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Emily L. Mahoney - Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau reporter
Emily L. Mahoney

Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau reporter

I cover Florida’s capital and the politics surrounding it, which means there’s never a slow day. From the Legislative session to state elections, life is fast-paced in the nation’s largest swing state – and I prefer it that way. I hail from Arizona, a state that raised me to love tacos al pastor and the sound of hiking boots hitting the dirt. Now, I’m based in Tallahassee, where the Tampa Bay Times shares a bureau with the Miami Herald, and I’m proud to work for two of the state’s strongest newspapers. When it comes to policy, I focus on education and criminal justice – two areas where government unequivocally shapes peoples’ lives. Want to discuss a story idea? Drop me a line.

  1. Chris Sprowls: 3 speech highlights from the next Florida House speaker
    Yesterday• The Buzz
    State Rep. Chris Sprowls, 35, addresses the Florida House of Representatives, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, in Tallahassee, Fla., after the Republican was elected to lead the 120-member chamber. (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan)
    The Pinellas Republican did not shy away from the wedge issues of the day, wading into 2020 presidential politics, abortion and climate change.
  2. Chris Sprowls is about to become one of Florida’s most powerful politicians. Who is he?
    Yesterday• The Buzz
    Rep. Chris Sprowls, R- Palm Harbor. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
    At 2 p.m. today, the Republicans of the Florida House are scheduled to elect the Palm Harbor state representative to serve as speaker for the 2021 - 2022 term.
  3. Florida lawmakers approved arming teachers. So who tracks them?
    Yesterday• Gradebook
    Students and community activists marched in Tampa last year after the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The attack killed 17 people and gave rise to Florida’s school guardian law, which this year was changed to allow classroom teachers to be armed. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure into law. [MONICA HERNDON | Times]
    "This is the dumb, backwards stuff that we do here,” one Florida lawmaker said.
  4. All the best moments from the third Democratic debate in one place
    Sep. 12• The Buzz
    From left, Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro are introduced Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, before a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by ABC at Texas Southern University in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
    It’s the the third time the Democratic presidential candidates met to debate, and the first time that all three front runners, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, shared the same stage.
  5. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants tougher fines for sewage spills. Is it because of St. Petersburg?
    Sep. 12• The Buzz
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, right.
    The governor says corporate and municipal polluters should pay more for their environmental crimes.
  6. Five people injured in stabbings in Tallahassee
    Sep. 11• Crime
    A cop car and police tape help form a perimeter outside of a mass stabbing at Dyke Industries in Tallahassee on Wednesday morning.
    A suspect is in custody, according to police.
  7. Parkland dad Andrew Pollack publishes book with new details about shooter’s red flags before massacre
    Sep. 10• The Buzz
    Andrew Pollack, the father of Meadow Pollack listens during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission in 2018. [AP Photo | Brynn Anderson]
    The book includes teachers’ notes and even a letter from Nikolas Cruz’s therapist and school psychiatrist that warn of his propensity toward violence. Cruz has confessed to the Parkland shooting,...
  8. Florida launches school security database with student discipline, health, social media info
    Aug. 2• Gradebook
    Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Madisyn Menthaca, 15, places roses on the memorials on a hillside with her mother, Kelly Savino, where 17 students and teachers were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the second-deadliest shooting at a U.S. public school. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
    The Department of Education said it won’t be used to “label students as potential threats."
  9. Florida among sites Trump administration is scouting for child migrant facilities
    Jul. 30• The Buzz
    In this Feb. 19 file photo, children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead. [AP Photo | Wilfredo Lee]
    A letter was sent to Florida lawmakers on Monday.
  10. Florida’s opioid crisis: billions of pills, millions in campaign cash
    Jul. 25• The Buzz
    People attending in 2018 NOPE (Narcotic Overdose Prevention Education) of Pinellas' 10th Candlelight Vigil hold candles while Gibbs High School's choir Vox Nova sings. The vigil is to remember those thousands within the Tampa Bay Community that have been lost to opioid abuse. Fatality Numbers continue to rise, with more lives being lost to overdose than car accidents and homicides combined according to a release from the Pinellas Sheriff's Office. About 850 people attended the vigil listening to 12 speakers, five of whom lost family members to opioids. [JIM DAMASKE | Times]
    New data shows extent of Florida’s opioid epidemic from 2006 to 2012 and the role that major grocery stores and chain pharmacies played in fueling the crisis.