New Times of San Luis Obispo won several awards in the 2009 Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ Altweekly awards contest.

The contest honors the best writing, photography, and design among 123 free weekly newspapers. New Times competed in the under- 50,000 circulation division.

Managing Editor Patrick Howe, photographer Steve E. Miller and publisher Alex Zuniga were awarded an honorable mention for editorial layout for the story “Secrets of Recycling” (June 12, 2008). Photographer Steve E. Miller won third place in the photography category for his work “Momento Mori” (Sept. 25, 2008), a series of photo illustrations on the deaths of artists. Shredder won second place in the political column category for a series of columns on topics ranging from medical marijuana to gay marriage.