Funds Being Raised For Hurricane-Proof Animal Shelter On Stock Island

KWTN Team Report

What could be more appropriate
on the first day of
Hurricane Season 2007 than a
story about the need for a new
animal shelter here that will
stand up to a Category 5 storm?

Right now, the Florida Keys
Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (FKSPCA)
shelter on Stock Island floods
during tropical storms and
heavy rains and the staff has to
dig trenches to divert the water
away from the kennels.
When a hurricane threatens,
all animals must now be
evacuated into foster homes
of volunteers, staff and board
members.

PROFILE: Christie Phillips

Public Information With a Smile

by Rhonda Linseman

Christie Phillips is the
Public Information Officer for
the Key West Police Department
and also for the City of
Key West. Two jobs, one paycheck.
Now there’s a dedicated
citizen, and that is, in part, why
we thought she deserved to be
shoved forcibly into the spotlight
this week.

Christie and I had lunch
recently at the Twisted Noodle,
and because of my skillful,
disarming investigative talents,
she spilled her guts and told me everything I wanted to know
about her. Or perhaps she’s just
a sweet, smart, hard-working
person who has nothing to hide.
The more we spoke, the more I
had to believe the latter, despite
my efforts to the contrary.

Some Thoughts On Know-Nothing Hurricane Forecasters

And a Rule Or Two If You Don’t Evacuate

TO BE A GOOD HURRICANE FORECASTER, JUST
PREDICT, EVERY YEAR, THAT THE SEASON IS
GOING TO BE “ACTIVE”. THEN, EVEN IF THERE IS
AN OCCASIONAL SEASON LIKE LAST YEAR— WHEN
THERE WERE NO HURRICANES— YOU’LL STILL BE
RIGHT MORE THAN YOU’RE WRONG.

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

Well, the so-called hurricane
experts are at it again.
They are once again telling
us that this year’s hurricane
activity is going to be “above
normal”, with 13 to 17 named
storms predicted. Of course,
they say the same thing every
year. And sometimes they’re
right and sometimes they’re
wrong.

They were certainly right
in 2004 when four major hurricanses
slammed Florida. And
they were certainly right in
2005, the most active hurricane season in recorded history— a
season that included the infamous
Hurricane Wilma.

Special Commentary: Feed Christmas Tree Island To the Dogs of Development

by Barbatra Bowers

Change, as in “to make
radically different,” is the antithesis
to preservation, which
according to Webster’s New
Collegiate Dictionary means “to
keep safe from injury, harm or
destruction; to protect.”

Of course, in a museum
town like Key West, where
federal, state and local laws
protect the largest contiguous
historic district in the country,
change happens. Regularly. So
is it even reasonable to expect
a 30-acre landfill in Key West
Harbor—a.k.a. Christmas Tree/
Wisteria Island—to remain the
same?

At the moment, it’s a privately
owned island in Monroe
County. But at its next meeting,
the City of Key West is considering
annexing it, a change that
would alter the current building
potential from the county’s two
or three house regulation. If, say,
Christmas Tree Island becomes
zoned by Key West the same
way Jabour’s Trailer Court was
zoned, you can look forward to
at least 660 new homes.

THE ASSASSINATION OF HOLLY BROZI

An Open Letter To
School Superintendent
Randy Acevedo

by Dennis Reeves Cooper &
Rhonda Linseman

Well, Randy, we see that
you are advertising for a culinary
arts teacher to fill the
job left vacant when you and
Restaurant Store owner Richard
Tallmadge fired Holly Brozi
several weeks ago. Brozi was
one of the most popular teachers
at Key West High School and a
former Teacher of the Year. Go
figure.

Now the question is: Who
will interview the applicants
and make the decision to hire
the new teacher? The last time
the job was vacant, five years
ago, Tallmadge actually sat in on
the interviews and, apparently,
recommended the hiring of a
teacher who lasted just a few
weeks on the job. Holly Brozi
was also interviewed but was
not selected— but when the
other teacher abruptly quit,
Brozi was called in to pick up
the pieces. But she did more
than that. She built the program
into one of the top culinary arts
programs in the state.

