THE INNER-CITY NEWS

Volume 32. No. 1639

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Betsy Ross Welcomes 10th Graders, Says Goodbye To 6th

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Alessandro & Torryn High-Five Their Way To Kindergarten by Laura Glesby

The New Haven independent

Alessandro Barahona missed school during the summer. He would ask his mom, “Are we going to school today? Are we going to school today?” Finally, on Monday, his mom could say yes. When they showed up for the first day of kindergarten at Barack Obama Magnet University School (BOMUS), a community was there to greet them. Not only the teachers, paraeducators, and administrators. But civic leaders from across the city, who cheered them on with blue pom-poms and high-fives. They sent a resounding message to the 350 students from pre-K through 4th grade at BOMUS, and the approximately 18,000 students heading to school throughout the city: The adults in your community have your back. State Sen. Gary Winfield had assembled colleagues outside the school for his annual “Because You Matter” tour, welcoming students to school. And Principal Jamie Baker had reached out to community partners, including mentors and volunteers from Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, to contribute to a jubilant first day. As older students headed straight into the building, the kindergarteners met their teachers outside the school building and hugged their parents goodbye. While some separations were tearful, Alessandro was ready. He reunited with four of his friends from pre-K, and they ran around, giggling and squishing bugs, as their parents watched their excitement with relief. Alessandro’s mom, Yesenia Serrano, said she’s grateful to send her kid to BOMUS. “This school is amazing,” she said. She likes that the school has small class sizes and attentive educators. “They’re always calling for every little thing,” she said. “He has a speech delay, and he’s been getting everything he needs.” Meanwhile, as fellow kindergartener Torryn Crandell walked up to the school building, she caught sight of her friend from pre-K. They each ran toward each other for a heartfelt hug. Torryn wore sparkly cat ears, star earrings, and a growing smile. She loves cats, and both she and her friend came to school with Hello Kitty backpacks. “Wanna see my Bluey?” asked her friend, revealing a stuffed blue cartoon dog from the backpack. Soon, guided by their teachers, Torryn and her classmates marched down a tunnel of local civic leaders, who cheered “Happy first day!” and gave high-five after high-five on their way to the school’s front door. State Rep. Toni Walker was among the cheerleaders. “This is truly a community school,” she reflected. “It’s a hub for parents” as well as students. “We should all go back to school and support our

State Sen. Gary Winfield, at right in photo, at BOMUS Monday leading his annual “Because You Matter” school tour.

Torryn Crandell, ready for her first day of kindergarten. Credit: Laura Glesby photos

schools.” Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller also praised BOMUS as a “model” for how neighborhood and community support can help to power a school ecosystem. She cited the school’s partnership with Southern Connecticut State University, which hosts the school on its campus and regularly connects the elementary schoolers with college students. She also noted “the way the fraternity,” Phi Beta Sigma, “has really adopted this school” as a focus for mentorship. Miller and her colleagues on the Board of Alders Education Committee issued a public call last week for the Health and Fire Departments to conduct an inspection of all school buildings. Their request followed a series of committee hearings over the summer, during which alders pressed school leaders on the status of HVAC systems, leaks, mold, and other conditions reported in a variety of schools. In response to their letter, Mayor Justin Elicker and Supt. Madeline Negrón said that a majority of facilities concerns have been addressed and that school buildings are safe for students. While Miller has been a vocal critic of the school system’s management of facilities, she said that “we have to celebrate and lift up what’s good” about the school system – “and add to it.” “We all need to be invested and engaged” in schools across the city, Miller said. “It’s not just teachers and administrators who are responsible.”

Tranevia McLean and Torrance Crandell drop off their daughter, Torryn.

Tranevia McLean and Torrance Crandell drop off their daughter, Torryn.

One community member who has shown up every year for the first day of school at BOMUS is James Baker — the father of school Principal Jamie Baker. He walked around with his daughter’s dog, a small and fluffy cavapoo named Marley — the school’s beloved “fake mascot,” as Principal Baker called him. James recalled how he would drop off his daughter on her first day each year attending nearby Davis Street elementary school. When Baker was a kid, she was a little shy, James said, but also “totally independent.” Baker recalled feeling excited and prepared each year due to the inviting school environment that her educators worked to maintain. Now, as principal, her first day of school involves conjuring that same warm and lively spirit to set the tone for the year. She spent the morning checking in with staff, greeting families, and reassuring anxious kids that they’d have a good day. “They’ll be smiling by the end of the day,” she said.

State Rep. Toni Walker, West Hills/West Rock Alder Honda Smith, and incoming State Rep. Eli Sabin greet students with cheers and high-fives. Welcome to kindergarten!

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Torryn Crandell, ready for her first day of kindergarten. Credit: Laura Glesby photos

Once all the kids were inside, Baker was the last to dance through the line of pom-pom waving politicians. She joined them in their cheers.

Spirits Rise At Dover Park Clean-Up THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

by Allan Appel

mental struggles specific to the release from prison. Gonzalez told his turn-around story: “I actively was partying and it ended up taking someone’s life. It took years and participation in the Yale Prison Education Initiative,” from which Gonzalez has recently graduated with a college degree. Local Fair Haven alder Frank Redente, Jr., a lifelong friend of Flynn, facilitated the collaboration and brought the varied groups together for the event. Gonzalez is also a friend of Wildaliz Bermudez, the Fair Rent Commission director and a Fair Havener who recently prevailed in the primary election as Democratic nominee for the 97th state General Assembly district seat. She brought Gonzalez into the event, along with a fire truck and enthusiastic New Haven Fire Department members. The Local 825 fire union, who supported Bermudez, was on hand for the festive Dover Beach event. Delgado had gone on, within a year of his release, to establish his own roofing and contracting business. When Flynn told Delgado about the event, he said, “I’ll be there.” He arrived with a dozen book bags to distribute to Fair Haven kids as they prepare to return to school next week.

The New Haven independent

Incarcerated at 20 years old, James Flynn was deep in the heart of what would be a 32-year sentence when Covid struck. He volunteered for the dangerous work of being a nurse’s aide in the Covid unit of the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield. One of his patients, whose life he helped to save, was Melvin Delgado, incarcerated at age 16 and serving a 30-year sentence. Their lives met again Saturday afternoon amid bright sun, breezes, and dappled light on the waters of the Quinnipiac River, at Dover Beach Park in Fair Haven. This time both are free, running successful organizations. They were surrounded by their partners, kids, and friends as they participated in a community clean-up of the riverine oasis. About 75 people attended the nine-tonoon clean-up and school-bag give-away, said James Flynn. The clean-up began around 8.30 a.m. with two dozen people bearing bags and gloves, which were provided. The idea was to clean the entire park from from sidewalk to the river and from the overpass to the butterfly garden in the south. The result, when this reporter arrived, was a pristine vista, with bottles, broken glass, cigarette butts, and chip bag-type litter all waiting in bags for pick up later by city public works. The day was more than a clean-up and book-bag and picnic event. It was also a fraternal reunion of individuals involved in the city’s varied re-entry organizations. The air was filled with the glee of kids soaring up on the swings that overlook the river or grabbing burgers and soda. And an atmosphere of quiet hope and achievement was evident. People — veterans of both prison and personal battles — were now enjoying life in a glorious location on a stellar late summer day surrounded by those who have been essential players in the redemptive turnaround of their lives. James Flynn’s community service-oriented Flynn Project was the lead organizer of the event. Also participating was Kyle Gonzalez with his new organization BeyondThaBars, devoted to community service and helping recently released ex-offenders get a leg up on life outside of prison. Flynn also had met Gonzalez in prison, befriended him there, and advised him that when he gets out, the key is leading by example: “If you’re sincere, people will see and give.” That in part is how BeyondThaBars was born. The nascent group has a different focus and title for each of the events it has done, Gonzalez said. The first was “Love Beyond the Bars,” a distribution of soap and hygiene products for the homeless. The date was this past Valentine’s Day at the Possible Futures bookstore in the Dwight neighborhood. The next event Gonzalez is organizing will be called “Unburdened” and it’s going to focus on

Melvin Delgado and his wife Samka Duric at the Flynn Project's Dover Beach clean-up. Credit: Allan Appel Photo

Kyle Gonzalez and Jimmy Flynn at the Dover Beach Park Cleanp-Up

“When you lead and give by example,” Flynn said, “other people will give.” Here’s how James Flynn put his own trajectory: “Incarcerated August 1992, out October 2024. I earned every day in there and every day out.” And the turnaround? “I had a bunch of locks on me and I couldn’t find the key.” He started attending different groups in prison with therapy and religious focuses. In the Covid ward, he cleaned showers, learning and in effect performing the work of a certified nursing assistant, he said. Flynn attended by the beds of the dying. “I saved lives. I took care of one guy, and ten minutes later, I heard his death rattles.” For his work in the Covid section of the prison, four years were taken off his sentence, Flynn said. “And I discovered myself. I said if God lets me out, I’ll give back. I dirtied these streets, and I feel I should clean them. I’m giving but I’m getting back.” Flynn’s day job, he said, is with Freedom Reads, an organization established by Reginald Dwayne Betts, that focuses on assembling and installing micro-libraries in prisons all across the country. However, if Flynn has an event coming up, and funds are needed for supplies, Flynn shifts into a second job: He puts in a night or two as an Uber or Lyft driver. His work cleaning up Fair Haven’s green spaces and being the go-to-guy for backup for other groups’ service projects, he said, is all self-funded. For more information or to become involved in the Flynn Project, call 203-5700501.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - January 23, 2019 - January 29, 2019

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Schools Scramble To Keep Kids Cool Before Opening Day by Laura Glesby

The New Haven independent

Several schools will lack proper air conditioning by the start of the school year on Monday, meaning some students may have to be moved to temporary classrooms, as temperatures for the first week are projected to reach the mid-80s. Chief of School Operations Paul Whyte disclosed the information Wednesday at a Board of Alders Education Committee meeting at City Hall. The meeting centered around readiness for the upcoming school year. Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller asked Whyte for a rundown of schools without air conditioning. Whyte reported that Truman School students will continue to learn without air conditioning, noting that the system “has been down for multiple years.” NHPS has “secured a design” to completely replace both the HVAC system and the building’s roof. By the end of construction, the school building will be “in a much better place,” Whyte said. So Truman’s A/C will be fixed “sometime this year, but not by the time the kids are back?” pressed Miller. Whyte agreed with the assessment. “So if it’s very hot, would you close the school?” Miller asked. Whyte said that the school district is exploring options to relocate students in

Education Committee Alders Sarah Miller, Mildred Melendez, Frank Redente, and Gary Hogan at Monday night’s hearing.

overly hot conditions — including possibly utilizing the Hillhouse Field House. If an entire building is impacted, said Whyte, the school might “do a morning session, before it gets to the really hot part of the day.” NHPS called for an early dismissal across the district twice in the last school year due to concerns about the heat in school buildings. Whyte noted that a few schools’ air conditioning systems are close to being fixed. At Edgewood School, “everything should be tied in by Friday,” he said, noting that

“this was a completely new system.” At Co-Op, he said, “it’s not that we don’t have” air conditioning — but the system has needed repeated resetting. “So we have technicians returning there,” said Whyte. “Do you think we’ll have it on Monday, or we don’t know?” asked Miller. “I believe we will,” Whyte said. At Lincoln-Bassett, the district has made progress on fixing the air conditioning. “The entire system may not be in,” Whyte said, “but parts of the building will be cooling.”

