If you thought 2012 was a year chock full of burning issues, just wait until 2013 grabs hold of Richmond.
City hall, city council in particular, is going to have its hands full right off the New Year bat with a series of big decisions to make.
Will it go ahead with a controversial ban on shark fins, despite law suit threats from the Chinese restaurant community?
Will it allow a massive shopping centre, anchored by Walmart, to be built without major road improvements?
And will it jump off the deep end and ditch the RCMP in favour of a Richmond Police Department?
One big issue not within the city's control is the imminent yes/no call from the province on whether to issue an environmental certificate to a consortium of airlines to barge jet fuel up the Fraser River's south arm and pipe it through Richmond to YVR.
The impending provincial election will also undoubtedly shape the headlines come spring, with the outgoing Rob Howard's Richmond Centre riding promising to be most interesting of the three.
Last, but not least, will there be an end to that putrid smell that wafts across the city from the organic waste plant? Let's hope so.
