[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2018

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the staff of The Press Democrat for being awarded the 2018 Pulitzer 
Prize for Breaking News Reporting ``for lucid and tenacious coverage of 
historic wildfires that ravaged the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma 
County.''
  The Press Democrat is a locally-owned, daily newspaper that was 
founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Santa Rosa, in my district. 
This national recognition of its exemplary reporting reinforces what 
our community already knows--that The Press Democrat is a world class 
newspaper with exceptional reporters, photographers, editors, online 
producers and page designers.
  During the historic October 2017 wildfires, the staff at The Press 
Democrat filled a dual role. They told the larger stories, reporting on 
the devastation and community-wide heartbreak and photographing the 
looming flames and incredible heroism. They also kept people in our 
community informed of whether they needed to evacuate, where they could 
go if they did and how to search for and locate missing family, friends 
and neighbors. Their updates were critical in keeping people in the 
Sonoma, Napa and Lake Counties aware of the rapid movement of the fires 
and events unfolding in our community.
  The Pulitzer Prize is well-deserved acknowledgment of the hard work 
of the staff of The Press Democrat. During the long days and nights and 
extreme uncertainty, the reporters, photographers and editors worked on 
the front lines and around the clock to keep the community informed and 
shared the horrors with the rest of the country and the world. 
Reporting on the fires demanded everything of them and they delivered, 
even as some were evacuated from their homes and unsure if they would 
have a home to return to.
  Mr. Speaker, The Press Democrat is an important newspaper and 
institution in our community. It is therefore fitting and proper that 
we honor the staff and their accomplishment of winning a Pulitzer Prize 
for Breaking News Reporting.

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