2016: 2016 Premium Edition

ABAYAREANEWSGROUPPREMIUMEDITION

TVREIGNS

FLYINGCARS

POKEMONGO

GHOSTSHIPFIRE

DIVISIVEPOLITICS

THEBEST INSPORTS

THEHOUSINGCRISIS

CONSUMERSCANDALS

THEELUSIVESTANLEYCUP

THECUBS’108-YEARCURSE

SILICONVALLEYGROWSUP WARRIORS’NEWMEGASTAR

THEKAEPERNICKQUESTION

ARESPITEFROMTHEDROUGHT

PRINCE,BOWIE,HAGGARD,COHEN

TRIUMPH,HEARTBREAKFORWOMEN

ITWASAWILDRIDE!

KevinDurant: AWarrior

After failing to win a second consecutive title, Golden State adds a star to its high-octane offense.

PAGE7

2016

16STORIESTHATDEFINEDTHEYEAR

Triumphand heartbreak

Hillary Clinton’sloss was agut-punch to millions, yet womenstill celebrated monumental gains.

PAGE15

Theyearthe groundshifted

Thecountry experienced aseismicshift in culture and politicsthatmany did not see coming.

PAGE39

Theyear themusicdied

Who’snext? Asour favoritemusicians passed, the question made us hesitant tocheck social media.

PAGE47

2016REVIEWSTAFF

Editor: Lisa Wrenn

Designers: Chris Gotsill,Daymond Gascon, Nick Lozito

Story editors: Mark Conley,Chris Walker, Karen Casto,Ken McLaughlin

Photoeditors: Sarah Dussault,Jami Smith, Mark DuFrene,Michael Malone, RaySaint Germain

Copy editors: Sue Gilmore,Lance Howland, Anne Matera,Jaime Welton

Contributing writers: ElliottAlmond,Matt Artz,George Avalos,Chuck Barney,Dan Brown,Courtney Cronin,David DeBolt,Karen D’Souza,Jim Harrington,Angela Hill,Mark Purdy,Michelle Quinn,Paul Rogers,Martha Ross,RichardScheinin,Marcus Thompson

Contributing photographers: Patrick Tehan,Kristopher Skinner,John Green,Susan Tripp Pollard,Josie Lepe,Lipo Ching,Jim

Gensheimer,Anda Chu,LauraA.Oda,D.Ross

Cameron,Jose Carlos Fajardo,RayChavez, Doug Duran,Aric Crabb,Nhat V.Meyer,Gary Reyes,Karl Mondon,Jane Tyska,

Contributing artists: JeffDurham

(leftand Page 55),Serge Seidlitz

Opposite: Yuliya Roysental performs as the “Caterpillar” in theSanta Clara Aquamaids’telling of the story of Alice in Wonderland underwater. Photographby Patrick Tehan

2016 AWILDRIDE

Inayear of ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs, and political twists and turns that divided California, the nation and the world, there’s one thing we can likely all agree on: 2016 was a heckuva wild ride.

There were heartwarming athleticsuccesses and heart-wrenching disasters both at home and abroad. There were prolificprotests—of pipelines, public lands, politicians and police. Housing prices soared, the artsmade news, Brexit became a word, Black Lives Mattered, the climatecontinued to change and, somewhere in there, Bob Dylan wontheNobel Prize for literatureandAdele broke the internet.

Angela Hill

All in all, it was a long, strangetrip with lots of good, an ugly dose of bad and some stuffthat wasjustdownright absurd. But atleast it kept us on our toes.

n Herein the Bay Area,2016 kicked offwith the hype, hoopla and highway robberythat wasSuper Bowl 50, putting San Francisco in the global spotlight for hosting a game thatwas actually played in Santa Claraby teams from Denver and Charlotte. Ultimately more attention went to Beyonce’sBlack Panthers tribute atthe halftime show.Oh, and somebody said Coldplaywas there, too.

n And the weather wasgood for the game. Not good for the drought, though. While Northern California reveled in atleast partial drought relief,Southern California was lefthighanddry yet again. And despite some rain, devastating wildfires ravagedthe state top to bottom, from LakeCounty and Big Sur to the San Bernardino Mountains. Welcome rainfall returned to the Bay Area in the late autumn, and green is green again, atleast for a while.

n Lawenforcement was in focus nationwide with shootings by police and shootings of police, and in the BayArea for officers being accused of breaking the law while we hadarevolving door of police chiefs in Oakland.

n People around the globe were on edge after terror attacks in Brussels and Nice. In June, the Orlando nightclub shooting massacre shook the country’s gay communityto the core. It was a hate crime and terror attack all in one. And of course the horrific December warehouse fireat anarts collective in Oakland took 36 lives and earned the dubious distinction of being California’s deadlieststructure fire in 100 years. Yetafter each of these calamities, communities mourned,

then stood strong,coming togetherin triumph of the human spirit.

n Technology exploded, in more ways than one (ahem, Galaxy Note 7).Selfdriving cars, delivery drones and customer-service robots atshopping centers made it seem like we live in a Jetsons’ future after all. The service and sharing economy justcouldn’tbe stopped with Airbnb, Uber,Lyftand more. And from Julyto September we played Pokemon Go,searching high and low for Metapods and Beedrills, proving virtual and augmentedreality are here tostay.

n Thanks in largepart to the ongoing tech boom, housing inthe Bay Areacontinued to go nuts. There were wild rent hikes, evictions and calls for rent control. Ordinary dwellings sold formillions. Millions! At the same time, some real estate was sinking — literally — as San Francisco’sMillennium Tower began to tilt.

n Theyear sawhistoric events such as President Barack Obama visiting Cuba in March, the first sitting U.S.president to do so since Calvin Coolidge. Another Cuban milestone would follow in November, with Fidel Castro’sdeath.

n There were celestial events such as super moons, black moons, blood moons, and sporting events, like the 2016 SummerOlympicsin Rio de Janeiro, where the big pre-Games worry was the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease thatcan cause birth defects. But who can forgetworld-classdiversplunging into green water?

n TheWarriors were awesome again —and oh, so close! The Giants and A’s, not so much. At leastthe ChicagoCubs finally broke their 108-year World Series drought. The Raidersgot themselves back in black. The Niners?Well, Kaepernick takingaknee as a political stand made big news — so there’sthat.

n Themusical “Hamilton”became a cultural phenomenon,somehowmaking the birth of ournation seem cooler than it probably was evenwhen it was happening thanks to a hip-hop/R&B score and a cast of many colors. It sweptthe Tonys, won the2016 Pulitzerfor drama, sold out everyshow inminutes andset the stagefor cast membersto call out Vice President-elect Mike Pence one night and startaTwitter battle with the president-elect.

n There’snoforgetting the election. Tragedyfor some,triumph for others. Whatever thetake, itwas certainly the wildest turnof events in this rollercoaster year.After monthsofnonstop vitriol,emailscandals, scathing remarks about immigrants, Muslims, women and more,manyexpectedaTrump trouncing, butgot a Clinton crushing (well, except forthatpopular votething) instead. One of the fewpolls thatgot it right? The Chia Petpoll — salesof Trump Chia heads beat out Clinton Chia heads, 3-to-1.

n Social media playedabiggerrole than everin the election,for good and bad, with people engagingin fierce online debates. Soon it was back to posting cuteanimal videos andvacation photos. Infact, YouTube said itshottest videos of the year included Adele singingwith late-night comicJames Cordenin a drive around London,adude flipping water bottles onto variousout-of-reach objects and a viral songby Japanese comedian Daimaou Kosaka called“Pen-PineappleApple-Pen.”Yes, really.

So was thatall there was to the year? Farfrom it. And in the next pages,we’ll elaborate on some of these stories and more. So fasten your seatbelts. Reliving 2016 is bound to be abumpy ride.

AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

The crowd reacts to presidential candidate Donald Trump during hisspeech at a rally at the San JoseConvention Centeron June 2.

HE’S HERE

STORYBYMARCUSTHOMPSONII ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ

Even when they lose, they win. That’sthenewWarriors. That’showthisera of dominancehasgone —especially in 2016.

Intwoseasons, the Warriors won 140 regular season games, went to the NBAFinals twice and came away withonetitle. They leapfroggedtraditionalpowers, risingfrom laughingstock franchise to oneofthe mostpopular in allofsports.

Theyboastthe two-timeMVP and firstunanimous winner in StephenCurry,amagneticstar who keeps the Warriors atthe forefront of relevance. Usinghis 3-point shot, hekeeps pulling off basketball miracles andexpandingthe Warriors’ fan base.

Eventhe one titlethey lost —comingup shortin a riveting Game 7 clashwithCleveland —proved tobe a victory.The Warriors became thefirst teamin NBA history toblow a3-1lead in TheFinals.By doing so,theyhit ononeofthebiggest freeagent jackpots ever.

Kevin Durant wanted to join theWarriors, enticedby their chemistryand fluidity.In pursuit ofachampionship, he founda

Warriorsowner JoeLacob, quoted speaking to theNew York Times above, is confidentin the currentteam.

At right, Stephen Curry keeps theWarriors’ opponents on their toes.

commonality in the Warriors, who would no doubt be eager toget another chance atthetitle they squandered.

If the Warriors hadwon,Durantwouldhavehad ahard time leaving to join a two-timedefendingchampionship team. Instead he became the missingpiece in their dynasty,howthe Warriors could extend this two-year run to anew prime.

