Six weeks ago, Hurricane Irma blew through our island chain, leaving in its wake thousands of damaged or destroyed homes and shattering the lives of many of our friends and neighbors. Irma released her most destructive wrath on the Lower Keys, where many families who support our community and our tourist-based economy reside. Being priced out of the Key West housing market years ago, many working residents gravitated to the Lower Keys to find something resembling “affordable” housing, despite the long daily commutes.

With a significant number of our so-called affordable housing stock now destroyed by Irma, we are facing a housing crisis of monumental proportions. However, as tragic and destructive as Hurricane Irma was to our community, it did not cause the housing crisis in the Keys. We created this crisis over the past several decades through our own failures to properly anticipate, plan and prepare for the challenges of a tourism, service-based economy. 

To drive the tourism train, we created, with the state, the Tourist Development Council and its “bed tax” program in order to raise revenue to advertise the Keys as a tourism destination. Since then, we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising to bring tourists to the Keys. There is no doubt that this targeted effort has worked. Tourists arrive in droves year after year, and tourism has replaced commercial fishing as our largest economic engine.

However, along with the tourists came the developers and investors, buying up large tracts of land to build hotels, marinas, restaurants, and other businesses to house and entertain our visitors. Many local residents and families were handsomely enriched through this transition process as the value of commercial and residential land skyrocketed. Some cashed in their fortunes and headed for the mainland, while others stayed to operate successful businesses and real estate empires. 

As the Keys’ popularity continued to grow, we also became an attractive destination for wealthy snowbirds seeking their own unique slice of paradise. Baby boomers flooded the real estate market to claim their winter retreats. Investors further gobbled up private residences and turned them into nightly and seasonal rentals. As demand grew and supply dwindled, housing and rental costs continued to skyrocket. 

With the flood of tourists came a flood of money pouring into our government’s coffers. Big development brought big property taxes and other sources of revenue. To further pluck every dollar from tourists, we quickly maxed out the sales tax rate under the guise of “infrastructure” and other taxes. More money meant hiring more people to count the money and to figure out how to spend it (without decreasing taxes for residents). Monroe County now has a budget over four times the size of any Florida county comparable in size.

Unfortunately, despite all of the money and other riches rained down on the Keys through tourism, we have abjectly failed in one critical area – making sure that the people and families who support our service economy can afford to live here. We all bear some responsibility for the sad state of our housing crisis, including landlords, developers, businesses, our governmental entities, and the voting public who consistently elect the same people who have shown little ability or interest in resolving the problem.

We believe Irma has provided us with an important opportunity to chart a different course for our future. Are we a community that will rise to the occasion, learn from our mistakes, and intelligently choose a new path? Or will we continue down the road to ruin, essentially destroying the successful economy we worked so hard to create? We simply cannot support a service-based industry without people to provide the services. Due to our geographic restrictions and inability to pull workers from outside areas, we must devise a housing plan that allows the majority of the workers to affordably reside within the Keys. 

Post-Irma, it will not be the cleanup and rebuilding process that will present the most challenging task. The issue that will define us in the wake of Irma is how we address the housing dilemma. We have run out of road to kick the can down any further. If we do not solve it quickly and effectively, Key West and the entire economy of the Florida Keys will be negatively impacted for years to come. 

– The Citizen

It’s been almost two months since Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the Florida Keys. Recovery started moments after the storm had passed and today, in some parts of our community, one can hardly tell a storm even hit.

Tragically, travel Big Pine to Big Coppitt and one would think the storm hit a week ago. While Irma left no part of the island chain untouched, the Lower Keys where the storm made landfall were affected much more than any other area.

The efforts to clean up this detritus across Monroe County has been monumental with many municipalities such as Key West and Islamorada all but finished.

Unfortunately, in the hardest hit area of the Lower Keys, many neighborhoods have yet to see their first trash removal truck.  Literally, not one trash pickup to date. The piles of trash continue to grow as does the smell and there are still canals clogged with garbage, sunken boats and cars.

The debris removal trucks that have come made a cursory sweep of the streets picking up the easiest branches leaving the bigger piles and trees where they lie.

How did this happen? While the County had a contract in place for storm debris removal throughout the Keys, for some reason, the FDOT decided to take over cleanup of the Lower Keys at their cost. Cleanup progressed at a snail’s pace while FDOT’s crews were working, but now reports are that the FDOT has pulled out leaving the job far from complete. With FDOT out of the picture, the County has called on their contracted storm debris removal company to finish the job. The problem is that contractor doesn’t feel they should be obligated to clean up after FDOT’s crews and is suing the County to get out of their contract.

So where does this leave the area hit hardest by the storm? We are not sure, but a solution needs to be found and soon. In addition to the obvious hygienic and visual problems these piles of trash cause, an issue not readily apparent is the mental stress they cause the residents. In order to truly start the recovery process, residents need to see progress and a return to normalcy, which is simply not happening.

Imagine if you will the people and students who commute back and forth to Key West daily. They leave their war zone of a neighborhood and go to Key West which, to its credit, is for all practical purposes completely recovered. Then at the end of the day they leave Key West and go back to the depressing sight of their neighborhoods and streets that look as bad as the day after storm hit. There is no way this can’t have a serious effect on those residents young and old.

Unique to the Lower Keys among the other areas of Monroe County is that there are no significant County offices between Marathon and Stock Island. Additionally, the County Commissioner who represents the Lower Keys lives in Marathon. We have to wonder if a Commissioner or Senior County staff member lived among the piles of trash strewn throughout the neighborhoods more would be done by now, two months after the storm.

We urge every County Commissioner to take a ride through the neighborhoods of the Lower Keys and talk to their constituents. The problem is as obvious as a huge pile of trash sitting in the front yards that even our elected officials would be hard pressed to ignore. Let’s see what they can come up with as a solution since they are already two months too late.

— The Citizen

“The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet,” Marjory Stoneman Douglas, journalist-turned-Everglades crusader, was fond of saying several decades ago. 

One wonders what grade the late Ms. Douglas might assign us today if she were to observe Florida Bay, the once gin-clear estuary of her beloved “River of Grass,” had recently bloomed again with pea-green toxic algae.

