Daily Pilot/TimesOC writers win several Orange County Press Club awards
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Daily Pilot and TimesOC writers won several awards at the Orange County Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards gala held Wednesday night at Anaheim Hills Golf Club to honor the work county journalists did throughout 2024.
Daily Pilot writer Sara Cardine won first place in the Best Public Affairs Story category for her look at an apartment complex on the west side of Costa Mesa that was due to be demolished after years of housing low-income tenants.
“I was thrilled to see my story on a topic local to the city of Costa Mesa considered alongside the coverage of wider reaching issues, handled by seasoned reporters who bring every resource to bear in telling important stories,” Cardine said. “It’s heartening to see this level of attention being paid to what’s happening in Orange County.”
Cardine also earned third place in the Best Investigative Story or Series category, after examining how the Rancho Santiago Community College District found $8 million of its own money that had been quietly held back by a third-party insurance vendor. That detailed look was part of a project she has been working on for more than two years.
Gabriel San Román, who writes for TimesOC, earned a second-place award in Best Environmental News with his story on San Clemente’s eroding beaches. He also earned a honorable mention nod in Best Beat Reporting for stories on a Disney labor dispute.
Daily Pilot reporter Andrew Turner earned third place in Best Sports Story for his game story on Edison football winning its first state championship, capturing the CIF State Division 1-A title on a late touchdown pass from Sam Thomson to Jake Minter. Turner also earned honorable mention in Best Environmental News, as he wrote about a program in which Laguna Beach used grazing goats as part of its mitigation effort against wildfires.
Sarah Mosqueda, who writes primarily for TimesOC, was working for the Los Angeles Times when she wrote about 10 of the best Caesar salads in Los Angeles. That article earned second place in the Best Round-Up or Best Of category.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” said Executive Editor Carol Cormaci. “Their passion for storytelling, commitment to accuracy and deep sense of purpose come through in every article they write. The O.C. Press Club awards are a wonderful recognition of their work.”
A full list of award winners is available on the organization’s website.
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