Starting next Wednesday: City of Lake Worth to alter water chlorination process.

“Tropical fish tank owners, hospitals, dialysis patients and residents with pools should be aware of the chlorination changes and make adjustments accordingly.”

For questions or concerns from Water Utility customers: Contact Timothy Sloan, Water Treatment Plant Manager: 561-586-1710; email: tsloan@lakeworth.org

Media/press inquiries: Contact City’s Communications Specialist, Ben Kerr: 561-586-1631; email: bkerr@lakeworth@org 

To maintain high water quality in the City of Lake Worth water distribution system, the City of Lake Worth Water Treatment Plant will temporarily change the water chlorination methods for two weeks from March 29, 2017 through April 16, 2017. The City of Lake Worth will also increase hydrant flushing during this time. This is a preventive maintenance process.

Monday, March 27th: A neighborhood meeting about issue of crime in the City of Lake Worth.

Everyone in the City of Lake Worth is welcome to attend.

Come out and hear Lake Worth’s PBSO District 14 Cpt. Baer. He’ll have a Crime Watch update, talk about the issue of crime in the City, and will also discuss crime prevention.

This meeting will be on Monday, March 27th at 7:00 and is sponsored by the Bryant Park Neighborhood Assoc. and will be held at the Beach Club restaurant located at the City’s municipal golf course. The address is #1 7th Ave. North.

Following the elections last Tuesday: The City Commission liaison and board appointments.

There was a little reshuffling but not much. Note the appointments below for newly-elected Commissioner Omari Jamal-Hatchett Hardy and Commissioner Herman Robinson:

• Mayor Pam Triolo: Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
• Vice Mayor and District 1 Commissioner Scott Maxwell: Florida Municipal Power Agency
• District 2 Comm. Omari Hardy: Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) and Sister City Board
• District 3 Comm. and Vice Mayor Pro Tem Andy Amoroso: Palm Beach County League of Cities, Community Redevelopment Agency, and the Downtown Cultural Alliance
• District 4 Comm. Herman Robinson: Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC)

Commissioner Robinson’s appointment to be the representative to the NAPC is a very good one with his history going way back working with neighborhood organizations. Going forward the City will also try to find a way for more than one elected to appear at neighborhood meetings on a regular basis.

Some in this City are quick to the yell, “Sunshine Violation!” if one commissioner just happens to be within 1,000′ of another elected official. The Sunshine Law was never intended to be a wall between the public and their elected officials. However, there are very specific rules for how electeds need to behave when together at a meeting or public event.

The appointment of Commissioner Hardy to the TCRPC is also a very good one. Although Hardy will not be an appointed member of that council, and cannot vote or participate officially, he will be able to observe and listen to discussion about topics that concern our City. That is very important.

There is no agenda as yet for the TCRPC meeting on April 21st, however, below are some examples of the topics and items from the meeting on March 17th:

• Resolution for support of proposed House Bill 1087 and Senate Bill 1488.
• Status of Florida’s KIDS COUNT data.
• Intergovernmental coordination and review.
• Comprehensive Plan amendments.

There is also public comment at these meetings. A chance for Comm. Hardy to discuss issues and concerns here in the City of Lake Worth and to get those comments into the record.

On the generally muddled, confusing, and specious final comments by a Lake Worth City commissioner: A “Ben Franklin” you are not.

Former Lake Worth Commissioner Chris McVoy’s concession lecture was a laundry list of things he could have helped to accomplish but never did. Following McVoy’s lecture at his final Commission meeting on March 21st was a round of applause. Many, including myself, were so happy to see him go away.

Mr. McVoy ever since being first elected in 2010, has harped on and on about having a PdD, using any and every opportunity to remind everyone. Why? Who knows. Maybe because it was so easy to forget. Here’s a quote from his final lecture from the dais at the City Commission, the opening line:

It is not often that a scientist is granted the opportunity and not every city that gets the benefit of a scientist!

As far as scientists who did “participate directly in the American experiment of democracy”, Ben Franklin came to mind. Ben Franklin was a scientist and a tremendously gifted one. And his contribution to American history is immeasurable. But he was an outlier, not the norm. Of all the Signers of the Declaration of Independence he was the only true scientist by profession. Ben Franklin was quoted saying:

“Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Mr. McVoy, you are not a scientist in the tradition of American science like Ben Franklin was:


Anyhow, the most twisted line from McVoy, especially following his election loss was this:

I am honored to have been able to serve as “voice of reason,” as a “voice of the people,” unburdened by allegiances to vested interests.

The voters thought much differently.