While this fall’s outbreak was spawned by Hurricane Irma and subsequent weather systems that churned up nutrient-rich sediment in the shallow bay, that blast of algae “fertilizer” wouldn’t have been so potent if the bay bottom hadn’t already been coated with nutrients from the last die-off of freshwater-starved seagrass.

Algal blooms have become a recurring crisis, with episodes every few years suffocating portions of the bay, damaging this ecological and economic engine for the Florida Keys, which serves both as a nursery for the region’s sea life and fishing grounds for commercial and recreational anglers.

How many canaries have to die in the coal mine before we understand the threat?

The first day of the Florida Legislature’s 2018 session, Jan. 9, should on the calendars of all who care about the Everglades and Florida Bay. That is when the South Florida Water Management District is to present legislators with a recommended Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir plan from the four now being hammered out.

Our representatives in Tallahassee voted earlier this year to direct the district to hasten the planning and construction of this key component of Everglades restoration in order to reduce damaging discharges of nutrient-rich water from Lake Okeechobee into the estuaries of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, and to instead store some of that water south of the lake in a huge reservoir on state-owned land, where it will be scrubbed clean by filtration marshes and checked for purity before being released into the water conservation areas north of Everglades National Park.

Preliminary modeling by the district indicates that an extra 100 billion gallons of water each year could enter the Everglades as a consequence, replenishing an area long cut off from its headwaters by old flood control projects that worked too well, saturating porous grounds that act as a bulwark against encroaching saltwater, and shoring up the bay’s seagrass beds so that the next big weather event doesn’t send the 850-square-mile estuary reeling into potential collapse.

Unfortunately, some folks, including storage bill supporters, are fretting that the district’s various proposals for the reservoir are too deep or too small, or use up too much land or don’t include enough. This appears to be a case of people letting “the perfect become the enemy of the good.” Those who want to see water storage expedited, and not bogged down like other Everglades restoration projects, need to focus on the good and help push this process forward. No recommended plan will ever be perfect, but the four under consideration should achieve the goal of reducing harmful water releases in central Florida and increasing helpful ones to the south.

Assuming the Legislature next month supports the district’s recommendation, the plan would head in May to the desk of the Assistant Army Secretary who oversees Florida’s federal partner in Everglades restoration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is to split the cost of the $1.6 billion storage project with the state, which will fund its half with a Florida Forever program bond issue. Should the Army approve the plan, it would be forwarded in October to the U.S. Congress, which has more than a year — until Dec. 31, 2019 — to approve it. If it survives highly partisan and dysfunctional Washington, D.C., the EAA Storage Reservoir project could get underway in 2020 — in Florida Bay time, that’s another algal bloom, or two.

Our elected representatives in Tallahassee and Washington must ignore the naysayers and move forward with water storage without delay. If that can be achieved, we may not yet pass Ms. Douglas’ Everglades test, but at least we’ll know we’re capable of learning.

– The Key West Citizen

Congratulations to the Monroe County Planning Commission for approving a 208-unit affordable housing project on Rockland Key, which received vocal support from local business owners as well as Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay and Key West Mayor Craig Cates. It was encouraging to see the appointed Planning Commission not buckle to the NIMBYism that has derailed needed workforce housing in other parts of unincorporated Monroe County.

2018 needs to be the year that the county green-lights deed-restricted affordable housing projects that adhere to local development rules. If the Planning Commission cannot muster the backbone to upset a few for the betterment of the Florida Keys, then the Monroe County Commission should replace these political appointees with those who can.

Few of us like to see change in our neighborhoods, particularly in the form of large developments. But housing projects recommended by planning staff that meet a critical need should not be denied due to unfounded fears. County code spells out a plethora of requirements for developers to meet. Planning commissioners also should never be allowed to make up and apply their own legally suspect standards in opposing a project.

If we really want to preserve our communities, we might want to consider what changes such opposition to housing is causing. It is common knowledge that there has been a steady exodus of many who serve in the local workforce due to the challenges of making a living in a service-based economy with astronomical housing costs. Hurricane Irma has only intensified the problem by taking away housing and temporarily shuttering businesses that sustain our workforce.

If you expect deputies and firefighters to respond to your 911 call, you might wish to support workforce housing in your community. If you have a favorite server who knows what you will order before you sit down, you might wish to support workforce housing in your community. If you think it’s important for your child or grandchild to get an education that will prepare him or her for the future, you might wish to support workforce housing in your community. If you want to continue to enjoy the comforts that make the Keys a special place to live, you might wish to support workforce housing in your community.

These points have been made many times before. And the objections are also well established. Building affordable housing is already a challenge here due to a lack of land. But it does not need to be as difficult as we have made it. The biggest obstacle to affordable housing is a lack of political will. It is time to change that.

– The Key West Citizen

The Marvel film “Black Panther” is currently enjoying a strong run at Key West’s Tropic Theatre. The film has an all-black cast, save two white actors, and is based on the powerful comic superhero, Black Panther, created by the legendary team of Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby, back in 1966. The movie has received positive reviews and continues to break box office records of all kinds since its premiere earlier this month.

The plot revolves around two different world views by the lead characters as to the destiny of the fictional kingdom of Wakanda, located somewhere in central Africa. One prince wants to raid and enlarge the kingdom using a big army, while the other believes the best future lies in living in harmony and peace, supported by their supply of the mineral, vibranium, which arrived as a large meteor. Vibranium supposedly has great international commercial value.

Lee and Kirby may have predicted the future value of platinum, which is mostly mined in South Africa, or perhaps the rare earth minerals that are now used in the manufacture of various electronic devices.

The movie succeeds on many levels, with its strong cast including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and Forest Whitaker, and the director, Ryan Coogler. Rotten Tomatoes’ ranking system now gives it the No. 1 spot of the Top 100 movies of all-time list, ranking ahead of “Citizen Kane” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

In short, Black Panther is a national phenomenon and one long overdue. It proves that a good, well-written movie will be appreciated by everyone, regardless of the color of the cast, disproving Hollywood’s long-held prejudices.

