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Claire McNeill - Enterprise Reporter
Claire McNeill

Enterprise Reporter

I've been dog-earing magazines since I was little, and I’m still a constant reader. I love reporting deep on complicated ideas and telling intimate stories that reveal the human experience: a forgotten school shooting victim, a Syrian refugee in a Southern fraternity, a mother-turned-drug smuggler for her dying son. I grew up in a small town in South Jersey and made my way here after attending the University of North Carolina. I covered all kinds of news in Pasco and Pinellas counties before leaping into the higher education beat and then onto the enterprise team. Outside of work, I hoard books, stress-bake and balance my soccer/softball/rock climbing routine with a serious Taco Bell habit. I live in St. Pete with my introverted Pomeranian, Wilson.

  1. After Tampa Bay’s bruising, exhausting pandemic year, a shard of hope for some
    Mar. 5• Health
    Mark Fernandez holds his mother, Peggy Jagars, while she cries remembering her son, Chuck Fernandez, who died last year because of the coronavirus. On March 1, he would have turned 54.
  2. The end of an era as Tampa Bay Times plant prints its final papers
    Mar. 3• Narratives
    Presses run at the Tampa Bay Times printing plant in St. Petersburg.
  3. Meet some of the longtime staffers who brought you the Tampa Bay Times
    Mar. 3• Narratives
    In 2006, the year of record revenue for the then-St. Petersburg Times, the press runs were unbelievable. Some days were grueling. Some were beautiful. Joe Figiel liked the challenge.
  5. Former Florida white nationalist reckons with his past, America’s present
    Jan. 23• Narratives
    Scott Ernest, 42, poses with a Celtic cross, which he describes as one of the most important and commonly used white supremacist symbols. "It was made by hand by a Stormfront member. I was telling everybody I was getting out of the movement, and I wanted nothing to do with it. He drove it all the way from eastern Oregon to Montana overnight to give me as a gift. He wanted me to stay." Ernest left the movement in 2016 and now lives in Lakeland.
  6. After Capitol riots, Trump’s Florida supporters huddle online, plan and wait
    Jan. 16• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The scene outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, the day a violent pro-Trump mob attacked and breached the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, leaving five dead.
  7. Two weeks. Three lost. One Florida family ravaged by coronavirus.
    Dec. 17, 2020• Health
    Boyzell Hosey says goodbye with a single rose at the conclusion of a dual service at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in St. Petersburg Nov. 21, 2020, for his father Amos Hosey (Dec. 17, 1926-Nov. 5, 2020) and his brother Roy Hosey (Dec. 1, 1952 - Nov. 15, 2020).
  8. Tropical Storm Eta: Long night awaits Tampa Bay after day of torrential rain
    Nov. 12, 2020• Hurricane
    David Cox, 24, charges his phone while looking at Facebook as he relaxes on the floor while getting out of the stormy conditions by visiting the emergency shelter at the Lealman Exchange, 5175 45th St N, Wednesday in Lealman. "This weather is absolutely ridiculous," Cox said. "It's November. We shouldn't have tropical storms in November." Cox has been living on the streets for about two weeks after moving out from a place with his brother, he said. The emergency shelter at the Lealman Exchange is set up to accommodate about 100 people, down from 300 due to the social distancing precautions, according to Bill Adamson, shelter supervisor with the American Red Cross. The shelter opened around noon due to Hurricane Eta.
  9. Welcome to Florida’s Hendry County, home of heartland values and small-town tension
    Oct. 22, 2020• Narratives
    Karen Barrios, 13, skates past a mural of an American flag at LaBelle's Barron Park in early October.
  10. The Scrapbook: As Florida reopens, share your coronavirus artifacts, experiences
    Oct. 5, 2020• Health
    Share your photos, memories, words and mementos about the coronavirus pandemic in Tampa Bay.
  11. Apply for a Tampa Bay Times newsroom internship
    Sep. 1, 2020• News
    Summer 2020 Tampa Bay Times intern Natalie Weber takes notes during an interview on a catamaran.
  12. Life while Black, as told by one St. Petersburg couple
    Aug. 27, 2020• Narratives
    The Edwards family at their St. Petersburg home. Tori and Khyre Edwards' experiences have shaped their views as they try to impart wisdom to their daughters. From left are Emelia,19, Naomi, 2, and Makena, 5, along with mom and dad.
  13. Sarah Jaehn's pandemic sketchbook journal
    Jul. 21, 2020• Health
    Pages from Sarah Jaehn's pandemic sketchbook journal.
    16 Images | View Slideshow
  14. The long, lonely days of summer
    Jul. 15, 2020• Health
    Visitors walk through and shop at the new Marketplace area of the St. Petersburg Pier District. The new Pier opened even as coronavirus cases were rising.
  15. At homegrown marches, Pride goes back to its roots in protest
    Jul. 1, 2020• News
    About 100 people march in downtown Tampa Sunday as part of a protest remembering those in the LGBTQ community that have been killed.
  16. Tampa police investigating car vs. protest incident; St. Pete march ends peacefully
    Jun. 27, 2020• News
    There was a harrowing altercation between a driver and protesters during Saturday evening's march. One protester was taken into custody and a driver who tried to go through the crowd was allowed to leave by police.
  17. For a black therapist, protests and pandemic make for a heavy load
    Jun. 22, 2020• Narratives
    Dr. LaDonna Butler, a psychotherapist in St. Petersburg, works with clients on their mental health amid protests and pandemic.
  18. Tension amid peaceful protests in Tampa and St. Petersburg
    Jun. 13, 2020• News
    In St. Petersburg, marchers demonstrated Saturday against police brutality and racism in the afternoon and at night.
  19. St. Petersburg protest starts with poetry, ends with meditation
    Jun. 11, 2020• News
    Sydni Sands, 24, from St. Petersburg, in center, holds her "Dump Trump" sign while marching from City Hall on Thursday, June 11, 2020 in St. Petersburg.
  20. Along Beach Drive, a protest leader implores diners: ‘Chant with us’
    Jun. 9, 2020• News
    Terron Gland, center, raises his fist while taking a knee and blocking traffic along Beach Drive Wednesday, June 3, 2020 in St. Petersburg.
  21. Protests continue in Tampa, St. Pete on Monday
    Jun. 8, 2020• News
    Yohance Wicks, left, sets the cadence for members of the public defender's offices with Florida's 6th, 12th, and 13th judicial circuits, past and present, and their family and friends, as they march south on 49th Street North from the Pinellas County Criminal Justice Center in Clearwater on Monday, June 8, 2020.
  22. The Scrapbook: Strange sights from our surreal new world
    May 28, 2020• Health
  23. The Scrapbook: The things that gave us hope
    May 28, 2020• Health
  24. The Scrapbook: Grappling with ever-present loss
    May 28, 2020• Health