Face the State Flashback: President Reagan in New London June 14, 2013

A quarter century ago the race was on to replace the man regarded as one of the greatest presidents in American history, Ronald Reagan. The “great communicator” as he was called, was in the last year of his presidency when he visited Connecticut for the last time. It was May 19, 1988.

In this Sunday’s Face the State flashback, we have a report from archives filed more than 25 years ago by then Channel 3 reporter Jim Vicevich,* now a mainstay on WTIC AM 1080. He covered Reagan’s visit to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, where the nation’s 40th president addressed the graduating class of 1988.

Reagan was quite popular in Connecticut, carrying the state in the elections of 1980 and 1984, and he helped his vice-president George Bush take the state in 1988. Democrats have won Connecticut in every presidential election since then.

’84 was the first presidential election I voted in and I also attended a Reagan rally in Boston that year. Here I am in college under a souvenir from that rally, catching a snooze after a long of studying, or something.

You can watch the segment right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8998089

Also, watch my chat with President Reagan right here: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/my-ronald-reagan-exclusive/

*As you may know Jim suffers from lupus, and you can help him in his battle Tuesday night. Learn more about it right here: http://events.connecticut.cbslocal.com/hartford_ct/events/mission-possible-benefit-lupus-research-/E0-001-057801501-4

Big $$$ Raised in 2013 Capital Catwalk June 4, 2013

Great news from the Hartford Stage! The sold out 2013 Capital Catwalk to benefit Dress for Success Hartford raised more than $72,000! The show featured some familiar faces as models including Scot Haney as John Travolta, Kiki Kennedy, Dr. and Mrs. William Petit, and ESPN’s Steve Levy. Channel 3′s Kara Sundlun was the emcee, and several members of the Channel 3 team modeled: Denise D’Ascenzo, Mark Dixon, Olessa Stepanova, Irene O’Connor and yours truly.

Special thanks to the sponsors and companies that helped make this event a huge win for disadvantaged women.

Hair: Blades

Makeup: Tiffany Hall Scarmana

Restaurants:

Black-Eyed Sally’s
Burger Baby
California Pizza Kitchen
Cuvee
Feng Asian Bistro
Firebox
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Max Downtown
Morton’s The Steakhouse
Salute

Beverages: Brown Forman

Host: Hartford Stage

Sponsors:
Prêt a Porter Sponsor: Walmart
Chic Sponsor: The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Empire Sponsors: Aetna & EquiPower Resources Corp.
A-Line Sponsors: Cigna, Lia Sophia, Petit Family Foundation
Simple Sheath Sponsors: Accenture, All Waste Inc., Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, The Sandra and Arnold Chase Family Foundation, Inc., UBS Realty Investors LLC, Westfarms Mall
Client Sponsor: Jones Apparel Group
Full Page Ad Sponsors: Bank of America, Day Pitney LLP, Mickelson, Jacobs and Bozek, LLC, Reid & Riege, P.C., Vanishing Veins and Vivesse the office of Dr. Lori Greenwald, Waterford Group Charitable Foundation
Half Page Ad Sponsors: Barnett & Shoflick Family Dentistry, Berkshire Bank – CBT Region, Hoffman Auto Group, Lindberg & Ripple, Inc., Marsh USA Inc., NEOS LLC, Rogin Nassau LLC
Gift Bag Sponsor – Hebert Candies

Clothing:

Westfarms Mall
Mariella Creations Rocky Hill
Stackpole, Moore, Tryon, Tuesdays

Photography by Danny Kash

Learn more about the Catwalk at the link at the bottom of the post.

Watch and learn more about the Catwalk and check out video of the big event: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8956188

Face the State Flashback: Hilton Kaderli in Oklahoma May 24, 2013

Oklahoma has certainly been on the minds of many people this week, and here in the Channel 3 newsroom, many of us thought of our old friend Hilton Kaderli. The legendary weatherman who spent nearly a quarter of a century on the Connecticut airwaves, retired to the Sooner State in 1998. We can report that he lives a good distance from the devastated town of Moore.

In this week’s Face the State Flashback, you’ll see two reports from Hilton from April of 1995, when we sent him to Oklahoma City to cover the bombing at the Murrah Federal Building. Hilton brought some compelling stories from his native state to his viewers back in Connecticut.

