RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for parties 6 or more!
FREE 3HOUR PARKING FOR CUSTOMERS
BREAKFAST:
• Lobster Benedict $27.95
• 8oz NY Strip and 2 eggs any style with side of potatoes $28.95
LUNCH:
• Soup (crab bisque) and homemade crab cake with choice of a side $26.95
• Coconut Shrimp with choice of a side $26.95
DINNER:
• Snow Crab Legs with choice of a side $38.95
• Twin Tail Special (2 x 8oz lobster tails) and choice of a side $46.95
• Jambalaya $31.95
• Great selection of domestic and imported beer
• 7 draft beers including House Beer- 16oz Two Friends Ale $7.45
• Danny’s Margarita $7.95
$12,500,000
Bring your vision to life
This is set to become one of the most striking homes on Shark Key, and it’s already underway. An exceptional opportunity to secure brand new construction in one of the Florida Keys’ most exclusive gated communities. Positioned on coveted Sea Lore Lane, this 18,750 sq ft waterfront lot offers more than 90 feet of pristine shoreline and uninterrupted open water views. Designed by Artibus Design, the residence is currently under construction and envisioned as a nearly 6,000 sq ft modern coastal showpiece with 6 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. The architecture is both bold and refined, with clean lines, expansive glass, and a commanding presence softened by warm natural materials and lush tropical surroundings. Inside, the home offers expansive open living spaces, gallery-like proportions, striking focal points, an indoor gym, and a large entertainment room, with seamless indoor outdoor flow throughout. A resort-style outdoor environment, complete with a pool, vast covered living spaces, and a large three-car garage beneath the home. With construction already in progress, this is a unique chance to take ownership of one of Shark Key’s most standout new homes before completion.
THE KEY WEST WEEKLY (ISSN 1944-0812) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY FOR $125 PER YEAR BY WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, INC., 9709 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, MARATHON FL 33050. APPLICATION TO MAIL AT PERIODICALS POSTAGE RATES IS PENDING AT FORT LAUDERDALE FL AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES.
All stories, photos, and graphics are copyrighted materials.
Postmaster SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE KEYS WEEKLY, 9709 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY MARATHON FL 33050
News Deadline Monday Noon
Advertising Deadline Tuesday 2 p.m.
@KeysWeekly
@theWeekly
Members of
The number of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” episodes during its three-decade run on NBC. Carson began his tenure as host in 1962 and hosted his final show on May 22, 1992.
FIRE FLIPS SCRIPT ON FIRST RESPONDERS
Police officer & sheriff’s deputy lost everything on Big Pine
Mike Pettee and Tiffany Rodda aren’t typically the ones calling 911. They’re usually responding to the calls. They’re the ones activating the emergency lights, not watching them illuminate their own front yard.
But in the early-morning hours of May 7, a fire flipped the script — and changed the engaged couple’s lives forever.
Pettee, a Key West police officer for a decade or so, and Rodda, a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy since 2022, awoke to a fire consuming their Big Pine home. The pair both suffered second-degree burns while climbing out a window to escape the flames, then Pettee went back in to try to save the couple’s pets.
Alas, their three dogs and rabbit perished — and Pettee remains hospitalized in Miami for smoke inhalation. The couple shares five children from prior relationships, but none of the kids was home at the time of the fire.
The house was deemed a total loss and the state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire that consumed everything.
“Mike has a long recovery in front of him,” said Jenny Young, a fellow police officer and a president of the Key West Police Love Fund, which provides financial support to officers in the event of an emergency. “They’ve lost everything. And Tiffany is still up with him at the hospital in Miami. Her phone was burned in the fire, so that presents an immediate challenge, just with getting in touch with people.”
Sheriff Rick Ramsay met the couple at the tarmac before the Trauma Star helicopter flew them out to Miami
Key West Police Officer Mike Pettee’s home on Big Pine Key was a total loss after a May 7 fire that injured Pettee and his fiancee, sheriff’s deputy Tiffany Rodda, and claimed the lives of the couple’s three dogs and a rabbit. MONROE COUNTY FIRE RESCUE/ Contributed
for treatment, and gave Rodda a shirt and blanket from his car.
A fire feels personal. Its destruction is so thorough, it feels intentional. Malevolent, even.
Nothing is where it once was. Everything you reach for is gone. Cell phone to call the insurance company? Gone. Identification and credit cards you’ll need to file that claim? Gone. Melted in a pile of plastic. Clean socks in a drawer? Gone. Kids’ artwork on the fridge door? Gone. Family heirlooms? Christmas decorations?
And the cars out front? At least they look unscathed. But wait, the key fobs were inside, now melted and useless.
In addition to Love Fund support, Young established a Go Fund Me account, entitled “Rebuilding for Officer Mike and Deputy Tiffany.”
“The outpouring of support has been incredible from this community, throughout the Keys,” Young said. “And everyone is asking how they could donate everything from bedroom sets to kitchen sets and dishes. But right now, honestly, Mike’s not even out of the hospital. We don’t know what their immediate plans will be, where they’ll live or what they’ll ultimately need. Right now, monetary donations are really the best and most effective way to help.”
Military and law enforcement honor guard officers pause during a 21-gun salute at a Law Enforcement Memorial Day ceremony on May 15 at Bayview Park. See page 14. CONTRIBUTED
Officer Mike Pettee and Deputy Tiffany Rodda are engaged and seen here in happier times, before a house fire changed everything. CONTRIBUTED
Mary Ellen’s Bar is joining the effort and will donate all proceeds from its July vibrator races to the couple’s rebuilding fund. And Irish Kevin’s is selling special-edition T-shirts and donating 100% of the proceeds to the fund.
Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg spoke highly of Pettee’s commitment to the Key West community.
“Officer Pettee goes above and beyond any time you call on him, anytime you need help,” Brandenburg said.
“We deal with emergencies on a daily basis. It really hits home when it is one of your own, one of your close friends,” Young said of the fire. She said the Love Fund helps department members who are facing personal crisis. The goal is to provide help and financial support with no obligation to pay it back. The fund operates on the idea that “even heroes need help,” Young said.
An account has been established at Keys Federal Credit Union to accept donations. Visit any branch to contribute. Supporters can also donate via Venmo @LoveKWPD.
The Go Fund Me account can be accessed by scanning the QR code on this page. Visit Irish Kevin’s Facebook page for their special-edition shirts and head to Mary Ellen’s on July 23 for the charity vibrator races.
MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com
CAROL SHAUGHNESSY www.keysweekly.com
MARTHA
ROBINSON: QUEEN OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
It’s not physically possible for Martha Robinson to attend every cultural and fundraising event in Key West, but don’t tell her that. The warmhearted yet fiercely competitive woman would take it as a challenge. There’s no point in mentioning it to her wide circle of friends, either. Robinson is so visible at community gatherings that they wouldn’t believe she could miss one.
“Martha is a force of nature,” said one longtime colleague. “She has a heart as big as the island, and she throws herself into helping every person and organization that matters to her.”
Robinson arrived in Key West in 1987 from Westchester County, New York, several years after getting a degree in psychology. Possibly due to her knowledge of personality quirks and affection for colorful characters, she was quickly embraced by Key West’s offbeat populace.
With exuberance and boundless energy, Robinson threw herself into community causes and endeavors. By 1998 she was serving on the board of directors of the nonprofit Cancer Foundation of the Florida Keys, and in 1999 she was elected queen of Key West’s Fantasy Fest costume celebration.
She earned the royal title by raising more money than her rivals for the organization then called AIDS Help — and while new royal rulers are chosen every year, Robinson is regarded by many of her friends as “queen for life.”
Her upbeat personality has served her well in her chosen career; she’s been a successful real estate agent for nearly four decades and is a top producer for BHHS Knight & Gardner Realty.
Robinson is also a talented singer, and occasionally startles companions by emitting a sustained high note, typically followed by a mischievous grin. Not long ago, she put her musical skills to good use through involvement in Aqua Idol, the Aquaplex Nightclub’s singing competition and fundraiser for local nonprofits including the Key West Wildlife Center.
A passionate and active member of the Wildlife Center’s board of directors, Robinson strongly supports the organization’s dedication to rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds.
“It’s composed of remarkable local people who are committed to the health and preservation of our birds here in the Florida Keys,” she said.
Robinson has devoted her time to scores of other local organizations, nonprofits and causes. They range from the Key West Chamber of Commerce and Key West Business Guild to the Florida Keys Lodging Association, Key West Art and Historical Society and several local theaters. Her near-superhuman level of involvement earned her the Key West Association of Realtors’ lifetime achievement award for community service.
More than 10 years ago, Robinson and her family joined local musicians to establish the Crooks Second Line, a New Orleans-style musical walking parade whose participants carry placards honoring deceased loved ones. Named for her late brother-in-law, famed drummer Richard Crooks, it’s held each February and raises scholarship funds for students in Key West’s Bahama Village Music Program.
Robinson often attends Key West benefits and cultural events with her longtime companion, Roy Bishop, or with others who share her interests.
Her schedule is jam-packed with concerts, theater and exhibit openings, art shows, bingo games benefiting the Wildlife Center, and even Monday-night trivia sessions at the Key West Cooking Show. Despite Robinson’s competitive nature, her team (dubbed Roy’s Angels in honor of fellow member Bishop) is better known for providing comic relief than accurate trivia responses.
Though not a trivia wizard, Robinson is a knowledgeable collector of local artists’ works and has been a dear friend to many notable talents — particularly the late painter William Welch. The walls of her spacious house in Key West’s New Town are covered with canvases purchased at galleries or fundraising auctions, creating a colorful and eclectic backdrop that suits her vivid personality.
Robinson’s home and yard are also a haven for her collected menagerie: three-year-old dogs Tina Turner and Stevie Nicks, a cat named Sox who sports a dapper feline mustache, and an African sulcata tortoise called Nick, who rules over the lushly landscaped outdoor domain.
1. Martha Robinson enjoys the sun while viewing historic sites on an Italian vacation. CONTRIBUTED
2. Martha Robinson and her significant other, Roy Bishop, are frequently spotted at Key West events ranging from real estate galas to fundraisers and theater productions. CONTRIBUTED
3. Every Fantasy Fest queen needs a tiara — especially ‘queen for life’ Martha Robinson. VIRGINIA WARK/Contributed
When she’s not at home in Key West, Robinson can generally be found traveling with Bishop. Recent adventures have included cruises to Alaska, Italy and Croatia, where she absorbed the local culture, made new friends and visited sites ranging from historic churches to animal sanctuaries.
