Customer Service--we might just get some

Excellent is the grade that City Manager Stanton is striving for in customer service. Customer service has been virtually non-existent in many departments. If I call Finance, forget it. If I call Mark Bates directly, no problem. If I call Lake Worth Utilities, it is usually a hassle.

City Manager, Susan Stanton is on a mission to improve our customer service and will have a system in place over the next two months or so. Every employee will be signed into the phone system during business hours in order to accept phone calls. These calls will be monitored and reports given to management on a daily basis.

The irony here is that I have yet to receive a call back from Ms. Stanton. She does answer direct e-mails to her, however. I have always wondered if she has ever received the few calls I have made that have gone through her secretary. Once this program is implemented, management will know and perhaps so will we. This is a step in the right direction.

Hey Fatty, you should be eating More!

Am I the only one out here who did not know that eating food more often will help you lose weight? I have been doing just the opposite and can't lose a pound. Barbara Jean Webber with her model like figure told me that last night and I had never heard it before. Is it really true? Wouldn't you hate to eat 5 or 6 meals a day and end up weighing 2 tons?

Here are the facts:

One of the best ways to control your caloric intake and lose weight is to eat more often throughout the day. Ideally, you should eat 5 to 6 times per day, with 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours between each meal or snack. There are several reasons why this works.

• Eating more frequently gets your metabolism going and keeps it working at an elevated level continuously throughout the day.
• It will amp up your energy and keep your insulin level constant.
• Because you are eating more frequently, you should eat a smaller portion at each meal or snack. Use some common sense here and remember the key word is SMALL! If you are eating your normal portions, this won’t work! This isn’t as hard as it sounds, because you just won’t be as hungry since you just ate 2 or 3 hours ago.
• Since you are not as hungry, it is much easier to pick a lean and healthy snack. When you let yourself get very hungry, you are much more likely to grab whatever is in sight. This is also when you start to crave all of those things that are so high in fat and calories, and you will probably eat more of it.
• Even though you will ideally be eating LESS food that you are now, you will feel like you are eating MORE. Your mind and body will equate eating more frequently with more food, and therefore feeling more satisfied.
• Knowing that you will be eating more often, you should plan ahead for your meals and snacks. This, too, will help to insure that you pick foods that are good for you and fit into a lean and healthy diet.

Is it easy to incorporate eating 5 to 6 times per day into your schedule? Not at first! It does take a little extra time and planning. Is it worth it? Absolutely! If you do it sensibly, it will help you to control your fat and calorie intake. The result is reaching and/or maintaining your weight loss goals.

Source: ShapeFit

That One Stupid Act

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Campaign Kick-Off party for Jo-Ann Golden Commissioner District 3
Held at the beautiful home of Mr. & Mrs. Ed Grimm

I don’t blame Mrs. Jennings for not shaking my hand last night. She was being a Mother and she also knows, better than anyone, all the good things that her daughter tries to accomplish and the compassion and passion Cara has for certain causes. If the situation were in reverse, I probably would have been a little more vocal. She showed class. She knows that you can't reverse the action and she must know that you can't negate the wrong choices. But as mothers often do, they will never admit when their kid errs or perhaps did something really stupid—like spending the night in jail.

She was mad a me for the Squeaky Fromme comparison. Actually it was not my intention to put Cara Jennings in the same category as Squeaky Fromme who brought a gun to protest the cutting down of California Redwoods when the President of the United States was speaking that day. And even though there was no bullet in the chamber, Fromme paid a dear price.

My article was only to point out that protesting what you consider a good or righteous cause can take you to places you never expected. By committing that one stupid act, it can possibly ruin your life forever.

Last night's rainbow

The rain was still coming down--you can see the drops on the lens--but this rainbow turned out to be a full one. It was really something to see.

More Murder and Mayhem in Lake Worth

I was talking to one of the candidates yeaterday, Scott Maxwel, and he asked me if I had heard about the 3 murders down on South D Street--The three people were shot and killed early Saturday morning in the 1400 block in Lake Worth.