TheWarriors wereupsetby a killer one-two punchfromLeBron James and Kyrie Irving. So they formedaone-two of their own, CurryandDurant. Only they also have two other All-Stars inKlay Thompson and DraymondGreen.

Theteam that won 73 games added a sure-fire Hallof Famer. Nowthe Warriors are in thehunt for theirsecondtitle in three years.The franchise’srelevance hasincreased afterthe mostwatched seasonin history.

Ittook a long time to getto this point, and plenty of Warriors fans have the scars of heartbreak to prove it. Buttheyallnowknow howthe airat the top ofthe mountain smells.

MTHOMPS2@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

AFTERFAILINGTOWINASECONDCONSECUTIVETITLE, WARRIORSADDKEVINDURANTTOHIGH-OCTANEOFFENSE

‘WE’REGOINGTO BE AHANDFULFORTHEREST OFTHE NBATO DEAL WITHFORALONGTIME.’

Yearof theWarrior

Jan.18: The Warriorshad alreadyset an NBA record with 24straight wins tostartaseason —afterhanging theirchampionshipbanner on opening night.But theWarriorswentinto Clevelandthis night with many questioning how good they were.TheWarriorswon by34.

Jan.25: Another showdown: Warriorsvs. Spurs.GoldenStatewas 40-4,the Spurs 38-6.It wasthe highest combined win percentage bytwo teams facing offin NBA history.The Warriors won by 30.

Feb.27: The Warriorswentto Oklahoma Cityandstruggledmuch of the first half. Draymond Greenhad aheated exchange with coachSteveKerr inthe locker room at halftime and needed to be restrained.ESPN reporterLisaSaltersreported thealtercation. Green responded by playing lights-out defenseinthe secondhalf,and the Splash Brothers were hot.Kevin Durant seemedto havesealed the deal on a3-pointerwith 15 seconds left,but KlayThompson converted alayup,then stole Durant’s inbounds pass to set upAndre Iguodala’s freethrowstosend the gameto overtime.Withthe gametied in the final seconds,Stephen Currydrilled the game-winning 3-pointer from 37 feet.Itwas his record-tying 12th 3-pointerof the game.

March 19: Arematchbetween theWarriors andSpurs,this time inSan Antonio,where the Warriorshadn’t won a regular season game in twodecades.Their streak didn’t change this night,asthe Spurs wonaslugfest. The Warriorsleft San Antonio feeling good becauseCurryshot only 4-for-18 and the Warriorswerewithout center Andrew Bogut andsixthman Iguodala,and theystillalmost stolethe game.

April 13: The Warriorshandledthe Memphis Grizzlies in theregular-season finale toset the NBA recordfor winsin a season.They finished 73-9,topping by one victory themark held bythe1995-96 ChicagoBulls.Thefeat shined thespotlight brightly heading into the playoffs.Curry eclipsed 4003-pointersmade in a season.Hefinishedwith 402,breaking his ownNBA recordof 286.

April24: Currysprained his right footinthe first game of theplayoffsagainstHouston.He returned for Game4as the Warriorsplayedit cautious.Just before thehalf,Curryslipped on a wet spot,falling awkwardlyand injuring hisright knee.

May 9: The WarriorsdisposedofHoustonin five gamesand took the first twoovervisiting Portland inthe second round,but Damian Lillard put a scare intotheWarriorsinGame 3,blitzing the Curry-less WarriorsinPortland. Curryreturnedthisnight for Game4.Hecame off thebench and had a25-minutelimit placed onhim — alimitthat went out the window after ShaunLivingstonwasejected in thesecondquarter.Curry playednearly37 minutesand finishedwith 40 points.That included arecord17 points in overtime.

May 16: The Warriorswentice coldin Game1 of the WesternConference Finals.Oklahoma Citystole theopenerinOracle.The Warriors openedwith agimmicky gameplan,ignoring AnthonyRoberson—apoor shooter—and focusing on DurantandRussellWestbrook.

May 24: The Warriorsweredismantled in Games 3 and4,and itshookthem.The Thunder’slengthandathleticismhadthe Warriorsbottledup.

May 28: Facingelimination,the Warriors summonedtheir mostspiritedcomeback of the season.Thompson led the way,shooting the Warriorsbackinto thegameby making 11 of 18 3-pointers.Finally,Currygotgoing, hittingtwostraight3stotie thegame.One more 3 from Thompson put the Warriorsup forgood late.TheWarriorsadvanced.

June 10: Afterstruggling for threegames, Curryexplodedfor 38pointsasthe Warriors beat the Cavalierson their ownfloor.The Warriorswenthome with a 3-1lead.Butin the final minutes,Green gotmixed upwith LeBronJames.Greenswipedto getJames off him.After lobbying from the Cavaliers behind the scenes,theNBAinvestigatedand assessed Green withaflagrantfoul.Itwashis fourthone of thepostseason,whichmeant aone-game suspension.Thisrulingchanged the tide of theseries.

Clockwise from top left: Warriors’ fans celebrate Draymond Green; Kevin Durant makes a move for GoldenState; AndrewBogut takes ahard foul going up for a slam; Steve Kerrerupts andAndre Iguodala dunks.

June 13: Withtheir defensive anchor missing, the Warriorsweretorched by Jamesand Kyrie Irving,eachscoring 41 tokeep the Cavaliers alive.

June 16: Ayearafterthey clinched a championship in Cleveland,the Warriors had a chanceagain.But they couldn’t stop the Cavs. James scored 41 again.The Warriorsshot 40 percent.Currywas ejected in thefourth quarter for arguing anon-call on a foul and throwing hismouthpiece,hitting acourtside fan.His wife,Ayesha,tweeted that the NBA is rigged.The Warriors seemed to be coming unglued.

June 19: The Warriorsshot38.6 percentfrom the field as Cleveland’saggressive defense ramped up.Green hadthegame of hislifeto keepthe Warriorsin it,and theirdefensehung tough in a low-scoringmatchup.But a dagger 3-pointerfrom Irvinginthe final minuteand the block of the centuryfrom James on an Iguodala fast-break completed Cleveland’s upset.The Warriorslostthe title.

July 1: It wastheWarriorsturnto meet with freeagentDurantinthe Hamptons. CEO Joe Lacob,GMBob Myersand coach SteveKerr made their pitch.The Warriors also brought theirfour bestplayers—Curry, Green,Thompson and Iguodala — towoo Durant.Itworked.

Oct 4: Durant makes his magical Oracle debut asaWarrior.Though just a preseason game,the WarriorsroutedtheClippers by 45. Thenew core gaveaglimpseof their explosiveness.Thompson,DurantandCurry combined for 65points on 32 shots withnone playing more than 24minutes.

Oct 25: The seasonofthe SuperTeam begins,but it doesso with a thud.San Antonio executed the Warriors,making itclearthat even with Durant,they had some jelling to do.And with thewaySan Antonio pounded the Warriorsinside,Golden State missed the big men theylet go whilegetting Durant — Andrew Bogutand Festus Ezeli.

Nov.3: Durant scored 39 inhis first matchup against hisformerteam,and the Warriors blastedOklahoma City.

TOP:NHATV.MEYER; FAR LEFT:RAYCHAVEZ;ATLEFT: JOSECARLOSFAJARDO ATRIGHT:JANETYSKA

2

Smallscreens vs.bigscreens

STORYBYCHUCKBARNEY

Just how much TV is too much? In2016, so manynew showswere introduced that FX bossJohn Landgraf predicted the number of original scripted programson broadcast, cableand streaming networkswould approach a gasp-inducing 500sometimenext year.

Pity our poor DVRs.

Of course, quantitydoesn’talwaysmean quality,but the deluge boasted enough must-seegems to ensure the extension of another trend: television’sdominance over film in terms ofcreative oomph and cultural ubiquity.

Novisual narrative provoked as much watercooler passion as “Game of Thrones.”Fewwere as edgy and enthralling as“Mr.Robot.”And rarely have fictional characters forged a stronger bond with their audience than the departing denizens of“Downton Abbey.”

Also, isn’tit ironic that aminiseries about a 20-year-oldmurder case — “ThePeople v.O.J.

Mandy Mooreand Milo Ventimiglia in a scene from the NBCdrama “This Is Us.”

Simpson: American Crime Story” —not only generatedbig buzz but felt more relevantthan ever as it delved into issues of race, gender, class, fame and the justice system’sposture toward black Americans?

Asfor our raucous election year, no movie could tap into the absurdity of politics like “Veep,”or provide the of-the-moment satirical bite of “Saturday Night Live,” Samantha Bee and John Oliver. Youcould evenmake the case that, if it wasn’tfor television, former “Apprentice”host Donald Trump wouldn’tbe moving into the White House.

Onthelittle screen

The estimated number of scriptedoriginal programs,by year,on broadcast,cable and streaming services:

2009..........................................210

2010...........................................216

2011...........................................266

2012 ..........................................288

2013 ..........................................349

2014..........................................389

2015...........................................419

2016..........430-450 (projected)

Chasing Emmy

Alook at the showshonored by the Television Academy at the 68th EmmyAwards:

Outstanding drama: “Game of Thrones” HBO)

Outstanding comedy: “Veep” (HBO)

Outstanding miniseries:

“The People v.O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding TV movie: “Sherlock: TheAbominable Bride” (PBS)

Outstanding variety sketch series: “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

Theexplosion ofshows and programming pipelines has spawned more competition and creative growth. Italso has thrown open the doors to more artists. While the movieindustry was again plagued by an #OscarsSoWhite controversy, TV’sEmmybash celebrateda diverse mix of shows, stars and creators.

