Civil Beat Staff

Cammy Clark

Cammy Clark joined Civil Beat in January 2024 to report about Maui. Her journalism career began in Washington, D.C., and has included stops in Maryland, Florida and California, with her stories appearing in more than 200 publications.

After growing up in a small town of 3,000 in New Hampshire, she bolted for the big city of Washington, D.C. to attend American with a goal of becoming an investigative journalist like Woodward or Bernstein. But life serendipitously took her in a different direction. A stint as the sports editor of her college newspaper led to 20 plus years as a pioneering female professional sports journalist.

Her first job after college was for NBC Sports, working for The George Michael Sports Machine.

She also covered all the Washington professional sports teams as a stringer for United Press International; was a sports copy editor for The Washington Post; and a sports editor of two weekly newspapers in Maryland. Many of the jobs were held simultaneously for experience and to have enough money to pay her rent, college loans and beer tabs.

In 1990, she decided she needed more sunshine and became a sportswriter for The St. Petersburg Times in Florida (now the Tampa Bay Times), which is owned by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. She became the newspaper’s first beat writer for the then new franchise, the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1996, she moved west to cover the NHL and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for The Orange County Register in California. Over nine years, she traveled across the United States and Canada to report on nearly 800 hockey games and nine Stanley Cup playoffs.

For the new millennium, she took a break from ice rinks to travel the world by bicycle with Odyssey 2000. The one-year adventure of a lifetime took her to 41 countries on six continents. She biked about 15,000 miles, with only four crashes. She survived the Mountain of Death in Costa Rica, running over a chicken in Malaysia and eating mystery meat in China.

Upon returning to reality, she went to work for the Miami Herald as its auto sportswriter. She got a crash course in NASCAR and the business of car racing. But when the Florida Keys bureau chief position became available, she moved to Key West and spent nearly a decade writing about all aspects of the touristy island chain: environment, business, crime, courts, government, hurricanes, tourism, art, culture, and all things quirk. Stories included county jail inmates scamming the IRS, Cuban exiles setting off fireworks by boat to make Fidel Castro mad, and an intriguing court case of government fraud involving the county鈥檚 deceased mayor and The Prince of Darkness.

While in the Florida Keys, she spent 3 陆 years as the public information officer for Monroe County. During that time, the county was hit by Category 4 Hurricane Irma. She led the county鈥檚 communications during the disaster, which was quite the challenge after the storm with no cell phone or Internet service.

In 2019, she moved to Maui after her husband retired from a 30-year career in law enforcement. She worked three years for Pacific Media Group as a writer and editor. Her husband works as a dive boat captain.

Cammy鈥檚 passions include diving, paddleboarding, tennis, hiking, cycling, golf, trivia night, star gazing, whale watching, local music, photography/videography, exploring new places, rooting for the Patriots 鈥 and hanging out with her husband, two cats, family and friends.

Bob Fenton Reflects On A Year Of Leading FEMA’s Fire Recovery Efforts On Maui Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2023

Bob Fenton Reflects On A Year Of Leading FEMA’s Fire Recovery Efforts On Maui

There were highs and lows managing multiple programs in a place historically skeptical of the federal government, but overall his agency’s work has been well received.

Kula Residents Say They Have Built A Closer And More Resilient Community Since The Fire Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2024

Kula Residents Say They Have Built A Closer And More Resilient Community Since The Fire

A steady stream of volunteers has helped clean the land of debris and potential fuel for future fires.

Lahaina’s Front Street Property Owners Are Eager To Rebuild, But It’s Complicated Courtesy: Leil Koch/2024

Lahaina’s Front Street Property Owners Are Eager To Rebuild, But It’s Complicated

Sea level rise, permitting and a push for restoration of a buried historic site and wetlands make it challenging.

Maui Moves Closer To Phasing Out Thousands Of Short-Term Rentals To Deal With Housing Crisis Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024

Maui Moves Closer To Phasing Out Thousands Of Short-Term Rentals To Deal With Housing Crisis

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the County Council approve the mayor’s proposal, with some tweaks, despite concerns that it will wreak economic havoc.

Koho Ko Maui Meia I N膩 Luna Hou No N膩 Ke驶ena Hale, Kumuwaiwai 驶艑iwi Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024

Koho Ko Maui Meia I N膩 Luna Hou No N膩 Ke驶ena Hale, Kumuwaiwai 驶艑iwi

Ua 驶膩pono n膩 koho p膩loka mai ke kalana ma Novemapa o ka makahiki 2022 i ke k艒kua 驶ana o n膩 ke驶ena hou i ka p艒pilikia ho驶olako hale a me ka m膩lama pono 驶ana i n膩 kumuwaiwai 驶艒iwi.聽

Federal Judge Rules Against Maui County Taking Private Land Soon For Lahaina Fire Debris Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2024

Federal Judge Rules Against Maui County Taking Private Land Soon For Lahaina Fire Debris

The ruling likely will result in the estimated 400,000 tons of fire debris and ash staying much longer than expected in the temporary dump site at Olowalu.

Long-Term Recovery Plan For Lahaina Expected By December Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024

Long-Term Recovery Plan For Lahaina Expected By December

The county is compiling public input to help prioritize fire recovery projects and programs for disaster funding.

Fire On Haleakala Tests Maui’s Improvements In Emergency Management Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024

Fire On Haleakala Tests Maui’s Improvements In Emergency Management

The county’s leadership on Thursday detailed actions its taken to deal with a fast-moving blaze, a stark contrast to what occurred on Aug. 8.

‘The Most Critical Challenge We Face’: Maui Council On Track To Confirm New Housing Director Cammy Clark/Civil Beat/2024

‘The Most Critical Challenge We Face’: Maui Council On Track To Confirm New Housing Director

Richard Mitchell says he knows the importance of a roof over people’s heads having lived in public housing as a child.