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Showing posts from March, 2012

Hollywood Nights this Thursday

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Hollywood Nights is a fundraiser for LULA, Lake Worth Arts. All donations and a percentage of dinner and drink proceeds will go directly toward funding the 9 Arch Project - A mural project on the 1000 Lake Avenue Bldg. Come out and support the Arts in Lake Worth at a fun event with the Hollywood Stars, live celebrity impersonators. Location: Brogues Down Under 621 Lake Avenue Contact for more Information:  493-2550

PBSO In The News!

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Sheriff's Medallion in Mosaic by McMow Art Glass Click on the title above to read the PB Post article on how the PBSO District 14, here in Lake Worth, makes Community Policing a true community-wide effort. Special Thanks to PSBO Community Liaison Officer Benito Gaspar. Well Done!

Crackin' the Whip

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It's futile trying to convince individual members of the Florida Legislature that the redistricting plans they've come up with to ensure that they each have a good seat at their own Party is devastating for cities like Lake Worth. It's time to take this to both Party's leadership and by leadership, I mean they who are charged with keeping their Party members toeing the Party line. It is they who Crack the Whip. These are the Electeds in the Florida Legislature that crack the whips in the House of Representatives and in the Florida Senate. These are who the little guys (our elected representatives) have chosen to listen to and follow blindly. These are the Electeds that need to hear NOW that just because they got away with carving Lake Worth into four meaningless House Districts, we're not just going to fold up and say nothing about their plan to carve Lake Worth into three meaningless Senate Districts. The Florida Supremes approved the House Map but for some inexpli

Where Will Jeff Run Now?

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Now that Lake Worth has been sliced and diced into political irrelevance, what district will Jeff seek to occupy on our behalf in Tallahassee? The east or west side of his former stomping grounds - College Park - now that it's been split right down the middle? The east side or west side of the City in which he was formerly honored to be Hizzoner? Will he dare to run for the now Republican rich District 89 with ocean side slivers of constituents from here to Boca? After all, Representative Clemens' district office on Lake Avenue isn't located in the newly approved District 89. But never mind, leases can be compromised; Party loyalty, not so much. Or will he seek the politically correct and totally bogus Democratic  laden District 88 that slices through the center of Lake Worth on up to the voter rich haven of Riviera Beach? Oh Well. It's just for the next ten years. And it's not like Representative Clemens VOTED to give the Republicans in Tallahassee what they really

Distinctly Atypical Editorial from the Palm Beach Post

March 9, 2012 -- “In typical fashion, Lake Worth narrowly dodged trouble with a missed deadline last month on its decades-long quest to fix up its public beach. Thankfully, the problem was averted, and the city may complete the work this year. The beach improvements involve transforming the dilapidated concrete-and-asphalt site into a lush space filled with benches, walking and bike paths, a playground and trees. The work is meant to accompany the $6 million overhaul of the beachfront casino, which was all but torn down and is being restored into a stunning Mediterranean Revival-style home for restaurants and shops. The improvements to the surrounding site were supposed to be paid primarily by a $5 million grant from Palm Beach County. But for Lake Worth to receive the money, the work had to get under way by Feb. 2. The city spent so long fumbling, plagued by unexpectedly high cost estimates, that it missed the deadline. Fortunately, county officials let the city slide, telling Lake W

To my Friends

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And you know who you are ...

Spring Ahead Saturday Night

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Daylight Savings Time kicks in on Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 AM when it will magically become 3:00 AM. I'm fairly sure most computers do it automatically, but for those among us who drive really old (and completely debt free) vehicles, remember to change the car clock too. Set those analogs up an hour before you go to bed Saturday night. Also a really good time to put fresh batteries in the smoke alarms!

Golf Course Shoreline Clean-Up March 31st

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Press Release from Lake Worth Kiwanis: Volunteers are needed for the Great American Cleanup effort in Lake Worth. On Saturday, March 31st, join your neighbors to help clean up the shoreline of Lake Worth Lagoon and Snook Islands area, adjacent to the Lake Worth Municipal Golf Course. The area is littered with old tires, broken bits of lumber, plastic and paper trash. All are welcome to participate in this clean-up effort spearheaded by the Kiwanis Club of Lake Worth in conjunction with Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful. Volunteers will meet at the clubhouse (located at 7th Ave N and the Intracoastal) at 8 AM. You don’t have to be a Kiwanis member to join in the effort, but volunteers must be 18 years old or accompanied by a parent. The Snook Islands area contains some of the most environmentally sensitive shoreline in Palm Beach County, providing fish hatchery and habitat for dolphins and wading birds. All participants are asked to park in the golf course parking lot the morning of the

A Flare for the Dramatic?

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Take your pick, Panda Fans. Party or Panic as you choose. The Solar Flare  Storm is here. Howzabout a little Solar Wine? Or Solar Wind? created by K. Endo

Groundbreaking this Friday for the Urban Artists' Lofts

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Click on the images to make them larger By the way, CRA ~ Fabulous Logo!

Two months and 29, 28, 27...

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If the City of Lake Worth is to kick off a year long celebration leading up to the actual 100th anniversary of the date Lake Worth was incorporated, there are exactly 2 months and 29 days left to do that. Now, of course there's nothing that says the City HAS to put on a parade, or adopt a special logo to draw attention to the occasion, but if anyone at City Hall is thinking these might be good things, time is running short to get the show on the road.  Citizen and civic groups have already come together to plan various events throughout the city and throughout the year leading up to the Anniversary. They've secured a website, a FaceBook page and they've generated a lot of (and I hate to use the term) grass roots enthusiasm for bringing Lake Worth into the next century with a WOW and not a whimper. The Commission has asked that they receive regular updates from the citizens and civic groups on how they're doing, when they're doing it and what day and time Commissione

Oh Bus Boy!

