Letters to the editor with pictures since 0202. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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| No More Changing Clocks] A bill to let Florida remain on daylight saving time year-round is headed to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk after the state Senate approved the measure 33-2 on Tuesday. Well, someone finally got something right! Link |
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 [Missing Article] I have heard from two disgusted Key West Citizen readers who reported that the front page headline story: “Judge Rules on Grinder Pumps” in the weekend edition Oct 20-21, did not show up in the online edition. So out of town readers like snowbirds may not have discovered that Judge Koenig ruled that the County and FKAA have been unlawfully demanding (many say extorting) easements for the extension of their grinder pump sewer collection system onto people’s yards (so FKAA does not have to provide the electrical service connection that would be needed if the pump was installed on the road shoulder). At least one person cancelled the Citizen online subscription because of this. You have to question why this important story was omitted in the online edition. The expanded story is much more accessible at this link.
Once again, we get more reliable information from the Coconut Telegraph and The Blue Paper than from the printed newspapers; and why I prefer to read, recommend and support them. |
[Five Billion Robo Calls a Month] The FCC has ordered phone carriers to do something about them or else. The FTC is mad at them too. Link |
| [Wedding Bell Blues] Judge orders end to Lighthouse Beach weddings. A final order on the code violation case against Key Largo Lighthouse Beach was handed down by Special Magistrate Judge John Van Laningham last week, giving the property owner a grace period of about 10 months to button up affairs and stop hosting weddings. Link
Fifth Dimension – Wedding Bell Blues |
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| [Vote Beth Ramsay-Vickrey for Utility Board] As you head to the polls today to vote, please consider why I’m running and what I want to do: Costs: I want to help lower your monthly electric bill because I want you to be able to afford to live here, Community: I want to give our community the involved representation we deserve, and Conservation: I want to expand conservation programs, policies, and efforts to protect our Keys.  These things can’t be done by just showing up for a short board meeting in Key West.These things can only be done by showing up and being involved in Our Community, and I have been: 300± county public meetings successfully advocating for our local utility and conservation policies. 170+ community events this year alone. Deer Friends and Neighbors, after 75 years without representation for our community, It’s Time For Someone From Our Community who Will Work For Our Community! I’m Beth Ramsay-Vickrey, your BPK neighbor, and I’m humbly asking for your Vote for KW Utility Board Seat D. ***For Your Costs, For Our Community, and For The Conservation Of Our Keys*** |
I’m glad the Citizen is again running the diary of the wrecking lawyer from 1830. What a terrific insight to the daily lives of Key Westers in the 1830s. |
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| [Death & Taxes] All over our country it is said that the wheels of government turn ever so slowly, but not here in Monroe County. Every Nov 1st, without fail, BLAM! There it is, our tax bill in our mail box. Not the 2nd or Oct 31st. Nov. 1st precisely. It just gives me the warm fuzzies. |
My Uber driver has a serious attitude problem. |
| [British Relief of Norway 1940] The next day (April 12th) a dive-bombing attack on German ships in Narvik harbour was made from the Furious. The attack was pressed home in terrible weather and low visibility in the fiord, and four hits on destroyers were claimed for the loss of two aircraft. At noon on April 13th Admiral Whitworth entered the fiord, escorted by nine destroyers and by dive-bombers from the Furious. There were no minefields; but a U-boat was driven off by the destroyers, and a second sunk by the Warspite’s own “Swordfish” aircraft, which also detected a German destroyer lurking in an inlet to launch her torpedoes on the battleship from this ambush. The hostile destroyer was quickly overwhelmed. At 1.30 p.m., when our ships were through the Narrows and a dozen miles from Narvik, five enemy destroyers appeared ahead in the haze. At once a fierce fight began, with all ships on both sides firing and maneuvering rapidly. The Warspite found no shore batteries to attack and intervened in deadly fashion in the destroyer fight. The thunder of her 15-inch guns reverberated among the surrounding mountains like the voice of doom. The enemy, heavily overmatched, retreated, and the action broke up into separate combats. Some of our ships went into Narvik harbour to complete the task of destruction there; others, led by the Eskimo, pursued three Germans who sought refuge in the head-waters of Rombaks Fiord and annihilated them there. The bows of the Eskimo were blown off by a torpedo; but in this second sea fight off Narvik the eight enemy destroyers which had survived Warburton-Lee’s attack were all sunk or wrecked without the loss of a single British ship. ~Churchill |
Kenny, the Manager of Winn Dixie, took time off from managing to help our veterans by selling dogs and drinks. All proceeds went to Folds of Honor. Folds of Honor provides educational scholarships to the children and spouses of our fallen and disabled service members while serving our nation. Link |
| [Fort Lauderdale Boat Show] Whether you’re in the market for a new boat or simply want to see the latest in boats and boating accessories, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show has everything you’re looking for. Link |
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| [“Free press”] Today’s press has been neutered by those who hate. That’s pure and simple. |
