WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Shattered Ice is an award-winning hockey drama about a small-town New England teenage hockey player’s attempt to navigate high school life after his best friend dies by suicide. The film is showing at the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre tonight. To share more about this powerful story about grief and resilience, we spoke with the producer and writer of the film, Jake Miskin.

To buy tickets to the film screening and panel discussion: https://www.shucommunitytheatre.org/event-details/shattered-ice-film-screening-and-panel

Image Credit: Nehoiden Street Films

A seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers is now in effect in New Canaan after opponents failed to overturn the ordinance in a townwide referendum. For all things happening in New Canaan, we are excited to connect with Michael Dinan, editor and owner of the New Canaanite.

To read the full article: Referendum Fails; Summertime Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Takes Effect | NewCanaanite.com

Nearly one-third of homicides in Connecticut are connected to domestic violence. That’s according to new analysis from state officials that highlights the continued impact of family and intimate-partner violence across the state. Following the results of this report, we spoke with Meghan Scanlon, President and CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

For more information: https://www.ctcadv.org/

A change.org petition to take down the speed enforcement cameras in Milford is garnering hundreds of signatures. Sarah Wood created the petition Take Down the Cameras urging the Milford Board of Alderman to reconsider having both speed cameras and license plate reader cameras installed and active around the city. We spoke with Sarah to get more perspective on this.

To access the petition: https://www.change.org/p/tell-milford-city-hall-take-down-the-alpr-cameras-and-invest-in-real-safety

The impact of screens on learning is great, and not always in a good way. The state plans to highlight the risks for screens in school, how technology impacts learning, what this means for kids and families, and what steps the legislators are taking to get screens out of the classroom. We spoke more about this with State Representative Jen Leeper of Fairfield who is also the Co-chair of the state’s Education Committee.

To attend the August 12th webinar: Webinar Registration - Zoom

The primary election is right around the corner and for the first time in our state history, we have no-excuse absentee balloting available. Already, state officials, including the secretary of the state, have highlighted the work Connecticut has done to strengthen election security, expand voting access, and prevent fraud. We spoke with Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas about what the state has done to build voter confidence and keep elections secure.

A Wall Street Journal article is sounding the alarm about your digital footprint and its impact on landing your next job. We spoke with career strategist, Julie Bauke, about the end game when posting online and implications for employers tracking your online activity.

To read the WSJ article: AI Knows What You Did Online. Now Your Employer Does, Too. - WSJ

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to understanding housing laws in our state. One of the biggest and arguably controversial laws: 8-30G. We spoke with Alexis Harrison, co-founder of CT169Strong about this.

To read Alexis’ full article: https://fairfieldnews.substack.com/p/commentary-the-real-story-behind

P.T. Barnum took center stage (no pun intended) in the latest Talking Transportation article in CTMirror. We spoke with Jim Cameron about Barnum’s impact on Bridgeport’s railroads back in the day and lessons we can look at today when it comes to infrastructure.

To read Jim’s article: https://ctmirror.org/2026/07/26/pt-barnums-bridgeport-was-no-circus/

A controversial Christopher Columbus statue removed from Bridgeport's Seaside Park in 2020 is expected to return later this year after undergoing restoration funded by the local Italian American community. We spoke with Chris Caruso, president of the Council of Italian American Societies of Greater Bridgeport, about the statue comeback.

When you watch law enforcement television shows, does that have an impact on our perception of police work in reality? We dive into the misconceptions of cop shows and how society interprets them. 

July 26 is the 36th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. National data shows 1 in 4 people in the U.S. has some kind of disability or impairment that can impact their everyday lives, which includes the workplace. We wanted to acknowledge the ADA anniversary and talk about the legalities around it. We spoke with Gary Phelan, employment attorney with Hurwitz Sagarin & Slossberg in Milford and a law professor at Quinnipiac University.

Connecticut election officials are investigating how an undocumented West Hartford restaurant owner was registered to vote through the state's Department of Motor Vehicles in 2018, while emphasizing that they believe the case is an isolated anomaly rather than evidence of a broader system failure. The scrutiny follows reports that New Jersey mistakenly registered about 6,600 noncitizens because of a software error, prompting Connecticut Republicans to seek an audit of the state's "motor voter" registration system. We spoke more about this with House Minority Leader, Vincent Candelora.

