Today’s editorial space presents New Year’s reflections by members of the editorial board and the opinion page staff.

Becoming letters coordinator gave me power I’m sure many who read the opinion page would gleefully undertake. If you submit a letter to the editor, I read it. I separate the public interest missives from the personal messages, the passionately oblivious from the obliviously offensive, and the unsigned gems from the traceable unpublishables.

But with this responsibility comes a certain powerlessness. I read hundreds of opinions a week, yet can’t submit my own. No matter how ardently I support or oppose a viewpoint, I must calmly call each writer to verify authorship, restraining myself from heated discussion of the letter. My consolation is that there are readers every morning who consider each letter on its own merit, then respond from their own perspective, perpetuating the balance reflected in this forum. You are my voice. Keep reading, and keep writing.

– Kelly Guilfoil, letters coordinator

Hopes for the new year? That “torture” and “secret detention” stop cropping up in articles about a North American government. That my boss is as forgiving as President Bush. That religion becomes personal rather than political. That readers and viewers will reject the “You Decide, We’ll Report” trend. That, for auld lang syne, Digging Deeper, going In-Depth and asking Six Questions become staples rather than advertised specials.

That once again those shopping for me realize that discretion is the better part of velour. That First Night remains a family — and Spokane — tradition. That my children forever enjoy the holidays as much as they do now. That a cure can be found for the auditory virus known as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” That old acquaintances will not be forgotten. That we’ll take a cup of kindness — nay, tap an endless keg of the stuff. That those who stop drinking it get a hellacious hangover.

– Gary Crooks, associate editor

Bobbi Turner of Omak has been urging me for weeks to tell the other side of the Iraq story, the one about children who now have school clothes, shoes, pencils and paper, thanks to U.S. troops and their families. I listened, but did not write anything.

Then she e-mailed me photos of beautiful Iraqi children, showing off these new clothes and supplies. And she e-mailed me a photo of her stepson, Army Capt. William Turner, surrounded by Iraqi children. Omak-area residents have sent 100 big boxes of items, distributed to these children by Turner’s fighting men and women.

News happens in black and white, but life is filled with nuance, as is war. Destruction and rebuilding co-exist in Iraq. Bobbi Turner helped me see it with my own eyes, her gift for the New Year.

– Rebecca Nappi, associate editor

My father never graduated from the eighth grade; yet, he spoke two languages fluently, managed several dairies and a trucking company, and was a leader in the Portuguese community.

He stood 5-7 in cowboy boots and had the muscled arms of a man who milked cows and hauled hay. Without squawking, he raised six children and supported two aging parents. But he warned us kids we’d have to use our brains to make a living not our brawn. He lived to see only one of his 10 grandchildren. But he’d be proud to know that they are becoming professors, doctors, geologists, communication whizzes and experts on the severely handicapped.

My father was killed in a traffic accident at 55, my current age. He modeled how to live, love and laugh. As 2005 dawns, I’m challenged by the excellent life. My resolution? I want to measure up to him.

– D.F. Oliveria, associate editor

This has been a tough year for journalists. Most of my editor friends agree the 2004 elections were the most contentious of our careers. All around the country, journalists found themselves targets in a frenzied, hyper-political shooting gallery.

Through it all, I was enormously proud of The Spokesman-Review staff. We entered the political season with a good plan. We tried mightily to report events fairly, accurately and dispassionately. Through it all, we managed to convince both Kerry and Bush supporters that we favored the other guy, meaning we were probably pretty close to the middle.

As I look back, I worry most about the continuing collapse of civil discourse in our public life and the unwillingness of so many to see the world, even briefly, through the eyes of those with whom they disagree. Journalists tend to see the world in shades of gray, putting us at odds with increasing numbers who see it in black and white. How can communities large and small resolve pressing problems when citizens simply can’t consider compromise?

– Steve Smith, editor

I gather monthly with a group of guys to talk about … stuff. Political stuff mostly, but our host recently polled us about personal brushes or near-brushes with the law. No felonies were disclosed, but almost everyone had indiscretions to confess.

My own were of the near-brush variety, dealing with underage drinking (and driving) and the good luck to be alive.

Years have passed. I’ve survived adolescence and parenthood and graduated to grandparenthood. I’ve learned that people err, but with support and discipline from loved ones, they learn and grow.

New Year’s is a calendar date, an arbitrary opportunity for renewal. For lots of us, a new year begins every day.

– Doug Floyd, editorial page editor

My hope in 2005, as we consider monumental issues like downtown development in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River water quality standards, is that we keep working for good policy and set aside prejudice and petty politics. Planners, politicians, citizens and the media share responsibility to debate the merits of every proposal. We all should insist on understanding the global costs and benefits of the solutions proposed, and take care to avoid the lure of the sound bite. These are hopeful but uncertain times in our region. There is no better time to suspend cynicism and polarizing assumptions and listen to facts, clear analysis and thoughtful debate.

– Stacey Cowles, publisher