Time to tell the Left "NO"

Another reason why we must vote in Col. Allen West as our Congressman District 22 and another reason why we need to vote in patriots that will get this country back on track.

Florida ranks 42nd on the List as one of the Worst States

The Best and the Worst States

And just think, the Lake Worth BAC PAC blames this Commission for everything that has gone wrong in the City. They want you to support their candidates as they say that THEY have the answers. They just don't get it. Even Florida elected officials just don't get it.

42nd. Florida

Debt per Capita: $7,666 (29th)

Unemployment Rate: 11.7% (46th)

Home Price Change (’06 – ’09): -20.9% (48th)

Median Household Income: $44,736 (38th)

Despite receiving the ninth-lowest rank, Florida maintains an amazing AAA rating from S&P, which is the only reason it didn’t rank as the worst state on our list. From 2006 to 2009, property values in the sunshine state dropped 20.9%, making it the third-worst in that category. Despite its significant number of older residents, Florida also ranks 47th in health insurance coverage and has the fourth-worst violent crime rate.

Tea Party Forum last night

Comment Up

Upper row: Aimee Carlson and Vote NO man
(someone told me it was her husband)
Col. Allen West
Bottom Row: Allen West campaign truck, Steven Rosenblum
and photo at reception

South Florida Tea Party, Inc. ("SFTP") is a non-partisan, non-profit social welfare organization dedicated to furthering the common good and general welfare of the people of the United States. South Florida Tea Party has not endorsed candidates for public office.

Ok, so that's an excerpt from their mission statement. I don't believe it! This particular organization was very much partisan and demonstrated that last night. Even the formal Agenda for their PB County Candidate Forum was predominantly (well over 90%) attended by Republican candidates.

It seems that a couple of people in the Vote NO group objected to my taking some photos at the reception. The Director in charge of the event came over and informed me that it was a private party and I would have to stop taking pics. I then told her that I had been invited. That didn't seem to impress her much either so I mentioned the First Amendment and free speech and all the jazz and then walked outside to continue holding our Amendment 4 banner.

Everett Wilkinson, state director of the South Florida Tea Party, came outside a short time later where we were standing to explain that they were a non-partisan group, etc., etc., etc. He was a pleasant fellow doing a little "damage control." I asked about the Vote NO Group and he said that they just "kicked them out."

A woman came up to us while we were standing on the sidewalk and asked us about the Amendment. As I was trying to explain it, an aggressive and rude dame, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, interrupted and said, "I know EVERYTHING about Amendment 4. If you vote it in, you will have to vote on ALL development." She never looked at me once. I told her she didn't know what she was talking about. Then a few Tea-Party people came out and she hugged them as if they were her long-lost friends.

I honestly don't know if these people LIE on purpose or if they have been so brainwashed that they actually believe the lies. But this is what we are dealing with: A well organized and highly funded campaign, almost to the point of obscenity, to defeat your right to vote who are using all Chamber of Commerce's and every other group out there to carry their distorted message.

The right to vote is a basic right and land-use changes should not be decided by a couple of compromised politicians.

Allen West - Call to Duty

Libertarians say YES on Amendment 4

The Libertarian Party of Oklaoosa County says Vote YES on 4

Man's best Friends meet with Commissioner Mulvehill

Saturday night, Commissioner Mulvehill met with several pet owners who have a strong desire for a doggy park in Lake Worth. A Petition was circulated and this will be presented to the Commission for its consideration.

Tea Party Candidate Forum Tonight

Col. Allen West

The South Florida 912 is collaborating with the South Florida Tea Party in a Palm Beach County Candidate Forum

Date: Tonight, Monday, October 4, 2010
Time: 6 pm Meet & Greet; 7 - 9 pm
Candidate Forum moderated by Joyce Kaufman
Where: The Borland Center in Midtown
Address: 4885 PGA Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens 33418
Directions: On the north side of PGA just west of Military Trail
Seating limited to 500 people so please come early and bring your friends!

Participating candidates include:
LTC Allen West (CD22-R)
Jim Horn (CD16-D)
Tom Rooney (CD16-R)
Joe Abruzzo (FH85-D)
Tami Donnally (FH85-R)
Steven Rosenblum (FH89-R)
Albert Key (FH84-R)
Joe Budd (CD19-R)
Pat Rooney (FH83-R)
Marc Marciano (FH83-D)
Lizbeth Benacquisto (FS27-R)
Bill Hager (FH87-R)
Bernard Sansaricq (CD23-R).
Special guest Lou Galterio will sing the National Anthem.

