Welcome to our weekly column in which a topic of interest, piece of news, relevant opinion, or general request for feedback is presented. We’ll offer the topic du jour and accompanying question, and you have the opportunity to respond with your thoughts.
Simply fill out the form below. A collection of each week’s responses will appear in the following week’s column. To view responses on our previous topics click here.
Publisher reserves the right to edit responses for clarity and publish online and/or in our print publications.
Please let us know your thoughts!
This week’s Feedback Friday topic is:
More Sunshine, Permanently?
Daylight Saving Time returns this weekend. For those of us who remember to set our clocks ahead one hour before falling asleep Saturday night/Sunday morning, the change likely won’t overwhelm our daily activities. For those who forget…well, your routine probably won’t be disrupted too much either. But some studies over the years have revealed there’s an increase in strokes, heart attacks, and, even, traffic accidents in the days immediately after a time change.
The general consensus remains, however, that many Americans prefer the extra hour of daylight that “springing forward” offers (opposite the dread of losing that hour of sunshine in the Fall). In a 2022 Monmouth University poll, 44 percent of respondents wanted permanent daylight saving time, 13 percent wanted permanent standard time, and 35 percent wanted to stay with the system we presently have.
So, what’s the deal with Daylight Saving Time and why all the chatter lately? Well, it seems a bill in the U.S. Senate could be making a return to the docket. Last year, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in a unanimous vote, which would have nationally shifted clocks an hour later to maximize daylight. Permanent Daylight Saving Time. But the bill died in the House of Representatives.
This year, politicians, including Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), are set to resurrect the bill in hopes of passing it.
What do you think? Make the shift to an extra hour of sunlight permanent? Do away with it altogether? Stay the same?
Please share your thoughts by filling out this form. Today’s responses—and all future Feedback Friday responses—will be published in our Monday newsletters after the weekend. AND, several responses from recent topics will appear in our upcoming print magazines!
