Voice wins statewide awards Voice wins statewide awards (July 15, 2005)

The Voice earned two first-place awards and two second places among similar-sized weekly papers from the California Newspaper Publishers Association's annual Better Newspapers Contest, presented Saturday at a ceremony in San Francisco. Photographer Norbert Von Der Groeben grabbed first place in the spot news photo category for his depiction of Karen Meredith at the funeral of her son, Army Lieutenant and Mountain View High School grad Ken Ballard. Ballard died during a battle in An-Najaf last Memorial Day. Restaurant reviewer Mandy Erickson won first place in the columns, commentary and criticism category for her monthly reviews of local eateries. Singled out for special recognition were her reviews of vegetarian specialists Garden Fresh, Hawaiian restaurant Da Kitchen, and Los Altos noodle house Pho Vi Hoa. Staff writer Julie O'Shea earned second place for her feature story on Mary Sadako Kitahara, who last June received a diploma from Mountain View High School 62 years after she and 27 other classmates were sent to internment camps. Kitahara was 17 years old and only two months from graduating when her family was sent to Heart Mountain, Wyo. The other second-place award went to design director Bill Murray, for the front pages of two issues last April. Additional awards

The Voice also earned a certificate of achievement in the public service category for the paper's coverage of toxic pollution in Mountain View and at Moffett Field. Also recognized with certificates of achievement: reporter Grace Rauh's investigative story on a fraudulent women's shelter, the special publication of Info Mountain View and general excellence for its October issues, which featured coverage on local electoral races. The certificates are awarded to entries in the top 10 percent of their categories. The awards are the highest total ever in the 12-year history of the Voice and include recognition for excellence in every aspect of the paper. Publisher Tom Gibboney credited the hard work of Voice staff members for the excellent showing. "Everyone here is committed to journalism and doing the best job we can for the community," he said. "It is very rewarding to get this recognition." The Voice's sister papers also won several awards. The Menlo Park Almanac earned first prize in the public service category for a series of stories about the death of a 75-year-old pedestrian, and another first for its editorial blasting the Bush administration's education policy for tilting the scales against schools with diverse student bodies. The Palo Alto Weekly earned first places for news and sports coverage, feature photography and best Web site.

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