Following are the top 10 stories of 2008, gleaned from the pages of the Auburn Journal. I pick the stories based on local interest, historic value and reader response.

No. 10: The Billy Moon saga: Twenty-three-year-old Billy Moon was found guilty of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter Oct. 12. Moon is now in jail awaiting sentencing for his role in the 2006 death of his close friend, Stewart Shapton, 20, of Auburn. The Moon trial stories have generated more than 20,000 views on our Web site and 600 reader comments making it one of the most viewed and commented upon stories ever.

I think Moon should be sentenced to extensive community service. He should share his tragic experience involving drinking and driving with high school and college-age kids across the state. Sending him to prison for 10 or 15 years would be a waste of another life and taxpayers’ money.

No. 9: Gay couples seek legal marriage. On June 17, for the first time in Placer County history, a gay couple, Dru and Robin Richie, filed legal papers to be married. Gay marriage had been ruled legal in a May 15 state Supreme Court decision. Later in 2008, however, the state became embroiled in the Proposition 8 campaign, which deemed that only marriage between a man and woman would be recognized. Proposition 8 passed on Nov. 4. But with court challenges and vocal public protest planned for the future, residents have not heard the end of this human rights issue.

No. 8: Alta Vista School closes it doors forever. On June 5 the more than 100-year-old Auburn elementary school educated neighborhood pupils for the last time. Alta Vista was a victim of declining enrollment in an area of Auburn where real estate prices are not attracting young families with children. It’s ironic that the city is finally putting in a sidewalk in the area. The sidewalk is nice but it was needed more when the school was bustling with students.

No. 7: Storm pummels Auburn-area foothills. Winds gusted to 60 mph and more than 1¼ inches of rain fell Jan. 4 wreaking havoc and knocking out power to 28,000 residents in the foothills. PG&E reported that 70-plus local power poles were sheared off. A week later, 3,500 Placer County residents remained without power. Felipe Chavez, a PG&E lineman, was killed on the job in Cool. This was a story that affected many of our staff personally. I had a 40-foot tree with a root ball the size of a Volkswagen fall over in my backyard. It luckily fell away from our home. It took out our back fence and part of the neighbors’ yard, and took weeks to clean up, although it did create a large and unanticipated source of cheap firewood.

No. 6: Doolittle calls it quits. U.S. Rep. John Doolittle announced Jan. 10 that he would retire at the end of his term because he had “stopped loving” the job. Doolittle is under federal investigation over his ties to imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and had continuously insisted he would run again. But Doolittle came under growing political pressure to step down after an FBI raid on his Virginia home in April 2008, where investigators removed records and a computer related to the bookkeeping business of his wife, Julie.

No. 5: Fire halts Western States, Tevis Cup, inundates area with smoke. Wildfires charred more than 20,000 acres in June and July. Lightening ignited a dry forest and high winds pushed the blazes. The Government fire spread dangerously close to Michigan Bluff and Foresthill. The greater Auburn area was so smoky that it was difficult to see across the street Downtown and two world-renowned Auburn endurance events had to be cancelled.

No. 4: 2008 was a gas price roller coaster. Gas prices skyrocketed past $4 per gallon in 2008, with the highest prices ever recorded locally during the summer. The high cost of gas also affected the prices of myriad goods and services. Residents found unexpected relief at the pump in the fall, however, as prices plummeted well below $2 a gallon by year’s end.

No. 3: Placer High football team enjoys historic ride through playoffs. Placer High’s run to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoff championship garnered more views and comments online than any series of stories in the Auburn Journal’s history.

The story had mountainous ups and downs, beginning when special teams star Daulton Dyer was ruled ineligible, leading to three wins being forfeited. After Bear River High officials complained, the California Interscholastic Federation ruled that hardship papers, which needed to be filed by Athletic Director Mark Lee on behalf of Dyer, were not, resulting in the forfeits.

But Placer parent attorneys persuaded Bryn Martyna, an attorney with Oakland’s National Center for Youth Law, to take the case before the court. The issue was whether the California Interscholastic Federation bylaws were in compliance with state laws pertaining to equal access to education for students in foster care. The judge ruled in Placer’s favor and a Colfax vs. Oakdale game was stopped shortly before kickoff. Placer then stunned Oakdale before a capacity crowd. And next came the fog game in Dixon, which saw a Placer goal-line stand in the waning minutes lead to another Hillmen victory. And finally, Placer faced a rematch in Folsom against undefeated Whitney, but fell to the Wildcats in the final game of the season. Looking toward the future, the swagger is back on The Hill.

No. 2: 2008 is host to an historic election. Nationally, the United States elected its first black president. More locally, Tom McClintock edged out Charlie Brown for the 4th District congressional seat. Regionally, Jennifer Montgomery unseated Bruce Kranz to represent Placer County’s 5th District on the Board of Supervisors. Hyper-locally, Bill Kirby and Keith Nesbitt were elected to the Auburn City Council.

No. 1: The top story of 2008 was our economy. The U.S. faced a trillion-dollar budget deficit with automakers and Wall Street crying for a bailout. The feds (foolishly?) agreed to spending hundreds of billions for bailouts. (Was “bailout package” even a household term before 2008?)

Placer County mandated a hiring freeze. Auburn also had one round of employee layoffs. In 2008 businesses were closing all over town including Maita Ford, Auburn Nissan and more.

In 2009, I believe things will turn around. And we hope to chronicle that historic turnaround on the pages of the Auburn Journal and on auburnjournal.com. Please stay tuned …