What happened to the ARC FLASH study?

In April of 2009, an ARC FLASH STUDY was commissioned by the utility director who is now being given $72,000 for her last three months on the job.

An ARC FLASH study is required by federal regulators for safety reasons and LWU was due to complete this study by January 2009 but granted an extension to comply. An ARC FLASH study specs out the clothing, tools and headgear to be worn at specific locations where high voltage danger could cause harm to electric utility employees. Such harm did occur when an employee got severely burned while working near a high voltage area in 2009.

CITY MANAGER STANTON BOOTED OUT

In this joyous season, I am celebrating the potential for renewal in Lake Worth which began with a bold move to clean out city management from the top down.

From Paul Boyer to Susan Stanton… inept, corrupt, wasteful and often cruel leadership disregarded the public and common sense honesty and openness.

Yes, I know there are those who are disappointed to see Stanton fired but dwelling on one side of her performance while ignoring the other side of the story… is delusional.

SCREWING TAXPAYERS & MISAPPROPRIATING FUNDS

September 11, 2011 -  please note that comments are disabled... see end of article for explanation. You can post comments here:

Over the past few months, I’ve tried to answer the inquiries and calls as to why the delay in writing such an important piece …so let me begin here for those who didn’t receive a response.

For the past few months, the Lake Worth budget was a work in progress and nearly impossible to pin down long enough to write about it. Figures and projections were shuffling around and items were being edited and deleted as city staff scrambled to get out from under the reign of terror that descended on them concerning millions “misappropriated” in the electric utility funds.

So my apologies for not committing this to writing sooner but it would have been a disservice if I had done so.

AUTO RENEWAL SCAMS... reading the fine print

Scam

PCTOOLS and other software and service companies have gone to great lengths to make it as difficult as possible for customers to stop the automatic renewing of their products and services. The fine print is in the “terms of purchase” where PCTOOLS claims that by buying their product you agree to have your product, service, or subscription automatically renewed. And of course, you never agreed to that since the salesman never told you anything about it and you didn't see it on any of the PCTOOL advertisements. So it's a big surprise when you get the email notice of automatic renewal and you discover they've rigged everything so you can't just cancel this renewal... you're going to have to WORK HARD AT IT. They've already got your credit card number and they know that a certain percentage of novices will probably give up and let the renewal go through.

Looking on the email, you see no customer service phone number so you can pick up the phone and call… there's no convenient “cancel automatic renewal” button or link somewhere... they made sure of that... so what do you do?

You can follow the directions in the email notice for “opting out of auto renewal,” which say “go to my account” but the last thing you needed when you bought the software was to set up another unnecessary account and password to remember. After finding yourself in an infinite loop of being bounced back and forth between two screens it becomes apparent this doesn't work either.

It’s likely this interruption in your day will cost at least a half hour of your time as you go through the rat maze of figuring it all out and finally getting someone on the phone who speaks and understands English to stop the runaway train.

The first number google listed as PCTOOLS support ended up with someone from "Iyogi" (tech support outsource for PCTOOLS) with a heavy accent who wanted to backdoor into my computer. That was a totally ridiculous request... but they do that so they can terrorize you into thinking that if you don't renew, you may end up with a dead computer and none of your files.

When I refused to allow it, he didn't understand and finally got his supervisor on the phone who couldn't even find the correct number of PCTOOLS for me to call.

This is what’s happened to many American businesses where most everything is outsourced and greed reigns supreme. I do not recommend this product as there are many comparable products that cost less, one for free (CACHE CLEANER) ...some even packaged within security software that offer the same features and performance. And most important... they won't be automatically stabbing your credit card with renewal fees you didn't agree to pay.

HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT HELICOPTER SCHOOL
Palm Beach County Helicopter Training

Before you spend a hundred thousand of your or your government’s money, make sure you get the most for your money with the least hassle and cost. The County has four airports, three of which cater to General Aviation interests and have helicopter training schools based on them… 1. Lantana Airport known as Palm Beach County Park Airport, 2. North County Airport, and 3. Pahokee Glades Airport.

Part IV - MR REYES AND AMERICAN VALUES

So make sure you see the video linked on Part I of this story. It is a short and very effective witness to the truth about the city you live in and how it has treated those who refuse to lie to you. It exemplifies how virtue is despised, attacked, slandered, and disposed of. And it shows exactly what is happening in America and why it is becoming more difficult than ever to get honest people into government.

Part II & III - A STORY OF THE BEST AND WORST OF LAKE WORTH

Susan Stanton (top) & Utility Director Rebecca Mattey and PowerPlant manager David Mulvay (right) addressing the commission. Susan Stanton, formerly Steven Stanton has always fought the oppression of and discrimination against his/her rights and yet indiscriminately violated Mr Reyes' First Amendment Rights in an ironic and hypocritical twist to our story.

So again we see the video and a good and honest man at the peak of his career and no one predicting that a little over six months later, this man and two other top utility employees would blow the whistle on a long seated tradition of corrupt behavior at Lake Worth utility and would be heard from no more. It would reveal to the public for the first time the mafia style use of intimidation, threats, humiliation, gag orders, and slander to silence the truth and to bully employees into lying to the public.

PURSUIT OF JUSTICE LONG OVERDUE

What happened to the man everybody liked, the one that got our electric utility running right and got us back on 13.2 kV with some clever moves, and saved us from heavy NERC fines, caught Stanley Consultants shafting the city, stopped waste...

CLICK HERE FOR BACKGROUND 2008 VIDEO

How do you define Justice? Some of us might say… it’s when good triumphs over evil? Others might say… it’s when we cry tears of joy when we see humanity extending itself to help the needy and oppressed?

WARNING, UPGRADE COSTS COULD DOUBLE

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THE SMART GRID alone is a wild card. Xcel's Project in Boulder Colorado is coming in at about 300% over projected cost   That plus undergrounding costs need careful review as this appears to be another boondoggle headed our way courtesy of good ideas without the ability to afford them.

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 reprint by permission

"Coakley Was Correct!"

Here we are five years later and the city of Lake Worth now wants to build a 13.2kV electrical distribution system.
Five years ago that was heresy!

Five years ago, William Coakley, then chairman of the Electric Task Force charged with looking into the verity of all things electric in this city, was nearly drawn and quartered by his own task force and certain of the city commission. Lake Worth, like most, abuses its prophets.