In 2014, some issues resolved quickly, and others dragged on for months. And as in previous years, there were winners, and there were losers.
When the Wellesley College sleepwalker appeared last winter, it woke us all up. Artist Toni Matelli’s sculpture appeared unannounced, much to the chagrin of some students.
But "The Sleepwalker" didn’t get put to bed, placing him in the winner’s column.
Losing sleep this year were the opponents and proponents of casinos.
But a ballot question designed to kill casinos once and for all failed, and the regional license went to Everett over Revere. The biggest loser was Suffolk Downs, which is closing for good.
Going from Eastie to Southie, organizers of the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade lifted a decades-old ban against gays openly marching in the parade, with one condition: no signage signaling gay marchers.
That scuttled the deal, forcing Mayor Marty Walsh out of the parade. No winners here.
A surprise winner this year: Hobby Lobby, the arts-and-crafts retailer that refused to go along with some of Obamacare’s mandates based on religious objections.
Also winning big in the Supreme Court: anti-abortion protestors. The court struck down buffer zones, saying they violated the free-speech rights of anti-abortion advocates.
Losing really big this year were the Red Sox. The team that colloquially went from worst to first to worst finished the season with bleak statistics and a year-end sell-off.
Winning big: Peter Frates and the Ice Bucket Challenge. Frates, 29, was diagnosed with ALS two years ago and came up with the challenge as a way to raise awareness of the disease and raise money, which they did, over $100 million dollars.
In the category of losers all-around: Jared Remy, who killed his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel, and made the justice system appear inept. Equally so was the hopeless and hapless Department of Children and Family Services, which lost track of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver.
But finishing with winners all-around was the Market Basket saga.
A decades-old family feud between cousins Arthur S. Demoulas and Arthur T. Demoulas brought the supermarket chain to its knees as the two duked it out over who would ultimately control the business.
In the end, Arthur S. got his money, Arthur T. got the company, the workers got their jobs back, and the shoppers keep flocking. All’s well that ends well.
