THE INNER-CITY NEWS

At The Q House, A Baby Shower Builds The Village

Abiba Biao

At one station, mamas and mamas-tobe could load up on cocoa butter, skin oil and baby lotion. At another, they could learn about an Afro-Centric Montessori school right in their backyard. At another still, they could connect with lactation consultants, who can make the difference between breastfeeding a baby without pain and discomfort, and stopping before a person is ready.

As they buzzed around the room, organizers Lucinda Canty, Shannon Knox, and Shamica Frasier checked in with families, stopped to chat with vendors, and often found themselves in impromptu conversations about everything from changing diapers to postpartum care.

Canty, Knox and Frasier are the minds behind the New Haven Community Baby Shower, now in its fourth year at the Dixwell Community Q House. A collaboration between Golden Radiance Village, New Birth Journey, and Lucinda’s House, the event seeks to connect new and expecting mothers with resources to help them and their babies thrive, from prenatal, postpartum, and doula care to lactation support to items like baby wipes, strollers, books and formula. Over 300 families attended, way up from around 170 families in 2021.

“I don't think people know how much support we really need, and that's why we hold these spaces so that we can shine a light on that and teach people how to do it again, like how to take care of mothers,” said Knox, better known as “Doula Sha” in the community.

“Because we do all the nurturing, but we deserve the nurture, and [to] be nurtured us well.”

All three organizers have a specific focus on Black women and women of color, who in this country are over three times more likely to die than their white counterparts, and report much higher rates of being disbelieved, gaslit, ignored, and second-guessed during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum (this is most true of Black women, and also true for Native and Latina women).

Part of that problem goes back to the roots of American gynecology itself, which for decades practiced procedures on enslaved women without their knowledge or consent, and created harmful and enduring medical myths that Black women have a higher tolerance for pain. The practice of forced sterilization on Black and Native women continued through the late 20th century (as recently as 2022, birthing people reported instances of gynecological violence and forced sterilization while in ICE detention, all the more alarming as ICE increases its attacks on pregnant people today).

All three organizations are facing that health disparity head-on, and also seek to address and mitigate birth trauma, which can be a source of postpartum anxiety and depression in the days, weeks, and months after a birth (some mothers report feeling re-traumatized every time their child celebrates a birthday). They know,

for instance, that birth outcomes are statistically better with midwifery and doula care, which has existed in communities for millenia.

“If we look back into granny midwives and Afro-American culture, how even enslaved women used to help usher babies into this earth, I was like, ‘Man, this is a part of me. So let me get into this,’” Frasier said. She noted the financial feasibility of earning doula certification, rather than training to become a certified nurse midwife, which may require student loans and higher financial barriers to entry.

Saturday, a whole village showed up to support that mission. Around the room, mothers and families could visit with representatives of 20 organizations, from the East Shore District Health Department, HUSKY Health Connecticut, and New Haven Healthy Start to educational hubs like Sankofa Learning Center and Read to Grow.

At one table, Akwasha Bey chatted with attendees about her haircare and beauty business Kway’s Collection. Founded in 2019, Bey started the business to help her mom while she was dealing with cancer, which often comes with hair loss from medication and chemotherapy treatments. When she passed, Bey was still motivated to continue and help others with their hair struggles and offer assistance with their journey to healthy hair.

"Maintaining yourself is the best form of self-love,” Bey said. Her product, a hair growth oil, can be especially helpful in the postpartum period, when it’s common for birthing people to experience hair loss. “I love natural hair. I love natural people, period. So I'm just all about restoring yourself and keeping up with your overall health and beauty.”

“It’s not only just for the aesthetics of yourself, but sometimes people need to heal internally, and I hear a lot of stories and I'm able to motivate people in different ways,” she added.

Out in the hallway eyeing pamphlets and community resources was Dalesha Adkins, a graduate student in social work at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Before Saturday, Adkins’ professor, Elizabeth Johnson-Tyson, had encouraged her to come out to the event. As she chatted beside an inflatable ghost and pumpkin for an upcoming Halloween party at LEAP, she said she was glad she’d made it.

“A lot of people don't know where to access resources, so it's important to kind of have these small gatherings to get the word out so that people are aware where they can access resources,” she said. As the shower continues to grow, organizers are already thinking about how to reach more families (Golden Radiance Village also holds a community health hub every August, during an annual Youth Day Block Party on Edgewood Avenue). Frasier said that while details and plans have not been finalized for next year’s event, she hopes to throw a gala in celebration for its fifth year, and possibly transition to a larger venue to accommodate more people.

Volunteers, including students and organizations from Southern Connecticut State University and Yale University. Abiba Biao Photos

Organizers Lucinda Canty, Shamica Frasier, and Shannon Knox. Akwasha Bey.

Dalesha Adkins. "A lot of people don't know where to access resources," she said.

Dozens Clean Up The Hill

by Abiba Biao

Amidst the decomposing fall foliage in the John C. Daniels School parking lot, Alexandra Taylor Mendez spotted a variety of food packaging: 3 Musketeer wrappers, a Styrofoam Maruchan noodle cup, and a king-size wrapper of Reese’s Oreo Cup. In one fell swoop, Mendez scooped the pile up into a trash bag held open by her 9-year-old daughter Olivia. Olivia’s younger brother Tristan watched closely, trash picker in hand.

Mendez was one of 50 individuals who turned up for Saturday’s Hill neighborhood community cleanup. The event was organized by Hill neighborhood district manager Sgt. Jasmine Sanders and former City Plan Commission Chair Leslie Radcliffe, and saw volunteers from community organizations such as Project M.O.R.E. and the Flynn Project show up to help. Volunteers were separated into eight groups, with each group having a designated captain to lead cleanup efforts along particular areas and streets of the Hill.

“For me, and I think, for a majority of the people here, it’s more than just picking up litter or just cleaning up,” Sanders said. “It’s a way where the community and the residents are coming together and kind of like taking back their neighborhood.”

While the two are still deciding on the frequency of the meetings, Radcliffe said that she hopes to do one more cleanup before the winter sets in.

Despite living in Beaver Hills, Mendez considers the Hill her “adopted community,” as she attends community meetings and her kids are enrolled at John C. Daniels (JCD). She stressed the importance of community involvement, bringing out her husband and kids, as well as her niece Alex Taylor.

“Everybody should have a clean and safe neighborhood. It should not be, depending on your income or anything like that,” she said. “It’s important to do these types of things, because if you don’t, who else is?”

On the other side of the parking lot, Mendez’s husband Christian Peralta and Hill North Community Management Team Treasurer Jose Orlando DeJesus set up a rolling trash bin, putting in a fresh trash bag to keep the findings of the day’s activities.

Since 2009, DeJesus has been held cleanups around his property and the school, saying its a common occurrence to see used needles in the playground and on the street. He attributed the rise of used needles to the disbandment of a needle exchange program.

“Before, the needle exchange program was just that: it was a needle exchange. You give me a dirty needle, I give you a clean needle,” he said. “Now there’s not a needle exchange. Now it’s harm reduction and they just give up needles by the dozen.”

Another point of contention is responsibility for groundskeeping efforts. DeJesus added that improved writing in contracts and enforcement of contracts for subcontractors with clauses that include litter could help resolve the issue.

home in New Haven for four days; he decided to help around the neighborhood, citing his family as motivation behind his efforts.

“I fell, but now I picked myself up,” he said.

Clemons praised Project M.O.R.E as a motivator. “Until I leave here, whatever they need, I’m assisting,” he said.

He also had some words of advice for people: “Everybody knows where to start, they just got to take the initiative to do it.”

For Mendez, the cleanup was personal, wanting to show her children firsthand examples of civic action and engagement. She noted the drug usage of individuals during and after school hours and how it could be a safety concern especially amongst students who walk to school.

“You would not see that landscape in different neighborhoods. You wouldn’t see that in Westville, you wouldn’t see that in East Rock,” he said. “ You wouldn’t see that in those neighborhoods, but this is a fight that I have with them

because the landscaping contractors don’t weed. They don’t pick up litter.”

Anthony Clemons, 58, was one of nine attendees from Project M.O.R.E who participated in the cleanup. Clemons was incarcerated for 43 years and had only been

The APT Foundation, a nonprofit organization which provides substance use treatment right across the street from John C. Daniels School, has had longstanding controversy in the neighborhood. In July, Mendez and other Hill residents advocated against the APT Foundation expanding their operations to Long Wharf, citing the reasoning as preventing the spread of the problem. That Elicker administration-brokered deal, now on pause, would have moved APT’s methadone clinic from Congress Avenue in the Hill to Sargent Drive. On Saturday, Mendez said that while harm reduction initiatives are well-meaning, they aren’t effective, with APT clients allegedly selling their methadone which is used for medication-assisted treatment to help those struggling with opioid use disorder quit their addiction.

“They’re getting their money to get their addiction cut,” she said. “So what we’re fighting for is for the APT Foundation to start cleaning up their business practices and make the program do what it’s supposed to do, which is help the patients, instead of telling them to go somewhere else and then bring that issue somewhere else.”

Despite the usage problems and safety issues, Mendez underlined the efforts of JCD staff and unwavering support for JCD. There was a reason she chose JCD. With the school’s emphasis on multilingual education with English, Spanish, and Mandarin, the school allows her kids Tristan and Olivia to use their Spanish and affirm their multicultural identity as Guatemalan-Americans.

“I think that the Hill is unique because you see all walks of life here and it’s important to support all those works of life because everybody’s number one goal is to survive,” she said. She also discussed the importance of showing solidarity with immigrants. “When you give us a space to live, a quality of life, a safe place to live, then you meet people like me who bring their pride from their country… and they welcome the pride from the country that they’re immigrating to.”

The New Haven independent

Alexandra Taylor Mendez and her kids at Saturday's cleanup Credit: Abiba Biao photos

Christian Peralta and Jose Orlando DeJesus.

Saturday’s cleanup crew.

Anthony Clemons.

Miguel Pittman (third left) with Project M.O.R.E.

‘A Catastrophe In Our Country’ — CT Officials Pledge $3M To Feed State Families During Shutdown

by Donald Eng

WALLINGFORD, CT — Public officials from all three levels of government came together Monday in support of a common message: an estimated 360,000 Connecticut families should not go hungry.

In a media briefing at CT Foodshare in Wallingford, Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled a plan to provide $3 million in emergency state funding to Foodshare to help state residents who are expected to lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a result of the federal government shutdown.

The Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced last week it would not use a contingency fund to support the program, and will not reimburse states that cover the program on their own. According to state officials, that means effective Sunday there will be no new SNAP benefits. This will impact about 42 million low-income Americans, including about 360,000 in Connecticut. Unused SNAP benefits from previous months will still be available.

“Connecticut families should not go hungry because of Washington’s dysfunction,” Lamont said. “While this $3 million in emergency funding will not fill the entire gap left by the federal government, it represents our state’s commitment to supporting our neighbors during this crisis. We are stepping up because Connecticut takes care of its own, and we will continue working to support our residents until this federal shutdown is resolved.”

Social Services Commissioner Andrea

Barton Reeves said the $3 million would allow CT Foodshare, the largest food bank in the state, to expand its capacity. She also issued a plea for those who are able to donate to their local food pantries.

“Donations of canned and boxed foods and monetary donations are especially needed now,” she said. “Together, we all make sure that no one falls through the cracks during this challenging time.”

Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski said the state contribution “will make a real difference for families across Connecticut who are facing an impossible choice between paying rent and putting food on the table.”

He said the funding would allow the or-

ganization to buy more food for distribution to local agencies and mobile pantries.

But even though he estimated the new funds would purchase about 6 million meals, that would only last about two weeks.

“This does not solve the problem,” he said. He added that in addition to the emergency funding to get through the shutdown, the group’s normal operations must continue.

The looming loss of food benefits is a “catastrophe in our country,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.

“Starting Saturday, one in 10 in Connecticut will not be able to put food on the table using their SNAP cards,” she said.

Worse, according to U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd, is that the country has an abundance of food.

“There isn’t anyone who should go hungry,” she said. She called the decision not to fund SNAP “shockingly cruel.”

Republicans at the state level will pitch in to help feed Connecticut families, said House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford.

“There is no question we are broken at the federal level,” he said. “People are being hurt.”

And while $3 million can buy a lot of food, he said it was clear that if the shutdown continued, that money would run out very quickly.

“Our caucus is willing to work with this administration to figure a way to get more funding,” he said.

That additional funding could come from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, should the shutdown continue, Lamont said. The initial $3 million came from the state’s MEdicaid budget.

In addition to Foodshare, there are local food pantries all throughout the state that are providing food to those in need and are also seeking donations, state officials said. To locate food pantries in Connecticut, visit 211ct.org.

For information on how to obtain food assistance or donate to CT Foodshare, visit ctfoodshare.org.For information regarding the impact of the federal shutdown on SNAP benefits in Connecticut, visit the DSS portal on the state website.

CT Senate Leaders Want Lamont To Step Up Shutdown Rhetoric

by Staff Report

HARTFORD, CT — As the federal government shutdown drags on, threatening funding for numerous services that state residents depend on, state Senate leaders are urging Gov. Ned Lamont to be more aggressive in publicly assigning blame toward the national Republicans.

Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Majority Leader Bob Duff. D-Norwalk, have called on Lamont to follow the example of Pennsylvania and other states and prominently post information on state agency websites pinning the recent service disruptions on what they called inept Republican governance.

The administration of President Donald Trump also has taken similar action, ordering a video featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for flight delays to be played at airports. Locally, Bradley International Airport is not playing the video. The administration also sent mass emails to federal workers blaming Democrats for the shutdown and changed out-of-office replies to repeat the message.

“The ongoing Republican shutdown threatens critical services that Connecticut families depend on, including nutrition assistance, Head Start programs, and healthcare services,” the two stated. “Al-

though these are federal programs, residents often interact with state agencies to access these services, making clear communication about disruptions essential.” Looney cited Republican control over the federal government.

“Working-class Connecticut residents deserve to know who turned their backs on them,” he said. “President Trump and Congressional Republicans control every branch of the federal government, yet they have chosen to shut it down rather than work constructively to protect working families.”

Duff said the recent demolition of the White House’s East Wing illustrated con-

tempt for working people and said Pennsylvania had shown the way to respond.

“Nothing illustrates Republican contempt for working people more clearly than President Trump demolishing an entire wing of the White House during his own shutdown to build a lavish ballroom for his rich friends,” Senator Duff said. “Pennsylvania has shown the way forward. Governor Shapiro’s administration is clearly communicating to residents why their services are disrupted. Our state government has the same responsibility.”

Pennsylvania’s state Department of Human Services website has a banner that reads “Because Republicans in Washing-

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ton D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown, November 2025 SNAP benefits cannot be paid.”

The legislative leaders specifically called for Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, to inform enrollees that the premium increases they will face next year are a direct consequence of the Republicans’ refusal to accept the Congressional Democrats’ proposal to protect Americans from these hikes.

With Republicans in complete control of the federal government — the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives — there is no ambiguity about who is responsible for the shutdown and its consequences for Connecticut families,” they said.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, in a Monday statement that the federal government would not be using contingency funds to extend SNAP benefits, placed blame squarely on Congressional Democrats.

“The best way for SNAP benefits to be paid on time is for the Democrats to end their shutdown,” Johnson said Monday. The government remains shut down with the two parties deadlocked over extending some enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.

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CT Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski speaks about the effect of the federal government shutdown on food benefits on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 at CT Foodshare in Wallingford, CT. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie

Senate President Martin Looney Majority Leader Sen. Bob Duff

Ailey II Gets BRADA Moving

Lucy Gellman & Jayla Anderson

Drumbeats rolled through the second floor of Betsy Ross Arts & Design Academy, weaving in and out of Nikki Claxton’s dance classroom. Across the floor, students spread out, making their limbs pliable as they reached up, then extended their feet to an open second position. In the center of the room, Shay Bland made her way over to eighth grader Tatum Cannon, and watched every movement.

“How tall can you make yourself?" she asked, and Tatum lengthened, her arms stretched out toward the ceiling. Her legs, already nimble and full of quiet force, somehow pushed deeper into the floorboards. The drums wrapped themselves around everything. Bland smiled. “I see an Ailey dancer.”

Friday morning, Bland, with fellow Ailey II dancers Carley Brooks and Darion Turner, brought an hour of rigorous technique and choreography to BRADA, for a masterclass before the company’s Saturday night performance at the Shubert Theatre. Working with dancers from sixth to ninth grade, the trio gave an astounding lesson in not just dance, but what it means to show up as one’s full artistic self, even and especially in a world turned on its head.

It is the first time in years that an outside dance program has come to BRADA, which until June was known as Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School (BRAMS). This year, it also comes as BRADA transforms into an arts middle and high school.

“It’s where we all started, and it reminds us of where we started,” said Bland, who was a student at New York’s Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) long before she was ever a member of Ailey II, where she’s now the company’s rehearsal director. “It is wildly important to see people in the same space that look like you, sound like you, use the same language that you do.”

And throughout Friday’s class, it was. Just before 9 a.m., dancers rolled in, some still shaking the sleep from their eyes as others looked ready to spring into action (“It’s early morning,” said Turner, whose day usually starts and ends later than a middle schooler’s). Around them, Claxton’s classroom was already a case study in dance education, the walls teeming with notes on technique, terminology, and bright posters from years of previous performances.

An image of the late Judith Jamison, who joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1965 and led it from 1989 to 2011, looked out from the far wall. As if on her cue, students fanned out across the floor, ready for warmups. Bland, who is also the assistant choreographer on the jukebox Broadway Musical Hell’s Kitchen, looked over the class, cued up the music, and then jumped right in. Pressed up close to the wall-length mirrors, Brooks and Turner swiveled for-

Bland, walking through the rows, stopped at Tatum, studying the young dancer. “Open Egyptian,” she called, and students opened their arms, bent them towards the sky, and rotated their bodies ever so slightly. Tatum, who for years has danced for years at Tia Russell Arts Center (TRAC), leaned into the position until every muscle seemed to be temporarily in its hold.

“I liked that they broke it down for us,” Tatum later said. “When I’m learning a new warmup, I really try my best.”

The class, meanwhile, began to pass by in a blur, from pendulum-like release swings to synthy strings and electronic dance music that wrapped the students in their sound from a speaker at one side of the room. To Cashmere Cat’s earwormy “Mirror Maru,” dancers swung back and forth, their shoulders becoming loose, arms unstuck and fluid. They hugged themselves, arms releasing just as quickly as they swayed. Beneath them, Bland’s voice became a steady soundtrack— “Passé!” A beat. “Fall!” —over the pauses in the undulating strings.

ward, and began to move.

In the room, the effect was immediate. Dancers stretched towards the rafters, their arms at an angle as they leaned forward, bodies almost frozen in space.

Over a dozen backs arched and then relaxed into tall C shapes, spines longer than they’d seemed just minutes before.

Students reached forward, chests and torsos opening up as arms stretched toward the front of the room. Soon, outstretched palms hovered in the air, fingers pressed tightly together and waiting for the next direction.

“Don’t worry about making mistakes because that’s how you learn,” said Bland, directing the group to a natural second.

The term—which both folds in and works outside of ballet’s formal vocabulary—is a nod to the Horton Technique, which is named after twentieth-century choreographer Lester Horton.

The technique centers 17 “fortifications” that are meant to help lengthen, recenter and strengthen dancers’ movements, a nod to the Native and non-Western movement practices that inspired Horton during his lifetime.

Claxton, whose own time in Ailey’s summer intensive transformed how she understood dance when she was still a student, beamed from the far corner of the room, taking out a phone to record.

For weeks before the class, she taught students the fundamentals of Horton, introducing them to a form she wished she’d learned earlier. “I’m just happy they can see dance beyond school,” she later said. “They get to see dance that looks like them.”

At the front of the room, seventh grader Oni David went from a passé into a high lunge, her arms gliding through the air as they reached for the far walls on either side of the room. When she’d completed one movement she turned, arms extended in a V around her head.

“Look over there!” Bland called, and heads swiveled to the left all at once, eyes trained on the fabric that fell classically around Jamison’s raised right leg. “It’s just good seeing dancers [who look] like you,” Oni later said, reflecting on the class.

And it was. At each new direction, Bland struck a balance between copacetic (“Just be! Cool?”), firm but gentle (“May I touch your body?” she asked before gently correcting dancers’ positions), and relatable (“I’m thinking, if I could, my heel is trying to escape, but my toe catches me.”). Flanking her on either side, Brooks and Turner jumped in, guiding students through increasingly difficult choreography before the class was over.

“Shall we torture them?” Bland asked Turner at one point, before introducing a punishing flurry of passés and dégagés that seemed to come one right after the other. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of fast footfalls, some students doing jumping jacks as penance when they inevitably missed a step. That method is a time-honored tradition at Ailey II: “It’s not a punishment. It’s to make fun of yourself if you mess up,” Bland said. For some of the students, the class was not just rigorous, but also revelatory. When she took her final bow as a middle schooler in June, now-freshman Jaylynne Diaz didn’t know that it meant she wouldn’t be dancing again until October

BRADA students at the Shubert. Jayla Anderson Photo.

Rocky Hill Man Charged With Threatening CT Lawmaker Following ‘No Kings’

by Viktoria Sundqvist

ROCKY HILL, CT — A 43-year-old Rocky Hill man is facing several criminal charges after police say he repeatedly posted online antisemitic threats targeting a Connecticut legislator, most recently after the Oct. 18 “No Kings” protests.

Robert Pabich, who was arrested on a warrant on Oct. 24, was charged with second-degree intimidation based on bigotry or bias, electronic stalking and disorderly conduct.

Pabich is accused of targeting state Sen. Matt Lesser – a Democrat who is Jewish and represents Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield – with threatening comments on social media, including one saying Lesser deserved a bullet through his face and another referencing the Tree of Life synagogue, which was the site of a 2018 mass shooting that killed 11. Police said he referred to the synagogue as having been “fumigated.” He then publicly posted Lesser’s home address, according to the arrest warrant.

Additionally, Pabich reportedly commented on a photo of a group of Democratic lawmakers on social media, saying “Everyone of these pieces of trash needs bullets shot directly into their faces” and made anti-Hispanic comments in response to another post, and said Lesser should be shot with an AR-15.

Lesser told police Pabich had threatened him several times going back several years, calling for folks to “purge Jewish communists.” He has frequently left hateful and threatening comments on posts involving other Jewish lawmakers as well, including US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, according to the arrest warrant.

Capitol Police told Rocky Hill officers that they had a record of three similar incidents involving three separate lawmakers and Pabich from 2002, 2015 and 2020. He has been ordered to have no contact with Lesser, in person or electronically, after his October arrest.

“I would like to thank the Rocky Hill Police, State Capitol Police and Middletown Police for their attention and their support in this matter,” Lesser said in a statement after the arrest.

After the most recent social media threats, Lesser and his family temporarily relocated for their safety, he told police.

“Mr. Pabich’s pattern of serious and escalating threats have caused considerable distress,” Lesser said in his statement to police. “His residence in Rocky Hill is only a few minutes from our house, and he seems to pose a clear and imminent threat to my life and my family’s safety and wellbeing.”

Pabich has several firearms registered in his name, police said. Four rifles and military-grade ammunition were seized from his Rocky Hill home, according to the warrant.

When interviewed by police, Pabich allegedly said he was “the most peaceful non-violent guy” and “I try not to overtly threaten people,” the warrant details. He was held over the weekend in lieu of bail and appeared in New Britain court for arraignment Monday, where bail was set at $25,000. His next court date in the case is Dec. 19.

Court records indicate he had not been released from custody as of Tuesday morning.

The Senate Republican Caucus on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the threats “in the strongest of terms.”

“We are relieved that Sen. Matthew Lesser and our other colleagues are safe,” said state Sen. Stephen Harding, on behalf of the caucus. “We will continue to call out all forms of political violence. We thank law enforcement and state prosecutors for their work.”

Harding himself was the subject of a bomb threat at his Brookfield home in February. Just a week earlier, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, reported a bomb threat at his home in Stamford.

The threat against Harding was sent via email, mentioned a pipe bomb and referenced politics, he told CT Insider at the time.

Both Republicans and Democrats at the time issued statements condemning threats and acts of violence, saying there is no place for either in Connecticut, and everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home.

DHS: Immigrant Was Arrested On Green For Now-Dismissed Criminal Charges, Illegal Re-Entries

Five days after masked federal agents seized an immigrant on the Green, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the arrest stemmed from criminal charges the detainee appeared in state court for on that very same day.

The federal agency also asserted that the detainee, originally from Guatemala, has illegally re-entered the U.S. “at least five times,” and has been “expelled to Mexico four times.”

An unnamed DHS spokesperson sent along a comment to that effect on Sunday, Oct. 26 about the Tuesday, Oct. 21 arrest of a 30-yearold man who lived in Fair Haven.

The Independent first reported on the arrest on Tuesday. The arrest was video recorded by a bystander, and was observed by the detainee’s girlfriend, who was left shaken by seeing her boyfriend of ten years taken away.

The arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took place on the same

day that the detainee had gone to state court to mark his completion of a domestic violence rehabilitation program and have related criminal charges dismissed.

The DHS spokesperson said that this man was arrested “in the sanctuary state of Connecticut for interfering with emergency call, assault and breach of peace relating to domestic violence,” which are the charges he was arrested on more than a year ago, which he appeared in state court for on Tuesday, and which have subsequently been dismissed. “Local authorities released this criminal back onto American streets before ICE finally nabbed him,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Now, he will remain in ICE custody pending further immigration proceedings.”

The DHS spokesperson also said that this detainee had illegally re-entered the U.S. at least five times, “which is a felony,” and had been deported to Mexico four times.

As of Monday, a search of ICE’s online detainee locator did not include any information about the man’s arrest or where he is currently being held.

ICE has also yet to respond to requests for comment about why federal immigration agents raided a Dixwell Avenue car wash on Oct. 15, which resulted in the arrest of eight people.

