INNER-CITY NEWS

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Board of Ed Reelects Leaders, Learns Of Rising Absences, New Test Protocol

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

At the Board of Education’s first meeting of the year, members reelected their leaders, discussed an increase in student absences, and learned about new “Test to Stay” protocol for students exposed to Covid-19 The meeting took place over Zoom, continuing the move to virtual sessions begun nearly two years ago because of the pandemic.

Reelections All three members of the board’s leadership team were unanimously reelected, uncontested.

Yesenia Rivera was reappointed president of the board, 6 – 0. She originally stepped into the role in January 2020.

(Board member Darnell Goldson was not present at Monday’s meeting to vote.)

Board member Edward Joyner said Rivera has done a “phenomenal job in a very difficult time.”

Mathew Wilcox was reappointed vice president of the board. He was thanked for his attention to detail, compassion, and integrity while handling board matters and decisions.

“Matt Wilcox is the hardest working man in school boards,” Joyner said.

“I know that if there is one person that has dotted his i’s and crossed his t’s and knows the details, it is Mr. Wilcox, and that is incredibly valuable to the Board of Education,” Mayor Justin Elicker added.

Edward Joyner was reappointed secretary and recognized by members for his “lifetime and more of service” and knowledge shared with the district.

Elicker also officially swore in the board’s newest appointed members, Dr.

Edward Joyner, Yesenia Rivera, Matt Wilcox.

OrLando Yarborough III and Dr. Abie Quiñones-Benítez, at Monday’s meeting.

Yarborough’s and Quiñones-Benítez’s slots were approved by the Board of Alders to replac departing board members Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur and Larry Conaway, often dissenting voices whose terms Elicker did not renew.

Student Absences The board and community were given an update at the meeting on student absence rates, which increased over 23 percent since last month.

New Haven Public Schools Director of Research, Assessment and Evaluation Michele Sherban reported that as of Dec. 1 the student absence rate was at 10 percent. A total of 1,967 absences were reported out of the total 19,262 enrollment.

As of Jan. 5 the absence rate had increased to 33 percent, with a total of 6,308 excused and unexcused absences.

“Many of the students, we don’t know the reason,” Sherban said.

Schools Superintendent Iline Tracey added that the district has not yet accounted for missing attendance records kept by substitutes or students marked absence after arriving late to school.

The chart above includes absence codes marked AU for unexcused absences, AE for excused absences, HX for excused homebound absences, OS for out-ofschool suspensions, and HA for additional homebound students.

Updated Covid Plans & Protocol City Health Director Maritza Bond made a presentation reviewing new and exist-

ing quarantine protocols for students and school staff.

When a student tests positive for Covid the student must quarantine for five days, then take a rapid antigen test on day five.

If test results are negative, the student will be able to return on day 6.

If a student comes in close contact with an individual who has tested positive, they are given an alternative option to quarantine for the required amount of days.

The district has introduced a second option known as “test to stay” which is being rolled out this week. The district is basing the option on the Massachusetts Department of Education’s testing program. It will require the students to self-test for five consecutive days. To return to school for those five days, the student must test

negative after taking the at-home rapid antigen test, which schools will provide.

Because the district has a limited availability of test kits, to quality, students must have Covid-19 symptoms, test positive for Covid, or come in close contact with Covid either while not vaccinated or having been vaccinated more than six months ago.

The school will either send students home with a test kit or arrange a time for families to pick them up.

“This is much much more robust than the both the CDC’s recommendations and the state’s recommendations,” Elicker said of the “Test to Stay” protocol. “This is a way for us to facilitate safely children remaining in school.”

The health department is also continuing its Covid Taskforce inspections at all schools to ensure compliance with safety guidelines and mask wearing.

Joyner raised concerns about the possibility of noncompliance with the protocol’s self-testing options. “We’re relying on parents to test their kids at home.

And you and I both know that sometimes parents will have a tendency to send their kids to schools even when they know they’re sick. Some parents, not all,” he said. “Any violation of these protocols will really create problems for the entire school.”

Elicker agreed tracking the students’ self-test will be difficult and will likely come down to trust. But, he said, it is “the best that we can do.”

Yarborough suggested the district work to increase communication with parent employers about student quarantine needs and providing time off in result of Covid safety concerns in schools.

Teacher Tests Positive, Packs Up Fast

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

Aron Meyer received the text Tuesday at 9:54 a.m. In 11 minutes, students would return to his classroom.

He decided to move fast.

It was third period, a prep period for Meyer. So he was alone in his eighthgrade language arts classroom at ESUMS (Engineering and Science University Magnet School), working on the next day’s lesson plan for August Wilson’s play Fences.

Meyer, a ten-year veteran teacher, had dreaded a moment like this. He obtained a Covid test the weekend before school resumed from Christmas break; it came back negative. He wasn’t feeling sick.

So he showed up to teach his classes. But like the city’s other teachers, he worried about whether everyone would be safe.

His phone didn’t beep at 9:54. It did vibrate. Meyer heard it, and saw the message. It was from his wife, Cassi Meyer-

hoffer. She, too, had tested negative at the end of break. Meyerhoffer, a sociology professor at Southern Connecticut State University, went for another test because she had begun feeling tired; her throat felt sore. This time, she informed Meyer, she had tested positive for the coronavirus.

I probably have it, as well, Meyer thought.

He had to find out, before coming into contact with more kids.

Husband and wife made a plan: Meyerhoffer would pick up their two kids from L.W. Beecher and King Robinson schools, since they might have the virus, too. Meyer “went to the [ESUMS] main office and was told that I should take a test to see if I was negative or positive.”

Where to get the test?

“Apparently we have free tests available.

But I must have missed that line in the email.” he said. But he did see an email from a fellow ESUMS teacher who had purchased some extra rapid tests, offering them to colleagues at cost.

ESUMS’s Aron Meyer.

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Meyer headed to the teacher’s classroom, summoned her out, exchanged $22 for a test.

Then he returned to his classroom. Inserted the swab into his nostril.

He’d have a result in 15 minutes. But the next period would begin at 10:05.

“I thought that someone was finding a place for my students to go,” he recalled. Meyer was in the back of the room when the first student walked in. Meyer waved his arms, told the student he might have Covid. The student left. A security guard in the hall, alerted to the situation, found another spot in the building for the students to gather.

At 10:10, Meyer received the result.

Though he felt fine, two lines materialized. He had tested positive.

“It was terrifying,” he said, “realizing that you’ve unknowingly put students and coworkers at risk.

“I just started going through my head: How many students I had been in con-

tact with? I’m always masked. I wear my N95. I enforce mask regulations in my classroom all the time. I have kids do regular mask checks to make sure they’re covering their mouths and nose. But nothing’s 100 percent. I walk around my classroom; I have to look over students’ shoulders from time to time. You’re teaching — you’ve got to interact with your students. The mentality that you can teach safely with social distancing doesn’t take into consideration that teaching is interactive. Teachers don’t sit in one place; people are moving around.”

At 10:24, Meyer messaged a lesson plan for the day. He gathered materials for the coming days, and left. “I headed out, and poked my head into the main office to let them know about test, and that I was going to head home.” He joined the 585 or so other New Haven Public Schools employees out of work amid the Omicron surge, leaving stretched remaining staff-

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Sisters’ Journey January 2022 Survivor of the Month - Gloria Harmon

Praise God from whom all of our blessings flow!

I am Mother Gloria L. Harmon and I am a 10-year breast cancer survivor. I am the oldest of eight living siblings of a family of 14 – at 95 years young!

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2011 at the age of 85. I had a double mastectomy as well as one year of chemotherapy.

I had recently lost my childhood sweetheart, my love, my husband of 61 years, DeWitt R. Harmon, Sr. in May 2010. Shortly thereafter I began to experience a number of physical challenges. In July I had two TMIs. Up until then I was still driving, but after the TMIs my family took the car keys. Then in January 2011, I had to have my gall bladder removed. My doctor really did not recommend the surgery because of my age, but I decided to trust God and go forward with it because I had been in so much pain. The surgery went very well, and I was feeling much better, getting stronger, enjoying life.

Well, one day in June 2011, while lying in bed, when I pulled the covers up, I brushed my right breast, and it felt a little strange. I checked my left breast and it did not feel the same. I then decided to do the actual self-breast check for the next few days. I definitely felt a lump in my right breast.

I contacted my primary care doctor, and he ordered a mammogram. Something was seen on the mammogram, so I was referred to a surgeon, Dr. Andrew Kenler, who ordered another mammogram of both breasts. I also had a biopsy done in his office of my right breast.

When these results came back, I was diagnosed with HER2 negative in the right breast and DCIS in the left breast. I did not have any lumps in the left breast. Along with the double mastectomy I also had one lymph node removed. Thanks be to God, it was clear.

I went through a year of chemotherapy with the love, prayers and 100 percent support of my family, church, friends, Dr. Neal Fischbach and my nurse, Renee. Either my daughter or my son went with me to every treatment. I never went alone. I had a few minor side effects from the chemo. I lost my hair, and my taste buds and nails were also affected. I also had some lymphedema in my arm, which was helped with physical therapy. I did not need to wear the sleeve for lymphedema very long.

I did not lose any weight. I did get a wig with the help of Harriett from Saxon Kent and the Susan Komen Foundation, but I mostly wore a hat. Before I knew it, the year was over and now it has been 10 years and I am cancer free.

God has truly been good to me. I recently celebrated my 95th birthday with a Zoom party from my family. I’ve had both of my vaccinations for COVID-19. I am now a part of Sisters’ Journey, and my family members are all safe.

I am grateful, thankful and give God ALL the praise!!!

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HONORING THE LEGACY OF

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

Gloria Harmon 3

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Junta Connects Latinos To Covid Tests, Masks

by CORAL ORTIZ

New Haven Independent

Taina Cintron began to come down with a sore throat, stuffy nose, and cough. Cintron, a 20-year-old college student, was unsure about what to do with her grandmother coming home the next day from the holidays. Results from the PCR test she took would not come back for “another eight days”; her boss wanted a test result before returning to work.

As this uncertainty weighed on Cintron’s shoulders, a caseworker from Junta for Progressive Action called her with news about a new effort to distribute at-home rapid tests. She became of an estimated 150 people thus far to receive a combination of a Covid-19 test and masks under the effort. The Department of Health gave Junta a couple of hundred tests and 960 masks to distribute.

For the past week, three to four Junta staff members and four volunteers have been driving through Fair Haven to distribute the at-home test. The agency is prioritizing “intergenerational households, those who are undocumented, low-income, those who are experiencing symptoms or are exposed,” said Executive Director Bruni Pizarro. Three hours after the first call from the caseworker, Junta arrived with Covid tests to help prevent Cintron’s family members from giving the grandmother Covid. After Cintron’s boyfriend began feeling symptoms, she was able to call Junta and get her boyfriend a test as well.

Junta Director of Social Services Cheila Serrano described the need as urgent.

