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About this time every year, most of us marvel that another year has come and gone.
We reminisce as we try to predict what the new year might bring. Of course, we all know there really is no predicting news, and perhaps that's why we spend so much time reflecting on those unpredictable big events of 2018.
For the last 10 days, the Tribune Chronicle has been doing just that by counting down what we view as the biggest local stories of the year. The top story appears on our front page today -- the recent and devastating news that General Motors will end local production of the Chevy Cruze with no plans to replace the car with another vehicle at the Lordstown plant, displacing thousands of workers.
Who could have predicted that at the beginning of 2018?
In other local news, who would have predicted that after more than a decade, this would be the year that Brazil finally acquiesced to repeated Trumbull County's and America's legal and political requests for the extradition of accused killer Claudia Hoerig to Trumbull County. Early this year Brazil sent Hoerig back to America to face trial in the 2007 shooting death of her husband, Air Force Maj. Karl Hoerig.
And who could have predicted the saga that unfolded when retail giant TJX made what should have been a welcome proposal to bring more than 1,000 new jobs to Trumbull County? Opposition mounted by area residents led to a drawn-out controversy that ended not with a special election, but with a subsequent court battle. TJX now is pursuing tax abatements for the facility's construction and sorely needed jobs.
A few other unexpected local stories included the death of imprisoned Tim Combs, one of two convicted in the brutal death of 12-year-old Raymond Fife 32 years ago.
We had the resignation of Niles Mayor Tom Scarnecchia -- the man who unseated longtime and now-convicted Mayor Ralph Infante. Infante is serving 10 years in prison on 22 charges related to kickbacks, gambling and racketeering.
Nationally, the stories were just as unpredictable.
Whoever could have predicted the dramatic and traumatic confirmation hearings of new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh that kept Americans (including myself) captivated for hours at a time -- whether for reasons of entertainment, disgust or just sheer disbelief.
Sadly, it was predictable that more school shootings and gun violence would erupt in 2018. Still, no one could have predicted the tragedy at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people died -- nor could we have predicted the reaction that followed as brave and articulate student survivors took their pleas for stronger gun laws to the nation's capital.
I would be remiss if I didn't also recall the tragic shooting deaths of five fellow journalists that occurred when a gunman opened fire inside the Capital Gazette's Maryland newsroom on June 28.
Also making big news was the migrant caravan that paraded through Central America to our southern border, growing the debate about border security and calls for a border wall.
Internationally, the rescue of a Thai soccer team and their coach gripped the world. The 13 boys and young men became trapped by rising waters and remained inside for more than two weeks. All ultimately were rescued in a daring international operation that claimed the life of one volunteer.
This also will be remembered as the year we lost beloved President George H.W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain after a long battle with cancer. Both had served their country as military war heroes.
And the entertainment world lost Aretha Franklin, Burt Reynolds and Stan Lee.
Yes, it's undisputable that 2018 has been another year of unpredictable news. And now we are rolling at full speed into 2019. Certainly, the only thing that will be predictable about this new year will be its unpredictability. Let's hope for the best.
Happy new year.
blinert@tribtoday.com