This ad/announcement appeared in the September 12, 2013 issue of the Lake Worth Herald

Loretta Sharpe asked that I post it on the blog.

Madison, Melrose and Milton: Florida Old Towns

This is what I think of when I hear the words "old Florida charm." If you click the title of this post, it will take you to a website called "Florida Backroads Travel." There are probably a lot of neat weekend trip ideas to check out in the Sunshine State. By the way, there is a group getting together soon to talk about Lake Worth's cottages and how better to highlight them in an organized manner.

Governor sets goal of 100 million visitors to Florida | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

And Commissioner McVoy wants us to throw in the towel and not try for a downtown hotel in Lake Worth. He says that if the market indicated there was a need for one, there would be one. If there was a market for a men's pants store, there would be none of those too. Our leaders should not have defeatist attitudes. Click title for link to article. Here are a few statistics from it.

Florida visitors and how much they spent
2013 49.6 million (mid-year)
2012 91.5 million ………………. $71.8 billion
2011 87.3 million ………………. $67.2 billion
2010 82.3 million ………………. $62.7 billion
2009 80.9 million ……………… $60.9 billion
2008 84.2 million ……………… $65.2 billion
2007 84.5 million ………………. $65.5 billion
2006 83.9 million ………………. $65.0 billion
2005 83.6 million ………………. $62.0 billion
2004 79.7 million ……………….. $57.1 billion
Source: Visit Florida
Florida visitors
Cities with biggest increase last year:
17% from Washington D.C.
22% from Atlanta
35% from Boston
20% from New York (top market)

Under Lake Worth budget proposal, utility rates could drop 4.5... | www.palmbeachpost.com

Good article and it seems that this City Commission is on the right track. Click title for link. Commissioner McVoy continues to be a stick-in-the-muck.

From the article:

Three of the four commissioners OK’d the change, while Commissioner Christopher McVoy voted against it saying that the better strategy was to educate customers to reduce their usage. Commissioner John Szerdi was not present.
“They haven’t been saying lower my rates; they’ve been saying lower my bills,” McVoy said.

That is very scientific Dr. McVoy. I can see why you are Peter Timm's and Lynn Anderson's favorite. Trying to get on your logic train here Commissioner. Let's say you have three numbers which are A, B and C. And A is the rate per unit of electricity, B is the number of units consumed and C is your total bill which is achieved by multiplying A times B. If either A or B is lower, you will have lower electric bills. And then you vote "NO" on lowering rates? I think this exposes your "high rates reduce consumption" mantra and the reason why you like them. Also notice that there is $750,000 sloshing around in the former conservation program account.

People are not going to use more electricity if it is cheaper but they are going to like lower bills created by lowering rates. This will free up money for other essentials - like housing, transportation, food and health care. And maybe allow our residents to treat themselves to an ice cream cone in our downtown.

Another video flyover - this one of Lake Avenue in downtown Lake Worth

Courtesy James Stafford Photography

Wellington levee repairs to begin as flood maps under review | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

I'll bring this up during my chat with Lynne McChristian of the Insurance Information Institute on today's High Noon in Lake Worth radio show. Click title for link. From the article:

If the levee is not accredited, FEMA — which oversees the federal flood insurance program — will evaluate flood potential for property near the levee as if the levee does not existed at all.

Pan’s Garden in USA Today Travel’s 10 best Palm Beach County parks and attractions

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach is proud to announce that our Pan’s Garden has been listed by USA Today Travel as among the ten best parks and attractions in Palm Beach County.

The article states, “Not far from the sophistication and bustle of Worth Avenue, this lovely park offers a taste of natural beauty. The plants in the half-acre site are all native to Florida and provide a gorgeous example of the diversity of flora in the state. Butterflies often flutter about the plantings, adding additional color and movement. The garden itself is named after an exquisite bronze of Pan, the nature deity known for his physical license and flute-playing. It rests at the entrance to the garden.”

To view the article, click here.

Pan’s Garden is about to hit its 20^th anniversary in 2014. Established in 1994 by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, Pan’s Garden is a beautiful botanical garden devoted to preserving Florida’s native plants.  The garden features over 300 species of trees, shrubs, grasses and wild flowers, which are incorporated into upland and wetland areas designed to display their naturally occurring relationships to one another.  Many of the Foundation’s educational programs for Palm Beach County’s schools are held there.  It was designed by the landscape firm of Sanchez and Maddux.

