INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Marketing Picks Up Focus For Real License Endorsements Financial Push Justice a Key atID2016 NAACP Convention INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS Volume . No. Volume27 21 No.2349 2194

Reyes Sworn In, Shares Spotlight

“DMC”

Color Struck?

Jazz Where?

Elicker Malloy To MalloyCrushes To Dems: Dems: Ignore “Tough On Crime” Ignore “Tough On Crime” Harp In Primary

Snow in July?

Bail Fund Plays Out The End Of Summer

Ashleigh Huckabey and Sun Queen. Next week, the two return to the park as organizers of Connecticut’s first Gay Black Pride, scheduled for Sept. 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. The event is a collaboration of APNH: A Place to Nourish your Health and Black Lives Matter New Haven.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Jazz Where? Pops Up In New Haven

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, Arts Paper www.nehavenarts.org

Fernanda Franco was deep in the favelas of Brazil, describing a song before she launched into it. In one universe, she guided the audience through a poor neighborhood step by step, nodding to residents with reverence . Back in New Haven, she rubbed her hands up and down her cajon and conjured a melody born hundreds of miles away.

“The most amazing humans live there,” she said. “The music that comes out of those streets … there’s nothing like it.

This song basically says ‘no one from the hills, they don’t give us a chance/but if they give us a chance the whole city’s gonna sing.’”

Saturday night, Franco was one of the anchors of Jazz Where?, a new jazz popup with a hot-club-meets-front-porch kind of feel. Organized by New Haven Independent Arts Editor Brian Slattery and Inner-City News Editor Babz Rawls-Ivy, the launch took place on the roof of 70 Audubon Street, home to the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Arts Council of Greater New Haven. Over 50 attended by the end of the night.

In addition to Franco, musicians included Bossa Nova Project Co-Founder Isabella Mendes and Nicole Granucci, playing as a trio for almost three hours straight. Franco, who plays in the band Fernanda and the Ephemeral (FaTE), ended the set by heading on to a latenight gig with Thabisa at Cafe Nine.

“This has been Brian and I’s opportunity to do jazz the way we thought a jazz club ought to run,” Rawls-Ivy said to cheers and applause Saturday. “Cool people, cool music, and a cool space. And I think we hit it!”

“It was never about 50 million people being here,” she added. “As you know, jazz clubs back in the day were intimate and small. It didn’t need to be a stadium.

We just wanted an intimate setting where people could sit, relax, not trip over people, and enjoy each other in conversation.”

Slattery and Rawls-Ivy met four years ago, when the New Haven Independent was building its low-power radio affiliate, WNHH Community Radio (103.5 FM), and the two found themselves talking about the absence of a regular jazz club in the city. It was the summer of 2015—just months after the short-lived Ninth Note announced it was facing eviction and then left the city.

The two both knew New Haven’s rich jazz history, but also knew it was fragmented. They joked about their requirements for a spot: open from midnight to 6 a.m. and hidden from public view,

maybe in a basement or on a second floor. Something password protected.

A dance floor was a must. They joked that they needed to stop talking about the idea, or they might accidentally put down a mortgage on a spot. Which would be great, except neither of them could afford it.

And then just as quickly as that joke came, the two realized that they could make the idea a reality with a totally free, community-oriented pop up. By the time they’d thought of venues—”we wanted unconventional,” said Rawls-Ivy—they had a long list of musicians in mind. The two ultimately chose the trio after both seeing FaTE at Cafe Nine and listening to Mendes’ work and feeling awestruck.

“It’s a dream we wanted to do,” RawlsIvy said. “We didn’t want to charge. We didn’t even want it to be a charitable thing. We just wanted it to be a cool night. We don’t know what it’ll be in the future. We’ll see.”

That easy vibe rippled across the roof, where attendees trickled in and set snacks and drinks on a communal table. On one side of the patio, Mendes unspooled the history of Bossa Nova, which blends jazz, samba, indigenous Brazilian music and something entirely of its own making.

She and Franco chatted in Portuguese, a nod to the country that raised them and fed them a steady musical diet of smooth piano and ear-wormy, murmuring percussion. Two numbers into the set, Mendes threw her head back and laughed, as if the group’s smooth sound was a matter of divine providence.

“This is the first time we played together!” she said to cheers. Franco corrected her: it was the second time they’d played together. The first had been their rehearsal earlier that week. The audience laughed along with them, as if they’d been let in on a magical secret.

The three dove back into the set, vocals sailing into a pink-orange sky. They traversed music history, celebrating bossa greats João Gilberto and Sergio Mendes while also making time for King Pleasure and the jazz legacies to which he gave birth. To Mendes’ voice, a bolt of satin, came Franco’s spirited and razorsharp response. Granucci held it down, more of a bridge between the two than a buffer.

At points, the evening also became a celebration of women in jazz. Franco explained to the audience that while bossa is not new to her, this configuration was: she is still learning to play the cajon, with two different brushes clasped in both hands. She recalled calling her father, who is a musician in Brazil, to ask what she was doing wrong earlier this week—only after she’d bruised multiple fingers.

Attendes IfeMichelle Gardin, Sarafina Robinson and Michelle Turner.

Lucy Gellman Photos: Fernanda Franco, Nicole Granucci and Isabella Mendes.

“I have this cajon because I’m tired of getting stood up by drummers,” she said to laughs.

Attendees hit the dance floor, a blur of reds and blues in the falling light. When the trio announced it would be performing Astrud Gilberto’s once earth-shattering “The Girl From Ipanema”—long awaited after an intermission and almost three hours of music—the audience greeted the news with applause and loud cheers. Several members of the audience began to hum and sing along quietly.

Tall and tan and young and lovely The girl from Ipanema goes walking

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And when she passes, each one she passes Franco had other plans for the song. She grinned, leaning into the mic as she mastered the cajon beneath her. She traded lyrics with Mendes, sometimes jumping in to add an interjection just when the song seemed too smooth to handle itself.

As Mendes launched into the lyrics How can I tell her I love her?, she gave a small grin.

“Just tell her, man!” she said.

Some time after 9 p.m., Slattery’s phone buzzed. Someone was downstairs

curious about the event, and couldn’t get up to the fifth floor without someone buzzing them up (kind of like a password). They hadn’t planned to make Jazz Where? part of their evening.

They’d just heard Bossa Nova floating down from the street and decided to call Slattery’s number, which was scrawled on a poster downstairs that read “Jazz Where? Jazz Here!”

“Yes!” said Slattery as he headed to the elevator. “We’re at that point of the evening now. That was exactly my hope.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Project To Study 100,000 DNA Samples For 100 Years

by ALLAN APPEL

New Haven Independent

A locally run long-term trial will sequence and study the DNA of up to 100,000 participants with the aim of finding new ways to detect and attack cancer and heart disease — and crack the code of other diseases.

Officials from by Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale Medical School’s Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) Wednesday announced the launch of what they are calling the Generations Project, one of the country’s largest DNA sequencing efforts.

Its aim: To enroll, within the next five years, 100,000 people from within the orbit of Yale-connected medical facilities statewide and beyond to consent to offering a dab of saliva and a teaspoon of blood — the basic materials from which the human genome will then be tested, sequenced, and examined.

“The groundbreaking piece,” said principal researcher Michael Murray, “is we are going to generate 100,000 people into a research cohort, a research infrastructure that can be used for a hundred years.”

That research, with so many participants, will enable scientists to look for patterns of changes to alert patients to protect against disease, target new drug development, and translate the results into better clinical care, according to the pitch at the heart of the participant recruitment materials.

The materials were distributed at an optimistic news conference convened at YCCI offices at 2 Church Street South, where samples have already begun to be taken.

John P. Thomas Publisher / CEO

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Editorial Team Staff Writers

Three hundred eleven people have already signed the serious consent forms and provided samples since June, the pilot phase of the project, said project Associate Director Anastasio Kelly,.

Officials said the push to get people to volunteer is ramping up quickly, especially with an electronic consent form that has been developed by Murray and others on the staff.

Participants agree to have their genomic profile merged or be on file with their ongoing medical records. That way clinical and academic research from the GP project that bears on discovery of new gene patterns like sensitivity or dosage of a particular drug for a particular patient would be immediately addressed in a communication to participant/patient and his or her doctor, for example.

“Three percent will be notified for having in their genome specific gene chang-

es that put people at high health risk” for conditions like heart disease and cancer,” Murray estimated.

If your gene profile suggests you might be at risk for Alzheimers or other conditions for which there is no current cure, no notification will go out, he added.

If treatment for Alzheimer’s becomes available years from now, you and your doctor would automatically be notified to take appropriate actions.

“This is forever,” Kelly said.

In 2010 the Yale Center of Genomic Health was organized, and it was one of the first in the country to develop the capacity for exome sequencing.

“Human genetics has transitioned to human genomics,” said Yale Medical School Dean Robert Alpern.

The first genomic sequencing took ten years and a billion dollars to accomplish, he noted. Now you can do it for $300 and

an evening to benefit planned parenthood of southern new england

in a day.

It’s now technically fairly easy to do the sequencing, Alpern said. The forwardlooking genomic science is to focus not on single genes but on patterns of mutations and correlate those changes to health risks.

Perhaps most challenging for the project at this point is to obrain developed consent and authorization forms, candid and informational enough to answer people’s concerns about privacy and other sensitive matters.

Those include how their genomic information will be used, stored, studied, loaned out to other researchers, and become the bases for new products. Yale’s materials, on line, on paper, and in person, explain all that.

To learn more about the Generations Project and how you can participate, email here or call 1-877-978-8343.

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

Contributing Writers David Asbery Tanisha Asbery Jerry Craft/Cartoons Barbara Fair

Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur Michelle Turner Smita Shrestha William Spivey Kam Williams Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

_______________________

Contributors At-Large

Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com Paul Bass New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org

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Tickets available at ppsne.org/newhaven

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Bail Fund Plays Out The End Of Summer

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper, www.newhavenarts.org

Jamarr Jabari pulled his drum to the front of the stage and began to play a familiar rhythm. From his hands ran a heartbeat-like story, soon rippling across band members and into the crowd. Attendees danced on the grass and in their seats, some slipping their shoes off to feel the grass. Behind him, the keyboard picked it up, then a guitar. Four guys on the basketball court took notice, and added some fancy footwork to their game.

The drum had given birth to a proper jam.

Jabari and the band Voices of Change appeared as part of the Connecticut Bail Fund’s first annual End Of Summer Jam, a picnic, party, and fundraiser for the group held Saturday in Goffe Street Park. The fundraiser comes as the nonprofit grows its staff from two to six members and continues its mission to end pretrial incarceration for people who cannot afford bail. Over 100 attended over the course of several hours.

“We thought this park was particularly meaningful because of the community it’s in, and because we’re in that jail [the New Haven Correctional Center] like, every other week,” said Co-Director Ana María Rivera Forastieri Saturday. “We don’t have a particular dollar amount that we wanted to raise for this event, we just really wanted to be in this community and sharing with others, and sharing about our work.”

Founded in 2016, the Bail Fund has grown to also encapsulate the Immigrant Bail Fund as well as several community advocacy projects such as housing not jails. This year, Co-Directors Forastieri and Brett Davidson were able to bring on four new members: Deportation Defense Organizer Vanesa Suárez, Community Organizer Jewu Richardson, Bail-Out Organizer Norman Clement, and Women’s Group Organizer Jeannia Fu. Clement, who has been a vocal force in the activist community, took the lead on organizing the fundraiser. As he bounced between a sound booth and cluster of seats in the audience, a lineup of performers brought the park to life.

They drew on social justice then broke it down to belly laughs, spanning spoken word performer Puma Simone to comedian Taylor Grate. At one point mid-afternoon, poet Tchalla Williams took the stage, juggling two books of poetry as she dove into her set.

“It’s summertime!” she declared at one point. “I would be feeling fine/But this year has me cryin’ for/Babies passing from bullet injuries to children being left with frenemies/to pedophile men and their victims/Leaving babies on sidewalks.”

Photos by Lucy Gellman Jamarr Jabari, who got attendees moving and singing along with the New Haven-based band Voices of Change.

Terry Miller: Like being with family.

“People of color outlined in chalk,” she continued. “Temples of prayer riddled with bullets/Flood waters attempting to wash away what we don’t say.”

Before the stage, a small but mighty audience sat at attention, hanging on to Williams’ every word. Further back,

Ambar Santiago Rojas and her younger sister, Jade.

attendees munched on fruit, macaroni and cheese, salads and birthday cake for Richardson’s son (complete with a rousing round of happy birthday). Others explored face painting, hula hoop lessons, and a green-and-white bouncy castle from which peals of laughter were

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audible halfway across the park.

Taking a break from her hula hoop, 12-year-old Ambar Santiago Rojas said she’d come out with her mom and sister not only to check out the fundraiser (she also performed early in the afternoon), but to show solidarity to families affect-

ed by both bail and deportation.

“Our community is falling apart right now,” she said. “We need to get back together by telling the world right now what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s really scary. But I think, it’s like my mom says, we don’t have to be scared. But we have to be aware.”

Back by a donation table, poet and Black Lives Matter New Haven CoFounder Sun Queen and her partner Ashleigh Huckabey praised the Connecticut Bail Fund for its work, including a speedy, coordinated effort to provide bond for a number of activists who were arrested by Bridgeport police for peacefully demonstrating on what would have been Jayson Negron’s high school graduation date this May. In particular, Huckabey said, she’s moved by the fund’s mission because Black and Brown people are disproportionately penalized by the carceral system, often punished for their economic status when they cannot make bail before trial. Sun Queen added that she hopes the fundraiser will get the bail fund closer to a goal that she and the organization have in common: “free them all.”

“Most of the time, we’re locked up for wrongful acts,” Huckabey said. “So we’re so appreciative of the fund.”

Some attendees hadn’t even known the fundraiser was happening, and made their way into the park when they heard music and poetry floating across the grass. Terry Miller, who lives nearby on Carmel Street, spotted the gathering from her house and wanted to see what it was all about. When she arrived, Forastieri gave her literature on the fund’s mission and vision, then made sure she had time to grab a bite to eat.

A longtime resident of the neighborhood—her nickname is “Ms. Hugger,” for the generosity she often shows to homeless people in the neighborhood— Miller said the fundraiser seemed made for the park, which has been home to countless gospel fests, the New Haven Caribbean Heritage Festival and many others.

After learning about the fund, she said she hopes to support its mission going forward. She’s watched people close to her deal with incarceration, she said, and while “I haven’t been affected by it personally,” she has seen the toll it can take on a family.

“When the community gets together like this, it brings such happiness to me,” she said. “I believe it’s a great thing that the Bail Fund exists—it’s just a blessing to help folks that can’t help themselves.”

“And coming out here,” she added, “it’s like being with family.”

To find out more about the Connecticut Bail Fund, visit http://www.ctbailfund. org/

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Marketing Push Picks Up For Real ID License Endorsements

by Shawn R. Beals Ct. NEWS Junkie

Standard Driver’s License Won’t Be Enough For Domestic Air Travel After Oct. 1, 2020 WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — A standard driver’s license will no longer be adequate for domestic air travel after Oct. 1, 2020, and state and federal officials have launched a marketing push urging Connecticut residents to obtain a Real ID before that deadline passes a year from now.

The Real ID endorsement is the result of a 2005 federal law passed at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission’s review of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The endorsement varies slightly from state to state, but is generally a gold star in the top right corner of the driver’s license or other state ID card.

Connecticut has been issuing REAL ID endorsements on new and renewed IDs since 2011, and has now converted about 47% of the 2.6 million licenses in the state, said DMV Commissioner Sibongile Magubane.

“We did almost 50% in the previous eight years, and now we have a year to do the rest,” Magubane said. “What we’re trying to avoid is that last-minute rush.”

She said the DMV will have to issue about 100,000 Real ID endorsements a month to get everyone updated before the effective date next year.

“With almost a year to go, the DMV is really pushing to ensure that everyone in Connecticut has the right information to be able to get their Real ID,” Magubane said during an event Thursday afternoon at Bradley International Airport. “We will be pushing out public service announcements starting in October.”

About 75% of the state’s commercial driver’s licenses already have the Real ID endorsement, she said.

Officials said a Real ID-compliant identification is not mandatory, but people without it will need a passport to travel on domestic flights after Oct. 1, 2020.

Passports will still be needed for all international travel.

