Guys and Dolls continues at the Wick theatre to April 29. Tickets at thewick.org.
Construction will be taking place on SR7/US 441 from Clint Moore Road to Atlantic Avenue. The northbound Road will be reduced from one lane Monday through Friday from 9 a..m. to 5 p.m. Construction will take place through the end of March.
Signups for Camp Boca start at 8 a.m. March 27 for residents and April 10 for others, and this year registration is online only. Parents, caregivers and grandparents of children here or visiting over the summer need to visit http://webtrac.myboca.us/ to register.
The Chinese Lantern Festival continues 5:30 to 10 pm Wednesdays through Sundays through April 9 at the Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in West Boca.
The Palm Beach International Film Festival is March 29-April 2. This year’s festival will consist of 30 films, including “Price for Freedom,” “Remember Me” and “Wrestling Alligators.” It will begin with a red carpet screening, followed by an after party at Bowery Palm Beach in CityPlace and Tilted Kilt on Airport Road next to Cinemark. From there, events will take place all around Palm Beach County, such as Jupiter, Lake Worth, Wellington and Boca Raton. Tickets are able to be purchased at pbifilmfest.org.
Yet another former golf course will be redeveloped as PulteGroup plans to build 130 “active adult” homes inside Boca Lago Country Club. The Atlanta-based builder paid $8.3 million for 40 acres off Lyons Road and south of Glades Road. The gated Boca Flores development for buyers 55 years old and older will include one- and two-story units ranging from 1,542 to 2,399 square feet. Elevators will be a standard feature for the two-story homes, the builder said. Prices start in the high $300,000s. Amenities include a social membership with tennis privileges at Boca Lago, a pool, cabana, pickle ball court and walking trail
A three for two stock split is planned for Boca based GEO corporation.
As part of Boca Raton’s goal to improve transportation downtown, the city is considering buying new vehicles for a trolley service. Plans for a trolley gained traction with the City Council last month but hit a setback Monday: The city looked into whether it could partner with a pre-existing trolley company, but found no company that had trolleys to spare. “There aren’t any extras,” Downtown Manager Ruby Childers told City Council members. That leaves the city with another option: Looking into buying its own trolley vehicles. The trolley system would cost the city about $1.5 million per year plus another nearly $3 million to buy the trolleys initially, according to the city. The plan calls for five trolleys to run at a time on one route that connects Mizner Park, City Hall and the Camino Real area of downtown for 80 hours per week. The trolley service is the city’s latest attempt to offset downtown’s traffic and parking woes. But in the meantime, council members want an interim solution for alternative transportation that doesn’t include residents having to drive. City staff also is looking into plans for an on-demand shuttle for door-to-door service and a bike share program as additional ways to cut traffic downtown. As the city goes through its latest building boom, city officials say a trolley system would offset traffic from an expected influx of people living downtown. More than 1,400 new living units will come into downtown over the next few years from planned development projects so far. City staff also predicted a need of nearly 1,200 to 2,000 additional parking spaces on top of the 651 currently in the downtown. Other cities in the region, including Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, have trolley systems that connect residents to their downtown areas. In 2015, the company Downtowner, which also operates in Delray, came into Boca and gave free rides via electric cars through a phone app. But the company moved recently after owners of the ad-funded service changed business models to include fees, Haynie said. In the meantime, Mayor Susan Haynie said the city could utilize a pedicab-type service, which are bike-driven.
The latest lawsuit against Boca Raton surrounding the construction of a synagogue and museum project was dismissed in federal court Monday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra threw out the lawsuit filed by two Boca residents, which was their second attempt to challenge the legality of the city’s decision to move construction forward. Gerald Gagliardi and Kathleen MacDougall had filed a lawsuit last year against the city alleging it had given special treatment to the project while ignoring traffic and parking needs. In July 2015, Boca’s City Council approved the Chabad of East Boca Raton’s $10 million, 18,000-square-foot project on the city’s main drag. The project drew many opponents from the nearby neighborhoods who argued it would increase traffic and noise in the area surrounding the site at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road, just east of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Ouzo Bay Boca Raton has opened in the former Jazziz space at the south end of Mizner Park with a menu heavy on fresh fish and seafood, meat and Mediterranean dishes with a Greek influence. Think spinach pie and stuffed grape leaves to a raw bar, a whole branzino fish to Dover sole and seabass and bone-in braised lamb shank with toasted orzo and seasonal vegetables. Open seven days a week, Ouzo Bay’s hours will cover lunch, dinner, happy hour, a late-night bar and Sunday brunch.
Free seminars at the Faulk Center for Counseling, 22455 Boca Rio Road, Boca Raton First Wednesdays of each month, 11 a.m. – 12 noon – see specific dates below* April 5 – Post Hypnotic Suggestions: Altered States of Consciousness In Therapy May 3, 2017 – Feminist Therapy June 7, 2017 – Autism Spectrum Disorders All seminars are presented by Faulk Center for Counseling graduate students pursuing master’s degrees or doctoral degrees in psychology, social work or mental health counseling. No cost to attend. *Dates subject to change.
The headliner for this year’s A Concert for the Children is Oscar and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. The “Dreamgirls” star will perform at the fundraiser for the 25 children’s charities supported by the Boca West Foundation on April 4 at the Akoya Amphitheater on the country club’s grounds,
Avi Hoffman and Shari Unger speak at the Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club April 12 lunch and learn on the Dachau album. RSVP at http://www.goldcoasttigerbayclub.com/event/avi-hoffman-speaks-dachau-album-boca-raton-april/.
Monica Lewinsky speaks on social media safety at a Boca West lunch 11;30 April 19. Tickets are $100.
West Boca News, Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Business Journal, Boca Life Magazine, New Times and Palm Beach Post contributed to this column.
Barry Epstein, APR, is a noted public relations, marketing and political consultant based in Boca Raton, president-emeritus of the goldcoasttigerbayclub.com, the luxurychamber.com, the westbocaleaders.com and the founder and former president of the West Boca Chamber of Commerce; His motto is: Public Relations is the enemy of anonymity. Email: pr@publicrelations.nu, or fax column items to 561.451.0000. Read his blog on www.barry’s.buzz. His blog is also on bocatribune.com, facebook.com/BarryEpstein and on his website: publicrelations.nu.