INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS NEWS February 28,27, 2018 March 06, INNER-CITY July 2016- - August 02, 2018 2016

Sexual Harassment theFocus Workplace: Financial Justice a in Key at 2016Beyond NAACP Hollywood!

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

Guv Hopeful: “Forget About Amazon”

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

Sean Connolly shed no tears when Amazon decided not to build its new mega-headquarters in Connecticut.

If he were governor, he said, he wouldn’t have wasted time or money to compete with other states to lure the e-retail mammoth here.

“I say forget about Amazon. Let’s focus on the 6,000 technology firms that we already have in Connecticut. Help them scale up 60 jobs each,” Connolly said in an interview on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.

“Any time or money that we would spend on trying to attract Amazon here would be pinging on Amazon. It wouldn’t be focusing on having an environment where we don’t have to go after them, because they want to come,” he said.

Connolly hopes to be the governor starting next year — and, he said, to concentrate on building the transportation infrastructure and development strategy to help small and medium-sized businesses grow and create jobs.

He is running for the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. He said he hopes to stand out in the crowd in part through his military credentials, He served seven years of active duty in the Army, and today, he’s a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves. He served as state commissioner of veteran affairs.

He said his military experience gives him leadership chops. And his veterans’ work gives him insight into the needs of the state’s 200,000 former military personnel. Like other candidates, Connolly said job creation is his top priority.

He has embarked on a statewide “jobs tour.” He proposes creating an “economic operations center” where people from both major parties, business and labor all hash out solutions around that metaphorical “table” that all candidates invoke as a problem-solving venue. He spoke of making it easier for small businesses to pursue grants through the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

Connolly proposed encouraging “provider networks” to help smaller businesses grow. DECD, working with local chambers of commerce, would track businesses that can’t yet afford needed positions to get to the next level; then help them split the cost of shared positions through the new networks.

“Companies of certain sizes get to a point where the head of the company is doing the financial role. But it’s too big for the head of the company to do the finances anymore. But not big enough to hire their own” chief financial officer. Or say, a human resources director.

Those are the kinds of positions companies could share, for a time, through

PAUL BASS PHOTO

Sean Connolly at WNHH FM.

provider networks.

Key to job creation is modernizing the state’s ailing transportation system, Connolly, like other candidates, argued.

He proposed creating a Connecticut Infrastructure Bank to leverage state money to raise private debt capital for transportation construction projects.

Revenues generated by new electronic interstate highway tolls and, say, tickets for expanded rail service would repay the debt.“We’re not going to be able to rely on the Trump administration” to fund infrastructure improvements, Connolly said. “We’re going to have to do it” ourselves.

Besides giving companies more predictability, major transit improvements would also create good jobs, he argued.

Connolly vowed to spend $20 million a year to promote tourism in the state as another job-creation strategy. Right now we spend $6 million, down from $15 million several years back, he noted.

Every dollar spent promoting tourism returns $3 to the state through hotel and other tax revenues.

“We’re leaving $50 million-plus in revenues on the table,” he said. He said he’d find the money by making government “more efficient.”

By building up our own infrastructure, Connecticut will eventually lure the likes of Amazon without having to compete with other states in a race to the bottom with costly tax incentives.

“At a point Amazon would say, ‘Hey, I want to be in Connecticut. What can I do to get in Connecticut?’” Connolly said.

“Not ‘What can you pay me?’”

In the WNHH interview, Connolly, who is seeking to run under the public financing system, also spoke of why, as the son (dad’s side) and grandson (mom’s side) of Irish immigrants, he would continue the immigrant-friendly policies of the Malloy administration.

Including those that the Trump administration deems “sanctuary” policies that could lead to federal defunding.

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

A Global Transcribe-a-thon Honors Nineteenth-Century Black Freedom Struggles on Douglass Day

By Susan Monroe, Booktalk Sisters.

February 14 was more than just another Valentine’s Day. It was Douglass Day, the date traditionally observed as Frederick Douglass’s birthday. This year, a small group in New Haven, joined with volunteers across the world, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the nineteenth century statesman’s birth with an innovative black history service project.

The worldwide day of service project invited groups to take part in “transcribea-thon,” a three-hour effort to help digitize 19th century records from the historic Freedmen’s Bureau (1865 – 1872).

Digitize?

“I know ‘transcibe-a-thon’ sounds really technical at first, but the process was simple and fun to do once you got started,” said Lisa Monroe, my coorganizers of Social Justice CALL, our African American collective study group that hosted the digital activity at the Wilson Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library. Lisa and I thought the transcribe-a-thon was a good fit for our study group that extends its reading and study into action.

Volunteers simply transcribed, that is, typed in, the handwritten letters, military, and education records from the post-Civil War era into an online database form.

By creating digital records, volunteers help to preserve the original documents and make these important documents of U.S. history available for generations to come through online access.

Participants learned how Douglass, one of the most powerful proponents of the Colored Conventions Movement, also contributed to the Freedmen’s Bureau’s mission, which was to help emancipated African Americans to find housing, paid labor and education immediately after the Civil War. Dorthula Greene, Roz Agbodoe and Vincent McKnight worked diligently to transcribe and review documents, stopping along the way to share bits of information about what they were reading.

The service project was a first of its kind collaboration by the Colored Conventions Project (CCP) of the University of Delaware, the Smithsonian Transcription Center and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Events were live streamed on CCP’s Facebook page throughout the afternoon.

Viewers can see photos and read captions from the event at CCP’s Twitter hashtag, #DouglassDay .

The transcribe-a-thon was the largest to date with over 1400 individuals participating in schools such as Howard University, Grinnell and Trinity colleges, the University of Georgia and Miami, as well as various libraries and other locations. To build a core group of local volunteers, Social Justice CALL plans on having another transcribing session in the summer.

Among its other public activities, last

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Dorthula Green, Susan Monroe and Roz Agbodoe take part in the Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon.

summer, the group held a mini black history walking tour of lower Dixwell Avenue: renowned architect and Ethnic Heritage Center board member Ed Cherry gave talks about notable tour stops on the Walk New Haven Cultural Heritage Tour, including the Goffe Street Special School for Colored Children & Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Masons; the United House of Prayer for All People, (popu-

larly known as Daddy Grace’s church); Varrick AME Zion Church, and the Hannah Gray Home. At the Christmas holiday, Social Justice CALL members also donated books to the New Haven Boys and Girls Club as part of its mission to promote literacy.

For more information about Social Justice CALL study group, email Booktalksisters@gmail.com.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

“Women Of Power” Revive To Feed A Village

by MICHELLE LIU

New Haven Independent

When Sharon Stevens lost her job of ten years last fall, she didn’t just move on.

The longtime employee for Village of Power, a program once run by Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, had spent over a decade helping women who struggled with substance abuse or mental health challenges. The program not only provided case management services, but also encouraged the women involved to do community service of their own, Stevens said.

“You see that someone else is looking up to you,” Stevens said. “You may never have had that before. It’s life changing for some people.”

After budget cuts forced the program to end last September, Stevens and the women shifted gears. They renamed themselves Women of the Village. With the help of Diane Brown, branch manager at Dixwell’s Stetson Branch library, they kept the program’s signature sewing group afloat by relocating it to the library.

And with the (purse)strings cut, Women of the Village has had to grow in new directions.

On Friday afternoon, Stevens was seated at the front of the Dixwell police

substation on Charles Street. She and two other volunteers had arrayed knotted bags of bagels and pastries, and staples like cereal and soup across two rows of tables. The warm smell of bread permeated the room.

It was the official opening of New Haven’s newest food pantry — one of many projects over which the Women of the Village has taken the reins.

In two hours, some 15 to 20 people had walked out of the substation with groceries, said Andrea Mastracchio, a former graduate of the program-turned volunteer coordinator.

The monthly food pantry, run in conjunction with the city of New Haven and the police department, sources donations from Trader Joe’s, Elm City Market and Panera. Hence the baked goods, the multiple non-dairy milk options, and a variety of organic boxed foods. Women of the Village also now provides fresh fruits, vegetables and sometimes meats from Trader Joe’s on a weekly basis.

When funding ran dry for the program, Women of the Village’s newfound independence gave program volunteers the chance to redefine the terms of the program.

For example, Stevens can collaborate with other programs, such as donating

MICHELLE LIU PHOTO

Mastracchio, Stevens and Gainey at the pantry.

leftover food that she would have otherwise had to throw away under the health center’s rules.

Although Stevens admits that the transition from Village of Power to Women of the Village has been “a little bit rough” over the last few months, she enjoys the flexibility it has afforded her.

“I have more freedom now,” Stevens said, who now works in a volunteer ca-

pacity, even as she searches for work.

“Nobody works for anybody,” Mastracchio said. “We all work hand in hand.”

Margaret Gainey, a Dixwell resident who has been a program participant since 2015, was volunteering at the food pantry on Friday, “She’s our bodyguard,” Mastracchio joked.

Gainey, who has been sober for four

years, said that prior to joining Village of Power, she’d never done community service. “Didn’t want to, wasn’t going to,” she said. “None of the above.”

But over the course of her time in the program, Gainey began to understand what Stevens calls the “life-changing” experience of having someone else look up to you.

“I just felt that it was time for me to give

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Beyond Hollywood!

by Kevin E. Walton, Sr. Human Resources Specialist/Minority Teacher Recruiting Coordinator for ACES On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published a story detailing allegations of sexual harassment against film producer Harvey Weinstein. A myriad of women including actresses, female staffers and others looking for their big break were among those accusing the Hollywood mogul of committing odious acts.

Since that article was published, no less than forty high profile men in the world of sports, entertainment and politics have also been accused of sexual harassment.

If these allegation turn out to be true, the perpetrators deserve whatever consequences that have already and may still come their way. However, is Matt Lauer losing his job enough? Is Harvey Weinstein never producing another movie enough? Is John Conyers being forced out of the United States Senate enough?

A start? Yes. Enough? Not even close.

With women breaking the glass ceiling in all industries, the work place is no longer an all-boys club where disparate treatment of women is perpetrated with impunity. The age-old adage of boys will be boys is no longer an acceptable excuse for unacceptable behavior. Times have changed and companies and corporation need to evolve with this change.

If these high profile cases have taught us anything is that sexual harassment in the workplace is more common than we know and systemic changes are needed before victims feel safe reporting such incidents. When a gymnastics coach is accused of abusing over 250 girls and women and his employer did nothing to stop his vile and unconscionable behavior, the system has failed. When multiple women describe a frightening pattern of sexual assault yet a popular music executive can continue to operate at the highest level in the media world without facing consequences, the system has failed.

When the number one reason that people do not report harassing behavior is because they feel that no one will believe them, then the system has failed.

One of the foremost detractors of reporting sexual harassment is the negative reactions directed towards the accusers.

Whether in the comment sections of news articles, social media posts or watercooler conversation, it is not uncommon to hear remarks such as, “why did she wait so long to come forward?” Or “if it were so bad, why did they continue to work there?” And my personal favorite, “why didn’t they tell someone about it when it happened?”

Before we become overly critical in questioning the legitimacy of the alleged victims, we should keep in mind that the main reason people do not report sexual harassment is because they feel that no one will believe them. Conceivably, not being believed may be the reason that “roughly 3 out of 4 individuals who experienced harassment never even talked to a supervisor, manager, or union representative about the harassing conduct.”

June 2016 EEOC select task force on the study of harassment in the workplace.

Other reasons victims of sexually harassment are reluctant to report their experiences include believing that nothing will be done and the very real fear of retaliation. While all of these reasons are valid and are to be respected, the reality is that if employees do not report these incidents then they cannot be properly addressed. That is why it is critically important that employees feel empowered to report incidents of harassment without fear of repercussion or retaliation.

Sexual harassment is described by the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as harassment or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Quid Pro Quo is a form of sexual harassment that occurs when a manager or other authority figure offers or suggests that he or she will give the employee something in return for sexual indulgence. A hostile work environment is created when unwelcome comments or conduct create an intimidating or offensive work environment. In most, if not all, of these high profile cases, the alleged perpetrators are powerful men in their respective industries who have the ability to directly impact their alleged victim’s careers. Given the power dynamic in these situations, a quid pro quo situation was created when these men offered or intimated reward in return for a sexual liaison.

