[Another look. . .] Guest blog post: Joseph Thompson III with yet ANOTHER scoop on a mural in Lake Worth

Mr. Joseph Thompson III sent me this news hoping it will get picked up by a state-wide news media outlet. Mr. Thompson, if you recall, was the author of the now-famous, or infamous, food review of Benny's on the Beach that appeared in a now-defunct, always-free, delivered-for-free tabloid. Lake Worth, if you didn't know, has become very sensitive to murals because of a recent article in The Palm Beach Post.

The mural at the Lake Worth CRA's La Joya Villages with the "too-white" Cuban-American child that has one White woman in a furious state of hand-wringing and despair.

The City, I've learned, is responding by forming a new Neighborhood Appropriateness Guild (NAG) which will then be tasked with creating a Mural Skin Color Form of Appropriateness with skin color shades that have to be approved prior to installation of a mural in any neighborhood or community. The hold-up right now is whether this form should include dogs, cats, and/or fish and mollusks too.

Anyhow, Mr. Thompson was driving down Dixie Hwy in Lake Worth last Tuesday afternoon and as he approached the corner of Dixie and 10th Ave North he spotted "one woman" on a bench crying. He stopped to help the one woman and this is what he reports on what occurred:

"Hi, Wes. I'm glad my review of Benny's has provided you and your audience with so much entertainment all year long. The truth is the giro and hot dog I had a Benny's was the best ever and I still dream of going back if the management there would welcome me. The drives to John G's are getting tedious, honestly.

The reason I am forwarding you this news is because I was driving down Dixie Highway on Tuesday afternoon and I spotted one woman on a bench at the bus stop at 10th Ave. North across the street and south of Tuppen's. She looked in terrible distress and in need of immediate help. She was a lean White woman, slender, with deep perky dimples, ragged clothing, and disorderly but yet fashionably bleached faux-blonde hair.

As I approached her she stopped crying and asked me for help. I reached for my wallet to give her a few dollars and she said she didn't need money. She said, 'Sir, what I need is justice for this neighborhood.' I was immediately curious with her story and sat next to her and asked her to tell me more.

She told me her name was 'Dienstag', which I know is the weekday 'Tuesday' in German. The reason she was crying, she said, was because the mural of a marine animal on the wall at Tuppen's didn't reflect the community and she wanted justice done. I took a picture of the marine animal.

A "socially inappropriate" and "offensive" pink octopus on blue background. This mural caused one White woman to cry at a bus stop bench last Tuesday afternoon in Lake Worth.

Dienstag told me the blue was 'dominant boy baby blue' and the pink was 'hesitant girl baby pink'. The blue, she said, represented the sea and its dominance over the little octopus which demonstrates the stereotypical gender norms that are ever-present. She went on to explain that, 'anarchy is the Earth in balance' and that children were being tricked to depend on society for cure of diseases like malaria, to rely on traffic engineers, and GMO-hardwood pulp for diapers. The 'female octopus' with the 'misshapen' nipples was 'a slam' on maternity and that the 'too-phallic' tentacles sends the message that little girls want to be little boys instead. The 'lack of any horizontal lines' was making fun of other decision-making processes and she told me to investigate a 'dangerous' woman named, 'Joan Obiva' at a place called 'Sea Area'.

I  told her I was interested in her story and want to write more about this crucial issue but just then a TV news van pulled up and one woman with red hair and a furious temperament jumped out of the van like it was on fire. Dienstag began her story again but this time for a camera with a little makeup touch-up and a quick hair flip. She started crying again.

If it's OK with you, Wes, I'll send you a recap of my interview with Dienstag when she gets back to me with a date and time. Thank you in advance for helping me get this news out to the public.

Sincerely,

Joseph Thompson III."

