2019 California Journalism Awards Print Contest winners

The table below displays the 2019 California Journalism Awards Print Contest winners by category.

The table is sortable by the column headers (Category, Award, Publication, Entry Title, Credits and Judge’s Comments) but you probably want to zero in on your own publication. The easiest way to do that is to use the search box to type in the name of your publication.

A search will begin as soon as you start typing in the box. The more specific you are, the faster you’ll find your results.

First-place and second-place plaques will be shipped directly to the winning publications in a few weeks.

Personalized certificates will also be mailed to winners in each category.

Category	Award	Publication	Entry Title	Credits	Judge’s Comments
General Excellence	1st	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Sept. 22 & 23, 2019	San Diego Union-Tribune Staff	All local front page. Incredible jail death package. Really good local stories. Nice use of language. The Back Story on Page 2 is a great idea. Lots of local, paired with plenty of wire. Profiles. Local editorial. Solid opinion section. Love the cartoon caption contest. Pet obituaries! Robust comic pages. Massive Padres coverage. Arts & Culture pages are well done. Some very lovely, enticing ads.
General Excellence	2nd	San Francisco Chronicle	Sept. 14 & 15, 2019	San Francisco Chronicle Staff	Nice centerpiece on the vintners, good sports perspective. Lots of AP, but relevant. Liked the Last Word faceoff. Business has some good stories and is easier to read. Fallen hero story was powerful. Some good graphics and photos. Nice local color with Nolte. The more local ads seemed to be well done. Lots of wire. Climate package was great. Loved the Q&A. Good photos. Good examination of mixed up runways. Riveting firefighter rescue story. Local opinion was good in Yes and No format. Local editorial cartoon. Sunday had local edit, and liked Parting Shots. Bay Area section was chock-full. Huge Life Tributes pages. Amazing Posey photos in sports. Some great stories in Food & Wine. Straw story was interesting and readable. Good job on Datebook in both content, ads and layout. Good Sunday sports pages. An Outdoors reporter! Good local business centerpiece. Several other local pieces. Food & Wine is well done. Witty plastic straw story. Noise story is a public service. Delorean hovercraft? Loved the features in the Style section, including the 49-mile manifesto. Essential for the area.
General Excellence	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Feb. 2 & 3, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	Nice spread on Navajo drought: Photos are outstanding. CHP story was well told. Excellent supervisors story. Ads are OK. Some pages were a bit gray. Good variety of letters. Liked the Numbers and Letters stats and that there was some art on the pages. California page is varied. Mostly crime news on City & State cover. Lots of business news, good sports column on stadiums. Sports editorial cartoon and lots of letters. Entertaining Calendar section. Theater review! Saturday cover is very colorful and inviting, if not a bit confusing. Restaurant review. Super Bowl section has super graphic on front. Tons of information and features on plenty. Rosters, good and fun graphics and stats. They went all in on this and I bet the fans appreciated it. Robust real estate section with Hot Properties tab. Tijuana package on the next day is massive, well-told and displayed. Well-spoken and reasoned editorials on Trump and the border and LA jail vs. hospitals. Several columns on Sunday. Fun Science File about the other rams around town. Page layout is dandy, although occasional dog legs and gray areas. Many pages the same layout. I like how many sections have their own letters. Fun Sundance photos. Arts & Books section! And Travel. If I lived in California, I would subscribe. Chock-full of news you need, want and never knew you could have.
General Excellence	4th	The Orange County Register	Feb. 3 & 4, 2019	Orange County Register Staff	Aquarium of the Pacific story is witty. Loved the pets section. Restaurant closures! Lots of wire. Huge sports section. Comprehensive Super Bowl preview section, including a good column on CTE. Nice Rams Depth Chart graphic. Great graphics, overall. Abrupt switch to lifestyles in section. Halftime story was fun. Two editorials and lots of local views. Beautifully laid out Lunar New Year section. Nice ads. Good variety of features. Excellent day-after headline for Super Bowl!
General Excellence	5th	The Sacramento Bee	Sept. 26 & 27, 2019	Sacramento Bee Staff	Missing Five is solid and intriguing. Lots of wire. Local editorial on the first day. Good local and state reporting.
General Excellence	1st	The Bakersfield Californian	Sept. 28 & 29, 2019	Bakersfield Californian Staff	Clean design, good use of typography. Great sense of place, and personality carries throughout.
General Excellence	2nd	The Desert Sun	Feb. 9 & 10, 2019	Desert Sun Staff	The Desert Sun conveys a sense of place and has a clean design and compelling ads throughout.
General Excellence	3rd	The Press Democrat	Sept. 28 & 29, 2019	Press Democrat Staff	The Press Democrat really allows photos to shine. It offers a good mix of local and national news, but it lets stories run long, with few opportunities for the reader to catch his breath.
General Excellence	4th	Antelope Valley Press	Sept. 19 & 20, 2019	Antelope Valley Press Staff
General Excellence	5th	The Fresno Bee	Feb. 23 & 24, 2019	Fresno Bee Staff
General Excellence	1st	The Tribune	Feb. 2 & 3, 2019	Tribune Staff	Clearly the best of the field. Solid local content, and the design and photo usage is top-notch.
General Excellence	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	Feb. 15 & 16, 2019	Jen Swartz, Robert Sterling, Gary Klien, Joe Konte	Good local content and coverage of a breaking event makes this entry stand out. Appropriate use of good, local photos.
General Excellence	3rd	Napa Valley Register	Sept. 3 & 4, 2019	Napa Valley Register Staff	Nice front-page package is the stand-out here.
General Excellence	4th	Santa Maria Times	Sept. 21 & 22, 2019	Santa Maria Times Staff	Lots of good, if not spectacular, local content. Good use of photos and a solid sports section.
General Excellence	5th	Chico Enterprise-Record	Feb. 27 & 28, 2019	Enterprise-Record Staff	The look and feel of this paper is nice, but I'd like to see more meat to its local coverage. More in-depth reads would have elevated this entry.
General Excellence	1st	Good Times	Sept. 11 & 18, 2019	Steve Palopoli, Lauren Hepler, Tabi Zarrinnaal, Good Times Staff	This entry stood out for the excellent presentation, writing, story choices and quality of the photography. The advertising was attractive and engaging.
General Excellence	2nd	Sacramento News & Review	Feb. 7 & 14, 2019	Sacramento News & Review Staff
General Excellence	3rd	SF Weekly	Feb. 7 & 14, 2019	Richard Procter, Peter Kane
General Excellence	4th	Monterey County Weekly	Feb. 21 & 28, 2019	Monterey County Weekly Staff
General Excellence	5th	Chico News & Review	Feb. 7 & 14, 2019	Melissa Daugherty, Tina Flynn, Meredith J. Cooper, Jason Cassidy
General Excellence	1st	Comstock's Magazine	August & September 2019	Tom Couzens, Sena Christian, Kelly Barr, Shoka	Comstock's Magazine is beautifully designed throughout, both ad and news pages. This is one gorgeous magazine. The August issue on construction was breath-taking and presented sense of place in a whole new way.
General Excellence	2nd	San Francisco Business Times	Sept. 13 & 20, 2019	San Francisco Business Times Staff	Lots of names and faces in San Francisco Business Times. Leads section sets this apart from all competitors in this category.
General Excellence	3rd	Auburn Journal	Sept. 18 & 22, 2019	Bill Sullivan, Nick Peccaro, Traci Newell, Gus Thomson	The Auburn Journal is local, local, local from first page to last with a strong variety of beats and sense of place. Impressive that the Journal is soliciting nominations for Women in Business after just publishing its Home Show special section.
General Excellence	4th	North Coast Journal	Sept. 19 & 26, 2019	North Coast Journal Staff	The news in North Coast Journal matches the community and the advertisers. This is one fun read, and a publication that makes bold decision such as the comic book issue and the taglines that include descriptive pronouns.
General Excellence	5th	Tracy Press	Sept. 20 & 27, 2019	Will Fleet, Melanie Smith, Lisa Cracraft, Tracy Press Staff	The Tracy Press has a strong sense of place. Its obits and milestone ads are lovingly presented. Nice to see so many Classified ads, and even nicer that they are so much fun to read. The Tracy Press is full of clip and keep news.
General Excellence	1st	Ledger Dispatch	Sept. 20 & 24, 2019	Jack Mitchell, Jeremy Malamed, Rachel Norris, Sarah Tullus
General Excellence	2nd	North Bay Business Journal	Feb. 4 & 11, 2019	Elissa Torres, Jeff Quackenbush, Cheryl Sarfaty, Chase DiFeliciantonio
General Excellence	3rd	Del Mar Times	Sept. 5 & 12, 2019	Del Mar Times Staff
General Excellence	4th	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Feb. 7 & 14, 2019	Petaluma Argus-Courier Staff
General Excellence	5th	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Sept. 10 & 17, 2019	Sonoma Index-Tribune Staff
General Excellence	1st	The Ark	Sept. 18 & 25, 2019	Ark Staff
General Excellence	2nd	St. Helena Star	Sept. 5 & 12, 2019	David Stoneberg, Jesse Duarte
General Excellence	3rd	The Trinity Journal	Feb. 13 & 20, 2019	Trinity Journal Staff
General Excellence	4th	Half Moon Bay Review	Sept. 4 & 11, 2019	Half Moon Bay Review Staff
General Excellence	5th	Ojai Valley News	Sept. 13 & 20, 2019	Laura Rearwin Ward, Perry Van Houten, Marianne Ratcliff, Austin Widger
Public Service Journalism	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Vanishing Violence	Joaquin Palomino, Jill Tucker, Evan Sernoffsky	Powerful reporting, photos and graphics that produced almost instant results. Great statewide sweep. Reporters did not shy away from the fact that many of these people committed horrible crimes, but they humanized people who'd only been known as "super predators." And it wasn't just retrospective. The story about juveniles being locked up for long periods for misdemeanors raised troubling questions about current practices.
Public Service Journalism	2nd	The Sacramento Bee	UC Davis Band Investigation	Molly Sullivan, Ryan Sabalow, Paul Kitagaki	Wow. A seemingly beloved local institution that countenanced shockining, even criminal behavior for years. Bravo to the women who stepped forward to tell their stories, and the reporters who made it possible.
Public Service Journalism	3rd	The Press Democrat	Coverage of homeless camp on Joe Rodota Trail	Press Democrat Staff	Compelling, in-depth coverage of one community wrestling with a problem that is both chronic and worsening.
Public Service Journalism	4th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	The fight for SB1421: Bringing police misconduct into the light	Thomas Peele, Cecily Burt, Robert Salonga, Nate Gartrell	Reporting that highlighted shocking behavior kept secret from the people law enforcement is supposed to protect. Some of the cases may have been old, but the results were immediate: police officers resigning, criminal convictions being dropped. I appreciate how they continued to hold agencies accountable for not releasing information despite laws and court rulings that said they had to.
Public Service Journalism	5th	The Desert Sun	Misery at the Oasis: Arsenic contamination, dump fire reveal serious environmental health hazards on tribal land	Nicole Hayden, Ricardo Lopez, Omar Ornelas, Jay Calderon
Public Service Journalism	1st	Chico Enterprise-Record	Never to be forgotten: The Camp Fire a year later	Chico Enterprise-Record Staff	A powerful effort from the Chico Enterprise-Record grips you from the first page, with a collage of photos showing all who had died in the devastating Camp Fire. The newspaper put faces to the tragedy and gave readers a full sense of the trying year following the fire. There are stories of people who stayed, stories of people who left. The special edition included a related editorial, cartoon and letter to the editor. The presentation and reporting about the coverage bridge reconstruction was a nice touch. In sum, this was a remarkable journalistic effort. Sometimes the best public service a newspaper can provide is perspective.
Public Service Journalism	2nd	The Tribune	Bad air from the Oceano Dunes forces people inside. Is it a crisis or exaggeration?	Monica Vaughan, David Middlecamp, Stephanie Finucane	There are so many things to appreciate about this project from The Tribune detailing bad air quality at the Oceano Dunes. The newspaper hosted a public forum to inform local residents of the problem and answer questions. The interactive digital map of which areas are most affected was surely helpful to those who live there. The transparency offered from beginning to end, explaining how the reporting came together with help from the Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, helps readers understand what it took to make this reporting possible. This is how issues and solutions journalism should be done.
Public Service Journalism	3rd	Record Searchlight	Fuel for our Fires	Damon Arthur, David Benda, Mike Chapman, Randall Hauser	The public service element of this entry was made clear from the first headline: Is your home at risk? The Record Searchlight made an interesting decision to collaborate with a tech firm to report this important story. The interactive maps and charts presented the issue in a clean way. The transparency in explaining how the project came together is commendable, as is the way this newspaper encouraged readers to support the reporting by subscribing.
Public Service Journalism	4th	Visalia Times-Delta	What role did Tulare County's mental health system play in this unsolved murder?	Sheyanne Romero	Sheyanne Romero's reporting of a tough issue told through one family's story may have positive affects on how one county handles its mentally ill residents. Compelling writing made this entry stand out.
Public Service Journalism	5th	Los Angeles Daily Journal	Exposure of government fraud led to resignations	Justin Kloczko	Sometimes government fraud is out there, but it takes a dogged reporter to keep searching and put the pieces together. This is one of those cases, with Justin Kloczko detailing for a knowing, specialized audience the major collusion involving the LA City Attorney's office. Best of all, Kloczko's reporting got results and helped to rid the city of these bad actors.
Public Service Journalism	1st	Chico News & Review	Post-Camp Fire water contamination	Meredith J. Cooper, Melissa Daugherty	Impressive effort here -- constant, dogged attention on an important public health issue that might otherwise be easy for the community to ignore given all the other recent developments in that area.
Public Service Journalism	2nd	The Almanac	Uneven Ground	Kate Bradshaw
Public Service Journalism	3rd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Our community suffered a mass shooting. Here's what happened next	Thousand Oaks Acorn Staff
Public Service Journalism	4th	The Salinas Californian	Fundraising for your own funeral	Kate Cimini
Public Service Journalism	5th	Lamorinda Weekly	Fire & Fury - Dealing with the New Normal	Jennifer Wake, Vera Kochan, Cynthia Brian, Nick Marnel
Public Service Journalism	1st	La Canada Valley Sun	Full coverage: Devil's Gate Dam sediment removal project	Sara Cardine	Excellent job keeping on top of a story obviously important to the community. Appreciated the depth of the coverage.
Public Service Journalism	2nd	Glendale News-Press	‘We’re just stuck here’: Montrose seniors stranded for a week in facility with no elevator	Lila Seidman	This may seem like a small thing, but it's a good example of a reporter bringing to light an issue important to the disadvantaged. Writing is solid.
Public Service Journalism	3rd	The Business Journal	Clovis Unified's Opioid Crisis	Donald Promnitz	Solid coverage of an important and growing issue.
Public Service Journalism	4th	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	"The $80 Million Man," "Developer Face Backlash Over LGBTQ Views," "Anti-Gay Comments Paint Troubling Picture"	Lorna Sheridan	Nice job holding developers accountable. I'm sure readers appreciated knowing the beliefs of those buying up land in their city.
Public Service Journalism	5th	Lincoln News Messenger	Lincoln's teens and young adults not immune to vaping-related illnesses	Shaden Solanji, Carol Feineman	Good job on an important topic.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	Los Angeles Times	Man in the Window	Paige St. John	Excellent, compelling report that will keep readers engaged throughout the entire story. Impressive visual research and presentation.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	San Francisco Chronicle	24 Hours of Homelessness	San Francisco Chronicle Staff	The alternative presentation gives readers choices in how to read, what to read. Very strong photographs. It's a thorough view of the city's challenging issue and impact.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Mexico's homicide crisis	Kate Linthicum, Gary Coronado, Jessica Q. Chen	Excellent series of articles that likely were done at great risk to the reporters and photographers. Each entry was very well researched and reported.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Second Chance P.D.	Laurence Du Sault, Katey Rusch	The investigative reporting is so well done here. The stories should prod authorities to change a system that is failing citizens.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	The Modesto Bee	Straight Pride rally stirs monthlong controversy in Modesto	Modesto Bee Staff	The Modesto Bee's coverage of a straight pride rally covered the run-up to the rally exhaustively — 18 stories in 30 days. The coverage was fair and honest. Every day it took a new turn. I'm betting that readers eagerly awaited the next day's Bee to see how the story was unfolding.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	The Desert Sun	Homeless in the Coachella Valley	Nicole Hayden, Jay Calderon, Vickie Connor	The Desert Sun's homeless investigation was deeply reported. The print special report was storytelling at its finest and the best writing in category.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	The Desert Sun	Drilling deep on California's oil regulators	Janet Wilson, Evan Wyloge, Julie Makinen	The Desert Sun's drilling investigation had the most actionable response of any entry: Leadership and policy change of oil regulations.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	The Modesto Bee	Policing Themselves: MPD has fired five cops over dishonesty ...	Erin Tracy, Kevin Valine	The Modesto Bee shed light on policing with great detail. What sets this story apart was the Bee's clear explanation of what they sought and why, and the promise of its next investigative focus.
In-Depth Reporting	5th	The Press Democrat	Rebuild North Bay — Coverage of Sonoma County's recovery from the 2017 wildfires	Press Democrat Staff	The Press Democrat's 12 monthly special reports on the Tubb fire is a marvel of planning and organization. These reporters know their beats and what's important to the community.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	Napa Valley Register	Pathway Home shooting, one year later	Napa Valley Register Staff	A horrific story beautifully told. The reporting was comprehensive and presented for maximum impact.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	Napa Valley Register	Costs of Living	Courtney Teague, Danielle Fox, Sean Scully	Solid, compelling occasional series. I liked that she talked to so many different people from different perspectives. I especially liked that she had a "what to do" article. Clear writing and excellent editing makes this easy to read, even though the topic is a bit hard.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	The Record	Falling through the net	Joe Goldeen	Safety net:Well done! Good examples and lots of digging to find people, statistics and framing the issue.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	The Record	Alzheimer's long goodbye	Bob Highfill	Great examples of the toll it takes on the family and how they cope and pay for the medical care needed. Liked the daughter who had to worry about the hereditary factor with so many relatives affected. Offered some examples to get help.
In-Depth Reporting	5th	Chico Enterprise-Record	Inhaled	Robin Epley	Good job explaining the damage polluted air does going through your system. Needed more attribution early on. This package is chock-full of interesting and powerful information, but it's a bit textbook style with facts just there for you to believe. Tons of research here and, for the most part, pretty well told.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Surviving Borderline	Dawn Megli	Essential first-person stories from the people that lived through a tragedy and survived to tell their tales.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Borderline: One Year Later	Dawn Megli, Becca Whitnall	A compelling look at how a community continues to recover from a tragedy, paired with strong story-telling that draws in the reader.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	Sacramento News & Review	A grisly murder. An illegal confession. A 20-year fight to be free.	Raheem Hosseini	Wonderful story-telling keeps the reader riveted and wanting to know what happens next in both storylines -- how the police violated a man's rights and how he found justice.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	Monterey County Weekly	SB 1421 and police transparency—or lack thereof	Mary Duan	Critical government accountability reporting by a reporter who clearly understands how public records work and why they are so important,
In-Depth Reporting	5th	Chico News & Review	Post-Camp Fire water contamination	Meredith J. Cooper	As much as I appreciated the deep research and records work that went into this series of stories, I loved that each story put a human face -- and story -- on the issue. That kind of story-telling allows readers to connect complicated and often arcane issues to their daily lives.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	North Coast Journal	Blackout	North Coast Journal Staff	In a category full of high quality entries, this entry from the North Coast Journal detailing the impact of a series of blackouts on its coverage area. Reporters tackled the subject from all perspectives: local residents, first responders and business owners. There is the imagery of the rush to the grocery store. Included were important, helpful details about local resource centers could help people going forward. This was an impressive group effort.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	Gilroy Dispatch	Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting	Erik Chalhoub, Barry Holtzclaw, Michael Moore, Jennifer Wadsworth	The Gilroy Dispatch staff should be commended for its strong, comprehensive coverage in the aftermath of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting. Beyond the responsible, professional spot coverage of the shooting, the newspaper made smart choices in its follow-up reporting. The Dispatch even secured an interview with the local police chief, who reportedly turned down requests from national outlets. The ongoing coverage of a community trying to move on, along with perspectives of festival organizers wanting to come back for 2020, was inspiring. A well-rounded, impressive effort.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	Comstock's Magazine	Beating the Burn	Sena Christian	In what might be the strongest writing effort of the category, Sena Christian offers an in-depth overview of the topic of wildfires: what causes them, and how the resulting devastation can be mitigated in the years ahead.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	Santa Maria Sun	All bark, no bite	Kasey Bubnash	This entry from the Santa Maria Sun highlighted an interesting, unique issue of pet stores selling commercially-bred dogs. Reporter Kasey Bubnash cleanly presented the topic and problems at hand, and effectively weaved together a number of different voices. Well done.
In-Depth Reporting	5th	The Almanac	Understanding the Unsheltered; Police used city funds to taxi homeless woman to SF	Kate Bradshaw	Kate Bradshaw's comprehensive story about a police department sending a homeless woman away via taxi is a good example of highlighting a broader issue through the lens of one person's experience. Nicely done.
In-Depth Reporting	1st	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Race to See the Future	Cromwell Schubarth
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Rebellion at Hanna Boys Center	Anne Ward Ernst
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	San Marino Outlook	Traffic Tinkering in San Marino	Zane Hill, Camila Castellanos, Mark Geers
In-Depth Reporting	4th	The Davis Enterprise	Corona murder series	Lauren Keene, Tanya Perez, Anne Ternus-Bellamy
In-Depth Reporting	5th	La Canada Flintridge Outlook	Heartbreaking Memories Remain 10 Years Aftr Fatal Crash on Foothill	Wes Woods, Camila Castellanos, Mark Geers
In-Depth Reporting	1st	The Ark	Anchor-outs on Richardson Bay	Gretchen Lang, Hannah Weikel	Does Gretchen Lang live on a boat? Because she describes life on a boat like she's been there. This tight package -- anchored by Lang's piece about local government being stumped about how to treat boat dwellers, and one family’s struggles to get off the water -- is a great slice of life for a lifestyle I didn’t know existed. I've traveled through Sausalito many times, and always assumed the yuppie-types owned the boats floating outside town. Liberty and Kelly Darling were not what I expected. The piece expertly weaved the story of their dangerous living situation into a larger narrative about affordable housing. The package, which includes Lang’s follow-ups on the NIMBY fights over where to put these anchor-outs, and Hannah Weikel’s spot news on the chaos from high winds, shows The Arc’s dedication to covering an important and overlooked problem.
