​FEMA will be setting up a Mobile Registration Intake Center in Key West at the Nelson English Park, 1127 Thomas Street. The center will begin operation on Saturday, October 22nd, open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
According to the license agreement with the City, “FEMA will use the premises primarily as a Mobile Registration Intake Center where FEMA will receive members of the public for the purpose of registering applicants, providing information such as the status of applications, and general information on FEMA disaster assistance. Other Federal, State, local and voluntary organizations may also use the premises to provide similar information on their programs.”

Radio One Key West, led by legendary hall of fame broadcaster Buddy Shula, will be launching a radio station like Key West has never heard, all on Tues Oct 18th at 3pm sharp.

“The all-new 93.7 WKEY-FM will become uber-local specifically designed for Key West residents and tourists” says Shula.

Through Tues Oct 18th at 3pm, all you will hear on 93.7 FM will be the sound of a beating heart and information designed to make listeners aware of the Tuesday launch. When the beating heart stops, a new Key West radio station will be born.

Shula states “We have done months of researching on what Key West needs most from its radio station. The answer was clear. Local programming with accurate weather, up to date, trusted reliable news, and local entertainment. The new 93.7FM WKEY will have all of that and more. WKEY will become a bullhorn for the community. Listeners and advertisers will love it”

“I respect other radio stations in Key West, they certainly deserve much credit. The goal of WKEY 93.7FM will be to add to what these stations have been doing for years, only better” Local is vital. There are plenty of ways people can get information, but many of them, like Sirius XM, cannot be local, so WKEY will be heavily focused on all things Key West. We will be Key West’s Very Own” Shula laments

​Beginning 3pm Tuesday, you will be able to listen too and see WKEY on-air, on-line, website, voice-activated devices, and mobile apps. 

​The City of Key West wants to hear ideas from the community regarding renovations to Bayview Park. Everyone is invited to the public workshop on Tuesday, October 25th from 3 to 5 p.m. The workshop will be convened in the commission chambers at City Hall, 1300 White Street.
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The historic park is home to several war and veterans memorials, tennis and basketball courts, a ball field, a bandstand, and the Boys and Girls Club. This workshop will help the City with feedback from the community on the best ways to give the park a facelift.

Two years ago, the Key West City Commission unanimously adopted “One Human Family” as our official philosophy. The resolution read that “all people are our equals,” and urged growing beyond “the artificial limitations of racism, nationalism, sexism, classism, monotheism, prejudice, homophobia and every other illusion used to separate us from all being equal.”

In conjunction, the commission later voted to officially name the portico and the bandstand in Bayview Park with the motto.

A sign was installed on the Bandstand, and now the portico, too, sports the “One Human Family” motto.
The bandstand was erected in 1990 by then-City Commissioner Sally Lewis, working with State Representative Ron Saunders and the Cultural Affairs Committee, but it was never given a formal name.

The small portico was built in 1924 by a chapter of the Stephen Mallory Daughters of the Confederacy to honor Confederate soldiers.
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The One Human Family Pavilion is adjacent to Bayview Park’s beautiful Military Memorials that include a large statue dedicated to Black soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War.

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts is proud to announce that we have awarded over $40,000 to local artists and Arts Organizations in our most recent grant cycle. Our Art Builds Community grant, designed to promote Cultural Equity and provide arts and cultural programming to everyone, was awarded to four new projects: REEF and United Way have partnered to present “Arts & Sciences Celebration Series” with their award of $10,000; The City of Marathon was awarded $10,000 for their project “Beautiful Benchmarks” which will interpret climate change and sea level rise through public art;  The Red Barn Theater was awarded $7,500 for their project “Big Night Out” in which they will partner with 6 additional organizations to provide greater access to the arts, and Erica Heffernan’s project “Finding Inspiration through Isolation” which partners with MARC House to exhibit artwork influenced by the isolation of the pandemic. The Art Builds Community grants are among the largest such awards provided by Florida Keys Council of the Arts.  

