By The Herald Editorial Board

A look back at 2023, through the issues and milestones noted in The Herald’s editorials:

What Boeing workers built beyond the 747 (Feb. 2): As Boeing workers in Everett rolled the last of more than 1,500 747s off the production line at the Everett plant, employees, community members and others reflected on a plane that had changed passenger and cargo aviation and a workforce that had changed its community over more than 50 years.

From the editorial: “Even through commercial aviation’s boom-and-bust cycles, the 747 and its sister aircraft influenced growth and change in Everett and the county. In population alone, the city grew from about 40,000 residents in the mid-’60s to more than 50,000 through the ’70s and some 112,000 today. …

“Everett was one of three locations considered by Boeing for the 747’s nest. Needing access to rail, highways and a long runway, Boeing looked at Walnut Creek, Calif.; near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma and Everett’s Paine Field.

“Joe Sutter, employee No. 1 for the 747 project, convinced his superiors to stick with Washington state, and Everett won out.

“’I don’t think anybody can imagine where aviation would be without the 747,”’ Sutter told The Herald in 2006.”

Creator’s racist rants earn ‘Dilbert’ a pink slip (Feb. 28): Comments labeling Black Americans as a “hate group” and advising white people to “get the hell away from Black people,” on a YouTube show sparked backlash against Scott Adams, the creator and artist behind the comic strip “Dilbert,” which for decades had poked fun at office politics.

Numerous newspapers, including The Herald, and the comic’s distributor dropped “Dilbert” in reaction.

From the editorial: “Even if those opinions are not expressed within the panels of the comic itself — and Adams may have been toying around the edges of those sentiments in his strip in recent years — the author’s statements are reason enough not to further promote him or his work. …

“Some readers may fault The Herald and other newspapers for not respecting Adams’ First Amendment right to free speech or canceling him and his strip for something that was not included in the ‘Dilbert’ strip. The opposite is true; The Herald is using its First Amendment right to publish that which it believes is of value and of use to our readers and to exclude that which isn’t.”

State AG’s lawsuit may protect medication abortion (March 2): Partly in reaction to a lawsuit brought in Texas that challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2000 of the abortion medication mifepristone, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and AGs in other states, brought suit against the FDA as well, but did so to drop restrictions on how the drug is prescribed and administered, regulations that aren’t required for the vast majority of other prescription medications.

From the editorial: “(I)n order to prescribe and distribute mifepristone, physicians and pharmacies must undergo special certification, a procedure required only for drugs with a serious risk of adverse effects, such as opioids, certain high-risk cancer drugs and high-dose sedatives. And patients must sign a form that reads: ‘I have decided to take mifepristone to end my pregnancy.’ …

“(B)ecause mifepristone is used to treat women who have suffered a miscarriage, the requirement that a woman sign a form declaring she has ‘decided’ to end that pregnancy is an unconscionably cruel act of bureaucracy.”

The competing lawsuits were seen as likely to result in consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Update: Following a decision by a federal judge in Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that found against the FDA’s certification, and another court order regarding Washington case, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in its present term and could issue a ruling by summer. The drug remains available.

State needs a quicker route for its new ferries (March 27): Facing increased route cancellations and delays amid an aging fleet of ferries, nearly half of them more than 40 years old, and the failure of the state to reach a contract with a shipyard in the state to build new ferries, state lawmakers considered, then passed legislation that would reverse the practice of requiring the state’s ferries be built in Washington.

From the editorial: “State Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett, chair of the Senate transportation committee and sponsor of the legislation under consideration backed Senate Bill 5760. ‘We need these vessels on board as quickly as possible, ideally still built in Washington.’ …

“While the intention of “Build in Washington” was laudable, it may have discouraged competition that can help keep bids reasonable. But the Senate bill’s recommendation to consider ‘best value’ — along with the economic and other sweeteners that a state builder can offer — should be key considerations for projects funded by taxpayers.”

Update: Requests for proposals for new ferries are expected to go out nationwide to shipbuilders in the first months of 2024, with initial proposals from shipyards expected later in the year, Liias told the editorial board this month.

New stadium can make AquaSox star economic player (April 3): With requirements from Major League Baseball to upgrade stadium and player facilities for teams in the minor leagues, Everett city officials were beginning early planning to consider building a new or refurbished stadium at Funko Field at Everett Memorial Stadium or elsewhere in the city for the Everett AquaSox.

From the editorial: “Rather than view the league requirements as a visit to the mound, Everett city officials, team supporters and others are looking at the prospects for a stadium upgrade as a way to increase the benefits of what’s already a veteran economic player for the city and county and a contributor to the region’s quality of life; and do so by the start of the 2026 season.”

Update: The Everett City Council in November signed contracts with two companies for further planning and in December approved appointment of a nine-member committee to research potential sites and advise city leaders on revenue options for the public-private project.

With law passed, make it work to address addiction (May 18): After failing to pass reforms during the regular session in response to a state Supreme Court decision that was seen as complicating efforts to deal with illegal drugs, including fentanyl, state lawmakers in a one-day session adopted a plan to recraft the approach, making possession a gross misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to 180 days in jail for a first offense. The legislation also provided for pre-trial diversion programs and $63 million in funding for treatment programs.

From the editorial: “Few pieces of legislation will satisfy everyone, but the passage of SB 5536 in its current form, allows local jurisdictions, state agencies, treatment and health care providers and community members to work closely to assure better access to treatment, a move away from the stigma that discourages treatment and toward outcomes that assure individual health and community safety.”

Update: Efforts to expand treatment and deal with addiction and its related problems, including homelessness, continue, but Washington state still leads the nation in the rate of growth in both reported and predicted deaths from drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showing a 38.5 percent increase in reported fatal overdoses between July 2022 and July 2023.

Lessons from loss of Titan echo those of Titanic (June 24): The loss of the Everett-based submersible vehicle, Titan, on a descent to the RMS Titanic, taking the lives of five people, including the company’s chief executive, raised questions about the risks OceanGate was taking in deploying Titan; the partnerships it drew on in designing and developing the craft and how it described those partnerships in promoting its voyages. Partnerships by Boeing, the University of Washington and NASA claimed by OceanGate were denied or clarified.

From the editorial: “There is recognition of the risk, too, for researchers and experts in higher education, industry and government agencies that their assistance and consultation — offered in good faith — can be used selectively, more for marketing and promotion than as intended in service of intended goals.

“The sinking of the Titanic and the deaths of more than 1,500 people demanded reflection on its lessons in engineering and hubris. Now 111 years later, the loss of the Titan and the deaths of the five aboard it calls for similar reflection.”

Honoring the memory of the last captive orca (Sept. 2): The death of Tokitae — an orca whale taken from Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove in 1970 — at a Florida aquarium, ended local efforts by the Lummi Tribe and others to bring the whale home to a Salish Sea net pen to live out the rest of its life.

From the editorial:

“By 1976, because of the captures, only 76 orcas remained in the three pods. … those numbers have again declined, leaving about 74 whales among the three pods.

“Those left in the wild have struggled to thrive in a degraded environment, hampered by the decline in stocks of chinook salmon, impacts from vessel noise and activity that hinder the whales’ communication and foraging for prey and the presence of toxic chemicals in the ecosystem from sewage and stormwater runoff and other sources that affect the health of the whales and their prey.

“The return of Tokitae’s remains should mark a commitment to restoring the health of her home waters and assuring the survival of the orca’s family and the larger community of Southern Residents in the J, K and L pods.”

Update: A public memorial service and a private ceremony to scatter the whale’s ashes were held in September. Earlier this week a newborn orca calf was spotted with J pod near Bainbridge Island.

How do we put housing within reach of everyone? (Sept. 16): A public forum sponsored by The Herald on the challenges and solutions regarding affordable housing, brought together a panel of speakers that included housing advocates, a lawmaker and a building industry representative. With nearly half of Washington state households having to pay more than 30 percent of income for rent or mortgage payments — the level deemed “affordable” for housing — those costs are not only high but a burden to paying other expenses.

From the editorial: “If housing is a right for all, that implies a responsibility for government, industry and the community to provide ample opportunities to fulfill that right. That requires assessing the existing conditions that work against affordability, adopting policy that makes the necessary changes, making the investments for construction and providing the support that welcomes new families into the neighborhood.”

Update: Issues of affordable housing and rent are expected to be addressed by state lawmakers in the session that begins Jan. 8.

Why we’re buying carbon emissions by the ton (Nov. 10): The auction of carbon emissions allowances by Washington state — part of the state’s Climate Commitment Act — to encourage a reduction in the greenhouse gasses that contribute to the climate crisis and raise funding for climate solutions, exceeded earlier predictions for their prices, but have been criticized as increasing the price of gasoline and energy in the state. But by how much is difficult to estimate.

From the editorial: “Given the lack of transparency into what goes into the price of a gallon of gas, figuring what carbon allowances add to it isn’t clear. California, which has been auctioning allowances for about a decade, brought in an average of $28.08 a ton (of carbon emissions) in 2022, compared to a recent Washington auction that earned $56 a ton. Gas prices for the two states (as of Nov. 9), according to AAA: $4.55 a gallon in Washington; $5.11 in California.

Update: Supporters of an initiative that would repeal the carbon emissions auctions have filed signatures with the Washington Secretary of State Office, potentially placing the issue before voters this fall. Gov. Jay Inslee, as part of his proposal for 2024’s supplemental budget, has proposed using a portion of the auction funding for a one-time $200 credit for electricity bills for 750,000 low- and moderate-income families.

With bullet train sidetracked, upgrade Cascades (Dec. 14): The federal government largely passed over a request for about $200 million in funding to advance planning for an ultra-high-speed rail line, dubbed Cascadia, between Vancouver, B.C., and Portland, Ore., with stops in Everett, Seattle and Olympia, that would travel at speeds of 220 to 250 mph, significantly faster than the Amtrak Cascade’s 79 mph. Others are hoping for a second look at previous plans to upgrade the existing rail line, on which passenger and freight trains run, allowing the use of Acela-like electric trains that can operate at speeds of 110 mph.

From the editorial: “A refurbished and electrified Amtrak Cascades line could — in as little as a decade — bring improved travel times with vastly reduced carbon emissions for significantly less than even the low end of Cascadia’s estimated cost.