Some of our most-read stories of the year delved into the big issues of day-to-day life in the Bay Area: affording a home, negotiating traffic, finding a community. Here are five such reports.
The home search series: When a Menlo Park family started looking for a place beyond their starter home, they had no interest in settling. “We’re looking for a unicorn,” Niket Sirsi said. The unicorn hunt was the sixth episode in housing reporter Kate Talerico’s series on Bay Area home hunts, following hopeful buyers as they narrowed down their options.
Part 6: They wanted good schools, nature and ‘a feeling of privacy.’ What could they find on the Peninsula with $3.5 million? | The whole series
They were part of the Bay Area exodus. Now, they’ve decided to return. For the Diaz family, Texas seemed — at first — to align with their more conservative politics and be a better place to raise children. That same summer, Rob Surrency made a major leap of faith with a move to Alaska: “If I’m going to do something drastic, then let’s do it.” Neither of them anticipated they would end up back here.
They decided to leave the Bay Area and never looked back. Four former Bay Area residents say they’re happier after making the big move.
Plus: 5 charts that explain the California Exodus
Silicon Valley billionaires’ Solano County utopia plan: Big promises, deep doubts. Hundreds of thousands of residents. Thousands of well-paid jobs. Offices. Factories. Roads. Schools. Transit. Parks. These were the promises from California Forever, the controversial company backed by Silicon Valley billionaires planning to build a new city from the ground up in Solano County. Business reporter Ethan Baron followed the saga – until the sudden scrapping of the ballot initiative.
State officials wouldn’t let these homeowners build a sea wall. Their lawsuit could reshape California’s coast. At the end of a quiet residential street in Half Moon Bay, a kind of coastal upheaval is gaining momentum — one that could decide the fate of billions of dollars of property and affect hundreds of public beaches as rising seas pose a growing threat to California’s beloved 1,100-mile coastline. | Latest update: The court’s ruling
Plus: Billionaire Vinod Khosla loses bid to halt state lawsuit seeking more public beach access
Turbo roundabout comes to South Bay, bringing mixed reactions from commuters. After nearly two years of work, commuters are using the pinwheel-shaped rotary for the first time, and while some say the experience has gone smoothly, others find the new traffic pattern confusing.
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