Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to a plan to reach out to high schools to find the next generation of aerospace manufacturers. Sikorsky Aircraft, the longtime helicopter maker with its main office in Stratford, is working with the Teamsters Union on an aircraft manufacturing preapprenticeship program that was recently certified by the Department of Labor. With manufacturers in Connecticut continuing to say they have a hard time finding labor, this is another step at making sure the job market of the next generation can be filled with Connecticut workers.

Thumbs down to a report that showed difficulty predicting how much money states can expect to see from recreational marijuana legalization on a year to year basis. Connecticut tried but failed to legalize recreational marijuana this year, and the issue is likely to remain on the front burner next session. While advocates have many reasons for pushing the change, high among them is a dependable revenue stream from newly legal purchases. But as a new analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts found, forecasting has been highly inexact so far, potentially leaving states in trouble if they expect more than they take in.

Thumbs up to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for planning to return early from recess to tackle gun safety legislation. The committee will meet Sept. 4 and will consider two bills related to risk protection orders, which are now used by 16 states besides Connecticut to remove guns from people who have been deemed a risk to themselves or others. Connecticut was the first to establish such a “red flag” law, in 1999, and since then has issued nearly 2,000 risk warrants. Though the Senate is considered more of a stumbling block to any new gun laws, Sen. Richard Blumenthal has said he is working with Republicans to develop legislation that could pass there, as well.

Thumbs up to a decline in the state’s jobless rate, to 3.6 percent. There wasn’t much positive news on job gains last month, with numbers mostly holding steady, but the unemployment rate has continued to sink, and revisions showed the previous month’s job losses as less severe than previously reported. Connecticut has a ways to go to regain momentum in terms of economic growth, but the low unemployment rate remains a bright spot. As forecasters grow increasingly nervous that another recession could be on the horizon, the state will need all the good news it can get.

Thumbs up to another installment of Tax Free Week in Connecticut, timed once again for the pending opening of public schools. Items that are priced less than $100 are free of the state’s 6.35 percent sales tax, and many retailers are known to mark down items below that threshold to qualify them for the tax break. There is no cap on the number of qualifying items that can be bought in any single transaction. Gov. Ned Lamont’s office estimates that shoppers will save close to $5 million this year on taxes.

Thumbs down to a move to weaken the federal Endangered Species Act, which Connecticut representatives oppose. The revisions make it easier for regulators to remove a species from the endangered list and weakens protections for threatened species. Massachusetts and California have said they would take the Trump administration to court over rules released last week, saying the need to protect endangered or threatened species trumps business and industry needs. Connecticut said it is considering a similar move, and has already joined multistate lawsuits designed to block Trump administration rules that favor the coal industry.