News
FIRM and Representative Ken Sorensen on Bill Becker's Morning NewsTuesday, July 9, 2008
Click here for Heather's Statement of Ethical Campaign Practices (PDF).
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County wants to be 59th national park
Officals say it's the only way to pay $1.2 billion for unbuildable land
By TIM CHAPMAN
KeysNet.com
Maintaining habitat for endangered species such as Key deer have caused many lots to be deemed unbuildable.
When Monroe County officials go to Tallahassee Tuesday to report on how the county's doing on a state-mandated work plan, they're going to make a pitch -- for $1.2 billion.
That's how much county officials say the Keys are on the hook for to buy private land deemed unbuildable under the islands' strict environmental rules. And because that financial burden obviously can't be borne by 75,000 residents, they want much of the Keys to be declared the nation's 59th national park. With that status, they say, would come money to buy the land.
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(By TIM CHAPMAN, KeysNet.com)
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Keys sales don't match mainland gains
Single-family home sales down 19 percent in August
Wire and staff report
KeysNet.com
Home sales in parts of South Florida jumped in August amid signs that lower prices are drawing buyers back into the region’s long-struggling housing market.
Sales of existing single-family homes in Miami-Dade County increased 22 percent and Broward County sales increased 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to numbers released last week by the Florida Association of Realtors.
Condominium sales were up 13 percent in Miami-Dade, while condo activity in Broward for the month was even compared to August 2007.
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(Wire and staff report, KeysNet.com)
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Times change as grid nears
Planning panel OKs power on No Name Key
A plan to bring central sewer service and utilities to No Name Key moved ahead Wednesday, with the Monroe County Planning Commission recommending a change to the county's comprehensive plan and land development regulations that would accomplish both objectives.
The change also could help one No Name Key neighborhood of 18 homes become eligible for federally subsidized flood insurance.
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(BY TIMOTHY O'HARA, Citizen Staff)
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County is passing ball on Trauma Star Issue
Three new offices come online in recession
The Key West Citizen, July 25, 2008
Elected officials are, we may assume, in office because they want to be public servants, representing all of us. No one has forced them to put their names on the ballot or to accept a call to service.
County and city commissions have many issues presented to them for discussion, voting and implementation. One of their responsibilities,
of course, is to investigate, research and, thus, become at least minor
experts on any proposals that are brought to their attention by their fellow
elected officials or by the citizens they have chosen to represent.
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(The Key West Citizen)
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County shortfall: $12.5M
Three new offices come online in recession
By Wayne Markham wmarkham@keynoter.com
Posted-Saturday, June 14, 2008
Service cuts, tax increases on the table
Monroe County's past spending habits are coming back to haunt county policy makers, who learned Friday they face a $12.5 million budget crunch.
Based on this year's $79.1 million in property tax revenue, reducing county spending by that much for budget year 2008-09 represents a 15 percent cut.
“It's scary,” said County Commissioner George Neugent, who found out about the magnitude of the financial problems at the same time he learned a budget workshop scheduled for next was being canceled.
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(BY TIMOTHY O'HARA, The Key West Citizen)
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Timing bad for county buildings
Three new offices come online in recession
When Monroe County officials first discussed building a new courthouse, no one imagined the price would balloon by $14 million.
The Freeman Justice Center in Key West is one of three new government buildings the county will open this summer. While the new medical examiner's office in Marathon is $1.1 million over budget, the Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo is $500,000 under budget.
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(BY TIMOTHY O'HARA, The Key West Citizen)
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No power for No Name - not yet
The Monroe County Commission on Wednesday moved forward with two proposals to bring a central sewer system and federal flood insurance to sections of No Name Key, but delayed voting on a plan to bring commercial power there.
County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro sponsored a resolution to bring power and a central sewer system to the entire small barrier island of 43 homes, but Commissioner Dixie Spehar changed the resolution to state the county will focus on bringing a central sewer system to No Name Key first.
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(BY TIMOTHY O'HARA, The Key West Citizen)
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Nonprofits tell legislator of woes
Federal, state, county cuts hurt social services
State Rep. Ron Saunders was in Key West Friday to learn how local social services providers — and the people they serve — have been affected by state and Monroe County budget cuts.
