Delivering a State of the Region address at the City Club of Portland's Friday Forum, Hughes focused on the economy in his 28-minute speech, talking about bringing jobs to the Portland region and having employees ready to fill them.

If regional policy is an episode of "Iron Chef," 2012 was the year of the kitchen prep.

There's a lot coming down the road, but most of the work at Metro in the past year was setting the stage for the future, chopping the carrots and peeling the onions before a meal is served.

Here's a look back at what made news at Metro in 2012.

The years-long process to set aside urban reserves for growth in the coming decades is set for its next stage: The Oregon Court of Appeals.

The Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission approved Metro's most recent urban growth boundary expansion on Thursday, ending one chapter in a years-long process to add more land for development in the region.

Staffers from the state Department of Land Conservation and Development said Friday there could be a legal path forward for regulators to approve Metro's 2011 urban growth boundary expansion.

Commissioners were wrapping up their second day of hearings on the expansion, which the Metro Council approved last October and is undergoing standard state review. They're scheduled to resume their deliberations on the expansion on June 14.

On Thursday in Salem, state regulators will start their look at Metro's 2011 urban growth boundary expansion and its 2010 capacity ordinance. Before we delve too deep into land use law geekery, here's a quick refresher on what's happening and why.

Metro used a new approach to its most recent review of the urban growth boundary. But did the regional government's planners leave out the information state regulators are looking for? The Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission will decide next month.

State regulators are recommending the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission reject parts of Metro's 2011 urban growth boundary expansion because, they say, the supporting documentation for the expansion is insufficient.

In the suit, Katherine and David Blumenkron and Springville Investors, LLC, also say that Multnomah County, the region and the state "did not apply the land use statutes… in the manner intended by the Oregon State Legislature" when designating urban reserves.