How a new ordinance limiting the sale of packaged alcohol became a huge news story and then a forgotten non-story.

And when that ordinance passed at the Lake Worth City Commission all returned to normal like nothing had ever happened. This happened in 2016. And something like this will happen again this year in Lake Worth Beach over another ordinance of some sort. Something like this happens every year.

Maybe this year it will be an ordinance about shopping carts.

But in 2016 for over two weeks this City was in the press and news media spotlight. What had started off as an ordinary ordinance to quell neighborhood complaints became the stage for convenience store owners taking a stand and saving freedom in America and the Constitution of the United States. When these store owners spoke to the press and news media they sounded a whole lot like Paul Revere.

But what got drowned out during all this were the neighborhoods surrounding these convenience stores that were being severely impacted on a nightly basis.

Prior to that new ordinance being adopted banning the sale of packaged alcohol between the hours of 10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m. it was a media circus.

Then later on it was discovered the City Commission did the right thing.

How did the opposition respond? Complete silence. And there was complete silence from the press and the news media too. The story was over.

What happened 2½ years ago. . .

This story began when PBSO deputies were receiving numerous community complaints that people were using convenience stores like “de facto bars”, they were going in to buy a single can of beer, drinking it outside and then going back in to buy another one.

Many neighborhoods near these ‘de facto bars’ began to demand change. People were very upset about inebriated ‘customers’ spilling into nearby residential areas. There was violence and sleepless nights.

Then PBSO with City staff and the City Commission stepped up to do something about this. A new ordinance was considered, a ban on packaged alcohol sales after 10:00 p.m.

And then all hell broke loose.

This City became very big news in Palm Beach County and beyond. The press and news media were everywhere. The rumor began the use of alcohol was being banned City-wide after 10:00. This was false. This only applied to convenience stores; not bars or restaurants with a liquor license. But the rumor spread like wildfire anyway.

Business owners told reporters the City was trying to force them out of business.

Then the convenience store owners and many of their supporters in the public as well lined up outside City Hall in opposition to a proposed ordinance banning the sale of packaged alcohol after 10:00 p.m. They claimed they were not informed of what was happening. Not true. They packed City Hall and called this proposed ordinance unfair.

But then later a miraculous thing happened.

After all the noise died down and the public went on to other things everyone began to accept this new ordinance. No businesses went out of business.

Why?

Because after hearing what Commissioner Scott Maxwell had to say at City Commission meetings in November/December 2016 it became very clear that the ordinance prohibiting packaged alcohol sales after 10:00 p.m. was here to stay.

Maxwell said he was hearing positive comments and feedback from many neighborhoods and PBSO Cpt. Todd Baer confirmed that information: crime went down as a result and compliance with the ordinance was up, and community complaints became less so.

Click on image to enlarge:

Information from PBSO provided to the City Commission in early 2017.

However, at a City Commission meeting the previous September in 2016 many convenience store owners showed up to express their displeasure at public comment and during break at the dais.

Maxwell insisted that store owners, per the rules, give their home address and not their business address. It wasn’t lost on many that none of those addresses were in the City of Lake Worth.

Those business owners resided in places like Wellington, Riviera Beach, Boynton Beach, Broward County, etc. Is this significant?

Draw your own conclusions.

In conclusion.

From City staff and PBSO, what follows is the reasoning why that proposed ordinance was enacted by the City Commission:


     In response to neighborhood concerns and thanks to a new City Ordinance, it is now illegal to sell packaged alcohol products between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The law is designed to help stop unnecessary, late night commotion associated with breaches to open container laws taking place in parking lots and outside of shopping venues. 
     Under the Ordinance, bar hours will not change. Restaurants and establishments with a valid liquor license may continue to serve alcohol on-site.
     The City was motivated to create the Ordinance due to numerous calls to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office about public disturbance issues surrounding packaged sales outlets. Deputies found that people were treating stores like “de facto bars,” going in, buying a single packaged item, drinking it outside and coming back in to buy more.

The End.

Whispering Palms Neighborhood Assoc. in LWB meets on Thursday at 6:30.

Concerned about trees and landscaping? Heard rumors about big changes coming to Lake Worth Beach, e.g., lawns, shrubs, and shade?

