Urban Affairs Reporter

My dad always said the Carltons were thieves and cattle rustlers run out of Georgia, which makes me a bona fide Floridian going back generations. I grew up in Miami and landed in Tampa, a town that said “bland” to the world but turned out anything but, especially now as downtown seems to grow by the day. I live in an old bungalow in an old neighborhood with my husband and a very enthusiastic dog. I’ve covered everything - crime, courts, the homeless, and a parade of political characters let's just call interesting - and been an editor, too. I’ve come to love this place of outrages and injustices, history and culture, café con leche and the Deep South. Next assignment: urban affairs — how our cities are changing, and fast, and what's next for us.