ON THE SONNY SIDE: Return To Yesteryear

by Charles “Sonny” McCoy

The next train that will go to sea will be a connecting
episode in the historical event of the building
of what was once known as one of the great wonders of
the technological world. In the late nineteenth century,
Henry Flagler assembled his engineers and directed
those engineers to take his FEC train system from the
Florida mainland to the then thriving seaport city of
Key West, over a hundred miles of water to the south
and just north of Havana Cuba.

This was an unheard of undertaking to extend
a railroad system this far out to sea. But this challenge
was exciting and those engineers wanted to prove
their skill and not only show the world that it could
be done, but to complete it in time to transport the
ageing Henry Flagler on that Inaugural Train. The first
train arrived at the Trumbo Station in Key West amid
much pomp and ceremonies. The four-term Key West
Mayor Fogarty was there in the official delegation
and, also to welcome Henry Flagler, with a bouquet
of roses, was a very young girl who later became the
mother of a five-term Mayor of Key West.

Reporting the Balacera

by Hal O’Boyle

Though Costa Rica is often called the Switzerland of Central America,
there are precious few similarities in the defense strategies of the
rifle bearing Swiss and the demilitarized Ticos.

Costa Rica’s president, Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias,
is proud there are no arms factories in his country and that Costa Rica
would be as helpless as a puppy if attacked by any military force. He
is a firm believer in safety through cheerful defenselessness. He
rarely passes up an opportunity to cut a gun in half in public and extol the virtues of civilian disarmament.

Costa Rica famously has no military, relying instead, without any
formal treaty, on the goodwill of the United States for its protection
against sometimes hostile neighbors. The policy has worked surprisingly
well. Costa Rica avoided the horrific slaughter of the Central American
civil wars of the 70s and 80s, enjoyed abundant American investment and
is now arguably the most prosperous and peaceful country in the region.

RIDENOUR REPORT

by Valerie Ridenour

This Sunday at four pm
there will be a very special free
concert at St. Paul’s Church.
The wonderful Joseph Lowe
will perform an organ recital
of 18th century English organ
music honoring the late Marion
Stevens featuring the French
Trompette that she generously
gave to St. Paul’s for the Mutt
Organ. You’ll hear trumpet
tunes, voluntaries, dance tunes,
and suites including Handel’s
Royal Fireworks.

This is the first of five
recitals planned for this summer
made possible by a grant
through the Marion Stevens
Fund.

Mangrove Mama’s has
been sold, but Iris assures me
they will continue with the
same chef.

BARNES LAW: Q&A Your Court System— Part 4

Part IV of a series: Additional
Court Services

by Michael Barnes

Your court system maintains
a law library. Many people,
outside of the court system, do
not realize that the library exists.
The Law Library, located on the
fourth floor of the Courthouse
Annex, is open to the public and
members of the bar weekdays
from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

A full-time Law Librarian
is employed to assist individuals
with legal research. In
Marathon, all legal reference
materials are maintained at the
Marathon Public Library. In PK,
a small law library is located
on the second floor of the Upper
Keys Government Center,
outside of the Circuit Judge’s
office and materials are also
available at the Public Library
located in Islamorada.

Bahama Village Meeting Set For Next Thursday

All island residents are encouraged to come to the District
VI Neighborhood Meeting next Thursday evening, to be held in
the Nutrition Center adjacent to the Frederick Douglass Gym
starting at 6pm. The community meeting will focus on the district,
its residents and their concerns, though all island neighbors are
invited to join in the round table discussion.

Part of the Key West Police Department’s community policing
initiative, the open forum is a place for locals to talk frankly
with local police officers about their neighborhoods, their needs
and their expectations, as well as hear the latest updates on how
the Key West Police Department is continuing its ongoing mission
to protect and serve.

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