Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Item 12A tonight at Lake Worth City Commission. Unfortunately, a prediction made two weeks ago came true.


On January 21st on this blog informed the public there would be only three more regularly scheduled City Commission meetings prior to the elections on March 12th.

In part sardonic and in part tongue-in-cheek suggested if anyone had plans to try and ban plastic straws in the City once again, then the Commission meetings on February 5th, 19th and on March 5th would be your last chance.

Sadly. That prediction two weeks ago has come true.

Guess what is on the agenda tonight (Tues., Feb 5th) at the City Commission? That would be Item 12A under “New Business”:


Discussion regarding a plastic bag/plastic straws ordinance brought forward by Vice Mayor Amoroso, Vice Mayor Pro Tem Maxwell and Commissioner Hardy.


Amazing. And just five weeks before Election Day. How convenient.

However, the topic of municipalities banning plastic straws could very well become a moot one anyhow because of Senate Bill 588 introduced by State Senator Travis Hutson. See that bill below.

Along with that prediction two weeks ago should have reminded everyone that the Florida Senate is ruled by the Republican Party. They hold a majority in the Florida Senate and control all the top leadership positions. So if they decide that municipalities deciding on their own to ban a legal item like the plastic straw is a bad idea then the Florida Senate could decide this question once and for all.

If you happen to know anyone in Delray Beach excited about a ban on plastic straws you may want to share with them the following information.


Without further ado,


Florida Senate Bill 588:

An act relating to single-use plastic straws; creating s. 403.7034, F.S.; defining terms; providing that a food service establishment may distribute a single-use plastic straw to a customer only if requested to do so by the customer; providing exceptions; providing that a food service establishment may make single-use plastic straws available through self-serve straw dispensers; preempting the regulation of single-use plastic straws to the state; providing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. Section 403.7034, Florida Statutes, is created to read:

Single-use plastic straws.

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Distribute” means to sell, use, or offer or to provide for sale or use.

(b) “Food service establishment” means a restaurant, convenience store, grocery store, or vendor that sells food or beverages for the customer to consume on, near, or off the establishment’s premises.

(c) “Single-use” means a product that is designed to be used only once in its original form and then be disposed of or destroyed.

(d) “Single-use plastic straw” means a single-use, disposable straw made predominantly of plastic derived from petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources, which is used to transfer a beverage from a container to the mouth of the person drinking the beverage. The term does not include a straw made from nonplastic materials, including, but not limited to, paper, wood, or bamboo.

(2) (a) A food service establishment may distribute a single-use plastic straw to a customer only if requested to do so by the customer. 

(b) The prohibition under paragraph (a) does not apply to a take-out order; an order for off-premises delivery; an order placed via a digital or mobile application; the distribution of food or beverage items that were filled, sealed, or packaged before the food service establishment received such items; or hospitals or nursing, rehabilitation, or other healthcare facilities. 

(3) This section does not prohibit a food service establishment from making single-use plastic straws available to customers through a self-serve straw dispenser. 

(4) The regulation of single-use plastic straws is preempted to the state. A municipality, county, or other local governmental entity may not adopt, enforce, or implement any ordinance, rule, or law that would further restrict a food service establishment from distributing single-use plastic straws to customers.

Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.

Lake Worth: Question #1 on March 12th ballot will most certainly fail.


The only real question is, “By how much?”

Here is that ballot item in English and in Spanish:


NAME CHANGE TO THE
CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH.


IN ORDER TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF FROM SURROUNDING UNINCORPORATED AREAS, SHALL ARTICLE I, SECTION 1 OF THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH CHARTER ENTITLED “CITY CREATED” BE AMENDED TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE CITY FROM THE “CITY OF LAKE WORTH” TO THE “CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH?”


CAMBIO DE NOMBRE DE LA
CIUDAD DE LAKE WORTH BEACH.


PARA PODER DIFERENCIARSE DE LAS ÁREAS ALEDAÑAS QUE NO ESTÁN INCORPORADAS ¿DEBERÁ ENMENDARSE EL ARTÍCULO I, SECCIÓN 1 DE LA CARTA CONSTITUCIONAL DE LAKE WORTH TITULADA “CIUDAD CREADA” PARA CAMBIAR EL NOMBRE DE LA CIUDAD DE “CIUDAD DE LAKE WORTH” A “CIUDAD DE LAKE WORTH BEACH”?


If you support renaming the City of Lake Worth to become the “City of Lake Worth Beach” don’t get too depressed on the evening of March 12th when the election results come rolling in.

Many of us are used to turning sour cucumbers into sweet apples. And we’re used to being made fun of. But March 12th will not be the end of this story by any means.

Many supporters of renaming this City to become the “City of Lake Worth Beach” will recall well that devastating evening on August 26th, 2014 when the first bond vote to fix our roads and potholes failed by just twenty-five votes. It was a stunning and shocking and for some a humiliating defeat. But no one gave up. Then on November 6th, 2016 the Neighborhood Road Bond passed by a whopping sixty-nine percent.

Despite unanimous and enthusiastic support for renaming this City from every elected on the City Commission on December 13th the situation has now completely changed. City Hall seems tired. Maybe extending terms for elected officials to three years was not such a good idea after all.

Now here we are just thirty-five (35) days from Election Day and the only one standing in strong support of renaming this City is not an elected official, but a candidate in the District 4 race, Mr. Tom Copeland.

But supporters of renaming this City deserve to be commended. 

It’s not easy getting a question on the ballot.

Just one of the pieces of mis- and disinformation out there is renaming this City was put on the ballot once before. That is completely false. But under a torrent of open-ended questions and those portending doom and gloom only so much can be done. Just like after what happened in August 2014 the only thing to do is get back to work and educate the public.

So many former elected officials and the elites who once ran this City are much opposed to renaming this City to become, “Lake Worth Beach”. Why? Because they are fond of the good ole days. But if those good ole days were really so good then why did they pack up all their stuff and move west?

The reason is, of course, is because things are much different now; the tide has turned. But now all those former electeds and those elites who fled west now want to try and become significant once again by frightening the bejesus out of people who will then march to the polls on March 12th and vote “No!” Just like what happened on August 26th, 2014.

The point is this referendum failing on March 12th is not the end of the world but it will be very depressing for a week or so. But this debate will not go away by any means. This is not over.

In the case of renaming this City to become “Lake Worth Beach” it’s taken at least five years. At least.