In-Depth Reporting	2nd	Siskiyou Daily News	A river runs through them: A look at the Klamath River and those who depend on it	Barry Kaye	In his well-written expose on a plan to remove dams on the Klamath River, Barry Kaye gives insightful historical context, serves up interesting river characters from the river, and gives voice to both sides of an argument over removing the dams that have become integral to the life in the area. It’s a fun read on an important topic, and includes strong art. A close second.
In-Depth Reporting	3rd	The Mountain Enterprise	Federal forest managers skip past environmental reviews	Patric Hedlund, Marcy Axness, Gary Meyer	Solid coverage of an important environmental issue with national implications.
In-Depth Reporting	4th	Lincoln News Messenger	Fighting breast cancer and surviving	Carol Feineman, Joshua Gutierrez, Shaden Solanji, Matthew Nobert
In-Depth Reporting	5th	The Trinity Journal	Caltrans may resume herbicide spraying	Amy Gittelsohn, Sally Morris
Writing	1st	Los Angeles Times	Detective Trapp	Christopher Goffard
Writing	2nd	San Francisco Chronicle	The Fisherman's Secret	Jason Fagone, Tara Duggan, Santiago Mejia
Writing	3rd	Los Angeles Times	An identical twin sister lost, found and, at long last, home	Barbara Demick
Writing	4th	San Francisco Chronicle	A Fire’s Unfathomable Toll	Lizzie Johnson
Writing	5th	The San Diego Union-Tribune	A bomb, a call, lives altered	John Wilkens
Writing	1st	The Desert Sun	Lost Ship	Kristin Scharkey	Though lengthy, the excellent reporting, writing and presentation carry the reader through and craft an engaging, informative article that leaves the reader wanting more.
Writing	2nd	The Bakersfield Californian	Powerful gay men. Vulnerable teenage boys. Murder. Justice. And now, for newly freed Bobby Mistriel, a measure of vindication.	Robert Price	Well written, fascinating look at the underbelly of sex trafficking in the 70s and 80s. Kudos on the follow-through over the years that keeps this story alive.
Writing	3rd	The Desert Sun	Environmentalists back border wall	Janet Wilson	In-depth, well-written look at reality on the border. Through the mouths of those who live there, the reality of border issues comes to life.
Writing	4th	Press-Telegram	Lakewood Equestrian Center, a longtime rural gem, faces uncertain future	Chris Haire
Writing	5th	The Desert Sun	Pools and Paychecks	Amy DiPierro
Writing	1st	Record Searchlight	Six months later, Carr Fire survivors share tales of horror and hope	Alayna Shulman
Writing	2nd	The Record	Living in fear	Almendra Carpizo
Writing	3rd	Whittier Daily News	This Pico Rivera cat was stuck in a 90-foot palm tree for nearly two weeks ... then he fell	Bradley Bermont
Writing	4th	Napa Valley Register	The Pathway Home, looking back one year	Sean Scully
Writing	5th	Record Searchlight	Here’s how football and community brought Paradise together after the Camp Fire	Ethan Hanson
Writing	1st	The Salinas Californian	A month later	Kate Cimini	A tale of a mother's grief after loss of a child. good descriptions: Never thought something so ugly would happen to us ... having a hard time going outside after dark ... frustrated how the world has moved on ... lost faith in humanity.
Writing	2nd	The Salinas Californian	Sentencing	Joe Szydlowski	Another tragic story told well, Clear writing and solid organization.
Writing	3rd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Holding on for Ron	Dawn Megli	Nice tribute to a fallen officer and those left to deal with grief. Clean and concise writing.
Writing	4th	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Putting tragedy into words	Becca Whitnall	Very good read about picking up the pieces after Borderline shooting.
Writing	5th	TimesOC	Tom Tully never knew he had a Hollywood star. His grandchildren found it decades after his death	Ada Tseng	Interesting mystery story. Clear and well organized.
Writing	1st	North Coast Journal	Butter and Belonging at Red Lobster	Jennifer Fumiko Cahill	Really lovely writing.
Writing	2nd	Poway News Chieftain	Chabad members surrounded with post-tragedy love	Elizabeth Marie Himchak	Top notch reporting.
Writing	3rd	Palos Verdes Peninsula News	The machine at her bedside	Mary Jo Hazard	Very nice writing.
Writing	4th	Calexico Chronicle	The Inside Story of Trump's Visit to Imperial County	Gary Redfern
Writing	5th	Los Altos Town Crier	Deputies get their goats – without using billy clubs	Megan Winslow
Writing	1st	The Davis Enterprise	Turning the corner	Anne Ternus-Bellamy	Our paper is in the midst of a homeless series and I keep saying "put a face on it." This story does that better than anything I've read in a long time. Fantastic reporting; this story grabbed me from the first paragraph and never let me go. Within a few sentences, I cared about this man and even felt as if I knew him.
Writing	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Longer commutes on the rise	Matt Brown	One of the better commute stories I've read. I especially enjoyed the description of his journey; good reporting tied in a lot of different topics (commute, housing, employment) into one story.
Writing	3rd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	A Decade of Promise and Peril	Cromwell Schubarth	This could have been a very boring big-picture numbers story; instead, it was boiled down into a highly readable and informative piece. Well done.
Writing	4th	Silicon Valley Business Journal	To All the Jobs I've Had Before	J. Jennings Moss	Highly entertaining column. I don't say this often, but -- I wish it was longer!
Writing	5th	The Davis Enterprise	Community mourns ‘fun teacher’	Lauren Keene	A very sensitive topic handled very well. Lots of great writing and reporting here.
Writing	1st	The Ark	Tiburon cancer survivor leads fundraising to launch yoga program at Benioff hospital	Emily Lavin
Writing	2nd	The Windsor Times	There's no place like home	Heather Bailey
Writing	3rd	The Ark	County struggles to prioritize housing for bay’s anchor-outs	Gretchen Lang
Writing	4th	The Desert Review	A surprise visit for the school's biggest Padres fan	Betty Miller
Writing	5th	The Desert Review	Buyers unite at livestock auction to help save a little girl	Betty Miller
Investigative Reporting	1st	The Sacramento Bee	OverCorrection: Crisis in California Jails	Jason Pohl, Ryan Gabrielson, Sohail Al-Jamea	This groundbreaking project provided a blueprint that reporters in other states can and should replicate. Criminal justice and prison reform is a heavily debated topic at the moment, and while jurisdictions across the U.S. struggle to understand their own problems, it seems that big picture explanations have been missing. Until now. Pohl and Gabrielson take an immense topic- the state of incarceration in California- and make it digestible and compelling. They expertly balance the use of data and graphics with human sources and victim narratives to keep the reader engaged while telling the whole story. As if that's not enough, the writing is also top notch. The amount of work that went into this project is clear, and it was time well spent.
Investigative Reporting	2nd	San Francisco Chronicle	Vanishing Violence	Jill Tucker, Joaquin Palomino, Evan Sernoffsky	This is an expertly crafted and explored series, leaving few stones unturned on this topic. The series benefitted greatly from the use of graphics, maps and photos to present 30 years of information in a manner that is easy to grasp both the immense scope of change and individual nuances. I especially appreciated the special report from local youth who were skeptical in the drop in juvenile crime and the interviews with adults who had been impacted by the system as youth. This project is a great example and teachable piece of investigative journalism, including the tangible results it had on the city of San Francisco, including the upcoming closure of the juvenile detention center and ousting of the head of juvenile probation.
Investigative Reporting	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Promised federal contracts for Native Americans go to others	Adam Elmahrek, Paul Pringle	There isn't a word to accurately describe the scope and reach of this investigation, as "impressive" is surely an understatement. The information uncovered by the Times reporters in the first story in this entry was shocking, and I felt a touch of satisfaction as I watched the dominos fall in subsequent stories, as state and federal officials tightened processes and demanded inquiries. This is a textbook example of how investigative reporting utilizing public records and data provides irrefutable evidence that can lead to impactful and nationwide changes.
Investigative Reporting	4th	The Orange County Register	Abuses in U.S. Olympic sports programs	Scott M. Reid	Excellent reporting that utilizes deep sourcing and impactful interviews with victims, as well as rich detail from public documents and hearing transcripts. Scott Reid clearly has his finger on the pulse of misconduct in Olympic sports, both in and outside of California. The first two stories in this investigation revealed problems within a newly formed regulatory body designed to protect young athletes from sexual assault and exploitation, and when the issues were brought to light, the group sought to silence future victims. This is remarkably telling. In terms of positive impact, this investigation and Reid's additional stories are being cited in the highest of forums and has sparked rule changes and additional oversight in an area of sports that was already under a microscope. It's clear that Reid is remarkably well sourced in this arena. Well done.
Investigative Reporting	5th	Los Angeles Times	Bodies of evidence	Melody Petersen, David Willman, Gus Garcia-Roberts	This is one of those stories that you wouldn't believe were true if it wasn't printed on the pages of a reputable newspaper. The cases that were upended by this practice are heartbreaking and the business practices behind this somehow legal practice almost leave the reader feeling almost dirty. I appreciated the sidebar pieces, giving a more in-depth look into many of the nuances of this investigation, particularly the "what you can do to protect yourself" piece, as I imagine most readers were left feeling the same way I was at the completion of the project's centerpiece story.
Investigative Reporting	1st	The Desert Sun	Drilling deep on California's oil regulators	Janet Wilson, Evan Wyloge, Julie Makinen	Karen Wilson's ongoing reporting about California oil regulators is watchdog journalism personified. In one story after another, The Desert Sun highlighted conflicts of interest and dummy permit files that showcased the corruption in clear, understandable terms. More important is that the reporting prompted change. Very impressive work.
Investigative Reporting	2nd	The Desert Sun	Sexual harassment and assault at Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals	Nicole Hayden, Kristin Scharkey, Kate Franco, Christopher Damien	When The Desert Sun staff noticed discrepancies in reported statistics of sexual assault/harassment at the Coachella music festival, the publication decided to conduct its own investigation into the matter. Reporters surveyed a high sample of Coachella attendees to determine a more a more accurate assessment of the problem. It is commendable that, in a nod to transparency, the Sun included information as to how it conducted the investigation and what survey questions were asked to attendees.
Investigative Reporting	3rd	The Fresno Bee	How bad teeth and a lack of dental care can lead to discrimination and poverty	Manuela Tobias	The Fresno Bee's investigation into dental care access shows that a topic that might seem narrow at first glance actually involves many different issues at play. This story features an intersection of health care, the economy and government's role with Medi-Cal. The interactive map chart showing dental benefit usage by area/race, along with a short video, made this a well-rounded, quality entry.
Investigative Reporting	4th	The Modesto Bee	MID plays favorites with its electricity rates. So who’s paying the price?	Garth Stapley	Garth Stapley's reportorial knowledge of the "winners and losers" of public utilities charges is evident in this work for the Modesto Bee. The charts were helpful, and the clean, crisp writing laid out the problem effectively.
Investigative Reporting	5th	The Fresno Bee	City manager claims councilman defamed her over talk of relationship with police lieutenant	Brianna Calix
Investigative Reporting	1st	San Gabriel Valley Tribune	City of Industry misused subsidized housing to reward allies, force out dissenters	Jason Henry	Good, thorough reporting. Hard to believe the city was so blatant about its misuse of public property.
Investigative Reporting	2nd	The Tribune	Bad air from the Oceano Dunes forces people inside. Is it a crisis or exaggeration?	Monica Vaughan	This article offered a lot of data and a variety of perspectives, and it clearly led to changes in the management of the State Park. As a reader, though, I remained unconvinced that the recreational vehicle activity was solely responsible for the dust plume, and besides it being expensive, I wasn't sure why the ocean algae report was written off so easily.
Investigative Reporting	3rd	Record Searchlight	'Fox in the Henhouse': How law enforcement officers get away with domestic violence	Damon Arthur
Investigative Reporting	4th	The Tribune	Many cops got breaks when charged with crimes in SLO County	Matt Fountain
Investigative Reporting	5th	Record Searchlight	A decade of shootings by Shasta County-based law enforcement officers	Matt Brannon
Investigative Reporting	1st	Bohemian	Charity Case: Investigating PG&E-funded Rebuild North Bay Foundation	Peter Byrne, Will Carruthers
Investigative Reporting	2nd	Palo Alto Weekly	On the trail of a killer	Sue Dremann	This painstakingly researched entry is a fascinating portrait of a rapist and murderer and apparent serial killer living comfortably within our society for decades. Utterly chilling and wonderfully put together.
Investigative Reporting	3rd	The Almanac	Troubled water	Kate Bradshaw	A really thorough examination of a troubled private water system, showing how grievously it has failed its members. Nepotism, corruption and dirty water all wrapped into a readable story.
Investigative Reporting	4th	Sacramento News & Review	Counterfeit vape cartridges and illness	Ken Magri	The Sacramento News & Review is to be commended for a thorough consumer report that had direct benefit to its readership. The dedication to spend the money to test these cartridges is something all too rarely seen in today's impoverished newsrooms.
Investigative Reporting	5th	Metro Silicon Valley	Tap Dance: Snooping on Jail Calls Catches Bad Actors, But Easy Access Raises New Concerns	Jennifer Wadsworth	This report shines a light on a really important Fourth Amendment issue and intelligently explores the balance point between law-enforcement necessities and privacy rights.
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	One Day, One City, No Relief	San Francisco Chronicle Staff	Of the many marvelous entries in this category, "One Day, One City, No Relief" stands out. Outstanding journalism that provides local insight to a staggering issue. The commitment to this project is impressive, but the writing, photography and design are a glorious example of what journalists can and should accomplish for their communities.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	Los Angeles Times	California Against the Sea	Rosanna Xia	Excellent writing, photos, graphics and design. Amazing. A great example of the critical importance of in-depth reporting.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	Los Angeles Times	American fallout: The Marshall Islands	Susanne Rust, Carolyn Cole, Ali Raj, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee	Each of the top-three finishers in this category is worthy of first place. Difficult to find anything but superlatives. One of the criteria for judging, though, was local appeal, which was a straw to grasp at while sorting such strong entries. The writing here is off the charts excellent.
Enterprise News Story or Series	4th	Los Angeles Times	Their kids died on the psych ward. They were far from alone, a Times investigation found	Soumya Karlamangla	More excellent journalism from the Times. Ambitious reporting and storytelling with real implications.
Enterprise News Story or Series	5th	San Francisco Chronicle	Broken Care	Trisha Thadani, Dominic Fracassa	Entries like this remind us of why local journalism is so important. Bravo.
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	The Desert Sun	Homelessness	Nicole Hayden, Sam Metz, Jay Calderon	This is one hell of a tour de force from Nicole Hayden. In early 2019, she sunk her teeth into the issue of homelessness, and she spent the rest of the year feasting on every angle of homelessness in California. She wrote spot news of political funding decisions, feature stories of the impact shutting down encampments, did interviews with addicts, spoken word alongside formerly homeless people and advocates, and dozens of stories between. This expertly produced yearlong coverage of the problem stands out in a crowded field of entries. While the amount of time and work Hayden sunk into the projects is impressive, the elegance of her writing and her ability to think outside the box on story ideas and presentation made the package a real treat to read. Props to her tireless work on the issue, and to the Desert Sun for giving her the time, resources and freedom to take on such an ambitious project.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	The Bakersfield Californian	Where We Live: An in-depth look at the enclaves, districts and neighborhoods that make up the fabric of Kern County	Robert Price	I’ve never been to Bakersfield. But after reading these half-dozen or so vignettes about the city’s neighborhoods, each giving a unique slice of modern life and history (complete with maps and photos), I feel like I could navigate it pretty well. Actually, I think I know in which neighborhood I’d like to live. At first, I was a little confused by Robert Price’s project of documenting the changing faces of these neighborhoods. There was no clear news hook. But a good story, or project, doesn’t always need a newsy angle. Sometimes, people just want to pick up the local paper and read something interesting about their community. Price is obviously a man about town, expertly documenting the different flavors of Bakersfield just for the joy of writing, and reading, it.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	The Bakersfield Californian	34 deaths in 10 years: Newly released documents detail a decade of force by members of the Bakersfield Police Department	Sam Morgen	Solid watchdog reporting on an important social justice issue with national implications.
Enterprise News Story or Series	4th	The Modesto Bee	Policing Themselves	Erin Tracy, Kevin Valine
Enterprise News Story or Series	5th	The Desert Sun	Sexual harassment at Coachella music fest	Nicole Hayden, Christopher Damien
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	The Union	Homelessness in western Nevada County	Sam Corey, John Orona	A compelling subject helps draw the reader in from the very start of the first story, and I liked the repeated pairing of articles in the series. The coupling of "human stories" and solution/ issue stories in the same edition and page was a great way to draw the reader into the first story and give them an immediate reason (the person they just learned about) to read the second story. I also really appreciated the lengthy resource box for people experiencing homelessness attached to the first story. This was a well-executed deep dive into an essentially universal problem, and as a person not from the region, I feel like I have a fairly good grasp on the homelessness situation (at the time of publication) in Western Nevada County.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	The Tribune	This is the Deadliest year at the Oceano Dunes. What is State Parks going to do about it?	Kaytlyn Leslie, Monica Vaughan, David Middlecamp	This is a very solid piece of reporting. It clearly identifies the problem- lack of education and enforcement of laws at Oceano Dunes that is literally killing people- backs it up with data and outlines steps that officials are taking to remedy the problem. The use of a human byproduct of the problem quickly drew me in as a reader, eager to learn his whole story. Circling back to the subject after laying out the problem and potential solutions was a nice way to circle back around and remind readers that allowing the problem to continue has a human cost. While the details of the 2019 fatal crashes were difficult to read, they felt necessary to drive the point home.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	The Union Democrat	Perp-Walks on the Sheriff’s Facebook	Giuseppe Ricapito	Interesting topic that's well-explored by the reporter, who makes it clear mid-way through the article that the posting of perp walk videos on the sheriff's Facebook page (which nets tens of thousands of views) is more or less arbitrary and based upon staffing. The reporter found sources to weigh in on both sides of the issue at hand which helped to articulate the nuances to the sheriff department's practice. The reporter also takes a deep dive into the department's use of Facebook to reinforce that perp walks are in the minority of the posts, but takes it a step further by breaking down the posts since the page's creation in 2016.
Enterprise News Story or Series	4th	Santa Monica Daily Press	Vanlord parks homeless crisis in residential neighborhoods	Madeleine Pauker	This story was a new twist on a familiar topic and did a good job of presenting the full picture in terms of the affect of this new spin on dealing with homelessness on the various affected parties. The main source provided candid, revealing and relatable quotes that engaged me as a reader and a fellow human being. This was an extremely well-rounded and engaging piece.
Enterprise News Story or Series	5th	The Record	Battle with Kaiser	Joe Goldeen	A tragic and compelling story about a lifelong caregiver denied by her own employer the compassion that she bestowed upon thousands of patients. The use of primary documents in this story was an almost bulletproof testament to what Ms. Fillon experienced, despite Kaiser's statement to the contrary. This was a story that needed to be told.
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	New Times	Hand-sculpted	Camillia Lanham	This entry stood out in a crowded category because of the lovely storytelling quality and the accompanying images. It also explained a process I had never heard of.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	Metro Silicon Valley	Stealing Home: Weak Oversight Leaves Rent-Subsidy Fraud Unchecked for Years on End	Jennifer Wadsworth	A top investigative piece explaining what's behind rent-subsidy fraud. Well written.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	TimesOC	The Frat House is the last gay bar standing in Garden Grove	Lilly Nguyen
Enterprise News Story or Series	4th	The Salinas Californian	Homicide drop	Joe Szydlowski
Enterprise News Story or Series	5th	Palo Alto Weekly	The price of 'paradise'	Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	Mountain View Voice	A neighborhood association on wheels: New advocacy group seeks to unite Mountain View's vehicle dwellers	Mark Noack, Magali Gauthier	A great take on a different slice of homelessness: long time residents who, because of circumstances beyond their control, can no longer afford to pay rent in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Thoroughly reported and well written.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	The Almanac	A death on the tracks	Kate Bradshaw	Reporter uses one family's pain to raise questions about the absence of cameras and other security/safety measures at some Caltrain stations.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	Mountain View Voice	'No one actually reads' it: City runs its legal notices in hard-to-find newspaper	Mark Noack	This is a great find, and written with real wit. But the reporter rightly shows how the public is being ill-served by the decision to publish legal notices in a newspaper with a total circulation of 69.
Enterprise News Story or Series	1st	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	'Blue Line' or Crossing a Line?	Kate Williams	This story frames a complex, national issue in local terms. It's thoroughly and fairly reported, and beautifully presented on the page.
Enterprise News Story or Series	2nd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Along the Rails of the Caltrain Corridor	Janice Bitters, Marlize van Romburgh, Alex Barreira	This is a deep dive into the dynamics of transit and housing that are shaping many West Coast cities. A nice mix of narrative and visuals, with many entry points.
Enterprise News Story or Series	3rd	Santa Clara Weekly	Legendary Concert Promoter Will "Never, Ever" Book Weeknight Shows at Levi's Stadium Due to Curfew	Carolyn Schuk	An illuminating follow-up to the establishment of a curfew in Santa Clara, showing the unintended consequences of the city's controversial measure.
Enterprise News Story or Series	4th	Sacramento Business Journal	Little Saigon	Mark Anderson	The writer took time and trouble to find the intriguing backstory of a building that has stood empty so long it's become invisible in plain sight. This type of story encourages us to look at our surroundings anew.
