INNER-CITY NEWS

THE

New Haven, Bridgeport

NEWS

Volume 21 No. 2179

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

New Mobile App is Building Black Wealth Nationwide

Senior Complex A Testing Ground For Diabetes Effort Winning the Wars to Save HBCUs Starts With Honest Look at Leadership

Hip Hop Caucus Launches 2016

‘Respect My Vote!’

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INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016 2

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

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360 Retirements Won’t Prevent Layoffs ness to scapegoat workers targeted for layoffs.”

by Christine Stuart The state of Connecticut received 360 retirement notices before the Friday deadline, but it’s doubtful they will be enough to avoid a substantial number of layoffs.

Meanwhile, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo warned that he’s worried about continued erosion of revenue as the state approaches the April 18 income tax filing deadline.

Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who was in Enfield Friday dedicating a new unit at the Cybulski Community Reintegration Center for drunk driving offenders, said the 360 retirements would be added to the 288 vacancies already created.

Malloy has explicitly said it will be necessary to layoff a “very, very substantial” number of state employees in order to balance what is currently a $900 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2017.

“We’re marching down the road to get ready for what is inevitable,” Malloy said Friday.

The goal is to separate the state

In his monthly letter to Malloy, Lembo said the action the General Assembly took earlier this week eliminated this year’s $220 million deficit.

However, he’s concerned about possible further revenue erosion and other risks related to moderate national economic growth.

CHRISTINE STUART PHOTO

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Friday at the Cybulski Reintegration Center in Enfield

employees from in state service before June 9, so that they won’t be on the payroll after July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Malloy said they are looking

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INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

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at a multiple hundreds of millions of dollars shortfall, but declined to say exactly how much they expect to save as a result of the layoffs. He has also declined to say how many layoffs would be necessary.

State employees, who have declined to reopen their contract for health and pension benefits, continued to press the administration to look at alternatives to layoffs.

In addition to holding a rally at the state Capitol on Tuesday, state employees have been vocal about their desire to avoid layoffs and maintain their benefits.

“How can a governor and legislators in the wealthiest state in America decide that the only way to close a budget deficit is on the backs of 2,000 state workers and the people who depend

on the services they provide?”

Charles DellaRocco, a Connecticut State Supreme Court police officer, said.

He said the income of these middle class workers has been under attack for a long time, “while the one-percent, some of whose leading members live in Connecticut, have become wealthier even as their combined state and federal tax bills have declined.”

Travis Woodward, an inspector in the state’s Transportation Department, said there are “fairer and better alternatives to close the fiscal gap.”

“The state could also spend less by doing without some of the high-priced outside consultants they use,” Woodward suggested. “All it takes is some political courage and an unwilling-

“Specifically, while the withholding portion of the income tax showed solid growth in the month of March, it is still underperforming on a year-todate basis,” Lembo said. “In addition, there has been some slippage in the sales tax trend, and national economic growth projections have moderated.”

Lembo said there is continued risk of a downward trend in revenue and that it will be especially important to monitor the estimated and final payment tax collections in April.

“The estimated and final payment collections in April are especially important,” Lembo said.

“These receipts are highly dependent on capital gains and bonus payments to workers. This category of revenue has been exceptionally volatile over the past several decades and is difficult to project given the absence of timely Connecticut-specific data on the major factors driving collections in this area.”

Publisher / CEO

Remembering Mrs. Elsie Cofield

THE VOTE AND THE DOLLAR Two Effective Forms of Power

Babz Rawls Ivy Managing Editor Liaison, Corporate Affairs Doreen Strong Advertising Director Sales Team Trenda Lucky Delores Alleyne John Thomas III Hilda Calvachi

Arlene Davis-Rudd, Staff writer ICN

Editorial Team Staff Writers Ratasha Smith / Current Affairs Anthony Scott / Sports Arlene Davis-Rudd / Politics

Content Contributors At-Large Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com Paul Bass New Haven Independent www.newhavenindependent.org Dr. Fred McKinney Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council www.cmsdc.org Memberships National Association of Black Journalist National Newspapers Publishers Association Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

“For most Black Americans these are the worst of times. The bald-faced truth is that after two years of Reagonomics, Black Americans are worse off than at any time since the mid 1960’s.

And no amount of double-think or double-talk can change the truth.

“We are determined to ensure that after almost four centuries of slavery and discrimination , Black Americans will attain their fair share of America’s bounty.

To our already tested arsenal of obligation, persuasion and pressure, we shall add the weapon of selective buying.

By Dori Dumas Mrs. Elsie Cofield was a pillar in the community. She was a Godfearing woman, who she served as a role model and a mentor to so many. I have always admired her courage, strength, faith and her vision. She stepped out on her faith, she opened doors and helped those in need. It was evident of how much she loved her Lord, her family and her community. Faith without works is dead. She lived a full life and she exercised her faith daily. I am truly grateful to have known her and grateful to stand on her shoulders. I am encouraged by the life that she lead and I will continue the legacy of helping our community. May she rest in eternal peace. Peace and blessings,

Despite claims to the contrary, Reagonomics has removed the safety net from the truly needy.

This according to a Princetonbased University Study released

Black Americans comprise about 180 Billion dollars in annual purchasing power. We intend to make sure that most of that money goes to those suppliers of goods and services who employ and promote Black workers equitably and who utilize minority suppliers fairly.

Dori Dumas, is the first elected woman President of the Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP

The Association intends to wield our revitalized voter campaign, this new approach to the marketplace. In doing so, we are simply recognizing the two most effective forms of power in America - the vote and the dollar.”

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203-387-0354 phone; 203-387-2684 fax.

Subscriptions:$260 per year (does not include sales tax for the in State subscriptions). Send name, address, zip code with payment. Postmaster, send address changes to 50 Fitch Street, New Haven, CT 06515. Display ad deadline Friday prior to insertion date at 5:00pm Advertisers are responsible for checking ads for error in publication. Penfield Communications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-City Newspaper” , shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication, except to the extent of the cost of the space in which actual error appeared in the first insertion. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The entire contents of The Inner-City Newspaper are copyright 2012, Penfield Communications, Inc. and no portion may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Allow this writer, once again, to share with our readers, as this is a reprint, disturbing and troubling times, written over three decades ago, that could very well be compared to the denial, deprivations, and sufferings that too many Black Americans face today. Here are excerpts from the article “The Vote and the Dollar.”

The Federal programs most drastically cut have been directed against the poor, while those left untouched are basically supportive of the middleclass. Meanwhile, affluent Americans have benefitted the most from Reagan’s tax cuts and other subsidies. The times call for a new approach in the struggle for human rights. We, of the NAACP through our special contribution Fund have determined to broaden the definition of the struggle to include the economic rights of our citizens. That expanded approach will not only demand equal opportunity at the workplace, and affirmative action to secure jobs, we shall utilize our muscle on behalf of Black Americans throughout the nation’s economic institutions.

Travel with me, back in the day, when former NAACP Executive Director, Dr. Benjamen, Hooks felt the great need to share with his readers in The Crisis magazine, the NAACP monthly, in his own words the harsh realities of where Black Americans stood politically in a system that may have been designed to make us fail.

Contributing Writers David Asbery Tanisha Asbery Jessica Carl Jerry Craft/Cartoons Barbara Fair Mubarakah Ibrahim Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur Michelle Turner Smita Shrestha Kam Williams

in July of 1982. As a direct result, the number of poor are growing rapidly and those already poor, are much worse off than before.

The Administration’s promises not to hurt the poor have proven to be hollow.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

John P. Thomas Jr.

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“A Modern Tea - The Heart of the Matter” Real Estate Mogul Roberta Hoskie, Who Was Once Poverty Stricken,

10th Anniversary Celebration! Launches Ms. Millionaire Mindset Academy

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Whether it’s through Hoskie’s Outreach School of Realty, her Ms. Millionaire Mindset for Women seminars or the Small Business Q&A with Roberta, all of which are efforts to rid the city of the cycle of poverty, Dykes said attending Hoskie’s classes motivated her to start her own company.

Toni Harp, Mayor of the City of New Haven, and Marta Elisa Moret, First Lady of Yale University, will serve as honorary co-chairs for the proceedings. Dr. Anees Chagpar, Director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at YaleNew Haven and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Yale, is the 10th anniversary keynote speaker. Fox CT Anchor, Amanda Raus, will be on hand as Mistress of Ceremonies for the day.

Enjoying Wine as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle, Hands-Only CPR, Breast Health: Healthy Living Pre-and Post-Cancer, Medicinal Mushrooms: The New Fountain of Youth, Life Coaching: The Journey Back to You, and a Chinese Tea tasting and demonstration. In addition, on-site blood pressure screenings

She also believes veterans are oftentimes overlooked. “They put their lives on the line for our country, said Hoskie. “They shouldn’t be homeless after military service; we have to put more of a priority on them.”

The development is estimated at $8.5 million and will be named Roberta Wooten after her grandmother, Hoskie said.

“She’s become a role model for many of us the New Haven.

To see someone from this city make it; it’s a confidence boost,” Dykes said.

The event is open to the public, ages 21 and up, and tickets are $45 per guest. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and includes lunch and on site complimentary parking in addition to the day’s discussions and demonstrations. Space is limited, so pre-registration is required. Visit www.amoderntea.org to register today.

Guests may choose to attend workshops covering a wide range of health topics.

Presentations scheduled are:

going to survive; we’re going to provide an opportunity according to their income.”

New Haven, CT — To those who know her, Roberta Hoskie is much more than a real estate mogul. For Cherice Dykes, Hoskie serves as an inspiration for her and many others throughout the nation. “I’ve been watching her and admiring her work, which led me to directly connect with her for mentorship,” said Dykes, a New Haven, Connecticut native.

