1. society
2. unrest and war

KEY NEWS
n IN THE ARTS
07 KEY WEST CHALK FEST
Trolleys need to stop the noise,
say residents
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
When it comes to the Key West
tourist trolleys, Conch Trains and
“Ducks,” there was no question where
about 30 residents in City Commissioner Jimmy Weekley’s district stand.
ey want change.
Weekley and City Attorney Shawn
Smith got an earful on Wednesday, Nov.
12, when Weekley held a public workshop to hear what modifications his
constituents want the city to make in
the trolley franchise contracts that expire in February. Noise topped the list.
Several residents complained about the
trolley and Conch Train driver narratives that are broadcast to passengers
over a loudspeaker.
“I don’t know any other city that allows the kind of annoyance we allow
here,” said David Kaminsky.
Kaminsky was joined by several
other residents complaining about the
frequency of the tour vehicles on city
streets. Although the current franchise
agreement requires tour companies to
wait a minimum of 30 minutes before
sending the next vehicle out, that often
doesn’t happen, they said.
“It’s real clear vehicles during peak
times are running much more frequently than allowed,” Kaminsky said,
adding that the tour companies should
be required to hire a dispatcher that
would regulate departure times.
“e issue is not how many per hour
but how we handle traffic congestion in
the city,” added resident Perry Johnston.
Weekley said one solution for the
noise problem is to require the tour passengers to wear headsets so that the narration cannot be heard outside of the
vehicle. Another option would be for
passengers to use an app on their smart
phones to hear a recorded tour narration.
“ere are new technologies, I guess,
to be able to reach that goal,” Weekley
5K Hog Trot • Nov. 29
Run off that anksgiving turkey at the 21st Annual Hog’s Breath 5K Hog
Trot on Saturday Nov. 29. 8 a.m. start. Course runs through Old Town and
Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Online registration until Nov. 26, or register at
Hog’s Breath Saloon, 400 Front St. Race package pick up at the Hog’s Breath
Saloon 5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, and 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 29. Free t-shirt for
first 300 entries; after-race raffle. Proceeds benefit Southernmost Runners Club
and Key West High School Running Program.
n INFO www.hogsbreath.com, (305) 296-4222
3
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
said about eliminating loudspeaker
noise.
Other contract negotiation suggestions included limiting the number of
vehicles tour companies can operate.
And one resident said tour drivers
should be required to take a Key West
history test every two years to ensure
they are giving correct information during their narration.
“I hear these people going by,” said
John Dell, referring to the tour drivers.
“e distortions they talk about are
ridiculous. It’s bad for the town.”
And then there are the Duck Boats,
the amphibious tour trucks that operate
both on land and in the water. Although
no Ducks are operating in Key West waters at the moment, both Historic Tours
of America and City View Trolley Tours
have permits to launch the vehicles. e
only thing stopping them is there is no
boat ramp available for the truck/boats
to enter the harbor. e ramp previously available was taken off the table
earlier this year when the U.S. Navy operating in Key West denied access to the
harbor to recreational boats that might
interfere with military operations.
“I abhor the Ducks. ey hurt my
soul,” said resident Maureen Bramlage.
“ey’re too big. I vote for getting those
guys in the negotiations to give up all
they can.”
Weekley said it might be possible
to convince the tour companies to let
go of the Duck permits. But at a
minimum, the city needs to negotiate
the routes the Ducks use.
“With the expiration of the franchise
agreements in February, everything is on
the table,” Weekley said.
“I can’t see Ducks going down side
streets. ey’re too big. ey’re going
to have to stay on the primary roads,”
he said. n
CITY NEWS
november 20-26
Published Weekly
Vol. 4 No. 47
PUBLISHER
Guy deBoer
MANAGING EDITOR
Ralph Morrow
NEWS WRITERS
Mark Howell, John L. Guerra,
Pru Sowers, Sean Kinney, C.S. Gilbert
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Larry E. Blackburn, Ralph De Palma
DESIGN
Dawn deBoer
Julie Scorby
CONTRIBUTORS
Guy deBoer Key News
Mark Howell Howelings
Rick Boettger The Big Story
Louis Petrone Key West Lou
Kerry Shelby Key West Kitchen
Christina Oxenberg Local Observation
Albert L. Kelley Business Law 101
Ian Brockway Tropic Sprockets
C.S. Gilbert Culture Vulture
Ralph De Palma Soul of Key West
Harry Schroeder High Notes
Morgan Kidwell Kids’ Korner
JT Thompson Hot Dish
Diane Johnson In Review
ADVERTISING
305.296.1630
Susan Kent|305.849.1595
[email protected]
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[email protected]
Advertising Deadline Every Friday
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Friday every week for next issue of KONK Life.
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CIRCULATION
Kavon Desilus ASSISTANT
William Rainer ASSISTANT
KONK Life is published weekly by KONK
Communications Network in Key West, Florida.
Editorial materials may not be reproduced without written
permission from the network.
KONK Communications Network
(305) 296-1630 • Key West, Florida
www.konklife.com
Commission OKs Garrison
Bight marina rate hike
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
would charge $120 a year for both ramp and parking fees. After getting a positive reception to the
idea from Doug Bradshaw, Key West Port and Marine Services director, commissioners unanimously
passed a resolution creating the residents’ combination permit, but keeping the higher fees for nonresidents. e daily rate to use the boat ramp will
also double, from $5 to $10 for locals and non-residents.
Hawthorne said the higher fees were necessary
to help pay for ongoing maintenance at the marina. More than $100,000 was spent in the ramp
area on repairs in the past year. City Marina hasn’t
had a rate increase since 1991.
“City Marina needs to generate more income to
support the cost of annual operation and future
capital infrastructure,” Hawthorne wrote in a
memo to City Manager Jim Scholl. n
A proposal to double the ramp and parking fees
for boaters using the Key West City Marina at Garrison Bight was whittled back after a plea from a
regular user.
Judd Wise, a local boater and teacher and coach
at Key West High School, said doubling the annual
ramp fee from $45 to $90 and the daily parking
fee from $5 to $10, as proposed by David
Hawthorne, Key West City Marina manager,
would drive boaters away.
“Doubling it is extremely harsh for the locals,”
said Wise. “If you want to get more locals to use
the [boat] ramp, doubling the fee won’t work.”
Wise asked Key West City Commissioners to create a new permit for local residents only that
Peary Court plans withdrawn again
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
Other objections have come from next-door
residents in the Meadows neighborhood. Angela
Street neighbors objected to the removal of a fence
currently between the street and the existing Peary
Court housing development. ey were also concerned about traffic congestion if the new Peary
Court was accessed via Angela Street.
White Street Partners worked out a deal with the
neighbors. In return for keeping the fence, reducing the size of some of the units on the Angela
Street side and eliminating the Angela Street access
road, the Meadow’s residents would withdraw
their objections.
But HARC members brought up a new objection at their last meeting, saying they were concerned that HARC was the first city board to be
asked to give a thumbs up to the development.
Usually, a new housing development would go before the planning board and even the city Development Review Commission before going to HARC.
But City Planner Don Craig told White Street
Partners in the beginning of the approval process
to first apply to HARC, which has jurisdiction
over site plans in the historic district.
“We’re being asked to approve something that we
don’t know can be built,” said HARC member
Patrick Wright. “ere are glaring issues, still.” n
Developers proposing to build a 24-acre upscale housing complex on the site of Peary Court
on White Street in Key West can’t seem to catch a
break.
Appearing for a fourth time before the Key
West Historic Architectural Review Commission
(HARC) on ursday, Nov. 6, the owners of the
property, purchased last year from the U.S. Navy
for $35 million, had to withdraw their latest design rather than risk having it voted down by the
HARC board. Property owner White Street Partners will now go back to the design drawing board
in the hopes of creating a 208-unit complex that
will receive HARC approval.
“We will be back before you at a future date,”
Jim Hendrick, a private planner working with
White Street Partners, told HARC members.
White Street Partners and architect Bernard
Zyscovich have carefully tried to address every objection that has been made over the proposed 24acre upscale housing complex. e first design, by
another architect, was withdrawn from a HARC
hearing in 2012 when it became clear it would not
be approved. Zyscovich was then hired but his proposed design also didn’t pass muster.
4
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
CITY NEWS
Residents rally
against Fantasy
Fest nudity
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
“at creeps over into every event.
Who are they [Fantasy Fest producers]
selling us to and how are they selling
us? ey need to be held accountable,”
Miano said.
e company that owns the Fantasy
Fest name is Monroe County Tourist
Development Association (TDA).
TDA subcontracts event marketing
and production to e Market Share
Company, a Key West-based production
company that handles permitting,
sponsorship sales, event planning and
production and acts as the liaison to
Key West officials.
TDA and Market Share came under
fire at the Fest Friends’ meeting. Harry
Bethel, who attended the Fest Friends
meeting, pointed out that the five-year
contract TDA has with the city to
produce Fantasy Fest expires on June
29, 2015.
“Now is the time to go out for bids.
We need new ideas,” he said. “Nobody
is saying do away with the Fest. at’s
crazy.”
e organizers of Key West Fest
Friends emphasized that they “love”
Fantasy Fest and only want positive
change. Joe Weed Clements, one of the
organizers, said the group is not against
partial nudity — particularly painted
breasts on women — but full frontal
nudity, even painted, on both men and
women should be banned. And any
permissible nudity should be confined
to the Fantasy Fest party zone, which
includes Duval Street and some
adjacent side streets.
One suggestion was to require
e Market Share Co. to hire private
security to keep legally nude
| Continued on page 30
ere have been complaints for
several years about the growing amount
of nudity during Key West’s Fantasy
Fest. But this year, those complaints
are turning into action.
Two different residents’ groups
have organized to build a grassroots
campaign putting pressure on Key West
city commissioners and the Fantasy Fest
producers to bring the hammer down
on nudity and illegal public sexual
activity.
One of the citizen’s groups, Key
West Fest Friends, held its first public
meeting Monday, Nov. 10, to hear
input on ideas for its campaign.
e second group, led by former Key
West City Commissioner Harry Bethel,
will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m.,
Monday, Nov. 17, in Old City Hall.
About 40 people attended Fest
Friends’ meeting. While lower extremity
genitalia exposure on both men and
women was condemned by several
speakers, there was also dismay over the
ebbing participation by local businesses
and residents and a perceived lack
of creativity in event themes, costumes
and parade floats.
“We want a festival that represents
us, something we can be proud of,”
said resident Michael Blades.
In addition, the event has increasingly been advertised to nude cruise
ship and lingerie companies, as well as
sex websites, said Kate Miano, owner
of the Gardens Hotel on Angela Street.