Enterprise News Story or Series	5th	The Folsom Telegraph	Salute to local Breast Cancer Survivors Series	Rachel Zirin, Bill Sullivan	An ambitious attempt to raise awareness about a quiet but life-threatening issue that affects many individuals and families. The multiplicity of voices is powerful.
Breaking News	1st	Los Angeles Times	College admissions scandal	Los Angeles Times Staff	The Los Angeles Times was clearly ready and waiting for the unsealing of the college admissions indictments. When the story broke, the Times reporters and editors jumped into action, and stayed ahead of this major national story: It was in the Times’ territory, and the newspaper owned it. The story struck at the heart of its two biggest universities, and at the heart of its biggest industries—entertainment and sports—and the newspaper used its expertise to provide readers with the complete story. This story didn’t unfold as much as it became revealed with each edition of the Times. The writing was crisp and accurate, the reporting was solid. The mix of stories and expertise of its news, sports and entertainment teams was more than impressive. This was an extraordinary effort.
Breaking News	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Deadly Conception boat fire	Los Angeles Times Staff	When the unexpected strikes, the Los Angeles Times showed it knows how to react, with its reporting on the Conception Boat Fire: lots of detail in a long day of reporting, excellent writing and sensitive, empathetic photos and stories told the tale of this horrific event. This reporting showed great coordination and organization of a news team that touched all the bases; excellent editing with no redundancies and strong first-day, one-day coverage that will stand as a vital historical document of a tragic event.
Breaking News	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	Wildfire and Shut-Offs	San Francisco Chronicle Staff	The very definition of a wildfire is that it catches everyone by surprise and grows faster in its early stages than anyone can keep up with. This Kincade Fire north of San Francisco came at a tough time for the newspaper deadlines, but the Chronicle marshaled its professional resources quickly and relentlessly, eventually matching the energy and reach of yet another California wildfire story, with the added layer of a utility’s blackout campaign. The stories of the firefighting and the politics and the communities were all captured brilliantly, photographs were stunning and graphics unmatched by any media or state agency in their clarity.
Breaking News	4th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting	Julia Sulek, Nico Savidge, Leonardo Castaneda, Robert Salonga	Solid reporting, especially after the first day, about this shocking shooting in a nearby small city; reporting on the shooter was especially strong, as the Mercury News explored all aspects of this story with top-notch journalism.
Breaking News	5th	The Sacramento Bee	Shooting of Davis Police Officer	Benjy Egal, Molly Sullivan, Sam Stanton, Ryan Sabalow	Excellent reporting of a confusing incident. The timing of the event must have been difficult for the newspaper deadlines; questions surrounding the victim's volunteer status were left out of the newspaper's initial coverage of this breaking story.
Breaking News	1st	The Press Democrat	Kincade fire coverage: Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2019	Press Democrat Staff	This entry is a great example of how bold and dynamic the printed newspaper can be, especially during coverage of a huge news event in the region. I was impressed not only with the depth of coverage, but also the quality of reporting and writing, the exceptional photos and the great play they were given, and the clean design. Each day over the five days the readers were given coverage not only of the fire, but also how the fire was affecting their daily lives. Kudos.
Breaking News	2nd	The Press Democrat	Flood coverage: Feb. 27-March 8, 2019	Press Democrat Staff	This was another solid example of how the printed newspaper can rise to the magnitude of a big, local story. The depth and quantity of coverage was warranted by the seriousness of the news. Another great use of exceptional photos.
Breaking News	3rd	The Desert Sun	Valentine's Day Flood	Desert Sun Staff	This entry showed an exceptional depth of coverage of an event seldom experience in the region. There are lots of pertinent sidebars and helpful stories. I just wish I could have seen how it played in the printed newspaper.
Breaking News	4th	The Bakersfield Californian	Fourth of July Temblor: 'A lot of shaking and a lot of noise'	Darla A. Baker, Teddy Feinberg, Christine L. Peterson, Maureen Strode	Dynamic A1 coverage - story, headline, photo and clearly told the reader that this was a big deal to the community.
Breaking News	5th	The Desert Sun	Water Wars: Imperial Valley cut out of western U.S. drought plan	Janet Wilson, Evan Wyloge	This is a fine example of how to explain a complicated story and how it affects the region. Water is one of the biggest issues in the state, and this entry reflected that importance.
Breaking News	1st	Record Searchlight	Historic February 2019 snowstorm	Record Searchlight Staff	Excellent, thorough continuous coverage.
Breaking News	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	Marin storm havoc: Sausalito mudslide, broad flooding, outages	Matthew Pera, Will Houston, Gary Klien	Terrific writing and reporting.
Breaking News	3rd	Santa Maria Times	Five dead in shooting, fire at mobile home park	Razi Syed, Mike Hodgson, Mathew Burciaga	Strong, clear reporting.
Breaking News	4th	Monterey Herald	Doris Day dies in Carmel Valley home	James Herrera	Moving life profile.
Breaking News	5th	The Tribune	SLO sheriff identifies suspect in 2 unsolved Atascadero murders — after 41 years	Gabby Ferreira, Kaytlyn Leslie, Lindsey Holden, David Middlecamp	Exceptionally strong recap of time and lives.
Breaking News	1st	Monterey County Weekly	Coverage of the aftermath of a mass shooting in Gilroy	Monterey County Weekly contributors and Staff	Unique and compelling approach to an all too familiar story. The inclusion of community leaders gave depth to the story.
Breaking News	2nd	Palo Alto Weekly	Pay to play: College admissions scandal	Sue Dremann, Jamey Padojino, Elena Kadvany	Good coverage of a complex story. Kudos for keeping the sensationalist aspects out of the story. This allows more of the real story to be revealed.
Breaking News	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	Cellphone video captures heated MAGA confrontation that went viral	Sue Dremann	Interesting perspective on a new issue confronting our society. Good to have a perspective that doesn't predict gloom and doom for our communities.
Breaking News	4th	Sacramento News & Review	The second killing of Stephon Clark	Raheem Hosseini, Scott Anderson, Karlos Ayala, Kris Hooks	Compelling story told in a minute by minute fashion. However, if concerned about bias in reporting, perhaps the line"Fruit of the biased tree" could be left out.
Breaking News	5th	Brentwood Press	Marsh Complex Fire burns 757 acres	Tony Kukulich	Great photos of the air tankers in action.
Breaking News	1st	Gilroy Dispatch	Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting	Michael Moore, Erik Chalhoub, Barry Holtzclaw, Jennifer Wadsworth	A great report of a tragic event and excellent breaking news reporting. The headline, copy and photos all mix to tell the story quite nicely. Impressive job.
Breaking News	2nd	North Coast Journal	'Witnessing a Miracle'	Thadeus Greenson	Excellent use of format. The chronological narrative is weaved together nicely from start to finish by reporting blended with amazing photos and layout.
Breaking News	3rd	Mountain View Voice	Mountain View man detained in ICE raid	Kevin Forestieri	Powerful, well researched piece which gives a new perspective on the subject of immigration.
Breaking News	4th	Pleasanton Weekly	PUSD transcripts: Investigator finds two improper alterations, no systemic problem	Jeremy Walsh	A good explanation of a difficult topic. Great writing, great package.
Breaking News	5th	Calexico Chronicle	President Trump to Visit Imperial County	Richard Brown Montenegro, Gary Redfern, Jayson Barniske, William Roller	Good breaking news content, solid writing, great use of style and nicely packaged. All around top notch.
Breaking News	1st	The Morgan Hill Times	Ford Store shooting	Michael Moore, Erik Chalhoub, Scott Forstner, Jaqueline McCool	Community news reporting at its best. Excellent follow-up that moved a breaking story forward for readers of a weekly. Well-written lead; effective, compelling approach, and good writing all through. Effective photo choices, sidebars and layout. Excellent teamwork with several staff members pursuing different aspects of the story, seeking what was new, what would happen next, what was still unknown and reactions from community members and experts. Included important details that portrayed full pictures of the victims and the perpetrator, which is important for community readership. Included details of what happened but did not rest on that. Went far beyond a recap or chronology.
Breaking News	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Seeking sanctuary	Kathryn Palmer
Breaking News	3rd	The Davis Enterprise	Unpaid student workers stage walkout	Caleb Hampton
Breaking News	4th	The Davis Enterprise	Davis police officer shot	Lauren Keene
Breaking News	5th	Silicon Valley Business Journal	What a Leadership Change Spells for Alphabet	Allison Levitsky
Breaking News	1st	The Trinity Journal	Fish and Game 'meeting'	Amy Gittelsohn	This story on a public meeting that went off the rails captures the tension through extensive quotations, and backs up just enough to remind readers that the real story isn't the process and the Brown Act and the meeting, but the issue of herbicides as a tool. The perspective is clear while sticking to straight news reporting.
Breaking News	2nd	The Ark	Peninsula hit with PG&E blackouts	Hannah Weikel, Kevin Hessel, Rachel Simpson	This in-depth story on PG&E's public safety power shutoff really runs the gamut of telling what happened from the perspective of law enforcement and first responders to ordinary people, and includes a helpful resource box for readers who want further information.
Breaking News	3rd	The Weekly Calistogan	A tale of two Calistogas: Two different stories across the Napa River during power shutoffs	Cynthia Sweeney	This is a nice snapshot of the struggles business owners face during public safety power shutoffs by PG&E, and conveys the sense of fear residents feel during uncertain wildfire conditions. It also answers a question many readers are likely to have about why some areas are affected by a PSPS and others aren't.
Breaking News	4th	The Ark	Boy killed, father arrested in boating accident	Hannah Weikel	This tragic story presents the essential who's who in this breaking news piece, and also effectively relies on a neighbor to give personality and color to the story, going beyond the details of the police report.
Breaking News	5th	Claremont Courier	Questions remain after parade accident	Steven Felschundneff	While this story leaves some important questions unanswered (who was the driver and what was the suspected cause of the crash?) it very effectively sets the scene for the reader and describes the circumstances of what happened. It also takes it one step further with the description of trauma response offered by the city, and how families are using those available services.
Coverage of Local Government	1st	Los Angeles Times	LAPD stop and search	Cindy Chang, Ben Poston	Wow - what a series. It starts with a deep dive into data, thoughtfully explained for the reader. The findings in the first report then trigger an audit and policy change from the mayor's office, becoming the basis of future stories in this series. The scenery from traffic stops bolsters the narrative as this story unfolds. Even as the police defend their practices, the reporting keeps returning to the data presented in the first deep dive story.
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	San Francisco Chronicle	Homeless on BART	Rachel Swan	This story takes on a scene we all experience anecdotally, that there seem to be more homeless people on public transit, and takes a close look at what is really happening. Using data from 911 calls and other sources, the narrative packed with personalities and scenery reveals a series challenge for a public transit agency: What do you do when you are not equipped to act as a homeless services agency but the problem increasingly falls to you? There is an exploration of some efforts at solutions underway, as well, not just an indictment or finger-pointing for who is to blame.
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	The Orange County Register	California cities, counties spent $4 billion on overtime in 2018	Teri Sforza	This is an important story on public employee salaries and overtime. While there is a persuasive case made for why government agencies are experiencing this trend, it’s clear that this is a problem for a variety of reasons, and something that local government agencies need to step in to fix.
Coverage of Local Government	4th	San Francisco Chronicle	The Adachi Leak	Evan Sernoffsky	Truth is stranger than fiction in this one, and this story reflects that. The reporting gets into not only who Adachi was and why we as readers should care, but the political motivations and dynamics between the police department, Public Defender’s Office, and Board of Supervisors, and the media as well. There is some very helpful big-picture explaining on who’s who and how the characters fit together that makes this saga easier to follow for newcomers to the story.
Coverage of Local Government	5th	Los Angeles Times	Developer ties to City Hall	Emily Alpert Reyes, David Zahniser	These stories require extensive investigative work to reveal the apparent deal-making between developers and decision-makers. The rent break story especially, based on reviewing redacted rent records, is a fine piece of work. The reporters are careful not to draw connections where they aren’t proven and to make clear what’s beyond the purview of the criminal investigation, but still reveals the way power brokers (from developers to hoteliers) operates and the means by which they curry favor with elected officials.
Coverage of Local Government	1st	The Press Democrat	Coverage of homeless camp on Joe Rodota Trail	Press Democrat Staff
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	Press-Telegram	Long Beach opens new City Hall	Hayley Munguia, Emily Rasmussen, Rich Archbold, Jeff Goertzen
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	Los Angeles Daily News	Transgender people and law enforcement	Brenda Gazzar
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Daily Pilot	American flag design will stay on Laguna Beach police cars, council decides	Faith Pinho
Coverage of Local Government	5th	The Bakersfield Californian	Way overdue: More than 40,000 Kern residents owe county $1.1 million	Sam Morgen
Coverage of Local Government	1st	San Gabriel Valley Tribune	City of Industry misused subsidized housing to reward allies, force out dissenters	Jason Henry	Outstanding writing and reporting using a number of methods to substantiate the story's shocking premise: "Interviews and public records obtained by the Southern California News Group show city-owned housing in Industry often has been used as a tool for those in power to reward allies and punish dissenters. " Hard to believe this kind of corruption exists in the United States.
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	Los Angeles Daily Journal	Exposure of government fraud led to resignations	Justin Kloczko	Some of these stories could have used a roadmap, a cast of characters and better context, but the reporting here is excellent, showing the reporter understood the basics of the case as it moved through the court. The final story is the best because it lays out all the element in plain English.
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	The Tribune	SLO has plans for thousands of new homes, buildings. Not everyone is happy about it	Nick Wilson	This story does an excellent job of explaining a difficult and technical issue: how a city plans to address housing. The reporting is detailed, with easy-to-understand explanations about costs and good use of bulleted lists to identify each proposed project and its price tag. Growth opponents get a platform and enough space to make their arguments. This entry fits the "issue being addressed by local government" nature of the category better than most entries in this class.
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Monterey Herald	SCRAMP ousted as county	Jim Johnson	Balanced and detailed reporting about a county getting rid of a concessionnaire with a history of financial problems. Not enough dollar signs, but otherwise top-notch reporting.
Coverage of Local Government	5th	Visalia Times-Delta	Coverage of local public hospitals in Visalia and Tulare	James Ward, Sheyanne Romero	This series of stories about poor performance and misbehavior by two local public hospitals and their owner's attempt to influence an election is exhaustively reported and well documented. It doesn't fit the contest category, though, because the primary government involved is a state agency, so it's not a local government story.
Coverage of Local Government	1st	The Salinas Californian	Wave of evictions	Kate Cimini	A powerful dive into the human impact of the housing crisis. Well written and reported. Good sourcing takes the reader inside the homes of people being evicted and puts a human face on the issue. Photos round out the package.
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	New Times	Who to honor?	Peter Johnson	Well reported look at a controversy that has divided a community. The piece takes a comprehensive tour of both sides of the issue and lets the reader make a decision. Well written.
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	Chico News & Review	Chico responds to Camp Fire surge	Ashiah Scharaga, Meredith J. Cooper, Melissa Daugherty, Evan Tuchinsky	Nice five-part series on impacts of the fire six months later. The main package was well reported and comprehensive.
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Palo Alto Weekly	Whose rules?	Gennady Sheyner	A good in-depth look at a potential solution to the housing crisis with voices on both sides of the issue.
Coverage of Local Government	5th	Metro Silicon Valley	Taxpayers Demand Sunshine in Little-Known Special District	Jennifer Wadsworth	Interesting look at a little known service district board. History section could be condensed. Nice job getting tax payer and pocket book angle.
Coverage of Local Government	1st	North Coast Journal	We Are Coming Home	Thadeus Greenson	No. 1 Wit beautiful illustrations, photographs and writing, these stories put in perspective the history and the future of the Wiyot Tribe. It provides compelling details of the brutality these native people faced more than a century ago. The stories put an eloquent narrative to the lengthy process of repatriation, the impact the ultimate decision has had, and the national attention it has attracted. Well-done!
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	Santa Maria Sun	Now recruiting	Zac Ezzone	No. 2 Police shortages and their impacts are often reported in local media, however, this coverage actually shows readers, as opposed to telling them, the impact. It draws the reader in with a story of the police chief in which he had been up late the night before conducting a gang sweep. The coverage details the causes and impact of the shortage and is illustrated with strong photographs. The box telling readers how they can apply to become an officer is a thoughtful finishing touch.
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	Comstock's Magazine	Slow Progress for Fast Speeds	Russell Nichols	Making dry topics such as 5G readable is a challenge, but this piece managed to do so by finding a main character to tell the story. The photo illustration and strong layout complements the coverage.
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Santa Maria Sun	The transformation	Chris McGuinness	No. 4 The complexities of cleaning up land that has become makeshift homes for people are well-examined in this piece, making it clear how many stakeholders need to be involved, and how challenging it is for communities with limited time and resources to align on how to solve the issue of homelessness.
Coverage of Local Government	5th	The Malibu Times	'Mansionization' in Malibu	Emily Sawicki	No. 5 This is strong coverage of an issue that strikes at the heart of homeowners. It provides details of the proposal, its impact, and developments in the issue along the way. However, I would have liked to have seen more people stories and photographs of property owners to help tell the story.
Coverage of Local Government	1st	Kenwood Press	KFD Tables Consolidation Effort	Jay Gamel	Too the point and clearly and brightly written starting from the headline and lead and all the way through. Good use of numbers; they don't overwhelm the reader and writer takes the reader along in his investigation. Important to the community as to how tax money is spent and decisions that affect it. Got the "why" up high and put it in for every additional idea.
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	Kenwood Press	Sounding the Alarm	Sarah Phelps
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	Dana Point Times	Allegations Disrupt Party Unity	Lillian Boyd, Shawn Raymundo, Adam Gilles
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Del Mar Times	Torrey Pines Community Planning Board OKS light	Luke Harold
Coverage of Local Government	5th	Santa Clara Weekly	Santa Clara 2019-20 Budget: 1% Higher, 100% Clearer	Carolyn Schuk
Coverage of Local Government	1st	The Ark	Tiburon drone ban	Deirdre McCrohan, Alison T. Gray	Tiburon has banned drones from flying in certain areas, and those rules were challenged by a variety of organizations, including news media. The concerns about the ordinance are in the details, and the story carefully spells them out, running through the implications and (notably in the last story) the debate over those details, while giving everyone their say. Many sources and perspectives were included in clearly-written stories that required precision and got it. An opinion piece from the publisher (really either an editorial or column), though not part of the story, provides some additional perspective. A useful package across several issues for local readers.
Coverage of Local Government	2nd	The Weekly Calistogan	Calistoga winery, city spar over what constitutes an 'event'	Cynthia Sweeney	Wineries are concerned by what falls under the category of "event" at their outlets. One person asked, “In all the discussion throughout Napa County about wineries (the question arises) are they there to make wine and sell wine or are they event centers?” There are limits to how many events can be held; the story is unclear about exactly what the limits are: Evidently it's not an absolute matter but a question of wineries having too many, when there seems to be a disagreement over how many is too many. The story appears to indicate the number allowed is variable depending on what kind of permit is applied for and what is noted in the specific permit, but there's some vagueness there. Still, the story is strong on perspective and providing a fresh angle on a subject of local controversy.
Coverage of Local Government	3rd	The Ark	Strawberry Recreation District	Emily Lavin	A former general manager has sued the recreation district for wrongful termination relating to sexual harassment and other concerns. The longish story outlines both the details of the suit, drawn from court record, and background from both the board's and the manager's viewpoints, as well as pointing out the legal issues relating to open meetings. Well crafted (though it could have straightened out the narrative flow a bit) and gives the reader a strong sense of the internal dynamics in the district. The two followup articles don't expand on it greatly but do continue the story (and fill in further on the seeming management problems in the district).
Coverage of Local Government	4th	Santa Ynez Valley Star	Solvang Tourism Cut	Raiza Giorgi	At points the story veers a little near editorializing - against the budget cut - but as a whole it covers the bases and does a good job outlining the implications of the decision to cut funding toward tourism, though it leaves open questions concerning some of the motivations for doing so (since the officially-stated reasons seem a little implausible, and there are a little vague references to personal conflicts). Could have combined this one and its followup.
Coverage of Local Government	5th	Big Bear Grizzly	County DA's office probes MWD resignation process	Judi Bowers	The facts seem largely to be collected here, and the necessary stops made by way of checking information and getting responses. And the story underneath what might have been a two-graf mention of a board resignation was skillfully teased out, the details examined with some care. But the perspective is still missing; is this just a case of administrative sloppiness (which on the surface it seems to be), which might not be especially significant, or is something else going on or at stake? Is something else going on beyond careless managing of paperwork and formal action - or is that carelessness part of an ongoing pattern here, or a one-off? In other words, what should the reader make of it?
Land-Use Reporting	1st	The Orange County Register	California's housing shortage and demands on cities	Jeff Collins, Alicia Robinson, Nikie Johnson, Jeff Goertzen
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	The San Diego Union-Tribune	All is not calm around piers lining Shelter Island enclave	Jennifer Van Grove
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Remaking the Miracle Mile	Carolina Miranda
Land-Use Reporting	4th	Los Angeles Times	Housing in California	Liam Dillon
Land-Use Reporting	5th	San Francisco Chronicle	Mission Bay Comes of Age	John King, J.K. Dineen, Mark Lundgren
Land-Use Reporting	1st	Press-Telegram	After 112 years of carrying Long Beach’s heritage, the future of Sunnyside Cemetery is on a precipice	Hayley Munguia	This entry is a powerful and well-written story that weaves together the memories of the deceased and highlights the cemetery's historical significance -- while providing an in-depth explanation about the fight between city officials and cemetery board members as they decide how to preserve and manage the site. The reporter did a superb job of highlighting what's at stake if the two sides can't reach a compromise. Fantastic writing.
