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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

"A Labor Of Love:" New Stetson Opens Its Doors On Dixwell Avenue

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

Two-year-old Tanner Carberry was parsing out the difference between a T-Rex, a Stegosaurus, and a Triceratops when Stetson Branch Manager Diane Brown made her way over to the table to get in on the action. A stack of books including Pride Colors, Planes Go, and Marvel’s illustrated Black Panther soaked in a patch of sunlight, waiting for Tanner’s attention.

The dinosaurs had all of it.

“You read this?!” Brown said, running a ruby-tipped fingernail over the Triceratops’ yellow and gray head plate. Tanner nodded, a smile teasing at the edges of his mouth. Brown put out a fist and watched as he gave the gentlest bump in return.

Carberry and his grandmother Belinda were two of the first visitors to the new, two-story Stetson Branch Library Monday, as it opened its large front doors as an anchor of the Dixwell Avenue Q House.

After years of anticipation, the space is officially open and ready for use. Brown said branch staff will hold an opening celebration June 4, as part of a larger festival outside the Q House.

At 13,000 square feet, it replaces the library’s old Dixwell Plaza home across the street with a first-floor kids zone, teen and adult areas, classrooms, a maker space, sun-drenched reading alcove, and 22,000-book collection dedicated to literature of the African Diaspora. It is the fourth building that the branch has occupied in over a century, including spots at 213 Division Street in 1917, Dixwell and Thompson Streets in 1922, and 197 Dixwell Ave. from 1968 to 2022.

“I’m a little tired but I’m happy,” Brown said during a momentary pause Monday, looking around an office that is still waiting for wall art. “I feel relieved. We finally got it opened to the public. It’s been a labor of love, but I would do this all again.”

She estimated that the move has been at least seven years, if not a full decade, in the making. Around 2015, then-newlyappointed City Librarian Martha Brogan made sure Brown was in on discussions with Mayor Toni Harp and city staff about moving Stetson to the in-the-works Q House. Two years later, the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation announced a $2 million campaign for the library’s new home. For years, Brown worked with Brogan on everything from the library’s layout, furniture, computer and tech equipment and paint colors to the collection inside. She watched as architect Regina Winter’s soaring vision came to life, breathing new vitality into the Dixwell neighborhood as Kenneth Boroson Architects brought it to fruition.

“I was very fortunate that I was at the table all along,” she said. When Brogan retired in 2019, Brown caught new City Librarian John Jessen up to speed. After Covid-19 hit New Haven in March 2020, Brown saw the library through a transition to curbside pickup and printing help

Lisa Stevenson, her daughter Leah Stevenson, Stetson Branch Manager Diane Brown, and Cassandra Lang. Bottom: Reading space on the second floor.

Two-year-old Tanner Carberry and his grandmother, Belinda. Lucy Gellman Photos.

while doing an extensive “weeding” of its collection. Books that were too old to make the move went to schools, community centers, and after-school programs.

Inside the old building, she and Young Minds and Family Learning Librarian Phillip Modeen hustled to thin the collection, and then ordered close to 16,000 new books.

Meanwhile, she worked with Jessen to hire new staff members for Stetson, including library technical assistants Shayla Foreman and Erica Cruz, and library aide​​ Mercedes MacAlpine. Monday, they

buzzed around the building, bouncing from the open shelves to the circulation desk at the front.

While some of the library’s technical needs are still in flux, Brown said, Stetson is very much ready for use. Books line the shelves, beckoning brightly from nearly every corner of the two-story space. Just feet beyond the front doors and foyer downstairs, rows and rows of children’s titles wait for tiny and young adult hands. Among popular reads like Big Nate and Marawa Ibrahim’s The Girl Guide, Brown has included deep nods to

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Black history, from illustrated books on Mae Jemison, Nina Simone, and Misty Copeland to an elementary school primer to DJ Kool Herc and the birth of hip-hop.

Above them, posters announce “inspiring moments” in Black History, from the 2008 election of President Barack Obama to a 1960 sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina that became a catalyst in the civil rights movement.

Some, like the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, don’t feel so far removed from Dixwell Avenue: it was New Haven native Constance Baker Motley who filed the initial complaint in the case. Before she was a student at Fisk University, she was arguing for her community’s needs at the old Q House.

Among the early afternoon click of keyboards and occasional woosh of the front doors, Belinda Carberry and her two-yearold grandson Tanner settled among pintsized chairs and tables in the children’s computer lab and reading room. After trying out a computer game designed around counting, they moved to a row of tables, their backs flat on laser cutouts of giraffes and elephants. Tanner gravitated toward a board book on dinosaurs. Two thick pages in, a Triceratops raised its horns to the sky on the banks of a river. A red-scaled Stegosaurus lumbered through a thicket of bright foliage, stopping to inspect the huge, striped green leaves.

Tanner closed the book, added it to a stack, then jogged over to shelves of board and picture books arranged just feet off the ground. He picked up a copy of Useni Eugene Perkins’ Hey Black Child before setting it back down and returning to the dinosaurs. From the lowered bookshelf, dozens of illustrated, wide-eyed

Black faces stared back.

Beside him, his grandmother delighted in the finished library. Now a retired educator, Carberry spent four decades in the New Haven Public Schools system, where she taught English, Drama and Journalism classes at James Hillhouse High School, Wexler-Grant Community School and the now-shuttered Polly T. McCabe Center. As a teacher and later principal at Wexler-Grant, she sent her students to Stetson for reading and research projects.

She also got to know Brown as a member of Phi Delta Kappa, an educational sorority that would hold monthly meetings in the library.

Long before that, she was a girl in East Baltimore, where a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library became “our safe haven” for her and her family members. It was there at four or five years old that she discovered her love for words—a love that ultimately launched her to education (“I wanted to be a writer,” but she ended up studying English instead, she joked).

While she now lives in Hamden, she returns to Stetson with her small grandsons because it is a safe haven of sorts.

“It’s a wonderful place for people to come and explore the world,” she said, pointing to how quickly books can transport their young readers from Dixwell Avenue to other centuries and countries.

“And it’s peaceful here during the day.”

Just minutes later, Brown fielded another visitor outside the front door. Gently passing her a stack of new books for the collection, lifelong New Havener Lisa Stevenson told Brown that March 21 was World Down Syndrome Day, an annual milestone that she celebrates with her now 14-year-old daughter Leah. As a longtime fan of Stetson and a board member at the Down Syndrome Association of Connecticut, Stevenson “wanted these books in the heart of the city, and that’s the library,” she said.

The day is personal to her: Leah was diagnosed with Down Syndrome as a baby.

She’s now an eighth grader at Celentano Biotech, Health and Medical Magnet School, with a smile that radiates all the way to her eyes beneath a mouthwashblue medical mask. For years, Stevenson attended a support group at the old Stetson Branch across the street. It helped her become the mom she is, from annual awareness campaigns to the affirmations she and Leah say each morning (“I am smart/I am beautiful/There’s nothing I can’t do!”). To walk into the new building felt like coming full circle, she said.

“It’s all about awareness,” she said as Brown deposited the copies of Sonia Sotomayor’s Just Ask! and Heather Avis’ Different--A Great Thing to Be! on the front circulation desk, and sent the group off for a tour with Modeen. “That’s what I want.”

Upstairs, Cruz knelt between stacks, rearranging a row of biographies. Born Con’t on page 18

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Freddy Fixer Names A New President, Takes A Rebuild Year

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

Chanelle Goldson spent all year waiting for the Freddy Fixer Parade to roll into her neighborhood as a kid. She joined in as a teenager, dancing proudly down Dixwell Avenue with members of her high school pep squad. As an adult, she served as a board member, sergeant-at-arms, parade marshal, and a community ambassador. A sense of hometown pride always kept her coming back.

Goldson is the new acting president of the Elm City Freddy Fixer Parade Committee, the decades-long celebration of Black New Haven that grew out of a Dixwell neighborhood cleanup in the 1960s.

After ECFFPC board members Diane Brown and Petisia Adger announced that the parade would remain on hiatus for summer 2022, they also publicly named Goldson as the event’s new president.

The two outlined that succession plan, as well as the vision for Goldson’s leadership, on a recent episode of “Arts Respond” on WNHH Community Radio.

Goldson, a 35-year-old New Haven native, has sat on the committee since 2015. “​​It was something that was inevitable,” she said in a phone interview with the Arts Paper last week. “When I do something, I give it my all. I give 110 and percent. I think going forward, we want to make sure that we have a successful 2023 parade. We really really need volunteers who are committed, who want to do the work, who share the values that we share.”

That work begins for her immediately, she added. While the parade may be on hiatus for one more year, a smaller, scaledback neighborhood festival is planned at the Dixwell Community Q House in early June, on what would have been parade weekend ( the committee has partnered with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Brown said). In September, the parade’s traditional fundraising gala returns to the Omni New Haven downtown. Then in June 2023, New Haveners can expect a full parade on Dixwell Avenue, barring any more pandemic-era shake-ups.

During their radio appearance earlier this month, both Brown and Adger stressed that it was not a decision they made lightly. Both lifelong New Haveners, the two grew up looking forward to the Freddy Fixer every year. Brown remembered it as a magical Sunday, when churches emptied out mid-morning and people set up lawn chairs on the street, lining Dixwell Avenue in a sea of church hats and Sunday finery. If you were lucky, Brown said, your parent might buy you a toy or treat from one of the vendors who rolled in.

Her mother, the late Newhallville matriarch Lillian Brown, spent years volunteering for the parade, making it part of her commitment to neighborhood service.

In turn, Brown and Adger fell in love with the ritual, from planning their outfits to

Goldson with her two daughters, Brooke and Brielle, at “Stetson On The Street” last summer. Lucy Gellman File Photos. marching in, marshaling, and ultimately running the parade decades later. In 2019, they brought that same childlike excitement back to Newhallville and Dixwell, as thousands attended a Freddy Fixer that was widely heralded as a family reunion.

Last year, it lived on in spirit in a much smaller way, as a day-long neighborhood cleanup on Juneteenth.

“When I was a little girl, the parade was bigger than life,” Brown said. “As a little girl, I would stand on that corner, and anybody that was somebody in New Haven was in that parade. Churches, NAACP, all the high school majorettes were in, the school bands were participating. It was just a little bit of everybody. The Elks, the Eastern Stars … anybody who was somebody in the Black community was in the parade, and it was a proud moment to stand on that corner and see people that Scenes from the Elm City Freddy Fixer Parade in 2019, the last time it marched down Dixwell Avlook like you ride by.” enue. Lucy Gellman File Photos.

