LATEST NEWS

Firefighters from the Key West Fire Department responded to a call regarding a shuttle bus on fire at Marriott Beachside, at 3814 N. Roosevelt Blvd., on Saturday, May 27. The first responders arrived on the scene at approximately 4 p.m. to find the shuttle fully engulfed in flames in front of Tavern N Town on the front side of the Marriott property. A second shuttle suffered minor damage due to...

On Oct. 17, 1996, Walter Logan, a lifelong newsman who was twice wounded as a correspondent covering World War II from the battlefront, died of pneumonia in Key West. He was 82. At the time of his death, Logan was working on his memoirs of his news life, a manuscript that was nearly complete. His death, in some ways, marked the sunsetting of strong, unfiltered journalism, but it has become more significant now because, after more than 26 years, the manuscript was discovered at a...

Investigators with the Key West Fire Department estimated $100,000 in losses due to damage caused by a gas explosion earlier this month at Tavern N Town Restaurant at the Marriott Beachside. Key West Fire Lt. Dereck Berger completed the incident report May 17, eight days after the explosion occurred. Six vehicles, including fire and rescue and 15 firefighters and EMS personnel, were dispatched to the scene in response to a...

Before they tossed their caps as graduates, Key West High’s Miesha Hernandez and James Reynolds both made it official that they will be playing college sports next season, as Hernandez will be part of the St. Thomas University softball team and Reynolds a preferred walk-on at the University of Miami. “It’s great,” said Reynolds. “It’s still close to home, still on the 305, it has a lot of history and a big legacy there, so I’m excited to get started and make my own legacy.” ...

In observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 29, a variety of ceremonies honoring the nation’s veterans killed in action will be held throughout the Florida Keys. Active military, veterans, family, friends and the public are invited to attend in appreciation of those who gave the greatest sacrifice for our rights and freedom. Events will be held at the following: Key West ...

The grand jury in Monroe County met in the past week and handed down murder indictments in two separate cases, one involving a shooting in Bahama Village and the other a fentanyl case in Grassy Key that led to the death of a 53-year-old woman. The grand jury indicted Alexis Joy Sather, 23, of Marathon, on a charge of first-degree murder for reportedly selling fentanyl that resulted in the overdose of 53-year-old Amanda Roberts of Grassy Key, according to Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward. ...

A federal judge has sentenced a 65-year old Key West man to a year and a half in prison for aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of false tax returns. Abel Raphael, 65, of Key West, Florida was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay almost $150,000 in restitution for aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of false tax returns, following his guilty plea in October 2022, according to the U.S Attorney's...

A company that recently settled a long-standing, potentially multimillion-dollar lawsuit with the Monroe County government again wants a potentially multimillion-dollar debris hauling contract and has offered $100,000 from the settlement to six local charities. One of the charities that has been offered money by the emergency debris removal company Ashbritt, the Cheryl Cates Memorial Foundation, was formed in memory of the late wife of Monroe County Mayor Craig Cates. Mayor Cates is not associated with nor on the board of the foundation, he said. ...

Woman swimming with shark swimming beneath her – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Willyam Bradberry. The second shark bite incidence of the week included a Florida angler who was bitten on the foot on Friday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Around 8 o’clock in the...

MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public to be on the lookout for phone and mail-based scams after they received a report from a South Florida resident Wednesday who said they were targeted by fraudsters. According to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson...

A promise was made by Key West High softball coach Jason Garcia during the postgame huddle following the final out of a 5-2 loss to Wakulla in the FHSAA State semifinals on Wednesday, May 24, in Clermont. "I said don't worry, we will be back next year, I promise you that," said Garcia. "We are going to work hard all summer and we will be back next year and beat them next year." ...

CHLOE GILDAY Key West, junior, softball It will go down as one of the great pitching performances in Key West High softball history, during the Region 4-4A championship against American Heritage, as Key West junior Chloe Gilday threw the game of her life with a no-hitter, one walk away from a perfection. A few days...

John Underwood went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the age of 88. He was born in Miami, Florida on Nov. 25, 1934 to Edward and Kathryn (Russell) Underwood. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1956 and was a reporter for both the Miami News and Miami Herald before writing for Sports Illustrated (SI) from 1961 to 1985 as a senior editor. John traveled to six continents on assignments with SI, authored 10 books (three of which were New York Times bestsellers), testified before a Senate Subcommittee on NCAA Sports, interviewed President Gerald Ford, wrote an Emmy award-winning documentary, “Jockey,” and was often referred to as the “conscience of sport in America.”

Two South Florida contractors were airlifted to Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital following an explosion at the popular Tavern N Town restaurant at Marriott Beachside. Police reports obtained and reviewed first by the Keys Citizen depict a chaotic scene as the Key West Police Department responded to reports of a gas explosion in the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 9. Leonard Williams, 36, of Pembroke Pines, and Gordon Mathers, 22,...

What we know so far.

Wesley House Family Services is seeking nurturing families interested in providing a loving home to children and teens who are in the foster care system. Classes begin on June 15 at the Wesley House Family Services’ Key Largo office, 99451 Overseas Highway, Suite. 200, and will be held for eight weeks, from 6 to 9 p.m. Registration is required. The class uses the Creating and Retaining Excellence (C.A.R.E.) curriculum. There is a great need for foster parents in the Upper Keys. If people can offer love and support to a child, they can be a foster parent. By providing a nurturing and caring home environment to the most vulnerable children in Monroe County, people can make a difference in their community. To register or for information, call Megan Burgess at 305-809-5020 or e-mail Megan.Burgess@WesleyHouse.org.

Following up on the overwhelming success of the bus-on-demand service Key West Rides, the City of Key West is moving ahead with more modifications of its local transit system. On Monday, June 5, the Key West Department of Transportation will launch a new service called the Work Force Express that will replace the current North and South bus transportation lines. “The City of Key West and Key West Transit (KWT)...

The premier attraction at Key West’s Shipwreck Museum is the salvaged cargo of the Isaac Allerton. The square-rigged merchant ship of 594 tons measured 137.2 feet in length, was built with two decks, and sold at auction on Jan. 19, 1839. Henry F. Jackson of Plymouth, Massachusetts, purchased the ship and christened it the Isaac Allerton.

What to know about the holiday trip.

It was an evening of Pomp & Circumstance — aboard personal watercraft — on May 19, when Somerset Island Prep held its fourth annual Jet Ski graduation ceremony in Key West Harbor. The ceremony started out more traditionally, with the school’s 14 graduates sitting in black caps and...