Craig’s Notables of 2016 List

Noteworthy Events of 2016 – Numbered, not ranked. (But the first three are mighty important.)

1. One granddaughter learned to walk and say “Papa.” Another granddaughter began preschool.
2. My son got his master’s degree with honors in Applied Mathematics.
3. My daughter-in-law got her Juris Doctorate from OU School of Law with honors.
4. Netflix ‘Making a Murderer’ series resulted in the release of Brendan Dassey who was released by a Wisconsin judge in light of information the program exposed.
5. The pollsters got election forecasts completely wrong.
6. WikiLeaks exposed the Democratic Party and their plotting and rigging of their presidential primary.
7. Republican Party Vice Chairman Estela Hernandez resigned to join the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
8. Former police officer, Daniel Ken Holtzclaw, was sentenced to serve 263 years for sexually assaulting black females between December 2013 and June 2014 while a police officer.
9. Flint, Michigan lead water crisis.
10. Apple won a court battle against the FBI which was trying to force Apple to give decryption to them for Apple phones. (Trump criticized Apple for not giving it to the FBI.)
11. Devon discharged 700 employees in February.
12. Hillary Clinton lost her bid to become the first female president in America.
13. Third parties didn’t catch on in 2016.
14. OKC Public Schools announced a cut of 208 teachers.
15. Brad Underwood hired as head basketball coach at Oklahoma State University, replacing Travis Ford.
16. The Republican led US Senate refused to consider Merrick Garland who was nominated for SCOTUS judge by President Obama.
17. Donald Trump refused to submit his tax returns despite promising to do so during his campaign for president.
18. The Eastern Oklahoma County Turnpike was announced, attaching I-40 to Turner Turnpike.
19. Republican State Senator Rick Brinkley was convicted for stealing more than $1.8 million from the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa while an official there. He will serve 37 months in federal prison.
20. OKC Thunder star Kevin Durant left Oklahoma for California to play for Golden State.
21. The US Supreme Court ruled that states must honor adoptions by same-sex parents who move across state lines.
22. Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon died in a fiery car crash one day after being charged with conspiring to rig oil bids.
23. The earthquakes stemming from injection wells in the oil industry continued with some of the largest quakes in state history.
24. Former Tulsa County reserve deputy and local businessman Bob Bates  was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Eric Harris, an unarmed black man.
25. Top female soccer athletes accuse US Soccer of wage discrimination with a lawsuit.
26. I got a great new patio pavilion.
27. Man-eating Nile crocodiles found in south Florida.
28. Gus Blackwell, R-Laverne, a former leader of the state House of Representatives was charged with 44 criminal counts and sued by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission after his travel expenses came under investigation.
29. The first fatality of a self-driving car crash occurred in Florida.
30. State of Oklahoma Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger was cited by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for operating a vehicle in Tulsa County while his driver’s license was revoked and failure to properly wear a seat belt.
31. The Southern Baptist Convention condemned the Confederate Battle Flag.
32. The Oklahoma Libertarian Party was on the ballot for the first time since 2000.
33. Former US Attorney General Eric Holder said that Edward Snowden did the nation a “public service” by leaking documents.
34. US suicide rate surged to a 30 year high. The state of Oklahoma among the worst states.
35. The state of Nebraska ended civil asset forfeiture without charges and conviction.
36. The Zika Virus hit Oklahoma and the nation.
37. Dallas ISD conducted interviews in Oklahoma City for teachers willing to move to Dallas where the pay is higher, without a state income tax.
38. Oklahoma State University received its first national championship in football as the American Football Coaches Association retroactively awarded its 1945 vote to the Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M) football squad.
39. Christian publications like “Christianity Today” pondered the crisis among the evangelical church as 85% of white evangelical voters supported Donald Trump.
40. John Stossel ended his weekly program on Fox Business News.
41. Donald Trump admits to not paying federal income taxes.
42. Vin Scully retired as play-by-play announcer after calling LA Dodgers games for 67 years.
43. “The Oklahoman” newspaper based in Oklahoma City printed its last newspaper in Oklahoma City. All printing moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
44. USA falls to 23rd most free nation on the “Human Freedom Index” published by the CATO Institute.
45. Dan Boren announces he’s not running for governor.
46. The world abandoned the victims of the Syrian civil war.
47. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the largest spike in traffic fatalities in over 50 years.
48. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that hate crimes in the US increased by 6.8% in 2015, with much of that increase attributed to a surge in attacks against Muslims, which rose 67% from the previous year.
49. According to the Oklahoma Election Board, more Oklahoma voters left the presidential ballot line blank than in the 2012 presidential election.
50. LA Police Chief says he will not order his officers to help Trump deport immigrants.
51. State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister was charged with campaign fundraising violations and conspiracy.
52. US Intelligence authorities have determined that the Russian government tried to help Donald Trump win the presidential race in America through its covert hacking of emails involving Democratic Party officials and American media.
53. A three year old video of Oklahoma football player Joe Mixon punching a woman in the face at a local eatery emerged after legal action forced its release.
54. North Carolina Republicans call a special session ‘coup’ to prevent newly elected and incoming Democratic governor Roy Cooper from running government in accordance to existing laws. The beleaguered outgoing Republican governor signed the legislation.
55. Facebook announced it will start identifying fake news on its social media pages.
56. Dylann Roof found guilty of mass murder in South Carolina.
57. Oklahoma voters agreed to reform the criminal codes to reduce the number of people incarcerated.