Situated nine miles north of West Palm Beach, the Village of North Palm Beach is a haven for boating, shopping, and dining. Because the Village is close to the Palm Beach Inlet, as well as to a host of marina facilities, North Palm Beach attracts fishermen and boaters, alike. Boasting 12,500 residents, North Palm Beach offers an elite selection of waterfront and Intracoastal properties.

 

Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens area residents are very familiar with Donald Ross Road and Ellison Wilson Road. Beautiful gated communities such as Bears Club, Trump National, Frenchman's Reserve and Frenchman’s Creek line the busy street. However, do you know who or what the busy thoroughfare’s namesake is?

Donald Alexander Ross was a resident of Lake Park, formerly known as Kelsey City.  He moved to Kelsey City (Lake Park) in 1928 as a child.  Spending his days like most kids in the area, he played outside.  It is said he spent his childhood roller-skating along Dixie Highway and spent many days on the water.  He would row a dingy to Singer Island and have camp out, sleepovers on the vacant land that is Singer Island.

Ellison Wilson was a…

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Tax laws are constantly shifting, lots of ebbs and flows.  There are no major new tax legislation changes for 2015, but tax laws are still always changing.  Some changes for 2015 may affect you.  Thank goodness, Florida does not have a state tax!

The 2015 tax bracket refers to the top 1 percent of high-income earners.  This means high-income earners will be paying 39.6 percent income tax on gross taxable earnings.

The IRS is cracking down on IRA rollovers. It was easy to “borrow” money set aside for retirement for up to 60 days.  As of 2015, one can only do that once in a 12-month period.  If you wish to move IRA assets, you may do so by using “trustee to trustee” transfers.

The Health Insurance penalty for not having health insurance has…

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Abacoa Golf Club recently completed $700,000 in improvements, just in time for the golf course's most popular time of the year.

Some of the updates and improvements included improving the driving range, refurbishing the restaurant, moving tee locations, increasing the length of the course, and modernizing the golf carts.

“Our golfers want to finish 18 holes in four hours. They have so many things to do. Their kids are playing sports. They want to go to the beach, out to dinner, meet with friends,” said co-owner Robbie Dew.

The course, which was built in 1999, is one of many public municipal golf courses in Palm Beach County. West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Lake Worth, and Palm Beach Gardens all have public municipal courses. Those courses…

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You may be curious about the clearing that is happening at the southwest end of Donald Ross Road Bridge in Jupiter.  The 17-acre Palm Beach County maintained park is currently being cleared of predominately of Australian pines.   Excavation of Waterway Park includes over 30,000 cubic yards of waste material brought up during the course of an excavation or a dredging. The Jupiter High School Environmental Academy, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America, and others have planted over 35,000 red mangrove seedlings.

The red mangrove plantings will create over 11 acres of new mangroves, wetlands and “the creation of 1 acre of maritime hammocks at the southern terminus of the park's peninsula”.

The total expenditures for the project exceed $500,000.…

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Local, organic, seasonal and sustainable are current “buzzwords” used a lot lately.  To be truly helpful to the environment one must know the differences between and similar implication of these words. If you are a health conscious foodie, you probably want your food or other agriculture products to be local, organic, seasonal and sustainable.

Local food means food that is grown within a certain range.  That radius can cover a few miles or hundreds of miles of your area.  It generally is a good idea to ask if the product is from your town, county or state so you are clear on what local means in that particular instance.

Organic refers to the method food production. Crops that are grown without artificial fertilizers, artificial pesticides, not…

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Everyone who is in the market to sell his or her home is looking for maximum dollar. The real estate market wavers each year regardless of whether you live in South Florida or another part of the country.  Spring and summer have proven to be the most advantageous time of the year with winter being slightly slower.  Palm Beach County real estate market seems to favor spring as the “selling season” with perfect weather, flowering plants and wonderful days at the beach.

Springtime is the beginning of selling season. There is an increase in new listings at this time.  The momentum from spring selling season overflows into the summer season, making summer the second best time of year to list your home.

Homes listed toward the end of the workweek,…

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March is a wonderful month in South Florida.  In Palm Beach County the sun is shining, people are bustling and the weather is perfect to be outdoors.  This weekend, March 17 – March 20, 2016, our area hosts a number of outdoor events for everyone young to young-at-heart.

The 31st Palm Beach International Boat Show, Downtown West Palm Beach Waterfront, March 17 – 20, 2016 is four full days of exhibitions of the finest yachts and boating accessories.  There are hundreds of boats, flats boats, sportfish, center consoles, and super yachts and much more on display.  The Palm Beach International Boat Show is one of the five top boat shows in the United States exhibiting over $1.2 billion worth of boats and accessories from the leading watercraft…

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Palm Beach County is home to plenty of cycling paths that crisscross lush settings of South Florida. The following five bike trails are exciting trails to discover. On almost any given weekend, hundreds of serious bicyclists don helmets and fancy racing attire before hopping on their bikes and taking off at speeds that can average 20 to 25 mph on the back roads.

1.     Riverbend Park, Jupiter is a 665 acre has a couple compacted shell-rock trails that intertwine through historic landmarks and pristine Florida lands. If you get bored of biking, there are 7 miles of equestrian trails or 5 miles of waterways.  Bikes, canoes, and kayaks can be rented at the on-site Canoe Outfitters of Florida depot.

 2.     Lake Trail, Palm Beach, is a tranquil…

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Although the weather here in Palm Beach County is picture perfect, sunny and 75 degrees, other parts of the United States do not enjoy the same climate. Approximately a half million people journey to South Florida for the winter, avoiding the ice, snow and bitter cold.

Millions of people flock to South Florida for vacation and spring break.  Year round inhabitants of the Sunshine State face many challenges when the visitors and seasonal residents arrive. 

Some tips for residents to manage snowbird season:

Be Tolerant. Anticipate slower traffic, the out of state driver is not familiar with the highways and streets as residents.  Give yourself a few extra minutes to get where you are going.

Be Cognizant. The out of state driver may not know…

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Loggerhead Marinelife Center biologists revealed the first leatherback sea turtle nest of 2016.  The experts suspect that this discovered nest is the first in Florida, possibly the first in the United States.  It was located approximately 100 feet south of the popular Juno Beach Pier.

The significance of locating the first leatherback sea turtle nest is that it signals all beach lovers, residents and visitors to be consciously aware of the possibility of other nests in the area.  Loggerhead Marinelife Center field operations manager, Adrienne McCracken said “this is especially important for Martin and Palm Beach counties, as they are the epicenter in the of leatherback nesting in the continental United States.”  She also stated, “We would like to…

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