INNER-CITY NEWS

At Shubert "Superstar" Revival, Co-Op Grads Remember Henry Green As Jesus Christ

Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

A shock of electric guitar undulated over the Shubert Theater, bathing the house in something sharp and voltaic. Lights came up, the low and hazy purples of a bruise. On stage, Emma Cook raised her hands, limbs pliant and electric, her body bouncing up and down a platform. Only after a moment did it reveal itself as a glowing, giant crucifix set on its back.

In the mezzanine, educator Rob Esposito watched as Judas (Elvie Ellis) made his way onto the stage, a blood-curdling cry trapped somewhere between his gut and his throat. Already, Esposito knew who was missing from that stage—and could feel the tears coming.

Sunday evening, that scene came to the Shubert Theatre during the North American tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which stopped in New Haven Friday through Sunday. For Esposito and a group of Cooperative Arts & Humanities (Co-Op)

High School grads seated in the mezzanine, it became a chance to collectively remember Henry Green, a fallen member of their own cast whose Christ-like gentleness, steady spirit and belief in others defined his time here on earth.

Green, a multi-talented actor, son, brother and friend who was known and loved in New Haven as “Renegade,” died on July 22, 2018, eight years after a gunshot wound to the abdomen when he was walking home from work. Almost a decade before that in 2009, he played Jesus on Co-Op’s College Street stage, christening it before he graduated from high school. Less than a year later, he would be in the hospital fighting for his life.

“It was very triggering for me,” Esposito said, his eyes red from crying at the end of the show. “Henry, of all the students I’ve met, of all the people I’ve met, lived the life of Christ. A lot of that came up when you saw the suffering in this play. The story of his life was the story of suffering. Suffering and joy. It’s hard to see it and not have all the grief.”

“That’s Your Brother”

This story doesn’t start in a world where Henry Green is gone. It starts in a world full of magic, where arts master classes, lyrical takes on the Bible, and telling the story of the Son of God before dinnertime are all entirely within reach.

In 2009, Esposito was in his fourth year of teaching at Co-Op, and had already found a star in Green, who was by then a senior. In Co-Op’s previous home, the 444 Orange St. building that is now New Haven Academy, Green had sparkled in performances of Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown and Footloose. As Co-Op made the move downtown in January 2009, Esposito prepared to stage Jesus Christ Superstar for its sweeping dramatic scope.

“I knew I couldn’t sing it, so I had to

direct it,” he said with a soft smile He had known and loved the rock musical, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1971, for decades. “Maybe it was downright crazy to think that I could do it.”

Except, it wasn’t. Co-Op, like Galilee, was and is a land of miracles. And as the play came together, the school watched them multiply over and over again.

The first was a casting miracle. Initially, Esposito thought that Green was destined to play Judas, whose ability to jump between both octaves and emotions makes him a complicated villain. Then Green showed up to auditions with Isaiah Jefferson, a creative writing student who had never been in a musical before. It was a revelation.

Esposito knew from that point that the play was going to be okay, he remembered Sunday, with high praise for a willing ensemble, tiny pit band and performance from Stephen “Gritz” King as Caiaphas made the work sing. In rehearsals and performances, Jefferson was cool and collected until he was explosive, with a growl in his voice that revealed Judas’ desperation. Across from him, Green was level-headed and steady, beatific and balletic as he crooned in a red hoodie and jeans.

That dynamism came through as students learned the book and mastered staging and choreography, cast members remembered Sunday. On stage, Green was studious, serious as he tried to learn who his character was. But he was also a mentor and a goofball, never too busy to help a fellow actor with their lines, provide wise counsel to his peers, or breathe calm into the chaos of high school theater.

Diamond Antunes, who came into the play as a freshman and who also attended Sunday’s performance at the Shubert, remembered him as a steady and thoughtful guide. She met Green first through her interest in music, which he urged her to pursue. By the time the two were in the play together, “he was like family,” she said. It wasn’t uncommon for Green to invite people over to his home for dinner, where they would meet his sweet and cacophonous siblings.

During the year they overlapped at CoOp, he urged her to try out rap and spoken word, opening a love for the genre that she still holds tightly to. She later participated in W.O.R.L.D.W.I.D.E., a group that he founded with his younger brother Solomon at the school. It was shorthand for We Only Reach Life’s Dreams When It’s Declared Everywhere.

“We had an amazing leader in our main character,” she said. “He just gave so much guidance. It was a presence you’ll never forget.”

Sunday, multiple cast members remembered that capacity to care for others. Briana Dawson, then a junior who played a priest, became extra close with Green through Urinetown and Footloose. In 2009, her family was living in a hotel after a pipe burst in their home, flooding

the place. Green listened patiently as she spoke about everything she was going through. He checked in on her. He was generous in that way, she remembered.

“He didn’t fear anyone,” she said. “He would stand up for anyone. Anyone. To think that there’s a young man who could do that is mind boggling.”

“He was often the glue that kept us together,” chimed in Noah Roffman, who played King Herod. “He brought something I’ve never seen before.”

It made everything else feel like a small, surmountable hurdle at the school. When rehearsals began in January 2009, CoOp was in the midst of moving its entire student body into its current building of 177 College St., which sits just one block down from the Shubert Theatre. When students moved in on Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day, parts of the building were still under construction.

“You didn’t know anything because the building was so new,” Antunes said, smiling at the memory of constantly getting lost. Because the auditorium wasn’t yet finished, students started rehearsals in the old building, and then moved into CoOp’s gymnasium until just days before the show. Props were minimal, the pit was tiny, and their street clothes became their costumes. The set consisted of a few pieces of scaffolding.

This was Jerusalem, with a New Haven twist. In a video from the show, Green’s vocals are deep and buttery, and he paces himself so carefully, so methodically that even the band slows down to make each word last. As they fill the stage, students become his disciples in jeans and t-shirts, bringing the story right into the present.

By the time they’ve reached “Simon Zealotes,” they are somewhere between a hip-hop cypher and a tent revival, with arms that sail through the air in gorgeous unison. When she comes in as Mary Magdalene, Lexi George finds that sweet spot between gospel and opera, her voice carrying the entire song. Pontius Pilate (David Thomson) appears dressed as a cop, and it doesn’t feel so far from New Haven at all.

And in the midst of it, there was another miracle: a new and budding relationship with the Shubert Theatre, which Co-Op students including Green later fought to keep. Or as Shubert Director of Education and Engagement Kelly Wuzzardo remembered it, “the stars just aligned,” and everything fell into place.

In 2009, the Shubert was also in the midst of staging Jesus Christ Superstar, in a touring fit of panache and pageantry that starred the actor Ted Neely. Shortly before Co-Op’s show opened, Neely and fellow cast members went over to the school to give a workshop and wish the cast good luck. It lasted for hours, with Shubert staff ushering them out of the building before they’d be late to their own curtain call.

Isaiah Jefferson as Judas, Lexi George as Mary Magdalene, and Henry Green as Jesus Christ. Robert Esposito Photo.

Henry Green, Isaiah Jefferso, and Ted Neely. Robert Esposito Photo.

Lyndsay Cromwell, Lexi George, Margaret Viera, Ashley Potter, Diamond Antunes, Briana Dawson, Rob Esposito, Gabriela Esposito (who was eight in 2009, and later graduated from Co-Op), and Noah Roffman (in front). Vandy Esposito Photo.

Cox Case Cop Firing Delayed, Again

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD

For the second time in two weeks, police commissioners tabled a recommendation by Police Chief Karl Jacobson to fire a cop for their role in the mishandling of Richard “Randy” Cox, roughly 11 months after the 36-year-old New Havener suffered paralyzing injuries while in police custody.

That was the upshot of the latest Zoomed online meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday night.

The commissioners spent two hours in private executive session reviewing the chief’s recommendation to terminate Officer Luis Rivera for his role in the June 19, 2022, incident that left Cox paralyzed from the shoulders down and away from home at a rehabilitation facility.

Upon returning into public view, the commissioners voted unanimously to postpone their vote on whether or not Rivera should be fired.

“Commissioners have reserved the right to table this matter and come back at a later date to vote,” Commission Chair Evelise Ribeiro said Tuesday night. She did not state the date on which the commission would reconvene to make a final

decision on the chief’s recommendation in regards to fire Rivera.

The vote took place less than two weeks after the commissioners spent three hours in private executive session during a special meeting on April 27 to review the chief’s recommendation that Officer Jocelyn Lavandier also be fired for her role in Cox’s mishandling. That meeting also ended with the commissioners voting to table the chief’s termination recommendation.

The two separate police commission meetings and two separate postponement votes come as criminal cases against Rivera, Lavandier and fellow city police officers Betsy Segui, Oscar Diaz, and the now-retired Ronald Pressley continue to make their way through state court. Each has been arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of “cruelty to persons” for their roles in Cox’s mishandling. All five arrested cops have pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Police Chief Karl Jacobson recommended in March that Lavandier, Rivera, Segui, and Diaz all be terminated from the police force following the conclusion of

the department’s Internal Affairs investigation into each of their respective roles in Cox’s mishandling.

At a press conference announcing the findings of that months-long IA inves-

tigation, Jacobson said the department already had enough evidence to move forward with firing the cops, and that “the days of waiting for criminal cases to conclude” before discipline can be delivered “needs to stop.” He pushed for faster progress on their formal terminations, responding to what he described as requests from the community to be “transparent, accountable, swift.”

Asked for comment Wednesday morning following the police commission tabling vote, Jacobson supported the commission’s decision-making.

“I think it’s a process and I respect the process,” he said of the termination hearings. “The board wants to hear all the evidence in each case.” Diaz and Segui have not yet had hearings before the police commission in regards to the chief’s recommendation that they too be fired.

(Pressley cannot be fired, since he has already retired from the police department.)

