, according to a news report in the Miami Herald (excerpts below), that is not the case. Imagine even the basics, like interacting with a PBSO deputy or seeking help in a medical emergency, is nearly impossible for so many in our City. Wouldn’t that be contributing to the climate of fear?

Now we learn in the Miami Herald, very sad news, that Guatemalan migrants are being taken advantage of by lawyers, landlords, and others ostensibly here to help these people.

There has to be an organization or group in the City of Lake Worth that can help Guatemalan migrants — especially those who cannot speak Spanish — to learn basic language skills. The big problem is language. Those who know Spanish have a big advantage; those who “speak only Maya languages like Quiché, Kanjobal, Poptí’ or Mam” have a huge disadvantage and are especially vulnerable to predatory lawyers and substandard rental property owners.

However, it’s very important to note the article by Francisco Rodríguez* in a “Special to the Miami Herald ” makes a glaring error that needs to be corrected. There are not 50,000 Guatemalan migrants “in Lake Worth”.

The City of Lake Worth is only 6 square miles and the recent population estimates are 38,000–40,000 residents. From Wikipedia:

“Lake Worth had the twentieth highest percentage of Guatemalan residents in the US, with 4.87% of the populace. . . . the three most spoken first languages in Lake Worth were English at 56.61%, Spanish at 26.57%, and French Creole which was spoken by 9.17% of the population.”

The reporter is including Guatemalans that live outside the City in his misreported population number: Guatemalan people living in Suburban Lake Worth (unincorporated Palm Beach County), the Lake Worth Corridor, and probably other cities as well (Palm Springs, Greenacres, Lantana, etc.).

From a blog post last April about the Guatemalan Maya Center (GMC) and the opening of the new Guatemalan consulate was this news from Peter Haden at WLRN:

“Officials estimate more than 55,000 Guatemalans live in the county [Palm Beach County]. . . . ‘We’re going to see cultural, commercial, economic affairs — in order to have a more intense and big link with Palm Beach County,’ said De Mora [Miami Consul General Rosa Maria Merida De Mora].”

Hopefully, the Miami Herald will correct this false information. Here are two excerpts from the article:

     By train [Tri-Rail], the roundtrip ride costs $22. But out of fear, not knowing the area and not speaking English — sometimes neither Spanish — many Guatemalan migrants hire drivers in the community who charge as much as $350 to take them to immigration appointments in Miramar in Broward County or other meetings in Miami-Dade, wait for them and return home.
     The Guatemalan Maya Center, which helps migrants in the Lake Worth area, has documented many cases of gouging. The Guatemalan consulate, which recently opened an office in Lake Worth in Palm Beach County, also confirmed that drivers are charging between $150 and $300 for the trips.

and. . .

     But Consul Mario Azmitia said that the consulate so far has not assisted any Guatemalans who do not speak Spanish. Plans are underway to hire at least one person who speaks Kanjobal, one of the more dominant Maya languages.
     He added that the consulate for now is focused on making its presence known, and has not tackled ways to help the migrants avoid the exorbitant costs of transportation and other fees.

Spread the word to everyone in the Guatemalan community here in our City:

“Estamos en la aperatura de un consulado de Guatemala en Lake Worth! Gracias por este apoyo para nuestras familias que antes pagaban $300 para llegar al consulado en Miami.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article150160947.html#storylink=cpy

Translation: “We are at the opening of a Guatemalan Consulate in Lake Worth! Thank you for this support for our families, that before had to pay $300 to get to the consulate in Miami.”

*Francisco Rodríguez is an investigative journalist with elPeriódico in Guatemala, is in Miami as a fellow with the D.C.-based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).

Novel way to open the Commission meeting tomorrow and where’s our City Facebook page?

Shaking things up in the City of Lake Worth: Those orthodox and routine invocations to open public meetings everyone forgets about five minutes later. Tomorrow may start an exciting new trend. More about that a little later (the City Commission agenda is below).

If you didn’t know the City is doing an excellent job Live Streaming meetings. For example, tomorrow at 6:00 go to the City’s website and you can watch this meeting on the opening page — no need any more to follow a lengthy stream of links — a very welcome change.

