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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 2, 2002
Two St. Petersburg Times reporters have won prestigious national awards for environmental and education coverage.
Julie Hauserman, a veteran Times reporter in the newspaper's Tallahassee bureau, won the Edward J. Meeman Award for environmental reporting for her special report on the dangers of arsenic contamination from pressure-treated wood.
The national award for "The Poison in Your Back Yard," which includes a $2,500 prize, was announced Friday by the Scripps Howard Foundation.
Another Times reporter, education writer Kent Fischer, won first place in the feature writing category of the National Education Writers Association contest. Fischer won for his story, "Teaching Chelsea to Read," which focused on a veteran teacher's efforts over two decades to help conquer learning disabilities. He will receive $250.
Both writers won top honors in categories for newspapers with circulations of more than 100,000.
Hauserman, 39, wrote about the use of pressure-treated lumber commonly used in picnic tables, decks, docks and playgrounds. The pressure-treated boards and posts are leaking poisonous arsenic into the soil.
Earlier this month, American manufacturers agreed to stop using arsenic-treated wood for decks and playgrounds by the end of next year under a deal announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Hauserman, who has worked for the Times for five years, also is a commentator for National Public Radio. She previously worked at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Fischer, 31, came to the Times in 1997 and works in the newspaper's Port Richey bureau in Pasco County. He previously worked at the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky and the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire.