INNER-CITY NEWS

Morrison with father Howard Morrison

Basketballers Bring The Heat In Fair Haven

by MIA CORTÉS CASTRO

After 10 rounds of hoops shoot-offs against the Lady Heat, New Haven Heat basketball players Amir Durant and Romel Holmes-Gordon took to the sidelines to reflect on the “big family” that their team has become. Both New Haven high schoolers have played with the team since before the pandemic, and have felt just how unique this young-athlete support system is.

They work together to aim, shoot, and score…

… and sprint together if they miss. “We are like a big family,” said Durant. “We all support each other, which is how we set ourselves apart from other teams,” added Holmes-Gordon. In order to realize their mission of using basketball to keep neighborhood kids safe, the New Haven Heat male and female teams have hosted clinics over the summer.

Held at the courts of Fair Haven School at 164 Grand Ave., they welcome players from all over the city, providing a safe haven for them in the evenings on Mondays through Thursdays.

This Monday evening, they received over two-dozen high schoolers from around the city, eager to practice and play.

“This team is one of a kind,” said Program Director and New Haven Heat Coach Rick Kennedy. “They learn quality basketball for free. They take away valuable skills and a family that backs them up”

The team was founded by Frank Redente in 1995. At 19 years old, Redente won permission to start an afterschool program at Fair Haven School, where he worked as a security guard, to keep kids occupied and off the streets. He formed a team of 15 players and taught them basketball, just as his father had to him, and garnered enough support from the families and the community to grow the program. His teams have traveled all around the country for tournaments, winning numerous titles.

In 2014, Redente took a step back from the program, leaving it in the hands of Kennedy, his son Doc Kennedy, and Lawrence Mcgill Jr., now program director and basketball operations directors, respectively. Since assuming their roles, they have sent over

70 players to play for junior colleges and four-year colleges and universities. Many of them have come back to coach and give back to their communities.

The program is now large enough that they have even inspired similar programs in neighboring towns and cities. He said Hartford, Waterbury, and Bridgeport have all modeled their basketball programs after the Heat. “It’s an honor to coach these kids,” said Redente. “I feel blessed to have friends like mine who have cared so much for the program that they’ve taken over for me,” he said, referring to Kennedy and the other coaches.

Accompanied by volunteer coaches, most of whom are Heat alumni, the players do drills and form a community. On Monday, the male and female teams competed against each other to see which team could score the most points while shooting from different angles around the court. The losing team had to sprint a lap while being watched and cheered on by the winning team.

In this shoot-off round, the boys… … scored more than the girls …

… so the girls had to sprint. The boys clapped as they ran back and forth on the court.

Currently, the team’s main struggles are finding space to host practices, and getting the kids there. As the teams have grown, they require more space to accommodate the practices, and many of the kids don’t have anyone to drop them off. Because of this, the coaches and program organizers have stepped up, becoming mentors, siblings, caretakers, and friends.

“As long as we have the kids with us, it keeps them out of trouble and safe,” said Kennedy. “It makes it all worth it.”

With support from the community, the New Haven Heat not only teaches basketball, but also teaches community, support, family, and loyalty.

“This is what we need in every gym in the city,” said Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller. “This program saves kids’ lives.”

With half an hour left of practice, Durant and Holmes-Gordon ran back to the court to take advantage of the time they have left playing alongside their chosen family.

Middle school age group teams at Monday's clinic.

Coaches with Alder Sarah Miller.

High school age group teams at Monday's clinic.

New Haven Independent

Overreporting? How about False Reporting!

Scandal of the CT police fabricating nearly 26K motorist tickets since 2014

by Sebastian Ward, Intern/ correspondent,The Inner-City News

On July 19th, Governor Ned Lamont announced that he would be hiring a private firm to investigate the scandal of the CT police fabricating nearly 26K motorist tickets since 2014. This was in the wake of an audit released this past month, which was prompted by Hearst Connecticut Media releasing an article in 2022. The article uncovered 4 officers in 2018 reporting made-up infractions to receive better performance evaluations, granting them perks like shift preferences, new vehicles, and promotions. An internal investigation corroborated these claims, which resulted in two of the police officers receiving short suspensions, with the other two retiring before any disciplinary actions could be taken. No charges have been pressed to date, despite the internal investigation finding the four police officers guilty of violating three Connecticut State Police (CSP) administrative policies and forgery in the second degree.

The audit, which was being investigated by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project advisory board since last August, found that the number of falsified tickets “can be as large as 58,553 and as small as 25,966”. According to the report, there is a “high likelihood that at least 25,966 traffic stop records in the racial profiling database are false.” However, this is a conservative estimate. It continues to state that the investigation “allowed for extremely loose matching criteria and the number of false records is likely larger than we confidently identified.”

The report distinguishes two types of falsified tickets; The first type, which was what the Hearst article focused on, is referred to as “overreporting”. Overreporting is when a police officer creates a fake infraction and reports it to the Connecticut State Police, but not the not Centralized Infractions Bureau (CIB). Whenever an infraction is reported to the Connecticut State Police, it is automatically entered into the racial profiling database. The audit found that these types of falsified tickets were “more likely to be White non-Hispanic relative to minority”. The second type is referred to as “underreporting”, where infractions within the CIB database did not have a corresponding record in the racial profiling database. Certain types of vehicle stops, such as commercial stops, do not prompt the completion of racial profiling information. This would explain why some records in the CIB database do not have a corresponding record in the racial profiling one. However, this does not hold true for all of them. The audit states that most of the 16,000 underreported infractions “should have necessitated the completion of a racial profiling record as part of the

Alvin. W. Penn Act.” These infractions, which did not get reported to the racial profiling database, were more likely to be people of color.

The audit’s finding claims that it is extremely probable that the number of falsified tickets since 2014 has had a “substantive and statistically significant impact” on data and statistics related to the proportion of minorities stopped and racial profiling data as a whole.

The main takeaway from this audit is that many agents of the state who claim to fight for “law and order” have deliberately broken the law in order to appear more useful than they actually are, and, in the process, have significantly impacted racial profiling statistics, making it appear that a larger proportion of white motorists are pulled over than is actually the case. Equally important, however, is our governor announcing that a private firm will be further investigating this scandal. It demonstrates that our state leaders believe that the police cannot be trusted to investigate themselves internally and hold themselves accountable. The lack of any meaningful punishment for these police officers despite deliberate wrongdoing designed solely for purposeful enrichment, would suggest that our state leaders

are absolutely correct in such analyses. So, this brings us back to questions which millions were posing during the BLM and George Floyd protests: Why are the police receiving so much funding if they need to lie to seem useful? Why are they

incapable of holding themselves accountable? Who actually controls the police, and whose interests do they protect? Most importantly, why is there a special, extremely powerful and coercive force that is seemingly exempt from consequences,

whose power is not checked by the communities they police?

The police force should not be a special, armed, entity attached to the government apparatus that stands above society. The police force is made up of people, and the only difference between them and everyone else is that they have been legally sanctioned to use violence to protect the interests of the state. They should be entirely subject to the citizenry, not the elite ruling class. We should have a democratic committee that is represented solely by elected community members with a mandate to oversee the police force, both in terms of activities and discipline. The members should have full access to police records, be empowered to revoke a police’s certification at any time, and have the ability to democratically pass any police reforms they agree would benefit the larger community. This is the only way to prevent scandals like these from occurring in the future.

Sebastian Ward will be interning with ICN through the Summer. Sebastian, a New Haven native and currently a rising sophomore at Yale University, has spent the bulk of his high school career engaging in community organizing efforts in New Haven.

Governor Ned Lamont announced that he would be hiring a private firm to investigate the scandal of the CT police fabricating nearly 26K motorist tickets since 2014.

Housing Authority Details Path To More Housing

by LAURA GLESBY

Pre-approve certain building plans. Eliminate parking minimums. Support single-room apartments. Implement a land tax.

The Housing Authority of New Haven and its nonprofit affiliates recommended those city-level policies and others while delivering a message to City Hall: when it comes to the housing crisis, “we can’t count on the state.”

Elm City Communities, an umbrella group including the city’s public housing agency and its nonprofit development and property management arms, released a new report on affordable housing titled “Breaking Ground” on Monday morning.

The report culminates a series of community conversations hosted by Elm City Communities (ECC) on the affordable housing crisis, strategizing with NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab, and research by ECC’s policy director Will Viederman.

At a press conference outside the agency’s headquarters at 360 Orange St. on Monday, ECC President Karen DuBoisWalton said that though ECC is New Haven’s largest provider of deeply affordable housing, there are 30,000 households on the waitlist for the public housing apartments and federal Housing Choice Vouchers that the Housing Authority administers.

“Every night, I go to bed concerned about the thousands of voucher holders who are looking for quality housing in a place of their choice, a unit that they can afford, and who are struggling,” said DuBois Walton. “Probably even more concerning are the families we are not reaching” — families who are homeless or

living in unsafe or unaffordable housing. While much of ECC’s policy advocacy has related to statewide initiatives to develop more affordable housing in neighboring towns, the Breaking Ground report focuses on zoning reforms and other policies that the city of New Haven can enact on its own.

“Our state legislature and our governor failed to pass meaningful reforms” on housing this year, Viederman said. “We can’t count on the state. It’s not enough [for New Haven] to say, ‘It’s not our fault and our neighbors should act.’ ”

The report concludes that the housing affordability crisis is rooted in a shortage of homes in New Haven and Connecticut at large, which has led to “historic lows,” as Viederman put it, in the city’s vacancy rate — the number of unoccupied housing units in the city.

That low vacancy rate, the report argues, has led to higher rents. Using a combination of Census data and Zillow, ECC found that just after New Haven’s vacancy rate dropped to 3 percent in 2021, rent grew by 13 percent.

According to the report, more young adults ages 18 to 34 moved out of their parents’ homes or larger roommate households during the pandemic. Viederman said he did not think this trend was necessarily sparked by changes in local universities, surmising instead that young adults from New Haven and its surrounding towns are more interested in starting independent households here than before.

“It’s a growing, dynamic city,” he said, “and there are not enough homes here.” ECC’s research found that New Haven needs to build 8,400 more homes by 2030 to ameliorate the housing crisis.

by Ben Ebuka, Face2FaceAfrica.com

To put that goal in perspective: according to Viederman, the city saw 5,700 new housing units built in the last three decades.

Growing up in the early 1990s, Thuso Mbedu never dreamt of being an entertainment figure. At a very young age, she wanted to be a dermatologist, but after taking a dramatic arts class in the 10th grade, she became interested in acting.

Upzoning, ADU Expansion, Parking Minimums

Her acting career has earned her fame and fortune locally and internationally, rising to become one of the most sought after actresses from South Africa. At 27, she was named in the 2018 Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 List, and one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine.

The “Breaking Ground” report proposes that New Haven allow developments to bypass the typical zoning and City Plan regulatory processes if they align with pre-approved building plans for particular kinds of lots.

The report notes that planning and zoning applications, as well as “delays from neighborhood opposition,” add to the costs associated with development.

ECC cited South Bend, Indiana, as a city that has pre-approved certain building designs — an approach it states would “encourage smaller and more local developers to pursue the kinds of projects needed in the city.”