But suddenly after the question goes to ballot one commissioner up for re-election is now considering a better name for this City and another one supports the idea tepidly.

Supporters of this ballot item knew well ahead of time this would be a very big hill to climb. Being armed with reasons why it is a good idea can only do so much against critics who just have to keep asking more questions like, “What if people’s Social Security checks get lost in the mail?”

Maybe this election this year was just not the right time. It seems this question of renaming this City to become “Lake Worth Beach” is a generational one with older folks opposed and the Millennials and younger people in support. But older people vote and younger people don’t. The demographics are changing and that will bode well in the future when this goes to ballot once again.

Remember, for bonds to fix our roads and potholes the first ballot in August 1014 failed. Then it passed in Nov. 2016.

So as far as “Lake Worth Beach” just vote the way you think is right, “Yes” or “No”.

And then on March 13th, the day after Election Day, we’ll try to figure out another way to solve this problem which will not go away, a problem that has damaged our City, our image, and our reputation for many, many decades.

City of Lake Worth technology news: Geographic Informational Systems (GIS).


City of Lake Worth receives high honors: “Florida Excellence in Technology awards.”


Please Note: To watch the video of Mr. Joseph Head at a recent City Commission meeting click on this link. Head is the coordinator for the City’s Geographic Informational Systems (GIS).


The press release below is very worthy
and “Worth Noting” as well.

If you would like more information about this technology award the City received contact Joseph Head at 561-586-1777 or by email: jhead@lakeworth.org


Lake Worth, Florida* — The City of Lake Worth is pleased to announce that the Lake Worth Water Utility’s “Optimizing Water Utilities with Mobile GIS” initiative along with GIS Coordinator Joe Head have received Florida Excellence in Technology awards.


Press release continues below.


Learn more about the Lake Worth Water Utility

To look over service areas in the City and suburban (unincorporated) areas out west “Brought to you by the Lake Worth GIS Office” click on this link
for the selection of maps.


The Florida Excellence in Technology awards were established to recognize state and local government information technology (IT) projects and professionals demonstrating excellence and providing value to the State of Florida and its citizens. [emphasis added]
     The Lake Worth Water Utility’s “Optimizing Water Utilities with Mobile GIS” initiative aimed to provide reliable, dynamic and accurate Water Utility feature information in real-time to field crews. By transitioning from static paper maps to dynamic GIS data manipulated via mobile devices, daily operation efficiency and data integrity have been greatly improved.
     City of Lake Worth Water Utility staff, Judith Love, Julie Parham and their field crews worked alongside the GIS department to make this initiative possible. City of Lake Worth GIS Coordinator, Joe Head, led the technical development of this project and was also recognized with an award for his efforts. His cross discipline approach between traditional GIS, database development and task optimization was central in the success of this initiative.
     The City of Lake Worth continues to evaluate new technology and best practices to ensure a forward thinking and modern approach to public service.

End of press release.


*Located in central Palm Beach County, Lake Worth is a dynamic, multi-cultural City with an individualistic style. People are drawn to the city by its acceptance of different cultures and lifestyles, historic districts, hip downtown and colorful arts district.

A proposed new Dollar General at 10th Ave. North and A Street.



UPDATE: The applicant for Dollar General has been granted a re-hearing before the Lake Worth Planning & Zoning Board. This meeting has not yet been officially scheduled.


From the file labelled,
“Ooops!”



Following denial of this major site plan to allow for a ±7,441 sq. ft. “single destination retail” use at 1615 10th Ave. North, apparently very important and pertinent information was inadvertently excluded from the January 16th meeting of the Planning & Zoning Board.

This just happened to be the applicant’s traffic analysis.

Traffic was a very big issue at that P&Z meeting last month.

To look over the staff report dated January 31st and the “Request For Rehearing” by the applicant click on this link and scroll down for the agenda package at the upcoming P&Z meeting next Wednesday, February 6th.

This agenda item on the Planning & Zoning Board agenda last month generated much public interest. Due to the number of public in attendance this item under “New Business” was then moved up to be the first project under consideration before the P&Z on Jan. 16th.

This agenda item pertained to a proposed new Dollar General location at the corner of 10th Ave. North and A Street. Dollar General has an existing location at 2 N. Lakeside Drive in the Downtown.

Many of you will recall that location on 10th Ave. near the I-95 exit was once considered by Wawa. That proposed project never even made it to the P&Z for a number of reasons. Wawa found other much more desirable sites nearby in Central Palm Beach County. However, the applicant last January for a proposed Dollar General came with a staff recommendation for approval and they came prepared with land use professionals, attorneys and a stenographer too.

The P&Z voted to deny the project, traffic being the biggest concern.

And if the P&Z denies a rehearing this week — or holds a rehearing later and denies the application once again — the applicant will most certainly appeal to the City Commission, which is their right. And if they lose that appeal this will most likely end up in the courts.

Apparently, Dollar General is very accustomed to this process and this is nothing new to them. Not liking a particular use at a particular location is not the issue. Not liking Dollar General is not sufficient reason for denial.

So that’s the basics. Check back later for more information about this topic and be prepared for a public hearing at City Hall. Most likely after the municipal elections on March 12th.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

“Last Wednesday night. Cara Jennings showed up. So did Chris McVoy, PhD.”


UPDATE: About the CDBG meeting held last Wednesday evening at City Hall.


Below is more information, updates, and the meeting minutes from Mr. Jerry Kelly.

And if you happen to believe CDBG funding cannot be used for code enforcement, well, think again. The proof is below.

Yes, it’s true. Both Cara Jennings and Chris McVoy, PhD., showed up at Lake Worth City Hall last Wednesday evening. And so did their cohorts panagioti and javier, people who believe capitalizing names is offensive because it draws too much attention to ‘self’. Now imagine for a moment someone in that group named justin case.

And a contingent from the PBCTU showed up too and so did two PBSO deputies. It was quite the scene.

Without getting too far into the weeds, the Palm Beach County Tenants Union (PBCTU) are the ones who had a ‘gathering’ outside City Hall on January 15th. It was supposed to be a protest but a protest requires ≥ 4 news organizations to be present. But only WPBF reporter Anthony Kustura showed up. No other media. Not even the beat reporter from the Post bothered to show up.

And the latest development is. . .


Chris McVoy, PhD, is being appointed next week to the Lake Worth Tree Board by Mayor Pam Triolo which may actually be a very good thing if he manages to stay out of American Foreign Affairs. McVoy is the former District 2 commissioner who lost to Commissioner Omari Hardy in 2017. In a real nasty turn and a war of words the editor at The Palm Beach Post called McVoy a “gadfly”.

