YourArlington continues its year-end practice of reporting which of its news stories and opinion pieces published in 2024 had the most hits over those 12 months. The numbers are recorded by our site host, SiteGround, each time anyone reads a published report.
By definition, this list reflects popularity, not impact. For example, a four-part series reported in 2024 after 10 months of research by Assistant Editor Brynn O’Connor about Arlington’s response to the opioid epidemic aimed for impact. Yet none of the four reports makes our top-20 list of news stories. Read part one here >> Instead, this explanatory piece is among the top-15 in the opinion category.
What are most popular? Politics, police and restaurants. FYI: I do expect a police blotter and restaurant reviews to draw many readers. I have no idea, beyond web bots gone wild, why a routine state delegate story leads our pack by a long shot.
The numbers below are as of Dec. 28. As readers check this list, the numbers will continue to increase. Note: The top hit in 2023 was a report that Mass. Gov. Healey became an Arlington resident. As of a year ago, it had 23,329 hits. A year later, it has 50,254. Reader connections goes on and on.
1.) Town Democrats elect 14 state convention delegates, YourArlington staff, March 4: 99,916
2.) Retired Men’s Club talks sports, YourArlington staff, Oct. 7: 66,054
3.) Minuteman School Committee works on budget, superintendent search, seat-lottery threat; Judith Pfeffer, Feb. 2: 62,766
4.) Select Board discusses MBTA, OKs new restaurant, welcomes 250th celebration; Cassidy McNeeley, March 2: 58,146
5.) Police blotter Feb. 20-26: 2 arrested on suspicion of OUI, plus ‘check-washing’ update; Christopher Wilbur, Feb. 29: 55,761
6.) Rep. Rogers provides tax-saving information for seniors, YourArlington staff, Feb. 25: 55,266
7.) Arlington-based ACMi News wins 3 awards from Alliance for Community Media, YourArlington staff, Feb. 14: 51,314
8.) Police blotter Jan. 9-15: ID fraud — the beat goes on; Police blotter Jan. 9-15: ID fraud — the beat goes on; Christopher Wilbur, Jan. 18: 51,199
9.) Review: Resistance is futile: Arlingtonians flock to local Tatte, Frederick Kalil, March 21: 50,551
10.) Minuteman: 3rd/final superintendent-director candidate interview, Judith Pfeffer, Feb. 5: 49,485
11.) Student athletes, AHS graduates excel at Endicott College, YourArlington staff, March 15: 48,478
12.) Police blotter March 19-25: Driver, 96, loses grip on Lake Street; hoarding situation discovered; Christopher Wilbur, March 26: 47,887
13.) Local organizations worked together to put on Juneteenth observance, YourArlington staff, June 17: 47,753
14.) Police blotter March 12-18: New blue-box alarms may have deterred a ‘check-washer’ mail thief, Christopher Wilbur, March 22: 47,652
15.) Police blotter Jan. 2-8: Out-of-town vehicles strike 2 cars on same day, Christopher Wilbur, Jan. 10: Jan. 10: 47,132
16.) Police blotter April 9-15: Motor vehicle stories: the reckless, the abandoned, the crushed; Christopher Wilbur, April 19: 45,858
17.) Police blotter Feb. 27-March 4: multiple accidents, fraud attempts; Christopher Wilbur, March 7: 45,718
18.) Commission to write report on local input on Gaza, create addendum to ‘Hingham statement’; Judith Pfeffer, April 11: 45,057
19.) Tour of Fox Library took place April 20, in preparation for possible complete reconstruction; Susan Gilbert, April 1: 44,852
20.) Forums on future of Fox library concluded with Zoom-only meeting Jan. 17, YourArlington staff, Jan. 16: 44,260
Top 15 ‘hits’ for opinion in 2024
1.) Celebrate our history; recognize our anger; Steve Ratiner, July 1: 6,124
2.) AFD meets challenges involving dramas calling for Black actors; Ginger Webb, Feb. 25: 4,421
3.) I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now, Belen Sanchez Mathews, June 2, 4,369
4.) Emerson prof emeritus declines graduation invitation; Roger House, May 9: 4,302
5.) Allow 16-year-olds to vote in town elections, Sophie Shen, May 9: 4,296
6.) How should YourArlington change? Bob Sprague, May 20: 4,244
7.) Why we did the opioid series — and why we want your thoughts, Brynn O’Connor, July 2: 4,193
8.) Remember not to get old, Amy Chelariu, June 2: 4,000
9.) Transfer fee could boost affordable housing, Rachel Roth, April 4: 3,930
10.) Savor the in-between spaces, Dr. Elizabeth Homan, June 2: 3,888
11.) Confronting an epidemic of loneliness among the young, Kara Baskin, March 27: 3,874
12.) Who are Arlington’s master-planning advisers? Here are clues; tell us more, Bob Sprague, June 17: 3,764
13.) Partial decriminalization still leaves sex workers vulnerable, Rachel Roth, May 12: 3,762
14.) Spreadsheet invented here: Let’s honor that tech history, Paul Selker, Oct. 17: 2,951
15.) Dear T: Time for Arlington to get what it pays for, Paul Schlichtman, Nov. 26: 1,676
Dec. 30, 2023: Top ‘hits’ in ’23 point to site’s resilience
This listing was published Monday, Dec. 30, 2024.
