Looking ahead to a hopeful new year

A new year brings with it new hope. A fresh start, if you choose to see it that way, with a brand new calendar.

The next time you read a Republic Opinion page, it will be the first day of a new year and a new decade. In just a few short days we will leave behind a topsy-turvy 2019 and start again.

To say a lot has happened this year is a woeful understatement, and it goes far beyond recent headline-dominating national news. Locally, there’s been a lot to digest. The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. has been all over the news this year, from proposing a Cayman Islands health care option to announcing they’ll seek a referendum to attempt to raise more than $9 million a year by raising property taxes.

Democrats won control of the Columbus City Council for the first time in decades, an interesting turn that could shape 2020 and beyond for the city. Cummins announced its electrical business headquarters will be in Columbus, and announced an incredible plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the future. At the same time, they are preparing for a cyclical downtown in 2020.

Columbus sports teams made history, with Columbus East baseball reaching the state finals and East soccer advancing all the way to semistate. Columbus North graduated Tyler Duncan won his first PGA Tour event, and Columbus native Tony Stewart was selected for the 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame.

As we head into 2020, there are plenty of questions and answers we hope to get. A big one — will the Red for Ed action rally ultimately have an impact and help teachers get the compensation they are looking for? How will Columbus residents react to the proposed referendum from BCSC that aims to do just that?

We should learn more about the future of FairOaks Mall in the new year, and the city will work with developers in 2020 to try to finalize a deal on a proposed new hotel/conference center that could have a major impact on the heart of downtown Columbus in the future. What will happen with the riverfront redevelopment project, which could see construction begin in July? The much-needed railroad overpass on Columbus’ west side broke ground in 2019 and is progressing quickly — the new year should get the project closer to completion, with a targeted Spring 2021 opening.

Public health and safety is more in focus as we head into 2020. A new law raising the age to buy cigarettes to 21 was signed recently by President Donald Trump and is set to be enforced sometime in 2020. Gov. Eric Holcomb’s legislative agenda includes a focus on distracted driving and cellphones, a controversial topic but an important safety concern. And what might be the biggest local health concern, the battle against the meth and opioid epidemics, will continue.

Bartholomew County will also get its chance to weigh in on more than just important local issues, as a new caucus season fast approaches and a presidential election looms.

The year and the decade may be changing, but many of the issues aren’t. A lot of progress has been made on important issues in the later part of 2019, though, giving us plenty of reasons for hope and optimism as we prepare to start 2020.