John Lugo, a lead organizer with the immigrant- and workers-rights group Unidad Latina en Acción, stressed on Monday just how dangerous it is for ICE to be waiting outside of courthouses and arresting people who show up for state court proceedings.

“This is a way that people are going to be afraid to go to court, and maybe afraid to report crimes,” he said. He called for the judicial system in Connecticut to allow for people to “start attending these hearings in a remote way, because going to court is a danger.”

Stuart DeCew presents his talk “The Climate Tech Multiplier Turning Innovation into Shared Prosper-

New Arts & Culture Director Named

by Mona Mahadevan

Shamain “Sha” McAllister, a passionate advocate for inclusive art and cultural equity, has been tapped as the city’s next top arts and culture official.

That was announced on Tuesday morning during a press conference with Mayor Justin Elicker, Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli, and dozens of arts and culture leaders in City Hall at 165 Church St. McAllister’s first day on the job as the director of the city Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism was Monday.

“New Haven is good soil,” said McAllister, filled with the “richness of the talent, creativity, and art in its people.” While she’s planning to spend time “listening” before choosing her priorities, more broadly, she said she’ll build on the work of her predecessor, Adriane Jefferson, who steered the city’s first cultural equity plan.

The one priority she’s already established, though, is getting the public and private sectors on the same page. She wants people to “know what’s going on with each other,” so that, for instance, restaurants can be prepared for arts events and tell customers about them.

McAllister, who moved to New Haven in 2014 to attend Albertus Magnus College, can boast a broad influence on New Haven’s art and culture scene.

She created the Student Justice League during her time at Albertus Magnus College, worked as the Development Coordinator for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and contributed to the city’s Cultural Equity Plan and comprehensive plan. More recently, she’s spent her time as the Associate Director of Education & Community Impact at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, the Program Director of Kulturally LIT, and Vice President of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven Board.

If someone was to spend 48 hours in New Haven, on Tuesday, McAllister recommended stopping by Bloom, House of Naan, and Possible Futures. She also suggested a show at Toad’s Place or Shubert Theatre, as well as a drive down Grand Avenue.

“New Haven is more than pizza,” said McAllister. “We love the pizza,” but there are “bright lights” throughout the city’s arts, architecture, and culinary scenes.

“There’s no need to venture out of town to see a thought-provoking show, drive out of town to have a delicious meal, or hear your favorite musician,” she explained.

When it comes to the Trump admin-

istration’s cuts to diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives, she’s not that concerned. “I got crazy faith,” she told the Independent, reminding us that there’s “more of us than there are of them.”

Dozens of McAllister’s friends showed up at 165 Church St. to cheer and applaud McAllister’s appointment.

One of those friends, Angel Dahfay, described McAllister as nothing short of “amazing.” Dahfay, who serves as the manager of public program and activation for the New Haven Green, said she views McAllister as a “mentor,” even though they’re the same age.

From their experience working together, Dahfay saw McAllister prioritize “community.” As someone invested in the city’s arts scene, Dahfay is hoping to see more of that, particularly for Black and brown artists.

I’d like the department to “make sure opportunities are spread equally,” said Dahfay, especially when it comes to funding — something she views as “core” to truly supporting artists.

Hope Chávez, executive director of the Arts Council, gave McAllister a warm hug before delivering her remarks.

“This is what happens when we actually invest in young leaders,” said Chávez — especially, she continued, young women and people of color. One of the best ways to support their efforts, said Chávez, is by giving them the “prestige, relationships, and influence they need.”

Chávez also argued that art is the “engine” that drives social stability, economic development, and even new housing development. That’s because, she explained, “the arts tell us the truth.”

IfeMichelle Gardin, founder of Kulturally LIT and the Independent’s 2024 New Havener of the Year, teared up in her remarks about McAllister, a woman she described as “extraordinary.”

Donning novelist Toni Morrison earrings, she pulled from a Morrison quote — “Make a difference about something other than yourselves” — to describe McAllister’s community-oriented service. She said McAllister “shows us all what’s possible when we lead with love and focus.”

When it comes to what she’d like the department to do, Gardin described McAllister as a “very innovative thinker on her own.” After McAllister “poured so much into me” with her work at Kulturally LIT, said Gardin, the only thing advice she has for McAllister is just to remember that everyone is “standing at the ready” to support her, whatever she decides to do.

The New Haven independent

New city arts director Sha McAllister, with Arts Council director Hope Chávez Credit: Mona Mahadevan photos

IfeMichelle Gardin: “Even more remarkable is [McAllister’s] heart.”

IfeMichelle Gardin: “Even more remarkable is [McAllister’s] heart.”

Mayor Justin Elicker: A big part of what makes New Haven the “cultural capital of Connecticut” is that “we consistently say that we are an inclusive and welcoming city.”

Protest Criticizes Dispatch For “Aiding & Abetting” ICE

by Mona Mahadevan

Waving “ICE Out of Connecticut” signs and chanting for justice, more than 30 people rallied outside the Hamden Police Department on Tuesday to criticize the town’s dispatch for not relaying a tip about an imminent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid to the police department.

In a press release, Hamden police clarified that the federal-government caller never mentioned ICE, and that dispatch was only told Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) would be conducting an “investigation” at an unspecified location on Dixwell Avenue.

The press release and protest at 2900 Dixwell Ave. represent the most recent fallout from the Optimo Car Wash raid in Hamden, where eight people were detained by ICE on Oct. 15. Hamden Council Member Abdul Osmanu and State Rep. Laurie Sweet attended the protest.

John Lugo, lead organizer for Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA), said he believes eight adults, six men and two women, were arrested by ICE at Optimo Car Wash as part of that Oct. 15 raid. He said that two people were released because they had already started the process to get legal status. He declined to share further details. Lugo said one person, who is still being held by ICE, has a visa as a Special Immigrant Juvenile.

The six remaining detainees are spread across detention centers in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, said Lugo. Some of them are parents to young children, who were in school when their parents were taken; Lugo said that the kids are “fine now” but said he doesn’t know details about their home situations.

According to a press release from the Hamden Police Department that was sent out in advance of Tuesday’s protest, at 8:13 a.m. on Oct. 15, dispatch received a call from someone claiming to be a federal special agent from HSI. The caller said

HSI would conduct a 15-minute investigation between 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Dixwell Avenue but declined to share an address. Dispatch was told that HSI “did not require assistance from the Hamden Police Department.”

“Notably, the Special Agent did not

mention ‘ICE’ at all or refer to it during the call,” reads the statement. HSI is the division of ICE responsible for disrupting “transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and terrorist networks that threaten or seek to exploit the customs and immigration laws of the United States,” according to ICE.

According to the town’s police department, dispatch received another call at 11:04 a.m. indicating HSI’s “investigation” had been completed.

“The Hamden Police Department completely complied with the State of Connecticut’s Trust Act,” reads the statement. “No Hamden Police Officers were present or involved in the event. The Hamden Police Department was not provided any details and/or specifics of the ICE operation until after the event had taken place.”

Later on Tuesday night, the press release was updated with the following:

“The Hamden Police Department’s Ethics and Integrity Unit has commenced an investigation to determine all facts pertinent to this incident.”

Connecticut’s Trust Act, recently amended to provide stronger protections for migrants, primarily restricts state and local police departments from cooperating with

“Community Baby Shower” Celebrates Maternal Health

by Laura Glesby

When Shamica Frasier first became pregnant as a teenager, she didn’t have the luxury of a baby shower. She needed to find a job, a new place to live, and encouraging words weren’t always within earshot.

“That’s what makes me excited about celebrating others,” she said on the heels of the fourth annual New Haven Community Baby Shower, which drew over 100 families to the Q House on Saturday for food, photos, a clothing swap, free diapers, and a multitude of maternal health resources.

The shower filled the Q House gymnasium with new and expecting parents, who could find anything from diapers to massages to lactation aid for free, along with a chance to honor a new chapter of parenthood with community support.

Frasier (the founder of New Birth Journey) helped organize the event alongside Shannon Knox and Brittany Needham (of Golden Radiance Village) and Lucinda Canty (of Lucinda’s House). The four are all practicing doulas or nurse-midwives who have found a vocation in helping expecting parents learn about the process of giving birth, advocate for their own healthcare, and prepare for a time of profound vulnerability and change.

Having started four years ago as part of a statewide maternal healthcare effort,

the shower was partly an effort to connect community members to health resources.

All were welcome at the shower, but the organizers made a particular effort to include resources for Black women, who as of 2022 had a maternal mortality rate 2.5 times as high as white women.

The shower was also an opportunity to ensure that people who might not have as much support or stability, as Frasier experienced herself as a teenager, could hear the encouragement she wished she had

received while pregnant.

“I know what it feels like to be that single mama who doesn’t know who to ask or where to turn,” Frasier said. “Sometimes, people are going through hard things, so you don’t want to ask. Someone shouldn’t have to ask, ‘Can you celebrate me? Can you celebrate me bringing life into this world?’”

“To be celebrated for carrying and bringing babies into this world is very, very necessary,” echoed fellow organizer

Knox, who stressed “how important it is for us to bring everybody together to be there for pregnant and expecting parents, ‘cause that’s a very vulnerable time.”

At the shower, families could win free strollers and take home packs of diapers from the New Haven Diaper Bank. They could partake in a clothing swap and get a free massage from Holistic Remedies. They could shop for hair growth oil (fitting for postpartum hair loss) at Kway’s Collection. Local caterer Dope N Delicious ensured that everyone was fed. DJ Ryan McCrea kept the music flowing.

Families were also met with an array of resources for future reference. Healthcare workers represented Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven Healthy Start’s maternal healthcare program, and an array of independent doulas and midwives.

Lactation coaches educated and problem-solved with new parents on the spot.

Amelia Sherwood, the founder of Sankofa Learning Center, set up books and face paint while introducing parents to Afro-centric Montessori early education.

“This was the kind of event where everyone was sticking around,” said Knox. “We needed more tables. It felt like a family reunion.”

Frasier noticed that “as much as we have moms, we have dads” coming in to learn about birth and parenthood. ”This is a safe space for them. … They come in and they ask questions. ‘I think I need

some help with my 15-year-old daughter… What do you mean, pads have wings?!’”

There were more vendors than ever — over 20 — at this year’s community baby shower. “Something about this year felt uniquely special,” reflected Frasier. “Everyone was able to walk away with something.”

She said that the baby shower was an example of how grassroots, community-driven efforts can have a profound impact, even if they are underestimated. She argued that grassroots resources that come directly from neighbors and community members are worthy of investment, especially at a time when the federal government is slashing resources like SNAP and Medicaid that keep many New Haveners afloat.

Frasier’s intended message to the new parents who came is that “even though things are tough, and it looks like we’re coming up on a very tough storm, you’re not alone. This is the time to get more acquainted with your community.”

Knox wrote her own message to those families: “You have a community that genuinely cares about you and the families you are growing. We honor you. We see you. We will show up for you, just as quickly as we show up for the babies you carry.”

“When parents are well cared for, babies are well cared for,” Knox wrote.

John Lugo: They're "not detaining" people; they're "kidnapping" them. Credit: Mona Mahadevan photo

The New Haven independent

Lucinda Canty, Shannon Knox, and Shamica Frasier, three of the organizers of the Community Baby Shower. Credit: Photos contributed by Antonyo Streater of RME

The New Haven independent

Open Enrollment 101: What You Need to Know Before November 1st

It’s that time again, open enrollment season. Starting November 1, millions of Americans will have the chance to review, renew, or change their health insurance coverage. Whether you’re a full-time employee, a freelancer, or an entrepreneur running your own business, understanding your options can save you money, stress, and headaches all year long. Here’s your complete guide to navigating open enrollment like a pro.

What Is Open Enrollment?

Open enrollment is the one time each year when you can sign up for, switch, or update your health insurance plan without a qualifying life event (like marriage, birth, or losing other coverage).

For most people, it runs from November 1 through January 15, but check your employer’s specific dates, since job-based plans often have shorter enrollment windows.

For W-2 Employees (Traditional Workers)

If you receive benefits through your employer, your HR or benefits department will send you a packet or email outlining your options. Here’s what to pay attention to:

1. Review what’s changed

• Check premium costs (the monthly amount you pay).

• Look for updates to deductibles (what you pay before insurance kicks in).

• Review co-pays and coverage limits, especially for prescriptions and specialist visits.

Tip: Don’t assume last year’s plan is still the best deal. Even small changes in provider networks or drug coverage can cost you big later.

2. Compare plan types

• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): More flexibility in choosing doctors; higher premiums.

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): Lower cost, but requires referrals and in-network providers.

• HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan): Pairs well with a Health Savings Account (HSA) if you’re healthy and want to save tax-free for medical expenses.

3. Don’t forget supplemental benefits Vision, dental, disability, and life insurance are often optional add-ons, but they can make a big difference for overall protection.

For

1099 Workers & Freelancers

If you work independently, you won’t have an employer offering insurance, but you do have options:

1. Marketplace plans

Go to HealthCare.gov or your state marketplace to compare plans side by side.

• Premium tax credits may lower your monthly cost if your income falls within certain limits.

If you choose a high-deductible plan, you can open an HSA.

• Contributions are tax-deductible.

• The money rolls over year to year.

