NEAPNEA's 2010 writing awards

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WRITING

Class I

First Place: Bangor (Maine) Daily News; Jessica Bloch; "Face value eggtempera portrait"

Second Place: Portland (Maine) Press Herald; Bob Keyes; "Jamie Wyeth Stands Alone"

Third Place: Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.; Kathi Scrizzi-Driscoll; "The show must go on"

Class II

First Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Steve Pfarrer; "Chris Smither: A big city musician tries small town living"

Second Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Kathleen Mellen; "In Body and Spirit"

Third Place: The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro, Mass.; Rick Foster; "Remembering Ray"

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Mackenzie Issler; "Motherhood's her muse"

Second Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Anita Phillips; "Tenacious and patient"

BEAT REPORTING

Class I

First Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Jon Lender; "Bysiewicz coverage"

Second Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Karen Lee Ziner; "Agents stop vans taking workers to Gillette Stadium," "Tale of Guatemalan day workers and Gillette Stadium," "Census 2010: Getting a complete count," "Some immigrants are afraid to give info to government"

Third Place: Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.; Sarah Shemkus; "Burned investors fault Cape financier"

Class II

First Place: The Advocate, Stamford, Conn.; Wynne Parry; "Sixth-grade progress report," "Parents battle for safer bus stops," "New test gives schools higher GPA"

Second Place: The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H.; Ashley Smith; "Arrested development," "Local developer has long history in the business -- and in court," "Trouble at home"

Third Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Kristin Palpini; "Chimps no chumps in disease fight," "Prof not cowed by this mystery," "Researcher bites at issue of dog's bark"

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Kristin Palpini; " Agri-business beat reporting"

BEST HEADLINE

Class I

First Place: Portland (Maine) Press Herald; Brian Robitaille; "First the ooze...then the aahs"

Second Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; Jim Campanini; "BLUE STATE GOES BIG FOR BROWN"

Third Place: The Republican, Springfield, Mass.; Robert Chipkin; "Hot dog merchant is frankly steamed"

Class II

First Place: Valley News, Lebanon, N.H.; Ernie Kohlsaat; "From Moguls to Mogul"

Second Place: The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.; Andy Tomolonis; "Local hip-hop artists face criminal rap"

Class III

First Place: The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; Harvey Peters; "Holy Rollers"

BUSINESS/CONSUMER NEWS

Class I

First Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Alex Kuffner; "The race: several companies want to be first to develop an offshore wind farm - Will wind turbines "

Second Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Aaron Nicodemus; "Pulse rates/Health care costs vary between hospitals"

Third Place: Bangor (Maine) Daily News; Emily Burnham; "Reviving Bangor"

Class II

First Place: The Advocate, Stamford, Conn.; Elizabeth Kim, Neil Vigdor; "The Rise and Fall of Antares"

Second Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Kristin Palpini; "A jobless rebound?" "Loan limbo;" "Raises for Valley workers still months off"

Third Place: Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Daniel Barrick, Amy Augustine; "Precision Technology"

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Richie Davis; "Labor Day dimmed for laid-off workers"

CONTINUING COVERAGE

Class I

First Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Paul Edward Parker, Benjamin N. Gedan, Cynthia Needham, Andy Smith; "The housing dilemma," "Part-times," "I just need work," "Hopes are high for a better 2010," "RI jobless rate"

Second Place: Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. George Brennan; "Patric McCarthy: Case details lead experts to deadly conclusion"

Third Place: Bangor (Maine) Daily News; Abigail Curtis, Bill Trotter, Judy Harrison; "Troubled waters"

Class II

First Place: The Day, New London, Conn.; "Amistad: Voyage of Remembrance'

Second Place: The Enterprise, Brockton, Mass.; Kyle Alspach; "No prouder father," "Bittersweet family honor," "Blaming Bush," "Culmination of a life of character," "A place in history"

Third Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Catherine Baum, James F. Lowe; "Stunned students," "Plague of bullying," "9 charged in Prince case," "A vibrant life cut short," "An extraordinary legal step"

Class III

First Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; "EMT dies in ambulance crash," "Responders express sorrow over EMT's death," "Remembering a hero"

DEADLINE NEWS COVERAGE

Class I

First Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Christine Dempsey, Mark Spencer, David Owens; "Richard Shenkman Standoff"

Second Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Don Stacom, David Owens; "SUSPECTS CAPTURED"

Third Place: New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester, N.H.; Kathryn Marchocki; "Deadly Shootings Rattle City"

Class II

First Place: The Day, New London, Conn.; Karen Florin, Izaskun E. Larraneta, Megan Bard, Karin Crompton; "Fiery end to hostage drama"

Second Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Larry Parnass, Laurie Loisel, Phoebe Mitchell, Lucy Pickett; "9 suspicious fires in 75 minutes "

Third Place: The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.; Brian Fraga, Brian Boyd, Charis Anderson, Jack Spillane; "Chemical released at city trash plant"

