Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs up to the six local athletes on their induction last week into the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame. A.J. Mleczko Griswold, an ice hockey Olympian, and Travis Simms, a former middleweight boxing champion, were inducted into the Jackie Robinson Professional Wing of the hall. Also, John and Paul Kuczo were inducted into the J. Walter Kennedy Service Wing, and Rashamel Jones and Claire Beth Tomasiewicz Nogay into the James O’Rourke Amateur Wing.
Thumbs up to those who cared enough about Norwalk’s proposed ban on plastic bags to jam a City Hall room last week and express their opinion. While most of the 30 or so attendees supported the ban, not everyone did as the Common Council Ordinance Committee considered a draft of a city-wide policy. The proposal would include a ban on plastic carryout bags, with fines for non-compliant businesses and a 10-cent charge built into the cost of paper bags, which store owners would keep. We hope interest remains high as the proposal goes to a public hearing.
Thumbs up to the University of Maine actively trying to recruit high school students from Connecticut to consider UMaine “for the in-state cost of UConn.” Maybe we shouldn’t be supporting competition from across our borders in these economic times, but any competition that could result in more opportunities for students is a welcome one. And, for what it’s worth, UConn reports a consistent rise in the number of applications it receives from in-state students. UMaine’s Flagship Match program requires students to have a 3.0 grade point average and SAT scores of at least 1120.
Thumbs down to a report that suggests racial profiling remains a problem on our roads. The Central Connecticut State University Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy released data that indicated minority drivers were pulled over at higher rates than their white counterparts when it came to equipment violations. The study focused on the towns of Ansonia, Berlin, Darien, Monroe, Newtown, Norwich and Ridgefield. It’s somewhat encouraging that the researchers suggested it may not be individual officers who are displaying signs of discrimination, but that enforcement efforts are focused on places where minorities are more likely to be driving. Regardless, it begs for deeper exploration and discussion within our police departments.
Thumbs up to an initiative to recruit new teachers through a collaboration with TEACH.org. The state Department of Education effort is admirable for attempting to draw a more diverse teaching pool, but there’s an urgency to it as well. Several districts in the state are desperate to fill vacancies, which means many students are coping with a possible rotation of substitutes or large classroom sizes. The campaign will also target certification in areas such as math, science, bilingual and special education. Anyone interested in exploring the possibilities can find more information at https:// connecticut.teach.org.
Thumbs down to the tortured process of Connecticut gubernatorial candidates responding to media requests to release their tax returns. Independent candidate Oz Griebel earned extra credit for releasing an abridged version of his records a few weeks ago, while Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski played a game of chicken. Lamont allowed reporters last week to view – but not copy – his documents, leaving Stefanowski’s campaign to report that their candidate will unveil his in the days to come. There are only two weeks left until voters will make their choices. Transparency means giving them the time to digest the information. The candidates could have released this information weeks ago instead of letting the clock run out.