The Lincoln Squirrel is proud to announce that it’s a finalist for an Investigative Report of the Year award from LION (Local Independent Online News Publishers) for a series of stories about the Lincoln Water Department. A huge and heartfelt thank-you to everyone who gave their time for interviews and other assistance in writing these stories.
Here’s what the Squirrel submitted for the award, in chronological order of publication:
- Water Dept. needs to borrow more than $1 million — 2019/03/18
- More borrowing, water rate hikes on the horizon — 2019/10/25
- Water Department in financial and staffing crisis — 2019/10/31
- Amid grumbling, voters approve another loan for Water Department — 2019/11/03
- Farmers protest sudden end to lower water rates — 2020/01/09
- More big spending, rate hike on tap for Water Department — 2020/01/30
- Water Commission proposes 30% rate hike — 2020/02/06
- Water usage rates to go up by 28%, base charges by 43% — 2020/02/25
- Water Commission candidates discuss the issues — 2020/03/08
- Water Commission to hold forum on its spending requests — 2020/06/07
- Water Department still has plant operator vacancy — 2020/06/10
Here’s the list of all the nominees in LION’s “Investigative Report of the Year – Solo” category:
- The Austin Bulldog for its investigation of the Travis Central Appraisal District that exposed faulty management decisions that resulted in more than three times the number of formal Appraisal Review Board hearings, skyrocketing costs, doubled complaints, and more litigation over unresolved value disputes
- California Health Report for its investigation into how much federal money for mental health care California counties left on the table
- The Charlotte Ledger for its investigation of the complicated and troubling history of a man who was once one of Charlotte’s most influential economic development officials, who in recent years had a string of court cases involving stalking and harassment
- The Lincoln Squirrel for its investigation revealing that a major town department had almost no oversight by officials for years
The online awards ceremony will be on October 22 at 7 p.m.; click here for details and registration.
Congratulations, Alice! It is striking to see these stories from tiny Lincoln vying against big-city stories from Austin, Charlotte, and California. A great testament to your investigations and writing. Good luck on October 22nd!
Andrew Pang
Congrats, Alice. You do great work. Reading up on your reporting to learn about the town and our neighbors is an important part of my daily routine. I’m not surprised you measure up so well against the big guys. Good luck!
This is wonderful news. Good work on a complicated topic which is life-sustaining for each one of us. You are already a blue-ribbon winner in my book.
Mary Ann
Alice: We indebted to you for filling in a clear need in our community for fair and thoughtful reporting. Thank you for what you do and for doing it so well you are recognized nationally! Ellen Meyer Shorb
Congratulations, Alice. The Squirrel gets better every day.