The decision to pull back on the parade this year was both a financial and logistical one, she added. In a recent press release, members of the ECFFPC wrote that a new ordinance from the city’s Board of Alders meant that the cost of the parade, particularly paying for police overtime, would total over $100,000 (the city has since offered to help negotiate costs, as first reported in the New Haven Independent).

At the same time, the pandemic hampered the committee’s fundraising capacity. As waves of sickness, unemployment, and rising food insecurity rippled through New Haven’s Black neighborhoods, “it wasn’t a situation where we would have gone out and asked people for any funding at that time,” Adger said. Covid-19 also meant that the parade could not hold Scenes from the Elm City Freddy Fixer Parade in 2019, the last time it marched down Dixwell Avits annual gala in person, or count on enue. Lucy Gellman File Photos.

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some of the same sponsorship that normally came in. Taking a beat was the best decision for the parade’s long-term sustainability, Brown said.

The news of the parade’s hiatus has had a silver lining, she added. In the aftermath of an initial press release, there are “some individuals that we can’t name right now that have stepped up to the plate.” As Goldson assumes leadership of the parade, Brown plans to remain involved in asking new people, particularly younger community organizers, to join the allvolunteer committee. Without them, she said, the parade can’t continue for the long term.

“If your heart is in something, and you’re dedicated to something and you’re committed to something, sometimes other things follow,” she said. “The money follows, the donations follow. So part of my role is gonna be to get the community back to the table, and let’s get involved.

And let’s own this parade. Let’s make it our own, And let’s say ‘Never again.’ This is not gonna happen again.”

“We have given so much of our life for this over the last several years,” she added. “And while we don’t mind to do it, it would really be nice to be able to pass the baton to some younger people.”

A smaller neighborhood festival will still honor the parade’s legacy, which revolves around community service and stewardship. In 1962, Dixwell resident Frederick Smith spoke to his neighbors about their need for tidied yards, swept city blocks, and looked-after greenspaces.

Collaborators like Edna Carnegie-Baker, Dr. Charles Twyman, and dozens of enthusiastic neighbors jumped in to help.

After a year of communal work, the parade allowed them to celebrate together.

“All is not lost,” Brown said. “We will be able to get together as a community on June 4, and of course Freddy Fixer will be there.”

Goldson said she’s excited to help carry on that storied legacy. As a kid growing up in Newhallville, she looked forward to the parade as “the highlight of the year.”

Like Brown and Adger decades before, she spent months picking out and planning her parade outfits. When she got older, she danced in the parade as part of Hamden High School’s pep squad.

When she left New Haven for college, Goldson knew that she would return. She and her husband are now homeowners in the city’s Newhallville neighborhood with their two young daughters, Brielle and Brooke. Seven years ago, she joined the ECFFPC in an official capacity. In 2019, she served as a parade marshal; the following year, she helped run a virtual gala. She sees the role as helping build her community, and said she wants the tradition to be as special for her daughters as it was for her.

“A lot of people, when they leave, they feel like there’s nothing to come back to,” she said. “I wanted to come back and invest in my community.”

Notes of a Native Sound THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

trict—an exciting new era is underway.

Cognizant of Connecticut’s sprawling West Indian population and storied jazz history, Anthony McDonald, a secondgeneration Jamaican and the Shubert’s new Executive Director, was intentional in his pursuit of the illustrious Jamaican ambassador. The forthcoming presentation signals an exciting return to wideranging creative form for the landmark theater that presented Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and other giants of jazz in a bygone era.

Alongside jaunty tales of interactions with Sinatra and Miles, Monty humbly swathes himself as a footnote in the legacy of larger-than-life names. In truth, Monty is nearly peerless having achieved more than seventy album credits as a leader, a Grammy nomination, the Musgrave Medal, and many other successes over the course of his lengthy career. Even as, he’s unpretentious despite having achieved legendary status; wanting more to focus on his unrelenting capacity to play at the highest level.

Take full advantage of opportunities to enjoy the distinctive melodic mélange of the African diaspora whenever possible.

Legends only come around every so often, and most aren’t as amiable as Monty.

by King Kenney

If the many sounds of the African diaspora are fused on a stage and no one is around to hear it…

Ray Charles famously shaped soul music by adapting upbeat gospel songs from his formative years into a buoyant variant of rhythm and blues that forever changed musical composition. Charles’ ability to turn The Southern Tones’ “It Must Be Jesus” into “I’ve Got a Woman”—and James Cleveland’s “That’s Why I Love Him So” into “Hallelujah, I Love Her So”—seemed a feat of magic at the time: a revelatory “invention” that listeners marveled at and other musicians wished they’d thought of first. And yet, Black musicians folding their roots into transformational artistry is a byproduct of the African diaspora that dates to the earliest days of American music. Even now, as rap music reigns as America’s largest cultural export, the genre is a phenomenon embodying the sum of Black Americans’ musical, cultural, and sociopolitical experiences.

Throughout history, the varied lives and influences of Black artists has created and revised music-making of all sorts.

Consider Gus Cannon: an autodidact who mastered the banjo—a version he fashioned from raccoon skin and a frying pan—and revolutionized the blues performing alongside skillful players of jugs and other homemade instruments.

A Mississippi native and finger-plucking virtuoso, Cannon’s Jug Stompers set and raised the bar for Delta blues by reimagining southern folk songs on makeshift instruments.

Then there’s Horace Silver, the brilliant jazz pianist and composer responsible for fusing gospel and blues into the original Jazz Messengers recordings. More pointedly, Silver’s Cape Verdean ancestry is omnipresent in his most notable hard bop triumph (and heartfelt tribute), Song for My Father: an essential opus that bridges straight-ahead jazz, bossa nova, and morna stylings.

Nina Simone, Grace Jones, Betty Davis, Little Richard, and countless others personified the universal appeal of blending origin stories and artistic expression. As architects of such inventive fusions pass away, we’re left to marvel at the depth of their prescience. Recalling the awe-inspiring roster of multifaceted legends foretells the need for us, as fans of art, to recognize opportunities to experience performances by living legends as unmissable.

One such occasion fast approaches for residents of New Haven, CT. Sixty years into his celebrated career, Monty Alexander is as energetic as ever.

With fingers floating atop an opulent piano, Monty’s cheerful humility defies the audience’s feeling: they’re in the presence of a jazz giant whose near-mythic journey seems tailormade for a big budget biopic detailing the meteoric rise of a self-taught

master. Until that happens, fans of jazz— or better still, fans of remarkable music— are afforded select chances to witness the renowned innovator who dexterously weaves reggae, gospel rhythms, boogiewoogie, and West Indian instrumentations into a spirited amalgam that swings beyond the stage and relays the life and times of a piano wunderkind proudly hailing from Kingston, Jamaica.

Monty often quips about how jazz uprooted him from “the streets” and saved him from an altogether different outcome—sending him across the world a thousand times over as headliner and sideman for music loving audiences. Equally, Monty’s Jamaican roots are deeply enmeshed in his musical compositions: distinctive anecdotes, ancestry, and sounds having equal weight in compelling performances that leave audiences delighted and enlightened.

Those familiar with Monty’s live shows jump at the occasion to experience his inimitable blend of music and narrative storytelling. He turns grand stages into intimate living room sessions where his narration and piano playing feel more like informal listening parties for select friends and family than sold out Montreux Jazz Festival appearances. For those less familiar with the legendary pianist—or the heartening sensation that follows experiencing “America’s classical music” live— Monty Alexander is a superb entry point.

As for Shubert Theatre—the stunning, 1600-seat performing arts venue centrally located in New Haven’s downtown dis-

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Year Later, Rally Recalls Anti-Asian Violence

by KIMBERLY WIPFLER New Haven Independent

The names were read aloud to a hushed crowd.

“Feng Daoyou. Hyun Jung Grant. Kim Sun Cha. Paul Andre Michels. Park Soon Chung. Tan Xiaojie. Delaine Ashley Yaun. Yue Ae Yong. And Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, who survived the incident.”

Then, a moment of silence.

One year after an Atlanta gunman murdered those eight people, most of whom were Asian women, 100 New Haveners gathered to remember the lives lost in the tragic hate crime.

A local pan-Asian collective called Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders New Haven (aapiNHV) partnered with the Yale Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) to organize the vigil, which took place Wednesday evening on the New Haven Green.

The vigil aimed to keep the memory of the victims alive long after the incident’s brief moment in the news spotlight, and to put it in a broader context of a struggle against racial violence.

Speakers shared personal experiences with anti-Asian violence, extended wisdom on the global power structures that create such hate, and offered words of hope on the power in solidarity.

After the scheduled speakers, commu-

nity members took to the open mic while organizers passed around white vigil candles. aapiNHV was founded this time last year in response to the both the Atlanta shootings and the overall rise in anti-Asian violence that emerged following racist rhetoric around the pandemic.

Caroline Tanbee Smith, Annie Lin, Jennifer Heikkila Diaz, Christine Kim, Anh Ton, Janet Zheng, Rae Jereza, and others were a part of an organizing group who started the coalition, which is an “intergenerational, pan-Asian collective in New Haven” with the mission to “build power within our community through organizing, arts and critical education, storytelling and gathering, and by providing direct support.” The group emphasizes solidarity in a “shared struggle for liberation, healing, and justice.”

Smith emceed Wednesday evening’s event alongside Assistant Dean of Yale College Dr. Joliana Yee, who is also the director of the Yale AACC, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021. “The ACC is committed to engaging the Asian and Asian American student body, Yale University, and the greater New Haven community in the learning and celebrations of cultures, traditions, and issues related to the varied experiences of the Asian diaspora,” Yee said.

Speakers emphasized that the violence that took eight lives last year neither begins nor ends with the Asian American experience, that it is a result of “the rise of white supremacy that is contributing to the rise in anti-Asian rhetoric and violence,” as described in a statement from the Asian American Student Alliance at Yale read by Natalie Semmel.

“This violence is not just about Asians; it is not limited to the Asian American experience. We must recognize the multiple marginalizations and intersectional identities that contribute to violence globally and on American soil. We must remember that Asianness and anti-Asian hate is not the only factor that contributed to the shooting in Atlanta,” said Kelly Chow, a high school senior.

