Last Stand - "Protecting the Keys"

Board Meeting Notice

The Board of Directors of Last Stand will assemble next Monday, September 1 (yes, that's on Labor Day) at 12:30pm for a regular Board Meeting.  Holding a board meeting at least a day ahead of the Key West City Commission meetings is standard practice. (In this case, the City Commission's meeting will be on Wednesday the 3rd because of the holiday.)

As at all meetings of the Board, any Last Stand member may attend.  Indeed they are ENCOURAGED to attend. The Board welcomes all input from members, and is always looking for members who are willing to assist with Board activities.  (It should be noted that there are currently openings on the Board, and the active membership is the first to be considered.)

Last Stand Members who may wish to attend the Board meeting can get more information about the location and agenda by calling 305-587-9616.

Board Meeting Notice

The Board of Directors of Last Stand will assemble next Monday, August 18 at 12:30pm for a regular Board Meeting.  Holding a board meeting at least a day ahead of the Key West City Commission meetings is standard practice. (In this case, the City Commission's meeting is a "special meeting" because they nomrally don't schedule one in mid-August, but had time-sensitive actions to consider.)

As at all meetings of the Board, any Last Stand member may attend.  Indeed they are ENCOURAGED to attend. The Board welcomes all input from members, and is always looking for members who are willing to assist with Board activities.  (It should be noted that there are currently openings on the Board, and the active membership is the first to be considered.)

Last Stand Members who may wish to attend the Board meeting can get more information about the location and agenda by calling 305-587-9616.

Impending Events

Dear Members and Friends of Last Stand,

A couple of things coming up this week that we'd like to alert you to... one a serious upcoming issue, the other something fun and educational.  "Business" first...

(1)  Higgs Beach City Commission workshop meeting this Thursday 7/24/08 - 6PM, Old City Hall

A couple of months ago when the subject of the City's taking over Higgs Beach came up, Last Stand's board of directors objected to the City Commission's agreeing to take over Higgs Beach from Monroe County, on the grounds that not enough was known about the proposal for Commissioners, or for citizens making input to the Commissioners, to make an intelligent decision.  The City Commission then voted to place a question on the November ballot whether the City of Key West should take over Higgs Beach from the county.

The City's taking over the property, maintaining and running it, dealing with concessionaires, etc, is not without financial costs and risks, and we maintain that voters need to be informed before voting on the issue... on the costs to the city's taxpayers, and on what plans proponents of city ownership of Higgs Beach have in mind.

The Key West City Commission has scheduled a workshop session on Higgs Beach for this Thursday, July 24, at 6PM, Old City Hall at 510 Greene Street.  It is a public meeting and we urge Last Stand members to attend.  Last Stand's board of directors at this time does not have a position other than that the process should be public and transparent, with the plans and risks laid out for the voters.

Now the fun/educational event...

(2)  Reef Relief asked us to invite Last Stand members to an exhibit of rare books on corals and coral reefs, this coming Saturday (July 26), from 4 to 8PM at the Reef Relief Environmental Center, 631 Greene Street in Key West.

Quoting from Reef Relief's press release:

"The books are part of the private collection of Dr. James W. Porter, a coral reef scientist and a member of Reef Relief's Scientific Advisory Board.  He has built a professional library of more than 3,000 books and monographs on corals and coral reefs, dating from the 1500’s on.  It is the only known library of its kind dedicated to this subject, and is rich in material published in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries."

You can see the entire press release for the event here.

The exhibit is free, but Reef Relief will gladly accept donations for their educational programs.

Several upcoming events

Three events to put on your calendar.....

Key West Green Drinks
Wednesday July 9  -- 6pm - 8pm
Poolside at "In Kahoots" (at the Holiday Inn)
3850 N. Roosevelt Boulevard

NEW THIS MONTH:  GREEN GIVE-AWAYS!

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Keyswide Sustain-Ability Project

BioDiesel Summit

This information-packed session will include:

• BioDiesel 101 (what it is, what it isn’t, where it comes from)
• BioDiesel Across the Nation (who’s using it and how)
• BioDiesel at Home (Examining self production for our government fleets, businesses and individuals)

And as always: Quarterly reports from other Keyswide Sustain-Ability Project members:

Monroe County, City of Key West, City of Marathon, City of Key Colony Beach, City of Layton, Village of Islamorada, South Florida Water Management District, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, Florida Keys Electric Coop, Keys Energy Services, Monroe County School District, Waste Management and many more….!

Who is invited?  Anyone interested in using BioDiesel to cut carbon emissions, cut fuel costs, pamper your engines with a higher quality fuel, and support green collar jobs in the Keys.

Where?  Site to be announced.

RSVP: As soon as you wish!  Send a quick email to GLEE President: ahiggins@tnc.org

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The Florida Environmental Health Association

60th Annual Education Meeting & Trade Show

August 11 - 15, 2008

Full details available: here

Imminent environmental events of interest

This week -- on TUESDAY -- there will be two events of interest to Last Stand members, both involving our waters and the life in and around them.  Those in or near the Keys are urged to attend one of these events.