One of the biggest misconceptions about sexual harassment is that the offending behavior has to be directed towards a specific person, which, is not necessarily true. Take for instance, two people telling sexually explicit jokes in the staff lounge.

They have created a hostile environment when other people in the lounge are offended. But how does one know that they have offended someone if the offended

party does not say anything? When it comes to sexual harassment silence is not agreeable. Just because someone doesn’t say anything does not mean that they are okay with the behavior.

Company leaders would be wise to strive to create an environment where employees receive regular sexual harassment training, understand the process for reporting sexual harassment and feel confident that quick action would be taken to investigate and if confirmed, impose appropriate consequences. Having a robust sexual harassment policy is not only good practice, it empowers employees to stand up for themselves while sending the message that harassing behavior is unacceptable and merits strong consequences.

Ensuring that employees understand that, as the First Line of Defense, they are well within their right to tell the perpetrator to stop the harassing behavior is one way to empower employees to deal with sexual harassment. While imploring the use of the First Line of Defense may sound simple, not everyone has the wherewithal to confront someone in such a manner, hence, the approximately 2 million cases of workplace harassment that goes unreported annually. It is also important that employees know and understand the procedures that are in place to make formal complaints to address the situation. With the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace having a bright light shown on it, this might be a good time for companies to re-examine their sexual harassment policies, investigate the stories they’ve heard, take action where necessary and establish procedures to demonstrate their commitment to create a safe and healthy work environment for all. Employers can further protect their employees from harassing behavior by ensuring that supervisor level staff are fully trained and reminded often of their responsibility to follow up on rumors about harassing and other inappropriate behavior.

When dealing with employee misconduct, I often hear alleged victims and witnesses say “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

No employee should be subjected to offensive behavior or conduct in their place of employment yet it happens all the

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time. Most companies have sexual harassment policies in place, however, having a policy means nothing if the culture is not aligned with the policy or the conduct of the employees is contrary to the policy. Employees who are subjected to harassing behavior should feel empowered to take action against their offender, including reporting any concerns to their supervisors and / or Human Resources, without feeling ashamed or intimidated.

When dealing with employee misconduct, I often hear alleged victims and witnesses say “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.” As an investigator of employee misconduct, I am empathetic to the difficulty of bringing a complaint against a co-worker. However, I believe that we have a responsibility to keep ourselves and our co-worker’s safe. Simply ignoring inappropriate behavior and hoping that it stops, takes the attention away from the perpetrator. This can no longer be the solution. It is hard for the behavior to be addressed if no one comes forward to make a complaint.

Everyone has the right to work in an environment free of hostility and intimidation. And I, like most of you, prefer that my wife, my sons, my mother, my sister and countless friends and colleagues are able to report to work every day with the knowledge and confidence that their employer will not tolerate abusive, harassing or any other inappropriate behavior from anyone, regardless of their position.

Kevin E. Walton, Sr. is a Human Resources Specialist / Minority Teacher Recruiting Coordinating for the Area Cooperative Educational Services in North Haven, CT. Mr. Walton is responsible for agency’s recruitment and hiring activities, developing and maintaining relationships with staff and administrators, assisting employees with work related issues and investigating complaints of employee misconduct. Additional responsibilities include working closely with the unions on disciplinary hearings, managing all aspects of the agency’s workers compensation program and facilitating on-going training to the staff in the areas of sexual harassment, protection and advocacy and child abuse and neglect. Mr. Walton can be reached at kwalton@aces. org or (203) 498-6837. Photo credit: JRC-NHRegister - SmugMug

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

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

Advertising/Sales Team Trenda Lucky Keith Jackson Delores Alleyne John Thomas, III

Editorial Team Staff Writers

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

Contributing Writers 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 New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Harris Meets Fundraising Threshold, Goes All In On Race for Governor

by Christine Stuart CT. Junkie News

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Whether it was his vision for Blue Back Square or his friendship over the years more than 100 supporters turned out Saturday to hear about Jonathan Harris’ next challenge— a run for governor.

Harris, 53, the former mayor, former state senator, former Department of Consumer Protection commissioner, and former executive director of the Democratic Party was praised Saturday by his colleagues for being

a kind leader.

He might not have the same kind of name recognition as other Democrats vying for the job, but Harris seems to be well-liked among the party’s faithful. Something that will matter in the next round of the competition when he has to compete for 15 percent of the delegates to the two-day convention in May. “He understands what leadership is all about,” West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said Saturday.

She said he’s also a leader who cares and “will got the extra mile for

every single person.”

Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, said she’s supporting Harris because of the “kind of person you are. The kind of policymaker you are and the kind of leader you are.”

She described Harris as “determined” and “kind.”

As far as policy is concerned, she said Harris is collaborative. As chairman of the Public Health Committee he was able to work with the Catholic Church to pass legislation that found a way to allow for Plan B contraception for rape victims in

DOUG HARDY / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Jonathan Harris and his wife Lucy

Unions Rally Against Janus

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

As a move to crush municipal unions before landed at the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, labor activists took to New Haven’s City Hall steps to declare their determination to fight on, whatever the outcome.

The occasion was the presentation of oral arguments before the court in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The plaintiffs in that case seek to overturn an Illinois law requiring public employees represented by a union to pay fees to cover bargaining costs incurred on their behalf whether or not they join and pay dues. A victory would nullify 20 similar laws nationwide and potential decimate the power of government unions, the labor movement’s last redoubt. Conservative groups have pushed for decades to reverse such laws; the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority is expected to rule in the plaintiffs’ favor.

The plaintiffs argue that mandatory-fee laws breach workers’ First Amendment free speech rights by forcing them to pay for a cause they don’t support. Campaigns funded by business owners appeal to workers to hold off paying union dues or fees to exercise their free-speech rights.

At the New Haven rally, speakers like Harold Brooks characterized the case — and the broader anti-union “right to work” movement — as an effort to in face deprive workers of rights by crippling unions that can fight for better wages, health benefits, and working conditions.

“Right to work was created by segregationists and union-busters” to “rig the economy” in the favor of the wealthy, declared Brooks, vice-president of AFSCME Local 3144, which represents

PAUL BASS PHOTO

Alder and union steward Kim Edwards addresses Monday’s rally.

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city government management and professional workers.

“The Supreme Court case is a ploy to take away our rights as union workers” and “protect the super-rich” by balancing budgets “on the backs of working people,” echoed District 1199 member Denitra Pearson of New Haven. Mayor Toni Harp, one of the founders of Local 3144, argued that “all who are in your unions should pay their dues if they benefit.”

The rally drew about 100 supporters. It was one of four simultaneous noon-hour demonstrations across the state organized by a coalition of unions to protest the Janus case; the others took place in Hartford, Stamford, and Storrs.

Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn spoke of belonging to District 1199 “for 30 years” and being “proud to pay my dues. I understand why I need to pay them.”

Fellow Newhallville Alder Kim Edwards has belonged for 22 years to the Communication Workers of America, which she currently serves as a steward.

“My union is my family,” she declared to the crowd. “My union is my voice, to make sure my children are taken care of, to make sure there is gasoline in my car” and her family has health care.

Beneath the surface there was an acknowledgement that unions may indeed lose this round at the Supreme Court, the latest in a year-plus of labor setbacks.

The last wave of speeches included calls to keep fighting to recover and rebuild, to guard against the next round of proposed legislative and legal givebacks.

“This is the result of 40 years of work by the other side,” New Haven Association of Legal Services Attorneys President James Bhandary-Alexander said of the Janus case. “We have 40 years of work to turn the tide.”

emergency rooms at Catholic hospitals and facilities.

Bye said he was also able to bring together a politically divided West Hartford and usher through a controversial “public-private partnership” that became Blue Back Square.

“This was not always a popular economic development project,” Bye said. “It was actually a new and very complicated scheme.”

Harris’s announcement Saturday was made in the shadows of that development, which expanded West Hartford’s residential and retail space.

Harris bragged Saturday that he’s received more contributions of $100 or less than any other candidate in the Democratic field.

As of Jan. 1, his campaign reported raising $232,745 and spending only $36,861. The next report isn’t due until April.

Harris said his campaign has raised the $250,000 in qualifying contributions needed to qualify for funding should he get the necessary 15 percent at the convention.

If he does then he will receive $1.25 million for the Aug. 14 primary.

“It isn’t big money. It’s hard earned money. It’s grassroots,” Harris told the cheering crowd Saturday.

He said there’s a “palpable feeling that something is wrong. That we’ve been losing too much. Big corporations, small to mid-sized businesses, even people, neighbors and friends, who are leaving even if they rather not.”

He said his own son, a UConn grad, is having to consider moving to Boston or New York because that’s where all the opportunities are.

“This is not the Connecticut you or our children deserve,” Harris said.

“We need creative solutions to end our fiscal crisis and brings jobs and people back to our state.”

Harris is one of six Democratic candidates running for the job. Others include Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, Ned Lamont of Greenwich, Guy Smith of Greenwich, Susan Bysiewicz of Middletown, Sean Connolly of Hebron. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is still exploring a run for governor.

Dita Bhargava, a former Wall Street executive, switched over to run for state treasurer earlier this week. Middletown Mayor Dan Drew dropped out of the race in January.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

yale institute of sacred music joins the

inner 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

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Displaced Tenants Must Find New Homes

by MARKESHIA RICKS New Haven Independent

Elsa Bradley got to return “home” for a few minutes Monday, in the company of a firefighter and left reunited with Emily, the beloved parakeet she left behind in a building feared ready to collapse.

Since Thursday, Bradley has been stuck in a New Haven Inn motel out on Whalley Avenue worried about the fate of the bird she had to leave behind when she learned that her 66 Norton St. apartment was no longer inhabitable.

She had to leave her Emily behind when she and her neighbors were forced to evacuate on 45 minutes notice after it was discovered that the more than 100-year-old 41-unit building that she’d lived in at 66 Norton St. five years this coming December — was structurally unsound and in danger of collapse.

On Monday, officials let Bradley and other 66 Norton tenants grab essentials from their apartments. Tenants had a short window of about four hours to retrieve documents, medicine, baby food, diapers, and clothes. But they had to leave behind furniture and other belongings until officials deem the building safe enough not to return to live in but to enter to collect the rest of their stuff to move elsewhere.

“It’s been a lot of emotional stress,” Bradley said as she stood outside the building. “I took off work today.”

Some of that stress was relieved about 30 minutes later when Bradley’s son emerged from the building with Emily in her cage. Bradley said she was taking Emily back to the hotel with her.

Her next order of business was to find out where both she and Emily could call home next.

The fate of tenants like Bradley became at least slightly clearer Monday. City Building Official Jim Turcio said that based on an engineer’s report, 66 Norton St. won’t be habitable for at least months, if not longer. It will need major structural repairs.

“We don’t see the building coming down for a while,” agreed Rafael Ramos, deputy director of the city’s antiblight agency, the Livable City Initiative (LCI), one of a team of city officials working practically around the clock since last Thursday to help families and deal with the emergency at 66 Norton.

So the 80 mostly low-income people who have been living in some cases rundown motel rooms all weekend will not return to 66 Norton. Instead, building manager, Mendy Katz, is finding many of the tenants apartments in other buildings he manages through the Ocean management empire. The building’s Brooklyn-based owner, Ernest Schemitsch, has agreed to cover the ten-

ants’ down payment and first month’s rent, according to Ramos. Katz has also given the tenant households (depending on size) Visa debit cards with between $50 and $160 so that they can buy food to eat since they can’t store or cook food at their motels.

Ramos said that under the state’s Uniform Relocation Act, the tenants are entitled to up to $4,000 total for help with the costs of moving and eating when officials require them to leave their building. The city can place liens on the dangerous property if the owners don’t cover those costs, Ramos said, He and other officials said Katz has stepped up and taken responsibility for helping the tenants resettle.

