JOURNALISM 
 
 Public service: Los Angeles Times 
 
 Breaking news reporting: No award 
 
 Investigative reporting: Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune 
 
 Explanatory reporting: Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou Saldivar and Alison Sherwood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 
 
 Local reporting: Frank Main, Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times 
 
 National reporting: Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica 
 
 International reporting: Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times 
 
 Feature writing: Amy Ellis Nutt of The Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey. 
 
 Commentary: David Leonhardt of The New York Times 
 
 Criticism: Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe 
 
 Editorial writing: Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal 
 
 Editorial cartooning: Mike Keefe of The Denver Post 
 
 Breaking news photography: Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post 
 
 Feature photography: Barbara Davidson of the Los Angeles Times 
 
 ___ 
 
 ARTS 
 
 Fiction: "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A. Knopf) 
 
 Drama: "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris 
 
 History: "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery" by Eric Foner (W.W. Norton & Co.) 
 
 Biography: "Washington: A Life" by Ron Chernow (The Penguin Press) 
 
 Poetry: "The Best of It: New and Selected Poems" by Kay Ryan (Grove Press) 
 
 General nonfiction: "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner) 
 
 Music: "Madame White Snake" by Zhou Long, premiered Feb. 26, 2010, by the Boston Opera at the Cutler Majestic Theatre ||||| The Los Angeles Times was awarded the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service for revealing official corruption in Bell and the feature photography award for Barbara Davidson's images of victims struggling to recover in the aftermath of gang violence.In a series of articles beginning last summer, a team of 20 reporters and editors, led by staff writers Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, revealed that Bell officials secretly enriched themselves with extravagant salaries and benefits while illegally raising taxes on the city's residents, who are among the poorest in Los Angeles County.As a result, criminal charges were filed against former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, who received an $800,000 salary and hundreds of thousands of dollars more in perks. He and seven other former city officials have been charged with multiple felonies. The revelations also led to millions of dollars in rebates of illegal taxes for Bell residents and tough new disclosure laws for cities and counties in California."The Bell coverage was a classic exercise in gang tackling executed by a newsroom that does this better than anybody," said Times Editor Russ Stanton after the awards were announced Monday.Davidson spent two years photographing victims of violent crime in South Los Angeles, Compton and Watts. Her work, the judges said, told an "intimate story of innocent victims trapped in the city's crossfire of deadly gang violence." Her images — including a uniformed mother visiting the gravesite of her son who was killed while she served in Iraq — illustrated the human cost of crime, even at a time when the violent crime rate is dropping.The Bell coverage also received the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the American Society of News Editors' distinguished writing award for local accountability reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors' top honor and the George Polk Award for local reporting."The real victors in this are the people of Bell who were able to get rid of — the only way to describe it — a repressive regime and have a real City Council," said Gottlieb, who took a swig from a bottle of champagne as his newsroom colleagues celebrated around him. In March, citizens in the southeast Los Angeles County city voted in a new City Council.Gottlieb, 57, recounted the moment he and Vives discovered Rizzo's inflated salary. They were sitting in a community room in Bell's Little Bear Park, with Rizzo and nine other Bell officials."I said to Rizzo, 'So how much money do you make?' And he coughed out, '$700,000.' And I wasn't sure I heard him right, and I said, 'How much?' And he said, '$700,000.' And Ruben goes, 'Jesus Christ!' "Vives, 32, who has been a reporter for three years, added: "At a time when people say that newspapers are dying, this is a day that I think we can say, no not really. I mean, we gave a small town … the opportunity to speak out. And that's what newspapers do."Davidson, 36, said she was "totally stunned." She thanked the families she photographed "for sharing their private pain and sorrow," and said she was "humbled by the honor" and hoped it would "raise awareness of the issue of gang violence and its impact on innocent victims."The Times has won 41 Pulitzer Prizes. Six of those are public service medals, more than any other newspaper. The New York Times also won two prizes this year. Ellen Barry and Clifford J. Levy won in international reporting for what the Pulitzer judges called their "dogged reporting that put a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia." Economics columnist David Leonhardt won the commentary prize for his "graceful penetration of America's complicated economic questions." The Washington Post was awarded the prize for breaking news photography for its Haiti earthquake coverage. Times photographer Carolyn Cole, a Pulitzer winner in 2004, was a finalist for her "often haunting images" of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The nonprofit investigative news site ProPublica earned the national reporting prize for coverage of the nation's economic meltdown by reporters Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein. It was the first Pulitzer given for reporting that appeared only online, not in print.The Boston Globe's art critic, Sebastian Smee, won the criticism prize for what the judges called his "vivid and exuberant writing about art." Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly, who won the category in 2007 for his eclectic restaurant reviews, was a finalist.Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal earned the editorial writing prize for his "well-crafted, against-the-grain" editorials challenging President Obama's healthcare reform legislation. It was the first Pulitzer Prize for the Journal since it was acquired by Rupert Murdoch 's News Corp. in 2007.Several newspapers had multiple finalists. The New York Times had five, and the Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune each had four.The Pulitzer board did not give an award in the breaking news category."After serious consideration, no entry received the necessary majority [of votes] required for the prize," said prize administrator Sig Gissler, who announced the awards at Columbia University In the letters, drama and music categories, Jennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" won for fiction. Siddhartha Mukherjee won in general nonfiction for "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer." Eric Foner won for history for "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery." Ron Chernow won for biography for "Washington: A Life." Kay Ryan won for poetry for "The Best of It: New and Selected Poems." Bruce Norris' "Clybourne Park" won for drama. Zhou Long won in the music category for "Madame White Snake." ||||| Judge rejects former Bell police chief's bid to double pension Randy Adams was seeking a pension of $510,000 a year. The judge says the Bell City Council never approved his $457,000 annual salary. 
 