Hurrayfor (smallscreen) Hollywood.

CBARNEY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM.

“I cut my teeth as a film director.But I think peopleare infinitelymorepassionate aboutwhat’sgoingon in the television space nowthan themovies.”

PRODUCER/DIRECTORMCG

FIGURESACCUMULATED BYFX NETWORKSRESEARCH DEPARTMENT. THE TOTALSDO NOTINCLUDE FOREIGNLANGUAGEAND CHILDREN’S SHOWS.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.(O.J.Simpson) and Courtney B. Vance (Johnnie Cochran) starredin“The People v. O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story.”

TRIUMPH ANDHEARTBREAK

STORYBYMARTHAROSS ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ

“EmilyDoe”

knew hercase againstBrock Turner wasn’ta slam dunk, evenwith forensic evidence and witnesses. Then, in April, ajury found the former Stanford swim team member guilty of sexually assaulting her. Suddenly,the 23-year-old woman, who chooses to remain anonymous, had everyreason to hope justice would be served.

“After the trial, I was relieved thinking the hardest part was over, and all that was left was the sentencing,” she wrote in a recent essayforGlamour, which named her a 2016 Woman of the Year. We allrememberwhat happened next: Turner received a six-month jail sentence — for which he served only three months. After so much pain — and after coming so close—Doe felt the legal system slap her down.

Many women would findinDoe’scase parallels this year in which they celebrated monumental gains yet faced heartbreaking setbacks.

At the Summer Olympics, U.S. women won more medals than U.S. men but saw their accomplishments overshadowed, with headlines that focused on Michael Phelps’ latest victory rather than Stanford swimmerSimone Manuel’s historic gold medal. A groundbreaking reportconfirmedthat women in Hollywood face inequities in pay and job opportunities, but those inequities still persist across many industries. And whiletheU.S. Supreme Court handed down a decisive victory on reproductive rights by overturning a Texas law in June that closed dozens of abortion clinics,those rights remain under attack in other states that have proposed or enacted lawsto limit access to abortions and funding for family planning.

Most symbolic of all, many women looked forward to seeing Hillary Clinton

“If Ms. Rodham’snot inthe White House, that’sOK. One of thosegirls is going tobe. Westill havemillions of nasty womenwho are not goingaway.And as long as women over25 arestill allowedon television, I’ll be herecheering them on.”

“FULLFRONTAL”HOSTSAMANTHABEE

Above is a picture of the television show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”At right, Stephanie Castro, center,celebrates during a rally at the Supreme Court in Washington on June 27after the court struck down Texas'widely replicated regulationofabortion clinics.

elected the firstfemale president. Even more, theywanted America to reject what they felt her opponent stood for. As acandidate who made headlines with his “nasty woman” rhetoric, his recorded boast about sexually assaulting women and growing allegations from multiple womenthat he was sexually inappropriate with them, he embodied the notion of entitled patriarchy.

Clinton’s loss in an election in which more than half of the country’s white female voters failed to embrace her history-making candidacy was a gut-punch to millions of other women.

Still, with each setback, women rallied, often morefired up and determined than before. On Facebook, agrassroots group of Clinton supporters who’d joyfully supported her as Pantsuit Nation turned activist and organized a Women’s March on Washington for Jan. 21, the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As for Emily Doe, her searing victim impactstatement went online and became an international call toaction, spurring new conversations around sexual assault and institutional misogyny. Her words changed the way many think about the term “rape culture.”

And to other young women, Doe offered these words: “I hope you keep going. I hope you end up like me proud of who I’m becoming. ... And I hope you grow up knowingthat the world will no longer stand for this.”

Clockwise from top left: A scene from Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ video; Hillary Clinton during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia; The cast and crew of "Orangeis the New Black" accept the award for outstanding ensemble in a comedy series at the 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Timeline

Feb.1: Hillary Clinton wins the IowaDemocratic caucus,the firststep to securing the Democratic nomination.

Feb.8: Samantha Bee brings a blistering feminist perspectiveto theboysclub of late-nightcomedy with the premiere of herweekly TBSshow,“FullFrontal.”

Feb.22: The ComprehensiveAnnenberg Report on Diversity confirmsthe truth of gender inequity in Hollywood,finding that women in TV andmovies makeup only 15 percent of directors,28 percentof writers and less thanaquarter of TV series creators.

March 8: Anepisode ofthe acclaimed miniseries “The People v.O.J.Simpson” rehabilitates the reputation of prosecutor Marcia Clark (playedby Sarah Paulson),presenting her as an impassioned,hardworking divorcedmom tarnished by sexism during the 1995 trial.

March 10: Sujit Choudhry,the dean of theUC Berkeley lawschool,resigns after acampus investigation substantiated sexual harassment allegations against him by his executive assistant,TyannSorrell.Hewas oneof several male faculty members tofacemisconductcharges at the prestigious university over thepast fewyears.Most recently,the campus barred from teaching Nezar AlSayyad,a respected Middle Eastern studies scholar and architecture professor,following an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed a student.

April 20: Treasury Secretary JacobJ.Lewproposes replacing slave-holding Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman,the former slaveand abolitionist,and adding images of other women tothe$5 and $10 notes.

April 23: Beyoncédrops herstunning visual album “Lemonade,”and debate erupts notjust over the identity of “Becky with the good hair” but the extentto which her work marksalandmark in artistry,blackwomanhood and feminism.

May 6: InaMother’s Day Facebook post,Chief Operating OfficerSheryl Sandberg admits part of her “lean in” advice was wrong,saying she’slearned as anewly widowed mother howhard it is for a woman tobe on her ownraising kids.

May 10: Gloria Steinem,82,heads tothe usually male-orientedViceTV, where she debuts an eight-partseries,“Woman,” which explores human rights violations and violence against women around the world.

June 27: In the most significantdecision on reproductive rights in twodecades, the U.S.Supreme Courtstrikes downarestrictiveTexaslaw thatwould have drastically reduced the number of abortion clinicsinthestate.

July 21: Roger Ailes resigns as chairman and CEO of FoxNews,following an internal investigation intoallegations that he sexually harassed a numberof female employees,including Megyn Kellyand Gretchen Carlson,whose lawsuit spurredthe investigation.

July 28: Hillary Clinton accepts the nomination from the DemocraticParty, becoming the firstfemale presidential nominee of a major party in U.S.history.

Clockwise from top left: Megyn Kelly speaks at the Women In The World Summit; Gold medalist Simone Manuel; Kiana Schmitt speaks about victims’ rights at the UC Berkeley campus; awoman holds a sign supporting Harriet Tubman for the $20 bill during a town hall meeting at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

July 29: The Miss Universe Organization announces that Miss Teen USA willno longer require contestants toparade around in swimsuits.

Aug.4: President Barack Obama pens an essayfor Glamour,reflecting on American women’s long fightfor equality and calling on mento fightsexism and createequal relationships.

Aug.16: Variety breaks the newsthatawoman whoaccused “Birth of a Nation” directorand star NateParker of rapein1999committedsuicide.That news,coming as Parker tries tohead offbad press about the college rape case, effectively dooms the film’s chances at the box officeandas a leading Oscar contender.

Aug.21: At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,American women took home 61 medals,compared with the Americanmen’s 55.Big winners include gymnast SimoneBiles; sprinter Allyson Felix; and Stanford’sSimone Manuel,the first African-American woman towin an individual swimming medal.

Sept.5: Housewife turned conservative firebrand Phyllis Schlaflydies at age 92.Her death brought reflection onthe time from the 1970sand 1980s when she became a polarizing figure thanksto herfervent opposition tothe Equal Rights Amendment.

Sept.13: California Gov.Jerry Brown,buckinganational movement for fiscal reasons,vetoes a bill that would haveended the state’sso-called“tampon tax.”

Sept.16: Brown signs legislation that expands thelegal definitionof rape and imposes newmandatory minimum sentences on offenders convictedof assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim.

Oct.7: Within hoursof the Washington Post publishing a2005 recording of Donald Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women,more than 1 million women flood social media with their stories of their first sexual assault under the #notokayhashtag.

Oct.13: Perhaps topping her acclaimed Democratic National Convention speech,firstlady MichelleObama indicts Trump’s alleged sexuallyaggressive behavior towardwomen in another speech,saying “The belief you cando anythingto a woman? It is cruel.It’s frightening.And the truthis,it hurts.It hurts.”

Oct.19: AfterTrump asserts during the thirdpresidential debatethatnoone loves women morethan he,he calls Clinton a “nastywoman.”The hashtag #nastywoman and a newT-shirt fashiontrend are born.

Oct.22: NFL ratings are reportedto be down 11 percent this season.One reason cited is concern that the league shrugs offplayers’ off-fieldtreatment of women,most recently when it handed down a one-game suspension against Giantskicker Josh Brown,who hadbeeninvestigated by the league for repeatedly abusing his now estranged wife.

Nov.9: Afterlosing the presidential election,Clinton tells her female supporters: “Now,Iknow wehavestill not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some daysomeone will and hopefully sooner than wemightthink right now.”

Nov.12: Asthe election season grew to a close,KateMcKinnon,in the Clinton guise she madefamous in “Saturday Night Live” sketches,opens the showthat paystributeto the candidateby belting out a somber but upliftingrendition of the lateLeonardCohen’s “Hallelujah.”She then turnsto the audience tosay, “I’m not giving up,and neither should you.”