We can also tell you Hilton and his wife Alma are grandparents now, and every so often he comes back to his adopted state where they raised their two sons. No doubt he still refers to big storms as “gullywhompers.”

By the way, Hilton was the first meteorologist I shared the desk with at WFSB, when I anchored my first newscast in March of 1993.

You can watch the Hilton flashback that aired Sunday morning on Face the State, right here: Watch the segment right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8922164

Check out some other vintage video: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/marking-20-years-at-wfsb/

Face the State Flashback: Kain’s World May 17, 2013

One of Connecticut’s most revered reporters is retiring later this spring. Dan Kain, who’s been a fixture on Channel 3 for a quarter century, is hanging up his journalist’s cap after filing hundreds and hundreds of stories from all corners of our great state.

For much of the 1990s, Dan’s unforgettable stories appeared in a segment of our news called “Kain’s World,” that aired every day at the end of Eyewitness News at 5:30. This Sunday in our Face the State flashback, you’ll see two editions of “Kain’s World that aired in the summer of 1996, introduced by Gayle King and yours truly.

The first was on a move by the West Hartford town council to ban chores on holidays. Seriously. Dan was amused by this, and put together a comical story on the subject. We also will show you a report Dan did on cicadas, which will return this summer.

You can watch both “Kain’s World” reports that aired Sunday at 11AM on Face the State, only on WFSB Channel 3 right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8897434

Watch Dan Kain reporting on the G. Fox Department Store: https://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/face-the-state-flashback-the-g-fox-era-comes-to-an-end/

Face the State Flashback: the Pay Raise Debate of 1998 May 3, 2013

There is little privacy when you are elected official. Your salary is public knowledge, and if you get a raise, everybody knows about it. If you want a raise, you really can’t talk about it..especially in an election year.

In this week’s Face the State flashback, we take you back 15 years to 1998 when Governor John Rowland was being challenged for re-election by Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly. One of the issues being talked about was pay raises for the governor and some other elected leaders.

The report from our archives you’ll see Sunday was filed by Jeff Cole, a former moderator of Face the State.

Tune in for Face the State this Sunday at 11 only on WFSB Channel 3.

Himes: Marathon Bombing Hearings Likely May 3, 2013

This Sunday on Face the State we are joined by 4th District Congressman Jim Himes, and during our taping we talked about the sequester, immigration, guns, even Linda McMahon. Yes, Linda McMahon.

I asked the congressman his thoughts on the former senate candidate as a potential challenger in CT-4. He told me he wondered if she would spend less money because it is only one fifth of the state.

We also talked about the Boston Marathon bombings and whether the FBI could have prevented the Tsarnaev brothers from carrying out their deadly attack. Himes sits on the House intelligence committee and has access to information about what the FBI knew about the two natives of Chechnya. He also told me Congress will likely have hearings on the marathon bombings.

You can watch the entire interview with Congressman Himes right here: http://www.wfsb.com/global/category.asp?c=208507&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8846323

Here are previews of the other Face the State segments:

Gun control: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/law-prof-lawmakers-did-not-abide-by-statute-for-gun-bill/

Flashbacks: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/face-the-state-flashback-the-pay-raise-debate-of-1998/

and http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/my-interview-with-oprah/

Mom and Dad, Don’t Give Booze to Your Kids April 18, 2013

My grandfather giving a beer to an 8 month old Dennis House

Going to prom is one of those milestones in life that you will never forget. Proud parents take pictures of their impeccably dressed children who are heading out to celebrate this rite of passage. Sadly, every now and then a parent has his or own picture taken, in the form of a mug shot.

Just in time for prom season, Kara Sundlun and I just recorded a new public service announcement encouraging parents not to provide alcohol to teenagers. It is illegal for adults to provide booze to their children, and none of the usual arguments will get you off in court. “I thought it was safer, if I let them have a party at our house,” is a common line of defense. Far too many teens die in drunk driving crashes, and if you provided the alcohol, you are responsible.

It is up to you to set the rules. Not sure which rules my grandfather was following, but the 60s were a crazy time, just go ask Alice.

For more information check out http://www.settherulesct.org This is no laughing matter, although these prom pictures of Kara and me from a lifetime ago, most certainly are.

