WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Andrew Rice, candidate for CT's third Congressional district, returns after a hearing last night regarding his complaint against Democratic State Central

There’s a push to pause the speed camera program in Fairfield after police reported mire than 100,000 warnings have already been sent to drivers in the first couple of weeks that the cameras have been live. We asked Senator Tony Hwang why he is calling for a pause, especially since he is a huge supporter of Vision Zero and the use of speed cameras in town.

Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen wants to at the possibility of misuse of public funds. The board voted Wednesday night to hire an outside law firm to investigate the allegations against former city officials. We spoke with Ansonia Mayor Frank Tyszka for the latest.

Earlier this week, there was an FBI raid at Success Village. Two units at the 900+ unit complex between Bridgeport and Stratford was raided and we were told the units are tied to the ex-president of the co-op board handling finances for the complex. We spoke with Attorney Darnell Crosland who represents Ty Bird, the man in question following the FBI activity this week.

Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz

According to the Milford United Way, 3 out of 10 households in the city are struggling to make ends meet. The Milford United Way provides resources and financial support to families in need. We spoke to Kathy Bonetti, Director of Milford United Way to learn more and highlight their biggest fundraiser of the year: the duck race.

INFO: Milford United Way office at (203) 874-6791
Duck Race INFO: United Way Of Milford Inc

The New York Times recently reported on research that shows the rate of suicide among young people across the United States dropped significantly since the rollout of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in 2022. States with the highest uptake of 988 service – including Connecticut – experienced an 18.2 percent reduction in observed versus expected suicides in this population. We spoke about these findings with Tanya Barrett, Senior Vice President of 211 Health and Human Services.

For more information: ctunitedway.org

Host Paul Pacelli opened Thursday's "Connecticut Today" with word that state officials have announced five construction zones will see work zone speed enforcement in the coming days (00:27). Landmark Legal Foundation V.P. and Legal Analyst Mike O'Neill joined us to break down today's big news from the U.S. Supreme Court (14:53)

Mike Squires is a music producer in Stamford, however one fateful day, he became a local hero when he started cleaning the front of the Macy's Building in Stamford. On the anniversary of this act, he joined Melissa at the Elm Street Diner as part of the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Founded in 1993, the 100 Black Men Of Stamford joined Melissa on the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour, to talk about how they're nurturing young people is the best way to ensure the success of our collective future.

What's in the works for Stamford? Matt Quinones, the Director of Operations for Stamford joined Melissa to talk about some of the things currently in the works for Stamford during the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour.

Dr. Richard Morel from Stamford Health took part in the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour stop at the Elm Street Diner to talk to Melissa about internal medicine.

With summer just on the horizon, Michael Moore, the President of Stamford Downtown joined Melissa on the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour to talk about the what to expect this summer in Downtown Stamford.

Alice Knapp, the CEO of the Ferguson Library joined Melissa at the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour stop in Stamford to talk about all the happenings at the library.

Melissa welcomed friend of the program, PJ from Hey Stamford! to the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour to talk about what's going on in Stamford and some of the fun things surrounding the city!

Bill Brucker, the Executive Director of the Stamford Museum and Nature Center joined Melissa in the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Following Police Chief Michael Paris's post regarding numerous complaints about Fairfield's recently installed speed cameras, Senator Hwang spoke with Jon about the true depth of the problem. 

He's officially the Republican Candidate for the Gubernatorial Election later this year, but today, State Senator Ryan Fazio joined Melissa at the Elm Street Diner to talk about how we got here, all part of the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Soundwaters is working towards helping the preserve Long Island Sound! To talk about their work, Bob Mazzone joined Melissa to talk about it as part of the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour.

For almost 40 years, Pacific House has been responding to the needs of men and young adults who struggle with homelessness in Fairfield County. CEO and President of the organization, Carmen Colon, sat down at the Elm Street Diner with Melissa as part of the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour.

Kids Helping Kids is a Stamford, CT-based non-profit that empowers youth to turn passion into action by designing and implementing service projects that benefit other children in the community. To talk about this, Melissa welcomed Edith Targonski to the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour!

Melissa opened up the WICC Brown Roofing Melissa In The Morning Diner Tour stop at the Elm Street Diner in Stamford with John Moshos, the owner of Connecticut's Favorite Social Media Diner!

Host Paul Pacelli continued WICC's coverage of a morning raid by the FBI at the Success Village housing complex with an in-depth report from WICC's Melissa Sheketoff and Chris Williams (00:36). Hearst Connecticut Media's Dan Haar dropped by with his update on the Eversource rate request, a state look into Roblox, and that contentious First District race for Congress (12:35)

May is recognized as Water Safety Month and with many of us wanting to cool off this summer, we wanted to talk about the importance of swimmer safety, especially in unfamiliar places. We spoke with Jen Wirt, Founder & CEO of Coral Care.

A new state audit revealed that Central Connecticut State University failed to properly provide deposit receipts for more than $70,000 in funds. This is CCSU not CSCU – just to be clear – and the audit looks at the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years. We spoke with state auditors, John Geragosian and Craig Minor, to understand the severity of the audit results.

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system has a new interim chancellor and interim Board of Regents chair. CBIA, the state’s largest employer organization,
 is feeling confident about both appointments and are calling it a restoration of trust in CSCU leadership. We spoke with CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima.

Tuesday's edition of "Connecticut Today" with host Paul Pacelli hit the hot-button issue of municipal speed cameras in both Milford and Fairfield, with a lot of folks criticizing their setup and implementation (00:31). Yankee Institute blogger Meghan Portfolio dropped by to chat about a recent move by the Connecticut Department of Labor, ensuring compliance with a state law (08:09)

A Bethany man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing girls in the town-run after school program and summer camp where he worked. His plea deal means him serving four years in prison, a lifetime restraining order for the victims in this case and registering as a sex offender. It may sound bad but is it really? We asked law enforcement expert, Gary MacNamara, who also happens to be a Bethany resident tracking this case from the beginning.

Bridgeport City Council member Alfredo Castillo and former Democratic Town Committee Chair Wanda Geter-Pataky are scheduled to appear in court May 28th. Both have been arrested multiple times in connection with the 2019 and 2023 mayoral primaries and absentee ballot scandal. We asked Attorney Bill Bloss about the latest on these cases and if Bridgeport will ever get away from the bad reputation of failing to run clean elections.

A Wall Street Journal article highlights a change of times with getting a Master’s Degree then landing a dream job. We asked career strategist, Julie Bauke, about understanding the value of education even before going to graduate school.

For more information: My Next Move

Host Paul Pacelli opened Friday's "Connecticut Today" talking about Governor Ned Lamont's reaction to an Eversource rate increase request, highlighting the pay structure for the company's CEO (00:42). We were also joined by conservative pundit Red Jahncke from "The Red Line" blog (13:28), Mike Mastroni, founder of the Connecticut Fallen Heroes Foundation (22:39), and Quinnipiac University Criminal Justice Teaching Instructor Diane Langlan-Wortz regarding recently-enacted state laws concerning the rights of crime victims (29:30)

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!