If you are concerned then everyone is invited to attend the NAPC’s Whispering Palms meeting at the City’s Norman Wimbley Gym at 1515 Wingfield St. If you’ve never been to this public facility check back to this blog on Thursday morning for directions.

Meetings of the NAPC are public and open to everyone.

Special guests this week are Dir. Yolanda Robinson from Code Enforcement, Lori Milano from the Dept. of Community Sustainability and Dave McGrew, the City’s lead horticulturist.

And in the meantime please consider
learning more about the NAPC.

Although the Lake Worth “Beach” hasn’t been added to the NAPC official logo as yet the Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council is always there for your community and your neighborhood. The NAPC has sixteen special neighborhoods; click on this link for the GIS map.

Lake Worth Jaguars football needs YOU: A call to action from Lauren Bennett, Nicole Bohannon and Deborah Null.

Lake Worth Beach needs your help. Are you a peaceful Zombie? Then LWB needs you too. Find out why in the caption below.

This coming Wednesday (4/17) is the bimonthly Recreation Advisory Board (RAB) meeting in the downtown at 501 Lake Ave. The RAB meets at 6:15 sharp.


For example, here is one reason why. . .


Debra Null is a volunteer on the City’s Recreation Advisory Board and Dir. Lauren Bennett and Nicole Bohannan are in the City’s Leisure Services and Recreation departments. To contact these people and learn more visit 501 Lake or the City’s municipal gymnasium in the Whispering Palms neighborhood.

Adult Citizens and Senior Citizen volunteers
are needed.

The Lake Worth Jaguars need your help filling board member positions and people are needed with experience and knowledge to coach and train young athletes ages 4–15: football players and cheerleading.

Be Part of the Team!

Some time soon please contact:

Dir. Lauren Bennett, CPRP, at the Leisure Services Dept. The office is located at 501 Lake and open Tuesday–Friday from 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Call 561-533-7363 and leave a message or send an email to: lbennett@lakeworth.org

Or contact Nicole Bohannon at the City’s Rec. Division located at 1699 Wingfield St. Call and leave a message at 561-533-7363; nbohannon@lakeworth.org

Go Lake Worth Jaguars!

Is your skill set and interests in other athletic activities? Then  contact team Bennett and Bohannon and ask how you can help in other ways. Zombies are encouraged to attend as well.

Annual Historic Preservation Awards program in Lake Worth Beach.

UPDATE: Deadline for submittals is today by 4:00.

Here is more information:

The City of Lake Worth Beach is pleased to announce the Third Annual Historic Preservation Awards. This special event will take place in May 2019 during National Historic Preservation Month and is intended to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievements in preserving Lake Worth Beach’s historic resources.

The preservation of the City’s historic resources ensures the retention of its own unique character and identity as well as adds value to the community. We hope that this program will foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the positive preservation efforts in the community and the beneficial impact these projects have on neighborhoods and the City as a whole.


For questions and more information.

• Send an email to Senior Preservation Coordinator Jordan Hodges: jhodges@lakeworth.org
• Preservation Planner Abraham Fogel: afogel@lakeworth.org
• Call the Dept. of Community Sustainability at 561-586-1687.
• To download the nomination form click on this link.

Guatemalan family needs your help.

UPDATE: A GoFundMe account (note link below) has been created for the family of a young child that was killed by a hit and run driver in Lantana Cascade mobile home park located south of the City of Atlantis. A nearby landmark is a large convenience store at the corner of Congress Ave. and Lantana Rd. in Atlantis.

The child killed by a hit and run:

“His name was Yoni Ramirez who would be turning 2 in March [2019]. He was a sweet and loving kid, always smiling. We are a family of a low income with 3 other kids. The reason we started a gofundme because we want to bury our baby back in our home country of Guatemala.”


The mobile home park called Lantana Cascade is west of the Town of Lantana in unincorporated County, ergo suburban Lantana. This hit and run occurred near where Nicolas Cruz lived briefly in the vicinity of the City of Atlantis (see map below).

So maybe you are wondering what is the situation with mobile home parks in Lake Worth Beach? Find out at the end of this blog post.

The horrific hit and run in suburban Lantana was front page news in The Palm Beach Post but was incorrect both by the headline editor and the reporter too, “Family members identify toddler killed in Lantana hit-and-run”.