As a result, Key West now has an
entrenched reputation for ongoing
no-holds-barred nudity, she said.
5
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
CITY NEWS
City open to food truck rule changes
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
After setting out what several Key
West food truck owners consider
onerous restrictions on when and
where the popular eateries can operate,
city planners have now indicated they
may be open to compromise.
Key West City Planner Don Craig
held a public workshop Wednesday,
Nov. 12, to hear comments on the
proposed new ordinance, which sets
out a list of 46 operational standards
and minimum requirements for truck
operations.
e proposed requirements include
limiting hours of operation from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m., having
to move from the site of operation at
the end of each day, and having to use a
fixed-base “commissary kitchen” as a
central food preparation area for food
delivery, storage and waste collection.
About 30 people attended the
workshop, including three members
of the Key West Planning Board, which
postponed voting on the proposed truck
ordinance at its last meeting when
members said they wanted to attend
the workshop first. And Craig, who has
strongly advocated strict regulations of
the low-cost eateries, told the audience
he was there to listen.
“Once we’ve gotten all the questions
and digested them, we can then make
the appropriate amendments to the
food truck ordinance. We recognize that
food trucks as a dining alternative are
very popular across the state,” he told
$50,000. Will food trucks that only
have to pay an annual $500 administrative fee plus a $750 solid waste collection fee be able to park at the beach and
compete with him, Burge asked?
“at defeats the $50,000 I
spent,” he said.
Craig responded that the
proposed food truck ordinance is
for mobile eateries operating only
on private, not public, property.
“We’re here to listen to you and hear
what you have to say. You’re a lot more
familiar with operating a food truck
than we are,” Craig told the audience.
Despite Craig’s apparent willingness
to include truck operators’ ideas into
the new regulations, Owen Trepanier, a
local urban planner and development
consultant who is working with four
food truck owners, was still skeptical.
e workshop was mostly a defense of
the proposed ordinance, he said.
“ere was a lot of defensive discussion of why the ordinances need to be
written the way they were written.
What I hope will happen with a new
city planner taking over, is that they
take some time to hear what the food
truck owners have to say,” Trepanier
said, referring to the fact Craig has resigned as city planner. His last day will
be Nov. 21. n
the crowd. “We want to hear from you.”
Carl Mott, who said he is interested
in applying for a food truck license,
criticized the limited hours of operation, saying Key West seems “starved”
for small, interesting food choices. e
city should be nurturing the trucks, not
dampening enthusiasm for them,
he said.
“It comes off as very punitive, this
small, broken up set of [operating]
hours. It seems awfully over the top,”
he told Craig.
e purpose of the 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
4-8 p.m. limits are to keep food trucks
from parking at one location for long
periods of time, Craig said.
“All of a sudden, the mobile vendor
is not mobile,” he said.
One possible alternative, Craig
suggested, would be to set a maximum
number of operating hours and allow
food truck operators to choose which
hours they want to be open.
One surprising complaint at the
workshop came from existing food cart
owners, who operate on public property, such as city beaches, and which
have their own set of operating regulations. Michael Burge, who operates
“Beach Bites,” a mobile unit selling
food at Smathers Beach, said he had just
purchased a mobile vendor’s license for
ReMARCable Auction • Dec. 3
eys Federal
Credit Union
supports the 11th Annual Keys
Federal ReMARCable Table
Top Tree Auction with a contribution of $1,500. For the
past seven years, Key Federal
Credit Union employees have
also donated their time to work
the auction, ensuring success.
is year’s auction will be held
Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Key West Westin Resort and Marina. For information,
call (305) 294-6622. Inset: Diana Flenard, MARC Executive Director and
K
Scott Duszynski, Keys Federal Credit Union President & CEO.
INFO www.KeysFCU.org
6
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
COUNTY NEWS
District, teachers
reach agreement
on contract
BY SEAN KINNEY
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
ify the agreement; there are more than
600 unionized employees.
e new agreement follows years of
poor relations between district officials
and UTM leadership, which resulted in
numerous lengthy and contentious
meetings, many marked by the aggressive bargaining style of hired labor attorney Bob Norton.
e 2013-14 contract cycle lasted
more than 25 bargaining sessions spread
over a year.
“On behalf of our members, I am excited to see us reach a negotiated agreement in a more timely and effective
manner,” UTM President Holly Hummell-Gorman said.
“is agreement provides for much
deserved compensation increases for all
of our members,” she said.
Another major component of the
new deal is a switch from a step-based
salary schedule to a performance-based
schedule. at switch is a mandate from
the Florida Legislature.
| Continued on page 32
Following 18 bargaining sessions, the
Monroe County School District and
United Teachers of Monroe union have
reached an agreement on a two-year employment contract.
e two sides announced the deal,
which covers retroactively from the beginning of the 2014 school year through
the end of the 2016 school year, on Nov.
3.
e deal includes raises for all union
teachers and school-related personnel
like bus drivers, food service workers
and the like. Non-union employees including aides and office/clerical staff
previously got raises ranging between 2
percent and 5 percent of total salary.
e five-member Monroe County
School Board was to take up the teacher
contract at their Nov. 18 meeting at district headquarters on Trumbo Point in
Key West.
UTM’s membership also had to rat-
Key West Chalk Festival • Nov. 20
e third Annual Key West Chalk Festival, a performance art event where
artists use chalk as their medium and the pavement surface as their canvas, is
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 23 along the promenade adjacent to the
USCGC Ingham Museum at the Truman Waterfront. • ursday, Nov. 20,
all invited to step board the USCGC Ingham 5:30-7:30 p.m. for sunset happy
hour with live music, hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. $20 donation benefits
VNA/Hospice and USCGC Ingham Museum. Presented by Key West Art in
Public Places Board, chalk artists represent diversity of experience from novices
to world-renowned talents. Artworks completed by Saturday for 3 p.m. judging
in Adult and Young Artist categories followed by 4 p.m. awards ceremony. Saturday’s events include Artisan Sidewalk Celebration, featuring arts and crafts
booths, entertainment and a children’s chalking area. Public viewing will continue through Sunday. n INFO (305) 394-38
7
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
H EALTH U PDATE
Health Department offers reduced-cost vaccinations
BY JOHN L. GUERRA
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
No one argues that Ebola is a nightmare disease, but American doctors and
health experts worry much more about
the number of Americans influenza will
claim in a given year. e Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reports
9,632 hospitalizations related to influenza in 2013; deaths during last flu
season hovered around 6 percent but
luckily
“remained below the epidemic threshold
of 6.8 percent death rate,” the CDC
reported.
Alison Morales of the Monroe
County Health Department has a few
more reasons why Keys residents ought
to get their flu shots, which are free if
you qualify. ey are offering free and reduced price immunization for Keys’ residents interested in not getting throat
cancer or other diseases linked to bacteria and viruses.
Flu cases rise between October and
May, and flu vaccinations in past years
have reduced flu-related pediatric intensive care admissions by as much as
74 percent. e shot reduced flu-related
hospitalizations among adults older
than 50 by 77 percent.
anks to a $226,000 county grant,
low-income and uninsured residents can
get other immunizations free or reduced
rates, Morales said. Immunizations
include human papillomavirus (HPV),
influenza, and tetanus, diphtheria and
pertussis (TDaP).
e shots can be expensive for those
who have to pay full price. (HPV) shot,
costs as much as $600, Morales said.
“Anyone at 400 percent of the federal
poverty line or lower who is uninsured or
underinsured is eligible,” she said. Call
(305) 809-5653 to schedule any of these
vaccinations at locations across the Keys.
Here’s what the shots are designed
to prevent:
• HPV is very common and is transmitted through sex. irteen types can lead
to cervical cancer. Some 80 percent of all
sexually active people have it and most
that grows on the tonsils, throat, pharynx, and nasal cavity. It creates myocarditis and peripheral myopathy.
Diphtheria causes bull neck, the impossibly large swelling of the neck and glands.
• Pertussis (whooping cough) is uninterrupted coughing that kills infants. Because they can’t catch their breath, they
sometimes pass out and die from lack
of oxygen.
“Antibiotics will not stop the course
of disease,” Morales said. “It can, however, decrease contagiousness.”
don’t know it. It is linked to uncommon
cancers of the penis, head, anus and
neck.
• Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease
that affects the nervous system, leading
to muscle contractions, especially around
the neck and jaw. It can interfere with
one’s ability to breathe. Lockjaw is what
kids are warned about when they step on
a nail. Lots of bacteria in the Keys.
• Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract
infection caused by bacteria. It is characterized by fever and a pseudo-membrane
Babies are too young to be vaccinated,
so hospital workers, adults and mother
must be vaccinated so they don’t pass it
on to the new baby, Morales said. Some
80 percent of the cases in babies are
passed from adults.
e Health Department also has a
walk-in flu clinic at Roosevelt Sands
Center in Bahama Village every ursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. e
center
is at 105 Olivia St. Phone number is
(305) 809-5680. n
Helpline spreads word: suicide prevention
BY JOHN L. GUERRA
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
“We’ve always done suicide prevention, from the old to the new Helpline,
but it seems to have been lost in the
shuffle of things,” Hoover said.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Lou
Caputo, who focuses on suicide prevention at the Sheriff’s Office, is adding to
Hoover’s knowledge so she can address
audiences about the subject.
“As part of my job for Switchboard
211 Helpline of the Keys, I will be doing
outreach throughout Monroe County,”
she said. In the next nine months she’ll
address Rotary Clubs, Chambers of
Commerce, other business and fraternal
organizations, as well as schools and
churches, where pastors counsel families
of suicide victims.
Caputo will join Hoover at some of
her presentations to “talk about his experience while on the job with people who
are contemplating suicide and the families of those who have completed their
suicide,” she said.
Switchboard 211 offered Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training to the
public in May and trained AIDS Help
Inc. staff members to use the Question,
Persuade, Refer Gatekeeper protocol.
QPR teaches anyone to recognize someone thinking about suicide, to offer hope
to the distressed person and information
on where to get the person help.
It’s not easy to tell when someone is
Mary Lou Hoover — like many of us
— knows someone in Key West who has
committed suicide.
“One of my favorite bartenders and a
principal at one of our schools, each
committed suicide,” Hoover said, referring in part to Adri Anna Stewart, principal of Key West Collegiate Academy
Stewart who left a note to her family
after she shot herself in 2012.
“I’ve been doing some research and
found that in 2013, while there were two
homicides in the Keys, there were 32 suicides,” Hoover said. “And that number
took my breath away.”
Hoover, fundraising and outreach
coordinator for Switchboard 2-1-1
Helpline of e Keys, said she is reviving
Helpline’s suicide prevention efforts by
speaking publicly about the unacceptable
high rate of suicide in Monroe County.
