VisionQuest has a Vision

VisionQuest has a vision to locate in Lake Worth. Ya'll come, here. The word is out...come to Lake Worth---we take anyone and everyone.

A youth shelter wants to come here and locate on Federal Highway within 500 feet of residential homes and not only that, is asking for zoning and variance changes. We gave variances to Schlesinger at the Gulfstream, didn't we? Ah but then Mojito's didn't get one.

What are youth shelters? They are homes for manipulative and very troubled youth (I'm trying to be kind) --delinquents and some dangerous and uncontrollable kids between the ages of 13 and 18 usually. These are lost kids whose own families can’t control them. They are kids who have been involved in substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, have mental health issues and a lot of conflict and only God knows really what. Youth centers are the last resort before reform school or jails.

And we are even thinking about that in our city?

AT&T - Customer Service? Call India

It was like spinning on the AT&T logo ball-

Around 8:30 am, I called AT&T in order to find out why they have not billed me since November. I have a direct billing at Visa. I wanted to do the right thing and was worried that they were not getting paid. I have been holding and have been transferred from one department to another for 2 hours and am persevering just to see if I EVER GET SERVICE, which is AT&T’s claim to fame—service. They are even going to send me out an on-line Survey--can't wait!

Ooops, a rep just called. Sounds like India. He is the ONLY one who had an answer for me after being shuffled around to 8 phone numbers. Actually, the first number that I dialed was the correct one in the end. This has to be the WORST customer service experience ever! ATT is discontinuing its Worldnet Service and everything will be just simply AT&T.

The guy from India had the answer though. Maybe we should outsource everything afterall. In this country you belong to Unions and you don’t have to have answers; you don’t have to know your job; it is the big shuffle game all day long…no one can get fired…let the next guy handle it, who has no clue and the customer is still there scratching his head wondering how AT&T makes any money particularly when those union employees who are not satisfied with just a piece of the pie want it all.

March Elections - Why does Lake Worth always have to be different?

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The next elections in Palm Beach County take place on March 9. This used to be Lake Worth’s election time until self-serving interests got in the way of good common sense, not to mention saving a ton of money. In fact, our present Commission did not even bother to heed the advice of Susan Bucher, Supervisor of Elections, who strongly suggested that our election be moved back to March because it was going to cost us if we didn't.

Atlantis, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, Cloud Lake, Delray Beach, Glen Ridge, Greenacres, Haverhill, Highland Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Park, Lantana, Loxatcheee Groves, Manalapan, North Palm Beach, Pahokee, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Palm Springs, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach, South Bay, South Palm Beach, Tequesta, Wellington and West Palm Beach. Whew. That is a long list. Did you count them up? No Lake Worth there!

This was a BIG mistake of a past commission that was spearheaded by Commissioner Nadine Burns and voted on by Dave Vespo and Retha Lowe (the 3 to 2 again). They had it go to a referendum to give it the appearance that it was something the people wanted knowing all along that it would most likely be an easy sell for their objective--keeping Jeff Clemens in office 8 months longer. This Commission could have changed all of that when it had an opportunity on January 5, 2010 to go back to March elections.

Instead, Cara Jennings made a motion to table it to “time uncertain” and Varela, Maxwell and Mulvehill voted with her. Her thinking, that was stated to the public and an opinion that no one fully believed, was that the people should vote on it rather than it being done by Ordinance. If that were the case, then the people should have voted on our beach before we took the $5mil bond money to redesign parking lots--a really stupid waste of money...thanks to the greener than green commissioners, Rene and Cara.

Jo-Ann Golden was the only Commissioner who voted to move our elections back to March and the only one fully focused on the issue for all the reasons that make March the best choice.

Why does Lake Worth ALWAYS have to be different? Why do some of its decisions ALWAYS cost us money? It should never have been moved to begin with but this is true of so many past decisions from previous Commissions that got us into horrible, financial messes with water contracts, Greater Bay, etc. as well as others that didn't cost much other than a lot of time like the Sunset parcel.

And now this Commission cowered in fear to right the wrong...and did I say that self-serving interests got in the way?

1000 Lake Avenue

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Real estate prices have just about bottomed out. Even the biggest idiot who was ever conceived would take advantage of this market if they had the opportunity. The Lake Worth CRA has a unique opportunity and now is the time to buy while conditions are in our favor.

In so many ways, real estate is local. Our City is on the path to upgrading our beach and casino property. We just finished the Pier. Bryant Park is getting an over-haul and our golf course is still the most magnificent piece of property. Businesses are moving into Lake Worth once again and taking a chance on us. The CRA still wants to continue with the Cultural Renaissance and recently encouraged the Palm Beach Cultural Council to locate in our downtown. And don't forget the $23 mil NSP2 Grant.