This incident did not happen ‘in Lantana’ or in a ‘Lantana mobile home community’. This area is called suburban Lantana and find out why below.


LANTANA — Dark-eyed, dark-haired Jonnhy Ramirez had two big brothers, one baby sister and a fondness for balls of all shapes and sizes.

Monday night, the 21-month-old wandered no more than three yards from his family’s side porch in a Lantana mobile home community [sic] as they celebrated the holidays.

Only a few feet of grass separate the side-by-side trailer home fronts along Bula Alex Cay Trail from the strip of black asphalt that serves as both road and on-street parking.

That’s where a car struck and killed the toddler just after 8:30 p.m., then kept on going.

He died at the scene.


The Lantana Cascade mobile home park where this deadly hit and run occurred is the very same mobile home park where Nicolas Cruz lived briefly. And as reported by former Post reporter Alexandra Seltzer that news was headlined, “Alleged Parkland shooter left suburban Lantana home over gun dispute”.

Worth noting in unincorporated Palm Beach County you can count on CBS12 (WPEC) to be wrong close to one hundred percent of the time. For example, about the tragic hit and run in the Lantana Cascade trailer park ‘the one to turn too’ reported PBSO was the lead on the scene. Lantana and Atlantis both have their own police departments. Hello.

However, WPTV (NBC5) did report the news accurately referencing Lantana Cascade as in the vicinity of Lantana.

And note once again the words “suburban Lantana” by the Post’s Alexandra Seltzer above. Many do not know where the City of Atlantis is but many do know generally where the Town of Lantana is so that is why this unincorporated area in PBC is called suburban Lantana.

Please Note: If you live in that area and you know anything about a crime you are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-458-8477. The law enforcement in unincorporated PBC is PBSO.

For other ways to contact Crime Stoppers use this link.

Stay anonymous. Collect reward.

Click on map to enlarge.

Lantana Cascade off Congress Ave. is not in this image; however, one can see where Lantana is located (shaded red). Atlantis (shaded yellow) is north of Lantana Cascade.

At the corner of Congress Ave. and Lantana Rd. is a large convenience store which is located in Atlantis. The County’s PBC Park Airport is across Congress Ave. to the east.

FYI: In Lake Worth Beach and suburban areas west mobile home parks are also major issues of concern for law enforcement, public policy and public safety officials.

For example, there was a homicide in the Orange Grove mobile home park last year. To see the list of all mobile home parks in Lake Worth Beach and where they are located click on this link.

Most if not all mobile home parks in Central PBC are privately owned; fire alarms are a major issue of concern and evacuations ahead of major storms as well. Efforts by PBSO and code enforcement in Lake Worth Beach is doing tremendous work improving the living conditions in mobile home parks within the City limits.

Plus there was news from last January about cats being shot and injured or killed with a pellet gun at the Palm Beach Mobile Home Park.

And most recently the Mar Mak Colony Park near the Village of Palm Springs became a huge story on March 29th; for the update from Olivia Hitchcock at the Post click on this link.

On p. 3 of twelve this week, news in Lake Worth Herald; two excerpts.

North Grade Students Hike to the Library

By Ruth Reading

The Kindergarten classes of North Grade Elementary walked to the Library for field trips this week.

Organized by Jennifer Obranic, the students visited the Library, spending time in the CREATeLab with Kay Ralston where they designed an imaginary tree house. They also explored the Children’s Reading Room with Cindy Ansell who invited them to sign up for the Library’s Summer Reading Program.

and. . .

All six classes were able to complete the trip without getting wet, despite the threatening clouds in the sky.

“We’re so fortunate to live in a town where the Library is within walking distance of so many of our schools,” Ansell commented, “We love to have our students walk here after school.”


To see this week’s front page headlines use this link.

Journalist Ron Hayes on “Resurgence of Local Bookstore” and The Book Cellar in Downtown Lake Worth Beach.

The news by Mr. Hayes is about our local bookstore in “[T]he heart of Lake Worth’s bustling downtown.”

And a little later in this blog post learn more about Mr. Ned Racine, “Jumpin’ J Street”, the Cottages of Lake Worth hardcover book, and more about this very popular bookstore in the downtown in Lake Worth Beach (LWB).

