KWV returns from hiatus - Touching the Third Rail - Weekly briefing - 31 October 2023

Human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Send us an email with a link.

(Beloved beta editions readers of  Key West Voices: We are most grateful for your candid feedback as we continue to shape and tune the KWV concept of 'human-curated Florida Keys News, all in one place.' With this issue, we return from our hiatus that began in September. This issue includes some notable items that appeared during the hiatus, and we expect to be back to a full issue on 6 November. We plan to soon begin promoting free subscriptions, and aim to have hundreds of readers before year end. Thanks, again.)     

Our Community

Fantasy Fest happened, and the Citizen and Keys Weekly and the promoters covered it well. 

• But Linda Cunningham boldly ventured to touch the third rail by asking, "What does it say about us as a community when we can raise $587,375 for puppies and kittens while 43 percent of our neighbors can barely afford to feed and shelter their families?" Linda called for change, "We are better than that." Linda's earlier column detailed the reality of poverty in the Keys. 
• Next year's theme will be It's a 90’s Neon Cosmic Carnivale! Um, okay. 

Hambright remembered. Renowned and respected Florida Keys historian Tom Hambright died 14 October in Miami. Mandy Miles shared her appreciation for Tom. 

Lopez heart scare. Longtime Key West City Commissioner Clayton Lopez disclosed that he had a health emergency on 12 October that required him to go to the mainland for treatment. 

• But a life flight aboard one of the county’s Trauma Star helicopters wasn’t possible. The hours-long cell service outage that stymied text messages and cell phone calls for much of the Florida Keys on Oct. 12 had bigger implications for Lopez — and anyone else who may have needed an emergency medical helicopter flight. "Air transport doesn’t fly when cellular communication is out, so I was transported by ambulance to Mt. Sinai,” wrote Lopez.
• Meanwhile, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay signed the agreement to acquire three new Trauma Star helicopters for free medical transport to the mainland for citizens and residents (not free for tourists). 
• Isn't anyone saying why a cell phone outage grounded the fleet?

Strand (Walgreens) sold. A buyer with local ties bought the historic Strand Theater on Duval Street, currently occupied by Walgreens. 

Rebranding. Local watchdog group Last Stand launched a membership drive and rebranding effort. Formed in 1987, Keys Last Stand is responding to recent unprecedented environmental crises in the Florida Keys, which included severe coral bleaching, decrease in water quality and an increase in algal booms and fish and sponge die-offs because of this summer’s unprecedented heat wave.

Not a Fantasy Fest story: Mark Hedden wrote about boobies, and flamingos.

Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday 5 November, when you should set your clocks back one hour. Most phones and computers will do that automatically. 

Our Eyes

Flamingo on Ohio Key - Mark Hedden

Mourning Jimmy, joyfully; KWV goes on hiatus - Weekly briefing - 04 September 2023

Human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Send us an email with a link.

(Beloved beta editions readers of  Key West Voices: We are most grateful for your candid feedback as we continue to shape and tune the KWV concept of 'human-curated Florida Keys News, all in one place.' While much work remains to be done, we hope you'll agree we've established a solid foundation for growth. Because of personal plans made before KWV was conceived, we now go on hiatus until the issue to be published on 31 October. Soon thereafter, we plan to begin promoting free subscriptions, and aim to have hundreds of readers before year end. Thanks, again.)  

   

Our Community

Keys favorite son and international icon Jimmy Buffet died 1 September at 76 in his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, from a rare form of skin cancer. (Facebook, USA Today).  

• National, international, and industry news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, BBC, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, France 24, Variety, Yahoo News Canada, and many others quickly echoed the news worldwide. Coverage by the Associated Press was carried in publications nationwide.  
• Local and regional news outlets, including The Citizen, Keys Weekly, FLKeysNews, Tampa Bay Times , Local10 Miami, and many others offered more personal remembrances. An avalanche of local coverage continued all weekend.   
• Local reporter, national reach. Key West's own Nancy Klingener quickly penned a timely and heartfelt capsule of local reaction for the New York Times. 
• One Key West resident echoed the sentiments of many. "Many of you know that Jimmy Buffett is directly responsible for this current chapter of my life. His songs got me though high highs, and the lowest of lows, and he is the original reason I came to Key West the first time. I am proud to say I remain a diehard Parrothead, and have raised two Parakeets." Dozens of similar remembrances from others local and afar continued on Sunday. (Facebook) 
• Married 45 years. Yahoo!entertainment ran a brief, yet intimate glimpse of Buffett's wife of 45 years, Jane Slagsvol. (Yahoo!entertainment) 
• Second line for Jimmy. An estimated 2,500 people marched in a second line parade beginning at 5 o'clock (naturally) Sunday afternoon on Duval. CBS 4 Miami streamed coverage live, and social media was flooded with photos (below).
• Margaritaville was at first a Mom and Pop Shop in Key West. Robin Smith-Martin reposted the history of his family's role in launching the Margaritaville empire. (Our Key West) 
• Jimmy's style. The Washington Post noted Buffett's influence on casual style for men. (Washington Post).
• Timely premiere. A new short film in which Tom McGuane and Jimmy Buffett recall the 1970s Key West literary scene was scheduled to premiere at the Telluride Film Festival before Buffett's death was announced. (Variety)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

In other news...

