Susan Merriam
Data and Graphics Journalist, McClatchy
Signal: @semerriam.48 for tips
semerriam.github.io
- Reposted by Susan MerriamState senator says the reporting on Brightline deaths underscores the need for sensors that would warn train crews when tracks aren’t clear.
- Over / under: The latest episode in our podcast series Killer Train by @wlrnnews.bsky.social and @miamiherald.com www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Documenting the dead Since 2017, Brightline trains have struck and killed 196 people. These are their names. ✍️: @brittanywallman.bsky.social Read here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- "The ratings company noted that it’s been harder than expected to get potential customers to ditch their cars and take the train. S&P is forecasting slower growth in ticket revenue of 15% in 2026, compared to a previous forecast of 38% growth." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamBrightline’s South Florida revenue coming up short as its long distance fares continue growing so far this year www.wlrn.org/business/202...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamRules going into effect Jan. 1 about how to design safe rail crossings only apply to future projects.
- "The rate of sea-level rise along U.S. coastlines has more than doubled over the past 125 years, according to a new analysis that examined data from scores of tide gauges from around the country." www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamJulie K. Brown explains what — and who — to look out for in the files, scheduled to be released Friday by the Department of Justice.
- Darren Brown, a former conductor, filed suit in federal court on Tuesday against Brightline Trains Florida LLC and Fortress Investment Group LLC. He was interviewed earlier this year for another story in our Killer Train series. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamPolicy drops, lawsuits and shutdowns spotlight NFIP vulnerabilities; experts call for subsidies, longer authorizations and reforms to protect Florida homeowners and markets.
- Latest in the Built on Sand series for @miamiherald.com Reporting by @denisehruby.bsky.social and myself Read more at: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- Barrier islands are narrow strips of sand that, by definition, take the full brunt of hurricanes and storm surge, stand as sacrificial buffers for the mainland and rank among the state’s most precarious places to live.
- In their natural state, barrier islands are ephemeral. Slowly but continuously, waves reshape their form. Over thousands of years, the sea has pushed them landward, a grain by grain migration from miles offshore to the edge of the coast.
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View full threadEarlier this month, the Herald reported on the development of high rises in Sunny Isles. bsky.app/profile/miam...
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- Reposted by Susan Merriam“You can’t accept him,” she told her daughter. “But I do.”
- Reposted by Susan MerriamA Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times investigation found the DeSantis’ administration’s use of public money to fund a campaign against marijuana and abortion access was more sprawling than previously known.
- Reposted by Susan Merriam“They don’t want their children to play with my child because he is a child of a rape. When people say that, it makes me cry.”
- The very brave and talented Jacqueline Charles and Jose Iglesias began documenting Haiti’s worsening rape crisis in 2024 for @miamiherald.com. The first in the series is out this morning. Warning: This story includes disturbing descriptions of rape and violence. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamExperts urge mandatory sensors and independent monitoring after studies show Sunny Isles Beach condos are sinking beyond predictions due to nearby construction.
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamThe Miami Herald tracked 16,569 flood complaints from over 12,000 locations in Miami-Dade and Broward over the last 11 years, and found 32% were outside the newly-expanded 500-year flood zones scheduled to go into effect as early as 2026: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamNEW: Last week an arbitrator ruled that Politico management violated key AI terms in its union contract. The decision is a landmark win for the Politico union, which is one of the first to legally challenge the rollout of AI technology in its newsroom. www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/poli...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamUnseen forces are at work under the gleaming towers lining barrier islands like Sunny Isles Beach.
- Reposted by Susan MerriamAt least a handful of towers have sunk as much as two to three times more than expected, the Miami Herald found in a months-long analysis of dozens of engineering reports covering nearly every building along the city’s multibillion-dollar skyline.
- A @miamiherald.com investigation by Denise Hruby into the reports for high-rises on Sunny Isles reveals that engineers have long grappled with the high settlement rates of the oceanfront's luxury high-rises. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- At least a handful of towers have sunk as much as two to three times more than expected. As one firm wrote in their own report a decade into the building boom: “We note that this area of Sunny Isles has had several tower structures settle significantly more than predicted.”
- An illustration based on three reports shows how engineers have recommended increasingly deeper piling depths to limit settlement and support even taller buildings. For the Bentley Residences, still under construction, engineers recommend drilling to 200 feet. Illustration by Jenny Sparks.
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View full threadVibrations, water, and limestone— other factors that might play roles in the unexpected sinking measured in some of Miami-Dade’s coastal high-rises over the last few decades. Read more here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- The latest story and podcast episode in the Killer Train series from @miamiherald.com and @wlrnnews.bsky.social published this morning. @allisonmp5.bsky.social + @joshceb.bsky.social
- During rush hour last night, a Brightline train in North Miami struck a car at Northeast 141st Street. A victim was airlifted to a nearby trauma center. Reporting by Devoun Cetoute Photo by David Santiago www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
- Reposted by Susan Merriam“Wounds on your body disappear slowly over time,” one survivor said. “But wounds on the inside? Those you keep.”
- “It’s not publicly funded at all,” Brightline executive Michael Reininger said at a 2017 congressional hearing. “It’s completely an investment of private‑sector capital.” Read the latest in the Killer Train series: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Our latest in the Floods of Trouble series for the @miamiherald.com shows where reports of flooding or drainage issues have been reported since 2014 in Miami-Dade and Broward. ✍️: @harrisalexc.bsky.social and me www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- Note: some South Florida municipalities provided lots of data, others none at all so the maps in this story provide only a partial picture and almost certainly underestimate the problem. However, what they do show is that there are hundreds of reports outside the current FEMA flood zones.
