Congrats

Pardon the slight detour from talk of job cuts. But we think it is worthy to recognize staff accomplishments.

Business writers Jason Roberson and Bob Moos won awards from the Texas Medical Association journalism competition. This is the third consecutive year that the newspaper has won first place for medical reporting, according to a news story in Saturday's edition. To that we say: Well played, business staff.

Jason won first place in the large-circulation print category for a story, headlined "A Thorny Issue." An excerpt:

Politics, poverty and illegal immigration intersect here to make health care a thornier issue than in most states. And Texas, with legends of independence and gritty self-reliance, has rarely been at the forefront in creating government entitlements.

Bob finished second in the same category won first place in the large-circulation print category for a story, headlined "Disabled struggle under Medicare's wait." He was the winner in 2006 and 2007. An excerpt:

Mr. Richmeier, who's 44 and lives in Denton, suffered a traumatic brain injury in an auto accident in 2005 and soon qualified for Social Security disability benefits. But like 1.5 million other Americans with severe disabilities, he has to wait two years to get help from Medicare for doctor visits, hospital stays and medications.

Kudos as well to the reporters' editors and their decision to publish a story on the awards. That sort of recognition improves staff morale and reminds readers that quality journalists work at the Dallas Morning News.