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Zachary T. Sampson - Investigative Reporter
Zachary T. Sampson

Investigative Reporter

I work on the investigative team, reporting stories to identify and fix problems or hold powerful people to account. I came to Florida in 2014 by way of Boston. I grew up in Rhode Island, a diehard Yankees fan deep in the heart of enemy bleachers. Talking about baseball is still a quick way to my heart. In Tampa Bay, I've covered breaking news, public safety, general assignment, hurricanes and the environment. Have a story? Something you think more people should know about? Let's talk.

  1. Motorcyclist killed in Pasco County crash
    Jan. 16• Breaking News
    A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Pasco County on Monday morning.
  2. The worst of Hurricane Ian missed Tampa Bay. What if it hadn’t?
    Dec. 18, 2022• Hurricane
    Part 4 of our Rising Threat series looks at how a hurricane like Ian could affect Tampa Bay. This photo shows the remains of Times Square near the Fort Myers Fishing Pier on Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022, after Hurricane Ian's landfall.
  3. EPA may restrict rat poisons like those found in Safety Harbor owls
    Dec. 1, 2022• Environment
    Dead birds of prey, from left, a red-tailed hawk, a pair of red-shouldered hawks, a sharp-shinned hawk and an American kestrel lay on an examination table. The birds were arranged by longtime Pinellas County rescuer Barbara Walker, who wanted to send them for necropsies to confirm their causes of death. Walker said birds regularly die in Tampa Bay because of exposure to rat poisons.
  5. Poisons killed beloved owls in Tampa Bay. Can their defenders save others?
    Nov. 22, 2022• News
    A great horned owlet, left, and its mother share a rat on March 2 in Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. Within days, both would die.
  6. Think you have a rodent problem, Tampa Bay? Here’s what to do.
    Nov. 22, 2022• Investigations
    Joe Rufin with Creepy Creatures Termite and Pest Control, of Palm Harbor, organizes blocks of rodenticide while preparing a bait station as he worked to exterminate rodents from a condominium complex on Aug. 18 in Clearwater. The rodenticide is made with cholecalciferol, which is not among the anticoagulants that local wildlife advocates are trying to get off the street.
  7. Hurricane Ian: Behind the scenes of search and rescue on Fort Myers Beach
    Oct. 11, 2022• Hurricane
    Anthony Prado, left, Bryan Bartlett and Angel Menendez, with the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team, work together Oct. 5 to search for people in an area of homes damaged by Hurricane Ian.
  8. How storm surge kills: Hurricane Ian showed Florida why we’re told to leave
    Oct. 8, 2022• Hurricane
    Anthony Prado, with the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team (FL-TF2), ducks into a collapsed roof while searching for people Wednesday in Fort Myers Beach. Hurricane Ian devastated the town when it made landfall nearby on Sept. 28.
  9. Mitch Pacyna lived the Florida dream. Then Hurricane Ian took him.
    Oct. 8, 2022• Hurricane
    Mitch Pacyna and his partner, Mary Wojciechowski, pose with their beloved dog, Lulu Bell, in a 2020 Facebook profile picture.
  10. As Joe Biden speaks next door, a Fort Myers Beach man wonders what’s next
    Oct. 7, 2022• Hurricane
    Louis “Smoky” Casin, 76, plays a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner while taking some shade under an RV on Wednesday in the Sunnyland Trailer Court on San Carlos Island.
  11. They rode out Ian on shrimping boats. Now they fear their livelihood is destroyed
    Oct. 1, 2022• Hurricane
    Shrimpers David Newcomb, aka One-Eyed Dave, 62, center, and David Hutchins, 59, aka Sandbar Dave, right, visit on the deck of the shrimping trawler Lexi-Joe on Friday, Sep 30, 2022, at Erickson and Jensen Seafood Packers in Fort Myers Beach.
  12. Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic toll includes at least 17 dead
    Sep. 30, 2022• Hurricane
    A stretch of roadway in Matlacha leading out to Pine Island is seen Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Matlacha. Storm surge from Hurricane Ian was washed away the roadway.
  13. ‘I’m hoping he shows up’: Pine Island community grapples with Ian’s aftermath
    Sep. 30, 2022• Hurricane
    Damage and destruction is seen along Pine Island Road Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Matlacha.
  14. ‘Devastación absoluta’: el huracán Ian castiga Fort Myers Beach
    Sep. 29, 2022• CENTRO
    Jake Moses, de 19 años, a la izquierda, y Heather Jones, de 18, de Fort Myers, exploran una sección de negocios destruidos en Fort Myers Beach el jueves 29 de septiembre de 2022, que quedó destruido en su mayor parte después de que el huracán Ian tocara tierra durante la noche del miércoles.
  15. ‘Absolute devastation’: Hurricane Ian decimates Fort Myers Beach
    Sep. 29, 2022• Hurricane
    Jake Moses, 19, left, and Heather Jones, 18, of Fort Myers, explore a section of destroyed businesses at Fort Myers Beach on Thursday, Sep 29, 2022. The community was mostly destroyed after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday.
  16. Sección del puente a Sanibel Causeway arrasada por el huracán Ian
    Sep. 29, 2022• CENTRO
    El pavimento justo antes de la calzada a Sanibel está plegado como un acordeón, hecho pedazos por una fuerte marejada ciclónica.
  17. Section of Sanibel Causeway wiped out by Hurricane Ian
    Sep. 29, 2022• Hurricane
    A section of the causeway leading to Sanibel in Lee County was knocked out by Hurricane Ian.
  18. At a Fort Myers hotel, evacuees brace for Hurricane Ian
    Sep. 28, 2022• Hurricane
    From left, Hilton employees Louie Fonseca, Frankie Monica, Bryan Kinbacher and Jaime Miranda use rope to secure the front door at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Myers in anticipation of Hurricane Ian’s landfall at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
  19. Ian ahora Categoría 3, en camino a Tampa Bay como un gran huracán
    Sep. 27, 2022• CENTRO
    El gráfico del Centro Nacional de Huracanes muestra el paso del huracán Ian frente a la costa de la Bahía de Tampa como una gran tormenta.
  20. Hurricane Ian, a ‘potential historic catastrophe,’ takes aim at Tampa Bay
    Sep. 27, 2022• Hurricane
    The 11 p.m. Monday update from the National Hurricane Center for Hurricane Ian tracks it as hitting Florida's Gulf Coast just north of Tampa Bay.
  21. Sunday live updates: Hurricane Ian takes aim at Florida, Tampa Bay in cone
    Sep. 25, 2022• Hurricane
    Hurricane Ian threatens to bring dangerous winds and storm surge to the Tampa Bay area, which was placed under a hurricane watch on Monday morning.
  22. Rainwater set to be released from Piney Point this weekend, state says
    Aug. 13, 2022• Environment
    Water filled a reservoir at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant site in Manatee County earlier this year. A leak triggered a crisis in 2021, and crews dumped 215 million gallons of wastewater from Piney Point into Tampa Bay.
  23. Tampa man faces murder charge in shooting death
    Jul. 17, 2022• Breaking News
    Tampa police arrested Kristopher Chandler, 22, in connection with a shooting on Hampton Lake Drive.
  24. Is more algae mucking up Tampa Bay? Scientists need to track it first.
    Jul. 12, 2022• Environment
    A cormorant swims over a thick mat of algae covering a bed of seagrass offshore from Tierra Verde in the Shell Key Preserve. Macroalgae have appeared to be more prevalent than usual around some parts of Tampa Bay this year, according to reports from captains and environmental advocates. Scientists cannot say for certain whether that’s a sign of trouble for the ecosystem.