Hill Central Brings “Aladdin Jr.” To Stage
by Maya McFadden
Hill Central seventh grader Jilyenie Nieves had never seen the 1992 Disney musical Aladdin before she was cast to play the genie in her school’s first-ever musical production. Now, she feels ready to channel his goofy personality as she and her castmates prepare for opening night.
Nieves and dozens of her fellow Hill Central middle schoolers will be putting on Aladdin Jr. Friday night at 6 p.m. for the community to come out and watch.
Despite several of the students having never actually watched the animated Disney film before the musical was announced in January, once Nieves seen the movie, she was able to channel her inner outgoing and cosmically powerful role of Genie.
Hill Central educators Jaclyn Chiarelli and Becca Corbin worked out the final kinks in the production Thursday afternoon, as the group of 27 students completed their final dress rehearsal and tech practice.
Aladdin Jr. will be the first musical Hill Central has ever put on. Friday’s show begins at 6 p.m. and tickets can be bought at the door for $5 with cash only. Children under the age of 3 can enter for free. Cash, Venmo, and Cashapp will be accepted for flowers and snacks.
Before putting on their costumes and jumping onto the stage to run through the entire production for Thursday’s rehearsal, students first took 30 minutes to recharge with snacks.
Some students also played more than one role for the production. But not everyone was a performer: Several eighth graders made up the stage crew and handled setting up the stage, opening curtains, and controlling lights.
The group began auditions for the production in January. At Friday’s show, flower bouquets and concession snacks will be sold to support the school’s goal of putting on another production next year.
Between directions to students, like “Don’t forget to listen and come out for your cues!” from Chiarelli and “Everybody in your opening spots please!” from Corbin, the teachers also helped students fix their inside-out ponchos and reread lines forgotten from the script.
Chiarelli helped control music, reminding students that Skinner extended specific tracks earlier in the day Thursday and made it so they had more time during transitions.
“Slow down, you have more time,” Chiarelli told eighth grader Jabeld Rodriguez, who plays Aladdin.
“Louder,” Chiarelli called out occasionally from the audience of less than ten staff members and students who were watching Thursday’s practice.
Students also helped each other while on stage by feeding each other lines that others forgot.
Chiarelli reminded Jabeld, or Aladdin, not to turn his back to the audience when talking to Princess Jasmine, who is played by seventh-grader Kitziaely Mootie. She also encouraged the students to “make something up” and keep going if they forget their lines during the performance.
During stage transitions, Corbin reminded the students, “Don’t look at chairs being moved.”
Chiarelli noted that the production’s cast and crew is made up of several students with no previous theater experience. During auditions, no students were turned away.
Corbin added that the production’s students also vary academically. Chiarelli said this year’s program encouraged several students take their academics more seriously and improve their overall behavior in school.
This week is the first week the group has had time to practice during after-school hours. All other rehearsals had to be fit into the school day, which typically ended up being during Chiarelli and Corbin’s prep periods.
The production also received tech support from Southern Connecticut State University theater professors Michael Skinner and Larry Nye. The production has been funded through donations from parents and educators who made purchases from an Amazon wishlist.
They also sold ads in their program, and Corbin and Chiarelli spent hours searching for props on Facebook marketplace.
“We’re exhausted, but we’re so excited,” Chiarelli said on Thursday.
Unlike some of his peers, sixth-grader Terrance Moore, who plays a resident of the city Agrabah, said Aladdin was one of his favorite movies when he was younger. His love for music and a past musical performance were the reasons he decided to audition for this year’s production. He added that musicals are important to have at school because “some people are shy, but here maybe they can overcome their fears.” Moore also filled in for a role during Thursday’s practice to challenge himself.
Jilyenie Nieves, or Genie, also challenged herself when auditioning for the musical. While she was interested in singing, she worried about the dancing.
“I always wanted to see and do a play,” Nieves said.
Nieves said the production has offered her the chance to find new friends and talk to eighth graders she typically doesn’t meet.
“I didn’t know I could express myself that far. I thought I wouldn’t be good at dancing, but I met so many people here that just keep me trying,” she said.
She said theater helps kids be part of a community and express themselves, and she’s glad her school now has a drama program. It has also opened a new career path up to her.
“Without this play, I wouldn’t be with any of the people that I’m with now. I grew a family with them,” she added.
Her concluding advice to others interested in theater is to “let yourself out,” and “don’t be scared, even if there are people that you think will laugh at you, because
MAYA MCFADDEN Photos Hill Central students during final Aladdin musical rehearsal Thursday ...
The New Haven independent
Jabeld Rodriguez as Aladdin.
Stage crew helps make Jasmine and Aladdin's magic carpet ride enchanting.
Stage crew helps make Jasmine and Aladdin's magic carpet ride enchanting. Chiarelli and Corbin: Honored to be a part of Hill Central's first musical production.
Troup Accepts Ice Bucket Challenge
by Maya McFadden
Augusta Lewis Troup School’s administration accepted a challenge the latest ice bucket challenge, which aims to spread mental health awareness.
The challenge is moving through New Haven Public Schools, reminding staff and students of the importance of taking care of their mental health.
It marks a revival of a decade-old online phenomenon, which first emerged as an A.L.S. fundraising effort, and has returned as a way to promote mental health.
Outside of Troup’s 259 Edgewood Ave. building on Thursday, 4th-8th graders joined Principal Eugene Foreman, Assistant Principal Caroline Apgar, and Climate and Culture Specialist Da’Jhon Jett to cheer them through the freezing task.
The NHPS-based mental health challenge began at John S. Martinez School to kick off May as Mental Health Awareness Month. It has spiraled into a schoolby-school challenge, where school staff are nominated and accept the challenge to pour cold buckets of water on their heads and then challenge another school in the district.
Troup was challenged by Brennan-Rogers Principal Kimberly Daniley. The school in turn challenged Conte West Hills Magnet School. Click here to watch Brennan-Rogers’ video.
At Troup, students called out from the crowd, encouraging the staffers to take off their shoes and remove their smart watches.
After eighth graders Shyanna and Nike poured a bucket of water on Jett on Thursday, they said they felt great. They said the challenge is a fun and impactful way to keep mental health on the community’s mind.
Plus, dumping Thursday’s bucket served as a chance for the duo to “give them the aggravation they give us everyday.”
They concluded that at Troup, taking care of your mental health is a topic frequently discussed. “If you’re not OK, they’ll make sure you’re OK,” Nike said. Jett added that mental health awareness is particularly important to Troup’s staff because NHPS has several students experiencing difficult circumstances, like homelessness.
Foreman reminded students that there is “nothing wrong with getting help.”
Apgar agreed and noted that student mental health cases have been increasing since January. She said that no matter whether it’s testing stress or issues at home, Troup’s staff handle all mental health concerns with urgency.
Before resuming the school day, Foreman challenged the district’s central office to take part next. Jett noted that the mental health challenge has provided schools the chance to bond, despite the many difficulties NHPS is currently facing.
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Maya McFadden photo Troup accepts mental health-awareness ice bucket challenge on Thursday
Foreman, Apgar, and Jett after Thursday's ice bucket challenge.
Brennan-Rogers challenges Troup to get drenched next.
Job Seekers, Not Protesters, Flock To Tweed
by Lisa Reisman
Teearra Harris works as an operating room assistant at Yale New Haven Hospital’s St. Raphael’s campus. Her job affords her just enough to get by.
“Another part-time job will really help free me up,” she said at a Tweed New Haven Airport Career Fair, which had as its mission “to connect local job seekers with career opportunities across the airport and aviation industry.”
In its second year, the career fair, which took place in the arrivals area, represents “a reaffirmation of our investment in the people of this region,” said Robert H. Reed, chairman of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority. “Our continued collaboration with community and workforce partners ensures we’re not only building a stronger airport, but a stronger economy.”
Conspicuously absent among those workforce partners, which included Avports, LAZ Parking, the New Haven Workforce Alliance, and New Haven Works, was mention either in the press releases or the opening remarks of one of Tweed’s primary airlines, Avelo.
Avelo has been embroiled in controversy over its decision to contract with the federal government to operate deportation flights out of a different airport, in Arizona. Those deportation flights began earlier this month, and have led to protesters routinely traveling to Tweed to speak out against its flagship budget airline. The New York Times, meanwhile, recently reported on a New Hampshire lawmaker buying advertisements on billboards near Tweed reading “Just say AvelNO.” Lawyers from the airline, citing the similarity of its trademark on the billboard, accused him of trademark infringement and unfair competition. As of Tuesday, there was no sign of the billboards.
Despite the silence on its participation, Avelo Airlines was at the career fair, at a table in the back corner, where a representative shared information about job openings in customer service and for ramp crew members.
An airport official said the representative was not a spokesperson for Avelo Airlines. The airline declined to comment on why it had not indicated it would be among the employers at the career fair.
The storm surrounding the airlines, however, seemed secondary on Tuesday to the roughly 300 job seekers and employers in attendance, who filled the space with an air of possibility and enthusiasm.
At one table, Keyanna Vaughn was asking a New Haven Workforce Alliance representative about a part-time job on her way to a career in nursing. Vaughn came to the career fair as a member of the Youth Transitional Services Program. “We work with young adults, ages 18 to 22, and we teach them life skills, we help them get career training for jobs, and then we help them with employment,”
said Youth Transition Services coordinator Chaila Gilliams. The students she brought to the career fair, she said, “are looking to get a job, structure, build a resume, and make money, all toward realizing their career aspirations.”
At another table, Tyra Stanley, director of employer engagement at New Haven Works, was engaging with Irene Johnson.
“I’m a certified medical assistant, and I’m looking for a Plan B,” Johnson said, as she filled out paperwork signaling her interest.
Stanley said she could help. “This is what we do, we build partnerships and relationships to help New Haven residents find career opportunities, not everyday jobs,” she said.
At the next table, a representative from Avports, an airport manager and opera
tor, was sharing information about job openings for operations coordinators, maintenance technicians, and terminal operations controllers. “That’s to make sure planes are being parked correctly,” she said, as a young man nodded excitedly.
“I would love to do that,” he said. Nearby, Isenia Vargas, a human resources administrator for LAZ Parking was telling job seekers about openings for lot attendants, flaggers, and valets.
“We have well over 20 jobs available all over New Haven,” she said, as applicants added their names and contact information to a long list.
“We never had so many people,” she said. “A lot of promising candidates, and we love that.”
by Cheyenne Barboza
The Off Broadway Theater at Yale
The New Haven independent
Teearra Harris: Stopping by the airport in search of a second job.
Lisa Reisman photos At Tuesday morning's Tweed career fair.
Keyanna Vaughn and Chaila Gilliams.
Students Pick Up Rackets, Not Phones
by Thomas Breen
William Bello, Dionisio Salas, and Aiden Sanford took their first swings on a tennis court Monday morning as the King/Robinson middle schoolers joined dozens of their classmates on an Edgewood Park excursion designed to get them outside in the sun, away from screens, and learning the basics of what to many was a new sport.
Bello, 11, Salas, 12, and Sanford, 12, were three of more than 50 fifthand sixth-grade students from the Newhallville public school to take a bus to the Edgewood Park tennis courts at around 10 a.m. Monday for a twohour lesson courtesy of United States Tennis Association (USTA) New England Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mavi Sanchez-Skakle and her husband, former tennis pro Cliff Skakle.
