Question: The news below is not being promoted or distributed by the City of Lake Worth.

Does anyone know why not?

If any other golf course in South Florida received this news below we wouldn’t hear the end of it:

Press Release. “Lake Worth Golf Club Featured as Florida Historic Golf Trail Course of the Month”.

Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced [August 1st] that Lake Worth Golf Club, located in the city of Lake Worth in Palm Beach County, has been chosen as the featured course on the Florida Historic Golf Trail for the month of August.

“We are pleased to feature Lake Worth Golf Club as a partner on the Florida Historic Golf Trail,” said Secretary Detzner. “Today’s golfers can enjoy playing on this historic course on the picturesque banks of Lake Worth, where it was created more than 90 years ago.”

The Lake Worth golf course in on the Intracoastal. To the east is the Town of Palm Beach.

Use this link to learn more about the Lake Worth Golf Club and the course. More from the
press release:

In 1923, the city of Lake Worth approved a proposition to build a golf course along the city’s lakefront. The golf course architectural firm of Langford and Moreau was hired to design an 18-hole course. Plans included dredging the bottom of Lake Worth to fill in a considerable portion along the lake front. Designed under the supervision of William Langford, the first nine holes of the golf course officially opened on November 12, 1926 at a cost of $400,000. In 1948, the completed 18-hole golf course opened for play after golf course architect Dick Wilson redesigned the original holes and added nine more.

“Lake Worth Golf Club is honored to be chosen as the Florida Historic Golf Trail’s featured golf course for the month of August 2017,” said Matt DeRosa, Lead Golf Professional at Lake Worth Golf Club. “Once a favorite golf course to the great Babe Ruth, Lake Worth Golf Club offers a fun and exciting round for all golfers. Located along the intra-coastal waterway, the golf course showcases a wide variety of wildlife, as well as spectacular views of Palm Beach Island.”

From CityLab: “Atlanta’s Planning Department Makeover”.

“A new seal, a new name, and most importantly,
new signs that people will actually read.”

Here are two excerpts from the article in CityLab by reporter Teresa Mathew:

Public notices about tree removal or zoning ordinances rarely catch the attention of the average person walking by them. That’s no longer the case in Atlanta.
     Fed up with the cluttered and uninspiring signage coming out of his office, Tim Keane, Commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Planning, decided to make a change.

and. . .

     The previous signage system “appeared to be designed by lawyers,” says Blake Howard, the project’s creative director. “The language was hard to understand, jumping off the page at the same time. It wasn’t very visually appealing.”
     The ethos of the rebranding is “To Be Clear is To Be Kind.”
     “If we want to be kind to the public,” Howard says, “we want them to be able to understand what the purpose of the sign is.”

“To Be Clear is To Be Kind.”

Seen these signs around the City of Lake Worth?

Atlanta rebranded the “Department of Planning
and Community Development”. It’s now simply
called the “Department of Planning”.

Community WIFI is critical for our little City of Lake Worth: For kids and public school students, the Internet is a bright, safe place.

Who do you think wrote this quote?

“Providing internet access for our young students, many of whom don’t have computers at home will go a long way to helping raise our struggling schools’ grade rankings. This, in turn helps to attract more families to buy into our neighborhoods and invest in Lake Worth.”

Where did this quote come from? Find out below.

We learned last week from School Board member Erica Whitfield that one of the big things holding back our students and young people is no access to the Internet at home (scroll down or use this link to learn more). Dr. Epps, the new principal at Lake Worth High School, confirmed this as well.

Whitfield explained, for example, Guatemalan children are really smart! These kids perform very well in mathematics but lag behind in other skills like language and social sciences. Having the Internet available at home would further social assimilation and bolster what they are learning in public school.

That is IF these kids show up at school at all.

Many Guatemalan parents and others in immigrant communities — out of fear due to rumors and unverified news reports — are keeping their children out of public schools. And remember, who is teaching the older Guatemalan population how to speak English? It’s their kids! Much of the fear in our immigrant communities can be ramped down with education. Young children and teenagers learning the facts about immigration policy and then spreading the word in their neighborhood.

Palm Beach County public school teachers can only do so much. But imagine a teacher giving a student or a group of students an Internet assignment overnight? These kids could come back the next day and teach their teacher a thing or two about how to teach Guatemalan children. Maybe these kids will have other ideas, like instead of being taught how to hold a spoon or fold a napkin, come up with a lesson plan to teach their Guatemalan parents how to communicate with a deputy or police officer.

Now back to community WIFI in the
City of Lake Worth.

Do you remember this news from last November about the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and City of Lake Worth event at the Casino called “Destination Lake Worth: Investment and Development in Lake Worth”?

Click on image to enlarge:

“Developers, Property Owners, Commercial Realtors and Business Owners” expect investment
in our children and schools as well.

