Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to soaring prices to feast on Thanksgiving. The annual survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau reported the price of the holiday
meal could rise by 14 percent, suggesting the receipt for a dinner for 10 would be $53.31 compared with the 2020 average of $46.90. Not too many families can boast a 14 percent increase in income, but the inflation is largely attributed to putting more people back to work. That would be something to be thankful for.
Thumbs down to Connecticut’s sluggish numbers for COVID-19 booster shots. Yes, we are still among the leading states for overall vaccination rates, but
stumble to 25th when it comes to boosters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hopefully, Gov. Ned Lamont’s efforts in recent days to erase confusion over eligibility will yield results. The guidelines should be clearer now that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration authorized the booster for all vaccinated adults nationwide.
Thumbs up to Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford for trying to get in the game as an option for commercial flights. The State Bond Commission
approved $7 million over the summer for a new runway, and efforts are underway to build a new terminal. Breeze Airways, which has the ability to use shorter runways, and Avelo Airlines are being courted as possibilities. For area travelers, flights from Sikorsky would eliminate the stress of road traffic to reach other regional airports.
Thumbs up to Stamford’s re-imagination of its annual (until last year) holiday parade for the COVID era. Instead of packing the streets on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the event was scaled down and moved to Mill River Park, which also served to showcase the park for many area residents who have not seen its recent upgrades. Hopefully, the parade will be back on the streets in 12 months, but this was far more preferable to a two-year gap.
Thumbs up to a grassroots effort to hold what is believed to be Darien’s first community menorah lighting to celebrate Hanukkah. In the wake of the appearance of multiple swastikas graffitied in Darien’s schools, the public celebration was organized by a town dad. The father, Dan Guller, acknowledged that “Darien has a PR problem,” and took matters into his own hands. Guller says the event is not a response to recent events, but an antidote.
Thumbs up to employment figures continuing to move in the right direction in Connecticut. It’s still breathtaking to consider the 73,000 jobs lost in
the state in March and April of 2020, after COVID’s arrival. Connecticut has recovered roughly 73 percent of those positions, and now has an unemployment rate of about 6.4 percent (it was 3.7 percent in February 2020). Connecticut still needs to catch up with peer states, but slow and steady is a welcome trend after the horrors of 19 months ago.