Why wouldn’t we want to seize this opportunity on 1000 Lake Avenue? Originally this building sold for $1,760,000 in January 2005. It is now appraised at $1,122,714 and we all know that the appraised value is always much lower than the real value. The owners of the building, 1000 Lake Avenue LLC are willing to sell it to us for $850,000 over four years, literally financing it for us. On top of that, they will continue to pay the real estate taxes during these four years which amounts to around $30,000 a year. It will be owned by the CRA in four years—free and clear!

Once the building is renovated, we will have a fabulous property directly across the street from City Hall. This is the same area and the beginning of what is destined to be a city center development down the pike. The CRA can move its office there, rent out the rest of the space at favorable commercial rents (if there is some problem in finding lessees) in order to get it occupied during our economic downturn and rent out the upstairs for special meetings. Once the economy turns around, and it will, rents will go up accordingly. They could even rent space to the City of Lake Worth that has a need for more space and a city commission that has managed to give-away city buildings for peanuts.

During the renovation, the CRA will market the property and attract commercial interest. If every tenant built out his own space, and paid his own share of property taxes, insurance, etc., we would have a building paying for itself.

I hate to see a “steal” pass through our finger tips, one that would be a valuable community asset, because we are afraid of taking a chance on the future. If you believe in Lake Worth at all, there is no other decision to make.

Hands in the Sand this Saturday at 1pm

This Saturday, starting at 1 pm, there will be a Hands In the Sand demonstration at Lake Worth Beach. Although this conflicts with the all day meeting at City Hall to hear the architect's presentations for our Casino as well as ROLOH's neighborhood-wide garage sale., we hope a lot of you find the time to join hands in solidarity at our Lake Worth Beach.

The Sierra Club says--

Big Oil is pressuring our Florida legislators and the U.S. Senate to open Florida's state and federal waters to oil rigs just 3 miles off our shores.

Even with the most advanced technology, spills and accidents can and do happen. With Florida now poised to build America's 1st high speed train, there's NO reason to put our beaches, marine ecosystem, $62 billion tourism economy and way of life at risk!

Next Saturday, February 13th, join hands with other Floridians and unite to show our decision makers that our state is against oil drilling off our shores.

Here are the details:

WHO: You, your friends, and family along with 1,000s of other Floridians across the state.

WHAT: Folks from across our state will gather at their local beach to join hands forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters. Wherever you are, you can join hands around the state to protect Florida's coastline.

WHEN: Saturday, February 13, 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST

WHERE: Dozens of beaches all over the state, both the Gulf & Atlantic Coasts. Click here for all the locations.

RSVP: http://action.sierraclub.org/HandsAcrosstheSand We'll send a free "Don't Drill Our Coasts" bumper sticker to everyone that RSVPs.

QUESTIONS: Phil Compton, phil.compton@sierraclub.org

Hope to see you there!

Phil Compton
Sierra Club
St. Petersburg, FL

Amendment 4

Join Orlando Business Journal and the Citrus Club as they discuss the proposed Amendment 4 ballot initiative.

Hear local executives viewpoints on what Amendment 4 involves and possible implications to Central Florida businesses and land use. Orlando Business Journal’s award-winning Editor Cindy Barth will moderate the breakfast panel discussion.

Ross Burnaman, attorney, Florida Hometown Democracy
Ryan Houck, executive director, Floridians for Smarter Growth
Ed Timberlake, chairman of the board, Seaside Bank; chairman, Floridians for Smarter Growth

Friday, Feb 26 @ 7:30 – 9 a.m.
Citrus Club, 255 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801

To register, please go to http://events.bizjournals.com/11411 or contact Kelly DiCristina at kdicristina@bizjournals.com or at 407.649.8470

President Obama might be an Illegal Alien

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Investigators swear that Obama NEVER attended Columbia University. Dr. James Manning from the ATLAH World Ministries organization and who believes he is ordained by God and speaks to him daily, says Obama NEVER attended Columbia--no one has ever heard of him ever being there.

It is also coming more and more to light that he might even be an ILLEGAL ALIEN. No wonder our multi-million dollar Secure Border Initiative is not working.

Our CRA and its Dilemma

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The Lake Worth CRA is a "mixed bag." I am not really convinced that they will rise above their past decisions. I haven't approved of much and even with this latest Board that is striving to fulfill its mission, the give-away of $500,000 to Publix as well as $700,000 to the PB Cultural Council, or whatever the final figure was, does not set well with me.

Spending money for Hands On Consulting to develop an artist's destination to bring "culture" to our City is incongruent or illogical when you consider all the slum, all the blight and all the crime right in the CRA district. Until you do something about that, you might just as well forget about the rest. The neighborhoods that have to live in these conditions are not thinking about "culture" and it is their tax dollars going towards these projects.

