Homers -- What's going right

RIGHTLY REJECTED: The Iowa State Board of Education turned down a proposal that would have made it more difficult for school districts to start classes before the Iowa State Fair ends. As we've said before, the starting date is a local decision and district officials and parents should know what works best for their academic and other priorities.

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POSITIVE CHANGE: The change made to the state's Amber Alert policy makes sense. Now, authorities need a description of only one of the following when issuing an alert: the abducted child, the suspected abductor or the abductor's vehicle. Who knows, it might have made a difference for the two Evansdale girls who disappeared last year and were found dead five months later. No alert was issued because one of those criteria, suspect information, was missing.

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SOLDIER SUPPORT: Cheers to actor Gary Sinise, whose foundation and another non-profit, Tunnel to Towers, will build a “smart” home for Iowan Taylor Morris, the Iowa soldier who lost parts of four limbs in an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan. Sinise's band also was scheduled to perform a benefit concert in Cedar Falls on Saturday.