Voice of CT

Melissa in the Morning: Swimming Safety

Drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, following decades of decline. That’s according to the CDC and its new Vital Signs Study released last month. The data shows – more than 4,500 people died due to drowning between 2020 and 2022; up 500 victims per year compared to 2019. Each year, the American Red Cross and its training providers teach more than 2.5 million people to swim through lifesaving aquatics programs. We spoke with Red Cross Connecticut volunteer, John Godin, about swimming safety and resources available to the public.

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Melissa in the Morning: New Hospital Unit

Bridgeport Hospital’s Milford Campus unveiled its new state-of-the-art post-surgical orthopedic care unit. The rooms are reportedly equipped with the latest technology and designed with patient and family comfort in mind. We learned about this latest addition and what it means for patients and staff from orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Amit Lahav.

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Melissa in the Morning: Lonely Workers

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the connection between modern workdays and an epidemic of loneliness in the average worker. Gary Phelan gave us perspective and got advice for employers and employees regarding isolation. Phelan is an employment attorney in Stratford and a professor of law at Quinnipiac University.

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CT Today With Paul Pacelli – More Border And Immigration Controversy

Tuesday’s “Connecticut Today” with host Paul Pacelli welcomed nationally known immigration attorney Renata Castro to chat about President Biden’s immigration and border executive order (00:24). Yankee Institute blogger Meghan Portfolio dropped by to talk about the latest per-pupil public school spending in Connecticut (11:18)

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Melissa in the Morning: Deeper Dive into Steelpointe

In the last decade, Bridgeport has gained new life at the waterfront. Steelpointe Harbor has been attracting more businesses and people to the Park City and the work is far from over. We spoke with Bobby Christoph Jr, President of the RCI Group, responsible for Steelpointe Harbor and more projects in the pipeline.
IMAGE CREDIT: Robert Christoph Jr. / RCI Group

Melissa in the Morning: If you Hate it, Why Stay?!

Career strategist, Julie Bauke, tackles an elementary question that most people can’t answer: “Why do people stay in jobs they dislike/hate?” She shares reasons why people stay stuck and how to overcome it.

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Melissa in the Morning: 100 Deadliest Days

The “100 Deadliest Days” is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatal crashes involving teen drivers are the highest. According to data, inn Connecticut, 151 teen drivers were involved in fatal crashes from 2013 to 2022, resulting in 175 fatalities. More than 40% of those fatal crashes occurred during the “100 Deadliest Days.” We spoke with Alec Slatky at AAA about driver behavior, not just for teens, but the experienced drivers in their families.

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Melissa in the Morning: Mental Health Sick Days

Test Prep Insight, an online education company, conducted a survey among 3,000 parents, focusing on absences related to mental health. The study showed 71% of parents in Connecticut believe children should be allowed to take days off school for mental health reasons (compared to a national average of 73%). Is it OK to allow your kids to take mental health breaks from school? And if you are a believer in mental health days, how do we help our kids make it productive? We spoke with Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of CT Association of Public School Superintendents.

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Melissa in the Morning: Dangerous Roads and Bad Behavior

Connecticut lost Trooper First Class Pelletier last month after he was making a traffic stop on the highway. He did nothing wrong; he was pulling someone over to make sure they were safe. And the suspected driver responsible for the trooper death sped off. What can we take away from this tragedy and what is the bigger picture problem with driver behavior? We spoke with Department of Transportation Commissioner, Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut laws holding drivers accountable, new pilot programs to curb bad decisions behind the wheel and the latest on the work zone camera legislation.

IMAGE CREDIT: Eric Urbanowicz

CT Today With Paul Pacelli – What Happened To Free Speech?

Host Paul Pacelli started another week on “Connecticut Today” talking about a war of words between state legislators regarding the recent conviction of former President Donald Trump in a so-called “hush money” case (00:31). Quinnipiac University Assistant Professor of Law Wayne Unger analyzed that “hush money” trial verdict and possible avenues for a Trump appeal (12:42). CT NewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill stopped by for his weekly update (23:52)

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