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Palm Beaches Restaurant Week

May 28, 2021 by luxadmin

Restaurant Week Palm Beaches – 2021

Press Release from Discover The Palm Beaches

Discover The Palm Beaches Announces Inaugural “The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – July 13, 2021 – The Palm Beaches – comprised of 39 cities and towns from Jupiter and Tequesta to Delray Beach and Boca Raton– is pleased to announce the highly anticipated, first annual The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week from Monday, August 16 to Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Featuring over 70 participating restaurants, The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week offers visitors and local “foodies” the opportunity to indulge in the best of dining in The Palm Beaches. Over two weeks, participating restaurants will showcase multi-course, prix-fixe menus with prices starting at $25 for brunch and lunch, and $45 and/or $55 for dinner, while eateries offer additional dining deals. On the heels of a tumultuous year for the restaurant industry, The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week provides an ideal opportunity for diners to show their support for the county’s local culinary scene, while enjoying more for less.

“We could not be more excited to announce The Palm Beaches first annual restaurant week. As we begin to see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel – with vaccination rates and comfort levels climbing – The Palm Beaches team felt summer 2021 was the perfect time to launch, showing our continued support for our restaurant partners,” said Nick Parks, Vice President Marketing, Discover The Palm Beaches. “The Palm Beaches has taken major steps to expand its ever-evolving culinary landscape, and as a result of The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week, residents and visitors will be provided a tremendous, discounted opportunity to relish in the destination’s diverse and robust culinary offerings.”

Sponsored by Discover The Palm Beaches – the official tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County – and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Palm Beach Chapter, The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week touts a variety of dining options from fine-dining establishments to neighborhood favorites. The two-week celebration is sure to engage the community, with delectable menus highlighting exquisite pairings, the best of the best from notable chefs, both new to The Palm Beaches culinary scene and renowned from years past, and themed, pop-up artwork across Palm Beach County.

To browse participating restaurants and menus visit PalmBeachesDining.com. Tickets are not necessary for the delicious weeks of discounted dining, but reservations are strongly encouraged, and diners can do so through the restaurant directly. Restaurant-goers are also encouraged to follow @PalmBeachesFL on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and @thepalmbeaches on TikTok and tag #PalmBeachesDining for possible features, information and giveaway opportunities.

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About Discover The Palm Beaches
Discover The Palm Beaches is the official 501(c)(6) not-for-profit, accredited tourism marketing organization that promotes the collection of 39 cities and towns commonly referred to as The Palm Beaches, which spans more than 2,300 square miles and boasts 47 miles of pristine beaches from Highland Beach and Boca Raton to Jupiter and Tequesta. Tasked with growing visitation and the local tourism economy, the organization works year-round to bring travelers from around the state, country and globe to visit Palm Beach County. The Palm Beaches’ have a rich history in hospitality as America’s First Resort Destination® and tourism is among Palm Beach County’s major industries, generating $5.5 billion in economic impact during 2020.

The Palm Beaches are home to more than 18,000 hotel rooms, and feature more than 100 family-friendly attractions, an abundance of world-class luxury, award-winning restaurants, and 125 miles of peaceful waterways for on- or in-the-water activities, including 160 artificial reefs that line the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf Stream current. 160 golf courses have earned it the moniker of Florida’s Golf Capital®, as well as The Cultural Capital of Florida® due to its thriving entertainment scene of more than 200 art and culture organizations. Situated along I-95, The Palm Beaches are accessible via Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), which offers more than 100 daily nonstop flights to 30 cities in the United States. The Palm Beaches are also conveniently located within driving distance of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami International airports.

For more information about The Palm Beaches, visit www.ThePalmBeaches.com . Visitors and residents can take advantage of county-wide deals via The Palm Beaches Savings Pass. They can also tune in to The Palm Beaches TV for 24/7 streaming content of the destination’s hotels, attractions, restaurants and experiences.

