The Post editorial board is rethinking the wisdom of this effort (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release [TNVR]). Cats are an invasive species here in Florida and are devastating to the bird populations. In south Florida many species of birds have adapted to living closer to the ground (or even underground nests) and easy to hunt by cats. Extermination of the feral cat population is the answer to save these species, however even the Sierra Club sees this as politically impossible given the strength and numbers of the various cat lobbies. The answer is to keep cats indoors at all times.
As far as feral cats a writer from the Audubon Society came up with a new use for Tylenol. The reaction to this suggestion was quick and not pretty at all. Here is an excerpt from LiveScience on the devastation cats are believed to cause:
Marra [Pete Marra, animal ecologist with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute] and his colleagues are looking at human-related causes for bird and wildlife deaths in the country, from windmills and glass windows to pesticides. But first, Marra and his team looked at the impact of the feline population, one of the biggest putative causes of bird demise in the country. [emphasis added] While past studies had used critter cams or owner reports to estimate the number of birds killed by cats, those studies were usually small and not applicable to the entire country, Marra told LiveScience. For this broader analysis, the team first looked at all prior studies on bird deaths and estimated that around 84 million owned-cats live in the country, many of which are allowed outdoors. "A lot of these cats may go outside and go to 10 different houses, but they go back to their house and cuddle up on Mr. Smith's lap at night," Marra said. Based on an analysis of past studies, the researchers estimated that each of those felines killed between four and 18 birds a year, and between eight and 21 small mammals per year. But the major scourges for wildlife were not those free-ranging, owned-cats, but instead feral and un-owned cats that survive on the streets. Each of those kitties — and the team estimates between 30 million and 80 million of them live in the United States — kills between 23 and 46 birds a year, and between 129 and 338 small mammals, Marra said.
The Florida Scrub Jay, only one species of bird whose numbers are dwindling.
You’re late for work and come upon a school zone. 20 mph! You’ll be even later now. “Can I speed through it?” you think. “Just a little bit. The fine isn’t that bad, I don’t see any cops and there aren’t any kids around.” The next time you have that thought, think about this driver. A driver came upon Freedom Shores Elementary School on Thursday afternoon, and instead of slowing down to the 20 mph school zone speed limit, the driver raced through at 53 mph. So is it that bad? Boynton Beach police slapped the driver with a $606 fine, along with three other drivers who happened to be speeding through the area as well.
Hiking, fishing, camping, bird-watching, horseback riding, nature study, cycling, hunting, geocaching, stargazing – what's your pleasure? The South Florida Water Management District is the steward for more than 1 million acres of public land. Over the years, we've taken great strides to expand public recreational opportunities on land purchased with public dollars – and it keeps getting better. Each year we take steps to enhance and expand recreational use of all District-owned property throughout our 16-county region. Activities at each location are compatible with natural resources protection and intended land use priorities. We invite you to explore recreational opportunities on your public lands.
Here is the Discover Florida Wild page on the VisitFlorida tourism site. For residents and tourists alike there is so much to do and see in Florida.
The day before last March's PrideFest a homophobe here in Lake Worth tried to monkeywrench the festival by calling FDOT complaining about the rainbow paintings across Lake and Lucerne Avenues that were planned. Everyone aware of the situation has a very good idea who it was. But the organizers were undeterred and painted the East/West city roads instead. This years festival was the most successful ever, by the way.
And note that at the time you could still see the remnants of the Street Painting Festival on both Lucerne and Lake Avenues and also some green pigment from the St. Patty's Day festivities also.
Well. . .guess what? The person believed responsible for this act has a history, shall we say, in Key West. Guess what Key West just did?
And according to CBS12/WPEC's Michael Buczyner, attorney Jack Scarola cannot be reached for a comment. The "LINE OF FIRE" story has been shooting blanks.
Will be very interesting to watch Katie LaGrone explain this one tonight. The spin control effort is in hyperdrive, no doubt. Will she double down on the "LINE OF FIRE" or concede the Sheriff is indeed acting responsibly and move on? Stay tuned.
That's a lot of cars off the road, don't you think? Michael Turnbell reports these numbers from All Aboard Florida (AAF):
The planned passenger rail service, set to begin running in 2017, would initially see about 1 million riders a year, ramping up to 5.3 million a year by 2020 and 7 million by 2030, according the report prepared by the Louis Berger Group. Revenues are projected to be $293 million a year in 2020, rising to $400 million by 2030. The numbers offer the first public glimpse into the viability of All Aboard Florida's plans, which include running 32 trains a day — 16 each way — starting in early 2017 between Miami and West Palm Beach. A second leg is planned from West Palm Beach to Orlando. "When we're putting as much money into this as we're risking, not based on a delusional belief about something, you want to be very confident that the economic outcome is reliable and based on a conservative outlook," said Michael Reininger, president of All Aboard Florida.
It's not my intention to put the spotlight on any one particular character however former Commissioner Cara Jennings does represent well the tone of those who are responsible for the failed Lake Worth Casino building—her along with JoAnn Golden and Commissioner Christopher McVoy at the City Commission meeting on Tuesday, 5/19. In fact, I predicted this before the meeting last night (5/18).
They've chosen the builder of the Casino building as their boogeyman but what the public needs to know is this: the City at that time didn't have anyone on site responsible for monitoring what was going on. They turned a blind eye to the process and waited for the final product (and of course the big party to follow).