“Everyone is going crazy, trying to get an appointment for Covid tests,” she said.

Penfield Communications Inc

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls Ivy

Editor-in-Chief Liaison, Corporate Affairs Babz@penfieldcomm.com

Advertising/Sales Team 10

Keith Jackson Delores Alleyne John Thomas, III

Editorial Team

Staff Writers Christian Lewis/Current Affairs Anthony Scott/Sports Arlene Davis-Rudd/Politics

Contributing Writers Driver Daniel Pizarro, Junta's volunteer Art Director, and Bruni Pizarro, Junta's executive director, delivering Covid tests.

With a test shortage and delayed PCR results, “we’re able to give people peace of mind through providing tests.”

Junta not only works to provide households in Fair Haven with tests but also informs clients on when to get tested and what resources are available for those who test positive. Serrano informs callers about the importance of waiting to get tested until three to five days after exposure, and quarantining according to CDC

guidelines. According to the city Health Director Martiza Bond, Hispanics make up 30 percent of total Covid cases in New Haven, making Junta’s work essential given the agency’s mission of serving the Hispanic community.

For many callers, especially undocumented or low-income individuals, contracting Covid means overcoming physical and financial obstacles. Junta’s caseworkers follow up with those who

test positive to discuss their next steps, especially if their inability to work causes a financial burden.

Cintron discussed her frustrations bout the recent Covid resurgence and what feels like an absence of reactions from government and university officials: “I haven’t heard of that many resources like there was at the beginning of Covid; I know people living day by day.”

David Asbery / Tanisha Asbery Jerry Craft / Cartoons / Barbara Fair Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur Michelle Turner / Smita Shrestha William Spivey / Kam Williams Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Contributors At-Large

Christine Stuart

www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Bass www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships National Association of Black Journalist National Newspapers Publishers Association Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Greater New Haven Business & Professional Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. The Inner-City Newspaper is published weekly

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Display ad deadline Friday prior to insertion date at 5:00pm Advertisers are responsible for checking ads for error in publication. Penfield Communications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-City Newspaper” , shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication, except to the extent of the cost of the space in which actual error appeared in the first insertion. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The entire contents of The Inner-City Newspaper are copyright 2012, Penfield Communications, Inc. and no portion may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

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By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available in-person at Yale New Haven Hospital once a month.

Date: Tuesday, January 18 Time: 5 - 7 pm Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting Parking available (handicapped accessible) An appointment is necessary. Please call 855-547-4584.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Mourners Pay Last Respects To Rohn Lawrence At First-Ever Toad’s Place Funeral

by BRIAN SLATTERY The line on York Street went halfway down the block on Monday afternoon as friends and family gathered to bid farewell to New Haven music legend Rohn Lawrence, whose visiting hours and funeral service were held at Toad’s Place, the stage on which he’d performed countless times.

Lawrence died on Dec. 30 of Covid-19 at the age of 61. On Monday mourners filed through the main floor of Toad’s, where Lawrence lay in state on the stage, flanked by flowers and two of his guitars.

“This is how my brother lived,” said Michelle Lawrence, Rohn’s sister. “So this is how I wanted to make sure I sent him off — the way he lived. I know my brother better than anybody in the world, and I knew this is what he would want.”

Toad’s owner Brian Phelps counted Lawrence as a close friend for over 40 years.

Lawrence had played there in various ensembles and held down a weekly spot at Lilly’s Pad for over a decade. “Rohn was always the guitar master of New Haven.

Everyone knew it. The other musicians knew it. They could hear it, from the way he was playing, just the fluidity of it,” Phelps said. “He was a great guy, always honest, and I respected him a tremendous amount.”

Michelle was at home in Portsmouth, Va., when she got the news of her brother’s passing.

“I was just shocked,” she said. “I’m still shocked.”

She called Phelps to ask if they could hold the funeral at Toad’s. “He told he’d be honored to, anything I needed,” she said.

For Michelle, the first consideration was the number of people she expected to come pay their respects. “I knew that everybody loved Rohnnie, so there were going to be a million people that wanted to come. There’s no funeral parlor big enough.” The second, and larger, consideration was about how Lawrence had devoted his life to music.

“Let’s get it done for Rohn, and do it the way he would want it done,” Phelps recalled saying. “Rohn’s life was on the stage. So she wanted a music venue to be his way out. This was how he lived his life and it was how she wanted him to leave the world.”

Phelps needed only to provide the space.

All other arrangements were handled by Howard K. Hill Funeral Services. Michelle’s foresight had been prescient, as dozens upon dozens of people moved through Toad’s that afternoon to pay their respects.

For many, it was also a chance to see friends and family whom the pandemic had made distant. Animated voices and laughter soon filled the place, as in the best music, mixing with the sorrow.

Among those who came to Toad’s was Robert Paturzo, a lifelong friend of Lawrence. They grew up “in each other’s

Mourners Monday at first-ever Toad's funeral. houses” in West Haven. He recalled Law- sic.’ He said, If you’re playing a polka and rence playing not just guitar, but banjo, you’re playing it well, doesn’t matter.’ ” mandolin, piano, and drums. “One of his When Lawrence starting performing on first performances I saw was in junior Monday nights in New Haven nearly high school. They used to have a talent 20 years ago — first at Rudy’s, then show every year, and by eighth grade Humphries, then Lilly’s Pad — “I was parents used to call and ask the school to there every Monday. I used to say to him, not let Rohn be in it because he won it ‘I’m a second set man, because I’m alevery year.” Paturzo remembered Law- ways late.’ ” Lawrence told him he could rence playing “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” always count on him.

He won again.

Paturzo and Lawrence last spoke the “One of the things he said to me, and Sunday before he died. “He had a gig to a lot of people, was, ‘There’s only two Sunday, and he called me when he got kinds of music: good music and bad mu- home. He was having breathing problems.

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I said, ‘Don’t mess around with this; it’s serious.’ In my heart I think Rohn knew there was something wrong with him, though we’ll never know.

Another attendee Monday was Philip Bynum of Cool Breeze Music in the Parks, who recalled Lawrence as a “friend, musician, legend, and my brother.” He helped bring Lawrence to a wider audience in New Haven through concerts on the Green. “Every show I do from now on I’m going to leave a stool onstage for him,” Bynum said.

Bynum and Lawrence were childhood

friends. They played in a band together as middle school students in West Haven, back when Lawrence “wanted to be a Harlem Globetrotter,” Bynum said with a laugh. They were all aspiring musicians, but “Rohnnie just stuck with it. He just kept taking it to the next level.” Bynum watched with admiration at the life Lawrence carved out for himself with music.

“When you get George Duke saying, ‘That’s my protege,’ you’re on top of the world,” Bynum said. “When I went down to North Carolina and saw my best friend playing on stage with Boney James, that meant the world to me.”

“For myself and for the rest of the New Haven musical community, we lost a family member,” said musician Jay Rowe. Rowe and Rohn met when they were students at Educational Center of the Arts. They ended up playing together for 42 years, including a show with saxophonist Marion Meadows at Mohegan Sun in which Lawrence jumped in on drums when the regular drummer was late. When the drummer arrived, Lawrence took a drum solo, let the drummer sneak in behind him, then threw on his guitar and played a “blazing solo.”

“If that isn’t a showbiz moment, I don’t know what is,” Rowe said with a laugh.

Rowe recalled Lawrence being able to play songs by ear for the first time, and “give an amazing performance right out of the box.” He recalled another story of Lawrence walking into a record store in Japan, where the person behind the counter was coincidentally trying to learn one of Lawrence’s guitar solos off a recent record he’d released. “The basic concepts of his playing were in place by the time he was 19,” Rowe said. “Just having such a great sense of melody. He phrased like a vocalist. He was one of the most expressive guitar players ever. His whole sound was unique. You knew it was him the second you heard him. He was one of those kinds of players.”

To Rowe’s ears, Lawrence’s playing only got better and better as he played more, and more styles of music. “He couldn’t help but get better,” Rowe said.

One of Rowe’s favorite Lawrence performances was on one of Rowe’s own compositions, “Old Friends,” which he wrote for Lawrence.

Rowe’s last gig with Lawrence was on Dec. 23, in Hartford. “The last conversation we had, we were talking about a couple recording projects we were going to do. We were looking toward the future for sure.”

“My life wouldn’t have been the same if I had not met him,” he added. “He’s leaving a permanent impression on the music scene in New Haven and all over the world. His music and his spirit will live on forever.”

Call-in hours were followed by a short evening service at Toad’s for family and friends, which will be recorded for those who were unable to attend.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Mad Dash Materializes For Covid Tests

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD

Desperate Amazon workers, exposed family members, and hundreds of others jammed the streets outside a shuttered Hamden High School late Tuesday afternoon in hopes of getting their hands on the last batch for now of town-provided at-home Covid-19 tests.

The 1,600 available tests were gone halfway through the planned threehour giveaway.

Pablo Colon was one of the hundreds who planned ahead in hopes of finishing first in the race for tests. He left home with daughter Angelica in tow on Tuesday thinking he’d arrive at the high school 20 minutes before the rest of the crowd. Instead, he found himself trapped for more than an hour behind a CT Transit bus.

He finally parked at the Hamden plaza and walked over to the high school to pick up the goods.

“People desperately want these kits,” observed one of the event’s organizers.

After the high school closed its doors Tuesday due to Omicron-related staff shortages, volunteers took to the parking lot that same evening to distribute the final 1,600 self-administered test kits out of 9,216 allotted to the 60,000-person town by the state this past week.

Hamden, like all other Connecticut municipalities, has been scrambling to get tests and masks to those who need them most amid news that the statewide positivity rate has surged above 20 percent.

Between Monday and Tuesday, the town — including CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers, police, firefighters, and Mayor Lauren Garrett — handed out tests and masks at six different sites: Hamden High School, Hamden Middle School, Keefe Community Center, Spring Glen Church, Mt. Calvary Revival Center, and Breakthrough Church.

Additional tests — about another 1,600 of t he 9,200 total — have gone to Hamden public schools, police and fire departments, public works, the library, elderly services, QVHD, the government center, community and youth centers, and affordable housing complexes around town.

Hamden is expected to get another shipment of tests from the state on Wednesday, but it is unclear how many the town will actually receive.

Garrett’s administration waited to announce the location of Tuesday’s sixth and final event until one hour before its 4 p.m. start time in hopes of avoiding the traffic back-up. When Chief of Staff Sean Grace arrived at the high school at 3:10, just ten minutes after robocall messages were left on residents’ phones directing them to the school, a line of cars had already formed around the building.

Over the course of the hour, miles of traffic built up along Dixwell Avenue and

into adjacent neighborhoods.

The long lines “speak to the level of anxiety out there,” Grace said.

Why bother with such a long wait for just two home tests? Colon, a building contractor, contracting Covid roughly one month ago. Even back then, he had struggled to book an appointment at CVS for a PCR test.