Mark Shriver Talks About His Father, & Public Service March 15, 2013

Mention the name Shriver in Connecticut and inevitably someone will bring up the 1995 Special Olympics World Games, one of the biggest events ever held in our state. We all remember the two people who were front and center at the festivities: Eunice and Sargent Shriver. This Sunday we were joined on Face the State by one of their sons, Mark Shriver.

Shriver is the author of a book about his dad, “A Good Man: Rediscovering my father Sargent Shriver.” Kara and I met Mark last year at a book signing at the home of local public relations moguls Mary Coursey and her husband Chuck, one of Shriver’s college buddies.

During our taping Shriver talked about the book, and his legacy his parents left behind. His mother had an impact on hundreds of thousands of people, without ever having held elected office. Eunice Shriver changed the way the world looked at people with mental disabilities. In a clip you’ll see Sunday, Sargent Shriver talks about how the Special Olympics and awareness increased by his wife, help lead to the demise of mental institutions across the country. Sargent Shriver was the first director of the Peace Corps, Ambassador to France, candidate, and the list goes on.

While on the Face the State set, Mark Shriver also talked about public service, and what he is doing now, and what we can all do to help. We chatted about being a member of a political family, and Shriver shared his recollections of his father’s runs for office in 1972, as George McGovern’s running mate, and in 1976 when he sought the White House.

Shriver was in Hartford to serve as guest speaker of the Archbishop’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at the Connecticut Convention Center at Adriaen’s Landing.

You can watch the entire interview with Mark Shriver, right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8636298

We were also joined by the Archbishop of Hartford, the Most Reverend Henry Mansell. Here’s a preview of that here:

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/archbishop-mansell-pro-choice-catholic-politicians-should-not-receive-communion/

Also watch Shriver’s cousin, Ted Kennedy, Junior on his Face the State appearance last year.

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/connecticuts-kennedy-ready-to-hit-campaign-trail/

Archbishop Mansell: Pro-Choice Catholic Politicians Should Not Receive Communion March 15, 2013

We’ve just learned that Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro will be attending the installation mass at the Vatican for the newly elected Pope Francis. On Sunday’s Face the State, the Archbishop of Hartford Henry Mansell had a message for her trip: he said the pro-choice congresswoman shouldn’t receive Holy Communion.

Mansell and the church are unwavering in their commitment to the unborn, and have said Catholic politicians who support the legalization of abortion should not go up in church to receive the sacrament.

During our taping the Archbishop called abortion a “grievous sin,” and said it is the policy of the Catholic church that those who support abortion should not receive communion. I asked Mansell if he would give communion to DeLauro and other Catholic politicians if they were in his church. I don’t make decisions at the altar rail…but I might speak of it later on.”

During our wide ranging conversation, the Archbishop talked about the new pope, his retirement, his letter from Pope Benedict, and much more.

You can watch the entire interview with Archbishop Mansell right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8643107

Also on Face the State this weekend, Mark Shriver. Here’s a link to that interview: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/mark-shriver-talks-about-his-father-public-service/

2013 Hartford St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 11, 2013

WFSB photographer Mike Fisher grabbing a shot of our team careful not be devoured by the land shark that is a 1965 Buick Electra

What a weekend! Members of the Channel 3 Eyewitness News team were privileged to be part of the 2013 Hartford St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, and Mother Nature provided us and the tens of thousands of people along the parade route with a spectacular day. After a brutal winter, it seems everyone was in the mood to get outside and have some fun.

First of all, kudos to the Celtic committee and the many folks who put this event together every year. It’s not easy, like herding cats, in fact. Denise D’Ascenzo, Kara Sundlun, Irene O’Connor and I have been honored to be parade honorees and persons of the year in the past, and we wear our emerald green sashes with pride every March. Along with Channel 3′s Kim Lucey, Courtney Zieller, Jill Konopka and Matthew Campbell, we had an awesome time marching through downtown.

Secondly, I want to thank all of the Channel 3 viewers who came out to say hi, wave, or shout out a compliment. Our team is truly humbled to see and meet many of you. Connecting with the people who invite us into their homes everyday, and into their iPads and phones is the best part of the parade.

Thirdly, thanks to Denise’s daughter Kathryn who snapped many of these pictures and to some of you who sent them in! Enjoy.

check out last year’s pictures: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/2012-hartford-st-patricks-day-parade/

2010 pictures: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/hartford-st-patricks-day-parade/

another parade: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/channel-3-at-the-southington-apple-harvest-parade/