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It's Debate Day! Stream the 2026 Apopka Mayoral Debate. Visit WESH.com to watch the live stream starting at 5:30PMIt's Debate Day! Stream the 2026 Apopka Mayoral Debate. Visit WESH.com to watch the live stream starting at 5:30PM

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Author

  • Ronnie Lovler

    Ronnie Lovler has 40 years of experience in journalism, including assignments all over Latin America for CNN and CBS. Ronnie teaches journalism at UF and public speaking at Santa Fe College. She was a recent fellow in the Gerontological Society of America’s Journalists in Aging Fellows Program and a previous Knight International Journalism Fellow in Bogota, Colombia. She is an editor and contributor for the book titled, Local Lives in a Global Pandemic: Stories from North Central Florida and a contributing author to the anthology Alone Together: Tales of Sisterhood and Solitude in Latin America. She began her career in journalism at the San Juan Star in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ronnie resides in Gainesville and loves to travel.

The Four Chaplains received a posthumous Special Medal of Heroism on Jan. 18, 1961.
The Apopka Chief
February 11, 2026
Last Saturday about 50 people gathered at American Legion Post 243 in Oviedo to dedicate a monument to the Four Chaplains, World War II heroes previously…
Griffin's General Store
The Apopka Chief
February 9, 2026
APD says incident involved two adult siblings.
Jake Vest
The Apopka Chief
February 6, 2026
Olympic gold medalist Sha’Carri Richardson has been charged with driving 104 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone on State Road 429. That is almost beyond belief.
Captain Jack's Crab House is scheduled to open later this month.
The Apopka Chief
February 6, 2026
Restaurant to open Feb. 17
Melissa Byrd
The Apopka Chief
February 6, 2026
One of the key parts of being a school board member is to help advocate in Tallahassee for legislation that improves the education we provide. That’s because so…
Jim Keck
The Apopka Chief
February 5, 2026
I hope all y'all enjoyed the latest Arctic blast we had. Good gracious, it was cold! They said that it was the coldest few days that we’ve had in 10 years.…
Representative Doug Bankson
The Apopka Chief
February 5, 2026
In this final Star Wars-themed column on property tax, I want to share how to make your voice heard regarding the property tax proposals that will ultimately be placed on the ballot in…
Melissa Byrd
The Apopka Chief
January 29, 2026
Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely proud of the Wekiva High School Culinary Magnet program. I never miss an opportunity to brag about…
Jim Keck
The Apopka Chief
January 29, 2026
If you’ve been waitin' on some cold weather, welcome to Florida! It’s cold, and it’s gonna be cold again next week. Whatever you had goin' on as far as bass fishin’ goes, well... that’s probably gonna be thrown out the window for now.
Jake Vest
The Apopka Chief
January 28, 2026
The latest “line in the sand” has been drawn between those who do and those who don’t want a Puerto Rican rap singer who calls himself Bad Bunny performing at…
OCPS confirms that Apopka baseball and softball complexes are unfit for useThe Apopka Chief
March 4, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) announced Tuesday that the new Apopka High School baseball and softball complexes will not be ready for…
Wekiva baseball's Jaden Graham throws a pitch in the Mustangs' game against Edgewater.
Wekiva baseball drop to 2-7 after falling 12-1 at home to EdgewaterThe Apopka Chief
February 28, 2025
The Wekiva Mustangs baseball team has had a rough start to the season. This week, they fell to 2-7 after a 12-1 home loss as the…
The Wekiva Wrestling team prepares for Regionals after a great performance at Districts.
Wekiva wrestling prepares for regionals after district successThe Apopka Chief
February 27, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter The Wekiva High School wrestling team prepared for the Class 3A Region 1 Championships this week after six wrestlers advanced to regionals…
The Apopka Blue Darter baseball team's Wyatt Jaggers throws a pitch in Apopka's game against Olympia High School.
Blue Darter baseball wins 3 straightThe Apopka Chief
February 27, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter The Apopka Blue Darter baseball team moved to 4-2 on the seasin with a three-game win streak that culminated with a victory…
Taylor Smith of the Apopka Softball team hits a homerun.
Apopka softball dominate season-opening gamesThe Apopka Chief
February 27, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter ­The Apopka Blue Darter softball team opened up their season with a massive 11-1 win over the Lake Mary Rams on the…
Head coach of the Apopka boys basketball team, Scott Williams, talks with his team during a timeout.
Williams: Apopka boys basketball program made key strides in 2024-25The Apopka Chief
February 25, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter Last Thursday night, Feb. 20, the Apopka Blue Darters’ state title hopes ended in the regional finals, but it was still a…
Apopka boys basketball's Rafael Betancourt takes a jump shot against Sanford defenders.
Seminole bounce boys basketball team from state playoffsThe Apopka Chief
February 24, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter The 2024-2025 season of the Apopka boys basketball team ended on Thursday, Feb. 21, when the Blue Darters lost 54-32 to Seminole…
Dern brothers tout new skate parkThe Apopka Chief
February 21, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Reporter The new Apopka Action Sports Park is under construction, and much of the groundwork and foundation have been completed in the last…
Apopka baseball goes 1-2 in season’s opening weekThe Apopka Chief
February 21, 2025
By Marshall Tempest Apopka Chief Staff The Apopka Blue Darter baseball team is 1-2 on the season after losing their season opener to Lake Brantley 2-0,…
Apopka area church listingsThe Apopka Chief
February 20, 2025
DENOM NAME CITY PHONE ­­­­AME St. Paul AME Apopka 407-889-4464 Apostolic Apostolic Church of Jesus Apopka 407-886-2556 Assembly of God Thrive Assembly of God Apopka 407-886-2806…