Florida Keys

Florida has an underappreciated secret weapon to help heal its ailing reefs: prickly sea urchins.

For decades, most of the news about coral reefs has been pretty gloomy. Now the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is launching a new mission to bring back a few of those reefs.

New sea level rise projections for South Florida were released Wednesday. And the numbers are up.

Driving down the Overseas Highway is always a challenge during the busy season: the cooler months. And it's about to get even trickier, with two major construction projects scheduled to start the week of Dec. 2.

After Hurricane Irma slammed into the Florida Keys in September 2017, the island chain saw a drop in visitors. Now the primary industry in the Keys is back — and it's booming.

Over the last 20 years, the Keys have been on a major mission to clean up nearshore waters.

That meant spending a billion dollars to install central sewage systems along the island chain. And the waters surrounding the islands are a no discharge zone.

To help make that happen, the county offers free pumpouts for vessels, including those in marinas without pumpout facilities and boats that are tied up behind people's homes.

There's a big pot of money coming to Florida from the federal government to help communities hit hard by recent hurricanes be more resilient in future storms. The Keys are making the case for a good chunk of that money.

Monroe County led the state last year in the rate of deaths by motor vehicle accidents and suicides.

That's according to the annual report from the Medical Examiners Commission. It tracks autopsies and causes of death throughout Florida.

More than two years after Hurricane Irma smashed into the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm, the cleanup of canals is finally drawing to a close. 

The local legend in Key West is that a few businessmen started Fantasy Fest in 1979 because they wanted to drum up some business at the end of the off-season.

That's true, says Tony Falcone, who was one of those founding fathers for what has turned into the biggest annual event in the Keys. But it's not the only reason.

Online home renting sites like Airbnb have greatly expanded the vacation rental market — when travelers rent a home or apartment instead of a hotel room.

Two new studies illustrate the impact that's having on the Florida Keys.

Initial reporting can leave lasting impressions after a hurricane — and that can be really damaging to a tourism destination.