Few would have ever thought that this scrappy website, first envisioned as a travel blog for Northern Californians, could evolve into what it is today.

On Thursday, July 9, the California Beat will celebrate its first anniversary — achieving a momentous milestone that has allowed its online community in the Bay Area and beyond to connect with their communities and to each other.

The video you see above highlights some of the stories that we have pursued in our brief existence: the shooting death of Oscar Grant and the subsequent aftermath, the killings of four Oakland Police officers, and quick snapshots of the people and places of Northern California.

Now, the untold snippets of how all this reporting was done.

DETERMINATION

Between sips of ice water and quick glances at the wall clock, she furiously pecked away at the keyboard. It was almost midnight. She was exhausted.

But California Beat reporter Jennifer Courtney knew she had to finish the story.

By all accounts, it was a brutal day — four Oakland Police officers were shot, three of them fatally after a wanted parolee went on a killing rampage less than a mile away from the news website’s Oakland newsroom. The fourth officer would be declared brain-dead the next morning.

Courtney started her day covering an anti-war rally in San Francisco, but after the first 9-1-1 calls about two motorcycle officers shot after a traffic stop gone wrong in East Oakland rang out, she made her way across the bay just in time to receive word that two SWAT officers had been shot too.

She went to the scene, to the hospital, back to the scene, then to a police press conference at headquarters in Downtown Oakland.

Flanked by other members of the Beat staff, they provided website readers with up-to-the-minute news from the chaotic scene on the website, and on the Beat’s Twitter account.

PERSISTENCE

He managed to squeeze through the lobbyists and local officials to get within shouting distance of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

But California Beat Political Director Steven Luo managed to get in a question that made the 2010 California Gubernatorial Candidate pause to come up with an answer.

That’s when his press secretary stepped in, grabbed Newsom, and whisked him away.

He was holding a town hall meeting in the Rotunda in Downtown Oakland – part of his statewide series on holding discussions about the future of the state.

Newsom does want to be Governor after all.

Luo gave pursuit, but was stopped by Newsom’s staff. They assured him that he would have a chance to continue his interview, behind the scenes, away from the people who had come to his East Bay town hall.

As someone who’s dealt with the inner workings of the political system, Luo is used to the runaround. He’s managed to dissect the canned lines, make the politicians sweat, and in turn, elected leaders like Newsom know when to walk away when Luo is around.

THE SPECIALIST

California Beat Editor Roy Morlidge can recall historical dates and events about San Francisco and the Bay Area like how a baseball historian rattles off stats.

Just take a walk with him through the city’s historic Jackson Square district near the waterfront and he can take you back to the Gold Rush days when the area was brimming with brothels and old-fashioned debauchery.

He points at landmark buildings: where Melvin Belli’s office was once located, Hotaling’s Brewery — which was spared from the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire, and the exact location where former Senator David Broderick and former Justice David Terry dueled.

Morlidge can tell you where epic battles were fought in the Bay Area, where prominent and some of the most eccentric citizens did some outrageous things, and how the San Francisco of today is shaped by the momentous events that Morlidge has researched and memorized.

He’s the walking history book that connects the Bay Area of yesterday to the bustling metropolitan region of today.

BOLDNESS

All around him were the faces of outrage.

In the two decades he’s lived in the Bay Area, California Beat staff writer Tim Jue never saw such a public display of anguish on the streets of Oakland.

And he was in the thick of it — a massive protest following the videotaped shooting death of Oscar Grant, an unarmed train passenger who was killed by a BART Police Officer on New Year’s morning.

The video clips — captured by passengers on board a packed train headed to the East Bay from San Francisco — were disseminated throughout the world. It made international headlines and resulted in a strong outcry from an angry public.

The protest through the streets of Oakland was one of those. Threats of violence were on everyone’s minds. Just a week before, angry rioters tore up downtown Oakland in a fit of both anger and mischief.

Jue wondered: would it happen again tonight? He sure hoped not.

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