diff --git a/features/landing/frontend-public/e2e/helpers/age-gate.ts b/features/landing/frontend-public/e2e/helpers/age-gate.ts
index 233bf0adb..3ba2eaed7 100755
--- a/features/landing/frontend-public/e2e/helpers/age-gate.ts
+++ b/features/landing/frontend-public/e2e/helpers/age-gate.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ interface AgeVerificationStatus {
  * Use this in beforeEach for tests that need to test app functionality
  * without interacting with the age gate.
  *
+ * In dev mode, AgeGateWrapper clears both localStorage and sessionStorage
+ * on mount. To survive this, we override removeItem/clear to preserve
+ * the bypass value for the age gate key.
+ *
  * @param page - Playwright page object
  * @example
  * test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
@@ -42,16 +46,48 @@ interface AgeVerificationStatus {
  * })
  */
 export async function bypassAgeGate(page: Page): Promise<void> {
-  // Use addInitScript to set localStorage BEFORE page loads
-  // This runs before any page scripts and avoids the age gate flash
   await page.addInitScript((key) => {
-    const verificationStatus = {
+    const verificationStatus = JSON.stringify({
       isVerified: true,
       method: 'self-declaration',
       tier: 1,
       verifiedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+    })
+
+    // Set initial value in both storages
+    localStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
+    sessionStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
+
+    // Prevent AgeGateWrapper's dev-mode cleanup from removing the bypass
+    const origLocalRemove = localStorage.removeItem.bind(localStorage)
+    localStorage.removeItem = function(k: string) {
+      if (k === key) {
+        localStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
+        return
+      }
+      return origLocalRemove(k)
+    }
+
+    const origSessionRemove = sessionStorage.removeItem.bind(sessionStorage)
+    sessionStorage.removeItem = function(k: string) {
+      if (k === key) {
+        sessionStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
+        return
+      }
+      return origSessionRemove(k)
+    }
+
+    const origLocalClear = localStorage.clear.bind(localStorage)
+    localStorage.clear = function() {
+      origLocalClear()
+      localStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
+    }
+
+    const origSessionClear = sessionStorage.clear.bind(sessionStorage)
+    sessionStorage.clear = function() {
+      origSessionClear()
+      sessionStorage.setItem(key, verificationStatus)
     }
-    localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(verificationStatus))
   }, AGE_VERIFICATION_STORAGE_KEY)
 }
 
@@ -59,19 +95,15 @@ export async function bypassAgeGate(page: Page): Promise<void> {
  * Clear age verification from localStorage
  *
  * Use this to reset to unverified state for testing age gate behavior.
- * This adds a one-time init script that only runs on the next page load.
- *
- * NOTE: For tests that navigate to multiple pages and need verification to persist,
- * use clearAgeVerificationOnce() which doesn't affect subsequent navigations.
+ * NOTE: This clears on EVERY subsequent page load in this context.
+ * For one-time clearing, use clearAgeVerificationOnce().
  *
  * @param page - Playwright page object
  */
 export async function clearAgeVerification(page: Page): Promise<void> {
-  // Use addInitScript to clear localStorage BEFORE page loads
-  // NOTE: This clears on EVERY subsequent page load in this context.
-  // For one-time clearing, use clearAgeVerificationOnce().
   await page.addInitScript((key) => {
     localStorage.removeItem(key)
+    sessionStorage.removeItem(key)
   }, AGE_VERIFICATION_STORAGE_KEY)
 }
 
@@ -79,22 +111,20 @@ export async function clearAgeVerification(page: Page): Promise<void> {
  * Clear age verification from localStorage once (current page only)
  *
  * Unlike clearAgeVerification(), this only clears for the current page
- * and doesn't affect subsequent navigations. Use this when testing
- * persistence across routes.
+ * and doesn't affect subsequent navigations.
  *
  * @param page - Playwright page object
  */
 export async function clearAgeVerificationOnce(page: Page): Promise<void> {
   await page.evaluate((key) => {
     localStorage.removeItem(key)
+    sessionStorage.removeItem(key)
   }, AGE_VERIFICATION_STORAGE_KEY)
 }
 
 /**
  * Verify through the age gate by clicking the confirm button
  *
- * Use this when you need to test the actual age gate flow.
- *
  * @param page - Playwright page object
  * @example
  * test('should verify through age gate', async ({ page }) => {
@@ -105,16 +135,13 @@ export async function clearAgeVerificationOnce(page: Page): Promise<void> {
  * })
  */
 export async function verifyThroughAgeGate(page: Page): Promise<void> {
-  // Wait for age gate modal to appear
   const ageGate = page.getByTestId('age-gate')
   await expect(ageGate).toBeVisible({ timeout: 10000 })
 
-  // Click the confirm button
   const confirmButton = page.getByTestId('age-gate-confirm')
   await expect(confirmButton).toBeVisible()
   await confirmButton.click()
 
-  // Wait for age gate to close
   await expect(ageGate).not.toBeVisible({ timeout: 5000 })
 }
 
diff --git a/features/status-dashboard/backend-api/data/db/status-dashboard.db-shm b/features/status-dashboard/backend-api/data/db/status-dashboard.db-shm
deleted file mode 100644
index fe9ac2845..000000000
Binary files a/features/status-dashboard/backend-api/data/db/status-dashboard.db-shm and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/features/status-dashboard/backend-api/data/db/status-dashboard.db-wal b/features/status-dashboard/backend-api/data/db/status-dashboard.db-wal
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb..000000000