Kudos to Lake Worth (Beach's) Mary Lindsey

In Lake Worth Beach, Mary Lindsey gives 'little libraries' a big presence

"Since 2015, Lindsey has overseen the creation of about 100 Little Free Libraries around the city. The neighborhood book exchange program was created to promote literacy.

The program recently passed a milestone of 500,000 books distributed, Lindsey said. It's also served as a lifeline for the community after the COVID-19 epidemic shut down the city's library for months.

Books await readers in the Little Free Library outside Mary Lindsey's house in Lake Worth Beach."

Read about Mary...

Mary Lindsey featured on the news for Little Free Libraries

'Little Free Libraries' distributes 500K books in Lake Worth Beach

After getting the city manager on board, permitting was approved, and there are now more than 100 Little Free Libraries throughout Lake Worth Beach. Have you ever seen her porch at her house?...stacked with boxes of books.

And did you know that our own city commissioner, Scott Maxwell, made many of them!

Read more...

Bougainvillea in bloom

These colorful plants that some have cultivated into trees, are all in bloom right now. You can spot them all over town but nothing like this tree. Did you know that there are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea around the world? This one happens to be on Mary Lindsey's front lawn. Breathtaking, isn't it?...stop by and see it.

That's Mary behind the fence. Katie and I drove up there the other day to get some children's books from the Little Free Library when I spotted this fabulous tree (how could I miss it?). Of all the various colors of Bougainvillea, this fuchsia is my favorite.

The Delight of the Night

Invited by Commissioner Amoroso to give the invocation at the city commission meeting, eight year old Sophia Lynne Teutsch from Sacred Heart School had no fears. She was as darling as her lace dress hand sewn by Mary Lindsey. She said a few words and then led the chamber in The Lord's Prayer.

Little Free Library dedication in the ROLO neighborhood

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Just beating the rain, the latest Little Free Library was installed today at the top of Collier Avenue at the home of Judy Johnson.

Mary Lindsey, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, Shae McGiveron, Katie McGiveron, President of ROLO and Robert Waples, past President

The Little Free Library was designed and painted by artist, Debra Roberts

Katie and Shae pulling the ribbon to officially

open the library

Major changes to July 4 Festivities in Lake Worth

Statement from Mary Lindsey on our July 4 festivities.

Due to algae in the Intracoastal, following is the agenda:

A painful yet necessary decision about the Great American Raft Race festivities has been reached. The full official joint statement from the City of Lake Worth and the NAPC with all the details will be published on the front page of the Lake Worth Herald tomorrow. For now, Here's the scoop:

The part of the Raft Race where rafts and rafters actually go into the Intracoastal has been cancelled. Hang on, there's more . . .

The NAPC Presidents Cup Kayak Race has also been pulled from the Intracoastal at the Pre-raft race party at the Beach Club Friday evening. The pre-raft race party at the Beach Club on Friday is STILL ON. In fact, all the pre-raft race parties are still ON! Stay with me, there's more and the news gets a lot better from here on . . .

On Sunday, July 3rd, the City of Lake Worth and the NAPC are hosting a Splashtacular Great American Pool Party for all Raft Race Fans (that means EVERYBODY) at the pool located at the beautiful Beach and Casino. Admission is FREE and get this - Parking is FREE for all attendees. The Pool Party starts at 5pm. At 6:30pm, the lifeguards will blow their whistles and call all swimmers to the pool deck. All the lane markers will be rolled up, the Kayaks and their Captains will enter the pool and the race around the pool for the NAPC Presidents Cup Champion of 2016 will start. The baby pool will of course remain open for the little ones throughout the event. But what about the Raft Race and the Parade on the 4th of July you ask . . .

On Monday, July 4th the Raft Parade is still a GO, except the parade will take off at Noon! Line-up is still on J St and Lucerne Avenue. Line up is now at 11:30 am.Raft teams may or may not choose to parade with their rafts - but the Parade Goes On!! Rafters (with or without rafts will still parade through the downtown all the way to the BoatRamp at Bryant Park and that's where the celebration turns a little different this year.

Raft trucks and trailers from the parade (for those teams that choose to parade their rafts anyway) will still have preferred parking in the boat ramp lot. Judges will select the winner of the Best Decorated category based on rafts and or costumes. The On Shore performances will still go on, except they will be held on the bandshell stage. The dunk tank (which may or may not be filled with blue-green jello-like grunge) will still be set up only moved a little bit north to Bryant Park.

