Action News has been awarded first and second place for "General Excellence" by the Society of Professional Journalists.

KEPR has new information on the former Portland police officer suspected of sex crimes in Columbia Park. Ryan Graichen is back behind bars again.

KEPR is continuing to cover the Pasco murder case of a man charged with killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend. In a surprise announcement Thursday, Kurtis Chapman asked a judge to throw out his lawyer because of lack of trust.

KEPR uncovered another new issue in our tight rental market. Wednesday night, we documented that renters here in the Tri-Cities have seen the biggest rental hikes of anywhere in the state. A day later, we discovered people are being kicked out of their homes with just three weeks' notice. And it's all legal.

KEPR Action news found in the Tri-Cities you're suffering from the highest hike to rent of anywhere in the state. KEPR has covered the tight apartment market many times. But we found out the lack of vacancies means everyone is paying more. Just how much more? Action News breaks down the prices.

KEPR dug deeper into gangs moving into Benton County. We first started looking at the spike in car thefts which was up by a third last year but quickly learned, property crime was just a symptom of a growing gang problem.

Forget the space race. Alaska's former governor wants more doughnut shops like the Spudnut Shop in Richland.

KEPR is continuing to cover the Finley woman accused of hoarding and then abandoning dozens of cats. Her trial's been delayed two months.

The 2010 crime statistics for the Tri-Cities were released and the level of crime dropped to a record low.

Pasco Schools are moving forward with a plan to keep kids in school year-round. The board unanimously agreed to move forward with the process to study year-round schooling.

KEPR is always looking at the ways our local police are tackling crime but in a recession, more people doesn't necessarily mean more police. Despite the fact that more people keep moving to the area, don't plan on seeing any more officers on the streets. Cops argue, that's not a bad thing.

KEPR Action News found icy roads are likely to blame for a head-on crash that killed a driver Tuesday morning in north Franklin County.

If you didn't feel you were taxed enough, try this on for size: a new cell phone tax could add another $10 to your bill. KEPR Action News found Washington already pays more in cell phone taxes than anyone else in the country.

KEPR Action News is continuing to stay on top of your safety, so we took another look at the success of a local sex offender database called "Offender Watch." After using it for more than two years, those who keep track of local offenders tell us the site keeps you much safer than before.