Excitement in the air

CAN YOU FEEL IT?

Sunset still shining

Motion on Rehearing on Sunset Case filed. CLICK HERE

Lawyer for Save Our Neighborhood says, The Circuit Court was correct. A rehearing should be granted because the panel opinion's ruling is completely based upon an issue that was raised by amicus curiae but in fact was not raised on appeal by Petitioner, the City of Lake Worth.

Politicians and potato chips--all the same bag

Wanna know what's obscene?

The Center for Responsive Politics calculates that, by Election Day, $2.4 billion will have been spent on presidential campaigns in the two-year election cycle that began in January 2007, and an additional $2.9 billion will have been spent on 435 House and 35 Senate contests.

This $5.3 billion is a billion less than Americans will spend this year on potato chips.

In Lake Worth, Commissioner Jennings has raised $23.000.61, Mary Lindsey who wants her job has raised $21,688.11 and incumbent Dave Vespo has $17,226.72. Much of this money for Vespo and Lindsey is from the Unions and other special interests.

The City Commission job pays $7,400 a year with an equal amount for expenses.

Most provocative photo

Commissioner Retha Lowe (in disguise?) holding signs for Dave Vespo and Mary Lindsey. When I said to her that it was a little unorthodox, she agreed that it was. I then said well, you have nothing much to lose....you're not running next time, right? She then replied, "Well, I don't know, I might. I sort of like it."

The Towers Brunch

The Rene Varela Lake Worth Towers Brunch was held this morning and the voters got to learn about who was responsible for eliminating Lolly the Trolley, the mess at the beach, higher utility rates and taxes and who was responsible for lowering their quality of life. When asked to guess who, everyone yelled out in unison--VESPO. We knew that but we wanted to make sure that they did.

Sometimes that’s all it really is—a crap shoot

We have gone through horrendous times in our country. And because of that, McCain will now take the defeat because of the economy and George W. Bush. We would rather put our bet on a virtually unknown with some questionable friends. Even his Aunt is living here illegally. It doesn’t matter this time around. People are so fed up, they are taking the chance on Obama to make their lives better in spite of the fact that it was both Democrats and Republicans that have ruined this country. They were not watching the store, not one little bit.

We will accept more taxation and redistribution of wealth. Why? The majority of people feel they have been getting screwed. When you see what corporate America has done, the greed and the graft, you get disgusted beyond belief and just want to stick it to those bums who have caused the pain. Get rid of them and take the bet.

Here on a local level we have a Commissioner who has consistently made the right decisions in spite of some radical friends and occasional unconventional behavior. On the other hand, you have a Commissioner who has made, for the most part, all the wrong decisions and he is endorsed by both newspapers. It would be foolish to vote a Commissioner out for one bad decision or keep one in office for one good decision whose report card on that is still undetermined--the Sheriff merger.

My predictions on this election:

Barack Obama
Tom Rooney will beat Tim Mahoney in a landslide
Bob Kanjian (tell your Mom I said that!)
Susan Bucher
Cara Jennings
And I am taking the bet--Rene Varela in an upset

Birds of a feather? You decide

Dave Vespo and Mary Lindsey sent out a letter that was signed by some residents here in Lake Worth—
Here is their story.

NADINE BURNS—Voted to give away our beach to a developer. Called SWAT on some citizens who were petitioning. She is the one responsible for those UGLY garbage cans. Now she works for our local Chamber of Commerce. Need I say more? FOR DEVELOPERS

ELIZABETH AREVALO—Worked for Wachovia at one time. On some Boards one of which is the Chamber of Commerce. Has zero tolerance for anyone who opposes her views. Was part of the POWER GRAB bunch. FOR DEVELOPERS.

WES BLACKMAN—Former Chair of Planning and Zoning—on the Board for 8 years. Politically appointed to the Community Redevelopment Agency Board. For the Greater Bay deal at the beach. Was a lobbyist (Wes says he was a grant writer) for the Hammon Park developers. Rumored to be running for Mayor next year. FOR DEVELOPERS

SHANNON BROWN—Citizen of Tropical Ridge, brainwashed over the last several years by her NA former president who is now running for office, Mary Lindsey, who is blaming the current Commissioner for every piece of blight in the City of Lake Worth. I say, how stupid is that?

J.R. & VICKEY FREY—Large land owner, business owner. FOR DEVELOPERS

RETHA LOWE—Present City Commissioner District 1. Voted for the Greater Bay Plan and voted against the people’s right to vote on the beach, voted to give away our waste water, voted to stop the RO after spending $14 million and go with the County water for another $24 million. Voted against the Ethics Policy after taking $3,500 from Sun Recycling who has a City Contract in her District. Sun Recycling says it is interested in developing our landfill. FOR DEVELOPERS

MAC MCKINNON—former City Commissioner who was against the people’s right to vote. Thought his word should be supreme. FOR DEVELOPERS.