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Developer Wishes to Purchase Forest Oaks Golf Course

May 26, 2021 by luxadmin

Forest Hills Golf Course Sought after for Purchase by Developer

The Forest Oaks golf club west of Lake Worth Beach could be converted to housing by Canada’s biggest homebuilder. But neighbors argue that the land can only be used for recreation.
Mattamy Homes, Canada’s largest homebuilder, is looking to convert a 50-year-old golf course, Forest Oaks, into a 450-unit residential development.

The homebuilder is under contract to buy the golf course west of Lake Worth Beach at Lucerne Lakes from Grillo Golf Management for $15 million. It would be quite a payday for Grillo, who acquired the 79-acre golf course in 2014 for just under $1 million.

The site, in an unincorporated area, is on the south side of Lake Worth Road at Lucerne Lakes Boulevard. Access will be through a traffic light on Lake Worth Road and one future connection to Charleston Street.

But strong opposition from one of the developments at Lucerne Lakes and concerns from the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) could jeopardize the project, which is expected to be acted upon by county officials later this year.

Anne D’Amico, president of the Lucerne Greens Condominium Association, argues that the master plan prevents the golf course from being converted into a residential development. “It is supposed to be recreational forever,” she noted. “A lot of the people who bought here, including myself, believed that nothing would ever be built on the golf course.”

John Jorgenson, a land-use lawyer representing Lucerne Greens, said the issue may have to be litigated. Another issue, he said, will be whether 450 units is too much to put on a 79-acre parcel. Jorgensen said it is also unclear whether the project will need to be approved by the Lucerne Lakes Master Association, which consists of eight sub-developments and the golf course owner.

“We don’t like to do it, and we are concerned about doing it on Lake Worth Road, where there is a flooding problem,” he told The Post. “It could make a bad flooding situation even worse.”

If approved, it would be the latest in a series of golf-course conversions in South Florida.

Palm Beach County, by itself, has seen more than 10 conversions in the past five years. Vacant land is difficult to find. Homebuilders gobble up failing golf courses as soon as an owner puts it up for sale. The Forest Oaks Golf Course is no longer profitable, according to reports submitted to county planners. Grillo has agreed to keep the course open until permits are obtained so that it will not go fallow and become “a nuisance to existing surrounding communities.”

Efforts to obtain comment from Mattamy Homes and Grillo Golf Management were unsuccessful.

Mattamy Homes is proposing to build 350 townhomes and 100 zero-lot line houses. Eleven homes would be set aside for workforce housing, which means they can only be sold to people with low and moderate incomes. The homes are expected to sell for between $250,000 and $450,000.

Preliminary plans call for three swimming pools; one for each of the three residential pods.The applicant is attempting to make every effort to replace golf course views with lake or park views and set back development areas as much as possible, according to documents filed with the county. It will also build buffers to screen the new homes from existing ones.

Mattamy has already adjusted its plans. It originally wanted to build 600 homes that would have included three-story condominiums and cottage homes. But based on concerns from residents, Mattamy agreed to limit heights to two stories and it significantly reduced the number of homes.

D’Amico said even with the reduction, the density is too much for the Lake Worth corridor.

“We may have seven new communities coming along with a Cleveland Clinic and possibly a new high school,” she noted. “This is a real quality-of-life issue. The repercussions are endless.”

Another resident of Lucerne Greens, Kim Smith, said the carefully developed master plan resulted in the surrounding communities developing their “own distinctive character, one that would be destroyed by the closure of the golf course and dense residential development in its place.”

Smith, like D’Amico, argues that approving the development would amount to “a betrayal” to the homeowners who bought homes in Lucerne Lakes.

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Plein Air, Highwaymen Paintings at Delray Beach Historical Society’s Show

May 18, 2021 by luxadmin

Plein Air, Highwaymen Paintings to be Featured at Delray Beach Historical Society’s Art Show

In celebration of National Historic Preservation Month, the Delray Beach Historical Society, 3 NE First St., is putting on a two-day free art show and sale featuring local artists.

