HEADLINES IN HINDSIGHT: CRUISE SHIPS, COVID & A HOUSING … – Florida Keys Weekly

December 30, 2022 News Editor

I’ll admit, I wasn’t overly optimistic at the start of 2022. It’s not as if I expected instant fixes, both locally and nationally, just because the clock struck midnight. But come on.

But the new year wasn’t even four hours old when two criminally stupid tourists set fire to the Southernmost Point using a Christmas tree as tinder. Is that a sign of what’s to come?

But it wasn’t.

Things started looking up — for Key West, not the moron arsonists, who didn’t count on the southernmost webcam capturing their crime and clothing descriptions. As they hadn’t change clothes after leaving Irish Kevins’ Bar a few hours prior, a bartender there remembered the men, found them on the bar’s security footage, then pulled their credit card receipt. Busted.

OK, cool, so there was hope for 2022 after all.

True, the year started out much like the one before, with mask mayhem, COVID conspiracies and cruise ship controversies commanding much of Key West’s attention.

But as I revisited all 51 issues of the Key West Weekly, all papers from the past year, progress became apparent and 2022 — the good, the bad and the ridiculous — was added to the archives.

Here’s how the year looks in hindsight and headlines…

JANUARY

KW launches Bicentennial year
COVID elsewhere brings crowds, then COVID cases soar in the Keys
Vandals set fire to Southernmost Point buoy early New Year’s Day
Wounded Warriors return for Soldier Ride
Key West Music Awards launches to recognize local talent
Kmart closes in Key Plaza
Publix buys Searstown Plaza
Candidates launch campaigns for school board and state representative
Old Seven Mile Bridge reopens in Marathon to national fanfare
Keys Weekly’s Marathon Editor Alex Rickert interviews Candlebox frontman Kevin Martin before Key West concert
Florida politicians indulge in dessert debate between key lime pie and strawberry shortcake
Tallahassee bill takes aim at local government ordinances
School Board tackles new $17 million football stadium for Key West High School
New, pro-quality soccer field opens at Truman Waterfront

FEBRUARY

Key West music man Lofton “Coffee” Butler dies at 93
School Board postpones stadium construction until after 2023 Conch baseball season
Keys Weekly hangs out with Major League pitcher — and surgery namesake — Tommy John
Kelly McGillis Classic brings women’s flag football tournament back to Key West
Darren Horan and Gabrielle Brown enter school board race
Key West’s famous flamingos, Rhett and Scarlet, at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory, turn 10 on Valentine’s Day
Sheriff Rick Ramsay sends strong message to Pagans MC following drug and gun arrests of members
Nick Brownell wins Entertainer of Year at the inaugural Key West Music Awards
College of the Florida Keys breaks ground on new charter high school on Key West campus
Cruise ship compromise seems likely: Close the city-operated Mallory and Outer Mole piers and send all ships to the privately owned Pier B
Opening Day of Conch Baseball
Historian Tom Hambright retires after 36 years
KW Airport improvement plans continue
Headdress Ball returns after 3 COVID postponements
Santa Clara makes repair plan
Mallory Square makeover talk
Former Key West city commissioner Barry Gibson dies after cancer battle

MARCH

Keys Weekly’s 4-part series dives into the causes and casualties of the Keys’ housing crisis
Cruise ship compromise gets approval — close city piers, leave private Pier B alone
Florida pushes back on mask mandates
Sheriff Rick Ramsay asks Gov. Ron DeSantis for more state police troopers
Florida Keys communities support Ukraine with flags and fundraisers
Wreckers Cay affordable apartments take shape on Stock Island
Boat carrying 356 Haitian migrants runs aground off Upper Keys
Great Resignation impacts local schools, where teachers are tough to find
The Beach Boys play Key West Amphitheater
Parental Rights in Education bill is nicknamed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Housing at Truman Waterfront makes headway with city-approved ground lease
Keys see marked spike in migrant landings
Basilica School announces return of Catholic high school to Truman Avenue campus
Officials make sidewalk cafe tables — popularized during the pandemic — a permanent option for local restaurants
Key West celebrates Bicentennial with time capsule ceremony at Mallory Square

