UCO is our Best Friend

Best Friends Day
Come, volunteer and join in.

Vegetarians

Students Vegetarian Cookbook for Dummies or 75+
https://books.google.com/books?id=gpv1zB1mpg8C&pg=PT301&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=true

For simple kitchens, limited tools and shopping.

BRAVE

On this day 71 years ago, D-Day happened.

D-Day: the massive military operation known at the time as Operation Neptune that saw the United States and the Allies invade Normandy, France, was the largest seaborne invasion in world history. It ignited the liberation of France from the Nazis as well as the Allies victory in Europe in general.

The amphibious landings are legendary — just like the incredibly brave men who manned the operation — but it was so much more than the famous landing crafts. This graphic (courtesy of the BBC) does a great job of helping us visualize the enormity of the invasion. There was really nothing else like it … ever.

Or since.

Let’s never forget the more than 14,000 courageous military service members who gave their life on this day. They saved us from tyranny, they preserved our freedom and we should be forever grateful.

When should you buy a new computer?

Here are seven signs that it’s time to upgrade:

• You Can’t Install the Latest Operating System
• You Can’t Run the Latest Apps and Games
• It Gets Slow
• You Can’t Connect It To Anything
• You’re Running Out Of Space
• It Becomes Noisy
• You Spend More Time Fixing It Than Using It

For all the detail info. for above points http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-signs-time-to-replace-old-pc/

Boca Buses

Apparently the anti bus-cuts demonstrations shown on West Palm news last night were actually Boca Century Village - not us.  Nice signs, very organized.

Choriqueso

Does anyone know a local eatery with good Choriqueso?

NOOOOOOOOoooooooo!!

Walden Lake Community Association votes to fight development of erstwhile golf course 
http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLWLCAFightGolf.html  
“This ill-conceived attempt by a portion of the board of directors to bind the entire Walden Lake homeowner’s association in a lawsuit, etc etc."

The Lending Closet

Do you need medical equipment, or do you have surplus medical equipment?

At Clinics Can Help, they make your donations of medical equipment available to others who need it. 

clinicscanhelp.org

Clinics Can Help
1550 Latham Rd., Suite #10 
West Palm Beach, FL 33409

Currently they do not pick up you have to deliver your surplus equipment. They clean all items in a giant washing machine.

I found it, east on Okeechobee, right on Church, and continue straight when Church becomes Latham.  Almost at the end of the industrial park.

Smoke

New Residents

A litter of rabbit kits under the stairs, while movers stomp around!  They are smaller than 2 leaves. Can you find in first photo?

"THE LAWYER ATE MY HOMEWORK" - JUDGE, PLEASE KEEP THE CASE ACTIVE

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This is a Marx brothers comedy, don't miss the Feaman agreements, signed in the name of the Condominium Association. Do you think all the unit owners know about the liabilities that their Officers have exposed them to? The players in this fiasco are the same ones that disrupt our Delegate Assembly meeting, and were begging us all for funding for this lawsuit, that they so eagerly seek to re-instate, after the judge dismissed for lack of prosecution!

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Dave Israel

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Your Help Needed Before FL Vote on GMO Labels

In June, Congress will hold its first vote on a bill that could take away your state’s right to pass a GMO labeling law—and your right to know about GMOs in your food. Forever. 

Can you join Florida’s March Against Monsanto actions on May 23, and the National Days of Action to Stop the DARK Act on May 25, 26 or 27?

These actions are essential to stop HR 1599, the bill that sponsor Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) ironically calls "The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act." Pompeo’s bill proposes nothing if not inaccurate labeling of foods—by preventing you from ever learning which foods may contain GMOs.

Critics of the bill have dubbed it the DARK Act, aka "Deny Americans the Right-to-Know" Act. Because that’s exactly what it does.

The first vote on the DARK Act will take place in a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The best way to do that is to make sure we get huge turnout at these March Against Monsanto events on May 23:

Wellington, http://on.fb.me/1GM1401
West Palm Beach, http://on.fb.me/1zfL96Y

Bills Spell Bad News for Bulk Condo Investors

The concurrent bills—SB 1172 and HB 643—would force bulk buyers of condominium complexes to pay a premium to holdout owners who don’t want to dissolve the association.
http://www.ccfj.net/LEGSESS15BadNews.html

Home designed tee shirts +.

