June 12, 2014

Transcription

June 12, 2014

KEY NEWS
n THIS WEEK
CULINARY EVENT . . . page 19
Konk Life’s Political Questionnaire
nKonk
Life invited every candidate in the upcoming elections to answer the following 20 questions about themselves and their candidacy. In fairness to all, the questions are the same for all.
SLOANE BASHINSKY
Conducted by Mark Howell
Sloane Bashinsky, tell us your age,
what office you’re running for and
any previous offices held. 71 Earth
years of age; Mayor of Key Far West
of Weird; no previous offices held.
Explain your platform and why you
are running. I am
running because
angels of the Lord
told me to run if I
knew what was
good for me. As for my platform: Key
West needs a great deal more affordable rental housing (and if a waitress
can’t afford it on her wages, it’s not affordable); Key West needs a lot more
affordable elder housing (and if an
elder can’t afford it on his/her income,
it’s not affordable); ban cruise ships
from Key West, they pollute the sea
CRAIG CATES
with their wastes and silt the channel;
all new development and redevelopment should be solar-powered to the
maximum extent possible; mandatory
recycling rules with teeth (yard waste
composted and reused locally; treated
wastewater recycled for irrigation);
scrap the Truman Waterfront plan and
turn the land into community gardens
and affordable rental housing — and
pay Bahama Village market rate for the
acreage the city swiped; lower Duval
Street should become pedestrian mall
at mid-afternoon; revamp Tree Commission; revamp HARC to allow solar
panels and construction materials that
termites do not ravage; keep ever in
mind Jesus in the Gospels was homeless and told his disciples, as they did
to the least of the people around them,
they did also to him.
Mayor Craig Cates, tell us your age,
what office you’re running for and
any previous offices held. I’m 60
and this is my first time holding public
office.
Explain your platform and why you
are running. It’s
very simple. Focus
on quality of life.
Let’s keep working
together to keep
Key West moving
forward — NO special interests.
Detail how you differ from your
competing candidates. I will con-
tinue to work with city staff, administration and commissioners to keep city
government focused on residents and
keep Key West moving forward. We
must find a way to work together —
Detail how you differ from your
competing candidates.
| Continued on page 26
3
www.konklife.com • June 12-18, 2014
WEEKEND HAPPENING!
Swim Around Key West
In a 12.5-mile swim around the island Saturday, June
14, swimmers circumnavigate Key West. Solo swimmers
and relay teams of two to six people, with or without fins,
compete in the annual Florida Keys Community College Swim
Around Key West. Swimmers check in at 7:30 a.m.; race begins 8:30 a.m.
at the boat ramp at Smathers Beach on the Atlantic Ocean where South
Roosevelt Boulevard meets Bertha Street. Clockwise route around the island
takes swimmers through the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, ending where
they began at Smathers Beach. Challenge attracts U.S. athletes, Canada and
not tear things down.
Conducted by Mark Howell
Tell us your personal history — education; professional career; family
life and how long you’ve lived in the
Keys or the county; your relationship
to the Florida Keys and/or Key West.
I was born and raised here in Key
West. My wife Cheryl and I have been
married 42 years and built a successful
automotive repair and sales business
and was owner of the NAPA Auto
Parts store. We raised our three daughters here and currently enjoy being
grandparents. My family has a long
history of proud public service to the
City of Key West, including my
mother Emma Cates who served on
the City Commission.
Touch on your personal passions
in addition to the above. As a world
champion boat racer and drag racer,
obviously mechanics are in my blood.
CITY NEWS
june 12-18
Published Weekly
Vol. 4 No. 24
PUBLISHER
Guy deBoer
MANAGING EDITOR
Ralph Morrow
NEWS WRITERS
Mark Howell, John Guerra,
Pru Sowers, John Andola,
C.S. Gilbert
CPS responds to Sunset
Celebration guidelines
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Larry E. Blackburn, Ralph De Palma
DESIGN
Dawn deBoer
REAL ESTATE/HEALTH CARE
Julie Scorby
CONTRIBUTORS
Guy deBoer Key News
Mark Howell Howelings
Rick Boettger The Big Story
Tim Weaver Bone Island cartoonist
Louis Petrone Key West Lou
Albert L. Kelley Business Law 101
Christina Oxenberg Local Observation
Ian Brockway Tropic Sprockets
Jenessa Berger Get Your Wellness
C.S. Gilbert Culture Vulture
Harry Schroeder High Notes
Morgan Kidwell Kids’ Korner
JT Thompson Hot Dish
Diane Johnson In Review
ADVERTISING
305.296.1630
Susan Kent|305.849.1595
susan.kent@gmail.com
Lesley Cuttler|615.479.8041
lesleycuttler@gmail.com
Advertising Deadline Every Friday
PRINT-READY advertising materials due by
Friday every week for next issue of KONK Life.
Ad Dimensions
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Send to production@konklife.com
CIRCULATION
Kavon Desilus ASSISTANT
William Rainer ASSISTANT
KONK Life is published weekly by KONK
Communications Network in Key West, Florida.
Editorial materials may not be reproduced without
written permission from the network.
KONK Communications Network
(305) 296-1630 • Key West, Florida
www.konklife.com
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
participation costs,” Vitas wrote in the letter.
e CPS board on Monday voted to submit
a proposal back to the city that addressed several
of the issues Vitas outlined in his letter, according
to Wendell Winko, chair of a CPS subcommittee
working on lease negotiations. e proposal
accepted one of the city’s demands, that all
Celebration participants pay a fee. Currently,
artisans and food vendors pay a $20 nightly fee
but only performers selling merchandise in conjunction with their act are required to pay the fee.
“e performers are a participant. e artisans
are a participant. e vendors are a participant.
Everybody is a participant. ere are nightly fees
and that’s it,” Winko said, adding, “If everybody
pays, we should be all right. Otherwise, we’re in
financial trouble.”
Despite the $20 nightly and $600 monthly fees
currently collected by CPS — there are also sliding
rates for working 10 and 20 days a month — the
organization is facing serious financial difficulties.
However, Winko said the CPS board did not
support a rate increase from $20 to $25 a night.
Although the city is proposing to cut the
current $600 monthly fee in half, the proposed
$300 charge would require participants not
to miss more than five days in the previous month
to remain eligible for the lower rate. Winko said
his survey of the full-time Celebration participants
e Cultural Preservation Society has inched
closer to meeting Key West demands for the
renewal of its contract to manage the nightly
Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square.
e CPS Board of Directors met Monday,
June 2, to discuss a May 23 letter from City
Manager Bob Vitas outlining the city’s requirements to renew the lease, which expired in March.
CPS, which has managed Celebration for the past
10 years, has been continuing on a month by
month basis while the lease negotiations continue.
Citing financial difficulties at CPS as well as
on-going disputes within the non-profit organization’s membership, Vitas’s letter laid out changes
to the use agreement of Mallory Square that CPS
would have to make in order for the lease to be
renewed. ose changes include several significant
alterations to the current CPS operations guidelines regulating who can perform or sell goods
on the Square, what the fees would be and who
is eligible to vote on any guideline changes.
“After careful review of the current operating
procedures and financial position of the Cultural
Preservation Society, the city has concluded that
implementing changes to the use agreement will
benefit all participants and relieve CPS from the
financial burdens that have continue to drive up
4
CITY NEWS
Fire Department to
take over emergency
medical services
BY PRU SOWERS
Commissioner Tony Yaniz promised the
20 or so firefighters who attended the
meeting, who broke into applause.
“I’m one of the biggest supporters up
here or in this room to see the fire department take it over,” said Commissioner Billy Wardlow, himself a former
fire chief. “We can get started planning
this now.”
Commissioner Clayton Lopez, while
supporting the idea, said the significant
start-up cost, estimated at $2.3 million
dollars in the first year, according to a
study done by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), should be
spread out over at least two fiscal years,
which would push the transition back
more than 15 months. Wardlow agreed,
saying a prudent time estimate for when
the city could take over EMS services
would be three years.
“For fiscal reasons, I think there is
some validity to taking our time in
doing so on that end of it. Hurrying
into it too fast is where mistakes happen
and we don’t want that,” Lopez said.
But his colleagues were eager to move
ahead and directed City Attorney Shawn
Smith not to put out a planned RFP for
private ambulance services that would
begin after the CARE contract expires.
at could be a risky move, especially if
CARE decides to prematurely end the
contract, which it can do with a 60-day
notice. While officials weren’t predicting
that, they were wary of the fact CARE
unexpectedly announced earlier this year
it would no longer provide ambulance
service in Key West after its contract expired.
“I’ll forgo the RFP but I want everybody to know there is a chance that
CARE may not be here. We’ve got to
Based on unanimous enthusiasm
from city commissioners at their meeting June 3, the Key West Fire Department will be taking over ambulance and
emergency medical services, currently
outsourced at $50,000 a month to a
private company.
e timeline for the transition from a
private contractor to local fire-based
EMS services is still up in the air and
presents some potential problems. e
city is currently on a month-to-month
contract with CARE/American to provide ambulance service. at contract
expires March 31, 2015. Even the most
ambitious estimates made by fire and
union personnel at the commission
meeting indicated at least 15 months
were needed to hire and train the needed
personnel, negotiate licenses and purchase equipment.
And some commissioners were
also cautious about spending what will
amount to millions of dollars in start-up
costs in a rushed manner.
“It’s all nice and everything to say
this, but it is taxpayers’ money,” said
Commissioner Mark Rossi. “We are embellished up here to make sure we spent
it properly.”
But the unanimous indication from
commissioners and Mayor Craig Cates
is that the city needs to take emergency
service in-house and stop depending on
often unreliable private contractors.
ey directed City Manager Bob Vitas
to take the first step of contacting CARE
Ambulance to see if the March 31 expiration could be extended if needed.
“Sooner or later, you will be the ambulance service for this community,”
5
THIS WEEK:
SWIM AROUND KEY WEST
UPFRONT
| Continued from page 3
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
e Sgt. Bowe
Bergdal storm
BY ROGER C. KOSTMAYER
| KEY WEST
ere are a number of important questions about this inflamed issue that need to
be asked, but the two overarching ones are:
Should the President have made the
Bergdahl swap? and secondly, if this President cured cancer, would some Republicans attack him as an un-American job
killer, launch Congressional investigations
and call for his impeachment? ere’s evidence that the short answer to both questions is — Yes.
Every Commander-in-Chief faces tough
decisions that could produce horrendous
scenarios, even if the judgments are sound.
Truman’s use of atomic weapons and
Obama’s termination of OBL come to
mind. Imagine what would happen if a
President said, “Let’s leave our soldier
there,” when there was a brief window of
opportunity, and then the world watched a
Taliban/Al Qaeda video of an American
soldier’s public beheading. is was a realistic possibility.
Subordinate questions include: Was the
5 to 1 deal too high a price?; are the gitmo
prisoners a clear and present threat to our
national security?; do allegations of leaving
his post disqualify Bowe as a candidate for
rescue or swap?; did the administration
communicate promptly and effectively
with the people’s representatives while
avoiding political exploitation? e answer to these legitimate questions is a resounding — No.