At a time in our country when the veil of secrecy guarding the pillars of the Hollywood community has finally been lifted, allowing those who have preyed on the young and the vulnerable to be exposed for the rotten, despicable opportunists that they are, it is refreshing to see a new generation finally shaking up things a bit and defying stereotypes.

It is said that movies are a reflection of our society, and if that’s the case, then perhaps “Black Panther” is a harbinger that things are finally changing. Not all at once, but enough to demonstrate that race, gender and sex are not the defining factors that they used to be. 

Unfortunately, it remains true that opportunities for black Americans are far less than those for white Americans. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is much higher, as is the income disparity and sadly, education does not repair this imbalance. Black workers with a high school degree earn 22 percent less than do whites with the same education.

This historic imbalance is a stark counterpoint to this dynamic film. For a couple of hours, we didn’t see color — we saw an exciting and beautiful kingdom where strife is ultimately resolved. It gives us a renewed sense of hope to think that this is a sign of a new day for us all — a day without identity politics. 

— The Citizen

If there was a method to automatically replace members of the Board of County Commissioners or the School Board, would you? Actually, you can – through term limits. 

A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an elected official may serve in a particular elected office. Every few years, we would have entirely new boards, hopefully with fresh ideas and better ways to actually represent the constituents they were elected to serve. 

Term limits are intended to curb “monopolies” by our public officials, as those who occupy seats for numerous terms often become complacent, lazy, and even corrupt. Unfortunately, defeating an incumbent in an election is highly improbable as 90 percent of all incumbents are re-elected. United States Congress has a 13 percent approval rating, but a 95 percent re-election rate. Why? Money and name recognition. Incumbents have the benefit of profits made while in power, plus the backing of their party, contributing organizations, and special interests, that ensure re-election again and again. The only way to counter the incumbency phenomenon is to prevent it through implementation of term limits.

The Florida Keys has experienced more than its share of scandals, corruption, embezzlement, and just plain mismanagement by our politicians. There is no citizenry more deserving of term limits than the residents of the Keys. The City of Key West recently adopted term limits for its city commission, and the Mosquito Control District has likewise followed suit. Only two elected boards still allow unlimited terms – the BOCC and the School Board. Interestingly, these two governmental boards have been the most rocked by scandal and mismanagement over the years.

There are two ways to require term limits for our elected officials. The first is for politicians to vote to limit their terms – a highly unlikely proposition for county officials to give up their reign of power and end the gravy train after 15-20 years. The second way is for us, the voters, to pass a referendum to require term limits for all elected boards throughout the Keys.

As we head into another election season, we must stand up and take action to control unchecked power at all levels. We must make term limits a key issue in the upcoming election. If our politicians refuse to carry out the will of the people, we must collectively organize an effort to ensure that a referendum makes it to ballot to limit terms of all of our elected boards.

Politics is not a business – it is a public service. It is time for us to demand that our politicians serve our interests and not their own.

Demand term limits be established!

— The Citizen

On Tuesday, March 13, Key West voters will cast the final ballots on whether or not to allow the city to raise the height limit to 40 feet for its affordable housing plans on College Road.

The referendum comes at a time when the lack of affordable housing has reached a crisis level. Even before Hurricane Irma wiped out large tracts of trailers, small homes and apartments in the Lower Keys, affordable rentals were scarce. Today, they are such a hot commodity that those without rent restrictions have skyrocketed. The average rent for a tiny one-bedroom in Key West is $1,800 and up. Few are available for annual rent; most want only off-season renters. Perusing half a dozen different websites advertising rentals in Key West found fewer than 20 listings, regardless of price or place. 

So we don’t have an housing crisis? Try hiring someone from outside the Keys and see how long it takes for them to find a place to live- at any income or rental level. It’s not unusual for folks to have to turn jobs down due to the lack of housing. 

Where does that leave us? With a tremendous need and very little movement. For more than 20 years, officials have given lip service to the housing crisis, but few have actually done anything about it. Thankfully, there are finally several proposals that would help alleviate the crisis, between the proposed Porches plan for Trumbo Road, the recently approved housing at Stadium Trailer Park, and now, the city’s plans for College Road.

The referendum would allow planners to go up in height on the College Road parcel to 40 feet, allowing at least 3 stories to be built, which also would allow for parking on the bottom level, meeting flood zone standards. 

The city has no concrete plan yet, as they are waiting for the results before paying someone to design the buildings. It may be difficult to vote for something sight unseen, but for all practical purposes, that is what you are being asked to do- and you should.

It is past time for citizens to back up the government’s efforts to create more housing for workers. The city cannot afford to lose more individuals due to the housing shortage. 

Whether you decide to vote early or wait until March 13, we urge you to vote for this small change on this one parcel so this project can move forward, finally. Vote yes for the height referendum. 

 — The Citizen

Leave our time alone — that’s the message of the Florida legislature to Congress.

Just as everyone is preparing to “change time” again this weekend, turning our clocks back one hour, both the state House and Senate have passed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would keep the state in perpetual daylight savings time.

An antiquated notion proposed during World War I to conserve fuel during waking hours, at least two states — Hawaii and Arizona — have not participated and dozens of states other than Florida are looking at similar measures to abolish it.

There is a lobby in Florida that wants to stay perpetually in daylight savings year-round, primarily for the tourist industry apparently, although lawmakers have also stated their goal is to protect children’s sleeping and school schedules from being disrupted twice a year.

Regardless of what the state legislature passed, the United States Congress has the final say over our time. Given all of the trivial matters they always seem to be able to tackle head-on each year, perhaps they can work in some time to talk about time.

Getting rid of daylight savings time across the country for everyone and standardizing time would be the most logical thing to do, rather than to let each state decide — can you even imagine how difficult air travel scheduling would be? — but Congress isn’t known for logic.

The bottom line is that nearly all Americans truly dislike daylight savings time and changing time every six months or so. It may not be the most important issue that Congress could take up this year, but it certainly would have a significant impact on quality of life. 

— The Citizen

This week, the Key West Collegiate Academy took a giant leap forward past not only the Monroe County School system but also most other school systems nationwide.