The event organizers invited Black Lives Matter New Haven co-founder Ala Ochumare to speak in solidarity, as well as Sex Workers & Allies Network (SWAN) (which did not attend).

“None of our cultures, none of us here, our foundations are not in patriarchy, our foundations are not in colonialism, and violence. Those are things that have been thrusted and enacted upon us,” Ochumare said.

“For as long as the ideas that help justify colonization exist, none of us are truly ever safe. There will never be a stop to

KIMBERLY WIPFLER PHOTO Event co-organizer Joliana Yee, at left, marking one-year anniversary of Atlanta killings.

this violence until we can address all of the police violence, the imperialism on our homelands, the fetishization and the colonization perpetuated on multiple fronts by the US empire both here and abroad,” said Jiji Wong, who has lived in New Haven their whole life.

“I hope we can learn this from event that we need each other. Not just us Asians,

but all of us: Black people, indigenous people, queer folks, sex workers, elders, the disabled, those still suffering from military intervention in the motherland.

We need all of us in solidarity against white supremacy, the cis-hetero-patriarchy, colonization, and imperialism. Only then can we prevent another Atlanta.”

Mayor Taps New Directors For 911, Elderly Services

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven Independent

Mayor Justin Elicker continued filling out City Hall’s top ranks, tapping two new department heads to lead the city’s 911 call center and its programming for elderly residents.

Elicker announced those latest appointments during a Monday afternoon press conference on the ground floor of City Hall.

The second-term mayor has picked Tomi Veale to serve as the city’s next acting director of the Department of Elderly Services. She will replace Migdalia Castro, whose appointment Elicker declined to renew earlier this year.

Elicker also announced that he has picked Kevin Stratton to serve as the city’s next director of Public Safety Communications (aka 911 call center). He will replace the recently retired George Peet.

Monday’s personnel announcements come roughly a month and a half after Elicker picked new directors of City Plan, Fair Rent, and Labor Relations, as well as a new liaison to the Board of Alders.

Veale is currently the city’s program coordinator for the Youth@Work summer employment program. Elicker said that she previously served as acting youth services director for the city, and that she

Mayor Elicker (right) at Monday's presser.

is also an adjunct sociology professor at Gateway Community College and the board chair for the local female mentor-

ing program Phenomenal I Am. Her first day as acting elderly services director will be April 11.

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While the city’s elderly services department may be small, Veale said during Monday’s presser, “we are going to be mighty” in terms of impact on the lives of New Haveners aged 55 years and up.

She said that the city’s three senior centers — East Shore, Dixwell, and Atwater — will reopen on April 4 after their latest pandemic-era hiatus. City Community Services Administrator Mehul Dalal said those three senior centers will each be open three days a week.

According to an email press release sent out by the mayor, Veale’s responsibilities as the head of the Department of Elderly Services will include supervising the city’s “community education, activities, programs and support services for senior residents to help them maintain independent and active lives. This includes case management and assistance referral services for residents with financial, medical, nutritional, legal and housing needs.”

“She’s experienced, dedicated, strategic, and, most of all, a passionate advocate for the interests of the people of New Haven,” Dalal said.

Stratton, meanwhile, is a New Haven resident, and most recently worked as the chief of staff for the chief of the Shelton Police Department. Before that, he worked for the state police for 23 years,

rising the ranks from trooper to master sergeant. Elicker said he worked as an “executive officer” for the state police department, supervising 100 subordinates in all aspects of police work, including dispatchers assigned to various Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) locations.

His first day as the head of the city’s Public Safety Communications department will be March 28.

Elicker’s press release states that Stratton will oversee all aspects of New Haven’s 911 PSAP operations, including “coordinating, managing and participating in the activities of the telecommunications center and its personnel. This includes fire, police and ambulance responses.”

Stratton comes “from a family of firemen from the City of New Haven” and has served in law enforcement for 25 years, he said.

Asked for his past experiences addressing burnout among 911 dispatchers, Stratton stressed the importance of making “sure that they’re getting their breaks” and, if a dispatcher has to work a double shift, to “triage that and take a look and see if there’s anything you can do” as a supervisor.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Kids Help Shape Future Community Hub

by LAURA GLESBY

New Haven Independent

In careful penmanship, 8‑year-old Nylee Williams signed her name, title, and “company” at the bottom of a page outlining her responsibilities in the planning process for a new community center in Newhallville.

Her “company” is Harris & Tucker School, where she attends an after-school program. Her title is “Jr. Designer,” a designation she earned after months of providing input in an architecture student’s designs for the forthcoming community hub.

Williams joined a dozen other Harris & Tucker students on Friday afternoon in a former laundromat at 324 Shelton Ave. — a space that Harris & Tucker Principal Kim Harris has been working to transform into an intergenerational reading nook and computer lab through her nonprofit, Inspired Communities Inc. Since October, Dominiq Oti, a thirdyear Yale architecture student who hails from London, has been teaching elementary-aged students at Harris & Tucker about the architectural design process. He has been hearing back ideas and questions that helped shape his volunteer designs for the new community space. On Friday, Oti and Harris hosted the contract signing ceremony with the kids so that they could codify their contributions to the project and learn about written agreements.

Harris envisions the former Shelton Avenue laundromat, located a block from Lincoln-Bassett School, as a space where Newhallville community members from all stages of life can gather for job training programs, literacy events, and other educational events.

In his renovation designs, Oti has split the 700-square-foot, one-room space into four “zones” geared toward different purposes.

First, an “entrance zone” will offer a space for guests to “sit and have some respite,” Oti said, in front of a reception desk with storage cubbies.

A series of computer desks along a side wall will provide a “flexible workspace” where Harris plans to host adult education and training programs.

Along the back wall, a reading zone — nicknamed the “nook” — will serve as a quiet space “conducive for learning.” Oti plans to install a circular light fixture above the zone that will double as an acoustical device to buffer sounds of the rest of the room.

Finally, an “activity zone” leads back to the entrance, with a bench attached to the wall.

At the center of the space, Oti plans to repurpose an existing dividing wall into a bookshelf. The shelf will house a community library along with neighborhood “archives,” perhaps including photo albums or other artifacts of Newhall-

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Dominiq Oti, left, helps Nylee Williams with her signature. ville history.

Harris said she hopes to open the community center — or at least part of it — by mid-May. Eventually, she said, she would like to expand to an adjacent vacant storefront.

A local contractor, Eli Fletcher, is donating labor to renovate the space. Inspired Communities Inc. is already renting the former laundromat — “I courted the owner for two years to get that space,” Harris said — and just needs to procure materials, which will likely include plywood. Harris received a federal Community Development Block Grant to help fund the community center, and plans to partner with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

The community center will not only be a programming space; as the neighborhood recovers from being among the hardest hit in the city by Covid-19, the space will also be a symbol of Newhallville’s identity, Harris said.

“We want people to envision possibilities when they open the doors, and to know that what may have seemed impossible in Newhallville is now possible,” she said. “When people see beauty in our neighborhood and they know that this is what we deserve, this is what we are worth, it’s a lift up.”

A glimmer of that pride emerged on Friday, after the kids signed their contracts, when Harris led them in a chant they knew by heart: “It’s the Ville. It’s the Ville. It’s called Newhallville. V‑I-L-L‑E, or, V‑I-double-L‑E. It’s where I live; it’s what I love.”

Over the course of three school visits, Oti presented these plans to many of the kids who attended on Friday. He taught them about architecture through a gingerbread house workshop around Christmastime.

From meeting with the Harris and Tucker students, Oti said, he gained new ideas for the community space. One student asked whether the bathroom would be renovated, prompting Oti to come up with a new design for the bathroom if funding permits. One kid asked about a space where young people could do homework, inspiring an idea to store lap desks in the benches adjacent to the library.

Friday’s contract ceremony doubled as an educational session about written agreements and a celebration of the students’ ideas.

Harris interrupted the program briefly to testify via Zoom before the state legislature on the importance of childcare funding. The kids, who ranged in age from 5 to 12, gathered on what will soon

6

become a bench to wave to the legislators. Then they turned their attention to the terms of the contract.

“Your contribution on this project has demonstrated the importance of working with curious minds like your as part of the design process,” Oti read aloud. He outlined the kids’ responsibilities: “to be a collaborator and engage in the design process,” “to understand the importance of recreating spaces for the benefit of the people,” to “Enjoy yourself and have fun,” and “to plant SEEDS: Seeds that Enrich and Educate and Delight Students.”

The third responsibility, to have fun, is the most important, Oti said. “Thinking of possibilities as designers, that’s our job.”

It’s important to start the architectural process with creativity and experimentation, he said, before turning to constraints like budgets and materials.

“How many of you have signed a contract before?” asked Harris. The kids shook their heads.

“When you do something and you’re proud of it, you want to have a record of it,” Oti explained. As he handed Harris a contract of her own to sign, he elaborated that “Even if we’re good friends, when we’re doing big things, we need to hold each other accountable.”

Harris, who had her own contract to

sign, announced that Harris and Tucker volunteer Carlotta Clark would serve as a witness to her signature. She added in a clause to her contract before signing: “Subject to change with notice.”

“These are the best things — a paper trail,” she told the group.

“Is this like a yes or no question, or do you put your name?” asked one of the students.

Harris explained that the kids should sign their names and identify themselves as “Jr. Designers.” She spelled out the word.

“I’m looking at your handwriting,” she told the group.

The kids began writing out their names, with the help of their teachers and one another. They also dived straight into their contractual obligations, sharing more ideas for the space.

“Ms. Kim, can we make this a clothing store?” asked a student named Kauren, who wore fuzzy fox-patterned pants.

Harris laughed. “Maybe we can turn the other room into a space where kids can bring their entrepreneurial ideas,” she suggested.

“Are we going to get this spot?” Kauren asked a few moments later.

“Yes,” Oti replied. “This spot’s for you.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

City Looks To Up Tech-Protect Tactics

by LAURA GLESBY

New Haven Independent

City Hall plans to grow and restructure its technology department to focus more on fending off cyber-attacks and adapting to an increasingly online world.

City Budget Director Michael Gormany offered this explanation to alders who questioned his request for new technology positions in the mayor’s 2022 – 2023 Fiscal Year budget proposal.

The questions arose at the Board of Alders Finance Committee’s first budget hearing of the year, which took place in person at City Hall Thursday.

Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter asked Gormany about the mayor’s plans to add a chief technology officer position. How would that officer interact with the existing Information and technology director? Winter asked.

The chief technology officer would oversee the IT director, Gormany replied.

Gormany pointed to the rising need for virtual platforms due to Covid-19 and the cyber-threats that have targeted police departments, public schools, and other municipal agencies in other cities. Hackers attacked New Haven’s own school system in 2019. Another cyberattack targeted the Hamden Board of Ed in 2020.

“In this day and age… with ransomware, malware, and attacks, we need someone to oversee” the overall direction of the city’s technological systems, Gormany argued Gormany added that the city’s IT depart-

Mom Prays To Pause Violence

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD and COURTNEY LUCIANA

ment, which serves corners of government ranging from the school system to public works to the livable city initiative, is already stretched thin. “We’re focusing on the day to day,” he said of the IT department’s current work.

Does the city need a new supervisor position in order to bolster cyber security? asked Westville Alder Adam Marchand.

The chief technology officer would earn a salary of $160,000 (half of which would be paid from the Board of Education’s budget), while the existing Information and Technology director would continue making $122,832 per year.

“Why not hire more boots on the ground, as opposed to a highly paid executive position?” Marchand asked.

The new position would be in charge of “planning and strategic vision,” answered Gormany. “Looking at what IT does now, we’re missing an opportunity in how we can transform City Government’s use of IT.” The new technology position is one of 25 new hires the mayor has proposed in his 2022 – 2023 budget.

On her way to prep and clean Payne Whitney Gym for the Yale hockey team, 55-year-old Trina Shealy prayed for more recreational opportunites for young New Haveners — not just for Ivy Leaguers.

“My son’s been shot three or four times,” the mother of two said.

“Get some buildings, get something for these kids to do,” she pleaded while standing beside the nine-story massive athletic facility of swimming pools, basketball courts, running tracks, polo practice rooms and fencing facilities.

Shealy woke up as usual at 3:30 a.m. for a 5 a.m. shift getting the gymnasium ready for Yale students and university affiliates. She took a moment Thursday morning to talk on the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.

The word on the street, Shealy said, is “stop the violence.”

“The shooting, the killing, parents burying their kids — it needs to stop. Enough is enough.”

Shealy said she keeps busy by working long hours, caring for her kids and grandchildren, protecting her family against Covid-19, playing spades and singing at church. She said she worries that younger individuals are involving themselves in criminal activity because they don’t have enough to do. Once people get a record,

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Trina Shealy: "I'm constantly praying.”

she noted, it’s even harder to find a job to sustain or occupy themselves. “ There’s not enough activities, not enough for the kids to do … What about the kids that are out here and got nothing?”

Shealy, who lives on Winchester Avenue, has lived in the city for the last 40 years, She said that there used to be more community in New Haven.

“We didn’t have to worry about leaving our bikes” on the side of the street, she said. Shealy was raised with neighbors who were always “watching out for each other.” Her father was a preacher of faith at a Baptist church.

Shealy declined to speak about the shootings her son had been involved in, but shared that her other child is currently a licensed practical nurse in school studying to become a registered nurse.

“I love ‘em both,” she said, adding that she now has two grandkids as well.

Hopefully the city will invest in stronger support systems for “the next generation,” whether that’s public computer classes, as she suggested, or better reentry programming.

In the meantime, Shealy said, she will “pray for our kids, our young Black kids.”

“That’s all we can do in New Haven, all over — the war’s going on, all we can do is just pray,” she said.

“I’m constantly praying.” \

‘Black Girl Magic’ in sports industry THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

By Mark F. Gray, Special to The Inner-City News courtesy of the AFRO

Since the rise of “wokeness,” when it comes to gender diversity in high places, the doors to sports management opportunities have begun opening for women to ascend to leadership positions.

Baby steps have been followed by giant leaps where the wand of “Black girl magic” has led to more than just inspirational gains in college and professional athletics.

African-American women have, arguably, been benefitting from the 50 years of Title IX – the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision that mandates equal athletic scholarships for men and women. However, recently there has been a spike in women athletic administrators at high positions throughout the

NCAA and in all four major professional sports leagues.

There’s nothing superficial about the positions, responsibilities and impact these women have made in the short amount of time they’ve ascended to their positions. Here, they are breaking barriers and carving professional footprints in the sand for other women to follow.

Traci Otey Blunt is senior vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at the NFL. In her role, Blunt is responsible for key strategic areas within the league including current affairs, business operations, government affairs, NFL Media, player health and safety and social responsibility.

Blunt was given her break by Black Entertainment Television (BET) Founder Bob Johnson.

“We can help shape some of the policy and educate people on the community

overall. That part is exciting- to know that there’s not just one person at the table,” ,” said Blunt. “If I can do one thing to help make a change of perception of what the NFL is doing or isn’t doing, then I feel like I’ve done something positive.”

Sheila Johnson, former wife of BET’s Johnson, is a barrier breaker in sports in her own right. Johnson is a vice chairman and partner with D.C’s Monumental Sports and Entertainment group.

She is the only Black woman to have a principal shareholder stake in three professional sports teams: the professional men’s basketball team, the Washington Wizards, the Capitals hockey team and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team for Washington D.C, the Mystics.

Leslie Isler is the Professional Athletes Foundation Associate for the NFL Players Association and works in Media Relations for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

In her job(s) she works for the charitable arm of the NFL Players Association, the union that represents NFL Players by helping former athletes transition from their professional football careers by helping them navigate through grants and resources provided by the NFLPA. During hockey season, she keeps busy by handling the media relations for the Washington Capitals. In this role, she assists with the media lounge and press box setup, passing out statistics between periods and recording, transcribing and distributing postgame quotes.

“My advice for Black women in a maledominated industry is to be your professional self,” Isler said. “Our presence

8

Traci Otey Blunt, Sheila Johnson, Leslie Isler , Jacqie McWilliams, and Sonja Stills

and opinions are valuable to organizations; always remember that.”

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have seen a spike in the number of athletic directors around the country.

Two of the four HBCU conferences now have ladies at the helm leading through the challenging waters of the pandemic.

Jacqie McWilliams has been the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) commissioner for 10 years after replacing Leon Kerry at a difficult financial time. McWilliams stabilized the conference with innovative leadership that brought them back from the brink of bankruptcy to flourishing once again.

McWilliams, a former Hampton University basketball player who groomed

herself at Morgan State and at the NCAA, was instrumental in crafting the deal that brought the CIAA Basketball Tournament to Baltimore and took advantage of the Title IX opportunities, which has led her to one of the more influential positions in college sports.

Last December, Sonja Stills became the first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner when she succeeded her boss and former mentor, Dr. Dennis Thomas.

Stills faces the challenge of trying to keep the MEAC in Division I, withstanding the conference being extremely close to losing the number of teams necessary to remain in Division I.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Black women at the forefront of COVID fight

By Micha Green, AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor

While the President’s Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, may have become the face of the United States’ fight against COVID-19, Black women, such as Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, have been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus.

In fact, the national response to the coronavirus pandemic has been led, in large part, by African-American women responding to the plight of not only their community, but the country at large and overseas.

Corbett was only 34 years old when she emerged as a leader on the COVID-19 vaccine team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She came to national prominence in late 2020, when she was praised

by Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH, as one of the key scientists behind the COVID-19 vaccine.

“That vaccine was actually developed in my institute’s vaccine research center by a team of scientists led by Dr. Barney Graham and his close colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett,” Fauci said in December 2020 when interrogated about the Black contribution to the vaccine’s creation. “Kizzy is an African-American scientist who is right at the forefront of the development of the vaccine.”

Chair of the White House COVID-19 Equity Task Force and White House COVID-19 Response Advisor Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

The Moderna vaccine was created with significant guidance from Corbett.

(Courtesy Photo) Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett was one of the key scientists to develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Courtesy Photo)

“The vaccine you are going to be taking was developed by an African-American woman and that is just a fact,” Fauci emphasized in a webinar when educating people about the vaccine in the early stages of its distribution.

Though Corbett may be young, she’s no newbie to the world of infectious diseases and vaccines. As a 10th grader, Corbett

was selected to participate in the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED, which promotes learning and growth opportunities for minority students, and now boasts the vaccine’s developer as one of their alumni. Through Project SEED she studied in chemistry labs at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill and then attended the University of Maryland,

Baltimore County with a full scholarship.

Now considered a full circle moment, as a college student, Corbett interned at laboriaties at NIH, the very same place she would later go on to become a history maker in the fight against COVID-19. She then went on to UNC Chapel Hill for a doctorate in immunology and microbiology. There, according to her LinkedIn

9

account, she worked as a research assistant studying the dengue virus infectiona viral infection transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.

In 2014, she began working with NIH as a research fellow examining pathogenesis and vaccine design as well as respiratory viruses such as COVID-19. Six years later she found herself making history and helping to save the country and world with her work on the Moderna vaccine.

“The vaccine teaches the body how to fend off a virus and it teaches the body how to look for the virus by basically just showing the spike in protein of the virus,” Corbett said to CBS News in 2021.

“The body then says ‘Oh, we’ve seen this protein before. Let’s go fight against it.’

That’s how it works.”

Some African Americans that were hesitant to get the shot found comfort in knowing that a Black woman had a major hand in the creation of the vaccine.

“We must be honest about the fact that people have a righteous skepticism about

how it has been used, how it has been tested and on whom it will be used,” Vice President Kamala Harris told Al Sharpton on MSNBC. “I can tell you first of all that these vaccines are safe. It will save your life. There is a Black woman, Dr. Kizzy Corbett, who was part of the team of scientists who created this vaccine and it will save your life.”

With Corbett key in creating the vaccine, ensuring its efficacy with variants and championing its safety and necessity in this COVID-filled world, other Black women have been supporting her efforts from a policy and political standpoint. Dr. Nunez-Smith has been working closely to achieve equity in combatting the coronavirus.

As Chair of the President’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and a White House COVID-19 Response Advisor Nunez-Smith works regularly to combat the spread of COVID, educate the American people on the disease, ensure that minority communities receive sufficient resources to protect themselves from COVID and to address the disparities seen in the impact of the coronavirus especially in relation to Black and Brown people.

In September 2021, Nunez-Smith talked to the AFRO about closing the race gap when it came to vaccinations.