Judges will still choose "Best First Timer", "Best Performance" and the crowd will still choose "Crowd Pleaser" trophy winners. The NAPC will decide at their Council meeting this Saturday, what to do about the "Mighty Grunge Cup Trophy", ordinarily presented to the raft that comes in first. The "Run Aground Trophy" usually awarded for spectacular failure and the "Paddle" trophy usually awarded for less than neighborly sportsmanship, are awarded this year in absentia (and without naming names) to every agency responsible for mucking up our beautiful Lake Worth Lagoon!

Little Free Libraries Program in Lake Worth

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Letters to the Editor
POINT OF VIEW
Palm Beach Post

June 6, 2016

Access to free books helps children

Regarding the May 27 Post editorial, “Superintendent right to focus on third-grade reading skills”: Helping to reverse the appalling trend of so many of our children who are struggling to achieve proficiency in reading, as cited in that editorial, the Lake Worth Little Free Libraries project has made a good beginning.

We have funding provided by grants from the Palm Beach County Office of Community Revitalization’s Resident Education to Action Program (REAP); cash donations from local businesses and groups, including CWS Bar & Kitchen, Guardians Credit Union and the Firefighters Local 2928; a grant from the Lake Worth Community Development Corp. to pay for bilingual children’s books; and support and assistance from the Lake Worth City Commission, city administration and the Lake Worth Library.

Those partnerships have been matched with truckloads of donated books from neighbors all over Lake Worth. In addition, in collaboration with our Lake Worth neighborhood associations and the Friends of the Lake Worth Library group, we have planted more than 40 of these wonderful little book-exchange boxes in the last year.

Each of these Little Free Libraries has been lovingly painted and is tended by volunteers we call “stewards.” They look after the little libraries, keep them neat and tidy and, most importantly, they encourage neighbors to use and care for the Little Free Libraries as if they belonged to every child and grown-up in Lake Worth — because they do.

Twenty more Little Free Libraries have recently been funded and will join the others in neighborhoods and public spaces located all over our city this year. When that happens, we will be well over halfway to our goal of having a Little Free Library within walking distance of every household in Lake Worth. Anyone passing by is welcome to take a book, share it with a friend or exchange it whenever they want at any of our Little Free Libraries.

We know there is no easy solution to the problem of improving our children’s reading proficiency. We do, however, know what it looks like when our children and their parents, who may not otherwise have easy access to our public library, discover the Little Free Library right in their neighborhood. We are sustained in our effort by the delighted faces that return again and again to “Take a book — leave a book.”

The Little Free Library movement was started in 2009 with one little box built by one man in Wisconsin, to honor the memory of his mother, who was a teacher and a librarian for 30 years. Albert Einstein said, “All you ever need to know is the location of the nearest library.”

MARY LINDSEY, LAKE WORTH

Editor’s note: Mary Lindsey is president of Lake Worth Little Free Libraries Inc.

Taking a bite out of crime

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College Park is taking a "bite out of crime"

Residents are keeping an eye on crime, writes Kevin D. Thompson of the Palm Beach Post.

Mary Lindsey from College Park was featured today in the local news section of the Palm Beach Post.  Read more about it...

Shanon Materio and friends - Caught with a smoking gun?

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It seems as if West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio was a busy gal.  Now it's the South End Political Action Coalition, a political committee of some type that was formed right before Kimberly Mitchell, her BFF, filed to run for mayor of West Palm Beach in order to replace Jeri Muoio.

The Committee was formed for the benefit of Commissioner Mitchell, Len Fintzy, and Cory Neering in the recent election. The campaign treasurer for Fintzy is no other than Lake Worth's Mary Lindsey, another BFF of Shanon Materio. Lindsey was also the campaign treasurer for Shanon Materio.

Because of a dumb mistake and using the wrong e-mail address, (it should have been Shanon Materio's daughter's e-mail address as Shanon was staying out of the spotlight it seems) the plot was discovered--PAC’s are not legally allowed to coordinate mailings with candidates or candidate staff. The e-mail clearly shows that SEPAC coordinated with Beth Kennedy, campaign manager for Mitchell, Fintzy and Neering, and please notice Richard Pinsky, lobbyist and ex husband of Commissioner Mitchell, was also copied, says West Palm Beach Gov Watch. Richard Pinsky, if you recall, is a paid lobbyist for the City of Lake Worth.

