By Mike Matejka

Since I have the honor of New Year’s Eve for the Forum, of course, it’s time to make some New Year’s resolutions. I’d like to offer a few.

The first resolution is that we all retain our sanity during a Presidential election year. Much mud will get slung. As things gear up after Labor Day, let’s all take a deep breath, listen carefully and discern what respective candidates’ stances are, respect our differences, and don’t get so serious that we can’t laugh.   Most importantly, let’s vote.   I hope November 2016 does not repeat the current pattern of only 60 percent of registered American voters going to the polls in a Presidential year.

Second resolution, let’s bring downtown Bloomington to its full potential. Mayor Renner is working hard to pull together the missing links for downtown, which might include a hotel and perhaps an expanded library. People travel to visit unique downtowns with vintage architecture – we’ve got one, we need to appreciate the hidden gem we hold. The new visitors’ center in the Old Courthouse is a great start. Downtown is a potential economic development asset, so let’s prime the pump to get it moving.

My third resolution is about jobs. The Mitsubishi closing is going to leave a hole in our local economy, with qualified workers looking for a decent opportunity. Let’s work to open those opportunities. We’ve also got some very talented youth in this community, but we’ve also have some young people who don’t see a future and need guidance We need to insure all our youth have hope and a foundation for employment.

And finally, my last resolution.   With our information overload, we need to develop instincts to cut through the garbage and understand the issues facing our community, nation and world. In our celebrity culture, we spend too much time worrying about who’s marrying who, and not enough time thinking and learning about our economy, environment, government and world affairs. We are an educated community, let’s learn to listen to diverse and thoughtful voices. Shouting matches on television or internet blogs don’t necessarily make for an informed citizenry.   It takes some extra effort to find solid analysis and fact-based information – let’s make that effort.

I could wish there was less terrorism, conflict and mass shootings in this world, but I am sad to say that perhaps that might only be a wish. We live in a wonderful community, let’s continue to make it better, especially by our caring and thoughtfulness for each other.