Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up
to the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being administered in Connecticut. Health care professionals at Hartford Hospital were among the first nationwide to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination as shipments arrived across the nation on Monday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for emergency use Friday night. People on the front lines of the health crisis and those who are most vulnerable will rightly have the first access to the vaccine, which should roll out for everyone over the course of 2021. It’s not the end of the road by any means, but finally people can start to see better news on the horizon.
Thumbs down
to the sobering data about hospitals in the state reaching capacity in the final days of autumn. Stamford Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury were at 90 percent total occupancy at the end of last week, as COVID numbers continue to rise in the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed to Connecticut at the top of the U.S. list of the number of daily cases per 100,000. Officials theorize that Thanksgiving gatherings and returning college students fueled the additional cases, a cautionary tale about holiday plans for the weeks ahead.
Thumbs up
to Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who is stepping down from his longtime position to take a job in the Lamont administration. Not only is Boughton a good choice to serve as commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services, but the move shows the kind of crossparty cooperation that is all too rare in politics today. Boughton is a Republican, and has served in his position since 2001, making him his city’s longest-serving mayor. He is leaving the job to work in the administration of Ned Lamont, a Democrat. Had primary voters acted differently in 2018, Boughton and Lamont could have faced each other in that year’s gubernatorial election. Now they will work together.
Thumbs down to Connecticut being cited in a new report for underserving minority students. An update on the execution of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act drew the opinion of one expert that “Connecticut is taking the flexibility in the ESSA law to the extreme.” State officials bristled at the accusation, but it’s a solid argument that more than nine schools in the state need more support for groups such as Black and Latino students. No data is perfect, but everyone needs to be on the same page regarding classroom equality.
Thumbs up
to New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman drafting Manager Aaron Boone to the 2020 edition of what has always been a surreal holiday event, Heights & Lights in Stamford (aka “Rappelling Santa”). Cashman, a Darien resident, has been tumbling down the side of the 22-story Landmark Building every December since 2010, despite a professed dislike of heights. Drawing crowds was not an option in this Year of COVID, so the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, which hosts the event, taped it Dec. 6 for broadcast on the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (which is based in Stamford). For more information, see the DSSD’s website.
Thumbs up
to staff and volunteers at food pantries throughout the state who are serving more residents than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in wealthier communities. At Person-to-Person in Darien, which serves the bordering cities of Norwalk and Stamford, the number of clients in 2020 has risen from roughly 13,000 to 20,000. Greenwich’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor traditionally serves about 350 families annually, a number that is creeping closer to 600 this year. Such numbers are a reminder of how many residents become vulnerable when the economy collapses.