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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

1st Covid Victim Buried — With Extra Care

by THOMAS BREEN New Haven I ndependent

Marion Marcus Curtis Hunt, better known as “Curtis” to friends and “Kirky” to family, loved to sing opera around the house.

He had an insatiable appetite for good food and education. And he dedicated his professional life to helping New Haveners at the margins — those struggling with addiction, those suffering from HIV — get quality, stigma-free healthcare.

It was in that capacity that the humble 57-year-old became the first New Havener to die of Covid-19 — and the first to be buried with the virus firmly in mind.

Several dozen of his siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, god-siblings, and longtime friends attended an open-air, open-casket visitation Tuesday in the parking lot of Howard K. Hill Funeral Services on Chapel Street in the Dwight neighborhood.

They then made the drive up to Beaverdale Memorial Park near Southern Connecticut State University for a brief memorial service dedicated to a man Pastor Donarell B. Elder, who presided over the funeral, described as “humble, quiet, and a giving spirit.”

“He has left a legacy for all of us,” Elder said alongside Hunt’s casket.

“He wasn’t about talk. He was about doing something.”

Every aspect of Hunt’s visitation and graveside memorial service was permeated by the novel coronavirus, which has infected at least 119 New Havenvers (confirmed cases) and likely many more. So far Hunt is the only New Havener to die of the disease. (Officials reported Tuesday that a second person believed to have died remains alive at the hospital.) He was in Yale New Haven Hospital with two people associated with Cornell Scott Hill Health Center who also contracted the disease.

Nearly every attendee Tuesday wore a tight-fitting face mask and latex gloves along with more typical mourning attire of black suits, dresses, hats, and sunglasses to hide the tears.

They largely refrained from touching one another, maintaining a social distance of six feet or more when possible and, when not, bumping elbows to provide some form of physical contact at a time when shaking hands has become a dangerous and forbidden act.

A bright red posterboard with in-

THOMAS BREEN PHOTOS

memorial.

Hunt’s niece Faith Mann reads at Tuesday’s graveside

Attendees at Hunt’s funeral, wearing masks and standing apart.

… and at Beaverdale Memorial Park.

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formation about the pandemic stood in between a bouquet of flowers and a hearse in a parking lot temporarily converted into a funeral parlor.

The pall of the pandemic hung over Tuesday’s rituals because the disease that has swept the globe and that healthcare professionals expect will peak here in the coming weeks had taken the life of Hunt, who worked as a clinical and addiction counselor at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center’s Grant Street Partnership in the Hill.

“Who would have thought our world could be turned upside down?” Elder lamented at the cemetery. That New York City could be so besieged. That Times Square could be so empty.

“This is not an easy time,” added Hunt’s older brother, John Mann, Jr., an elder at Way of The Cross Church.

“It still seems surreal.

“My little brother was just a good man. Period.”

“This Is Real” The visitation began on Chapel Street a little after 11 a.m. The funeral home had set up Hunt’s body and casket under a white tent pitched in the side parking lot, allowing for visitors to drive through and pay their respects as they parked behind the building.

Many got out of their cars, donned their masks and gloves, and walked to within a few feet of Hunt to pay their respects.

Hunt was “very generous” and “lovable,” said his first cousin, John Gilbert. “He knew everyone. He was just a nice person.”

As for Covid-19, “I hate this pandemic,” he said. “I just wish that the world didn’t come to this.”

Hunt’s niece, Dieshell Gilbert, agreed. “He was always an uplifting person,” she said.

She knew a lot of people who grew up in their home neighborhood of the Hill who wound up struggling with drug addiction. “He talked them off the streets,” she said about Hunt. “He was a good listener.”

Gilbert said this experience of losing her uncle has convinced her to “take [Covid-19] very seriously” and to “be mindful of other people’s lives.”

Anthony Stewart (pictured), a childhood friend of Hunt’s family, said he remembered Hunt as a child running around his family’s house in the Hill and singing opera and the blues.

“This is my first day wearing a mask,” he said. When he learned that Hunt had died from Covid-19 was “when it really hit” that this pandemic was se-

rious, and present in New Haven just as it is nearly everywhere else in this country right now. “This is real.”

The hearse bearing Hunt’s casket arrived at Beaverdale a little after 1 p.m.

The pallbearers, masks still wrapped tightly around their mouths, carried the casket to Hunt’s burial place ... ... and then stood in a row parallel to the casket, directly across from Hunt’s immediate family.

Elder urged those gathered around the casket to follow safety precautions during the abbreviated service.

“We are all aware of the horrible impact this Covid virus has had and is having,” he said.

Then he launched into his eulogy for Hunt, followed by a reading of his obituary by Jackie Lindsey.

Hunt was born on July 3, 1962, at St. Raphael’s Hospital to Marion and Cora Hunt.

“As a child, Curtis fell in love with the arts and theater,” Lindsey said.

“And as he grew, his undeniable talent as a singer began to flourish.”

He was a member of the Audubon Society while attending Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School.

He earned an associates degree from Gateway Community College, a bachelors degree from Albertus Magnus College, and a master’s degree from Fordham University. He worked at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center and at New Reach as a clinical and addiction counselor.

“Curtis was the type of person that would light up a room with his beautiful presence, bright smile, and warm demeanor.”

David Kennedy (pictured), one of Hunt’s former colleagues at Hill Health’s Grant Street addiction recovery center, praised Hunt’s “camaraderie” and “morale” for boosting the spirits of co-workers and patients alike.

“We will never forget you, Curtis,” he said.

Hunt’s niece Faith Mann read a letter she said was provided by Hill Health’s Ben Metcalf. “He was the personification of caring,” Mann read about her uncle. “The indelible mark of his legacy is that he left us that much more motivated to care for others.”

And Hunt’s god-sister, Carolyn Williams, sang over Hunt’s casket one of her late family member’s favorite songs, “Going Up Yonder”:

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Doc Glimpses Coming Covid-19 “Storm”

by PAUL BASS

New Haven I ndependent

Called in to help an athletic middleaged patient keep breathing, Aharon Benelyahoo got a jolt — and a reminder of why he chose to become a doctor.

Benelyahoo was on duty as the senior resident anesthesiologist at Yale-New Haven’s York Street campus, called along with the attending anesthesiologist to any room where a patient needed a breathing tube to stay alive.

By this time, as the week’s rounds continued, just about every bed he was called to was occupied by a patient struggling with Covid-19.

This patient was young and in good health, but within days had become desperately ill.

The patient “looked to be having trouble, but not to the point where they were in extremis,” Benelyahoo recalled in a conversation Sunday.

Then he looked at the numbers. The patient’s oxygen level was perilously low. Benelyahoo and the medical team were deeply worried about the patient.

The 31-year-old Benelyahoo already knew that, although Covid-19 tends to hit elderly people the hardest, it can slam “very healthy” people his own age and a little older, as well. Now he was staring at the evidence. It startled him.

“The oxygen saturation had dropped very quickly, which is something that is very unusual for most patients that are healthy,” Benelyahoo said. It was the dreaded condition behind the name Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and without decisive intervention to rapidly improve oxygenation, the prognosis was grave.

“With the younger people, it kind of sneaks up on you ... the patients who are younger and healthier, who look like they may be having a little trouble breathing. You get them on a monitor, and you realize their oxygen levels are at a dangerous point. They’re very low. Even with oxygen masks on them, their numbers don’t get to nearly as high as you expect.”

