Thumbs up, down from the Yuma Sun

• Thumbs up to our air conditioning companies in town. Seriously – where would we be without them here to keep those units running at peak efficiency?! This weekend, high temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 90s, which is a reminder to everyone to change those filters out and get your summer service done on your air conditioners before Mother Nature kicks it into high gear again.

• Thumbs up to the students at Fourth Avenue Junior High School, for creating cat trees for the felines at the Humane Society of Yuma. HSOY officials note the timing is perfect, falling right in the midst of kitten season.

• Thumbs up to Crane Elementary School District, for approving a 4% salary increase for all employees, as well as a $3,000 base salary increase for teachers.

Our educators and school support staff work tirelessly for our students – we’re glad to see a financial boost in their future.

• Thumbs up to the Yuma Fire Department, which responded to three separate fires over a three-hour period on Monday night. Thankfully, no injuries were reported – but that’s an unusually busy night. We’re glad everyone was safe.

• Thumbs up to Starbucks, which is rolling out new disposable cups that contain 20% less plastic. Single-use plastics are problematic, and Starbucks notes that sales of cold drinks account for 75% of its U.S. beverage sales, the Associated Press reports. It’s great the company is taking a proactive approach to plastics.

• Thumbs down to all the vehicle recalls. The most recent one was Ford, which recalled 456,000 Broncos and Mavericks, due to a battery detection issue that can result in a loss of drive power, which in turn increases crash risks, NPR reports. But we’re not here to single out Ford. It seems like every other day, there’s yet another recall from an automaker. It would be nice if the vehicles were made right from day one, wouldn’t it?

• Thumbs down to people who choose to be trolls on social media, tearing down others without thinking twice about it. Before you comment on something, pause for a moment and consider the fact that you aren’t attacking the computer – you are attacking a person on the other side. We’d love to see a world in which people were more compassionate and less critical on social media!

Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down are compiled by the Yuma Sun editorial board, based on recent events, happenings and activities around Yuma County and the nation, and will appear on Fridays in the Yuma Sun.