Here is an excerpt from Correspondent Ron Hayes at Florida Weekly, “IN THE KNOW. IN THE NOW”:


Yes, the traditional neighborhood bookstore is deader than Monty Python’s parrot, felled by an online predator named amazon.com
     Everybody says so.
     Fortunately, Tami Ayraud hasn’t heard, or simply refuses to believe it.
     On Oct. 6 [2017], Ms. Ayraud and two co-owners opened The Book Cellar, an actual independent neighborhood bookstore at the corner Lake Avenue and J Street in the heart of Lake Worth’s bustling downtown. [emphasis added]
     “I was living in Miami and moved here two years ago because of the small-town, funky atmosphere,” Ms. Ayraud explained on a recent Wednesday morning as one customer arrived to collect a title he’d ordered and others browsed the shelves. “It had a good vibe.”

It’s because of all the new establishments like The Book Cellar in LWB our two main streets, Lake and Lucerne avenues are “Jumpin’ ” once again!

Have you been to our Downtown bookstore yet, located at the corner of Lake Ave. and ‘J’ St.?

Do you remember who “Mr. Racine” was?
He was a fixture around ‘J’ St. back in the day.

In the image below is Ned Racine having a conversation with Peter Lowenstein at Stella’s near City Hall in 1981. Often they frequented a bar/liquor store on ‘J’ St. too (there is another image of Racine later in this blog post).

Click on image to enlarge:

These two men are the actors William Hurt (on left, “Ned Racine”) and Ted Danson in the 1981
classic film “Body Heat”. Lake Worth City Hall is the backdrop in this classic scene.

October 2017 was the Grand Opening of The Book Cellar bookstore in the downtown, a short walk from where Stella’s was located. Some people think Stella’s was the former Junior’s on Lucerne Ave.

Now we have a restored building at a prominent corner and its tenant happens to be a bookstore which is a nice addition to the downtown located at 801 Lake Ave. Plenty of FREE Parking is nearby in this little walkable City.

This street in Lake Worth Beach — both north and south ‘J’ in downtown — was once one of our major hubs for business and entertainment and was even the focus of the classic film noir, “Body Heat”. This movie starred William Hurt, Kathleen Turner (this was the film that launched her career), Ted Danson, J.A. Preston and Mickey Rourke:

Does one building in particular look familiar?
That 2-story white structure is now The Book Cellar!

Click on image to enlarge.

“Ned” with a cigarette in hand walks down
‘J’ Street. He was rarely without
one in this movie.

The scene above is “Ned” walking north. For more about this famous street in our City use this link for a blog post from back in June 2013 about “Jumpin’ J Street!”

Back to the Grand Opening of The Book Cellar.

There were eight Cottages of Lake Worth books on display and all of them were sold. The proprietors requested more books the very next day. And keep on requesting more books to this day.

The hardcover book:

See more photos from the Grand Opening of
The Book Cellar below.

What’s truly amazing about this book is what publishing executives said: things like this are not supposed to happen; it’s just not possible for books like The Cottages of Lake Worth to sell so many books without the help of an online retailer. It just doesn’t happen. But it did. Now the advice from the experts is the price of the book (USD$32.95, CAD$34.95) was just too low.

But that’s not true either. The Cottages of Lake Worth book was and remains (sans the photographer and other professional help) an all-volunteer effort with very low overhead and money raised goes back to the organization for other things . . . like maybe ordering another delivery of books next year!

Hanging out at The Book Cellar:

Friendly residents of our City and smiles aplenty.

Everyone wishes The Book Cellar a bright
future here in our City! Use this link
for their Facebook page.

“AT THE LETTUCE PATCH, 1976”

A young Mark Foley at his store on 502 Lucerne Ave. Image below from The Palm Beach Post. 

Click on image to enlarge:

Mark Foley was a City of Lake Worth commissioner from 1978–1979 and 1982–1984. Later he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1990–1992; then the Florida Senate, 1993–1994.

Foley returned to private life in 2006 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for eleven years. His most recent accomplishment was saving Spring Training baseball in Palm Beach County and locally on the Monday following Veterans Day in 2017 Foley was a feature story in The Palm Beach Post noting his attendance and contribution to the military memorial monument installed in the Downtown Cultural Plaza.