Information on how to obtain a REAL ID endorsement is available on the DMV website at portal.ct.gov/DMV or at tsa. gov/real-id. Information is also available there on the required documentation needed to obtain a Real ID-compliant license or other ID. William Csontos, the Transportation Security Administration’s Federal Security Director for Connecticut, said the endorsement improves security because it adds a level of complexity to identification cards and signals to TSA screeners that the traveler has gone through an extra level of scrutiny to obtain the ID. Terrorists on Sept. 11 used forged travel documents to board the flights they hijacked, officials said.

“From the TSA perspective, a Real ID-compliant license gives us another

SHAWN R. BEALS / CTNEWSJUNKIE L to R: DMV Commissioner Sibongile Magubane discussed the Real ID program with members of the news media at Bradley Internation Airport in Windsor Locks on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. At left is DMV Deputy Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Guerrera. important tool in our security toolbox,” Csontos said. “It improves the reliability and accuracy of state identification documents and most importantly prevents and deters terrorists’ ability to avoid detection by using fraudulent identification.”

He said travelers after Oct. 1, 2020, without a federally-approved ID will not be able to board any flight, even within the United States. He said the TSA and state

agencies are doing as much as they can to raise awareness so people don’t show up to airports having paid for flights, hotels and other accommodations for the “vacation of a lifetime” only to be turned away at the TSA counter for not having the correct ID. TSA checkers have already begun screening for the new rules as part of their training and to alert as many trav-

elers as possible about the upcoming policy change, Csontos said.

DMV Deputy Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Guerrera said most of the new licenses issued in Connecticut have included the gold star.

“Anybody who’s getting a new license, particularly a new driver, they’re automatically getting that Real ID,” Guerrera said.

Correction Officials Still Struggling With Inmate Medical Care Transition

by Lisa Backus Ct. NEWS Junkie

Pharmaceutical service is just one issue that the Department of Correction is dealing with as the agency takes over inmate health care from UConn Health’s Correctional Managed Health Care.

DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook announced to staff in March that Dr. Byron Kennedy has been appointed as the DOC’s Chief Medical Officer of the Health Services Unit. Kennedy was previously the Director of Public Health for the city of New Haven. He started sometime in June.

The prison health care system has been without a Chief Medical Officer since 2018 when Joseph Brenton quit after three months on the job over concerns that inmates weren’t getting proper care.

Earlier this year, DOC officials confirmed that five women have overdosed on methadone dispensed by nurses working at York Correctional Institution, the state’s only prison for females, since July 2018. Some of the women who overdosed required Narcan, a drug that stops an opioid overdose, and hospitalization.

One nurse who was involved in two

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO

overdoses was terminated, DOC Director of External Affairs Karen Martucci, said. It is unclear if any of the incidents was reported to the state Board of Examiners for Nursing which oversees problems related to patient care by licensed nurses. The three other nurses are still on the job at DOC as the investigation into the overdoses is continuing, Martucci said.

The agency recently moved to an electronic dispensing system for methadone, making it safer, Martucci said.

“It lessens the risk for human error,” Martucci said. Inmates at York who are receiving methadone as part of a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program to help them stay off illegal opioids before release into the community now are identified by fingerprint, she said. York

6

had 300 inmates participate in 2018. In all, the DOC dispensed methadone to 845 different inmates during the 2018 calendar year.

Five other corrections facilities also participate in the MAT program but the number of inmates is far less than York, which has the largest program. In June, the legislature approved an additional $8 million over two years to expand the MAT program.

There have been no other overdoses at the other programs, Martucci said. Plans for the expansion of the MAT program were not completed as of a few weeks ago. “More than 80 percent of our population is struggling with addiction and we are committed to providing treatment,” she said.

The DOC is also embarking on a program to test every inmate for Hepatitis C which is now largely curable through medication. Cook announced his plan to test all inmates on Aug. 5 - about a week after a federal court judge approved a class action suit involving four Connecticut inmates who sued the DOC and the commissioner for not providing Hep-C treatment in the state’s prisons.

“I believe this new initiative will be

an effective weapon in combating the spread of Hepatitis C, which is a byproduct of the opioid addiction crisis,” Cook said in a press release issued Aug. 15.

“This is not just a Department of Correction issue, this is a public health issue, and we are more than willing and able to work toward fixing it.”

The lawsuit seeking Hep-C treatment for inmates was filed in 2018.

The agency will temporarily contract out for the testing and will not use current staff, Martucci said. Treatment will be prioritized according to the progression of the disease, she said.

The cost of the Hep-C testing and treatment plan is unknown, Martucci said.

During the last budget year, the agency ran $38 million over budget, of which $20 million was attributed to increased health care costs due to the transition from UConn Health to the DOC. Cook told the Appropriations Committee in April that the $20 million in cost overruns for inmate health care was attributable to hiring delays, which drove up overtime, higher costs than anticipated for pharmaceuticals, laboratory services, medical supplies, and specialty services.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Connecticut Bail Fund to Host First Annual “End of Summer Jam” Fundraiser in Goffe Street Park

A local organization dedicated to fighting mass incarceration and mass deportation is hosting its first annual “End of Summer Jam” Fundraiser this Saturday, September 7th, from noon to 5pm in Goffe Street Park. The event will feature musical performances from local artists, kids’ activities including a bounce-house and boxing lessons, live mural painting, outdoor BBQ food, and more.

Based in Fair Haven, Connecticut Bail Fund has been on the frontlines of fighting against mass incarceration, immigration enforcement, and the over-policing of our youth for three years. Connecticut Bail Fund operates two community bail funds, both of which exist to free people from jail who cannot otherwise afford bail: one for pretrial detention (in the criminal legal system), and one for ICE detention (in the federal immigration system). In the past three years, the two funds have freed over 365 of our community members from incarceration — all of whom were being caged because they could not pay bail.

The impact of Connecticut Bail Fund’s work is massive. People that can’t afford to pay bail are regularly exploited by the court system. The criminal legal system leverages pretrial detention to coerce community members into pleading guilty just so they can get out of jail.

Similarly, the immigration system uses detention to isolate community members from their support systems so that it becomes easier to move them through the

deportation process without legal representation and community resistance. By bailing our community members out of jail, the Connecticut Bail Fund allows them to effectively defend themselves in court from a place of freedom. This leads to fewer convictions, lesser sentencing, and fewer deportations. It also prevents people from losing their housing, employment, and custody of their children because they are caged in detention unable to make bail.

Connecticut Bail Fund is also active in the broader movement to dismantle the racist systems of mass incarceration and deportation and transform the ways we pursue justice in our communities. For two years, Connecticut Bail Fund has organized a weekly “Participatory Defense” meeting for families in the community who are fighting criminal and/or deportation cases. This is a space where community members come together to share updates on what they’re going through, identify strategies to positively strengthen their own defense, and support each other through the process. The end goal of this work is to transform the landscape of power in the courts by centering the knowledge and agency of criminalized people in the defense process. Connecticut Bail Fund is just one member in a growing national network of these “Participatory Defense” hubs.

Together, all the hubs in the network have now produced over 6,500 years of “Time Saved.” “Time Saved” is calculat-

ed by subtracting the number of years of incarceration a person was facing when they first started working with the hub versus the number of years they ended up serving after participating in their defense.

As a movement building organization, Connecticut Bail Fund’s ultimate goal is to put itself out of business. By bailing people out and building collective community power in the defense process, Connecticut Bail Fund is laying groundwork for a grassroots movement to end money bail, challenge mass incarceration, stop deportations, and transform the way we pursue justice in our communities. Presently, Connecticut Bail Fund is gearing up to start a state-wide bail reform campaign, as well as a women’s organizing group that will bring light to the intersecting systems of criminalization that punish women of color in our community. Connecticut Bail Fund is committed to a grassroots movement led by those most impacted by systemic oppression and racism.

To continue growing, this work requires funding. That is why Connecticut Bail Fund is organizing its First Annual End of Summer Jam this Saturday, September 7, in Goffe Street Park. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and spend the day hanging out, making friends, celebrating the movement, discussing ways to get involved, and preparing for the hard work to come.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Elicker Crushes Harp In Primary

by THOMAS BREEN, PAUL BASS & CHRISTOPHER PEAK

New Haven Democrats delivered a resounding change message Tuesday as challenger Justin Elicker soundly defeated incumbent Toni Harp in a Democratic mayoral primary.

Elicker defeated Harp — who had beaten him six years ago to become mayor — with a total of 7,198 votes (58.29 percent) to the incumbent mayor’s 5,150 (41.71 percent).

The former East Rock/Cedar Hill alder and 2013 mayoral candidate beat Harp both at the machines in the city’s 30 wards on Tuesday and in the absentee ballots.

It was Toni Harp’s first electoral loss in a 32-year career as a popular alderwoman, then state senator, then three-term mayor. Her third term has been marked by complaints over a tax hike, lead paint enforcement failures, and chaos at the school board, issues voters of all backgrounds raised Tuesday at the polls.

The big question now is whether Harp will continue the campaign into the general election, when her name would appear on the Working Families Party line — but in which over 16,373 unaffiliated voters and 2,459 registered Republicans are eligible to cast ballots. Elicker outperformed Harp among those voters in the 2013 general election; plus, Harp benefited among Democratic voters in that general election from having won the primary, which she didn’t do this time around.

Following is the final official wardby-ward breakdown from the machine vote as well as absentee ballots, released Wednesday by Head Moderator Kevin Arnold: Voter turnout was strong Tuesday in pro-Elicker wards, especially Westville’s Ward 25 (where Harp lives), while a concerted effort by Harp to appeal to black and brown voters fizzled. Elicker gained ground in wards that Harp easily captured six years ago when the two candidates last faced off in a mayoral election.

Ward 27 (covering portions of Beaver Hills, West Hills, Amity, and Westville) was basically a tie, for instance; Harp won it 2-1 last time. Ward 26 in Upper Westville, where Harp used to live, went from a pro-Harp to a decidedly proElicker district this time around. Ward 6, covering City Point and part of the Hill, flipped from Harp to Elicker as well.

So did Ward 21, which covers portions of Newhallville, Dixwell, and Prospect Hill.

Overall on the machines, Elicker won in 15 wards, Harp won in 14 wards, and they tied in one, Ward 12’s Quinnipiac Meadows (pending the counting of ab-

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Elicker, with daughter Molly, thanks supporters at Trinity.

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Mayor Harp with spokesperson Laurence

About an hour after polls closed, Harp called Elicker to concede the primary.

sentee ballots). Handicappers originally expected Harp to win more wards but Elicker to win the districts with the biggest turnouts. He exceeded expectations.

Elicker racked up big margins in the city’s predominantly white neighborhoods, cushioning his lead by hundreds of extra votes. He was ahead by 510 votes in Ward 25, 466 votes in East Shore’s Ward 18, 353 votes in East Rock’s Ward 10, 236 votes in Downtown’s Ward 7 and 215 votes in East Rock/Goatville’s Ward 9. Elicker also came out ahead by 289 votes in Prospect Hill’s Ward 19 Harp’s biggest lead, meanwhile, came from Newhallville’s Ward 20. That ward

Grotheer at 50 Fitch.

netted only 174 votes, a dramatic decline from the 516-vote lead she picked up there in the 2013 mayoral primary. Other previous Harp strongholds, like Dixwell’s Ward 22, didn’t show up for her this time around, landing in a virtual tie.

Elicker also ran a more 21st century campaign, with heavy reliance on social media and email as well as a regularly updated campaign website. Harp relied on a wave of incumbent mayoral press conferences and a ground game focused almost exclusively in closing weeks on New Haven’s black and brown communities.

Elicker addressed his supporters at

8

Trinity Bar on Orange Street shortly before 9 o’clock. He said it’s the same location where his 2013 campaign ended.

“Six years ago, we came pretty close,” he said. “We didn’t see that as a failure. We saw it as a lot more work that needs to be done, and our coalition grew.

This time around a lot more people have joined our coalition.”

Campaign Manager Gage Frank at the victory celebration. Behind him: Upper Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Board of Ed member Ed Joyner and activist Patricia Kane Elicker spent most of his speech thanking his supporters, shouting out his

campaign staff, the thousand-plus small donors who contributed to his campaign and his high-profile backers, like Luiz Casanova, the former assistant police chief; Ed Joyner, an elected school board member; and Nichole Jefferson, the city’s former equal opportunity commission chief.

Elicker said the campaign had been tough, joking at one point that he didn’t want to “drone on,” a reference to Harp’s television ad that claimed he supports drone surveillance of people’s homes in “our” neighborhoods. He stressed that he wants to work with those who’d backed his opponent.

“Tonight, when you look at the results around the city, we have a clear mandate for New Haven to be a government that is ethical, that is responsive and that puts this city in a direction where every single resident can thrive,” he added.

“Now is the time for everyone in this room to reach out to the other campaign, because at the end of the day, the most important thing has nothing to do with the individuals in this room, but with the individuals that we met knocking on doors … in every single neighborhood around this city. The only way we can do that is by joining together,” he went on. “I am so excited to work with UNITE HERE, with the Board of Alders, with our delegation and with every single person in this city to continue moving forward.

“Thank you everyone so much for being here tonight,” he concluded. “Let’s have a great night and now the work begins.”

Harp, meanwhile, briefly addressed her supporters at the 50 Fitch tavern.

“I want to thank each and every one of you who worked with my campaign over these months, who’ve really worn out your shoes, knocked on doors and made telephone calls,” Harp said. “Thank you so much for believing in my administration and what we have stood for.

“I want to say to you that this campaign and all of you stood for something really new in New Haven,” she went on.

“We brought people together from clear across our city, people from different cultures and different races, with a vision that we would be the city, and we will be still, where everyone — no matter whether where you come from, no matter how rich or poor — everyone has an opportunity and a chance to make something of themselves.

The question now is whether Harp will choose to compete in the general election. Her name is on that ballot for the Working Families Party. Asked, after the speech if she plans to run again in the general election, she said, “I will let you know.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Standardized Test Scores Show Progress

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK New Haven Independent

Standardized test scores continued their upward rise at New Haven’s elementary schools last year, though most kids still aren’t at grade level.

That’s spelled out in the latest round of data that the Connecticut State Department of Education released on Monday morning, in the fifth year of Smarter Balanced Assessment scores used to evaluate third through eighth graders in math and reading.

Across the city’s elementary schools, 34.4 percent of students are on grade level in reading, up 0.9 points from the previous year, and 22.5 percent of students are on grade level in math, up 1.2 points from the previous year.

That puts New Haven well behind the rest of the state in proficiency, where 55.7 percent of students are on grade level in reading and 48.1 percent are on grade level in math, but ahead of other big cities, outperforming Hartford, Bridgeport and Waterbury.

The district as a whole is closing the gap with the state in reading, and at current rates, it will catch up to the state in a decade. But in math, the district as a whole is falling slightly behind the state’s pace.

“While we continue to see promising year-to-year increases for all student groups meeting or exceeding their achievement benchmark in both [English language arts] and math, our mission to close gaps around the state remains a priority,” Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

“Together with our districts and school leaders, we will identify the local practices that are working and focus our support on the instructional core at the heart of our work,” he went on. “A strong instructional core, which includes connection with students, a strong curriculum, and effective teaching and leadership, serve as the foundation for achieving successful outcomes for all students regardless of zip code.”

Even within New Haven’s school system, the results were often stratified by race and class, reflecting the barriers that exist outside the classroom.

In reading, there’s a 30.7-point gap between white and black students and 27.2-point gap between white and Hispanic students. And in math, there’s a 30.2-point gap between white and black students and 27.5-point gap between white and Hispanic students Similarly, there’s 23-point gap in reading and a 21.8-point gap in math between students growing up in poverty who qualify for a free lunch and their classmates.

Those disparities can show up in stark

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Students at Martinez School, which saw 10-point gains. ways across the city’s public schools.

For instance, only 3.8% of students at Augusta Lewis Troup School are on grade level in math, while 68.6% of students at Worthington Hooker are.

Similarly, only 12% of students at Lincoln-Bassett Community School are on grade level in reading, while 76.7% at Worthington Hooker are.

On the whole, though, over the last four years, most of the city’s public schools have been moving in the right direction, showing sustained progress in boosting the portion of students who are on grade level.

Two schools, L.W. Beecher Museum School and John S. Martinez Sea & Sky

Con’t on page 13

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Teacher Flight Leaves 32 Vacancies

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK New Haven Independent

Even after last year’s budget cuts slashed the teaching force, more teachers fled to other school districts this year, leaving the district’s human resources office scrambling to catch up.

