Mercury News Photo

Ear Picking in Vietnam.

Caught in a budget meltdown, the state is forcing schools to abandon one of the most popular education reforms — smaller class sizes.

InnVision at the Commercial Street needs a new computer lab.

A San Bruno family celebrates Christmas despite tough circumstances.

Migrant children in China face an uphill battle for education.

Every Saturday, train enthusiasts gather at Santa Clara Railroad Depot to watch and run model trains.

From early childhood, Amanda Madrid moved from one foster care family to another. At 22 she is putting her life together.

David Middlebrook explains the passion behind his art.

Anna Sophie Loewenberg (aka Su Fei) chats about her internet video show “Sexy Beijing.”

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month through old and new dance styles. Please press play.

Arturo Vasquez revisits his destroyed home in San Bruno a month after the massive pipeline blast.

Fire spinners and dancers meet at the Santa Cruz Lighthouse most Sunday nights.

A foot-stomping time as young fiddlers compete in San Jose.

Photographers with the San Jose Mercury News share some of their favorite images from the San Francisco Giants postseason run to their World Series Championship.

As the nation debates illegal immigration in the abstract, a Bay Area family lives the raw anguish of deportation and the intense fight to stay together. This is their story.

Bessie Kawachi Chin, 87, fulfills her dream of a college degree after Japanese-American internment prevented her from finishing her studies nearly 70 years ago.