The Beardsley Zoo has a new face on campus. During the flash flood storm earlier this week, a Chinese goral kid was born. The birth represents an important milestone not only for Connecticut’s only zoo but also for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Jim Wharton, Chief Executive Officer for The Beardsley Zoo, told us the story.

To learn more and check events at the zoo: https://beardsleyzoo.org/

Image Courtesy of the Beardsley Zoo

Host Paul Pacelli opened Wednesday's mid-week edition of "Connecticut Today" wondering if there's any big interest in the first one-on-one debate between incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and his upcoming primary challenger, Hamden state Rep. Josh Elliott (00:30). Columnist and blogger Chris Powell (15:02) and Hearst Connecticut Media Senior Editor and Columnist Dan Haar previewed the big gubernatorial debate (23:42)

Host Paul Pacelli opened Tuesday's edition of "Connecticut Today" wondering if the state of Connecticut made a mistake a few years ago by legalizing adult-use, recreational marijuana (00:30). Some folks in Massachusetts want to rollback a portion of the Bay State's legal pot laws. Paul also welcomed blogger Meghan Portfolio from the Yankee Institute for Public Policy (08:56), and ABC News reporter Jordana Miller from the Middle East (16:49)

Could competitive gaming be coming to the Total Mortgage Arena? Joe Picavage is trying to bring the increasingly popular world of E-sports to Bridgeport!

Recent research continues to show that girls participate in sports at lower rates than boys and are more likely to drop out as they get older. That’s why Sterling Community Center in Stratford created an opportunity to begin closing that gap. It’s called Girls in the Game. We spoke with Amelia Overby, Program Coordinator and a Soccer Coach for the center’s Girl’s Travel Program.

To RSVP to Girls in the Game: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpCPiQI1cFEsKQn-nCQLUKnse2mUgiqMtWamVntw7Tu6ziYA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=114421451825655680063

For more information on the Cent...

Newly released data from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) is providing a closer look at child deaths and other critical incidents involving children across the state. News 8 investigative reporter and anchor, Kathryn Hauser, did a deep dive into this and joined us to break down the key takeaways.

To see her full story: https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/dcf-database-details-63-child-deaths-in-connecticut-including-20-cases-with-prior-agency-involvement/

The most recent jobs report was released and honestly, we can’t tell when a jobs report is good news, bad news, or a little bit of both. We asked Chris DiPentima, CBIA President and CEO, for key takeaways from the report and where we need improvements. CBIA is the state’s largest business organization.

June Employment Report: Connecticut Labor Market Information - Office of Research

Bridgeport announced the opening of a BusPatrol Headquarters building; the first in New England! We wanted to talk about the growth of this program in Bridgeport and across the region to the point that a headquarters building is now a reality. We spoke with Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol. 

For more information: https://buspatrol.com/

Following the excitement surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted in the US, we wanted to check in with CT United Football Club. For the first time on the show, we connected with CT United FC head coach, Shavar Thomas.

To keep up with the CT United FC: https://ctunited.com/

Host Paul Pacelli opened a new week on Monday's "Connecticut Today" talking about an issue that never fades - getting rid of the state's local property taxes on motor vehicles (00:28). Also dropping by - gasoline analyst Mike Fox (15:52), CTNewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill (21:54), and GOP State Sen. Dr. Jeff Gordon, with an update on a battle one of his constituents had with a major health insurance company (28:49)

Host Paul Pacelli wrapped up the week on Friday's "Connecticut Today" talking about whether or not President Trump's address the night before was covered fairly by the national T.V. networks (00:28). We also welcomed GOP State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria (15:19) and GOP State Sen. Dr. Jeff Gordon (20:08), with both offering updates on a pair of calls for help from the public

Thursday's "Connecticut Today" featured host Paul Pacelli asking Fairfield County residents to try and adopt a more measured, reasonable approach on the future of some controversial surveillance technology (00:24). Former State Senate GOP Leader John McKinney dropped by with his weekly report as well (14:25)

Host Paul Pacelli opened Wednesday's edition of "Connecticut Today" wondering if the state should eventually consider a buyout of Eversource and United Illuminating to set up a non-profit power company (00:23). Dan Haar also dropped by from Hearst Connecticut Media to discuss all the statewide big stories (14:11)

This month, we’ve already had two heat stretches in Connecticut as well as hazy, smoky skies tied to the Canadian wildfires. Besides the impact it had on whether we go outside or not, the weather events also had a huge impact on our trains, planes and automobiles, that’s worth remembering. And thankfully, Jim Cameron of Talking Transportation for CT Mirror did the remembering for us.