Class III

First Place: Taunton (Mass.) Daily Gazette; Gerry Tuoti; "Improvised runway"

Second Place: The Herald, New Britain, Conn.; Lisa Backus; "Neighbors Stunned"

DEADLINE SPORTS COVERAGE

Class I

First Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Paul Jarvey, Dave Nordman, Jim Wilson; "Baseball pitcher mourned"

Second Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Jennifer Toland; "Willard finishes his Purple reign"

Third Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; David Pevear; "Out with a whimper; Patriots sent packing from playoffs by Ravens - and it wasn't even close"

Class II

First Place: Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Dave D'Onofrio; "Making a splash"

Second Place: Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Tim O'Sullivan; "Looks like a win"

Third Place: Valley News, Lebanon, NH; Tris Wykes; "Dartmouth Students Slur Harvard Athletes During Squash Match"

Class III

First Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; Adam White; "Pigskin pyrotechnics"

EDITORIAL

Class I

First Place: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press; Aki Soga; "Voice of the Free Press"

Second Place: The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass.; John Murphy; "Housing raids only treat symptom," "Parents have right to know when children overdose," "Light sentence, courtroom antics compound suffering"

Third Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; Sharon Flaherty; "Moral decline," "Council overstepped its authority," "Time to step down"

Class II

First Place: The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro, Mass.; Mike Kirby; "A bully in our high schools," "A new low on the Hill," "A victory for free speech in Norfolk"

Second Place: The Herald News, Fall River, Mass.; Patrick Luce; "City stripped of protection," "Halfway to history," "Damaged legacy"

Third Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Jim Foudy; "Slavery's unfinished story," "The C-5 problem," "Get anti-bullying bill right"

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Justin Abelson; "Visitor's center," "Library subscribers," "Fix School Choice"

Second Place: The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; Sheila Mullowney; "Firefighter's death serves as a warning," "City delayed accessibility for too long," "Concussions need serious awareness"

Third Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Tim Blagg; "Broadband at last?" "Better safe than...," "Real ID ... so what?"

ENTERPRISE

Class I

First Place: Boston Herald; Staff; "Bully central"

Second Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Felice Freyer; "Price of Miracles"

Third Place: Connecticut Post of Bridgeport, Conn.; Staff; "Breaking the Sound Barrier"

Class II

First Place: The Salem (Mass.) News; Stacie N. Galang, Ethan Forman, Matthew K. Roy, Amanda McGregor; "Far From Home"

Second Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Margot Cleary; "Fatal Distraction"

Third Place: The Enterprise, Brockton, Mass.; Maria Papadopoulos; "In harm's way -- Jaywalkers crossing line?"

Class III

First Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; Mark E. Rondeau; "More Vermonters reject religion; Survey: Churches in trouble; Religious leaders reaching out"

FEATURE STORY

Class I

First Place: Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.; Karen Jeffrey; "Long Journey Home"

Second Place: Republican-American, Waterbury, Conn.; Brynn Mandel; "A Monumental Life"

Third Place: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press; Candace Page and staff; "Town Meeting Day: Predictable punctuated by surprises"

Class II

First Place: The Day, New London, Conn.; Kenton Robinson; "ROLLIE An Old Palooka Who Can Teach You A Thing Or Two"

Second Place: The Enterprise, Brockton, Mass.; Steve Damish; "Heaven. Hell. Heroin"

Third Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Margot Cleary; "A brain stem stroke left Adam Langlois 'locked in' "

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Tim Blagg; "Guarding a floating target"

Second Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Richie Davis; "Traces of the trade"

Third Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Richie Davis; "A life with the cows"

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Class I

First Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Thomas Caywood; "Time Lapse/Did Duggan get a deal"

Second Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; staff; "Drunk driving"

Third Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Dave Altimari, Matthew Kauffman, Regine Labossiere; "School Bus Safety"

Class II

First Place: Rutland (Vt.) Herald; Kevin O'Connor; " Vt. man's charity trek running into questions", "Barefoot trek runs into trouble"

Second Place: The Telegraph of Nashua, N.H.; Andrew Wolfe; "Stanley Paving investigation"

Third Place: The Day, New London, Conn.; Ted Mann; "UConn expert advising Rell on politics"

Class III

First Place: Greenwich (Conn.) Time; Debra Friedman; "Doctor uses wrong man's sperm to produce twins"

LOCAL COLUMN

Class I

First Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Dianne Williamson; "Inner battle claims beloved priest", "Finally heard, but too late", "Out of the Rubble - Letting go"

Second Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Helen Ubinas; "Neighborhood Refreshed - Garden Street cleanup, A little effort, a lot accomplished", "A blight on housing director's record," "When will we treat all murder victims equally?"

