Second Annual Gay Chili Cook-Off Promises To Be A Spicy Good Time | Local | News | SFGN Articles

I happened to be a judge for this event last year. Click title for link. We plan on showing up mid-afternoon. Note the new location!

A five-dollar cover is suggested to attend. All proceeds will benefit Compass Youth Group, an organization that supports LGBTQ kids and teens ages 6 to 17 years old. Headquartered in Lake Worth, Compass offers a youth a center to hang out in, work on homework, and meet new people in a safe environment.
Last year’s event raised $3,000 for the Compass Youth Group. Cooks are from area venues such as H.G. Rooster’s, The Mad Hatter, and various LGBT and straight allied community groups.
The second annual Gay Chili Cook-Off takes place from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 at Penny’s at the Duke, 902 N. Dixie Highway, Lantana.

Everybody spread the news!

From the Boynton Beach Historical Society's Facebook page comes this part of Lake Worth history...

Bryant and Greenwood were the original developers of Lake Worth. These post cards were sent to people in the north to sell 5 acres in the "garden spot of the world." Those five acres were essentially swamp land in the area now known as Greenacres.

Note that the postcard promises that "We give a town lot FREE to each purchaser" of those agricultural lots. It turns out that the "town lots" were the 25 ft. lots in and around our downtown area, which ultimately turned out to be more popular than the agricultural land to the west at the time.

Broward commissioners tell Henry to come up with a plan for video-on-demand of meetings | Broward Bulldog

This is not 1960 and it's not like Broward County is attempting its own space program. We have the technology. The foot-dragging means that someone likes to hide government goings-on from the public. Our own Lake Worth provides on-demand video access to past Commission meetings, along with other board meetings happening in the Commission Chambers. Click title for link.

The Broward County Commission has directed the county administrator to prepare a cost analysis and implementation plan to create an on-line, video archive of commission meetings.
Commissioner Lois Wexler asked her fellow commissioners to act after County Administrator Bertha Henry failed to present her own plan, which Wexler asked for last month. Wexler originally asked Henry to study the issue on Oct. 8, with a Dec. 15 due date, records show.
Wexler doesn’t know why the county administrator did not follow through. “There may be an inherent resistance…to make this type of…meeting information immediately accessible to the public,” Wexler said in an interview Wednesday.

Rise and fall of the mall: Palm Beach Outlets opens Friday as... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

This piece from the Palm Beach Post presents a good retrospective of Palm Beach County history, especially as it relates to commercial/retail development. Palm Coast Plaza is mentioned as the first major shopping center outside of downtown West Palm Beach. It is a shadow of its former self now, but still houses a Winn-Dixie which many still go to just over the line from Lake Worth. Click title for link.

From the days Clematis Street had the Comeau Building arcade and nearby Harris Building and Via Jardin, shoppers have looked for a variety of stores, some protection from the weather and a snack to keep going. How people live and shop has changed from those days, and the retail establishments built in Palm Beach County reflect those cultural changes.

Candidates to be sworn in at Tuesday council meeting | www.palmbeachdailynews.com

And to the winners go the spoils. This was an unusually uncivil campaign with campaign war chests bulging to the six figure range. I hope everyone think that is was worth it. Good luck Palm Beach. Click title for link.

From last night at the Urban Arts Lofts - Art Fusion (2/7)

We ended up at the Arts Lofts as the last part of a long bike ride last night. We got there a little after 7 p.m. and things were still gearing up. About three artists had their spaces open and a band was in the process of setting up. We had been downtown to the Cultural Plaza earlier and talked up this event while we were there. It is supposed to repeat next weekend, so we might try again when it is a little later so that we can hear the band, etc. Enjoy the pictures!

WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Top Stories - City of Delray Beach doing away with "block parties"

Delray Beach is changing its policies towards drinking on Atlantic Avenue during events - no outdoor drinking of alcohol. Seems that the Commission is split over the decision, but the first effect of the change will come during "The Village by the Sea" - eh hem - St. Patrick's Day festivities. Click title for link.

City of Deerfield Beach - Movies in the Park program...

What a great idea that could be applied in our own Byrant Park - using the bandshell for the screen area. It would be a great family draw and fairly low cost. Something to think about. It also could be suited for the downtown area, using some unadorned wall for the evening, possibly closing off a side street?

I found this from the official City of Deerfield Beach Facebook page.

Make The Call Y'all - from the College Park Neighborhood Association

Hello Neighbors, 

As reported at our meeting in January, Operation "Night Train" by the PBSO is in full swing. In addition to beefed up regular patrols, there are more deputies assigned to this operation using ATV's (all terrain vehicles) and unmarked cars to apprehend criminals who are helping themselves to the contents of vehicles parked in our neighborhood. 

