DIVE REPORT: CONSERVATION COUNTS ON EARTH DAY AND EVERY DAY

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 30, 2021. Posted in Community News, Dive Report, Florida Keys, Florida Keys Diving, Islamorada Dive Center, Scuba, scuba diving, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Water Life.

Welcome to the fabulous Florida Keys. Our waters are famous for a few reasons, and this week we saw why. This Week’s Dive Report Overall, conditions were nice this past week, with good visibility. We had Kevin Millwood, retired MLB pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, and his family out with us. On Molasses Reef, we dove the “winch hole” there and there were so many turtles all around! Sea turtles are some of the most amazing creatures to dive with. Sometimes, we just want to sit for hours and hang out with them. The 8th Annual REEF Lionfish Derby targeted invasive lionfish, asking divers to help...

THIS WEEKEND: 2ND ANNUAL JEFF LEONIA REEL & STEEL CLASSIC TO OPEN GROUPER/HOGFISH SEASON

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 30, 2021. Posted in Community News, Events, Fishing, Florida Keys, Forever Young Charters, Jeff Leonia, Keys Culture, Spearfishing, Tony Young, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Water Life.

The grouper and hogfish seasons both open this Saturday, May 1. Celebrate the day by joining the 2nd Annual Jeff Leonia Reel & Steel Classic, the only fishing/spearfishing tournament in the Keys. There’s a 7 a.m. start, and weigh-ins and afterparty will take place at Angler House Marina (80500 Overseas Hwy., Islamorada). Jeff Leonia was an avid waterman and captain in the Upper Keys. His passing in Nov. 2019 left a legacy of living large and loving big that his friends and family continue to honor to this day. Leonia’s friend and fellow captain Tony Young, of Forever Young Charters, said,...

COUNTY LOOKS TO LIGHTEN COVID PROTOCOLS FOR SUMMER

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 29, 2021. Posted in Community News, coronavirus, covid-19, Featured, Florida Keys, Health, mask ordinance, masks, Monroe County, Monroe County News, pandemic, Politics, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

A lot can happen in 411 days. For example, during the April 21 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, emergency management director Shannon Weiner said that Monroe County has been in “Covid Operations” for 411 days. Weiner’s portion of the meeting was a public hearing to consider changes to the county’s mask ordinance. Unless rescinded or extended by the board, the ordinance would sunset on June 1, 2021, subject to quarterly review. The general consensus of the BOCC, with firm backing from health officer and administrator Bob Eadie of the Florida Department of Health in Monroe...

SCHOOLS SUPER: SOCIAL DISTANCING ‘HAS BECOME A PROBLEM

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 29, 2021. Posted in Community News, coronavirus, Coronovirus, covid-19, Education, Featured, Florida Keys, Monroe County, Monroe County News, schools, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

At the April 27 Monroe County School District board meeting, Superintendent Theresa Axford announced that more than 100 Key West High School students have been quarantined in just the fourth week of the school district’s reopening to five days of in-person instruction. “The social distancing at 3 feet, which is what we’re able to do now with more students returned to school, has become a problem when there is a positive case and contact tracing goes on,” she told the assembled board members. “There are 126 students who are out at Key West High School right now, not because they are positive...

SCENES FROM THE 7-MILE BRIDGE RUN

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 29, 2021. Posted in 2021, 40th anniversary, 7 Mile Bridge, 7 mile bridge run, Events, Florida Keys, Marathon News, Monroe County, Seen Around Town, seven mile bridge, seven mile bridge run, Sports, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Despite the heat, it was a “fast” race on April 17 for the 40th annual 7 Mile Bridge Run. Collin Wainwright of Pennsylvania, 25, finished first with a time of 37:46. Marathon’s Jonathan and Owen Pitchford, 18-year-old twin brothers, were right behind finishing in 38:03 and 40:17. Jonathan won the race in 2019 with a time of 39 minutes even. To see the complete results, visit www.athlinks.com. To see more photos of the race, or purchase copies, visit shadypalmphotography.com. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly #tdi_1 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 { background: url(https://keysweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/bridge6-80×60.jpg)...