“e old Helpline, in addition to providing 24-hour information and referral,
was primarily a suicide hotline,” Hoover
told Konk Life recently. Since becoming
part of Switchboard Miami, the original
Helpline has grown to include reassurance calls for the elderly and homebound, Alcoholics Anonymous clients
and telephone counseling for any number of crises.
8
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
thinking about suicide, Hoover said.
“I don’t think there is a single, overriding reason people take their lives,”
Hoover said. “But most suicide victims
feel despair; about 90 percent of suicide
victims have a diagnosable mental illness
such as depression. Drug or alcohol addiction often plays a part in suicide.”
Among other statistics Hoover can
cite: In 2012, the Keys had four homicides and 19 suicides; for every completed suicide, there are between eight
and 25 attempts; suicide is the 10th
leading cause of death in Florida —
more than AIDS or breast cancer.
Hoover plans to raise money for
Switchboard 211 Helpline of the Keys
with two fundraisers.
First is Aqua Idol, which will raise
money at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday until
Dec. 23 at Aqua Key West, 711 Duval
St. Contestants vie for tips, which go to
Helpline’s suicide awareness efforts.
Secondly, the 32nd Annual Jazz
Brunch at Azur Restaurant on Dec. 6
with two sessions — 10-10:30 a.m. and
noon-12:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50 and include welcome
mimosa, the chef ’s amuse-bouche, a
choice from six entrees and dessert. Call
(305) 292-2987 for reservations. When
making reservations, tell them it’s for the
Helpline brunch. n
COMMUNITY
Watergate
A Keys connection
BY MARK HOWELL
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
Ulasewicz later gained fame as the
man who delivered paper bags filled
with money to Watergate defendants.
It was this story by Gratz that
provoked a response from former Key
West resident Bud Navero, who revealed
his own coincidental connection with
the Watergate story.
Navero reported that the New York
Police Department in the 1950s and
1960s developed a detective division
of multi-lingual undercover bodyguards
assigned to root out Communists and
protect foreign and domestic heads
of state visiting New York. It was known
as the Bureau of Special Services and
Investigations (also as the Red Squad)
and served to link the NYPD with the
Secret Service and the FBI.
“My father was one of them,” Navero
declared, recounting that his mother had
once confided to him that his dad was
offered a “detail in Washington” with
the Republican Party to “work for the
President” but he’d turned it down.
is week Gratz elaborates on his
Watergate-era meeting with Ulasewicz,
who flew out to Madison from New
York to investigate Gratz’s complaint
against “dirty trickster” Donald Segretti.
Additionally, historian John Simkin,
personally known to Tim Gratz, has
reported that Ulasewicz wrote his own
book called “e President’s Private
Eye” in which he spends four pages on
his investigation of the Gratz complaint.
(Simkin also reveals that Ulasewicz
had traveled to 23 states gathering
information about Nixon’s political
opponents, including Edward Kennedy,
Edmund Muskie, Larry O’Brien and
columnist Jack Anderson, and that one
of Ulasewicz’s first tasks was to investigate the role played by Edward Kennedy
in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
Ulasewicz was told about the incident by John Ehrlichman and as a result
| Continued on page 31
Last week, Konk Life published a
story on the coincidental connection
between two Key Westers and a “bag
man” for the Committee to Re-Elect
the President (or CREEP) who came
to infamy during the culmination of
the Watergate Hearings in Washington,
D.C., back in 1973 that this year are
celebrating their 25th anniversary.
In the story, Timothy J. Gratz, today
a founding member of the Keys and
Monroe County Coalition on Human
Trafficking, was quoted as saying that in
1971, as a student at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, he came to be state
chairman of the Wisconsin College
Republicans and in that capacity met
and became friends with Karl Christian
Rove, at that time National Chairman
of the College Republicans.
Rove eventually would become a
Republican Party consultant and policy
advisor credited with the victories of
George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004
presidential campaigns, and in 2012
protested Fox News’ call of that year’s
election of Barack Obama as president.
Since then, his tactics in supporting
conservative candidates have attracted
criticism even from elements within
the Tea Party movement. (More about
Rove later.)
Gratz also revealed that in December
1971 he was approached by another
infamous character, Donald Segretti,
ultimately of Watergate fame, who
attempted to recruit him for some dirty
tricks against the Democrats. After
objecting to Segretti’s proposals, Gratz
reported him to top people in President
Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign.
e campaign then sent a man named
Anthony Ulasewicz to investigate
Gratz’s complaint against Segretti.
9
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
COMMUNITY
On Veteran’s Day, members of
Southernmost Boys & Girls
Club — Finn Blum, left, Chris
Williams, Sergio Hernandez,
Evelina Zalite, Marisol Dye and
Anais Raymond — presented a
$362.10 check to members of
Vietnam Living Memorial
group, Jerry Hughes, left, Billy
Williams, president, and Henry
Fuller.
Photo courtesy of SUSAN KENT
Boys & Girls present $362.10 check
Members of the Southernmost Boys
& Girls Club on Veterans Day presented
a check for $362.10 to members of the
Vietnam Living Memorial group along
with a plaque and a large poster card
thanking them for their service. e children had a contest with five teams competing to see which team could raise the
10
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
most money. e Orange Team won. e
Southernmost Boys & Girls Club believes in giving back to the community.
e club’s next project will be raising
money for Sydney’s Hope, Key West
High School student Sydney Hamilton’s
project to visit, play board games with,
and read to children who have cancer. n
WHAT‘S HAPPENING
Schooner Wharf Bar
Island Time Duo
Schooner Wharf Bar
202 Williams St., 292-3302
n
Thursday 1120
Island Time Duo 7-Midnight
Friday-Saturday 1121-22
Biscuit Miller & The Mix
7pm-Midnight
Biscuit Miller, one of the funkiest bass
players around, joined by Doctor
Love, Big Al Grobic, Buzz Anderson.
Biscuit’s magnetic, funky, high tempo
style won him the BMA 2012 Bass
Player of the Year. He co-wrote
“Testify” from the album “Live,” which
reached Billboard’s No. 1 album on
the blues charts. Biscuit has played
with legends like Muddy Waters and
Ike and Tina Turner. He’s also well
known for playing behind Chicago’s
legendary Lonnie Brooks.
Sunday 1123
Marty Stonley/Toko Irie 6:30-11pm
Monday 1124
The Happy Dog Band 7-11pm
Tuesday 1125
Raven Cooper 7-11pm
Wednesday 1126
Tim Hollohan 7-11pm
| Continued on page 14
Schooner Wharf Bar
Biscuit Miller & The Mix
12
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
WHAT‘S HAPPENING
| Continued from page 12
Smokin’ Tuna Saloon
4 Charles St., (305) 517-6350
n
Thursday 1120
Joal Rush 5pm
Massacoustics 9pm
Friday 1121
Nick Norman/Caffeine Carl 5pm
Massacoustics 9pm
Saturday 1122
John Creidler (Mango Men) 5pm
Caffeine Carl/Nick Norman 9pm
Sunday 1123
LeeLu 5pm
Chad Burtch & Friends 9pm
Sunset Pier
Monday 1124
Scott Kirby 5pm
Caffeine Carl/Nick Norman
9pm
Tuesday 1125
Scott Kirby 5pm
Chad Burtch & Friends
9pm
Wednesday 1126
Scott Kirby 5pm
Key Lime Pirates 9pm
Thursday 1127
Scott Kirby 5pm
Caffeine Carl/Ericson Holt
9pm
Friday-Saturday 1128-29
Nick Norman 5pm
Caffeine Carl & Friends
9pm
Sunday 1130
Leetu 5pm
Chad Burtch & Friends
9pm
Zero Duval St., (305) 296-770
n
Thursday 1120
C.W. Colt 1-4pm
Rolando Rojas 5-7pm
Friday 11121
CXL
Saturday 1122
The Doerfels 1pm
Happy Dog 4:30-7:30pm
Sunday 1123
Nina Newton Band 1pm
Robert Albury 5-7pm
Monday 1124
C.W. Colt 1-4pm
Robert Albury 5-7pm
Tuesday 1125
Tony Baltimore 1-4pm
Robert Albury 5-7pm
Wednesday 1126
LLG 4-7pm
| Continued on page 30
14
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
Scott Kirby
Key West troubadour and
songwriter — Kirby’s music
heard regularly on Jimmy
Buffett’s Margaretaville Radio
on Sirius Radio.
John Creidler
from The Mango Men
John Creidler from The Mango Men,
one of the most requested special event
bands in the Philadelphia area. The band
takes pride in its energetic and interactive
performances with originals from
“Everyday’s a Saturday” CD plus own
version of rock, pop and country.
SHORTANSWERS
BY J E F F J O H N S O N n P A U L A F O R M A N
Oh, no, this again
Cuda landed in Key West
and let the audience tour
| RALPH DE PALMA
Barry Cuda can roll his piano from gig
to gig in Key West.
“Everybody loves music.
What you really want is
for music to love you.”
Tom Waits
BY RALPH DE PALMA
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
arry Cuda (aka: St. Petey
Twig) has been a Key West
fixture for the past 30 years. While
both he and the Bill Blue Band were
touring Northern Europe in 1984, Bill
influenced Cuda to give Key West a try.
His band was breaking up, and he was
offered some piano work and a respite in
Bill Blue’s home during an intended two
B
month stop on the way to New Orleans.
e fifth generation Floridian has been
playing Key West ever since.
Cuda had been touring with Tampabased band, e Silver Kings, for more
than eight years and decided Key West
was a place where “I could be in one
place and the audience could tour.”
Born and raised in Pensacola, where
his father was a hip eye surgeon who
could have easily been an R&B musician, he listened to his dad’s 78’s and
LP’s while growing up and loved the
cool jazz and Big Band swing. While
an art major in college, he was drawn
toward an older style of music than pop,
which seemed formulated mostly for
profit.
Cuda missed the San Francisco
hippie era and arrived in Key West after
the ‘70s writers era of Tom McGuane
and Hunter S ompson. Key West
seemed more like an artist colony to
Cuda, supporting numerous theaters,
art galleries and, by the latest count,
more than 50 venues for live music.
His many talents include being a
master chef and also a music historian
that has extensively researched the roots
of Blues and Jazz. is lead to recent
music projects, including an album
“New World Blues Roots” with New
Orleans musician Alfred “Uganda”
Roberts on congas.
