Tree Board Talk in LWB Public Library.

If you haven’t heard about tomorrow’s Tree Board Talk (Thurs., 4/11) in Lake Worth Beach then please continue reading.

Everyone in LWB and metro areas west are strongly encouraged to attend this public meeting tomorrow and worth noting everyone is encouraged to follow Mr. Ben Kerr, PIO for City updates. Take a moment to get on the list for future news about who’s who and what’s what.

And would encourage everyone to keep Mexico Beach in your thoughts and prayers. Please continue reading to learn why.

On April 11th doors will open promptly, 6:00, at the Public Library located at 15 North M Street. This is a FREE public event open to everyone:


Lake Worth Beach, Fl — The City Tree Board is pleased to announce the 2019 City Tree Talk panel discussion. This year’s talk will include five certified arborists who will discuss the importance of proper tree care and maintenance. 


Worth noting is fifty days after this meeting at the library officially begins Hurricane Season. And just on time are coming all the predictions about the number and strength of storms which are completely meaningless but they are entertaining. How those predictions stack up against the Old Farmer’s Almanac would be interesting to learn as well.

Several years ago, around 2014 or 2015 or so was one of the biggest rain storms to ever hit Palm Beach County. Truly frightening. Not one meteorologist saw it coming. Not one.

The public meeting at the public library on April 11th does not require a prayer or a moment of silence. But maybe this one should.

Please support everyone involved preparing for an approaching hurricane and everywhere else in Palm Beach County. The myth used to be in Homestead and at Everglades National Park and all those people who lived in mobile home parks in and around Florida City that the Gulfstream Current whipping around north of Cuba and up the coast offered them a level of protection. But then Andrew came to visit.

Lake Worth Beach must continue improving the infrastructure and fixing the water lines and hardening the Electric Utility. And if you are worried about over-development in Lake Worth Beach then please take heed.

You better help get ready for future hurricanes too.

And maybe there should be a prayer or a moment of silence on April 11th in support of the residents of Mexico Beach.

What happened in the City of Lake Worth in December 2017 and news still making waves in Lake Worth Beach.

What happened is a reporter came to town, a very good one, and she made a huge impact.

The story was about a craft beer brewery on South H St. in Lake Worth Beach (see image below). This location was formerly where the Lake Worth Herald Press was located. This reporter, a food writer and journalist for the New Times Broward covering Miami-Dade and Broward counties came to Lake Worth to do a story about Mathews Brewing Co.

And this reporter became part of this story just at the right time in late December 2017. 

The Lake Worth Herald was already on this story about Mathews Brewing. The Herald is a regional paper for the City, Lake Worth region, the Village of Palm Springs and other nearby cities and towns and at some point The Palm Beach Post got involved but by then the paper was already up For-Sale looking for a buyer and then came along Gatehouse Media in May of 2018.

So in late Dec. 2017 food writer and journalist Nicole Danna comes along. Learn more about this reporter below.

What Danna didn’t know is about a year earlier another person who is now a very prominent person who lives in this City, someone who almost everyone knows and is well-known County-wide and in Tallahassee too talked about how craft beer breweries was one of several signs of an emerging place. Also of note Mathews Brewing Co. first considered West Palm Beach but decided on the City of Lake Worth instead.

Before Nicole Danna came along Mathews Brewing was already news locally and regionally in Palm Beach County. But this news about Mathews Brewing spread like wildfire when it became news in the New Times Broward. This very same reporter broke the news about C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen and did an in-depth review of Benny’s on the Beach and several other establishments in the City like the Bx Beer Depot that ultimately failed on South J St.

Because of that story by Danna how many people who used to pass by ‘Lake Worth’ on their way to someplace else, who later decided to stop ‘in Lake Worth the City’ and look around is incalculable but it most certainly had an impact. A big one.

The New Times Broward, despite its reputation at the time in Palm Beach County, did some very good news reporting but when another so-called ‘reporter’ did a hit piece about a now-former commissioner in West Palm Beach the reputation of the New Times took a nose dive.

Which leads into the dearth of quality news and food reviews in LWB and further west. What we need is a quality reporter to focus on the City and the neighboring Lake Worth region which is a very big area to cover.

So without further ado here are two excerpts from the news by Danna:


On December 15 [2017], Mathews Brewing Co. will open the doors to its Lake Worth brewhouse and taproom located just west of the city’s downtown, in the newly recognized Artisanal Industrial District.

Mathews Brewing Co. owner and brewer Dave Mathews says he originally planned to launch his business in West Palm Beach but was drawn south thanks to Lake Worth’s “funky, cool vibe” and the city’s business-friendly atmosphere.

and. . .

“Our goal is to make solid, quality beer that’s as true-to-style as possible,” says Mathews, whose late Jack Russel terrier serves as the official brewery logo. “We can literally brew anything here, and I plan to offer a broad range of styles, from an American IPA to traditional British-style cask ale.”

lastly. . .

“The brewery’s opening-day tap list will include a number of the brand’s core beers, such as Accelerate American IPA, Hop Dynamics red IPA, Florida Haze New England IPA, Heavy Metal American double IPA, L-Dub Tropical pale ale, White Goblin Belgian wit, Junkyard Dog brown ale, Sweet Emotion cream ale, Seek and Destroy imperial stout, Night Moves amber ale, and Riff Raff American porter.

