Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to the need for the state Department of Transportation to install cameras at work zones next year to discourage aggressive drivers.
Workers report close calls and cones that have been toppled as they handle maintenance and collect debris. Then there are the 576 accidents in work zones reported from Jan. 1 to Sept. 11. There are a lot of flaws with the camera plan, but that shouldn’t distract from the need to address the much bigger problem of reckless driving that continues unabated.
Thumbs up to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong putting pressure on officials at TikTok to engage with state leaders, parents and students
in the wake of threats made to schools on the social media app. Rumors of threats spread through online platforms resulted in school closures as well as increased police presence in some schools. A lot of work will need to be done to reverse this ugly trend, but it needs to be a collaborative effort. This is an important step.
Thumbs down to Connecticut’s COVID scorecard lapping the grim milestone of 9,000 deaths last week. That number was reached after 56 deaths
of state residents were recorded in the previous week, a reminder that the holiday season again resulted in a surge of the pandemic. The national death toll in 2021 is higher than 2020’s total. Connecticut’s vaccine numbers are pretty strong compared with other states, but only 32 percent of residents have gotten booster shots. We can still do better to combat COVID.
Thumbs up to two enterprising young Fairfield County residents who have launched their answer to Amazon with an online marketplace for state
products. Fairfieldcountyshops.com was created by Greg Gatto, a Ridgefield resident and a senior at Yale University, and recent Fordham University graduate Olivia Ghee, who lives in Fairfield. It could give more exposure and sales to area merchants and serve people who can’t resist the ease of shopping online. The venture only debuted in recent months, but already includes 27 stores from Westport, New Canaan, Greenwich, Wilton, Darien, Newtown, Fairfield and Ridgefield.
Thumbs up to lawmakers taking action in response to the recent Hearst Connecticut Media Group investigation into domestic violence. U.S. Sen.
Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., may be the biggest name among those calling for increased funding, but several state legislators are raising their voices, which will be vital to getting results. The can’t happen with a lot more support to reverse the tide of this trend, which is long overdue.