SiliconValleywrestles withgrowingpains

For Silicon Valley, it was the yearto soldier on.

Theindustrywithstood the sharp fluctuations of the stock marketatthe beginning of the year and dire predictions that the current boom cycle was coming to an end. Thatdidn’thappen.

Instead, tech persevered, even as the money tightened. Tech startups received $5.8 billion through the third quarter, which puts venture spending on track to fall farshort of lastyear’s haul of $11 billion. It was a year thatsaw no blockbuster publicofferings, the tech industry’s coming-of-agepartythat usually spurs big rounds ofinvestment, growth and excitement.

Without the usual bullish proclamationsof endless growth, realityset in. Companiesbegan to grab pieces offthechessboard or to lookfor exits. Verizon bought Yahoo. Microsoftbought LinkedIn. Twitter tried, and failed, to sell itself.

“Theyear wasn’tmarked by a downturn in any way,”said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of

STORYBYMICHELLEQUINN

Avehicle equipped with a camera operated by Google street view takes in the sites in Berlin’sSteglitz district.

JointVenture Silicon Valley.“We just continued. Wedid it incrementally.”

Indeed, tech superstars thrived amid global challenges, even as the honeymoon period seemed to be over.

Facebook wrestled with big issues such as how to handle censorship on its platform and its role as a news site during the presidential election.

Apple, with no newhitcategory,appeared less like the innovation powerhouse it has long been.

Forthe firsttime in 15 years, the iPhone maker reported a drop in annual sales in 2016. Yetthe company,which celebrated its 40th birthday,survived a standoffwith the FBI over whether to unlock the iPhone used by a terrorist attacker.Andit remains the most valuable company inthe world.

EvenAlphabet, Google’sparent company,stumbled with some of its so-called “moonshots” — those

Keymoments

January: Techstockssink,with the Nasdaq falling 500 points in a single day.

February-March: Apple fights the FBI’s efforttoforceit tounlock an iPhone that was used byaterrorist attackerin San Bernardino.

May: Mark Zuckerbergmeets with Glenn Beck and otherconservative media personalities totalk aboutbias on the social network.

May: Aman driving aTesla with self-driving technology crashes and dies.

June: Microsoftbuys LinkedIn.

July: Verizon saysit will buy Yahoo for $4.8 billion.

July: U.S.regulators sanction Theranos, the Palo Altomedical testing company,and ban Elizabeth Holmes,the firm’s founder and CEO,from operating the company’slab for twoyears.

August: Afederal judge rejects Uber’s deal with driverswho sued the world’smost valuable startup,arguing that they should beconsidered employees.

August: Five tech companies — Apple,Alphabet,Microsoft,Amazon and Facebook — become for a brief period the most valuable companies in the world.

September: Twittertries,and fails,tosell itself.

September: Yahoo announces500millionYahoo user accounts were compromised byhackersin 2014.

October: Apple reports its firstannual declinein sales in 15years.

October: PeterThiel,the venture capitalist,makes a $1.5 million donation toDonald Trump’spresidential campaign.

November: The stock marketrecoversto close atarecord high afterthe presidential election.

explorations that the company’s chief financial officer calls “other bets.”The companyscrapped Google Fiber, its nationwide effort to expandhigh-speed connectivity; jettisoned ProjectAra, its modular phone; and reorganized Nest, itssmart-home unit.

Perhaps mostbracingly,Silicon Valley wasmostly ignored in the presidential race with both candidates failing to engage inits issues or spendmuch timehere. After largely aligning themselves with HillaryClinton, techleaders watched agogas DonaldTrump won decisively.

ForSilicon Valley,2016 won’t be remembered as ablockbuster, but the regionhasn’tforgotten its role asthe engine of innovation. Itmay simply be taking a moment to catch its breath before coming up withthe next new thing.

MQUINN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“It is the comparativequiet before thenextinnovationstorm. Everyone is stilltrying toinnovate.Their innovation is focusedon hanging onto what theygotrather than forginginto unexplored whitespace.But wecan sort of see theshape of what’snext. It’srobotics, deep learningand artificial intelligence.”

PAULSAFFO,LONGTIMESILICONVALLEYOBSERVER

At one point this year, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook were the world’s most valuable companies.

Apple added Touch Bar to itsMacBook Pro laptop in October.

Google introduced its Daydream VR headset in October.

Google scrapped a nationwide effort to expand high-speed connectivity.

Aman driving a Tesla with self-driving technology crashed and died in May.

5

SPORTS MECCA

STORYBYDANIELBROWN ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ

WiththeSuperBowlinSantaClara, StanleyCupFinalsin SanJoseandNBAFinals inOakland,alleyesturnto theBayArea

Over the course of 135 days, the Bay Areawas the fully inflated center of the sports universe.

TheSuper Bowl was played in Santa Clara, the StanleyCup Finals in San Jose and the NBA Finals in Oakland.

And within the span of an afternoon commute, a trio ofthe generation’sgreateststarswere crowned championship MVPs: Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) and LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers).

Itwas an unprecedented confluence of sporting events. Only eight previous times had one markethosted somuchasthe NBA and NHL championships in the same year: NewJersey(2003), NewYork City(1972 and ’94), Chicago (1992), Philadelphia (1980) and Boston (1974, ’57and’58).

Noneof the previous cases had the added cherryof the Super Bowl, which this year drew111.9 million television viewers to the action atLevi’s Stadium, the third most-watched Super Bowl ever.

Thenagain, the BayAreateams proved overly hospitable to their

At right: The Blue Angels perform aflyover during the singing of the national anthem before the startof Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb.7.

out-of-town guests.After the Sharks ended 25 years of playoff frustration to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, the Penguins snuffed their hopes in Game 6 atSAP Center. Players hoisted the coolest trophy in sports justlong enough for San Jose fansto getajealous glimpse, then Pittsburgh packed it up for the flight home.

TheWarriors, meanwhile, became the firstNBA team to lose a Finals Game 7 athome since 1978 and the firstNBA team ever to blow a 3-1Finals lead. Cleveland won its firstmajor championship since 1964 — and celebrated on Northern California soil.

TheChicagoCubs’ curse-busting drive to the World Series also cruised along Highway101. They knocked offthe Giants inGame 4 of the Divisional Series atAT&T Parken route to their firstchampionship since 1908. The World Series MVP was Ben Zobrist, who played for theA’sayear earlier.

So ended a year in which just about everymajor champion made its way through the Bay Area.No wonder traffic is horrible.

DOUGDURAN(RIGHT);ARICCRABB(TOPRIGHT)ANDNHATV.MAYER(TOPLEFT)

Above: Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, left, and Sharks forwardLogan Couture, right, react after their teams were eliminated in the finals.

The Sporting Life

Jan.1: Stanford beats Iowa4516 in the Rose Bowlas Cardinal star Christian McCaffreyhas 368 all-purpose yards.

Jan.25: Six Raiders,including blossoming starsDerek Carrand Khalil Mack,areselected for the ProBowl.The team’sbiggest haul since 1994 sets thestage forabreakout 2016.

Feb.7: The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium.

April 13: Warriorspolish off arecord-setting 73-9 regular season as Stephen Curry finishes with a record 402 3-pointers.

April 28: Cal quarterback, and Marin native, Jared Goff is selected by the Los Angeles Ramswith the No.1pick in the NFL draft.

June 12: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Sharks3-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

June 18: Chile defeats Mexico 7-0in the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals at Levi’s Stadium en routeto its second straight title.

June 19: The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Warriors9389 at Oracle Arena in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

July 28: Arsenal defeats the MLS squad in theMajor League Soccer All-Star Game at Levi’s Stadium.

Aug.6: Former Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler and ex-49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo are inductedinto the ProFootball Hall of Fame.

Oct.5: Giants defeat Mets 3-0 in N.L.wild-cardgame but go on tolose to Cubs in NLDS.

WARRIORSGUARD STEPHENCURRY

“This is agreat time to kind of tune in and be a sports fan in the Bay Area. Obviously, the world’s eyesare going to be here in Oakland, San Jose, Levi’s Stadium.”

Left: Noreen Santini comforts her son Finn Thomson, 10, after the Cavaliersbeat the Warriorsin Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena on June 19.

SUSAN TRIPP POLLARD/STAFF

Center: Giants catcher Buster Posey waits through apitching changeduring the Giants’National League Division Series lossto the Cubs.

JOSIE LEPE/STAFF

Right: Penguins forward Sidney Crosby celebrates with the Stanley Cup at SAP Center after Pittsburgh defeated the Sharks in six games.

ARIC CRABB/STAFF

Hestood forsomething

STORYBYELLIOTTALMOND

AsColin Kaepernick’s Afro grewlarge and unruly,so toodidhis presence atthecrossroads of America’s longstanding struggle withrace relations. What startedquietly in Augustbeforethe SanFrancisco49ers’ firstpreseason gamemushroomed into asocial movementthattriggeredboth widespread supportand criticism.As Kaepernick kneeled forthe national anthem, so too did fellow athletes—fromNFL teammates and opponents to highschool players, across sporting fields and continents in the worlds of basketball, soccer andevenrugby.Someinstead held raised fists,or didboth. How fitting that athletesused their sporting platform for protest in ayear framedbyadivisive presidential election and a constant social media barrage over African-Americans beingshotduring police conflicts. Kaepernick,the biracial athletefrom Turlock better knownfor kissing his tattoos after scintillating touchdown runsduring better

days for the 49ers, ignited asearingnational conversation thathas turned him intothe sporting face of the Black Lives Mattercampaign.It even landed himonthe coverofTime magazine.