This meeting was targeted to property owners and potential investors to let them know Lake Worth is “open for business” and presented reasons why investment in the City is a good idea whose time has come. Here is an excerpt from the meeting last year, “Destination Lake Worth”:

“[T]he CRA is working toward establishing a WiFi system that will be part of the City’s infrastructure and will utilize electric poles throughout the CRA district as a way to bridge the ‘digital divide’ for those with challenges accessing the Internet.”

Remember the quote at the beginning of this blog post, the question, “Who do you think wrote this?”

Here is the entire quote, which includes the excerpt, from a comment left on this blog:

The CRA has budgeted this year for the WIFI program and has partnerships already in place with the School Board, Palm Beach State College, Palm Beach County and our Electric Utility just to name a few of the major players.
     A few missing pieces remain such as fiber optic cable run to public facilities (schools) in order to triangulate signals for full coverage. Real possibilities for this program to take off this budget year.
     Providing internet access for our young students, many of whom don’t have computers at home (and with this program will) will go a long way to helping raise our struggling schools’ grade rankings. This, in turn helps to attract more families to buy into our neighborhoods and invest in Lake Worth.
     Please encourage your elected officials to support this effort.

Chip Guthrie
Member, Lake Worth CRA

Now it’s up to you.

Start by contacting your local elected leaders, the mayor and commissioners here in the City of Lake Worth. Tell them you support community WIFI for children, students, and others who live in at-risk neighborhoods. And then ask these elected’s who they think “up the chain” can help too, like County commissioners and representatives in the Florida House and Senate.

And then maybe some time soon, students and children that need help in our City of Lake Worth will be able to contact their elected leaders on their own, all by themselves, using the Internet.

With training, instruction, and the teachers in our public schools, the Internet and community WIFI won’t be a dark, dangerous place after all.

In their own words, on our schools in the City of Lake Worth, School Board member Erica Whitfield and High School Principal Dr. Epps.

Two videos are below from the Lake Worth City Commission meeting last week (August 15th).

Instead of somebody else telling you what they think Whitfield and Epps said, watch and listen to the videos below for yourself.* Also a note to the press and news media: please try to focus attention on the good news and positive trends going forward as well. Thank you.

To learn more about School Board member Erica Whitfield’s presentation at the Lake Worth City Commission use this link. Whitfield introduced Dr. Epps to the community as well. He is the new principal at Lake Worth High School.

Below are the videos for everyone interested in our schools here in the City of Lake Worth. And for the reporters at the Post, please feel free to use these videos and try not to focus on just the negative numbers and information. Because if you pay attention, you’ll discover there is also a lot of good things happening in our schools as well.

Dr. Epps is introduced in the 2nd video.

Thank You for visiting today.

*Click on the red “Subscribe” icon to show your support for my Lake Worth YouTube channel. Subscribers also get an email when new videos have been uploaded.
     If you’re curious, use this link to see the most popular videos all-time. One video is the Lake Worth Casino and Beach from Nov. 2007.

“A Wish List”: Shotspotter technology, community WIFI for at-risk children, pool for swimming lessons, license plate readers, Downtown parking. . .

The items above, and many more, are issues local governments have to grapple with every budget cycle.

This year’s budget cycle has not been kind to the City of Lake Worth (there is a City budget meeting tomorrow; details below).

On top of everything else we received a $450,000 bill for upgrades to FEC track crossings, we learned the City’s pier may have major problems with “spalling” concrete (an engineering report will be issued), and Shotspotter technology which would be a huge benefit for our City we found out is by subscription and very expensive.

And don’t forget — some loud voices in the public want a brand new pool at the Beach too (read more about that below) — a facility not affordable for so many families in our community, many with children that need to learn how to swim, a public safety priority.

There is good news, however. The City of Lake Worth is receiving funds from the County ¢1 County sales tax proceeds. How are other cities grappling with all these pressing issues during the budget process? Here’s a blog post from yesterday.

From Post reporter
Lulu Ramadan:

“Eight projects on Delray’s penny
sales tax revenue wish list”.

There are some very interesting items on the City of Delray Beach’s “wish list” and one of them, license plate readers, may be on the City of Lake Worth’s list as well. Below are excerpts from the Post article this week.

But first, here is the agenda for Lake Worth’s budget meeting tomorrow:

Lake Worth City Commission Budget Work Session
Tuesday, August 22nd, 6:00
Item 3: Updates/future action/direction
A. FY 2018 Budget wrap-up overview.
B. FY 2018 Review of policies and direction.

Check back tomorrow for how to watch this meeting Live Streaming.

Last July the City of Lake Worth had a work session to prepare a preliminary “wish list” for the proceeds from the ¢1 County sales tax increase. However, because the infrastructure here in Lake Worth was ignored and allowed to deteriorate for so long, most (or all) of the County ¢1 sales tax proceeds will have to used for the necessities, e.g., roads and infrastructure projects.

The City of Delray Beach has some leeway to be more creative. Use this link to read the entire article by Post reporter Lulu Ramadan.