Read about it.

Federal E-Verify

"The U.S. District Court in Maryland ruled in favor of an executive order first issued during the Bush Administration that would require all federal government contractors to use E-Verify.

The order was delayed once by Pres. Bush and three times by Pres. Obama while they were awaiting the outcome of lawsuits filed by various business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."

Read more on a step in the right direction.

The Poorer you are the more things Cost

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To the few out there who have told me that I write in a negative tone, (only when they don't agree with me) I say it is pointing out the obvious. Do you really want to live in a vacuum? La La Land? The cost of everything is up. Only the government and our CRA don’t understand that it seems, because all of them only know how to do one thing—SPEND and give away money.

State School Board up 6%

Local School Board up 6.2%

Children’s Services up 14.8%

Health Care District up 14.8%

PB County Fire Rescue up 17.2%

Lake Worth taxes up by 1.7981 mils when you factor back in the Fire Rescue

We still pay for the Florida Inland Navigation District, interest on the 2002 Recreational Bond (the $5 mil we have NEVER BEEN GIVEN), Palm Beach County taxes estimated at a 15% increase, PB County debt, the Public Schools debt, South Florida Water Management District and Everglades Construction.

Then we have to pay increased fees from Lake Worth on waste and stormwater. Up the ante for Solid Waste Authority and Solid Waste for Lake Worth, we are paying a whopping $24.80 for every $1,000 of taxable value.

Right now Belle Glade and Pahokee can’t make their budgets that are directly caused by plummeting property values and the increase in PB County Fire Rescue. They are asking for relief from the County to pay their budget shortfall. No sooner does the Lake Worth City Commission elect to go with the County on Fire Rescue, we get stiffed 17.2% overnight for that service. Our property values decreased much more than did Belle Glade and Pahokee. We were affected at 24.3 percent drop in value, 2^nd only to Loxahatchee Groves at a loss of 26.3%. Neighboring cities that also have similar population problems, (I'm trying to be kind here) Greenacres (-23.8) and Palm Springs (-23.6%) besides the Glades, are ranked right next to us with the biggest drop in property values. So there you have it. Not a pretty picture.

Lake Worth has raised fees on everything imaginable. Now they want the Lake Worth Museum to pay rent! Our own Museum!! I don't know whose idea this is but I can say that we have employees who don't even live in this city who have made the recommendations on increases for just about everything here in Lake Worth and the Commission has agreed. This is another reason why we need our City Manager to live here and I am happy that Susan Stanton moved here immediately upon employment and did not circumvent our Charter like the last CM we had. If we are lucky, perhaps she will get a better understanding of our city and address the root causes of our problems.

One faction here in the City believes that by charging more to the residents for whom they feel are the cause of our problems, will make things so expensive that they will eventually move on. Price them out. Some think that the disabled and seniors should be dropped off at our beach and shuttled up the dune and charge everyone a fortune just to use God's beach. Then there are others who still have the build at all costs mentality for the tax base and hell with a single family neighborhood. I dropped in on an 87 year old man the other day and his dinner was a banana, a glass of Ensure and a cookie. Seniors don't have public transportation that is affordable. They can't get to the grocery store and the Publix on Lake Worth Road charges more because they cater to the poor on food stamps and the illegal alien. So many of the elderly are trying to hold on to their independence and won't ask for help, unable to really clean, shop, or put food on the table. They are citizens that have been sacrificed--they have never really asked for a thing...a different generation that has paid their dues.

It just gets “whackier and whackier” as everyone comes up with solutions for all of us to pay more, for less, to be inconvenienced more and pay for that inconvenience. In the meantime certain commissioners pat themselves on the back, say a hail Mary or two, for being so caring to our poor, our helpless and "our" illegal aliens while charging the citizens more for everything and then worry about trees at our beach and spending $5 million dollars to re-configure parking lots.

