Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to the excessive overtime hours logged by State Police. A new audit of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection found that 20 of the 25 employees reviewed earned more in overtime dollars than in base pay. That average came to $107,635 in annual salary and $170,788 in overtime. That impacts the state budget in the short-term, and in the future, as OT is counted into retirement benefits. But the greater public concern should be over the ability to handle stressful job responsibilities when working so many hours. Sixteen of the people in that group worked an average of 13.4 hours per day for 14 consecutive days. There have to better solutions in terms of financial management and public safety.
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Thumbs up to the UConn football team, which will play in the Myrtle Beach Bowl against Marshall Dec. 19. No, it’s not the Rose Bowl, and yes, there are dozens of bowl games. But the idea of UConn playing in one of them would have been laughable just a few months ago. This was a team so bad that thoughtful people believed the university should simply abandon the sport, with a string of futility turning the Huskies into a national punchline. Those days are over. UConn won six games this year under first-year coach Jim Mora, and there are again good feelings around the program. It’s a huge accomplishment for the players.
Thumbs down to the abrupt closures of several Ninety-Nine restaurant locations around the state. It means one less place for people to go out to eat, but more
importantly it’s a loss of a job for everyone who cooked food, waited tables or otherwise worked at the restaurants, just as the holiday season is getting underway. State Sen. Matt Lesser said he wants answers as to whether the Massachusetts-based chain violated any state or federal labor standards by failing to provide notice to workers in advance of closing the three restaurants, in Middletown, Cromwell and Stratford. Regardless of whether there was official misconduct, it’s a tough break for the workers.
Thumbs up to Fairfield University alum Matt Turner making the world seem a little smaller as he played goalie for the U.S. men’s national soccer team in
the World Cup. Turner, who played for the Stags from 2012-15, provided some excitement for the hometown crowd, even as the American squad was knocked out of competition in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. Turner played a starring role on the biggest stage in soccer, which earns Fairfield some bragging rights for years to come.
Thumbs down to national Democrats bypassing Connecticut for an early primary state. The party appears poised to move South Carolina to the head of the
voting pack, in front of Iowa, which has traditionally cast the first votes of the primary season. Nothing against South Carolina, but Connecticut would have been a great choice — a mix of urban, rural and suburban communities with a diverse population, all in a small, easily drivable state. New Hampshire, it appears, will still be early in the cycle, representing the Northeast. Again, New Hampshire is a fine place. Connecticut just happens to be better.
Thumbs down to dipping temperatures arriving as flu and COVID number rise in Connecticut. If there’s good news on the health front, it’s that the respiratory
virus RSV has reportedly peaked. But pretty dismal turnout for COVID booster shots may mean a reckoning is arriving, as the virus appears ready to spike for the first time since February. It would be nice to mark the third anniversary of COVID’s arrival in March with such numbers moving in the right direction.