You can get your own tee shirts, for fund raising etc., made in many places, this one is by my daughter-in-law: "I am sharing my Nepal Elephant through Red Bubble. 100% of the commission will go to the Red Cross- Nepal Disaster Relief. Please share and help spread the word!!"

http://www.redbubble.com/people/raquelmorales/works/14686099-light-and-love-for-nepal-2

Of course I shall have one soon.

http://www.redbubble.com/  

Secret to Know Before Buying a Used Car

Beware of 'Curbstoners'

Curbstoners are illegal, unlicensed used car salespersons who sell cars from the curb or the strip mall parking lot. Curbstoners typically pose as individual owners and try to unload rebuilt wrecks. Investigators estimate as many as 80% of the cars for sale in the classifieds are sold by curbstoners. If you see the same phone number listed for several cars or the seller refuses to show you the title before making the sale, steer clear.

Opinions expressed above are solely those of the author Elisabeth Leamy.  From Consumer World.  

Golf course

Mr. David Israel, President of UCO,

Please do everything in you power to end this waste land of a dead golf course, and allow a much need community, with housing, small shops and  beautiful landscaping.
It has already be voted in by the Commissioners, who recognize, the benefit of this project for all, (Century Village and the County)..  We all know, that Century Village
needs help restoring the value of their units... (two Bedroom selling for  as low as thirty nine thousand, and the one bedrooms selling for 28 thousand dollars.
I must also mention the much need face lift Haverhill, and Okeechobee Blvd  will receive...
Stop all the bickering, and lets make Century Village,
 the New City Place of West Palm Beach ...
Thanking you in advance,
 I remain loyal resident of CV. Frank Leggio 

OIF

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/things-that-could-only-happen-in-florida#.vxm1aERXxy  

No HOA

Next one tonight:

Program 2, “Location, Location, Location,” airs on April 15. Featuring the homes of beavers, black bears and woodrats among others, it emphasizes the importance of finding a good base of operations—the correct stream or tree, the correct building materials, neighbors and sometimes tenants. 

Episode 3, “Animal Cities,” airing on April 22, looks at puffins in the Hebrides, social spiders in Ecuador and leafcutter ants in Costa Rica to demonstrate the importance of colonies to these animals.  

Homeless

Outrageous, that hole was my Palm Beach mansion home. Nettie Anole

BALANCING ACT

I have a lot of sympathy for associations that have a hard time maintaining a functioning board of directors and keeping out owners and renters who feel no obligation to pay their dues or are generally disruptive in condo living. Condo owners often don't realize that the cooperative enterprise that runs the condo association isn't a separate professional organization they pay dues to every month. To paraphrase 'Lil Abner, "We have met the enemy and he is us!"—only we hope we don't really mean "enemy." The point is WE, the owners, must actively run our associations.

It is not always easy—indeed, it is sometimes nigh to impossible—to find willing, responsible and able condo board members, especially a president. It's that much harder for us in the West Palm Beach CV, because most of our associations are so small in number. You can find a half-dozen board members more easily when you have 50 units to draw from than when you have only 24.

Two severe problems, requiring almost opposite solutions, have arisen in the past several years. The first is the problem of unit owners who stop paying, some of whom simply walk away from their obligations with no sense of responsibility and little regard for their fellow owners, who must take up the slack by paying increased dues.

A partial remedy for this first problem is for owners to be able to rent their properties. In difficult economic times, a hard-pressed owner (perhaps a snowbird) who IS responsible and wants to unload his condo has a larger market. He can sell his unit to someone who wants to rent it, or maybe he himself can rent it.

But the overload of this soon leads into the other problem, already alluded to above: lack of board members, especially in the case of our smaller condo associations. Without an adequately functioning board, things can go to pieces as we have seen and heard about with the attempted takeover by an individual of one of our condo associations. For as more and more owners rent their units, the pool of available association board members shrinks proportionately. This does neither the owners who live here NOR those who rent their properties any good. You need "boots on the ground." Now, in order to save the association, bylaw amendments CUTTING BACK on rentals need to be passed.