Tuesday’s vote comes roughly 11 months after police arrested Cox on weapons charges without incident at a Lilac Street block party on June 19, 2022. En route to the police station, Officer Diaz, the driver of a prisoner conveyance van, slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing

into another vehicle at the intersection of Division and Mansfield Streets. That abrupt stop sent Cox flying head first into the wall of the van, injuring his neck and spine. The driver of the van later called for medical help but, instead of asking for an ambulance to come to the scene, the driver proceeded to take Cox to the detention center at 1 Union Ave. There, rather than waiting for a medical crew to attend to Cox’s crumpled and paralyzed body, officers at the police lock-up accused Cox of lying, demanded he stand up, pulled him out of the van, placed him in a wheelchair, then dragged him across the floor into a cell. The case sparked national outrage.

Cox’s family, represented by national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, subsequently filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against the city, the police department, and the involved officers seeking damages for the officers’ alleged violations of Cox’s civil rights. That case continues to make its way through federal court. The incident led the city to upgrade its transportation policies and implement department-wide training on “active bystandership” and deescalation in hopes of avoiding a similar future incident.

NORA GRACE-FLOOD FILE PHOTO

Officer Luis Rivera at his criminal arraignment in December.

New Haven Independent

Sisters’ Journey May Survivor of the Month: Lorre Alexander

I am a 55-year-old mother of four wonderful children ages 25, 20, 19 and 16. Like most women, my life has been filled with many blessings and life’s challenges. My most noteworthy challenge occurred in 2008 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40.

After having my 4th child, I decided to have a mammogram for no other reason than I understood that, at my age, it was wise to establish a baseline. Being in the healthcare industry for more than 30 years, I was aware of the importance of preventive care, taking care of my body, especially as an African-American female. I reviewed materials, attended seminars and listened to other women share how they learned about knowing the signs and symptoms. I took advantage of all the incentives and the benefits of healthcare from a preventive perspective. After all, at that time I thought I was being proactive because I didn’t have any symptoms or concerns. I didn’t have a family history of breast cancer. I didn’t have any symptoms or signs of lumps, or soreness. The ONLY reason I waited so long for the mammogram was because I had my last child late in age and I wanted to complete breast feeding before I scheduled my appointment in the Mammogram Mobile Van, which was in the parking lot at Aetna, where I work.

The power of denial was my worst enemy. Once I went to the appointment, I checked it off my “to do list” and life resumed as I knew it. Several weeks later, the doctors left several voice messages, but I failed to follow up because I was

not expecting a call. I believed I was fine and saw it as a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, not realizing that my life was about to change. After another week, the hospital notified me by certified mail, instructing me to contact them. I became concerned but thought it was part of the “protocol.” I contacted the doctor, who advised me to come in as they wanted to perform additional tests on my breasts because of their density. Once the tests were done via further imaging, a biopsy was also performed. The doctors sat me down and gave me the diagnosis… I had breast cancer. The good news was it was contained in my ducts and not my lymph nodes.

While sitting in the doctor office listening to the results, I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was the only time throughout this process where I fell apart and sobbed. I was numb. After hearing I had cancer, I couldn’t remember anything after that. I felt vulnerable and scared –not for me, but for my children. This was the first time I ever had to fight for my life.

I had never thought about what it would be like if I passed away without seeing my children grow up. All I could think about were my children, and how I was going to tell them the news. They were old enough to know life as they knew it would be changing. I realized my role as their mom was to give them assurance that I was going to be just fine and to let them know that their aunt would be living with us for a while to help out until I was well.

good days and some bad. My family and friends all supported me throughout this journey.

I went through the process always thinking about my children and wanted to show them I was strong because of my faith. Often, I found myself in a moment of silence, asking the Lord, “Why.” Looking back, I realized, “Why Not”? After all, God only gave me what He knew I could handle. I realized this was not just my journey but instead, a testimony of my faith. I learned to seek God and trust Him with my whole heart. I decided to stop asking and just start trusting. During this period, I prayed more than I have ever prayed before. I knew I could not get through this battle without Him.

When reflecting back while writing my story for Sisters’ Journey, it finally hit home – I am cancer free for more than 15 years! “Thank you, Jesus!” I am forever grateful. I realized the major part that occurred fighting this disease was more emotional than physical. I realized that it was a gift from God on how it was discovered, and the kind of treatment I was given to beat it.

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The recommended treatment consisted of surgery to remove the cancer, followed by six weeks of daily radiation, then a recommended hormone therapy, tamoxifen, which I declined for personal reasons. From that moment on, I was processing the unthinkable. I never realized how unprepared I was to deal with my new norm. Throughout the treatment, I had some

Thank you, Lord, for Sisters’ Journey. I am humbled to be asked to be in their 2023 calendar. The fact that God has considered me for a time so that He can use me as a testimony to His faithfulness and a blessing. I am forever grateful for His love and mercy and understanding the importance of how Sisters’ Journey is sharing our stories as a source of inspiration that will lift up other women and encourage them.

Search For Truth Hits Grocery Aisles

by PAUL BASS

A box of fig bars in the snack aisle of Edge of the Woods caught Hamita Sachar’s eye.

Sachar, vice-chair of gastroenterology at Yale Medical School, wasn’t looking for a nosh. She was looking at the words on the box.

She popped by the Whalley Avenue natural foods grocery Tuesday along with Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal to make the case for passage of the first updating of food package labeling requirements in over three decades.

They held a press conference outside Edge to highlight the Food Labeling Modernization Act, which Blumenthal has cosponsored in the Senate and New Haven U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro has sponsored in the House of Representatives. It would require ingredient lists to appear on the fronts of packaged foods, impose stricter salt and sugar and saturated fat standards for labeling foods as “healthy” or “natural” and updated stan-

dards for claims of “whole grains,” and require clear disclosure about the true amount of fruit in “fruit drinks” or vegetables in “veggie snacks” or about the presence of gluten. Not just wheat gluten, but rye and barley, as well, the presence of which can have severe health conse-

quences for America’s 3.3 million sufferers of celiac disease.

The bill would also empower the Food and Drug Administration to hold manufacturers accountable for violations.

“People with celiac disease have second jobs as investigators” trying to figure out if they’re buying safe food, Sachar said during a press conference outside the store.

“Consumers deserve the truth about what they eat,” Blumenthal stated.

Blumenthal noted that food labeling standards were last updated in 1990. Some standards date back to 1938. Meanwhile, the world has learned more about allergens like gluten and some companies have made a practice of peddling misleading (or “lying”) claims about “healthy” junk foods. And consumers pay more attention than ever before to what’s inside the package. (There was no discussion at the presser about whether the use of “healthy” instead of “healthful” violates

English language standards, or whether those standards, too, have changed.)

Rather than make an example of a supermarket stocked with “lying labels,” the senator chose to have Tuesday’s event outside one of the most healthful food outlets in Connecticut.

“We’re here at one of the good-guy stores,” said Blumenthal, pictured above with Edge of the Woods owner Peter Dodge.

After the press conference, Sachar browsed the aisles, pointing out examples of food manufacturers who already buck the misleading trend and offer clear, helpful information on their packages that accurately depicts the content of their enclosed products. Like the blueberry Nature’s Bakery fig bars pictured at the top of the store and the above-pictured San-J tamari, both clearly marked gluten-free. Of course it helps when a manufacturer is trying to sell a truly healthful product, and it appears in a store with a reputation for paying attention to the nutritional value of what’s on the shelves.

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Long Wharf Theatre Finds Its “Edge"

Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

“Let me clear my throat!” Mildred RuizSapp’s voice rang from the mic, and immediately the room was at attention. Breath stilled as verse spilled over the stage and reached toward the rafters. In the audience, a few heads bobbed instinctively to the sound. Nate John Mark leaned into the mic, and spit out an album scratch. Around him, voices came in one by one, until it was a symphony soaked in the South Bronx.

Welcome to Universes’ Live From The Edge, the first production from Long Wharf Theatre since its move out of 222 Sargent Dr. last year. From the show’s first lighting cue to its sharp writing, propulsive vocals and eye toward participation, it is a thrilling testament to storytelling that pays homage to spoken word, oral tradition, generations of poets and musicians and the breadth of a diaspora. In the process, it presents a living model of what the theater hopes to be as it moves fully into itinerancy.

Live From The Edge runs Thursdays through Sundays through May 21 at the Space Ballroom, located at 295 Treadwell St. in Hamden. The show features Universes Founders Sapp and Ruiz-Sapp, as well as Asia Mark, Nate John Mark, NSangou Njikam and for some of the run, Sophia

Ramos. Tickets and more information are available here.

From the moment the work begins with a full-lunged cry, there’s something about Live From The Edge that is elemental and organic, fully birthed but also still being

born. In the absence of a set, cast members line up in a row, accompanied by only their music stands and voices bigger than their bodies. Overhead, lights shift from orange to red to purple to green and back again, bathing the ensemble in color.

There’s an intimacy there: the Space Ballroom is a bar and music venue, and it feels more like Cafe Nine or the Nuyorican Poets Cafe or even a more lax Joe’s Pub than the Claire Tow Stage. Inside, there’s not a bad seat in the house: even attendees in the

back rows can see each skyward-fluttering arm, each bead of sweat, each spray of spittle and wide-eyed interjection if they are paying attention. And if they're not, they should be.

It works for the ensemble, members of which move at a pace that doesn’t break or drag for 90 minutes. To cheers from the audience, Sapp recites and remixes the ABCs, flowing from an homage to hip-hop to a tour through the South Bronx to a reminder that government benefits have never been about lifting people out of poverty. Asia Mark steps back from the mic, and is suddenly singing on a subway platform deep in Brooklyn, her voice rising to meet the belch and squeal of the train as it rolls into the station.

They’re just getting started. With stomping feet and resonant, ringing clapping, the group holds hundreds of years of history, telling a story of America that isn’t taught in civics classes or historically white arts institutions. At one point, it is in their “I’m On My Way (To Canaan Land),” with a lush, layered harmony that a listener can feel to their bones. At another, Ruiz-Sapp opens her mouth, and a songbird flies right out in brilliant color, channeling a history of gospel and boleros that were her educa-

Mildred Ruiz-Sapp in Live From The Edge. The show runs at the Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St. in Hamden, Thursdays through Sundays through May 21. T. Charles Erickson Photos.