“That’s the result of intentional work to address the concerns,” Nunez- Smith said. “We’ve made important progress in increasing vaccination rates and vaccination inequities,” she continued.

Nunez-Smith emphasized the importance and safety of the COVID-19 vaccination.

“I just want everybody to join in this space of, ‘let’s work with what we do know.’ What we do know is vaccination protects and that is really critical. They’re safe and hundreds of millions of doses were safely given and they are effective,” she said.

Whoopi Goldberg

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Black History of Health:

by Karen Heslop, BlackDoctor.org She was born Caryn Elaine Johnson but the world knows her as Whoopi Goldberg. Born in 1955, she started acting at eight but really began her illustrious career in 1983 on stage with a one-woman show called “Spook Show”. This was moved to Broadway a year later. At the tail-end of that year-long show, she played the role of Celie in “The Color Purple”, which would open many more acting roles for her.

Since then, Whoopi had played several notable roles on television and film.

These include a memorable psychic in “Ghost” in 1990 and the comedic nun in “Sister Act” in 1992. The comedienne has also had memorable roles on television as well as back on the Broadway stage.

Since 2007, though, she’s been one of the hosts on the popular television show, “The View”.

While the outspoken and multi-talented woman is widely known for being one of the few people to have accomplished the rare feat of winning an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award, she gained attention for a different reason in 2009.

That year, she opened up about being

diagnosed with endometriosis at the Endo Foundation’s Blossom Ball. At the event, she stated that she’d been diagnosed with the condition 30 years prior and that she’d been very lucky to have a doctor who knew what was happening when she described her symptoms.

to note that the severity of these symptoms is not necessarily related to how advanced the disease is. This can only be determined by your doctor.

How Endometriosis Is Diagnosed

What Is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue that’s supposed to be located in the endometrium migrates to other parts of the body. In most cases, this tissue is found in the pelvic region such as the fallopian tubes and ovaries. It’s rare for the tissue to go further than the pelvic area, but it has happened.

The condition is characterized by pain mainly because the misplaced tissue responds to the hormonal changes in the menstrual cycle in the same way that endometrial tissue does – it will expand, break down, and bleed. Unfortunately, since there is no outlet for this blood, this process causes inflammation and irritation.

The pain associated with endometriosis may be worse during the menses or occur throughout the cycle. It may also get harder to manage over time. Some of the typical symptoms of the disease

are fatigue, bloating, nausea, pain during sex, painful bowel movements, and bleeding between periods. It’s important

Since there are other conditions that can cause pelvic pain, your doctor will need to use several tests to determine if you have endometriosis and the extent of the disease. Your diagnosis will typically start with a pelvic exam.

If your doctor suspects that you have endometriosis, you may need to undergo imaging tests like ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging tests (MRIs).

These tests can also help to determine how advanced the disease is but occasionally, doctors use a procedure known as a laparoscopy.

In a laparoscopy, a surgeon uses specialized tools to enter the abdomen.

Using a laparoscope, the surgeon will examine the area for endometrial tissue.

This procedure will also allow your doctor to determine the size and location of the unwanted tissue in the body.

Dealing with endometriosis often calls for a combination of managing the symptoms while addressing the root cause of the disease. Your doctor is like-

ly to recommend different painkillers for reducing pain and inflammation as well as hormone therapy. With hormone therapy, you can choose from hormonal contraceptives, progestin therapy, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) agonists and antagonists, as well as aromatase inhibitors.

There are also surgical options that would seek to directly treat endometriosis. In laparoscopic procedures, a surgeon would remove the invasive endometrial tissue.

In cases where the disease is advanced, some doctors may recommend a complete hysterectomy, which would remove the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. It’s always best to discuss the pros and cons of each treatment option with your doctor.

Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with endometriosis, it’s a good idea to know what it’s about and how to handle it. As Whoopi said in her speech, “A lot of women have never heard of endometriosis”, which is unfortunate given how often the disease affects African Americans. If you’re concerned about the symptoms you’ve been experiencing, it’s imperative to see your doctor quickly.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Bolaji COVID Patient

“To everyone who saved my life and my baby’s life too... thank you – from both of us.”

“I was 34 weeks pregnant when I found out I had COVID. While I was on the ventilator and sedated, I delivered Joseph by C-section, and I couldn’t see him for a month. But the doctors and nurses at Yale New Haven Health, they took care of us.”

At Yale New Haven Health, we’re grateful to all the healthcare workers out there who care for others.

So that others can live.

11

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Sleep Apnea Speeds Aging, Here’s How to Reverse It

by Cara Jones, BlackDoctor.org

Research shows that although sleep apnea is common among Blacks, it is largely undiagnosed (nearly 95 percent of cases, were undiagnosed and untreated).

Sleep apnea has an ever-growing list of health problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, and other chronic health disorders. Now new data shows it ages you.

The same new small study also found that using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine for at least four hours a night for a year could slow or possibly reverse that trend.

“This highlights the need for both detection of the sleep apnea and for the efficient treatment of the sleep apnea,” says study author Rene Cortese, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri.

“Even people that are being treated, sometimes CPAP is not the most comfortable treatment and people don’t adhere to the treatment that they’re supposed to, but this highlights the need for an efficient treatment,” he adds.

What is sleep apnea and how does it affect aging?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition in which the upper airway is blocked during sleep, causing breath-

ing problems and repeated awakenings.

It can be caused by a person’s physical structure or other health conditions and can affect oxygen levels in the blood.

The standard treatment is using a CPAP

machine. Through a mask covering the nose and mouth, a patient’s airways are kept open to receive a steady flow of oxygen so he or she can breathe normally.

The new study looked at apnea along

13

with a phenomenon known as epigenetic age acceleration. Simply put, it means that a person’s biological age is older than their age in years. It’s linked to chronic diseases and early death.

The researchers recruited 24 nonsmokers between 28 and 58 years of age — 16 who had been diagnosed with sleep apnea and eight who had not. All underwent a sleep study. Their blood and DNA was analyzed using a computer algorithm to measure their biological age. Individuals were then retested after a year of CPAP use.

Cortese says sleep apnea speeds up the aging process through oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. While prior sleep disruptions and lower oxygen levels had accelerated apnea patients’ biological aging, regular CPAP treatment had paid off.

“At least partially it will slow down the aging effect of the sleep apnea,” Cortese shares.

Epigenetic clocks are tissue-specific so what’s happening with one organ might not be the same in another, but blood is systemic, which is why researchers chose to analyze it, he explains.

The study also controlled for other factors that affect sleep apnea, such as diet and smoking.

About 22 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea — with 80% of moderate and severe cases undiagnosed, according to the American Sleep Apnea Con’t on page 17

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Dr. Catherine Kibirige develops HIV tests to advance vaccine and cure research tious Diseases.

She was offered a job on a study of HIV, AIDS and related STDs just a few months after she started volunteering.

Two years into the position, she was sponsored to come to the United States to obtain her doctorate of philosophy from the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Her first post-doctoral fellowship was with the U.S. Military’s HIV Research Program, which at the time was administering a vaccine trial in Thailand. The trial was using an assay, a lab test used to find and measure the amount of a specific substance, that did not detect all of the circulating HIV subtypes.

Kibirige redeveloped the assay so it would be ultra-sensitive and better cover HIV subtypes and variants.

She then went back to Johns Hopkins University for a second post-doctoral fellowship to further optimize the assays and broaden their utility.

Now, Kibirige is expanding on her work as a research associate at Imperial College London in the Human Immunology Laboratory. She maintains a provisional patent on the assay she developed.

Her hope is to commercialize her assay in Uganda to help Africa move away from donor dependence.

“We need to get to the point now where we’re actually making our own reagents,

By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member

Dr. Catherine Kibirige was a teenager when she decided her career would center on HIV research.

Her parents were natives of Uganda, but she was born in Kenya after they were exiled during the Ugandan Civil War. Eventually, her father got a job in London as an engineer, and he sent for Kibirige and her sister to come join him.

While in secondary school, Kibirige learned that Uganda had been severely hit by HIV and AIDS. The first cases of HIV in Africa were recorded and characterized in the Rakai District, a community in the central region of Uganda.

“We’d just come out of a civil war, so it was very devastating. On top of all the issues with the civil war, there’d been famine, there’d been desolation and then we had HIV,” said Kibirige. “It really had a huge impact on us as a nation and I lost a lot of close relatives. I knew I wanted to be involved in HIV research.”

After college, Kibirige traveled to Uganda to volunteer with the Ministry of Health and work in the Rakai Health Sciences Program, a collaboration between researchers at Makerere, Columbia, Johns Hopkins Universities and the Division of Intramural Research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infec-

Dr. Catherine Kibirige

doing our own vaccine research and not having to import everything. One of the things that really stood out to me when I worked for Rakai is everything is imported, even the paper towels and [cotton] swabs.”

In Uganda those with HIV face significant barriers to accessing treatment monitoring, leading to a surge in drug resistance. District hospitals have to send blood samples to the national HIV testing lab in Kampala, the country’s capital. Results can get lost, and even if they don’t, they take months to get back to the district hospitals.

Currently, Kibirige is in negotiations to transfer her assay’s manufacturing process to Uganda. She intends for her assay to be a low-cost, ambient-temperature and prolonged-shelf life alternative to viral load testing.

She’s also in the early stages of establishing a startup that will streamline the process of transporting the assays for use in resource-limited areas in Uganda.

“I just want to encourage women- especially women in science and technology- to really pursue their dreams, stick to whatever vision they have and just be open to exploring different kinds of avenues,” said Dr. Kibirige.

“Never give up.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

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Mississippi Black History THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

OP-ED:

By Paulette Patton, Contributing Guest Writer to The Mississippi Link

After recently watching ABC’s mini-series, “Women of the Movement: the story of Mamie Till Mobley,” I was reminded, as I often am, of memories growing up in Mississippi.

This docu-drama chronicled the life of Mamie Till Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till.

Till was abducted and killed for allegedly flirting with a white woman in Money, Mississippi.

I can remember looking at that iconic photo of Emmett Till in Jet Magazine when I was just 7 years old. I only recall how awful it looked. I don’t remember even asking my parents about it. Thanks to executive co-producers, Will Smith and Jay-Z, this true story was a painful reminder of Mississippi’s history during that perilous era.