“We are working with a handful of other landlords and agencies regarding rehousing,” Katz told the Independent Tuesday morning.”

“We are awaiting instructions from the city to be able to assist tenants to move their belongings from the building to the new homes they have found in the safest and organized fashion. Those new apartments will be inspected by lci prior to move in.”

So in addition to other duties, officials were performing “triage” Monday on tenants’ temporary emergency living arrangements, Ramos said for instance, moving one family with an asthmatic child from a musty room at the Three Judges Motor Inn to a cleaner room at the nearby New Haven Inn. And helping, starting at 1 p.m., make forays into 66 Norton to retrieve belongings.

Vanessa Grassi was one of the first tenants to arrive back at 66 Norton before city LCI Housing Code Inspector Rick Mazzadra started taking names and pairing tenants with firefighters who escorted them to their apartments to make sure they would be safe in the building. Fire Batallion Chief Robert Ortiz said that there were four firefighters at the scene Monday to help tenants enter and exit the building safely. Some 13 families had stopped by in the first couple of hours to retrieve more of their belongings.

There is expected to be another opportunity for tenants to retrieve belongings if they missed the opportunity on Monday, given that some might have been at work when meetings were held at hotels earlier in the day. Tenants were not allowed to move bigger items like furniture but are expected to be told by Friday when they might be allowed to do that.

Grassi said she’d been living in her fifth-floor apartment with her son and daughter for about a year and a half.

She said Monday was a whirlwind for her because she doesn’t have transportation. Like Bradley, she is staying

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTOS

Firefighter leads family into 66 Norton to retrieve belongings.

Elsa Bradley talks to LCI housing code inspector Mazzadra.

Grassi, who had lived in her fifth-floor apartment for about 18 months.

at the New Haven Inn. She was in the middle of trying to wash clothes for her family — there’s no laundry facility at the motel — while also trying to get to the apartment building to pick up more things for her and her children. When they left Thursday they left her son’s ADHD medications, her diabetes medication, and her sleep apnea machine. On Monday she was trying to quickly pick those things up in time to collect her laundry and meet her kids who were due back at the motel around 3:45 p.m.

“It’s been a crazy weekend,” she said good-naturedly. “I feel bad for another lady with a baby-baby. They finally got her a microwave but she was worried about the $400 worth of diabetes medi-

8

cine that she lost because they didn’t get her a fridge in time.”

Unlike other tenants, Grassi had found her three-bedroom apartment at 66 Norton, which she rented for $900 a month, to be a bit of a godsend in a tight and expensive New Haven real estate market. Her rent included both heat and hot water.

“It was clean even if the apartment was a little crooked,” she said.

Grassi said she had no complaints aside from the ancient, often broken elevator.

She also gave props to the management for being responsive to this crisis, including by providing them with the Visa cards. Tenants said that they had been told that the cards would be refilled ev-

ery three days or so. And those funds go fast between food and transportation, Grassi said.

Some people also were able to get microwaves and refrigerators placed in their rooms. Transportation to school was arranged to make sure that the children of the complex could get to school though not all parents were privy to that information and kept their children home.

“It’s hard,” Grassi, who works full time at a Wendy’s in North Haven, said. “I had to take today off and a half a day on Friday. The motel is not the best looking but it’s better than the street.”

She already has her eye on a new apartment on Winthrop Avenue. But the logistics of getting it inspected by LCI while trying to get laundry done and getting to 66 Norton and then back to the motel before her children returned home were all a bit much for a woman with no transportation.

Shelly Sutherland and her husband Dwain Perkins made their way over from their motel room at the New Haven Inn with their 1-year-old daughter while their sons were at school. The family had been initially placed at Three Judges, which didn’t work for the family of five.

Sutherland said the accommodations at the New Haven Inn worked a little better for the family. They have access to a microwave and a fridge. Now they’re on the hunt for an apartment with monthly rent similar to the $875 they paid at 66 Norton.

She said a tenant meeting was held at the motel Monday, and the family was told that it would be provided a security deposit and the first month’s rent at a new apartment. But they had to find it and quickly. How quickly, she said was unclear.

“They just say, ‘As soon as possible,’” she said.

Dwain Perkins and his daughter carry out a few more things with the firefighter’s help.

Sutherland and Perkins came by Monday to pick up more school uniforms and asthma medication for their 7-yearold, who was slated for a trip to the doctor. He’d been to the intensive care unit three times in the last year because of his asthma; the doctor would determine if black mold at the now condemned building was the culprit.

Former live-in building superintendent Stephen Izzo has been a staunch critic of the owner and management of the building. But he said that when it comes to the relocation of the tenants — him and his wife and their son being among them — the owner and management Con’t on page 10

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

Ridgefield High School Students Reframe DC Gun Debate

by Bhumika Choudhary CT. Junkie News

HARTFORD, CT — The politicians who have been at this for awhile were outshined Friday by three students from Ridgefield High school who represent millions of other students planning to stand up to gun violence and say “enough.”

Enough to school shootings. Enough to gun violence.

“When tragedies like the shooting in Florida happen, we as teenagers have no voice and no platform, even though the shooters are going into our schools and our spaces,” Lane Murdock, a 15-year-old sophomore from Ridgefield, said Friday at a Legislative Office Building press conference. “Most of us can’t vote, yet.”

Murdock is a lead organizer of the National School Walkout movement. She helped organize a walkout on April 20th, the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.

Across the nation, high school students will walk out at 10 a.m. and continue to protest until the end of the school day.

But there could be consequences.

Murdock recognizes news is circulating about school suspension as a penalty for skipping class.

Murdock said she has been working closely with her school admin-

istration, but there’s still a chance students will be suspended if they participate. She said she’s encouraging her peers to have conversations with their parents or guardians to find out if they have permission to participate, regardless of the consequences.

“If the parents still support them doing it, then I say do it,” she said.

She said the movement has had a lot of support and their numbers grow every day.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy emphasized that the involvement of young persons is the main reason something different is happening right now.

The movement was triggered by Murdock’s numb response to the news of the Florida shooting.

“The fact that I had such a numb reaction to something like this is not okay,” Murdock said. “This should not be normalcy, so I decided to make my petition.”

Murdock was born after the Columbine shooting and started participating in lockdown drills in first grade.

Paul Kim, a seventeen-year-old senior, shared how the movement started at a Starbucks. The growing numbers of support prompted Kim to say, “It is an incredible energy and momentum that we want to capitalize on.”

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Lane Murdock, a sophomore at Ridgefield High School

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Mark Barden holds up a photo of his son Daniel

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Mark Barden, who lost his son Daniel in the Sandy Hook massacre five years ago, described Murdock and the high school students from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida as a “no bullshit constituency.”

He said they’re not going to be intimidated by “corporate greed.

They’re not going to be bullied by money and power. They want to fix this and they’re going to do it.”

Five years after Sandy Hook there’s been no legislation at the federal level to address gun violence. U.S. John B. Larson pointed out that the House held 62 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but has yet to raise a bill to address gun violence.

“I’m sick of this,” Barden said as he wiped away tears.

Barden was at the White House earlier this week to tell President Donald Trump that they’re “arming teachers with the tools to recognize these people and to spot them and to get them help before they pick up an AR-15 and wreak havoc in a school or at a concert or at a movie theater or at a shopping mall.”

He said the U.S. House has already introduced the “Stop School Violence Act,” which funds schools to train staff and students on prevention. It will be introduced in the Senate on Tuesday.

Con’t on page 11

THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Art Exhibit Confronts The N-Word

by DAVID SEPULVEDA New Haven Independent

Career High School student and New Haven Arts and Ideas fellow Taryn Joseph could not have been more animated and excited to share her reaction to a “painful” painting with its creator, artist Rhinold Ponder.

Joseph was among a group of students who happened upon the opening reception for Ponder’s “The Rise and Fail of the N-Word: Implicit Bias and the N-Word Living in Our Subconscious,” an exhibit at Westville’s Kehler Liddell Gallery on Whalley Avenue. The exhibition runs through March 18.

Ponder was happy to engage the group of students and wondered which works had connected with them. For Joseph, the connection to Keloids and Scars 1, a painting that is more representational than its abstract elements may suggest, was visceral: “The painting popped out — like a slave being whipped. The red representing blood, and the peeling is like skin. It’s a painful piece,” she said.

Next to Keloids and Scars 1, a fractured mirror faces the viewer with printed bold words: “Welcome Niggers.” A subtitle at the base of the mirror reads: “Enter post-Nigger America where ‘The N-word is dead’ and everyone or no one is a Nigger.”

During a conversation with the artist, moderated by clinical social worker and therapist Enroue Halfkenny before a standing-room-only audience, Ponder described his own visceral reaction in making the piece. The artist made Keloids by dipping a whip in paint, then snapping and slashing it on up-cycled leather remnants sewn together by the artist’s wife, Michele Ponder. During the act of creative if not therapeutic flagellation, Ponder acknowledged a sense of unexpected “power and exhilaration.” When painting the keloids, the raised “scars” bordering the original “wounds,” Ponder said he cried. “But when I was whipping it, it felt pretty good,” he said.

“The Rise and Fail of the N-Word” includes a large group of painted and mixed-media works by the artist, spanning a variety of techniques from the painterly to those more graphically oriented.

Ponder has degrees and varied careers in journalism, African-American studies, and law. He studied graphic design in his early years, developing an aesthetic that presents itself in his work today — both overtly, as in a piece depicting a hooded image of Trayvon Martin alternating with a hooded image of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr. …… and in Hands Up Don’t Shoot, Shot Damn ll.

Ponder’s design sensibility is suggested more subtly in Strange Fruit: High Tech Lynching or Suicide? This mixed-media painting uses a mash-up of techniques.

Ponder is aware of the critique that his paintings don’t settle on a singular, unified mode of expression, as is often expected of the “mature artist.” But Ponder is unapologetic. He sees every painting as a new opportunity to explore and express. “The image dictates the technique” he asserts. “Plus it’s more fun that way.”

To be sure, the n-word is explicitly portrayed in strong graphic terms throughout the exhibition, both in Ponder’s paintings and in a substantial group of paintings he commissioned as part of an experiment with a number of international and American artists. Ponder hypothesized that Americans would have a more difficult time graphically presenting the word “nigger” because of America’s history and sensitive association with the word. Anecdotally, we are told, Ponder’s theory proved correct. He said some Americans showed frustration in not follow directions or complying with requirements in not using black and white. “They had difficulty in seeing beyond black and white,” reads an informational panel.

The beautifully designed fonts and graphics presented in this series reinforce the notion of the word “nigger” as a kind of brand: “Nigger is nothing but a marketing tool to make one group that’s oppressed feel better than the other group that’s oppressed,” said Ponder. “The narrative I’m trying to get to is the narrative that we change how we treat each other, and we don’t do that without changing how we think about each other.”

“Not being a racist is not enough,” Ponder asserted during his talk, in which he called for a more proactive effort on everyone’s part in fighting racism and the paradigm that gives rise to demeaning and controlling words like the n-word.

Many of the works in the exhibit are accompanied by short narratives or poems, some written by Ponder and some by friends and acquaintances of the artist. In the poem “Power,” by Felix M. Hester, the poet writes: In the beginning was a word, And it was never good Not then, not now, not tomorrow No matter how many ways it’s uttered.

It is a difficult lesson learned by many who have breached cultural mores regarding the n-word’s use — regard-

DAVID SEPULVEDA PHOTOS

Taryn Joseph, center, flashes answers and her iPhone.

Enroue Halfkenny, left, interviews Rhinold Ponder.

less of the word’s variants, which can end in er, ah, a, or simply repeated in song, as in the recent case of a Southern Connecticut State University adjunct professor who was suspended after students complained of his use of the n-word when he, reportedly, accompanied a rap song.

Last year comedian Bill Maher, who is known for an edgy and non-politically correct slant, came under fire from the right and the left after jokingly referring to himself as a “house nigger” on his HBO show Real Time. Many called for his show’s cancellation, but some gave him a pass after his immediate, and apparently heartfelt, apology.