This year's one-two punch left most agencies with less money and more people seeking services. On top of job layoffs — two dozen county employees and several schoolteachers among them — many people are suffering with rising gas and food costs.
Samuel's House, one of the agencies that suffered cuts, was on Saunders' tour. Founder Elmira Leto was happy to tell Saunders how the cuts have hurt the nonprofit agency, and the women and children who need housing.
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(BY TIMOTHY O'HARA, The Key West Citizen, June 3, 2008)
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Di Gennaro takes reins
In a surprise move, McCoy hands over the county mayorship to vice mayor
Citing Monroe County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro's strong relationship with state officials, fellow Commissioner Sonny McCoy “temporarily” but abruptly relinquished the county mayorship to Di Gennaro at the conclusion of Wednesday's commission meeting in Key Largo.
McCoy then appointed himself vice mayor. He told the Keynoter it would be best for Di Gennaro to hold the post when Gov. Charlie Crist and other state officials visit the Keys this summer.
Di Gennaro, a Republican like Crist, took the governor out fishing when he visited Marathon in spring 2007. And earlier this month, on a federal level, he hosted a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
“They're all very close to [Di Gennaro] and have a nice relationship going on there. When they come down, they're entertained at his house and I think it's to the benefit of our county to have a good relationship on a personal level with the governor,” he said.
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(by Ryan McCarthy, The Keynoter, Saturday, May 24, 2008)
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On Going Green
Thinking Green for the GLEE Expo, May 2008
My appreciation for our natural environment began as a child, when my parents and I traveled in a camper across America – perhaps the best education I could ever have experienced. I’ve biked the Canadian Rockies, rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, smelled the giant Sequoias, canoed in the Adirondacks, hiked the Alleghenies. And I fell in love with the unparalleled natural marine environment of the Florida Keys.
I recognize the importance of the unique ecosystem of the Florida Keys both to residents and visitors – to our health, to our nation, and to our economy. Our living reef, already under considerable stress, is central to healthy tourism and fishing industries – and offers residents a spectacular weekend playground.
As a marketer, I understand the value in maintaining a destination that has no rivals, no alternatives in America. As a business owner, I recognize the long-term cost efficiencies of “going green” as well as the marketing advantage of doing so. I continue to pursue greening efforts for my business.
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(by Heather Carruthers)
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Better local government makes better headlines
It's no secret that Monroe County is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. Headlines on our pages have detailed one county crisis after another, many of them documenting the path to the current budget crisis.
But just as headlines about soaring windstorm insurance rates don't really hit home until the bills reach homeowners' mailboxes, stories about inept leadership and poor decision-making in county government are just beginning to click for some now that layoffs, reduced services and higher taxes are becoming reality.
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(The Key West Citizen 2/22/08)
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE KEY WEST CITIZEN, APRIL 26, 2008
Commissioner's legacy should be moving on
As reported in the Tuesday edition of the Key West Citizen, Mr. [Sonny] McCoy has announced his intention to run for a third term on the County Commission. He is quoted as saying "We have some nice projects coming on line." (Like the Key West Airport project destined to bear his name, now millions of dollars over budget due to cost overruns and mismanagement and the subject of a grand jury investigation.)
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(Chuck Chartrand | Big Pine Key)
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Senate bill proposes insurance reforms - 03/31/2008
A state Senate committee has proposed a new law that would provide favorable reforms for Florida Keys windstorm insurance ratepayers.
If approved by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, the bill would freeze current Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates for an additional year, through Dec. 31, 2009, instead of the current deadline, at the end of 2008...
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(By Anne-Margaret Sobota | Citizen Staff)
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County banks on $200M sewer bond
A state bond that could bring $200 million to Monroe County for much-needed wastewater projects has cleared its first hurdle.
The Florida House Environmental & Natural Resources Council on Wednesday passed an amendment to an Everglades bill authorizing $200 million in state bond funding to go to the Florida Keys...CONTINUE READING
(By Timothy O'Hara | Citizen Staff)