Same with Bishop Woods. “We have some classrooms that don’t have full cooling” in that building, Whyte said. “We’re still working on that. But we believe that we get ambient cooling” in those classrooms due to their proximity to other rooms with working air conditioning. Whyte said that one of the five Sound School buildings does not have air conditioning, and that in “one or two places” there may be a classroom without functioning A/C. Meanwhile, Wilbur Cross, John C. Daniels, and Betsy Ross are regulating temperatures with the help of portable cooling devices due to malfunctioning air-conditioning systems. Miller asked Whyte about the cost of those coolers. “I understand that there needs to be 24-7 security,” she said. “Yes, it becomes very expensive,” said Whyte. He said that the cost of the systems themselves have ranged from $89,000 to $140,000. “And yes, there’s an associated cost because we have to provide 24-7 security coverage,” he said. At one point, he said, the district “tried to scale back” on that security — but at Betsy Ross, someone was able to cut out the copper from the portable unit. The district had to pay to replace the unit. Now, Whyte said, the school district pays staff security guards time and a half to guard the portable units overnight.

NHPS Whistleblower Policy Adopted by Maya McFadden

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The New Haven independent

The Board of Education has adopted a whistleblower-protection policy designed to prevent retaliation against employees who speak out in good faith about suspected misconduct within the school district. The city’s school board unanimously approved that new policy last Monday at its latest regular meeting at King/Robinson School. The vote took place nearly two months after the board’s Governance Committee briefly considered the policy in July before passing it along to the full board for review. Previously, the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) district’s whistleblower policy included language specific only to its Head Start program. Last Monday, Board of Education Secretary Ed Joyner said that staff should be given a work environment that sets a standard for “responsible truth-telling” without backlash. He also described the policy as one of the “best things we’ve ever done.” Fellow board member Daniel Juarez said that, for many staffers, existing union contracts offer similar protections to the newly adopted policy. Nevertheless, he said he also supports the district-wide policy. Abie Benitez, the chair of the board’s

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Governance Committee Chair Abie Benitez. Credit: Maya McFaddnen file photo

Governance Committee, said the policy creates another layer of transparency, dignity, and intention for the district. The now-adopted policy states: “Employees, contractors, and subrecipients have the right to report, in good faith, any suspected misconduct, waste, fraud, abuse, or violations of laws, regulations, or grant requirements. Reports may be made to program leadership, the governing body, appropriate federal agencies, or other au-

thorized entities.” The policy also cites “federal whistleblower protection laws, including 10 U.S.C. § 2409,” as strictly prohibiting “retaliation against any individual who discloses information that they reasonably believe is evidence of gross mismanagement, gross waste of federal funds, abuse of authority, or a violation of law related to a federal contract or grant.” The policy defines retaliation as includ-

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ing “termination, demotion, suspension, harassment, discrimination, or any other adverse employment action.” In an email comment sent to the Independent on Tuesday, city teachers union President Leslie Blatteau wrote, “As dedicated employees of New Haven Public Schools, we at the New Haven Federation of Teachers welcome the opportunity to put this new whistleblower policy to the test.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

In Danbury, some are hiding from ICE. Others are following them.

It wasn’t a normal morning. Helen Garcia knew that when she got up in the dark. First, a cold shower to wash off the restless night. Then she put on a longsleeved shirt to cover a tattoo that could identify her. After more than a year of activist work, Garcia had learned how to dress and what to carry when she might face off with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in her role as a member of a rapid response team that tracks ICE activity in Connecticut. That might happen today, she thought. It took an hour for Garcia to drive from Hartford to Danbury. She’d never been to the city before she joined Danbury Unites for Immigrants, a group that works to protect and support the immigrant community in one of the nation’s most diverse cities. Garcia had helped out in Danbury in the past, but since Monday, she’d spent every waking hour there, as ICE was conducting one of the largest immigration enforcement operations in the state’s history. She arrived in Danbury around 6 a.m. Danbury is a nice town, she thought: Every time she’s here, she sees kids riding bikes. The families walking down the sidewalks look happy, and the kids getting out of school are laughing and talking. She wondered: Do they know what’s going on? “Do they know why so many of these SUVs have such dark windows?” she asked. “They’re just existing casually among these atrocities that are targeted at them.”

"We need to go," Helen Garcia, a volunteer with Danbury Unites For Immigrants, tells a fellow volunteer as she hears rumors about Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Danbury on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Credit: Sarah Gordon / CT Mirror

On election night in 2024, Garcia had stayed up late to watch the polls. It was the first time she’d been old enough to cast her vote. When the results solidified, she started to cry. She’d read about Project 2025, and she knew what was likely to come next. “I was thinking about my community.

I was thinking about women,” she said. “You cry for a little bit, and then you do what you’ve gotta do. You do what you can.” On Thursday, she called in sick to work — it didn’t make sense to be anywhere but Danbury. “I’m supposed to be at work, and I’m

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so far below the poverty line I couldn’t touch it if I jumped 10 feet, but how am I supposed to work right now?” she said. ICE agents had taken dozens of people from places like supermarkets and parks in Danbury over the course of the week, according to advocates who keep track. Agents appeared at school bus stops

on the first day of school, according to advocates and elected officials. A video shared with The Connecticut Mirror showed ICE vehicles outside of a daycare. Scenes Garcia recalled over the past few days in Danbury — happy residents walking down tree-lined streets, ICE agents in unmarked cars careening through school zones at high speed, chasing people and putting them in handcuffs — were a surreal combination. For a year, members of Danbury Unites for Immigrants had prepared for the kind of scenario that was now playing out. In less than a week, the number of arrests they counted in Connecticut had reached nearly 100, including incidents in Stamford and Bridgeport. The group had conducted trainings, prepared kits of supplies to confront agents who deploy pepper spray and tear gas, distributed cards with emergency contact information and tried to help members of the community prepare legal paperwork in case parents get separated from citizen children. All of that preparation was now coming to a head. Officials and advocates in Danbury said they witnessed ICE sweeps targeting people based on racial profiling. Compared to the beginning of this year, a larger percentage of people arrested by ICE in recent weeks have no criminal or pending criminal charges. In July, just 11%, or seven of the 64 people arrested on the ground by ICE had a criminal charge.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Bysiewicz Decries “Lawless” ICE “Fear Campaign” by Paul Bass

The New Haven independent

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz returned from Connecticut Ground Zero of the Trump Administration’s renewed deportation campaign with a verdict: The feds are defying decency and the law to intimidate entire communities. She delivered that verdict during an interview Thursday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.” A day earlier she had accompanied Gov. Ned Lamont and other elected officials to Danbury at the cap of a three-day immigration sweep by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. They had met with community members reeling from ICE grabs of at least 50 suspected undocumented immigrants in town, often in upsetting public encounters as kids returned to school for the fall. “It appeared that ICE had staged this with the backdrop of kids going back to school. So one person was taken right in front of an elementary school,” Bysiewicz said. “There were parents at a bus stop. Once the kids were on the bus, parents were taken at the bus stop. And can you imagine how trau-

Agents escort one of two men arrested outside of Kennedy Park in Danbury Monday. Credit: Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public Photo Posted inWNHH Radio

matizing that could be for a kid to look out the window?” She noted that the agents wore masks and failed to display badges or ID, in defiance of law. The courts are currently considering a Trump administration challenge to Connecticut’s law. “There’s so much of this that is

lawless,” Bysiewicz said. “It’s domestic terrorism. They’re deliberately trying to intimidate people, cause fear, and they’re hurting lots of people. They’re hurting a lot of business owners. “For example, the governor and I talked to the owner of a coffee shop. The coffee shop is right

across the green where day laborers go to get work every day. Nobody’s going there now. Nobody’s been in their restaurant.” Unlike in past waves of local ICE arrests, the agency hasn’t released information about the latest people they’ve detained or why. “For operational security and the

safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations,” the agency stated in an email to the Independent, for instance, about reported arrests in New Haven. “Under President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.” Nationally, the bulk of immigrants swept up in ICE raids increasingly have not committed offenses other than illegal entry into the country, contrary to Trump administration claims of rounding up “the worst of the worst.” Bysiewicz said the Lamont administration is appealing to ICE to release information about the specific people arrested here and why. In previous waves, she noted, officials have been able to win release of people who had been law-abiding, including students from Cheshire and Meriden. “We’re going to do our best to try” to win people’s release in the latest round, she said. Ultimately, she said, Congress needs to “fix our broken” immigration system.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Betsy Ross Welcomes 10th Graders, Says Goodbye To 6th by Maya McFadden

not just silent.” After security check, students showed Atkinson-Green and Pittman Rambo that their cellphones were off. Atkinson-Green, who also previously worked as a correctional officer, introduced herself to new students and checked in with those returning. She noticed students’ new hair colors and cuts, bags, and growth spurts and celebrated them each at the entrance on Monday. After Tristin got his schedule in the school’s cafeteria, he again ran into Atkinson-Green, who said, “You’re new.” Tristin nodded and Atkinson-Green helped him figure out where each of his classrooms are. New students picked up their Yondr pouches on Monday while many returned with locked ones from last year that they needed unlocked.