But if McVoy can manage to turn around the Tree Board and get it back on course maybe the editor at the Post will apologize. That was a real mean thing for the editor to say.

And maybe prior to next Tuesday’s meeting of the City Commission the mayor can prepare a dish of baked ziti for everyone, including Dr. McVoy, just for old times sake.

However, balancing out the public meeting on CDBG funding last Wednesday were two elected officials and many others from the public with concerns as well.

Briefly, some background. The situation with CDBG funding began last October when City Manager Michael Bornstein referencing specific neighborhoods west of Dixie Hwy., “[W]ho suffer daily from the unacceptable conditions and thuggery” became a feature story in The Lake Worth Herald.

To try and defend their substandard practices the slumlords’ argument became that CDBG funding cannot be used for code enforcement. A silly argument and just plain hogwash as you will learn more about below.

So then the slumlords went to ‘Plan B’. Trying to rally support from their allies with the politics of fear, “The Wolf at the Door” tactic using the loaded word ‘Gentrification’ which is oftentimes called “The ‘G’ word”.


Moving on.

Below is an update from Jerry Kelly about last Wednesday’s meeting in the City Hall conference room. Mr. Kelly is the City of Lake Worth’s grant analyst and he led the meeting on the FY2019–2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.

Yours Truly was at that meeting and noted on this blog in many ways last Wednesday was about,

“New Lake Worth” vs.
“Old Lake Worth”.


It was a reminder about how far we’ve come. To learn more about that meeting on CDBG funding, see some photos taken at that meeting, and to find out what the group PBCTU is and a whole lot more information click on this link.


What follows is an update from Mr. Jerry Kelly. Last Friday he sent out an update extending appreciation for everyone’s attendance and input. Kelly wrote,


The suggestions that you shared will help the City determine the best use of the anticipated FY2019–2020 CDBG funding the City expects to receive from Palm Beach County.


Below are minutes taken by Kelly and he noted a City Commission Special Workshop will be held prior to the final application being sent to the County. Kelly encourages anyone with questions or concerns to contact him at 561-586-1654 during business hours or send an email to: jkelly@lakeworth.org

And take note of the highlighted text in yellow below referencing CDBG funding and code enforcement.


Meeting minutes:


FY 2019–2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Input Meeting.

 Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.

City Hall Conference Room.

Introduction of Staff and Attendees. The meeting started at 6:09 p.m.

Overview: A brief overview of the purpose and history of the CDBG program was provided, including HUD’s statutory formula for funding allocations made to those jurisdictions that qualify as entitlement communities. As the City does not qualify as an entitlement community, it has entered into an agreement with Palm Beach County to become a sub-recipient under its Urban County Partnership. As such, the City is eligible to receive the amount of CDBG funding that it provides to the County partnership as determined by the statutory formula for eligible CDBG activities. The County will provide this allocation to the City only for CDBG eligible activities that it will fund as funding for public service and administrative.

The CDBG-eligible activities allowed by the County include acquisition of real property for a public purpose, demolition/clearance, infrastructure and improvements, public facilities and improvements, historic preservation and code enforcement. [emphasis added] In addition, all eligible activities must meet one of the National Objectives of the CDBG Program of benefiting low and moderate income persons, preventing or eliminating slums or blight, or meeting an urgent community development need.

The County has developed the Lake Worth CDBG Target Area in which all CDBG activities are presumed to meet the National Objective of benefiting low and moderate income persons. Eligible CDBG activities are not restricted to the Target Area provided the service area of that activity is either located in a low and moderate income area according to the U.S. Census (51% or greater l/m population) or meet one of the other National Objectives.

Application Process and Staff Recommendation:

The County typically announces that it will accept applications from its sub-recipients for eligible CDBG activities in March of a given year. It is anticipated that the City’s FY 2019–2020 CDBG allocation will be similar in amount to the current allocation of $294,477.

Those in attendance requested a follow-up meeting to continue discussion of eligible activities to better determine the eligible activity that residents want for submission to the County for FY 2019–2020 funding. This meeting could occur as a special workshop before the Mayor and City Commissioners. There will be no staff recommendation made for a particular CDBG eligible activity. Rather a list of the eligible activities supported by the community will be given to the Mayor and members of the City Commission for their review and consideration. Public comment will be allowed and encouraged during this meeting.


Public comment was encouraged at this CDBG meeting held last Wednesday and many took advantage of the opportunity. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Going forward the public will have many opportunities to voice their opinions and concerns. No one is being shut out of this process as some have suggested.

So please stay tuned, as they say.

Prayer Or No Prayer. Elected leaders on the Lake Worth City Commission have another option: A moment of silence.


Next Tuesday at City Hall will be a City Commission meeting. Following the roll call at 6:00 Mayor Pam Triolo will begin the meeting with a prayer or a moment of silence. Each of the electeds, in order, has this choice.

For those of you who attend Commission meetings this is all mundane now. But four years ago this City of Lake Worth became national news.

For those of you who were around in December 2014 you well recall what happened that Christmas Season when a particularly insulting atheist came to town. Each year some portend this particular atheist will come back for an encore at City Hall. But he never did.

You see, this particular atheist didn’t like that this City began Commission meetings with a prayer.

This atheist could have accomplished a lot. He could have educated the public about atheism and gone about changing the way our City Commission meetings began. But he chose another approach. He chose to insult everyone of faith. 

But for many new and recently-new residents of this City they have no idea what happened almost four years ago. It took many public meetings, a lot of public debate, and City Attorney Glen Torcivia was kept very busy and so was City Manager Michael Bornstein too, but in the end the process was tweaked and our elected leaders were given another option instead of a prayer in early 2015.

It was a grueling process. But it didn’t have to be.

How and why did this happen?


That is explained in detail later in this blog post.

And more about that insulting atheist too.


And also explained, why do some City Commission meetings begin with a prayer or moment of silence and others don’t?

For example, tomorrow (Dec. 4th, 6:00) at the City Commission will be an invocation or a moment of silence given by Vice Mayor Pro Tem Scott Maxwell.

Generally an invocation is a:

“[F]orm of prayer invoking God’s presence, especially one said at the beginning of a religious service or public ceremony.”

A “moment of silence” is just that. A moment of silence.

