The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to Metro-North Railroad offering personal protective equipment at vending machines – but not in Connecticut. While the idea is practical, and a potential income generator, Connecticut does not have the vending machines and its participation is left to the state Department of Transportation. A state DOT spokesman said the idea is under consideration, but there are no current plans or them. In the DOT’s defense, conductors offer masks to those in need, but the machines would be another way to reassure riders.
Thumbs down to state police blocking public release of reports related to allegations of wrongdoing by troopers, citing a loophole in their union contract. Hearst Connecticut Media requested the records, but a provision in the 2019 contract allows state police to cloak information that was previously public. The appropriate response would be to seek transparency. They say they are protecting troopers who faced “unfounded” allegations, but the response is discouraging in the shadow of measures to enhance police accountability. Municipal leaders will have to take measures to ensure the language isn’t duplicated when they negotiate local contracts.
Thumbs down to a group of newly minted Connecticut law school graduates who are seeking to dodge taking the bar exam and skip straight to becoming lawyers. The petitioners are arguing that the potential perils of being exposed to the coronavirus should preclude 500 grads from taking the exam Sept. 30 at the Convention Center in Hartford. While it’s reasonable for them to seek “diploma privilege,” there should be ways to conduct the tests without putting participants at risk, or compromising testing conditions. The responsibilities of lawyers are too important for shortcuts to be taken.
Thumbs up to a glimmer of promising news related to the coronavirus. Stamford Hospital reported last week that for the first time since the pandemic seized Connecticut, it had no patients with COVID-19. As Dr. Maher Madhoun, an infectious disease specialist at the hospital, said, “The mood is back to normal.” While it doesn’t mean there won’t be more infected patients, it does suggest strategies are helping movie the needle in the right direction. At that point last week, the Yale New Haven Health system had 24 patients at its Connecticut properties, including 11 at Yale New Haven Hospital, nine at Bridgeport Hospital and four at Greenwich Hospital. Back in April, there were 444 patients at Yale New Haven Hospital alone. Nuvance Health, which includes Norwalk, Danbury, Sharon and New Milford hospitals did not provide data, but reported having only a handful of positive patients.