The San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards, or “JAwards,” were presented on Tuesday of this week. I received first place in the Online and Daily Newspapers Gardening category for my story in The San Diego Union-Tribune back in December 2023 for my piece, Neighborhood Composting Creates a Community Out of Kitchen Scraps. The story focused on South Bay Sustainable Communities’ innovative composting program that features 16 neighborhoods in Chula Vista. It certainly benefits the environment, but has the additional benefits of giving the participants compost for their gardens—and is connecting neighbors to one another.
I also received third place for a story I wrote for Diabetes Daily called, “Keto for Kids? Why Experts Are Still Nervous.” This piece looked critically at whether the keto diet was beneficial for children and teens, many of whom have diabetes.