Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up

to everyone who participated in protests Friday to raise awareness of climate change. A united stand that linked people in Melbourne, Berlin and Nairobi to strangers in Stamford, New Haven and Westport showed that we’re all in this together. The work will continue until world leaders can be convinced to take meaningful action, but nothing will happen without the public’s urging. Hopefully, the volume of voices will continue to rise even as the need to act grows more dire.

Thumbs up

to possible progress on loosening Connecticut’s logjam on transportation funding. Legislative leaders of both parties said they were optimistic Friday after a briefing by U.S. transportation officials about the potential of federal financing at belowmarket rates for a portion of CT 2030, a 10year transportation infrastructure plan that may soon be unveiled by the Lamont administration. Nearly everyone has agreed that expensive fixes are needed, and the debate has centered on how to pay for it. If the federal government can help provide that answer, legislators need to follow through.

Thumbs down

to Purdue Pharma and a related firm planning to pay out more than $40 million in bonuses. Yes, the embattled company needs to retain some of its talent as it transitions to a new model, but they are called “bonuses” for a reason. These payoffs are another layer of disrespect to those who have suffered as a result of the company’s product. Purdue Pharma continues to be tonedeaf to the opioid crisis it helped create. It’s akin to a waiter demanding a tip after the customer suffered from food poisoning.

Thumbs down

to new data revealing that there has been a rise in the number of former convicts filling homeless shelters in the state. Nearly half the people in state shelters in the last three years served some time in jail or prison, according to the data. This rise comes on the heels of the state’s success in decreasing the prison population, an indicator that more needs to be done to address the transition former convicts face as they reenter society. Gov. Ned Lamont’s office said the data will help them explore ways to help former inmates find housing.

Thumbs down

to the death of Beulah, an Asian elephant at the center of a legal battle as one of three elephants an animal rights group was seeking to free. Beulah was owned by the Commerford Zoo in Goshen and had been on display yearly at The Big E in Massachusetts. “Our fight to secure recognition of our elephants clients’ right to liberty and their release to a sanctuary will continue,” The Nonhuman Rights Project said in a statement. Regardless of the suit’s outcome, elephants are intelligent, social animals and have no business being held at a Connecticut petting zoo.

Thumbs up

to Greenwich parents who are challenging the Board of Education to measure how much time students are spending on iPads and Chromebooks in public schools. The group of parents aren’t suggesting computers be eliminated, but are wisely raising the question of whether they are appropriate for use by kindergartners, firstgraders and secondgraders. Among the group’s concerns is that overuse of computers during these years of development is stifling social skills. It’s a worthwhile discussion for all educators to consider.