Page Two; Barrys Buzz – June 25, 2014

FRANKIE GRANDE ON THE 16TH SEASON OF CBS’ BIG BROTHER

• 35 year old Boca resident Frankie Grande, who has a YouTube channel with over 185,000 subscribers, will be among the residents of the 16^th season of CBS’ Big Brother, debuting June 25.

  FAU MAY BE HAMMERED WITH BUDGET CUTS

•      Florida Atlantic University may be hammered with budget cuts over its miserable graduation rate of only 20% of the students entering as freshmen graduate in four years and just 40% get a diploma after six years. The school’s dismal marks can cost FAU over $5 million in state incentives that rewards or penalizes universities on performance. School officials say they will try harder.
  
  SOUTH FLORIDA’S SEMINOLE INDIAN TRIBE SOON TO ACQUIRE A BANK
  
•      South Florida’s Seminole Indian Tribe continues to expand its business empire, soon to acquire a bank that will add to the tribe’s diverse interest in cattle, seafood, beverages, wine and construction.   The tribe generates about $2 billion a year in gambling revenue across the state with around $800 million coming from its South Florida casinos. Each member of the tribe pockets $120,000 annually from gambling profits.

  BOCA RATON MARIOTT SOLD

•    The Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center was sold and will undergo a $7 million renovation. Look for more sales as investors open their checkbooks.
  
  PALM BEACH COUNTY WILL CONSIDER A PLAN ONGOING FOR NINE YEARS

•     Palm Beach County will consider the 252 home Mizner Trail development plan again June 26, which has been ongoing for nine years.
  
  ANOTHER BARRY’S BUZZ:
  
