Get Ready to be Scared out of your seat!

carriemusicalSlow Burn Theatre Company is presenting Carrie, the musical, October 16, through November 2, 2014. Showtime is Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. The musical is based on Stephen King’s best selling novel. It features a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, music by Academy Award winner Michael Gore and lyrics by Academy Award winner Dean Pitchford.
The musical is about a misfit, Carrie White, an outcast at school who’s bullied by the popular crowd. At home, she’s at the mercy of her loving but cruelly over-protective mother. But Carrie’s just discovered she’s got a special power, and if pushed too far, she’s not afraid to use it.
 

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online. The production will take place at West Boca Performing Arts Theater located at 12811 West Glades Road. Season Tickets for the 2014-15 season are available. Slow Burn Theatre Company will be presenting 3 other shows this season including Bonnie & Clyde, RENT and Little Shop of Horrors. For more information, call 1-866-811-4111.
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Editorial: Yes on Amendment 2 – Medical Marijuana

While watching the Today Show this morning I saw this video against Amendment 2, the medical marijuana amendment – you may have to turn up your volume:

The video shows “Dr. Madelyn Butler, M.D.,” speaking in a strong voice to scare voters about medical marijuana. She’s lying. She says the Amendment will allow people to get marijuana without a prescription. That detail is true, sort of. But then she that’s not like “FDA-approved medication.” But plenty of medicines are available over the counter without a prescription. Thousands of drugs like Aspirin, Tylenol, Motrin, and Theraflu can be purchased by anyone without seeing a doctor or pharmacist.
In fact it will be harder to get marijuana under Amendment 2 than these over-the-counter drugs because marijuana users will have to get approval from a licensed physician before being able to buy any from licensed stores. Even those looking to grow marijuana themselves also need to have a license to do so, therefore, it would by no means be a free-for-all, unregulated market.

The reference to FDA approval is also nonsense. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law. So the FDA can’t approve it for medical use.

Let’s be clear about Dr. Madelyn Butler. She does not practice in a specialty where marijuana might be used as therapy. She’s an Obstetrician and Gynecologist.
According to Wikipedia:

Cannabis has been used to reduce nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy and people with AIDS, and to treat pain and muscle spasticity.

For more see Top 10 Medical Uses for Marijuana. These are not generally areas that are handled by Ob/Gyns.
Dr. Butler is heavily involved in the political scene and this ad is funded by Drug Free Florida, a group sponsored by the GOP establishment. It’s likely that the purpose of the ad is not about the issue itself, but rather a political trick to affect voter turnout – discouraging pro-marijuana voters from showing up at the polls and thus reducing the number of people likely to vote for Charlie Crist. Dr. Butler supported Rick Scott in 2010 as well.
Regarding our own prejudices, West Boca News opposes drug prohibition and would legalize marijuana not only for medical use but also for recreational users. We do not use marijuana and do not recommend recreational use to anyone. But plenty of people do use it, and marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. It’s not even close, according to the British medical journal Lancet:

As for my financial bias, I have made hundreds of thousands of dollars representing people accused of drug crimes. Most of these have been marijuana cases, from as little as one gram to a guy who was caught with 200 pounds of it. Drug arrests also make wonderful news stories for West Boca News. I will lose a lot of money if marijuana is made legal.
Vote “No” if you want to protect the income stream for lawyers like me and many others. Vote “Yes” if you want to end a failed prohibition that causes crime, takes billions from taxpayers and accomplishes nothing.

Car Flipped at El Camino Real & Powerline

Update: See bottom of article.
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Thanks to a reader for photos of a car that flipped over at or near the intersection of El Camino Real and Powerline. This was about two hours ago.

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In the comments on the Facebook post of this article, the driver let us know what happened:

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We are glad to hear Ms. Fonseca is okay, thank her for her comment, and wish her well.

Saks Off 5th Coming to West Boca?

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Anyone passing by Somerset Shoppes recently may have noticed work is under way on the old Loehmann’s. We stopped by today and took a closer look. An inside source tells us that it will be a Saks Fifth Avenue, though our expert on retail says it will more likely be their discount version, a Saks Off 5th

Originally conceived as a clearinghouse for Saks Fifth Avenue merchandise, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH has reinvented itself as a major national retailer in its own right and, most recently, a compelling place to find the same exceptional deals online. An engaging environment, abundant exclusives, remarkable savings and assortments from the most notable names in fashion

Somerset Shoppes is on the northeast corner of Glades and Lyons. The old Loehmann’s is at the eastern end of the plaza. We attempted to contact Saks for confirmation but have not received any reply yet. Their corporate website appears to be down at the moment.

However, thanks to a reader we did get confirmation from another source: BizJournals.com. It’s a 10-year lease on roughly 23,000 square feet of space.
We also noticed a new fitness place coming in toward the middle of the plaza, not far from Original Pancake House. Orange Theory Fitness is “coming soon.”
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We were able to confirm this one on their website and have asked for a target opening date.
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However, the signs in the plaza indicate there is a “pre-opening” sales location near LensCrafters. We were unable to find that.