The New Haven independent

Tristin Franklin got his nerves out Monday on his first day of becoming a high-schooler — as his school continued on its journey into becoming the city’s second arts high-school. Tristin’s father Jeff hugged Tristin good-bye and took a photo to remember the day, in the parking lot outside the Betsy Ross Arts & Design Academy (BRADA) where Tristin began his first day as a ninth-grader. BRADA is also transitioning, into a 7-12th grade high school from a 5-8th grade middle school, in order to better accommodate students’ high demand for arts instruction. It is in the process of adding a high school grade each year while shedding its lower grades. As of Monday, it begins with seventh grade. Tristin is in the second-ever ninth grade. Last year, the school stopped serving fifth graders and began serving its inaugural freshman class. This year, the school cut sixth grade and introduced tenth grade with future grades to be added in each of the next two years. While Jeff said he’s nervous about Tristin starting his high school journey, he affirmed to his son and to himself on Monday, “We’re going to be OK.” Tristin said he’s excited and nervous about finding old and new friends at the new school. Tristin graduated from Beecher School last year and hopes to pursue the art of animation. The biggest transition for the Franklins is an earlier school day than they have been used to with middle school. Before this year, Tristin’s school day started around 9:30 a.m. Now the first bell for class rings at 7:30 a.m. His dad, however, said that Tristin did great Monday by waking himself up and getting ready for the morning. BRADA’s middle school-to-high school move was announced in October 2024 when the district was awarded $15 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). This conversion means that NHPS will have two arts magnet high schools in the district — BRADA, on Kimberly Avenue in the Hill, and Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School, on College Street downtown. School district leaders previously explained that they had decided to introduce the second arts high school because Wilbur Cross and Hillhouse high schools are exceeding their capacity and BRADA’s arts education will emphasize visual arts, while Co-Op’s emphasis is performing arts. BRADA Principal Jennifer Jenkins reported Monday that BRADA has just over 300 students currently enrolled. The removal of sixth grade and addition of tenth makes it so enrollment numbers are similar to last year, she said. Once the transition to being a full high school is complete, Jenkins said, the stu-

“You can’t leave this area until you’ve powered it off and I see it,” Atkinson-Green told a student. “If you take it out again, I am taking it.”

Assistant Principal Amy Migliore and Principal Jennifer Jenkins on Monday.

Atkinson-Green checks that students’ phones are off, to be sure their day is distraction-free.

dent body will have 475 kids, max. This year is also the second year New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) high schools have been phone-free, thanks to Yondr pouches. Jeff said on Monday morning that he believes Yondr has been effective in making sure students aren’t on their phones while being taught in class. He said he hopes no emergencies will occur,

but if anything happens, he knows the school will relay the message to parents. Tristin said he is also OK with Yondr because he typically keeps his phone stored away all school day in his bag. “I never really use it until the end of the day,” he said. When students entered the building on Monday, they were met with several staff greeters, Jenkins, and school

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security. Science teacher Tammika Atkinson-Green and Joyous Pittman Rambo, the school’s business manager of 17 years, welcomed students with hugs while reinforcing the expectation at the start of the day that phones must be away. While students were going through the metal detectors, Atkinson-Green called out, “We need your phones powered off,

When one student arrived on Monday, Atkinson-Green tapped their phone screen and said, “Look at this, shining bright like a diamond.” The student gave Atkinson-Green a hug and then powered off the phone. “They know I’m about safety. Phones, proper dress code, all of it I try to do to help out the security team,” Atkinson-Green said. “They all should see a smiling face at the start of their days,” Pittman Rambo added. Jenkins welcomed students on Monday with hugs and directions to the cafeteria for them to pick up their day’s schedule. Over the summer, BRADA got a “facelift,” which makes it feel more like a high school environment, Jenkins said. The process began a year ago. Jenkins and Assistant Principal Amy Migliore said the newly painted hall and branding changes make the space feel refreshing and new for the students and staff. “With all of the work done over summer, it feels good. It’s starting to look like what we’re becoming — a high school,” Migliore said “We couldn’t make the changes in the first year because we already had so much happening, but we saw that for students and staff, they were tired of it feeling the same here,” Jenkins said. As high school grades are added, middle school grades have been phased out. Last year, BRADA served its last-ever sixthgrade class, making it so the building now enrolls 7-10th graders. Jenkins said the transition to high school is on schedule to continue adding a high school grade each year. BRADA also added additional high school counselors this year and is currently working on building out its dual credit opportunities for sophomores, Jenkins added.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

October 2—24 Tensions and temperatures rise during a blistering recording session in this electrifying masterpiece.

ALL PREVIEWS

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$50

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August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. concordtheatricals.com

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Design by Paul Evan Jeffrey | Passage Design

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

4,000 Cars Illegally Pass School Buses Over Summer Break by Dereen Shirnekhi

volunteer Lisa Brandes, law professor Joshua Galperin, and Asst. Corporation Counsel Earle Giovanniello. Hearing officers cannot work for the Transportation, Traffic, and Parking Department or the police department. They will make the call whether or not to scrap the citation while TT&P plays a neutral role. Galperin, who is an environmental law professor at Pace University in White Plains, NY, and a visiting professor at Yale Law School who lives in New Haven, said that a friend of his who works for the city had asked him if he’d be interested in the position. He said yes, both because he loves New Haven and thinks it’s important to do civic work, and because he’s interested in the question of automation and policing.

The New Haven independent

As the start of the school year nears, the number of drivers caught on camera illegally blowing past school buses has grown to 12,000 — with half of the violators neither paying nor appealing their fines. That number grew by 4,000 in the summer months, even though regular school was out of session. With the academic year beginning, the city is tackling a backlog of more than 1,000 citations that have been appealed since March by finally beginning hearings for people seeking to contest their fines. That’s according to Haley Simpson, the city’s transportation director, who said that those hearings are expected to begin in September. The City of New Haven, school bus contractor First Student, and camera operator BusPatrol installed automatic-enforcement cameras on 344 city school buses earlier this year to catch cars that illegally pass stopped buses. Drivers began receiving citations on March 2 after the end of a month-long warning period. Each citation carries a fine of $250. Citations must be appealed or paid within 14 days. The city pays $225 per bus per month to contractor BusPatrol. There are 344 buses that have cameras. That’s a total of $77,400 per month. BusPatrol also gets a cut of $55 per paid citation. Revenue from citations must be used to fund public safety in the city. As of Friday, Simpson said that 12,684 citations have been issued to date. 5,630 have been paid in full, while 1,308 are awaiting appeal hearings. Around mid June, Simpson told the Independent that 8,495 citations had been issued and 3,682 had been paid. Another 920 had been appealed and were pending

“I think that this school bus camera program is really important, but it’s a balance,” he said. He thinks concerns about cameras, privacy, and robots, like the debate playing out nationwide about Flock cameras, are valid. “At the same time, New Haven drivers are bad.” Camera-fied buses outside Mauro Sheridan in June. Credit: Thomas Breen file photo Posted inTransportation

hearings. That’s an increase of 4,189 total citations issued; 1,984 citations paid; and 388 citations appealed in two months. When asked why there had been such an increase in citations over the summer months, Simpson estimated that it was likely that the numbers provided in June were an underestimate, as the system takes a few days to update because footage is reviewed by a human to determine whether each violation is legitimate. Simpson also noted that the cameras do still operate for summer school activities, as buses continue driving around town. To date, 5,746 citations, nearly half, have gone unpaid and have not been appealed. (Some of those citations are likely still within their two-week grace period.)

There’s not much the city can do for unpaid citations, according to Simpson. “Since this is governed by state statute we can’t do much to enforce or add additional penalties for outstanding citations,” Simpson said in an email to the Independent. “We send reminder notices/late notices after 30 days of outstanding payment.”

But for drivers who might have trouble paying for their citation in full, Simpson said that the city will work with them to establish payment plans. “These citations carry a civil penalty. While we expect citations to be paid in full, we recognize that some individuals may not be able to do so at once,” Simp-

son said. “In those cases, we work with individuals to establish payment arrangements that allow them to satisfy their outstanding balance while maintaining consistent enforcement of the school bus safety program.” Appeal hearings were originally expected to begin in early July. Simpson said that no hearings have yet taken place; they are now scheduled to begin Sept. 10. When asked previously why the appeals process was not in place prior to the start of the bus camera program, Simpson said that because this is a new enforcement initiative, the city wanted to first see the nature and number of appeals to inform training for hearing officers. The mayor has appointed three hearing officers: Westville resident and civic

Galperin has lived in the city for around 15 years. “It still stuns me how bad people are at driving,” he said. “I think that the bus camera program is important for creating incentives to drive more safely and therefore protecting children, but there needs to be humans in the loop and there needs to be an opportunity for recourse.” In other words, “if someone thinks the robot got them unfairly, they need to have the opportunity to say so,” and make their case to a hearing officer. Asked if he had ever received a citation for passing a stopped bus, he said he hadn’t. “I’ve had a red light ticket once, and it was my fault,” he said. He couldn’t remember if he had either been going too fast or hadn’t registered the yellow light in time. When he got the notice in the mail, “I said, ‘Well, I deserve that.'”

Flooding Pushes 4 Lincoln-Bassett Classes To Wexler-Grant by Laura Glesby

The New Haven independent

Four early elementary Lincoln-Bassett School classes will start off the school year in Wexler-Grant classrooms, after a burst sprinkler flooded parts of the building earlier this week. New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Chief of School Operations Paul Whyte provided that update on Thursday to the Independent regarding the classes’ temporary relocation. NHPS is cleaning up flood damage in Lincoln-Bassett after a sprinkler erupted in the school library. The library, four classrooms, and the school’s STEM lab all suffered water damage as a result. According to Whyte, the fire

department discovered the flooding after responding to an alarm. He told the Independent said that two first-grade classes, one second-grade class, and one special education class will be impacted. They will be relocated to Wexler-Grant, about a mile away from Lincoln-Bassett, for about three weeks from the start of school on Monday, Aug. 31. Students in those classes will be bused or dropped off at Lincoln-Bassett each morning, then transported to Wexler-Grant to start off the school day. At the end of the day, the students will be transported back to Lincoln-Bassett for dismissal, Whyte wrote. Whyte had also mentioned the reloca-

Lincoln-Bassett fourth-grader Sunjai waters broccoli pots in 2024. Credit: Jabez Choi file photo Posted inSchools

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tion at a Wednesday night Board of Alders Education Committee meeting that centered around the school district’s readiness for the upcoming school year, which starts on Monday, Aug. 31. At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Whyte said that the district is taking on a thorough cleanup effort. “We do want to make sure it’s done right,” he said. “While remediation cleaned up the water immediately… We do need to rip up the carpet, we need to go behind cabinets and cubbies, to make sure there’s no mold there. So that we can make sure this space is safe for students.” Whyte said he anticipates that the remediation will cost the school district “in excess of $50,000.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

How Terri Wison turned pain into purpose in Black independent media by JASON PONTEROTTO

