Contributed

The Upper Keys Business and Professional Women (BPW) recently opened an endowment with the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys. The fund will provide for annual scholarships for Upper Keys women, in perpetuity. The Upper Keys BPW invested $10,000 in the new fund, which immediately doubled to $20,000 thanks to...

More than 400 volunteers donated 1,600 hours over seven days to rebuild Marathon Rotary Park last week. The job site was crawling with men and women, both skilled and unskilled, erecting a complicated playground with sunshades and turrets and slides and swings.   “It was truly a group effort by Marathon...

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office expects Fourth of July traffic to be very heavy throughout the Florida Keys — on and off the water — starting this week. Traffic enforcement deputies will be on the roads watching for impatient and unsafe drivers. Don’t pass in no-passing zones or in center...

The public boat ramps at East Ridge Road and Blackwood Drive will be closed to boat launching from 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 2 through 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5.  The barriers used to close the ramps to boats do allow access for kayaks and paddleboards. The Islamorada Village...

Local parades, beach parties and on-the-water fun topped off by fireworks displays will highlight Independence Day celebrations throughout the Florida Keys.  Key West The Key Lime Festival features culinary and libation adventures Thursday, June 30, through Monday, July 4, showcasing the tiny fruit that inspired Key lime pie, the Florida Keys’...

A friend asked my wife and I if we were going to have some Key lime pie on our trip to the Florida Keys. Wondering what the big deal was, we decided to do a little pie experiment while on vacation. We wanted to find out what the big...

Habitat for Humanity of the Upper Keys (HFHUK) will celebrate National Homeownership Month  on Tuesday, June 28 with an information session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 88670 Overseas Highway, Tavernier. Anyone is welcome to attend to hear about Habitat’s homebuyers’ program and tour an open house of its...

While Monday marked the federal holiday for Juneteenth, Key West’s celebration took place Saturday, June 18. The event started with a ceremony at the African Cemetery on Higgs Beach, music from the African diaspora as well as Caribbean and reggae by local musician Toko Irie and his family’s band. The event...

This letter is in reply to the June 9 letter from Sheriff Ramsay to your esteemed newspaper. I am proud to have known Rick Ramsay for the greatest part of his life. One of the earliest conversations we shared was when he was a teenaged cadet in full, spiffy...

One hour a week makes a huge difference, and volunteers are always welcome every Friday and some Saturday mornings, from 8 to 9 a.m., when teams clean up a designated area of the island. A troubling number of cigarette butts and plastic bags have been included in recent hauls. Please...

This will be the last year that AH Monroe coordinates, and benefits from, the Royal Campaign for King & Queen of Fantasy Fest. Following this year’s coronation in October, the nonprofit will hand the reins to the producers of Fantasy Fest to decide how best to proceed and which...

It all started when a previously sunken boat bobbed to the surface after the Keys’ recent brush with a tropical storm.   “The ocean was really churned up and I saw this dinghy come to the surface on a nearby grass flat, partially inflated,” said Ryan Newkirk of the vessel “Intrepid.”...