Redding

The Record Searchlight won three awards and received six honorable mentions from the California News Publishers Association, it was announced this weekend.

The California News Publishers Association's annual competition showcases the best journalism among the state's print news organizations. It announced the awards for the best of 2016 at a ceremony in Santa Monica on Saturday.

Reporter Alayna Shulman won first place in the business coverage category for an article on how the impact of the declining lumber industry is affecting Burney. The story explored how the possible closures of a sawmill and generation plant could further affect the town that has seen many of its timber industry employers leave since the 1990s.

Related:When timber’s threatened in Burney, ‘What other industry do you have left up here?’

She also won second place in the investigative reporting category for her stories on accusations of voter intimidation in Siskiyou County by Hmong residents. Her reporting uncovered that the California Secretary of State Department asked the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office for help in investigating whether new residents could vote, but then demanded the sheriff not release that information publicly.

Related:State office admits asking sheriff for help in voter investigation

Related:State agency sought to obscure role in intimidation case

The Record Searchlight's website, Redding.com, received second place for online general excellence. This is the fourth year in a row Redding.com has won first or second place in that category.

Honorable mentions went to the following:

Alayna Shulman, investigative reporting, for an article exploring a series of crashes on a curve in Interstate 5 north of Redding.

Related:Spate of crashes on I-5 prompts road-safety question.

T.J. Holmes, sports feature story, for an article on Robert Gent, a 74-year-old who competes in the Transplant Games of America.

Related::Young at heart: 74-year-old competes with a purpose

Jenny Espino and Nathan Solis, local government coverage, for an article on code enforcement in Redding.

Related:New code enforcement official tackles eyesores.

Jenny Espino, education coverage, for a look at a program that puts people on probation into college courses.

Related:STEP Up program opens college to non-traditional students.

Staff, for breaking news coverage of the Sherri Papini disappearance.

Greg Barnette and Aimee Wandro, photo illustration, for an image used for the Falcons football preview story.