In spite of the administration’s inept
politics, communications and self-inflicted
wounds, every Navy man knows that when
a shipmate goes overboard, regardless of
how or why, all hands focus on recovery
and immediate well being. Only after that
is it appropriate to sort out cause, responsibility and corrective action. It’s important that America does the same. n
abroad to compete for awards in multiple age categories from 12
and under to 65 and older. Swimmers provide their own support
crews and escort boats, but can’t touch the boats except for teams
making relay changes. Lifeguards and kayaks positioned throughout the course for safety. Swimmers register by Friday, June 13
and check
11 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Florida Keys Community College pool.
Entry fee is $100 per solo swimmer, $160 per two-person relay
team, $240 three-person team, $320 four-person team, $400
five-person team and $480 six-person team. Discounts for U.S.
Masters Swimming and USA Swimming members.
Swim Around Key West benefits Florida Keys Community
College swim program, Key West High School swim team and
the Keys’ Bone Island Swim Club.n
INFO www.rkccswimaroundkeywest.com
SUNSET CELEBRATION
shows that most work approximately 22 days a month, which
would require them to pay $550 at the $25 rate.
“I can guarantee there won’t be a lot of people working down
there for $25. ey just can’t afford it,” Winko said.
As for another contentious issue revolving around who can
vote on Sunset Celebration guidelines, the CPS board agreed to
the city requirement that only actual Celebration participants
will be allowed to cast a ballot. Currently any CPS member can
vote on changing the guidelines whether they work in Mallory
Square or not. Winko said the CPS board wants to require a twothirds participant vote for guideline approval. e city said it
wants 75 percent approval.
“at’s the starting point,” Winko said about the CPS lease
proposal to the city. “We agreed to submit the proposal for negotiating purposes. Now we’ll try to get a meeting set up and try to
hammer it all out.” n
FIRE DEPARTMENT
make sure we have [an emergency] provider here,” Wardlow said.
Commissioners made their comments after listening to presentations from both the IAFF and the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, both of which enthusiastically endorsed the fire
department taking over emergency services. Daniel Harshberger,
Jr., from the state fire chiefs association, presented his organization’s report, which estimated the city would have a balancing act
between revenues brought in from charging for ambulance calls
and the cost of providing those services. He said the city would
have a deficit each year, topping $277,000 in year five.
“Up until a few years ago you were paying upwards of between $400,000 and $600,000 [annually]. So you’re operating in
the negative, but at less than what you were paying out previously to the private provider,” Harshberger said.
Walter Dix, an IAFF representative, said that based on a study
of Key West’s needs, his group recommended that four ambulances be purchased and 16 fill-time fire fighter paramedics be
hired, as well as a physician medical director. His revenue
6
CITY NEWS
Food truck argument
goes to special
magistrate
BY PRU SOWERS
Two earlier HARC decisions would,
if upheld on appeal, force the food truck
to close down until it has satisfied city
zoning ordinances. One HARC decision
would close the business until it filed
and received approval of a development
plan. A second HARC ruling would
force owners to take down existing signage advertising the truck.
Both decisions were appealed by Joel
Dos Santos and Paul Mills, owners of
Yebo Island Grille, and heard May 28 by
Special Magistrate Jeff Overby. e original HARC decision did not refer to the
business as a food truck, but as a “metal
trailer” that failed to meet regulations
regarding compatibility, building detail
and materials in a historic district.
Key West City attorneys went to bat
again against a local food truck and
came away disappointed.
e city has been trying — so far unsuccessfully — to bring mobile food dispensing vehicles under its jurisdiction.
Two trucks in particular, Yebo Island
Grille, 629 Duval St., and White Street
Station, 1127 Truman Ave., have taken
advantage of a loophole in city regulations that has put them out of the reach
of city zoning and planning regulations.
And in the case of Yebo Island Grille,
the Historic Architectural Review Commission (HARC) is also trying to control operations at that location, which is
situated in the historic district.
City debates demolishing
five historic homes
BY PRU SOWERS
the city’s fire chief to call the building
department with safety concerns.
“e structures at the listed addresses
are not habitable and are becoming
unstable due to age and neglect. Some
have openings in the roof and walls
allowing precipitation to enter and
accelerate the disintegration process,”
Wampler said in a letter to the Historic
Architectural Review Commission
(HARC).
While Wampler has the final say on
whether the buildings are torn down —
his chief concern is public safety —
some city officials are hoping that
demolition can be avoided. City
Commissioner Clayton Lopez said last
week he wanted to postpone any final
“Demolition is never a fast process
in my experience.”
But it is a strong possible route for
five Key West houses in the historic
district that the city’s chief building
official, Ron Wampler, has declared
uninhabitable and unsafe.
Wampler has notified the owners of
1019 Elgin Lane, 904 and 914 Emma
St., 719 Whitehead St. and 221 Petronia
St. that their residential properties are
unfit for habitation.
Most of the properties are empty;
however, the Petronia house has tenants
living on the first floor. e second floor
was severely damaged in a fire, causing
7
LOCAL
COMMUNITY
OBSERVATION
Castaways arriving June 13
e Castaways Against Cancer kayaking team
for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life
will complete its journey from Miami Beach, planning the kayakers’ Key West arrival at 2 p.m., Friday, June 13, on the shores of Higgs Beach, behind
Salute. e public is invited to be at the beach to
welcome and congratulate this group of 12 kayakers who will present more than $100,000 to the
Lower Keys Relay for Life.
e Castaways Against Cancer team is a group
of kayakers who paddle from Miami to Key West
each year, paddling more than 160 miles in seven
grueling days. eir mission is to help find a cure,
and to honor those who have battled cancer. ey
have paddled 2,400 miles in 15 years and to date
have raised $500,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of the Lower Keys.
Last year, ACS Lower Keys Relay For Life event
ranked No. 2 in the state — out of 350 events —
and largely because of this team that raised over
$114,000. e Castaways Against Cancer team
was ranked the third highest fundraising team in
the state and ninth highest in the United States. It
is possible to track the Castaways’ daily progress
and view pictures along with live video, history
and FAQs online. n
INFO
www.castawaysagainstcancer.com
Kremer named KWHS
Teacher of the Year
anks to the philanthropy of Key West resident David Wolkowsky, selected Key West High School
teachers received a $5,000 gift. Teacher of the Year Greg Kremer received $25,000. e appreciation
began in 2001 with one teacher and has grown over the years so that one teacher from each department
is selected.
Back row, left to right: Scott Paul, History; Christelle Orr, Humanities; Liana Blanco, English,
Greg Kremer, Teacher of the Year, Social Studies; front row, left to right: Phyllis Pope, Reading/Media
Specialist; Dee Simpson, ESE; Linda Missert, Student Services; Tara Thompson, Science; Marjorie
Rodriguez, Math.
8
Night bat
BY CHRISTINA OXENBERG
t was mid-morning and I was invited out. Night bat
that I am, I scarcely step outdoors before dusk and
instead, especially now as the summer amplifies, I am
committed to a nocturnal life and bow down to the polar
blast of my A/C. But here was my friend Sunny texting,
suggesting an adventure. Yes, I replied and searched for
my bathing suit, eventually found with a seam of dust at
the fold.
Sunny picked me up in a rumbly pickup truck with
kayaks in the bed and we drove to her favorite secret spot.
I could sooner reveal the coordinates to an active treasure
site, so let’s just say we pushed off from a slash of green
mangrove tangled shore.
I followed Sunny’s lead into the emerald water.
All around were crystal rods of light and its play on the
blue-green tiled seabed with its withering wavy baroque
diamond shapes. I was hypnotized.
“Didja see that?”
“I heard the splash!”
is went on all afternoon, but I missed every
sighting.
We paddled in the kayaks and then dove in the water,
tumbling and rolling. To swim hard in one direction and
then shoot down to the coral bumpy ocean floor was paradise. On the beach we drip-dried, luxuriating in the sun’s
coddling rays.
“anks Sunny,” I said. “I should really get out
during the day more often.”
To the setting afternoon, Sunny returned me home.
Feeling wobbly I took a shower which is when I felt my
skin running off me in tiny balls. I looked down to see I
was a flaking coconut cake. Tenderly, I patted myself with
a towel and lay down in the path of the frosty A/C and
passed the hell out for almost a week straight. My bathing
suit will once more gather dust as I gratefully return to a
nocturnal schedule, at least until the fall. n
I
CHRISTINA
OXENBERG
LEiGH VOGEL photo
UPFRONT
PROFILE
n The Sir Peter Anderson Story
e missing box
Editor’s Note: Mark Howell’s biographical
portrait of Sir Peter Anderson published
in Konk Life during last month’s Conch
Republic Independence Celebration proved
to be one of the most popular profiles he has
ever worked on. As a consequence, readers
are asking us for more. And there is more.
So the experience of interviewing Peter in
his resurgent good health continues. Enjoy.
they rendezvoused
immediately. e
search turned up
no missing box.
Back to the Conch
Republic head office
together, they searched through every
available space for the missing box to no
avail. Anderson was baffled, and the FBI
was getting testy. A testy FBI is never
good.
A couple of days later, a Miami
Herald reporter was at Anderson’s door
wanting to know about a passport they
had issued to Mohammad Atta.
Anderson says he was floored by this
assertion. He had no knowledge of this
at all.
e Secretary General asked the
reporter, “Where did you get that
idea?” e reporter claimed not
to know but quoted “a reliable source.”
When the reporter left, Anderson
pondered … Where the heck could
such an idea come from?
It dawned on him that this
“knowledge” could only have come
from a leak within the FBI in Miami.
ey were the only ones in the world
who had access and possession of the
relevant documents.
Anderson got on the phone in an
emergency call to Tom Fiedler, editor
of e Herald.
He urged Fiedler not to run the
story, stating that the FBI had had
access to Conch Republic passport
applications only for two weeks — not
nearly enough time to run down and
verify 20,000 applications. He begged
Tom not to tell the world that the FBI
had all the Conch Republic Passport
applications.
“If there are any bad guys in there,
you will be letting them know that the
Part IX
As told to Mark Howell
ast week we chronicled the
visit of the FBI to the Conch
Republic in those dark days immediately after 9/11. But there is a postscript: “e Missing Box.” Here it is…
Sir Peter Anderson, the Secretary
General of the Conch Republic, says he
got a call approximately two weeks after
he had voluntarily “responded positively
to a polite request to share our records”
and handed over 20,000 applications
accumulated in a period of eight years
to the FBI. ey told him they were
missing certain passport applications
listed in the ledger books but not
complete applications in a banker’s box
— in short, a whole missing box of
passport applications numbering from
where the last box in their possession
left off to the next box in their
possession. e missing box.
Anderson told them he had no clue
unless something was misfiled. ey
assured him that they had been through
everything, and it was not a misfiling;
it was a whole missing box.