Working with local entrepreneur Shawn Verne, Principal Tom Rompella rolled the School Text Tips program out to students, encouraging them to sayand do something if they see something.

The system has already been tested to great success and allows students to pass on concerns instantly via text message regarding threats, suicidal students, or any other concern they have that they don’t feel comfortable sharing face-to-face.

The system tracks tips only for safety reasons and to prevent hoaxes, so students can feel comfortable about sharing legitimate concerns without repercussion. 

Students nationwide are begging adults to find solutions to keep them safe at school, so finding even one school taking these concerns seriously enough to implement this program is refreshing. While other school systems, including Monroe County, spend time in committee meetings, discussing and researching potential solutions to school safety issues, the Collegiate Academy and Verne took more proactive — and immediate — action.

The School Text Tips program won’t solve all issues — no one program can — and much more action is needed. And regardless of where you stand on gun issues, you simply can’t get around the mental health aspect of school violence. The one trait that all the shooters in these horrific incidents have had in common is mental illness.

While the state rushed to push a small amount of money to the schools for safety officers and an even smaller amount to mental health issues, the fact remains that Florida ranks 44th out of 50 states in access to mental health care but we have the nation’s 10th highest number of residents with mental health issues, according to Mental Health America. 

Failure to take decisive action on such a glaring problem has already hurt the state of Florida, with two major mass shootings in the last two years. This is one issue that can’t afford to keep being kicked down the road. There already should be fully funded mental health professionals in every school district in the state, if not in every school, and fully funded facilities for those who need to be removed from the general population for safety issues rather than just dumping them in the prison system, especially for juveniles. 

We should all be praising the Collegiate Academy for implementing a program to help their students, who now have a convenient and quiet way of alerting professionals about issues. 

Unfortunately, our society is still a long way from a definitive solution. While it is encouraged and extremely helpful for anyone who sees something to say something, until there are adequate resources to act on the reports, all we can do is remain vigilant and cautious. 

We remain hopeful that the Monroe County School system takes some action soon, whether it’s Text Tips or another similar program, and hopeful that the state finally acknowledges that there is a serious issue they will have to act on. It’s already too late for the patrons of the Pulse nightclub and the students in Parkland, but maybe they’ll finally get around to it before another tragedy strikes. 

— The Citizen

Key West has a rich history and its economic underpinnings have evolved greatly over time. From the era of dealing with shipwrecks to cigar manufacturing to sponge fishing and then shrimping, the town has endured.

Now our main industry is tourism, where we try to make our unusual history intriguing to the thousands that visit us each year.

Further evolution in the tourist business has seen most of our hotel rooms now belonging to large chains, which means that the income goes out of Key West to corporate entities and stockholders. Also, most of our merchandising now is run by corporate outsiders. Perhaps it is easier to say that one hardware store, one movie theater, one grocery store, several restaurants and some art galleries, an auto dealership and boutique businesses are all that are still locally owned. We remain proud of our commercial and sports fishing businesses that are owned by local entrepreneurs, although there are far fewer than 10 years ago.

With this transformation, we have also entered the era of reviews. Few of us go to a movie or a hotel or a restaurant without checking out the reviews first. 

Unsurprisingly, Key West has been showing up recently in some pretty high-powered reviews and we are not coming off well. Online Traveler said we were “overpriced, overcrowded and overrated”. They went on to say “whatever attraction Key West once had has been washed away by huge crowds of people who have bought into the idea that this is a unique destination, only to arrive and wonder what the fuss is about.”  

Don Saltzstein, a travel editor for the New York Times, while writing about a Disney cruise, said that his wife and daughter refused to go ashore with him in Key West and that they had made “the right call” with our “touristy Duval” and “mediocre Cuban lunch”.  

In a long New York Times profile of Jimmy Buffett, related to the opening of his Broadway show, he said that Key West had become “too commercial” in saying he no longer lived or spent time here — comments that should be remembered when it comes time to name the amphitheater.

These reviews are hard to take for those of us who live here and love our town. But we should be more cognizant that the ownership of our town has slipped away from us to the mainland over the last 20 years. We resident taxpayers are now being exhorted to be supportive of affordable housing and we regularly give generously to non-profits to feed the hungry, provide child care and educational opportunity for our community. At the same time, we are responsible for funding fire and safety protection, road maintenance and all else to keep the town up and going.

Think about it this way – we are celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday this week. He came here often as a young man and wrote many of his major compositions here including his clarinet concerto and West Side Story. It is doubtful that a young musician of no means could do this today. Housing is just too expensive.  

We have irrevocably changed and probably live too much on the nostalgia for the days when a viable coral reef was off Smather’s beach and Tennessee Williams was peacefully writing away in a simple home on Duncan Street.

But speaking of Williams, our city now has whiffs of Blanche DuBois in our delusional thinking that more tourists are needed and that what we need at the Truman Waterfront is a flea market and Cuba ferries.

In advertising lingo, we have been tarnishing our brand a lot. Our citizens spoke up when we resoundingly defeated a resolution that would have led to dredging a deeper channel to allow larger cruise ships to come to Key West. We were told that if we didn’t do this, the cruise ship companies would go elsewhere. As we all know, that was not the truth and cruise ships have been crowding in here all winter.

What to do? We are now at an opportune time to ponder the status of Key West as we are facing city mayoral and commission elections next fall. We need political leadership in our town now that will focus on the real needs of our city, its strengths and how to restore and burnish its beauty. Simple issues such as renewing our hardwood canopy, heavily destroyed in recent years, truly grappling with the Duval Street congestion and filth, devoting time and effort to better parks and playing fields for our children, dealing firmly but kindly with our entrenched homeless population, and developing a real policy on mainland tour buses that clog city streets are all items that candidates for office should reflect on.

— The Citizen

“Rose at 5. Walked to the Salt Ponds. Bath. Barometer 29.47.5, thermometer 74, clouds 6, hazy. Read papers. Dinner at Alexander Patterson’s, where Matilda and the children were spending the day.”

