MILITARY MOTHERS GO BIG

Clicking on the title of this post will take you to a Facebook page founded by the mother of a soldier who survived Iraq, but was murdered at home. I imagine there was lots of stress from the Vietnam vets (overplayed on bad movies). What happened at Fort Hood is perhaps the most dramatic case of Iraq-based PTSD, if the perps are captured and a motive is proven.

GET YOUR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION

Do you have your HOMESTEAD exemption? If not, please see the flyer below and mark your calendar. There are also Senior Citizen Exemptions, and Disabled Veterans Exemptions; not to mention Widow/Widower Exemptions available. Don't miss these meetings in the Clubhouse with the representatives from the Property Appraisers Office.

Dave Israel

Left click to supersize

SPECIAL MAGISTRATE HEARING - GOLF COURSE

Hi All,

By AUTHORITY of :
Chapter 162, F. S., Ordinance No. 87-15 adopted on August 25, 1987, effective October 1, 1987; as amended. Unified Land Development Code, Section 4.14.

APPOINTING AUTHORITY: Board of County Commissioners (BCC)

In October, 1997, Palm Beach County changed from a multi-member Code Enforcement Board to a Special Magistrate process. Eight attorneys were appointed by the County Administrator to sit as Code Enforcement Special Magistrate.

The Special Magistrates hold hearings on matters of relevance on the first Wednesday of the month at 2300 Jog Road, in the Vista Center at 9:00am.

Today your BLOGMEISTER along with the President of UCO attended a hearing chaired by a Special Magistrate. Key members of the Pro-Active Committee were also present to include:
Phil Shapkin, Barbara Shapkin, Jackie Karlan, Sandy Cohen, Honey Sager and Jeanette Veglia. Sworn testimony was heard from Honey Sager, Jeanette Veglia, and Dave Israel. Sworn testimony was also heard from Andrew Waldman a co-owner of the Turtle Bay Golf Course.

The subject of the hearing was the Turtle Bay Golf Course, specifically, the removal of the fence that once divided the Residents parking lot, accessed via Golfs Edge; from the Public parking lot accessed via Haverhill Road, thus allowing vehicular traffic to mutually access these lots from either access road; and further permitting vehicles to enter via Haverhill Road and drive directly into Century Village by various access points overland.

Such access was specifically prohibited by a Variance granted by the BCC in 1993, as a condition for allowing the Then, Course owner, Brad Dressler to construct the Haverhill Road Public entrance.

REF: http://www.pbcgov.com/PZB/Zoning/resolutions/1993/R-93-0333.pdf

After due consideration, the special Magistrate ordered Mr. Waldman to re-install the fence within 30 days, and also; "to cut the grass". Failure to re-install the fence within 30 days will bring a fine of $150.00 per day until the property is brought into compliance with the order.

Dave Israel

Kissing Prank

To Pet or Not to Pet

Info from Lesley at Masters Real Estate:
CV Associations allowing small pet:
Bedford B
Coventry E, F, K
Norwich N
Oxford 200, 300
Sheffield P

Allowing one cat:
Andover E
Golfs Edge (all)
Kent F
Norwich I
Salisbury F
Stratford L
Sussex E

If any of this is incorrect please comment TIA.

Do You Know Leon?

Leon Kreitman wants to start groups in the Clubhouse for Chess and History, but he left no contact info.
ID and other searches did not find him. Maybe spelling error?
If you know him, tell him to call Courtney at Clubhouse 640-3120.

GATE CRASHING CONTINUES

The video above is a classical case of Tailgating.

Please STOP and wait for the gate arm to fully descend behind the car in front of you; and then proceed SLOWLY allowing the gate arm system to recognize your transponder and raise the gate arm fully.

Thanks to Major Jeff for the video clip.

Dave Israel

CABLE BOX REGISTRATION

The Cable Box registration planned for November 12th. in the Clubhouse has been changed, due to Termite extermination activities.

