The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Oct. 27, 2011

Congresswoman DeLauro, who represents Wallingford and the New Haven area in Congress, is part of an effort to make diapers, especially for infants, more available and affordable to families who cannot afford them. If this means a decrease in the number of such children spending time in day care centers with soggy diapers, spreading germs, it’s a great idea, and that’s just the beginning.

Having hair stylists and hair dressers, who often work with the same clients for years, on the lookout for signs of skin cancers – just as dental hygienists and other professionals do – makes huge sense. Cosmetologists as well as dermatologists in Meriden, Wallingford, Southington and Cheshire and elsewhere are alert on behalf of what so many of us cannot or will not see ourselves.

Alpine Ridge LLC has backed out of its deal to restore the Powder Ridge ski area in Middlefield, dashing hopes of yet another effort to revive this resort. The good news is that the town of Middlefield owns the land and can continue with permitting processes and remarket the property – but be prepared for it to take a long time.

Connecticut’s legislature has overwhelmingly passed a jobs bill covering a number of initiatives to create employment, and passed on a partisan vote a measure to loan money for a biotech lab. We hope this gamble works out, but the vote leaves Republicans in a position to complain if it doesn’t.

Looks as if there’s another suitor in the wings for Wallingford’s former American Legion Building, now that the first proposal has been withdrawn, and, according to councilors, similar or identical terms. There would seem to be no harm in trying.

Wallingford’s Fire Department is handing out 100 carbon monoxide detectors donated by a manufacturer after an incident in which a mom and five kids were rescued after they used a charcoal grill indoors. These detectors are lifesavers.

Meriden’s Boys and Girls Club is sponsoring an electronics waste collection November 19 at Ragozzino’s on the Chamberlain Highway, 9 am to 2 pm. Collected waste will be sold to a recycling company which pays by the pound, and the goal is to raise $15,000, so get your broken walkmen (or is it walkmans?), TVs, record-players, VCRs, fans, and heaters ready to deliver.

Cheshire is having to hire workers earlier laid off to help registrar work for the upcoming elections. This is an area where close attention should be paid to proper staffing, since, after all, voting is kind of basic to democracy.

Voters in Southington should check where they are to vote. Due to construction at North Center School, there has been realignment, and although notices have been sent out twice, it certainly makes sense to check.