Born on July 8, 1991, at the Midlands Medical Center in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, to a Zulu mother and Xhosa and Sotho father, she never enjoyed the care of her parents who died when she was barely four years old. She was raised by her grandmother, a very strict school principal in school and at home. Her name reflected the multicultural tribes of her parents – Thuso is a Sotho name, Nokwanda is a Zulu name, and Mbedu is Xhosa.

Mayor Justin Elicker, whose administration first received ECC’s recommendations along with the public on Monday, reacted to this proposal in a phone interview: “I think it’s an interesting concept that is very much worth exploring.”

Mbedu went to Pelham Primary School and Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School and graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa in 2013, where she studied Physical Theatre and Performing Arts Management. Earlier in 2012, she took a summer course at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.

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Thuso Mbedu. Photo -IOL

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Jerry Craft / Cartoons / Barbara Fair Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur

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Career

He added, “Many of the properties that are available are unique in their location and size of parcel, and so I think we’d have to think through what a pre-approved building might be so as not to unnecessarily impact the wishes of a neighborhood that different parcels are in.”

ECC is also recommending a handful of reforms to the city’s zoning code as well. For instance, it calls on the city to eliminate requirements for new housing developments to provide a certain number of off-street parking spaces

Her acting career began in 2014 when she played a minor role of ‘Nosisa’ in the popular South African Soap Opera ‘Isibaya’ from Mzansi Magic. In 2015, she played a guest role as ‘Kheti’ in the Second Season of the SABC 2 youth drama series ‘Snake Park.’

She got her first starring role in the teen drama television series ‘IS’THUNZI’ from Mzansi Magic where she played ‘Winnie.’ Her international debut was in ‘The Underground Railroad’ an American fantasy historical drama series based on the novel ‘The Underground Railroad’ written by Colson Whitehead.

Parking spaces are a common reason why developers seek special exceptions from the Board of Zoning Appeals. They are also a frequent concern raised at community meetings about local developments.

ECC argues in the report that parking minimums are contributing to a dearth of housing for local residents by making it more expensive to build a given number of housing units. The report notes that Bridgeport and Hartford have both eliminated parking minimums.

In 2022, she starred in her first film ‘The Woman King’ an epic historical drama about Agosie, where an entire female warrior unit protected the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 17 – 19th century. She played ‘Nawi’, a zealous recruit in the military unit.

In 2017, Mbedu was nominated for the ‘DSTV Viewers Choice Awards’ and the ‘International Emmy Awards for the ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ for her role

The report also calls on the city to allow single-room occupancy units (SROs) — housing units consisting of one room and often involving communal bathroom or kitchen spaces, like in a rooming house — in more areas of the city.

‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the 2016 -2017 television drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’

SROs are currently permitted in RH-2, BA, and BC zones; the report calls on the city to allow more SROs, since those housing units tend to have significantly more affordable rents.

Other zoning reforms called for in the report include:

In 2018, she won the ‘South African Film and Television Awards’ for ‘ Best Actress – TV Drama’ for her role ‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the 2016 -2017 television drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’ She was also nominated for the ‘International Emmy Awards for ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ for her role

‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the television drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’

• “Upzoning,” or increasing the number of housing units permitted, areas that currently only allow for single-family

In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Television Critics Association Award’ (Individual Achievement in Drama), the

‘Black Reel Awards’ (Outstanding Actress – TV Movie / Limited Series), the ‘Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards’ (Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthropology Series or Television Movie), the ‘Gotham Awards’ (Outstanding Performance in New Series), the ‘Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards’ (TV Breakout Star), and the ‘Critics Choice Television Awards’ (Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie), all for her role ‘Cora Randall’ in the 2021 TV series ‘The Underground Railroad.’

William Spivey / Kam Williams Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Contributors At-Large

She won the ‘TV Breakout Star’ award from the Hollywood Critics Association TV and won the ‘Outstanding Performance in New Series’ award from the Gotham Awards.

Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Bass www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships

National Association of Black Journalist

National Newspapers Publishers Association

In 2022, Mbedu was nominated for the ‘Independent Spirit Awards (Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series), for her role ‘Cora Randall’ in the 2021 television series ‘The Underground Railroad.’ She won the ‘Critics Choice Television Awards’ for ‘Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie’ for her role ‘Cora Randall’ in ‘The Underground Railroad.’

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Greater New Haven Business & Professional Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

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In her keynote speech at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit, Thuso Mbedu tearfully spoke of how she overcame the loss of her dear parents, grandmother, and aunt. But her role in Amanda Lane’s ‘IS’THUNZI’ gradually renewed her hope in life.

“…my world was that blur, until Amanda Lane happened in 2016. The role that Amanda Lane gave me was the difference between life and death for me. Receiving that audition brief, I told myself that I would audition like it was my last audition. I gave it the last of everything that I had, that at the time I got the callback, I had nothing left. I secretly made the decision not to do the callback because I had nothing left to give. But fortunately, I received the callback. So I didn’t do the callback because the role was mine. I had given up. I was in a very dark place at the time, and the character, the role, the opportunity, was a much needed light. And I told myself that I will act as if it was the last character that I will play. And through a great script and an amazing director, I earned two International Emmy Awards for that role…”

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Karen DuBois-Walton: "Every night I go to bed concerned" about the housing crisis.

City Dems Endorse Elicker For 3rd Term

by LAURA GLESBY, THOMAS BREEN and MIA CORTÉS CASTRO

Mayor Justin Elicker won the local Democratic Party’s official support in a landslide on Tuesday evening in his bid for another term in the city’s top elected office while his three intraparty challengers geared up to petition their way onto September’s Democratic primary ballot.

Dozens of party officials assembled in Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School’s Parish Hall at 150 Kimberly Ave. Tuesday for the Democratic Town Committee’s (DTC) convention, a ceremony in which two designated representatives from each of the city’s 30 wards come together to vote on which candidates to endorse.

Elicker, who is running for a third consecutive two-year term as mayor, won the nomination with 47 votes from ward cochairs. As a result, his name will appear at the top of the ballot during the Sept. 12 Democratic Party primary.

His projected primary opponents include retired police Sgt. Shafiq Abdussabur, who received 5 votes at Tuesday’s convention; ex-McKinsey consultant Tom Goldenberg, who received 2 votes; and former legal aid attorney Liam Brennan, who was not nominated on the floor of the convention and therefore did not receive any votes.

Those three challengers will have from Wednesday until Aug. 9 to collect signatures from 5 percent of registered Democrats citywide (about 1,700 signatures) to make it onto the primary ballot. Whoever wins the primary will then be the party’s official nominee in the Nov. 7 general election.

The endorsement followed two weeks worth of Elicker racking up straw poll victories from Democratic ward committees around town. Tuesday’s vote signaled broad institutional support for a post-pandemic future for the Elicker administration. Elicker first took office in early 2020, weeks before Covid-19 first appeared in New Haven. If re-elected, he would begin his first full term without (knock on wood) the need to navigate an ongoing public health emergency of Covid’s scale.

“It is easy to stand on the sidelines,” Elicker told the crowded room on Tuesday night. “It is easy to run for mayor. It is hard to do the work.”

His 2023 re-election campaign has focused so far on promises to continue ongoing efforts of his administration, which include a push to redevelop the entire Long Wharf neighborhood; the growing COMPASS crisis response team taking on homelessness, addiction, and mental health-related 911 calls; and a number of initiatives to boost active and public transportation and increase the supply of affordable housing.

During his acceptance speech on Tues-

day night, Elicker hit on many of those themes, saying that New Haven under his leadership and in collaboration with a host of local leaders and community organizers “persevered through the pandemic,” “created hundreds upon hundreds of affordable housing units,” created the Elm City COMPASS program, made sure that adult education would relocate to Newhallville, got the state to double PILOT funding, and convinced “Yale University to pay more.”

“We have done this work together.”

He also repeated a criticism he has leveled against his mayoral challengers throughout the ward committee endorsement process. “It is easy to have an idea and say, ‘Go and do this,’ but it’s actually hard to get the work done,” Elicker said. Effective governance requires “rolling up your sleeves. It requires compassion. It requires perseverance. And it requires commitment. And, most importantly, it requires doing things together.”

Each of his opponents has campaigned heavily on a particular issue.

Abdussabur, a retired New Haven police sergeant and local business owner and former Beaver Hills alder, has emphasized police reform and public safety. Brennan, a former legal aid lawyer and federal prosecutor who’s now Hartford’s Inspector General, has focused on zoning, affordable housing, and tenants’ rights. And Goldenberg, a former consultant for McKinsey, has centered his campaign on public education and calling out local

harm-reduction initiatives to address addiction.

Ward 20 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Barbara Vereen, a chief steward at Yale’s UNITE HERE Local 34, nominated Elicker for reelection as mayor at the top of Tuesday’s convention. She praised “his integrity, his honesty, his dedication to getting things done.

Mayor Elicker approaches issues with clarity and honesty and seeks to find a solution that benefits all residents.” She said he “did a wonderful wonderful job during the pandemic,” “led the charge” on passing a local hotel worker recall bill, pressed Yale to “pay their fair share,” and worked collaboratively with Newhallville residents “when dealing with the APT

Foundation and the Board of Ed.”

Former Hill Alder Dolores Colon seconded Elicker’s nomination, saying that his administration has delivered on providing quality-of-life services like good sidewalks and new trees to communities like hers that have waited years for such treatment.

Abdussabur was nominated for mayor by Ward 28 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Gary Hogan. “I consider myself a friend and mentor to Shafiq,” Hogan said. He said he’s watched Abdussabur “grow as a police officer, a businessman, an entrepreneur, and now a politician.” Ward 30 co-chair Iva Johnson seconded Abdussabur’s nomination.

Goldenberg was nominated from the floor by Ward 11’s Sonia Álvarez, and was seconded by Ward 21’s Pat Solomon. Brennan said he did not make arrangements to be nominated on Tuesday deliberately, knowing that he wouldn’t have won the endorsement. “I think we got to take it to the streets and on the doors,” he said, adding that “I appreciate everyone in this room.”

After the convention, Abdussabur quoted a statement Elicker made during his first mayoral campaign in 2013 after that year’s DTC convention, in which Elicker had called the DTC “part of an antiquated political process” that “in many ways is designed to favor the incumbent.”

Goldenberg stated, “This process was not fair the moment Vinnie Mauro walked Justin into the City Clerk’s office.”

Brennan, Abdussabur, and Goldenberg all said they plan to petition their way

At Tuesday's convention.

Elicker's campaign set up a table in back and offered highly popular potato chips to convention attendees.

New Haven Independent

Alberto Makes A Graduation Promise

by MAYA MCFADDEN

Huddled in the hallway, Wilbur Cross senior Alejandro Delacruz offered pregame tips to incoming freshman Alberto Colon: Be confident. And keep your grades up if you want to be on the baseball team.

He gave that advice Wednesday during Wilbur Cross’s first-ever summer high school bridge program for first-year students. In return, he received a pinky promise to think long-term about his studies.

The pilot three-day workshop aims to help incoming freshmen prepare early for their transition to the city’s largest high school next month.

A group of 50 local students volunteered to spend four hours of their summer break learning about Cross’ programming, resources, and touring the building.

The rising first-years traveled in groups of 15 to 20, paired with four to five current Cross juniors and seniors, who shared their perspectives of the school and will serve as familiar faces on the first years’ first days.

Next week the school will host another cohort of 30 incoming students.