Delray Beach's "unaccountable and hugely profitable" sober homes are the city's "most intractable problem"

The article by Nick Madigan in The Coastal Star is a lengthy one, very interesting, and not optimistic about the answer to the sober home problem any time soon. The city manager in Lake Worth, Michael Bornstein, also dealt with this issue in his year-ending message to the City of Lake Worth:

     I regularly receive questions and comments about issues ranging from potholes to sober houses. In most cases our issues are not unique to Lake Worth as cities across the state are dealing with the same ones. We share our ideas through organizations such as the League of Cities and from working with them it becomes evident that all cities must consider two important factors. The first is the limits set by external entities such as the federal or state laws, and, secondly, the resources necessary to pay for a solution if one is possible.
     For example, in dealing with sober homes, cities are prohibited by the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act from enacting laws that treat them differently than any other type of rental. Thinking with common sense may lead you to believe that these are businesses operating in residential areas with potential negative impacts when operated by unscrupulous owners. You may ask, “Why doesn’t the City require a special license or prohibit them altogether?” The simple answer is that as long as Congress considers a person with an addiction as protected under law, the City is greatly limited in our response. Instead, we must work with our state and federal leaders to figure out how to creatively and legally mitigate the impacts while also working for changes to the laws.

The article in The Coastal Star cited above is about a news conference in Delray Beach which included State Rep. Bill Hager, State Sen. Jeff Clemens, Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein, and others. Here is an excerpt:

      “There is no one here who can guarantee how this is going to unfold,” Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, said during a news conference at which the measures were announced.
      His uncertainty was echoed by John Lehman, president of the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, the entity chosen by the Department of Children and Families to establish a voluntary credentialing system for the unregulated sober homes and apartments. They act as halfway houses for people recovering from substance use disorders but are often problematic for the residential neighborhoods that surround them.

[and. . .]

     Addicts who fail in their attempts at recovery or who get kicked out of sober homes because they did not follow the rules “end up on the street, still suffering from an addiction,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said in a telephone interview. “And they become victims of crime — or perpetrators of crime.”
      Glickstein, who described the “unaccountable and hugely profitable” residential recovery industry as Delray Beach’s most intractable problem, said his office was working with Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional district, to amend language in federal administrative rules and the Fair Housing Act so that local governments can have solid standing in their efforts against wayward sober homes and other facilities.

The message seems to be help is on the way but don't get too excited about anything happening in the near future. Be patient. It's a hard pill to take (pardon the pun) but it's ultimately a problem for the federal government to solve.

Joanne Kelly of Lake Worth responds to article by Joe Capozzi at the Palm Beach Post

Joanne Kelly of Lake Worth had a letter to the editor published today (Sunday, 1/3) along with the picture of a historic memorial stained glass window that ended up in the possession of Shanon and Phil Materio at the McMow Art Glass gallery at 701 N. Dixie Hwy here in Lake Worth. You can read more on this interesting story here with a link to the article by Joe Capozzi. Here's an excerpt from the letter by Joanne Kelly:

     The work of art is precious and has such an exciting up-and-down history. Precious also is the artist couple Phil and Shanon Materio, who operate McMow Art Glass Studio. They have such care and talent with any work they do, from repair of Vizcaya windows to offering classes in glass.
     Just driving by their shop windows with beauty displayed is a treat.
     The piece described in The Post is a wonder. What a life it has had. Thanks for a fascinating article, and I look forward to seeing it displayed in their store window. If the Mandel Public Library doesn’t take it back, I feel certain the Lake Worth library will be happy to have it. [emphasis added]

Here is the link to read the entire letter that appeared in the print edition.

The typical letters that make the cut and get published by people from Lake Worth are usually of the cringe-worthy sort but this last one is excellent. Also note the editors don't specify whether the letter is from a City resident or from suburban Lake Worth so it's really hard to know in many cases. Joanne Kelly is most definitely a City resident.

Do you have the urge to write a letter to the editor and see your musings on the printed page? Here's how you do it:

Send a letter to the editor: letters@pbpost.com [copy and paste link into browser (Letters are subject to editing and must include the writer’s name, address, e-mail address and daytime phone number. Preferred length is a maximum of 200 words.)

So, you think it was hot in south Florida lately? It was hot enough to melt steel in Phoenix!

Below is one of most hilariously funny TV news bloopers you'll ever see. The video is up to 4.9 million views and climbing.  

