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Lawrence Mower - Tallahassee Correspondent
Lawrence Mower

Tallahassee Correspondent

How did I end up in Florida’s capital city? I’m a Las Vegas native (yes, they do exist), and that’s where I got my journalism chops, working the night cops beat for my hometown paper. I covered enough celebrity arrests and police shootings there to make it to the investigative team at The Palm Beach Post, where I wrote about bizarre lottery winners and even weirder elections. I like stories and ideas that challenge what we think we know about the world. Got one? Let me know. Just don’t screen your calls from a 702 area code. Chances are it’s not a vacation offer — it’s just your friendly Capitol journalist.

  1. Florida Citizens customers: Check mail or face costly insurance switch
    Sept. 19• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The state-run Citizens Property Insurance covers property owners who cannot find coverage on the open market.
  2. Florida advises against new COVID vaccine for under 65s, contradicting CDC
    Sept. 13• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, left, at the Broward Health Medical Center with Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2022. Ladapo on Wednesday recommended that Floridians under 65 should not get the new COVID-19 vaccine, contradicting federal guidance.
  3. DeSantis’ affordable housing director placed on leave — again
    Sept. 8• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Housing Finance Corp. Executive Director Mike DiNapoli speaks about the Legislature’s affordable housing efforts at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bill-signing ceremony on March 29.
  5. Florida Supreme Court hears oral arguments over abortion ban law
    Sept. 8• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Solicitor General Henry Whitaker presents his arguments in the Florida Supreme Court in regard to the 15-week abortion ban on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Tallahassee.
  6. DeSantis’ affordable housing director was abusive, sexist, employees said
    Sept. 7• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Housing Finance Corp. Executive Director Mike DiNapoli speaks about the Legislature’s affordable housing efforts at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bill-signing ceremony on March 29, 2023.
  7. Federal money to elevate your home? It’s not so easy.
    Sept. 7• Hurricane
    David and Barbara Noah's one-story home in Shore Acres during the process of elevating it in 2019, after being flooded by storms.
  8. Regulators are watching insurers’ behavior during Idalia, DeSantis says
    Aug. 29• Hurricane
    Gov. Ron DeSantis and state regulators are warning insurance companies to make whole homeowners who experience damage from Hurricane Idalia.
  9. DeSantis reinstates Florida’s suspended affordable housing director
    Aug. 26• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Heritage Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration leadership summit, Friday, April 21, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md. DeSantis couldn't enter the 2024 presidential contest now even if he wanted to because the Republican-controlled state legislature has yet to overturn Florida's so-called “resign to run” law, which bars officials from seeking one office while holding another. Republican House Speaker Paul Renner said last week that he’s confident the change would make it through the Legislature in the coming weeks. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
  10. 3 takeaways from Ron DeSantis’ Republican primary debate performance
    Aug. 24• Elections
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy speak at the same time during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by Fox News Channel Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
  11. Florida report on insurance failure raises more questions than answers
    Aug. 23• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis speaks to a crowd in Tampa on Aug. 24, 2022. State law requires Patronis’ office to produce reports on every insurance company that goes insolvent. These reports must include “a statement of the business practices of such insurer which led to such insolvency.” Until the Times/Herald wrote about the reports last year, top lawmakers and the state’s insurance consumer advocate, who works for Patronis, didn’t know they existed.
  12. Florida’s suspended affordable housing director struggled with debts
    Aug. 11• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Housing Finance Corp. Executive Director Mike DiNapoli speaks about the Legislature’s affordable housing efforts at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bill-signing ceremony on March 29. DiNapoli was suspended in July, less than six months after DeSantis chose him for the job.
  13. DeSantis’ affordable housing director suspended pending investigation
    Aug. 7• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd as he makes his way onto the stage during an event at the OCC Road House & Museum 10575 49th Street North on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Pinellas Park.
  14. Grand jury investigating bid-rigging involving DeSantis’ education department
    Aug. 4• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Then-Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, left, motions back to Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School on March 15, 2022, in St. Petersburg.
  15. Veterans quit DeSantis’ Florida State Guard over militialike training
    July 14• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida State Guard members train in this image from the website of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
  16. Farmers Insurance is leaving Florida in latest blow to homeowners
    July 11• Business
    A home damaged by Hurricane Ian is seen along Fort Myers Beach in 2022.
  17. Want $10,000 to hurricane proof your home? Here’s how to apply
    June 29• Florida
    Destroyed building materials remain scattered at the Sunnyland Trailer Court on San Carlos Island at the base of the Matanzas Pass Bridge on Wednesday, Oct 5, 2022. The My Safe Florida Home program launched in November as part of a sweeping property insurance reform bill. The initial $115 million in funds have already been claimed. But an additional $100 million will become available on July 1 and eligibility will be expanded.
  18. Florida Supreme Court rejects Andrew Warren case
    June 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Former State Attorney Andrew Warren speaks during a news conference Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 in Tampa. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled that DeSantis violated the state constitution when he suspended Warren but stopped short of returning Warren to office.
  19. DeSantis sues Biden administration over college accreditations
    June 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, June 9, 2023.
  20. Fried files ethics complaint against DeSantis’ staff fundraising
    June 21• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Democratic Party chairperson Nikki Fried, citing news reports, filed the complaints against three top DeSantis officials, who each earn six-figure salaries as government employees.
  21. Why Florida’s new insurance commissioner is optimistic about homeowners’ rates
    June 20• Business
    Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Mike Yaworsky at a National Association of Insurance Commissioners conference in March 2023.
  22. DeSantis cuts money for Black history, gun violence prevention from budget
    June 15• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee.
  23. Florida regulators warned of insurance company manipulations years ago
    May 24• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Mountains of debris from homes and businesses damaged during Hurricane Ian are seen in Dec. of 2022.
  24. Florida senator sued by his family business for ‘embezzling’ money
    May 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Rep. Nick DiCeglie watches during an Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee hearing in a legislative session, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Tallahassee.