“This helps to make it a less intimidating school,” said Principal Matt Brown. “They can see how current students are able to make positive impacts here.” Brown helped organize a similar bridge program when he previously ran High School in the Community (HSC).

The bridge program is an extension of Cross’s “First Day Fresh” initiative that is hosted for first-year students on the first day of school. It encourages first-years to share “fresh” and bold goals for the school year. The district also hopes for the bridge program to help it proactively combat its chronic absenteeism rates for first-year high school students struggling to transition from middle school.

Wilbur Cross civics teacher Brian Grindrodo is spearheading the Cross bridge program. He said this year’s incoming first-year class will have around 425 students out of a schoolwide enrollment of 1,700.

“They’re going from being the big fish in a small pond to the little fish in a big bowl,” Grindrod said. “They have a leg up by learning individual responsibility now and what kind of support system they have to help them through this transition.”

The students learned Wednesday that classes run 80 minutes, with about three to five minutes to get there. They were informed that fighting earns you nine days of suspension, so “it’s not worth it.” And that the school has five social workers, several counselors, and dozens of staffers willing to provide them with academic, social, and emotional help.

In one class led by Cross counselor Kimberly Barrington, the students filled out SMART goal worksheets to set goals

homes. The report recommends changing RS zones to RM zones in order to do just that, and cites a national history of using single-family zoning to discriminate against Black households and perpetuate segregation.

• Getting rid of maximum unit density restrictions, without necessarily adjusting building size limits in the zoning code. This would allow for houses and buildings to create more apartments.

• Lowering the minimum lot size for a residential development, which would allow buildings to go up in smaller areas.

• Allowing Accessory Dwelling Units to be built as of right not only on owneroccupied properties (as the city currently permits) but on properties owned by an offsite landlord.

Elicker said he supports many of these zoning changes. He pointed to the city’s proposal to rezone the Long Wharf neighborhood, which if approved would institute a density minimum and a parking maximum (rather than the other way around.)

and plans to achieve them.

“Think about what does success mean to you your freshmen year? Who can help you get there?” Barrington asked.

Incoming freshman Alberto Colon, 13, noted down his main goal: making the Cross baseball team.

Student leader Alejandro Delacruz, 17, stood by his side Wednesday helping Colon figure out how to get there.

“You got to stay out of trouble and get good grades to make the team,” Delacruz advised.

“I’m going to keep everything above a C,” Colon said before noting it down on his worksheet.

Colon, who graduated from John Martinez School, told Delacruz he worries he will get lost trying to find his classes during the first few days.

“If you do get lost,” Delacruz said, “just look for me.”

Delacruz, whose younger sister also took part in the Wednesday bridge program, suggested Colon make it a goal to not only make the team but to also graduate high school.

Colon shook his head no.

“You know you can, right? You don’t have to go to college, but you have to at least graduate high school,” Delacruz said.

The two pinky-promised that Colon will graduate from high school.

Delacruz advised students like Colon to find a friend group that “keeps you at peace” and to not be afraid to put yourself out there.

He promised to take Colon under his wing this coming school year, because he reminds him of his younger self.

He added that he also plans to propose removing the requirement that ADUs be constructed on owner-occupied lots, noting that the homeowner requirement was a compromise with alders for an initial rollout of the policy.

“It’s also very important to understand that we can’t nor should we just do things unilaterally in the city,” Elicker said. “We have to do a lot of community engagement around zoning changes that will impact neighborhoods around the city.”

He anticipated that some of the ECC proposals, like eliminating parking minimums and allowing for more ADUs, would prompt concerns from residents. At the same time, at the press conference, DuBois-Walton stressed that making progress against the housing shortage is pressing and necessary.

“New Haven’s housing crisis is severe. New Haven’s housing crisis is wideranging,” she said. “It requires urgency of action.

The report also advocates for replacing the property tax system with a land value tax system, which would institute taxes on landowners based on “the use potential of the land.”

Land tax advocates argue that a tax system based on the property values discourages new buildings on vacant land, since the landowner would face a rise in property taxes as a result of their development. The report argues that a property tax “encourages speculators to profit off collective housing shortages rather than investing in their own property.”

Elicker expressed support for this proposal as well, but he noted that the city needs permission from the state in order to implement a land tax.

“Let’s do that together with Elm City Communities and other entities in the city. But we’d have to lobby the state to change the laws under which municipalities across the state have to follow,” he said.

Cross student leaders with incoming first-years.

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO I got your back: Alberto Wednesday with new mentor.

Assistant Superintendent Keisha Redd-Hannans with students Wednesday.

New Haven Independent

ARE YOU A YOUNG ADULT LOOKING TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT?

B u i l d i n g B e t t e r F u t u r e s ( B B F ) p r e p a r e s y o u n g a d u l t s , a g e s 1 6 - 2 4 , f o r t o d a y ’ s w o r k f o r c e t h r o u g h a n i n n o v a t i v e a n d h a n d s - o n p r o g r a m .

D e s i g n e d t o e n h a n c e j o b - r e a d i n e s s , t h e B B F p r o g r a m w i l l t e a c h m o d e r n e m p l o y a b i l i t y s k i l l s a n d e m p o w e r y o u n g a d u l t s o n t h e i r c a r e e r j o u r n e y s .

P r o g r a m p a r t i c i p a n t s w i l l h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o g a i n s k i l l s t r a i n i n g a n d d i r e c t e m p l o y e r a c c e s s i n s e v e r a l r a p i d l y g r o w i n g s e c t o r s l i k e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , h e a l t h c a r e , c o n s t r u c t i o n , a n d m a n u f a c t u r i n g

Dixwell Bids Farewell To The Plaza

by ASHER JOSEPH

“Hope is the seed of love, of Black folk, and of all people. And that’s what this building is,” ConnCAT CEO Erik Clemons said as he addressed a 100-person crowd gathered to celebrate Dixwell Plaza one more time before it’s knocked down and redeveloped.

Saturday’s sweltering low-90s temperatures did not deter patrons of the longstanding and soon-to-be-former midcentury shopping plaza on Dixwell Avenue between Webster Street and Charles Street from gathering for “Celebrating Dixwell: Honoring ‘The Plaza.’”

The event was hosted by ConnCORP, the for-profit affiliate of the local jobtraining nonprofit Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), in conjunction with 94.3 WYBC. It took place as the local redevelopment team plans to soon begin the demolition of the complex’s existing commercial condos and then build up new apartments, a grocery store, a performing arts center, a food hall, ConnCAT’s new headquarters, and more. For decades, Dixwell Plaza has served as the cornerstone New Haven’s Black community, coined “New Haven’s Black Wall Street” by many of the patrons who showed up to Saturday’s event.

Dixwell resident Jackie Bracey was

first to take the microphone to thundering applause on Saturday. She opened the event by paraphrasing a quote from American poet Langston Hughes’ book Black Misery: “Misery is when you heard on the radio that the neighborhood you live in is a slum but you always thought it was home.”

“We are not a slum nor a ghetto,” Bracey said, “we are a home. And home comes from your heart.”

Branch Manager of the Stetson Library

Diane Brown followed with a rousing speech, emphasizing the plaza’s legacy of Black empowerment: “One day, I hope that those babies,” she said, gesturing towards a cluster of children hard at work on a series of scratch art crowns, “will drive by the building and see Black men walk out of those doors dressed in suits, see Black professionalism at its finest.”

In an interview later that afternoon, Brown reflected on her own connection to the plaza. Pointing to a poster featuring prominent Black doctors in the twentieth century, she said, “See those doctors? I grew up with them. This place taught me Black pride and Black power. It taught me that I am Black on the outside, Black on the inside, and Black when I dream.

And I hope it teaches these kids that, too, so they can be the ones on that poster in a few years.”

For Exalted Leader of the Elks’ East Rock Lodge #141 Gary Hogan, the transformation symbolizes opportunity: “The plaza has always offered financial opportunities to entrepreneurs, civil liberty opportunities to families, and programs for youth, so I hope the new building will continue to generate opportunities for neighbors to shop, educate their kids, and grow old,” he said to the crowd.

Hogan then invited his fellow Elks to join him in front of the audience, before handing off the microphone to the event’s emcee, DJ Latif.

“I love my plaza, and I love my people,” said Latif, “now let’s party!”

A current of children running back and forth between a snow cone vendor and the bounce house carried laughter through the air as the community’s older members on the banks of the shade reminisced about the plaza.

Surrounded by her community, Brown found the words to embody the values of Dixwell Plaza: “When you think of Dixwell, think of home. Think of peace. Think of love. Think of the future that’s where you’ll find us.”

Ed Board Challenger Wins Dem Endorsement

by MIA CORTÉS CASTRO

Andrea Downer won the local Democratic Party’s endorsement in her challenger bid to serve on the city’s Board of Education, as two-term incumbent Darnell Goldson opted not to be nominated at the convention and now must petition his way onto the primary ballot.

Hosted at Betsy Ross Parish Hall at 150 Kimberly Ave. in The Hill, the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) backed Downer during its endorsement convention Tuesday night.

At the convention, Democratic cochairs from each of the city’s 30 wards endorsed Justin Elicker for another term as mayor and Michael Smart for another term as city/town clerk. They also backed alder candidates in each of their respective wards.

For the Board of Education seat up for election this year one of two elected seats on the New Haven school board, each of which represents a different half of the city the committee co-chairs endorsed Downer. That means that her name will appear at the top of the ballot during the Sept. 12 Democratic Party primary. The seat is currently filled by Goldson, who chose not to be nominated at the con-

vention, criticized the endorsement process as “antiquated,” and now must gather roughly 828 signatures by Aug. 9 to make it onto the primary ballot.

Tuesday’s endorsement marks Downer’s latest step forward in her attempt to unseat incumbent school board rep Darnell Goldson. Standing amongst a cheering and clapping crowd in the 100-yearold oak-covered, high ceiling-ed room, Downer felt ready to take on the elections.

“Thank you for believing in me,” said Downer. “I believe in the New Haven Public School system, in its quality, and I am eager to get on the board and bring back this quality, because our students need it.”

Downer, born and raised in New Haven, graduated from New Haven Public Schools and said she will work to make sure the board, schools, parents, and students work closely together.

At the convention, she was nominated for endorsement by Ward 21 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Ray Jackson. Jackson, who has known Downer for many years, said she is neighborhoodand goal-oriented, focused on student success, and resourceful.

“Downer is very active in our community and believes in children’s access to

equitable outcomes when it comes to receiving quality education,” said Jackson while nominating Downer.

Downer, who currently serves as a Ward 27 co-chair, was seconded by fellow

Ward 27 co-chair Judy Sparer. Sparer, who has known Downer personally for years, described her as a fierce listener and involved team worker.

Incumbent Darnell Goldson was not

nominated for endorsement at Tuesday’s convention, opting to have to petition to get on the ballot instead.

For candidates who do not receive endorsement, the next step is to gather signatures from 5 percent of registered Democratic voters in the area that they are running to represent in order to be listed on the ballot. Goldson must now gather 828 signatures in total by Aug. 9 to make it onto September’s ballot.

“I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time today, so I am just going to go out there and get the signatures,” Goldson said after Downer’s endorsement. “This is an antiquated process, and having this next goal of getting signatures simply gives me the push I need to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Looking forward to a much simpler path to the primaries than Goldson’s, Downer said she is excited to continue gathering the support of the community.