Other awards include our Special Project grants, with a $2,000 award going to local artists Sally Binard, Molly Ross, and Franke Ashe for their “Moko Jumbie” project, to teach stilt walking; artist Jessica Wachs was awarded $2,000 for her work on “Bone Island- One Woman Musical”, and for our Artists in Schools awards the grantees are as follows: “Schools at the Studios 2023” Bria Ansara and TSKW; “Art/ Chalk against Hate” Jacqueline Patterson, Gloria Avner, and the Plantation Key School; and “Love, Shakespeare” Richard Ericson and Somerset Island Prep; each receiving a grant of $1,750. 
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The Florida Keys Council of the Arts Grant Program is funded entirely by donations, and membership contributions. Please consider becoming a member of the Arts Council on our website, at www.keysarts.com to support our grant programs. For more information visit, www.keysarts.com 

​Submit your Key West holiday events now for the Key West Holiday Fest calendar of events! Is your Key West business, organization, entertainment or other group planning a festive holiday event that’s open to the public? Each year, the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West “bundles” a broad assortment of festive happenings onto their dedicated KeyWestHolidayFest.com website so that locals and visitors alike can advance plan their revelries. Key West Holiday Fest kicks off in late November and continues through December 31, with highlights including fabulously romantic Holiday Historic Inn Tours, the annual Schooner Wharf Lighted Boat Parade, the Key West Hometown Holiday Parade, lighted bike rides, the dazzling Key West Harbor Walk of Lights at the Historic Seaport and an abundance of uniquely Key West New Year’s Eve celebrations. If you’d like your event to be considered for inclusion on the calendar, send a brief submission with event name, location, date, time, a short description, and website url to [email protected].

​On Oct. 3, Monroe County’s new all-online permitting system went live and had a busy first week as staff identified last-minute issues and processed workarounds or software fixes quickly and collaboratively. Paper applications or document submissions are no longer accepted at the building department since the system went live. Permit applications and permits processed before Oct. 3 will remain in paper format and will continue processing in paper format.
 
“Our citizens and contractors were able to enter 141 building permits successfully since it went live,” said Monroe County Permitting Administrative Director Ed Koconis. “The customers navigated their way through the intuitive software, received help from our customer service representatives, or reviewed the webpage for FAQs, checklists, or online video tutorials.”
 
In gaining feedback from local companies who used the system the first week, the overall sentiment was liking the new system with limited to no issues. One company commented that they submitted 18 applications the night before, and it was nice to be able to do this in the evening versus the 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. building department schedule.
 
“This week has gone well, and we still have a couple of busy weeks ahead as we see more of the permits move through review and inspection and those workflows get used,” said Koconis. “The review teams should be able to see the power of concurrent and joint reviews, allowing the permit turnaround process to be much quicker than turning in permits in person.”
 
Permitting can be found at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/onlinepermitting.
 
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It’s time to plan your float for the upcoming Key West Holiday Parade on December 3rd!

Floats can be of any length, but must be maneuverable and no more than 15 feet wide and 12 feet high. Each entry requires monitors. The number of entries is limited to 55.

Entry forms must be received by no later than Monday, November 21st at 4 p.m. The parade takes place on Saturday, December 3rd beginning at 7 p.m. at the corner of White Street and Truman Avenue.
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Applications and details are available on the City’s web site at http://www.cityofkeywest-fl.gov  under special events or you can call Maria at 305-809-3881.

​Monroe County was approved in the Federal Disaster Declaration for IA (Individual Assistance) today.
 
“We are grateful that our state and federal officials worked diligently to add us to this list,” said Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi. “Our residents are now eligible for the assistance many need.”
 
Monroe County Hurricane Ian affected individuals and households can apply with FEMA in the following ways:
 
• Apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Or call 1-800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585).
 
FEMA Individual Assistance can help with temporary lodging expenses, basic home repairs, and other essential disaster-related needs.

​Mayor Teri Johnston and the Key West City Commission proclaimed this week as Fire Prevention Week, and the Key West Fire Department calls all of October Fire Prevention Month.

Each year, the National Fire Protection Association focuses on a theme. For 2022 it’s “Fire Won’t Wait, Plan Your Escape.”

“This year’s theme effectively reminds all of us of the importance of developing a fire escape plan for all members of your household and to practice your plan regularly,” said Capt Gregory Barroso, the City’s Division Chief of Fire Prevention and Fire Marshal.

He noted that firefighters will be visiting schools and community gatherings sharing this safety message.
“I would also like to remind the citizens of Key West that we receive a yearly donation of smoke/CO2 combination detectors which allows us to provide free smoke/co2 detectors for members of the community in need.”
The detectors are available at the Central Fire Station #1 at 1600 North Roosevelt Blvd.
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“We want to thank Mrs. Diane Schmidt and D.J. McCarthy of Opal Key Resort as well as Andy Strunk of Strunk Ace Hardware for generously donating the detectors.”