Key West voters switched to cruise control. The industry, of course, is applying the brakes

A spark of old-fashioned democracy flared in Key West, Fla., last fall, but the Big Government Republicans in Tallahassee are working fast to extinguish it.

Lawmakers have filed a bill that would nullify the outcome of a November election in which residents of the continental United States' southernmost town overwhelmingly voted to limit the size of cruise ships using their seaport, and to restrict the number of passengers allowed to swarm the streets every day.

Local backlash had been building for years as the deep-hulled cruise liners muddied Key West’s legendary harbor and surrounding azure waters. Near-shore reefs were being smothered by silt, which affected fishing and diving.

Nearly 1 million cruise passengers were arriving annually, but they didn’t rent hotel rooms, ate almost all their meals on the ships and spent most of their eight-hour stay in souvenir shops and bars on Duval Street.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/carl-hiaasen-key-west-voters-switched-to-cruise-control-the-industry-of-course-is-applying-the-brakes/ar-BB1enp8z?ocid=DELLDHP&li=BBnbfcL