2016

2016 A BAY AREA NEWS GROUP PREMIUM EDITION

TV REIGNS

FLYING CARS POKEMON GO GHOST SHIP FIRE DIVISIVE POLITICS THE BEST IN SPORTS THE HOUSING CRISIS CONSUMER SCANDALS THE ELUSIVE STANLEY CUP THE CUBS’ 108-YEAR CURSE SILICON VALLEY GROWS UP WARRIORS’ NEW MEGASTAR THE KAEPERNICK QUESTION A RESPITE FROM THE DROUGHT PRINCE, BOWIE, HAGGARD, COHEN TRIUMPH, HEARTBREAK FOR WOMEN

IT WAS A WILD RIDE!

Bay Area News Group $4.95

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2016

16 STORIES THAT DEFINED THE YEAR

Kevin Durant: A Warrior

Triumph and heartbreak

The year the ground shifted

The year the music died

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

Hillary Clinton’s loss was a gut-punch to millions, yet women still celebrated monumental gains.

The country experienced a seismic shift in culture and politics that many did not see coming.

Who’s next? As our favorite musicians passed, the question made us hesitant to check social media.

PAG E 7

PAG E 1 5

PAG E 3 9

PAG E 47

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

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Editor: Lisa Wrenn Designers: Chris Gotsill, Daymond Gascon, Nick Lozito Story editors: Mark Conley, Chris Walker, Karen Casto, Ken McLaughlin Photo editors: Sarah Dussault, Jami Smith, Mark DuFrene, Michael Malone, Ray Saint Germain

Copy editors: Sue Gilmore, Lance Howland, Anne Matera, Jaime Welton Contributing writers: Elliott Almond, 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, Richard Scheinin, Marcus Thompson

Contributing photographers: Patrick Tehan, Kristopher Skinner, John Green, Susan Tripp Pollard, Josie Lepe, Lipo Ching, Jim Gensheimer, Anda Chu, Laura A. Oda, D. Ross Cameron, Jose Carlos Fajardo, Ray Chavez, Doug Duran, Aric Crabb, Nhat V. Meyer, Gary Reyes, Karl Mondon, Jane Tyska, Contributing artists: Jeff Durham (left and Page 55), Serge Seidlitz

2H BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 2016 IN REVIEW 3

2016 TOP: D. ROSS CAMERON; MIDDLE: JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO; BOTTOM: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/GETTY IMAGES

A WILD RIDE

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Angela Hill

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2016 IN REVIEW BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

n a year 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 athletic successes and heart-wrenching disasters both at home and abroad. There were prolific protests — of pipelines, public lands, politicians and police. Housing prices soared, the arts made news, Brexit became a word, Black Lives Mattered, the climate continued to change and, somewhere in there, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature and Adele broke the internet.

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TOP ROW: KRISTOPHER SKINNER; RICHARD DREW/AP; JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO; PBS MIDDLE ROW: PATRICK TEHAN; JOHN MINCHILLO/AP; KARL MONDON; JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES; JOSE LEPIE BOTTOM ROW: JOSIE LEPIE; EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES; JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO; RAY CHAVEZ

All in all, it was a long, strange trip with lots of good, an ugly dose of bad and some stuff that was just downright absurd. But at least it kept us on our toes. n Here in the Bay Area, 2016 kicked off with the hype, hoopla and highway robbery that was Super Bowl 50, putting San Francisco in the global spotlight for hosting a game that was actually played in Santa Clara by teams from Denver and Charlotte. Ultimately more attention went to Beyonce’s Black Panthers tribute at the halftime show. Oh, and somebody said Coldplay was there, too. n And the weather was good for the game. Not good for the drought, though.

While Northern California reveled in at least partial drought relief, Southern California was left high and dry yet again. And despite some rain, devastating wildfires ravaged the state top to bottom, from Lake County and Big Sur to the San Bernardino Mountains. Welcome rainfall returned to the Bay Area in the late autumn, and green is green again, at least for a while. n Law enforcement was in focus nationwide with shootings by police and shootings of police, and in the Bay Area for officers being accused of breaking the law while we had a revolving 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 community to the core. It was a hate crime and terror attack all in one. And of course the horrific December warehouse fire at an arts collective in Oakland took 36 lives and earned the dubious distinction of being California’s deadliest structure fire in 100 years. Yet after each of these calamities, communities mourned,

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then stood strong, coming together in 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 at shopping centers made it seem like we live in a Jetsons’ future after all. The service and sharing economy just couldn’t be stopped with Airbnb, Uber, Lyft and more. And from July to September we played Pokemon Go, searching high and low for Metapods and Beedrills, proving virtual and augmented reality are here to stay. n Thanks in large part to the ongoing tech boom, housing in the Bay Area continued to go nuts. There were wild rent hikes, evictions and calls for rent control.

Ordinary dwellings sold for millions. Millions! At the same time, some real estate was sinking — literally — as San Francisco’s Millennium Tower began to tilt. n The year saw historic 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’s death. n There were celestial events such as super moons, black moons, blood moons, and sporting events, like the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where the big pre-Games worry was the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease that can cause birth defects. But who can forget world-class divers plunging into green water? n The Warriors were awesome again — and oh, so close! The Giants and A’s, not so much. At least the Chicago Cubs finally broke their 108-year World Series drought. The Raiders got themselves back in black. The Niners? Well, Kaepernick taking a knee as a political stand made big news — so there’s that.

n The musical “Hamilton” became a cultural phenomenon, somehow making the birth of our nation seem cooler than it probably was even when it was happening thanks to a hip-hop/R&B score and a cast of many colors. It swept the Tonys, won the 2016 Pulitzer for drama, sold out every show in minutes and set the stage for cast members to call out Vice President-elect Mike Pence one night and start a Twitter battle with the president-elect. n There’s no forgetting the election.

Tragedy for some, triumph for others.

Whatever the take, it was certainly the wildest turn of events in this rollercoaster year. After months of nonstop vitriol, email scandals, scathing remarks about immigrants, Muslims, women and more, many expected a Trump trouncing, but got a Clinton crushing (well, except for that popular vote thing) instead. One of the few polls that got it right? The Chia Pet poll — sales of Trump Chia heads beat out Clinton Chia heads, 3-to-1. n Social media played a bigger role than ever in the election, for good and bad, with people engaging in fierce online debates. Soon it was back to posting cute animal videos and vacation photos.

In fact, YouTube said its hottest videos of the year included Adele singing with late-night comic James Corden in a drive around London, a dude flipping water bottles onto various out-of-reach objects and a viral song by Japanese comedian Daimaou Kosaka called “Pen-PineappleApple-Pen.” Yes, really.

So was that all there was to the year?

Far from it. And in the next pages, we’ll elaborate on some of these stories and more. So fasten your seat belts. Reliving 2016 is bound to be a bumpy ride.

AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

GARY REYES/STAFF

The crowd reacts to presidential candidate Donald Trump during his speech at a rally at the San Jose Convention Center on June 2.

1 HE’S HERE S TO R Y B Y M A R C U S T H O M P S O N I I I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

‘WE’RE GOING TO BE A HANDFUL FOR THE REST OF THE NBA TO DEAL WITH FOR A LONG TIME.’ AFTER FAILING TO WIN A SECOND CONSECUTIVE TITLE, WARRIORS ADD KEVIN DURANT TO HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE

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ven when they lose, they win. That’s the new Warriors. That’s how this era of dominance has gone — especially in 2016.

In two seasons, the Warriors won 140 regular season games, went to the NBA Finals twice and came away with one title. They leapfrogged traditional powers, rising from laughingstock franchise to one of the most popular in all of sports.