Within the last six months, 174 teachers (out of approximately 1,900 districtwide) have sent in resignation or retirement letters. That has meant that the school district is short-staffed by dozens of full-time employees, leaving coaches and substitutes to cover all the classrooms.

Administrators said, at a special Board of Education meeting held Tuesday evening at the district’s Meadow Street headquarters, that they have 32 vacancies.

The number of teachers who resigned for another job is slightly larger this school year, growing from 121 in 2018 to 156 in 2019.

But there’s one big difference. Last year, the end of the federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant meant that the district couldn’t afford to keep all its faculty.

Administrative interns were sent back to classrooms, bumping other teachers in what led to a massive reassignment.

In the late summer, teachers found out that if they didn’t start looking for jobs elsewhere, they might be laid off, as 20 counselors, librarians and teachers eventually were.

Those belt-tightening measures meant that, for every five teachers that the district lost, it hired back only three new

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Lisa Mack and Carol Birks answer questions at special

meeting. teachers.

That’s not the case this year, as the district is trying to replace most of the teachers who have departed. Within roughly the same six-month period, it has already hired almost as many teachers, and is still short.

Since February, the district has hired 179 teachers, 55 of whom don’t have their certification yet.

Overall, this year’s hires have been doing the job longer, boasting about 4.8 years experience at the front of the

classroom on average, about a year-anda-half more than last year’s hires.

They have slightly fewer advanced degrees. Only 9.1 percent have gone beyond their master’s, compared to 27.7 percent last year who’d earned a six-year certificate or a doctorate.

At this week’s Board of Ed meeting, district human resources chief Lisa Mack said that the 32 vacancies are primarily in hard-to-fill positions, in particular for 10 teachers in special education, seven in math and four in bilingual edu-

cation. Those numbers are still moving, she added.

“That number can fluctuate up or down, as we fill vacancies,” Mack said. “We have realigned schedules to make sure all classes are covered, as well as using some of our veteran substitutes on a short-term basis.”

Typhanie Jackson, the district’s student services director who oversees special education, added that some retirees have come back to help with those staffing shortages.

Superintendent Carol Birks, meanwhile, has sought to downplay the problem. At a recent Board of Ed meeting, she sent out a report with misleading numbers, suggesting that this year actually has the highest retention rates on record.

While she was on vacation, Keisha Redd-Hannans, an assistant superintendent, read off numbers that said only 269 full-time employees had left this “academic year,” compared to a high of 294 in 2016.

But her stats stopped on June 30, long before the most teachers send in their mid-summer resignations. She didn’t make any distinction between full-time employees, instead grouping together chefs, guards, aides, teachers and principals. And she didn’t say how many people the district employed each year for an accurate retention rate.

“It is a large number, there’s no question about that,” said Dave Cicarella, the teacher’s union president.

Cicarella said that so many educators — especially those in the mid-range of

seniority — are calling it quits to work in suburban school districts, where they can be paid up to $15,000 more for an easier teaching assignment or even take a promotion to an assistant principal position.

“These people are in their 30s; their kids are getting older. They don’t necessarily want to go, but they get aggressively recruited,” he said. “New Haven teachers are highly sought after. They know it’s an urban district, and that if you can teach here, you can teach anywhere.”

Cicarella added that, while it’s not the most significant factor, recurring budget deficits are also making a few teachers uneasy.

“We used to have plenty of state and federal money to keep us going; now, I’m not so sure,” he said. Before, the job might have been challenging, but “at least it was secure; that’s not the case anymore.”

Without increased funding that would allow New Haven to pay its teachers more, what can be done to convince educators to stay? Cicarella said that the district can do more to make its teachers feel supported.

“Sometimes, too many of them feel, ‘I’m in this by myself.’ That’s not the intention, but they don’t feel completely supported,” he said. “Everyone knows resources are limited, but we really have to be willing to take a hard look at what we’ve done up to this point and how we can do it better, to help teachers be more successful and truly be supported so they want to stay.”

Health Workers Spread Narcan Message

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

“Tilt the head back,” Alixe Dittmore was telling Julie Lucas. “Cover a nostril.

Stick this in their nostril.” Then: Spray.

At the moment, no one was suffering a drug overdose on the New Haven Green.

Dittmore — and a crew of other publichealth workers — were on the Green Thursday to make sure that when future overdoses do occur, there or elsewhere, people like Lucas are ready to save lives.

Dittmore was taking part in an International Overdose Awareness Day event.

Organized by Cornell Scott Hill Health Center amid a rise in the use of the deadly opioid fentanyl, the event featured information about the addiction treatment medication Suboxone, fentanyl test strips — and an effort to get more people, users and nonusers alike, equipped with Narcan, the nasal antidote.

“We want to get Narcan in everybody’s

hands,” said Hill Health Chief of Medicine R. Douglas Bruce “There’s only four minutes until they’re dead” after an opioid overdose, noted Phil Costello (at right), Hill Health’s clinical director of homeless care. “The ambulance sometimes takes eight minutes.” Narcan revives overdose victims and buys them 30 to 60 minutes to get emergency medical treatment.

Shannon Francis (pictured) of the Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition handed out Narcan kits with two doses, gloves, and information. The group worked alongside a team from New Haven’s Sex Workers and Allies Network (SWAN).

Alixe Dittmore also worked the Harm Reducation Coalition table. Julie Lucas, who said she regularly hangs out with friends on the Green, said she wanted the training in order to be ready in case one of them overdoses, which has happened

several times. Hill Health clinical pharmacist Kaitlyn Jesse obtained temporary state permission to write and fill Narcan prescriptions at the four-hour event. She had written 15 in the first hour and 45 minutes.

Paul Sutphin, a regular on the Green, was charging his phone when he noticed the booths. He met up with Yale New Haven Hospital Transitions Clinic community health worker Jerry Smart and told him about his problems finding permanent housing since his release from prison a year ago. Smart’s job is to connect recently released ex-offenders with health care and direct them to housing if needed. Sutphin, who suffers from grand mal seizures, said he hopes to find an apartment so he can avoid shelters, but he doesn’t have the money, he said.

“Call me Monday,” Smart said after they spoke. “I’ll point you in the right direction.”

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PAUL BASS PHOTO

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

COMMENTARY:

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

DeVos Hands For-Profit Colleges $11.1 Billion Over 10 Years

By Charlene Crowell, NNPA Newswire Contributor

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Over the next decade, the Education Department projects an $11 billion cost-savings from denying loan forgiveness. But for student loan borrowers, denying $11 billion in loan forgiveness adds an unwieldy and costly burden for an education, and earnings that were never realized.”

Most consumers would likely agree that consumers should get what they pay for.

If a product or service fails to deliver its promises, refunds are in order.

That kind of thinking guided the Obama Administration’s decision to address false promises made to student loan borrowers.

A rule known as the “borrower defense to repayment,” came on the heels of successive for-profit college closures that left thousands of students stranded educationally and financially. The federal rule provided a way for snookered students and borrowers to apply for and secure loan forgiveness. Its premise was that both borrowers and taxpayers were assured that the Department of Education was looking out for them.

But with a new administration and Education Secretary, rules that made sense and brought taxpayers financial fairness have been repealed and replaced with other rules that favor for-profit colleges, loan servicers, and other business interests.

Just as many people were about to begin their Labor Day holiday, the federal Department of Education announced it was changing a key rule that provided a pathway to federal loan forgiveness. Instead, a new rule puts in place a process that will be cumbersome, lengthy, and

nearly impossible for consumers to successfully secure relief.

Commenting on the rule that will now apply to all federal student loans made on or after July 1, 2020, Secretary Betsy DeVos said, “We believe this final rule corrects the wrongs of the 2016 rule through common sense and carefully crafted reforms that hold colleges and universities accountable and treat students and taxpayers fairly.”

Excuse me Secretary DeVos, the rule was promulgated due to the thousands of wrongs resulting from less than truthful recruitment practices, false advertising, and targeting of vulnerable populations: low-income, first-generation college stu-

dents who were often people of color, and veterans seeking new skills in a return to civilian life. For-profit colleges largely remain financially solvent by their heavy dependence upon taxpayerfunded student loans.

For Black America, the effects of predatory student lending at for-profit colleges comes with severe consequences. According to research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL): • Only 21% of all for-profit students in four-year programs graduate within six years • Four years after graduation, Black students with a bachelor’s degree owe almost double the debt their white class-

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mates owe; and • While for-profit college enrollment represents 8.6% of all college students, these schools generate over 34% of all students who default on their loans.

While this new rule may make sense to Secretary DeVos, education advocates had an opposite reaction, quickly and emphatically detailing how the rule change is as negative as it is costly.

“After the collapse of Corinthian College and ITT Tech, two of the largest forprofit education companies in the country, the Obama Administration created the Borrower Defense rule to protect students and taxpayers from deceptive practices that could jeopardize the future of thousands of students and our economy,” said Ashley Harrington, a CRL Senior Policy Counsel, and a primary negotiator during the Education Department’s negotiated rule-making process.

With DeVos’ new rule, both the automatic discharge of federal loans that took effect after a school closed and another provision that allowed group claim relief are now eliminated. Anyone seeking redress on student loans must also bear the full burden of documenting their alleged “harm” before a claim can be reviewed.

The new rule also removes states from opportunities to defend their own constituents. State laws, many enacted before the 2016 Obama-era rule took effect, provided another route to legal redress. But with the new DeVos rule, no state-level claims can be pursued.

“That’s problematic for us,” added Harrington. “The federal standard should be the floor, not the ceiling, for relief.”

Over the next decade, the Education Department projects an $11 billion costsavings from denying loan forgiveness.

But for student loan borrowers, denying

$11 billion in loan forgiveness adds an unwieldy and costly burden for an education, and earnings that were never realized.

“The new ‘borrower defense rule’ does anything but defend students,” said James Kvaal, president of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS).

“In fact, it makes it almost impossible for students who are lied to, defrauded, or otherwise abused by their colleges to get a fresh start. …By leaving students on the hook for colleges’ illegal actions, today’s rule sends a clear message that there will be little or no consequences for returning to the misrepresentations and deceptions that characterized the for-profit college boom.”

A similar reaction came from Abby Shafroth, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, and like Harrington, participated in the Department’s rulemaking meetings.

“There are over 170,000 pending applications with many borrowers held in limbo for years,” continued Shafroth.

“The new rules reflect an ongoing shift to protect the multi-billion-dollar forprofit education industry at the expense of students and taxpayers and come amid concerns about conflicts of interest raised about the rule of former for-profit executives hired by the Department.”

Rather than saving taxpayer dollars, it seems that this new rule is guaranteeing a taxpayer-funded revenue stream for the benefit of for-profit colleges — not students.

Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s Communications Deputy Director. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending. org.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019 Con’t from page 09

Standardized Test Scores Show Progress

STEM School, notched at least 10-point gains in both reading and math proficiency rates. Truman School also made 8-point gains in both reading and math.

Clinton Avenue School moved the most in reading, going up by 17.3 points, while Beecher moved the most in math, going up by 15.5 points.

But during the same time period, five schools moved backwards. West Rock Author’s Academy, Brennan Rogers School, Lincoln Bassett, King-Robinson and Augusta Lewis Troup all lost points in both reading and math.

Among the city’s charters, Amistad Academy and Elm College Preparatory, the two schools in the Achievement First network, both saw gains of 0.8 and 1.7 points in reading and 2 and 9.6 points in math, respectively.

Booker T. Washington Academy, a stateapproved charter, and Elm City Montessori, a district-approved charter, are both still adding classes, making comparisons to previous years difficult.

The state also measures how much students are growing over time, giving a fairer comparison of how much they’ve actually learned in a school year, regardless of where they started.

It does that by setting an individual target score for each student, which generally would allow them to catch up to grade level within five years if they’re behind or stay slightly ahead if they’re already there.

On that growth measure, New Haven students met an average of 55.2% of their targets in reading, a 3.1-point decline from last year, and 53.6 percent of their targets in math, the exact same as last year.

That rate comes a lot closer to the state’s performance. Across Connecticut, students met an average of 59.5% of their targets in reading and 62.5 percent of their targets in math.

But it’s behind the average of 60.2 percent of growth targets achieved that Superintendent Carol Birks had set as a goal in the district’s continuous improvement plan.

In a statement Birks pointed out that test scores are only one way to measure how teaching, but she applauded the district for the results it had achieved.

“I commend our faculty, staff, administration, and community for their efforts and commitment to our students. We will continue to analyze data and target instructional practices to improve student achievement,” she said. “As a district, we will continue to provide targeted professional learning, strengthen [whole class] Instruction and social-emotional learning supports and monitor progress to improve academic outcomes.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

The Creative Economy Lands At The Library

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper www.newhavenarts.org

New Haveners who want to make money in music—or learn to edit their own music videos—can now try those skills out in the New Haven Free Public Library. So can artists who are just trying to get their craft off the ground. And photographers who want to learn how to make magic with a cell phone or starter camera, while learning a little more about how to frame New Haven.

This month, the library welcomed New Havener Eric Rey and Hamdenite Chris Ward as its new Entrepreneur- and Creative-in-Residence, part-time positions that they will hold from September 2019 through January 2020. Based out of Ives Squared at the library’s downtown branch, both are rolling out courses and office hours this month, some starting as early as this week. The courses are free and open to members of the public.

Rey is a life coach, musician, lifelong New Havener and co-founder of the small soup business Sopa! New Haven with his brother Alejandro Pabon-Rey. Ward is a filmmaker and photographer who moved to the city from California and now teaches film and media studies full time at Quinnipiac University. The positions were filled by artist-tinkerers Jacquelyn Gleisner and Ryan Paxton until earlier this year.

“There is something very special to me about being able to give back to the place I grew up,” said Rey in a recent interview at Orchid Cafe on the Green. “I grew up in this library. This is the kind of stuff that I love … helping people find their way forward. There’s something exciting about the energy that comes from a person when they realize ‘oh, I can do that.’”

During his time in the position, Rey will offer weekly office hours and one-onone coaching, as well as a series of entrepreneurship-themed workshops with a focus on the creative economy. On Sept.

12, spoken word artist Puma Simone will kick things off by talking about her own career, and what she has done to balance art-making and living in New Haven.

Those continue Sept. 27 with musician Manny James, and a third on women in entrepreneurship, the lineup for which has yet to be announced.

“It was like they wrote it [the position] for me,” he said. “The focus on programs spoke to the coach in me. And then the second part on entrepreneurship it was like, this is my gig.”

Ward, meanwhile, will be offering a series of photo and video editing workshops with a particular focus on Adobe Premiere and Lightroom, as well as basic photography concepts including diffusion, composition, and exposure. In September, those begin with several intro-

Lucy Gellman photos: Chris Ward: “Empowering people to be able to tell their own stories is what really energizes me.”

Eric Rey: “There is something very special to me about being able to give back to the place I grew up.”

ductory courses, as well as semi-weekly photo tours of New Haven that are still in the works. He said that the classes are structured to accommodate both returning and drop-in students, to allow for the most flexibility in what New Haveners want to learn.

Both he and library staff said they are also interested in a podcasting or audio aspect of the residency, but have not yet figured it out. Ward suggested holding

a workshop in which attendees record each other with their phones, and then do a quick audio edit to learn basic techniques.

As a fairly new transplant to the city, he said that he’s most excited for the teaching aspect of the job, through which he hopes to both meet people from around the city and encourage greater civic engagement from his own students at Quinnipiac. When he moved to New Haven

several months ago with his girlfriend, an archivist at the Beinecke Library, he got to know the library while volunteering with the New Haven Documentary Film Festival (NH Docs). Two library staffers mentioned the position to him, and encouraged him to apply.

In the coming months, he’ll be inviting several of his QU students to join him as teaching assistants, to help them grow their relationship with the city as he also grows his.

“I really do love New Haven,” he said in an interview at Orchid Cafe on the Green. “It’s a mid-sized city, there’s a lot going on, and everyone is so giving of their time. I really love how you can jump right in … people are very open to realizing projects.”

He added that the position is very much in his wheelhouse: after working as an instructor in two-year accredited programs at Ventura College, Diablo Valley College, and UCLA Extension, he’s found that “empowering people to be able to tell their own stories is what really energizes me.”

Eric Rey holds weekly office hours on Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Chris Ward holds office hours on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. To find out more about classes and workshops in Ives Squared, click here.