“There is much work to be done still,” said Downer after the convention. “I am gearing up to hear concerns from the community, meet parents and students, and to also take a step back to reflect on the path I have taken to get here.”

Diane Brown

Gary Hogan and the Elks.

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Andrea Downer with fellow Ward 27 co-chair Judy Sparer on Tuesday night.

New Haven Independent

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“Butterflies” Land HBCU Scholarships

by ALLAN APPEL

“Enter to learn, Exit to serve”: That HBCU motto resonated Wednesday evening in a lively celebration at the Stetson Branch Library at the Q House on Dixwell Avenue.

There, among family, friends and a bevy of local graduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, eight young African-American Connecticut women were celebrated as recipients of scholarships from the Sharon Clemons Butterflies Fund.

The event was organized by the CT HBCU Alumni Network, headed by Engineering and Science University Magnet School ESUMS Principal) and proud Howard University) grad Medria EllisBlue.

Wednesday’s event, in the sun-filled and book-lined second floor community room of the library, hailed the third year of approximately $50,000 in annual scholarships being awarded to young Black women from Connecticut attending Tuskegee University, Hampton University, Spelman College, or Smith College. Those are the four schools attended by the daughters of the late Sharon Clemons, the

wife of ConnCORP CEOErik Clemons, who is helping to lead the ongoing redevelopment of Dixwell Plaza.

Erik Clemons and his daughters, whom Sharon called her “butterflies,” launched the fund to honor Sharon, a salon owner who died of Covid in November 2020. Clemons said, “I’ve been blessed in life to do many important things, but this is the best,” Erick Clemons said as the daughters and other grads chatted and networked with the recipients and their proud families.

With assistance from the fund, rising first-year Tiara Walters, an Amistad High School grad, plans to study elementary education. Rising sophomore Autymn Brown is majoring in theater. Both are headed this fall for Spelman. They said the scholarships, which average about $6,000, help them to spend more time on campus without worrying as much about finances.

The network administers scholarships for the HBCU-bound grads. The Community Foundation forGreater New Haven, where the fund resides, administers the scholarship to the students attending Smith College.

This year about 200 Connecticut stu-

dents will be attending HBCUs, said Ellis-Blue. About half of those will attend Morgan State University.

There are more than 100 HBCUs to choose from, many in the Deep South. Recruiters from those institutions don’t often get to the Nutmeg State. That’s where the CT HBSCU’s network of volunteers comes in, said Ellis-Blue. The network, now in its fifth year, is known for its gala send-offs, full of marching band trills, beanies, and hoopla. Wednesday’s event was a more intimate kind of gathering “so students feel supported beyond the monetary contributions,” said Ellis-Blue.

But that they also should know the expectation is to come back and serve the community, she added. That’s where the Howard motto, “to enter to learn, to exit to serve,” came in The message resonated with scholarship recipient Alina Bajomo, a Co-op High School grad who will attend Hampton University to study theater. “This makes me want to give back,” she said. “We need to keep the door open at all times,” said Ellis-Blue. “When the Black community thrives, America thrives.”

Cannabis Cash Flows Towards Youth, Reentry

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD

A million-dollar check marked “prosperity” is making its way into New Haven.

That money comes from state cannabis sales, due to a 3 percent tax that Connecticut imposed upon legalizing recreation marijuana with the promise to redistribute funds back into communities “disproportionately” impacted by the war on drugs. The state’s Social Equity Council (SEC) is sending a total of $6 million in grant money across those areas they’ve determined to be disadvantaged by the criminalization of cannabis, which includes New Haven among other cities like Hartford and Waterbury.

The SEC has chosen the Prosperity Foundation, a local nonprofit aimed at growing Black empowerment and wealth, vet which New Haven nonprofits should be awarded money out of the city’s $1 million allotted pot.

Community members gathered Friday morning inside the Howard K. Hill funeral home named after the man who established both The Prosperity Foundation and services offered off Chapel Street for Black families in need of assistance with funeral planning and costs to draw attention to who’s eligible to apply for that new grant money.

“The War on Drugs has decimated Black and Brown communities across the state and across this country,” remarked Michael Jefferson, New Havener and board member of the Connecticut Social Equity

Council. “This is one small step to address what’s occurred in our communities.”

The grants will go towards certified nonprofits with a focus on either youth

or reintegration into society of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. That could mean legal aid groups, homelessness service providers, or financial literacy programming, to name a few

examples.

The Prosperity Foundation has independently awarded over $750,000 in recent years to nonprofits around the state through their own grant making program.

The idea behind this new batch of cash, SEC Executive Director Ginne-Rae Clay said, is to make sure the money gets to grassroots groups doing good work on the ground as opposed to the well-marketed organizations with higher odds of sweeping up funding opportunities.

You can read through the grant guidelines and stipulations for example, most organizations receiving federal funding are likely exempt from applying for money stemming from the cannabis industry and apply here. The deadline is Aug. 31 and the SEC expects to award that million across New Haven by October.

Prosperity Foundation Executive Director Orsella Hughes said Friday’s announcement was also a reminder that “philanthropy is not charity work, it’s futuristic work.

“You always hear that proverb about how ‘if you teach someone to fish, they can eat forever.’ We don’t want fish. We want the lake. We want access to the ocean. We want access to where we can continue to build in perpetuity.”

Autymn Brown and Tiara Walters,

CT Social Equity Council Executive Director Ginne-Rae Clay, Prosperity Foundation Executive Director Orsella Hughes, and SEC Board Member Michael Jefferson at Friday's presser.

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent

Magic Johnson makes history as co-owner of NFL’s Washington Commanders

By Abu Mubarik, Face2FaceAfrica.com

NBA legend Magic Johnson has expanded his business empire after officially becoming co-owner of the Washington Commanders. Johnson was part of a group of investors led by billionaire Josh Harris that successfully acquired the NFL team.

The $6 billion deal, according to NBC News, was unanimously approved by NFL owners to end Daniel Snyder’s ownership of the team. Allegations of workplace misconduct were leveled against him and he was reportedly fined $60 million after it was found that the team did not disclose revenue it was expected to share with other franchises, the news outlet reported.

The deal will make Johnson the first Black co-owner of the franchise, who indicated that joining the Commander’s ownership group was a big deal to him. In a tweet, he said he grew up as a fan of the NFL and watched games every week.

“I’m especially thankful to Josh Harris who allowed me to be one of his partners with the Commanders,” he tweeted. “He is an amazing man, great friend, incredible businessman, proven owner and winner with the Philadelphia 76ers. Josh and his team have been first class throughout this entire process. Our ownership team is committed to the D.C., Maryland, and

Virginia community and fanbase to bring a winning team and best in class organization.”

He further described the deal as the biggest achievement in his business career and a historic moment for the entire Black community. Touching on his business ventures in Washington, DC area, he noted that he was one of the owners of Washington Hilton, built multiple Starbucks franchises and Magic Johnson Theaters as well as empowerment centers with the Magic Johnson Foundation.

“I also have my company SodexoMAGIC headquartered here. The DMV community has embraced and supported me, and I am honored and ecstatic to be a coowner of the Commanders franchise,” he added in a tweet.

Born Earvin Johnson Jr., Johnson is an NBA Hall of Famer who was first inducted in 2002 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team. His illustrious career in the NBA spanned seventeen years, from 1979 to 1996.

First drafted in 1979, Johnson entered the league and played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons. His career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, 12 All-Star games, and 10 All-NBA First and Second Team nominations.

While enjoying his career as an NBA

player, Johnson had an eye for business. His desire to become a businessman when his basketball career ended made him build a connection with legendary superagent Michael Ovitz to teach him how to be a successful businessman.

Since retiring from the NBA, he has made one business move after the other.

He has over 100 Starbucks stores in several cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Washington D.C.,

and San Francisco. Additionally, he owned several Burger King restaurants in diverse locations. In 2004, he bought 30 Burger King restaurants in Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, and Miami, and later sold them for $15 million, The Sports Rush reported.

In 2015, Johnson made a big push into the financial services sector. He added a 60% acquisition of a Life Insurance Company to his business portfolio. At the time he made the acquisition, USA Today reported that EquiTrust Life Insurance Company managed $14.5 billion in annuities, life insurance, and other financial products.

A year after his venture into the financial services sector, he opened the firstever 24-Hour Fitness Magic Johnson Sports club in Oakland. The Oakland club is “47,000 square feet in size and has an array of exercise equipment and programs, an indoor pool, spa, steam room, sauna, and a regulation NBA-sized basketball court,” according to San Francisco Business Times.

Johnson also has a stake in other businesses, including the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, Hero Ventures – the company behind The Marvel Experience, the Los Angeles Sparks Women’s National Basketball Association team, and an investment in Vibe Holdings – a New York-based magazine and television.

Dixwell-Newhallvile Alder Slate Launched

by MAYA MCFADDEN

Three New Haven natives are running as a team for alder seats in Wards 20, 21, and 22 in Dixwell and Newhallville.

The three candidates incumbent Ward 22 Alder Jeanette Morrison, incumbent Ward 21 Alder Troy Streater, and Brittiany Mabery-Niblack, who is seeking the open Ward 20 seat gathered outside the Q House on Thursday afternoon to kick off their runs in unison.

They said their focus is giving back to the community that raised them and improving their neighborhoods specifically for youth and seniors.

They were each joined by their families and dozens of community supporters including State Sen. Gary Winfield, former Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn, and Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers.

Streater, who won a four-way special election for Ward 21 alder in January said he hopes to serve a full 2-year term as alder of Ward 21. He faces a repeat challenge from Fred Christmas; the Democratic ward committee is set to meet Saturday to make an endorsement.

“I was born and raised in Ward 21,” Streater said. “I want to continue what i started and do more.”

If reelected, he said, he will continue pushing for large employers to hire locally, advocating with New Haven Rising to fight against mega-landlords who fail to keep up their properties, and seeking to have a youth-oriented park built at the end of Gibbs Street.

Mabery-Niblack won her ward committee’s endorsement vote this week.

Addie Kimbrough also sought the endorsement.

On Thursday she recalled the help she received from Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven to become the first home owner in her family and from New Haven Works to land a job at Yale. She said that if elected, she will help others get similar help.

“Do I have all the answers? No. But I am willing to work tirelessly with other alders, with other people in the community, with other community organizers to get those good jobs for our youth,” she said.

Morrison has served as Dixwell alder for the past 12 years, first elected on a pro-labor slate that won control of the Board of Alders in the 2011 campaign. She recalled what her father Howard Morrison told her that first campaign: “You got to protect this community. You got a lot of work to do.”

If reelected she promised to keep working to protect Dixwell.

She said she hopes to make sure the relocation of the Elks Club and city’s purchase of the Monterey Place “are done right” if she is eelected.

Streater with supporter Jeanette Sykes, 85 year old mother Martha Conyer, and “second mom” Queen Lacks.

Mabery-Niblack with her mother, kids, sister, pastor, nieces, and nephews.

New Haven Independent

Florida Board of Education approves anti-Black history curriculum

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

Florida’s Board of Education voted to approve several new rules this week, including teaching that African Americans benefited from their enslavement.

The new curriculum has sparked outrage and accusations of racism, setting up a new school year unlike any other because of these changes and other laws passed by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

One of the most controversial rules drawing significant pushback is the alteration of the standards of instruction for African American history.

