Hurricane Andrew hit Florida 24 years go, delivering a shock to south Florida and to state government. It was my privilege to study the government’s reaction to the disaster during the course of research for my authorized biography of U.S. senator and governor Lawton Chiles. The interviews I conducted on the hurricane response were incredibly fascinating. I’ll never forget them.

Thanks to veteran Florida reporter Bill Cotterell for adding an anecdote about Chiles and Hurricane Andrew to the miles-high store of lore about this amazing man.