Hissimple,yet controversial, gesture has beenportrayed asa 21st-centuryextension of Muhammad Ali’sVietnam War protest and thestatement bySan Jose State sprinters JohnCarlos and TommieSmith whentheyraised black glovesonthemedal standat the1968 Olympics inMexico City.

Theprotestelicited commentary from presidentialcandidates DonaldTrumpand Hillary Clinton. It reachedthe WhiteHouse,

Keymoments

Aug.14: Kaepernick opensthe preseasonsitting during the national anthemwhile recuperating from surgeriesand not in uniform.OnAug.26, Kaepernick isin uniform and continuesto sitduring thenationalanthem.

Aug.29: Donald Trumpcriticize’sthe QB: “I think it’s aterrible thing,and, youknow,maybehe should findacountry that works betterfor him.”

Sept.1: Kaepernick changeshis action tokneelinginstead ofsitting. He pledges to donate $1million tocharitiesthatfocusonracial issues.

Sept.16: Some West Coast high school footballplayers start kneeling.

Sept.27: Kaepernick saysof the presidential hopefuls: “Both areproven liars,and it almost seems likethey’re trying todebatewho’slessracist.”

Nov.13: Kaepernick faces a backlash from somesupportersfor declaring he didn’t votein the presidential election.

wherePresident BarackObama addressedKaepernick’sstance. ItevenspilledoverintotheU.S. SupremeCourt in October, when Justice RuthBaderGinsburg retracted her initialcriticism of the protest.

Kaepernick,29, hasbeenlauded for givingvoice tominorityissues. Hehasbeenequally vilified by those whodrape the U.S. flag in symbolic threads of patriotism —and criticized for notparticipating in the voting process.

Either way,he has not been ignored.By kneeling down,Kaepernick stood upfor hisbeliefs.

EALMOND@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“ He’sjumpedintothepoolofhumanhistory. (He’s)withthosethathaveprevailedandrisenabovethenorm.”

OLYMPICMEDALISTJOHNCARLOS

IndianaFever players kneelbefore the firstgame oftheWNBA playoffs. Previouspage: 49ers ColinKaepernick kneels duringthe national anthem in October.

ANDRAIN FIRE

AMODERATELYWETYEAREASED, BUT DIDN’TEND,CALIFORNIA’SDROUGHT. WHATDOES2017HOLDFOR OURSTILL-PARCHEDSTATE?

As2016wounddown, Californiaenteredits sixth yearofdrought.

Butevery partof thestate wasn’tcreatedequal. Northern Californiaexperienced significant drought reliefduring theyear, while Southern California continued tobemiredinhistorically aridconditions.

Thereason?Amuch-anticipated ElNiñobrought substantial storms during thespring to the north, giving Bay Areacities and communities across Northern California their bestrainfall totals in five years.San Franciscorainfall was 98 percent ofthe historicaverage.SanJosewas ahealthy100 percent,and Oakland 80 percent.

Butthe storms largelymissed theparchedsouth.

Thespringrainssent reservoirs rising,creeks rushing and hopes growing thatthe relentless droughtmightbe windingdown. Theyalsoboostedtheski season, growing theSierraNevada snowpack to nearlynormallevels by April.

Inacontroversial move,Gov. JerryBrowndropped statewide mandatory water restrictions in May.Respondingtocomplaints from water agencies thatthey had lostmillions from reduced water sales, thegovernor allowed cities toease theirwaterrationing

Right: ElNiño rains helped ranchers suchas John Ginochio, who tends to aherd of his black anguscattle on Mount Diabloin Walnut Creek in April.

plans.Although Californians are still using less water now than before thedrought (those low-flush toilets androck gardens don’t uninstall themselves), conservation laggedduringthe summer and greenlawns sprouted again. Brownand other stateleaders werewatchingthe weather carefully, andplan todecide by January whetherto restorethe mandatory rules, dependingon howmuch rainfallsduringthe first partof winter.

Wetwood doesn’tburn, so themoderatelygood rain year was enough to limitcatastrophic fires in2016. California’s fire year came in atabout average.But therewerestillseveralvery large fires,includingthe Soberanes fire, whichblackened 132,000acres of rugged backcountryin BigSur; the 41,000-acre Sand fire inthe Angeles National Forest; andthe Loma fire, which burned4,474acres in theSanta Cruz Mountains westof Morgan Hill, destroying 12homes. Willthe drought endin 2017? If the winter rains are decent, the north will be in prettygoodshape. Butitwill takeseveralwet years for the south to recover, andsignificantlyoverdrawngroundwater basins in theCentralValleywill take decades tocome back.

PROGERS@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“Weremainin stubborn droughtconditionsstatewide.

SUSAN TRIPPPOLLARD

Theelusive StanleyCup

STORYBYMARKPURDY

The best sports moments come out of nowhere. The Sharks didn’t come out of nowhere to reach the Stanley Cup Final last spring, but they did come outfrom beneath agalling tradition of nevergetting anywhere special.

For25 years, ever since the team brought the National HockeyLeague back to the BayArea in 1991, the Sharks had teased andthenfaded. Over the previous 10 years, theyhad won more playoffgames than anyNHL team not toreach the championship round. Sharks fans had grown scars of exasperationontop of scars of frustration that bled into scars of disappointment.

All of thatended on the night of May25in downtown San Jose.

Inthe final minutes ofaglorious night atSAP Center, an emptynet goal by centerman Logan Couture finished offa5-2victoryover the St. Louis Blues to claim a Western Conference title for the Sharks after their third-place regular

Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks skates onto the ice for their game against the Los Angeles Kings in a Western Conference playoffgame. The Sharks took the series but lost to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.

season finish. Inthe franchise’s 2,020th hockeygame, the Sharks became the last of the BayArea’s many major pro sports franchises to reach the championship round of their respective sport.

Emotion flooded the building that night, despite the California drought outside. Numerous fans, some of whom had witnessed the team’sfirstgame in 1991 at the Cow Palace in Daly City,wept and yelled joyous gibberish. Even afew ushers dripped tears onto their blue jackets.

Patrick Marleau, who finally punched his ticketto the Stanley circusin his 18th season as aSharks player, tried to explain how a group thatwas not expected to do much in the postseason wound up being one of the last twoNHL teams standing.

“Youcan point to a bunch of things,” said Marleau. “Details,

Goalsofmagnitude

The Sharks’ biggest moments in theirStanley Cup Finalinspring 2016: March 28: Aftermissing the postseason entirelyin 2014-15,the team clinches a playoffspot under first-year head coachPeteDeBoer with a 5-2 victory overthe Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center.

April 14: Joe Pavelski scoresthe winninggoal in the playoffopener,a43decision overthe Kings,before the Sharksgo on to win the series in five games.Pavelski will scoreateam-leading 14goals duringthe playoffrun.

May 12: In a wild back-and-forth sevengame series,the Sharks finally subdue the Nashville Predatorswith a 5-0 blowoutin the final game. Nashville goalie PekkaRinne is so exasperated afterallowing the fifthgoal that he smasheshis stick inhalf against the goal post.

May 25: The Sharks polish offSt.Louis in a heavy,physical six games. The series is tied after the firstfour games beforethe Sharks win the next twoand takeGame 6 thanks totwo goals byJoel Ward,who’d been signed asafree agent before the season because of his clutch postseason reputation.

June 9: With the Pittsburgh Penguins leadingthe series by threegames toone and thousands of Pittsburgh fans gathered in the streets outside Consul Energy Arena ready tocelebrate a clinching win,Sharksgoalie Martin Jones cancels the party bymaking 44 savesin a 4-2 victory and sends the series back toSan Jose.

June 12: The Penguins win Game 6 and are presentedthe Stanley Cup beforeasubdued SAP Centercrowdthat gives Sharksplayers a standing ovation as they leavethe ice following their best playoffrun ever.

buy-in, execution,all theusual things.But who really knows? I don’task questions.”

Alas, thespeedy Pittsburgh Penguins had more of theanswers in the Cup Final, defeatingthe beloved Los Tiburones in six games — but only after one more sublimemoment atthe Shark Tank. It camein adramatic Game 3overtime when Sharks rookie Joonas Donskoi,of Finland, shot the puck through two Pittsburgh players andpast the Penguins’ goalie fora3-2sudden-death victory.Once more, the arena heaved with araucousgut punch of joy and Stanley Cup dreams.

Maybe in the spring of 2017,the punch lands andseizesthe Cup itself.

MPURDY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM.

“I tookafewquicklooksaround just tosee everyonestandingandcheering. They’vebeen through a lot.Theydeservethis.”

SHARKSPLAYERLOGANCOUTUREAFTERTHETEAM’SWESTERNCONFERENCECHAMPIONSHIPSERIESVICTORY

ASharks fan reacts as the team falls behind against thePittsburgh Penguins in the third periodofGame 2 ofthe Stanley CupFinal in Pittsburgh.

STUNNER

STORYBYMATTHEWARTZ ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ

Having staked his candidacyonapledge to make Mexico pay foragiant borderwall, DonaldTrump musthavehad some inkling that hewas traveling deep intoenemyterritorywhen he scheduled arallyin the BayArea.

Acrowd of predominantlyLatino protestersscuffledwith Trump’smostly white supportersin June as theyleftthe San Jose ConventionCenter’sSouth Hall, highlighting the nation’sracial divide and its apparent retreat from civility andrespect for differing opinions.