If he were to become infected a second time or if his wife caught the illness, he said, the pair would need to test negative promptly in order to get back to their jobs and support their family.

Meanwhile, Angelica was on her second day off from Eli Whitney Technical High School, a state-run school based in Hamden that dismissed early Monday morning and will stay shut through at least Wednesday due to teachers calling out of work.

Without the possibility of remote schooling — and with the added dread of having to complete more classes at the end of the year — Angelica said she’s “just hanging in there” until she can go back to Eli Whitney. However, she added that she predicts the entire week will ultimately be called off.

As Angelica lamented the temporary shuttering of her school, 21-year-old Tj Sinclair was returning to his alma mater to pick up tests.

Days after his car broke down and his mother tested positive, Sinclair outpaced the stream of impatient drivers bordering the Hamden Plaza in an effort to pick up two tests for himself and his father.

Though Sinclair had tested negative once before, he was concerned that he and his dad would get sick trying to quarantine in the same house as his mom.

His father works from home. His mom, a certified nurse assistant, easily got time off to recuperate. But Sinclair works for Amazon. “They’re so backed up with calls,” he said, shaking his head, that he hasn’t even been able to get through to his boss to communicate his current situation and potential exposure.

Upon finally reaching the tables of masks and tests, he saw a familiar face from his days at Hamden High: A veteran paraprofessional named Kathy, dressed in a CERT suit and running cardboard kits to vehicle windows.

“How are you doing?” Kathy asked Sinclair she spotted him.

“Not so well,” he responded with a sigh.

Kathy, who declined to share her last name, said that she joined CERT two years ago, around the start of the pandemic. While others were losing or quitting their jobs, my job was safe,” she said. “So, I felt like I needed to help other people because I was fortunate.”

Just because her job has remained secure, however, does not mean that it is easy or safe. On Monday, she joined administrators in jumping around classrooms to keep kids in school while teachers called in sick — only for the school to be closed

the next day due to an additional ten staff calling out.

She said the lesson she has taken away from the past couple of years is that “We just all have to work together as a team.”

Eric Providence, whose son and wife had tested positive a few days prior after a holiday trip to a relative’s home, reiterated Kathy’s message.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” he said of the work individuals like Kathy take on in hopes of caring for their community.

He discovered the distribution site on his way home from work in Derby; he had stayed late to cover a shift for a friend on her birthday and discovered the scene upon arriving back in Hamden. It took him “45 minutes” just to get half a mile from the highway to the nearby high school in order to pick up some masks and tests for his family.

“It’s Tuesday night, but it’s like a club is going on somewhere,” he said.

Stopping for tests despite the crowds was one more step he figured he could take to monitor and mitigate spread within and outside his home. Both Providence and his son are asthmatic.

Weeks ago, Providence purchased ten take-home tests, or five kits priced at “$25 a pop.” Now, he can’t find tests anywhere — and needs to test himself, his daughter, and his symptomatic family members.

“I tell him, you gotta protect yourself,” Providence said of his son. “I keep my feet covered, wear appropriate clothing, and listen to the news.”

Fortunately, despite his asthma, Providence’s vaccinated son seems to be doing okay. “I see him running back and forth to the fridge,” Providence joked.

Still, Providence said, the goal is not just to “protect yourself,” but to “protect your people,” — including those who are immunocompromised.

Mayor Garrett said the town will continue working to protect its residents by obtaining more tests and continuing to distribute them over the coming weeks alongside N95 masks.

On Tuesday, residents were told that supplies would be available between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., but 1,600 tests were gone in half that time. So, it’s safe to say that there are many more Hamdenites who will eagerly line up once again to take advantage of any newly acquired resources.

Other initiatives include a Thursday grocery distribution hosted by the town and Connecticut Foodshare outside of the Hamden Middle School; Vaccine and booster clinics are planned through January in community spaces like the Keefe Center. In the even more immediate future, Garrett noted, eyeing the stacks on stacks of cardboard boxes that once carried Covid tests, “There’s a lot of recycling to do.”

7

HOWARD K. HILL F UNERAL

SERVICES

yale institute of sacred music joins the

i n n e r city news in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans to the cultural and spiritual life of New Haven and the world.

e v e n t l i s t i n g s at ism.yale.edu

Courtside, Mr. A Gets His Due THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

The memory of the legendary New Haven coach Tom “Mr. A” Anastasio was channeled at halftime Tuesday night on the basketball court at Hill Regional Career High School.

The varsity basketball game was dedicated to Anastasio, also known to students as “The Gee.” After coaching basketball throughout New Haven for decades, Anastasio died this past August at 74 years old.

Anastasio’s older sister, Charlotte Anastasio, received a team gift and a citation at halftime from Hill Alder Ron Hurt Tuesday in honor of her brother.

Career lost Tuesday night’s game against North Haven High 50 to 39, but the evening remained a time for celebration, of Mr. A’s legacy and all the love that he poured into New Haven.

Mr. A was a math teacher and coach at several New Haven schools including Troup, Conte West Hills, and Roberto Clemente, as well as The Boys & Girls Club and the New Haven YMCA Youth Center.

“He was a role model for every person,” Hurt said.

During halftime dedication, Charlotte described her brother as tough, caring, and gentle. Current Career head basketball coach James Wright, a former player for Mr. A, organized the dedication game.

Wright and Hill activist Howard Boyd spoke about how Mr. A helped to change and save their lives.

Mr. A asked his sister to tell those that loved him about their father’s triumphs as

an Italian immigrant. “He was tough like our dad,” Charlotte said of her brother.

“We watched our father get turned away from buying land because he was an Italian immigrant, and that never left Tom.” Despite not being a athlete himself, Mr. A was an avid Boston Celtics and New York Mets fan. His sister recalled him playing football in high school but hating it. He later broke his leg, which stopped him from playing sports in the future.

“He’s something like that saying, ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,’ ” she joked.

Wright said he visited Mr. A before his passing on Aug. 26, 2021, and got his blessing to apply to be Career’s head coach.

Wright recalled being coached by Mr. A while in middle school in 1972. He described Mr. A’s style as “intense” and “real.” He would have his players practice for hours two to three times a day.

Head coach Wright and Howard Boyd.

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO Crowd at Career honors Anastasio with moment of silence.

“How you saw me coach today, I got from him,” Wright said.

Mr. A would hold his players accountable beyond the court, Boyd said. “He made sure our education was right. That we had after schools jobs and summer jobs. He brought us up to be gentlemen.”

He would also treat his students and players to wrestling matches, sporting events, and the circus in New Haven and Boston.

“He took his hard-earned teaching money and put it back into his students,” Boyd said.

Mr. A would get his players the best matching uniforms and shoes. He also kept shoes in his math classroom and gave them to students in need.

Alder Ron Hurt presents Charlotte with city citation.

One February in 1979, Boyd recalled, Mr. A brought them to a basketball tournament in Nantucket. The team got stuck on the island due to an ice storm

8

that required them to get rescued by the Coast Guard.

Boyd was inspired by Mr. A’s ability to build strong relationships with the com-

munity. He would get his players into school gyms and cafeterias to practice in the evenings and obtain a meal from school staff before heading home. Some nights they were there until 11, Boyd said.

“The chance of me going home most days and finding something to eat was slim to nothing,” Boyd said. “He established those relationships for us to get get food and practice.”

Mr. A would also host movie nights in his school auditorium, with popcorn and ice cream for all of his students, to help them stay out of trouble and off the streets.

While in 7th and 8th grade, Boyd and teammates would face older high schoolers.

“He brought us Black inner-city kids all over and demanded we got respect and carried ourselves like the gentlemen he showed us to be,” Boyd said.

In Person, Classes Are Hit-Or-Miss THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

Despite bus driver shortages and dozens of absent teachers, New Haven students like Amil Soweol and Tylanna McCrea managed to get class time on Wednesday — at least part of the day.

Hillhouse High School Seniors Amil, Tylanna, and Jamiaya said several of their teachers were absent Wednesday.

The students said they had no teachers for four to five of their six classes Wednesday. As a result they stayed in their classrooms under supervision of an administrator while they hung out with their friends and on their phones.

They also left school earlier than usual.

The city’s high schools let out an hour early so the district could juggle transportation schedules in the face of a shortage of drivers due to the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

District-wide, 585 staffers were absent.

That meant other teachers or substitutes or even administrators racing to fill in. It also meant some class time spent checking phones in the cafeteria. Meanwhile, only around 13,000 of the approximately 20,000 students enrolled system-wide were present in school Wednesday, according to schools Superintendent Iline Tracey.

The problems Wednesday were in-

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO Alajah Tucker: "It feels like I'm just wasting time at school.”

creased versions of what schools like Hillhouse have faced throughout the academic year with the pandemic causing ongoing absences.

The goal is to keep kids in school during a pandemic, including during surges. The challenge is to keep them learning.

Hillhouse’s administration and students

Sophomores Danielle and Angeliss.

are both struggling to manage this school year, in different ways. Administration is lacking support, while students are lacking lessons.

Hillhouse Principal Glen Worthy said he, like other building leaders, did his best with the hand he was dealt: A full 21

9

out of his 87 teachers were out this week.

Administrators covered classes along with substitutes.

Especially with subjects like math and English, substitutes can never truly provide the “quality instruction” that trained teachers who have relationships with stu-

dents can deliver, he said.

“Right now all hands are on deck,” Worthy said. “We lost a whole week.”

He questioned whether it might have made more sense to wait out the peak of the surge and trim the February and April vacations to make up the days. “I understand the importance of having schools open. I’m not sure educationally our kids are benefitting.”

New Haven Public Schools have a day off to reassess Thursday, because of Three Kings Day. It’s possible that snow could also cancel or delay school on Friday.

Most school districts in the state are seeking to maintain in-person learning amid the Omicron surge, reflecting a consensus that the harm to students caused by school shutdowns earlier the pandemic outweighs the health threats posed by coronavirus.

Within that context, the challenge has been to make in-person learning work amid staffing pressures, a challenge Hillhouse students remarked on in conversations after dismissal Wednesday.

Junior Alajah Tucker had six classes scheduled Wednesday. Two of them had substitute teachers who didn’t teach, but just supervised the class, she said.

Alajah has worried about going to school every day since the start of the

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

FDA Authorizes Merck’s At-home Antiviral COVID-19 Pill by by Jessica Daniels, BlackDoctor.org

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck & Co’s antiviral pill for COVID-19 for certain highrisk adult patients. The news comes a day after the FDA gave the go-ahead to a similar treatment from Pfizer Inc for high-risk patients above the age of 12.

Molnupiravir’s emergency approval was supported by a clinical trial comparing 709 COVID patients who got the drug to 699 patients who received a placebo.

About 6.8% of people who got molnupiravir were hospitalized or died during a month of follow-up, compared to 9.7% of people who received a placebo, the FDA said. That includes one patient given molnupiravir who died, compared with nine placebo patients who died.

Merck’s drug, molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, reduced hospitalizations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness.