Phooey. Nuts. Hockey pucks.-- Howard Troxler Speaks to Amendment 4

Tomorrow's Commission Meeting

Unless you want to sit through presentation after presentation on the Agenda tomorrow night, don't bother showing up at City Hall until well after 6pm.

Tuesday night's City Commission has seven presentations on the Agenda. As each presenter gets 10 minutes, this could mean at least 70 minutes not including commission questions and comments. Perhaps we will all luck out and it will not be this long.

5. PRESENTATIONS: (there is no public comment on Presentation items)
A. Proclamation declaring October 5, 2010, as Lady Pride Basketball Day
B. Proclamation declaring October 21, 2010, as Lights on Afterschool Day
C. Proclamation declaring the month of November as Hero Month and November 1, 2010,
as Be a Hero Day
D. Recognition of the Energy Conservation Assistance Program grant recipients
E. Snook Islands public use facilities update by Palm Beach County
F. College Park Neighborhood Association update
G. AVDA'S domestic violence prevention in Lake Worth update

6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Perhaps we can object to so many presentations under public participation.

What is important on the agenda will be The City Manager and Public Services Director's recommendation to discontinue the lease with the Lake Worth Resource Center. The Mentoring Center's occupancy of the Shuffleboard Court building has been a bone of contention since inception with the majority of residents never having supported it.

Also on the table will be discontinuing/not renewing a lease agreement with the Lake Worth History Museum and the Lake Worth Art League or Lake Worth Credit Union in order to provide additional space for City Staff and City programs.

Mentoring Center to Go

If there is any candidate running for elected office in the City of Lake Worth who does not agree that The Mentoring Center MUST GO, then chalk your campaign up to defeat. Don't work up any more sweat--stop walking right now. Stop spending campaign contributions and give the money back.

"This isn't about retribution against any organization," Mayor Rene Varela said. "This is about getting effective use of our space and our resources at a time when we should be buckling down."

This is about so much more than that--this Resource Center has always been about encouraging illegal aliens into our city. We say, "enough."

Read about it here.

Amendment 4 would give citizens a voice

Below is a Letter to the Editor published in the Orlando Sentinel. Although the writer is not quite on the mark himself about Amendment 4 as it only has to do with land-use changes, not big developments, we thought it important to print. As the Vote NO people are twisting the facts and the truth to a 180^ angle, here is the letter:

"Earlier this year, many of us in a rural community east of Orlando placed signs in our yards and attended Orange County meetings to protest a large development that was proposed for our area but that would require a change in the comprehensive land-use plan.

We were fortunate that the plan change was denied (for now), but I have been surprised to see that some of the same homeowners who had yard signs opposing that development now have signs saying "No on 4." Amendment 4, also known as the Hometown Democracy Amendment, is meant to give more rights to local citizens. It would mandate a vote on whether or not the plan could be changed to let in big developments that are currently prohibited.

As it stands, such decisions are up to the county commissioners. I stopped and spoke with a homeowner who had previously opposed the development threatening our rural area and who now had a "No" sign in her yard, and it seems she had been misinformed. She thought the amendment was proposing more governmental intrusion into our lives, when it is really intended to give the citizens more say and the government less.

There seems to be some kind of manipulation of the public by those who want to keep the status quo. I hope we can correct this state of ignorance before November."

Ronnie Hawkins
Chuluota

Orlando Sentinel

Amendment 4 would stop reckless development

"Their campaign (Vote NO) is financed by the same over-builders who got millions in federal bailout dollars. These special interests will say or do anything to maintain the status quo and their ability to influence elected officials."

Read more about what Lesley says at Florida Today

Development in Florida

Comment Up
The Big Picture

and Cul de sacs

With the Newspapers, it is all about the Cents, not the Sense

Comment Up
"Amendment 4 is a call for direct democracy. Representative government can be frustrating but when voters disagree with their representatives' decisions, they can remove them. Some voters may be able to pick through technical staff reports and analyze complex development issues. Most would not. Amendment 4 would harm Florida's economy as the state is trying to recover. There's a problem with growth management in Florida, but Amendment 4 is not the solution."
- Joel Engelhardt-PB Post Editorial Board

But newspapers are in business only because of advertisement. That is how they survive and pay their bills and make an income. Who advertises? Realtors, Chamber of Commerce members (stores), developers...get the drift? It's always about the money and not the sense.