The Delray Beach Historical Society’s “Art in the Garden” event on May 29 and 30 will include over 100 pieces from Plein Air Palm Beach and other artists. With an emphasis on natural areas, the show, which is also sponsored by The Colony Hotel, will also be offering refreshments and strolling music throughout the event while guests are able to walk through the historical society’s native heritage gardens.

The Delray Beach Historical Society will receive 15% of the art sales.

“It’s the first time that we’ve done this and we were seeking a way to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month,” Delray Beach Historical Society Executive Director Winnie Diggans Edwards said. “It seemed like a great idea to combine art and nature. We’ll be promoting messages of conservation, sustainability and historic preservation.”

Established nationally in 1973, Historic Preservation Month will give the Delray Beach Historical Society the opportunity to promote how preservation encourages economic vitality, drives heritage tourism and protects its unique communities.

Memorial Day 2021 ceremonies to honor fallen heroes in Broward and Palm Beach »
Aimed at collecting, preserving and sharing Delray Beach’s rich history and heritage, the Delray Beach Historical Society encourages and assists individuals of all backgrounds and interests to learn more about Delray Beach’s diverse history.

“In keeping the tradition of Delray being an artist colony, we tapped into our friends at Plein Air Palm Beach and some of our connections with the Highwaymen artists and other local artists in the area,” Edwards said. “We met with all of them and said, ‘We would like to put a show together that kind of celebrates our natural spaces, our natural areas so we can educate people on how important it is to save and preserve our natural spaces.”

Over 20 original Highwaymen paintings for display and sale inside the bungalow, according to the Delray Beach Historical Society.

Open to all ages, the event will be enforcing the city of Delray Beach’s health and safety guidelines.

Visit delraybeachhistory.org/.

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SOURCED FROM: Sun Sentinal

Florida Lawmakers Voted for a Massive Gambling Expansion

April 28, 2021 by luxadmin

Massive Gambling Expansion Voted on in Florida

Understanding statewide issues that affect us takes time and research by local journalists. Support more work like this by signing up for a digital subscription. See our current offers. The Florida Legislature approved legal sports betting in a gambling deal with the state’s Seminole tribe that, if it stands, will be the biggest gambling expansion in Sunshine State history.
The deal, known as a gaming compact, legalizes online sports betting in Florida, to be controlled exclusively by the tribe, with profit-sharing opportunities to negotiate with pari-mutuels such as jai alai frontons, horse tracks and cardrooms to participate in the new venture. (Don’t know what those are? Keep reading.)

It’s not law yet. The compact still must be OK’d by federal regulators in the U.S. Department of Interior to ensure it comports with Indian gambling law. It may face lawsuits by any number of groups opposed to more gambling in the state. And it may have to go before voters under terms of a constitutional amendment approved by 71% of Florida voters in 2018. But what is the status of gambling in Florida right now? What’s allowed, and what isn’t? Can you be arrested for your Friday night poker game? It’s complicated, but we’ve got answers.

Is gambling allowed in Florida?
Some of it is.

Florida defines gambling as playing or engaging in any card game or game of chance, at any place, by any device, for money or another thing of value. Most forms of gambling are prohibited, but there are specific exemptions. The Florida Lottery, for example.

Florida 2020 Statutes: Chapter 849 – Gambling

What forms of gambling are currently legal in Florida?
Broadly speaking, Florida allows some pari-mutuel gambling including horse racing and cardrooms licensed by the state, casino gambling on lands belonging to Native American tribes, state-run lotteries and interstate games such as the Powerball, and small social games.

What is pari-mutuel gambling?
Pari-mutuel gambling is a system where all bets are put together in a pool, the “house” takes a cut, and the final payout isn’t determined until the betting is closed and payoff odds are calculated. Pari-mutuel betting is used for jai alai, horse racing, and sporting events when participants finish in a ranked order.

