“SAVING THE BIRDS OF PREY” takes a look at the history of the Peregrine Fund headquartered at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise Idaho and how the organization’s research has saved scores of near extinct bird species throughout the world. (Please click on photo to go to article).
“Characteristic Lines, Uncharacteristic Results” is about the unusual pairing of materials used to create this lovely home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“ENDANGERED ART” The ancient sport of falconry and how it has changed – and stayed the same – over the centuries. (Please click on photo to go to article).
In 2005, a 16-year old Idaho girl was charged with using a high-powered hunting rifle to murder her mother and father.To ensure a fair jury, the trial was moved from the small town of Bellevue where the family lived, to Boise.The Twin Falls Times-News was seeking daily coverage of the trial but couldn’t spare sending a reporter to Boise for 6 weeks. So, they contracted with Patti Murphy to report on the trial. The trial was covered by national media such as 20/20, Dateline, and Court TV. Murphy reported daily on the trial and filed more than 50 articles. She ultimately won a First Place Award for Crimes and Courts reporting from the Idaho Press Club. She also has been interviewed by several national television network shows regarding the trial, including “Snapped,” for the Oxygen network; “Solved” for the Discovery network, and “To Young To Kill,” for the E! Entertainment Network. Below are some of Murphy’s articles in PDF format:
Judge Rejects Defense’s Coconut Demonstration
Bloody Sheets Cause Delay in Trial
My feature article, “Memories of Minidoka,” which I wrote for Sun Valley Magazine (www.sunvalleymag.com/Sun-Valley-Magazine/Winter-2010/Memories-of-Minidoka/), received the Excellence Award from Capital City Communicators in the 2010 IMPACT competition. The article chronicled the weekend that several Japanese Americans returned to the Minidoka Internment Camp, where they had been imprisoned during World War II. It told the story of their feelings and memories at returning to the camp and how old and new friendships were kindled.
The IMPACT (Idaho Marketing, PR and Communications Talent) Awards recognize the top work of Idaho’s communicators in a variety of categories, ranging from public relations and marketing, to websites and video scripts. “Minidoka” received the highest award in the Feature Writing category.
In “Us Against Phlegm” I take a humorous look at the problem of public spitting by men.
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/us-against-phlegm/Content?oid=933507
It was an honor to hear my name called out as first place winner in magazine writing, serious feature category at the 2009 Idaho Press Club Awards. One reason I was so pleased was because I received the award for my story, “Memories of Minidoka – Revisiting Idaho’s Japanese Interment Camp,” which I had written for Sun Valley Magazine (you can read it online at www.sunvalleymag.com/Sun-Valley-Magazine/Winter-2010/Memories-of-Minidoka/). For me, writing that story was an amazing experience. I spent a whole weekend with many of the Japanese-Americans who had been interned at the Minidoka Camp during WWI. Many of them were in their 70s and 80s. Together we went on a pilgrimage back to the historical site of the former camp, where they recalled memories of living behind barbed wire and guards with machine guns, how they were forced to live in near squalor, how their families lost everything they owned, and how they had long ago forgiven those who had wrongly imprisoned them. The pilgrimage is organized every summer by the Friends of Minidoka (www.minidoka.org). It was a moving, emotional and important experience and for anyone interested in this part of history, I would encourage you to be a part of this summer’s pilgrimage, June 25-27.
This was the seventh Idaho Press Club Award I have won over the past few years. All of them mean a lot, as they acknowledge the quality of my work. But for me, seeing the story of Minidoka recognized was very special.
Each year on the last Friday in April every state in the nation celebrates Arbor Day. This one special day has been set aside to learn about all the many benefits and resources provided by trees. The Idaho Forest Products Commission will be distributing 25,000 free seedlings on Arbor Day. You can get yours at any Home Depot or FedEx Kinkos throughout Idaho, or at the Boise Co-Op or Flicks Theatre in downtown Boise. They also will be holding the annual state celebration, proclamation reading, and tree planting at Capital Park across the street from the Statehouse the morning of April 30. Everyone is welcome to join the celebration and learn more about the benefits of Idaho’s forests. Please go to www.idahoforests.org for more information.
Consider this:
1. Arbor Day is a great time to think about trees and Idaho’s forests.
2. Idaho’s forests contribute to our state and our way of life.
3. Forests cover 21 million acres of Idaho, over 40% of the state.
4. Forests are renewable. When trees die or are harvested, others can be grown for the future.
5. Forests are sustainable. They can be managed to meet our needs today and not diminish future generations’ opportunities to use forest resources.
6. Working forests are where trees are continuously grown, harvested and re-grown for the future.
7. We all benefit from the clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities and protection from catastrophic wildfires that working forests provide.
8. Working forests fuel Idaho’s economy with wages, taxes and purchases from employees and businesses. Forest businesses directly provided 10,800 jobs in Idaho in 2009 and supported thousands of other related jobs in service businesses.
9. Idaho’s working forests provide wood and paper products that are marketed and used throughout the world. In 2009, around $1.4 billion of Idaho wood and paper products were sold.
10. Working forests hold great promise for Idaho’s future – clean energy, new products and jobs, carbon storage and a healthy environment for our children and their children.
