(02/27/08)  Northwood Village will welcome the latest exciting, unique shop to the area with the grand opening of Emilie Marie Antiques on Friday, February 29, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 525 Northwood Road in West Palm Beach.  The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 6:00 p.m.

The City’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is working to revitalize the Northwood Village area and attract both businesses and residents.  The CRA has plans for major streetscape improvements and other redevelopment projects in the area.

The City of West Palm Beach Fire Rescue Department, urges all City residents to leave a distance of at least 3′ (3 feet) between your space or kerosene heater, and combustible items during this cold snap. All users of kerosene heaters, please be ensure that you purchase only kerosene, and not gasoline when refilling your heater. Electrical space heaters, should be in good condition, this includes the plug, as well as, the cord.

The City of West Palm Beach is holding municipal elections on Tuesday, March 11. There are three City Commission seats on the ballot: district 1, district 3 and district 5.

Contact the Supervisor of Elections office for information on polling places, and don’t forget to cast you ballot!

It may be a challenge for most people to get excited about new grass going in to a local park. But when the grass is drought resistant, when water conservation is a top priority and when the grass comes in at 1/2 of the budget price, the City of West Palm Beach’s Department of Parks and Recreation gets pretty amped up!

The department recently replaced a multi-purpose field at the South Olive Community Center. After agreeing to let Odom Sod do the job, crews got to work prepping the soil underneath the field. After establishing a nice bed of soil, crews spread a product called Zeba to help with water conservation. Zeba is a small, granulated substance that absorbs and holds 400 times its weight in water. Zeba holds the water in a gel-like substance under the grass’ surface, allowing the grass 4-5 days of access to water after an initial watering! We can run the sprinkler system on Monday, and the grass has access to that same water throughout the week. Capturing and holding the water for that additional time will save millions of gallons of water throughout the life of the field.

The new method saves money (installation costs less, and less watering means less money will be spent as well) and will help our green grass contribute to West Palm Beach being a green city.

(Photo: crews help law new sod on the field near the South Olive Community Center.)

(02/21/08) Beginning Saturday, February 23, 2008, there will be a new traffic pattern on South Olive Avenue between Lakeview Avenue and Okeechobee Boulevard.

The southbound lane of traffic on Olive Avenue is being converted to a drop-off lane for residents and visitors of One City Plaza. Because of this change, motorists will no longer be able to make a left-hand turn from Lakeview Avenue on to South Olive Avenue. The two northbound lanes of Olive Avenue will be unaffected.

(Wednesday, February 20, 2008)  The City of West Palm Beach has ended the temporary use of the free chlorine disinfection method for all of the City’s water customers.  Water is now being treated using the “chloramine” (pronounced “chlor-uh-meen”) disinfection method, which was the City’s standard treatment method prior to recent free chlorine treatment.

“We have made significant progress in our efforts to improve the quality and reliability of the City of West Palm Beach’s water,” said Mayor Lois J. Frankel.  “The process of upgrading our entire water system will continue to be a priority.”

The City had continued to use the free chlorine treatment method in recent weeks due to repairs and upgrades being made to a storage tank, and not because of bacteria levels in the water.  The expert group that is currently operating the water treatment plant, U.S. Water Services, says the overall water quality has been greatly improved in recent months.

Residents with questions may call the City’s 24-hour hotline, 561-822-2222.

(Thursday, February 14, 2008)  Mayor Lois J. Frankel is pleased to announce that the City of West Palm Beach has hired Yasser Abouaish to be the City’s Director of Public Utilities.  Abouaish is expected to begin his duties on February 19, 2008.

“Mr. Abouaish brings tremendous experience and expertise to the Department of Public Utilities and the City of West Palm Beach,” said Mayor Frankel.  “He will be an excellent addition to the City’s team as we continue to improve the quality of our water and deal with our ongoing drought.”

Abouaish has 25 years of experience in water management, having working in both the public and private sectors.  He has experience in program development, engineering, planning and design, system construction, operation and utility management.  Abouaish was recently the Senior Program Director of Earth Tech, Inc., an environmental, water and wastewater firm.  From 1996-2005, Abouaish was employed by the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Water Works, most recently as Water Superintendent.

Abouaish has a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Cairo University in Egypt.

(02/13/08)  In accordance with a program recommended by the Palm Beach County Health Department, the City’s altered water chlorination methods will be extended by one week, from February 14, 2008 to February 20, 2008.

The current extension is necessary so that crews can continue repairs and upgrades in a water storage tank and is not due to bacteria levels in the water.

Continuing on February 14, 2008, a “free chlorine” water treatment will be used to provide a somewhat stronger disinfection process than the “combined chlorine” treatment which is normally used.  The City will revert back to the “combined chlorine” method on February 20, 2008.

West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach Utility customers may notice a slight chlorine taste or odor in the tap water during this period; however, these temporary conditions will not cause adverse health effects.  Tropical fish tank owners, hospitals and residents with pools should be aware of the chlorination changes and make adjustments accordingly.  Any questions should be directed to the City of West Palm Beach Central Operations Center, (561) 822-2222.

Due to equipment upgrades being made by Comcast Cable, the City of West Palm Beach’s government access channel, West Palm TV (Comcast Cable channel 18), will undergo a planned service interruption on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 from 12:01 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

The planned service interruption is necessary because of improvements being made by Comcast Cable to fiber cable lines.

Get your baskets ready for some of Florida’s best strawberries as the West Palm Beach GreenMarket presents The Strawberry Festival on Saturday, February 9 from 10:00 am to noon.  There will be a bountiful harvest of fresh local strawberries as well as some delicious, homemade strawberry shortcake with fresh vanilla cream and newly picked strawberries prepared by WPB GreenMarket Chef, John Carlino.  Guests can purchase the fresh and delicious strawberry shortcakes for $5 with all proceeds benefiting Hospice of Palm Beach County.  The WPB GreenMarket will also be raffling off two roundtrip tickets on JetBlue airlines; guests can register for the tickets in the center of the market.

Hospice of Palm Beach County (HPBC), founded in 1978 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), has cared for nearly 65,000 patients and their families and averages 1,050 patients daily throughout Palm Beach County.  A leading provider of hospice care, HPBC serves as a model for other programs nationwide.  HPBC’s mission is to provide premier healthcare services to people nearing the end of life. Services are designed to enhance quality of life by focusing on the specific individual needs of both patients and families.  For more information about HPBC, please call (561) 227-5140 or visit www.hpbc.com.

The West Palm Beach GreenMarket is the area’s original and most popular green market.  Each Saturday over 60 vendors offer a variety of farm fresh fruits and vegetables, tropical and native plants, fresh-cut flowers, artisan foods, and much more from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm in Downtown West Palm Beach.  Guests can also sit and enjoy their made-to-order breakfast or lunch at the GreenMarket Café.  The West Palm Beach GreenMarket is dog-friendly and offers free parking in the Banyan Street Garage until 2:00 pm.  The West Palm Beach GreenMarket is produced by the City of West Palm Beach, Mayor’s Office – Division of Community Events and is sponsored by The Palm Beach Post, The Palm Beach Daily News, WIRK 107.9 fm and Sunny 104.3 fm.  For more information about the West Palm Beach GreenMarket, please call 561-822-1515.