Keep an eye out: new storm brewing? The National Hurricane Center is closely watching the development of a potential tropical storm in the mid-Atlantic that may be on track for us. (Weather.com)

Idalia's impact in the Keys was mostly confined to storm surge and tidal flooding. The hurricane made landfall Wednesday in Keaton Beach, Florida, as a powerful Category 3 storm. 

• Snub. DeSantis snubbed Biden as president toured Hurricane Idalia damage in Florida. (Guardian)

Even more passengers for constrained EYW. United Airlines announced additional routes and larger planes to begin service at Key West International Airport beginning in November, well before the expansion project there is set to be completed. (Keys Weekly)

• Congressional victory lap for airport repair. U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla, toured EYW after successfully lobbying for emergency repairs to a critical safety feature of the airport's single runway.  (Keys Weekly)

Court consolidation opposed. Local political and law enforcement leaders spoke out against the plan to consolidate Florida's circuit court districts. (Keys Weekly)

• A full-on howl. Linda Cunningham didn't mince words. "...opposition has grown from a handful of raised eyebrows to a full-on howl from an alliance of folks who might not have given each other the political time of day in, say, May." (Key West Island News) 
• Poorly designed survey. The state's Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee extended its deadline to complete a slanted, amateurish, and tedious survey that pays lip service to public input to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 4. Locals were encouraged to complete it anyway.
• Public Zoom meeting. The Judicial Circuit Assessment Committee will hold a meeting on Friday, September 15, 2023, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM (ET). The meeting will be accessible virtually through Zoom.   

Former police chief challenges proposed deputy chief job. Former KWPD chief Donie Lee stated his professional opinion that a proposed new position is not needed. (Keys Weekly)

Small pond. Mark Hedden met his target of ten unique bird species at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden's Desbiens Pond  (Keys Weekly)

Our Eyes

• ROB O'NEAL / Keys Citizen
  
  

• ROB O'NEAL / Facebook
  

Previously in Key West Voices

Jacksonville shooting. A 52-year-old woman who was born and raised in Key West was one of three Black people fatally shot Saturday at a Dollar General Store in Jacksonville, Florida, by a white man on a racist rampage. The shooter killed himself at the scene. (Keys Weekly)

• Unwelcome. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was booed at a vigil for the victims. (NPR)
• White House statement. President Joe Biden said that "white supremacy has no place in America." (whitehouse.gov)

Brown water. Summerland and Cudjoe residents shared photos and water quality concerns for large stretches of Niles and Bow channels. (Citizen)

Court consolidation.

• A plan to consolidate Florida judicial circuits drew widespread concerns. (WFTV)
• Florida’s Supreme Court chief justice convened a committee to hear input. About 50 speakers all told the committee some version of “please don’t do it.” Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward opposed the plan. (local10.com)
• Monroe County leaders mobilized in opposition. (Citizen)

Failing grade. The Keys again received a failing grade for the carrying capacity on U.S. 1, which could result in a prohibition on new commercial development. Coupled with the recent FKAA water main line breaks and reduced water pressure into the Florida Keys, Last Stand said that the travel study is another example that the chain of islands has reached its carrying capacity. (Citizen)

• Water rate increase? The City of Key West included a notice in monthly water bills advising rate-payers of a proposed 3% increase in water rates. This follows a reduction in system-wide water pressure necessitated following a series of water main breaks earlier this year. A public hearing will be held at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall on 7 September. (Not yet officially posted)

A FIRM no. Thanks in part to lobbying by Monroe County advocate Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe (FIRM), the state blocked Citizens' latest property insurance rate increase. (Citizen)

Rick Worth recovering. Well-known and widely-appreciated Key West artist Rick Worth was recovering from a 13 August stroke. Locals raised money to help him out. (Keys Weekly)

Drag queen running for House District 120. Michael Travis, who performs as “Erika Rose” in Key West, filed to challenge Republican incumbent, Rep. Jim Mooney in Monroe County’s House District 120. (Florida Politics)

Confiscated. A Florida prison confiscated a copy of the Key West Citizen because in included a feature that "may be used to create coded messages indecipherable by staff.”

Compelling census data. Linda Cunningham gleaned compelling facts about the Keys from U.S. Census data and lamented the trends they revealed. (Key West Island News)

Bee careful. A swarm of angry bees was unleashed after a bad decision by a resident near the Triangle intersection. Nearby hotels were evacuated. (Keys Weekly)

Driveway moments. Mark Hedden wrote about panic-inducing white-crowned pigeons. (Keys Weekly)