WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Today, Mike Cerulli speaks with attorney Chris Mattei (0:00), News 8’s Jeff Derderian, (40:57), and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (1:22:20).

As we headed into another weekend, host Paul Pacelli welcomed Orange Fire Marshal Jamie Vincent to the show to chat about National Fire Prevention Week (00:32). Solomon Schmidt, author of, "Legal Gladiator: The Life of Alan Dershowitz," stopped by to talk about one of the nation's most polarizing attorneys and media personalities (07:52). CBS News reporter Taurean Small had the latest from the White House campaign trail as he covers GOP Vice-Presidential candidate J.D. Vance (20:10)

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Brigitte got a busy, but fun, Friday program started with an interview about who (and where) the best employers are located, including here in Connecticut, with senior editor of Forbes Magazine Rachel Peachman (00:00). Cheddar business anchor and Westport resident Dave Briggs came by the studios to talk with Brigitte about the latest American business stories, as well as his cameo in the T.V. show "Succession" (16:36). Finally, theater and movie reviewer Ed Katz offered his thoughts on seeing "Stereophonic" and "Joker 2" (33:10)

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, dyslexia is the most common learning disorder on the planet, affecting about one in five people. We spoke with Jennifer Bernheim, creator of Right to Read Advocacy here in Connecticut. She shared her insight about helping parents with dyslexic learners at home and the importance of early intervention. 

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More than 500,000 Connecticut households earn less than a true living wage in the state. A report from the United Way of Connecticut shows that 39-percent of state households earn less than necessary to meet basic needs. The report says the highest concentration of those households are in urban areas, but there are some in every zip code in the state. We did a deeper dive into that report with Kathy Bonetti, Director of the Milford United Way. 

Making tough choices simulation: https://makingtoughchoices.org/

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In 2023, a state report highlighted a huge problem that has led to lost opportunities for Connecticut’s next generation. The study showed that 119,000 young people in the state are either at-risk or disconnected from education and the workforce. When that number surfaced, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities launched the 119K Commission in March 2024. Joe DeLong, Executive Director and CEO of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, shared plans of closing the gap on that number of disconnected youth.

For a copy of the plan or to participate in upcoming events: https://www.ccm-ct.org/YoungPeopleFirst

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Save the Sound does a biennial report card for the water quality in Long Island Sound. The 2024 report just dropped and we wanted to break down the takeaways. Peter Linderoth, Director of Water Quality at Save the Sound, shared the findings and gave recommendations to help improve our local water health. 

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

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Host Paul Pacelli kicked off Thursday's "Connecticut Today" with news that the state is asking for more federal help to combat speeding and reckless driving (00:34). Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Executive Director and CEO Joe DeLong talked about CCM's commitment to helping thousands of the state's at-risk youth (06:43). "Only In Bridgeport" blogger Lennie Grimaldi dropped by with his weekly update including the situation at Success Village and a recent police-involved shooting in Bridgeport (14:03)

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October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and Brigitte wanted to talk about it. Why is it important to have a day dedicated to mental health awareness? Romy Drucker, Education Program Director of the Walton Family Foundation, explained (00:00). After that, Brigitte welcomed Rob Blanchard, Democratic state Senate candidate for the 28th District, to the Newsline studios to present his platforms for running for office against incumbent Republican Tony Hwang (13:11)

Wednesday's mid-week "Connecticut Today" with host Paul Pacelli talked about a controversy in New Britain regarding the possible use of metal detectors in the city's schools (00:29). Hearst CT Media columnist and senior editor Dan Haar previewed Wednesday's 5th District U.S. House debate (07:24), while WICC's Chief Meteorologist Paul Piorek had the latest on Hurricane Milton (15:13)

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