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	The Desert Sun	Private homes inside Joshua Tree National Park	Janet Wilson
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	The Bakersfield Californian	Kern quickly rises to become California's top hemp-producing county	John Cox
Land-Use Reporting	4th	The Press-Enterprise	In rural Anza, marijuana is seen as a scourge. Could it also be a savior?	Jeff Horseman
Land-Use Reporting	5th	The Desert Sun	Cannabis in the Anza Valley	Sam Metz, Jay Calderon
Land-Use Reporting	1st	Record Searchlight	Fuel for our Fires	Damon Arthur, David Benda, Mike Chapman, Randall Hauser	An incredibly important series phenomenally reported, and beautifully written, photographed, illustrated and packaged. A real standout.
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	Pasadena Star-News	Caltrans lets 163 homes sit vacant along part of 710 corridor 2 years after nixing freeway extension plan	Steve Scauzillo	Excellent investigative journalism and use of the CPRA to shine a light on a hidden story. Wow!
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	Record Searchlight	‘There are more coming. We’re desperate for housing’: One woman’s story	Michele Chandler	Wonderfully crafted, humanizing piece to illustrate a massive issue on the horizon. Fine research and investigation to really bring it all home.
Land-Use Reporting	4th	The Tribune	No more off-road riding at the Oceano Dunes? Coastal Commission staff says 'it is time'	Kaytlyn Leslie, Ashley Ladin, Monica Vaughan	Great series in following this as it unfolded and focusing on all sides and perspectives. Excellent service piece on an issue that just about everyone is going to have a strong opinion about.
Land-Use Reporting	5th	The San Bernardino Sun	Pioneertown residents now have clean tap water for the first time in decades	Sandra Emerson	Neat little story that was also a real eye-opener. Great explainers on the system and the quirky background of the town made it fun and informative.
Land-Use Reporting	1st	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Watch This Space	Jody Meacham	A nicely written narrative that brings to life what could have been a dreary topic to tackle: future parking space in San Jose. The writer engages readers immediately, quickly and clearly summarizes the somewhat complex issues at play and lets readers know why they should care. Tightly written, balanced with a strong mix of voices set against interesting national and historical context. The sidebars are deftly written and useful to the local target audience. An excellent, informative package.
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Along the Rails of the Caltrain Corridor	Janice Bitters, Marlize van Romburgh, Alex Barreira	An engaging visual presentation combined with a deeply reported and authoritatively written main story make for a strong, useful, reader-friendly package. Outstanding design, strong art and clear writing.
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Destination: Santa Clara	Matthew Niksa, J. Jennings Moss	An informative look at changes looming in one of Silicon Valley’s biggest cities. Thoroughly reported, with strong use of graphics and design to present details of the development project. A compelling narrative offers readers a look at how the plans play into the history of the city. Very well done.
Land-Use Reporting	4th	Del Mar Times	Del Mar, Solana Beach brace for added density from new state housing mandate	Luke Harold	A concisely written look at a complex issue, detailing how small San Diego County cities are dealing with daunting housing mandates. A clearly crafted, well-organized narrative guides readers through the facts and figures.
Land-Use Reporting	5th	Elk Grove Citizen	California Northstate University's proposed hospital	Lance Armstrong	The series of stories gives readers an informative look into an unfolding, controversial issue. The writer offers up a balanced view of the various sides weighing in on the topic.
Land-Use Reporting	1st	The Ark	County scientist looks to create 'living shorelines'	Gretchen Lang
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	The Weekly Calistogan	PG&E to seize private vineyard property for liquid natural gas plant in Calistoga	Cynthia Sweeney
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	The Ark	Tiburon suspends plan for McKegney maintenance shed	Deirdre McCrohan
Land-Use Reporting	4th	The Trinity Journal	Homeless in Trinity	Amy Gittelsohn
Land-Use Reporting	5th	Calaveras Enterprise	Forest-thinning project near Glencoe breaks ground	Davis Harper
Land-Use Reporting	1st	Palo Alto Weekly	Inside Stanford's bid to expand — and how it came undone	Gennady Sheyner	A deeply reported, fairly written look on how Stanford's plans for a major campus expansion fell apart. The writer deftly navigated and explained cogently the university's fruitless efforts to appease multiple stakeholders, while sympathetically capturing the frustration felt by one of those groups: students who felt as if Stanford was simply waiting for them to graduate before bringing the issue back to to county supervisors again in a few years.
Land-Use Reporting	2nd	Mountain View Voice	Reclaiming the Bay	Kevin Forestieri, Magali Gauthier	The best land use reporting takes local issues and explains them in ways that are easy to grasp by someone who's just passing through. This piece does that.
Land-Use Reporting	3rd	The Almanac	Dogged by constant barking, Haven Avenue residents seek relief	Kate Bradshaw	This nuanced, balanced take on a hyperlocal neighborhood issue is sensitively reported, presenting the positions of apartment residents and the owner of a neighboring dog kennel without judgment. In a category otherwise dominated by stories about massive development and environmental restoration projects, this piece held its own.
Land-Use Reporting	4th	San Francisco Business Times	Welcome to Hipsturbia	Blanca Torres, Todd Johnson
Land-Use Reporting	5th	Valley Voice	Who Closed Yaudanchi?	Catherine Doe
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Vanishing Violence	Joaquin Palomino, Jill Tucker, Evan Sernoffsky
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	Los Angeles Times	College admissions scandal	Los Angeles Times Staff
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Charter schools series	Anna M. Phillips
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	Los Angeles Times	California weighs standardized testing	Teresa Watanabe
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Oceanside school busing had irregular mandates	Deborah Sullivan Brennan
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	The Press Democrat	Race, test scores divide Healdsburg schools	Susan Minichiello	Clearly well-researched. The story flowed well and thoughtfully tackled the charged topic of racial disparities between charter and public schools.
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	The Bakersfield Californian	New policy draws clear bounaries between employees, students	Stacey Shepard, Ema Sasic	The story wove narrative together with information about the new policy and an impressive collection of public records to discuss the pros and cons of limiting teachers' interactions with students.
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	The Fresno Bee	Yemeni student who fled civil war excels in computer programming while learning English	Carmen George	This story was not just a heartwarming profile of a 15-year-old Yemeni immigrant girl who can code, but showed readers a little bit about what the "Newcomer" classroom experience was like. Fascinating.
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	The Desert Sun	Izzy Ramirez	Andrew John, Taya Gray, Matt Solinsky	This story impressed me with the way the author not only shared Izzy's story, but captured how the community rallied around him throughout his surgical treatments and recovery. Great photos.
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	The Modesto Bee	Caring Counts: It's hard for homeless kids to prepare for school. Kindness as important as supplies	ChrisAnna Mink	I liked the angle this story took in exploring topic of student homelessness from the perspective of how homeless students actually get the supplies they need for the new year.
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	Record Searchlight	Immunization rates	Alayna Shulman
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	The Tribune	Will fewer college students report sexual assault after this California court ruling?	Monica Vaughan
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	The Record	High school paper freedom of speech	Nicholas Filipas, Don Blount
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	The Tribune	This Cal Poly student was in a battle with bulimia — and kept it a secret from everyone	Monica Vaughan, David Middlecamp
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	The Tribune	A fall in Big Sur took his ability to walk. How Cal Poly got this student back to the beach	Monica Vaughan
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	Metro Silicon Valley	Funding Uncertainty Threatens Future of Silicon Valley’s Oldest Vocational Training Center	Jennifer Wadsworth	Incredibly detailed and thorough.
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	Palo Alto Weekly	The challenge of charter shools	Elena Kadvany	Incredibly detailed and thorough. Tied for first in my opinion.
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	Monterey County Weekly	Monterey County is producing more college-bound students than ever. Is that too much of a good thing?	Marielle Argueza	Excellent!
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	The Salinas Californian	Lockup to master's	Chelcey Adami
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	Simi Valley Acorn	Reading, writing and emotional well-being, New program seeks to give students a voice, improve learning experience for all	Krista Abrahamsen, Sylvie Belmond
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	Santa Maria Sun	Subbing for substitutes	Kasey Bubnash
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	Pleasanton Weekly	Amador Valley High School transcript probe and fallout	Jeremy Walsh, Julia Baum
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	Mountain View Voice	Food allergy clinics a leap of faith for desperate families	Kevin Forestieri, Magali Gauthier
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	Los Altos Town Crier	MVLA to move start times later, create new bell schedule	Zoe Morgan
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	The Almanac	Inclusivity on the sidelines	Angela Swartz
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Rebellion at Hanna Boys Center	Anne Ward Ernst	Just flat out excellent. Good reporting and writing, excellent use of sources on a meaningful story that is relevant for our times.
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Support for trans kids	Yousef Baig	Well written, well researched, tough topic that is relevant in today's world. Good, all around.
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	Glendale News-Press	Friends, parents champion LGBTQ inclusion through elementary book donations	Andrew Campa	Great cause, well written, tells the stories of two activists who are making a difference to children, donating LQBTQ+books to elementary school libraries.
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	La Canada Valley Sun	Parents of LCHS students expelled from class for cheating file discrimination lawsuit	Sara Cardine	Headline is confusing, should be broken into two parts. Intriguing story that tells both sides, lets the reader decide if there was discrimination or not ...
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	San Marino Outlook	Be Prepared - Century Old Troop 351 Seeks More Adventures	Zane Hill, Camila Castellanos, Mark Geers	Good story telling of the expansion and maintenance of a Boy Scout troop, in times where it is harder and harder to get outdoors, no matter who you are.
Coverage of Youth and Education	1st	The Ark	Strawberry teen’s girls camp aims to spark passion for science	Emily Lavin
Coverage of Youth and Education	2nd	The Ark	Del Mar teacher uses own creation to teach kids basic circuitry	Emily Lavin
Coverage of Youth and Education	3rd	The Ark	Revamped garden takes root	Emily Lavin
Coverage of Youth and Education	4th	Sonoma West Times & News	West county teacher strikes	Laura Hagar Rush, E.I. Hillin
Coverage of Youth and Education	5th	Cloverdale Reveille	Cloverdale community comes out for climate	Zoe Strickland
Coverage of Business News	1st	Los Angeles Times	Employee or contractor?: Coverage of AB 5	Margot Roosevelt, Johana Bhuiyan, Ryan Faughnder
Coverage of Business News	2nd	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Patients saw hopes for cancer drug dashed	Bradley Fikes, John Wilkens
Coverage of Business News	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Energy sources	Sammy Roth
Coverage of Business News	4th	San Francisco Chronicle	Shuttered Stores	Shwanika Narayan, Roland Li, Jessica Christian
Coverage of Business News	5th	Los Angeles Times	Power move	Meg James, Ryan Faughnder, Stacy Perman, Josh Rottenberg
Coverage of Business News	1st	The Press Democrat	Coverage of insurance payments to fire survivors	Bill Swindell
Coverage of Business News	2nd	The Desert Sun	Pot feuds tear Anza Valley apart	Sam Metz, Jay Calderon
Coverage of Business News	3rd	The Desert Sun	Tribe's plans for arena shock Palm Springs	Shane Newell, Melissa Daniels, Risa Johnson, Larry Bohannan
Coverage of Business News	4th	The Modesto Bee	Housing leaves seniors, many others in stress in Modesto area	Ken Carlson
Coverage of Business News	5th	The Press Democrat	Cannabis tourism faces hurdles	Julie Johnson
Coverage of Business News	1st	San Gabriel Valley Tribune	The groups against El Monte’s marijuana projects keep growing and suing; here’s the scorecard	Chris Lindahl	Very thorough and balanced "guide" to the players behind planned marijuana projects.
Coverage of Business News	2nd	Visalia Times-Delta	Coverage of downtown Visalia, which saw some major changes in 2019	Joshua Yeager, Sheyanne Romero, James Ward	Thorough coverage of challenges downtown businesses are facing.
Coverage of Business News	3rd	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	Smart cars learning to avoid unpredictable pedestrians	Beau Yarbrough	This is a well-written, engaging story, with added context from an outside source.
Coverage of Business News	4th	Napa Valley Register	Spurred by a broken flip flop, a 9-year-old Napa youth invents a new shoe	Jennifer Huffman
Coverage of Business News	5th	Santa Monica Daily Press	O'Brien's Irish Pub celebrates 25 years	Angel Carreras	This feature could have benefitted from an additional source, such as a long-time customer.
Coverage of Business News	1st	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Bloom or Bust	Jody Meacham	Great mix of story, photos, graphics to tell the story.
Coverage of Business News	2nd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Cisco Reboots	Jennifer Elias
Coverage of Business News	3rd	North Bay Business Journal	Growing the market	Chase DiFeliciantonio
Coverage of Business News	4th	Sacramento Business Journal	Development Doldrums	Ben van der Meer
Coverage of Business News	5th	The Business Journal	In a pickle	Edward Smith
Coverage of Business News	1st	The Ark	Local businesses grapple with impacts of power shutoffs	Deirdre McCrohan	Good local companion story showing real impact of the other story in the package. This is a story that many dailies missed: the business impact of the power outages, especially on small businesses in small towns. Great reporting and writing job.
Coverage of Business News	2nd	The Ark	Sam's Anchor Cafe renovation, music permit	Deirdre McCrohan	The story captures the feel of the place and gives a good history; it is clear what it means to the identity of the town.
Coverage of Business News	3rd	Santa Ynez Valley Star	Solvang Fall Festival delights thousands, but hurts many businesses	Raiza Giorgi	The twice-monthly paper got caught in a deadline squeeze on this one, since it couldn't report the council discussion. But it did a nice job framing the issues raised by these event -- issues which aren't going away soon.
Coverage of Business News	4th	The Ark	New mourning of cafe	Deirdre McCrohan	Great feel for this place, and for the issues raised by new developments supported by well meaning local politicians at the expense of local traditions and small business owners.
Coverage of Business News	5th	Calaveras Enterprise	Vacation rentals on rise, but regulations may prove hindering	Noah Berner	There is a great story here, but it would have come to life with interviews with Airbnb owners and motel owners; too many national statistics blurred the real impact this issue clearly has on this region
Coverage of Business News	1st	Chico News & Review	Local businesses respond to Camp Fire	Melissa Daugherty, Tina Flynn, Meredith J. Cooper, Ashiah Scharaga
Coverage of Business News	2nd	Metro Silicon Valley	As Community Lenders Sell Out or Go Under, Can Publicly-Owned Banks Restore Local Control?	Jennifer Wadsworth
Coverage of Business News	3rd	San Francisco Business Times	Executive of the Year: Chip Bergh has led a denim renaissance at Levi	Katie Burke, Todd Johnson
Coverage of Business News	4th	San Francisco Business Times	A new day for the Warriors	Ron Leuty, Todd Johnson, Katie Burke
Coverage of Business News	5th	SF Weekly	Tech Workers Have Started Organizing More Frequently	Richard Procter
Agricultural Reporting	1st	The San Bernardino Sun	If fire wipes out joshua trees, other desert plants, this group has a plan	Sandra Emerson
Agricultural Reporting	2nd	The Tribune	Morro Bay oyster farmers are thriving now — but they face a looming threat	Carrie Schuman
Agricultural Reporting	3rd	Visalia Times-Delta	Coverage of the struggling olive-growing industry in California	Joshua Yeager
Agricultural Reporting	4th	Napa Valley Register	From Napa Valley to Australia, advancing the science behind smoke taint in wine grapes	Sarah Klearman
Agricultural Reporting	5th	Chico Enterprise-Record	Noble Orchards starts u-pick apple harvest	Camille von Kaenel
Agricultural Reporting	1st	The Sacramento Bee	High and Dry	Dale Kasler	This is a very comprehensive examination of the ramification's of California's groundwater use and how it will affect farming, particularly in the Central Valley.
Agricultural Reporting	2nd	The Desert Sun	Cannabis in Riverside County	Sam Metz, Amy DiPierro, Melissa Daniels, Jay Calderon	I found this to be a very ambitious series of stories on a very timely topic. I judged all three stories as a series, even thought it was presented clearly to the readers as a series. Of the three, I particularly liked the piece on Blythe, and how it put its hopes on weed.
Agricultural Reporting	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	Napa's Small Wine Growers	Esther Mobley	Not only is this story well reported and well written, it really tackles an issue few even know existed. It's a very good David vs. Goliath story.
Agricultural Reporting	4th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Bay Area spillover: Farmworker housing crisis has people sleeping in dining rooms	Lou Hansen, Randy Vazquez	The fallout over the super high housing prices in the Bay Area continues, and the Mercury News and the reporting did an excellent job of finding a segment of the population truly affected by it.
Agricultural Reporting	5th	Los Angeles Times	California farmers are planting solar panels as water supplies dry up	Sammy Roth	This is another very interesting piece about famers finding a new crop - in this case, they are raising electricity instead of crops.
Agricultural Reporting	1st	Sacramento News & Review	Hunting poachers	Scott Anderson	Well reported and written piece on an interesting topic. Many diverse sources add context to the story. Vivid details set the scene for the reader and show that the author went to great lengths to get the story. Specific facts put the problem into context.
Agricultural Reporting	2nd	Santa Maria Sun	Displaced	Kasey Bubnash	Well reported look at the economics of housing in the ag industry. Story is well written, using one family's experience to guide the reader through the issue. Photos and graphs round out the package.
Agricultural Reporting	3rd	Chico News & Review	PG&E's Miocene Canal debacle	Ashiah Scharaga	Good comprehensive series that lays out the issue and explores in-depth an important water source for many users. The series is well sources and each part is topped
Agricultural Reporting	4th	Santa Maria Sun	Struggling to get along	Zac Ezzone	Nice in-depth look at two ag industries and their conflicts as they attempt to coexist. Well sourced and good color pull the reader into the story. Ending is a bit tangential and could be trimmed.
Agricultural Reporting	5th	Comstock's Magazine	Shouldering the Burden	Sena Christian	Nice package with photos and words. Good anecdotes and colorful description. The author puts us on the farms. The nut graf up top could give more of a sense of why this matters, and some good facts and statistics that are buried in the lower third could be sprinkled throughout the piece.
Agricultural Reporting	1st	The Business Journal	Raising the good ol' raisin	David Castellon	An innovative and fresh look at a familiar topic. Nutrition is examined in a thorough manner accompanied by a great layout and top-notch photography. All around a solid, fun and impressive piece of work.
Agricultural Reporting	2nd	The Business Journal	Hemp Series	David Castellon	Well researched. The photography is vivid and stands out and it makes a nice blend with the excellent copy. Well researched and great use of author's voice and of elucidating a complex agricultural issue. Well done.
Agricultural Reporting	3rd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Beefing about beef	Matt Brown	The lead is engaging and the feature has a nice mixture of photos and written copy. A sound effort.
Agricultural Reporting	4th	Santa Ynez Valley Star	Olive do it by hand	Raiza Giorgi	Solid writing and nice photos and layout.
Agricultural Reporting	5th	Half Moon Bay Review	Floraculture business pleads poverty, courts cannabis	Ashlyn Rollins-Koons	A thorough look at this complex topic. Well researched, well written and nicely packaged. A great read throughout.
Profile Story	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Finding Kyle	Lizzie Johnson	A powerful, personal story. Lizzie Johnson’s straight-forward writing is grounded in empathy. Three stories are skillfully interwoven: Kyle’s life, his family’s pain and the push for a suicide barrier for one of California’s most well-known landmarks. Many visual details — the plastic glass of orange juice in the cupholder, the family grocery cart now being lighter, pulling petals off the rose — are constant connections, helping the reader not just feel, but also see. A nice mix of photographs complemented by a helpful graphic of the suicide barrier. This is an important story shared in an impactful way.
Profile Story	2nd	Los Angeles Times	She feeds Bel-Air's mega-mansion boom. But lunch is a battlefield.	Sonja Sharp	Smart and insightful, this story rolls right along. Sonja Sharp’s profile of Jennifer Ramirez and her red lunch truck offers a unique perspective on the socioeconomic divide, sharing a scene that is unseen by many. Great juxtapositions throughout — high school student leaving school to help family sells lunches to workers building 40,000-square-foot mansions (complete with rooms for manicures and Botox). Wonderful, descriptive phrasing: “homes the size of strip malls,” “lumbering scarlet workhorse,” “how skilled labor is valued relative to Italian marble or Canary Island date palms.” The many photographs capture the spirit of the story (and narrowness of the roads). An important, relevant and very original story.
Profile Story	3rd	The Orange County Register	A decade after Great Recession chewed him up, homeless DJ feels almost back	Theresa Walker	Great lede. Theresa Walker writes with clarity and humanity in this profile of Jim Henry and how he was impacted by The Great Recession. There are a lot of complexities to homelessness. Devoting the time to follow one person over two years provides important perspectives for readers. The photographs and video are key to this package, helping readers better know Jim Henry.
Profile Story	4th	Los Angeles Times	To bring a boy’s murderers to justice, a prosecutor wrestled with his own childhood abuse	Marisa Gerber, Francine Orr	Marisa Gerber’s story of a prosecutor on a high-profile child-abuse case dealing with his own childhood trauma covers troubling territory, but does so deftly. It is a compelling piece. That Jon Hatami shared his story so openly indicates trust built by the reporter. The photos capture emotion and are essential in telling the story too. The ones of Hatami experiencing joy with his children provide a nice counterbalance to some of the tough details in this story.
Profile Story	5th	Los Angeles Times	He went to jail as a fake doctor. Now he’s a real one: The saga of Adam Litwin, MD	Soumya Karlamangla	Interesting story about a peculiar situation. Interviews from those who knew the faux doctor provide important context.
Profile Story	1st	The Modesto Bee	Modesto Man's Lost Identity: 'I Feel Like Nothing'	Deke Farrow	This story grabbed me from the very beginning. Hearing the daughter scream at the police for her father's safety. It's a piece that was heartfelt, well written and just a wonderful window into the struggles of this man's life.
Profile Story	2nd	The Fresno Bee	Woman waves at Fresno traffic for hours each day. She gives joy and happy hallelujahs	Carmen George	This story resonated with me from the start. Women have such wonderful stories to be told of courage, of direct change and influence, and this piece showcased such a unique story.
Profile Story	3rd	The Bakersfield Californian	‘If you make good food, people will come.’: Punjabi food vendors see an opportunity in Bakersfield’s sweeping demographic changes	Steven Mayer	Food speaks to the heart of many and it's a unifier between cultures. This piece truly showcased that and I appreciated it. Now, I can't wait to visit my folks in Bakersfield and try this food truck for myself.
