Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Loudoun Now Entry Title: Rural Zoning Review Entry Credit: Hanna Pampaloni Judge Comment: The reporter put in some serious legwork here. In-depth interviews and accompanying photography turned what could have been dry reporting on a complex government action into stories with faces, and elevated the voices of those most affected.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Prince William Times Entry Title: Immigration crackdown hits home Entry Credit: Evelyn Mejia Judge Comment: The reporter dug deep and leveraged connections, and clearly had the trust of the community she was reporting on. Well done.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Loudoun Times-Mirror Entry Title: ION International Training Center controversy Entry Credit: Karen Graham Judge Comment: Well written human interest hits a homerun - the happy ending was the cherry on top.
Competition Comment: Tough category to choose just a few winners for. The standouts demonstrated a commitment to the tracking down stories and telling them well. Congratulations, all.
