Now that we are in the grip of winter's long nights and short days, it is comforting to look forward to the start of the baseball season.
Here it is, the start of another year - a time to look back on what has transpired in 2015 and a time to peer into the blurry future of 2016.
Now that we are in the grip of winter's long nights and short days, it is comforting to look forward to the start of the baseball season. Here's hoping that the Trenton Thunder have a good year and make the playoffs. But win or lose, going to Arm & Hammer Park is always a fun outing.
Our fingers are crossed in hopes that Hamilton will make the leap to consolidate its nine fire districts into one streamlined fire department, which proponents say will save taxpayers money.
Meanwhile, Hamilton residents can pat themselves on the back for an 11 percent drop in crime over the first five months of 2015.
The 22-mile Lawrence Hopewell Trail is nearly complete. The $9 million project that started in 2002 now needs a few more donations to finish the remaining four miles of the scenic jewel. With a bit of luck, that will be accomplished in 2016,
On another environmental issue, local concerned citizens and officials have made a strong case against building the proposed PennEast pipeline that would go through Hunterdon and Mercer counties. They have cited the negative impact the $1.2 billion, 36-inch pipeline would have on environmentally sensitive areas such as Baldpate Mountain in Hopewell Township.
The federal agency that must pass judgment on the pipeline should heed their concerns.
And in Trenton, wouldn't it be wonderful if New Jersey's capital city could morph into a hip destination for millennials to live and work. The head of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association believes the city has the potential to replicate the transformations experienced in Jersey City, Hoboken and Bayonne.
Helping to make that happen will be the transformation of the former Roebling steel complex into a thriving neighborhood. After being in the works for the past three city administrations, the Roebling Block 3 project is finally making headway.
Also on the development front, let's hope the long-aborning AvalonBay project in Princeton gets done. The effort to convert the site of the former University Medical Center on Witherspoon Street into a 280-unit housing project got sidetracked in September when toxic chemicals were found on the site.
Statewide, New Jersey has some tough issues to tackle in the coming year. It would be nice if lawmakers and the governor could reach some common grounds to address the huge $40 billion funding gap for public employee pensions; find a way to fix the state's crumbling bridges and infrastructure; secure affordable housing; and generally make New Jersey a good place to live and work.
Obviously, the list of good intentions could go on and on. But the one wish we would have for all our readers is that they have a healthy and prosperous 2016.