By Felix Haynes | Publisher Our country, and Plant City, have been mired for four years in the longest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Whether you look at economic charts or you drive around Plant City and see all the vacant buildings and storefronts, our economy is hurting. The questions on everyone’s […]
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OBSERVED: 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 ReadingCOMMISSIONER’S UPDATE: Commissioner links Plant City to county
By Al Higginbotham | Hillsborough County District 4 Commissioner Since being elected in 2006 to the Hillsborough County Commission District 4 seat, I have had the great pleasure to serve eastern Hillsborough County residents. Through joining you at meetings of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce and Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and Optimist club breakfasts […]
Continue ReadingSHOW ME THE MAUNEY: All the fun without the mess
By Matt Mauney | Associate Editor It all seemed familiar. Waking up early, putting on clothes I didn’t mind getting filthy (just in case) and heading out to a location where hundreds of runners gathered to get down and dirty. It was last Saturday, and I found myself at another mud run.
Continue ReadingSHOW ME THE MAUNEY: Blast from the past
By Matt Mauney | Associate Editor There once was a time when I was a runner. I’d wake up early and put in a few miles, shower, and then head off to high school. After classes were done, I’d practice again for three to five hours. I ran track as a middle distance runner in […]
Continue ReadingPAST AND PRESENCE: We remember Raiford ‘Shorty’ Brown
By Gil Gott | Plant City Photo Archives & History Center It was a year ago in July that we lost Raiford “Shorty” Brown, a pharmacist whom everyone seemed to know. He was active in community affairs — fundraising with the Plant City Lions Club and president of the Plant City Rotary Club.
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 ReadingPAJAMA MAMA: The Pajama Mama Hall of Fame
By Emilie Plants | Columnist I come from a long line of Pajama Mamas. My mom was one. Her mom was one. Her mom’s mom was one. You get my drift. Since I took the reins and joined the “pajamahood” in 2006, I quickly learned that being a Pajama Mama is a 24-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week job […]
Continue ReadingMY VIEW: We will never forget
Editor’s note: Plant City resident Joseph Castagno wrote this column just six weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, we felt it appropriate to publish this piece. Although it has only been a little more than six weeks since, Sept. 11, 2001, time plays on my emotions. Some days, […]
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.
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