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Tracey McManus - Clearwater and Scientology Reporter

Clearwater and Scientology Reporter

I cover a range of topics in Pinellas County with a focus on the Church of Scientology, which is downtown Clearwater's largest and most influential property owner. Before joining the Times in 2015, I spent five years with The Augusta Chronicle in Georgia. I've wanted to be a journalist pretty much since I was old enough to read the newspapers my dad kept stacked near the kitchen table every day. I was born in Brooklyn but grew up in south Florida and graduated from University of Florida in 2010 with degrees in journalism and Spanish. When not on deadline, I'm usually out running with my two dogs Tiger and Ollie, both strays I found in Georgia.

  1. City Council member Kathleen Beckman, left, and Bruce Rector, general counsel for a sports facilities firm, will face off in the March 19 Clearwater mayoral race.
  2. A rendering shows one tower with 400 apartments on the former City Hall site on Osceola Avenue. The original plan from Gotham Organization and The DeNunzio Group called for two towers with 600 units.
  3. Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy speaks during a news conference Sept. 1 about a stabbing at Countryside High. It was one of the first high-profile moments in a tenure that just started in July.
  4. The Clearwater City Council convenes in the Main Library on Thursday, April 20, 2023. The library closed Wednesday after a sprinkler system leak, affecting two council meetings scheduled for this week.
  5. First-time voter Javontae Collins prepares to cast his ballot at Clearwater's North Greenwood Recreation Complex on Election Day in 2020. With more candidates filing to run in city elections, Clearwater officials are considering a voting system change.
  6. Bubba, a 75-pound Jimmy Buffett-themed goat statue stands at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa on Saturday, Sep. 2, 2023.
  7. Waves break in the shallows as visitors enjoy an afternoon at Clearwater Beach on Friday, Aug 5, 2022.
  8. Flooding is shown in front of the Edge Hotel on South Gulfview Boulevard, a half-mile south of the Hyatt on Clearwater Beach, on Aug. 30, 2023. Portions of the beach had 4 to 6 feet of storm surge during Hurricane Idalia.
  9. Clearwater employees and members of the Communications Workers of America Local 3179 appear outside before a City Council meeting on Aug. 17. The group called for better wages and workplace protections.
  10. A view of the entrance to Tarpon Springs City Hall during a meeting of the City Commission on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
  11. Jaye Matthews, Clearwater's former Community Redevelopment Agency director, resigned in lieu of termination on Aug. 7. She had been in the position for about eight months.
  12. An aerial drone view looking west toward Clearwater Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico shows the parking lot where two 35-story condos are proposed to be built in Clearwater. They would sit between Prelude 80, the 13-story condo at left, and The Oaks of Clearwater, a 15-story assisted living facility on right, next to the bridge approach.
  13. Clearwater residents will receive six-months of recycling credits for the city's failure to recycle in 2022.
  14. Members of the media join members of the West Klosterman Preservation Group for a tour of 14 acres owned by Pinellas County Schools on Thursday Nov 18, 2021, in Tarpon Springs.
  15. Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, 17, of Honduras, died May 10 at the Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Children Services shelter for migrant children in Safety Harbor.
  16. Two Tarpon Springs City Commissioners accused Mayor Costa Vatikiotis of steering a flawed recruitment process toward his preferred candidate in his role as the “liaison” between the commission and the search firm.
  17. The Pinellas County courthouse at 315 Court St. was built in 1962. On Aug. 31, the Pinellas County Commission will consider a plan to sell the courthouse along with 15 other county government properties in downtown Clearwater, and create a centralized government center at another location.
  18. The first budget under City Manager Jennifer Poirrier's leadership proposes a steady tax rate and funding for several significant projects like a new City Hall and renovation of the Municipal Services Building.
  19. City Council member Lina Teixeira spearheaded the salary increases for council to help foster more diverse candidates, beyond retirees and the independently wealthy.
  20. Clearwater land use attorney, Brian Aungst Jr., left, talks with developer Rodney Riley, center, before speaking to the Community Development Board on behalf of one of Riley's proposed projects on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Clearwater.
  21. Archaeologists Rebecca O’Sullivan, left, and Eric Prendergast work to sift through sand on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, while working to confirm ground-penetrating radar results at the FrankCrum property at 100 S Missouri Ave. in Clearwater.
  22. People stream into the new Coachman Park on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, moments after it was officially opened to the public in Clearwater.
  23. David Miscavige, the ecclesiastical leader of Scientology, is seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Church of Scientology.