- Even in FEMA's preliminary new maps for Miami-Dade, thousands of reports from the last decade are outside the new 100-year and 500-year flood zones.
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- “There’d been a communication breakdown. The second Brightline train ‘suddenly approached’ at maximum speed, an official record of the incident recounted. Everyone ran for their lives. The train ran over Conrad a second time.” — @brittanywallman.bsky.social www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Latest episode of the Killer Train podcast series is out this morning. Safety measures have been rolled back since the 1980s and 90s, and deaths are climbing again — but local governments are still following the same playbook. @wlrnnews.bsky.social @miamiherald.com www.wlrn.org/podcast/kill...
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- Brightline trains have killed 182 people, significantly more than publicly known, an investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN, South Florida’s NPR member station, has found. Read more here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Read more in the series here: bsky.app/profile/miam...
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View full threadExcerpts from Brightline’s motion to dismiss Florida East Coast Railway, LLC v. Brightline Trains Florida, LLC filed July 29, 2025 Read more at: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamThe move could derail a long-awaited commuter train service in South Florida.
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamIn episode 3 of the “Killer Train” podcast, we hear the stories of three people who lost their lives.
- Reposted by Susan MerriamIf you have worked for Brightline, Miami Herald and WLRN reporters would like to hear from you as part of an ongoing investigation.
- Reposted by Susan Merriam🎧 On episode two of the Killer Train podcast: Taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions in costs related to Brightline, despite the company’s initial claims that the train would be fully funded by private investment.
- Reposted by Susan MerriamAfter an investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he would work “to drive down the number of deaths.”
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- "I commit to working with you to drive down the number of deaths, making investments along that line. I’d welcome that opportunity.” —U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on the deaths along the Brightline route. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a... @miamiherald.com @wlrnnews.bsky.social
- “The death of almost 200 people by one train is unconscionable and is definitely unacceptable. Brightline needs more transparency and is on the brink of a cease-and-desist order from the citizens of Florida. Enough is enough.” —U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson in a statement to the @miamiherald.com
- Reposted by Susan MerriamAnd listen to Episode 1 of “Killer Train,” a new @wlrnnews.bsky.social and @miamiherald.com podcast by @danielrivero.bsky.social and @brittanywallman.bsky.social on your favorite podcast platform: www.wlrn.org/podcast/kill...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamNEW PODCAST ALERT: The private train company Brightline is broadly considered the future of US rail. Yet it's the deadliest train in the US -- by far. In "Killer Train" we look into: Why is this happening? A yearlong investigative collab with @miamiherald.com: www.wlrn.org/podcast/kill...
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamBrightline trains have killed 182 people, significantly more than publicly known, an investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN has found.
- Reposted by Susan MerriamThere's evidence that could be changing, both from new academic studies and some anecdotal evidence from spots whalloped by storms last year -- like the beautiful but floodprone neighborhood of Shore Acres in St. Petersburg. “Perhaps the tides are shifting," said one researcher
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamI get this question alll the time. If sea level rise is going to flood more Miami houses, why on earth is the market still so red hot? Let's get into it. [With @semerriam.bsky.social]
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- Reposted by Susan MerriamSo far, property values have remained remarkably resilient to flood risks – more resilient than many of the actual homes.
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- Two years after @sfretwell83.bsky.social and I worked on an investigative series into the use of toxic sludge on agricultural lands in South Carolina, the EPA is considering including thousands of acres in the Galey and Lord Superfund site cleanup. @thestate.com
- Feds consider cleaning up farmland polluted by sludge from notorious SC textile plant www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
- Hiroko Tabuchi recently covered the story for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/c...
- The first story in our series explored how sludge from the Galey and Lord textile plant ended up on neighboring farmland — and what that meant for nearby communities. www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
- The practice of spreading sludge on farmland wasn't isolated to just the neighboring communities of the Galey and Lord site. Statewide, DHEC had approved at least 80,000 acres of agricultural land in South Carolina to be sprayed with sludge our investigation found. www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
- Honored that several projects that our team contributed to were recognized by the National Headliner Awards today. Grateful to work alongside such talented reporting and graphics teams. @miamiherald.com @charlotteobserver.com www.headlinerawards.org/2025-print-p...
- Reposted by Susan MerriamIn part one of my new series, @semerriam.bsky.social and I found a culture of secrecy for flood histories. It's a problem that is only expected to worsen as climate change makes flooding more common in the Sunshine State
- The first story in our “Floods of Trouble” series is out from @miamiherald.com. "How secret flood histories cost Florida home buyers and mask state’s risk" by @harrisalexc.bsky.social
- Read the story here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- FEMA data shows the agency has paid out $16.8 billion in damages since 2000 on more than 220,000 claims — some doled out repeatedly to the same problematic properties. The agency doesn’t share the addresses, even with buyers.
- Reposted by Susan MerriamNEW: We ran 1600 queries across eight generative AI search tools to see how they cite news content. They all did pretty poorly. (w/ @aisvarya17.bsky.social for @towcenter.bsky.social in @columjournreview.bsky.social) www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...
- "'Every office in NOAA was hit by these indiscriminate, misguided, ill-intentioned reforms,' said Rick Spinrad, former director of NOAA under President Joe Biden, in a press conference Friday afternoon." Reported by @harrisalexc.bsky.social at @miamiherald.com www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
