Local News and Real Estate for West Boca Raton
Tomorrow dozens of Tai Chi and Qigong (pronounced chee – gung) practitioners from West Boca and beyond will participate in our little corner of a worldwide event: World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day. Below is a photo from last year’s group:
People will begin gathering around 9:30 am just north of Sunset Cove Amphitheater in South County Regional Park. There will be a barbecue with some food provided to participants.
The West Boca Community Council is hosting a Safety Fair. We arrived just as it was getting started at 11 am today and it should go until 3 pm. It’s in the parking lot for Sunset Cove Amphitheater in South County Regional Park.
There are several information tables including AAA (above), and the medical center as well as a bounce house, a hot dog vendor, and some law enforcement including FHP.
Publix has a tractor trailer exhibit.
Here are a few more pictures from the fair.
Riverdown, a self-described power rock cover band, will perform at Sunset Cove Amphitheater (in South County Regional Park) later this month. The concert will begin on at 7 pm on the evening of Saturday, January 25th.
Admission is free, and you can bring lawn chairs and blankets. There will be food trucks on site too.
As part of the event, but earlier in the day, the West Boca Community Council will hold a “Safety Fair” in the parking lot. That is from 11 am to 3 pm.
In addition to their website, Riverdown also has an active Facebook page. This looks like it might be fun.
Many West Boca residents may be unaware of the neighboring water conservation impoundment known as the Fran Reich Preserve. The refuge is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and its purpose is to retain excess surface water runoff from the Hillsboro watershed as well as the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Okeechobee.
The Fran Reich Preserve is a 1,660 acre impoundment that will collect urban runoff during the rainy season and store water for purposes of agricultural use during the dry season. The site will deliver water to the Hillsboro Canal Basin that would otherwise be discharged to the Intracoastal Waterway. By delivering freshwater to the Hillsboro Canal, the site is also expected to reduce saltwater intrusion.
The project is equipped with sophisticated water management technology including an inflow pump station, gated discharge culvert, emergency overflow spillway, and a seepage control canal. In the 1980’s, the site was the proposed location for a solid waste dump and incinerator. This proposal was unsuccessful after being met with resistance by locals, including Fran Reich, an Everglades conservationist and West Boca Community Council founder. The preserve was named in her honor.
As you can see in the picture above, the site is located to the west and southwest of West Boca Community High School and west of the end of Palmetto Park Road. The preserve runs along the north side of the Loxahatchee Canal (and Loxahatchee Road) for about 3 miles.
West Boca kids softball is now open for registration for the Spring season. The West Boca Diamonds league starts with free clinics on Saturdays from January 11th to February 1st. Evaluations for new players are February 7th and 8th. If the child only played in the Fall 2013 season but not the earlier Spring season, then going to the evaluation appears to be mandatory.
Teams will be set up around the 10th of February, and practices start on the 15th. Games run from the beginning of March through early May, and are played in South County Regional Park, on the fields just north of Kimberly (south of Yamato).
West Boca News had a close-up view of the league this past fall. It’s run very well with a lot of wonderful people involved. Keep in mind that they could always use more parents to volunteer as coaches or in other ways.