Year in Review: Our favorite stories of 2024

RIVERHEAD NEWS REVIEW: “One of my favorite stories this year was Melissa Azofeifa’s story about a Riverhead native, Caitlin Saxtein. Ms. Saxtein is a speech language pathologist who works at the Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. She volunteered her time to go to Lviv, Ukraine, to help provide free medical services to wounded soldiers and civilians. She also provided the speech language pathologists in Lviv with resources and tips to provide ongoing treatment to their patients. Ms. Saxtein’s passion for helping others in need was very inspiring.”

Flora Cannon, graphic designer

SHELTER ISLAND REPORTER: “One of my favorite stories of 2024 was ‘A Day in the Life: Shelter Island’s Black Cat Books,’ where Charity Robey dives into the hours of an establishment on the Island over three decades. The day includes putting out the flag, maintaining their online presence, photographing a book for auction, researching personal libraries for sale and welcoming many a customer — one accompanied by a dog. What also makes it sound special are the people that work there, all having a part in making this store unique, just like the signed book by the King of England inside and the carved store sign outside.”

Christine Kelly-Smimmo, staff artist

NORTHFORKER: “This year, the Cutchogue chicken barbecue was not only one of my favorite events of the year, but ‘The Secret Sauce: Chicken barbecues are the North Fork’s hottest summer tradition’ was one of my favorite stories we wrote about in our Northforker magazine. Lee Meyer did a great job of recapping the 66 years of tradition and history that brings thousands of people back year after year.” 

Kaitlyn Burke, advertising account executive

SHELTER ISLAND REPORTER: “My favorite series of stories this year were written by Ambrose Clancy, focused on the people who make their living here. One example is the story featuring former Greenport mayor George Hubbard, who retired from his Shelter Island auto repair business. The story was beautifully written and highlights what makes our community great.”

Andrew Olsen, publisher

THE SUFFOLK TIMES: “My favorite story, or rather stories, this year were what I hope will be a long-running series by Amanda Olsen. I devoured Skywatch Fall 2024 and Skywatch August 2024. I love knowing ahead of time what to look for in the night sky, as it’s not lost on me that we are lucky to live in an area with such great night views.”

Cerria Orientale Torres, director of operations

SOUTHFORKER: “ ‘Sen & Sensibility: After 30 years, Sen says “arigato” to Sag Harbor,’ because I was a waitress and bartender for over 20 years, I’m probably always going to have a special place in my heart for restaurants and, especially, the people who work in them. Such was the case with Sen, the Japanese-style institution in my hometown of Sag Harbor, that celebrated 30 years in business this year. Owners the Matsuoka brothers have consistently utilized Sen as an unmistakable reminder to the East End of what hospitality truly means, continually providing guests with a good reason as to why we go out to restaurants in the first place.”

Emily Toy, Southforker staff reporter

RIVERHEAD NEWS REVIEW: “Ana Borruto’s story about the rare painting of the Red Jacket found at the Wading River Historical Society hits all the buttons: a once-in-a-lifetime antique discovered among the donations, a deep dive into the history of both the painting and the ship and a hefty payout for the historical society from the sale of the painting. I loved it.”

Amanda Olsen, staff writer

NORTHFORKER: “ ‘Making the Bait: How Larry Welcome Spun a Career Out of Wood’ by the wonderful Angela Colangelo had me rapt as soon as I started reading. Welcome’s path from passionate hobbyist fisherman just trying to fund his angling habit to one of the most sought-after specialty lure artisans punctuates the notion to me that everyone has a story — and probably a really good one — as to how they got where they are in life. When Angela presented this story idea, I remember thinking, wow, this is something I never would have found if she hadn’t shone a light on Welcome’s talents. And Jeremy Garretson’s photography here made for a stunning cover!”

Amy Zavatto, editor-in-chief, lifestyle

SOUTHFORKER: “ ‘Life’s a Beach’ by Emily Toy. Growing up on the East End, there are few place names that don’t have a story behind them. Southforker staffer Emily Toy really did some due diligence digging up the history of beach names for this story. One of the things we really like to do when we have the opportunity is find a story behind a story, so instead of the requisite ‘where to go to the beach’ piece, Emily’s work to find the historical background on all these places — names that start to almost become generic they’re so familiar — breathed new life into them. I learned so much from this story!”

Amy Zavatto, editor-in-chief, lifestyle