Profile Story	4th	The Bakersfield Californian	‘They set my shop on fire three times in 24 hours’: But ‘Uncle’ Larry still in Oildale 50 years on	Steven Mayer	A great piece that showed such struggle and truly let the reader see what this man went through.
Profile Story	5th	The Bakersfield Californian	'You can still live': Stricken by stage 4 cancer, high school band director remains dedicated to her students, passion, purpose	Ema Sasic	I enjoyed the perspective and the descriptions of chaos of a high school band room juxtaposed with the teacher's own struggles. Great piece.
Profile Story	1st	Napa Valley Register	They Served With Honor: Keeping the supply lines moving	Sean Scully
Profile Story	2nd	Napa Valley Register	The World in a Glass: Boisset's 'The Alchemy of the Senses'	Sasha Paulsen
Profile Story	3rd	The Tribune	‘Radiator Don’ was a Paso treasure. But he died alone on the train tracks	Lindsey Holden, David Middlecamp
Profile Story	4th	The Record	Del Barba	Roger Phillips
Profile Story	5th	The Tribune	This Cal Poly student runs a restaurant out of his apartment. Now he's writing a cookbook	Sarah Linn, Joe Johnston
Profile Story	1st	The Salinas Californian	Waves of golf balls	Kate Cimini	Congrats to Kate Cimini on fascinating piece on father-daughter duo making a difference, a profile that shares the work they do, what they've learned from it and what impact they've made — as well as the why behind the work of Alex and Mike Weber. The story was well-written and uses photos, video and graphics to help tell the story. Well done.
Profile Story	2nd	TimesOC	O.C. private investigator C.J. Ford fights for 'those nobody cares about'	Benjamin Brazil	Ben Brazils look at C.J. Ford helps shed light on an unsung hero in the community, not only reporting on the work that Ford does and the impact it has — particularly in the case of Kenneth Clair — but also why he does it by sharing Ford's story and how he arrived to this work. Well-written piece in a category of strong competition.
Profile Story	3rd	Sacramento News & Review	The marriage guru	Raheem Hosseini	An interesting and in-depth look at an organization promoting shocking approaches to "self help" and marriage advice, focused on the nefarious character behind it. Strong category with several quality entries.
Profile Story	4th	Sacramento News & Review	Unbreakable bond	Scott Anderson	Richard “Trino” Savala's contribution to his community is impressive and inspiring. Scott Thomas Anderson's writing is worthy of recognition among a strong field of entries.
Profile Story	5th	The Salinas Californian	Fields to classrooms	Eduardo Cuevas
Profile Story	1st	Signal Tribune	Remembering Long Beach’s Santa Claus: Thomas “Ski” Demski	Lissette Mendoza	This was a really fun and well-written piece about an interesting and well-known community figure. Great use of submitted photos as well in layout.
Profile Story	2nd	La Jolla Light	Jeffrey Junkins	Corey Levitan	This piece chronicled the difficult story of a Vietnam veteran's service and life after the war. Great use of quotes and details.
Profile Story	3rd	Rancho Bernardo News Journal	Quads take the field for Maranatha soccer	Terry Monahan	A fun piece that featured concise and engaging writing about quadruplets playing on the same soccer team.
Profile Story	4th	San Clemente Times	Before He Made San Clemente, Ole Hanson Made Headlines as a Seattle Mayor in 1919	Fred Swegles	A well-written historical feature that clearly involved a lot of research.
Profile Story	5th	Pleasanton Weekly	Amazing Voyage	Jeb Bing	Great profile that weaves together details of the musician's particular music style with the larger message he sends in his work.
Profile Story	1st	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Turn On, Tune In, Stream Live	Rosellen "Rosie" Downey	This was an engaging way to tell this story to a wider audience.
Profile Story	2nd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	The Hand That Rocked the Cradles	Kate Williams	The story was a fascinating look at a bigger issue.
Profile Story	3rd	The Davis Enterprise	Turning the corner	Anne Ternus-Bellamy
Profile Story	4th	Petaluma Argus-Courier	The Dean of Yosemite	Matt Brown
Profile Story	5th	North Bay Business Journal	Rethinking Ice Cream	Cheryl Sarfaty
Profile Story	1st	Paradise Post	Recovering hope	Audria Ruscitti	Unique story that is told well.
Profile Story	2nd	Ojai Valley News	Sole Survivor	Perry Van Houten	The details of this story make for a compelling narrative.
Profile Story	3rd	The Weekly Calistogan	NASA astronaut inspires youth to follow their dreams	Cynthia Sweeney	Great job of telling an interesting person's life story.
Profile Story	4th	Claremont Courier	From father to sons: Styles Music outlasts them all	Mick Rhodes, Steven Felschundneff	Great storytelling.
Profile Story	5th	St. Helena Star	Sailing the Atlantic for nine months changed the life of a St. Helena teen	Jesse Duarte	Great storytelling.
Feature Story	1st	Los Angeles Times	60 hours, 50 abortions: A California doctor’s monthly commute to a Texas clinic	Soumya Karlamangla, Gina Ferazzi	Abortion divides the nation, generally between the group supporting a womans' right to choose and evangelicals "right to life" stance. Both sides should read this well done feature for perspective.
Feature Story	2nd	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Grieving mothers' 26-year quest for justice	J. Harry Jones	Clear writing about the grief of mothers and their search for justice. A difficult story/situation well told by the author.
Feature Story	3rd	The Orange County Register	Using DNA tests, Dwight Manley found his birth father: L.A. politician Mike Antonovich	Theresa Walker	Everybody loves a happy ending and this feature has one. Very readable feature.
Feature Story	4th	Los Angeles Times	Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway	Jaweed Kaleem, Irfan Khan	A story that celebrates the melting pot of America and the difficulties sometimes attached. Very nice read.
Feature Story	5th	San Francisco Chronicle	Under Fire	Lizzie Johnson	Another feel-good story about a bad disaster.
Feature Story	1st	The Fresno Bee	Clovis teacher’s students rally to give her ‘year of a lifetime’ as she battles cancer	Carmen George	A real tear-jerker, told with compassion and care. Well organized and clearly presented. Overall exceptional package.
Feature Story	2nd	The Modesto Bee	Modesto Man's Lost Identity: 'I Feel Like Nothing'	Deke Farrow	A man lost in his own world. The writer shows the pain and loss of understanding for this man and his family. Compelling read.
Feature Story	3rd	The Modesto Bee	A love that spans 72 years	Deke Farrow	A real love story and lesson for all of use to learn about our commitments and vows. Clear and inviting writing.
Feature Story	4th	The Bakersfield Californian	Suspended priest Craig Harrison, back from self-exile, formulates his defense	Robert Price	Tough subject to tackle but done with care and consideration for all sides. Author has a way with words and construction.
Feature Story	5th	The Bakersfield Californian	And now, the final scene of the final episode of the epic Harrell-Fritts saga	Robert Price	A sad story of what happened - and is happening - to the industry. Very well organized with a solid touch of humanity.
Feature Story	1st	The Tribune	These eel-like fish look like horror movie monsters — and they’re back in SLO Creek	Monica Vaughan, Joe Johnston	Exceptional writing, description, videos, photos and one graphic. Something for everyone about an unusual but interesting subject. Examples: eel-like parasites with sucker mouths ... vampires of the sea ... wiggles similar to doing the worm on the dance floor ... slitherly species." Also, good historical and food-chain information. An informational and fun read. Well done.
Feature Story	2nd	Santa Maria Times	Conjoined twins 'sent for a purpose'	Mike Hodgson	Compelling read. Clear and well organized. A very newsy feature. A final follow a few months later would have made the package even stronger.
Feature Story	3rd	Chico Enterprise-Record	Concow families rebuild with lumber from their burned trees	Camille von Kaenel	There is a bit of a run-on lead but the writing improves with several strong word pictures such as: The mountainside was burned so hot is looked like the moon; the red-dirt hills are spotted with a trailer or tent where people have moved back; escaped with the chickens and goat; satisfying feeling of taking wood from your own land and building something." In two fires, "I've lost my young stuff and my family stuff; it is humbling to be a fire victim and fire helper." A strong story of survival.
Feature Story	4th	Record Searchlight	Mystery surrounds last person missing from Camp Fire	Damon Arthur	Good video and photos. Good sourcing. Good news value. Clear and organized writing. A good mystery read. A real people tale.
Feature Story	5th	Visalia Times-Delta	The Ku Klux Klan and Visalia: A legacy of racism that hasn't died	James Ward, Calley Cederlof	Extremely well done, but should have been in an investigative news category - not feature. Still an excellent effort and important story to tell.
Feature Story	1st	Santa Barbara Independent	In Cryonics Lawsuit, Son Fighters for Father’s Frozen Head	Tyler Hayden	A wonderful story. It was well written and reported. The story did a great job of helping me learn about this complicated science while also feeling as if I was reading a short story. Some great lines in there about losing his job and his wife and the ending with you just don't Google how to get your dad's head back. The tone and boldness in the writing was perfect because this reporter owned this subject. I can't wait to learn and read more about this family and the lawsuit as well as stories about this company.
Feature Story	2nd	Sacramento News & Review	Midnight burning	Scott Anderson	Fantastic story that flowed and left me wanting to learn and keep reading. The punchline at the end of the first section was perfect. It read like a journalism novel. Pieces like this take a lot of in depth research and reporting and require getting sources to open up to you in truly personal and authentic ways. Fantastic work.
Feature Story	3rd	Good Times	Gonzo But Not Forgotten	Wallace Baine	A fascinating read told as dramatically and boldly as the man it's about. It was written like a movie script from the beginning.
Feature Story	4th	Good Times	Psychedelics Go Therapeutic	Wallace Baine	Very interesting and woven in a way that moved me through the debate and controversy but focused on the storytelling. I love when I finish a good story and I know I learned something I didn't know and I want to read more.
Feature Story	5th	The Salinas Californian	Posadas	David Rodriguez	Great feature. Good writing with vivid images and quotes from those impacted. It did not do a good job of talking with those opposed, though, I thought. But did a great job of exploring a community tradition that was dying due to the current realities of today, from economics to racial strife in some ways, too.
Feature Story	1st	North Coast Journal	Bringing Prey-go-neesh Home	Kimberly Wear	This is a compelling package based on a story with a strong sense of place. The reporting is solid, the writing is compelling and the supporting photos, maps and graphics elevate the sophistication. The reporter invested time in reporting details that turned an interesting topic into a fascinating read.
Feature Story	2nd	La Jolla Light	Heroism of former La Jolla lifeguard Jeff Koch, namesake of under-repair cave, nearly falls through cracks	Corey Levitan	The reporter seized on a great opportunity -- turning a routine news story into a compelling read. The narrative retelling of the rescue was well-structured and the reporter is commended for investing in the effort to locate the victim and organizing a reunion among the two key players. Great job.
Feature Story	3rd	Comstock's Magazine	Record Spinners	Matthew Keys	The packaging elevate this interesting story. It's evident that the reporter invested time in the reporting. The story is packed with details. While this is an interesting read, the organization of the story could have been helped with more solid transitions.
Feature Story	4th	Palos Verdes Peninsula News	An Adventure in a DC-3	Deborah Paul	This was a great story opportunity. The subject matter was compelling and the retelling of their adventure had great potential. The writing was a bit flat, however.
Feature Story	5th	Pleasanton Weekly	The gentle giants of Mount Diablo	Ryan J. Degan	The migration of tarantulas -- what an interesting topic. The reporter took a routing event and turned it into a good story.
Feature Story	1st	Glendale News-Press	Glendale couple sues fertility clinic after woman gives birth to their son in embryo snafu	Andy Nguyen	Well written story showing local compassion to a national topic.
Feature Story	2nd	Mountain Democrat	Deputy comes home for last time	Pat Lakey	A well-told story giving the reader a sense of place at a time when the community came together,
Feature Story	3rd	North Bay Business Journal	Consoling the most fragile	Cheryl Sarfaty	A seemingly unusual local story bringing humanity to the fore with national information.
Feature Story	4th	La Canada Flintridge Outlook	LCFEF Marks Four Decades as Solid Schools Foundation	Camila Castellanos, Mark Geers	A nice tribute to a school foundation adding great value to its community.
Feature Story	5th	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Bloom or Bust	Jody Meacham	A well researched piece delving into a company and its world-wide vision.
Feature Story	1st	The Ark	Couple’s work with March of Dimes helps turn ‘pain into purpose’	Emily Lavin	A well-written human-interest story, lots of telling detail. Heart-warming.
Feature Story	2nd	The Ark	County struggles to prioritize housing for bay’s anchor-outs	Gretchen Lang	A story that focuses on an issue very specific to its neighborhood has ramifications for the entire state. Humanizes one of the most pressing issues facing the community.
Feature Story	3rd	The Ark	Tiburon cancer survivor leads fundraising to launch yoga program at Benioff hospital	Emily Lavin	Another strong human-interest story, easy for readers to identify with.
Feature Story	4th	Calaveras Enterprise	PAWS celebrates 35 years of rescue, activism, education	Dakota Morlan	A tale that could have been trite, uses telling quotes. A good read.
Feature Story	5th	Claremont Courier	An Old Fashioned Courtship	Steven Felschundneff	A sweet neighborhood tale, makes one want to live there.
Editorial Comment	1st	Los Angeles Times	Santa Monica’s recycling center closure is a sign of what’s to come	Mariel Garza	Strong writing, effective argument on an important topic. Educates the reader while providing necessary nuance.
Editorial Comment	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Santa Clarita shooting: It’s the guns. It’s always the guns	Scott Martelle	Effective direct writing style; great use of statistics to further their argument.
Editorial Comment	3rd	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	California’s misguided protest of Trump bullet-train cutoff	Daniel Borenstein	Good, snappy argument with strong context on a longstanding topic of debate.
Editorial Comment	4th	San Francisco Chronicle	Impeach and Remove Him: San Francisco Chronicle	Josh Gohlke	Comprehensive commentary, but still engaging.
Editorial Comment	5th	Los Angeles Times	Seeking shelter? Good luck	Carla Hall	Intriguing first-person account with a good personalized story. Good pointing out what needs to be fixed; reader might want a few more direct options for how to fix.
Editorial Comment	1st	The Desert Sun	Quakes show Palm Springs-area residents at risk in media cutoff from police radio	Al Franco	This could have devolved into a whine about access, but instead showed exactly why the issue is important tothe public. Well done.
Editorial Comment	2nd	The Fresno Bee	Censure is not harsh enough for Fresno Unified’s Terry Slatic. He must resign now	Tad Weber	No waffling here. Strong statement.
Editorial Comment	3rd	The Modesto Bee	Only after some prodding does Mayor Brandvold make a move	Garth Stapley	More about disservice to public by avoiding speech would have made this stronger. Still, point made.
Editorial Comment	4th	The Desert Sun	California lawmakers, lavish junkets are burning your constituents	Al Franco
Editorial Comment	5th	The Modesto Bee	Ceres officer should have faced charges for shooting boy in the back	Garth Stapley
Editorial Comment	1st	The Tribune	Police transparency law is shielding bad cops — and state lawmakers need to fix it	Stephanie Finucane	Rather than settle for recent improvements in California law on police accountability and transparency, this editorial points to a flaw that needs correcting and makes a persuasive case for further progress on the issue. It demonstrates a detailed grasp of a local case of police misconduct and how the law should be changed to address the problem.
Editorial Comment	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	Why did most Marin cell towers stop working during PG&E safety outage?	Brad Breithaupt	This editorial spotlights a telecommunications failure with potentially dire consequences in future emergencies and makes a clear, strong case for addressing the problem before it's too late.
Editorial Comment	3rd	Marin Independent Journal	Positive steps for Sausalito, Marin City schools	Brad Breithaupt	Looks at a story that could be cast as a state-local back-and-forth and shows no fear of taking a side with a clear, informed argument about the consequences of segregation in education.
Editorial Comment	4th	Visalia Times-Delta	Devin Nunes' lawsuit against McClatchy a threat to local news, democracy	James Ward	Recognizes the dangers inherent in a congressman's lawsuit against another media organization and effectively dismantles the lawmaker's rationale.
Editorial Comment	5th	The Record	Death penalty	Record Staff	Makes compelling points about the waste and futility of our capital punishment system.
Editorial Comment	1st	Palo Alto Weekly	When local government leaders refuse to answer questions, they become their own worst enemies	Bill Johnson	Well presented argument for public information combined with calling out public servants who duck and run at the mere thought of potential controversy.
Editorial Comment	2nd	Sacramento News & Review	The 2019 Grinches: Enablers edition	Sacramento News & Review Staff, Raheem Hosseini	Covers a wide range of grinches with succinct and amusing criticism. Betting readers look forward to what looks to be an annual effort.
Editorial Comment	3rd	Metro Silicon Valley	Blood Sport	Dan Pulcrano	A cautionary tale that goes well beyond Silicon Valley. Humanizes the consequences of financial fraud.
Editorial Comment	4th	Santa Barbara Independent	Finding the Miramar’s Line in the Sand	Tyler Hayden	An effort to be fair to the "new" hotel may be a little overboard, but the overall isue is huge here in California.
Editorial Comment	5th	The Acorn	Bold move by school district	John Loesing	This topic is bound to be controversial in any school district that tries to address it. It's as important to praise public officials who show some fortitude as it is to criticize those who run the other way.
Editorial Comment	1st	Pleasanton Weekly	Livermore downtown referendum raises serious questions	Gina Channell	This entry explains to readers what is happening on a key local issue and, importantly, outlines action steps for readers.
Editorial Comment	2nd	The Almanac	Menlo Park council moves swiftly in the right direction	Renee Batti	This entry makes a clear argument and names names on who did right.
Editorial Comment	3rd	Pleasanton Weekly	Did a bunny book really lead to superintendent’s ouster?	Gina Channell	A good use of the public records law to inform readers. This entry would have placed higher with more reporting and a little less speculation.
Editorial Comment	4th	Pleasanton Weekly	District-based elections do not make sense here	Gina Channell	This editorial makes a clear and compelling argument on an important issue.
Editorial Comment	5th	Poway News Chieftain	PH leaves public in dark over maps	Steve Dreyer	A strong watchdog entry. It would have placed higher if the writing had been somewhat clearer.
Editorial Comment	1st	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	"Another Day, Another Mass Shooting"	Jason Walsh
Editorial Comment	2nd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	"Anti-Gay Comments Paint Troubling Picture"	Jason Walsh
Editorial Comment	3rd	The Davis Enterprise	A real Christmas miracle	Bruce Gallaudet
Editorial Comment	4th	Petaluma Argus-Courier	America, love it or change it	Matt Brown
Editorial Comment	5th	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	"The True Price of Higher Education"	Jason Walsh
Editorial Comment	1st	Half Moon Bay Review	Too often justice in local courts lost in translation	Clay Lambert	Problem is clearly laid out with multiple examples. Call for action at end is well-stated. Nicely done.
Editorial Comment	2nd	St. Helena Star	Housing must be our top priority	David Stoneberg, Jesse Duarte	Excellent presentation of facts to support call more for affordable housing in region. Well done.
Editorial Comment	3rd	Half Moon Bay Review	City's vision for Main Street is myopic	Clay Lambert	Well-crafted editorial criticizing a councilmember's overreaching and endorsing the right of a property owner who is being victimized.
Editorial Comment	4th	St. Helena Star	Time to ban vaping sales in St. Helena	David Stoneberg, Jesse Duarte	This one was good, but a little long-winded. A little editing would have tightened up the message.
Editorial Comment	5th	The Trinity Journal	Board should try for more transparency, less bullshit	Wayne Agner	Gotta love the guts to use that word. Keep up the public records fight, but you need to edit to keep the reader from getting overwhelmed by facts.
Columns	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Sidewalk boulders an emblem of crisis; Addict’s journey from streets to cell, through mother’s eyes	Heather Knight	Heather's columns have in spades what so many others lack: Reportage. These aren't merely writerly, they are opinion backed by fact. And the interviews with the Choates clearly took a lot of investment. Great work in a difficult category.
Columns	2nd	The Orange County Register	Henry’s is the most ambitious restaurant Huntington Beach has seen in years, or maybe ever; Knife Pleat teeters on the verge of greatness but isn’t quite there yet	Brad A. Johnson	These are just so delicious. This is food most of us will eat only rarely, but the writing should be a staple in every diet. I would read these food columns every day.
Columns	3rd	Los Angeles Times	State needs new housing strategy; Newsom needs to take the lead on housing crisis	George Skelton	Great lede and great crisp writing about a tired topic. That isn't easy to do. This is terrific column-writing.
Columns	4th	The Sacramento Bee	Biba dies at 82. Her restaurant introduced a dining renaissance with a welcoming soul; ‘Dad, this is what I want to do.’ Now, father of fallen cop mourns.	Marcos Breton	These columns really deserve a blue ribbon, but it's such a tough category. These provide very particular insights into the area and could only be written by someone who knows the place.
Columns	5th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Oakland A’s private ballpark will be taxpayer-subsidized; Cyclist might be alive if California parks hadn’t ignored judge’s order	Daniel Borenstein	An important topic with writing to match. The history makes the thing. Here's hoping it led to change on that road.
Columns	1st	Los Angeles Daily News	A parent’s terrifying morning as chaos unfolded during Saugus High School shooting; For parents, picking up the pieces after deadly Saugus shooting is no simple task	Timothy Haddock	Very evocative and compelling. A rare glimpse inside the environment of a school shooting.
Columns	2nd	The Fresno Bee	Fresno police gunned down an unarmed teenager from behind. Are we OK with this?; By suing Twitter and parody account @DevinCow, Nunes makes himself a laughingstock	Marek Warszawski	Good stuff. Very pointed. Police shooting story was a really uncomfortable read - as it should have been.
Columns	3rd	The Desert Sun	The Desert Sun opinion pages are taking a summer vacation from national politics. You can help us!; Join us for a free screening of '5B,' an AIDS documentary with a Palm Springs connection	Julie Makinen	Interesting mix of newspaper insight and personal experience. Both were a little long, however, particularly the News Vacation piece.
