Leslie Dinaberg (Editor’s) Top Stories of 2024
Our Arts, Culture & Community Editor Reflects on Her Favorite Stories of the Year
I wear a few different hats at the Santa Barbara Independent, as both a writer and as the editor of the Arts & Entertainment, Living, and Food & Drink sections of the paper.
Putting on my editor’s hat, here are a few of my favorite stories from this year:
Arts & Entertainment
It’s hard to stay in business in this town, and I loved the way Joe Woodard told the tale of SOhO’s 30 years in business: SOhO Goes the Big 3-0
Few wordsmiths can string together 26 letters with as much originality and punch as Nick Welsh can, and though he doesn’t write arts stories often, when he does, he’s pretty much guaranteed to knock them out of the park. Case(s) in point: The Brasscals Bring Honk to Santa Barbara and SBIFF Gives Fiesta 5 a New Lease on Life.
The late artist Keith Puccinelli was such a talented individual and Joe Woodard captures his quirky personality exceptionally well in this cover story: Art About Life, Death, and Clowning.
Speaking of capturing personalities, Roger Durling’s cover profile of Baret Boisson — The Accidental Artist-Activist — was one of my favorite features of the year, with vibrant, insightful writing (I’ve known Baret for years and learned a lot from the story), and particularly beautiful shots captured by Ingrid Bostrom.
Food & Drink
Matt Kettmann’s recent cover story — Santa Barbara’s Hospitality Game-Changers — was exceptionally well-researched and although it had a zillion moving parts, he managed to put it together elegantly and informatively, as well as entertainingly. He also, of course, writes quite eloquently and knowledgably about wine on a regular basis, but I was particularly intrigued by this story of How a Documentary About an Armenian Winemaker Created Iran’s First Wine in Decades.
I love a good literary pun as much as anybody who plays with words for a living, and George Yatchisin did himself proud with this take on Poe-tent Potables | The Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy. I also really enjoyed his take on how The Black Sheep Santa Barbara Brasserie Raises the Baa — including the headline, for which George deserves all the credit. No surprise, he’s also a poet!
When Michael Delgado first pitched me the concept for Cheese the Day — an ambitious cover story bringing wine, cheese and culinary experts together to sip, savor, and share their expertise — I had some doubt that he could pull it off. But he did an incredible job on this one, and we got to enjoy the fruits, and the pairings, of his labor. We’ll be working with him again soon and I can’t wait. Keep an eye out for more information on an open-to-the-public Cheese the Day event you won’t want to miss out on.
Living
I’ve been reading John Zant’s sports reporting for as long as I can remember, and his story on Remembering OJ Simpson and the Dangers of “Godding Up Those Ball Players” was one of the standouts of the year.
I’m always happy to have Starshine Roshell in our pages, but her post-election column, And So It Begins … Misogynists Are Already Crawling Outta Their Hovels, struck a particular chord with me. When something needs saying OUT LOUD in a crowded space, I’m so grateful to have her as the one who is willing, and oh-so-very able, to say it!
Victor Bryant’s story The Urzua Family Athletic Legacy Shines On at Bishop Diego hit the perfect sweet spot between sports and community. I loved learning more about this family.
While I’m on the subject of sports and family, Jim Buckley’s cover story Going for Gold … Times Three: Isla Vista’s Neushul Family Rides a Chlorine-Scented Wave All the Way to the Olympics was another favorite of the year.
And finally, in what was probably my favorite story of the year in an “only in the Santa Barbara Independent would you read this way,” was Callie Fausey’s Down the Rabbit Hole first-person trip into the world of ketamine therapy. Gutsy, specific, original, and compelling from start to finish.
Click here to read my own writing picks for 2024 as well.