Read about it... Did an "innocent" e-mail auto-fill error expose campaign tampering by all of those in bed together?

Unfair and Unbalanced

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John Paxman is the designated moderator for the NAPC March 2, 2015 candidate debate at the Lake Worth Playhouse. Now, I have always thought that Mr. Paxman was an excellent moderator at this forum, however, it would have been wise of him not to display a political sign at his office. Now I'm sure that we will hear from some pundit out here who will say it's free speech, etc. and that he will surely not take sides during this debate and will be 100% fair.  My answer to that is--he's already taken sides.

Also, for a little trivia, Jon Faust, the President of the Neighborhood Association Council has given John Szerdi a $100 campaign contribution. The former President and now Secretary, Mary Lindsey, had her husband give a $50.00 contribution to John Szerdi.  It's no wonder that the League of Women Voters will not participate in any debate put on by the NAPC.

Office of John Paxman, Moderator for the NAPC debate

NAPC to hold Candidate Forum at the Lake Worth Playhouse

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Saying last summer that they were through with debates ("no more debates by the NAPC") when they would not allow one on the General Obligation Bond, it looks like the NAPC has changed its mind. Actually, the highly politically charged NAPC  whose many neighborhood presidents have been on the side of the city, had no one with any conviction who could debate the issue in support of the bond and taxing the property owners for 34 years. According to Jon Faust, the NAPC had no one qualified to debate the topic.


Monday, March 2, 2015

At the Lake Worth Playhouse

located at 713 Lake Avenue 

The forum is open to the public and there is no entry fee although we will pass baskets among the audience to collect donations for the Playhouse to help offset the expense of electricity, sound and lighting engineers etc. The doors will open for the public to enter at 6:30 PM. Candidates are asked to arrive at 6:00 PM to do a sound check. The forum should begin promptly at 6:45 or as soon as the public is seated.  

Questions for the candidates and details regarding the specific format of the forum will be arranged by the NAPC.  No candidates will receive any questions in advance and the format for the evening's event will be provided in writing to all the candidates when they arrive at the Playhouse, although you may certainly expect to have 3 minutes for opening and closing statements. The NAPC will provide timekeepers for each candidate. No electronic equipment will be allowed on stage including cell phones, laptops, electronic notebooks, iPads or anything similar. Our moderator for this forum, as in the past, will be John T. Paxman PA. 

If you would like to provide a short (150 words or less) paragraph about yourself, we will be happy to include it in our printed program which will be distributed to all in attendance. Submissions longer than 150 words will not be used.  Please send your submissions to napcinfo@gmail.com via separate email. Note: as an example - The highlighted portion of this paragraph is 52 words.

To allow a clear line of sight for all who attend the forum, no yard signs or banners will be permitted inside the Playhouse. To minimize left behind litter inside the Playhouse, we ask each candidate to have your supporters hand out such material outside the Playhouse either before and/or after the forum. Unattended stacks of handouts/palm-cards/ flyers/doorhangers etc. will also not be permitted inside the Playhouse. 

In keeping with our bylaws, the Neighborhood Association Presidents Council, Inc. neither endorses  nor opposes any candidate. The NAPC is incorporated in the State of Florida as a non-profit educational organization. Our mission is to serve neighborhood associations across the City of Lake Worth. For more information about the NAPC, you may visit our website at www.lwnapc.com.

The NAPC Candidate forum will be announced on the NAPC website and on the NAPC Facebook page. All NAPC Neighborhood Presidents will also receive an announcement to send via their Association's email distribution list. Posters announcing the Forum will be available next week for local businesses to display if they wish and a notice will be placed in the Lake Worth Visitor Information Center.

This email has been sent to all candidates via blind copy.  If for any reason you are unable to participate in the forum, please let us know as soon as possible by replying to this email. Unfortunately, we do not have an alternate date for the Playhouse due their performance schedule and other factors. We sincerely thank each of you for stepping up to serve our great City and we look forward to a most informative evening. 

