Miami SunPost

The SunPost won a September 1997 "Laurel" by the Columbia Journalism Review for the coverage of the "Save Miami Beach" campaign and referendum to curb the size of waterfront construction in the city. The paper was recognized for

"keeping its beam on a shadowy deal. When, without any public discussion, the city [of Miami Beach] agreed to adjust its zoning regulations on a $321 million stretch of waterfront property owned by a controversial foreign developer who planned to transform it into a towering 'mini-metropolis' of unlimited height, the local power establishment -- including The Miami Herald -- lined up in warm support. In contrast, when a group of outraged citizens began collecting signatures for a petition that would refer such 'upzoning' requests to a public vote, the SunPost took on the lonely job of reporting on its progress. The paper staunchly resisted the pressures of real-estate advertisers, lobbyists, and city hall, as well as a million-dollar p.r. campaign of misinformation. Two years later, on June 3, when the question of who should decide on the development of what's left of the precious waterfront finally went to a referendum, the SunPost was able to report on a tremendous upset in Dade County politics: the people had won. (In late July [1997], the developer, Thomas Kramer, was fined $323,000 by the Federal Election Commission for making illegal contributions to the Florida state GOP.)"[5]