What is Christmas like in Heaven?

To all our friends who have passed--BarbaraJean and Tom McGow come immediately to mind. And then there is my Mom and my Aunt.  You are so loved and so missed.

Tom McGow

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Everyone in our city who has read the local blogs remembers Tom McGow. He moved from Lake Worth several years ago. He was a blogger writing Tom's Page and the greatest at Photoshop. His special friend, Donna Ross, a former member of our CRA, just wrote to say that Tom needs our help. He suffered a major brain aneurysm and has been in the hospital--intensive care for several weeks and just recently he was moved to a regular room. He is working with therapists and using a walker and trying to feed himself. Donna told me that he still, in spite of all that he has gone through, has maintained his sense of humor for which he was so well known.

You can imagine the hospital costs alone when you do not have health insurance.

His daughter has set up a web site where all his friends can contribute to help in his recovery.

Please go to YouCaring and click on the donate button to the right.

Election Parody at Tom's Page

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Go to Tom's Page and view his latest election graphic and commentary.

Featured are Wes Blackman, Diana Demarest and Tom Ramiccio.

Ramiccio featured on Facebook

Tom McGow who now lives in South Carolina, made one of his famous or "infamous" graphics. You can see his latest on Tom Ramiccio on his Facebook or Blog page. Click here.

Lame Duck Mayor

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Graphic by Tom McGow

Message from Tom & Donna from Mount Pleasant

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for posting about our new home in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We live north of town in the county, between Mount Pleasant and Francis Marion National Forest. We’re twenty minutes to Charleston, ten minutes to the beach and five minutes to the undeveloped countryside. Our neighborhood, in transition, (old habits die hard) is within walking distance to the salt marsh and offers shade from old oak trees.

We looked at a few areas around Charleston but when we drove along Highway 17 into Mount Pleasant we were struck by the very apparent strong zoning and planning. Stores and shopping areas are mostly well set back and in many cases not even visible from the main road. There is still space along the side of the road where local weavers sell “Sweetgrass Baskets” from small stands. This tradition dates back to the late 17th century, brought here from Africa by slaves.

Mt. Pleasant recently purchased a combined 245 acre parcel of land with the intent of turning it into the town’s third large park. In the local paper Town administrator Eric DeMoura was quoted as saying, “The town explained that the development of these two tracts of land into single homes, for example, would strain the town services for a long time.” That really hit a strong note with us!

History is all around us; from colonial times, through the Revolution and of course the Civil War. Mount Pleasant and Charleston were the first to advocate seceding from the Union (they’ve tried it three times), and standing on the shore of Battery Park (Take a Virtual Tour) looking out to Fort Sumter is a remarkable site. Even at the beach history is right over your shoulder with old forts and gun emplacements still visible. In fact the library on Sullivan’s Island is housed within a Civil War artillery bunker.

We are enjoying exploring here, but we do miss Lake Worth. We listen to the meetings on the computer and of course read the blogs. We have already had some frost and are looking forward to visiting Florida over the winter. We hope we get to see everybody on Lake Ave. and catch up on all the news from Lake Worth.

Tom and Donna in Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant

Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

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Shrimp Boats in Mount Pleasant

The other day I was researching the top places to live in the United States and what do I find? Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina on the list. So this blog is for Donna Ross, former member of our CRA and Tom McGow, a former top blogger here and expert "Photo-Shopper" who moved to Mt. Pleasant. This is to let them know that they are not forgotten and wishing them both a Happy Thanksgiving.

Donna and Tom chose a town that is rated the 100th best place to live in the United States according to CNN Money. I wonder where Lake Worth falls? According to what demographic reports you read, Mount Pleasant is 92% white with nearly 76% of the housing units owner occupied. The majority of residents are 58.1% who fall in the ages from 25 to 64.


100. Mount Pleasant, S.C.

WINNER

Top 100 rank: 100
Population: 68,000
Compare Mount Pleasant to Top 10 Best Places

This appealing town has three main things going for it: miles of beach, a moderate climate, and strong schools.

Less than 10 minutes from Charleston, Mount Pleasant is big in shrimping, though cheaper imported Asian seafood has hurt the industry.

Residents revel in community events such as the "Blessing of the Fleet" -- an annual spring festival in which everyone enjoys fresh-caught shrimp and live music. --J.S.

In June, Mt. Pleasant received another award. The National Civil League honored Mount Pleasant with The All America City designation. "To qualify for the award, communities submit a detailed application listing three examples of successful community-based problem-solving. This year’s winners addressed such issues as homelessness, obesity, economic development, low-income housing, improving schools and diversity and inclusion."

Ok, you guys--you promised to send photos.

You too could get the Avian flu

Right now, the spread of the bird flu to humans has been rare, occurring mainly among Asian poultry workers. And even more rare is the spread of bird flu from human to human.

If you have any of the following, don't over-react. Take an Aspirin or call your Doc...and he'll tell you to take an Aspirin.

•fever
•cough
•sore throat
•muscle aches
•eye infections
•pneumonia
•severe respiratory distress

Rooney & Tom on the Avenue

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One Up for Granny

Granny says, "Pipe down Tom. Quit touting your horn at me. Get your head above water."

Granny thought she heard him say that he wanted
to screw up the Lake Worth Pool

McGow is Under Water

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All in a Day's Art Work

This is original "art" by Tom McGow.

Idle hands are the devil's tools,

but maybe not idle for too much longer--He is starting a handyman service. When Loretta hires Tom, as a handyman, Tom can inform her that she probably did not know what was talked about back in 2006 regarding competitive swimming at our pool--(running back and forth from Costa Rica and all). Does Loretta really believe that we would spend one-half MILLION dollars on pool fix-ups for the hell of it or on no vision? Oh, forgot. Not sure if Tom, was living here either. He certainly was not at commission meetings. We know that the city manager was not here to listen to all the commentary regarding national meets.

Nevertheless, there are always several opinions on the direction of our beach and I don't need to provide research for an opinion. Tom has made this more than just a difference of opinion so he gets it right back.

Right now there are a few taking the "company" line on having an aquatic park. Tom took the Varela/Jennings commission line on the Singer plan that eliminates our parking in order to have bushes..."green." Tom has told us all that we can walk from the lower level up the dune to get to the beach or drop granny off at the upper level and drive back down and park. (This was Greater Bay's plan). It was a lousy plan then and it is a lousy plan today. The aquatic park is Susan Stanton's idea and she is pushing hard for it.

Will the taxpayers have a say? You know--all the adults that pay the bills? Adults and Seniors are being pushed out of most recreation in our City--why not the pool? This city is not all about Jungle Jims for Johnny and sandboxes for Suzie. Thanks to Commissioner Mulvehill and the rest of the commission, we at least got back Concerts In the Park.

Lake Lytal Pool with waterslide

Perhaps the problem is in the perception of an "aquatic park" and what features it may have and how many acres it will cover. I got an e-mail from someone who said that we should rip out our pool and build it in the south end of our beachfront. He's not a taxpayer here...lives out of state even...implied when we hired Michael Singer we lost a great opportunity to make some money...we screwed up on our design. Some people like the idea of Disney at the Lake Worth beach but many of us do not. Is our voice important?

Perhaps all Tom is talking about is nothing more than a waterslide .... something like Lake Lytal, picture above, that might be a good idea to attract more kids at our pool. Shudder to think about the liability insurance. One reason why we haven't had anyone swimming is that the pool has not been heated. The water is freezing. Maybe we will soon come up with a financial feasibility plan for our Casino build-out. There has been total silence on that and in two weeks we choose the architect.

If it is more than just a waterslide, and it is actually a water theme park (aquatic park) that they have been talking about, then you have to wonder why some people just love to spend money especially when we don't have two nickels to rub together. Obama's trickle down economy-- Borrow and pay later; file for foreclosure; become bankrupt but definitely use the other guys' chips while all you responsible people are paying for it all.

