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Society of Professional Journalists - Best of the West

• Special Topic Column - Columnist Joni Balter earned a third place (tie) for her columns. "Balter's columns on Seattle politics and government vibrate with color and sass, but her lively prose supports arguments that are clearly reasoned and factually documented," the judge wrote. "She provides insights that will inform and provoke even someone wholly unfamiliar with her local political scene."
• General Reporting - Seattle Times reporter Craig Welch earned first place with "The Great Geoduck Caper." The judge wrote, "This piece is an extraordinary journey through the underworld (and underwater) of a clam poacher. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to make an odd creature like the geoduck so fascinating."
• Feature Writing, Short Form - Seattle Times reporter Marc Ramirez, won a first place with "Hi, I'm Larry." "A superb narrative about the self-appointed greeter at Ravenna Park in Seattle, a man with a cognitive disability who assumed the ad-hoc role of welcoming visitors 14 years ago," the judge wrote. "The story captures both his deliberate lifestyle and his sunny spirit in equal measure. A joy to read."
• Growth and Development Reporting - William Dietrich was awarded a first place for "Changing Visions." "In a field dominated by long-winded, often ponderous writing and overwhelming repertorial detail, Dietrich stood out for his vivid, conversational writing style and his skillful weaving of facts and exposition," the judge wrote. "From the specifics of a neighborhood to sweeping theory to a thoughtful meditation on leadership and change, Dietrich never swerved from the mission: to measure and explain how growth has changed the Seattle area."
  
• Growth and Development Reporting - Bob Young and Marty McOmber earned a second place for "Lake Union development." "Young and McOmber got wind of the proposal, used the open records law to winnow a piece of it out of city hall and never wavered in their attention to this enormous proposal to remake the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle," the judges wrote. "They looked at the proposal from a number of angles: utilities, local tax policy, transportation, ethics, land use and zoning. The writing was clear and without frills."
• Spot News Reporting - David Bowermaster, Dominic Gates and The Seattle Times staff earned a second place for coverage of the shake-up at Boeing. "This is business journalism at its finest," the judge wrote. "Even the most cursory glance at the excellent front-page package revealed the rich subtleties of this story: The old CEO is out in an ethics scandal, but the new person carries baggage of his own, and many 'cringed' at his return, in the memorable phrase from David Bowermaster's front page lede story. The Times' Boeing package was strong on background, analysis and explanation. But lest a reader think it would all be the meat and potatoes of a business story, there were profiles, reactions and a clear and forthright column by Stephen H. Dunphy which a headline writer captured like this: 'Stonecipher a bad choice.' Clearly, this was no coronation, and Seattle readers were given a full, comprehensive and intelligent package explaining the nuances of it."
• Environment and Natural Resources - Linda V. Mapes and Eric Sorensen won third place with "Natural Wonders." "The series stood out for what it was not," the judge wrote. "It didn't send reporters around the world to chase down a story. It didn't entail filing numerous Freedom of Information Act requests. There was no testing for contamination of soil, air or water. Nothing about it screamed 'breaking news.' Yet by focusing simply on what exists in the natural world, and pairing those observations with good writing, Mapes and Sorensen's stories and columns on newts and ravens are much more powerful. Through storytelling, they bring Washington's environment alive, exposing their readers to a world that they always knew was there, but perhaps didn't have the time to fully explore.