Yet no matter how widely she travels, Robinson is happiest on the island where she has lived for nearly 40 years — making a difference by supporting people and causes, sharing her talent and passion to benefit local organizations, immersing herself in community events and proving that she really does deserve the title of “queen for life.”
West & Cuba’s Museum Quality Regional Art
Michael Harrell
Learning to Fish, 13” x 10” Acrylic on Panel
Harrell’s image shows two gures a father and child perched on a seawall under the bright Caribbean sky. The child sits comfortably on the wall, legs dangling, while the father stands below with a shing rod propped against the stone bathing the hook. The setting, marked “Havana,” evokes the Malecón, where shing is an important food source and cultural inheritance.
Michael J. Harrell (b. 1964) is an American realist painter known for luminous, meticulously observed scenes of coastal life. A Florida native, he earned his BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia and began his career as a successful freelance illustrator for MasterCard, American Express, and Paramount Pictures. By the early 1990s he shifted fully to ne art, exhibiting with the Salmagundi Club (NYC), the Philadelphia Watercolor Club, and the North American Marine Arts Society. His work has elements of Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth focusing on real people in coastal environments, from Nantucket to the Florida Keys and Havana in the true Regionalist style.
islandinspired
An island inspired treasure trove where fashion meets paradise. Nestled into the heart of Key West, we’re your go-to destination for splurge worthy finds and fashion forward essentials. Featuring the latest styles from Farm Rio, Alemais, Oliphant & many more.
FROM 10 AM TO 6 PM
PUCKER UP: KEY LIME FESTIVAL RETURNS JULY 1-5
Here’s a taste of what’s in store
Key West’s Key Lime Festival returns July 1-5, with five days of culinary events, only-in-Key West competitions, and citrus-soaked revelry across the island where Key lime pie was born. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:
Wednesday, July 1 – The 2026 Key Lime Festival Kick Off Party: Festivities launch at 5 p.m. on the veranda of the Avalon Bed & Breakfast inn, spilling onto Duval Street, where music permeates the atmosphere and tropical cocktails elevate the spirit. Festival co-founder David Sloan will welcome lime lovers with a keynote presentation.
Thursday, July 2 – The Key Lime Pie Hop leads aficionados on a downtown tasting tour to sample assorted variations of the treat; the Key-Lime-O-Rama Farmers Market takes over the Truman Waterfront; Mary Ellen’s Bar hosts the Wheeling & Dealing Hot Wheels Race and Sloppy Joe’s serves up the Ultimate Key Lime Smash Party, with local celebrities taking whipped cream pies to the face to raise funds for charity. And the Southernmost Beach Resort’s Pub Style Trivia with a Key Lime Twist event allows competitors to try for prizes and the title of Wisest on the Island.
Friday, July 3 – Adventurous spirits can tackle the “5-Alarm Pie Challenge” at the Alex Vega Key West Firehouse Museum, where Key lime pie gets fiery, creative twists. Next is the Key Lime Sip & Stroll, where participants can vote on the best Key lime cocktails and margaritas served up by multiple participating bars. A Key Lime-Tastic Pool Party will take place at Blue Flamingo Resort, and a Key lime-inspired four-course dining experience will happen
at Four Flamingos, A Richard Blais Key West Kitchen.
Saturday, July 4 - Independence Day kicks off with the annual Rotary Club of Key West 4th of July 5K, benefiting the Edward B. Knight Scholarship Fund, then shifts to the Southernmost Beach Café for activities leading up to the World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship. Enjoy beach games, a Key Lime Kid Zone, and a lavish Key Lime Vendor Village that opens at 10 a.m.
The pie eating championship — the festival’s centerpiece — is a twist on New York’s traditional Independence Day hot dog-eating contest that invites a field of 25 competitors to devour a 9-inch pie, hands-free, in the fastest time possible. Advance registration is available on the fFestival website.
Other Fourth of July events include a pool party at Dante’s Key West Pool Bar & Restaurant and the annual Rotary Club of Key West’s fireworks celebration, with viewing options that include a free gathering at Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park with refreshments available for purchase, and a paid-admission Casa Marina beachfront experience (kids 10 and under free).
Sunday, July 5 – The festival’s final day presents the Key Lime Pie Drop, in which competitors of all ages create a device or container to protect a 5-inch pie and keep it from exploding on impact when dropped from the Key West Lighthouse’s 88-foot observation deck. The winner scores a cash prize. Pie droppers check in from 4 to 5 p.m.; dropping begins at 5. Advance registration is free at the festival website.
The July 4 World
onship welcomes up to 25 contestants to compete in a timed race to consume a 9-inch Key lime pie, topped with whipped cream, without using their hands.
Additional highlights include a night of Havana-inspired salsa, rumba and cha-cha dancing at the La Concha Key West Hotel; the Key West Artisan Market: Red, White, Blue & Green Edition at Higgs Beach; JF Haden’s Battle of the Bartenders at the Marker Key West Harbor Resort; a dockside brunch at Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen and Bar at the Perry Hotel; and daily Key Lime Bike Tours and mini Key lime pie making classes.
The Florida Legislature declared Key Lime pie the official state pie in 2006. The Key Lime Festival, launched in 2013 by author and historian David Sloan, and Wonderdog Studios founder Marky Pierson, is a family-friendly celebration presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. More information is at keylimefestival.com. — Contributed
Key Lime Festival team members and Southernmost Beach Resort staff celebrate the 2025 World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship in Key West. This year’s event takes place July 1-5. CAROL TEDESCO/Contributed
Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Champi-
WHEN WILL KEY WEST CANDIDATES DEBATE?
First forum is set for July 13; vote-by-mail ballots go out July 9
MANDY MILES
mandy@keysweekly.com
Key West voters will elect a mayor and three city commissioners this summer, with the four nonpartisan races appearing on the Aug. 18 primary ballot.
But voting will begin more than a month before that, as vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out on July 9 to those who requested them. Early in-person voting begins Aug. 3.
The first moderated question-andanswer candidate forum that’s open to the public is scheduled for Monday, July 13 and is sponsored by Hometown, the nonprofit and nonpartisan civic organization. The Lower Keys League of Women Voters will hold a city candidates debate on Thursday, July 23 at the Harvey Government Center.
Before those debates, Hometown will hold a meet-the-candidates event on Friday, June 12 at Tennessee Williams Theatre. Candidates won’t be asked any questions, but will “share their priorities and vision for the future of Key West and Monroe County.” (Details for the events are listed at the end of this article.)
Meanwhile, plenty of political vitriol plays out, unsurprisingly, on social media, where it is exchanged mostly by supporters and critics of candidates, not the candidates themselves. The mayor’s race, between incumbent Dee Dee Henriquez and city commissioner Sam Kaufman, has gotten the most contentious attention.
The mayor is elected by all Key West voters, while city commissioners are elected only by the voters in their designated district.
Kaufman’s campaign has requested additional public debates, states a May 15 campaign press release announcing weekly, live Q&A sessions with him.
“At this time, no public debates between the candidates are scheduled until July, after voting will already be underway,” the release states, “and the mayor has declined to work with the campaign to arrange additional debate dates.”
In an April 29 letter to the mayor, Kaufman wrote, “As we approach the upcoming mayoral election, I believe it is important for the residents and business owners of Key West to hear directly from both of us about the issues facing our community.
“With that in mind, I respectfully invite you to participate in a public debate so voters can better understand our perspectives, priorities and plans for the fu-
ture of our city. … We can work together on the format, timing and logistics.”
The letter asked the mayor to reply by May 5. The mayor did not respond.
When asked about it on May 15, Henriquez told the Keys Weekly, “(Kaufman) sent the email directly to me personally and to a city employee using a city email address during working hours, which ultimately required involvement from the city attorney to advise him that city email accounts should not be used for campaign-related communications with a city employee.
“Second, there is no reason to entertain his request for a debate when the obvious goal is simply to create a narrative if the request is declined. There will be more than enough opportunities for public forums and debates between now and August.
“I will continue focusing on the issues, the work being done for Key West and running a respectful campaign rather than participating in the negativity and personal attacks that have defined his smear campaign.”
CANDIDATE EVENTS
Friday, June 12 (Time TBD)
Meet the candidates, sponsored by Hometown Tennessee Williams Theatre
Monday, July 13 (Time TBD)
Candidate forum, sponsored by Hometown Tennessee Williams Theatre
Thursday, July 23, 6 p.m.
Candidate debate, sponsored by Lower Keys League of Women Voters Harvey Government Center, 1200 Truman Ave., Key West
Monday, Sept. 28 (Time TBD)
Candidate forum, sponsored by Hometown
Tennessee Williams Theatre
CITY CREWS HEAD TO HIGGS BEACH
Key West spruces up its new property
With the city of Key West now the owner of Higgs Beach and the surrounding park, crews have been working to spruce up the area, trimming trees, mowing grass, cleaning equipment and rehabbing the exercise platform. CONTRIBUTED
The city of Key West is wasting no time sprucing up Higgs Beach and the surrounding park, which it recently acquired from Monroe County. Crews from the city’s community services department last week rehabbed the exercise deck near the Edward B. Knight Pier, mowed lawns and cleaned amenities, while Urban Forestry workers started trimming trees.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work of our community services director Marcus Davila, who coordinated closely with the county to ensure a smooth transition,” Key West City Manager Brian L. Barroso told the city commissioners. “Our focus remains on maintaining continuity for park users while the city develops both a transition worklist and a long-term plan for the area.”
Dee Dee Henriquez Sam Kaufman
FWC BANS EXPORT OF THREATENED MARINE LIFE
Clamps on collection of manta rays and other species come after social media controversy
ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com
Social media outrage over a viral manta ray collection video from 2025 made it all the way to Tallahassee, as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted on May 13 to revamp the state’s regulations governing the export of threatened and endangered species from state waters.
FWC made changes to the Marine Special Activity License (SAL) program, which allows for the limited collection of high-profile species off-limits to the everyday aquarist or angler for educational or exhibition purposes. The move comes almost a year after videos posted to social media showed the permitted collection of a manta ray by Marathon-based Dynasty Marine Associates in July 2025, intended for export to an Abu Dhabi aquarium.
As currently written, FWC’s Marine Prohibited Species Policy establishes strict guidelines when evaluating requests to collect 23 prohibited species, including 16 that fall under a complete collection ban – whale sharks, Nassau groupers and sawfish, to name a few.
