Ongoing Projects Update - 07/29/13

1. The beach loungers now have new lettering (Return Me 2 Dune Line) as a result of a good suggestion by board member, Gene Fine. (see above).  Seems to be working.

2. Work on the Gate Arms for the Bldg. 3 garage is scheduled to begin this coming Wednesday, July 31. 

3. The deck coating project is progressing. The caulking is being done around Bldg 2. The south parking lot still needs to be scraped however, that crew was way ahead of the crews behind. To date, approximately 2,000 linear feet has been caulked north of Bldg 3 and in the front spaces (see above). 

 

4. Concrete work on Bldg. 1 did not pass inspection.  The contractor will return today, Monday, to finish up with the railings and start on repairs related to inspection.

 

(as per Jean Le Grys - Weekly Highlights to board members, week ending 072613)

Humor For a Monday Morning - 07/29/13

You have to be old enough to remember Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this.

For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please click on "Read the rest of this article" at the bottom right............

New Feature Added to T.A. N.

The Ambassadors East News now has 50+ individual posts all organized by date and title with more being added several days a week.  To make it easier for you to locate a particular post published in the past, we've divided the posts into categories, each category having a title.  For example, there is a category called "Project Updates", another named "Monday Morning Humor" and another named "Holidays - Parties".  Currently, there are 7 categories in all.  To view all the posts in a particular category, refer to the panel in the blue left menu called "Select Posts by Category" and just click on the category name.  This will take you to a page showing all the posts for that category.  Hope this makes it easier to find articles that interest you.  

Deck Coating Update - 07/23

 

With the return of the sun, the deck coating project is getting back on track.  In preparation for the primer layer, the cracks and expansion joints on the scraped and cleaned upper decks are being filled with caulking.  The pictures above show parts of the deck area between buildings 2 and 3.  Cracks have also been filled on the north lot.  

 

The crew will start applying the primer coat tomorrow on the north lot and the south spaces under the building. The current goal is to have those areas complete with striping and bumpers by Wednesday next week. However, the remainder of the deck must be complete before the space will be reopened.

 

The south parking area is still to be scraped, shot-blasted and caulked.

 

(Thanks to Jean Le Grys for this update)

Humor for a Monday Morning - 07/22

SAY WHAT?

 

After 50 years of marriage the couple was sitting at the dinner table and the wife said to her husband: "After all these years of marriage I know that you are Tried and True."
He replied, "What did you say? Speak louder!"
She said in a louder voice: "After all these years of marriage I have learned that you are Tried and True."
He replied loudly: "Well, I'm tired of you too!!"



Ongoing Projects Update - 07/20/13

1. Tarps have been dispensed for owners to place over their vehicles to protect them from falling dust through the expansion joints which are being prepped for new caulking. This has been somewhat effective in alleviating the plethora of dust that is making its way into the garage.

2. There have been several days of rain this week which has limited the ability of the deck project to move forward. As much work as can be done is moving forward. The contractor anticipates starting the primer layer sometime next week.

 

3. Work on the additional gate for the Bldg 3 garage will begin on Tuesday. It may be necessary to shut down one lane in front of the gatehouse for a short period of time.

4.  On Friday, it became necessary to turn away deliveries as the entire length of the drive was full with other vehicles. Drivers were advised to wait in the turn lane or to return a little later to try again. This was a temporary situation that lasted about 20 minutes.

5.  MDU was onsite to inventory their equipment. Additionally, the Channel 4 TV guide has been restored to service.

6. Concrete work will finish next week. Onsite staff checked every unit and made a punch list of outstanding items and took pictures of same.

7. Parking is still an issue and Christina is doing an excellent job in managing the spaces so that at least everyone has one space in the garage.

 

(as per Jean Le Grys - Weekly Highlights to board members, week ending 072013)

Sea Turtle Volunteer Finds More Than Turtle Nests

 

Wednesday, 1:10 PM. - I just received an interesting email from Gary Mantoosh, our resident Sea Turtle volunteer.  It seems, early this morning during his sea turtle monitoring rounds, he discovered a large waterproof bale of cocaine washed up on the beach near Ambassadors East.  Being the good citizen that he is, he called the Highland Beach police and they came and picked it up.  Later, on his way to work he stopped by the station.  They informed him that the bale contained 60 pounds of pure cocaine and had a street value of approximately 2 million dollars! 

 

Gary feels that he has done his good deed for the year.  It seems to this T.A.N. editor that there should be a reward of some kind for this find, no?



Demolition of FPL's Port Everglades Plant

Watch the video of Florida Power and Light's demolition of out-dated  stacks and boilers at the old FPL 1960s-era Port Everglades Power Plant. They will build in its place a cleaner, more-efficient plant run on American natural gas.
CLICK OR TAP on the picture at right to see the demolition which took place on  July 16th.