About the video: 2960 degrees in Cave Creek?! FOX 10's Cory McCloskey leads viewers through a hilarious weathercast after his weather map malfunctions. Technology doesn't always cooperate, but luckily Cory knows how to handle the "heat!"

[UPDATE] Make plans to attend the City Commission meeting this Tuesday to save the Gulf Stream hotel in our downtown

[UPDATE: Below is the legal notice published in The Lake Worth Herald for the upcoming City Commission meeting to address the zoning change required to save our Gulf Stream hotel. Make plans to attend this meeting on Tuesday, January 5th! A very small group will be attempting to monkeywrench this process and claim to be "the voice of the people". Don't let these malcontents be your voice. We need people TO SHOW UP! If you're not comfortable speaking in public you can have your comments read into the record. Here is the link with the contact information (email/phone number) of the five elected officials below:

• Mayor Pam Triolo SUPPORTS the rezoning
• Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell SUPPORTS the rezoning
• Commissioner Andy Amoroso SUPPORTS the rezoning
• Commissioner Ryan Maier IS OPPOSED to the rezoning
• Commissioner Chris McVoy IS OPPOSED to the rezoning

Don't let a few malcontents be 'your voice' on this crucial issue of the future of our historic Gulf Stream hotel.

You can learn more using this link on how the planning process gets hijacked by very small but vocal groups. Continue reading more from the blog post below first published in early December:]

This is the meeting that featured the quasi-judicial hearing on the re-zoning of the property next to the Gulf Stream hotel:

The re-zoning request for the Gulf Stream hotel is the tiny white dot the white arrow is pointing to. 

The two quotes by Maier (hear his comments at the 15:00 mark to 17:00 in this video):

     "It's a really big deal for this City that we have, an essentially vacant parcel of land, we almost never get to do this in the City. We've been built out for so many years that we would approach this and do it the very best way possible."

And. . .

     "This really is the future of tax revenue for the City of Lake Worth. So, the success of this project is hugely important."

The quotes above are not referring to the Gulf Stream hotel. He's commenting on a very large hotel/business development project west of I-95 WHICH HE VOTED IN FAVOR OF:

Commissioner Ryan Maier supports a hotel/business development project west of I-95 in the City's Park of Commerce.

So, Maier sees the "potential" and "opportunities" west of I-95 but can't see the potential and opportunities for vacant lots right in downtown Lake Worth? Maier voted "No" on the re-zoning for the Gulf Stream hotel project. 

His reasoning for voting 'No' is because of the "overwhelming" support to keep the height limit next to the Gulf Stream hotel at 45':

"Overwhelming" support? And note this 'Heights' vote was declared "null and void" by the state legislature.

Note that Commissioner Ryan Maier (District 4) is up for re-election in March 2017. You can reach him at 561-586-1734 or send an email.

The misleading graphic on the front page of today's Palm Beach Post: The "Line of Fire" story and PBSO

The text "250 police shootings in Palm Beach County since 2000" is very misleading.

The text in the image above is very misleading, to say the least. This text appeared along with a graphic on the front page of today's (1/3) Sunday paper. What is missing from this text in the Post's graphic was "police shootings in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast since 2000". The Post's data isn't only about PBSO; the data also includes all the individual cities with police departments, federal agencies, and even the St. Lucie County Sheriff, for example. When you eliminate all the law enforcement agencies that are not PBSO and local Palm Beach County (PBC) police departments the total of police shootings in the Post report is 211.

Also, what the Post also doesn't make clear to their readers is Sheriff Bradshaw didn't take over the operation of PBSO until 2005. There have been 114 shootings by PBSO deputies since 2000 but 26 of them occurred from 2000 to 2004 when Ric Bradshaw wasn't the sheriff in PBC. That brings the total to 88 PBSO shootings from 2005 to 2014 when the data collection ends.

