The Honolulu Advertiser won five first-place awards and swept all three spots in the investigative reporting category at the Hawaii Publishers Association annual Pa'i Awards yesterday.

The Advertiser won 17 total awards while the Honolulu Star-Bulletin won 26. The Bulletin won 10 first-place awards.

Advertiser investigative reporter Rob Perez swept the investigative reporting category after writing about the state's secrecy with crash data, Hawai'i's lax rules on charity oversight, and how legislators fund nonprofit groups.

Lee Cataluna earned first place for her columns, Dick Adair placed first for his editorial cartoons and Rick Daysog won first for breaking business news.

Graphic designers Greg Taylor, Minette McCabe, Jon Orque and Martha Hernandez won first place for excellence in informational graphics.

The Pa'i Awards are selected by an independent panel of Mainland publishing experts and judges.