0The n-word is sprinkled throughout Collective Consciousness Theatre’s current production of Sunset Baby by African American playwright Dominique Morrisseau. Its repeated use singes the ears, but does not cause third-degree burns. The dialogue rings truthful and sounds appropriate in the context of the play.

Robert L. Pellegrino, New Haven attorney and author of the recently published I See Color: Identifying, Understanding and Reducing Our Hidden Racism: A White Perspective, ex-

10

plained that he personally would never use the n-word, suggesting that no white person ever should. “What other ethnic group would . Toward the end of the artist’s Q and A with the audience at Kehler Liddell, one woman fought back tears as she sought answers about how we as individuals and society can begin to turn the tide against racism and its tools like the n-word. The exhibit does not hold the answers, but it is effective in holding up a mirror. It provides a catalyst for self-examination and a long, overdue dialogue.

The exhibit runs through March 18 at the Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave. A performance and discussion hosted by Literary Happy Hour’s Hanifa Washington happens on Thursday, March 15, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will be a closing event and moderated roundtable discussion on Saturday, March 17, 6 to 9 p.m., with Enroue Halfkenny. The exhibit and upcoming events are sponsored by the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, whose stated mission is “to achieve equity in education by working with those affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty.”

Con’t from page 09

Displaced Tenants Must Find New

did the right thing. His family has been staying at Three Judges. He came back Monday to get his tools, some blankets, and clothes.

“They’re not good landlords,” he said.

“But now, they’re helping.” Like several people Monday, he praised the tireless efforts of Rafael Ramos who was meeting with tenants at the motels prior to the 66 Norton retrieval runs.

Katherine Peccerillo, an attorney with the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, was among those praising Ramos whom she said was delivering the “right message” to tenants so they knew that they had some help.

She said she does have some concern that tenants with disabilities might have a hard time navigating the process of finding a new home. And it will be a challenge for people who can’t afford to take off from work to look for a new place to live without risking their job. In fact, one man had been informed before the meeting that he had been terminated.

Peccerillo also noted that while someone else is footing the costs for motel rooms, some money for food, and eventually first months and a security deposit for tenants, it’s likely that tenants are still being hit with unexpected out-ofpocket costs.

“They had just paid their rent and many have a full fridge of food,” she said.

“There will be duplicate costs on these families that can’t afford duplication.”

Peccerillo also expressed concern that every tenant might not be getting needed information. She has a client who is caring for a three-month-old infant and missed the tenant meeting at her hotel because she was nursing her baby. She questioned why the Red Cross didn’t step in the same way it would if the inhabitants of 66 Norton had been displaced by fire instead of neglect.

“There were kids who went to school today in the same dirty clothes from last week because they didn’t know how long they would be gone and there is no laundry,” she said. “This is a basic hygiene issue. Why not mobilize a response in the same way you would if this had been a fire?”

Meanwhile, on the WNHH FM radio show “Mayor Monday,” Mayor Toni Harp praised the way different city departments — fire, building code, LCI, schools — worked together in the 66 Norton crisis. That made a big difference, she said.

She also said that the discovery of the structural problems by LCI’s Mazzadra demonstrated the importance of the city’s program of inspecting and licensing rental buildings. She said she had inquired how the four 66 Norton apartments rented under the federal Section 8 program had passed inspections. She learned that in fact, those units had been in good shape, she said.

How Booker T Beat The Burbs THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

by ALLAN APPEL

New Haven Independent

Science teacher Intisar Khan challenged her first-graders to build a dome, the way Roman engineers combined the arch and the circle and the way Bucky Fuller built his geodesic version two millennia later.

First the kids had fun making a human dome topped with a purple beach ball and jiggled around each other to discover, in their bones, how to make a dome stronger.

Then Khan gave each kid a hunk of clay and told them to muck around. eventually dividing the hunk into precisely 11 pieces.

Why 11?

Khan wouldn’t tell them until the end of the lesson; she wanted them to figure it out. The kids were used to that, part of the school’s learning-by-doing and discovering culture.

(You too will need to read to the end of the story to find the answer.)

Such hands-on learning by doing — discovery, visualizing for one’s self, and avoiding straightforward linear approaches, especially in science and

math—was on full display one recent morning at Booker T. Washington Academy (BTWA), which occupies a former parochial school space at the old St. Stanislaus Church School on State Street.

It’s one of the reasons the four-yearold state-chartered public K-to-4 school the state Department of Education this month designated Booker T “a school of distinction.” The school, originally launched by leaders at Varick AME Zion Church in response to frustrations in the black community over public-school choices, is now the top performing school in math statewide. It also lands in the top 20 percent in reading. Booker doesn’t outperform schools just in its city, but statewide.

How have they done it?

A combination of the ambitious, multi-disciplinary approach found in Khan’s classroom, an emphasis on basics combined with critical thinking, close attention to individual students’ progress, and a mixture of love with reliable standards.

Dean of Academics and third-grade parent Raynetta Ford-Thames greeted

ALLAN APPEL PHOTO

Khan and dome-buildiers at Booker T. Washington, which the state just named a “school of distinction.”

kids and parents alike as they arrived for the day, setting the tone of the school, which is homey combined with consistently reinforced high expectations.

“The secret is consistency. The consistency of the rigor of our program, the consistency of the support we give to students and teachers individually

and our consistently high expectations,” Ford-Thames said as she greeted kindergartner Zurie Crawford.

Zurie’s dad, Heath Crawford, was dropping her off. He praised the school for remaining in constant touch with parents. He also praised the regular success of his daughter’s academics, even in the tender little early grades.

Con’t from page 09 Ridgefield High School Students Reframe

He said they have developed an anonymous reporting system kids can put on their phone that goes to call center staffed with professionals who are equipped to handle situations.

Sandy Hook Promise also has a guide to help students and teachers recognize the signs.

Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, who are all Democrats, are determined to use the time between now and the next election to fight hard for reform that protects the American people from gun violence.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said, “The energy and the direction of our kids is what is going to lead the way. We are going to stand on their shoulders and we are going to take action.”

Murdock confessed the group is still in the midst of developing next steps to follow the April 20th walkout. But Murdock stresses that efforts will be initiated that continue to empower young people.

“The kids are growing up and taking charge. And nothing can stop Con’t on page 14

MARCH 20 BUSHNELL.ORG • 860-987-5900 • Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Michael Jackson, Jr. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

Black History Month Ends With A Beat

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Social-Services Chief Impresses Alders

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

ANEURIN CANHAM-CLYNE PHOTO

Hill Central students at a cultural celebration marking the end of Black History Month.

Michael Mills, at right in photo, accompanies students on “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

by ANEURIN CANHAM-CLYNE New Haven Independent

The daughter of a jazz legend helped students at Hill Central School close out Black History Month with drumming singing, and an admonition to “keep love and energy in your hearts.”

Cecelia Calloway, the daughter of jazz legend Cab Calloway, made that admonition Wednesday afternoon at a program marking the end of Black History Month.

The program also featured drumming by Michael Mills and an address by Probate Judge Clifton Graves Jr.. At one point, dozens of students played drums with Mills and Calloway.

The keynote speaker, Judge Graves, led the crowd through a version of “Mountain Move Out of My Way,” exhorting students to overcome ignorance, injustice and other social ills. Graves focused on the role of history in preserving dignity and shaping the future.

“I stand on the shoulders of Mansa Musa, of Nefertiti, of Nat Turner,” Graves said, “and Malcolm X and Angela Davis, and Barack.”

Graves discussed Calloway’s achievements and those of other accomplished black men, including Paul Robeson, Arthur Schomburg, and historian and writer Carter G. Woodson. Woodson, the second black man to earn a PhD from Harvard, was instrumental in creating Black History Month, Graves said. Woodson’s career could serve as an inspiration to all, Graves said. Woodson came from a poor

background and didn’t enter high school until age 20, though he educated himself before then.

“Why February?” Graves asked. “It’s the shortest and the coldest month.” Graves said Woodson, who organized “Negro History Week” 44 years before the first celebration of Black History Month, chose February because the month includes the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Graves added that Black History Month is inadequate.

“It should be taught every day,” Graves said. “For too long history has been just that his-story.” Graves said history, including history teaching, was long dominated by the stories of individual white men. Black History Month offers an opportunity to challenge that monopoly and reclaim dignity for other groups of people, he said.

Michael Mills, a drummer and composer, led the musical accompaniment for the event and brought dozens of drums for students to play during the program. Early on, Mills and Calloway led the students through chants of “Drums, not guns” and “Life, not death.”

“It’s not about Black History Month.

It’s about Black History,” said Dee Marshall, one of the teachers who organized the event.

“This is about knowing the past to shape the future,” added Assistant Principal Nicole Brown.

“We want to remember their traditions and their roots,” said Principal Jaime Ramos

The Harp administration’s new social services chief won a ringing endorsement Monday night during a confirmation hearing at City Hall.

The Board of Alders Aldermanic Affairs Committee voted unanimously at the end of the hearing to approve the appointment of Dakibu Muley to the position of community services administrator, a cabinet-level post that oversees all human services departments in city government as well as youth services and elderly services.

The appointment now comes before the full Board of Alders for final approval.

Before the vote, Muley answered questions from alders about his first five days on the job. Although he technically hasn’t been confirmed yet, he is permitted to begin doing the job pending that approval.

Muley told the alders that he has already met with an official of the APT Foundation about dealing with the opioid crisis as well as responding to problems caused in the Hill by customers of the foundation’s methadone clinic.

He has discussed with the one remaining staffer of the city’s prison reentry program, Earl Bloodworth, about how to restart it.

And he has begun looking at how to retool the city’s programs addressing homelessness and food insecurity.

Muley also talked about the experiences he brings to the job. During 23 years as an employee of the state child-protection and social service departments, his duties included overseeing a range of programs from elderly services and Medical to child support and food stamps, he said. He spoke of learning his way around city government recently in a post-dorcoal placement in the

12

PAUL BASS PHOTO

Dakibu Muley testifies Monday night at City Hall. mayor’s office.

“I came from humble beginnings” in a low-income family, Muley told the committee. Muley has a doctorate in business management from the University of Phoenix and masters degrees in social work and in urban studies from Southern Connecticut State University.

Committee Chair Evelyn Rodriguez asked him whether he might find working for the state Department of Children and Families “very different’ from the city’s Community Services Administration. Muley responded that he actually sees many similarities in the work.

Before voting to approve his appointment, Rodriguez and other committee members praised Muley for the approach he’s bringing to the job as well as for the initial steps he has taken in his first week.

Muley, who lives in Hamden, will need to move into New Haven within six months.

The job pays $125,000 a year. He would replace Martha Okafor, who resigned as community services administrator last month amid some internal conflicts at City Hall.

Also at Monday night’s meeting, the committee voted unanimously to approve the appointments of Doreen Abubakar to the Solid Waste Authority, John Abbagnaro to the Port Authority, Sarah Locke to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and Manuel Rivera to the Cultural Affairs Commission; and the reappointments of Linda Townsend to the New Haven Redevelopment Agency board, and William Augustine Jr. and Vincent Fasano to the Solid Waste Authority board. Those appointments now all advance to the full Board of Alders for final approval.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

Stetson Library: The Next Chapter

A MUSICAL CELEBRATION

HELP STETSON LIBRARY MOVE INTO THE NEW Q HOUSE “We don’t just need a place for books—we need a space for people to learn, to be challenged, to come together.

A library is not just a home for books, it’s a home for the community.” - Diane Brown, Stetson Branch Manager

written & directed bY

regina taylor

adapted frOM the bOOk bY

michael cuningham & craig marberry

Thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Seedlings Foundation, you can double the impact of your donation. All gifts between $50 - $10,000 will be matched dollar for dollar!

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE McCARTER THEATRE CENTER

Donate online at nextstetson.org or by check to: NHFPL Foundation - Stetson Library, 133 Elm St, New Haven, CT 06510

aPril 18-may 13

The NHFPL Foundation is a 501(c)(3) exempt organization; gifts are fully deductible under federal tax regulations.