Here are two items from the Delray Beach
“wish list”:

Hybrid downtown trolley. The city has a Downtown Trolley Roundabout that transports patrons and employees from parking lots throughout the downtown to the businesses on East Atlantic Avenue. [emphasis added] It has budgeted $1.5 million for a new, environmentally-friendly electric or hybrid trolley, according to the [City] report.

and. . .

Skate park. About $410,000 is set aside to repair and replace the skate park at city-owned 505 Teen Center, a drop-in center for local youth at 505 SE 5th Ave.

Here’s an idea from Delray that Lake Worth Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell has been pushing for to help lower the crime rate in certain areas of the City:

License plate readers. The city [Delray Beach] aims to purchase license-plate readers for the downtown “to reduce crime in high tourist areas” for $400,000, the report says. It adds: “Nearby cities are already utilizing these technologies to reduce crimes and have higher percentage of crimes solved.”

Lastly, one more from the Delray “wish list”:

Pompey Park pool.* About $470,000 was budgeted to redesign the pool at Pompey Park, at 1101 NW 2nd St, as well as add shading and improve the indoor gymnasium, according to the report.

It’s nice to see a city address the needs of residents and families that need to learn how to swim, isn’t it?

But here in the City of Lake Worth some still want a brand new pool at the Beach to replace the “white elephant” that was condemned last December and ignored by a previous commission when the Casino was ‘renovated’ back in 2012. Even prior to 2012 everyone knew the pool at the Beach was a big problem but it was “kicked down the road”.

Remember when the pool was shut down in 2010?

And whereas parking is FREE at almost every public pool, to use the pool at the Lake Worth Beach cost $4 (2 hour minimum) every time to park.

No wonder so many kids never used it; many parents couldn’t afford it. For a family of four it cost $16 for 2 hours each trip to the pool at the Beach. Staying longer than two hours and it gets even more expensive (note: that doesn’t include a soda or a slice of pizza).

But with the elections looming in March 2018, some continue to pander to a very small but loud group of constituents.

The editor at The Lake Worth Herald nailed it
when he wrote about a pool at the Beach,
“Does it have to be there?”

Lake Worth does have some under-utilized parks with enough space to accommodate an aquatic center and should consider investing in a pool somewhere other than the beach.
     Bryant Park has space, but that would raise the ire of those who walk their dogs in the park. What is more important, dogs or children?
     What about Sunset Ridge Park, there might be enough space there too.
     Go to the north end of the city, there sits numerous baseball and softball fields, some of which are never or seldom used. Take PONY field for example, it is in shambles and occupies a large portion of the park area.

But once again, as is the case way too often, the hard decisions and political will have to wait until after the elections are over.

*From the City of Delray Beach: Pompey Park Pool is a modern aquatic facility adjacent to the Pompey Park Recreation Center. It is fully accessible and meets ADA regulations.

• Facilities: Drinking fountain, restrooms, swimming pool, wheelchair accessible.
• Activities: Swimming, swimming lessons, aquatic exercise, scuba diving lessons.
• Hours of operation: Tuesday–Friday 9:00 a.m.–1:00 and 4:00–8:00 pm; Saturday 9:00–5:00.

“Editing: Standards in Action” for newspapers (and online editions). Chapter 5.2: “Headlines: In a Nutshell”.

Excerpts from The New York Times’ “Learning Network” are below explaining how a proper headline should appear in a newspaper.

There’s a big difference in public perception between an “ordinance” and a “curfew”.

Headlines are “about six words that need to reflect the article accurately . . . a good headline is based on the lead.”

It’s important to note the reporter never used the word “curfew” at all in the article — not one single time — it’s also important to note the headline above appeared 1½ months prior to election day here in the little City of Lake Worth (the elections in March 2016).

That headline was all part of the silliness in January 2016 by the media and the press. Election season can bring out the worst from reporters sometimes. Remember the “forced relocation” and another story that ended up being retracted?

Anyhow, we’re once again entering another election season here in the City of Lake Worth.* In the meantime, as a public service, learn how to monitor the media and press so what happened last year doesn’t happen again. Let’s learn about headlines from The New York Times:

The line editor (who could be a desk editor or copy editor) writes the headline for the article; usually there’s room for about six words that need to reflect the article accurately and attract readers. An inexperienced editor who has trouble writing a headline might be tempted to try to write a headline on a secondary angle of the article, but a good headline is based on the lead. [emphasis added]
     Headlines are written in the historical present tense. That means they written are in present tense but describe events that just happened. The exception to that is when you’re reporting on something that happened quite some time ago. If information just became available on attendance figures for the last school year for example, the headline might say, “Attendance Improved Last Year.”

and. . .

