Keys Weekly

Editor’s note: Following news of the jury’s verdict, the Keys Weekly contacted multiple friends, family members and coworkers of Andrea Thompson, all of whom declined to comment on the case before sentencing. On Sept. 30, following a six-day trial before Circuit Judge Mark Jones, a Monroe County jury found former Monroe County Fire Rescue EMS and Trauma Star Division Chief Andrea Arlene Thompson guilty on all 10 criminal charges presented to the jury.

Senior Filip Hrabec breaks his personal bests in the 100-yard breaststroke as his teammates cheer him on. The Key West swimming program celebrated its seniors on Sept. 26 at the College of the Florida Keys pool, honoring the Conchs and Lady Conchs making their final home appearance of the season. Seniors Kennedy Morgan and Mary Searcy represented the Lady Conchs, while Santiago Gonzalez, Andres Aguero, William Gjerding, Hugo Blinckmann and Filip Hrabec were honored for the boys.

Sailor Tracey, 12, will be a runway model in a fundraising fashion show for Down syndrome research. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly From gold medalist to runway model, Sailor Tracey is having a heck of a year — and she’s only 12. A sixth grader at The Basilica School, Sailor and her sister, Sloan, just returned from the Special Olympics statewide games in Ocala, where they earned gold medals in a unified swimming relay that pairs a Special Olympics athlete with a partner without intellectual disabilities.

Known for his smile and ability to reach through the TV screen to welcome viewers into his world of fishing on ‘Spanish Fly,’ Jose Wejebe is now officially an IGFA Hall of Famer. KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTOS In an island chain known as a world-renowned sportfishing destination, it takes a supreme level of talent and influence to make a mark. But when you’ve earned the status as a household name in the angling community, it’s only right that your name should be up there with the greats.

Maxine Enkey. JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to spotlight our Neighbor of the Week feature, dedicated to celebrating a community member with each issue.

Artist Josh Cohen’s interactive sculpture, ‘Musical Icons Pyramid,’ seen here in Virginia Beach, will make the trip to Key West for Fantasy Fest and will be on display downtown, near Mel FIsher’s Maritime Museum and Opal Key Resort. CONTRIBUTED There’s always been a connection between the playas of Key West and “the Playa” of the Black Rock Desert. Every year, burners from our island trek out West to experience the art of Burning Man.

In 2023, Monroe County celebrated its 200-year anniversary as a county with a sunset celebration on the Old Seven Mile Bridge. On Oct. 10, the event will take place to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. COUNTY FILE PHOTO Monroe County and the Tourist Development Council, along with the city of Marathon, will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a special semiquincentennial sunset celebration on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on the historic Old Seven Mile Bridge.

Noble birds like this rooster almost certainly incited Key West’s poultry PR rebellion. CONTRIBUTED Avant-garde artist Andy Warhol once claimed that, in the future, every human being would achieve 15 minutes of fame. But he never said a word about roosters. More recent transplants to Key West seem to believe that the free-roaming poultry population, and the near-constant crowing of roosters, is a contemporary issue. They’re wrong.

This is a week of difficult but necessary conversations. It is time for some radical honesty, and just getting the information out will be more important than attempting to say it the “right” way. Mercury, the planet of communication and logic, is moving into the watery confessional of Scorpio. As soon as it enters this sign, it forms challenging 90-degree squares to both Mars and Pluto.

A boater ties off to a mooring buoy in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. FKNMS/Contributed Tourism tax dollars are helping protect some of the Florida Keys’ most valuable natural resources, with the installation of 18 new mooring buoy anchors at three popular reef sites within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.