Curaçao picks FAU, and Boca gets a World Cup watch party
Curaçao will train in Boca, the city sets a July watch party, and police close three recent shooting cases.
Curaçao picks FAU, and Boca gets a World Cup watch party
Florida Atlantic University will serve as the training base for Curaçao's national team during the FIFA World Cup group stage, making Boca Raton one of 48 official team base camps for the tournament, the city announced. Curaçao, an island of about 150,000 people, is the smallest nation ever to qualify. The free "Goals & Good Times" watch party runs July 11 at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, with doors at 4 p.m. and a Miami quarterfinal on screen at 5.
Boca closes its downtown shooting cases, one arrest at a time
Willie Byrd Jr., 42, of Boynton Beach, is being held without bail, charged with first-degree murder in the April killing of Arman Motiwalla, 37, in a Camino Gardens parking lot, Boca Raton police say.
Zoom in: Detectives tied Byrd to the scene with a stolen license plate flagged by plate readers, surveillance video of the same car backing into the same space five days before the shooting, and a handwritten note in his car listing the victim's name and the lot's address.
The arrest lands amid a run of gun violence in and around downtown Boca. Officers also made an arrest in the Memorial Day downtown shooting, and on June 4 arrested a suspect after two people were shot outside The Standard.
The read: Three high-profile cases, three arrests — and a downtown corridor where residents will measure progress by whether the shooting stops around Camino Gardens, Memorial Day crowds, and The Standard in Boca.
A medical firm bets on the FAU Research Park
BioStem Technologies is relocating to Boca Raton after purchasing a 4-acre parcel at the FAU Research Park, according to TAPinto Boca Raton. The move follows a $300,000 package of economic incentives the city council approved, and a $2.5 million investment the company recently secured. It adds another employer to the research campus the city leans on to draw jobs near FAU.
Why a beach bonfire could cost you
Fire pits at Boca beach parks can smolder for up to 24 hours even after being covered with sand, and the city warns they threaten nesting sea turtles, other wildlife and beachgoers. With turtle-nesting season and summer crowds both underway, the rules carry fines — worth a check before any beach gathering. The warning applies to beach parks, not just one access point.
A free Billy Joel night at Mizner Park
On Friday: Turnstiles, a Billy Joel tribute act, plays the Mizner Park Amphitheater at 7 p.m. in the city free Summer in the City series, per the city calendar. An Eagles tribute, The Long Run, follows June 26. Both shows are free, outdoors, and at 590 Plaza Real.
A $30M lottery ticket is still unclaimed
Deadline: A Florida Lotto ticket worth nearly $30 million — sold at the Publix at 19595 S. State Road 7 in West Boca — is the only ticket statewide to match all six numbers in the May 30 drawing, TAPinto Boca Raton reports, citing the Florida Lottery. The winner has until Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, to come forward, and the cash lump-sum option disappears 60 days after the draw. The winning numbers were 3-6-7-35-36-39.
Family Night brings summer solstice to the museum
On June 25: Boca Raton Museum of Art hosts Family Night - Summer Solstice from 4 p.m., with gallery activities, chalk art, games, music, snacks, story time, and kid-friendly performances. The museum event gives families one structured late-June indoor option before the heavier holiday-weekend calendar arrives.
The Studio books Yaqiao Yang and Sean Madden
On June 26: Yaqiao Yang and Sean Madden perform at The Studio at Mizner Park from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The Studio lists Yang as a Chinese-born stand-up comic with Kill Tony and Netflix credits, and the venue puts the show at 201 Plaza Real in Mizner Park, the same walkable arts cluster as the amphitheater in Boca.