Wallingford, CT – A decade of promoting health and wellness to the residents of Greater New Haven will be celebrated on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at the 10th annual A Modern Tea affair, hosted by the exquisite Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale. The milestone event – with the theme “The Heart of the Matter” - will feature healthy living workshops, live music, great food and exclusive boutiques for attendees.

“She’s been very influential in my life. Her courses have helped me gain a better understanding of real estate and the ability to create wealth for myself,” Dykes said. “Reaching back and pushing others to get to where she is while not forgetting where she came from is very inspirational.”

Yet, for Hoskie, who was born Christmas Day, the road to success wasn’t always presents and bright lights. and stroke assessments will be available. Throughout the day, guests can enjoy the sweet sounds of live jazz performed by Timmy Maia of Maia Music.

A Modern Tea is an annual event produced by Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. (CHNCTF).

CHNCTF was founded in 2003 as a public charitable organization concerned with the health of Connecticut residents.

Its mission is to advance, support Con’t on page 12

Rags to Riches Poverty was the norm for Hoskie growing up in the New Haven. It wasn’t until she had her son, Dante Brito, that her life began to change.

“I was afraid I was going to raise a young boy that was a statistic,” said Hoskie, who then was a single mother on welfare earning $417 a month. “I didn’t want my son to end up in jail or dead.”

She was 18 when she had Dante. But at 20, Hoskie started an internship at Yale University

Philanthropic Efforts

Roberta Hoskie

and later took advantage of a first time home buyer’s program offered by the school.

The first home she purchased was on Norton Street in New Haven in the 1990s which jump started her real estate investment career. She purchased the home for $88,000, but decided to have the home appraised and learned it was worth $300,000. Hoskie wasted no time selling the house and turning a profit. After that sale, she became determined to continue to make smart investments and figured out ways to grow financially.

Yet, with a few years of real estate experience under her belt, Hoskie opened her first company, Outreach Property Management in 2004. While Hoskie’s passion is buying and selling properties, she said her other calling is helping others break the poverty curse. Among other projects set for this year, Hoskie plans to develop affordable housing for the elderly and veteran populations.

“Many elderly don’t age in the community in which they live; they just can’t afford it. We want to provide a nice place where they can enjoy their latter years,” said Hoskie. “They shouldn’t have to worry about how they’re

As a part of Hoskie’s philanthropic work, she has provided scholarships for students and private funding to various organizations. Her newest undertaking came last winter when she adopted New Light High School. The school is one of the New Haven Public School’s alternative programs and is part of New Haven Mayor Toni Harp’s YouthStat Initiative, a data-sharing plan to identify and engage at-risk youth.

“I see so much of me in those students and I can relate to their life challenges,” said Hoskie, who was once a second and third chance student and at one point in her life homeless.

“If I can do it and I was like them, they can too,” she said.

“Sometimes people just need to see and touch someone from their own community that has broken the cycle of poverty to help them achieve their dreams.”

New Light High School Principal Larry Conaway said students will benefit from Hoskie’s involvement as it relates to her story and experiences.

“This is a great opportunity for the New Light community. It’s noble of her to take our school on as a community business partner,” said Conaway, who completed The Principal’s Center program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Con’t on page 12

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

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Parade Peace Breaks Out Soon after the parade, the organization will begin raising money for next year’s event, Jones said. Planned events include an “all white affair” at the Terminal 110 club with the Pop Warner baseball league.

by PAUL BASS New Haven Independent

The new organizers of the Freddy (formerly “Freddie”) Fixer Parade began detailing plans for this year’s march along with new fundraising events while the former organizer dropped his threat of a lawsuit to stop them.

City officials said that they expect local organizations to contribute an undefined “percentage” of the police overtime and other municipal costs when they hold parades.

The olive branch was extended Wednesday during a secondfloor meeting room of City Hall.

There, nine city officials convened a logistics planning meeting with Dexter Jones and Howard Boyd, president and vice-president respectively of Elm City Freddy Fixer Parade 2016, to discuss permits, routes and other details for the upcoming May 15 event, the New Haven black community’s largest annual celebration.

PAUL BASS PHOTOS Jones (right) and Boyd detail plans.

noted.

He also listed a slew of planned fundraising events, most though not all of them new this year, to help defray police overtime and other municipal costs.

The planned fundraisers include: • A “badges and shields” party at the Webster Street Elks Club the Friday night before the parade. Police and fire contingents from throughout the region will be invited to participate before marching in the parade on Sunday. Jones said he expects cops and firefighters from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Organizers formed the new parade organization with the help of city officials who were pressing the former organizer of the parade, Maurice Smith, to broaden his community outreach and start raising some of the $30,000-$35,000 annual cost of city government support.

Smith slipped into the meeting partway through, hours after an article appeared in the Independent in which he blasted the city for deciding to award the permits to the new group rather than the official Freddie (spelled with an “ie”) Fixer organization that Smith heads.

Smith, who revived the parade in 2009, sat at the edge of the room, listened for a while, his presence obvious but unremarked upon in the wake of weeks of public tensions.

“I’m trying to get the whole nut,” Jones said. “I’m trying to get the whole $30,000.”

Smith

to Boyd and Jones, who helped him out with past parades before breaking off to help form the new group this year.

“I’m somewhat stunned and surprised that you guys would develop this,” he said.

Then he added, “I’ll extend an olive branch and wish you guys the best.”

Then Smith asked to speak.

Heads turned. Rather than blast the meeting, Smith asked a couple of organizational questions, about the route and permits.

Smith left. Afterwards he told the Independent that he had changed his mind about filing suit after listening to his former comrades discuss logistics that Smith said he had mastered in years past.

Before finishing, Smith turned

“I can’t do that. I can’t go

against people I know,” he said.

“These guys need my help.”

Back in the meeting room, after the session broke up, Jones spoke of new plans for this year’s parade.

The route will be condensed: Rather than start at the Hamden border, at Dixwell Avenue and Arch Street, it will launch from Bassett and Dixwell in New Haven before proceeding to the edge of downtown. That will save money on Hamden police overtime, Jones said. In addition, it will focus the parade; hardly anyone form the public lines the sidewalks until the parade reaches Bassett anyway, Jones

• An “all-star basketball” game between New Haven and New York City teens, at Wilbur Cross High School, the Saturday before the parade.

• A “Greek step show” in the Cross auditorium the same day.

• A series of jazz brunches at black-owned venues around town the Saturday and Sunday of parade weekend, including events at Jackie’s, Park Place East, and the Knickerbockers Club.

And starting this Friday, a “Rescue the Freddy” campaign will begin at the McDonald’s on Whalley Avenue closest to downtown. Customers will be asked to contribute a dollar toward the parade’s costs.

In addition to the fundraisers, Yale Medical School plans to conduct a health fair at Stetson Branch Library on the Saturday before the parade.

The Harp administration notified the most recent organizer of the Freddie Fixer Parade Thursday afternoon that it will grant the permit for this year’s event to a new breakaway group.

The organizer, Maurice Smith, responded with a vow to sue to stop the new group from staging the parade.

That was the upshot of a meeting that occurred Thursday afternoon in the Office of the Corporation Counsel on the fourth floor of City Hall. It brought to a head a dispute that has brewed for weeks, with the annual event less than two months away. This year’s parade is scheduled for May 15.

Mayoral aide Jason Bartlett called the meeting with Maurice Smith, head of the official Freddie Fixer organization.

Smith revived the parade and has run it for the past several years.

Smith ended up not attending the meeting, which began at 4 p.m. An attorney named Josephine Miller represented him.

The Harp administration, Con’t on page 19

chamber to hear from students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

By Samuel T. Ross-Lee Minister, Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church, New Haven, CT

While reading a rather long article in the New Haven Independent last week concerning the situation at James Hillhouse High School in New Haven I was struck by something that was barely mentioned in both the article itself or in the 24 reader comments in the comment section. Now, for anyone in New Haven who has been living under a rock and for readers who don’t live here, let me explain briefly what the “situation at Hillhouse” is.

I read the article that reported on the meeting held at the Alders’ Chambers and then the comments by readers and was dismayed by what I didn’t see in either. I took it upon myself to do a word search on my computer of both the article and the 24 comments, separately. I was searching for the word “education” in a lengthy article that covered the complaints and the praises of those who choose to speak before the Board of Alders about Hillhouse. I hardly found the word in either. Those who spoke and commented in favor of the 4 academy set-up barely spoke (or wrote) of how such an arrangement improved education. And those who opposed it barely spoke (or wrote) about how it would diminish it. It seems as if in an intense conversation about how a school should be run, the reason for the school’s existence has been largely overlooked.

There was talk (and writing) about administrative efficiency or the lack thereof. There was talk (and writing) about student satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

There was talk (and writing) about the nefarious plans of the new superintendent by those who disagree with his running of James Hillhouse and the New Haven Public school system in general. As there was talk about

One has to wonder how an entire interested community can have an extensive conversation about schools, or even about one school, and not talk about education as the thing that vivifies the conversation in the first place. As our schools and school systems have become more about the appendages, e.g. academic experimentation, school administration, local politics, etc., that over time have been moved to center stage in the conversation, it has become more clear that we have lost focus on what should be central to the discussion.

It is not just our secondary public educational institutions that suffered this fate, however.

Our public and private institutions of higher learning have suffered this fate as well. Too many leaders of these institutions have thrown their focus like a laser beam on money generating sports that they have left the discussion about, and the money for, education out of the mix.

