La Trattoria's Catering Service “Catered Affairs” Taking ... - SnapPages

CONCHCOLORf l o r i d a k e y s p h o t o g r a p h i c c h r o n i c l eJuly 19 - July 25, 2013 • www.conchcolor.comedi(305) 294-7566 OFFICE (305) 292-9955 FAXTORIALPUBLISHER/EDITORTom Oosterhoudt • ooster@conchcolor.comPHOTOGRAPHERKristen Livengood kristen.livengood@gmail.comAD SALESKaren Lee Hirst (305) 304-7609 karen@conchcolor.com, Senior Sales PersonRaquel Crummitt (305) 414-8949 raquelc@jsapromos.com, Ad SalesJanet Wood (305) 395-0241 – fldesignerjw@aol.com, Ad sales Upper KeysAndy & Jodi Kirby (305) 509-0009 – ajkwf@aol.com , Delivery & SalesGregory A. Smith (305) 396-7805 – kywestlivin2@aol.com Ad SalesLarry Neese (305) 434-6728 – paradiselarry@hotmail.com, Ad SalesCREATIVE DESIGNDina Coyle, Dina Designs, Int’l (305) 741-7272 dinacoyle@me.comWEB MASTER: David A.Cox (774) 772-8434 imonamac@me.comCONCH COLOR, LLC • 314 simonton street key west FL 33040Published weekly and distributed every Friday from Key West to Key Largo.Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.DEADLINE 5 p.m. Friday for advertising and community newsThe Positive VoiceTHE FLORIDA KEYS NEED A POSITIVE VOICE to counteract negativity promoted by other localpapers. Conch Color greatly appreciates positive comments about the community you live in. Ifyou love your community and have something positive to say about it, email ooster@bellsouth.net.There are so many great Samaritans in the Keys and wonderful things happen every day. It’s time togive a voice to those who have great comments to say about the Keys.Conch Color Means Business!When I was on the CityCommission ten years ago, theCity Finance Director constantlyreminded me of how much moneyit takes to run this little city eachyear. In addition to fixing thestreets and pot holes that everyoneguesses, we had 95 policeman,68 fireman, and over 500 cityemployees, and they all had tobe paid. The city owned a lot ofproperty that had to be kept up aswell.Our constant goal was alwaysto do as much as we could withoutraising taxes. My colleague HarryBethel taught me the importanceof squeezing every penny. AndI did try to help him balance thebudget each year. And there wasalso the matter of keeping rentsand leases market rate.This is why the city has alwaystried to support and boost tourismwhen and where it could. Thecruise ships, the Conch Trainsand Trolleys, has always beenan integral part of this supportsystem. As of the attractions ofKey West. A few million here and afew million there tend to add up.During my six years on thecommission, I was always amazedthat local publications like theKey West Citizen and Key Westthe Newspaper never seemedto understand that focusing onbad news was bad for the localeconomy. Other resort citiesseem to understand this. As acommissioner, my head wouldoften spin from bad headlines.I probably lost my third termelection because I was too probusinessand pro-economy. It wasmaddening to think that logic andgood sense did not prevail.So when I left the citycommission, my immediate goalwas to start a publication thatfocused on good news and a goodlocal economy. Make our touristsand visitors realize why mostresidents call this paradise. Andtake every opportunity to showwhy living in the southernmost cityis nothing less than heavenly.For eight years Conch Color hasproudly shown the magic of livingin the Florida Keys. And most ofthe local advertising market haveagreed with us. Crunching thenumbers, it has probably cost theCitizen over ten million dollarsin lost advertising .But the Citizen has continuedto wreak havoc with its totallyunethical column called “Citizen’sVoice, which features lies calledin from unnamed sources. TheCitizen picks out the ones thatfit their negative agenda, oftenattacking those who disagree withtheir corrupt priorities. Recentlyone of our friends was viciouslyattacked in the Citizen’s Voice andhe tried to write an article thatresponded to their B.S., but theyrefused to print it. I found thissickening, to be sure.It is with great pride as aresult of all this nonsense, thatI welcome my longtime friend,and community advocate, ChrisBelland on board as of thisweek. His columns have alwaysbeen a feather in the cap of ourcommunity. Furthermore, I hopethat in the sake of good businessfor our community, that even morelocal business owners will showtheir support of Conch Color byadvertising. Conch Color doesmean business!tom oosterhoudteditor&publisherconch color the florida keys 4 photographic chronicle