WPB singer who advanced on ‘The Voice’ descends from soul royalty
West Palm Beach resident JaRae Womack, Sam Cooke’s great-granddaughter, advanced to the next stage Monday night after the blind auditions on The Voice.
Womack, with a “soulful” voice, as coach John Legend put it, sang “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse. She earned a four-chair turn — meaning every judge (Legend, Gwen Stephani, Reba McEntire and Niall Horan) wanted her on their team.
“I couldn’t tell if you were a soul singer, necessarily, but I could tell you were a soulful singer, which means something about it is authentic and true and passionate,” Legend told her. “You owned the song, you lived in the song, and you were speaking honestly through music.”
“I just don’t think a parent should have to walk down the street, you know, whether they’re going to Banana Boat or they’re going somewhere else, and have to explain to their kid what a bong is or a water pipe or whatever,” he said at the time.
The city’s interim attorney, David Tolces, researched the topic and returned with his findings at the Oct. 3 commission meeting. Tolces said he looked at the rules in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Lantana, Wellington and North Palm Beach, and that none of the municipalities had regulations on the public’s ability to see “tobacco paraphernalia” when looking through the window of a local business.
However, Lauderdale-ByThe-Sea, a town in Broward County, does require that “tobacco paraphernalia inventory be concealed from the view of the public outside of its premises,” the attorney continued. He said the rule defines paraphernalia as:
Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic smoking pipes, with or without screens, permanent screens, or punctured metal bowls.
Water pipes.
Carburetion tubes and devices.
Chamber pipes.
hhhhCarburetor pipes.
Air-driven pipes.
Chillums.
Bongs.
Ice pipes or chillers.
Such products are marketed for tobacco use but are commonly used to smoke marijuana, especially with the legalization of medical marijuana and low-THC cannabis in Florida. “If I was a parent and I’m walking with my 5-year-old, I don’t want that 5year-old
hhhhhpointing at paraphernalia and asking what that is,” Turkin said at this month’s meeting.
If commissioners were to move forward with a regulation hiding bongs and other smoking devices from people using Boynton Beach’s sidewalks or roads, such as required window tinting, then city leaders would have to consider several questions, the attorney said.
Would the regulation expose Boynton Beach to legal trouble under Florida’s new laws? Updates to state law, which became effective Oct. 1, allow businesses to sue local governments for up to $50,000 if a local ordinance is adopted and found to be “arbitrary or unreasonable.”
As of this month, local governments also have to release a summary of any proposed ordinance, along with estimates on how many businesses the rule would impact, and how much money the stores would likely spend to comply with the regulation. Commissioners, the city attorney said, would also have to consider whether the regulation applies to all businesses or only new shops. Enforcement against existing smoke shops would be based on a “fact specific, case