Where to start?
The year at city hall fed journalists and the public with an unprecedented feast of stories that arguably trumped the excitement of the 2010 Winter Games.
A mega casino proposal, a hockey riot and an international protest movement were all tied to Mayor Gregor Robertson and his 10 city councillors. So much for Sidney Crosbys golden goal.
Issues on the periphery, with links to city hall, were the Supreme Court of Canadas decision to keep the Insite drug injection site open and the beginning of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
The backdrop to all of this was Robertson gearing up to seek re-election and the NPA doing its best to jam the spokes of the bicycle-riding mayor and his Vision Vancouver councillors. We know how that one finished.
But first a look back to the spring and Las Vegas-based Paragon Gamings proposal to build a mega casino adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium. From the outset, many city hall watchers predicted city council would rubber stamp the proposal that was first announced by former premier Gordon Campbell.
But after a marathon session of public hearings, all bets were off on a predictable outcome. A strong lobby by grassroots group Vancouver Not Vegas!, which attracted a wide array of prominent Vancouverites, countered an organized push from casino employees. Council voted unanimously to quash the proposal for 1,500 slot machines and 150 games tables. It, however, left the door open for Paragon to move its casino licence from Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations to the property adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium.
Councils decision came as the Vancouver Canucks were beginning the NHL playoffs. The teams impressive run and the hype surrounding it led the city to open so-called fan zones in the streets near the Vancouver Public Librarys main branch.
The mayors goal was to have an area where people, including families, could watch the Canucks on huge television screens and celebrate peacefully. Thats how it went for almost every game, although police and health officials noticed an increase in drunkenness as the Canucks got closer to the final series with the Boston Bruins.
Then came the Game 7 final on what was a warm June 15 day, where alcohol flowed in the streets and families had retreated.
Those factors coupled with a Canucks loss ignited a rowdy crowd. And so began a night of mayhem that saw vehicles torched, businesses looted and people injured in a riot that made international news.
NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton attempted to pin the blame on Robertson, whom she said invited thousands of people downtown. That criticism didnt stick and was not a factor in any of the riot reviews conducted by the city, Vancouver Police Department or the B.C. government. But as talk of the riot fizzled, the international Occupy movement reached Vancouver in October, in the middle of a civic election campaign.
Again, Anton criticized Robertson and questioned his leadership on allowing the so-called tent city, where a young woman died of a drug overdose. Protesters showed up at mayoral debates and news coverage of the election campaign was eclipsed by Occupy Vancouver.
A court order eventually ended the protest outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.
So did any of the criticism resonate?
Robertson beat Anton by 18,000 votes and every Vision candidate who ran was elected. COPE lost its two seats on council while the NPA gained one and the Greens are now represented by Adriane Carr.
Yes, quite the year.
Council also adopted an ambitious green plan and approved a strategy to build 38,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years.
So what possibly can the news gods have in store for 2012 that will erase memories of burning police cars, protest camps and mega casinos?
Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry is predicting the Canucks will again be in the final.
Twitter: @Howellings
