It’s never been more obvious what the top story of a year was, as 2020 will always be remembered as the year a global pandemic stopped life as we know it everywhere. But South County also made national news with a very inspiring teacher. 1. Coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic was 10 separate stories in and of itself, as every event that would take place in a normal year was canceled or substantially changed. Life was not the same in 2020 as it was in 2019 — and hopefully will be by this time next year. Masks became a political issue, public health took center stage, we worked from home, most schools and nearly all government meetings went virtual, small businesses struggled and many residents battled health problems.