Greg Allen

As NPR's Miami correspondent, Greg Allen reports on the diverse issues and developments tied to the Southeast. He covers everything from breaking news to economic and political stories to arts and human interest features. He moved into this role in 2006, after four years as NPR's Midwest correspondent.

Allen was a key part of NPR’s coverage of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, providing some of the first reports on the disaster. He was on the frontlines of NPR’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, arriving in New Orleans before the storm hit and filing on the chaos and flooding that hit the city as the levees broke. Allen's reporting played an important role in NPR’s coverage of the aftermath and the rebuilding of New Orleans, as well as in coverage of the BP oil spill which brought new hardships to the Gulf coast.

As NPR’s only correspondent in Florida, Allen covered the dizzying boom and bust of the state’s real estate market, the state’s important role in the 2008 presidential election and has produced stories highlighting the state’s unique culture and natural beauty, from Miami’s Little Havana to the Everglades.

Allen has spent more than three decades in radio news, the first ten as a reporter in Ohio and Philadelphia and the last as an editor, producer and reporter at NPR.

Before moving into reporting, Allen served as the executive producer of NPR's national daily live call-in show, Talk of the Nation. As executive producer he handled the day-to-day operations of the program as well as developed and produced remote broadcasts with live audiences and special breaking news coverage. He was with Talk of the Nation from 2000 to 2002.

Prior to that position, Allen spent three years as a senior editor for NPR's Morning Edition, developing stories and interviews, shaping the program's editorial direction, and supervising the program's staff. In 1993, he started a four year stint as an editor with Morning Edition just after working as Morning Edition's swing editor, providing editorial and production supervision in the early morning hours. Allen also worked for a time as the editor of NPR's National Desk.

Before coming to NPR, Allen was a reporter with NPR member station WHYY-FM in Philadelphia from 1987 to 1990.

His radio career includes serving as the producer of Freedom's Doors Media Project -- five radio documentaries on immigration in American cities that was distributed through NPR's Horizons series -- frequent freelance work with NPR, Monitor Radio, Voice of America, and WHYY-FM, and work as a reporter/producer of NPR member station WYSO-FM in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Allen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, with a B.A. cum laude. As a student and after graduation, Allen worked at WXPN-FM, the public radio station on campus, as a host and producer for a weekly folk music program that included interviews, features, live and recorded music.

 

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5:04pm

Wed May 18, 2011
Environment

Flooding In Louisiana's Great Basin: A Good Thing?

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images

The Army Corps of Engineers opened another bay on the Morganza Spillway Wednesday — diverting more water off the Mississippi through the bayous and rivers of Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin.

The Corps says it will divert as much water as necessary to keep the Mississippi no higher than 45 feet as it passes through Baton Rouge.

But some of that water might actually be welcome.

'We Need Good Water'

Few people pay closer attention to water conditions in the Atchafalaya Basin than those who make their living catching crawfish.

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4:00am

Tue May 17, 2011
Around the Nation

For Bayou Residents, Floods Are A Fact Of Life

By opening the Morganza floodway, the Army Corps of Engineers is sending Mississippi water through communities that thousands call home. But, even as they're forced to evacuate, few are blaming the Corps. Those who live along Louisiana's bayous aren't happy about having to fight the river, but say it's something they've grown up with and which they take very seriously.

4:00am

Mon May 16, 2011
Around the Nation

St. Landry Parish Orders Mandatory Evacuations

Over the weekend, the Army Corps of Engineers began opening gates of the Morganza Spillway — a structure that hadn't been opened in nearly 40 years. After the spillway was opened in Louisiana, mandatory evacuations were ordered for areas of St. Landry Parish.

12:01am

Mon May 9, 2011
News

Army Corps Makes Tough Calls With Floods

To handle all the water flowing down the Mississippi River, the Army Corps of Engineers is opening the floodgates on a spillway, north of New Orleans.

Opening the Bonnet Carre spillway diverts some of the floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain and from there to the Gulf of Mexico. But nearly every flood control action taken by the Corps is not without controversy.

Winners And Losers

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7:31am

Sat May 7, 2011
Around the Nation

Florida Bill Could Muzzle Doctors On Gun Safety

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign a bill that will make the state the first in the nation to prohibit doctors from asking patients if they own guns. The bill is aimed particularly at pediatricians, who routinely ask new parents if they have guns at home and if they're stored safely.

Pediatricians say it's about preventing accidental injuries. Gun rights advocates say the doctors have a political agenda.

An Invasion Of Privacy?

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