WICC The Voice of Connecticut

According to a recent Bloomberg report, middle managers, defined as non-executives who oversee employees, make up almost a third of terminations, up from 20% in 2018. In January, UPS said it would save more than $1 billion by slashing 12,000 manager jobs. Citigroup aims to eliminate 20,000 roles over the next several years. These are just a couple of examples of the risk middle managers face with companies dealing with potential layoffs. How can middle managers tell that a layoff might be coming and protect themselves from landing on the chopping block? Julie Bauke shares advice on that and gives the heads up to employers about a shift in people not wanting to become middle managers.

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This week is National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week which is meant to bring awareness about addiction and share resources to address substance abuse. But instead of focusing on why people drink, we decided to focus on why people CARE SO MUCH about people who DON’T drink. Our morning show counselor, Julius Dudics, peeled back the curtain on the core of the problem and how to get honest with ourselves about drinking. We also got several listener calls on this topic and echoing the need to hold the line if you don’t want to drink.

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Stamford is receiving 17-million-dollars from the federal government for a new pedestrian corridor along the Mill River.  The funds will be used to fill the last gap in the Mill River Greenway network. What is this network? What will the funding specifically go towards? Why does it matter to Stamford residents and visitors? And if this project has been ongoing for such a long time, how did Stamford land on the radar of our federal government to get this funding now? We got the details from Mayor Caroline Simmons.

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Host Paul Pacelli started a new week on "Connecticut Today" by looking at a proposal to outlaw so-called "legacy admissions" at Connecticut colleges (00:23). CT NewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill dropped by to chat about third-party White House candidates (11:05)

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A new piece of legislation would better protect tow truck drivers in Connecticut. Dozens of tow truck drivers are killed every year because drivers don’t slow down and move over when a truck is pulled off on the side of a highway. Salena Khan, founder of Life on the Line Co., is pushing for a law that would require all tow trucks to be equipped with blue lights. Why does that make a difference and why blue lights? Khan explains.

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Hartford is working to combat crime with several proposals. One of those proposed measures includes armed neighborhood watch groups. In fact, one group rolled out for a shift this past weekend for the first time. Meanwhile, The Hartford City Council is considering a compromised resolution that would bring UNARMED neighborhood block watches to reduce crime. What could this resolution mean for other towns and cities in Connecticut combatting crime rates? What does this measure say to police in our state? We tackled that with Crime on the Mind’s Jim Perez.

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This is a very religious time of year. For example, Muslims began Ramadan on March 11th, Jews will celebrate Purim on March 23rd and Christians enter Holy Week Sunday March 24th. For Americans who take time off for religious reasons, how do employers handle the holidays and religious accommodations? We got perspective and advice from Mike Roberts of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

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As you know, during the legislative session there are hundreds of bills being debated in Hartford. And one bill seems to tackle elections in the state. House Bill 5498 reportedly tackles surveillance at absentee ballot dropboxes, modifications to absentee ballot data and even absentee ballot reforms. However, we were alerted to a controversial section of the bill that would bar the Independent Party from using the word independent and force the party to rebrand itself. What exactly does that mean for our future ballots if this passes and why would this even be proposed? We got perspective from our legal expert, Attorney Bill Bloss, who says this is deeply troubling to every Connecticut voter if the bill gets the greenlight with this section.  

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On Saturday, March 16th, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony is highlighting a powerful member of the instrumental ensemble: the flute. Find out the details for this upcoming show at The Klein in Bridgeport from Maestro Eduardo Leandro and Executive Director, Phyllis Cortese. 

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

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Friday's "Connecticut Today" with Paul Pacelli featured Connecticut Catholic Conference Executive Director Christopher Healy on a proposed measure - based on gender - that could alter Connecticut's State Constitution (00:31). State Senate GOP leader Stephen Harding joined us to talk about a new report from the Secretary of the State's office regarding more alleged voting irregularities in Bridgeport, (12:33), while host Paul Pacelli also had comments on the same issue as well (20:39)

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