Thursday, July 5, 2012

UPPER KEYS

No $1 toll Sunday

To ease and expedite traffic flow from the Florida Keys to the South Florida mainland after the July 4 holiday week, the northbound toll for the Card Sound Bridge will be suspended from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, according to Dent Pierce, Monroe County's public works director.

Card Sound Road and the 18-Mile Stretch, which is part of U.S. 1, are the two roads that connect the Keys to Florida City and Key Largo.

MONROE COUNTY

Deal for locals, military

During July, all Monroe County residents and active duty military with ID will receive half off the regular sunset and stargazer Schooner Western Union cruises.

The discount is available only by calling the Schooner Western Union reservations line at 305-292-1766.

It celebrates the schooner's new designation as the official flagship of the state of Florida. Launched in Key West in 1939, the 130-foot ship is a traditional American coasting schooner that laid telegraph cables for the Western Union Telegraph Co.

BAHIA HONDA

See turtle released Sat.

Come watch sea turtle Saddle released back into the ocean at 10 a.m. Saturday on the north beach of Bahia Honda State Park.

Park rangers found the young loggerhead emaciated and malnourished April 27 on the Overseas Heritage Trail. She was rehabilitated at The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. The reptile likely had been floating due to an impaction before the stranding, and sick for a long time, the hospital said in a press release.

"Nevertheless, she gained 20 pounds in two weeks -- one of the fastest recoveries to date," the release states.