Free drive-through COVID-19 testing at Founders Park allowed residents in the Islamorada and Upper Keys areas to get swabbed on Aug. 13. Staff from the Florida Health Department were stationed near the park’s beach where vehicles drove up, pulled down their masks and received a swab test. Residents remained in their cars as staff came to them for the free test. The mass testing event was hosted by the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County in partnership Monroe County Board of County Commissioners and village of Islamorada. 

Jim McCarthy is one of the many Western New Yorkers who escaped the snow and frigid temperatures for warm living by the water. A former crime & court reporter and city editor for two Western New York newspapers, Jim has been honing his craft since he graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2014. In his 4-plus years in the Keys, Jim has enjoyed connecting with the community. “One of my college professors would always preach to be curious,” he said. “Behind every person is a story that’s unique to them, and one worth telling. As writers, we are the ones who paint the pictures in the readers minds of the emotions, the struggles and the triumphs.” Jim is past president of the Key Largo Sunset Rotary Club, which is composed of energetic members who serve the community’s youth and older populations. Jim is a sports fanatic who loves to watch football, hockey, mixed martial arts and golf. He also enjoys time with family and his new baby boy, Lucas, who arrived Oct. 4, 2022.