Who knew that such ordinary observations of daily life from 1855-1857, preceded by the phrase, “William Hackley recorded in his diary” would capture the attention and affection of the populace? But it did and in such a big way that on Leap Day, Feb. 29, 2016, when no entry appeared for Hackley in the Citizen’s “Today in History” column, there was an outpouring of anger from readers who thought it was being discontinued.

Keys’ historian Tom Hambright, the author of “Today in Keys History” for more than two decades, offered a simple explanation — in the corresponding year from Hackley’s diary, there was no Leap Day. Thankfully, the diary continued on March 1 and a crisis was averted. Until now.

Alas, Hackley and his family announced plans to leave Key West — albeit more than 160 years ago — and avid readers anxiously are awaiting the end. For several weeks, the diary posts have been filled with notes about packing, selling furniture, and getting legal affairs in order. Unfortunately, the last entry will be published this week, as Hackley moved his family to Illinois in 1857, ending more than two years as a cult phenomenon in Key West.

Hackley wasn’t anyone particularly noteworthy. He was a lawyer, a U.S. District Attorney for a time, living a fairly simple life. Hackley certainly never achieved the level of recognition in his lifetime that his diary has brought him today, including a feature on WLRN that was broadcast nationally, attracting fans far removed from his Keys’ home.

So of all the famous, professional writers who have called Key West home, of all the truly fascinating, bizarre, and outrageous characters who have passed this way over the years, how did Hackley become such a familiar figure, such a welcome part of readers’ daily routine? Surely it wasn’t the rather banal observations about the weather and his personal habits. Or his sunny disposition, as he often wrote rather disrespectfully of his wife and children, as well as other members of the community, especially those who faced him in a courtroom.

Perhaps Hackley’s appeal is precisely due to his ordinary, simple life and observations. His daily weather recordings have led to a number of spirited discussions concerning climate change. His thoughts on various community members and court proceedings, including recording the first murder trial and execution, have proved invaluable to state historians. His personal hygiene habits, use of medicines, reports of daily ship movements and the like have provided valuable resources to genealogists, maritime researchers and piqued the interest of those of us who simply find his musings a nice respite from the celebrity obsessed news of the day.

Hackley’s move to Illinois wasn’t a financial success, and he died less than 10 years after leaving Key West. His long suffering wife, Matilda, outlived him by 30 years and returned to the island after his passing. However, his daily diary entries live on and are forever preserved for posterity. We can all only aspire to achieve the level of recognition and admiration he inspired in our hearts and minds.

As a community, as a newspaper and as individuals, we will miss our daily dose of Hackley’s life. The Key West Citizen would like to extend our gratitude to Tom Hambright and the Monroe County Library for allowing us to share William Hackley’s diary every day with our readers. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

 — The Citizen

Editor’s Note: Cheers and Jeers is a new weekly editorial column compiled by the Editorial Board. 

Cheers: to the Rotary Clubs of Key West for getting the Welcome to Key West sign back from the person who absconded with it during Hurricane Irma and ensuring that the refurbished sign is once again a beacon for locals and tourists alike at the entrance to Key West.

Jeers: to FDOT for removing the obtrusive sea grapes at the entrance to Key West months ago and not replacing the vegetation or sodding the ground. It looks barren and unwelcoming. Or does it require hiring a consultant to study the issue?

Cheers: to County Clerk Kevin Madok for fulfilling his campaign promise of getting the clerk’s office back on track after years after years of terrible audits. And he did the audit in-house as it had always been done previously, saving the taxpayers money. 

Jeers: to the Federal government for not paying its bills in a timely manner. While Monroe County and the local municipalities are waiting for reimbursement from Hurricane Irma expenses, FEMA hasn’t even paid off claims yet for many counties in Florida for storm damage going back several years. It shouldn’t take this long.

Jeers: to the local governments, particularly Monroe County, for taking advantage of the storm’s aftermath to run up bills, particularly overtime, for virtually every single employee, without knowing if all of the expenses would be reimbursable. The storm shouldn’t have been used as a blank check, and unfortunately, the expenses are currently hurting budgets and bottom lines. As we near hurricane season, perhaps a more conservative plan can be developed and implemented. 

Cheers: to the state for allocating additional ROGO units to Monroe County for affordable housing. As long as they are utilized for workforce housing in a sensible manner, it will be a great boon to the Keys. 

Cheers: to the Florida Keys Community Land Trust for so swiftly answering the call for affordable housing after Hurricane Irma, with land bought and the first house nearly completion. Their efforts show once again how important individuals are in helping to resolve issues rather than expecting the government to. 

Cheers: to Florida Keys Community College for awarding degrees and certificates to 129 students this week. The new degree programs are a great asset to the college and all of FKCC’s programs are beneficial to our future workforce. Congratulations Graduates!

Cheers: to the Florida Keys SPCA for catching and moving a nearly 10-foot crocodile from Stock Island this week. The reptiles are usually not harmful to humans but can easily mistake small children and pets for prey. The croc was relocated away from populated areas. 

Jeers: to the City Commission for not holding the line on its own requirements for art in public places. It’s useless to have rules if the fee is going to be waived for non-profits and developers. It’s time to evaluate the city’s commitment to AIPP, and perhaps to revisit the guidelines to keep them consistent with recent action. 

— The Citizen

Cheers to the Monroe County Commission for questioning the impact of the proposed 1,300 affordable housing units being offered by Tallahassee. Tying the units to a 48- hour evacuation is unrealistic and the county still has 450 affordable units that they say no one wants. 

Cheers to Danny Weathers on his recent retirement from the Waterfront Playhouse. Weathers has been here for 16 years, directed 60 productions personally, and oversaw some 800 plays and musicals. He has danced, acted and sung in many offerings as well. He has volunteered his acting chops to various Key West charitable endeavors and will be missed. He moves in late May to Palm Springs, California.

Jeers to Regal Cinemas for not keeping the community informed about what is going on with the Key West movie theater. The damage from Hurricane Irma was substantial, but the roof was replaced months ago. Calls to the parent company go unanswered. All we want to know is when will the theater be reopening? 

Jeers to the Florida Department of Transportation for their adversarial relationship with Monroe County. Sheriff Rick Ramsey has made numerous requests in recent years concerning crosswalks and speed limits, the city of Key West can’t get them to replace what they’ve torn up at the Triangle and no one is happy with their “solution” to the North Roosevelt crosswalks. Why does it have to be so difficult? 