• You can use it for anything from prescriptions to dental visits.

3. Look into professional associations

Groups like the Freelancers Union or National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) offer group health plans or access to discounted coverage.

For Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

If you have employees, or even just yourself, there are smart ways to cover your team while keeping costs manageable.

1. Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)

Through HealthCare.gov, small businesses (with 1–50 employees) can buy group health insurance.

• You may qualify for a Small Business Health Care Tax Credit to offset costs.

• You control how much to contribute toward employee premiums.

2. Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA)

This newer option allows employers to reimburse workers for individual health plans instead of providing a group policy. It’s flexible and often more cost-efficient for startups or growing teams.

3. Private health plans

Some entrepreneurs prefer private insurers or brokers for more customized coverage or larger provider networks. Just compare carefully, private plans can vary widely in cost and quality.

Don’t Miss These Key Deadlines

• All marketplace plans cover essential benefits like preventive care, prescriptions, maternity, and mental health.

2. Consider a Health Savings Account (HSA)

• November 1, 2025: Open enrollment begins.

• December 15, 2025: Last day for coverage starting January 1, 2026.

• January 15, 2026: Open enroll-

ment officially ends.

After this date, you’ll need a qualifying life event to make changes.

2. Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA)

This newer option allows employers to reimburse workers for individual health plans instead of providing a group policy. It’s flexible and often more cost-efficient for startups or growing teams.

3. Private health plans

Some entrepreneurs prefer private insurers or brokers for more customized coverage or larger provider networks. Just compare carefully, private plans can vary widely in cost and quality.

How to Choose the Right Plan

When comparing options, ask yourself:

1. How often do I see the doctor?

Frequent visits may justify higher premiums but lower co-pays.

2. Do I take regular prescriptions?

Make sure your meds are covered affordably.

3. What’s my budget?

Balance your monthly premium with your deductible and out-of-pocket max.

4. Are my doctors in-network?

Out-of-network visits can lead to surprise bills.

BDO Tip: Preventive care, like annual checkups, blood pressure screenings, and vaccines, is always free under most ACA-compliant plans. Take advantage of it.

Final Thoughts

Health insurance isn’t just about covering emergencies; it’s about protecting your peace of mind, your finances, and your family’s future. Whether you’re clocking in, freelancing, or building your empire, open enrollment is your opportunity to take control of your health coverage.

Don’t wait until the deadline. Review your options, ask questions, and make sure your plan fits the way you actually live and work.

Why rest deserves a place in your care plan.

How Sleep Affects Chronic Disease

By Fajr Eutsey, BlackHealthMatters.com

New research confirms that poor sleep habits are tied to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression. Those risks run deeper than most expect.

Chronic illness affects millions, and more health experts now treat sleep as a key part of prevention and recovery. The CDC links sleep deprivation and sleep disorders to serious long-term health outcomes.

Diabetes

Studies show that short or disrupted sleep can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. Sleep affects how the body regulates blood sugar, and poor sleep can lead to higher levels of hemoglobin A1c, a marker for long-term glucose control. Improving sleep quality may help people with diabetes manage their condition more effectively. Harvard Health notes that sleep loss disrupts insulin sensitivity and increases inflammation, both of which play a role in diabetes.

Heart Disease

Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. It can make the body work harder overnight and raise the risk of high blood pressure, stoke, and irregular heartbeats.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that treating sleep apnea can lower the chance of cardiovascular risk and improve survival. One common treatment is a CPAP machine, which helps keep airways open while you sleep. Studies show that using a CPAP can reduce the risk of dying from heart-related issues in people with moderate to severe

sleep apnea.

Obesity

Sleep affects metabolism and appetite. Children and adults who sleep less tend to gain more weight. The CDC highlights that sleep loss can disrupt the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls hunger and energy use. This is especially important for kids, whose brains are still

developing. Kids who sleep less are more likely to gain excess weight, and those patterns can carry into adulthood.

Depression

Sleep and mental health are closely linked. People who don’t sleep well are more likely to feel anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed. Another common sleep disorder is insomnia, which means having

trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early without feeling rested. In fact, sleep problems often show up before a mental health diagnosis. The same Harvard Health review found that teenagers with sleep issues developed depression 69 percent of the time and anxiety 27 percent of the time. Another study of young adults ages 21 to 30 showed that

those with a history of insomnia were four times more likely to develop major depression within three years. Treating sleep disorders like apnea or insomnia can help ease symptoms and improve mood. That’s why sleep is now considered a key part of mental health care.

Emerging Insight

A global study of over 88,000 adults found that irregular sleep schedules, such as going to bed at different times or having a disrupted body clock, are linked to higher risks for dozens of diseases. These include liver damage and even gangrene. Researchers say it is time to rethink what “good sleep” means. It is not about how many hours you get. It’s also about keeping a steady rhythm. That rhythm is called your circadian rhythm. It is your body’s natural 24-hour cycle that helps regulate sleep, energy, digestion, and immune function. When this rhythm is thrown off, it can trigger inflammation and raise the risk for chronic illness.

If you have been feeling off beat and restless, it may be time to take sleep seriously. Getting good rest is not a luxury. It is part of staying well. Talk to your doctor and consider tracking your sleep. Small changes can help your body recover what it’s been missing.

Resources:

Sleep Deprivation, Sleep Disorders, and Chronic Disease

How sleep deprivation can harm your health – Harvard Health

Advancing Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Research

Phenome-wide Analysis of Diseases in Relation to Objectively Measured Sleep Traits and Comparison with Subjective Sleep Traits in 88,461 Adults

Black PhD Student at HBCU Wins Scholarship for His Research on Brain Repair

BlackNews.com

Christopher McGinley, an African American M.D./Ph.D. student at Howard University, has been awarded the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Antibody Scholarship for his innovative research on how the brain heals after a stroke. The recognition highlights his academic excellence, leadership, and contributions to biomedical science.

McGinley, who studies biomedical sciences at Howard University College of Medicine, will receive a $5,000 scholarship to continue his research. His work focuses on the molecule Neuregulin-1 and its role in repairing brain tissue following injury. Using advanced mouse models, he studies how this process unfolds and what it could mean for stroke recovery.

In an interview with The Dig, McGinley expressed gratitude for the honor. “I am deeply honored to receive this recognition

from Thermo Fisher,” McGinley said.

“This award supports my research on brain repair while also motivating me to continue mentoring and serving the next generation of physician-scientists.”

Dr. Byron Ford, McGinley’s mentor and chair of Howard’s Department of Anatomy, praised him as a dedicated scholar whose passion for research and mentorship reflects the values behind the award.

Before enrolling at Howard, McGinley graduated summa cum laude from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a degree in cell and molecular biology.

He now serves as research chair for Howard’s chapter of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and as a member of the career development committee of the American Physician Scientists Association. He also mentors undergraduate and new medical students, helping guide their early research careers.

In an interview with The Dig, McGinley expressed gratitude for the honor. “I am

deeply honored to receive this recognition from Thermo Fisher,” McGinley said.

“This award supports my research on brain repair while also motivating me to continue mentoring and serving the next generation of physician-scientists.”

Dr. Byron Ford, McGinley’s mentor and chair of Howard’s Department of Anatomy, praised him as a dedicated scholar whose passion for research and mentorship reflects the values behind the award.

Before enrolling at Howard, McGinley graduated summa cum laude from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a degree in cell and molecular biology. He now serves as research chair for Howard’s chapter of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and as a member of the career development committee of the American Physician Scientists Association. He also mentors undergraduate and new medical students, helping guide their early research careers.

To help you enroll in health and dental coverage.

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Senior Housing Renovation Celebrated; “Tower 3” Future Seen

Ribbon cut!

by Thomas Breen

Dozens of elderly New Haveners gathered with top city and state officials in a sun-dappled new dining room at 18 Tower Lane Monday to mark the completion of a $10 million rehab of one of the city’s landmark senior housing complexes. They also looked forward to a potential new-construction project that could add another 150 places for New Haven seniors to age in place with dignity and care. That celebration was held in the renovated cafeteria and dining room of The Towers at Tower Lane, a two-building, 328-unit federally subsidized housing complex that dates back more than 50 years.

Now led by Gustave Keach-Longo, the Towers recently completed a state- and privately-funded $10.1 million renova-

tion. The project began in January 2023, ended in August 2025, and saw the renovation of 35,000 square feet of groundfloor space and 13,300 square feet of outdoor area.

Standing at a lectern made from a London plane tree that once stood on York Street — a piece of ceremony furniture that Keach-Longo said used to belong to the mayor’s office, and now belongs to the Towers — Keach-Longo detailed just how much has changed for the better thanks to this wide-ranging rehab project. He said the number of community spaces for residents has increased from two to five. Staff now have a proper break room of their own. The buildings’ two 55-yearold elevators have been replaced. The dilapidated former basketball court has been turned into a community garden.

There’s a new dog park, called “Barry’s Barking Lot.” The fire alarm system has been updated. And 15 apartments have been fully renovated.

“Updating a 55-year-old building while it’s still occupied is not easy,” KeachLong said to applause.

“The renovation is incredible,” Mayor Justin Elicker said. “New Haven is very, very lucky to have people like Gus.”

“The Towers is a fixture in New Haven” that is “deeply aligned with Jewish values,” added U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who recalled visiting the housing complex with her late mom time and again again over the years.

Outside of the complex’s new front entrance, Keach-Longo called up two dozen

people — residents and government officials and project advocates alike — to help cut a ribbon that stretched at least 20 feet wide.

The ceremony ended not with the ribbon cutting but with two Jewish prayers led by Rabbi Benjamin Scolnic and then by the affixing of a mezzuzah to the wall beside the front door. “May the doors of this home be open to those in need of help,” Scolnic said. “May this home be blessed with peace.”

While the focus of Monday’s presser was the completion of this two-year-long renovation, Keach-Longo, state Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, and Mayor Elicker also hinted in their remarks that a major expansion may be in the works.

Keach-Longo said that the Towers is

looking to construct a new apartment building, known as “Tower 3.” That new building could have 150 more apartments, Keach-Longo told the Independent. It could be 25 stories tall, or it could be shorter and longer.

He said that planning for a new tower has already gone on for several years, and that his organization is currently working with the city to figure out the right zoning to make this project happen on the Towers’ current property. Next up, the Towers has to finish that zoning/parceling work with the city before contracting with a developer.

During Monday’s ceremony, Mosquera-Bruno said that she just signed off on a $300,000 predevelopment loan for Tower 3.

Happy residents Brenda and LeRoy Robinson: Renovations look “beautiful.”

Towers CEO Gus Keach-Longo (right) and U.S. Rep. DeLauro at Monday's celebration.

Credit: Thomas Breen photo

Rabbi Scolnic (right): “May this home be blessed with peace.”

Assata, A Legacy for this Hour by Dr. Roderick Ferguson,

Public Intellectual & Contributing Commentator to ICN

You would not know that Assata Shakur’s Assata: An Autobiography is a work of intellectual and literary heft, not with all the malevolent talk that was heaped upon its author. In her 1988 review, the journalist E.R. Shipp said, “the author provides a spellbinding tale that evokes mixed feelings in the way the autobiographies of Malcolm X, Sonny Carson and Claude Brown did in years past.” Choice magazine wrote, “A compelling tale of the impact of white racism on a sensitive and powerful young black woman.”

In contrast, the mainstream media, police in New Jersey and New York, and the FBI represented Shakur as a robber, a murderer, and a terrorist. These depictions were shaped and propelled by the FBI’s counterintelligence program or COINTELPRO, which initially targeted Dr. Martin Luther King, civil rights activists, the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement, the Young Lords, the Socialist Workers Party and the New Left, hounding them on the presumption that they were communist and anti-American. In a context in which federal and state authorities used their considerable powers to vilify progres-

HEAD START PROGRAM ENROLLMENT

got tired of the police officers’ abuse, she would take the anthology and read aloud William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus” and Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die”. From studying Black Women in White America, she said, “i felt the spirits of those sisters feeding me, making me stronger. Black women have been struggling and helping each other to survive the blows of life since the beginning of time.” And from Siddhartha, she learned to chant Om and felt the unity of all living things.

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sive activists, Shakur—a member of the Black Liberation Army—was indicted ten times for robbery, murder, and kidnapping. Those cases ended in dismissals, acquittals, or hung juries—all except for one. In May of 1973, she was convicted and imprisoned for the murder of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster and for wounding another state trooper James Harper. Three neurologists testified that she could not have pulled a trigger because her median nerve had been severed by gunshot wounds. Another expert said that her clavicle had been shattered because of gunshots, indicating that she was shot while her hands were raised. And according to other experts, the police officers’ own tests showed no gun residue on her fingers. Despite this testimony, she was convicted, and her demonization continued. In 1998, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman offered a $100,000 reward for her return from Cuba. In one of the book’s poems, she writes, “I have been locked by the lawless./Handcuffed by the haters./Gagged by the greedy.”

