Melissa in the Morning: “Not Very Nice to K-12”

Melissa in the Morning: “Not Very Nice to K-12”

We continue addressing the early childcare crisis in Connecticut. According to state data, we still have about 4,000 staffing vacancies for early childhood, a waitlist of more than 1,500 kids needing Care 4 Kids and school districts are juggling families trying to test their kids into Kindergarten despite not being five years old by September…

Melissa in the Morning: Childcare Crisis

Melissa in the Morning: Childcare Crisis

We are living in a childcare crisis in Connecticut and across the country. There are not enough reputable, affordable centers and our staffing levels are too low, mostly because we can’t pay them. Compound that with a new state law changing the kindergarten age requirement in the fall; families and school districts are scrambling! Does…

Melissa in the Morning: Healthcare Takeaways

Melissa in the Morning: Healthcare Takeaways

We continue to look at the aftermath of the 2024 legislative session; this time we focused on healthcare legislation. Senator Jeff Gordon talked about the ongoing drama surrounding Prospect Medical Holdings impacting three Connecticut hospitals and a call from the governor for lawmakers to return to the table. We also discussed the big winner: Senate…

Melissa in the Morning: Online Crime Map

Melissa in the Morning: Online Crime Map

Bridgeport has officially rolled out a new interactive crime map for residents to keep track of crime statistics in and around their neighborhoods. We spoke with Police Chief Roderick Porter about the LexisNexis technology, how it works, and why he feels it needed to be a priority for city residents. To view that map, click…

Melissa in the Morning: Consumer Protection Legislation

Melissa in the Morning: Consumer Protection Legislation

We had our monthly check-in with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli gave us some legislative updates impacting businesses and consumers in the state following the 2024 legislative session. He spoke about THC-infused beverages, House Bill 5236 concerning professional licensing, and improvements on the “pharmacy experience.” PHOTO CREDIT: Kaitlyn Krasselt / CT…

Melissa in the Morning: The Northern Lights in Connecticut

Melissa in the Morning: The Northern Lights in Connecticut

Earlier this month, a super rare geomagnetic storm happened making the Aurora visible even here in Connecticut! David Mestre of Science You May Not Know talked about the May 10th Northern Lights event seen across the northeast. We also compared it to the “Carrington Event” of September 1 to 2, 1859 when the Aurora was…

Melissa in the Morning: Success Village Fail

Melissa in the Morning: Success Village Fail

For about a week now, Melissa has been inundated with calls from WICC listeners who live in Success Village. This is a 900+ unit apartment complex with aging boilers impacting heat and hot water. Residents have reported having no hot water for 10 days despite news outlets reporting the problem would be resolved earlier this…

Melissa in the Morning: State Police in Studio

Melissa in the Morning: State Police in Studio

Wrong-way crashes, click it or ticket and more motorcycles on our roadways. We talked with Connecticut State Police in studio about driver behavior and statistics for our highway incidents. Sgt. Christine Jeltema and Sgt. Luke Davis stopped in studio to share what they are seeing in recent years and what drivers need to know once…

Melissa in the Morning: The Next Generation’s Mental Health

Melissa in the Morning: The Next Generation’s Mental Health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we wanted to focus specifically on our kids and grandchildren. What can parents and grandparents do to ensure that our kids and grandkids develop healthy mental health. What are the signs and symptoms that indicate our children are at risk? Counselor, Julius Dudics, weighs in on the conversation…

Melissa in the Morning: Can we do More?

Melissa in the Morning: Can we do More?

Wrong-way crashes are becoming more and more of a normality on our state highways. While the Department of Transportation continues to address the problem with updated detection systems on highway exit ramps, is there more we could do right now? We got perspective from Gary MacNamara, who talked about signage along the highway, not just…