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Shauna Muckle - Tourism, Transportation and Technology Reporter
Shauna Muckle

Tourism, Transportation and Technology Reporter

Florida was my escape as a kid growing up in Oregon who hated the cold and rain. Now I’m back full-time covering what drew me here: Florida’s magnetic tourism industry. I’m also focused on transportation — the airport, the port, mass transit and more — and technology in Tampa Bay. When I’m off the clock, you’ll either find me at a theme park, a freshwater spring, or inside cuddling one of my three pet rats.

  1. FDOT study used to scrap SunRunner lane ‘incomplete,’ ‘unfair’, experts say
    • Transportation
    A SunRunner bus drives by in a dedicated bus lane on Pasadena Avenue that has since been painted over by the state on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in South Pasadena. The state cited an increase in crashes on the slice of Pasadena that had a dedicated bus lane.
  2. ‘People are angry’: TPA workers miss first paycheck amid shutdown
    • Transportation
    Matt Chapman, local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, left, speaks to passengers about the government shutdown, while he passes out brochures about it at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday in Tampa.
  3. This St. Pete Beach hotel, wrecked by Helene, reopens today. See inside
    • Business
    The Beachcomber Resort stands newly restored along Gulf Boulevard on Tuesday in St. Pete Beach. The landmark hotel, shuttered for 13 months after Hurricane Helene, has become a symbol of the community’s slow but determined coastal recovery.
  5. State removes part of SunRunner’s dedicated lane in South Pasadena
    • Transportation
    A SunRunner bus drives by in the dedicated bus lane on Pasadena Avenue before it is removed by the state in the coming weeks. The state is making good on a threat to remove a portion of the transit service's dedicated lane in South Pasadena.
  6. More express lanes are coming to I-4 in Hillsborough. Will they help?
    • Transportation
    An aerial view looking south on Interstate 275 towards Interstate 4 and downtown Tampa from just north of the I-4 exit in Tampa on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 in Tampa. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced yesterday that a stretch of I-4 from I-75 to County Line Road will gain an express lane in each direction, adding to a list of express lanes slated for Tampa Bay's interstates.
  7. Are Florida’s theme park Halloween events overrated?
    • Theme Parks
    A scare actor performs inside one of the haunted houses at Scream-A-Geddon horror park on Friday, Sept. 12 in Dade City. The park has been around for 11 years as a competitor to bigger-name attractions at Universal Studios and Busch Gardens.
  8. Here’s what it’s like at the new Target in Wesley Chapel
    • Business
    A driver negotiates the parking lot of the new Target in Wesley Chapel on Monday. The new store, incorrectly billed as the world's second-largest, drew thousands of brand loyalists on opening day, even as the company faces larger headwinds.
  9. Can this Madeira Beach company bring the Cross Bay Ferry back to life?
    • Business
    Hubbard’s Dolphin cruise boat is seen leaving the John's Pass Village & Boardwalk in Madeira Beach. The transit authority board will decide whether to award the contract to Hubbard's Ferry a local company, which operates in St. Petersburg and Madeira Beach, at the end of October.
  10. Drivers should avoid a busy Tampa interchange this weekend
    • Transportation
    Aerial drone photo of motorists driving on the interchange between Interstate 4 and Interstate 275 pictured on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 in Tampa. A new phase of the widening project for this snarled interchange will push drivers onto detour routes this weekend.
  11. St. Petersburg weighs how to replace street murals
    • Transportation
    The former Black History Matters mural is pictured in front of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, at 2240 Ninth Ave. S. on July 31 in St. Petersburg. State transportation crews painted over the mural the night of Aug. 29. Two pastors were arrested after trying to block the crews.
  12. AI is changing the startup scene. Will it help Tampa Bay?
    • Business
    Startup founders and employees use open working space at Embarc Collective headquarters in downtown Tampa. Tampa Bay is known as a growing hub for startups, but outside capital can be hard to come by. AI could make it easier for startups to succeed without that capital.
  13. Florida is threatening local transportation like never before, leaders say
    • Business
    This is the intersection at 25th Street and Central Avenue where the rainbow crosswalk was painted over. Mayor Ken Welch said he didn't want to compromise transportation investments in his city after the state threatened to pull funding.
  14. More transit for Tampa, less for others? New bill would overhaul HART
    • Transportation
    Bus riders load onto a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority bus at the Marion Transit Center in Tampa.
  15. Expansion begins for stretch of I-275 near Howard Frankland
    • Transportation
    Motorists drive towards a fork in the road leading to the SR 690 toll road and I-275 express lane along the Gateway Expressway on Friday, April 26, 2024, in St. Petersburg. Construction has begun on more express lanes on I-275 near the new expressway.
  16. St. Petersburg mayor says no legal path to defend street murals
    • St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, in center, addresses the audience during a press conference on the removal of the city’s street murals on the steps inside City Hall, 175 5th St. N on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 in St. Petersburg. From left is St. Pete Pride President Byron Green-Calisch, Mayor Welch, and City Council Chair Copley Gerdes.
  17. Tampa says it will remove street art, including pro-police mural
    • Transportation
    An aerial drone view of the Back the Blue street mural outside of the Tampa Police Headquarters is seen Tuesday in Tampa.
  18. St. Petersburg asks state to keep 5 colorful streets
    • St. Petersburg
    An aerial drone view of the Rainbow Progress Pride crosswalk mural at the intersection of 25th Street and Central Avenue on July 31 in St. Petersburg. State and federal transportation authorities are ordering cities to get rid of crosswalk murals, citing safety issues. Local groups like St. Pete Pride, which helped raise money for the rainbow crosswalk at 25th and Central, say the move is political.
  19. Two Tampa Bay TV stations could merge under one company. What to know
    • Business
    Elizabeth Fry, with WTVT-TV FOX 13 News, left, and Megan Gannon, with WFLA News Channel 8, interview Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos at Spectrum Field on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. WFLA News Channel 8 and 10 Tampa Bay could merge under one parent company if a proposed acquisition goes through.
  20. Tampa Bay is a hot spot for Israeli companies. Is that a good thing?
    • Business
    Mayor Jane Castor shakes Xtend co-founder Aviv Shapira's hand at a ribbon-cutting event for the Israeli drone company's U.S. headquarters in Hillsborough County, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
  21. Jabil chose North Carolina over Florida. Is that bad news for the state?
    • Business
    The headquarters of Jabil at 10800 Roosevelt Blvd. N in St. Petersburg, photographed on Oct. 20, 2022. The Pinellas County electronics manufacturer employs over 1,000 local workers. But almost 1,200 Jabil manufacturing jobs will go to North Carolina instead.
  22. Brightline is moving forward on a Tampa station. When will it be here?
    • Business
    A Brightline train approaches the Fort Lauderdale station on Sept. 8, 2023.
  23. Private investors want to make the USF area a tech hub. Will it work?
    • Business
    Jonathan Davila, president and co-founder of Vu Studios, speaks to Cesar Hernandez, co-founder of Tampa Knowledge Fund, in front of an image of Fowler Avenue's big-box stores and parking lots. The pair are united behind a vision of a revitalized University area, with more tech employers and housing. The road before them is a long one.
  24. 5 things to know about demolition of the old Howard Frankland Bridge
    • Business
    Eduardo Cilanga Cruz, of Tampa, cuts sections of 2x4 lumber while creating a safety rail for demolition workers on Friday, July 11, 2025. The northbound span of the Howard Frankland Bridge, built in the 1950s, will be demolished over the coming months, marking the last chapter in a yearslong project.