The event has been moved to the UCO Office from 12:00 - 4:00 PM. The date is the same: November 12th.

The Bus schedule will be modified to extend the time for stops at UCO.

Dave Israel
Cable Chair

UCO - OPEN MEETINGS - NOVEMBER

UCO OPEN MEETINGS - NOVEMBER 2009

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NOV. 2, FRI..........EXECUTIVE BOARD...............CH. ROOM B.....1:00 PM
NOV 6, FRI...........DELEGATE ASSEMBLY..........CH.THEATER....9:30 AM
NOV 6 FRI............SECURITY COMMITTEE....... UCO OFFICE.....2:00 PM
NOV 10 TUE.........Irrigation/Infrastructure.........UCO OFFICE.....9:30 AM
NOV 11 WED........EDITORIAL COMMITTEE......UCO OFFICE.....1:00 PM
NOV 12 THU........COMMUNITY RELATIONS.....UCO OFFICE....10:00 AM
NOV 16 MON.......TRANSPORTATION................CH. ROOM B.....1:30 PM
NOV 16 MON.......CERT.......................................CH. ART ROOM..3:00 PM

NOV 18 WED.......MAINT. COMMITTEE.............CH.......................10:00 AM

NOV 20 FRI........OFFICERS COMMITTEE.........UCO OFFICE.......10:00 AM
NOV 26 - 27 .THURS/FRI UCO OFFICE CLOSED - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
NOV 30 MON..... OPERATIONS COMMITTEE....UCO OFFICE.....TENTATIVE
NOV 30 MON..... EXECUTIVE BOARD................CH ROOM B.......1:00 PM

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SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

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Dave Israel

CABLE BOX REGISTRATION - PHASE TWO

Hi all,

The Cable Box registration schedule for Seasonal Residents is now available. Please click on the link in the Sidebar. The Registrations will occur in January 2010. At the registration, which is scheduled according to your Association; you will make an appointment for a Comcast technician to come to your unit and install your box.

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While this registration is specifically designed for Seasonal Residents, any unit owner who has not yet obtained their Cable Box, may register on the appointed day for their Association.
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All registrations in January 2010 will be in the main Clubhouse. Please mark your calendar.

Dave Israel
Cable Chair

UCO TALENT SEARCH

Who wants to run CV? Come to the UCO office on West Drive to pick up a form and stake your claim. Deadline is January 4. Act fast!

GOOD NEWS CAN'T WAIT

Pres. Loewenstein announced that the graffiti guy making wild accusations re the tennis instructors has been arrested. More Friday.

WHERE TO EAT

I'd like to recommend some restaurants:

• City Pizza in CityPlace: It's a true New York style pizzeria. It delivers, but I'm not sure if it goes to us; you have to be there. (Pizza Girls, also in CityPlace, has a variety of pizza, but you have to go on the weekdays.)
• Cheeburger Cheeburger in CityPlace: Since Limburgers is out of business, this is the place to go for hamburgers. You can select a variety of toppings.
• The Singing Bamboo in West Palm Beach: The best of the local Chinese places. It's expensive, but it uses real Chinese food, from China.
• R-Kitchen in Lake Worth: A new breakfast place to try out for Sunday brunch.
• The Yard House in Palm Beach Gardens: A burger-n-beer joint with dozens of beer brands as well as steak, chicken and veggie dishes.

Okay, you have any other suggestions? Click on the little comment thingy and type!

Century Centaur

The Hippocrates Health Institute is just across the turnpike from Century Village. They love Hallow'een. There were new age fairies, godesses, and jingling belly dancers but they left early, leaving mostly hunks and yellow guy (he is a banana hunk). Norman Gitzen, the famous sculptor of the famous mermaid - center photo of collage, was intrigued by the idea of being the Century Village Centaur spokesperson. (1/2 person)
In addition to leading morning gallops, he can make anything of metal, stone, or wood. A new look for CV don't you think! click to enlarge and see what Norman reads.
Many villagers swear by the health programs at Hippocrates
http://www.hippocratesinst.org/

Time Fall Back

Time to set back your clocks an hour (at 2am Sunday Nov 1)
synchronize your clocks here
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java
Thanks to Mike for the link.

