Saturday, April 6, 2013
E-mail from Terry Rice, PhD, PE
As regular readers of this blog know, I have a radio show called, "High Noon in Lake Worth." The show airs each Friday at noon and the show is archived so anyone can hear any of the shows at their leisure. I have informational shows, such as like my last show on the Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative and upcoming symposium. Now and then I book guests that are controversial, like Fane Lozman, for instance, or fun, like comedian Robert Dubac.
A loyal reader of this blog has been sending me information about the recently completed one-mile bridge in the Everglades, along the eastern length of the Tamiami Trail. In 2009, US District Judge Ursula Ungaro referred to the project as the "environmental bridge to nowhere." Now that the bridge has been completed at a cost of $81 million, some are proposing even more bridges be built over four years at a cost of approximately $324 million.
From the Tampa Bay Times, October 25, 2011: " 'Now we need to find funding sources,' said Salazar [Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior], speculating the cost may rise to $400 million."
$400 Million.
This reader I referenced directed me to Dr. Terry Rice. He is a critic of the bridge(s), citing the network of culverts along the Tamiami Trail that already exist. And he also fears that the bridge will increase the flooding potential for Miami Dade County.
I thought why not try to get Dr. Rice as a guest on my radio show.
I contacted Dr. Rice and this is his reply which he gave me permission to publish on my blog. This is one of Dr. Rice's presentations that he refers to in his e-mail.. This will be a continuing story for me, since our Lake Worth Commissioner Christopher McVoy is heavily involved in Everglades restoration. I would invite anyone involved with the Everglades restoration effort to be on a future radio show, including our own Commissioner McVoy.
Imagine what kind of impact just 1% of $400 million would do to help Lake Worth, Florida?
Here is the email I received from Dr. Terry Rice:
A loyal reader of this blog has been sending me information about the recently completed one-mile bridge in the Everglades, along the eastern length of the Tamiami Trail. In 2009, US District Judge Ursula Ungaro referred to the project as the "environmental bridge to nowhere." Now that the bridge has been completed at a cost of $81 million, some are proposing even more bridges be built over four years at a cost of approximately $324 million.
From the Tampa Bay Times, October 25, 2011: " 'Now we need to find funding sources,' said Salazar [Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior], speculating the cost may rise to $400 million."
$400 Million.
This reader I referenced directed me to Dr. Terry Rice. He is a critic of the bridge(s), citing the network of culverts along the Tamiami Trail that already exist. And he also fears that the bridge will increase the flooding potential for Miami Dade County.
I thought why not try to get Dr. Rice as a guest on my radio show.
I contacted Dr. Rice and this is his reply which he gave me permission to publish on my blog. This is one of Dr. Rice's presentations that he refers to in his e-mail.. This will be a continuing story for me, since our Lake Worth Commissioner Christopher McVoy is heavily involved in Everglades restoration. I would invite anyone involved with the Everglades restoration effort to be on a future radio show, including our own Commissioner McVoy.
Imagine what kind of impact just 1% of $400 million would do to help Lake Worth, Florida?
Here is the email I received from Dr. Terry Rice:
Impeachment Proceedings Break a Small Town’s Quiet - NY Times 4/6/13
We are not alone when talking about a topsy-turvey political scene here in Lake Worth. Click title for link to article. The following is from the article:
The skirmish makes Washington’s partisan bickering almost seem like a lovers’ quarrel, and it highlights the explosive nature of small-town politics, where the local government’s decisions can have a more immediate, and tangible, impact on residents than those made by state and federal officials.
Friday, April 5, 2013
SFRTA: Moving Our Region Forward
It seems that Tri-Rail, operated by SFRTA - South Florida Regional Transit Authority, is also taking a survey. Click title for link and do yourself a favor and try it out, if you haven't. Weekends are a great time for that - it's $5 all day and you can ride as much as you want from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale to Miami. Take your bike and make it a real adventure. With some advance planning, you'd have a good time exploring parts of south Florida in a different way.
Hailing Ponce de León’s arrival: Tuesday marks 500th... | www.palmbeachdailynews.com
More on Viva Florida 500, this time from the Shiny Sheet. Click title for link.
Also from last Tuesday's City Commission Meeting 4/2/13...
