In a highly political move, FEMA has decided to punish the independent people of the Conch Republic. In a recent letter from a goverment burarat ( a person who can’t survive in private industy so becomes a non productive goverment worker). threatened all Conchs with strong  United States Federal Goverment reprisals if they don’t  destroy the lower floors on their homes. The US  Fema official, in a nasty letter to local officials declaired that he, while sitting in his  Atlanta office, will not comprimise, all first floors will be removed or else.  To many long term Conch’s this is a replay of the 1982 federal blocade of the Conch Republic resulting in the revalution, and the formation of The Conch Republic.  Over the years the   U. S. goverment has used Border Patrol, Navy, Cost Guard, Army and Florida State police  personel to attempt to squash the free thinking people of the Conch Republic with no sucess.  Today Conch live under military rule imposed after their sucession in 1982.  The Royal Family has rerquested all Conchs are to stock up on essentials such as (Rum, Lobsters, Fish, Crab ect.) in case of an invasion.  All Members of the Conch National Guard are put on Alert.

Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park on North Key Largo and the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Islamorada could be among 19 parks that lock their gates to visitors under a proposed budget-reduction plan drafted by the state Division of Recreation and Parks.

“Nothing will be settled until the [Florida] Legislature finalizes the budget,” said Pat Wells, manager of the Key Largo hammock and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

“It’s a proposal that basically depends on how the economy goes,” Wells said. “If it happens, it will not affect restoration. It may impact visitation.”

In preparation for the budget talks in the 2009 legislative session in the spring, all state agencies were told to submit proposed operating bbudgets reduced by 10 percent.

The Division of Recreation and Parks reached its goal by suggesting “temporarily closing public access” to the 19 parks.

“These parks were chosen based on low visitation numbers and revenue compared to relatively high operating budgets,” according to a Department of Environmental Protection statement. “If closed, these parks will remain under the supervision of a full-time caretaker.”

“We fully intend to re-open the 19 parks potentially facing closure when the state’s economy improves,” the statement continues. “While this was a difficult decision, the proposal reflects our effort to reduce expenditure while protecting the greatest number of staff members.”

While full-time park employees would have the chance to move to other parks, funding for part-time and temporary positions would be eliminated.

Ten state parks are located in Monroe County, although three in Islamorada — Indian Key, Lignumvitae Key and the underwater San Pedro shipwreck site — ssentially are managed as one.

The best-known Keys parks — Pennekamp, Long Key, Bahia Honda and Fort Zachary Taylor — are not on the draft list for budget-related closures.

Pennekamp is among the most popular parks in Florida, with nearly 880,000 visitors in the most current fiscal year. Curry Hammock, the Keys’ newest state park, also is not on the closing list.

Other statewide parks suggested for closing (with county):

Yellow River Marsh Preserve (Santa Rosa), St. Marks River (Leon), Lake June-In-Winter Scrub (Highlands), Pumpkin Hill Creek (Nassau), Constitution Convention Museum (Gulf), Gorrie Museum (Franklin), Deer Lake (Walton), Broussard Catfish Creek (Polk), Tarkiln Bayou (Escambia), Terra Ceia (Manatee), Letchworth-Love Mounds (Jefferson), Dunn’s Creek (Putnam), San Marcos de Apalache (Wakulla), Dudley Farm (Alachua), Kissimmee Prairie (Okeechobee), Nature and Heritage Center (Hamilton) and Cedar Key Museum (Levy).

Florida has 161 state parks, which drew nearly 21 million visitors in the 2007-08 fiscal year.

Source: http://www.keysnet.com/news/story/37939.html

Tony Falcone, who founded Fast Buck Freddie’s in 1976 and went on to organize the first Fantasy Fest in 1979, is still working to ensure that his Duval Street institution is ground zero for costumery of all sorts: A whole section of the store is dedicated to Fantasy Fest related merchandise.

