Gratitude for the good people, places and things in our life shouldn’t be confined to one day on the calendar, but Thursday is that day when it’s right there in the title. It’s been a wild ride in Kingston from Thanksgiving 2020 to this year’s feast. Before things get too nuts with preparing both tasty holiday dishes and airtight arguments for when the dinner guest you don’t agree with about anything starts in on their BS, let’s take a deep breath and think about what we in the community are (or should be) thankful for.

Cease-Fire: We’re thankful that no one’s been killed in the past few months and that shootings in the city have dropped off as well. Getting at the roots of violence is a long and hard job, to be sure. But we’re hopeful that increased police-community engagement and the SNUG program will increase the peace and we’re grateful for those who’re doing this work.

Justice Begun: We’re thankful that the legal process surrounding the death of Monica Goods is finally moving forward. That too will be a long road stretching well into next year, but justice at least no longer being delayed. Our colleague Hugh Reynolds covered most of the angles surrounding last week’s decision to grant bail to the accused in the case, but we have an additional one to offer: While no judge likes having their decisions overturned, in Rounds’ case, there’s an upside some may have missed. An Albany judge no one’s ever heard of and who doesn’t have to run for re-election in Ulster is now responsible for Christopher Baldner’s release on bail. This takes Rounds off the hook for having to make a controversial “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” decision, keeps the judge’s street cred with local criminal justice reform advocates intact, and holds harmless his prospects for higher judicial office.

Good Cause Eviction: We’re thankful that this proposal is moving forward and we hope the tenants of Kingston get it in time for Christmas. As if a lethal pandemic wasn’t enough for Kingston’s renters to deal with, it brought along with it a plague of gentrification that threatens to make their lives here no longer tenable. Along with aggressive efforts to get more affordable housing into the city, Good Cause Eviction will keep more people who want to live here, here. We all know Kingston’s the best, but it shouldn’t be just for the better-off.

Community Spirit: Speaking of things we should be happy about every day, we’re thankful for the amazing level of concern and involvement so many people show in Kingston. Sometimes they get paid for it and sometimes they get roasted for it, but it’s been a local thing for decades and we hope it never diminishes. From public safety to hunger and homelessness to social and environmental issues, their unceasing efforts make it a better place for all of us. Specifically, we’d like to thank Rose Quinn, who’s worked very hard to increase awareness of bicycle safety issues at a time when changing traffic patterns made it very dangerous to be a bike rider in Kingston. UlsterCorps is to be praised for getting people who want to help matched with groups who need help, and KingstonCitizens.org for their years of well-informed watchfulness of the powers that be. Even if we don’t always agree with what’s said, don’t stop saying it.

Wurts Street Bridge: Decades of advocacy finally bore fruit in a major way as the state will now fix the bridge and fix it properly. We’re thankful to Assemblyman Kevin Cahill for never giving up on our most elegant span, and to the state DOT for demonstrating the principle of “it’s never too late to do the right thing.”

The Front Line: We’re both grateful for and humbled by the work done by healthcare workers and everybody else who’s put their own health at risk to keep our society going throughout the pandemic. Even in the best of conditions this work is hard and doesn’t pay a lot; just think of how much harder it is as our hospitals are being drained of resources to keep a Westchester medical center fiscally afloat.

This Beautiful Area: We’re grateful, almost to the point of being ashamed at how lucky we are, for all the Hudson Valley has to offer. Stunning natural beauty, creative and talented people, a universe of tempting food and drink options — we really do have it all here. There’s no pleasing some people, and we know it’s human nature to complain about things that annoy us. (We do write weekly editorials, after all.) But if we should be ashamed of something, it’s that we don’t appreciate our home as much as we should.

Those are but a few which come to mind — we’re sure as soon as this is posted, we’ll think of much else we’re grateful for. We’d like to close with our gratitude to all who’ve supported Kingston Wire this year. We’re so thankful and so happy that this community values independent local journalism and we promise to keep working hard to keep readers informed about the powers — governmental, economic and otherwise — that influence our city and beyond.

So join us as we raise a glass to you, our faithful readers — thank you for being a large part of what we are so thankful for this year. May you have a lovely holiday with a dash of peace, a portion of delicious food and at least one moment where you feel truly blessed.