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Madison Hahamy - General Assignment/Education Reporter
Madison Hahamy

General Assignment/Education Reporter

I’m so excited to be joining the Times this summer from Chicago (which also means that I am not yet acclimated to the Florida heat and plethora of geckos). I aim to find the humanity in every story I report and write — how do big issues matter on an individual level? — and am looking forward to learning about the communities and people who comprise this part of the country during my time here. I’m currently a student at Yale University, where I major in English and Human Rights. My free time is largely spent missing my two dogs.

  1. Soaring home insurance costs are pushing these families out of Florida
    Aug. 14• Real Estate
    Robert and Shannon Hoffman, citing rising home insurance costs, are planning to sell their Largo ranch home and move to a small town in Tennessee. "We were so happy here," Shannon Hoffman said.
  2. In Dunedin, a family’s wild yard bucks the trend of paving paradise
    Aug. 3• Environment
    Pothos vines overrun a boardwalk at the Earle property on July 27 in Dunedin. The tropical vine, native to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, can often be found trailing off of shelves and desks.
  3. What do Florida’s Black history standards actually say? A closer look.
    July 27• The Education Gradebook
    The State Board of Education conducts its July 19 meeting before a crowd in Orlando, where Florida's new African American history standards were approved.
  5. A popular St. Petersburg preschool is closing. The reasons keep changing.
    July 19• The Education Gradebook
    Crystal Bleecher sets up a painting activity for her daughters after day care at North East Park Preschool on July 10 in St. Petersburg. The Bleechers recently bought a home near the school so they could walk their kids there. Now it's closing.
  6. A small Pinellas school offers affirmation, representation, hugs galore
    July 11• St. Petersburg
    Twanna Monroe, school principal and owner of Infinite Potential Learning Academy, and her husband, Kori Monroe, are surrounded by kindergarten and first grade students who have come to hug them as they enter a classroom July 5 in St. Petersburg. When students see Kori Monroe, they chant his nickname, “Papa Rock.” The Monroes purchased the building in 2019 and officially opened the academy last August.
  7. Dr. Deep Sea’s next challenge: navigating life on land
    June 27• Tampa
    Researcher Joseph Dituri holds a copy of his book inside his office at the Undersea Oxygen Clinic in Tampa.
  8. Gandy Beach pipeline construction to last another few weeks
    June 19• Environment
    Construction crews along Gandy Beach work to finish a natural gas pipeline for Florida Gas Transmission Company.
  9. A Florida bear shows up on the beach, splashing around. What do you do?
    June 14• Florida
    In this image from a video posted on Twitter, beachgoers move toward a juvenile black bear spotted in Destin on Sunday. State wildlife officials recommend staying away from the animals, which sometimes can show up in unexpected areas.
  10. USF lab will be the first in Florida to create human trafficking database
    June 9• The Education Gradebook
    Joan Reid, director of the University of South Florida Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Research Lab, hopes to shed new light on human trafficking in Tampa Bay.
  11. What are the weird pyramids along the Skyway Bridge?
    June 7• Transportation
    The pyramids, called wave attenuation devices, seek to reduce coastal erosion.