Here are some of the law enforcement agencies in the Post's "250 police shootings in Palm Beach County":

• Florida Highway Patrol Training Academy (4 shootings)
• Martin County Sheriff (6)
• Port St. Lucie Police Dept. (5)
• St. Lucie County Sheriff (12)

Now consider this: From 2005 to 2014 (10 years) there were 88 PBSO shootings by deputies and 48% of them happened in a 4 year span from 2007 to 2010. If you recall, that was the time of the terrible gang problem in PBC when Lake Worth disbanded its PD and went with PBSO. Just something to consider.

It was heartening to read the Post editorial today and hopefully that signals a pivot at the paper to focus on the hard issues instead of the constant drumbeat of anti-PBSO news. This anti-PBSO, anti-Sheriff Bradshaw bias has gone on long enough and isn't doing anything to make our neighborhoods any safer:

Sign at an anti-PBSO protest in Lake Worth in 2014. How quickly they forget those terrible years prior to PBSO taking over for the Lake Worth PD in 2009.

Today (1/3/16) in Florida History from the Florida Historical Society!

1971 – Polk County native Lawton Chiles assumed his seat in the U.S. Senate on this date. Arguably one of the most unconventional campaign runs in Florida history, a relatively unknown Chiles walked 1,003 miles from Pensacola to Key West meeting the sunshine state’s constituents face to face in order to gain notoriety during his Senate campaign. The journey lasted 91 days and he walked through more than one pair of boots! What was termed at the time as a “public relations stroke of genius,” ultimately catapulted Chiles to an overwhelming victory over his opponent William C. Cramer in the 1970 election. Chiles was reelected to the Senate two more terms before deciding to run for governor of Florida in 1990, a post he served for two terms.

For more information about Chiles 1970 Senatorial race check out John Dos Passos Coggin’s recent book entitled, “Walkin’ Lawton,” published by the Florida Historical Society Press in 2012.

Happy New Year from PBC Parks and Recreation: Check out their new magazine of events & things to do

Here's the link to the January issue of the PBC Parks and Recreation Leisure Times online magazine:

Stay up-to-date on free and affordable events and recreational opportunities taking place each month throughout Palm Beach County's park system. Sign up today to receive Leisure Times Online!

You can follow Parks and Recreation on Facebook and they're also on Twitter:

Thanks to all who participated in our #December #pbcparks #PhotoChallenge! We saw lots of great photos! pic.twitter.com/3Ko7z3LxsI

— PBC Parks & Recreation (@pbcparks) January 1, 2016

John Prince Park, right outside the City limits of Lake Worth and east of Palm Beach State College, is part of the PBC park system. Go and have some fun there real soon.

From the Post: City's Casino is "historic" again (?), more on THAT lottery ticket "in western Lake Worth", and where did that plane crash?

This year-in-review 'news' is on the heels of The Palm Beach Post's editorial page referring to the South Florida National Cemetery "in Lake Worth" which isn't in Lake Worth. The zoning map of the City is readily available using this link and the City's Wikipedia page is more accurate then the information the paper has access to. For instance, the editor's might be interested in this from the Wiki page: "The main campus of Palm Beach State College is located in unincorporated Lake Worth."

The editors at the Post don't do reporter Kevin Thompson any favors in this 2015 year-end review of the goings-on in Greenacres and Lake Worth (the two cities the reporter covers). Two of the big highlights didn't occur in either city.

The unclaimed $15 million lottery ticket sold at "Morrison Avenue east of Military Trail in western Lake Worth" wasn't in "western" Lake Worth. That location is outside the City in unincorporated Palm Beach County, or if you prefer, suburban Lake Worth. And the plane crash "just east of the Lake Worth Drive-In" is also located east of Greenacres, south of Palm Springs, and north of Atlantis. But, again, the Lake Worth Drive-In is not in Lake Worth:

The Lake Worth Drive-In is located a stones throw from Palm Springs and not near "western Lake Worth".

And the Lake Worth Casino building is "historic" again according to the Post:

Our new "charming" Casino was constructed on the site of the former historic structure (which was 94% demolished).