Like the countless other hospital workers risking their lives to keep New Haveners alive in the Covid-19 crisis — doctors, nurses, aides, cleaning crews — Benelyahoo is on a mission, prepared for long, stressful hours.

While Covid-19 has begun claiming lives in New Haven, it’s still the unnerving “calm before the storm,” he said. Daily he sees more coronavirus patients. The pace of cases is slowly building in what is believed to be about a two-week run-up to the sudden leap that has already hit his friends

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On coronavirus duty: Aharon Benelyahoo.

and colleagues working in New York City hospitals.

Like other residents, Benelyahoo has been told that, starting Monday, he may be called in to fill in to cover other services besides his regular assignment. Last week he worked about 40-50 hours (in part because of cancelations of non-emergency procedures).

Now residents are preparing to work 60 to 70 hours a week.

At this point supplies and beds have been available, Benelyahoo noted, thanks to the hospital’s extensive planning, including clearing out three floors of the normally busy Smilow Cancer Hospital for dedicated care of coronavirus patients. Along with N95 masks, he and others sometimes make use of PAPR (powered air purifying respirator) hoods to avoid airborne infection.

Benelyahoo needs maximum protection on the job in order to avoid Covid-19 infection: The doctors responsible for intubating and anesthetizing patients can’t stand six feet away.

“You’re in the mouth, the airway,” with “all the particles,” he said.

To keep his equanimity on his off hours, Benelyahoo, who is in selfisolation, has been meditating, reading extensively about the virus, and debriefing with friends on a nightly 7:30

Zoom chat. The group of friends on the chat includes other medical workers, including a urology resident at the epicenter of the pandemic at a Brooklyn hospital.

Benelyahoo plans to begin a medical fellowship at New York University in July after completing his residency at Yale. For now he balances fear for his safety and those of his loved ones with a determination to help save lives, a determination he shares with people at all levels of employment at the hospital.

“I’m unnerved. You take every day and you’re trying to look at the positive. I go in every day with that feeling of wanting to make sure I protect myself from everything going on, and also making sure I’m focused and can do what I have to to try to help other people,” he remarked.

“I feel proud that I have some skills that are valuable in this situation. That makes me feel really good about my decision to go into medicine. I’m able to help people in severe situations. It’s a tough thing to do. You know the implications of intubating someone, what that means about how sick they are. It kind of reinforces my decision to go into medicine. I’m happy to be able to do this for people.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Economic Aid Coming From Feds As State Resets

by Christine Stuart Ct. News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — It took 24 hours for the Department of Economic and Community Development to accept 4,000 applications and exhaust $25 million in small business assistance.

Applications for the first round of bridge loans from the Small Business Express program are closed and the state will open another round of $25 million in 0% loans to small businesses with fewer than 100 employees soon.

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“We feel it is prudent to hit pause and stop taking more applications right now to ensure we can process the current queue efficiently and get this muchneeded money out the door as quickly as possible. We want to be fair to all applicants and taking more requests would not be right,” DECD Commissioner David Lehman said.

Small businesses, including sole proprietors, were invited to submit applications. It’s unknown at this point when applications will be accepted for the second $25 million.

About 100,000 unemployment claims have been filed since March 13, which represents 6% of the 1.7 million-strong Connecticut workforce. The Department of Labor said last week that it would stop reporting daily unemployment claims because they’re unable to disaggregate duplicate claims and they worry the information would not be accurate.

DECD will be offering guidance to businesses starting Monday about how they can apply for help through the fed-

eral Cares Act. The Cares Act signed by President Donald Trump Friday extends unemployment benefits to self-employed workers and independent contractors for up to 39 weeks of employment through the end of 2020.

In addition, employees who quit their job for coronavirus-related reasons like the need to take care of someone impacted by the virus could qualify for unemployment benefits if they don’t have access to paid Family and Medical Leave.

As of Sunday evening, 1,993 people in the state have been diagnosed with the disease and 34 people in Connecticut have died from complications caused by COVID-19.

In the meantime, the state of Connecticut received one part of its Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance declaration Sunday.

The partial approval means affected state agencies and municipalities in all eight counties will be reimbursed for 75% of the costs associated with their response and emergency protective measures.

“These decisions will help remove any possible financial barriers from Connecticut’s heroic emergency response effort, which is already saving the lives of our fellow neighbors,” U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said.

The governor’s other request for disaster assistance, including individual assistance that could provide Connecticut residents with a number of critical benefits, such as expanded unemployment assistance, food benefits, and child care assistance, remains under review by the

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DECD Commissioner David Lehman White House.

The Centers for Disease Control issued “I remain hopeful that our request for a 14-day travel advisory for Connecticut, assistance for individuals will also be ap- New York, and New Jersey Saturday folproved because this pandemic has had a lowing President Donald Trump’s comsignificant impact on the livelihoods of ments about a possible mandatory quarso many people in Connecticut. Thou- antine for the tri-state region. sands of workers and families are badly On Sunday, Lamont chalked up the preshurting,” Lamont said. “Unlocking this ident’s comments to “musings.” assistance would mean expanded unem- “The only thing I appreciated about his ployment benefits for those who are out musings out loud the other day, was he of work because of the emergency, need- was thinking about this as a region,” ed food benefits, child care assistance, Lamont said. and a host of other critically important Lamont added that the 1,500 ventilators aid.” the state had requested from the national Lamont said the additional funding “is stockpile were rerouted Sunday. imperative to protecting the health and Hearst Connecticut Media reporting was safety of the people of our state and fur- included in this report. ther limiting the spread of this disease.”

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

First Inmate Tests Positive For COVID-19

by Lisa Backus Ct. News Junkie

The first inmate within the state’s prison system has tested positive for COVID-19, state Department of Correction officials announced Monday.

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The 32-year-old male is incarcerated at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville. His name has not been released.

It’s the same facility where a custody staff employee who last entered the facility on March 21 tested positive.

He was placed in isolation from the rest of the facility’s population as soon as it was suspected that he had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 which can include cough, fever and difficulty breathing.

When a test confirmed that he had COVID-19 he was placed in a negative pressure room at the Corrigan building

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO

at the facility, officials said. The room allows air in but does not allow air out

trapping the contaminants.

Other offenders in the same housing

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unit will be isolated from the rest of the population for 14 days, officials said.

Those who were in the vicinity of the man received temperature checks and are being closely monitored by DOC healthcare staff. A dozen other offenders have been tested but received negative results. Four DOC employees have tested positive for the virus, officials said.

The DOC has released about 500 people in the past month as the threat of COVID-19 increased throughout the state.

Advocates had been calling for a release in larger numbers to protect offenders who are not able to easily distance themselves from others which helps to stop the spread of the virus.

The releases created room for DOC officials to designate isolation areas for offenders entering the facilities at seven prisons in the state including York Correctional Institution, the only state correction facility for women, DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook said.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Mutual Aid Teams Tackle Covid-19 Challenge

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

Two groups of local community organizers have set up grassroots “mutual aid” funds with the goal of providing everything from grocery runs to educational support to direct cash assistance for vulnerable New Haveners during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those two new fundraising efforts are the New Haven Area Mutual Aid Fund and Mutual Aid for Connecticut.