TOM RAMICCIO—Former Mayor and now President of the Chamber of Commerce. Under his reign, we have lost over 40 businesses downtown. He solicits our tax dollars for Chamber events and then campaigns against citizens with different political views. FOR DEVELOPERS

JOHN RINALDI—For the Greater Bay Plan at the beach. Insists in his lawyer fashion that the law suits are the cause of Greater Bay's delays and lack of performance. The developer stays at his Bed & Breakfast. FOR DEVELOPERS

VINCE ROGERS—Hard working Neighborhood Assn President totally under the power of Mary Lindsey. See Shannon Brown above.

MATT TOMPKINS—Realtor--Former Chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency…resigned during scandal. Rumored to have political ambitions here in Lake Worth. FOR DEVELOPERS.

DAN WINKLE—Works at Honda. Wants to be next Commissioner District 1. Hangs out with the good ole boy network here in Lake Worth. Looking for their support. FOR Anything THEY WANT.

MARYANNE & BRUCE WEBBER—Downtown merchants who support Greater Bay and giving control up of our beachfront. They are looking for change on the national level by supporting Obama but want to keep the status quo and remain in power here in Lake Worth. Part of the Power Grab bunch. FOR DEVELOPERS.

MARTHA WRIGHT—who knows? Likes to clean up alleys and hang out with the good ole boys. Part of the Power Grab bunch.

BO & ERIN ALLEN—Bo Allen is a former City Commissioner. Realtor. Erin was part of the Power Grab bunch. FOR DEVELOPERS.

BRENDAN LYNCH—Insurance agent. Politically appointed to the Community Redevelopment Agency Board. Voted to give $100,000 of our money to the failed Hammon Park project. Part of the "inner crowd" listed here. Spoke in front of the PB County Commission and apologized for all of us who wanted to save our beach. We will be seeing his name in the future with his political aspirations.

LISA MAXWELL—Former iron fisted, out spoken but fair member of P&Z. FOR DEVELOPERS

HERMAN ROBINSON—Owner of property downtown. Director of the Lake Worth Democratic Club who is supporting Republican, Commissioner Vespo. Broke his sworn and notarized loyalty oath to only support Democrats. FOR DEVELOPERS

BARBARA AUBEL—Lost to Dave Vespo in the last election. Director of the LW Democratic Club who now supports Republican Dave Vespo. Go figure. Aspirations to run for Commissioner District 4 next time around. See Herman Robinson above.

GREG RICE—Landlord and property owner in Lake Worth. For the Greater Bay beach Plan and FOR DEVELOPERS.

DON TODORICH—He's a Realtor...that's all I know but obviously agrees with the above people.

www.lakeworthmedia.com just did a video on this and it is worth a look. Bill says that the above are all tied in with the political Chamber of Commerce. They are also tied in with the outside developer money which has somewhat dried up this election year because of the economy. Special interest money abounds.

They are all, however, a part of the perennial power structure that has dominated Lake Worth politics for far too long.

IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Rene Varela, Candidate for Commissioner District 4, on Crime

Today we were out canvassing in the south part of the City when all of a sudden a Sheriff's vehicle went tearing by. Soon after, the sheriff's helicopter was circling the sky. We found out that someone had stolen a vehicle and they were boxing him in.

• Crime and ‘lawlessness’

The specter of crime in our neighborhoods is a product of the environment that has been promoted through governmental negligence. We must once again reflect the best values of Lake Worth residents to demand accountability, consistency, and fairness from all public servants and residents. The residents of this city must be assured that all ordinances are enforced and that we as public servants and residents demand appropriate and respectful behavior from everyone in this city.

The responsibility lies with all of us, but the process must begin in the actions of the city government. All of the components of government and community must work together to end this growing feeling of lawlessness in our city.

Now that the current commission has decided to have our Police Department merge with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, we will continue to work toward removing the county-wide scourge of gang violence. However, it will take a dedicated commissioner who will persistently ensure that the concerns and needs of our residents are at the forefront of the mind of the local commander and the higher command of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department.

Chicken with rice and black beans

Fun event at Brogues last night for Candidate Rene Varela for Commissioner District 4.

In order to get into the flavor of the event, I had to order a traditional Cuban dinner--chicken with black beans and rice. The band was fabulous too! One of my friends came up from Boynton Beach with her dog, Bebito, and snuck it in for about 4 minutes before she was caught!