Updates to the policy, unanimously approved in the May 13 meeting, drop the limit for manta ray collections for educational exhibition purposes, previously set to three per year, to one every two years, and banned the export of any endangered or threatened species outside the United States.
Social media cries following the viral video called on state leaders for an outright ban on manta ray captures, while others defended the research opportunities and educational and inspirational value of seeing collected animals in zoological facilities — opportunities that may otherwise never exist.
Following the video, FWC revoked active manta ray permits as the agency continued its revamp of the SAL program, already underway since 2024.
During the 2026 state legislative session, Florida lawmakers introduced a bill dubbed the MANTA Protection Act (House Bill 1171/Senate Bill 988), intended to “(close) a loophole that allows for the legal collection and transport of endangered or threatened marine animal species.” The bill died in March.
But less than two weeks before the May 13 FWC meeting, a letter signed by 18 state and federal lawmakers, spearheaded by state Rep. Lindsay Cross and including Keys state Rep. Jim Mooney, urged FWC chairman Rodney Barreto and commission members to reject any version of the revised SAL program that would allow for future manta ray collections.
“By continuing to permit manta ray capture, the Commission prioritizes the interests of the captive marine animal entertainment industry over the protection of a threatened species,” they wrote. “Florida has long been a leader in marine conservation. Allowing the continued capture of manta rays – animals that are both nationally and globally recognized as threatened – undermines this legacy.”
Addressing the commission, Dynasty president Ben Daughtry called the SAL program a “highly limited and incredibly important public education and research opportunity.”
“(The SAL program) has allowed for common-sense, science-based solutions to rule the day for sustainable fisheries management,” he said. “I believe this organization was built for exactly that, and that’s what (the commission) is here to do today – not bend to political pressures or social media campaigns.
“If we let the outcry of the loudest few dictate the way we manage wildlife in this state, you will see a tidal wave of NGOs and special interest groups that will come in here with their next pet projects, asking and creating political pressure and social media campaigns to change the way you manage wildlife in this state.”
“I do believe that we should not export the manta rays internationally,” said Barreto, adding that the 6.3-million-gallon Ocean Voyager tank at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta serves as the only U.S. exhibit large enough to house the massive rays for their entire lifespan. “I believe they should be here in America – leave them alone.”
Agreeing with most of the rule change elements proposed by staff, Barreto and other commissioners added that future applications for collections of threatened or endangered species should be heard and approved by the commission as a whole, rather than by staff. They said a U.S.-based facility would be denied a permit to replace an animal if they chose to export those currently in their collection.
In his public comments and a phone call to the Keys Weekly following the meeting, Daughtry clarified his company has collected only juvenile animals, not breeding-age females as some suggested. And while numerous SAL permits were issued to facilities, Daughtry said, his company has collected five individual rays over the last decade – the only company to do so, to his knowledge.
Even before the commission meeting, Daughtry said, export of manta rays overseas was under stricter scrutiny as the species moved from Appendix II (at risk of endangerment) to Appendix I (at risk of extinction) on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list. However, he pointed to overseas destinations as countries most in need of education to inspire conservation, as some of the exported species are routinely harvested for consumption in
other areas of the world.
“One of my best examples is that 25 years ago, if you went to China and you went to a wedding, they were serving shark fin soup, guaranteed,” he said. “With the addition of public aquariums, and a very clear campaign on how shark fin soup is bad, less than 30% of weddings now serve the soup. That’s a very clear active role that public aquariums are playing in the conservation of those animals.
“For me, it was about more than just the manta rays – it was about maintaining the precedent that fisheries management in Florida should never be dictated by social media and emotions.”
Daughtry added he was surprised to see Mooney’s signature on the letter to FWC, as the two had not spoken about the manta ray issue. He said he’d attempted to contact Mooney by phone before the meeting, but hadn’t heard back.
Speaking to the Weekly on May 19, Mooney confirmed the same, but said the decision was “a no-brainer” for him as he focused on the state budget.
“Did (the collections) make any sense? No, not in today’s world,” he said. “I didn’t know the guys in Marathon were a part of that program, but it didn’t matter, because I’m not in favor of collecting manta rays.
“We all know that a lot of good things come out of capture and studies, if they’re truly used for studies. … But I think FWC made the right decision, and (permit applicants) have to go in front of them. Transparency is everything in today’s world.”
LOST IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Key West honors the fallen at Law Enforcement Memorial Day
Members of the Key West Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, military police and other law enforcement agencies pay tribute on Law Enforcement Memorial Day on May 15. CONTRIBUTED
On May 15, the Key West and Lower Keys community paid tribute to the law enforcement professionals who have fallen in the line of duty at the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Day service at Bayview Park.
Hosted by the Key West Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the ceremony included a traditional laying of a wreath and a 21-gun salute.
Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez and the city commission proclaimed May 10-17 as Key West Police Week, and May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day.
The names of Keys officers who have died in the line of duty were read as a special remembrance during the ceremony. Those lost in the line of duty included:
• MCSO Deputy Frank Adams, shot in 1901 while attempting to arrest a disorderly man.
• KWPD Officer Clarence Till, killed in 1904 with his own gun while handling a disturbance call.
• MCSO Deputy Guy Bradley, a Game Warden shot in 1905 by a poacher.
• KWPD Officer Norman Drew, killed in 1975 in a motorcycle accident.
• MCSO Deputy David Cormier, killed in 1989 in an automobile accident.
A 21-gun salute rings out across Bayview Park on May 15 during the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Day service. CONTRIBUTED
• MCSO Deputy Michael Alexander, killed in 1998 in an automobile accident.
• KWPD Detective John Piskator, died in 2006 as a result of a heart attack.
• MCSO Deputy Robin Tanner, killed in 2007 in an automobile accident.
• MCSO Deputy Nick Pham, killed in 2008 in an automobile accident.
• MCSO Deputy Melissa Powers, killed in 2010 in an automobile accident.
— Contributed
POP IN — TO THE POP-UP SHOP AT POCO PELO CHIC
Let Les dress you — hair stylist adds wardrobe to his resume
Brand new and barely used designer clothing for about half the retail price? Highend handbags, Lily Pulitzer tropical prints, statement hats, musthave sunglasses, sky-high shoes, even a matching luggage set? It’s all there, just waiting to be uncovered and discovered.
Pop in — to the PopUp Shop at Poco Pelo Chic, 627 Eaton St., next to Hilltop Laundry, and lLet Les dress you.
Key West hair stylist Les Steele hasn’t lasted more than two decades in Key West by telling well-off women what they want to hear about their hair and appearance. Rather, Steele tells them what they need to hear — and now, he tells them what to wear.
When they listen, things tend to go well. “There’s a lot of things women wouldn’t even think to try on for themselves, or accessories they would never pair with other things,” Steele said on a recent afternoon.
But give a woman a brutally honest gay man with good taste and a boutique bursting with designer resale clothes and accessories, and watch the magic happen.
Les gave me a furtive side-eye on a recent afternoon in the shop. Then he raised one eyebrow and held up a delicate, blue-and-silver bat-wing sleeved top with a gathered waistband.
“Wow, I love that,” I told him. “I’ll be back for it on payday.”
The $120 price tag was a fraction of its original price.
When Steele was seeking a new location for his Poco Pelo Chic hair studio, the space at 627 Eaton St. next to the
long-time laundromat included more room than he needed for his hair chair.
Enter Angela Kunkel and Elaney Mitova, two local women who combined their collections of clothing, shoes and accessories with an intent to resell, repurpose and recycle “these mostly designer, all fabulous items,” Kunkel said.
“I’ve been every size from 6 to 14, so there’s definitely a variety of sizes here,” she said.
Mitova and Kunkel each had her own curated collection of specialty and designed items — dresses, pants, shorts, skirts, tops, hats, jewelry, belts, shoes and bags.
“Look, here’s a Diane von Furstenberg dress for $75,” Steele said. “You feel like you’re doing something good for someone by reselling pieces like this for prices more people can afford.”
Both women had occasionally sold from their own collections and in 2024 partnered in a few joint sales at a temporary “pop-up shop” in a commercial space on White Street.
Last year, after discovering the open space on Eaton Street, Steele joined forces with the ladies, who were able to make their pop-up partnership permanent.
Open daily from 10 a.m. until about 5 p.m., Steele is the face of the Pop-Up Shop at Poco Pelo Chic. He’s also the merchandiser, cashier, stylist and honestly appraising opinion.
Kunkel and Mitova currently have plenty of inventory to keep the shop fully stocked for a year or more, so don’t show up with bags of clothes you’re looking to unload.
But do bring plenty of your own empty shopping bags because you won’t leave empty-handed.
MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com
Elaney Mitova, Les Steele and Angela Kunkel at the new Pop-Up Shop at Poco Pelo Chic, 627 Eaton St., a resale boutique with Steele’s hair studio in the back. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly
• FHA and VA Mortgages
• Jumbo Loans
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT BEFORE STORM SEASON
Lower Keys Medical Center holds hurricane evacuation drill
Nearly a dozen agencies participated in Lower Keys Medical Center’s hurricane evacuation drill earlier this month, aimed at ensuring that patients who cannot be discharged before a hurricane are flown to a facility that is out of the storm’s path. CONTRIBUTED
Lower Keys Medical Center held its annual hurricane evacuation drill on May 7 at the hospital and Naval Air Station Key West. The event is a collaboration among emergency management, military, EMS, nursing and transport teams. It simulates the preparation and hand-off of patients and medical records, as well as safe aircraft loading of patients who cannot be discharged safely from the hospital in advance of a major hurricane.
Volunteers acting as patients were stabilized and evaluated, then transported to the airfield at NAS Key West, where they were loaded onto the Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aircraft. In an actual evacuation, those patients would be flown to a medical facility outside of the storm’s track.
“We appreciate all of our participants in the live-action practice that strengthens our response in the event of an imminent hurricane,” said Drew Bigby, chief executive officer at Lower Keys Medical Center. “We are fortunate to have strong working relationships with the local, regional and national
SEVEN REASONS TO CELEBRATE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE
Mallory Square offers special series June 8-21
Ready to celebrate the magic of the summer solstice in Key West – where toasting the sunset is a nightly ritual 365 days a year? Whether you’re a local seeking a fresh dose of divine island ju-ju or a visitor discovering the Conch Republic’s vibrant soul, here are seven reasons to celebrate the 2026 summer solstice, running from 7 p.m. to sunset at Mallory Square from June 8-21.