203-787-4282 longWharF.org

A school that honors Black History, and contributes to it.

FACT: Edward A. Bouchet, a graduate from Yale College in 1874 was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in the U.S., in physics. He was valedictorian of Hopkins School, class of 1870. Today, Hopkins continues to attract and develop remarkable students.

ellington jazz series

Harp vs. Harp

During the summer, we offer courses that are open to any student entering grades 3-12 in the fall of 2018. It’s a chance to experience how Hopkins prepares students to study, learn, lead, and take part in sports. Join us.

E D M A R C A S TA N E D A , H A R P & G R É G O I R E M A R E T, H A R M O N I C A

mar 2 friday at 7:30 pm

Tickets from $20, Students from $10 Morse Recital Hall 470 College Street, New Haven Box Office: 203 432-4158 Summer Sessions offered from

music-tickets.yale.edu

June 25 – August 3, 2018 13

Information and registration information at hopkins.edu 203.397.1001 • New Haven, CT

THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler: From Doctor To Hollywood Director

by Christian Carter, BDO Assignment Reporter

He’s Marvel Studios’ youngest filmmaker and with the success of “Black Panther,” his third film, which brought in a record-breaking $235 million during its opening weekend, writer and director Ryan Coogler is well on his way to becoming a fixture in Hollywood.

In 2013, he gained attention and acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival with the release of his debut film “Fruitvale Station.” Now, just five years later, the 31-year-old is being hailed by IndieWire as a next-generation Steven Spielberg.

But this talented filmmakter almost went down another path. The story dates back to his childhood in Oakland, California. At the time, Coogler had no idea that filmmaking would one day be his calling. He explains to Filmmaker Magazine that up until college he had aspirations to play football and become a doctor.

That’s right, a doctor. He wanted to go play football and become a doctor to be an inspiration to others. But God had a different plan.

The school he was going to, Saint Mary’s cancelled its football program after he was there only a year, so the young wide receiver got another scholarship, this time to Sacramento State.

There he changed his major to finance while taking every film class he could because of a conversation he had with his English professor, Rosemary Graham, encouraged him to become a screenwriter.

“She looked at my essays and told me

Ryan Coogler I had a creative eye, that I should go to Hollywood and write screenplays,” he said. “I thought, ‘Where is she getting this?’ Then I thought ‘Why not?’

I went on the Internet, learned how to write a screenplay and fell in love with it.”

By graduation he was “all-in” with filmmaking. Another one of his professors had told him about USC film school. “It was either go there or play wide receiver. I was short, my prospects weren’t the highest, so I jumped off that cliff and drove to L.A.” Getting into USC’s film school was very difficult. Ryan said 45 students are accepted each semester from a list of 400 to 700 applicants, who are judged solely on writing samples.

Living out of a car for his first semester, Coogler made a series of short

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films.

“This story has to be told,” said Ira Coogler, Ryan’s father to the East Bay Times 10 years ago right before Ryan was about to go to grad school. “People in the neighborhood have to see it — the parents, the kids. Just hang in there and believe. There’s delayed gratification.”

“The reason I’m here now, standing proud, are my mom and dad,” explains Ryan. “Take them away and my story could be one you hear all the time.”

Ira, a San Francisco probation officer, introduced his three boys to sports, driving them to events around the Bay Area so they could play in safe conditions, and also coached them.

His mother, Joselyn, was a community organizer in Oakland, introduced Ryan to the movies, thereby planting a seed. They watched movies together all the time.

Ira also brought the strict discipline so needed in the inner city, with its senseless violence and mounting homicide figures. Dad made certain his three sons knew that the word “home” didn’t mean the Richmond streets.

“He was and still is (a disciplinarian),” Ryan said. “It was difficult to accept at first, but I did. I thought I… … knew everything. As I got older, I started realizing what was going on more, and I saw what my father was talking about come to light, and it was the right thing.”

The father knew from years of experience.

“I’ve been in corrections 25 years and I still believe it’s (about) choices,” Ira said. “At some point, there’s ‘the call of the wild.’ I had friends who were notorious drug dealers in the area. But my father always told me I had two choices: The right way and the wrong way.”

14

Con’t from page 11

Beat The Burbs “When she first came in, she was just learning her numbers. Now she’s adding and subtracting and understands numbers in sentences,” he said.

That math culture announces itself in the main hall as you enter the building. There’s a school-wide Problem of the Week. Each kid who figures it out deposits his or her answer in a folder.

The winner and there are many of them per grade gets a sticker or pencil.

All too often when kids do math, said Principal Laura Main, what’s taught is “all scales, no music.”

“That is a rote way. We don’t do that.

Math is always integrated into the real world,” she said.

For example, in teaching addition, the teacher might say, “What if there were three people in a room and two more came in?”

“The kids might either act it out or draw a picture,” Main said. “That’s the music.”

When they’ve experienced it, “then we show them the plus sign,” she added.

Anthony Huepa and Syncere StreaterScott learning how scientists muck around too.

As the kids progress in grades, they learn more efficient ways to solve problems. Problems are always being broken down and experienced as much as possible through pictorial or other experiential means. Adding 13 and 24, a kid will learn to add the 10s of 24 and then the 4, and he or she may do that with what teachers call “manipulables.”

The teacher/student ratio helps make that kind of instruction possible: two teachers for 24 kids or one to 12 (if my math is right).

A teacher and an academic assistant are in each classroom. Kids are always learning in small groups appropriate to their needs; the levels in a single first grade can vary greatly. When individual attention is required, the kid sits down with teacher or assistant for a “conference.”

“Balanced Literacy” This was evident in Marisa Palermo’s second-grade class. Quiet music played in the background as an assistant teacher, Mark Morrison, had a conference with a boy who seemed to be lit up with an instant of comprehension.

In the opposite corner of the room, Jayla Pollard and three friends were sitting with Palermo sussing out the problem in a story they had just read.

The first question posed to the kids was whether the text in front of them was narrative, informational, or persuasive.

Main said the school has assembled an array of known “best practices,” that is curricula and behavior procedures that work.

In reading, the approach is “balanced literacy.” That means at any given time in the same classroom, some kids may be working with Palermo and Morrison on phonics, others on vocabulary, others on comprehension. At all times, the kids are “annotating” — writing down under “P,” as Jayla was doing on a piece of paper next to her book, her thoughts on the problem the story presented.

In this case the heroine of our story seems to have been forced by her mom to attend a party. Under the letter “c” in her notes, Jayla jotted down traits of the individuals’ characters.

There’s also “s” for solution; Jayla hadn’t gotten that far yet. The notes then become the basis for the writing what the teachers call a culminating “synthesis” based on the story.

As to best behavioral practices, the school is noticeably quiet. In Palermo’s classroom, low, serene mood music was was playing. The kids wear uniforms of purple tops and khaki pants or skirts. Behaviors appropriate to walking in the hallways and sitting in classrooms (“criss-cross apple sauce”) are also enforced, but gently, with earnest suggestion.

It all creates what Main calls a safe atmosphere where kids feel comfortable taking chances, where they can “muck around” as scientists and mathematicians do in the real world.

BTWA hopes to add a fifth grade next year. That would be capacity for its current building. School Executive Director John Taylor was optimistic about finding a larger space so the school can ultimately expand to eighth grade.

As a state-sponsored charter school, BTWA has a line item in the state budget. It receives $11,000 per kid, whereas $15,000 is what is budgeted for each kid in the public school system. That means Taylor every year must raise the difference.

He’s been able to do that. The fact that his kids are performing, with scores that landed BTWA the “school of distinction” honor, makes that always-challening job a little easier.

New Haven Ind

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

At HSC, #BlackHistoryIsAmerican History

The 28 pairs of eyes don’t have a starting point. Katherine Dunham leans back, the carriage of her arms nearly a perfect U above her head. Paul Robeson is looking at something off to his left that we can’t see, suspended outside the borders of the picture. Leyonte Price is regal, eyes turned upward, afro encircling her face. Her earrings glint even in black and white. Gordon Parks is too busy to look at us. He’s got his camera rolling in one hand, and has his eyes locked on whatever it is capturing.

They’re part of a new, large display at High School in the Community (HSC) celebrating 28 Black Americans—14 men and 14 women—in the arts, humanities, sciences, and sports. Organized by 17-yearold Ny’Asia Davis, a senior who serves as president as student council, the display hangs in the cafeteria, where it will stay after February has ended.

The display wasn’t originally part of HSC’s administrative plan or its annual curriculum. But when Davis watched Black History Month activities fall apart at the beginning of February, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In January, the student council had voted to have morning shout-outs to Black Americans—two a day, from a rotating cast of students who were interested in presenting.

They’d also voted to hold a ‘town meeting’ for the second year in a row, discussing past and present Black history in a large

group. But Davis was skeptical.

“From our spirit week, I noticed that there’s a lot of miscommunication,” she recalled Tuesday afternoon, sun streaming through HSC’s back windows. “I lot of people say ‘Oh, I’m gonna do this,’ but then it doesn’t get done, or it gets left to the last minute.”

That’s ultimately what happened, Davis said. A classmate dropped her duties at the last minute. It wasn’t clear how many might follow. And Davis decided that “Yeah, I’m not gonna do this.”

She went to Christian Shaboo, HSC’s ‘Dream Director’ through The Future Project. Inspired by her history teacher Jack Stacey, she already could see the project set in her head: a February calendar of 28 historical figures who she saw as left out of Black History Month discussions, like writers Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston, Derek Walcott and Lucille Clifton, Political Scientist Ralph Bunche, playwright Richard Wright, civil rights activist Dick Gregory.

To narrow down her list, she spent hours with Stacey’s deck of “history cards.”

“I sat there for a whole period just sorting out the people that I wanted,” she recalled.

“I didn’t want too many of the same thing— like I didn’t want too many musicians, because there’s a lot of musicians. And I didn’t want too many writers. So I tried to find a balance between different jobs. And I also did 14 men and 14 women.”

As the list grew, so did her ideas about

Ny’Asia Davis: Vote for me in 2044. mounting it. After printing out all of the images with Shaboo, she and her friend Kiana Nhem spent a weekend arranging, rearranging, and stapling the display into place in the school cafeteria. Although Davis wanted it to be a surprise for the student body, she recalled telling a few friends beforehand, too excited to keep it completely secret. Shaboo printed out a banner for the top that read “Black History.”

It took Davis and Nhem hours to get the photos and biographical labels exactly where they wanted them. As a finishing touch, Davis placed a blocky black line

15

through the word “Black.” Sharing a photo of the display to social media, she and HSC Curriculum Leader Cari Strand both added a hashtag to clarify its presence: #BlackHistoryIsAmericanHistory.

“I wanted to get across that Black history, yeah, is comprised of African-Americans in the past and stuff, but it’s also history,” Davis said. “Why is it separated as something different? It’s all American history.”

It’s a fuller version of American history as she hopes it will one day be taught, Davis added. Not included are historical figures who she has seen get a lot of airtime—Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcom X. She said she had to fight fellow student council members on that choice (“It wasn’t a debate, but it kind of got heated!”) but that it only strengthened her resolve to highlight figures that her classmates may not yet know.

“I’m like: No!” she recalled. “We know who those people are. We know what they did. We don’t know about other people who played parts like them or did other things.”

Now, she said she hopes to see the display stay up through June, when she graduates and heads to college. As of Tuesday, she had just been accepted to eight schools including Clark Atlanta University—her first choice—and was already thinking about how her background leading the student body might catapult her into a Political Science major.

“You can vote for me in 2044,” she said smiling, before noting that she feels conflicted about mounting the display during Black History Month, but ultimately decided it was the best thing to do for the student body.

“Black History month is every month,” she said, invoking the words of her friend Jeremy Cajigas, founder of the community group Fighters for Justice. “But something we really wanted to emphasize was … we can’t just say that it’s every single month.