The first was founded by three members of the local immigrant and labor rights group, the Semilla Collective, and the second spearheaded by the local racial justice advocacy outfit, CTCORE-Organize Now. Both represent Elm City community organizers’ latest efforts to respond to the dual public health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus outbreak: to pool resources, provide direct aid, and tap into informal, decentralized networks of support in order to help low-income New Haveners most likely to be hardest hit by a job loss or a school closure or a hospital visit related to the pandemic.

They also represent alternatives to larger and higher-profile fundraising efforts recently announced by Yale University, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and the United Way of Greater New Haven.

“It’s just an additional way to reach people who might not be reached through some of the forms of assistance going on right now,” said Semilla Collective member and New Haven Area Mutual Aid co-founder Sarah Eppler-Epstein.

“This is more nimble. We have the ability to distribute money more quickly, directly to people, because we’re not going through various bureaucratic systems.”

“All of this work has been communityled and powered,” said The Narrative Project Founder and CTCORE spokesperson Mercy Quaye.

As of Friday morning, the New Haven Area Mutual Aid Fund had raised $5,950. The CTCORE mutual aid fund had raised nearly $5,000 as of Wednesday.

Quaye said that CTCORE is serving as “community stewards of resources” in its new statewide mutual aid efforts.

The organizers have sent out this form asking people to indicate what they need or what they can offer during this time of crisis. They’ve stressed on their website that they are currently looking for volunteers who can translate to Hindi, French and Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Arabic, and American Sign Language.

As of Wednesday, 205 people had filled out the mutual aid form, Quaye said, “half of whom are people in need.”

“The CTCORE leaders have been making calls to those who have signed up as providers to connect them with people in need,” she continued. “The needs

MERCY QUAYE PHOTOCTCORE’s

Raven Blake, Ashley Blount and Camelle Scott. viduals who are currently incarcerated.”

“Shift More Money Towards People Who Need It” Eppler-Epstein, a Guilford native and current Yale Law School student, said that the New Haven Area Mutual Aid Fund is focusing its fundraising and distribution efforts primarily on providing direct cash assistance to needy New Haven families and individuals.

Eppler-Epstein, who goes by they/ them pronouns, said that they and fellow Semilla Collective organizers Eden Almasude and Kelly Hernández Naranjo founded the fund not as direct competition with institutional fundraising networks like the Community Foundation, but rather as a supplement geared towards helping those who might not have any connections to or trust in established nonprofits.

They said mutual aid funds like this one CONTRIBUTED PHOTO can be particularly valuable for undocuSemilla Collective’s Sarah Epplermented immigrants who are afraid to Epstein and Eden Almasude. provide too much personal information in their efforts to receive much needed they’re filling are grocery runs and simi- support and who may not have bank aclar errands, educational support, helping counts or formal identification.

Eppler-Epstein said that the fund plans parents and families navigate various systems (DCF, food, education etc), and to distribute all of the money it has raised so far in $100 increments to families or other things as needed.

“They’re also working with people individuals with the help of community who are able to provide counseling ser- “intermediaries” who are already distribvices and emotional support to families. uting groceries and meals to New HaThey’ve prepared their volunteers to veners in need.

“We are trying to piggyback on other conduct no-contact transactions so that both the providers and the individuals in deliveries already happening as much as possible,” they said, “adding cash supneed are safe.”

She said CTCORE has also partnered port to deliveries that will happen rewith Love Fed New Haven to promote gardless, so we aren’t adding too much access to healthy and affordable food risk of spreading the virus.”

Eppler-Epstein said that the focus of during the pandemic, and to demand that the state explicitly identify urban this mutual aid fund is on cash: raising farms as essential services exempt from and distributing as much as possible the governor’s executive order shutting directly into the pockets of people who need it, no questions asked. down all non-essential in-person work.

Quaye said that CTCORE is also “fol- “The motive behind creating this fund lowing the lead of the Connecticut Bail was to be able to shift more money toFund and has signed on to their concert- wards people who need it,” they said. ed effort to demand the release of indi-

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Amid Covid Risk, Refuse Crew Presses On

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

Rudolph High has driven through snowstorms and heavy traffic and bouts of bad health during his nearly three decades working for the city’s Department of Public Works. This is his first time helming the wheel of a city trash truck during a global pandemic.

“If we can continue our normal work day, then we can stop the people from panicking,” he said as he leaned across the wheel, turning east down an eerily empty stretch of Chapel Street. “We’re gonna get through this.”

High, 71, a driver with the city’s Refuse Crew, is a 28-year veteran of the public works department.

Early Thursday morning, High drove city laborers William Telford and Thomas Pittman-Dennie along their weekly Fair Haven trash collection route, which is bounded by Haven Street to the west, Chapel Street to the south, Ferry Street to the east, and Grand Avenue to the north.

High, Telford, and Pittman-Dennie all said that they showed up for the 5 a.m. trash collection shift not simply to help keep the city clean, as they seek to do every day on the job.

They said they also donned their yellow-striped DPW uniforms and worn leather gloves out of a sense of civic obligation to the community they serve, particularly during this time of social disruption and public fear surrounding the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“We’re just trying to give the taxpayers what they paid for,” said Telford as he loaded a large brown toter filled with garbage into the back of the city dump truck.

He noted with pride that Gov. Ned Lamont had designated trash and recycling collection, hauling and processing workers as “essential” service providers in a recent emergency executive order designed to mitigate the spread of the infectious respiratory disease.

“If we don’t do this,” asked PittmanDennie, “then who’s gonna pick this up?”

Altered Schedules In a Wednesday email press release, DPW assured city residents that the municipal trash and recycling crews “are reporting to work as usual in order to maintain scheduled routes and keep our city clean.”

The department called on residents to make sure that garbage bags are tightly closed before being placing them inside brown trash toters.

“We are asking everyone to do that for our crews’ safety and our community’s protection,” the email read. “As well

our crews continue to practice social distancing for everyone’s protection.”

The email also said that street sweeping that had been scheduled to start April 1 has been placed on hold, as have all bulk trash pick-up appointments. The residential waste transfer station at 260 Middletown Ave., meanwhile, remains open, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“Though our offices are closed, you can still report your public works issue to See Click Fix or leave us a message on our general line: 203 946 – 7700 and we will get back to you. Please be patient with us as we attempt to navigate these new times.”

Roads Less Clogged Behind the driver’s wheel of his truck, High peered into a tall sideview mirror to look for oncoming traffic and smiled as he listened to the jazz playing from the satellite radio he keeps right next to his seat.

“It’s a very serious thing,” he said about the pandemic. “I liken it to the Spanish influenza,” which killed over 50 million people around the world a century ago.

He said he is concerned about being uniquely vulnerable to the novel coronavirus considering his age. But he also stressed the importance of keeping the city clean at a time when seemingly everything else seems turned upside down.

“The main thing you don’t want to do is set off a panic,” he said.

High said he grew up in White Plains, N.Y., and moved to Connecticut four decades ago because the state “seemed like a place of opportunity.” He worked as a carpenter’s apprentice for three years, for the state for another three yeas, for Cheshire’s public works department for another few years after that, and ultimately landed at New Haven’s DPW in the early 1990s. He’s been working for the department ever since, first as a part-time laborer making $6 an hour and now as a full-time employee.

