2021 brings blank slate, hope

With coronavirus vaccine distribution underway, this is a season of promise

It may be only one day of the year, but Jan. 1 always brings with it the promise of something better. A new year, replete with possibilities. A blank slate that we can use as we see fit.

On the heels of the disaster that was 2020, 2021 arrives with plenty of good cheer — even though we did not welcome it in the public squares or family gatherings we might have wished for. We can hold out hope that this time next year will see those festivities return safely.

With vaccine distribution underway, this is already a season of promise and of hope. Those on the front lines of this crisis will be protected from the disease which has claimed more than 300,000 American lives, and our seniors, those at elevated risk and those in essential and critical jobs will follow.

This pandemic is not over — far from it, judging by the staggering number of cases and deaths reported daily — but we can see the end, and it should give us some comfort and optimism for the weeks and months to come. Dealing with the coronavirus repercussions is likely to be central to the General Assembly’s work when lawmakers return this month. Virginia may have handled this crisis better than some other states, but the virus exposed cracks in our communities that need repair.

The commonwealth can expect legislators to tackle a host of issues in this year’s session, making full use of the blank slate afforded them in the new year. With a gubernatorial election looming in November, it will be interesting to see what issues receive attention and which are set aside.

For Hampton Roads, aggressive action on climate and recurrent flooding stands as the obvious aspiration for the new year. As sea levels continue to rise, the region will face difficult choices — about what it can protect and what may well be lost as the flooding becomes more frequent and severe.

These choices have sweeping ramifications, including a loss of property, of revenue, of infrastructure and services. Officials throughout the region recognize the danger and have mobilized for action, but Hampton Roads will need to see progress — substantial and swift — this year.

To that end, the need for stronger partnerships between our constituent cities offers the most promising path forward. It’s a mantra of the region every year, but shared responsibilities translate into shared costs, which is no small thing when considering the price tag involved in some of these projects.

Of course, it’s not just climate and environmental protection that cross city borders.

Transportation initiatives and programs, economic development efforts, even much-discussed-if-still-undefined plans for a regional entertainment venue — all would be made stronger and more effective through regional cooperation.

That’s not to say leaders and residents throughout the region alike have ignored the need for regional partnerships. But in the post-COVID era, where local finances may recover slowly, avoiding duplication and redundancy are paramount.

Among the few bright spots in 2020 were stories of neighbors helping neighbors throughout the region, delivering groceries or just checking in on one another when things were their bleakest. Let that continue in the new year, and the affirmation of community — the sense that we share a common purpose — ring throughout 2021.

We live in a divisive time, an era in which people too often see those with whom they disagree as nefarious or deserving of scorn.

We should be quicker to give others the benefit of the doubt and to try to seek constructive common ground wherever and whenever we can.

That’s true in the public square, of course, but also in daily life.

Yes, there are each day countless kindnesses that happen here in Hampton Roads, and we should try to contribute to that — to make our world a little brighter — at every opportunity.

So here’s to 2021. We welcome the new year with hope, with compassion and with a renewed optimism for what’s to come.