It’s the last weekend of 2014 and time to review the year "flASHback" style:

» Little-known David Ige crashed a rematch between Gov. Neil Abercrombie and 2010 foes James "Duke" Aiona and Mufi Hannemann and beat them all to become Hawaii’s eighth governor since statehood. It was a meteoric rise from "Whodaguy" to "Whodaguy, sir."

» As Abercrombie watched his bid for a second term swirl down the toilet, he turned reflective and declared: "I was never a spectator." He was more of a spectacle.

» U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz survived a close re-election challenge from U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, the late Sen. Daniel Inouye’s choice. Hanabusa couldn’t quite sell her playground theme: "He took my lollipop and won’t give it back."

» Seven Democratic candidates for the 1st Congressional District were asked in a TV debate to give three words that best described themselves. I thought their names said it all in one word: Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey …

» Conservative pastors preached from the pulpit in support of GOP candidates who opposed gay marriage. Sometimes you couldn’t tell if the election was Democrats vs. Republicans or heretics vs. infidels.

» The Legislature voted to spend $500,000 to remind us to save for long-term health care. This from the lawmakers who are $8.5 billion short of saving enough to pay the pensions they promised public workers.

» In more blind leading the blind, the state held a financial literacy fair to tutor citizens on managing their money. Workshops included "Tax and Spend," "Maintenance Schmaintenance" and "Kick the Can Down the Road."

» State senators derailed a much-ridiculed bill allowing police officers to have sex with prostitutes in making arrests, and police said it was all a misunderstanding. They confused habeas corpus with coitus interruptus.

» Mayor Kirk Caldwell hailed court rulings giving the go-ahead to Oahu’s already over-budget $5.26 billion rail system. The "train to nowhere" finally has its destination in sight.

» University of Hawaii regents ended a tumultuous year by appointing David Lassner as UH president, a job for which he didn’t apply and supposedly wasn’t eligible. It was a selection process done by the book — a comic book.

» Contractors are worried there aren’t enough local workers for dozens of condo towers going up in Kakaako and Waikiki. It’s economic sustainability Hawaii-style: condos catering to outside speculators, built with imported labor.

» The Hawaii State Teachers Association objected to a survey giving public school students a chance to evaluate their teachers, saying students can’t understand the questions. It must be the teaching they get.

» The controversial Pono Choices sex-ed program returned to schools after the Department of Education heeded political objections and made changes, such as not classifying the anus as genitalia. Instead, the anus was classified as a house of the Legislature.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.