Columns	4th	The Press Democrat	Veteran’s epic performance a convincing statement; Prep football games shouldn’t end like Sonoma’s did	Kerry Benefield	Good range of sports, good command of detail at all levels of sports. Interesting reads.
Columns	5th	The Bakersfield Californian	Robert Price columns: McCarthy needs to catch a different train while he can; and Dana Butler deserves once last chance at justice	Robert Price	Very effective and insightful, if a little long.
Columns	1st	Marin Independent Journal	After 36 years, jazz drummer Michael Aragon plays final gigs at Sausalito’s No Name Bar; Former kickboxer Andrew Hagar fighting out of his famous father’s shadow	Paul Liberatore	Beautifully written
Columns	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	Worst part of Tam High’s scavenger hunt isn’t the hunt; it’s the misogyny; Sorry, kids, but your parents don’t think you’re good enough	Vicki Larson	Strong voice, concise and clearly written
Columns	3rd	Imperial Valley Press	Rosie strikes again; The happiest place on earth	Tom Bodus
Columns	4th	Daily Press	Bruce Bochy’s magical Mavs; The ties that bind	Matthew Cabe
Columns	5th	Napa Valley Register	Blindsided by PG&E; Lessons learned from the PG&E outages	Kevin Courtney
Columns	1st	Palos Verdes Peninsula News	There's no replacement for a good husband, but she'll settle for this doohickey; She's still holding on after letting her family into deceased husband's closet	Jean Shriver	Poignant, relatable and heartfelt. In "There's no replacement for a good husband, but she'll settle for this doohickey," the writer draws attention to the little things about a person and a relationship that you never think of appreciating until after they're gone. I enjoyed the image of her and the young employee's interaction. The second entry about cleaning out her husband's closet had me close to tears throughout. I loved everything about it, particularly the line "If jackets had eyebrows, I imagined them shooting up." This is the kind of opinion piece that has universal appeal, I think, and her honesty and raw emotion are evident in her writing.
Columns	2nd	Grunion Gazette	An Adventure In Grandfathering; What Exactly Is It Now You’re Running From?	Harry Saltzgaver	I enjoyed the author's quick and relatable takes on being a grandfather and a husband. I like how each had a "reason" and were well rounded pieces that I enjoyed reading.
Columns	3rd	Grunion Gazette	Cabrillo Falls To Soccer’s Cruel Streak; Dream Now Real For Mora	JJ Fiddler	I enjoyed the topic of life lessons through soccer. Both were well written and as a sports fan, I enjoyed seeing how a coach is teaching his players how to act with class and good sportsmanship in the face of a difficult game. The second entry on the young Venezuelan refugee was eye opening and a hot topic that I enjoyed reading.
Columns	4th	Grunion Gazette	Let’s Name Library For Billie Jean; Local Hero King Back For Library	Mike Guardabascio	I like that the column made an impact on the community and might have sparked interest in having the library named after Billie Jean King. Brought interest to a topic the writer felt strongly about. Good background on King and well written.
Columns	5th	San Francisco Business Times	The mystery of Market Street; Vacancy tax proposal in S.F. is especially empty-headed	Doug Fruehling	The description of Market Street and its possible treasures made me feel like I was there. Well written. The second entry was convincing and well written, with well made points.
Columns	1st	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	The true price of higher education; The city of no return	Jason Walsh
Columns	2nd	The Cambrian	‘It was just meant to be’: How three people came together over tragedy — and guitars; Are there really ‘no dumb questions’ — just a lot of inquisitive idiots?	Kathe Tanner
Columns	3rd	Del Mar Times	Parkland students still passionate about gun control; Improving public education	Marsha Sutton
Columns	4th	The Davis Enterprise	Natalie is a gift we should be thankful for; Family filled with amazing grace	Bob Dunning
Columns	5th	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Yes, Sonoma, there is a Santa Claus; In Sonoma, change is relative	Jason Walsh
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	1st	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Arts+Culture: Sept. 15 & 22, 2019	Union-Tribune Arts & Entertainment Staff	Beautiful presentation of local Legends; great photography, good writing, impactful design. A real keeper and true celebration of the arts. Also handled well the usual arts section furniture (listings, etc.). Very nice job!
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	2nd	Los Angeles Times	The Envelope: Dec. 10 & 12, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	Good writing, good photos, good subject matter. Really enjoyed presentation on the directors' takes. Great stuff all around!
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	Datebook: June 9 & 16, 2019	Datebook Staff San Francisco Chronicle	Very solid (and jam-packed) local arts and entertainment sections with a distinctly SF feel. Good job!
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	4th	The Desert Sun	Arts & Entertainment: Oct. 27 (including Desert Magazine) & Nov. 3, 2019 (	Kristin Scharkey	Really nice features magazine; well designed, written and photographed. Enjoyed the cover!
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	5th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Eye: Nov. 21 & 28, 2019	Randy McMullen, Trinity Powells	Good, solid, local arts and entertainment sections. Looks good, could read better. Very event driven.
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	1st	Chico News & Review	Arts & Culture: Feb. 14 & 21, 2019	Jason Cassidy, Nate Daly, Neesa Sonoquie	Strong writing and a strong sense of community make this my winning selection. There's a great mix of stories -- movies, minimalist music, shadow boxes of death, winter beers. Much appreciation of the Weird Chico issue (only a publication that truly knows its community would attempt that). The story on the return of Theater on the Ridge is lovely. Design is attractive and calendar listings are thorough. Great resource for the community.
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	2nd	Good Times	Arts & Entertainment: March 20 & 27, 2019	Steve Palopoli, Tabi Zarrinnaal	Nice design and clever headlines. Writing has spark and stories have community at the core (I love the "Us" story focusing on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk setting). Attractive calendar with lots of photos and events.
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	3rd	Metro Silicon Valley	Arts & Entertainment Coverage: Jan. 30 & Feb. 6, 2019	Nick Veronin, Wallace Baine, Mike Huguenor	Comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. "Metroactive" is a unique and effective way to showcase events. Thorough events listings. Design of centerpiece stories is strong.
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	4th	North Coast Journal	Arts & Entertainment Coverage: May 23 & 30, 2019	North Coast Journal Staff	Fun, agile writing with lots of visual details. The writing makes this a welcoming, fun-to-read section. Listings are thorough and would be easy to use. Great community resource.
Arts & Entertainment Coverage	5th	Bohemian	Welcome to Lumaville: New film captures weird side of Petaluma	Charlie Swanson	This story is all about community. It nicely embraces Petaluma's quirkiness -- telling the story of a film by intertwining lots of different local perspectives and ties to Petaluma (film history of the region, hometown ties of the actress, cameos by local characters, etc.). Well done!
Sports Game Story	1st	Chico Enterprise-Record	Avrit serves 1 last point with Braves	Will Denner	Will Denner is able to capture the emotional moment of the game through a tense build-up that encourages the reader to keep reading.
Sports Game Story	2nd	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	In Paradise, Friday Night Lights is more than a game	Elliott Almond	The author puts the reader right in the middle of the scene. You can also tell they have been following (or been a part of) the tragedy in Paradise through subtle observations such as "C.M.F." Great job also getting quotes not just from players and coaches, but fans.
Sports Game Story	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	Warriors' Season Ends: San Francisco Chronicle	Connor Letourneau	You can feel the pain the Warriors and their fans felt after this game. The article does a good job raising the question, "what now?"
Sports Game Story	4th	The Press Democrat	Triumph and tears	Kerry Benefield	Builds on a theme set in the lead without being repetitive. Also shows that the writer has followed the team for awhile and has inside knowledge.
Sports Game Story	5th	San Francisco Chronicle	Young Yaz Goes Home: San Francisco Chronicle	Henry Schulman	Good job identifying highlighting an interesting historical aspect in what could've been another gamer.
Sports Game Story	1st	Simi Valley Acorn	Pioneers reach out but fall short	Jonathan Andrade	This piece really had it all: creative, evocative use of language; a succinct, well-placed retelling of the game; and terrific reporting, capturing wonderful quotes and sentiments from those involved. I felt like the opening graphs transported me to the rainy, cold night of the game while the retelling of events gave me a great sense of what transpired, and then the insight from players and coaches humanized those involved. I felt bad for the kids who lost despite not ever having heard of their school or the players at any point prior. This was really a wonderfully written and reported story.
Sports Game Story	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	St. Vincent holds off CSD in wild finish	John Jackson	This piece was very, very funny at times, did a really nice job of capturing the roller coaster excitement of the game and really transported me to the event. I also enjoyed some of the structural chances the author took toward the end, repeating the same line about neither team accomplishing what seemed like a reasonable goal. It was a fun, risky decision that worked for me.
Sports Game Story	3rd	The Davis Enterprise	Ag women dismantle Titans	Bruce Gallaudet	I liked the humor of this piece and got a terrific sense for the players involved. Really good reporting and a fun retelling of the game. Super solid reporting with some fun, humorous risks that ended up reading great.
Sports Game Story	4th	The Ark	Paul clinches Tiburon Challenger	Matthew Hose	This was just super, super solid sports reporting. Very, very well written. Easy to read, informative and captured the back and forth of the finals matches very nicely. A really professional, experienced piece of sports reporting.
Sports Game Story	5th	Grunion Gazette	LBSU Men's Volleyball National Champs	Mike Guardabascio	I enjoyed the look back quality of this story. Excellent reporting, with nice insight from players and coaches. But I thought the strength of this work was the look back at the season and capturing so much of what the team went through and bringing much of that back to life. Super solid work.
Sports Feature Story	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Bruce Bochy's Walk-off	John Shea	The day-in-the-life narrative is a great way to describe how the man and his personality fit in with his job, his career, and the people he works with.
Sports Feature Story	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Football family seeks answers	Nathan Fenno	Good read, including a profile of the player before and after his injury, plus a detailed description of the science behind research into CTE.
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Trona is shaken and stirred	David Wharton, Dania Maxwell	A small town high school maintains its football program in the face of dwindling enrollment. A good look at a program where adversity affects an entire school.
Sports Feature Story	4th	Los Angeles Times	Many try, but few finish, the world’s toughest baseball quiz	Bill Shaikin	This is a fun way to explore this topic, showing that there is still plenty that even the most ardent sports fans don’t know about.
Sports Feature Story	5th	San Francisco Examiner	Mission High's CJ Pino heads to Skyline looking for a chance	Ryan Gorcey	Inspiring look at how one player has faced adversity his entire life and continued to succeed.
Sports Feature Story	1st	Ventura County Star	Newbury Park High's Nico Young is built to run, and run fast	Joe Curley	A compelling story that's well told. The lead photo and headline do a great job of capturing the spectacle of watching the nation's best cross-country runner do his thing. The writing and reporting are dynamite. Well done.
Sports Feature Story	2nd	The Desert Sun	Friday Night Lights	Shad Powers	Strong, conversational writing. Really nice job fleshing out the character of the coach.
Sports Feature Story	3rd	The Desert Sun	Izzy Ramirez defies the odds	Andrew John, Taya Gray	A really nice presentation of a community rallying around an injured teen.
Sports Feature Story	4th	The Press Democrat	Descending on holy ground one last time	Phil Barber	A fitting paean for the end of an era at the Coliseum. The story also does a fine job of summarizing how we got to this moment and the team's prior abandonment of Oakland.
Sports Feature Story	5th	Ventura County Star	After suffering concussion, Thousand Oaks player made difficult decision to quit football	Loren Ledin	A thoughtful examination of one family's decision process in a difficult situation.
Sports Feature Story	1st	Santa Cruz Sentinel	Legendary coach Bill Dodge, 90, gets to support beloved Cardinals with the help of baseball star Javier Felix	Jim Seimas	This story was far and away the best of the 25 I judged. It was well told, had strong emotional appeal and excellent background. My only criticism is that I wish it was described where that background came from. (Assuming not the subject due to his memory problems.) Fine over all effort. I also would like to commend this reporter's editors for allowing the time to do such work. I find that lacking from the work I see from many newsrooms.
Sports Feature Story	2nd	Chico Enterprise-Record	Still good as gold	Sharon Martin	This story personalizes a national tragedy and delivers on its promise of doing so. That's just simply great reporting. It might have been deserving of a first, but if you want to know why it wasn't read the first-place story.
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Imperial Valley Press	Community comes together to make a state champion	Aaron Bodus	A touching story with good background on how everyone helps this kid.
Sports Feature Story	4th	Chico Enterprise-Record	Rise of the women	Sharon Martin	Women's sports still don't get the recognition it deserves, so this story has social relevance. It is fairly well told with good depth on the athletes. It suffers a bit from a weak beginning. Describing a wrestling match or practice and using the sweaty grit of that would have improved the story greatly.
Sports Feature Story	5th	The Union	Fight of a lifetime: After battling anxiety and depression, fighter hopes his story helps others	Walter Ford	Coupling a common activity (sports) with a health issue that needs more exposure is important work.
Sports Feature Story	1st	The Salinas Californian	Back in the ring	Ayrton Ostly	An excellent profile of a town legend who endured a tragedy. This story is well-organized and it kept me hooked, which is a feat since I usually don't pay attention to boxing. There is also a good selection of photos to illustrate the profile. The best in class.
Sports Feature Story	2nd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Heart of a lion	Jonathan Andrade	An intriguing profile that had me on the edge of my seat when he recalled his experience of dodging the Borderline shooting incident. There's a great payoff at the end and I liked the use of a social media video to showcase the fighter's triumph in the ring.
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Corey Campos, a pigskin legend	Jonathan Andrade	This was the best profile of a high school athlete that I reviewed for this contest. The introduction is excellent since it doesn't reveal that Corey has Down syndrome until the end. The story made me want to read more about him and wonder how he's doing. Great work.
Sports Feature Story	4th	The Acorn	Hungry like the Wolff	Jonathan Andrade	A good profile of a high school star who made something out of himself after graduation. I wanted to read more about his life outside golf, instead of reading about one success after another. Overall, good work.
Sports Feature Story	5th	Simi Valley Acorn	Get his name right: It’s Adama Fall	Jonathan Andrade	A good profile of a high school athlete who has a fascinating backstory (that's not something that many HS athletes have). You did a good job of showing his likable personality. Excellent headline, BTW.
Sports Feature Story	1st	Moorpark Acorn	Heart of a champion	Jonathan Andrade	really enjoyed reading this. well done. liked the photos as well. stories about overcoming/facing adversity are always great reads!
Sports Feature Story	2nd	Moorpark Acorn	Yaspelkis is the guy behind the guys	Jonathan Andrade
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Rancho Bernardo News Journal	Nighthawk running back tackles new foe - cancer	Terry Monahan
Sports Feature Story	4th	The Almanac	In it to win	Kate Bradshaw
Sports Feature Story	5th	Palos Verdes Peninsula News	Special needs students get the 'full high school' experience	Nicholas Ingram
Sports Feature Story	1st	Burbank Leader	Vicky Oganyan is the 40-year-old freshman for Glendale college basketball	Jeff Tully
Sports Feature Story	2nd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Who You Callin' Lady, Fellah?	Christian Kallen
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Sierra Sun	Match Point: Truckee volleyball player finds kidney donor; operation a success	Justin Scacco
Sports Feature Story	4th	La Canada Flintridge Outlook	Biggest Athletic Moment in LCHS History?	Oscar Areliz
Sports Feature Story	5th	Santa Clara Weekly	1969 Little League World Series Champs Reunite at Briarwood Little League	Erica Towne
Sports Feature Story	1st	The Ark	Tiburon’s Elly Hakami inducted into NorCal Tennis Hall of Fame	Deirdre McCrohan
Sports Feature Story	2nd	Santa Ynez Valley Star	Wrestling to the Top	Brian Stanley
Sports Feature Story	3rd	Santa Ynez Valley Star	For the Love of the Game	Brian Stanley
Sports Feature Story	4th	Santa Ynez Valley Star	Trap Shooting Gold	Raiz Giorgi
Sports Feature Story	5th	Calaveras Enterprise	Teen discovers focus with tennis	Guy Dossi
Front Page Layout & Design	1st	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Aug. 11, Nov. 3 & Nov. 10, 2019	Chris Gotsill, Pai	The "Can We Stop It?" layout is a gut punch. Stellar use of graphic design to help tell the story and a layout that gives it room to resonate.
Front Page Layout & Design	2nd	The Press Democrat	Jan. 27, Feb. 28 & Oct. 27, 2019	Press Democrat Staff	The layouts of all three stories enhance and frame some excellent photographs. The design balances multiple stories into a comprehensive whole.
Front Page Layout & Design	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Feb. 4, April 14 & Sept. 26, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	The graphic design on the Huawei story is the standout, but all the layouts are balanced and thoughtful.
Front Page Layout & Design	4th	The San Diego Union-Tribune	April 29, July 28 & Dec. 3, 2019	Michael Price, Tyler Rau, Anthony Tarantino	The photo on "A Day of Sorrow, Prayer" is the standout and the quote above it is a great choice. Really beautiful.
Front Page Layout & Design	5th	San Francisco Chronicle	March 24, Oct. 6 & Dec. 19, 2019	Design Staff San Francisco Chronicle	Excellent photographs and uniformly strong design on all of these.
Inside Page Layout & Design	1st	Los Angeles Times	Feb. 2, Feb. 3 & Nov. 3, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	Excellent storytelling in the photography and the balancing of the placement of the photos. The publication's choice to keep the headlines and text simple and straightforward was a crucial one in making its layouts attractive and engaging.
Inside Page Layout & Design	2nd	Napa Valley Register	On Wine: Oct. 25, 2019	Jennifer Huffman, Simona Jurisic
Inside Page Layout & Design	3rd	The Press Democrat	Last Roar at Oracle	Elissa Torres
Inside Page Layout & Design	4th	Napa Valley Register	Your Business: Oct. 23, 2019	Jennifer Huffman
Inside Page Layout & Design	5th	Napa Valley Register	Your Business: July 24, 2019	Jennifer Huffman	The photographer is in the shot in the mirror.
Front Page Layout & Design	1st	Sacramento News & Review	Feb. 21, May 9 & Aug. 29, 2019	Maria Ratinova, Sarah Hansel	This was an all-around great entry. The art for each front was splashy, but didn't trample the meaning and intentions of the cover stories. I would have wanted to pick up the papers right out of the box, and that is what you need to attract readers to the product. The "Job Killers" front was visually stunning and with the robotic hand coming in from the side, it gives an eeriness that many are feeling with some technology this days.
Front Page Layout & Design	2nd	Comstock's Magazine	February, July & September 2109	Kelly Barr	This entry had a cleverness to it that took what could have just been cool cover art to another level. Addicted to Deadlines,” and We Hate Meetings,” grabs the readers' attention, and works as the gravy on top of the imagery. The collage is visually beautiful and paints a picture of a year's worth of stories. It was excellent work.
Front Page Layout & Design	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	April 12, June 19 & Dec. 20, 2019	Doug Young, Kristin Brown, Rosanna Kuruppu	With visually inviting colors and photos that helped tell the story before you get into reading it, this entry took on some very tough subjects. Sometimes using so much text over photos means you lose the meaning and the intentions of one or the other, but here it is a nice blend. They each draw you in and push you toward the content.
Front Page Layout & Design	4th	Chico News & Review	May 9, Oct. 3 & Oct. 24, 2019	Tina Flynn	Thinking outside of the box and being not too on the nose is one of the visually-pleasing aspects of this entry. Seeing how small something can be, but yet so deadly paints a very eye-opening picture of how serious the opioid crisis is. There were a lot of ways that this idea could have been presented, but this gets right to the point. The "Crowd Control" art really brings the reader in to how serious of a problem this is becoming for the residents of Chico. Sometimes you don't put the aftermath of a tough fire into this context. The art shows a depth of the issue in a very clear way.
Front Page Layout & Design	5th	Thousand Oaks Acorn	April 25, July 25 & Nov. 7, 2019	Timm Sinclair, Kyle Jorrey	The use of the photos in all parts of this entry were very well done. They helped tell and amplify the stories. These were nice, clean designs and the readers could follow each story and see the order of importance. Nice use of headline hierarchy, and well-written and informative headlines. Not too much continuous gray, which can sometimes bore readers. There were entry points into almost each story on the front, which keeps the readers’ attention.
Front Page Layout & Design	1st	Black Voice News	March 7, May 2 & July 18, 2019	Chris Allen	Eye-catching illustrations,
Front Page Layout & Design	2nd	Dana Point Times	May 24, Aug. 9 & Dec. 27, 2019	Chelsie Rex, Lillian Boyd	Strong use of photos that don't include people, but illustrate the stories.
Front Page Layout & Design	3rd	The Folsom Telegraph	July 25, Sept. 19 & Nov. 7, 2019	Bill Sullivan, Raleigh Hall, Shaden Solanji	The headline and photos work perfectly together.
Front Page Layout & Design	4th	Petaluma Argus-Courier	May 30, Oct. 31, Nov. 21	Frank Marqua	A good mix of people photos.
Front Page Layout & Design	5th	The Business Journal	May 10, May 17 & May 24, 2019	Joe Verduzco, Ram Reyes, Gabriel Dillard	A strong mix of photos and illustrations.
Inside Page Layout & Design	1st	Sacramento News & Review	Music Issue	Sarah Hansel	The entire spread is bold, colorful and loud — very fitting considering the subject matter. The photos really capture the energy and personality of the artists featured. Wonderful use of color adds pop to the pages without being distracting.
Inside Page Layout & Design	2nd	North Coast Journal	Blackout	Jonathan Webster
Inside Page Layout & Design	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	A Radio 'Miracle'	Doug Young
Inside Page Layout & Design	4th	San Clemente Times	A Doggone Good Time at the Ole Hanson Beach Club Pool	Chelsie Rex, Fred Swegles
Inside Page Layout & Design	5th	Sacramento News & Review	Beer Issue	Sarah Hansel
Inside Page Layout & Design	1st	Sacramento Business Journal	An Aggressive Solar Mandate Looms	Stephanie Hays	Awesome lede graphic and type over doubletruck, Not much story on opening, but short overall. Cool graphic comparison of electricity use of appliances.
