Culture Reporter 

Sam Mondros

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This year’s reporting was a study in the city’s contradictions.

A group of Bay Area residents traveled to Bhutan to honor a late friend as the isolated Himalayan country reopened to tourism.

What’s worth checking out? We’ll help you choose.

Current and former staffers at the philanthropy describe a decade-long history of lifting up progressive causes and then abandoning them.