When you read some books, they become extensions of your hands. Assata is like that. It is a tale of tribulations and a handbook of survival. Part of the autobiography’s message is that it is not only the big heroic feats that carry the day but that small interventions can count for thousands. There’s the brother—the hospital security guard—who cautiously gives her the power sign as she lies wounded on a stretcher. “That man will never know how much better he made me feel at that moment,” she said. Then there are the two Black women nurses who showed her kindness. One of them slips her three books—a poetry anthology, Gerder Lerner’s Black Women in White America: A Documentary History, and Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha: An Indian Tale. When she

In the book, we also learn that frequently practices of resistance are as everyday as home. Shakur moved with her grandparents when she was three years old from Jamaica Queens to Wilmington, North Carolina. That’s where her grandfather grew up. Her grandparents drilled into her a sense of dignity and the necessity to defend it. “Who’s better than you?” her grandmother would ask.

“Nobody.” “Who?” “Nobody?” “Get that head up.” “Yes.”

“Yes, who?” “Yes, Grandmommy.”

A text, a gesture, a prayer, a recitation passed carefully from hand to hand. If accumulated, they can comprise a manual for all the ways we can assist each other.

North Carolina possesses a noble history of fugitivity. In The Emancipation Circuit: Black Activism Forging a Culture of Freedom, the writer and historian Thulani Davis says, “African Americans in North Carolina, from leaders to laborers and sailors who fled slavery, show ways in which fugitives organized themselves in groups to deal with common problems and made new iterations of the word we.” In that state, newly freed people understood themselves as “we, the members of a refugee encampment, we as ‘contrabands of war,’ we as conscripted laborers, and increasingly we as a race.” The Black people of North Carolina can, therefore, claim a history in which they articulated for themselves a shared sense of community and identity, one specifically designed to meet the afterlife of slavery and the promises of freedom. This is where Assata was molded. She knew what all freedom fighters know. Freedom is strengthened by use, and if it is not used, it will surely die. Her lawyer Lennox S. Hinds captured this insight when he wrote in the foreword to her autobiography: “Dear Con’t on page 17

by Dr. Roderick Ferguson, Assata Shakur’s Assata

Elicker Follows His Campaign Compass

by Paul Bass

After the mayoral election votes are counted next week, New York may have something to learn from New Haven, and vice versa.

One of the candidates on the ballot, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, offered that perspective, about non-police emergency response teams and about free buses, during a conversation Tuesday about his

es is that law enforcement presence can potentially escalate some situations that would otherwise remain calm in the hands of trained social workers.

Meanwhile, a top issue in New York City’s mayoral race is Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s call to create a similar non-emergency team to free up cops to handle other crimes rather than try to serve as social workers. Mamdani’s opponents criticize the idea, as do some

quest for a fourth two-year term. The conversation took place on an episode of WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.

Democrat Elicker faces Republican challenger Steve Orosco.

In this campaign, Elicker has pursued a clear compass about the city’s direction the past six years: He has emphasized his administration’s record on creating new affordable housing, overseeing a decline in crime rates, and suing the Trump administration three times to free up withheld federal funds.

He has also touted his administration’s creation of a non-police emergency response team — Elm City COMPASS (Compassionate Allies Serving our Streets) — to handle 911 calls about nonviolent incidents involving people experiencing mental health crises or problems involving homelessness or substance abuse. One concern the program address-

cops, who call it unrealistic or soft on crime.

New Haven heard some of those concerns from cops when it created COMPASS, Elicker recalled.

Over time, the officers came to embrace the concept, including phoning in requests for COMPASS assistance.

The city helped gain their acceptance by at first not having 911 operators directly contact COMPASS. Rather, officers would make the decision at the scene about whether to call in COMPASS. Now that acceptance has settled in, 911 operators are directly contacting COMPASS and freeing up officers for other work, Elicker said.

“We spent a lot of time talking with [cops and firefighters] about the program, testing it out some, and I think the officers realized that it’s actually an incredible tool for them,” Elicker said. The city also learned it needed to expand COMPASS’s staffing and hours of operation.

Elicker was asked if he has advice for New Yorkers concerned about Mamdani’s following in New Haven’s COMPASS footsteps.

that idea.)

Also in the “Dateline” interview, Elicker said:

• His administration is working with nonprofits who feed the poor to help make meals available if food stamp (SNAP) benefits disappear next week because of the federal government shutdown.

• His administration right now is focusing on working in the courts as the primary strategy to fight the Trump administration’s withholding of environmental, security, and other aid based on sometimes vague ideological dictates about race and climate and immigration. He was asked how the city will decide between losing, say, education or security or environmental funds or signing on to federal dictates

that contradict the city’s values. “I think we got to cross that bridge when we come to it. We’re going to fight tooth and nail up until that point, and we’re hoping we’re not going to arrive at that point,” he said.

• His administration is working with the Board of Alders to change the details of the city’s Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) plan, which requires developers to include affordable units in new market-rate apartment projects. No such units have been built since the law took effect in 2022. Elicker said he doesn’t believe the problem lies with the concept itself, but rather with the details, in part because of changes in construction costs.

• New Haven does not have a donor in the wings ready to fund his plan to turn

INSCRIPCIÓN

AL PROGRAMA HEAD START

Sister, thank you for sending us your vital voice and sharing your passion and commitment with us. Meanwhile, we in this society must remind ourselves again how we threaten our own interests and rights when we condone by our silence the government’s use of surveillance, attacks on the legitimacy of political activists, and the use of the criminal law to suppress and punish political dissent.” Her life and her words provide the resources we need for such a time as this.

“It’s a good thing for the police. It’s a good thing for the community. Honestly, it surprised me that New York hasn’t done this already,” Elicker replied.

Mamdani has also vowed to make riding New York’s public buses free. Asked about that, Elicker said he’d like to see CT Transit, which runs New Haven’s buses, do the same. He noted that temporary farefree rides instituted during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted ridership and seemed to work well. (Click here to read a previous interview with New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar about why he’s not pursuing

English Station’s waterfront property into a park with a public outdoor swimming pool, the way a private donor funded a similar project in Norwalk. He did say he may pursue private donations for the project as part of the cost of creating the park.

• New apartments are filling up fast as the city’s housing boom continues. Newcomers filling those apartments are often young adults or empty-nesters, he said. He noted that the city’s public school population has declined as the city’s population at large has increased. He said he’s keeping his eye on that trend and looking into the reasons. He said he feels the schools have made progress since problems that arose during the pandemic, while more work remains to be done.

Hay cupos disponibles para Pre-K3 y Pre-K4 en las escuelas Dr. Reginald Mayo, John S. Martinez y otras escuelas del vecindario, para el año escolar 2025-2026 Para aplicar, visite 54 Meadow Street, New Haven o en línea nhps.net.

Los niños deben tener 3 años para septiembre 1,2025.

Plan de estudios de aprendizaje basado en el juego

Programa diario de 6 horas

Solo para residentes de New Haven

Elicker with the Democracy Fund’s Sarah Ficca and Aaron Goode outside the mayoral campaign debate. Paul Bass Photo

The New Haven independent

Sec Of State Unveils “The Power Of Civics”

by Thomas Breen

Civic engagement may start with voting, but it doesn’t end there. It also involves understanding the legislative process, joining a local board or commission, figuring out which branch of government is the right one to address the issue you care about, and even running for office yourself.

Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and Community Foundation for Greater New Haven President and CEO Karen DuBois-Walton, among others, delivered that message Monday morning during a press conference held in the Community Foundation’s offices on the fifth floor of 70 Audubon St.

The reason for the presser was to celebrate the launch of the Secretary of the State’s new online course called “The Power of Civics.”

“Civics is all about how you can play a role in the decisions that affect your community,” Thomas said. And, while so many across the Greater New Haven region already feel empowered to make positive changes in their communities, DuBois-Walton said, “there is still untapped civic potential here.”

Thus the new website, an interactive online course that Thomas framed as “civics you can use” and as a sort of “civics GPS.”

The course, spearheaded by Secretary of the State staffer Arienne Orozco, covers six topics: introduction to each level of government, local, state, and federal;

how to engage with a community; how to reach out to candidates and campaigns; how to reach out to elected officials; how the legislative process works; and elections.

Users of the platform must create an online account and log in before accessing the materials, which include videos featuring Connecticut residents as well as text-based lessons and to-do lists. Completing each part of the course will earn participants a “certificate of completion” from the Secretary of the State’s office.

So. What’s the in the actual course?

One lesson in “Section 2: Engage with Community,” for example, is called “Stop the Spread of Misinformation.” How do you do that?

Some of the recommendations in that lesson include: think about where the news comes from, “Is the source trustworthy?”; “give it a quick fact-check;” and “spot the difference between opinions and facts.”

Another part of the course, called “Section 6: Legislative Process,” includes a lesson on “Legislative Process Activity.”

A multiple choice question there asks: “What can make your communication with lawmakers more meaningful and effective when advocating for a belief?”

The answer options:

• Researching and understanding the different perspectives others might have on the issue.

• Focusing solely on your personal experiences and opinions.

• Insisting on the correctness of your viewpoint without considering alternatives.

• Primarily relying on emotional appeals rather than factual information.

Hmmm… I wonder which one.

CT Mirror reporter Josie Reich asked Thomas how politics factored into her thinking when she came up with this course, given that the Trump administration has railed against civics education across the country as too liberal. “I think anyone who tries to politicize civics doesn’t understand what it is,” Thomas replied. This is all about getting engaged with your community, she said. Thomas, who has been in this top state office for three years, said she started working on this course in 2023. “My approach to this work is always about people, not politics.”

FBI Arrests NBA Coach and Players in Alleged Gambling and Money Laundering Scheme

BlackNews.com

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones were arrested in a massive FBI gambling probe that uncovered illegal betting, wire fraud, and money laundering involving organized crime.

Federal officials said the arrests were part of two connected investigations, Operation Zhen Diagram and Operation Nothing But Net, targeting La Cosa Nostra crime families. The FBI said 34 people were arrested across 11 states for manipulating betting systems and funneling profits to criminal networks.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation exposed “multiple NBA players and coaches, who allegedly took advantage of their own positions of power to rig gambling systems for their own benefit,” according to Fox News. He added that the bureau’s work to keep gambling operations within the law “is only beginning.”

Both Billups and Rozier were placed on immediate leave by the NBA. “We take these allegations with the utmost seri-

ousness,” the league said in a statement.

“The integrity of our game remains our top priority.” The Miami Heat referred to the league’s statement, while the Trail

Blazers confirmed assistant coach Tiago Splitter will take over temporarily.

According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Billups and Jones were involved

in rigged poker games designed to scam victims known as “fish,” using their celebrity status as “face cards.” The FBI said agents recorded thousands of calls

and meetings, including games that used cheating devices like X-ray tables and rigged shufflers.

Authorities also accused Rozier of faking an injury during a March 2023 game while playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allowing bets to be placed on the outcome. The FBI said players received non-public injury information, which was used to place large, fraudulent prop bets on NBA games.

The investigation revealed that the group laundered its profits through shell accounts and cryptocurrency to avoid detection. Prosecutors said the illegal bets reached into the millions and involved several teams, including the Lakers, Raptors, Hornets, and Trail Blazers.

Rozier’s lawyer, James Trusty, called the arrest unnecessary and claimed his client was “not a gambler” and plans to fight the charges. Billups, a former NBA Finals MVP and All-Star, was arrested after leading Portland in Wednesday’s game against Minnesota. Rozier did not play in the Heat’s matchup against Orlando that same night.

Sec of State Thomas (right): "Anyone who tries to politicize civics doesn't understand what it is."

Credit: Thomas Breen photo

At Monday’s presser.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

NOTICE

AVISO DE AUDIENCIA PÚBLICA PARA

NOTICE

NOTICE

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

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

LA AUTORIDAD DE VIVIENDA DE NEW HAVEN (ECC/HANH) INFORME ANUAL DE TRABAJO (MTW) DEL AÑO FISCAL 2024

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Contact: Tom Dunay Phone: 860- 243-2300

Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

La Sección II y la Sección VII del Acuerdo de Trabajo de la Autoridad {el "Acuerdo") exige que antes de que la Agencia pueda presentar su Plan y Informe Anual de Tra bajo Aprobado al Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los EE. UU. (el "HUD"), debe realizar una audiencia pública, considerar los comentarios del público sobre las enmiendas propuestas, obtener la aprobación de la Junta de Comisionados y presentar las enmiendas al HUD.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

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

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

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

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

El período de comentarios de treinta (30) días comienza el viernes 1 de noviembre de 2024 y finaliza el sábado 30 de noviembre de 2024. Se pondrán a disposición copias del Informe Moving to Work (MTW) del año fiscal 2024 en el sitio web de la agencia www.elmcitycommunities.org o a través de Twitter, www.twitter.com/ECCommunities o a través de Facebook www.facebook.com/ElmCityCommunities.