The trip was organized in part by Mia Duff, a retired New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) principal who now works as a reading tutor at King/Robinson. Duff helped put together Monday’s event as part of a day of service organized alongside fellow members of the Iota Chi Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated.
As Duff put it, Monday’s outing was all about enjoying the outdoors and learning something new. “I see the need for experiences to get out in the fresh air and sunshine,” she said. Young people spend “too much time in front of screens” as it is. Here was an opportunity during National Tennis Month to put down the phone, pick up a racket, exercise and have fun. Which is exactly what took place for
Blumenthal Urges Transportation Secretary To ‘Staff
by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT
– With more than 3 million Americans expected to travel by air over Memorial Day weekend, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, expressed his concern about a series of air radar and communications failures in the past few weeks.
“These outages drastically increase the risk of a midair collision and undermine public confidence in the safety of our nation’s airspace,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “I urge you to take every necessary step to expeditiously end these dangerous technology blackouts and ensure that our airspace, especially the congested New York City area, is managed at all times with the highest safety standards that Americans expect and deserve.”
According to Blumenthal’s office, the
Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach
Control facility experienced a telecommunications issue on May 11 that forced the FAA to issue a ground stop to all aircraft departing Newark Liberty International Airport for 45 minutes.
That was the third such outage at Newark this month. In response, Duffy announced a reduction in capacity at Newark. Additionally, Denver International Airport experienced a loss of communication with up to 20 aircraft last week when multiple transmitters failed.
In February, the administration of President Donald Trump terminated more than 300 FAA employees that Duffy characterized as not being “critical safety personnel.”
Blumenthal, though, said support staff were critical for passenger safety, even if they weren’t air traffic controllers watching radars and communicating with pi-
the subsequent two-hour lesson. Sanchez-Skakle and Skakle took the leads in introducing the students to the sport, advising them on how to move their feet towards the ball and to “touch,” rather than “hit,” the ball with the racket. (“A swing is all about letting the weight be a pendulum,” Skakle said.)
Students like Peyton Jackson, 11, and Bello paired up, stood about 10 feet apart, and, with one student holding a racket, practiced rolling and then tossing a tennis ball back and forth. While Bello was taking his first tennis-racket swings ever, Jackson was a relative pro. She’s been playing for five months, and even brought her own racket Monday. “I like backhands” the best, she said. “Because I’m still learning” how to do them. Her other favorite parts of tennis? “I love being able to play with others,” and, of course, “learning new things.
Sanford, like Bello, was brand new to the sport. He’d only played football before, and was looking forward to learning something new. “I’ve never played tennis in my life,” he said. “I want to see if I like it.”
Sanchez-Skakle singled out Salas and Milad Noorbadshah, 12, for praise, as they had walked up to her after the initial exercise was done and, calmly, without shouting or swinging their rackets to and fro, told her that they had finished and were ready for the next. Sanchez-Skakle led the students in a round of applause. Salas said this, too, was his first time ever playing tennis. Noorbadshah, meanwhile, has been playing for two or three years. Noorbadshah’s favorite part? “Hitting the ball.” Salas’s assessment so far: “It’s fun.”
the Towers’ as Memorial Day Travel Holiday Looms
lots.
“We need to make repairs and implement backup systems immediately, but we also should staff the towers,” he said. Blumenthal demanded in his letter that Duffy and the FAA “swiftly take every possible action to ensure air traffic controllers in Newark and around the country can remain in constant radar and radio contact with all aircraft under their control.”
In response to a question about whether residents planning to travel by air should be concerned about the safety of the air traffic control system, Blumenthal referred to airlines delaying and reducing the number of flights. He added that he himself was planning to board a plane Monday afternoon.
“I’m pretty sure planes are safe, but we face a potential safety crisis,” he said.
US Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks to reporters about the Federal Aviation Administration during a news conference Monday, May 19, 2025, outside the state Capitol in Hartford.
The New Haven independent
Time for a quick photo between swings ...
... sorors out for a day of service.
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Blumenthal, Murphy Highlight GOP Plans To Cut Funding For Meals On Wheels, Head Start
by Viktoria Sundqvist
Republican Senators are writing legislation that will give a tax break to the wealthiest by ripping away programs for American seniors, children, and working families such as Meals on Wheels and Head Start, Connecticut’s two US senators said.
US Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined the Senate Democratic Caucus this week in sending an open letter to the public about Congressional Republicans’ plan to cut funding for what they say are “essential social services.”
Congressional Republicans in the US House of Representatives and US Senate passed a budget framework earlier this month, while final details are still being worked out.
Two essential funding sources for so-
cial services programs are now being targeted, Blumenthal and Murphy said: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). SSBG funds Meals on Wheels programs across the country and, in some states, funds programs that help identify and prevent elder abuse.
“Republican leaders claim they have no plans to eliminate essential services, but tens of billions in catastrophic cuts to these programs appeared on Republicans’ published wish list,” the letter from the Democratic coalition stated.
“We write to make our position on this legislation perfectly clear: Congress should not give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans by ripping away programs that almost 25 million Americans – close to 50% of whom are children – rely on for basic needs.”
“You, your family, and your neighbors deserve far better,” the letter continues. “Democrats are fighting to protect your communities from Republican cuts. Join us and keep up the fight.”
President Donald Trump’s spending plan calls for $1.5 trillion in cuts to offset costs of proposed tax cuts. Other planned cuts include those to the Medicaid program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which assists about 42 million low-income Americans with purchasing food.
Republican lawmakers insist they are working to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, and some have said states should pick up some of the costs for the programs being cut at the federal level.
House Votes to Address $300M Medicaid Shortfall
by Donald Eng
A declaration of “extraordinary” circumstances from Gov. Ned Lamont cleared the way for the General Assembly to fund Medicaid for the remainder of the 2025 fiscal year.
“Our most vulnerable residents, including seniors and those with disabilities, receive health coverage through Medicaid and it is important that we authorize the funding necessary to ensure these payments continue to be made and people can access the care they need,” Lamont said. Gov. Ned Lamont listens to a reporter’s question about Medicaid funding and the state budget on Monday, May 19, 2025, outside the State Armory with the Legislative Office Building and state Capitol in the background. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
The issue is affecting multiple states and is caused by numerous factors, including increasing costs and increasing usage of medical care, Lamont said.
According to the Department of Social Services, the department will need about $284 million to continue making payments to health care providers. More than 900,000 state residents receive health coverage through Medicaid, according to the department.
Monday afternoon, the House approved the move as part of an appropriations de-
those people couldn’t do it.”
Despite her nerves in the beginning of the program, Nieves said that after Thursday’s practice, she feels ready to take the stage for show day with the goofy and fun personality of Genie.
After Thursday’s rehearsal ended around 5:30 p.m., students took home a chicken, mashed potato, and corn dinner.
Any additional donations for Hill Central’s new theater program can be made through Venmo: @JaclynChiarelli928
ficiency bill that cleared the chamber 9846, with 7 members not voting or absent. The bill immediately went to the Senate, where it was expected to pass Monday evening.
Earlier in the day, House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, had predicted the measures to address the shortfall would pass the House sometime Monday afternoon, and then proceed to the Senate for approval.
The plan, he said, was to allocate funds from the state surplus to cover the shortfall.
“We have the cash to pay it down,” he said. “We still will end the year with a multi-billion dollar surplus.”
The allocation, Ritter said, would also give the state some operating surplus to carry forward to the 2026 fiscal year. That also is important to securing an overall budget deal, he said.
Ritter also said the Medicaid funding was “not a guardrail issue,” referring to a group of rules collectively referred to as
the state’s fiscal guardrails, designed to limit spending increases.
The state’s spending cap can be exceeded under certain circumstances, he said.
“In this case, we’re actually just doing it for Medicaid,” he said. “So there’s
no cap room created from it, we’re just paying it down in cash.”
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said the state’s Medicaid fund was “in crisis … because of the inaction of the governor and the Democrat majority over the past year.” Candelora said he “will not be supporting this scheme in order to allow more spending next year and violate our spending cap.”
He called the Democrats’ plan to pay down the Medicaid shortfall “a classic gimmick.”
“Make no mistake, this emergency declaration that the governor is doing today, is not to pay down a Medicaid overage, but it’s to allow the Democrats to violate the spending cap next year and spend an additional $250 million that we are not allowed to spend under our constitution.” Lamont, though denied the Medicaid funding would affect future spending caps.
“Just the opposite,” he said. “An emergency is a one-time thing.”
Now Hiring: Lifeguards, Swim Instructors
by Thomas Breen
Youth athletics and tutoring nonprofit LEAP is now looking to hire 40 swim instructors to help 800 New Haven kids hit the water this summer.
There are two roles in particular that LEAP is hiring for: lifeguard and swim instructor, and just swim instructor. A flyer advertising the positions states that “you will play a vital role in serving New Haven youth by teaching them how to swim safely and confidently.” LEAP aims to empower children “both in and out of the water”
by building trust in their swimming abilities.
No prior experience is required. “Swimmers of all levels are welcome and will receive full training based on our curriculum,” according to the flyer. The “lifeguard and swim instructor” role will earn between $18.35 and $19.35 per hour, and requires Red Cross lifeguard certification.
The “swim instructor” position will earn $17.35 and $18.35 per hour and does not require any official certification, though an applicant “must be an
efficient swimmer.”
Training will take place from June 6 to June 20. The job will span June 23 to Aug. 1.
Applicants must be at least 16 years old.
LEAP Aquatics Director Elvert Eden said that the organization is looking to hire a total of 40 swim instructors and lifeguards, and hopes to work with 800 New Haven kids this summer at three different city pools: one at LEAP’s location on Jefferson Street, one at the
YMCA on Howe Street, and one at a location TBD.
“There’s disparities,” Elvert told the Independent. Kids in the city “have less access to swim instruction, water safety, and the ability to swim confidently.”
For more information, reach out to Eden at eeden@leapforkids.org. Applicants can also reach out to Stefanie Vargas at svargas@leapforkids.org.
Her phone number is (203) 773 0770 ext. 132. Or they can go to the LEAP website here to apply.
File photo: US Sen. Richard Blumenthal holds up a “People Over Profit” sign at the rally for Medicaid on the South Lawn of the state Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
State Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, answers a question during a debate in the state House of Representatives on May 19, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
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3 Way Alder Race Comes To Fair Haven
by Laura Glesby
A Wilbur Cross teacher of English as a second language is running to represent Fair Haven’s Ward 16 on the Board of Alders, joining what has become a three-way race.
Magda Natal made her candidacy official on Tuesday afternoon, filing the requisite paperwork at the City Clerk’s office at 200 Orange St. She is challenging 10-year incumbent Alder Jose Crespo, who is running for a sixth two-year term, as well as fellow first-time candidate Nelys Calcano.
The three candidates are seeking to represent the southeastern part of Fair Haven a ward encompassing a large portion of bustling Grand Avenue, FAME and John S. Martinez schools, Fair Haven Community Health Care, Criscuolo Park, and industrial River Street.
Natal, a lifelong Fair Havener who now lives on Exchange Street, said she had long mulled over the idea of running for alder. She said she finally felt ready to take on what she sees as a weighty commitment. “I think that Fair Haven can be oftentimes overlooked,” she said on Tuesday. “It needs good representation, someone who’s going to be present for constituents.”
She later added in a text message: “I spent a few years away on and off throughout my life. I always returned and I now live in my childhood home, where I grew up in. The goal was always to leave but the longer I stayed as an adult, the more immersed I became in the neighborhood and then my jobs were always in Fair Haven until my life’s work became Fair Haven.”