Sent on behalf of NAPC Chair, Jon Faust by

Mary Lindsey

Secretary, Neighborhood Association Presidents Council

www.lwnapc.com

Debate the Referendum? NO WAY says NAPC

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With not even a Dear So and So, this is the e-mail that a resident just received earlier today regarding the request that the NAPC have a debate on the General Obligation Bond.  I would suppose that the district meetings as well as the neighborhood associations meetings that have and are being presented with only one side of the argument are sufficient. I would also suppose that taking $50,000 of taxpayer money to present one-side of an argument is also democracy in action.  I was told that at the council meeting this morning it was suggested that they were staying "out of politics" because of the John Prince Park baseball stadium "debacle."  I say, "Since when has the NAPC EVER stayed out OF POLITICS?" Draw your own conclusions.

From: Lake Worth NAPC
Date: Sat, Aug 2, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Subject: Regarding your suggestion to the NAPC
To:

Thank you for contacting the NAPC with your suggestion. The Neighborhood Association Presidents' Council took the matter of hosting a debate on the Lake Worth 2020 bond referendum under discussion at our meeting this morning. The Council discussed the matter at length. No action was taken.

Mary Lindsey
Chair, Neighborhood Association Presidents' Council

College Park Neighborhood Assn to hold special meeting on General Obligation bond

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We residents just can't get enough "education" even if it will be one-sided and attended by city staff. No where does Mary Lindsey identify herself. I guess she believes that everyone knows who she is in Lake Worth--President of the  Neighborhood Association Council that is over all of the NA's in our city and President of her own Neighborhood Association at College Park. Is there anyone out there who believes she is not influential? Obtaining power through the neighborhoods was on the drawing board years ago.  I wrote about it in the Dirty Dozen series.

We are allowing her to be fully transparent here by publishing her letter--at least she invited everyone to attend a meeting through Facebook (many people do not use Facebook) where the city will try very hard to convince you to turn over your first born, vote yourself into a 30 year debt, a debt that Mary supports.

College Park Neighborhood Special Meeting
Saturday, August 23rd
5-7 PM
First Congregational Church
1415 North K Street

Everyone is invited!
The College Park Neighborhood Association is holding a special meeting on Saturday, August 23rd to allow friends and neighbors another opportunity to hear directly from the City about the Lake Worth 2020 plan and the bond referendum that will appear on the ballot in the August 26th election.

Representatives from the City will be on hand to present detailed information about what the plan will include city wide and block by block, the proposed timetable for the improvements that are planned as well as what passage of the bond will cost individual property owners.

A special table will be set up with City staff members and computers to calculate the cost in actual dollar amounts based on information retrieved from the Property Appraisers website for individual properties using the most conservative parameters.

As a Neighborhood Association, College Park neither supports nor opposes any candidate or question that comes before the voters. The purpose of this meeting is to offer neighbors an opportunity to learn more about the bond referendum so that they can make the most informed choice when they vote. This is not a formal debate on the question from those in favor of or opposed to the bond. This is strictly to provide information to anyone who wants it. Comments and questions will be welcomed and answered.

Neighbors from anywhere in the City of Lake Worth are invited to attend and participate. Coffee, cool beverages and light refreshments will be served. Polling place information for the election on Tuesday, August 26th will be available. The question as it will appear on the ballot is as follows:

OFFICIAL BALLOT
CITY OF LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA
BOND REFERENDUM ELECTION – AUGUST 26, 2014
APPROVAL OF "LAKE WORTH 2020" BONDS FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY.
Shall the City of Lake Worth be authorized to issue bonds to acquire and improve roadway, sidewalk, streetlight, streetscape, drainage and water and sewer facilities located within the City in one or more series not exceeding a total principal amount of $63,500,000, payable from an annual ad valorem tax maturing not later than 30 years from the date of each issuance and bearing interest at a rate not exceeding the maximum legal rate?
For bonds _____ Against bonds ______

Phil Donovan Retirement Party

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Phil Donovan, a former Lake Worth High School graduate, has been with Lake Worth's water department for 29 years with his last assignment as a Water Treatment Plant Operator A-Class. Phil's last day is July 17. After that he can do what he wants: lie on our beautiful Lake Worth beach every day, play golf at our wonderful golf club or just relax and enjoy. One thing that won't change--he will still be drinking the world's best RO water. He loves his job; he loves working for Lake Worth and he loves our Reverse Osmosis plant devoting long hours to its success.  Enjoy your  retirement, Phil.

