Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Members of the May Day Parade kindergarten court peer through the rain as they ride in a Woodside Fire Protection District engine on May 4, 2024. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

A general election, a new fleet of all-electric trains and an embattled San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office made headlines in 2024.

There were protests and rallies. Teachers picketed in Menlo Park and Atherton for pay raises. Supporters and detractors of Vice President-elect JD Vance and President Joe Biden gathered during visits from the two. We captured it all. 

We captured some of the quieter moments in the beautiful natural habitat The Almanac sits in. This included a rare view of the northern lights from Windy Hill Preserve in Portola Valley and a unique gardening class at Ormondale Elementary School. We documented the ongoing recovery process from the massive 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fires. 

There were also moments of celebration. The revamped Belle Haven Community Campus opened and became a hub for events, including the city’s Halloween Trunk-or-Treating. In the pouring rain, our freelancer snapped photos of the annual Woodside May Day parade.

Take a look back at the year that was.

Garden Thyme teacher Brook Coffee examines seeds in one of the garden boxes that students maintain on the patio of Portola Valley’s Ormondale Elementary School on May 29, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
From left: A client works on balance and motor skills during an equine facilitated therapy session alongside staff and a volunteer at NCEFT in Woodside on Aug. 29, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. The northern lights were visible from Windy Hill Preserve in Portola Valley on May 10, 2024. Courtesy Eugene Beh.
A California State Parks worker supervises a prescribed burn in Butano State Park in Pescadero on Oct. 30, 2024. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
From left: Teachers, faculty, students and parents marched in front of La Entrada Middle School on the morning of Oct. 23, 2024, as part of the Las Lomitas Education Association’s strike for higher wages and a better contract. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. Trump supporters rally at Woodside’s Pioneer Saloon ahead of Sen. JD Vance’s arrival at a local fundraiser on Oct. 9, 2024. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi.
Two new electric trains wait for guests of a VIP tour and first ride at the San Francisco station on Aug. 10, 2024. After more than a decade of planning, Caltrain launched its all-electric train service in September 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
From left: Woodside seniors throw their caps in the air during the graduation commencement in Woodside Friday, June 7, 2024. Photo by Adam Pardee. Lucia, 3, examines a spider “skeleton” during the Trunk-or-Treat event at Belle Haven Community Campus in Menlo Park on Oct. 29, 2024. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus takes questions from the press during a last-minute conference at the Sheriff’s Office in Redwood City on Nov. 12, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. Buck’s Restaurant co-owner Tyler MacNiven dissembles the restaurant’s outdoor dining as customers watch from inside on the morning of Nov. 24, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.

Most Popular

Redwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeRedwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeApril 2, 2026 11:31 am
Obituaries: Local residents who died recentlyObituaries: Local residents who died recentlyApril 6, 2026 5:17 pm
Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City gets new presidentSequoia Hospital in Redwood City gets new presidentApril 6, 2026 10:27 am

Angela Swartz was The Almanac's editor from 2023 until 2025. She joined The Almanac as a reporter in 2018. She previously reported on youth and education, and the towns of Atherton, Portola Valley and...

Leave a comment