    There are some shortcuts that most newspapers allow in headlines (but few of these shortcuts are seen in The New York Times). To save space, most papers let editors drop forms of the verb “to be” and the articles “a” “an” and “the.” The headline writer can also let a comma substitute for “and.”
     What the headline writer should try to avoid — and online papers seem to be big offenders here — is to let one thought in a headline break from one line to the next.
     That is called a bad break, or wraparound. To avoid bad breaks, keep adjectives and their nouns, and keep verbs and their auxiliary verbs and adverbs, on the same line. Don’t let prepositional phrases start on one line and finish on the next. Bad breaks make headlines hard to read, and editors of online papers need to make their publications as reader-friendly as possible.

So. Headline editing is also important in the online edition as well, not just the print edition. Over the next few weeks see if you can spot a “bad break” and also see if the online edition of the Post is as “reader-friendly as possible.” And accurate too.

The job of the press and editors is to educate the public about things like ordinances and curfews: before and after election day.

*For more about the elections on March 13th, 2018 use this link. To actually qualify to be on the ballot doesn’t begin until November 28th, but one can start a campaign earlier by visiting the City Clerk and asking for more information.
     Starting in 2018 the mayor and commissioners in District 1 and 3 will begin serving 3-year terms. And do you know what the rule is on campaign signs? Use this link to learn about that.

Wes keeps on “beating a dead horse”.

One-way streets in our City.

Try an experiment: Return a few
back to two-way traffic?

The City’s bond referendum passed overwhelmingly last November to fix the roads and potholes, can we try a little experiment? Try changing a few one-way streets back to two-way like our City was designed in the first place over 100 years ago? Two-way streets it’s thought creates more “eyes on the street”, reduces crime, increases property values, and slows down speeding cars. Just a few benefits.

Here’s an article from the Strong Towns blog
written by Rachel Quednau; an excerpt:

     A recent article out of South Bend, IN suggests that the movement toward two-way streets is growing. [emphasis added] South Bend plans to convert many of its downtown streets back into two-ways by the end of 2016.
     As an example from the neighboring state of Kentucky, the article explains how one multilane couplet (two parallel one-way streets that move traffic in opposite directions) was previously a high crime, low-property value area:

     John Gilderbloom, director of the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods at the University of Louisville, lived on First Street with his wife when he first moved to the city. 

It was awful, he recalled recently. “There were prostitutes, people selling fenced goods, drugs, everything like that. . .” But after the couplet was returned to its two-way origins:

     Steadily, crime fell, property values rose and retail revenues increased, he said. New investment followed, as residents and business owners rushed to take advantage of the improving landscape.

Remember, Lake and Lucerne avenues in the Downtown weren’t always a multilane couplet (one-way each way). That came later when the most important goal for FDOT and traffic engineers was getting cars from point A to point B as quickly as possible, pedestrians and bicyclists an afterthought.

Many streets in Lake Worth could easily be returned to two-way without many changes to the road infrastructure. Of course things like signage will have to change along with driver behavior as well.

Good idea? Or is Wes still “beating a dead horse”?

Important to remember: Lake and Lucerne avenues are controlled by FDOT, not the City. Other FDOT roadways in the City are Dixie Hwy., Federal Hwy., Lake Worth Rd., and of course I-95.

Just in case you missed this from yesterday. . .

Blog post titled, “City’s Historic Preservation program: Regulations aren’t the problem. It’s administration of the regulations.”

Already read this? Please scroll down and Thank You for visiting today.

Allow me to share a few thoughts regarding the recent discussions of changes to the City of Lake Worth’s historic preservation ordinance. This most recent kerfuffle has made news in the Post but this all goes back much further. The current beat reporter from the Post was here in January 2016 when things “came to a head” in the City’s South Palm Park neighborhood, but what happened didn’t make the news back then.

The reverberations from that event still continue
to this day (after reading this blog post come back,
use this link and learn more about what happened
in January 2016).

Some of you may recall, for varying lengths of time, I was on the combined Planning & Zoning and Historic Preservation boards. It was later the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) was separated from P&Z and became its own entity. I also served as Chair over most of that time.

If you’ve been paying attention, the City staff and HRPB have put together some changes that would create more of a distinction between contributing and non-contributing properties within historic districts. Those changes would also provide a hierarchy of what requires more attention and less attention as it relates to approving changes to a property within historic districts.

The intent of those changes is good,
but misses the mark.

Staff, somewhat after the fact, presented those proposed changes to the State Historic Preservation Office for their opinion on whether or not they would negatively impact the City’s Certified Local Government status. Of course, the answer was the state had some concerns about what they saw as the loosening of restrictions, as is the nature of any bureaucratic organization charged with enforcing certain standards. Bureaucracies are not in the business of giving up control.

There does seem to be hope a discussion can continue between the state and the City staff. Some agreement may be reached on acceptable language. I won’t “get into the weeds” of what might be possible or even workable given the current situation vis-à-vis the public mood as it is, which is very unhappy and impatient.

I could examine possible language to the ordinance. But I won’t. Because that misses the real issue.

