First Village Council, 1991
November 5th, 2012
As Key Biscayners take to the polls this week, we present these photos of the first Key Biscayne Village Council at the swearing in ceremony, inside the Key Biscayne Elementary School cafeteria.
The first Key Biscayne Village Council. From left to right: Raymond Sullivan, Joe Rasco, Luis Lauredo, Mayor Rafael Conte, Michael Hill, Mortimer Fried and Cliff Brody.
Residents voted to incorporate Key Biscayne with a 58 to 42 margin on November 6th, 1990. Then on September 3rd, 1991, residents voted in the first village council. Rafael Conte won the mayoral race over Betty Sime by only 60 votes. The Miami New Times has a great article from October 1991 recapping the mayoral election.
When you go vote this week, remember the history and remember that every vote counts on this island!
English Pub and Jamaica Inn, c.1980
October 18th, 2012
From a description at Key-Biscayne.com
The Jamaica Inn and the English Pub were there and we went.
There is very little that pictures of empty dining rooms could do to describe what the Jamaica Inn was, so imagine extravagant dining around a tropical garden with a 20′ waterfall in the center of the room that had a screened roof so that rainfall and the light of the sun or moon could come in unfettered.
The real story are the stories, the times, the people of the English Pub. Perhaps a hundred small cubicles (like the modern ‘booth’) made in the style of an old English Merchant ship was the decor and there were several bars located inside as well.
One held thousands of ‘drinking mugs’ including the mugs of C.G.(BB)Rebozo, and his friend President Richard M.Nixon.
It was casual. Recklessly casual but also family friendly. At least it was family friendly until around 11 PM.
The English Pub ended up closing in the early 90s, possibly because of Hurricane Andrew. Now the Galleria Shopping Center stands in its spot.
