Thomas Varanelli, Owner/CEO of Northeast Fire-Rescue, joins Lisa Wexler to talk about why he created Northeast Fire-Rescue to fill the increasing needs of Connecticut’s 9-1-1 resources
Image Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus
Melissa in the Morning: DSS Understaffing
A new report highlighted the sever understaffing situation at the Department of Social Services and the impact on wait times at its call center. We spoke with Sheldon Toubman, a litigation attorney with Disability Rights Connecticut, about the problem with attracting and retaining staff at DSS and the call to action for lawmakers.
Image Credit: Getty Images
Melissa in the Morning: New DCF Discoveries
More information and body camera footage has been shared with the media following the gruesome discovery of 11-year-old Jacklyn Torres-Garcia’s body earlier this month in New Britain. Jacklyn’s mom, aunt and mother’s boyfriend are all face charges connected to her murder which police shared happened over a year ago. The latest information in the case screams more system failures for DCF. We spoke more about this with Senator Jason Perillo, ranking member for the Committe on Children in Connecticut.
Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz
Melissa in the Morning: Rolling “Heat Out’s”
Success Village is a 900+ unit complex between Bridgeport and Stratford that’s been dealing with heat and hot water issues for a long time. Finally in 2024, a successor was put into place to get more consistent heat and hot water and work out the financial trouble for the complex. Attorney Barry Knott, the successor, gave us a progress report on the property and an update about rolling “heat out’s” ahead of the winter season.
Image Credit: Eric Urbanowicz
Melissa in the Morning: Electricity Rates & More PURA Fallout
Senate Minority Leader, Steve Harding, talked about the continued fallout for PURA and the latest blow to electric ratepayers using United Illuminating.
Image Courtesy of Senator Steve Harding
CT Today With Paul Pacelli – Is America Ready For A Gay President?
Host Paul Pacelli opened Tuesday’s “Connecticut Today” looking at a recent poll of New Hamshire Democrats that gives former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg an early lead for the 2028 White House nomination. Will Buttigieg being openly gay hurt his national ambitions (00:55)? Yankee Institute blogger Meghan Portfolio talked about her latest column regarding a major outflow of state pension benefits that leave Connecticut (15:07). Quinnipiac University School of Communications Dean Nadine Barnett Cosby – a native of Jamaica – joined us to talk about the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica and the wider Caribbean community (24:32)
Image Credit: REUTERS
The Lisa Wexler Show – Lisa On The Law: Crisis Response To Schizophrenia, Statutes For Malpractice Actions
Lisa Wexler takes audience calls about how to get help for a loved one suffering from schizophrenia, what it means to be “gravely disabled” and how common is schizophrenia in middle aged women? Also what you can do if you believe you have a medical malpractice concern?
Image Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus
Melissa in the Morning: Absentee Ballot Fraud
State officials are once again investigating Bridgeport city councilman Alfredo Castillo for allegedly collecting absentee ballots from public housing facilities ahead of the city’s general election next month. Castillo is even accused of posing as a HUD employee to collect ballots. CT Mirror Investigative Reporter, Andrew Brown, broke the news and shared more on this latest case of absentee ballot fraud in Bridgeport.
For full article: https://ctmirror.org/2025/10/24/bridgeport-absentee-ballots-alfredo-castillo/
Image Credit: Getty Images
Melissa in the Morning: SNAP Benefits Funding
Governor Lamont announced the release of 3-million dollars in emergency state funding to Connecticut Foodshare to help Connecticut residents who are expected to lose access to food stamp benefits from SNAP. But where is that money coming from? It’s not the rainy day fund; instead it’s apparently coming from a new slush fund. We spoke about the dangers of this with House Republican Leader, Rep. Vincent Candelora.
Image Credit: Getty Images
Melissa in the Morning: Recording Meetings
In the age of more technological advances and the use of technology, more people are recording conversations at work. To protect themselves, some employees are even recording bosses without consent. What are the legalities around that? We asked employment attorney and Quinnipiac law professor, Gary Phelan.
Image Credit: Getty Images