Mitch Traphagen
Back to the future
By MITCH TRAPHAGEN mitch@observernews.net Last night I dreamed about the future. My dream was set 30 years from now; yet, through the magic of dreams,
Wanted in Tampa: Romance
Mitch Traphagen Photo Tampa needs an Empire State Building. However, my track record in meeting at the top follows that of Cary Grant’s. My wife ...The shining city upon a hill
Mitch Traphagen photo The sun sets over America and the coast of New Jersey. Despite the challenges the nation faces, we are still the shining ...A male view on ‘chick lit’
Mitch Traphagen Photo A view of Mid-town Manhattan from Central Park. Even in a metropolitan area of 22 million people, it is possible to find ...Local art exhibits limn color of Florida
{igallery 16} By Mitch Traphagen and Pamela Traphagen [Video below] Florida is all about color. The light spectrum in the Sunshine State opens possibilities that ...Autumn in Florida blooms with beauty
{igallery 18} By MITCH TRAPHAGEN mitch@observernews.net September 22 was the first day of fall and with it, the heat and humidity of summer seems to ...
South County Family Support and Resource Center offers range of services to all residents
Mitch Traphagen photo The South County Family Support and Resource Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday at their new location at 3030 East ...
DCF pulls children from Tampa Bay Academy
By MITCH TRAPHAGENmitch@observernews.net Mitch Traphagen Photo The Florida Department of Children and Families removed three children from the Tampa Bay Academy in Riverview ...
Crime falls in U.S., Florida
By MITCH TRAPHAGENmitch@observernews.net RUSKIN - According to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics released on Monday, all categories of crime declined in 2009, contrary to fears ...
Nine years after Nine-Eleven
By Mitch Traphagenmitch@observernews.net Above, a child’s note of remembrance taped to the window of an NYPD substation near Times Square in 2001. Below, ...
International Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept. 25
By MITCH TRAPHAGENmitch@observernews.net Mitch Traphagen Photo RUSKIN — The pile of detritus was remarkable. In the span of a few hours, the volunteers ...
Canadian company’s first Florida footprint on Sun City Center golf courses
Mitch Traphagen Photo ByMELODY JAMESONmj@observernews.net SUN CITY CENTER – Seven of the eight golf courses in this retirement community founded as a golfing mecca ...
Don't let the bed bugs bite!
By MITCH TRAPHAGENmitch@observernews.net“Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!” was a depression-era phrase that almost every baby boomer grew up with. I had never ...
An icon comes to Florida. Let it be.
ALL IMAGES PROVIDED BY PETER MAX By MITCH TRAPHAGENmitch@observernews.net Iconic artist Peter Max will appear at Baywalk in St. Petersburg this weekend. He talks ...
Longhorns break new ground
MITCH TRAPHAGEN PHOTOS The Lennard Longhorns football team broke new ground last week. For the first time in the school’s history the team is ...
Residents turn out for crime victim
Photos by Mitch Traphagen More than 300 people gathered for dinner at the Ruskin Elks Lodge on Sept. 11 to benefit South County resident Cindy-Lou ...
Ruskin playground dedicated in loving memory of Beryl Looney
Mitch Traphagen Photos Members of the Ruskin United Methodist Church held a ceremony on Sunday (Aug. 29) to dedicate the church’s daycare center playground in ...Author info
Mitch Traphagen
Mitch Traphagen is a photojournalist, columnist and online editor for the Observer News Publications. He is the recipient of 55 awards of excellence from the Community Papers of Florida for his photography and writing. He has worked for some of the nation’s largest corporations, as Press Secretary for a U.S. Congressman, owned and published a weekly newspaper, and produced a commercial documentary video on sailing. He is a Commodore in the Seven Seas Cruising Association (ssca.org). Mitch is a writer, photographer, sailor and traveler with a bit of a geek thing going on. You can visit his personal website at mitchtraphagen.com