CUTTING INTO HOLIDAY SEASON: The Santa Barbara Independent crew takes the end-of-year holiday season seriously and kicked it off in proper fashion last Thursday with our annual Thanksgiving potluck, where the newspaper’s resident chefs come to shine. After leading the team in a spontaneous giving-thanks circle of 30 or so people holding hands, Editor in Chief Marianne Partridge is seen here cutting into news reporter Ethan Stewart’s barbecued bird, just one of many culinary highlights from last week.