It is a balancing act.  

Village Activity

Springtime - listening to birdsong. Just a settin' on the patio watchin' the arecas grow. Nice colors.

Insurance Risk Reduction

We are pleased with our ADA-compliant safety railing (enabled by Dom G and Seacrest). We also have hilited thresholds (ADA Yellow).

If you would like a review of risks around your association call UCO insurance office 683-9189.

Friday Evening

Pronounce Cerabino

Frank Cerabino (pronounced chair--a--BEE--no) grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1977. He spent five years in the Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant and serving as a public affairs officer aboard an aircraft carrier. After leaving the Navy, he received a master's degree in journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. He worked at the City News Bureau.

Told yah, its not 'sarah-bee-no'.

Easy Free Gate Access for Your Friends and Family

Why don't more residents use the easy free Gate Access, rather than running to UCO and paying for passes.  If you are a resident reading this online, you can get Gate Access. Begin with info and password from the ID office in the Clubhouse. (this site is for buying tickets too). Then -

1) ENTER THIS URL IN YOUR BROWSER WINDOW: https://gateaccess.net/

The following dialog box will appear

2) Where it says (Select a Community), drop the menu and select CVWPB

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3) In the user name box type your telephone number that you registered with UCO for the CV call in system, include area code, with no spaces.

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4) You may obtain your password from the
WPRF ID Office at the main clubhouse. Enter it in the password box.

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5) Click on login

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Select Guest list tab to enter a guest, or select Buy Tickets Now to purchase tickets. No need to either call in your guest or come to UCO to purchase Gate-Passes.

FYI: Click on Entry Logs to see your guests back to 2008.

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Dave Israel

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Politeness Translated

https://twitter.com/soverybritish 
or
https://www.facebook.com/soverybritish 

e.g.
"Sorry" - Meanings: 
1. Hello
2. I didn't hear you
3. I heard you but I'm annoyed at what you said
4. You're in my way 
5. Sorry  

Pleiades Dance

The Japanese dance troupe 'Enra' combines light, music and state-of-the-art technology in their wondrous performances. This performance entitled "Pleiades", or the Greek name for the Seven Sisters star cluster, was directed by notable Japanese artist Nobuyuki Hanabusa. Enjoy this stunning meeting of music, dance and light in one fantastic performance!

Pi

What makes 3/14/15 so special for pi fans is that it is the only day this century that will have the first five digits of pi -- 3.1415. Since the next digits are 92653, most people have chosen 9:26 p.m. to mark the ultimate pi moment. (Sticklers can wait for the clock to read 53 seconds.)

Snake Season

All these photos were taken this morning from Clubhouse bridge. I saw more than 7 snakes searching for warm spots between the 'rocks'. I am told that because they are swimming on the surface, they are probably cottonmouths (poisonous). Large family of young ones.

My Association also has a 3ft black racer that likes to sun itself around our patio - a good snake that eats palmetto bugs etc.

UCO Elections next Friday

The 4 Vice Presidents serve staggered 2-yr terms, therefore, 2 position are open for the next election.

The 20 member Executive Board also serves staggered 2-yr terms, therefore 10 positions are open for this election.

Please! you do not have to vote for 2 VP or 10 Executive Board candidates, only vote for the good productive candidates that you know.

Pet and Rental Friendly Associations

Pet and/or Rental Friendly Associations
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Since this chart has expanded to 11 pages, rather than publish them here, I have uploaded it to the Google Cloud. The chart may be accessed via the following link:
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http://goo.gl/kPz8xr
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This link will also be placed in the sidebar on the main Blog.
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Please, if you see errors, let us know so we may correct them. If you can fill in any of the blanks, also do not hesitate to let us know.
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Thanks, Dave Israel

The Last Orangutan Eden

Click for preview

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/last-orangutan-eden/11640/ 

Date changed for GFS Open House

Free Shredding

Show of hands

Haverhill hibiscus are getting tall.  C'mon down snow birds.

GFS Report

GFS store is open but grand opening is not until March 1 when there will be samples and balloons.