Much like with Pfizer’s pill, the agency authorized the oral drug for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for severe disease, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatments are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

The decision follows a narrow vote in favor of authorization by a panel of advisers to the FDA on Nov 30.

How will an oral pill help?

Both the Merck and Pfizer pills could be promising tools for those who are sick with COVID-19, as the holidays approach and the fast-spreading Omicron variant becomes the dominant variant in the United States accounting for 73% of new COVID cases.

“As new variants of the virus continue to emerge, it is crucial to expand the country’s arsenal of COVID-19 therapies using emergency use authorization,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research says.

Comparing the two drugs The drug is not authorized for use in pa-

tients younger than 18 because molnupiravir may affect bone and cartilage growth, the FDA said. However, Pfizer’s drug was authorized on Wednesday for people aged 12 and older.

Pfizer’s antiviral regimen, Paxlovid, was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness, according to trial data.

How does the pill work?

Older people and those who have conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease would be eligible to get a prescrip-

tion for Merck’s pills if they get sick from the coronavirus and cannot get treatments such as Pfizer’s newly authorized pills or monoclonal antibody treatments.

The pill is available to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

COVID patients would take four 200-milligram capsules at a time every 12 hours for five days, for a total of 40 capsules, the FDA said. The treatment will be available within a few weeks.

As with Paxlovid, patients should start their pill regimen as soon as possible after their COVID diagnosis, and within five days of symptom onset, according to the FDA.

Merck’s pill works by introducing errors into the virus’s genes to stop it from replicating. However, this has raised concerns about the risk that it could cause reproductive harm.

That is precisely why the FDA does not recommend the pill for women that are pregnant. The agency said that women who may become pregnant should use contraception while taking the pills and for at least four days after. The male partners of women who could become pregnant should use contraception while taking the pills and for at least three months after.

Molnupiravir is not authorized to be taken to prevent COVID infection in people who’ve been exposed to a sick person, the FDA noted. It also can’t be taken by patients who are so sick that they’ve landed in the hospital.

The FDA warned that the two antiviral pills should not be considered a substitute for vaccination.

Side effects observed in the clinical trial included diarrhea, nausea and dizziness.

To get Merck’s pills, the F.D.A. says, patients will need to test positive for the virus and get a prescription from a health care provider no more than five days after symptoms start.

For more information on COVID, visit our COVID-19 resource center. In Partnership with the Black Coalition Against COVID www.blackcoalitionagainstcovid.org

Vaccine Uptick found in African Americans, But Access and Misinformation Still Confounds Community

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the life span of Black males by an average of three years and has robbed Hispanic men of about 2.5 years, according to the latest information from health officials.

Black females have seen a more than a 2-year reduction in their average lifespan because of the pandemic. In contrast, Hispanic females fared better by losing slightly less than their African American peers.

The life expectancy for white males and females decreased by just over one year.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) noted that its Vaccine Monitor found that more than seven in ten U.S. adults (72 percent) now report being at least partially vaccinated.

According to the foundation’s report, similar shares of Hispanic (73 percent), Black (70 percent), and white (71 percent) adults now report having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

That marks a change from earlier in the vaccination effort when Black and Hispanic adults were much less likely to report being vaccinated than white adults and reflecting other data showing that people of color make up a disproportionate share of recent vaccinations.

“KFF’s analysis of state data on vacci-

nation rates by race and ethnicity suggests that, when looking at people of all ages including children who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, white people continue to be vaccinated at higher rates than either Black or Hispanic people, although those gaps have narrowed over time,” the researchers wrote.

KFF identified the Delta variant, surges in cases, and increased hospitalizations and deaths as the primary motivator for the recent uptick in vaccinations.

KFF researchers also noted other factors playing minor roles in the uptick in vaccinations, like full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine and an increase in vaccine mandates.

The most significant increases in vaccine uptake between July and September were among Hispanic adults and those ages 1829, and similar shares of adults now report being vaccinated across racial and ethnic groups (71 percent of white adults, 70 percent of Black adults, and 73 percent of

10

Hispanic adults).

KFF found significant gaps in vaccine uptake by partisanship, education level, age, and health insurance status.

Research revealed that 90 percent of those identified as Democrats had received at least one dose, while 52 percent of Republicans point to the booster shots as a reason to distrust the science behind the vaccines.

Researchers from various groups have acknowledged that the coronavirus has spotlighted the majority of racial and ethnic

inequities in access to health.

According to KFF researchers, Black people have received smaller vaccinations shares than their shares of cases, deaths, and the total population in more than half of states reporting data.

For instance, in Washington, D.C., Black people represent 45 percent of those who received at least one dose, but they make up 56 percent of Covid cases.

African Americans comprise 46 percent of the District of Columbia’s population but 71 percent of all Covid deaths.

Approximately 49 percent of white individuals in D.C. have at least one dose, and they comprise just 19 percent of Covid cases.

Meanwhile, while D.C.’s white population stands at 41 percent, the death rate from Covid among white people remains 13 percent.

Vaccination rates among African Americans by state continue to raise alarms.

Multiple states, including Vermont, Utah, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Idaho, and Hawaii, report that just 1 percent of their African American population has received a Covid vaccine.

Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and New Mexico, report just 2 percent of their Black population vaccinated.

D.C. at 45 percent, Mississippi at 38 percent, and South Carolina at 22 percent, Con’t on page 18

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Legendary Actor, Sidney Poitier, 94, Has Died

‘The Measure of a Man’ IN MEMORIAM:

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Legendary actor Sidney Poitier, who broke barriers and stood for justice and Black lives during the most tumultuous times of the civil rights movement, has died.

Poitier, whose iconic 71-year career, included starring roles in “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Uptown Saturday Night,” was 94. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

In an exclusive phone call with the Black Press of America, Bill Cosby said he will miss his long-time friend and co-star.

“He was honored by AFI. And, along with many stars of the stage, screen, politics and higher education who came out to speak, I brought with me the paperback of his autobiography and I said of all groundbreaking movies that Sidney starred in this book is the real story of this Con’t from page

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ers to try to keep kids learning in person.

During the pandemic, Meyer has been preparing independently driven, self-directed lessons in advance so that he could pivot to remote plans. Now he would indeed be home; under the rules he would have to take them as sick days.

Meyer still felt fine on Wednesday. Physically, at least.

He questioned whether the schools should continue trying to avoid a shift to remote learning during this surge, however suboptimal that may be.

“Teaching remotely sucks. It’s real hard,” he said. “The best part about the job is being with students and being able to facilitate that learning and understanding. Teaching remotely, you don’t get that. It’s real hard to get any kind of engagement. But for the safety for students and staff, I would make that move, if it were up to me.”

“It’s terrifying. I know there’s no good answer for it. You have to prioritize the safety of all these kids. Adolescents probably don’t realize the full scope of what this is and probably don’t understand the full impact. It’s hard: You’re expected to deliver instruction and assessment and also keep in mind safety regulations. You don’t know what it’s going to look like on any day. Nothing is predictable.”

New Haven’s schools are closed Thursday for Three Kings Day. If predicted snow cancels classes Friday, NHPS brass will have a reprieve to regroup and figure out how to provide, if not predictability, an updated strategy for how to keep kids learning and everyone safe during a oncein-a-century pandemic.

12

Sidney Poitier man and his journey,” Cosby remarked. “I am honored to have been close enough to him and work and work on serious matters.

According to PBS, Poitier moved to New York City at age 16 after living in the Bahamas for several years with his family. In the Big Apple, he found work as a janitor at the American Negro Theater in exchange for acting lessons. From there, he took up acting roles in plays for the next several years until his film debut in the racially charged, “No Way Out.” Race and social justice would become central themes in much of his work throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.

A Broadway play focused on the life of the Bahamas born star, who earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his work in “The Defiant Ones,” is in the works.

As noted in the New York Post, the nomination was significant to America as he was the first African American to be nominated for Best Actor. That role also earned him a Golden Globe win and a BAFTA Award.

Poitier broke even more barriers in 1963

with his hit film “Lilies of the Field.” The following year, Poitier became the first African American to ever win the Best Actor at the Academy Awards.

His career continued to climb for several more years. In 1967 he starred in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” an interracial romance comedy that ruffled feathers in America. Then came other memorable films, “They Call Me Mister Tibbs,” the sequel to the controversial blockbuster “In the Heat of the Night,” and “Uptown Saturday Night” opposite Cosby.

He released several more works; “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2007)” “Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter (2008).”

“As I entered this world, I would leave behind the nurturing of my family and my home, but in another sense, I would take their protection with me,” he said in “Measure of a Man.” “The lessons I had learned, the feelings of groundedness and belonging that have been woven into my character there, would be my companions on the journey.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

New York’s Second African American Mayor, Eric Adams, Takes Power Dressed in a suit and a red tie, Mayor Adams was seen riding a bike to ABC’s studios in Times Square enroute to the interview.

On his first day as Mayor, Adams was captured on social media dialing 911 upon witnessing an assault as he stood on a subway platform. Adams has already appointed several women to high ranking positions in his Administration.

Most notably his historic appointment of Keechant Sewell, who was the former Chief of Detectives for the Nassau County Police Department on Long Island, as the New York City Police Department’s first African American Police Commissioner.

“Generals don’t lead their troops from the back. They lead their troops from the front. I’m going to lead my city into this victory from the front,” Adams said on his first day as Mayor.

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Former New York City Police Department Captain Eric Adams wasted no time in causing healing and making big decisions as he took over City Hall as the 110th Mayor of New York.

Adams, 61, a former State Senator, is New York’s second African American Mayor following the late David Dinkins who was elected the city’s 106th Mayor from 1990 to 1993. In 2013, Adams was elected to be Brooklyn Borough President, and re-elected in November 2017.

Adams was the first African American to hold the position.

Adams was sworn in at seven minutes after midnight on January 1, 2022 in Times Square. “A better city is not just about doing something new. It’s about doing something right. It’s not about showmanship. It’s about showing up,” Adams tweeted on his first day as Mayor of America’s largest city.

Much like the city’s former Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, Adams has to face the city’s biggest challenge: controlling the COVID-19 variant Omicron. New York City has endured 35,400 COVID deaths and

1.63 million infections.

“COVID is a formidable opponent and it continues to evolve, and we must pivot and evolve with it, but you can’t do it viewing yourself from within the crisis.

We have to see ourselves past the crisis,” Adams said on ABC News in his first national interview as Mayor on January 1.

Adams is against closing the city down which has been a challenge to the economy in the five boroughs since early 2020.

“We can’t live through variants, we spent $11 trillion on COVID and we don’t have another $11 trillion, so our lives can’t be based on what’s the new variant, no, we have to figure out how we adjust,” Adams

said.