To read Jim’s article: https://ctmirror.org/2026/07/19/hot-bothered-summers-transportation-meltdown/

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted individuals retiring and then starting their own business in America. What does career strategist, Julie Bauke, think about this concept and how do can we potentially model it?

Read the full article: What It’s Like to Retire and Start a Business in America - WSJ

We are three weeks out from the Democratic primary election in Connecticut. Who will win: Governor Ned Lamont or Representative Josh Elliott? And after the victory, how do they measure up to Republican gubernatorial candidate, Senator Ryan Fazio? We did a deep dive with News 8 Chief Political Reporter, Mike Cerulli.

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

A Connecticut-based development team has announced plans to create the Lake Success Energy Park, a landmark clean energy project in Bridgeport. The proposed clean energy park will be located on 51 acres of the historic Remington Arms facility, where ammunition was once manufactured and tested during the major wars of the 20th century. We got more information on the project from Paul Michaud, who is an attorney on the project and involved with the development of the property and Jhoni Ada of the Sierra Club CT chapter.

For more information: Lake Success

Starting today, bus service will temporarily replace trains on the Metro-North Waterbury Branch. The replacement will last until next spring as upgrades are made to the Derby-Shelton, Ansonia, Beacon Falls and Seymour stations. For all the details, we checked in with Josh Morgan from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

For more information: https://www.mta.info/

The President is calling on Canada to "get the wildfires under control." President Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada needed to do more to contain the fires in Ontario, whose smoke has affected air quality across the US, including Connecticut. Does the Connecticut Republican party agree with the president to threaten Canada with tariffs because of the fires? We asked state Senator Tony Hwang representing parts of Fairfield County.

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

Connecticut firefighters are helping to battle the Canadian wildfires. DEEP’s Forestry Division deployed a team of six people from the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew to Quebec. Meanwhile, we still have questions about how wildfires in Canada can have such a major impact on us here in Connecticut. We got more clarity from Quinnipiac University chemistry professor, Robert Hansen.

This year marks 30 years since the creation of the Amber Alert. It made us want to dive into what started the Amber Alert, the effectiveness of it, what agencies are impacted nationally and what triggers an Amber Alert verses other missing persons cases? 

A new report shows at least 28 Connecticut children with DCF case histories have died since 2025. We spoke with State Senator Jason Perillo, Ranking Senator on the Committee on Children, about the report and what if any solutions are there to address DCF failures.

Image Credit: Dee Ortiz

We are coming up on the annual ShoulderCheck showcase on July 30th. We spoke with a new partner to ShoulderCheck, Scott Strode, ahead of the event. He is the founder of The Phoenix, a national sober-active recovery community for people healing from addiction. Scott's also helping to lead a national effort called Be The People, connecting organizations already solving problems in their communities with millions of Americans ready to do their part. 

For tickets and more information: https://www.shouldercheck.org/

For more information on The Phoenix & Be The People: https://thephoenix.org/ https://www.b...

Comptroller Sean Scanlon issued new guidance to all State of Connecticut purchase card (P-Card) users and coordinators requiring stronger reporting requirements and enforcement efforts for noncompliance. Changes are coming to oversight of P-Cards starting August 1st, and we got more information on this from the comptroller.

To check the OpenCT portal: OpenCT » Office of the State Comptroller » State of Connecticut

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

More than 80 new laws took effect in Connecticut on July first. Major changes include new zoning rules for housing. We did a deeper dive into this with Renee Dobos of Connecticut Housing Partners.

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

A new report highlights the consequences of infectious diseases extending beyond the acute phase of the illness. We spoke with Dr. Fred Browne of Griffin Health about illnesses like the flu, covid and pneumonia being linked to more long-term issues like stroke and how we can have more control over increasing our risk. We also talked about the latest with cyclospora cases in Connecticut.

Image Courtesy of Griffin Health and Dr. Fred Browne

The U.S. Department of Education released a warning to the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, claiming that it responded inaccurately to assault allegations against school staff. We asked our legal expert, Attorney Bill Bloss, about the federal investigation and key takeaways in the case. *NOTE: Attorney Bloss has no connection to this case *