South Florida Realtors are scrambling to find listings in a heated Real
Estate market as prices continue to rise. Nearly 6,000 homes were on the sales
block in Palm Beach County which is about a four months supply. Median price
hit $260,000, up a hefty 30% in the past year. Cause for the shrinking
inventory are investors snapping up properties for cash to use as rentals. For
more information, call 561.945.0000 or visit www.joanneepstein.com.
The Boca Raton Bridge Hotel currently under renovation will be renamed
Waterstone Resort & Marina – a Double Tree by Hilton and is scheduled to
reopen in late 2013 featuring 128 guest rooms and eleven suites with private
balconies and waterfront views. Call 866.909.2622 or visit www.waterstoneboca.com.
The Bealls Department store in West Boca Square at 441 and Palmetto Park
Road is closing forever at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Red Hawk Fire & Security will expand its headquarters at 5100 Town
Center Circle in Boca Raton by 8,000 square feet and add 25 employees with
average wages of $110,000, receiving $245,000 in incentives from the City of
Boca Raton, Palm Beach County and the state of Florida.
The Federal government has given $2 million to the city of Boca Raton
for North Beach sand restoration.
Lyons Road is now open between Atlantic Ave and Boynton Beach Boulevard.
The TD Bank debacle is finally
over after paying out $500 million in judgements and settlements in a Ponzi
scheme related to the bank.
Forbes values the Miami Dolphins at over $1 billion, the Miami Heat at
$625 million, the Miami Marlins at $520 million and the Panthers at $170
million.
Palm Beach County hotel bed tax receipts increased 10% in June, compared
to 2012 with a $2 million dollar unexpected windfall, putting them on track to
get a record $30 million in tourism tax revenue this year barring any
hurricanes, to be used for increased marketing and promotion for the county .
Palm
Beach County approved throwing good money after bad, adding 10 more red light
traffic cameras for more revenue, despite losing money on the existing cameras.
The violations cost motorists $158 and the taxpayers payover $500,000 for the
cameras, which critics call a blatant money grab.
South Florida’s population is 5.6 million and a workforce of 2.9 million,
with an estimated 350,000 illegal aliens.
Florida's insurance officials said that health insurance rates will rise
5 to 20% for small businesses and 30 to 40% in the individual market through
the state's new exchange under the federal health law.
Autonation, with 266 dealerships in 32 brands and 31 stores in South
Florida employing over 4,000 people which recently rebranded its name
from Maroone, posted record profits of $89 million for the second quarter, up
11% over the same period in 2012.
Year after year, the Palm Beach Pops celebrates the Great American
Songbook. Next season the Pops will continue the tradition featuring music from
Whitney Houston & Friends;
Broadway, Marvin Hamlisch; Nat King Cole; Smoky Standards from The Mad Men Era
and A major television star! Go to palmbeachpops.org for ticket packages to
save up to $64 now or call 561-832-7677 for Immediate Seat Selection or fax
order to 561.832.9686. You can also e-mail your request to info@palmbeachpops.org.
The Boca Palm Beach Business Connection meets
every Wednesday 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Butts Road TooJays, south of
Glades Rd and west of I-95 in the Boca Glades Shopping Center. No dues, no
fees, no mandatory meetings. Bring business cards.
Cirque Du Soleil presents Quidam, now through August 4 at the BB&T
Center. Contact 800.745.3000 or www.CirqueDuSoleil.com/quidam for tickets.
Beyond the Rainbow: Garland at
Carnegie Hall, now through Aug. 18 at The Theatre at Arts Garage, 180 NE First
St. Delray Beach. Call 561.450.6357. or visit www.artsgarage.org for tickets.
2 Guns and Smurfs 2 in 3D opens at the Boca Cinemark Palace &
Premiere and Regal Entertainment Shadowwood theatres. The Way Way Back and Before Midnight opens at
the Movies of Delray and Lake Worth. Don’t miss Love is All you Need with
Pierce Brosnan still at the Movies of Delray.
Barry Epstein Live airs Thursday 10 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. on www.wrpbitv.com, with WoofDogs
trainer Shai Maimoni, thewebsitegedi internet developer Rick Figley, Stacy
Sossner Organics Stacy Sossner and Sun-Sentinel Editorial columnist Kingsley
Guy on www.wrpbitv.com, www.publicrelations.nu, www.vimeo.com and www.bocatribune.com. Watch to
win free tickets to the Cinemark theatres.
If you like the music of Paul Simon, you will
enjoy The Sounds of Simon, extended through Aug. 4 at the Mizner Park Cultural
Arts Center Studio Theatre, 201 Plaza Real. Call 561.600.0495 or visit www.soundsofsimon.com for showtimes and ticket information.
