Local Hartford stations broke in to regular programming this morning to cover the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

NBC-owned WVIT reported the news at 10:26 a.m. with a quick update at  from morning anchor Brad Drazen who asked viewers to stay tuned for more information before going to break.

• Related, TVNewser: Cablers Pivot to School Shooting

CBS affiliate WFSB reported the news at 10:29 a.m. with anchor Eric Parker. ABC affiliate WTNH reported it at 10:30 a.m., breaking into the “Rachael Ray” show” with a special report anchored by Keith Kountz.

News 12 Connecticut arrived  on the scene at 10:53 a.m., cutting in to reporter Frank Recchia‘s piece and quickly going to live footage from its Chopper 12.

After being unable to agree on the terms of a new contract, George Colli is parting ways with WTIC, The Laurel reports.

Colli, a Connecticut native, joined the Hartford Fox affiliate as a general assignment reporter in 2010.

“I had a great experience at Fox CT and I’ll be forever grateful to [News Director] Coleen Marren and [General Manager] Rich Graziano for giving me this opportunity and the same to all the great people who work there and have become friends,” Colli told The Laurel.

Late Friday, Tribune-owned WTIC fired meteorologist Geoff Fox, releasing this terse statement:

FOX CT has terminated the employment of Geoff Fox effective November 16, 2012 for inappropriate conduct which was brought to the attention of station executives late last night. As this is a personnel matter, FOX CT will offer no further comment or details surrounding Mr. Fox’s dismissal.

On his personal website Sunday night, Fox did comment, without getting into detail about the conduct that was so “inappropriate” it got him fired. He writes:

I had no idea this private conversation would be made public, but what I did was still wrong even if it had remained private.

This is a very difficult time for my family. I betrayed a trust with my wife and daughter which won’t be mended quickly. I have made promises to them I intend to keep.

Fox met his wife Helaine 32 years ago when both worked at a radio station in Philadelphia. They have an adult daughter who lives in California. “Losing my job at FoxCT/Courant is also very difficult,” Fox writes. “I was proud to work there and proud of what we offered the public. It was the best job I ever held. I worked my butt off in gratitude.”

Fox had been with FOX/CT for the last year and a half after spending the previous 26 years at WTNH.

As stations up and down the East Coast were live with Hurricane Sandy coverage throughout the night (more on that later), The Hartford Courant is reporting that suspicious packages were delivered to two stations in Hartford around 4amET Monday.

Packages were dropped outside the front foyer at NBC O&O WVIT and near ABC affiliate WTNH. The areas were shut down and the bomb squad was called in to investigate, West Hartford police said. The Courant has details on a a suspect:

West Hartford police said they are looking for a white man, possibly in his 40s, with grayish hair who was driving a late model small silver car, possibly a Chevrolet Cobalt or Monte Carlo with a spoiler and sunroof.

>Update: a WVIT spokesperson tells TVSpy that police have removed the package and are evaluating it.

WFSB, the CBS-affiliate in Hartford/New Haven, has made some changes to its anchor line up.

Hena Daniels moves over from the weekend desk to join Dennis House at 11pm weekdays. House, who has been anchoring solo for four years, eagerly tweeted the move, saying “I am pleased to tell you Hena Daniels will be my new co-anchor on Ch. 3 Eyewitness News at 11!”

New London Bureau Chief Kevin Hogan will take the slot vacated by Daniels on weekend nights while reporter Tina Martin will anchor weekend mornings.

WTNH (ABC) Hartford/New Haven meteorologist Erica Grow is heading south to Washington, DC for a weekend weather and weekday reporting gig at CBS affiliate WUSA.

“My hours were cut back to part-time at WTNH and the new job is a full-time one,” Grow tells the Hartford Courant. “While I had planned to stay in Connecticut longer, Washington D.C. will be a return to the big, big market.”

Grow joined WTNH in April 2011 from WPVI in Philadelphia where she was weekend meteorologist. She’s also worked in Harrisburg, PA and Midland, TX.

WTIC (FOXCT) has added Ben Goldman, a Connecticut high schooler, to their news team.  But stifle those cries of reporters getting younger every year, Goldman will only report on charity events around Connecticut.

Coleen Marren, news director for the Hartford-New Haven Fox affiliate told the Hartford Courant, “We are thrilled to have Ben join the team.”

Goldman, a brain cancer survivor, hosts “Ben Goldman’s Charity Corner” which is listed on the station’s website as raising awareness for various charities around Connecticut.

The Wethersfield High School junior also covers sports for WCTV 14, Wethersfield’s public access channel.

Kerri-Lee Mayland has been promoted to weekday morning co-anchor at WVIT, the NBC O&O in Hartford.

Mayland is currently the station’s weekend morning anchor. She replaces Yvonne Nava, who is moving to Texas to be closer to her family, on the weekday newscast.

“We are pleased to have Kerri-Lee join the NBC Connecticut weekday morning team,” WVIT president-GM David Doebler said in a statement. “Viewers will enjoy getting to know Kerri-Lee.  Her sharp journalism skills and warm demeanor will fit nicely with our already strong morning team.”

Mayland, who has been at WVIT since 2010, will anchor alongside Brad Drazen, meteorologist Bob Maxon and traffic reporter Kayla James starting next month.

Veteran Hartford anchor Al Terzi is joining WTIC, the Fox-affiliate announced this weekend.

Terzi’s 28-year tenure at CBS-affiliate WFSB came to an end in February after talks to extend his contract failed. “I could retire, of course, but I do want to keep going,” he told viewers during his sign-off from the station.

Terzi’s specific assignment at WTIC has not yet been announced, but he told the Hartford Courant that his responsibilities will include filling in on the anchor desk and working alongside reporter Laurie Perez on “The Real Story,” which airs Sundays. He will also co-anchor the evening news on Fridays. Read more

With temperatures well into the 90s in Connecticut, WFSB meteorologist Mark Dixon cut the sleeves off his dress shirt and delivered the forecast with naked arms Thursday.

Station management had apparently relaxed the dress code to include sleeveless tops during the heat wave, which Dixon took as an opportunity to keep cool on-air (or show off his guns). Video inside… Read more