More and more of these institutions employ less and less fulltime professors, substituting them for temporary adjuncts, whose salaries are much lower, and whose time with and sustained attention to the students are greatly compromised. As a result, students are graduating from these institutions with huge debts, too much of it generated by their having to supplement sports programs at their schools while receiving a lower quality education.

The media and our religious institutions have also been affected by this loss of focus in their essential functions, both having turned to entertainment to Con’t on page 12

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The relatively new Superintendent of the New Haven Public Schools decided to turn the largest High School in the city into four different “academies” in the same building, each with its own administrative staff, and each independent of the other. That means that in a building that used to house one school overseen by one principal and a few (I think two) vice principals, now has four independent academies and three independent principals.

After much complaining by both teachers and students of this new model for Hillhouse, complaints that included cries of less access to teachers and necessary classes by students and organizational mayhem by the teachers, a retired principal was hired “to mentor, support and coach Hillhouse administrators for the rest of the school year” in an attempt to make the school feel “like one Hillhouse,” the mayor reported.

The Board of Alders even got into the fray and sent a few of its 34 members to “visit” the school, and later held a hearing in its

My intention in the article is not to take a side on whether the new structure of Hillhouse is good or bad. Although I do have an opinion on that, expressing it is for another time. Here, I wish to examine something much broader than this one school and its make-up. I wish to explore how we tend to lose focus of the fundamental purposes of our foundational institutions in America. So, back to the aforementioned article.

how good he is for the job. But in this conversation, which seems more like a political tugof-war more than anything else, there was little talk about education.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

KEEPING FOCUS

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Principals Shuffled At “School Of Future”

by ALIYYA SWABY After rolling out a new model for running a school, Principal Robert Hawke is moving from one New Haven charter building to another this coming year, and returning to more traditional methods.

Robert Hawke is the principal of Achievement First’s Elm City College Prep Middle charter school. Hawke and Elm City College Prep Elementary Principal Andrew Poole reported on their midyear successes at an Achievement First board meeting last week as they plan to merge their students into one “school of the future” on James Street next year.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

The two principals this year piloted a new school model called “Greenfield,” designed by the company that developed

Apple’s computer mouse, which gives students more autonomy over their learning and incorporates real-world activities into an academic curriculum.

Hawke had a rocky beginning with his students, leading them in a two-grade school in a newly leased building at 495 Blake St. The long school day from 7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. was tiring out both students and staff members. The large number of new teachers affected the consistency of class quality. Plans for full-day real world “expeditions” had to be shortened or cut.

Just as his school is running more smoothly, he is leaving to become principal of 7th and 8th graders on Dixwell Avenue, using a traditional educational model.

Achievement First charter network officials decided not to expand Greenfield to 7th and 8th

grade, since it was running better in kindergarten than the middle school grades. Instead, they decided to expand it from grades 2 through 4, and combine all of the Greenfield grades into one school.

Elementary Principal Poole will lead the new K-6 school at 407 James St., which will undergo renovations this summer to get ready to accommodate hundreds of more students. The current principal of Elm City College Prep 7th and 8th graders, Chris Friedline, is moving to Chicago.

Hawke said at the board meeting this past Wednesday night that school culture in the 5th and 6th grades has grown stronger since he last reported in November. The percentage of students on task at any given moment has dramatically increased.

Building leaders decided to shorten the school day, to end at 4 p.m., instead of 5 p.m. They also hired a behavioral specialist and focused on professional development for teachers to clarify “what it means to be truly warm and demanding,” meaning classes are more consistent, Hawke said.

The school has also finally started its “Dream Team” meetings, part of the Greenfield model, in which students lead family and friends through explanations of their academic accomplishments, Hawke said.

Students are “feeling wildly empowered,” he said. “Teachers are feeling very good about it.”

Fifth and sixth graders also finished their second full found of expeditions last week, which provided time for students to spend full days on arts and science activities. Some

performed scenes of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, others learned new instruments, others practiced photography with Chris Randall of the I Love New Haven website.

Principal Poole is leading Greenfield in the kindergarten class this year, as well as grades 2-4 in the traditional model. He said he has 96 percent teacher retention in the whole elementary school for next year, with 46 out of 48 staying. The other two are leaving the teaching field altogether. “I’m excited at the prospect to retain and build on talent here in the building,” he said. All of the Greenfield teachers are staying.

“We are very understanding and accomodating when it comes to staff members entering at different phases of life,” Poole

those who follow us on social media and help share information and deadlines with the seniors.”

by STAFF The New Haven Promise registration season for the Class of 2016 has closed with a record 574 applicants from 14 high schools.

This marks the fourth straight year that Promise which provides college scholarships to New Haven high-schoolers who maintain B averages has received a record number of signups. Additionally, 143 students applied for Passport To Promise, a competitive second-chance scholarship opportunity estab-

lished in 2013.

“Every year the bar goes up,” said New Haven Promise President Patricia Melton. “Promise

For the second year in a row, Wilbur Cross High had two more applicants (122) than Hillhouse High (120) to take the top spot.

Cooperative Arts & Humanities High was a distant third with 75 registrants. Metropolitan Business Academy had the greatest increase, a 67-percent leap from 30 to 50. gets fantastic cooperation from the city’s guidance counselors, the district’s staff, College Summit’s peer leaders and all

The previous record number of applications came last year as 535 students filled out the online form. That group yielded a huge

number of qualifiers, 253 in all.

The next step for the Class of 2016 is to finish off the required service hours, continue to shine academically and miss as few days as possible. At the end of the school year, New Haven Promise, New Haven Public Schools, Achievement First and Common Ground High will pore through records to determine the new cohort of Promise Scholars.

Applicants should expect to receive notification of their status around the Fourth of July holiday.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

Promise Beats Application Record

Senior Complex A Testing Ground For Diabetes Effort \by PAUL BASS

Hill Health, the housing authority, and the city health and elderly services departments are working together on the new program, which is funded by a $67,440 grant from the Philip Marett Trust Fund (created by a bequest to the city in the 19th century). The goal is to bring health care and prevention efforts directly to seniors where they live, and to gather useful information for policymakers about how to combat the disease.

Retired CT bus driver Trudy Dickerson is eating a more healthful breakfast these days, and helping experts figure out how to help seniors stay healthy in the face of diabetes in the process.

Dickerson lives at the Constance Baker Motley senior public-housing complex on Sherman Parkway, where an 11week trial program has begun to tackle a killer disease.

For those 11 weeks, a crew from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center is visiting Baker Motley on Wednesdays to screen seniors for diabetes or prediabetes, and share information about how to eat better and otherwise remain healthy.

Trudy Dickerson atWednesday’s event.

Dickerson is one of those 15.

A week into the program, she learned, thanks to a screening, that she had a dangerously low blood count. She went to the hospital for a transfusion.

Back home, she has sat in on sessions about how much sugar is in breakfast cereals. She has started eating oatmeal for breakfast, she said.

“I’m feeling much better,” Dickerson said. “eating right.”

Another senior with diabetes, James Pittman, said he, too, has started paying attention to the amount of sugar in his diet, and eating better. He applauded the program. “We want to grow in grace as we age,” he said.

So far the Hill Health crew has

City human resources chief Martha Okafor: “Your story will help us to do things better.”

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Diabetes afflicts an estimated 30 million Americans, with 86 million more at risk of getting the disease. African-Americans, Latinos, and seniors are especially hard hit by the disease, Mayor Toni Harp said at a gathering Wednesday to publicize the new effort. Several speakers spoke of knowing people who have had limbs amputated due to diabetes.

PAUL BASS PHOTO

City health chief Byron Kennedy said policymakers have much to learn about preventing and treating diabetes. “What you teach us will be valuable to communities throughout the state and nationwide,” he told seniors gathered Wednesday in a community room at the housing complex.

screened 25 Constant Baker Motley seniors, 15 of whom have type 2 diabetes.

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Con’t on page 06

Mindset Academy and a charter member of Epsilon Iota Iota chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. “She was one of these students at one time,” said Conaway, “but, it shows, if you can change your focus it’s likely that students can end up like her.”

Ms. Millionaire Mindset Academy This year, Hoskie has launched Ms. Millionaire Mindset online seminars and Ms. Millionaire Mindset Academy, a technology based academy with the purpose of teaching real estate investing while inspiring women to take control of their lives by finding their purpose through creating multiple streams of revenue.

“It’s changing lives,” said Hoskie. “Whether it’s the vehicle of real estate or a vehicle of hope, it’s changing lives.”

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Hoskie will hold the Ms. Millionaire Mindset Women’s Conference on May 14th, at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. “The conference is important as there are so many women with so much untapped potential,” said Hoskie “We are designed for specific purposes, that we must fulfill; we need to stop existing and start living.

Hoskie believes all people are born with dreams. She said her acronym for DREAM is Divinely- Revealed -Event Awaiting- Manifestation. “I decided to make this a women’s conference, because when women are given live changing information, they bring it home to their husbands and children.”

For more details and/or to register for the conference, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/msmillionaire-mindset-womenconference-tickets20997575313 Hoskie was inducted into the Gateway Community College Hall of Fame in 2012 and has received a number of honors as

a business professional. She is a co-host on WYBC’s, 94.3FM talk show, the Electric Drum Round Table; she serves on several boards throughout Greater New Haven and is married to Chris Watts. She is available for speaking engagements. For more details about her, visit www.robertahoskie.com Con’t on page 06

A Modern Tea The Heart of the Matter and promote programs and activities that fundamentally improve the health status of the people of Connecticut. The Foundation’s goal is to support the activities of community health centers and other nonprofit organizations that promote health care services to uninsured and medically-underserved individuals, youth, children and families in Connecticut. As a volunteer- driven organization, the Foundation is managed by an independent Board of Directors who donate their time. CHNCTF is a designated 501(c)(3) entity.

