Boston — The Day's editorial page, feature section and videos were among the work honored at the New England Better Newspaper Competition this weekend. The awards were presented by the New England Newspaper & Press Association at the Renaissance Hotel.

In the advertising portion of the contest, held Friday night, The Day received 16 awards, including Mary Dolan for Best Ad Designer. Connecticut Family Magazine was first in Special Section and Connecticut Coast & Country was first in Niche Publication.

Also on Friday, Managing Editor Timothy J. Cotter was inducted into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame.

John Ruddy placed first in History Reporting with a two-part series about visits to New London by foreign submarines just before the United States entered both world wars. Ruddy, The Day's copy desk chief, also placed second in headline writing.

The Day's editorial pages captured first place. The section is edited by Paul Choiniere and designed by Scott Ritter. Choiniere, The Day's editorial page editor, also placed first in Editorial Writing. The judges applauded his editorials, which "take strong stands on issues important to the community." Choiniere and Jacinta Meyers placed third in Editorial Cartoon.

The Daybreak section, which is edited by Kristina Dorsey and designed by Maria Reagan, finished first and third in the Arts & Entertainment section. The judges were impressed with the quality of the writing in a feature by Dorsey on Mystic native Charles Ragsdale and singled out the book and music reviews in the Sunday section. Dorsey also was third in A&E reporting.

Peter Huoppi finished first in Entertainment Video and Sports Video. The video of Thanksgiving Day football was "one of the best high school football videos I've ever seen," the judge said. Tim Cook received honorable mentions in Feature Video and Entertainment Video. Huoppi, Casey O'Neill, Keith O'Brien, Carlos Virgen, Tim Cook and Mike DiMauro placed second in Best Webcast. Theday.com finished second for Best Overall Website.

Lindsay Boyle's "Pathways" series on the different routes to legal immigration placed second in both General News and Racial or Ethnic Issue Coverage. The judges said it was "a well-written, highly readable series about the diversity of the immigrant experience in southeastern Connecticut."

Martha Shanahan was first in Education Reporting for "A profane election poses problems for educators." "A well-written story that discussed a topic that many adults were wondering about: how did schools handle the discussion about the presidential campaign?" the judges said.

The series, "Living Their Faith," finished second in Reporting on Religious issues. The series was written by Karen Florin, Rick Koster, Lindsay Boyle, Joe Wojtas, Deborah Straszheim, Julia Bergman, Kimberly Drelich and Judy Benson.

Sean D. Elliot was second in Portrait Photo and Tim Martin second in Sports Photo.

Also in advertising, Troy Hall was first, Local Display Ad and Advertising Campaign; Jessica Dyer was second, Advertising Campaign; Heidi Toala was first in Themed Multiple Advertiser Pages, and first, second and third, Real Estate Display Ad; Mary Dolan, second, Local Online Ad; and Justin McCabe, first, Newspaper Designed Ad Insert, second, Best Ad Design and third, Local Online Ad. Aspire was third in Niche Publication and The Day's contests finished second.