Reyes Sworn In, Shares Spotlight

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

Otoniel Reyes took the oath Monday afternoon as New Haven’s new police chief — and proceeded to turn the spotlight to Capt. Anthony Duff and other cops and community members.

Reyes, a son of New Haven’s Hill neighborhood in his 20th year as a city cop, took the oath and shared that spotlight before hundreds of people packing the City Hall atrium.

“We have a shared responsibility,” Reyes, who is 48 years old, told the crowd. “If one of us fails, we all fail.”

Before Reyes took the oath, Police Commissioner Evelise Ribeiro spoke of the “tremendous amount of pressure” he faced during his six months as acting chief. She cited the controversial shooting of a New Haven woman in Newhallville by a Hamden cop; and the Aug. 12 incident in which a man shot dead another man and shot and almost killed Capt. Duff, who had come upon the scene while off duty and confronted the shooter.

Reyes “remain[ed] focused, confident and stragegic” and “led from a position of strength,” Ribeiro said, while, seated directly behind her, Reyes held the hand of his wife Leslie.

Reyes’ mother Damaris Reyes pinned the badge on him ... ... and then Mayor Toni Harp administered the oath. It was official.

In his subsequent address (in video, after a performance of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” by trumpeter Hermengildo Rodriguez), Reyes singled out a series of citizens who have successfully worked with police, such as ... ... Daniel Hunt (at right in photo), who responded to the shooting deaths of several relatives by organizing get-to-knowyou neighborhood walks with the cops.

Reyes singled out retired Detective Stacy Spell, who now works with his former colleagues on the federal anti-gang-violence Project Longevity. He singled out Sean Reeves, who reacted to the shooting death of his son by counseling young men caught up in the criminal justice system. And he singled out Hill activist

Leslie Radcliffe, who organized neighbors and worked with cops to turn Truman Street from one of the city’s most dangerous to one of its safest streets, the chief said. “It’s not about us,” Reyes told his officers present. “It’s about people like Leslie Radcliffe” who work in partnership with the police.

And it’s not just about the chief, Reyes continued. He singled out cops who have displayed life-saving heroism recently, such as Gregory Dash, who in the past year has saved two separate citizens from dying through quick use of a tourniquet. He singled out Lt. John Healy (pictured above with Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton), who captured a fleeing man who shot at a cop on Jan. 8.

Healy saved the man’s life by applying pressure to a wound before emergency responders could arrive. “He honored his oath and saved [a] life,” Reyes said. “So when you lose your faith in the New Haven Police Department, please remember Lt. Healy.”

Reyes saved Capt. Duff for the crescendo, calling him forward to the lectern.

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He recalled the evening of Aug. 12 when Capt. Duff, a beloved community cop, was driving home after work and came upon the fatal shooting. “He reminded us that we’re never off duty,” Reyes said.

“He didn’t think twice. He didn’t think that he didn’t have a bulletproof vest.

He didn’t think that he was off duty. He put himself in harm’s way to protect a stranger. He almost lost his life.”

“When your trust in us is wavering, I ask that you remember Capt. Duff,” Reyes said. He closed by reminding all present that the “calling that we have is greater than ourselves.”

The crowd rose to its feet and erupted into applause. Reyes returned to his seat.

“Thank you,” said the emcee, ex-Chief Anthony Campbell, “for taking us to church.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Low-Wage Workers Press Pols For Action

by THOMAS BREEN New Haven Independent

Maria Ferrer was fired from her job cleaning a downtown laboratory building just for speaking with her colleagues about low pay and overtime abuse.

The local housekeeper shared that story of hard work and employer retaliation at a labor rights roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and state Attorney General William Tong in the Aldermanic Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.

The event gave attention to new fronts of labor organizing here and nationally, among immigrant low-wage wage worker and gig-economy “independent contractors” like Uber drivers.

Joining New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) labor attorney James Bhandary-Alexander, Ferrer and two fellow local victims of employer discrimination and job instability petitioned the top elected officials to carry their stories with them to Hartford and Washington, D.C. as they fight against wage theft and for pay equity.

Ferrer, along with nursing home labor organizer Stephanie (who declined to share her last name or be photographed) and rideshare labor organizer Rosana Olan, gave testimony to the precarious nature of working class women in an economy largely eroded of private sector union membership and its concomitant protections.

“I implore both of you to fight for workers,” Ferrer said in Spanish, as translated

by Bhandary-Alexander. “Fight against discrimination. Against retaliation. For equal pay. Fight for equal wages. For all of us.”

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and state Attor ney General William Tong.

“We have to establish the new norms,” DeLauro replied, “and the new benefits so that people are not thrown out on their own.”

As the top-ranking Democrat and chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, DeLauro said, she plays an instrumental role in funding and overseeing the federal Department of Labor.

She said that the funding package that the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed for the DOL would allow for the hiring of 500 new Wage and Hour Division inspectors. That the Paycheck Fairness Act passed by the House would help level the playing field between men and women in the workplace. That the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act and the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, both of which DeLauro has helped introduce and champion, would give workers stronger rights to fight against employer exploitation.

But even the bills passed by the House, she admitted, have virtually no chance

of clearing a Republican-controlled Senate without a nationwide movement of workers and labor organizers backing them.

“I’m challenging our advocacy organizations [throughout the country] to draw attention to these issues,” she said. “We have much more work to do in this area to protect workers.”

“It Wasn’t Easy” Her most recent assignment took her to a six-story building downtown where she worked five nights a week, by herself. She would start her workday at 10 p.m., and then work straight through to 7 a.m., cleaning the floors, the pharmacies, the bathrooms, the offices. Preparing the building for the hundreds of workers who filled its rooms every weekday.

When New Haveners looked downtown at night and saw a building lit from the ground floor to the top floor, they were looking at her job.

“I made about $11 an hour,” she said, through Bhandary-Alexander’s translation. “That is obviously not a living wage, and it wasn’t easy.”

She said she almost always worked over 40 hours per week, but was never paid any overtime premiums. “All I did was work,” she said. Even though her employer, on his official time-keeping records, noted that she took a one-hour lunch break every shift, sometime between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Then, earlier this year, she was fired.

All of a sudden. Simply for talking with fellow employees about how much she made per hour and how she was never paid overtime.

Through her representation by legal aid, she said, she now knows there’s a state law against firing workers for talking about their pay. “With the help of my lawyer,” she said, “we’re pursuing justice.”

She implored DeLauro and Tong to fight for workers like her as they go back to D.C. and Hartford.

“We will fight,” DeLauro promised.

Stephanie, a certified nursing assistant from West Haven, then gave her testimony about her experience working for two different nursing homes: one unionized, one not.

Reading almost verbatim from a Hartford Courant op-ed she had penned several days earlier entitled “Why I Am A Union Organizer”, she said that the workplace culture and employee pay and benefits at the two different nursing homes were as different as night and day.

One had retirement plans, decent health insurance, and just-cause termination standards for employees. “The girls were together and fought for what they believed was right.”

The other “was all over the place, with bad pay, bad benefits, low morale and no security at all for the workers.”

So Stephanie spoke with her non-union

colleagues, and decided to organize a union at one of the nursing homes. Management pushed back hard. They brought in an anti-union consultant, she said, “to scare the hell out of everybody, saying that the union would take too much money in dues, that the union is an outsider, that everyone will get a raise once everyone votes no and the campaign is over.”

The consultant was effective. The union drive lost. Stephanie and some of her fellow union organizers were subsequently fired. But the National Labor Relations Board and the NHLAA have taken up the case.

“I have learned what I cam capable of,” she said.

“No one’s ever going to give us anything,” Tong said in response about what he found so inspiring about Stephanie’s story. “We have to fight for every inch.”

“Hard Workers Trying To Make Ends Meet” Olan, a local Uber and Lyft driver who is also an organizer with the Independent Drivers Guild of Connecticut, shared testimony about just how difficult it has become to cobble together a stable paycheck as a fulltime rideshare driver.

“I became a ride hail driver after being laid off from my previous job here in Connecticut,” she said. “I had heard from my neighbor that driving for Uber was a good way to make money. And at first it was.”

When she first started driving, she said, she could make $200 in five hours. But then, in November 2018, Uber slashed driver pay and changed the structure around surge fees and bonuses.

“Connecticut riders were still paying a large fare,” she said, “but suddenly driver pay was slashed.” She said she is currently working longer hours than when she first started, but making 75 percent less in pay. And she still has to cover the cost of her car payments by herself, let alone her rent and other bills.

“In the last year,” she said, “the app companies have upended our world to grab more and more of each fare out of the hands of Connecticut drivers to further enrich millionaires and billionaires.”

And she is still treated as an independent contractor, with no paid sick leave time or other health benefits provided through her work. “ There are thousands of drivers in Connecticut just like me,” she said.

“Hard workers trying to make ends meet.

Mothers, fathers and family just trying to put food on the table for their families.”

“The desperate cry for help is palpable,” DeLauro said. “If there is ever a time when there’s a role for government to play,” she said, it is now and here, in intervening on behalf of workers structurally disadvantaged from building stable, middle-class lives.

Bhandary-Alexander argued that the state should create a working group of

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Library Cafe Reboots

by PAUL BASS The downtown public library relaunched its “Ives Squared” cafe with a second management crew — one that’s giving people like Tyrone Jones an entree into the labor market.

Jones (pictured) was preparing black forest ham & cheese sandwiches on brioche buns with horseradish, Swiss cheese and mayo for attendees Tuesday afternoon at a ribbon-cutting event for the second iteration of a lunch/coffee spot inside the Elm Street library building. The official name of the cafe is now “Orchid on the Green in Ives Squared.”

Mayor Toni Harp joined Paul McCraven, CEO of Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program (ConnCORP), to cut the ribbon The library first opened a cafe there last year under the auspices of G Cafe.

That contract ran out. The library system decided to bring in a new manager, the folks at ConnCORP. ConnCORP is a for-profit economic development subsidiary of the Science Park-based nonprofit Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), which trains people for culinary jobs

and phlebomotist positions. Jones recently graduated with “Cohort 5” from ConnCAT’s culinary training program and has landed a job at the library cafe.

ConnCORP already runs an Orchid Cafe at Science Park, staffed by its culinary students. The library outpost is its second eatery. Within the next month the outfit plans to open a third operation, a combination convenience store-pizzeria called Petals Market & Pizza at 100 Ashmun St. in the Dixwell neighborhood. ConnCORP is also in the process of buying all the units at Dixwell Plaza to rebuild that commercial stretch of the neighborhood.

ConnCORP has recruited a familiar New Haven face to serve as a VP overseeing its food and beverage operations: Gideon Gebreysesus (pictured), founder of the popular erstwhile Eritrean eatery on College Street called Caffe Adulis.

It also recruited Raven Blake, who has a background in hospitality management and food service, to serve as manager of the three food operations. “You vote with your dollars,” Blake told the crowd at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting. “You support what you care for.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

A Local Author Finds Her Love Language

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, ARTS Paper www.newhavenarts.org

Lizzie McKnight was lost in translation. Her eldest daughter, Juliana, was certain that parental love meant being held and cuddled. McKnight knew a different language, a quieter love that was fierce and tender but also often tacit. She tried to explain it to her daughter, but struggled to find the right words. Then she took a different approach, and put a pen to paper. Or rather, fingers to a keyboard.

That’s the story behind Mama Do You Love Me?, a children’s book released by McKnight and New Haven illustrator Candyce Marsh John earlier this summer. After launching the book in July, McKnight is using it to talk about both the different “love languages” kids and adults use to communicate and the importance of representation in children’s literature.

“Kids receive love differently than adults do,” she said in a recent interview on WNHH Radio’s “Kitchen Sync” program. “They have completely different love languages … I think those are very different for kids.”

For her, that story began long before the book project was underway. As a kid, McKnight grew up in West Haven with a mother and grandmother that she described as “very hard women,” who didn’t talk about their love for each other but showed it in hours spent caring for each other, and for their family members. As she got older, that rubbed off on McKnight, who learned to show love through acts of service rather than outward gestures of affection.

As a young student, she jumped between classes at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School and then Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), moving from writing to theater, theater to undergraduate studies

COMMENTARY:

at the University of Connecticut. She learned the love languages of a first serious boyfriend, who soon became her then-husband. At 20, she became pregnant with their first child, and started recalibrating what love languages meant altogether.

“I’m one of those people that I’m really kind of realistic,” she said. “I didn’t have a connection with my kids until they came out. I wasn’t one of those ones who was rubbing my belly constantly, or gushing over every little baby thing. So it was really when they came out, that’s when we introduced ourselves to each other and the love began.”

At first, McKnight struggled to figure out what expressing love meant for the tiny new human in her life. As a firsttime breastfeeding mom, she found that her sense of personal space was quickly turned on its head (she joked that seven years later, she is still not able to get through a shower without someone opening the bathroom door), so much so that “I felt like my body was not my own anymore.”

“It was tough,” she said. “You’re dealing with that battle of not being affectionate, not wanting someone constantly on you, touching you, and all of those things, dealing with postpartum, but then realizing you have a child that wants to touch you and needs that warmth.”

At the same time, she found herself thinking about how few characters she saw in children’s books that looked like her daughter. As a kid, she had grown up reading books populated largely by white people or no people at all, including Robert Musch’s I’ll Love You Forever and Bill Martin’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. So when her daughter was born, she searched for books with characters of color. After stumbling across Taye Diggs’ Chocolate Me, she found that the pickings were slim.

photos by Lizzie McKnight

“There was like four [books] that I was able to grab onto from Amazon,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh, we’ve gotta do something about this.’”

Meanwhile at home, Juliana wanted to know: how could her parents prove that they loved her if they weren’t constantly saying it? Her questions nagged at McKnight, whose explanations always seemed to fall short. One night, the author sat down and wrote an email to herself, an explanation spilling out as she typed.

Did Juliana know that love was also an action? A feeling? That it was something she could hear? That a parent’s love could mean pointing out the very blue sky and the very green grass?

“It happened out of nowhere,” McKnight recalled. “I kind of just had a moment, and I was like ‘I gotta write this down.’

But I didn’t have the confidence to back it up, so I just wrote it and emailed it to myself and left it there for a little while.”

That was three years ago. When she thought about the book, life kept getting in the way: McKnight went through a separation and learned to navigate single parenting. Resources already seemed stretched. Then this year, she found illustrator Candice Marsh John on Facebook, and learned that the two had similar backstories in the arts in New Haven.For years, the email sat in her drafts folder, untouched. Then when she was pregnant with her second daughter, Willow, she started thinking about the fact that the two girls would be reading together. Specifically, that Juliana would be able to read to her younger sister, so that “we can all be included in the story time process.”

While McKnight had been at ECA, John was studying nearby at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School. The two met for three hours at a coffee shop in North Haven, and McKnight was sold. She

didn’t have strong guidelines: just bright colors, natural hair, and radiant brown skin. She sent a few photos of herself and her children. Then she waited.

On the finished cover, a little girl stands barefoot in a yellow shirt and polka-dotted white and pink skirt, a yellow crown perched over her ponytail. From her left hand, a black string snakes into the sky, attached to a huge red heart-shaped balloon. The title is written across its front.

McKnight recalled tearing up the first time she saw it.

“I was so touched and emotional,” she recalled. “Literally a week later, I had all of the illustrations.”

Now that the book is done, McKnight is hoping that she can spread a gospel of love languages across Connecticut, and then the country. Even as she brings Mama Do You Love Me? into schools and classrooms this fall, she is preparing to release a second book, titled Grandma’s Baby, about the multigenerational strength of Black women. She said she sees it as the second of six books, the following of which will take on sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration and single parenting among other topics.

“They’re all going to deal with kind of hot topics in a way that you can explain it to a child,” she said, recalling trying to explain immigration raids and family separation to her daughter a few weeks ago, when the two were watching television together. “I realized that these aren’t topics that anyone’s talking about in a way that kids can understand. But they’re coming home and they’re talking to us about it.”

“They’re gonna have these questions, and the more I just embrace them, the more normal it will become for them,” she added. “It won’t be so shocking and jarring when they go out into the world and see it with someone else.”

Ending HIV will only happen if Black America leads

By Raniyah Copeland In 2011, Science Magazine’s “Breakthrough of the Year” was the discovery that antiretroviral drugs were a gamechanger in HIV prevention. The development of treatment as Prevention and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) ushered in the concept of ending the HIV/ AIDS epidemic.

