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 [“Corals”] Monroe County needs to back aquaculture — and fast. The local tourism scene depends on healthy reefs, and real monies on the line. Aquaculture isn’t just some niche hobby—it’s proven economic value in Florida. Ornamentals like live rock and coral bring serious cash into the Keys region. They support families and keep small operations afloat—not just big players.
In Marathon, you’re on the front lines, you know the reef, you feel the currents, and you know how fragile this all is. Local aquaculture deserves support, not red tape. More permitting, less waiting. Feed the reef, feed the local economy, and don’t let shortsighted policy kill what you’re building. This isn’t idealism. It’s simple economics and survival. The Keys ecosystem, hospitality industry, and small business owners all benefit when aquaculture wins. Link |
| [Highest Paying Jobs] So where are the builders, welders, farmers, truckers, plumbers, mechanics, etc.? Yeah right. The real money is had by the useless eaters every time. Shouldn’t bartenders be on this list? Link |
 [Sparrows] The secret to song sparrows’ extraordinary success lies in their genome. This ordinary-seeming songbird species is teeming with subtle genetic diversity, which allows local populations to respond in various ways to a changing world. Link |
| [Veterans Budget Cut] Heartbroken at the depths of our souls, we’ve steadfastly attempted to make sense of and justify the harmful actions recently taken by a governing body we’ve come to love, admire and respect over the course of our 50 plus years of living in Monroe County. Collectively, with an extraordinary and unrelenting effort by this distinguished publication, we’ve determinedly made aware and pressed forward in reducing Veteran suicide rates by 18%. Given the years of war and sustained combat, Twenty-two Veterans a day had been killing themselves everyday, for many years. However, somehow at this juncture in time we’re finding it agreeable to terminate the Director of Veterans Services position in Monroe County, along with firing support personnel, which had breathed life and hope into those traumatized Veterans, seeking to refrain from being driven to commit the ultimate-act of self-destruction. Cutting waste, fraud and theft from government budgets should not and was never intended to harm Veterans, their families and our extended communities. Whatever we want to call the county’s fiduciary challenges, catapulting Veterans back into the hell and darkness from which they came is not an acceptable answer. Weakening any of the hard won structures that repair and heal the lives of our Veterans, who preserve and protect the Nation in which we live, is really quite scandalous and alarming. There are a plethora of remedies that can be enacted upon, whereby, the budgetary cuts impacting Veterans can be rescinded. There’s a cadre of distinguished individuals willing to pledge their life’s, fortunes and sacred Honor; to assist Monroe County’s leaders in redressing these budgetary concerns. Thereby, granting the men and women who’ve served in our Armed Forces a reprieve from the punitive consequences they’ll endure, from the budget that awaits them. Delegating the sacrificial service commitments made by our Veterans, many of which shed their blood and treasure on foreign soil, to a line item proposed on a piece of paper, is a tragic and unfortunate set of circumstances. It is to this point, that we wish the County Commission to reconsider and seek a resolution to our concerns. Thank you. John Donnely |
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| [No One Understands Tariffs] Tariffs are a tax called by another name to get public support. The person importing foreign goods pays the tax as soon as it crosses the border—not the country shipping the goods. When China sells an American shop owner a case of cups for a hundred dollars, it still sells it for a hundred dollars when it reaches our borders. There is no price change. When that $100 case of cups crosses our border the American business owner has to pay the tax. The American businessman is stuck with the tax not the country of origin. |
 [Shroud of Turin] The movie. Christianity’s most mysterious relic. I read it was an old Heffner bed sheet from the Playboy Club in NYC! Carbon dated to the 15th century. But it’s still making the Catholics millions. Link |
| What would you do to change the world? |
 Meteor shower calendar. |
| Schools use AI to monitor kids, hoping to prevent violence. Our investigation found security risks. The goal is to keep children safe, but these tools raise serious questions about privacy and security — as proven when Seattle Times and Associated Press reporters inadvertently received access to almost 3,500 sensitive, unredacted student documents through a records request about the district’s surveillance technology. Link |
 [Yellow Submarine] Monroe County officials Monday removed an abandoned massive 96-foot yellow submarine from the nearshore waters of the Florida Keys. The sub was brought to the Keys in the late 1990s by an engineer who hoped to make it seaworthy and take it to Honduras to operate tours, but, that never happened! Link |
| [Song] Jesse Welles sings ” Join ICE ” Video |
 [Listening] There may be no greater crisis today than the collapse of listening. That is one of the main reasons we have so much violence in the world and even in family homes. We are a species addicted to talking, judging, and reacting. We pretend to communicate, but we mainly broadcast. We imagine connection, but we rarely allow another soul to enter our awareness fully. We scroll, speak, perform, interrupt, distract, dismiss, correct, or agree automatically — and call it communication. But listening? Authentic, deep, soul-level listening? That is nearly extinct. Intelligence is directly proportional to listening.
“To listen is to change. |
 [Personality] Your Frenchie’s squishy face might shape their personality. French bulldogs, pugs, and other short-nosed breeds may be innately calm—but will only stay so if they’re properly trained. Link
Lloyd Price – Personality |
| [Conspiracy Theory of the Week] The Titanic never sank. Believers say one gigantic boat was swapped for another for insurance money. Here’s the truth. Link |
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| [Socialism] If I had a dollar for every time socialism worked, I would have $0.00. Coincidentally, if it did work, I would also have $0.00 |
 Bye bye, bifocals? New eye drops can fix farsightedness. The FDA approved the first-of-its-kind prescription treatment to release later this year. Link |
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 [For Rent] 2 bedrooms. One bath. Unfurnished Duplex on clean boating canal w/seawall going to Pine Channel and coral reef. Tiled floors throughout. Stainless steel appliances. Ceiling fans in living room, kitchen and bath. Laundry room. Small screened porch. Very clean. A/C., large brick patio. Parking for 2 vehicles. Ground level. Port Pine heights subdivision. Quiet neighborhood. 750 square feet. No smokers or dogs. $1800 a month. First, last and $1000 security ($4600 total to move in) Utilities not included. 3970 No Name Road. Port Pine Heights sub-division. For more info and photos (text only)305-942-4323 or email: b33043@outlook.com |
 Starbucks asks customers in South Korea to stop bringing printers and desktop computers into stores as workers transform cafés into remote offices. Link |
| Wikipedia has lost a legal challenge to new Online Safety Act rules which it says could threaten the human rights and safety of its volunteer editors. The Wikimedia Foundation – the non-profit which supports the online encyclopedia – wanted a judicial review of regulations which could mean Wikipedia has to verify the identities of its users. Link |
 [Asleep at the Wheel] 133-year old Eastman Kodak says it might have to cease operations. Kodak introduced the first digital camera in 1975. But Kodak failed to capitalize on the rise of the digital technology. Paul Simon’s hit song “Kodachrome” topped the charts in 1973.Paul Simon – Kodachrome |
| The current Coconut Telegraph was published on 8/12/25 at 10:38 am. |
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  REDUCED $500 every 2 weeks2012 21’6” Key West Bay  Reef2015 250HP Suzuki DF250APX (321 hours) 25’ Continental tandem trailer rebuilt with new tandem axels, running lights, brake lights in 2024. $22,000See the Full Ad and Photos |