Just in case you missed it, I used my Monday Letter From the Editor weekly print column to take a look back at 2017.
Wow, what a year.
I called it Pipes, Gripes and Abusers in Pinstripes.
It details the big stories of the year.
The first of course is the Mariner East 2 pipeline. It's also the one that got the most feedback after I posted my column. I understand people's concerns about this project, about the idea of running these kinds of highly volatile elements through densely populated neighborhoods and even right past elementary schools. But this battle is over. This pipeline is not going to be stopped. Not now. Oh, it may be adjusted. But if you think Gov. Tom Wolf is going to step on the toes of the PUC in an election year and put a halt to construction, I suggest you think again.
This battle was largely lost a couple of years ago, when the plans first quietly won approval from local municipalities, when Sunoco won the right in court to be recognized as a public utility, thus allowing it to use eminent domain to acquire property where needed for their plans.
The Gripes were about some of our political coverage. Nothing new there. I know that regardless how we cover these races, we are going to make a lot of people unhappy. I wasn't disappointed this year either, when Democrats made a little history by winning two seats on Delaware County Council and sweeping the three county row offices.
Finally, there is this matter of Abusers in Pinstripes.
Yes, the #MeToo movement reverberated here as well.
Two women legislators from Delaware County are taking the lead in pushing a package of bills to address the issue, in particular this nasty habit of elected officials using confidential settlements - and taxpayer dollars - to make complaints go away quietly.
You can check it out here.
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