WICC The Voice of Connecticut

For the first time, we had the Commissioner for Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Nancy Navarretta. After last week’s conversation on the show about alcohol expectations in today’s society and many listeners joining the conversation, we talked about it further with Commissioner Navarretta. We did a deeper dive into the broken societal norms around drinking, how the state is addressing peer pressure and whether venues will begin incentivizing people to have dry events in future.

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Host Paul Pacelli wrapped up another busy week on "Connecticut Today" looking at a proposed ballot change that could affect a major third party (00:28) and we also heard from former Bridgeport State Rep. Chris Caruso on those possible changes (12:55). Glastonbury GOP State Rep. Steve Weir stopped by to chat about a possible expansion of the state's paid medical leave program (26:00)

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State Street Debating Society has named the 2024 high school scholarship award winners. Seven Stamford high school seniors will receive $70K in college scholarship money. State Street Debating Society has offered scholarships to high school students for nearly 60 years awarding more than $1.1 million during that time. Additionally, State Street supports all Stamford High School Debating programs year-round. 

We had the opportunity to talk to the Scholarship Committee Chair State Street Debating Society, Ed Tatro and one of the scholarship recipients, Emily Jean Urda, a senior at Westhill High School.

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

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It’s no secret; health insurance coverage is so unaffordable, many Connecticut families take the risk not investing in coverage. Once again, comprehensive bills were proposed during the legislative session. We learned the Insurance and Real Estate Committee ran out of time to take up any of the measures and not one piece of legislation was voted on. We did a deeper dive into this with State Senator Kevin Kelly.

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While a strong bi-partisan vote passed a bill through the House demanding the sale of TikTok with a threat to ban the platform in the US otherwise. Congressman Jim Himes voted against it. What’s interesting, is the supporters of this bill are most concerned with TikTok hurting our national security. Congressman Himes is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and has a vested interest in national security. So, why would he vote against this? And after a briefing with US Intelligence apparently proved that TikTok is dangerous remaining in the hands of the Chinese, should that information be declassified and shared with the American people? We got all those answers from Congressman Himes.

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After seven years of effort to create a new veterans and first responders center in Trumbull, the final amount of money came in this month to put shovels in the ground. Find out about a recent federal grant supporting the center and what this property will do for thousands in our listening area. Ray Baldwin Jr. who has been leading this effort gives us the details and a tentative timeline of what comes next. And for more information, check out https://www.trumbullvfrc.org/

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An annual event highlights Research, Innovation, Scholarship, and Entrepreneurship opportunities at the University of Bridgeport. It started back in 2011 and has grown so much since then. We got the scoop on this upcoming event, how it ties into National Public Health Week and who will benefit from attending (including high school students!)

And for more information on the April 5th RISE event: https://www.bridgeport.edu/rise/

Thursday's "Connecticut Today" with host Paul Pacelli welcomed Connecticut Restaurant Association head Scott Dolch to talk about a proposed move to eliminate the "tipped wage" provision for state restaurant workers (00:26). "Only In Bridgeport" blogger Lennie Grimaldi also stopped by with more details about a reported warning issued to some Bridgeport municipal employees (12:30)

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Kids in Crisis has been helping tens of thousands of children in Fairfield County since it was founded in 1978. TeenTalk is a program that Kids in Crisis provides to more than a dozen middle and high schools in Fairfield County right now. A recent TeenTalk report outlines some stark realities including the huge uptick in counseling requests and WHO makes the majority of counseling requests. Shari Shapiro is the executive director of Kids in Crisis. She gave us the background on Kids in Crisis, the TeenTalk program and a deep dive into this recent TeenTalk report.

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Currently, 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes only making it harder to afford and access good health care options. March marks Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and leading disability advocates are coming together to call for a more inclusive healthcare system.  Patrick Cokley, Senior Program Officer, Equity and Social Justice Partnerships at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shared the national call to action and how the pandemic only made a bad situation, worse.

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