The real issue at play here is the increasingly over-zealous enforcement of provisions in the historic preservation ordinance and the importance or weight of staff’s opinion of changes to structures affected. Let’s start backwards and work forward as it relates to the customer/resident/property owner experience as they approach the staff in charge of administering the City’s historic preservation ordinance. 

If the phones of the city manager, mayor and commissioners are ringing with complaints about the time it takes to go through the historic preservation review process, there is something wrong with the way the regulations are being implemented. 

For example, it is not “the regulations” that do not return phone calls or emails in a timely basis. That is the staff’s job.

One of the reasons I chose to resign from the HRPB two years ago was because I was getting 4–5 calls a week from people stuck in what seemed a never-ending circle of subjective reasons why they couldn’t do something to improve their property in a historic district. At the same time, at least 80 percent of the time our meeting packets would be filled with staff reports carrying recommendations for denial. This set up an adversarial relationship between the City and residents trying to improve their properties, with the HRPB to be the ultimate arbitration authority in the matter.

[It needs to be pointed out, the HRPB is a volunteer board. It’s no small sacrifice of time and energy to be a member of the HRPB, or any City volunteer board for that matter.]

As each case is different, there are seven members on the board with seven varying points of view, consistency is difficult to achieve each and every time. A difficult case shouldn’t be an automatic appearance at the HRPB. Staff is paid to make hard decisions, and yes, sometimes it’s unpleasant to work with the public. That’s why they call it “public service”.

One solution would be to have a set of “design guidelines” that would clearly lay out what would be permitted and what would not be. There are guidelines in existence for properties along major thoroughfares in the City and in College Park as well. Those were done soon after the initial adoption of the historic preservation program in 2000 or so.

When asked for design guidelines for other areas governed by historic district regulations the oft-heard reply was “We didn’t have the staff”, “Not enough money to complete them”, or “The state was cutting back on grant money”, etc. etc. etc. Understandable and comprehensive guidelines never rose to a “line item in the budget” priority.

The City does have a grant now from the state to prepare guidelines and work should commence soon if it hasn’t begun already.

Why the City spent $14,000 on an outside attorney to do the work to change that ordinance language, then present those changes to not one but two HRPB meetings and then the City Commission — only to be told by the state we couldn’t do that, possibly risking the loss our Certified Local Government status — one can only speculate. But it doesn’t look good. Not what one would expect from a professional staff and well-paid attorneys.

I suggest the City staff closely examine the process as seen from the property owner/applicant experience with the historic preservation program.

When these “customers” receive what is assumed to be a default “No” from staff they are left to put together an application, with attendant fees, and present that application to the HRPB. By doing so they are putting their own time, money, and effort into a request that may or may not even be approved by the board. The very act of applying carries its own risk.

You also have to overcome what is most likely a negative recommendation from staff. The process itself is more onerous now than it has ever been. I’ve had the experience of putting together a few applications over time.

The simple summary is this: It is not the regulations that are the problem. It is how the regulations are being administered.

And lastly, having a historic preservation program does increase property values over time as many studies have shown. A study to try and prove otherwise would be a waste of time and energy.

Going forward, imagine if there were sets of guidelines for historic preservation everyone could follow? Not just for the public and the HRPB, but for the City staff as well.

PART ONE: “IT’S ALL ABOUT RISK”!

The blog post following this one is PART TWO: REMEMBER! “IT’S ALL ABOUT RISK”! (Do you remember where you put your gasmask?)

From Post reporter Jennifer Sorentrue about “Brightline foes’ new twist”.

About halfway through reading this article checked the date to make sure it wasn’t April 1st. Would guess Jennifer Sorentrue wasn’t the least surprised to hear:

Brightline officials on Wednesday declined to comment on the attorneys’ letter.

Another excerpt from the news story:

In a 6-page letter sent to federal transportation officials on Monday, attorneys for Martin and Indian River counties and the anti-rail group CARE FL argue a loan from the Federal Railroad Administration to help pay for the Brightline project would create “unique financial concerns” for the [President] Trump administration.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane!

“It’s All About Risk”

Below is a blog post from November 2015.

How far along is All Aboard Florida [AAF; now Brightline]? When they’re ordering seats for the trains that’s a good indication how far. Only three months ago when the anti-AAF fever was at its highest pitch this full-page ad appeared in The Palm Beach Post [August 2015], last page of the ‘B’ section:

Part of full-page ad in image below,

“. . . wrecks like this one in Philadelphia.”

Everyone knows, “It’s All About Risk”!

The Guardians of Martin County tried to make the intellectual argument that AAF is too risky because there was a train wreck in Philadelphia.

Profound.

Planes and cars crash, ships sink, and satellite launches fail. . . are all those to be abandoned due to risk? Surely Henry Flagler was informed of the risks and he decided to go ahead anyway with his railway project into the “backwater swamp”.