Terri Wisdom wears several hats, including media businesswoman, journalist, educator, and activist. As the founder of Harlem Network News, a digital news platform available on social media, she can regularly be seen at community events in Harlem. Wisdom, 74, grew up in South Jamaica, Queens, and came of age during the civil rights era and Black identity movements of the 1960s and ’70s, and says the historic period of her youth greatly shaped her trajectory. “Everybody went from having straightened hair to Afros and fists raised in the air. That’s where I come from,” Wisdom said. She attended Lincoln University, where she became friends with the legendary Gil Scott-Heron, who became a great inspiration for her, but transferred to Fordham University, where she graduated to pursue film and TV. However, she said she regrets the choice, noting the racism she experienced and that she even graduated a year early to get away. “If I had it to do again, I would have stayed at Lincoln,” Wisdom said. “I really hated it at Fordham. … It’s a very racist institution, particularly at that time.” In the early 1970s, Wisdom was in-

volved in production with the Children’s Television Workshop, working on shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.” Later on, she held several roles at numerous local news stations, including ABC, CBS, CNN, and PIX 11. She said she witnessed firsthand that there were very few Black faces behind the scenes in production, which meant stories related to Black communities would not get priority. She also said she experienced racism in the newsroom. “I experienced a lot of abuses,” Wisdom recalled, including instances where co-workers lied about her. “They’re not covering our kinds of stories,” Wisdom said of the major news stations, which she said was the case then and is just as bad today. “The only way they come in [for coverage] is maybe if somebody is murdered or something like that.” With the encouragement of her husband, Wisdom created HNN in the spring of 2020 during the beginning of COVID, because she recognized a need to get medical information to Harlem’s Black community. Early on, she had Black healthcare providers, local political figures, and even funeral directors on her live shows to discuss how serious COVID was and correct misinformation. A life-altering tragedy In 2021, after her son Ali Sam Way-

going on,” Wisdom said. “I use media to fight the disparities that we are experiencing. I think I realized that this is not just me; this is many other mothers in our community.” Wisdom has previously taught throughout the city and continues to hold workshops with students in District 5, which is mostly Black and Brown. She notes there are clear disparities she sees regularly. “To know what our schools look like, and to know that $42,000 a year is being spent on each child — are we seeing that money in our schools?” Wisdom asked, noting that one of the 20 schools where she has recently worked in the district didn’t even have computers for students. “What’s Going On!” airs live on WBAI on Tuesdays from 7:00 a.m. and HNN shows are on YouTube. She is getting ready to build it out with a show on Manhattan public access, a podcast, and a new Substack.

Terri Wisdom, in front of her Harlem Network News vendor booth at Summer in the City during Harlem Week 2026. (Jason Ponterotto)

mon Wisdom was shot and killed in an unsolved case on the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island, Wisdom was connected to Harlem activist Jackie Rowe-Adams and her organization, Harlem Mothers and Fathers Save. The group works with parents who have lost children to gun violence. She would have Adams as a guest on her show and afterward

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joined the organization, in which she remains active. Wisdom was intent on turning pain into purpose by using her media skills. “I don’t think people get past that trauma, but you have to do something, so something that I’m doing is in media, making sure more Black people and everybody [are] educated and informed on what’s

Despite the grind, Wisdom remains motivated by the mission of serving her people.

“It can be very daunting, stressful, and depressing because you’re trying to do this work, but you have to just say to yourself that this is what it has always been,” Wisdom said. “Just like the great figures in our history, you have to pierce the veil and not get distracted or discouraged, and keep going.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Listen: "Club Lost" & A Semiquincentennial Party By Lucy Gellman

Arts Council of greater New Haven

As a young person living abroad in an Air Force family in Germany, he'd fallen in love with it as one of the U.S.'s biggest exports. As an adult, he saw it as a style molded uniquely by queer, Black and Latino voices and artmakers in Chicago. And as an artist and an academic, he knew that it had the power to build community through layers of sound and the power of a shared dance floor. Harris, who performs and creates music under the moniker Ionne, is bringing that history to Lost In New Haven this Friday, as he presents "Club Lost," an evening of music, dance, poetry, food and visual art celebrating the project of America through the lenses of its art and artists. Across media, the evening is meant to feel as diverse and polyphonic as America (and New Haven), from Harris' propulsive DJ set to live poetry, photography and painting installation. "For me, house music has always been a form of cultural exchange," Harris said in an interview on WNHH Community Radio's "Arts Respond" program, a partnership with the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. "It began as a distinctly American art form ... it draws on disco, and soul, and funk, and electronic music, and African diasporic rhythms. But once house music went out into the world, the cultures around the globe began speaking back." Months ago that quest started with a number of questions that he was asking himself about what it meant to be American in this social and political moment. He knew, already, that he wanted to do something in response to the country turning 250 years

When Dr. Maurice Harris started thinking about a quintessentially American way to celebrate the country's 250th birthday, it was house music that came to mind.

old. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to "create a different conversation." Across the country, he could see a flattening of the narrative around the U.S.'s founding and history. He leaned into its complexity instead. Music, he explained, was just the vehicle. He thought about British variations on house music, which he described as "atmospheric and cinematic." He savored African rhythms and instrumentation that made their way into Afro House and

Amapiano, itself a pastiche of genres. "What fascinates me right now is hearing that conversation presented to us in new forms." That's where "Club Lost" begins. Over two hours, the Ionne—with other artists—intends to tell layered, lush stories of America, including the nation's complex histories of migration, of polyphony, of political and cultural exchange. Or in his words, "almost a love letter that America send out to the world decades ago ... and the world has been writing back ever

since." In addition to Ionne, artists include New Haven Poet Laureate Yexandra "Yex" Diaz, visual artists Johnny Komodo, Allyse Corbin, and Laz, and movement artist Kris St. Louis. Diaz, for instance, will present "250 Shades of Freedom," a spoken word and sonic collaboration that folds in her own experience as a mother, as an Afro-Latina, as an artist, educator, and a steward of culture in New Haven and Connecticut. Ionne will also premiere “Children of Nations," a new piece that ad-

dresses his own thoughts on what it means to be American. "I think that this work, even the prompt as I was crafting it ... caused me to interrogate, like, what have I been doing creatively and why have I been doing it?" he said. "What has been influencing me, and what is significant behind those influences?" The other character in that story is Lost In New Haven itself. Part of what draws him to the venue, where he's preformed previously, is its mission to preserve and present New Haven history. Inside the museum, which is still making its home at 80 Hamilton St., founder Robert Greenberg has collected and installed thousands of artifacts, from old pottery shards to signs that still glow in their original neon color. Initially, the artist didn't realize that many of them—just by virtue of sharing the space—would become part of the performance. Take, for instance, pottery shards that are hundreds of years old, once buried beneath what is now a high school parking lot. Or the statue of Christopher Columbus that stood in Wooster Square for years before coming down in 2020. To look at it now is to remember a divisive, hot summer day in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, as protesters and counter-protesters fought bitterly for hours. "To have my work in conversation with this contested, controversial piece of New Haven history standing here in the museum, I thought was actually really wonderful," he said of a prior performance in which the statue became a part of the show. "And getting people to think about that! You know, to think about the intentionality and the impact of what we do as artists."

Grant Funds Could Mean More Opportunities At CT Women’s Prison People incarcerated at Connecticut’s only women’s prison could soon have expanded academic support toward earning their college degrees. Connecticut State Community College has been awarded a $100,000 Accelerator Grant from the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) to strengthen transfer pathways and expand educational opportunities for students at York Correctional Institution. CT State was one of four colleges across New England selected to receive funding through the competitive grant process, which supports innovative efforts to improve educational access and credit mobility for incarcerated learners, according to a statement from CT State. The proposal, developed in partnership with Wesleyan University, was selected by a panel of reviewers from across the region, including individuals who are currently incarcerated. “This grant builds on years of work by CT State, Wesleyan University and the Connecticut Department of Correction to expand access to higher education at York Correctional Institution,” said Teresa Foley, CT State’s director of non-traditional programs and partnerships. “Education gives individuals the opportunity to de-

velop knowledge, skills and confidence that can support successful reentry and long-term career goals. When students have access to meaningful educational opportunities, the benefits extend beyond the individual to families, employers and communities across Connecticut.” The grant will help CT State and Wesleyan strengthen educational opportunities at York Correctional Institution by expanding academic supports and creating more seamless pathways to certificate, associate and bachelor’s degree completion. Funding will support efforts to align CT State Three Rivers’ marketing certificate program, CT State Middlesex’s general studies associate degree and Wesleyan University’s liberal studies bachelor’s degree into a more coordinated educational pathway. By strengthening connections among the programs, students will have clearer opportunities to earn stackable credentials as they progress from certificate to associate and ultimately bachelor’s degree completion. Tess Wheelwright, director of the Center for Prison Education at Wesleyan, said she was inspired by the students at York who have navigated an evolving landscape of educational opportunities, and had recent-

Graduates celebrate during a joint CT State Community College and Wesleyan University commencement ceremony in May at York Correctional Institution. Credit: Contributed / CT State

ly become the first women in Connecticut to earn bachelor’s degrees while incarcerated. “We’re glad to be strengthening coordination with our longtime partner and building

more intentionally on our complementary credential offerings, so that all students at York have access to the academic resources, advising, and support they need to define and pursue their educational goals,”

she said. The enhanced pathway also will give students greater flexibility to apply credits earned across participating programs toward a credential, regardless of where the coursework was completed. As a result, students who do not complete a bachelor’s degree may still be able to earn a CT State degree or certificate that recognizes their academic progress. The project will also fund 22 laptops at CT State Three Rivers and provide access to academic research materials, helping ensure all students have the technology needed to complete coursework and build workforce-ready skills. The investment will help ensure students have access to the same technology and digital tools that are now standard in higher education. The initiative also may serve as a model for collaboration among colleges and universities seeking to expand higher education opportunities within correctional facilities. Lessons learned through the project will be shared with state and regional partners as Connecticut and other New England states continue to strengthen postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated learners.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Edgewood Block Party Beats The Rain By Abiba Biao