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The last item on the agenda for tonight's meeting comes from the outgoing Utility Director, Becky Mattey. Two weeks ago the Commission rejected Mattey's plan to outsource customer service, meter reading, utility billing and disputes, management of deposits, delinquent account tracking, reporting and collections. The Commission decided that if Lake Worth is going to be in the Utilities business and reap profits to support the general fund and pay for things like the Beach and Casino projects, Lake Worth ought to manage it's own customer service and not take on the expense of a middleman to deal with the complaints from LWU customers for the highest rates and utility taxes on the planet. Tonight Mattey comes back to the Commission with a "You asked for it - You got it" proposal adding a new layer of executive management to the Utility with the re-classification of the Customer Service Manager position to that of Assistant Utility Director, Customer Service. The only

And the Beatings Will Continue

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Is there an elected body anywhere that doesn't  waste an enormous amount of time beating around the bush trying NOT to say out loud what everyone else and by everyone else, I mean the general PUBLIC, already knows? Take the Lake Worth City Manager selection "process" for example. Is it not painfully obvious that two Commissioners are still licking their wounds after their unsuccessful opposition to the termination of the last City Manager? Is it not agonizingly apparent, that having been dragged into having to choose a new improved City Manager, they continue to lament the fact that the Commission voted to engage this process without incurring the $25,000 expense of a headhunter?  And it is some kind of state secret that those two Commissioners are more hell bent on NOT including one of the candidates in the final selection process than they are on hiring anybody to fill the position?  Do they think NO ONE understands the secret code? That "city manager experience&qu

The Commission and the Community Relations Board

On Thursday, March 8th, The Commission will hold another Special Meeting to talk about the functions and functioning of the Community Relations Board. It's more than a little ironic that an advisory board instituted to foster amicable relations within our Community has itself been at the center of rancorous debate throughout our Community, almost since it's inception three years ago.  That debate has been fueled and sustained by comments from the current board chairman, as well as action by former Commissions, starting with the 2010 Census.  In an effort to establish Lake Worth as an entitlement city with a population of 50,000, the Commission budgeted and allocated $20,000 to encourage un-documented residents, part-time residents and others to respond to the federally mandated 2010 Census. This amount was roughly equivalent to the total amount that all of Palm Beach County spent for the same purpose.  The newly constituted CRB responded to the Request For Proposal (bid request

REPOST: Parrot Cove Home and Garden Tour Sunday, March 4th

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Press Release from Parrot Cove: The Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association, in Lake Worth, Florida announces its third Home & Garden Tour scheduled for Sunday, March 4 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.  The event will take place in the Parrot Cove neighborhood which is from Lucerne to 13 th Avenue north and from the Golf course on the east to Federal in Lake Worth.  Pedicabs will be available at no charge. Eight homes, two churches and the golf course are on the tour route.  In addition to touring the inside of these homes and their gardens, there will be art exhibits in the gardens of the neighborhood’s two bed & breakfasts – Mango Inn and Sabal Palm House.  Plus, there will ‘classic’ cars available for viewing. Ticket price, $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the event, includes food tastings from local restaurants and beverages including wine, champagne and water. There are a maximum of 500 tickets available. Purchase yours in advance to be assured a ticket for this exciting and memora

If You Thought Counting To Three Was Hard . . .

Yes, the Commission met last night in a Special Meeting to whittle down the list of candidates for the City Manager position. There's a nasty and unsubstantiated rumor flying around that somehow the process was perverted by Commissioner Maxwell and the other newly Electeds by bringing forward 5 candidates instead of 3 for the final selection process. Well I hate to bring actual evidence into play when rumors and spurious allegations of misconduct are so much more fun, but here goes. The very first words spoken after the meeting was brought to order and the roll taken came from the Director of Human Resources, Mark Farrington, who asked the Commission to please bring the list down to 5 candidates, not 3. The Acting City Manager chimed in that was his suggestion as well. Commissioner Christopher McVoy added and I quote, "I think the suggestion makes sense." If you care to hear this actual evidence for yourself, Click Here  to hear the audio recording of last night's mee

Be Very Careful What You Ask For

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The Tolstoy version of the March 6th Regular Commission Meeting has been published on the City's website. Today we'll look at one of the Second Readings under Public Hearings - Ordinance No. 2012-13, amending the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget. Among other things, this is the budget amendment that "funds" the infamous third leg of the B each   R e-development P roject, the C asino Re -Something P roject and the B each I nfrastructure P roject. This budget amendment was passed unanimously on First Reading when it appeared before the Commission on February 21st with 31 pages of back-up material including a fund by fund breakdown of what's being transferred in and transferred out. For the Second Reading, there is no back-up other than the ordinance itself and a repeat of the same staff memo. Keep in mind, and I know you will, the Commission just met on February 28th and voted unanimously to approve spending $1,712,591 more for the B each R e-development P roject. That'

March 1st is National Panda Day Off Day

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OK, Not really.  It's really National Panda Mental Health Day. OK, Not Really. It's really National Take a Panda to Lunch Day. Really Great Idea, But Not Really. How 'bout National Panda Get Something Done In The Den Day! T H A T ' S I T ! But please feel free to celebrate the day  anyway your own little heart desires! See Ya Soon!