Mary Ellen Klas, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Mary Ellen Klas is capital bureau chief for the Miami Herald and co-bureau chief of the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a graduate of the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn. Before she became bureau chief for the Herald in 2004, Mary Ellen was Tallahassee bureau chief for Florida Trend magazine and also served as a senior writer for the Palm Beach Post. She was bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post from 1990-94, after which she worked part time for 10 years while her daughters were young. She is married to John Kennedy, senior writer for the Palm Beach Post's Tallahassee bureau. They have two daughters.
Phone: 850-222-3095
Email: meklas@miamiherald.com
Twitter: @MaryEllenKlas
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Heritage deal draws political fire as Gelber rips Scott for taking cash
05/24/13 BlogA fast-paced deal to give a startup insurance company with ties to former CFO Tom Gallagher a $52 million take-out deal has drawn some political heat, as expected, for Gov. Rick Scott.
Former state Sen. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat, sent a letter to the governor -- and copied the press -- blasting the arrangement and suggestiong the governor's political committee return the $110,000 from the company, Heritage Property and Casualty. Download LettertoScott
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Death of friend of Boston Marathon suspect shocks, scares Orlando neighbors
05/23/13 Human InterestKISSIMMEE — Ibragim Todashev, the Chechen martial-arts fighter killed by an FBI agent in Orlando on Tuesday, was a bit of a mystery to his neighbors in a modest gated community here.
They knew little about his lifestyle, his travels or his relationship with one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.
They did know him as the kind of guy who helped neighbors in the multi-ethnic Sun City Village bring in their groceries, bought a fishing rod for the 3-year-old daughter of his next-door neighbor and practiced his kick-boxing in the grassy area next to the community pool as children watched. To them, the portrait painted by police of a hot-tempered bully and cold-blooded killer was a surprise....
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Gov. Rick Scott signs elections bill to fix long voter lines
05/21/13ElectionsTALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has finished the fix of the flawed election law that relegated Florida to a late-night joke in 2012 by signing an elections cleanup bill passed on the final day of the legislative session.
The measure, signed by Scott late Monday before he left for a trade mission to Chile, reverses several provisions implemented in 2011 by GOP lawmakers in anticipation of the 2012 presidential election....
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Scott signs election law do-over, ends early primary and lengthens early voting
05/21/13 BlogGov. Rick Scott has finished the fix of the flawed election law that relegated Florida to a late-night joke in 2012 by signing an elections clean-up bill passed on the final day of the legislative session.
The measure, signed by Scott late Monday before he left for a trade mission to Chile, reverses several provisions implemented in 2011 by GOP lawmakers in anticipation of the 2012 presidential election....
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Lawsuit accuses Senate President Don Gaetz's former company of Medicaid fraud
05/09/13LegislatureTALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the hospice company founded by Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, accusing the company of engaging in Medicare fraud for more than 11 years, including during the time Gaetz was vice chairman.
The lawsuit, filed May 2 in the district court for the western district of Missouri, alleges that since at least 2002 Vitas Hospice Services and Vitas Healthcare Corp., the largest provider of for-profit hospice services in the country, "misspent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the Medicare program."...
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Feds accuse Gaetz's former company of Medicare fraud, including during his tenure
05/09/13 BlogThe U.S. Department of Justice has filed suit against the hospice company founded by Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, accusing the company of engaging in Medicare fraud for more than 11 years, including during the time Gaetz was vice chairman of the company.
The lawsuit, filed May 2 in the District Court for the western district of Missouri, alleges that since at least 2002 Vitas Hospice Services and Vitas Healthcare Corp., the largest provider of for-profit hospice services in the country, “misspent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the Medicare program.”
Gaetz sold the company in 2004 to its current owner, Cincinnati-based Chemed, and reportedly no longer owns any shares or has any affiliation with the company. Chemed operates hospice services in 18 states including Florida.... -
Legislature 2013: What passed and failed, an interactive list
05/05/13 BlogThe Florida Legislature concluded its 2013 session Friday in a burst of bipartisanship, taking advantage of a resurgent economy to overwhelmingly pass the biggest budget in history that included pay raises to state workers for the first time in seven years.