Join us as we celebrate a decade of helping the community stay healthy. Bring friends, family, spouses, or anyone else 21 or older who might enjoy a day of discussion and elegant interactions.

Continue the tradition of staying healthy and well at the 2016 A Modern Tea - The Heart of the Matter!

Event Details A Modern Tea – The Heart of the Matter www.amoderntea.orgSaturday, April 16, 201610 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Omni New Haven Hotel 155 Temple St.New Haven, CT 06510 CONTACT: Elvin Melendez Emelendez@CHNCT.org 203.949.4080

against the culture of victim blaming, shaming and attempts to silence their voices.

by MARKESHIA RICKS New Haven Independent

Chanting, “Feminists unite.

Reclaim the night! SlutWalk!” a band of Southern Connecticut State University students and faculty marched through the center of campus and into school history.

“The girl at Columbia with the mattress ... was in a relationship and claiming that she was anally raped, and a lot of people had a big issue with that,” Young said, of a student who alleged that she had been raped by a male friend.

The male friend was never criminally charged, and a university investigation ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing, but 015/05/29/ magazine/have-we-learnedanything-from-the-columbiarape-case.html?_r=0"the fallout for both students and the university has been tremendous.

“That was her whole hearing, where the question was ‘If they were in a relationship, was it rape?’ And the answer is yes.

Organized by graduate students in the SCSU Women’s Studies program and the campus Violence Prevention, Victim Advocacy and Support Center, the “SlutWalk” marchers Thursday joined the international movement to take back the world “slut” and end the way it is used to stigmatize sexuality and shame victims of sexual violence, particularly for women and those engaged in nonheteronormative sexual activity.

“It goes back to rape culture, which is the environment where rape is prevalent and normalized in everything,” said Lindsay DeFrancisco, a counselor and advocate with the Meridenbased Women and Families Center. She moderated a preSlutWalk panel at which advocates and survivors talked about how victim shaming and blaming are perpetuated, and about strategies for changing the narrative and leaving the stigma where it belongs with the perpetrator of sexual violence.

DeFrancisco said when it comes to “slut-shaming,” there is a gender specific double standard, especially when it comes to language.

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Isabel Skarzynski and Loraine Stokes lead the marchers.

skirts and shorts among other things so that they won’t be “a distraction” to the boys. i.Christina Fawcett, a Women’s Studies graduate student and one of the event’s lead organizers, said there remains a stigma around talking about sex and sexuality. She said it’s time to normalize those conversations to make sure that whatever kind of sex someone is having, it is consensual and safe.

“Guys are encouraged, especially on college campuses, to get as many girls as you can,” she said. “But if a woman does it, she’s considered a slut.”

Fawcett, who also works as a clinical assistant at Planned Parenthood, said she sees patients all the time who have a hard time talking about sex She said even before a woman because they are afraid they are has her first sexual encounter, being judged. society imposes certain rules on “People are embarrassed, and her that men don’t have to deal they have nothing to be with. embarrassed about if you’re

Cathy Christy, director of the SCSU Violence Prevention, Victim Advocacy and Support Center, said all kinds of messaging pervade popular culture and media around sex, sexuality and sexual violence.

She said young men and women have a responsibility to challenge it.

Surveys at SCSU show that 81

percent of students want to intervene when it comes to sexual assault, she said.

The center works with students to help them understand consent and the importance of having a clear green light for every sexual encounter — meaning the person has said that he or she wants to have sex with you, at a particular time and in a particular way, and that you are not intoxicated or otherwise unable to make an informed decision. And getting that consent whether a person is in a relationship or not, or whether you’ve had sex with that person before or not.

Vanessa Young, another women’s studies graduate student at SCSU, said one way to challenge harmful perceptions is to speak up about your experience. She pointed to how rape victims on other college campuses have fought back

“We see this all the time at Ivy League institutions. You look at Yale. You look at Columbia.

They claim they have less than 2 percent of sexual assaults, and it’s just literally impossible for their size. I’m really happy that Southern has been tackling this, and I I feel good going to a school that really cares about this stuff.” couldn’t imagine attending a school like Yale which was recently embroiled in an alleged sexual assault case involving the now expelled captain of its men’s basketball team and being silenced.

“These are the people that are going to be running our country,” she said. “If they’re taught silence from that, how does it affect our culture, how does that affect our society, how does that affect media? I was talking to a male co-worker of mine who said, ‘Who’s to say that that girl who says she was raped can ruin that guy’s life who has this big scholarship?’ Well, did she ruin his life? Or did he make a bad decision and ruin his own life?”

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An example? Dress codes in being safe and consensual,” she middle and high school aimed at said. governing the length of girls’ Albert Cifuentes Jr., a 2009

SCSU graduate and community health advocate, advocated a pending state affirmative consent bill, which would require people to get a “yes” before engaging in sexual activity on campuses.

Cifuentes, a survivor of sexual assault at the hands of a man he considered a friend and occasional sexual partner, said it took him a long time to recognize what happened to him as rape; that it was not his fault; and that there was nothing he could or should have done to prevent it from happening.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

SlutWalkers March Against Shame & Blame

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Hip Hop Caucus Launches 2016 ‘Respect My Vote!’ National Campaign Hip Hop Caucus Founder and CEO, the Rev. Lennox Yearwood, recently launched a nationwide campaign to urge and assist young adults in urban areas to vote. The first summit of the 12th annual “Respect My Vote! campaign, was held March 22, in New York City.

The event featured celebrity spokesperson, Charlemagne Tha God, the New York based radio host of “The Breakfast Club” and artists such as rapper 2 Chainz, who advocated for more urban youth involvement and support in politics and voting.

“Hip Hop has always been political from its inception, and tells the story of the oppressed, that overtime helped shape policy. Hip Hop and politics are critical to each other and it is important for people to understand that their vote is critical and that democracy is not a spectator sport. You can’t say anything if you don’t vote,” Yearwood told the AFRO. The Hip Hop Caucus was formed in 2004, following Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network, Puff Daddy’s (Vote or Die) campaign, Jay Z’s “Voice Your Choice,” and the AFL-CIO’s “Hip Hop Voices.” Yearwood’s goal is to bring the power of the Hip Hop community to Washington, D.C., where he’s lived most of his life. There is no date for the D.C. Caucus yet, , he said.

“Celebrity input is so important because they actually take issues that everyday youth may not know about and make them relevant. Beyoncé’s Formation video was political and told a story. We can now take that story and address climate change, police reform, [and] women’s rights, and apply it to the next steps of policy

Rev. Yearwood and New York radio host “Charlemagne Tha God” advocating for youths to get urban youth to vote.

change,” Yearwood said.

In 2008, the Hip Hop Caucus featured celebrities such as T.I. and Keyshia Cole.

“In the past primary in Florida, 1 in 4 Black people could not vote because of their criminal background, zapping power from the community.

That is why we are currently working on voting reforms, speaking at Black universities, going to community centers, and encouraging members of the community to get involved,” Yearwood said.

In addition to voting, the cau-

cus works on other issues, including the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign, a response to Hurricane Katrina that stopped illegal evictions of Katrina survivors and holding police and government entities accountable for their injustices, according to its website. “We use Hip Hop to make sure our voices are heard and to strengthen democracy. Everything Beyoncé did in Formation can’t be done without voting. Historically, people of color died to give you a chance to vote. That alone should motivate you, regardless,” Yearwood said.

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Susan L. Taylor Breaks Out through Bartlett, has urged Smith to broaden the community’s participation in the organization. It also urged Smith to come up with a plan to raise some money to help offset the city’s police and other costs associated with the parade. Smith accused the Harp administration of trying to to take the parade away from him. Meanwhile, some community members who previously worked with Smith formed an organization called Elm City Freddy Fixer Parade 2016, to plan to run the parade themselves.

Attorney Miller said after meeting that she was there to “gather information” for Smith.

She declined further comment.

“We have adopted the ‘y’ instead of the ‘ie,’” the group wrote, in reference to the spelling of “Freddy” on its Facebook page. “Let’s make this parade special. Get on board. It belongs to us all.”

Reached by phone, Smith said he intends to file suit seeking an injunction against the new group obtaining the permit. He said he plans to argue that using the Freddie Fixer name is a “trademark violation.”

With a Wednesday deadline looming to grant a permit for the parade, Bartlett informed Miller Tuesday afternoon that the city has selected the new Elm City organization instead of Smith’s organization.

He said he has no intention of working with the new group, which he called illegitimate.

Bartlett said the city has tried to work with Smith to get some reimbursement for parade expenses since 2011, with no success. He said the city swallowed the full $35,000 cost for police overtime and other costs for the 2015 parade, as well as the full $30,000 for the 2014 parade.

Other parades, Bartlett said, pay “a percentage” of municipal costs.

“He has not made any effort to pay. He hasn’t demonstrated any capacity” to raise money, Bartlett said. “We can’t keep asking the taxpayers to foot the bill.”

Bartlett added that he’s “hopeful” the new group will include Smith in the parade planning.

Dexter Jones, who runs the new group, told the Independent recently that the group respects the work Smith has put in over the years and hopes he’ll take part.

Smith also contested Bartlett’s version of events. “We weren’t obligated to pay them. We were only obligated to make a goodfaith effort to raise money,” which his group did, Smith said.

He called the new group a City Hall-orchestrated set-up to wrest control of the parade from him.

“They’re [the Harp administration] basically feeding this group. Everybody knows that.”

“There are going to be repercussions,” Smith vowed.