The Gulf Stream hotel is indeed a historic structure. Our newly "renovated" Casino is not. Somewhere in that pile of sand in the image above is what remained after the original building was mostly demolished. This is what I refer to as "the big lie". The Casino complex is a miserably failed project but the "visionaries" who pushed it through will never accept that truth. Who exactly are those "visionaries"?

The people in the photograph above aren't laughing any more. And neither are the City's residents who are left with the huge bill.

Here is another line from the City's Wiki page:

Several geographical features in Palm Beach County somewhat confusingly share the name "Lake Worth."

The Palm Beach Post, our paper of record, isn't doing much to help end this confusion. If anything, they're making it worse.

[Front page news in The Palm Beach Post today] Another homicide in Boynton Beach (and a breakdown of the homicide numbers in PBC thus far)

[Below is a post that appeared on this blog on 12/28 of last year. Mike Stucka at The Palm Beach Post penned this article titled, "Palm Beach County homicides: 2015 shaping up as 3rd deadliest" that is on the front page, above the fold, in today's (1/2) paper. The reporter has a quote from Greenacres Public Safety Director Mike Porath. If you weren't aware, Greenacres is disbanding its police department and going with PBSO like Lake Worth did. I have a question at the end of the post you might find interesting. The original post from 12/28 follows:]


With three more days to go in the year we all hope there isn't any more violence and/or murders in Palm Beach County. Last year there were 98 murders and this year that number is up to 107. It's been a real bad year thus far. That number is mostly because of one city in particular that had 22 homicides this year; more on that later. John Pacenti has this news about another homicide in Boynton Beach and an excerpt follows:

     The deadly gunplay occurred at what residents described as a block party in the 1200 block of Northwest Fourth Street. The area is a middle-class black neighborhood anchored by the Cherry Hill Mini Market, but the short block is now the scene of the second fatal shooting in two months.
     On Sunday morning, the neighborhood was filled with children playing and riding their bikes.
     As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, Boynton Beach police hadn’t identified the 18-year-old victim. He was found shot in the street and taken to Delray Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Before long the Post's LINE OF FIRE: BULLETS, BADGES, AND DEATH ON THE STREETS! will be rolled out once again. In case you didn't know, PBSO Sheriff Bradshaw is up for re-election, hence the paper's focus on deputy involved shootings. When it comes to the issue of shootings overall though, that problem is much bigger than anything PBSO is doing or not doing, and here's why (if my numbers are off please feel free to send me the correct info):

• Total homicides so far in 2015 (as of 12/28): 107
• Total in all PBSO patrolled areas (unincorporated county plus the eight towns/cities): 45
• Total homicides is all towns/cities not patrolled by PBSO: 52
• Total homicides in one city not patrolled by PBSO, West Palm Beach (WPB): 22

WPB is, without a doubt, the outlier statistically. For some perspective, over 20% of all the homicides thus far in 2015 occurred in WPB and the number of homicides in WPB is nearly the same total as all homicides in unincorporated PBC (24).

Here's the breakdown of other cities in PBC and those homicide numbers:

• Lake Worth: 9
• Greenacres: 9
• Boynton Beach: 8
• Wellington: 2
• Lake Park: 3
• Belle Glade: 4
• Pahokee: 2
• Royal Palm Beach: 0

Note that Greenacres will be switching to PBSO early next year. Here are all the cities and towns that currently use PBSO: Belle Glade, Lake Park, Lake Worth, Mangonia Park, Pahokee, Royal Palm Beach, South Bay and Wellington.

When the Post's LINE OF FIRE gets rolled out again ask yourself this question: Which LINE OF FIRE should the paper focus on? From PBSO deputies or what's happening almost on the front step of The Palm Beach Post located in WPB? You may also be interested in knowing this: The Post's data of police shootings ends in 2014—there is no data available at all for 2015.

Want to thank once again the Post reporters Julius Whigham II and Michelle Quigley. These two are probably more responsible for repairing the unfair reputation of the City of Lake Worth than any other reporters in PBC and you can read about that here. The data originally was gathered using Zip Codes and this was corrected going all the way back to 2009—quite a lot of diligent work. The information on the homicide totals above can be found using this link. Once again, if any of my analysis is inaccurate contact me and I'll correct the information.