A Practical and Simplified Approach to Condo Rules

Jim Hart has kindly sent his latest article to the Blog. Jim has years of experience with condo issues through his experience as Past Vice President of Tri-County Communities Association (TCCA), Vice President of the Coalition of Florida Condominium Associations (COFCA), and director, Center for Community & Condominium Living.
You can find his whole article on the left side of the blog 'Save Many Condo Problems' under Cyberspace Articles.
I liked his idea to make bylaws more digestible: "The best thing any association can do is to produce a three or four page condensed version of those documents highlighting the more important and more frequently abused rules."
Has anyone tried this? Would you like to pass it along to us! We once had a newsletter that reminded residents of the most frequent problems. We need to do it again, and again.

CrimeReports Enhanced

October 30, 2009 - Palm Beach County, Fla., Joins the National Crime Map
Today, as Palm Beach County residents prepare to send their kids out trick-or-treating, the sheriff’s office announces a partnership with CrimeReports, creators of the National Crime Map.
www.crimereports.com/
Our security looking good. No relaxing.

FIELD TRIP

On Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., outside CV (between City Mattress and City Furniture), is a thrift store, Garage Sale Depot. Among the items on sale are a refrigerator with a door-set ice/water dispenser (only $100), ergonomic PC keyboard, Dockers men's shorts (sizes in the 30s), Armani suits (ladies'), and the game "Mystery Date," High School Musical edition (basketball hero Troy is the dream; drama teacher Ms. Darbus is the dud).

Questions for Bob & Dave:

1. Re UCO Safety Cmte, does it have reps from CERT, COPS, Security, CAM, WPRF? Do they work together and attend each others meetings?

2. To date which are pet-allowed bldgs.? (or as many as you know of)

3. How many computers does UCO have, all, for paid employees or vols?

4. How many people have access to a UCO computer, total all, shared or single?
TIA

CH DEBUG TAKE TWO

Updated: I hear the Clubhouse will be closed some time in November (9-12) for the fumigation because wind conditions weren't right last time. Who is our fumigator anyway? I hear Hewlett does it without toxic chemicals.

CENTURY VILLAGE - BOIL WATER ALERT

THE FOLLOWING COURTESY OF ELAINE:
.....................................................................................
The media!

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer -
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A boil-water order is in place until Thursday evening for more than 300 households at the Century Village community in suburban West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County's utilities department said.

Water was cut from about 1:25 p.m. to 7:35 p.m., according to an advisory sent to the media at 8 p.m. Monday.The cutoff came after a contractor working in Century Village hit a six-inch water main. Workers set about replacing a section of the damaged main.

The order, which runs for 72 hours after service is restored, directs customers to bring all water that's to be consumed to a rolling boil for at least three minutes, then cool.

The affected areas of Century Village are Plymouth, Easthampton, Salisbury, Waltham, Norwich, Coventry, Sheffield, and Stratford, and the medical building, the release said.

Posted by elaineb at October 27, 2009 10:35 PM

Dave Israel

DON'T DRINK THE WATER

I just heard that a number of associations here are under a boil water order. I don't know which associations, but just to be safe, everybody should buy bottled water. To be honest, is the local water here that safe?

CV Transportation

why arent bus schedules distibuted at the clubhouse? its much more accessible than taking, in
many cases 2 buses to get to uco-----claire z schneider

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE

The Main Clubhouse is once again open. Play your cards; see your shows; give the guard who checks your ID a big hug. That is all.

BLOG Statistics ending Oct. 24, 2009

left click to enlarge graphic

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Hi all,
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The graphic above shows a quick overview of the site operations in it's first month. We have had 625 unique visitors who have visited a total of 4014 times, and have viewed 7779 pages. Spread the word, and help make our new site a success.