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On Tuesday (June 17), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) along with the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council are hosting a Florida Coastal and Ocean Economics Forum.  The forum will be held from 1pm to 5pm at the Hilton at Miami Airport.  From their press release:

Our waters define Florida and we are recognizing, as never before, the inextricable links between our communities, our coasts, our ocean, and our quality of life...Florida’s economy is heavily dependent on its oceans and coastal ecosystems and it is important to know how to use them sustainably to strengthen our economy.

Full details here.

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Also on Tuesday (June 17) our good friends Reef Relief will be holding an open house celebrating the International Year of the Reef, from noon to 5pm.  The event will be held at their new Environmental Center on Greene Street (behind Conch Republic Seafood).   From their newsletter:

Mayor Morgan McPherson will cut the ribbon to mark the official grand opening...visitors can explore the interactive exhibits...gather family and friends and plan on joining us as we celebrate the beauty and diversity of coral reefs here on the shores of North America's only living coral barrier reef.

Drop by and help them celebrate!

Last Stand cleans up

The Last Stand marines invade the mangroves. Last Stand President Al Sullivan, right, pulls some near-shore trash after a major extraction from within the mangroves in Garrison Bight.

A brief rain shower during the first half-hour failed to douse the enthusiasm of the assembled cleaning crew at today's City Clean-up, hosted by Last Stand.  There was a good-sized turn out of Standers along with other regulars who come out every month to show they Love Our Island.

For the first time at a monthly City Clean-up event, there was a good sized contingent of kayakers and canoers involved. That's because today the clean-up focused on the Garrison Bight.  All of the adjoining mangroves were scoured for trash, from both the shore side and the water side.  Trash embedded in the mangrove roots that dated back pre-Wilma was finally extracted and disposed of.

That's not to say everyone worked the mangroves.  Afterward the dock areas all around the bite were clean and green.  And the west end of Roosevelt Boulevard rarely looked so tidy.

Last Stand would like to thank EVERYONE who turned out to help.  Comments from the regulars made it clear that in the places where this kind of cleaning happens, future clean-up requires less and less work.  The people who come along aftterward are less likely to thoughtlessly discard their trash.  If we all continue to work together like this, we'll all enjoy the result.

See you all NEXT month....

REMINDER: Last Stand event THIS SATURDAY

Last Stand will host the June Key West Clean-Up

Saturday, June 7 - 8am to 10am

We'll be concentrating on the Garrison Bight area

Volunteers are Needed - Please email nicmalo@hotmail.com

Further details on our Website

See you there!

The clean-up is also a project of the
Key West Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee's
Love Your Island
campain.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - City-Wide Cleanup Saturday

Dear Members and Friends of Last Stand,

Volunteers are needed!!

Last Stand will host this month's Key West Clean-up on Saturday, June 7. (Full details available on our Website, here.)  The clean-up is sponsored by the City of Key West as part of Key West's "Clean and Green" program.  The hours are 8am to 10am.  We'll assemble at Bayview Park prior to 8am.  We'd like to get started at 8am sharp, so please arrive a little before 8!

Last Stand volunteers will concentrate on Garrison Bight and the shoreline along North Roosevelt Boulevard.  We need Last Stand volunteers to help with this worthwhile project/event.

If anyone would like to participate on the water, by kayak, we will also have a group doing that.  Please let us know if you are bringing a kayak or would like to use one.  Sunset Watersports has agreed to furnish some kayaks, so please let us know in advance if you'll need one (contact info at the end of this email).

Drinking water will be provided, but please try to bring your own refillable bottle.  We hate to see those small plastic bottles used once and discarded!

If you can volunteer, please directly contact our Events Chair, Nicole, by email at nicmalo@hotmail.com , or phone Nicole at 305-879-7769.

That's this Saturday, June 7, from 8am to 10am, at Bayview Park.

Thank you!

Action Alert: City Clean-Up

Last Stand will host the June Key West Clean-Up

Saturday, June 7 - 8am to 10am

We'll be concentrating on the Garrison Bight area

Volunteers are Needed - Please email nicmalo@hotmail.com

Further details on our Website See you there!

Last Stand at the NWS Expo

Today Last stand joined many Environmental Activism and Service groups in answering a call by the National Weather Service and the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary to participate in the NWS Expo, on the grounds of the National Weather Service's Key West office.  There was a big turn-out at the Expo with lines of people waiting to tour the Category 5 hardened facility, and good music to listen to while in line or checking out the booths.

We saw a lot of our old friends there, and answered a lot questions from NEW friends about what we're doing to help keep our Island a great place to live.  If you didn't make it, you missed out on some good food from various organizations, all of which was sold (at reasonable prices) for the benefit of the Marine Sanctuary.  They even gave away some heavenly chocolate dipped strawberries later in the afternoon.

A big thank you to the National Weather Service for inviting us, and to those who dropped by.