If you recall, a lot of Cubans migrated to the United States and became citizens after Cuba started to nationalize everything, seizing land, businesses and companies owned by the middle and upper class of Cuba. By the end of 1960, Cuba had seized over $25 billion worth of property of private citizens there and nationalized all property owned by United states citizens and other foreigners.

Rene's family moved here in 1959 and 1961 and he was raised with the ethic of striving for excellence and working hard and giving back. As your new Commissioner in District 4, he will give the City his full-time attention and work harder than he ever has before or anyone before him.

Take off those rose colored glasses

I sit in the exact same city commission meetings as does the Editor of The Lake Worth Herald. We look at the issues with different colored glasses, obviously.

I agree that the City needs better management on the Staff and elected Commission level. However, the Commission is in charge of this City. They hired the City Manager and Dave Vespo was one of them. They have the power to terminate the City Manager and for 20 months, Bob Baldwin has been leading this city through the direction of the 3 to 2 vote on the dais. Mayor Clemens, Commissioners Lowe and Vespo are the ones responsible for the bad shape of our City.

To recommend Dave Vespo because of his fight to go with the Palm Beach County Sheriff and dissolve our City Police Department that has been in existence for 93 years because crime was getting out of control along with Retirement packages, is a shallow reason for an endorsement. We do not know if the sheriff will reduce crime in our city. If crime was getting out of control during Commissioner Vespo’s tenure (2 years and 9 months now), then why did he not direct the City Manager to set up meetings with our Police chief and get these shifts changed, allowing more men on the streets during peak crime time? Instead, Commissioner Vespo just cried about crime on the up rise, voted to do away with our own Police and spend millions more going with the Sheriff. Just another thing he would never have to deal with again. What we do know is that Dave Vespo has made horrendously horrible decisions that will affect our welfare for decades to come…not only in this decision but dozens more, costing multi millions of dollars, wasted. Rene Varela is my choice for change.

For our local newspaper to say that a Commissioner is not effective in moving the City forward and that is a reason not to vote for her is disingenuous and just plain silly. You can’t be on the short end of the 3 to 2 vote and accomplish anything worthwhile in this city or break away from the stronghold of the political machine that has bound us up for years. We should hire a City manager who will give the best advice to our elected officials and not look for them to give him direction. This is why we pay him.

The best way to help our City is to change the Commissioner in District 4. We have had enough of Dave and the doubts are all reality.

AT LAST--They are over!

POST ARTICLE

Of all the Candidate Forums, I thought this one was the most boring of all. Not one candidate was on top of his game but all had spurts of excellence at one time or another. Every past Forum had the candidates seated in Alpha order, Commission District 2 on the left side as you are looking at the stage and District 4 on the right which resulted in the two incumbents sitting on each end. It made total sense. I guess the President’s Council of the Neighborhood Associations wanted to find an even more fair approach to this seating. Who knows. Sometimes the simplest of things get turned around.

I have to admit...I was very mad at John Jordan last night. Prior to the incident, he was holding his own in his own way. Mary Lindsey who had been alerted to this possible revelation was prepared for the attack and her explanation was classy and well done. Cara Jennings' retort was perfect.

Dave Vespo still thinks that we needed matching funds to get the $5 million from the County and still insists that we now have twice the number of officers that we had before going with the Sheriff’s Department. Ok, Dave, whatever.

I will be glad when it is all over.

P.S. To the person who put a Mulvehill flier on my car last night while I was at the Pizza Palace, sorry, but I don't vote for Republicans--EVER!

CRA Board Meeting tomorrow at 5:30

The CRA has just notified the public on-line of a REGULAR BOARD MEETING for tomorrow, Thursday, October 30, at 5:30pm to discuss the approval of an RLI for a Cultural Redevelopment Program. Regular meetings are normally held on the 2nd Tuesday and until recently, on the 4th Tuesday of each month. The 4th Tuesday will now be for Workshops as needed.

When you pull up the back-up on the Cultural Redevelopment Program, you can increase the font on-line but not when printing the document. You need the eyes of an owl. This looks like an important document.

Is it “negative” campaigning or just plain telling the truth?

Sometimes when you don’t like the accusation hurled at your favorite candidate or someone attacking his record, you label it as “negative” campaigning. How do you run for office when you are not the incumbent without challenging the opposition’s views and votes and policies he has made? This is NOT negative but rather just plain political astuteness. Why run at all unless you believe your opponent has done a lousy job and you believe that you can do better? You have to be able to tell the voters the whys and wherefores and convince them to vote for you. That’s what running for office is all about.

Don’t send me the glossy flier with the pretty picture telling me you are for this and that. Tell me why you will be better than the other guy and what you will do to straighten out the mess. That’s what I want to know.

