Brendan Farrington, a veteran Associated Press reporter who covered Florida politics, hurricanes and quirky local stories for more than 25 years, died on Friday at his home in Tallahassee. He was 60. His death followed a brief illness, according to Steve Schale, a close family friend. Farrington had built a reputation for being well-sourced, fair and kind, with a dry sense of humor and a lifelong passion for baseball that led him to visit every major‑league ballpark. Colleagues described him as a mentor to younger reporters and a trusted source across party lines. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush called him “an old‑school journalist” and “a real pro” on social media. Born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Farrington began his career in 1988 at the Quincy, Massachusetts, daily The Patriot Ledger, moving to the AP in Miami in the late 1990s before transferring to the state capital in 2001. He was known for his hurricane coverage, often framing events through the experiences of those affected, and for his annual “weird Florida” roundups that featured unusual stories such as a man who injured his finger in a fight, cooked it with scrambled eggs and ate it. In 2021, a press secretary for Governor Ron DeSantis temporarily suspended her Twitter account after criticizing Farrington’s reporting on a donor’s investment in a Regeneron COVID‑19 treatment; the exchange prompted online harassment directed at Farrington, who responded that he hoped government threats to personal safety would not become common. He left the AP in January 2025 after accepting a voluntary buyout offered to a group of employees. Farrington is survived by his wife, Amy; his son, Cullen; his mother, Ethel; three brothers and a sister. His colleagues remember him as a journalist who combined rigorous reporting with genuine warmth, leaving a lasting impact on Florida’s news community.