Kudos to 915 the fab restaurant on Duval St.

From Florida Keys online (link)

KEY WEST’S NINE ONE FIVE EARNS RAVE REVIEWS AT NEW YORK CITY CULINARY EVENT

Executive chef Chris Otten, right, has a conference with staff prior to dinner. Photos by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau Chris Otten positions finishing touches on Roasted Mango Tartlet desserts. Crispy Skin-on Yellowtail Snapper with Baby Beets and a Tarragon Aioli was one of several entrees. Chris Otten, left, nine one five restaurant owner Stuart Kemp address Beard Foundation patrons.

NEW YORK CITY -- Executive chef Chris Otten and owner Stuart Kemp, of Key West’s nine one five restaurant and wine bar, earned widespread accolades after showcasing their sophisticated, innovative cuisine for 80 members of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Thursday night. The nine one five team prepared a Key West seafood-themed dinner at the Beard House, an internationally recognized culinary center that was home to the late James Beard, chef, author and teacher widely acknowledged as the father of American cooking. The event was funded in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. An invitation to cook at Beard House has been called by food experts “the culinary equivalent of earning an Academy Award nomination.” For the hors d’oeuvres and five-course dinner required by Beard guidelines, Kemp and Otten chose their menu specifically to showcase the subtle, succulent flavors of local seafood. Dishes included crispy skin-on yellowtail snapper with a tarragon aioli, seared Key West grouper over parsnip puree, and butter-poached Florida Keys lobster with thinly sliced beef tenderloin. "It was incredible,” said Beard House maitre d’ Lauren Baladan following the dinner. “Everyone was raving about it.” Attendees included Peggy Katalinich, a member of the Beard Foundation and food director of Family Circle magazine. “The chef let the flavors come through,” said Katalinich, who recalled interviewing James Beard himself at the house years earlier. “He didn’t have to masquerade and hide the basic flavor.” During the dinner Kemp, a 19-year Key West resident who opened nine one five in 2003, oversaw service of the six wines that accompanied the dinner. Otten cited the excellent work of his team as a crucial factor in the dinner’s success. Surprisingly, he said, preparing the Beard dinner was less stressful than a typical night at the restaurant in Key West. “Within the restaurant, there’s so many more menu items and people come in at different times -- but this was all one menu that goes out at all one time,” he said. “The plating was very easy, we were all very organized and it went very smoothly.” One of Key West’s most highly acclaimed restaurants, nine one five is located in a restored Victorian mansion at 915 Duval Street. Standout offerings include flavorful tapas-style dishes, indigenous seafood prepared with a unique twist and an extensive wine list with an international flair. For more information on the restaurant click here.

Higgs Beach, Key West.

Someone needs to explain this to me. Higgs Beach, last time I checked, was/is a public beach. The current uproar over it is based on the fact that the local KWPD find it seemingly impossible to rid it of the bums and other assorted stinky folk from hanging there day and day out.

The mayor of Key West has figured that if the City takes over the beach/park it can be turned into an area for children and locals to use. This is his logic.

OK, point 1. It is a beach. It is already available for use by children and anyone else. The only reason they don't use it is due to the presence of the bums.

Point 2. The kids, already have a park, Astro Park, 25 feet from the beach which last time I was there is in perfect condition, all shiny and new looking. There are Boccie courts across from Astro for more adult type fun, and of course, the beach itself.

Point 3. Once the city has control of the beach, the same useless cops who cannot maintain a bum free zone now, will be attempting this apparently overwhelming task again.

And finally, this non event is going to cost the city (that means YOU!), approximately $500,000 PER YEAR!!! to maintain.

I am obviously missing something here. Why are we going to spend a half million bucks a year, on something that is already there and requires nothing more than a clean up, and bum removal?

I am sure that if a call was put out, any number of locals would be happy to show up with a paint can and scrubbing brushes to clean up the area, paint some new murals and generally give it a spruce.

The only thing preventing locals from utilizing this particular beach are the bums and the perverts which the Key West Police Department refuses to deal with. What do they spend their time doing?

They don't seem to ever arrest anyone for actual crimes, like mugging, robbery and other violent acts. They do spend an awful lot of time arresting inebriated locals attempting to get home, or strippers doing, well the things you expect from strippers.

How about they put on some of those nice purple gloves and do their bloody jobs at Higgs.

White House aide Rove resigns.

