Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to University of Connecticut’s dismal showing after two games that resulted in the departure of Head Coach Randy Edsall. It’s a $1.256 million
mistake for UConn, as Edsall will collect that season salary despite ending his career Monday. Adding to the program’s image problem is that Edsall announced Sunday that he would retire at year’s end, only to have the date moved up on, of all times, Labor Day. The Huskies come off defeats in the first two games of the season, including a 45-point rout at the hands of Fresno State. But it’s the inability to finish with a winning record since 2010 that raises the question of whether it’s worth continuing the program.
Thumbs up — and down — to news that housing prices in Connecticut rose some 20 percent in a year. It’s one of just 13 states that saw an increase at that level.
This is good news for homeowners, but for those looking to move into the state (and those people do exist) it makes the task that much more difficult. The price increase is driven by demand, and at the same time the state has been loath to increase supply. Building more housing, especially of the multifamily variety, is difficult to the point of impossible in a wide swath of the state. But if we want a growing population, and with it a growing economy, more housing supply is going to be necessary.
Thumbs down to Connecticut recording 817 cases of sewer overflows in 2021, which still has more than three months to go. It’s a 73 percent increase from the
same time in 2020, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The recent storms exposed the perils of outdated infrastructure in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Norwich and Waterbury. The overflow doesn’t just impact human life, but plants and animals as well. It’s a problem that can’t continue to be ignored.
Thumbs down to an increase in traffic deaths in 2021. Connecticut state police responded to more than 6,000 calls for service statewide during the Labor Day
weekend, including three fatal crashes, but the problems run far deeper than the holiday. Deaths in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first three months of 2021 jumped by more than 10 percent over the previous year, according to national statistics, with an estimated 8,730 fatalities reported. There are many reasons, including an increase in reckless driving, and the pandemic plays a role, too. It’s disheartening especially that deaths have risen even as overall miles driven has dropped. Either way, we need to be more careful out there.
Thumbs down to Connecticut failing to meet benchmarks to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
on Tuesday said that according to 2018 data, the most recent year for which numbers are available, Connecticut emissions went up, “which is not in line with the substantial reductions that will be needed to meet the 2030 and 2050 GHG reduction targets set by the General Assembly,” DEEP said. It’s worth noting these cuts are not guidelines — they’re built into the law. We’ve seen the effects of climate change hitting home in Connecticut and around the world in recent months. We know the stakes. Solutions are much larger than one state, but we have to do our part.