Anderson said that there was an edge
to their attitude in this phone call over
the missing box. He immediately
invited the agents back to the storage
locker where the boxes had been stored
so that they could search together with
complete transparency. ey agreed and
L
9
KEY BUSINESS
KEY WEST
state of Florida has said it is, by issuing a tag and
registration. I think the city is making a huge
stretch here,” Overby said during that case. n
CITY DEBATES: HISTORIC HOMES
decision on demolition until all avenues of structural recovery had been exhausted. In addition to
the historical loss of the homes, Lopez is concerned about the owners losing their property.
“I understand the city doesn’t want to be put
in a liability situation,” he said. “But there are
families involved. ere may be mitigating issues
in some of these cases.”
HARC members also weighed in during their
May 27 meeting. Wampler appeared before the
commission as a courtesy, laying out his case for
declaring the five structures unsafe, the first step
in the city demolition process. HARC Chairman
Michael Miller emphasized that every effort
should be made to save historic houses and said
he had spoken to a couple who wanted to purchase one of the homes on the list and turn it
into two affordable housing units. And some of
the other properties may also be able to be saved,
he said.
“e [1019] Elgin Lane house, in particular,
could be quite a nice house if the people know
how much money it will take to make it quite a
nice house,” he said.
Wampler was sympathetic to Miller’s concerns.
“I have no intention at the moment for demolition of any of these five buildings. And there is
no immediate process that’s going to cause that,”
he said, adding that his next step after notification is to do a title search to ensure the legal
owners are contacted. “en I would have to
make a decision based on the outcome of those
meetings as to how to proceed at that point.”
Money is often the problem with restoring
historic houses, with projects likely to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to make
the structure habitable as well as meet city codes
in historic districts. Wampler said, while he has
“several hats to wear,” he is also willing to help
either current or new owners take steps to stabilize the properties.
“I’m completely open to meetings with the
owners and what they wish to do to preserve
them or prolong them or board them up or whatever to stabilize them,” he said. “I’d like to see
someone step forward and save all of these structures, to tell you the truth. at’s why we’re starting the notification process.” n
FOOD TRUCK: SPECIAL MAGISTRATE
“e concept of installing a large metal trailer
in the historic district is incompatible and dissimilar to the historic urban charter that surrounds the property,” the decision read.
But Yebo’s attorney, Ralf Brookes, argued that
the trailer is, in fact, a vehicle with a legal registration tag and license plate. As such, it comes
under the jurisdiction of the state Department of
Transportation, not Key West.
“I cannot find any guideline that prohibits a
mobile vehicle being utilized on this lot. e
[Key West zoning] code does not regulate mobile
food dispensing vehicles at this time,” Brookes
told Overby.
Key West Assistant City Attorney Ron Ramsingh argued that the truck, which does not move
from its location like other mobile food trucks
that travel to their sales site every day, is a structure. He pointed to wording in the city code that
says if a vehicle is being “used as if affixed” to the
land, then it is defined as a structure.
“A lot of talk has been made that if it has a license plate, that it is not a structure. at is not
true,” he said. “[Yebo Island Grille] has licenses
as a restaurant. [It] has seating. It is clearly being
used as though affixed.”
But Overby appeared unconvinced. He postponed his decision until he could read the HARC
meeting minutes. However, his comments
seemed to favor the Yebo owners.
“I’m concerned that HARC is requiring esthetic approval of a food service trailer merely because it is being used in a HARC neighborhood,
if you will… at’s where it gets dicey for me,”
he said.
Overby ruled against the city “with prejudice”
in another case against White Street Station.
Overby said then that food trucks fall into a gray
area that has not been regulated yet by the city.
He also said it “is a stretch” for city attorneys to
attempt to put food trucks under HARC jurisdiction, which applies primarily to the esthetics of
structures in the Key West historic district.
“I’m really trying to understand how the city
can say, under state law, it is not a vehicle yet the
10
e missing box
MARK HOWELLS
HOWELINGS
n Part IX: The Peter Anderson Story
PROFILE
FBI has their address and
identifying information —
and you will drive them underground,” Anderson insisted.
e fact that he was looking out
for U.S. security interests even as
the FBI was leaking information
remains evidence that we live in a
strange world. Anderson says he can
only surmise that the FBI had its
own reasons…
Fiedler said he would query the
Miami FBI office and make a decision about publication. Anderson
thanked him profusely for taking
him seriously.
Two days later, the story broke.
e Conch Republic may have
issued a passport to Mohammed
Atta.
As declared by Anderson at
the end of last week’s story: “e
persistent rumor that one of the
9/11 hijackers got a Conch Republic Passport is simply not true. We
did issue a passport to a person in
New York City named Mohammed
Atta. is was not the Mohammad
Atta. In certain parts of the Arab
world this name is as common as
‘John Smith.’”
When queried about all this by
the press in this time of national
hysteria, he responded that no selfrespecting terrorist would ever want
a Conch Republic Passport.
“Believe me, I have presented
mine at any number of borders and
all you do is to draw attention to
yourself — about the last thing a
terrorist wants.”
He also challenged the sensationalist press on how a Conch Republic Passport stacked up against
FAA licenses to fly airplanes, the use
of flight school simulators to learn
how to maneuver jetliners, the issuance of Florida driving licenses
and a Customs and Immigration
that let them come and go as if they
owned America…
Who’s conning whom?
Meanwhile, FBI
agents in Key West were
growing increasingly
testy. At this point their
attitude suggested the
Conch Republic was willfully withholding the missing
box. But happening mere weeks
after 9/11, crazy dark days, Anderson says he finds no blame for them
developing an attitude; after all, just
one box of otherwise immaculate
records was missing…
It was then that it occurred to
him perhaps the application for the
“Mohammed Atta” that the Conch
Republic had issued was in fact in
that missing box! After all, the FBI
had the ledger book with the names
and passport members of all passport holders as well as the date and
city, state and country they’d been
sent to.
According to reports, a passport
had been sent to a Mohammed Atta
in New York City. As no one had
reports of the Atta in New York,
perhaps the FBI was seriously interested in the details of his application in order to investigate a New
York connection or cell of terrorists.
It was the stuff that cold sweats
are made of, admits Anderson, and
he was starting to develop one over
the missing box and the increasingly hostile attitude of the FBI
agents. What had once seemed a
brilliant cooperation was turning
into a nightmare.
Several weeks went by with no
improvement. However, it came
time to sell a house that Anderson
owned at 810 Whitehead St. Cleaning out this house that had been
occupied by Conch Republic Army
General Geoff Chapman (since
deceased) the Secretary General
came to the closet. ere, underneath a pile of clothes hanging in
the closet, was a box of Conch
Republic Passport applications —
the missing box!
BY MARK HOWELL
of Manhattan in order to meet this
character supposedly called Clark
Rockefeller (not yet charged with
murder), leaving his 23-year-old wife,
nce upon a time we
McGuane’s daughter, then pregnant
asked a famous Key
with Maggie and Walter’s first child,
West writer and film director, who
in their ranch home in Livingston
has long since settled out west on the
that Walter had just purchased for half
mainland, whether he felt that one
a million dollars with his earnings as
of his famous girlfriends back when
a highly successful essayist and
he was still a single man here in town,
journalist?
who was herself a famously troubled
In “Blood Will Out,” Kirn himself
Hollywood character, might perhaps
explains the trip as a favor to Maggie,
have been, maybe, bipolar?
who happens to be the president of the
“If the bottle in one hand was gin
local Humane Society who rescued
and the bottle in the other was
their own dog after it was run over
brandy,” he replied, “then she was
by a car and to assuage his guilt
bipolar.”
for running over with his pickup truck
But his week’s column is not about
a different dog from his wife’s shelter
Tom McGuane, who wrote and filmed a few months earlier.
“92 in the Shade” set in the Keys and
With us so far?
whose famously failed follow-up novel
Rockefeller turned out not to be a
“Panama” remains one of the most
Rockefeller at all but a fellow whose
disturbed books ever about Key West.
real name was Christian Karl Geris edition of Howelhartstreiter, who never
ings features instead an
went to high school but
appearance by Maggie
conned his way into Yale
Kirn, who is McGuane’s
at 14 and then got a second
daughter.
degree at Harvard. As Kirn
Maggie’s husband,
describes it, Gerhartstreiter
Walter Kirn, has just
learned how to speak like
published an extraordinary
people who use “summer”
book called “Blood Will
as a verb and began calling
Out: True Story of a
himself a “freelance central
MARK
Murder, a Mystery and
banker.” As it turned out,
HOWELL
a Masquerade,” which is
the main inspiration for his
about his strange relationship with a
impersonation was urston Howell
character known as Clark Rockefeller,
III of “Gilligan’s Island.”
who is not only “the most prodigious
In 2008, Rockefeller/Karl Gerhartserial imposter in recent times” but
streiter was arrested for abducting a
also a murderer and, worse yet,
young woman revealed to be his
a person who ran over two
daughter and was quickly exposed as
of his pet dogs.
having actually been born in Bavaria
In a now notorious review
to a housepainter and seamstress; his
of “Blood Will Out” in last month’s
earlier impersonations were revealed
New York Review, Nathaniel Rich
to be as film director Cameron
questions why, in 1998, did Walter
Crowe’s brother and a
Kirn drive from Montana with his
British royal named C. Mountbatten.
own decrepit old dog all across
country to the Upper West Side
O
11
K E Y W E S T L OU
HIGH NOTES
Young musicians
earn plaudits
nIN REVIEW
with Harry Schroeder
e Music in Paradise operation
opened by putting on its annual
concert of young musicians. e
concert at St. Paul’s Church was organized by Michael Kilgore and
Linda Sparks, who also served as
piano accompanist. e judges were
Gayla Morgan, Michael Robinson
and Vincent Zito.
e program opened with Jim
Carter leading a somewhat hesitant
audience in “America the Beautiful”
and then conducting his own prizewinning chorus from Key West
High School. at group revealed a
variety of musical virtues: An even
blend among all the voices which
produced a smooth sound, an easy
precision in handling changes in
tempos and dynamics, and consistently good intonation even in a
capella numbers.
e concert itself consisted of 11
numbers. Sward winners announced
by Gayla Morgan were: in first
place, Sammy Fuller on drums and
marimba; second,
Jordan Cress Morrison on flute; and
third, Jake Graziano and Joshua
Morales playing a drum duet. I was
originally selected as one of the
judges, then removed on the
grounds I was planning to write this
review. e deliberations would
have been interesting. Herewith my
own, entirely unofficial, choices:
ird place would be difficult.
e percussionists deserve consideration; so do two pianists, Dominick
Rojas and Nathan Tuttle, playing,
respectively, Debussy’s “Clair de
Lune” and Scott Joplin’s “Maple
Leaf Rag.” My vote, with perhaps a
slight bias toward wind instruments, would be split
between Vincent Cheng on trumpet
and Amber Hernandez on bass clar-
COMMENTARY
inet. Vincent’s playing was strong
with a big sound and no compromises. Amber, on her unwieldy instrument, got a nice open sound
and played expressively over the
whole range of the horn, especially
in resonant lower register.