Community leaders formed the Freddie Fixer event in the early 1960s as part parade, part community clean-up drive. It grew into a multi-state draw for black police, fire, drill squad and other organized groups, complete with weekend-long events.

“Freddie Fixer” was created as a fictional street-sweeping symbol for the event.

“I Was Dying On The Inside”

caregivers, guardians… … and other unsung everyday heroes can identify with that? Putting everyone first…except yourself. It has to change.

By Aria Ellise, BlackDoctor.org Susan L. Taylor, the beautiful, flawless face of Essence Magazine for 25 years was synonymous with beauty, intelligence, grace and even as some may describe now, “black girl magic” before the term was ever thought of. Susan was the editorial director of Essence for six years, and before that was editor-in-chief for 19 years. In her monthly column, “In the Spirit,” she used the platform to speak to millions of black women on a personal level. And her message to all was simple: “Love yourself.”

But little did the general public know that the now 70-yearold Taylor’s journey success and self-love, was filled with her own personal struggle: a deep-rooted depression that crippled her as a child and continued into adulthood, even while being the face of Essence.

“I began spiraling downward, downward, downward and further and further into a depression that I couldn’t pull myself out of,” says the former executive.

“I felt like everything coming out of my mouth was incorrect. I’m out there speaking in front of thousands of people with a smile pasted on my face but dying on the inside.”

Depression affects between 17-20 million Americans a year.

Data from a study published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found that women (4 percent vs. 2.7 percent of men) and African-Americans (4 percent) are significantly more likely to report major depression than whites (3.1 percent).

But the CDC also finds that

“My mother was really depressed all of my life, and I thought it had to do with me,” she says. “So one day my uncle straightened me out. He said, ‘Susan, it’s not you. Babs has been depressed since she was a little child. So don’t take it personally.’ That was clarifying and also liberating.”

Susan L. Taylor

just 7.6 percent of AfricanAmericans sought treatment for depression compared to 13.6 percent of the general population in 2011. Fear, embarrassment and the stigma in the Black community against counseling (outside of the church, that is) keep many of us who actually need professional services from seeking them.

Writer and former colleague of Taylor’s, Linda Villanova sums it up best: Success can come with a price. We’re the first to arrive and the last to leave as we grind through 10hour work days. We’re the ones everybody relies on—first at work, then after hours during the second shift of home and family time. We work ourselves almost literally “to death” especially now during this economic storm. Or for some of us, we “feel” like we have to continue to be the “superwoman.”

“My sadness and depression came out of giving myself to my career before I would give myself to myself,” says Taylor.

“Everything for Essence; nothing for me.”

How many mothers,

“I sought help, and everything began to unfold,” Taylor continues. “Hiding sadness makes you more and more sad because it closes you off to your healing. Giving voice to what you’re feeling is part of the healing.”

The organization that Susan now heads is all about transparency and giving voice to the next generation through reallife mentoring.

Founded by Taylor in 2005 as Essence CARES, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, today the National CARES Mentoring Movement is a community-mobilization movement dedicated to healing and advancing our nation’s most defenseless children, our African American young trapped in a cycle of intergenerational poverty. In 58 U.S. cities, CARES affiliates recruit, train and connect adults to local youth-serving organizations desperate for Black volunteers. Additionally, National CARES is building for scaling and replication, transformational group-mentoring programs focused on the emoCon’t on page 22

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The new organization does not have 501(c)3 status. Bartlett said the organization has found another not-for-profit to serve as its fiscal agent for the parade.

Bartlett and another Harp administration official, Jackie James,

have spoken of staging fundraising events like an African-American food truck festival at Dixwell Plaza.

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Venus Pens An Essay About Serena: “This Time Serena Paved The Way For Me” Indian Wells last year, I was so proud of her. She hadn’t set foot onto the grounds since our 2001 tournament — neither of us had.

By Aria Ellis, BlackDoctor.org There is just something about being the big sister.

Leading up to her decision, Serena told me that she had been reading a lot about Nelson Mandela. She had been learning about him, thinking about him — processing all of these complex questions about his journey and his principles.

When you’re the big sister, you’re first — always, always first.

Sometimes, that’s a perk. Being the big sister means that you’re the first to earn your driver’s license.

It means you’re the first to go out on a date. You’re the first to be allowed to stay up late, or home alone.

About forgiveness.

When Serena becomes passionate about something, you can see her eyes light up about it.

And I could tell right away that learning about Mr. Mandela was something that she was taking very seriously. And so it didn’t surprise me at all when, soon after, she brought up the idea that there might be this unique opportunity for her at Indian Wells — to not just learn from Mr. Mandela’s experiences, but to apply what she had learned.

It means you’re the first to grow up.

In my family’s case, it also meant that I was the first to turn pro as a tennis player. The first to play in an official WTA tournament. The first to play against a world No. 1. The first to beat a top 10 player, to play in a Grand Slam, to make the final of a Grand Slam.

And, of course, it meant that I was the first to become famous.

I was the first to have articles written about me. The first to have autographs requested of me. The first to have TV specials produced about me, awards given out to me, shoes named after me.

I was the first to be known by my first name only.

Venus. Just Venus.

I was the big sister. I had to be first.

I’m proud of that.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Sometimes, though, being the big sister is a responsibility.

For me, being the big sister meant that, when I made my professional debut, I was the only player on tour who looked like me.

I was the only player with my skin color, with my hair, with my background, with my style.

MUST READ: The Making of Serena Williams (It Started When I Was 11) Being the big sister meant that, when I became world No. 1 in 2002, I wasn’t just world No. 1. I was also the first black American woman to reach No. 1. And it meant that I had to carry with me the importance of what I had

accomplished. And I was honored to do that.

Being the big sister means that you don’t just pave the way. You show the way.

Being the big sister meant that, when my little sister made her professional debut, I became a lot of new things to her — her colleague, her competitor, her business partner, her doubles partner. But I was still, first and foremost, the one thing I had always been: her family. I was her protector — her first line of defense against outside forces.

And I cherished that.

Being the big sister … I didn’t take that responsibility lightly. I knew what she was going through — debuting as a professional tennis player, growing up in front of a camera, entering public life as a young black teenager — and I knew how hard that could be.

And I knew how much I would have loved to have had a big sister on tour during my first year, and how much pride I took in the knowledge that my little sister had me.

Serena always has me.

But I’ve never had to tell her.

Being the big sister means that

nothing ever has to be said out loud. It’s unspoken, and understood: You can do it. I did it, so you can do it. Just follow my lead.

Being the big sister means that you don’t just pave the way.

You show the way.

Most of all, though, being the big sister is a bond. And a bond has no age, and no direction; it’s not defined by who’s older, or younger, or who has which responsibilities, or which perks. A bond is never about who’s first.

A bond is about strength.

Being someone’s big sister means being strong for them.

And sometimes “being strong” means, yes, being strong. But other times — more often than not — it really just means… …being there. It means being there, when needed, no matter what.

And that — above all else — is what being the big sister means to me.

It means being there.

It means being there for Serena.

When Serena decided to play

about it. Not as a conscious thing.

It’s just my natural way.

And honestly, in my own way, I might even be the more competitive of the two of us. I think that Serena’s ability to lay everything bare on the court allows her to work through her emotions more easily. For me, though, it can be a more conflicted process. My quietness lets me stew a little in my thoughts. And once I feel a certain way about something, my competitiveness can make me a little slower to come around to the other side.

And that’s how it was for me with Indian Wells.

Photo courtesy of Eleven By Venus Instagram Photo courtesy of Eleven By Venus Instagram On one hand, my memories of what happened in 2001 are still so vivid.

I remember my quarterfinal match, against Elena Dementieva, I didn’t think that playing Indian like it was yesterday: 6–0, 6–3, a Wells again was something I’d really good win over a really good ever do. player. I remember the pain of my I was proud of Serena for so knee injury, and how badly I many reasons: for the sense of self wanted to play in the semis against she displayed in tackling our Serena — before finally accepting complicated history at Indian that I wouldn’t be able to. I Wells; for making her decision remember the accusations toward with such conviction; for me and my sister and our father. I conveying her decision with such remember the crowd’s reaction, as grace and clarity; and, of course, I walked to my seat, during for playing with that exact same Serena’s match in the final. And I grace and clarity. remember how I couldn’t And I knew that I was going to understand why thousands of be acting this way be there for Serena,PHOTOS no matter Alpha what people CONTRIBUTED Alphawould Rho Zeta members — because that’s what big sisters — to a 19-year-old and a 20-yearat one-year old,their tryingchapter’s their best. chartering. do.the They’re there. anniversary of I watched her and I cheered for her.

And I was so, so proud.

But as proud as I was, the truth is, my personal feelings hadn’t changed: I didn’t think that playing Indian Wells again was something I’d ever do.

On the court, Serena is much more emotional than I am — and everyone sees her competitive side a lot more than they see mine. But that doesn’t mean I’m not emotional, and that doesn’t mean I’m not competitive. I think I’m just … more instinctively quiet

There are certain things where, if you go through them at a certain age, you simply don’t forget them.

Not feeling welcome somewhere is a hard memory to let go of — at any age. At 20? It’s almost impossible.

But on the other hand, when I think about it now, all of these years later — it’s less my memory of the events that happened, and more my memory of how I felt when they happened, that has stuck with me.

I remember the hurt I felt. I Con’t on page 21

“This Time Serena Paved The Way For Me” remember my confusion and disappointment and anger. I remember how the coverage of it at the time didn’t seem concerned with me and Serena, as people, at all — but rather only with the story itself. And with the version of the story that would get the most attention, regardless of the truth. I remember feeling that I had been wronged, and that I had done nothing wrong. I remember feeling that I had unfairly gotten the brunt of the blame for a bad situation.