This image was used by Mathews Brewing
to promote the brewery early on.

Mathews Brewing Co. is “Lake Worth’s First”.

So why don’t you head on over to Mathews Brewing some time soon and say, “Nicole Danna sent me.”

So now you understand more about this emerging place called Lake Worth Beach.

Whether or not Danna knows how much of an impact she made is unclear. But who knows, maybe she will come visit us and tell us all about it at The Book Cellar bookstore in the Downtown some day.

Original Lake Worth Casino.

Note the Casino north tower
is intact in this image:

View of original structure from early to mid-1920s. Note the “C” is missing off the north wall (damage following 1926 Hurricane?). This would be prior to 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane which caused the tower’s collapse and significant damage to structure.

Worth noting. Every moment of every day is made possible by Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover Dike and everyone needs to remember what happened on September 16th, 1928.

News in The Palm Beach Post: “Join the historic Gulfstream Hotel for thrilling and spooky hunts.”

Later in this blog post see that absurdly ridiculous promotion published in the Post two years ago: “World’s Largest Ghost Hunt”. Why did it fail so badly? Here is why:

Another myth debunked:

It’s not true. There are no ghosts
in the Gulfstream Hotel.

That ghost hunt promoted by the Post at the Gulfstream Hotel in September 2017 fizzled out to no ones surprise. Ghost hunters all over the world don’t even bother with the Gulfstream any more. Read more about this topic below.

But ghosts and apparitions, even fake ones,
are still very popular!

Organize a ghost hunt for old tabloids (see below for example) that have dried up and blown away? Or looking further out, start planning now for celebrations at this year’s July 4th Raft Race? A ghost hunt obstacle race, gather abandoned shopping carts from all over the City and players have to try and get through to the next challenge.

Last year one idea on America’s Independence Day, in addition to the prepared music and band lineup, was to honor the American patriot Paul Revere but the very popular band Ghost of Paul Revere was fully booked and not available. Maybe this year?





The ideas and possibilities are limitless.

Now back to the ‘Ghost Hunt’ promoted
in the Post last year.

It was Post staff writer in an article titled, “Lake Worth has plenty of events to celebrate” over the 2017 Labor Day weekend had this absurd headline:

World’s Largest Ghost Hunt

In an attempt to bring about more vibrancy the “World’s Largest Ghost Hunt”, according to the Post reporter, was set to begin at 6:30 and go on til midnight.

It ended up no one showed at the Gulfstream for this ghost hunt anyway and around 7:30 or so learned the hotel had some new locks on the doors and there were no “ghost hunters” inside either. The myth about ghosts in the hotel has finally been debunked, once and for all.

The Post’s “ThingsToDo” crew last year
promoting the ‘ghost hunt’:

Not much vibrancy for ghosts going on here. But whilst on the topic of ghosts. . .

Do you remember that newspaper tabloid from 3½ years ago — the one that failed and was shuttered after a short period of time — that tried to bring back some vibrancy at the Gulfstream Hotel, promoted giving away the Lake Worth Beach and commercializing Bryant Park? What’s happened since? Very, very little. Which is very good news for our Beach and public parks.

From a March 2015 letter, “We would like to immediately get to an agreement. . .”.

Click on image to enlarge: 

This former tabloid that once littered the streets in this City is a ghost as well. But please take note: this ‘newspaper’ is not to be confused with The Lake Worth Herald, “Lake Worth’s Oldest Established Business – Established in 1912”.

Palm Beach Habilitation Center (PBHC) west of LWB needs volunteers.

How much do you know about this wonderful facility for the disabled near Lake Worth Beach? Why use LWB as a landmark?

Because this municipality is one of the six featured municipalities featured each and every week in The Palm Beach Post (a paper of record) since about the time PBSO merged with the City of Greenacres PD over 3½ years ago.

So for regular readers of the Post most of you would already know generally where the PBHC is located.

The Village of Palm Springs bills itself the “Garden Spot” in Palm Beach County and there is a Home Depot and Walmart in Palm Springs many in LWB rely on. And Patti Waller was recently re-elected. Again. She is now Mayor Pro Tem Patti Waller.

The PBHC used to be in unincorporated Palm Beach County but they were annexed into Palm Springs and everyone including State Representative David Silvers and State Senator Bobby Powell are very pleased about that. Below is a link to a story published in The Palm Beach Post last year.

PBHC is a center well-known for its work providing support and programs for those with disabilities. You may have heard about PBHC but didn’t know much more but they rely on volunteers from the community.

Volunteering at PBHC is year-round or seasonal and the hours are flexible according to your availability. For example, one way to volunteer is at TJ’s Café on a day or days during the week, on Monday–Friday from 9:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. to assist clients and staff with taking orders, cashiering, food preparation, baking and cooking.

For more ways to volunteer click on this link. To stop by and visit:

• The mailing address is 4522 S. Congress Ave. in Palm Springs.
• Phone number: 561-965-8500.
• Email: info@pbhab.com
• Or fill out this form and submit.

