#7 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Top 10 Best Downtowns 2014 | Livability

Livibility.com is out with their top ten best downtowns and Ft. Lauderdale, surprisingly, is on the list. Income growth has been strong and they note that there is a balance between people living and working there. I find it hard to believe that 40,000 people, according to the article, are living on yachts in the 100 marinas that dot the area, but who knows? Makes me think its time to take the bike on Tri-Rail one weekend and check things out. Click title for link.

 The meandering New River and an intricate canal system give Fort Lauderdale a Venice-like feel. Downtown high-rises offer expansive views of the Atlantic Ocean, intracoastal waterway and saltwater lakes. Both tourists and locals head to Himmarshee Village for shopping, live entertainment and locally owned restaurants and pubs. Many patrons of the nearby Broward Center for the Performing Arts stop here to extend their evenings. More than 40,000 Fort Lauderdale residents live on yachts docked at the more than 100 marinas and boatyards, many of which are connected to downtown by sidewalks and bike paths covered by a canopy of trees. Families flock to the Riverwalk area in downtown, which includes a park and cultural amenities like the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens along with the Nova Southeastern University Museum of Art.

FYI Miami: March 20, 2014 | Miami Today

Meanwhile, this project in Miami sounds more like a Las Vegas attraction, complete with a bungee jump platform. It is also in line to receive money through the state. Click title for link.

TOWERING INITIATIVE: Skyrise Miami, a proposed 1,000-foot-tall waterfront glass and steel tower intended to offer an observation deck, nightclub and bungee jump-like platform on City of Miami waterfront land beside Bayside Marketplace downtown, would receive $10 million from the state as part of the House’s $11.49 billion transportation and economic-development budget plan released Tuesday. The proposal for the Berkowitz Development project isn’t matched in the Senate’s $11.7 billion combined budget plan. Also on the House Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee list is $150,000 for the Doral Business Council Expo.

Space Needle, anyone?

New ordinance allows Lake Worth deputies to arrest people...

The city is finally beginning to get a handle on the enormous number of vacant houses in the city. This, in large part, due to the ordinances put in place last year. This is an excellent article in the Palm Beach Post that summarizes what is going on now. Captain Silva is featured in the video and talks about the ability they have now to arrest people that are squatting in these structures and properties. This is just the start and more progress will be made in the future. Click title for link to the article. Here is a bit:

The new law of the land in Lake Worth is called the Board and Secure ordinance, and it was recently amended to give deputies permission to make appropriate arrests. Approved just before the end of 2013, the ordinance has helped deputies make around 40 arrests of people in vacant or abandoned homes and in some cases, squatting there.
“So the only way to do that really is to get real serious about putting codes and ordinances online that will kind of make sure that the town goes in the direction it needs to go. And that’s what they’re doing.”“The city is a great town and very diverse and very unique in many ways, but it has to get itself on economic footing,” said sheriff’s Capt. Rolando Silva. “The residents need to feel like they’re safe and not necessarily being exposed to a bunch of people that are up to no good.
Lake Worth has about 2,000 abandoned homes and 1,500 foreclosed homes, according to Silva. And many are used by the homeless or criminals on the run, sheriff’s Deputy Josh Eley said.

And, coincidently, Channel 5's Brian Entin, did this piece which aired on the evening news yesterday. It includes the Mayor and Building Official Luis Martinez. It seems that everyone is finally on the same page! This only means good news for the future of our city.

Jacksonville Beach Postcard

Traffic Alert Flagler Memorial Bridge- Extended Openings March 18

Please be advised that surveyors will be surveying the Flagler Memorial Bridge this afternoon. This requires setting up equipment underneath the bridge and surveying while the bridge spans are open, during the scheduled 2:25 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. openings. This may result in an extended bridge opening during these timeframes. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

City Commission Vote on Consent Agenda Items at its 3/4/14 meeting...

The resolution of support to look into locating a baseball spring training facility was included in the Consent Agenda at the last Commission meeting. This is the vote on approving the Consent Agenda, with Commissioner McVoy voting against it, presumably since the resolution wasn't amended to include his condition.

Review of Commission Response to Public Comment at the March 4, 2014 Meeting

At the 4 minute mark of this video, Commissioner McVoy states his concerns about a baseball stadium and who would be impacted by such a facility. At the 6:30 mark, he put forward his addition to the resolution about involving the neighborhoods in the process to make sure that the benefits are things that most people want and that the concerns are taken seriously in the future. That sounds a lot like the NAPC letter of support.

ROLOH Neighborhood Association Meeting

When: Tuesday, March 18, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 6th Ave S and Sunset Drive 

Review of Public Comment from the March 4th City Commission Meeting

Right at the beginning of the video, Mary Lindsey announces the success of the neighborhood associations in applying and receiving grant monies from Palm Beach County. She then goes into the reading of the letter from the NAPC of support for the concept of a baseball spring training facility. This was the letter to our Commission which mentions the John Prince Park location. She mentions another letter that will be composed along the same lines and given to the County Commission. It should be pointed out that when Ms. Lindsey read the letter at the County Commission meeting, she expressed the NAPC's support for a central Palm Beach County location, not specifically John Prince Park. It's important to note that at the 2 minute mark of the video, the letter talks about the need for communication and coordination with the neighborhoods, especially the ones near the park, as the process goes forward.