By combining effective treatment for people living with HIV with simple and easy biomedical prevention for people at risk of HIV infection we can eliminate HIV transmission and HIV acquisition, thereby breaking the back of the epidemic.

During the 2018 State of the Union address, Trump announced a goal to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States by 2030.

While HIV/AIDS activists and communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic—Black, Latino, LGBTQI, and women of color, have plenty of reasons to confront any announcement from the administration with skepticism setting

a goal to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in eleven (11) years should be celebrated.

But like all efforts to accomplish a goal, the success of this one is dependent on the design and execution. As they say, the devil is in the details.

The underpinning of the administration’s plan is the recent surveillance data that shows 50 percent of the US epidemic is in 48 counties, Washington D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Ricco, and seven states that have a substantial rural population living with HIV. And 60 percent of the Black HIV epidemic lies within these jurisdictions.

There is no question that focusing on

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the jurisdictions with the highest HIV burden makes sense.

The question is will focusing on geography alone— the where—unlock the mystery of ending the HIV epidemic.

Can we end the HIV/AIDS epidemic without also focusing on the other W’s—Who, what, and when?

WHO: As many as 43 percent of new HIV cases are among Black people.

Black men who have sex with men represent 80 percent of the Black epidemic, and we don’t even have accurate data on the impact for trans people, but it’s estimated that more than half of Black trans women are living with HIV. Women, particularly women of color

represent one of the fastest-growing HIV populations in the country. If the plan does not explicitly address the unique needs of these populations, it will fail.

WHAT: HIV is a virus. We finally have the biomedical tools to defeat the virus.

That is easy and simple.

But the American HIV epidemic is anything but easy and simple. Social determinants of health—poverty, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism, racism, fear and mistrust— drive our epidemic.

Insufficiently addressing the who and Con’t on page 30

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

The Tamron Hall Show Debuts September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

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

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “One of the ways Hall is shaping her show is by insisting the makeup of the crew reflect her audience. Despite having veteran executive producer Bill Geddie at the helm, Hall insisted that more women be hired because she wants to empower people like her – a self-described country girl from Luling, Texas who has made it to the upper echelons of television and news.”

America’s news sweetheart Tamron Hall is back with a self-titled daytime talk show The Tamron Hall Show. Following Hall’s controversial yet celebrated 2017 exit from the Today Show after being curbed in favor of white supremacist-y Megyn Kelly, Hall returns to television as a talk show host on her terms.

In addition to Hall’s professional life, a lot has also changed in her personal life since the abrupt Today and MSNBC exit.

The award-winning journalist is now married and a mother of a son, which she discussed at the “Journey to My Wildest Dreams” Toyota sponsored luncheon at the 2019 NABJ national convention held in Miami.

Hall discussed how motherhood has

changed her life, the confidence required to be in the news business and the challenges faced by blacks in general and black women specifically on the oftencomplicated journey to success.

Hall reiterated the importance of having a seat at the table and being ready when the opportunity presents itself. “There was a window, a sliver of opportunity and I took it,” says Hall. “I knew I had to shoot my shot,” says the Texas native.

Indeed, Hall shot her shot, landing on her feet with a daytime talk show in a market

that is crowded but ripe for a voice like Hall’s.

Hall’s return to daytime pits her against another one of America’s sweethearts, Grammy award-winning singer Kelly Clarkson who is also launching a selftitled talk show on the same day on NBC no less.

Clarkson is the season one winner of American Idol and has served as a judge on the wildly popular NBC reality show The Voice.

Hall will also be wading into territory

currently occupied by Wendy Williams, Rachel Ray, and the ladies of The View and The Talk among others. Hall created this talk show to bring people together and to give them an opportunity to share their “authentic journey.”

One of the ways Hall is shaping her show is by insisting the makeup of the crew reflect her audience. Despite having veteran executive producer Bill Geddie at the helm, Hall insisted that more women be hired because she wants to empower people like her – a self-de-

scribed country girl from Luling, Texas who has made it to the upper echelons of television and news.

Although creating and hosting a daytime talk show is new to Hall, working in front of and behind the camera is not.

Hall hosted the Discovery ID series Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall, a weekly series which takes at deep dive into crimes, including unsolved crimes.

Motivated by the unsolved murder of her sister Renate, Hall lead an investigative team of journalists working together to find out what happened and why, to victims throughout the country for three seasons.

Hall’s talk show will differ greatly but will offer in-depth discussions about important topics in addition to traditional daytime lifestyle segments. Hall believes television has the power to help people share their “authentic journey” and wants people to talk about their lives and inspire others in the process.

The Tamron Hall Show debuts 9/9/19.

Check local listings for channel and time information.

This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., entertainment and culture editor for NNPA/Black Press USA. Nsenga is also founder & editor-in-chief

OP-ED: Ending Fair Housing Rule Removes Opportunities for All

By Rev. Dr. Willie Gable

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Of all the issues confronting Americans, none is more basic than that of housing. Whether renting or owning a home, every family needs a place to come home to at the end of the day. It is where our children are raised, meals are prepared, and family milestone moments are celebrated.

Like most people, I care about my community, its opportunities, as well as its future. But as a man of faith, I believe I am additionally called to give voice and support to lift every life. From counseling congregants on ways to find hope, I am keenly aware of many who see none at all, despite the heralded claims that the nation’s economy is flourishing.

Of all the issues confronting Americans, none is more basic than that of housing.

Whether renting or owning a home, every family needs a place to come home to at the end of the day. It is where our children are raised, meals are prepared, and family milestone moments are celebrated.

It is also true that everyday Americans are now struggling to keep and/or find homes they can afford. As housing pric-

es rise faster than incomes, an increasing number of people grapple with challenges of how hard it is to keep their loved ones safe.

When the additional and illegal burden of housing discrimination emerges, the lives of many people worsen. Despite federal legal guarantees against housing discrimination, violations confront many who thought their housing rights had been permanently secured. Beyond people of color, housing discrimination is also felt by the physically disabled, women, families, and the LGBTQ community.

But I never imagined that a Black man raised by a single mother and later became a world-renown physician would change careers from medicine to government. More than that, I never expected such a man to misuse his authority as HUD Secretary to personally withdraw a key fair housing rule.

Just days ago, HUD Secretary Benjamin Carson ended a rule known as Disparate Impact that has preserved the goals of the Fair Housing Act that is now more than 50 years old. Why he would do such a thing is beyond unthinkable. But it is immoral as well.

As a man raised in the turbulent 1960s in Detroit, has Secretary Carson forgotten the struggles of the civil rights movement that included the hard-fought battle to enact the Fair Housing Act? Has he forgotten the marches in his own city, Dr. King’s speeches that appealed for this country to live up to its promises, or how in 1968 his hometown exploded in

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racial strife?

Even more — Has Secretary Carson come so far in life and risen so high that he has lost all recollection of what it was to be poor, or in need, or discriminated against?

I believe he needs our prayers to remind him of who he is and from whence he came. We, as a people also need him to

act in the best interests of all Americans, and especially those of us who share a heritage of fighting to be free in all aspects of life.

His story is one of tremendous personal strides and achievements. It is time for him to understand that it was opportunity that enabled his success. It is highly probable that somewhere in this country

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

17 Million Voters Purged Nationwide Between 2016 and 2018: Report

By Stacy M. Brown

A Brennan Center analysis has found that at least 17 million voters were purged nationwide between 2016 and 2018, similar to the numbers discovered between 2014 and 2016.

Using data released by the Federal Election Assistance Commission, the Brennan Center found that counties with a history of voter discrimination have continued purging people from the rolls at high rates.

“This phenomenon began after the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, a decision that severely weakened the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” the report states.

“Before the Shelby County decision, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act required jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to submit proposed changes in voting procedures to the Department of Justice or a federal court for approval, a process known as ‘preclearance,’” the report’s authors wrote.

The Brennan Center first identified this troubling voter purge trend in a major report released in July 2018.

As the nation heads toward the all-important 2020 election cycle, many said they’re concerned with voter purging and the ever-present threat of voter dis-

enfranchisement.

“Automatic voter registration is a great way to be sure that every eligible American is registered to vote,” said Dr. Margaret Groarke, an associate professor of political science at Manhattan College in New York.

“Whether this prevents voter suppression is complicated by the fact that there are many ways that people suppress the vote,” Groarke said.

“Key strategies today are over-inclusive voter purges, strict voter ID laws, and making threats that people with unpaid fines or warrants shouldn’t come near the polls,” she said.

“Automatic voter registration might counteract the effect of purges, but will do nothing to stop other strategies,” Groarke said.

The Brennan Center report follows a Center for American Progress analysis that examined how conservative lawmakers are suppressing the votes of people of color, young people, and those with disabilities.

From discriminatory voter ID laws in places such as North Dakota, South Carolina, and Michigan to failures to provide early polling places in a majority-black neighborhood in Texas and the freezing of more than 50,000 voter registrations in Georgia, voter suppression is rampant in 2018, according to the CAP

report.

“Voter suppression is widespread again this year, and these efforts from conservative lawmakers largely target people of color, young people, and people with disabilities,” Connor Maxwell, a research associate for Race and Ethnicity Policy at the CAP, said in a news release.

“Despite these efforts, there are many steps people can take to ensure their vote counts on election day,” Maxwell said.

Voting is a fundamental right for all U.S. citizens, “so we encourage everyone to double-check their voter registration; determine ahead of time whether you need to bring certain materials to the polls; and take advantage of the many

voter assistance hotlines if you run into problems,” said Danielle Root, a voting rights manager at the CAP. In its report, The Brennan Center noted why voter purges could prove problematic.

“If a voter moves from Georgia to New York, they are no longer eligible to cast a ballot in the Peach State. As such, they should be removed from Georgia’s voter rolls,” Brennan authors said, as an example.

The report continued: “Similarly, voters who have passed away should be removed from the rolls.

Reasonable vote list maintenance en-

sures voter rolls remain up to date. Problems arise when states remove voters who are still eligible to vote.

“States rely on faulty data that purport to show that a voter has moved to another state. Frequently, these data get people mixed up. In big states like California and Texas, multiple individuals can have the same name and date of birth, making it hard to be sure that the right voter is being purged when perfect data are unavailable.

“Troublingly, minority voters are more likely to share names than white voters, potentially exposing them to a greater risk of being purged and voters often don’t realize they’ve been purged until they try to cast a ballot on Election Day – after it’s already too late.”

The Brennan Center’s report authors said as the 2020 election cycle heats up, election administrators must be transparent about how they’re deciding what names to remove from the rolls.

They must be diligent in their efforts to avoid erroneously purging voters, the report’s authors said.

“And they should push for reforms like automatic voter registration and election day registration which keep voters’ registration records up to date,” the authors wrote.

This post originally appeared in The Washington Informer.

Amazon Prime included UNLIMITED

LINES When you switch.

Limited time offer. If congested, the fraction of users >35 GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds and Metro customers may notice reduced speeds vs. T-Mobile due to prioritization. Video streams at up to 480p. Unlimited on handset and network only.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

The Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library to Host 2nd Annual Book Fair & Literary Festival Atlanta, Georgia - The Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library in conjunction with Sisters of Today and Tomorrow, presents their 2nd Annual Book Fair & Literary Festival, “Celebrating Art, Music and Literary works”, Saturday, October 5, 2019, 10am-6pm, at Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History, 101 Auburn Avenue, downtown, Atlanta, Georgia.

The Literary Festival will honor the 50th Anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, and 25th Anniversary of Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History, by kicking off Sisters of Today and Tomorrow’s (SOT) “Sisters Circle” discussion featuring young adult authors Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal of the book “I’m Not Dying With You Tonight”, with a very important discussion on race relations, facilitated by Written Magazine’s Michelle Gipson.

“The book fair & festival will include an author’s panel, writer’s workshops, children’s activities, including face painting & story-time, with performers, poets and a DJ through-out the day to liven things up,” says Carla Morrison, Literary Festival Director & President of the Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library; “culminating the afternoon with a cipher of musical artists, musicians and poets.”

“We are really excited about this year’s book fair & literary festival,” states Yvette Jackson, Book Fair Chairwoman. “We have 16 authors, 12 musicians & poets, 3 workshops, and two panel discussions, with a bunch of other activities happening simultaneously”. There will also be a private reception the night before, featuring author Travis Hunter with Written Magazine Editor Michelle Gipson in a master class about independent publishing vs. main stream publishing; And Hunter’s latest book “Married, But Not Really”, will be on sale. “This special event is for participating festival authors, members of the Friends of AARL, festival volunteers and librarians throughout Fulton County Library System,” says Morrison.

Community Partners: Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History, Sisters of Today and Tomorrow, Big Bethel AME Church, Notes for Notes, and Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. Sponsored by: The small business

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About FOAARL: The Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library (FOAARL) is a nonprofit group of citizen volunteers that are associated with the Friends of the Fulton County Library System. The purpose of FOAARL is to be of service to the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) and to the community it serves. In observance of the AARL 25th Anniversary (19942019), FOAARL continues to move the mission forward, of marketing this great institution, creating collaborative partnerships, research initiatives and identifying archival collections for Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History.

members of Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History and Mr. Everything’s Cafe.

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For more information, log onto: www.SOT2Girls.org or call the Friends of Auburn Avenue Research Library at (404) 319-2130 or follow:

20

About SOT: Sisters of Today and Tomorrow is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to transforming the lives of girls and the women who raise them, through innovative programs, that focus on selfesteem building, education, health & wellness, and careers/entrepreneurship. Culminating a year of SisterPoweron10! programming, during its 10th anniversary (2008-18), the organization will kick off its 11th anniversary month during the festival. www.

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Con’t from page

Only happen if Black America leads

the what of the HIV epidemic has led to the HIV health disparities we see today.

Only 46 percent of Black people who know they are living with HIV remain in regular care.

Black men possess a lifetime HIV risk of 1 in 20, and for Black gay men, the risk is 1 out of 2. The lifetime risk for Black women is 1/48, and more than half of trans people living with HIV are Black.

People living in the South (where the majority of Black Americans live) are more likely to be diagnosed with HIV over the course of their lifetime than other Americans.

In the haste to get this program off the ground, the input of community organizations who serve the Black community has been overlooked and ignored.

While there is a dire need for urgency, if the most impacted communities and individuals are not intentionally centered in the planning and execution of the plan, this opportunity will be squandered.

Among others, Black community leadership, HIV/AIDS activists and advocates, health departments, and other stakeholders must be convened across and within the targeted jurisdictions to develop the plan and assure that the administration understands the implications of this plan.

Leaders and stakeholders representing those bearing the greatest HIV burden need to mobilize, engage, We are mobilizing and engaging Black leaders communities across the country to build our power to ensure that we not only have a seat at the table but that it’s OUR table.

Our plan includes working with entities that shape the health of Black communities: health departments, federally qualified health centers, and the Centers for AIDS Research. This is an issue of equity and racial justice, and we are going to hold the Trump Administration accountable.

We are here to end the epidemic in the only way possible: by recognizing and addressing the structures that drive the epidemic, uniquely and unapologetically.

Copeland is the President and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute (BAI). BAI is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people.

Their mission is to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

A Carpenter’s Election Take

by STAFF

New Haven Independent

(Opinion) As a lifelong resident of the city of New Haven, homeowner, carpenter, community organizer, and father raising children in our city, I believe Mayor Harp deserves to be reelected.

Before the carpenters began working on projects that were facilitated

by Toni Harp when she was a state senator, our union local had very few minority members from New Haven. Now it has over 150 and more than a 35 percent minority membership statewide. Over the past 18 months, the carpenters have hired 45 New Haven residents, who are mostly from New Haven’s lowincome neighborhoods. For the first time in our local’s history, we have minority representation on regional executive board, two seats on the local executive board are held by two New Haven minority residents, and we have four black female stewards.

Although I am proud of the work that I and my union have undertaken to achieve these remarkable feats, Mayor Harp played an important role in this success.

Mayor Harp’s 2013 election marked a shift in our union’s approach to work in New Haven and the region. In the 2013 election, the carpenters did not endorse Mayor Harp and we did not have the strong local hiring program that we have now. Instead of holding a grudge, the mayor insisted that we invest in creating pathways into apprentice-track jobs for New Haven residents and people of color. The carpenters engaged in this project in good faith and assigned it to me.

