LOCAL "TASTE HISTORY CULTURAL TOURS OF HISTORIC PALM BEACH" PROVIDES HISTORY, CULTURE, ART AND TRAVEL INFO

This multi-cultural culinary tour is for history buffs and foodies.  The Culture Trip, an international news agency cited this tour among their Florida’s 10 Best Food Festivals and Fiestas.   TripBuzz ranked this tour as #7 out of 118 nearby activities.  South Beach Wine and Food Festival and the Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival recognize this tour.

Visit 3 to 4 restaurants for hearty food tastings and trips to historic districts, unique restaurants, historic buildings, art districts and art galleries.  

Areas toured include Northwood Village/West Palm Beach; Lake Worth and Lantana; Delray Beach and Boynton Beach and private tours can be arranged. These local tours are available year-round and go on, rain or shine.

These guide-narrated 4-hour tours are done by bus for 15-20 people.  In Delray Beach, it’s early history is described from its first Midwest founders, William Linton and David Swinton, to early landowners including Henry Flagler and William and Sara Gleason.

Some eating experiences are standing-only.  Dietary restrictions and substitutions cannot be provided.  Some eateries are cafes, restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, markets, food stands, an urban farm, historic buildings, cultural centers and art galleries.  See their facebook page for pix.

Tours are held on 2^nd, 3^rd and4th Saturdays at 11 a.m.  There is about 4-6 blocks of walking.  Tours travel through historic districts and neighborhoods.  Each tour varies its stops. 

Pre-payment of $40 per person is required; children under 18 are free when accompanied by an adult, but you must call to verify that space is available.  After February 15, 2015, the new tour rate will be $45 per person for Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and Lantana; $50 per person for West Palm Beach as bus rental and insurance fees have gone up. 

Tours board at Macy’s outside east entrance at the Boynton Beach Mall in Boynton Beach.  The tours are sponsored partly by Macy’s, famous for its culinary tools department, and discounts are given to trip participants.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY BECOMING A CONDO CONVERSION sez THE REAL DEAL

As a condo conversion, it would be hard to find the privacy, security and exclusivity plus the historic feeling and water views... and it is a landmark!

The article states that parking will be featured at the base of the statue along with high-end retail stores, a five star restaurants and maids quarters.  Affordable housing would be limited.  Applicants just have to pass the reasonable credit check.

See more including layout of condos and prices at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/10/12/what-if-
the-statue-of-liberty-was-condo-conversion/#sthash.SFI2GuqF.dpuf

(THIS IS A SATIRE BUT CLICK THE LINK TO SEE THE 

IDEAS FOR THE INTERIOR OF THE STATUE) 

PALM BEACH CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ARE FORGING AHEAD WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS

The Dreher Park Zoo and Science Center are planning an ecotourism complex that is estimated to attract 2.2MM annual visitors, and to be the largest destination in the US focused on conservation and environment.  Cost slated to range between $93MM and $123MM, and result after 10 years, in an annual impact of $300MM. Joint venture agreement discussions to lay out roles and responsibilities are being held.  Plans call for a butterfly haven, rope canopy tour, IMAX theatre, outdoor Everglades exhibit, environment education center, and more.  Next February, completion is scheduled for the science center’s west wing, doubling its usable space over the past four years to 40,000 sq ft.  It’s last fiscal year ended with a $30,000 surplus.  By the end of the year, the zoo will have doubled the size of its Malayan tiger habitat.

 

 

The Norton Museum has begun rehabbing six historic houses it owns on Cranesnest Way and is planning an expansion to reorient the Dixie Highway entrance, and to add 15,000 sq ft of new or renovated gallery space.

Palm Beach Atlantic University’s 78-acre Marshall and Vera Lee Rinker Athletic Campus has raised more than $15MM to benefit the athletic campus, academic programs and scholarships.  The President of the College stated that the school’s economic impact on the community is $345MM.