1. A summer celebration rooted in a 50+-year tradition
Key West’s Sunset Celebration is a piece of history that has unfolded nearly every evening at Mallory Square for five decades, offering a waterfront stage for street performers and a showcase for local creatives. The Summer Solstice Celebration adds 14 days of special programming.
Organizers, performers, artists and vendors of Key West’s Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square will present the 2026 Summer Solstice Celebration, a series of special performances, features and demonstrations running June 8-21. CAROL TEDESCO/Contributed
agencies that work together in times of crisis.”
Prior to the evacuation drill, members of the North Carolina Air National Guard and a C-CAT critical care team from South Carolina Air National Guard, conducted training for EMS and nursing staff on lifting, carrying, transferring and loading patients into the customfitted aircraft.
The Key West Military Affairs Committee hosted a post-training lunch for all the participants. John Picco, president of the committee and a retired fighter pilot, welcomed and addressed the teams.
Participants included North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Delaware and Florida Air National Guard, NAS Key West, U.S. Coast Guard, Monroe County and Key West Emergency Management, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Key West Police and Fire Departments, Monroe County Fire Rescue, E-Care Ambulance, Southernmost Medical Transport, Keys Health Ready Coalition, Florida Department of Health - Monroe County and Lower Keys Medical Center staff.
— Contributed
2. World-class street theater and performers you have to see to believe Jugglers, acrobats, and illusionists command the waterfront and deliver jaw-dropping, laugh-out-loud, edgeof-your-seat performances. No two evenings are alike, so even seasoned Sunset alums will find fresh reasons to return night after night.
3. A movable feast of sight, sound and sensation
Where else can you watch a daring adventurer perform against a blazing sunset while a musician plays nearby and a plein air painter captures the scene in real time? Grab a bite and a beverage from the vendors’ kiosks, then wander a waterfront “gallery” of original paintings, evocative photography, handcrafted jewelry, and caricature artists who immortalize your solstice celebration moment in minutes.
4. Fun for the whole family
The Summer Solstice Celebration isn’t just something to watch – it’s something to join. Anyone might find themselves invited right in to a performance, surrounded by an encouraging, cheering crowd. Learn how to make a flower garland crown and adorn yourself with nature’s jewels. Plus, expect special appearances and offerings by organizations such as Old Island Restoration Foundation, Bahama Village Music Program performers and more.
5. Seek signs, wishes and wonder Visit the banner of wondrous wishes and tie a ribbon to commemorate yours. Plus, there’s no more potent time for a tarot reading than midsummer – when the sun is at the height of its power and the air crackles with ancient energy. True believers or the simply curious can explore through the cards what the universe has in store.
6. Sunset — but make it special
Every evening builds to one spectacular finale: the sun sinking into the Gulf of Mexico as the crowd erupts in applause. During the Summer Solstice Celebration, with the longest days of the year stretching the sky into breathtaking hues, the nightly ovation feels ancient and electric. Come for the eclectic offerings; stay for the moment the horizon puts on its own show. Maybe you’ll even witness the elusive “green flash.”
7. A flavorful finale
As an added bonus to the Sunday, June 21 solstice celebration, local restaurants will present a special ticketed world food experience inspired by the flavors of Key West and beyond. Revelers can savor small plates showcasing island favorites and international flavors while soaking in the midsummer’s magic at Mallory Square.
DISCREET MILITARY UNIT OFFERS TOURS
JIATF South aims to disrupt global drug trade with intel from various agencies
drugs. CONTRIBUTED
Joint Interagency Task Force
South (JIATFS) welcomed members of local civic groups to its Key West headquarters on May 19 to demonstrate the unit’s operations.
The visit included Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez, along with members of the Key West Military Affairs Committee, the Navy League Key West Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3911, American Legion Post 168 and American Legion Post 28.
“Key West is both a critical location for our national security as well as a welcoming home to our military members,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Jeffrey Randall, director of JIATFS. “JIATFS is committed to being a good member of the Keys community for the long term and we were glad to have this opportunity to show our community partners a little more about what we do inside our headquarters.”
Visitors toured the Joint Operations Center, which is inside the military perimeter in downtown Key West, near the Southernmost Point. Watchstanders monitor JIATFS’ joint operations area 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. The visitors also heard about the unit’s activities, including a progress update on construction of its new headquarters building, slated to open in the early 2030s.
The visit is part of JIATFS’ continuing efforts to host local community organizations, according to a press release.
Founded in 1989 in Key West, JIATFS is a U.S. Department of Defense-led organization that facilitates U.S. law enforcement agency and partner nation drug interdiction efforts in the Americas. It includes the sharing and fusion of intelligence information with those agencies and partner nations to enable interdictions of these narcotics movements in international waters before they reach their intended destination. The organization has a long history of successfully dismantling drug-trafficking organizations, including interdicting a record-setting 455.8 metric tons of cocaine in fiscal year 2025.
— Contributed
KEY WEST-BORN GYMNAST RANKS 9TH AT NATIONALS
Mia Puig, 16, took 2nd place on uneven bars
mandy@keysweekly.com
Mia Puig was 4 years old when she watched a tumbling demonstration during Children’s Day at Key West’s Bayview Park.
“That’s when I knew this was what I wanted to do,” Mia told me seven years later when I met her and her mom at Truman Waterfront Park. It was 2021 and Mia was an 11-year-old gymnast with the drive and dedication the sport demands of its stars.
When we met up again in 2024, Mia was a 14-year-old elite gymnast — ranked 24th in the nation.
Now, two years later, Mia is 16 and still defying gravity on the uneven bars, floor, vault and balance beam. She’s also now old enough to qualify for the Olympics, whose gymnasts must be at least 16.
The Key West native is now ranked ninth in the nation. She placed second overall in the national championships on the uneven bars this month in Oklahoma City.
“When she was 4, I was coaching her little soccer team, and she wouldn’t listen to me about soccer; she only did cartwheels,” Mia’s mom, Myra Puig, told me in 2021.
By the time Mia was 6, her family was planning to move away from Key West for a few years to live in Miami, where Mia’s dad had better work opportunities. The family wasn’t overly excited about leaving the Keys, “so I promised Mia that when we moved, we’d find her a good gym for gymnastics,” her mom recalled.
Mission accomplished.
After spending an hour at International Gymnastics in Miami, “Mia walked up to me and said, ‘I’m never leaving this gym,’” her mom said.
And they haven’t.
Her coaches posted on the International Gymnastics Instagram page after the national competition in Oklahoma City, “Today we celebrate the incredible achieve-
Key West-born gymnast Mia Puig competes at the national championships in Oklahoma City earlier this month. She took second place overall in the uneven bars. CONTRIBUTED
ment of Mía Puig, an athlete who, through sacrifice, discipline, and heart, left her mark at the Level 10 National Championships. Second place on uneven bars and an outstanding all-around score of over 38 points do not happen by chance; they are the result of years of hard work, perseverance, and love for this sport. Mía, your strength, elegance, and determination inspired everyone who watched you compete. Behind every routine were countless hours of effort, difficult moments and the courage to never give up. Keep dreaming big, because athletes like you were born to shine. Your future is only beginning, and you are already proving that you can go very far. Congratulations, champion!”
Mia’s coaches have become her extended family, even coming home with them to the Keys to stay with Myra’s brother, Bill Lay and his wife, Amy, who own Key West’s La Trattoria, Virgilio’s martini bar and La Trattoria Oceanside.
“To watch this Key West-born kid doing so great is fantastic. She was ranked 14th in nationals last year and is ninth this year,” Bill Lay said. “I’m certainly a proud uncle.”
Florida Keys civic groups, including the Key West Military Affairs Committee, American Legion, VFW and the Navy League, tour the headquarters of Joint Interagency Task Force South, an intelligence-sharing entity designed to disrupt the flow of illegal
MANDY MILES
Best Oceanfront Dining in KeyWest
MARK HEDDEN
... is a photographer, writer, and semi-professional birdwatcher. He has lived in Key West for more than 25 years and may no longer be employable in the real world. He is also executive director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society.
A tiny piece of plastic broke in our CR-V’s brake pedal, which meant the brake lights didn’t shut off when we parked it at night, which meant the battery was dead in the morning.
I found a replacement tiny piece of plastic, which I learned was properly called a brake stop pad, at the NAPA on the Boulevard, and learned how to replace it from a couple of YouTube videos.
I ran into our neighbor Jack on the street when I’d finished the job and he said he’d seen the lights on and wondered briefly if there was just someone sitting in the car with their foot on the brake pedal.
The thing about jump-starting a car is that it is best to drive it around for a half hour or so afterwards to recharge the battery. That seemed kind of boring, and a poor use of time. So after managing not to shock myself when I unhooked the cables from the battery terminals, I decided to go birding by car.
It’s not a new phenomenon. The 1907 edition of the Auk includes an 18-page article by a man named Milton S. Bay entitled, “A-Birding In An Auto” in which the author describes a five-week, 1,100-mile road trip through California’s San Joaquin Valley in a 16-horsepower Wayne touring car, which in photos looks indistinguishable from every other old-timey car of the era. Along the way, Mr. Bay crossed rivers with no bridges, got stuck in quicksand, almost fell off a 1,000-foot cliff and twice had to wait a week for parts they needed to repair the car.
He said the car was actually quieter than the horse-drawn buggy they used to travel the route previously and named a lot of fun, antiquated bird names such as the Pasadena thrasher, the Anthony towhee, the Santa Cruz chickadee, and the California vulture, which is not to be confused with the California condor, which even then was incredibly scarce, though he did manage to see one. During the trip he saw 111 species.
Bay was a slyly good writer. Describing his and his brother’s efforts to seek shade one afternoon near the St. John’s River, he noted that “the thermometer has an awkward habit here of running up as high as 114 degrees Fahrenheit on summer days which we found destructive to ambition.”
I intend to throw the phrase “destructive to ambition” into conversation whenever possible from here on out.
Things have gotten more refined since Bay’s day. I’ve birded by car in places like Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey and Loop Road in the Everglades where you can often see most of the wildlife without even having to put the car in park.
THINGS DESTRUCTIVE TO AMBITION
Key West isn’t really set up for that kind of thing. For a small town we have a very high rate of bustle. But I put my binoculars and camera on the front seat because it would make driving around to charge up the battery feel a little less aimless. Also, the car had 99,978 miles on it, and I didn’t want it to roll over to 100,000 without my wife, because it is important to celebrate milestones in a marriage. So I needed to pay attention to how far I drove. Summer is starting to kick in, and it was getting hot, but not quite destructive-to-ambition hot.