In some ways, he said, the pandemic has contributed to a slightly safer work environment for him and the laborers on the back of the truck. That’s because the state and local orders to stay home if possible have resulted in a significant reduction in traffic. High said he had seen laborers struck by cars before while working trash collection duty.

“Now I’m not as worried about the men,” he said. “It’s safer to do the job because there’s less cars on the road.”

His concerns over traffic have been replaced by a different set of concerns— over how best to protect himself and his

THOMAS BREEN PHOTOSCity trash truck driver Rudolph High and laborers Thomas Pittman-Dennie and William Telford (below): Keeping the city clean.

Telford: “Staying vigilant.”

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colleagues from the novel coronavirus.

“I think we should try to get some masks,” he said, in addition to the latex gloves and hand sanitizer with which the trucks are now equipped. Trash collection workers in Pittsburgh held a wildcat strike Wednesday as they demanded more protective gear.

High said that his Bible study as a Jehovah’s Witness has helped soothe his nerves during this pandemic.

He said the prospect of spending more time outside hiking whenever it’s safe to travel again has also buoyed his spirits. He pulled up his cellphone to show pictures of a recent hike he went on up a snowy Mt. Washington earlier this winter.

“As soon as it’s over,” he said, “I’m going to New Hampshire.”

High said he recently got out of the hospital due to a long-standing health issue unrelated to Covid-19. He also recalled plowing and picking up trash during seemingly weekly snow storms when he first started on the job nearly 30 years ago. He and the city have cleared those hurdles in the past, he said. Together, the city will do the same during this pandemic.

“One Day At A Time” On the back of the truck, Telford, 55, and Pittman-Dennie, 32, took quick breaks from their jogs up and down the sidewalk collecting trash toters and dumping their contents to reflect on how they’re holding up amidst the pandemic.

“We’re staying safe,” said Telford, another 28-year-veteran of DPW. “We’re making the best of it. It’s pretty much the same, staying vigilant.”

He said that he and his colleagues have been wearing latex gloves underneath their usual leather gloves during the outbreak. They’ve also tried as hard as they can not to touch their faces. Whenever they have a chance, they use hand sanitizer and wipe down the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat of the truck.

“I’m not invulnerable,” he said. “I could get it like anyone else. I can’t prevent it if I don’t know where it’s at.”

He said he hopes that this crisis is a reminder to the general public of the hard and essential work that trash collectors do every day, and serves as a goad for further appreciation of their labor.

“This is a dirty job” as it is, said Pittman-Dennie, who’s worked for DPW for seven years. In addition to wearing extra gloves and not touching his face, Pittman-Denie said he also tries to not wear the same jacket every day and to up his cleaning routine.

“We’re just taking this one day at a time,” he said.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Chapel Street Between State And York, Monday, March 31

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Young Covid Patient: “See My Face”

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

Natalie Kikkenborg is finally beginning to feel like herself again — nearly three weeks after the 36-year-old Westville fitness instructor and single mom’s temperature first shot up to 102 degrees, and over one week after she tested positive for Covid-19.

She wants people to see her and know about her experience, in part to dispel misconceptions about who is or isn’t at risk during the pandemic.

Her fever has subsided. Her splitting headaches have gone away. She has regained her sense of taste and smell. And she’s more sure than ever that the best way New Haveners can protect themselves and their community is by staying home to the greatest extent possible.

Kikkenborg is one of over 70 New Haveners so far who have tested positive for the infectious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Medical professionals, public health experts, and local political leaders have warned that the actual number of infected New Haveners is almost certainly much higher considering how relatively difficult it remains for most people to get tested.

According to the most recent announced statistics, 41 percent of the confirmed cases in New Haven involve people like Kikkenborg — who are not seniors, but between 25 and 49 years old.

On Monday, Kikkenborg spoke with the Independent over the phone about the physical and emotional trial she has been through since she first developed coronavirus-related symptoms on March 11.

She also spoke about the outpouring of community support she received since her positive test results came back on March 21, following an initial medical misdiagnosis that she had the flu.

“My overarching feeling has been gratitude for so many things,” Kikkenborg said.

She is grateful for her friends and family and even strangers in the community, who have dropped off groceries at her front door and who have repeatedly checked in by phone and text and Facebook to see how she and her daughter are doing.

And she is grateful for the opportunity she now has to share her story with fellow New Haveners and to reinforce that this pandemic is not some distant abstraction affecting only Wuhan, China or New York City.

Covid-19 is here in New Haven. Anyone, no matter their age or background or physical health, can get it. And everyone must follow social distancing precautions to give themselves and their community the best chance possible to stay healthy and safe during this crisis.

“We’re going to flatten this curve a lot faster the more people accept we just have to stay home right now,” she said.

Kikkenborg recognized how difficult that can be for many. She herself is a single mother raising a fourth-grade daughter who is now home indefinitely as schools remain closed. As a professional Zumba instructor and singer, she has lost nearly all sources of income thanks to the broader economic shutdown precipitated by the social distancing precautions required to stem the spread of the disease.

“It’s terrifying, but it doesn’t mean that you’re above the rules and can take the chances and can be out and about,” she said.

She cited a friend’s recent Instagram post that encapsulated the message she most wants to share with the broader public as she continues to recover from Covid-19.

That post read: “Do not change your behavior to avoid being infected. Assume you are infected and change your behavior to avoid transmitting.”

“I Don’t Remember Ever In My Life Feeling That Ill” “I am 19 days post onset of my sickness,” Kikkenborg said Monday morning. “I am feeling pretty much like myself.”

Over two weeks ago, she said, that was very much not the case.

She said her temperature went from 99.1 degrees at 10 a.m. on March 11 to 102 degrees at 1 p.m. later that day.

That’s when she went to an urgent care clinic in Hamden. A rapid flu test came back negative, but her doctor still prescribed her Tamiflu, which she took for the next five days.

Her temperature stayed at 102 degrees.

She developed severe headaches that radiated throughout her entire head. She lost her sense of taste and smell. And she was so overcome by fatigue that she struggled to make the 10-foot trek from her bedroom to the bathroom.

“Just opening my eyes to focus, whether on my phone or a piece of paper, would send a shooting pain through my head,” she said. “By far the fever and the fatigue were definitely the most difficult symptoms. I don’t remember ever in my life feeling that ill.”

Her doctor recommended that she get tested for coronavirus, so she drove down to a drive-through testing station in Stratford.

“Pulling into the testing site was surreal,” she said. Like something out of a sci-fi movie.

All of the medical personnel were dressed in hazmat suits. The person who tested her stuck a swab up her nose and counted down from 10 from behind his mask and face shield. Within 48 hours of getting tested, she received word that she

JOHNATHON HENNINGER PHOTOS

Natalie Kikkenborg at her home, in self-quarantine.

was positive for Covid-19. She has been in self-quarantine at home ever since.

“There has been some shame in knowing I could have possibly infected someone in the time when I was asymptomatic and also in the time when I thought, based off of my appointments, it was the flu,” she said.

In a public Facebook video she posted on Saturday commemorating one week since she found out she has coronavirus, Kikkenborg said that she has found some comfort in knowing that, by donating blood, she might be able to contribute to a potential cure for the disease as someone who has contracted it and is now recovering.