“The safest place for children is inside a school, the numbers of transmissions are low, your children are in a safe place to learn and to thrive. We lost almost two years of education, George, we can’t do it again,” Adams said to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

Adams’ leadership style is expected to capture attention and accolades.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Voting Rights Battle Ahead in Early 2022

pushing Biden and Congress to move ahead affirmatively for months. On December 21, officials in Lincoln County Georgia, a county that is nearly one-third Black, proposed closing 6 polling sites for 2022. The decision comes after Republicans took over the local election board.

“SCOTUS decision gutting Voting Rights Act written by John Roberts is leading to greatest rollback of voting access & fair representation since end of Reconstruction,” wrote voting rights journalist Ari Berman.

“Republican-led legislatures across the South have redrawn election districts using fresh census data, and the new maps will leave many communities of color in the Black Belt — a region of over 600 counties with large Black populations stretching from East Texas to Virginia — with less political power,” wrote Billy Corriher in “Facing South.”

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

In 2021, 440 bills to restrict voting access were introduced in 49 states. Nineteen states passed 34 new laws making it more difficult to vote. There have been no cases cited demonstrating evidence of any widespread voter fraud. But the main focus of Trump Republicans is on unproven claims of fraud as they question the legitimacy of the 2020 elections a year away from congressional midterms.

With the clear indication that Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are against changing the filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate, a big battle over the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 is ahead in early 2022.

The legislation will restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was weakened in 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Now that Democrats are in control of The White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, voting rights advocates are pushing hard for the passage of federal legislation that would protect voting.

After the 2020 election of President Biden, who defeated former President Donald Trump by over seven million votes, Trump’s supporters have questioned

the legitimacy of Biden’s victory but have provided no evidence. Several Republican States Secretaries around the U.S. certified Biden’s election victory. The Capitol was attacked by Trump’s supporters on January 6, 2020 on the day Biden’s election was to be certified.

The issue of whether Senators Manchin or Sinema will support a voting rights excep-

tion to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 isn’t known.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made it clear that the Senate would focus on voting rights in January.

He made the affirmation days after Sen. Manchin announced he would vote against President Biden’s signature legislation, Build Back Better.

14

On December 23, President Biden made his views on the issue clear.

The battle over voting rights is very likely to come to a head before March 2022.

“If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster,” President Biden said.

Advocates to protect the vote have been

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

The Black Press of America Remembers Those We Lost in 2021 IN MEMORIAM:

FINALLY, A CHECKING ACCOUNT THAT LOOKS TO YOUR FUTURE. NOT YOUR PAST.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

As the calendar turns to a new year and COVID remains as deadly today as the pandemic’s start nearly two years ago, the National Newspaper Publishers Association pauses to remember the icons and others we said farewell to in 2021.

From the stunning death of Supremes cofounder and Black Press friend Mary Wilson to the loss of DMX, Colin Powell, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 2021 featured some of the saddest and most unexpected farewells.

“I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supremes,” Berry Gordy, Motown Records’ founder, remarked.

“The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown.’ Along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, Mary came to Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented string of No. 1 hits, television, and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others. … I was always proud of Mary. She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes.

Mary Wilson was extremely special to me.

She was a trailblazer, a diva, and will be deeply missed.”

Two months after Wilson’s death, hip-hop icon DMX died in New York at 50.

DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons, banged out hits like “Party Up in Here,” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya,” also starred in the groundbreaking movie, “Belly,” which featured the iconic scene where Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., saves his character’s life.

Dr. Chavis is the president and CEO of the NNPA. Simmons also made his mark in films like “Exit Wounds,” “Cradle 2 the Grave,” and “Romeo Must Die.” “Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end,” read a family statement. “He loved his family with all of his heart, and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl’s music inspired countless fans across the world, and his iconic legacy will live on forever.

We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time. Please respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of

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our brother, father, uncle, and the man the world knew as DMX.” Music, entertainment, sports, and the business world lost heroes and icons in 2021.

While we apologize if we miss anyone in this report, the following count among the deaths that made headlines.

• Actor Michael K. Williams • Actor Melvin Van Peebles • Producer Chucky Thompson • Gen. Colin Powell • Bishop Desmond Tutu • Baseball Legend Hank Aaron • Basketball Legend Elgin Baylor • College Basketball Coaching Legend John Chaney • Golf Legend Lee Elder • Boxing Legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler • Hip Hop Artist Greg “Shock G” Jacobs, leader for Digital Underground, • Actor Yaphet Kotto, • Hip Hop Star, Actor Biz Markie • Comedian Paul Mooney • Singer Lloyd Price • Boxer Leon Spinks • Singer Dennis Thomas, Kool & the Gang co-founder • Actress Cicely Tyson • Musician BunnyWailer, founding member of The Wailers and collaborator of Bob Marley’s • Actor Clarence Williams III • Baseball Legend Jim “Mudcat” Grant • Olympic Champion Dianne Durham • Civil Rights Worker, Lawyer Vernon Jordan • Writer Eloise Greenfield • Professor and Opera Singer Carmen Balthrop • Trailblazing Black feminist Bell Hooks

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Congress Passes Measure to Raise Debt Ceiling, Avoiding Government Default

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Congress has approved legislation to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, a move that preempts any threat of a federal default until at least 2023.

The federal government has never defaulted on debt payments.

One Republican and all Democrats in the House voted to approve the hike, which passed in the chamber by a 221-209 vote.

In the Senate, the measure passed strictly along party lines with a final vote tally of 50-49.

President Joe Biden expects to immediately sign the bill, which gained traction only after using a so-called special pathway that allowed for a simple majority vote.

Lawmakers had to use the special pathway before the middle of January, or it could have faced a filibuster and other hurdles that would have allowed Republicans to block the measure.

“The debt limit amount has been modified 98 times since 1945, including for increases and suspensions. It was necessary to modify it once again to maintain a healthy economy, as well as our country’s reputation as a trustworthy borrower,” Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green stated.

“At stake were the livelihoods of working families, who would have had to suf-

fer drastically higher borrowing costs for financial obligations such as mortgages, student loans, credit card bills, and car loans,” Congressman Green remarked.

“Now more than ever is the time to strengthen the American economy, not make decisions that will cripple it. Moreover, emerging technologies and geopolitical forces demand our nation’s stability and preparedness so we can overcome any challenges that may head our way.”

Using the special pathway to pass the debt ceiling bill also raised questions

about creating exceptions to the filibuster to push through significant voting rights legislation and President Biden’s Build Back Better bill.

Grassroots leaders of the West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign marched in a picket line outside Joe Manchin’s office in Washington, D.C., demanding that their senator meet with them about his refusal to support Build Back Better and voting rights protections.

Sen. Manchin (D-WV) has refused any changes to the filibuster and effectively

has blocked critical legislation that the President and most of Manchin’s constituents wish to see passage.

On Tuesday, December 14, the Poor People’s Campaign demanded answers from the senator.

“Everybody knows ours is one of the poorest states in the country. So, it’s a shame that the senior senator, a Democrat, cannot support his state and the people in his state,” said Stewart Acuff from Jefferson County, West Virginia.

The state leaders marched in a picket line

outside the Hart Building, the location of Sen. Manchin’s office. After several people spoke, police officers warned that their voices were too loud, so they continued with the silent picketing.

“We’re here today because we know that Sen. Manchin not only lied to West Virginians. He lied to the nation,” Bishop William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, explained.

“He not only lied to West Virginians. He lied to the nation,” Bishop Barber said.

“And I’m using that word intentionally because it’s provable. And his inaction and his lies about scarcity – he’s saying he’s taking these positions because we don’t have enough – that’s a lie.”

The Bishop called Manchin’s action a “form of political violence against the 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country and especially to people who have suffered during COVID, regardless of their color or their geography.”

“He has engaged in a form of political policy violence. As a result, people will stay sick, people will die, people will not be able to recover,” Bishop Barber continued.

“He also never asks these questions about scarcity when it comes to the military or corporate America. He’s never seen a corporate tax break he didn’t want to pass or a military budget he wouldn’t fund.”

R&B Trailblazer Who Created hit, “Juicy Fruit” Passes Away at 76

by Jenny A. Casiano, BlackDoctor.org

James Mtume, an R&B legend whose 1983 hit, “Juicy Fruit,” returned to the charts a decade later as #1 single of rap legend Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy,” died on Jan. 9. He was 76. His death was confirmed by his publicist, Angelo Ellerbee.

Mtume’s musical genius ranged from disco to jazz, and everywhere in between.

Not to mention his dramatic compositions for television (“New York Undercover”) and film (“Native Son”). “Juicy Fruit,” the biggest hit from his self-titled R&B group, has been sampled countless times, most famously on Notorious B.I.G.’s classic “Juicy.” Mtume also produced and co-wrote hit singles for Stephanie Mills (“Never Knew Love Like This Before”) and Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway (“The Closer I get To You”) in collaboration with his musical partner and fellow Davis alum Reggie Lucas.

Mtume was born in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, as the son of saxophonist Jimmy Heath. Raised by his stepfather, Philly jazz pianist James Forman, the young musician grew up with activist roots (he saw Malcolm X speak as a child) and moved to California in the mid-‘60s on a swimming scholarship.

There, he joined the Black empowerment group, the U.S. Organization (whose

founder, Maulana Karenga created the holiday Kwanzaa), and recorded his earliest solo albums starting with “Alkebu-

Lan – Land of the Blacks.”

According to NPR, after returning to the East Coast, Mtume (whose name trans-

16

lates as “messenger” in Swahili), played with jazz band leaders such as McCoy Tyner and Freddie Hubbard as well as recording with his uncle, Albert “Tootie” Heath on the “Kawaida” album. Around this time Mtume joined Miles Davis’ band for a four-year stint that included some of the jazz legend’s most adventurous material, including “Dark Magus” and “Pangaea.”

In his 1989 autobiography, Miles, Davis noted Mtume’s impact on the heartbeat of his band: “With Mtume Heath and Pete Cosey joining us, most of the European sensibilities were gone from the band.

Now the band settled down into a deep African thing, a deep African-American groove, with a lot of emphasis on drums and rhythm, and not on individual solos.”

In 1978, following dozens of jazz sessions, Mtume formed his self-named “sophistifunk” R&B-jazz ensemble with Lucas and vocalist Tawatha Agee, releasing the albums “Kiss This World Goodbye” (1978).

After 1980’s In Search of the Rainbow Seekers, the band released 1983’s Juicy Fruit. The title track became the band’s biggest hit, and it was famously sampled on the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy.” The band followed it with two more albums: 1984’s You, Me and He which spawned another hit record and 1986’s Theater of

the Mind.

Mtume was later credited on songs by Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, and K-Ci and JoJo. Mtume became a radio personality for new York City’s KISS 98.7 FM. In 2019, he gave a TED Talk titled “Our Common Ground in Music.”

Following the news of his death, Mtume was mourned on social media by the artists who loved his music, including Gangstarr’s DJ Premier, Talib Kweli and others. “Thank you James Mtume for all the wisdom & love & respect you’ve shown me & my brothers over the years,” Questlove wrote.