As many governors, school boards and educational systems are trying to erase such history by banning certain books in our schools and public libraries, how powerful to have this story retold at this particular time. Some governors have even said that they would penalize schools, teachers and principals if such material is taught. The mini-series was and should be painful to watch to all who watched it. We need to be reminded of atrocities such as these.

For ten years, I helped plan and accompanied a group of Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA) students and their professors to Mississippi to visit sites around the state to have a firsthand look at some of the most treacherous and unforgiving parts of the history of the American South. We would start our journey in Jackson where we visited Jackson State University, (formerly Jackson College).

Ursinus students learned about the killing of Phillip J. Gibbs and James E. Green and the shooting of twelve others on campus by the State Police in 1970.

Tougaloo College was another stop on our journey. Tougaloo’s history is rich in the Civil Rights Movement. Student activism was commonplace. Tougaloo College Archives, as stated on its website, has a collection of personal papers, oral histories, photographs and other memorabilia of persons who were active in the movement.

Hollis Watkins, a Tougaloo graduate and activist, is founder and director of Southern Echo. At this stop, students learned about the importance of community organizing. Watkins and others travelled all over the state of Mississippi teaching communities how essential it is for citizens to organize and have an impact on economic development, educational and environmental decisions.

While also in Jackson, we visited the

By Paulette Patton, Contributing Guest Writer to The Mississippi Link

photo: Paulette Patton home of one of those activists, Medgar Evers. We toured the Evers House, now a National Historic Landmark, where we saw the trajectory of the bullets that went into the home. We stood on the driveway where Evers was murdered.

Farish Street was another stop. Farish Street was the “largest economically independent” business section in Jackson, where Black businesses thrived.

Recently, my sisters and I strolled down a few blocks of a mostly deserted community. We stopped at The Alamo Theatre where Black folks could see a movie without fear of being arrested because of segregation. Most of the businesses were shuttered. The Big Apple Inn, commonly known back then as Big John’s, was first opened in 1936, was still open.

Another stop, for the students, on our journey was Bolton, Mississippi to visit another Tougaloo College graduate and activist, Congressman Bennie Thompson, who is in his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Visiting Thompson’s office was always one of the highlights of the trip for many reasons, perhaps because he is a living legend, especially now as he chairs the January 6 Committee investigating the Insurrection that took place on our nation’s Capital.

Philadelphia, Mississippi was another stop. We saw the jail where Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were detained

and toured the courthouse where Edgar Ray Killen and seven klansmen and white supremacists were tried for their murder.

Chaney, from Meridian, MS, and Goodman and Schwerner from New York, were working to help Black Mississippians register to vote. These three activists were abducted and murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi in 1964. Our tour was led by Leroy Clemons, former president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Clemons is currently the executive director of the Neshoba Youth Coalition. Our tour ended at the murder site of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner.

Many times, I would look at the faces of the students where tears flowed as Clemons told the story of their brutal murders as we stood on the site where they were buried.

As we journeyed to the Mississippi Delta, many times the ride was quiet as we looked out on cotton fields, as we tried to prepare ourselves for the last leg of the trip. Our first stop was in Ruleville, Mississippi to visit the gravesite of Fannie Lou Hamer, a voting and women’s rights activist, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founder of the Freedom Democratic Party. Here we paid homage to her and her lifetime of work.

She is buried next to her beloved husband, Perry “Pap” Hamer.

From there to Glendora, Mississippi.

16

We visited the Emmett Till Interpretive Center/Museum. This Museum was established by Mayor Johnny B Thomas.

Thomas would meet us at the museum for a private tour. We were able to see a replica of the cotton gin fan that was tied around the neck of Till. The end of our journey was in Money, Mississippi. We stood on the very ground of Bryant’s store where Till and his cousins had entered to buy candy. This is the location where he was falsely accused.

Visiting all these places gave me the opportunity as an adult to visit places I never went as a child. I’m sure my parents were trying to spare us from the brutal nature of violence perpetrated against Blacks. As a parent and grandparent, I can understand wanting to protect your child. But our history should not be erased. Books should not be banned.

One place that I have been intrigued by since a student at Tougaloo was Mound Bayou, Mississippi. I was intrigued by the fact that there was an all-Black town in Mississippi that once thrived. I had a romanticized vision of this Black community. I don’t recall knowing about Mound Bayou as a child. It certainly was not in our history books. Recently, my sisters and I decided to take a road trip to Cleveland, Mississippi which would include Mound Bayou.

As portrayed in the mini-series, Mound

Bayou was a thriving community. Not only was it thriving, it was a thriving Black community. It was founded by two cousins, Isiah and Joshua Montgomery and Benjamin Gill. It was founded in 1887 and aptly called “the Jewel of the Delta.” There was a hospital where Blacks all over the state would come for good medical care. The all-Black school was compared favorably with the best white schools in the state. There were several churches, a zoo, swimming pool, newspaper(s), insurance company, banks, credit union and sawmill, all owned by Black folks.

Today, like Farish Street, most of those businesses are gone. The hospital still stands and is used as the Delta Health Center.

Exploring and learning more about our history is very rewarding. Choose a place and set out on an adventure. As watching the Emmett Till story and visiting these places allowed us to see how we have survived as we struggle for self-determination. As we confront our history, we struggle with love and anger. Understanding our history is challenging and uplifting.

But we must push forward. In the words of Maya Angelou, “And Still I Rise.”

James Hampton, reference librarian at the Eudora Welty Library in Jackson, MS, contributed to this article.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Con’t from page 13

Sleep Apnea Here’s How to Reverse It

Association.

Dr. Seema Khosla, medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep in Fargo, says while some may consider the disorder no more than nuisance snoring, untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure in the lungs, stroke and mental decline, among other health problems. CPAP is the standard treatment and one that Khosla prescribes to her patients.

The new study was timely, according to Khosla, who wasn’t part of the research. A report recently commissioned

by Medicare sought to find out whether funding CPAP machines was beneficial, she notes, and the issue had become a point of discussion among sleep specialists.

“We don’t want to miss this potential opportunity to treat our patients right, with something that is, in many cases, very lifesaving and life-altering,” Khosla adds. “Reading this study made me appreciate that people are still looking at this and being really creative about it.”

Future research might include studying whether improving a person’s sleep apnea would have an impact on their other health issues.

Age acceleration can also be caused by smoking, poor diet and pollution, he says.

What isn’t clear is if other treatments for OSA such as drug therapies or surgery would have the same impact CPAP had in this study, Cortese adds.

The researchers also did not examine whether kids with OSA experience the same types of accelerated aging, though CPAP would not be a typical treatment option for patients in that age group.

“I cannot tell you that any other treatment will work the same way at least on the epigenetic deceleration,” Cortese says.

When to see a doctor To prevent age acceleration and any of the other health problems that are associated with OSA it is important to get screened so that you can get diagnosed and get treated properly. The best way to spot sleep apnea is by paying attention to your symptoms.

The following are symptoms of sleep apnea: Loud snoring Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person Gasping for air during sleep Awakening with a dry mouth Morning headache Difficulty staying asleep Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia) Difficulty paying attention while awake Irritability Loud snoring may indicate a potentially serious problem, however, not everyone with sleep apnea snores. Additionally, you should ask your doctor about any sleep problem that leaves you fatigued, sleepy and irritable.

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17

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Pfizer Asks FDA to Approve Second Booster for Seniors

For more information, visit the FDA’s website. www.fa.gov

by Jason Henderson, BlackDoctor.org Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday that it has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the emergency use of a second booster shot for Americans 65 and older.

In a statement announcing its request, Pfizer relied on data from two studies out of Israel that have been published without peer review on pre-print servers.

What the studies show The first study, conducted in concert with Israel’s Ministry of Health, reviewed the health records of 1.1 million people and concluded that they were less likely to become infected or develop severe illness after a fourth dose of Pfizer’s vaccine. However, Israel only recently began its second booster program, so it was unclear how long the extra protection might last. Israel began offering fourth doses

to health care workers in late December, then quickly broadened eligibility to those 60 and older and other vulnerable groups.

The second study, of Israeli health care workers, showed that while fourth shots of either Pfizer’s or Moderna’s vaccine boosted antibody levels, it was not very effective at preventing infections. Researchers said those findings underscored the urgency of developing vaccines that target whatever variant is circulating.

Still, “both data sets showed evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness,” the company said in its statement.

Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla has said more than once in the past week that the company believes a fourth shot will be needed to counter the waning power of the third shot.

A meeting of an FDA expert advisory committee to discuss the issue of second booster shots is expected to be held next month, The New York Times reports.

While a fourth shot for all older Americans without weakened immune systems may be a good idea now, giving extra booster shots to the general population should probably be put on hold until the fall, some senior Biden administration officials suggest.

“Barring any surprises from new variants, maybe the best thing is to think about our booster strategy in conjunction with the influenza vaccine next fall, and get as many people as possible boosted then,” Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, told the Times last month.

Any recommendation on a second booster shot would likely target people most at risk, possibly based on underlying conditions as well as age, Dr. Anthony Fauci,

chief medical adviser to the White House, has said.

In addition, the administration is running short on funds for COVID vaccines, a senior White House official told reporters on condition of anonymity Tuesday, the Times reported. The official said there is enough money to cover fourth shots for people with weakened immune systems, but additional funding from Congress would be needed to pay for second boosters for all Americans.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released last month showed that protection began to weaken after a booster shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but it did not analyze cases by age, immune deficiencies or underlying health conditions.

Do you qualify for a booster?

According to the FDA, you can get a booster if: Pfizer-BioNTech

2022

18

• You can get a booster if: It’s been at least 5 months since completing a primary series AND you are: Age 12+ • If eligible, you can get a booster of: Pfizer-BioNTech* ModernaJanssen (J&J) *Only Pfizer-BioNTech can be used as a booster in those aged 12-17.

Moderna • You can get a booster if: It’s been at least 5 months since completing a primary series AND you are Age 18+ • If eligible, you can get a booster of: Moderna Pfizer-BioNTech Janssen (J&J) Janssen (J&J) • You can get a booster if: It’s been at least 2 months since completing primary vaccination AND you are: Age 18+ • If eligible, you can get a booster of: Janssen (J&J) Moderna PfizerBioNTech For more information, visit the FDA’s website. www.fa.gov

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022 Con’t from page 2

A Labor Of Love

and raised in New Haven, she spent her summers at the Ives Branch downtown, delighting in the hundreds of titles that could transport her anywhere in the world with the turn of a page. During her time as a student at High School in the Community, a media specialist fed her love for libraries. She held onto it while studying business administration at Southern Connecticut State University, including time working as an aide in the teen center at the Ives branch. She called working at Stetson—a job she started just three weeks ago—a full-circle kind of moment.

