TheBurg

10 | THEBURGNEWS.COM | 01.21 10. LAND SHARK In this annus horribilis, let's begin on an upbeat note— perhaps the one unalloyed, unexpected joy to come out of 2020. Naturally, I'm talking about Harrisburg's one-and-only skating fish, Sharkman. Back in May, he glided into our lives, a vision in blue-and-white felt, offering fleeting comic relief for a pandemic-weary city. Before long, Sharkman sightings abounded, the costumed critter becoming a social media celebrity and even making a Burg cover. A few months later, a young musician named Jordan Dandy took up the inspirational cause in Harrisburg, holding up signs with messages like, "I value you" and "You're so important." When I look back on the chaotic, divisive, dark year of 2020, I hope that these two selfless people come first to mind. 9. CRIME & COVID Now that I've built you up, let me bring you back down. Like in many U.S. cities, Harrisburg experienced a surge of gang activity, which, inevitably, led to turf battles, disputes and violence, especially in certain city neighborhoods. e pandemic seemed to play a big role, with jobs lost, schools closed and youth idle. e city and county responded by gearing up its anti-gang task force, but not before numerous young people took a wrong turn or even lost their lives. 8. VOTE, SOMEHOW In my annual list, I typically keep to stories exclusive to the Harrisburg area. e presidential election was not that, but the changes to our long-established ways of voting affected people in this political town tremendously. In Dauphin County, cautious voters cast more than one-third of their votes through the mail, while many others anxiously masked up and headed to their polling places. Kudos to our election officials for pivoting quickly to what amounted to an entirely new way of holding an election, doing so with speed and accuracy. In just months, they built a hybrid voting system, a legacy that is certain to stay with us, changing our voting habits, perhaps permanently. 7. OFF THE CLIFF A late-year story squeezed into my Top 10 this year— the state legislature's rather surprising decision in November to let Harrisburg retain its elevated earned income and local services tax rates. e average city resident may give this a shrug, as their tax bill will not change at all. But it's a huge relief for city officials who feared falling off the "fiscal cliff " in a few years, when their extra taxing authority would have expired, forcing them to somehow make up $12.4 million in annual revenue. With this matter settled, the city now feels it can move beyond its decade-long fiscal nightmare, finally putting the profligate Reed years and resulting financial crisis behind it. 6. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS e announcements began early in the year at the former Bishop McDevitt building, headed down to South Allison Hill, took a turn onto N. 6th Street and then bolted over to the red-hot Reily Street corridor. Italian Lake, downtown and the Shipoke area even got caught up in the frenzy. I'm referring to major building proposals in the city. From pro athletes to ambitious developers to several nonprofits, everyone, it seemed, wanted to build something—often something very large—in Harrisburg. While there was no lack of plans, there was a definite lack of hammers, nails, bricks and mortar. Will 2021 see anything more, um, concrete? I've been around this town long enough simply to wish everyone the best and then sit back and see what, if anything, develops. IT'S ALL OVER BUT THE LIST Sorry, but I have to drag you through 2020 one last time. BY LAWRANCE BINDA A few years ago, after finishing my annual "top 10" news list, I had a revelation. "All the stories this year are good news," I cheerfully told a colleague, who, as I recall, seemed less impressed than I. Well, that's definitely not the case this year. e year 2020 will go down in history for many things, but "good news" will not be among them. Nonetheless, at least in Harrisburg, it wasn't awful soup to nuts. ere were a few bright spots amidst the gloom. So, with apologies to all readers and to humanity in general, let's revisit 2020 one final time, as I return with my annual, totally subjective ranking of the top 10 local news stories of the past year.

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