There are a number of usages and grammatical mistakes that I find annoying, but "hopefully" and most other disjuncts are not among them. I use/arguably misuse them frequently. I've read a number of discussions over time, including this one, that indicate that the usage has been around a long time and hasn't always been as disfavored as it ultimately became. As you say, Pam, language evolves--for better or for worse. C'est la vie.