Now all these years later Mr. Mark A. Foley is in limbo. Another City volunteer with a whole lot of experience ‘sitting on the shelf ’.

In 2017 Lake Worth Beach Commissioner Herman Robinson nominated then-sixty-three year old Mr. Foley to serve on a volunteer board. Since 2017 that board has met just one (1) time. That’s right. One time. And Mr. Foley is still listed as a volunteer board member in this City.

What other board or boards could Foley be asked to serve on? Boards that actually meet every month or every other month on a regular basis?

Beginning with the Tree Board in 2017 and most recently with the Electric Utility Advisory Board (EUAB) the entire process and bureaucracy of volunteer advisory boards has come into question at the City Commission through no fault at all of the City’s volunteer board members.

The process is to blame. Not the people.


Volunteers make up an important part of City operations. Our volunteers donated a total of more than 16,640 hours, which represents $410,885.00 in value. We could not function without this significant help from our citizens.

—Quote. Mayor Pam Triolo’s State of the City address, Feb. 26th, 2019.


The public and City staff and the City Commission takes great pride in the volunteer board process but on the other hand it’s not fair to the volunteers many of whom lack a clear direction and then on February 19th the topic of the Electric Utility Advisory Board came up which pretty much summed up the entire problem.

The issue comes down to how many volunteer boards does a six square mile municipality need? For example, there is the Citizen’s Advisory Committee that was formed after the Neighborhood Road Bond passed in November 2016. There are always vacancies on that board and most times the board cannot reach a quorum. How fair is this to all the other volunteers that do show up and to Finance Director Bruce Miller who has to spend a lot of time ‘herding cats’?

Probably seeing change coming sooner than later the Tree Board held an Election of Officers last Thursday and on the agenda was discussion of the Tree Board’s mission statement and future goals.

To make your voice heard on this topic the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Commission is next Tuesday at 6:00.

Interestingly, Item 9A on the LWB Commission agenda is, “Ratification of appointments to various advisory boards”.

Developing. WPB files appeal with Miami Marlins over LWB pick.

Remember. Supporting your team only when they win is not a sports fan. Your team will remember the fans who showed up and supported them when they were not doing so well.

Last night was another bad night for the Marlins.

So you’re wondering, how does one show support for the Marlins? You can start by watching the game this evening at Home. More details are below about the Phillies’ swing through Miami.

Now to the appeal, West Palm Beach’s challenge over the missing beach.

The agenda for next week’s Lake Worth Beach City Commission meeting is now available. Sadly, the expected announcement naming LWB the official sponsoring municipality of the Miami Marlins was pulled from next Tuesday’s agenda (see proposed Item 9Q below).

Although one of the top criteria for being a Palm Beach County Miami Marlins Municipal Sponsor is having a beach, and West Palm Beach does not have a beach, WPB filed an appeal anyhow. Lake Worth Beach does indeed have a beach and this appeal will be tossed according to the experts. But the unofficial official sponsoring will happen but just later in the year.

Thursday, May 23rd was scheduled to be Lake Worth Beach Day at Marlins Park against Detroit. But ends up that is an Away game anyhow and LWB is hoping for a LWB Day in late June when Washington and Philadelphia come to play. Here is Item 9Q pulled from the lineup next Tuesday:


Lake Worth Beach (LWB) and Miami Marlins, a municipality and top-tier baseball “On The Rise”: With only greatness ahead of us LWB and the Miami Marlins stand resolute together in South Florida. Triple-A is behind us and it’s all eyes on the pennant (see backup material for details).


It was not a good night for the Marlins again last night according to Steven Wine published in today’s Palm Beach Post. Mr. Wine is an AP sports reporter because the Post apparently does not have a reporter covering the Marlins but that doesn’t matter because no one in LWB likes the Post anyhow.

Another bad night. So what. Check out this cool shirt by Major League Baseball! If you order two it’s FREE shipping. When was the last time you saw anyone in West Palm with a Miami Marlins T-shirt?

Here’s the latest from Wells Dusenbury at the Sun Sentinel about last evening’s game:


After scoring just one run in a three-game sweep in Cincinnati, the Marlins returned to South Florida hoping to generate any kind of spark for an offense that’s been one of the worst in the league.

and. . .

