Hi.
A few very important notes: don’t forget that Sunday is daylight savings so move your clocks ahead. Thank goodness for warmer weather and more sunlight!
This week Where We Live was awarded first place in the broadcast category at the Mental Illness Media Awards Competition (sponsored by the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Connecticut, and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.) The broadcast, “Mentally Ill Inundate State Prisons,” was based off a Connecticut Health Investigative Team report by Lisa Chedekel.
Also, don’t miss an important event on Wednesday March 14 at the Torp Theater, Davidson Hall, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain. It’s a comprehensive panel discussion with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars about their service and the difficult transition home.
With the Iraq War ended and withdrawal from Afghanistan imminent, the United States is seeing a flood of veterans coming home from war. Many are returning with physical, mental and emotional wounds that take time to heal and are little understood by the civilian population. And these vets are coming home to a nation still in economic trouble, where jobs are tough to come by. As part of a yearlong reporting project, WNPR is talking to Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans about their stories of deployment, conflict, return and re-integration.
In collaboration with Central Connecticut State University, this forum will bring together veterans from across the state to talk about their experiences, what is being done to help veterans in the state, and what more still needs to be done. This program will be recorded for broadcast on WNPR’s Where We Live.
John Dankosky is Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication, News Director of WNPR and host of Where We Live. He is the lead organizer for this event, along with Lucy Nalpathanchil – Correspondent and Host at WNPR and lead reporter on the Coming Home Project and Michael Zacchea, a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps who served in Iraq. Zacchea has received numerous military awards including the Bronze Star Medal for Valor (with gold star in lieu of 2nd award), and a Purple Heart. He now works at The University of Connecticut as part of their Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities. The program will include two panel discussions with groups of accomplished returning veterans who advocate for other military personnel.
And here’s what’s coming up on the show next week:
MONDAY: Racial Profiling
An investigation by the Hartford Courant found black and Hispanic drivers received harsher punishments during traffic stops. This report comes on the heels of the FBI’s investigation into the East Haven police department. We’ll talk with the Courant’s Matthew Kauffman, State Representative Gary Holder-Winfield and police officer Shafiq Abdussabur. He wrote A Black Man’s Guide to Law Enforcement in America.
TUESDAY: Reporter Roundtable
Reporters Keith Phaneuf from the Connecticut Mirror and CT News Junkie’s Christine Stuart will give us the pulse of the capitol — – and then we’ll get the business report, and take a look at the new employment numbers just out with the Hartford Courant’s Dan Haar.
WEDNESDAY: TBA
THURSDAY: Adult Education for Teens
Thousands of teens are leaving traditional high school in Connecticut and opting for adult education programs instead. These programs have more flexible hours and less requirements for graduation, allowing students to finish school more quickly. But are they getting the same opportunities at education as their peers? Coming up, we’ll follow up on our WNPR series about kids who are leaving the school system, but not necessarily “dropping out”. How effective are adult ed programs for teens — and are they as effective as they should be for adults?
FRIDAY: String Theorie
String Theorie is an Instrumental World Fusion Trio from Central Connecticut that brings together Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar, Electric Bass and a wide variety of World Percussion to forge a sound that can’t really be described in words. The band draws influences from such diverse artists as Michael Hedges, Victor Wooten, Don Ross, Michael Manring, Henry Mancini and more. They’re coming back to our studios to play and talk about their new album Little Elephant. We’re beyond excited.
