Columnist, sports editor receive publishers awards

The Daily Pilot snared two awards Saturday from the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., with Joe Bell taking first place in columns for his piece on an immigrant family and Steve Virgen finishing second in sports stories for his feature on high school player Cierra Gaytan-Leach and her troubled personal life.

“I’m very happy for and proud of Joe Bell and Steve Virgen that they are being recognized for their work,” said Daily Pilot editor Tony Dodero. “Both of them are skilled and veteran journalists, and this just affirms that.”

Bell, whose column “Family is a far cry from criminal” detailed the lives of two once-illegal immigrants who went on to raise a thriving family, said he was glad the Publishers Assn. had honored a story that dealt with a delicate subject matter.

— Michael Miller