WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Master planning for the revitalization of the 77-acre former Army Engine Plant property in Stratford has begun. We spoke with Peter Cabrera, a principal and Executive Vice President of Point Stratford Renewal. We learned more about the property and how you can be part of the future vision for it.

For the survey and more information: www.pointstratford.com

The Lamont Administration released a message to Connecticut families regarding electric rates. To say it didn’t sound like it came from the governor is an understatement, and the point of the release seemed purely political. We did a deep dive into it and the crux of the issue which is how high our electric bills are. We spoke with Bryson Hull, Deputy Northeast Director for Consumer Energy Alliance.

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

There are growing concerns around infectious diseases, most recently about Ebola. We spoke with Dr. Fred Browne of Griffin Health about the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and the latest fears around Ebola.

Image Courtesy of Griffin Health and Dr. Fred Browne

"Connecticut Today" host Paul Pacelli welcomed GOP State Sen. Heather Somers to Thursday's show to talk about a White House tax credit initiative that could help some Connecticut students, if Gov. Lamont chooses to participate. What's he waiting for? (00:34). Former state Senate GOP Leader John McKinney wrapped up last weekend's nominating conventions and looked ahead to state primaries and Election Day in November (09:47). Also, Paul had some thoughts on the latest rate increase request from Eversource (19:31)

A challenger has emerged for Rosa DeLauro's seat in CT's 3rd District! Andrew Rice spoke with Jon about his grassroots campaign.

Randy Ritter is one of the people working on digitizing historical newspapers in Derby! As such, Melissa welcomed him to the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa in the Morning Diner Tour!

Jack Walsh joined Melissa to talk about the Derby Hall of Fame and historical plaques in Derby during the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

The Derby Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matthew Conway, joined the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour to talk about the school year winding down and what's going on in schools!

Melissa welcomed the Vice President of the Valley Arts Council, Steve DiRienzo, to the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour to talk about the Council.

Team Inc is a fan favorite of the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa in the Morning Diner Tour because of all the work they do around Derby and they spent some time with us this morning to talk about it!

State Representative Kara Rochelle made her way to the Valley Diner to talk some legislation on the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Sometimes we just need to break something, but we don't want to pay to replace it...Bill Richmond, the owner of Explicitly Broken Rage Room in Derby has you covered! He stopped by The Valley Diner to talk to Melissa about the Rage Room on the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Meet Linda Fusco, the Chief of Staff for Joe DiMartino, the Mayor of Derby! She spoke with Melissa about Derby as a whole and what to expect on this WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Every year the Valley grows bigger and better, and part of that is thanks in part to Bill Purcell, the President and CEO Of Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, who spoke about whats in the works on the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Derby is celebrating 350 years! So it's only natural that Kellie Santiago from the Derby Historical Society takes part in the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour to talk about some of the history of Derby!

Marc Garofalo, the City Clerk, is the man who keeps Derby running, so of course we had to include him in our schedule for the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

The heart of WICC, it's programs and the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour are our listeners, that's why when get a chance to talk to listeners like Crystal who was at the Valley Diner with her husband, we always love to hear from them!

We're proud to partner with the Connecticut Educators Association during the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour, and as such, Melissa welcomed Candy Label, a 2nd grade teacher at Irving Elementary School!

Melissa kicked off this week's WICC Brown Roofing Melissa in the Morning Diner Tour stop with the owner of The Valley Diner (our stop), Themi!

On Wednesday's "Connecticut Today," host Paul Pacelli welcomed Fairfield GOP State Sen. Tony Hwang to chat about a recent op-ed he wrote regarding Connecticut's adult-use marijuana policies and the chance of higher-potency pot being introduced for the local market, despite some warnings from experts (00:40). Hearst Connecticut Media Senior Columnist and Editor Dan Haar dropped by after covering President Trump's commencement address at the Coast Goard Academy earlier in the day (08:15). Finally, Paul opened the show with remarks about a raise for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim (17:42)

The Long Island Rail Road strike is over after MTA reached a tentative agreement with the labor unions. Why does this matter to Connecticut residents and Metro North riders? Jim Cameron who writes Talking Transportation in CTMirror explains.

To read Jim’s article: https://ctmirror.org/2026/05/17/could-metro-north-face-a-strike/

Image Credit: Reuters

The Stamford Board of Education approved the budget without making any changes. The $360-million-dollar budget includes a reduction of just under 60 full-time equivalent teaching positions and 12 paraeducators. It sounds drastic, but is it really? We asked John Corcoran, president of the Stamford Education Association.

The legislation session ended with some major protections and changes to handle scams and data privacy concerns in our state. We spoke with Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli and Deputy Commissioner Jeff Marvin from the CT Department of Consumer Protection for all the details.