They boast the two-time MVP and first unanimous winner in Stephen Curry, a magnetic star who keeps the Warriors at the forefront of relevance. Using his 3-point shot, he keeps pulling off basketball miracles and expanding the Warriors’ fan base.

Even the one title they lost — coming up short in a riveting Game 7 clash with Cleveland — proved to be a victory. The Warriors became the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 lead in The Finals. By doing so, they hit on one of the biggest free agent jackpots ever.

Kevin Durant wanted to join the Warriors, enticed by their chemistry and fluidity. In pursuit of a championship, he found a

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Warriors owner Joe Lacob, quoted speaking to the New York Times above, is confident in the current team.

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

commonality in the Warriors, who would no doubt be eager to get another chance at the title they squandered.

If the Warriors had won, Durant would have had a hard time leaving to join a two-time defending championship team. Instead he became the missing piece in their dynasty, how the Warriors could extend this two-year run to a new prime.

The Warriors were upset by a killer one-two punch from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. So they formed a one-two of their own, Curry and Durant. Only they also have two other All-Stars in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

The team that won 73 games added a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

Now the Warriors are in the hunt for their second title in three years. The franchise’s relevance has increased after the mostwatched season in history.

It took a long time to get to this point, and plenty of Warriors fans have the scars of heartbreak to prove it. But they all now know how the air at the top of the mountain smells.

MTHOMPS2@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

Year of the Warrior Jan. 18: The Warriors had already set an NBA record with 24 straight wins to start a season — after hanging their championship banner on opening night. But the Warriors went into Cleveland this night with many questioning how good they were. The Warriors won by 34.

Jan. 25: Another showdown: Warriors vs.

Spurs. Golden State was 40-4, the Spurs 38-6. It was the highest combined win percentage by two teams facing off in NBA history. The Warriors won by 30.

Feb. 27: The Warriors went to Oklahoma City and struggled much of the first half.

Draymond Green had a heated exchange with coach Steve Kerr in the locker room at halftime and needed to be restrained. ESPN reporter Lisa Salters reported the altercation.

Green responded by playing lights-out defense in the second half, and the Splash Brothers were hot. Kevin Durant seemed to have sealed the deal on a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, but Klay Thompson converted a layup, then stole Durant’s inbounds pass to set up Andre Iguodala’s free throws to send the game to overtime. With the game tied in the final seconds, Stephen Curry drilled the game-winning 3-pointer from 37 feet. It was his record-tying 12th 3-pointer of the game.

March 19: A rematch between the Warriors and Spurs, this time in San Antonio, where the Warriors hadn’t won a regular season game in two decades. Their streak didn’t change this night, as the Spurs won a slugfest.

The Warriors left San Antonio feeling good because Curry shot only 4-for-18 and the Warriors were without center Andrew Bogut and sixth man Iguodala, and they still almost stole the game.

NHAT V. MEYER

April 13: The Warriors handled the Memphis Grizzlies in the regular-season finale to set the NBA record for wins in a season. They finished 73-9, topping by one victory the mark held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. The feat shined the spotlight brightly heading into the playoffs. Curry eclipsed 400 3-pointers made in a season. He finished with 402, breaking his own NBA record of 286.

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April 24: Curry sprained his right foot in the first game of the playoffs against Houston. He returned for Game 4 as the Warriors played it cautious. Just before the half, Curry slipped on a wet spot, falling awkwardly and injuring his right knee.

May 9: The Warriors disposed of Houston in five games and took the first two over visiting Portland in the second round, but Damian Lillard put a scare into the Warriors in Game 3, blitzing the Curry-less Warriors in Portland.

Curry returned this night for Game 4. He came off the bench and had a 25-minute limit placed on him — a limit that went out the window after Shaun Livingston was ejected in the second quarter. Curry played nearly 37 minutes and finished with 40 points. That included a record 17 points in overtime.

May 16: The Warriors went ice cold in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City stole the opener in Oracle. The Warriors opened with a gimmicky game plan, ignoring Anthony Roberson — a poor shooter — and focusing on Durant and Russell Westbrook.

May 24: The Warriors were dismantled in Games 3 and 4, and it shook them. The Thunder’s length and athleticism had the Warriors bottled up.

May 28: Facing elimination, the Warriors summoned their most spirited comeback of the season. Thompson led the way, shooting the Warriors back into the game by making 11 of 18 3-pointers. Finally, Curry got going, hitting two straight 3s to tie the game. One more 3 from Thompson put the Warriors up for good late. The Warriors advanced.

June 10: After struggling for three games, Curry exploded for 38 points as the Warriors beat the Cavaliers on their own floor. The Warriors went home with a 3-1 lead. But in the final minutes, Green got mixed up with LeBron James. Green swiped to get James off him. After lobbying from the Cavaliers behind the scenes, the NBA investigated and assessed Green with a flagrant foul. It was his fourth one of the postseason, which meant a one-game suspension. This ruling changed the tide of the series.

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BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

June 13: With their defensive anchor missing, the Warriors were torched by James and Kyrie Irving, each scoring 41 to keep the Cavaliers alive.

June 16: A year after they clinched a championship in Cleveland, the Warriors had a chance again. But they couldn’t stop the Cavs.

James scored 41 again. The Warriors shot 40 percent. Curry was ejected in the fourth quarter for arguing a non-call on a foul and throwing his mouthpiece, hitting a courtside fan. His wife, Ayesha, tweeted that the NBA is rigged. The Warriors seemed to be coming unglued.

June 19: The Warriors shot 38.6 percent from the field as Cleveland’s aggressive defense ramped up. Green had the game of his life to keep the Warriors in it, and their defense hung tough in a low-scoring matchup. But a dagger 3-pointer from Irving in the final minute and the block of the century from James on an Iguodala fast-break completed Cleveland’s upset. The Warriors lost the title.

July 1: It was the Warriors turn to meet with free agent Durant in the Hamptons.

CEO Joe Lacob, GM Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr made their pitch. The Warriors also brought their four best players — Curry, Green, Thompson and Iguodala — to woo Durant. It worked.

Clockwise from top left: Warriors’ fans celebrate Draymond Green; Kevin Durant makes a move for Golden State; Andrew Bogut takes a hard foul going up for a slam; Steve Kerr erupts and Andre Iguodala dunks.

Oct 4: Durant makes his magical Oracle debut as a Warrior. Though just a preseason game, the Warriors routed the Clippers by 45. The new core gave a glimpse of their explosiveness. Thompson, Durant and Curry combined for 65 points on 32 shots with none playing more than 24 minutes.

Oct 25: The season of the Super Team begins, but it does so with a thud. San Antonio executed the Warriors, making it clear that even with Durant, they had some jelling to do. And with the way San Antonio pounded the Warriors inside, Golden State missed the big men they let go while getting Durant — Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli.

Nov. 3: Durant scored 39 in his first matchup against his former team, and the Warriors blasted Oklahoma City.

TOP: NHAT V. MEYER; FAR LEFT: RAY CHAVEZ; AT LEFT: JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO AT RIGHT: JANE TYSKA BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

2016 IN REVIEW

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2 Small screens vs. big screens S TO R Y B Y C H U C K BA R N E Y

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NBC

ust how much TV is too much?

In 2016, so many new shows were introduced that FX boss John Landgraf predicted the number of original scripted programs on broadcast, cable and streaming networks would approach a gasp-inducing 500 sometime next year.