Thereal estate baron emergedvictorious from an original fieldof23 people running for theDemocratic and Republican nominations, breakingnearly every unwritten rule of campaign etiquette along the way. Along with in-personturmoil atcampaign events across thecountry,trollsswarmedTwitter to accost their politicalopponents.

InCalifornia, the presidentialcontest essentially ended with the Juneprimarybattle betweenDemocrats HillaryClinton andBernie Sanders. Eagerto

deliverClinton an embarrassing defeat thatwould have given himabiggersay in theDemocraticParty’s campaignplatform, Sanders, aU.S. senatorfrom Vermont, barnstormedthe state for two weeks. Clinton, who was alreadylooking aheadtothe national generalelection, turned her attention backto California, nearlymatching him event for event.

Sanders drew hugecrowdsfullofyoungvoters inspired by hiscalls to make state collegesfree,create asingle-payerhealthcare system and hitWall Street banks with more taxes. But Clinton easilywon the primaryand garnered8.75 millionvotesinNovember, nearlydoubling Trump’s4.48 million.

Inan election year unlikeany other,California showed it wasn’timmune tothegrowingbelligerence in ourpolitics.Andthistime, it wasthe Rust Belt that pointed America towarditsfuture—one thatmany Californians didn’tseecoming.

THISISTHERAPTUREHAPPENING.’

‘FISTSWEREJUSTFLYING— ANDPEOPLE.YOUCOULDSEE THECONTACTBEINGMADE.... ITWASLIKE,OHMYGOD, THISISARMAGEDDON.

Above,Trump supporter Juan Hernandez’snose was broken when violence erupted at a San Jose rally (pictured at right). Itwas just one of many election-related scuffles in 2016.

Keymoments

May 6: Hillary Clintonstagesher first BayArearally at an Oakland elementary school.In a signof troublesthatwouldplague her campaign,several Bernie Sanders supporters interrupted her andwere orderedby security toleave.

May 10: Aftercampaigning across the nation for months,Sandersarrives toahero’s welcomeathisnewly christenedheadquarters inOakland. Supporters filled CollegeAvenue, chanting “Bernie,Bernie” as the senator from Vermontbegan hiseffort towin the California primary.

May 13: Assemblywoman Catharine Baker,theBayArea’slone Republican statelawmaker,saysshewon’t back Trump in November.“I disagreewith him on so manythings,”shesaid. Ultimately,Trump wasn’t a big dragon California Republicans.Bakerwon reelection,asdid four GOPcongressmen in competitivedistricts.

May 18: Sandersdrawsthousandsof supporters tothe SantaClara County Fairgrounds in SanJose.

Clockwise from top left: Donald Trump declares victory; Bay AreaTrump fans celebrate; HillaryClinton concedes; Clinton supportersreact on election night.

May 30: An estimated 20,000 people attendaSandersrally indowntown Oakland.Afterthe rally,Sandersis shuttled with actorDannyGloverto OracleArenato watchGame 7of the NBA’sWesternConferencefinals.The night provedto be thehigh-water markboth for SandersandtheGolden StateWarriors.

May 31: Gov.JerryBrownputs aside his bad bloodwith the Clintons and issues a letter endorsing Hillary Clintonover Sanders.

June 2: Donald Trumpholdsan eveningrally at theSanJose ConventionCenter’s South Hall. AfterTrump’s speech,agroupof protestersattacked andharassed Trump supporters as they wereleaving the convention hall.More than40 people were assaulted during what wasone of themost violentpolitical episodes ofthe year.

June 7: Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie SandersinCalifornia’sDemocratic primary.Trump facednocompetition in theRepublicanrace.

July 12: Fourteen Trump supporters filealawsuit against the cityof San Jose for failingtoprotectthem from protestersfollowing a June Trump rally.The lawsuitwas later amended toinclude20 people whosaidthey wereinjured after the rally.

July 15: Aftercombing through hundredsof cellphonevideos,news videos andsocialmedia profiles,San Jose police announce that theyhave identified 22peoplesuspectedof committingcrimes duringthemelee that took place followingTrump’s downtownrally in June.

Clockwise fromtop left: Protestorsmarch throughBerkeley; AlbanyHigh School students react; a flag is burnedduring an Oakland demonstration.

Sept.12: Afterthe primary, Clintonswingsthrough the Bay Area to collect campaign cash.But hermost talked-about fundraiser was theoneshe had tocanceldueto pneumonia.

Nov.8: Trump wins the presidency in a stunning upset.Twodayslater, Gov.JerryBrownsaidin referenceto the president-elect:“We will protect the precious rights of our peopleand continuetoconfront the existential threat of ourtime —devastating climatechange.”

CLOCKWISEFROMTOP LEFT:GETTYIMAGES,JIMGENSHEIMER,ANDACHU,KRISTOPHERSKINNER,GETTYIMAGES

10

Inthe Bay Area housing market, supply and demand means not much supplyand way too much demand. As a result, thecostof asingle-family home has skyrocketed in recent years.

At least that’sbeen the pattern since the recession ended. And it seemed still to be the pattern as 2016 began. With interestrates low and job growth steady,buyers kept pushing up the cost of thosesingle-family homes.

Yetthere were cracks in the market’sred-hot edifice; thevolume of sales was waydown from the previous year. Some agents and experts evenbegan tomention the “leveling” word. In March, when the median price for theregion remained absolutely flat—zero uptick from the year before — the “softening” word was added to the conversation.

But the median price still stood atover $1 million in three counties (San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin), at$942,000 in Santa Clara

Aaron Castle uses a ladderto getup to his sleeping area in his 139-square-foot tiny house on wheels in San Bruno.

County and at$680,000 in Alameda County.Ifthis was a leveling, it didn’tbring much relief to middle-class buyers caught up in the housing crisis. Theyeither gave up, overstretchedtheir budgets, perhaps moved to the more affordable inland counties — or leftthe region entirely.

Newpeak prices were recorded in April, May,Juneand July —and then the “sluggish” word set in and didn’tgoawayfor the rest of the year.Sales were down. Buyers were diggingin their heels. By fall, outside of hotly contested areas,sellers were making price adjustmentsunseen in a long time.

Themarketwas losing some of its steam, and agents beganto take a wait-and-see attitude as a new president was elected and the Fed talked about increasing

Keymoments

January: About 17,000 families register interest in renting one of 115 units of new affordable housing in San Leandro.Giventhe dimensions of the housing crisis,there is “insatiable demand”for such projects,says Adhi Nagraj,directorofdevelopment for Bridge Housing,the nonprofit developer of theunits.

March: The median priceof a single-family home for the BayArea’snine counties staysflat — no uptick at all from the year before.

April: The median priceof a single-family home climbs to a new record peak in Santa ClaraCounty ($1 million),as well as in SanMateo County ($1,211,500).

May: The median priceof a single-family home for the entirenine-county region reaches a new peak: $751,000.

July: The median priceof a single-family home in San Mateo Countyhits its all-time high: $1.25 million.

November: Santa ClaraCounty votersapprove$950million inbond financing to build affordable housing.Rent control measures pass in Oakland,Richmond and Mountain View,but fail in Alameda,Burlingame and San Mateo.

interest rates.

Therental marketfollowed asimilar pattern: Double-digit, year-over-yearincreases had mostly vanished by early 2016. Consumer resistance had setin by spring.In the fall, a variety of analystsdeclared thatrents were actually falling. Yetwith an averageapartment still renting for $2,500 in San Jose, $2,927 inOakland and$3,499 inSan Francisco, plenty of rentersthrew uptheir hands.

“Youhave to leave because you just can’tsurvive,”said renter Colin Jordan, who moved withhis fiancee to Scottsdale,Arizona, and accomplished what hadbeen unattainable inthe Bay Area. They bought a house.

“Buyers arekind of digging intheir feetandsaying, ‘We’vehit a threshold of pain in terms of affordability, and you’vegotto sayno.’”

JENNIFERBRANCHINI,PASTPRESIDENTOFTHEEASTBAYASSOCIATIONOF REALTORS

Construction crews workatan Oakmont high-density housing developmentinOakland.The five-lot site isbeing developed for 10 customhomes.

THEYEAR THEMUSIC

DIED

STORYBYJIMHARRINGTON ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ

Formusic fans,2016 wasthe most emotional ofsongs.

Itsmelody knewno stylistic boundaries, crossing over from pop to rock to R&B and beyond. Wecelebrated genius while mourning itsdeath in pretty much everymusical genre.

Welost four true titans—David Bowie, Merle Haggard, Prince and Leonard Cohen — all of whomhailed from different corners of the musical universe.

Forsure, no year is ever without its losses, yet2016 was different. The painful butincreasingly relevantquestion of “Who’snext?” madesome of us hesitantto check social media, for fear the answer would come viaTwitter or Facebook.

Thenews began on the firstday of 2016, as word quickly spread that Natalie Cole had died of heart failure. January turned out to be a particularly cruel month, as fans said goodbye to the Eagles’ Glenn Freyand Jefferson Airplane’sPaul Kantner justas the year gotstarted.

But it wasBowie’sdeath on Jan. 10, following a long battlewith liver cancer, thatresounded like a thunderclap across theplanet. It was one of those

Julya Baer, right, 30, is emotional during a candlelight vigil in Leimert Park in memory of musician Prince on April 21 in Los Angeles.

theworld lostacreativeicon.

once-in-an-era losses, right up there with John Lennon in 1980 or KurtCobain in 1994, twomen we lost in their primes.While Bowie was older, and had been quietly ill, heseemed to be ageless, his talent timeless.

