Every day, you make choices. You choose where you work and what to eat for dinner. You choose your elected officials and where to raise your children. Even right now, …

You have an opportunity to shift funding in the FY 2022/23 budget to cover three areas that I hope you agree are priorities for Apopka's safety, equity, well-being, and future progress.

Apopka City Commissioner-Elect Kyle Becker has been on quite the emotional rollercoaster ride these past few months.

When campaigning crosses the threshold of respect and becomes disrespectful, ALL CITIZENS should be concerned.

In the Apopka City Commission Seat #3 special election, the tension apparently smoldered for two days after the debate until it escalated into a five-alarm fire.

Locally, one topic of discussion has come up more than in other municipalities: are our reserves insured? In short, yes.

Apopka, for good or bad, is treading water, and there is no reason to expect anything different anytime soon. It's budget seems etched in stone even before it's approved.

Overall, the budget is balanced and provides increases in salaries, and academic reimbursement for Fire and Police, along with new/additional positions across all departments and a few new fleet vehicles.

Apopka is home for so many of us and deserves to be properly maintained and cared for. I encourage our citizens to get involved however they can in enhancing our great city.

Over two months have passed, but little has been done on any of those three issues, except for a stranger than fiction "secret" City Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

We regret any emotional distress the timing of the original article may have caused Apopka residents, its firefighters, or Austin's family and friends.

I read with interest the article “For Apopka to transition from small town to modern city, it needs to upgrade” published on July 5, 2022, and wish to respond with the “other angle of the story”. 

The Apopka Firefighters Union President Alex Klepper released the following statement about the June 30th  accident to Firefighter/EMT Austin Duran at Fire Station #1.

Apopka is a booming city with over 55,000 residents and consistent growth. It can no longer call itself a small town. But is Apopka ready to do the things necessary to become a modern city?

Call it growing pains, or a need to manage its growth, but there are issues that could thwart Apopka's success if not dealt with soon.

The City Council has a modest windfall of $3.7 million to put in the direction of the FY22-23 budget. That is cause for celebration, and thanks Mayor Nelson for announcing it well ahead of the budget workshops.

There are few greater sounds than that of children's laughter. It is a kind of gift that signifies trust, joy, and the type of detachment from the troubles of the world that allows children to simply play without fear or worries.

It's been five days since the Apopka City Council took on public comments. That should be enough time to take a breath, separate the emotion from the details and fully digest Ordinance 2931 and Resolution 2016-16.

I am not one to sound alarms pointlessly, so you can trust me when I tell you that it is time to pay close attention to the business that is taking place in the Council Chambers at Apopka City Hall

In just the first five months of 2022, 17 journalists have died, including seven in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Since 1992, 1,443 have been killed.

It's human nature to assess people based on a prominent characteristic, label them, and put them in an easy-to-sort box. It's called pigeon-holing, and it usually is a far cry from an accurate description of a person.