Open Enrollment.

Open FUTURES.

“It [the library] was just a safe space,” she said. “It’s beautiful to see this.”

In every direction, a mix of books and new technology waited for readers of all ages. To Cruz’ left stood a brand-new maker space, still smelling of clean, fresh wood as sewing machines, podcasting mics and a 3D printer waited patiently for teenagers to put them to use. To her right, a bay of computers peeked out beyond a long, creamy wall that will soon host work by the photographer Carl Van Vechten. Yards away, shelves of the African Diaspora collection stretched out, Rhianna’s watchful eyes perched over the top.

Back downstairs in a staff kitchen, Brown was just getting to her lunch. It was past 3 p.m. A bouquet of creamsiclecolored roses sat beside her, brightening the room. Even in the flurry of activity, they seemed to quietly remind passers-by of everything that the building held, and the work Brown had done to get it open.

While Stetson is now open, she said that the library is adding programming gradually in an attempt to remain Covidcautious. A longtime collaboration with the Shubert Theatre continues this Saturday, with performances from youth in the Monk Jazz and STEAM Collective.

Brown is also building partnerships with Albertus Magnus College, the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Juan Castillo and the Walter Luckett Foundation, and musician Manny James his educational incubator Creative Hearts, Inc. In part, she said, it’s why she loves being a branch manager—and wouldn’t want to do anything other job in the whole library system. She remembered a few weeks ago, when Stetson hosted a small group visit with composer Joel Thompson in the library. Modeen read from Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, a canonical children’s book from which Thompson has written an opera. As Modeen read, Thompson played excerpts of the score.

When a little boy hugged her leg at the end of the program, Brown cried.

“I’m with the community,” she said. “If I were to be anything other than what I am now, I wouldn’t be part of the community in the same way. I like being part of the village. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

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THEINNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS March , 2022 - March 2022 NEWS -July 27, 23 2016 - August 02, 29, 2016

Control Room Operations/Dispatching

tion of System Operator/Dispatcher for a municipal electric utility serving 25,000 customers.

Coordinates electricRENTAL system HOUSING switching and places equipment inAVAILABLE and out of serVALENTINA MACRI PREAPPLICATIONS vice during routine and emergency operations. Requires HS diploma/GED with 2 years experience in the of Distribution switchboards HOME INC, on operation behalf of Columbus HouseSCADA and the equipment New Havenand/or Housing Authority, used in the distribution of electricity or other qualifying experience in a related field. is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develExperience and training may be substituted on a year for year basis. Must maintain opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apvalid system operation certification from Connecticut Valley Exchange (CONVEX) or ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y other approved agency or be able to obtain the same within 90 days of hire. Must posand aending whenofsufficient pre-applications (approximately 100)plus have ses 25, and2016 maintain valid State CT Driver’s License. $34.63 - $41.15 hourly an been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon excellent fringe benefits package to include a defined benefit pension plan. Applyreto: quest by of calling HOME INC at Town 203-562-4663 during 45 those hours. preDepartment Human Resources, of Wallingford, South MainCompleted Street, Wallingapplications be returned to HOME officestoatwlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov.

171 Orange Street, Third ford, CT 06492.must Application materials canINC’s be emailed Floor, New Haven, Application forms willCT be06510. mailed upon request by calling the Department of Human Resources, (203) 294-2080 or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page. Fax #: (203) 294-2084. Closing date will be April 12, 2022. EOE.

NOTICIA

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la 109 Frank Street, New Haven.

Se aplican limitaciones defor ingresos The State of calle Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting an Executive and aestarán Secretary 1. máximos.

LasSecretary pre-solicitudes disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Further regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application julio, 2016information hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) instructions are available at: en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview. llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse asp?R1=220315&R2=3594SE&R3=001 a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 . and https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview. asp?R1=220314&R2=6976CL&R3=001 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave Galasso Materials LLC, a quarry and paving contractor, has

1.5 construction BA, 3BR, 1season. level , We 1BA positions2BR open Townhouse, for the upcoming are seekAll new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 ing candidates for a variety of positions, including: Office Clerks, highways, near bus stop & shopping center Scalehouse Dispatcher/ Equipment Operators and Laborers. NO Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 PHONE CALLS. Please email resume and cover letter to “Hiring Manager”, Galasso Materials LLC, PO Box 1776, East Granby CT CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s 06026.

Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. Galasso Materials is an equal employer.

AllU.F.W.B. applicants be (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijahopportunity Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel Church will 64 Brewster St.considered New Haven, CTfor

employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Firefighter/ParamediC

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour

The Town of Wallingford is currently accepting applications for Firefi until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28ghter/Paramedic.

Smith Street, Applicants validConcrete CPAT card issued within years prior toatApril Seymour,must CT have: 06483a for Sidewalk Repairstwo and(2)Replacement the 4, 2022, HS diploma/GED, valid driver’s license and hold a valid Paramedic License Assisted Living Facility, 26 enrolled Smith Street thatSmithfield meets CT Gardens State Regulations.

Applicants who are in an Seymour. accredited Paramedicine training program may apply, but will not be considered for appointment until they complete the Paramedic licensing requirement. Copies of licenses and certificaA pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith tions must be submitted with application materials. The Town of Wallingford offers Street Seymour, CTofat$58,377.28 10:00 am, to on$75,262.20 Wednesday, July 20,In2016. a competitive pay rate annually. addition, there is a $5,150 annual paramedic bonus plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Application deadline is April 4, 2022. Apply: Department of Human Resources , Town of WallingBidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Offord, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT. 06492, Forms will be mailed upon request fice, Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 888-4579.from the Department from the28 Department of Human Resources or may(203) be downloaded of Human Resources Web Page. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE.

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

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

$220,000,000*

NOTICE The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking qualified candidates for the posi-

State of Connecticut

University of Connecticut General Obligation Bonds, 2022 Series A

Full Time – All Shifts Top Pay-Full Benefits EOE Please apply in person: 1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

Preliminary Pricing Information Retail Order Period*

Institutional Period*

Expected Maturities

Monday and Tuesday, March 28-29, 2022

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

2023 through 2042

Expected Tax Status

Interest is federally tax-exempt and state tax-exempt for Connecticut residents** Ratings from Moody’s, S&P and Fitch are Aa3/A+/A+, respectively

For more information on these Bonds, including the Preliminary Official Statement, please visit: or contact any of the firms below.

RBC Capital Markets 800-243-2478 Piper Sandler & Co. 800-552-0614

Mesirow Financial, Inc. 800-558-7290

Academy Securities 855-212-3239

Blaylock Van, LLC 877-591-7072

Cabrera Capital Markets LLC 800-291-2388

Citigroup 855-644-7252

Drexel Hamilton, LLC 212-632-0406

Fidelity Capital Markets 800-544-5372

J.P. Morgan 855-231-8873

Mischler Financial Group, Inc. 800-820-0640

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. 866-208-1368

Raymond James 877-295-9116

Rice Financial Products Co. 888-740-7423

Roosevelt & Cross Inc. 800-348-3426

Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC 800-334-6800

Stern Brothers 800-466-5519

Stifel 800-679-5446

TD Securities 212-827-7172

*Preliminary, subject to change. ** Before purchasing any Bonds, contact your tax advisor to determine any applicable federal, state and local tax consequences.

These Bonds may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time an Official Statement is delivered in final form. Under no circumstances shall this announcement constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Bonds in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities law of any such jurisdiction. Bonds are subject to availability. The Bonds will only be sold by means of an Official Statement.

Secretary :

The Town of East Haven is currently conducting an examination for the positions of Secretary I, Grade Level 9-$19.21/hour and Secretary III, Grade Level 11-$23.50/hr. Qualified candidates must possess a High School Diploma or GED and two (2) years of experience with secretarial and office operations or any equivalent combination of experience and training. Candidates interested in the Secretary III position must also possess anInvitation Associate's Degree or higher. to Bid: The deadline to apply is April 13, 2022 ndand applications are available at http://www.

2 Notice townofeasthavenct.org/civiltest.shtml or The Civil Service Office, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT. The Town of East Haven is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities, Females, Veterans and Handicapped are encouraged to apply.

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units) QSR STEEL Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project CORPORATION

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New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Electrical, Top pay for topMechanical, performers.

Health Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Benefi ts, 401K, Vacation Pay.set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

This contract is subject to state Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

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

TOWN PLANNER

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Full-time position Go to www.portlandct.org for details 20

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Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay.

www.BuyCTBonds.com or call 877.552.8266

Loop Capital Markets 888-294-8898

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Town of Bloomfield

Vehicle Mechanic Technician Salary $30.97 hourly (non-CDL) Salary $31.91 hourly (CDL) Pre-employment drug testing.

AA/EOE.

For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.org

Town of Bloomfield Maintainer II Salary $28.58 hourly Pre-employment drug testing.

AA/EOE. For Details go to HYPERLINK "http://www.bloomfieldct.org/" www.bloomfieldct.org

NEWS- July 27,232016 - August 02, 29, 2016 THEINNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS March , 2022 - March 2022

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

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

CITY OF MILFORD

Seeking qualified condidates to fill numerous vacancies to include, Deputy Assessor, Mechanic Sewer Line, Public Health Nurse and more. For information and detailed application instructions, visit www.ci.milford.ct.us Click on SERVICES, JOBS and JOB TITLE.

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

(203) 435-1387

DRIVER CDL CLASS A Full Time – All Shifts Top

Pay-Full Benefits

NEW HAVEN 242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

St. New Haven, CT

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

Listing: Tax Manager

High Volume petroleum fuel distributor is seeking a full time Tax Manager to handle 30+ fuel and sales tax filings in multiple states monthly. Duties also include some A pre-bid conference will be held the Housing Authorityexperience.

Office 28 Smith general accounting.

Three+ years publicataccounting or equivalent BA/BS Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am,ason Wednesday, 20,and 2016. in Accounting or Business required well as advancedJuly Excel computer system skills. Reports to Controller. CPA a plus.