The Marlins’ lone run of the game came in the 7th inning on an Austin Dean RBI sacrifice fly. The outfielder finished 0 for 2 after being called up from Triple-A New Orleans. Peter O’Brien was sent down in a corresponding move.

Entering Friday night, the Marlins had averaged just 2.62 runs per game. Their 34 runs entering the night were the second-lowest in baseball. Miami is also 26th in hits, 25th in wOBA and 29th in walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Phillies starter Jake Arrieta kept the Marlins in check all night, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk, while striking out eight. Jorge Alfaro was the only Marlins player to record a multi-hit night.


To read the entire story by sports reporter Wells Dusenbury click on this link.

To follow Mr. Dusenbury on Twitter who claims “I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious” please use this link.

Remember, becoming a Palm Beach County Miami Marlins Municipal Sponsor (PBC MMMS) requires no commitment. It only requires that you support the Miami Marlins.

Imagine if The Palm Beach Post had showed more support for Lake Worth Beach over the last ten years or so. Maybe that newspaper wouldn’t have been sold to Gatehouse Media and they would have a sports reporter covering the Miami Marlins!


Anyhow. . .


The Philadelphia Phillies clobbered the Marlins last night, 9-1. But at the end of the day the Phils have to get on a plane and go back to Philly.

Check back later on today for more information. In the meantime to check out the Marlins’ 40-MAN roster click on this link.

FYI: The Marlins play the Phillies again tonight, at Home. The game begins at 6:10.

Addendum to Public Notice: Note new end date for RFP 01-1819.

 

Lake Worth Beach CRA RFP #01-1819

 

Development of Vacant Lots on Lake & Lucerne Avenues

 
The Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is soliciting proposals from private developers to bid on vacant, CRA-owned parcels along both Lake and Lucerne Avenues in the mixed-use east zoning district. A total of eleven lots located along Lake and Lucerne Avenues between “F” and “C” Street and west of the FEC tracks are owned by the CRA. The CRA is seeking proposals for the development all of parcels available. Although different proposals may be submitted for each of the lots and blocks, the intent of the RFP is to create a unified vision with similar uses in the CRA District that complement the existing landscape as well as each other. A proposal from one developer, willing to develop all of the parcels is preferred. It is the CRA’s intention to competitively select a developer with the proven ability and interest to construct a development or developments, and also to own the property once constructed.

Proposals are due no later than April 25th 2019 at 3pm.

For more information, including the scope of work, please call the Lake Worth Beach CRA Office at (561) 493-2550, email: cdabros@lakeworth.org or visit: www.lakeworthcra.org
[link added]

Lake Worth history: Does anyone know the frequency in Lake Worth Beach?

From the Office of the City Manager in
City of Lake Worth datelined April 10th, 2007:

Fast forward to April 2019. Do you still have a television antenna? If so, there is new news in today’s Lake Worth Herald that is worth noting.

Front page news today, April 11th, 2019 in the
Herald is about TV antennas!

The headline below the fold in the paper today is, “Antenna Users Take Note”:


Three stations in the West Palm Beach/Ft. Pierce area will change frequencies this Friday, Apr. 12 as part of the FCC spectrum repack, which requires nearly 1,000 TV stations across the country to change frequencies over the next two years to make room for wireless broadband services. This means that any viewer who watches these stations through an antenna will need to rescan their TV in order to continue watching local programming.

And those radio stations are. . .

To find out you need to become a subscriber to The Lake Worth Herald, go to the City’s newsstand at 205 N. Federal Hwy., or learn more about the technology called OldTimeSneaker.net

Technology Today: Up-to-the-minute Lake Worth Beach news.

Could it be? Could this City be on the cutting-edge of information technology?

Shocking. This new development will forever change the newspaper publishing industry!

The newspaper clipping below was published in the ‘LOCAL’ section of The Palm Beach Post. In the middle paragraph it reads. . .

“LAKE WORTH READERS: Click here for up-to-the-minute Lake Worth news”

Imagine that. Just tap on the printed page and get the latest “up-to-the-minute” news about Lake Worth Beach! Close your eyes and it just streams in.

Worth Another Look, “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!”