Pity our poor DVRs. Of course, quantity doesn’t always mean quality, but the deluge boasted enough must-see gems to ensure the extension of another trend: television’s dominance over film in terms of creative oomph and cultural ubiquity.

No visual narrative provoked as much watercooler passion as “Game of Thrones.” Few were 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’t it ironic that a miniseries about a 20-year-old murder case — “The People v. O.J.

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Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia in a scene from the NBC drama “This Is Us.�

“I cut my teeth as a film director. But I think people are infinitely more passionate about what’s going on in the television space now than the movies.”

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR MCG

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

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On the little screen

Chasing Emmy

The estimated number of scripted original 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)

A look at the shows honored by the Television Academy at the 68th Emmy Awards: 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: The Abominable Bride” (PBS) Outstanding variety sketch series: “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

FIGURES ACCUMULATED BY FX NETWORKS RESEARCH DEPARTMENT. THE TOTALS DO NOT INCLUDE FOREIGNLANGUAGE AND CHILDREN’S SHOWS.

The explosion of shows and programming pipelines has spawned more competition and creative growth. It also has thrown open the doors to more artists. While the movie industry was again plagued by an #OscarsSoWhite controversy, TV’s Emmy bash celebrated a diverse mix of shows, stars and creators.

Hurray for (small screen) Hollywood.

CBARNEY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM.

BYRON COHEN/FX

Simpson: American Crime Story” — not only generated big buzz but felt more relevant than ever as it delved into issues of race, gender, class, fame and the justice system’s posture toward black Americans?

As for 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.

You could even make the case that, if it wasn’t for television, former “Apprentice” host Donald Trump wouldn’t be moving into the White House.

3 TRIUMPH

AND HEARTBREAK S TO R Y B Y M A R T H A R O S S I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

“If Ms. Rodham’s not in the White House, that’s OK. One of those girls is going to be.

We still have millions of nasty women who are not going away. And as long as women over 25 are still allowed on television, I’ll be here cheering them on.”

“FULL FRONTAL” HOST SAMANTHA BEE

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 27 after the court struck down Texas' widely replicated regulation of abortion clinics.

knew her case against Brock Turner wasn’t a slam dunk, even with forensic evidence and witnesses. Then, in April, a jury found the former Stanford swim team member guilty of sexually assaulting her. Suddenly, the 23-year-old woman, who chooses to remain anonymous, had every reason 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 essay for Glamour, which named her a 2016 Woman of the Year. We all remember what 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 find in Doe’s case 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 swimmer Simone Manuel’s historic gold medal. A groundbreaking report confirmed that women in Hollywood face inequities in pay and job opportunities, but those inequities still persist across many industries. And while the U.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 laws to limit access to abortions and funding for family planning.

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

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AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI; AT LEFT, MYLES ARONOWITZ

“Emily Doe”

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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 "Orange is 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 Iowa Democratic caucus, the first step to securing the Democratic nomination.

Feb. 8: Samantha Bee brings a blistering feminist perspective to the boys club of late-night comedy with the premiere of her weekly TBS show, “Full Frontal.”

Feb. 22: The Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity confirms the truth of gender inequity in Hollywood, finding that women in TV and movies make up only 15 percent of directors, 28 percent of writers and less than a quarter of TV series creators.

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

March 10: Sujit Choudhry, the dean of the UC Berkeley law school, resigns after a campus investigation substantiated sexual harassment allegations against him by his executive assistant, Tyann Sorrell. He was one of several male faculty members to face misconduct charges at the prestigious university over the past few years. 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.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: HBO; JOHN LOCHER/ AP PHOTO; VINCE BUCCI/INVISION

elected the first female president. Even more, they wanted America to reject what they felt her opponent stood for. As a candidate who made headlines with his “nasty woman” rhetoric, his recorded boast about sexually assaulting women and growing allegations from multiple women that 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 more fired up and determined than before. On Facebook, a grassroots 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 impact statement went online and became an international call to action, 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 knowing that the world will no longer stand for this.”

July 29: The Miss Universe Organization announces that Miss Teen USA will no longer require contestants to parade around in swimsuits.

Aug. 4: President Barack Obama pens an essay for Glamour, reflecting on American women’s long fight for equality and calling on men to fight sexism and create equal relationships.

Aug. 16: Variety breaks the news that a woman who accused “Birth of a Nation” director and star Nate Parker of rape in 1999 committed suicide. That news, coming as Parker tries to head off bad press about the college rape case, effectively dooms the film’s chances at the box office and as a leading Oscar contender.

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

Sept. 5: Housewife turned conservative firebrand Phyllis Schlafly dies at age 92. Her death brought reflection on the time from the 1970s and 1980s when she became a polarizing figure thanks to her fervent opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES; CLIVE ROSE/GETTY IMAGES; LAURA A. ODA/STAFF; CAROLYN THOMPSON/ AP PHOTO

Sept. 13: California Gov. Jerry Brown, bucking a national movement for fiscal reasons, vetoes a bill that would have ended the state’s so-called “tampon tax.”

Sept. 16: Brown signs legislation that expands the legal definition of rape and imposes new mandatory minimum sentences on offenders convicted of assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim.

Oct. 7: Within hours of the Washington Post publishing a 2005 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 #notokay hashtag.

April 20: Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew proposes replacing slave-holding Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the former slave and abolitionist, and adding images of other women to the $5 and $10 notes.

April 23: Beyoncé drops her stunning visual album “Lemonade,” and debate erupts not just over the identity of “Becky with the good hair” but the extent to which her work marks a landmark in artistry, black womanhood and feminism.

May 6: In a Mother’s Day Facebook post, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg admits part of her “lean in” advice was wrong, saying she’s learned as a newly widowed mother how hard it is for a woman to be on her own raising kids.

May 10: Gloria Steinem, 82, heads to the usually male-oriented Vice TV, where she debuts an eight-part series, “Woman,” which explores human rights violations and violence against women around the world.

June 27: In the most significant decision on reproductive rights in two decades, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a restrictive Texas law that would have drastically reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state.

July 21: Roger Ailes resigns as chairman and CEO of Fox News, following an internal investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed a number of female employees, including Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, whose lawsuit spurred the investigation.

July 28: Hillary Clinton accepts the nomination from the Democratic Party, becoming the first female 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; a woman 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.

Oct. 13: Perhaps topping her acclaimed Democratic National Convention speech, first lady Michelle Obama indicts Trump’s alleged sexually aggressive behavior toward women in another speech, saying “The belief you can do anything to a woman? It is cruel. It’s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts.”

Oct. 19: After Trump asserts during the third presidential debate that no one loves women more than he, he calls Clinton a “nasty woman.” The hashtag #nastywoman and a new T-shirt fashion trend are born.

Oct. 22: NFL ratings are reported to be down 11 percent this season. One reason cited is concern that the league shrugs off players’ off-field treatment of women, most recently when it handed down a one-game suspension against Giants kicker Josh Brown, who had been investigated by the league for repeatedly abusing his now estranged wife.

Nov. 9: After losing the presidential election, Clinton tells her female supporters: “Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some day someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.”

Nov. 12: As the election season grew to a close, Kate McKinnon, in the Clinton guise she made famous in “Saturday Night Live” sketches, opens the show that pays tribute to the candidate by belting out a somber but uplifting rendition of the late Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” She then turns to the audience to say, “I’m not giving up, and neither should you.”

MROSS@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

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4 Silicon Valley wrestles with growing pains S TO R Y B Y M I C H E L L E Q U I N N

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TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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or Silicon Valley, it was the year to soldier on.

The industry withstood the sharp fluctuations of the stock market at the beginning of the year and dire predictions that the current boom cycle was coming to an end. That didn’t happen.