However. . .

If today or tomorrow or next year a reporter from CBS12 (WPEC) or the Post shows up near the corner Congress Ave. and 6th Ave. South to report on an event or a crime or a vehicle crash at that intersection — or anywhere else in suburban Lake Worth for that matter — almost 100% of the time they will say they are either ‘in Lake Worth’ or ‘near Lake Worth’.

The concept of anything happening near another municipality like Palm Springs or Boynton Beach is either a foreign concept to them or they just don’t care.

But if one was looking out the window from the PBHC watching what a CBS12 or Post reporter was doing in just about 1½ minutes that person if taught the steps would know exactly where that reporter is and/or was.

With just a few clicks any reporter who cares can find out exactly where they are in just moments. For example, the Post beat reporter for Lake Worth Beach knew exactly where the PBHC was last year — despite PBHC having a ‘Lake Worth’ mailing address and zip code — and the editor of The Palm Beach Post knows that a man killed on a bicycle last Saturday occurred in the Lake Worth region between the cities of Greenacres and Boynton Beach.

CBS12 does not care about accuracy when it comes to Lake Worth Beach or the Lake Worth region; that’s why I watch WPTV (NBC5). The Palm Beach Post many times does not care either; and am reading a lot more news in the Sun Sentinel now. Maybe that switch will happen this week. Who needs three newspaper subscriptions when there is the LOCAL Lake Worth Herald as well?

Abandoning our American inner cities from a historical perspective: Nuclear war and ‘safe’ suburban shopping malls.

Briefly, when you’re finished reading the blog post below consider this for a moment or two:

What’s one of the major reasons why so many people think buying a house or condo in a place called Westlake or far out west in Palm Beach County is a good idea?

Because of another fear. Crime.

That’s why, for potential home buyers, cities like Lake Worth Beach and Greenacres are not on the top of their list. But if home buyers actually knew more about all the great things happening in the City of Greenacres they would most certainly pause and think for a while. And then there is this truly wonderful news about crime in Lake Worth Beach.


But western sprawl continues unabated. . .


However, continue reading to learn why the societal problems you’re trying to avoid by moving out west are going to show up on your front door soon enough.

But by then you’ll be stuck in a house worth pennies on the dollar and wish like hell you lived in a coastal city like Lake Worth Beach.

But you ended up buying that property in Westlake or in the agrihood of Arden anyhow. Why? Because you read stories like this one in The Palm Beach Post.

And worse yet. You believed it.


But anyhow. . .

Reasoning for abandoning our inner cities and the lure of suburban shopping malls in the 1950s: Preparation for nuclear war?

Sounds crazy?


Below are two articles I would like to share about the typical suburban shopping mall. They were once a “driving” reason for the decline of downtown shopping areas and traditional City business districts. The dependence on the automobile as the primary transportation mode during the second half of the 20th Century coupled with low-density suburban residential development (aka, “suburban sprawl” and “White Flight”) enabled and fueled this process.

Now it’s the shopping malls’ turn to decline in the face of headwinds no one could have imagined 50–60 years ago: Millennials’ housing choices, the resurgence of inner cities, online shopping alternatives, new transportation options, and the public now eschewing all that once-comfortable blandness not to be found in walkable downtown areas like Lake Worth Beach has become.

This first article is more of the typical anti-suburban sprawl narrative we are oft-accustomed to hearing in the planning profession. This second article traces the beginnings of the suburban shopping mall as part a reaction to the Cold War and the fear of nuclear attack from the former Soviet Union.

Early mall locations were placed outside an 8-mile-radius from the larger, central urban cores. That would put these sites outside the predicted “blast zone” should an attack occur. Malls were designed so that anchor stores could be converted to hospitals and stores could become dispensaries for food and other supplies.

I think the apocalyptic world vision of post-WWII has faded some since the 1950s. But it is interesting to wonder where we would be now had we actually needed to use these shopping malls for another purpose: Civil Defense following a nuclear attack.

One more thing. How many people actually believed living outside that ‘8-mile-radius’ would have saved them from the ‘blast’ and fallout back in the 1950s?

Like now in the present day, that living 8 miles west of Lake Worth Beach will keep them safe from crime?


Whilst the urban myths continue a lot of people are having a lot of fun in Lake Worth Beach!

“Code enforcement in Lake Worth Criticized”: Newspaper clipping from Sun-Sentinel below.

“It’s good cop, bad cop,” said Sister ■■■■■■ ■■■■, director of the Maya Ministry of the Diocese of Palm Beach, “It’s very inconsistent.”



Let’s pause briefly: “Good cop/bad cop” is a turn of phrase, a throwaway line referring to a negotiation tactic that can also be used by parents negotiating with children, in auto sales or even landlords and agents forcing Central American immigrants into a dwelling meant for fewer people.

So please note ‘good cop/bad cop’ does not refer to anyone in the story that follows.

Clipping dated Monday, April 3rd, 2006 in South Florida Sun-Sentinel, staff writer Jerome Burdi:

Dateline “LAKE WORTH, FL”:
Click on clipping to enlarge:

Please check back later for transcription of paragraph 2 published in neighborhood ‘LOCAL’ Sun-Sentinel. Top cop in this story was former LWPD Police Chief William Smith. Building Dir. Bill Bucklew retired two weeks prior making Smith acting building director. And on a related story about Lake Worth Beach. . .