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300

NOTICIA

NOTICIA

Se le invita a enviar comentarios por escrito dirigidos a: ECC/HANH, Moving to Work FY2024 Annual Report, Attn: Evelise Ribeiro, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 o por correo electrónico a: eribeiro@elmcitycommunities.org. De conformidad con las Secciones II y VII mencionadas, se ha programado una audi encia pública en la que se aceptarán y registrarán los comentarios públicos para el lunes 25 de noviembre de 2024 a las 3:00 p. m. a través de RingCentral: https://v.ringcentral. com/join/185686287?pw=d7db4e4f735df6289ed5adfb24f3f113

Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com

NOTICIA

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Union Company seeks:

ID de la reunión: 185686287

Contraseña: yaw6Zk28PK

O marque:

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

Contact

Dana at 860-243-2300

+12679304000 Estados Unidos (Filadelfia, PA)

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

Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

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

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com

Código de acceso/ID de la reunión: 185686287

Contraseña de acceso telefónico: 9296952875

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Números internacionales disponibles: https://v.ringcentral.com/teleconference

NEW HAVEN

Construction

Cualquier persona que requiera una adaptación razonable para participar en la audien cia puede llamar al Gerente de adaptaciones razonables (203) 498-8800, ext. 1506 o al número TDD (203) 497-8434.mber (203) 497-8434.

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave

NEW HAVEN

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

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

242-258 Fairmont Ave

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

Listing: Mechanic

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

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

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

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

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Drug Free Workforce

Immediate opening for a full-time mechanic; maintenance to be done on commercial diesel trucks and trailers. A valid driver’s license is required in order to run company errands efficiently and safely. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email hrdept@eastriverenergy.com

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

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

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

Listing: Commercial Driver

***An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, including disabled and veterans***

Pastor ofPitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut –

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID

Senior Sales Representative Wanted

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

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR

The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking a highly motivated individual to

241 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven which are two bedrooms and rent from $1,950-$2,000 and include heat, hot water and cooking gas, private entrance, off street parking and onsite laundry. I have a couple with washer/dryer which are $2,000. Please bill 241 Quinnipiac Avenue, LLC, 111 Roberts Street, Suite G1, East Hartford, CT 06108.

Also, I have a 3 bedroom unit at 254 Fairmont Avenue, New Haven. They rent for $2,050 and the tenant pays all the utilities. Off street parking and private entrance. Section 8 welcomed.

Also, I have a 2 bedroom at 248 Fairmont Avenue, New Haven. They rent for $1,950.00 and the tenant pays all the utilities. Off street parking and private entrance. Section 8 welcomed.

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

Full Time Class B driver for a fast-paced petroleum company for days and weekends. Previous experience required. Competitive wage, 401(k) and benefits. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email HRDept@eastriverenergy. com

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Advertising and the cultivation of existing and new advertising clients is key to the growth and continued success of The Inner-City News. The paper is delivered weekly to businesses, schools, shopping outlets and wherever newspapers can be found. This is a remote sales position.

Work closely with the Publisher and editor to create a successf Must be a self-starter and highly motivated.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Galasso Materials LLC,

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

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

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Salary (base pay) + Commission to be discussed

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

Potential local travel. Senior Sales Representative Qualifications and Skills: Communicates well and has strong written and verbal communicati

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

a quarry and paving contractor, has positions open for the upcoming construction season. We are seeking candidates for a variety of positions, including: Scalehouse Dispatcher/ Equipment Operators and Laborers. NO PHONE CALLS. Please mail resume and cover letter to “Hiring Manager”, Galasso Materials LLC, PO Box 1776, East Granby CT 06026.

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

Please bill the Fairmont Avenue to 258 Fairmont Avenue, LLC at the same billing address as 241 Quinnipiac Avenue. I will be the contact person for them to call at 860-231-8080, ext. 161.

METERING SUPERVISOR

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured contractor bids for their property located at 979 Quin nipiac Avenue, New Haven. Complete first floor kitchen renovation. Scope to include new kitchen layout. Owner to supply new cabinets. Scope to also include new flooring of area. Job also includes complete first floor bathroom renovation. This includes a complete gut (down to studs) of the bathroom. Environmental testing will be conducted by the owner. Scope includes supplying and installing new step in shower stall, vanity, toilet, tile flooring and wall finishes, tile 4ft wainscot is desired, lighting, grab bars by toilet and showers, exhaust fan with motion sensor, and baseboard heating. The scope of work to include floor drain for the bathroom. Scope to include replacement of existing windows, entry doors. Owner to select tile style, colors, and style of faucets and light fixtures. Further detailed information will be given on the scheduled site visit. GC price should include dumpster and permit feeds. Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 979 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven on 11/22/2024 at 1pm. All bids are due by 12/6/2024 at 10 am. All bids, W9, work scope timeline and copy of license and questions should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 109 Legion Avenue, New Haven.

Knows effective ways to market products and services and learns about new offerings quickly. Works well independently and has advanced

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

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Builds relationships with customers and coworkers and has stron An associate or bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or a related major is a

encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32

sions of Executive Order 11246; Non-Discrimination provision of

The Town of Wallingford, CT is accepting applications for Metering Supervisor. Wages: $115,203 to $144,003 annually. For additional information and to apply online be the November 4, 2025 closing date, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

METERING SUPERVISOR

Galasso Materials is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

At least [number] years of sales representative experience is p

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

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

Interested candidates should apply to John Thomas, JThomas@penfieldcomm.com

The Town of Wallingford, CT is accepting applications for Metering Supervisor. Wages: $115,203 to $144,003 annually. For additional information and to apply online be the November 4, 2025 closing date, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

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

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

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR

THE ELM CITY COMMUNITIES/HOUSING AUTHORITY OF NEW HAVEN (ECC/HANH)

MOVING TO WORK (MTW) FY2025 ANNUAL REPORT

Section II and Section VII of the Authority's Moving to Work Agreement {the "Agreement") requires that before the Agency can file its Approved Annual Moving to Work Report and Report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (the "HUD") that it must conduct a public hearing, consider comments from the public on the proposed amendments, obtain approval from the Board of Commissioners, and submit the amendments to HUD.

The thirty (30) days comment period begins on Monday, November 3, 2025, to Tuesday, December 2, 2025. Copies of the Moving to Work (MTW) FY2025 Report, will be made available on the agency website www.elmcitycommunities.org, via Facebook www. facebook.com/ElmCityCommunities or via Instagram, elmcitycommunities_hanh.

You are invited to provide written comments addressed to: ECC/HANH, Moving to Work FY2025 Annual Report, Attn: Evelise Ribeiro, Director of Compliance and Moving to Work Initiatives. 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 or via email to: eribeiro@ elmcitycommunities.org.

Pursuant to said Sections II and VII), a public hearing where public comments will be accepted and recorded is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2025, 3:00pm, via TEAMS:

Meeting ID: 265 634 263 754 1 Passcode: Ng6E4ny9 Dial in by phone

+1 872-240-4494,361153891# United States, Chicago Find a local number

Phone conference ID: 361 153 891#

Any individual requiring a Reasonable Accommodation to participate in the hearing may call the Resident Compliance and Support Manager at (203) 498-8800, ext. 3170 or at the TDD Number (203) 497-8434.

AVISO DE AUDIENCIA PÚBLICA PARA LA AUTORIDAD DE VIVIENDA/ COMUNIDADES DE ELM CITY DE NEW HAVEN (ECC/HANH) INFORME ANUAL DE TRABAJO (MTW) DEL AÑO FISCAL 2025

Las Secciones II y VII del Acuerdo de Trabajo de la Autoridad (el "Acuerdo") exigen que, antes de que la Agencia pueda presentar su Informe Anual Aprobado de Trabajo e Informe al Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los Estados Unidos (el "HUD"), realice una audiencia pública, considere los comentarios del público sobre las enmiendas propuestas, obtenga la aprobación de la Junta de Comisionados y presente las enmiendas al HUD. El período de treinta (30) días para presentar comentarios comienza el Lunes 3 de Noviembre de 2025 y finaliza el Martes 2 de Diciembre de 2025. Se publicarán copias del Informe de Movilización Laboral (MTW) del año fiscal 2025 en el sitio web de la agencia, www.elmcitycommunities.org, en Facebook, www.facebook.com/ElmCityCommunities, o en Instagram, elmcitycommunities_hanh. Le invitamos a enviar sus comentarios por escrito a: ECC/HANH, Informe Anual de Movilización Laboral del Año Fiscal 2025, a la atención de: Evelise Ribeiro, Directora de Cumplimiento e Iniciativas de Movilización Laboral, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511, o por correo electrónico a: eribeiro@ elmcitycommunities.org.

De conformidad con las Secciones II y VII, se ha programado una audiencia pública para el Jueves 20 de Noviembre de 2025, 3:00pm, donde se aceptarán y grabarán comentarios del público, a través de TEAMS: ID de la reunión: 265 634 263 754 1

Código de acceso: Ng6E4ny9 Llamar por teléfono +1 872-240-4494,361153891# Estados Unidos, Chicago Buscar un número local ID de la conferencia telefónica: 361 153 891#

Cualquier persona que requiera una adaptación razonable para participar en la audiencia puede llamar al Gerente de Cumplimiento y Apoyo a Residentes al (203) 498-8800, ext. 3170 o al número TDD (203) 497-8434.

Request for Proposals (RFP) IT & Computer Support Services

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol

The Housing Authority City of Bristol (BHA) is seeking proposals from qualified firms for ongoing Information Technology (IT) and Computer Support Services through help desk support as well as onsite support. Proposals are due on or before November 6, 2025, at 3:00 PM.

The complete RFP documents can be obtained at www.bristolhousing.org or by contacting Luis Velazquez, Director of Capital Funds, at lvelazquez@bristolhousing.org or phone 860-585-2028. Interested parties are invited to a pre-bid conference held on October 23, 2025, at 11:00 AM at 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

Request For Qualifications SoNo Train Station Co-Developer

Sound Communities, Inc., the development arm of the Norwalk Housing Authority, is seeking qualifications from experienced and capable development firms to serve as Co Developer for the planned SoNo Train Station Project. The selected firm will partner with Sound Communities, Inc., in all phases of project activities including but not limited to predevelopment, financing, construction, and lease-up operations. Interested parties must demonstrate proven experience in housing development, developing 9% LIHTC projects , and management of multi phase projects, as well as familiarity with applicable local, state, and federal regulations. RFQ documents are available at www. norwalkha.org under Doing Business handle. Submissions must be received no later than November 7th, 2025, at 5:00 PM EST. to sstewart@soundcommunities.ct.org, or for more information, contact Sophia Stewart, Project Coordinator, sstewart@soundcommunitiesct.org. Norwalk Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Submission due date: November 7th , 2025, at 5pm Send proposals to: sstewart@soundcommunitiesct.org

Request for Information must be submitted by: October 24th , 2025 Send Request for Information to: sstewart@soundcommunitiesct.org

241 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven which are two bedrooms and rent from $1,950-$2,000 and include heat, hot water and cooking gas, private entrance, off street parking and onsite laundry. I have a couple with washer/dryer which are $2,000. Please bill 241 Quinnipiac Avenue, LLC, 111 Roberts Street, Suite G1, East Hartford, CT 06108.

Also, I have a 3 bedroom unit at 254 Fairmont Avenue, New Haven. They rent for $2,050 and the tenant pays all the utilities. Off street parking and private entrance. Section 8 welcomed.

Also, I have a 2 bedroom at 248 Fairmont Avenue, New Haven. They rent for $1,950.00 and the tenant pays all the utilities. Off street parking and private entrance. Section 8 welcomed.

Please bill the Fairmont Avenue to 258 Fairmont Avenue, LLC at the same billing address as 241 Quinnipiac Avenue. I will be the contact person for them to call at 860-231-8080, ext. 161.

METERING SUPERVISOR

The Town of Wallingford, CT is accepting applications for Metering Supervisor. Wages: $115,203 to $144,003 annually. For additional information and to apply online be the November 4, 2025 closing date, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South

Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203)

PUBLIC WORKS MAINTAINER II

The Town of Wallingford Department of Public Works has openings for Maintainer II. Applicants should possess 2 years’ experience as a laborer in construction work involving the operation and care of trucks and other mechanical equipment, or 2 years training in one of the skilled trades and 1 year of experience in construction operations, or an equivalent combination of experience and training. A valid (CDL) Class B or higher is required. $24.87 - $29.16 hourly plus retirement plan, paid sick and vacation time, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, family medical & dental insurance, and promotional opportunities. To apply online by the closing date of September 12, 2025, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/de partments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

Request for Proposals

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking proposals from a firm for workers’ compensation services to ensure compliance with Connecticut Workers’ Compensation laws, OSHA standards, and applicable HUD requirements. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, October 20, 2025 at 3:00PM.

The Glendower Group Request for Proposals

Project Manager Consulting Services - 64-66 Wasson Avenue, Lackawanna, New York. (Section 141,43, Block 2, Lot 20,21,22,23,24,25,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,1)

The Glendower Group is seeking proposals from firms for project management services for a Project located at 64-66 Wasson Avenue. New York. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 3:00PM.

