Power went off today...

During the morning rains, I stepped out and had breakfast with friends - actually at the Friendly Greek in Lantana. It's a nice place and they never ask to see your Lake Worth passport. So if you want something different, you may want to check them out.

Anyway, while headed home it was obvious that we were having an electrical outage as all of the traffic lights were out. (However, Lake Worth was not alone - click title for PB Post article re FPL served areas). My passenger in the car and I were counting violations of the sign code from Lake Avenue north to the northern City limits. We tallied about 35 without so much as a glance at 35 miles per hour. And it was without the hoods up at the used car place around 5th and Dixie.

The power was definitely out at the house so I busied myself with things that don't require electricity. The power came back on after about an hour or so - maybe more. That's when I found out that the outage had fried my docking station for the laptop, so off to get a replacement sometime this weekend.

It's supposed to clear up weather-wise this afternoon for all you bar-b-quers. Have a nice weekend.

I'll be looking over the agenda for this Tuesday's Commission meeting and will have comments/questions posted shortly.

Lake Worth man celebrates father honor with expanding family

Nice Father's Day weekend story. Click title for PB Post article.

Wes Blackman Appointed to the CRA

Also appointed to the CRA were Ed Grimm and Donna Ross. Congratulations to all who were appointed to a variety of boards. Great thanks to the City Commission and to all who applied.

Bicycle Activists Take to the Freeways in L.A.

Minnie Ripperton

Click title for link to her life story, tragically cut short by cancer. I hadn't realized that Maya Rudolph, from Saturday Night Live, is her daughter.

Eye spy: Google adds street-level views of Palm Beach County, Treasure Coast

Play around with this Lake Worth is pretty much covered. Look for the blue-lined streets. I found my house, with the car in the drive. Good for real estate agents, but a little creepy. You can see the image, but I don't think there is a way to save it other than through a screen shot or a program like "Snag it".

Notes from my CRA interview...

These were notes that I prepared going into the interview with the City Commission re appointment to the CRA board. As it turned out, I used some but not all of these as most of the interview was devoted to answering Commissioner questions. The Mayor didn't ask any. I urged them not to let political considerations cloud their decision. I'll let you know what happens.

One of my major points was to use the CRA as an advisory board on economic development issues that might set the stage for broader City policy.

· Communication

o Between CRA and City Commission

§ Better alignment of goals and budget priorities

§ Meet at least twice a year to discuss projects/concerns

o Between CRA and other boards

o Between CRA and neighborhood associations

o Make sure that entire packet is available on the web, including exhibits to staff reports

o Avoid drama

· Budget

o Time of many competing demands

o Important to focus priorities – biggest bang for buck, leverage other funding sources in projects

o Look for low cost, high priority issues to address to be most effective

· Examples

o City Image and Business Attraction

§ Many investors scared away from Lake Worth

· Indecisive if we want redevelopment – need to make positive case for investment in the City and lead by example

§ Many better contractors scared away from Lake Worth – get a narrow selection which causes a vicious cycle.

§ Possibility of an “Ombudsman” or the like to troubleshoot problems and delays in permitting.

§ One stop Wednesdays – simple permits are issued the same day – successful in many communities

o Solutions

§ Training of City staff in customer service

§ Examine Palm Beach County as provider of building department services

§ Identify Downtown stakeholder needs through a summit where all issues are discussed

§ Capitalize on Treasure Coast Charrette this month and Robert Gibbs input

o Transit

§ Better partnership with Palm Beach Community College

· Mention National conference participants’ charrette in Lake Worth last October – free of charge, other opportunities – planners required now to fulfill continuing education credits – waiting for the chance.

· Parking lot filled with vehicles

o Keep them off the streets between classes and get them in the recommended shuttle to downtown businesses, promote it jointly, grant possibilities

o Shuttle would serve all of Lake Avenue including Lake Worth Towers, Publix and Condos along water, as well as beach

o Promotion of redevelopment opportunities, especially along North Dixie Hwy.

o Follow-through on 10^th Avenue Gateway project.

Special City Commission Workshop re Sheriff (PBSO) Contract - 6/12

Click title for staff back-up. Below is the agenda for the meeting.

Sheriff plans 'caring' crackdown on homeless in Palm Beach County

We might wish for punch cards when ballot lines are drawn to vote

From 20 years ago...

International Surfing Day Held in Lake Worth on June 20th

Friday, June 20th International Surfing Day will be held at Lake Worth Beach.

5:30 P.M. Beach Clean-Up & Registration for Events

6:30 "PALM BEACH COUNTY OPEN SURFBOARD RACES" & WORLDWIDE PADDLE OUT FOR CLEAN WATER

RACE EVENTS (All paddle events are free, and open to all ages):
Shortboard Women, Shortboard Men, Longboard Women,
Longboard Men, Shortboard Relay(3), Longboard Relay(3).
*All Shortboards must be less than six feet.
*All Longboards must be less than nine feet.
Trophies & After Party/Movie tickets awarded to first, second and third fastest paddlers in each event, and to the winning relay team in shortboard and longboard.

7:15 – FREE STAND UP PADDLE (SUP) Demo & Clinic

8:00 - AFTER PARTY & SURF MOVIE
Join us at the new Lake Worth Municipal Swimming Pool pool deck, right by the pier! Tickets will be available on the beach for $10.00, kids under 12 free. Bring your beach chair and blanket to enjoy free appetizers, beverages & a surf movie under the stars.Free ticket for new or renewal SF membership at event.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Tom: 561-236-0155.

Released Today from the City....

Transit Oriented Development Charrette:

The City of Lake Worth, the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency, and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council invite all interested residents, property, and business owners, to participate in a public design charrette to create a vision for the future of redevelopment opportunities along the FEC and CSX (Tri-Rail) corridors in downtown Lake Worth. The concerns and ideas you express during this process can significantly influence the direction of growth in your town as it relates to regional transit opportunities.

The Public Work Session Charrette will be held Saturday, June 21st, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. Participants will be working with neighbors and with a team of professionals on their vision for the area. At the end of the day, citizens will present their ideas for the future of the area.

The Studio Session will be held Sunday, June 22nd, through Thursday, June 26th, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The public is invited to the sessions to give additional input and view the on-going work. No appointment is necessary.

The Presentation of Work in Progress will be held Friday, June 27th, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This two hour session consists of a presentation of work in progress to unveil the conceptual master plan and to take additional citizen and professional input.

All of the above sessions will be held at:

Lake Worth Shuffleboard Building
1121 Lucerne Avenue, Lake Worth

Lake Worth gets OK to pay missing stop sign settlement

How much more don't we know? Is it a long list? Probably. Besides the terrible loss experienced by this family, this is another needless expenditure of $500,000 due carelessness on behalf of the City. Maybe the City should start printing $500,000 bills to make these sorts of transactions easier. Very disappointing. When will the City be a good citizen, be part of the community of municipalities and essentially get a clue?

Let's demand excellence in the delivery of all City services.

Comment worth reading...

This was left as a comment on a previous post. It's about the gymnasium in District #1. Is a church holding services there?

I have been to this community center twice and once it was locked at 10:30am on a weekday the first week of June (last week)and on this past Sunday at 11:00am there was a church service - HUH??? Is this our tax dollars at work. How can I get a game on?? I honestly tried. Guess I will have to go to South Olive Park.