Before long, we won't have a middle class--those who still have some money to pay the bills. The poorer you are the more things cost and we must tackle the cause before we will ever turn Lake Worth around.

Whistleblowers in Lake Worth

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"Let's assume Andres Reyes and Howard Jordan were wrong in their contention that an unauthorized PC plugged into to the mainframe operating the electrical system in Lake Worth, Fla., posed a threat to the state's power grid. After raising their concerns privately, the two employees of city-owned Lake Worth Utilities went public, and for their whistle-blowing, were fired by the city earlier this month."

Read more from Government Information Security

A Memory Refresher

Because Lois Frankel is trying to undo the Charter and run for a third term, it is important to remember what she did and how power is corruptible. She is a great example as to why we do not want a "strong" mayor in Lake Worth.

"Developers and businesses perceive that the City of West Palm Beach is in fact a “pay to play” city. Developers take actions consistent with this conclusion, including the contribution of substantial sums of money to the campaign account of Mayor Lois Frankel. Contributions are made at times significant to approval of or consideration of projects or matters before various boards and the City Commission in West Palm Beach. Campaign contributions in increments of $500.00 were made by wealthy large scale developers to the political campaign account of Mayor Lois Frankel. These contributions came from individuals, companies, and legal entities which were found to be connected to the developers. The total campaign contributions connected to a given developer varied from $5,000 to $21,000. "

Read the Redacted Grand Jury Report February 2007 on Pay to Play in West Palm Beach

Read the 7 reasons to remember

Cyber bullies hiding behind an illusory shield

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Our favorite guy

Maureen Dowd, opinion writer for the New York Times, wrote a piece yesterday especially for you anonymous bloggers, you know, the ones who constantly hide behind the mask...the cowardly ones who love to post and make up outrageous off the wall stuff for the sheer delight of all your fellow gang bangers. They post under pseudo names or anonymous names and perpetuate the lie. Anonymous is fine if what is written is not a personal attack loaded like a stuffed baked potato full of yesterday's garbage. If you want to whack and attack, use your name. We actually have some running for office who let another blogger (our favorite guy) do the dirty for them so their record appears clean as wind driven snow. It is all a sick game and in Lake Worth.

Maureen says, "What is the mentality that lets them get in your face while wearing a mask? Shredding someone's character before the entire world and not being held accountable seems like the perfect sting."

Read more -- THE ARTICLE

This has been going on for years here in Lake Worth with the same people playing in the same sandbox...the ones who describe themselves as "positive."

Virus from City Hall?

Here is part of a message I just received--hope you all have a good anti-virus program.

The Declude Virus v4.3.46 software on mail.avenet.net has reported that you were sent an E-mail from cityweb@lakeworth.org, containing the OBJECT DATA Vulnerability virus in the [In HTML Code] attachment. The subject of the E-mail was "Lake Worth Historical Museum Volunteers Needed". The E-mail containing the virus has been quarantined to prevent further damage.

Give us the money and then take a Hike!

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I knew that the day would come when I would agree with The Lake Worth Herald on something—but actually two things? I will touch on one of them now—The Lake Worth beach.

The Palm Beach County “strings” are too high to spend $5 million re-designing a parking lot. This is just a crazy waste of money no matter how you look at it and the County refuses to allow Lake Worth residents to have permitted parking—the very people who actually maintain the beach all year around. Are people in Wellington paying for the maintenance at our beach? Our pool? Are they paying for our lifeguards and their retirement?

The problem is that Commissioner Jennings wanted to eliminate 164 parking spaces on the upper level. 184 residents agreed with the Michael Singer Plan—The City manager stated at the last commission meeting that a majority of residents wanted this plan—no they did not. The Michael Singer presentation over one day was attended by a stacked deck of 220 green people.

