Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to an effort to take on Connecticut’s electricity costs, some of the highest in the nation. As part of the Take Back the Grid Act, the state’s regulatory authority, PURA, will investigate how to move Connecticut to a framework that links incentives and penalties to how well companies perform. It may or may not reduce rates, but could at least provide some needed stability. Connecticut’s electricity is routinely the most expensive in the continental United States, due to a confluence of factors. And last year’s tropical storm showed how vulnerable we are to extreme weather. This is just a first step, but a welcome one for ratepayers.

Thumbs down to the rare but not unprecedented cases of patients dying of COVID-19 even after having been vaccinated. Connecticut has reported three deaths of people who were vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the Department of Public Health. Known as “breakthrough deaths,” all three were confirmed to have underlying medical conditions and were over 55. None of that makes their deaths any less tragic, but it is important to remember how rare they are. Nationally, a total of 132 vaccine breakthrough deaths have been reported. All evidence shows the vaccines are highly effective and safe, and are essential to returning to our pre-COVID lifestyle.

Thumbs up to Terrence Cheng’s appointment as president of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities. Cheng has served as director of the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus for five years. Though UConn is not part of Cheng’s future responsibilities, there should be benefits to understanding its network as he assumes oversight of the system that was formed from a dozen of the state’s community colleges. The transition has been controversial, but Cheng has displayed poise that will be welcome as the state’s students transition back to their campuses.

Thumbs down to police officers who are resisting getting the coronavirus vaccination, despite being among the first to be eligible for doses. Some 350 officers at seven departments in southwestern Connecticut were not vaccinated as of last week, following a national trend. Public safety officials on the front lines should be encouraging members of the community to get shots. Instead, they are lagging behind the general population. In Darien, for example, only 43 percent of police employee have been vaccinated, while 60 percent of eligible residents in the town have rolled up their sleeves. Fairfield is tops in the group at 75 percent. We’ll be impressed when the turnout in these towns is closer to 100 percent.