Daily Kos: The wonder of libertarian zoning laws, West, Texas edition

Better and safer lives through proper zoning.  Think of the decisions that were made to allow two schools, an apartment building, a playground and a nursing home in the shadow of the fertilizer plant that blew up last week.  Click title for link.

Click here for photos of the damage from the Daily Mail...not for the faint of heart.

Capital Scoop with Sen. Jeff Clemens | Tallahassee Democrat | tallahassee.com

Click title for link to the "Capital Scoop" where our State Senator Jeff Clemens talks about being a freshman senator, the bills he is sponsoring and some of his trajectory that led to his current position.  There is a video resident on that page that cannot be embedded here, or it would be.

John G's advertisement on back page of Lake Worth Herald this week...

A few things are worth pointing out from the ad.  This:

 Still not serving dinner and they are managing to run a cash only business.

Had to laugh-out-loud about this - they are making a point about their "hassle-free" parking.  To what could they be referring?

South Florida Regional Transportation Authority - Tri-Rail Coastal Link Promotional Video

Tri-Rail Coastal Link from SFRTA IT on Vimeo.

Lake Avenue to close at Florida East Coast Railway tracks | www.palmbeachpost.com

Detour in the downtown around the FEC tracks starting at 8 a.m. Sunday.  Click title for link to article.

Adaptive Planning For Coastal Change: Legal Issues For Local Government - 4/19 Seminar

I attended another great seminar today put on by the Palm Beach County Planning Congress.  Lots of information about what makes and what will make communities resilient to sea level rise. Interestingly, there is some inter-relation with the seminar I attended Wednesday regarding transit service on the FEC.  Many notes, pictures and video from today.  Look for various summaries to be published over the weekend.  Videos are being uploaded now.

Here are some pictures from today:

This was the remote device issued to each participant at the seminar - there were many interactive surveys of those in attendance.

GHG = Green house gases

 

Much more to come.

Change in Comment Dialogue Box

For some reason, clicking on box to share the comments made here on Google+ made all of your names (real and imagined) default to anonymous.  I am not sure if this will continue or not, but if you want to be known as the comment's author, please put your name in the body of the comments.  Thanks!

In the meantime, I will test some other ways of doing things and see if things are different or better.

Robert Jordan, Husband Of Florida Medical Marijuana Activist, Won't Face Charges For Pot Plants

State Senator Jeff Clemens is mentioned in the following portion of the article.  Click title for link for the article in its entirety. 

The article noted that state Sen. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth), was sponsoring a bill to legalize the drug that he had named in Jordan's honor. Jordan suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the degenerative, terminal nerve disease more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She has treated her symptoms with marijuana, and credits the drug for her 25-year survival with the disease.

MEETING FOR APRIL CANCELLED

Hello Mangos,
Sorry for the late notice, but, due to some scheduling conflicts and a small agenda, we will be cancelling this Month's meeting.  Please join us next month, third Thursday, 7p at Compass.
Please note that tomorrow is Bulk Pickup day for District 3, and in honor of the Great American Cleanup, we would love to take advantage of the pickup.
Also, please note that the Bryant Park Derby Day event at Southshore's Tavern will be the first Saturday in May, on May 4th, in the afternoon, and it is always GREAT fun!   We will also be working on a date for a neighborhood cleanup soon and will keep you posted.   Anyone interested in being on the Raft Race Committee, please contact us, and let us know. 
Regards,
Mango Groves Neighborhood Association

'Brilliant Bus' shrinking digital divide

A great story featured on CNN Heroes about a farsighted and resourceful woman and program to help bridge the digital divide.  I have always thought that the building the Lake Worth CDC squatted in next to the Osborne Center for at least five years would have been an ideal place for just such a facility.  Instead, we endured the heavy weight of an inefficient organization that did little to help the community.  Now I hear it is under "re-organization."  What happened to all the land that organization was given by the city? When inquiring with staff about the status of that land, we get blank stares born from an overwhelming inventory of vacant houses in the city.

Meanwhile, back to the article, this is a great story and one that needs to be repeated often around the state and nation.  Click title for link.

Development Opportunities on the FEC Corridor: An Interactive Forum 4/17 - Teaser

I attended this seminar today put on by the Urban Land Institute and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority in Dania Beach.  It was all about Tri-Rail's coming Coastal Service along the FEC railway - the eastern RR tracks through region that would link all the coastal downtowns with rail transit service - in addition to an expanded Tri-Rail service and the "All Aboard Florida" - privately initiated by the FEC - fast train which will link Miami and Orlando.

I took a lot of notes, video and pictures so expect a lot more in the coming days.  William Waters and Delores Key attended on behalf of the city.  Almost all the communities along the route had a display at the conference - Lake Worth did not.  There were many private sector developers there as well as government officials.  For those monitoring the LDR formulation process, the station area for Lake Worth would be in the area of Lake/Lucerne Avenues and the FEC tracks and it will soon be zoned for transit oriented development.

To give you a sense of the anticipation and excitement of other communities along the route, check out this video I took of the various displays in the lobby outside of the seminar room:

Again, much more to come later.  In the meantime, check out the links above.

Miami Has the Nation's Most Efficient Roads, Says Scientist Who's Never Driven the Palmetto - Miami - News - Riptide 2.0

It has the least miles of pavement per capita...hence it is more efficient.  Perhaps it is just under-served according to its population.?  Click title for link to New Times article.

Perhaps we will see an apparition on the ginormous garage...?

Any strange or unusual sightings, let me know.

Pics from LW Earth Day - Cultural Plaza - 4/13

 Before the rain hit.  I did win a Simpson Stopper.  The tree-give-away was made possible due to a private anonymous donation from the Lake Worth Inter-Faith network.  I'm not supposed to ask any more questions.  I have a great video of the "plastic bag" girl dancing to the music there.  Will upload it later on.

Supporters Plan Boston Marathon Walks in Honor of Victims

Groups are planning to walk/run the marathon route in an act of community solidarity so that symbolically  "they" - and not terrorists - are the ones that will determine the end of this year's race.  A nice statement for those who ran, were involved or injured/killed during yesterday's tragic event.  Click title for link to article.