Homers: What's going right

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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JUDICIAL FIRST: J. Paul Oetken, a graduate of Cedar Rapids Regis High School and the University of Iowa, was confirmed to a federal judgeship by the U.S. Senate. His achievement drew extra recognition because he is the first openly gay man to be confirmed to the federal bench. He will serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Good to see that Oetken's experience and competency, not his sexual orientation, were the focus of the confirmation process.

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PERSISTENCE: We admire the persistence of Henry Davison and volunteers who, three years after the 2008 flood wiped out the youth center named after Davison, are still making progress on renovating a new site, hoping to reopen by year's end.

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FAIR IS FAIR: Iowa Department of Corrections officials rightly changed their minds, allowing a prison guard to take leave to care for her ailing wife. Federal law provides leave for famiy-related problems. The guard, Teresa Heck, and her spouse, Rebecca Andrews, of Iowa City, were legally married after the Iowa Supreme Court 2009 decision that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.