Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up to a Connecticut athlete collecting the first medal of the 2021 Winter Olympic Games. Westport’s Julia Marino picked up the silver medal in
the Women’s slopestyle snowboarding Saturday night (Sunday morning in Beijing time). She was in position to collect the gold until New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott topped her in the final run of the competition. While Marino, 24, carved her name in Olympic history on the slopes, she is also known in the state from her days playing soccer at St. Joseph-Trumbull. In 2015 she became the first woman to land a double in a slopestyle competition. It’s not the last we’ll see of her in Beijing, as she is slated to compete in the big air event.
Thumbs down to rents rising by a reported 12 percent in Connecticut in the last year. Granted, that’s better than the national average of 18 percent cited by
Apartment List, but rising rent costs could not have come at a worse time. The average rent in the state reportedly increased from $1,350 to $1,512 a month. The difference of $162 can pay for a significant amount of groceries. There are several possible reasons for this, including high demand to move into the state during a time of minimal construction, but the bottom line is that it probably won’t get better anytime soon.
Thumbs down to an increasing death toll on Connecticut’s roads. Since the start of the pandemic, figures show state highways have become more
deadly, but there are a number of reasons why. Some point to the empty roads in the early days of the virus’ spread that led people to drive faster and more recklessly. Others point to distractions that are almost ubiquitous for modern road users. In fact, all those factors have combined to reverse what had been long-term trends toward safer roads, and the numbers show deaths have increased even as the increase in miles driven slowed down. It’s a problem that calls for a multi-pronged solution, and something legislators should tackle in the new session.
Thumbs down to a dramatic dip in the number of college students attending Connecticut schools since the start of the pandemic. A survey from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center points to a decrease of 10,000 students from the fall of 2019 to 2021. Of concern is that the shift was driven by a reduction in the number of students attending community colleges. At a time when the state’s community colleges are consolidating, there was a 26 percent decrease in enrollment over five years to 2020. That first year of COVID saw a 15.3 percent downward spiral.
Thumbs up to the announcement of the state’s new chief manufacturing officer. Paul Lavoie of Carey Manufacturing will be responsible for coordinating
efforts to expand manufacturing from the state and private sector, and will become the second person to serve in the position. State officials said Lavoie’s predecessor met with hundreds of manufacturers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to helping direct the Manufacturing Innovation Fund, which assists the sector in strengthening its workforce. Manufacturing has a proud history in Connecticut, and top officials have recognized its place in the state’s future, as well. Keeping current momentum going will be critical.