May 2013

Ernie Els and his wife Liezl have been big proponents of autism research for several years. Since their son Ben was diagnosed with autism in 2008, Els has been doing all he can for autism research with his Els for Autism foundation.

The Jupiter resident got a major boost on Thursday, the same day he teed it up at the BMW PGA Championship in England. Palm Beach County commissioners unanimously approved plans for the Els Center for Excellence to be built on 25 acres of land in the Limestone Creek area in Jupiter.

The Els Center for Excellence will cater to about 300 students and is expected to become the "epicenter" for autism research. The $30 million charter school will include four buildings, a swimming pool, a small golfing area, and a running

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Ibis Golf and Country Club will be expanding its clubhouse and adding a new "sports village". The current clubhouse, located in West Palm Beach is 50,000 square feet.

The project will add 23,000 square feet to the Ibis clubhouse. The new amenities that will be offered will include a sports bar with a capacity of 243 people, a new kitchen, a library, a card room, and an expanded ballroom and locker rooms.

In addition to those additions and renovations, the new clubhouse will also feature a "sports village" that will include a two-story fitness complex, spa, and wellness and aquatic center.

Ibis also offers its members some of the best golf in South Florida. In addition to the three Nicklaus designed courses, Ibis features one of the premier practice

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Photo courtesy of the FSGA

The State Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in the country. So it is only fitting that it will be held at one of the most prestigious and well-renowned clubs in the country.

The Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta is one of the top 100 clubs in the country and has been chosen for the second time in its storied history to host the premier amateur tournament in the state. The top 168 amateurs in the state of Florida will descend on the Hills and Village courses at Jupiter Hills June 20-23 for the 72-hole event. Just like in PGA Tour events there will be a cut down to top 70 players and ties after the second round.

The winner of the State Amateur Championship moves on to

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About 2,400 homes were damaged in the Oklahoma cities of Moore and Oklahoma City.  Some 10,000 people were directly impacted by the nearly 1.3-mile wide tornado, leveling homes and leaving a high number dead, many children.  Governor Mary Fallin said the tornado was “one of the most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced.”  Oklahoma “will get through this and overcome.  We will rebuild. We will regain our strength,” she said.

The preliminary rating of damage created by the tornado is at least EF4 (winds 166 – 200 mph) – the second most severe classification on a scale from zero to five – according to the National Weather Service.  Approximately 34,000 residents of the Oklahoma City area remain without power after the powerful storm. …

Fresh off his win at The Players Championship and with the week off from competition, Tiger Woods went to Las Vegas to take part in a charity event for his foundation.

The 15th annual Tiger Jam concert and fundraiser featured a concert from Kid Rock and a poker tournament with professional poker players Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Phil Hellmuth. The weekend event raised over $800,000 for the college-access programs of the Tiger Woods Foundation.

The event started on Friday with a round of golf at Cascata Golf Club. Kid Rock and Chris Paul were part of Woods’ group on the course. After the poker tournament took place on Friday night, Kid Rock took the stage on Saturday, playing some of his hit songs. Saturday also brought the charity auction. Some of the…

With more than 1,300 miles of coastline, it is no surprise that Florida has an active and thriving seafood industry! Florida fishermen harvested more than 106 million pounds of seafood, including grouper, mahi-mahi, pompano, shrimp, mullet, snapper and Spanish mackerel.  Florida fishermen provide 100% of the entire nation’s domestic spiny lobster and 97% of the stone crabs.  According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services more than 85 different varieties of seafood are harvested from our coastal waters.

Florida is ranked among the top 12 in the nation for fresh seafood production.  During the past five years, the dockside value of Florida seafood has grown by more than 25% to $222 million.  According to a recent University of…

After months of discussion and debate, the governing bodies of golf have finally announced the decision to ban the anchored putting stroke. The USGA and R&A, golf’s governing bodies, announced Tuesday morning the addition of Rule 14-1b to the official rules of golf.

The new rule will take effect on January 1, 2016 when the next edition of the Rules of Golf is published. The new rule states that players competing under the USGA or R&A rules will no longer be allowed to “anchor” the putter to their bodies in any way. The longer putters will not be banned but once the new rule takes effect, they will not allowed to anchored on any part of the golfer’s body.

Over the next two and a half years, golfers off all skill levels will have the opportunity to adapt…

There is nothing better than a day at the beach!  Fresh air, sun and the surf.  The ocean is powerful and unpredictable, and without proper safety precautions and lifeguards, our local Jupiter, Juno, and Singer Island area beaches can be uncertain. With summer and beach season approaching it is important to refresh the basic safety tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable day at the beach.

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation use a colored flag system to identify beach warnings.  Green Flag: Low hazard. Conditions are calm; normal care and caution should be exercised. Yellow Flag: Medium hazard. Moderate surf currents present. (i.e.: rip current,dropofff,rocks) Red Flag: High hazard. Very hazardous rough surf and/or strong currents; swimming for experienced

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After five grueling years, Americans are feeling optimistic about the housing market and rightly so! “National home prices have been on the uptick for eight straight months and jumped 6.3 percent year over year in October – the largest increase since June 2006” according to CoreLogic.  CoreLogic is a North American corporation providing financial, property and consumer information, analytics and business intelligence.  The company analyzes data and information to clients and government with analytics and customized data services.

Bidding wars are making a comeback here in South Florida, and many properties located here on the desirable waterfront in Jupiter, Tequesta and surrounding areas are seeing multiple offers.  Buyers need to prepare themselves…

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

The TPC Four Seasons was set up for golfers to go low on Thursday morning. Over an inch of rain fell in the Dallas area Wednesday night, leaving the greens soft and giving the players the green light to go for the pins. That, coupled with no win and preferred lies in affect, left the course ripe for the taking in the opening round of the HP Byron Nelson Classic.

That’s exactly what Keegan Bradley did. Going out early in the morning, the Tequesta resident took advantage of the favorable conditions by shooting a course record 60. With a round of 10-under, Bradley tied the tournament record, joining Arron Oberholser and Sam Snead as the only players to ever shoot a 60 at the Byron Nelson Classic. The previous course record at

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