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 far short of last year’s haul of $11 billion. It was a year that saw no blockbuster public offerings, the tech industry’s coming-of-age party that usually spurs big rounds of investment, growth and excitement.

Without the usual bullish proclamations of endless growth, reality set in. Companies began to grab pieces off the chessboard or to look for exits. Verizon bought Yahoo. Microsoft bought LinkedIn. Twitter tried, and failed, to sell itself.

“The year wasn’t marked by a downturn in any way,” said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of

A vehicle equipped with a camera operated by Google street view takes in the sites in Berlin’s Steglitz district.

“It is the comparative quiet before the next innovation storm. Everyone is still trying to innovate. Their innovation is focused on hanging on to what they got rather than forging into unexplored white space. But we can sort of see the shape of what’s next. It’s robotics, deep learning and artificial intelligence.”

PAUL SAFFO, LONGTIME SILICON VALLEY OBSERVER

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

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

Apple added Touch Bar to its MacBook Pro laptop in October.

Joint Venture Silicon Valley. “We just continued. We did 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 new hit category, appeared less like the innovation powerhouse it has long been.

For the first time in 15 years, the iPhone maker reported a drop in annual sales in 2016. Yet the company, which celebrated its 40th birthday, survived a standoff with the FBI over whether to unlock the iPhone used by a terrorist attacker. And it remains the most valuable company in the world.

Even Alphabet, Google’s parent company, stumbled with some of its so-called “moonshots” — those

Key moments

explorations that the company’s chief financial officer calls “other bets.” The company scrapped Google Fiber, its nationwide effort to expand high-speed connectivity; jettisoned Project Ara, its modular phone; and reorganized Nest, its smart-home unit.

Perhaps most bracingly, Silicon Valley was mostly ignored in the presidential race with both candidates failing to engage in its issues or spend much time here.

After largely aligning themselves with Hillary Clinton, tech leaders watched agog as Donald Trump won decisively.

For Silicon Valley, 2016 won’t be remembered as a blockbuster, but the region hasn’t forgotten its role as the engine of innovation.

It may simply be taking a moment to catch its breath before coming up with the next new thing.

2016 IN REVIEW BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

January: Tech stocks sink, with the Nasdaq falling 500 points in a single day.

February-March: Apple fights the FBI’s effort to force it to unlock an iPhone that was used by a terrorist attacker in San Bernardino.

May: Mark Zuckerberg meets with Glenn Beck and other conservative media personalities to talk about bias on the social network.

May: A man driving a Tesla with self-driving technology crashes and dies.

June: Microsoft buys LinkedIn. July: Verizon says it will buy Yahoo for $4.8 billion.

July: U.S. regulators sanction Theranos, the Palo Alto medical testing company, and ban Elizabeth Holmes, the firm’s founder and CEO, from operating the company’s lab for two years.

August: A federal judge rejects Uber’s deal with drivers who sued the world’s most valuable startup, arguing that they should be considered employees.

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

September: Twitter tries, and fails, to sell itself.

September: Yahoo announces 500 million Yahoo user accounts were compromised by hackers in 2014.

October: Apple reports its first annual decline in sales in 15 years.

October: Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist, makes a $1.5 million donation to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

November: The stock market recovers to close at a record high after the presidential election.

MQUINN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

TESLA: NTSB VIA FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL VIA AP; FIBER AND NASDAQ: AP; GOOGLE HEADSET AND APPLE: GETTY IMAGES

Google introduced its Daydream VR headset in October.

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

5 SPORTS

MECCA

S TO R Y B Y DA N I E L B R OW N I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

O

ver the course of 135 days, the Bay Area was the fully inflated center of the sports universe.

The Super Bowl was played in Santa Clara, the Stanley Cup Finals in San Jose and the NBA Finals in Oakland.

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

It was an unprecedented confluence of sporting events.

Only eight previous times had one market hosted so much as the NBA and NHL championships in the same year: New Jersey (2003), New York City (1972 and ’94), Chicago (1992), Philadelphia (1980) and Boston (1974, ’57 and ’58).

None of the previous cases had the added cherry of the Super Bowl, which this year drew 111.9 million television viewers to the action at Levi’s Stadium, the third most-watched Super Bowl ever.

Then again, the Bay Area teams proved overly hospitable to their

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

At right: The Blue Angels perform a flyover during the singing of the national anthem before the start of 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 at SAP Center. Players hoisted the coolest trophy in sports just long enough for San Jose fans to get a jealous glimpse, then Pittsburgh packed it up for the flight home.

The Warriors, meanwhile, became the first NBA team to lose a Finals Game 7 at home since 1978 and the first NBA team ever to blow a 3-1 Finals lead. Cleveland won its first major championship since 1964 — and celebrated on Northern California soil.

The Chicago Cubs’ curse-busting drive to the World Series also cruised along Highway 101. They knocked off the Giants in Game 4 of the Divisional Series at AT&T Park en route to their first championship since 1908. The World Series MVP was Ben Zobrist, who played for the A’s a year earlier.

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

DBROWN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

DOUG DURAN (RIGHT); ARIC CRABB (TOP RIGHT) AND NHAT V. MAYER (TOP LEFT)

With the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Stanley Cup Finals in San Jose and NBA Finals in Oakland, all eyes turn to the Bay Area

The Sporting Life Jan. 1: Stanford beats Iowa 4516 in the Rose Bowl as Cardinal star Christian McCaffrey has 368 all-purpose yards.

Jan. 25: Six Raiders, including blossoming stars Derek Carr and Khalil Mack, are selected for the Pro Bowl. The team’s biggest haul since 1994 sets the stage for a breakout 2016.

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

April 13: Warriors polish off a record-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 Rams with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

June 12: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

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

June 19: The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Warriors 9389 at Oracle Arena in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

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

Aug. 6: Former Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler and ex-49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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

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“This is a great time to kind of tune in and be a sports fan in the Bay Area.

Obviously, the world’s eyes are going to be here in Oakland, San Jose, Levi’s Stadium.”

WARRIORS GUARD STEPHEN CURRY

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

SUSAN TRIPP POLLARD/STAFF

Center: Giants catcher Buster Posey waits through a pitching change during the Giants’ National League Division Series loss to 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

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 2016 IN REVIEW 27

6 He stood for something S TO R Y B Y E L L I OT T A L M O N D

A

JOSIE LEPE

s Colin Kaepernick’s Afro grew large and unruly, so too did his presence at the crossroads of America’s longstanding struggle with race relations. What started quietly in August before the San Francisco 49ers’ first preseason game mushroomed into a social movement that triggered both widespread support and criticism. As Kaepernick kneeled for the national anthem, so too did fellow athletes — from NFL teammates and opponents to high school players, across sporting fields and continents in the worlds of basketball, soccer and even rugby. Some instead held raised fists, or did both. How fitting that athletes used their sporting platform for protest in a year framed by a divisive presidential election and a constant social media barrage over African-Americans being shot during police conflicts. Kaepernick, the biracial athlete from Turlock better known for kissing his tattoos after scintillating touchdown runs during better

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“He’s jumped into the pool of human history.

(He’s) with those that have prevailed and risen above the norm.”

O LY M P I C M E D A L I S T J O H N C A R L O S

Indiana Fever players kneel before the first game of the WNBA playoffs. Previous page: 49ers Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem in October.

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Key moments Aug. 14: Kaepernick opens the preseason sitting during the national anthem while recuperating from surgeries and not in uniform. On Aug. 26, Kaepernick is in uniform and continues to sit during the national anthem.