“The light and pow’r are on the way,
And when they come they’ll come to stay”
—From Dr. W. H. Cotton’s Ode to
Lake Worth (see below).

“The light and pow’r” refers to the original Lake Worth electric power plant:


Established as the Lake Worth Water, Light, and Ice Company, the franchise was introduced in October 28, 1913 by Lake Worth’s first appointed Mayor, J.W. Means.
     The “turning on of the lights” took place on May 18, 1914. This date has been used to determine an “original pioneer”.

UPDATE: Everyone is invited to a special
event this Saturday!

More details are below.


And the story continues. . .


So while the ‘juice’ was getting hooked up there were a whole lot of other things going on as well, like the water flowing in the right direction.

The water was a massive project and if you’ve never seen the C-51 Canal and the S-155 water control structure up close, you and your family can do that this Saturday along with an egg hunt and a picnic potluck at a place called Spillway Park, one of the hidden treasures in LWB. More details about this special event are at the end of this blog post today.

Now back to 1919.

“Pioneers assembled for group
portrait – Lake Worth, Florida”:

From Florida Memory collection, State
Library & Archives of Florida.

Stumbled on this back in September 2011. I think it’s to the tune of “O Tannenbaum”:

Lake Worth, Florida
By Dr. W. H. Cotton [circa 1920]
 

1
The nation’s eye is on thy sands
Florida, O Florida!
Thy lovely shores and fertile lands,
Florida, O Florida!
The future whispers in thy pines,
It beckons in thy “white coal” mines,
The pioneer to thee inclines
Florida, O Florida!
Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!

2
Lake Worth’s the place for you, to go,
Florida, O Florida!
They’ll put you up a bungalow
Florida, O Florida!
The interest takes not a cent,
You pay the cost instead of rent.
What better plan could man invent?
Florida, O Florida!
Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!

3
Adieu to bleak and frozen lands,
Florida, O Florida!
Adieu to wastes and desert sands,
Florida, O Florida!
In Florida I’ll make my home,
Nor want the placer sands of Nome;
Her gold is in her fertile loam;
Florida, O Florida!
Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!

4
Lake Worth will greet you with a smile,
Florida, O Florida!
She’ll fix you up in bully style,
Florida, O Florida!
Beneath the kindly southern sun,
She’ll see your fortune well begun;
You’d better be upon the run.
(To) Florida, O Florida!
Oh, my Lake Worth, Florida

5
The Lake Worth Herald helps along,
Florida, O Florida!
It's editor is R. E. Strong.
Florida, O Florida!
he keeps things moving in the way
Of doing something day by day,
And renders service as he may
(For) Florida, O Florida!
Oh, my Lake Worth, Florida!

6
Our Governor reflects the hour,
Florida, O Florida!
He stands for Okeechobee’s pow’r
Florida, O Florida!
Great Edison is with us, too,
And Bryan is of that great crew
That makes the prospect good to view,
(In) Florida, O Florida!
Oh, my Lake Worth, Florida!

7
Why falter, then? There’s no excuse,
Florida, O Florida!
The “Wizard” will turn on the “juice”.
Florida, O Florida!
The light and pow’r are on the way,
And when they come they’ll come to stay,
To usher in a brighter day,
(For) Florida, O Florida!
Oh, my Lake Worth Florida!

8
The “Commoner’s” not here for fun,
Florida, O Florida!
He sees the chance-- sixteen to one ---
(In) Florida, O Florida!
With Trammal, Bryan and the rest
Lake Worth shall flower with the best -
Lake Worth, In Florida, the blest --
Florida, O Florida!
Oh, my Lake Worth, Florida!

The End.

The image below is from The New York Times that mentions Trammell and Bryan from 1922. Trammell was the 21st Governor of the State of Florida and served as U.S. Senator for almost twenty years. The NYT article is near the date when the lyrics were authored, which would correspond with the “boom” period of 1920s Florida.

Click on image to enlarge: 

“Special to The New York Times.”

About the event on Saturday (4/13) at Spillway Park in Lake Worth Beach.

There will be some special guests in attendance who will be walking around talking about history whilst the kids are hunting eggs. This event is an egg hunt and a history hunt.