Pan’s Garden is located at 386 Hibiscus Avenue, just one block north of Worth Avenue.  Excluding holidays, it is open year round on Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm during the months of November to April.

Alexander C. Ives

Executive Director

Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach

These signs are now going up in the Cultural Plaza...

An alert loyal reader forwarded this to me this morning as they were being installed.

It's not too soon to revisit 2011 growth law changes, state's first planning chief says | The Florida Current

Don't look for the state legislature to provide much guidance on the state's role in planning. Providing a working definition of what the Office of Economic Opportunity - the one that replaced the Department of Community Affairs - actually is protecting by referring to ""important state resources and facilities." The current, revised legislation limits their purview to that, but no one seems to know exactly what those would be. Click title for link.

Giving credit where and when it is due...

Many times, the weakest link to the electric grid can be your house's connection to the pole found along your back property line. Mine was destroyed by Wilma in 2005 and created a delay in eventually getting power back on. I had to wait after my neighborhood already had power for a few days. Involved was an electrician, a trip to an Orlando-area Home Depot for electrical supplies (the closest "open" Home Depot in Ft. Pierce was overrun with customers and victims of the storm).

So, about a month ago I contracted with an electrician to place the feed to the house underground. Bill ended up doing the trenching work. The permit was issued by the city, conduit installed and box modified and inspected by the city. Yesterday was the final step when the city utility trucks arrived and the city workers went about disconnecting the overhead line. The electricians then installed the new wire in the conduit and the city reconnected the house to the power pole. All this was done yesterday morning after being called in on Monday. Power was on and off for only a half hour at most.

I just want to thank everybody involved at the city for making the process as painless as possible, acting professionally and quickly and helping to eliminate a weak point that can easily be impacted by wind, trees and debris in the case of a storm event.

Countywide construction picking up steam, says land planner | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

This is a good summary of what is happening around us related to economic and development activity. Click title for link. I am told that Lake Worth can expect $32 million of new development added to the tax roll this year. This is the part of the article which focuses on projects in the central and southern parts of Palm Beach County.

Examples of growth in central and south county are Trader Joe’s in Delray Beach, the proposed Chapel by the Sea condominiums in West Palm Beach and the future development of the A.G. Holley hospital site in Lantana, Gentile said at the Cohen Pavilion at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
Boca Raton’s Midtown, an office/retail development at Glades Road and I-95, and Jupiter’s $150 million Harbourside retail/marina/hotel project at Indiantown Road and U.S. 1 are meeting the need for existing office space, said Rebel Cook, a Realtor.
“If governments would speed up permitting, tax dollars would be coming in quicker,” said Cook.

Lynne McChristian - Insurance Information Institute 09/13 by High Noon in Lake Worth | Politics Podcasts

Join your host Wes Blackman as he welcomes Lynne McChristian to the "High Noon in Lake Worth" studios. Ms. McChristian is part of the Insurance Information Institute.  This will be good follow-up on the insurance industry in Florida after our two hurricane-related shows. We will also be discussing the impact of the newly revised flood maps.

Ms. McChristian is the Florida representative for the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I), a nonprofit and non-lobbying organization based in New York and founded by the insurance industry in 1960 to provide insurance education. The Institute’s mission is to help consumers understand what insurance is and how it works and to be a resource for media as they report on the insurance industry. She is also the chairperson for the insurance committee of the National Hurricane Conference and serves on the advisory board for Florida State University’s Storm Risk Center. She also serves on the public affairs committee of the Property Insurance Fraud Task Force.

Click title for link to live show between 12 and 1 p.m. Friday (9/13) or for archived show after it airs. Leave questions as comments below.

Not for the faint of heart, but this is a real problem-solving product...

Perhaps it would help Jennifer with her problem at parties?

At the CRA work session on Dixie Hwy, board member Sue Stevens brought up the importance of clean public restrooms. Perhaps this is the ticket!

Discover The Palm Beaches: What was old is new again as travel... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

And the answer is - a new visitors' bureau slogan. It ends up being a variation on a theme. Click title for link to article. Here is what was, what was chosen and what was discarded.

Destination name
Is: Palm Beach County Florida
Would be: Discover The Palm Beaches Florida
Tagline
Is: The Best of Everything
Would be: The Best of Everything or The Best Way to Experience Florida
Organization name
Is: Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Would be: Discover Palm Beach County
What was rejected:
Florida’s Resort
Life Well Lived
Florida Unsurpassed

Kurt Vonnegut

"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."