Then following the choice by Maxwell at tomorrow’s public meeting next up will be District 2 City Commissioner Omari Hardy who will recite the “Pledge of Allegiance”. The rotation for each of the electeds will change in order each regularly scheduled Commission meeting and each one of the electeds will have their opportunity to recite a prayer or a moment of silence and the requisite Pledge of Allegiance as well.

For many decades though in this City — for as long as anyone can remember prior to 2015 — each and every regularly scheduled meeting of the City Commission began with a prayer. A local pastor or priest of one religious denomination or another would come before the electeds, say a few words and then either stay for a while or leave.

But then in early 2015 everything changed.


And a lot of people got upset. One could say it was quite the kerfuffle. A YouTube video went viral. Not as quite as viral as the “Zombie Alert” but still hundreds of thousands of views.

And it was all mostly orchestrated
from the very beginning.


Sort of like why this City had to stop the Live Streaming of public meetings in early June of this year.

Without further ado. . .


How did this come to be?


Briefly, if the topic of prayer — or topic of no prayer at public meetings — is of special interest to you after reading the blog post below please scroll back up and click on this link for: “Prayer at Local Government Meetings: An Evolving Jurisprudence”.


Whilst on the topic of public meetings. . .


So following the roll call at all regular Commission meetings there is either a prayer or a moment of silence. However at all City Commission workshops, Commission work sessions and meetings of volunteer advisory boards, following the “Roll Call” the meeting proceeds directly to the Pledge of Allegiance.

No prayer. No moment of silence.

A good example is what happened last month. There was a short prayer by Mayor Pam Triolo at the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 16th. However, on the following Thursday there was no prayer or a moment of silence. Why? October 16th was a regular Commission meeting. Thursday was a Work Session.

Explained. What happened in 2015.


The process now is each one of the electeds — the mayor and commissioners in order — has a choice of options. An elected can give a prayer or choose someone from the community. For example, someone from the Jewish or Guatemalan community or even a Wiccan if they want.

How we got here.


It all started in December of 2014 because of one atheist and his very brief visit to our City:


The Insulting Atheist Preston Smith (see below) took advantage of the City process for giving invocations and hijacked the stage. He was given his few minutes to speak and his ‘invocation’ was quite insulting to many, especially for those in attendance that day, including myself. Except for a few people it was a lost opportunity.

Mr. Smith had the option of educating the public about atheism that day and explaining what it is and what it is not. But he chose another option and a lot of you here at the time remember that.

It’s interesting to note that since Mr. Smith’s insulting show not a single Atheist from Lake Worth has stepped up to the plate to represent their beliefs, or lack thereof. Why would that be? Possibly some day an Atheist here in the City will take the opportunity to change that image of atheism some still have after Mr. Smith packed up and left town after insulting all of us.

Mr. Smith came to town for an hour or so. Then he left. But things have changed since then and we’re a better City for it.


“He’s coming back for the New Year”, hailed
The Obtuse Blogger (TOB) during our Christmas
holiday season in 2015.

Some were quite thrilled the Insulting Atheist would return to Lake Worth for an encore. He never has. Would it be the shock/surprise factor has worn off?


Following Mr. Smith’s insulting show the City had meetings, discussion, and ultimately took another route and tweaked the process for giving invocations, or not giving one.

You see, a problem was created for the little City of Lake Worth by Mr. Smith, the Insulting Atheist, and the City began the process of fixing it as best they can. The ‘fix’ is not perfect and not everyone is happy about it. There were and maybe still are a few malcontents in the religious community who are still quite upset about the prospect watching a moment of silence instead of a prayer. But ever since December 2014 they’ve gone completely silent on the issue.


And so it goes. . .

“PALM BEACH COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS: WENDY SARTORY LINK”



Please Note: There WILL NOT be a protest march in support of former Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. Spread the word: Stand Down!

However, there is a plague everyone should be concerned about that may merit a future protest march. Read all about that below.

 As an aside, Bucher complained about fairness which is quite ironic. Once upon a time the elected officials and City attorney in the City of Lake Worth complained about fairness too. The editor at the Post called what happened in Lake Worth “an offense to democracy.” But Bucher didn’t care. To read all about that very sad and unfair incident please continue reading.

What follows is a blog post from last weekend. And sad to report there is a new plague in the editorial dept. at the Post as well.

 Thank You for visiting once again today. Now let’s proceed to the blog post from last Sunday.


A DIRE UPDATE.



There is new information to report, including a scoop about a plague. A plague about a plague one could say. Later on is the dope and lowdown and what you can do TODAY to help solve this reoccurring plague.

But before we proceed, please take another look at the blog post title above ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑

Yes. It’s true. Susan Bucher is gone. No longer the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) in Palm Beach County.

On the news of Bucher’s firing there was a brief protest of sorts a little while ago but now everyone has moved on looking for other things to protest.

The rule is you can’t protest old stuff. It has to be new stuff. That’s the rule. But one can take the show on the road with a protest march but they don’t really work any more in the social media age with young people and Millennials walking into parked cars, incoming traffic and Stop Signs while texting and marching at the same time. It really has become a public safety issue, what some refer to as a plague.

But anyhow, learn more about the new SOE below, the new one with the really cool name, and more about the upcoming municipal elections in Palm Beach County on March 12th too. And. . .


Thank You loyal blog readers for visiting once again today.



Note that below are excerpts posted on this blog — two excerpts from an article published on Sunday, Jan. 27th by the esteemed political journalist George Bennett — news that made the front page, above the fold, in the print edition of The Palm Beach Post.

And also worth noting in that Sunday print edition is the editor(s) at the Post are getting reckless with the word “plague” once again; it’s used three (3) times in the editorial section.

To the editor(s) almost everything they don’t like is a ‘plague’. The use of the word plague has now become an actual plague in itself almost like the plague of balloons in West Palm Beach, a city which of course does not have a beach.

So to please help solve this plague write a letter to the editor today (click on this link for instructions) and say enough is enough about plagues and the derivatives plaguing, plagued, plaguers, and plaguees too. Gee wiz. What if an actual real plague comes along. What will the editor(s) call it? A pestilence?

The overuse of the word plague is really a public health issue.

What if later this year along the Treasure Coast there is another looming threat of plague from blue-green stuff containing microscopic units of β-Methylamino-ʟ-alanine (BMAA)? A reporter at the Post quoted a source who called BMAA, “[A]n arsonist in the human brain”. What if the public is no longer moved to action by the word plague? What will BMAA be called? An affliction? A scourge?

