Rob Stewart

The Abridged version: Richard Hannaford escaped from the 84th floor of the World Trade Center’s south tower on Sept. 11, 2001, after also surviving the 1993 bombing. Twenty-five years later, memories of the people and firefighters he passed in the stairwell still bring immediate tears. Now living in South Natomas, Hannaford marks every 9/11 by turning horror into honor.

The Abridged version: The California Museum’s new “Help Wanted/Leave Now” exhibit explores a century-long cycle of Mexican workers being recruited when their labor was needed, then targeted for removal. Personal stories, photographs, artifacts and an immersive bus experience put a human face on mass deportation and the families affected by it. The exhibit opens Thursday, Aug. 13, in Sacramento and runs through Jan. 10, 2027, before traveling nationwide. The number keeps climbing — into the millions.

The Abridged version: At 96, Dolores Huerta is returning to public life after stepping away to heal following reports from earlier this year revealing that Cesar Chavez sexually abused girls in the United Farm Workers movement, including Huerta. Huerta said reconnecting with people and hearing how her decades of activism changed lives has helped her through one of the most painful chapters of her life.