Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to the Mets’ thumbs downs. The struggling team ran into controversy in recent days over some players’ reactions to discontent from
the fans. Management came down hard on the players’ thumbs-down gestures, a reaction, they say, to earlier booing on account of poor play. The truth is that all this is a sideshow in a season that has once again gone sideways. The Mets have had too many off-field distractions this year, and their months-long hold on first place has given way to another also-ran season. If they won a little more often — and this is on the front office as much as the players — this would be a nonissue.
Thumbs down to a hodgepodge of standards for remote learning. With school restarting in Connecticut and state officials no longer requiring districts
to offer remote learning, the question of what will happen when students if students are required to quarantine remains uncertain. Gov. Ned Lamont has mandated COVID vaccinations for K-12 teachers and staff, and mask requirements will be in place for at least the first month of school and likely beyond. But COVID infections are still going to happen, not least because children under 12 can’t be vaccinated. What will happen then will vary by district, but is guaranteed to be disruptive. A statewide standard would be helpful so schools could better plan, but in the meantime, some lost classroom time might be inevitable.
Thumbs down to the prevalence of harmful chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in state drinking water.
Connecticut’s health and environmental agencies say there are likely to be contaminated locations throughout the state and are looking to clean them up before they can cause any harm. PFAS have been used in this country for many years in a variety of products, but are best known as part of a firefighting foam that leached into the Farmington River in 2019 after an incident at Bradley Airport. Legislators voted in June to spend $2.3 million to pay for testing and treatment of drinking water that is shown to be contaminated, but the fight against PFAS could last for years.
Thumbs down to meterologists getting slammed with inappropriate comments. Instead of celebrating that Connecticut was spared the worst of Tropical Storm Henri, some residents chose to fire personal attacks on the forecasters. FOX61’s chief meteorologist, Rachel Frank, described some of them as “venomous.” As WFSB meteorologist Melissa Cole pointed out on social media, she and her peers “have nothing to gain by hyping things up.” If there was a positive side to this, it was to see a demonstration of camaraderie within the field. Count us among their supporters.
Thumbs down to the dark reality behind the apparent rise in sexual harassment complaints being filed in Connecticut this year. The good news behind filings being on track to break the 2019 mark of 260 is that more victims feel emboldened to come forward. The bad news is that despite all the attention drawn to the issue in recent years, inappropriate workplace behavior apparently continues to occur.