“There is so much guilt associated with that,” she said about the potential

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for infecting someone else. “But to know that you can save people at the other end helps me grapple with that guilt.” She said her daughter has not developed any coronavirus-related symptoms.

While she has been homebound, friends have dropped off groceries and added her and her daughter to their Instacart accounts. She said she recently spoke to a friend from her living room window; that physically present if distant social contact provided a much-appreciated balm for her recent isolation.

“Above All: Stay Home” Asked what recommendations she has for people looking to support those who have developed coronavirus, Kikkenborg said, “Just letting them know that you’re there. It doesn’t take much. Just

a simple, ‘Hey, if you need to talk, I’m here.’ Just well wishes are all it really takes.” She said the thought of trying to feed oneself is “furthest from your mind” when going through something like Covid-19, and so any grocery or take-out drop-offs are always appreciated too.

“And just keep your distance,” she continued. “Keep you health and safety” so that you can be a help to someone else in need.

“It’s so against human nature to be socially distant,” she said. “But that’s absolutely what we have to do.”

Kikkenborg is a staff singer at a church in Norwalk; two of that church’s members recently died from coronavirus.

Kikkenborg said she has been open with her fourth-grade daughter about Kikkenborg’s own illness, as well as about the members of their church family who have recently died.

“I think it’s very easy to feel removed from it when it’s not in your immediate circle,” she said.

That’s partly why she went on Facebook and made that video about her diagnosis.

“I wanted people to see my face” and to see that anyone, even a healthy professional fitness instructor in her mid-30s, can contract Covid-19.

Kikkenborg said she recently took her first Zumba class since falling ill several weeks ago. It was co-taught by an instructor in New Haven and another instructor in Costa Rica.

She said she intended on calling in and watching. She wound up dancing at home for 45 minutes.

“Within a few minutes, it felt like normal,” she said about the Zumba Zoom class. “It felt like my everyday class.”

She slept for six hours during the afternoon the day after the class, she said.

Which is quite unusual for someone who usually teaches two to three classes a day, six days a week. But, she said, that’s only expected, as she is still recovering.

She said her plan right now is to isolate for at least a week after her symptoms have completely gone away, and then to get tested again. Since medical recommendations around the pandemic are changing so quickly, she said, she’s not sure when exactly she will be deemed medically all-cleared to end her quarantine and resume her life post-Covid.

“I know it’s hard, because we’re all going stir-crazy,” she said in her most recent Facebook video. But for now, the most compassionate thing that one can do—for oneself, for one’s family, for one’s community—is to follow the social distancing recommendations designed to “flatten the curve.”

“Stay healthy,” she said at the end of her video. “Stay with your families. And above all: Stay home.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

#QuarantineAndChill: Things to Do During the Covid-19 Crisis

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D.,

NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor

Covid-19, Coronavirus or “Rona” as some are calling it has changed the way society typically functions. Some cities have imposed mandatory quarantines while others are encouraging selfcontrol and self-quarantining. Many are complying with official requests for social distancing and eliminating contact with those outside of the household.

Folks are trying to manage how to teach their children at home and fulfill employment obligations while not losing their minds during this new normal marked by disappointments like canceled proms and graduations, rogue relatives refusing to follow the rules and constant news coverage of those who are sick and have passed away.

Despite these challenges there is a silver lining. Just when you were lamenting over failing to follow through on giving up social media for Lent, lots of people are coming together on social media to offer wonderful activities for those at home. Check out a few below: Free Celebrity Performances on Instagram: Celebrities are offering outstanding free programming. John Legend was joined by model and partner Chrissy Teigen for a CONVID-19 benefit concert from his living room that played on Instagram.

If you didn’t catch John Legend, musical acts as diverse as Luke Bryan, JoJo, Miley Cyrus, D-Nice and Common are offering online concerts via Instagram.

All you need is an Instagram account to watch and you’re good to go.

If those folks don’t do it for you, then check out NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series, intimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of “All Songs Considered,” host Bob Boilen. Rising rap star Chika’s performance just dropped and shows her skills and playful side. Other popular performances include The Roots featuring trombonist Jeff Bradshaw and Bilal, Rev. Sekou and The Seal Breakers, Lizzo, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Omara Portuondo.

Speaking of Instagram, can you say Debbie Allen? The iconic dancer, choreographer and director offered up a free dance class this past Wednesday to lift the spirits of those feeling isolated during the crisis. Thousands checked in and had a blast based on the comments.

Not to worry, if you missed it, she’s offering the dance class every Wednesday at 1 p.m. PST during the COVID-19 crisis. How much would it normally cost to take a dance class from Debbie Allen?

Who knows but now you can dance with Allen for free and in the comfort of your home. Allen is also offering a kids class

Saturday on Instagram at 11 a.m. PST so set your reminder!

Things for the Kids If the Debbie Allen kids dance class is not for you, then check out some of the following things your kids might enjoy.

Many zoos and museums are putting exhibits online during the COVID-19 crisis. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens is livestreaming several animals and exhibits on their Facebook page.

Cosmickids.com offers yoga, programming and lesson plans to teach yoga and mindfulness to children. Although, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is closed due to coronavirus, they have an app that features highlighted objects from their collection, multimedia and augmented reality and stories exploring their 12 inaugural exhibitions.

If arts and crafts are your thing, Michaels has lots of do-it-yourself projects for children that are easily made with materials around the house. If you’re jonesing for the touch and feel of cotton, then you can order online and pick-up curbside at participating Michaels stores.

Now is a wonderful time to breakout the boardgames like Sorry, Monopoly, Life, Clue, Jenga, Escape Room in a Box and Black Card Revoked, which not only entertain kids of all ages but also offer fun for adults. Not to fret adults, there’s also Spades Plus (virtual), virtual Chess games, Words with Friends and several online Tonk and Bid Whist sites, so you can get back to making blind bids and running Bostons on folks in no time at all.

For parents who have slacked off on watching media with their kids, now is the perfect time to practice media literacy by sitting down and playing video games with your kids so you can see what they’re doing and talk about it in a critically engaged, and fun way. You may just understand why you should think thrice before allowing your kids to play Grand Theft Auto or World of Warcraft.

You can also show them some of your favorite video games which parents may discover they like just as much. Finally, for those who are having anxiety over

teaching their younger children academic lessons, check out ABCMouse.com which is offering a free 30-day trial. It’s where learning and fun meet online.

Binge-A-Thons COVID-19 has created the perfect opportunity to binge on television series and film genres that you love. Blaxploitation films are often available On Demand for free via your cable provider.

Choose your favorite director like Spike Lee, Gina Prince Bythewood, Ryan Coogler, John Singleton or Ava Duvernay and watch their films until your

heart is content. You might also like TV shows from the 1970s and 1980s, many of which are also available On Demand.

If you want to Netflix and chill, check out outstanding programming you may not have had an opportunity to watch yet like Raising Dion, Dear White People (season 3), Dolemite Is My Name, Jezebel and Queen Sono. Netflix’s highly anticipated series Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame C.J. Walker comes out Friday, March 20, 2020. “Inspired” by the life of Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made woman millionaire, the series stars Academy award-winner Octavia Butler, Blair Underwood, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Garrett Morris and Kevin Carroll.

