Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to a federal grant that will make Narcan available to patients at hospital emergency departments throughout Connecticut. The medication can reverse the effects of a opioid overdose, so putting this in the hands of family members and loved ones can save lives. State legislation also allows certified pharmacists to prescribe Narcan, aka naloxone, to customers requesting it. Participating pharmacies are listed at http:// www.ct.gov/dcp/naloxone (click on “Naloxone Map”).

Thumbs down to our elected official having to continue to invest energies into thwarting the ridiculous concept of arming school teachers with guns. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Connecticut Democrats, introduced a resolution last week in an effort to clarify that federal education dollars can’t be spent on the arming of teachers. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th, the wife of a police officer, who pointed out that police could misidentify an armed teacher as an active shooter. That’s just one of a host of reasons this folly needs to stop.

Thumbs up to a Connecticut city returning to the pages of Marvel Comics. The new “Meet The Skrulls” series welcomes the aliens to Stamford, and a cameo of the Avon Theatre is promised in a future issue. Stamford notoriously was devastated in the “Civil War” series featuring several of Marvel’s heroes more than a decade ago. The city’s history in Marvel’s pages reaches back even further. Back in the late 1980s, Stamford writer Dan Chichester featured the city in a two-part story in “Terror Inc.” that featured a smackdown between the title character and the Punisher, as their battle carved a path across the Stamford Town Center, Landmark building, Ferguson Library and North Stamford.

Thumbs down to Democratic Rep. Minnie Gonzalez neglecting to pay a $4,500 fine related to election law violations that trace back to 2006. Yes, Gonzalez deserved the opportunity to appeal the fine, but it was upheld by the state Appellate Court in 2013. It’s now reached a point where Attorney General William Tong is threatening to take legal action to recover the money. Gonzalez, who has represented part of Hartford for 22 years, has had plenty of opportunities to settle the matter. She should face legal consequences.

Thumbs down to school districts across the state, including some of the largest systems, that have failed to comply with requests for public information as part of a statewide test conducted by news organizations to mark Sunshine Week, an occasion meant to highlight government openness. New Haven and Hartford and about 40 other districts were asked last month to provide copies of their superintendents’ pay packages as well as their schools’ enrollment data, but had not completed the request as of Monday, according to CTNewsJunkie. Open and transparent government is vital to the public, and local governments need to do a better job seeing that they meet the law’s requirements.

Thumbs down to a proposed 5 percent tuition increase next year at Connecticut’s four state universities. That would translate to an average of $479 more for in-state commuting students and $861 more for residential and out-of-state students for the next school year. It’s never easy to swallow such an increase, especially on the heels of a 4 percent jump in the most recent year. Budget officials said they are confident more savings can be found in the spending at each of the four campuses, and students have to hope that’s true.