Tis The Rainy Season Alright......

 

These past couple of days have been pretty dark, blustery and rainy with the winds mainly coming from the northeast.  The weather has hindered the deck surfacing project somewhat, but the crew continues to work on what they are able to in the rain. Jean Le Grys took the top 2 pictures with  the wind meter showing a brisk 24.8 mph. out there.  If you are interested in such things, a click on the 'sun and cloud icon' in the left panel will give you a pop-up window showing  up to the minute weather information from the Bel Lido (Highland Beach) weather station and webcam.



Humor For a Monday Morning

I was visiting my granddaughter last night when I asked if  I could borrow a newspaper.

"This is the 21st century", she said. "We don't waste money on newspapers.  Here, use my iPad."

I can tell you this.  That spider never knew what hit him!

Ongoing Projects Update - 07/13/13

1.  The north parking lot and lot between Bldgs 2 and 3 have been cleared of the old membrane and the areas have been shot blasted (water). The estimated projection for these areas to be complete to striping is the end of July.

 

2.  Plastic tarps have been issued to the residents parking in the garage who are below the expansion joints and are experiencing water coming onto their cars. Maintenance is also clearing the water that has drained through the expansion joints.

 

3.  Concrete work on Bldg. 1 should be finished next week. The workers are now painting the completed balconies and have completed the stucco work on Bldg. 2.

4.  Landscaping - The tree trimmers were onsite to do the annual trimming of 75 palms (including the ones at the front of the property). This year the nuisance pines at the southeast corner were also trimmed down. There were four trees that were removed from the perimeter of the blacktop area and one that had grown in the median.

5. The hot water heater replacement program is underway. To date, we have scheduled nine replacements which will occur over the next two weeks. Participants are coming into the office to complete the permit application and writing a check for that. They will be paying for the hot water heater installation directly to the contractor.

6. The Channel 4 Guide Channel has been out. This is due to contract negotiations between DirecTV and their third party provider. No date has been provided for reinstatement.

(as per Jean Le Grys - Weekly Highlights to board members, week ending 071213)

AE Board Members Attend 'Protect Our Beaches' Seminar

 

From time to time, members of the AE Board of Directors are invited to attend seminars and/or discussions about environmental, political or business concerns of the South Florida community.  On Saturday, June 15, six of our board members (pictured above) attended a seminar about protecting our beaches at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

 

According to the coalition brochure, "Protect Our Beaches, Inc. is a not-for-profit coalition of concerned and caring property owners, citizens, business owners, civic groups and community leaders who share a commitment to finding a permanent, ecologically- sound solution to protecting our beaches and dunes from erosion."

 

Among the speakers at the event  were John Englander, an oceanographer, consultant and author, and Beach Condo Association President,  Jack Fox. Three members of the Boca Raton City Council, State Rep. Bill Hager, Highland Beach Mayor Bernard Featherman and Palm Beach Commission Mayor Steven Abrams sat through the program and spoke breifly.

 

The AE board members who attended found the 3 hour session to be very informative. The coalition is looking for new members, with an Individual/Residential membership being $80 annually, which goes toward lobbying, engineering and technical analysis, newsletters and political leverage.   

 

To learn more about the coalition and/or make a donation you can access their web site at  BEACHESCOALITION.COM.  Click on the logo below to access the web site.



 

CLICK HERE to read a letter of support to the coalition from Congressman Patrick E. Murphy, Congress of the United States, 18th District, Florida

 

 

New Pool and Beach Access Routes

 

Due to the ongoing work on the upper parking decks, there will be no access to the upper parking decks for a while.  The pools (and beach) are still open, however and can be reached without using the parking decks for access.  Entering and exiting the 3 buildings will be from the lower parking area elevators or stairs.  Front and side doors on the lobby levels of  the buildings have been blocked off to keep residents and guests (including the mail man) from walking on the decks.  An exception is being made for emergency vehicles and this includes access to emergency personnel through the blocked doors.

 

CLICK HERE to view temporary accepted paths to the pool and beach areas.



Shot Blasting of North Deck - Bldg 3 - Water Pooling Repair

Deck Coating Project Progress as of 07/10/13. (Click on the arrows below to page through pictures.)

Pictures and Videos from July 4th Celebration, Thursday, July 4, 2013

Here it is......  Pictures and videos from a successful July 4th party again planned and executed by our own Ambassadors East Social Committee headed up by Jeri Kraft.  Yes, we do manage to have a little fun down here in the tropics in the summertime! 

During the party we gave each table a 34 question quiz on all things having to do with our country.  The table with the most correct answers won a bottle of Champagne. We've done this in past years and it is a lot of fun. We'd like to make it a yearly party tradition.  A special thanks to Marilyn Morgan for being the quiz moderator.  She did a great job!