If you think about it, that is saying just about the same thing as Commissioner McVoy requested be added to the resolution passed by the Commission.

Palm Beach Gardens council race goes rough-and-tumble

This Palm Beach Post article highlights some of the tactics used in the recent Palm Beach Gardens election. The incumbents held on to win, with one race having a comfortable margin. But the Jablin (i) and Peragine race was meaner. Reading this reminds me of tales of some of our past elections, but the conclusion here, again, is that elections are won in the field and not collecting campaign donations. And even the candidates that did not prevail had a sense that the election was a good thing as it was a way to get people involved and talking about issues. Turnout was higher than usual this time too. Click title for link.

“The process works,” Peragine said. “I was just new. I had a lot to learn. If I had done this again, it would be 100 percent different results.”
Jablin had many volunteers on the ground early, and at the polls. Peragine says in retrospect he spent too much time early on collecting contributions — he wound up with a city record $117,810 — and not enough time organizing volunteers.

Alex Sink’s (Second) Failure Is Another In Long Line of FDP Disappointments That Must Be Addressed | The Florida Squeeze

The Florida Squeeze takes its aim at the failings of the Florida Democratic Party and its inability to win "winnable" races, like the one between Jolly and Sink. As we know locally, when we do have an election, the real strength of a campaign is its ground game or field operations. Party operatives have more recently relied on high dollar TV ads and consultants which benefit at the cost of the party's future success. Click title for link. Here is a bit of the shaming contained in the article.

It’ll be easier if you’d just admit it. Stop fighting it, and just concede the fact that the Florida Democratic Party has completely lost its soul and it’s costing us winnable seats, so we can get down to the business of fixing whats broken and whats arcane. Former Bank Of America Banker, Alex Sink lost this race to Republican lobbyist David Jolly despite outspending the republican by a 4-1 margin on the airwaves.   She lost this race 48.5 percent to 46.6 percent even though she carried the district in her 2010 run for Governor and President Obama President carried the district in 2008 and 2012. Yes, as The Young Turks put it, Alex Sink is arguably the worst politician in Florida, but this loss reinforces the structural problems within the Florida Democratic Party.
If you’re a Democrat in Florida these types of losses are all too familiar to you, and if you’ve worked or volunteered for the party in recent years, I’m betting your frustrations are mounting just as high as mine.  We all know what the problems are – candidate recruitment, development, and base outreach. But why, miserable loss after miserable loss, does nothing change? Why don’t the tactics of the Florida Democratic Party change? Because the structure upon which the Party sits is fundamentally flawed. That structure doesn’t care if we win these elections and others like them… as long as the donations keep piling in, our consultants and operatives are paid, and lastly, that our status quo way of doing things and selecting candidates stays in tact. Reality Check: until it’s changed, FDP will continue to suffer heartbreak after heartbreak in non-Presidential election cycles and remain a laughing stock in national Democratic circles.

Referendum vote signs in storefronts draw ire

Palm Beach is a stickler when it comes to signs. I think that it was only about a dozen or so years ago that no political signage was allowed, but the town amended its rules to conform with, of all things, freedom of speech provisions in the Constitution. I'm surprised that Code Enforcement is taking such a "hands off" attitude about the size of signs in commercial areas. It would seem to me, according to the information at the end of the article, that campaign signage is limited to 4 square feet. What I think that they are running into is that these are on private property and not easily removed without assistance or a nod from the owner. Since they are temporary (the election is next Tuesday), they are letting it slide. Some are not happy about that. Click title for link.

Code Enforcement Manager Raychel Houston said the town has received seven sign complaints regarding the planned unit development zoning ordinance, known as the PUD-5. Code officers have either removed or requested the property owner to correctly place signs — 15 in all, she said.
Political signs, including ones “urging the passage or defeat of any ballot measure,” are allowed as long as they meet certain restrictions such as height, dimension and location, Houston said. “Since the code does not specifically address signs in storefronts in the commercial district,” she said, “there is no prohibition for any political sign.”
Signs supporting and opposing zoning plan sprinkle Royal Poinciana Way. For example, Nick & Johnnie’s and Hampton’s of Palm Beach Fine Wines, both owned or rented by plan opponent Frank Coniglio, display “Vote No” signs. A “Vote Yes” sign hangs on the gate to Les Evans’ rental units, and another is posted outside The Breakers’ building.

Severe Weather Predicted for Tonight (3/17)

This is a trend around the nation that has the potential to benefit Lake Worth...

This would help eat up some of that vacant house inventory.

Tenant uses Airbnb.com, leads to unexpected sex party that trashes his Chelsea luxury apartment - NY Daily News

One of the downsides to the short-term rental craze. It turns out the owner of the unit is a well-known comedian with 30,000 followers on Twitter. So this story is getting a lot of attention. Airbnb.com is one of the sites used as a clearinghouse matching property owners with people who are looking to stay somewhere for a few nights. It seems like Airbnb is doing its best to make things right, as much as possible. Click title for link.