The Guardians in the ad went on with a laundry list of risks from AAF: Financial RISK, Ridership RISK, and the Funding RISK. 

What the Guardians didn’t do was provide any solutions for the future of Florida. Are we to presume they want more lanes and more cars using I-95 and the Turnpike?

How wide does I-95 have to be in the future? 6 lanes each way? Or maybe just make it 8?

Or maybe study once again the “fundamental rule”?

Learn more about the “fundamental rule” of traffic: Building new lanes for cars and trucks just creates more traffic.

PART TWO: REMEMBER! “IT’S ALL ABOUT RISK”!

What happened to all the angst and hand-wringing over trash being hauled to the County’s incinerator? 

“Toxic capitalism hurts my family”. The image below is from a newspaper ad at the height of the trash hauling debate vis-à-vis the County incinerator back in 2015:

“IT’S ALL ABOUT RISK”!
Does the Loxahatchee Sierra Club have any gas masks in children’s sizes too? The one shown above is way too loose-fitting to provide any health benefit.

Anyhow, learn more about the County’s Solid Waste Authority using this link and below is a Sun Sentinel article about the incinerator that is burning trash, turning that waste into energy, and extending the life of landfills. Here is an excerpt from the article:

     Nearly a decade in the making, the incinerator on Jog Road will reduce the amount of waste dumped in the county's landfill by more than 90 percent. It’s expected to extend the life of the landfill by about 30 years and, at the same time, generate electricity to be sold to FP&L, officials said.
     In an average day, the incinerator will burn more than 3,000 tons of trash. That’s in addition to the 2,000 tons already incinerated at the county’s existing waste-to-energy plant, built in 1989.
     Between the two facilities, the Solid Waste Authority expects to annually generate enough electricity to power about 40,000 homes for a year.
     Though some environmental groups have raised concerns about potential air pollution, officials say the incinerators are a clean and safe alternative to landfills.

and. . .  

In addition to reducing the garbage put in the county landfill, their use will reduce greenhouse gases.

Be part of the quirky, vibrant Lake Worth lifestyle in Andalucía! Hundreds new homes (10 floor plans!) coming soon. Feel what the French call, “LéDûb”!

“C′est si bon, Mademoiselle, Monsieur en charmant excentrique LéDûb!”

The Spanish from Europe say, “Andalucía por sí, para Lake Worth y la humanidad”!

Andalucía in Lake Worth, “A stunning new community. . .

. . . offering 10 new single-family floor plans in Palm Beach County’s highly desirable, master-planned community in Lake Worth”.

To learn more about Andalucía in Lake Worth:

• Call 561-409-5415.
• Visit the Sales Center at 8926 Kingsmoor Way, Lake Worth, FL 33467 (see map below).
• For more information, visit www.calatlantichomes.com.

Where is this new community of homes located? How many people woke up one day and found out they weren’t in the quirky little City of Lake Worth after all?

Where is that “stunning new community” in
Lake Worth? Can you find Zip Code 33467?

If you buy a home in Andalucía — out west near the Everglades somewhere — you’re nowhere near the Beach that’s really in Lake Worth.

Press Release titled: “CalAtlantic Homes Unveils 10 New Home Designs At Gated Community of Andalucia in Lake Worth, FL”

LAKE WORTH, Fla., June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CalAtlantic Homes, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, today announced the Grand Opening of Andalucia, a stunning new community offering 10 new single-family floor plans in Palm Beach County’s highly desirable, master-planned community in Lake Worth. The public is invited to tour four new single-family model homes during a Grand Opening celebration being held on Sunday, June 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

and. . .

Residents will enjoy nearby shopping, dining and entertainment venues including The Mall at Wellington Green, Lion Country Safari and the International Polo Club. Children living within Andalucia are eligible to attend Palm Beach County School District.
     To learn more about Andalucia, please call (561) 409-5415 or visit the Sales Center at 8926 Kingsmoor Way, Lake Worth, FL 33467. For more information, visit www.calatlantichomes.com.

When are we really going to get serious about distinguishing the City of Lake Worth from all those areas in PBC with a ‘Lake Worth’ Zip Code?

We need to talk about “municipal branding”.
In white on the map are unincorporated PBC areas
and the Lake Worth Corridor, many areas using
‘Lake Worth’ Zip Codes.

The City of “Lake Worth Beach”?

Was Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell a visionary,
ahead of his time back in 2012?

So. Is anyone ready to talk about “municipal branding”? Maybe a good start would be talking about changing the name of our City? Remember this by Post reporter Willie Howard?

Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell is suggesting changing the city’s name to Lake Worth Beach to help distinguish Lake Worth from parts of unincorporated Palm Beach County that have Lake Worth mailing addresses. According to postal officials, places as far west as Wellington can use Lake Worth mailing addresses. [emphasis added]
     In a memo to the commission about the name change, Maxwell notes that crimes committed west of the city in unincorporated parts of Palm Beach County are sometimes reported by the media as happening in Lake Worth. Residents with Lake Worth mailing addresses who live west of the city mistakenly come to city hall seeking solutions to their problems.
     Maxwell said Lake Worth is distinctive, with its walkable downtown and beach, and that the new name would create an “instantly recognizable brand for the city.”

and. . .