GREAT AMERICAN PLACES NAMES WEST PALM BEACH'S HISTORIC CLEMATIS STREET AMONG TOP 10 BEST STREETS IN AMERICA

Since the 1890’s, Clematis Street has been the commercial district for Palm Beach County.  Initial surveyors and engineers for Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railroad (1893) planned the area’s configuration.  Since 1990 it has been a two-way street.  The 500 block is listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.  A waterfront park and pavilion connects the waterfront to Clematis Street.  From the park you can walk the waterfront and admire the really big boats docked there. Since 2009, there is a new library and city hall complex.

Locals and visitors are drawn to the street with festivals, annual events and concerts.  Catch the trolley that connects CityPlace, train and bus stations, Palm Beach Atlantic University and downtown West Palm Beach.  Some call it, “Main Street,” and “the entertainment center of West Palm Beach”, a living room, where people relax, have fun, shop, dine and do business.  There are antique shops to browse, colorful boutiques to find that one-of-a-kind item, nightclubs, a movie plex and some upscale stores and restaurants nearby. Have a drink and dine at Bradleys across from the Intracoastal Waterway and enjoy crowd watching.  Architecture is authentic and eclectic, evolving over the last century, including every era and style. 

Historic buildings abound with shops and restaurants on the ground floors of historic buildings.  On higher floors you can find startups, small tech companies, and artists.  Residents’ non –traditional work schedules activate and energize the street, often in the later hours. Some retailers have been there for 100 years.  Drop in to Segway Tours, “the best way to see the area”, and voted # 1 by Trip Advisor of 24 West Palm Beach Activities.  Rent a self-balancing “Personal Transporter,” a motorized “scooter” that changes direction by leaning that way.  Modern dance clubs and health food emporiums are included.  “Clematis by Night” offers a fountain-side concert series, food art and children’s activities.  .  After browsing an art gallery, sit outside and have coffee or wine and cheese.  “SunFest,” the annual boat show and “Corvettes on Clematis” are well attended events with the area drawing about 80,000 visitors a week.

Nearby places to enjoy are The Kravis Center where top stars perform, the Convention Center with art, antiques and jewelry shows, and lots of interesting street browsing.  The area encompasses 5 blocks from Flagler Drive to Rosemary Avenue.

Next time you are looking to have fun, head over to Clematis Street!

ISREALIS DEVELOP BLOOD TEST FOR CANCER

Eventus Diagnostics, and Israeli life-sciences company, has produced a blood test for early detection of breast cancer, after 8 years of painstaking research.  Breast  cancer is by far the most common cancer in women worldwide, with 1.6MM new cases diagnosed in 2010. 

Called the Octavia Pink test, this first ever blood test to reveal cancer is available now in Israel and Italy and is undergoing clinical trials to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval.  It identifies markers that might indicate cancer or something else.  Its innovations also lie in its examination of antibodies in the blood to pinpoint this specific cancer.

The company released a peer-reviewed study that confirms the diagnostic accuracy of its Octava(TM) blood tests designed for use with screening mammography. The study showed that the Octava(TM) Blue test has excellent sensitivity and good specificity in helping to identify whether or not women who have had an abnormal mammography result actually have breast cancer. The study was conducted by researchers at Eventus Diagnostics and at major cancer centers in the U.S., Italy and Israel.

Galit Yahalom, Head of the 15-member Research Team, is a 43-year old Israeli mother of two who has worked on this project since its inception.  She says, “We know that it recognizes cancer as an external enemy that must be destroyed. It is possible that each of us has had instances of cancer we were unaware of, because our immune systems killed it when it was still very small. For whatever reason, the immune system of people with cancer is not functioning properly.” She also states, “For the last decade, we have known that there is a connection between cancer and the immune system.”

The Octava breast cancer tests are the first in a new class of rapid, accurate and cost-effective immune system-based blood tests that detect the presence or absence of cancer by measuring ratios of autoantibodies produced by the body in response to the presence of tumor-specific antigens.

For more information: http://www.israel21c.org/health/israelis-develop-first-blood-test-for-breast-cancer/

COME AND LOOK FOR A NEW BEST FRIEND...