Arts Council of greater New Haven

Beneath the overcast sky, Candice Dormon readied her stance, holding wooden batons in the air. While she usually instructs adult dance classes as the owner of Ekow Body Skincare and Wellness, this time she was tasked with leading a group of little ones. As if she was bringing the sunshine with her, the rain held off, her young students slowly turning Edgewood Avenue into a dance party. Through hula hooping, bracelet-making, face painting, and dancing, not a single drop of rain fell last Saturday at the annual Edgewood Youth Day Block party, held on Edgewood Avenue between Winthrop and Sherman Avenues. As in years past, the event was organized by Dwight Alder Frank Douglass Jr., New Haven Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, and Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton, with support from a number of community partners like Possible Futures, the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, and the Greater New Haven NAACP among many others. It also marked the fourth annual Maternal Health Hub, a collaboration with Golden Radiance Village that included resources for birthing people, partners and babies from lactation support to prenatal and postpartum services that are culturally responsive and made by and for Black and Brown mothers. Collaborators included New Haven Youth and Rec, the League of Women Voters, New Haven Fire Department (NHFD), New Haven Police Department (NHPD), New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation (NCAT), Connecticut Cowboys, and Fatz Cookery, among others. While the event featured collaborators who had attended in the past, there were also some new acts. Tucked right outside of Possible Future’s storefront was Esther Chiang, founder of Mahjong Haven. She stared intensely at her tiles, studying her opponents’ next move. Created in July 2025, Mahjong Haven has the goal of creating and nurturing community through Mahjong, a table game with matching tiles that relies on skill and memory, and has its roots in nineteenth-century China. The group accepts players of all skill levels and has held sessions across New Haven, the state, and the Northeast. While the group has held sessions at Possible Futures, this was its first appearance at the block party according to Lauren Anderson, founder of Possible Futures. Hamilton gave a shout out to the many community partners and highlighted the efforts of NHFD and NHPD, which block off the street and provide community outreach efforts. The fire department also contributed school supplies. “We're especially grateful to them for supporting us with everything from boots on the ground to food,” Hamilton said. Another person behind all the magic Hamilton highlighted was Linda

Townsend Maier, executive director of the Greater Dwight Development Corporation. Maier handles payment for the food, school supply giveaway, and vendors, alongside overseeing logistics for the day, Hamilton added. “No man is an island. Not one person can do this, right? It's a team effort and we are grateful for all the teams, you know, that are here and have supported us,” she said. The history of the block party goes back several years, she and others added. In 2020, it went on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but began again in 2023 and has been going on four years strong. Since then, it has become an event neighbors and residents alike look forward to “People were out here at 12:30, 12:15, and we had to keep saying, like, ‘It doesn't start until 1, doesn't start until 1,’” Anderson said, “So I just feel like, you know, it's a good time.

Nelani Mejias attending the Possible Futures book stand with Brooke Jones and her 8-year-old son Kenzo.

It's like, the kids in the neighborhood kind of can't wait.” The biggest privilege Anderson noted about the event was seeing the growth of residents. “Kids who were little, and were coming a few years ago, are now, like, big. Kids who were in elementary school are now, like, finishing middle school and going to high school. So you know, that part's just really special.” Browsing through the books on Possible Futures cart was Brooke Jones. While she carefully stared at the titles, her son Kenzo enjoyed a bag of popcorn. In the end, she left with Mahogany L. Browne’s 2018 book Woke Baby and Cedella Marley’s 2023 book Get Up Stand Up, based on Bob Marley’s song. Jones was a speaker at last year’s maternal health hub, hosted by Shannon Knox (also known as Doula Sha). A Bridgeport resident, Jones returned to the health hub this year as an attendee. “I think the maternal health field, like a lot of things aren't spoken about and it's a taboo in our community,” she said. “So I think we need to be more out there with the resources and to continue to help others.” After going through a stillbirth, Jones founded Karson’s Gift, a nonprofit that helps families dealing with pregnancy and infant loss and NICU care that serves Fairfield and New Haven counties. In future years, she said she hopes to have more collaborations with Knox or even have a booth at the block party. “It's a lot of things to do here, and I'm just grateful that I'm invited and I get to be out here and enjoy myself.” Inside Possible Futures, the last elements of the maternal health hub were underway, and attendees gathered for one last hurrah and group photo. Throughout

Alder Evette Hamilton and Greater Dwight Development Corporation executive director Linda Townsend Maier. Bottom: An intense round of mahjong.

The maternal health hub in action.

the day, 35 attendees learned how to grow indoor plants, create immunity honey jars, and took a maternal health quiz using Jenga. “When we first started off, maybe we had, like, 10 people, but now the community knows who we are,” Knox said. “So they come in, they want to know how to help moms, how to support, so it's really a gift.” Now, alongside maternal health organizations New Birth Journey, Lotus Doula Group, and Lucinda’s House, her sights are on prepping for the fifth annual New Haven community baby shower. This year, the event will take place October 17

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at the Dixwell Avenue Q House. People interested in supporting them can donate items, purchase a t-shirt from their limited-edition New Haven Community Baby Shower Collection or donate directly here. At the “Bike Road-eo” course, adventurous tiny cyclists could take a swing at practicing their balance. By 3 p.m., 40 kids had signed up and ridden on bikes according to NCAT Assistant Instructor Giulia Gambale. At NCAT’s rodeo course, students learn bike safety, including how to wear and be properly fitted for helmets and fill their tires with air. On Saturday, the curriculum focused on “striding,” where NCAT volunteers removed pedals from the

bikes, so that riders could get a feel for balance and equilibrium. In a U-shaped course outlined with bright orange mini cones, fellow member (and librarian extraordinaire) Kim Rogers stood on watch, encouraging and guiding children along the track. Gambale also pushed NCAT’s free bike lessons three times a week: Tuesdays at Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy for Global Studies, Wednesdays at Wexler-Grant Community School, and Thursdays at the Fair Haven Library. Accessibility is a big part of programming, Gambale explained, with the lessons lasting for 90 minutes from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. “If they don't have bikes, we fit them with a bike and a helmet for that lesson,” she said. In the crowd was Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and science communicator. After doing a reading of her picture book Spark: Jim West's Electrifying Adventures in Creating the Microphone, Ramirez got her Sharpie ready to sign books. Shaccara Fuller and Shlena Morrison were quick to take her up on the offer, ready to cement a memory by getting a photo with the author. “I work with kids and I just love seeing new books with new authors,” Fuller said. Published in October 2025 and illustrated by Ghana-based digital artist Setor Fiadzigbey, Spark is the first installment of Ramirez's Black Innovators series. The book follows the life of acoustic scientist James Edward Maceo West also known by his nickname “Jim.” In 1962, while working alongside research partner Gerhard Sessler at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hills, NJ, the two patented the foil-electret microphone. This work has set a standard and universal precedent across telecommunications and the acoustic field. The National Inventors Hall of Fame reports that ”90 of the 2 billion microphones manufactured yearly are electret microphones.” These small contraptions can be found in daily electronics from cellphones, music recording equipment, hearing aids, toys, and baby monitors among others. In 2001, West retired from Bell Labs, earning the title of Distinguished Member of Technical Staff and Bell Labs Fellow and subsequently joined John Hopkins University as a research professor. Now at 95, he remains sharp as a tack; Ramirez held a virtual discussion with him last year, when the book came out (to hear an interview with the author from WNHH-LP's "Arts Respond," For Morrison, the event highlighted the need for third spaces. She also lauded the school supply giveaway, in a year where even back-to-school basics feel more expensive than they’ve ever been. “Just the community coming together is a good day, because there's so much stuff that's been happening in New Haven,” she said, adding that it’s important for kids “to enjoy themselves and just have a good time.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Tupac Shakur murder trial ends; Keffe D found guilty of rap legend’s murder By Roz Edward Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ Tupac murder trial concluded on Monday, Aug. 31 in Las Vegas. with the former gang boss having been found guilty of the rap legend’s murder. After nearly 30 years of uncertainty surrounding the death of famed rapper Tupac Shakur, the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips Duane “Keffe D.” Davis has been found guilty of his murder. Tupac’s death in 1996 during a driveby shooting has been one of popular culture’s great mysteries, with countless theories but no arrests until 2023, when Davis was unexpectedly charged with murder. Over the past few weeks, the Las Vegas trial centred around the 2019 memoir Davis published, in which he wrote that he had provided the weapon used to kill Tupac. Davis and his lawyer argued this was fiction and bravado used to sell books, but the jury only took a few hours to reach a guilty verdict. For three decades, the rap legend’s murder has been shrouded in mystery, conspiracy theories and anger. The drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996 not only ended the rap superstar’s life but also changed the course of hip-hop, transforming Shakur from one of the genre’s biggest stars into a global cultural icon. Despite countless theories, the case remained unsolved for years. That changed in 2023, when former gang

Tupac Shakur

Duane “Keefe D” Davis

leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested and charged in connection with the killing. Davis, 63, was charged with after bragging about his involvement in his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops. Co-authored with Yusuf Jah, the book

details Davis’ involvement in West Coast gang culture and the fatal 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur. The trial took a deep dive into examining the bitter East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry and the conflict between the Bloods and Crips that shaped hiphop — and dominated headlines — during the 1990s. Duane “Keefe D” Davis bragged about his role as lead organizer and perpetrator of the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in retaliation for the rap legend’s entourage assaulting Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson. Prosecutors say Davis obtained and supplied the gun, though they do not claim he fired it. They’re relying heavily on his past police interviews, memoir, and public comments. D attempted to argue that his accounting of what happened on that fateful night is an exaggeration concocted to promote his 2025 tell-all fiction. Investigators still lack reliable physical evidence and living eyewitnesses after nearly 30 years. The other three men allegedly in the Cadillac are dead. Retired officers and witnesses described the shooting’s aftermath. One officer said Tupac refused to identify his attackers; another acknowledged police had no living witness who could identify the Cadillac’s occupants. It could also feature several high-profile witnesses, including former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who was driving the car when Shakur was fatally shot.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Stephen A. Smith’s problem isn’t his opinions. It’s accountability By Joseph Williams Word In Black