Phil's Retirement Party, June 26, 2014

A few former elected Lake Worth officials were there one of whom was commissioner Jo-Ann Golden who spoke to the crowd reminding them that the RO plant was a political struggle and the city nearly burned $14 million dollars that we had already spent towards wells by going with Palm Beach County. The County finally backed off on the contract and we ended up building our RO and saving millions to boot. At that time in 2009, the only dissenter to not pay the County under the Water Contract was Jeff Clemens, then mayor. Mary Lindsey now president of the Neighborhood Association council, sided with Clemens. Former city manager, Susan Stanton, negotiated the settlement price with the County, again saving  millions. And now, we have the best water around.

The Influence of the Neighborhood Association Council

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As I have stated on many occasions, the Neighborhood Association Council is way too political.  Do you remember when our commission years ago had the big controversy over Arizona 1070 and took a vote supporting it and how so many in the neighborhoods were appalled?  The neighborhood council is doing much of the same--a different name--a different and political national issue. Sometimes we manage to get out of our realm of authority...out of our domain and take stands on issues that are politically and religiously charged, not the business of neighborhood councils. The views of everyone in the community should be respected.

This is an action to support gay marriage and is being taken by Andy Amoroso, a gay commissioner who has a one-sided view on a highly controversial topic. He is now Vice President of the League of Cities gay group so we will be hearing more from him. As we have a large population of gays in our city, and a city that is liberal and left leaning in its politics, there are many who do support this action. But there are many who do not including gays. Do the leaders of the neighborhood associations as well as our city commission represent all of the people in the neighborhood(s) or just some of them? Should the NA's even be getting into politics?

Following is the President of the Council, Mary Lindsey's e-mail sent out to the NA member council:

Members of the Council, The NAPC has been asked to speak at the "Celebration of Love" event at City Hall on March 23rd at 2pm in support of equal rights for our GLBT neighbors. Please read the press release: http://www.lakeworth.org/files/files/special%20events/Marriage%20Equality%20PR.PDF 
I don't think an emergency meeting of the Council is called for, but  I am prepared to speak enthusiastically in support of the effort on behalf of the NAPC if that is the will of the Council. Please reply to all. I would appreciate the clearest and most unequivocal approval or denial of this request. If consensus from the Council Representatives to approve is not unanimous, I won't say it is.

Awaiting your decision,
M 

A. The Council is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

B. No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article Third hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Democracy in "In-Action"

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Tomorrow night the Minutes from the March 4 commission meeting are up for approval by the commission. This was the meeting regarding John Prince Park as a site for a Spring Training baseball stadium.

Mary Lindsey said she was proud of those neighborhood associations who received over $23,000 in grant funds and announced the Neighborhood Association Presidents’ Council unanimously voted in support of a major league baseball training camp at John Prince Park.

As there has been some controversial scuttlebutt promulgated by the "friends" of John Prince Park as to what the president of the Neighborhood Association Council actually said, I would imagine that the commission will approve these Minutes as they have been politically working behind the scenes to facilitate this idea, never once calling the President of ROLOH who is against it.

Commissioner McVoy suggested an amendment to Resolution No. 10-2014 to add language that the City would seek the support of the surrounding communities and that their concerns would be considered. This too was ignored by the rest of the Commission.

This is a fine example of elected officials and their failed democratic representation. It keeps happening in Lake Worth. I just received an anonymous comment this morning that told me to get used to it...they would be in office for as long as they want to be and doing exactly what they want to do.

The Squeaky Wheel

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Well, the first hurdle is over.  The dais made certain that their supporters were on hand, even wearing baseball caps that were handed out to them that adorned the chamber.

Last night the commission room was ignited. One premature suggestion supporting John Prince Park as a Spring training camp for two major baseball teams was the cause of that ignition because the city commission, in all its desperation for Lake Worth revitalization, had a Resolution supporting John Prince Park for the field. Those who supported the Resolution and who live nowhere near John Prince Park, were out in force.

The president of the Neighborhood Council, an association that swears it is not political but in reality the most political organization in Lake Worth, had rallied the association members who had previously voted in support of the idea.  She spoke to the subject and got her friends there such as West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio who said she was "jealous."  Every means was used to show support for this Resolution. The entire chamber was under an emotional umbrella all in the name of economic development and all in the name of sacrificing one area of the city for that gain. Force is in numbers and it is he who screams the loudest that makes the impact.