Patty Sickel, the buyer’s assistant at Fast Buck’s, says she picked things out for this year’s Fantasy Fest that would fit with the theme of Pirates, Pundits and Political Party Animals — including masks featuring the likenesses of both Democratic and Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates.

“We bought all four in equal amounts,” said Sickel. “Sarah [Palin] was gone in like three days.” Sickel said she has had to reorder the Palin masks twice already. “People have been buying because they want to make fun of her,” she whispered. “They’ve been selling like crazy.”

So far, Fast Buck’s has sold about 150 of the Palin masks, which are going for $4.95 each.

Sickel says she tried to order full latex masks featuring Palin but that those are usually made in China and the Palin masks, apparently, haven’t made it to production just yet.

“Palin? You can’t even keep them on the shelf,” said John Cline, a clerk at Fast Buck’s. “Sarah Palin sold out first.” So, if you’re walking Duval Street reveling in the splendor that is Fantasy Fest and see a body-painted Palin slamming a frozen cocktail out of an airbrushed, personalized, oversized cup, rest assured. It’s probably not the real deal.

Source: http://www.keysnet.com/212/story/30206.html

1. Conch citizenships were revoked
2. Boat, home and all assets will be seized and sold. The proceeds of the sale will be converted into 1 dollar bills and dropped from an airplane over the Keys for the good of the people.
3. They will be tied to a pole at a public flogging at mile marker 98 and two large stone crabs shall be attached to his testicles for a period of not less than 4 hours.
4. They will then be taken 14 miles off the cost of Islamorada where 400# of fresh chum will be placed in the shark infested waters and he will be forced to walk the plank.
5. Family and Friends who where aware of these actions, against one of our countries greatest assets shall be shunned for the next 20 years.

An executive order could void a 2005 injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore against the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Moore’s ruling froze FEMA from issuing flood insurance policies to nearly 50,000 Keys properties for new construction on lands that could shelter endangered species. That list has since been reduced to 14,000 properties.

Key West attorney David Paul Horan represents a client in Islamorada who owns eight acres of waterfront property put on the original endangered species list. He said the property owner agreed not to build on 90 percent of the land in order to redevelop two existing homes, but has been unable to do so since Moore’s injunction.

“There ought to be a standard that says you have to use the best available scientific data. If you used the best available data you could say, ‘This is a lot in the middle of a subdivision with houses on three sides. Why am I included?’” Horan said, describing his client’s Islamorada property.

Bush’s proposal apparently does not require the approval of Congress and would reduce independent scientific reviews of projects that need federal authorization. Government scientists have conducted such reviews for 35 years.

The president’s announcement deals mainly with the Endangered Species Act, but changes would apply to any project a federal agency would fund, build or authorize, according to the Associated Press. The Interior Department signaled that outside reviews are not necessary because agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects.

The AP indicated that federal agencies must now consult the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether a project will damage endangered species or habitats. Representatives of environmental groups were critical of the Bush plan.

“If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years,” John Kostyack of the National Wildlife Federation told the AP.

Horan also represents New Stock Island Properties, a company proposing a redevelopment project on Stock Island that includes a 300-room hotel, ferry terminal boardwalk, a boat yard and 260 boat slips, among other amenities.

He admitted procuring U.S. Army Corps of Engineer permits for docks is a time-consuming process, but said he wouldn’t trust a single agency to make broad-stroke decisions on development.

“I can’t imagine they would do that. I’ve always been concerned about who to trust when they talk about endangered species because that’s a political issue,” Horan said, despite acknowledging that Bush’s plan would seemingly remove layers of government from making development decisions.

“If you were going to pick a place in the U.S. for a marina, the one place you would not pick is Monroe County because there’s so many layers you have to go through,” he said.

The AP says that whatever specifics Bush proposes to curtail outside scientific reviews, the next president or Congress could reverse his edict. But the news agency says both would be time consuming.

Source: http://www.keysnet.com/212/story/17753.html