NABJ called him out over Black women. His response suggests Smith can dish it out but can’t take it. Stephen A. Smith says NABJ’s Thumbs Down Award was “Christmas arriving early.” But his furious reaction to criticism from an organization he once embraced reveals something more interesting about power, accountability and his relationship with Black America. As a sports journalist-turned-media personality with political ambitions, Stephen A. Smith has never met a room he couldn’t fill with the sound of his own voice. So when the National Association of Black Journalists handed ESPN’s flagship Black commentator a “Thumbs Down” award last Saturday at its annual conference in Atlanta — citing what it called Smith’s “recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media” — the only shocking part was that anyone expected him to sit with it. Rather than brush it off, defend himself, or pause for a moment of personal reflection, Smith came in hot. He posted on X that the award was “the epitome of Christmas arriving early” before promising to “come for” the organization that dared to say publicly what a lot of Black Americans have said privately for years. “Let’s see who REALLY deserves a Thumbs Down Award when it comes to the Black Community, after I say my peace![sic]” he wrote. “I’ve shut my mouth

for years. Now y’all started something.” A Gasp, Then Applause Hard to believe Smith, who’s paid millions of dollars a year to freely speak his mind, has shut his mouth for five minutes, much less years. By Monday afternoon, when the clowning of him on social media reached a fever pitch, Smith took his grievances to conservative white media. Proof, I suppose, that when you earn your riches in the attention economy, any publicity is good publicity, even if it shows that your critics may have a point. Last Saturday, I was in the banquet hall when NABJ — an organization of professionals dedicated to challenging power and calling out harm — officially put Smith on its “naughty” list. He joined about a half-dozen Thumbs Down “winners,” including Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chairman; CBS News; and DuJuan McCoy, a Black media mogul. Carr was cited for clamping down on press freedom, while CBS and McCoy, president and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting, both were called out for firings or mass departures of minority staff. With Smith, NABJ’s leaders looked at his body of work and concluded that his acerbic, borderline offensive commentary about Black women is causing real damage. When his headshot appeared on the jumbo screens, there was a collective gasp from the audience, some chuckling and, then, more than a smattering of applause. Smith’s strong reaction to the pushback and the brutal online trolling from Black netizens is telling. It reveals how little self-awareness came with his fame and

Stephen A. Smith

fortune, and how many people agreed with NABJ’s decision to call him out. Remember: this is the same man who spent weeks last fall going after Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas who ran for the U.S. Senate, because he didn’t care for her “rhetoric for the streets.” Crockett — a combative former civil rights attorney who built her name defending people the system tried to bury, and, during her time in Congress, spoke openly about racism — wasn’t respectable enough for Smith’s taste. ‘Tearing Down a Black Woman’ In Black America, Crockett is a warrior

icon. By Smith’s standards, she was too much: too Black, too Southern, too unbothered by his notion of respectability. So he scolded her on his podcast and questioned whether her style and ambitions were “gonna help your district.” The backlash came fast, from commentator Roland Martin to activist Tamika Mallory to rapper Willie D, who put it about as plainly as anyone. “Dude is sitting on one of the biggest mics in America, and instead of using it to uplift, he’s tearing down a Black woman who’s out here putting in real work,” the rapper wrote. Smith eventually apologized — kinda — after watching President Donald Trump pile on Crockett with Smith’s own insults. Smith later acknowledged that his words had “given [Trump] ammunition,” but couldn’t resist adding that suggestions he indulged in classic misogynoir was “emphatically false.” It’s the same energy Smith brought when he scolded former President Barack Obama for telling Black men to examine their own reluctance to vote for a Black woman for president. It shows up whenever Smith talks about crime, or fatherhood, or “personal responsibility” in the Black community. It’s commentary stripped of thought, perspective, or any meaningful acknowledgment of systemic racism or basic history. Nuance isn’t just missing from Smith’s political commentary; it’s been surgically removed. He’s all-in on the kind of “Why can’t y’all just be better?” moralizing that wins the hearts and minds — and dollars — of white people and conservative media. It’s difficult to reckon otherwise when

Smith, clearly stung by the NABJ critique, bypassed Black media and served up more bombast to Sean Hannity on Fox News and Chris Cuomo on NewsNation. Perhaps more telling: NABJ’s current president, Errin Haines, is a Black woman. Mirror, or Weapon? To be clear, Smith has the right to his opinions. Crockett, Obama and other Black public figures aren’t above criticism. Even NABJ has its issues; one wishes it would use its power to fry even bigger institutional fish. But if Smith chooses to spew hot takes targeting influential Black women, he should be held accountable for misogynoir. Smith’s strong reaction to the pushback, and the brutal online trolling from Black netizens that followed, is telling because it reveals how little self-awareness came with his fame and fortune, and how many people agreed with NABJ’s decision to call him out. NABJ didn’t ambush him. This is an organization he has walked into at past conventions with music blasting and arms wide, soaking up the love. Rather than understanding, ignoring or even asking questions, Smith vowed revenge, and did it on white media. That’s not the response of a man interested in growth. It’s the response of someone who has built an empire on being the loudest voice in the room, cashing fat checks for it and never answering to anyone with power who thinks he’s wrong. NABJ handed him a mirror. True to form, Smith wants to use it as a weapon.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Laura Loomer doubles down on calling Angie Nixon, Black lawmakers ‘Ghetto, Black B***hes’ By Black Information Network

Far-right activist Laura Loomer is doubling down on racist and misogynistic attacks against Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon, despite condemnation from former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley. In a video posted Friday (August 28), Loomer attacked Nixon and several other prominent Black women and women of color, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Loomer repeatedly used racist and derogatory language toward the women, at one point calling them “ghetto black b*****s” and arguing that a stereotype exists among Black women in the Democratic Party. “I’m gonna call out the ghetto black b*****s,” Loomer said, adding that she would continue making such comments despite expecting criticism from the media. The media will clip my language about @AngieNixon, @IlhanMN, @AyannaPressley, @CoriBush, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and call me RACIST. I don’t care. These women are all ghetto, entitled, race-obsessed, destructive black BITCHES who are completely unfit for the power… pic.twitter.com/hB0ozYHYO6— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 28, 2026 Nixon, a Florida state representative who recently won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, responded to Loomer by mocking a past controversy involving the activist. “Girl. You ate dog food on camera. In the words of [Queen Latifah], ‘Who you

But they allow it and keep her in the inner circle.

calling a b***h?’” Nixon wrote. Girl. You ate dog food on camera. In the words of @IAMQUEENLATIFAH, “Who you calling a bitch?” https://t.co/ rLaW9qcAll— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) August 29, 2026 Loomer escalated her attacks, invoking “Ebonics” and telling Nixon she might need to “bark” at her and “tug” her leash for the lawmaker to understand. When Nixon told Loomer to address her as “Representative,” Loomer responded by calling her “Shaniqua.” Loomer continued attacking Nixon over the weekend and into Monday (August 31), defending her comments and saying she stood by them. “I meant every word I said about Angie,” she wrote. In a Monday post, Loomer again used racist and derogatory language toward Nixon, as well as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). “Rashida Tlaib openly spews attacks on

White people and she supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Loomer wrote. “She’s an open jihadist with direct ties to Islamic terrorist organizations trying to get people to condemn me for calling @ AngieNixon what she is.” Rashida Tlaib openly spews attacks on White people and she supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. She’s an open jihadist with direct ties to Islamic terrorist organizations trying to get people to condemn me for calling @ AngieNixon what she is. A ghetto, black communist.… pic.twitter.com/yXZnqhcLFU— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 31, 2026 Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican who was once a close ally of President Donald Trump, publicly condemned Loomer’s remarks while also criticizing Trump and the Republican Party for continuing to give Loomer access to the president’s inner circle. “These attacks from Laura Loomer, one of President Donald Trump’s trusted

advisors, are disgraceful and reflect the troubling direction our political discourse continues to take,” Greene wrote. She added that there is “no place in our politics for this kind of hate.” The former MAGA lawmaker didn’t stop there, and wrote another post condemning the Republican party for tolerating Loomer’s rhetoric. “I’m not a Democrat and I’m not supporting Angie Nixon, but the Republican Party and President Trump owns Laura Loomer and her nonstop vitriol,” Greene wrote. “This hateful, racists, and demeaning rhetoric should not be tolerated. Ever. But they allow it and keep her in the inner circle.” I’m not a Democrat and I’m not supporting Angie Nixon, but the Republican Party and President Trump owns Laura Loomer and her nonstop vitriol. This hateful, racists, and demeaning rhetoric should not be tolerated. Ever.

Loomer…pic.twitter.com/xjbYww7JRN— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) August 30, 2026 Rep. Pressley also responded in an Instagram video, rejecting Loomer’s attacks against her and colleagues. “You know, I wasn’t gonna enter the chat to respond to an ignorant and desperate woman who yesterday referred to myself and several of my sister congresswomen as ghetto black b****es,” she says in the video. She continued, “I’m not raising my daughter Cora to accept that kind of disrespect. My mother did not raise me to accept such disrespect. This is also bigger than myself and my other sister congresswomen. This is about a coordinated, unrelenting, and layered campaign against black people, the black family, and black women. In the caption accompanying the video, Pressley wrote, “It doesn’t matter how hard they come for Black women. We will continue to lead.” Nixon says she won’t allow the controversy to pull her away from her campaign. “I’m not going to let Donald Trump’s attack dogs distract us from holding corrupt politicians like [Republican Senate nominee] Ashley Moody accountable,” Nixon wrote Monday. “I’m sure as hell not going to stop fighting for Florida’s working families.” Nixon will face Moody in the November general election. The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.

COMMENTARY: Our Voices: Budget Season Begins By Mayor Eric L. Johnson Source: Black Press USA Wire Dallas is building its next budget on a strong foundation focused on public safety and government efficiency. Last Tuesday, the City Manager presented her proposed FY27 budget to the City Council, and it reflects many of the priorities I outlined in July: public safety, a focus on core services, more efficient city operations, and a reduced tax rate. The proposed budget would accomplish several important goals: Put public safety first by keeping police

and fire salaries competitive, continuing to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, and increasing police hiring with a sworn staffing goal of over 3,650 officers by October next year Improve and maintain 800 lane miles of city streets with the support of the 2024 Bond Program Improve efficiency by eliminating redundancies and maximizing the impact of your tax dollars without compromising on service delivery (for example, shifting Dallas Public Library to a flagship model) Continue to streamline zoning and permitting processes by expanding the online DallasNow land management system Diversify revenue sources and expand public/private partnerships for Park & Recreation and the Office of Arts & Culture so these services depend less on your tax dollars Start construction of the Dallas Love Field Airport expansion and continue the

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center redevelopment, with funding for both of these projects coming from enterprise funds rather than your taxes. Expand the use of artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, optimize the permitting process, and improve public safety. Tax Rate Reduction and Economic Growth All of the above initiatives are balanced with another tax rate reduction, which has been done every year of my Administration. This is possible because the city continues to grow and develop, expanding the tax base every year. This year, new construction alone accounted for nearly $4 billion in property value growth. Since I took office, Dallas has added over $30 billion in new construction. This is another reason why development and economic growth, like Y’all Street,

