Whew. If your September and October have been a cray-cray as mine, you’ve lost track of anything not on your to-do list. So let’s catch up on some Key West news and an assortment of odds and ends, like Fantasy Fest and the Tourist Development Council.
1. First things first: Don’t forget this weekend brings the end of Daylight Saving Time. Set your clocks back an hour before you head for bed Saturday, or you’re gonna be early for whatever Sunday brings. “Spring forward, fall back.” You’re welcome.
2. Tuesday is Election Day. While I can’t imagine there many who don’t know that, polls open at 7 a.m., and close at 7 p.m. I’ll be working for the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections at my usual Precinct 7 spot, the Moose Lodge on Eisenhower.
Between mail-in ballots and early voting, Monroe County voter turnout was already at 57.28 percent as of Nov. 2. Of the county’s 52,043 registered voters, 29,809 had voted. It’ll be interesting to see how many show up in person.
In 2020, the last presidential election, 65.9 percent of eligible U.S. voters cast a ballot. In Monroe County in that same election, 84.91 percent of eligible voters participated. Monroe County voters are passionate about their right to choose a candidate to represent them.
If past elections are any indication, we’ll know the local and county results shortly after 7 p.m. But I’m not holding my breath about when we’ll know the national results of the presidential election, much less when they’ll be official. And as we learned from the hanging chad era and the 2020 presidential election, there’s plenty of button-pushing chaos being sown.
I’ve resigned myself to this: No matter who wins the presidential election, we’re in for a long slog of unpleasantness. Since I can’t do a darn thing about it — and we’ll just have to live through it — I’m aligning my priorities to things I can control: Show up for friends and family when needed. Savor the good moments, fix the bad ones when I can, let go when I can’t. Cast aside controlling tomorrow — and remember to laugh. Even in chaotic times, joyful laughter is a gift.
Good news from the TDC and Fantasy Fest
3. Kara Franker and the Tourist Development Council are on a roll. A good one. I watched the TDC meeting Tuesday as they tackled the latest disastrous audit, which showed the TDC’s 29-year contract with Two Oceans Digital had pretty much given away the store without a lot to show in return. The failure of past TDC boards and CEOs to renegotiate the contract that covered website services likely cost the TDC millions of dollars in revenue.
But this time there was no dithering. A swift and pointed discussion during the meeting brought an even swifter motion to terminate the contract with Two Oceans, put out a new Request for Proposals and implement strategies to regain control of the visitor websites and the domain names that drive them.
Franker took time to praise the staff who shoulder the heavy lifting of getting work done while implementing changes at the same time. And she reiterated her commitment to Destination Stewardship, which makes residents her primary focus.
Look, I know — and share — the concerns about too many visitors, overzealous development, the exorbitant cost of housing and the relentless damage to our ecosystem and our quality of life. But tourism pays the bills in the Keys. We’re not going to get rid of visitors, so I’m embracing this idea of Destination Stewardship. In less than two months, Franker and the new TDC have given me a reason to hope.
4. For the past several years, Fantasy Fest has been right up there on top of my “things I hate” list. Dirty, raunchy and sleazy come to mind. But not this year. Nadene Grossman Orr and her crew at We’ve Got The Keys made good on the promise to return Fantasy Fest to a 10-day street party locals could love. Yeah, we had the folks who flaunt their ought-not-be naked parts, but they were overshadowed by glorious costumes, floats and people — many of them local — having fun. And, kudos to the folks who pulled the political antagonists out of the marches and parades. There was none of last year’s nonsense.
5. And for good measure: Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. I’m feeling good today. How about you?
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