By Michael Eng | Managing Editor I was a weird kid. Just look at that picture. That’s me on the left. Yep, dressed up like Paul Stanley, of KISS. That’s Halloween 1985. I was 7 years old, my brother, Rob, was 12, and we were both proud members of the KISS Army. Minutes later, we […]
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OBSERVED: District 58 race ‘Â better than TV
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor Seriously, I couldn’t make this up if I tried. Amid all the rhetoric about Big Bird’s exaggerated demise and Colorado’s altitude affecting President Barack Obama’s ability to debate, a far more bizarre — and entertaining — sideshow is playing out locally.
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: Memory lane provides a sweet stroll
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor As the election draws closer, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to endure media of any kind. The incessant ramblings of AM talk radio, the talking heads on television and the bombardment of stories and video clips online have me — a journalist — longing for unplugged silence. If you believed everything […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: Helping hands uplift our community
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor As my wife and I sat down for lunch at The Corner Store earlier this week, we saw the perfect example of why we have fallen so in love with Plant City. A younger female was just about to leave to walk home in the middle of one of […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: Reflections on a day that changed the world
Editor’s note: Managing Editor Michael Eng originally wrote this piece one year ago, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In 2001, he was working as a staff writer for the East County Observer in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., and was with President George W. Bush that morning at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota.
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: Facebook photo yields surprising feedback
Facebook — and more specifically, people’s reactions on the social-media site — will never cease to amaze me. Take, for instance, the photo above. This was one of the first frames I snapped at Durant High School’s preseason football game Aug. 24. In actuality, I was just taking some test shots for lighting, when the national […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: School delivers food for thought
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor My wife and I took it as a friendly reminder of something already delineated in the student handbook of our children’s new Plant City preschool. As we unpacked their backpacks following their first day of school Tuesday, we noticed a little note tied to our 4-year-old son, Lyric’s, lunch […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: I’m a band geek ‘Â and proud of it
We all know that guy. That superstar high school quarterback who threw the last-second touchdown pass in the championship to secure a state trophy and cement himself in his alma mater’s lore. Maybe he goes on to play college ball. More than likely, he moves on to a different career entirely. But all the while, […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: Rash of traffic crashes a sobering reminder
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor It was like I was watching real life in slow motion. I eased my foot off the accelerator as the pickup in front of me began to fishtail. Two other cars were in the lanes to my right — directly in the path of the out-of-control truck. After my […]
Continue ReadingOBSERVED: 2012 grades continue FCAT farce
By Michael Eng | Managing Editor Without knowing any backstory, if you take a look at the 2012 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test grades released last week, you’d probably be relatively pleased with the results. Nothing looks out of the ordinary; most of our Plant City schools either maintained the same grade or dropped slightly. But […]
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