Fresno Bee journalists win seven honors including best public service in Gruner Awards

Fresno Bee journalists won seven honors in the 35th annual George F. Gruner Awards journalism competition for news publications in the San Joaquin Valley.

Bee reporter Yesenia Amaro received the top prize, the public service award for large newspapers, with “Care & Conflict,” a detailed look at how money needed for critical improvements at Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno was diverted instead to Clovis Community Medical Center. The ongoing series required more than two years of research.

“It feels amazing to be honored and to receive this honor,” Amaro said. “I will use this as inspiration to continue to shine a light on important issues of our community.”

One of the judges, Los Angeles Times media writer Jim Rainey, called the series “a deeply reported and devastating account of how an affluent community got the new medical facilities that were more desperately needed in Fresno.”

Another judge, Susan Ferriss of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, wrote, “This series reveals how public money intended to support a crucial Fresno hospital’s service was diverted to a wealthy suburb in a process rife with conflicts of interest and abuses of power.”

Other Bee honorees were former reporter Carmen Kohlruss for best news story and best feature story; Robert Kuwada for best sports story; Craig Kohlruss for best sports photo and honorable mention for best news photo; and Tad Weber honorable mention for best editorial.

The Gruner Awards honor George F. Gruner, who retired as executive editor in 1988 after 33 years at The Fresno Bee. The McClatchy Co., publisher of The Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee and the Merced Sun-Star, established the awards in 1989. The Department of Media, Communications and Journalism at Fresno State independently administers the awards. Entries are judged by professional journalists from outside the contest area.

The honors for work published in 2022 were announced at an evening reception Wednesday at Fresno State.

Best news story

Large newspapers

First place: Carmen Kohlruss, Fresno Bee,“Yosemite forcing mobile homeowners to leave without compensation.”

Honorable mention: Ishani Desai, Bakersfield Californian, “Bakersfield 3 trial, Queen convicted.”

Small newspapers

First place: Sheyanne Romero, Visalia Times-Delta, “A face to the killer, Tulare County detectives close decades-old Angelica Ramirez cold case.”

Honorable mention: Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, “Family of Lawrence ‘Hoss’ Jones opposes killer’s parole.”

Weeklies

First place: Sam Moore, Sun Gazette, “Pro-life pregnancy centers a concern for health care void.”

Honorable mention: Claudia Elliott, Tehachapi News, “Local man shocked to learn home was sold because taxes weren’t paid.”

Best feature story

Large newspapers

First place: Carmen Kohlruss, Fresno Bee, “Grief remains as Oak Fire ends.”

Honorable mention: Marijke Rowland, Modesto Bee, “National TV ad reveals long-forgotten part of Modesto’s past.”

Small newspapers

First place: Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, “Adventist nurses reflect on working through the pandemic.”

Honorable mention: Lauren Jennings, Visalia Times-Delta, “Love of cruising drives Visalia low-rider shop to build one-of-a-kind cars.”

Weeklies

First place: Frank Lopez, Business Journal, “More than Fresno famous: How the nightcrawler captured the world’s imagination.”

Honorable mention: Sam Moore, Sun-Gazette, “Clague takes his final bow as inspiring music teacher.”

Best News or Feature Photo

Large newspapers

First place: Andy Alfaro, Modesto Bee, ‘Ladonna Doshier and her dog, Li’l Miss Missy, would benefit from a program for those who live in their cars.”

Honorable mention: Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee, “Desert Storm veteran Eddie Caldwell salutes during Veterans Day Parade.”

Small newspapers

First place: Ron Holman, Visalia Times-Delta, “Robert Taylor and daughter Lennox relish cool water on a hot day.”

Weeklies

First place: Nick Smirnoff, Tehachapi News, “Clowie Hammond declares victory in pie-eating contest.”

Honorable mention: Nicole Little, Mariposa Gazette, “Friends enjoy a hike at the Stockton Creek Preserve.”

Best sports photo

Large newspapers

First place: Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee, “Jose Ramirez lands a punch against Jose Pedraza during their junior welterweight fight.”