Hannah Morse multitasking: Beat reporter, sports, food writer bringing Guatemalan community together.

What follows is just wonderful food news from Palm Beach Post reporter Hannah Morse which hopefully will provide some inspiration, a second location for La Esquina Guatemalteca which translated means “The Guatemalan Corner”. More about that restaurant a little later whilst we digress for a bit.

You may recall it was Morse who made a big splash in Lake Worth Beach with her news about an annual soccer tournament in Jupiter where the Guatemalan team is major force to be reckoned with. The hope is this concept will make its way to Lake Worth Beach some day and maybe the Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC) will pick up this ball and run with it.

Remember in play only the goalie and refs can hold, catch, and throw a soccer ball! Players cannot move the ball by hand unless for penalty kicks, throw ins or off the field of play or red and yellow cards will appear. So teamwork in the NAPC is crucial and move the ball forward the best way you can.

Maybe PBSO in LWB will form a team. They’ll never come close to ever winning or even scoring unless the Guatemalan team let’s them but it would be fun to watch.

Do you remember Palm Beach Post reporter Bill DiPaolo? And what’s all this have to do with the Guatemalan community?

Well, let’s delve into that briefly.

DiPaolo retired a while back and it was Morse who took over the Jupiter beat. Everything was going swimmingly well for Morse until an elderly man decided to walk into a spa one day and ever since almost everything in Jupiter has fallen off the radar. And that’s too bad for Morse and the news-seeking public. But that is an editorial decision, nothing to do with Morse. If you want to find out what DiPaolo is up to now reach out to him on Twitter.

It was DiPaolo who penned a news report several years ago about the El Sol resource center in Jupiter, it was an event at the PBC Cultural Council held in what is now Lake Worth Beach. The event was tremendously successful and certainly may have provided the inspiration for Día de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead is now a regional festival but is growing each and every year. On Saturday, Nov. 2nd will be the next festival and if you are a vendor or artist and want to get an early start, start by contacting the LWB Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

To learn more about this year’s upcoming festival, last year’s Day of the Dead and to contact the CRA use this link for a blog post in October 2018.

And here in Lake Worth Beach we’re hoping for change too. The last female reporter on the ‘Lake Worth’ beat was Lona O’Connor who retired ten years ago.


Now back to the food news by Morse. 


The restaurant in Jupiter called La Esquina Guatemalteca would fit in nicely here in Lake Worth Beach if they ever decide to open a second location. Guatemalan heritage and traditional Central American food is becoming more and more popular all the time; two excerpts:


Tables are topped with woven textiles, and warm drinks like arroz con leche, a slightly sweet drink with a hint of cinnamon, and atole, a filling traditional drink made with lima beans, are served in tazas de barro, or clay mugs.

On a recent morning, the rhythm of the kitchen was driven by a reggaeton beat. A cook prepared a churrasco dish, fried steak served with rice and beans, then drizzled the finishing touches on colorful, light and crunchy enchiladas.

and. . .

La Esquina Guatemalteca offers breakfast, like a savory huevos rancheros; fresh hibiscus and pineapple waters; soups; and desserts like sweet rellenitos, or stuffed plantains.

William and Santos [sons of restaurateur Silvia Cano] don’t remember much of Guatemala, having moved to Jupiter when they were kids. But Silvia’s cooking always gave them that sense of culture.


To read the entire story by Morse headlined, “La Esquina Guatemalteca brings taste of Central America to Jupiter” click on this link.


IF YOU GO.

La Esquina Guatemalteca is located at 208 Hibiscus St. in Jupiter. If you head on out today to gather more information call 561-768-9137 or check out their Facebook page.

2018–2019 Election Season in WPB.

Whilst on this topic about the next mayor prior to Election Day in West Palm Beach the paper of record made the observation that West Palm needs to boost city neighborhoods and the editorial board at The Palm Beach Post went on to conclude this as well in their editorializing:

West Palm needs a new mayor with a,


“[C]ollaborative approach to running the city — certainly more than we have seen from [mayor] Muoio. . . . [F]or West Palm to thrive, it must abandon the haughtiness [emphasis added] it has too often displayed toward neighboring cities and the county government.”

—Quote. Editor of Palm Beach Post, published on Sunday, March 3rd, 2019 on p. A24.

The definition of haughty and “haughtiness” is,

1. disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant; supercilious: haughty aristocrats; a haughty salesclerk

2. Archaic . lofty or noble; exalted.


This week it was reported,


The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board has won the prestigious national News Leaders Association Award for its innovative and compelling series of editorials headlined “The Invading Sea: Can South Florida be saved?”


Maybe this information from “The Invading Sea” series will actually boost some neighborhoods in WPB, like those with high crime and poverty rates, but we’ll have to wait and see.

West Palm Beach is oft-referred to as the County Seat. As was published recently in the Sun Sentinel we learned that Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, Delray Beach, Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana and Ocean Ridge are members of the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP).

WPB is not.

But Lake Worth Beach (LWB) is.