The first place I stopped was the area near where the FAA tower used to be at Higgs Beach. There’s a small pond in the back with some scraggly buttonwoods that can be surprisingly full of birds, though from the car all I could see were a rooster, a hen and a couple of cheeping chicks. I pished a little bit with no luck, though as I drove away I did hear through the open window a red-winged blackbird from somewhere in the cover.
As I pulled up to the fenced-off area a pair of Eurasian collared-doves flew by, then a white-crowned pigeon. Inside the fenced-off area something smaller than a dove hopped around. I lifted my binoculars to see a northern mockingbird leaping up every 10 seconds or so like someone in a kung fu movie, then throwing his wings out in a high-speed avian semaphore, flashing the white patches in a way thought to startle insects and make them easier to catch.
Two other northern mockingbirds showed up and the three chased each other around the green barbed wire, making buzzing noises. If one or two of them had been begging for food I would figure it was a parents/offspring thing. But no one did. So I have no idea what the relational dynamic was.
I stopped at the parking lot near Rest Beach hoping to see a magnificent frigatebird or a brown pelican, but both the sky and the water were empty of them. I put the car in park, rolled the window down, and got out to look for shorebirds in the shoreline sargassum, but it was empty, too.
At the foot of Smathers Beach I caught sight of a double-crested cormorant on one of the three remnant concrete supports that I always think of as the Three Sisters. But there was also something else. I pulled into the first spot I could, but it was still 50 yards back to where the bird was.
Car theft is probably the stupidest crime you can commit in the Keys, what with a 100mile two-lane road and the sheriff’s office a phone call away. But also, this is Florida, a 400-mile-long peninsula full of people who, let’s just say, don’t always think about consequences. Still, I rolled down the window, left the engine running and walked back to check the bird on the concrete support, which was, as expected, a least tern.
I glanced back periodically to make sure no one was going to jump into the car.
I took a quick glance below and caught sight of a black-bellied plover searching in the cracks of the concrete at the base of the seawall for the worms and crustaceans they thrive on.
A little further along the wet concrete was a least sandpiper, a hint of ruddiness coming into its plumage, searching for its next meal.
I zigzagged around the island a bit after that – out past the airport, down Flagler, a quick out and back down Government Road, without seeing much else.
Pulling up in front of the house I realized I hadn’t paid much attention to how far I had driven, and for a moment I panicked. But the odometer read 99,992. There was still eight miles to go.
A least sandpiper hunts for a meal along the Smathers Beach sea wall. MARK HEDDEN/Keys
Get ready for a culinary takeover where high-end gastronomy meets high-energy execution! Our upcoming “Keller on my Mind” dinner features Chef Keith St. Peter trading his usual routine for a night of pure culinary ambition. Inspired by the legendary Thomas Keller, Chef Keith is channeling the meticulous, boundary-pushing spirit of The French Laundry and Per Se to craft a brilliant tribute menu. Expect an evening of whimsical refinement, jaw-dropping precision, and playful twists on classic techniques as he reinterprets iconic flavor profiles with his own signature flair. It’s sophisticated, it’s adventurous, and it is absolutely a menu you won’t want to miss!
SOUL SOUL SOU CITY CITY dysfunkshunals
RESIDENTS DESERVE THE FULL STORY ON REYNOLDS SCHOOL
Dear Editor:
A recent Keys Weekly article presents the Reynolds project primarily as a renovation of a historic school, which significantly mischaracterizes the actual scope and community impact. While the historic 1927 façade will be preserved, the central purpose of the project is not to restore a school for educational use. The core of the plan is to construct a new, large-scale maintenance, operations, and industrial support facility in the Casa Marina neighborhood directly adjacent to Old Town — an area defined by residential homes, walkability, and historic character. By focusing on the “renovation” narrative, the article obscures the fact that the project introduces a fundamentally different land use into a residential district.
The framing also minimizes the operational realities of what a maintenance facility entails: daily fleet movements, equipment storage, loading and unloading, staff parking, and ongoing industrial activity. These functions are not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood’s scale or character, and they were not historically part of the Reynolds School site. Presenting the project as a simple restoration of a beloved historic building overlooks the community impact by traffic, noise, safety, and long-term land-use. The issue is not whether the historic structure should be preserved — it’s that the new primary use is an operations hub, not a school, and the article fails to acknowledge how that shift affects residents and the neighborhood fabric.
The community can support restoring the historic Reynolds School, but the maintenance and operations facility should be relocated to a site that is suited for industrial activity. Preserving the 1927 building honors Key West’s heritage and provides opportunities for educational, cultural, or civic uses that fit the neighborhood. But placing a fleet-based maintenance hub in a residential district is unnecessary and incompatible with the surrounding homes, traffic patterns, and historic character. The School District has other properties far better suited for operations, logistics, and maintenance functions. By renovating the school and siting the maintenance facility in an appropriate location, the District can meet its operational needs while respecting the integrity of Old Town and Casa Marina and maintaining the quality of life residents expect.
Sincerely,
Dwayne Basler Key West
DALLAS MURAL COVERUP IS A WHALE OF A MISTAKE
Many have heard or read the recent story of the Wyland mural in Dallas, Texas being painted over to promote the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This is a sad statement on the times in which we live.
Erasing the past under the guise of short-term gratification has become all too familiar, even occurring beyond the arts. It is, however, about the arts I would like to share my thoughts.
As a practicing artist and long-time art educator, I hold the subject of fine art and the importance of visual arts education near and dear to my heart. Having painted hundreds of murals over a span of nearly four decades, I can assure you it takes much more than just lots of paint to make murals happen. It takes a deeply rooted passion, experience, a specific skillset and an often very personal touch. That is not to say the needs and wants of a client will not influence the design concepts, but the painting itself – putting paint to the surface, color choices and even subject placement – all take something found deep within the artist. This is what makes public art so special and what brings vibrance and emotion into the mix.
Art loving communities like Brickell in Miami embrace this idea, and their neighborhoods seem more alive as a result. I am proud to see art displayed so readily in the Florida Keys, where public art is respected and not simply discarded on a whim. We learned this with the restoration and preservation of Wyland’s walls here in the Keys in locales known for embracing art in public places – most recently with Whaling Wall #87 on what is now Surf Style in Marathon.
To me, seeing the mural in Dallas erased is heartbreaking given the passion and emotions that culminated in the installation of this grand masterpiece in 1999. The fact that Wyland’s mission from the start was to raise conservation awareness, and that he did this as a gift to a community, only adds to the insulting nature of its removal. Knowing this is being done for short-term gain makes it that much more ludicrous.
In just a couple months, I will head to Italy with my children, where we will visit the Sistine Chapel and look upon the works of Michelangelo, Rafael, Da Vinci and many others, and we will enjoy murals and frescoes done centuries ago. I am sure pleased to know that in days of old, they did not erase commissioned art like some are doing today. If they did, we would have so little to reflect upon, and the world would be rather dull as a result.
As to my friend and fellow artist Wyland, he and I spoke about the absurd and possibly criminal decision made in Dallas. He, always looking at the bright side, said he hopes this can turn into a learning experience for us all. He said: “Maybe it will raise awareness about the importance of preservation of public art moving forward.”
I sure hope it does, and I hope when you look at public art in the future, you will see it as more than just a cool piece of artwork, but as a precious gift and something worth saving.
Read about the Dallas mural removal: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sincerely,
Shannon Paul Wiley
THE STUDIOS OF KEY WEST EXHIBITS
ON VIEW: MAY 7-28, 2026
Giants Among Us TIM MARSHALL
CURTIS
Towering sculptures explore memory, material, and meaning—blending myth, science, and spirit into bold physical forms.
sponsored by Little Palm Island Resort & Spa
Reverence / Irrelevance
CAROLE FAYE
Scavenged materials and found objects transform into paintings and sculptures that explore nostalgia, place, and personal evolution.
sponsored by Café Marquesa
Once There Was a Railroad
WAYNE GARCIA
Colorful, hand-carved reliefs depict the construction of Flagler’s Overseas Railroad and the Key West residents who built it.
sponsored by Great Events Catering
Roots
of a
City ANDRÉE B. CARTER
Large-scale textile paintings blend needlepoint, paint, and collage to capture the mood and identity of eight distinct cities.
sponsored by Hands On
art center, steps off Duval Street. Always free to visit! Open Tue-Sun, 10am-4pm
MENTORSHIP PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS
Take
Stock in Children celebrates 2026 graduation with $2 million in scholarships
Take Stock in Children of Monroe County celebrated the achievements of 69 graduating seniors on May 16, converging on Marathon High School to honor the Class of 2026.
With collective awards of $2 million in Florida Prepaid tuition and dormitory scholarships, made possible through the support of donors, community partners and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation, 40% of this year’s class will begin their postsecondary educational pursuits at a Florida college, while 60% will attend one of the 12 Florida universities.
Representing 10% of the entire Monroe County School District’s graduating class, the graduates earned a collective grade point average of 3.71, pursued 243 Advanced Placement courses and earned 372 dual enrollment credits.
The ceremony included remarks from three students – Coral Shores’ Pablo Marin, Somerset Island Prep’s Claudia Steling and Marathon’s Brenda Medina Collazo – a speech from Marianne Finizio, newly elected president of the Monroe County Education Foundation (MCEF), and remarks from Ed Tierney, Superintendent of Monroe County Schools.
“I am very proud of our Take Stock graduates and very appreciative of our volunteer mentors who have guided and supported them during their high school career,” said Finizio. “Their success is a testament to what is possible when our community invests in our young people and walks beside them on their journey.”
Take Stock in Children of Monroe County identifies students in middle and high school who show potential but face economic barriers to a college education. Students commit to maintaining strong grades, good behavior and staying drug- and crime-free. In return, they receive a volunteer mentor, college and career readiness support, and a Florida Prepaid scholarship upon high school graduation.
More information is at monroecountyedfound.com or from executive director Chuck Licis-Masson at 305-293-1545 or chuck.licis@monroecountyedfound.com.