GFS looks like good place for UCO to get their economy sizes of paper good, and snacks. 

There are coupons and rewards for shopping there.  Most of the stock is large sizes of highly processed food, but there is some wild caught frozen fish.

Purple Award to Lanny

Purple passion flower in the village, for Lanny's poem (see Fishing comments).

CV Real Estate Lunch!

GFS Marketplace Open House

Mark your calendar!

Individual CV Fishing

I used to feed fish to Beaky until the signs went up. 

Friend Terry without a dock.

Friend Beaky

Bid Cmte members see 3rd class below

Alert to Community Association Volunteers, CAMs and Property Managers:

We appreciate all the energy you put into your work. That's why the theme of this year's PM-EXPO is Re-Energize. RSVP for PM-EXPO and join us on March 3 for free CEU classes and meet the best vendors at South Florida Fairgrounds Convention Center in West Palm Beach.

 

Education and networking should be fun and free for CAM's, Condo/HOA/Co-op volunteers and property managers.
Win Prizes! Get one-on-one advice from experts on the expo floor , meet industry players.

 

   Register for free classes: 

• NOT YOUR ORDINARY BOARD CERTIFICATION! - Jane Bolin, PeytonBolin, PL -  from perspectives of Condominiums and HOAs, Master the Business of your Association - MBA.
• 2015 LEGAL UPDATE - Jeff Rembaum, Kaye Bender Rembaum, P.L. - 2 CEU (LU) - Includes full update on legislation and its effects.
• SPECIAL INTEREST TO BOARD MEMBERS - BUILD RFP - simplify your life when buying services, compare apples-to-apples - Kathryn Danella PCAM monitors expert panel discussion. Interactive format with audience.
• WHAT FINANCING IS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR ASSOCIATION? - Janet Romano, Stonegate Bank - 1 CEU (IFM or ELE) - financing common area improvements, hurricane deductibles, legal requirements.
• ASSOCIATION INSURANCE UPDATE - Barry Scarr, Scarr Insurance - 1 CEU (IFM) - update on Citizens and Florida insurance policies for associations.
• COLLECTIONS, BEST PRACTICES - Mitch Drimmer, SNAP Collections by AFS - 1 CEU (IFM) - No amount of delinquencies are acceptable.  Learn about best collection practices from Florida's most renowned expert (winner of FCAJ Readers Choice Award two years in-a-row.)
• SAVE DOLLARS WITH LED LIGHTING - Anthony Vitucci, Bella Power & Light - is your property a candidate?
• SWIMMING POOL HEATING METHODS - Sandy King, Symbiont Services - 1 CEU (OPP).
• WATERPROOF YOUR ASSOCIATION - Jeff Kilgore, stop unnecessarily spending on pressure cleaning.
• TESTING & REMEDIATING MOLD  - Michael Jatoft, Dry-Concepts - 1 CEU (OPP) - how to test, health effects, what needs to be remediated and what doesn't.
• CONCRETE - IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK - Martin Applebaum, Driveway Maintenance - 1 CEU (OPP). New technologies; how to repave failures.

Join us at South Florida Fairgrounds Convention Center. It's a great facility and parking is free.

Education & networking should be fun and free! If you have questions, call 954.684.9973.

The Show: Education and Expo for Condo and HOA Board Members

The Show: Education and Expo for Condo and HOA Board Members and Managers Presented by Florida Community Association Professionals

at the Convention Ctr in WPB, Thursday 15th January, 9-3:30

• Event Date: Jan 15, 2015
• Event Website: http://www.theshowfl.com/wpb/  

Thieves posing as Water Co

County Water Utilities Department Customers Should Beware of Thieves Posing as EmployeesCounty Water Utilities Department Customers Should Beware of Thieves Posing as Employees Recently someone claiming to be a Palm Beach County Water Utilities employee gained access to a home by pretending he was there to test the customer's water.
Recently someone claiming to be a Palm Beach County Water Utilities employee gained access to a home by pretending he was there to test the customer's water.

New Rover phone number

There is no change to the Visitor Call-In System number 689-1759

2015

May your 2015 be filled with wonder and new discoveries.  

Sunset view from Bocce court this week

thanks Marc V