Aug. 29: Donald Trump criticize’s the QB: “I think it’s a terrible thing, and, you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him.”

Sept. 1: Kaepernick changes his action to kneeling instead of sitting.

He pledges to donate $1 million to charities that focus on racial issues.

Sept. 16: Some West Coast high school football players start kneeling.

Sept. 27: Kaepernick says of the presidential hopefuls: “Both are proven liars, and it almost seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist.”

Nov. 13: Kaepernick faces a backlash from some supporters for declaring he didn’t vote in the presidential election.

where President Barack Obama addressed Kaepernick’s stance.

It even spilled over into the U.S. Supreme Court in October, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg retracted her initial criticism of the protest.

Kaepernick, 29, has been lauded for giving voice to minority issues. He has been equally vilified by those who drape the U.S. flag in symbolic threads of patriotism — and criticized for not participating in the voting process.

Either way, he has not been ignored. By kneeling down, Kaepernick stood up for his beliefs.

EALMOND@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

PHOTO CREDIT

days for the 49ers, ignited a searing national conversation that has turned him into the sporting face of the Black Lives Matter campaign. It even landed him on the cover of Time magazine.

His simple, yet controversial, gesture has been portrayed as a 21st-century extension of Muhammad Ali’s Vietnam War protest and the statement by San Jose State sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith when they raised black gloves on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

The protest elicited commentary from presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It reached the White House,

7

FIRE AND RAIN S TO RY BY PAU L R O G E R S I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

A MODERATELY WET YEAR EASED, BUT DIDN’T END, CALIFORNIA’S DROUGHT. WHAT DOES 2017 HOLD FOR OUR STILL-PARCHED STATE?

A

s 2016 wound down, California entered its sixth year of drought.

But every part of the state wasn’t created equal. Northern California experienced significant drought relief during the year, while Southern California continued to be mired in historically arid conditions.

The reason? A much-anticipated El Niño brought substantial storms during the spring to the north, giving Bay Area cities and communities across Northern California their best rainfall totals in five years. San Francisco rainfall was 98 percent of the historic average. San Jose was a healthy 100 percent, and Oakland 80 percent.

But the storms largely missed the parched south.

The spring rains sent reservoirs rising, creeks rushing and hopes growing that the relentless drought might be winding down.

They also boosted the ski season, growing the Sierra Nevada snowpack to nearly normal levels

by April.

In a controversial move, Gov. Jerry Brown dropped statewide mandatory water restrictions in May. Responding to complaints from water agencies that they had lost millions from reduced water sales, the governor allowed cities to ease their water rationing

Right: El Niño rains helped ranchers such as John Ginochio, who tends to a herd of his black angus cattle on Mount Diablo in Walnut Creek in April.

SUSAN TRIPP POLLARD

plans. Although Californians are still using less water now than before the drought (those low-flush toilets and rock gardens don’t uninstall themselves), conservation lagged during the summer and green lawns sprouted again.

Brown and other state leaders were watching the weather carefully, and plan to decide by January whether to restore the mandatory rules, depending on how much rain falls during the first part of winter.

Wet wood doesn’t burn, so the moderately good rain year was enough to limit catastrophic fires in 2016. California’s fire year came in at about average. But there were still several very large fires, including the Soberanes fire, which blackened 132,000 acres of rugged backcountry in Big Sur; the 41,000-acre Sand fire in the Angeles National Forest; and the Loma fire, which burned 4,474 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Morgan Hill, destroying 12 homes.

Will the drought end in 2017?

If the winter rains are decent, the north will be in pretty good shape.

But it will take several wet years for the south to recover, and significantly overdrawn groundwater basins in the Central Valley will take decades to come back.

PROGERS@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

“We remain in stubborn drought conditions statewide.

Saving water is just the smart thing to do.”

F E L I C I A M A R C U S , C H A I R W O M A N , S TAT E WAT E R R E S O U R C E S C O N T R O L B O A R D

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I’ve seen fire

51% Irvine

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56% Palm Springs

59%

Santa Barbara

65% Los Angeles

75% Riverside

80% Oakland

A deer seeks shelter during the Loma fire.

JOSIE LEPE; OPPOSITE: PATRICK TEHAN

California rainfall 2015-16 (July 1-June 30, percent of historic average)

And I’ve seen rain California rainfall 2015-16 (July 1-June 30, percent of historic average)

98% Livermore

98%

San Francisco

100% San Jose

119% Modesto

120% Eureka

120% Redding

A rainy reflection is seen in San Jose in October.

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, GOLDEN GATE WEATHER SERVICES

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 2016 IN REVIEW 35

8 The elusive Stanley Cup S TO RY BY M A R K P U R DY

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EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES

T

he 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 out from beneath a galling tradition of never getting anywhere special.

For 25 years, ever since the team brought the National Hockey League back to the Bay Area in 1991, the Sharks had teased and then faded.

Over the previous 10 years, they had won more playoff games than any NHL team not to reach the championship round. Sharks fans had grown scars of exasperation on top of scars of frustration that bled into scars of disappointment.

All of that ended on the night of May 25 in downtown San Jose.

In the final minutes of a glorious night at SAP Center, an empty net goal by centerman Logan Couture finished off a 5-2 victory over 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 playoff game. The Sharks took the series but lost to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.

“I took a few quick looks around just to see everyone standing and cheering.

They’ve been through a lot. They deserve this.”

SHARKS PLAYER LOGAN COUTURE AFTER THE TEAM’S WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES VICTORY

A Sharks fan reacts as the team falls behind against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh.

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Goals of magnitude The Sharks’ biggest moments in their Stanley Cup Final in spring 2016: March 28: After missing the postseason entirely in 2014-15, the team clinches a playoff spot under first-year head coach Pete DeBoer with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center.

April 14: Joe Pavelski scores the winning goal in the playoff opener, a 43 decision over the Kings, before the Sharks go on to win the series in five games. Pavelski will score a team-leading 14 goals during the playoff run.

May 12: In a wild back-and-forth seven game series, the Sharks finally subdue the Nashville Predators with a 5-0 blowout in the final game.

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne is so exasperated after allowing the fifth goal that he smashes his stick in half against the goal post.

May 25: The Sharks polish off St. Louis in a heavy, physical six games.

The series is tied after the first four games before the Sharks win the next two and take Game 6 thanks to two goals by Joel Ward, who’d been signed as a free agent before the season because of his clutch postseason reputation.

June 9: With the Pittsburgh Penguins leading the series by three games to one and thousands of Pittsburgh fans gathered in the streets outside Consul Energy Arena ready to celebrate a clinching win, Sharks goalie Martin Jones cancels the party by making 44 saves in a 4-2 victory and sends the series back to San Jose.

June 12: The Penguins win Game 6 and are presented the Stanley Cup before a subdued SAP Center crowd that gives Sharks players a standing ovation as they leave the ice following their best playoff run ever.

buy-in, execution, all the usual things. But who really knows? I don’t ask questions.”

Alas, the speedy Pittsburgh Penguins had more of the answers in the Cup Final, defeating the beloved Los Tiburones in six games — but only after one more sublime moment at the Shark Tank. It came in a dramatic Game 3 overtime when Sharks rookie Joonas Donskoi, of Finland, shot the puck through two Pittsburgh players and past the Penguins’ goalie for a 3-2 sudden-death victory. Once more, the arena heaved with a raucous gut punch of joy and Stanley Cup dreams.

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

MPURDY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM.

