A Week to Remember

Dr. Mel - WTNH

A lot has happened since the last time I updated my blog. The Patriots and Giants face off in the Super Bowl, with Connecticut right in the middle. Newt Gingrich continues to get attention with an impressive South Carolina primary win. We lost a football legend whose career came to a sad close just months earlier as Joe Paterno died of lung cancer. On a regional level, the loss of meteorologist Doctor Mel Goldstein was felt by many who have watched him over the years. I had the pleasure of knowing Mel going back to when he gave the forecast on WWYZ in the late seventies. The station's program director said all air personalities could take a lesson from Dr. Mel because he "interprets the weather." He presented it in a way that was relevant to the audience. Dr. Mel got his early start on TV at WATR Channel 20 before his long run at WTNH News 8 in the eighties. I got to work more directly with Mel as program director at WLAD in Danbury, the station where he started. Whenever we needed someone who could fill in on the local talk show, Mel was there and callers loved him. Danbury is the same town where his weather center at Western Connecticut State University was based. So many aspiring meteorologists can point to Dr. Mel as their mentor. He beat the odds against multiple myeloma cancer for many years. We never actually get to know the real deal about many media personalities.   With Dr. Mel, I can gladly say we did.