Top White House aide Karl Rove, seen by many as the brains behind George W Bush's presidency, has said he will resign at the end of August.

"I just think it's time," Mr Rove said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, adding that he was quitting for the sake of his family.

Mr Rove has worked with Mr Bush since 1993 when he ran for Texas governor.

As Mr Bush's chief strategist, he is seen as instrumental in delivering election victories in 2000 and 2004.

There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family
Karl Rove

For this he is highly regarded by Republicans, but at the same time equally reviled by Democrats.

"Obviously, it's a big loss to us," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino told the Associated Press news agency. "He's a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed."

"He will continue to be one of the president's greatest friends," she added.

Mr Rove has been accused of underhand political tactics since his teenage years.

As a student, he invited Chicago vagrants to turn up for free beer at a plush reception for a Democrat state candidate - an incident he later described as a "youthful prank" that he regretted.

He has continued to be dogged by controversy.

Last month, the US Senate issued a subpoena against him as part of an investigation into the sacking of eight federal prosecutors, but Mr Bush ordered him not to testify, citing executive privilege.

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
KEY DEPARTURES

Karl Rove, chief political strategist, leaves 31 Aug
Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, quit after 2006 mid-term elections
Andrew Card, chief of staff, quit March 2006
Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defence secretary, quit March 2005
Colin Powell, secretary of state, resigned after President Bush's first term, Nov 2004

SURVIVORS FROM 2000

Dick Cheney, vice-president
Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, was national security adviser in first term
Alberto Gonzales, attorney general, was White House counsel

Mr Rove was also investigated in connection with the exposure of CIA agent Valerie Plame, though prosecutors decided he should not face any charges.

Mr Rove told the Wall Street Journal that he had first floated the idea of leaving last year, but had delayed his departure when the Democrats took control of Congress.

He said he took a final decision to leave after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told aides that if they stayed after the end of August they would be obliged to stay in the administration until Mr Bush's own departure in January 2009.

"There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family," he said.

He said he expected Mr Bush's current poor ratings to improve, and that conditions in Iraq would get better as the military surge continued.

A Republican had a good chance of winning the 2008 presidential election, he said, because Democrats would choose the "fatally flawed" Hillary Clinton as their candidate.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6943814.stm

Little Shits Shoot Tourists.. ok not so shitty

A 20-year-old Boca Raton woman was shot in the back with BB gun pellets that left welts on her back. Two teenagers, who police questioned and then released to their families, told officers they bought the realistic-looking weapons for $28 at a Duval Street store that opened on the Fourth of July. Key West State of the Arts owner Chris Robinson said his store adheres to federal law, which prohibits selling BB guns to anyone under 18 without their parents being present to give permission. He also said he reported a break-in with $1,000 of merchandise stolen soon after opening day.

This would not be much of a story, except for a couple of points. These idiot kids had taken the orange safety tips off the ends of these guns. In doing so they put themselves in direct line of fire from the Key West police department, *cough, cough* marksmen. An incident a few days ago on Stock Island, where a man brandishing an air rifle was subdued by not the Sherrif Dept, who were too busy (?), but good old KWPD has no doubt stressed their unusually incompetent talents to breaking point. He is very lucky to have survived. As are these kids. But then neither of them were in a vehicle, so they were luckier than you would first think. Read on.

Anyone who has been here more than a few years will not have forgotten the famous KWPD vs Pick-up truck shoot-out, in front of Sloppy Joes. The details are a bit fuzzy, but as I recall there was a slow speed chase between ALL the members of KWPD and a young couple in a pick-up. Eventually this farce, sped its way at all of 10 mph, down Duval Street, where the local SWAT (I kid you not) had set up a road block of sorts. Well, and here is the birth of a legend, apparently one member of this genius squad thought they saw a gun in the cab of the truck, and so the cops let 'er rip. Several smoking guns and bullet riddled walls later, it was discovered that among about 100 rounds fired, not a single one had hit the cab of the truck!

And so the legend of the safest place to be when stopped and fired on by KWPD is in your vehicle, was born.

Heres the rest of the BB story. Its amazing to think that the Tattoo Shops are still not allowed to open but this shit is happily sold alongside shiteous Tshirts and throwing knives.

