More hits, misses to end the year

A few more lows and highs from the year ending tonight.

MISS A disaster

A 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January, killing 230,000 people and leaving 1.5 million more homeless. Into that misery and suffering surged billions of dollars and thousands of people desperate to provide help. Flooding followed, then cholera. It is a testament to the horrors that struck that island nation, already the poorest in the western hemisphere, that it will take a decade - perhaps a generation - to recover. It will also take continued help and attention from America, which is as bound in Haiti's history as anywhere on Earth.

MISS Shaken, not diluted

Gov. Bob McDonnell has tried and tried to come up with a politically viable plan for ending the state's anachronistic monopoly on liquor and to provide some cash for roads. But, like many bartenders, the drinks he served were more watered down with every round. His first try generated about $20 million less than current profits from state-run stores. The shortfall grew to $47 million on the second try. He's promised another concoction for 2011. Hold the ice cubes, please.

HIT Preservation jackpot

A plan to buy Pleasure House Point, the largest piece of undeveloped waterfront property on the Lynnhaven River, will preserve vital open space in Virginia Beach, improve the health of wetlands and maritime forests and help to restore the oyster fishery. The city, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and The Trust for Public Land agreed over the summer to buy 122 acres at the confluence of Pleasure House and Crab creeks for $13 million, a steal at less than half what developers paid for the property in 2007. They're still raising money to ensure that none of the land will have to be sold for development, but it's a smart investment.

MISS Breaking records

In January, Norfolk got 9 inches of snow - the most it had seen in 20 years. In July, the city tied the record, 105 degrees, for the hottest day ever - part of a steamy summer. On Sunday, Hampton Roads topped its 2010 snow total with 14 more inches. Extreme weather caused misery and death around the globe. Russia practically suffocated in the heat while the same weather system flooded a fifth of Pakistan, killing 1,700 people and displacing 20 million. The World Meteorological Organization noted that heavy rains lashed Australia and Indonesia and flooded Thailand and Vietnam, but the Amazon basin and southwest China experienced a drought.

HIT East-west corridor

After 15 years, Virginia Beach finally secured ownership of the 10.6-mile Norfolk-Southern right of way between Newtown and Birdneck roads. The expensive purchase - the city paid $10 million, plus $5 million for the utility easement; the state, $20 million; Hampton Roads Transit, $5 million - is a critical investment that allows Virginia Beach to chart its future.

MISS To err is Grumman

Northrop Grumman secured an extra $236 million in a renegotiated computer contract with state government this year, then collected another $10 million in incentives to move its headquarters to the commonwealth. In August, the corporation took days to restore service to state agencies after a massive shutdown. Gov. Bob McDonnell's new budget proposal includes another $58 million for computer services. Virginians should renew their driver's licenses while they still can.

MISS Too shy

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is suing the federal government over the new health care law and demanding that the University of Virginia spit out 10-year-old e-mails written by and to a climate scientist formerly on the faculty. But he's been happy to play second fiddle to Ohio in the case over the fraudulent U.S. Navy Veterans Association. The Buckeye State has charged the founder, whose real name and location remain unknown, with racketeering and money laundering. Cuccinelli donated the $55,000 he collected from "Bobby Thompson" to a real charity, but an investigation of the faux vet group is being handled by another state agency, and no charges have been filed in Virginia.

MISS Distractions

Amid a dispute with city officials over funding, Portsmouth Sheriff Bill Watson ended 2009 with an irresponsible threat to pull his deputies from security detail at courthouse entrances. The temper tantrums didn't let up in the new year. Among the memorable: Pulling his department's honor guard from the Memorial Day parade because he didn't like its placement; buying a bulldozer off Craigslist to do some freelance erosion control; and berating the City Council over its response to a lucrative deal to house federal inmates that, it turned out, didn't really exist. Here's hoping those around him can get the sheriff to agree to the obvious resolution in 2011 - think first, talk later.

MISS Immigration

The federal government's longstanding failure to effectively secure the nation's borders boiled over in 2010, giving rise to a tide of nativism and calls for tinkering with the 14th Amendment. Arizona helped ignite the firestorm when it took matters into its own hands, passing a new law giving police the power to demand anyone suspected of a crime provide proof of legal residency. The constitutionality of the law remains in limbo, and the nation's immigration system remains broken.

HIT A second chance

Even if he isn't the NFL's most valuable player, Michael Vick has resurrected his career as a dynamic and entertaining starting quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles. More important, though, is that after dogfighting charges sent him to prison and disgusted a nation, the Hampton Roads native now seems genuinely dedicated to preventing others from going down his path.

MISS Textbook error(s)

A history textbook used in public schools across Virginia was found this year to have multiple and embarrassing inaccuracies, including a claim that Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson commanded two black battalions during the Civil War. Upon further review, officials have discovered more errors in other history textbooks. The findings underscored the state's weak vetting of texts and provided a clear call for strengthening oversight and review in the coming year.