At home in that part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough we call the Valley, bits of the outside world plunged to Earth from time to time, reminders that Alaska is not so far removed as we sometimes wish it was.

Here are the top five area stories as covered and voted upon by the staff at the Mat-Su bureau of the Anchorage Daily News:

• No. 1: The Mat-Su Borough Assembly, facing what appeared inevitable anyway, in August passed a cap on property tax increases.

Rising assessments, and hence property taxes, coupled with increasing demands for services and voter discontent formed a perfect storm of sorts for the Assembly. A citizen initiative appeared headed for victory at polls dominated by an anti-tax spirit.

The Assembly version, nonetheless, contained a provision that exempted road-service areas, intended to allow some ability for residents of a specific area to respond to their own road needs.

Politicians, both incumbent and aspiring to boroughwide offices, School Board members included, immediately recognized that the rules by which they played had changed.

• No. 2: The war in Iraq in 2005 seemed far, far away until Sept. 11, when it claimed the life of a Palmer son, U.S. Army Sgt. Kurtis D.K. Arcala. Hundreds turned out for his funeral service at Raven Hall of the Alaska State Fair.

A new building, the School District nutrition facility, was named in his honor, and new soccer fields as well. Arcala distinguished himself as a high school athlete in basketball and soccer and as a youth soccer coach before enlisting in the Army.

• No. 3: Transportation questions crowded in on the Mat-Su at all levels. Whether a commuter crawling in traffic just shy of a workplace in Anchorage, or a Valley lawmaker wrestling with line items in the public budgets, few could get around the Valley without thinking: "There must be a better way."

Extending, widening and rerouting Seldon Road, the Glenn and Parks highways; building the Knik Arm bridge; not building the Knik Arm bridge; rerouting the Alaska Railroad; all these options and more were batted around on the editorial pages and at public meetings. The final card has yet to be played.

• No. 4: After 20 years of false starts, prospects are better than ever for a ski area being developed at Hatcher Pass.

JL Properties in September presented a $41.25 million proposal to build an alpine ski area and day lodge there, coupled with a 450-lot residential development and commercial village just north of Edgerton Parks Road, near the pass. More than half the development might be backed by loans from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The AIDEA board must approve the plan and sign off on JL Properties' credit.

• No. 5: Proponents of a natural gas pipeline pushed for a spur line through the Mat-Su via one of two routes that would provide a reliable gas supply to the Valley and Anchorage. Some property owners, especially along the Matanuska River corridor near Sutton, weren't too keen on the proposed route that cut across their properties.

The second shoe has yet to fall on that story as well. The gas line itself is anything but a done deal, although talks between the state and major producers continue.

Honorable mention must go to other stories that grabbed our attention this year:

• Wal-Mart announced it will expand its Wasilla store into a Supercenter and purchased a lot in Palmer, indicating plans to locate there as well.

• Christopher Kevan, 24, is awaiting trial for the strangulation of his 7-week-old son, Ashton, and the boy's mother, his girlfriend Brandie Burns, 26, in October.

• Growth continued in the Valley for another year as measured in almost every category, from vehicle registrations to housing starts to new faces in classrooms from Houston to Palmer. Civic boosters looked to a rosy future but others asked, "How long can it last?"

• Another comparatively mild winter and a dearth of snow prompted the removal once again of the Iditarod restart from Wasilla to Willow. Folks started talking openly of moving the last great race out of Wasilla for good.

• A plague of methamphetamine users and producers continued to grow in the Valley, which became known for the number of illicit, meth-making laboratories discovered here.

Mat-Su editor Joseph Ditzler may be reached at 352-6715 or jditzler@adn.com.