Benzaiten Center in Lake Worth: Live Model Sessions for Painters & Sculptors

The Benzaiten Center is located at 1105 2nd Ave South west of the FEC tracks. I'm told GPS takes drivers to the front office. The Benzaiten Center has a large gated area on the south side of the building which is where you park when visiting:

You can read about an event I recently attended there. The Benzaiten Center is a spectacular addition to the City.

All excited about new Sober Home legislation? Don't be (not for a while anyway)

To get an idea, here is the title of Christine Stapleton's article in the Post today: "Sober-homes law’s effect will take time — like turning battleship". Here is a short excerpt from an expert in the field:

     Although Florida’s new law technically goes into effect on July 1, the state Department of Children and Families, which will oversee the program, has until Dec. 1 to select the non-profit group that will be responsible for certifying sober homes. The department must also create a web site of certified sober homes for the public and design an protocol to gather data and oversee the certification process — efforts that will also take time.
     Critics say the new law won’t have an impact for at least two years.
     “Right now the law is pretty toothless,” said James Green, a civil liberties attorney has who successfully battled cities attempting to implement discriminatory housing regulations. “Under this law there are no consequences for not getting certified for at least a year.”

Remember, Sober Homes are regulated by federal law, specifically the ADA. Only so much can be done by local municipalities and the states.

If you see any coyotes near your horses in the City call Ari Hait

The only horses you'll see in the City of Lake Worth are the horses PBSO uses on occasion. That didn't stop Ari Hait from ABC5/WPBF from reporting about coyotes in "Lake Worth". You can read about Homeland where Ari Hait did his news report from. From the Homeland website:

     A rural setting with all the conveniences of the city, in fast-growing unincorporated Palm Beach County, Homeland is an equestrian’s dream with miles of interior bridle paths, paved roads, with the convenience of shopping, theaters, and dining minutes away. It is a place to accommodate everyone, not just for the equestrians.
     Platted in 1980, Homeland is governed by a Homeowners Association with a five-member Board of Directors. It is a rural environment with all the amenities of city life, the best of both worlds.
     Homeland is located in Palm Beach County just south of Lake Worth Road just west of State road 7 on the outskirts of Wellington just minutes from the National Horse Show.

Again, for Ari Hait and the rest of the news media here is a special class: What is Lake Worth and what is not Lake Worth, A primer on what is called 'Suburban [or Unincorporated] Palm Beach County'.

Part of the lesson is this map:

Others are not too happy about the sloppy reporting vis-à-vis the locations given in TV news reports. Below is a viewer of NBC5/WPTV none too happy about their reporting:

And so it goes. If anyone in the news media would like me to give a personal lesson on this subject please feel free to email and we'll set up a time and place. 

Flag Day Ceremony: Lake Worth's Bryant Park—June 14, 2015

If you're short on time please fast forward to the 10:45 mark when everyone in the crowd recites the Pledge of Allegiance with the members of the Scottish Rite:

Some still pictures from the event below. Both Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo and Vice Mayor Maxwell attended.

The City's flag pole in Bryant Park.

Mayor Pam Triolo

Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell (right).

Some of the crowd at the ceremony.

Palm Beach Post, B section, page 1, above the fold (had a slight coffee mishap this morning)

Will have video up later of this event in Lake Worth. Reporter Tony Doris and photographer Damon Higgins teamed up for this story. You can read the article and check out Mr. Higgins' photos here. If you don't subscribe go pick up an issue (the paper costs $1.50 now).

Many of the residents of Lake Worth will never know how the folks at the Scottish Rite have touched their lives. I personally know of many stories where they've stepped in to help people in need, no questions asked and asking nothing in return. You can learn more about the Scottish Rite here. 

Surfing at the City of Lake Worth public beach

Image courtesy of Jim Stafford.

A Bombshell from Newsweek: "New Evidence Shows Duke of Windsor Plotted With Hitler"

A must read article for history buffs in Newsweek. A short excerpt from the article by Karina Urbach:

     The Soviet intelligence services were convinced of the Duke of Windsor’s [formerly King Edward VIII] treachery when war broke out. It is probable that they had an informer on his staff. In 1940 they reported that he was conducting negotiations with Hitler to form a new English government and conclude a peace with Germany contingent on a military alliance against the USSR.
     Even more evidence of Windsor’s treachery was hidden in Spanish archives. Like his relative Coburg, the Duke of Windsor was anti-Semitic. In June 1940 Don Javier Bermejillo, a Spanish diplomat and old friend of Windsor—he had known him since the 1920s—reported a conversation he had had with the Duke to his superiors.

