Cheers and jeers from around the news:

• Cheers to Sen. Susan Collins, who earned accolades this week for casting her 4,000th consecutive vote in the U.S. Senate, a streak which – although not the milestone, which is more than 10,000 – is still impressive.

(It’s also a nice political feather, which served her well during her re-election campaign.)

More important, though, is that Collins makes the effort to vote – on every issue. No cop-outs, flubs or scheduling mix-ups. We may not always agree with her vote, but we know where she stands. There’s no hiding from her record or, for that matter, this streak.

She’s now duty-bound to keep it going.

• Cheers to Auburn firefighters who risked their hides to save Ginger the golden retriever from the half-frozen river this week. It was a compassionate act in dangerous conditions, which thankfully ended well. All in a day’s work, but deserving applause, nonetheless.

• Cheers to the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, which made quick work of shelving a controversial bill, LD 199, which would have reduced local input into construction of wind power projects. Maine’s history of local control was at serious odds with this bill.

That said, Maine’s history of local control has made siting wind projects a minefield. Power should neither rest solely with towns or with the state but should be a partnership of the two. As difficult as this can be to envision, it must happen for Maine to capitalize on its wind potential.

• Jeers to failure – again – of lawmakers to pass a universal helmet law for motorcyclists. We had a feeling this would happen, as the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, yet expecting a different outcome. Helmet laws have failed for 30 years.

What makes today any different?

Nothing, except the compromise of raising the mandatory minimum helmet age to 18, which did earn approval from the Legislature’s Transportation Committee. This is a laudable move, which we hope persuades younger riders that helmets are worthwhile at any age.

• And finally, cheers to spring, sunshine, melting snowbanks, emerging tulips, longer days, warmer temperatures, packed-away parkas, unzipped jackets, boots becoming optional, thinner socks and sweaters, sunglasses as necessities, fur-lined hats as unnecessary and the myriad other reminders that winter is gone and spring, finally, has arrived.