Second place would be soprano
Liza Catana. She sang “Let It Go”
from Disney’s Frozen. Her performance, with a richly expressive voice,
good sense for the lyric and singing
consistently in tune, offered an exemplary combination of passion
and technical accuracy.
In first place, by a wide margin,
would be Jordan Cress Morrison
playing a movement of a Mozart
concerto on flute. Her playing was
accurate, even in some very fast passages. Her sound caught Mozart’s
sweetness. She made it all sound
easy with relaxed lightness, essential
to Mozart’s music. Hers was the one
performance in the concert which
approached a professional level.
ere were two younger players
on the program. Emerson Farris, in
seventh grade, played on piano “Secrets.” It was a fine performance on
all counts: smooth legato, lots of expression and, best of all, a very good
sound coming from his fingertips,
which is a crucial test of a young pianist.
Barunka Olsak played two simple pieces on violin: her playing was
impressive, given the fact that she is
seven years old. She was in tune a
large part of the time, a good sign.
e concert closed with three
vigorously played stock jazz numbers by Gary Hernandez’ High
School Jazz Ensemble. ese were
largely given over to opportunities
for aspiring young jazz players to try
soloing. Notable in the concerted
sections were a strong lead trumpet
and good rhythm section (where,
incidentally, Jordan Cress Morrison
moved down several octaves from
flute to acoustic bass, where she
deserved much of the credit for the
Human organs for sale
BY LOUIS PETRONE
after makes arrangements for the sale of
the organ. His profit is outstanding! e
organs sell for $150,000 to $200,000.
apitalism is without limit.
$150,000-160,000 being the norm.
Economic trade for profit
Other than what the broker pays the
boundless. Legality not necessarily a
donor and the minimal costs involved in
concern. Underground ventures can
the removal, making a match and delivbe capitalistic.
ery, the balance is all the broker’s. In the
Today’s society presents forced prosti- range of $125,000 to $175,000 per
tution as one of the worst of the underorgan. Not bad.
ground ventures. Young girls are either
e broker finds donors in several
forcibly or deceptively removed from
ways. Just as with slave traders in the
their home countries to another with the 1600s and 1700s, the brokers invade
carrot being a better job, a better life.
African, Eastern European and Middle
When their destination is reached, the
East villages. e young are taken away
pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is
in mass. e same as with young girls
from 20-40 men a day or a severe beatto be introduced into slavery. ey are
ing. Even worse, death.
taken to a central location. en one of
e profit made by abductors and de- two scenarios occurs. e person is kept
ceivers of innocent girls is humongous.
over a period of time and all organs are
ere is another underground ventaken till death occurs. e other is that
ture that is little spoken of. It exists. It is a specified organ is removed. en the
highly profitable. Perhaps even more
donor is on his or her own. Follow up
despicable than the sexual slavery of
medical is negligible. Many die from
young girls. It involves the sale of
infections.
human body organs.
Another method to secure organs is
e demand for body organs is great. the broker dealing directly with the
e availability slim. 100,000
donor face to face and ofbody organs a year are needed.
fering $5,000 to $20,000
Only 10,000 available. e
for a specified organ. e
body organs include kidneys,
donor is almost always
hearts, livers and corneas. 75
extremely poor and such
percent of the trade involves
amounts represent a
kidneys. e need for kidney
windfall.
replacements is driven primarily
At the other end of the
LOU
by diabetes.
cycle are the doctors, hosPETRONE
e acquisition of these body
pitals and people in need
COLUMNIST
parts is ALWAYS to avoid death
of the organs. Visualize the
or blindness. Money to the
situation. It is poor people
wealthy sick is not an issue, insurance
submitting to amputations for cash to
not a concern.
save the wealthy sick. Many nations play
e underground trade has grown
the game. We do not hear of it, however.
involving the sale of body parts. Organs
Sounds despicable to buy human body
are obtained from the donor for nothing organs. Yet, it is being done everywhere,
to $20,000. Generally, $5,000. An inter- quietly. Even in the United States.
national broker is involved. He arranges
ough not as flagrantly as in China,
with the donor for the organ and there| Continued on page 24
C
Louis Petrone has recently had published his first book, “e World Upside Down,”
a series of essays concerning current events, politics and historical matters. e book
is available in ebook and paperback at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and
Absolutelyamazingebooks.com
12
THE BIG
STORY
Snowden and the FDLE
BY RICK BOETTGER
States and, in fact, the real threat to the
actual security of We e People, our
lawbreaking NSA, has been reined in.
dward Snowden exposed
e true reason for keeping crimes
our federal mass spying
secret is that people in power want to do
program over a year ago. He saw our
anything they want, and get away with
National “Security” Agency was breakit for as long as they can. is applies to
ing our laws and scorning our Constitu- governments who spy, bankers who
tion. He blew the whistle. e NSA’s
swindle, and cops who kill.
massive violations have been admitted
Snowden brought down the mighty
and are being corrected.
NSA. Our SEC has brought down the
Snowden is scorned as a traitor who
great Swiss banks that proudly hid
should be shot by the government
American money for generations,
whose lawbreaking he exposed. Obama
getting a $2.5 billion penalty and
and Kerry would torture and imprison
admission of criminal guilt even from
Snowden as they did to Bradley Manbehemoth UBS. (Locally, a Keys’ bankning. Remember, Manning exposed the
ing director had to pay a $1.5 million
brutality of our helicopter operations in
penalty for not having reported his
Iraq, the mad machine gunning of civil- $1 million Swiss account.)
ians including Reuters’ reporters. He
e government made it a crime
barely survived his abuse in our prisons
to expose the NSA’s secrets. e Swiss
and is serving a 35-year sentence.
made it a crime in their own country
What makes Snowden and Manning
to divulge who owned accounts in their
criminals for exposing government
banks, but this was overturned by the
crimes? ey were guilty of breaking a
United States. Our nation’s police forces
single law: Keep everything secret. ey have no formal law that makes them
each signed a document pledging not
keep secret anything they see another
to disclose the “secrets” they
officer do, but they have their
knew for, of course, “national
informal “thin blue line” that
security” reasons.
requires the same thing.
For the government, whose
In this informal secrecy
numberless crimes and even
they are aided and abetted by
atrocities are being exposed,it
their supposed investigators,
is easy to understand why they
locally the Florida Departthink keeping their crimes
ment of Law Enforcement.
secret is the most important
While the FDLE is supposRICK
rule in the whole wide world.
edly “investigating” the facts
BOETTGER
To protect themselves, they
of
Charles Eimers’ death in
COLUMNIST
deem telling their secrets to be
police custody, they are in fact
a bigger crime than violating the
imposing secrecy on everyone else. is
constitution, lying to Congress
makes sense from their point of view.
or machine-gunning innocents.
ey are police officers themselves, and
eir public reason for keeping their
they are simply protecting their own.
crimes secret is that “national security”
But what does not make sense is
will be endangered, that innocents will
the press and the people cheering the
die if the “traitor” exposes them. is is
coverup. Snowden has been excoriated
bull shit. e result of Snowden’s giant
by the national media, most viciously
secrets’ dump has been that no individthe Washington Post, who called him
ual has been harmed, and our real
every mean name they could think of.
“national security” has been improved.
It is baffling and outrageous to me that
e facts are that no exposed secrets
the media would blame anyone for
have led to any harm to the United
E
13
SHORTANSWERS
HOWELINGS
MARK HOWELL
Weeks after his arrest, investigators connected him to a 1985 murder
of his landlady’s son in Los Angeles.
He was finally convicted of the
crime last year. e young man’s
wife also disappeared and has never
been found.
e fact that Gerhartstreiter
conned Kirn so thoroughly is weirdly
echoed, of course, by Kirn conning
him for several years as the unwitting subject of his latest book. Now
“Blood Will Out” has found its way
into the pages of e New Yorker
and the air waves of CBS news and
PBS radio and finally into the New
York Review with Nathaniel Rich’s
scathing interpretation of Walter
Kirn, husband of Maggie McGuane,
as a con man himself.
is review is what led to a letter
of complaint to the Review from
Kirn in early June, calling the suggestion unforgiveable:
“Gullibility is a mysterious
human phenomenon,” explained
Kirn in his recent letter. “I was
fooled. Gerhartstreiter’s wife of over a
decade, a Harvard MBA, was also
fooled, as was her entire family. And
all three major investment firms
where the accomplished deceiver
found employment. And the exclusive Algonquin and Lotos Clubs of
Boston and New York … It was a
bizarre and bewildering episode in
my life. I am here to tell you that it
was not I who misled readers but
your reviewer, Mr. Rich.”
End of story? n
BY J E F F J O H N S O N n P A U L A F O R M A N
advice is to tell your son you have every
confidence in him and that you respect
his choices, but you will provide modest
living expenses for 12 months only.
en stick to both parts — modest and
12 months. Hopefully, his college choice
is squared away BEFORE his year
abroad. So hard to assemble applications
and so easy to miss deadlines while
“traveling.”
Price of things
Dear Short Answers: I’m at an age
(let’s just say over 60) where I just don’t
feel like being nice to people I don’t like.
Or going to a party with a bunch of boring geezers. My husband says I’m turning into a cranky old lady. I think I’m
being honest and true to myself. What
do you think? No Sweetie
Dear Sweetie: No doubt you are both
right — you are being “honest and true
to yourself ” and perhaps you are getting
cranky. e question is, are you okay
with being “honest” but alone?
Mean or spirited
Dear Short Answers: I recently got
married for the second time and one of
the gifts I received from a close friend
was a very expensive silver frame with a
photo of me and my evil ex-husband.
I’m not sure what to make of it. Should
I just write a thank-you note for the
frame and ignore the photo?
Was it a mean-spirited joke? Or just
mean-spirited? I can’t stop thinking
about why a person would do such a
thing. Don’t tell me to ignore it
because I can’t. I want an
explanation! Angry
Dear Angry: If you
want an explanation,
you must ask for it! We
encourage you to tell your
friend that you were hurt
and confused and would
like to know the intent
of the gift.
Not all questions
require answers
Dear Short Answers: I recently had
some minor cosmetic surgery and all my
friends told me how great I look and ask
me, “What’s your secret?” Should I tell
them the truth or make
something up? I hate to
lie, but I don’t think it’s
any of their business.
I Feel Pretty
Dear Pretty: Ain’t
nobody’s business but
your own. Say whatever
… or just smile.
Lucky boy
It’s called
English
Dear Short Answers:
What do you think about
taking a gap year between
high school and college?
Dear Short Answers:
My son wants to spend a
PAULA FORMAN &
Do
you think it’s possible
year in Europe which we
JEFF JOHNSON
for
a
man to dress in
can afford. But I’m afraid
COLUMNISTS
women’s
clothing but still
he won’t eventually go to
be
heterosexual?
