Key West

He had Ernest Hemingway for a neighbor, bought a Model T car with a New Deal job and served in the Pacific during World War II – but, as he hits another milestone birthday, one of Key West's oldest living Conchs doesn’t look a day over 90.

Acclaimed bestselling author Judy Blume on Wednesday was named an “honorary Conch” by elected officials in the Florida Keys, not just for being a long-term illustrious resident of Key West, but also for supporting local arts and fighting book censorship.

A Florida Keys woman complained to the state that the popular Island House resort discriminates against cisgender women, trans and non-binary with its men-only policy.

In a lifetime of amazing plot twists, Judy Blume is enjoying another at age 85. For the first time, one of her books has been adapted into a major Hollywood film.

In Monroe County, the growing number of drug overdose deaths — driven in part by the rise of fentanyl — are leading law enforcement to prosecute alleged drug dealers for murder to stem a deadly crisis.

People in Key West have long been divided over the cruise ship industry's impact on the small island. Voters put big limits on cruise traffic in 2020 but state lawmakers canceled their wishes. Activists are up in arms about two days this year when two ships docked side by side at the same time.

The Seward Johnson sculptures were removed from its outside perch this week from the Key West International Airport and sent to New York for refurbishing.

Street performers at the popular Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square in Key West can juggle knives or defy gravity with acrobatic stunts — but since a tourist suffered a burn in January, they can’t use fire in their acts until further notice. A full-time fire spinner is grappling with the fire shutdown, while others fear for the popular show's future.

Mallory Square is Key West's famous tourist spot for watching the sunset. The lead Florida Keys historian for the Monroe County Public Library system said it's not named for Stephen Mallory who was secretary of the Confederate Navy.

Jimmy Buffett is a self-made legend. But when he landed in Key West 50 years ago, he was a "nobody from nowhere," he told a crowd. For Key West fans, his visit is an emotional homecoming.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has a petting zoo at its jail on Stock Island. They just adopted a skunk who needed a home.

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.