The most visually-compelling stories of 2024 were tales of heartbreak and success.
In January, violent floods swept cars down roadways and pushed more than a thousand people from their homes. The images have largely faded away, but many people in southeastern San Diego are still trying to recover from losing their homes and communities.
The homelessness crisis also featured heavily in the lenses of our photographers.
But Voice’s contributing photographers also told stories of hope and resilience. They found stories of unexpected success at Edison Elementary School and deep-rooted culture among horse riders in San Ysidro, who practice the tradition of charrería.
January
The January floods were as unexpected as they were devastating. Many families who spoke to our reporters and photographers felt as if their whole lives had been washed away.
Voice contributing photojournalist Luke Johnson went to the neighborhood of Southcrest to capture the aftermath. He came across homes, garages and cars that were completely destroyed.
“Photographing the January floods and their impact on the Southcrest community was incredibly humbling,” Johnson said. “Being trusted to be invited into people’s homes as they face a reality which saw many lose nearly everything, came with a heightened sense of responsibility.”
He added, “I focused on photographing the connection between people and their spaces which had been so dramatically changed by the surging waters. Waiting for the quiet moments that illustrated the immense weight of loss and left residents overwhelmed, I captured this moment of Ramon de la Mora going through his flooded basement after the water had receded.”
February
As an investigative news outlet, we get a bad rap for writing what some consider “negative” stories. For what it’s worth, this doesn’t come from a place of cynicism. We do it because we think the world can and should be a better place.
But every so often, we get to write something positive. This was the case for Edison Elementary. The school has continued to buck a longstanding trend in education — schools in poorer neighborhoods have lower test scores than schools in wealthier areas.
That’s not Edison’s story. Educators there have for years helped their students exceed expectations.
March
The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plan is in dire need of repair, as we have reported on many occasions. In March, officials granted reporters a tour of the plant and we didn’t miss the opportunity to be there.
Voice contributing photojournalist Vito di Stefano braved the stink to capture a photo of sewage-treated wastewater and sediment pouring out of a large faucet.
“The incessant sulfuric odor during the tour of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant first comes to mind when I think back to this image,” di Stefano said. “The plant itself was fascinating. To see how much infrastructure and process are needed to deal with our human waste was mesmerizing at times.”
April
Reporting intern Juan Estrada set out to understand how a proposed ban on rodeos could affect a charro group in San Ysidro. The group’s leaders told Estrada they were worried the ban would prevent them from holding events and upholding the tradition of charrería.
Ariana Drehsler visited the ranch one evening to capture the team practicing at Rancho La Laguna.
May
Krysta Corona came forward with allegations about a man who had sexually assaulted her when she was a child. Years later she learned that the man, her cousin, was teaching gymnastics at a gym in Santee.
Reporters Will Huntsberry and Tigist Layne also discovered that at least five people filed complaints about inappropriate touching at the gym.
June
County officials abandoned a plan to open a safe sleeping site in Spring Valley after residents complained about the project. As so many other projects that have been abandoned over residents’ complaints, this left homeless people, again, without a solution.
Drehsler went out to the area and met a woman who told her she had hoped to live at the safe sleeping site.
July
In July, as with so many other months in recent years, more people became homeless than found housing. While 1,005 people found housing, 1,351 people became homeless for the first time. As long as these numbers persist, San Diego’s homeless crisis cannot abate.
Drehsler spent a lot of time with homeless people in July, documenting both their humanity and their struggle.
August
We don’t often cover small school districts. But a fight between a school board member in Rancho Santa Fe and the husband of another trustee inside a district office elevator caught our interest. Education reporter Jakob McWhinney learned that there were also other complaints against Paul Seitz.
“From the get-go of the meeting, the goal was to capture his brash personality,” di Stefano said. “But actually, the shot of the day for me, was the portrait of the spouse with whom I had to literally run down in the parking lot as he was driving away during the meeting.
September
We hosted our annual politics summit in September, and among the many elected officials who joined us was Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. He had the coolest socks on stage.
“I noticed California state Sen. Brian Jones rocking his spicy socks. I had to capture the zesty stylings, if for nothing else, his peppery choice of hosiery,” di Stefano said.
October
South County reporter Jim Hinch wrote a heartbreaking profile on one mother’s quest to understand how the region’s drug treatment system failed her daughter.
Drehsler attended a memorial service with the family.
“Photographing the memorial of Elizabeth Marie Torres was one of the most heartbreaking assignments I had this year,” Drehsler said. “She died from a drug overdose. You could see how loved she was not just by family members but friends. You always want to get strong images, however, I thought the most important thing was to be sensitive to the people that loved her. I told myself, ‘do your job but be patient and more importantly stay out of the way and try to go unnoticed as much as you can with a camera.’ Torres was 34 years old.”
November
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria won his re-election bid against challenger Larry Turner, a police officer. Di Stefano went out to a celebration party at the Westin to observe how Democratic candidates were celebrating their victories.
“The San Diego County Democratic Party event was my second assignment on Election Day, and I could not have envisioned the somber vibes quietly percolating when I arrived,” di Stefano said. “Pennsylvania was just called and the inevitable realization of what was to happen was becoming a reality in my mind. Although soon, the dour mood would morph into thinly veiled despair, the one bright spot of the evening was the brief celebration of Mayor Todd Gloria’s 2nd term with his family and team onstage.”
December
Contributing photojournalist Zoë Meyer and Hinch went on a special tour of the Sweetwater Dam. The dam is in need of a lot of repairs.
“One of my favorite things about photojournalism is that it brings me into spaces and situations that I would otherwise never experience. In this case that was walking over the 136-year-old Sweetwater Dam,” Meyer said.
“When I took this photo Sweetwater Authority’s General Manager Carlos Quintero and Justin Brazil, director of water quality, were looking out over a spillway that the agency will eventually need to repair or rebuild. It felt like a little behind the scenes moment that we don’t usually get to see and which I’m always looking for as a photographer.”