Critics argue that the new standards attempt to rewrite Black history in a deeply concerning manner.

Democratic state lawmakers made their objections known at the board’s meeting on July 19, expressing particular concern over one instructional change implying enslaved individuals benefited from their enslavement.

“Any kind of standards that indicate that slavery benefited Black people is such an insult,” said State Rep. Rita Harris.

Added Rep. Anna Eskamani, “The notion that enslaved people benefited from being enslaved is inaccurate and a scary standard for us to establish in our educa-

tion system.”

The new rule faced additional opposition from a coalition of Black leaders and community groups, who wrote a letter to the school board asserting that the standards intentionally omitted or distorted crucial

historical facts about the Black experience.

Despite the widespread criticism, the board plans to implement the new rule on African American history instruction, along with several others, in classrooms

across the state during the upcoming school year.

The move adds to the state’s ongoing debate over African American history in education, further exacerbated by the education department’s rejection of a prelimi-

nary pilot version of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students, citing an alleged lack of educational value.

Under the new standards imposed by the board and DeSantis, teachers will instruct middle school students about how enslaved people developed skills they could use to benefit themselves.

The curriculum omits the brutal horrors of slavery, the inhumane treatment of African Americans, including the rape and torture of enslaved people, selling and separating families, and even the brutal mistreatment of children and babies.

The new curriculum will teach high school students about events like the 1920 Ocoee massacre, the deadliest Election Day violence in US history that began when white poll workers prevented Moses Norman, a Black landowner, from voting.

The rule stipulates that instructions also must include details about the Atlanta race massacre, the Tulsa race massacre, and the Rosewood race massacre.

“Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson stated.

“It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history.”

Black Folks Worldwide Don’t Have Clean Water

Clean H2O is getting scarce in Sub-Saharan Africa, but what comes out of the tap in African American communities is often contaminated too.

by Maya Richard-Craven, WordinBlack.com

Clean water is a right, not a privilege.

Tell that to the more than 2 billion people globally who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.

And, according to a recent report published in the July 17 edition of the journal “Nature Water,” sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions with the least access to clean water — a problem researchers predict will get worse by the year 2100.

Although the report focuses on the African continent, the reality is Black people right here in the United States don’t always have clean water either.

Data from the Environmental Protection Agency reveals that public water systems that do not follow the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act are 40% more likely to be in communities of color. The act was meant to ensure that Americans have clean water. However, that hasn’t been and still isn’t the case — especially for Black people.

A May 2023 study from researchers at Harvard University revealed that Black and Latino people are more likely to come in contact with dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.

This is because there are more environmental hazards, like landfills and water treatment plants, in communities of color.

PFAS are manufactured chemicals that have been used since the 1940s, and they are a threat to the health and wellness of Black folks.

“Current studies show that long-term PFAS exposure leads to damaged livers, thyroid disease, and various cancers,” Matt Wilson, a hydrologist and environmental consultant based in Blue Springs, Missouri, tells Word In Black.

“The bigger issue is that we’ve been seri-

ously polluting the water for over a century but only been looking at ways to clean it up for around 50 years.”

A National Water Crisis

In recent years, there have been boil-down orders and mandates to heat water to kill bacteria across the United States, but the phrase “water crisis” might make you think of what happened in Flint, Michigan, or Jackson, Mississippi.

The Flint Water Crisis infamously started in April 2014 when the impoverished city switched Flint’s water source from Detroit’s to the heavily polluted Flint River to save $5 million over two years. As a result,

99,000 residents were exposed to lead-contaminated water.

Black Millennials 4 Flint founder LaTricea Adams has been advocating for water rights ever since.

She’s learned first-hand that communities need consistent education on clean water as well as “healthy, frequent water filter replacement and quality of water filters that best filter out heavy metals.”

There’s also a need to change policies “to increase transparency and oversight of water quality,” Adams says.

Flint isn’t the only city with a sizeable Black population to make the news for con-

taminated water. In Jackson, Mississippi, in August 2019, severe storms caused the Pearl River to flood. As a result, 300 billion gallons of sewage were released into the river. To this day, many residents in Jackson refuse to drink the water.

Houston residents are also familiar with contaminated water-related restrictions.

The city was under boil-down orders in 2020 and 2022. In November 2022, water pressure decreased due to a power outage in the city’s main water system. The water was so dirty that some residents chose to

get bottled water instead.

Similarly, Black communities in Philadelphia are grappling with the effects of water pollution. In 2021, more than 60% of Black residents in Philadelphia said they mostly drank bottled water. According to research from the PennPIRG Education Fund, almost all of the schools in the Philadelphia School District had at least one source of water that tested positive for lead.

“Our new study, which is based on selfreported data by the Philadelphia School District, shows lead in 61% of drinking outlets tested across the district,” Emma Horst-Martz, a former PennPIRG Education Fund advocate, told CBS News.

Decreasing Exposure to Contaminated Water

Despite the severity of the issue, Wilson says there are ways to decrease exposure to contaminated water, but it won’t be easy. Two main methods are used to clean groundwater: extraction wells and cleaning or disposing of the water, and pulling water through the contaminated ground until it comes out clean.

For rivers and lakes, chemical additives are often used to disinfect water. Some cities create reservoirs, which allow contaminants to settle gradually at the bottom. But climate justice activists say fighting water pollution extends far beyond repairing or replacing water systems.

Meanwhile, Adams believes replacing Flint’s water infrastructure has taken too long.

“They have a deadline of August of 2023. They should have been done a long time ago. It’s really been disheartening to see how long it has taken,” she tells Word In Black. “We don’t trust the replacements will be done by the end of August 2023.”

But Adams isn’t giving up her advocacy for clean water. “I’m not hopeful, but that does not deter me from continuing to fight,” she says.

Federal Agency’s Equity Push Will Backfire on the Black Community

By David J. Byrd

One of the most iconic photographs in recent sports history is one of basketball legend Michael Jordan celebrating his fourth NBA championship by holding up three fingers in celebration with a cigar in his mouth.

Like millions of other Black Americans, Jordan enjoys the occasional simple pleasure of smoking a celebratory cigar – a pleasure that the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) wants to eliminate in the name of “equity” and protecting the Black community.

Along with menthol in cigarettes, the agency plans to “[ban] all flavors in cigars”— a move that it claims “will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products” like the African American community.

Flavored cigars aren’t a cause of carnage

in the Black community; they are a cause of celebration and cultural expression.

The Black community has led the premium cigar industry for hundreds of years and continues to do so today.

Many Black entrepreneurs own momand-pop cigar shops and run some of the nation’s most popular cigars brands like Emperor’s Cut, AS Reserve, Ancestry Cigars, and Tres Lindas Cubanas (a Black women-owned company).

The exact number of African Americanowned cigar shops is unknown. Sean Williams, creator of the popular cigar line El Primer Mundo, told NBC News that his company has “not been able to get great data on specifics of the Black cigar market;” that said, he made it clear that “this number may be substantially larger than anyone knows” and that no one can predict when or if the explosive growth of the African

American cigar market will stop.

The CTP’s proposed ban would disproportionately impact these Black-owned businesses and jobs, including black farmers, exacerbating present-day racial economic disparities while stripping the Black community of an important cultural symbol and tradition. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they are up in arms over CTP’s proposal.

While Black families and business owners feel that the federal government is unfairly attacking their customs and livelihoods, other Black political activists fear that CTP’s crackdown will accentuate the racial disparities currently prevalent in the American criminal justice system.

Rev. Al Sharpton has warned that the rule may create a dangerous illicit market on our streets, among other adverse effects, while the late congressman and beloved

civil rights activist Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) said that the rule will “disproportionately impact African Americans and lower-income communities while tobacco products commonly used by predominantly White or more affluent populations [go] unchecked.”

Not only has a federal court already ruled the FDA’s efforts to regulate premium cigars to be “arbitrary and capricious,” but a December report from Congress’ ReaganUdall Foundation also found “fundamental policy and scientific issues” in CTP’s decision-making that “remain unanswered,” which the Center must address.” Why, then, is CTP continuing onward in its quest to regulate flavored cigars?

It is insulting to the Black community that CTP says it’s doing so in the name of correcting health disparities. Black adults should be trusted to make choices for them-

selves that align with their preferences. It is not the role of CTP to dictate personal habits and preferences when there is no evidence to support such egregiously heavyhanded interventions.

CTP has promised to take the ReaganUdall Foundation’s recommendations for corrective operational actions seriously, so hopefully, the agency will soon reverse course on this counterproductive regulatory agenda that’s blind to the Black community’s economic, cultural, and social sensitivities. It’s the only right and just thing to do.

David J. Byrd served as the National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). He previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Claws for celebration!

Big news for multicultural small businesses.

Beginning this September, M&T Bank is partnering with the University of Bridgeport to bring our Multicultural Small Business Lab to Bridgeport. Join us for this eight-week intensive program designed to help empower and develop racially and ethnically diverse small businesses through education and spirited competition with a chance to win prizes up to $10,000. Registration closes August 22 – visit mtb.com/bridgeportlab to reserve your spot today.

agencies (the “Released Parties”) and such persons’ immediate family members and members of their households are ineligible to participate in the Competition. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. No business may win more than one prize. ©2023 M&T Bank. Member FDIC.

OP-ED: Anything Banned Becomes a Policing Issue: Why the FDA Menthol Ban is Not Good for Communities of Color

By Elliot T. Boyce, Sr. (Ret.), Former Director of the New York State Police Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

With the FDA’s pending ban on menthol cigarettes growing ever closer, it’s important that policymakers contemplating passing legislation that will impact the interactions between Black and Hispanic Americans and law enforcement better understand the unintended consequences of this decision.

For Those Who Are Uninformed

This August, the FDA could announce a nationwide ban on all menthol cigarettes, ending the legal sale and purchase of menthol-flavored tobacco. Some advocates falsely claim that menthol products are more harmful, but research shows that menthol cigarettes are no more dangerous than any other cigarette. A JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute study found that “menthol cigarettes are no more, and perhaps less, harmful than nonmenthol cigarettes.” Toothpaste, gum, and other products can add menthol, but this does not make the products more harmful or addictive. Moreover, menthol cigarettes are not the preferred cigarette in America; non-menthol cigarettes are. So why would the FDA aim to ban only menthol-flavored tobacco products, especially considering the majority of Black and Latino smokers prefer menthol? The reasoning behind the ban is misguided, non-scientific, and rooted in the historical targeting of people of color.

For Those Who Claim That the Ban is Solely Motivated by Health

The best solution for a public health

issue like tobacco smoking is education, treatment, and counseling. The government knows this approach well, as it’s led to tremendous declines in smoking since the 1960s. According to Statista, from 1965 to 2019, the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the U.S. has decreased from about 42 percent to 14 percent. Resources like quit-smoking websites, hotlines, medications, and text message programs contributed to this decrease, as well as common tobacco control policies like warning labels, advertising bans, and

smoke-free environments.

For Those Who Don’t Understand That Prohibitions are Police Matters

The federal government has not yet released its blueprint for enforcement of this proposed ban; however, under federal guidelines, tobacco-related incidents fall under the jurisdiction of the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), an agency that works both independently and in conjunction with local

law enforcement agencies to combat tobacco-related offenses. For advocates and policymakers to tell the public that the health department will enforce the ban, they are ignoring one key fact: anything banned becomes illegal and, therefore, a police matter.