Because February is the month that people celebrate it. So we don’t want to take away from that.”

“If we say we’re not gonna celebrate in February, everybody else is going to forget about it, and we’re never gonna talk about it,” she added. “Because it doesn’t get talked about throughout the year.”

Downstairs, three fellow students sang in a chorus of agreement as they passed through the cafeteria. Davis perched on the edge of a table staring at her favorite figure, Sammy Davis, Jr. Above a big, crinkly bow tie, he looked back at her, beaming.

“It’s definitely different,” said senior Mike Pauta. “We know Martin Luther King, but we don’t know, like, these other people.”

“Yeah,” said fellow student Tyron Houston.

“Black History Month is the only time you are told things like this exist.”

The Envelope Please: Your Guide to the Oscars THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

-

March 06, 2018

by Kam Williams

Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbed If you’re planning on entering an Oscar pool at the office or online, you might want to check out my pix first. After all, given my immersion in movies, movie biz and movie buzz, this is the one time each year when my otherwise useless font of film trivia knowledge can actually prove profitable to readers.

Fair warning, my past performance, including a perfect score in 2014, is no guarantee of future results. That disclaimer out of the way, look for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to win thrice Sunday night, for Best Picture, Lead Actress and Supporting Actor.

But Shape of Water’s Guillermo del Toro is still the favorite for Best Director, since he won’t have to compete with Three Billboards’ Martin McDonagh who wasn’t even nominated in

the category. Despite landing 13 nominations, Shape is likely to take home only a couple of additional trophies.

And don’t waste a vote on perennial nominee Meryl Streep. Frances McDormand’s a shoo-in.

As far as snubs, this year it was less a case of actors being overlooked by Oscar than their being torpedoed by the #MeToo movement. For instance, after winning a Golden Globe for The Disaster Artist, James Franco wasn’t even

nominated for an Oscar when several devastating sexual abuse allegations were leveled at him.

Similarly, Baby Driver, this critic’s favorite film of the year, was only nominated in three technical categories after Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual harassment. Spacey’s fall from grace ostensibly affected not only his own prospects this awards season, but also those of his co-stars Ansel Elgort and Jamie Foxx, as well as the picture’s writer/director Edgar Wright.

For decades, producer Harvey Weinstein has been a fixture on the aisle at the Academy Awards.where his pictures have been nominated a total of 341 times, netting 81 Oscars. How many times have we seen the camera cut to him as a grateful winner paid homage during a gushing acceptance speech?

Well, Harvey won’t be there this Sunday. In fact, the Academy’s Board of Governors revoked his membership in the wake of rape allegations, and the Weinstein Company has zero nomina-

tions this year, with the riveting thriller Wind River being the most obvious casualty of its producer’s series of sexual assaults.

The 90th Academy Awards, set to air on March 4th on ABC, and the show will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Best Picture Will Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Deserves to Win: Lady Bird Overlooked: Baby Driver, Wind River Best Director Will Win: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) Deserves to Win: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) Overlooked: Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Best Actor Will Win: Gary Oldman (Darkest

Oran “Juice” Jones: ‘In The Rain’ 30 Years Later

by T. Carter Williamson, BDO Contributor

During the 1980s music was all over the place. Hip-hop was just making a name for itself and R&B music had a bunch of different flavors from slow jams to synthesized tunes. But one artist made a name for himself doing something different: Oran “Juice” Jones and his smash 1986 hit, “The Rain.”

The Houston native graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981 and was the second African-American Brigade Commander in Naval Academy history. He served as a sniper officer (yes a sniper!) in the United States Marine Corps until 1986, when the music industry came calling.

OJ was the first artist signed to OBR Records, a subsidiary of the renowned Def Jam label. This also made him the very first R&B artist on the hip-hop record label. While that doesn’t seem like a big deal today, back then, rap and R&B were two totally separate entities. In fact, it was practically an insult to associate a rap artist with anything remotely resembling R&B. The soothing sounds of R&B clashed with hip hop’s rebellious edge.

Jones’s signing with Def Jam’s OBR subsidiary signaled a partnership between the two genres that continued as of early December 2016.

“Curiosity” and “You Can’t Hide From Love” didn’t do as well on the charts but “The Rain” made up for all of that. It was

one of those rare anthems that the divas and the d-boys both could relate to. Plus, the video has some of the best one liners ever: “Close your mouth cuz you COLD BUSTED.” “What were you tryin’ to prove, huh?

You’s with the Juice!”

“My first impulse was to run up on you and do a Rambo, whip out the jammy and flat-blast both of you but I ain’t wanna mess up this thirty-seven hundred dollar lynx coat.”

The inspiration behind “The Rain” actually came from real experiences.

“At the time, I saw a lot of my friends were going through some things,” explains Jones. “You know, there’s the female companions. You know, they would always want to get violent and get gorilla with it and I wanted to keep it pimpin.’

There’s no reason….it didn’t start that way, so it shouldn’t end up that way. You know what I’m saying? We just break bread. You go your way. I go my way.

And it’s all love. You know what I’m saying? You know, give me back what I bought you. *Laughter* You know, and keep it moving. You know, but it’s all good. At the time, it was a little flip. I wanted to do something that was a little different from the norm. You know what I’m saying? Because I’m not a violent

cat.”

Don’t think that for a second that the whole “pimping” image of Oran “Juice” Jones is just an image. It’s truly in his blood.

“I was born in Texas, but, you know, Daddy couldn’t get that pimpin’ out of his system.,” continues Jones. “So, Mom said, you know, ‘We need to break North.’ And I got up there and little did she know, I was gong to get more poisons up there, but that’s another story, you know. But, it’s been a wild ride. You know, I wrote a song for Kurtis Blow years ago called, ‘Daydreaming.’”

“Kurtis and I go way back and he was rapping, you know, doing his thing. You know, ‘cause he wanted to sing and I said, ‘Well, let me put something together for you.’ So, I put, ‘Daydreaming’ together and it did quite well for him.

16

But, when them checks came back, you know, I ain’t get my end. My end wasn’t straight. You know what I’m saying? My money was funny. You know what I’m saying? So, I’m like I might as well do this myself. So Russell was like, “My man, if you’re that upset about it, why don’t you just make your own record?”

So I said, “Okay. That’s cool. We could do that too.” You know, so then… …I went in and I got with my cat, Benny Bell and we did a couple of albums and one of the songs was, “The Rain,” that took off real big and it did well. And then I did Europe and stayed over there for a couple years, you know. And I came back and you know, it’s kind of cool. It went up and down. So one day chicken,’ one day pheasant. But, you know, that’s pimpin’.”

“LL [Cool J] was the first to Def Jam

and I was the first R&B artist. So, it was a cool mixture, man. It was a very good marriage. We made a lot of money. Back then, it was a lot different than it is now, man. It was more of a machine type thing, you know. It was kinda…it wasn’t really cliquish. It wasn’t really anything to build upon. That’s why Russell will also be a great individual as far as Hip Hop is concerned, because he saw the impossible. He saw the invisible and did the impossible. You know what I’m saying? So Hip Hop was in its infant stages.

It was kind of cool. It was a wild ride, man. Everybody was going for theirs so Keith Wood, Kane, Nice and Smooth, and Dougie Fresh. Everybody was trying to get on and cats were doing their thing.

I’m still glad to see cats still doing their thing still today.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

6 Well-Known Companies That You Probably Didn't Know Have Black CEOs

NEW HAVEN’S GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY RADIO STATION! www.newhavenindependent.org

(left to right) Kenneth C. Frazier, CEO of Merck; Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP; Marc Allen, President of Boeing International; and Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Cruises

50 years ago, it was unthinkable for an African American to be the CEO of a major Fortune 500 company. But nowadays, thanks to several diversity initiatives, there are quite a few Black CEOs that run major, well-known companies. Here are just just a few: #1 - Marvin Ellison, CEO of J. C. Penney: Formerly an executive at Home Depot, Ellison is the CEO of J. C. Penney, and has been since August 2015. He joined the company in November 2014 and served as CEO-designee and president before taking over the role of CEO. #2 - Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Cruises: Having received an MBA from the University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business in 1980, Donald became CEO of the one of the world’s most popular cruise lines in July 2013. #3 - Marc Allen, President of Boeing International: As president of Boeing International since 2015, Allen, is responsible for the company’s in-

ternational strategy and corporate operations outside the U.S., overseeing 18 regional offices in key global markets. #4 - Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP: Jenkins is the current CEO of the 37-million membershipbased and interest group. She was appointed in September 2014, and is the first permanent female chief executive in the organization’s history. #5 - Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente: As current CEO of integrated managed care consortium Kaiser Permanente, Tyson was previously president and chief operating officer of the company for two years. #6 - Kenneth C. Frazier, CEO of Merck: After joining Merck & Co. as general counsel, Frazier directed the company’s defense against litigation over the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx. He is now the second African-American to lead a major pharmaceutical company.

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Visit our campus and explore the possibilities of graduate education at Southern.

• Speak with faculty and admissions representatives • Explore financial aid opportunities • Take an optional tour of our campus

To register, visit SouthernCT.edu/ gradadmissions/openhouse

Mondays 10 a.m.

MERCY QUAYE

Mondays 11 a.m.

Mondays 1 p.m.

“THE SHOW”

“DJ REL”

MICHELLE TURNER

“WERK IT OUT”

ELVERT EDEN Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

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Fridays 11 a.m.

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17

2/14/18 11:20 AM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

-

March 06, 2018

Rhythm Lager Is Gonna Get You

The product label, outfitted in bold black, white and red colors, bears a logo with a treble-clef symbol that blends into the letter R over a musical staff.

Splendorio, a self-described “restaurant owner and beer geek,” said that Bowens-Mercado used to hold dance classes at Zafra. “She helped me promote my business in the beginning and I think it’s only fitting that I returned the favor in some small way.” Splendorio said Zafra will be the first restaurant in the Elm City to sell Rhythm Lager on tap and expects “the beer that flows” to be available within the next two weeks.

Among invited guests at the Rhythm canning event was beer brewer Chuck DelVecchio, who owns and recently revived the more than century-old New Haven beer called Hull’s Export Lager, which had stopped operations in 1977.

DelVecchio was on hand to wish Bowens-Mercado well, and could be seen on the production line in concert with a team of brewers working to build the rising pallet of Rhythm Lager cases.

DelVecchio said he does not see Rhythm Lager as a competitor. Brewers are “very supportive of each other in the Connecticut beer community,” he said.

“I’m so excited to see Rhythm hit the shelves.”

DelVecchio also noted the importance of drinking locally produced beers.

“Drinking local is important for jobs and for Connecticut’s economy,” he said. “The Connecticut beer community is getting Connecticut on the map in terms of bringing people into the state.”

Steve Fontana, New Haven’s deputy economic development administrator, also brushed off the welcome mat in anticipation of the new Rhythm Brewery business.

“Given her eclectic background and deep ties to the community, we’re very pleased that Alisa is establishing her distinctive craft microbrewery in New Haven,” he said. “Under Mayor Harp’s leadership, our city has become just the place for businesses like Rhythm Brewing to take root, create jobs, and market an innovative product. We’re looking forward to working with her to find Rhythm its commercial home in New Haven.”

Beaming with a father’s pride and sporting a bright white T-shirt with the Rhythm Brewing Company logo during the first-run canning event was William Bowens. He held his can of Rhythm beer high, but unlike other event attendees, did not pop the lid.

“I’m not a beer drinker,” he said with a broad smile. “But I think I will become one.”

by DAVID SEPULVEDA New Haven Independent

For Alisa Bowens-Mercado, New Haven’s queen of salsa dance instruction, the week kicked off with the celebration of two births: her own birthday, celebrated on Sunday, and the birth, Monday, of her new flagship craft beer, Rhythm Lager.

As condensation-beaded cans of the unfiltered lager rolled off a conveyor belt and through the narrow channel of an automated labeling machine, singer Gloria Estefan’s “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” blared at Monday’s celebration throughout Overshores Brewing Company, owned by Christian Amport.

The first hundred cases of Rhythm Lager (slogan: “the beer that flows”) will be distributed around the state with local businesses getting first dibs, noted Bowen-Mercado. Kraszewki said he collaborated with Bowens-Mercado “to bring the brand to life.” Their marketing strategy is designed to appeal to the macrobrew market and “to create a beer with more flavor, defined as a craft beer.”

Bowens-Mercado and husband John Mercado had been studiously tasting beers and taking stock of the market for the last three years. She said she wanted a more “old-school style beer, but not too heavy or hoppy so people can drink several beers without feeling bloated.” Much of the craft beer market, from Bowens-Mercado’s perspective, is devoted to IPAs (India pale ale). She wanted to create something different, settling on a lager style beer, which typically has a longer (bottom) fermentation period and results in a clean crispness. Rhythm Lager’s recipe, which Bowens-Mercado said is her own, includes hops imported from South Africa, which adds to the unique taste and is in keeping with the spirit of the brand. It has an ABV (alcohol by volume) content of 5.5 percent.

Part of Bowens-Mercado’s love for beer was instilled by her two grandmothers, who were both fans of the beverage. “We would often talk about life over beer, usually Miller Light ponies. I have to make my grandmothers proud by staying true to what I like.

This beer is going to remind me of the time I spent with them,” she said.

Bowens-Mercado credits Zafra owner owner Dominick Splendorio with coming up with the inspiration and name for the new lager. He encouraged her to connect the brand with who she is; the music, the dance, the rhythm. In a eureka moment, the brainstorming group of friends were soon shouting: “Rhythm Brewing — that’s it!”

Some of Bowens-Mercado’s family, friends and supporters.

Beer enthusiasts Bowens-Mercado and husband John.

Hull’s Lager owner swaps six-packs with Rhythm Lager owner.

18

Con’t from page 11

The Envelope Please: Your Guide to the Oscars

Hour) Deserves to Win: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) Overlooked: James Franco (The Disaster Artist), Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) Best Actress Will Win: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Deserves to Win: Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) Overlooked: Sally Hawkins (Maudie), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) Best Supporting Actor Will Win: Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) Deserves to Win: Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) Overlooked: Armie Hammer (Call Me

by Your Name), Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me by Your Name) Best Supporting Actress Will Win: Allison Janney (I, Tonya) Deserves to Win: Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) Overlooked: Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip), Elizabeth Olsen (Wind River) Best Original Screenplay Will Win: Jordan Peele (Get Out) Deserves to Win: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) Overlooked: Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), Taylor Sheridan (Wind River) Best Adapted Screenplay Will Win: James Ivory (Call Me by Your Name) Deserves to Win: Dee Rees (Mudbound) Overlooked: Allan Heinberg and Zack Snyder (Wonder Woman) Predictions for the Balance of the Categories Animated Feature: Coco Foreign Language Film: A Fantastic Woman Documentary Feature: Faces Places Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049 Costume Design: Phantom Thread Production Design: The Shape of Water Film Editing: Dunkirk Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour Original Score: The Shape of Water Best Song: “Remember Me” (Coco) Sound Editing: Dunkirk Sound Mixing: Dunkirk Visual Effects: War for the Planet of the Apes Animated Short: Dear Basketball Documentary Short: Edith + Eddie

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

LET’S MAKE CONNECTICUT THE BEST IT CAN BE, TOGETHER. T:5.1”

AARP in Connecticut is in your community helping you live, work, and play. Our volunteers can talk to you about fraud prevention, caregiving, making your community more livable and more.

Call us at 860-548-3163 or visit aarp.org/CT for more information.

Open Houses Will Be Held February 15th & 28th, 3pm - 5pm For more information, contact Karen Martin at 203-234-7611 / kmartin@aces.org 31 Temple Street, North Haven, CT 06473 www.aces.org/village

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“Nurturing the Spirit,

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SPACE/SIZE: B: 5.972” x 5.6” T: 5.472” x 5.1” S: 4.972” x 4.6” LEGAL RELEASE STATUS

AD APPROVAL

Now accepting applications for Pre-Kindergarten-Grade 8

DATE:

Release has been obtained

Legal Coord:

Acct Mgmt:

Print Prod:

Now We offer a faith-based education that prepares children for their future.

Proofreader: Students learn through creativity and ownership while building character Studio: and Lasting relationships with peers and staff alike.

Art Director: Copywriter:

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Come be apart of our COMMUNITY.

Before & aftercare available Extracurricular activities include Band, Choir, Concerts and Athletics

Contact us to learn about the many ways you can strengthen our community and create a personal legacy that benefits the nonprofit(s) that matter most to you.

203-387-5693 www.staedan-brendanschool.org Title I Services Mr. Michael Votto, Principal Rev. Thomas Shepard, Pastor

www.cfgnh.org | 203-777-7068

Tuition Payment Plans Available • Credit Cards Accepted

Accredited by NEASC· State of CT

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) will be opening its Low Income Public Housing Waiting List for 2 bedroom units beginning Monday, March 5 through Friday, March 16, 2018. To qualify, a family size MUST be a minimum of two (2) AND the families annual gross income may not exceed the income limits shown below for the household size. Pre-Applications may be picked up at Gary Crooks Community Center, 301 Bostwick Ave. PreApplications can also be downloaded from our website www.parkcitycommunities. org. Only one pre-application per family will be accepted; duplicate pre-applications will be disqualified.

Applications must be returned to Gary Crooks ONLY. This housing authority does have a preference point system: disabled, homeless, elderly, working, displaced, domestic violence, veterans, elderly congregate and witness protection. A waiting list with preferences means that applicants who qualify for the preference will receive assistance before applicants who do not.

February 28, 2018

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March 06, 2018

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES LEGAL NOTICE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN REQUEST FOR BIDS

PRESCOTT BUSH MALL NEWHALL GARDEN APARTMENT KATHERINE HARVEY TERRACE C.B. MOTLEY The Elm City Communities invites interested and qualified parties to submit a bid for the above mentioned projects. Tri-Con/O&G is soliciting proposals for contractors on behalf of the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven.

Bid documents will be available on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at Merritt Graphics’ PlanWell site located at www.merrittplanroom.com. You can also contact Merritt Graphics at 800-344-4477. Fees to purchase sets are non-refundable. You can also view plans at Tri-Con’s office at 400 Goodrich Street, Hamden, CT. A pre-bid meeting [attendance is not mandatory] will be held on Monday, March 5, 2018 at the following locations in New Haven in their Community Rooms: Newhall Gardens – 5a/45b Daisy Street – 9:00 A.M. C.B. Motley – 819 Sherman Parkway -10:15 A.M Prescott Bush Mall – 220/230 County Street -11:30 A.M. Katherine Harvey Terrace – 81-97 Liberty Street -12:45 P.M.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for this process, a designated help line will be available to receive your requests at (203) 337-8804 PCC does not discriminate based upon race, color, disabilities, religion, sex or national origin.

ELECTRICIAN/APPRENTICE – Telecommunications company looking for low voltage cable installer familiar with all aspects of indoor & outdoor cable installation, aerial bucket work, pole work, messenger, lashing, manhole & underground installation. Company is also looking for apprentices to train. Good salary with benefits. Fax resume to 860-282-0424 or mail to Fibre Optic Plus, LLC 585 Nutmeg Road North, South Windsor, CT 06074 Attn: Don Ballsieper

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Class A CDL Driver with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed.

(Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off ) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies,

Request for Specialty Crop Block Grant Concept Proposals The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is seeking concept proposal for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined by the USDA as fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, maple syrup, honey, horticulture, and nursery crops.

The deadline is Monday, March 12, 2018 at 2:00pm.

Any questions, please contact Holly Teixeira at 203-777-6720 or hteixeira@tri-con.org

BRANFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY

c/o Merit Properties, Inc. 1224 Mill Street Building A, Suite 102 East Berlin, CT 06023

WAITLIST OPEN Lista de Espera (Apertura)

More info and complete application guidelines are available at www.CTGrown.gov/grants, or by contacting Jaime Smith at 860-713-2559 or jaime.smith@ct.gov.

El Branford Housing Authority anuncia que ahora están aceptando solicitudes para el Estado/ Ancianos Discapacitados Parkside complejo Village I y II. Para calificar usted debe tener al menos 62 años o 18 años y los discapacitados. Los límites de ingresos publicado por HUD no puede superar los $47,600 dólares (una persona) y $54,400 dólares (dos personas). Hogar también deben cumplir el requisito de ingresos mínimos de $17,760 para pagar el alquiler básico mínimo para la unidad. Las partes interesadas podrán recoger una solicitud en Parkside Village, 115 South Montowese Street, Branford, o usted puede llamar al 203-481-3194 para pedir una solicitud para ser enviado a usted.

Concept proposals are due to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture by 4:00 p.m. on March 2, 2018.

BRANFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY

Projects must impact and produce measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry and/ or the public. Projects cannot begin until after January 1, 2019, and must be completed by September 29, 2021. The maximum award is $75,000.

LLC is An EOE.

Maintainer I

Entry-level position involving a variety of maintenance, repair and construction work. Must have a valid State of CT driver’s license and a clean driving record, a CDL is desirable. Requires 3 years experience in construction, grounds or building maintenance or in work involving the operation and care of mechanical equipment. Pay rate: $21.17 to $25.65 hourly, plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. The closing date will be that date the 75th application form/resume is received, or March 7, 2018 whichever occurs first. EOE

c/o Merit Properties, Inc. 1224 Mill Street Building A, Suite 102 East Berlin, CT 06023

WAITLIST OPEN

The Branford Housing Authority hereby announces that they are now accepting applications for the State Elderly/Disabled Complex Parkside Village I & II. To qualify you must be at least 62 years old or 18 and disabled.

Income limits as published by HUD cannot exceed $47,600 (one person) and $54,400 (two people). Households must also meet the required minimum income of $17,760 to afford the minimum Base Rent for the unit. Interested parties may pick up an application at Parkside Village, 115 South Montowese Street, Branford, or you may call 203-481-3194 to request an application be mailed to you.

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Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer BA/BS in Civil Engineering Construction Management. excellent hourly rateor& excellent benefits 2-5 yrs. experience.

OSHA Certifi ed.

Contact: Dana Briere Phone: Proficient 860-243-2300 in reading contract plans and specifications.

Email: Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Bloomfield, CT 06002; Fax 860.218.2433; Women & Minority Applicants are Email resumes to info@redtechllc.com. RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE. encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity EmployerRemediation Division Project Manager Environmental

Field Engineer

3-5 years exp. and Bachelor’s Degree, 40-Hr. Hazwoper Training Req. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002;

Fax 860.218.2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com

RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record.

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860243-2300 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc Employer

seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training Asphalt on equipment we operate.

Garrity Reclaiming Inc Location: Bloomfield CT seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic Contact: experienced James Burke Phone: 860-and preferably in Reclaiming 243-2300 Road Milling Equipment.

We offer factory email: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com training on equipment we operate.

Women & Minority Applicants are Location: Bloomfield CT Contact:encouraged James Burke Phone: 860to apply 243-2300 Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity email: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com Employer We offer excellent hourly rate & Women excellent & Minority Applicants are benefits encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer heavy equipment; be willing to travel Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer Equipment. Must have a CDL License, excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits clean driving record, capable of operating Contact: Dana Briere Phone: heavy equipment; be willing to travel 860-243-2300 Email: throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Women & Minority Applicants are Contact: Dana Briere Phone: encouraged to apply 860-243-2300 Email: Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Employer Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Request for Proposal (RFP) Real Estate Counsel Solicitation Number: 101-EO-18-S The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) seeks proposals from attorneys/law firms to serve as Real Estate Counsel for the Housing Authority in all aspects of acquisition, development, financing and operation of multifamily housing, including senior housing and affordable housing. Respondent(s) must have graduated from an accredited law school and be a member of the Connecticut Bar. A complete set of RFP documents will be available on February 20, 2018. To obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to bids@ parkcitycommunities.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held at PCC’s Administrative Offices at 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604 on March 8, 2018 at 10 a.m. All interested parties are strongly encouraged to attend the conference. Although not mandatory, all applicants are encouraged to attend to better understand the PCC’s requirements under this RFP. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities.org no later than March 15, 2018 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www.parkcitycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed or hand delivered by March 23, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Director of Procurement, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604. Late proposals will not be accepted.

KMK Insulation Inc. 1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473

Mechanical Insulator position.

Insulation company offering good pay and benefits.

Please mail resume to above address.. MAIL ONLY This company is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer.

The GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY is currently

accepting applications for COUPLES ONLY for its one bedroom apartments at Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford, CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or federal disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, ext. 107. An information packet will also be provided with the application. Applications will be accepted until end of business day on July 31, 2018. Credit, police, and landlord checks are procured by the authority. Smoke free housing.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING

NEW HAVEN EARLY CHILHDOOD COUNCIL REQUEST FOR QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PROPOSALS The New Haven Early Childhood Council is seeking to fund quality enhancement (QE) projects for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 for the following services: • on-site education consultation to prek programs • mental health resources for children and families in prek programs; • professional development trainings related to CT Early Learning Standards, trauma informed care and topics required

by School Readiness and NAEYC. An info session will be held Monday, May 12th from 2-3pm at 54 Meadow Street, conference room 3B. To receive the RFP and for established rates for each service type, contact the School Readiness office Denised@nhps.net 203-946-7875.

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION Large CT Fence Company looking for an individual for our PVC Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & 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 position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Some pickup & delivery of materials may also be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE

The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting proposals for the painting of interior vacant units.

Proposal documents can be viewed and printed at www. norwalkha.org<http://www.norwalkha.org> under the Business section RFP’s/RFQ’s Norwalk Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Curtis O. Law, Executive Director.

Contract Administrator Galasso Materials is seeking a motivated, organized individual to be its next Contract Administrator. This position provides administration associated with our paving division. Responsibilities include billing, payroll, collection, lien tracking, coordinating with outside legal counsel, and job cost. Experience is preferred but willing to train the right candidate. Salary commensurate with experience and educational achievement. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026.

EOE/M/F/D/V.

NOTICIA PUBLICA The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) abrirá la lista de espera de Viviendas de Bajos Ingresos de 2 dormitorios el día 5 de Marzo 2018 hasta 16 de Marzo 2018. Para calificar, una familia debe tener un mínimo de tres (3) miembros y los ingresos bruto anual de la familia no pueden exceder los límites de ingresos que se muestran a continuación para el tamaño del hogar. Pre- solicitudes se pueden recoger en la oficina de Gary Crooks Community Center situado en 301 Bostwick Avenue, Bridgeport, CT. Aplicaciones pueden ser descargadas desde nuestro sitio de web www.parkcitycommunities.org. Sólo se aceptará una pre-solicitud por familia; duplicados de pre-solicitudes serán descalificadas.

Aplicaciones deben ser entregadas a Gary Crooks Community Center solamente!

La Autoridad de Viviendas tiene un sistema de preferencias: personas sin hogar, discapacitados, mayor de edad, empleados, víctimas de violencia domestica, veteranos, ancianos congregados y protección de testigos. Una lista de espera con preferencias quiere decir que personas que cualifican con su preferencia recibirán asistencia antes de personas sin preferencias.

CARPENTER Large CT Fence Company looking for a carpenter for our Wood Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. This is an in-shop production position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Some pickup & delivery of materials may also be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE

Town of Portland, CT (EOE) Suburban municipality of 9,400 residents; supervises 25 employees; 1.8 million budget; 75 miles of roads. Requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering or business/public administration plus seven years of progressively responsible administration experience, including three years of supervisory capacity.

Must possess valid CT driver’s license. Salary range DOQ; non-union with fringe benefits. Subject to pre-employment drug/alcohol testing. Deadline: 3/2/2018. Submit resume with Town application & 3 letters of reference to: Office of the First Selectwoman, P.O. Box 71, Portland, CT 06480-0071

Dispatcher Galasso Materials is seeking a motivated, organized, detail-oriented candidate to join its truck dispatch office. Responsibilities include order entry and truck ticketing in a fast paced materials manufacturing and contracting company. You will have daily interaction with employees and customers as numerous truckloads of material cross our scales daily. We are willing to train the right individual that has a great attitude. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026.

EOE/M/F/D/V.

Hot Mix Asphalt Plant Technician & Paving Inspector

There are multiple openings in Galasso Materials Quality Control Department.

NETTCP certification is preferred, with at least one year of experience. Full time positions available. Your schedule must be flexible as sometimes night shifts are required. Must be able to lift and carry 50lb buckets. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026.

EOE/M/F/D/V.

Equipment Operators and Laborers Galasso Materials is seeking applicants for the 2018 paving season. Experience in paving operations is required. Must possess current OSHA 10 card, have a valid driver’s license, and own transportation. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026. EOE/M/F/D/V.

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Si necesita un ajuste razonable para este proceso, una línea de ayuda designada estará disponible

para recibir sus peticiones al (203) 337-8804

PCC no discrimina basado en la raza, color, discapacidad, religión, sexo u origen nacional.

Construction Truck and Equipment Head Mechanic Large CT based Fence and Guard Rail contractor looking for experienced, self-motivated, responsible Head Mechanic. Responsibilities will include maintaining and repairing all company equipment and vehicles, updating asset lists and assuring all rolling stock is in compliance with state and federal regulations. Must have extensive diesel engine, electrical wiring and hydraulic systems experience. Top wages paid, company truck and benefits.

AA/EOE Please send resume to Mpicard@atlasoutdoor.com

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have Own Vehicle If Interested call (203) 435-1387 TRANSFER STATION LABORER Off load trailers, reload for trans/disp. Lift 50 lbs., operate industrial powered trucks and forklift. Asbestos Worker Handler Training a +. Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 173 Pickering St., Portland, CT 06480; Fax 860-342-1022; or Email to lkelly@redtransfer.com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS

February 28, 2018

-

March 06, 2018

Diplomacy toward North Korea is an opening, not a surrender

By Jesse Jackson

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The picture of Vice President Mike Pence standing stiffly next to the trusted younger sister of North Korean dictator Kim JongUn at the Olympics in South Korea spoke a thousand words.

After weeks of escalating tensions, the North Korean dictator decided to use the Olympics to reach out to South Korea and to the world. He sent North Korean athletes to the games. The two Korean teams marched into the Olympic arena under a unified flag. They fielded a joint women’s ice hockey team for the first time. Kim’s sister not only attended the ceremonies, but also issued an invitation to the South Korean president to make an official visit to the North after the games.

Vice President Pence came to the games to enforce the administration’s no-talk policy.

He stiffed Kim’s sister on the podium. He and his wife refused to join the crowd in standing when the Koreans marched in.

“We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games,” he said, vowing to focus on North Korean provocations and human rights abuses, while promising new and harsher sanctions.

But the “message and imagery” of the Olympic Games is that athletes of all nations put aside bitter conflicts to compete in contests. The space for peaceful sports competition could create the opening for serious talks.

When campaigning for the presidency, South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised an opening to North Korea. The jarring North Korean tests of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles cast a pall on that. President Donald Trump responded with a characteristic combination of insult and bluster.

He infamously strutted that he had a “bigger (nuclear) button” than the North Korean president.

The administration ratcheted up sanctions, pushed China to get Kim under control, declared that North Korean possession of nuclear weapons was a dire national security threat and ramped up military exercises to the very borders of the North.

For our South Korean allies, the escalating threats are bone chilling. There is no rational military “option” against North Korea.

A pre-emptive attack would be an illegal act of aggression that would lead to massive casualties in both North and South Korea and make the U.S. a pariah among nations.

Worse, the military threats only make the North Korean leadership less likely to negotiate away their nuclear weapons program. The U.S. sees North Korean nuclear weapons as offensive, threatening the U.S. and our allies. North Korea clearly sees its nuclear weapons as defensive. For an isolated dictatorship that is denounced by the

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U.S., a nuclear weapons capacity may serve the same purpose the U.S. claims for its own nuclear arsenal — deterring any country from attacking.

President Moon would clearly like to lessen tensions and move toward better relations.

He has no desire to distance himself from the U.S., but would like to bring the U.S. and North Korea to the negotiating table.

What do Trump and his advisers want? The no-talk, big-stick policy leads to a dead end.

North Korea already has nuclear weapons.

Severe sanctions have not slowed its development of intercontinental missiles.

The Chinese suggest that talks could start if the U.S. suspends its regular joint military exercises with South Korea and North Korea responds by suspending nuclear and missile tests. Neither the U.S. nor North Korea has expressed support for that.

Kim vows to “mass produce” nuclear weapons; Pence demands that North Korea begin “denuclearization,” the dismantling “permanently and irreversibly” of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile pro-

grams before there are any negotiations or loosening of sanctions or suspension of military exercises.

A no-talk, all-swagger policy has produced nothing. If escalating military exercises and threats don’t produce a war by miscalculation, they end up advertising the impotence of U.S. policy.

Diplomacy isn’t a surrender; it is an opening. The only way North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons is if it can receive concrete guarantees against foreign attack.

The only way we can live with North Korea having nuclear weapons is with dialogue and mutual steps to build trust and security.

North Korea is a ruthless dictatorship with a failed economy. South Koreans are understandably fearful of war, but not exactly eager to bear the cost of rebuilding the North. Kim has made an opening gesture at the Olympic Games. Both South Korea and the U.S. have every reason to call his bluff, to seek discussions rather than to continue a no-talk policy that leads only to greater tension and frustration.

Vigil Recalls The Fallen

STEVE HAMM PHOTO

Demethra Telford at the vigil

by STEVE HAMM Fourteen-year-old Tyrick Keyes was shot on a sidewalk along Newhall Street last summer when he was walking with his girlfriend. The gunman then stood over him and pulled the trigger again. Keyes died a few days later.

Tuesday evening New Haveners remembered Keyes and other people killed in gun violence in the past two years at a candlelight vigil in Newhallville.

About 40 people shared remembrances on a basketball court behind Lincoln Bassett Community School and then walked to the spot on Newhall Street where Keyes was shot.

Young men who were shooting baskets in the near-dark stopped their play and stood respectfully at the back of the crowd while relatives and friends of the dead spoke emotionally of their losses.

Demethra Telford, Keyes’ mother, was too broken up to talk publicly. Earlier she expressed frustration that the shooter has not been brought to justice.

“People know what happened and they’re not coming forward. Someone saw something. I pray that they come forward,” she said.

The event was organized by Ice the Beef Youth and BlackNHV, two community groups focused on helping young people in New Haven’s neighborhoods become successful and avoid violence. Ratasha Smith, founder of BlackNHV, explained her motivations before the vigil began. “I have a young black son. I don’t want to feel their pain,” she said. “I want to keep the message of peace in the city before it affects me.”

During the vigil, Chaz Carmon, president of Ice the Beef Youth, said, “It’s a shame that all the inner-city shootings number in the millions, but it took these school shootings to get people to demand action.”

Participants in the vigil listed the names of the people who died in New Haven, Parkland school in Florida and Sandy Hook Elementary School. After each name was read, the participants said, “We will remember.”

New Haven’s violent crime rate has been declining steadily for seven years. But in neighborhoods such as Newhallville, crime and violence remain daily concerns, and feelings run strong.

“Any crime is too much crime,” Rev. Kelcy Steele of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church, said before the vigil. He urged his neighbors: “If you see something, say something.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS February 28, 2018 - March 06, 2018

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS

N e w P u b l i c

February 28, 2018

-

March 06, 2018

H av e n S c h o o l s

Please join us at our school oPen houses. check

our website for dates.

Application Period Closes: Sun â&#x20AC;¢ March 4, 2018 Office of Choice and Enrollment

Location: 54 Meadow St., 1st Floor, New Haven, CT 06519 Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm Phone: 475-220-1430 and 475-220-1431 Website: choice.NHPS.net 24