Comstock’s has been honored once again by the California News Publishers Association with its General Excellence award. This is an award we don’t take for granted, because even with the decline in media outlets around our region, state and nationwide, the competition is still fierce.

But throughout every small and medium town in California, and in every big city, there are dedicated journalists who are still honoring the age-old tradition of reporting what’s going on in their communities and striving to get at the truth. From the Palo Alto Weekly to the Napa Valley Register to locally, Sacramento Country Day School, which swept up a bunch of awards for their high school student newspaper, reporters are still committed to bringing you stories we not only think you should know about, but are important and hopefully interesting to read.

Last year, Comstock’s put all our creative energy into our big 35th anniversary issue, and it paid off. At times I felt guilty pushing Art Director Ruvi Palafox into designing our beautiful cover or taking on even more stories and designs to make the monumental issue extraordinary, but it paid off. Palafox got a first place award for the cover and layout design. I couldn’t be happier for her.

In all, Comstock’s also took home first place awards for our web feature on the Future Farmers of America, for feature photography for our lively photo on Sacramento fashion, for our story on the growing popularity of pickleball and Off The Beaten Track.

We also took home five second place awards and five third place awards.

As I stood on stage with our pretty gold plaque next to the Los Angeles Times and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, I couldn’t help but feel proud that this magazine in the Sacramento area was being honored among such larger publications.

We do the work for you, the reader. We work hard to bring you business insights from the region but also to inspire you, entertain you and sometimes place a spotlight on a pressing issue in our area. We thank you for reading Comstock’s. You’re the ones who motivate us to work even harder every year to bring you bigger and better stories.

Here are all 23 stories that took home CNPA awards this year, with links to the winning content.

First place

Agricultural reporting: Finding Connection and Purpose in Youth Agriculture by Helen Harlan

FFA, known to many under its old name, “Future Farmers of America,” is a national youth organization run by the Department of Education. We met a number of Capital Region young people who are learning about livestock rearing, forestry and more through the organization’s local chapters. 

Feature photo: Styling Sacramento by Gabriel Teague

A new wave of local fashion influencers are bringing years of practical experience from the fitting rooms to social media to create a unique brand of fashion therapy that recognizes the inextricable link between the clothes we wear and our emotional health.

Front page layout & design: Comstock’s 35th Anniversary Issue by Ruvi Palafox

Art Director Ruvi Palafox made a collage of some favorite recent covers in honor of the magazine’s 35th anniversary in July.

Sports feature story: Pickleball Fever by Laurie Lauletta-Boshart

Dink. Drill. The Kitchen. Erne. Golden Pickle. If you instantly recognize these terms, you are one of a growing number of people consumed by the fastest growing sport in the U.S.: pickleball.

Travel writing: Off the Beaten Track by Steve Martarano

Steve Martarano’s Off the Beaten Track series, which started in 2021 and drew to a close this month, took readers to some of the hidden gems of our 10-county region.

Second place

Columns: The Evil HR Lady by Suzanne Lucas and Jefferson Miller

One of our longest-running and most-read columns, Suzanne Lucas’ Evil HR Lady tackles all manner of workplace dilemmas, from awkward moments to legal concerns. Jefferson Miller’s original illustrations perfect the package. 

Food writing/reporting: Luscious Libations by Scott Thomas Anderson

Whether in Sacramento or the upper climbs of the Gold Country, craft distillers are ready to give the drinking public a taste of all of the possibilities within libation. 

Health reporting: The Life-Saving Organ Trail by Graham Womack

In 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the TransMedics Organ Care System, or OCS device. Known as the “heart in a box,” this device uses normothermic perfusion to pump blood through a removed heart and preserve it for longer periods until it can be transplanted into a new person.

Illustration: How Did We Get So Mean? by Mariah Quintanilla

Inspired by Jeff Wilser’s feature on the divisiveness of American politics, Mariah Quintanilla drew a series of people enraged with each other (and then one civil pair at the end). 

Photo essay: Afghans Resettling in Sacramento by Sasha Abramsky, Fred Greaves

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, residents desperately fled, many of them to Sacramento, which is now home to more than 10,000 Afghan refugees. As we now watch in horror at the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, Comstock’s takes a look at how Afghan refugees are adjusting to their new life in Sacramento. 

Technology reporting: Speaking Out by Jennifer Junghans

Within minutes, the words Casey Harrell wanted to speak appeared on a monitor and were spoken aloud by a computer in a voice resembling his own using recordings from videos made before his diagnosis. It brought everyone in the room to tears. “On day two of this use by Casey, he was talking to his daughter for the first time in her memory. That was so gratifying,” says UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab co-director Sergey Stavisky.

Third place

Arts & entertainment coverage: The Value of Art by Marie-Elena Schembri

Newsletter: Comstock’s Weekly Newsletter by Dakota Morlan

Our email newsletter doesn’t just recap the week’s stories; Managing Editor Dakota Morlan also offers news analysis, reporting backstories and insights into what she and the other editors are reading, watching or thinking about that week.  

Illustration: Dilemma of the Month: Can the Boss Take Zoom Calls in the Shower? by Jefferson Miller

Jefferson Miller’s illustrations are always creative and clever, but this one in particular has a strong track record of making people crack up. 

Immigration reporting: Afghans Resettling in Sacramento by Sasha Abramsky, Fred Greaves

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, residents desperately fled, many of them to Sacramento, which is now home to more than 10,000 Afghan refugees. As we now watch in horror at the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, Comstock’s takes a look at how Afghan refugees are adjusting to their new life in Sacramento. 

Print front page layout & design: Comstock’s Women in Leadership 2024 by Ruvi Palafox

Our 2024 Women in Leadership photoshoot took place in an opulent location: the new Jacquelyn social club in Sacramento, which honors the legacy of founder Jim Anderson’s late wife Jacquelyn. 

Fourth place

Housing and land-use reporting: The Soaring Cost of Homeowners Insurance by Steven Yoder

California’s insurance crisis is damaging the housing market and more. Will legislators fix it before the next big blaze? 

Music writing/reporting: Comstock’s Concert Hall by Casey Rafter

Every installment of Comstock’s Concert Hall includes a playlist of tracks both by the featured artists and others that inspire them.

Print front page layout & design: Will We Ever Fix Our Waterfront? by Ruvi Palafox

The district tells the story of the Gold Rush, the railroads, Sacramento’s beginnings and more, but it has a reputation as being merely a tourist novelty spot with gag gift and candy shops.

Technology reporting: The Power and Potential of Seaweed by Russell Nichols

Nearly 2,000 miles northwest of Sacramento, Matthew Perkins rode a boat out into the Gulf of Alaska and saw nothing but endless potential for growth. “It’s kind of overwhelming how much opportunity there is,” he says. “You’re on the water, snow-capped mountains in the backdrop, you look down and see this incredible biomass growing. It’s literally the bounty of nature.”​

Fifth place

Agricultural reporting: In Search of Pretty Produce by Angela Knight

Cuties. Chandlers. Cilantro. They all start with the letter C, but what else do those words have in common? Popularity. Do consumer preferences impact farmers and what they choose to grow?  

Feature story: Fly Like an Eagle by Judy Farah

With a $3 million grant from the Defense Department, UC Davis is establishing a bird flight research center and beginning construction of a flight hall on the grounds of the California Raptor Center, located on the university’s south side, in the fall. 

Transportation reporting: What’s Holding Up Valley Rail? by James Stout

The project has been caught in spiraling delays, and launch dates have been pushed back to 2030. The San Jose Regional Rail Commission broke ground on just one of the half dozen proposed new stations as of late summer 2024.

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