In addition to being Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7 is the anniversary of the Peninsula’s first free daily newspaper, the Palo Alto Daily News, now known as the Daily News. Staff writer Diana Samuels takes readers down memory lane as the Daily News begins its 15th year of story telling.

Since The Daily News started, the average home price in Palo Alto has tripled and local companies such as Facebook and Google have become integral parts of everyday life. The Peninsula has changed from a place brimming with startups and endless possibility, to a place still buzzing and full of promise, but tempered with a practicality and resilience that comes from struggling through the dot-com bust and current economic recession.

Full disclosure: The editor of this blog, Dave Price, is mentioned in the story, though he is no longer involved in the Daily News.