Note in the video below what Jennings chooses to focus on and also note that she rudely does not introduce herself as is customary for a citizen to do when addressing the mayor and city commission:
Jennings still does not understand the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) process as she demonstrates in her unfair representation of Sustainability Director William Waters and Commissioner Andy Amoroso. Members of the ITN, as part of the process, are encouraged to speak freely and Jennings suggests something improper was done which is ludicrous. She also makes mention of the now-defunct tabloid by Margaret Menge which was partly responsible for fueling the public hysteria:
Most importantly note that Jennings is trying to distance herself from Commissioner McVoy and JoAnn Golden now. In a terrific display of historical revisionism she now suggests she never supported "privatization" at "the beach" even though she supported the construction of their 'new' Casino structure with private businesses trying to make a profit. Try to wrap your brain around that one.
I would say confidently, from what I heard last night, the public understands now that this commission has been given a tough task fixing the Casino complex in its entirety: the Casino building, pool, and the woefully inadequate parking. All in all, except for Peter Timm and a few others, the public wants to learn more about what is happening and is engaged in the process. That is a very good thing.
Check back later for more videos. I think you'll find the comments of people such as Barbara Aubel very enlightening. And, as always, thank you for visiting by blog.
Both Lauren Hills and Michael Buczyner at WPEC retweeted my tweet about this clean-up tomorrow. Are one of them planning on showing up? Would appear so. These clean-ups are popular events; a chance to get out and meet your neighbors and leaders in the community who make these clean-ups happen.
What if there is something wrong with the crime data? I am not saying there IS. Just suggesting there might be. At the beginning of the year wrote this article about an Interactive Map published by The Palm Beach Post. The reporters who compiled the information made the common mistake of using 'Lake Worth' addresses to conclude there were 50 homicides in the City between 2009 and 2014. There were 30 homicides, not 50.
To the Post's credit they fixed the map to accurately reflect the reality. I remember at the time thinking how many people researched a possible relocation to Lake Worth to say purchase a home, for instance, and decided not to because of the 'high murder rate' they discovered on the Post's web site. Just a thought but I digress.
Now consider this: a 'reporter' in Lake Worth (Ms. Menge) who claims to be an experienced researcher on several occasions published crimes in her paper that occurred outside the City limits but she reported them as occurring IN the City. Another blogger in Lake Worth many times has posted crimes IN the City but were actually committed outside the City borders; sometimes well outside, west of Lantana near the airport in one case. In another instance recall a crime in John Prince Park that one of the above attributed to the City.
How did this happen? Are they making the data up or altering the data? It's certainly possible but don't think so.
Could it be that human error at PBSO is incorrectly attributing crimes outside the City (in unincorporated Palm Beach County) to District 14? The only way to know for sure is to ignore the data and look at the actual crime reports. That's something that I am tracking down.
Frances Burke Goodman has an article in The Lake Worth Herald this week on an award Glen Torcivia received. Here are two short excerpts:
PALM SPRINGS – Village Attorney Glen J. Torcivia has received the Associate Member of the Year Award from the Palm Beach County League of Cities “For exemplary involvement and support to the priorities and programs of the League of Cities.”
[and. . .]
Torcivia has especially been acknowledged for his work with the league’s FECI Legal Task Force and for assisting with the mandatory ethics training that was instituted in January. He has practiced law in Palm Beach County since 1982 and has served as the village attorney for Palm Springs since 2007. He is founder of the law firm Torcivia, Donlon, Goddeau and Ansay.
Mr. Torcivia is also the city attorney for the City of Lake Worth. Here is a recent video of him giving a Sunshine Law presentation at a city commission meeting recently:
Gwynn Guilford also includes maps with projected water use and drought areas. Florida residents are expected to use 76–100 gallons by 2030 EACH DAY. Here is an excerpt on an effort in California to get residents to dig up their front lawns of grass:
Los Angeles and 25 other southern California cities are paying their residents up to $6,000 to dig up their lawns and put in fake turf and woodchips—part of a bid to help meet the state’s mandatory reduction in water use issued in April. That comes out to about two dollars per square foot of lawn replaced. It’s easy to see why: During California’s summer dry season, 50-80 percent of residential water consumption comes from lawn care and other outdoor uses [emphasis added], reports the Los Angeles Times. So far, the lawn replacement program has proven wildly popular. Since governor Jerry Brown’s executive order to cut urban water use, weekly lawn replacement applications more than tripled. The new plan adds another $350 million for rebates granted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), which serves about 19 million people. Residents exhausted the original $100-million budget earlier this month.
We're all very familiar with how some Lake Worth citizens get so excited when there is a rise in crime, or a perceived rise in crime, in the City. The issue for a few malcontents is not crime per se but the supposed 'inability' of PBSO to stop it. And that leads to their inevitable conclusion: the City needs its own police department. Been there and done that. Before PBSO had taken over for the Lake Worth PD the gangs had taken over large areas of the City.
The Post's Kevin Thompson may or may not be aware of those terrible days prior to 2009, when Lake Worth had its own police department and they were, to put it mildly, ineffective.
Remember this video from 2009? Go to the 8:00 minute mark and learn about Lake Worth right after PBSO took over and soon solved the problem the LWPD could not:
And then there's this from Tom McGow:
Here is the article by Kevin Thompson. It's noted that Lake Worth has a high rate of some violent crimes. But one violent crime is not mentioned and that is homicide. It's highly unlikely there were no homicides in Lake Worth in 2014. However, if that was the case it would make for very big news indeed. Especially in an article about violent crime.
In time I'll get all the FDLE numbers and go over them. When it comes to statistics though Mark Twain said it best:
"There are lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mr. Thompson makes this mention in his article:
The city is also tackling the issue through neighborhood associations, Crime Watches and Crime Walks. Commissioner Scott Maxwell said the city has also been pushing harder to demolish abandoned homes, many of which harbor criminals.
Here is one recent event in the City, residents working WITH PBSO:
![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)