Crespo currently chairs the Tax Abatement Committee on the Board of Alders, an entity that commonly forgives interest on the property and car taxes of residents seeking relief. According to his LinkedIn page, he is the Hispanic Programs Specialist at Boy Scouts of America and the Community Engagement Coordinator at Latinos for Education Advocacy and Diversity. He did not respond to attempts to contact him for an interview.
All three candidates filed as Democrats, which means that they will be competing in the Democratic primary election on Sept. 9 prior to the general election on Nov. 4. The Democratic Party will formally endorse a candidate in mid-to-late July.
As an educator, Natal is no stranger to the task of being present for a community that’s often overlooked. She said that she sees teaching as her life’s work “there’s no doubt in my mind.” In the back of her mind, she said, she’s always thinking about the next parent she needs to call or the lesson plan she needs to adjust to better resonate with her students. “The work never ends.”
Natal continues her work with kids during the summer as a volunteer cook and co-coordinator of Big Turtle Village, a one-week camping trip for about 60 kids run by Junta for Progressive Action. “I would call it ‘glamping,’ but they wouldn’t call it that,” she said with a laugh.
Leslie Blatteau, the president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, accompanied Natal to file the paperwork on Tuesday (alongside Natal’s neighbor, Janice Perry, and partner, Rafael Ramos). “I want to live in a city where teachers like Magda” are on the Board of Alders, Blatteau said. “Teachers have such perspective on the needs of the city,” building trust and at times navigating stressful dynamics, “all on a shoestring budget.”
While city employees are not allowed to serve on the Board of Alders, that restriction does not apply to New Haven Public Schools employees, according to the city’s Office of Legislative Services. The Board of Alders allocates part of the school system’s funding and approves labor contracts. Teachers and other school employees have served as alders in the past, including Michelle Sepulveda, Katrina Jones, and Charles Blango; when those alders served, they recused themselves when their colleagues voted on a teachers contract.
The school system is now facing a looming threat of 129 layoffs, most of which include teachers and librarians. “I think there’s a fight ahead of us. We’re being cut in ways that are gonna hurt our students,” Natal said. Her priority, she said, is advocating for “teachers in
the classroom” alongside more resources for schools in general. “We’ve got schools falling apart,” she noted, including a leaky roof in her own school.
At Wilbur Cross, Natal specializes in Teaching English To Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Her students include immigrants from all over the world, speaking a number of different languages. At the start of each year, she asks her students to write a narrative about their own life stories. “A lot of them come with a lot of trauma,” Natal said. “I had students walking across the Amazon” with little to no food “walking from country to country.”
The alder race is unfolding at a time of heightened anxiety among many in the neighborhood, which is home to many immigrants, under President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump has sought to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants, destabilize legal immigration routes such as green cards and refugee resettlement, delegitimize birthright citizenship, and use the Alien Enemies Act to justify circumventing immigrants’ right to a fair trial.
New Haven has not as of yet seen atypical activity from ICE, but community advocates say that the fear of ICE has already impacted the neighborhood. Neighbors have rallied to patronize the restaurants and other local businesses on Grand Avenue, where several business owners have reported a downturn in customers due to a fear of immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, Fair Haven Community Healthcare (for which Natal has served as an executive board member for 14 years) is planning to restructure its services in order to continue providing healthcare to uninsured community members as a federally-funded institution.
Natal said she would support immigrant rights as an alder. “I’m a believer that the world was made for everyone to exist,” Natal said. “We made borders… We should make space. People are coming here because they are fleeing from somewhere else.”
On top of educational resources and immigrant rights, Natal said she hopes to see a more beautiful neighborhood. “I’m big on gardening. It’s one of my dreams for Fair Haven,” she said. She envisions a project of tending to the yards outside abandoned houses. “We need a cleaner neighborhood,” she added. In her own yard, she grows vegetables and perennials: “I love the pinks and reds.”
She has a tradition of enlisting her neighbor, Janice Perry, to garden with her. It became a way to connect over bringing beauty to their block. “She was one of the first people to welcome me to the neighborhood,” recalled Perry, who said she is supporting Natal because “she’s gonna listen to you, and she understands what this community needs.”
City Clerk Michael Smart reviews Natal's paperwork.
Laura Glesby Photo Magda Natal files to run for alder of Ward 16.
Natal was joined on Tuesday by neighbor Janice Perry, teachers union president Leslie Blatteau, and her partner Rafael Ramos.
The New Haven independent
Marchand To Revive PILOT Committee
by Laura Glesby
The Board of Alders is working to revive a forgotten commission dedicated to advocating for more funding for the city. The commission in question the Commission on PILOT/Revenue Lobbying now officially has its first member in a long time, Westville Alder Adam Marchand.
Alders unanimously voted to appoint Marchand to the commission at their full board meeting on Monday evening.
The commission appears to have been created by a 2005 ordinance, with a focus on the state’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) reimbursements for state-owned and certain privately owned property that is untaxable at the local level. Its stated mission, as outlined in the code of ordinances, is to “encourage the Connecticut General Assembly to provide significant additional funding of the PILOT program, mobilize various statewide organizations affiliated with its members, and enact other legislation that will benefit the city.”
Two decades later, in 2025, state funding for PILOT reimbursements has substantially increased, especially after a 2021 change championed by State Sen. Martin Looney that more than doubled the state’s PILOT payments to New Haven. Currently, the grant is funded at 53 percent for “Tier 1” cities including New Haven, according to Kevin Coughlin, the communications director for state senate Democrats.
Marchand, a chief steward of the Local 34 Yale union, also serves on the City Plan Commission and chairs the alders’ Finance Committee.
He explained after Monday’s meeting that his experiences leading the Finance Committee motivated him to take the lead on revamping the PILOT commission. “I see a lot of what the city could do if we had more resources,” he said, pointing to life-sustaining resources such as food assistance that would ideally receive more funding.
Marchand said that over the summer, he plans to research the commission’s history and learn more about why it ceased to meet, what purpose it served in the past, and what role it could play in the future.
“How do we attempt to grapple,” he said, Con’t on page 14
Laura Glesby photo Adam Marchand at Monday's full board meeting.
The New Haven independent
A Whirlwind Week At The Shubert, From STEAM Education To Making Fetch Happen
Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org
When fourth grader Lilly Mennone walked into the Shubert Theatre, she wasn’t expecting that a musical would feed her love for herpetology one number at a time. But by the time she had walked out, she had a new understanding of what science could look and feel like—and a sense of the possibilities that awaited her beyond the classroom.
Forty-eight hours later, high school junior Arianna Ellison slipped on a pink t-shirt, stepped into the Shubert’s mezzanine seats, and caught a glimpse of her future life as a stage manager. She couldn’t have known it then, but by the end of the week, she’d be one connection closer to her dream job, and watching it play out backstage.
Those revelations—for two different students, in two different grades, over two very different performances—rocked the Shubert last week, as Ada Twist, Scientist & Friends and Mean Girls rolled into the downtown theater two days apart. As they soared from STEAM learning to apex predators, both showed how the performing arts can open up a space for possibility, particularly in a world that tells women and girls what they can and cannot be.
That began on Tuesday morning, as Lilly joined over 1,000 students at the Shubert for a student matinee performance of Ada Twist, a TheaterWorks USA musical based on the children's books of the same name. Two days later—almost to the hour—it continued at a tech breakfast, as Ellison and her classmates watched the load-in for Mean Girls, then met the real-live production stage manager for the show. By Friday, Ellison was backstage with her, watching her call cues in real time.
“Seeing it from a new perspective really altered things, and honestly it was a beautiful experience,” said Ellison, a junior at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School who wants to do tech theater professionally. “I was talking to the stage managers, I was talking to the run crew, and it was really, really amazing to be able to get all of the perspectives of everyone.”
The timing could not be more critical. As the Shubert grows its educational footprint, New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Madeline Negrón has continued to discuss the potential layoffs of 29 arts educators, part of a larger plan to reduce budget shortfalls with the reduction of student-facing staff. If it goes through, programs like these will become even more critical in bringing the arts to students, whose schools are also under attack on the federal level.
When Lilly woke up on Tuesday, she didn’t know that a musical was—at least a little bit—about to change how she thought about her future in science. She bid farewell to her terrarium, which holds darkling beetles, mealworms, spiders, and millipedes. She boarded a school bus, traveling from Tuttle School in East Haven to the buildings and restaurants
that line College Street downtown. By 10 a.m., she was among the pintsized masses spilling onto the sidewalk, their voices a steady hum over College Street. Between them, they hailed from schools across New Haven, East Haven, and Hamden, many already focused on Ada Twist because they have been reading some version of the book in school.
In addition to the beloved picture book by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, there is a series of chapter books, such as Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs and Ada Twist And The Perilous Pants. Tuesday, every student in the audience received a copy of the latter, thanks to a gift from tech manufacturer ASML. While ASML provided books to every member of the audience, Jordan’s Furniture supported the student matinee.
At the theater’s wide, heavy front doors and in the lobby, students marvelled at the space, with its high ceilings and wide, chatter-filled lobby. With the precision of air traffic controllers, ushers pointed school groups toward the theater, some motioning to the stairs that led to the mezzanine and balcony. In a group from ACES Wintergreen Magnet School, 10-year-old Elliott Williams seemed to vibrate with anticipation, ready for the show.
“I’m pretty excited,” he said. Earlier this year, his class did an experiment with gummy bears, submerging them in different liquids to figure out how they react to acids (vinegar), sugars (juice), and that magical bonding of H2O that is water. So when he heard that a bunch of young scientists were coming to the stage, it sounded like exactly what he’d been up to.
“I think getting them to see how the arts are connected to the community is really important,” said Wintergreen teacher Lauren Barry, who added that teachers planned to discuss the differences between the book and the musical when they returned to school. “This is beyond our school. This is part of the real world.”
Across the theater, Lilly took in the scene and settled into the back rows of the orchestra seats, chatting with her dad on one side, and a classmate on the other. In her science classes at Tuttle, she’s spent the past weeks learning about different states of matter, studying how a solid becomes a liquid, and a liquid becomes a gas. She’s also seen it play out in Ada Twist And The Perilous
“I like science because there’s a lot of things that you can do,” she said, bathed in the low, dramatic purple light of the house. “In science, you can explore things. You can learn things. You can do experiments and you can try and figure things out.”
She likes it when the arts intersect with that approach, she added. So when an adult-sized Ada Twist (Gaby Moseley) and her friends Rosie Revere (Katie Kallay) and Iggy Peck (Jackson Wells) exploded onto the stage, science projects crandled in their hands, she snapped to attention, and took in every detail.
Beneath the bright lights of the Shu-
bert’s Broadway house, they were about to give their second-grade teacher, Ms. Lila Greer (Karis Knierim), a run for her money. And in the audience, Lilly didn’t want to miss a moment.
On stage, the three intrepid young inventors (Ada is a scientist; Rosie is an engineer; Iggy is an architect) piloted their experiments, testing the teacher’s patience with each curious discovery. As Ada stumbled toward the front of the classroom, her volcano belched dust onto the teacher’s skirt. Seconds later, Rosie’s flying hat ejected a bright, unnatural colored stream of cheese whiz.
