By Times Staff

Alexandria Times columnist Rob Whittle won first place in the Weekly Newspaper Column category in the annual Society of Professional Journalists Dateline Awards contest. Times freelance writer Andrew Dunbar won first place for his musical review of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale’ in the Weekly Newspaper Commentary & Criticism category, while Times Publisher Denise Dunbar won first place in the Weekly Newspaper Editorial/Opinion Writing category. The awards for excellence in local journalism were presented at the annual dinner and meeting of the SPJ D.C. Pro Chapter on Tuesday night.