2016, through the rear-view mirror

Editor’s note: As we head into a new year, a glance back at S-R editorials from last year.

Jan. 1 – “For appointed Spokane police ombudsman Raheel Humayun: a fast-tracked visa so he can take a position that has been vacant for a year.”

He never arrived. Bart Logue was named ombudsman in September.

Jan. 5 – An editorial on the Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover had this headline: “Occupiers shouldn’t get away with crime.”

A jury found them not guilty of federal charges in late October.

March 25 – The headline on the presidential endorsement editorial during the primary was “Kasich and Clinton only moderates left standing.”

Thanks for listening.

April 9– “The state was a national leader when it passed its texting and phone-call ban in 2007. But the advent of smartphone technology has passed it by. … The law explicitly bans texting and hand-held phone calls, but not tweeting, Facebook posting and other smartphone manipulations. Those activities are just as dangerous, but the Legislature has rebuffed multiple attempts to add them to the law. This makes enforcement more difficult.”

It’s still technically legal to read and tweet that editorial while driving, but we don’t recommend it.

June 16 – “For an election that didn’t matter, Washington’s presidential primary drew impressive participation. That should be a sign to legislators.”

If political parties won’t make the primaries worthwhile, the state should stop funding them.

July 20 – “Want a job where you get to decide the length of your summer vacation? … Run for Congress, which started its traditional August recess last Friday. For those of you who are used to August coming after July, this may sound crazy, but it’s true. Congressional business has come to a halt until September.”

The House of Representatives recently announced it would work 145 days in 2017, for an increase of 13 days. Better stock up on energy drinks.

Aug. 17 – “Attitudes about marijuana have changed, which is reflected in the positions of the four candidates for president. They either believe it should be legalized and regulated for adult use (Gary Johnson and Jill Stein) or left to states to decide (Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton). So the trend toward acceptance, which began when the Obama administration took a hands-off approach to Washington’s and Colorado’s ballot initiatives, should continue regardless of who occupies the White House.”

This has been thrown into doubt with the selection of U.S. Sen. Jeff Session as attorney general, who has a history of taking a hard line on marijuana.

Nov. 23 – “Along with the revival of civics classes, our educational system could, perhaps, introduce courses in media literacy, because Americans are in serious need of a reality check. Fake news articles used to be confined to pass-around emails, which didn’t have the reach or sudden impact they now enjoy on social media.”

Now “fake news” is being spun to mean any scrap of information someone doesn’t like. Those media literacy courses can’t come fast enough.