This is discussion about the height referendum, what was told at the doors and some alternatives going forward. One of the ideas, to eliminate placing fear in the hearts of minds of Lake Worth residents who live in single family neighborhoods, would be to eliminate the height limit provision in the City Charter regarding the up to 65 and 100 feet depending if you are east or west of Dixie Hwy. There might be an alternative presented in the future to clear that up and also allow a hotel district that might allow additional height within a small, prescribed area of the downtown.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
55-unit apartment complex approved in Lake Worth | www.palmbeachpost.com
Despite the naysayers, progress. Click title for link.
Neighborhood Walk
Greetings to all of you interested in the 'goings on' in Tropical Ridge Neighborhood, NAPC has designated TRNA for their monthly 'Neighborhood Walk' and we will be delighted to show you all around.
There is [sic] a lot of exciting things happening in our TRNA area and we plan to give you a tour of a representative cross section of our neighborhood.
This Saturday, April 6th, we will be meeting at the Shuffleboard Courts (Lake/Lucerne Ave and N. 'F' street) at 11:00am (hopefully this will give the members of the NAPC time to join us after their monthly meeting). We look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it.
There is [sic] a lot of exciting things happening in our TRNA area and we plan to give you a tour of a representative cross section of our neighborhood.
This Saturday, April 6th, we will be meeting at the Shuffleboard Courts (Lake/Lucerne Ave and N. 'F' street) at 11:00am (hopefully this will give the members of the NAPC time to join us after their monthly meeting). We look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it.
From last Tuesday's City Commission Meeting re La Joya Villages:
This is the 55 unit affordable housing project at the corner of F Street and 6th Avenue South. It will cater to low income families - which actually will have incomes almost twice as high as the average Lake Worth income levels since it is based on the average median income on a Palm Beach County-wide basis. Commissioner McVoy's unenthusiastic time-delayed vote on the three motions is telling.
Viva FL 500 » Lake Worth
Click title for link to Lake Worth's mention in the VivaFlorida500 program - controversial to some since it is honoring the founding of Florida by Ponce de Leon. In fact, they (some of our local LW activists in particular) want him posthumously tried and punished for killing native populations. The linked page lists all of the official historic districts and buildings that we have in the city. This is the homepage of the site. I'm not a fan of Governor Scott, but make sure to listen to his video on the homepage.
Useful links and background information re Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative
This is some companion information to go along with the "High Noon in Lake Worth" radio show tomorrow (4/5) at noon.
Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative
Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative (LWLI) – General Info: www.LWLI.org
LWLI Symposium – May 15: www.pbcgov.org/erm/lwli/
LWL – A little history: www.pbcgov.org/erm/lwli/lw_
Snook Islands Natural Area
2005 Restoration Project www.pbcgov.org/erm/downloads/
Public Use Facilities www.pbcgov.org/erm/downloads/
Snook Islands Part 2 and Bryant Park Wetlands Project www.pbcgov.org/erm/downloads/
C-51 Muck Dredging Project www.pbcgov.org/erm/
Interesting articles re: "filtering" vs. "gentrification" - "Halting Construction is a Terrible Way to Fight Gentrification"
Click here for one; here for another and here for another.
From the first one:
From the first one:
If a ton of new luxury apartments get constructed in a city, then at least some of their residents will be abandoning homes in other structures elsewhere in the area. Those homes are now free to be occupied by some less-rich people. And over time newer even more luxurious buildings will come on the market and yesterday's new luxury construction will age and filter down the socioeconomic ladder. When you see the gentrification trend outpacing the filtering trend, with higher-income families replacing lower-income families and lower-income families moving to worse-and-worse locations, that's a consequence of excessive restriction on new construction.And from the second:
Santiago's real problem isn't so much that his home is being replaced by a denser development as that not enough homes in the region are being replaced. When you have enough construction, you get filtering rather than gentrification. Lower-income people move into dwellings that used to house rich people but that aren't shiny and new any more and don't have the most up-to-date fashions. When you don't have enough construction, you get rich people moving into poor people's houses and installing granite countertops.And from the last:
But unfortunately for longtime residents who would like to stay in their neighborhoods, politicians prefer to channel growth towards poor neighborhoods rather than risk upsetting rich people’s views and property values. And unless poor people recognize that permitting more growth in the core is the only way to save their neighborhoods, this isn’t likely to change any time soon.So our Einsteins here behind the no-growth-at-all-costs, change nothing mantra should adjust their strategy. We have essentially had a moratorium on new development for the past eight years.
TONIGHT April 4th at 6 p.m. Shuffleboard Court building...
Great American Clean-up In Lake Worth, Thursday, April 11th, 8 a.m., Bryant Park
Click title for link to clean-up poster.
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![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
