Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to Tara Cook-Littman, a Fairfield attorney, for her one-woman crusade to seek out the truth on how much of a pesticide, considered to be the new DDT, is used by Connecticut pest control companies. CookLittman used a Freedom of Information request to obtain data that showed at least 758 gallons of the pesticide chlorpyrifos were sprayed on golf courses and crops in the state last year. Although the federal Environmental Protection Agency is blocking an Obama-era prohibition on the pesticide, New York, California, Hawaii and the European Union have banned it because of health concerns, such as brain damage after prolonged exposure. Last year a similar bill failed in Connecticut’s General Assembly. State agencies had not provided information to legislators, according to the vice chairman of the environment committee. We urge the committee, armed with CookLittman’s findings, to reconsider a bill this session.

Thumbs down to health care staff shortages in the state’s Department of Corrections that is driving up overtime costs to the extent that nurses are the top 20 percent wage earners in the agency, in some cases making more than doctors. The shortages also can possibly create dangerous situations with staff often required to work 16-hour shifts, union officials said. For example, the top paid Licensed Practical Nurse made $204,665 in 2019, which included $121,357 in overtime on top of a base pay $50,316. Halfway through the present fiscal year, the DOC is already $17 million above budget, even as the prison population is shrinking. This untenable situation needs to be rectified.

Thumbs up to the General Assembly and Gov. Ned Lamont for their willingness to review the Deadly Weapon Offender Registry that is kept secret from the public. A recent Hearst Connecticut Media Group investigation showed that the list, seen only by law enforcement, contains 1,875 felons who must update addresses and photographs during their first five years out of prison. The registry was a provision in the sweeping gun legislation adopted by the state in 2013. Lamont said last week he would discuss the issue with the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection commissioner and several key legislators said they wanted to review the value of such a registry and whether it should be open to the public as is the Sex Offender Registry.

Thumbs down to an increase in workplace injuries and deaths in Connecticut, according to a recently released state Department of Labor study. The total of 48 people who died from work-related injuries in 2018 was an increase from the 35 of the previous year and higher than any year since 2010. Though Connecticut’s rate of 2.8 deaths per 100,000 workers is lower than the national rate of 3.5 deaths, the increase nonetheless is alarming. Labor union leaders involved with safety are concerned that workers might be afraid to report safety violations to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration conditions. Forty-percent of the deaths in 2018 were related to transportation, and slightly more than 27 percent to construction.

Thumbs down to the New York Mets managing to disappoint fans before the baseball season has even started. After 33 years without a World Series crown, the Mets were finally on the verge of new ownership thanks to an offer on the table from Greenwich resident Steve Cohen to become the majority owner. True to the “only the Mets” spirit, the deal reportedly fell through due to the role of another Greenwich resident, Jeff Wilpon. Wilpon’s father, Fred, is the current majority owner, and sought terms that would have kept on his son as COO after an initial five-year transition window. Cohen, who would have been the richest team owner in sports, knew a bad deal when he saw it and backed away. Chalk up another “L” for Mets fans.