A new year means resolutions to improve our lives.
Some of us will pledge to eat better, imbibe less, give up smoking, exercise more, get more sleep, limit TV or social media and on and on.
Who doesn't want to get better? A new year offers a fresh opportunity to change our ways — specifically the things we know aren't good for us.
Even those who choose not to make a resolution will think about it. They'll conclude that it's a fruitless endeavor, so why bother. But that impulse to rid ourselves of bad habits and dream big — no matter how fleeting — is always there on Jan. 1.
If we took the individual psychology of making resolutions and applied them to the community as a whole, our resolutions for 2019 might look something like this:
■ Let's get national park status for Colorado National Monument. Every year this one pops up as the lowest of the low-hanging fruit. A simple change would rev up tourism, which is proving to be a significant factor in the local economy.
■ Let's resolve to give people a chance to weigh in on retail marijuana sales in Grand Junction. What's the harm in referring a question on legal weed? It would lead to an informed discussion on the topic.
■ In the history of Colorado municipal tax policy, has any community ever voted to re-Bruce? No. Taking the shackles off county or city government can free them up to tackle long-standing deficiencies or improve services. It's hard to imagine the city of Grand Junction operating as well as it has under the same constrictions facing Mesa County commissioners. Commissioners should refer a question to the ballot allowing Mesa County residents to decide for themselves whether complete de-Brucing is a good idea. The only way to make that a resolution is for the community to send a message to the commission.
■ Whether or not commissioners entertain de-Brucing, we hope they finally wake up and see the value of human capital. When are they going to come up with a budget that tries to give county employees better wages? Again, this isn't a resolution as much as it is wishful thinking since we can't resolve to make our commissioners do anything.
■ Finally, in the dream big category, let's resolve to find a way to improve the downtown Ute-Pitkin bend in traffic without cutting off people and businesses from each other. Is there a way to elevate traffic, or route it through a tunnel, to preserve pedestrian and bike traffic throughout the city core? It's an engineering question and the answer is likely to be astronomically expensive.. But it's worth asking whether the cost should prohibit downtown Grand Junction from becoming a jewel along the Colorado River, which it could be if we take the time to get this right.
Here's hoping any of the above happen in 2019.