Listing: Technician Apprentice

Opening for a full time HVAC/Oil/Heating Technician Apprentice. Candidate must possess a technical school certificate in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, oil, propane and natural gas. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email HRDept@eastriverenergy.com

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer including Disabled and Veterans**

METERING SUPERVISOR

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Criminal Justice Policy Assistant Division Director (Office of Policy

Custodian

Maintenance workers needed for the Wallingford Public Schools to work the 2:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. shift. Hourly rate: $20.27 to $26.41. Requires some experience in building maintenance work. The closing date will be October 20, 2025. To apply online, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

The Town of Wallingford, CT is accepting applications for Metering Supervisor. Wages: $115,203 to $144,003 annually. For additional information and to apply online be the November 4, 2025 closing date, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF NORWALK, CT IS REQUESTING PROPOSALS FROM QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTING (IPA) FIRMS OR INDIVIDUALS TO PROVIDE AUDIT SERVICES FOR ITS PORFOLIO OF ASSISTED HOUSING AND RELATED PROGRAMS. TO OBTAIN A COMPLETE COPY OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS,

CONTACT GUILLERMO BENDANA, PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST AT GBENDA@NORWALKHA.ORG PROPOSALS ARE DUE AT 2:00

NORWALK HOUSING IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. ADAM BOVILSKY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

THE GLENDOWER GROUP, INC.

Invitation for Bids General Contractor for University Row

The Glendower Group, Inc. is currently seeking bids for General Contractor for University Row. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday , October 27, 2025, at 3:00PM.

Listing: Commercial Driver

Full Time Class B driver for a fast-paced petroleum company for days and weekends. Previous experience required. Competitive wage, 401(k) and benefits. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email HRDept@eastriverenergy.com

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer including Disabled and Veterans*****

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking proposals from a firm for workers’ compensation services to ensure compliance with Connecticut Workers’ Compensation laws, OSHA standards, and applicable HUD requirements. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, October 20, 2025 at 3:00PM.

USDA says SNAP benefits won’t be issued on Nov. 1

HBCUNews.com

By Kevin Shalvey, Megan Forrester, Ivan Pereira, and Alexandra Hutzler

The Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website warning that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits won’t be issued on Nov. 1. “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” reads the notice, which also blames Democrats for the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers remain at a stalemate on finding a government funding solution. The Senate has continued to fail to advance bill that would reopen the government until Nov. 21. The House remains out of session next week.

USDA says it won’t issue SNAP benefits on Nov. 1

The Department of Agriculture posted a notice on its website that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be issued on Nov. 1 amid the government shutdown, saying “Bottom line, the well has run dry.”

SNAP, often referred to as “food stamps,” serves roughly 42 million low-income Americans.

SNAP has traditionally been entirely federally funded, but is administered by states. That means the shutdown’s impact on SNAP and when benefits will start to

dry up will vary by state.

The message at the top of the USDA blames Democrats for the funding lapse, saying they “can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical

nutrition assistance.”

Democrats have said they won’t vote for a continuing resolution to fund the government and end the shutdown until the Republican-controlled Congress agrees to extend the pandemic era Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Pentagon says it accepted $130M donation to help pay troops during shutdown

The Pentagon confirmed Friday it has accepted an anonymous $130 million donation to help pay troops if the government shutdown continues — a bill expected to cost some $6.8 billion in total.

A statement from Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said the department on Thursday “accepted an anonymous donation of $130 million under its general gift acceptance authority. The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits.”

There are about 2 million service members who risk going without a paycheck if the shutdown stretches on. Earlier this month, the Trump administration shifted money around in the Pentagon’s nearly $1 trillion budget to cover the troops’ payroll.President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters from the White House on Thursday, first revealed the $130 million donation saying it came from “a friend of mine” who didn’t want to be named.”That’s what I call a patriot,” Trump said.

The House will officially be out of session again next week amid the government shutdown — scrapping votes for the fifth week in a row. The lower chamber held its last vote on Sept. 19.

During the Friday afternoon pro forma session, the clerk read a message from the speaker of the House designating Monday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 2 as a “district work period.”

Speaker Mike Johnson has kept his chamber on a 48-hour notice return, meaning the House will be out unless there is Senate action to resolve the government shutdown.

Virginia Democrats Enter the War on Maps After GOP Moves to Kill Black Political Power

By Lauren Burke

“Democrats are going to take back control of the United States House of Representatives. It’s the reason why we see Republicans in full-blown panic right now,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to reporters on Capitol Hill on Oct. 22. Democrats have been strategizing on redistricting strategy with leaders in Democratic states since Republicans in Texas. “We’ve never seen this level of extraordinary gerrymandering attempts take place across the country. Why do you think it’s happening? It’s happening because the Republican ship is sinking. It’s sinking right now because they failed to deliver anything for the American people. Just pay attention to what’s going to happen two weeks from now in Virginia,” Leader Jeffries asserted. With the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will destroy Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, events are moving quickly, and now Democrats in Virginia are set to enter the war on maps and redistricting. In August, Republicans in Texas, led by Donald Trump, changed their maps to target congressional seats held by Black Democrats.

In mid-2025, Trump publicly urged Texas Republicans to focus on a rare mid-decade redistricting of congressional maps. “We have an opportunity in Texas

to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas,” Trump told CNBC’s Squawk Box on August 5. Democrats in Illinois, California, Maryland, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Virginia have been in discussions on possible districting to counter Trump-led Republican moves to eliminate congressional seats. Trump’s directive to Republicans in Texas quickly turned into a decision by the Texas GOP to change the congressional maps in a way that would make it much harder for three Black members of Congress to win. They include the congressional seats now held by Reps. Al Green (D-TX-9), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), and Marc Veasey (D-TX-33). On top of the Republican attempts to control the 2026 elections by eliminating the seats of Black members of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, controlled by Republican nominees, is set to destroy Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is one of the most powerful protections against racial discrimination in voting. Section 2 prohibits any voting practice or policy that results in the dilution of voting power based on race. Unlike other parts of the law, Section 2 applies nationwide and allows individuals and groups to challenge maps that decrease

Black voting power and election rules in court. It has been crucial in ensuring fair representation for Black, Latino, and other minority voters—especially since the Supreme Court weakened Section 5

of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was designed to prevent racial discrimination before it happened by requiring certain states and localities—mostly in the South with histories of voter suppression—to get federal approval, or “preclearance,” before changing any voting laws or practices.

This safeguard ensured that new election rules, district maps, or voting procedures did not weaken minority voting power.

But in 2013, the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision ended Section 5’s enforcement by striking down the formula for preclearance, which led to many Black communities becoming once again vulnerable to discriminatory voting practices.

In the 2013 ruling striking Section 5, Republican appointed U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts argued that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was no longer necessary because the conditions that once justified it—widespread, state-sponsored racial discrimination in voting—had largely disappeared. Roberts maintained that America had changed and no longer needed extraordinary federal intervention in election laws. But actions in Republican controlled southern states proved that Roberts’ argument against Section 5 was wrong.

In North Carolina, in August 2013, the legislature passed House Bill 589, which

reduced early voting, eliminated sameday registration, banned out-of-precinct voting, and imposed a strict photo ID requirement. The changes specifically impacted voting rules that Black voters were utilizing. In Alabama, a new photo‐ID law was implemented in 2014 that significantly restricted the types of identification accepted (eliminating options like Social Security cards, birth certificates, EBT cards), soon after the Shelby decision. In Texas, officials immediately moved to enforce a strict voter‐ID law the day of the Shelby decision, which had previously been blocked under pre‐clearance. In Georgia, the passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021 (also known as Senate Bill 202) imposed limits on absentee ballot drop-boxes, changed the timeframe for requesting absentee ballots, increased legislative control over election administration, and made it a crime for third parties to provide food or water to voters waiting in line.

Additionally, in multiple former Section 5 jurisdictions, there were hundreds of polling-place closures after Shelby — for example, one report found 1,688 polling-place closures between 2012 and 2018 in formerly covered areas. But now Democrats appear to be prepared to bring the same energy to the war on maps as Republicans have for years.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Black Blood, American Freedom: How the Civil Rights Movement Protected All Races

By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA S Correspondent

They called it Shared Chains. The episode ran on the “Blaac718” podcast, and in that dim space between sound and silence, an Asian American man spoke a truth this country has long tried to drown. “I always tell people,” he said quietly, “the day the Latino, African American, Asian, and other communities realize they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning. Because if it wasn’t for the civil rights movement, there would not be 22 million Asian Americans in this country. Your success, your prosperity, your civil rights that you enjoy right now were paid for with Black blood.” There it was. The truth this nation despises most. The truth is that America’s freedom has always been underwritten by the suffering of Black people. That the Constitution itself, written in the ink of ideals and the sweat of enslaved hands, was never worth the paper it was printed on until Black Americans forced it to be.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation and discrimination, dragging America closer to its own promises. But that act was not born from goodwill. It was born from the anguish of a people beaten, jailed, and humiliated, who still believed enough in justice to demand it from those who denied them humanity. And when the world began to change, it changed because of them. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, ending the racist quota system that favored white Europeans, he called it “a triumph for liberty.” But the liberty he spoke of was a harvest planted by Black hands and watered with their blood.

Latino farmworkers marched because

Black people had marched before them. Asian Americans found a home because the civil rights movement forced open the nation’s gates. Women, people with disabilities, immigrants from the corners of the globe, all walked through doors built by those who had been shackled.

The Chicano movement, born of frustration and hunger, drew its rhythm from the same drumbeat that sounded in Montgomery and Selma. The Civil Rights Act, meant to crush Jim Crow, became the armor for others—Asian Americans who had been told they did not belong, now shielded by laws created from Black suffering.

“If it weren’t for the Civil Rights Movement, there wouldn’t have been a farmworkers’ movement,” said Vanessa

Saplad, a Texas-based registered nurse whose family emigrated from Colombia. “It showed our people that protest could bring power, that dignity wasn’t something you begged for — it was something you stood up and claimed.” Added Michelle Cephus, a D.C.-based accountant and LGBTQ advocate. “The Civil Rights Movement taught us what courage looks like in the face of hate. Stonewall didn’t happen in a vacuum; it happened because people like Dr. King showed us that silence is surrender, and love is an act of resistance.”

And yet, this country forgets. It forgets with a stubbornness that borders on sin. It forgets who gave it its conscience. It forgets that every movement for equality in this land began with the Black demand

to be seen as human. It forgets, and in its forgetting, it repeats. “We watched Black folks march for equality, and it gave us language for our own struggles for fair housing, for fair wages, for belonging,” said Peter De Cruz Villareal, a farm worker of Filipino descent. “Their fight taught us how to stand tall, even when the system calls you invisible.” Enrique Vasquez, a Puerto Rico native and D.C. resident, added that, “Every scholarship, every chance to speak my mind, every job that doesn’t question my accent is the echo of the Civil Rights Movement. What started for one group became a promise for all of us.” Donald Trump’s second administration has stripped away the layers of decency this nation once pretended to have. His orders have erased Black his-

tory from national institutions, silenced diversity programs, and rolled back protections that once shielded the vulnerable. The cruelty of his immigration policies has reawakened an old truth: that the machinery of oppression never sleeps. It only changes its targets.

But through every betrayal, Black Americans remain this country’s most honest mirror. When others look away, they stand and face the fire. They always have. They did in Montgomery, where a woman sat down so a nation could rise. They did in Selma, where blood mingled with river water to baptize a new generation of freedom fighters. And they did again in the streets of Minneapolis, crying for a breath that belongs to us all. In the final breath of Shared Chains, that same Asian voice spoke again. “Liberty and rights don’t exist forever,” he said. “They exist only as long as we protect them. And if you want them to continue, it won’t be Black people fighting this battle again. You will have to fight it.”

The warning hung in the air like smoke. Because every gain that America enjoys, every inch of justice, every whisper of freedom, was carved from the wounds of those who had nothing left to give but their blood. And the question, the only question that has ever mattered in this nation, still stands: when the fire comes again, who will fight?

“The Civil Rights Movement didn’t just change laws, it changed what we could dream,” said Sybil Morehead, a 67-yearold retired South Carolina teacher. “My students today sit in classrooms that my grandmother could only clean. We’re still fighting, but because of that movement, we’re fighting from the inside now, not from the outside looking in.”

Black Americans Cannot Afford the Trump Administration’s Health Care Cost Spike

By Fred Redmond

This Saturday marks one month of the federal government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers—nearly 20% of whom are Black and 30% of whom are veterans—are missing their second paycheck. Families across the country will be forced to choose between paying for groceries, rent and medical care. President Trump and his allies in Congress are inflicting this pain because they would rather shut down the government than deal with the looming health care crisis that will explode costs for more than 170 million Americans.

This is a crisis of the administration’s own making and was entirely avoidable. That’s because Trump and Congress are about to let a key funding program for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the extended tax credits, expire. Without that funding source, out-of-pocket premiums will more than double for 22 million people— and 4.2 million people will be kicked off their coverage entirely.

Everyone will pay more for health care if the ACA tax credits disappear. As mil-

lions lose their coverage, hospitals and clinics will be forced to absorb billions in unpaid care costs, driving up premiums for all of us, whether you are covered through work or the ACA.

Combined with the Medicaid cuts that Republicans passed earlier this year, 179

million people with employer-based insurance could see their health care costs rise as much as $485 a year per person— or nearly $2,000 more a year for a family of four. Parents will be forced to put off checkups for their kids and people with chronic illnesses will face impossible

decisions: refill their insulin or pay rent, start chemotherapy or pay the electric bill. One unexpected accident will leave a family unable to pay the mortgage or buy groceries.