Note that not on the agenda is starting a City Facebook page. This was a topic of discussion at the Commission meeting on April 18th, almost a month ago. It’s time to end this inanity and create the page. Going another month is senseless. There’s too much going on and so much information to get out to the residents. At public comment tomorrow, say “Create the Page Already!”

To go over the entire agenda with backup material yourself use this link and look for “May 16, Regular Meeting” to download. Without further ado, excerpts from the agenda with highlights added and some helpful links:

City of Lake Worth Commission meeting
City Hall, May 16th, 6:00
1. Roll Call.
2. Invocation: Offered by 8-year old Sophia Lynne Teutsch from Sacred Heart School on behalf of Commissioner Andy Amoroso.
3. Pledge of Allegiance by Commissioner Herman C. Robinson.
4. Agenda (additions, deletions, reordering).
A. Proclamation to Donna Lange.
B. Legislative update provided by Representative Lori Berman and Senator Jeff Clemons [sic, our former mayor’s name is Clemens, not ‘Clemons’].
C. Neighborhood Road Program Update to Commission.

and. . .

9. Consent Agenda. Public comment allowed during Public Participation of Non-Agendaed items [See item 12D below. Public comment is two (2) minutes, when you hear the little bell please be respectful and return to your seat].

and. . .

10. Public Hearings.
A. Ordinance No. 2017-08 - Second Reading and Public Hearing - amending section 2-1 of the City’s Code entitled “Sale of city-owned property” to include unsolicited proposals as method of selling city-owned surplus properties.
11. Unfinished Business.
12. New Business.
A. Ordinance No. 2017-09 - First Reading - amend the Traffic ordinance to include immobilization and impoundment of vehicles on City property and schedule the second reading and public hearing for June 6, 2017.
B. Ordinance No. 2017-10 - First Reading - amending Chapter 23, “Land Development Regulations”, Article 7, “Floodplain Management”, Division 1 “Administration” to update the Basis for Establishing Flood Hazard Areas, Date of Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps and set the second reading and public hearing for June 6, 2017.
C. Ordinance No. 2017-11 - First Reading - prohibiting canvassing and soliciting in certain rights-of-way intersections and set the second reading and public hearing for June 6, 2017 [follow-up from Commission meeting on April 18th].
D. Seeking Commission direction to change Commission Meetings Rules and Procedures [Should the City go back to 3-minute public comment? And discuss “civility” and how to deal with “incivility”?].
E. Community Redevelopment Agency member removal process.
13. Lake Worth Electric Utility.
A. Presentation (there is no public comment on Presentation items).
14. City Attorney’s report.

And don’t forget. The City Commission Work Session to address the Casino and what to do with our crumbling and decrepit municipal pool is the following week, on Tuesday, May 23rd:


“We cannot continue to keep losing money”, said Asst. City Manager Juan Ruiz, and “the [Beach] fund is still hurting with the pool closed.”


As part of this Commission visioning process, which needs public involvement, can you envision a municipal pool somewhere else in the City of Lake Worth? In one of our City parks? Somewhere near the Downtown? Should the City conduct a city-wide survey of all the neighborhoods?

From “Sunshine State of Mind”: The Sears Building, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

The Sears, Roebuck and Company Department Store in Miami, Florida was an Art Deco building built in 1929 for Sears, Roebuck and Company. The building was the first known implementation of Art Deco architecture in the county, predating the Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive. It was followed a year later by the Shrine Building (1401-1417 Biscayne Blvd.), an application of Art Deco with local Seminole Indian motifs added as an interesting twist. Both were covered in a 1988 study of Downtown Miami historic resources, but were not NRHP-listed due to owner objections at the time. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 8, 1997. Only its tower remains.

After the area’s drastic decline in the early 1980s, the building’s intense structural decay, and declining sales, the store closed its doors for good in 1983. The building remained vacant and abandoned and was the subject to graffiti and vandalism. Sears was unable to sell the property and it donated the site to Dade County in 1992. That same year, the Sears signs were removed.