Third Place: The Hartford (Conn.) Courant; Jon Lender; DSS: It's a New Britain, even if it's not," "Budget crisis hits cleanup fund," "Somehow CRRA didn't miss stolen earth-mover"

Class II

First Place: The Herald News, Fall River, Mass.; Marc Munroe Dion; "Working and dying for a living," "Good luck breaking out of the box," "New benchmark for stupid ideas"

Second Place: The Salem (Mass.) News; Steve Landwehr; Lives

Third Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; Bob Flaherty; "Tears of rage finally turned to tears of grief," "A city's dread," "An Empty Workbench"

Class III

First Place: The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; Jim Gillis; "City didn't take long to curb RVs," "Jackson thrilled the world," "Why fight it? Let's embrace the drunkards"

Second Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; Telly Halkias; "From the Stacks: Dr. Anna and the amazing Katy," "Farewell, icon," "On Rembrandt's palette"

Third Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Chris Collins; "Don't let fear rule," "Interesting turn of events," "Latest in biomass story"

SPORTS COLUMN

Class I

First Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; Lynn Worthy; "Disappointing? Yep. Surprising? C'mon," "Behind the scenes, Willis Spiller made local sports special," "The road to 400: For Kathy O'Neil, it's been a pleasure"

Second Place: The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass.; Mike Fine; "Capitol idea, Curt," "Family First," "Pedro's finale: bland or grand?"

Third Place: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Mike Fine; "Mostly fun and games," "The not-so-easy way out," "After swift kick, she went to front of pack"

Class II

Fires Place: The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.; Jonathan Comey; "Quiet Red Sox star found slice of heaven in Marion," "On a fast track to the Celtics' future," "Truth is, Tiger has a long way to go"

Second Place: Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Dave D'Onofrio; "So long, Tedy," "It's time for time," "Say it ain't so"

Third Place: Valley News, Lebanon, N.H.; Don Mahler; "Why Not Us? Dartmouth Should Not Be Afraid to Win," "It's Easy to be Dad, Much Harder to be a Know-it-all," "Hey Squash Hecklers: Don't Shoot the Messenger"

Class III

First Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Chip Ainsworth; "Family ordeal," "Travels with George," "Florida chill"

Second Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; Adam White; "The White Room: Down into Heaven," "Much to Learn," "Tilting at Windmills"

Third Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Jason Butynski; "Glory days," "Mr. 918," "Tough break"

SPORTS FEATURE OR ENTERPRISE

Class I

First Place: Bangor (Maine) Daily News; Andrew Neff, Ernie Clark; "Giants Packers"

Second Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; David Pevear; "He shoots, he scores -" in life"

Third Place: Bangor (Maine) Daily News; Ernie Clark; "Obstacles fail to slow down Baeza"

Class II

First Place: Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Dave D'Onofrio; " Racing in the recession"

Second Place: The Enterprise, Brockton, Mass.; Jim Fenton; "Rocky: Celebrating his life 40 years after his death"

Third Place: Valley News, Lebanon, N.H.; Tris Wykes; "The Lost and Found Football "

Class III

First Place: The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; Scott Barrett; "He shall overcome"

Second Place: Bennington (Vt.) Banner; Adam White; "Force of Nature: SMS avalanche survivor returning to site where he was buried alive"

Third Place: The Herald, New Britain, Conn.; Johnny J. Burnham; "Lost and Found"

SPECIALTY PUBLICATIONS

Class I

First Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; "Hometeam Magazine"

Second Place: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; "Worcester Living magazine"

Third Place: The Republican, Springfield, Mass.; "Business sections"

Class II

First Place: The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.; Beth Perdue; "The New England Business Bulletin"

Second Place: The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro, Mass.; Jessica Kosowski; "local-I-dos

Class III

First Place: Newport (R.I.) Daily News; "Mercury"

Second Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Tim Blagg; "Going Green"

Third Place: The Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Tim Blagg; "Valley Kids"

GENERAL INTEREST WEEKLY

Class I

First Place: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press; "Savorvor"

Second Place: The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press; "Green Mountain"

Third Place: The Sun, Lowell, Mass.; "Valley Dispatch"

Class II

First Place: Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass.; "Hampshire Life"

Class III

First Place: The Newport (R.I.) Daily News; "South County Independent"

PUBLIC SERVICE CATEGORIES

Right to Know

Class I

Winner: Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.; Thomas Caywood, Dianne Williamson; "Officer 'John Doe' sues chief, seeks reinstatement of gun permit," "Officer loses gun, but gets court"

Class II

Winner: The Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass.; Steve DeCosta, Jennette Barnes, Robert Unger, Jason Eckhardt; "Wareham cited for secret sessions," "Conscious disregard"

Class III

Winner: The Herald, New Britain, Conn.; James H. Smith; "The public has a right to know," and other Sunday columns

Sevellon Brown Award

Winner: The Providence (R.I.) Journal; Staff; "Drunken driving arrest"

Thomas K. Brindley Award

Winner: The Salem (Mass.) News; Chris Cassidy, Steve Landwehr; "Shedding light on the Essex Regional Retirement Board"