A good series (though not giving enough serious attention to the optimal solution to flooding the Auburn Dam would provide) deserving of recognition.
Award honors Bee's flood series
- Bee Metro Staff
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, January 7, 2007
"Tempting Fate," The Sacramento Bee's ongoing coverage of the threat of flooding in our region, has been honored with a national John Oakes Environmental Award.
The series of stories was launched after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
Its primary authors were three Bee reporters: Deb Kollars, Carrie Peyton-Dahlberg and Matt Weiser. Their topics were as far-reaching as a rain-swollen river, ranging from insolvent levee districts that don't protect residents to high-water bungalows that do, from people living in the area's deepest gully to those building atop one of its tallest levees.
The winning submission also included a story by Phillip Reese -- The Bee's computer-assisted reporting specialist -- and one by the Capitol Bureau's Jim Sanders, reflecting how the subject seeped into many areas of coverage.
The award was a second place, chosen from a field of 98 competitors. First place went to the Los Angeles Times, for a series about environmental threats to the nation's oceans, called "Altered Oceans."
The judges considered the "Tempting Fate" series "an exhaustive example of local public service watchdog reporting that was vital to the well-being and safety of Sacramento residents," wrote Arlene Morgan, associate dean at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, which coordinates the annual award.