Ban advocates acknowledge that there will be an increase in the trafficking of unregulated cigarettes nationwide. This creates a roadmap for organized criminal enterprises to expand their operations within Black and brown communities

where individuals will be seeking their tobacco product of choice due to the ban.

History has shown that nothing is better for expanding organized crime than prohibition. In addition, this could force traditionally law-abiding citizens, particularly elderly individuals, who prefer menthol products to the streets to seek illegal, unregulated tobacco products, and in turn, increase their risk of being victims of street crime.

Police officers I have spoken with say this will become one more reason for officers to stop individuals in communities of color impacted by the ban, leading to more negative interactions and less community trust where it’s already sorely lacking. This means a proactive police approach to solving the trafficking concerns will target individual possessors of contraband and illegal cigarettes to get the larger organized criminals. This is a police tactic that will, unfortunately, target individuals whose only crime is their choice of cigarette.

As a Former Director of the New York State Police Employee Assistance Program (EAP), I travel the nation speaking to policymakers, citizens, and other distinguished law enforcement professionals to further clear up misconceptions about the unintended consequences of the menthol ban. Many smokers and non-smokers (like myself) are unaware of the ban, and many are perplexed by the rationale behind banning products that are not the most widely smoked but instead are preferred by Blacks and Hispanics.

In conclusion, please remember that information is power; we must understand the unintended consequences of the menthol ban. Health concerns are more effectively managed through education, treatment, and counseling, not by police.

OP-ED: Why I Am Fighting for Greater Visibility for Diabetic Men and Women

was battered or fried, I ate it!

By Patti LaBelle

Diabetes is often invisible to everyone except those living with it, and for too long, minorities have gone without better access to better healthcare technology.

More than 25 years ago, I collapsed onstage while performing. I had no idea what was happening, but that night in the hospital, when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, my life was forever changed.

At first, I was angry, and I was terrified. I watched my aunt and uncle lose their sight, and my mother lost both her legs before she died in her 60s due to diabetes. I know firsthand the toll that this disease can take. It took me a while to do something about my diabetes. I was in denial. I kept my old unhealthy eating habits. If it

Eventually, I realized my glucose levels weren’t getting any better, and I knew it was time to do something. I made a conscious choice to prioritize my health and change my way of living. I turned to my love of cooking to overhaul my diet. It meant I had to put down the butter and pick up the vegetable steamer. I would even take my pots and pans with me on tour and cook in my suite with ingredients from the local farmer’s market, just so I could better control my food intake.

Black people and diabetes

The more attention I pay to my health, the better I feel. Exercise and I are not friends, but I started becoming more active – whether walking my dog and exercising in my pool or hopping on the elliptical machine. I use my Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (or CGM) to stay on top of my glucose levels throughout the day, without the need for painful finger pricks.

It lets me know where my glucose levels

are and where they’re headed, all with a glance at my iPhone. I can even share my levels with members of my family and my physician so they can keep a close eye on them, too.

I am proud of how far I have come on my health journey, and I am blessed and privileged to have an incredible support system in my doctors, family and friends. But millions of Americans in this country are not as fortunate.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes (34 million), and approximately 90% of them have Type 2 diabetes.

Black people are 60% more likely to develop diabetes than white people, and in 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Black people were twice as likely as white people to die from diabetes.

Lots of things are making this true, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Patti LaBelle lost three sisters to cancer. Now, she’s telling adults to ‘take heed and get checked’

Living with diabetes has never been easier; insulin pumps talk directly to continuous glucose monitors and automatically deliver insulin, and you can keep a close eye on your glucose levels from your smartwatch or phone without pricking your finger – no one likes to do that!

But this amazing technology is still not in the hands of people in Black communities and communities of color. A recent survey of people with insulin-treated diabetes found that most believe they deserve new technology to manage their disease, and I couldn’t agree more.

Why are so many of us out here fighting diabetes with the same old tools that have been around since my aunt, uncle and mother were diagnosed? If today’s health care system provided more coverage for (and access to) these technologies, millions of lives could be saved.

A ‘divabetic’ advocating for others

Diabetes is often invisible to everyone except those living with it, and for too long, minorities have felt invisible in this country. They deserve to feel seen and heard. I am proof that you can not only live with Type 2 diabetes but also live well with it. I am not a diabetic, I’m a divabetic! And I am proud of it. That is why this November, along with the Global Movement for Time in Range, I am sharing my story to amplify this important topic, and advocating for better access to diabetes technology and asking that decision-makers take action for communities of color to receive the care they need.

Whether you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, care for someone with diabetes, or you simply believe that people with diabetes deserve better, you can take action too by joining the conversation at wheninrange.com.

It’s time that we all truly #SeeDiabetes, because we can’t help change what we cannot see.

New Haven Public Schools

Early Childhood Programs

Programs for 3 and 4 Year Olds in New Haven

SCHOOL READINESS

NEW HAVEN

Free 6-hour early childhood programs for low-income New Haven families in the following New Haven Public Schools:

• Benjamin Jepson Multi-Age School

• Dr. Mayo Early Childhood School

• Fair Haven School

• John Martinez Sea & Sky STEM School

• Lincoln-Bassett School

•

Truman School

•

Additional community locations also participate in the program.

• Contact: Head Start Registration Office

Tel. 475-220-1462

NEW HAVEN

Sliding scale, fee-based 6-hour early childhood programs for New Haven families in the following New Haven Public Schools:

• Augusta Lewis Troup School

• Columbus Family Academy

• East Rock Community School

• Hill Central School

• Nathan Hale School

• Additional community locations also participate in the program.

• Free 4-hour programs available at East Rock Community and Nathan Hale Schools. Contact:

• School Readiness Registration

Tel.: 475-220-1482

The Early Childhood REGISTRATION OFFICE is located at:

Celentano Observatory

400 Canner Street

New Haven, CT 06511

In person REGISTRATION is Available

We are Accepting Applications!

How to Apply

The Office of Early Childhood is accepting applications electronically. Parents of 3 and 4 year olds are encouraged to apply online.

English: https://registration.powerschool.com/family/ gosnap.aspx?action=24982&culture=en

Spanish: https://registration.powerschool.com/family/ gosnap.aspx?action=24982&culture=es

What you will submit with your Application

1) Proof of Age

Child’s Birth Certificate OR Legal Custody/Guardianship Papers

2) Proof of Address

Current utility bill (Gas, Electric, Phone, Cable) in your name

3) Proof of Income

• 2 months of Current & Consecutive pay stubs OR W-2 or 1040 Tax Return

Budget Statement from the CT Department of Social Services or Social Security Office or Child Enforcement Bureau

• Notarized Statement indicating Parent is unemployed

• Additional forms may be requested

4)Proof of a Physical (within one year-to-date)

• CT Department of Education Early Childhood Health Assessment Record

• Anemia and lead level test results

TB assessment

• Immunizations records

• Seasonal flu vaccination

• Health insurance card

5)Proof of a Dental Exam (within 6-months-to-date)

Dental Exam record

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction

Animal Control Officer: $28.35/hour, 14 hours per week.

NOTICE

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

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Contact: Tom Dunay

Phone: 860- 243-2300

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 6211720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks

Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

:

NOTICIA

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300

Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

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. Must have a valid CT driver’s license & 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-MF

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 excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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

The Town of East Haven is currently seeking to fill the position of Part-time Animal Control Officer. Qualified candidates must possess a High School diploma or equivalent and considerable knowledge of animal care and handling, especially dogs, and of safe practices in handling domestic and wild animals. Must possess valid class 3 Connecticut Motor Vehicle License and possess or be able to obtain a pistol permit. Please send resume with references to Ed Sabatino, Assistant Director of Administration and Management, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT 06512 or esabatino@easthaven-ct.gov. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

The Town of East Haven is currently conducting examination for the following positions: Secretary III, Grade Level 11-$24.45/hr.

Records Attendant: $55,473/year

Applications and job descriptions are available at https://www.easthaven-ct.gov/home/news/click-below-job-notices and must be returned to the Civil Service Commission, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT 06512 no later than August 4, 2023.

The Town of East Haven is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities, Females, Veterans and Handicapped are encouraged to apply.

Full Time Administrative assistant position for a steel & misc metals fabrication shop who will oversee the daily operations of clerical duties such as answering phones, accounts payable purchase orders/invoicing and certified payroll. Email resumes to jillherbert@gwfabrication.com

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Electric Utility Lineman

The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking highly skilled applicants for First Class Lineman. Applicants must be a H.S, trade school, or vocational high school graduate with 4 years’ experience in electric line construction/maintenance work with experience working with energized 13,800-volt equipment. Must possess and maintain a valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to operate equipment of which a copy must be provided with your application. Wages: $41.46 to $46.09 per hour (wages currently under negotiations), plus an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, medical insurance, life insurance, paid holidays, sick and vacation time. A complete job announcement and application may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of August 22, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

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

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

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

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/ Administrative Officer position Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230419&R2=1308AR&R3=001

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

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

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Drug Free Workforce DRIVER CDL CLASS A

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

The Wallingford Electric Division is seeking a skilled individual to handle all inquiries, applications and complaints from the public related to utility billing, service, accounts receivable, customer billing and delinquent accounts. The position requires a high school diploma /GED or business school, plus two (2) years employment involving customer contact and the receipt, custody and accounting for sums of money OR an equivalent combination of the above experience and training. Wages: $23.36 - $28.36 hourly, plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Applications may be obtained at the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request from the Department of Human Resources or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page. Phone #: 203-294-2080, Fax # 203-294-2084. The closing date will be the date the 50th application or resume is received or August 7, 2023 whichever occurs first. EOE

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

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

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Full Time – All Shifts Top Pay-Full Benefits

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

Firefighter/Paramedic

The Wallingford Fire Department is seeking qualified applicants for Firefighter/Paramedic. $1,176.60 weekly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. The written exam and oral exam process will be administered by the Town of Wallingford. To apply, candidates must register through firefighterapp.com Once on the site, go to firefighter jobs and locate the link for Wallingford. The registration/application deadline is August 14, 2023. The registration requires a fee of $35.00 (online with firefighterapps.com). EOE

ARMED SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICER

NOTICE

Town of Bloomfield

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Armed School Security Officer. The position pays $55,000 annually plus benefits and will follow the Wallingford Public Schools calendar. To view the position requirements and to register/apply, please go to: https://www.policeapp.com/Wallingford-CT-Police-Department/312/ by the registration/application deadline of Monday, July 10, 2023. Registration for PoliceApp requires a fee of $35.00 that must be paid online to PoliceApp.com. EOE

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Salary Range: $87,727 to $136,071 Deputy Finance Director/Controller

Construction

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410. Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Drug Free Workforce

NOTICIA

Maintainer I

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE. For Details go to  www.bloomfieldct.org

Town of Bloomfield Finance Director

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range)

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a CT based construction firm, has an immediate opening for a Project Cost Engineer. Applicants must have experience quantifying completed work installed in the field including but not limited to the installation of underground storm, sewer, water piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of site and road construction. Minimum of 10 years or equivalent experience. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 or email vfederico@cjfucci.com. C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a CT based construction firm has and immediate opening for a Project Manager. Applicants must have experience managing work including but not limited to the installation of underground storm, sewer, water piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of site and road construction. Minimum of 10 years or equivalent experience. Fax Resumes to 203468-6256 or email vfederico@cjfucci.com. C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Entry-level position performing a variety of maintenance, repair and construction tasks. Must have a valid State of CT driver’s license and a clean driving record, a CDL Class B is preferred. Requires 3 years experience in construction, grounds or building maintenance or in work involving the operation and care of construction equipment. Pay rate: $22.48 to $26.66 hourly (wages under negotiation) plus an excellent fringe benefits package. Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed or faxed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@ wallingfordct.gov. by the closing date of August 14, 2023. Phone: (203)294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

MAINTAINER II

Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website –www.bloomfieldct.org

Portland

Police Officer full-time

Go to www.portlandct.org for details

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a CT based construction firm, has an immediate opening for a Quality Control Manager. Applicants must have experience performing construction quality control on Department of Transportation Projects in accordance with the CT Form 818 Quality Control Manager Specifications. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 or email vfederico@cjfucci.com. C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOW ACCEPTING PRE-APPLICATIONS FOR LASCANA HOMES OF ORANGE Affordable Rental Housing -ONE, TWO & THREE BEDROOM UNITS, 329 Smith Farm Road, Orange CT 06477

Preliminary Applications will be accepted beginning on 07/21/2023 AND ENDS with a postmark date of 08/21/2023. Pre-applications received after the end date as postmarked will be automatically rejected.

