We try not to play favorites, but of course part of the job you, dear readers, rely on us to do is curate content and try to get you the most interesting, timely or relevant content. Every month, there are numerous stories that go in print, online, in socials, in eblasts. Most of these are carefully selected for you for various reasons, from a wealth of available stories. I say most of the time, because sometimes shit just happens. But mostly, we’re very purposeful.
We love all our contributors and the stories, and we wouldn’t be here without them. Here are a few our editorial group thinks really stood out from this past year.
- Anjel Newmann shared inspiring thoughts about the racial injustice initiative at AS220.
- Kelly Lynn Currier’s beer coverage is always fun and informative. Her “Will You Beer My Valentine” stood out to our team this year for its humor and intoxicating warmth.
- Ryan Abelman toked us away with his witty, insightful strain reviews in our Cannabis Issue.
- Cheikh Higgs served up a profile of old-school legend Rich Lupo, and his Arts Day at the RI Statehouse moved us and readers.
- We also did in-depth interviews with David Cicilline of the RI Foundation and Joe Wilson Jr. from the City of PVD’s Art Culture Tourism Department.
- Sean Carlson’s Resonant Oscillations piece combined quantum physics and punk music in ways we’d never heard or felt before.
Of course, we have favorite series as well: Richard LaLiberte’s intriguing, sometimes scary fictional takes on various themes; John Picinich’s ability to capture unique characters in under 600 words in the “On the Cover” series. Steve Ahlquist’s quest for social justice, represented most completely on his stellar substack. Bobby Forand’s series on the games of new home-town team the RI Football Club (soccer), and especially for his compelling coverage of the challenges with mental health in our music community, which directly inspired the founding of a non-profit dedicated to helping with that challenge. We love the innovative series “Ants in the City,” where Dr. Jane Waters finds theme-appropriate lessons from the ant world to apply to very human situations, and “Two Feet, Two Bucks” by Andy Nosal, which presents a bus-and-pedestrian eye view of our state’s attractions, guided by original, hand-drawn maps. And of course, the intriguing throw-back BigHead McIron by Christian Scott, going where no Krazy Kat has gone before, and the visual marvels achieved by Erminio Pinque of the Space Transformation Station and his team of artists in our comic centerfolds. And to two writers who have been bringing the music gossip and news to the paper for over 20 years each, John Fuzek and Marc Clarkin – we can’t point to any one instance of Roots Report or Subterranean Jungle, but they are comfort food to always revisit.
Shout outs also to Tess Lyons for getting high on the job in her coverage of High Society’s Food Event at Troop and new “Bud Bus,” and to Olivia Lunger for handling the challenging job of profiling herself with grace and humor one issue. Mara Hagen for her coverage of the Newport Jazz Fest, Courtney Hamann for her profile of Aleppo Sweets, Brydon Conti for his profile of Gather Glass’ new ice cream shop, Tara Monastesse for her Retrospective of Summer Music, Jack Downey for always finding new local releases in his Stop Rock and Roll column, Irene Yibirin for her spirited defense of Ogie’s, Ana Margarita Cabrera for her exploration of the darkness in Solstice Traditions, and Bob Abelman for his Winter Theater Revue and insightful series on small community theaters, and of course the astrologer so many depend on, Shirley Prisco.