This is the time of year for lists — mostly ones looking back at the year just passed. And we’re happy to have two such pieces in this week’s issue: Greg and Margaret Wessel looked at the top news stories of the year, and Elizabeth Shepherd highlighted the artistic events of 2010.

But we thought we should look forward, as well. So here are a dozen things we’d like to see happen in 2011, some fanciful and far-fetched, some well within reach and a few quite up in the air.

1. The K2 building is sold to a consortium of exceedingly wealthy people who have no need to make a profit and thus decide to transform it into a site for affordable housing, public gardening and bowling.

2. The Vashon-Maury Island Community Council jettisons Robert’s Rules of Orders and comes together around a shared vision, works collaboratively and helps Vashon address some significant issues. Islanders, in large numbers, begin to attend its meetings.

3. King County, with encouragement from Vashon’s Town Plan Committee, passes an ordinance that bans large electronic signs.

4. Enough tourists flock to Vashon to fill our restaurants and inns during the off-season but not so many as to make the four-way stop more of an ordeal.

5. Johnny Depp decides to buy Misty Isle Farms after all. Many of us routinely run into him at Thriftway.

6. A fundraising drive, spearheaded by Depp, gives the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness enough funds to make it through the year without teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

7. The school district’s bond measure — parts A and B — passes, and high school students, in a state of gratitude, take up swing dancing.

8. The state Legislature finds the will power to reinstate the motor vehicle excise tax, Tim Eyman’s car tabs jump to $800 a year, and ferry fares drop to their pre-1998 level.

9. Mukai Farmhouse is purchased by a nonprofit that has the financial wherewithal to take care of it.

10. Through a miracle we can’t quite envision, the state finds a way out of its budget woes and restores Basic Health, Maternity Support Services and other critical social programs.

11. A community solar project gets under way, and Vashon moves closer to energy sustainability.

12. Public trails crisscross the Glacier Northwest site, and Islanders, in a state of joy, relief and amazement about what citizens can accomplish, visit often, renew their spirits and pledge to do their part to protect this glorious part of the world.