The building listing was added to the National Register on August 8, 1997. By 2001, the only surviving part of the original structure was a seven-story tower. The original department store space had been demolished. The tower was preserved and incorporated it into the new Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, built in 2006.

Free Hurricane Seminar tomorrow from 5:00–8:30.

Seminar to be held at the Beach Club located at the City’s municipal golf course, #1 7th Ave. North.

Event featuring meteorologist Mike Lyons. For more information contact Kevin Addison at 561-601-2730 or Sam Hamilton by email: halframe@hotmail.com

Check out some 2017 winners of the Society of Professional Journalists’ “Green Eyeshade Awards”.

On the subject of journalism, it still has not been explained why The Palm Beach Post shut down their Tallahassee news bureau and let one of their top reporters go. And then there’s the recent layoffs too. But anyhow. . .

Use this link to see the entire list of “Green Eyeshade Award” winners. Below are some of the most recent awardees.

“Since 1950, The Green Eyeshades have recognized the very best journalism in the southeastern United States – which now includes print, television, radio, and online. Who can enter? Journalists in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.”

Note the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times are both winners of the Pulitzer Prize (the Times 12 times).

Public Affairs Reporting: All Dailies

• First Place: Miami Herald – Michael Sallah, investigative reporter; Jay Weaver, staff writer, Opa-locka: City for Sale
• Second Place: Sun Sentinel – Megan O’Matz, Sally Kestin, Stephen Hobbs, Amy Shipley, Forsaken:Florida’s Broken Mental Health System
• Third Place: Tampa Bay Times – Chris O’Donnell, Chris O’Donnell on local government

Sports Commentary: All Dailies

• First Place: Tampa Bay Times – Tom Jones, Tom Jones on Tampa Bay sports
  Second Place: South Florida Sun Sentinel – Dave Hyde, Dave Hyde columns
  Third Place: Tampa Bay Times – Martin Fennelly, Martin Fennelly on Tampa Bay sports

Business Reporting: All Dailies

• First Place: Tampa Bay Times – Susan Taylor Martin, Susan Taylor Martin on Real Estate
• Second Place: Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm.com – Lucas Daprile, The LLC Loophole
• Third Place: The Tennessean – Staff, The Tennessean’s Top Business Coverage

Politics Reporting: All Dailies

• First Place: Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm.com – Staff, Body of Work
• Second Place: The Miami Herald – Patricia Mazzei, Patricia Mazzei political reporting entry
• Third Place: Tampa Bay Times – Alex Leary, Alex Leary on the 2016 Presidential election

Consumer Reporting- All Dailies

• First Place: Tampa Bay Times – William R. Levesque, Nathaniel Lash, Anthony Cormier, Breakdown of Oversight
• Second Place: Sun Sentinel – Sally Kestin, Taimy Alvarez, The Gulf’s Deadly Harvest
• Third Place: Tampa Bay Times – Laura Reiley, Farm to fable

Public Service in Daily Journalism: All Dailies

• First Place: Tampa Bay Times – William R. Levesque, Nathaniel Lash, Anthony Cormier, Breakdown of Oversight
• Second Place: Miami Herald – Staff, Zika strikes South Florida
• Third Place: Tampa Bay Times – Laura Reiley, Farm to fable

Pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Artists and Musicians: “Get Involved, Get Connected, Get LULA”.

LULA  =  LUcerne Ave.  +  LAke Ave.: Our two unique east-west Downtown avenues in the little City of Lake Worth.

To become a member of LULA Lake Worth Arts use this link to download the “Artist/Musician Membership Information Form”. For more information contact Emily Theodossakos at 561-493-2550; email: etheodossakos@lakeworth.org

“LULA Lake Worth Arts is looking for local artist. Lake Worth is fortunate to be sited as a community with an abundant interest and support for the arts. The Community Redevelopment Agency is seeking to revitalize the downtown by infusing arts with other economic development efforts, including live-work studio spaces for artists, new opportunities for artists, and LULA, an arts program geared to making this all happen.”

“Why does Lake Worth have PBSO and not its own police department?”