At NMS, A New Studio Amplifies Arts Equity

Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

The sound is a heartbeat, ringing out over the screen before you ever see Seny Tatchol Camara burst into a smile. His palms bounce, fingers extended, and it looks like they are flying. Beneath them, the djembe is a tether, pulling listeners back hundreds of years, and thousands of miles. When he begins to speak, the drum does half the talking.

That moment—and many more like it—marks a new chapter at the Neighborhood Music School (NMS), where a new recording studio and equity-focused record label officially opened this week.

Nestled on the second floor of the Audubon Street arts organization, the 200 square foot space fulfills a dual mission, supporting both students and professional performers as it grows its sonic footprint.

The label, called Equitone Records, has signed artists Thabisa Rich and Bruce Harris as its first musicians (more on that below). The studio, meanwhile, is aligned with the school’s broader and evolving goal of recognizing, reckoning with, and rectifying its long history of whiteness in its educational model and its programing.

For Executive Director Noah Bloom, who started his tenure in 2019, it’s a 21stcentury way to get back to the school’s early 20th-century roots. In 1911, NMS grew out of a settlement house in Wooster Square, where Yale School of Music instructors worked closely with Italian immigrants who were new to the U.S. “I wanted a place where you could learn and teach, a place where you could perform, a place where you could build community and sit next to people that you might not otherwise sit next to, a place where you could grow,” he said in an interview with the Arts Paper last week. “Ultimately, there was this piece missing, which was documenting your work.”

In many ways, the biggest catalyst for the recording studio was Covid-19. In March 2020, the then-nascent pandemic closed NMS’ physical doors, sending classes, one-on-one lessons and its arts-focused middle school online. For months, teachers and students worked through dozens of virtual kinks, from long-distance instrument tuning to dance moves done in bedrooms and kitchens.

Even as Bloom scrambled to keep the organization afloat, the pandemic gave him space to think about what needs NMS could be addressing differently. One was technology, of which pre-Covid NMS had comparatively few resources. The other, which Bloom could see as an educator and parent himself, was that Covid was causing real trauma among young people, from the isolation of remote classes to processing the sheer scale of human loss.

Something about solving for the two together clicked. As NMS gradually re-

opened its doors, Bloom started building out the idea, which is funded by a mix of grants, municipal and federal funding, and individual donations.

“What do you need to do through traumatic experiences?” he asked aloud. “We need to tell our stories and have people hear what we're going through, and use those stories through art to create social change."

He was quick to add that he hasn’t done any of it alone. Years before taking the helm at NMS, Bloom found an ally in musician and producer Eben Pariser, one half of the duo Goodnight Moonshine, when he was performing at the school’s “Twilight Tuesdays” concert series. After talking for just minutes, Bloom knew that he had met someone he wanted to continue working with for years.

Since then, he estimated that the two “have spent countless hours talking about music and life.” So when NMS started getting serious about the studio in 2021, he knew exactly who to turn to. Pariser, who had lost gigs during the pandemic, was excited to help.

As he worked on the idea, Pariser designed the space with the needs of both students and professional recording artists in mind. NMS officially broke ground in February 2022, remodeling an old corner and balcony on the second floor of the building that was unused for years. In addition to Pariser, Public Ally and NMS Production Fellow Ibn Orator is helping run operations in the space.

Now, a neon-red sign with the words Recording in Progress greets visitors outside of a heavy, thick white door. Inside, a red rug sprawls across the floor like a

welcome mat. At one end of the studio, a booth with recording and mixing equipment sits at the ready, just waiting for a willing set of hands and ears to run it. Around it, paneling covers each wall, keeping the sound in. There are mics ready to go, a drum set in the corner and video and audio equipment that can appear in moments.

The studio's first role is educational, with what Bloom described as a sharp lens on equity. Before this year, students didn’t have a dedicated space where they could record music for personal use, specific projects, or orchestral and college auditions. The last is an equity issue, Bloom said—private recording and mixing sessions can cost up to $5,000, which

podcasting.

Equitone Enters The Fray

The studio’s educational use, meanwhile, is only half of the mission and vision. When Bloom and Pariser were first talking about a studio, the two also found themselves talking about the history of the record industry in America. It’s one that includes centuries anti-Black racism, misogyny (and very often, misogynoir), appropriation, and corporate profits over the needs and livelihoods of individual artists.

For Pariser, who has long understood that there is no American musical tradition without the music of the Black diaspora, the idea of a record label that could flip that on its head was thrilling.

“There would be no Eben Pariser without African American music,” Pariser said on a recent Tuesday, running over decades of history in a single breath. “We realized that this school wasn’t serving the community as well as it could. I appreciate the gravity of that problem.”

Part of that was looking at the industry’s practices, and figuring out how to undo them on a small, grassroots level. Since the moment there has been recording equipment, Pariser said, there has also been the mass exploitation of artists—what he called “basically a venture capital model.”

A label might take on 12 artists, knowing that 10 or 11 of them would fail.

When they did, artists ate the cost of their commercial failure, and labels profited from that one musician who had ostensibly succeeded. That's especially true for Black artists, who have been "the torch bearers" and often not gotten their proper due or compensation.

most kids and families can’t afford. A student’s iPhone or Garage Band recording doesn't get the same sound.

The space is also meant to open a resource up to musicians in the school’s orbit. In its initial stages, the space has welcomed young composers at NMS and the nearby Educational Center for the Arts, interns from New Haven Academy, and students in NMS’ new, tuition-free DELTA (Developing and Empowering Leadership through the Arts) program. In addition, NMS has used it for marketing, with a multi-part series called “Who’s Your Artist?”

In the next few months, Bloom said he would like to add hands-on mentorship in microphone technique, recording, and

The people who profited (and still do) were often white artists and executives, appropriating Black musical stylings and traditions without credit. There are countless examples of that theft, from the fates of Black Swan Records to Big Mama Thornton to Fats Domino to Nina Simone. In August Wilson’s 1982 Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, set in 1920’s Chicago, the audience watches it happen in real time.

“The recording business as a whole owes a debt to African American musicians,” Pariser said. “I wanted to find a different model that didn’t depend on sales to generate return on investment. We [he and Bloom] wanted to flip it. We wanted to say, if something happens, the label will be the one holding the bag.”

Several months and a finished studio later, that’s exactly what Equitone is. Before signing any artists, Equitone raised the funds to cover recording, publicity, promotion, distribution, and design for

Photo credits: City Cultural Affairs Director Adriane Jefferson, Thabisa, Noah Bloom, and Eben Pariser. Hannah Hurwitz for The Narrative Project.

Eben Pariser. Hannah Hurwitz for The Narrative Project.

“Solar For All” Launched Into Orbit

by THOMAS BREEN

Want to save roughly $900 a year on your electricity bill while also doing your part to wean off of planet-destroying fossil fuels?

There’s a solar panel for that — and a new city-backed campaign to get more such sun-powered equipment on the roofs of New Haven homeowners and landlords, with the help of a New Orleansbased company that promises energy cost savings through long-term solar panel leases.

Mayor Justin Elicker and city climate

czar Steve Winter joined more than half a dozen representatives from the Lousiana-based solar company PosiGen to announce the kickoff of that “Solar for All” initiative in a Thursday morning press conference held on the front lawn of Rev. Roger Wilkins’s home on Maplewood Road in Upper Westville.

In addition to serving as the spiritual leader of a church at Hazel Street and Winchester Avenue in Newhallville and sitting on the city’s Board of Ethics, Wilkins is a PosiGen customer, and first had an array of solar panels installed on his single-family home’s roof back in 2017.

During Thursday’s presser, Wilkins

spoke to how he’s still saving hundreds of dollars a year on his power bill thanks to those leased panels, while also informing his neighbors about how to take up a greener way of generating electricity. He recalled wanting to “be an example for people about the sustainability” of switching to solar panels,” he said about switching over from oil to solar six years

ago. That first year, he remembered, “what I would have paid for in one month I paid for in an entire summer. PosiGen lived to their promise.”

“This last year, we’ve really seen a crisis in energy affordability,” added Winter. PosiGen — which already has installed solar panels on 200 homes in New Haven, and which the Elicker administra-

tion is boosting as an affordable and accessible way to get solar panels on one’s home — can not only help New Haveners cut their electricity bills. The company’s solar panel program “also provides real benefits to our planet, to the resiliency of our electric grid, it’s really an amazing program.”

According to PosiGen District Sales Manager Telema Pepple and PosiGen Community Partnerships Manager Susan Young, the company doesn’t charge homeowners anything up front to install solar panels on their home. Instead, the company charges a monthly lease — ranging from $74.99 for 12 panels to $189.99 for 32 panels — over the course of a 25-year agreement. In addition to charging customers that monthly lease, PosiGen also makes money by taking advantage of federal tax credits that help cover the costs of installing and maintaining such sun-powered equipment.

Young said that customers still do get a utility bill from, say, United Illuminating that they have to pay each month in addition to the monthly solar panel lease owed to PosiGen. But that power bill “is just a small fraction of what they used to pay” before getting solar panels “because now they as a homeowner get the generation on spot from the solar panels.”

And she stressed that the lease amount covers the entirety of the installation, maintenance, and insurance for the solar panels over the course of the 25year agreement.

Pepple, Young, and Winter also pointed out that this program has a uniquely low barrier to access given that PosiGen does not check customers’ credit scores. Leasing rather than owning solar panels also helps those who don’t necessarily have a tax liability large enough to take advantage of the federal tax credit to still take advantage of sun-powered energy.

Kyle Wallace, a vice president of public policy and government affairs for PosiGen who also spoke at Thursday’s presser, said that his company offers a “savings guarantee” with its solar panel program. “The beauty of leasing,” added Young, is that “once you lease, your savings [start] on day one.” Customers get both energy efficiency upgrades and solar panels. “Your electric bill, your gas, is going to be reduced.” And when you lease, she said, “you don’t have to worry about maintenance. You don’t have to worry about the price going up. You don’t have to worry,

Read more by going to THE INNERCITY NEWS .COM

Winter and Wilkins with ex-Newhallville Alder (and PosiGen customer) Delphine Clyburn.