Cheers to Publix grocery stores in the Keys for their large contribution to the United Way of the Florida Keys this week and for their support for local communities. 

Cheers to the overworked postal employees in Key West who are chronically understaffed for continuing the tradition of the Food Drive, going on today (Saturday). Collecting all of those canned goods is not an easy task, and the families that will benefit truly appreciate all of their hard work. 

— The Citizen

An epiphany? Conversion? Divine guidance? Whatever it is, Mayor Cates, we will take it with gratitude on behalf of the tree canopy of Key West.  The Citizen has chronicled with dismay the constant erosion of the hardwood trees in our city. They provide not only beauty but shade and bird habitat.

At an April Tree Commission meeting, the Urban Forestry Manager Karen DeMaria announced that 146 canopy trees were approved for removal in 2017, while only 26 were replaced. Of these, some 31 Royal Poincianas were removed and only two were planted, 39 Mahoganies were lost and five planted. It is easy to assess this chronic loss, regularly recommended by DeMaria and endorsed by the commission, by simply flying into Key West. From mid-May through June, our Poincianas were breathtaking and their beauty was set off by nearby glossy green-leaved hardwoods. Our canopy now has been decimated; and last year’s hurricane abetted the loss as well.

At that same Tree Commission meeting, it was proposed to compensate homeowners at a double level of caliper inches if the tree replanted is a canopy variety. Although helpful in intent, at that rate, if would still require decades for canopy trees to reach the size of those being removed.

The complaints logged against Poincianas and other hardwoods mostly derive from their messiness when they shed blossoms and leaves. We need to remind ourselves that beauty often comes at a cost. And we often do not appreciate it until it is lost. 

Most cities of any size work hard at sustaining and replacing their canopy trees and yet we have allowed the Tree Commission to endorse virtually every tree removal request to come before them over the years. The April meeting marks the first time the realization that the canopy has become seriously depleted has been recognized.

Thus, we are elated about Mayor Cates’ and the commission’s support for declaring the Royal Poinciana as the official tree of Key West. It’s a shame that this simple request met with such opposition at the May Tree Commission meeting, not only by board members but by city staff as well. Perhaps now, however, there is more recognition of the issues that members of the public, and this editorial board, have been trying to point out for some time. 

Mayor Cates holds the winning cards here in that he appoints the Tree Commission. That board is advisory in its role to the City Commission. Now is the time to follow up on the new official tree designation and begin earnestly working toward replacement of our woefully bedraggled canopy. We also hope that the issue of our trees is discussed in the upcoming campaigns for mayor and city commissioners. The beauty of our trees and the shade they provide our homes are major issues and we need committed advocates in our elected officials.

— The Citizen

Jeers: to the Public Service Commission for their outrageous and possibly illegal denial of two Monroe County Commissioners right to speak during the public comment portion of a rate hike hearing case. It’s already shameful that Key West Resort Utilities just received a massive rate hike six months ago and the PSC is already entertaining another request, but to deny two elected officials the right to weigh in on the proposal is ridiculous. 

Cheers: to the organizers and participants in the Papio Kinectic Parade. The event has grown each year and is a wonderful showcase of local talent and creativity.

Cheers: congratulations to the Tropic Cinema for another outstanding “4 Nights 4 Justice” series. The films, which contained difficult subject matter to watch, were well attended and informative.

Jeers: to the City of Key West and Monroe County for ongoing drainage issues on city and county roads. Yes, the rainfall this week was very heavy, but the island should be much better prepared for it by now. Several areas that flooded have supposedly been addressed previously, so there should be no reason for them to continue to drown cars and cyclists. 

Cheers: to the Take Stock graduates! A record number of students this year graduate from Take Stock Saturday, prior to their school graduations, and will be heading off to colleges and universities with fully paid tuition as a reward for all of their hard work. Cheers also to the Monroe County Education Foundation for raising the funds necessary to allow these students to achieve their dreams. 

Jeers: to dog owners who allow their pets to roam off-leash. Dog attacks are all too common in the Keys, and are completely preventable by responsible owners who care enough for their dogs to keep them leashed and under control at all times when in public. 

Jeers: to every single agency that had anything to do with the yacht that was grounded recently on the reef, who basically did absolutely nothing to mitigate the impact on the environment from the gas before it leaked. The vessel broke up before anything was done to remove it, damaging the reef even further. Everyone’s efforts appeared to be concentrated on how much money the yacht owner would have to pay rather than minimizing the damage and removing the vessel.

—The Citizen

Monroe County’s housing … We need to stop kicking the can down the road.

The affordable housing can — a persistent county problem in search of a long-term solution — has been kicked down the road long enough. It’s time for the can to be picked up off the ground and its contents reckoned with.

Gov. Rick Scott has tentatively offered Monroe County 1,300 affordable housing building rights in the past few weeks, but inexplicably, the Monroe County Commissioners doesn’t seem to want to simply say “Thank you” and accept the rights.

Instead, they prefer to offer excuses and position these rights as more of a hindrance than a solution.

It’s now crystal clear that the political will to do anything substantive on affordable housing just isn’t there and won’t be in the future as long as this “kick the can” mentality remains in place.

This is arguably the greatest need in our community now. Hurricane Irma didn’t create the issue, it simply elevated the subject to new heights. And while waiting for FEMA reimbursements for Irma-incurred expenses by the municipalities is indeed another critical issue, without closure on the affordable housing issue, no amount of money is going to matter.

Accept the 1,300 units when they are officially offered. Form a plan even if it’s not perfect. Approach it from a “more right, less wrong” standpoint. Our county has been paralyzed by the token efforts taken over the years by the key government entities charged with solving the problem.

Individual municipalities like the City of Marathon have gladly and thankfully accepted their share of building rights over the years so the Middle Keys can have a healthy, adequate and proper supply of workforce housing that will support and sustain its local businesses. This, so there’s sufficient affordable housing for the key infrastructure workers in the community; teachers, service workers, police and fire fighters.

