Linked here in both Web and PDF format (if available) are my clips along with a brief explanation of each story. (Large PDFs are split into multiple files). Also, multimedia is linked if available. The stories are listed chronologically.
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Oct. 9, 2011 San Diego's roads have deteriorated over decades. My special report and subsequent coverage detailed the bureaucratic problems that led to the city's failures to repair and maintain streets, storm drains, buildings and other infrastructure. It also revealed numerous broken promises by city leaders about the pace and extent of repairs. The second piece rounds up the stories, television and radio coverage on road repairs. All You Need to Know About San Diego Road Repairs; Oct. 26, 2011
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: May 26, 2011 For almost three decades, 6,000 or so Jehovah's Witnesses have spent one
day a year cleaning San Diego's football stadium so thoroughly they
scrape the gum off the concrete concourses. The purpose is to prepare the stadium for the Witnesses' annual conference and they clean in exchange for free rent. This story detailed the history of the cleaning with a focus on the one person who's been there every year. The piece was our website's most read in 2011.
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Feb. 10, 2011 This
story revealed how San Diego leaders, including the mayor and a state assemblyman, scrambled to pass a last-second law to divert billions in future tax dollars to downtown San Diego at the expense of state school funding. Using public record emails and interviews, the piece tells a detailed play-by-play of the law's adoption in the late-night hours before the state approved its budget.
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Jan. 24 - Jan. 27, 2011 This series pressured San Diego's downtown redevelopment agency to turn over public records as required by California law. Through eight stories over four days, I chronicled why the agency was wrong in denying us public records and our eventual success in obtaining them.
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Nov. 17, 2010 This story shows how San Diego's former City Council president and his staff lied about a written request for $1,000 bonuses for his 11 staff members. During my reporting, the council president withdrew the request.
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Sept. 26, 2010 This in-depth profile makes a important and shadowy figure in San Diego politics known: Kris Michell, the chief of staff for San Diego's mayor. Michell had never been quoted during the mayor's five-year tenure and rarely mentioned in more than a sentence. But she was at the center of the mayor's decisions and had a long history in some of the city's biggest projects and events over the last 15 years. The second link is a Q&A with me about profiling someone without interviewing the subject. Behind the Story: How Do You Profile a No-Show; Sept. 29, 2010
Source: voiceofsandiego.org; Date: Feb. 18, 2010 This
analysis shows that the San Diego Chargers football team is misleading San Diegans with its claim about how much money the city loses each year operating its stadium. The other two links are a "Fact Check" I wrote about the team's argument and a point-by-point response to the team's rebuttal to my story. Fumbling Stadium Costs; Feb. 19, 2010 Dissecting the Chargers Comeback; Feb. 19, 2010
Source: Naples Daily News; Date: May 10-12, 2009 This three-part investigative series examines Ave Maria's town government, the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District. The series contends that Ave Maria's developers, local landowners and Collier County namesake Barron Collier Cos. and Domino's Pizza magnate wrote a lobbied for a state law that allows them to control the government forever. The developers' power, which had never been reported previously, so departs from prior Florida development law that some experts say it might be unconstitutional. The series took more than a year to report and write and includes five substantial stories, numerous sidebars and graphics, three online videos and online links to original documents. The series won first place in the 2009 Florida Press Club awards in government reporting and second place in in-depth reporting, won first place in the 2010 Florida State News Editors awards in multimedia reporting and was a finalist for Governing magazine's 2010 annual award for outstanding journalistic coverage of state and local government. Ave Maria: A Town Without A Vote series page: Web Link Day 1: PDF (1); PDF (2); Day 2: PDF (1); PDF (2); Day 3: PDF (1); PDF (2)
Source: Naples Daily News This series of articles chronicles Ave Maria University's tumultuous inaugural men's basketball season. A month before the season began, the school fired its coach for using profanity. I broke the story on our Web site and later published the first comments from the team's players and fired coach Ricky Benitez. The story continued when I investigated Benitez's resume and found questionable claims and then tracked various academic and transfer issues throughout the season. The Associated Press, USA Today, the Miami Herald and the San Antonio Express-News all later reported on the firing. Sports Illustrated chose the matter as its "Sign of the Apocalypse" in the Oct. 6, 2008 issue. The last article is a season review. The story that broke the coach's firing won second place in the 2009 Sunshine State Awards in deadline sports reporting. Ave Maria's basketball coach fired for using profanity; PDF (1), PDF (2); Sept. 24, 2008 Ave Maria says men's basketball season is a go, but confusion lingers; PDF (1), PDF (2); Sept. 25, 2008 Former Ave Maria basketball coach's background in doubt; PDF (1), PDF (2); Sept. 30, 2008 Ave Maria might begin first hoops season without permanent coach; PDF (1), PDF (2); Oct. 3, 2008 Turbulent Ave Maria men's basketball team hopes to find stability with hiring of new coach; PDF (1), PDF (2); Dec. 23, 2008 Problems follow former Ave Maria basketball coach to Mexico; PDF (1), PDF (2); Dec. 27, 2008 Struggling Ave Maria athletic program lowers academic standards for eligibility; PDF (1), PDF (2); Jan. 18, 2009 Three Ave Maria players no longer at the school; PDF; Jan. 23, 2009 Only three scholarshipped players remain active on Ave Maria roster; PDF; Feb. 12, 2009 Turnover, off-court woes sink Ave Maria basketball's first season; PDF (1), PDF (2); March 8, 2009
Source: Naples Daily News This series of nine pieces chronicled in significant detail the negotiations between Ave Maria University and the local Diocese of Venice about the dedication of Ave Maria's 100-foot, $24 million structure at the center of its town. The majority of the pieces are explainers that describe church law in an accessible way. One story also broke the news of the structure's dedication. The stories are in chronological order. The next to last link is an audio interview I did with the local NPR affiliate about the matter. The series won first place in the 2009 Sunshine State Awards in religion writing. Waiting for approval from on high; PDF (1),PDF (2); Nov. 9, 2007 No Christmas Mass planned in oratory; PDF (1), PDF (2); Dec. 23, 2007 Diocese bishop opts for circus Mass; PDF (1), PDF (2); Jan. 19, 2008 Ave Maria, Diocese don't agree; PDF (1), PDF (2); Feb. 10, 2008 A town without its own parish; PDF (1), PDF (2); Feb. 24, 2008 Who gets the collection?; PDF (1), PDF (2); March 22, 2008
Ave Maria oratory to be dedicated; PDF (1), PDF (2); March 25, 2008 Ave Maria's Annunciation; PDF (1), PDF (2); March 26, 2008 Thousands welcome Ave Maria Oratory; PDF (1), PDF (2); April 1, 2008 NPR Interview; April 3, 2008 Oratory deal leaves power unclear; PDF (1), PDF (2); April 13, 2008
Source: Naples Daily News; Date: March 7, 2008 This piece ran
on the front page of the Daily News. The story is an example of a one-day piece that shows an ability to write character and scene. It won first place in the 2008 Florida Awards of Excellence in general reporting.
Source: Naples Daily News; Date: Sept. 16, 2007 This piece ran
on the front page of the Daily News. I spent six months following a local Marine who was severely injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Through an unorthodox format, the story chronicles his physical and mental recoveries, personal travails and uncertain future. This story won first place in the 2008 Florida Awards of Excellence in the feature deadline category and second place in the 2008 Florida Press Club awards in serious feature writing.
Source: Washington Post; Date: March 2, 2006 This piece ran on the front of the Washington Post's sports section. It shows how a high school (and now professional) basketball player used faith and family to develop bonds with the game and those involved in teaching it to him. |
E-mail me: lidillon [at] gmail.com