Lila, singing through all of it, discouraged this foray into science, overwhelmed by the energy of her students. “Put it back in the trash where you found it!” she exclaimed at one point, and even rows away, Lilly seemed to sit up just a little straighter. Around her, students let out a collective gasp, watching Rosie’s face fall. It was surprisingly close to a very real-world phenomenon, in which girls lose interest in STEM during adolescence, because they don’t have consistent mentors to cheer them on.
Little did Lila know, Lilly soon learned, science was about to save all of them. Overwhelmed by her bold and brilliant students, Lila cooked up a field trip, packing a picnic lunch and sensible shoes for a romp around Blue River Creek (the real star of the show may have been a comically large donut-sized bun bobbing atop her head, which is a nod to Beaty’s original character).
As students headed toward a rickety bridge, Lilly provided running commentary, asking questions about what might happen next. On stage, Lila blanched at the prospect, urging students off the contraption as they raised their voices toward the sky. But the bridge, of course, was Chekhov’s gun: when it fell, dumping students on an island, cries of Oooh! and No! bubbled up from the audience. Back on stage, the trio got to work, parking an apoplectic Lila Greer beneath a tree. Working with tall trees, student shoelaces and discarded planks of wood, they got to work, rebuilding a bridge that would get them back across. It was science, applied note by note, and it was working. Or in the words of Ada Twist: “There are so many questions to ask,” and all of them are worth asking.
Back in row T, Lilly said she was excited by the show’s message—and its delivery in song. It had jibed with her own love for herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. It’s what she plans to do when she grows up.
“I like that they try to convince their teacher that science is good,” Lilly said after the show. “It reminded me of me being, like, informative and trying to figure things out.”
On Thursdays We Wear Pink
Two days later, Arianna Ellison stepped into the Shubert’s new cabaret theater, finding a seat near one side of the room as attendee nibbled on fruit and bagels. Already, she had been up for hours,
Kalilah Black, Kyle Sherman, Daisy Carnelia and Jenna Perez in a touring production of Ada T wist, Scientist & Friends.
Lucy Gellman Photos.
16-Year-Old’s Alleged Killer Caught
by Thomas Breen
City police have arrested a 21-yearold man from Waterbury for the slaying of 16-year-old New Havener Maleak Sweets in Newhallville in January 2024. Asst. Police Chief David Zannelli announced that arrest at a Wednesday afternoon press conference held on the third floor of police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. He was joined by Mayor Justin Elicker, lead Det. Michael Haines, Sgt. Josh Kyle, and members of Sweets’ family, among others.
According to state court records, the 21-year-old Waterbury suspect was arrested on Monday, and has been charged with one count of murder and one count of carrying a pistol without a permit. He has not yet entered pleas in response to either of those charges, and he is currently being held on a $2 million bond.
“Our days are filled with unbearable silence” since Sweets’ death, his grandmother, Yolanda Herring, said at Wednesday’s presser. “Maleak, we love you and miss you always.”
“We have been here many, many times,” Elicker said about the police department hosting yet another press conference about a murder arrest. May today be the “start of that process” of getting some justice, he said to the family. And to the public, he said, “we are yet again asking
to stop the violence and put the guns down.”
Elicker also said that when he was killed, Sweets was expecting his first child, who is now just over 1 year old.
According to an eight-page arrest warrant affidavit written on May 7 by Det. Haines, city police officers responded
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to a house on Newhall Street at around 7:34 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2024, in response to a ShotSpotter report of two gunshots. Dispatch also received two 911 calls reporting a person shot.
Upon arrival, officers found the victim, later identified as Sweets, lying on the sidewalk. He was unconscious, and
appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Officers also observed a white Kia Rio parked nearby with bullet holes in it, and they found one projectile at the scene.
Sweets was transported by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Sweets’ death was gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was homicide. During the autopsy, a single projectile consistent with a .45 caliber gun was removed from Sweets’ body.
Det. Haines details over the course of the affidavit how a key interview, license-plate-reading cameras in Bridgeport and New Haven, and the assistance of Waterbury police led New Haven cops to a house on Ludlow Street in Waterbury, where they found a Ford Focus they believed was involved in Sweets’ homicide.
Officers observed two people, one later identified as the murder suspect, in the car. When the officers approached the car outside of the Waterbury house, the driver attempted to take off a fanny pack he was wearing. He placed the fanny pack “on the passenger seat and officers observed in plain view the handle of a handgun sticking out of the fanny pack.” That gun was a .45 caliber Glock 30 with
a serial number. Police later determined that this was the gun that likely fired the bullet that killed Sweets. Waterbury police arrested the suspect on charges of carrying a pistol without a permit, interfering with an officer, and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.
Subsequent police work including a witness interview, a review of phone records and pending CashApp payments, and messages between the Telegram accounts of users named “Rambo Ebk” and “Get Fried” led cops to believe that the murder suspect was in Newhallville the day of the homicide to sell marijuana. A witness told police in a voluntary interview that he and Sweets were in that area of Newhallville to “take some weed,” which the witness confirmed “was to rob the individual delivering the ‘weed.’ ” The warrant also includes a transcript of phone messages sent between the murder suspect and a different friend of his. In those messages, the suspect reportedly wrote that the person who showed up at the scheduled marijuana deal in Newhallville was not the person he had been messaging with via Telegram. “Its cool I ain’t worried about that shit,” the alleged killer allegedly wrote, “I fired and they ain’t even get right so I’m coolin.”
Det. Haines and Sgt. Kyle.
FRIDAY | 06.06.25 8:00 PM
FRIDAY | 06.06.25 8:00 PM
Thomas Breen photo Grandma Yolanda Herring (center): "Maleak, we love you and miss you always."
The New Haven independent
Seniors Spend A Night Out In Dixwell
by Mona Mahadevan
At the entrance of the Dixwell Q House’s gym, Monica Spruill walked the purple carpet and paused beneath a balloon arch for photographs.
“There are not a lot of places for [senior citizens] to go,” she lamented. But Saturday evening, she and more than 220 other seniors gathered for a prom-like gala hosted by the New Haven Elks Club. Inside the gym at 197 Dixwell Ave., circular tables were draped in silky purple tablecloths and topped with gold candelabras. A photo backdrop stood across from a catering station, where dinner was served by ConnCAT’s Orchid Café.
Young people across New Haven volunteered to help organize the event. Eighth graders and 80-year-olds sat side-by-side in formal clothing and listened to live jazz music from Ricky Allen Draughn.
“This was an opportunity to do an intergenerational affair,” said Beaver Hills Alder and local Elks’ Exalted Ruler Gary Hogan. “We wanted to mix young people with seniors.”
The idea for a senior-centered event came from Isabella Windley, president of the New England Elks. “Seniors need to be appreciated,” she said firmly. “And what better way than to let them have a senior prom concept?”
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Windley also emphasized the importance of cross-generational mentorship. She hopes that by hearing the wisdom of their elders, young people will be reminded that there is “life outside of [their] realm.”
The night was also designed to prepare eighth graders for their own prom. The seniors offered guidance on formal etiquette, from escorting a date to tying a tie. With support from donations and grant funding, the Elks purchased dress shirts for a dozen boys at Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy many of whom plan to wear them to their upcoming dance.
Linda McLaughlin, a member of the Q House, gestured around the room. “The atmosphere is lovely,” she said. In her experience, while senior centers host many events, most are held during the day, when working seniors may not be able to attend.
She appreciated having an evening to dress up, listen to live music, and spend time with her friends. With a smile, she added, “us seniors dance all the time.” Mia Streater, a young member of the Elks planning committee, shared that she felt honored to help give seniors the recognition that they deserve. “My favorite part,” she added, “was how many people came out.”
Mona Mahadevan photo Linda McLaughlin, Naomi Campbell, and Brenda Adams enjoy the appetizers and iced tea from Cafe Orchid.
The New Haven independent
Rookies Run To Boost Small Biz, Affordability
by Paul Bass
First-term Alder Gary Hogan is meeting with some of his new colleagues this week to see if they can find more money for nonprofits when they vote next week on a new city budget.
First-term Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith is speaking with colleagues about whether they can find more money for a school system facing up to 129 staff layoffs.
If they find themselves back in City Hall’s alder chambers to help decide the following year’s budget, they hope to bring forward ways to boost library programming and budding catering businesses.
Smith, who represents East Rock and Fair Haven’s Ward 9, and Hogan, who represents Beaver Hills’ Ward 28, discussed those plans during a conversation Tuesday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”
Smith has filed papers to seek a second term in November’s election. Hogan announced on the program that he, too, will seek reelection.
Democrats Hogan and Smith joined the board this past term at different ends of their community-connected careers. Hogan, who’s 66 (and took his seat mid-term after the death of Alder Tom Ficklin), has spent his adult lifetime in New Haven government and civic roles, from working in city housing agencies to overseeing the revival of the Elks Club. Smith, 32, who co-founded the grassroots entrepreneurship program Collab and chaired the Downtown Wooster Square Community Community Management Team among other civic projects, is digging in for decades more of community leadership.
Both described responding to constituent requests (for traffic calming, public safety) and organizing campaigns like
neighborhood clean-ups and emergency help for nonprofits as central to their work as alders. They said they’re eager to continue that work in a second term.
“The secret sauce of New Haven is that people love this place,” Smith reflected.
“They want to be active. People want to create events, and they want to create festivals. And I think that’s a competitive advantage. How do we make it easier?
How do we make government an entity that’s easy to navigate so that people can do good in their neighborhoods?”
After decades of testifying before alders as a city official, Hogan will vote for
the first time as an alder on a city budget at next Tuesday night’s meeting. He said he noticed some youth and senior-focused nonprofits receiving a cut in city funding this year to as little as $15,000. Arguing that they need more, he’s putting heads together with some other alders later this week to see if some money might be available within the budget to fund some increases, he said.
Another concern he noticed in the budget: Funding for programming at branch libraries like Stetson stands at $3,000.
“That’s not a lot for a library, not that I can change that in this year’s budget,”
but he’s gearing up to make the case for increases in future years’ budgets if he’s reelected, Hogan said. “Libraries seem to be the only place where there’s a sense of community” for people across age groups, he said.
He’s also putting together a ward “affordability committee” to focus on ways to cut energy and insurance and property tax bills. “I have an aging population on the west side of my ward, retired, living on a fixed income. Utility costs are going up with that. Many of us have tried to figure out how to reduce our insurance.”
Tanbee Smith is focused this coming
week on discussions about how to boost the education budget. Like Hogan, she also has her eye on a part of the budget she’d like to address in a second term: licensing costs for caterers, including people looking to launch cooking businesses. Tanbee Smith, who just received a degree from Yale School of Management, said New Haven’s catering license fee $650 for the first year, $550 a year after that is higher than that charged by other cities. Hartford, for instance, charges $250. She’s working on a proposal for next year that would slash the annual rate and charge budding entrepreneurs no fee for the first year in order to help them get new businesses off the ground.
The proposal grows out of work Tanbee Smith has done with small business owners and with the city’s economic development department to streamline the business permitting process and better inform applicants of the rules.
“New Haven punches above its weight in terms of individuals who want to start something. How do we encourage that as much as we can and potentially actually beget more revenue growth by them being able to be more successful and kind of get their feet on the ground?” she said. Among other plans, Tanbee Smith looks to work with people looking to convert the area behind Ralph Walker skating rink into a park connecting Fair Haven and East Rock; and continue helping to spearhead an effort to redesign four I 91 exits in her ward to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists and connect severed neighborhoods. That effort succeeded in winning a $2 million federal planning grant, launching what will become a long-range project. Like Gary Hogan, she’s looking at the long game in playing a part in making New Haven a richer community.