All in a day's art work.

:>)

Go back to the Sandbox Kid

Well, since Tom asked me to provide research for an opinion, I would like him to provide a complete cost estimate AND FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY STUDY to build an aquatic park and explain why he would want to just set a match to over $1 mil at our pool facility that is virtually ready to make money. We just spent nearly $450,000 on repairs. Does Tom have any idea what the value is of our pool and facility?

Should the City of Lake Worth perhaps get into the printing press business and start printing funny money?

Tom, the Dozer

Grrrrrrrrr

Our Beach and Pool

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Casino Restoration - Remembering the Past

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From a distance, this doesn't look so bad

As just someone who loves our beach and appreciates our Casino and all the wonderful memories I have had there for all these years, I looked at the presentations as a lay person with a love of our history and what was physically appealing to me. Although many of the designs were outstanding, these are the firms that caught my attention because of the overall presentation.

Ever since Straticon presented last year at City Hall for our Casino restoration/refurbishment/renovation, I have loved their design. This design was done by BRPH, one of the firms that presented on Saturday. To see all the details of the original Straticon concept by BRPH, CLICK HERE. When you view it, you will notice that only one-half of the building was enclosed in that concept and that it took on an effect of the 1920's look and feel.

Design as presented on Saturday by BRPH
It is elegant in its simplicity

We had mentioned on many occasions the practicality of enclosing the entire upper floor. In using this design, we will get 11,000 s.f. of rentable space on the ground floor, 13,000 s.f. of space on the 2nd floor and not depicted here, 3,044 s.f. of rentable space on the loggia behind John G's.

This design of BRPH, a full-service firm in existence for 45 years and one of the top fastest growing firms in the nation, incorporates the look of the 1920's as well as the 1930's because of the window design on the second level. It has a bell tower over John G's that was there in the 20's. It has an entry in the middle that advertises our Lake Worth Casino as did the original building.

This firm designed this building to come in within budget and it considered our requirements--a clear understanding of the cultural and historical importance of the casino site.

I also liked Slattery & Associates' design although it did not enclose the entire 2nd floor. Depending upon cost, that can be achieved. Slattery & Associates has worked with 14 municipalities in PB County. Their entire presentation was top notch and they covered all basis. Slattery presented 3 different designs as our RFQ was not definitive as to what period it wanted to restore. All 3 designs were outstanding and you can view them on Wes's blog. Their firm is in close distance to our beach; they have a professional relationship with a preservation architect who will be working with them; they plan on being true to the time period of the building; they have commitment. They can create a similar style to the 1920's and stated that there would be major demolition if restored to that period. They are very experienced at obtaining Grants. They want to capitalize on the history of the building. The existing businesses will be temporarily relocated.

The Mayor asked about "green" features and both these firms have Leed acredited professionals.

The other presentation that I wanted to hear but missed was Beilinson Gomez. If you go to their back-up, the design is right on the mark. As our RFQ did not specify what period we wanted to achieve, they had a little of all.

Barbara Aubel was at the meeting in the morning and she likes the firm of Living Designs Group. Tom McGow just did a blog and it appears that he likes the same firm that designed a concept on the more modern side. He is a Michael Singer fan. LDG is a Lake Worth firm. Unfortunately, I was not there for their presentation. Barbara Jean Weber was not there for the entire presentation either but she liked Slattery & Associates as well as BRPH. Wes Blackman was there for the entire meeting and has not yet decided on a top choice but is leaning at this time towards BeilinsonGomez. He wants to see the list narrowed down and then require that the short-listed firms come back on an RFP so that we can get to the particulars, especially cost. Jim Walker of Golfview Road liked Song & Associates, Rick Gonzales and Beilinson Gomez.