Inside Page Layout & Design	2nd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Race to See the Future	Nadir Hussain	Pretty graphics that describe the topic complement story about the industry. Photos on later jump pages add new interest.
Inside Page Layout & Design	3rd	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Turn On, Tune In, Stream Live	Nadir Hussain	Fun lede graphic treatment on photo links content.
Inside Page Layout & Design	4th	The Ark	Desire to downsize drives renovation of Tiburon condo	Kevin Hessel	Light typography really accents photos. Use of before and after shots well done.
Inside Page Layout & Design	5th	Silicon Valley Business Journal	Market or Movie?	Bethany Bickley	Good pictures, layout.
Photojournalism	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	July 31, Nov. 3 & Dec. 1, 2019	San Francisco Chronicle Photo Staff	Great photography all around, exceptional photo story packages from homeless to wildfire to the Presidio.
Photojournalism	2nd	The Press Democrat	Feb. 25, Oct. 25 & Oct. 31, 2019	Press Democrat Staff	Strong news coverage and wildfire photos.
Photojournalism	3rd	The Desert Sun	Feb. 10, March 3 & Dec. 22, 2019	Desert Sun Staff
Photojournalism	4th	The Union	Feb. 22, Oct. 7 & Oct. 28, 2019	Elias Funez
Photojournalism	1st	Silicon Valley Business Journal	March 29, April 19 & Oct. 11, 2019	Vicki Thompson, Stan Olszewski, Brittany Hosea-Small, Doug Fairbairn	Excellent photography. Superb composition, lighting and appeal. Great job!
Photojournalism	2nd	Claremont Courier	Feb. 22, April 19 & July 12, 2019	Steven Felschundneff, Peter Weinberger, Kathryn Dunn	Great photography. Strong images.
Photojournalism	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	Feb. 8, April 12 & July 22, 2019	Veronica Weber, Jenny Rodriguez, Keith Ferrell, Karen Hickey Ambrose
Photojournalism	4th	Mountain View Voice	Feb. 15; July 26 & Sept. 6, 2019	Magali Gauthier, Sadie Stinson, Federica Armstrong
Photojournalism	5th	North Coast Journal	March 7, May 23 & May 30, 2019	North Coast Journal Staff
News Photo	1st	Los Angeles Times	Fighting fires	Gina Ferazzi	The time of day, the juxtaposition of the firefighter aligned with the helicopter. This photographer took advantage took full advantage of the situation he was presented with. I don't know if he waited long enough for the moment to occur or if he was just hit with a stroke of luck, whatever the reason was he excited the moment with perfection.
News Photo	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Behind the fence	Gary Coronado	A young boy behind the fence is not only telling a story but the light situation that this photographer had to deal with astonishes me. There's a lot of good things going for this photo. The red light hitting his face, the chainlink fence in the foreground this photo is full of small moments. Both the "behind the fence" and "migrant" photographer did a splendid job working within the environment they were given.
News Photo	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Protester in Hong Kong	Marcus Yam	The strong emotion in the photo nearly got it the number 1 spot. The storytelling aspect alongside the technical aspect of this photo is very strong.
News Photo	4th	Los Angeles Times	Migrant	Carolyn Cole	The moment exceeds technical ability. The personal moment that this photographer captured is great especially under the quality of light that the photographer had to deal with.
News Photo	5th	The San Diego Union-Tribune	Funeral of Chabad of Poway victim, Lori Gilbert-Kaye	K.C. Alfred	This personal moment doesn't seem invasive to me and that's what spoke to me. Anyone could photograph someone crying. This photographer did a great job not over stepping any boundaries.
News Photo	1st	The Desert Sun	Migrants Give Up on Their American Dream	Omar Ornelas	Timely photo. Wonderful caption the image and text contains painful details. The image is shot under challenging circumstances, which add to the impact and feeling of panicked flight.
News Photo	2nd	The Modesto Bee	Mourning a loss	Andy Alfaro	Fantastic image of a touching moment. Composition is slightly off, but there remains many details tucked away in the image. Tears, slight smile, portrait of the deceased.
News Photo	3rd	The Press Democrat	Kincade Fire	Kent Porter	Terrific image of a firefighter in action during the destructive Kinkade fire. Absent is the human cost beyond property. The hero firefighter remains anonymous.
News Photo	4th	The Press-Enterprise	Sandalwood aftermath	Watchara Phomicinda	Great image showing the aftermath and destruction. great angle
News Photo	5th	Los Angeles Daily News	Not so Easy	David Crane	Great image showing the immense struggle and difficulty of rescuing a panicked horse during the fire.
News Photo	1st	Santa Monica Daily Press	Police prevent suicide	Matthew Hall	The emotion captured in this photo is well-done. It brings awareness to a grim subject. The photographer caught a life-and-death situation that most readers fortunately won't see.
News Photo	2nd	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	Evacuate the elderly	Will Lester	The photo shows the surreal consequences of evacuation. It makes you feel sorry for the evacuee and it makes you want to know how she managed being away from her home. The photo makes you sense what it's like to be dependent upon others during an emergency.
News Photo	3rd	Marin Independent Journal	Blackout	Alan Dep	The photo shows the determination of the subject to carry on in face of challenges. It also showed how we are so dependent on forces we have no control over.
News Photo	4th	Record Searchlight	SWAT team fires tear gas	Mike Chapman	The photo relays the standoff's tense consequences. The photographer looks like he was right in the middle of the dangerous incident.
News Photo	5th	Lake County Record-Bee	The ‘Glass Fire’ incident	Bob Minenna	The photo is striking. It looks like something out of a horror movie or a war movie.
News Photo	1st	The Acorn	Freeway shooting	Michael Coons	There's so much going on in this photo — from the police drawing on the suspect, to onlookers standing there, to some taking photos. Great capture of a tense moment.
News Photo	2nd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Remembering a friend	Michael Coons	The emotion in this photo is easy to see. It's a terrific photo of a sad moment that most people would never see, unless they were there.
News Photo	3rd	Simi Valley Acorn	Immigration views clash at City Hall	Joseph Garcia	You can feel the tension between the two men facing each other. The photographer was in the right place at the right time.
News Photo	4th	Santa Barbara Independent	Cave Fire	Paul Wellman	What a spectacular sight! Great photo!
News Photo	5th	Thousand Oaks Acorn	A year later, the pain is the same	Michael Coons	Great job at capturing raw, human emotion.
News Photo	1st	Chino Champion	Fifteen acres burned on hillside in Chino Hills	Josh Thompson
News Photo	2nd	Tracy Press	The heat of the moment	Glenn Moore
News Photo	3rd	Mountain View Voice	A neighborhood association on wheels	Magali Gauthier
News Photo	4th	Mountain View Voice	City Council keeps retail cannabis laws largely intact	Magali Gauthier
News Photo	5th	Chino Champion	Work continues on road damaged by water main break	Josh Thompson
News Photo	1st	The Trinity Journal	House fire	Wayne Agner	Excellent composition
News Photo	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Government shutdown	Crissy Pascual	Image strongly captures palpable emotion
News Photo	3rd	The Folsom Telegraph	A heroes family grieves	Bill Sullivan	Great composition
News Photo	4th	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	No One Above the Law	Robbi Pengelly	Captures an emotional moment in difficult conditions
News Photo	5th	Glendale News-Press	Scuffles break out as Adam Schiff speaks at Armenian town hall	Raul Roa	Image captures lots of movement among many different subjects
Feature Photo	1st	Los Angeles Times	The end of the season for Paradise High	Wally Skalij	Outstanding visual impact and storytelling of the emotion of the moment. Very smart choice to opt for black-and-white (really enhances that visual impact). Strong technical quality
Feature Photo	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Homeless in L.A.	Luis Sinco	Strong visual impact, showing a moment in the life of this homeless person. Great scene-setting too, considering cityscape backdrop and the foreground of the person's life. Strong technical quality and use of color.
Feature Photo	3rd	The San Diego Union-Tribune	USS Monsoor	Howard Lipin	Great framing and scene-setting. Strong technical quality. Really engages the viewer to want to know more about the story of the scene, but still tells part of that story.
Feature Photo	4th	Los Angeles Times	Church	Robert Gauthier	Great technical quality and timing in terms of scene-setting. Engages the view to want to know more about the story. Artistically standout
Feature Photo	5th	The Orange County Register	Sunrise surfing	Mark Rightmire	Fun action photo; great use of scenery/natural elements to frame an engaging photos. Strong technical quality.
Feature Photo	1st	The Desert Sun	Homelessness in the Desert	Jay Calderon	This photo artistically, unsentimentally captures the despair of being homeless in the desert, complete with the dog standing sentry on an abandoned fireplace. There's a lot to look at in this photo - the facial expressions, the surrounding stuff, the T-shirts, the dogs, the (apparently) burned out house, the desolate background landscape. It all comes together to tell a very powerful story.
Feature Photo	2nd	The Bakersfield Californian	Staying cool at the pool	Alex Horvath	I love how the photographer caught that perfect, exuberant moment of being a kid in the summertime.
Feature Photo	3rd	Daily Breeze	Thunder Thursday	Scott Varley	Beautiful colors and sharp silhouettes are in contrast with the exciting (and terrifying) action in the photo.
Feature Photo	4th	The Press Democrat	Kringle's Corner	Beth Schlanker	Pure art. The twinkling lights and their reflections are a creative way to capture the magic of the holidays.
Feature Photo	5th	The Modesto Bee	All is ducky in Oakdale after Ted returned to owner	Andy Alfaro	It's not often one sees a duck on someone's shoulder. The officer's smile is real and infectious. Even the duck seems happy.
Feature Photo	1st	The Tribune	Excited grad	Laura Dickinson	I love the elation of the teen and the smile from the principal. It's just an enjoyable shot that captures well the emotions of graduation day.
Feature Photo	2nd	The Record	AgFest	Clifford Oto	This is a really cute shot. I think it does a great job of showing how close FFA students get with their animals during showing time.
Feature Photo	3rd	Santa Cruz Sentinel	All the raindrops	Dan Coyro	I love how she stands out with the bright red jacket and no umbrella. The sticking out of her tongue just captures her attitude perfectly.
Feature Photo	4th	The Tribune	Curious seal	David Middlecamp	What a cute capture. The seal's expression is just so wonderful as it watches those watching them.
Feature Photo	5th	Times-Herald	Reaching for the stars	Chris Riley	I love how this almost feels like he's touching the actual moon. It's a great way to depict the art piece and a play on oversize moon photos.
Feature Photo	1st	The Acorn	Dogs walking human	Joseph A. Garcia	The composition and subject matter of this photo is well thought out, but spur of the moment as well. The photographer provided a cutline, yet it wasn't necessary to tell the story.
Feature Photo	2nd	The Beach Reporter	Feelin' the music	Axel Koester	The feeling of fun and energy is captured perfectly in this photo. Music is almost audible thanks to the movement and tilted cropping.
Feature Photo	3rd	Simi Valley Acorn	Pals	Michael Coons	This is truly a heartfelt photo, showing a strong bond between man and dog. Nicely done.
Feature Photo	4th	Santa Barbara Independent	Blown Fuel Steamliner Car	Paul Wellman	Though there wasn't a cutline, this photo tells a grand story and produces a lot of curiosity in the viewer. The composition and colors draw in the eye.
Feature Photo	5th	Camarillo Acorn	Park and ride	Joseph Garcia	The photographer was able to capture a moment of play and imagination with a simple shot.
Feature Photo	1st	Signal Tribune	‘They fight us with a bullet, we fight back with love and compassion.’	Lissette Mendoza	There were other features that the technical quality and storytelling stood out more than this photo but the visual impact gave it the number 1 spot in my book. The title of this photo "They fight us with a bullet, we fight back with love and compassion." also helped it give it a boost in regards to the storytelling aspect of the photograph. Overall this photo is a 7 out of 10 in my book but a 10/10 in regards to the impact it is creating.
Feature Photo	2nd	The Almanac	A veteran offers his hand	Magali Gauthier	A tender/honest moment captured in this lovely feature. The photo looks soft to me, I don't know if its because of the quality of the JPEG or the actual setting of the photographer.
Feature Photo	3rd	Mountain View Voice	Let a laptop be your umbrella	Magali Gauthier	This was the feature that stood out the most to me but besides the great storytelling component of the story there's not much this photo offers.
Feature Photo	4th	Mountain View Voice	Let's hang out: Co-op preschool celebrates 50 years in Mountain View	Magali Gauthier	The juxtaposition in this photograph is great.
Feature Photo	5th	Mountain View Voice	Rise of the ramen bots	Magali Gauthier	Such a timeless moment that any person viewing this photo could relate to. Such joy and excitement being capture. The photographer did a great job capturing this fun moment.
Feature Photo	1st	The Folsom Telegraph	Thanking her hero	Bill Sullivan	Great emotions and moment. This image had the most emotion and visual impact out of all the entries.
Feature Photo	2nd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Sonoma Valley High Goes Wild	Robbi Pengelly	Great moment, though this image could have benefitted from a tighter crop.
Feature Photo	3rd	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Fantastic Beasts!	Robbi Pengelly	Visually impactful image. This made me do a double take. The art is great, but the live subject is rather static.
Feature Photo	4th	The Folsom Telegraph	Trick, Treat or Royal Flush	Bill Sullivan	Nice moment with a good subject.
Feature Photo	5th	Sacramento Business Journal	Country Club Luchador Express	Dennis McCoy	I like the concept behind this photo. The visual impact is pretty good.
Feature Photo	1st	The Weekly Calistogan	Calistoga Lighted Tractor Parade	Tim Carl
Feature Photo	2nd	The Trinity Journal	Merry-go-round fun	Wayne Agner
Feature Photo	3rd	St. Helena Star	Schramsberg Vineyards crews saber the wines	Tim Carl
Feature Photo	4th	The Trinity Journal	Bewitching brigade	Wayne Agner
Feature Photo	5th	Claremont Courier	Heart attack survivor	Steven Felschundneff
Artistic Photo	1st	Marin Independent Journal	Flower inspection	Alan Dep	With the right lens, anyone can get a tight shot. But to compose a close up so fluently—flowing petals, activity, the artistry of nature. It's captivating.
Artistic Photo	2nd	The Tribune	Pismo dog walker	David Middlecamp
Artistic Photo	3rd	Visalia Times-Delta	2019 high school prom	Ron Holman
Artistic Photo	4th	Marin Independent Journal	Wing stretching	Alan Dep
Artistic Photo	5th	Santa Maria Times	Cruzin' for Life	Len Wood
Artistic Photo	1st	The Press Democrat	Tree and Meteor	Kent Porter
Artistic Photo	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Plane	Luis Sinco
Artistic Photo	3rd	The Orange County Register	Strolling by the Super Snow Moon	Mark Rightmire
Artistic Photo	4th	The Sacramento Bee	Nutcracker Ballet	Daniel Kim
Artistic Photo	5th	Los Angeles Times	Rocker	Allen J. Schaben
Artistic Photo	1st	Simi Valley Acorn	High flying act	Michael Coons
Artistic Photo	2nd	Simi Valley Acorn	Winging It	Joseph Garcia
Artistic Photo	3rd	The Acorn	Pool reflection	Joseph A. Garcia
Artistic Photo	4th	Brentwood Press	Deck the Park	Tony Kukulich
Artistic Photo	5th	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Charred landscape	Joseph Garcia
Artistic Photo	1st	The Sonoma Index-Tribune	Seeds of Light Sown	Robbi Pengelly	Nice lighting on this photo and good composition. Meaningful portrait of a grieving mother.
Artistic Photo	2nd	Tracy Press	Fire and water	Glenn Moore	Good action! Love the lighting. Gives it a painterly quality.
Artistic Photo	3rd	Mount Shasta Herald	Rising above it all	Danielle Jester	Great "how did you get that shot?" photo. Beautiful lighting.
Artistic Photo	4th	Elk Grove Citizen	A Tradition in Vivid Colors	Steve Crowley	Fun and colorful photos. The face portraits were beautiful. Would've scored it better, but the photo had some distracting artifacts.
Artistic Photo	5th	The Desert Review	Folklorico Dancer	Joselito Villero	Fun and colorful. Good composition and nice action.
Photo Illustration	1st	The Tribune	Murder petitions	David Middlecamp	Nice composition, like the use of the stark lighting, dramatic looking photo that conveyed the story well.
Photo Illustration	2nd	Los Angeles Times	'Terror' Then and Now	Shenho Hshieh	Nice us of photo effects to make the image unique
Photo Illustration	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	2019 NBA Finals	Tam Duong, Danielle Mollette-Parks, Elizabeth Burr, Robert Mickelson	Good selection of photos, nice editing to draw the reader in.
Photo Illustration	4th	The Press Democrat	Cape Buffalo	John Burgess	very dramatic lighting, well composed.
Photo Illustration	1st	Comstock's Magazine	We Hate Meeting	Kelly Barr, Mike Graff	This is so fun — and there’s levels of fun, from the facial expressions to the little charts on the white board. The feel that the illustrators caught an office “moment” is pretty amazing. Great use of color. The idea of using legos may have been done before but this team definitely pulled off an excellent execution.
Photo Illustration	2nd	Sacramento Business Journal	A hearty helping of the region's top young leaders	Stephanie Hays	This is an incredibly ambitious campaign that brings a smile to a designer’s face. The amount of effort to create a box for all 40 is pretty staggering. The concept is pretty original and seems to fit with the nutritional mindset that people under 40 seem to have.
Photo Illustration	3rd	Comstock's Magazine	Power Shift	Terence Duffy, Kelly Barr	I love the fold out concept and the thought that it gives the reader a “surprise” when they open it up. What a feat to capture in one frame so many with a powerful expression. The tone of the photo has a very nice quality, with the coordination of color.
Photo Illustration	4th	Palo Alto Weekly	Whose rules?	Veronica Weber, Jocelyn Dong	You have to admire the amount of technical skill in this setup — from the game board pieces to the hand involvement and depth of field photography.
Photo Illustration	5th	The Trinity Journal	'Sound of Music' auditions coming	Bridget Carson	This has a bit of an old-timey advertising feel to it that gives you a nostalgic response.
Photo Story/Essay	1st	Los Angeles Times	Protests in Hong Kong	Marcus Yam
Photo Story/Essay	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Mexico's homicide crisis	Gary Coronado
Photo Story/Essay	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	One Day, One City, No Relief: San Francisco Chronicle	Photo Staff San Francisco Chronicle
Photo Story/Essay	4th	Los Angeles Times	Immigration	Gary Coronado
Photo Story/Essay	5th	Los Angeles Times	Paradise High football season after the devastating Camp fire	Wally Skalij
Photo Story/Essay	1st	The Press Democrat	Last Stand at Windsor: The Kincade Fire	Press Democrat Staff	Great story telling from the fight against the flames to the toll on the community. Got in close and told a dramatic story.
Photo Story/Essay	2nd	The Desert Sun	Keeping traditions alive in a new land	Omar Ornelas	Beautifully photographed story capturing a slice of the community's traditions. Well done.
Photo Story/Essay	3rd	Santa Cruz Sentinel	Homeless in Santa Cruz	Dan Coyro	Difficult subject to photograph, nice work getting in close for intimate moments.
Photo Story/Essay	4th	The Bakersfield Californian	Portraits of the homeless	Alex Horvath	Nice collection of portraits and technically well done.
Photo Story/Essay	5th	The Bakersfield Californian	A war hero comes home, 76 years after he was missing in action	Alex Horvath	Nice work capturing a variety of moments and b=views of his return, wish there would have been more.
Photo Story/Essay	1st	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Just one of the team	Michael Coons	A truly inspiring story with excellent photos that capture Corey's personality and tell the story perfectly.
Photo Story/Essay	2nd	Santa Barbara Independent	The Conception	Paul Wellman	Beautiful photos that capture the community's heartbreak.
Photo Story/Essay	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	Living on four wheels	Veronica Weber	A great slice of life to show how living out of an RV or car has become a reality for many.
Photo Story/Essay	4th	Camarillo Acorn	Grapple with purpose	Michael Coons, Eliav Appelbaum	Great photos of cute kids wrestling in honor of a fallen wrestler that show the competitive spirit and the camaraderie of sport.
Photo Story/Essay	5th	Palo Alto Weekly	Rethinking waste	Veronica Weber	A fascinating, in-depth look at where the waste goes and how the process is evolving.
Photo Story/Essay	1st	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Supporting transgender children	Crissy Pascual	The photos provide a range of emotion, eloquently showing the world of one child, and they do so in such a creative manner each could stand alone.
Photo Story/Essay	2nd	The Folsom Telegraph	Farewell to Officer Ishmael	Bill Sullivan
Photo Story/Essay	3rd	The Windsor Times	Windsor comes home, gives thanks	Heather Bailey
Photo Story/Essay	4th	The Ark	Going to the dogs	Elliot Karlan
Photo Story/Essay	5th	The Trinity Journal	Faces of Halloween 2019	Wayne Agner
Sports Action Photo	1st	Los Angeles Times	Parallel bars	Wally Skalij	The focus on the face makes this image stand out over others.
Sports Action Photo	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Pitcher	Wally Skalij	Nice moment, I just wish there was something more going on with the pitcher.
Sports Action Photo	3rd	The Sacramento Bee	Kings dunk	Paul Kitagaki Jr.	Great face, but the ball seems a little far, almost out of frame.
Sports Action Photo	4th	Los Angeles Times	Airborne	Wally Skalij
Sports Action Photo	1st	The Press-Enterprise	Rose Bowl	Terry Pierson	Photo has everything wrapped up in a awesome composition, shot well with great drama.
Sports Action Photo	2nd	The Press Democrat	High Flying TD	Christopher Chung	Great storytelling from the hip. Image suffers slightly from composition. Cropping might improve overall impact.
Sports Action Photo	3rd	The Fresno Bee	Clovis rodeo	Craig Kohlruss	Wonderful image, shot well. Great drama on the rider and bronc. Needs more storytelling with text/captioning. Good ride? Poor ride? Saddle bronc or is it bareback?
