Tampa Bay Times journalists placed first in seven categories of the prestigious Green Eyeshade awards, which honors outstanding journalism in the Southeast.

Times staffers won 17 awards in all.

Placing first were:

• William R. Levesque, Nathaniel Lash and Anthony Cormier in both consumer reporting and public service in daily journalism for their series "Breakdown of Oversight," about the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to crack down as Allegiant Air planes failed in flight.

• Susan Taylor Martin in business reporting for a collection of her work covering real estate.

• John Romano in serious commentary for his columns on Florida news.

• Tom Jones in sports commentary for his writing on Tampa Bay sports.

• Molly Moorhead in editorial writing for a collection of editorials about people and groups who are often under-represented.

• Lauren Carroll and Linda Qiu in public service in online journalism for their work keeping officials accountable with PolitiFact.

Second-place honors went to Lane DeGregory in feature writing for "Life, death and a little light," Eve Edelheit in videography for "Would you know when it's time to go?" and education reporter Jeffrey Solochek for best blog ("Gradebook").

Food critic Laura Reiley took home three third-place awards in non-deadline reporting, consumer reporting and public service in daily journalism for "Farm to Fable," her deep dive into food industry lies about food provenance.

Also winning third place awards were Martin Fennelly in sports commentary; Alex Leary in politics reporting; Chris O'Donnell in public affairs reporting; Alex Leary, Adam C. Smith and Steve Bousquet for best blog ("The Buzz"); and Eli Zhang, Caitlin Johnston and Anthony Cormier in digital media presentation for "How the plan to rebuild the Howard Frankland bridge fell apart."

For 67 years, the Green Eyeshade Awards have recognized the best work in media in 11 southeastern states. It's the oldest regional journalism contest in the nation, and it spans Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.