It was in Key West, joining the world of Solares Hill newspaper with David Ethridge at the helm, that Mark Howell, as senior writer and ultimately editor of that countercultural publication, would win 17 awards from the Florida Press Club. Among the winning entries was his weekly must-read column Soundings as well as incisive interviews with world celebrities such as Mikhail Gorbachev. Howell had become, in the words of Bob Kelly's blog, "a marvelous example of the old-school reporter, furiously scribbling notes in his small, spiral-bound notepad, interjecting questions when needed but hearing the nuances of the melody behind the beat, then rushing off for one more interview before writing to deadline."