And neither is South Palm Beach a member of the CRP.

In conclusion conclude what you wish. But if you wish to learn more about what happened in South Palm Beach and about the CRP too click on this link.

“But West Palm Beach does not have a beach.”

Of course, West Palm Beach does not have a beach. But West Palm was created by the Town of Palm Beach which does have a beach. And although the headquarters of The Palm Beach Post in WPB was recently sold to an investment group — and for almost a year Gatehouse Media has been the owner and publisher of the Post — there still remains a reason and purpose for this newspaper and West Palm Beach to become a member of the CRP in the near future with the County and Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes and seven other coastal communities.

It started in City of Lake Worth and ended in Lake Worth Beach (LWB).

Referring to the recent conclusion of the 2018–2019 municipal Election Season in this City or the younger people and the Millennials still like to call L-Dub on occasion.

Also of note TONIGHT at 6:00 is the First Friday event in downtown.

Lake Ave. will be closed to traffic. There will be local notable notables, music, and people just strolling up and down Lake Ave. taking it all in. To learn more about this evening read another blog post further down below.


Also worth noting,

Why it is always a good idea to save political FREE SPEECH like mailers and door hangers.

Because when you ask that question and hear back, “What did I say?” you can remind them.

Briefly, for those unaware, both ballot questions #1 and #2 passed and both commissioners Omari Hardy in District 2 and Herman Robinson in District 4 were re-elected. This time to a three-year term.

And a Thank You to Cathy Turk and Messrs. Tom Copeland, Richard Guercio (see campaign handout below) and William Joseph as well.

As Mr. Joseph makes his preparations for a run for mayor in 2021 encourage all the former candidates to stay involved!

Of all the former candidates only Mr. Guercio was in attendance at the last Lake Worth Beach City Commission meeting.

All of you had ideas and thoughts and different ways to accomplish things and shared your visions too. For example, Cathy Turk suggested in the future considering giving actual names to our lettered streets like maybe Greenwood, Gottrau or Greene in honor of very significant people. Our City streets were not always lettered. And history proves that.

Every candidate had strong positions on whether or not constructing a new pool at the beach was a wise use of public funds. There was very strong opposition by Mr. Copeland to Ms. Turk advising more research and more public charrettes.

Mr. Guercio did not win on
Election Day, March 12th, 2018

Click on FREE SPEECH to enlarge.

You’ll probably see Mr. Guercio walking around
at the First Friday event in downtown
tonight from 6:00–10:00.

All former candidates need to keep attending public meetings and the public needs to know there is no election of candidates in LWB until the 2020–2021 Election Season!

And in conclusion. . .

Always advise the public to save political campaign material, mailers, door hangers, handouts, business cards, buttons, shirts, hats, and yard signs if you have the room in a closet or have space out in the garage.

Besides coming in handy on Halloween saving this stuff is a reminder of what a candidate actually said and did not say prior to the election vs. after the election when claiming something very much different, something that happens from time to time.

Congratulations to Big Herm’s Chicago Style Food and four other restaurants in Lake Worth metro area (zip code 33467).

Herm’s received a perfect inspection from the State of Florida for establishments serving and delivering food to the public.

Does Herm’s offer takeout service to Lake Worth Beach? Instead of heading out to Herm’s you might want to call ahead first.

Herm’s and four other eateries (see news below) all received perfect inspections for food safety and a commitment to keeping food temperatures in the healthy range, keeping their back areas clean, refrigerators, walk-ins and separate areas for food prep and uncooked food and hot and cold water and separate sinks for cleaning, rinsing and the sanitation sink. They checked their dates and rotated items and did not break rules using out-of-date items and made sure everyone washed their hands and you all deserve credit.

However, not one of the restaurants highlighted below is located in Lake Worth Beach. These fine establishments are all located west of the City.

Where are they? Well, you need to find that out for yourself. For example, Herm’s Chicago Style Food is real close to the Village of Wellington.

The point is this information which was published in today’s print edition of The Palm Beach Post is true. However, all the places highlighted below are in the Lake Worth metropolitan area but not in Lake Worth Beach.

The point is if you read or see something you like about a restaurant call or check online to find out where it is! For example, Callaro’s Steak House is getting rave reviews.

Anyone seeing that news in the Post today in the Village of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach and the planned agrihood of Arden would have found out where Big Herm’s is and know they have other options for Chicago-style food nearby. And anyone in Lake Worth Beach may decide to drive out towards Wellington and check out Herm’s too.

Now imagine in the Post today it read, “Big Herm’s Chicago Style Food west of Wellington”?

Ponder that question for a few moments.

Anyhow, if you are in Lake Worth Beach today and want to take a drive out west here are some very good options; an excerpt from today’s paper on p. B7 below the fold:


Eleven Palm Beach County restaurants had perfect inspections last week. They are: Americaters Corp. in Boynton Beach; Guaca Go in Boynton Beach; Big Herm’s Chicago Style Food in Lake Worth; Palm Beach Skate Zone in Lake Worth; Eurest Dining Services in Boca Raton; El Torito Sport Pub & Cantina in Lake Worth; Subway at 10130 Northlake Blvd. in West Palm Beach; Cocina Mexicana in Lake Worth; Tijuana Flats at 6201 Jog Road in Lake Worth; Bamboo Fire Cafe in Delray Beach; and Chick-Fil-A at 6000 Glades Road in Boca Raton.