The CRA has a multi-million dollar budget that is approved by the Commission. What do they do? When necessary, the CRA Director moves money from one line to another. Is this the same budget approved by the City Commission? No. It is the same amount of money only.

Spending $15 million of taxpayer money on two roads, 6th Avenue South and 10th Avenue North (The Gateways) in order to attract development was extraordinarily optimistic at best. The only people making money off of these projects were the contractors--not Lake Worth. The constant giving away of hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars to its pet projects is irresponsible. Nothing they have done has changed Lake Worth for the better.

All along the CRA should have been clearing up slum and blight and maybe, just maybe, someone might have wanted to buy here thus eliminating the 20 people to a property that has become the norm in many parts of the CRA district. Because properties have been allowed to deteriorate, the problem has exasperated. It is the CRA district that has the most problems and nothing is getting better.

For those of you who are arguing that it is the anti-development crowd (there actually is NO anti-development crowd, only people who are interested in Smart Growth and ending corruption or companies like Greater Bay or giving away city property for "songs") that has caused the problem in Lake Worth, please research the facts of the matter. For those of you who still don't quite understand The Lucerne and why the CRA is not yet getting any tax revenue from that bad decision, please read the facts about tax increments regarding that lousy deal decided by a previous CRA.

Now with the $23 million Neighborhood Stabilization Grant, the CRA has a chance to get back to its core mission. NSP funds may be used for activities which include, but are not limited to:

• Establish financing mechanisms for purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed homes and residential properties;
• Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties abandoned or foreclosed;
• Establish land banks for foreclosed homes;
• Demolish blighted structures;
• Redevelop demolished or vacant properties

There's but one problem--the CRA has little discretionary money because the HUD money (the $23 mil) is given to the CRA on a reimbursement basis. Joan Oliva, CRA Director, has suggested a revolving line of credit be established to provide the necessary liquidity for the Program. It is projected that the CRA will experience another decrease in revenue this year that will make it more difficult to pay nearly $1 million on the principal and interest on the Gateways debt as well as tax increment reimbursement to The Lucerne.

Tonight's meeting, a joint workshop with the City Commission, will be at the Compass Building starting at 6pm.

Prison Labor a sensible solution?

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A few months ago I got a call from a homeowner in Lake Osborne heights. He was very concerned about Lake Worth’s decision to use prison labor for various projects in the city such as our alley ways. His Aunt’s house had been broken into in broad daylight and they took it all.

I raised the question at the last ROLOH meeting to the Sheriff who was there on the use of prison labor (he will report back) and have mentioned it as well at a City Commission meeting. The question fell on deaf ears as most questions do. The concern is that these prisoners are casing our homes during the day in order to come back and rob strategic homes once they get released.

As our crime is growing in Lake Worth in spite of some utterances that say differently, it is something to consider. Tropical Ridge just used prison labor to clean up graffiti. They may be happy with the results since the clean-up but watch the crime stats for B&E down the pike.

"Pocket Parks" again

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James Kelly speaks out on public right-of-way land citing "security" as the problem.

He mentions some guy walking through the "pocket park" and unleashing his two pit bulls while the dog owner was drinking a beer. Jim, why didn't you call the police? What this guy did on both counts is against the law. If the guy was walking his dog, it was probably a neighbor.

The rights of way will be maintained as before. Nothing will be different. To even think of launching kayaks there is not a viable option and certainly environmentally unfriendly. These "parks" should remain exactly as they always have, for public access and owned by the City, not private homeowners. They will not be any more of a security issue than they ever have been.

Commissioner Mulvehill is looking after the rights of all Lake Worth citizens, not the few.

The Palm Beach Post "misses" again

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Tell it to them

The Post just doesn't get it when it comes to Florida Hometown Democracy. Politicians don't "get it" because it reduces their power. As they wallow in all that arrogance, they truly believe that they are the only ones who know best, not those who voted them into office. When you look at all of our problems across our State, who can you blame them on? We have more than 1 million empty units in Florida and developers just want to build more. Our natural habitats are disappearing and our Florida Panther is nearly extinct.

Comprehensive Plans are adopted by cities for reasons and because Florida law (Chapter 163 Florida Statutes) requires all counties and cities to adopt a Comprehensive Plan. This is a legal Plan on how citizens decided the future of their cities. Why then should a simple 3 to 2 political vote change Comp Plans? Why should developers be allowed to influence politicians to make those changes? The people should be protected and they are not. That is why Florida Hometown Democracy came about.

By voting YES on November 2, 2010 for Florida Hometown Democracy, it will STOP the egregious acts of local politicians from changing the look of our municipalities across the State through politics.