$225K Raised So Far For New Wooster Square Statue

by THOMAS BREEN

A Wooster Square Park arts committee has raised $225,000 so far to help put up a new Italian heritage-celebrating sculpture in place of the long-gone Christopher Columbus statue and is still looking for donations for a goal that now tops $300,000.

Wooster Square Monument Committee Co-Chair Bill Iovanne shared those updated numbers with the Independent on Tuesday, following up on an email press release that his group sent out on April 1.

The fundraising which official began on March 1 is in support of “Indicando la via al futuro,” or “Pointing the way to the future,” a statue designed by Branford-based artist Marc Massaro. The final approved design depicts an Italian father and mother with their younger son, pointing skyward, and older daughter, who holds a book and wears a cross.

The statue will replace the sculpture of Christopher Columbus, which the city removed from Wooster Square Park in June 2020 amid that summer’s Black Lives Matter protests and a broader reckoning with Columbus’ brutality toward the Native Taíno people.

On Tuesday, Iovanne said that the committee has raised a little over $225,000 in cash and pledges to the project so far.

“Our original fundraising goal was $300,000. Costs for materials have increased since we began this project almost three years ago, so we will need to raise a little more money to cover the increased materials cost and have a contingency to maintain the project once we dedicate it,” he said in an email comment provided to the Independent.

The committee also announced in its April 1 email press release that it will be dedicating the brownstone path behind the sculpture and the garden plantings around the plinth in honor of fellow committee co-chair Laura Florio Luzzi, who passed away last September.

“Laura was so very proud of her Italian heritage and keeping family traditions and our culture alive. She worked so hard, even through her illness, to see that this project received approval not only by the Boards and Commissions, but more importantly, by the community that she loved so much,” Iovanne is quoted as saying in that press release. Massaro’s statue will be life sized, cast in bronze, and placed in front of the existing ex-Columbus-statue pedestal, which has been in the park since 1892.

The press release states that “contributions of $5,000 and higher will be acknowledged on a plaque that will be mounted to the pedestal that supported the former Columbus statue. All

other contributions will be recognized in a journal that will feature personal stories and photos of generations of immigrant families who settled in New Haven and Wooster Square. The committee seeks wide engagement with all who wish to acknowledge their links with this important period of New Haven’s history.

“The committee is also interested in collecting personal ephemera and other

memorabilia, and recollections from the greater community, to be shared on our website and our Facebook page. WSMC seeks to honor our ancestors and call attention to the important stories they tell.”

Donations to the project should be made payable to the Wooster Square Conservancy, a local 501(c)3 non-profit that is acting as the committee’s fiduciary.

MARC MASSARO DESIGN

The approved new Wooster Square monument.

Committee Co-Chair Bill Iovanne, Jr.

New Haven Independent

2 Long-Stalled Union Contracts Advance

by THOMAS BREEN

911 call center workers, school security guards, parking enforcement officers, and city attorneys are all now closer to landing pay raises, as alders moved ahead two labor accords for groups of municipal workers who have gone nearly three years without an active contract.

That was the upshot of Monday night’s latest regular meeting of the Board of Alders Finance Committee, which took place in-person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.

The committee alders voted unanimously in support of recommending approval of a new five-year contract between the city and Local 884. That’s the roughly 400-member clerical workers union that includes public employees ranging from administrative assistants to police record clerks to emergency dispatchers to school security guards to traffic and parking officers.

If approved by the full Board of Alders, the new agreement would extend from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025 and would include 3 percent annual pay increases that would be retroactive to the start of the contract.

According to City Budget Director Michael Gormany, the agreement would see the total base salary for the roughly 400-budgeted positions included in the union increase by $4.3 million over the course of the five-year deal. When taking into account expected city savings on healthcare and pension parts of the deal, the total cost of the accord could be between $3 and $3.5 million.

The agreement would also bump up school security guards from 10-month to 12-month positions, require union members to contribute 1.5 percent instead of 1.25 percent of their annual salaries towards Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), increase the retirement age for new employees from 62 to 65, automatically place new employees in a high deductible health care plan, and allow members to leave their retirement benefits to a wider range of designees and not just to a spouse. Union membership ratified the agreement on April 26.

“This was by far the most challenging contract to negotiate,” city Director of Labor Relations Wendella Ault-Battey said during Monday’s meeting. “We recognize the value that this group adds to the city. In recognizing value, it’s not just about salary. It’s about the little things that people do.” That’s why this agreement also includes provisions about “a lot of little, operational things” uniforms, shoes, and “health and safety” measures, Ault-Battey said. “Just a lot of things that caused our employees to be a little happier.”

Local 884 President Kym Bray hailed the contract as “a symbol of recognizing and appreciating the work that our members do every day.” She said she believes the agreement, if approved by the full Board of Alders, would make the array of union

jobs covered by Local 884 that much more attractive to prospective employees — and that much less likely to be left vacant for extended periods of time.

Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison praised Local 884’s workers are making up “the glue to the city. If we don’t have them, the city will crumble. I want to make sure that these people get the money that they’re looking for, the contract that we’re looking for. We need them. We don’t want them to leave.”

East Rock Alder Anna Festa agreed. She praised them as being “the silent angels” of City Hall. “We don’t hear from them” often, she said. “We just see the work that they do.” She also thanked the Local 884 workers for coming directly to the City Services and Environmental Policy (CSEP) committee last spring to speak out about the challenges of their work and their need for a new contract.

“They’re the ones that make the city work and run,” she said. “This was a long time coming for them. I’m just happy to see that it has been settled and rectified.”

“I think it’s been long overdue,” added Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton. “People have been waiting a long time” for this contract. This proposed deal helps make sure “people are [appropriately] compensated for the work that they’re doing.”

Finance Committee Chair and Westville Alder Adam Marchand said that having better rates of pay for “these important staff may help the city fill vacancies,” which, if left unfilled, could lead to overwork, injuries, and lower quality services and slower response times to city reisdents.

Also on Monday night, the committee alders also took no action on a new six-year labor agreement between the city and Local 1303 – 464. That’s the city attorneys union, which includes less than a dozen members. The no-vote was a procedural move that will allow the full Board of Al-

ders to expedite a vote on the contract for process reasons at its next meeting.

If approved by the full city legislature, this labor accord would extend from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2026. It would establish a new salary scale, include 2 percent annual pay increases from Fiscal Year 2022 – 23 (FY23) through FY26, and would allow for a “medical op-out” that would pay employees a lump sum if they choose to access health insurance outside of that offered by the city. Gormany said the total projected cost of the salary increases included in agreement is around $527,000 over the course of the sixyear deal.

This is “a contract that the city and the union are very pleased with,” Ault-Battey said. “The city had been negotiating with the union for a while. It was quite a challenge.”

“It’s a very competitive market out there for lawyers,” city Corporation Counsel Patricia King told the committee alders. She noted that her office had lost three litigators in the last four months alone — two of whom went to higherpaying jobs in state government, the third having left for a higher-paying job in the private sector.

She said she believes the salary increases included in this agreement “will help us attract in-house attorneys” who can not only represent the city in state and federal court, but also advice city boards and commissions.

City Assistant Corporation Counsel and union President Audrey Kramer said she’s been with the city for almost 26 years.

“It’s been tough dealing with the fact that we’ve lost three young litigators” in such a short period of time, she said.

She praised the city for “recognizing our hard work” with this new contract. She

Co-sponsored by

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO

Local 884 Prez Kym Bray: New 5-year agreement a "symbol of recognizing and appreciating the work that our members do every day.”

Opinion: The Armory Can & Should Be Saved

by ELIHU RUBIN

On Wednesday at 6 p.m., New Haveners will gather in the cafeteria of Hillhouse High School at 480 Sherman Pkwy. to develop a community vision for the Goffe Street Armory.

Built in 1930 for the National Guard with a huge, open Drill Hall, the Armory was always intended to serve as a major public gathering space. It has hosted important events like the Black Expo (1972 – 77) and Artspace Open Studios (2014 – 2017).

The Head House is the large, red-brick structure that wraps the Drill Hall with three floors of rooms and corridors. On the outside, red-brick detailing break down the massive size of the building and three arches grace the entrance on Goffe Street. And yet, despite its prominence, the Goffe Street Armory can sometimes hide in plain sight.

In 2009 the last military organization left the Armory and ownership was transferred from the State of Connecticut to the City of New Haven. Despite a range of uses over the years, not much has been done to maintain the building as a public resource. Damage to the roof in 2011 has never been properly repaired and has likewise compromised the usefulness of the Armory to the City.

But there is so much more in store for this New Haven landmark. Now is an opportunity to discuss how it can be returned to service for people in New Haven. The City has allocated $90,000 for roof repairs. The actual cost of renovating the structure for even the most basic purposes

will cost a lot more than that. But it will be worth it and we shouldn’t wait to begin the first phases of stabilizing the building and making it safe and accessible. The idea of phasing is important, as we begin to identify the programs and uses that will take place in the Armory.

Energized Fair Haven Ramps Up Annual Neighborhood Celebration

There is no shortage of ideas, including affordable housing, artist studios, offices for non-profits and business, space for City departments and programs, afterschool programs, and on and on. Meanwhile, the Drill Hall could be a multi-functional space, scheduled throughout the year with different activities: theater, music, dances, roller skating, farmers markets, antique shows; and could also be mobilized as an emergency shelter or warming center.

Let’s discuss the opportunities and brainstorm the organizations and individuals who might get involved.

A private developer might come along with a compelling idea for the Armory and take it off the City’s hands.

I believe there is a way for the Armory to remain a public building and to serve as a public asset for many decades to come, drawing from a range of funding sources (public, institutional, non-profit, private, philanthropic) and building a sustainable, revenue neutral or positive model.

