National Parks Service gives local nonprofit historic Islamorada lighthouse

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on September 8, 2021. Posted in Featured, Islamorada News, Monroe County News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Upper Keys News, Water Life.

Off the Islamorada shores, boats circled Alligator Reef Light Station during a Labor Day weekend, which saw pristine conditions on the water. Activity at the iconic lighthouse continues this weekend, with some 500 swimmers heading out to the 148-foot structure for the annual Swim to Alligator Light on Saturday, Sept. 11. Event organizers Rob Dixon and Larry “Lighthouse” Herlth couldn’t be happier with the race’s return after it was canceled last year due to COVID-19. More positive developments came their way earlier in the week, however, with an email coming to Dixon’s inbox notifying him that...

Council sets ground rules for remote meeting participation

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 27, 2021. Posted in Islamorada News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Surging COVID-19 cases and more quarantining measures among those in contact with infected individuals drew council members to adopt new rules on remote meeting attendance. An outbreak inside Islamorada Village Hall last month affected several employees and council members. It led to a 10-day quarantine for Councilman Henry Rosenthal earlier this month. Mayor Buddy Pinder was absent for the Aug. 19 council meeting after he contracted COVID-19, drawing Vice Mayor Pete Bacheler to lead the dais. Discussions among village council members in July over remote meeting options were not...

Islamorada council sets ground rules for remote meeting participation

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 25, 2021. Posted in coronavirus, Islamorada News, Politics, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

CONSTITUTION DAY CONTEST UNDERWAY

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 19, 2021. Posted in Community News, Education, Islamorada News, Middle Keys News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Upper Keys News.

The Upper Keys League of Women Voters (UKLWV) announces the 2021 Constitution Day Contest for middle and high school students from Marathon north to the county line, including public, private, charter and home schooled students. The theme is how the constitution affects their daily life. In past years, the UKLWV sponsored an essay contest for Constitution Day. This year, UKLWV is giving the students an opportunity to be creative in more ways. There are two sets of prizes and two categories to choose from. For a written entry, you may submit an essay, story or poem. For a visual entry, you may...

VILLAGE TAKES MEASURES AFTER STAFF TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 17, 2021. Posted in Islamorada News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Islamorada officials are urging the wearing of masks inside village facilities after several staff members were confirmed with COVID-19 following a July council meeting inside Founders Park Community Center. As for an upcoming Aug. 19 meeting of council, officials are recommending the public participate virtually. Residents wishing to attend in person can still do so, but they’re encouraged to wear a mask. A recent Florida Health Department report indicated 388 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Monroe County from July 30 to Aug. 5. Recent budget workshops saw one to two members...

HIGHWAY HELL: A RIDE ALONG THROUGH A CONGESTED ISLAMORADA

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 17, 2021. Posted in Islamorada News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

One could call the two lanes of road through Islamorada a highway hell. For residents, it’s an all-too-familiar scene on weekends and holidays, as a seemingly endless line of vehicles crawl bumper to bumper south for roughly 13 miles. Impatience takes over in some drivers who just spent a considerable amount of time making their way through Florida City and the 18-mile stretch. Other drivers unfamiliar with the Keys heed the advice of their GPS, veering off onto the Old Highway and putting the pedal to metal in hopes to cut their travel time by a few minutes. Others take a more...

Rain and winds from Tropical Storm Fred approach Keys this weekend

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 11, 2021. Posted in Featured, Hurricane News, Islamorada News, Key West News, Lower Keys News, Marathon News, Middle Keys News, Monroe County News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Expect heavy rains and some possible tropical storm-force winds in the Keys this weekend. Tropical Storm Fred approached the Dominican Republic on Wednesday morning, as Keys officials gathered for a storm call via Zoom. Fred is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later today as the core passes through Hispaniola, said Jon Rizzo, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service out of Key West. There’s uncertainty, however, over the storm’s organization after it emerges to the northwest of Haiti. Rizzo expressed confidence that the storm will likely approach Florida...

ISLAMORADA COUNCIL: “WE’RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY A LONG-TERM VISION SO WE CAN THEN CREATE A ROAD MAP TO GET THERE”

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 6, 2021. Posted in Islamorada News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

An Islamorada dais entered its first budget season alongside a new village manager inside the Founders Park Community Center on Aug. 3. Islamorada Manager Greg Oravec treated the workshop on Aug. 3 a little differently, calling it a “strategic retreat” in order to help the dais and community figure out the village’s path. Through Oravec’s lead, department heads and staff members attending in person and on Zoom broke into groups for an interactive exercise over the course of three hours. Oravec not only sought what they believed to be the village’s essence, but he also wanted to find commonalities...

New Upper Keys Center brings educational opportunities for students and community

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 5, 2021. Posted in Community News, Education, Featured, Islamorada News, Monroe County News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage, Upper Keys News.

Roughly 100 community leaders stood on the second floor of the College of the Florida Keys new center in Key Largo on Thursday afternoon. With a glass of champagne raised, a toast made by President Jonathan Gueverra marked a new era of education and opportunities for students, employers and the Upper Keys community. Once deemed a “higher education desert” for graduating students in Key Largo and Islamorada, Gueverra now calls the islands an “oasis” with the college’s state-of-the-art Upper Keys Center. Located not far from the Keys’ gateway at MM 106, bayside, the new center delivers...

ISLAMORADA: WILL COUNCIL MEMBERS DENY GARBAGE COLLECTION PROPOSED 7% INCREASE IN COMMERCIAL PICKUP?

Written by Upper Keys Mortgage Syndicated User on August 4, 2021. Posted in Islamorada News, Upper Keys Florida Mortgage, Upper Keys Mortgage.

Islamorada village staff is recommending council members deny a commercial rate increase for trash disposal services when they meet for a meeting on Thursday, July 22, at 5:30 p.m., inside Founders Park Community Center. An amendment to an agreement with Advanced Disposal, which was acquired last October by Waste Management, requests a 7% commercial rate hike. During a May 20 meeting, officials with Waste Management told the dais the reason behind the increase is to compensate for increased customer service costs. Council members ended up tabling the matter in May, following lengthy discussion...

Category: Islamorada News