DUBIOUS DISTINCTIONS:

Every year, we peruse the last year’s worth of news stories to come up with what we consider to be the top 10 stories of the year.

Picking out what we think are the top stories requires no small measure of subjectivity. One man’s front page story is another man’s slow news day.

While picking out this year’s top stories, we compiled a list of a few stories that didn’t make the top 10 but certainly were worthy of the front page or at least some serious head scratching. Here they are in no particular order:

 Todd Marinovich arrested again: The former high school and college phenom ran afoul of the law again and was picked up by Newport Beach police on drug charges.

 Newport Beach man’s sail around the world trip is aborted: Ken Barnes hoped to sail around the world, but that trip was cut short after a 25-foot wave hit his boat Privateer and snapped its mast.

 Piecemakers leader Marie Kolasinski jailed: The 85-year-old owner of the country store on Adams Avenue was ordered to serve 10 days in county jail after failing to adhere to county health laws.

She later wrote an essay about her experience.

 Rabbit Island a casualty of the mortgage crisis: Selling an island wouldn’t seem to be such a hard thing to do.

But OCC officials are feeling the pinch of the real estate slowdown and credit crunch as buyers drop out of mortgage after agreeing to purchase the parcel.

 Fluoride hysteria at Newport Beach city hall: It didn’t rise to the level of the rehab home debate, but when MWD, the major supplier of Newport Beach water announced it was putting fluoride into the water supply, a donnybrook began that would have made John Birch proud.

 Rapper Snoop Dogg gets community service: The rapper, real name Calvin Broadus, was sentenced by an Orange County judge after he pleaded guilty to bringing a weapon to John Wayne Airport.

 Costa Mesa woman who killed son sentenced to four years in prison: In what was probably the saddest story of the year, Julie Smith, 46, was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs when she crashed her car, killing her 6-year-old son Trevor.

 Anti-Semitism fears at UCI: Clashes between Muslim student groups and Jewish student groups prompts an investigation by the Hillel Foundation as to whether the campus has a problem with anti-Semitism.

 MTV show “Newport Harbor” debuts: Not to be outdone by its Laguna Beach neighbors, a passel of Newport Harbor High students star in their own reality show on the cable network.

 Sea lion stabbed to death by fisherman: Hai Nguyen pleaded guilty in November to stabbing the animal that reportedly took his bait while he was fishing on the Newport Pier. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

 Triangle Square plans overhaul: After 15 years of store closures and management changes, the owners of the shopping center with so much potential announced sweeping changes that would turn the site into a live/work village.

 Liquor store owner Tony Huynh killed: Weston Scott Kruger is accused of killing the owner of the Sportsman’s Liquor Store on the Balboa Peninsula after Huynh chased after him alleging that he shoplifted a magazine.

 Actor Nicolas Cage kicks nude guy out of his Bayshores house: In one of the most bizarre stories of the year, Robert Dennis Furo, a 45-year-old San Pedro resident, was found and arrested outside the actor’s home. Cage had escorted a naked intruder out of his house earlier that night. Furo claimed to be a tailor.

 Irvine Co. plans approved for major changes at Newport Center: In years past, this would have sparked a battle for the ages, but somehow, with the new city hall property in play, the Irvine Co.’s plans to add housing and other commercial developments to the area around Fashion Island won widespread support in the community and was approved unanimously.

 Nine holes saved at Newport Beach Golf Course: After it was learned that John Wayne Airport officials coveted the back nine holes of the municipal course for a parking structure, the community and government leaders rallied to put a stop to the plans. A new lease for the course is set to be signed.

These are just a sampling of the stories that we told over the last 365 days. I’m sure there are others that the readers also believe to be newsworthy.

So please feel free to tell us by commenting at the end of this story or sending us an e-mail of your favorite news items to dailypilot@latimes.com.

And we look forward to telling more of the Newport-Mesa story in 2008.

Happy New Year.

TONY DODERO is the Daily Pilot’s director of news and online. He may be reached at tony.dodero@latimes.com or at (714) 966-4608.