1. Chuck Licis welcomes guests to the 2026 Take Stock in Children graduation.
2. Marathon Mayor Lynny Del Gaizo escorts her mentee Nqobile Masango.
3. Nadjie Baptiste of Key West gets ready to take the stage with mentor Ebenson Michelin.
4. Coral Shores’ Pablo Marin delivers graduating remarks.
5. Key West’s Shnyka Blanc heads to graduation with mentor Marc Pierre.
6. Marathon’s Tinashay Cunningham gets in a photo op with her mentor, Monroe County Education Foundation president Marianne Finizio.
7. Yaneicee Grimon finishes her Take Stock journey.
8. Seava Lamontagne earns distinction as a Vista Foundation Named Scholar. Presenting her award are MCEF president Marianne Finizio, left, and schools superintendent Ed Tierney.
9. Marathon’s Natalie Rodriguez graduates with the Class of 2026.
Leonardo Borregales, MD Urologist
Joshua Bitran, MD Urologist
CHRISTOPHER RACKLEY: NATIVE SON SUPPORTS NATIVE PLANTS
No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to present our Meet Your Neighbors feature, dedicated to celebrating a community member with each issue.
Our neighbor this week is Christopher Rackley, the manager of the nursery at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden. He is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about plants, especially plants native to the Florida Keys and endangered species. In his spare time he loves snorkeling and collecting seashells.
How long have you been in the Keys and what brought you here? I was born and raised here. Been here 22 years.
What is your favorite thing about living in the Keys? I absolutely love the environment down here. It’s like nowhere else on earth. The sunsets over the water are especially gorgeous. If you could be any tree what would you be? Probably a torchwood tree. Their flowers smell great, they support a lot of pollinators and they live in habitats with relatively nice conditions. They’re also my favorite tree. What’s the weirdest or funniest app on your phone that no one would expect you to have? I’ve got a lot of really old mobile games that I haven’t played in years. I never delete them.
If you could design a themed garden based on a book or movie what would it be? It would be awesome to
do an “Alice in Wonderland” garden with the weirdest plants I could find. I think a surreal, dreamy sort of garden would be great.
What’s one small thing you would never want to live without? (Not big obvious stuff like a car, house, phone, etc.) Probably my hat. I used to hate wearing them, but because of the Key West sun, I basically never leave without it now.
If you could have lunch with anybody, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you eat? I think it would be fun to chat with Betty White over a cheesecake. She’d probably have some cool stories to tell.
If stranded on a deserted island, or doing one of those “Naked & Afraid” survival shows, what food would you miss the most? Absolutely it would be pumpkin pie.
What is one garden tool you can’t live without? Weirdly, forks. They make it so much easier to separate seedlings from each other.
What is the funniest thing you’ve ever seen on the internet? I love those videos of the pufferfish that follow divers around. I think they’re adorable.
What was in the last Amazon delivery that arrived at your door? It was a couple of candles I ordered as a birthday gift for a friend.
If you could make one law for Key West, what would it be? I’d implement a total ban on planting schefflera and beach naupaka. People don’t understand how invasive those two are.
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you? I’m pretty scared of bears and (most) big dogs. I’m totally cool with sharks and spiders, though.
Know someone who would be good to feature in Meet Your Neighbors? Email keysweeklyjen@gmail.com.
WHAT’S COOKING, KEY WEST?
Creative salads play starring role in summer menus
CAROL SHAUGHNESSY www.keysweekly.com
As the days get longer and temperatures approach summertime levels, lighter meals feel more appealing than heartier choices. Summer in Key West means fishing, paddleboarding, snorkeling and picnicking on uninhabited islands. It’s the perfect time for light, refreshing fare like flavorful salads with herbed or citrus-infused dressing.
However, that doesn’t mean settling for lettuce and tomato topped with store-bought ranch, or a chef salad featuring mundane deli meat and cheeses. Instead, draw inspiration for salads and light dishes from the flavors of the tropics: fresh-off-the-boat seafood, creamy ripe avocado, garden veggies, juicy mangoes, just-snipped herbs and tangy lime juice.
For those whose creativity isn’t culinary-based, a local cuisine-centric attraction can help spark ideas for satisfying summer treats to serve. The Key West Cooking Show, 291 Front St., offers entertaining learn-and-dine sessions where attendees can discover island-style recipes and techniques for making refreshing warm-weather dishes and salads.
One of the show’s multicourse menus features shrimp ceviche. An appealing appetizer or light meal, the dish combines fresh Gulf of Mexico shrimp “cooked” in lemon and lime juice. Additional ingredients include chopped red onion, jalapeño for a zesty kick, diced avocado and tomato, and a cilantro garnish. Healthy and delicious, it can be served with chips, Cuban crackers or even crusty bread.
Conch salad, a traditional favorite in the Caribbean and Bahamas as well as Key West, is somewhat similar to ceviche but has a sweetness and depth all its own. During the Key West Cooking Show experience, chef-storytellers demonstrate how to prepare the dish based around the meat-ofthe-sea mollusk known as conch. The recipe also features fruit juices, olive oil, kosher salt and diced vegetables, ranging from European
Conch salad, a Caribbean staple and Key West favorite, blends diced conch meat with fresh chopped vegetables, citrus juices and other ingredients to make a delicious light dish. KEY WEST COOKING SHOW/Contributed
cucumber and red onion to red and yellow bell peppers — all combined in a vibrant blend.
Avocados are a summer staple and can be added to practically any salad. Even better, they can take center stage in a side dish that’s virtually guaranteed to impress guests. The cooking show’s signature avocado salad, demonstrated and served during selected sessions, pairs the creamy fruit once called “alligator pear” with garden-fresh English cucumbers, grape tomatoes and diced red onions — topped with a luscious dressing made of lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, herbs and just a hint of honey.
LAST BITES
Dish of the week: wedge salad. A crisp wedge of lettuce is the base of this popular salad, but it’s the additional ingredients that make it special. Bacon crumbles, cherry tomatoes, a savory blue cheese dressing and a balsamic glaze give the simple wedge a touch of sophistication.
Helpful kitchen hack: If a recipe doesn’t call for a whole avocado, preserve the unneeded portion. How? Instead of cutting the avocado in half to access its creamy interior, cut a tiny piece off the top, scoop out the amount needed, and leave the rest in the skin to delay browning.
Hungry for more? Learn to prepare the perfect Key lime pie — and then enjoy a slice! Multiple pie-making classes are offered daily (except Sunday). Visit keywestcookingshow.com or call 305-294-COOK.
JEN ALEXANDER www.keysweekly.com
HELP KEEP KEY WEST BEAUTIFUL
JOIN A 1- HOUR CLEANUP FRIDAY MORNINGS
The May 15 cleanup was held off Palm Avenue at the Key West Community Sailing Center. In one hour, 51 volunteers collected 202 pounds of trash, 30 pounds of recycling and 2 gallons of cigarette butts. Thank you to the sailing center for hosting breakfast for all the volunteers. The May 22 cleanup will be in front of the Shell station on US 1. CONTRIBUTED
One hour a week makes a huge difference, and volunteers are welcome every Friday and some Saturday mornings, from 8 to 9 a.m., when the Key West Ploggers clean up a designated area of the island.
Gloves, pickers, buckets, vests, hand sanitizer and a parking pass are provided to all volunteers.
A troubling number of cigarette butts and plastic bags have been included in recent hauls. Please remember your reusable bags when shopping so we can keep the plastic off the streets, parking lots and, most importantly, out of the water. And dispose of cigarette butts in any receptacle rather than the street or sidewalk, as from there, they easily end up in the ocean.
The city of Key West and its residents ask everyone to do their part to help keep Key West beautiful. With simple steps like making sure you bag your trash before putting it in your Waste Management trash cans or Dumpsters, and making sure the lids on Dumpsters are closed, will keep a lot of trash from blowing into the streets. Call Waste Management at 305-296-8297 for any furniture items left on the city right of way.
Please pick up around your home or apartment complex. Every piece of trash picked up is one less that may end up in the ocean that surrounds and sustains our island community. It is not just the large items you can see easily when you are walking, but the smaller items such as bottle caps and cigarette butts that are collected by the volunteers that make the biggest difference.
It takes committed community involvement to keep Key West beautiful and we are making progress with every cleanup event and every spot that’s adopted. Call Dorian Patton at 305-809-3782 to find out how your business, nonprofit or club can help.
— Contributed
Join a one-hour Friday morning cleanup. All events are 8 to 9 a.m. unless otherwise noted.
May 22: Key Haven Road and U.S. 1. Meet in the Shell gas station parking lot. Hosted by Sales Sense Payments.
May 29: Petronia Street between White and Georgia. Meet in front of MCC Church, which is hosting.
TAKE ME HOME?
FIND A FRIEND AT THE FLORIDA KEYS SPCA
The Keys Weekly family loves animals as much as our friends at the Florida Keys SPCA do, and we’re honored each week to showcase some “furever” friends that are ready, waiting and available for adoption at the organization’s Key West campus.
From cats and dogs to Guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, reptiles and birds, the perfect addition to your family is waiting for you. The SPCA’s knowledgeable staff will help with advice and care tips while working to ensure a good fit between each pet and its people.
The SPCA’s Golden Paw program also provides special assistance with vet bills and medications for special-needs and older animals that require a little extra TLC. Check these pages each week for just a few of the animals waiting for a home and see them all at fkspca.org.
Poseidon is a larger-than-life, 8-monthold pup who’s overflowing with energy and personality. He’s searching for an active, dedicated home that can keep up with his adventurous spirit with training and exercise. He’ll do best in a home where he can be the center of attention.
The fair Juliet is searching for her happily ever after. The sweet mixed-breed pup came from a heartbreaking past where she and many of her siblings were removed from a hoarding situation. Juliet was denied the simple comforts every dog deserves. She may be shy when meeting new people, but with patience and love she’ll be yours forever.
Meet Candy Star, a petite black-andwhite beauty waiting for her starring role in a forever home. This 4-year-old kitty gets along wonderfully with other cats and is slowly learning that human attention can be special, too.
Meet Garfunkel, a tiny orange-andblack leopard gecko with a big personality. This curious little lizard loves to lounge under warm lights and play hide-and-seek in his cave.
Spots is the 9-year-old cow cat who’s the granny of the kitten room. She’s sweet, laid-back and loves to watch the kittens play around her. Spots still has plenty of love to give.
IS THE ‘YUCK’ FACTOR COSTING US MILLIONS?
In August 2014, the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition (FKEC. org) published an article about turning wastewater into potable water for reuse and the value, safety and resiliency benefit of that water for reinjection into our Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority supply line.