And I remember leaving Indian Wells in 2001 feeling like I wasn’t welcome there.

Not feeling welcome somewhere is a hard memory to let go of — at any age. At 20? It’s almost impossible. And so that’s what I did. I held onto it.

But then I saw Serena.

And it was in that moment, seeing Serena welcomed with open arms last year at Indian Wells, that I think I fully and truly realized what being the big sister means.

It means that, for all of the Con’t from page 10

Principals

things I did first, and all of the times when I paved the way for Serena, the thing I can be most proud of is this time.

When Serena paved the way for me.

I’ll be playing Indian Wells this year — 15 years after my last appearance, and one year after Serena’s. As the tournament draws nearer, I’m looking more and more forward to it. I’m looking forward to the amazing California grounds.

I’m looking forward to the topnotch WTA competition. And I’m looking forward to the fans — who played such an important role in helping to make last year so special.

But most of all, I’m looking forward to playing tennis.

Sounds simple — I know. But after almost 30 years of playing this sport, I’ve learned something.

I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, or happened … or where you are, or where you’ve been … at the end of the day: tennis is tennis. It’s always, always tennis.

And there’s nothing better.

Who taught me that?

Actually, funny story — it was the greatest player in the world.

I’m her big sister.

Black Family-Owned Business Hits It Big With New Lowe’s Home Improvement and Walmart Deal!

Husband and wife team overcomes tragedy and the odds to get their secret sauce in big box retailers. — Charleston, SC — Chevalo and Monique Wilsondebriano, owners of Charleston Gourmet Burger Company, have overcome major obstacles and have hit it big by landing a major deal with Lowe’s Home Improvement and Walmart.

Chevalo, a former FDNY EMS First Responder, survived the second World Trade Center tower collapse on September 11, 2011. His wife, Monique, was formerly a single mother of two teenagers in high school. Three years ago, the two together took a leap of faith by creating a unique backyard burger recipe, and pitching it to major retailers.

And they have found huge success!

Their Gourmet Burger Marinade and Sauce has grown from being a staple at local farmer’s markets to being sold in select Whole Foods Markets, Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Cost Plus World Market, Costco Wholesale Club, Military Commissar-

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Photo: he Family Business: Chevalo, Monique & their children Amber, Ashley, Brianna & Shannon ies, Sam’s Club, and several other retailers. But their latest deal lands their products in 543 Lowe’S Home Improvement stores around the country, as well as 44 select Walmart stores in the southeast and online.

“We pinch ourselves everyday,” says Monique who marvels at how far she has come throughout this journey. “I’ve been told that I would never amount to anything,” she says, reflecting on her struggle to overcome the

odds. “No matter how bad of a situation I was in, I always knew that one day I would make a difference.”

Chevalo says that everything in his life changed after 9/11.

“Having lost friends and 343 coworkers that day, I look at my life now as a second chance to do something great.” Both Chevalo and Monique regularly give back by mentoring budding entrepreneurs.

said, explaining how they managed to retain staff, often a challenge at Achievement First charter schools.

The James Street building will be small for seven grades next year, but “we’re going to make it work,” he said. The summer renovation will allow the school to add “enrichment facilities,” including a science and technology lab.

Next year, K-5 students will be divided into homerooms with 30 students in each. The sixth graders will be divided into homerooms of three groups of 24 students. Within homerooms, students will be split into smaller groups ranging from six to 15 students.

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The cost of the renovation has not yet been determined.

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Film Review: Born to Be Blue

By Dwight Brown, NNPA News Wire Film Critic

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

In the ‘50s Chet Baker achieves great success in the jazz world based on his GQ looks, sweet trumpet playing and a talent for simple singing. He doesn’t have Mel Torme or Tony Bennett’s pipes. He uses his voice like an instrument, making his vocals sound as pure as a horn. Ladies flock to his performances. Jazz greats like Miles Davis (Kedar Brown) and Dizzie Gillespie (Kevin Hanchard) embrace him. A producer wants him to star in a bio film. And so he does, and that’s where he meets the love of his life, his co-star Jane

On The Inside tional, social and academic development of struggling children in our country’s most under-resourced schools. In January, 2008, Taylor left Essence magazine after 27 years as chief editor to work full-time with community leaders in mounting what has become the largest mentoring movement in the nation’s history and the only organization providing mentoring, healing and wellness services on a national scale for Black children.

“I did it my way…” No, Ethan Hawke doesn’t sing those lyrics in this faux bio/film about jazz great Chet Baker. But judging by his thoroughly convincing performance and writer/director Robert Budreau’s impressionistic screenplay and artsy direction, that was their mindset during this movie’s production. Convey the feeling of Baker’s existence, not a blowby-blow, song-to-song, drug-todrug retelling of his infamous life. They follow their instincts, which lead them to a very creative place.

As you watch Chet Baker (Hawke) flounder and struggle for a comeback, you may wonder what on screen is real and what is a concoction. Ignore that impulse. Let his story unfold.

Everything will seem plausible enough. Credit Budreau for setting a dreamy mood that depicts the 1950s in black and white and the 1960s in just a few sparse colors (art direction Joel Richardson). The moody cinematography (Steve Cosens) and production design (Aidan Leroux) add atmosphere. The alluring trumpet playing (Kevin Turcotte) and score (composer David Braid) grip the soul. Go back in time to the sweet pocket of the jazz era.

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James Dean bone structure Baker had, but he creates that illusion. He mimes trumpet playing meticulously. He’s an actor who learned how to produce a silky voice that is so melodious you’re eager for him to step up to the mic and sing.

This is Hawke’s best performance ever. He carries this film on his back.

(Carmen Ejogo, Selma).

In the 1960s, Baker finds himself in an Italian jail cell, incarcerated for drug use. He has been beaten up during a drug deal gone bad, and has lost his teeth. Heroin addiction makes him fidgety and irresponsible.

Yet he has his music and hope for a return to his successful career, even though addiction sabotages his efforts. Jane accompanies him on his bumpy journey. She gives up her acting career to help him get back on his feet. Try as he may, even with the support of his producer Dick (Callum Keith Rennie, Californication), he falls off the wagon as much as he climbs on.

He plays jazz, but his life is a case of the blues.

Watching Baker’s misery, insecurities, failings and accomplishments, for 98 minutes, is never less than magnetic. By all accounts, it is the tortured, train-wreck life that the real Chesney Henry “Chet”

Baker, Jr. led. (Check out the biography Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker, or the documentary Let’s Get Lost), His essence rings true here, regardless of what is real and what is not. The jumbled storytelling, the music, the performances and direction feel alternately like B&W photos coming to life or modern midcentury sketches turning into live action.

An unimaginative director would have done a paint-bynumbers bio/drama. Budreau, however, formed a creative idea, pulled his tech crew and cast into his dream world and completed his concept perfectly.

Ethan Hawke’s performance is as impressive as the music. In real life he looks like an overgrown, Midwest high school kid. In the movie, through his own magic, he acts the part of a seductively handsome man who could charm the panties off a nun. Hawke does not have the

Jane is a hard roll to play, chiefly because she is a composite of several of Baker’s lovers. Yet Carmen Ejogo brings balance to a character that supports her man, but needs her own career. She is wonderful in every scene. She and Ethan make the romance real. Brown and Hanchard bring back the golden age of jazz in fleeting moments as Davis and Gillespie. Rennie as the stalwart producer and Tony Nappo as a parole officer provide boundaries for Baker’s free spirit. Stephen McHattie, as Chet’s father, is reminiscent of a gruff looking, earthy Sam Shephard.

In Born to be Blue, Chet Baker, the pioneer of the West Coast jazz scene, gets his story told. After the movie, don’t be surprised if you find yourself downloading or streaming his music. If you do you will be struck by the haunting similarities of his sound and those from this very evocative and inventive film.

“Mentoring is all about caring,” Taylor said. “It’s caring enough to spend one hour a week to advise and guide a vulnerable young person. None of the forces claiming our children’s lives are more powerful than our commitment and love. We are the solution.”

According to its mission, the National CARES Mentoring Movement seeks to end the struggles of Black America by connecting concerned adults with mentoring opportunities across the nation. Individuals are asked to volunteer at least an hour a week for a year to guide and encourage challenged youngsters in one-toone or group mentoring relationships, where several adults spend time with a larger number of children.

“With mentoring I see light shining at the end of a long dark tunnel,” explains Taylor.

“There is a chance that if I devote more time and space in my life to learning and working with the growing number of community leaders throughout the nation who are organizing local Cares mentoring efforts, such a movement will succeed in doing what political will and public policy have not done: give our children in peril a chance to develop the extraordinary in themselves.”

By Starling Thomas Nationwide — Have you ever wanted to shop with Black owned business in your city or when traveling across the United States? Not sure how to find local or national business that are owned by people that look like you and live in your community.

There is an awesome new app to hit the market that is harnessing the $1.3 trillion buying power of the African-American community. Yes, you read that right. Black people spend $1.3 trillion dollars annually, yet our Black owned businesses doesn’t reflect this number in income.

WHERE U Came From is the premiere and reliable Black business directory app for Apple and Android devices offering a local business search with realtime listing of Black-owned businesses across various categories, ranked by consumers who use the app.

The app was created by Atlanta-based, social entrepreneur Dr. Dionne Mahaffey and her company the CPAI Group. The wealth disparity arises in the AfricanAmerican community because the dollar doesn’t circulate the way it does in other minority communities around the world.