It's a shame our law enforcement and crime situations have to be so politicized in the way it has been. It's not right that a city like Lake Worth becomes ground zero in the debate on whether a city should have its own PD or contract that service with PBSO but it's the climate in which we live now. Yes, Lake Worth did have 9 homicides this year but remember two of those were a double murder/suicide and another homicide, that of Tyler Etue, exposes probably the biggest contributor to crime in the City: sober homes, their operators, and the lack of supervision.

One last thing—Instead of the Post "wagging the dog" about Sheriff Bradshaw and PBSO how about a debate on this question: Should West Palm Beach consider switching to PBSO like Greenacres is doing?

An interesting observation from a reader of this blog

"There was a group in Lake Worth that wanted to upzone many of our residential neighborhoods to allow for manufacturing, sale, and promotion of products and services. The group was called the Lake Worth Artists and Cottage Entrepreneurs. Early on Comm. Maier was a supporter of this proposal and maybe still is. 

This upzoning would allow a business to open up right next door to your house in a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood. Traffic would increase, parking will become a problem, and added pressure on the city for services like trash and more demand on already crumbling water lines. The city code enforcement dept. will be tasked with enforcement but they are still trying to restore that dept. It will be pretty much anything goes if this upzoning goes through with little or no enforcement.

This upzoning would impact a vast number of city citizens negatively and definitely also impact the real estate market in a negative way. This is a quality of life issue if there ever was one.

BUT-Ryan Maier is opposed to the GS hotel rezoning for an additional 20 feet of building height that will only impact a few neighbors and greatly benefit the rest of the city and most definitely the downtown corridor. There is no doubt of the public benefit for rezoning the GS hotel.

At the next city meeting someone should bring this point up. Is the upzoning of residential neighborhoods still being considered? If so this would far greatly impact negatively the homeowners in Lake Worth. Much more than an additional 20 feet of building height which is about the width of the goal posts in the NFL"

State Senator Jeff Clemens responds to the new Senate seat boundaries

Here is a real good analysis from John Kennedy at the Post On Politics blog about the new Senate boundaries and the representation in Tallahassee. Jeff Clemens responded with this on Facebook:

     As expected, the courts have again tossed out the gerrymandered state Senate maps created by the Republican-led Legislature, and adopted one of the maps created by the League of Women Voters.
     For those who may be wondering, I plan to run for re-election where I live (strange concept, right?). Unfortunately, that may mean I would no longer represent West Palm Beach, Lake Park, Mangonia Park, Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. If so, I would be saddened to leave some of my favorite people behind. But rest assured I will continue to look out for all of those communities in Tallahassee.
     And I look forward to running for re-election this fall in the new district that now contains Delray Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Gulf Stream and all of Boynton Beach (whereas before, I represented only part of the city), I will continue to represent Lake Worth, Lake Clarke Shores, Palm Springs, South Palm Beach, Greenacres, Atlantis, Lantana and Hypoluxo as I have for the past 6 years.
     I'm looking forward to getting to know new friends. Thanks for your support!

Like it or not, our state senator representing Lake Worth is our former mayor Jeff Clemens. There are still some hard feelings in the City over things he did and/or should have done. However, there are some crucial items coming up soon and we'll need our state senator doing what he's very good at: politics. You don't become a state senator by accident. It's about time to forget the past and focus on the future.

The issues we'll need his help with are dealing with the unscrupulous sober home operators, infrastructure such as the Park of Commerce, and the hugely important C-51 Canal boat lift.

In the video below, starting at the 3:35 mark, Senator Clemens talks about Gov. Scott's veto of the money for the City's Park of Commerce. That was a very sad day for us in Lake Worth.

