A look back at 2007

Year was filled with turmoil and tragedy, storm clouds and sunshine

By MARK VASCHÉ
mvasche@modbee.com

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Former President Gerald Ford was laid to rest with highest honors, and Saddam Hussein was buried in disgrace.

Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House, and Arnold Schwarzenegger started his second term as governor.

America's military suffered its 3,000th death in Iraq, and building industry economists predicted the worst of California's housing crisis was over.

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George Lucas led the New Year's Day parade in Pasadena, and USC whipped Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Those stories grabbed headlines in the opening days of 2007.

Much more would happen in the 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds that would make up the year that becomes history at the stroke of midnight tonight.

So much, in fact, that it's hard to remember, let alone rank, all the stories that captured our attention over the past 12 months.

Whether here at home, on the other side of the country or halfway around the world, 2007 had its share of turmoil and tragedies, fears and frustrations, challenges and concerns, storm clouds and sunshine.

Through the course of the year, in print and online, we covered the best and the worst of what was going on around us. And in the midst of the good that we reported, it was the bad that got most of the attention, brought most of the reaction, and resulted in most of the action.

What in the news caught your attention in 2007?

Was it the massacre of 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus? The war in Iraq? The debate over immigration? The earlier-than-ever race for the White House? Soaring oil prices? Tainted food, toys and other products coming from China? Growing concern over global warming? The uncertain situation in Pakistan? Nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea? The deaths of such notables as Lady Bird Johnson, Boris Yeltsin, Norman Mailer, Jerry Falwell or Bill Walsh? Or perhaps another international or national story?

Was it the devastating wildfires in the Southland and at Lake Tahoe? Fiery crashes that closed major highways in the Bay Area and Southern California? A $660 million settlement by the Catholic Church over allegations of clergy abuse? Wandering whales in the Sacramento River? Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's home run record, and then being at the center of baseball's ever-growing drug scandal? The TV writers strike? Paris, Lindsay, Nicole and Keifer doing time for bad behavior? Or perhaps another story anchored in the Golden State?

Was it the ever-worsening housing crisis and the ever-rising foreclosures in our area? The death of a wine industry giant or the opening of an arts center bearing his family name? Hershey closing its chocolate plant and putting 600 people out of work? Fifty thousand people attending a crusade at California State University, Stanislaus? The heated battle over a plan to develop an "inland port" on the county's West Side? A local company being sold for $305 million? Central Catholic making it to the state football championship game? Or perhaps another story close to home?

Here at The Bee, we have our own thoughts about the year's news. I gave our newsroom staff a list of about 30 stories and asked them to rank their top 10.

Not surprisingly, the consensus pick was the housing crisis, from the building bust to the steep decline in home values to the mortgage mess to the staggering foreclosure rate that has Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties "leading" the nation in homes lost to banks and other lenders to the domino effect on everything from employment to consumer spending.