Thanks!

Putty and Paint. . .

I was downtown this evening and couldn’t help but notice how good Phil Spinelli’s building looks now that the painting is done and the Bahama shutters are up. I posted a while back that the color was not the French blue that he presented to the CRA, but this is way more appetizing and fits much better with our downtown.

Now we’re just waiting on the new doors.

Thanks to Phil and the CRA!

Conspiracy Theory. . .

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any conspiracy claim. However, it has come to almost exclusively refer to any theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators, such as a “secret team” or “shadow government”, rather than broad social forces and large structures of human collectivities.

Conspiracy theories are often viewed with skepticism and sometimes ridicule because they are seldom supported by any conclusive evidence and contrast with institutional analysis, which focuses on people’s collective behavior in publicly known institutions, as recorded in scholarly material and mainstream media reports, to explain historical or current events, rather than on secretive coalitions of individuals.

The term is therefore often used dismissively in an attempt to characterize a belief as outlandishly false and held by a person judged to be a crank or a group confined to the lunatic fringe. Such characterization is often the subject of dispute due to its possible unfairness and inaccuracy.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, conspiracy theories have become commonplace in mass media, which has contributed to conspiracism emerging as a cultural phenomenon and the possible replacement of democracy by conspiracy as the dominant paradigm of political action in the public mind. Belief in conspiracy theories has therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in folklore.

‘nuf said. . .

Get Used To It?

While listening to last night’s City Commission meeting from home I was appalled to hear Vice Mayor Golden state, “We all have to get used to change. Manny has to get used to living in a ghetto until things pick up around here.”, or words to that effect. She was referring to a resident who spoke earlier in the meeting citing the deterioration of his neighborhood.

Wait until things pick up around here? What in the world is she thinking?

While it is incumbent on all of us to work individually and with our neighbors to better our neighborhoods, we look to our elected officials to lead the way.   It is a slap in the face to suggest that Manny, or indeed any of us should wait until times get better.

Perhaps the Vice Mayor should consider using this as her campaign slogan in her reelection bid:

There’s a lot to like about Lake Worth, BLUE PLANET International Explorers’ Bazaar & Writers’ Room

Click on image to visit Blue Planet's website

I had the good fortune to sit down and chat with Cora Bresciano and Susan Gay Hyatt, co-founders of Blue Planet International Explorers’ Bazaar & Writers’ Room the other day. I’m pretty sure you haven’ t heard of them, but I am confident you will in the future.

Blue Planet’s mission as stated on their website is, “Here at Blue Planet International Explorers’ Bazaar & Writers’ Room, we teach writing to kids and adults. Because we believe that when you can write well, you can make terrific things happen – for yourself, for your community, and even for the whole planet!”.

After speaking with them I know that they are committed to that and a lot more.

Susan Gay Hyatt

Cora and Susan started Blue Planet about a year ago and until July have been working out of their homes. Board member and Lake Worth resident  Alyx Kellington facilitated a meeting with Bruce and Maryanne Weber. The Webers donated vacant office space above Rustico Italiano to Blue Planet on Lucerne Ave.

Cora Bresciano

They love their location in Lake Worth, both for its cultural diversity and the fact that, by their estimation there are 7,000 students within a 5 mile radius.

While their current focus is on working with children, they intend to expand into adult workshops in the future.

Blue Planet started teaching workshops this summer and working with the Palm Beach School District as well as North Grade Elementary and the Center For Creative Education.

Patterned after 826 National , a very successful writing workshop for children 6-18,  one of Blue Planet’s eventual goals is to have a storefront space where people can connect with this non-profit organization. Judging by their enthusiasm and attention to detail we can count on Blue Planet’s storefront joining the great mix of art and culture here in Lake Worth.

Oh yes, as a side note, it’s pretty intimidating writing an article about a writing workshop. I feel like I’m going to be graded!  So perhaps I should be one of the first in line when they open the adult workshops.

Friday Night Lights. . .

The thunderstorms cleared out just in time for the Lake Worth Trojans first game this evening, a preseason match against Olympic Heights. While the Trojans did not prevail, it was a really nice way to spend an evening. The weather could not have been nicer and you could feel the enthusiasm in the air.

It’s great to see so many people having a good time listening to the band while watching the game and cheerleaders.  So many kids and adults pitch in with the concessions, ticket sales and all the other things that go into each game.  There’s a very real sense of community at the games and I encourage everyone to come out and show support for our home team.

Click on images to enlarge.

Staggering . . .

I was just looking over the interview meeting agenda for the CRA board and noticed that the 6 seats are all listed as having 4 year terms.

Click on image to enlarge

I am surprised to see this as there has been lots of talk about getting back to staggered terms.  Why doesn’t the Commission take into account the time already served by the sitting members of the board who are reapplying and work out staggered terms for each seat, using that as a starting point?

It seems like the fairest way to get the CRA back to the staggered terms it is supposed to have.

Endless. . .

Remember that great surfing movie from the late ’60s, The Endless Summer?  You know, the one where they go from one idyllic beach to another in the search for the perfect wave. Well it seems that we have our own version of that movie right here in Lake Worth.

The latest version of the beach property is simply a sea of parking spaces, dictated by the county.  I have a question, how many parking spaces are there for Kreusler Park?  Is the county including Kreusler  in the mix, trying to make up for the parking spaces there?

Bummer!

What’s Up, Downtown. . .

We decided to take a walk downtown last night and have dinner at Havana Hideout. By the way, if you haven’t eaten there you are really missing a treat!

On our way into town we noticed this sign. I have blurred the phone number. After seeing it we tore it down because we’ve seen city employees doing the same thing to illegal signs.

A little further on our walk we came across a sign we never noticed before. Did you know that there is a scenic tour going south on J Street in Lake Worth?

Well, if you follow the sign’s arrow and take a right on J street here is the view you are greeted with:

Not the scenic route you would expect, is it?  I have always wondered why we don’t have signs on Dixie Highway, Federal and even 95 pointing the way to our historic downtown, restaurants and shops.

Walking east on Lake it was nice to see two store fronts with new tenants moving in.

A little farther along we saw that Phil Spinelli’s building is being painted.

While it’s nice to see it painted, it’s not the French Blue he sold to the CRA during his grant application presentation. Hopefully this color cost less and he will not need all of the grant.

Across the street we stopped by the Soma Center to see how the renovation of their back building was coming along.

The landlord and tenants have been working hard, and it shows. However, talking with them we learned that the building department has slowed their inspections to a standstill, essentially holding them hostage. A call to the CRA office this morning resulted in immediate action from their code officer. The Soma Center is the recipient of a CRA  tenant improvement grant.

An evening stroll downtown is always bound to be surprising. That’s why we love Lake Worth!

A sailor to the end. . .

While driving my daughter to school this morning I heard on the radio that Ted Kennedy had passed away during the night.  I am a sailor and my regard for the Senator grew after learning that two days after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor he had himself discharged from the hospital so he could race his schooner Mya in the Figawi.

Mya, going for broke.

So, here’s Fair Winds and Following Tides to you Ted!