Welcome 2020; let it roar

It’s hard to believe that at this time next week it will already be the second day of a new year. Where did the past 365 days go?

Not only are we starting a new year, we are beginning a new decade as we enter the ’20s. I hope that most of our ’20s are like those from the 1900s.

The Roaring Twenties were fabulously fun, noted for their jazzy dance and music, economic prosperity and dedication to cultural arts. The golden age of Hollywood began and a sense of freedom grew, perhaps fed by Americans’ ability to travel more as the automobile became prominent.

Though that came to an abrupt halt in 1929 on Black Friday when the stock market crashed and sent the country into a tailspin that created the Great Depression, the majority of the decade saw good times.

Our most recent decade saw its share of good times, too.

It began in 2010 when a second engineering marvel across Black Canyon was completed. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened Oct. 16. At 886 feet above the Colorado River, it is the second highest bridge in the nation and is the world’s highest concrete arch bridge.

The following year the city saw a boom in its energy zone in the Eldorado Valley as more solar-power generating companies expressed interest in leasing land to build solar plants and helping boost the city’s budget.

In 2011, the city also saw a project to widen U.S. Highway 93 for better traffic flow and entice more people to visit.

The same pattern followed in 2012 as the revitalization and beautification of Nevada Way began and an investment was made to secure the future of the Boulder Dam Hotel and its Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum, both of which are big tourist destinations.

And our solar fields continued to attract attention — this time from President Barack Obama, who stopped by in March to visit and see them in action.

Like bookends, the last few years of the decade brought events that put Boulder City in a positive light.

In April 2017, the city saw its first major land deal in 20 years with the sale of nearly 31 acres at the southeast corner of Bristlecone Drive and Adams Boulevard. StoryBook Homes is purchasing the property (in three parts — two of which have already been completed) for a 127-home subdivision. The sale added $9.1 million to the city’s coffers.

Another road project — the opening of the first stretch of Interstate 11 — highlighted 2018. Though some questioned the wisdom of bypassing the city, the majority of what has transpired since that fateful August day has been positive. More locals are venturing out to support businesses on the western edge of town, new and old businesses alike are investing in the community and tourism continues to flourish.

This year’s turnaround in leadership on the City Council was the result of more people caring about what happens to the town they love so much and taking an active role to make things better.

Though there were some rough times in between, including the 2013 “discovery” of naturally occurring asbestos in and around the community, the 2014 death of the last known Hoover Dam worker, the demolition of the old Boulder City Hospital in 2015, and scandal at the animal shelter in 2016 that resulted in guilty pleas by the former supervisor for animal cruelty and by the former police chief for failing to do his duty, the past decade had some very memorable and very good moments.

A new decade is dawning and it remains to be seen if it will mirror the good times when the nation last experienced the ’20s. But we can hope — and dance, play music, go to the movies and enjoy the freedom to explore our surroundings.

May 2020 bring you good health, happiness and prosperity.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.