NJN Receives Three Philadelphia Press Association Television Awards

STATEWIDE – NJN Public Television will be awarded three television awards at the Philadelphia Press Association's 60t h Anniversary Dinner Friday, June 24th at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia .

Television Enterprise – Petty's Island Eagles on NJN News , Ed Rodgers
Petty's Island is a 400-acre tract in the Delaware River between Camden and Philadelphia . In the spring, summer and fall of 2004, the future of this island became the focus of a battle involving local officials, environmentalists, CITGO Oil and a nationally prominent developer. When two bald eagles and a young chick were discovered living on the island, CITGO officials suggested donating the island as a preserve. The company faced stiff opposition from local officials and support from environmentalists. At one point, the island became the scene of a criminal investigation over the death of one of the eagles. NJN environmental correspondent Ed Rodgers followed the story as it progressed through the summer.

Television Feature – Needle Exchange, Sandra King
New Jersey 's HIV and AIDS rate is far higher than the national average, attributable mostly to IV drug use.  Health organizations that range from the AMA to the CDC have called clean needles a way to stop the spread.  And yet New Jersey is one of only five states that offers addicts no legal access to clean needles.  In this mini doc from Due Process, NJN's series on law and justice issues, Sandra King examines Philadelphia 's legal needle exchange program – and the ongoing resistance across the Delaware in New Jersey .

Television Magazine Feature – Thunderbolts of Millville , Bob Szuter
Thunderbolts of Millville tells the story of World War II in New Jersey with a look at the training base in Millville and its impact on the civilians of Millville . From 1942 to 1945, the Millville Army Air Field trained P-47 pilots, teaching them to fly and attack with their aircraft. During its three-year existence, more than 10,000 men and women served there with 1,500 pilots receiving advanced fighter training. Bob Szuter was the screen writer for this half-hour documentary, which aired in June 2004 on NJN, and is being distributed nationally to public television stations through American Public Television.