The business was planned to be predominately a custom T-shirt shop, with a small offering of air guns, Robinson said. But they were an instant hit, with the first dozen selling out the first weekend, he said, adding that now he barely can keep them in stock. "They've pretty much taken over the store," Robinson said, explaining kids use them to play the equivalent of dodgeball, and the end of Government Road is a popular battleground. "I certainly understand [the Police Department's] concerns and know this is certainly controversial, but we don't sell to kids. "This is a sport," he said, "a hobby and no more dangerous than football or baseball." What can you shoot, legally? "Targets, that's about it," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin, adding that if anyone shoots a person, an animal or property, they could face criminal charges. Officers did not charge the two suspects in the Petronia Street shooting, and reports didn't say why they released the 13- and 14-year-olds to their families. "If you shoot someone with a BB gun, you could be charged with battery or aggravated battery, but it's difficult, because being a law enforcement officer, if a misdemeanor offense doesn't occur in your presence, you have to refer it to the State Attorney's Office," Herrin explained, speaking in general because she was not familiar with the Key West police case. Hannan's father told officers he initially saw the kids firing the BB guns at power lines, but then turned to see the guns pointed at them from behind a fence that separates Petronia Street from the Robert Gabriel public housing apartments. That's when his daughter was hit in the back, he said. Hannan declined medical treatment, but officers said she was very upset, and remarked that her family, who have been coming to Key West for 10 years, is reluctant to return after the incident. Robinson said the majority of his customers are local kids ages 12 to 17, who purchase the guns with a supervising adult, of whom the store requires an ID.

Key West Ink - Evaporating

After a seemingly endless battle and a lot of positive noise from all kinds of officials and regular Key West folk, it appears all is far from well on Duval Street.

We have skanky ex strippers, openly selling themselves in storefronts, T-shirt shops with some of the most offensive logos ever seen, front and central, some very seedy looking stores with 9 foot long triple bladed swords and throwing stars happily marketed alongside coke bullets and a wide assortment of drug scales, and of course the reason why the Navy has always loved our little bit o' paradise , more actual strip clubs per capita than downtown Bangkok. OK, so I exaggerate. A bit.

What we do not have, and it seems are unlikely to ever have, are tattoo shops. You can watch a zit faced coke whore push her nasty goods in your face whilst you down as much liquor as you can handle, but should you choose to have said ho's face permanently memorialized on your back.. you have to drive 3 miles to Stock Island.

From The Keynoter

After spending $500,000 to prepare his tattoo parlor, paying a down payment of $260,000 on a $1.4 million mortgage and attending city workshop after city workshop, Key West Ink owner Jim McAlhany is taking his case to a judge.

“Maybe I should turn it into a T-shirt shop,” McAlhany mused. “I could probably get an ordinance for that.”

A 43-year-old city ban prohibits tattoo shops in Key West proper and the City Commission has been trying to craft an ordinance lifting the ban.

But McAlhany, along other hopeful tattoo-parlor owners, is tired of waiting and pressing forward with a lawsuit he previously put on hold.

It alleges the ban is unconstitutional, a violation of First Amendment rights.

A subpoena has been issued to city Planning Director Gail Kenson to appear before Monroe County Judge Mark Jones at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday with “all documents” relating to her work on the tattoo-parlor ordinance, including e-mails, staff reports, draft ordinances and communications with others.

The owners of Paradise Tattoo, which has operated on Stock Island for 15 years, filed a similar complaint and consolidated their lawsuit with Key West Ink's. Both have shops on Duval waiting to open, Key West Ink at 717 Duval and Paradise Tattoo at 627. Paradise owner Doreen Eppy sells merchandise out of her shop.

Attorney Wayne Larue Smith represents Key West Ink, Jerry Coleman represents Paradise and Nathan Eden is helping Goldie's Southernmost Tattoo Parlor on Stock Island, which has not sued.

Commissioner Bill Verge, whose district lies where the shops would go, doesn't see any ruling happening Tuesday.

“You can only work on it so fast,” Verge said. “I can't imagine Judge Jones ruling on anything until we vote on the ordinance.”

But McAlhany said the suit has nothing to do with the city, rather the “unconstitutional ordinance” itself, which was enacted to keep U.S. Navy personnel from getting tattoos in the 1960s, when there weren't the same sanitation measures there are today.

McAlhany, who said he has 1,500 clients waiting for tattoos from his shop, said he bought his Duval shop before the commission passed an ordinance because most city officials told him it would pass, and in a short time period.

“I believe that if the judge rules in line with the Constitution, it should then will be all right.”