1. It is virtually impossible to remove an incumbent even when he is known to be corrupt. Americans are a forgiving people and always want to give someone another chance. I suggest to Mr. Engelhardt to watch the video "Convicted." Perhaps that concept will sink in. We can get them out when they are convicted or eventually by the vote after years of doing damage. That one vote can change a community forever. The argument to vote the bums out is way too late.

2. He says Amendment 4 would harm the State? How?" What has harmed the State is the unbridled growth that has been allowed in county after county resulting in empty developments, empty commercial buildings, all giving us higher taxes. The Field of Dreams mentality no longer works.

3. Over-development has driven our Florida panther to near extinction. It has encroached on the Everglades; it is depleting our precious resources and our quality of life.

4. Not only is there a problem with growth management in Florida, it is nearly extinct too as the Department of Community Affairs may soon be eliminated. This is the only agency watching out for us...watches out for Florida. Once the DCA gets involved in a city's Comp Plan changes, developers end up agreeing to pay more for roads and schools and add protection for wildlife habitat and groundwater, rewrite plans to make sure projects that are supposed to function like real cities are designed like real cities. Developers don't like that something might cost them more money. Developer groups do not want any strings.

5. When a land-use change is on the ballot, the voters in that community will know whether they want that development or not. It is not complicated and they will not be sifting through documents. That is about the most absurd argument of all. Voters--do you believe that the City should change its land-use in its Comp Plan to allow that Publix supermarket built on Dixie Highway or not? 75 words is all we need to understand what we are voting on, unless, of course, you are the NO group that has no comprehension.

6. Without Amendment 4 in place, developers will be able to bulldoze our State for their self-enrichment and the fantasy "tax base" for local governments. It hasn't worked. Look around as you drive throughout our State.

Vote YES on Amendment 4

Illegal Immigration is destroying this Nation

Just because we have so many other important and pressing issues, it doesn't mean that I have forgotten about the illegal immigration crisis in this country. Two days ago I was reminded about the loss of jobs in this country. Many of us are under the impression (because that's what the regressive, progressives tell us) that the illegal is only working in jobs that we do not want: picking our tomatoes, yard mowing or menial construction jobs. Not true. I had a computer tech here who is employed by a company and who happens to be ILLEGAL. Nice guy, but illegal.

Immigration to this country is not an effective way to deal with the impoverished of the world. See Roy Beck's, "Immigration, World Poverty and Gumballs."



Dave Gibson of the National Examiner of Orange County, Calif says, "With rising unemployment, huge trade deficits due to the loss of our manufacturing base, and a soaring national debt, we simply cannot afford to pay the bills for this nation’s illegal alien population. We can no longer accept elected representatives who choose to better represent a foreign national population, rather than those of us who actually pay their salaries.

Illegal immigration is slowly but surely destroying this nation."

Purple Lights for Domestic Violence are lighted at City Hall

In 1987, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed. Later, the "National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) convened several national domestic violence organizations - the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and later the National Network to End Domestic Violence - to launch a new effort to support domestic violence programs' awareness and education efforts for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), observed annually in October. The collaborative effort became the Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP)."

For the second year in a row, the City of Lake Worth joined in this effort to bring attention to domestic violence with a Proclamation and the lighting of the purple lights at City Hall. This was spearheaded by Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill, a victim of domestic violence. Her story was told on NBC, Channel 5 last night.

Purple Lights

"Violence is a serious public health problem in the United States. From infants to the elderly, it affects people in all stages of life. In 2006, more than 18,000 people were victims of homicide and more than 33,000 took their own life.

The number of violent deaths tells only part of the story. Many more survive violence and are left with permanent physical and emotional scars. Violence also erodes communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services."
Source: Center for Disease Control

Understanding what domestic abuse is Helpguide

Developer asks for a land-use change in Center Lake - Another reason for Amendment 4

A 2,000-acre development of regional impact in Osceola County approved for a mixed-use development, allowing residential and nonresidential uses with employment centers. The developer asked to change a 134-acre piece from low-density residential use to mixed use.