JOSIE LEPE/STAFF

season finish. In the franchise’s 2,020th hockey game, the Sharks became the last of the Bay Area’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’s first game in 1991 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, wept and yelled joyous gibberish. Even a few ushers dripped tears onto their blue jackets.

Patrick Marleau, who finally punched his ticket to the Stanley circus in his 18th season as a Sharks player, tried to explain how a group that was not expected to do much in the postseason wound up being one of the last two NHL teams standing.

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

9

STUNNER S TO R Y B Y M AT T H E W A R T Z I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

‘FISTS WERE JUST FLYING — AND PEOPLE. YOU COULD SEE THE CONTACT BEING MADE. ...

IT WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, THIS IS ARMAGEDDON.

THIS IS THE RAPTURE HAPPENING.’

H

aving staked his candidacy on a pledge to make Mexico pay for a giant border wall, Donald Trump must have had some inkling that he was traveling deep into enemy territory when he scheduled a rally in the Bay Area.

A crowd of predominantly Latino protesters scuffled with Trump’s mostly white supporters in June as they left the San Jose Convention Center’s South Hall, highlighting the nation’s racial divide and its apparent retreat from civility and respect for differing opinions.

The real estate baron emerged victorious from an original field of 23 people running for the Democratic and Republican nominations, breaking nearly every unwritten rule of campaign etiquette along the way.

Along with in-person turmoil at campaign events across the country, trolls swarmed Twitter to accost their political opponents.

In California, the presidential contest essentially ended with the June primary battle between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Eager to

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

deliver Clinton an embarrassing defeat that would have given him a bigger say in the Democratic Party’s campaign platform, Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, barnstormed the state for two weeks. Clinton, who was already looking ahead to the national general election, turned her attention back to California, nearly matching him event for event.

Sanders drew huge crowds full of young voters inspired by his calls to make state colleges free, create a single-payer health care system and hit Wall Street banks with more taxes. But Clinton easily won the primary and garnered 8.75 million votes in November, nearly doubling Trump’s 4.48 million.

In an election year unlike any other, California showed it wasn’t immune to the growing belligerence in our politics. And this time, it was the Rust Belt that pointed America toward its future — one that many Californians didn’t see coming.

MARTZ@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

LIPO CHING; OPPOSITE PAGE: PATRICK TEHAN

Populist billionaire is unlikely winner in tumultuous campaign with episodes of violence

Key moments May 6: Hillary Clinton stages her first Bay Area rally at an Oakland elementary school. In a sign of troubles that would plague her campaign, several Bernie Sanders supporters interrupted her and were ordered by security to leave.

May 10: After campaigning across the nation for months, Sanders arrives to a hero’s welcome at his newly christened headquarters in Oakland.

Supporters filled College Avenue, chanting “Bernie, Bernie” as the senator from Vermont began his effort to win the California primary.

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May 13: Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, the Bay Area’s lone Republican state lawmaker, says she won’t back Trump in November. “I disagree with him on so many things,” she said.

Ultimately, Trump wasn’t a big drag on California Republicans. Baker won reelection, as did four GOP congressmen in competitive districts.

May 18: Sanders draws thousands of supporters to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose.

Clockwise from top left: Donald Trump declares victory; Bay Area Trump fans celebrate; Hillary Clinton concedes; Clinton supporters react on election night.

May 30: An estimated 20,000 people attend a Sanders rally in downtown Oakland. After the rally, Sanders is shuttled with actor Danny Glover to Oracle Arena to watch Game 7 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals. The night proved to be the high-water mark both for Sanders and the Golden State Warriors.

May 31: Gov. Jerry Brown puts aside his bad blood with the Clintons and issues a letter endorsing Hillary Clinton over Sanders.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GETTY IMAGES, JIM GENSHEIMER, ANDA CHU, KRISTOPHER SKINNER, GETTY IMAGES

June 2: Donald Trump holds an evening rally at the San Jose Convention Center’s South Hall.

After Trump’s speech, a group of protesters attacked and harassed Trump supporters as they were leaving the convention hall. More than 40 people were assaulted during what was one of the most violent political episodes of the year.

June 7: Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders in California’s Democratic primary. Trump faced no competition in the Republican race.

July 12: Fourteen Trump supporters file a lawsuit against the city of San Jose for failing to protect them from protesters following a June Trump rally. The lawsuit was later amended to include 20 people who said they were injured after the rally.

July 15: After combing through hundreds of cellphone videos, news videos and social media profiles, San Jose police announce that they have identified 22 people suspected of committing crimes during the melee that took place following Trump’s downtown rally in June.

Clockwise from top left: Protestors march through Berkeley; Albany High School students react; a flag is burned during an Oakland demonstration.

Sept. 12: After the primary, Clinton swings through the Bay Area to collect campaign cash. But her most talked-about fundraiser was the one she had to cancel due to pneumonia.

Nov. 8: Trump wins the presidency in a stunning upset. Two days later, Gov. Jerry Brown said in reference to the president-elect: “We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our time — devastating climate change.”

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

2016 IN REVIEW

43

10 Cracks in red-hot housing market S TO RY B Y R I C H A R D S C H E I N I N

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GARY REYES/STAFF

I

n the Bay Area housing market, supply and demand means not much supply and way too much demand. As a result, the cost of a single-family home has skyrocketed in recent years.

At least that’s been the pattern since the recession ended. And it seemed still to be the pattern as 2016 began. With interest rates low and job growth steady, buyers kept pushing up the cost of those single-family homes.

Yet there were cracks in the market’s red-hot edifice; the volume of sales was way down from the previous year. Some agents and experts even began to mention the “leveling” word. In March, when the median price for the region remained absolutely flat — zero uptick from the year before — the “softening” word was added to the conversation.

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

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

“Buyers are kind of digging in their feet and saying, ‘We’ve hit a threshold of pain in terms of affordability, and you’ve got to say no.’ ” JENNIFER BRANCHINI, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE EAST BAY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Construction crews work at an Oakmont high-density housing development in Oakland. The five-lot site is being developed for 10 custom homes.

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

March: The median price of a single-family home for the Bay Area’s nine counties stays flat — no uptick at all from the year before.

April: The median price of a single-family home climbs to a new record peak in Santa Clara County ($1 million), as well as in San Mateo County ($1,211,500).

May: The median price of a single-family home for the entire nine-county region reaches a new peak: $751,000.

July: The median price of a single-family home in San Mateo County hits its all-time high: $1.25 million.

November: Santa Clara County voters approve $950 million in bond 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.

The rental market followed a similar pattern: Double-digit, year-over-year increases had mostly vanished by early 2016.

Consumer resistance had set in by spring. In the fall, a variety of analysts declared that rents were actually falling. Yet with an average apartment still renting for $2,500 in San Jose, $2,927 in Oakland and $3,499 in San Francisco, plenty of renters threw up their hands.

“You have to leave because you just can’t survive,” said renter Colin Jordan, who moved with his fiancee to Scottsdale, Arizona, and accomplished what had been unattainable in the Bay Area. They bought a house.

RSCHEININ@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

ARIC CRABB/STAFF

County and at $680,000 in Alameda County. If this was a leveling, it didn’t bring much relief to middle-class buyers caught up in the housing crisis. They either gave up, overstretched their budgets, perhaps moved to the more affordable inland counties — or left the region entirely.

New peak prices were recorded in April, May, June and July — and then the “sluggish” word set in and didn’t go away for the rest of the year. Sales were down.

Buyers were digging in their heels. By fall, outside of hotly contested areas, sellers were making price adjustments unseen in a long time.