With help from citizens and organizations, the public sector can be bold in expanding public assets, as it has in some cases. It begins with a more robust stewardship model for publicly-owned and, especially, disused buildings. Even relatively modest investments now can make future revitalization less expensive without compromising flexibility.

Elihu Rubin is Associate Professor of Urbanism at the Yale School of Architecture and a member of the Armory Community Advisory Committee. He directs the Yale Urban Media Project, a public scholarship initiative focused on New Haven.

by PAUL BASS

First an annual neighborhood May parade came back. Then the parade grew, and grew. Now Fair Haven is going all out not just with hundreds of marchers, but a day and evening-long celebration of the neighborhood’s culture and cuisine and commerce. That’s all happening this Saturday. The annual Mary Wade Parade will step off from Chatham Square Park at 11 a.m. (People will begin gathering at 10:30.) It will end at Fair Haven School — where, from noon to 6:30, an Arts & Ideas neighborhood festival will feature live music, booths staffed by Grand Avenue merchants and Fair Haven social service agencies, food trucks, and sports ranging from fencing to basketball to baseball and football. Then Ice the Beef will stage a performance of Romeo and Juliet inside the school’s auditorium at 6:30. Find out more details about the day’s events “There’s going to be lots of food, entertain-

ment. You get to know Fair Haven residents, cultures. So much diversity,” promised one of the event’s organizers, Kiana Cintron, a graduating senior at Metropolitan High School who works at Junta for Progressive Action, one of the neighborhood’s anchor institutions.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day!” said fellow organizer and Fair Haven native Frank Redente, a violence-intervention worker at Fair Haven School.

“And Fair Haven library will be passing out free bus passes,” noted Erick Gonzalez of the Grand Avenue Special Services District.

The three joined fellow festival organizer Ivette Oliveras of Mary Wade Home in previewing the event, charting its history, and more generally discussing growing up and living in Fair Haven, during an appearance on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.

PAUL BASS PHOTO Erick Gonzalez, Frank Redente, Kiara Cintron, and Ivette Oliveras at WNHH FM.

PAUL BASS FILE PHOTO The Goffe Street Armory, back in 2016.

House Republicans Pitch Tax Relief and Boost in Education Spending

by Hugh McQuaid

A two-year, $51.9 billion budget package proposed Tuesday by House Republicans accelerates the implementation of income tax cuts proposed by the governor while boosting state spending by 1% to support local schools.

The tax and spending plan, outlined during a morning press conference in the Legislative Office Building, preserves Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed reduction of the 5% income tax rate to 4.5% and the 3% to 2%, but makes those cuts retroactive to the beginning of the year. The plan also includes a recapture provision ensuring that top earning taxpayers will not benefit from the cuts. The proposal comes from one of two Republican minority caucuses. Senate Republicans opted not to participate and issued a statement promising to seek even deeper tax reductions.

In many ways, the House Republicans’ plan shores up proposals made by Lamont, a fiscally moderate Democrat, in February. Since then, the legislature’s Democratic majority has produced a tax plan that scaled back some of Lamont’s income tax cuts in favor of other relief proposals while employing off-budget accounting techniques deemed “gimmicks” by the governor in an effort to increase municipal aid.

The GOP plan is the first complete budget package from minority Republicans since 2017, when a more evenly divided legislature adopted the state spending cap, which Lamont has sought to preserve.

On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Vin-

cent Candelora said those 2017 policies have resulted in historic surpluses, responsible spending, and payments toward the state’s unfunded pension liabilities.

“So five years later we are here today to renew that call because we all know that when Republicans are in the room and part of the conversation, good things happen,” Candelora said.

Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, and Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, the ranking Republicans on the Appropriations and Finance Committees respectively, said their plan avoided any so-called budget “gimmicks.”

The Republican proposal includes provisions that will appeal to many in the legislature.

The recommendations included $290 million to support boosts in Education Cost Sharing grants to towns, $50 million for special education costs and another $20 million to prevent the impact of previously scheduled decreases in state support for towns considered to be over-funded by the state. Nuccio said those increases necessitated spending more money than Lamont had proposed.

“Education, especially in the elementary and secondary areas are a priority for us,” she said. “It is the pathway out of poverty, it is the pathway to better jobs, it is the pathway to success as an adult.”

Meanwhile, the plan addresses calls from many lawmakers to provide additional support for a network of nonprofits that provide much of the social services once offered by state government. The proposal

recommends a 2.5% funding increase in each year of the budget where Lamont had called for level funding and the Appropriations Committee had provided a 1% increase.

In a statement, Gian Carl Casa, president of the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, said the increase was a good start.

“We are encouraged by the House Republican proposal and we hope the support for nonprofits on both sides of the aisle will result in a bi-partisan budget that provides the 9 and 7 percent increases community nonprofits need,” he said.

Candelora told reporters his caucus’s plan was meant to mirror that of Lamont while acknowledging priorities important to majority Democrats.

Where many legislative Democrats had sought to establish a permanent version of a one-time $250 child tax credit, which the state offered last year, House Republicans have called for a new deduction allowing parents to reduce their taxable income by up to $2,000 per child. How much benefit families receive as a result of the reduction would depend on their overall income and number of children.

“I think it recognizes what they have championed and we are trying to bring both the Democrats and the governor to the table with this tax package,” he said.

The Republican proposal is likely to find opposition in its funding recommendations for higher education institutions, another point of contention in this year’s budget negotiations. Last week, representatives of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system argued that proposals from both Lamont and legislative Democrats would force the system to raise tuition and layoff staff.

They would not receive additional funding under the Republican plan, which generally matches Democratic proposals in the first year. But the funding would come with strings attached in the second year, when the state Office of Policy and Management would withhold one-third of the funding if the schools had not demonstrated certain efficiencies. Candelora said that closures at underperforming campuses could potentially be on the table in some instances.

“Have they right-sized themselves? Are the administrative costs in line? Are the student-faculty ratios still balanced?” Candelora said. “All of that needs to be looked at because our education systems can’t be running that level of deficits and we can’t just come up with $300 million.”

During the press conference, Republican legislators described the governor as receptive to their ideas and Lamont released a statement, which generally lauded Con-

Con’t on page 10

House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora during a budget press conference on May 2, 2023 Credit: Hugh McQuaid / CTNewsJunkie

Ct. News Junkie

Three West Haven Students Give Nature A Poetic Voice

by Marilyn Wilkes, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

The following citizen contribution was submitted by Marilyn Wilkes, vice president of the Land Trust of West Haven, and edited with excerpts of the work.

The poem comes alive in its sweet simplicity. From the page, where an image of the aurora borealis explodes across the sky, a reader can almost see fourth grader Dana Guadarruma at her desk, working carefully on each line. She’s gotten them just right: the words dance on the paper.

Lighting up the sky

Magical vibrant colors

Glisten way up high.

Last month, Dana’s poem “Northern Lights” was one of three winners selected by the Land Trust of West Haven, which in April held its nature-themed poetry contest to celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month. Last week, the Land Trust announced that students Jace Rodriguez, Dana Guadarruma and Bruna Reppetto Tobias had scored its three top prizes.

All three are students in the West Haven Public Schools: Jace is a third grader at the Savin Rock School, Dana is a fourth grader at the Savin Rock School, and Bruna is an eighth grader at H.M. Bailey Middle School. The students read their poems at an award ceremony that took place on Friday, April 28, at the Land Trust’s Poetry Post on the Savin Rock Boardwalk. “The Land Trust is always looking for

ways to support children’s education about the environment in fun and creative ways,” said Marilyn Wilkes, vice president of the Land Trust and event co-coordinator. “It’s important to foster a love of nature in children. Poetry is a way for them to explore the beauty they see outside and communicate it to the world.”

According to Colette Bennett, the West

Haven Board of Education’s language arts coordinator and event co-coordinator, students have been learning about poetry in their classrooms for the past several weeks. In grades three and four in each elementary school, students are studying the haiku and the tanka, both Japanese poetic forms.

In grade eight at Bailey Middle School,

Trust of

students are studying famous poems on the topic of nature. In order to appreciate how the theme of nature is developed, they identify patterns of language, structure, and punctuation.

In Bruna’s finished poem, titled “Renewed by the Moonlight,” she waxes poetic on the allure power of mother nature herself, who can restore a human’s spirit

Addressing the Real Need in Real Time

has attacked the three things driving the climate crisis – vehicles, methane and power plants. And he has time to finish the job as he said in the last State of the Union Address by curbing further fossil fuel expansion.

Earth cool enough to stay livable. It’s our generation’s equivalent of the Apollo moon missions. The changes will happen over a decade, their benefits may take even longer to see.

with the moonlight, the fog, the dirt and fall of dusk:

What is it?

Maybe it’s the way she looks like

The view

The gorgeous fog after the clouds reveal their feelings

The fireflies glowing and dancing in the darkness

The trees that blend together with their green

The moonlight that shines elegantly on the water’s surface

The stars that miss the sun in the morning sky

A three-judge panel determined the winning poems. They included Tony Fusco, who was named poet laureate for the City of West Haven in April 2019 and is the co-president of the Connecticut Poetry Society; Renny Loisel, president of the West Haven Land Trust; and Colette Bennett.

Each winner received a $50 gift card and a native plant, which represents the Land Trust’s Native Plant Initiative, and ties in to the contest’s theme of nature and Earth Day.

The Land Trust of West Haven, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed to promote the protection and preservation of natural resources and open space properties of public significance in West Haven, Connecticut, including coastal resources, with particular emphasis on the shoreline of the Long Island Sound in the general area of Savin Rock as well as its land, water, wetlands, plant, and animal life.

Con’t from page 11

necticut’s fiscal position.

benefitting are among the reddest politically.

By Ben Jealous

As someone who’s been organizing since I was a teenager, I can tell you that it’s hard to get people to focus on two things at once. Pick a real need and work on it in real time – that’s the way to win people over.