CLICK OR TAP on the picture above to view the video.  See you next year?

Gerald Bregman Featured in July Edition of The Coastal Star

Once again Gerald Bregman of Building 1 has made the news.  This time he is featured in the July 2013 Edition of The Coastal Star.  Last year the Sun Sentinel did a feature about his experiences while serving our country in World War II and even T.A.N. did a 2012 profile on his experiences with a bio written in his own words. His story is fascinating... a Jewish American soldier who spent some difficult time in a German Concentration Camp.

Click or tap here to read the latest article in the Coastal Star

Click or tap here to read T.A.N.'s Profile on Mr Bregman

Happy Fourth of July to All

 

 

 We hope to be seeing many of you at tonight's Ambassadors East July 4th Celebration in building 1.  Today of all days we thought you might want to know about the history of the song "God Bless America".  If you do, CLICK OR TAP on the "Read the rest...." button at bottom of the page to read about it and see the video of Kate Smith singing the song for the first time!............

Scraping Continues, Lot Between Buildings 2 and 3.

Deck scraping continues today at a good pace in the parking area between buildings 2 and 3. Notice that scrapings are being cleaned up as they work in this section. CLICK on the picture at left for a larger image of more sections of this area. 



Deck Coating Project Update - 070113 - Deck Scraping

 

Scraping work began on the North side of Building 3 as scheduled on July 1, 2013. A lot of progress was made as you will see by the video.  We did get some rain in the afternoon.  Click or tap on the picture above to view of video of the operation. The video runs about 2 minutes 30 seconds.



T.A.N. Format Help

T.A.N.  is an online newsletter presented as a blog.  Ambassadors East news and events are continually added to the site as they occur throughout the year, which means you may access it at your convenience on your own daily, weekly or monthly schedule to keep up to date. The most recent news (posts) will  be dated and appear at the top of the page. Old posts are never discarded.  These may be accessed by the month they were published by clicking on or tapping (for handheld devices) on the arrows by month in the left column with the heading View Past Articles. You may also view past articles by category by clicking on a category from the heading, Select Posts by Category, also found in the left column of the page. Below are some tips on how to easily access T.A.N. from your computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone or Android device whenever you want the latest AE news: 1. First access the T.A.N. home page by typing the following in the address line in your browser (top line in Windows Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Android Browsers).  You may also type the address in the Google or Bing search engines to locate the site. ambassadorseast.org 2. When you reach the T.A.N. home page, you can do one of two things:
	a. All of the browsers listed above have a feature called either "Bookmarks" or "Favorites".  These functions do the same thing, ie. they save the address of the current page you are on so that  the page can be easily accessed whenever you are on the Internet. While on the T.A.N. home page, add the page to your Bookmarks or Favorites.  (The saved addresses are listed under "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" on your browser's top menu.) b. The second method provides the easiest access to T.A.N.  This method places an icon for the T.A.N. homepage on your Computer Desktop or iPad, iPhone or Android device Home Screen.  Here's how do do this for the following browsers or operating systems:
		(1.)  When using Windows Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari browsers on a desktop or laptop computer.  Go to the T.A.N. homepage as described in step 1. You should see an "address line" at the very top of your page which shows the page you are on (in this case "www.ambassadorseast.org"). Just to the left of the name of the page you will see a small icon.  Using the left mouse button, drag this icon from the homepage directly to your desktop and let go.  The icon will remain on the desktop for instant access to T.A.N. (You  may have to resize the TAN window to make the desktop visable in order to drag the icon to it). SIMPLER WAY WITH WINDOWS EXPLORER: When you reach the TAN homepage as described in step 1, click on your RIGHT mouse button and select "Create Shortcut". Answer, "Yes" to the query that pops up and a link to TAN will be added to your desktop.
		(2.)   When using the Safari Browser on the iPad or iPhone.   Tap on the Safari icon on the iPad Home Screen.  Navigate to the T.A.N. homepage (www.ambassadorseast.org). When the  page is finished loading, tap on the Share icon on the top left of your screen next to the address line.  From the Share menu, tap on "Add to Home Screen". On the next pop-up tap on   "Add"  in the top right corner.  You will be taken back to the Home Screen and you will see the icon for T.A.N. added to the screen.
		(3.)   When using an Android Tablet or Galaxy Phone.  Adding a shortcut to your Home Screen using these devices is a bit more complicated.  In the browser you must first create a "Bookmark" for your T.A.N. home page.  Once that is established, you get out of the browser and return to the Home Screen.  There you select "Menu" and then "Add".  From the Add menu select "Shortcuts".  From "Shortcuts" you select "Bookmarks"   and then tap on the Bookmark you just created for the T.A.N. home page.  The shortcut to T.A.N. will appear on your Home Screen.
GOOD LUCK!