By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jul. 28--Big Pine Key residents will have their own animal shelter, at least for a couple more years, after all. Keys Energy Services, the Lower Keys electric utility, owns the land on which the shelter sits, on Industrial Road.

By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Mar. 29--The Monroe County Commission voted unanimously to reserve 16 affordable housing building-permit allocations for Big Pine Key landowner Richard Beal, but the project is a long way from happening, Beal said.

By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Sep. 19--The Monroe County Commission will likely vote today to refund more than $8,000 in development application fees, but the owner of Skeeter's Marina on Big Pine Key is not giving up.

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. - Hugh Hefner may seem like he will live forever, but the Florida Keys rabbits named after him may not. The population of rabbits on Big Pine Key has dwindled by about 50 percent in the past two years and is in danger of being wiped out.

By David Ball, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Mar. 3--Contractors working for the National Key Deer Refuge have begun cutting down trees and other vegetation near homes on Big Pine Key in an effort to stave off potential fire hazards, but some residents say they are taking more than necessary.