[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 8930] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]CONGRATULATING VIDA EL VALLE ______ HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH of california in the house of representatives Thursday, May 6, 1999 Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce an article by the Fresno Bee entitled ``McClatchy's bilingual weekly honored again.'' This article speaks of the achievements and past honors of Vida en el Valle, the Central Valley's primary bilingual newspaper. Vida en el Valle, the bilingual weekly owned by The Fresno Bee's parent company, McClatchy Co., was named the nation's outstanding newspaper in its category for the fourth time in seven years during the 11th annual Hispanic Print Awards sponsored by the National Association of Hispanic Publications. Vida en el Valle also received six other first-place awards for editorial excellence, four second-place awards and four honorable mentions. The newspaper was judged the Outstanding Bilingual Weekly for the third consecutive year by the nation's largest Latino newspaper organization. Vida en el Valle is the only newspaper that has won the award for three consecutive years. John Esparza, Vida editor and publisher, said the newspaper won its latest honors at the association's weekend convention. Vida competes among larger bilingual newspapers in the association. Only the daily newspaper El Nuevo, published by the Miami Herald, and the Los Angeles weekly publication Vida Nueva won more first-place awards than Vida, Esparza said. The category for larger publications is based on annual budget. Vida also took first-place honors for: ``Outstanding color photo,'' by former photographer Tommy Monreal, who left the newspaper to work on a master's degree, ``Outstanding color photo essay,'' by Monreal, ``Outstanding political and economics reporting,'' by reporter Maria Machuca, about the citizenship process, ``Outstanding entertainment column,'' by Andrew Landeros about comedian Carlos Mencia, ``Outstanding entertainment section '' and ``Outstanding sports section.'' ``This is the most first-place awards we've ever won,'' Esparza said. ``We want quality news coverage for our readers and for the Latino community. This shows we are on the right path.'' Mr. Speaker, Vida en el Valle has served a vital role in the Central Valley. I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating Vida en el Valle, and wishing them many years of continued success. ____________________