Elaine Grossman of the National Journal Group received first prize awards for Online News and Features in the Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Awards and Best Spot News or Exclusive Single News Story in the Specialized Information Publishers Foundation’s Editorial Awards. The article revealed disagreements between top Obama administration Cabinet members over how to maintain the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal.

The Utah-Idaho-Spokane Associated Press Association recently awarded Ben Botkin of the Times-News in Twin Falls, Idaho, a first place award for investigative reporting. His story, "Questions raised about CSI/Builder relationship," explored the bidding practices of a community college. He was also awarded first place in beat reporting for state budget coverage by the UISAPA.

Mark Greenblatt, investigative reporter at KHOU-TV in Houston, won the Livingston Award for Young Journalists given to the top local journalist in America under 35 years old. In the past year he also won a Peabody Award, the I.R.E. Medal, the duPont-Columbia, a National Edward R. Murrow Award, a National Headliner Award and a National Emmy Award.

There are several options for keeping up with the latest at the CAR conference. To keep track on Twitter, look for either #nicar or #nicar2010 and follow IRE/NICAR on Twitter @ire_nicar

This year's CAR Conference will take place March 11-14 in Phoenix, Ariz. We would like to make you aware of some changes with this year’s conference.

Caspio will offer free training at the CAR Conference. These hands-on sessions will provide in-depth training to empower participants with the latest tools and insights to create complete end-to-end web applications efficiently and maintain them with ease. The hour-long classes will be held on Saturday, March 13.

By G.W. Schulz Center for Investigative Reporting

Nearly $70,000 worth of surveillance gear left unused in its original packaging by a county north of San Francisco. A $2,300 plasma TV for university cops. More than $1.3 million spent without maintaining proper documentation to show where it went. Millions more in bomb-disposal robots and new communications systems bought from suppliers who weren’t forced to compete.

By Chris Ison University of Minnesota

Even to seasoned reporters, long-term investigative projects look like mountains. The long climb will bring breaking news stories and beat duties that distract them, impatient editors who divert them, and months of digging that might turn up little to justify the time and expense. Combined, an exciting idea can turn into a tough and discouraging slog.

For a college newspaper, multiply those problems by 10. Constant turnover. Inexperienced reporters who graduate or change beats after only months on the job.

Join fellow colleagues for a night out at Tempe’s Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12. It’s a great opportunity to laugh and catch-up with fellow journalists. Big Bang is located at 5th and Mill which is a Tempe hot spot within walking distance of many restaurants and shopping.

Get ready for the 2010 Census with a special half-day workshop devoted to the big national count. Session leaders and Census experts Paul Overberg of USA Today and Steve Doig of Arizona State University get you up to speed on everything you'll need to know, from covering the Census gathering process to working with the data when it's released. Learn how the American Community Survey is coming to play a crucial role in understanding the demographics of your town, and get enough story ideas to last the next 10 years.