WICC The Voice of Connecticut

We spoke with Ben Sheen of New York, who was this year's unofficial winner of the WICC Surfside Hotel Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth. 

Friday's "Connecticut Today" with Paul Pacelli started with thoughts on the increasing political divide in the U.S. (0:30). Businessman John Kleinheinz - subject of author Josh Haven's new book, "The Siberia Job" -  joined us to chat about his experience dealing with Russia's business environment (13:04). Former Bridgeport State Rep. Chris Caruso weighed in with his thoughts on another recent UConn spending controversy (26:14).

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The Former US Drug Czar is warning parents about vaping pens disguised as school supplies like highlighters and USB drives. Gary MacNamara joined the conversation and discussed the importance of talking to your kids about the dangers of vaping. ((00:00))

For the first time on WICC, we welcomed Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. We spoke with her about the upcoming school year. We tackled teacher shortages, goals for K-12 students dealing with learning loss and handling bullying inside and outside of school. ((16:06))

Senator Kevin Kelly stopped by to talk about the state's goals for electric vehicles and how you can submit comments regarding the potential changes. We also talked about a big win for Stratford-based Sikorsky, Stratford officials approving cannabis-based companies and a shooting outside Amazon in Stratford feels like living in the wild, wild west. ((29:22))

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Dee Young was the business manager of WICC 41 years ago when the idea of a bluefish tournament was born. She takes a look back at the history of the tournament and shared why it's still so popular today. 

Thursday's edition of "Connecticut Today" with Paul Pacelli looked at the first GOP Primary Debate of the 2024 election cycle (0:23). ​Former Time Magazine reporter Alain Sanders also shared his thoughts on that debate (11:30). "Only in Bridgeport" blogger Lennie Grimaldi stopped by for his weekly update (20:21).

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In the news this week:

A private Atlanta college will be requiring face masks for two weeks. Leaders at Morris Brown said this week that precautionary measures are being taken due to an increase in COVID cases. And Hollywood studio Lionsgate is bringing back a mask mandate for its Santa Monica office. The move comes in response to a new wave of employees catching COVID. The studio also wants people to self-screen before coming in.

Following these national stories, we asked Dr. Browne why cases are spiking nationwide and why masking is the answer for some. Plus, we talked about the importance of the first FDA approved vaccine that is given to pregnant women in order to protect newborn babies from RSV. 

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Ahead of the 41st annual WICC Surfside Hotel Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth, we spoke with The Fisherman Magazine! Matt Broderick talked about bluefish numbers bouncing back and why fishing continues to be a popular pastime generation to generation. 

"Connecticut Today" host Paul Pacelli started Wednesday's show with a few observations on the first Republican Primary Debate (0:33) and we also checked in with State Republican Party Chairmen Ben Proto who was in Milwaukee for that debate (13:27). We aired portions of a response from Connecticut State Police officials regarding growing allegations of false ticket data (22:37). Hearst CT Media editor and columnist Dan Haar stopped by for his weekly update (42:06).

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John Gomes was the only Democratic candidate able to collect enough signatures to force a primary election for mayor. We spoke with both John Gomes ((00:00)) and incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim ((15:54)) about their platforms and visions for Bridgeport. The primary is set for September 12th. 

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 Apparently, bluefish are a delicious, local fish more people should explore cooking in the kitchen. Creator of the 'Fearless Eating' site and blog, Craig Fear, shared his recipes. He also talked about the push for more people to enjoy this oily fish over shipped in fish, like salmon. It comes just days before our 41st annual WICC Surfside Hotel Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth.