THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER VOLUME 19 solareJANUARY 19,199s5 NUMBER 3 Bahama Village The Disappearing Neighborhood ByPamDoto fronts luring visitors. But this sort of rebirth comes with a high price tag, according to Brown urtis Brown has spent all of his 72 years and other longtime residents. in Bahama Village, raising a family and Brown says his property taxes have gone up C minding a business. about 10 percent in the last few years. He pays He's seen crime and blight and unity among close to $4,000 for his business and his home. his neighbors, and he's stuck around. But Several months ago, Brown sold his B and C Brown sees another trend coming and he may Grocery on the corner of Petronia Street and not have enough resources to weather it. Terry Lane to outside investors. He still runs New residents are moving into Brown's the store, and pays rent to the new owners. neighborhood, buying up property, renovating "The overhead is too much and business isn't homes and raising property values. These buy- that great," Brown says. ers, many of whom are from out of town, have If things get too expensive, Brown says he discovered the island's "back door," steeped in might move to Atlanta. Some of his neighbors history and bargains. also have leaving on their minds. In the past "It's the only place left in Key West where you year, Brown says about 10 people he knows can buy a free-standing home for less than have already left for less expensive communi- $100,000," said Lorraine Moore, areal estate ties. agent who is handling the sale of a $69,000 "Every time I turn around, someone else is home in the 300 block of Olivia Street. selling their property," he says. "They can't Bahama Village is a neighborhood in transi- afford it. They really can't afford it." tion, with freshly renovated homes dotting rows Photo Nance Spievak McG nn of worn down buildings and spruced-up store- Curtis Brown sold his Bahama Village grocery store. Continued on page 7 What I Learned About Journalism At The Key West Literary Seminar Photo: Jane Phillips By June Keith n the face of it, newspapers, with their endless pages and limited usage—one O to a household — seem appallingly wasteful, even when you do find secondary uses for them like draining bacon, or wrapping a mullet. Photoi Nance Spievak McGinn But last week, when a handful of America's top journalists and 350 or so of their most Top left: Anna Quindlen ardent admirers gathered here for the 13th Annual Key West Literary Seminar, our tenu- Above: Phil Caputo ous concern with ecology wasn't mentioned at all. What is worrying journalists these days is Left: Brent Staples and David Continued on page 3 Halberstam (right). PAGE 2 solares hiil JANUARY 19, 1995 JANUARY 19, 1995 sulares hill PAGE 3 "Definitely," she replied. "I think he was quite Doesn't Trust The Press" Brent Staples, a mem- SEMINAR capable of suicide." ber of the editorial board at the New York Times, solares hil Continued from page 1 After the interview, the woman went home explained to the audience what he calls the and phoned her mother and friends in several "tyranny of the live." rampant technology. cities to tell them that she would be on Hard "The world has changed," Staples said. "There Technology has given information-hungry citi- Copy a few days hence. But when Hard Copy is a dissolution of community, a breakdown of the zens 500 television stations to choose from. Not aired the story of the Key West attorney's dive off family. There is a global community now. so long ago there were three major TV networks. the top of the. La Concha Hotel, the young Journalism as a profession has changed." 1 THE GENTRIFICATION OF BAHAMA VILLAGE Nowadays we prefer to watch our news in the woman's interview did not appear. Today, when considering a story, editors must PAMDOTO making. Live. Thanks to cable TV we have front Instead, the story featured several people ask themselves this question: Is this story news row seats to murder and mayhem, distress and swearing to the Hard Copy camera that it was everywhere? The bright, young Key West attor- strife, and the true confessions of skin heads, l ney dying from a fall, or, more exciting than that, 1 POINTS ON WHITING FROM THOSE WHO WRITE boneheads and wife swappers. a~push, fronvthe top of -Key West'-sitighest build- Shows like Hard Copy, 48 Hours, and Riviera ing is a story everywhere. Live report information on current events spun Apparently the real story behind his demise is The public doesn't distrust not. Legitimate journalism is taking a back seat JUNE KEITH and splintered in a thousand different directions. Is it news? Or is it entertainment? Is it journal- the press so much as it to sensationalism. ism? Or theater? The lines of distinction have Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and panel become very blurred. doesn't particularly care member David Halberstam explained that 5 KEY WEST REAL ESTATE AGENT DIES A few years ago Key West attorney Fred because feeder papers are folding, we are, sadly Butner jumped off the top of the La Concha about the press. enough, losing access to the small stories they Hotel. Or maybe he was pushed. For a day or so once brought to the world. Hometown papers are • Hand & Power 8 THE PERILS OF THE CONCH CRUISER the mystery of Fred Butner's grisly death story heavily implied that Butner had died a vic- disappearing, and being replaced by bigger Tools stymied citizens, cops and journalists. That's tim, and that his undetected killer still roamed papers. News these days must appeal to the • Electrical JUDI BRADFORD when the Hard Copy guys showed up. the streets of Key West. largest common denominator. • Plumbing At the top of the La Concha, which is open to By the time the story aired, investigators had And so we watch the O J story again and again • Paint & Supplies 5580 McDonald Av., Stock Island 10 KEY WEST LOSES A NO NONSENSE TEACHER the public, the Hard Copy team encountered a concluded and announced to the press that and again. Why? Because we love itllt appeals to • Marine Hardware PAM DOTO young woman who was there for the same pur- Butner's death was definitely a suicide. our instinct for titillation. It titillates on many • Marine Paint pose —to witness the place from which Butner's But what was reported to America was that levels. There is celebrity. Wealth. One man's • Lawn & Garden last flight was launched. The woman had known cops were without a clue. ascent to the heights of popularity and power. • Bath Accessories EDITOR'S NOTES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK the dead man. She'd had business and social What a titillating story! His plummet from the glorious top to the very • Automotive 294-2537 dealings with him. When the Hard Copy team Last June 19th did you watch the famous bleakest bottom. This is lifestyles of the rich and • Janitorial Mon-Sat: 8 lo 5 leader asked, she agreed to an on-camera inter- white Bronco cruising stealthily down famous, baby. Life in the fast lane. • Masonry Supplies view. California's freeway toward who-knew-what Conclusion? • Pipe Cutting & "What kind of a man do you think Butner bloody or bizarre or heart-breaking conclusion? The public doesn't distrust the press so much Threading was?" the interviewer asked her. Maybe you didn't, but seventy million other peo- as it doesn't particularly care about the press. • Keys Made "A very charming oddball," the woman replied ple did and that is discouraging to the people who The public is apathetic. For more and more peo- • Mineral Spirits thoughtfully. make it their business to gather, sort through, ple, when it comes to the latest information on "Do you believe that Butner jumped?" the and compose the news. Journalists. interviewer asked her on camera. In a panel discussion entitled "Why The Public Continued on next page COMMENTARY/LETTERS 11/12/13 REAL ESTATE MARKETPLACE 22 URNALISM CROSSWORD PUZZLE BROOKS 23 Journalism, the Thirteenth Annual Key West Literary Seminar, acknowledges the sponsors, speakers, friends andvolunteers who contributed to the event. RESTAURANT DIRECTORY 17 SPEAKERS: Madeleine Blais • Philip Caputo • Barbara Ehrenreich • Linda Ellerbee • Osbom Elliott • Mark Ethridge Don Fry • David Halberstam • Pete Hamill • Louis Harris • Seymour Hersh • Ellen Hume • David Lawrence ART CALENDAR JUDI BRADFORD 18 Jane O'Reilly • Anna Quindlen • Brent Staples SPONSORS & FRIENDS: American Airlines/American Eagle • Baby's Place • Blue Heron Books Now Featuring AT THE MOVIES ROGEREBERT 19 Budde's Office Supply • Caroline Street Books * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints SECOND SET Florida Department of Cultural Affairs • Florida Center for the Book • Florida Humanities Council Friends of the Key West Library • Key West Art & Historical Society • Key West Citizen " Key West Island Bookstore SUNDAY BRUNCH ALTERNATIVE RADIO BOOK PAGE FRANK.E. TAYLOR 20 Thomas F. Livingston and SouthWind Systems • MARC Plant Outlet • Miami Herald • Monroe County Library Board Monroe County Tourist Development Council • Ocean Key House, especially Gerry and Gina • Phoenix Project Piei House, especially Joy, Janet, Sherri and William • San Carlos Institute • Solares Hill Newspaper GIGS CRISTINE NAUGHTON 21 Stuart Newman & Associates, especially Andy, Luli and Rita « Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 665 • WakJen Books 10 AM-NOON WKRY 93.5 FM • WLRN Radio • David Wolkowsky • Wreckers' Museum • Writers Conferences & Festivals And the individuals u>ho volunteered rime or donated equipment for the writing room: Chance Allen, Charlie Allen, Terry Axford, Delia Bedart, Sheila Bilbrey, Peg Bloome, Judi Bradford, John Brawn, OF PRINTS solares hill is published 52 times a year by Solares Hill Newspaper, Inc.