Tempted
college if he stops going to school and
Dear Tempted: In a word, yes. n
enjoys himself too much. How do I
give him this bit of freedom but make
Life is complicated. “Short Answersisnt. Send a
it miserable enough so he goes back
question
about whatever is bothering you to
to school? Nervous
KonkLife@shortanswers.net or go to
Dear Nervous: For most kids, a gap
www.shortanswers.net and a psychologist and
year is a great growing up thing. And
sociologist will answer. A selection of the best
most parents share your fears. Our
questions appear in Konk Life.
SHORTANSWERS SHORTANSWERS
14
Classic cocktails
for summertime
BY KERRY SHELBY
SPECIAL TO KONK LIFE
t’s summertime and our thoughts
immediately turn to summer
cocktails! Summer calls for light, crisp,
ice-cold coolers that can be sipped all
afternoon on a pool float or a boat deck
without becoming cloying or tiresome.
ere’s no need to invent a fancy new
concoction unless you’re just feeling
creative. ese classics are indispensable
for my summer afternoons. Since I
believe summer cocktails should be made
in batches to minimize drippy trips back
and forth to the bar, these preparations
make about six drinks.
I
out of the bartender (sort of), it seems
that passion fruit nectar may be their
secret, but I find that using guava nectar
instead results in a punch that comes
very close to Sip Sip’s.
Pour 8 ounces Mount Gay gold rum
and 4 ounces Myers dark rum into a
pitcher. Add 14 ounces pineapple juice
and 3 ounces passion fruit or guava
nectar. Stir well and serve over ice in
highball glasses. Add a squeeze of lime
and a Myers rum floater to the top
of each drink if desired. (I definitely do!)
Harbour Island
Rum Punch
Harbour Island Rum Punch
A rum punch screams of summer and
the beach. One of the best I’ve had is at
Sip Sip, a little restaurant overlooking
the pink sand beach on Harbour Island
in the Bahamas. After prying the recipe
Moscow Mule
A true classic, Moscow Mule almost
singlehandedly introduced vodka to
America in the 1940s. e tartness
15
of the lime and the spice of ginger beer
make it a perfect summer refresher.
Moscow Mules were traditionally served
in copper mugs, so make things festive
and order some!
Fill a pitcher ¾ of the way with ice,
add 12 ounces vodka, the juice from
4 small limes (about 4 ounces) and top
with 2 bottles of Fever Tree brand ginger
Kerry Shelby is a food enthusiast, cook,
forager, adventurer and a hungry
consumer of life. He is creative director
and host of Kerry Shelbys Key West
Kitchen, a food and lifestyle brand appearing at kwkitchen.com and on the
Key West Kitchen channel on Youtube.
Celebrate 8th Midsummer’s Night Dream & Spectacle
| MICHELLE MECK photos
Lydia Firefly returns to dance with fire
at the 2014 Midsummer’s Night Dream
and Spectacle on June 21.
CULTURE
VULTURE
By C.S. GILBERT
I stand corrected:
Not Pridefest,
Key West Pride
e 8th annual Midsummer’s Night
Dream & Spectacle unfolds 5-11 p.m.,
Saturday, June 21, at Key West Tropical
Forest & Botanical Garden, 5210
College Road on Stock Island. It was created to celebrate the Keys creative community — to give artists a voice and
platform to share the power of their visions. Be a co-creator at this colorful and
spontaneous festivity — a wonderland
of costumed revelers, interactive art projects, and multiple stages. Attire ranges
from Key West cool to Midsummer’s
Magical, with a King and Queen of Midsummer’s Night chosen from among the
best costumed.
is year’s Spectacle includes a Grand
Dream Mural Project facilitated by artist
Amanda Johnson and more than 75 participants of all ages, a Dream Poetry
wall, Shakespearean scenes by the Fringe
eater, ballet, fire dancing and Key
West’s best musicians, singers, sculptors,
painters, poets and storytellers.
Sponsored by Centennial Bank,
created and co-produced by arts and
community development leader Michael
Shields and co-produced by Key West
Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden,
“Midsummer’s Night celebrates the
summer solstice,” said Shields. “It’s a
time when the veil between this world
and the next is thin, and powerful forces
are abroad. On Midsummer’s, legends
hold that one can gain the powers of a
bard — or on the downside, end up
utterly mad, demented or whisked away
by spirit faeries. Romances flourish,
affairs are begun, mystery and mischief
abound. It all begins with a dream.”
Event benefits Key West Botanical
Garden Society. $15/advance
(kwbgs.org); $20/door. Centennial
Bank customers and children aged
12 and under admitted free. n
INFO www.keywestupdates.com
oon after last week’s column
was filed, longtime Key
Wester, Konk Life staffer and GLBT
community leader Susan Kent pointed
out a not-so-small detail I’d somehow
missed. e annual GLBT summer
celebration is not called Pridefest —
and hasn’t been since 2012. Oops.
After a somewhat turbulent but
nonetheless triumphant history (more
about that later) the celebration, born
Pridefest in the early 1990s and produced by a small group called the Pride
Alliance, was by 2012 produced by the
Key West Business Guild, the nation’s
oldest gay chamber of commerce.
Randy Detrick, a public relations professional, was selected to coordinate the
almost-week long event. Detrick noticed
small cities and towns hosted festivals,
while big cities simply preceded Pride
with their names, Kent explained, and
“wanted us to advertise and market with
the big dogs.”
Good bye, Pridefest; hello, Key West
Pride. Whatever the celebration is called,
S
16
Michelle Meck as “Fiona Fuego”
mesmerized with fire at last year’s
Midsummer’s Night Dream & Spectacle.
it started small in June 1993 or 1994, as
near as any of us can remember. e first
year, folks walked down Duval Street
sidewalk, reportedly because no one
knew anything about getting a permit to
use the street. But even in the beginning,
Pridefest was more than just the parade.
e major event, originally, was a fancy
dinner with big-name entertainment —
comedian/singer/songwriter Lynn
Lavner is the one I remember best, possibly because I’d become a fan of hers
‘Signature of Fear,’ ‘Night, Mother’ opens June 30
Given its commitment to provocative
and edgy professional theater, it is appropriate that eatreXP, the producers of
e Key West Summer Stage, will kick
off its 2014 summer season Monday,
June 30, with the reading of an original
new play, “e Signature Of Fear,”
penned by Key West playwright and
eatreXP founder Bob Bowersox.
e new play follows on the heels
of Bowersox’s critically-acclaimed hits,
“Person Of Interest” and “Moment
Of Grace” at the Red Barn the last
couple of years, and will lead into the
first Main Stage production of the
Summer Stage season, “‘Night, Mother”
by Marsha Norman, which opens
Tuesday, July 1.
A special Sunday night performance
of each Main Stage play has been added
at a special price, giving each play a sixnight run. Tickets are available now at
redbarntheatre.com or (305) 296-9911.
when she performed for the Gay Activist
Alliance in Morris County (aka
GAAMC) in New Jersey.
After the new Gay and Lesbian Community Center, via Peter Arnow, I think,
introduced the Pride Follies circa 1999,
that major variety show at Tennessee
Williams eater on the college campus
that replaced the banquet. From the beginning, though, as I recall, there was a
street fair and some sort of a parade as
well as Mr. and Miss Pride competitions.
Opening 2014 Summer Stage season
and sponsored by South Florida eatre
League, “e Signature of Fear” will be
the only reading held in Monroe County
as part of the eatre League’s statewide
Summer Play Reading Festival project.
It will feature the talents of some of Key
West’s finest actors, including Vanessa
McCaffrey, Tony Konrath, Melody
Moore, Tom Murtha, Joan O’Dowd
and Geno Drum.
“‘Signature of Fear’ follows a thematic path that began with ‘Moment of
Grace’ last year,” Bowersox said recently.
“‘Grace’ looked at the ways we experience love. ‘Signature’ takes a deep look at
why we hold on to things in our lives —
often much longer than we should sometimes — and what happens when we finally decide to let them go.”
e play, while dealing with a
weighty subject, is not without its share
of humor. e story centers on a worldrenowned but ailing British poet living
in America, who, when offered one last
honor — a big one — decides that he
can’t accept it, that it’s time he stepped
away from the spotlight. His wife,
however, who has engineered his career
all their lives and who has become
accustomed to sharing the light of her
husband’s fame, refuses to go along with
his desire to return to Britain to live out
his last days. Add to that mix a daughter
conflicted about her own marriage to an
alcoholic painter, and the poet’s brother
— an everyman philosopher bartender
who carries a dog-eared copy of Scottish
poet Robert Burns’ poetry around with
him — and you have a sometimes hilarious, heartrending piece of theatre.
e reading of “e Signature of
Fear” is Monday, June 30. No admission
charge; seating open. Andie Arthur, executive director of South Florida eatre
League, in attendance. e Red Barn bar
will open at 7:30 p.m.; reading at 8 p.m.
Ms Pride came later.
Frank Garner, still an active community member, was part of the original
Pride Alliance; Kent and I were able to
recall Jeanne Wright, as she was known
back then (who just now returned to
town), the late Rick Van Hout, his partner David Bernhardt, Jacqueline Harrington and the late City Commissioner
Jeremy Anthony among the founders.
Soon after came the late Bill Hazelton
and Annaliese Mannix-Lachner.
But Garner was the magic-maker as
coordinator of the parade from its beginnings. He was — and I mean this in the
nicest way — a dictator. No one had to
preregister; we just showed up and he,
having plotted it all out in his head, told
us where in the court house parking lot
or out into omas Street to muster before step-off. No one was allowed to
argue. e result was the parade always
stepped off precisely on time and flowed
onto Duval. Garner eventually retired.
Parade coordinator for the past four
years has been Matt Hon.
Producers of Pridefest changed, as
well. e Pride Alliance turned the celebration to GLCC and dissolved. GLCC
produced several Pridefests, including
the internationally lauded Sea-to-Shining-Sea Rainbow Flag in 2003, when
Kent was president. en GLCC turned
the festival over to the Business Guild
and here we are: Key West Pride, a ritual
celebration reflecting GLBT culture in
the Southernmost City. Enjoy; may your
week be full of rainbows.
at’s it for now! Gotta fly! n
Key West playwright and TheatreXP
founder Bob Bowersox
17
KEY WEST KITCHEN
KERRY SHELBY
beer. Strain into highball glasses filled
with ice and garnish with a lime slice.
(Mugs and Fever Tree ginger beer are
available at amazon.com)
Michelada Cocktail
I first discovered this drink in the
village of San Miguel de Allende in
Central Mexico. Using beer for the base
instead of liquor makes for a lighter midday cocktail. e key ingredient is
sangrita, the citrusy tomato mixture that
automatically appears with every order
of tequila in Mexico. ere are countless
versions, but this is my favorite.