Thank You for visiting today and hope you found this information helpful.

South Palm Beach was in the news last February, feature story by Dan Moffett in The Coastal Star.

The news from Mr. Moffett is more than surprising; closer to stupefying would be more like it.

The story was headlined, “South Palm Beach: Beach project appears dead after county backs out”. This highly interesting read by Moffett concludes with this paragraph,


To date, the county has spent a little over $1.3 million on studies and permit applications for the project, and South Palm has paid about $330,000. The number of staff hours invested in the effort is incalculable.


Another excerpt from the news in The Coastal Star and the link to read the entire story is later in this blog post.

Whilst on topic it was reported recently in the Sun Sentinel that Palm Beach County and ten municipalities including Lake Worth Beach have joined the Coastal Resilience Partnership (CRP). And if you are wondering if South Palm Beach is part of the CRP the answer is no.

And the Town of Palm Beach hasn’t joined the CRP either. But Boca Raton is a member and so is Delray Beach. Read more about this latest development a little later.

But many of you are probably saying to yourself, “Where is South Palm Beach?” The answer is in the map below courtesy of the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office.

Click on map to enlarge.

At top and in center of map (in airy yellow) is Town of Palm Beach. In verdant green is Lake Worth Beach:

In the map (bottom right; sea turtle green) is the ¼-sq. mi. Town of South Palm Beach located south of Lake Worth Beach and Town of Palm Beach (Intracoastal is to west and Atlantic Ocean to east; Town of Manalapan is to the south and shaded Verdenia red is Town of Lantana).

Back in April 2016 when The Palm Beach Post still believed they had the cred to rank towns, villages and cities in Palm Beach County in order from worst to best the Post ranked South Palm Beach #11 out of 38:


There is little youthful anything in South Palm Beach, a condo-canyon stretch of A1A that connects Lake Worth [Beach] with Palm Beach. It’s a snowbird paradise, with lots of people on the stroll along the paved path bordering the Lake Worth Lagoon.


However, if you look at the map above South Palm Beach is connected to the Town of Palm Beach. Palm Beach has a historical right-of-way north through Lake Worth Beach?


Now moving on. . .


Here are the opening five paragraphs in The Coastal Star by Dan Moffett. . .


For nearly 13 years, Palm Beach County and South Palm Beach have worked together on a controversial plan to use a network of concrete groins to relieve the town’s chronic beach erosion problems.

They spent $1.7 million and devoted countless hours to the joint venture, consulting with scientists and engineers, lobbying politicians and state officials, and twisting the arms of skeptical residents and neighbors.

Now, months before construction of the groins was scheduled to begin, it appears the project is dead in the water.

On Feb. 5, the county sent a letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection officially withdrawing a request for the permits needed to move forward. County environmental managers say the project has grown too expensive to make sense anymore.

“We have determined that the project is cost prohibitive,” said Michael Stahl, deputy director of the county’s Environmental Resources Management department.


To continue reading the entire story datelined February 27th click on this link.

As cited earlier in this blog post today — more information about the CRP as reported in the Sun Sentinel — news datelined March 12th. Two excerpts follow:


The Coastal Resilience Partnership consists of Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, Delray Beach, Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Hypoluxo, Lake Worth, Lantana and Ocean Ridge. It was formally created with a grant from the Florida Resilient Coastlines Program, an initiative by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to provide assistance and funding to coastal communities dealing with flooding, erosion and other changes.

Referring to CRP meeting held on February 28th. . .

. . . Coastal Resilience Partnership members discussed future planning efforts, such as infrastructure, social and economic issues and protecting vital natural resources. The coalition has future meetings planned for the Spring and Summer, but exact dates are not yet available.


Now briefly back to Lake Worth Beach and news in The Coastal Star published in August 2017, “Along the Coast . . . A line in the sand” by reporters Jane Smith and Michelle Quigley.

This news had the subheadline:

“At issue is whether building should continue east of Coastal Construction Line”

Click on screen grab from video:

Take note of the red north-south
Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL).

To learn more about the CCCL and why a new municipal pool complex at the beach in Lake Worth Beach is not possible click on this link. Plus not once since the new Casino was constructed in 2012 has it ever faced a major hurricane like Frances and Jeanne in 2004 or Wilma in 2005.

Update: Upcoming independent Lake Worth Beach tour guide for visitors to this unique and special place.

In brief, this guide will be a quick and easy way to encourage everyone to explore more about this place.

This will be a short accumulation of LOCAL sources of information without the GIGO that pops up all the time using zip codes and data trapping that ends up on the TV news and regional newspapers and then served to the public as news. Lake Worth News has GIGO. But there is accurate news too.

Know there is GIGO on the Lake Worth Wikipedia page too. The word “Beach” in Lake Worth Beach was edited out in many places but there is a lot of accurate information too. The advice in the guide will be just ignore any GIGO you see or just find another source to be your one to turn to:

GIGO  =  Garbage In Garbage Out.