“The timing is just about right,” Maxwell said. “It kind of gives us a renewed since of pride for the next 100 years.”

“People are crying for some type of relief.” And, “Every single day hear the problems.”

Here are more quotes from the Lake Worth City Commission meeting last Tuesday, August 16th, about the City’s historic preservation program:

• “We need to clean this mess up . . . we have egg on our faces.”
• “Subjective use of guidelines.”
• “Think this effort is to thwart the will of the Commission.”

Now you be the judge.

Let’s take a look back to June 2016 when this issue was once again at the “boiling point”.

The problems with historic preservation here in the City of Lake Worth “came to a head” in early January 2016. The public had had enough. Because of what happened in the City’s South Palm Park neighborhood the City couldn’t ignore any longer the public mood: angst, frustration, and yes, anger as well. Meetings were then scheduled by the City coordinated with neighborhood groups to hear (and listen?) to the public provide input. And they, the public, did turn out.

Question: Do you think anything will be different in 2018? Are you confident? Yes or no?

Let’s take a look back to June 2016, a blog post titled,

“Notes and observations [with emphasis added] from last Monday’s [June 20th, 2016] meeting on future of Lake Worth’s Historic Preservation efforts”

These community meetings are the result of much negative feedback towards the historic preservation program and its enforcement in Lake Worth. Input is being accepted from the public which will hopefully result in changes to the program. The information collected will be integrated into a report and be the basis for improvements to the code and administration of the program to be reviewed by the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) and ultimately the City Commission.

A large crowd showed up on a Monday night.

Sizeable turnout. Note there is a news blackout at the Post about this situation despite the “special attention” we get each and every
week.

The staff interacted with the audience and took questions. Here are a few questions from the Parrot Cove/Mango Groves workshop agenda last Monday:

• Why did you choose to move to Lake Worth and make it your home?
• What do you like/dislike about your neighborhood?
• What would you like to see the City do to help improve your neighborhood?

Due to a scheduling conflict I missed the first half of the meeting but several in attendance took notes and forwarded those to me. What follows is a summary from that information and my observations:

Many of the complaints were about the length of time it takes to get a permit within a historic district. There was also discussion about the relative importance of the program in light of other factors such as the need for modern impact windows and doors (for storms and security as well), roofs, and our precarious property insurance situation. Many people expressed frustration about the economic impact of living in a historic district. Too many suggestions by City staff are very expensive alternatives that break the budget of many homeowners.

Those in attendance were informed that the historic districts will be resurveyed. The last time this was done was about fifteen years ago. As time passed structures considered non-contributing 15 years ago may now be contributing in next survey. It’s my personal opinion that City staffs’ approach to non-contributing structures within a historic district is a big reason for the pushback on the entire historic preservation program.

One of the most disturbing things to hear is more grumbling from homeowners wanting to “opt out” of historic districts in the City. A historic preservation program with community support wouldn’t be hearing this from its residents. Instead, if the program did have broad public support there would be more talk from other neighborhoods in Lake Worth to “opt in”. That is not happening.

Here is a comment from one of those about the meeting:

“Nothing was said that hasn't been said 1000 times. Everything is slow. Nobody calls me back. This thing about having to use more expensive materials is stupid for Lake Worth. ‘We’re not doing Monticello in Mount Vernon.’ Wish I could say that there was something that stood out but it was just the same things we have heard for a long time here.”

Besides the time it takes to process an application many expressed how difficult it is to talk to staff and get a dialogue going about alternatives to improve historic homes. There was also a lot of discussion about the ambiguity of the decision-making process and the lack of consistency. William Waters, the City’s Director of Community Sustainability, brought up the fact that we don’t have a coherent set of design guidelines for our historic districts and that is huge weakness.

Unfortunately, too many times people have bought a property in the City and later learn they’re in a historic district. I believe more efforts have to be taken to educate the public (and Realtors!) about the benefits of owning property within a historic district but flexibility is necessary to reach a win-win situation to preserve historic elements without heaping what can be extraordinarily high costs on the homeowner.

In short, a balanced approach.

Don’t misunderstand, there are also many positive stories about people’s experience with the City and its historic preservation program. There are permits that have a short turnaround time, reports of a two- to three-week time period, but these are the exception rather than the rule.

And lastly: I am optimistic this community discussion will bring about much needed changes. Too many residents are frustrated and yes, angry, with what’s happening. For years this situation has been one always close to the “tipping point” and now that has occurred. Ultimately I believe this important program will become a stronger one with community support with just a few talking about “opting out”.

Remember, what you read above
is from 2016.