For our community, a spike in health care costs isn’t just smoke—it’s a fivealarm fire. Since the implementation of the ACA, the number of Black folks without health insurance has been cut in half. In 2023, it reached an all-time low. That’s in large part thanks to the increased funding for the ACA passed in 2021, including the tax credits we’re fighting for today. But if they aren’t extended, we could see those gains almost completely reversed. Without the tax credits, Black Americans will see the largest increases in uninsurance rates—a 30% percent jump in those without coverage. One study estimates as many as 1.1 million Black Americans will lose coverage.

Even those who are able to hang on to their insurance will be forced to pay more if the tax credits aren’t extended. That funding passed in 2021 meant millions of working- and middle-class Black families with ACA coverage saw their

premiums lowered or eliminated entirely. 76% of uninsured Black Americans were able to find a plan for less than $50 a month and 66% could find one entirely for free. But without the tax credits, those premiums could more than double. And those same families could be forced to pay hundreds—if not thousands—more every month.

Black working people are already struggling to pay our bills. Wages for Black workers are falling and our budgets are being squeezed by higher prices on everything from food and housing to electricity and gas. The Trump administration is offering no relief. The last thing we need is D.C. politicians hiking our health care costs.

The labor movement’s message to the president and his allies in Congress is simple: fix the health care crisis, fund the government and put working people first. Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history, is the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, representing 63 unions and nearly 15 million workers.

Protesters during a demonstration in the street (Photo By FG Trade)

White America Faces Reality of Trump’s Cruel Shutdown as SNAP Benefits Vanish

By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Correspondent

America is being strangled by its own government. Forty million people who depend on food stamps to survive are about to lose them because Donald Trump decided that his personal power trip was more important than keeping the government open. The shutdown has cut deep, and this week, those cuts reach the dinner tables of the working poor.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, has always been a mirror to this nation’s soul. We give 40 million people food stamps because corporations refuse to pay a living wage. Most recipients work. They bag groceries, stock shelves, clean offices, and pour coffee for executives who earn more in a day than they will in a lifetime. But because the country’s biggest companies pay starvation wages, taxpayers are forced to step in. SNAP has become corporate welfare, a subsidy for greed. If those same corporations paid a living wage, that 40 million number would plummet. Yet the outrage is not over the imbalance of wealth or the rising cost of survival. Instead, it’s aimed at the people who need help just to feed their families.

The question is why anyone would lose their mind over 40 million Americans having access to food, but not blink at the $40 billion Trump just sent to Argentina.

Secretary of the State

Stephanie Thomas

Nobody wants to talk about that money. Because legislators refuse to raise the minimum wage to a livable level, people are drowning. Rent is too high. Health in-

surance is skyrocketing. Home insurance premiums have doubled in some states. The working class is crushed under a system designed to make poverty permanent.

It’s not getting better when career and hobby politicians—some who treat public office like a pastime—keep playing with the economy for personal gain. The president himself has turned governing into a hustle. He’s out here levying tariffs when he’s angry and playing insider trader when he’s not. The rich man’s talking points never change. Starbucks’ CEO made $95.8 million in salary last year. The average barista earns between $12,000 and $23,516 annually. Does that make any sense? Approximately 1.3 million workers earn the federal minimum wage, and 2.7 million earn below it. Those are the people Donald Trump has abandoned.

At the same time, Trump has seized control of the mainstream media. CNN’s CEO Mark Thompson reportedly told his staff to ease off coverage of Trump demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build his $300 million ballroom after a visit there. It’s a depressing spectacle watching major outlets obey a wouldbe dictator before he even demands it. If they won’t hold him accountable for corruption, the weaponization of the Justice Department, or the Epstein connections, what chance do Americans have for real truth?

Meanwhile, Trump continues to work very hard to make sure this nation will never again have free or fair elections. It sounds dramatic to people who avoid

hearing his words, but the man keeps saying them himself. Trump doesn’t act like the President of the United States. He acts like a New York real estate huckster still hustling for the next sale, weighing in on every petty, meaningless issue that keeps his name in headlines. As one social media user put it, “Not one good word is ever uttered except in self-adulation. There are so many horrid people in America, in his opinion, it’s amazing that he abides living in such a godforsaken country. If it weren’t for the acolytes, he’d run away in a trice… Argentina, maybe?”

Another wrote, “With all these unhinged histrionics from the Mango Mussolini, I wonder when pawn shops will start being major holders in Treasury bonds?”

That’s where we are. A nation where people who work full-time can’t buy groceries, where corporate America hoards billions while blaming the poor for needing help, and where the president lives like a king and calls it patriotism. The USDA says the SNAP money is gone. Trump says it’s the Democrats’ fault. But the truth is simpler. The man in the White House would rather starve his own people than admit that his cruelty and corruption have bankrupted more than the Treasury. They’ve bankrupted the soul of this nation.

“This is cruelty, and it is deliberate,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro.

Parece un cómic, pero proteger las elecciones en Bridgeport es serio.

Si estás votando en ausencia estas elecciones, sólo algunas personas pueden devolver legalmente tu boleta.

Todos los detalles aquí

Tu boleta debe ser recibida antes de las 8 p m del 4 de noviembre

USA shutdown and United States government closed and american federal shut down due to spending bill disagreement between the left and the right pas a national finance symbol with yellow hazard tape in a 3D illustration style.

What happens when a conservative group visits an HBCU homecoming?

Courtesy of Shaun White, HBCUNews.com

Howard University’s homecoming, a celebration of Black culture and pride, collided with conservative politics Friday when the Turning Point USA-backed Blexit movement showed up uninvited as part of the organization’s “Educate to Liberate” tour of historically Black campuses.

The visit came weeks after the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA’s co-founder, Charlie Kirk, thrust the movement into a new national spotlight. But Blexit’s frosty reception at Howard and other schools suggests that Kirk’s near martyr-like status among conservatives is not translating to young Black people.

On the outskirts of Yardfest, the annual campus concert that draws thousands to the school’s famed quad, two groups faced off. On one side, a man with bulging muscles and a microphone interviewed a group of eventgoers while a cameraman donning an “America First” baseball cap videoed for Blexit. Just a few feet away, members of a countermovement waved a handmade sign that read, “Blexit = Black people for white supremacist fascism.”

Now in its third year, Blexit’s outreach effort is aimed at recruiting students from historically Black colleges and universities to form campus “clubs” and, as the group says, “think for themselves.”

The group’s arrival during homecoming weekend sparked the latest flash point in a broader debate over what voices and ideologies belong on HBCU campuses. For Howard, known as “the Mecca” of Black excellence and political thought, it was another charged moment on its storied yard, a space that hosted Kamala Harris’s election night watch party, helped launch model Anok Yai’s career and even saw an appearance from the Notorious B.I.G. in 1995.

When Blexit said its group would be returning to the prominent HBCU and others across the country in the wake of Kirk’s death, many students and alumni of the schools with small conservative contingents derided the decision.

Howard University advised the community to be wary in an email to students last week, which did not specifically mention Blexit. “In these challenging times, you may notice individuals who may agitate or attempt to distract you from your purpose on or near our campus,” it read. “While it may be natural to have curiosity about these events, we strongly encourage you not to engage with individuals or groups whose actions may disrupt the celebratory atmosphere or the environment of mutual respect that we all work so diligently to maintain.”

What transpired on campus registered more like a mild commotion. Washington Post reporters watched Blexit contributor Stephen Davis approach mostly men with questions about how members of the Black community could uplift themselves through entrepreneurship and financial leadership.

Davis wore no Blexit or Turning Point identifiers. “I usually don’t say I’m with this group. I just say I’m Stephen,” he told The Post. “ … I’m just out here to have conversations.”

Some onlookers side-eyed the spectacle or declined to participate, muttering statements like “I’m not trying to be seen” as they walked away.

Summer Johnson, an economics and philosophy student at Howard, said she felt “unsettled” by Blexit’s presence. To her, the group’s conservative values represented support for defunding federal jobs, like the one her mom has.

“From their perspective, it’s very strategic. You’re coming to one of the biggest events at Howard, and I feel like a lot of people that are here are pretty liberal,” she said. The movement, she believes, came to get people riled up, knowing how upset and emotional people get about the group’s talking points.

But Sam Mahmood Al Hasan, a Howard student who conversed with Davis, said their conversation about entrepreneurship and financial literacy was important.

“That’s very good awareness that should be spread more … in the Black community,” he said. “I believe that’s a very good thing that he’s spreading.”

Pierre Wilson, the senior director of Blexit, attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for three years before transferring to Salisbury University to study political science. “I was elected class president at an HBCU,” he said, referring to Eastern Shore.

That experience, he said, informs why Blexit’s tour targets HBCUs. “I know

from personal experience there is a need for a different perspective on those campuses,” Wilson, 36, said. The goal, he explained, isn’t to provoke, but to expose students to viewpoints they rarely hear. “We’re not there to cause chaos. We’re there to have honest conversations, open dialogue, really meet the students, learn why they believe what they believe, share some of our beliefs, and give them the full puzzle.” According to Wilson, Blexit has a presence on 21 college campuses; 17 of these “unofficial clubs” were formed as a direct result of the tour. He sees that growth as proof that the outreach is resonating.

Still, he said, “the biggest pushback hasn’t come from students, it’s come from administrators.” He said at some universities, “faculty have worked overtime to block us.” Even so, Wilson insists that the group’s mission is to encourage young Black students to “think on their own” and make political choices grounded in independent thought, not inherited loyalty. “If they walk away and still lean left, that’s fine,” he said. “What matters is that they’ve heard both sides and made the decision for themselves.”

Davis said many people have “misconceptions” about Blexit. “We care deeply about the Black community. We just have different ways of going about it. The goal is still the same: empowerment, self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship and education,” he told The Post.

“I want to stay away from the politics; ultimately that’s not the issue within the Black community. The issue is the culture. We have to fix the culture, remedy the culture. … I’m about uplifting the Black community out of the shackles that we’re in and uplifting us to a higher

Trump won a historic share of the Black vote in the 2024 election, the demographic still overwhelmingly voted for Harris. Conservative groups such as Blexit, Turning Point USA and College Republicans have struggled to find a foothold on historically Black college and university campuses.

Leading up to the Howard event, the university’s community questioned whether it would actually happen — and if it did, whether it would attract a sizable audience.

Despite the pushback members of Blexit have received, they remain resolute. They’re hoping to peel away at the stigma many Black people hold against Black conservatives.

While some data suggests Donald Trump won a historic share of the Black vote in the 2024 election, the demographic still overwhelmingly voted for Harris. Conservative groups such as Blexit, Turning Point USA and College Republicans have struggled to find a foothold on historically Black college and university campuses.

Leading up to the Howard event, the university’s community questioned whether it would actually happen — and if it did, whether it would attract a sizable audience.

plane, starting with the mind and in the family.”

Shortly after Blexit staked out a spot across from local Black vendors, protesters from the organization Refuse Fascism rolled up with a flashier presentation. In a tense moment, pedestrians stared as campus police talked to Refuse Fascism activist Lucha Bright and examined the posters the group was wheeling around in a cart.

Afterward, Refuse Fascism simply moved closer to where Blexit was interviewing.

Bright and a handful of other protesters stood close to Davis for the next couple of hours, wearing bright orange shirts and handing out fliers that read, “Trump Must Go Now,” but the two groups weren’t seen directly interacting.

“You have this Blexit group coming to Howard, promoting those ideas and being a Black face on white supremacy,” Bright told The Post, noting that Kirk opposed the Civil Rights Act. “That is dangerous for Black people, and it’s dangerous for humanity.”

“I know they have Black representatives … but they are a minority of Black society,” said another protester, Ralph Nix. “ … They think if they’re on the side of the regime, they’re going to be protected while everybody else is taken advantage of.”

Despite the pushback members of Blexit have received, they remain resolute. They’re hoping to peel away at the stigma many Black people hold against Black conservatives.

While some data suggests Donald

Despite the pushback members of Blexit have received, they remain resolute. They’re hoping to peel away at the stigma many Black people hold against Black conservatives.

While some data suggests Donald Trump won a historic share of the Black vote in the 2024 election, the demographic still overwhelmingly voted for Harris. Conservative groups such as Blexit, Turning Point USA and College Republicans have struggled to find a foothold on historically Black college and university campuses.

Leading up to the Howard event, the university’s community questioned whether it would actually happen — and if it did, whether it would attract a sizable audience.

“TPUSA took over Blexit years ago, and this was all done in public. If you weren’t aware of this, maybe you shouldn’t be covering this topic. There is no story here,” a representative for Owens wrote in an email.

Owens’s name didn’t come up much during Blexit’s three-hour stop at Howard. Davis didn’t mention Kirk much either in his conversations with students, for that matter. Aside from the protest, the afternoon unfolded without incident. When the group packed up its equipment, a few students and staff lingered near the yard asking: “Who was that big guy with the muscles?”

Davis and his cameraman soon headed to the airport, bound for Phoenix, where Turning Point USA’s headquarters are. Before leaving, Davis said the “vibes were great,” adding that the conversations with students were exactly what the group had hoped for. “This is what it’s all about,” he said.