So honored to be sharing this award with my colleagues Ken and Ira, whose journalism is exactly what we need more of today.

🥉 3rd Place: Ken Makin, Ira Porter, and @cameron-pugh.bsky.social, @csmonitor.bsky.social
🏅 Honorable Mention: Hal B. Klein, @post-gazette.com

Party like a grandpa? Sober as a student? Generations flip script on alcohol. People ages 18 to 34 who say they drink fell from 73% in the early 2000s to 59% in 2024, according to Gallup. That’s the lowest this century.

Party like a...baby boomer? Recent data shows that young people's drinking rates are the lowest they've been this century. Conversely, older adults are drinking more – bringing the two groups rates of alcohol use nearly to parity. Read my story below to see what's behind the change.

Massachusetts towns ban nicotine for a generation. Public health win or overreach? Who is responsible for the health of young people? Tobacco bans in Massachusetts towns have residents weighing public health concerns against individual freedoms and considering what it means to have ...

How far should governments go to keep people healthy? It's a perennial concern for public health officials, who have to balance the greater good with people's personal freedoms.

In Massachusetts, that conversation is being rehashed as towns ban nicotine for a generation.

Had a blast reporting this story – and getting to spend some time back in the Berkshires🏔️

My latest for @csmonitor.bsky.social ✍🏾