His favorite gig is playing at BO’s
Fish Wagon on Caroline Street. It’s small
and funky and the crowds are different
than in other venues. He has a regular
following at BO’s — the Bong Hits
for Geezer Groupies. He really enjoys
playing this gig with Kenny Fradley
| Continued on page 19
course clean up and putting
everything away afterwards. If
you do nothing but manage the
others that is still a lot of work —
and who knows, they might like
it! Family generally want to help
they just don’t know exactly what
to do. As for the needy family,
follow your heart. And the 4-day
get away with your husband —
move that to the top of another
list. Maybe even next year. Good
luck, honey.
Dear Short Answers: Every
one around me is gearing up for
the holidays and I am so not feeling it! I love my family and do
my very best to stay in touch and
hear their concerns, but the
thought of all of them banging
up against one another (not to
mention all that work) is making
me tense already — which never
brings out the best
in me. Here is what
I was thinking: I
know a needy family
— I would like to
buy a ham or a
turkey for them
Dear Short
(even that seems
Answers: Is it wrong
problematic — will
to wish that your exthey be insulted?)
boyfriend die in the
and fly someplace
most painful way
with just my huspossible? Still Angry
band for four days.
Dear Angry:
Just a fantasy really
PAULA FORMAN &
Yeah, it’s wrong. Do
— I can’t do it. PeoJEFF JOHNSON
something construcple are counting on
tive with your anger
me and plans have been made
— go for a run, learn Karate, or
months ago. What do I do with
better yet, get involved in a projthe feelings so I behave well?
ect that will do good for others.
Noreen
Dear Noreen: Good for you
for knowing how you feel — that
is step number one. Try enlisting
others in all phases of the process.
Dear Short Answers: I had
Tell everyone who is capable,
dinner
with a good friend last
what you want from them and
night
and
all he did was talk
when — make a chart and inabout
himself.
Really … all
clude shopping, menu, house
evening
Me,
me,
me. I wanted
prep, serving, clean-up, house reto scream. How do you get a
stored, etc. All these things take
person to stop doing that? Snide
work and we tend to think it’s
remarks and sarcasm did no good
just the food. Dragging in the
at all. So Bored
groceries, cleaning the house so
Dear Bored: If this is not his
that there is room for everyone,
usual
behavior, then forget about
moving chairs from all over to fit
it.
If
he
is typically all about him
around tables, cooking, serving,
— reconsider the value of the reelder care, baby care and of
lationship to you. n
Only
dreams,
darling
Bad night, or
bad Juju?
SHORTANSWERS SHORTANSWERS
Life is complicated. “Short Answersisnt. Send a question about whatever is bothering you
to [email protected] or go to www.shortanswers.net and a psychologist and sociologist will answer. A selection of the best questions appear in Konk Life.
16
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
WHAT‘S HAPPENING
TROPIC CINEMA
416 Eaton St. • 877-671-3456
WFP: Evening of Cole Porter
Week of Friday, Nov. 21, 2014
through Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014
n “A Swell Party”
8 p.m. Nov. 21-22
Put on your party clothes because
it’s time to celebrate 75 years of the
Waterfront Playhouse. Nov.21-22 will
be the kick off the 2014/15 season
with “A Swell Party,” a concert
of Cole Porter’s sophisticated music,
featuring 20 of Key West’s best.
Cole Porter is considered one of the
greatest American songwriters to have
put notes and lyrics to paper Classically
trained, he was drawn to musical theater and the elite salons around the
world, where his gorgeous melodies and
cheeky lyrics were enormously popular.
His music has never gone out of style
with recordings from Frank Sinatra,
Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald to
Sting, Elvis Costello and Lady Gaga.
He wrote the music and lyrics for the
Broadway hits “Anything Goes” and
“Kiss Me Kate,” as well as films, early
television and even the fight song for
Yale University.
Some of Cole Porter’s songs in
“A Swell Party” will include “Anything
Goes,” “I Get A Kick Out Of You,”
“Begin e Beguine,” “I’ve Got You
Under My Skin,” “You Do Something
To Me,” “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,”
“Night and Day” and many more.
“A Swell Party” will feature a cast of
musical theater talent: David Black,
Laurie Breakwell, Brian Hall, Joy
Hawkins, Denis Hyland, J. B. McLendon, Gayla Morgan, Bobby Nesbitt,
Christopher Peterson, Traci Reynolds,
Randy Roberts, Carmen Rodriguez,
Gordon Ross, Vicki Roush, Stephanie
Sander and Danny Weathers with musical direction from Robert Strickland,
and Joe Dallas on bass and Skipper
Kripitz on percussion.
e concert on the Nov. 21 includes
a post-performance party sponsored by
the Elwell family and Royal Furniture.
17
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
Tickets are $70 for this gala evening
and fancy dress is encouraged but not
required. e concert on Nov. 22 will
be $50 and features the same great
concert but no after-party.
For tickets call or go online for the
online ticketing service. You may also
call or go to the website to request a
season brochure or to buy season
subscriptions, memberships, gift
certificates (which make great
Christmas gifts) or individual tickets
to every show of the 75th Season. n
INFO
www.WaterfrontPlayhouse.org
(305) 294-5015
Rosewater (R)
Digital Presentation
Fri - Thu:
(2:00), 4:10, 6:25, 8:35
St. Vincent (PG-13)
Digital Presentation
Fri - Thu:
(2:15), 4:20, 6:35, 8:45
Birdman (R)
Digital Presentation
Fri - Thu:
(1:30), 3:50, 6:20, 8:50
Whiplash (R)
Digital Presentation
Fri - Thu:
(1:45), 4:00, 6:10, 8:25
LOCAL
OBSERVATION
Animal protector
was driving to where the boulevard takes a
sharp left and merges with the coast road.
e sight of the glittering Atlantic sucked
my attention and I dragged my eyes from
oncoming traffic to admire the horizon
of refracted sunlight and sparkles.
I
CHRISTINA
OXENBERG
LEiGH VOGEL photo
CULTURE
VULTURE
By C.S. GILBERT
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
eater, dance, art
e arts heat up
for the season
ooray! Arts season is upon
us . . . or at least things are
heating up considerably. It’s not that any
gallery I know of actually closed for the
whole summer and, of course, there was
the wonderful Summer Stage. But during the past couple of weeks there’s been
an explosion of all arts.
First, there was the opening to raves
of eatre XP’s “Poetry of Fear” at the
Red Barn; it runs through Nov. 22;
don’t miss it.
H
COMMUNITY
However, instead of awe inspiring shiny
sea, I was faced with a pair of eyes. Oily dark
eyes wide with terror. I was stunned and
nearly lost control of my car.
e tiny reptile was pressing himself flat
and hugging the windshield. In his eyes I
clearly read a heartbreaking desperation. I
steered to the side of the road, and parked.
My heart was racing with this sudden
responsibility. I slipped out as fast as I could
and rushed around to the front passenger side.
Unfortunately, my actions further terrified
en there was Dance Key West’s
emotive and narrative modern dance
concert, “After ese Messages,” starring
two superlative dancers, company
founder Kyla Piscopink (they most
recently were known as Key West
Contemporary Dance Company) and
frequent guest artist Jordan Fife Hunt.
It’s hard to believe that only two dancers
could carry the entire weight of a full,
two-act show, but this duo had the
stamina, the acting ability and,
of course, the dance skill to carry it off.
With a black box stage with a TV
screen its only adornment, they expertly
manipulated two boxes, laptops and
folding chairs and created a glimpse into
a rich relationship, with all its emotional
nuances. Fife and Mary Kay Lee of the
company were scheduled to dance at the
CoffeeMill during the upcoming Walk
on White tonight (Nov. 20). CV feels
confident to recommend in advance;
performances usually begin at 8. ere’s
no admission fee, but libations available
and donations very welcome.
And then there was the opening
of the arts council’s membership show,
“e Road Less Taken” at the Gato; this
n
the wigged out gecko, and he bound off the
windshield and wound himself into the wheel
spokes.
No! no! Get out of there! I waved excitedly
at him. He stared at me as if I might be insane
and he scooted down the tire. He was on the
ground and then the unthinkable happened,
he rushed into the traffic.
Oh no! I implored, horrified at the raised
threat level, and I ran around to herd him,
at least out of harm’s way. Mercifully, he
| Continued on page 31
time most of the artists actually paid
attention to the stated theme. It’s a fine
show, accented by a reshowing of
Sheelman’s “Hidden in Plain View,” the
large, photographic portrait series of a
selection of local homeless; the exhibit
opened to absolute cheers and even some
tears at the Studios some months ago
and has since toured on the mainland.
It’s a don’t-miss and just as powerful the
second or third viewing, although the
stairwell space is a bit limiting.
As this is membership outreach
season, director Liz Young said that the
show is still open for new entries; new
members are especially invited to submit
work on the theme. Old members who
may not have seen the invite before now
are welcome to join the show as well. It
will run through the end of the year.
Two other notable openings, large
and small, during the Friday Duval Art
Stroll: Photographic artist Jodell Roberts
enjoyed her first show at SoDu; her work
is small and exquisite. Also seasoned
local artist and watercolor instructor
Sean Callahan hosted the grand opening
of his Dog Tired Studio and Gallery
| Continued on page 31
Nov. 21
Mason Jennings to play
benefit on Stock Island
BY SEAN KINNEY
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
Singer, songwriter and internationally recognized
touring artist Mason Jennings will play an intimate
concert on Friday, Nov. 21, at Stock Island’s COAST
18
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
Rosanne Potter’s new painting,
“Blended Textures,” is prominent at the
opening of the new home of the Debra
Butler Design Studio, 612 Fleming St.
Other artists featured were Cynthia
Wynn, Lucy Paige, Scott Gruppe, Jane
Gilbert and Jay Winston. The show will
continue all year.
with ticket sales supporting Reef Relief.
Local sponsors, including the title sponsor,
the soon-to-open Marker Waterfront Resort,
are bringing the event to Key West.
Jennings, who has toured extensively throughout
the country and beyond for the past 15 years, including festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, will be
finishing up his current tour at COAST before heading back to his home port of Minneapolis.
Considering Jennings’ acclaim and reputation,
for many people, the biggest question has been,
| Continued on page 27
WHAT‘S HAPPENING
| RALPH DE PALMA
MUSIC SPOTLIGHT
| Continued from page 16
on trumpet and drummer extraordinaire
Richard Crooks.
Key West is special to Barry Cuda.
It’s small, very safe, and easy to walk
around or for Barry, roll your piano
from gig to gig. Live music abounds,
with a variety of patrons who support a
large variety of music.
Once while Cuda was playing at
Sloppy Joe’s, a woman came up to him
with an urn containing her brother’s
ashes. She explained her brother was a
big fan. His will requested that his remains be taken around to his favorite
“watering holes.” She wanted to know
if she could sit the urn on Cuda’s piano
while he played a song. As requested,
Barry got rowdy and played like Jerry
Lee with his elbows and feet. e urn
vibrated off the piano and landed on the
first table just as people had been served
their dinner. e urn broke and ashes
were all over their conch fritters. As the
lady tried to scrape up some of her
brother, Cuda just kept playing. n
19
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
Old hospital becomes halcyon homes
by C. S. GILBERT
KONK LIFE REAL ESTATE WRITER
onk Life has
featured a number
of historic homes in this real
estate section, as recently as last
week. But none of them compare,
narratively, with 918 Southard St.,
the original dePoo Hospital. From
the early 1900s, a number of
private hospitals were opened in
Key West, according to
keyshistory.org; the 34-bed one
founded by
Dr. Julio
dePoo was
built in
1958, a
two-story,
cinderblock
structure
at 908-918
Southard.
Now a
sturdy and handsome building,
with a third story and stucco
added during its development in
1985-86, the
old hospital now houses the
18 upscale condominiums that
comprise Southard Square. Unit
204 is a two bedroom, two bath,
two balcony home with soaring
ceilings, skylights and the best
view of all, according to listing
agent Everett Watkins, who once
owned a condo in the association
and said he regretted selling it.
Southard Square is lushly
landscaped, with foliage-shrouded
brick pathways and decking. The
large, heated pool is housed in a
walled, decked area containing a
clubhouse with a full kitchen for
entertaining as well as changing
rooms for men and women. There
is also an outdoor shower nearby.
Unit 204 is accessed via a
doorway and staircase from
Southard, as well as by a back
stairway convenient to a gate
opening to trash and recycling
containers and an assigned offstreet
parking
space.
Watkins
pointed
out that
residential
spots on
Southard
are always
available,
which
was certainly true during our
afternoon tour. There is also a
handsome front gate with
mailboxes and an intercom, plus
an interior alcove for parking
bicycles. The back stairs also
access a winding path through
the park-like grounds to the
main gate.
In the unit, a long, quite wide
entrance hall is broken first by
access to a bedroom and bath,
then by a closet containing a topof-the-line stacked washer/dryer.
Finally it opens up into a grand
space containing the kitchen/
living/dining area. The generous,
informal dining counter dividing
From the curb, Southard Square is the picture of elegant simplicity.
The large, heated, community pool and clubhouse center the lush grounds.
20
www.konklife.com • November 20-26, 2014
Note the generous counter/dining bar and the lovely, pale turquoise tiles in the
kitchen.
Wide glass French doors opening to one of two balconies contribute of the
treehouse effect.
A graceful, spiral staircase leads to the unit's second floor.
The first floor bedroom could be used as a guest room, a den or even a master
bedroom for one-level living.
the great room is tiled in a soothing
pastel referencing the sparkling
turquoise pool. The garden wall is
almost all glass French doors, opening
onto a nice-sized balcony offering
that “best view” of the pool and
grounds. Watkins called it “unusual”
to have “this much land in a condo”
association and noted that fees were
“very low.”
Up a spiral staircase is a truly
are, of course, storm shutters.
Near to Solares Hill, no flood
insurance is required.
While the spaces are lovely, some
of the charm of the current home
must be attributed to the décor, an
eclectic collection of tropical rattan
and some exquisite antiques, such as
the large cabinet in the living room;
these may be available for sale
separately.
breathtaking master suite, containing
both a bath with a tub and two
separate sitting areas, one of which
could easily be made into a large
walk-in closet. There is also that extra
balcony beyond another wall of glass,
which produced a heady feeling that
the condo was a near-silent, secure
treehouse high above the hubbub of
daily life. The thick walls of the
structure ensure the quiet and there
21
www.konklife.com • November 20-26, 2014
While this would be a wonderful
property anywhere, 918 Southard has
location, location, location. Situated
in the heart of Old Town Key West, it
is walking or biking distance to
everywhere — from the old Armory at
the top of the street to Truman Annex
and Ft. Zachary Taylor at the other
end. Since it’s only about 1.5 miles
across Old Town from the Atlantic to
Continued on next page.
Old hospital becomes halcyon homes
Continued
the Gulf, all the fabulous restaurants
and entertainment venues are easily
accessible; closest are Mangia, Mangia
(only one-half block), Michaels, Cafe
Sole and Azur and down the street are
Marquesa, Virgilios, the San Carlos,
St. Pauls — a popular concert venue
— and countless night clubs, bars,
art galleries, the Historic Seaport
and the Fleming Street Library.
In other words, as well as being a
halcyon refuge with almost no
discernable intrusion of city noise,
the location is perfect.
This extraordinary condo is offered
by Preferred Properties. Contact
Everett Watkins at (305) 304-4269.
Konk Life welcomes subjects
for other articles about Keys homes
currently for sale. Contact
Guy deBoer at (305) 296-1630 or
(305) 766-5832 or email
[email protected].
High above one of two sitting areas, syklights accent and brighten the
huge upstairs bedroom suite . . .
. . .as does the second balcony high amidst the trees.
22
www.konklife.com • November 20-26, 2014
1
2
3
4
Featured Home Locations
5
6
3
4
Key Haven
4th St
1
Big Coppitt
Key
2
Stock Island
Featured Homes – Viewed by Appointment
Map # Address
#BR/BA
Listing Agent
Phone Number
Ad Page
2601 S. Roosevelt Blvd., 204C, Key West
3BR/2BA
Dawn Thornburgh, Beach Club Brokers, Inc.
23
2
305-294-8433
800-545-9655
24 Jade Dr., Unit 10, Big Coppitt
2BR/2BA
Cindy Kaye, Engel & Völkers Florida Keys
23
3
305-731-5000
305-394-4750
1317-A Catherine St., #A, Key West
2BR/2BA
Frank Kirwin, Preferred Properties Key West
305-294-3040
305-304-5253
23
4
1522 Patricia St., Key West
4BR/3BA
Everett Watkins, Preferred Properties Key West
305-304-4269
23
5
3735 Eagle Ave., Key West
3BR/2BA
Kent Ducote, Doug Mayberry Real Estate
305-292-6155
25
6
1301 Newton St., Key West
3BR/2BA
Kent Ducote, Doug Mayberry Real Estate
305-292-6155
25
1
24
www.konklife.com • November 20-26, 2014
JUST LISTED
JUST LISTED
JUST SOLD!!!
Two office locations
to serve you:
MLS #120621 Waterfront Cudjoe Key
3 Bed/2Bath, 1,508 S.F. – $524,500
DARLENE THOMAS 305-304-1043
SEE
MORE ON OUR
MLS #120638 Waterfront Big Coppitt
2 Bed/2Bath, 1,034 S.F. – $455,000
JIM SMITH 304-304-243
MLS #120029 – SOLD $253,000
Congratulations
Roberta Mira!
WEBSITE: FLORIDAKEYSREALESTATECO .COM
1824 Flagler Ave., Key West, FL 33040
Office: (305) 296-4422
507B South St., Key West, FL 33040
Office: (305) 292-1922
Toll Free: (866) 715-4422
E-Mail: [email protected]
Key West Association of REALTORS®
keywestrealtors.org
Phone (305) 296-8259
Listing Agency
Lower Keys
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Dolberry Realty
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
American Caribbean
Bascom Grooms Real Estate
Century 21 Schwartz
Key West
Key West Realty
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Preferred Properties
Truman & Co.
Preferred Properties
Doug Mayberry Real Estate
Sellstate Island Properties
Truman & Co.
List Price
Selling Agency
Sold Date
Coco Plum Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Dolberry Realty
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Seaport Realtors
Beach Club Brokers
Century 21 Schwartz
11/6/14
11/7/14
11/10/14
11/10/14
11/7/14
11/7/14
11/10/14
11/12/14
11/13/14
11/7/14
Seaport Realtors
Anchor Line Realty
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Truman & Co.
Truman & Co.
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Truman & Co.
Coldwell Banker Schmitt
Bascom Grooms Real Estate
11/7/14
$ 280,000.00
$ 280,000.00
28 Merganser Ln
11/5/14
$ 422,200.00
$ 347,550.00
2906 Fogarty Ave
11/10/14
$ 202,700.00
$ 305,550.00
1313 8th St
11/12/14
$ 998,000.00
$ 962,500.00
615 Southard St
11/7/14
$ 349,000.00
$ 329,000.00
812 Fleming St #7
11/10/14
$ 759,000.00
$ 700,000.00
326 William St
11/12/14
$1,195,000.00
$1,175,000.00
617 Southard St
11/5/14
$ 339,000.00
$ 305,000.00
1122 Thompson St
11/10/14
$ 287,000.00
$ 275,000.00
2509 Fogarty St
Based on information provided by the KWAR MLS from 11/05/2014 to 11/13/2014
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
219,900.00
89,000.00
78,000.00
425,000.00
435,000.00
199,900.00
497,000.00
649,000.00
695,000.00
525,000.00
Sold Price
Fax (305) 296-2701
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
219,500.00
62,500.00
78,000.00
395,000.00
387,000.00
175,000.00
497,000.00
600,000.00
677,500.00
525,000.00
Street # Street Address
31124
31574
29859
1657
803
701
11
24
19
5020
Avenue E
Avenue B
Overseas Hwy #20
Lantana Ln
Indies Rd
Spanish Main Dr #114
Diamond Dr
Ventana Ln
Key Haven Terr
5th Ave #4
Good Deeds sponsored by
5
Island
Built
Description
Bdrms
Wtrfrnt
MM
Big Pine Key
Big Pine Key
Big Pine Key
Big Pine Key
Ramrod Key
Cudjoe Key
Big Coppitt
Big Coppitt
Key Haven
Stock Island
1963
1960
N/A
1994
2002
1989
1970
2009
1966
2008
Single Family
Mobile Home
Lots
Single Family
Single Family
Mobile Home
Single Family
Single Family
Single Family
Single Family
2
2
0
3
2
1
3
3
2
3
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
31
31
30
29
27.5
23
10
10
4
3
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
Key West
1995
1963
1959
1997
1933
1950
1920
1953
1938
Townhouse
Single Family
Single Family
Single Family
Condo
Single Family
Single Family
Single Family
Single Family
2
3
2
2
1
3
3
3
2
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
6
THE
HOWELINGS
What’s on up here
BY MARK HOWELL
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
n last week’s column we took a look,
out of simple curiosity, at cultural
tourism in the state of Nevada, from its
museum of thermonuclear bomb testing to the history of burlesque.
is week, we take a look at the cultural scene here in southeastern Connecticut, which is where we now are, to
check out how it compares with Key
West.
