Brandon Walters, in-depth or investigative reporting, for a cover story about judges in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Scott Bass, general news writing, for stories on the Shockoe Bottom flood; government writing, for reporting on the lodging tax, regional transportation and a city audit; sports feature writing, for stories on the RiverDogs and Varina High School football.
Edwin Slipek Jr., column writing, for architecture coverage. The judges noted that the “best of everything is exhibited in these pieces. … The writer loves his craft and his community.”
Best-in-Show
Bass also won a best-in-show for writing in the specialty division for his work covering the flood in Shockoe Bottom. His work focused on recuperating businesses, how meteorologists missed the advancing storm and how a flood pump in the Bottom was useless under such conditions.
Judges called his writing strong and descriptive. “Beyond that,” they wrote, “what stands out is the narrative progression as the reporter moves from case to case, from loss to pathos to the first hints of consolation.”
Special Category
Walters won an Award for Journalism in the Field of Law and Justice for her cover story “A Just Cause.” The contest was co-sponsored by the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Bar Association.
Walters’ story illustrated how judges in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court struggled daily “to balance the extremes in human behavior … to apply the law and to make decisions that ultimately shape communities.”
Home Style Honored
Style’s monthly magazine on home living, Home Style, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary, won first place among specialty sections. Art Director Mark Jeffries received a first-place award for excellence of page design (newsprint). The magazine’s “Green Issue” also was honored.
Photography Wins
Style’s photojournalists each won two first-place awards.
Stephen Salpukas, sports news photo and sports feature photo, for coverage of a muddy football game between Varina and Highland Springs high schools.
Scott Elmquist, feature photo, for a picture of a toddler seeing his father, an inmate, through glass during a Father’s Day visit to the city jail; in picture story or essay, for a cover story on bingo players.
In a contest sponsored by the Virginia News Photographers Association, Elmquist won first place in the food/fashion illustration category for a cover shot of a bucket of eggs and third place in the campaign 2004 category for a picture of mayoral candidate Charles Nance.