What happened: The Osceola County Commission approved the change in August.

Who’s behind it: Pineloch Management Corp., based in Orlando.

Time frame: This application will be heard at the November 4, 2010 Planning Commission hearing and the December 6, 2010 Board of County Commissioners hearing.

Just another reason for Amendment 4.

Lake Worth needs leaders who are not beholding to special interests

Comment Up
With the entire country in a financial mess, Greg Rice says that we need change and that we need strong, truthful leaders. There is nothing wrong with that statement and we agree. Change has to come from the top.

Here in Lake Worth, we have a Commission (that makes policy decisions) that hired City Manager, Susan Stanton, to do that very thing--make the hard and unpopular determinations to get us on track...to tell the truth. The Union pensions have been our biggest and most out of control cost and this City has approached this problem head-on.

Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill has made excellent and fiscally responsible decisions to help us rise above this economic chaos. We have new businesses opening in Lake Worth. The City is proceeding with the largest development project in history that will create jobs--the beach redevelopment and Casino. Once built, this will attract more dollars and more people will be moving here and investing in our City. Mulvehill has been behind this since she first campaigned over two years ago.

In the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, Greg seems to infer that our current politics here in Lake Worth are the problem and offers no solutions from his favored candidates, one whose husband was the Fire Chief with the Fire pension being one of our biggest and most absurd, out of whack costs. Lake Worth's pension contribution to the Firefighters is a shocking 152.13% of payroll. Carla Blockson has taken campaign contributions from 5 different Union PAC's. Now I ask you, will she be looking out for your interests as a taxpayer in this City or will it be the Unions?

The other candidate, Lisa Maxwell, is involved in development and got a campaign contribution from Gold Coast Builders. We are sure that there will be Union money to follow. Update: Lisa Maxwell just received $1,000 from 2 Firefighter PAC's. Who loves ya baby?

Because his candidates say they are pro-business, the implication is that Mulvehill and McVoy are not. And even though we like Greg Rice, we do understand that this is nothing more than vacuous political pandering.

Mr. Rice's PAC is against Amendment 4. Not grasping the Amendment or even agreeing that residents across the state of Florida should have a vote (democracy in action) when it comes to what they want their community to look like, we believe that Mr. Rice and his group only want to grab back the power at the expense of you and me.

Below is Greg's letter:

Lake Worth needs leaders who will help businesses

I was thrilled to read "Lake Worth races pit two business-backed newcomers vs. enviro newcomer, incumbent," pointing out the dire situation that the city finds itself in.

As stated in the article, "Falling property values, unkempt homes, burdensome electric rates and the city's need to attract and retain businesses" are issues on my mind. Lake Worth needs change to recover. As a member of the Business Aligned for Change political action committee, I believe that business creates a thriving and sustainable community. As a longtime homeowner in Lake Worth, I know that Lake Worth will never be West Palm Beach. The people and families living here are what give the city its unique charm. It is when those families have no choice but to leave Lake Worth to survive that the city will change for the worse.

I want to see change that the residents of Lake Worth need: a thriving, healthy and economically stable community that can happen only with strong, truthful elected officials.

GREG RICE

Lake Worth

Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Lake Worth

A Proclamation will be read by City Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill declaring October 2010 Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Lake Worth. The event takes place at 6:45pm tonight, October 1, 2010, on the steps of City Hall, 7 North Dixie Highway.

The purple lights will remain on for the month of October bringing continued awareness to the issue of domestic violence and the effect it has on children and families. All are invited to attend.

US Postal Service

Congress became so efficient that by 1851
they reduced the cost of a first class stamp from 5 cents to 3 cents
with no change for 30 years

The United States Postal Service needs to take some lessons from the City of Lake Worth's management (Susan Stanton) as well as our Commission--cut costs; get more efficient; and negotiate new pension plans with the Unions.

The postal service asked for a 5.6% raise which would have meant now paying 46 cents for first class mail. This was to cover its $3.5 billion net loss. The Postal Regulatory Commission said that they had failed to justify the request and told them that its most pressing problem is their $5.5 billion payments to a retiree pension fund, which are required by law.

American Postal Workers Union.

A typical full-time USPS mailman starts about $42,000 a year base salary with rural mailmen starting at $52,000.

Retirement benefits.