The Honolulu Advertiser took the top public service award and won seven other first-place categories in the 2006 Excellence in Journalism Awards for Hawai'i.

Besides the public service award, the newspaper won in: business reporting, online spot reporting, online general news reporting, breaking news reporting, sports reporting, photo essay and investigative reporting.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin won 10 first-place awards for: spot news, general news/enterprise, news page design, feature page design, news column writing, sports or features column writing, editorial opinion, editorial cartoon, informational graphic and news photography.

The Advertiser was honored with the top public service award of SPJ's Hawai'i chapter for its reporting on homelessness in Wai'anae.

Judges said it was a "thoughtful, comprehensive look at homelessness that really lets the subjects tell their stories in their own voices. It also exposed the root of the problem — skyrocketing rents — in such a straightforward way that it allowed readers to see how a family can go from a rental house to a tent on the beach at the whim of a landlord who wants to cash in."

The Maui News also had a strong showing among the daily newspapers at the ceremonies late Friday, winning in four categories — feature writing short form, feature writing long form, feature photography and sports photography.

Hawaii Business led the competition among magazines with four first-place awards.

KITV led first-place honorees in television news with six awards, while KHNL won the TV public service award for its story on autism. KGMB had two awards and KHON had one.

The contest has 52 categories, covering print, broadcast and online media. Judges were from the Greater Oregon and Cincinnati chapters of the national journalism organization.

Winners of the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawai'i Chapter, 2006 Excellence in Journalism Awards, awarded Friday night:

DAILY NEWSPAPERS:

Business reporting: Rick Daysog, The Honolulu Advertiser, "American Savings Bank"

Spot news reporting: Staff, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Earthquake coverage: 15 Seconds"

General news/enterprise reporting: Jim Borg, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Accident Anniversary"

Feature writing/short form: Lee Imada, The Maui News, "Ka'imipono"

Feature writing/long form: Ilima Loomis, The Maui News, "My Life at Stake"

News page design: Mike Rovner, Dave Swann, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "The First Voyage"

Feature page design: Michelle Ramos, Mike Rovner, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "The Joy of Soy"

INTERNET:

Online spot news reporting: Online staff, The Honolulu Advertiser, "2006 General Election"

Online general news reporting: Online staff, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Homeless on the Wai'anae Coast"

MAGAZINE:

Business reporting: Scott Radway, Hawaii Business, "What's worth the most in the islands?"

Industry or trade reporting: Scott Radway, Hawaii Business, "Fasten Your Seatbelts"

Profile: David K. Choo, Hawaii Business, "Dog Inc."

Feature writing/short form: Jacy L. Youn, Hawaii Business, "Stepping Up without stepping on toes"

Feature writing/long form: Jesse Katz, Hana Hou!, "Red Dirt and Diamonds"

Page design: Darrell Ishii, Spirit of Aloha, "Dwarf Paper Parasols in the Streets of Waikiki: The Sweet and Sour Saga of the Mai Tai"

Magazine cover: Darrell Ishii, Spirit of Aloha, "Elements of Blue: What the Ocean Says"

NONDAILY NEWSPAPERS:

Business reporting: Prabha Natarajan, Pacific Business News, "Business Gets Huggy"

General news/enterprise reporting: Catharine Lo, Honolulu Weekly, "Patents on life: GMOs and the battle over who owns taro"

Feature writing: Ana Currie, Hawai'i Island Journal, "Spin Zone: Inside the Dolphin Encounter Industry"

Community reporting: Alan D. McNarie, Hawai'i Island Journal, "The Future of the Ka'u Coast"

OPEN PRINT:

Column writing/news: Cynthia Oi, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Under the Sun"

Column writing/features or sports (tie): Charles Memminger, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Honolulu Lite" and Kathryn Drury Wagner, Honolulu Magazine, "Afterthoughts"

Government reporting: Jacy L. Youn, Hawaii Business, "An Inside Look at Local Lobbying"

Breaking news reporting: Staff, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Kaloko Dam flooding"

Health reporting: Benton Sen, Spirit of Aloha, "The Joy of Poi"

Sports reporting: Stephen Tsai, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Colt Brennan"

Arts and entertainment: Liza Simon, Hana Hou!, "Redemption Songs"

Editorial opinion: Cynthia Oi, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "What's bad for the goose, is bad for the Council member"

Editorial cartoon: Corky Trinidad, Ho-nolulu Star-Bulletin, "Sorry, Don, But You're Fired"

Illustration: Garry Ono, Spirit of Aloha, "The Man Who Loved Creme Baths and Other Lurid Tales of Spa Life"

Informational graphic: Dave Swann, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "March Madness — 43 Days: Downpours, Death, Destruction"

News photography: Dennis Oda, Ho-nolulu Star-Bulletin, "Soaked"

Feature photography: Matthew Thayer, The Maui News, "a girl's life"

Sports photography: Matthew Thayer, The Maui News, "Makawao Rodeo"

Photo essay: Jeff Widener, The Ho-nolulu Advertiser, "Homeless on the Wai'anae Coast"

Investigative reporting: Rob Perez, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Tripler Army Medical Center"

Public service reporting: Will Hoover, Rob Perez, Jeff Widener, The Honolulu Advertiser, "Homeless on the Wai'anae Coast"

RADIO:

General news/enterprise reporting: Heidi Chang, Faith Lapidus, Voice of America, "Korean Wave Washes over USA"

Feature reporting: Chad Blair, Hawaii Public Radio, "Justice for Native Hawaiians"

STUDENT:

News writing: Alyssa S. Navarres, Ka Leo O Hawaii, "Student uses Web to expose undercover agents"

Feature writing: Diane S.W. Lee, Kapi'o Newspress, "The Game"

Broadcast reporting: Tina Ng, UH Today, "Surviving Breast Cancer"

TELEVISION:

Government reporting: Keoki Kerr, KITV, "Kahaluu Park problems"

Business reporting: Pamela Young, KITV, "Business bridge with China"

General news/enterprise reporting: Ron Mizutani, Greg Lau, KHON2, "Pali Tunnel Mudslide"

Feature reporting: Pamela Young, KITV, "Mixed Plate"

Investigative reporting: Stacy Loe, KGMB9, "City Supervisor Busted"

Series reporting: Gary Sprinkle, KITV, "Whale Science"

Videography: Kenneth Chong, KITV, "Speed Patrol"

Documentary: Rex von Arnswaldt, Pamela Young, KITV, "The Search for Shangrila"

Special news program: KGMB9, "Campaign 2006 Race for Congress: District Two"

Public service reporting: Darren Pai, Darin Akita, KHNL, "Autism in the family"