The Herald looks back today at the local stories readers made the top-performing of the year based on pageviews. Why start with local news? Because we agree, 617 is engraved in our souls.

We’ve carved off political news for another roundup, but these stories below are the ones you hit on most because they touch your lives. Sharks on the Cape, smoke from wildfires, betrayal by a Red Sox veteran, and the erosion of a once-great Harvard University are the local stories you wanted to read.

The Herald will never quit reporting on what’s local and we’ll give it to you without the spin. As our billboard once stated: If you want it sugar-coated, buy a donut. All tips welcome to newstips@bostonherald.com.

1.) Tim Wakefield, wife, both battling cancer after Curt Schilling leaks sad news. This story from late September, written days before Tim’s death, was easily the top local story of the year. It’s about wanting to die with dignity and the betrayal we face even in our last moments. It upset Red Sox Nation to our collective core. Doesn’t speak to how we can all treat each other better?

2.) ‘The Embrace’ Martin Luther King Jr. Boston memorial causes a stir. The striking new statue unveiled on the Boston Common in early January had everyone offering opinions. Would Martin Luther King Jr. have approved? If it keeps people talking about the Civil Rights icon, so we’d guess yes.

3.) Great white sharks along Cape Cod take center stage in Nat Geo’s Sharkfest: ‘Really rare footage… pretty riveting’. Herald staff writer Rick Sobey has become an expert at covering the shark population along Cape Cod. It’s a beat that will become even more relevant in 2024.

4.) Boston TV reporter is grabbed from behind while outside TD Garden for Bruins game: ‘Unacceptable.’ The reporter’s video, embedded in this article, is worth watching. This job can be tricky at times.

5.) Cape Cod beach closes to swimming after lifeguards spot great white shark: ‘Plenty of activity today’. Rick, again, as readers, keep up with the latest on where to swim — or not swim.

6.) Cape Cod bridge projects: Massachusetts is denied funding for Bourne, Sagamore bridges. You will need to reach the sharks over the two Cape bridges.

7.) Somerville’s Dragon Pizza owner and Barstool’s Dave Portnoy trade ‘F’ bombs, flip each other off in Davis Square. Barstool’s pizza-slice test triggered this shop owner.

8.) Tony Massarotti apologizes for ‘insensitive, hurtful’ comments on 98.5 about Black people sitting behind Mike Felger. From our coverage of the region’s radio waves.

9.) Shark spotted jumping out of the water in Cape Cod Bay to catch striped bass on fishing line.

10.) How long will the smoke last in Massachusetts? ‘It’s going to stick with us’ as state issues air quality advisory. This was our summer scare as wildfires elsewhere — this time Canada — invade our airspace.

Runner-ups:

‘Horror’ of girl’s brutal field hockey injury from boy’s shot sparks gender debate … the fall of Harvard University’s reputation following the merciless Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel … Brothel catering to politicians, doctors, lawyers busted in Boston, and how the “johns” who paid up to $600 an hour for the prostitutes could be named. We’ll stay on that story.

Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, tagged 34 white sharks off the Cape this season. (Atlantic White Shark Conservancy photo)