Possibly, when writing his final lecture, Mr. McVoy should have done more empirical research. The information below was fairly easy to find. From Bill Steele at the Cornell Chronicle, Cornell University located in Ithaca, NY, is this information (use this link to read the entire thesis):

Whether it’s a line from a movie, an advertising slogan or a politician’s catchphrase, some statements take hold in people’s minds better than others. By applying computer analysis to a database of movie scripts, Cornell researchers have found some clues to what makes a line memorable.

and. . .

The study grows out of ongoing work on how ideas travel across networks. “We’ve been looking at things like who talks to whom,” said Jon Kleinberg, the Tisch University Professor of Computer Science, “but we hadn’t explored how the language in which an idea was presented might have an effect.”

and lastly. . .

Later analysis also found subtle differences in sound and word choice: Memorable quotes use more sounds made in the front of the mouth, words with more syllables and fewer coordinating conjunctions.

Interestingly, in McVoy’s lecture he made no mention of the referendums in 2014 and 2016 that he opposed and the principal reason he was booted out of office. In The Palm Beach Post endorsement for Mr. Omari Hardy, an opponent in that race, the editor called McVoy a “commission gadfly”.

Ben Franklin was a scientist but he spent his time trying to find solutions to the pressing issues of the day. Ben Franklin worked with his contemporaries despite the disagreements and opposing points of view. Ultimately, it came down to this: finding a solution to a problem. And isn’t that what scientists are supposed to do?

The most exquisite Folly is made of Wisdom spun too fine.
—Ben Franklin.

Changes on the City website, tab City Commission, a “work in progress”.

If you would like to send Commissioner Omari Hardy and Commissioner Herman Robinson a short note or leave a short message congratulating them, that information is below. To contact everyone on the City Commission use this link.

Please be patient awaiting a reply. As you can probably imagine, there will be a lot of changes going on and time will be needed to sort everything out.

Mayor Pam Triolo flanked by Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell and Vice Mayor Pro Tem Andy Amoroso:

Ryan Maier (right side, blue shirt) opted not to seek re-election and Chris McVoy (far right) lost his bid for re-election to Commissioner Omari Hardy.

See below: Meet your new District 2 City Commissioner Omari Hardy (on the right) and District 4 Commissioner Herman Robinson (on left). To contact them:

• Commissioner Hardy: 561-586-1732; email: ohardy@lakeworth.org
• Commissioner Robinson: 561-586-1734; hrobinson@lakeworth.org

Leave a short message and they both will get back to you when things settle down a bit. And if there’s anything you think you can do to help, please let them know.

Click on image to enlarge:

Yours Truly (center, in red hat) just so happened to run across these two gentlemen after a performance of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Downtown Lake Worth last December.

Video: The Swearing In of Messrs. Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson, now Lake Worth City Commissioners.

FYI: “Messrs.”, pronounced mes-erz is the plural for Mister, “a title of respect prefixed to a man’s name or position.” The plural of the term Miss is “Misses”, to “represent a particular attribute of the person, especially one excessively prominent”, for example, used in a sentence, “Misses Pam Triolo and Joan Oliva said. . .”.

The video of the ceremony (see below) begins during a soon-to-be former-commissioner’s final lecture. Here are the highlights to fast forward and watch:

• At the 2:20–3:00 mark: Ryan Maier makes his final remarks as a commissioner, gracefully and respectfully, lasting all of 40 seconds. He then left the chambers.
• At 3:40 begins the Swearing In of Omari Hardy.
• At 5:30 is the Swearing In of Herman Robinson.
• From 8:15 are the first comments from the dais from Commissioner Hardy. At one point he tried to thank the former commissioner in District 2 for his service but by then had already left the building.
• At 16:00 begin the comments by Commissioner Herman Robinson. He was quite struck by the words of Comm. Hardy and was very humble as well about his election.
• And in an interesting few moments, Commissioner Hardy asked Mayor Pam Triolo if he could make an additional comment which the mayor allowed. At the 19:45 mark Hardy talked about the first and best decision he made upon deciding to run for election: his choice of campaign manager, Tricia Mischler.
• The last minute of the video is the mayor’s concluding remarks and the adjournment.

Enjoy the video:

What a wonderful day in the little City of Lake Worth.

Check back later on today or tomorrow morning for some of my thoughts about all the things that happened yesterday: the Swearing In of Messrs. Omari Jamal-Hatchett Hardy and Herman C. Robinson and the City Commission meeting that followed.

The City Commission had a new fresh tone thanks to the voters last March 14th.

The “fresh breeze” that Mayor Pam Triolo talked about at her State of the City Address last January finally made it through the front doors of City Hall.

Congratulations to both of you.

Commissioner Hardy with his family.

Commissioner Robinson.

Patience is wearing thin.

The pictures below were taken on January 1st, 2012:

“My New Year’s wish is our landmark historic hotel re-opens in time for the City’s Centennial celebration in 2013.”