What is jai alai?
Jai alai is a fast-paced game that originated in the Basque region of Spain and thrived in Florida after the first professional fronton (stadium) opened in Miami in the 1920s. The sport is played with two teams of two players, each with elongated, curved, handheld baskets (cestas), who catch and hurl a small, hard ball (pelota) in one continuous motion to whip across the fronton and bounce off three walls and the floor. Imagine four-person handball that’s been weaponized. Since one of the ways to lose points is to hold the ball, the game never stops moving and jai alai pelotas easily reach speeds over 100 mph, making the game exciting to watch and occasionally dangerous to play. The sport once held the world record for ball speed with one reaching 188 mph. Jai alai – and betting on jai alai – was extremely popular in Florida up through the ’80s but interest waned when tribal casinos and other forms of gambling became popular. The Florida State Legislature, in a bid to prop up the sport, passed HB 1059 to allow poker games (cardrooms) in pari-mutuel facilities such as jai alai frontons and horse and greyhound racing tracks, which helped the locations stay afloat but didn’t help the sport. There are now only three jai alai frontons in the U.S.: two in Miami and one in Dania Beach. But amateur teams still play. St. Petersburg opened the nation’s first public jai alai court in 2008.

Is horse racing legal in Florida?
Yes. Off-track and inter-track betting on thoroughbred racing, quarter horse racing, or harness racing is allowed, but only if you place your bets onsite.

Is greyhound racing legal in Florida?
No. Greyhound racing ended when a statewide referendum passed in 2018 that banned the sport as of Jan. 1, 2021.

What is a cardroom?
A licensed, pari-mutuel facility where Florida allows games of poker (and, oddly, dominoes) to be played for money. The state does not consider this casino gambling, according to the statutes, because “the participants play against each other instead of against the house.” Cardrooms can be found at Tribal casinos and racetracks. Several are in former racetracks where greyhounds were raced before that practice was banned. Others are in former jai alai frontons. Some prestigious poker tournaments are held in Florida alongside regular cash games. Online poker is not permitted.

Are slot machines illegal in Florida?
Slot machines are legal at tribal casinos and pari-mutuels only in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Not only are slot machines illegal elsewhere, you are not permitted to own one or even part of one.

Can my friends and I play cards for money in Florida?
Yes, as long as you keep the pot small. Gambling for big bucks in games of chance at unlicensed locations, such as your kitchen table, are a second-degree misdemeanor. But the state does allow penny-ante games. Penny-ante games are defined as “a game or series of games of poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10 in value.” Also, the person running the game can’t charge for it and the game must be held in a home owned or rented by one of the players, or the common recreational area of a college dormitory or a publicly-owned center.

Is my church’s bingo game legal?
It is! With a boatload of restrictions on who can do it, where they can do it, how the game is played and even what the cards have to look like. Florida permits bingo games where you pay to play and win a prize, but they must be held by “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organizations engaged in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious, or scholastic works or other similar endeavors” and those organizations must have been in existence for three years or more. Also, all proceeds after business expenses must be donated to the endeavors listed above. Raffles are also legal, with many of the same restrictions.

What is the legal age for gambling in Florida?
The minimum gambling age is 21 for casino games and 18 for lottery games, poker, bingo, and pari-mutuel betting such as horse racing and jai alai.

Can I bet on the Super Bowl in Florida?
Not legally. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to bet on “any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast.” It’s even worse to be the person taking the bets, which is a third-degree felony. There’s some argument over where offshore betting websites fall here, but Florida bans all betting on sports. Except, for some reason, bowling. Bowling tournaments are exempted from this and are perfectly welcome.

Are internet cafes legal in Florida?
Sort of, if you can still find one. Florida permits sweepstakes, and internet cafes advertise themselves as essentially sweepstakes parlors that offer game “promotions.” This allows them to try to work around the state’s definition of “games of chance,” often comparing their electronic games to something closer to McDonald’s Monopoly game. Aside from a 2013 law banning them from using slot-machine-like computer games, attempts to ban or regulate internet cafes haven’t gotten much traction. But many local governments have banned them due to the high rates of illegal activity and crime that often happen in and around them.