Nonprofit Agencies March For More State Funding
by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT – Nonprofit agencies supporting mental health services, addiction, homelessness, immigration and more were well represented Tuesday at the state Capitol during a rally for increased state funding on the building’s south lawn.
The event, organized by the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, drew an estimated 2,500, according to Capitol police.
“We’re here to demand fair and adequate funding for nonprofits that are in the business of saving lives every day,” said Heather Gates, president and CEO of Community Health Resources, a statewide behavioral healthcare provider.
An estimated 2,500 employees, clients and supporters of Connecticut nonprofit agencies rallied for additional state funding on the State Capitol’s south lawn on
May 20, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
Following the outdoor rally, hundreds of supporters then walked into the capitol seeking an audience with individual legislators. While they were likely to find sympathy and emotional support, the dollars they are looking for likely won’t happen, according to legislative leaders on both sides.
“We’re going through the budget deliberations. The Appropriations Committee gave additional funding above the governor’s budget for nonprofits,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford. “We are looking at, in addition to nonprofits, generally more Medicaid funding, which does help some of the nonprofits.”
Despite the funding bump, Ritter said he didn’t think the legislature would meet the funding levels that the agencies were seeking.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to be able to get that high,” he said. “But we are continuing to work through it and it’s a priority in the caucus.”
Asked a similar question, Ritter’s Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said he hoped the nonprofits would receive adequate funding.
“We certainly, in our budget … made it a priority,” he said.
Candelora said employees at nonprofit agencies were some of the lowest paid workers in Connecticut, and added that the legislature also needed to look at Medicaid reimbursement rates.
“For a lot of these organizations that utilize that funding stream, some of those haven’t been touched in so many years,” he said. “So, yes it’s a priority for us.”
Paul Bass photo
Community connectors: Reelection-runner Alders Caroline Tanbee Smith and Gary Hogan at WNHH FM.
An estimated 2,500 employees, clients and supporters of Connecticut nonprofit agencies rallied for additional state funding on the State Capitol’s south lawn on May 20, 2025.
The New Haven independent
CTNewsJunkie
Members will assemble in Boston from May 22-25, 2025, for ‘The Boston Tea Party’
One of the Oldest and Highly Respected Social Organizations for Black Women Celebrates Its 90th Conclave
By BlackNews.com
The Girl Friends®, Incorporated is one of the oldest and most highly respected social organizations of African American women in the United States. Founded in 1927 in New York during the Harlem Renaissance, Girl Friends serve their communities in many capacities—as authors, professors, doctors, lawyers, business owners, U.S. Congress members, wives, and mothers.
Corporate supporters for The Girl Friends®, Incorporated Conclave at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza include Signature Partner Meet Boston (Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau) and Lead Partners Morgan Stanley, AARP, and Encore Boston Harbor, a Wynn Resort. Additional Supporting Partners include: The City of Boston, Eastern Bank, Hearst Television and The Partnership, Inc. “Our Girl Friends are looking forward to convening in Boston to conduct our national business, celebrate our civic engagement and renew our bonds of friendship” said Beth Espy, 39th National President of The Girl Friends®, Inc. “In these changing times, we wholeheartedly thank our sponsors for their support.”
Boston became the fourth chapter of The Girl Friends®, Inc. in January of
First National Girl Friends Inc. Conclave, 1933
1931 and last hosted a Conclave in 1976.
“We are proud to be the destination for this annual gathering once again, “said Karen Holmes Ward, National Vice Pres-
ident and Boston Chapter President. “Our theme, ‘The Boston Tea Party’, aligns perfectly with Boston250, our city’s celebration of the American Revolution”.
Providing a boost to the local economy, Girl Friends will visit the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill, visit The Embrace memorial on Boston Common, tour
"Rising Stars" Recognized
By Jordyn Miller, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org
The following citizen contribution was submitted by Jordyn Miller, regional communications manager for Educators for Excellence.
For the fourth consecutive year, Educators for Excellence–Connecticut (E4E–CT), a teacher-led organization, proudly honored exceptional educators and students at the 2025 Rising Star Awards. Nominees were selected by colleagues and administrators in recognition of their leadership, dedication, and positive impact throughout the school year.
“Especially this year, with so much uncertainty in education, the Rising Star Awards are a small but meaningful way to honor the hard work of both educators and students in our schools,” said Daniel Pearson, executive director of Educators for Excellence - Connecticut. “It’s important to take any opportunity we have to recognize extraordinary efforts that go beyond the classroom and positively impact the school and community as a whole.”
Along with 11 New Haven students, educator awardees of this years’ Rising Star Awards included Lauren Dooley of Davis Academy for Arts and Design Innovation; Chastity Berrios-Hernandez of Clinton Avenue School; Rachel Forsa of Worthington Hooker School; Jennifer
the Boston Public Garden, walk the galleries at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, cruise Boston Harbor, enjoy the theater and dine at dozens of local restaurants, including several black-owned restaurants. Conclave Chair Dr. Cindy Carter noted, “The first Conclave was held in 1933 in New York City with 28 members in attendance; this year, the Boston Chapter will welcome well over a thousand to our city for our 90th Conclave.”
Although the original concept was social, The Girl Friends®, Incorporated has expanded its purpose to include charitable and cultural activities. Nationally, approximately one quarter million in contributions have been made to major organizations like NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, the Children’s Defense Fund, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Flint Water Crisis and The Girl Friends Fund Scholarship Program. In 1989, the Girl Friends Fund was founded as a separate 501 (c) (3) organization to provide financial assistance to students nationwide. Locally, Girl Friends chapters have supported a broad spectrum of causes from educational projects, as well as the arts, health and wellness initiatives, and community assistance programs.
Kaye from Lincoln-Bassett Community School; Denise Roman of School Readiness Pre-K Program at East Rock Magnet; Amy Giddings and Nicole Raccio of East Rock Community Magnet; Amanda Tamburrino and Emily Palten of John S.Martinez School; Gyna Grant of Augusta Lewis Troup School; and Geri Mezzoni and Emily Nguyen of Clemente Leadership Academy.
Chastity Berrios-Hernandez, nominated by her colleague Donata Dziejma, was one of 12 teachers to receive a Rising Star Award. She was nominated for her deep relationships with students and willingness to go above and beyond to help them succeed.
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized and celebrated for all of my contributions to students and their families throughout my years of teaching in New Haven Public Schools,” said Berrios-Hernandez.
“As someone who now teaches in the same school and grade level where I was once a student, I aspire to make my classroom a space that fosters curiosity, embraces cultural differences, and promotes respect and understanding."
"This recognition highlights the teaching and learning that educators engage in daily. I’m grateful to New Haven’s Rising Star for honoring the importance of education and celebrating the success of amazing educators.”
About The Girl Friends®, Incorporated Established in 1927, the organization was incorporated in 1938 under the legal guidance of Thurgood Marshall, husband of Baltimore Girl Friend Vivian Marshall. The Girl Friends® Inc. represents over two thousand members in forty-nine chapters representing twenty-six states and the District of Columbia. Contact The Girl Friends, Inc. Learn more at TheGirlfriendsInc.org
“with the fact that a majority of our property cannot be taxed?”
This year, more than 56 percent of the city’s assessed real estate value— or $10,132,855,885 in total cannot be taxed.
According to the code of ordinances, the PILOT commission should include “all members of the Connecticut State Senate and the Connecticut State House of Representatives residing in New Haven” as well as a representative each from Albertus Magnus College, Yale University, Yale-New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael Hospital, the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater New Haven, the Greater New Haven Central Labor Council, Community Labor Alliance, two alders, and four members of the public appointed by the mayor.
According to Marchand, any members of the public interested in joining should contact himself (ward25@newhavenct. gov) or the general contact for interest in boards and commissions, Alex Guzhnay (aguzhnay@newhavenct.gov).
Henrietta Lacks’ Enduring Legacy in Modern Clinical Trials
by Taylyn Washington-Harmon, BlackDoctor.org
Cedars-Sinai hosted a Henrietta Lacks Symposium on Friday, March 28, to honor Henrietta Lacks’ legacy and advance equity in healthcare. The symposium featured panels, and a Q&A session with Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” and members of the Lacks family.
The story of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells
Henrietta Lacks, a Black tobacco farmer, unknowingly made an immeasurable contribution to modern medicine when her cells were taken without her consent in 1951. Her cells, known as HeLa cells, became the first immortal human cells grown in a laboratory and have been vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and other scientific advancements.
The symposium emphasized the importance of sharing Henrietta Lacks’ story. As Mischa Harris, MPH, BSHA, Associate Director at Cedars-Sinai, stated, “If you or a loved one has had a polio vaccine, if you’ve had the COVID-19 vaccine, you carry a part of Henrietta Lacks with you” Nicole Anderson, JD, MBA, Vice President Academic Affairs & Executive Vice Dean Academic Ad-
ministration at Cedars-Sinai, highlighted the necessity of learning about Henrietta’s story, “her personhood, the mistreatment of her family in the years after her passing, and to really confront ethical legacies head on”.
How does this impact clinical trials today?
Henrietta Lacks’ story is especially important for modern-day clinical trials and Black Americans. The history of unethical medical practices in the United States,
such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, has created a deep-seated mistrust of the medical establishment within the Black community. This mistrust often leads to underrepresentation in clinical trials, which can have dire consequences.
“The reason it’s important to have diverse voices at the table is we’re moving medical care forward,” added Harris. “They need to be able to participate in that progress and receive benefits of it as well”.
Henrietta Lacks’ experience is a stark reminder of the need for transparency,
Questions about your bill?
Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds.
By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available in-person at Yale New Haven Hospital once a month.
Date: Monday, June 16, 2025
Time: 5 - 7 pm
Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting
Parking available (handicapped accessible)
An appointment is necessary. Please call 855-547-4584
Spanish-speaking counselors available.
consent, and ethical conduct in medical research. Her legacy has spurred conversations about patient rights, informed consent, and the equitable distribution of benefits from scientific advancements.
Rebecca Skloot’s contribution
The publication of Rebecca Skloot’s book in 2010 brought increased attention to the Lacks family and Henrietta’s legacy. Skloot shared her motivation for writing the book, saying, “I learned about it in a basic biology class when I was 16 years old. I learned about HeLa cells, which is
Evergreen
like when a lot of people learn about the cells, but I just had a teacher, who knew her name, wrote it on the board and it was like, she was a Black woman and that was it and then, erased the board and I just became obsessed, but nobody knew anything else about her”.
HeLa Genome Data Use Agreement
In 2013, the Lacks family and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reached a historic agreement establishing the HeLa Genome Data Use Agreement, allowing the family to join a panel that reviews research proposals using the full HeLa genome sequence data.
The symposium also addressed issues of health equity and ethical practices in research. Anderson noted the importance of having the symposium to “open the dialogue around trust and also to ensure that we are having a dialogue about equitable access to care, equitable access to clinical trials”.
The event underscored Henrietta Lacks’ significant impact on medicine and the ongoing need to address the ethical considerations surrounding her story. As Anderson stated, “Our ultimate goal is for everyone to learn about Henrietta Lacks’ story, the mistreatment of her family, to carry her story in the unique and essential roles that we perform, and to uphold the values that are imbued within Cedars Sinai”.
Cemetery & Crematory
We’re Here When You Need Us!