Dave Israel

Officer's questions

It has been suggested that some of UCO officers answer questions presented by Bloggers.

I'm volunteering to do this with a few restrictions.

The questioner must be identifiable by the Blog administrators.

I reserve the right to forward the questioner to a different source hopefully better qualified to

answer the question.

There may be additional restrictions as the process evolves.

EPIDEMIC OF LEAKS and CORROSION CELLS

Pinhole leak caused by a Bimetallic Corrosion Cell

When two different metals such as copper and steel are connected together, especially in the presence of moisture, the voltage difference, resulting from their differing physical properties, will cause an electric current to flow from the metal with the higher voltage potential to the metal with a lower voltage potential.
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At the same time electrons flow on the metal from the one metal to the other. This is called a "bimetallic or dissimilar metal corrosion cell."
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Recall that corrosion results from an electrical release of energy in the form of electrons and DC current from a metal surface, especially when moisture is present. If an insulating barrier has not been applied to block the flow of electrons along the metal surfaces, then, corrosion is assured.
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The currents are small and corrosion sufficient to cause pinhole leaks takes time; but our CV infrastructure is reaching a point in its life cycle where such leaks are undoubtedly possible.
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Proper and careful plumbing and construction techniques requires the application of high dielectric strength barriers (insulation) to every such union of pipes made of dissimilar metals (Steel and Copper). Modern installation of under sink traps usually employ PVC to avoid any such corrosion issues.
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When our buildings were built was this problem carefully considered in plumbing all of our structures? Do we have any cases of copper pipes within walls or slabs coming in contact with REBAR or metallic studs? Look at your under sink traps; do you see copper pipe emerging from the wall joined with an old style steel trap?
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Is this technical issue the cause of our epidemic of water damage and mold; I do not know for sure, but it is certainly worth looking into.

Dave Israel

Questions on the new water cutoff valves

It is not clear to me from the photo in the November UCO Reporter just where the new recommended water cutoff valves will be located. The articles say it will be in a visible, feasible location next to the water meter. Does this mean somewhere in the pit with the meter and visible once the cover has been removed, or outside the pit and somewhere beside it? If the first, there wouldn't be a whole lot of difference between giving the new valve a quarter turn and turning the old valve from the outside to the meter the same quarter turn to shut off the water. "Legal" or not, a lot of folk shut off their water now by doing the latter. I am assuming the new shutoff will be OUTSIDE the pit where it will be visible to anyone passing by. Where, though? Many homes have such a shutoff, but it isn't out on the sidewalk where people could trip on it, break it, or vandalize it easily. It is usually some distance from the meter, next to the house and out of the way. If our condo shutoffs are outside of but right next to the pit with the meter, won't they be susceptible to damage, either purposeful or accidental? And couldn't this happen: A snowbird turns off his water using the new shutoff valve instead of having the valve in the pit shut off, either by himself or by the water company (which puts a lock on it keeping it in the shut position). He thinks he is safe, but by accident or on purpose someone turns his shutoff valve back ON, making the apartment susceptible to a flood. This might not be as far-fetched as one might think, because two neighbors are often served by meters and water pipes in the SAME PIT. It's not uncommon for one neighbor to confuse his line with the other's line. Have these questions been thought through? Lanny Howe

HEALTH CARE MONOPOLY

From editorialcartoonists.com: Clay Bennett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press plays games with the notion that Blue Cross and a multi-state licensee of the name is monopolizing the health debate. According to Wikipedia, said licensee, WellPoint, is buying pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts. (Click on the title.)

I LOVE NEW YORK TAGS

From the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles: While Florida's myriad of license plates confuse drivers, New York's special tags are more organized. They allow motorists to stand up for their commitments on something more than a bumper sticker and say "I am New York (and you can too)!" Tallahassee, take notes (and click on the title).