HOUSING CRISIS, PART 1: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM IN THE FLORIDA KEYS?
What happens to a tourist town when local workers can’t afford to live there?
Housing is the largest single challenge facing Florida Keys residents and has been for decades. With scarce buildable land, strict height restrictions, sky-high property values, second homes that sit empty most of the year and a proliferation of vacation rentals, many full-time workers no longer can afford to live or rent in the island chain, much less buy a home.
Over the next three weeks, Keys Weekly tackles the housing crisis by identifying the problem, examining its causes and seeking solutions.
COVID UPDATE: NEW STATE GUIDANCE PUSHES BACK AGAINST CORPORATE MASKING
New guidance in Florida is advising against masking requirements from corporate headquarters and recommending less isolation for those who are positive with COVID-19.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and state...
MASSIVE NEW APARTMENT COMPOUND TAKES SHAPE ON STOCK ISLAND
The massive new Wreckers Cay apartment compound is taking shape on Stock Island, where contractors and developers celebrated a roof-topping milestone last week and thanked the crews...
STATE BILLS THAT PASSED & DIED AS SESSION DRAWS TO A CLOSE
A 60-day legislative session in Tallahassee is supposed to end on Friday, March 11. But it appears legislators will be staying a little longer to finish up...
CRUISE SHIPS: NEW RULES ARE UNDERWAY IN KEY WEST
Could this be it? Could a resolution be imminent after nearly two years of Key West’s great cruise ship debate?
We’ll know at the city commission’s special meeting...
HOUSING CRISIS, PART 2: HOW DID THE FLORIDA KEYS GET HERE?
Housing is the largest single challenge facing Florida Keys residents and has been for decades. With scarce buildable land, strict height restrictions, sky-high property values, second homes that sit empty most of the year and a proliferation of vacation rentals, many full-time workers no longer can afford to live or rent in the island chain, much less buy a home.
Last week, Keys Weekly defined the housing problem. This week, we examine what caused it, and how we got here. A complex blend of contributing factors has turned the Florida Keys’ longtime housing concerns into an undeniable crisis.
ROUGHLY 120 HAITIAN MIGRANTS LAND ON SUMMERLAND KEY HOME’S BEACH
A little more than 120 Haitian migrants hopped off a vessel and made their way onto land via a Summerland Key residence’s beach on the morning of...
‘GREAT RESIGNATION’ HITS SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH WRESTLES TO FIND TEACHERS
For the first time in a Monroe County school board meeting, district staff brought up the ‘Great Resignation,’ the nationwide trend of workers in many industries quitting...
CAN WE SAY ‘GAY’ IN FLORIDA SCHOOLS?
To be clear, Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill doesn’t ban the word “gay” in public schools.
It bans “classroom disscussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in...
HOUSING CRISIS, PART 3: WHERE DO THE FLORIDA KEYS GO FROM HERE?
Housing is the largest single challenge facing Florida Keys residents and has been for decades. With scarce buildable land, strict height restrictions, sky-high property values, second homes...