Itwas hard to imagine the music world experiencing loss like thatfor quite some time. But of course, that wasnot to be. The word of Prince’sdeath on April 21 registered another powerful blow as fans struggled to come to terms with the departure of one of the most stunningly diverseand original creative forces in music history.

Prince’spassing followed right on the heels of the loss of Haggard, a legend whose “everyman” approach to songwriting made him as important to country music as Prince and Bowie were to their genres.

With Leonard Cohen, the timing of his death wasparticularly profound. The announcement came just two days aftera tumultuous election, with his fan base still reeling. The loss of the prolific songwriter with a gentle, haunted soul only served to add to the sadness, the minor chords of his “Hallelujah” an appropriate closing song for the reality-altering year.

Musicsilenced

Natalie Cole (Feb.6,1950-Dec.31,2015)

The daughter of NatKing Cole won multiple Grammysand sold over30 million albums.

Robert Stigwood (April 16,1934-Jan.4,2016)

Amultimedia juggernaut,whose many accomplishments include managingthe Bee Gees and producing “SaturdayNight Fever.”

Otis Clay (Feb.11,1942-Jan.8,2016)

The Mississippi native was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.

David Bowie (Jan.8,1947-Jan.10,2016)

One of the great trendsettersin pop culture,Bowie thrived through decades of changing musical styles.

Mic Gillette (May 7,1951-Jan.17,2016)

The Oakland nativewas a founding memberof East Bay soul-R&B powerhouse Towerof Power.

Glenn Frey (Nov.6,1948-Jan.18,2016)

Afounding member of SoCal’sEagles,one of the topselling American bands of alltime.

PaulKantner (March 17,1941-Jan.28,2016)

His work with Jefferson Airplane helped define the psychedelic “San FranciscoSound” of the ’60s.

Signe Toly Anderson (Sept.15,1941-Jan.28,2016)

BeforeGraceSlick,Anderson was the originalfemale vocalist in Airplane.

Maurice White (Dec.19,1941-Feb.3,2016)

He founded Earth,Wind andFire,the hitmakers behind such classic cuts as “September” and “Shining Star.”

“Today,

Fewartistshaveinfluencedthesound and trajectory ofpopularmusic more distinctlyor touchedquiteso manypeople with theirtalent.”

PRESIDENTBARACKOBAMAON THEDEATHOF PRINCE

Merle Haggardperforms during 2015 Stagecoach, California's Country Music Festival, at the EmpirePolo Club in Indio.

Top:Prince performs during the“Pepsi Halftime Show”at Super BowlXLI on Feb. 4, 2007,in Miami, Florida.

Dan Hicks (Dec.9,1941-Feb.6,2016)

The Marin County musician led Dan Hicks and the Hot Licksfor decades.

Vanity (Jan.4,1959-Feb.15,2016)

Longtime Fremont resident Denise Matthews (aka Vanity) was a Prince protegewho frontedthe band Vanity 6 in the ’80s.

Sir George Martin (Jan.3,1926-March 8,2016)

The “FifthBeatle” producedthe vast majority of the FabFour’srecords.

Keith Emerson (Nov.2,1944-March 10,2016)

The keyboardist was one-thirdof British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson,Lake and Palmer).

Phife Dawg (Nov.20,1970-March 22,2016)

The longtime East Bayresident helped popularize a new brand of socially conscious hip-hop in the ’90s with A Tribe Called Quest.

Merle Haggard (April 6,1937-April 6,2016)

One of the greatest artists in country musichistory, he was in the same league with JohnnyCash and Hank Williams.

Prince (June 7,1958-April 21,2016)

He sold over100million albums,influenced countless musicians and boasted one of themost loyalfan bases of all time.

Lonnie Mack (July 18,1941-April 21,2016)

The blues guitaristwas considered an influence on well-knownfret men JeffBeck and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Guy Clark (Nov.6,1941-May 17,2016)

The Grammywinner has been coveredby Jimmy

Buffett,Lyle Lovettand Ricky Skaggs,among others.

Prince Be (May 15,1970-June 17,2016)

AttrellCordes (akaPrinceBe) was a founding member of the hip-hop group P.M.Dawn.

Ralph Stanley (Feb.25,1927-June 23,2016)

Having performed since the ’40s,this bluegrass master finally found mainstream success with the “O Brother,Where ArtThou?” soundtrack in the early 2000s.

Bernie Worrell Jr. (April 19,1944-June 24,2016)

The funk master is enshrinedin the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a memberof Parliament-Funkadelic.

ScottyMoore (December 27,1931 – June 28,2016)

The highly influential guitarist backed Elvis Presley.

RobWasserman (April 1,1952-June 29,2016)

The acclaimed BayArea bassist performed with Lou Reed,Jerry Garcia and manyothers.

BobbyHutcherson (Jan.27,1941-Aug.15,2016)

The longtime Montara resident was one of the greatest vibraphonists in jazzhistory.

TootsThielemans (April 29,1922-Aug.22,2016)

He was a pioneeringjazzharmonica player.

Juan Gabriel (Jan.7,1950-Aug.28,2016)

He was a towering figure in Latin music.

Jean Shepard (Nov.21,1933-Sept.25,2016)

The country musicpioneer was knownfor the 1953 million-seller“ADear John Letter.”

Sir NevilleMarriner (April 15,1924-Oct.2,2016)

The acclaimed classical music violinist/conductoris best known for his soundtrack work on the Oscarwinning film“Amadeus.”

Leonard Cohen (Sept.21,1934-Nov.7,2016)

One of the greatest songwriters in popularmusic history,hewas in the sameleague with Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson,Joni Mitchell,Smokey Robinson and Michael Stipe.

LeonRussell (April 2,1942-Nov.13,2016)

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose many compositions include the oft-recorded “ASong for You,” was inductedinto the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Mose Allison (Nov.11,1927-Nov.15,2016)

An iconicjazz-blues singer-songwriter-pianist,he influenced countless other artists.

Greg Lake (Nov.10,1947-Dec.7,2016)

Guitaristand vocalist for British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson,Lake and Palmer); bandmate Keith Emerson died in March.

JHARRINGTON@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

David Bowie performs at the HP Pavillion in San Jose in 2007.

At right, LeonardCohen performs at the HP Pavilion in 2012.

In 2010, firefighters battle afireresulting from a high-pressure gas line explosion in SanBruno.

12

WellsFargoand otherfiascos

STORYBYGEORGEAVALOS

Abanking scandal, exploding phones and the ongoingroller coaster of PG&E rate changes were amongthe top stories raising the ire of consumers this year.

Perhaps the worst wastheWells Fargo Bank scandal in which employees secretlyopened millions of bogus credit and bank accounts to meetsales targets,and then funded manyof those accounts with customers’money.John Stumpf, Wells Fargo’schief executive officer, became a poster child for corporategreed as he was harshly grilled by both Republicans and Democratsduring testimony before congressional committees in Washington

TheSan Francisco-based banking giant had retainedasterling reputation despite the black marks thattarnished the financial services industryafter the financial crisis and the housing bubble of 2008 that led to the Great Recession. Now thatreputation is, at best,sullied. At worst, it’sin tatters.

Consumers suffered defeats, but also a victoryinconnection with PG&E. In March, gas bills jumped as a result of prior regulatory decisions, and consumers learned future bills were likely to increase even more. Then in June, aPUC decision slapped consumers with double-digit increases in their monthly gas bills.

InAugust, PG&E wasconvicted by a federal juryon six criminal charges stemming from the company’sactions before and after the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, which killed eight people and leveled a residential neighborhood. While the financial punishment was relatively small, it was nevertheless seen as asymbolic victory,andit laid the foundation for reforms atboth the utilityand the PUC, the agency

Keymoments

Feb.20: Bay Areagasoline pricesreach theirlow ofthe year,falling to $2.35 a gallon.In July,the prices will reach their high at roughly $2.95.

Aug.9: Ajury convicts PG&E on sixcriminal chargesthat the utility committed illegal actions relatedto itsgas pipelinesystem before the San Bruno explosion and then obstructedthe federal investigation of the deadly blast.

Aug.31: Shipments of the Samsung Galaxy Note7are delayedafterthe consumer electronics giant beginsreceiving reports that the batteryin the phone is exploding.

Sept.8: Wells Fargo is hit with$185 million in fines for a years long practice in whichemployeesopened an estimated 2 million bogus bank and credit accounts and fundedthose accounts with customers’ money without permission.

Sept.12: The Samsung Galaxy Note7is officially recalled in the U.S.

Oct.26: Despite earlier assurances that consumerswould benefitlongtermfrom the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant shutdown,PG&E confirms that customers face a short-term1.6 percentincrease in electricity bills.

responsible for PG&E’soversight.

Meanwhile, in whatwas a product disasterfor theages,Samsung toppled into hot water with its Galaxy Note 7,asmartphone whose battery overheated at times, triggering fires, even explosions. The company,its ill-fated deviceand consumersall suffered through recallsand production delays until thegadgetwas eventually scrapped altogether.

However,there wasatleast one more piece of good news: Thanks to challenges by ConsumerWatchdog, Californians won aseries of victoriesamountingto $250 million in savings for home and auto insurance rate savings and refunds.

GAVALOS@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“TheWellsFargoscandal amountedto fraudand extortion. What WellsFargodidwas outrageous.”