A few people spoke from the Residents of Lake Osborne Heights (an association that is NOT political) against the idea because it is their neighborhood that would be affected and impacted. Most residents are long gone now from commission meetings--they stay away as their voices are never heard even when they speak or even when they win an election that the city politicians refuse to honor. Commissioners don't return their phone calls and don't find time to meet with them and if there is opposition to their views, they take opportunities from the dais to belittle or make condescending statements towards those who disagree. They forget that they represent all of the people, not just some of them.

Tripp Cioci from ROLOH spoke and with tongue in cheek, suggested that they consider the golf course or Bryant Park for the Spring training camp.  He also conjured up a recorded document pertaining to the John Prince Park property dated April 12, 1940 that reads:

(This conveyance is made on the condition that the area above described is to be used for park and forest purposes only, and should said area be used for any purpose other than park and forest, the title to said land shall automatically revert and become the property of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State of Florida.)

Katie McGiveron, Vice President of ROLOH said, "We ask that our elected officials pay more attention to the very real concerns of very real families than they do to an ill-advised pipe dream pushed by a disgraced ex-Congressman turned lobbyist.

The final vote was 4/1 with McVoy dissenting.

The squeaky wheel, an American idiom used to convey the idea that the most noticeable (or loudest) problems are the ones most likely to get attention, gets the grease. The dais and the political neighborhood association council accomplished its goal last night--slip, sliding away on political oil.

NAPC Thanksgiving Dinner

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Mary Lindsey,
 President of the Neighborhood Association President's Council

with her husband, Richard Dytrych

Last night at South Shores Tavern and Patio Bar, the NAPC held its Thanksgiving Feast--and it was all of that and more.  Tammy Panza was the lucky winner of  the 50/50 drawing.

To see the photos from last night's fun event taken by Anna Maria Windisch-Hunt, go the the Facebook page, NAPC Thanksgiving Feast.

Domestic Violence Awareness at Cultural Plaza

The mayor gave an emotional and poignant personal story on
 domestic violence.

Commissioner Amoroso, Mayor Triolo and Cpt. Silva

Commissioner Christopher McVoy wearing purple beads

PBSO domestic violence vehicle

President of the Neighborhood Association Council, Mary Lindsey, was there with a booth that displayed all the NA banners and a map showing where each neighborhood is located.

Last night's Politically Correct or Incorrect moves

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Some on the dais wore pirate gear and Deborah Andrea

 recited a poem even speaking like a pirate dissing blogs.

 It was, after all, International Talk like a Pirate Day

Politically smart moves last night--it's the beginning of the election season but politicians have to play the game all year long. The commission DID read a proclamation for Constitution Week that they threw on the Agenda at the last second. That was a politically correct move.

Memorial Field and its renaming was not pulled for public commentary even though a few commissioners were asked to do so. This is an example of something that should never be on the Consent Agenda without public commentary. Who put it on Consent? There needs to be a process when someone asks the city government to change a name on city property. The Commission wouldn't even allow the public to weigh in. The Osborne Community and some of its leaders packed the chamber just in case. Personally, I think Mary Lindsey should have something named for her. The Commission played its politics here, a politically correct thing to do for one segment of our city.

An Ordinance was finalized on the sidewalk cafes in our downtown that affects the city's right of way. Several of the restaurants have not been in compliance and there are times when no one can walk on the sidewalk least of all someone passing in a wheelchair. William Waters asked for 48 inches of leeway for the ADA compliance but Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell asked for the 42 inch minimum as he frequents one establishment that seems to be the biggest offender. Politically smart if you want to stay in good standing with the businesses...perhaps not so smart if you want to stay in good standing with all the people who walk our sidewalks in the downtown, you know, the people who actually spend the money. Triolo, Amoroso and Szerdi agreed to the 42". It passed on a 4/0. McVoy was absent from the meeting.

Citizen Mr. Timm, once again, was the only one with some sense implying that it was never going to work out. Havana has literally painted a line on the sidewalk delineating what is their property and what is the city's. No one in front of that establishment can get confused. In reverse, this is why DOT has speed limits of 30mph knowing everyone will go 35mph. If you make the ADA compliance figure at 42", there is NO wiggle room whatsoever. People will be breaking this law all night long and who will be there to enforce it?

So, the political season has begun!