WICC The Voice of Connecticut

A new report revealed that the state-run Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven is rife with sexual abuse and other violations. How long has this been going on and who is to blame for allowing things to get so out of hand? We asked State Senate Minority Leader, Steve Harding, about the report and how the problem should be investigated now.

For more on the initial report: https://www.disrightsct.org/cmhc-report-release

IMAGE CREDIT: Adam Liegeot / CT Senate Republicans

Since early May, WICC has been inundated with emails, phone calls and social media messages from residents of Success Village. They have been reporting no hot water for weeks, compounded with many units having no heat for months. We have pressed politicians on this problem on-air, including Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and Governor Ned Lamont, but they have all said they can only do so much because the 900+ unit complex is privately run by a co-op. Today, we spoke with the President of the Association Board at Success Village, Ty Bird, to find out how things got so out of hand. We also asked about taxes not paid, the potential for foreclosure and why he won’t step down from the position.

IMAGE CREDIT: Eric Urbanowicz

It's the first edition of the Mike Cerulli Show on WICC! On today's show, Mike discusses president Trump's conviction, ‘24 election looms, Congress campaigning and more with Congressman Jim Himes (0:00). Then, he breaks down Connecticut Republicans game plan for ‘24 with Senate Republican Leader, State Sen. Steve Harding (45:55). Finally, in the third hour, Mike breaks down Bridgeport's state legislature primaries - there’s a lot of them, and former Bridgeport Mayor and Candidate for State Senate, Bill Finch (1:31:38).

Friday's "Connecticut Today" with Paul Pacelli talked about the previous day's guilty verdicts in former President Donald Trump's New York City "hush money" trial (00:39), while Sacred Heart University Political Science Professor and Scholar in Residence Dr. Gary Rose talked about how the case could affect the upcoming November election (15:10). Quinnipiac University Distinguished Professor of Film, Television and Media Art Julie Buck dropped by to talk about another major motion picture being filmed in Connecticut (23:10). Former Bridgeport Democratic State Rep. Chris Caruso gave us his weekly update (32:47)

Image Credit: REUTERS

Recent research highlights the negative toll scams have on people. The BBB Institute says the data shows respondents reported feeling anger (69.0%), anxiety/stress (66.7%), loss of trust (58.0%), shame/embarrassment (39.4%), loss of confidence (28.7%), guilt (19.6%), strained relationships (7.5%), and loss of reputation (4.6%) after being scammed. That's why the BBB launched a new toolkit to help victims overcome the emotional impact of scams. Kristen Johnson shared the details on the new program and gave us a tutorial on how it works. For more information: https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker

IMAGE CREDIT: iStock / Getty Images Plus

Professional golfer, Grayson Murray, died by suicide this week. Despite his two PGA championship wins and his growing career, he was struggling under the surface and most people didn’t know it. That’s a similar story to a Fairfield Warde High School athlete,  Kevin Kuczo, who died by suicide three years ago. His family created a non-profit in Kevin’s honor and to better support youth mental health needs in our state. We spoke with Jim, Kevin’s father and creator of Kevin’s Afterglow about this most recent athlete suicide story. We also spoke about the work the non-profit continues to do with its buddy bench installments, funding scholarships for local students becoming therapists and public speaking events in schools.

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

Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Donald Trump is the first American President to stand trial and be found guilty in a criminal case. The New York jury has found him guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money case. Now what happens to the former president and what do American voters need to know ahead of the November election? We spoke with Wayne Unger, assistant professor at the Quinnipiac University School of Law, about the Trump verdict and big takeaways.

IMAGE CREDIT: John Morgan / Associate Vice President for Public Relations / Quinnipiac University

As the 2023-24 school year comes to a close in the next few weeks, what can we do to get our kids on a new routine for the summer? We had our life organizational expert, Don Wetmore, back to get some tips on preparing for summer routines. He talked about the importance of “starting at the end of the summer” creating goals with your kids. What does that mean and how do we include our kids in these scheduling plans? Find out from Don on air and for more information, go to https://productivity-institute.com/

IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Sheketoff

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and the Department of Transportation shared safety tips for both motorcycle operators and drivers. But there are a lot of misconceptions people have about motorcycles, sharing the roads with them and detecting a licensed motorcycle operator from non-licensed, non-registered riders. We get insight from our motorcycle expert, Luis Valbuena, who is also a local firefighter, CPR instructor, and a man of all things safety. 

IMAGE CREDIT: iStock / Getty Images Plus

Did you know: May through July is the nesting season for many turtles. We have many turtle species in Connecticut, a lot of them on the endangered species list. Gregg Dancho of the Beardsley Zoo shared tips on how to help if you spot a turtle crossing this season. We also touched on parrots and otters for their world awareness celebrations this week!

IMAGE CREDIT: iStock / Getty Images Plus