We saw this play out when President Biden announced he would seek reelection. Considering the record, Biden’s presidency has been a consequential one. Employment is as high as before COVID. While inflation is higher than in recent memory, it’s basically a third of what it was last June.

He’s made mistakes around supporting fossil fuels drilling, but President Biden

So why was a common response to his announcement handwringing about an “enthusiasm gap” among key voting groups – Blacks, Hispanics, and young people? The White House can’t seem to cut through the clutter to convince people it has solved a real need in real time, even when it has.

The real need for many continues to be economic stability. I’ve talked to people in every region of the country in the last five months. Many continue to feel the only economic mobility slopes downward. It’s something that President Biden and Congress actually have done something about.

They’ve made unprecedented commitments to spend hundreds of billions to take a giant step toward keeping the

But there will be immediate impacts, and that’s what is giving people the solution they need. Incentives for school systems to buy electric school buses and families to buy electric SUVs? Jobs. Home energy efficiency programs? Jobs. Tax credits for private sector investment in clean energy? Jobs.

The one thing we need to bring attention to and to protect are the jobs that come from reshaping the economy from destruction to renewal. They are goodpaying jobs that in many cases don’t require a college education, the kind of jobs that have made the American middle class flourish. They employ mechanics, construction workers, electricians, technicians, and people to support their work. And whether it’s the most dollars invested, or most jobs created, the states

It makes sense that flipping the economy in this way would be a growth engine. The biggest subsidy our country ever gave private industry was allowing it to designate certain places and certain people disposable. Poverty is what has always driven people to trade the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the land they love for a paycheck that feeds and house them and their families.

Turning that past on its head will create a lasting prosperity, one that doesn’t count on fuels extracted from under another country.

Opinion research makes clear that Americans care about the environment and will vote to protect it. They care about jobs more. For those of us fighting to reverse the climate crisis and leave a healthier, safer planet to our children, from the White House to a local rally, we must show people that a cleaner economy tomorrow brings jobs they want today.

“To continue that momentum, we need to pass an honestly balanced budget that invests in Connecticut’s growth, avoids the gimmicks and mistakes of the past, and adheres to our spending and revenue caps,” Lamont said.

Meanwhile, Democratic legislative leaders lauded House Republicans for producing a complete budget proposal. In a statement, House Speaker Matt Ritter worried the GOP plan relied too heavily on unspecified savings to make the numbers add up.

“Between the Appropriations and Finance packages, the Governor’s proposal and now the House Republicans’ plan, we are in a stronger position to achieve our goal: a bipartisan budget,” Ritter said.

Senate President Martin Looney questioned whether Senate Republicans would follow the lead of their House counterparts. Looney said Democratic leaders would evaluate the Republican proposals as they had in 2017.

“Our philosophy then was ‘a good idea is a good idea’ and that remains true today. We Democrats will review the House Republican budget proposal to find areas of potential agreement and points for additional conversation,” Looney said.

Accepting their awards at the Land Trust’s Poetry Post are, from left, Bruna Reppetto Tobias, Jace Rodriguez, and Dana Guadarruma. Land

West Haven Photo.

with Special Guest: Anthony D’Amato

With five GRAMMYs, 14 Blues Foundation Awards, and a groundbreaking career spanning nearly 50 years under his belt, Keb’ Mo’ returns to the Garde for a night of contemporary roots music.

Ready For College, Hillhouse Senior Persevered

by MAYA MCFADDEN

School board student representative

Ma’Shai Roman is on track to graduate from Hillhouse High School in less than two months to pursue a college degree in political science with the goal of one day becoming a U.S. congresswoman.

If you had read her that sentence two years ago, Roman likely wouldn’t have believed it as she was in the midst of transferring to her third high school while struggling with her mental health, all against the backdrop of the isolating and education-disrupting effects of a global pandemic.

All to say: it was not preordained that Roman, 18, was going to reach the finish line of her New Haven high school journey. A finish line she’s now just weeks away from crossing.

During a recent interview with the Independent, Roman, who is one of two students representatives on the city’s Board of Education, spoke about the highs and lows of her past four years as a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) student: about struggling to find her voice, about moving from high school to high school until she found the perfect fit, about the social-emotional and mental health impacts of remote learning, about navigating the college application process as a student with a low GPA.

Roman met with this reporter on “decision day” to tell the story of how she went from resigning herself a year ago to not attending college to now having gotten 47 acceptances to colleges and universities all over the country with the help of over $600,000 in scholarships. This Monday, she said, she decided she will be attending Morgan State University in Baltimore to study political science.

Struggling Through Remote School

Roman was born and raised in New Haven, and grew up in the Dwight neighborhood.

She spent her freshman year at the West Rock environmental charter school, Common Ground High School. While there she realized she didn’t have an interest in agriculture, and needed to find a new place to study. She then transferred to Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS) for her sophomore year, but found that the technology and STEM fields were also not of interest to her. She remained at ESUMS until the end of the first semester of her junior year. She then transferred to Hillhouse High School, a comprehensive school that worked best for her and that she is now set to graduate from.

Roman’s high school journey came during the the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which shuttered New Haven public high schools to in-person learning from March 2020 through September 2021. Roman quickly found remote learning taking a toll on her education and mental health.

“When my mental health problems kicked in, I begged for academic and mental health supports, but no one heard me,” she said.

She struggled most from the loss of es-

tablishing in-person connections with her peers and educators.

“I would wake up every day, stay in my bed and just turn over to log into class but couldn’t even pay attention because it just felt like my walls were caving in on me,” she recalled.

She described the year of remote learning as a time when she lost hope in herself completely. She said she wasn’t alone among her peers in feeling that mental health hit. “So many of us felt this way and nobody cared to notice,” she said.

When asked why learning remotely was a struggle, Roman said she felt that she had “no one getting to know me” and learn how best to support her.

Covid’s peak was Roman’s most difficult time with her mental health in her life, she said.

In 2021 Roman joined the Board of Education as one of two student representatives with a goal to help NHPS provide students like herself with better mental health help and resources. She was then still at ESUMS. “This year has been rough for many students, including myself,” she said in an interview with the Independent at the time while speaking out about the mental health challenges of online-only school. “I knew I wasn’t the only one so I decided I’d speak for all of us.”

Asked more recently what would have been the biggest mental health help at the time, Roman said she and her peers would have benefited from remote social work services during Covid’s peak and more grace periods when it came to work deadlines.

“It didn’t make sense that we had the same expectations and we weren’t getting the same learning connections anymore inperson,” she said in a phone interview Friday.

Finding Home At Hillhouse

During the second marking period of her junior year, she transferred to her third and final high school, Hillhouse.

It wasn’t until Roman got on the Board of Ed that she learned from mentors like Hillhouse retention specialist Darrell Brown that “I’m tired of being quiet because being quiet isn’t getting anywhere.”

In an email comment provided to the Independent for this article, Brown said that since first meeting Roman, he began ”trying my best to steer her in the direction of calmness and thoughtfulness in order for messages to be received with all the intended authority.”

“Helping her to understand there is power in her words and to use them wisely and sparingly,” he continued. “Sometimes people think always being heard to the best way to deliver our messages but I believe that strongest words are used with intention and tact.”

As a student who has ”faced adversity, change, and conflict with consistent tenacity,” Brown said about Roman, “she doesn’t give up nor does she shy away from addressing topics to whomever she needs to.”

He added that Hillhouse is known as “The

Academics” because that’s what they prioritize so their students can recognize just how important post-high school learning can be. To do this, the school meets the students where they are and helps them to map out and plan their futures. ”Having a focus on success and whatever that looks like is where I believe Hillhouse does better than any place in this city,” he said.

“I finally found my place,” Roman said, recalling her arrival at New Haven’s second largest school, on Sherman Parkway. She joined the school’s student council and has since been elected as her senior class president. It was also the first time since she had gotten to high school that her 504 Plan was accommodated, she said.

After taking an advanced placement (AP) government and politics course at Hillhouse, Roman discovered her interest in political science. That’s when she first starting setting her goal to help increase

there to be helpful and make sure I was motivated,” she said of Joyner.

Joyner, who taught Roman’s grandmother in a summer history class years ago and knew of her mom, spoke highly of his school board colleague in a comment provided to the Independent for this article.

“She showed a passionate interest in social justice and I wanted her to understand that her own self care was first and then it should radiate from her to her family, friends, and community,” Joyner said. “I stressed developing critical thinking skills, a strong moral compass, and building on the courage she has been gifted with.”

Joyner kept in contact with Roman and her family as she worked to provide for her mom and younger brother throughout her high school journey, at one point working at Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park and a second job.

“She is a resilient and remarkable young woman with uncommon courage, compassion, and intellectual curiosity,” Joyner said about Roman. “After attending several schools she found what she needed at Hillhouse and this is a tribute to the staff and students there.”

Joyner described Roman as a “coalition builder” and said he plans to stay in touch to offer mentorship to Roman as she pursues her dreams.

Roman wound up applying to 40 HBCU’s and 18 other colleges for a total of 58 applications. Of the 58, Roman was accepted into 47 different schools in total.

“The district just tells us that everything is based on GPA and that made me unmotivated to even go to college. Even when I applied I constantly felt down on myself because I thought I wasn’t going to get accepted,” she said. “But all these schools wanted me not based on GPA but based on me being me.”

Roman said when she first walked into Hillhouse, staff, students, and administrators approached her with open arms. She described the school as a safe and welcoming place that “encouraged me to be the best version of myself.”

the representation of Black women in Congress.

However, because of the stressful remote learning period and her struggle to adapt to her previous schools, Roman’s GPA had dropped to a 2.0 and it was time for her to begin thinking about continuing her education after high school.

She said many people told her she should not even consider making plans for college because of her GPA or to only apply to community college. She had to convince her guidance counselor to allow her to still submit applications to colleges through the Common Black College Application, which allowed her to apply to dozens of HBCU’s for a $20 fee.

Roman told the Independent that she was supported during her application process by Board of Education Secretary and elected school board member Edward Joyner.

“Anytime when I doubted myself he was

She added that staff like Lauren Cianciulli, a Hillhouse English teacher, welcomed her and saw her potential when she arrived at the school. “She let me use her room as my safe place at any time,” she said.

Reached for comment via email for this article, Cianciulli recalled meeting Roman in her junior year in a small half-year SAT prep class.

“One day Ma’Shai just came and started talking to me during independent work time and we really clicked. She is one of the hardest working and most conscientious students I have ever met,” Cianciulli said. “She also puts an immense amount of pressure on herself I was very similar as a student. Oftentimes, Ma’shai would stop by my classroom if she was feeling overwhelmed or just struggling with a situation. I would let her tell me about it and then try to walk her through her options and give

Read more by going to THE INNERCITY NEWS .COM

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Hillhouse senior and aspiring future congresswoman Ma'Shai Roman.

MAYA MCFADDEN FILE PHOTOS Roman (right) at a recent Citywide Student Council meeting with fellow school board student rep Dave Cruz-Bustamante.

Friday, May 12

7:30p.m.

Lyman Center for the Performing Arts

SCSU | New Haven, CT

New Haven Symphony Orchestra

Alasdair Neale, music director

Michelle Cann, piano

Price, Bonds & Hagan

In 1912, a New Haven resident – the first Black woman to earn a degree from Yale University –took the stage with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra to premiere her Piano Concerto . 111 years later, New Haven audiences will once again have the opportunity to experience Helen Hagan’s music live in a concert hall. This program will also include Florence Price’s stunning First Piano Concerto , Margaret Bonds’s Montgomery Variations - a musical depiction of the historic Civil Rights events of Montgomery, Alabama - and contemporary composer Quinn Mason’s A Joyous Trilogy

Air Pollution Impacts Us All — But Not Equally

Access to clean air is a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to clean air.

Across the U.S., air pollution threatens the health and safety of millions of Americans, and those threats are not felt equally. Your race or zip code should not determine your life expectancy or the quality of the air you breathe.

The release of the 2023 “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association sheds a light on disparities in air quality and makes clear that stronger national standards are essential for a healthy future for everyone — no matter who or where you are.

As the senior vice president for justice & equity at Environmental Defense Fund, I have over 20 years of experience assessing children’s health disparities and environmental inequalities. My experience has shown the injustices Black communities face when it comes to health and safety — and the necessity of action at every level to build a safer, healthier future.

According to the “State of the Air” report, more than 1 in 3 people living in the United States live in communities with

unhealthy air quality levels. Of the nearly 120 million people who live in areas with unhealthy air quality, more than 64 million — 54% — are people of color.

By county, these disparities are especially stark: people of color are 3.7 times more likely to live in a county with failing grades across three metrics for air pollution.

Poor air quality is a serious health threat. We know that soot and air pollution are linked to asthma attacks, heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, respiratory illness, and higher rates of infant mortality. And worsening air pollution is tied inextricably to climate change.

Climate change is a threat multiplier that builds upon injustices and puts those who are vulnerable at even greater risk. So, what can we do to close the air quality gap and help ensure clean air for every community? It starts with combatting climate change and the negative effects it has on our air.

Burning fossil fuels is the largest driver of climate change — and a massive source of air pollution for communities located near emitting facilities, roadways, and other industrial sources. In addition,

hotter conditions and lack of rainfall increase the risk of drought and wildfires, both of which create soot in our air. Stagnant air and hotter temperatures

also create the perfect conditions to increase ozone levels, which creates smog and can lead to asthma. We can see severe disparities when looking at asthma amongst races, especially in children. Black children are more than twice as likely to have asthma, at a rate of 15.7%, compared to white children at 7.1%.

President Biden’s clean energy plan — which includes the combined investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act — has unlocked nearly $550 billion for climate action and solutions.

This funding is creating a once-in-ageneration opportunity to address historic injustices and modernize our infrastructure to support a future where every community can thrive.

We are already beginning to see progress and its transformational benefits.

Earlier this month, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Regan introduced new proposed vehicle pollution standards that will save lives while advocating for the transition to cleaner sources of energy. This is also creating thousands of jobs.

As the 2023 State of the Air report tells

us, air pollution disproportionately impacts Black communities, but it does not have to be this way. As we seize this notable opportunity to advance health equity, jobs, and justice, it is more important than ever to make sure we are engaged in the regulatory process.

The president’s Justice40 commitment, paired with the clean energy plan, puts us on the path to achieving major climate pollution reductions that will improve our health and help stabilize the climate.

Every day we see important steps forward to ensure that the strongest possible pollution standards are set to be enforced. Join us at edf.org/action to stay up to date and leave comments directly with the administration.

Remember, your vote is your voice. As we celebrate this monumental opportunity for health equity and justice, we must remember our responsibility to protect the progress made by electing leaders who will act with the urgency the climate crisis and environmental injustice demands.

Dr. Margot Brown is the vice president of justice and equity at Environmental Defense Fund.

Margot Brown, the vice president of justice and equity at Environmental Defense Fund, says air pollution disproportionately impacts Black communities, but it does not have to be this way.

WordinBlack.com by Margot Brown

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 15, 2023 - March 21, 2023

CURTAIN CALL

From a 4-year-old orphan to an international award-winning actress

Stamford’s Award-winning Theatre

Our 33rd Season!

The inspiring story of Thuso Nokwanda Mbedu

by Ben Ebuka, Face2FaceAfrica.com

OPEN AUDITIONS

Growing up in the early 1990s, Thuso Mbedu never dreamt of being an entertainment figure. At a very young age, she wanted to be a dermatologist, but after taking a dramatic arts class in the 10th grade, she became interested in acting.

Her acting career has earned her fame and fortune locally and internationally, rising to become one of the most sought after actresses from South Africa. At 27, she was named in the 2018 Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 List, and one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine.

Born on July 8, 1991, at the Midlands Medical Center in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, to a Zulu mother and Xhosa and Sotho father, she never enjoyed the care of her parents who died when she was barely four years old. She was raised by her grandmother, a very strict school principal in school and at home. Her name reflected the multicultural tribes of her parents – Thuso is a Sotho name,

June 5 & 6 Sterling

Thuso Mbedu. Photo -IOL

Seeking singers for this September production. Roles include Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee, The Drifters, The Shirelles and more Full details at: Curtaincallinc.com/auditions or write: info@curtaincallinc.com

‘Black Reel Awards’ (Outstanding Actress – TV Movie / Limited Series), the ‘Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards’ (Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthropology Series or Television Movie), the ‘Gotham Awards’ (Outstanding Performance in New Series), the ‘Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards’ (TV Breakout Star), and the ‘Critics Choice Television Awards’ (Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie), all for her role ‘Cora Randall’ in the 2021 TV series ‘The Underground RailShe won the ‘TV Breakout Star’ award from the Hollywood Critics Association TV and won the ‘Outstanding Performance in New Series’ award from the Gotham

In 2022, Mbedu was nominated for the ‘Independent Spirit Awards (Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series), for her role ‘Cora Randall’ in the 2021 television series ‘The Underground Railroad.’ She won the ‘Critics Choice Television Awards’ for ‘Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie’ for her role ‘Cora Ran-

dom of Dahomey in the 17 – 19th century. She played ‘Nawi’, a zealous recruit in the military unit.

In her keynote speech at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit, Thuso Mbedu tearfully spoke of how she overcame the loss of her dear parents, grandmother, and aunt. But her role in Amanda Lane’s ‘IS’THUNZI’ gradually renewed her hope in life.

Connecticut’s

choice

In 2017, Mbedu was nominated for the ‘DSTV Viewers Choice Awards’ and the ‘International Emmy Awards for the ‘Best

– TV Drama’ for her role ‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the 2016 -2017 television drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’ She was also nominated for the ‘International Emmy Awards for ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ for her role

‘Winnie Bhengu’ in the television drama series ‘IS’THUNZI.’

In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Television Critics Association Award’ (Individual Achievement in Drama), the

“…my world was that blur, until Amanda Lane happened in 2016. The role that Amanda Lane gave me was the difference between life and death for me. Receiving that audition brief, I told myself that I would audition like it was my last audition. I gave it the last of everything that I had, that at the time I got the callback, I had nothing left. I secretly made the decision not to do the callback because I had nothing left to give. But fortunately, I received the callback. So I didn’t do the callback because the role was mine. I had given up. I was in a very dark place at the time, and the character, the role, the opportunity, was a much needed light. And I told myself that I will act as if it was the last character that I will play. And through a great script and an amazing director, I earned two International Emmy Awards for that role…”

NOTICE

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

THE GLENDOWER GROUP, INC. Request for Qualifications Architectural Service for the Rehabilitation of Eastview Terrace Phase 1

Town of Bloomfield

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

The Glendower Group, Inc. is currently seeking proposals for architectural services for the rehabilitation of Eastview Terrace Phase 1. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

beginning on Monday, April 24, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

NOTICIA

Invitation for Bids TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking bids for temporary staffing services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

Salary Range: $87,727 to $136,071 Deputy Finance Director/Controller

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE. For Details go to  www.bloomfieldct.org

Town of Bloomfield Finance Director

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range)

Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website –www.bloomfieldct.org

beginning on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO. Invitation for Bids Tenant and Employment Background Screening Services

NEW HAVEN

Portland

Police Officer full-time

Go to www.portlandct.org for details

The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury (HACD) is seeking sealed bids for the following Project: Electrical Panel Replacement at Eden Drive & Wooster Manor. Bid Opening date is June 1, 2023 at 11:00 am at the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Road, Danbury, CT 06811. All bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. A pre-bid walk through will be held on May 18, 2023 at 10:00 am at 36 West Wooster Street, Danbury, CT. Contract documents including plans & specifications can be viewed on-line and purchased from Advanced Reprographic’s website. Visit www.advancedrepro.net, select access our planroom here, select all public jobs and select “Danbury HA – Electrical Panel Replacement at Eden Drive & Wooster Manor beginning on May 12, 2023. A 5% Bid Security and 100% Performance/Payment Bonds are required. Bidders will note requirements of minimum wage rates, nondiscrimination/equal opportunity rules (Executive Order 11246) and related provisions in the General Conditions. No bid shall be withdrawn for ninety (90) days. Complete bidding requirements are noted in the Contract Documents. This project is federally assisted. Therefore, bidders must comply with the following requirements: Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; Equal Opportunity provisions of Executive Order 11246; Non-Discrimination provision of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Labor Standards provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act and related acts and Contract Work Hours Standards Act; prevailing wage determinations as issued by the United States Department of Labor; and all applicable provisions under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. HACD is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Section 3 businesses are encouraged to participate.