A huge problem is that despite a collective buying power of in the trillions of dollars, very little of that money stays in Black communities or is spent on Black-owned businesses.

The WhereU app was conceived for the need to help circulate the dollar longer in Black communities and because of this, it could generate one million jobs for AfricanAmericans nationwide.

Money zooms over our heads and through our fingers faster than we can count it and it rarely stays in our pockets long enough to save or go to the Black-owned businesses in our neighborhoods.

We spend our hard owned money with companies that could care less about our community and more about their bottom line. We are so used to creating jobs for other people and corporations, but we as a community are unable to create jobs for ourselves. This is a very serious issues that the WhereU app is addressing.

The app merges technology with the need to handle poverty, crime and other social ills in the African-American community by focusing on economic development and job creation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent survey of business owners there are 2.6 million black owned businesses in this country.

“While the growth is encouraging there is still a lot of work to do to increase the profit of these black businesses. Gross receipts for all minority-owned

firms are still well below the average gross receipts for nonminority-owned firms,” Mahaffey said.

“It will take all of us across all socio-economic statuses to build black wealth. We’ve got to invest in our own community. For us, community can’t be limited to where we are domiciled since many of us live in non-black neighborhoods. When we start to embrace the diaspora-view that our community is wherever we find our people, then we will be more inclined to support one another, even if it means taking a long drive,” said Mahaffey.

The WhereU app is here to help make it easier to literally buy Black, in your community and when you travel to other communities around the country.

This app will help you locate every African-American owned business in your vicinity from everything like restaurants house cleaning, plumbing, catering, lawyers, doctors, graphic designers, beauty salons and more. The app’s referral and location-based system helps you start your search among the most trusted Black professionals and businesses.

“Our development team has added several thousand businesses for the app launch.

However, we’d love to include as many of the 2.6 million black businesses in the United States as possible,” she concluded.

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Did you know that currently, a dollar circulates in Asian communities for 30 days, in Jewish communities approximately 20 days, white communities 17 days, but in contrast a dollar circulates in the Black community only six hours.

According to researchers, just 2 cents of every dollar an African American spends in this country goes to Black owned businesses.

If higher income Black consumers spent at least $1 out of every $10 with Black owned businesses it would generate one million jobs for African American.

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

New Mobile App is Building Black Wealth Nationwide

Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles Files Bankruptcy After Losing $3.2 Million Racial Discrimination Lawsuit to Black Employee Los Angeles, CA — Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, one of LA’s oldest and most popular Blackowned restaurant chains, has just filed for bankruptcy after losing a racial discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit last year in the amount of $3.2 million dollars. In filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California, East Coast Foods, which owns the restaurant chain, estimated that it has debts between $10 million and $50 million. Its assets, on the other hand, total less than $50,000.

According to CBS News, the lawsuit was filed by an African American employee named Daniel Beasley who says he was a victim of different forms of racial discrimination by Hispanic employees who manage the restaurant chain’s Pico Blvd location. He accused the company of giving Latino employees preferential treatment over black workers, including better schedules and shifts Beasley’s claims against the 40-year family-owned business included unfair treatment/ discrimination in the workplace, issues with shift scheduling, and wrongful termination after he complained to the HR Department and the owners. And it

turned out that he was right! A Los Angeles county jury not only sided with Beasley, but also awarded him with more than $3 million ($1.7 million, and $1.5 million in attorney’s fees.)

Inglewood, Los Angeles and Anaheim.

They are known for serving several popular soul food dishes including fried chicken and waffles, chicken sausages, Beasley’s attorney, Scott cheesy omelettes, grits, biscuits, Cummings, says that he has al- french fries, and sandwiches. ready hired another lawyer to start the process of collecting on the judgment, which Roscoe’s is Con’t from page 22 reportedly appealing. Cummings says he is worried that the bankBusiness profiles can be ruptcy filing is an attempt to submitted from the web-site or avoid paying what is owed to his within the actual WhereU Came client.

From app. The app can also help Meanwhile, loyal customers majority, non-black corporations and tourists are wondering if the meet their diversity objectives by restaurant chain will be able to finding minority businesses to stay afloat. Founded in 1975 by support. . entrepreneur Herb Hudson, a Some of the unique app Harlem, NY native, the chain has features include: 7 locations in Southern Califor* Access the top 10 most nia, including Hollywood, Long Beach, Pasadena, West LA, referred pros and businesses under a category even without Internet connection * Ability to find the pro nearest you through geo-location technology * Reliable listings with verified contact numbers * Easily refer trusted pros to friends and family through the referral function The website, WhereYouCameFrom.biz will feature entrepreneurs’ stories, offer narratives on wealth building and other topics relevant to black owned business owners and consumers. The company also plans to hold conferences and pop-up shops across the country to promote black entrepreneurship.

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INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016 26

presidents. Every campus has received substantial budget cuts that have resulted in discontinued programs, and high-profile failures in physical plant infrastructure.

HBCUDigest.com Two days ago, a Louisiana State University endowed professor wrote a heartbreaking Times-Picayune editorial on the physical degradation of Southern University’s Baton Rouge campus. In a winding, descriptive narrative about leaking roofs, molded ceiling tiles and slashed budgets, it was a single sentence in Robert Mann’s epitaph on Louisiana’s concern for Southern that perfectly captured the generational suffering felt by HBCU advocates nationwide.

That Southern’s infrastructure has apparently suffered more than other Louisiana universities – LSU’s threadbare campus appears sparkling by comparison – causes one to wonder how different the school’s condition might be if the majority of its students and faculty were not African-American.

The thesis is clear; Louisiana’s volatile mix of race and politics has poisoned the flagship school of one of the state’s systems of higher education. But what happens when the same evils have a not-so-visible impact on the campus? A sick building will tell you that something is wrong, even if the source of its damage is beyond what can be seen with the naked eye.

The same is true about HBCU leadership, and Louisiana proves exactly how a lack of resources creates short and long-term negative outcomes. The universal question of “how could anyone let this happen” is asked with a variety of targets in mind: the governor, HBCU boards and presidents are the usual victims of the inquiry. But ultimately, is the goal of leadership to change the politics which surround HBCUs, or to work within them as they

The state has correctly banked on students and alumni remaining loudly complacent on the its ravages against the Southern System and Grambling State University. They gladly allow marches and protests at the capital, in exchange for keeping the neglect out of the federal courts as a matter of Constitutional violation. And the same thing plays over and over in places like North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Maryland.

change in existence?

There was a time in history where a war on two fronts was not winnable, but close to manageable for HBCUs. But desegregation in college choice reduced the tuition revenue, the marketing appeal and the cultural strength of HBCUs to the numbers we know today; just about two out of every ten black students in college enrolls at an HBCU. Now the wars to secure resources and defeat racial ill intent has fewer soldiers and fewer dollars for wartime spending, but we tend to focus on who to blame instead of how to adapt.

The opponent has adjusted its strategy. Conservative state governments, which fund the majority of public HBCUs in the country, have relished the excuse of depleted coffers. They’ve illegally duplicated programs, lawfully realigned state higher education governance and created performance-based funding standards designed to punish the

HBCU mission of access and opportunity for all students. They gerrymander voting districts to ensure that their policies remain in place and grow in impact.

HBCUs have adjusted in lawsuits from students and alumni, aligning academic programs with industrial trends, and working to recruit from uncommon places for students. But those efforts haven’t produced enough students and giving donors to slow the paralyzing effect of the political ether, and too many stakeholders misconstrue the HBCU struggle as an outcome of black incompetence, and not a symptom of anti-black racism.

All institutions contend with managerial nepotism and ego, and because HBCUs do not have the money or technology to minimize the impact of vice-presidents, directors and managers with personal agendas, these harmful elements go unattended in the short-term.

Long-term, their agendas and issues can result in major deficiencies that impact institutional control and efficiency. A bad president can make good VPs want to leave; a bad VP makes good directors rebellious, and bad directors make staff unproductive. From the top down, bad leadership permeates to empower an HBCU human product which appears rude, unknowledgeable and unmotivated.

And when clients – students, parents and alumni begin to get pissed with the product – these same leaders have to answer for defections in managerial talent, lapses in service, and gaps in innovation; searching to find answers from the bottom up.

Louisiana is the perfect test case for how the dual war is waged against HBCUs. In the last two years, every one of the state’s public HBCUs has, or will have replaced their chancellors and

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

Winning the Wars to Save HBCUs Starts With Honest Look at Leadership

And our focus remains on if our leaders are smart enough, charismatic enough, or politically savvy enough to win us and the enemy over at the same time, as if the enemy didn’t have a hand in their appointment, or doesn’t sign their checks and pay their health insurance: as if we we didn’t sit silently by while politics and agendas decided on their appointments, on our behalf.

In the end, it doesn’t matter who the president is or what they succeed or fail to do; it is up to students and alumni to realize that the future of HBCUs bends at the will of the actively informed. And the most important thing to know in preserving the future of HBCUs is that none of our presidents, good or bad, are equipped to fight two unwinnable wars on their own.

One of these wars must be picked up by students and graduates, and fought in places well outside of protest throngs and critique of leaders appointed to purposefully fail through executive tampering, or to be forced into the same by outside influences.

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CITY OF NORWICH Inspector (Fire Marshall’s Office) Salary: $69,424 – $71,507 911 Emergency Dispatcher Salary: $45,718 - $57,850 Police Records Computer Operator Salary: $34,871 - $37,903 Visit www.norwichct.org/hr to apply and for more information. AA/EEO. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is seeking to fill a full time position for a Communications Officer.

