I always get a bit nostalgic this time of year. It's the last edition for 2009, and as is tradition, it's our year in review, a chance for us and our readers to look back at the year that was in news, arts and sports.
It's always a challenge to try to tell a year's worth of Coast happenings in one edition, so my goal with this column is to give you some highlights and whet your appetite for the main course.
The main course might be a bit big to digest after your Christmas Day turkey dinner, but hopefully you've saved room for a bit of dessert and will enjoy sitting back and reflecting through the pages of today's edition.
There was the municipal election court petition in Gibsons, a joint United States Navy/Sunshine Coast RCMP investigation into stolen boats and a multi-million heist of U.S.-government surplus goods - all of this in January.
Pan Pacific Aggregates was back in the news presenting plans for a new mining operation. They made a presentation to Sunshine Coast Regional District directors that didn't go over too well. PPA was again in the news in September when they made a similar presentation to the community. Our question of the week feature was also compromised by on-line bloggers, who bragged about their little conquest on-line. That didn't sit too well with many residents of the Coast. PPA continues to be on shaky ground. I'll be interested to see what happens next.
Independent Power projects were hot topics on many occasions throughout the year. There were well-attended public meetings, presentations to local governments, and much debate through our letters to the editor. There are pros and cons of each project. The debate over these projects and whether they are worthy for the Sunshine Coast will surely continue to heat up 2010.
Highway 101 continued to be a newsmaker. From high profile and sometimes-tragic accidents to funding announcements for much-needed improvements to the protests and petitions for a new traffic light in Roberts Creek and the controversial re-configuration of Gibsons Way, our main transportation network was the topic of many news stories.
Politics, as always, were very interesting.
Member of Parliament John Weston had a busy year working on behalf of this riding.
He helped announce a major stimulus package for Howe Sound Pulp and Paper in July, one that provided a financial shot in the arm for the struggling mill. HSPP isn't out of the woods yet, but the future outlook of the Coast's largest employer is at least a bit brighter.
In May, the Liberal government was returned to power, and locally, MLA Nicholas Simons was re-elected under the New Democrat banner.
The Town of Gibsons was named the most liveable town in the world at the LivCom awards in the Czech Republic in October - and you would think that would be the top news story of the year. But sadly, you'd be wrong.
The biggest news story of 2009 was the tragic shooting at Christenson Village in April. We'll be following that when the accused goes to trial in May.
I've only scratched the surface here. There are many more newsmakers who shaped our lives. There were ups and downs, highs and lows, and many of us are quite thankful that 2009 is now behind us.
Our political leaders have tough choices and challenges ahead. I hope they approach all of those decisions with open minds and are receptive to what is best for the community as a whole.
I look towards 2010 with cautious optimism and hope that our community can continue to come together so we can reach our full potential.
May 2010 be a prosperous year for you and your families. From all of us at Coast Reporter: Happy New Year and happy reading!
