The Editor's Notepod, Fri., May 27, 2011

Wallingford schools are reforming the academic calendar by eliminating the February vacation and substituting a 3½ day weekend instead. There seem to be several reasons, some bad some good.

Cheshire experiments with privatizing the bulky waste transfer station. We’ll see how the public reaction progresses and how it reacts to the different fee schedule.

The Meriden Boys and Girls Club has an indoor, ceiling-suspended retractable batting cage and baseball and golfing equipment, thanks to a grant from the LeBron James Family Foundation. The cage was installed in February and includes a pitching machine for both baseball and softball, a one-of athletic asset for the benefit of kids in town.

Congratulations to all those Meriden students honored at the Scholars’ Banquet last week. The surprise thanks offered by students was a fine gesture to those who had helped them along the way.

Southington’s Board of Education is considering adding an artificial turf playing field as part of the middle school renovation project. Given today’s economy, members might want to proceed cautiously with the marriage of these two projects.

The Connecticut legislature seems on the way to approving a bill creating a quasi-public authority to run Bradley Field and other state-owned airports. While there are undoubtedly better ways of running any airport, it is by no means clear that a business model would run it better than a public model, while a quasi-public agency lacks accountability of a fully public operation and the responsiveness of a fully private one (see Amtrak and the USPS).

The discussion over a proposed Connecticut law preventing employers from requiring employee attendance at meetings and discussions seems so unnecessary. Why would any employer really want to force attendance at any meeting? Why should not an employee be permitted to proceed in blissful ignorance (or not) by staying away from a meeting at which information is to be dispensed?

One of the reasons for open spaces in Southington and anywhere else is that memories many folks cherish of outdoor recreation took place on private properties which owners today would not permit because of liability fears. When the town buys such properties, they remain open.