Casino, late 30's early 40's
Note the square windows on 2nd level

Published with permission of Lake Worth Media

The Power should be in the hands of the people--not a Select Few

As I am a firm believer in the people's right to vote, especially when it comes to our assets, I am disturbed at what has and is taking place within our City. I don't believe in the old Mac McKinnon argument, "Why do you want to vote? You elected us; let us do the job." Forget that. Good people with good intentions can get corrupted. Power can corrupt. We got Michael Singer, right? We got the illegal labor hiring hall. We got the seniors kicked out of the Senior Center and gave Compass a lease for $1,000 a year for 20 years when our own city departments need more space. We had a commission that obligated us to a 40 year water deal with PB County essentially taking us out of the water business forever.

Look at all the developers, lobbyists, Realtors, environmentalists (green people) and others hanging around city hall. Even our new city manager said that there are a lot of angry people who have met with her. Elected officials need to listen to the people and allow us here to vote on major issues that change our city, such as land use changes as an example. Florida Hometown Democracy will change all that.

We have a few residents who have become vocal in our community and take stands on certain issues that affect, not only our assets and the cost, but affect the design and look. They say that they know what the people want. You don't know unless people vote at the polls! Those of us, who have been here for decades, some over 50 years, have NO clue, according to them. We live in some other century and the attitude is move over, the younger, hippier, more knowledgeable people are taking over. One actually told me, “and you sound like nobody I have ever heard before.” Right. I come from another planet. There is another citizen who stays angry all of the time and who is now taking time out of his "having a life" and connecting the dots to prove some conspiracy that those he hates have thwarted progress according to what he believes progress is. Geez, being concerned about the rights of the citizens and their right to vote is a strange phenomenon, I guess.

Some of these people mean well but what happened to our fundamental right under the Constitution? We ALL own these assets.

Take our beach, for instance. They want to take our upper level parking away and plant sea grass and install bike paths in its place. A commission sanctioned a fixed survey taken by 200 or so people and now we hear that this is the “will of the people.” I heard a few people for whom I would consider intelligent actually say this. Sickening. They even want to knock down a sea wall. “Let’s just spend the millions, we have it,” they say. They have said that, gee, there will be a drop off place for coolers and kids and that anyone should want to walk from the lower level up to the beach. No problem, says an icon in the community. I say, let them park below and leave the upper level parking for the rest of us who DO want it to remain. Once they get to the top of the dune, we will be there with an oxygen supply. If this is about what the people want, then think about ALL of the people. However, from day one, I have always said this should go out to a vote. This is an asset whose value is incalculable and our elected officials are responsible for its neglect.

Next it is our golf course. When we have something spectacular, there are always some who all of a sudden experience that light bulb sensation going off in their head...let's change it for the greater good of all, they cry, as if they really know what that is. It seems the next brilliant idea is to take some of our golf course away for a bike path…several miles of it all the way up to 20th Ave North. An 18 hole golf course would cost about $25 million or more today to build and we have some people who actually want to take some of it and pave it over for bike riders right at the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway. Any city in the world would die to have a golf course like ours. I have no idea if a bike path is a good idea or not, but if there is any intention to take away any square inch of our golf course, it should be by vote of the people.

Our golf course was opened in 1925 as a nine-hole course. It was designed for the common man and when it was first opened, residents could buy coupons good for 15 days of play for $5. In 1947 the course expanded to an 18 hole course and it has remained one of the best and affordable anywhere around. Through the last decade, we have neglected this wonderful and valuable asset.

Next we will all hear that this is what the people want, "historically," of course. Why is there always a segment that wants to screw everything up—change things for their own selfish reasons without it going to a ballot? If you want to get down to "historics," or anything the least bit relevant, then the people voted and defeated the Beach Plan only 7 years ago. This, too, was taking away upper level parking. The power should be in the hands of the voters when it affects things of this magnitude; should it not?

A beach is a beach and a golf course, is just that. It is not a bike path or any other kind of path other than walking the course from hole 1 to the 18^th with dreams of playing the course par or under and eventually getting to the 19th hole. It does belong to Lake Worth taxpayers.

Today at the Fair

See if you can spot Donna Ross and Tom McGow! Also my friend, Joanne Squires was with us. We never made it to the Midway. Another day.