Nobody wants to see these jobs erode unabated. The Monroe County School District is refilling upwards of 15 percent of its teaching positions annually. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office struggles to attract new law enforcement personnel. Housing is simply too costly for even a two-income family comprised of this segment of the workforce.

Think about that when you wait in line for what seems forever at a convenience store or a fast food restaurant. Think about that when first responders don’t respond quickly enough to your calls for help. Think about that when you’re forced to wait weeks, or even months, to have home repairs tended to.

Sure, there are aspects surrounding this problem that are complex; the Keys are a land-limited, desirable community that thrives on tourism as its primary engine. We all want to maintain a safe, high quality-of-life environment.

Perhaps there’s a correlation for some (who don’t want to admit it) that there’s a connection between affordable housing and a decrease in our quality of life. But the reality is that without these housing units, our quality of life deteriorates faster since the service sector suffers and tourism wanes when it becomes a less idyllic experience for visitors.

Stop getting hung up on the dizzying array of definitions and acceptable income calculations which define who gets to live in affordable housing. Don’t zero in on evacuation preparedness, since as we demonstrated during Irma, evacuation was orderly and well-coordinated. A few more residents won’t upset that applecart.

Strict government regulations regarding height, density, traffic impact, and parking have also contributed to the inaction, and we do live on an island chain with one road accessing the mainland.

But it’s important to remember that some of the regulations originally put in place may have served their purpose and we need to be more open to progress.

The decisions made today will be with us for generations to come.

 — The Citizen

Cheers: to Mosquito Control for moving into their new operations facility on time and on budget. They did the right thing by not building a large headquarters building, opting instead for a lower impact on taxes and a scaled back project. Kudos to the board!

Jeers: to the City of Key West for being in such a big hurry to get Mosquito Control to move from the site on College Road that they built on city land. If the group wasn’t out by the end of June, they would have faced stiff financial penalties. Considering that the city doesn’t have a plan for the property, their urgency is baffling.

Cheers: to the Monroe County School System for finally implementing the School Text Tips program for its students. In this day and age, any assistance from students to spot issues in an effort to prevent tragedy should be embraced and thankfully, the school system has.

Jeers: to the Key West Police for stopping a local skateboarder commuting to work for riding in the bike lane. Apparently, there’s a little noticed law that prohibits skateboards from bike lanes. Given all the fuss about the lack of parking and too many vehicles in Old Town, shouldn’t someone opting to ride their skateboard to work rather than driving be encouraged? Not to mention the benefits to our environment by reducing emissions. When the KWPD has stopped all bike thefts, enforced the laws on speeding and blowing through stop signs, and made all bicycles have lights on to ride at night, it seems that stopping a skateboarder in the bike lane should not be such a high priority.

Cheers: to the Monroe County school system for reaching an agreement with the teacher’s union quietly and with little fanfare. Considering all of the picketing in school districts nationwide this year, it’s wonderful to see such cooperation locally.

Jeers: to those who continue to throw their cigarette butts out of car windows and on sidewalks. Despite the city’s ordinance prohibiting butt tossing, no reports of tickets or enforcement have deterred the practice. Those thousands of butts will eventually be washed into our near shore waters, with once again, our local sea life bearing the brunt of the effects.

Cheers: to the Monroe County TDC and the Lodging Association for staging another annual, informative, and extremely important Hurricane Preparedness Conference this week at the Tennessee Williams Theater. 

 – The Citizen

Once again, the Florida governor and legislature has feinted and ducked the issue for years and now wants to place the onus on school systems to address violence in schools in response to the Valentine’s Day shootings in Parkland.

In response to lengthy and admirable appeals from determined classmates and parents of those murdered by a former student at the school, our elected officials passed a law mandating school safety measures in Florida schools. These measures were accompanied by inadequate appropriations to pay the equivalent of one trained safety official per public school. The language and issues lack clarity but one thing is clear: Florida school systems are pretty much going to have to figure it out and it will cost our school systems dearly.

We align ourselves with parents in supporting measures that will ensure our children are safe in our schools. The challenge is great indeed as we have seen over and over. Today, any angry young student can easily access guns and make his way into a school and terrify, wound and kill many of his fellow students.

The two most recent shootings resulting in deaths confirm the value of school resource officers but also of officers with mettle. In the Parkland shooting, where 17 were killed, the school resource officer remained outside the building for many minutes during which several students were shot. In contrast, in Santa Fe, Texas, the school officer engaged the gunman and was quickly backed up by a summoned Texas state trooper. Even so, 10 students were slain by a fellow student using his father’s guns, apparently seeking revenge on schoolmates. The Santa Fe school had implemented a shooter protocol and students were prepared to take shelter and safety officials were quickly notified and rushed into the school.  

Last week, a brave science teacher in Noblesville, Indiana jumped a student gunman and clearly stopped a potential tragedy. He and one student were shot but are recovering. It should be noted that the science teacher was formerly a varsity defensive football player, young and obviously courageous.

Clearly, as mandated, Monroe County Schools will be adding school safety officers. To be determined is whether they will be solely employed by the school system or whether they will be sworn officers, most likely Sheriff’s deputies. The advantages of sworn officers are many including the extensive training program, the constant firearm refreshment and communication and camaraderie with a larger law enforcement body. The expense is great when one includes salaries, pension and health care costs, uniforms, firearms and cars. A general estimate would be that one full time officer would cost over $100,000 per year or about what three newly hired teachers are paid. Since the state is not coming up with enough dollars, the school system, already underfunded, will have to figure out the rest.

It is not acceptable to cut out teacher positions; we already have too many overfull classrooms and limited offerings. Ultimately this societal tragedy will lead to raising taxes to pay for this additional security. It is a challenge to keep school security officers motivated and current in their skills. Patrolling a peaceful school day after day is not a job that appeals to many individuals wishing to make a career in law enforcement. This has been a real problem with the air marshal program implemented after 9/11 as it has been difficult to recruit and retain competent safety officials to fly anonymously on endless flights, year after year, with virtually no testing of their skills.