Potable water from wastewater can be cleaner in many ways and less expensive than what FKAA provides originally. Recovered potable water has zero PFAS, a carcinogenic and health harming chemical. FKAA is diligently working to implement a PFAS removal upgrade from the compromised Biscayne Aquifer. Monroe County water has 20 times the limit set by the EPA for PFAS, the highest levels in Florida.
Potable water from wastewater can account for about 60% of the water supplied by FKAA originally, with 40% loss from washing cars and watering plants, etc. A reduction of demand on the Biscayne Aquifer is strategically important. The aquifer is a primary water source for several counties in South Florida and has been strained by five to six years of seasonal South Florida drought conditions. Added to elevating sea levels, saltwater intrusion is projected to affect the FKAA treatment facility by 2050. Producing freshwater from saltwater requires added capital and operational expenditures for filtration and increased energy costs.
Monroe County consumes around 22 million gallons of water per day (mgpd). By saving 60% through reuse, demand reduces to 8-9 mgpd. Privately-funded programs can provide the systems for free, with cost and profit recovery from low water reuse fees added. Grant funding can defray the cost partially or completely, with the Levelized Cost of Water (LCOW) nearing $0.006 a gallon according to research on national averages and engineering studies. These options provide for selecting a best fit for our community.
FKAA charges $0.0143 per gallon. With reuse of 60% assumed at $.006 per gallon, this is about a 51% reduction, or about $110,000 a day or $40 million a year in savings. To consumers, the average household consumption is 233 gallons a day or about 7,000 gallons a month, resulting in $36 a month and $432 a year in savings.
“Sludge” is the biosolids part of wastewater. PFAS-polluted sludge disposal is burdened with increasing
trucking cost and fewer facilities to accept it. New Florida regulations are projected to further increase costs. A privately-funded collection and treatment program provide required facility improvements and take all Monroe County sludge, at a reduced cost to the present throw away programs, then convert the sludge into fuel oil, to be distilled for carbon neutral jet fuel, etc. This fuel is “carbon neutral,” recycled from human produced hydrocarbons, versus fossil fuels. The provider’s economic viability requires 100% of Monroe County sludge and a centrally-located processing facility.
Historically, FKAA has expressed reluctance to Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) from our wastewater treatment plants, leaving disposal as the alternative. It surely can’t be that they don’t believe it works. Operational systems globally and in the U.S. have existed for years. Los Angeles produces 130 mgpd of potable water from wastewater, and San Diego produces 80 mgpd. The first system in Windhoek, Namibia in 1968 still provides essential fresh water from wastewater, and our astronauts have lived for decades using Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) without water being shipped to the space station.
Perhaps it is the “yuck factor,” the stigma attached to wastewater, that keeps FKAA from opening the door, or valve, for DPR? FKAA commissions engineered solutions to clean a variety of water sources, but while polluted, it’s not called wastewater, or sewerage. Diving deeper, consider the reverse osmosis (RO) systems at Stock Island and Grassy Key, that use nearshore saltwater to produce potable water. Fish, birds, etc., live and excrete waste into our nearshore waters, which are often designated unsafe to swim in due to fecal coliform from animal waste runoff. The Biscayne Aquifer contains
SHELF HELP
microbes, pathogens and surface animal waste trickling down, living and dead creatures within the aquifer and millions of septic systems from Central Florida south leaching into ground water. The term “clean water” starts to become a little murky. Technically, all open-water sources are wastewater, until we clean it.
In 2020, Florida passed SB 712, the Clean Waterways Act, and SB 64 in 2021, the Reclaimed Water Act, directing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to implement procedures and standards to enable wastewater to potable reuse and incentivizing this goal with Florida water utilities. Made effective in February 2025, Florida Statute §403.064 requires utilities to eliminate routine surface water discharges and transition toward beneficial reuse, with compliance plans required by 2028 and implementation by 2032.
Our state is over the “yuck factor.” The question is, are we? Regulations will require we produce potable water at our wastewater facilities, so will we throw money down the deep injection well drain, or reduce our demand on the Biscayne Aquifer and encourage our neighbors, Miami-Dade, to do the same? Encouragingly, Miami-Dade has started a similar project for their Virginia Key facility.
Let’s hear your opinion. Please participate in a short survey by scanning the QR code. Perhaps the FKAA reluctance is mired in the assumption that people won’t accept DPR water as truly safe potable water.
Please submit public comments with elected officials with FKAA at info@fkaa.com and our organization at support@fkec.org.
Barry Wray, executive director Florida Keys Environmental Coalition
Staff from your Monroe County Public Library recommend some of their favorites from the collection.
What: “The Searcher” by Tana French
Why: I had loved Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad books. Her characters and the setting – the city and its police department — contained so many layers. But her newer trilogy, set in the country, has won me over. In “The Searcher,” Cal Hooper is a divorced, retired Chicago cop who moves to a rural Irish village, where he befriends a girl seeking her missing older brother. The setting is not some picturesque idyll – some people are up to no good up in the hills and the townspeople have long grudges and longer memories. The library also has the other two books in the trilogy, “The Hunter” and “The Keeper,” which was just published in March. But the books don’t end in cliffhangers.
Where: You can borrow this as a regular or large print book, e-book, or e-audiobook from the Monroe County Public Library.
How: You can request books, including e-books and e-audiobooks, by logging in to your account at keyslibraries.org. If you don’t have a card, you can visit your local branch or register online to get one. Questions? keyslibraries.org/contact-us.
Recommended by: Nancy Klingener, community affairs manager
See previous recommendations at keyslibraries.org/post/ shelf-help.
MORE ARTIFICIAL REEF PROJECTS SET TO DEPLOY OFF FLORIDA KEYS
Monroe County’s artificial reefs program is making significant progress as new reef projects move forward, permits are secured and recently deployed sites flourish with marine life.
The county’s coordinated effort aims to enhance marine habitat, expand fishing and diving opportunities and reduce pressure on natural coral reefs while supporting the Florida Keys’ marine economy.
The county laid the groundwork for a series of artificial reef projects spanning the Upper, Middle and Lower Keys, with 21 permit applications covering 15 sites on the Gulf and Atlantic sides. These projects require coordination across multiple regulatory agencies, including federal, state and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permitting authorities. Processing timelines can range from 12 to 18 months, depending on location and complexity, with some agencies reviewing only one application at a time.
Monroe County is preparing for its next phase of reef deployments this summer. Plans include placing 156 concrete modules across three Gulfside sites, Gulfside 5 Mile, Gulfside 8 Mile and Gulfside 9 Mile, to form a network of 12 patch reefs. These structures will incorporate features such as embedded limestone and varied shapes to promote the settlement of marine life and increase habitat complexity. The expanding Gulfside network is intended to provide new recreational opportunities, serve as migration paths for marine species and distribute fishing activity to reduce pressure on existing reefs.
The county also recently received approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a pilot project in shallow nearshore hardbottom habitats within Florida Bay. This project will test low-relief structures designed to restore habitat complexity in areas that have experienced decades of ecological decline. Nearshore hardbottom communities are critical nursery and foraging grounds for many species, yet current fish populations in these areas are estimated to be only 30% to 40% of their 1990s levels.
“People are very concerned about the state of our coral reefs, as they should be, but there should be equal concern for these nearshore hardbottom communities,” said Hanna Koch, artificial reefs director. “Many species depend on these habitats early in life before moving to reefs or other ecosystems.”
Gulfside 10 Mile update
A major milestone for the program was the successful deployment of the Gulfside 10 Mile artificial reef, about 16 nautical miles northeast of Key West. Initially a flat, sandy area with minimal marine activity, the reef structures, made from stacked concrete power poles, support more than 90 marine species, including cobia, permit, grouper, snapper, sharks, sea turtles and a variety of corals and sponges.
The artificial reefs program is grant-funded through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. More information is at www.monroecounty-fl. gov/reefs.
Monroe County’s next reef deployment on the Gulfside will include concrete modules and em bedded limestone to promote the settlement of marine life. REEFMAKER.COM/Contributed
CRUISE CONTROL
THREE BOOKS SET SAIL WITH ROMANCE, NOSTALGIA AND A COZY RIVERBOAT MYSTERY IN PARIS
DOWN WITH THE SHIP
By Chloe Jory
Growing up, Stella and her sister Jules were a team and only had each other to depend on. Recently, Jules became engaged to Harry, whose family’s world is filled with private jets and mega-yachts. When Stella is invited to accompany Harry’s family on a cruise, she has no excuse not to go. With her job on an involuntary hiatus, the timing can’t be better. From the moment Stella greets captain Caleb, she knows he is trouble. Caleb is the hottest, most arrogant man she has ever met, with a New Zealand accent to die for. Determined to keep her distance from Captain Cool, Stella focuses on helping Jules make a good impression on Harry’s family. But whether he’s saving her from sharks or plucking barnacles out of her foot, Caleb always seems to come to the rescue. Their chemistry is electric and, really, when was the last time Stella had an actual vacation?
KAREN NEWFIELD
First and foremost a reader, she has reviewed hundreds of books on her blog www. readingandeating. com. And, more recently, this new Keys resident has also begun writing.
The problem is, dating a crew member is completely off-limits — and although the yacht is ridiculously large, Stella ends up falling into his arms at every turn. Consider me fully on board with this swoony sea-com.
By Emma Straub
Recently divorced, Annie is navigating a demotion at work, and facing an empty nest at home. To cheer her up, Annie’s sister books them on American Fantasy, a weekend cruise featuring the 1990s pop band Boy Talk. Once upon a time, Boy Talk posters covered their bedroom walls, and the sisters knew every word blasting from their boom box. At the last minute, Annie’s sister suffers an injury, and she finds herself braving the ship solo. Annie is the least experienced of the “Talkers,” a nickname given to the 2,000 screaming women reliving their teenage dreams. But time stops for no one. The Boys themselves have also aged, and although still handsome and charming, they have their own demons to face. As Annie is swept into the fandom, she is reminded how music made her feel when she was young and in love. Shocked to find herself alone with Keith, Annie realizes that even a superstar can have normal life problems. Instead of her age working against her, Annie’s kind ear may be exactly what her former idol needs. Pack your cassettes and get ready to sail straight back to your teenage heart.
