Local News in Key West

Keys Weekly Published 21 hours ago

Keys History: Recalling the railways and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935

It is safe to say that Henry Flagler was tickled when his private railcar, the Flagler Special, rolled into the Key West station at 10:43 a.m. on Jan. 22, 1912. Some 10,000 people gathered at the depot area to celebrate the arrival of the 82-year-old industrialist. While Key West…

Keys Weekly Published 21 hours ago

What’s Cooking Key West: Cuban coffee adds zest to caffeinated martinis

Located closer to Cuba than to the U.S. mainland, Key West began welcoming its Cuban neighbors in the early 1830s. Many were cigarmakers, and the city’s first cigar factory opened in 1831. By the mid- to late-1800s, Key West was known as the cigar manufacturing capital of the…

Keys Weekly Published September 04

Key West Back in the Day: The duck on a stick

One of the best birthday presents I ever bought anybody was a duck on a stick. It wasn’t a decision involving long forethought. After all, a duck on a stick doesn’t instantly leap to mind when you’re seeking the perfect birthday gift for a friend. However, this was the early…

Keys Weekly Published August 28

Local immigrants face uncertainty; businesses struggle with staffing

Immigration agents with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have removed at least 65 people from Key West and Stock Island since Aug. 1 as enhanced enforcement efforts continue and additional agents are seen around town. “It actually could be as many as 75 or 80 people just this…

Keys Weekly Published August 28

Key West Back in the Day: Remembering the old Conch Flyer & ‘Air Sometimes’

Anyone who was part of the late-night crowd during Key West’s ramshackle glory days, loosely defined as the 1970s and most of the 1980s, remembers the old Conch Flyer. That’s because bars on the island were legally required to close at 4 a.m. — an hour many of us regarded as…

Keys Weekly Published August 27

Immigration agents release Key West resident whose Navy son is serving in the Middle East

While Navy sailor Joshua Aviles, a one-time Key West High School student, was in the Middle East, serving aboard the infamous aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, his father, Luis, was in custody, having been detained by Border Patrol agents following an Aug. 22 traffic stop in Key…

Recording of Swearing-in Ceremony of Elected Officials