And locally as well here in Central Palm Beach County. What if there is another attack by Muscovy ducks just to the west of the City of Lake Worth? Now that was a real plague! But if the word plague is used too often no one will care and those invasive ducks will just keep on doing whatever they want.

STAND UP! Make your voice heard. Tell the editor to save the word plague for an actual plague!


How? Please scroll back up and learn how to write a letter to the editor. If you hurry your letter can make tomorrow’s print edition.


Thank You for your patience. Now let us proceed. . .


There are sixteen (16) municipalities having elections on March 12th. Is your city, town or village one of them? Find out later in this blog post.

Susan Bucher’s name has finally been officially removed from the Supervisor of Elections website.


Bucher could very well have been removed 4½ years ago if what happened in the City of Lake Worth instead happened in some other municipality like the Village of Wellington, Town of Jupiter, or the City of Boca Raton.

But because it happened in ‘Good Ole Lake Worth’ this incident in August 2014 ended up being mostly forgotten in Palm Beach County. However, shortly afterwards the editor at The Palm Beach Post did pen an editorial with this headline:


Heed state’s advice and stop
illegally tossing ballots



And here is a quote by the Post editor:


“[I]t remains an offense to democracy. So alarming was it to city leaders in Lake Worth that the commission passed a resolution denouncing [Susan] Bucher’s policy and directed the city’s attorney to get involved.”

—Editorial published in The Palm Beach Post on December 2nd, 2014. For more about this incident click on this link.



Now moving forward to 2019.

Datelined Friday, January 25th in the online edition and published in the following Sunday print edition on p. A1, here is news from political journalist George Bennett at the Post; two excerpts:


Facing 16 municipal elections and final negotiations on a massive voting equipment overhaul during her first weeks on the job, newly installed Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Wendy Link says she’s been studying Florida elections laws and is impressed by the “very professional” staff she inherited.

and. . .


“I have a lot to learn,” Link said at the news conference announcing her appointment.

 Later that afternoon, a Friday, Link visited the main elections office in unincorporated West Palm Beach, talked to staff and got a tour from the chief elections deputy, Robin Rorapaugh. Then, Link said, “I stayed here and I read what I could read and then spent the weekend trying to read the statute book . . . I have a lot of things circled and underlined and some question marks.”


Public in PBC: Do you have any questions?


To contact the Supervisor of Elections office:

  • Call 561-656-6200.
  • E-mail: mailbox@pbcelections.org
  • In person, the address is: 240 S. Military Trail in suburban West Palm. Hours are 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. on Monday–Friday.

To look over all sixteen municipalities holding elections on March 12th, including all questions on the ballot, click on this link.

And don’t forget!


The August 2020 Primary and November 2020 General Election are coming up as well starting in just nineteen months!

On the ballot will be Sheriff of Palm Beach County, the Supervisor of Elections, several County Commissioners and many other elected offices state-wide and on the Federal level as well. Use this link to learn more about that.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

“Yes, Mother.”


Former City of Lake Worth representative Suzanne Mulvehill said this to Mayor Pam Triolo at the City Commission in July 2012 (see video below).

Mulvehill was not happy, you see.

On March 12th, 2019 will be two referendums on the ballot. The City Commission voted unanimously several times to send these questions to the voters: renaming the City of Lake Worth to become the “City of Lake Worth Beach” and the sale of public property at 501 Lake Ave. in the Downtown.

And exactly to the day six years earlier — on March 12th, 2013 — there were two referendums on the ballot:


“Question 1” was moving Lake Worth municipal elections from November back to March.

“Question 2” was the ‘heights vote’.


The ‘heights vote’ passed. More about that at a later time as we get closer to March 12th, 2019. The lengths to which some will go to confuse the electorate will truly amaze you.

Already there is mis- and disinformation about the two referendums next year. Already some are declaring “NO!” without hearing all the facts.

This is no different than what happened
six years ago in this City.


Some people new to City of Lake Worth politics think that things can get a little out of control at the City Commission now and then. But nothing at all you’ve seen in the present can in any way compare with what happened in 2012–2013.

We’ll go into more detail later about what exactly happened.

Mayor Pam Triolo has always given those who wish to speak their chance to speak. Some now are saying they weren’t given their chance to speak about the referendums in March 2019. Completely false. Some are declaring they were disenfranchised too. Completely false.

Many of the same things were said six years ago.

Watch the short video below from 2012 and pay close attention to what is said at the one minute and five second mark.





“Yes, Mother.”

Now the President Donald Trump has returned to the “Winter White House”.



Please note this blog post is a recurring one, posted prior to and then shortly after the president’s return to Mar-a-Lago.

Hmmm. But just wondering. Should the ‘p’ in “president’s” be capitalized? And what of First Lady Melania Trump? Should ‘First Lady’ be capitalized?

 And briefly, if politics is of great interest to you then this blog post is also a reminder that if you don’t follow the news from political journalist George Bennett then you need to start.

 Now, with the table set. . .

Can you find the two errors in the press report below? A blog reader found this on Stars and Stripes, news about President Donald J. Trump:


“Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago, the 17-acre estate between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth, in 1985. In 1999, he built a golf course nearby, the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.”

What are the errors? The answer is below.


Should the title of this blog post be, “Getting ready for the President’s next visit. . .”? When is it uppercase ‘President’ and when to use lowercase ‘president’ when referring to the President of the United States?

Certainly, if you’ve been getting your news about President Trump’s visits to the Town of Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago from The Palm Beach Post’s George Bennett you are already well-schooled on this topic and understand the proper usage.

So. Did you find the two errors above?


In the first sentence it should read, “between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth LAGOON”. In the second sentence the “Trump International Golf Club” IS NOT in West Palm Beach and West Palm Beach does not have a beach either and that famous golf club is located outside the city in unincorporated Palm Beach County, or what’s accurately called suburban West Palm.

Did you get all that?

Anyhow. Is Donald Trump the ‘President’ or ‘president’ of the United States? The answer is Donald Trump is “President of the United States”. Why? Continue reading to find out.

Warning! Please pause
here momentarily.

Take a deep breath.


The blog post below IS NOT about Presidential politics, or shall that be ‘presidential’ politics? Below are two excerpts from Wikipedia and following with the another question, “Can you find the error?” At the end of this blog post is the answer to that question.

Received much feedback about this blog post and one observation in particular from a blog reader had to do with, “PALM BEACH — Donald Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago nine times as president. . .” vis-à-vis subject/topic hierarchy, specifically the intro should have been “PALM BEACH — President Donald Trump. . .” followed by ‘as president’.