Since then, it has been my mission to ensure that good work for the carpenters is also good work for New Haven. As Mayor Harp’s administration has cultivated a construction boom, we have been able to hire many New Haven residents into good middleclass jobs.

This work has provided more opportunities for people with stories like mine. I grew up in West Rock, facing hardships that many residents in this neighborhood still face: rising rents, violence, and a lack of opportunity.

My life changed when I became an apprentice in the carpenters. The job offered me an opportunity to move beyond just survival. With my salary, benefits and carpentry skills, I have purchased and maintained real estate properties and achieved economic se-

Ernest Pagan (second from right in photo), who wrote the following opinion article, is a representative with the carpenters union.

curity for me and my family.

Having a union job also allowed me to bounce back from a terrible injustice. In 2007, I was falsely accused of murder. The crime was committed while I was at home wrapping Christmas presents with my mother and sister. The investigating police officers interrogated me for three days without obtaining a confession. But my family and I could not afford the $3 million bail, which left me waiting in prison for 14 months while my trial proceeded. During this time, my case caught the attention of a good public defender, who found significant inconsistencies in the witness accounts.

At the trial, three witnesses admitted that they did not see me at the crime scene. The jury ruled in my favor and I was exonerated from all charges.

Not everyone will experience an injustice like the one I endured. But my experience is just one example of how something completely out of your control can turn your life upside down in a moment. In neighborhoods like West Rock, residents are more likely to be the victims of an unbalanced criminal justice system, violent crime, or financial hardship.

Unions provide security against these challenges. After spending fourteen months in prison, I was able to continue my career as a carpenter.

This would have been almost impossible if I had been working a nonunion construction job. In addition, our members get access to health benefits and other forms of insurance that prevent an illness from bankrupting a family. The salaries that we negotiate allow our members to become homeowners and invest in their communities.

I believe that every worker in our city deserves the security of a union job, and Mayor Harp shares this belief. In addition to pushing on local hiring, she has worked with us to setup a pre-apprenticeship program in Hillhouse High School. She organizes regular meetings between Economic Development and the trades. As a result of the recent jobs campaign and Mayor Harp’s efforts, Yale has restarted its EEO meetings, and is pushing its four largest construction firms (Dimeo, Turner, Skanska, Gilbane) and the trades to hire more individuals from every New Haven neighborhood. In these meetings Yale’s leadership now insists that opportunities going to New Haven residents must be carefully tracked and local hiring goals must be met.

With each local hire, I have an opportunity to share my story and become a mentor. I help these members recognize the opportunities available if they commit to learning the craft and doing the work. I work with them to make sure that the challenges they experienced growing up do not impede their success in the trades.

As they pursue their apprenticeships, they become skilled craftspeople who build the most complex structures in our city.

Together with Mayor Harp, the carpenters are fulfilling an important project. Now when I look at the New Haven skyline, I see my work and that of my neighbors. I see the skills of our residents and the security of their families. And together, I can see a better New Haven, a city where we can live and work with dignity, a city where we work in unity. Happy Labor Day.

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September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Insurance Department Schedules Rate Hearing

by Christine Stuart

New Haven Independent

0HARTFORD, CT — The public is invited Wednesday, Sept. 4, to participate in a public hearing on health insurance rate increases submitted to the Connecticut Insurance Department for review.

Ten health insurance companies, including two offering health insurance plans both on and off Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, proposed an average 7.8% increase in rates for 2020.

Anthem Health Plans, Inc., which is one of the two companies competing for business on Access Health CT, proposed a 15.2% increase in individual health plans mostly because of a 9.3% increase in medical cost trends and the reinstatement of the federally mandated health insurer tax. Anthem served approximately 27,300 members last year.

ConnectiCare Benefits, Inc., which serves about 75,600 consumers, proposed an average 4.9% increase in its rates. It also attributed the increase to a 9.3% increase in medical cost trends.

Nationally, insurance rates have been going down as insurance companies increase their profits in the individual marketplace.

Kaiser Family Foundation reported that by 2017, the individual market generally

had begun to stabilize. But that didn’t stop insurers from hiking rates in 2018.

“In 2018 insurers raised benchmark premiums by an average of 34% in response to policy changes such as the Trump Administration’s decision to cease costsharing subsidy payments and reduce funding for outreach, and uncertainty over whether the ACA as a whole would remain law. These premium hikes, along with slow claims growth, made 2018 the most profitable year for individual market insurers since the ACA went into effect,” they wrote on June 27th in an issue brief.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina announced earlier this week that it was lowering its premiums for 2020 by an average of 5.5 percent.

The rate decrease means a $230 million reduction in health care costs for 2020 in North Carolina.

In Connecticut, the public will have an opportunity to address plans offered in both the individual and small group marketplace.

However, the public is likely to be disappointed again that affordability for consumers is not part of the considerations in the rate-setting process in Connecticut.

The Insurance Department’s job is to

make sure that the premiums cover the claims and that there is no discrimination against any specific group of clients. According to state statute, the rates have to be adequate and they can’t be excessive or unfairly discriminatory, but beyond that there’s little regulators can do to reign in costs for consumers.

Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, who co-chairs the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said he’s concerned about the rate increases. He said legislation to allow regulators to look at affordability died again this year in committee.

Last year, Rose Ferraro, of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, told Insurance Department regulators that her organization continues to be frustrated that its testimony will not impact the outcome of the rate review process.

“We recognize that the Connecticut Insurance Department takes this process very seriously. We understand that rate review is an actuarial exercise for regulators, but right now premiums are not an abstract math problem for families,” Ferraro said.

She said she understands the cost of health care continues to rise and that it impacts rates, but if we continue to “ignore the enormous elephant in the room

SIGN UP TODAY Bridgeportct.gov/EmergencyPreparedness 22

of health care costs we will continue to see those costs rise.”

Lesser said there are many ways to reduce healthcare costs.

“The Trump administration has been looking to repeal and destabilize the ACA, and they’ve taken steps as well to drive up costs to try and break the thing,” Lesser said.

He said there’s more that can be done to

lower costs for all consumers.

He said the legislature should have passed legislation that would have allowed the state to apply for a reinsurance waiver to lower the cost of higher claims.

The legislation passed the House, but died on the Senate calendar.

He vowed to bring it back again next year.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Questions About Nursing Home Rate Changes Linger

by Christine Stuart

New Haven Independent

HARTFORD, CT — How much did Democratic lawmakers know about changes in nursing home rates before they approved it as part of the state budget?

That’s the central question at the moment as nursing homes and the association that represents them are calling for a special session to address the issue.

Last month the Department of Social Services announced rate reductions based on a new vacancy calculation that could cost nine nursing homes $5.3 million. The nursing homes are located in Bristol, Fairfield, Hamden, Shelton, Simsbury, South Windsor, Torrington, Wallingford, Waterbury and Wolcott.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration is trying to assure lawmakers there’s a process for the nine nursing homes to appeal the rate reduction if they think it was unfairly applied. The governor, in a letter to Democratic lawmakers, also rejected any argument that the nursing homes didn’t know this “rebasing” of rates was coming.

The budget approved with only Democratic votes essentially eliminated the rate protection for homes with low occupancy rates to keep up with the trend of more residents preferring to receive nursing care in their homes.

“While the new rates will apply retroactive to July 1, 2019, DSS does not expect that there will be any immediate change in the status of the impacted homes, and there is sufficient flexibility to allow homes time to evaluate opportunities to

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO Gov. Ned Lamont adjust their business models as needed,” Lamont wrote in a letter to lawmakers.

“DSS and/or the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has and will continue to meet with impacted nursing homes to support and assist with this process.”

Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, disagreed with the assertion that the legislature gave “full and fair” notice of these cuts.

“State legislators and nursing home representatives were not made of what facilities and the areas they serve were affected until 8-14-19 in a meeting with OPM and DSS, over two months after the measure was adopted. We surmise it would have been impossible for the state legislature to have fully evaluated the impact without this information. Nursing home operators also disagree that they had earlier notice of the occupancy

penalty policy and should have reduced licensed bed capacity previously,” Barrett said.

Lamont said the proposal was in his budget and the proposed Human Services implementer, which received a public hearing.

Barrett said nursing home operators are also concerned about the opportunity to prevail in a rate appeal, also offered by the administration, because the adopted legislation effectively eliminates the stop loss for certain nursing homes with occupancy under 70%.

Nursing home operators dispute claims they are being paid above their costs.

Lamont told lawmakers that all of the 213 nursing homes in Connecticut have received an increase in their reimbursement rates of 2%, for the purpose of enhancing wages and benefits for staff, retroactive to July 1. And 204 of those homes are seeing their rates increase overall, some of whom are also receiving fair rent increases.

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano said Tuesday that the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities wasn’t doing enough to advocate for their members.

“Instead of calling on the Democrat lawmakers who developed and approved this Medicaid cut to reverse this devastating policy, your memo suggests Democrats are not accountable or responsible for this cut and suggests that the responsibility lies solely on the Department of Social Services,” Fasano wrote in a response to Barrett’s memo. “Those assertions are false, and actually weaken

the nursing homes’ position in fighting against this damaging policy passed in the Democrat state budget.”

Fasano emphasized that restoring this funding and reversing the policy change legislatively is simple if Democrat leaders agree to do so. However, “If Democrats are given a pass by the nursing homes to claim they are not responsible for this cut, you have lost your leverage,” Fasano wrote.

Senate President Martin Looney, DNew Haven, said last week that Republicans chose to sit on the sidelines in the budget debate and have no right to criticize what was passed because they didn’t offer an alternative.

“We appreciate the Republicans’ new interest in funding Medicaid for nursing homes after failing to offer a budget during the 2019 session. Offering an alternative budget would have provided them with an opportunity to forthrightly state their spending priorities in comparison with the adopted budget,” Looney said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the House have vowed to keep a close eye on the situation.

“We have been monitoring this situation closely and my office has been in touch with both the administration and representatives of the nursing homes,” House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, DBerlin, said Tuesday. “I know the Governor’s office is discussing potential options, and we hope this can be resolved in a way that achieves the overall goal without impacting seniors or their care providers.”

Medical Society Questions Anthem About Medicare Advantage Terminations

by Christine Stuart

HARTFORD, CT — The Connecticut State Medical Society is sounding alarm bells over Anthem’s decision to terminate Connecticut physicians from its Medicare Advantage Network.

The termination of certain physicians doesn’t start until Jan. 1, but the organization worries it would compromise the care for tens of thousands of Medicare Advantage patients.

Medicare Advantage is an alternative to traditional Medicare and the doctors who were terminated are specialists, not primary care doctors.

“CSMS has substantial concern that patients will face transportation hardships in reaching physicians in Connecticut, therefore significantly compromising patient care, if they can find a physician of the same specialty accepting new Medicare Advantage patients,” wrote Matthew Katz, executive vice president of the organization, in a letter to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield President Jill

Hummel.

Anthem was unable to say how many consumers might be impacted by the decision.

In a statement, the company said: “We regularly review Anthem’s Medicare Advantage provider network to most effectively serve our members’ healthcare needs. We recently notified some specialty care providers that they will not be in our Medicare Advantage HMO Select Plan network, effective January 1, 2020.”

Katz said there’s a concern that “the unilateral network terminations by Anthem will leave a network of providers that is insufficient to provide adequate access for Medicare beneficiaries in Connecticut, especially in certain specialties in certain geographic areas of the state.”

Federal law requires Medicare networks to be adequate.

Anthem said they notified their members of the changes in advance of this year’s open enrollment period.

“We think it’s important that consumers are aware of this change so they can make informed decisions when considering Anthem’s 2020 Medicare Advantage plans,” an Anthem spokesperson said in a statement.

Katz said they are worried the current networks are limited.

“CSMS is concerned that many of the physicians remaining in Anthem’s network are no longer accepting new patients (have closed panels) or are no longer practicing or practicing more limited specialty care so that specialized care needed by these patients is not available. In fact, a quick check of the Anthem website highlights this for many specialties, including ophthalmology,” Katz said.

Katz has asked Anthem to tell his organization how many doctors have been unilaterally terminated.

“CSMS believes Anthem’s unilateral network terminations will unquestionably impact patient healthcare access in Connecticut and may, in fact, run afoul

23

of several provisions of federal law relating to Medicare Advantage plans and network adequacy requirements, including those that speak to access requirements,” Katz said.

This is not the first time the Connecticut State Medical Society has been involved in a fight against a large insurance company.

In a similar situation with a different insurer in 2013, a federal judge agreed with two medical associations that UnitedHealthcare should stop dropping doctors from its Medicaid Advantage network. The insurance company appealed the decision and the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services said the networks were adequate.

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September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Education in the Segregated South: Inner City Ad 8/14 8/21

A Determined African American Culture

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

NNPA NEWSWIRE —“The long struggle over the development of education in the postbellum South occurred in large part because no dominant class could convince the freed people that its conception of education reflected a natural and proper social order,” Anderson wrote in “The Education of Blacks in the South,” James Anderson is the author of The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935.

During segregation, Black schools in the South focused on building an environment of success for community children.

Educator, activist and youth worker Derrick R. Brooms said black schools served multiple purposes – particularly during the Jim Crow era.

“There are ways in which some Black schools during that era served as both fugitive and liberation spaces and opportunities,” Brooms wrote on Twitter.

“It was in these spaces that many black communities saw, supported, and invested in multiple possibilities,” Brooms said.

The conversation started on social media last month when Imani Perry, a Hughes Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, urged her more than 60,000 Twitter followers to not believe the myth that the schools were terrible pre-desegregation.

“There’s an extraordinary body of black education history that tells otherwise,” Perry said. As examples, Perry provided James Anderson, Vanessa Siddle Walker, Michael Fultz, Heater Williams and Valinda Littlefield.

Anderson is the author of, “The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935” which received the Outstanding Book Award of the American Educational Research Association.

He is also co-editor of New Perspectives on Black Educational History and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the history of education.

“The long struggle over the development of education in the postbellum South occurred in large part because no dominant class could convince the freed people that its conception of education reflected a natural and proper social order,” Anderson wrote in “The Education of Blacks in the South.”

“There was nothing inevitable about the former slaves’ ability to resist these competing ideologies of education and society and pursue their own course. They had spent much time preparing themselves for the moment when they could act in ways more consonant with beliefs sacred to them that could not be expressed before emancipation. Blacks soon made it apparent that they were committed to training their young for futures that prefigured full equality and autonomy,” Anderson said.

Walker is the Samuel Candler Dobbs

24

Washington DC, USA, 1951. Student traffic controllers are waiting to be deployment at an intersection in Washinton DC. (Photo iStockphoto / NNPA) Professor of African American Educational Studies.

For 25 years, she has explored the segregated schooling of African American children.

Walker considered the climate that permeated segregated schools, the network of professional collaborations that explains the similarity across schools, and the hidden systems of advocacy that demanded equality and justice for the children in the schools.

“Although Black schools were indeed commonly lacking in facilities and funding, some evidence suggests that the environment of the segregated school had affective traits, institutional policies, and community support that helped Black children learn in spite of the neglect their schools received from white school boards,” Walker wrote in her 1996 book, “Their Highest Potential.”

“Most notably, in one of the earliest accountings by Thomas Sowell, the schools are remembered as having atmospheres where support, encouragement, and rigid standards, combined to enhance students’ self-worth and increase their aspirations to achieve,” Walker said.

Fultz is an emeritus professor with the Department of Educational Policy Studies. He received his Ed.M. and Ed.D. at Harvard Graduate School of Education and taught there in the Administration, Planning and Social Policy program for three years before moving to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990.

His teaching and research interests focus on the history of American Education, the history of African American education, and Urban Education.

“From the 1880s through the 1920s, the adage, ‘As is the teacher, so is the school,’ was commonplace in the rhetorical repertoire of African American educators in the South,” Fultz wrote in a 2008 article titled, “As is the Teacher, So is the School: Future Directions in the Historiography of African American Teachers.”

“The essence of its meaning lingered throughout de jure segregation. Its expression encompassed vital themes re-

lated to the need and demand for a ‘sound professionalism’ among the expanding number of African American teachers in the region,” he wrote.

“Its significance flowed from a self-evident logic, implicitly understood and fundamentally contested, by both black and white southerners: the ‘fate of the race’ depended on its schools; the quality of those schools depended on the quality of the teachers they had; and the quality of the teachers depended upon their character, dedication, and professional training,” Fultz wrote.