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are so important: They increase the share of the City’s revenue that does not come from individuals, allowing the City to continue providing quality services without excessively burdening residents. While the City Manager’s proposal is an excellent start, the budget process is not over. In the coming weeks, the City Council will refine the budget before final adoption on September 16. The council’s next budget workshop will take place this Wednesday, August 19, and council district budget town halls will be held through August 25. Some council members have already advocated for raising taxes, but I will fight to keep the City Manager’s proposed rate cut. Supporting Southern Dallas Parks As noted above, Dallas continues to expand its world-class urban park system with funding that doesn’t rely on your taxes, including public-private partner-

ships and grants. Last week saw a prime example of this as Congressman Marc Veasey presented the city with $2 million in federal funding for the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt. Led by the Trust for Public Land, the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt is a transformative greenspace project in southern Dallas that includes three new parks and 17 miles of trail. Once complete, it will provide access to close-to-home greenspace for nearly 200,000 southern Dallas residents. With supporters like Congressman Veasey, Dallas is expanding park access for all residents and becoming an even greener and greater city. That’s everything for today. Have a blessed week! Until next time, Based on reporting by Texas Metro News. Originally published by Black Press USA Wire — https://texasmetronews.com/129461/our-voices-budget-season-begins/

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Listing: Full-Time Class A Driver

VIDEO TECHNICIAN I (PART-TIME)

Opening for a Class A Full-Time driver for petroleum/asphalt/like products deliveries for nights and weekends. Previous experience required. Send re-sume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or email: hrdept@eastriverenergy.com

The Town of Wallingford is accepting applications for Video Technician I (Part-Time). Wages: $20.00 to $22.00 hourly. For additional information and to apply online by the July 6th, 2026 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

***An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Disabled & Veter-ans***

Listing: Licensed HVAC Technician This is a full-time Licensed HVAC Technician position. The candidate must possess a technical school certificate in heating, ventilation, A/C, oil, propane, and natural gas. The candidate must also hold a valid “S”, “E”, “B”, “D”, or “G” license. We are looking for some-one who is detail-oriented and is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or emailHRDept@eastriverenergy.com **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, including disabled and veterans**

ST. LUKE’S REDEVELOPMENT SUBCONTRACTOR TRADE FAIR DATE: 9/10/2026 TIME: 3:30 -6:30 pm

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for an Enterprise Project Manager (Special Projects) (Executive Assistant 1). Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/ sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 260820&R2=3501EX&R3=001 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

LOCATION: St. Luke’s Church Hall, 111 Whalley Ave, New Haven (Parking available behind Church, access via Sperry St. Additional parking 117-125 Whalley Ave)

PROJECT SCOPE:

Demolition of existing 1-story building

New Construction of One 5-Story Mixed Use Bldg | 49 Units Project Scopes include, but not limited to: Structural demolition, site-work, asbestos roofing removal, lead abatement, concrete, gypsum cement underlayment, masonry, structural steel, misc. metals, wood trusses, rough & finish carpentry labor and material, EPDM, waterproofing, insulation, composite material wall panels, firestopping, doors, frames and hardware, vinyl windows, glazing, storefronts, gypsum board, acoustical ceilings; flooring, painting, signage, toilet & bath accessories, postal specialties, residential appliances, window blinds, casework and countertops, bicycle racks, entrance floor mats and frames, elevators, facility chutes, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, paving, landscaping, fencing, final cleaning and sanitary facilities This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements, as well as, LCP Tracker, HUD Section 3 Reporting, City of New Haven Hiring Requirements (CEO/SBA), CHFA Reporting and Section 3 Self Certification and 12 ½ % & 12 ¼ % City of New Haven Ordinances. State law requires a minimum of twenty-five (25%) percent of the state-funded portion of the contract be awarded to subcontractors holding current certification from the Connecticut Depart of Administrative Services (“DAS”) under the provisions of CONN. GEN. STAT § 4a-60g (25% of the work with DAS certified Small and Minority owned businesses and 25% of that work with DAS certified Minority, Women and/or Disabled owned businesses) The contractor must demonstrate good faith effort to meet the 25% set aside goals. HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

POLICE OFFICER ENTRY LEVEL City of Bristol $78,813/yr. Required testing, general info, and apply online: www.bristolct.gov DEADLINE: 12-07-25 EOE

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The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications to participate in the examination for the position of Secretary II, Grade Level 10$25.40/hour, 37.5 hours per week, 12-month position. Qualified candidates must possess a High School Diploma or equivalent with a business course background and a minimum of 3 years secretarial experience. Prior experience in a school system or related work with children preferred. The application is available online at https://www.easthaven-ct. gov/jobs.aspx or from the Civil Service Office, 250 Main Street, East Haven and must be returned by August 17, 2026. The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Water Treatment Pumping Operator I

The Town of Wallingford is accepting applications for Water Treatment Pumping Operator I. Wages: $30.35 to $36.64 hourly. For additional information and to apply online by the April 20, 2026 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 INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

360 Management Invitation for Bids

Fairmont Fire Unit Turnover 360 Management is currently seeking bids from qualified contractors to Fairmont Fire Unit Turnover Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing. cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

August 10, 2026, at 3:00PM.

Exp. Welder call Jill 860-274-9668 Attendant I The Town of Wallingford is accepting applications for Attendant I. Wages: $29.93 to $34.66 hourly. For additional information and to apply online by the September 11, 2026 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

Listing: HVAC Apprentice Level 1 Opening for a full time HVAC Apprentice Level 1. Candidate must possess a technical school certificate in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, oil, propane and natural gas. Must be detail oriented and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or emailHRDept@eastriverenergy.com

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE DRAFT ANNUAL INTENDED USE PLAN FOR STATE FISCAL YEAR 2027 The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is holding a remote Public Hearing via Microsoft Teams video conferencing on August 18, 2026 at 10:00 a.m., to receive testimony from the public on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Draft Annual Intended Use Plan (IUP), which includes the draft Project Priority Lists (PPLs), for State Fiscal Year 2027. This draft IUP includes the fifth year of additional funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The hearing will be held in conformance with the provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (Public Law 104‐182), and pursuant to Sections 22a‐478(h) and 22a‐482 of the Connecticut General Statutes and Section 22a‐482‐1(c) (4) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Copies of the Draft Annual IUP, which includes the draft PPLs, may be obtained online at the DPH’s webpage at www.ct.gov/ dwsrf. To listen to or participate virtually in the Public Hearing please visit DPH’s webpage at www.ct.gov/dwsrf. The access information for the hearing will be posted in the near future. Please continue to visit our webpage for information regarding the DWSRF Program. Upon request, a physical location and electronic equipment necessary to attend the meeting will be provided to anyone submitting such request in writing at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Persons wishing to provide comments to the DWSRF section on the Draft Annual IUP are invited to do so in writing no later than 4:30 p.m. on August 10, 2026 to DPH.CTDWSRF@ct.gov. Please note in the Subject line “DWSRF Public Hearing”. DPH is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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

Listing: Part-Time Class A Driver Opening for a Class A Part-Time driver for petroleum/asphalt/like products deliveries for nights and weekends. Previous experience required. 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 & Veterans***

INVITATION TO BID: LaRosa Building Group, as Construction Manager, is seeking trade bids for

demolition and new construction of Leroy Downs Apartments located at 79 S. Main St. in Norwalk, CT. The project consists of structure remediation/demolition followed by the new construction of 68 apartments and common areas. This project is subject to prevailing wages, is tax exempt, and is subject to CHRO Set Aside requirements (all firms must solicit trades and materials accordingly). A prebid will be held on site, Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 10am. Bid documents can be obtained by contacting Vince Parete via email. Bids are due to Vince Parete no later than 3PM Thursday, August 27, 2026 via email vparete@golarosa.com. LaRosa Building Group is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Small, Minority, Women, Disabled, and Section 3 Businesses are strongly encouraged to participate.

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UNION CONTRACTOR SEEKS: Construction Equipment Mechanic (preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment) We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Job is in Bloomfield, CT. Contact: Tom Dunay Phone: 860-243-2300 Ext. 122 Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators (must have current licensing and a clean driving record; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY) Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860-243-2300 Ext. 133 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment (must have a class A CDL license with Tank Endorsement and a clean driving record; be capable of operating heavy equipment and willing to travel throughout the Northeast and NY) Contact: Brian McKee Phone: 860-558-6189 Email: bmckee@garrityasphalt.com

• We offer Excellent hourly rates and benefits. • Women and Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply. • Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

360 Management

The Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities

Request for Proposals (RFP) Co Developer

Invitation for Bids

Co-Developer for the implementation of the Union Square Phase I Transformation Plan

Snow Removal Services 360M

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities acting through its instrumentality, The Glendower Group, Inc. in partnership with the City of New Haven (the "City") as Co-Applicant and Neighborhood Implementation Entity, is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP). for selection of a qualified and experienced Co-Developer for the imple-mentation of the Union Square Phase I Transformation Plan (The “Project”). A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from New Haven Housing Authority Vendor Collabora-tion Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

360 Management is currently seeking bids from qualified contractors for Snow Removal Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

August 31, 2026, at 3:00PM.

Monday, August 10, 2026, at 3:00PM.

The Town of East Haven

Elm City Communities

is currently accepting applications to participate in the examination for the position of Secretary II, Grade Level 10-$25.40/hour, 37.5 hours per week, 12-month position. Qualified candidates must possess a High School Diploma or equivalent with a business course background and a minimum of 3 years secretarial experience. Prior experience in a school system or related work with children preferred. The application is available online at https://www.easthaven-ct.gov/jobs.aspx or from the Civil Service Office, 250 Main Street, East Haven and must be returned by August 17, 2026. The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

Invitation for Bids Trash Collection Services Elm City Communities is currently seeking bids from qualified contractors to perform Trash Col-lection services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Ven-dor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems. com/gateway be-ginning on

August 10, 2026, at 3:00PM.

Exp. Welder call Jill 860-274-9668

For Immediate Hiring: Operations Specialist This is a full-time position in a fast-paced environment. The candidate must be highly organized, analytical and detail-oriented. This opportunity offers exposure to all areas of the business and plays a critical role in driving operational excellence and supporting company growth. A college degree is required. Benefits include: Competitive Hourly Wage, Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans, Vacation & Sick Time, Paid Holidays, Retirement Plan 401(k), Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance Options.

LEGAL NOTICE

The South Central Regional Council of Governments is accepting qualifications for: RFQ #027-04: SCRCOG Forward – An Organizational Strategic Plan (2027-2032) The South Central Regional Council of Governments (“SCRCOG”) is soliciting qualifications from reputable consulting firms to create SCRCOG Forward – An Organizational Strategic Plan (2027-2032) for the regional agency that includes fifteen member municipalities in South Central Connecticut. The selected firm will lead a comprehensive organizational strategic planning process to assess SCRCOG’s current role, programs and services, governance, organizational capacity, and establish a clear strategic direction for the organization over the next five years. Responding firms should have experience with strategic planning, organizational planning, and other related planning efforts.

