Bay Area housing costs prompt high school students to make 70-mile commutes

The San Jose Mercury reports:

Three hours before her 8 a.m. classes begin, senior Mya Shiloh is already on her way to San Jose's Lincoln High, nestled into her favorite seat on the morning's first ACE commuter train and trying to grab a few winks after waking up at 4 a.m. at her home in Tracy.

She'll be back on the train by 3:30 p.m., and home more than 12 hours after she left. Her schedule cuts into activities she loves, including school clubs and drama, as well as socializing and sleep -- but it's the price she's chosen to pay to stay in her beloved high school after rent hikes priced her family out of San Jose.

Mya, 17, is among thousands of schoolchildren who have been uprooted by the Bay Area's high housing costs, and one of a small but growing number who embark on long daily commutes this month as they go back to school.

Blue America's scheme to limit the supply of housing for regular folks in action.