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

11 THE YEAR THE MUSIC

DIED S TO R Y B Y J I M H A R R I N G TO N I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E R G E S E I D L I T Z

Formusic fans, 2016 was the most emotional of songs.

Its melody knew no stylistic boundaries, crossing over from pop to rock to R&B and beyond. We celebrated genius while mourning its death in pretty much every musical genre.

We lost four true titans — David Bowie, Merle Haggard, Prince and Leonard Cohen — all of whom hailed from different corners of the musical universe.

For sure, no year is ever without its losses, yet 2016 was different. The painful but increasingly relevant question of “Who’s next?” made some of us hesitant to check social media, for fear the answer would come via Twitter or Facebook.

The news began on the first day 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 Frey and Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner just as the year got started.

But it was Bowie’s death on Jan. 10, following a long battle with liver cancer, that resounded like a thunderclap across the planet. 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.

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 2016 IN REVIEW 49

“Today, the world lost a creative icon.

Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popularmusic more distinctly or touched quite so many people with theirtalent.”

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON THE DEATH OF PRINCE

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Music silenced Natalie Cole (Feb. 6, 1950-Dec. 31, 2015) The daughter of Nat King Cole won multiple Grammys and sold over 30 million albums.

Robert Stigwood (April 16, 1934-Jan. 4, 2016) A multimedia juggernaut, whose many accomplishments include managing the Bee Gees and producing “Saturday Night 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 trendsetters in pop culture, Bowie thrived through decades of changing musical styles.

Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951-Jan. 17, 2016) The Oakland native was a founding member of East Bay soul-R&B powerhouse Tower of Power.

Glenn Frey (Nov. 6, 1948-Jan. 18, 2016) A founding member of SoCal’s Eagles, one of the topselling American bands of all time.

Paul Kantner (March 17, 1941-Jan. 28, 2016) His work with Jefferson Airplane helped define the psychedelic “San Francisco Sound” of the ’60s.

Signe Toly Anderson (Sept. 15, 1941-Jan. 28, 2016) Before Grace Slick, Anderson was the original female vocalist in Airplane.

Merle Haggard performs during 2015 Stagecoach, California's Country Music Festival, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

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

Maurice White (Dec. 19, 1941-Feb. 3, 2016) He founded Earth, Wind and Fire, the hitmakers behind such classic cuts as “September” and “Shining Star.”

PREVIOUS SPREAD: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES; PRINCE: PHOTO BY JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES; HAGGARD: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES

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

It was hard to imagine the music world experiencing loss like that for quite some time. But of course, that was not to be. The word of Prince’s death on April 21 registered another powerful blow as fans struggled to come to terms with the departure of one of the most stunningly diverse and original creative forces in music history.

Prince’s passing 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 was particularly profound. The announcement came just two days after a 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.

Buffett, Lyle Lovett and Ricky Skaggs, among others.

Prince Be (May 15, 1970-June 17, 2016) Attrell Cordes (aka Prince Be) 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 Art Thou?” soundtrack in the early 2000s.

Bernie Worrell Jr. (April 19, 1944-June 24, 2016) The funk master is enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Scotty Moore (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) The highly influential guitarist backed Elvis Presley.

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

At right, Leonard Cohen performs at the HP Pavilion in 2012.

Dan Hicks (Dec. 9, 1941-Feb. 6, 2016) The Marin County musician led Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks for decades.

Vanity (Jan. 4, 1959-Feb. 15, 2016) Longtime Fremont resident Denise Matthews (aka Vanity) was a Prince protege who fronted the band Vanity 6 in the ’80s.

Sir George Martin (Jan. 3, 1926-March 8, 2016) The “Fifth Beatle” produced the vast majority of the Fab Four’s records.

Keith Emerson (Nov. 2, 1944-March 10, 2016) The keyboardist was one-third of British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer).

BOWIE: JOHN GREEN/STAFF; COHEN: DAN HONDA/STAFF

Phife Dawg (Nov. 20, 1970-March 22, 2016) The longtime East Bay resident 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 music history, he was in the same league with Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

Prince (June 7, 1958-April 21, 2016) He sold over 100 million albums, influenced countless musicians and boasted one of the most loyal fan bases of all time.

Lonnie Mack (July 18, 1941-April 21, 2016) The blues guitarist was considered an influence on well-known fret men Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Guy Clark (Nov. 6, 1941-May 17, 2016) The Grammy winner has been covered by Jimmy

Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952-June 29, 2016) The acclaimed Bay Area bassist performed with Lou Reed, Jerry Garcia and many others.

Bobby Hutcherson (Jan. 27, 1941-Aug. 15, 2016) The longtime Montara resident was one of the greatest vibraphonists in jazz history.

Toots Thielemans (April 29, 1922-Aug. 22, 2016) He was a pioneering jazz harmonica 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 music pioneer was known for the 1953 million-seller “A Dear John Letter.”

Sir Neville Marriner (April 15, 1924-Oct. 2, 2016) The acclaimed classical music violinist/conductor is 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 popular music history, he was in the same league with Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson and Michael Stipe.

Leon Russell (April 2, 1942-Nov. 13, 2016) The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose many compositions include the oft-recorded “A Song for You,” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Mose Allison (Nov. 11, 1927-Nov. 15, 2016) An iconic jazz-blues singer-songwriter-pianist, he influenced countless other artists.

Greg Lake (Nov. 10, 1947-Dec. 7, 2016) Guitarist and vocalist for British prog-rock supergroup ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer); bandmate Keith Emerson died in March.

JHARRINGTON@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

In 2010, firefighters battle a fire resulting from a high-pressure gas line explosion in San Bruno.

12 Wells Fargo and other fiascos S TO R Y B Y G E O R G E AVA LO S

KARL MONDON/STAFF

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banking scandal, exploding phones and the ongoing roller coaster of PG&E rate changes were among the top stories raising the ire of consumers this year.

Perhaps the worst was the Wells Fargo Bank scandal in which employees secretly opened millions of bogus credit and bank accounts to meet sales targets, and then funded many of those accounts with customers’ money. John Stumpf, Wells Fargo’s chief executive officer, became a poster child for corporate greed as he was harshly grilled by both Republicans and Democrats during testimony before congressional committees in Washington.

The San Francisco-based banking giant had retained a sterling reputation despite the black marks that tarnished the financial services industry after the financial crisis and the housing bubble of 2008 that led to the Great Recession. Now that reputation is, at best, sullied. At worst, it’s in tatters.

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“The Wells Fargo scandal amounted to fraud and extortion.

What Wells Fargo did was outrageous.”

LIZA TUCKER, CONSUMER WATCHDOG

Consumers suffered defeats, but also a victory in connection 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, a PUC decision slapped consumers with double-digit increases in their monthly gas bills.

In August, PG&E was convicted by a federal jury on six criminal charges stemming from the company’s actions 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 a symbolic victory, and it laid the foundation for reforms at both the utility and the PUC, the agency

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Key moments Feb. 20: Bay Area gasoline prices reach their low of the year, falling to $2.35 a gallon. In July, the prices will reach their high at roughly $2.95.

Aug. 9: A jury convicts PG&E on six criminal charges that the utility committed illegal actions related to its gas pipeline system before the San Bruno explosion and then obstructed the federal investigation of the deadly blast.

Aug. 31: Shipments of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are delayed after the consumer electronics giant begins receiving reports that the battery in the phone is exploding.

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

Sept. 12: The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is officially recalled in the U.S. Oct. 26: Despite earlier assurances that consumers would benefit longterm from the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant shutdown, PG&E confirms that customers face a short-term 1.6 percent increase in electricity bills.

responsible for PG&E’s oversight.