Send resume to: HRDept@eastriverenergy.com or Human Housing Resource Authority Dept., P.O. OfBox Bidding documents are available from the Seymour 388, Guilford CT 06437.

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

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

HILL CENTRAL REVITALIZATION – PHASE 1 Enterprise Builders Inc. (“EBI”), acting as General Contractor for Westmount Development, will receive qualified subcontractor proposals for the work associated with the project known as Hill Central Revitalization – Phase 1 (the “Project”). Bids shall be received via e-mail at bids@enterbuilders.com, on or before 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Bid bonds and Payment & Performance Bonds are not required.

The Work includes the construction of 64 Passive House Institute US certified residential units arranged in 7 townhouse style buildings and 1 garden apartment including related site development and building demolition. The project will be constructed in 2 stages.

Available bid packages include: Building Demolition and Abatement (Phase 1 and Phase 2), Temporary Fencing, Sitework, Paving, Permanent Fencing, Final Cleaning, Landscaping, Site Concrete, Concrete, Gypsum Cement Underlayment, Masonry, Steel, Rough Carpentry, Finish Carpentry/Casework, Wood Stairs, Siding, Air Sealing and Thermal Insulation, Asphalt Shingle Roofing, Gutters and Downspouts, Membrane Roofing, Waterproofing, EIFS, Firestopping, Doors/Frames/Hardware, Glazing/Auto Entry Operators, New Passive House Windows, Drywall, Tile, Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Painting, Signage, Toilet Accessories, Postal Specialties, Fire Protection Specialties, Residential Appliances, Window Treatments, Residential Casework and Countertops, Elevator, Fire Suppression, Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, and Solar. Bid package instructions and forms will be issued via addendum.

Drawings can be viewed free of charge via iSqFt. Please reach out to the EBI contact below to request an invitation to bid. Documents may also be viewed at EBI’s office, 46 Shepard Drive, Newington, CT (8:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F) where a disc with all documents may be obtained free of charge.

EOE Please apply in person: This project is taxable on new construction. This project is State and Federally funded, and Residential Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates apply.

1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. to Bid: Stratford, CT 06615InvitationThis contract is subject to State and local set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

2nd Notice

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE For RFI’s and all other questions, please contact Justin Caporiccio at jcaporiccio@enSENIOR ADMINITRATIVE

terbuilders.com or by phone (860) 466–5104. All subcontractor bids must be submitted Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings,to17bids@enterbuilders.com.

Units) Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing The Wage OwnerRate and Project EBI reserve the rights to accept any, all, or any part of bids; to reject

ASSISTANT Full-time position

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

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID

any, all, or any part of bids; to waive any non-material deficiencies in bid responses,

to Selective waive minor inconsistencies; andCastto award the bid that in its judgment will be in the Newto Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Demolition, Site-work, Go www.portlandinterests of the Owner. in-place Concrete, Asphaltbest Shingles, Vinyl Siding, ct.org for details Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Residential EBIAppliances, is an Affirmative ActionCasework, / Equal Opportunity Employer. Section 3, Veteran-owned Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Fire Protection. andand Small/Minority/Women’s business Enterprises are encouraged to participate.

QSR STEEL CORPORATION This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 FOR Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 ASPHALT Paving of Parking lots Top pay for top performers. Health documents available via ftp link below: And Benefits, 401K,Project Vacation Pay. http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Integrated Pest Management Services Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

APPLY NOW!

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com THE HOUSING AUTHORITY of the CITY OF NEW BRITAIN (Authority) HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran,will S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified receive sealed bids,Businesses in TRIPLICATE, for Asphalt Paving Parking Lots and Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Integrated Pest Management for developments within the City of New Britain.

AA/EEO EMPLOYER Bids will be received until April 14, 2022 at 3:00 PM at the office of the Au-

MECHANIC TRACTOR TRAILER

Full Time, Benefits, Top Pay Apply:Pace, 1425 Honeyspot

Rd. Ext., Stratford, CT EOE

21

thority, 16 Armistice Street, New Britain, CT 06053.

To obtain a copy of the "Request for Proposals," please visit www.nbhact.org procurement.

THE INNER-CITY INNER-CITY NEWS March , 2022 - March 2022 NEWS- July 27,23 2016 - August 02,29, 2016

Construction

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valWe offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits id drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621Contact: Tom Dunay VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE 1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Phone: 860- 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom this develAffiatrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to applyapartments Drug Free Workforce opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum income limitations apAffirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reGarrity Asphalt Incduring seeks: CT Fence quest by calling HOMEReclaiming, INC at 203-562-4663 those hours.Large Completed pre- Company looking for an individual for our Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing PVCStreet, Fence Third Production Shop. Experience preferred but will applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northtrain the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production poContact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 sition. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and Email: rick.touMust have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain VALENTINAsignant@garrityasphalt.com MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDESmore.

DISPONIBLES a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com.

Affirmative Action/deEqual Opportunity HOME INC, en nombre la Columbus House y Employer de la New Haven Housing Authority, está AA/EOE-MF aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipjulio,Must 2016have hastaacuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes ment.

CDL License, clean driving record, capable of (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas porSeeking correo atopetición operating heavyde equipment; be willing to travel throughout the employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, llamando HOME INC alexcellent 203-562-4663 horas.Pre-solicitudes deberánand remitirse Northeast &aNY. We offer hourlydurante rate &esas excellent benefits operator teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT personal 06510 . transportation and a valid drivers license reReliable

NOTICE

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

NOTICIA

Union Company seeks:

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

NEW HAVEN

Construction

quired. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

THE GLENDOWER GROUP, INC. Request for Proposals

Consultant with Project Rental Assistance Contract Experience for the Redevelopment of 34 Level Street The Glendower Group, Inc. is currently seeking proposals for a consultant with project rental assistance contract experience for the redevelopment of 34 Level Street.

A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

beginning on Monday, March 14, 2022 at 3:00PM.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Request for Proposals Data Warehouse Business Intelligence

Elm City Communities is currently seeking proposals for data warehouse business intelligence. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems. com/gateway beginning on

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 3:00PM.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Request for Proposals Intelligent Document Management

Elm City Communities is currently seeking proposals for intelligent document management. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm Drug Free Workforce City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.

Invitation to Bid: cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on nd State of Connecticut 2 Notice Office of Policy Monday, March 21, 2022 at 3:00PM. and Management

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

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

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

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings,Currently 17 Units)looking for a full-time fuel oil driver for residential and on site fueling of The State of Connecticut, Office of equipment.

Driver must have a clean driving record with a Class B hazmat endorsement Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project Policy and Management is recruiting

with at least 2 years of driving and fuel oil experience. Must have or be able to attain a TWIC card. Candidate must be reliable, friendly, detailed oriented and punctual.

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Cast- drug test and random drug tests throughout Must be ableDemolition, to pass a Site-work, pre-employment Further information regarding the duties, for an Agency Labor Relations Specialist.

in-place Concrete, Asphaltemployment.

Shingles, Vinyl Siding, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available Flooring, Painting, Divisionat:10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

Company Culture:

https://www.jobapscloud.

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

People oriented supportive and fairness focused com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance Teamrequirements.

Oriented cooperative and collaborative R1=220224&R2=5257MP&R3=001

Detailed oriented quality and precision focused Job is for all age groups. in their resume or who have been out of the workforce for the past 6 months or more.

Project documents available via ftp link Open below:to applicants who do not have a college Diploma.

M – F, 8-hour day shift, full-time, hourly pay, Salary $28.00 - $32.00/hour http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer Due Date: August 5, 2016 Bid Extended, Applicants with gaps and strongly encourages the applications Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com DRIVER CDLtheCLASS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF NORWALK, CT IS REQUESTING PROHCC encourages participation of A all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses

Company, 32 Progress Seymour, CT 06483 POSALSAve, FROM CONSULTANTS OR ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING FIRMS FOR AN Full Time –Haynes All Construction Shifts Top

UPDATED PHYSICAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF 12 FEDERAL FINANCED HOUSING Pay-Full BenefitsAA/EEO EMPLOYER PROPERTIES. TO OBTAIN A COMPLETE COPY OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

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

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

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

22

DOCUMENTS, CONTACT GUILLERMO BENDANA, PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST AT GBENDA@NORWALKHA.OGR NORWALK HOUSING IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. ADAM BOVILSKY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

Join The Inner City Newspaper As We Celebrate The Achievements Of Women During Women’s History Month!

HISTORY DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH,

The Inner City Newspaper

will present our “Annual Women’s History Month Commemorative Issues!”

These Special Edition Issues published each week during March, will be a tribute to the achievements of Women from a historical perspective as well as a celebration of the lives of women who impact our communities, Our region, and who through their works, have made an impact throughout the country.

These issues will focus on Women's Health , Lifestyle, Fashion, Careers, Entertainment, Relationships, and Comfortable Living!

We invite your business to utilize these showcase editions as a platform to place your branding messages in premium locations throughout these keepsake issues! For more information on how your business can play a prominent role in these productions, call the Inner City News Advertising Department at: (203) 387-0354.

Circulation Breakdown

Circulation Breakdown Inner-City News Market CIRCULATION BREAKDOWN

GET THE FACTS

Connecticut has

16.5% non-white population. The figure

Published: weekly / circulation:

for the inner city newspaper coverage area is an overwhelming

44%.

25,000 / Readership:

100,000 Where: over

750+ racks throughout the New Haven and

Bridgeport area.

Within the inner city distribution area, the cities with the largest non-white populations are: Bridgeport

New haven

53.1% New haven 49.3%

60% Bridgeport 40%

New Haven, Westhaven, Hamden, North Haven, Bridgeport,

This represents a vital consumer base and an important seg-

Orange, Ansonia, Milford, Waterbury

ment of the population that cannot be ignored! Media market research (MRI) reported that

30.3% of the black popu$40,000 a year!

Here are some quick facts about our readers.

35–78 College educated: 53% 46%– 54% Home owners: 34%

lation have household incomes of over

Age:

10%

Male / Female:

of this population have incomes of 70,000 or more!

Place your message where people place their trust.

The

Inner-City Penfield Communications inc.

News

Connecticut’s first choice for urban news since 1990.

5 0 Fi t c h S t r e e t ,

New Haven, C T 06515 | Phone: 203.387.0354 w w w. i n n e r c i t y o n l i n e . c o m

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|

Fa x :

203.387.2684

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022

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