Charlotte Twine
Charlotte Twine fled her New York City corporate publishing life and happily moved to the Keys six years ago. She has written for Travel + Leisure, Allure, and Offshore magazines; Elle.com; and the Florida Keys Free Press. She loves her two elderly Pomeranians, writing stories that uplift and inspire, making children laugh, the color pink, tattoos, Johnny Cash, and her husband. Though not necessarily in that order.
KEY LARGO’S CAFE LARGO DISHES THE SECRET SAUCE FOR 30 YEARS & COUNTING
Last Friday night was popping at DiGiorgio’s Café Largo, which celebrated its 30-year anniversary last month.
The servers glided out of the kitchen with trays full of crowd favorites: Lasagna al Forno, Gnocchi Bolognese and the yellowtail special. Strains of diners singing “Happy Birthday” could be heard while a couple...
KEYS ATTORNEY JAY HERSHOFF POSSESSES A PASSION FOR HEALTH CARE
Jay Hershoff is 79 years old. And he’s “retired.” Or, at least, as retired as you can be when you’re the chairman of the board of trustees for Baptist Health South Florida, an organization that stretches from Marathon to Boynton Beach and has 12 hospitals, 26,000 employees, 20 urgent...
KEY LARGO ECOBUSINESS SAVES ON PLASTIC BOTTLES
On Sept. 19, Renee Gilbert—a long-time local, mom of three and lover of the ocean—took a plunge (no pun intended) and opened the doors of her zero-waste and refillery store, FL Keys Refillery.
Reader, you are not alone if you just read the last sentence and said, “Refillery? What’s that?”
“A lot of people...
BEST OF UPPER KEYS BRINGS A BURGER BUZZ
Locals have nominated three establishments to win the Best of Upper Keys’ Best Burger crown — an “elevated comfort food” eatery, a sports bar and a seafood restaurant. The best burger title is up for grabs on Nov. 5.
M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom, Islamorada
Since its inception in 2012, M.E.A.T. has...
SCOUTS REMOVE 1,600 LBS OF DEBRIS FROM FLORIDA KEYS CORAL REEF
In 2022, Boy Scouts from around the nation recovered 1,600 pounds of marine debris from the Florida Keys coral reef, Sea Base staff reported.
“Our goal this past summer was to collect 1,000 pounds of marine debris,” Natacha Angelo, program office manager of Sea Base, told Keys Weekly. “We went...
BUSINESS: UPPER KEYS WELCOMES A ‘F-ING’ BAGEL SHOP
Islamorada’s F-ing Bagels is now open seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
So let’s get the restaurant’s name out of the way first. Parents: You may want to refrain from reading this article aloud in front of little ones, as — how should we put this?...
CORAL SHORES ROBOTICS PROGRAM DEVELOPS PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
Those of us who tear our hair out when our 10-year-old PC flashes a Windows update alert on our screen — or who can barely change the password on our phone — may want to bow down in respect to the students of the Coral Shores High School Robotics...
UPPER KEYS KIDS CLUBHOUSE PROVIDES A NEW ‘SCREEN-FREE’ ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN
A pack of children surrounded Venus Haugen in the backyard tiki hut of her Tavernier home. As they watched closely, Haugen poured globs of thick, brightly colored paint into small plastic palettes.
Soft reggae music played, while palm trees surrounding the hut shimmied in the breeze. Nearby, a crystal-clear blue...
COMMERCIAL LOBSTER SEASON OFF TO A GOOD START AS KEYS FISHERMEN DEAL WITH INCREASED MATERIALS & GAS PRICES
The commercial spiny lobster season started Aug. 6, and the fishermen and -women of the Florida Keys have been hauling traps and diving for almost a month. Everyone now has a feel for what 2023-24 will bring.
The Upper Keys boats have been “killing it,” with lobsters spilling out of...
BACK-TO-SCHOOL TRUNK SALE IN TAVERNIER SUPPORTS WESLEY HOUSE FAMILY SERVICES
Yes, the black asphalt was hot and steamy, but it was hard not to catch the happy vibes at the back-to-school trunk sale on Aug. 27 at Burton Memorial United Methodist Church’s parking lot in Tavernier. Who can resist the JOY ukulele band playing “Achy Breaky Heart?” Or the...
UPPER KEYS WELCOME NEW EDUCATORS TO THE CLASSROOM
The Keys are a week into the 2022-2023 school year, and the new teachers are excited to be diving into their classes and getting to know their students. We asked them to introduce themselves to the community, and we learned some fun facts — one makes a mean milk...
BIZ FEATURE: NEW KEY LARGO SHOP SERVING UP BUTTERY GOODNESS
It is a truth universally acknowledged that butter makes things better. Kind of like bacon. Everyone from cuisine legend Julia Child to your sensible Great-Aunt Mabel will tell you that it’s fabulous, for anything from vegetables to pancakes to mashed potatoes to steaks.
Marjorie Smith, founder of Cow’s Rule Gourmet...
