Email Melissa at [email protected]
Melissa in the Morning is hosted by Melissa Sheketoff who gathers top news headlines locally and nationally to keep WICC listeners in the know, delivering the information that matters most to you.
Every week, enjoy live interviews from state leaders, business owners and local experts. Melissa has frequent talks with Governor Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Comptroller Sean Scanlon and other state department leaders. She also has consistent check-in’s with leaders in Washington, including U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Congressman Jim Himes. At the hyper local level, Melissa also talks to local leaders, including state senators, representative, mayors and first selectmen.
Outside of politics, local experts featured on the show weekly include infectious disease expert, Dr. Fred Browne of Griffin Health, career strategist, Julie Bauke, and law enforcement officials including crime prevention expert, Jim Perez.
And as a news reporter, Melissa does investigative reporting on local stories. In 2024, Melissa was the first and only Connecticut reporter for weeks to tackle a hot water and heating issue at Success Village in Bridgeport and Stratford, impacting thousands of residents. She also exposed severe issues with Bridgeport’s education system, including issues with the Board of Education and superintendent. She also answered dozens of calls from Fairfield residents about a childcare center abruptly set to shut down and her work led to a delay in that decision helping dozens of families find care.
Plus, traffic every ten minutes and weather from our Chief Meteorologist Paul Piorek.
Recent posts
Melissa in the Morning: AI Cancer Detection
The Yale Cancer Center was just awarded a grant to utilize artificial intelligence to find older women with low-risk breast cancer who might be candidates for active surveillance rather than immediate treatment. We got a better understanding of the work being done to avoid overtreatment for some cancer patients from Dr. Sanjay Aneja, physician scientist…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Safe Injection Sites
According to state records, the state struggles with more than 1,300 overdose deaths each year. State lawmakers are now looking at a possible solution: safe injection sites for drug users. We talked about the controversial option with the co-chair of the Legislature’s Public Health Committee, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey. Image Credit: Reuters… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Journalist Burnout
A new Muck Rack survey released this week revealed that more than half of U.S. journalists considered quitting their jobs this year because of exhaustion or burnout. What do the findings mean for the quality of our news coverage and the quality of journalism? We spoke with Ben Bogardus, associate professor and chair of journalism at the…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Bears in Connecticut
Connecticut has seen a record number of entries into homes by bears this year. State environmental officials say there have been 64 bear home entries so far in 2024. In addition, there have now been bear sightings in all 169 Connecticut cities and towns. State Senate Minority Leader Steve Harding talked about the possibility of…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Covid and Diabetes
A newly-published report says there’s a likely link between COVID and diabetes. It suggests the virus is creating inflammation in the pancreas. Baylor infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez says this study comes as a growing number of parents question the impact of COVID on kids and aren’t getting them vaccinated. We asked Dr. Browne…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Vape Detection Technology
Vaping has continued to be a real health concern for young people in America. Right now, national statistics show close to 6% of middle and high school students are using e-cigarettes regularly. While there are a lot of efforts to combat vape-use among pre-teens and teens, one company founded by young adults, has created vape-detection…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: One Month Later
President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties from the historic August 18th flooding. The approval of the disaster request makes relief funding available to affected individuals to cover temporary housing and home repairs and provide homeowners low interest loans to cover uninsured property losses. We spoke with…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: Sleep Deprivation
Only a few weeks into the new school year and health experts are sounding the alarm about sleep deprivation for students. According to the CDC, more than 57% of middle school students, 72% of high school students and 75% of college students are not getting enough sleep nationwide. Wellness coach, Amy Llinas, gave us advice…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: “We’re Taking Over”
Have you seen more spotted lantern flies in Connecticut lately? Scientists say, you’re not crazy. Experts at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have been getting an influx of public sightings of the insects, especially in Milford. Connecticut’s State Entimologist, Victoria Smith, explained why the invasive bug is popping up more than ever. For more information: https://portal.ct.gov/caes/caps/caps/spotted-lanternfly—slf…… Continue Reading
Melissa in the Morning: We have a Receiver!
Attorney Barry Knott has been appointed to be the financial receiver for Success Village. A Superior Court judge has granted Knott full and total control of the 924-unit complex housing more than two-thousand people between Bridgeport and Stratford. We got reaction from Bridgeport Chief Administrative Officer, Tom Guadett, who previously said a receivership was the…… Continue Reading