The Radio Television Digital News Association honored KCLU, a National Public Radio station, with seven regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for journalistic excellence on April 21.

KCLU won more 2010 awards than any small station in the region covering California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam. This is the highest number of Murrow awards the station has ever received in a single year.

Program director Jim Rondeau, news director Lance Orozco and reporter John Palminteri won the award for Audio Breaking News Coverage for their live reporting on the Jesusita brushfire in Santa Barbara County.

John North, a retired Los Angeles radio reporter who produces special projects for KCLU, won two awards for his hourlong documentary “Not in My Backyard,” which examined California’s laws regulating paroled sex offenders.

His work was honored for Audio Investigative Reporting and Audio News Documentary.

Orozco won the top awards for Audio Continuing Coverage for his reporting on Ventura County’s Guiberson brushfire, Audio News Series for KCLU’s Arts and Entertainment Reports, Audio Sports Reporting for a segment on the oldest-living former Major League Baseball player and Use of Sound for a feature on a whale that played tourist for a few days in Santa Barbara’s harbor.

KCLU has received a total of 18 Murrow awards since 2001.

The Murrow Awards are named after the late CBS journalist.

KCLU is a community service of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. It serves Ventura County at 88.3 FM.

Live streaming and archives are available at www.kclu.org.