If you take all that parking out, then it must be put back in. There begins the problem. This means spending millions on design and implementation to re-figure the lower level parking lot. This is nuts! The money should be put to better uses such as the boardwalk and public bathrooms. Our parking is FULL during the Season Commissioners. This is income to the City. To eliminate parking for green is not business smart. A tree will not bring in revenue; a parking space will.

There was some suggestion about allocating a certain section of the lower level for decal permit holders. Next, if you eliminate free parking for employees at the Casino and Benny's and make them pay for parking, they will all buy parking decals thus taking up any alloted decal parking for residents. Employees at shopping malls don't pay for parking. I don't agree with the Herald on this one but can see the point. It must be worked out for employees too.

My suggestion has always been to leave the parking alone. Plant more trees where you can. Re-figure the lot across from Benny’s and plant trees down the middle between the parking aisles. Hire a landscape professional (maybe John Lang—this might keep him happy) who will design the landscaping for all our parking areas and you will be surprised how great it will look. Again--Leave the parking alone! People want convenient parking. And Ms. Stanton, residents do not want to park at Old Bridge, walk across A1A and trek up the hill. This is OUR beach, not Palm Beach County’s; we should be able to park where it is convenient.

After paying on this Bond since 2002, they should just give us the money without the strings. The County says that it has been “pretty patient” with us. Well, we’ve got news for you. We have been waiting for this money for 7 years. Lake Worth will be asking them to waive the $3.5 mil because we no longer have it. The County wants to tie up our beach for 30 years. If we are asking for one thing that is contrary to the agreement then we can strongly demand decal parking.

Otherwise Katie Mcgiveron and The Herald are right--tell the County to shove it if they don’t budge on the decal parking and charge every person who does not live in Lake Worth double to park at our Lake Worth beach. That should get the County’s attention. Also, scream bloody murder about paying for this money since 2002 every year on ad valorem.

Give us the $5 mil; it’s ours and then take a hike.

998 to Go

Jimy Gilles, a "productive" citizen living at 822 S. 'E' Street in Lake Worth, was finally arrested on Thursday for attempted murder and assault for a shooting back in 2006 right here on Wingfield Street.

Gilles is a member of the Top 6 Gang that is so prevalent here in Lake Worth.

This Gang is affiliated with 41 shootings and 14 known homicides. It is a Haitian-American Gang involved in horrendous crimes such as the shooting at the Boynton Mall on Christmas Eve 2006.

$ 8 Million Dollars

10 Avenue North
Photo taken today

With the national debt now close to $12 trillion dollars, $8 million probably seems small in the scheme of things. What's a million here or there? It is a lot of money to a little city with big budget problems.

Positive messages are opposite

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My positive thought is to get excellent, reasonable, sensible, law abiding, down-to-earth, business minded people elected--not anyone who is against everything for which I believe-implying that the City will get sued because of Sunset--not Man of La Mancha--no fantasies from someone singing The Impossible Dream. We all can't agree on everything all of the time.

If you disagree with anyone in this City that is when the name calling begins. It always gets very personal. But the most prevalent tag name they give you is that you are "negative" or when I talk about illegals that I am "racist." I say, it is just another way of looking at it...another perspective to consider in view of the terrible problems we have in this City. All one has to do is look at the record.

Nice poem, Wes. What it tells me is exactly what I think about the $700,000 give away--it MIGHT turn out good but then, it might not...not all decisions are folly, that sometimes there really is a happy ending. Personally, I would rather base my decisions on cold hard facts and not emotions. As a Board, the CRA should be looking at all aspects and take into consideration every possibility before ever handing over one dime to anyone. There should be some sort of sound decision behind it, not that it MIGHT invigorate our downtown.

-

---- Original Message -----

From: Wes Blackman

To: Lynn Anderson

Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 9:46 AM

Subject: Positive thoughts....

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
From bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
Faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
Sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
Elect an honest man; decide they care
Enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they are born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
Amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
That seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.