APPARENTLY I'VE BEEN DOING IT WRONG ALL THESE YEARS...

http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/openGraph/wid/0_u0r71mg5

WHAT IS LOCK BUMPING AND WHY SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT IT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM

 

HISTORIC INDEED... WITH ORIGINAL DETAILS... COME SEE THIS 1926 BEAUTIFUL UPGRADED HOME AND COTTAGE

Palm Beach County is known for its historic homes

 

Who's footsteps will you be walking in?

This property has been occupied by prominent locals

including a former Mayor of Palm Beach

 

 1926 Historic Home plus two apartments to rent out in separate cottage
* NOW UNDER CONTRACT *
Let Marilyn Find You a HISTORIC HOME!

El Cid Lafayette Park Neighborhood between Antique Row
and the Intracoastal Waterway
UPGRADES GALORE
Double Lot - 30'x15' pool - sizeable Yard

Front of house with Chicago Brick Pavers (all around grounds)

arched windows, pecky cypress arched wood door, arched French Doors

 

Side of house with Chicago Brick Pavers, luxurious "fauna"

Guest House has two entrances, kitchen, 2 apartments

Living Room - 20'x14' with working fireplace

Dining Room - 15'x12' with French Doors

Upstairs Master Bedroom - 21'x15' with updated gorgeous Master Bath

and Walk-In Closet with WINDOWS!

 

Kitchen - UPDATED - 16'x12'

 

Two more upstairs bedrooms, two downstairs dens

3880 living sq ft - High Privacy Hedges in Front and Sides

Beautiful, Tranquil, Serene Views from All Windows

 

GREAT house for entertaining and/or family fun

 

May I give you a tour?

Call Marilyn at 561-302-3388

 

GREAT HOME FOR A HISTORY BUFF

 

$999,000

 

FORGETFUL? MAYBE A FREE MEMORY SCREENING WILL HELP

FREE MEMORY SCREENING

Friday, June 20^th, 2014

9 am – 3 pm

 

 

Call for an appointment

Or information

561-968-2933

 

JEM RESEARCH INSTITUTE

130 JFK Drive, Suite 203

Atlantis FL 33462

LUXURY & MID-PRICED PROPERTIES ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL BUYERS TO SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

 

The ten most expensive cities for real estate have only one US city: New York.  The other cities are Monaco, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, all outranking New York, and Sydney, Pairs, Moscow and Shanghai, reports Investors Business Daily. 

From February 2014 through February 2014, 788 homes were sold in the US for over $10mm, according to Zillow.  Over half the sales were in Los Angeles and the New York area.  Some of the most expensive transactions were in San Francisco, south Florida, Aspen and Vail.

Savills, the global real estate company in London, reports that the average luxury home in Hong Kong was valued at about $11,000 per sq ft.  In London, the average was $5300 per sq ft and in New York $4100 per sq ft. 

With strong economic growth in China, the National Association of Realtors states that the Chinese are buying up high-end US properties, attracted by America’s stronger property rights and a relative stable political and economic climate.  International buyers have found Florida real estate less expensive than in their own countries, according to 80% of surveyed Florida realtors.  While the median price paid by international buyers in Florida was $216,477, it appears that the segment of interest in properties for foreign buyers is very limited.

Channel 12 News reports that in 2013, Florida was visited by 266,000 Chinese tourists.  Orlando, Miami and Pinellas County have tourism leaders making pitches to and working with Chinese tourism operators in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai to start selling vacation packages in China that will showcase the beaches, museums and golf resorts in the county, aiming for Florida home buyers.

CONSERVATION EXPERT TO SPEAK AT PALM BEACH ZOO ON FLORIDA PANTHER HABITAT CONSERVATION AND CONNECTIVITY

Conservation biologist Richard A. Hilsenbeck, Ph.D., says that “Panthers depend for their lives on the same basic natural resources that sustain our own livelihoods,….conserving lands for the Florida panther is important for protecting our own best interest.”  He further says that, “This is because having large natural areas and working lands, like cattle ranches, stay in productive agriculture is not only important for our food prosecution, but also vitally important to protecting the water supplies of Florida’s citizens.”