•      The Republican Federated Women of South Florida will be joining with the Boca Raton Republican Club, the Boynton Beach Republican Club, and the Palm Beach Republican Club, to present a Candidate Debate with the three candidates for Florida’s Congressional District 22. 6:30 pm June 25 at the South County Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road, Delray Beach. There is no charge for this event, and light snacks will be served.
•     West Boca’s Slow Burn Theatre inked a deal to produce shows at the renovated New River Room of the Broward Theatre for the Performing Arts.
•     Boca will lose out on $2 million in road impact fees collected as the city bailed on the County’s $5.6 million proposal to widen Jog Road between Glades and Yamato Roads to six lanes, so the County cancelled the project.
•     Boca based 1^st United Bank’s top 3 execs will get a total of $28 million in golden parachutes when they sell their bank to Jersey based Valley National bank for $312 million, yet will stay on after the merger. Chairman Warren Orlando is poised to get $9.38 million, CEO Rudd Schupp is expected to get $9.35 million and President John Marino is to get $9.45 million, after they agreed to reduce their golden parachutes by $4.5 million each.
•     Wealthy home builder Ed Falcone, who was hit with a $6 million civil theft suit jury verdict recently was nailed with a $2.2 million punitive damage award last week Falcone was convicted in a civil trial of deceptive dealing in the purchase of prime Boca Raton property housing the Gardens Memorial Park cemetery. Falcone was also ordered to pick up the plaintiff’s megabucks legal tab, but he plans to appeal the verdict.
•      Eric Fowler, appointed CEO in April of Boca based energy drink DNA brands, was forced to resign last week after he approved a phony press release touting the company had signed a lucrative distribution deal and the board later corrected the release. DNA brands trades on the penny stock pink sheet and recently posted losses of $800,000.
•      Sales of upscale Palm Beach County homes priced at $1 million or more showed a healthy increase. There were 245 home closings for the first quarter and that was up a solid 16% from the same period last year and it was the second straight year that the well-heeled bought more million dollar plus homes than the previous year. Wealthy home buyers were able to obtain mortgages by laying out mega-buck down payments or in most deals avoided mortgages by just paying cash.
•      Gluttonous Goat gastropub serving burgers, mussel and crawfish stew, braised lamb shank and rib-eye steaks is open at 99 SE Mizner Blvd. in Boca.
•      Slow Burn Theatre’s award winning company’s production of High Fidelity runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2pm through June 29. Buy tickets online at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/29635 or call 866.811.4111. For more information, call 954.323.7884.
•     Arts Garage production of Ring of Fire, the Johnny Cash tribute musical, runs through July 13 at 180 NE 1^st St. Delray Beach. Email info@artsgarage.org or call 561.450.6537.
•      On the Radio: Sounds of the 70s runs to July 27 at the Broward Stage Door theatre, 8036 W Sample Rd. Coral Springs. Call 954.344.7765 or visit www.stagedoortheatre.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
•      Avenue Q runs to June 29th, at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts Crest Theater at Old School Square, 51 North Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach.  Tickets are available at: http://delraycenterforthearts.org or by calling 561-243-7922 ext. 1. (Not suitable for children under the age of 15).
•      The Life is at the Delray Square Performing Arts Center, 4809 W. Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach through July 27. Call (561) 880-0319 or visit www.delraysquarearts.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
•      Cafe Cinematheque Foreign Films with Shelly Isaacs is every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.at Movies of Delray 561-638-0020 and Friday at 1:00 p.m. at Movies of Lake Worth 561-968-4545. Visit www.moviesofdelray.com for more information.
•      Watch Movie Talk with Morrie Zryl on www.wrpbitv.com Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Fridays at 6 a.m.
•     Watch Barry Epstein live to win free tickets to the Cinemark Theatres. You can be on too to promote your business. Call 561.852.0000 for details.
•      Transformers: Age of Extinction opens Friday at the Cinemark Palace and Premiere theatres. Violette and Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case opens at the FAU Living Room Theatres. Million Dollar Arm and Godzilla opens at the Last Picture Show in Tamarac. Tranformers: Age of Extinction opens at the Movies of Lake Worth and the Classic Gateway theatre in Fort Lauderdale.
•      The free Friday Night Summer Tribute Series is 7:30 pm Fridays at the Mizner Park amphitheater including: Crazy Fingers, Grateful Dead tribute band June 27, Odyssey Road, Journey tribute band July 11, U2 by UV , U2 tribute band, July 25, Jimmy Stowe and the Stowaways, Jimmy Buffet tribute band Aug 1 and Turnstiles, Billy Joel tribute band Aug. 8. Visit www.mizneramphitheatre.com for more information.
•     A never-before-seen collection of works by Michael Godard, the Rockstar of the Art World, will be on exhibition and available for acquisition at an exhibition presentation 6 to 9 pm June 28 at the Wentworth Gallery, Boca Town Center, 6000 Glades Road in Boca Raton. Call 561.338.0804 or Email to towncenter@wentworthgallery.com for more info and to RSVP.
•     Larry Ferber has a movie club 10 a.m. every Sunday at the FAU Living Room theatres, followed by discussion. Call 757.617.1936 for more information.
•    Every Sunday at AMF bowling, 1190 Boynton Beach Blvd. and Congress Ave. Brain Bowlers sponsors a bowling league for families and children with disabilities to raise funds and awareness for agencies and children who are void of social interaction.  Cost is only $1.38 per game and families can bowl one or two games.  There is also entertainment and prizes. For further information, call Robert Gottesman at 561-676-2075.
•    Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation and the West Boca Community Council present their seventh annual Fourth of July celebration at Sunset Cove Amphitheater in the Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park on Glades Road, west of 441, featuring Replay. Following the concert is a musical fireworks display by Zambelli Fireworks. The Kids Fun Zone will feature tons of games, a tattoo parlor, sidewalk chalk, and more. Several food trucks will be on site. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Lawn chairs and blankets are permitted. Free admission. In the city, shuttle buses will start running at 5:30 p.m. July 4, between all parking at the Boca Corporate Center and Countess de Hoernle Park/Spanish River Athletic Facility on Spanish River Boulevard just east of Military Trail.