In a small saucer, mix some celery
salt and light brown sugar. Rub the rims
of 4 Collins glasses with a piece of lime,
place them top down in the saucer and
twist to coat the rims. For the sangrita,
pour 1¼ cups tomato juice into a
pitcher. Stir in the juice from 2 limes, ¼
cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest,
½ teaspoon celery salt and a good dash
of Tabasco. Mix well. Fill the rimmed
glasses with ice. Pour a good dark Mexican beer, like Negra Modelo, about ¾ of
the way up the glass, then slowly fill with
sangrita, letting it float down through
the beer. (is will keep more sangrita
flavor on top.) Garnish with lime. n
and Tony Award-winning triumph by
Marsha Norman, opens Summer Stage
Main Stage productions, July 1-6, and
should be one of the main theatrical
events of the year. e play stars Connie
Hurst and Susannah Wells; directed by
Rebecca Tomlinson. “Night, Mother”
tells of a young woman and her mother
who spend a desperate evening unraveling their tense-tender relationship.
July 15-20 is “Waiting for Godot” by
Samuel Beckett, a magical allegory considered the theatrical masterpiece of the
20th Century. Just off Broadway, the
production stars Tony Konrath, Bob
Bowersox, Karl Stahl, Ross Pipkin and
Dre Cooper; directed by George Gugleotti. Story centers on two seemingly
homeless men waiting for someone to
provide their lives with meaning.
July 29 to Aug. 3 is Samuel D.
Hunter’s “e Whale” and stars Key
West comic gem Chad Newman in a riveting dramatic performance, supported
IN THE ARTS
KEY WEST SUMMER STAGE
“‘Night, Mother,” the Pulitzer Prize
18
by Quincy Perkins, Melody Moore, Julia
Tetreault and Tammy Shanley; directed
by Bob Bowersox. “e Whale” is story
of a 650-pound, grief-stricken, guiltwracked man seeking reconciliation with
his estranged daughter.
Summer Stage brings Story Slam to
Little Room Jazz Club, 821 Duval St.
Sunday, July 13, evening features storytellers telling five-minute true stories
based on a theme and vying for $200 in
prize money. e theme is “Courage.”
Sign up 7:30 p.m.; stories at 8 p.m.
Summer Stage inaugurates a four-part
“eatre Symposium” — panel discussions focusing on areas of theatre: directing, scenic design, acting and writing.
Each discussion features Key West practitioners of each discipline.
Main Stage tickets $30-35. Story
Slams, $10 donation at the door. n
INFO
keywestsummerstage.com,
(305) 296-9911
HAPPENING ! THIS WEEK
n Friday the 13th
n June 13-15
Celebrities and
Shakespeare
Cuisine gala
Friday, June 13, could be your lucky
day: e Bottle Cap Groove Lounge’s
“Nonprofit Fridays” tip benefit happy
hour is providing a double whammy
from celebrity bartenders plus free
Shakespeare performances. All tips benefit the Fringe eater of Key West.
Celebrity bartenders include some of
Fringe’s finest actors plus special guest
bartender Diane May, current Fantasy
Fest Queen. Fringe entertains with a
reprisal of the Shakespeare in School
performances. n
INFO
KeyWestFringe.org
petes to create the world’s best burger.
3-7 p.m. at Rick’s, 202 Duval St.
• Sunday’s bash for bulldogs and human
companions. “e Bulldog” Kleinberg
and crew serve Angus beef barbecue and
cooking tips. 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
Hog’s Breath Saloon,400 Front St.n
Contemporary and traditional cuisine
and star-studded chefs offer up the fifth
annual Key West Bacchanalia —
renowned chef and cuisine pioneer
Norman Van Aken, Bravo TV’s “Top
Chef ” contestant Howie “e Bulldog”
Kleinberg and Executive Chef Maria
Manso of the Pier House Resort & Spa.
• Friday, June 13, Key West inspired
tapas prepared by Van Aken, a James
Beard Foundation award winner known
as the father of New World cuisine and
critically acclaimed Manso. Also book
signing by Van Aken (“My Key West
Kitchen,” “No Experience Necessary”
and other books). Wine aficionados:
De Bortoli Australia wines.
• Saturday pits Key West chefs against
“Top Chef ” contender Kleinberg com-
INFO
keywestbacchanalia.com
n June 13-15
Mystery fest
Inaugural Mystery Writers Key West
Fest, “Murder and Mayhem in Paradise,”
kicks off Friday evening with a meet and
greet at Smokin’ Tuna Saloon. Night bar
stroll with author W.E.B. Griffin
(William Butterworth IV) to explore
some Key West’s favorite watering holes.
Saturday’s panel events features crime
fiction and true crime writers — W.E.B.
19
Griffin, Heather Graham, Carla Norton,
Sandra Balzo, Nancy Cohen, Don Bruns,
Jeremiah Healy, Miriam Auerbach,
Robert Coburn, Mike Dennis, Wayne
Gales, Michael Haskins, Hal Howland,
Neil S. Plakcy, Johnathan Woods. Publisher Sheri Lohr and journalist/author
Mark Howell are moderators.
Another panel event moderated by
US 1 News Director Bill Becker,“Crime
in the Florida Keys,” features Monroe
County Sheriff Rick Ramsey, Key West
Police Chief Donie Lee, retired U.S.
Coast Guard Captain Jim Fitton, Jim
Linder, Retired Joint Interagency Task
Force — JIATF/DEA, and journalist/
author Terry Schmida.
Highlights include buffet luncheon
with W.E.B. Griffin, drawing for “walkon” cameo appearance in mystery story,
book signing event, consultations, and
showing of RAW DEAL at Tropic. n
INFO mysterywriterskeywestfest.com
june 12-18
inside!
(CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT)
Smokin’ Tuna
Lewis Brice
Schooner Wharf Bar
Marty Stonely
Sunset Pier
Robert Albury
20
FUNTIMES
Schooner Wharf Bar
202 Williams St., 292-3302
n
Thursday 0612
Southern Drawl Band 7-11pm
Melting pot of sound and attitude.
Playing country, southern rock, trop
rock, reggae, bluegrass and Americana. Bring their own brand of music
and high energy performances,
Band started a few years ago as a
duo in Knoxville and evolved into a
five-piece group while becoming one
of the Southeast’s premiere bands.
Friday-Saturday
0613-14
Southern Drawl Band 7pm-Midnight
Schooner Wharf Bar
Southern Drawl Band
Sunday 0615
Marty Stonely and Chris Toler
6:30-11pm
Monday 0616
Marty Stonely and Chris Toler
7-11pm
Tuesday 0617
Raven Cooper 7-11pm
Wednesday 0618
Tim Hollohan 7-11pm
Smokin’ Tuna Saloon
4 Charles St., off 200 block Duval,
(305) 517-6350
n
Thursday 0612
Lewis Brice 5pm
Caffeine Carl and Erikson Holt 9pm
Friday-Saturday
0613-14
Lewis Brice 3pm
Nick Norman 6pm
Caffeine Carl and Joal Rush 9pm
Sunday 0615
Joal Rush 5pm (June 15-19)
Rusty Lemmon 9pm
Monday 0616
Joal Rush 5pm
Caffeine Carl and Nick Norman
9pm
Tuesday 0617
Joal Rush 5pm
Rusty Lemmon/Chad Burtch
9pm
Wednesday 0618
Joal Rush 5pm
Jon Williams and Rick Fusco
9pm
Smokin’ Tuna
Joal Rush, above
Nick Norman, below
21
FUNTIMES
Hog’s Breath Saloon
THEATRE
400 Front St., (305) 296-4222
n
Thursday-Sunday 0612-15
Dennis McCaughney 5:30-9:30pm
Formed Tropical
Soul 12 years
ago and prior
to that was a
member of the
duos Double
Play and
Jigsaw.
The Carter
Brothers
10pm-2am
Eclectic sound
Hog’s Breath
including rock,
Cliff Cody
folk, blues,
country and bluegrass.
Tin Hollohan Band
10pm-2am
Monday-Sunday 0609-15
Cliff Cody 5:30-9:30pm
The Coal Men 10pm-2am
Sunset Pier
Zero Duval St., (305) 296-7701
n
Thursday
Rolando Rojas 7-9pm
Friday 0613
Rolando Rojas 1pm
Robert Albury 7-9pm
Saturday 0614
C.W. Colt
1-4pm
Sunday
0615
CARIBE
1-4pm
Caribe with
Rojas at 1pm
Robert Albury 7-9pm
“Soul Man” performs at Sunset Pier,
Sunday to Wednesday, 7pm
Monday 0616
CW Colt 1-4pm
Robert Albury 7-9pm
Tuesday 0617
Tony Baltimore 1-4pm
Robert Albury 7-9pm
Wednesday 0618
Robert Albury 7-9pm
Fringe kicks off
with ‘e Price’
Fringe eater of Key West
has announced a stellar lineup for
its main stage season in 2014-15.
n 2014-15 Season
According to Monnie King,
Producing Artistic Director, the
Fringe is “looking forward to a year
of great writing and strong audience
connections with this season’s
selections.”
e season will kick off with
Murphy Davis directing the
December-January production
of “e Price,” one of Arthur
Miller’s most engrossing and
entertaining plays.
Following in February is “Private
Lives” by Noel Coward, a joyously
irresponsible defense of the bohemian versus bourgeois lifestyle,
directed by Rebecca Tomlinson.
In March-April, resident director
Dennis Zacek presides over Orson’s
“Shadow by Austin Pendleton,” a
fact-based backstage comedy and
examination of the thin skins and
rampaging egos that resulted when
Lawrence Olivier and Kenneth
Tynan courted Orson Welles to
direct at the National eater
in London.
Auditions upcoming and
will be announced shortly. n
INFO
www.keywestfringe.org
22
TROPIC
SPROCKETS
n I N R E V I E W W IT H
Ian Brockway
e Immigrant
TROPIC CINEMA
416 Eaton St.
ith a story that is
unapologetically cold,
grim and more understated than the
work of Albert Camus, James Gray (Two
Lovers) and his epic “e Immigrant”
holds a charge through the vibration of
its actors, specifically Marion Cotillard
and Joaquin Phoenix.
Cotillard stars as Ewa, a young Polish
girl who arrives at Ellis Island in 1920s
New York. With her tubercular sister in
tow (Angela Sarafyan) Ewa has all the
best of hopes for starting anew. But just
when it appears that the pair is making
headway, Ewa’s sister is yanked from the
line and the couple are in jeopardy of
deportation.
Enter Bruno Weiss (Phoenix) who
bribes the administration and becomes
Ewa’s guardian of sorts. Ewa honestly
intends to pull her weight, but while
looking around in Bruno’s theater
drawer, the temptation to steal a bill
or two, proves irresistible.
Soon it becomes clear that Weiss is
far from a reputable citizen but is in
fact a two-bit pimp, who works a
prostitution ring under the guise
of a vaudeville show. Worse, Bruno
is a violent alcoholic.
During one interlude, Ewa meets
Orlando (Jeremy Renner) Bruno’s
cousin, a small time magician. Orlando
develops feelings for Ewa, and Bruno
also develops an obsession. e melodrama quickly runs as thick as blackstrap molasses.
