Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to the toll the pandemic has taken on preschools in Connecticut. As a result of layoffs, safety concerns and financial losses, many programs for preschoolers have been shuttered in recent months, according to Merrill Gay, executive director of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance. Programs that survived are struggling too, and protocols to maintain safety often fuels even more costs. This happens to come at a time when Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, who is poised to become the U.S. Secretary of Education, is prioritizing pre-K for all 3- and 4year-olds. For many young children, the last 10 months have offered the worst possible launch to getting acclimated to education.
Thumbs down to Connecticut’s daily positivity rate for COVID-19 hovering just below 9 percent at year’s end. If there’s a positive spin to the grim numbers, it’s that the percentage dipped slightly from the previous day. But given that
5,000 Connecticut residents died between the start of the pandemic and the end of November, it’s sobering to note that there were at least
1,000 deaths in the month of December alone. As the last day of
2020 passed, only seven municipalities in Connecticut remained out of the “red zone”: Wilton, Salisbury, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Union and Warren.
Thumbs up
to $9 million in COVID Relief Fund for the Arts grants being issued to arts organizations across the state. Though the 150 recipients are a fraction of Connecticut’s arts outlets (many nonprofits were not eligible), the funds administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development made an investment to help sustain many struggling organizations.
Thumbs up to Connecticut outpacing New York in the number of
COVID-19 vaccines distributed by population. As of Dec. 28, Connecticut had distributed 1,017 for every
100,000 residents, while New York was at a pace of 720 doses per 100,000 people, according to data from the offices of each state’s governor. It’s not a competition, but the numbers do serve as a reminder that this unprecedented distribution effort won’t be easy.
Thumbs down to the continuing victimization of relatives of the Sandy Hook School shootings. Lenny Pozner, the father of a victim of the 2012 shooting, wore a disguise for his interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley on Sunday as he discussed the consequences of cyberstalking. Pozner said he has been the victim of online harassment from conspiracy theorists who have attempted to disprove the tragedy, and has had to move many times to avoid harassment.