• Family activities, including a full-size Ferris wheel, obstacle courses and sports activities will run from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the city, and the All-Star Band will start playing 1960s and ’70s music at 7 p.m. Both shows are shot over a lake. The city show is 21 minutes and the West Boca show is 10-12 minutes. Food is available at both venues and coolers are allowed, but no pets, except service animals.
•      Keyes Real Estate president Mike Pappas speaks at the www.goldcoasttigerbayclub.com lunch 11:30 a.m. July 8 and Legalizing Medical Marijuana is the program August 12. RSVP on the site.
•      The Palm Beach Pops final two Summer Rocks Mini-Concerts for children will be July 11, 9 a.m. at Florence Fuller Child Development Center East, 200 N.E. 14^th St. and 10:30 a.m. at Florence Fuller Child Development Center West, 10130 185^th St. South Boca Raton, featuring a dozen professional musicians from the Palm Beach Pops. For more information, visit www.palmbeachpops.org or call 561.832.7677.
•      The Delray Beach Playhouse Children’s Theatre, 950 NW 9^th Street, Delray Beach, presents ALICE IN WONDERLAND, JR., a fast-paced stage adaptation of the timeless film, on Saturday, July 12 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm, Sunday, July 13 at 4:00pm and Saturday, July 19 at 4:00pm with a cast of nearly 30 talented young actors ranging in age from 6 – 16 from all over Palm Beach County.  To reserve tickets to the show, 561-272-1281 Ext. 4. Advance tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children 18 and younger, Day-of-Show Tickets are $18 for Adults and $15 for Children.
• Business & Professionals Networking Happy Hour (Sponsored by the Business & Professional Division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County) is Tuesday, July 15, 2014   6:00 pm at New York Prime, 2350 Executive Center Drive, Boca Raton. Cost is $25 per person which includes cocktails & hors d’oeuvres, dietary laws observed. B&P is redefining business networking by making connections among a diverse, growing group of professionals and entrepreneurs that help build businesses as well as our community. To RSVP or for more information, visit www.jewishboca.org/bpnetworking, call 561-852-3128 or email sonnis@bocafed.org.
•      Young Adults Wandering Happy Hour (Sponsored by the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County) is July 24, at 5:45-8:00 p.m. at Saltwater Brewery, 1701 W Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Cost is $8 per person for pre-registration (includes a drink), $10 at the door (includes a drink). Spend an evening with young Jewish locals in their 20s to early 40s who enjoy the best in happy hour venues and company, and connecting with the community. RSVP at jewishboca.org/happyhour. For more information, call 561.852.3165 or email brians@bocafed.org..
•      The Boca Black Film Festival will take place at the Boca Raton Marriott from July 17-19. It is a new festival for black content makers based in the U.S. For more info, visit www.bocablackfilm.org.
•     Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy is at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale July 22-27. Call 954.462.0222 or visit www.browardcenter.org for tickets or more information.
•      The fourth annual White Coats-4-Care awareness and fund raising reception to benefit Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is 5:30-7:30 p.m. July 31 at the all-new Waterstone Resort & Marina’s Penthouse Atlantic Ballroom, 999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton. Admission starts at $100 and other sponsorship opportunities are available. Call 561.392.5166 or email www.smartstrategiesstart@kcompr.com for more information.
•      The National Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be in Boca Raton for the first time on Oct. 11 at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. Registration for the walk is free at www.alz.org/walk. Volunteers are also needed. Contact Pamela Polani at polani@bellsouth.net or call 561-496-4222.
•       JARC sponsors a bowling fundraiser 12:30 to 3 Oct. 26 at Strikes Boca to benefit Adult Day Training Program. Sponsorships are needed. Call 561.558.2572 or email fallong@jarcfl.org. Register at www.jarcfl.org.
•      The Junior League of Boca Raton’s 27^th annual Volunteer of the Year fashion show by Saks Fifth Avenue and luncheon is Nov. 7 at Boca West Country Club. Nominations are still being accepted by calling 561.620.2553.
•      The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) walk for mental health is 8 am. Nov. 8, at Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Road, Coconut Creek. Register at namibroward@gmail.com. For more information, call 954.316.9907 or visit www.namibroward.org.
•     The 2014-15 Broadway series season at the Kravis Center includes Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella Nov. 11-16; The Book of Mormon, Dec. 16-21; Flashdance – the Musical, Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 2015; Anything Goes, March 10-15, 2015; Memphis, April 7-12, 2015 and Pippin, April 28-May 3, 2015. Subscribers will get renewals in April. General public tickets will go on sale midsummer. To order go to www.kravis.org/broadway or call 561.832.7469.
•      The Palm Beach Pops kicks off an abbreviated new season Dec. 14 with a one-night-only show at the Kravis Center featuring the Manhattan Transfer, Frank Sinatra Jr. will sing on Jan. 10 at the Boca Raton Community Church and Jan. 11 at the Kravis Center, and a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch on March 7 at the Boca Raton Community Church and March 8 at the Kravis Center. Tickets go on sale Sept. 2. Call 561.832.7677 or visit www.palmbeachpops.org, www.www.bocacommunity.org, or www.kravis.org for more information.
•      www.westbocaleaders.com  is the best networking group in the area and meets at Hurricane Grill & Wings in the Mission Bay Shopping Center, next to Office Max, 10125 Glades Road, 33498 on alternate Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Cost is $60 per quarter. Check out the website for openings in some categories. Call 561.852.0000 for further information.

Thanks to David Weir’s South Florida Business Report for contributing to the column.

     Barry Epstein, APR, is a noted public relations, marketing and political consultant based in Boca Raton, president of the www.goldcoasttigerbayclub.com, the www.luxurychamber.com, the www.westbocaleaders.com and the founder and former president of the West Boca Chamber of Commerce; with a weekly internet television show on www.vimeo.com, www.youtube.com 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 on www.bocatribune.com, www.facebook.com/BarryEpstein as well as on the Sun-Sentinel/Jewish Journal website at www.floridajewishjournal.com – www.http://barrys-journal.blogspot.com  and on his website: www.publicrelations.nu.