APRIL

Cruise controversy continues. SCS opposes Pier B’s voluntarily limits
State representative race heats up between Rhonda Rebman Lopez and Jim Mooney
Sally O’Brien’s replaces Shanna Key Pub on Flagler Avenue
Documentary about Key West’s bicentennial debuts
Some officials demand no nudity at Fantasy Fest
City approves Frederick Douglass Community Center upgrades in Bahama Village
Musician Adam Lambert joins Keys Weekly’s podcast before Key West concert
Keys historic fishing bridges are crumbling; 7 of 23 bridges are closed for safety
Key West Police Department continues to support Autism Society of the Keys
Shooting threat via text prompts temporary lockdown at Key West High School
Sloppy Joe’s Bar turns 85

MAY

City officials blame state legislators for local government’s’ inability to limit vacation rentals
Margaret Romero challenges Teri Johnston in Key West mayor’s race
Governor Ron DeSantis appoints Jim Scholl to replace Eddie Martinez on county commission
Dead 51-foot sperm whale is towed to Robbie’s Marina on Stock Island; plastic and nets contributed to its death
Charlie Crist brings his campaign for governor to Key West
Conch baseball and softball teams win Districts for Key West High School
Bahia Honda Beach reopens 5 years after Hurricane Irma
Amateur drag pageant at Key West Theater benefits Samuel’s House
Capt. Beth Regoli takes helm at Naval Air Station Key West, inherits housing issues
Roy’s Trailer Park residents receive notice of park closure; then owners decide to keep park open
Wealthy neighbors offer to build teacher housing on school district’s Trumbo Road property
Lady Conchs take Key West softball to first state championship bid
Key West port director Doug Bradshaw resigns after 2 years of cruise ship controversy
Somerset Island Prep charter high school holds third jet ski graduation
School shooting in Uvalde, Texas prompts security reviews at Keys schools
Parasail accident in Marathon kills visiting mother; captain faces charges

JUNE

Key West shouts gay during Pride amid statewide controversy over Parental Rights in Education bill, nicknamed the Don’t Say Gay bill
Hurricane grotto at Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea turns 100
Nominations open for 2022 Bubbas: Key West People’s Choice Awards
Key West and Naval Air Station eagerly anticipate release of “Maverick: Top Gun 2”
Lady Conchs lose in softball semifinals
Florida politicians debate official state dessert; strawberry shortcake beats Key lime pie
Sheriff Rick Ramsay shares gun control thoughts with Keys Weekly in wake of Uvalde shooting
Corey Malcom succeeds Tom Hambright as keeper of the library’s Keys History Department
District IV city commission race draws 4 hopefuls
AH Monroe says it will pass Fantasy Fest King & Queen fundraising campaign to another nonprofit recipient for 2023
Rising gas prices fuel concerns for Keys captains and local water sports companies
Keys Energy Services customers face 30% spike in power bills
Keys community rallies to replace AHEC funds denied by state legislature
City Attorney Shawn Smith announces plans to stick around for a contract renewal (But that was then; see November headlines.)
House fire destroys Laird Street home, leaves owners and tenants homeless and damages neighbors’ home

JULY

Key Westers protest Florida’s new 15-week abortion restriction
The Lofts affordable housing at Truman Waterfront moves forward
City commission talks genitalia and breasts; some officials want nudity ban at Fantasy Fest
Marine sanctuary revisits Restoration Blueprint to update management plan
Monkeypox reaches the Keys
Painted tatas will be allowed at this year’s Fantasy Fest; mayor wants changes in 2023
Our own 2022 Bubbas: Key West People’s Choice Awards draw 400,000 votes from every continent except Antarctica
Celebrity motorsports stuntman Travis Pastrana speaks with Keys Weekly editors — then jumps Boot Key Bridge
Cow Key Bridge gets new designation: Cheryl Cates Memorial Bridge
Hometown’s first candidate forum gets feisty
The Bubbas Awards Gala is a huge and hilarious success at Key West Theater