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Maintainer II. Applicants must possess 2 years’ experience as a laborer in construction work involving the operation and care of trucks and other mechanical equipment, or two (2) years training in one of the skilled trades and one (1) year of experience in construction operations, or an equivalent combination of experience and training. Must possess and maintain a valid (CDL) Class B to operate equipment of which a copy must be provided with your application. Wages: $23.73 - $27.82 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package that includes medical insurance and pension plan. A complete job announcement and application may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of July 31, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month

Maintainer III – Collections System

Pre-applications are to be mailed only to Developer’s PO Box 991, Orange, CT 06477. After the end date, applicants will be selected through a random lottery selection process.

QSR

STEEL CORPORATION

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

APPLY NOW!

Owner: Lascana Homes of Orange CT Limited Partnership Developer: Gyroscope Development Group, LLC

Managing Agent: Millennium Real Estate Services, LLC

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

Applicants will need to meet the income requirements based on family size for 50% (1, 2, and 3 bedroom) and 80% (1, 2, and 3 bedroom) and 100% (1, 2, and 3 bedroom) of Area Median Income, or less. Preliminary Applications will be received during the period noted above and placement on the wait list will be made through the random selection method once the period has ended. The maximum number of pre-applications to be placed on the wait list is one hundred (125). Pre-applications will not be accepted by hand-delivery, facsimile, email, or any other electronic transmission.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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

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

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

The Town of Wallingford Sewer Division is seeking qualified applicants to supervise and perform highly skilled tasks in the operation, maintenance, repair and construction of sanitary sewers, including CCTV inspection and high velocity flushing. Requires a H.S., trade school or vocational school diploma or H.S. equivalency diploma, plus 4 years’ employment in a field related to sanitary sewer construction, operation or maintenance, or 1 year of training in a skilled trade substituted for 1 year of experience up to 2 years plus a minimum of 2 years of employment for a sewer utility or in the construction field with work experience in the installation and maintenance of pipelines, or an equivalent combination of experience and training. Must possess or maintain a valid State of Connecticut Class B CDL. NEWEA Collection System Certification Grade II or higher is preferred. Wages: $29.21 to $33.40 hourly, plus an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, medical insurance, life insurance, paid sick and vacation time. Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@ wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of August 8, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

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

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

State of Connecticut

Office of Policy and Management

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/ Administrative Officer.

One Person family 100% AMI Max limit $78,330:

1 Bedroom unit Maximum current rent- $1415/month

Four Person family 100% AMI Max limit $111,900/year:

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

2 Bedroom unit Maximum current rent- $1,866/month

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Six Person family 100% AMI Max limit $129,804/year: 3 Bedroom unit Maximum current rent- $2,071/month

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230605&R2=1308AR&R3=001

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

Pre-Applications will be provided to any & all interested persons. Individuals and/or families may obtain the pre-application online at https://www.lascanahomes.com. You may request a pre-application be mailed to you by contacting us at (860)-272-8841.

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO

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

For Additional Information Contact Gyroscope Development Group: Phone: (860) 272-8841

TRS/TDD: (800) 842-9710

program designed to assist

REQUEST FOR BIDS

NOTICE

Sale of Surplus Rolling Stock New Haven, Connecticut New Haven Parking Authority Project #23-053

QSR STEEL CORPORATION APPLY NOW!

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

NOTICE OF PUBLIC

HEARING FOR THE ELM CITYCOMMUNITIES, HOUSING AUTHORITY OF NEWHAVEN (ECC/HANH) PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIPH ADMISSION AND CONTINUED OCCUPANCY PLAN (ACOP) AND HCV ADMINISTRATIVE PLAN (ADMIN PLAN)

Bids due July 7, 2023 at 3:00 P.M.

Bid Documents will be available beginning June 26, 2023 at no cost by downloading from the New Haven Parking Authority/Park New Haven website at https://parknewhaven.com/request-for-bids/ or visit the Temple Street Garage Office at One Temple Street, New Haven, CT to obtain a copy.

New Haven Parking Authority is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

Elm City Communities, the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (ECC/HANH) is proposing to amend sections of its Low-Income Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Administrative Plan (Admin Plan).

A 30-day comment period will begin on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 and end on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

ARMED SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICER

NOTICIA

VALENTINA

MACRI

VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Armed School Security Officer. The position pays $55,000 annually plus benefits and will follow the Wallingford Public Schools calendar. To view the position requirements and to register/apply, please go to: https://www.policeapp.com/Wallingford-CT-Police-Department/312/ by the registration/application deadline of Monday, July 10, 2023. Registration for PoliceApp requires a fee of $35.00 that must be paid online to PoliceApp.com. EOE

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Principal Labor Relations Specialist.

Copies of the amendment to the ACOP and the Administrative Plan will be made available on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 on the agency website www.elmcitycommunities.org or via Twitter, www.twitter.com/ECCommunities or via Facebook www.facebook.com/ ElmCityCommunities.

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230417&R2=6342MP&R3=001

Classified Apt for Rent

Cheshire: Accepting Prelim Appl BY MAIL ONLY for wait list 62 yrs or older or disabled at Cheshire Hillside Village. Waiting List Open Wed, July 26, 2023 – Sat, July 29, 2023 ONLY. Subsidized. EHO. CHFA Financed. Completed Prelim Appl MUST

BE POSTMARKED July 26th – July 29th, 2023 ONLY. Wait List Closed July 30, 2023. Contact Gibson Assoc. Inc. 175 E. Mitchell Av Cheshire Ph: 203-272-3781 TDD 800-545-1833x165

NEW HAVEN

Listing: Installers

242-258 Fairmont Ave

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

WANTED TRUCK DRIVER

You are invited to provide written comments addressed to: ECC/HANH, ACOP & Admin Plan Revisions; Attn: Evelise Ribeiro, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 or via email to: eribeiro@elmcitycommunities.org.

A public hearing where public comments will be accepted and recorded is scheduled for Monday, August 28, 2023 at 3:00pm via RingCentral: https://v.ringcentral.com/join/04 1263138?pw=c2154db54e492c457bdd94db15107160

Meeting ID: 041263138

Password: qGJ5zwsEvL

Or dial:

12679304000 United States (Philadelphia, PA)

Access Code / Meeting ID: 041263138

Dial-in password: 7455997385

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

Any individual requiring a Reasonable Accommodation to participate in the hearing may call the Reasonable Accommodation Manager (203) 498-8800, ext. 1507 or at the TDD Number (203) 497-8434.

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

HVAC department has openings for experienced, full time, installers for mechanical systems (Hydronic, Duct-less, RTU’s). Trade license and 3-5 years of experience preferred. Benefits, 401k, Paid Time Off, Company Vehicle. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email HRDept@eastriverenergy.com

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

Truck Driver with clean CDL license

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Full time experienced welder for Structural/Miscellaneous metals- email resume to jillherbert@gwfabrication.com

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

RESIDENT SERVICES COORDINATOR

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

Transportation Planner – GIS/Data Manager

The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) is seeking to fill the Transportation Planner – GIS/Data Manager position. Visit www.scrcog.org for the full position description, qualifications, and application requirements. Applications are to be submitted by noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, or until the position is filled. Questions may be emailed to jobs@scrcog.org. SCRCOG is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a Heavy/Highway general contractor

Please send resume to attielordan@gmail.com

PJF Construction Corporation AA/EOE

Town of Bloomfield

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Fairfield Housing Authority

Minimum Salary: $52,500 annual

Application DEADLINE is July 7, 2023

General Description of Work:

Assistant Building Official $39.80

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

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

hourly

,

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

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

seeks an experienced Project Manager based out of our New Haven, CT offices. Qualified candidates will have at least 10 years’ experience working as a project manager on heavy highway/bridge, concrete, demolition, and civil and site projects valued at $1M to $20M. A four-year engineering or construction management degree or equivalent experience, extensive knowledge of construction, effective management techniques and superior interpersonal and communication skills are required. Bridge, and CT DOT experience is preferred. Night/weekend work may be required. Applicants must submit project history with resume. AA/EOE M/F/Disability/Vet. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage qualified woman and minorities to apply. Please submit your resume and project history to lreopell@cjfucci.com

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

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE.

For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.org

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

The Resident Services Coordinator is a key Fairfield Housing Authority (FHA) staff position that insures residents’ services are the Authority’s first priority. The Resident Services Coordinator (RSC) is responsible for initial and ongoing engagement of residents and all administrative duties to assist the FHA in its operations. The RSC works closely with our supportive service provider and our property management team to insure residents’ needs are addressed, and support residents to fulfill their responsibilities under the lease. A full job description and employment application is available at https://www.fairfieldhc. org/ or by calling 203-366-6578. Applications must be postmarked on or before July 7, 2023 to be considered and the FHA reserves the right to begin interviewing candidates prior to the application deadline.

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Full Time – All Shifts Top Pay-Full Benefits

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

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of: (1) a background check, (2) a physical examination, including drug screening, and (3) a 90-day probationary period.

Applications & job descriptions are available at the Fairfield Housing Authority’s office located at 15 Pine Tree Lane, Fairfield Monday-Friday, 11 A.M. to 3 P.M, or downloaded from the website listed above. To be considered for this position, the applicant must complete the job application and attached a Resume which should be mailed to the address above. Fax, email or hand delivered applications will not be accepted. Minority and Bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply. The Fairfield Housing Authority is EOE, M/F/D employer.

NOTICE

AVISO DE AUDIENCIA PÚBLICA PARA LAS COMUNIDADES DE LA CIUDAD DE ELM, AUTORIDAD DE VIVIENDA DE NEWHAVEN (ECC/HANH) ENMIENDA PROPUESTA AL PLAN DE ADMISIÓN Y OCUPACIÓN CONTINUA (ACOP) Y AL PLAN ADMINISTRATIVO DE HCV (PLAN ADMIN) DEL LIPH

Town of Bloomfield

Patrol Police Officer

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Elm City Communities, la Autoridad de Vivienda de la Ciudad de New Haven (ECC/ HANH) propone enmendar secciones de su Admisión a Viviendas Públicas de Bajos Ingresos y Política de Ocupación Continua (ACOP) y el Plan Administrativo de Vales de Elección de Vivienda (HCV) (Admin Plan).