For more information: https://portal.ct.gov/dcp
To contact the Complaint Center: (860) 713-6300

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

Governor Ned Lamont's signature on a bill legalizing "No-Excuse" absentee ballots in all future Connecticut elections was the lead topic for Paul Pacelli on Tuesday's "Connecticut Today" (00:41). Yankee Institute blogger Meghan Portfolio joined us to chat about the contentious battle for the U.S. House in Connecticut's First Congressional District and how organized labor is reacting (13:32). Author and Substack.com blogger Mark Tapson talked about rising immigration and cultural tensions in Great Britain (22:05)

Trumbull police are sounding the alarm about a fraud scheme that cost a local resident hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to police, the victim said she received a Microsoft Windows pop-up message in March when she contacted the telephone number associated with the message. She connected with somebody who claimed to be a Federal Trade Commission agent. The Trumbull resident ultimately transferred $900,000 in gold coins during two in-person exchanges in public parking lots. We got more details from Lt. Brian Falkenstein.

For Trumbull residents reporting this scam, please use this number: (203) 261-3665

There were two planned teen takeover events for Connecticut this past weekend: one at a mall, another at a movie theater. Both situations never came to fruition, however, the teen takeover trend on TikTok is taking the nation by storm. We spoke with former FBI agent, Ken Gray, about the problem and possible solutions.

More fallout this morning for the Connecticut State College and Universities System. The chair of the Connecticut Board of Regents abruptly resigned yesterday. It comes following a complaint filed against then-interim Chancellor John Maduko, alleging that he had harassed an employee for nearly two years. We spoke with Ranking Member on Higher Education Committee, Rep. Seth Bronko, about the continued CSCU saga.

Following a major investment from the state for Bridgeport schools, we spoke with interim superintendent of schools, Dr. Royce Avery. How is Bridgeport looking heading into the next school year and are we any closer to having a permanent superintendent?

The past weekend's state Democratic and Republican Nominating Conventions dominated Monday's edition of "Connecticut Today" with commentary and analysis from host Paul Pacelli (00:30), Southern Connecticut State University Political Science and Urban Affairs Professor Dr. Jonathan Wharton (14:54), and CTNewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill (21:43)

Girl's flag football is apparently one of the up-and-coming sports in Connecticut. We talked about the high school sports trends and more with Glenn Lungarini, Executive Director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC).

We wrapped up the 2026 legislative session and are heading into one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. It was a good time to talk to Josh Morgan of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

AAA projects a record-setting 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for Memorial Day between Thursday, May 21st and Monday, May 25th. We spoke with Lauren Fabrizi of AAA about travel trends heading into the unofficial start to summer holiday weekend.

Following convention weekend in Connecticut, we wanted to do a deeper dive into the gubernatorial race. We spoke with Sacred Heart University political professor, Dr. Gary Rose.

Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin made history securing the official endorsement of the Democratic Party in the 1st Congressional District race and defeating incumbent Rep. John Larson at the party convention. We spoke with Bronin about his interest in running and goals if elected in November.

Have you ever noticed we use our imagination for everything wonderful? What would you do if you won the lottery...if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go...what does your dream wedding look like...? But we never use our imagination for crime prevention. We did a deeper dive into why we should exercise the power of imagination to better protect ourselves. 

Host Paul Pacelli welcomed Connecticut Mirror reporter Mark Pazniokas to Friday's edition of "Connecticut Today" to break down the weekend nominating conventions for state Democrats and Republicans (00:39). Paul also had a few of his own thoughts for Connecticut's registered Republican voters (09:25). CBS News Capitol Hill reporter Taurean Small joined us to talk about the ongoing redistricting battles across the U.S. (24:07), while University of New Haven Associate Professor of National Security and Political Science Dr. Matthew Schmidt dropped by to chat about numerous world hotspots (28:40)

Mar Jennings One-Man Show is a riveting journey from hardship to triumph. Jenning’s debut show is happening Friday May 22nd at the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre and proceeds to benefit the Center for Family Justice. We spoke with Mar Jennings ahead of his show. 

For tickets and more information: Tickets | Mar Jennings One-Man Show | Sacred Heart University Community Theatre

Just days after graduating college, we had Norwalk native, Jack Pavia, in studio. Pavia is running for the 142nd district state representative seat, representing Norwalk and New Canaan. We got to know his political background and goals if voted into office.

For more information: https://www.jackforct.com/

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

Fairfield is celebrating an aviation milestone. The town announced that Penfield Reef will be officially designated a Vertical Flight Society Heritage site. It recognizes the location of the world’s first successful helicopter hoist water rescue. We spoke with Angelo Collins, Executive Director of the Vertical Flight Society for more on the historic event dating back to 1945.

For more information: https://vtol.org/

Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart has suspended her campaign for governor. The Republican frontrunner made the announcement following a report accusing Stewart of misusing a city-issued credit card while in office. We asked our legal expert, Attorney Bill Bloss, what if anything will come out of this criminal investigation.

 *Attorney Bloss has no connection to this case.*