In my life, our state has never been so well positioned to do great things, but our civic discourse is so muddied, few see it. Gov. Ned Lamont must help us see the opportunity. It derives of many factors, not all of them obvious, and Lamont may be the ideal leader to lift us out of our funk. His core strengths include an innate optimism well suited to the task. If not tricked by our fiscal crisis into thinking small, he can do great things. We’re one of just 14 states with a Democratic governor, senate and house, so partisan gridlock is impossible. A wave of new legislators brings an energy and idealism the capitol hasn’t seen in ages. Even our sour public mood may work to our advantage as change-hungry voters stand ready to punish resisters of reform. Here are four things Lamont can do:
Bill Curry
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Deeply flawed community college consolidation must be slowed down
The Board of Regents for Higher Education meets today to consider a consolidation of state community colleges. Since April, the deeply flawed proposal by state colleges and universities system president Mark Ojakian has been moving at warp speed, often under the radar. The board must slow it down. If not, the legislature must step in; should it too default, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the accrediting entity, must withhold its approval.