In the wake of the final flourish, there were over 1,800 bills introduced but only 259 passed both chambers by the 7:16 p.m. sine die on Friday. For a comprehensive list, with links to each of the bills, here is the Herald/Times list of winners and losers. Special thanks to the Herald's Lazaro Gamio....
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Florida Legislature wraps up 2013 session with bipartisan tone
05/03/13GubernatorialTALLAHASSEE
The Florida Legislature concluded its 2013 session Friday in a burst of bipartisanship, taking advantage of a resurgent economy to overwhelmingly pass the biggest budget in history and giving pay raises to state workers for the first time in seven years.
On the final day, lawmakers also expanded early voting sites, carved out a nursing home for the influential developer of the Villages retirement community and gave families a three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday in August. They also rejected a heavily lobbied effort by the Miami Dolphins to seek voter-approved tax subsidies for Sun Life Stadium....
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After tough critique, PSC commissioner Lisa Edgar wins reappointment
05/03/13EnergyTALLAHASSEE — As the final day of session was winding down Friday, a routine confirmation of Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar took a surprise turn as senators spent a half-hour in vigorous debate before confirming her 26-13.
Edgar, who was seeking a third term on the board that regulates utilities, was criticized by several senators for being too pro-utility, while supporters said she was well qualified and deserved another four years in the $130,000 job. ...
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Legislators use permitting bill to block Everglades lawsuit
05/03/13 BlogFlorida Legislators used a bill to change wetlands regulations to block a lawsuit against the state for approving two no-bid, 20-year lease agreements with sugar and vegetable farmers.
The leases were approved by the governor and Cabinet in January and are now being challenged in court by the Florida Wildlife Federation, which alleges the leases allow the sugar growers to continue to farm without reducing their pollution levels. ...
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Edgar gets Senate confirmation despite tough criticism
05/03/13 BlogThe Florida Senate hit a snag late Friday as it the final day of session was winding down when a routine confirmation of Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar took a surprise turn as legislators spent a half-hour in vigorous debate before confirming her 26-13.
Edgar, who is seeking a third term on the board that regulates utilities, was criticized by several senators for too pro-utility while supporters said she was well-qualified and deserved another four years in the $130,000 job. She was appointed to the post by Gov. Rick Scott, after a legislatively-dominated commission nominated her for a third term. ...
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Last minute session hopes, and just as many fears
05/03/13 BlogFlorida legislators are in recess as they await a final vote on the budget, but still unfinished are dozens of bills that had been expected to get a final vote today. Among them: A long list of Gov. Rick Scott's appointments, including Public Service Commissioner Lisa Edgar, and Department of Health Secretary John Armstrong, Veterans Affairs Secretary Mike Prendergast, Elder Affairs Secretary Charles Corley and Secretary of State Ken Detzner....
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Session's final day: sausage, black-eyed peas and harmony
05/03/13 BlogThe Florida Legislature's turbulent week is on its way to a harmonious close as lawmakers put the final touches on the state's $74.5 billion budget and, in slow-moving fashion, finished up a handful of bills as lobbyists served up real sausage....
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Gov's tax break may be in legal limbo but some locals say they won't challenge it
05/03/13 BlogDid Florida legislators pull a fast one on Gov. Rick Scott when they passed a manufacturing tax break late Wednesday but left it in legal limbo?
The proposal, HB-7007, which gives every manufacturer a sales tax exemption on all industrial machines and equipment purchases for three years, was one of only two priorities of the governor. Estimated to save manufacturers about $121 million a year, it passed the House and minutes later the governor responded by signing into law two of the legislature’s top two priorities: an ethics bill and another to revise the state’s campaign finance laws....
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Florida legislators sweeten bill for sugar industry
05/03/13 State RoundupFlorida legislators used a bill changing wetlands regulations to block a lawsuit against the state for approving two no-bid, 20-year lease agreements with sugar and vegetable farmers.
The leases were approved by the governor and Cabinet in January and are being challenged by the Florida Wildlife Federation, which alleges the leases allow sugar growers to continue to farm without reducing pollution levels. ...
