Lightning Strikes! The Apopka Voice hits another milestone

Viral video of lightning hitting the Apopka Police Department puts The Apopka Voice over 6,000 likes on Facebook

It started with a parade, but it concluded with booming thunder, a breathtaking lightning strike, and an Apopka police officer breaking land speed records to get back into his cruiser.

Spurred over the finish line with a viral video that reached over 50,000 readers (now over 109,000), The Apopka Voice crossed the 6,000 likes-mark on its Facebook Page yesterday in grand fashion with a video that eclipsed all other posts with over 25,000 total views as of 8 PM on Wednesday (now up to 54,000).

Here is another look at that incredible 16 seconds of mother nature at its most furious:

https://www.facebook.com/theapopkavoice/videos/702975913378581/

Back in December 2015, The Apopka Voice published its first article - the 2015 Apopka Christmas Parade, and over two years later, we are still writing the story of this community.

In that time we have covered breaking news, business openings, and traffic alerts.

When the Apopka Fire and Police Departments respond, we report on it. When the new Florida Hospital Apopka opened its doors, we were there to give you the details.

We give you the ins-and-outs of City Council meetings, and we were there when two brand-new candidates defeated two City Commission incumbents in 2016, and when a new mayor and two more city commissioners were sworn-in in 2018.

Yes, and we post the occasional weather-related video too.

The staff at The Apopka Voice would like to thank all of our readers for your support. 6,000 likes in 31 months is a testament to our loyal readers.

The mission of The Apopka Voice is to rebalance the news so that readers are exposed to stories that help them understand problems and challenges, but also show potential ways to respond. Most people would agree that mainstream news outlets often provide a dismal view of the world. Readers come away feeling powerless, apathetic, and resentful.

And when a news-product makes people want to tune out and disengage, it doesn’t bode well for the news business — or for democracy.

We believe that journalism can do better.

The Apopka Voice strives to provide a view of Apopka that’s faithful to reality. It will inspire engagement with audiences and be a catalyst for action in the community.

Solution-based journalism heightens accountability by reporting on where and how people are doing better against a problem. It removes excuses and sets a bar for what citizens should expect from institutions or governments. It offers a more comprehensive and representative view of the world, and it circulates timely knowledge to help society self-correct by pointing out responses that people and communities can learn from.

The editors, staff, and reporters of The Apopka Voice will bring that same attention and rigor to stories about responses to problems as they do to the problems themselves. And in doing so, we believe we can elevate the public discourse, spur citizen participation, and reduce polarization. It can strengthen democracy, and when added to the mix, can improve the overall quality and impact of the stories we report on.

What won’t change is our continuing search for the most compelling ways to tell stories. We will continue to put the fairness and accuracy of everything we publish above all else — and if we fall short, we will own up to our mistakes, and strive to do better.

We believe this is the journalism our community needs and our readers deserve. Original, independent, deeply-reported journalism is the fuel that powers a healthy and engaged community like Apopka. It's been the guiding vision for The Apopka Voice for over two years now, and today we renew that commitment.

And so, in closing, The Apopka Voice looks forward to the future of this growing and blessed community, and we are honored and privileged to tell its story every day.