AUGUST

Key West earns distinction as a Coast Guard City; Admiral Linda Fagan, commandant of the U.S Coast Guard, attends ceremony
Keys Weekly adds a local sports section, with comprehensive coverage of high school sports and a weekly sports podcast by Tracy and Sean McDonald
Governor Ron DeSantis backs Republican school board candidates Darren Horan, who won, and Alexandria Suarez, who didn’t
Local Vietnam veteran Alvin Alce receives long-overdue Purple Heart
Key West starts search for new city manager
Women’s Choice march opposes the Supreme Court decision to overturns Roe v. Wade
Key West voters re-elect Mayor Teri Johnston
District 4 city commission race heads to runoff between Lissette Cuervo Carey and Kim Highsmith

SEPTEMBER

Keys Weekly dives deep into massive uptick in migrant landings
Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez visits Key West while campaigning for Gov. Ron DeSantis
Half Shell Raw Bar celebrates 50 years at Key West Harbor
County commissioners make splash at new Pine Channel Park on Big Pine
Short-term rental talk packs city hall; realtors slam proposed restrictions
Florida faces unmanageable insurance issues
Public housing complex is renamed for Lang Milian
British war story has Key West ties; Englishwoman kept photos of Philip Toppino for 80 years
Keys Weekly celebrates 19 years of local news — #localmatters
Racial tension rattles city hall: Black educators museum wants more donated space, officials want more info
Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk comes home to Key West after 3 months in Africa
Keys recall Queen Elizabeth II’s 1991 visit to Dry Tortugas following her death on Sept. 8
Conch football season starts strong
Conch baseball Coach Ralph Henriquez and wife DeeDee Henriquez buy Kilwins Chocolates on Duval Street
Key West officials approve floating seaweed barrier at South Beach
The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea launches fundraising campaign to bring Catholic high school back to Key West
Hurricane Ian floods Key West as it sideswipes the Keys
Fire destroys businesses and displaces dozens of residents at Flagler Avenue complex

OCTOBER

Key West recovers from Hurricane Ian; awaits FEMA help for flood victims
Community comes together with food, donations and support after Hurricane Ian
Hometown hosts final candidates forum
Congressman Carlos Gimenez visits Key West following Hurricane Ian
Key West officials hear post-storm kudos and criticism
Key West leaders frustrated by county officials’ reluctance to open shelter for liveaboards and homeless residents
Keys Weekly gets 1 on 1 interview with music legend Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes & Gov’t Mule rock Key West Amphitheater
TDC denies county funding request for bicentennial event; county commission then overrides denial and approves the $150K
City commission still wants use of Admiral’s Cut, despite cruise ship rift with its owners at Pier B
Carlos Home and Fran Decker crowned King & Queen of Fantasy Fest
Zombie Ride draws 6,500 costumed bicyclists
Fantasy Fest 2022 boosts Key West businesses
Crowds force African-themed float from Fantasy Fest parade — Black community blames racism, officials blame float’s slow progress that left 2-block gap

NOVEMBER

Powerboat races roar back to Key West
City Attorney Shawn Smith submits scathing resignation letter; takes job at Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
Key West officials choose Stantec consultants to handle Duval Street revitalization
Key West International Airport breaks ground on $100 million upgrade
Key West’s new housing director fired after 4 months
Lissette Cuervo-Carey defeats Kim Highsmith in District IV city commission race
Republican incumbents win big — DeSantis, Rubio, Gimenez, Mooney easily keep seats
Bayview Park benches dedicated to suicide prevention; pavilion named for One Human Family
Hogfish Bar & Grill celebrates 20 years on Stock Island
Former Key West Yacht Club manager arrested for theft and gun threats
Keys Weekly scores interview with rock star photographer Danny Clinch
‘The Nutcracker, Key West” returns to the stage at Tennessee Williams Theater
Annual hurricane flag-burning ceremony celebrates end of 2022 storm season
Former county commissioner Sylvia Murphy dies at 86

DECEMBER

Ground-breaking on Trumbo Road celebrates public-private partnership in which wealthy neighbors fund housing for sheriff’s office employees “in their backyard”
City manager job draws 43 applicants; search consultant narrows list to 9 finalists, including 4 locals
Key Westers share memories of the late college football Coach Mike Leach, a resident and champion of Key West