Step into your mental time machine and rewind with me for a second to May 17, when I’m hunched at my desk and writing this very Editor’s Note column (of course, in keeping with tradition, right in the screaming teeth of deadline). If you were in the Desert Companion offices, like me, you’d probably be distracted, too, stealing frequent gazes at our north wall, which is burgeoning with mountains, animals and people. See, this wall of our office is a bunch of those office-land fabric panels that usually serve as a giant bulletin board; but in this magazine cycle, it’s hosting printouts of a sizable portion of the entries in our fourth annual Focus on Nevada photo contest and exhibit. Taking it all in, it makes me wish we had 200-plus pages to showcase the amazing work we’ve received from amateur photographers and professional shooters alike, who’ve captured everything from the flora and fauna of the Silver State to striking slice-of-life portraits to avant-garde snaps that engage the head as much as the eye. This year, we received 1,068 entries from more than 320 photographers, which means our 24 judges conscripted from various sectors of the community had their work cut out for them, and then some. What you see starting on p. 48 are the best of the best, but rest assured that choosing the winners, while fun, certainly wasn’t easy. Consider this a toast to everyone who entered. And that’s just the start of the eye candy: Also be sure to check out our photo essay on p. 59, in which we set loose photographer Anthony Mair to explore a variety of Vegas subcultures that share one thing in common: a passion for wheeled pastimes, whether it’s bicycles, roller skates, motorcycles or low-riders. Living in such a visually charged city can jade us; what I love about our annual Photo Issue is how it reflects back to us the places we live, work and play through different lenses — literally — and in the process, renews our conception of home.
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Now for a little bragging. I’m proud to announce that Desert Companion took home two Maggie awards (“the Oscars of publishing,” they say!) at the 65th annual Western Publishing Association awards banquet May 6 in Los Angeles. Desert Companion won a Best News Story Maggie for our July 2015 article, “‘I’m a real boy,’” by Kimberley McGee, which delved into the daily challenges, trials and triumphs of raising a transgender child in Las Vegas. We also earned a Maggie for Best Signed Editorial/Essay for Hugh Jackson’s June 2015 piece, “About those exciting jobs of tomorrow,” a trenchant essay that asks whether Nevada’s education system can evolve to meet the demands of an emerging economy based on technological savvy and knowledge work. While planting a few more acrylic trophies on the shelf is a pleasure all its own, it’s particularly gratifying to be recognized for pursuing serious journalism and commentary in a world of clickbait listicles, PR fluffitorial and, oh, you know, once-respectable daily newspapers turned into zombie cheerleading organs for mercurial billionaires. It means a lot to be able to share vital stories and perspectives about Southern Nevada with you — whether those stories tackle a hot-button topic or simply showcase the Nevada beauty that surrounds us every day.