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Anastasia Dawson - Breaking News Reporter — Hillsborough
Anastasia Dawson

Breaking News Reporter — Hillsborough

I’m an east Hillsborough County native whose ancestors were among the first settlers in the community of Dover. My parents built their home on an old family orange grove, sandwiched between my grandparents’ home (where my mother grew up) and a 100-year-old house built by my great, great grandparents. Still, I couldn’t resist my big city dreams, so after earning my journalism degree from the University of South Florida I moved to bustling Riverview. A two-week internship at the Tampa Tribune turned into three years of covering education in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In 2016 I joined the Times as a general assignment reporter in Tampa, which often means running into family, friends and former classmates while out gathering the news. A majority of those stories involve our local criminal justice system.

  1. Family of Lee Roy Selmon takes a spin on new expressway extension
    Yesterday• Transportation
    Chris Selmon, youngest son of late Tampa Bay Buccaneer legend Lee Roy Selmon, walks with his mother Claybra Selmon along the new Selmon Expressway West extension during its grand opening Monday.
  2. Selmon extension opens to Tampa Bay commuters today
    Apr. 19• Transportation
    A concrete grinding machine is used to finish the roadway surface on the westbound lanes of the Selmon Extension, a 1.9-mile toll lane located in the median of Gandy Boulevard, where construction continues on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Tampa. The extension will allow a choice for local residents and regional travelers: use Gandy Boulevard for local destinations or use the Selmon Extension for a direct connection to the Selmon Expressway or the Gandy Bridge.
  3. 2 to 4 inches of rain predicted across Tampa Bay this week
    Apr. 18• Local Weather
    Sunday's seven-day forecast from Spectrum Bay News 9.
  5. Boy, 3, struck and killed by Lutz driver on Sunshine Skyway pier, troopers say
    Apr. 18• Florida
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  6. Charles Otero, former Tampa police chief and head of school security, dead at 95
    Apr. 14• Tampa
    Charles Otero, who served five years as Tampa police chief and helped found the Scool Resour ce Officer program, died April 8. He was 95.
  7. Teen killed by fallen power line was senior in JROTC at Central High School in Brooksville
    Apr. 12• Hernando
    Valentina "Val" Tomashosky, 17, was scheduled to graduate in a few weeks from Central High School in Brooksville. She died Sunday after stepping on a live power line.
  8. Fallen power line kills Spring Hill girl, 17, as storm plows through Tampa Bay area
    Apr. 11• Local Weather
    An unidentified patron walks from Rum Runners at the Key West Center Sunday in Palm Harbor. Strong winds ripped a portion of the roof off and downed power lines in the area Sunday.
  9. Brooksville man killed when pickups collide on S.R. 54 in New Port Richey
    Apr. 11• Pasco
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  10. Vaccine demand rises around Tampa Bay on first day of open eligibility
    Apr. 5• Health
    Tyler Rorah, 18, of Brooksville, receives a Moderna COVID‑19 vaccine shot from LPN Sonia Woods, right, while receiving his CDC (issued) Covid 10 Vaccination Card during his vaccination appointment on Monday, April 5, 2021, at Saint Leo University, which is serving as the host for the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution for East Pasco County. Looking for a vaccine? https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/03/18/a-guide-to-finding-a-coronavirus-vaccine-in-tampa-bay-and-florida/
  11. DeSantis, Manatee officials work to prevent 20-foot wall of wastewater at Piney Point
    Apr. 4• Environment
    Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the situation at Piney Point at a press conference in Manatee County on Sunday.
  12. Manatee plant potential collapse: What you need to know
    Apr. 4• Environment
    Aerial view overlooking the site of the Piney Point wastewater release on Sunday, April 4, 2021 in Palmetto.
  13. After chilly morning, Easter Sunday ushers in week of springtime weather in Tampa Bay
    Apr. 4• Local Weather
    Parishioners gathered for First Unity Spiritual’s sunrise Easter service along the St. Petersburg waterfront, listen to a spiritual message as the sun rises, Sunday, April 4, 2021 in St. Petersburg.
  14. Tampa physicians group to feds: Give back our emails
    Apr. 1• Tampa
    Physician Partners of America's Tampa headquarters at 550 N. Reo St. in the Westshore area.
  15. Man hit by rubber bullet sues Tampa, says cops used ‘excessive force’ in protests
    Mar. 30• Tampa
    Jordon Coury, 24, gets medical attention in the back of the ambulance after he was struck in the back of the head with a rubber bullet as protesters and police clashed at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.
  16. One ticket sold at Publix in Lutz wins $235.4 million Powerball jackpot
    Mar. 28• Hillsborough
    The winning ticket for the $235.4 million Powerball jackpot was sold Saturday at the Publix supermarket at Nebraska and Florida avenues in Lutz.
  17. Bike man Joe Haskins, who kept his struggling neighbors on the road, dead at 79
    Mar. 24• Tampa
    Joe Haskins set aside more room for bikes than people in his bustling shop at Florida Avenue and Columbus Boulevard. Haskins died Saturday.
  18. Hundreds turned away after hearing they could get vaccine at Tampa church
    Mar. 21• Health
    Hundreds of people too young to meet the state's criteria wait in line outside Keeney Chapel United Methodist Church on Sunday in hopes of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
  19. Officer Jesse Madsen hailed at funeral for seeing everyone as family
    Mar. 16• Crime
    Uniformed pallbearers carry away the casket of Master Patrol Officer Jesse Madsen following his funeral Tuesday at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz. Madsen, who served in the Marines and Army Reserves, was to be interred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
  20. Live updates: ‘He was our Superman.’ Funeral of Tampa Officer Jesse Madsen.
    Mar. 16• Crime
    The American flag is draped over the casket as it is carried out towards the end of the funeral services for Master Patrol Officer Jesse Madsen at Idlewild Baptist Church, Lutz.
  21. Tampa officer killed in wrong-way crash was ‘wired’ to save lives
    Mar. 10• Crime
    Officer Jesse Madsen, right, and a partner work patrol along Nebraska Avenue in Tampa. Fellow officers said Wednesday they knew that Madsen, killed in a wrong-way crash, always had their back.
  22. More wrong-way sensors coming to I-275. Did one linked to fatal crash work?
    Mar. 9• Transportation
    Wrong-way signs at interchanges along Interstate 275 in Tampa are among the simplest tools used by the state Department of Transportation to keep motorists in the right travel lanes.
  23. Man facing trial in South Tampa slaying arrested after motorcycle crash
    Mar. 7• Breaking News
    A photo taken by investigators shows the damage to a car hit from behind by a speeding motorcycle early Sunday on Interstate 275 in Ruskin.
  24. FBI raid in New Tampa has links to Kentucky Medicare fraud, murder-for-hire
    Mar. 1• Crime
    Lesa Andrade, 61, of New Tampa, was arrested Feb. 25 in a federal murder-for-hire case. She was being held in the Pinellas County Jail, awaiting a hearing Wednesday in Kentucky federal court.