We can help ourselves by making sure our vehicles are locked and we can help PBSO by keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior - like people walking down the street trying one car door after another to see which are unlocked and then calling the non-emergency number to report it. 688-3400 Just yesterday, thieves helped themselves to loose change they found in several unlocked vehicles right here in College Park. Sometimes though, even locked car doors won't deter these criminals, and more than loose change is taken. Read this report that just came in from PBSO: 

"On 2/5/14, at approximately 2027 hours, District 14 deputies responded to the 600 block of North L Street, in reference to a vehicle burglary that had just occurred. A witness observed two subjects walking down the street checking all the car door handles to see if they were left unlocked. The witness saw the subjects enter an unlocked vehicle. The witness immediately contacted PBSO, and gave dispatch a detail description of the two subjects. 

A perimeter was set up. Operation Night Train units responded to the call on ATV?s and in unmarked cars. Captain Silva was patrolling the area in his unmarked vehicle and located one of the subjects. The second subject was located by an Operation Night Train unit (unmarked vehicle). A positive identification was made by the witness. Both subjects were arrested for multiple vehicle burglaries/thefts and were transported to the jail. A total of four victims had their vehicle broken into." 

"Make The Call Ya'll" is a campaign to encourage neighbors to call the PBSO non emergency number 688-3400 anytime and every time we witness suspicious activity. ALWAYS call 911 to report an immediate threat to life or property. NEVER confront suspicious persons yourself. You MAY remain anonymous if you wish. To learn more visit this link. 

Let's keep College Park safe!

Commentary: Quieting the anti-Semitism echo chamber | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Commentary in the Palm Beach Post by Abraham Foxman about the insidious nature of hate speech on the Internet and its corrosive effects over time. He also talks about First Amendment freedoms and how it is difficult to track down the originators or the organizations behind them. The fluid nature of the Internet is a problem too - these sites can pop up somewhere else as soon as they are taken down. The other blogger frequently posts information from such sites. That is a choice she must live with. Here is a bit of the article - must read, click title for link.

 The communications revolution, which has brought us all the wonders of the iPad, Google Earth, smartphones and social media, has also been a tremendous boon for anti-Semites and racists.
The tools that have enhanced our lives have also enabled bigots to spread their hatred, often under the cover of anonymity, faster and broader than ever before. In the span of 20 years, haters who once handed out fliers on street corners can now disseminate massive amounts of data in nanoseconds globally.
Hate groups were quick to adapt to new online methods. One early adopter, the South Florida-based forum for anti-Semites and white supremacists called Stormfront still exists. 

Michelle Wolf, acoustic performer

Click title for link to her website for more information.

It was great to have live music performed by such a professional at Commissioner Amoroso's event last night. Michelle is just getting started on her south Florida adventure and is looking to be booked. Nice choice for a coffee house atmosphere or private party. Thanks Michelle - we enjoyed your music!

Pictures from the first stop on the Dine Around for Commissioner Andy Amoroso event...

Michelle Wolf played guitar and sang - see separate post on how to contact her.

April

Mars

Commissioner Andy Amoroso talks to the crowd.

Pd. Pol. Ad. Paid and approved by Andy Amoroso for Lake Worth Commission District #3

Bret Baronak - Bicycle/Greenways/Pedestrian Coordinator 02/07 by High Noon in Lake Worth | Politics Podcasts

Join your host Wes Blackman as he welcomes Bret Baronak to the High Noon in Lake Worth studios. Mr. Baronak works for the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Ogranization (MPO) and has been in this position since 2006. His main assignment is to oversee the MPO's Non-Motorized Transportation Planning Program, with activities centered on improving accessibility for bicyclists and pedestrians in Palm Beach County through public outreach. Bret raced road and mountain bikes for 15 years, enjoys helping to educate cyclists to improve their skills and confidence, and rides daily for fun. He bikes for commuting, touring, some competition among friends and explores trails in Florida's forests.

Click title for link to live show between 12 and 1 p.m. on Friday 2/7, or afterwards for the archived version of the show. Leave questions as comments below.

Mango Groves - Elections and February Meeting

Hello All-

We will be having our February Meeting on Thursday Feb 20, 2014 at Compass, on the corner of Dixie and 2nd Ave N across from the new Publix at 7pm. Elections will be held for 2014.   If oyu have any other nominations for Offices, or would like to be a member of the Board, please contact us.   Also, if you have any nominations for Mango Groves Pick of the Crop, please let us know.   we like to recognize any special effort in Home or Garden that our neighbors take, and share our beautiful neighborhood with the rest of the city.

Please also remember that Street Painting Festival is on Feb 22, and 23 this year, and we are looking for volunteers to help in the beer tents that the City is sponsoring.  If you would like to assist, please let us know.

See you on the Avenue!

Mango Groves Neighborhood