• Cremation (Choose to be cremated at Evergreen.)
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• Reserve a Niche for family and friends or purchase at-need to safely place your Loved One in the Columbarium.
• Burial Lots (infant, single, two-grave, or four-grave)
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• All orders can be placed at the Evergreen office or the website.
180 Center Steps Up With Free Haircuts, & Much More
by Lisa Reisman
On a recent sun-splashed afternoon outside the 180 Center on East Street, John A. was dog-sitting a bull terrier named Cherish when he heard someone calling his name. It was a staff member telling him she had his mail.
“This place is my lifeline,” he said, amid the aroma of hot dogs and festive crush of attendees on Community Care Day. Each day he goes to Bible Study classes at the center. On Sundays, he attends church there. Otherwise, he’s flying a sign on the corner of Long Wharf Drive and Sports Haven.
With its slogan “Turning Lives Around,” the 180 Center, which relies solely on charitable donations, provides free breakfasts and lunches to anyone in need year-round. It also offers a warming center, an intensive 18-month rehabilitation program comprising Bible studies, conflict resolution classes, and prayer sessions for up to nine men, and a Christian 12-step program.
“It’s about getting rid of the uck in your life,” said warming center supervisor Teddy Natter, a graduate of the 18-month program, as people browsed through racks of t shirts and sweat shirts.
“This is a place you can come to when it’s raining, get a meal in the morning, no questions asked,” said board member Pe-
ter Hvizdak, gesturing at the methadone clinic next door. “They’ll come from there, and they’ll know they’re safe.
Cops know us, so does the fire department, and the EMT guys.”
Pastor Mike Caroleo, who founded the center with his wife Ginny in 2009—the two also own five sober houses in the Fair Haven area sounded a similar refrain.
“No vetting, no screening, come as you
are,” he said. “We had a battle at our old place on Grand Avenue. One lady said to me, ‘Your problem is you help anybody.’ Well, I love everybody, I don’t care what you’ve done.”
The mission is simple. “We’re here to restore hope and help people through crises,” Caroleo said, as mellow guitar music from Christian, another graduate, filtered through the warm spring air. “We
do conflict resolution on Wednesdays, guys come in with notes about conflicts they’ve had throughout the week, we do AA meetings on Friday nights, I do oneon-ones to give guys a place to voice their stuff. We’re here to do what we can to meet the needs of our neighbors.”
The community day, it seems, served as an extension of that credo. Everything was free from clothes to shoes to box-
ers and hygiene bags, to hotdogs and baked beans and health screening and haircuts.
“Barbers don’t take SNAP,” said Dixwell/Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Troy Streater, who works at the center, over the buzz of a razor inside the center. “People might want to look for a job, but they can’t afford clothes or shampoo or deodorant.” More than that, he said, “it’s up to us to help those who need help the most. It’s up to us to preserve their dignity.”
State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr., standing nearby, commended the leadership and staff. “This is what New Haven is really about, giving back and helping the most vulnerable among us,” he said. “This is beautiful.”
Inside an office, a man named Byron was having his blood pressure checked. He’s been sleeping at the warming center for the past month or so, he said. Byron, who was clad in a new sweatshirt he got that day, said he was initially dropped at a halfway house in New Haven after being released from prison. He’s from Danielson, in the northeast corner of the state, and is trying to get home. “I’m not used to cities,” he said. “It’s noisy.”
For now, he’ll stay at the warming center. “I get meals and it’s safe,” he said.
Warming center supervisor Teddy Natter with Alder Troy Streater (right) and State Rep. Al Paolillo, Jr.
The New Haven independent
By April Ryan
Reparations
“The President doesn't have a public position on the issue,” said a senior White House Official, regarding the most recent debate on reparations or a reparations study. The question arises as Maryland’s latest controversy over reparations versus a reparations study continues. Governor Wes Moore has vetoed any bill that proposes studying reparations in the state. Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus wants a two-year commission to study reparations. Maryland State Senator Ron Watson supports Governor Moore, saying, “The vestiges of slavery are well known and have been well documented. And if anyone reads the recommendations of past reports, one would see that this governor has been silently focused on resolving these inequities.” Over the last 25 years, Moore emphasized, five reparations-related studies were conducted, including the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the State Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration, and Impact of the History and Legacy of Slavery in Maryland. Moore’s firm “no” emphasizes that it’s time for “action,” not another study.
On Friday, Maryland’s first Black governor spoke extensively about his veto decision at the NAACP national board
meeting in Baltimore City, where the organization is headquartered. Sources close to the meeting say the governor was “clear” in his explanation. In Washington, D.C., reparations also dominated conversations last Thursday on Capitol Hill. Democrats reintroduced the idea of reparations with a resolution that offers trillions of federal dollars in reparations to Black Americans to repair the damage of the enslavement of Africans in America for 250 years, followed by Jim Crow and the ongoing effects of other federally supported discriminatory policies. Historically, there have been instances
of reparations in this country—such as for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. $38 million was awarded in total, with each victim receiving a $20,000 payout. However, Black Americans have not received anything comparable for the enslavement of Africans in America, during which enslavers profited off free labor.
In 2021, Evanston, Illinois, created a reparations plan for its Black residents. Additionally, Georgetown University created a new fund that awards $400,000 annually to community-based projects benefiting the descendants of the men, women, and children enslaved on Jesuit plantations in Maryland. A senior White House Official said that when it comes to reparations, President Trump “is creating an economy that's gonna work for all Americans. And if the Democrats really want to uplift the Black community, they would support the President's One Big, Beautiful bill that would bring about record tax cuts to this economy, which would benefit Black Americans.” The President’s bill would remove undocumented immigrants from Medicaid, give Social Security recipients a reprieve, and eliminate taxes on overtime pay and tips. The Dictionary definition of the word “reparation” photo taken through magnifying glass from a page of a dictionary with selective focus.
Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials: What Black Men Need to Know
by Audra Neale, BlackDoctor.org
Finding out you have cancer can be scary and confusing. Luckily, doctors and researchers are working hard to find new ways to beat all types of cancers, including prostate cancer.
The prostate is a small gland found only in men. It is located below the bladder and wraps around the urethra, which helps excrete urine. Prostate cancer happens when cells in the prostate form a mass called a tumor. At first, these prostate cancer cells may stay inside the prostate. But in later stages, they can spread to other body parts.
About one in every eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, but it mainly affects men over 65 years old. Black men have a higher mortality rate, so screening is even more critical. The Prostate Cancer Foundation even has screening guidelines to improve the disparity. With early treatment, prostate cancer can be cured. Dr. Yaw Nyame, MD, MS, MBA, of the Fred Hutch Cancer Center says, “Prostate cancer aggressiveness varies at diagnosis, with nearly 30 to 50 percent of cases being low-risk cancers that don’t require treatment. The remaining cancers are aggressive and benefit from treatment based on cancer stage…”
Clinical trials are an important part of this fight.
What is a clinical trial?
When it comes to prostate cancer, clinical trials are particularly important because the tumors can vary so greatly. “While prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among men in the US, most men diagnosed with prostate cancer have a more slow-growing cancer that may be cured with surgery or radiation, or could even initially be carefully monitored (active surveillance). There is information about a patient’s prostate tumor’s aggressiveness in its Gleason score, the stage of the tumor, and there are also some genomic tests that can help identify which cancers are more aggressive, which ones can be treated and cured, and which ones can be safely monitored,” explains Dr. Lorelei Mucci, Director of Strategic Research Partnerships at the American Cancer Society and Director of the Cancer Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH).
A clinical trial is a special kind of research study in which doctors test new treatments or prevention methods. Volunteers are selected based on their cancer stage, as well as their age and other demographic factors. From trials, researchers learn the best techniques or combinations thereof to treat more people and save more lives.
There are four distinct phases of clinical trials:
• Phase 1: A new treatment is tested on a small group to see if it is safe
• Phase 2: The treatment is given to more people to see how well it works
• Phase 3: The new treatment is compared to standard treatments
• Phase 4: Researchers learn more about the safety and effectiveness of an approved treatment
Benefits of participating in a prostate clinical trial
Dr. Mucci says that clinical trials test novel therapies or new combinations of therapies that are not otherwise available to patients. “Trials may also test new interventions or approaches such as whether exercise can improve outcomes during cancer care. When a trial is conducted, the hypothesis is that this new approach will be better than what is the standard clinical care,” she adds. Some (not all) study sponsors pay for participants’ medical care. Also, volunteers typically receive increased access and visits with their clinical team, which can help
with overall health.
Early access to new medicines or therapies before they are widely available can be lifesaving for some volunteers. Of course, participation also benefits the greater good. After all, the findings help doctors act faster and smarter in the face of future cases.
Types of clinical trials for prostate cancer
Many different clinical trials are going on right now for prostate cancer. Each tests a promising new treatment option, including immunotherapy, chemotherapy combinations, and more. Here are a few examples:
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is an exciting new way to treat cancer. Medicines boost your own immune system to find and attack cancer cells. For example, a trial called KEYNOTE-199 is testing an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab. Early results show it may help men with advanced prostate cancer live longer.
cancer centers to ask if they are running any prostate cancer trials. Look into advocacy groups, like the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Us Too, that list prostate cancer trials their experts have reviewed. BDO also offers a Clinical Trial Resource Center for Black Americans.
When you find a trial that matches your cancer type and stage, discuss the options with your medical team and family to decide if participation is worthwhile.
Things to consider
Before joining a prostate cancer clinical trial, evaluate eligibility criteria closely. Researchers establish standards for age, cancer genetics, stage, prior treatments, and health status. Understanding eligibility limits disappointment and rejection. Trials also involve regular appointments and tests, which may or may not be paid for by the research team or the patient’s insurer. Factor in these medical expenses, location, travel, employment, and inconvenience before accepting to join a trial. In addition to costs and burden to patients, Dr. Nyame adds that interventions may introduce some unknown toxicities or simply not benefit a trial participant at all.
The American Cancer Society created a detailed document describing patient-level factors to consider. These are some of the questions to answer if you are thinking about joining:
• What are my goals, and what do I expect if I decide to take part? How realistic are these?
• How sure are my doctors about my future if I decide to take part (or not take part) in this clinical trial?
• Do I have all the information I need to make an informed decision?
• Have I weighed the benefits against the risks?
Targeted Therapy
Targeted cancer therapies attack specific molecules inside cancer cells. They often cause fewer side effects. The TRITON3 trial is testing a targeted therapy drug called rucaparib, which focuses on DNA repair in prostate cancer cells. Rucaparib may help men with mutations linked to more aggressive prostate cancer.
Hormone Therapy
Most prostate cancer cells need testosterone to grow. Hormone therapy lowers testosterone levels, slowing cancer growth. The ENZAMET trial is adding hormone therapy to the normal first-line treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. Researchers hope the combination will prove effective. How to find a prostate clinical trial Talk to your medical team about whether a clinical trial may be a good option in your fight against prostate cancer. Search online databases like ClinicalTrials.gov for prostate cancer studies in your area. Contact local
• Have I considered other factors, such as travel, time, and money?
• Have I looked at my other options?
Final thoughts
Before leaping into a prostate cancer clinical trial, follow Dr. Nyame’s advice. “[T]ake time to understand the risks and benefits of treatment, what the additional costs may be (extra visits or tests), and what resources the study may have to support your participation (i.e., stipends for travel/ lodging, coverage for tests, etc.),” he suggests.