Al Froman says this about yesterday's Palm Beach Post Editorial:

Liar, liar, Editorial on Fire

Palm Beach Post (aka Palm Beach Putz) falsely states that the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 “would waste the public’s money.” The editorial goes on to express grave concern that it would “penalize developers.” We think that’s a slimy appeal for real estate ads. In truth, Amendment 4 empowers citizens to have a voice in community growth, stabilizing the economy.best way to characterize the editorial is to paraphrase Mary McCarthy on Lillian Hellman: “Every word that comes out of the mouth is a cliché lie, and that includes ‘the,’ ‘but,’ and ‘and’.”

Super Bowl XLIV

New York Sports says that Peyton Manning is a robot -- plays it like a chess game which is NO fun and that the Colts have no depth.

Football Outsiders says: put it all in the big blender of matchups, and the result still comes out 50-50. This should be, and hopefully will be, an exciting, high-scoring, and very close game.

GO SAINTS!

Beautiful

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Weed at Lakeside Point Gardens, Lake Osborne

Sometimes a food source for butterflies, bees and birds.
When you think of weeds, you think of "ugly"...
but that is not always the case.

French politician arrested on illegal immigration

France gave us the Statute of Liberty. They knew what they were doing. We will give America our tired, our poor, etc. and the word spread until we got so many people sneaking over our borders--it is like a running faucet that can't be capped off.

It doesn't matter if you are some bleeding heart politician or one who just wants to avoid the problem of illegal immigration or like this French politician who actually is a party to illegal activity.

We should take some LESSONS from the UK and its tough immigration laws. Jail is good.

Florida Hometown Democracy

Music by Grant Peeples

Man Dies -- Illegal Hit-And-Run Driver

Now it is even more serious than originally reported. The victim of the hit and run has now died. Read about it HERE

Lake Worth Trojans Basketball

Last night was the last game of the season as well as Alumni Appreciation Night. The alumni were all given a LW High T-Shirt...mine says "Lake Worth Varsity Letterman" and I have it on now and will wear it today at the Art Show downtown.

In spite of losing by 8 points to Boca, our team did a great job considering it is basically a freshman squad with only 2 seniors. Grade point average kept many from participating, something that Dr. Saltzman is working diligently on improving. Top scorer for LW was Desorvil with 28. I was told that he is only a Junior.

Watching Ian Saltzman, Principal and Brett Packard, Assistant Principal as well as the coaches, students, fans and alumni all interact, gives you a feeling of hope for our school. There is so much love and attention and pride for Lake Worth High.

It was an exciting game...my hands were red from clapping and I annoyed everyone around me for cheering the loudest.

The Underwear Bomber and all the rest of the Terrorists

The PB Post’s editorial today agreed with President Obama on trying terrorists in a civilian court. Is anyone surprised?

The reason why I don’t agree with this is that these terrorists are automatically given all the rights under our Constitution that a citizen of the U.S. has in a criminal trial. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The terrorist has to be given his Miranda rights. He can have a lawyer paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, the very people for whom he committed atrocious offenses. He can be given a plea bargain and cut a deal. He can hire a super-click defense attorney like O.J. did and get off. National security issues can and will be revealed.

These terrorist murders don’t have any rights and we should not give them any bandstand to spout their political bull. A military court is the only sensible solution. Try them in Guantanamo and keep that base opened.

Lake Worth, Sanctuary City

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

• Bring 14 trillion dollars while you're at it.

• Balance our Budget

• Get rid of the "illegal labor hiring hall" aka Resource Center

• Build the wall higher (only kidding--won't work)
  

• Deputize, authorize and train state and local law enforcement people to identify and prosecute illegal aliens

• Penalize employers who hire illegal aliens. Initiate E-Verify immediately.

• Incorporate the 287(g) Program

• End public services and benefits for those who cannot prove they are in the country legally

• No driver's licenses for illegal aliens

• No more anchor babies

Does that about cover it? Oh, I forgot. Stop the Socialists and bleeding heart "progressives" who are ruining our country and ruining our city, some of whom I agree with on many other issues. If you can't follow the law, you are in the wrong profession BECAUSE--you represent the taxpayer citizen, not the criminal. I expect my elected officials to do nothing less and certainly not to remain silent because you are not on the side of the 3 to 2 vote.

Crime in Lake Worth

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For all of you east of Dixie and who continue to say that crime is "down" in order to justify the costly decision to go with the Palm Beach County Sheriff, the cold hard facts state otherwise.

In seven days through February 4, we had 251 crimes. There were two vehicle recoveries but then two more car thefts.

What is causing all of this in our city? Drugs and gangs and more and more poor people who are unemployed. There was even a guy with balls who stole a condom the other day. We encourage these people to come here by not addressing the slum and blight. This is what you have and this is what you will get.