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While you’re still getting situated in the new year, we wanted to take another opportunity to look back at the past 12 months in California. The year was packed with huge news — much of which will affect where the Golden State is headed next.

And I’m not just talking about tech. Deadly fires, a mass shooting and a continuing #MeToo reckoning in Hollywood all roiled the state in their own ways.

But there were other stories, too. Some were hopeful, some highlighted communities that don’t often get their due, some were just plain unexpected. My editor, Julie, and I asked a few of our correspondents in California to pick a favorite story from the past year and explain why it was important. Here’s what they said:

Adam Nagourney

This story, “An Urgent Debate for California Republicans: How to Get Back in the Game,” signaled what was one of the big California stories of the year: The Republican Party here in crisis. It was already fading; Donald Trump pushed it to the edge of the map in November.

Thomas Fuller

There were terrifying stories about fires and shootings, warnings about earthquakes, and laments about the plight of the most vulnerable. When it feels like the world is falling apart everyone needs a good walk in the woods. I loved this piece on the reopening of the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park after a three-year restoration project.