Jackson Friedman’s Year in Review

For our annual review of stories, our writers and editors have put together lists of the stories they were proud of this year, or just had fun writing or reading. Here are Copy Chief Jackson Friedman’s picks.

The Bucket Brigade Conquers Grief and Destruction

This uplifting story brings to mind a famous quote from Fred Rogers, which is advice his mom gave to him as a kid when he saw something scary on the news: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” After witnessing first-hand the devastation of the 1/9 Debris Flow, Indy reporter and Montecito resident Keith Hamm went looking for the helpers and found some in the form of the all-volunteer Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade. His stirring first-person account of the disaster and the group’s grassroots effort to dig Montecito out of the mud (and find some catharsis in the process) is complemented by Macduff Everton’s powerful photography.

Seeing Santa Barbara’s Past with New Eyes

This story features a choice sampling from the library’s Edson Smith Collection, a treasure trove of more than 2,500 recently digitized photographs of early Santa Barbara. The story of the preservationists who made these rare historical photos available to the public is certainly inspiring, but what steal the show are the images themselves, which each tell a unique story about Santa Barbara’s past.