Good News: Cuba's First Deepwater Oil Well Comes Up Empty

When news hit South Florida and the Florida Keys that Cuba was planning to drill for oil in the Florida Straits, the narrow body of water separating the United States and the island of Cuba, a universal cringe was elicited throughout the region still reeling from the BP oil spill that just months prior threatened environmental Armageddon. (Just for clarification: no oil ever reached Key West, the Florida Keys, or South Florida).

Hard line Cuban-American politicians rattled their sabers and further complicated the anxiety by preventing the two nations from creating a mutual oil spill response plan.

All the while, the tiny island of Key West, only 90 miles from Cuba, worried what oil drilling so close to its shore might mean for the future of its beautiful and fragile ecosystem.

It turns out, due to an embargo enacted by the United States in response to the Cuba drilling plan, there is only one drilling rig in the entire world that is not affected by the embargo and can drill at the depths planned.  That rig, known as Scarabeo-9, pictured below, is one of the world's largest - measuring 377 feet long - and can drill at up to 12,000 feet in depth.  The Cuban wells are planned to be drilled at depths of .25 to 1.6 miles below the sea surface.

Scarabeo-9 is a mammoth floating rig that travels around the globe following a schedule of drilling appointments.  Leasing the rig is not cheap.  Repsol, the Spanish oil company leasing the rig to drill the first deepwater well in Cuba, is paying $500,000 per day for Scarabeo-9.

Oil drilling, especially in the deep ocean, is a lot like gambling, with participants wagering huge sums of money for the slim shot of hitting the jackpot.

The good news is that Scarabeo-9 has just completed drilling its first well and it has come up dry. No oil. No jackpot.  That well was estimated to have cost between 100-150 million dollars.

Scarabeo-9 is currently leased to drill up to four more wells in Cuba for other oil companies willing to take a gamble. Next up, the Malaysian oil company Petronas will take its chances drilling an exploratory well.

But after the remaining four wells are drilled by Scarabeo-9, the rig heads to Brazil.  So, Cuba has a few more chances at finding oil.  But if it doesn't, the rig leaves and with it Cuba's hope of finding a larger reserve of oil in the deep waters off its northern shore.  It is estimated that drilling wouldn't resume off Cuba's north coast for at least five to ten years.

The next well is to be drilled near the western province of Cuba, Pinar del Rio.

Keep your fingers crossed. The further west they drill, the longer the distance a spill would be carried by the Gulf Stream towards South Florida, and the larger the threat to the Florida Keys.

Below is a chart, put together by Center for Democracy in the Americas’ Cuba Program, showing the drilling "casino" map of Cuba:

(click map for larger version)

Update (5/29/2012):  According to Reuters, the Chairman of Repsol said they are likely done with drilling in Cuba!  Here is the story:

May 29 (Reuters) - Spanish oil firm Repsol is considering pulling out of Cuba after its first well in an oil exploration project off the island came up dry, its chairman said.
"We're not going to drill any more ... I'm almost certain we won't do any more activities there," Chairman Antonio Brufau said at a news conference to present the firm's 2012-2016 strategy on Tuesday. 

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Parking Meters Removed from Smathers Beach!

Remains of a parking meter.

All parking meters have been removed from South Roosevelt Boulevard, the road adjacent to Smather's Beach, Key West's largest stretch of sandy beach.

The meters were originally installed, to the dismay of many locals, in 1997.  Two years later it was pointed out that the road is actually the property of the State of Florida, and the City of Key West had no permission to install meters and collect fees.  According to reports in 2009, the meters contributed approximately $37,000 to annual revenues for the city.

City workers were today seen hammering down the stumps of what was left of the meter poles, each of which were cut off at ground level.

Parking is now FREE at Smather's Beach.

City workers flattening meter stumps.

Photo of the now meter-less Smather's Beach

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Coming Soon: Hemingway Hotels & Resorts

The family of Ernest Hemingway has licensed the Hemingway name to developers of a new chain of hotels based on the famous writer's personality.

Hemingway Hotels & Resorts is now seeking hotels interested in being part of the newly formed brand, and is actively seeking submissions from their website.

Qualifications include:

• hotel locations must have a connection with Hemingway (like obvious candidates Key West and Cuba)
• four-star minimum need only apply

According to the developer's website:

"...each Hemingway Hotel must be true to its environment, unique architecturally, and committed to providing guests with active, passionate one-of-a-kind experiences that deeply enrich their lives."

Interestingly, a few years ago, the Chinese announced plans to build a Hemingway Hotel in Cuba, but no word of progress has been recently mentioned and it isn't clear if they will be part of this new brand.

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Report: Key West Has Highest Average House Prices in Florida

A report just released by Lender Processing Services, a leading provider of mortgage services and data about the real estate industry, shows that Key West has the highest average price for homes in the State of Florida.

According to the report, the average home price in Key West was $358,000 during November 2011.  Key West was the only community in Florida to have an average price above $300,000.  The next most expensive community Naples, known for their expensive property, which had an average price of $220,000.

Amazingly, Key West's lead in the report comes after a 51% decline in Key West prices since the peak of the real estate market in September 2005.

Here is a chart of the data:

Price	Area	Peak	Decline
$358,000	Key West	September 2005	- 51%
$220,000	The Villages	August 2006	- 18%
$219,000	Naples-Marco Island	January 2006	- 55%
$211,000	Wauchula	March 2007	- 39%
$198,000	United States	June 2006	- 30.6%
$194,000	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall	January 2007	- 55%
$191,000	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach	June 2006	- 54%
$191,000	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach	March 2006	- 54%
$188,000	Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin	September 2005	- 43%
$186,000	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach	April 2006	- 55%
$178,000	Panama City-Lynn Haven	August 2005	- 43%
$168,000	Tallahassee	June 2006	- 29%
$166,000	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent	March 2006	- 28%
$163,000	Gainesville	September 2006	- 34%
$163,000	Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice	November 2005	- 55%
$162,000	Florida	April 2006	- 52.1%
$160,000	Sebastian-Vero Beach	October 2005	- 50%
$153,000	Jacksonville	June 2006	- 45%
$150,000	Cape Coral-Fort Myers	March 2006	- 58%
$144,000	Port St. Lucie	November 2005	- 57%
$143,000	Orlando-Kissimmee	June 2006	- 56%
$143,000	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater	May 2006	- 52%
$142,000	Lake City	October 2006	- 34%
$141,000	Palatka	June 2006	- 43%
$140,000	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville	November 2005	- 56%
$138,000	Punta Gorda	October 2005	- 56%
$131,000	Homosassa Springs	April 2006	- 46%
$130,000	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Deerfield Beach	April 2006	- 55%
$130,000	Sebring	June 2006	- 52%
$129,000	Arcadia	April 2006	- 60%
$127,000	Ocala	June 2006	- 48%
$127,000	Okeechobee	June 2006	- 51%
$127,000	Palm Coast	March 2006	- 54%
$113,000	Lakeland	June 2006	- 55%
$97,000	Clewiston	January 2007	- 66%

Source: Lender Processing Services

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Who is Representative David Rivera? Oh my.

Florida politics is a messy business, with all the greasy special interests, hypocritical posturing, and plain old corruption.

Which brings us to the redistricting maps of Florida.  The Florida Keys are about to get a new Representative in Congress if the new redistricting maps are approved by the courts.  Out will go Representative Ros-Lehtinen, and in will come Representative David Rivera.

So who is David Rivera and does how well will he represent the people of Key West and the Florida Keys?

A quick glance at his public voting record and the "Christian Coalition voter guide", for which Rivera completed a survey, shows an extremely conservative, right-wing politician who doesn't care much for gay rights...or public radio:

Supports Amendment to prevent same sex marriage. (Aug 2010, "Federal Marriage Amendment to prevent same sex marriage"

Supports banning homosexuals in the military. (Aug 2010)

 Voted YES on terminating funding for National Public Radio. (Mar 2011)

Rivera's short time in Congress has been plagued by controversy. He is under two federal investigations, by the FBI and the IRS, for his dealings with a $1 million dollar "consulting contract" with the Flagler Dog Track, which is today the Magic City Casino.  You can read more about that here.

Here is Wikipedia's list of the controversies, which despite the efforts of his staff to whitewash the page, has done a good job of summarizing the major problems that have dogged Rivera's political life:

Domestic violence allegations 

On October 13, 1994 a domestic abuse charge was filed in Miami-Dade County against one David M. Rivera. Rivera denies that he was the defendant in the 1994 domestic violence case, and the victim of the attack has maintained that David Rivera, the politician, was not the defendant in her case. The case file has been destroyed by the court (case files are retained for only 5 years,).
The Miami Herald reported that according to a woman who is friendly with the victim's brother, Rivera and the victim came to her home as a couple to attend a dinner party about 10 years ago. The victim's mother also once worked on one of Rivera's political campaigns, records show. 

Mail truck collision 

On September 6, 2002, Rivera was involved in a traffic collision with a truck carrying thousands of fliers, produced by Rivera's campaign opponent at the time, that included a last-minute attack on Rivera's character and detailed past domestic violence accusations against him. According to reports filed by the Florida Highway Patrol, a car driven by Rivera hit the truck and forced it to the shoulder of the Palmetto Expressway, ten minutes before the truck's 6 p.m. deadline to deliver the fliers to the post office, preventing the fliers from being delivered in time to be mailed.
Rivera has said that he had planned to meet up with the truck on an exit ramp off the Expressway so he could retrieve a batch of his own campaign fliers. The owner of the company that produced the anti-Rivera fliers maintains that the truck driver did not voluntarily pull off the highway. According to the FHP incident report, the collision occurred in the middle of the road.

Additional source of income 

Rivera on more than one occasion stated in sworn documents that his primary source of personal income, besides his salary from the Florida State Legislature, was from freelancing consulting work he did for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). However, when the Miami Herald asked USAID, the agency said that Rivera never worked for them. On October 21 of 2010, a suit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court stating that Rivera should be disqualified from running for office for violating state laws requiring public officials and candidates to file full and complete financial disclosure forms. After the initial investigation was reported, Rivera amended his disclosure forms, removing any reference to USAID as a source of income for the seven years in question. 

Dog track payments 

The Miami Herald has reported that "[t]he Miami-Dade state attorney's office is investigating more than $500,000 in secret payments from the owners of the Flagler Dog Track to a company tied to" Rivera. According to the Herald: "Most of the money was paid in early 2008, weeks after Rivera -- then a member of the Florida House of Representatives -- helped run a political campaign backed by the dog track to win voter approval for Las Vegas-style slot machines at parimutuel venues in Miami-Dade County." Rivera did not report any income from either company in financial disclosure forms filed with the Florida Ethics Commission, but instead "reported that he worked during those years as a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development," which had no record of him ever having worked there. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement subsequently took the lead in the investigation. In July 2011, the Miami Herald reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service were also investigating the dog track payments.

Wikipedia editing 

In April 2011 Politico reported Rivera's press secretary, Leslie Veiga, had been active in editing Rivera's Wikipedia article and making it more favorable to Rivera. Veiga denied any impropriety.

If that weren't enough to make a voter gag, the organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), has named Rivera as one of the most corrupt members of Congress in its 2011 Most Corrupt Report.

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Schooner Western Union Closer to Becoming Florida's Official Flagship

The Florida legislature took another step towards making the Schooner Western Union the official flagship of the state.

The Senate, in a unanimous vote passed SB326 known as State Symbols/State Flagship and sponsored by Senator Bullard, which states:

Official state flagship.—The schooner Western Union, a 130-foot historic sailing vessel of the tall ship class, built in Key West and first launched in 1939, is designated the official state flagship.

Now it is up to the Florida House to vote on their identical bill, H395 sponsored by Representive Broxson.

It is would be quite the honor to have the Schooner Western Union as the state's flagship.  Already it is designated the official flagship of Key West.

Here is an early photo of the schooner, built to lay and maintain communication cables between Key West and the Caribbean.  Notice the large pulleys, along the port side of the vessel, used to handle the large and heavy cables.

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Key West Dog Crowned King of New Orleans Parade

A Key West dog has been crowned the King of the Mystic Krewe of Barkus, the New Orleans'  pet parade held during Mardi Gras.

The 3-year old "golden doodle", meaning half Golden Retriever and half Poodle, is named Wally and, after serving in the crewe last year, was anointed King for this year's parade, the largest parade of its kind.

Here is a video of the fun.  Wally is visible riding the royal float one minute into the video:

What a party!

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North Roosevelt Closure, Traffic Pattern, and Planned Upgrades

It is coming.

Once this winter tourist season is over, North Roosevelt Blvd, the main route that Old Town residents and visitors use to leave the island, will be closed for outbound traffic during its reconstruction by the Florida DOT.

Between the entrance to Key West and Eisenhower drive, traffic will only be allowed inbound (meaning heading West).  Outbound (meaning heading East) traffic will be rerouted to Flagler Avenue and South Roosevelt Boulevard.

The new traffic pattern will begin in April or May of this year and last two years.

