When it comes to reporters, Rick Neale is a machine

SH Communities hopes to develop the 318-acre area outlined in red as the “Melbourne CIty Center.” FLORIDA TODAY’s Rick Neale brought you the subscriber exclusive story to you this week.

Dear FLORIDA TODAY Subscribers,

If you’ve spent any time reading bylines on articles or hanging out in downtown Melbourne, you’re likely familiar with the name Rick Neale.

Rick – otherwise known as the machine to his editor – is one of the most prolific reporters on our team. It is not unusual for Rick to write multiple stories in a day, let alone in a week.

For instance, in the past week or so he’s covered the listing of a renown British witch’s beachside home, a massive development in South Brevard, lions coming to the Brevard Zoo, the possible sale of a downtown Melbourne parking lot and coverage of the Crew-4 launch from Kennedy Space Center.

Rick summed up what drives him to cover all the stories he does with five words: “I love reporting and writing.”

To say Rick is a busy guy is an understatement. In fact, it was a chore to get him to take a breath and just answer a few questions.

I wanted to bring you a little more insight into a couple of Rick’s stories and the reporter himself.

When it comes to the South Melbourne development, we’re talking about a fairly significant plan to bring buildings as high as 11 stories to a part of Brevard that usually doesn’t reach those kinds of vertical heights.

Rick says that the city of Melbourne has yet to weigh in on the proposed 125 foot tall buildings described in the plans but that the development itself would be great for that part of the city.

“The development would interject a jolt of newly built housing, commercial developments with who-knows-how-many new jobs,” said Rick, while also pointing out a downside, “… and more traffic.”

Rick’s story on Sybil Leek’s beachside home also caught my interest this week.

Leek — an internationally famous psychic and author — lived in Melbourne Beach and Indialantic from 1968 until her death in 1982. Now, her breezy Third Avenue bungalow is up for sale for $675,000.

I asked Rick about the time gap and the ownership since her death 40 years ago.

Story continues

“Her son Julian owned the home until 1986, and it has changed hands a few times since then,” Rick said. “The current owner declined my interview request, but she keeps a few items honoring Sybil on a bookshelf in the front parlor.”

Rick also said he made sure to stay clear of the supernatural side of Leek’s life. Letting history speak for itself.

“I made sure that I attributed the details I wrote about Sybil to real-life sources, such as our TODAY newspaper archives, rather than writing about mystical powers (which a lot of authors did during the 1970s occult revival).”

As I mentioned earlier, Rick has been a reporting machine for FLORIDA TODAY since the late afternoon on Sept. 3, 2004, when he first exited Interstate 95 at Wickham Road. He drove down from Ohio to start working at FLORIDA TODAY a few days ahead of schedule to help cover Hurricane Frances.

I remember our staff “hunkered down” in our former location on U.S. 1 and in walks this guy who kind of resembled a young Willem Defoe. But in the nearly 18 years since he first walked into the building, Rick has made a name for himself and has earned the respect of every member of our team.

As the South Brevard watchdog/investigations reporter, Rick has a large area to cover and ends up trying to really hit the highlights of all the activity that’s taking place on the south end of the Space Coast.

I asked him what his main criteria was for the stories he writes.

“I ask myself, ‘Would I click on that link and read this story? And, would my friends read it?’ Rick said.

I think one of the most important things I can ask our reporters when sharing details about their work and their lives on the Space Coast is what is it about this area that keeps them here. What makes them want to stay a part of this community? And for Rick, it’s all about getting out and finding what’s here.

“There are tons of colorful things to do here, so long as you get out of the house and stay plugged into the community,” he said.

I’ve placed a couple of Rick’s stories down below with other content that your subscription helped us provide this week.

You can reach Rick at rneale@floridatoday.com or find him on Twitter at @RickNeale1.

As always, you can reach out to me at rlanders@floridatoday.com. Or you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube (just click the name, the internet will do the rest).

And if you want to see me in person, come see me in the Cocoa Village Playhouse production of “Something Rotten,” which opens tonight and runs weekends through May 15.

That’s all for this week. Thank you for subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY and allowing us to be your best source for news and information on the Space Coast.

Rob Landers

Sr. Multimedia Editor

FLORIDA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: When it comes to reporters, Rick Neale is a machine