Meanwhile, in what was a product disaster for the ages, Samsung toppled into hot water with its Galaxy Note 7, a smartphone whose battery overheated at times, triggering fires, even explosions. The company, its ill-fated device and consumers all suffered through recalls and production delays until the gadget was eventually scrapped altogether.

However, there was at least one more piece of good news: Thanks to challenges by Consumer Watchdog, Californians won a series of victories amounting to $250 million in savings for home and auto insurance rate savings and refunds.

GAVALOS@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

FREDERIC J BROWNFREDERIC J BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/AP PHOTO

Wells Fargo hiked its estimates for potential legal costs from its scandal as it disclosed that U.S. securities regulators are probing the bank over the issue.

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Where did all the Pokemon Go go?

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hey came from inner space, virtually stealing our hearts with their cuteness and mischief — a Bulbasaur napping in the sun here, a Squirtle swimming in a pond there.

Sure, to the naked eye, there was nothing there at all. But with the Pokemon Go game app and GPS, smartphone screens became magic lenses and ... whaddya know, there’s a smelly little Caterpie munching on leaves right next to you on a park bench. Quick, throw a Poke Ball and catch it!

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

And it wasn’t just the cool kids playing. It was everybody.

Hipsters, moms, kids, techies. Because the augmented-reality

I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y J E F F D U R H A M

game takes players into real-life locations, people who typically hunch over computers found themselves suddenly outdoors adjusting to the light, their eyes mere slits like newborn puppies.

People were getting more exercise, making friends. There were Pokemon Go-themed meetups and pub crawls. Oh, and also muggings, car crashes and even a few deaths.

But the game’s glory days are over. As with all fads, it peaked and faded, and now Pokémon Go has fallen down the App Store charts. Lots of people still play, new features have been added and there’s talk of a Gen II edition coming out. Yet some wonder if an activity based on wandering around outside will winter well.

Still, its astounding popularity bodes well for future augmented-reality games. In 2017 who knows what we’ll see? Is the “Star Trek” holodeck just around the corner?

AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

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14 108 years late, Cubs fans breathe S TO RY B Y C O U R T N E Y C R O N I N

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TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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fter 108 years, Chicago Cubs fans finally exhaled.

No longer will they sing the blues in Chicago when baseball season rolls around.

Curses were left in the corner as Cubs fans rejected the notion that a feral goat was going to derail their dreams of a championship.

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

As all great protagonists do, the Cubs had to fail again and again and again before they could finally get it right.

Theo Epstein, then 30, became the youngest general manager to win a World Series, with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. When the Cubs were lucky enough to get him on board in 2011, a light began to flicker on Chicago’s North Side.

Epstein reiterated that he couldn’t promise immediate results, but if fans were patient, he and the organization would bring a World

“The great thing about it is we became such great losers. Good sports.

Good losers. I just hope we’re good winners.”

BILL MURRAY

Series to the most loyal support system in sports.

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

Not even Shakespeare could have scripted a more dramatic final act than the 10-inning Game 7 thriller 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.

For once, heartbreak didn’t come knocking on the Cubs’ door.

And the party was 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 that reads

How the Cubbies got it done

Oct. 22, 2016: Chicago beats Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 6 of the NLCS 5-0 to capture its first pennant since 1945.

“World Series Champions,” writing in chalk outside Wrigley Field the names of loved ones who didn’t live long enough to witness this moment.

In that colorful mural of names could be seen the pain and frustration of 108 years but also the elation after it was washed away in what seemed like an instant.

This championship, and its aftermath, which even saw South Side White Sox fans cheering alongside their North Side neighbors, was about more than a baseball team trying to end the longest drought in sports history.

This was about exhaling. It was about saying goodbye to that dreaded “someday.”

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

CCRONIN@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

Oct. 4, 2015: Cubs finish the regular season 97-65 before being swept in the NLCS by the New York Mets. They vastly improve from their previous regular season’s 73-89 record.

Dec. 15, 2015: Free-agent right fielder Jason Heyward signs an eightyear, $184 million contract with the Cubs.

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

Oct. 2, 2016: The regular season ends with the Cubs defeating the Reds 7-4 and finishing with a 103-58 record.

Oct. 11, 2016: Cubs punch their ticket to the National League Championship Series by defeating the Giants three games to one in the division series.

JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

The Chicago Cubs celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016.

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15 Auto tech reaches new heights S TO R Y B Y E T H A N BA R O N

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KRISTOPHER SKINNER/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP ARCHIVES

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his year, several events in Silicon Valley made it clear: Revolutions in transportation are upon us. And huge transformations in the way we get from place to place are arriving sooner than many imagined.

If all goes according to plans hatched by Silicon Valley tech firms, within the next several years we’ll be traveling in cars driven by software, without a human backup. Green energy will power our movement. And we may even break free from the Bay Area traffic that binds — up, up we’ll go, in flying 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 May the perils of that method were revealed when a man drove into a truck and died while relying on the Tesla Model S “autopilot” system.

A month earlier, Tesla expanded its lineup when it unveiled its $35,000 electric Model 3; it

expects to start shipping the zeroemissions vehicles next year.

In October, Google announced that its self-driving cars had surpassed 2 million miles of roadway testing. But the Mountain View company’s goal — complete autonomy, without possibility of human intervention — means other firms are getting self-driving technology into the hands of consumers first.

Also entering the autonomousvehicle fray was 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 have backup drivers.

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

But perhaps the most surprising story was the discovery of the unusual, electric vehicle now under development by Zee.Aero, reportedly funded by Google cofounder Larry Page. Spotted hovering at the Hollister Airport over the summer, Zee.Aero’s product is a “flying car” that takes off and lands vertically.

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

EBARON@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

GOOGLE CAR: PATRICK TEHAN/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP; FLYING CAR: COURTESY OF STEVE EGGLESTON

A self-driving car at Google's offices in Mountain View. In October, Google announced that its self-driving cars had surpassed 2 million miles of roadway testing.

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16 A city’s artistic soul is seared

BY ANGELA HILL

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LAURA A. ODA

t was supposed to be a safe haven for struggling artists who couldn’t afford Oakland’s high rents. There was nothing safe about it.

Inside the Ghost Ship warehouse — home to an unpermitted live-work space inhabited by an art collective in the Fruitvale district — a chaotic clutter of furniture, artwork, pianos, hanging rugs, lamps, a warren of makeshift living units and a bevy of suspected safety-code violations fueled a ferocious blaze during a late-night techno music party Dec. 2, killing 36 people.

It was the deadliest fire in Oakland’s history, even topping the toll of the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm.

In the days following the warehouse fire, workers tried to determine the cause of the blaze and continued to recover bodies in a painstaking, heartbreaking process — for victims’ families, emergency workers and the community.

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Friends and family gather outside the Alameda County Sheriff’s substation for updates the day after the ďŹ re.

“The underground spaces … they have been a very important incubator for all the beautiful stuff that happens here.”

ARTIST JON SARRIUGARTE

The horrific event 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

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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 backlash of building inspections at other warehouse collectives, resulting in evictions and a crushing blow to the underground arts scene.

While the story’s twists and turns will likely roll well into 2017, one thing’s certain: The tremendous loss of life has scarred Oakland’s arts community forever.

A person lays on the ground after talking to officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as they investigate the Ghost Ship fire.

AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM

TOP: LAURA A. ODA; LEFT: RAY CHAVEZ; OPPOSITE: JOSIE LEPE

After a night of working to stabilize the structure, crews sift through debris in the early morning at the Ghost Ship warehouse.

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

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