Gwen Filosa
Florida Keys ReporterGwen Filosa covers the Florida Keys for WLRN.
She moved to Key West in June 2011 for a reporter job at the island’s daily newspaper, the Keys West Citizen. She later joined the staff of the McClatchy Company-owned Keynoter, then a subsidiary of the Miami Herald. In 2016, the Herald hired her to cover the Keys. She joined WLRN in October 2022.
Gwen came to Key West from New Orleans, where for a decade she covered Orleans Parish criminal courts for The Times-Picayune. She also kept tabs on Louisiana prisons, the death penalty and public housing.
Gwen was part of The Times-Picayune’s staff that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News, as well as the Public Service medal, for its coverage of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. She rode out the hurricane in the newsroom and then, after being forced to evacuate the building due to flooding, reported on its devastating aftermath across the region.
Previously, Gwen wrote for the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire. She covered the police and courts beat after working as a regional reporter. In 2000, she also helped cover the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
She graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in English literature and also studied at the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism.
Gwen has become a grateful resident of Key West, where the Fighting Conchs rule – but remains a devoted New Orleans Saints fan. Geaux Saints!
Contact Gwen:gfilosa@wlrnnews.org
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The Keys Immigrant Coalition is offering a free trilingual public workshop Jan. 24 for families, friends and supporters of migrants wanting to sponsor arrivals through the Biden administration's new parole program.
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Jacqueline Woodson, a MacArthur Fellow whose memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award, visited Key West High School during January's Key West Literary Seminar.
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Nonstop migrant landings in the Florida Keys has overwhelmed federal law enforcement agencies. But the county must deal with the boats left behind in an already fragile environment.
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The Key West Literary Seminar opens Jan. 12 in Key West with the theme 'Singing America: A Celebration of Black Literature.' America's best writers appear at the seminar, now in its 40th year, and 500 people have registered to attend.
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For 30 years Gary Marion has portrayed drag queen Sushi. A Key West institution, Sushi was at the center of one of the town's most beloved New Year's Eve traditions - but after 25 years, it's time for someone new to drop in the giant red high heel at midnight.
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Federal officials became overwhelmed as nearly 500 Cuban migrants landed in or near the Keys between Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, before 100 Haitians in a sailboat arrived in Key Largo on Tuesday. Arrivals forced Dry Tortugas National Park to close.
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Mabel Probet is a Cuban artist who expresses the personal struggles in her country through her work. Her latest installation — on public display in Key West — is spectacular and timely.
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A 77-year-old Florida Keys woman has been charged in federal court with shooting one of the endangered Key deer unique to the Keys.
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Cubans are arriving in the Florida Keys in rickety boats in larger numbers than a year ago, the U.S. Border Patrol reports. Between Sunday and Tuesday alone, more than 120 people from the island landed in the Keys on handmade boats.
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At Sigsbee Charter School, located within a Navy base in Key West, the pandemic led to a drastic increase in mental health referrals and a decline in students taking science, technology, engineering and math classes. Teachers believe the issues are linked — and now they will have access to a grant to tackle the problem.
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Fred the Tree delights people in the Florida Keys from his home atop an old bridge. Now he's about to have a role in the Jake Gyllenhaal remake of 1980s cult classic film ‘Road House’.
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Key West's annual Fantasy Fest celebration returned this year in full force for the first time since the pandemic shutdowns in 2020. The 10-day festival is known for bawdy costumes but artists also get to showcase their talents for the parades.