Planned upgrades for the project include:

• Reconstruction of 4 lanes with a middle turn lane from Eisenhower Drive to US1
• New Seawall
• New Drainage System
• New sidewalk along business side
• New signalization (mast arms) at eight locations
• New lighting
• New signing and pavement markings
• New landscaping within the promenade

Here is a map of the upcoming traffic pattern.

And here is what a typical section will look like when complete.

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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's Cold-War Cuba View Out of Step with Florida Keys

How out of whack is the Florida Keys' representitive Ileana Ros-Lehtinen when it comes to Cuba policy?

She, along with the rest of the hardline, anti-Castro community, want to repeal the rights of Cuban Americans to travel to Cuba to visit their family, along with their ability to send money.  Somehow she is convinced this will help Cubans and punish Castro.

Locals in the Florida Keys - by informal polling - are overwhelmingly in favor of greater relations with Cuba and freedom to travel - the opposite of what Ros-Lehtinen wants, which is to repeal the Obama expansions of travel for family, remittences, and cultural exchanges.

Maybe it is time that the Florida Keys look to a new leader in the House, one that supports their opinion on this matter.  Enough with the hard line, radical right policy of the hardliners.  The majority of younger Cuban-Americans want more openness, travel, and freedom.  And while we are at it, the majority of US citizens want the right to travel and trade with Cuba.

Unfortunately for those hoping for a lifting of the embargo, she is now the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee?

Below are the latest news items from the Foreign Affairs Committee website.  The first item is about a Facebook photo contest being held by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, which invited Cubans to submit photos, some of which apparently showed them having fun and enjoying themselves.  To Ileana, this is tantamount to encouraging tourism. The second item has her browbeating the Secretary of State for cultural exchanges that are permissible under current regulations and just the thing that should be encouraged for change in Cuba.  Read 'em and weep:

Monday, July 18, 2011
Ros-Lehtinen Calls on Treasury to Enforce Regulations on Tourism to Cuba
(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter today to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding efforts by certain travel agencies to circumvent U.S. law by promoting tourist travel to Cuba. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“In accordance with its mandate and mission, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control must immediately take decisive measures to thwart ongoing efforts by some to undermine, and potentially violate, U.S. law regarding tourist travel to Cuba.
“Last week, we learned of a photo contest being held by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana which essentially promotes tourism to the island. This week, we see a local travel agency in the U.S. soliciting travelers for pre-packaged tours of Cuba.
“Not only is the Obama Administration easing sanctions on the Cuban regime, but it would appear they are also ignoring the regulations in place. It is critical that the Office of Foreign Assets Control strictly enforce U.S. regulations on travel to Cuba and duly impose the corresponding penalties.”



July 18, 2011
The Honorable Adam J. Szubin
Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Director Szubin:
I am writing to express my concern regarding efforts by certain travel agencies to circumvent U.S. law by promoting tourist travel to Cuba.
A recent piece in the Monroe News Star entices readers to travel on a seven night pre-packaged tour to Cuba by Monroe Travel Service, stating that the “first wave of pure tourists from America will hit the friendly skies Aug. 11.” The article offers an egregious misrepresentation of the current guidelines regulating travel to Cuba and is indicative of potential schemes by other travel agencies to encourage the participation of U.S. citizens in illegal tourist tours of Cuba.
With this in mind, I would like to request, within all applicable rules and guidelines, information regarding what measures OFAC may be taking to prevent or correct for this type of activity by travel agencies.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
Chairman

Ileana has represented the Florida Keys since 1989.

November 2012 is the next time she'll be up for re-election.

She is hoping for a 12th term.

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Key West's Borders Bookstore to Close

Border's Bookstore, which entered bankruptcy in February of this year, was hoping that a buyer would step forward and save the company.  

No buyer has emerged.  The auction scheduled for this week has been cancelled. 


As a result, Borders has announced they are closing all stores - including the Key West location.


The local Borders, actually a scaled-down version named Borders Express, was a sad statement on the state of the public's appetite for books.  The inventory was focused on mass-market fiction, $5 coffee table books, and seemingly aisles of "________ for Dummies" books.


Was it the eBook or the poor store execution that doomed Borders?  Maybe both.


Either way, if you are looking for literature, or an inspiring, curated collection of good reads, here are your best bets:

• Key West Public Library - 700 Fleming Street
• Key West Island Bookstore - 513 Fleming Street's
• Voltaire Books - 330 Simonton Street.

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