Topping the announcements in a
“regional events” column of publisher
Brian Conklin’s excellent monthly Post
Road Review — motto: “anks to our
advertisers, this magazine is FREE” —
is the following item:
“Full Speed into the Nuclear Age”
(can there be no end to that?) presented
at the Groton Public Library and subsidized by a grant from Connecticut Humanities to record and tell the stories of
employees who were at the Electric
Boat Company as the Cold War escalated in the 1960s. More than 20 Electric Boat employees, tradespeople,
draftsmen, engineers and managers
have been interviewed so far, including
Jane Manly of New London, only the
second woman draftsman to be hired
I
C O M M U N I T Y
MASON JENNINGS
| Continued from page 18
how did this come about? How is Mason
Jennings playing in Stock Island?
Explains COAST Founder Billy
Kearins, “We did a small event with Reef
Relief at our place last year, and it went
really well, so when they came back to
me wanting to do something bigger, my
reaction was, ‘all you can handle!’
I pitched Mason as a great fit for a
concert dealing with an environmental
by Electric Boat, and Michael W.
Toner, who joined EB as a test engineer
in 1965 and rose through the ranks to
become president.
At Old Lyme’s Phoebe Griffin Noyes
Library this month is “An Education in
the Grotesque: e Gargoyles of Yale
University,” a talk on the artistic, historic, architectural and, yes, humorous
significance of those gargoyles in communicating the identity of Yale as a
place of learning and enlightenment.
Continuing a “Connecticut at
Work” film series at the Groton library
is a 1956 movie, “e Man in the Gray
Flannel Suit,” starring Gregory Peck
and Jennifer Jones, based on the Sloan
Wilson novel about a Westport businessman’s search for identity in the
postwar American Dream.
And for anksgiving here in the
southeastern Connecticut communities
there is “e Pilgrim’s First Year in
America,” an author talk with Glenn
Cheney at the Niantic Library. His
book is not about a holiday but a year
of suffering, struggle, courage and
death that a few dozen surviving pilgrims endured for which they would ultimately bow their heads in thanks. It
all began with102 women and children
packed into a dim, wet space below the
main deck of the Mayflower as it set
out on a terrifying 66-day crossing of
the Atlantic.
Moving right along, another firstclass freebie publication in this part of
the Constitution State is editor/designer David L. Pottie’s monthly Sound
Waves, which covers local music events.
Its interactive web site can be viewed
on Android and IOS apps, on PCs,
Macs, Netbooks, tablets, iPads,
iPhones, Kindles and other e-readers,
while sharing pages on Facebook and
Twitter that average more than 3,000
hits per day — and includes its advertisers for free on such outlets.
Meanwhile, right now, the very top
name in arts and entertainment as a
whole in this corner of Connecticut
(state motto: “Still revolutionary”) just
has to be writer Wally Lamb, 64, author
of the hilarious and deeply sympathetic
novel “She’s Come Undone” that’s told
in the voice of young Dolores Price as
she rolls into adulthood at 257 pounds
still determined to really go belly up. In
the late 1990s, Lamb was director of
the Writing Center at Norwich Free
Academy in these parts and then taught
creative writing in the English Department at the University of Connecticut.
His follow-up hit happens to be called
issue because of his past work with e
Surfrider Foundation and Patagonia.
From there it was really just a matter
of knocking on the right doors from
management and agents to sponsors and
support staff. Needless to say, we’ve been
really grateful for the response all
around.”
Doors will open 5 p.m. Nov. 21 with
local favorites, e Skank, opening the
show at 6:30 p.m. Jennings will take the
stage at 8 p.m. Food and drink will be
available, and a shuttle bus system
to the event is in the works.
e very last of the tickets are
available online, www.coastprojects.com
or pick them up at Reef Relief, 631
Greene St. n
n
Nov. 28-30
Art! Key West
ird annual ART! Key West! is a
whimsical tour around an artist paradise
anksgiving weekend, Nov. 28-30, with
more than 50 events. Free, but also VIP
tickets for special events.
Returning is “Giants in the City,” inflatable art sculptures “popping up”
throughout Key West. New this year is
27
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
“I Know is Much Is True” (no relation to “All is True,” our serial novel
currently appearing in Konk Life). n
*****
Quote for the Week
Toward dawn we shared with you
Your hour of desolation,
e huge lingering passion
Of your unearthly outcry,
As you swung your blind head
Toward us and laboriously opened
A bloodshot, glistening eye,
In which we swam with terror and
recognition.
— from the “Wellfleet Whale” by
Stanley Kunitz (quoted in “She’s
Come Undone” by Wally Lamb)
MARK
HOWELL
the International Sand Art Competition
by Sand-Isle at Casa Marina, a
Waldorf Astoria resort. Black Friday Fine
Art Fair at Westin pier Friday with VIP
private brunch and a Canine Couture
fashion show by Florida Keys SPCA featuring adoptable dogs. Saturday, gallery
openings and VIP events include a culinary demonstration by Chef Beaumount
at Casa Marina and performances from
Fringe eater and e Waterfront Playhouse. Festival concludes Sunday with
the Key West Outdoor Artisan Market
at the Restaurant Store. n
INFO www.artskeywest.com
LOCAL SERIES
n All is true: The Naked Girl in the Tree House
Best of the drive-in
A Serial Novel by
MARK HOWELL
CHAPTER IX
e next pages of our madness in
crossing the United States as two Brits
traveling as the Rolling Stones would
require a quartet of decisions, a couple
of great discoveries and, as either of us
could have prophesied for a dime,
disaster.
e decisions were radical: Yes to
Pike’s Peak in Colorado. No to the
Grand Canyon in Arizona. Yes to
Bryce Canyon in Utah. No to Las
Vegas in Nevada.
“See here, om One,” declared my
companion David Carpenter with all
the weight of the one who was most behind the wheel of our Plymouth Savoy.
“We don’t have the kind of money to
lose it all in Vegas.”
“And the Grand Canyon’s just a hole
in the ground that’s 14 miles long,” I
said, anxious to be done with all of this
and reunited with my girl Mary back
in England, the real world of the
real Stones.
Pike’s Peak turned out to be a
physical high point, of course. Fourteen
thousand-feet-high in fact, one of 50
or so peaks in Colorado of that height,
this one named after a fellow called
Zebulon Pike, Jr. e Arapaho name,
we were told, was heey-otoyoo.
And Bryce Canyon, too, was beyond
words, billions of little pink towers
called hoodoos poking up out of the
Paunsaugunt Plateau like nothing we’d
ever seen or heard of. All we could tell
our pals back home was, “Go there.”
Now, we were free at last to head
north to Wyoming so we could tell
those pals that we’d seen with our own
bare eyes the magical townships of
Cheyenne and Laramie. Magical
mainly because “Laramie” was an
American TV program shown on BBC
in Britain that featured two ranch part-
ners who ran a stagecoach operation.
Not necessarily a favorite of Mary’s,
but everyone else would be speechless
to learn that we’d actually been
to such mythical cities.
First the disaster. It occurred in the
outer reaches of Denver where we decided to attend, for the first time in our
lives, the phenomenon known as a
drive-in movie. Nothing else like it in
the whole wide world, it was a concept
that cruelly tempted us for its unlikeliness, its wild promise. Much like a
striptease, whatever that might be.
It was indeed a dose of oxygen. e
newly released film showing in this
western suburb was the black-andwhite “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I
Learned to Love the Bomb,” by Stanley
Kubrick whose dark humor would, we
quickly realized, remain a spectacle of
Technicolor fireworks for the rest of
our lives.
Both David and I, sitting side by
side on the wide front seat of the
Plymouth, were so gob smacked that
neither of us paid much attention as I
eventually reversed out of there and just
took off for the exit. It was a maneuver
that cracked the passenger window in
two while the speaker formerly attached to the top of that window now
flopped off its post.
e car’s window was a goner. So
was the theater’s speaker. Oh, the
horror! We shamefully hightailed it out
of there.
And so it was that on the road to
Cheyenne and Laramie we were pulled
over by a Wyoming motorcycle cop
who aimed his gun at us and yelled a
question about what the hell kind of
fight we’d been in.
No answer from us.
Hey, the battle of the drive-in…?
“You boys are coming with me,” we
heard for the umpteenth time.
Could the Rolling Stones trick save
us once more? n
Next week: No.
28
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
e Star of anksgiving
Roasted turkey
BY KERRY SHELBY
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
he anksgiving turkey…
centerpiece of the feast, the
ultimate challenge for the home cook,
right? Well, not the last part. Roasting a
turkey is just as easy as roasting a
chicken, really. urkeys are lean, so
drying the meat is a risk, but that is
easily managed with a little attention.
Relax, hosts and hostesses! e turkey is
the easy part! Here are a few easy tips.
Take away some timing stress by buying a fresh turkey. Defrosting a frozen
turkey adds one more variable as it may
take longer than you think to thaw.
Avoid the 20 pound monsters and go
with a 8-10 pound bird. If you need to
feed more people, cook two of those and
you will get better results.
I believe in brining, which is basically
tenderizing the meat with a salt. You can
wet brine by mixing 1 cup salt and ½
cup sugar with 1 gallon of water and
soaking the turkey in the refrigerator or a
large cooler overnight. An alternative is
to dry brine, rubbing the turkey all over
with salt and refrigerating uncovered
T
overnight. Either will result in tender
and moist meat.
at’s it! Toss some aromatics of your
choice into the cavity and cook, allowing
about 15-20 minutes per pound.
Classic Roast Turkey
with Mushroom Pan Gravy
Remove the brined turkey from the
refrigerator or cooler and let sit at room
temperature for 1 hour. Heat the oven
to 450.
Rub a 8-10 pound turkey all over
with either duck fat or butter. Insert a
halved lemon along with two peeled garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary into
the cavity. Grind black pepper all over
and truss the legs and wings so that they
are close to the body. Place the turkey on
a rack in a roasting pan and put in the
oven, lowering the temperature to 350.
Roast undisturbed for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, melt 1 stick of butter,
add ½ cup white wine and 1 tablespoon
minced shallots and keep warm. After
the turkey has cooked for an hour, baste
with the butter, along with any pan drippings. Baste again 30 minutes later and
rotate the pan. Cook without basting for
about another 30 minutes or until an
instant-read thermometer inserted
between the thigh and the body reads
160 degrees. Remove the turkey
to a cooling rack and let rest at least
30 minutes before carving.
While the turkey rests, make a simple
pan gravy. Place the roasting pan over
two burners on high heat. Deglaze the
29
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
pan with ¼ cup white wine, add 1 cup
chicken stock and remove from heat. In a
skillet, cook 8 ounces chopped mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter until
they brown. Add 1 tablespoon flour and
stir, then slowly add the reserved pan
sauce and reduce by a third. Season with
salt, pepper and serve separately with
carved turkey.• Serves: 8-10 (at least!)