Not one character is truly likable or
dynamic, but the self-destructive
tensions will keep you going.
e classic cinematography by Darius
Khondji of “Midnight in Paris” fame is
a conceptual return to the films of Sergio
Leone and Francis Ford Coppola with
panoramic closeups that are religious
in intensity. Every frame is muted as
if through sepia, coffee, cigar ash and
shadowy motes. ere are scenes of over-
W
Week of Friday, June 13, 2014 through
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Test (NR) Fri-Thu: (4:00), 8:45
Chef (R) Fri-Thu: (2:00), 4:15, 6:35, 8:50
Palo Alto (R)
Fri-Thu: (2:15), 4:30, 6:30, 8:30
Godzilla 3D (PG-13) Fri-Thu: (1:30), 6:15
The Immigrant (R) Fri-Thu: (3:50 PM)
Neighbors (R)
Fri: (1:45), 6:20, 8:20
Sat: (1:45), 6:20
Sun-Thu: (1:45), 6:20, 8:20
Raw Deal (1948) (NR) Sat: 9:00 PM
Buy Tix TropicCinema.com • 877-761-3456
tired harlequins, harlots and curlicued
cupids weary with absinthe and mascara.
e anemic pinks and purples shown
recall the decadent enervation of an era
struggling to gain steam, reminiscent
of “Cabaret.” Visually, the film is masterful, all encompassing of the period.
It is only Ewa’s gullibility that seems
far fetched and full of teary pathos of the
handwringing variety. Every role in the
film is infused with a lethargic spirit
and drive. Bruno himself becomes a
twisted grotesque mask, an emotional
twin to Paul Dano’s role in “Prisoners.”
At one point, Bruno’s face turns black
with self-hating bitterness.
While the daring in a dark approach
to a period piece is well taken, there is
no one to root for. With its flat feeling
of lugubriousness, “e Immigrant” is
an offbeat film that masquerades as a
mainstream period drama: a kind
of “Midnight Express” for fans of
“Once Upon a Time in America.”
While it is sure to divide fans of Sergio
Leone, the painstaking richness in its
grim cause-and-effect of an America
gone syrupy in gloom rather than
galore, is nearly poetic.
23
COMMENTARY
LOU PETRONE
India, Pakistan, the Philippines and
Iran. e hospitals and doctors
charge fees in addition to what the
broker charges. A life and death situation makes for desperate people.
Desperate people do desperate
things. Even spending upwards
of $500,000 in the final analysis
for an organ that will continue life.
An example of U.S. involvement
is Levy Rosenbaum. A Brooklyn
resident, he was a broker in body
parts buying kidneys from Eastern
Europe and then selling them.
He generally paid $10,000 to
the donor and charged the buyer
$160,000.
He was in business for seven
years till caught. He was convicted
in federal court and sentenced to jail.
Rosenbaum is typical of those who
buy and sell organs worldwide.
India, Pakistan and the Philippines perform organ surgeries on a
regular basis. e hospitals and/or
doctors provide package deals to
those who are in need and will come
to them for the organ replacement
surgery. Referred to as transplant
tourism, the package includes
everything. Airfare, hotel, hospital,
doctor, the organ and whatever
else may be required.
China is deeply involved. A huge
population. Many commit capital
crimes and are executed. China
removes the deceased’s organs
following execution.
90 percent of organs used in
China for replacement purposes
come from the bodies of deceased
prisoners.
Iran handles the situation differently. Perhaps Iran should be the role
FUNTIMES
model for the rest of the world.
e buying and selling of organs
for profit is legal in Iran. ere is a
cap, however. $1,200 for a kidney
donation. ere are no waiting lists.
Physical and mental care is provided
the donor later. 70 percent of the
donors are poor. However, the
system appears to work effectively
and fairly for all involved. Assuming
one can accept as proper the sale
of body organs.
e huge profit motive is not part
of the Iranian system. e organs are
only available to Iranians. Foreigners
cannot purchase one.
Except for Iran, the sale of body
organs is generally prohibited
worldwide. However, there are
devious type laws passed to make
it appear a nation is not involved
in the practice. Such as the transportation of body organs is illegal,
but not the sale or use.
Obviously, all kinds of ethical
questions are involved. e preservation of human life. e use of a part
of one person’s body, whether voluntary or involuntary, to save another.
Religious considerations. And so on.
e issues should be studied and
discussed. Shades to a certain
degree of the questions raised
with stem cells.
Life is important and the
methods to preserve it. Assuming
there is a solution, it should be one
which is a benefit to all and a
detriment to none. n
C O M I NG T H I S J U L Y !
Key Lime Pie
to star festival
| RALPH DE PALMA
McConnell’s Irish Pub
The Love Lane Gang
McConnell’s Irish Pub
900 Duval St., (949) 777-6616
n
Mondays
8-11pm
Eric from Philly
Tuesdays
8-11pm
Fiona Malloy
Wednesdays
8-11pm Tom Taylor
Thursdays
7-9pm Trivia Mania;
9pm-1am Chris Rehm
“Open Mic”
Fridays
8pm-Midnight
Love Lane Gang
Saturdays
9pm-1am
Eric from Philly
Sundays (Brunch)
11am-2pm
Rick Fusco/Oscar Deko/
Kerri Dailey
9pm-2am Industry Appreciation
HIGH NOTES
HARRY SCHROEDER
band’s rhythmic drive).
is concert is one of the most
valuable elements in the excellent
support system for young musicians
in Key West. It offers them a chance
to play or sing, out front, before an
enthusiastic audience, music they
have selected themselves and carefully prepared.
Linda and Michael are to be congratulated, along with all the other
participants, performers and judges
alike. n
Pinchers
712 Duval St., (305) 440-2179
n
6-10pm
Mondays Wyatt Hurts
Tuesdays Chris Toler
Wednesdays Roger Jokela
Thursdays Allen Holland
Fridays Wyatt Hurts
Saturdays Roger Jokela
Sundays Melvin Newton
24
Creation of the world’s largest Key
lime pie, the wacky Miss Key Lime
Pageant, pie-eating and cooking
contests await the second annual
Key Lime Festival. Celebrating the
Florida Keys’ signature dessert that
inspired it, the festival kicks off
ursday, July 3, with a 2-5 p.m.
Key Lime Bar Krawl. e festival’s
highlight is an attempt by event
founder David Sloan, author of
“e Ultimate Key Lime Pie Cookbook,” and three fellow chefs to
shatter their record for baking the
largest Key lime pie in history during a street party 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday, July 4, on Greene Street.
Saturday, July 5: Key Lime Pie Eating Contest and pie-making challenge. Festival concludes Saturday
night with Miss Key Lime U.S.A.
Pageant, a tangy takeoff on Miss
America. Contestant who scores
highest in talent, costume, vintage
style and Q&A takes the crown. n
INFO www.keylimefestival.com
FIRE DEPARTMENT
projections for the city ranged from
$939,000 to almost $1.7 million a year,
depending on the number of calls and
how much the city charged for them.
e current cost of an ambulance call in
the city is approximately $328.
But the uncertainty of how much inhouse emergency services will ultimately
cost taxpayers does not outweigh the
benefits of the move, according to Key
West Fire Chief David Fraga.
“Private providers will come and go.
ey will migrate to follow the bottom
line. As history has shown us, when
their profits don’t meet their quarterly
forecasts, they will leave. e Key West
Fire Department is not leaving,” he
said. n
BUSINESS LAW 101
Contract legality
BY ALBERT L. KELLEY
one person agrees to pay the debts of
another person all must be in writing.
If any of these contracts are made
ccasionally a court will
by verbal agreement, they are not
find portions of a conenforceable.
tract illegal or invalid. If only portions
A Statute of Frauds contract is
of a contract are held illegal, the congenerally voidable, not void. It is what
tract still may be valid if the illegal porwe call an affirmative defense. In other
tions can be excised without destroying
words, it must be specifically pled as
the basics of the agreement.
a defense at the beginning of a lawsuit
If a contract is unfair or unconor it cannot later be raised.
scionable — this is, the terms are so
ere are some ways to get around
egregious that it shocks the conscious — the Statute of Frauds. If there has been
the courts may determine that the conpartial performance of the contract,
tract is invalid. Usually, these contracts
the court may disregard the writing
arise because one party has power over
requirement, and also if a party has
the other party, or some other unfair
detrimentally relied on the oral contract
advantage in the negotiations.
the court may enforce it. Here you must
If a party simply makes a bad
generally show that substantial injury
bargain, it is not suffiwill occur and that the other party
cient grounds to invaliwill be unjustly enriched. is is
date the contract.
especially true when a party acts
A contract against
on an oral agreement with the
the public welfare is
belief that it will be reduced
generally not binding.
to writing.
is is true even if the
Oral statements come up in
contract is not illegal.
one other context and that is the
Any contract hiring an
parole evidence rule. is rule
ALBERT L.
unlicensed professional
states that verbal statements
cannot be enforced. Any
K E L L E Y, Esq.
cannot be used to modify or
agreement to restrain
COLUMNIST
contradict the terms of a written
trade violates public
contract.
policy, such as an agreement between
If the agreement is in writing, any
two stores to drive a third store out of
modifications must also be in writing
business.
and signed by the parties. e exception
Finally, contracts cannot be made
to the parole evidence rule is when
where interest is charged in excess of
verbal statements are used to clarify
amounts allowed by statute. ese are
unclear portions of the agreement,
called usurious contracts. (In Florida,
to prove the existence of an agreement
interest rates up to 18 percent are
or to prove that the agreement was
allowed).
illegal. n
Next, I want to cover the Statute
Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney
of Frauds. is has nothing to do with
in Key West and previously taught business
fraud as most of us know it. e statute
law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo
states that in certain circumstances a
University. He is so the author of “Basics
contract must be written to be valid.
of Business Law” (Absolutely Amazing
Generally, in Florida, any lease for
e-Books). is article is being offered as
longer than a year; any guarantee or
a public service and is not intended to
assurance made by a health care
provide specific legal advice. If you have
provider; any contract that cannot be
completed within one year; any contract any questions about legal issues, you should
confer with a licensed Florida attorney.
for sale of land; and any contract where
O
25
WEEKEND •JUNE 21
Plant sale at botancial garden
Native, rare and endangered plants for sale at Key West Tropical Forest
& Botanical Garden, 5210 College Road, Stock Island, 10 a.m. to noon
Saturday, June 21. 150 species of butterfly and bird attracting plants
propagated by garden volunteers. See newly expanded section for larger
plants. Garden members receive a 15 percent discount. Proceeds benefit
the garden’s conservation program. Welcome all volunteers to “dig in the
dirt” at the Nursery & in the Garden every Wednesday and Saturday
morning. n
INFO www.keywestbotanicalgarden.org, (305) 296-1504
POLITICAL QUESTIONNAIRE
n SLOANE BASHINSKY
I’m doing that.
(See page 4)
Tell us your personal history — education; professional career; family life
and how long you’ve lived in the Keys
or the county; your relationship
to the Florida Keys and/or Key West.
B.A., Economics, Vanderbilt University;
University of Alabama School of Law.
Practiced law in Alabama 1973-1985.