Have your doctor explain the trial’s risks and benefits in detail so you understand what’s involved. “Of course, with a randomized trial, the patient will not know whether they will get the new therapy or standard of care when they enroll in a trial,” adds Dr. Mucci. So, it’s important to get support not just at the beginning but through the entire trial process. Talk to friends and family about joining so they can support your decision, no matter the outcome.
Electric
Apprentice Meter Technician / Meterman Helper - Trainee position involved in the installation, maintenance and repair of electrical metering equipment for a municipal electric utility. Requires a H.S./trade school diploma or an equivalent in experience and training. $30.62 to $40.73 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. The closing date for applications is June 4, 2025, or the date we receive the 40th application, whichever occurs first. To apply online please visit: www. wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 2942080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE
Water Utility
Water Treatment and Pumping Supervisor. The Town of Wallingford Water Division is seeking qualified applicants to perform highly technical and supervisory work involving the operation and maintenance of the municipality's water treatment facilities, pump stations, and well facilities. Applicants must have 4 years of progressively responsible experience with 2 years as a supervisor in the operation of a municipal water treatment and pumping system, plus an A.S. degree in engineering or chemistry, or any equivalent combination of education and qualifying experience. Must possess or be able to obtain within the probation period, State of Connecticut Department of Health Services Class IV Water Treatment Plant Operator and Class II Distribution System Operator Certifications. Must possess and maintain a CT driver’s license. Salary: $79,529 to $100,878 annually plus on-call pay when assigned. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, generous paid sick and vacation time, medical/dental insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and a deferred compensation plan. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To apply, 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
Electric
Meter Technician A – The Wallingford Electric Division is seeking a highly qualified individual to perform skilled work on alternating current and direct current circuits, metering devices and meter equipment. Requires graduation from a high school /trade/ or technical school with course of study in the electrical field and 4 years experience as a Meter Technician in an electric utility or related experience. Experience and training may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for up to 2 years. Must have a valid State of CT Driver’s License. $42.20 to $44.88 per hour plus an excellent fringe benefit package. To apply online by the closing date of June 24, 2025, 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 Glendower Group
Request for Proposals
Site Civil Engineer- Church Street South Development
The Glendower Group is currently seeking proposals from qualified firms for Site Civil Engineer. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 24, 2025, at 3:00PM.
ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN
Performs skilled work in the repair, maintenance and calibration of all electrical and electronic equipment pertaining to the wastewater treatment plant in the Town of Wallingford. Applicants should possess a H.S., technical or trade school diploma, plus 2 years of experience in the repair and maintenance of electrical and electronic equipment; or an equivalent combination of experience and training substituting on a yearfor-year basis. Must possess a valid Connecticut Driver's License. Hourly rate: $32.24 to $36.79. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and deferred compensation plan. To apply online by the closing date of April 22, 2025, 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
ELM CITY COMMUNITIES
Invitation for Bids
Comprehensive Pest Control Services for Rodents and Insects
Elm City Communities is currently seeking bids for Services of a firm to provide Pest Control Services for Rodents and Insects. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 31, 2025, at 3:00PM.
360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.
Request for Proposals Redesign of Chatham HVAC System
360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking a qualified engineering firm to provide a full redesign of the existing Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC system servicing approximately 32 units within our facility. The objective is to enhance efficiency, meet current building codes, and optimize overall system performance. be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 24, 2025, at 3:00PM.
South Central Regional Council of Governments
Draft Public Participation Guidelines
The public is invited to offer comments from March 3, 2025, until April 18, 2025, on the Draft Public Participation Guidelines for the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG). The Plan documents the actions taken by SCRCOG to facilitate public participation in transportation planning, in accordance with Title 23 CFR 450.316.
Copies of the Draft Public Participation Plan are available at www. scrcog.org. Hard copies are available upon request to James Rode at jrode@scrcog.org.
Public comments may be emailed to jrode@scrcog.org or mailed, postage prepaid, to James Rode, Principal Transportation Planner, South Central Regional Council of Governments, 127 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor West, North Haven, CT 06473 with receipt in both cases by no later than April 18, 2025. Public comments may also be offered at a Hybrid Public Meeting on April 9, 2025, at 12 pm. Instructions for participating in the Public Meeting will be posted at www.scrcog.org no later than 10 days before the event.
Bridgeport Housing Authority dba Park City Communities is accepting bids for Phase I of Stair Renovations at the P.T. Barnum Apartments. Full bid documents can be found on our website: www.parkcitycommunities.org or requested via email to: procurement@parkcitycommunities.org
Elm City Communities/The Housing Authority City of New Haven
Invitation for Quote ECC/HANH Landscaping Services
Elm City Communities dba The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (ECC/ HANH) is seeking quotes from qualified contractors to perform landscaping services. A complete copy of the requirements may be obtained from ECC/HANH’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 3:00PM.
Continuum
of Care, New Haven, Connecticut –
LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID
LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured general contractor bids for their property located at 133 Maple Street, New Haven. Scope to include Main furnace replacement, installation of central ac system, chimney replacement, garage roof replacement. Environmental testing reports will be provided. Further information and details of scope will be reviewed by the owner on the scheduled site visit. GC price should include dumpster and permit feeds. The project is tax-exempt. Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 133 Maple Street, New Haven on 4/10/2025 at 12pm. All bids are due by 4/21/2025 at 10 am. All bids, questions, W9, work scope/project timeline, COI should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 285 State Street, Unit 13 North Haven.
Listing: Commercial Driver
Immediate opening for a Class A full 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***
241 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven
Spacious 2 bedroom townhouse with hardwood floors. Private entrance. Appliances. 1.5 baths with basement and washer/dryer hookups. On-site laundry facility. Off street parking. Close proximity to restaurants, shopping centers and bus line. No pets. Security deposit varies. $1,850-$1,950 including heat, hot water and cooking gas. Section 8 welcomed. Call Christine 860-231-8080, Ext. 161.
Please bill 241 Quinnipiac Avenue, LLC, c/o White & Katzman, 111 Roberts Street, Suite G1, East Hartford, CT 06108.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR
Elm City Communities, the Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (ECC/ HANH) is proposing to amend sections of its Low-Income Public Housing Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Administrative Plan (Admin Plan).
Copies of the amendment to the ACOP and the Administrative Plan will be made available on Thursday, May 1, 2025, to May 30, 2025, on the agency website www.elmcitycommunities.org or via Facebook www.facebook.com/ElmCityCommunities or Instagram @elmcitycommunities_hanh.
You are invited to provide written comments addressed to: ECC/HANH, ACOP & Admin Plan Revisions; Attn: Evelise Ribeiro, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 or via email to: eribeiro@elmcitycommunities.org.
A public hearing where public comments will be accepted and recorded is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 2025, at 3:00pm via Teams Meeting ID: 278 411 499 507 Passcode: rT7y4fN2
Any individual requiring a Reasonable Accommodation to participate in the hearing may call the Reasonable Accommodation Manager (203) 498-8800, ext. 1507 or at the TDD Number (203) 497-8434.
AVISO DE AUDIENCIA PÚBLICA
PARA
Elm City Communities, la Autoridad de Vivienda de la Ciudad de New Haven (ECC/HANH), propone enmendar secciones de su Política de Admisión y Ocupación Continua de Vivienda Pública para Personas de Bajos Ingresos (ACOP) y del Plan Administrativo de Vales de Elección de Vivienda (HCV) (Plan Administrativo).
Las copias de la enmienda al ACOP y al Plan Administrativo estarán disponibles del jueves 1 al 30 de mayo de 2025 en el sitio web de la agencia, www.elmcitycommunities.org, en Facebook, www.facebook.com/ElmCityCommunities, o en Instagram @elmcitycommunities_hanh.
Le invitamos a enviar sus comentarios por escrito a: ECC/HANH, ACOP y Revisiones del Plan Administrativo; Attn: Evelise Ribeiro, 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511, o por correo electrónico a: eribeiro@elmcitycommunities.org.
Se ha programado una audiencia pública, donde se aceptarán y grabarán los comentarios del público, para el jueves 29 de mayo de 2025 a las 15:00 h a través de Teams.
ID de la reunión: 278 411 499 507 Contraseña: rT7y4fN2
Cualquier persona que necesite una adaptación razonable para participar en la audiencia puede llamar al Gerente de Adaptaciones Razonables al (203) 4988800, ext. 1507, o al número TDD (203) 497-8434.
After a Week of Battling Health Care Cuts, Congressional Black Caucus Talks Strategy
By Lauren Burke
During a session with reporters on May 15, six members of the Congressional Black Caucus discussed their battle to push back on massive cuts to health care and messaging strategy.Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-WA), Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) attended the media session. The interviews took place a day before Republicans in the U.S. House on the Budget Committee failed to advance President Trump’s budget plan. Though the budget failed to advance, because GOP members want even deeper cuts to social programs, the committee will meet again late in the evening on Sunday, May 18. “We understood the assignment. We understood that the bulk of the cuts that
were going to fund these tax cuts were going to come from, you know, on the backs of people's health care,” said Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) after a question from Black Press USA.
“Nationwide, they're going to strip 13.7 million people off of health care, off their health insurance. In Virginia, that's going to be a little over 200,000. And it's going to blow a hole in our state budget,” Rep. McClellan added. The members were asked about why Democrats focused on Medicaid almost exclusively when the budget cuts millions in so many subjects — education being a second point of concern.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) provided an answer on why health care has become a major point of focus for Democrats.
“You see that people are upset, the country did not respond in the way that you would normally think they would respond
to somebody being assassinated. And so, healthcare is a really big issue, but also we have the numbers… House Dems on the Budget Committee have a website that they set up that literally lists how many people are impacted in each of the districts,” Rep. Crockett pointed out. Rep. Crockett was referring to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on December 4, 2024. He was allegedly killed by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione who posted online about an ongoing health problem with his lower back. The battle over health care has gone on since the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 during the presidency of Barack Obama. Since then, Republicans have fought for more privatization of the health care system and Democrats have worked to implement policies that would cover more Americans — such as Medicaid expansion.
Biden’s Diagnosis Renews Focus on Prostate Cancer Risks
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press Correspondent
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, according to a statement released by his office on Sunday. The statement said Biden’s diagnosis was characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), indicating a high-grade cancer with bone metastasis. Physicians noted that while the disease is advanced, it is hormone-sensitive, which allows for treatment options that can help manage the cancer. Biden, 82, had undergone further medical evaluation after a small nodule was discovered on his prostate. His office said he and his family are currently reviewing treatment plans with his doctors. Prostate cancer remains one of the most common forms of cancer among men, second only to skin cancer, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 13 out of every 100 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, with age being the primary risk factor.
Cancer specialists say that despite the
seriousness of Biden’s diagnosis, advancements in prostate cancer treatment have led to improved outcomes, even for those with advanced diseases. “There are a number of highly effective treatments available,” said Dr. Tanya Dorff, an oncologist at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles. “Even with aggressive or late-stage prostate cancer, patients can often live many years with good quality of life.” Biden’s diagnosis comes at a time when attention is increasingly focused on racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes. According to ZERO Prostate Cancer, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting patients and families, Black men in the United States are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from it compared to white men. One in six Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime—compared to one in eight men overall. They are also more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease.