Is that a minor criticism or not? That’s up to you to decide.

What follows is just an examination of the English language which is constantly changing and evolving. Irrespective (is that a word?) of your political perspective, let’s examine two articles published in The Palm Beach Post.

This first news article is by political reporter George Bennett with contribution from Matt Morgan, a former reporter at the Shiny Sheet:


  • PALM BEACH — Donald Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago nine times as president. . .
  • The president — in a celebratory mood this week. . .
  • While the president is at Mar-a-Lago. . .

Nowhere in the article is it mentioned, “President Donald Trump. . .”. Is there anything wrong with that?

Once again, that is up to you to decide.

Now here’s another article by Bennett
with emphasis added:


Palm Beach County taxpayers will get a $3.4 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the costs incurred by local law enforcement agencies who helped protect President Donald Trump during his first seven visits to Mar-a-Lago as commander-in-chief.
     Trump is expected to return to Palm Beach on Friday and remain through New Year’s Day.
     Most of the FEMA money — nearly $3.3 million — will go to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the lead local agency in assisting the U.S. Secret Service during presidential visits. Another $71,270 goes to the town of Palm Beach Police Department and $63,164 goes to the West Palm Beach Police Department.

and. . .


     Aside from the Florida money, FEMA approved a $36.4 million reimbursement to the New York Police Department for its costs when the president and first lady Melania Trump were in Trump Tower in New York City.


Hmmm. Should ‘first lady’ be “First Lady”? Actually no, but it really depends on house style. It could go either way.

Now here is an excerpt from Wikipedia. Can you find the error? The answer is at the end of this blog post.


The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
     In contemporary times, the U.S. President is looked upon as the world’s most powerful political figure; he is the leader of the only current global superpower. The role includes responsibility for the world’s most expensive military that has the second largest nuclear arsenal; the President also leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP.
     The chief executive possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power. Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government. It vests the executive power of the United States in the president.

and. . .

    
     The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances.

Now. From the AP, “When to Capitalize President” and about the word ‘Presidential’ as well:


The AP Stylebook holds that you should capitalize president only as a formal title that is before one or more names. For example,
  • President Barack Obama
  • Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

President should be lowercase is all other uses. Example,
  • The president will make an announcement tomorrow.
  • I am now announcing my candidacy for president.
  • Roosevelt was president during the Great Depression.

From the AP Style about “Presidential”:

Presidential should be lowercase unless a part of a proper name. For example,
  • This is a scandal of presidential proportions.
  • This is the 50th Presidential Inauguration.

Back to the question. Did you find the error above in the excerpt from Wikipedia?


It’s in the paragraph beginning with “In contemporary times. . .”: in the last sentence ‘the President’ should be lowercase, not uppercase.


Hope you found this blog post fun, and once again, Thank You for visiting today!

Friday, February 1, 2019

And more information about John Prince Park today.


Gopher tortoises in John Prince Park.


Threats: Cars and bikes, cats, curious kids, and golf balls falling from the sky.

WARNING: Never, ever try to save a Gopher tortoise by throwing it into the water. Turtles can swim.

Gopher tortoises can’t!

The reptile will sink and quickly drown. Also note:

The nearby John Prince Park, west of the City of Lake Worth, is known to be a habitat for Gopher tortoises and feral cats are a huge threat:

“[F]eral cats have been discovered chewing the back legs off a fully grown healthy adult tortoise.”

Another threat to Gopher tortoises is poaching which is a serious crime:


“Every year, thousands of poachers are arrested nationwide; however, it is estimated that only 1 to 5 percent of poachers are caught. Poachers kill wildlife anytime, anywhere and sometimes do so in particularly cruel ways.”

But there’s good news too!


From the South Florida Water Management District read about Resolution No. 720 to:


“Declare surplus land interest containing 142.61 acres, more or less, in Highlands County, and authorizing the grant to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) of a conservation easement as a condition of the District obtaining a permit from FWC for the purpose of establishing the subject property as a gopher tortoise recipient site.”
 

The future of this endangered reptile, well away
from urban areas, is something we all can
agree is necessary in Florida.

Gopher tortoise (image from Wikipedia): Tortoises are not ‘pets’ to be kept in the backyard for personal enjoyment or entertainment.


One reason that was given several years ago why the City’s Park of Commerce (POC) shouldn’t be improved upon or moving forward with the Neighborhood Road Bond and delaying upgrades to our water/sewer infrastructure too is because Gopher tortoise burrows may be in the vicinity of a project. Another claim is these tortoises can’t be relocated.

That is completely false.


An urban environment of which the POC and the City of Lake Worth are part — most reasonable people can agree — is not the ideal place for this threatened species of turtles to live. The creature is trapped because of roads and development and has no way of escape. The near-constant interaction with humans is a safety issue. There are also nature preserves in Florida specifically for creatures such as the prehistoric Gopher tortoise; one is the spectacular Nokuse Preserve here in Florida.

Finding Gopher tortoise burrows, rescuing the reptile and taking them to a safer and more hospitable location is quite common.


Watch this short video of the process:




You can learn more about this reptile at the FWC and find out about the permit process for finding them a new home in a safe habitat. Let’s do all we can to help these tortoises in our little City of Lake Worth find a new, safe home to live in peace.

Last Wednesday night. Cara Jennings showed up. So did Chris McVoy, PhD.


Do you remember who Cara Jennings is? Remember Dr. McVoy? Continue reading to find out.

More information follows about the public meeting at City Hall vis-à-vis FY2019–2020 CDBG funding. This will be explained in much more detail below. And also below are photos from last Wednesday night, a violation recently handed out to Yours Truly, and more information.

Briefly, the meeting on Wednesday was about,


[A]llocation of CDBG funding for Fiscal Year 2019–2020 has not yet been announced. It is estimated that it will comparable to the CDBG allocation of $294,477 that the City received for Fiscal Year 2018–2019.


CDBG  =  Community Development Block Grant funding.

Mr. Jerry Kelly is the City’s grants analyst and he ran the meeting and took copious notes. In about four weeks he will present his findings to the City. Any notion that Mr. Kelly ignored anyone or did not listen to everyone’s ideas and concerns is just hogwash.

Enough said about that.

Before moving on, would you like to see an example of CDBG funds put to work? Then sometime soon head on down to the Downtown and see why this completed project is receiving rave reviews.

