The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Dec. 13, 2011

It’s too bad that Joseph DiNatale will be leaving Wallingford Housing Authority, but when you purchase a golf course, that requires your attention. WHA needs, at this point, people who can afford the time commitment it has needed in recent months.

Michael DeFeo certainly looks like the right man for the job of guiding Southington’s fact-finding committee for artificial turf. With a world of experience and dedication to sports as well as a business background – in energy drinks – and a commitment to activity which fights obesity, he should bring a fine impartiality to the leadership.

We certainly wish restful nights at home for the two members of Wallingford’s school board, Valerie Ford and Thomas Hennessey who have just finished their service. Being on a board of education anywhere in Connecticut is hard work.

Southington Town Councilor Dawn Miceli is chairing a committee to decide what happens next for the Gura Building. This structure has long bee termed inadequate, and it is good to see that opinion seems to be tending toward preserving it.

It is rather amazing that while UConn’s enrollment has increased by 53 percent over 15 years, faculty census has grown by only 16 percent. To increase faculty numbers by upping tuition doesn’t seem the most desirable option, but given, again, this endlessly bad economy, it’s perhaps the only path.

Meriden Lions Club has replaced worn-out planks in Red Bridge, near the start of the Quinnipiac Gorge Linear Trail, a task which earns them the thanks of the many users of that trail. The city is fortunate to have a group which maintains its interest in this old structure, which they brought into usable shape in 2001.

While we’re discussing volunteer work which impacts Meriden’s linear trail, another thank you is due to the unnamed man who, with shovel and push-broom, spent several hours working along that trail on a recent weekend. Storm damage had altered drainage patterns so that several portions of the trail remained covered with moisture, a dangerous situation with icy weather approaching.

So, reading both articles on Connecticut prepared by CT Mirror, it appears that while we still suffer from meager job growth, Connecticut has a healthy number of assets for residents who want the good life. Compared to sop much of the rest of the world, this state is a veritable paradise.