 Former Bell police chief takes the Fifth 20 times Randy Adams, who is asking the state retirement system to double his pension to reflect his huge salary in Bell, was on the witness stand at a hearing on the request. 
 
 Judge questions why Bell's former police chief isn't facing corruption charges Deputy district attorney says his office could not build a case against Randy Adams, whose pay is an issue in the case against Rizzo and others. 
 
 Calpers Cutting Top-end Pension Benefits The Bell scandal has prompted the state retirement system to look again at some officials' payouts. 
 
 Robert Rizzo, aide accused of conspiracy in Bell corruption scandal Former city administrator and his assistant conducted an elaborate plan to conceal benefits and bypass state law by hiding their true pensions, an indictment says. 
 
 Money missing after deal in Bell The city paid top dollar for property but got back $425,000 from escrow that is now unaccounted for. 
 
 Bell voters cast out the old and opt for the new Residents of the scandal-racked city recall four council members and elect five. 
 
 Bell City Council candidate dies Miguel Sanchez, 34, a special-ed teacher's aide, had flu-like symptoms last week and was admitted to the hospital early Friday morning. Fellow activists said the campaign had been causing him great stress. 
 
 Bell's voters have a real choice this time, thanks to the scandal On March 8 the city's voters will have something they haven't had in years: candidates not hand-picked by former City Administrator Robert Rizzo ¿ 18 of them. 
 
 How Bell hit bottom Robert Rizzo seemed right for the town -- until he became an 'unaccountable czar.' 
 
 Audits of Bell were 'rubber-stamp,' state controller says Chiang's office finds that an accounting firm that gave Bell clean audits failed to comply with auditing standards. 
 
 Bell collected hefty fines in numerous code-enforcement cases Legal experts point to a lack of due process and judicial oversight in hundreds of 'civil compromises,' in which plumbers, carpet cleaners and bottle-gatherers paid up to $1,000 for alleged code violations. 
 
 Bell demanded extra fees from some businesses The city collected tens of thousands of dollars annually. Some of the revenue helped pay unusually high municipal salaries. Experts say the practice may be illegal. 
 
 Bell councilman an accidental hero by staying clear of corruption scandal Lorenzo Velez knows he owes the acclaim mostly to serendipity. He never got his colleagues' $100,000 salary because it wasn't offered. 
 
 Former Bell police chief had a lucrative tax angle for retirement Randy Adams had himself declared disabled even as he was hired for the job, a move that could make him millions in tax-free pension income when he retires, according to records and interviews. 
 
 Bell doubled public service taxes and funneled $1 million to Rizzo, audit finds The doubling of sewer, trash and other service taxes occurred without voter approval. State auditors have spent weeks reviewing the city's financial records. 
 