From The Florida Squeeze: "FLORIDA’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS"

[A short postscript. It's generally predictable which blog posts are going to get a lot of traffic and which ones won't. Crime, for instance, generates very little traffic on my blog whereas posts about the media (their ignorance of municipal boundaries is one) generates a terrific amount of traffic. Another subject that generates little traffic is Florida history but that won't deter me from writing about it. The blog post below from 6/10 about Florida history was off the charts popular with my readers and was retweeted several times also. Undoubtedly it was the combination of history, race, and politics that was of interest to many people. Without further ado. . .the incredible story of Josiah T. Walls:]

Image from Wikipedia.

Kartik Krishnaiyer at The Florida Squeeze has this interesting historical flashback about Florida Republican Josiah T. Walls; here is an excerpt:

     Republican Josiah T. Walls was Florida’s first African-American Congressman, and a powerful symbol of the Reconstruction era in the state. [emphasis added] Walls was born into slavery in Virginia and captured by the Union Army during the Peninsula Campaign. Eventually he was discharged in Florida after the Battle of Olustee and settled in the Gainesville area.
     Following the Union victory, carpetbagger/scalawag Republican governments took the state over from the secessionist Democrats and Walls quickly impressed the state’s new political leadership. He was elected to the State Senate in 1869 and was elected to Congress in 1871. By 1874, the Democrats had retaken control of the state and much like the violent behavior of the party’s establishment faction in other southern states, Florida’s Democrats were determined to eliminate black representation and reimpose single-party rule in the state.
     The Democrats unseated Walls based on electoral “fraud” (the only actual fraud was the African-Americans and Republicans who were denied the ballot at gunpoint) and seated former Confederate Colonel Jesse Finley. 

Behind the curtain: who is responsible for the upheaval in our City of Lake Worth?

In Lake Worth, a City known for its tolerance, can you think of anyone other than Lynn Anderson capable of bringing up the Klu Klux Klan? She is also one of the organizers placing those red & white signs in the community warning of hysterical nonsense. Names on bullets, racist posts, directing her readers to Antisemitic websites, politicians struck with high-velocity bullets and "engulfed in flames". . .the list goes on.

In a City that's known for taking sides in debates we're happy Lynn Anderson is on your side.

Here is a link to AnnaMaria's blog.

Kevin D. Thompson, the Lake Worth NAPC, and who everyone knows in our City

That person is none other than the iconic, citizen-extraordinaire Mary Lindsey. Kevin Thompson, The Palm Beach Post beat reporter for the little City of Lake Worth, has a story in today's paper in the 'B' section, page 1 above the fold:

Photo taken by Richard Graulich, staff photographer.

This story comes on the heels of another story by Michael Readling on the community of Wellington coming together to solve their issues. Here is the graphic Mary Lindsey is holding in the photo above:

If you don't get the Post go pick up an issue or subscribe. Or you can check back tomorrow for some text of the article here. 

If opinions like the Post editorial board have an impact on your daily life you would think the world is a pretty terrible place. There are very good things happening in Palm Beach County and the Lake Worth NAPC is one of them. It's time for that editorial board to focus on what is going right in our communities instead of grabbing for the low hanging fruit. 

Debbie's going to "dog" Jeb every single day

George Bennet at the Post on Politics blog has this article about Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

     During the dinner, with about 1,000 party activists on hand at the Diplomat Resort & Spa, Wasserman Schultz vowed to [Jeb] Bush that Democrats will be highlighting his record as governor from 1999 to 2007.
     “We will dog you every single day that you are on the campaign trail, just like so many of us did when you were governor,” said Wasserman Schultz, who will be at Florida International University in Kendall on Monday before Bush makes his formal announcement.

If you have the time, a real lot of time, check out Wasserman Schultz's Wikipedia page. It's about three times longer than Jeb Bush's. The point? None. Only an observation.

Image from Wikipedia.

Stay tuned as they say.

The importance of Free Speech: Why being offended is not a state of grace.

Ian McEwan, the award-winning author of more than 20 novels and short stories, including Atonement, delivered Dickinson’s Commencement address on Sunday, May 17 of this year.

I encourage you to listen to all of this graduation speech. He talks about exceptions to free speech, which include "racists", at about the 12 minute mark.

An important safety message from the Palm Beach County Sheriff

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office wants to help remind you when your child is left in the car with #ChildCheck. Sign up on Twitter today and let this simple reminder help prevent hot car deaths of children.

Join Us and Celebrate Flag Day in Lake Worth Today at 6:30

Our good friends at the Lake Worth Scottish Rites and the Neighborhood Association Presidents Council (NAPC) will celebrate Flag Day at the Bandshell in Bryant Park. 

If you would like to learn more about the American flag visit this Wikipedia page.

Image from Wikipedia.

A Look Back: The Street Painting Festival and art celebrating the Lake Worth Centennial

Artwork commemorating the City of Lake Worth Centennial at the City's Street Painting Festival (photo courtesy of Jim Stafford).