MURDER
A VACATION
By Laura Lippman
As a former assistant to a private investigator, Muriel Blossom is very good at blending into the scenery. She doesn’t care for much attention, especially since losing her beloved husband 10 years ago. Muriel has been living a quiet life, helping take care of her grandchildren and enjoying museums and art history, when the darnedest thing happens. She finds a lottery ticket in a parking lot, and boom — Muriel is a millionaire. One of the very first things she does is book a river cruise through France with her best friend, Elinor. From the moment she boards the transatlantic flight, Muriel’s stomach is filled with butterflies. Not an avid traveler and satisfactorily single, she is surprised to find herself being flirted with by another passenger. His name is Allan, and Muriel cannot resist this unexpected attention. Even more shocking? After Muriel spends a wonderful day with Allan in Paris, he is found dead. Muriel continues on to meet Elinor and board the MS Solitaire, where the mystery is full steam ahead. Charming, quirky characters and an art heist with a French twist — this is a cozy mystery that cruises along from the very first page.
#WORTHWATCHING
“Like Father” is a warm, funny family drama set aboard a cruise ship. Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer are excellent as an estranged daughter and father who unexpectedly take her honeymoon cruise together. Great cast, cruising vibes and a story with a whole lot of heart. Check it out on Netflix.
AMERICAN FANTASY
TAKES
803 803
7:00-10:00 pm, Larry Smith’s Jazz Jams Featuring: Larry Smith-Piano, Skipper Kripitz-Drums, Joe Dallas-Bass, & many more. Musicians welcome! Creative! Join the Jam!!! - Monday - - Monday- Saturday - - Saturday7:00 - 10:00 pm
6 - 8:30 pm Cash Bingo - Friday - - Friday -
Motown Music by the Soul City Dysfunkshunals
- Open Wednesday & Thursday - - Open Wednesday & Thursday6:00-11:00 pm - Stop by and unwind!
Parking Available at 201 Truman Avenue
Dinner available for purchase from Olive’s Mediterranean Grill
FROM PRO START TO PRO CHEF
Marathon High grad Chris Gaskill teams up with Scott Taylor to open Dragon & Rooster
alex@keysweekly.com
Achef who first sharpened his cooking knives in the kitchens at Marathon High School is already making countywide waves with his plates in Key West.
January 2026 marked the opening of Asian restaurant Dragon & Rooster in Key West, taking the place of the former Pho King Awesome noodle bar at the corner of Angela and Duval streets. Its owner Scott Taylor is already rooted in the southernmost city as the owner of Kaya Island Eats since 2011.
The 30-seat modern bistro boasts a menu of pan-Asian cuisine and fusion plates. Flagship dishes include popular staples like pho, fried rice and ramen, but always with a twist and visual pop – from “Rooster Rice” (pineapple fried rice with chicken) to “Dragon Rice” (shrimp and pork belly) and “yin-yang rice” (jasmine white rice and Chinese forbidden black rice formed into the iconic symbol, with fried fish and a Thai herb sauce on top). A special “Dragon Section” loads up the spice for those who want to test their taste buds.
When designing the dishes for the new spot, Taylor told the Weekly, he broke one of his own unwritten rules, hiring MHS graduate Chris Gaskill as his executive chef.
“I’ve never hired an executive chef to work for my company. Chris broke the mold,” Taylor said. “He’s a Florida Keys success story. I was so impressed with this young man that I decided to collaborate with another chef. That can sometimes be a tenuous, stressful experience for both parties, but it’s been phenomenal.
“I’ve opened a lot of restaurants in my 40-year career, and I’ve never had one so smooth and flawless.”
Gaskill’s culinary training began in the Pro Start kitchen at Marathon High under Carl “Chef Flavor” Stanton, honored just last month with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Monroe ROSE Awards.
Later graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Gaskill continued work with Stanton throughout the Keys for private cater-
ing and events, along with multiple Marathon restaurants and Hawks Cay Resort, before zeroing in on the Key West culinary scene.
Meeting Taylor at Kaya Island Eats while he worked food tours in Key West, Gaskill moved to the southernmost city, working as a bartender at Kaya while renovating Dragon and Rooster.
“The landlord approached us and said, ‘Would you be interested in opening a restaurant here?’ Well, that was music to my ears, because I love Asian food and grew up in Hawaii,” Taylor said. “They don't necessarily eat Hawaiian food, they mainly eat a mixture of Asian food and Polynesian flavors. So I was immersed in Asian food, and Chris had a passion for it.”
“I just asked if he wanted me to go there as a cook, and it ended up with me being executive chef,” Gaskill said. “I love Asian cuisine – Korean food is 100% my favorite – and whenever I was in New York City, my brothers went to Korea Town, Flushing in Queens – some of the best Asian food in America is up in New York. There was no place like that down here.”
Even as executive chef, he’s handson in every aspect of the kitchen, from prep work to serving as a line cook when needed. And he insists every bit of the menu is made in-house.
“Really nothing I buy is premade,” Gaskill said. “Working with Chef (Stanton), I learned not to accept mediocrity. ‘Why are you doing something unless you’re doing it the best?’ That’s why I insist everything is made here.”
The rest of the county is already starting to notice.
While Gaskill attended the ROSE awards ceremony at Hawks Cay Resort last month to support Stanton, he was up for an honor of his own, nominated as one of the top chefs in the Florida Keys for 2025-26.
“I didn’t even know about it, and the payroll lady here at Kaya told me
I was nominated,” he said. “That was a surprise, and I was happy to hear about it.”
“I can’t say enough great things about working with Chris,” Taylor said. “I've graduated to the ‘older guy,’ and it's really great to see some of the young guns coming up through the business.
“There’s a saying that too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup, but that’s not the case here,” he added. “Chris has been given the room to breathe creatively. I have ideas, he has ideas, usually those are in sync, and we're able to put out a really beautiful product.”
Find the restaurant at 626 Duval St., open from 3 to 10 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, visit dragonrooster.com or call 305-3951365 for takeout and delivery.
ALEX RICKERT
1. Dragon & Rooster owner Scott Taylor, center, executive chef Chris Gaskill, right, and server Erika Tunay, left, pose outside their restaurant at 626 Duval St. 2. An Asian pear salad with homemade sesame garlic dressing. 3. Executive chef Chris Gaskill cooks up some Rooster Rice at Dragon & Rooster. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly
Founded by Betty Debnam
SUMMER READING
Now is a great time to put together a list of books you’d like to read this summer! The Mini Page is happy to help with some fresh suggestions.
• If you’re looking for a summer reset before school starts again, try “Inspiring Stories for Amazing Boys” by Amelia Kinsley. This book about self-confidence, friendship and courage shares stories from everyday kids, reminding readers that everyone faces challenges sometimes.
• Summer is a terrific time to take on a project, and actor/ woodworker Nick Offerman wants to help! “Little Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery” presents 12 projects that kids and adults can tackle, from toast tongs to a hayloft bench.
• For a story you can sink your teeth into, check out “The Forgotten Summer of Seneca” by Camryn Garrett. Rowan, 12, has lost her dad and is spending the summer with her aunt in New York City. While exploring Central Park, she finds a world out of place and time.
• You might not think having to wear an eye patch could give you a superpower — but you’d be wrong! In “Penelope Positano Sees It All,” Penelope’s family is looking for a new dog, and they can’t agree on what kind of dog to get. When she’s wearing her eye patch, Penelope sees things others don’t — like the perfect pet.
• Kestrel, who’s named for a bird of prey, isn’t too happy when her mom relocates them to Montana. She’s afraid of the dogs her mom is working with and mad about her life being upended. In “Kestrel Takes Flight” by Joy McCullough, her story of overcoming life’s complications is told in verse.
• Those looking to explore poetry might want to look for “Melodies of the Weary Blues,” with poems by Langston Hughes and artwork by wellknown Black illustrators.
Langston Hughes (19011967) was a poet, novelist and social activist who was born in Joplin, Missouri. His first published poem was called “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1921). To learn more about him, read “Who Was Langston Hughes?” by Billy Merrell.
Words that remind us of summer reading are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
MINI FACT: Reading over the summer can strengthen skills like focus and empathy.
• Did you know that washing our hands is a relatively new practice? “Keep It Clean!” by Don Brown is a colorful graphic novel that explores the idea of public health — using cleanliness to help prevent the spread of illness.
• “A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm” by Philip Stead might be a challenge, but its creative telling is part of the entertainment. With out-of-order chapters, Latin phrases and moral highlights, Stead’s book makes for memorable reading.
• As Finn Connelly, 13, struggles at school and copes with the loss of his father, he gets a challenge: Hike all 46 Adirondack High Peaks. “The Trouble With Heroes” by Kate Messner tells Finn’s story in verse as he goes “climbing out of trouble.”
SHARE YOUR LIST
What’s on your reading list for summer? Write down some titles, and share your choices with friends. Don’t forget to reserve your favorites at the library!
ECO NOTE
Mexico’s overwintering population of monarch butterflies increased by 64% this year, covering about 7.24 acres of forest — the largest area since 2018. The annual survey by WWF Mexico measured the extent of forest occupied by the insects rather than counting individual butterflies. But monarch numbers remain well under the 15 acres scientists say are needed for long-term survival. Monarchs occupied more than 45 acres of forest in 1995. Habitat loss from deforestation, climate change and herbicide use that kills milkweed continue to threaten the species’ epic migrations.
Photo courtesy Christchurch City Libraries
Outpatient Surgery Centered On You
If you need surgery, you want care that feels personal and calming. At Surgery Center of Key West, you will find outpatient surgical services delivered with the comfort, efficiency and personal attention you expect. The highly skilled and compassionate team of physicians, nurses and staff care for you in a welcoming environment designed around your comfort and safety.
From check-in to recovery, our experienced team helps you get back to feeling your best, faster, so you can return to the island life you love.
Surgery Center of Key West is a collaboration among physicians in the following specialties:
• ENT
• Endoscopy and Colonoscopy Procedures
• General Surgery
• Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
931 Toppino Drive, Key West FL 33040
• Pain Management
• Podiatry
• Spinal Surgery
• Urology
Accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care since 2008.
Surgery Center of Key West, LLC, is owned in part by physicians.
The medical staff at Surgery Center of Key West, LLC, is composed of the following independent providers: Lawrence Blass, M.D., Bruce Fariss, M.D., Jackson Flanigan, M.D., Jonathan Gottlieb, M.D., Paul Maurer, M.D., David McDonald, D.D.S., Gon Saman, D.P.M., William Schnapp, M.D., Christina Smith, D.D.S., Rhoda Smith, M.D., Brien Tonkinson, M.D., and Andrew Wolszczak, M.D.
