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So it's a new year in the Capital City, time for one last look back at 2006.

The year brought us a jazzed up and delightfully inhabitable Heidelberg (Hilton Capitol Center for you non-history geeks, like myself); a couple of million-dollar golf course renovations; a somewhat convenient new exit on I-10 for dashing in and out of the Mall of Louisiana; another CC’s (less than a mile from my house).

Both of LSU’s basketball teams reached the Final Four, and the Miami Heat won the NBA championship (I know, but Shaq's from LSU, so in a roundabout way it's a Baton Rouge victory).

I broke down and got digital cable and the digital video recorder, which is quite possibly the coolest technology in the world. I also learned some interesting things last year.

I learned through Hospice that volunteering for a charity you believe in is one of the most rewarding things you can do. And on a lighter note, I learned that Chelsea's serves the best green beans I've ever eaten. That’s right, green beans.

The year, however, wasn’t all good. I saw fresh proof that our city still struggles with racial, social and sexual preference discrimination. And on a depressing culinary note, I discovered that my favorite queso is now gone thanks to Moe's closing.

I was reminded by a recent e-mail that regardless how cosmopolitan influence Baton Rouge might have gained, we remain a city that has to schedule art events around LSU football games. At one point the Metro Council considered moving our beloved Spanish Town Parade out of Spanish Town, which may be the most ridiculous thing I've heard since a Metro Councilman voted against a golf course liquor license because he said he didn’t want our children to grow up in a setting where alcohol is served. (By the way, last time I checked, we were living in South Louisiana, so good luck with that.)

On a somber note, Baton Rouge lost Paula Manship last year, one of our most important arts philanthropists. I would like to think that her generous donations to the art department at LSU may not have made Baton Rouge an arts Mecca, but at least they helped to pay to keep an abundant supply of buckets on hand to catch water from the many roof leaks.

Baton Rouge still lacks an eclectic, urban district free from cookie-cutter subdivisions that have overwhelmed the city. Downtown seems to be trying, but with our not-so-open-minded citizens stifling downtown development, progress still seems held back. Murders and domestic crimes seemed to make for unsettling headlines in 2007, including a murderous rampage in a church and a deadly shooting at a chain restaurant.

And on a personal level, I am still paying a massive student loan and living in an apartment with ants.

What do I want for my city in 2007 aside from a dog and a non-leaky living space?

Well, those are really just for me.

For the rest of Baton Rouge I want people to make an effort to enjoy it, and to stop complaining all the time. I want us all to find ways to pass the time, and to focus on changing what we wish were different.

I hope as a city we consider change rather than immediately passing judgment based on social, political or religious standards.

And I’d really love for restaurants to stop depriving me of the foods I like (hey, Moe, I could use some of that queso).

It may seem like I'm wishing for utopia, but it's not unreasonable to hope for the best a little at a time. And if anyone can come up with a Jetsons-like machine that can keep me in shape without actually exercising, I'd be all over that. I guess that might be a stretch.