Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up to a preview of plans to upgrade Interstate-95 along the Greenwich-Stamford corridor. Along with bridge repairs, paving and new lights and signs along the six-mile stretch, there will be a long-overdue reconfiguration of the southbound Exit 3 ramp, which commuters dread due its backups and as the scene of frequent accidents. The $205 million project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2022. The public comment period is open until Feb. 22. A phone line is available at 860-944-1111, and emails can be sent to DOTProject56-316@ct.gov.
Thumbs up to organizations with similar missions launching a collaborative effort to achieve their goals. The new Coordinated Access Network (CAN), was created to simplify ways for homeless teens in Connecticut to locate resources. CAN is a one-stop network unifying resources available through Family and Children’s Agency of Norwalk, Supportive Housing Works of Bridgeport and the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford. It’s a smart recognition that the last thing children seeking shelter need is confusion and red tape. We hope to see this initiative succeed so it can be a model for other nonprofits in the state.
Thumbs down to prison gerrymandering. This is the process where a state counts prison inmates as residents of the town where they are incarcerated instead of the town where they lived beforehand, and it can boost the political clout of largely white towns that have prisons while hurting cities with larger Black populations. State Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven is again mounting an effort to put a stop to it, and with congressional redistricting on the table for the next decade’s races, the issue is paramount. It may be an uphill climb, but it’s an argument worth having.
Thumbs up, somewhat tentatively, to new cases of COVID-19 at Connecticut nursing homes declining by 23 percent week-to-week two weeks after the state completed its first round of vaccines. Officials say they can’t be sure those events are related, but we’ll take any improvement in the grim numbers as we approach the heart of the winter season. Either way, the staffs at nursing homes merit kudos for their ongoing efforts to stifle the spread of the coronavirus. The 238 new cases of the virus among nursing home residents was not only down 23 percent from the previous week, but almost half of the 483 cases reported Jan. 7.
Thumbs down to the Pomperaug Health District, one of the smallest in the state, violating state protocol in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine by inoculating more than 300 teachers and school staff instead of seniors over age 75. The impulse to try to protect teachers is somewhat understandable, but allowing anyone to skip the line to secure a scarce resource can lead to anarchy. The district had been warned by Public Health Acting Commissioner Deidre Gifford to adhere to the state plan to prioritize the elderly. Pomperaug did abide after an initial distribution, but this needs to be a cautionary tale for the rest of the state.
Thumbs up to a happy ending to the 6-week saga of a lost 11-year-old yellow lab mix. Lexi went missing Dec. 7 during a visit to Wilton and traveled through at least four towns and 100 miles before he was captured in a trap on the property of Stamford resident Jorge Velazquez and returned to his owner, Fairfield’s Brandi Solomon. Solomon’s outreach through social media led many people throughout the area to join the search. Ultimately, word reached Velazquez through the CT Dog Gone Volunteer Recovery Network, and Lexi was snared in a trap set in his yard after he sighted the dog. It’s an inspiring example of the rewards of a community rallying in support of a common cause.