“Ambrose Caliver, the first African American research specialist, hired by the U.S. Office of Education, reduced the issues to a single sentence, ‘In the hands of the Negro teachers rests the destiny of the race.’”

In her book, “Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom,” Williams said she “moves across time to examine African Americans’ relationship to literacy during slavery, during the Civil War, and in the first decades of freedom.”

The book traces the historical antecedents to freed people’s intense desire to become literate. It demonstrates how the visions of enslaved African Americans emerged into plans and action once slavery ended.

Littlefield works at the University of South Carolina. She’s a scholar of the history of women, African Americans, and education with an emphasis on southern African American women and African American history from 1877 to the present.

The University of Illinois Press will publish her book on southern African American women schoolteachers during the Jim Crow era.

“Read Black memoirs or talk to your grandparents,” Perry said.

“One of the reasons I’ve written about Black formalism is that even scholars circulate the myth that Black people had nothing and built nothing in the segregated South,” she said.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

2016 – 2.0 IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

by Oscar H. Blayton It’s déjà vu all over again.

The defeat of the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 was crushing, and many reasons have been given for why Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House went down in flames. Some people blame her failure to visit key states often enough. Others blame a lack of enthusiasm on the part of African American voters. And then there were the Russians, among many other things.

But four year after their humiliating defeat, many Democrats seem to be leaning towards agreeing that what they did in 2016 is good enough for 2020.

Enter Joe Biden, stage right, with a broad toothy grin and promises of moderation and electability.

The reaction of many African Americans to Joe Biden’s appearance on the political horizon is a huge yawn of boredom. What many white politicians and policymakers in the Democratic Party

do not realize is that African Americans understand that Donald Trump is not the sole problem we face today. He is merely the symptom, not the disease. And the disease has festered for centuries, mutating from one epoch to another – through slavery, Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, down to today. It is not enough to just beat Trump.

Conservative and moderate Democrats stuck their heads in the sand after November 2016 and ignored the white supremacy dynamics that were in play during the election. They resolutely proclaimed that Trump rode into office on economic anxieties. Black folk have much more economic anxiety than whites but we did not vote for Trump. Trump rode into office on anxieties over the loss of white supremacy.

In 2008, what voters of color saw in Barack Obama was a step towards social justice and racial equality. What they sa2leged white woman who had once equated youth of color with animals and called them “superpredators.”

Now Democrats are asking for a “do over” in 2020, serving up a moderateto-conservative Democrat trailing a foul-smelling political history that we ignore at our own peril. If we unpack Joe Biden’s political history, we find the

following: School Busing – In 1974, as a junior U.S. senator from Delaware, Joe Biden promised his white constituents that he would oppose desegregating schools by busing students. In the 1970s, it was clear that many school districts were segregated along racial lines because housing patterns were likewise segregated, and busing students was the most logical solution to achieve school integration. Biden did not care about the social injustice of segregated schools. He only wanted to satisfy his racially bigoted white constituents. Because of politicians like Joe Biden, school districts today are more segregated than they were in the 1970s. This is an argument backed by data. The National Center for Education Statistics’ data show that the percentage of African American students attending majority white schools is down to 23 percent from a high of 44 percent in the 1980s. The current situation is equivalent to the integration level in 1969.

The Hyde Amendment – The original Hyde Amendment, passed in 1976, barred the use of federal funds to pay for an abortion except to save the life of the woman or if the pregnancy arose from incest or rape. Joe Biden voted for its

adoption and has staunchly supported that law until recently, when he began his current presidential campaign. He insists that his decision to flip on this issue was not due to politics, but he has expressed no other reason that makes sense.

Anita Hill – When Clarence Thomas was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, Joe Biden was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Biden’s aggressive questioning of Anita Hill, an African American law professor who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, appeared to many Americans to be inappropriate and hostile. Anita Hill told the Huffington Post Live that Joe Biden did a disservice to the American public when he refused to call other witnesses who could have corroborated Hill’s characterization of Thomas’ behavior as sexually inappropriate. And she asserted that this failure got in the way of bringing to the public a better understanding of sexual harassment. It took Joe Biden almost 18 years to offer an apology to Anita Hill after acknowledging that his actions during the Thomas hearings were “wrong.” But this 2019 apology was so weak and disingenuous, Anita Hill refused to accept it.

The 1994 Crime Bill – Biden does not deny that he was the architect of the 1994 Crime Bill. But what he does deny, in the face of facts to the contrary, is that it led to mass incarceration in America. And the weight of that outcome was borne mostly by people of color. Attempting to execute a complicated two-step shuffle, Biden denies that the bill led to mass incarceration while at the same time trying to distance himself from responsibility for the impact of the bill. But his maneuvers have been met by sharp criticism from several other Democratic presidential candidates who believe he should accept responsibility for fostering such bad policy.

The road to Donald Trump was paved with politicians like Joe Biden, their big grins and folksy sayings masking an indifference to the suffering of people of color. You can find them at every level of government, professing not to be racist, but tolerating racism in local, state and federal policies. Politicians like these ask us to forget and forgive while they provide us with nothing but empty promises and disappointment.

But there must be some accountability for politicians like Joe Biden because, while he is not the first of his kind, unCon’t on page 14

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Water Treatment Pumping Operators NOTICE The Town of Wallingford’s Water Division is seeking candidates to fill a

vacancy involved in the treatment of the water system. Candidates must VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE have a H.S. diploma andHOUSING a waterPREtreatment plant operator’s school diploma/certification acceptable to the Town with 3 years of actual experience HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, inisaaccepting waterpre-applications treatment for plant 1 year of supervisory experience or an studio with and one-bedroom apartments at this develequivalent combination of education & qualifying experience.

Candidates opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications be available from six 9AM months TO 5PM beginning Ju;y must have or be will eligible within of theMonday probationary period for 25,certifications 2016 and ending when sufficientfor pre-applications (approximately 100) in have the required the position indicated the job posting. been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reWages: - $33.34 hourly plus excellent fringeprebenefit package. quest by $27.47 calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 duringan those hours. Completed Applications/resumes be INC’s accepted until September 30, 2019, at the applications must be returned will to HOME offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. following address: Human Resources Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 294-2080. Fax: (203) NOTICIA 294-2084. EOE VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está MAINTENANCE MECHANIC. FT.y apartamentos Bristol Housing Authority is desarrollo seeking an energetic indiaceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios de un dormitorio en este vidual who has experience maintaining properties.

Skills in the areas of building repair ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven.

Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos incl. plumbing, electricity, HVAC, carpentry and equipment repair helpful. máximos.

Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m.mechanical comenzando Martes 25 Wage by the Bargaining Unit Contract. julio,for 2016this hastaposition cuando se is handetermined recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100)Excellent benefits.

Send resume references bypre-solicitudes September serán 18, 2019 topor Mitzy Chief Executive Offien las oficinasand de HOME INC. Las enviadas correoRowe, a petición cer, Bristol Housing Authority, Jerome Avenue, Bristol, CT 06010. llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663164 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse The Bristol Housinga las Authority an equal opportunity employer. oficinas deisHOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

PUBLIC NOTICE The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC)

will be opening its Low-Income Public Housing Waiting Lists for 1BR Elderly/62 over individuals and Elderly Congregate Care. We will also open our 3BR family waitlist beginning Wednesday, September 4th through Friday, September 30, 2019.

To qualify for Elderly and Congregate, you must be 62 years or older; for 3BR units a family size MUST be a minimum of three (3) AND the annual gross income may not exceed the income limits shown below for the household size.

Pre-Applications must be picked up at Gary Crooks Community Center, 301 Bostwick Ave. Pre-Applications can also be downloaded from our website www.parkcitycommunities.org. Only one pre-application per family will be accepted; duplicate pre-applications will be disqualified.

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

Household size Income Limits

Request for Proposals Information Technology Consulting Services

Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently NEW HAVEN seeking Proposals for Information Technology Consulting Services. A complete 242-258 be Fairmont Ave Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration copy of the requirement may obtainedfrom 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning All new apartments, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 on Wednesday, Augustnew 21,appliances, 2019 at 9:00AM highways, near bus stop & shopping center

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

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

1

3

2

Very Low (50%)

$35,950

$41,050

$46,200

Extremely Low

$21,60 0

$24,65 0

$27,75 0

Low (80%)

$57,45 6

$65,66 4

$73,87 2

Invitation Bid: If you require to a reasonable accommodation for this process, a designated help line will be 2nd Notice available to receive your requests at (203) 337-8804 PCC Does not discriminate based upon race, color, disabilities, religion, sex or national origin.

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage RateRequest Project for Proposals

Information Technology Consulting Services

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, CastCertified/Qualified SWEEPING, TRUCKING, TRAFFIC CONTROL, ASPHALT in-place Concrete, Asphalt City Shingles, Vinyl Siding, PATCHING Minority Subcontractors operating in the greater Bridgeport, CT Housing Authority of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seekFlooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, ing Proposals for Information Technology Consulting Services. A complete copy of the area

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

requirement may be obtainedfrom Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://neElectrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

All African-American-Owner Businesses, Minority-Owned Businesses & Mechanical, whavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, August This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Women-Owned Businesses are encouraged to apply.

St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Please contact Steven Garrity Phone: 860- 243-2300 Email: Steven.garrity@garrityasphalt.com Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

21, 2019 at 9:00AM

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 The Glendower Group, Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Request for Proposals

Inc 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 ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Co-Developer of the Redevelopment of Valley Street Townhouses Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

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 Request for Proposals Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 A pre-bid conference willIndependent be held at the Housing Office 28 Smith AuditAuthority & Tax Services The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of New HaAA/EEO EMPLOYER Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. ven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking proposals for Co-DevelThe Housing Authority of the City of New Havend/b/a Elm City Communioper of the Redevelopment of Valley Street Townhouses. A complete copy of Bidding documentsseeking Proposals for Independent are available from the Seymour Housing Authority ties is currently Audit &OfTaxes Services. A the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. complete copy of the requirements may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/ Monday, July 22, 2019 at 3:00PM The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject or all bids, to gateway beginning on Wednesday, August 14, any 2019 at 3:00PM. reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any 26 informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

THEINNER-CITY INNER-CITYNEWS NEWS -- September September 2019- -September September17, 10,2019 2019 THE 1104, , 2019 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST - (P/T)

Assist individuals receiving services in identifying and making choices about their social, vocation and personal goals. Duties include case management, job development/placement/retention serSteel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders vices and job support as needed. Requires use of personal vehicle.

Top pay for top performers.

B.A. in a related field; plus 2 yrs’ related experience or equivalent VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE combination of education and experience. Pay rate $16.61/hr.

Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Apply to:Authority, GWSNE, 432 Washington Ave., North Haven, CT 06473/ HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the CT New Haven Housing Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, Fax (203) EOE/AA - M/F/D/V AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this495-6108/hr@goodwillsne.org devel-

NOTICE APPLY NOW!

opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations ap-

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED

ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Water and Wastewater Engineer/Planner

25, 2016 technical and ending when sufficient 100) have Responsible work in the analysispre-applications of existing water(approximately and been received theinoffices of HOME Applications will be mailied upon rewastewater systemsatand projecting systemINC. needs for future serquest by calling HOME INCinatcivil, 203-562-4663 those hours. Completed previces.

Requires a B.S. degree sanitary orduring environmental engineering and must 4 years engineering experience which 2atyears applications beofreturned to HOME INC’sofoffices 171 Orange Street, Third must be water and wastewater related. Must possess a valid ConFloor, New Haven, CT 06510. necticut Driver’s License. Salary: $71,052 - $90,909 annually plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply: Human Resources Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 294-2080, Fax: (203) 294-2084. The closing date will be that date the 50thVIVIENDAS application DE form/resume is received, or VALENTINA MACRI ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES September 17, 2019 whichever occurs first. EOE

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

NOTICIA

Must Have your Own Vehicle

If Interested call

Request for Proposals Information Technology Consulting Services

Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Information Technology Consulting Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtainedfrom Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 9:00AM

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Request for Proposals Pay Per Use Laundry Services The Housing Authority of the City of New Havend/b/a Elm City

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Pay Per Use Laundry aceptando pre-solicitudes paraof estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo The Housing Authority the City of Norwalk, CT Services. A complete copy of the requirements may be obtained from ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobmáximos.

Las pre-solicitudes estarán 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 is requesting proposals fordisponibles Legal Services. blestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, August 14, julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) Request for Proposal documents can be viewed and 2019 at 3:00PM. en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición printed at www.norwalkha.org under the llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Business section RFP’s/RFQ’s a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Accounting Department has two immediate openings for full time Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable professionals Norwalk Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. in a fast-paced office environment. Must be highly organized, APPLY NOW! Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director. possess good computer skills, be detail oriented, and able to Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders manage multiple projects. Benefits include health, dental & Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: LTD insurance plus 401(k). Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT Invitation to Bid: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in

********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment.

We offer factory 242-258 Fairmont Ave 2nd Notice AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits 1 level , 1BA Large AllTom newDunay apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 &CT. I-95Fence Company is looking for an individContact: Phone: 860243-2300 Oldand Saybrook, CT highways, near bus stop & shopping centerual for our stock yard. Warehouse shipping and receiving Email: Tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Forklift experience a must. Must have a minimum of 3 years’ Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Pet under 40lb allowed.

Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 TaxtoExempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project material handling experience. Must be able read and write Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer English, and read a tape measure. Duties will include: Loading and unloading trucks, pulling orders for installation and retail CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, PRE-BID Cast- MEETING Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation Candidates counterofsales, keeping the yard clean and organized at all times in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, in Garrity response to the Church’s Ministry needs.

The cost is $125.

Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30RE: WESTBROOK VILLAGE PHASE 2 Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: and inventory control. Individual will also make deliveries of 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. Tuesday, September 10, 2019 Division 1070lbs.

Specialties, Appliances, Residential Date: Casework, fence panels and products, Flooring, must be Painting, able to lift at least (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster Location: University of Hartford’s Handel Center Community Room Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current Required to pass a Physical and Drug test, have a valid CT. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

St. New Haven, CT Address: 25 Westbourne Parkway, Hartford, CT licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel Driver’s License and be able obtain aisDrivers Card.

Time: 9:00 to 10:30 AM Thistocontract subjectMedical to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. throughout the Northeast & NY. CDL B & A drivers a plus. Send resume to pking@atlasourWe offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits door.com AA/EOE/MF Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 INVITATION TO BID Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 Westbrook Village Phase 2 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 144 Mark Twain Drive Sealed are invited by the are Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Womenbids & Minority Applicants encouraged to apply Project documents available via ftp link below: Hartford, CT 06112 untilAffirmative 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer New Construction of: Six (6) Buildings, 60 Units, Approx 62,549 sf

(203) 387-0354 Listing: Accounting

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

NEW HAVEN

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

KMK Insulation Inc.

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Bid Due Date: September 27, 2019 @ 5pm Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Project is Taxable. Residential Wage Rate project.

Smithfield Gardens Assisted Livingseeks: Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. 1907 Hartford Fax or EmailTurnpike Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com Union Company

HCC CT encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses North Haven, 06473 Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Project documents available via ftp link below: Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 A pre-bid conference held atclean the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Equipment.

Must have a will CDLbe License, driving record, http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=westbrookvillage2 AA/EEO EMPLOYER capable of operating equipment; willing to travel Street Seymour, CTheavy at 10:00 am, on be Wednesday, July 20, 2016. throughout the Northeast & NY. Insulation company offering good pay This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements as well as, We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits City of Hartford set-aside and contract requirements. and benefits.

Please mail resume to Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfContact Dana at 860-243-2300. fice, 28 Smith Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. above address.

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dlang@haynesct.com Email:Street, dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply MAIL ONLY Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Action/ Equal Opportunity The Affirmative Housing Authority reserves the right Employer to accept or reject any or This all bids, to AA/EEO EMPLOYER company is an Affirmative Action/

Mechanical Insulator position.

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 Housing Authority.

27

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

September 04, 2019 - September 10, 2019 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Invitation for Bids NOTICE

Scattered Sites East and West- Furnace & Hot Water VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Conversion/ Replacement

The Housing Authority of the City of New Havend/b/a Elm City Communities is curHOME INC, Bids on behalf of Columbus andWestthe New Haven Housing Authority, rently seeking for Scattered SitesHouse East and Furnace & Hot Water Converis accepting pre-applications studio andrequirements one-bedroommay apartments at this develsion/ Replacement.

A complete for copy of the be obtained from Elm opment located at 108 FrankPortal Street, https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.

