This Week on the Island 04/01/2007

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The picture this week is Australian Pine stumps at Fort Zack. The Federal Government decided that all Federal Parks should only have native species. So Federal Parks must get ride of non-native plants and animals. Key West has fought it for years, but now the government is cutting down the Australian Pines at Fort Zack. There are about 100 trees, so the government plans to cut about 10 each year. Fort Zack Park was built with the fill from the dredging of the harbor and channel, so even the park is not native.

No book completed this week, but I did do a lot of Sudoku's from http://www.websudoku.com/ . I did start 'A tale of Two Cities' online at http://www.classicbookshelf.com/library/charles_dickens/a_tale_of_two_cities/

The Weather: Another wonderful week.

Yoko Ono is in town this week with an exhibit of John Lennon's art.

Key West is losing Hotel rooms and apartments as everything is being converted to condo's.

Atlantic Shores will be no more by the end of May. It is going to turned into a hotel and convention center. No more nude sunbathing, Thursday night picture shows, or tea parties. The property across Simonton Street from Atlantic Shores is already converted to condo's.

Harpoon Harry's was sold at an auction this week end for $2 million.

Jabour's Trailer Park (behind Schooner Wharf) has the go ahead to start building Harbor House Condo's. There will be 34 condo's at $millions each. There are already 6 condo's next to this property that were sold at $millions each. The old Key West Electric Company at the end of Caroline Street is being turned into condo's at $million each.

When you come onto the island you can go left on A1A or right on US1. A company is looking for approval to build a large hotel/condo and convention center there. The property on the right is completing a project that has built a bunch of condo's where the Holiday Inn used to be.

The same company that last week purchased the lease on Turtle Kraals and Half Shell Raw Bar has purchased the A&B Lobster House complex.

Another company has just purchased Dante's (the old Monty's) and Conch Harbor on the eastern end of Caroline Street.

This week I took some pictures down on the waterfront at Fort Zackary Taylor and the outer mole. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThisWeekontheIsland/ click PHOTO then click WATERFRONT. To learn more about the USS Mohawk go to http://www.ussmohawk.org/

----------------Ocean Currents (more than you ever wanted to know)--------------------

Under PHOTO, in the album 'Waterfront', there is a picture of an old dead tree. This tree only grows in the western regions of Brazil. The tree apparently fell into the Amazon River and floated to the Atlantic Ocean. There it was caught by the North Brazil Current and floated around Brazil into the Caribbean where it was picked up by the Caribbean Current. It floated along the northern part of South America then Central America and was caught by the Yucatan Current and floated between the Yucatan and Cuba. Then it was caught by the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico and floated along Texas and the Southern USA until it was caught by the Florida Current. The Florida Current deposited it on Key West. If it had missed Key West it could have been caught by the Gulf Stream and then the North Atlantic Current and then the Norwegian Current and could have ended up in Severomorsk on the Kola Peninsula. This was the home to the USSR Northern Fleet as it is the only northern port in Russia that does not freeze in the winter due to the warm waters from the currents. Go to http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/caribbean/caribbean.html .



Key West, You have got to love it
'Meet me at the end of the road' - Conky Tonkin'- Jimmy Buffett
Doug Bennett
Lat 24.5597N, Long 81.8016W

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