Character Man is at the Stage Door Theatre through
August 11. Go to www.stagedoorfl.org or call 954.344.7765 for tickets and more
information.
Boca’s Free Summer Sunset Music
Series featuring Carlos Oliva will be held about 8:16 p.m. Aug. 2 at the
amphitheater on the north end of Mizner Park, 590 Plaza Real, in downtown Boca
Raton. Oliva and his band are known for Cuban music, salsa, Afro beats, samba,
jazz and rock. The melting pot became known as “The Miami Sound”.
Palm Beach Dramaworks presents Company at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre,
201 Clematis St. West Palm Beach Aug. 7-Aug. 18. Go to
www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or call 561.514.4042 for further information and
tickets.
On Thursday, August 8, at 7 pm, in the new Boca Raton Downtown Library
Community Room, the Friends of the Library will present award-winning
Astrophysicist Dr. Kevin Manning, known for his work at NASA, Stony Brook,
Brookhaven, and others. With the
audience, he will explore the night sky, during his seminar, and through his
telescope, weather permitting.
The fifth annual George Snow Scholarship Fund Boca’s Ballroom Battle is
6 p.m. August 16 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Tickets are $150 to $225
with tables starting at $1500. Contact 561.347.6799 or visit www.ballroombattle.com for further
information.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation president Jan Savarick will be
honored at the American Association Caregiving Youth (AACY) 7:30 a.m. to 9:00
a.m. breakfast Aug. 21 at Lakeside Terrace, 7880 Glades Rd. Cost is $35 in
advance and $45 at the door. Call 561.391.7401 for further information.
Slighly Stoopid is at the Sunset Cove Amphitheatre Aug. 24. Go to www.ticketmaster.com for
information and tickets.
Nat King Cole Generation Hope and
national singing sensation Ms. Avery Sommers, along with the Cole twins, and
other greats such as Tony Siders and Tony Lebron, 1 to 4 pm August 25th, at
Jazziz Nightlife in Mizner Park to support Nat King Cole Generation Hope, making
a difference in the lives of children. 561.213.8209 or visit www.http://natkingcolegenhope.org/gospel-brunch/index.php.
The Sound of Music will be the first production at the new Wick Theatre,
formerly the Caldwell on Sept. 18. Call 561.995.2333.
Rob Lowe, star of TV and film and a cancer awareness advocate, will be
the keynote speaker at Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s 10th
Anniversary Go Pink Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 25.
The Junior League of Boca Raton presents the 26th Annual
Woman Volunteer of the Year Luncheon, Nov. 8 at Boca West Country Club. Contact
561.620.2553 or visit www.jlbr.org/wvoy for further
information.
If you would like to learn how
you can make money and save money by NOT using a 401 k or IRA that will protect
your money and generate tax free income, or are unhappy in your job, or want to
change jobs, or need extra income, then visit www.yourretirementmiracle.com and call
561.852.0000 for further information. Everyone should see it.
Banks are now encouraging Short Sales, rather than the lengthy and
costly foreclosures. FORECLOSURE IS NOT AN OPTION! Contact Keyes Company/Delray
office Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) Realtor JOANNE EPSTEIN at
561.945.0000 and visit www.joanneepstein.com to find out how she can save you from
foreclosure, with no cost for attorneys, fees or commissions.
Birch Communications is a multi-million
dollar company with an exclusive wholesale agreement with AT and T. If you
would like to save money on your AT&T land phones without changing your
numbers or your service, call 561.852.0000.
www.WestBocaLeaders.com is the best
networking group in the area and meets at the West Boca Library on 441, just
north of Yamato Road on alternate Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. Check out the
website for openings in some categories. Call 561.852.0000 for further
information.
Barry Epstein, APR, is a noted public
relations, marketing and political consultant based in Boca Raton, president of
the www.luxurychamber.com, the www.westbocaleaders.com networking
group and the founder and former president of the West Boca Chamber of Commerce;
with a weekly internet television show on www.bocaratontribune.com (click on
columnists) and www.publicrelations.nu. His motto
is: Public Relations is the enemy of anonymity. email: pr@publicrelations.nu, or fax
column items to 561.451.0000. His blog
is in the Boca Raton Tribune and on the www.bocaratontribune.com (and click
on columnists) website, on www.facebook.com/BarryEpstein as well as
on the Sun-Sentinel/Jewish Journal website at www.floridajewishjournal.com - http://barrys-journal.blogspot.com as well as
on his website: www.publicrelations.nu.