Our View: Raising (or throwing) a glass to the year just passed

For some of us, it’s hard to believe 2015 ended so soon; for others, it couldn’t end soon enough. Before it slips away, The Bee’s editorial board has prepared some toasts – or denunciations – just in time for tonight’s New Year’s Eve parties.

Raise high a glass of courage for the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, who listened as some frightened residents demanded we reject refugees fleeing the bloodbath that is Syria. The supes didn’t succumb to fear of terrorism is and (appropriately) took no action.

Salud to the Gallo Center for showcasing its first bilingual musical, “Mariachi Girl,” featuring our homegrown local talent. The Gallo continues to be a source of pride and enjoyment.

Raise an ice bucket to Central Catholic High School, and not because it won another football championship (ho-hum), but because CCHS students (including many athletes) performed 17,000 hours of community service.

Empty a glass on the grass, which crisped in the summer sun after the state-ordered mandatory cutbacks. Ceres met its water-use reduction goals; Modesto, Ripon, Riverbank and many more failed.

Raise a glass, or two, to Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen and state water official Felicia Marcus for squaring off in July’s Bee Amplified Water symposium. In Olsen’s case, drink fast because her stint as the Assembly’s minority leader ended far too soon.

Raise a glass of water to Gail Altieri and Linda Santos, the angry political neophytes who took on the established way of doing things at Oakdale Irrigation District and turned it upside down by winning their seats.

Empty a grim glass over the number of Modesto homicides this year – 27, including 22 murders. A record we don’t want and hope we never approach again.

Raise a glass (and hold it tight) that we were fifth in the nation in auto thefts. Why celebrate being fifth in auto thefts? Because it wasn’t first, where we’ve been so many times in the past decade.

Break a glass over that goofy mug shot of Frank Carson, the eminent Modesto attorney on trial with eight others in the death of Korey Kauffman. Murder trials are usually serious business; perhaps Carson disagrees. In six or seven years (judging from the superior court’s track record in such cases), we might get a verdict.

Raise a can of Lone Star to the producers of “American Crime,” the TV show that borrowed Modesto’s name (and nothing else) to portray what crime looks like in America. Why Lone Star? The show was filmed 1,700 miles from here in Austin, Texas.

Offer a glass to the 1,408 counted in the annual homeless survey, then raise a glass to county CEO Stan Risen for initiating the Focus on Prevention effort to address this and many more demoralizing problems. While you’re at it, take another sip for the efforts of Marian Kaanon and the Stanislaus Community Foundation for its leadership in this arena.

Empty a glass in despair that only 350 salmon spawned in the Tuolumne this year; that should ring alarms all along the river, especially compared to the 11,630 spawning on the Stanislaus. We must do better.

Raise a gallon jug to the region’s farmers, who found a way around the drought in 2014 to rake in $4.4 billion in both Stanislaus and Merced counties and $3.2 billion in San Joaquin. Talk about horns of plenty.

A digital toast to Emmanuel Escamilla and his partners for developing the seven-week CodeX Program that introduced computer coding (and a world beyond south Modesto) to junior high students.

Raise a salute to all service men and women who served our country in 2015, and bow your head for those who won’t return home.

Throw a glass at Bill Cosby, who showed up for a show in Turlock last January after being accused of sexual misconduct by half a dozen women at the time. That number’s grown to more than 50 now, including new allegations Tuesday dating back nearly 12 years. That one, finally, has led to criminal charges. We trust he won’t be back.

Finally, the editorial board can’t hide its pride in the hardworking, professional news staff of The Bee. They brought us intense investigations, compelling images and videos, and a new look for our digital and print content. They kept us interested, amused, fascinated and informed in 2015.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Our View: Raising (or throwing) a glass to the year just passed."