Dr. Hilsenbeck will be speaking on Thursday, June 12, and after guests have enjoyed cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and Zoo animal views from 6-6:30 pm. he will present the third Conservation Leadership Lecture of 2014.

Dr. Hilsenbeck, currently Director of Conservation Projects for the TNC Florida Chapter, has had 35+ years of experience in conservation biology, including about 23 years with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and is considered an expert in conservation easements, ecological assessments and descriptive ecology of Florida’s natural communities.

He has had statewide responsibilities for project initiation, design and implementation and has authored or co-authored 60+ projects, many focused on conservation of Florida’s ranch and timberlands, including Preservation 2000, Save Our Rivers and Florida Forever.   His is the primary responsibility within TNC for land acquisition issues, successfully guiding scores of projects through the State of Florida’s initial land acquisition process.  Thirty plus peer-reviewed articles of his have been published in scientific journals,  he has written chapters in several books and many technical reports, provided to private, state and federal agencies.

 

Seating is limited; tickets are $20 per person.  You can purchase tickets online at www.palmbeachzoo.org or call 561-547-WILD, ext 285.

Photo below of my own active, tame, smart Bengal cat, Purrfect Posh, descended from a baby leopard:

If you are interested in rescuing a Bengal cat, email me at marilynfjacobs@gmail.com and I will tell you where to look online.

BIG TIME DONATION FROM KRAVISES WILL MOVE FORWARD CANCER RESEARCH

Through the generosity of the Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, who are contributing $100MM to Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Center for Molecular Oncology will move forward more quickly on its goal to expand gene coverage above the currently 341 known cancer-causing genes  and monitor therapy at the molecular level.   

They want to discover why tumors spread and if the patients were predisposed to cancer, determine what mutations are driving growth of the tumors.  The gift will create a precision oncology center which will bear the names of Henry and Marie-Josee Kravis.  The center states that cancer is a disease of the genome and they need to integrate vast amounts of molecular discoveries and analyze patients’ DNA and tumors to develop tumor-specific treatments.

Six gene-sequencing machines are being installed to analyze tumors.

Mrs. Kravis is Chairperson of the Sloan Kettering Institute, the research arm, and has been on their Boards of Overseers and Managers since October 2000.  Mr. Kravis is a private-equity investor.  Mr. Kravis told the Wall Street Journal, “I like to do things that are transformative and more importantly make a difference.”  

 Kravis gifted the Columbia Business School with $100MM in 2010 to fund a new building that will be completed this year and will bear his name.

HOA TRANSFER FEES UNDER THE GUN – A HOTLY DEBATED ISSUE

As of 2012, according to the Community Associations Institute (CAI), there were 323,600 association-governed communities in the U.S. with just under 26 million housing units and 63.4 million residents.  Averaging $100 to $500, transfer fees are generally used by communities for replenishing capital reserves, improvements to infrastructure and sometimes to fund environmental conservation activities; in other words to benefit the community.  A CAI member survey showed that 72% of HOAs charge transfer fees when units are sold, mostly flat fees but sometimes a small percentage of the sale.

In 2012 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopted guidelines that banned private-purpose investor-benefit transfer fees from eligibility for conventional financing.  Lawyers for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) warned FHA that under current “free assumability” regulations, they cannot insure mortgages on properties with “restrictions on conveyance”, encumbrances on the title that could hamper transfers, including fees paid at sale of units in HOA communities.  Most existing HOA transfer levies may become obstacles to those who want to use Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans and seniors who apply for an FHA-insured reverse mortgage.  Groups have appealed to the FHA to mirror Fannie’s and Freddie’s current guidelines and prohibit only those fees that will not benefit the homeowner and association where they reside.  

Regulations might be published in June.  States estimated to be hardest hit if this Transfer Fee Home Owners Association rule goes into effect include Florida, California and Arizona, which have all struggled with owner-unit default problems.  Some had to put off needed capital improvements.  Others use these funds for essential community services.

The CAI has put FHA on notice that if this transfer fee plan goes forward, they will have to go to Congress feeling that these restrictions for FHA financing will adversely affect many forthcoming home buyers and will compromise the stability of many communities.