Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to the daunting possibility that more than one-third of U.S. nonprofits face the possibility of shutting down in the next two years. Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy studied the impact the pandemic is having on charities and nonprofits as the need for many of them has increased and financial resources have been challenged. The report underscored the profound impact felt by the entertainment industry as the likes of theaters and museums have essentially lost their audiences. It’s easy to forget how many nonprofits have already vanished, and important to keep focused on supporting the ones that remain.
Thumbs up to employers that are taking a cautious approach to bringing workers back to offices, despite getting permission from Gov. Ned Lamont for buildings to go back to full capacity. Indeed in Stamford, which was one of the first companies in Connecticut to shut down its offices last year, does not anticipate re-opening its doors to all of its 1,000 employees until September at the earliest. Other companies, such as Synchrony, have unveiled policies that will allow employees to work from home permanently. It’s something the state should consider encouraging to ease the commuting traffic that has haunted Connecticut for decades.
Thumbs up to the tens of thousands of Connecticut residents who registered to make a vaccination appointment after eligibility was expanded to teachers and residents aged 55-64. The end of this dark tunnel can only be reached if everyone gets on board with getting vaccinated, and the response was encouraging that the numbers are moving in the right direction. Many residents were frustrated at the procedure, but that should improve with time.
Thumbs down to opposition among some state legislators to no-excuses absentee ballots. Connecticut has some of the strictest voting laws in the nation, which were relaxed temporarily last year amid the pandemic to allow eligible voters to cast a ballot from home. Now a push is on the make those changes permanent, which would require a change to the state Constitution, but some Republicans have signaled they would try to block fast-track action on such a move. This is a mistake. Connecticut voting needs to catch up with the rest of the country. Absentee ballots are legitimate votes, and the system worked fine in November.
Thumbs up to the University of Connecticut making further investments in its Stamford campus. UConn is expanding its Technology Incubation Program (TIP), which supports Connecticut startups. The initiative will give Stamford UConn students a voice in shaping economic development, with a focus on data science. Companies in the Stamford incubator will also be able to collaborate with a richer breadth of talents, as student population at the campus has risen by 40 percent to 2,941 between 2016 and last fall.