The old City of Lake Worth in the rear view mirror. Keep your eyes on the New Lake Worth up ahead.

Hard to believe: City Manager Michael Bornstein was hired on April 16th, 2012.

It’s not unusual for some to feel a tinge of regret or maybe even misgivings for vociferously criticizing a former elected official, one who later went on to lose a bid for re-election. However, to put things in perspective, has one former commissioner in particular ever expressed any concern or misgivings for a new pothole that opened up on your street? Or ever lamented the fact that maybe if he was more involved, the LW2020 Bond referendum would have passed in 2014, with changes and additions to the plan more to his liking?

Nothing changed in 2016 either. For two years the roads, sidewalks, and our infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Because of this commissioner’s inaction and outright trouble-making the editor of The Palm Beach Post called him a “commission gadfly” and endorsed Mr. Omari Hardy instead.

If you want to do something positive, and focus on other things like the future of this little City then use this link. Soon this site will be updated with the phone numbers and email for Commissioner Omari Hardy and Commissioner Herman Robinson. Send each of them a note or a short phone call and congratulate them and ask how you can help.

And looking forward, City Manager Michael Bornstein was hired on April 16th, 2012. In a little over 3 weeks will be his 5 year anniversary working for this City. Send him a short note as well, just a quick “Thank You” for doing such a great job.

The “former commissioner” hinted at above liked to say, “he agreed with the majority 90% of the time.”

However, when he was most needed he sat on his hands and did nothing. Think of it this way: the City spends years investing and training an employee. Then on the one day the City counts on that person to do an important task, he or she calls in sick instead or just decides to take the day off and go home.

The job of a City commissioner is no different. The citizens and taxpayers expect and deserve more than just 90%.

A former candidate for City Commission in Lake Worth “fanning flames of mis- and disinformation.”

Ellie Whittey didn’t get mentioned a lot on this blog after qualifying and leading up to Election Day, last March 14th. Frankly, could never quite figure out why she was in the race to begin with. Did hear that almost everywhere she went Whittey attracted a large crowd and enthusiasm but that never translated into votes.

The District 4 race was already an odd one to begin with, a rarity in Lake Worth, an “open seat” election due to then-Commissioner Ryan Maier exiting his re-election bid. Herman Robinson won outright avoiding a run-off and Maryann Polizzi came in second place and Ellie Whittey a distant third.

What may have sealed the fate of Whittey was what she said about the Lake Worth Casino. And to make matters worse she then doubled-down and made the same claim again in front of a packed City Commission meeting on January 24th during public comment: 

“I can understand the hesitation of wanting get involved with this company [Morganti] legally. Morganti is not a United States owned company. They're based out of Athens. So again, they don’t have to comply with our rules. I would be hesitant. I don't believe people knew this going into this contract. Again, we learn from our mistakes. NEVER [Whittey raises voice] have a contract with a company which is not an American-owned company. Because again, what can we do when they mess up? They don’t have to comply with our laws as you know. Thank you.”

So, is Morganti, the construction company that built the Casino going to skip town and screw over Lake Worth? Go back to Athens and give our City the shaft? No. Not at all.

Sure, it’s taking much longer to fix all the problems at the Casino but progress, although slow, is being made. Whittey said, “They don’t have to comply with our laws.”

ABSOLUTELY FALSE. The public, the City of Lake Worth elected’s and staff working so hard to fix all this, as well as Morganti all deserved an apology. It’s irresponsible, at the very least, to be spreading this complete falsehood, especially from a candidate seeking elected office.

Unfortunately, mis- and disinformation leading up to elections is all-too-common in this City. Like the rumors spread days prior to Election Day that Mr. Omari Hardy wasn’t a resident of this City.

In the end this is a hopeful sign. The voters seem to be paying very close attention to what’s going on in this City and then making their choices wisely.

Tonight: Lake Worth’s Library Advisory Board meeting (see agenda below).

Have you thought about volunteering for the City of Lake Worth? Come out to this meeting tonight and learn more about another volunteer board, the City’s Library Advisory Board. Want to find out about board vacancies and other ways to serve as a volunteer? Use this link or contact:

• Silvina Donaldson, Volunteer Coordinator
• 561-586-1730
• Email: sdonaldson@lakeworth.org

The agenda for tonight’s meeting:

City Hall Annex, Meeting Room, 414 Lake Ave.
Wednesday, March 22, 6:00 P.M.

• Roll call.
• Approval of minutes.
• Discussion: A) Librarian’s Report. B) Budget Update FY 2017 and FY 2018 preparation. C) Long Range Plan discussion.
• Public participation of non-agendaed items and Consent Agenda.
• New business.
• Board comment.
• Adjourn.