“Rest In Power to the great James Mtume,” Philadelphia DJ Cosmo Baker wrote on Twitter. “The South Philly native & prodigal son, Jazz ROYALTY (the son of the great Jimmy Heath) and music trailblazer & pioneer. His passing is truly a monumental loss.”

“Rest In Peace to the legendary James Mtume,” added BET host Marc Lamont Hill. “Thank you for sharing your tremendous gifts with us for so long…”

Featured on BlackDoctorTracker Listed below are some other songs Mtume created: New York UnderCover Intro.

Share My World, Mary J. Blige The Closer I Get To YoY, Roberta Flack & Donnie Hathaway

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022 Con’t from page

Hit-Or-Miss

by MAYA MCFADDEN

Despite bus driver shortages and dozens of absent teachers, New Haven students like Amil Soweol and Tylanna McCrea managed to get class time on Wednesday — at least part of the day.

Hillhouse High School Seniors Amil, Tylanna, and Jamiaya said several of their teachers were absent Wednesday.

The students said they had no teachers for four to five of their six classes Wednesday. As a result they stayed in their classrooms under supervision of an administrator while they hung out with their friends and on their phones.

They also left school earlier than usual.

The city’s high schools let out an hour early so the district could juggle transportation schedules in the face of a shortage of drivers due to the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

District-wide, 585 staffers were absent.

That meant other teachers or substitutes or even administrators racing to fill in. It also meant some class time spent checking phones in the cafeteria. Meanwhile, only around 13,000 of the approximately 20,000 students enrolled system-wide were present in school Wednesday, according to schools Superintendent Iline Tracey.

The problems Wednesday were increased versions of what schools like Hillhouse have faced throughout the academic year with the pandemic causing ongoing absences.

The goal is to keep kids in school during a pandemic, including during surges. The challenge is to keep them learning.

Hillhouse’s administration and students are both struggling to manage this school year, in different ways. Administration is lacking support, while students are lacking lessons.

Hillhouse Principal Glen Worthy said he, like other building leaders, did his best with the hand he was dealt: A full 21 out of his 87 teachers were out this week.

Administrators covered classes along with substitutes.

Especially with subjects like math and English, substitutes can never truly provide the “quality instruction” that trained teachers who have relationships with students can deliver, he said.

“Right now all hands are on deck,” Worthy said. “We lost a whole week.”

He questioned whether it might have made more sense to wait out the peak of the surge and trim the February and April vacations to make up the days. “I understand the importance of having schools open. I’m not sure educationally our kids are benefitting.”

New Haven Public Schools have a day off to reassess Thursday, because of Three Kings Day. It’s possible that snow could also cancel or delay school on Friday.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

Parents Raise the Alarm About Violence in Schools, Say Their Votes Depends on Improvement

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent A new poll revealed that parents continue to express “legitimate concerns” about violence in schools, increased bullying, and a lack of mental health resources.

Alarmingly, the poll released by the National Parents Union found that 59 percent of parents are very or extremely concerned about how schools are teaching race and diversity.

“Many Black parents are worried that schools are being harsher on students of color compared to white students,” researchers noted in the poll.

The National Parents Union counts as a network of parent organizations and grassroots activists committed to improving the quality of life for children and families in the United States.

Conducted from November 19 to November 23, the survey included 1,233 parents who also count as registered voters.

Researchers found that 84 percent of parents are concerned about how schools address the threat of violence, and 59 percent identified increased bullying or violence in school as a significant issue.

About 52 percent said student mental health after coping with the pandemic is a significant issue, as well.

“Parents have very legitimate concerns about violence in schools, increased bullying, and a lack of mental health resources,” Keri Rodrigues, co-founder, and President of the National Parents Union, said in a statement.

“Now, it is incumbent on schools to do something about these issues, especially given the federal funds available. It’s not

rocket science. Rather than repaint a football field, first, make sure that there are enough counselors to help students cope with mental health issues,” Rodrigues asserted.

The poll also asked the parents who responded that they were concerned about the threat of violence, which worries them the most.

The top three most pressing concerns remain:

•44 percent: schools not having enough counselors, psychologists, or social workers to work with students •42 percent: schools not having resources to keep weapons out of schools •39 percent: schools not having school resource officers or police accessible on campus •59 percent of parents are extremely or very concerned about how schools are teaching about race and diversity; Among Black parents, 69 percent share this senti-

ment, which drops slightly to 67 percent among Hispanic parents.

Of the overall number of parents who are at least somewhat concerned (79 percent): •48 percent say what concerns them the most is schools are not teaching accurate information about the issue of race.

•42 percent are most concerned about schools pushing a progressive agenda onto students •56 percent of GOP parents who are concerned say this is their top concern •32 percent are most concerned that schools aren’t focused on the issue enough • 46 percent of Black parents who are concerned say this is their top concern •78 percent of parents are concerned about how schools are handling disciplinary issues • Nearly half (46 percent) of Black parents who said they are concerned about how schools are handling disciplinary issues are worried that schools are harsher on students of color compared to white students •38 percent of parents trust Democrats to do a better job of handling education; 31 percent trust Republicans; 14 percent trust both equally; 11 percent trust neither Among parents who identify as Independents, 28 percent trust Republicans and 20 percent trust Democrats.

“These findings underscore the importance of the very thing we have been imploring school leaders across the country to do – listen to the parents in your community,” Rodrigues stated.

“It also reinforces the need for those running for office to take the concerns of parents very seriously or risk losing elections.”

State AG Files Lawsuit against Virginia Town for ‘Huge Disparities in Enforcement against African American Drivers

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a lawsuit against the town of Windsor where police violently stopped a Black military officer, held him at gunpoint, struck him, and pepper-sprayed him.

Herring, a Democrat, wants court-ordered monitoring of the police department.

He has asked the court to order the town to adopt policies and procedures that ensure bias-free traffic stops.

The filing comes a little more than one year after the December 5, 2020, encounter initiated by police officers with Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who was dressed in his military gear at the time of the incident.

Police held the lieutenant at gunpoint, struck him, pepper-sprayed him, and placed him in handcuffs.

They claimed his new SUV lacked permanent license plates.

However, Lt. Nazario pointed out to officers that his vehicle had a temporary tag visibly taped to the window.

Still, the officers ordered him out of the

car.

When he said he was afraid, body-cam footage revealed that one of the officers responded, “Yeah, you should be.”

The public first witnessed the video four months after the encounter, sparking outrage.

The incident shined a spotlight on Windsor, a small, predominately white town located about an hour west of Virginia Beach.

Reportedly, the town of 2,700 residents has a seven-member police force.

The town fired two of the officers in-

volved in the stop.

“At no time did Lt. Nazario use or attempt to use force against the officers,” Herring wrote in court filings.

“While our investigation was spurred by the egregious treatment against Lt. Nazario that we all saw in body-cam footage, we discovered this incident was indicative of much larger problems within the department.”

Herring continued: “There are huge disparities in enforcement against African American drivers and a troubling lack of policies and procedures to prevent discriminatory or unconstitutional policing.”

According to Herring, between nine and 21 percent of Windsor residents are Black.

About 22 percent of Wright County residents identify as Black.

“The town stopped Black drivers between 200 percent and 500 percent more often than would be expected based on the number of Black residents in the Town or Isle of Wright County,” Herring wrote in the lawsuit.

From July 1, 2020, to September 30,

18

2021, Windsor Police conducted 1,907 traffic stops. Of those stops, 810 of the drivers were Black.

When the Attorney General’s office examined stops involving Windsor residents, investigators found that 40 percent were Black drivers.

Officers frequently searched vehicles driven by Black drivers, and Herring said the department lacks adequate policies to ensure that it’s using force in a non-discriminatory manner.

“That it is performing traffic stops in a constitutional, non-pretextual, and biasfree manner, and that members of the public are able to submit and have their complaints heard in a transparent way that upholds the principles of due process,” Herring stated.

Town officials claim Herring’s lawsuit is politically motivated and denied his allegations.

Herring also asked the court to order Windsor to hire an independent monitor and force the town to pay $50,000 in damages for every proven violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act.

Con’t from page 10

Vaccine Uptick

represent the highest vaccines among African Americans.

“The reason why Black and Brown Americans had low uptake of vaccines early in the rollout is that they could not get one even if they wanted to,” Dr. Ebony J. Hilton, a Critical Care Anesthesiologist doctor at the University of Virginia and founder of GoodStock Consulting, LLC, tweeted.

Dr. Hilton has loudly denounced things like quick re-openings, anti-vaxxers, and reckless gatherings during the pandemic.

“The CDC guidelines were pro-white in design. Prioritization is defined along the lines of age and employment and not risk,” Dr. Hilton wrote.

Dr. Hilton repeatedly has asked the CDC about changing protocols when it comes to booster shots.

“How are we not repeating this same injustice in the face of racial health disparities as it pertains to boosters? As a result, black Americans die at younger ages, higher rates, and have already lost three years of life expectancy,” Dr. Hilton demanded.

“Race is an independent risk factor,” she declared, adding further that “this will be a stain on the history of America.”

“It is inexcusable, and we, the medical community, and the CDC have to account for our contribution,” Dr. Hilton concluded.

Of individuals who received their first COVID-19 dose since June 1, 39 percent reported that the increase in cases due to the Delta variant was why they got vaccinated.

Thirty-eight percent said they were concerned about the crowding of local hospitals and intensive care units.

In comparison, 36 percent said they knew someone who became seriously ill or died from Covid, and 35 percent responded that they wanted to participate in activities that require vaccination.

Some still unvaccinated said they don’t believe the vaccines can prevent them from contracting the virus, so why bother?

However, medical science shows that while vaccines cannot prevent the virus from entering a person’s body, the shots are designed to help fight off serious illness and death.

Others who oppose the vaccines cite the seemingly rapid development of the doses.

“They weren’t rushed,” former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden noted. “mRNA technology has been researched for more than 20 years. We’re fortunate that it works extraordinarily well for the virus that causes Covid, and it may also work for other viruses, such as influenza, in the future,” Dr. Frieden asserted.

“The reason we see alarming rates of hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. is because many people are still unvaccinated,” he continued.

“Booster shots may help some people, but our biggest challenge is vaccinating those who haven’t gotten their first shot.”

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,12 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January , 2022 - January 18, 2022 - August 02, 2016

ELM CITY NOTICE COMMUNITIES

MECHANIC TRACTOR TRAILER

Request for Proposals

VALENTINA MACRI RENTALBusiness HOUSING PRE-Support APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Resident Owned Services HOME INC, on behalf ofisColumbus House and the New Authority, Elm City Communities currently seeking proposals for Haven residentHousing owned business is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom at this develsupport services.