I personally think that “negative” campaigning is attacking a candidate on a personal level such as “he’s cheated on his wife; he’s solicited young boys for sex; he’s a Muslim who hangs around with terrorists or even going so far as to tell a lie about the candidate—that sort of thing. Negative campaigning is leaking something secretly to the media that could be damaging to a candidate on a personal level.

It is not negative to impugn a candidate’s record. Get that straight!

What gives?

As Nick's life came to a screeching halt, the City of Lake Worth seems to be going down the same road.

REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER CANCELED. Regular meetings have not been re-scheduled.

NO CRA MEETINGS OTHER THAN ONE SPECIAL MEETING CALLED? SOME MYSTERIOUS SUBJECT TO BE DISCUSSED AT SPECIAL MEETING on the Cultural Redevelopment Plan.

What is going on here folks?

Up-date: There will be one meeting on November 10 for City business.

Letter to Peter Willard

Letter from Rachael Bach, Department of Community Services, regarding Greater Bay's Site Plan Submittal

CLICK HERE

Where is Lady Bird when you need her?

All of our Commissioners say that they want to alleviate blight, so what does Dave Vespo do? He votes for two more billboards.

I really have Doubts About Dave.

Rene Varela, Candidate for Commissioner District 4, on the Beach

The residents need a project that restores the historical and community integrity of the beach, in a way that reflects the best qualities of Lake Worth. There is an unfortunate amount of controversy and expended energy surrounding the development of the project to date. Many in our community feel that unnecessary secrecy and wasteful spending have driven this project down a path of poor decision making.

An understandable counter-reaction of frustration from citizens that want progress to occur has driven a wedge between many residents in this city. Needless to say, for many potential reasons, the public’s confidence that any project will indeed occur is completely eroded. It is for this reason that currently, all of our hopes and dreams for a respectable beach project are in a suspended state. Without proper leadership and extensive diplomacy, there is little hope to break this impasse.

The best approach forward is to negotiate a path toward the best interest of all residents. This route will be an arduous one, but is much more likely to result in the dissolution of any law suits and move our needed efforts forward. I strongly advocate for moving forward immediately with a general beach site plan that does not include a new building, but preserves its current location for future use, and utilize the county money to upgrade the necessary amenities on the beach so that all (including the elderly and disabled) residents may have access to our great beach.

Our residents deserve to see action now. They also need to be encouraged that their city government is working hard to find resolution on the building itself.

Pool Screw-ups

It was reported to me by a concerned citizen that the following problems exist at our Public Pool:

• Starting blocks installed incorrectly. Can't attract swim meets.
• Two diving boards in contract; 1 meter and a 3 meter-- only one used 1m board installed.
• Pool covers used to retain heat were made for residential pool--won't work on a competitive pool as they are too lightweight and will also blow off in a strong wind.
• Heater not connected.

We paid Greater Bay in full but not everything is complete per resident who uses the pool. Who is watching the store? Don't we pay our "project manager" $125 an hour to watch over OUR interests?

The Post is Clueless

It just goes to show you that newspapers have no clue when it comes down to politics and what is happening on any level whether it be Local, State or National politics. Unless you are sitting at these Commission meetings every month and you listen and observe and pay close attention on how each Commissioner votes on an issue affecting our City, there is no way a newspaper can get an endorsement correct. Also, you have to consider that newspapers are in business to make money and they do that from advertising. Who are the biggest customers? Developers, Realtors and the like. The Post must be believing the lies…maybe Robert Kanjian, who knows.

How could the Post Review Board choose Commissioner Jennings on one hand and then pick Commissioner Vespo on the other? Don’t they know that these two people are politically diverse in every regard? Their main focus in the interviews was on our beach and going with the Sheriff's Department. Both these candidates are on the opposite end of the totem pole on these issues.

The Post has laid off (in buy-outs) close to 300 people or more right now and their subscription rate has been dropping every year for years according to the Post. More and more people are reading the news on-line.

Hint folks—do your own homework here. Vote OUT Dave Vespo. Vote in Varela. Vote for Shelley Vana. Vote NO on 99 year leases too!

It will be a tight fit for this bag of wind

Photo of new C.O.P. car

Our C.O.P. volunteer, self professed know it all top COP, will have a lot of trouble fitting into this smaller sized C.O.P. car with all that bag of wind he carries around. Don't get too close to his car with a cigarette butt. This guy really LOVES to hear himself ramble on with the voices in his head.

Can you imagine a real COP being judge and jury, harassing private citizens and making assumptions that someone is always guilty without checking out one fact--ever? Thank God for us all that he just plays at being a COP. He is just another example of what’s wrong with this City.