Please refer to our website for details: http://www.cfgnh.org/About/ContactUs/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx EOE electronic submissions only. No phone calls

Listing: Accounting-AR Specialist Immediate opening for an experienced professional in an extremely fast-paced petroleum environment. Requires AR knowledge, high volume billing experience and familiarity with Excel, Adds Energy experience a plus. Candidate must possess a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. Petroleum industry and propane experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Seeking WBE drywall suppliers and subcontractors for New Haven housing authority project. Please email info@tecconllc.com if interested.

CARPENTER Large CT Fence Company looking for a carpenter for our Wood Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure.

This is an in-shop production position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Some pickup & delivery of materials may also be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE

FENCE ERECTING CONTRACTORS Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor is looking for Fence Installer foreman and helpers. Foreman must have at least 5 years’ experience. Helpersno experience required, will train the right person. Work available 10-12 months per year. Valid Ct. Driver’s license required and must be able to get a DOT Medical Card. All necessary equipment provided. Medical, vacation & other benefits included. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Foreman rates from $22 to $28/hour plus benefits, helper rates from $16/hour plus benefits. OSHA 10 training is a plus. Please email resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE

Drivers: Company Drivers. $5000 transition bonus. Paid out in the first 4 months - Call us for details! New Home Time policy: 5 days out - 2 days off; 10 days out - 4 days off; 15 days out6 days off. We offer: average $1200$1400 weekly. $1500 quarterly bonus. $5000 referral bonus. Dedicated lanes.

Longevity bonus. Dedicated driver advocate team. Health, dental, vision benefits available. Paid layovers & orientation. Requirements: must have CDLA with tanker & hazmat endorsements.

Have or be willing to obtain TWIC card. 1yr. tractor-trailer exp. Call Jessica: 866-983-0855 or apply online at www.Work4QC.com

FENCE ERECTING SUBCONTRACTORS Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor is looking for experienced, responsible commercial and residential fence erectors and installers on a subcontractor basis. Earn from $750 to $2,000 per day. Must have truck and your own tools. Email resume to mpicard@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE

Water Treatment Pumping Operators The Town of Wallingford Water Division is seeking candidates to fill vacancies involved in the treatment of the water system. Positions may be filled as a Level 1 or Level II operator depending on qualifications. Level II candidates must have a H.S. diploma and 3 years experience in a water treatment plant with 1 year as a supervisor.

Level I candidates must have a H.S. diploma and 1 year experience in the water treatment field. Candidates must have or be eligible for the certifications required for each position indicated in the job postings. Level II: $24.94-$30.27 hourly/Level I: $23.57-$28.65 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Applications/resumes will be accepted until May 2, 2016 (or the date of receipt of the 50th application for each position) at the following address: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 294-2080. Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

LABORERS NEEDED Full time openings for Construction Laborers with benefits after 90 days.

Minimum two years experience required. All interested parties please apply in person at: True Blue Environmental, 5 Northfield Rd, Wallingford, CT. An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Elm City Communities Invitation for Bids Matthew Ruoppolo Manor Electric Generator Replacement Elm City Communities also known as The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (HANH) is currently seeking Bids for Matthew Ruoppolo Manor Electric Generator Replacement. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 @ 3:00 PM.

Welder-Exp. Welder for structural steel Misc shop. Send resume:gwf@snet.net

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Listing:? Maintenance Assistant Immediate opening for a part time maintenance assistant for grounds and building maintenance.

Position requires flexible work schedule. Some heavy lifting required. Computer knowledge a plus. Send resume to HR Manager, 401 Soundview Road, Guilford, CT 06437. **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Housing Authority of the City of New Haven Invitation for Bids Winslow- Celentano Hydronic Upgrades The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (HANH) is currently seeking Bids for Winslow- Celentano Hydronic Upgrades. Bids will be received until March 4, 2016 at 3:00 PM. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held at 360 Orange Street, New Haven, CT 06511 on Wednesday February 17, 2016 @ 11:00 AM. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from HANH’s front desk at 360 Orange Street beginning on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 @ 3:00 PM. Request for electronic copies of the request should be emailed to bids@newhavenhousing.org.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is seeking to fill a full time position for a Communications Officer.

Please refer to our website for details: http://www.cfgnh.org/About/ContactUs/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx EOE electronic submissions only. No phone calls

Drivers Needed Full time openings for Class A Drivers with benefits after 90 days. Previous experience required. All interested parties: Apply in person with Rich Merly at True Blue Environmental 5 Northfield Road, Wallingford, CT. An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

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The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications to participate in the exam for Public Safety Dispatcher. Hourly rate of pay is $ 23.59. Candidate must possess High School diploma or GED. Successfully pass background investigation and fingerprinting, pass a physical exam including a drug screening test as well as have the ability to distinguish and identify different colors and pass a hearing test. Must possess good computer skills, have the ability to learn new computer updates and systems as they are implemented and obtain and maintain State of Connecticut Telecommunication Certification.

Must become trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). Additional Preferred Qualifications: Ability to speak and understand Spanish, demonstrated knowledge of local geography, Emergency Medical Technician, previous dispatch/police/fire experience, previous NCIC/Collect/911 experience and certified in ProQA. Please apply at www.PoliceApp.com/EastHavenCT. The fee to apply is $40 and the deadline is April 8, 2016.

Coordinator of Assessment Systems: The Town of East Haven is currently conducting an examination for the position of Coordinator of Assessment Systems. Qualified candidates must possess a Bachelors Degree from an accredited college of university in Computer Science, Business or related field and five (5) years experience with computer appraisal and administrative systems used in an Assessor’s Office or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provide a demonstrated potential for performing the duties of the position. Excellent computer skills essential, experience in Assessor’s Office preferred. The starting salary is $49,385 per year. The application is available at www.townofeasthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests or the Civil Service Office, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT and the deadline to apply is April 8, 2016.

The Town of East Haven is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities, Females, Veterans and Handicapped are encouraged to apply.

CONSTRUCTION Experienced Iron Workers needed. Must have tools, transportation, OSHA 10 card; Will conduct background check and pre-employment drug test. EOE-M/F Call 860-525-9016.

Class A CDL Driver with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed. (Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: mandrade@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies, LLC is An EOE.

Listing: Senior Accountant.

Immediate opening in a fast-paced petroleum environment for a degreed accountant w/ 2+ year’s public accounting experience. Duties include data transmission, tax prep, assistance w/monthly closing, account analysis/reconciliation, assistance managing network and system projects. Strong Excel and analytical skills a must. Great growth potential! Benefit package. Candidate must possess a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. Petroleum industry and propane experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437.

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**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

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Inner-City Inner-City News Connecticut’s First Choice For Urban News Since1990

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BUSINESS HOURS - MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - 50 FITCH NEW HAVEN CT, 06515 - Career/Education/Training • Bid• L egal and Public Notices • Health Care • Real Estate • Professional Drivers: Company Drivers. $5000 transition bonus. Paid out in the first 4 months Call us for details! New Home Time policy: 5 days out - 2 days off; 10 days out - 4 days off; 15 days out- 6 days off. We offer: average $1200-$1400 weekly. $1500 quarterly bonus. $5000 referral bonus. Dedicated lanes. Longevity bonus. Dedicated driver advocate team. Health, dental, vision benefits available. Paid layovers & orientation. Requirements: must have CDLA with tanker & hazmat endorsements.

Have or be willing to obtain TWIC card.

1yr. tractor-trailer exp. Call Jessica: 866983-0855 or apply online at www.Work4QC.com

HVAC Apprentices Now Hiring HVAC apprentices. Current or previous HVAC trade school is required. We are hiring for a long term multi-family housing project in New Haven. Prevailing wage rates up to $55 per hour. We are an innovative and fast growing heating and AC contractor. We offer paid holidays, vacation time, 401K, Health Insurance and many other benefits. Call 860-283-4878 or email Chris@ctcomfortcontrol.com today to schedule a confidential interview.

HVAC Journeymen Now Hiring licensed Journeymen HVAC technicians and installers. CT S, D, or SM license required. We are hiring for a long term multi-family housing project in New Haven. Prevailing wage rates up to $75 per hour. We are an innovative and fast growing heating and AC contractor. We offer paid holidays, vacation time, 401K, Health Insurance and many other benefits. Call 860-283-4878 or email Chris@ctcomfortcontrol.com today to schedule a confidential interview.

CLERK TYPIST

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016

Performs a wide variety of clerical duties requiring excellent computer and interpersonal skills.

This position requires 1 year of office work experience of a responsible nature and a H.S., G.E.D. or business diploma. $19.63 to $23.76 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package.

Apply: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. The closing date will be that date the 75th application form/resume is received, or March 30, 2016, whichever occurs first. EOE Electric Utility System Operator/Dispatcher Operates electric distribution substation and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for an electric utility serving 25,000 customers. Coordinates electric system switching and places equipment in and out of service during routine and emergency operations. Requires HS diploma/GED with 2 years experience in the operation of Distribution SCADA equipment and/or switchboards used in the distribution of electricity. Experience and training may be substituted on a year for year basis. Must maintain valid system operation certification from Connecticut Valley Exchange (CONVEX) or other approved agency or be able to obtain the same within 90 days of hire.

Must posses and maintain a valid State of CT driver’s license. $ 31.84 - $ 37.83 per hour plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Fax #: (203) 294-2084. Closing date will be April 11, 2016. EOE.

Drivers Needed Full time openings for Class A Drivers with benefits after 90 days. Previous experience required. All interested parties: Apply in person with Rich Merly at True Blue Environmental 5 Northfield Road, Wallingford, CT. An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - Aprl 10, 2016

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INNER-CITY NEWS April 04, 2016 - April 10, 2016 32