In the big scheme of things these Federal funds will not transform the City of Lake Worth but it does most certainly help and makes an impact. And also interesting is how this money has suddenly drawn out this City’s past, notably Cara Jennings and Chris McVoy, PhD.

As noted yesterday, in many ways last Wednesday was about the “New Lake Worth” vs. “Old Lake Worth”.

The New Lake Worth began in 2011 when “The Three” took over City Hall. Those three are Mayor Pam Triolo, now Vice-Mayor Andy Amoroso and Commissioner Scott Maxwell. Then in 2012 Michael Bornstein was hired to be the city manager. Ever since 2011–2012 it’s been all about fixing the terrible policies and decisions by the prior administration which included Jennings and Jo-Ann Golden et al. One of the most grievous policies was gutting the code enforcement dept. which has been well-documented on this blog.

This public meeting was a “Public Input Meeting” for the FY2019–2020 CDBG program. Due to the City being under 50,000 in population (≈37,000 presently), this Federal money is distributed by a formula through Palm Beach County. All cities in PBC receive some sort of contribution from the program based upon population. The City of Lake Worth’s projected share for FY2019–2020 is $294,477. This is roughly the same amount, plus or minus a few thousand dollars, the City usually receives on an annual basis.


More information follows. But let’s pause briefly.


Also worth noting two weeks earlier, at a public meeting of the City Commission on January 15th, Yours Truly was given a violation.


Here it is.

An actual violation handed me from the PBC Tenants Union. Learn more about this group below.

True. I do use the phrase “the ‘G’ word” and like wearing whimsical hats and acting like a dork sometimes. But do take offense to the other perceived violations.


As far as Twitter goes. . .


A Tweet from last Wednesday night:



Now moving on.


It should be noted if the City does not use this funding it can be taken back by the County missing an opportunity to benefit low- and moderate-income persons, preventing or eliminating slum or blight and/or meeting an urgent community need. Those are the national objectives of the CDBG program.

Eligible activities to be funded by the program include acquisition of real property for a public purpose, demolition/clearance, infrastructure installation and improvements, historic preservation and code enforcement. It was the “code enforcement” activity which brought out that group which calls itself the Palm Beach County Tenants Union (PBCTU) which some believe does more to protect slumlords than tenants.

Let’s digress momentarily. We’ll get back to the PBCTU a little later.

Remember, this blog post is, “About last night. Cara Jennings showed up. And so did Chris McVoy, PhD”.

Jennings is the former commissioner in District 2 (2006–2010) followed by McVoy, PhD (2010–2017) (see photos below). Mr. Omari Hardy defeated McVoy in 2017. Hardy’s argument to the voters was Jennings and McVoy paid so much attention to what was happening outside District 2 that they both lost touch with what was actually happening in their own district. It was a very good argument. Hardy defeated the incumbent McVoy who has a PhD by the way. Defeating an incumbent is a very difficult thing to do and especially so for a political newcomer like Hardy.

Interestingly, both Commissioner Hardy and his challenger Cathy Turk were present at this meeting about CDBG funding. The City’s municipal elections will be held on March 12th.

The voters City-wide will elect the commissioner for District 2. And whoever gets elected will serve a three-year term. It’s worth noting there are four City Commission districts in this City, Districts 1–4. So expect the topic of CDBG funding to be a topic of debate in the District 4 race as well. District 4 Commissioner Herman C. Robinson was also in attendance (see photo below).


Let’s pause briefly one last time before we get back to PBCTU and more about CDBG.

Here are photos from last night.


Click on all photos to enlarge:

District 4 Commissioner Herman C. Robinson was in attendance (left; blue shirt and glasses) and also in attendance was a former commissioner, Chris McVoy, PhD (along back wall, to left of window).


A wide view of the room at 6:00.

The public was still filling the room.

Some of you will notice a few notable notables including Mr. javier Del Sol, a former mayoral candidate (on left; wearing sweater).


And in this view. . .

Another former commissioner from District 2, Cara Jennings (along back wall under TV screen).


And did you ever hear about the unused CDBG funds while Jennings was a commissioner? Maybe we’ll get to that at a later time if this CDBG issue becomes a major one. Hopefully it will not but time will tell.

Now more about the PBC Tenants Union.

Due to PBCTU’s promotion of the event the room was standing room only, but only well after the meeting had already begun. It seems the bulk of their members like to arrive at meetings fashionably late.

This meeting was not before a City board, a committee or the City Commission, although commissioners Omari Hardy and Herman C. Robinson were in attendance.

Instead, the meeting was run by Jerry Kelly who is the City’s grant writer and analyst. After reviewing the parameters of the CDBG program Kelly opened the meeting to public comment. There were some new faces including the welcomed faces of children and staff representing For The Children.

However, there were other faces present as well that we haven’t seen for quite some time, including former commissioners Chris McVoy, PhD, Cara Jennings and Mr. panagioti (never capitalize the name as it gives too much importance to the self!).

Jennings and panagioti felt that their children would be worthy additions to the meeting. The children instead caused a lot of distractions and noise and contributed to the meeting’s lack of focus that was one of the complaints.

Commissioner Hardy made it a point that code enforcement, the ire of the PBCTU, was an eligible CDBG expense. And Hardy brought documentation showing that it was and also shared examples of other communities that use CDBG funds for code enforcement in Palm Beach County.

These comments by Hardy created much ire from Jennings as well but at no point did things get completely out of control. Hardy remained calm but members of the PBCTU were getting a little riled up too. So it didn’t hurt that two PBSO deputies showed up.

Hardy also made a distinction between the language in the City code and that maybe the issue with CDBG needs to be looked at later on, but the political will expressed by most citizens was to be vigilant and proactive with code enforcement, especially when it came to derelict vehicles, what is called “red tagging”.

Ms. Jennings inappropriately talked over Commissioner Hardy many times during the meeting and she questioned whether it was appropriate for him to even be talking since he was an elected official and gets to talk all the time anyway. She said that this meeting was for resident input. This notion goes back to the days when being an elected official in this City meant you had to craw into a hole between City Commission meetings which is just absurd. Besides being an elected official Hardy is also a resident of this City.

I thought the comments from Jennings were funny in retrospect how Jennings acted as an elected official, how things look when you are in someone else’s shoes. When Jennings was on the City dais she took great pains to make her voice heard and that continued when meetings were over. Her FREE SPEECH was protected but not so much for other elected officials when they disagreed with her.