Sheenagh Pugh
from Selected Poems

Just Ask and you shall Receive

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Lake Worth About to get more culture

Just come to Lake Worth and you can have it all. That is the message that is out there and it is very loud and clear. We are very generous folks. We don’t ask too many questions if the proposal sounds good. We love to give away buildings. We love to give away assets. We negotiate nothing. We love to waste money. We have all sorts of dreams of green space. We love to re-design parking lots and literally take away potential income at our beach for a tree. We have little thought about taking away decal parking for mangroves. We continue to screw the resident taxpayer in every way possible in order to plant a seed that may never grow from this blighted hollow ground.

What about the CRA’s main mission of cleaning up slum and blight. Somehow over the last several years, that has fallen by the blighted wayside of our city streets and has now been replaced by the visions of total metamorphous.

We have a CRA that just can't figure out how to spend its money fast enough and the other night, simply takes it over the top. The entire room was stacked and packed (I have been told) with business folks and Chamber folks and all those who think that spending all of this money will improve their lives. Perhaps the CRA’s thoughts are, bring more businesses and these owners and visitors will just fall in love with our garbage ridden neighborhoods that have been taken over by criminals ... they will actually buy a house or start a business here.

Instead of starting at the foundation for building this “new house” of ours, the CRA is starting at the top…building the roof first over a bunch of hot air coming directly from the Field of Dreams mentality for which the CRA has paid Hands On Consulting $200,000. Tuesday they agreed to hand over another $700,000 to the Palm Beach Cultural Council, that incidentally, has twice the budget of the CRA. This decision is based on nothing quantitative that the PB County Cultural Council can really do for us only what they tell us they can do-- just hopes, dreams and wishes.

Their presentation was great but give them $700,000? On top of that, the CRA agrees to give away all this money to a group that hasn't even decided on a location. What sort of crazy is that? Just come here...we don't care where you land. That is the reality of what the CRA based its decision. The CRA is in a world of its own when it comes to spending huge sums of money. Immediately the Gateways come to mind.

**
To me the sensible decision would be to buy the 14,381 SQ FT building at 1000 Lake Avenue for $900,000--that's two hundred thousand more to actually own something. Give a reduced rental rate to this Group to locate to this building. Give them some perks. After two years, if they have proven themselves to Lake Worth, extend their favorable lease. We then house our Code Department (if we have a code department still in effect) or use the extra space for other city departments. The CRA can then use this building as its headquarters and stop paying $2,500 a month rent where they are. In the meantime, we own a building on an important corner of an area that the City wants to develop in the future for a downtown government center. It is right across the street from City Hall. That building is on the market at half its value. The property is already very valuable but in five years it would be priceless and owned by us.

It really is time to stop this endless pipe dream of the CRA and all its give-aways and non-negotiated "deals." Prior to this it was the Gateways. It was a bunch of give-aways for those "scam" homeowners and others who took advantage. Now it is the artist’s destination. What next? For a city that is rapidly turning into garbage haven and one that can’t even afford its code officers anymore, you really have to wonder about the priorities.

CRA last night

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Looking for my Chair

There are always surprises and last night was no exception at the CRA meeting. After being at the City Commission meeting from 1pm until 5:40pm, there was no way I was going to stay for another meeting. I called Emily at the CRA for the results.

1. In what could be considered as a political maneuver, Brendan Lynch was nominated by Donna Ross, seconded by Shanon Materio and voted in as Chair, some saying that he has the respect and knowledge to lead. Commissioner Ed Grimm wanted to wait until next week when a new Board will be appointed.

2. Donna Ross was voted as Vice Chair.

3. The Palm Beach Cultural Development wants to come to Lake Worth as its headquarters. They asked and the CRA agreed to give them $700,000 in a 10 year forgivable loan at 0% interest. This will be paid in 6 separate draws and will be used on construction costs for a building not yet decided upon. Although totally conjecture and no way of proving its potential value to Lake Worth, some said having them headquartered here will be a great asset for our City.

