My questions are what do the keys, blue awards, and green checks?

Keys are for earning rewards while the Detectives Needed Challenge is active. Tap on the stopwatch on the left upper corner to see rewards, progress, time remaining, and how keys are earned (i.e. from playing scenes or completing Help Wanted newspaper tasks or both).

Blue ribbon rosettes are points that help your team in the league. Earn them from Help Wanted tasks and from team competitions. Your and your team can win a weekly reward and also rewards at the end of the 6 or 7 week league. Tap on your team to see each member's contribution. Tap on the goblet in the team lounge to see your team's rank in your division. Tap on the the globe, to see how your team ranks globally. Tap on the question mark next to the chest to see possible league rewards.

Green check marks are earned for completing Help Wanted tasks. When you accumulate 82 of them you will will a 5-star (pink) box. Occasionally, you may see two special events activate: (1) in Extra Edition, you'll earn more green check marks than usual, so you'll get closer to earning the pink box (2) in Flash Bonus, you'll earn an additional bonus prize if you can reach the 82-check-mark goal in the short time given.

For more game info, see the FAQs at https://wooga.helpshift.com/