We all have to remember there are a lot of new residents and businesses in the City and many of them don’t know how we got here. Now and then, after a well-publicized crime for example, the opportunists will claim crime is out of control suggesting if we had our own PD we would all be better off. Attempts to get PBSO out of the City are getting more and more feeble all the time but that wasn’t always the case. Let’s take a look back. . .

Below is a quote by former Lake Worth City Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill in May 2011 in full retreat after the community rallied against her attempt to end the contract with PBSO:

“Fabulous. They’ve exceeded our expectations. The Sheriff has done a fantastic job and it’s unquestionable that we want them to stay.”


Just a few short years after PBSO took over to solve the terrible crime problem in the City of Lake Worth (see below) some still wanted to end the contract. Those reasons were political — not for the safety of the citizens and neighborhoods.

How bad was the crime problem in Lake Worth? Here’s an article by Marc Freeman (“Jury selection begins in Lake Worth gangland massacre case”) from July 2015 by the Sun Sentinel. Earlier that month Daphne Duret from The Palm Beach Post also took us back to when the gangs ruled Lake Worth (“Trial to begin this month in 2007 Lake Worth backyard murders”).

It was incidents such as this that brought PBSO into the City in 2008 to take on the gangs and the terrifying levels of crime at the time. Here is another look at those terrible days when gangs ruled the city (Sun-Sentinel article from April 2013) about the City prior to PBSO taking over:

Military-style assault weapons. A trail of bodies. Illegal drug trade. Street warfare. These were Palm Beach County’s darkest days of gang violence [emphasis added], and it all returned in a courtroom drama Thursday. 

Lake Worth’s crime rate improved drastically because of the work done by Ric Bradshaw and PBSO. But in 2011 there were some who wanted to reinstate the Lake Worth Police Department as a ‘cost saving’ measure. Susan Stanton, the former Lake Worth city manager, went so far as to commission the Willdan Study to end the contract. Here is what our Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell (re-elected in 2016) had to say as reported by Willie Howard at the Post in 2011:

     Commissioner Scott Maxwell, who voted against the study in January, said he will continue to support the sheriff’s contract because the sheriff’s District 14 office has helped reduce gangs and the crime rate in Lake Worth.
     “The PBSO is the best thing that’s happened to Lake Worth since sunshine,” Maxwell said. “I’m not going to take the sunshine away.”

Within the Willdan report there were clues the City’s effort at the time wasn’t the smartest of things to do:

“PBSO responded to the public’s demands for better law enforcement”.

The Willdan study noted “the high quality of service” provided by PBSO since taking over for the Lake Worth PD in 2008.

PBSO and then-Captain Silva (later succeeded by Cpt. Todd Baer), have had a stabilizing effect on our City and our ability to move forward as a community. And the PBSO critics will grudgingly admit that.

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
—Edmund Burke 

PBSO has much support within the City while understanding this service comes with a cost. But with that cost comes a better quality of life and really provides the foundation upon which the City’s future success can occur. Negotiation regarding the cost of service in Lake Worth is possible. Remember, had we kept our own police force its budget would be increasing over time, with the same or less level of service as before.

When you read another blog and see those long lists of crime that are becoming less and less frequent (including those ever-popular “Beverage Violations”, “Burglaries” of unlocked vehicles, and the many addresses outside the municipal borders of the City) understand where this sentiment is coming from: It’s just the continuing effort since 2008 to undermine PBSO District 14 in the City. 

Remember this Anarchist protest back in 2014?

Sign at a protest in Lake Worth organized by the Anarchists from Everglades EarthFirst! (EEF).

There will always be the headline-grabbing incidents and senseless tragedies and those should not be minimized. But perspective, understanding the history, and a hard look at the facts must be done as well. Also know that the City of Greenacres has followed the lead of Lake Worth and has gone with PBSO. In the next few years don’t be surprised to hear more cities in Palm Beach County considering the same option.

Enjoy this 2011 video of Mulvehill and Stanton in full retreat after attempting to end the Sheriff’s contract. At the 6:20 mark Yours Truly asked two questions and Stanton avoided answering both of them. For good reason. Enjoy the video: