The year 2016 began with news of a history-making voyage. Just as the previous year came to a close, two major oil companies shipped the nation’s first exported cargo of crude oil to a foreign country in 40 years out of the Port of Corpus Christi. The symbolic cruise came just days after Congress lifted a 40-year ban on the export of U.S. crude. Here is a quick look at other economic issues that brought either pain or pleasure to the Coastal Bend in 2016. 

January
• A civil rights lawsuit against the new Harbor Bridge is settled, allowing the project to finally move ahead. 
• The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce hires a new president, Annette Medlin, who was tasked with merging the Corpus Christi and Hispanic chambers.
• The city hires a new chief of police, deputy chief Mike Markle.
• Texas State Aquarium becomes home to two new dolphins, Liko and Schooner.
•  Corpus Christi City Council member Lillian Riojas resigns to move to San Antonio and begin a job in public relations at Valero. (This becomes relevant later in the year.)

February
• Del Mar College makes public its plans for a new campus on the Southside.
• Building plans and new businesses dominated the calendar’s shortest month including: a new $11 million rehab hospital on Water Street; a $28 million senior living facility; Natural Grocers opening its only Corpus Christi store; Sugar Bakers opening a downtown market called Urbana; PlainsCapital opening a regional headquarters in the city; and the announcement of plans to convert a downtown business high-rise into apartments.

March  
• The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History opens its new $3 million children’s Science Center.
• Uber and Lyft leave Corpus Christi — just in time to jolt Spring break Crowds — over a proposed city ordinance. Approved in May, the new ordinance requires drivers for app-based, ride-hailing companies to be fingerprinted for criminal background checks.

April
• Padre Island Farmers Market, the third to open in the area, begins operating every other Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at 15030 Fortuna Bay Drive.
• KEDT finally moves into its new facilities at Del Mar College.
• Schlibtterbahn finally, finally, finally has that grand opening its been talking about for more than a year, announcing that most of its rides are now complete and ready to go.

May
• Selena mania takes over the town for the third Fiesta de la Flor. The late Tejana superstar continues to make news all year with a wax figure in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, her own M.A.C. makeup line, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (along with hometown girl Eva Longoria) and induction into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
• Corpus Christi becomes a Main Street City, which brings Texas’ first lady Cecilia Abbot to town.
• The National Windsurfing Championships take place on Corpus Christi Bay.
• City Manager Ron Olson quits over the city’s third boil water notice in 10 months. The longest of the three notices, this one lasts 13 days in May.
• The Regional Transit Authority moves into its new $34 million office building and terminal. 

June
• Chapman Ranch wind farm is given approval by the FAA, followed by the city filing an official complaint with the agency. 
• Two new ride-hailing companies open for business in Corpus Christi, taking the place of Uber and Lyft after their departure. 
• Del Mar Southside campus is approved by the board of trustees.
• A bond issue to dedicate part of the sales tax to street repairs is approved by the council for the Nov. 8 General Election ballot.

July
• A new jelly fish exhibit, Tentacles, opens at the Texas State Aquarium.
• Interim City Manager Margie Rose becomes the new city manager.
• Pokemon GO hits town, driving local businesses to find ways to incorporate this newest tech craze into their business plans. Some worked; some didn’t. 
• The city opens a second Visitors Information Center, this one at Schlitterbahn on The Island. 

August
• A bike-sharing program begins in downtown Corpus Christi. 
• Sherwin Alumina closes its plant, which had been operating under an 18-month strike. Later in the year, the Port of Corpus Christi places a $55 million bid for the property. 
• Officials hold a groundbreaking for the Harbor Bridge project.
• The Del Mar Southside campus bond issue is put on the Nov. 8 ballot.  
• The Corpus Christi and Hispanic chambers officially merge into the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. 

September
• At-large city council member Mark Scott resigns so he can avoid term limits and run for mayor in 2018, setting off a firestorm of objections on the council. 
• TAMU-CC president Flavius Killebrew announces his retirement, setting off discussions of a possible merger of the Corpus Christi and Kingsville campuses. This did not go over well with many in the community. 
• Plan CC is finally approved after two years in the making — and remaking.

October 
* Latin musician Dusty “El Dusty” Oliveira is nominated for a Grammy. (He didn’t win, but he represented!)
• The aquarium wins a $1 million fish kill lawsuit.
• New indoor football team the Rage comes to town, auditioning cheerleaders and players. 
• The wind farm begins construction.
• Voestalpine opens the world’s largest iron briquette plant at its Gregory-Portland location. Based in Austria, the company spent nearly $1 billion on the new facility.
• The city breaks ground on what will be its 18th fire station, this one to be located at 6226 Ayers St. near Saratoga Boulevard. 
• The Mary Rhodes Water Pipeline goes online to big fanfare. 

November
• Mark Scott returns to the council to finish his term of office after all, though because of a glitch, he can still run for mayor in 2018, according to a lawyer hired by the city council. The council officially reprimands Scott for his actions and considers removing him from the council, making him ineligible to run for office again in two years. 
• The General Election brings in a new mayor and four new council members, including Michael Hunter, who was appointed in March to replace Lillian Riojas. All bond issues, including for Del Mar’s Southside campus, are approved by voters.
• News breaks that Texas A&M University wants to merge the Corpus Christi and Kingsville schools into a super school. That idea dies quickly, bringing chancellor John Sharp to town for an after-the-fact public meeting to explain why it’s still a good idea but will never happen now. 
• Mark Scott is cleared of ethics violations after a complaint was filed by a resident over his quitting, coming back and claiming he can legally run for office again in two years rather than six.

December
• One of the first acts of the new city council is to decide to keep the asphalt intact on the part of Shoreline Drive that is now in Bayshore Park in case they want to open it up to traffic again. 
• Just 36 hours after the new council is sworn in for their first meeting, the entire city water system is put on a no-use water notice due to a suspected chemical spill. The ban lasted four days, shutting down schools, restaurants and businesses. Former council member Lillian Riojas, who now works for Valero, acts as spokesman for the refinery, which owns the property where the chemical spill happened. Valero blames third-party company Ergon Asphalts & Emulsions Inc. 
• Water is cleared for consumption city-wide by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency after four days of a no-use notice. 
• The state’s attorney general announces he will begin an investigation into who or what is responsible for the water scare.
• City Manager Margie Rose tells the council in its last meeting of the year that staff will present a new ordinance regulating back-flow preventers during their first meeting of 2017, which will be Jan. 10. A missing or failed back-flow preventer could have caused the chemical spill that shut down the city’s water system. 

This is only a partial list of the business that have opened all over the city in 2016. To see for yourself, visit the news page to browse past stories. Set CCBizNews.com as your homepage to keep up with the latest news. You can also sign up to receive weekly and breaking news blasts via email.