Latest Florida Keys Stories
By Dennis Cauchon Most tourists are gone, but local residents remain as the Florida Keys prepared for the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay later today. The National Hurricane Center predicted that the center of a weak hurricane or a strong tropical storm will hit the islands late tonight and continue to the west coast of South Florida on Tuesday morning. A hurricane watch -- meaning a hurricane is possible within 36 hours -- was in effect. Major damage was not forecast. "Fay is looking a...
By Brian Skoloff Associated Press KEY WEST, Fla. -- Residents and tourists in the Florida Keys prepared Saturday for Tropical Storm Fay, which forecasters said could strengthen to a hurricane and begin battering the island chain as soon as Monday. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency because Fay "threatens the state of Florida with a major disaster," he wrote in an executive order. Forecasters predicted Saturday evening that the sixth named storm of the 2008 season...
By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Aug. 2--Shantel Scott got what everybody needs at some point in life -- a break. "I was in Marathon selling drugs -- smoking drugs -- and I ended up catching a charge," Scott told the Keynoter. "The judge sentenced me to the program, and it's the best thing that ever happened to me.""The program" is Women in Transition, which partners with Samuel's House, Inc., the Care Center for Mental Health and the women's in-house substance abuse program...
By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Aug. 2--While county staff is looking for ways to pare more dollars off the proposed property taxes for the coming year, one small agency is crossing its fingers with the hope that $68,000 will be added back into the budget. "That funding is for the counselors," says Dixie Humelsine, chairwoman of the Keys Center for Girls Board of Directors. "And the counseling is what makes this program unique." The former PACE Center for girls has been in...
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. Monroe County leases it for the shelter. Last week, the County Commission voted unanimously to renew the lease, under which the county would pay the utility $1 a year each of the next two years. The Utility...
By Margaret Menge, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jul. 25--The thick of summer is the best time for an epic film like "Mongol" to hit movie houses. We're slowed by the heat, and a bit dulled from the sun. We are primed for something grand to open up on the screen in front of us, and slap us awake. "Mongol" opened in New York last month and is playing through July 31 at the Tropic Cinema in Key West. The movie, directed by Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, tells the story of the...
By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jul. 23--Starting in October, it'll be easier to get out of the Keys when US Airways starts flying nonstop from Key West to Charlotte, N.C. "They tried this on an experimental basis and found it very successful," says Peter Horton, manager of Monroe County's airports. The County Commission has approved waiving landing fees at Key West International Airport for the first year of service. It's an incentive that Horton said is standard...
By Kevin Wadlow, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jul. 23--Recreational boaters can continue to wash down their decks without violating federal law: Pending rules on water discharges will not affect recreational boats, says U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). Both houses of Congress on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill sponsored by Nelson to exempt recreational boaters from new EPA policies on water discharges from vessels. If left unchanged, all 25,370 registered vessels in Monroe County...
By MARGARET MENGE, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jun. 28--The month of May was not a good one at Key West International Airport. The number of people getting off arriving flights was down 16 percent when compared to May of last year, and down a stunning 26 percent for the first five months of this year compared to 2005. Since 2005, the number of passengers traveling through Key West International Airport has been dropping steadily, from a high-water mark of 618,174, to 563,947 in 2006, then...
By RYAN McCARTHY and KYLE TEAL, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Jun. 28--Stay Fit Studio in Key West has reopened just blocks from the site of the June 8 fire that destroyed the gym along with two other businesses. How did they get set up so fast in the new space? "Determination," says co-owner Amy Spielberg. That, and a little help from friends. Spielberg says members, who wanted the gym to re-open as badly as the owners, helped clean and paint the new space, a former Tiki Hut Treasures...
Latest Florida Keys Reference Libraries
Dry Tortugas National Park is located in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States. The park consists of a small chain of coral islands, comprising 64,701 acres, but only 104 acres of land. The islands are about seventy miles from Key West, Florida and comprise the far western portion of the Florida Keys. The first European explorer to visit the area was Juan Ponce de León, who named the islands the Tortugas after catching 160 sea turtles near them. The term “dry” is used to denote the...
Biscayne National Park is located in the southern area of Florida in the United States. The park holds 172,971 acres, of which ninety-five percent consists of water. Native Americans first inhabited the area when water levels were low in the Biscayne Bay. Evidence has been found in the area supporting the inhabitance of other Native Americans, like the Tequesta people, from at least 2,500 years ago. European settlement did not occur in the area until the 19th century, when farmers settled on...
Symbol: TRSA2 Group: Dicot Family: Euphorbiaceae Duration: Perennial Growth Habit: Forb/herb Native Status: L48 N Distribution: County distributions for the following U.S. states are available at PLANTS:FL Classification: Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class ...
Symbol: SCLI3 Group: Monocot Family: Cyperaceae Duration: Perennial Growth Habit: Graminoid Native Status: L48 N PR N VI N Synonyms: SCLI8 Scirpus lithospermus L. Distribution: County distributions for the following U.S. states are available at PLANTS:FL Classification: Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta...
Symbol: SARI5 Group: Dicot Family: Lamiaceae Duration: Perennial Growth Habit: Forb/herb Native Status: L48 N Synonyms: SAPR4 Salvia privoides Benth. Distribution: County distributions for the following U.S. states are available at PLANTS:FL Classification: Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division ...