So if you are considering a visit to Lake Worth Beach or just stopping by to visit this blog today let’s proceed.

Briefly, on March 19th Lake Worth Beach became official. For a really good regional perspective on this please read an article by Linda Trischitta at the Sun Sentinel headlined,

‘We are unique’: How this city’s new name, Lake Worth Beach, is making waves

On that topic renaming this City it is indeed making waves and in a very funny way. About the recent Pride Fest Festival the steps taken by reporters at The Palm Beach Post to avoid using the “Beach” has reached the comical stage. You cannot avoid laughing and will not believe how many clever and not-so-clever ways they’ve come up with to ignore the beach in Lake Worth Beach.

Below is a lot of information from the upcoming guide about this City that has managed to befuddle the regional press and news media for many, many decades and provided a lot of entertainment on the TV news. Some of those stories are legendary.

However, little information about the past will be in the upcoming guide but this City’s past relationship with the press and news media is one of the reasons why this place became Lake Worth Beach in the first place. That relationship is an integral part of that story in both an excellent way, good, bad or indifferent or just plain hideous too.

So let’s briefly explore this story and then move on.

For example, some in the press and news media still cannot comprehend how Lake Worth Beach can own an Electric Utility. Stunned look and the eyes glaze over. It’s been said to help some reporters find this place they need a Sherpa guide, percussion drums and smoke signals.

But finding this unique place is not hard at all like it is for transplanted reporters who are unaccustomed to being transplanted from a place they know to another place they don’t know often with hilarious consequences.

But there are standouts and there is exceptional news reporting in Palm Beach County such as by WPTV (NBC5) and that is the recommended viewing for TV news whilst your visit to this City. And there is some not-so-good-news as well. Lake Worth Beach still does not have a hotel in the downtown or a parking garage either. The good news is those hurdles are and will be addressed.

In the meantime West Palm Beach does not have a beach but they do have plenty of hotel rooms. 

In about 1½ weeks the guide will be complete with a cooler name. This online LWB guide will be a helpful online one for visitors, tourists, the business community, marketing professionals and others interested in learning more about the Lake Worth metropolitan area and the City of Lake Worth Beach: where things are and how to get there.

This effort will be independent of but include information from:

• Lake Worth Beach City Hall.
• The Visitors’ Center in the City Hall Annex.
• Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.
• Lake Worth Beach and Casino Complex.
• The LOCAL Lake Worth Herald weekly newspaper.

And everyone is encouraged to visit, learn and read these sources for daily, weekly and monthly news.

And yes, the acronym LWB is acceptable and it is proper in some cases just like WPB is short for West Palm Beach which does not have a beach.

In fact this headline appeared in The Lake Worth Herald today referencing a recent City press release:

LWB Library Celebrates National Library Week

Also happening in LWB is an exciting project called “Wayfinding” and next week is an event called “The Next Big Thing!” but you must RSVP with the CRA by tomorrow (Friday, 4/5, 4:00) to guarantee a seat at this event. Call 561-493-2550 or send an email to: ETheodossakos@lakeworth.org

Although there will always be errors in the press and news media intentionally misleading people will not be tolerated. House style is one thing but just using zip codes in news reporting is completely wrong, whether it’s house style or not. A little later is a brief example.

And whether you plan your visit using a guide or any other source always verify your plans ahead of time and plan for detours. For example, you may be planning a visit to the PBC Cultural Council but get detoured at The Book Cellar bookstore or Callaro’s Steak House across the street.

And know that for whatever Lake Worth Beach lacks you most probably will find to the west of the City and there will be examples of that as well.

However, note these phrases are inaccurate and misleading:

• “In Lake Worth-area”
• “Near Lake Worth”
• “Western Lake Worth”
• “Close to Lake Worth”

Reporters should already know where Lake Worth Beach is. What the professionals in the news media should be doing is educating others like a few reporters at CBS12 (WPEC) who keep reporting about terrible incidents ‘in Lake Worth’ but the latest report on CBS12 was a tragedy that occurred in a mobile home community bordering another municipality out west in unincorporated Palm Beach County in zip code 33462. Lake Worth Beach only uses zip code 33460 and part of 33461.

Along with the guide will be instructions on how to locate anything in Palm Beach County — even the most difficult ones to find — in just about two minutes or less with just very little information. It’s not looking “for a needle in a haystack”.

For example, just yesterday corrected news in The Palm Beach Post. The restaurant called Big Herm’s Chicago Style Food reported as ‘in Lake Worth’ is actually on the outskirts of Wellington in the Lake Worth metro area far from Lake Worth Beach.

Where Big Herm’s is located is of minor consequence. But that place reported as ‘in Lake Worth near Wellington’ would help a reader better decide whether or not to visit that particular eatery or find another one locally like TooJay’s in Lake Worth Beach instead.

Enjoy your visit to Lake Worth Beach!

Because the next time you visit Lake Worth Beach this place will be different. Like your favorite store in Lake Worth Beach might add the “Beach” to its name or the Lake Worth Beach parking garage will be under construction and maybe Gonz in Lake Worth Beach will be renting golf carts by the day.


Every visit to Lake Worth Beach will be like
a whole new adventure.