Sports Action Photo	4th	The Fresno Bee	High school track	Craig Kohlruss	Great drama and moment!
Sports Action Photo	5th	Daily Pilot	Laguna Beach girls’ water polo bounces back for third at Santa Barbara TOC	Raul Roa	Solid package of images with good lead of defender in overtime win.
Sports Action Photo	1st	The Record	Flores fight	Clifford Oto	This photo tells the story. Great boxing photo and use of the wide angle lens was used perfectly.
Sports Action Photo	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	What's the call?	Alan Dep	The photo was taken at the right moment with the two baseball players staring at the umpire, who is about to make his call. Sets up a lot of anticipation on what the call would be. Great photo!
Sports Action Photo	3rd	Daily Press	Just Out of Reach	James Quigg	Great soccer moment. Any picture, such as this, showing soccer goalies diving for a ball makes for a great photo.
Sports Action Photo	4th	Visalia Times-Delta	Gridiron sideline dance	Ron Holman	The expressions on both the receiver and the defender make this a great football action shot. Nice timing to capture a great moment.
Sports Action Photo	5th	The Reporter	Battling for Position	Joel Rosenbaum	It can be sometimes difficult to get a good soccer action photo that doesn't show a ball, but this one is fantastic. The poke in the eye and the grabbing of the hand works in the picture. Nice job!
Sports Action Photo	1st	Thousand Oaks Acorn	No fear	Michael Coons
Sports Action Photo	2nd	The Beach Reporter	Rowing in the Dory race	Axel Koester
Sports Action Photo	3rd	The Acorn	Basketball bash	Michael Coons
Sports Action Photo	4th	Santa Barbara Independent	UCSB Tennis	Paul Wellman
Sports Action Photo	5th	Santa Barbara Independent	SMHS Track Meet	Paul Wellman
Sports Action Photo	1st	Tracy Press	What do you mean, I'm out?	Glenn Moore
Sports Action Photo	2nd	Chino Champion	Huskies, Knights advance to semis	Josh Thompson
Sports Action Photo	3rd	Los Altos Town Crier	Boys toppled by Paly 56-46	Megan Winslow
Sports Action Photo	4th	Moorpark Acorn	Teen catches major air	Joseph Garcia
Sports Action Photo	5th	The Davis Enterprise	Leaping receiver	Owen Yancher
Sports Action Photo	1st	St. Helena Star	NCS playoff runs come to an end	Dave Mosher	Captured all the emotion of the moment. Great framing. I know everything I need to know about this story from the photo.
Sports Action Photo	2nd	The Weekly Calistogan	Calistoga girls basketball win tournament	Dave Mosher	Good framing to get the whole team in there. Captures all the emotion. Tells the full story.
Sports Action Photo	3rd	Mount Shasta Herald	Almost home	Skye Kinkade	Fantastic timing and catch of the action. Only knocked down for the tagged runner being out of focus.
Sports Action Photo	4th	The Mountain Enterprise	The throw to first	Dave Waters	Love all the technical aspects of the photo. Layers of depth. Strong focus.
Sports Action Photo	5th	St. Helena Star	Saints break records, rout Trojans 54-39	Dave Mosher	Strong technical ability in this one. Love the look back.
Sports Feature Photo	1st	Los Angeles Times	Balance beam	Wally Skalij
Sports Feature Photo	2nd	The Sacramento Bee	Killdeer closes football field	Renée C. Byer
Sports Feature Photo	3rd	Los Angeles Times	Horse and jockey	Irfan Khan
Sports Feature Photo	4th	The Sacramento Bee	Marathon welfare check	Daniel Kim
Sports Feature Photo	5th	Los Angeles Times	Los Angeles Rams	Wally Skalij
Sports Feature Photo	1st	The Record	Slowball	Clifford Oto
Sports Feature Photo	2nd	The Press Democrat	Over The Fence	Kent Porter
Sports Feature Photo	3rd	The Tribune	Touchdown celebration	David Middlecamp
Sports Feature Photo	4th	The Bakersfield Californian	Buzzer-beater: Aggies spoil 'Runners second-half comeback with final-second shot	Alex Horvath
Sports Feature Photo	5th	Visalia Times-Delta	Teeing up on the golf course	Ron Holman
Sports Feature Photo	1st	Elk Grove Citizen	Brews and Wiener Dogs	Steve Crowley	It's certainly not a traditional sports photo, which I understand is the point. It's such a fun shot -- love how the dog owner in back is trying to get her racer going, while another dog just chills in its crate. And the dog in the foreground looks so happy!
Sports Feature Photo	2nd	Camarillo Acorn	Golden goose	Richard Gillard	My favorite thing about this photo is it leaves me dying to know what the next moment brought.
Sports Feature Photo	3rd	Glendale News-Press	Flintridge Prep girls’ water polo falls to Katella in CIF championship	Raul Roa	Ouch. The finger to the eye should make anyone viewing this photo wince a bit. But I also love how the ball was captured in such a way that it's almost date-stamping the photo.
Sports Feature Photo	4th	Poway News Chieftain	The Thrill of Victory	Monte Umsted	The jubilation captured is terrific. But the photographer catching the kid's hair at full height makes this shot!
Sports Feature Photo	5th	Tracy Press	Inspiration	Glenn Moore	Shot works so well even if you don't know the story. At first glance it looks like a simple take-a-knee, say-a-prayer moment, but Elias' name and number tell you there's more to it.
Special Section	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	One Day, One City, No Relief	San Francisco Chronicle Design Staff
Special Section	2nd	Chico Enterprise-Record	Camp Fire images	Enterprise-Record Staff
Special Section	3rd	Napa Valley Register	They Served With Honor	Sean Scully
Special Section	4th	The Press Democrat	2018 Year in Pictures	Press Democrat Staff
Special Section	5th	Antelope Valley Press	Future Leaders	Pamela Krogstie
Special Section	1st	Santa Barbara Independent	Disaster Prep Guide	Tyler Hayden, Keith Hamm, Alex Drake	Impactful and excellent use of design for vital and important needed reader safety information.
Special Section	2nd	Chico News & Review	Camp Fire One-Year Anniversary Issue	Melissa Daugherty, Ashiah Scharaga, Meredith J. Cooper, Tina Flynn, Andre Byik, Jason Cassidy	Great work on the whole issue being devoted to the Camp Fire remembrance and issues being faced by the community moving forward. Nice community coverage at all levels.
Special Section	3rd	Palo Alto Weekly	Palo Alto Weekly 40th Anniversary edition	Palo Alto Weekly Staff	Well informed and localized news writing for a 40 year look back on this community. Timeline was easy to digest and read.
Special Section	4th	Monterey County Weekly	Eat+Drink Guide	Dave Faries, Monterey County Weekly Staff	Good photography and creative category titles and writing.
Special Section	5th	Sacramento News & Review	Best of Sacramento	Maria Ratinova, Sacramento News & Review Staff	Creative category listings, current and colorful design use.
Special Section	1st	San Francisco Business Times	Business of Pride	Jim Gardner, Todd Johnson
Special Section	2nd	North Coast Journal	The Media Literacy Issue	North Coast Journal Staff
Special Section	3rd	The Malibu Times	Malibu Remembers	Emily Sawicki, Shivani Patel, Nira Lichten
Special Section	4th	Tehachapi News	Our history: A collection of historic photos, stories and personal memories of how Tehachapi became the community it is today	Tehachapi News Staff
Special Section	5th	Valley Voice	Where To Have Your Baby	Catherine Doe
Special Section	1st	Cloverdale Reveille	Teens and the Vape Debate	Sonoma West Publishers	This section was extremely interesting and informative, focusing on health and social ramifications of vaping, as well as explaining the science and its intricacies.
Special Section	2nd	The Windsor Times	Sonoma Clean Power	Mary Fricker, Sonoma West Publishers	This section was extremely enlightening, focusing on environmental and ramifications, while providing historical background as well as explaining the complicated science and political processes involved.
Special Section	3rd	Sonoma West Times & News	Deep Trouble	Sonoma West Publishers Staff	This section was informative and fascinating, clearly bringing to the forefront, in great detail, environmental concerns that don't receive due coverage.
Special Section	4th	The Healdsburg Tribune	Harvest 2019	Sonoma West Publishers Staff	This was a fun, fascinating look at the region/community's agriculture successes.
Special Section	5th	La Canada Flintridge Outlook	A Salute To La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation	Aisa Reyes, Karin Esterhammer, Mark Geers	This section revealed a previously unknown (to me), clever, creative, community solution to funding in the wake of 1978's Prop. 13. The articles describing the organization's history were most fascinating.
Special Section Cover	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Culture Desk, Food + Home & The Fisherman's Secret	Design Staff San Francisco Chronicle	These are excellent examples of what a section cover should do – catch the reader’s eye and communicate plainly what the content is about. The bold typography, bright colors and clever illustration of “Don’t Panic!” captures the mood and tone of the subject matter. So too do the muted earth tones, fading letters, and spare, striking photography of “The Fisherman’s Secret.” An easy pick for first place.
Special Section Cover	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Feb. 2, Nov. 10 & Nov. 24, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Hollywood’s hometown paper produced theatrical entries. Both “Detective Trapp” and “American Fallout” have a cinematic quality – they could almost double as movie posters. “The Sneakers Issue” keeps text to a minimum while allowing a lively illustration to speak for itself.
Special Section Cover	3rd	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Chill; Play Ball; Bookish	Jackie Burrell, Jennifer Schaefer, Chris Gotsill, Mark Conley	Eye-candy illustrations and matching typography. Each element works in harmony with the others for a result that’s just fun to look at.
Special Section Cover	4th	The Desert Sun	‘Detention or death’; They Called It Home; ‘Chilapa is a war zone’	Desert Sun Staff	Good use of large-scale photos. “They Called It Home” stands out for the way it merges images with text.
Special Section Cover	5th	The San Diego Union-Tribune	2019 NFL Preview	Michael Domine
Special Section Cover	1st	Sacramento Business Journal	Top young leaders; Food and Agriculture; CFO of the Year	Stephanie Hays	Cover images were styled with care and forethought, and it shows. Very creative, good attention to detail.
Special Section Cover	2nd	Comstock's Magazine	Folsom: A Natural Draw; Woodland: Rooted in Innovation; 19th Annual Capital Region Office Guide	Marissa Lewis, Shoka, Thea Kaiser	Over all strong designs, nice balance of white space, simplistic but in the right way.
Special Section Cover	3rd	The Healdsburg Tribune	Vaping; Sonoma Clean Power; Deep Trouble	Robby McClellan, Sonoma West Publishers Staff	Inspired designs, creative use of headlines as a graphic element. Large blocks of text holding the pages back, otherwise would have placed higher.
Special Section Cover	4th	Monterey County Weekly	Eat+Drink Guide; Monterey Bay Visitors Guide; U.S. Open Guide	Karen Loutzenheiser	Beautiful photography, good text placement, but predictable design.
Special Section Cover	5th	The Ark	Generosity (Summer 2019), Generosity (Winter 2019) & Home (Fall 2019)	Kevin Hessel	Good use of photography, good balance of copy, but predictable design.
Special Publication	1st	The Orange County Register	Coast Magazine	Samantha Dunn, Jenn Tanaka, Karen Kelso
Special Publication	2nd	Napa Valley Register	Inside Napa Valley magazine, spring/summer 2019	Sean Scully, Norma Kostecka
Special Publication	3rd	San Francisco Chronicle	Tom Stienstra's Outdoors	Deb Wandell, Tom Stienstra, Elizabeth Burr, Russell Yip
Special Publication	4th	Napa Valley Register	Inside Napa Valley magazine, winter/spring 2019	Sean Scully, Norma Kostecka
Special Publication	5th	Antelope Valley Press	Welcome	Valley Press Staff
Special Publication	1st	North Coast Journal	Humboldt Insider	North Coast Journal Staff
Special Publication	2nd	San Clemente Times	SC Magazine 2019	Jasmine Smith, Andrea Papagianis, Randall Youngman, Fred Swegles
Special Publication	3rd	North Coast Journal	Wedding Guide	North Coast Journal Staff
Special Publication	4th	The Folsom Telegraph	The Folsom Lake Entertainer	Bill Sullivan, Rachel Zirin, Shaden Solanji, Debbrah Campbell, Tarin Delavoye
Special Publication	5th	The Desert Review	Desert Kids News	Noel Bravo, Kayla Kirby, Javier Guerrero, Jalen Fong
Sports Section	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	June 13 & 14, 2019	San Francisco Chronicle Sporting Green Staff	This is how you do it. Comprehensive coverage of the local team in its big moment, with plenty of staff resourced devoted to that coverage, and then presented well with good photos displayed prominently. Other local sports get their due attention as well, and when wire is used its coverage of those sports that the local readers would be in is presented well.
Sports Section	2nd	Los Angeles Times	April 14 & 15, 2019	Los Angeles Times Staff	Good use of photos. Good photos and run them big. Variety of content and lots of different types of sports coverage, from in depth stories to game coverage, features and column, plus scoreboards and schedules.
Sports Section	3rd	The Desert Sun	Jan. 18 & 19, 2019	Desert Sun Staff	It's a good-looking section. The coverage of the local golf tournament stands out, and so it's good to see staff resources devoted to that with as many pages as you have. The main sports section looks good, but appears to be heavy on the wire and USA Today content, though that's to be expected as you devote local reporting resources to the golf tournament.
Sports Section	4th	Chico Enterprise-Record	Feb. 16 & 17, 2019	Enterprise-Record Staff	It's good to see the local prep coverage dominate the cover. Would have liked to see the girls wrestling section champions make the cover too. It would also be better to group the jumps from the local coverage together on the inside pages instead of mixing it with the wire stories.
Sports Section	5th	Napa Valley Register	Aug. 25 & 26, 2019	Andy Wilcox, Gus Morris, Marty James	Good local coverage and good photography complemented by attractive use of wire content.
Sports Section	1st	Ledger Dispatch	Nov. 1 & 8, 2019	Jack Mitchell, Jeremy Malamed, Rachel Norris, Sarah Tullus	As a total package, this is an exceptional sports section. Great coverage all around, highlighted by great design that lets the stories and photos shine without additional, unnecessary, razzle-dazzle. The attention given to the cover story shows the significance of the team’s accomplishment and the layout does a wonderful job of capturing its significance without taking away from the other happenings of the day.
Sports Section	2nd	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Nov. 7 & 14, 2019	John Jackson, Frank Marqua
Sports Section	3rd	The Davis Enterprise	Jan. 4 & 6, 2019	Davis Enterprise Sports Staff
Sports Section	4th	The Desert Review	Sept. 24 & Oct. 1, 2019	Javier Guerrero, Kalin Turner, Ernest Ramos, Jalen Fong
Special Sports Section	1st	Imperial Valley Press	2019 High School Football Preview	Aaron Bodus, Tania Pamanes, Victor Quinonez, Tom Bodus
Special Sports Section	2nd	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	NFL Kickoff	Mercury News Sports Staff, Mark Conley
Special Sports Section	3rd	Santa Maria Times	Central Coast Football 2019	Joe Bailey, Elliott Stern, Kenny Cress, Len Wood
Special Sports Section	4th	Los Angeles Times	NFL Preview	Los Angeles Times Staff
Special Sports Section	5th	The Desert Sun	2019 Desert Classic Golf Tournament	Larry Bohannan, Matt Solinsky
Special Sports Section	1st	The Folsom Telegraph	2019 Friday Night Lights	Bill Sullivan, Matt Long, Debbrah Campbell, Tarin Delavoye	Good layout, design, use of graphics. The writing was clear, easy to follow, even if you know nothing about the teams.
Special Sports Section	2nd	Thousand Oaks Acorn	Pigskin Preview 2019	Thousand Oaks Acorn Staff	Great use of graphics, clean design. The consistent layout for each school made the section easy to follow, Great writing, as well.
Special Sports Section	3rd	Turlock Journal	The Blitz Season 7: The Chibi Edition	Harold George, Eduardo Ruiz	Whomever designed this tab thought outside the box. The design was clean and the caricatures added an interesting twist.
Special Sports Section	4th	Ledger Dispatch	Argonaut Mustangs Varsity Girls Basketball Keepsake Edition	Jack Mitchell, Jeremy Malamed, Aaron Johnson, Craig Baracco
Special Sports Section	5th	Dana Point Times	2019 Dolphin Football Preview	Zach Cavanagh, Jasmine Smith
Editorial Cartoon	1st	Los Angeles Times	The new Bill of Rights: Donald Trump gives originalism an update	Steve Brodner	The quality of the art is worthy of a gallery. Love that the images appear ripped from the time of the framers. And the online animation is really something. If I were to quibble, I would say the layout is hard to follow and distracting. I would have done something else with those wonderful drawings.
Editorial Cartoon	2nd	Marin Independent Journal	West Marin coastal wall denied	George Russell	I love this one. It's simple, understandable to any coastal Californian and makes a statement that can't be missed. So much with simple black and white.
Editorial Cartoon	3rd	The San Diego Union-Tribune	California property values	Steve Breen	There is something about the color and humanity in the drawing that makes this unique to me. I'd love to see this artist in my daily paper.
Editorial Cartoon	4th	Marin Independent Journal	PG&E public safety power shutoff hits Marin	George Russell
Editorial Cartoon	5th	Los Angeles Times	Turkey Day at Nancy's house: Where politics has to be on the table	Steve Brodner	I almost love this. Great idea, riffing on the famous Rockwell, but honestly, I found the caricatures a little overdone.
Editorial Cartoon	1st	Petaluma Argus-Courier	Petaluma Library upgrades	Pete McDonnell	Wonderful detail on artwork, from the titles on the stack, "The Wind is Gone!" to the guy on the computer on the far right. You don't have to live in Petaluma to instantly get what's going on here and relate to similar SNAFUs in other places. Minor nit: don't think you need the little lines around librarian's head; it's effective enough without them. Overall, WOW!
Editorial Cartoon	2nd	Santa Maria Sun	Can of legal cannabis worms	Ross Mayfield	Nice use of color; great detail on the worms. Instantly conveys the myriad issues every jurisdiction in California is dealing with. A little creepy but very effective.
Editorial Cartoon	3rd	Palos Verdes Peninsula News	Day of the Dead	Gary Johnson	More great detail from a very talented artist.
Editorial Cartoon	4th	Half Moon Bay Review	Road Hogs	Marc Hershon	Love the subtle coloring and the expressions on the faces. Manages to comment on climate crisis and skewer bureaucracy at the same time.... Really torn cause I wanted to put this in top 3.
Editorial Cartoon	5th	Santa Maria Sun	The power is out, but California's still on fire	Ross Mayfield	Very poignant... had a visceral reaction to this, but I think it would have benefited from a caption; don't know if readers would immediately get the connection between cutting power and fires still going on.
Illustration	1st	Los Angeles Times	End 'Game'	Cameron Cottrill
Illustration	2nd	Los Angeles Times	Summer movie sneaks	Jonathan Bartlett
Illustration	3rd	Los Angeles Times	It's gotta be the shoes	Alessandro Pautasso
Illustration	4th	Los Angeles Times	Fall arts preview	Pierluigi Longo
Illustration	5th	Los Angeles Times	Oversubscribed	Robert Neubecker
Illustration	1st	Sacramento Business Journal	Best of the Bar	Stephanie Hays	The amount of detail illustrated in this piece is staggering. You can find little scenes throughout that tell their own little story. I love the Escher approach and it feels appropriate that it’s not overpowering the concept — you almost don’t see it until you start to closely look at the details. Just wonderful.
Illustration	2nd	North Coast Journal	We're Coming Home	Jacqueline Langeland	A splendid illustration that seems to tell a story on its own. It has a wonderful whimsical style with surprising textures and layers. The colors give off a feel of a a season that the locals would know all too well.
Illustration	3rd	Comstock's Magazine	How Safe Is Your Pension?	Andrew J. Nilsen, Carly Carnejo	The color palette works really well and the “payoff” you get when you open the cover is pretty cool. Nice illustration style fits the subject with it’s texture and tone.
Illustration	4th	Sacramento News & Review	Power play	Maria Ratinova	This is a cool illustration with a noir feel that seems to fit the subject of the story nicely. The few colors used are played deftly against the dark backdrop.
Illustration	5th	Santa Barbara Independent	Michael B Jordan as Black Panther	Ben Ciccati	A graphic approach to a portrait. The unfinished portion kind of alludes to the actor’s young (and not close to being finished) career.
Informational Graphic	1st	San Francisco Chronicle	Why California Burns: San Francisco Chronicle	John Blanchard, Kurtis Alexander, Danielle Mollette-Parks, Mark Lundgren
Informational Graphic	2nd	Chico Enterprise-Record	Rebuilding an icon	Esmeralda Ramirez
Informational Graphic	3rd	The Orange County Register	Horse deaths	Jeff Goertzen
Informational Graphic	4th	Los Angeles Times	The evolution of a violent path	Lorena Iñiguez Elebee, Paige St. John
Informational Graphic	5th	The Mercury News/East Bay Times	Dive Boat Tragedy	Pai
Informational Graphic	1st	North Coast Journal	Recycling	Jonathan Webster	Jonathan Webster designed a lot of information to be clear, easy to follow and understand. The creative way he illustrates the information has a fun, game-like aesthetic.
Informational Graphic	2nd	Sacramento Business Journal	The Business of Death	Stephanie Hays	All of these numbers were elegantly designed to give the reader a very comprehensive view of the industry. The slight touch of colors don’t overwhelm but help inform and the typography is beautiful in its simplicity.
Informational Graphic	3rd	North Coast Journal	Priest Abuse	Jonathan Webster	This piece has a massive amount of information that’s a little intimidating to get into — but when you dive in and start to understand what it’s showing you, it’s staggering and upsetting, which ultimately indicates the effectiveness of this graphic. The colors are used very precisely, helping you clearly see the most important items.
Informational Graphic	4th	Palo Alto Weekly	Anatomy of a fraud	Linda Taaffe, Kristin Brown	“Anatomy of a Fraud” was a visual way to pull out and consolidate key points.