Doing a (dis)service to the community - Weekly briefing - 8 August 2023

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Our Community

(Dis) serving the community. Despite its mission to serve the community Sunbeam Christian School was closed by its pastor with little notice. He fired nine teachers for their refusal to commit to living a "Biblical lifestyle." (Keys Weekly)

• Families panicked. Parents of more than 50 children, from infants to 4-year-olds are scrambling. One parent said, “The new pastor came from Jacksonville a few years ago and has been changing everything, including making the Sunbeam staff tithe." (Keys Weekly)

Labor market trouble in schools and elsewhere

• Wanna work in paradise? Monroe schools want to pay up to $98K to teachers and staff. (Fox 13 News - Tampa)
• Unreal. Monroe schools want to hire 'virtual teachers' to address staffing shortages. Superintendent says it’s a constant struggle to hire staff because of the affordable housing crisis in the Keys. (WLRN)
• School daze. Keys kids head back to school 10 August.
• Guilty plea. Illegal immigrant labor in Florida Keys hotels, restaurants led to an $8.4 million fraud in which labor 'brokers' sent illegal workers to Florida Keys hospitality businesses. (Florida Keys News)
• Losing workers because of new law. Immigration rules start to strain some businesses. (New York Times)

Lofts project in trouble. A significant gap in affordability would make the Lofts project home ownership units out of reach for most income levels. (Keys Weekly)  

Psych out? Maybe. College Board announced that Florida schools should no longer offer AP Psychology. The latest tussle came over a section in the course that addresses gender and sexual orientation. (New York Times)

• Reversal. But the College Board later said that AP Psychology may be allowed after all. (New York Times)

Tax increase sustained. Finance Director asked city commissioners to keep the increased rate the same to help combat increases in personnel costs for the city. (Citizen)

Bike lanes on South Roosevelt? Chris Hamilton argues that it's not too late to add the protected bike lanes that City Commissioners voted for. But City’s Engineering said it would cost the City some money and was too risky because of FDOT deadlines. (Car Free Cities)

Air safety rules waived. Ron DeSantis’ Key West anti-migrant missions raised pilot safety concerns. (NBC News)

Hot water. Florida corals are in hotter water than first thought. (Florida Keys News)

• Coral restoration. Keys marine lab and coral practitioners collaborate to beat the heat. (Keys Weekly)
• Moved further offshore. Given the urgency of the situation, non-profit Reef Renewal received an Army Corps Permit in record time to move the corals to much deeper and cooler water. (Citizen)
• Artificial reefs. Monroe County and the state moved forward with plans to spend an unprecedented $10 million state allocation for artificial reef projects. (Citizen)

Hot air. More scorching heat was forecast for the Keys. The weather service issued a heat advisory Sunday, saying it could feel as hot as 112 degrees. (Florida Keys News)

Two months ahead of schedule. FKAA crews reached the halfway mark on its Islamorada water main replacement project, but traffic impacts aren't expected to lessen until March 2024. (Keys Weekly)

Surviving the Overseas Highway. Linda Cunningham said to stick to the speed limit or the flow of traffic along with other practical advice. (Key West Island News)

She likes them. Nancy Klingener recommended podcasts, video, and most importantly, books. 

It's hard out there. Mark Hedden enlightened us about short-tailed hawks. (Keys Weekly)

Our Eyes

Key West Colors - CJ Groth

Previously in Key West Voices

Tourism; tourist behaving badly. 

• Get real. Linda Cunningham warned us in Key West Island News that over the past three decades, we’ve moved from being a working town that welcomed visitors to a bucket-list visitor destination that’s undermining the working town that supports those visitors.
• Relentless promotion. The Citizen told us that TDC has launched a new version of its visitor website.
• Ohio Police Chief jailed. The chief of Boston Heights (OH) police was arrested early Friday in Key West after police say he assaulted a homeless man. 
• Square grouper haul. Miami's Local 10 News reported that border patrol officials seized over $1 million worth of cocaine and hashish in the Florida Keys.
• Welcome. Keys Weekly told us how the replacement of Key West’s welcome sign prompted debate by the city commission.

Coral in hot water. Our hopper of links to include here is rife with stories about hot water and peril for our coral.

• A race to salvage imperiled corals. The Washington Post quoted Andrew Baker, of the Coral Reef Futures Lab at the University of Miami “This is definitely the worst bleaching event that Florida has ever seen.” 
• '100% coral mortality' was found at Florida Keys reef due to rising temperatures, according to the Coral Restoration Foundation in USA Today. 
• Iraqi News reported alarm as seawater heats up off Florida Keys. Yes, Iraqi News
• Death of an entire ecosystem? Maybe, but too soon to tell. Keys Weekly
• Hot tub experience. South Florida water temperature hits 101.1°F according to one meteorologist in Common Dreams.  

Sudden closure. In Keys Weekly, Mandy Miles detailed the causes and consequences of the sudden closure of Sunbeam Christian School, "...due to staffing issues.” 

• Police were called. On Facebook, Gwen Filosa spoke with parents affected by the closure, and learned that witnesses said that the Pastor told protestors to leave and that someone had called police.

COVID rising? The Orlando Sentinel warned that COVID is coming back. Although reported testing levels are low, the positivity rate has jumped to 17.4% from 11% a month ago, according to state health data.

Academics flee. The Guardian detailed how Florida universities are hit by brain drain as a result of DeSantis policies. 

Want a Florida Keys job that pays $61,000 to $97,000? Florida Keys News told us how Monroe County Schools face steep challenges in recruiting teachers, and have turned to social media. Yes, the challenges are about affordable housing and other costs of living.   

Officials deeply troubled. Funding issues now threaten to eliminate the 28 home ownership units in The Lofts proposal, along with 98 rental apartments, according to Keys Weekly. 

New area code. WGCU advised its listeners of the new 'overlay' area code 645 in Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys beginning 4 August. 

Politics a drag? Florida Politics said that a Key West drag show performer is challenging a two-term incumbent for his seat in the state House. 

Life used to be simple. John Bartus remembered an earlier time in Keys Weekly.  

Love and laundry. In Keys Weekly, Mandy Miles appreciated the group of volunteers from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church that helps people pay for their laundry. 

House sparrows. Mark Hedden observed that sparrows have a thing for sans serif fonts in his Keys Weekly column.