New Haven. Maximum income limitations apCity’s Vendor Collaboration ply. Pre-applications available from 9AM TO 5PM at beginning com/gateway beginningwill onbe Wednesday, September 4, 2019 3:00PM 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 reELMINCCITY COMMUNITIES quest by calling HOME at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s Invitation foroffices Bidsat 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Interior and External Door Installations and Repairs

NOTICIA

The Housing Authority of the City of New Havend/b/a Elm City Communities is currentlyVALENTINA seeking Bids for Interior and DE External Door Installations and DISPONIBLES Repairs. A comMACRI VIVIENDAS ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES plete copy of the requirements may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal beginning HOME INC,https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está on aceptando Wednesday, Septemberpara 4, 2019at pre-solicitudes estudios3:00PM. 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 Seeking to employ individuals in esas the horas.Pre-solicitudes labor, foreman, operator teamllamando a HOMEexperienced INC al 203-562-4663 durante deberánand remitirse stera trades for a heavy outside work statewide.

Reliable personal transportation and. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 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

Construction

CITYNEW OF MILFORD HAVEN Seeking qualified condidates to fill numerous vacancies to include,Benefits & 242-258 Fairmont AveElectrician and more Pension Coordinator, Clerk A,Truck Driver/Laborer, For Townhouse, information and detailed application 2BR 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1instructions, level , 1BA All new apartments,visit newWWW.ci.milford.ct.us appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 Click on SERVICES, JOB TITLE. highways, near bus JOBS stop &and shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

Cheshire Housing Authority Rumberg Road CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is50 pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Cheshire, CT 06410 in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125.

Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

Pre Applications for waiting list at Section 8 Elderly complex called Beachport will be St. New Haven, CT accepted September 4, 2019, 9:00 am to December 2, 3:00pm. To qualify you must be either 62 years old or disabled with a maximum gross annual income of 35,350 (one person), 40,400 (two people). Interested parties may pick up a pre-application at 50 Rumberg Road, call to have one mailed, or email cheshirehousing@aol.com.

Completed applications must be returned NO LATER than 3:00 December 2, 2019.

Sealed bids are invited byinformation the Housing of the For more callAuthority 203-272-7511 X2Town of Seymour

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street,

Substitute Custodian: Town of East Haven is currently seeking Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete The Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the

qualifi ed applicants for Assisted the position of Substitute Custodian.

Qualifi ed candidates Smithfield Gardens Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. shall have some knowledge of materials, methods, and equipment used in building custodial work, sufficient physical strength and stamina to perform the duties required willHigh be held at the AuthorityinOffice 28care Smith of A thepre-bid class; conference graduation from School or 1Housing year employment building and Street operations.

Seymour, CT at 10:00 bilingual am, on Wednesday, Julyencouraged 20, 2016.to apply. Rate cleaning Candidates in Spanish are of pay is $12.00/hr, weekly hours range from 15-25, 2-3 days per week. Deadline: September 2019. Applications arefrom available online at Housing www.townofeasthavenct.

Bidding 27, documents are available the Seymour Authority Oforg/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests or the Civil Service Office, fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

250 Main Street, East Haven CT. The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans HousingtoAuthority areThe encouraged apply. 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 Housing Authority.

HELP WANTED: Large CT guardrail company

looking for Laborer/Driver with valid CT CDL Class A license and able to get a medical card. Must be able to pass a drug test and physical. Compensation based on experience. Email resume to dmastracchio@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE M-F

Equipment Operator Help Wanted: Immediate opening for Equipment Operator for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate required. CDL license a plus but not required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp.@ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

Laborer Help Wanted: Immediate opening for Construction Laborer for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

CDL Driver

Civil Engineer

Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC) is a multi-disciple engineering and environmental consulting firm. DTC is a leader in servicing governmental clients for four decades. DTC prides itself as having worked on a wide variety of project types. From schools and senior centers to town halls and universities, our diverse portfolio provides extensive experience to our communities.

As DTC enters its forth decade, we are seeking an energetic, organized and proactive professional in our Civil Engineering Department. The successful candidate(s) will work closely with our technical staff in support of DTC’s strategic goals and objectives.

This is an entry level position located in our Hamden, Connecticut office.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the preparation of plans, specifications, supporting documents, and permit applications for private and municipal projects.

• Assist in preparation of calculations such as storm drainage, water supply & wastewater collection, cost estimates, and earthwork quantities.

• Perform design and drafting using AutoCAD Civil 3D. MicroStation experience is beneficial but not required.

Qualifications:

• Graduate from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering.

• Engineer in training certificate preferred.

Individuals with Disabilities, Minorities and Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Help Wanted: Immediate opening for CDL Driver for Heavy and Highway Construction.

10 hour OSHA certificate and clean CDL license required.

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

Project Manager/Project Supervisor

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Help Wanted: Immediate opening for a Project Manager/ProjOld Saybrook, CT ect Supervisor for Heavy and Highway Construction. Previous (4 Buildings, 17 Units) experience on CTDOT projects required.

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998.

We are an equal opportunity employer M/F

For Further information or to apply send resumes to ellen.nelson@teamdtc.com DTC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

DTC is a Drug Free Work Place.

POLICE OFFICER City of Bristol $63,934 - $77,714

Required testing,

Registration info & apply at www.bristolct.gov DEADLINE: 11-22-19 EOE

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Listing: Accounting Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, The State of Connecticut, Office of Accounting Department hasElectrical, an immediate opening in Protection.

AcMechanical, Plumbing and Fire Policy and Management is recruiting for counts full time position in aand fast-paced ce ThisPayable. contract isThis subject to state set-aside contract offi compliance requirements. a Budget Specialist position. environment could be an excellent entry to an Accounting

career. Requires good computer and organizational skills, Further information regarding the duties, Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 attention to detail, and multi-tasking. Benefits include eligibility requirements and application Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 health, dental & LTD insurance plus 401(k). Send resume instructions for this position is available Project documents available ftp link below: to: Human Resource Dept.

P O Box 388, via Guilford CT at: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage 06437. ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

https://www.jobapscloud.com/

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses 190802&R2=0944MP&R3=001 Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER The State of Connecticut is an equal

Town of Bloomfield Vehicle Mechanic Technician Full Time - Benefited $30.49 hourly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

How to Be an Anti-Racist, according to Ibram X Kendi

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “A combination of memoir and extension of [Kendi’s] towering Stamped from the Beginning… Never wavering… Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth… This unsparing honesty helps readers, both white and people of color, navigate this difficult intellectual territory…

Essential.”

Ibram X. Kendi admittedly once trivialized racism.

The American University professor placed some of the blame for race relations in America on blacks. In a speech delivered in 2000, while he was still in high school, Kendi suggested African Americans were too busy blaming their lot in life on racism life instead of being more proactive.

Today, the National Book Award-winning author is delivering a new take on racism in America through his latest work, “How to Be an Antiracist” (320 pages; One World Publishing).

Kendi says that many Americans are smitten with the thought that they can somehow avoid being labeled as a racist only by a passive attempt at treating others as equals.

“When a person says that they are colorblind, to me, that means they are blind to racism, and they’re blind to differences,”

Kendi told NBC News.

“People who say they don’t see race is not seeing the diversity of humanity, whether that diversity is about skin color, or hair texture, or culture,” he said.

In “How to Be an Antiracist,” Kendi explains that his concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America.

On his webpage, Kendi writes that even more fundamentally, his concept “points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other.”

Instead of working with the policies and system in place, Kendi asks his readers to think about what an antiracist society might look like.

He questions how all can play an active role in building it.

Kendi weaves together a combination of ethics, history, law, and science – including the story of what he said is his awakening to antiracism.

A New York Times reviewer wrote: “What do you do after you have written [Kendi’s previous book] “Stamped From the Beginning,” an award-winning history of racist ideas?… If you’re Ibram X. Kendi, you craft another stunner of a book… What emerges from these insights is the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind, a confessional of

self-examination that may, in fact, be our best chance to free ourselves from our national nightmare.”

He became a full professor at 34 years old.

Publishers Weekly reviewers wrote: “A boldly articulated, historically informed explanation of what exactly racist ideas and thinking are… [Kendi’s] prose is thoughtful, sincere, and polished. This powerful book will spark many conversations.”

And, Kirkus Reviews said: “A combination of memoir and extension of [Kendi’s] towering Stamped from the Beginning… Never wavering… Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth… This unsparing honesty helps readers, both white and people of color, navigate this difficult intellectual territory… Essential.”

Born in New York in 1982, Kendi’s parents were student activists and Christians inspired by Black liberation theology.

He attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in journalism and freelanced for several Florida newspapers, and later, he interned at USA Today Sports Weekly, The Mobile [Ala.] Register and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In 2004, Kendi graduated from Florida A&M with a degree in African American Studies.

BillMoyers.com At 27 years old, he earned his doctoral degree in African American Studies from Temple University in 2010. A year earlier, Kendi took a job as an assistant professor of African American history at the State University of New York at Oneonta.

According to his biography, Kendi has been visiting professor at Brown University, a 2013 National Academy of Education/ Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow, and postdoctoral fellow at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis.

He has also resided at The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress as the American Historical Association’s 20102011 J. Franklin Jameson Fellow in American History.

In the summer of 2011, Kendi lived in Chicago as a short-term fellow in African American Studies through the Black Metropolis Research Consortium.

He has received research fellowships, grants, and visiting appointments from a variety of other universities, foundations, professional associations, and libraries, including the Lyndon B. Johnson Library & Museum, University of Chicago, Wayne State University, Emory University, Duke University, Princeton University, UCLA, Washington University, Wake Forest University, and the historical societies of Kentucky and Southern California.

In his new book, Kenzi noted that “racial inequity is a problem of bad policy, not bad people.”

He says, “denial is the heartbeat of racism,” and “being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant selfcriticism, and regular self-examination.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

Despite U.S. Open Loss, Serena Williams is still the Greatest of All

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

“Is Serena the GOAT? She reinvented tennis. She invented #BlackGirlMagic.

She has all of the trophies ever, and she stands for equality of women around the globe. Is Serena the greatest athlete of all time? Please,” said The Undefeated Magazine’s managing editor Raina Kelley.

(Photo: Si.robi / Wikimedia Commons)

Serena Williams lost her bid for what would have been her seventh U.S. Open Singles title.

It was the second straight year that Williams lost in the finals.

But, with 23 Grand Slam tournament titles and a .850 career winning percentage, Williams legacy as the world’s greatest tennis player was solidified a long time ago.

“Serena Williams’s legacy is sealed, whether or not she ever hits a tennis ball again,” Tera W. Hunter, a professor of history and African American studies at Princeton, wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times.

“It’s sad she didn’t beat Bianca Andreescu at the finals of the U.S. Open Championships and match Margaret

Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. But her contributions to the game are much bigger than reaching another Grand Slam Final,” Hunter wrote.

Williams, 37, began playing tennis at the age of 5 in Compton, California.

Under the tutelage of her father, Richard Williams, Serena and her sister Venus rose to stardom in the 1990s. The duo took the tennis world by storm with Serena Williams ultimately surpassing her sister and others as easily the best in the sport.

Serena Williams, who has earned approximately $100 million in her career, won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 17 and she hasn’t looked back.

Here are just some of her accomplishments: At the 1999 U.S. Open, became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title at 17 years old.

By winning the 2001 Australian Open doubles championship with Venus Williams, became the fifth pair to complete a Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to win a Career Doubles Golden Slam.

At the 2001 U.S. Open, marked the first time in the Open Era, and the second time in 117 years that sisters met in a Grand Slam final (with Venus) At the 2002 Roland Garros final, she became the first younger sister to defeat her older sister in a Grand Slam singles tournament.

By winning the 2003 Australian Open, became the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously.

• By winning the 2003 Australian Open, became the first African-American to win the championship.

• By winning the 2003 Wimbledon ladies’ title, Williams became just the fifth woman in the Open Era to win back-toback Wimbledon crowns.

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• By reaching the final of the 2003 Australian Open, she and sister Venus became the first players to compete in 4 consecutive slam finals.

• By winning the 2005 Australian Open by defeating Mauresmo and Davenport, became the only player in tennis history to win three Grand Slam singles titles (1999 U.S. Open, 2002 Roland Garros) by beating the top two ranked players.

• By winning the 2007 Australian Open became the first unseeded player since 1978 to win a slam; she was ranked #81 in the world.

• Her six-year gap between Wimbledon titles (2003–2009) is second only to Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s nine years in the Open Era. • Her eleven-year gap between Roland Garros titles (2002–2013) is the longest in the Open Era. • By winning the 2010 Roland Garros doubles with sister Venus, they became the first pair since 1998 to hold the four doubles slams at the same time.

• By winning the 2010 Roland Garros doubles with sister Venus, they became the first pair in the Open Era to complete the Career Doubles Golden Slam twice (2001 & 2003 Australian Open, 1999 & 2010 Roland Garros, 2000 & 2002 Wimbledon, 1999 & 2009 U.S. Open, and 2000 & 2008 Olympic gold medalists).

• In 2012 Wimbledon, in her semifinal match against Azarenka, she hit a record 24 aces in a match.

• At the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, she set a record for most aces served in a tournament, hitting 102 aces in the tournament, which was the most of men or women at the Championships that year.

• In 2014, she won her 6th U.S. Open title, the most in the Open Era (tied with

Evert) • In 2017, she won her 7th Australian Open title, the most in the Open Era (stands alone).

• Four-time Olympian (2000, 2008, 2012, 2016); Four-time Olympic medalist (4 golds) • Rio 2016 Olympic Games, T-9th (singles); T-17th (doubles) • London 2012 Olympic Games, gold (singles, doubles) • Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, gold (doubles), T-5th (singles) • Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, gold (doubles) “She’s without question the embodiment of strength, character, and accomplishment,” said Julio C. Rodriguez, of Université Paris-Sorbonne.

The Undefeated Magazine’s managing editor Raina Kelley summed up why Williams is the Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali of her sport.

“Serena Jameka Williams did not come just come to play — she came to slay.

And you are alive to see it,” Kelley said.

“Is Serena the GOAT? She reinvented tennis. She invented #BlackGirlMagic.

She has all of the trophies ever, and she stands for equality of women around the globe. Is Serena the greatest athlete of all time? Please,” Kelley said.

Con’t from page 09

IS NOT GOOD

ENOUGH

less people of conscious act, he will not be the last.

One way to bar the doors to elected office against politicians who shrug off their past trespasses and look to escape responsibility for causing human suffering is to borrow the three strikes rule from Biden’s 1994 Crime Bill.

According to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Resource Manual, the three strikes law was created to take violent criminals off the streets by giving them enhanced punishments. Since Joe Biden wrote a bill that supported the idea that a three strikes rule would bring an end to bad behavior, perhaps that concept should be applied to him.

Opposition to school busing – Strike One. The Hyde Amendment – Strike Two. Anita Hill’s treatment – Strike Three.

And for good measure: The 1994 Crime Bill – Strike Four.

Joe, you’re out, go home.

Oscar H. Blayton is a former Marine Corps combat pilot and human rights activist who practices law in Virginia. ​

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

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

JOE UGLY IN THE MORNING Weekdays 6-9 a.m.

THE TOM FICKLIN SHOW Mondays 10 a.m.

MAYOR MONDAY!

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Mondays 11 a.m.

Mondays 1 p.m.

“THE SHOW”

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MICHELLE TURNER Tuesdays 9 a.m.

“WERK IT OUT”

ELVERT EDEN Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

MORNINGS WITH MUBARAKAH

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Wednesdays 9 a.m.

Wednesdays 2 p.m.

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LOVEBABZ LOVETALK

Thursdays 1 p.m.

Mondays-Fridays 9 a.m.

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FRIDAY PUNDITS Fridays 11 a.m.

At Saint Aedan Pre School

We believe in supporting and valuing all families.

We believe that a parent is the child’s first and best teacher.

We are committed to providing a high-quality experience that enhances the overall development of the child and supports the family unit. We incorporate play in our detailed experience plans that are in line with the CT ELDS and CT DOTS.

** Our Program is Full Day / Full Year /Open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm ** NAEYC Accredited ** Care4Kids accepted ** State mandated sliding scale fee based on income and family size ** Onsite Social Worker and Educational Consultant

https://catholicacademynh.org/pre-school/pre-school-overview Dr. James F. Acabbo, Director St. Aedan Pre School 203-387-0041

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

September 11, 2019 - September 17, 2019

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