Are arcades legal in Florida?
That depends on what games they offer. Arcades that offer video or physical games of skill that allow you to win tokens or tickets to be exchanged for prizes are covered by Florida’s Family Amusement Games Act, so heading out to Chuck E. Cheese or Dave and Buster’s is fine. But if the game includes a randomized element, such as a random chance as to which prize you can win, even if the outcome relies on skill it’s considered a game of chance and is illegal under the regulations against slot machines. In 2016 a court ruled against the Palms II internet cafe in Ocala that featured such games, saying that the random element brought them under the law against “any game . . . of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value.”

Are casino cruises legal in Florida?
Not in or near Florida, no. But since the 1980s cruise ships operating out of Florida ports have taken people three miles out into international waters to gamble. These cruise ships may not be out overnight, or they run afoul of federal laws against “gambling ships.”

For Luxurious Office Space in Palm Beach County; contact Ben Yomtob Properties

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Sourced from: Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County Food Bank – Gets Boost for New Facility

February 9, 2021 by luxadmin

Food Bank Receives $500,000 donation for new facility

Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman has spent much of his time since the pandemic took hold working out of his Palm Beach home rather than the hedge fund’s Manhattan headquarters. While the sunnier setting is more copacetic for him, his presence has proved fortuitous for his struggling neighbors across the Intracoastal Waterway, where the Palm Beach County Food Bank just received a $500,000 gift to complete a major expansion.

The donation capped the nonprofit’s $3 million “Grow with Us” capital campaign, enabling it to move from Lantana to a new warehouse and distribution facility in Lake Worth next month, doubling its capacity to distribute food through other nonprofits.

“Last year we were offered resources for distribution which we couldn’t accept because we were limited by our existing infrastructure. This new warehouse space ensures we will be able to feed many more of our hungry neighbors,” said Jim Greco, interim CEO of the Food Bank.

The 28,000-square-foot facility at 701 Boutwell Road has 30-foot-high ceilings, allowing more room to stack pallets for more efficient storage and distribution.

Schwarzman said he and his wife, Christine, were honored to support the Food Bank. “The COVID crisis has put a greater spotlight on the issue of food insecurity across the country and I’m pleased that this gift will help Jim and his team double their capacity to support local families in need,” he said.

Forbes lists Schwarzman’s personal fortune at $22.6 billion, including a South Ocean Drive home assessed at $33.6 million. Palm Beach business recruiters have had their eye on him and other financial services leaders with Palm Beach winter homes for years, hoping to lure them to open corporate offices in downtown West Palm Beach.

They’re seeing some progress but despite the harshness of Northeastern weather and state income taxes and the allure of waterfront or fairway-side mansions here, it has proven more a challenge than some might have hoped. A spokesman for Schwarzman said Saturday that Blackstone just leased a small office in South Florida – but in Miami, where it hopes to recruit tech talent.

The nonprofits Palm Beach County Food Bank assists include:

Food Recovery & Distribution, which provides more than 100 agencies with more than 5 million pounds of food that is distributed to close to 100,000 needy residents.
Lois’s Food4Kids, which provides 2,500 children with weekly backpacks of healthy food during the summer months (the equivalent of 145,000 meals).
The Marjorie S. Fisher Nutrition Driven, an educational mobile food pantry partnership with the University of Florida, which graduates 700 residents a year.
Benefits Outreach, which helps more than 2,100 eligible residents secure federal food assistance benefits valued at close to $3 million annually.

About Stephen Schwarzman:
Schwarzman is chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, an alternative investment management company with $619 billion of assets under management as of Dec. 31. He’s a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The Business Council, The Business Roundtable and The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.

His philanthropy leans toward education, culture and the arts. He donated $191 million to the University of Oxford to create a Centre for the Humanities in 2019; $350 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018 for a computing center; and $150 million to his alma mater, Yale University, in 2015, for a student life hub.

Sourced from:

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/westpb/2021/02/09/palm-beachs-schwarzmans-bolster-food-bank-countys-struggling/4438815001/

https://www.pbcfoodbank.org/

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