DIET OR REGULAR SODA? TRY WATER INSTEAD

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 29, 2021. Posted in artificial sweetener, Baptist Health SOuth Florida, dr. john woltz, Florida Keys, Health, In Their Own Words, Marathon, Monroe County, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

What effect do artificial sweeteners have on our weight? Since the mid-’70s, artificial sweetener consumption in the U.S. has doubled. Since the 1990s, new products have exploded, leading to more than 6,000 products being introduced from just 1999 to 2004! Guess what else happened? We have gone from an obesity rate of 8% in the mid-1970s to over 42% by 2017. That is not a typo: forty-two percent. Who or what is to blame? Unfortunately, it’s not likely we can blame our ‘diet’ sugars, but they may have some effect. Artificial sweeteners include sucralose, aspartame, advantame, saccharin, neotame,...

BOOKS: WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 28, 2021. Posted in Arts, book review, eleanor brown, Entertainment, Florida Keys, In Their Own Words, jean McKinlay, kelly bowen, Monroe County, paris, paris is always a good idea, the light of paris, the paris apartment, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

If you find yourself daydreaming about the city of lights, pick up one of these fabuleux novels to take you away for the day. Armchair traveling at its best with historical fiction, mystery, romance and always a bit of bubbly — you don’t need to speak French to enjoy the language of love. The Paris Apartment By Kelly Bowen When Aurelia Leclaire walks through the door of a lavish apartment she recently inherited, she is both shocked and astounded. Her grandmother not only left Lia an apartment that no one knew of — but it has also been deserted since 1943. The apartment is overflowing with magnificent...

PHOTOGRAPHER CJ GROTH CAPTURES THE KEYS

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 28, 2021. Posted in artist, Arts, c.j. Groth, Entertainment, Florida Keys, In Their Own Words, Monroe County, photography, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

In recent years, the world of photography has seen a bit of a renaissance. The age of camera phones and digital photography sprouted a significant uptick in images posted on countless platforms and apps. Few of us can say we do not like to share our photos – maybe even oversharing on occasion, or so we’re told. Being a 24/7 digital clicker, a social-media addicted selfie-master, or filtering one’s face into a younger, sexier image with the aid of a phone or pad, hardly makes a photographer. Even with all the nifty tricks and treats the digital world has bestowed upon modern society, most of...

NAME GAME: HOW DID THESE ISLANDS GET THEIR NAMES?

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 28, 2021. Posted in delaware key, duck key, Florida Keys, Keys History, Missouri key, Monroe County, names of keys, ohio key, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Missouri and Ohio keys are situated in the Lower Keys and, at least in terms of the Overseas Highway, are linked one after the other. Missouri Key is in the area of MM 39 and sandwiched between Ohio Key and Little Duck Key. Railroad workers reportedly named both during the construction of the first conduit to connect Key West to the Florida mainland, Henry Flagler’s Over-Sea Railroad. Workers hailing from those particular states likely chose the names. The islands have known other names. Missouri Key has been called Little Grassy Key and Grassy Island. Ohio Key is sometimes called Sunshine...

FISHING COMMUNITY RALLIES BEHIND ARTIST WHO LOST MONTHS OF WORK

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on April 28, 2021. Posted in art, Arts, Fishing, Florida Keys, Islamorada, Islamorada News, Keys Culture, Monroe County, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Water Life.

Imagine this: You are a fine-arts painter during the pandemic. Quarantined at home, you cast about for something to do, just like the rest of the world. Then — bingo — you stumble onto a new painting technique and become obsessed. Feverishly perfecting your work and making print after beautiful print, a gallery owner falls in love with your paintings, then requests a shipment so they can be displayed in the gallery. You roll up all your paintings in a tube and confidently ship all paintings via FedEx — dutifully requesting tracking information and insurance. Then the entire shipment is lost....

Category: Florida Keys