Honorable mention: Andy Alfaro, Modesto Bee, “Central Catholic’s Malachi Miller fouls out at a critical point in the division basketball final.”

Small newspapers

First place: Ron Holman, Visalia-Times Delta, “Redwood’s Gavin House takes a foot to his face in a championship soccer game.”

Weeklies

First place: Jamie Stewart, Shafter Press, “Shafter’s head coach celebrates the team’s first Valley championship since1955.”

Honorable mention: Jeannie Tyrrell, Mariposa Gazette, “Varsity senior Apollos Powell helps lead the Grizzlies to a defeat over Denair.”

Best Sports Story

Large newspapers

First place: Robert Kuwada, Fresno Bee, “Stem cells, hyperbaric chambers and Aaron Rodgers. How Jake Haener got back on the field.”

Honorable mention: Henry Greenstein, Bakersfield Californian, “Bakersfield College mishandled players’ eligibility, but it went unnoticed.”

Honorable mention: Quinton Hamilton, Modesto Bee, “How supply chain issues are affecting Modesto-area football.”

Small newspapers

First place: Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, “Tigers’ Evangelo raises money for cancer research while on the field.”

Honorable mention: Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta, “How Redwood’s Kai Preisendorf is inspired by his late mother.”

Weeklies

First place: Claudia Elliott, Tehachapi News, “Access struggle: School facilities inadequate for sports teams.”

Honorable mention: Jeannie Tyrrell, Mariposa Gazette, “Hughes family has Olympic-size goals on the horizon.”

Best Column

Large newspapers

First place: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee, “An apology, if The Modesto Bee really did get deceived by abusive mother — 50 years ago.”

Honorable mention: Robert Price, Bakersfield Californian, “Supreme Court confirmations got more complicated with Earl Warren.”

Small newspapers

First place: Paul Hurley, Visalia Times Delta, “In Memoriam: Jim Houck set the standard in Valley journalism.”

Weeklies

First place: Madison Kirkpatrick, Mariposa Gazette, “In the past few weeks, I am prouder than ever to be a journalist.”

Honorable mention: Claudia Elliott, Tehachapi News, “Covering news in the ‘olden days.’”

Best Editorial

Large newspapers

First place: Bakersfield Californian, “How many children will die before the system is fixed?”

Honorable mention: Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee, “Sexual abuses at Modesto church end with settlements, a step toward healing.”

Honorable mention: Tad Weber, Fresno Bee, “Kevin McCarthy would rather help tax cheaters than honest Americans following the rules.”

Small newspapers

First place: Eric Woomer, James Ward, Visalia Times-Delta, “After sex scandal, Fresno State and trustees must act swiftly to restore trust.”

Weeklies

First place: Greg Little, Mariposa Gazette, “Recent trial highlights work of sheriff’s office.”

Best Writing

Large newspapers

First place: Erin Tracy, Modesto Bee, “Some Stanislaus victims and families feel betrayed by changes to California murder law. Here’s why.”

Honorable mention: Ishani Desai, Bakersfield Californian, “Central Valley Holocaust Memorial: Keep the stories going.”

Small newspapers

First place: Parker Bowman, Hanford Sentinel, “The smell of pizza and nostalgia hang in the air at Pizza Planet.”

Honorable mention: Joshua Yeager, Visalia Times-Delta, “Pandemic may have helped daycare operator accused in infant’s death avoid earlier probe.”

Weeklies

First place: Edward Smith, Business Journal, “New owner to renovate apartments, meaning 30 families must go.”

Honorable mention: Claudia Elliott, Tehachapi News, “Elk in Tehachapi: Some people love them, others have come to hate them.”

Public service

Large newspapers

First place: Yesenia Amaro, Fresno Bee, “Care & Conflict.”

Honorable mention: John Cox, Bakersfield Californian, in-depth examination of deficiencies at a nursing facility that was forced to close.

Weeklies

First place: Mariposa Gazette, coverage of the Oak Fire.

Honorable mention: Reggie Ellis, Paul Myers and Ben Irwin, Sun Gazette “Unmasking the truth about Unmask Tulare County.”