If you think education is expensive, try the price of ignorance. |
| There is way too much hate on this site by way too many people that think they are just special. |
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| I voted this morning and couldn’t help but notice how tense it was in there. Everyone was friendly and helpful, but I could feel the tension as if everyone were waiting for something to happen. Or maybe it was that everyone had something to say but wasn’t allowed. |
 Why some of us flirt with socialism is perplexing. Nothing is free, there is no free stuff. Remember government makes nothing. It only takes. For those of you who pay no income tax, you’re not home free. To pay for your free stuff you will pay more for your rent, beer, chips & dip, your gas, your Big Mac, your elect and your water. You will pay more for your shirt, pants, shoes and socks. You will pay more for most everything. You see, free really isn’t free. Florida will not allow a state income tax unless approved by the voters. So what that means is the money for free stuff will have to come from taxing. You and Me, any way the Socialist can. Don’t be fooled, tricked or mis-lead by the free everything pitch. Socialism is for Cuba, not America. You know how that’s working out don’t you? Speaking for myself, I have never seen anyone leaving America to cross the Gulf Stream to live in Cuba. It’s not allowed. A lasting memory I have is of finding one of those rafts offshore. It was void of life with nothing but empty water jugs and some infants’ clothing. That alone brings home what people will risk to escape Socialism! |
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| [The Final Authority On Who’s A Local] “If anyone welcomes the illegal immigrants into the Keys they will be banned from happy hour” How happy can happy hour be with your unhappy ass there? What happened to One Human Family? Oh, that’s right – you moved to the Keys from somewhere else and now the Keys are yours. You’re racist. You’re a fake just like the rest of the recent relocating wannabes. Even Jimmy Buffet had sense to leave before you got here. But hey, you got Howie[?]. I know, you want to save the Key deer, think you’re going to bring the reef back. And you even go drink with and piss with your friends out at Picnic Island off Little Palm, but you aren’t really Keys or Florida, for that matter. May cancer find and ruin your organs like you did the Florida Keys |
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| [Experiencing Random Acts of Kindness] Nolan Peterson, a former special operations pilot and a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, is The Daily Signal’s foreign correspondent based in Ukraine. Nolan wrote of the U.S. trip with his Ukraine wife. Link |
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| [Sewers] By independently analyzing the raw data, it has been determined beyond doubt that the claims of water quality improvement due to the connection to central sewers are totally bogus. We can see the true water deterioration for ourselves, but now we know how the sampling results were manipulated to prove a falsehood. It was very tedious and time-consuming work, but the deceit was revealed. The old hippie admonition to always question authority is more true now than ever. If the printed media did that before publishing, maybe there would be less fake news. |
[“Free press”] Our government is cracking down on Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela because they are Socialist states. What do they all have in common? No free press! Take away or discredit our free press and we’ll end up like them or worse yet — become a fascist state. Fascist, Communist and Socialists states all censor the press. Freedom of speech and the press is what made America great. Let’s try to make it great again and stop criticizing the mainstream media and calling it fake news when it isn’t. It’s the criticism of the mainstream media that is the fake news not its content. |
| Due to schedule conflicts some adjustments were made to the AARP November activities calendar. Full Menu > Ongoing Events |
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| [TinEye] TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions. TinEye uses image recognition technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. Link |
 Deer fellow writers! The next meeting of the Keys Writers Group is Wed, Nov 7th at the Big Pine Library, 1 pm. We have lost many talented writers since hurricane Irma and the library meeting room was closed for 9 months due to Irma repairs. Some of us have continued to meet as often as possible. It’s now time to revitalize our group! If you know of anyone who is interested in meeting with us please invite them to come on down to the library this Wednesday! Remember, we need copies (at least 5) for everyone to follow along as you read. And no more than 5 pages, double spaced.
We’ll be meeting before the meeting, for lunch at Coco’s Kitchen between Winn Dixie and Bealls at 12 noon if you’d like to join us. |
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| Millennials and jobs. Video |
[Invasion] “This week was the 80th anniversary of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” broadcast that made panicky, gullible people believe an “invasion” was under way – thank god something like that couldn’t happen today!” ~Bill Maher |
Shopping list I spent five minutes trying to figure out who Tom is and what his onion picking skills have to do with my sandwich |
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| Do not allow fear from the MAGAbombers keep you from voting. Ignore the fear mongering that’s so obvious. Practice your freedom to vote. Following the news of the events, the hashtag “#MAGABomber” began trending on Twitter. |
Cheerleader takes a knee at 49ers game. |
| Use this link to report illegals. Link |
| Submit anything but National Politics to island@bigpinekey.com For National Politics go directly to that page, log in, and post your comment. NATIONAL POLITICS |
