Winner & Nominees: Sally Kalson Award

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2020 WINNER: Helen Ubiñas Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas is the first-ever winner of The Kalson Award for her series of columns on the tragedies of gun violence. Read the news release to learn more about Ubiñas. An enduring morning ritual between mother and son (May 2, 2019) ‘We ceased living’ after her 16-year old son died in a South Philly double homicide (July 23, 2019) Have we surrendered to gun violence? Babies being shot suggests we have (Oct. 22, 2019) A mother starved two children in a basement in 1997. Here’s the one who lived (Sept. 6, 2019) Five months after being shot, a North Philly man spreads a message of forgiveness, one letter at a time  (April 30, 2019) Why this ex-chef’s pastime is cleaning Philly parks of needles (April 12, 2019) In the absence of a group for paralyzed gunshot survivors, they started their own (July 16, 2019) They were born minutes apart, and were shot minutes apart last year on July 4th (Sept. 14, 2019) What it took for one mother to Fill the Steps (May 31, 2019) It’s time for ‘America’s neglected middle child’ to use our voice | Women's Day 2019 (March 8, 2019)

2020 NOMINEES

The nominees for the Kalson Award's inaugural year are listed below with links to their nominated pieces. 

Natalie Bencivenga | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

• #LetsMakeASEEN: ARYSE stands up for youth immigrants and refugees (Jan. 6, 2020)

Lisa Gartner | Philadelphia Inquirer

• Beaten, Then Silenced (Feb. 20, 2019)
• More than 80 boys to leave Glen Mills Schools after Inquirer investigation of abuse (Feb. 27, 2019)
• Glen Mills leader Randy Ireson steps aside after Inquirer investigation into abuse (Feb. 28, 2019)
• Chief juvenile defender: Glen Mills threatened boys to say they want to stay (March 3, 2019)
• State orders ‘emergency removal’ of remaining boys at Glen Mills Schools after abuse revelations (March 26, 2019)
• Pennsylvania closes the Glen Mills Schools amid child-abuse investigation (April 9, 2019)
• Glen Mills Schools, state officials sued by national legal center over abuse, failing to educate (April 11, 2019)
• Gov. Tom Wolf orders state overhaul after abuses at Glen Mills Schools (July 31, 2019)
• ‘Nobody listened’: How Pa. failed to detect, stop abuse at Glen Mills and other schools (Oct. 9, 2019)
• Pa. governor’s council recommends sweeping changes to juvenile justice programs (Nov. 2, 2019)
• Gov. Tom Wolf announces effort to overhaul juvenile justice in Pennsylvania (Dec. 17, 2019)
• Series: 

Kate Giammarise, Rich Lord, Lillian Thomas, Chris Huffaker, Lacretia Wimbley, Matt McKinney, Michael Santiago, Stephanie Strasburg, Stacy Innerst, Andrew Rush and Zack Tanner | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

• Growing Up Through the Cracks (Jan. 13, 2019)

Brittney Hailer | Public Source

• Active shooter drills have become common in Pittsburgh-area schools but mental health effects remain unknown (Aug. 14, 2019)
• A look inside the ALICE active shooter training taken by Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators (Aug. 14, 2019)

• Active shooter trainings in PA: What have Allegheny County school districts spent? (Aug. 28, 2019)

Samantha Malamed | Philadelphia Inquirer

• Why are Pennsylvania judges sentencing people on probation for debts they won’t ever be able to pay? (Oct. 10, 2019)
• The Probation Trap (Oct. 24, 2019)
• Living in Fear: Probation is meant to keep people out of jail. But intense monitoring leaves tens of thousands across the state at risk of incarceration (Oct. 24, 2019)
• Judges Rule: When it comes to probation, Pennsylvania has left judges unchecked to impose wildly different versions of justice (Oct. 24, 2019)
• Punishing Addiction: Courts recognize substance-use disorder is a disease. Yet some judges continue punishing relapse with ever-longer probation and even prison (Oct. 24, 2019)
• The Marijuana Paradox: Philadelphia has decriminalized marijuana, but those who get high on probation still risk incarceration (Nov. 26, 2019)
• 'Everyone is detained': How probation detainers can keep people locked up indefinitely — even when they haven't committed a crime( Dec. 27, 2019)

Oliver Morrison | Public Source

• "Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians have been exposed to dangerous PFAS chemicals, including around Pittsburgh’s airport" (Nov. 28, 2018)
• "Report details PFAS contamination near Pittsburgh airport that ‘likely’ extends beyond military base boundaries" (May 28, 2019)
• How spills of toxic firefighting foam containing PFAS escaped into streams, drains near Pittsburgh airport (May 28, 2019)
• PFAS contamination is likely at Pittsburgh airport. Airports may face legal challenges by doing nothing. (Aug. 12, 2019)
• Former firefighters describe how they used foam with PFAS chemicals at Pittsburgh’s airport for decades (Aug. 12, 2019)
• Neville Island residents could have been drinking PFAS contaminated water for a month, township officials say (Nov. 8, 2019)
• Coraopolis drinking water shows PFAS contamination among highest in PA, but below federal advisory (Dec. 5, 2019)
• Coraopolis approves additional testing and upgrades to address PFAS chemical presence in its drinking water (Dec. 19, 2019)

Dylan Segelbaum | The York Daily Record

• Former Pa. scoutmaster, citizen of the year focus of inquiry into decades of sex abuse (Aug. 28, 2019)
• C.Q. Smith’s ‘citizen of the year’ honor could be revoked in wake of sexual abuse report (Aug. 28, 2019)
• C.Q. Smith pledged to nonprofits, but 2 say he didn't come through with all the money (Aug. 30, 2019)
• 'It’s lies, innuendos, exaggerations': C.Q. Smith says he never sexually abused boys (Sept. 1, 2019)
• Totem Pole Playhouse removes C.Q. Smith's name and likeness from theater (Sept. 3, 2019)
• Smith pledged $1.5 million to Wilson College. He didn't make good on it. (Sept. 3, 2019)
• 'It's a public shaming:' Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on C.Q. Smith grand jury report (Sept. 10, 2019)
• Scout leader knows how to recognize, prevent abuse because he says he was nearly a victim (Sept. 25, 2019)
• Why did Pa. attorney general take position against releasing C.Q. Smith grand jury report? (Sept. 29, 2019)

Mike Wereschagin | The Caucus

• Eyes in the Sky: Why privacy experts and civil rights advocates are worried about the Allegheny County district attorney’s vast surveillance network (Aug. 13, 2019)
• Going Dark (Oct. 8, 2019)