Author

Lucy Morgan

Lucy Morgan

Pulitzer Prize-winner Lucy Morgan was chief of the St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) Times capital bureau in Tallahassee for 20 years, retiring in 2006 and serving as senior correspondent until 2013. She was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and the Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame. The Florida Senate named its press gallery after Morgan, in honor of her two decades covering the Legislature.

COMMENTARY

We’ve lost another lion in FL: Sam Bell

By: - March 15, 2023

We’ve lost another lion. Former State Rep. Sam Bell, a ferocious leader who fought for funds to help Florida’s children, died Tuesday in Tampa. Bell’s wife, former Education Commissioner Betty Castor, said Bell’s death was caused by kidney stones but was quite unexpected.  Bell was 83 and served in the Florida House from 1974 to 1988. […]

COMMENTARY

We are losing our lions, the men and women who have given much of themselves to Florida

By: - February 24, 2023

We are losing our lions, the people who have been Florida leaders for a long time. One by one we are losing a generation of the men and women who helped Florida become a decent place to live. The men and women who have given much of themselves to Florida and its well-being are leaving […]

COMMENTARY

‘We could save a lot of money if we got rid of the FL House and Senate altogether’

By: - February 10, 2023

I’m wondering what happened to the Florida Legislature. I’ve kept up on happenings in the state Capitol over the years, and usually, lawmakers seemed to have brains and the guts to take action and solve the state’s problems. Now they merely bow down to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and do his bidding. We could save […]

COMMENTARY

Extraordinary FL women: Two sisters stronger than most men, and it’s hard to believe they’re gone

By: - February 23, 2022

They were two of the strongest women I ever knew, stronger than most of the men, too. Janet Reno and her sister, Maggy Hurchalla, are both gone. Maggy, 81, died Saturday of complications that arose after a second round of hip replacement surgery. Reno died at 78 in 2016, after several years of declining health […]

COMMENTARY

Craig Waters honored for groundbreaking changes that opened the FL Supreme Court to the world

By: - February 11, 2022

When Craig Waters took a job as a staff attorney for Supreme Court Justice Rosemary Barkett some 35 years ago, the court was struggling to recover from a series of scandals that saw three justices threatened with impeachment.  One of their number died while a fugitive from drug smuggling charges. It was a court struggling […]

COMMENTARY

Hacked: It felt like we were in Password Hell, among other troubles

By: - January 29, 2022

Hacked. I write as a warning to those who use the internet  – and hope it helps some of you avoid the trouble we’ve had over the past two months. I was recently trying to make an HP printer work.  It was almost new, but refusing to print anything after I put in a new ink cartridge. […]

COMMENTARY

In the volatile summer of 1966, young reporter Lucy Morgan met M. L. King Jr. in Grenada, Miss.

By: - January 18, 2022

Watching the nation’s political figures react to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this week reminds me of the day I met King and the many messages of that day. It happened in the summer of 1966, when I was just a year into a career as a reporter.  I happened to be visiting relatives in […]

Late prisons chief was linked to legal precedents boosting defendants’ rights

By: - January 3, 2022

His name appears in two of Florida’s most notable court decisions protecting the rights of prison inmates. But Louie Wainwright dedicated much of his life to running Florida prisons. His death at 98 on Dec. 23 in Tallahassee was announced recently by officials at the Department of Corrections. Wainwright was the head of the department […]

COMMENTARY

Carrie Meek spoke with the soft voice of a young girl — but you’d be wrong to treat her like one

By: - November 30, 2021

Nothing shy about her. Carrie Meek,  the legendary Florida office holder who died Sunday at 95 in her Miami home after a long illness, was a joy to be around. And she never met a stranger. She spoke with the soft voice of a young girl, but you would make a mistake if you tried […]

COMMENTARY

The demise of a notable law firm in Florida’s capital: The end of an era and a sad time

By: - November 22, 2021

Tallahassee is a town that will always be full of lawyers. The presence of state government offices and the Florida Legislature requires a lot of watching from good legal minds. But there is not likely to ever be another law firm that will replace the notable firm started more than 40 years ago by former […]

FSU’s Askew School adopts rules forbidding unwanted sexual attention between students and faculty

By: - October 29, 2021

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part story about sexual harassment and misconduct allegations between a professor and female students and faculty during a period of more than 30 years at Florida State University. The professor resigned last year. TALLAHASSEE — Florida State University has launched a university-wide effort to address handling of sexual harassment […]

Former FSU grad student comes forward about professor’s unwanted touching: ‘I was petrified’

By: - October 28, 2021

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story about sexual harassment and misconduct allegations between a professor and female students and faculty during a period of more than 30 years at Florida State University. The professor resigned last year. TALLAHASSEE — It was supposed to be a happy day. Claire Connolly had earned a master’s […]