LIZATUCKER,CONSUMERWATCHDOG

Wells Fargohiked its estimates for potential legal costs from its scandalas it disclosed that U.S.securities regulators areprobing the bankover the issue.

WheredidallthePokemonGogo?

They camefrom inner space, virtually stealing our hearts with their cuteness and mischief — a Bulbasaur napping in the sun here, a Squirtle swimminginapondthere.

Sure, to the naked eye, there was nothingthereatall. But with the Pokemon Go game app and GPS,smartphone screens became magic lenses and ... whaddya know,there’sasmelly little Caterpie munching on leaves right nextto you on a park bench. Quick, throw a PokeBall and catch it!

Pokemon Go amazed us all. Thevirtual scavenger hunt for cartoon critters — designed by Niantic Labs — quickly became aglobal phenom, attracting more than 65 million users within aweek of its July release and has since been downloaded more than 500 million times. It came justwhen we needed it, the perfect frivolous distraction from terrorist attacks, mass shootings, election stress.

And it wasn’tjust the cool kidsplaying.It was everybody. Hipsters, moms, kids, techies. Because the augmented-reality

game takes players into real-life locations,people who typically hunch overcomputers found themselvessuddenly outdoors adjusting tothe light, their eyes mere slits likenewborn puppies. People were getting more exercise, making friends. There were Pokemon Go-themed meetups and pubcrawls.Oh,and also muggings, car crashes and evenafew deaths.

But the game’sglory days are over.As with allfads, it peaked and faded, and now Pokémon Gohas fallen down the App Store charts. Lots of people still play,new features have been added and there’stalk of a Gen II edition coming out. Yetsome wonder if an activitybased on wanderingaround outside will winter well.

Still, its astounding popularitybodes wellfor future augmented-realitygames. In 2017who knowswhat we’llsee?Is the “Star Trek” holodeck just around the corner?

STORYBYANGELAHILLILLUSTRATIONBYJEFFDURHAM

108yearslate, Cubsfansbreathe

STORYBYCOURTNEYCRONIN

After 108 years, Chicago Cubs fans finally exhaled.

Nolonger will theysingthe blues in Chicago when baseball season rolls around. Curses were leftin the corner as Cubs fans rejected the notion thataferal goat wasgoingto derail theirdreams of a championship.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder crooned for yearsthat“someday”this team would go all the way.

Asall greatprotagonistsdo, the Cubs had to fail again and again and again beforethey could finally getit right.

TheoEpstein, then 30, became the youngest general manager to win a World Series, with the Boston Red Soxin 2004. When the Cubs were lucky enough to gethim on board in 2011, alight began to flicker on Chicago’sNorthSide.

Epstein reiterated that he couldn’tpromise immediate results, but if fanswere patient, he and the organization would bring a World

Series to the mostloyal support system in sports.

Asthe late hours of Nov. 2 bled into the early morning atProgressive Field in Cleveland, “someday” was no longer a distant dream.

NotevenShakespeare could have scripted amore dramatic final act than the 10-inning Game 7thriller that finally ended with third baseman Kris Bryant grinning ear to ear as he fielded a ground ball and threw to first, ending the longest drought in professional sports.

Foronce, heartbreak didn’t come knocking on the Cubs’ door. And the partywas on.

Five million people, a turnout typically reserved for papal visits, poured into the streets to celebrate, snapping selfies in front of the iconic marquee thatreads

HowtheCubbiesgotit done

Oct.4,2015: Cubs finish the regularseason 97-65 beforebeing swept in the NLCSby the New York Mets.They vastly improvefrom their previous regularseason’s 73-89 record.

Dec.15,2015: Free-agent rightfielder Jason Heywardsigns an eightyear,$184 million contract with the Cubs.

July 25,2016: Cubs land thebest closerin baseball when they acquire Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the New York Yankees.

Oct.2,2016: The regularseason ends with the Cubs defeating the Reds 7-4and finishing with a103-58 record.

Oct.11,2016: Cubs punch their ticket tothe NationalLeague Championship Series bydefeating the Giants three games toone in the division series.

Oct.22,2016: Chicago beats Dodgers’ aceClayton Kershaw in Game 6 of the NLCS5-0 to captureits firstpennant since 1945.

Nov.2,2016: Cubs defeat the Indians 8-7 in a wild 10-inning Game 7 delayed by rain to capturetheir firstWorld Series title since 1908.

“World Series Champions,”writing inchalk outside Wrigley Field the names of loved ones who didn’tlive longenough to witness this moment.

Inthat colorful muralof names could be seenthe pain andfrustration of108 years but also the elation after itwas washed away in what seemedlike an instant.

Thischampionship, and its aftermath, which even saw South Side White Sox fans cheering alongside their North Side neighbors, wasabout morethan abaseball team trying to end the longestdrought in sports history.

Thiswas about exhaling.It was about saying goodbye tothat dreaded “someday.”

CCRONIN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“Thegreat thingaboutitis we becamesuchgreat losers. Goodsports. Goodlosers. I just hopewe’re goodwinners.”

BILLMURRAY

The Chicago Cubs celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7inGame 7 of the 2016 World Series atProgressive Field on November 2,2016.

15

Autotechreaches newheights

STORYBYETHANBARON

This year, several events in SiliconValley made it clear: Revolutions intransportation are upon us. And huge transformations in the way we get from place to place are arriving sooner than manyimagined.

If all goes according to plans hatched by Silicon Valleytech firms, within the next several years we’llbe traveling in cars driven by software, without a human backup. Greenenergy will power our movement. And we may even break freefrom the Bay Areatrafficthat binds —up, up we’llgo,inflying cars.

Tesla is taking an incremental approach on the way to full autonomy,with systems that can steer and brake for the user and are now on the market. But in Maythe perils of that method were revealed when a man drove into a truck and died while relying on theTesla Model S “autopilot”system.

Amonth earlier,Tesla expanded its lineup when it unveiled its $35,000 electricModel 3; it

expects to start shipping the zeroemissions vehicles next year.

InOctober,Google announced that its self-driving carshadsurpassed 2 million miles of roadway testing. But the Mountain View company’sgoal — complete autonomy,without possibilityof human intervention — means other firms are getting self-driving technologyinto the hands of consumers first.

Also entering the autonomousvehicle fraywas San Francisco ride-hailing giant Uber,which in September launched a pilot program of self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh. The cars are fully autonomous, but havebackup drivers.

Meanwhile, Uber rival Lyft expanded its“Lyft Line”carpooling service,which started inSan Francisco in 2014, to 15 U.S. areas, including Silicon Valley.Google’s Wazealso launched a BayArea carpool service.

But perhaps the most surprising storywas the discovery of the unusual,electricvehicle now under developmentby Zee.Aero, reportedly funded byGoogle cofounderLarryPage.Spotted hovering at the Hollister Airportover the summer,Zee.Aero’sproduct is a “flying car” thattakes offand lands vertically.

EBARON@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

Could this be the mysterious“flying car” rumored to be in development andfunded by Google co-found Larry Page?

Aself-driving car at Google'sofficesin Mountain View. In October,Googleannounced thatitsself-driving carshad surpassed 2 million miles of roadway testing.

16

Acity’sartistic soulis seared

BYANGELAHILL

Itwas supposed to be a safe haven for struggling artists who couldn’t afford Oakland’s high rents. Therewasnothing safe about it.

Inside the Ghost Ship warehouse—hometo an unpermitted live-work space inhabited by an art collective in the Fruitvaledistrict—achaotic clutter of furniture, artwork, pianos, hanging rugs, lamps, a warren of makeshiftliving units and a bevy of suspectedsafety-code violations fueled a ferociousblaze during a late-night techno music partyDec. 2,killing36people. Itwas the deadliestfire in Oakland’shistory, eventopping the toll of the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm.

Inthe days following the warehouse fire, workers tried to determine the cause of the blaze andcontinuedtorecover bodiesina painstaking,heartbreaking process — for victims’ families, emergency workers and the community.

Friends and family gatheroutside the Alameda County Sheriff’ssubstation for updates the day after the fire.

The horrificevent made international headlines not only for the loss of life but for shedding light on often dangerous living conditions in the city’s thriving underground art and music culture — a culture now fearing repercussions.

Artists and musicians using warehouse spaces is nothing new in major cities around the world. In Oakland, such venues have been hives of creativity since the ’80s, when blue-collar industry left town and vacated buildings were converted to live-work spaces — some legally, some not.

Now in 2016, with Oakland’s increasing popularity — largely because of the vibrant arts scene itself — rents have skyrocketed, and many creative people resort to sketchy living conditions to get

by. Alleged safety violations at Ghost Ship have sparked a criminal investigation, and now the city, the property owner and the collective’s founder face serious questions.

Because of this, many in the creative community feared a backlashofbuilding inspections at other warehousecollectives, resulting in evictions and a crushing blow to the underground arts scene.

While the story’s twists and turnswill likelyroll well into 2017, one thing’s certain: The tremendous lossof life has scarred Oakland’s arts community forever. AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

Aperson lays on the ground after talking toofficersfrom the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as they investigate the Ghost Ship fire.

After a night ofworking to stabilize the structure, crewssift through debris inthe early morning at the Ghost Ship warehouse.

“Theundergroundspaces … theyhavebeen a veryimportant incubator forall the beautiful stuff that happenshere.”

ARTISTJONSARRIUGARTE

Friends and loved ones gather at Oakland’s Lake Merritt to remember the victims of the Ghost Ship fire.