If you’re tired of “Netflix and chilling,” then check out Lena Waithe’s new series Twenties, season 2 of Boomerang or Tyler Perry’s show Sistas on BET. For the black foodies out there, watch Kardea Brown make Gullah inspired recipes on Delicious Miss Brown (Food Network) or Caribbean Pot (Black Life TV) featuring the food of Chef Phil La Rosa.

After eating that delicious food, get up and get moving to the plethora of free workout videos available on YouTube.

Follow your favorite YouTube fitness stars Jenelle Salazar (@getbodiedbyJ), Lita Lewis (@followthelita) for workout routines for various fitness levels. You may now have time to finally try Zumba or subscribe to a fitness site like Daily Burn which is offering a 60-day free trial.

Once you collapse on the couch after working out, there are also many web series to watch. Giants follows the lives of Con’t from page 12

Former NFL Player is Now a Medical Doctor Fighting the Coronavirus Pandemic

Nationwide — Dr. Myron Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar and college football player who was drafted by the NFL to play for the Tennessee Titans in 2010.

But nowadays at 33-years old, he is a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston helping to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.

Myron only played in the NFL until 2013 when he announced that he would leave the NFL to attend medical school in 2013. He did just that and enrolled at Florida State University College of Medicine where he graduated in May 2017. Now, he is a third-year neurosurgery resident at one of Boston’s busiest hospitals.

During a recent interview with ESPN, he reveals what its like trying to save the lives of patients infected with Coronavirus. He says that he is “seeing so many individuals with respiratory distress and respiratory compromise, and the numbers are staggering.”

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“It is hectic, that’s for sure,” he adds.

But he explains that being a former football star still comes in handy. “I think of the operating room like a game, like it’s showtime, let’s perform. I gotta do what I gotta do because people are counting on us right now. This is our time to help very sick people. So that motivation continues to drive me every single day.”

Myron is also founder of the Myron L. Rolle Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of health, wellness, educational and other charitable initiatives throughout the world that benefit children and families in need.

Follow him on social media: Twitter – @MyronRolle Instagram – @MyronRolle

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

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Virtual Open House • Thursday, April 2, 2020 • 3-7 PM When you pursue a graduate degree at Southern Connecticut State University, you’re already positioning yourself for success.

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Join us ONLINE for an opportunity to learn how Southern’s graduate programs can uniquely align with your career goals. Chat with faculty from over 45 programs, consult with admissions staff on how to assemble the ideal application, and learn how to best achieve your career goals with the right graduate degree.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Congressional Black Caucus Focuses on Economic Recovery of African Americans in COVID-19 Crisis

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

The coronavirus health crisis that hit America in the middle of March has compelled Governors to shut down states, requested citizens to stay in their homes and moved Congress to pass an unprecedented stimulus of over two trillion dollars.

As the COVID-19 crisis hit its peak, the Congressional Black Caucus began to fight to “support the needs of Black families, seniors, workers, businesses, and communities. On March 20, the CBC submitted an extensive 11-page proposal to House and Senate leadership with recommendations to support the recovery of Black America.”

The first draft of the COVID-19 Senate stimulus bill focused money to bailout large corporations and the top one percent. But after days of negotiation that included President Trump big footing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the legislation was changed to focus more on the needs of main street

Americans.

Those priorities included a higher direct payment to individuals from $600 to $1200. Another change was an additional $500 child tax credit per child and a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions. Black Caucus members also added $447 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Several other provisions asked by members of the Congressional Black Caucus were an expansion of unemployment benefits to $600 per week in addition to the base max eligible for unemployment insurance, $15.5 billion in additional funding for SNAP, a temporary moratorium of 6 months for federal student loans and funding the Minority Business Development Agency $10 million to make grants to minority-owned businesses.

There is also a provision adding $1 billion for the Community Services Block Grant and $750 million for Head Start and $4 billion in homeless assistance grants.

The U.S. House is expected to pass the

Senate bill on March 27. Other stimulus legislation is expected in the future but Congress is also expected to take much of April off because of days added to the Easter recess in the wake of the COVID

crisis.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win

Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke Con’t from page

Rep Gaetz Dragged Mercilessly After Ill-Informed Howard U Tweet Covid-19 Crisis

By Stacy M. Brown,

NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

The historic $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by the Senate has resulted in a variety of different responses.

Some have praised the legislation, while others still have questions.

And, then there’s Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Gaetz took to Twitter to express his outrage that the measure included $13 million for Howard University, one of America’s historically black colleges and universities.

“Education is important, but a $13 million check to Howard does not belong in COVID-19 relief,” Gaetz stated.

Twitter immediately struck back.

“HU Facts: Howard University operates a world-class medical simulation center, 6,000 square foot state-of-theart simulated learning environment, offering resources to advance a comprehensive healthcare education program,” the university tweeted in direct response to Gaetz’s tweet.

“Hopefully young Matt Gaetz will never need the services of Howard University Hospital, which is not only a COVID-19 treatment facility but, in addition to everything else, has done excellent work treating victims of

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

substance abuse,” responded Dr. Greg Carr, the chair of Howard University’s Department of Afro American Studies and 2-time Male HBCU Professor of the Year.

In a post-script, Carr noted that Howard “also has top-notch psychiatrists.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a Howard graduate, also responded by giving Gaetz a bit of a math lesson.

“The bill provides $30 billion to protect students and help schools, colleges and universities combat the coronavirus. This is $13 million,” Harris tweeted. “$13 million equals .04 percent of

$30 billion,” she added. “Why do you take issue with money going to Howard, Congressman?”

Author Steve Hofstetter also chimed in.

“Why is Howard University in the relief bill? Great question! Howard University’s hospital is a COVID-19 treatment facility. It is within walking distance from your office. I hope this helps,” Hofstetter stated.

Many others also took issue with Gaetz.

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“Howard University has a medical center that treats COVID-19 patients,” tweeted Helena Hamilton. “$25 million went to the Kennedy Center.

How many patients are they helping right now? Yet, you didn’t tweet about them.” “$100 billion to hospitals, but this one bothers you. I wonder what’s different about this particular hospital,” twitter user Barbara Garner wrote.

Sports journalist Maliik Obee tweeted: “It’s going to Howard University HOSPITAL. You literally work like 2 miles from there and would know if you actually left that musty office.”

Added Mondaire Jones, who worked in the Department of Justice under President Obama: “Congressman Gaetz, who works in DC, can’t imagine that Howard University has a hospital that serves the DC area community. But it does, and a quick Google search will tell anyone who doesn’t already know.”

Gaetz did have his supporters.

“We need relevant legislation, not special interest legislation. Keep fighting the good fight,” Jessi Ebben, a GOP Congressional Candidate out of Wisconsin, tweeted at Gaetz.

Gaetz said his position is simple.

“The needs of American people and businesses should come first. We should be reinvesting in the US economy,” he said.

three young people chasing their dreams and struggling with various issues of romance, identity and mental health as they come into adulthood. Giants is now an award-winning television series on Cleo TV. Pillow Talk makes you think and feel and The Punanny Diaries, which is an oldie but a goodie, makes you chuckle and thank God you are no longer in your twenties.

TV One’s Unsung series always satisfies dropping tea about entertainers you grew up with in the 1990s. Don’t forget to watch HBO’s Watchmen, which will not be coming back for Season 2 as of now, so watch it while you can, or forever hold your peace.

