WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Four arrests have been made related to absentee ballot fraud in the 2019 election for mayor of Bridgeport. The suspects, including Vice chair of the Democratic Town Committee, Wanda Geter-Pataky and city Councilman Alfredo Castillo, are all accused of violating state laws related to the handling of absentee ballots. Andrew Brown from CT Examiner was one of the first reporters to break the news this week. He joined the show to talk about his extensive investigative work in the case and gave his opinion on whether the 2023 absentee ballot case will see consequences soon too.

IMAGE CREDIT: Andrew Brown / CT Mirror

Tuesday's "Connecticut Today" with host Paul Pacelli opened with a look at the charges facing four campaign workers connected to Bridgeport's 2019 Democratic mayoral primary (00:34), while State Senate GOP leader Steve Harding weighed in as well on those four arrests (12:28). Hartford Courant sportswriter Dom Amore stopped by with inside details on UConn men's basketball head coach Dan Hurley's decision to return to the school (22:35). Finally, Yankee Institute blogger Meghan Portfolio joined us for her weekly chat (34:51)

Image Credit: REUTERS

The Dan Hurley era continues at UConn. Hurley rejected a huge offer from the Los Angeles Lakers and will remain at UConn and try to win a third straight national championship. ESPN reports the offer from the Lakers was six years and $70-million dollars. But a big question from Connecticut residents: why wouldn’t he follow the fame and fortune of the NBA? We asked our local sports expert, Rob Adams, what probably played a role in this decision.

Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Earlier this week, a Bridgeport school board meeting ended suddenly without a resolution. Reports say the board was meeting to talk about the superintendent’s evaluation. After a dispute over the self-assessment discussion being private or public, the board chair reportedly signed off. What precedent does that set for board members and future meetings? We asked board member, Rob Traber, who was on the call during that meeting.

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The first of its kind cancer center is opening in Fairfield thanks to a major healthcare partnership. Hartford HealthCare and Memorial Sloan Kettering are opening a new facility, still under construction, to bring the highest quality care for cancer patients in southern Connecticut. The plan also calls for a dedicated cancer unit at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. We spoke with Kristi Gafford and Dr. Valerie Brutus about the announcement. Gafford is the senior vice president of Operations at HHC and Dr. Brutus is a HHC Cancer Institute breast surgeon.

Image Credit: Getty Images

There is an ongoing stigma that community college is seen as “less than” or “a last resort” in education. But why???? When you look at the work and investments put into community colleges in Connecticut, it’s undeniable that the quality and affordability of community college works for a lot of people. We did a deep dive into this controversy with Terrence Cheng, chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system.

IMAGE CREDIT: Samantha Norton / Office of The chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system

Host Paul Pacelli kicked off Monday's edition of "Connecticut Today" with breaking news of UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley deciding to stay in Storrs (00:35). National Taxpayers Union Foundation Vice President of Research Demian Brady talked about the future of the Internal Revenue Service. (12:51). CT NewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill gave us his weekly take on the big state and national stories (25:41)

Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

A Bridgeport Councilwoman was sued for telling her constituents not to pay for common charges. Maria Pereira represents many of the Success Village residents in Bridgeport who went most of May without hot water. Now, the president of the board, Ty Bird, filed a lawsuit demanding an apology and compensation for “damages” following her direction to residents about withholding their payments. We spoke with Bird’s attorney, Darnell Crosland, about whether the lawsuit is even legit or just another distraction in the ongoing horror occurring at Success Village.

IMAGE CREDIT: Eric Urbanowicz / Attorney Darnell Crosland

17-year-old Jimmy McGrath was an innocent bystander when he was killed at a house party in 2022. The Fairfield Prep athlete impacted so many people and his death was so tremendous, it led his family to launch The Jimmy McGrath Foundation. Jimmy’s dad, Kevin, joined us to talk about the impact of the foundation since its creation and gave us the details on their annual golf tournament June 24th.

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

IMAGE CREDIT: Eric Urbanowicz

A new study looks at seized weapons at Connecticut public schools within an academic school year. The findings we are alarming and led officials to say “we need more mental health services in our schools!” News 8 Investigative reporter, Jeff Derderian, did a deep dive into this work and shared more detail what he learned and how the state should respond.

If you missed Jeff’s initial report, catch up here: https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/exclusive-news-8-investigation-reveals-hundreds-of-knives-dozens-of-handguns-seized-in-connecticut-schools/

IMAGE CREDIT: Jeff Derderian / WTNH