News from the Plain Dealer: Hudson Holdings wins $25 million 'catalytic' tax credit for project in Cleveland

Reporter Michelle Jarboe at The Plain Dealer has this news about a Hudson Holdings project in Cleveland, Ohio. A crucial vote is scheduled in Lake Worth, Florida, on another Hudson Holdings project: the renovation and development of the Gulf Stream hotel project—you can read about that here. Below are two excerpts from the article in The Plain Dealer:

     A $270 million plan to revive a nearly vacant building at one of downtown's most visible intersections got a big boost Wednesday, with the announcement of a highly coveted, and competitive, tax-credit award.
     The former Huntington Building snagged $25 million in state tax credits reserved for "catalytic" historic-preservation projects – redevelopments packing the greatest potential economic punch. Hudson Holdings of Florida bought the massive building in June and plans to fill it with hundreds of apartments, a hotel, traditional offices, creative live-work space, retailers, restaurants and event facilities.

[and. . .]

     "Obviously we're not happy," Carney [developer John Carney and his May Co. project lost out to Hudson Holdings] said Wednesday afternoon. "We think the most important project for downtown Cleveland was the May Company project because of where it's located, because it's been dilapidated for years. And the Huntington Building is still a good-looking building.
     "By the same token," he added, "we want to congratulate the owners of the Huntington Building. It's $25 million coming to Cleveland."

[UPDATE] The Lake Worth City Commission agenda for the January 5th meeting is available on-line (Second Reading for Gulf Stream hotel rezoning)

[UPDATE: There's been a change to the agenda next Tuesday. pastor Olive is now giving the invocation. If you recall, he's the one that hold's service in a downtown bar. Now we're guaranteed to have a CBS12 news van in town next week, if not earlier:

Who knows. God willing, maybe pastor Olive will seek the "common ground" by offering a true apology for his nonsense last year?

Stay tuned but stay focused on the things that really matter; don't be distracted by the silly media chasing "shiny objects". We've got more important things to do. The original blog post from yesterday (12/31) follows:]

Use this link and scroll down to "City Commission - 2016" and click on "Full Version" to download the agenda. Note that Item 2 is now "Invocation or Moment of Silence":

Note that under this new policy commissioners Ryan Maier and Chris McVoy are free to choose a "Moment of Silence" or have someone do an invocation. For instance, either of the two can invite The Insulting Atheist Preston Smith back to do another performance if they wish.

Mayor Pam Triolo chose to have Pastor Kris Vos do the invocation. He is the presiding pastor at a newly "planted" church in Lake Worth called, "Sunlight Community Church" located at 1325 North A Street here in the City. I know a lot of people are praying real hard this new church isn't anything like the last 'church' planted in our downtown:

There never was a "War on Jesus" or a "War on Religion" but it did make for an entertaining 2015 by pastor Olive!

The hopefully brief "Sea Level Conference" presentation is item 5C on the agenda and there are two obligatory, politically helpful, and completely vapid items on the Consent Agenda (A and B). The big item, what most people undoubtedly will be there to witness, is item 10B: "Ordinance No. 2016-04 - Second Reading and Quasi-Judicial Public Hearing - rezone a portion of the Gulf Stream hotel".

Tell everyone you know to show up and support this zoning request. If you can't make it you can email any or all of the elected officials and have your comments read into the record. Here is the link to contact the members of the city commission. It was a 3-2 vote at First Reading and it's possible the next vote may (?) be 4-1 on January 5th. Here are the votes cast on December 8th:

"Stay Tuned", as they say.

Beware of Loose Cows Possibly Affecting Traffic in Western PBC

For release: Dec. 31, 2015
Contact: David Walesky, 561-797-9105

Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control (ACC) has been made aware of two different situations involving loose livestock in Palm Beach County, both of which are very close to Southern Blvd. ACC is concerned about the risk that these animals pose towards motorists traveling on or near Southern Boulevard, especially in light of tonight’s festivities.

One of the cows is a somewhat wild yearling that is black in color and in the vicinity of Southern and Jog Rd.

The second location involves 2 cows and a bull, loose in the vicinity of Southern Boulevard and Lion Country Safari.

Livestock can be spooked by cars or loud noises such as fireworks. Residents who may come in contact with these animals are asked not to approach them and contact law enforcement.