As the kids would say, COVID-19 is gonna COVID-19, so we may as well make the best of our time #AloneTogether. Outside of holidays, when do folks really have this much potential time to spend together?

Keep thoughts of isolation at bay by reconnecting with friends and loved ones and making use of what’s available in real time and online. #QuarantineAndChill and enjoy the time you have with those you love.

This article was written by Nsenga K Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-inchief of The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media industries, Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and television at Emory University and co-editor of the book, Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability. Follow her on Twitter @ Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

DELIVERY PERSON

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Contact: Tom Dunay

NOTICE

NEEDED

Phone: 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of860Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develWomen Minority Applicants are New encouraged to apply income limitations apopment & located at 108 Frank Street, Haven. Maximum Action/ Opportunity Employer ply.Affirmative Pre-applications willEqual 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 Reclaiming, INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preGarrity Asphalt Inc seeks: applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing Haven, CTbe06510. andFloor, cleanNew driving record, willing to travel throughout the North-

Part Time Delivery Needed

One/Two Day a Week,

east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

NOTICIA

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300

Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/deEqual Opportunity Employer HOME INC, en nombre la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está

Must Have your Own Vehicle

If Interested call

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 operating heavydeequipment; be willing to travel throughout the por correo a petición llamando&a NY. HOME 203-562-4663 horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Northeast We INC offeralexcellent hourlydurante rate &esas excellent benefits a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

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

HAVEN HELP WANTED: LargeNEW CT guardrail company

STAIN/PAINT CREW:

Large CT fence contractor seeking experienced painters. Must have at least 5 years’ experience staining and/or painting wood and cellular products. Work available 1012 months per year. All necessary equipment provided. Medical, holiday, sick and vacation pay provided. Must pass a physical and drug test, have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a DOT medical card. Rates from $18.00 - $22.00 per hour plus benefits. OSHA 10 training required. Please email resume to gforshee@ atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE/M-F

Construction

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

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

Tri-Axle Dump Truck driver needed with min. 2 years’ experience. Reliable, honest, and respectful a must. Class B, valid medical card, Osha 10 card, clean driving record, pass a drug screening, and have reliable transportation to and from work.

The job is full time, Monday thru Friday (some OT and night shifts), hourly pay. A Best Buy Premium Fuel & Trucking LLC is a New Haven based company and an Equal Opportunity Employer. Email resumes to nancytomassini@yahoo.com

(203) 387-0354

Town of Bloomfield

Vehicle Mechanic Technician/Fleet Services (Non-CDL)

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP COMPANY Invitation for Bids Landscaping Services

360 Management Group Company is currently seeking Bids for landscaping services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

$29.59/hourly (non-CDL)Invitation to Bid:

242-258 Ave 2nd Notice looking for Laborer/Driver with Fairmont valid CT CDL Class Monday, March 23, 2020 at 3:00PM. A license2BR and able to get a medical card.

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able to pass a drug test and physical. CompensaAll new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 Pre-employment & I-95 drug testing. AA/EOE.Old Saybrook, CT tion based on experience. Email resume to dmashighways, near bus stop & shopping center a CT based construction firm has and immediate For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.gov (4 Buildings, 17 Units) tracchio@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE M-F opening a Project Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing WageforRate ProjectSuperintendent. Applicants must have experience supervising

C.J. Fucci, Inc.,

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY

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.,Services B.S. Legal (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

RFP No. P20002

SCOPE:

The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury and its affiliates hereby issue this Request for

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Proposal from qualified firms for General Legal Services.

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL RETURN: until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 forCity Concrete Sidewalk Repairs andDanbury, Replacement at the Housing Authority of the of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Rd, CT 06811 Envelope be Marked: No. P20002 Legal Services Smithfield GardensMust Assisted LivingRFP Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

QUESTION DEADLINE SUBMITTAL DEADLINE A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith April 17, 2020 at 10:00am (EST) April 22, 2020 at 2:00pm (EST)

Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

CONTACT PERSON FOR DOCUMENT: Bidding documents are available from theRFP Seymour Housing Authority OfMs. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement,Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org

The[MinorityHousing Authority reserves thebusinesses right to accept or reject any or all bids, to and/or women-owned are encouraged to respond] reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

the installation of underground storm, sewer, water piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of site and road conNew Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Caststruction.

Applicants also must have current OSHA 10 certification; P6/P7 license is Seeking qualified condidates in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl preferred but not Siding, required with equivalent experience. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 to fill numerous vacancies to or email vfederico@cjfucci.com.

C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

CITY OF MILFORD

include, Director of OperaMechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. tions Milford Landing Marina, This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Recreation Director, and more.

For information and detailed Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 application instructions, visit Invitation for Bids Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 WWW.ci.milford.ct.us HVAC Project documents available via Services: ftp link below:Emergency, On Call and Preventative Maintenance Click on SERVICES, JOBS and JOB TITLE. http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for HVAC Services for emergency, on call and preventative Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com maintenance. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateHaynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 way beginning on

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Top pay for top performers.

Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTU-

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Monday, March 23, 2020 at 3:00PM.

CITY OF MILFORDSeeking qualified condidates to fill numerous vacancies to include,Public Works Office & Administator Operations Manager, Information Technology Manager, and more. For information and detailed application instructions, visit WWW.ci.milford.ct.us Click on SERVICES, JOBS and JOB TITLE.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

Will a Mask Really Protect You from Coronavirus?

by Moleska Smith, BlackDoctor.org

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen people walking around in a variety of masks in an attempt to protect themselves from the coronavirus, but are the masks really beneficial? Are they the right type? Are they on properly?

Masks are sold out all over the country. Even Amazon, the world’s largest company, can’t get enough masks for workers in its warehouses. Some healthcare professionals can’t find masks to do their jobs safely. If you are lucky enough to find a mask, wearing masks can give you a sense of security, but maybe a false sense of security. You may feel as if you are shielded from a virus entering your noise or mouth (even your eyes), but because you’re feeling invisible, you may get careless with the handwashing, and face touching.

According to the CDC, the only people that should wear a mask are healthcare

29-Year Old California Mayor to Give His City’s Residents

$500 a Month to Help With COVID-19 Lockdown

Michael Tubbs

Stockton, CA — Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Michael Tubbs, the 29-year old mayor of Stockton, Califonia, plans to give all the residents in his city $500 a month in hopes to assist those affected.

“I’m happy that our federal government has shown a willingness to understand… that during times of crisis, the best thing you can do is to give folks cash to navigate through,” Tubbs told Huffington Post. “It has to last at least as long as the crisis.”

Even prior to the outbreak, Tubbs has been an advocate of universal base income. Since February last year, he started distributing $500 monthly stipends to 125 low-income residents in the city (or those below the city’s median income line or $46,000 annually).

Tubbs says the program aims to help lift families out of poverty. Based on the

least 95% of particles in the air. There is growing concern that if people can find and order these masks, there may not be enough available for the healthcare workers who really need them.

More and more celebrities like Kim Kardashian West, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow have been spotted running errands (when we were allowed to go outside regularly) or on planes in surgical mask and N95 respirators even posting photos of themselves on their social media.

So, the best ways to prevent contracting the coronavirus is follow the safety guidelines which are frequent handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds, cough and sneeze into the bend of your elbow, don’t touch your face, disinfect surfaces, and practice social distancing.

