Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to campaign spending. Connecticut
has a famously robust system of public financing for political campaigns, enacted in the wake of the John Rowland scandals, which has allowed many people to run for office who would otherwise need to spend all their time fundraising. But it's an opt-in system, which means no one has to take part, putting personally wealthy candidates at an advantage. That scenario has played out in the last two gubernatorial elections, and this year's race between winner Ned Lamont and challenger Bob Stefanowski saw more than $30 million spent on the race. That's prohibitive for non-wealthy candidates, and limits the ability of other people to participate in state politics.
Thumbs down to an ongoing burnout crisis
among Connecticut teachers. Amid a nationwide shortage of teachers made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the state are reporting larger classes, bigger workloads and a lack of needed help as teachers struggle through what was supposed to be the first regular school year since the coronavirus hit in 2020. There's no easy fix, but some of it comes down to money. It's not tenable to ask teachers to work in a district for less money than they could be making elsewhere simply out of the goodness of their hearts, and the same applies for nonteaching jobs that they might be equally qualified for.
Thumbs up to UConn women's associate head coach
Chris Dailey, who collapsed on the sidelines shortly before the Huskies' 91-69 victory over NC State Sunday at the XL Center in Hartford, but was reportedly feeling better soon afterward. Dailey has been by the side of head coach Geno Auriemma for decades, and her influence on the best college program in America can't be overstated. After the game, Auriemma said Dailey was not feeling well before tipoff but that she had recovered quickly. The state knows well the Huskies would not be the same without her.
Thumbs up to mattress recycling. For years when
Connecticut residents were done with a mattress, it would go into a landfill, where it takes up a lot of space. Since the advent of a statewide recycling program in 2015, more than 1.2 million mattresses have been recycled with more than 21,000 tons of steel, foam, wood and other materials being diverted from incinerators and landfills. It's the kind of program the state needs to see more of.