A complete copy of the requirement may beapartments obtained from Elm City opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum income limitations apCommunities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesysply. Pre-applications willtems.com/gateway be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y beginning on 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon re20, 2021 3:00PM. quest by callingMonday, HOME INCDecember at 203-562-4663 duringatthose hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

WaterNOTICIA Treatment

Water Treatment Pumping Operator II. The Town of Wallingford Water Division VALENTINA VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES is seeking qualifiMACRI ed candidates to maintain and operate facilities related to the Town’s water supply. Must possess High school diploma or G.E.D. In addition candidates must possess following experience andy de certifi cation requirements: (A) Water HOMEone INC,ofenthe nombre de la Columbus House la New Haven Housing Authority, está Treatment Class IV Operator (WTP IV) certification two (2) of actual aceptandoPlant pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un with dormitorio en years este desarrollo experience Class109 IV Frank waterStreet, treatment Waterlimitaciones Treatment de Plant Class ubicado eninlaa calle Newplant, Haven.orSe(B) aplican ingresos IVmáximos.

Operating-in-Training (WTP IV OIT) certification with three (3) yearsMartes of actual Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando 25 experience a Class IVse water treatment plant, with the ability(aproximadamente to obtain the WTP IV julio, 2016inhasta cuando han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes 100) certifi cation within twelve (12) from the date hire, or por (C) correo Water aTreatment en las oficinas de HOME INC. months Las pre-solicitudes seránofenviadas petición Plant ClassaIII Operator III) certifi cation a minimum of four (4)remitirse years of llamando HOME INC al(WTP 203-562-4663 durante esaswith horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán qualifying experience. $27.98 - $33.96 hourly plustercer an excellent fringe benefi package. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, piso, New Haven , CTt 06510 .

Application forms may be obtained at the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request from the Department of Human Resources or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page. Phone: (203)-294-2080. Fax (203)-294-2084 The closing date will be the date the 50th application or resume is received or January 19 2022, whichever occurs first. EOE

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave State of Connecticut 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 Office ofappliances, Policynew and Management

Apply:Pace, 1425 Honeyspot

Rd. Ext., Stratford, CT EOE

Town of Bloomfield Administrative Clerk

Salary $32.78 hourly Deadline to apply 12/22/21 Pre-employment drug testing.

AA/EOE. For Details go to www. bloomfieldct.org

DRIVER CDL CLASS A Full Time – All Shifts Top

Pay-Full Benefits

EOE Please apply in person: 1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

Enterprise Builders Inc. (“EBI”), acting as Construction Manager for Park-

side Village I LLC, will receive qualified sub-contractor proposals for the work associated with the project known as Parkside Village I (the “Project”). Bids shall be received via hand delivery, e-mail, or fax at the contact information below, on or before 4:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, January 20th, 2022. The bids will be privately opened.

This project consists of new construction of a 4 story 67 unit 76,000 SF apartment building in Branford, CT. This project will be phased. Project is anticipated to start in May of 2022.

Drawings can be viewed free of charge via iSqFt. Please reach out to the contacts below to request an invitation to bid. Documents may also be viewed at EBI’s office 46 Shepard Drive, Newington Connecticut 06111 (between the hours of 8am– 5pm), Monday through Friday where a disc with all documents may be obtained free of charge.

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. Be advised that for all bids over $50,000, the bidder is subject to meeting the State's requirements concerning CT CHRO, regarding Connecticut's Supplier Diversity Small Business & Minority Business hiring compliance goals; 25% of the total cost of the contract must be awarded to certified DAS Small Businesses, and 6-1/2% of the total to DAS Minority businesses. Note: Small businesses are not exempt from meeting the Minority goals; they must still endeavor to hire 6-1/2% minority. By submitting a bid, you are accepting the responsibility to meet the State's requirements as part of your contract. Subcontractors will be required to prepare state set-aside plans.

The project is tax exempt. Residential prevailing wages apply.

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Sub-contractors may contact Bryan Addy via email at baddy@enterbuilders.com or

Invitationphone to Bid:(860) 466-5120, Justin Caporiccio via email at jcaporiccio@enterbuilders.com or phone (860) 466–5104 regarding the project.

2nd Notice

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders The Owner and EBI reserve the rights to accept any, all, or any part of bids; to reject Top pay for top performers. Health any, all, or any part of bids; to waive any non-material deficiencies in bid responses, to Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Old Saybrook, waiveCT minor inconsistencies; and to award the bid that in its judgment will be in the best (4 Buildings, 17 Units) interests of the Owner.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s recruiting for two (2) Connecticut Career Trainees and a Lead Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Planning Analyst. in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at:

St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

NEEDED Part Time Delivery Day a Week, Deadline toNeeded applyOne/Two is 12/17/21

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour ?R1=211213&R2=2292AR&R3=001 until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the and Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp ?R1=211213&R2=2292AR&R3=002

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Of-

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the

EBI is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer. Section 3, Veteranowned, S/M/W/DBE’s & DAS Certified are encouraged to participate.

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, CastDELIVERY PERSON in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, TOWN OF EAST HAVEN Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

PURCHASING AGENT This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp ?R1=211213&R2=0007AR&R3=001;

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons from with disabilities.

Bidding documents are available the Seymour Housing Authority

Full Time, Benefits, Top Pay

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID PARKSIDE VILLAGE I

The Town of East Haven seeks a qualified candidate to serve in the position of

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 This is a highly responsible position involving purchasing and Purchasing Agent. purchasing functions of the municipality. Qualified candidates should Anticipated Start: directing August 15,the 2016 possess a bachelor’s Project documents available via ftp link below: degree in business administration or related field preferably including or supplemented with special course work in purchasing/municipal bid http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage processes and materials management plus five (5) years’ of progressively responSeeking qualified condidates to sible purchasing work or an equivalent combination of education and qualifying or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com fillFaxnumerous vacancies to inexperience.

Must have valid class 3 Connecticut Driver’s License. The salary for HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses this position is $62,541/year, 35 hours per week and the Town offers an excellent clude, DeputyHaynes Assessor, Mechanic Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 benefit package. Please send cover letter and resume with references to: Town of Sewer Line, Public Health Nurse AA/EEO EMPLOYER East Haven, Michelle Benivegna, Human Resource Department, 250 Main Street, and more. For information and East Haven, CT 06512 or MBenivegna@townofeasthavenct.org. Resumes will detailed application instructions, be accepted until the position is filled. The Town of East Haven is committed to visit www.ci.milford.ct.us building a work force of diverse individuals. Minorities, females, handicapped and Click on SERVICES, JOBS and veterans are encouraged to apply. The Town of East Haven is an equal opportunity JOB TITLE. employer.

(203) 435-1387

CITY OF MILFORD

19

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January , 2022 - January 18, 2022 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,12 2016 - August 02, 2016

Construction

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valWe offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits id drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621Contact: Tom Dunay VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE 1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Phone: 860- 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom this develAffiatrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to applyapartments opment locatedAction/ at 108 Frank New Haven.

Maximum income limitations ap- Drug Free Workforce Affirmative EqualStreet, Opportunity Employer ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reGarrity Asphalt Incduring seeks: CT Fence quest by calling HOMEReclaiming, INC at 203-562-4663 those hours.Large Completed pre- Company looking for an individual for our Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing PVCStreet, Fence Third Production Shop. Experience preferred but will applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northtrain the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production poContact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 sition. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and Email: rick.touMust have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain signant@garrityasphalt.com VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDESmore.

DISPONIBLES a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com.

Affirmative Action/deEqual Opportunity HOME INC, en nombre la Columbus House y Employer de la New Haven Housing Authority, está AA/EOE-MF aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipjulio,Must 2016have hastaacuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes ment.

CDL License, clean driving record, capable of (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas porSeeking correo atopetición operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, llamando HOME INC alexcellent 203-562-4663 horas.Pre-solicitudes deberánand remitirse Northeast &aNY. We offer hourlydurante rate &esas excellent benefits operator teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT personal 06510 . transportation and a valid drivers license reReliable

NOTICE

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

NOTICIA

Union Company seeks:

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

NEW HAVEN

Construction

quired. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

Drug Free Workforce

Listing: Commercial Driver Full Time Class B driver for a fast paced petroleum company for days and weekends.

Previous experience required. Competitive wage, 401(k) and benefits. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

Invitation to Bid: State of Connecticut 2nd Notice ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** Office of Policy and Management

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE Old Saybrook, CT

The State of Connecticut, Office(4ofBuildings, 17 Units) Policy and Management is recruiting Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project for a Staff Attorney 1 (confidential) position.

Highline Riggers, LLC

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing,99 Selective Site-work, CastUnionDemolition, City Rd, Prospect, CT 06712 Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and Concrete, applicationAsphalt Shingles, hc@highlinecrane.com in-place Vinyl Siding, instructions are available at:

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

https://www.jobapscloud.com/ Crane and Rigging Co. looking for a motivated, organized and Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1 hard-working individual who can safely operate a forklift, =211124&R2=1637CR&R3=001 This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

organize yard and warehouse and assist with crane/rigging jobs.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer • August Operates forklift and other material handling equipment in a safe 5, 2016 and strongly encouragesBid the Extended, applications Due Date: and efficient manner. of women, minorities, and persons 15, 2016 with disabilities.Anticipated Start: August • Loading/unloading mechanical equipment from commercial trailers

Project documents available via sizes ftp linkand below: of all straight trucks. http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage • Inspect incoming equipment for damage, and document deliveries.

POLICE OFFICER • Secure freight Fax orCity Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com of Bristol • Ability to organize equipment in both the yard and warehouse.

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 • OSHA-10 Certifi cation $69,017 - $83,893/yr.

Required testing, AA/EEO EMPLOYER • Rigging/signaling experience is a plus

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Office, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

registration info, and apply online: www.bristolct.gov DEADLINE: 02-25-22 EOE

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

20

Job Type: Full-time Pay: $20.00 - $25.00 per hour

INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS- January July 27,12 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY , 2022 - January 18, 2022

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

WATER DISTRIBUTION NOTICE

Full Time – All Shifts Top Pay-Full Benefits EOE Please apply in person: 1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Assistant Superintendent – Water Distribution.

The position responsiblePREfor providing technicalAVAILABLE and managerial VALENTINA MACRI RENTALis HOUSING APPLICATIONS direction in the operation and maintenance of the Town’s Water Department distribution system. qualifications are a House bachelor's inHaven civil orHousing sanitaryAuthority, engineerHOME INC,The on behalf of Columbus and degree the New ing, plus five years of progressively responsible experience in water operations with at is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develleast three years in water distribution, or an equivalent combination of education and opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apqualifying experience. Applicants must have or being able to obtain within six months, ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y a State of Connecticut Department of Health Services Class II Distribution System 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Operator Certification. Must possess and maintain a valid CT driver’s license. Salary: been received at theannually offices of HOME INC. Applications willts be mailiedApplication upon re$79,014 to $101,097 plus an excellent fringe benefi package. questmay by calling HOME at 203-562-4663 during those hours.