Follow these safety guidelines and you won’t need to wear a mask and you will free up the mask supplies for the healthcare workers who really need them.

professionals, those caring for coronavirus patients, or those who have the virus themselves.

One of the most important things to remember, all masks are not created equal. The popular blue surgical mask with white trim around the top and bottom may not do a good job guarding you from infected droplets. A better use for these masks is when you have the infection and you don’t want to pass your droplets from others.

Wearing a cloth bandana or scarf around your mouth and nose can trap moisture in and help bacteria and viruses to grow.

Some people have resorted to wearing the mask that painters and construction workers use.

A reusable respirator is not very useful unless you’re able to wash it every time someone sneezes or coughs in your vicinity.

The N95 respirators is what healthcare professionals use. It filters out at

results recorded from Stockton, the $500 stipend was used for essentials such as food and utility bills, which showed that low-income families still prioritize their basic needs.

While the coronavirus outbreak caused further economic collapse which affected mostly low-income residents, Tubbs believes that it is not only during this crisis that the no-strings-attached cash handouts must be distributed. Tubbs claims that it should be a permanent program in the government.

“Even before this catastrophic disruption, a lot of folks were living in economic crisis,” said Tubbs, “and our economy was not working for the vast majority of people. It behooves all of us to ensure that everyone at least has an income floor.”

African American Scientist Breaks Ground in Cancer Research

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, an assistant professor at Morehouse School of Medicine in the Physiology Department, has reportedly become the first person to successfully cure cancer in mice using laser-activated nanoparticles.

According to Black Culture News, Dr. Green’s revolutionary and unique nanoparticle technology was found to cure cancer after testing on mice within 15 days successfully.

The technology used by Dr. Green, who received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to expand her nanoparticle cancer treatment research, doesn’t require chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.

She spent more than seven years developing a way to target cancer cells – not the healthy cells around them.

Dr. Green’s technology uses an FDAapproved drug containing nanoparticles and injects it into a cancer patient, which then causes the patient’s tumor to glow under imaging equipment. The laser activates the nanoparticles by heating them.

“They are not toxic, so without the laser, they won’t kill anything, and the laser by itself is harmless, so without the particles, it won’t hurt anything,” Dr. Green told AL.com in Alabama. “Because of their need to work together and their inability to work apart, I can ensure that the treatment is only happening to the cancer cells we target and identify.”

The news outlet noted that, while Dr. Green isn’t the first to think of using lasers and nanoparticles to treat cancer, she’s been able to work the bugs out of

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Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green parts of the technology that have been problematic.

Those bugs include nanoparticle delivery and being able to see success in mice.

“As a physicist I’ve created a physical treatment that is not specific to the biology of the cancer,” Dr. Green stated. “It’s a platform technology. It’s not cancer type-specific, though it can treat cancer specifically. That’s a concept my friends who are biologists struggle with.”

For Dr. Green, the mission is also personal.

Her interest in cancer treatment began as she witnessed the demise of her aunt, Ora Lee, who had cancer, and her uncle, General Lee Smith, who also was diagnosed with the disease and experienced the adverse side effects of chemotherapy treatment.

Dr. Green started the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation in honor of her aunt, who served as her legal guardian. “When Auntie announced that she had cancer and would rather die than experience the harsh side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I knew there had to be a better way,” Dr. Green stated on the foundation’s website.

“The purpose of the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation is to support the research that Auntie inspired in hopes that one day no one else will have to opt-out of treatment to avoid the side effects of today’s cancer treatment.”

Further, Dr. Green stated that the mission is to “change the way cancer is treated and reduce human suffering by providing cancer care that is accessible, affordable, and effective.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

SOCIAL DISTANCING As a public facility, this establishment is actively encouraging Social Distancing 6 Feet

To support public health, please maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet from others during your visit.

For more information and the latest updates about COVID-19 in Connecticut, please visit: Portal.CT.Gov/Coronavirus If you have any questions regarding the Novel Coronavirus, you can call: 833-ASK-YNHH (833-275-9644) 15

THE INNER-CITY NEWS -

April 01, 2020 - April 07, 2020

NEW SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to threaten public health, Access Health CT announces that a New Special Enrollment Period is in effect until April 2, 2020 Qualified Connecticut residents who currently do not have health insurance can enroll in a health insurance plan.

To see if you qualify, call 1-855-365-2428 (TTY: 1-855-789-2428) Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 5:00PM Please note: Individuals who experience a Qualifying Life Event (for example, loss of coverage due to job change, move to CT, getting married, having/adopting a child, etc.) OR who qualify for Medicaid/Children’s Health Program (CHIP), can always enroll online, in person or over the phone — and all help is free.

What to know if you are uninsured and need health insurance: What is a Special Enrollment Period?

A Special Enrollment Period (SEP) is a time outside the Annual Open Enrollment Period (Nov. 1 – Dec. 15) when you can sign up for health insurance coverage through Access Health CT.

Is financial help still available during the NEW Special Enrollment Period?

YES, to those who qualify.

Is there FREE help available during the NEW Special Enrollment Period?

YES, all the help available through Access Health CT is free. You can also call us ask to speak to a certified broker who can help you choose the best plan for you and your family.

What is different about this NEW SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD and Existing Special Enrollment Periods?

Who’s Eligible?

When can I enroll?

How can I enroll?

NEW SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD

EXISTING SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD (SEP)

ONLY qualified individuals who are Uninsured, lawfully present and not incarcerated.

Individuals who experience a Qualifying Life Event e.g. loss of coverage due to job change, move to CT, getting married, having/ adopting a child, etc.

From March 19, 2020 through April 2, 2020

PHONE ONLY: 1-855-365-2428 TTY: 1- 855-789-2428 8AM – 5PM, Monday – Friday

When will my coverage begin?

The effective date of coverage for all enrollments during the NEW Special Enrollment Period time is April 1, 2020.

What’s the importance of having coverage year-round?

Access Health CT reminds residents of the importance of maintaining their coverage throughout the year, and not just during this public health crisis. It is critical that uninsured individuals take advantage of this opportunity to protect themselves financially and ensure they have access to necessary services.

You must start your application with Access Health CT within 60 days of your Qualifying Life Event.

Are undocumented individuals able to enroll in coverage through Access Health CT? NO. Only those with a legal status (have permission to live/work/ study in the U.S.) are eligible to enroll in healthcare coverage through Access Health CT.

AccessHealthCT.com In-person PHONE: 1-855-365-2428 8AM–5PM, Monday – Friday

Where can undocumented individuals go for help?

There are Community Health Centers around the state that serve everyone. Individuals can find a Community Health Center near them by calling 211, or go to: CHCACT.org/find-health-center.

Please call first before going into a health center, this is key to managing the spread of this virus.

This information is subject to change. For the most up-to-date information please visit AccessHealthCT.com

Can I change insurance plans if I’m currently insured during the NEW Special Enrollment Period?

NO. Only qualified individuals who are uninsured can enroll.

Do I need to send any type of paperwork to prove I am uninsured during the NEW Special Enrollment Period?

No. You will be asked to attest (swear) that you are uninsured during the enrollment process.

AHCT-37476 PSA Ad 925x105_ICN.indd 1

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1-855-365-2428; TTY: 1-855-789-2428 Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 5:00PM AccessHealthCT.com 3/19/20 2:31 PM