Wrote maybe 20 books, non-fiction, fiction, verse. Born and grew up in Birmingham, Ala., in prominent family, had a
younger brother and sister. In 1964,
married my Vanderbilt sweetheart, had a
son who died in infancy and then two
daughters. Seven marriages in all, now
single. My family drove to Key West in
1952 when I was 9; in 1956, we spent
spring break at Ocean Reef Club on Key
Largo where I got hooked on flats fishing. Came back the next spring vacation
and stayed in Islamorada. Back again in
August 1961, stayed at private home on
Lower Matacumbe and became hopelessly in love with the Keys. In early
1962, my father bought that home and
owned it until 2001. I came to Key West
to live in late 2000; en route was told in
a dream I was going to get into politics;
was homeless, lived on the street. Ran
for mayor in 2003, 2007 and 2009. Ran
for the County Commission in 2006,
2008 and 2010, ran for the School Board
in 2012. Valentine’s Day 2006, I received
an inheritance from my father, who died
the previous August, and was relieved
from homelessness.
Touch on your personal passions
in addition to the above. Today, my
passions are trying to keep happy the angels who abducted me in early 1987 and
turned me inside out and upside down
and every which a way but loose for a
long time and with no end in sight.
Describe where, in your view, we are
going wrong in the Keys and/or Key
West. Insular thinking, cronyism, greed,
massive over-development, widespread
water pollution, widespread addiction
(booze, street and pharmacy drugs).
Tell us the political flash points you
expect to encounter if elected.
Homelessness, police brutality, public
corruption.
Tell us anything you feel you need
to explain or any misapprehension
you believe voters may have of you.
I imagine many people in Key West and
the Keys who know or know of me have
apprehensions about me. People do not
like hearing me say that angels tell me
what to do and get onto me when I mess
up. Nothing I can do about that.
Give us your view on the partisan
divisiveness in politics today and
any solution to it you might have.
is is a political joke, OK? I would
make belonging to a political party a
capital offense punishable by being
chopped up into small pieces and fed to
baby sharks in an effort to stem the extinction of that endangered species, the
loss of which major sea predator will
wreak havoc in Mother Nature’s oceans.
Fortunately, the Key West city races are
non-partisan.
Given that gender equality, income
parity, voting rights and sexual preferences continue as big political issues
nationwide today, tell us on which side
of the aisle you stand. Equal rights
based on ability and willingness to work;
equal pay for everyone, regardless of skin
color or ethic background, sex, sexual
orientation, religious preference or lack
thereof. (You left out women wishing to
terminate their pregnancies. I say, in the
early stages of pregnancy, that’s their decision alone. As for the religious argument, it says at the beginning of Genesis
that Man became a living being when
God breathed the breath of life into his
nostrils. Before the first breath, Man was
not a living being.)
And how about immigration, gun
control and capital punishment.
Native Americans are best qualified
to answer the immigration question. I
doubt guns can be controlled. Ask Jesus
how he feels about capital punishment (I
would prefer to be executed, than spend
the rest of my days in prison). You did
not ask where I stand on stupid ruinous
American foreign wars. I’m against.
Name your favorite movie. Triple tie:
“To Kill a Mockingbird;” “Dead Poets
Society;” “Man Facing Southeast.”
Your favorite TV show.
e Golf Channel
Your favorite TV talking head.
None.
Your favorite newspaper columnist.
Tie: Naja and Arnaud Girard, Key West
the Newspaper: they deserve a Pulitzer
for breaking and covering the KWPD
conduct unbecoming toward Charles
Eimers case.
Your favorite book.
A tie: “e Spear of
Destiny” by Trevor Ravenscroft;” “Mutant Message Down Under” by Marlo
Morgan and I kinda like the last novel to
fall out of me, “Heavy Wait: A Strange
26
Tale” (Mark Howell told me he liked it).
Your favorite character in American
history. Abraham Lincoln.
Your favorite person in Florida Keys
and/or Key West history. A tie: Capt.
Tony Tarracino and Saint Dorothy Sherman, who started the soup kitchen.
Your favorite quote or proverb.
“Fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.”… and how about: “ere are
no fig leaves in Paradise, nor any secrets.”
Is there any secret strength you’d like
to reveal about yourself at this point.
If I discover it, I’ll let you know. n
n MAYOR CRAIG CATES
I love solving complicated problems and
helping things run smoothly.
Describe where, in your view, we are
going wrong in the Keys and/or Key
West. In the daily grind it’s easy to forget
why we live here in the first place. It’s
important to take a moment to recognize
the natural beauty and awesome community that we live in.
Tell us the political flash points you
expect to encounter if elected.
Attempts to politicize for personal gain
the workings of the City are counter-productive. We must stay vigilant in working
together to keep Key West moving forward.
Tell us anything you feel you need to
explain or any misapprehension you
believe voters may have of you. Voters
know you can count on Craig Cates to
listen to your concerns, act with common sense and continue to make
progress on important projects like the
new City Hall at Glynn Archer.
Give us your view on the partisan
divisiveness in politics today and
any solution to it you might have.
All politics is local. We must work together to keep Key West moving forward.
Given that gender equality, income
parity, voting rights and sexual
n MAYOR CRAIG CATES
n I N R E V I E W W IT H
Ian Brockway
preferences continue as big political
issues nationwide today, tell us on
which side of the aisle you stand. In
Key West, we vote for the person, not the
party. I can say that I am recognized nationally for my support of equality.
And how about immigration, gun
control and capital punishment.
Unfunded mandates and state laws that tie
the hands of local government are why I
support home rule as advocated by the
National Council of Mayors.
Name your favorite movie.
“Wizard of Oz.”
Your favorite TV show.
e History Channel.
Your favorite TV talking head.
Al Roker of the Weather Channel.
Your favorite newspaper columnist.
Galapagos Affair:
Satan Came to Eden
touch it in any way. It was covered in
dust bunnies, had thick dust all around it
and was otherwise authentically where it
was and in the condition it was in. No
Hollywood special-effects person could
replicate the condition of this box as
found.
Anderson called the FBI immediately.
ey were there in minutes. When they
saw the location and condition of the
box, they were convinced that this box
had been genuinely misplaced and not
deliberately withheld by the Conch Republic. Anderson says he thanked all
the gods, just in case. n
Next week:
e Conch Republic gets sued — SUED?!
Yes, sued!
Mark Howell is very good.
Your favorite book.
Many books.
Your favorite character in American
history. General Patton.
Your favorite person in Florida Keys
and/or Key West history. Captain Tony
and Sir Peter Anderson.
Your favorite quote or proverb
John F.
Kennedy: “Ask not what your country
can do for you, ask what you can do for
your country.”
Is there any secret strength you’d like
to reveal about yourself at this point. I
will always fight for what I believe in. n
PROFILE
THE SIR PETERSON STORY
Gen. Geoff had been typing passports
to make extra money in the year before
he died and he had not turned in this
box when he turned in his typewriter
and seal and other stuff. ere it was.
Anderson dared not move this box or
THE BIG STORY
RICK BOETTGER
performing at great cost to himself a
prime directive of the Fourth Estate,
written into and protected by our Constitution: To be free to speak, especially
to oversee our government. Remember,
Snowden did not dump his information
on the Internet, he with great care went
through respected international media.
Locally, I am glad that most of our reporting media are finally watchdogging
Eimers’ death. What is sad is that our
public leaders are still hiding behind the
FDLE’s secrecy wall. But in this they are
sadly representing a majority of the population. We e People don’t want to
fear government spying. Nor do we want
to fear our brave Men and Women in
Blue. Such fears make us feel small and
powerless. So we get mad at the guy who
told us about the spying, and turn our
faces from the possibility of police violence.
So: Whose side are you on? Truth,
or Secrecy? n
From Daniel Geller and Dayna
Goldfine (Ballets Russes) comes a
documentary that is nothing less
than a real life enactment of “Lord
of e Flies.”
In 1930, a Nietzschean German
doctor Ritter as his anti-capitalist
lover Dore Strauch fled Berlin to the
Galápagos Islands. Embittered by the
bourgeoisie, they settle on Floreana
Island, wanting to be solitary and
self-sufficient. But due to a “Believe
It or Not!” hunger for sensation, the
couple’s adventures on an untamed
island, full of huge tortoises and
espresso-black lizards made them
known in the German press.
Heinz and Margret Wittmer
arrive to settle on a neighboring
island with their son Harry who is
often sick. Tensions rise.
Dr. Ritter does not want to be
consulted by neighbors, but through
gradual social visits and gift
exchanges, bonds are forged. A
commune of five emerges.
But, there are unwelcome footprints on the spirited and sable earth
with the arrival of aspiring entrepreneur von Wagner Bosquet, who
declares the neighboring islands
her business alone, to build a hotel.
is sensual and self-important
“Baroness” gains the reputation of
a libertine and is serialized in pulp
stories in the ‘30s as being a sexcrazed seductress with a taste
for whips and domination.
After “e Baroness’ “ henchman
began to bicker with the Wittmers
and Dr. Ritter (involving stolen mail
and the baroness’ murdered donkey),
she announces she is taking a trip to
Tahiti. In an eerie omen, she leaves
her lucky copy of e Picture of
Dorian Gray behind and has left
no signs of departure.
Some have speculated that this
Svengali-like siren was murdered.
27
Stranger still, her assistant,
Lorenz took a boat to Santa Cruz,
bereft and lost. His mummified
corpse was found months later,
almost calcified — a fossil of pain.
is is a lively, gripping tale with
haunting footage. Both Ritter and
“e Baroness” slowly emerge as an
autocratic dictator that may have
turned a reluctant submissive under
Bosquet’s Medusa glare and her
leering lazy eyes, akin to those
of a panther.
At midpoint, the story lessens in
magnetism a bit with mentions of
new families coming and going and
trying to make it after the disappearances (e De Roys, e Angermeyers) and you might find you need a
Smartphone visit to familytree.com
ere are images of “e
Baroness” in full pulp sexuality with
her nipples visible that are as lurid as
a Weird Tales cover or an Edgar Rice
Burroughs cliffhanger, but for the
most part we are only given impressions of intrigue. What really
happened? ere is no telling.
One appearance that stands out
above the rest is the figure of Fritz
Heiber, grand-nephew of Fredrich
Ritter, who is absolutely riveting in
intensity on par with the actor Klaus
Kinski. With his mad blond hair and
staring devil eyes, he exists as a
solitary spectator watching the fall
of Heaven.
“e Galapagos Affair” works
best in its telling of a numinous isle
with cultish characters wishing to
strike out on their own, and almost
making a fetish out of nature.
It seems that the Galapagos
Tortoise is. indeed. the guardian
of these shores. Woe to those who
try to raise an opportune, materialist
eye to these creatures and knock
on their shells. n
28 • www.konklife.com • JUNE 12-18, 2014
www.konklife.com • JUNE 12-18, 2014 • 29
30 • www.konklife.com • JUNE 12-18, 2014

June 12, 2014

Transcription

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