Wine A hearty California Zinfandel,
like Turley or Ravenswood
Kerry Shelby is a food enthusiast, cook, forager, adventurer and a hungry
consumer of life. He is creative director and
host of Kerry Shelby’s Key West Kitchen, a
food and lifestyle brand
appearing at kwkitchen.com and on the Key
West Kitchen channel on Youtube.
K E Y W E S T L OU
COMMENTARY
tParrot Headswith an island-style
tropical flavor.
J.W. Jones Band 10pm-2am
Canada’s top touring blues band
Putin the winner so far
La Te Da
BY LOUIS PETRONE
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
during the time of the meeting.
e sanctions are having a crippling
effect on the Russian economy. Russia
utin invades Ukraine. He
announced that Chinese lenders have
says it is neither him nor
agreed to provide Russia’s state Sberbank
Russia. He lies. e world knows he lies.
$2 billion in financing. e money is
He gets away with it.
intended to make up for the European
I suspect Putin’s move into Ukraine
financing cut off by sanctions.
was the beginning of a new cold war.
Now comes another announcement
What has transpired since suggests it.
last week. Russia and Iran have signed a
Recently, former Russian President Gornew partnership agreement to build eight
bachev said the world was on the brink of nuclear reactors for Iran. is announcea new cold war. He even went so far as to ment came days before the Nov. 24 deadsay the cold war may already have begun. line for an Iranian decision regarding a
e United States and several other
nuclear pact with the United States and
nations imposed severe sanctions on
five European countries. While Obama’s
Russia for the Ukraine invasion. Russia
people were negotiating for a deal to limit
hurt. Its economy was in trouble.
Iran’s nuclear efforts, Putin arranges to
Putin reacted.
build eight new nuclear reactors for Iran.
In May, Putin announced a signed
Putin is doing well on the world stage.
agreement with China. Russia will build
In six months, he has come up with the
a new gas line from Russia into China.
major deals mentioned.
China will buy gas from Russia for
What has Obama accomplished?
40 years. is agreement came at a time
Obama came out of the Asia meetings
when Putin was being threatened with
with an agreement with China to curb
a cutback in gas purchases from certain
fossil fuels. e world’s two biggest polEuropean nations.
luters are the United States and China.
Putin did not flinch. Even though gas
Per the agreement, the United States
exports make up 75 percent of Russia’s
has to show performance results four
exports. He merely went and
years before China. is is not
made a deal with the country
a you show me yours and I
no one thought it possible to
will show you mine situation.
make such a deal. China.
Additionally from what I have
A major Asian meeting
been able to garner, the agreewas conducted in China last
ment does not contain bindweek. Every one there. Ining language. It is phrased in
cluding Putin and Obama.
what the parties intend to do.
Putin announces a second
Concededly, the sanctions
big gas deal with China. is
are
working. However, Putin
LOU
one a 30-year deal whereby
has
refused to buckle under.
PETRONE
Russia builds a second gas
Instead,
he has come out
COLUMNIST
line into China and China
swinging and accomplished
agrees to buy $400 billion worth of gas
several big things. Obama has the sancover 30 years. is second agreement
tions and a wishy washy environmental
will make China Russia’s biggest gas
agreement with China to show for his
customer. Bigger than all the European
efforts.
nations combined that Russia now
If this were a heavyweight champisupplies.
onship boxing match, Putin thus far is
Immediately, Putin was the man
decidedly the winner. It is time for
of the hour at the Asia meeting.
Obama to get up off the canvas and
Putin makes another announcement
come out swinging. n
P
FANTASY FEST NUDITY
| Continued from page 5
participants inside the Fantasy
zone. Clements also suggested expanding nearby neighborhood
watch groups to alert local police
when nude participants wander
into their area.
“If they see something really
bad, make sure they know the channels to report it,” Clements said,
referring to local watch groups.
“ere needs to be a clear definition of this is the Fantasy zone. is
is a neighborhood. Cover your ass
up,” said Greg Daniels, a Fest
Friends organizer.
Key West City Commissioner
Jimmy Weekley also attended the
Fest Friends meeting and urged the
group to continue its efforts. ere
is strong support on Facebook to
clamp down on the nudity, he said.
“It can be changed,” Weekley
said, referring to the Fantasy Fest
contract that is up for renewal in
June. “We can change any aspect
of the contract. We just need four
votes to make the change.” n
WHAT‘S
HAPPENING
| Continued from page 14
Hog’s Breath Saloon
400 Front St., (305) 296-4222
n
Thursday-Sunday 1120-23
Ronnie & Bobby 5:30-9:30pm
Highway 61 10pm-2am
Monday-Sunday 1124-30
Jimmy Parrish 5:30-9:30pm
A native Floridian, Jimmy has
been singing and playing for 27
years, performing the East Coast
since 1990. Formed The Ocean
Waves Band in 2000, entertaining
30
www.konklife.com • NOVEMBER 20-26, 2014
1125 Duval St., (305) 296-6706
n
Thursday 1120
Piano Bar: Dave Bootle, 9pm
Friday 1121
Cabaret: Christopher Peterson’s
EYECONS, 9pm
Piano Bar: Dave Bootle, 9pm
Saturday 1122
Cabaret: Christopher Peterson’s
EYECONS, 9pm
Piano Bar: Larry Smith, 9pm
Sunday 1123
Tea Dance/ DJ Rude Girl, 4pm
Piano Bar:
Black & Skabuddah, 9pm
Monday 1124
Piano Bar: Dave Bootle, 9pm
Tuesday 1125
Cabaret: Randy Roberts
LIVE! 9pm
Piano Bar: Dave Bootle, 9pm
Wednesday 1126
Piano Bar: Dave Bootle, 9pm
McConnell’s Irish Pub
900 Duval St., (949) 777-6616
n
Mondays 8-11pm —
Eric from Philly
Tuesdays
8-11pm — Fiona Malloy
Wednesdays
8-11pm — Tom Taylor
Thursdays
7-9pm — Trivia Mania;
9pm-1am —
Chris Rehm/Open Mic
Fridays 8pm-Midnight —
Love Lane Gang
Saturdays 9pm-1am —
Eric from Philly
Sundays (Brunch) 11am-2pm
Rick Fusco/Oscar Deko/
Kerri Dailey
9pm-2am —
Industry Appreciation
Pinchers
712 Duval St., (305) 440-2179
n
Carl Hatley 1-5pm
Bobby Enloe 1-5pm
Carter Moore 7-11pm
THE BIG STORY
WATERGATE
Holy Jubilation!
| Continued from page 9
was one of the first to arrive in
Chappaquiddick and spent most
of the next few months investigating the case.)
Ulasewicz’s book reports that
when Gratz first made his complaint against Segretti to Karl
Rove, who then put him in touch
with top officials at CREEP, not
even the highest officials at
CREEP were aware of Segretti’s
work. Segretti was being “run” out
of the White House by Dwight
Chapin, an assistant to top Nixon
lieutenant H. R. Haldeman.
CREEP found out about Segretti only after Gratz’s complaint
was investigated.
Gratz still finds it hard to believe that intelligent people in the
White House (who include
Chapin for sure and perhaps
Haldeman) would have sanctioned
Segretti’s activities that could have
cost Nixon his re-election bid if
he’d been caught before the election.
A footnote by Gratz on Karl
Rove: “When I was elected chair
of the Wisconsin College Republicans, I worked with Rove who was
then executive director of the College Republican National Committee, and he and I became fast
friends. Back then I remember
Karl, who was six-foot-five, to be
pencil thin. He ran a leadership
training school in Wisconsin Dells
in the summer of 1971 but never
suggested any campaign work that
could be considered questionable.
It was all organizational nuts and
bolts.” n
LOCAL OBSERVATION
| Continued from page 18
responded, and dashed past me
and towards the beach.
I was already shaking from anxiety, but I pursued him so that he
settled far from the busy road. See-
BY RICK BOETTGER
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
ing me pursue him, he hurried
faster and sped up the squat sea
wall, where he stopped, and there
he caught his breath.
I was panting, too, as much from
fright, and I held out my hand to
him, and spoke in a soft voice, “If
you calm down, I could take you
home.”
An impossible standoff.
I got in my car and lowered the
windows. I frowned at my tiny
combat buddy. As I drove off, I
saw him watch me pull away.
Guilt riddled me. n
CULTURE VULTURE
| Continued from page 18
at 1011 Whitehead St. A huge
crowd enjoyed wine, water and
nibbles along with a variety of fine
paintings, amazing photography
and woodcuts by Callahan and
three artist friends. He will also be
holding periodic classes in the studio. Phone (802) 989-5910 for
details.
Finally, the South Florida Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 12
opened a season that will include
50 concerts and other musical
events, President Jacqueline Lorber
announced. e opener, “Expressive Virtuosity,” was all that and
more. Local fave Zuell Bailey
soloed on cello in the Prokofiev;
guest conductor Piotr Gajewski
stepped in for Maestra Alfonso,
sidelined by a wrist injury; Bailey
and he and the orchestra practically tore the roof off the Tennessee Williams eater and
earned the most sustained applause I’ve heard in years, anywhere. Surely our music maven
Harry Schroeder will tell you all
about it.
at’s all for now. Gotta fly! n
’m going to be singing a couple
of songs, big songs, that need some
’splaining. Also I am bursting with so
much enthusiasm I can’t think of anything
else to share with you.
e new Keys Chorale has its big
holiday show at the college coming up,
Dec. 5, and I’ve got a solo in it. We were
allowed to choose our own songs to audition, and I chose something I’d love to
hear if I were in the
audience, and which I,
as the performer, will
love practicing a thousand times. I couldn’t
narrow it down to a
single choice, so I’m
doing a short medley
of two.
No. 1 was easy:
“O Holy Night,” one
RICK
of the most beautiful
B O E T T G E R songs ever and my
C O L U M N I S T personal Christmas
favorite. I’m doing the
first verse. e second song I found while
researching other holiday favorites: “In
Dulci Jubilo” (“Good Christian Men,
Rejoice”). I’m going to sing the first
verse three times.
at’s because the song has a remarkable history. It was composed in 1328 by a
German mystic who heard angels singing
it, and he joined them in a dance. Originally, it was in German and Latin. In the
1800s, a version in Latin and English
became popular. Today, we usually sing
the loose all-English translation: In dulci
jubilo means “in sweet rejoicing,” making
me wonder how the “men” snuck into
the title.
So, I’ll sing the version you know first,
then the same verse in Latin and English,
and then again in the original German
and Latin. e German mattered. My
Italian and French are weak by soloist
standards, but I learned my German
when I was young enough to pick up
the pronunciation.