While no single explanation exists for these disparities, research has shown that systemic inequities contribute to poorer outcomes. Black men are less likely to
be offered PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests during routine screenings and, when diagnosed, less likely to receive timely or effective treatment. A recent study reported by ZERO Prostate Cancer revealed that Black men with early-stage prostate cancer are significantly less likely to receive any form of treatment compared to white men. Socioeconomic factors also play a role. Racial inequality in the United States continues to affect access to care, insurance coverage, and overall health outcomes, particularly for Black and African American communities. Biden, who concluded his term in January, was the oldest person to serve as president. His successor, Donald Trump, assumed office at age 78. While the former president and his doctors continue to explore treatment options, Biden’s diagnosis has cast a new spotlight on addressing both men’s health and the racial disparities that remain embedded in cancer care. “Too many Black men are dying from a disease that can be detected early and treated,” ZERO Prostate Cancer officials posted on its website. “We must ensure that awareness, access, and action reach every community.”
Former President Joe Biden
FBI director confirms federal probe into New York attorney general Letitia James
by Kara Scannell, Hannah Rabinowitz
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the Democratic New York attorney general’s real estate transactions, Director Kash Patel confirmed in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
The investigation is focused on whether the state Attorney General, Letitia James, committed fraud on a mortgage application, a source familiar with the case told CNN. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has issued subpoenas on the matter, they said.
James, who won a civil case last year against the Trump Organization and Trump himself over allegations of faulty business practices, is the first public official who investigated the president to now face potential criminal prosecutions themselves.
While Patel declined to share details about the investigation, he said in an interview on Fox News “this case, I can tell you, is being handled by our professional pros who are subject matter experts, reporting directly to headquarters, which reports to (Deputy Director Dan Bongino) and I.”
The Justice Department has made clear cases into those who investigated Trump are a priority, with Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing a Weaponization
Working Group on her first day in office to look at examples of “politicized justice” from law enforcement individuals like James.
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Lowell, a lawyer who represents James, said in a statement earlier this month the investigation is focused on “baseless and long-discredited allegations” and “appears to be the political retribution President Trump threatened.”
James plans to tap into a private legal defense fund to cover expenses, according
to a spokesperson for the attorney general. She is also planning to use state funds to help cover the expenses, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Last month, a lawyer for James called allegations she engaged in mortgage fraud “threadbare” after Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Bill Pulte sent a letter to the Justice Department referring the attorney general for criminal prosecution.
Pulte alleged James may have engaged in mortgage fraud by making false or misleading statements on property records, including a loan application document indicating a property in Virginia is James’ primary residence, a building record stating her multifamily Brooklyn property incorrectly has five residences instead of four, and a mortgage application that falsely stated James was her father’s spouse.
Abbe Lowell, a powerhouse lawyer retained by James’ office and who previously represented Hunter Biden, acknowledged there were “insignificant” mistakes on lines in some records in a letter to Bondi asking her to close the criminal referral last month. But Lowell said Pulte “cherry-picked” those while ignoring multiple accurate documents that were part of the same record.
“Look at the entire file of each event, the
haste in which one document has one line filled out in error, and the clear fact that, with the exception of attending school, Attorney General James has only lived in Brooklyn, and the ‘criminal referral’ becomes three pages of stale, threadbare allegations with no reason to proceed other than they are ‘(b)ased on media reports’ and are the next salvo in President Trump’s revenge tour against Attorney General James,” Lowell wrote in the letter, which included several pages of exhibits to counter the allegations.
James and President Donald Trump have a yearslong history of tension. In 2022, the attorney general sued Trump, his adult sons and his real estate business, accusing them of fraud. The lawsuit has resulted in a penalty of more than $450 million, which Trump has since appealed. She also filed civil fraud charges against Trump, his adult sons and his real estate business. Last year, a judge found Trump liable for fraud and ordered him to pay more than $450 million – a ruling Trump has since appealed.
Trump tried unsuccessfully to get the lawsuit thrown out arguing James was politically motivated in targeting him and ran her campaign for attorney general on that promise.
Trump revoked James’ security clearance in March.
Magic Johnson Makes Charitable Donation Of $500K To Xavier Universit y
by NII Ogbamey Tetteh, Face2FaceAfrica.com
The donation, announced at a star-studded event honoring President Emeritus Dr. Norman C. Francis, helped the historically Black and Catholic institution raise over $2 million for student scholarships, marking a milestone in its 100th-anniversary celebrations.
The gala, hosted by comedian Bill Bellamy with a performance by R&B icon Jeffrey Osborne, paid tribute to Dr. Francis, who led Xavier for 47 years from 1968 to 2015.
At 94, Francis attended the event, where Johnson lauded his legacy, stating, “The mark of a great man is who shows up. Because of all the great things you’ve done in your stellar career and the people you’ve helped become successful
through your leadership at Xavier, I’m honored to give $500,000 in your name.”
The funds will support scholarships, ensuring future generations of Xavier students can access quality education.
Xavier, founded in 1915 by Saint Katharine Drexel, has a storied history as a leader in Black education, particularly in STEM and health sciences. Under Francis’ tenure, enrollment tripled, and the university became a top producer of Black medical school graduates.
His civil rights activism, including sheltering Freedom Riders in 1961 and leading post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.
On May 10, the university unveiled a bronze statue of Francis outside St. Katharine Drexel Chapel, a site visited by Pope John Paul II in 1987.
Johnson’s donation reflects his ongoing commitment to education and community empowerment, a mission rooted in his Magic Johnson Foundation, established in 1991.
“Our Centennial Gala was a beautiful success,” said Phillip D. Adams, Xavier’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “Not only did it honor our legacy, but it also secured the futures of deserving students.”
The event underscores Xavier’s enduring impact as a beacon of Black excellence, with Johnson’s contribution amplifying its mission to educate and uplift. As the university looks to its next century, this milestone celebration reaffirms its commitment to justice, leadership, and opportunity for all.
New York Attorney General Letitia James. (David Dee Delgado/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
NBA legend Magic Johnson made a significant contribution to Xavier University of Louisiana, pledging $500,000 during the university’s Centennial Gala on May 9.
Affordable Childcare Remains a Barrier: Solutions in New Report
While America’s childcare supply grew nationally, the price of that care continues to rise—placing affordable, high-quality care out of reach for many families. A new report released by Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply, shows that despite promising signs of increased supply, affordability remains a major barrier — and underscores the need for increased sustained federal and state investment.
From 2023 to 2024, the number of childcare centers increased by 1.6% (to 92,613) and the supply of licensed family childcare (FCC) homes increased by 4.8% (to 98,807). The national growth in FCC homes’ supply is driven largely by four states (CA, KS, MA, VA) and is especially notable as it reverses a year-long downward trend.
At the same time, the national average price for childcare rose by 29% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing inflation and exceeding other major family household expenses like rent or mortgage payments in many states. Childcare is now so expensive that it consumes 10% of a married couple with children’s median household income and a staggering 35% for a single parent. In most states, families pay more for childcare than rent, mortgage payments, or in-state university tuition.
“Childcare supply is increasing, and that is a win—but it’s not enough,” said Susan Gale Perry, Chief Executive Offi-
cer of CCAoA. “Recent federal and state pandemic-era investments have stabilized and grown supply in some places, but a significant supply gap still exists — especially in rural communities and for infants and toddlers. We also still haven’t put a dent in affordability for working families. That’s why we urgently need increased funding and new solutions.”
CCAoA’s Childcare in America: 2024 Price & Supply report also found that:
• The average price of childcare increased by 29% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing the national inflation rate of 22%.
• In 45 states plus Washington, DC, the average annual price of center-based childcare for two children exceeded mortgage payments, in some states by up to 78%.
• In 49 states plus Washington, DC, the price of center-based childcare for two children exceeded median rent payments ranging from 19% to over 100%.
• In 41 states plus Washington, DC, infant care in a center cost more than instate university tuition.
CCAoA urges policymakers to increase
childcare funding at both state and federal levels to maintain the momentum of growing supply, address rising prices, and expand access to childcare for families. Federal funding increases have fallen short of the need and our research shows that total state investments in child care or preschool vary widely from state to state, putting children, families, and communities across America on an uneven playing field. Further, targeted investments in childcare supply building and stabilization and childcare workforce recruitment and retention strategies are essential to help sustain an adequate supply of high-quality childcare options nationwide.
Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is the only national organization that supports every part of the childcare system. Together with an onthe-ground network of people doing the work in states and communities, it helps America become child care strong by providing research that drives effective practice and policy, building strong child care programs and professionals, helping families find and afford quality child care, delivering thought leadership to the military and direct service to its families, and providing a real-world understanding of what works and what doesn’t to spur policymakers into action and help them build solutions.
To All The Cassies Known and Unknown
by Corynne Corbett, BlackMentalHeathMatters.com
The trial of Sean Combs is underway, and Cassie Ventura has been called to testify in federal court for several days while eight months pregnant. In her testimony, she has alleged some unspeakable acts and violent behavior from Combs that she endured over several years. There is also the entire hotel video, which many of us have seen a portion of; there is no denying Cassie’s lived experience. We know that standing in her truth is challenging, and she still has to face cross-examination from his defense team. Yet some people still question her experience.
And there are so many Cassies we know and don’t know all around us; 40% of Black women will experience domestic violence in their lives, according to a study by The Institute of Policy Research. Some of them will lose their lives to intimate partner violence.
Yes it Happened
Cassie, like many victims of domestic abuse, had her experiences questioned. Denial can sometimes invalidate a woman’s lived experience because, according to Martha E. Banks, Ph.D, a Research Neuropsychologist, ‘Women are some-
times victims of romantic terrorism, coercive romanticism,” she says. “To victims, as well as people in the victims’ networks, the abuser appears to be especially loving. The abuse is private, but the public appearance is overwhelmingly — and exaggeratedly — loving.”
While the tape may have triggered some who were victims of domestic violence, others were emboldened to speak about their experiences. Dr. Banks says, “The release of this and similar videos can provide validation to victims who are repeatedly told by abusers that there is no abuse. It is sometimes easier to perceive and be outraged by the abuse of someone else than to recognize that victims themselves do not deserve abuse.”
Power Dynamics Lead to Isolation
One of the drawbacks of social media is that everyone has become an expert on everything. And we have opinions on things we know nothing about, even complicated issues like domestic violence. However, it is critical to understand that there are more factors to consider before we tell a woman to “just leave.”
“There are multiple power dynamics involved. Emotional abuse, which is present as a component of all abuse, includes isolation. Such isolation can pre-
vent victims from financially supporting themselves, so victims remain in relationships because they cannot access paths to independence.” Dr. Banks explains.
“Emotional abuse includes repeatedly telling victims that they deserve the abuse because they are “bad” people.”
The Cycle of Domestic Violence
Dr. Banks points out that we primarily know bout explosions. “Early in the relationship, explosions are generally followed by denial — either that nothing really happened or that it wasn’t really all that bad. Then there is a honeymoon phase — flowers, candy, romantic dinners,” she explains. “Then, the tension builds, and there’s another explosion. After a while, the honeymoon disappears, and the cycle is just explosion, denial, and tension. Then, the denial disappears, and all that’s left are periods of tension and violent explosions. If the downward spiral is not stopped, it ends when somebody dies.”
As we read the news about more Black and Brown women losing their lives as a result of intimate partner violence, Dr. Banks points out that there is a critical lack of information available, and the information available predates the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is important to note that increased access to gun ownership in the United States has led to increased intimate partner homicide,” Dr. Banks concludes.
If you need more information, reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline Call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) TEXT “START” 88788
Two mixed race children of elementary school age attend class from home. School has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