NOTE: One or more members of any other board or member of the City Commission may attend and speak at this meeting.

Final Performance. A composition by conductor Lutz Köhler to the video of soon-to-be former-Commissioner Chris McVoy, PhD.

From Wikipedia: Conductor Lutz Köhler “studied bassoon, piano, composition and conducting at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. In 1974, he was appointed professor. From 1999 he was professor for conducting and director of the Symphonieorchester at the University of the Arts Berlin. From 2009 he was also a professor of conducting at the Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña in Barcelona.”

The video of McVoy is below. Please be patient, a short explanation how we got here. Click on image to enlarge.

It’s important to remember who wrote soon-to-be former-Commissioner McVoy, PhD, was a “gadfly”: That was the editor at The Palm Beach Post in their endorsement for Mr. Omari Jamal-Hatchett Hardy.

Music was needed in the background because the audio was turned off in the City Commission chambers that day back in August of 2014. The reason why is during breaks at Lake Worth Commission meetings the sound is always turned off; however, what McVoy didn’t know apparently is the video keeps on recording.

Draw your own conclusions when you watch the video below. Was McVoy waiting for the mayor, commissioners, city manager, et al. to leave the room? Did he receive a signal from someone in attendance that day?

How McVoy reacts when Commissioner Andy Amoroso returns to the dais is especially interesting. And some were offended that McVoy ate his dinner in his seat at the City Commission, commenting that food should be eaten in the conference room, not out in the open in front of the public.

Now that you know why music was added to the video, about the composition, “The Love For Three Oranges Suite, Op. 33bis: III. March (Arr. F. Tull) for Brass Ensemble)” is by Lutz Köhler. From Wikipedia:

The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33, also known by its French language title L´amour des trois oranges, is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French libretto was based on the Italian play L´amore delle tre melarance by Carlo Gozzi. The opera premiered at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on 30 December 1921.

Tonight will be McVoy’s final performance on the City of Lake Worth City Commission. Apparently he has a speech to deliver, or what’s come to be called a “pontification”. Hopefully that will not occur.

Tonight the new City Commission sets the tone and direction going forward. McVoy’s speech needs to be short, gracious and then say, “Good-bye”. But it could also be the opposite: divisive, angry, and mean.

The Swearing In will begin today at 5:00. The reception begins at 5:30. At 6:00 starts a whole new chapter in the history of Lake Worth. The focus will be off McVoy and on Mr. Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson, your new City Commissioners in District 2 and 4.

However, for one final time, enjoy the video to the composition by Lutz Köhler: The Love For Three Oranges Suite, Op. 33bis: III. March:

The Parrot Cove Home Tour, tickets still available, but not for long.

Click on image to enlarge:

To purchase tickets use this link. To learn more about the Parrot Cove neighborhood use this link.

Art Deco Architecture of Lake Worth. Free lecture on Wednesday, a tour on Saturday.

Lake Worth is renowned for its surviving examples of Art Deco architecture and has the largest concentration of Streamline Moderne buildings in Palm Beach County. Sharon Koskoff is President/Founder of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches. The lecture and tour (information below) are sponsored by the Historical Society of Lake Worth. 

LECTURE: An in-depth “virtual” tour of Lake Worth’s Art Deco architecture by Sharon Koskoff, a well-known expert in the field. The lecture will be given on Wednesday, March 22, 7:00, at Brogues DownUnder, 621 Lake Ave., in the meeting hall. This lecture is FREE, sponsored by the Historical Society of Lake Worth. A special cocktail hour will begin at 6:00.

WALKING TOUR: Guided by Sharon Koskoff, this tour will focus on architectural history, public art, and the gallery scene in Lake Worth. Assemble on Saturday, March 25th, 9:45 in the morning in front of the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Light refreshments included. Cost for the tour is $30.00. Use this link to the Historical Society of Lake Worth.

Interfaith discussion tomorrow: Everyone of all faiths, or no faith, is invited to attend.

Everyone is invited to attend the Masjid Al Tawad of Florida Mosque on Wednesday, March 22nd from 7:00–9:00, located at 6240 S. Congress Ave. in suburban Lake Worth. For more information call 561-469-1453; email: tawadfl@gmail.com

Here is the program:

• Public event; everyone is welcome.
• Slideshow on peace work of Abrahamic Reunion in the Holy Land.
• Presentations by local Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders.

Last year individuals and families of the Muslim faith were invited to a City Commission meeting and soon thereafter were insulted and disparaged. If you’re a resident of the City of Lake Worth, and you plan on attending, make sure to let everyone know we’re better than this:

Do you think this “content is thought provoking”?

There was a time when people said Japanese-Americans and Irish Catholics would, “. . . destroy us from within”. History proved them wrong.