I
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en Will Johnson, our superb young
pianist, will bridge us into “O Holy
Night.” e first song is peppy, jubilant,
dancing in the streets in celebration. “O
Holy Night” expresses a desperate relief
at salvation. e first delights in rejoicing,
singing, the manger, our heart’s joy, sunshine, the mother’s lap. e second remembers sin and error, no worth to the
soul, a weary world, leading to falling on
your knees in wonder at your salvation.
In the first song, every word is happy
and light. In the second, I feel an old
agony washed away by a blessed relief. It
is a wonderful range of emotion and, hey,
that is the essence of music. e best
advice I got on singing with emotion was,
oddly, from an oboist who used our guest
apartment when he was playing in our
symphony (we put up visiting musicians).
He says every note you practice, whether
on an oboe or vocally, has to have all the
emotion you want it to convey in the
performance. Otherwise you’re practicing
singing words and notes, not music.
So I am forced to do a wonderful thing
when practicing my medley: Feeling, over
and over again, these complex and rich
emotions of overwhelming joy and desperate, reverent relief. By the way, for my secular readers, Christmas also celebrates the
rebirth of the sun, and I think of the natural and nativist implications of the season
when singing, another layer of emotional
complexity driving the meaning.
I had a major oops! at the audition. I
brought a version of “O Holy Night” that
only jumps a fifth in the last “di-VINE”
instead of the full octave that you are used
to hearing at the end of the third verse. I
could hit that note in the key I brought,
but it would sound clearly like I was making an effort, and that is a distraction. e
most charged notes must be about the
emotion, not, whew, the singer hit the
pitch. My goal in performing this medley
for you is to have you forget about me
singing, and to hear these great songs in
their glorious emotional splendor, as if for
the first time.
| Continued on page 32
THE LOWER KEYS
Women voters
league organizes
speakers bureau
RICK BOETTGER
| Continued from page 31
COUNTY NEWS
| Continued from page 7
SPECIAL TO KONK LIFE
e League of Women Voters of the Lower
Keys is organizing a Speakers Bureau to provide local organizations with speakers on
range of topics important to Key West, e
Lower Keys and Florida.
“e issues affecting our local communities, state and nation are complex and laced
with conflicting information,” said Linda Grist
Cunningham, chapter vice president and chair
of the Speakers Bureau. “Our speakers utilize
non-partisan studies and positions to explore
these often controversial issues.”
League speakers are knowledgeable on specific issues and can also serve as facilitators to
moderate an organization’s panels, community
meetings, forums and debates.
“We believe that an educated, contextual
understanding of the issues ensures an informed electorate and provides a path to better
government,” Cunningham said.
e Speakers Bureau offers speakers with
expertise in these areas:
• Government in Florida: Florida Constitution, Election Law, Redistricting
• Education in Florida: Charter Schools
• Social Policy in Florida: Immigration
• Sustainability and Natural Resources: Land
use, sea level rise, coastal management, Environmental protection, waste management,
water resources.
Women’s Suffrage
To schedule a presentation or secure a
moderator, contact Linda Grist
Cunningham at (305) 294-3066 or
[email protected]. ere is no charge for
league services.
Speakers Bureau members are
prepared to present information on all of our
topics. In addition, several league members
have specific topic expertise:
• Joan Wallin: Redistricting and charter
schools • Diane Johnson: Sustainability and
natural resources • Jane Newhagen: Immigration • Connie Gilbert: Women’s suffrage n
Instead of receiving raises incrementally based on time elapsed and
professional certification, teacher
salary will, to some extent, be based
on student standardized test score
and evaluations.
“is was a much improved
process to the credit of both sides
and represents a significant step forward in terms of our labor relations
and implementation of an innovative performance-based salary
schedule,” Superintendent Mark
Porter said.
Porter led the negotiations representing the School District interests.
In the last negotiation cycle,
Porter attempted to use a $1.4 million teacher raise pool to essentially
buy back a seven-day employee furlough program that saved the district about $1.7 million each year.
Gov. Rick Scott made the teacher
raises the centerpiece of his education budget but because the Keys
are considered property rich, 90 percent of the raise money came from
local taxpayers.
Porter received guidance from
Commissioner of Education Pam
Stewart that his plan was not in line
with the gubernatorial design.
Despite those past struggles, all
sides agree that the relationship between labor and management is
mending.
“I am most excited by the manner in which this agreement was
reached,” School Board Chairman
Ron Martin said, adding that the
sides had put “aside so much of the
animosity of the past.”
“I am again glad that our teachers and [school-related personnel]
are receiving the compensation increases they truly deserve.” n
e new chorale has almost doubled in size under Jim Cutty’s expert
and amiable direction. Getting
someone with his credentials and
dedication to work for (as it were) a
song for FKCC is one of those onlyin-the-Keys stories. We experience
outsized talent for our small city.
e other soloists are all more experienced than I. And the literal high
note of the concert for me is Melody
Cooper’s super high C in a playful
version of Jingle Bells. You won’t
miss it. Sounds maybe like someone
goosed an angel. n
DECEMBER
CALENDAR
Dec. 5-7
Fort Taylor Pyrate
Invasion
Experience three days of piracy as
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State
Park transforms into a British
stronghold defending its shores
against an invasion of pirates. Step
back in time to encounter piracy
from 1675 through 1825 with buccaneer encampments, living history
demonstrations, live battles,
strolling musicians, artisan crafts
and activities for kids.
INFO
www.forttaylorpyrates.com
Dec. 6
Key West Holiday Parade
e island city shows its holiday
spirit with this annual hometown
parade. Featuring marching groups
and floats, the festive procession traditionally draws entries from
churches, civic organizations, businesses and neighborhood and school
groups.
INFO
www.keywestcity.com
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Boat parades
brighten
the holidays
SPECIAL TO KONKLIFE
Christmas lights on outriggers,
Santa’s elves and brightly lit deck
displays are some of the festive
decorations used by captains and
skippers to illuminate their boats in
the traditional lighted boat parades
that take place throughout the
Florida Keys during the holiday
season. View the parades from land,
bridges, watering holes or excursion
boats or even become part of the
festivities by decking out their own
vessel in lights and decorations.
Key West
In Key West, it will be the
Schooner Wharf Bar& Galley/
Absolut Vodka Lighted Boat Parade
beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec.
13. Festively decorated kayaks, fishing and pleasure craft, small yachts
and schooners are to glitter in Key
West’s Historic Seaport during the
24th annual Schooner Wharf Bar
Lighted Boat Parade.
e Gerald Adams Elementary
School Steel Your Heart Band kicks
off the festivities at 6 p.m., singing
holiday favorites, followed by the
popular family band, e Doerfels.
Spectators can view the dozens
of participating vessels from
Schooner Wharf as well as resorts,
bars and restaurants in and around
the Historic Seaport.
Lower Keys
Lower Keys Lighted Boat Parade
begins 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13, at
Kiki’s Sandbar on Little Torch Key.
All boats welcome in this favorite
Lower Keys holiday event sponsored
by Lower Keys Rotary Club and
News-Barometer. Santa and Mrs.
Claus lead the parade, which begins
at Kiki’s. Best viewing spots include
Kiki’s or roadside from the Pine
Channel Causeway.
INFO (305) 923-5370
B U S I N E S S L A W 1 0 1
Civil Rights Act
Race, Color, National Origin
BY ALBERT L. KELLEY
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
his week’s column continues the
discussion of the Civil Rights
Act’s protected categories.
T
Race and Color
Many people think the
Civil Rights Act was
designed to aid minorities.
In reality, it protects all
employees regardless of
race, including white
employees. It simply says
“race”
and therefore anyone
ALBERT L.
who
has
been discriminated
K E L L E Y, Esq.
against based on their race
COLUMNIST
is protected. For a minority-owned business to refuse to hire white
employees is just as wrong as a white employer
refusing to hire a minority employee. e act
therefore allows for reverse discrimination suites
when employers attempt to reserve openings
for minorities to fill “quotas.”
Many people above the age of 40 recall a case
called Bakke vs. University of California at
Davis. (I’m trying to be nice, as the case was
decided in 1978).
Bakke was a 32-year-old white man with a
war record and an engineering degree, who
applied to medical school. He was told he was
too old, as he would be in his 40s before he
graduated. He still applied. He was rejected,
but he learned that minority students with lower
GPAs and MCAT scores were admitted.
e school had reserved 16 out of 100 places
for “disadvantaged” members of racial minorities. He sued, challenging the use of quotas.
e university argued that its programs did not
require quotas; it was trying to establish a goal
of minority representation in the School of
Medicine.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court was torn
between upholding the medical school’s
minority admissions programs (including its
quota plan), and striking down the plan and
ordering Bakke’s admission. e debate ended
when Justice Lewis Powell formed a compromise. e Supreme Court upheld minority
admissions programs, but stated that the school’s
use of quotas was unlawful and ordered Allan
Bakke’s admission to the UC Davis medical
school.
e Civil Rights Act prohibits more than just
refusing to hire someone based on their race. It
also applies to differential treatment of employees based on race or color. An employer must
treat all employees the same, regardless of race.
While we are all familiar with the Civil Rights
cases where the government was precluded from
having separate facilities based on race, this also
applies to private employers.
In the 1971 case, U.S. vs. Jacksonville
Terminal Co., the federal court held that
separate does not make equal in the employment
field as well. Segregation of any kind by an
employer is a violation of Title VII.
National Origin Employers also cannot
discriminate based upon what country a person
is from. is is different from race. Bahamians
may be black or white; Africans may be black
or white. Years ago, the Irish and Italians were
heavily discriminated against, even though they
are predominately white nationalities. While you
cannot discriminate based upon national origin,
what many do not realize is it is permissible to
discriminate based on a prospective employee’s
status as a foreigner.
An employee may refuse to hire all foreigners,
but they cannot discriminate against citizens
between other countries. What this means is that
an employer may say they will only hire U.S.
citizens, but it is unlawful to hire Canadians,
while refusing to hire Mexican citizens. Once
employers agree to hire any other nationality,
they must be willing to hire all nationalities. n
Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located
in Key West and previously taught business law,
personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University.
He is also the author of “Basics of Business Law” and
“Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court” (Absolutely
Amazing e-Books). is article is being offered as a
public service and is not intended to provide specific
legal advice. If you have any questions about legal
issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida
attorney.
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KEY BUSINESS
KEY WEST
Men in Paradise Fashion Show to Benefit Samuel’s House
STEPHANIE HELLSTROM | PHOTOGRAPHER
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Girls Night Out at Wine O
LARRY BLACKBURN | PHOTOGRAPHER
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