Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to everyone who had the willpower to fulfill their commitment to dive into Long Island Sound for the annual Plunge for Parks winter festival at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, even as temperatures dipped into the single digits on New Year’s Day. Water temperatures were measured at 34 degrees for the event, which is organized by Elm City Parks Conservancy and raises money for the city’s local parks.

Thumbs down to an E. coli outbreak that has affected 17 people across 13 states, including Connecticut, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Officials have yet to pinpoint the source of the outbreak and have not advised the public to avoid any particular restaurants or products.

Thumbs up to the increasingly effective care offered, on the whole, by dialysis centers in Connecticut. Twelve of the state’s 48 centers, including those in Fairfield, Branford, Danbury, Middletown, Milford and South Norwalk, earned Medicare’s highest patientcare rating. Only one of the 48 — the Dialysis Center of Newington — scored on the low end of the 1-5 scale. That’s an improvement from data for 2014, when six dialysis centers in the state scored low in quality of care.

Thumbs up to the state Department of Labor, Hilton Worldwide and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies for collaborating in providing a new program for veterans looking for jobs. The Hilton Honors Military Program is available to eligible Connecticut veterans and their families. The program helps pay for accommodations when a veteran has to travel out-ofstate for a job interview, look for housing that is closer to their new employment, or for related jobsearch activities offered under the program guide. Information and applications for the program are available by contacting Daniel Laffin at Daniel.Laffin@ct.gov.

Thumbs down to the fake news generated by a faux Twitter feed declaring that Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim was officially entering the race for governor. That the fake “Joe Ganim for Governor” tweets received attention in some news markets is a reminder to check the source before repeating the “news.” Ganim’s camp attributed the effort to an “over-enthusiastic supporter.”

Thumbs up to new laws taking effect that will require more oversight of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Connecticut has been slower than other states to address the issues. The companies must now register and pay fees to the state Department of Transportation. The law will allow the DOT to serve as a watchdog to combat false claims and require the companies to obtain background checks for drivers. To its credit, Uber is supporting the new laws.