Completed preforms be obtained at INC the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request Floor, Haven, CT 06510. Resources or may be downloaded from the Town of from theNew Department of Human Wallingford Department of Human Resources Web Page. Phone: (203) 294-2080, Fax: (203) 294-2084. Applications and resumes can be emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct. gov by the closing date of February 10, 2022. EOE

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

NOTICIA

MECHANIC TRACTOR TRAILER

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP COMPANY

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición 360 Management is currently seeking proposals for tax credit compliance. llamando a HOMEGroup INC alCo. 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse A acomplete copy of the INC requirement may be obtained fromNew 360 Haven Management’s las oficinas de HOME en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, , CT 06510Ven.

Full Time, Benefits, Top Pay

Request for Proposals Tax Credit Compliance

dor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, January 10, 2022 at 3:00PM.

NEW HAVEN Listing: Risk and Safety Manager 242-258 Fairmont Ave

Petroleum company has a need a full time1Risk Safety Man2BR Townhouse, 1.5forBA, 3BR, leveland, 1BA ager. AllSchedule includes weekends and night coverage.

Job& requires new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 I-95 instate travel throughout Candidate must be detail oriented, highways, the nearweek. bus stop & shopping center have aPetstrong logistics knowledgeable in OSHA, DOT, under 40lb allowed.background, Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 EPA, WC regulations. Previous petroleum, transportation or management experience a plus. Send resume to: HR Manager, P.O. Box 388, CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program.

This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Guilford, CT. 06437. in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

******

St. New Haven, CT

THE GLENDOWER GROUP SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Request for Qualifi cations Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Project Architect for the Repositioning of Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Elm City Communities Scattered Sites Properties

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith The Glendower Group is currently seeking Proposals for a project architect for the reStreet Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, scattered on Wednesday, July 20,A2016. positioning of Elm City Communities sites properties. complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Authority OfBidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

Monday, September 27, 2021 at 3:00PM. The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

Apply:Pace, 1425 Honeyspot

Rd. Ext., Stratford, CT EOE

Account Clerk-Payroll: The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications to participate in the examination for Account Clerk-Payroll. The current vacancy is in the Finance Department of the Board of Education but this list may be used to fill other Account Clerk positions within the Town of East Haven. The starting salary is $54,325/year, 40 hours per week. Applications are available by calling 203-468-3375 or online at https:// www.townofeasthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests and must be returned Invitation to Bid: by mail to the Civil Service Offi ce, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT 06512 by February 11, 2022. The 2nd Notice Town of East Haven is committed to VILLAGE building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, SAYEBROOKE Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

POLICE OFFICER DO Demolition, YOU Site-work, WANT New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Cast- FREE TRAINING? City ofin-place Bristol Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, VinylDO Siding, YOU WANT STEADY

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, $69,017 - $83,893/yr.

OR PART-TIME Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing FULL and Fire Protection.

Required testing, This contract is info, subject and to stateapply set-aside and contract compliance requirements. registration

EMPLOYMENT?

online: www.bristolct.gov CERTIFIED NURSE ASSISTANT Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 DEADLINE: 02-25-22 Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 PHLEBOTOMY PATIENT CARE EOE Project documents available via ftp link below: TECHNICAN CPR http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

DRIVER CDL CLASS A Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

333 Valley Street New Haven, CT 06515 (203) 389-3321 Monday thru Friday 9am - 1pm

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses

Full TimeHaynes – AllConstruction ShiftsCompany, Top 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER Pay-Full Benefits

EOE Please apply in person: 1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

21

The Best Films of 2021 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

FILM REVIEW:

By Nsenga K. Burton, NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor

In 2021, the box-office did not disappoint with outstanding films on the big screen and streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Apple TV +.

Films like Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, Denzel Washington’s A Journal for Jordan, Ridley’s Scott’s House of Gucci, Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall and the Marvel Universe’s first Asian superhero film Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings have made a variety of lists as they should. I wanted to use this list as an opportunity to elevate some films that may have been undervalued or overlooked for a variety of reasons including subject matter, perceived lack of star power, genre or release date. Check out some of the top films of 2021, some of which you may not have heard of and others you may not wish to forget as we head into 2022.

Looking for global Black love or remembering what being in love feels like?

You’ve found it in this funny, heartwarming film that takes viewers from the Dirty South to South London. Inspired by writer, director, and star Aml Ameen’s life, Boxing Day follows Melvin (Aml Ameen), a British writer and former soap opera star living in America, who returns home to London for Christmas to introduce his American fiancée, Lisa (Aja Naomi King), to his energetic BritishCaribbean family. Their relationship is put to the test as she discovers the world her fiancée has left behind including a superstar former girlfriend named Georgia (Leigh-Ann Pinnock). Marianne JeanBaptiste gives an endearing performance as Shirley, Melvin’s mother who is getting her groove back following a painful heartache. Ameen and King show the magic that can happen when the Diaspora comes together in life and love.

KING RICHARD (Warner Bros.)

If teamwork makes the dream work was a film, King Richard would be it. King Richard is the engrossing story of a father’s determination to write his talented daughters into the sports history books, 78 pages at a time. Will Smith plays Richard Williams, the father who understands his daughters’ greatness and the context in which they are living, from the moment they were born. Partnered with a dedicated and focused mother Oracene “Brandy” Williams played brilliantly by the white hot Aunjanue Ellis, the Williams family endeavors to take Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) to the top of a tennis world resistant to their presence or participation. Williams uses strategy, humility and confidence to engage legendary

a Black physician, unexpectedly runs into a former high school friend Clare, a lightskinned Black woman who is passing for White and married to a wealthy White man John (Skarsgard) from Chicago.

Writer, producer and director Rebecca Hall, captures the tension between the women as their lives become increasingly connected. The psychological dance between Irene and Clare as they literally sidestep landmines in a race war — some of their making — in which they have the most at stake. With beautiful Black and White cinematography that makes one feel as if they are looking through a photo album, Hall visually demonstrates that issues of race, sex and class aren’t always as Black and White as they may seem.

FATHERHOOD (Netflix)

tennis coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) who helps Venus hone her skills while Brandy literally keeps Serena in the game of life and tennis. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Premature, Gun Hill Road) and executive produced by the Williams sisters and Smith, the film offers a humanistic view of Richard Williams as a loving father who makes sure two Black girls from Compton, can rewrite their destiny, rise to the highest heights and belong wherever they choose to be.

MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY (Amazon Prime Video) The life of Rev. Pauli Murray is American history that is as important to the present as it is to the future. This documentary takes you on the journey of Murray, a non-binary African American woman, who was the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopalian priest and co-founder of the National Organization of Women (NOW). The filmmakers make plain that Murray lived many lives – a professor, lawyer, poet and activist — all of which changed the course of society for the better. Murray’s legal theories were so brilliant and influential, Supreme Court justices Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg used them to win some of their most historic cases. This documentary offers few bells and whistles – simply Murray telling and extraordinary story of a fully evolved human being in pursuit of justice and happiness.

CANDYMAN (Universal Pictures) In the fourth installment of the Black horror cult classic Candyman (1992) Di-

rector Nia DaCosta takes viewers on a journey into the modern-day horror that is gentrification and police occupation in Trump’s America. Against the backdrop of one of America’s most storied housing projects Cabrini Green in Chicago, Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a visual artist, delves into an old tale about a murder in the housing projects. Anthony, who lives a bourgeois life with his lover Brianna (Teyonah Parris) who manages an art gallery, seeks inspiration for his latest painting in all the wrong places.

Researching the story of what happened to Helen Lyle leads Anthony to roads less traveled and an introduction to Burke (Colman Domingo), a dry cleaner that holds many secrets. Written by DaCosta, Win Rosenfeld and horror maestro Jordan Peele, Candyman implicates all of the characters in the conjuring of this evil presence that refuses to die. With stunning visuals including art and cinematography and DaCosta’s intelligent reimaging of who Candyman is and what created him, makes the film feel more like a psychological thriller than a slasher like its predecessors. Candyman offers a smart window into the precarious world in which we’re living and why we should all be horrified.

SUMMER OF SOUL (Fox Searchlight) Iconic musician and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson makes his filmmaking debut with the documentary that is as much a historical document as it is an homage to Black musical excellence. Thompson, founding member the legendary Roots crew and son of a jazz musician, escorts viewers into a world of

22

Black music, fashion and culture at the Harlem Cultural Festival held at Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) over the course of six weeks in 1969, one hundred miles from Woodstock. This documentary features electrifying performances and chronicles the socio-political times in which Black people in America were living. Black musicians from all genres of music – funk, blues, jazz, classical, rock and roll, folk, gospel – played simultaneously personifying the influence of Black innovation and creation in historic Harlem, ground zero for Black Arts and culture in the 20th Century. Footage with spine tingling performances from Nina Simone, the Staples Singers, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, the Fifth Dimension, Sly and the Family Stone and so many more, Summer of Soul shows the magic that happens when Black creatives and artists come together and reminds viewers of the cultural significance Black music played in a revolution that was not televised.

PASSING (Netflix) With a cast that includes Ruth Negga, Tessa Thompson, Alexander Skarsgard and Andre Holland and a story based on a novel written by American novelist Nella Larsen, Passing is a must-see movie about the reality of passing at a time when being Black equated to having no rights and a life with no value to empowered Whites other than as unpaid or low-wage labor.

One wrong move by a Black person could result in certain death or an uncertain future. The story takes place in Harlem where Irene (Thompson), a light-skinned Black woman married to Brian (Holland),

Fatherhood is a film about a happy family rocked by tragedy. In a refreshing departure from his usual role as the funny lead or sidekick, comedian Kevin Hart convincingly plays Matt, a brokenhearted father trying to raise his newborn daughter after the unexpected loss of his wife Liz (Deborah Ayinde), one day following childbirth. Matt tries to balance the difficulty of raising a happy and productive child as an only parent with professional and romantic aspirations while navigating the precarious terrain of dealing with parents and in-laws yearning to maintain their connection to their deceased daughter. Alfre Woodard delivers a powerful performance as Marian, Matt’s mother-in-law who is working through grief and the fear of losing her granddaughter. Hart holds his own in scenes with Woodard and Frankie Faison who plays, Liz’s father Mike. Lil’ Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise and Paul Reiser round out the cast playing the chorus to a devastating tragedy.

SWAN SONG (Apple TV+) Cameron, a loving father played brilliantly by Academy award-winning actor Mahershala Ali finds out he is terminally ill just before learning he has a second child on the way with his beautiful and doting wife Poppy (Naomie Harris). Presented with a life-saving and life-altering solution to his demise, Cameron must decide whether or not to change life’s trajectory or to stay the course and accept the future he knows instead of the unknown.

Through this process, Cameron learns more about life, love and his full humanity as a man. Mahershala Ali performs the hell out of this role taking viewers on this precarious ride of uncertainty. Academy award-nominated actresses Harris and Glenn Close deliver stoic and weighty performances. It-actress Awkwafina plays Kate and Kate’s duplicate giving Cameron more insight into his decision.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

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AHCT-38896-OE9-print-InnerCityNews-925x105-english_f.indd 1

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 12, 2022 - January 18, 2022

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