PBCTU expressed they wanted CDBG money to go to parks, open space, trees, play equipment, community centers and WiFi. The group was upset that there was not an official “scribe” in attendance and wondered if all these ideas were being memorialized in writing. Although this meeting last Wednesday was not a board meeting or a Commission meeting it was still a public meeting. Anyone could have brought a tripod and camera. Remember, many of the PBCTU showed up late.

Several PBCTU members were on time for the meeting. Any one of them could have called another member and told them to bring a camera. But apparently, that did not happen.

PBCTU members also complained about lack of notice for the meeting which is a valid point. This meeting was not noticed on the City’s official calendar. The City’s official calendar has been a problem for a very long time.

However, PBCTU did get the word out to their members as many were in attendance. They made it seem as if hundreds of people would come to the meeting if they all knew about it. But the reality is more likely their membership is actually very small. It’s not unusual for groups like PBCTU to intentionally keep a low membership. It’s one of the ways to keep out potential informants working for PBSO and the FDLE.

So if PBCTU really has a large membership maybe we’ll see that some day. Maybe after Election Day on March 12th. It really is amazing how groups like PBCTU always seem to show up shortly prior to elections and never shortly after when the hard work of City government begins once again.

The long and short of it is that despite what happened and/or what did not happen at this public meeting this week there will still be plenty of time to give your input regarding use of the CDBG monies.

Mr. Kelly said that can be done over the next four weeks and ultimately the decision will be made by the City Commission. And those too will be public meetings.

And PBCTU is invited. Along with everyone else who has ideas about CDBG.

In conclusion, Thank You for visiting once again today.

The City of Lake Worth’s annual Tree Festival in only thirteen (13) days away.


On Saturday, February 16th.

Just two days after
Valentine’s Day!


And there is a very important public meeting of the City’s Tree Board in preparation for this 14th annual event. Below is more information.

The Festival of Trees in mid-February ushers in the annual Festival Season here in this City followed by the Street Painting Festival and the Midnight Sun Festival and many others, both large and small.


Remember: The Tree Festival
in this City of Lake Worth
is Famly-Friendly!


All Famlies, big and small!

Whilst on the topic of trees and expert knowledge, have you ever visited Amelia’s SmartyPlants located at 1515 N. Dixie Hwy. in this City? Below is more information about this spectacular place.

Now back to the Tree Festival.


The City’s Tree Board coordinates this festival with City staff and they are always looking for volunteers, sponsors and vendors. If you have a special talent or skill and would like to help there are only one Tree Board meetings left to prepare: Valentine’s Day (February 14th).

Tree Board meetings are held the second Thursday of each month, 5:30, in the City Hall conference room.

Recently the Chair of the board, Mr. Richard Stowe, and the staff liaison from the Parks Dept, Mr. Dave McGrew, had an update on the progress of the 2019 Festival of Trees and discussions on coming up with a native tree list, lining up exhibitors and putting together a cadre of dedicated volunteers.

Once again. . .
Saturday, February 16th, 2019 will be
the 14th Annual Festival of Trees.


Here are images from previous festivals:

The Festival of Trees will open the 2019 Festival Season. The following weekend will be the 25th annual Street Painting Festival.


Amelia’s SmartyPlants is always one of the most popular sponsors and exhibits.


Always a serious topic at the Festival of Trees in February. The annual Hurricane Season begins on June 1st. So plant and plan accordingly.


Briefly, more information about SmartyPlants.

SmartyPlants is a true gem on N. Dixie Hwy. To take a virtual tour click on this link. Amelia’s SmartyPlants is open Tuesday–Friday from 9:00 a.m.–6:00, Saturday 8:30–5:30 and Sunday 10:00–5:00. Closed on Monday.

Who is SmartyPlants?


We are Paul Harding and Marta Edwards. We have created a 2-acre environmentally-conscious garden center and design service located in the heart of Lake Worth.
     Our address is 1515 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth — just south of West Palm Beach — we can be reached at 561-540-6296 or by email: info@ameliascapes.com


On the topic of tree one of the most popular local trees is the Mango. So popular every year this City hosts the Lake Worth International Mango Festival.


More information from the professionals at Amelia’s:


Most mango trees will grow larger than 30′, but the Julie, the Juliette, and the Nam Doc Mai are considered dwarf of semi-dwarf varieties (10–15′) that can be grown in a small yard or even in a container on a patio.

These are all delicious varieties that are sweet, juicy, and fiberless. Low nitrogen fertilizer is a good option for mango trees. Otherwise, too much growth is promoted on the tree itself thereby retarding the flowering and fruiting stages.


Now let’s take a short stroll down memory lane,
more information about trees and this City’s
all-volunteer Tree Board.


Do you remember when the City of Lake Worth, the City with a tree in its official logo, had an annual tree contest? It was a hugely popular and spirited challenge. Everyone got recognized except for those that wanted to feature a nasty tree like the invasive and dangerous Australian Pine which is now illegal in Florida to distribute without a permit.

Here is the news that appeared in the Post in 2005, thirteen years ago.

“Officials said they hope to make the
contest an annual event”.


“Lake Worth Tree Board winners”
by Post reporter Lady Hereford.


“Tall and short, flowering and spiky, majestic and just plain odd.”


“Anyone could nominate a tree, regardless of who owned the property . . . oddest tree category yielded two first-place winners: A strangler fig and a spiky Madagascar palm.”

Two-page spread, feature article in the Post,
August 10th, 2005.

Click on image to enlarge:

Would you like this contest to return? Have your voice heard: Consider attending the Tree Board meeting this Thursday at 5:30 in City Hall.

There is currently a vacancy on the Tree Board. Interested in becoming a volunteer board member? Then click on this link.


Back to the news published in the Post. . .

Other winners of the tree contest (by type) as reported thirteen years ago:

  • Most Beautiful Flowering Tree: Royal poinciana.
  • Most Useful Tree: Jaboticaba.
  • Best Native Tree: Slash pine.
  • Oddest Tree (tie): Madagascar palm and strangler fig.
  • Historic Tree, Most Majestic Tree, Most Sheltering Tree, and Biggest Tree: Banyan.

What’s your favorite tree? Ever heard of
the native green buttonwood tree?


Then show up at Amelia’s SmartyPlants (closed every Monday) and learn more about the buttonwood and many other trees, plants and vegetation that are available at their facility located on N. Dixie Hwy.

Amelia’s is on the west side of Dixie. The entrance is off 15th Ave. North.
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