WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Last week, The Fairfield Board of Education reportedly announced the news about not renewing the lease for A Child’s Garden after one more academic year. The childcare center has been operating on town-owned property for over 40 years and the owners say THEY weren’t even told about the decision. We spoke with Mike Miklus, the owner of ACG, who addressed what he says are misleading story lines from the town, and specifically First Selectman Bill Gerber.

IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Sheketoff

Host Paul Pacelli wrapped up another week on "Connecticut Today" with a look at the controversy over comments made at a recent commencement ceremony by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (00:29). Former Bridgeport Democratic State Rep. Chris Caruso dropped by with his weekly wrap-up (13:31), while Westport Masonic Lodge No. 65 Master Richard Ruggiano talked about a weekend display of President George Washington's Inaugural Bible (23:49)

Image Credit: REUTERS

The Trumbull Early Childhood Education Center Parent Teacher Organization announced a major funding award of $10,000 from the Rotary Club of Trumbull to the TECEC PTO in support of their multi-year initiative to fund and replace the playground at the school. We spoke with Kayla Seeley, president of the TECEC PTO and Rotary Club of Trumbull President, Susan Stonoha about the project and who is benefiting. 

To learn more about TECEC, please visit tecec.trumbullps.org. To learn more about A Big Night Out, TECEC’s annual fundraiser, please email [email protected]

For more information on Rotary Club of Trumbull: https://trumbullrotary.org/

IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Sheketoff

For the first time in American history, an American gymnastics competition is expected to see three U.S. Olympic All-Around Gold medalists (Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee) compete head-to-head. Two sessions will be held in Hartford. We spoke with General Manager of the XL Center, Ben Weiss, about the event, what went into bringing it here and what the event means for Connecticut.

IMAGE CREDIT: Lauren Soll / Communications Manager at Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau

I think we hit a record high for listener inquiries regarding the same topic: no lease renewal for a longstanding early childcare center in Fairfield. We learned the lease for A Child’s Garden is being extended one more year before closing after 43 years in the Mona Terrace space. We asked First Selectman Bill Gerber why this decision was made, was this an abrupt decision and what will now go in that space. We also tied in a recent story we learned about a longstanding non-profit in town also recently learning she would not have her lease renewed.

Image Credit: Bill Gerber

We continue addressing the early childcare crisis in Connecticut. According to state data, we still have about 4,000 staffing vacancies for early childhood, a waitlist of more than 1,500 kids needing Care 4 Kids and school districts are juggling families trying to test their kids into Kindergarten despite not being five years old by September 1st. So, what can be done in the next 3 months before the next academic year or do we just ride the wave and see what happens? We spoke with Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the CT Association of Public School Superintendents.

Image Credit: Getty Images

We had a busy Thursday on "Connecticut Today" with host Paul Pacelli updating listeners on how the state's U.S. House delegation voted on a key immigration bill (00:28). "Only In Bridgeport" blogger Lennie Grimaldi stopped by to talk about the coming November battle for the 22nd State Senate District (13:31). Connecticut Inside Investigator reporter Marc Fitch talked about how some of the state's wealthiest taxpayers could be affected by a proposed rollback of the Trump-era tax cuts (25:34)

Image Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus

We are living in a childcare crisis in Connecticut and across the country. There are not enough reputable, affordable centers and our staffing levels are too low, mostly because we can’t pay them. Compound that with a new state law changing the kindergarten age requirement in the fall; families and school districts are scrambling! Does the federal government need to step in more at this point to help in any way? We spoke with Senator Richard Blumenthal who says the short answer is “YES!”

Image Credit: Reuters

We continue to look at the aftermath of the 2024 legislative session; this time we focused on healthcare legislation. Senator Jeff Gordon talked about the ongoing drama surrounding Prospect Medical Holdings impacting three Connecticut hospitals and a call from the governor for lawmakers to return to the table. We also discussed the big winner: Senate Bill 1 addressing homecare worker safety and new testing requirements and coverage. We also looked at one of the biggest misses: the bipartisan Association Health Plan bill couldn’t get across the finish line, again!

IMAGE CREDIT: Adam Liegeot / Connecticut Senate Republicans

Bridgeport has officially rolled out a new interactive crime map for residents to keep track of crime statistics in and around their neighborhoods. We spoke with Police Chief Roderick Porter about the LexisNexis technology, how it works, and why he feels it needed to be a priority for city residents.

To view that map, click on this website and zoom into Bridgeport: https://communitycrimemap.com/

IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Sheketoff