Superintendent Porter and staff are also working on plans to be implemented before school resumes that would also reinforce school safety such as limiting access to schools, fencing, metal detectors and other measures to “harden” our schools. There are no perfect solutions to this enormous societal problem but we must tackle it from many angles.

After ducking this critical issue for years, the Florida governor and legislature now want to place the burden on school systems for addressing violence in schools in response to the Parkland shootings this past February.

In response to lengthy and admirable appeals from determined classmates and parents of those murdered by a former student at the school, our elected officials passed a law mandating school safety measures in Florida schools. These measures were accompanied by inadequate appropriations to pay the equivalent of one trained safety official per public school. The language and issues lack clarity but one thing is clear: Florida school systems are pretty much going to have to figure out how to pay for this and it will cost our school systems dearly.

We align ourselves with parents in supporting measures that will ensure our children are safe in our schools. The challenge is great indeed as we have seen as recently as May 18 when eight students and two teachers were killed at Santa Fe High School near Houston. Today, any angry young student can easily access guns and make his way into a school and terrify, wound and kill many of his fellow students.

The two most recent shootings resulting in deaths confirm the value of school resource officers but also of officers with mettle. In the Parkland shooting, where 17 were killed, the school resource officer remained outside the building for many minutes during which several students were shot. In contrast, in Santa Fe, the school officer engaged the gunman and was quickly backed up by a summoned Texas state trooper. Even so, students and teachers were slain by a student using his father’s guns, apparently seeking revenge on schoolmates. Thankfully, Santa Fe High School had implemented a shooter protocol, so students were prepared to take shelter and safety officials were quickly notified and rushed into the school. Otherwise, the death toll may have been higher.

Last week, a brave science teacher in Noblesville, Indiana, jumped a student gunman and clearly stopped a potential tragedy. He and one student were shot but are recovering. It should be noted that the science teacher was formerly a varsity defensive football player, young and obviously courageous.

Clearly, as mandated, Monroe County Schools will be adding school safety officers. To be determined is whether they will be solely employed by the school system or whether they will be sworn officers, most likely Sheriff’s deputies. The many advantages of sworn officers include an extensive training program, the constant firearm refreshment and communication and camaraderie with a larger law enforcement body.

The expense is great when one includes salaries, pension and health care costs, uniforms, firearms and cars. A general estimate would be that one full time officer would cost over $100,000 per year or about what three newly hired teachers are paid. Since the state is not coming up with enough dollars, the school system, already underfunded, will have to figure out the rest.

It is not acceptable to cut out teacher positions; we already have too many overfull classrooms and limited offerings. So ultimately this societal tragedy will lead to raising taxes to pay for this additional security. And it is a challenge to keep school security officers motivated and current in their skills. Patrolling a peaceful school day after day is not a job that appeals to many individuals wishing to make a career in law enforcement.

Superintendent Porter and staff are also working on plans to be implemented before school resumes that will reinforce school safety such as limiting access to schools, fencing, metal detectors and other measures to “harden” our schools.

This is an unfortunate reality that must be dealt with and one that isn’t easily solvable. There are certainly no quick remedies, but one thing is certain — leaving each and every school system in the state to come up with their own plans and solutions, with minimal support from the state, didn’t help one bit.

 — The Citizen

 Cheers: to all of the 2018 high school graduates who received their diplomas this week. This is an exciting time in your lives as you leave behind your childhoods and begin your journeys to adulthood. Whether you are going on to college or straight into a job, strive to be the best at whatever you do. Now is the time to explore, learn and grow. Congratulations!

Jeers: to the city of Key West for not making the planting of canopy trees a priority in their plans for the Truman Waterfront. What a perfect opportunity to replace some of our lost canopy by creating a beautiful park for residents, as promised, by planting big, beautiful shade trees. There are no hindrances to prevent this in our park, and our natural habitat would greatly benefit as well as our citizens. You voted to make the Royal Poinciana our city tree- what better place to showcase it than our community park. 

Cheers: for the opening of the Star of the Sea Community Food Kitchen this week. The kitchen enables SOS to provide hundreds of children with meals every day which are nutritious and healthy. In an ideal world, this service wouldn’t be necessary, but the unfortunate reality is that it is. Without a number of generous grants and individuals, children in our community would be going hungry, and that’s never acceptable. Thank you SOS and patrons for all you do. 

Cheers: to Emergency Management Director Marty Senterfitt for trying to come up with ways to improve the county’s hurricane responsiveness. Not only does he have to plan for pre-storm preparedness but now, with the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT), he’s planning for the aftermath as well. Many citizens stepped up of their own volition after Irma out of necessity, and this new training will augment and improve the response, particularly in neighborhoods, where the official emergency teams don’t have the manpower to get to as swiftly. 

 Cheers: to Congressman Carlos Curbelo for his assistance in finally getting some movement on the replacement of the housing units on Sigsbee. Although the Navy doesn’t seem as eager to push for rebuilding the housing, they’ve been very cooperative with city and federal officials. Key West is very proud of the  military men and women who call the Keys home, but unfortunately, the lack of housing on the bases is another component to the lack of affordable housing in the area. By getting this approval, hopefully there will soon be movement on the rebuilding, which will go a long way towards alleviating our housing crunch. Thank you, Congressman. 

Jeers: to the weekend fishermen who think they can do whatever they want in Keys waters. Thanks to vigilant Fish and Wildlife officers, thankfully few escape. It often seems that they don’t realize the seriousness of what they are doing. Taking undersized lobster out of season harms the fishery for those who follow the rules and for those whose livelihoods depend on a healthy season. If you’re going to come to the Keys to fish, please read and understand the rules and don’t disrespect our environment. 

Cheers: to those who are still rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. You haven’t been forgotten.

Jeers: to Monroe County and the municipalities for not doing everything humanly possible to assist families devastated by the hurricane. It’s almost criminal the way that many residents have been treated. The over-reliance on FEMA has created an under-accountability from local officials. Clearly there are areas that have yet to be touched since the storm. An honest accounting of what is left to be done, and simply checking on area residents who lost their homes from time to time, shouldn’t have to wait on FEMA reimbursements. 

Jeers: to hurricane season — you are back way too early. How about taking a year off?