4. The Budget and CIP were approved.

5. 812 N. Dixie Project. All Site Construction was chosen...$146,221.48

The League of Cities' evil influence

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Trela White

Florida League of Cities voted Trela
Top Attorney in 2008
This woman actually wanted to shake my hand

Trela, I don't sleep with the enemy and I don't shake hands with them either. Perhaps that is something that lawyers do as a lot of it is only about winning; it is a game.

There is one fundamental reason why I do not like the Florida League of Cities—this group is always against the citizens, you know, you and me. We continue, as citizens, to put up with their anti-resident agenda. They got involved in the Sunset case and joined the law suit against Save Our Neighborhood. They were against the SuperMajority and imposed their will, their clout and money. Now they are against Florida Hometown Democracy along with the Florida Chamber and every developer group that ever existed.

Why are they against all of this? Because in some twisted reasoning they actually believe that a citizen should not have any say in what his/her community looks like even when that city government makes a decision contrary to the Comprehensive Plan. They believe that elected officials should be able to do whatever they damn well please and those who elected them should have no say. They actually mentor city officials on how to screw their citizens. If a city wants an excellent attorney to keep its residents at bay, it doesn't have to look too far.

While our Commissioners Lowe, Jennings and Mulvehill, as well as City Manager Stanton, were in Orlando for the League’s convention with Lake Worth taxpayers picking up this tab of $4,500, they were dining on more than roast beef, getting fed full of anti-Florida Hometown Democracy propaganda. City Manager Stanton actually rented a vehicle to transport all of them. We keep paying for membership in an organization that hates any citizen who does not fall in line.

What should have been said at that convention about Florida Hometown Democracy:

• Amendment 4 will replace negative impact development and sprawl with well planned comfortable communities designed to attract business and industry
  

• Amendment 4 will give voters VETO POWER only over projects that exceed what the community’s land use plan approves for a particular site
  

• Too many destructive comprehensive plan changes have been granted in recent years of our elected officials causing congestion, spiraling taxes, costs for infrastructure, lower property values, sprawl, a shortage of water and a lower quality of life for all Florida residents.
  

That’s what they should have said! This is no game. This is all about preserving and saving our State from every square inch of it being paved over with no say.

Vote Yes on 4 in 2010.

Edward Moore Kennedy

The Lion of the Senate is dead. Fighting brain cancer since May 2008, Edward Moore Kennedy could no longer win the battle dying at age 77.

We all remember Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident 40 years ago where a passenger in his car, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. He was found guilty of leaving the scene of the accident and was given a slap on the wrist. This was a defining moment for him I am sure. From that point forward, he devoted the rest of his life to public service. And he did a great job passing many major pieces of legislation with 300 of them becoming law. He constantly and consistently fought the battle for human causes.

I will miss his style, his great smile, his earlier years playing football on the lawn at his home in Hyannis Port with his brothers, being a surrogate father to 13 children after the assassinations of his brothers, John and Robert, his love for sailing and my being able to read and watch and therefore be a part of his fascinating life as depicted in the news.

A remarkable man from a remarkable family; he will be missed.

Save Our Neighborhood, Inc. & Friends

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Ron Exline (Intervenor), Lynn Anderson-SON, Jennifer Marchal-SON, Betty Anderson-SON, Katie Mcgiveron-Chair SON, Tripp Ciocci (Intervenor) and Dante Ciocci.

THANKS--
to all the people who have helped us over the last four years, not only in the Lake Osborne Heights Neighborhood but throughout the City. There were many occasions that residents spoke out and supported us in front of the City Commission as well as the Planning & Zoning Board.

to friends of the PAC who supported us through thick and thin.

to spouses who put up with us for 4 years.

to all those who gave money.

to all those who petitioned and signed the petitions.

to our attorney, Lesley Blackner. Without her we would have been nothing.

to this City Commission for righting the wrong we give a special thanks: Retha, Cara, Jeff, Jo-Ann and Suzanne