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Mary Ellen Klas - Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
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 bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post. She is married to John Kennedy. They have two daughters.

  1. Florida utility bills could rise to pay for new natural gas technology
    45 minutes ago• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    A burner on a stove emits blue flames from natural gas. A Florida bill would create incentives for the development of renewable natural gas.
  2. Sponsor of Florida defamation bill says he’ll make changes amid outcry
    Mar. 27• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, said he intends to propose modifications to his bill that would make it easier to sue over defamation claims.
  3. Businesses could block new local regulations by suing, under Florida bill
    Mar. 24• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Pastor Victor McCleskey, with the KJV (King James Version) Baptist Church of New Port Richey, argues against an ordinance that would provide a buffer for vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot at the Bread and Roses women's health clinic in Clearwater while attending a meeting of the Clearwater City Council on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
  5. DeSantis’, other officials’ travel records would be secret under Florida bill
    Mar. 23• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    State law allows governors to use state planes for political and personal travel for security reasons but, as Gov. Ron DeSantis conducts a national book tour in anticipation of a likely presidential campaign, questions are mounting about whether taxpayer funds have been used to finance his travel and other political operations.
  6. Disney to host gay rights summit in Orlando
    Mar. 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The Florida resort has committed to hosting the conference this year and next, which will coincide with the presidential election campaign in 2024.
  7. Proposed amendment would lower annual property tax increases for Florida homeowners
    Mar. 20• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    A neighborhood near the planned South Dade Logistics and Technology District. Florida lawmakers are eyeing a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the Save Our Homes property tax cap to provide bigger savings to homeowners.
  8. DeSantis casts shade on Florida’s open-records Sunshine Law
    Mar. 18• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Among other changes to public records laws, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill last year shielding information about candidates for state college and university presidencies.
  9. No more limited-government ideals? DeSantis pitches GOP voters on the power of the state.
    Mar. 17• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    On an array of issues, Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken what was a vaguely defined instinct from former President Donald Trump and turned it into a policy agenda more far-reaching than anything Trump pursued in the White House.
  10. Critics across political spectrum say Florida defamation bill will chill free speech
    Mar. 14• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The Florida Capitol rotunda as seen on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, in Tallahassee.
  11. DeSantis suggests more culture war battles to come as he opens legislative session
    Mar. 7• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis waves as he gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday.
  12. Florida official unsure if Vertol will still handle migrant relocation program
    Feb. 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, speaks at a news conference in Largo as Florida awaits Hurricane Ian’s arrival on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
  13. In face of DeSantis anti-woke rhetoric, Black leaders go back to ’60s
    Feb. 18• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks to a crowd of hundreds from the steps of the Senate portico during the National Action Network demonstration in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis's rejection of a high school African American history course, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Tallahassee.
  14. Takeaways from Florida’s fix-it special legislative session
    Feb. 10• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, questions Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud about his House Bill 9B, which would change Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee.
  15. Saying ‘reparations’ is OK, Florida says, but how to teach it is still unclear
    Feb. 10• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Empty desks fill a classroom at Jane H. Bryan Elementary School in Hampton Tuesday September 8, 2020.
  16. Lawmakers quickly move forward bill to expand DeSantis’ migrant flights program
    Feb. 8• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, speaks to a colleague on the Senate floor at the Capitol, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, in Tallahassee. Florida legislators are meeting in a special session.
  17. As DeSantis alters Black history in schools, critics say key chapters are lost
    Feb. 6• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    In this 2004 photo, then-Florida state Rep. Ed Jennings hugs Rosewood survivor Robie Allenetta Mortin after the unveiling of a historical marker for Rosewood, a Black community destroyed by racial violence in 1923.
  18. State lawmakers consider giving DeSantis OK to transport migrants from anywhere in US
    Feb. 3• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    An immigrant family brought to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration heads toward a bus that will help relocate them to a military base on nearby Cape Cod, Mass.
  19. Florida lawmakers to hold special session to consider state-run board for Disney tax district
    Feb. 3• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The headquarters of Walt Disney World's Reedy Creek Improvement District in Lake Buena Vista, Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
  20. Lawyers say they’re ready to sue DeSantis over AP African American studies course
    Jan. 26• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Attorney Ben Crump and others say they are prepared to sue Gov. Ron DeSantis over blocking an AP African American studies course.
  21. Amid political scandals, FPL CEO announces retirement
    Jan. 25• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Eric Silagy, the outgoing president and CEO of Florida Power & Light, during an interview Thursday, June 9, 2022.
  22. Kamala Harris comes to Florida to rally abortion supporters on DeSantis’ doorstep
    Jan. 20• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    President Joe Biden watches Vice President Kamala Harris speak during a reception to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on May 17, 2022.
  23. Florida legislators dodge chance to get answers on migrant flights, ask no questions
    Jan. 19• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Two charter flights from Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, carried 48 Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
  24. DeSantis wants ban on COVID mask and vaccine mandates to be permanent
    Jan. 17• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    In this March 5, 2021, file photo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media as he visited the drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site at On Top of the World in Ocala, Fla.