Key West has a couple of newspapers, both online and in print. They all feature local news and many of them are owned by the same company. Today online at keysnews.com, I was trying to read an article and there were so many typos I couldn't understand what I was reading. Here's the text in full:
"The 2004 and 2005 hurricanehurrricaneseasons turned the waters off the Lower Keys into a virtual boat graveyard, as hundreds of vesselsboat littered the beaches and mangrove islands. While many of the vessels have since have been removed, the task is far from complete.Cleaning up nature's work is an expensive undertaking and cost thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to clean up.
AOnecasino boat, the Lady Luck, is one of the most visible examples of the problem. The vessel still remains mired on shallowhigh and dry ongrasstheflats in the Saddlebunch Keys, visible to tourists and commuters traveling on U.S. 1 around off Mmile Mmarker 13.The 100-ton vessel, registered to a Melbourne, Fla.-based company,was sweptblownonto its muddy berththerewhen Hurricane Wilma brushed the Florida Keys in 2005.
and caught fire last summer. Now, nearly two years later, aAproposed agreement between the Monroe Ccounty and the federal government agency that oversees the Florida Keys National Marine Ssanctuary could finally generatebringa plan and the money to remove thefloatingcasino boat and other derelict vessels, which is registered to a Melbourne, Fla. company, called Coin Castle.
Monroe County administrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette's decision to reduce the Marine Resources Division from three people to one person left doubt's in the mind's of Florida Keys Marine Sanctaury officials and others about whether one person could handle that direlect vessel removal, enforce mandatory pump out laws, repair and replace channel markers and other issues the county receives more than $200,000 a year in state boater improvement funds to do.
Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurance that the work the department was doing would continue. Willi assured he would and planned to hold with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to handle marine related issues. However, the meeting was cancelled after it turn into a public forum that had to be advertised.
The Monroe County Commission will vote Wednesday on anpactagreementbetween the county and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the sanctuary, "to facilitate cooperation and coordination for the funding and implementation of emergency response and marine salvage efforts within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary."
The agreement would allow the county to receivebe paidcleanup costspaidthrough a federal government fund that is set up to pay for vessel groundings. The — afund is generated from fines levied against and comes from the owners of boats that have grounded on coral reef, seagrass and other sensitive marine habitat.
The agreement would allow the county and NOAA to partner on these projects —,somethingwhichthey informally have informally done informally in the past.
"This will allow for the ability of funds to be transferred between NOAA and the county for projects like the Lady Luck on an as-needed basis, which have happened in the past," said Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score said.
A draft plan for removingfor the removal ofLady Luck has been approved, but attorneys are still are working on the details. Estimates by various salvage companies have placed the cost atofmore than $500,000.
"It's going to be very expensive," said Steve Werndli, who is overseeing the project for the sanctuary.
Werndli wcould not release details of the plan, or thethe amount it is going tocost of implementing it,,because of ongoing litigation between NOAA and the vessel's owners.
The proposal comefollowsafter a decision byed agreement also comes afterMonroe County Aadministrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette'sdecided to reduce the county's Marine Resources staffDivisionfrom three people to one person, Senior Marine Planner Rich Jones. Thatemove raised concern amongleft doubt in the mindsofficials at the sof Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary officials and other agenciessabout whether one county employeepersoncanould adequately can managehandlederelict vessel removal, water quality programsissues, themaintenance of channel markers and other projects for whichissuesthe county receives more than $200,000 a year from the in state Bboater Iimprovement Ffunds to do.
Score recently sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurancesthat that the work the downsized department was doing would continue. Willi assured him it would, and said he planned to conductholda meeting with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to deal withhandlemarine-related issues. However, the meeting was waslatercancelled after it became apparentturn into a public forumthat it would havehadto be advertised as a public meeting. Willi then said he would meet individually with officials.
County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent has mixed feelings about the proposed agreement with NOAA.
"I think that they (county Growth Management officials) are trying to show that they are quickly addressing these issues," he County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent said of the agreement."It serves a purpose for both the sanctuary and the county. But there is so much more that Marine Resources does. We are just understaffed to handle all of the duties. There is no way Rich Jones can do this alone."
Also on Wednesday, the commission will vote on the appointment of John Marston to the Monroe County Planning Commission. Marston willwouldreplace Sherry Popham.
The commission alsowill also vote on amendments to its comprehensive land-use plan. Those amendments thatdeal with preservingmaintainingmarinas and working waterfront. "
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hey.... its halloween... the best thing i could ever do for myself..BODYPAINT myself as who else if not the RED DEVIL and slip into my favorite PRADA sandals.. and voila...goes the infamous tagline...
Lobstering in Key West
It's been five weeks since lobster mini season in the Florida Keys. People are still out there on the reef going after bugs, but the crowds have thinned now that school is back in session and summer is over. The commercial traps are out and buoys are everywhere. The onslaught is over, but believe it or not there are still lobsters out there very close to Key West.
For freedivers, the key is looking under rocks even when there are no visible antennae sticking out. You just have to look a little harder now. At the beginning of lobster mini season, you could just snorkel and look down to see antennae poking out from under rocks and ledges. But the rocks aren't so crammed with lobsters anymore so the remaining bugs are deep under the rocks and you have to look for them.
Getting down to the bottom and looking under the rocks means you have to be upside down to get a good look. For some, this requires dive weights. A dive belt costs anywhere from $15 on ebay up to $50 from your local dive shop. You will see one size fits all but if you are very small or very large you can buy sizes from scuba gear stores online. For example, you can get a 40 inch belt if you are petite. There are different numbers of weight pockets available, too: 4-pocket, 5-pocket etc.
Dive weights come in two types: normal and fancy. Normal are just blocks of lead that've been used for decades by divers. Fancy cost up to twice as much and consist of bags filled with lead beads. They are supposed to be more conforming to the body. "Normal" or traditional blocks of lead, at just $1 a pound, work fine. You won't even feel the blocks at all because you'll be in the water.
Now that you have dive weights and you can stay on the bottom better, find a rock and look in the crevice. If you see a lobster, give him a nudge with your tickle stick. Get him to come out of the rock. The first step is finding one and getting him out from under the rock. Then go up for air but keep your eyes on him. Then go down and get him into your net. It's a two-step process unless you can hold your breath for a long time or unless you are an expert who's been lobstering for years and years. Usually, after they come out from under the rock, they'll try and find another rock to crawl under. But they don't move as fast as a fish and you can see where they go. Sometimes they can't find another rock and sometimes when they do it's too small for them to fit so they just end up hiding halfway. Sometimes there's already a lobster under the new rock so they get pushed out. It's a tough world out there for lobsters!
With the dive weights you will find that it's much easier to hover near a rock but not that much difference in getting around. You can start out with just a few pounds and see what's best. For most people, at least four pounds will be needed to make much difference. You can buy the weights in 1, 2, and five pound increments and up. Even for a petite woman, one pound increments is pretty negligible so start with some two-pound weights. It will feel strange at first but you'll get used to it, just like everything else with freediving. Have fun!
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