Send resume to: HR Manager, P.O. Box 388, Guilford, CT. 06437. Email: HRDEPT@eastriverenergy.com *An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disabled and Veterans*

Galasso Materials LLC,

The complete request for proposals (“RFQ”) document can be obtained on the SCRCOG website, www.scrcog.org/

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. Galasso Materials is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion,

RFQs shall be submitted in the manner specified to Laura Francis, Executive Director, 127 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor West, North Haven, CT 06473, until 12:00 P.M. eastern standard time on Tuesday, October 6th, 2026. For questions concerning this RFQ, send questions to scrcog@scrcog.org. SCRCOG is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

sex, orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

IN MEMORIAM: Dolly Parton Dead at 80 — How She Built a Legacy of Love and Earned Her Place in Black Culture

matters.” That was Dolly’s kind of giving: personal, useful and rooted in dignity. She also funded scholarships, supported hospitals, invested in medical research and helped families recover from disasters. Her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center supported research connected to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. She turned the money she made entertaining people into opportunities to help them live, learn and rebuild. A preschooler opening one of Dolly’s books in the Bronx did not need to know “Jolene.” A parent reading that book at bedtime did not need to be a country music fan. Her generosity crossed racial and economic lines because it met families in real life, at the mailbox, in a hospital room or after the unthinkable happened.

By Alexandria Green-Jones Source: BlackPressUSA Newswire Before some of us knew Dolly Parton as the Queen of Country Music, we knew her as the woman behind Whitney Houston’s song. We knew the blonde hair, the rhinestones, and that unmistakable Tennessee voice. But somewhere along the way, Black America came to understand something deeper about Dolly; when she said she loved people, she had the receipts to prove it. The community is now left to mourn the icon who passed away at the age of 80, on Aug. 25, after dealing with an unknown medical condition. Known for her chart-topping country music hits, Dolly never felt as though she belonged only to one genre, or one kind of person. She showed up with humor, humility and a generosity that did not ask who you voted for before offering a helping hand. She made room for people, and in return, people from every corner of the culture made room for her. The Song That Brought Dolly and Whitney Together For Black audiences, the bridge to Dolly will always run through Whitney Houston.

Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” as she prepared to leave Porter Wagoner’s television show and released it in 1974. The original was tender and restrained, a country goodbye delivered with grace. Then Whitney got hold of it. Houston’s 1992 rendition for “The Bodyguard” did not merely update the record. She took it to church, then carried it around the world. That opening a cappella moment, the controlled stillness and the key change that made everybody reach for a note they had no business trying to hit turned Parton’s country ballad into a global anthem. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, became the best-selling physical single by a woman and earned two Grammy Awards. And instead of trying to deny contribution or rush to remind everyone who wrote the song, she celebrated the way Houston’s voice transformed it. In an industry with a long history of taking from Black artists while denying them proper credit, Dolly understood that acknowledging Whitney’s greatness did not diminish her own. One woman wrote an extraordinary song. Another woman revealed everything else that song could become.

“This is the house that Whitney built.” — Dolly Parton Parton later shared that she used some of the royalties from Houston’s recording to purchase commercial property in a predominantly Black Nashville neighborhood. She called it “the house that Whitney built.” There was something beautiful about that acknowledgment. Whitney’s voice had generated wealth, and Dolly wanted part of that wealth rooted among people she described as Whitney’s people, and her people, too. Dolly’s relationship with Black America was not built on pretending she did not see color. She saw us. In a 2020 Billboard interview, she made her position plain: “Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” It was blunt, funny, and completely on brand. But Dolly also understood that allyship could not stop with a quote. After learning why the word “Dixie” was offensive and painful to many people, she removed it from the name of her Civil War-themed dinner attraction. She called her previous understanding “innocent ignorance.” More important, she fixed it. That willingness to listen mattered. Dolly did not perform perfection or become de-

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fensive when someone pointed out harm. She showed that loving people means caring enough to learn, change and do better. In a time when public figures often double down just to avoid admitting they were wrong, Dolly simply chose not to be cruel. Dolly’s love also arrived in the mail. Inspired by her father, who could not read or write, she launched the Imagination Library in 1995. The program began in Sevier County, Tennessee, sending one free, age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children from birth to age 5. What started in the rural community that raised her grew into an international literacy movement. By the end of 2025, the program had distributed more than 300 million books and was mailing about 3.4 million books each month. Those books found their way into homes in big cities as well as small towns. In New York City, the Imagination Library has been promoted through public schools and community organizations in the Bronx. For urban families navigating tight budgets, limited bookstore access or neighborhoods where children’s books are not always easy to find, a brand-new book addressed directly to a child can mean more than one package. It tells that child, “This belongs to you. Your imagination

A Legacy That Felt Like Love Dolly Parton leaves behind thousands of songs, beloved films, major businesses and enough rhinestones to keep heaven sparkling for a while. But her greatest legacy may be the way she made strength feel soft without ever making it weak. She knew exactly who she was, yet she never needed anyone else to become smaller so she could shine. For Black listeners, her bond will always be part of that story. “I Will Always Love You” was never about choosing between the white woman who wrote it and the Black woman who took it somewhere new. Dolly gave the world the words. Whitney gave those words wings. Together, they created a piece of American music that refuses to stay inside one genre or belong to only one community. That is why this loss feels personal, even to people who never met her. Dolly reminded us that tenderness can be powerful. She showed us that changing your mind can be a sign of character, that celebrating another woman’s brilliance does not steal your light and that love means very little if it never becomes action. Country music will forever call Dolly Parton one of its queens. But Black culture recognized something in her, too: a woman who respected our greatness, spoke up for our humanity and invested in our children. She did not simply leave this world loved. In the ways that mattered most, Dolly loved us back. Originally published by BlackPressUSA Newswire — https://bayoubeatnews. com/2026/08/dolly-parton-dead-at-80how-she-built-a-legacy-of-love-andearned-her-place-in-black-culture/

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

Civil rights groups make urgent plea for voting rights in DC, ahead of midterm elections by MATT BROWN

fuse to be counted out. When the courts and the legislature broke apart District 6, they did not just redraw lines,” Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., said in a texted statement. “They told hundreds of thousands of Black families from Baton Rouge up through the Delta that their voice could be taken away at any moment.” Fields’ district was central in the Supreme Court decision that hollowed out the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The court ruled that his district, created just one term ago to permit a second majority-Black district in a state where Blacks make up 33% of the population, was unconstitutional because it relied too heavily on race.

Voting rights, the work of the Civil Rights Movement and racial justice took center stage on the National Mall Friday, with protesters gathering ahead of midterm elections and following a wave of changes to voting laws and redistricting that some have condemned as detrimental to Black Americans. Hundreds of people rallied on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the 2026 “Defend the Vote” March on Washington, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, echoing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 march. The event follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark April decision in Louisiana v. Callais that reinterpreted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing Southern states to redraw their congressional maps in a way that erodes equal representation in Black communities. “We’ve been doing these marches for years, but this is probably the most important because this is the first year we are marching that the voting rights bill has been nullified by the Supreme Court,” Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Civil rights leaders and major Democratic political figures rallied attendees before rallygoers marched past national monuments, including the late King’s memorial.

The court has held that maps can be redrawn for partisan reasons. Louisiana’s legislature rushed to redraw the district after the decision, reshaping it to cluster around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. Fields has opted not to seek reelection to Congress and instead is pursuing a seat in the state Senate. Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., said that communities in his district “have felt the pain of being the tip of the spear” of the national redistricting fight. He warned that the ruling will likely impact state and local legislative seats during the 2028 election cycle. “The scene of the crime is Louisiana, but the reverberation of its impact will be throughout the entire country,” said Carter.

Some call it a ‘very dangerous moment in American history’ Friday’s event harkened back to King Jr.’s historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, when more than 200,000 people gathered at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. That march, an inflection point in the Civil Rights Movement, came at a fraught moment, when economic headwinds, civil unrest, political division and the Vietnam War bitterly divided Americans. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., one of dozens of speakers at the event, said that now is a “very dangerous moment in American history” and that the “dream of a more just and equitable society has never been under greater threat than it is right now.” He placed blame on Republican President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, listing attempts to purge voter rolls, obtain sensitive voter data, restrict mail-in and early voting, and redraw congressional districts as part of threats to voting rights. “Today, we have a president along with the Supreme Court members he appointed carrying out the most significant assault on voting rights since segregation, targeting virtually every aspect of the electoral system,” Sanders said. Martin Luther King III told the AP the Civil Rights Movement’s work “is further eroding” in the wake of the April ruling. He said his father would be disappoint-

Embattled Black lawmakers see need for continued rights push

ed with the state of the country, but current civil rights advocates should be undaunted. “Had he lived, we’d be on a totally different trajectory,” the younger King said. “These would not be issues; they would have been resolved. I don’t think he would be surprised because he understands our history and understands those who are trying to retain power. But the challenge is challenging our communities to engage even more.”

King’s Drum Major Institute, a progressive think tank and community action group, co-hosted the march with Sharpton’s group. Ray Turner, a 65-year-old Maryland retiree, sat Friday on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He came independently, carrying a sign that read “(Puny) Hands off our elections.” “The lies about the 2020 election being stolen continue to be sounded, even though they’ve been disproved,” Turner

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said, adding, “Now they’re trying to use this to prevent people who are legal citizens, legal voters, from voting.” Sharpton said the Trump administration’s immigration policy for Haitians and white South Africans, as well as cuts to social programs, are unifying concerns for this year’s march attendees. But redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that reduce the number of Black lawmakers in Congress loom large. “This march is about people who re-

Rep. Shomari Figures, an Alabama Democrat whose majority-Black district was targeted by the state’s Republican-led redistricting effort, said the original voting rights fight required local movements, national figures, lots of coordination and strategy. He sees this year’s march as a continuation of that legacy. “My district includes Montgomery, which was the birthplace of it all. It started with a bus boycott in 1955 and that, ultimately, morphed into a broader struggle for civil rights and led to a more broad Civil Rights Movement,” Figures told the AP. Ahead of Friday, organizations participating in the march filed new claims in their federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in voting. The Supreme Court cleared a path Monday for possible implementation of the order, though it remains unclear how much can be put in place before the midterms. Late Thursday, a federal judge in Boston who is hearing some of the lawsuits against that executive order temporarily halted the administration from moving forward with it. Time is running short to make any significant changes to voting in the midterms, with the first mail ballots scheduled to be sent out next week. ___

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2026 - September 08, 2026

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