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at Key West Island News?
Key West Island News connects residents and friends of the island; fosters our One Human Family culture; and advances understanding of shared goals for our island community. Editor Linda Grist Cunningham writes columns that explain the news and issues affecting Key West and the Florida Keys.
Welcome to the Island
We believe there is such a thing as the Key West state of mind and those who love the island will never stray far. Key West Island News believes the Key West Mystique is a real thing.
ABOUT US
Living in Key West
You’ve vacationed in Key West for years. You know all about the island mystique — and on an island you don’t even have grass to mow. Let’s find out if you’ve got what it takes.
GOT WHAT IT TAKES?
Prep for hurricanes
The official hurricane season is June 1-November 31. We prep in May and hope to heaven there are no late storms in December. No local ever takes hurricane season lightly.
START PREPPING TODAY
Today's News
Editor Linda Grist Cunningham writes columns that explain the news and issues affecting Key West and the Florida Keys. Be sure to follow along for the latest news.
WHAT’S UP TODAY?
What’s up in Key West today?
Editor Linda Grist Cunningham writes columns that explain the news and issues affecting Key West and the Florida Keys. Her columns also appear in the Keys Citizen on Saturdays. Be sure to follow along in print or online for her latest take on living in the Keys.
Key West city manager: Does he stay or does he go?
Wouldn’t it be nice if some good, old-fashioned reconciliation therapy could lower the temperature? Probably not gonna happen, but the new commission will hold the winning card: The city manager serves at its pleasure and direction. So direct him. If he gets the message and meets the goals, he stays. If he doesn’t, send him off. I hear pretty much every city in the Keys is advertising for city managers.
September in Key West: No excuse for being a jerk
Locals with spare cash love September because we have laid-back Key West to ourselves. Those living paycheck to paycheck? It’s a slog of making ends meet. And if your neighbor, coworker or your dad has been disappeared into the horror show that passes for immigration law in 2026? There’s no such thing as a good September.
5 projects Key West’s new mayor can do without running afoul of state preemption
Though Sam Kaufman built his mayoral campaign on the need for change, his success is rooted not so much in change as in a return to pre-2024 sensibilities. Kaufman will face headwinds that Craig Cates and Teri Johnston could not imagine — and that Dee Dee Henriquez could not or would not navigate. Say hello to the 10-letter word from hell: preemption.
10 years
“Dear Connor” is a collection of essays written for Connor Cunningham by his grandmother, Linda Grist Cunningham. I began writing these in 2016 as my construct for making sense of the unraveling American community. Connor may never read them, nor might others; but they’ll help me distill solutions from the cacophony that passes for discourse in final crisis generational turning of America.
Recent Dear Connor columns
Baby boomer revenge | Rainbows, home rule and “me first”
OK, boomers: It’s 100 percent our fault that Key West and the world have gone sideways. We are the reason we’re...
Dear Connor | The American “middle” won’t tolerate extremes much longer
Dear Connor, Dick Grist, your great-grandfather, was a political junkie, a World War II vet and a voice of reason when...
“Let us live to make all free” | The Battle Hymn of the Republic comes full circle
Six months ago, for the first time in 50 years, I sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Aloud. In church. Off key....
7 ways to move here
How does one move to Key West? There are lots of toss-off answers, like “marry rich” or “rob a bank,” but I decided to take this seriously. Here’s how one prepares to move to Key West.
Why would you leave?
Everyone dreams of living in Key West, a place where everyone knows why you’d move there. What most folks rarely stop to think about: Why would anyone up and leave? And they do. Lots of them.
North to Miami? Nope
Did you know you head east when you drive to Miami? Not north. East-northeast. And mostly east. Trust your eyes at sunrise. Well, except for a couple of stretches like that right turn in Big Pine, which is due south.
Living in Key West | How hard can it be?
Heck, you’ve vacationed in Key West for years. You know all about the island mystique — and on an island you don’t even have grass to mow. So, let’s find out if you’ve got what it takes to live here.
It’s hurricane season
The official hurricane season is June 1-November 31, which is pretty much the whole year, because we prep in May and hope to heaven there are no late storms in December. No local ever takes hurricane season lightly, especially if we’ve weathered an earlier one.
Our guide to hurricane prep >
Hidden charms & secrets
Lizards. Iguanas. Roaches. Floods. Heat wave alerts. Hurricanes. Power outages. Crashing cell service. No water. No parking. Traffic headaches. Neighbors so close you hear their toliets flush. It’ll make you crazy. And, yet we can’t imagine living anywhere else.
What’s it really like to live here? >
Homeowner tips
Wow. You own (or rent) your personal piece of paradise. So how come you’ve got bugs, mold and mildew? How come the like-new air conditioning needs to be replaced? Home repairs and maintenance in a sub-tropical environment are not for the faint of heart.
Locals’ tips for homeowners >
Key West Island News
(opens in a new tab)Key West Island News is a digital information company that connects Key West residents and friends o
Wouldn't it be nice if some good, old-fashioned reconciliation therapy could lower the temperature in Key West's City Hall? Probably not gonna happen, but the new commission will hold the winning card: The city manager serves at its pleasure and direction. So direct him. If he gets the message and meets the goals, he stays. If he doesn't, send him off.
Key West city manager: Does he stay or does he go? - Key West Island News
www.keywestislandnews.com
The Key West city manager serves at the pleasure and direction of the commission. So direct him. If he gets the message and meets the goals, he stays. One doesn't have to like the boss to do a good jo...6 CommentsComment on Facebook
Key West Island News
Who we are: We are a Key West-owned digital news and information company that uses a community-support model to sustain our news, information and connections mission. Our funding comes from our local and off-island subscribers, select advertisers and investors. We are governed by an advisory board comprising residents and journalism and community-building professionals. Editor and publisher Linda Grist Cunningham owns KeyWestWatch Media LLC, which publishes Key West Island News.
What we do: We do original reporting and aggregate information from trusted news sources in Key West, the Keys and the state of Florida. We choose our trusted sources carefully to ensure accuracy and useful information.
Why we do it: We believe Key West needs a comprehensive, trusted source of news and information — a single place where residents and friends of Key West can find what they need to know each day.
What’s important to us: The topics shape our coverage: The Key West mystique; economic development; environmental protection; not-for-profits, arts and entertainment; small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Martha Hubbard
“Key West is an amazing canvas”
Key West chef and photographer Martha Hubbard walks the island each morning. For years she has shared with her social media friends a photo or two to start the day. Now she shares her photographs exclusively with Key West Island News. From pounding waves off the White Street pier to a Royal Poinciana bursting red, Martha’s photos are a stunning reminder that we live in a canvas made new every day.
Shade Ceramics and Shutter Photography
Contemporary artisan ceramics and photographs crafted in Key West | Follow the latest news from our gallery! We love sharing what we’re doing in the White Street gallery — and we welcome you to stop in when you’re in the neighborhood.