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Romy Ellenbogen - Tallahassee Correspondent
Romy Ellenbogen

Tallahassee Correspondent

As a lifelong Floridian, I know how much this state offers beyond the stereotypes and I’m grateful I get to tell some of its story. I cover the legislators we elect here in Tampa Bay and what they’re doing. I’m interested in who gets a voice and who doesn’t, keeping elected leaders accountable and making sure people don’t get lost in the politicking. Tell me what you’re curious about — I bet you’re not the only one wondering. I also welcome conversation about homemade kombucha, yoga and Love Island.

  1. Florida considers restricting prisoners’ visitation hours
    Jul. 11• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Walkway. Interior photos of Blackwater River Correctional Facility.
  2. Florida Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell meets with VP Harris
    Jul. 8• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    State Rep. Fentrice Driskell is seen at the site of the erased St. Joseph Aid Society Cemetery, also known as the Montana City Cemetery, on Thursday, April 7, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. She hears what the state can do about property owners who learn they live on a cemetery. Her erased cemetery bill died in the state senate but she hopes this new discovery can give her bill new life.
  3. New Florida law offers more affordable payment plan for court-ordered fees
    Jun. 29• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    An unidentified Tampa Police officer speaks to a driver, who was pulled over for speeding, along Bayshore Boulevard Thursday, May 31, 2018, in Tampa. The driver of the vehicle asked not to be identified.
  5. Could Roe decision affect same-sex marriage? Florida LGBTQ leaders, Pride goers fear yes.
    Jun. 24• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    People gather in Lafayette Park to see the White House illuminated with rainbow colors after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015.
  6. After DeSantis weighs in, Shawn Harrison withdraws from Tampa Senate race
    Jun. 22• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Republican Shawn Harrison is a former Tampa City Council and state House member.
  7. Longtime NRA Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer retiring
    Jun. 16• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Marion Hammer, a longtime Florida lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, is retiring.
  8. Republican Jay Collins moves to Florida Senate race with DeSantis endorsement
    Jun. 15• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Jarrid "Jay" Collins, seen in June 2019 preparing for a rugby match at the Warrior Games in Tampa, is running for Florida's Senate District 14.
  9. New Florida State Guard receives hundreds of applications, gets director
    Jun. 15• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a bill signing on Monday, March 28, 2022.
  10. How the bipartisan gun deal in the Senate could affect Florida
    Jun. 15• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Jillian Biltz of Seminole places a Sig Sauer MCX556 rifle on a display wall in June 2020 at the Mad Dog Armory guns and ammo store in Largo. A key provision of a bipartisan gun reform deal struck by a group of U.S. senators mirrors an existing Florida “red flag” gun law, passed after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
  11. Florida permitless carry bill coming next legislative session, top Republican says
    Jun. 9• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, was filmed surreptitiously at an event affirming his support for a permitless carry policy.
  12. DeSantis vetoes Everglades bill that advocates said would harm water quality
    Jun. 8• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    An airboat is seen hovering over Everglades wetland in Everglades National Park in September of 2021.
  13. Hayslett nets endorsement from Florida House Speaker Sprowls in congressional race
    Jun. 7• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Attorney Kevin Hayslett announced he's been endorsed by Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls in the Republican primary for the 13th Congressional District.
  14. Former US Rep. Dennis Ross withdraws from 15th Congressional race
    Jun. 6• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Dennis Ross
  15. Crist asks federal government to safeguard Florida’s voting rights
    Jun. 6• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    In the letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist wrote that Florida’s laws have disenfranchised citizens and created a “hostility” around the constitutional right to vote.
  16. DeSantis vetoed USF’s big project in St. Petersburg. What’s next?
    Jun. 3• The Education Gradebook
    A rendering of the Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences building planned for the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. The university and its supporters anticipated receiving $75 million from the state for funds to begin construction on the building, but the funds were vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 2, 2022 as he signed the state budget.
  17. Tampa Bay vetoes ‘disappointing,’ say area leaders
    Jun. 2• Florida
    Tampa Bay Rays pitchers Shane McClanahan (18), Luis Patiño (61) and Cody Reed (54) practice a drill with assistant pitching and rehab coach Rick Knapp (92) at the Charlotte Sports Park spring training complex in Port Charlotte in March. Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a $35 million allocation for a youth sports complex in Odessa in Pasco County that had been earmarked as a potential future spring training site for the Rays.
  18. DeSantis cuts GOP priorities as he approves $110B budget
    Jun. 2• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference Feb. 7 in Miami.
  19. Planned Parenthood chapters, abortion providers challenge Florida’s 15-week ban
    Jun. 1• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    More than 1,000 activists gathered in downtown Tampa on May 14, 2022, in conjunction with hundreds of rallies in support of abortion rights held coast to coast and in Hawaii. The “Bans off our Bodies” rallies were organized after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision suggests it will overturn Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.
  20. A Florida library’s LGBTQ Pride display started a yearlong battle
    May 26• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    The LGBTQ Pride display in the Coastal Region Library in Citrus County.
  21. Q&A: Incoming Florida House Democrats leader Fentrice Driskell
    May 24• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, speaks on the floor before her colleagues before they vote on the 15-weeks abortion bill ban at the Florida State House in Tallahassee, on Feb. 16, 2022.
  22. Tampa man standing outside his car fatally hit along I-75 in early morning
    May 22• Breaking News
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  23. Man arrested on DUI charge after fatally hitting Pasco pedestrian early Sunday
    May 22• Breaking News
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  24. Electric scooter rider is killed in St. Petersburg crash
    May 22• Breaking News
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
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