From August 2nd of this year at the City Commission is this quote:

Mayor Pam Triolo asked City Manager Michael Bornstein, “You live in College Park. You don’t live in a historic district do you?”

Bornstein responded, “I intentionally did it that way.”

Very sad.

The comments that follow are from the blog post in June of 2016 as well:

Worth another look. A blog post from October 2015.

The blog post was titled: 

The Loxahatchee ‘Confederate’ flag rally,
a blogger in Lake Worth, and breaking news
from the Florida Senate.

Here is the breaking news [October 2015] from John Kennedy at The Palm Beach Post. The Confederate battle flag is being removed from the official seal of the Florida Senate.

Some might recall recent rallies to “save” the ‘Confederate’ flag which isn’t the Confederate flag; but more on that later. Jess Swanson at the Broward New Times had this article on a ‘Confederate’ flag rally last August. If you recall our good friends in Loxahatchee recently staged one of these rallies right here in Palm Beach County. From the New Times’ article:

     Chris Nicolaus used to drive around Fort Lauderdale with a Confederate flag proudly flapping on the antenna of his truck. But in the mornings, he’d find his vehicle had been keyed overnight. He started bringing the flag into his house in the evenings and putting it back up in the mornings, but that became too tedious, so he stopped. It’s a shame, Nicolaus says, because to him, the Confederate flag is an emblem of Southern culture, not racism.
     “For some people, it means one thing. For others, it means another,” Nicolaus tells New Times. The 35-year-old has lived in South Florida his whole life. “It might’ve meant something different 135 years ago, but for me it means that I’m Southern and enjoy fishing and hunting and being outdoors in the Everglades. We’re not the KKK.”

The flag being referred to is this one (a pleasant message from The Other Blogger [TOB]):

This flag, the ‘southern cross’ is confused with the authentic Confederate flag called the ‘stars and bars’ (See link in following paragraph).

The gentleman quoted in the article needs a history lesson. Here is an article in The Palm Beach Post about the ‘Confederate’ flag, a history much more recent than he’s been led to believe.

News from the Village of Palm Springs in The Lake Worth Herald today.

“Attention Owners, Agents, Custodians, Lessees and Occupants of Real Property Within the Village of
Palm Springs.”

Pick up the Herald every Friday at the City’s
Downtown newsstand located at 600 Lake Ave.
in the little City of Lake Worth.

Newspaper is still ¢50. Have news or a community event coming up? Call 561-585-9387. 

In the Herald today, on page 5:

“You are hereby notified that you are required by law to cut and prevent the excessive accumulation of weeds, underbrush, grass or other dead and living plant life upon your improved property; to remove any trash, waste, rubble, debris, refuse, abandoned appliance, or other nocuous matter or condition located on any property owned, controlled or occupied by you in the Village of Palm Springs; and that upon your failure to do so, the Village of Palm Springs will institute nuisance abatement proceedings against your property and cause such nuisance to be abated. [emphasis added] The cost of such abatement will constitute a special assessment lien against the property on which the nuisance is located. Such special assessment lien shall be coequal with the lien of all state, county, district, and municipal taxes and superior in dignity to mortgages and all other liens, irrespective of the date of the recording of the municipal lien or the date of the recording of any mortgage or any other lien on real property. A failure to pay said lien, even such lien upon homesteaded property, may result in a loss of title to your property.”

Kimberly M. Wynn, Village Clerk 
Village of Palm Springs, Florida

Do you live in or near Vernon Heights in District 2? Tonight is another “Lake Worth Road Program” meeting.

If the City of Lake Worth had its own Facebook page. . . How many more residents would learn about this meeting tonight and show up?

Do you have questions about the upcoming road construction? What streets? See list below.

When will construction be complete? What are the hours for construction? Will there be work during the weekends? Who is responsible for designing all the projects? What are the colored paint marks on my fence, driveway, steps, trees, etc.?

The streets below are the topic tonight:

• 18th Ave. North: North Dixie Hwy. to west of FEC tracks.
• 19th Ave. North: North A St. to dead end at I-95.
• 8th Ave. North: North H St. to Dixie Hwy.
• Crestwood Blvd.: Dead end at I-95 to North A St.
• Florida St.: 20th Ave. North to 23rd Ave. North.
• North F St.: Lucerne Ave. to 3rd Ave. North.
• North F St.: 4th Ave. North to 11th Ave. North.
• 14th Ave. North: Richard Lane to wall at I-95.

Are you frightened or concerned about what’s about to begin in your neighborhood?

Don’t be frightened and run out west! Attend
the meeting tonight and the City will
explain what is going on.

Use this link to see the entire list of upcoming meetings:

• Where: Lake Worth City Hall.
• Time: 6:30–8:00.
• Who can attend? Everyone is welcome.

How to get more information:

• Phone: 561-713-1707
• Email: Contact@LakeWorthRoads.com
• Use this link to submit a question online.

For more “Frequently Asked Questions” use this link.