Here are the basics. The College Park Neighborhood Assoc. will be having an April Egg Hunt and Picnic Potluck on Saturday from 3:00–6:00 at Spillway Park. This is a family event and everyone is encouraged to bring along beverages and a dish or three. Spillway Park is at the end of Maryland Drive off Federal Hwy. in Lake Worth Beach just south of West Palm Beach.

Learn Spanish. See Spanish. Read Spanish. Begin reading La Guía News.

A test. Stop reading The Palm Beach Post for a week or two and get your news in Spanish. Sometimes Playa Lake Worth is news in La Guía.

For example today there is sports news in La Guía News on Twitter. For those of you not on Twitter the news below is called TwitterSpeak because on Twitter there is a character count limit:


Un éxito, la presentación oficial de los HISPANIC SPORTS AWARDS #HSA2019 @laguianews y @efsportsmedia les trae una organización para destacar a los jóvenes atletas locales en las comunidades hispanas. Si conoces a algiuen que le gustaria nominar, enscibase.


Now continue reading or go to La Guía and watch the video and read all about it in Spanish.

Very Important: Not shown in the Tweet below is the “Translate Tweet” icon!

To translate you have to go on Twitter for this to appear in American English:

Un éxito, la presentación oficial de los HISPANIC SPORTS AWARDS #HSA2019@laguianews y @efsportsmedia les trae una organización para destacar a los jóvenes atletas locales en las comunidades hispanas. Si conoces a algiuen que le gustaria nominar, enscibase. pic.twitter.com/w63TOOQ4Gt

— HispanicSportsAssociation (@SportsHispanic) April 10, 2019

Do this for a couple of weeks and then visit a Spanish or Mexican restaurant and listen to how people talk in Spanish. Even if learning new languages is difficult you don’t need to learn a new language. All you need to do is communicate.


Does La Guía News matter?


Ask a City Commissioner in Lake Worth Beach and he’ll probably say yes because he placed a political campaign ad in La Guía News and this commissioner was just recently re-elected.

So yes. Spanish news does matter.

La Guía translated means
“The Guide”.

If you speak only English you probably never heard of La Guía News but don’t underestimate its power and future impact. And if you are considering being on the 2020 ballot in Palm Beach County it would behoove you to follow The Guide too.

Lake Worth Beach District 4 Commissioner Herman Robinson’s SG1 campaign treasurer report showed something very interesting and portends a shift in promotion and marketing and creating a larger audience for one’s message: Herman has a $390 expenditure for advertising in La Guía News.

What is an SG1? Go to Lake Worth Beach City Hall and then visit the City Clerk’s office and find out. The fun part about campaign treasurer reports is when the final or ‘Termination’ reports come out. Stay tuned for more about that.

The motto for The Guide is “La Voz de la Comunidad Hispana” when translated means ‘The Voice of the Hispanic Community’.

How much this advertising in La Guía News helped Robinson’s campaign would be hard to gauge in such a short time but it most certainly is an acknowledgement of the growing Hispanic influence in that this newspaper attracts Spanish speakers who speak English as well, people who would then educate others about what is going on or not going on.

La Guía News is a free print publication that, according to their media kit, provides a marketplace for the Hispanic community linking up the public with businesses, products and services. La Guía News states the Hispanic market in Palm Beach County is third in Florida for growth since 2000 and Hispanics are 21.5% of the total population, the highest being Cuban, followed by Mexican, Puerto Rican and from other territories and countries of Latino origin as well. 

To learn more about La Guía News call 561-328-8450 or send an email to: Sales@LaGuiaNews.com

September 16th, 2017: A message from Lake Worth Leisure Services Dept.

Setting the scene.

On September 5th, 2017, the City of Lake Worth was well on its way in preparations for Hurricane Irma. For example, just prior to the initial winds from that storm the Lake Worth Electric Utility had a planned outage because of Mylar balloons in the electric grid. Balloons are bad for the oceans and balloons can stop you from getting your power restored quickly too.

Then post-Irma the City produced a series of videos of elected officials and the City administration with updates for the public.

When some people were saying the City was doing nothing a whole lot of others were watching the City doing a whole lot of something.

Here is one of those updates from Lauren Bennett at the Lake Worth Beach Leisure Services Dept.:

Remember, this video was taken just after
a major storm hit the City: