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to the ongoing federal government shutdown. While we might normally suggest both sides go to the table and negotiate a solution, this situation is different. Overwhelming numbers of Republicans and Democrats have in recent weeks supported measures to keep the government open. It is only the president and his insistence that those measures include spending for a border wall that is standing in the way. The government could reopen now, restoring vital services along with thousands of people’s paychecks, if Congress would pass what it has already passed, and override the president’s veto if necessary. If he wants a wall, the president can try to have it passed as regular legislation, not as a bargaining chip.

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to getting in shape. Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti announced recently the city’s Armory at 5 State St. will be open from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday for winter walkers, offering a safe and warm place indoors to maintain, or begin, an exercise regimen in the New Year. The Armory, which dates to the 1920, has served over the years as headquarters for area Civil Defense and National Guard, as host for police and firefighter balls, and today for youth basketball and cheerleading programs, among other events.

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to an ill-fated effort to remove Connecticut from the National Popular Vote compact. The compact, which includes 11 states and the District of Columbia, would only go into effect if states totaling more than 270 electoral votes sign up. That’s the number required to win the presidency, and it would mean those states award their votes to the national popular vote winner, regardless of how their states voted. The Electoral College is deeply flawed and has more than once thwarted the will of the people. The state was smart to move away from it, and a Republican lawmaker’s plan to change that should go nowhere.

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to a housing market that showed plenty of weakness in 2018. According to a recent report, Connecticut was one of only two states in New England to see average sale prices decline from 2017. Connecticut also saw a big increase in the amount of time houses were on the market before they sold. The news wasn’t better for local markets, either, with only the Hartford and Tolland areas seeing a rise in average sale prices. While all that adds up to better news for buyers, a stronger housing market would be a big help to the state’s overall economy.

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to new leadership on the state Legislature’s Education Committee. The problems faced by Connecticut’s schools are not new, and are well known to anyone who follows the issue. Despite being one of the richest states in the nation, we have among the largest achievement gaps between well-off and poorer students, as well as between students of different races, of any state, as well. Fully and fairly funding all our schools is a major challenge, and one that has been difficult for past generations of legislators, as well as governors, to get a grasp on. We’re hoping a new generation of leadership can bring real change to one of our most protracted problems.

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to better-than-expected hiring numbers released by the federal government last week. Amid other signs the economy might finally be heading for a slowdown, employers went on something of a hiring spree last month, adding more than 300,000 jobs to the national economy. Unemployment remains low and wage growth, for a long time stubbornly slow even in a tight job market, has finally risen to its expected pace. It’s only one month, but the federal job numbers give good reason for positive thinking in 2019.