 Bell leaders hauled off in cuffs Eight are held in scandal the D.A. calls 'corruption on steroids' 
 
 Audit finds Rizzo got Bell funds Draft report alleges that $95,000 in city money was put in Robert Rizzo's retirement accounts to repay loans he had made to himself. An expert says the allegations could amount to federal wire fraud. 
 
 Bell's Rizzo hid true salary Ex-Bell official said his pay was lower than it was. Some experts say his actions could invalidate his contracts and require that he repay money he earned. 
 
 Federal probe targets possible civil rights violations in Bell The Justice Department is looking into whether the city violated the civil rights of Latino residents by aggressively towing cars and charging people exorbitant fees to get them back. 
 
 Auditors find 3rd instance of illegal Bell taxes Business license taxes were illegally raised over the last decade, bringing to $5.6 million the amount owed back to taxpayers -- more than a third of the city's general fund. 
 
 Impounded cars boost Bell's coffers Police say they were pushed to find cars to tow. Authorities say the practice discourages gangs but will be changed. 
 
 Bell assessed illegal sewer fees Property owners overpaid $621,737 in levies that were raised in 2007, California controller says. The finding comes several weeks after auditors found taxpayers were overcharged $2.9 million for a 'retirement tax.' 
 
 Bell council was paid for boards that seldom met Records show one panel hasn't convened since early 2005, yet members were each paid $1,575 per month 
 
 Rizzo's horse had come in Some who worked with him in Bell and elsewhere over the years came to know him as a calculating risk-taker. 
 
 City of Bell lent employees, elected officials nearly $900,000 Former assistant city manager received at least $200,000. Experts say such a city loan program for employees is unusual. 
 
 Benefits push Bell ex-manager's compensation to more than $1.5 million Robert Rizzo's vacation and sick time totaled more than 28 weeks a year, the city discloses. 
 
 Bell salaries raise more concerns about CalPERS The state's embattled pension system did not act four years ago when it learned about the city's runaway salaries. The state attorney general and auditors express shock that nothing was done. 
 
 Voters in Bell tell of possible fraud Several residents report incidents involving absentee ballots to D.A., who is probing city elections. 
 
 Other cities stuck with the tab for Bell officials' massive pensions Under the state's arcane, convoluted public pension system, Bell will pay a fraction of the city manager and police chief's pensions. Former employers and other cities will bear the brunt of the cost. 
 
 Bell's business ties to officials probed L.A. County D.A. examines the city's $4.6-million purchase tied to a former politician. 
 
 Bell property tax rate second-highest in L.A. County Homes of the same value in richer cities are taxed at a much lower rate, county tax records show. Residents are already angry about excessive salaries paid to officials. 
 
 As top Bell officials earned massive salaries, city workers were laid off The city cut more than $800,000 from public safety and community services the same year that it gave City Manager Robert Rizzo an $82,000 raise. 
 
 Bell council used little-noticed ballot measure to skirt state salary limits The city asked voters to back conversion to charter status in 2005, the year the California Legislature limited the pay of council members statewide. Only 400 people in a city of 40,000 voted on the measure. 
 
 Bell scandal may spur a civic shift In nearby cities, residents rose up to oust corrupt officials with mixed results. 
 
 Is a city manager worth $800,000? Bell isn't a big town, or a wealthy one. But some of its top officials are paid double or triple the salaries of their counterparts elsewhere. 
 
 D.A. investigating why Bell council members get nearly $100,000 a year for a part-time job The district attorney's review of city records finds that each member in the working-class community of slightly less than 40,000 people gets $8,083 per month. A $400 monthly stipend was expected.
– The Los Angeles Times took home the coveted public service Pulitzer Prize this afternoon for its exposé of widepsread corruption in the city of Bell, Calif. The piece eventually led to the arrests of eight city officials, including the city administrator, who was pulling down $800,000 a year. The Times took home a second Pulizter for feature photography. A look at some of the other winners: Investigative reporting: Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Explanatory reporting: Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou Saldivar, and Alison Sherwood of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel National reporting: Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica International reporting: Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of the New York Times Commentary: David Leonhardt of the New York Times Criticism: Sebastian Smee of the Boston Globe Editorial writing: Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal Editorial cartooning: Mike Keefe of the Denver Post Breaking news photography: Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn, and Ricky Carioti of the Washington Post Look through the gallery for more winners, or click for the complete list of Pulitzer Prize winners.