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

$37.93 hourly ($78,885 annually) – full time, benefited Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

Un período de comentarios de 30 días comenzará el martes 1 de agosto de 2023 y finalizará el miércoles 30 de agosto de 2023.

Las copias de la enmienda al ACOP y el Plan Administrativo estarán disponibles el martes 1 de agosto de 2023 en el sitio web de la agencia www.elmcitycommunities.org o a través de Twitter, www.twitter.com/ECCommunities o a través de Facebook www. facebook.com /Comunidades de ElmCity.

NOTICIA

Se le invita a proporcionar comentarios por escrito dirigidos a: ECC/HANH, ACOP & Admin Plan Revisions; Atención: Evelise Ribeiro, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 o por correo electrónico a: eribeiro@elmcitycommunities.org.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until position is filled

Town of Bloomfield Finance Director

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range)

The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Superintendent – Sewer. The position is responsible for providing technical and managerial direction in the operation and maintenance of the Town’s wastewater treatment plant, pumping stations, and sanitary sewer collection systems. Applicants should possess a bachelor's degree, plus 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the wastewater treatment field with 3 years of supervisory experience, or an equivalent combination of education and qualifying experience. Applicants must possess and maintain, a State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Class IV Operator certification and a valid CT driver’s license. Salary: $97, 917 to $125, 278 annually, plus an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, medical insurance, life insurance, deferred compensation plan, paid sick and vacation time. A complete job announcement and application may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of July 25, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

Classified Apt for Rent

Una audiencia pública donde se aceptarán y registrarán los comentarios públicos está programada para el lunes 28 de agosto de 2023 a las 3:00 p. m. a través de RingCentral: https://v.ringcentral.com/join/041263138?pw=c2154db54e492c457bdd94

db15107160

Identificación de la reunión: 041263138

Contraseña: qGJ5zwsEvL

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510

O marque:

12679304000 Estados Unidos (Filadelfia, PA)

Código de acceso / ID de reunión: 041263138

Contraseña de acceso telefónico: 7455997385

Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website –www.bloomfieldct.org

Portland

Police Officer full-time

Cheshire: Accepting Prelim Appl BY MAIL ONLY for wait list 62 yrs or older or disabled at Cheshire Hillside Village. Waiting List Open Wed, July 26, 2023 – Sat, July 29, 2023 ONLY. Subsidized. EHO. CHFA Financed. Completed Prelim Appl MUST BE POSTMARKED July 26th – July 29th, 2023 ONLY. Wait List Closed July 30, 2023. Contact Gibson Assoc. Inc. 175 E. Mitchell Av Cheshire Ph: 203-272-3781 TDD 800-545-1833x165

Health Promotion Coordinator (New Haven, CT) Monitor My Health, Inc. - Plan, develop, coordinate, and implement all activities of the health promotion program. Travel required. Reqs: Bachelor's, 2 yrs related exp, 1 yr supervisory exp & grant writing; Certified as a National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Coach. Full Time. Send Resumes to: support@monitormyhealth.org

NEW HAVEN

Cualquier persona que requiera una Adaptación Razonable para participar en la audiencia puede llamar al Gerente de Adaptación Razonable (203) 498-8800, ext. 1507 o al Número TDD (203) 497-8434.

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

THE GLENDOWER GROUP, INC.

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

Go to www.portlandct.org for details

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

Transportation Planner – GIS/Data Manager

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

APPLY NOW!

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

Request for Proposals

Construction Manager at Risk for Eastview Terrace Phase I

The Glendower Group, Inc. is currently seeking proposals for Construction Manager at Risk for Eastview Terrace Phase 1. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing. cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

beginning on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 3:00PM.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) is seeking to fill the Transportation Planner – GIS/Data Manager position. Visit www.scrcog.org for the full position description, qualifications, and application requirements. Applications are to be submitted by noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, or until the position is filled. Questions may be emailed to jobs@scrcog.org. SCRCOG is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer.

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY

Public Housing Software Conversion RFP No. P23002

SCOPE:

THE GLENDOWER GROUP, INC. Request for Proposals

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

Construction Manager at Risk for Youth Continuum

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

The Glendower Group, Inc. is currently seeking proposals for Construction Manager at Risk for Youth Continuum. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

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

beginning on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury hereby issues this Request for Proposal for qualified and experienced firms who have a demonstrated track record providing affordable housing and accounting management software in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL RETURN:

Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811

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

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/Administrative Officer. Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230309&R2=1308AR&R3=001

Envelope Must be Marked: RFP No. P23002, PH Software Conversion

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483

AA/EEO EMPLOYER

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

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

August 14, 2023 at 11:00am (EST)

RFP DOCUMENTATION: Go to: www.hacdct.org “Bidding Opportunities”

[Minority- and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond]

24 Black deaf students awarded their diplomas after being denied the honors in the 1950s

Stephen Nartey, Face2FaceAfrica.com

Authorities of the school for deaf and hard of hearing students, Gallaudet University, have awarded diplomas to 24 Black deaf students and four Black teachers of the Kendall School Division II for Negroes, which operated on the campus of Gallaudet University in the 1950s. The 24 Black deaf students and their teachers were denied diplomas 70 years ago due to segregation.

The Board of Trustees of the school christened the graduation day “Kendall 24 Day” to salute the gallant students and teachers and apologize for the injustice done to them. The high school diplomas were received by the descendants of the 24 students, five of whom showed up to grace the occasion. The five – Janice Boyd (Ruffin), Kenneth Miller, Clifford Ogburn, Charles Robinson, and Norman Robinson – attended the graduation ceremony with their families.

The University apologized to Robert Lee Jones, Richard King Jr., Rial Loftis, Deborah Maton, William Matthews, Donald Mayfield, Robert Milburn, Kenneth Miller, Willie Moore Jr., Clifford Ogburn, Diana Pearson (Hill), Doris Richardson, Julian Richardson, Charles Robinson, Christine Robinson, Norman Robinson,

Barbara Shorter, Dorothy Watkins (Jennings), Mary Arnold, Janice Boyd (Ruffin), Irene Brown, Darrell Chatman, Robbie Cheatham, and Dorothy Howard (Miller) for the wrongs of the past perpetuated against them, the University said in a statement.

Kendall School, a K-12 program on the campus of Gallaudet University, enrolled Black students from 1898 to 1905. The move was soon met with resistance from white parents who were opposed to integrating Black students. The black deaf students were later sent to Maryland School for the Colored Blind and DeafMutes in Baltimore or to the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Philadelphia.

The tide turned when a District of Columbia resident, Louise B. Miller, who had four children with three being deaf, sought to enroll her oldest son Kenneth at Kendall. The school authorities rejected his admission because he was black. In 1952, Miller joined by parents of four other black deaf students sued the school and won the class action to allow Kenneth and other black deaf students to attend Kendall School.

The court in its ruling said that black deaf students could not be sent outside the state or district to access the same education that white students were given. In

10-Year-Old From Maryland Becomes First Black Deaf Boy to Earn Emmy Nomination

By BlackNews.com

Keivonn Woodard, a 10-year-old boy from Bowie, Maryland, has made history as the first Black deaf actor to be nominated for an Emmy Award. He received a nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a drama series for his role in HBO’s “The Last of Us.”

The post-apocalyptic zombie series, based on a popular 2013 video game, features Woodard as Sam, a deaf child with leukemia. While his video game counterpart isn’t deaf, the producers decided to cast a deaf actor for the role, making Woodard’s performance stand out on the critically-acclaimed show.

Woodard expressed his awareness of the nomination’s “importance and huge

impact” on actors like him, according to Deadline. His mother April JacksonWoodard also shared her joy and surprise, saying she “never thought or dreamed it would happen” to his son, especially on his first TV show.

In his historical achievement, Woodard also became the youngest-ever nominee in the Outstanding Guest Actor category and the second-youngest person to be nominated overall for an Emmy Award.

Alongside his acting aspirations, Woodard is also passionate about hockey and dreams of becoming the first deaf Black player in the National Hockey League.

Be sure to follow him on Instagram @ KeivonnWoodard

the wake of that, the segregated Kendall School Division II for Negroes was built on the Gallaudet campus. The campus was built with inferior building materials and was allocated limited education materials. In 1954, the school was closed down after the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, which opened the floodgates for black students to sit in the same class with their white deaf colleagues.

Founding director of the Center for Black Deaf Studies, Dr. Carolyn D. McCaskill, said the souls of the graduates and their families can now have closure following the honor done them. She expressed the hope that this will set the tone for the victims to heal while they work towards creating an equitable society.

Roberta J. Cordano, President of Gallaudet University, said the act lends credence to the university’s dedication to building an inclusive ecosystem where students would feel they belonged to a community. He observed that no act will be able to bury the injustice done to the graduates, but, they have set the ball rolling to confront the institutional history of the university.

The black deaf graduates/Photo credit: Gallaudet University via Instagram

Illinois city begins paying reparations to Black residents

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

Reparations have finally arrived for some Black Americans.

The city of Evanston, Ill., began its historic reparations program by providing compensation to Black residents. Checks and vouchers in the amount of $25,000 have already been sent to eligible residents, a move that backs up the city’s 2019 promise to pay as much as $10 million over the next decade in reparations.

Approved in March 2021, the program targets Black residents who resided in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 or those that experienced housing discrimination due to the city’s policies.

It’s a similar program which officials in San Francisco currently are grappling with, as that California city also considers reparations by the harms suffered by Black residents denied fair housing, job and educational opportunities, and other hardships that were unfairly inflicted upon African American communities.

One Evanston recipient, Louis Weathers, an 88-year-old retired postal worker and Korean War veteran, shared his personal experience with racial prejudice during his interview with the Wall Street Journal.

He recounted his time at an integrated junior high school, where a white teacher consistently marginalized Black students.

He explained that the teacher would pur-

posely ignore their raised hands to undermine their capabilities.

“We got onto that, though. When we didn’t know the answer, we raised our hands,” Weathers recounted.

Weathers counted among the first to receive a $25,000 check from the city. He told the newspaper that he gave his reparations check to his son to reduce debt and make upgrades on his home.

The payments, which can be received as vouchers or cash, are funded through taxes on marijuana and real-estate transfers.

While Evanston has begun making reparation payments, similar proposals at the

national level have faced challenges. Although a federal bill calling for a national reparations task force has been introduced annually since 1989, it has yet to be voted on in Congress.

Evanston’s mayor, Daniel Biss, said his city remains committed to change.

“Our job here is just to move forward and to continue being that example, to continue illustrating that a small municipality can make real tangible progress,” he stated.

This article was originally published by NNPA Newswire.

(photo credit Courtesy of the City of Evanston)

Lee Rubin, MD

Your joint replacement calls for the greatest of care.

If you’ve been putting off joint replacement surgery, it’s time to stop living with pain and start feeling like yourself again. At Yale New Haven Hospital, our renowned orthopedic surgery specialists offer a comprehensive range of joint replacement techniques, including minimally invasive surgery that uses tiny incisions to help protect soft tissues and ligaments from damage and accelerate your recovery with less pain. Because Yale New Haven Hospital is committed to treating you with the greatest of care.

Find your Orthopedic Specialist today: 888-700-6543