“Thumbs Up to You for visiting Lake Worth Beach once again!”

As promised from LOCAL Lake Worth Herald is news from City of Lake Worth Beach (OldSchoolSneaker.net Alert*).

Once again. Please remember:

DO NOT BRING THUMB DRIVES TO LAKE WORTH BEACH CITY HALL.

If you have been busy and have not heard about what happened at City Hall then please read the news below first from the Herald and then scroll back up and click on this link and then please help spread the word. This City does not deserve to be under siege again but for some inexplicable reason it always seems to happen from time to time and mostly unexpected.

So until the monkeywrenching ends and things get back on track The Lake Worth Herald has magnanimously stepped up to help educate and inform the public about upcoming public meetings and events.

Without further ado. . .

City of Lake Worth Beach

Weekly Calendar of Events
and Meetings

Until the City’s new website is up and running, the Lake Worth Herald is happy to provide a weekly calendar of City events and Advisory Board meetings as a community service. Please note that all meetings are subject to change or cancellation over which the LW Herald has no control.

Please confirm days and times by contacting City Hall, 561-586-1600.

Agendas for all meetings are available through the City Clerk’s office:



FRIDAY – APRIL 5
Lake Ave Block Party | Downtown | 6pm

SATURDAY – APRIL 6

• Farmers Market | Old Bridge Park | 9am
• Art Auction | HATCH1121 | 6pm

MONDAY – APRIL 8
Bond Oversight Committee | City Hall | 6pm

TUESDAY – APRIL 9

• Finance Advisory Board (FAB) Meeting | City Hall | 5pm
• CRA Meeting | HATCH 1121 | 6pm

WEDNESDAY – APRIL 10

• Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) Meeting | City Hall | 6pm
• Electric Utility Advisory Board (EUAB) Meeting | City Hall | 6pm

Hope you found this information helpful today.

And please remember. Please confirm the date and time of all public meetings above at City Hall and at the Community Redevelopment Agency located at The HATCH 1121 at 1121 Lucerne Ave.


*OldSchoolSneaker.net is the old way of getting information from City Hall. You pick up the phone and call City Hall or put on your sneakers and head on over. It takes more time but is also extraordinarily successful at gaining information and you might run into someone you haven’t seen in a very long time.

News from Palm Beach Post staff writer Michelle Mundy published in Neighborhood Post, May 9th, 2001.

[UPDATE: The latest installment on local history by Helen Vogt Greene is published in today’s Lake Worth Herald. Read a short excerpt at the end of this blog post today.]

Click on newspaper clipping to enlarge
and read the side-caption:

First paragraph of story reads, “Helen Vogt Greene loves history. She loves it so much she becomes a piece of history every time she talks to a group.”

And two more excerpts:

This month [May 2001] Greene will become the Statue of Liberty for two of these presentations, which she first started during her role as curator and historian for the Museum of Lake Worth.

Greene first learned of this passion for history when she was a senior in high school.

“I was asked by my history teacher to take over a freshman class in history while she went to a conference,” she says. “I thought that was a wonderful introduction to history.”

and. . .

Greene then joined the Pioneers of the City of Lake Worth and became a member of the Palm Beach Historic Review Board, which she chaired for six years. The mayor also offered her a chance to start a museum for Lake Worth, she says, didn’t take her long to accept.

“That became a reality only because of the people of Lake Worth,” says the ■■-year-old. The museum is in the city hall annex, which she helped place on the National Register of Historic Places . . . Greene says she is really proud of the 1992 Certificate of Commendation the museum received from the American Association of State and Local History.

“We had to submit papers to qualify, and we were one of 14 in the U.S. to receive the reward,” she says.

on the public interested in City history. . .

“They look to the past, but only to guide them to the future. My love of history is based on the people because people make history.”


The Lake Worth Historical Museum is located in the City Hall Annex in Lake Worth Beach at 414 Lake Ave. on the 2nd floor. The hours are Wednesday and Friday from 1:00–4:00 and tours by appointment. Call 561-533-7354 for more information.


Thank You for visiting once again today. . .

Now the latest
installment in 2019.

Here is the latest by our local historian in The Lake Worth Herald headlined, “The Image Maker” on p. 3 above the fold; two short excerpts:


Every community has at least one person that is accountable for the image it shares to our new comers. Those special places that we take our friends to see and enjoy. This may be a new name, but Professor Louis de Gottrau was Lake Worth’s first ‘image maker’.

From the white dirty sand, scrub pines, palmettos, and sand spurs, Prof. de Gottrau was hired by Bryant and Greenwood to design and cultivate this virgin, pristine land into a ‘Garden of Eden’. He was Lake Worth’s first horticulturist.


There are nine more paragraphs to this story, two archival photographs and a caption that partly reads about the place called Lake Worth circa 1911,

Louis de Gottrau, Lake Worth’s first horticulturist, brought beauty to the virgin, untouched land.

There is Lake Worth the region and a place now called Lake Worth Beach and The Lake Worth Herald is there to cover it all. For this week’s front page headlines click on this link.

To become a subscriber call the editor at 561-585-9387 or send an email to: Editor@lwherald.com