POLICE OFFICER

The Wallingford Police Department is seeking qualified applicants for Police Officer. $ 1,301.20 weekly plus an excellent fringe benefit package to include a defined benefit pension plan. The written and oral exam processes will be administered by the South Central Criminal Justice Administration. To apply, candidates must register through the South Central Criminal Justice Administration webpage found under the “Associations” menu at www.policeapp.com by the registration deadline of Wednesday, April 5, 2023. The registration requires a fee of $ 85.00. EOE

Maintainer III – Collections System

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking bids for tenant and employment background screening services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing. cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

beginning on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 3:00PM.

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Invitation for Bid (IFB)

Refuse Removal Services

Solicitation Number: 241-AM-23-S

QSR STEEL CORPORATION APPLY NOW!

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

State of Connecticut

Office of Policy and Management

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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

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

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) is requesting sealed bids from qualified carting companies for rubbish removal services at Charles F. Greene Homes, Fireside/Forest Green Apartments, Harborview Towers, Trumbull Gardens, P.T. Barnum, and Scattered Sites. Solicitation package will be available on May 8, 2023 to obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to bids@parkcitycommunities.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A pre-bid conference will be held at 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604 on May 24, 2023, @ 11:00 a.m. Although attendance is not mandatory, submitting a bid for the project without attending the conference is not in the best interest of the Offeror. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities.org no later than May 31, 2023. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www. parkcitycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed, or hand delivered by June 8, 2023, at 11:00 AM, to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Director of Procurement, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604. Late proposals will not be accepted.

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

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

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

The Town of Wallingford Sewer Division is seeking qualified applicants to supervise and perform highly skilled tasks in the operation, maintenance, repair and construction of sanitary sewers, including CCTV inspection and high velocity flushing. Requires a H.S., trade school or vocational school diploma or H.S. equivalency diploma, plus 4 years’ employment in a field related to sanitary sewer construction, operation or maintenance, or 1 year of training in a skilled trade substituted for 1 year of experience up to 2 years plus a minimum of 2 years of employment for a sewer utility or in the construction field with work experience in the installation and maintenance of pipelines, or an equivalent combination of experience and training. Must possess or maintain a valid State of Connecticut Class B CDL. NEWEA Collection System Certification Grade II or higher is preferred. Wages: $29.21 to $33.40 hourly, plus an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, medical insurance, life insurance, paid sick and vacation time. Applications may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page and can be mailed to the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492, or emailed to: wlfdhr@ wallingfordct.gov by the closing date of May 30, 2023. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a Heavy/Highway general contractor

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

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/Administrative Officer. Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230309&R2=1308AR&R3=001

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

, seeks an experienced Project Manager based out of our New Haven, CT offices. Qualified candidates will have at least 10 years’ experience working as a project manager on heavy highway/bridge, concrete, demolition, and civil and site projects valued at $1M to $20M. A four-year engineering or construction management degree or equivalent experience, extensive knowledge of construction, effective management techniques and superior interpersonal and communication skills are required. Bridge, and CT DOT experience is preferred. Night/weekend work may be required. Applicants must submit project history with resume. AA/EOE M/F/Disability/Vet. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage qualified woman and minorities to apply. Please submit your resume and project history to lreopell@cjfucci.com

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction

Lead Installer

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

NOTICE

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Contact: Tom Dunay

Phone: 860- 243-2300

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 6211720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

HVAC department has an opening for an experienced, full time, lead installer for all mechanical systems (Hydronic, Duct-less, RTU’s). Candidate must possess a minimum D2 license, EPA Certificate, and a minimum of 5 years experience. Benefits, 401k, Paid Time Off, Company Vehicle. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or emailHRDept@eastriverenergy.com

Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

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

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

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Maintenance

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks

NOTICIA

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300

Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Large CT Fence Company looking for an individual for our PVC 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. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Must have a valid CT driver’s license & 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.

Immediate opening for a part time maintenance person for ground and building maintenance. Position requires flexible work schedule. Some heavy lifting required. Computer knowledge a plus. Send resume to HR Department, hrdept@eastriverenergy.com, 401 Soundview Road, Guilford, CT 06437.

**An Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer**

Mechanic

Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

AA/EOE-MF

Union Company seeks:

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

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave

Full Time Administrative assistant position for a steel & misc metals fabrication shop who will oversee the daily operations of clerical duties such as answering phones, accounts payable purchase orders/invoicing and certified payroll. Email resumes to jillherbert@gwfabrication.com

State of Connecticut

Office of Policy and Management

Immediate opening for a full time mechanic; maintenance to be done on commercial diesel trucks and trailers. Send resume to: HR Manager, P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437 or emailhrdept@eastriverenergy.com

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

Construction

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

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

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

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

PROPERTY FOR SALE (SEALED BIDS)

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

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/ Administrative Officer position Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230419&R2=1308AR&R3=001

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport is accepting sealed bids for the property listed below.

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

Parcel ID 30/ 606/ 19// | Vacant Multi-Family – 26 Adams St (0.11 Acres) |Minimum Bid: $134,000.00

Property is a three-family home located in the East End of Bridgeport. Built in 1920, has 6 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 12 rooms in total. Living area 3,449 sq. ft. RBB zone. Lot is rectangular in shape with dimensions totaling 4,791.6 square ft. or .11 Acre. House is being sold AS IS.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

Sealed bids for the property will be accepted until 4:00 P.M., Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the Authority’s Procurement Office, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604. At 4:15 P.M., Wednesday, May 31, 2023, all bids received shall be opened in public and the amount of each bid announced and recorded. Submissions must be marked “Sealed Bid” for Parcel ID 30/ 606/ 19// 26 Adams Street On the outside of the envelope should be the Buyer’s name, and contact information.

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Each bid must be accompanied by a bid deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid. A bid deposit may take the form of cashier’s check payable to the Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport. The deposit of the bidder to whom the award is made will be held until sale of the property is closed; if that bidder refuses at any time to close the sale, the deposit will be forfeited to the Authority. The deposits of other bidders will be returned after closing to the highest responsible bidder.

NOTICE OF INVITATION FOR BID HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY

NOTICE

QSR STEEL CORPORATION APPLY NOW!

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Ductless Split Units Preventative Maintenance and Repair Services

IFB No. B23002

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

SCOPE:

The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury hereby issues this Invitation for Bid to provide preventative maintenance and repair services.

BID SUBMITTAL RETURN:

Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Envelope Must be Marked: IFB No.B23002, Ductless Split Maintenance SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

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

June 12, 2023 at 10:30am (EST)

NOTICIA

CONTACT PERSON FOR IFB DOCUMENT:

Devin Marra, Director of Financial Operations, T#203-744-2500 x1410

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org

[Minority- and/or women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond]

WANTED TRUCK DRIVER

Truck Driver with clean CDL license

Please send resume to attielordan@gmail.com

PJF Construction Corporation AA/EOE

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

Request for Qualification (RFQ) IT and Computer Support Services The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol

NEW HAVEN

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Principal Labor Relations Specialist. Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230417&R2=6342MP&R3=001

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

POLICE OFFICER

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is seeking a qualified company, firm or team to provide Information Technology and Computer Support Services throughout the Agency. Proposals due by May 18, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

$70,915 - $86,200/yr.

Required

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

A copy of the Request for Qualifications can be obtained at the Bristol Housing Authority, 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 during normal business hours or by contacting Yvonne Tirado, Director of Accounting & Special Projects, at ytirado@ bristolhousing.org, phone 860-585-2039 or Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Funds, at cjohnson@bristolhousing.org, phone 860-585-2028. Scope and proposal requirements will be available starting April 26, 2023.

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

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO. Request for Proposals Benefits Consultant

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

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking proposals for a benefits consultant. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

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

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

State

Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for an Information Technology Analyst 2 (Confidential) and a Grant Administration Lead Planning Analyst Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at:

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/ bulpreview.asp?b=&R1=230414&R2=0007AR&R3=001 and

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/ bulpreview.asp?b=&R1=230413&R2=7615CN&R3=001

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol Request for Proposals

Interior Painting Services

The Housing Authority City of Bristol (BHA) is seeking proposals for Vacant/Occupied Apartment Painting Services from qualified vendors for work throughout the Agency.

Bidder Information packets can be obtained by contacting Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Funds at 860-585-2028 or cjohnson@bristolhousing.org beginning Wed., April 26, 2023 through Fri., May 12, 2023 at 2:00pm. A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held Fri., May 12, 2023 at 2:00pm at 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT.

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

All proposals should be clearly marked “RFP–Interior Painting,” and submitted to Mitzy Rowe, CEO, Housing Authority City of Bristol, 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 no later than 2:00 pm, Fri., May 19, 2023 at the office of BHA in a sealed envelope with one original and 3 copies, each clearly identified as Proposal for Interior Painting Services.

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

DEADLINE: 05-04-23 EOE

Town of Bloomfield

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

Invitation for Bids Landscaping Mill River

Assistant Building Official

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

$39.80 hourly

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE. For Details go to www.bloomfieldct.org

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

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

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

Monday, March 20, 2023 at 3:00PM.

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

Full Time – All Shifts Top

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Pay-Full Benefits

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

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

NOTICE

Invitation for Bids

Town of Bloomfield

Patrol Police Officer

ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING (A/E) SERVICES FOR TASK-BASED PROJECTS HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Microsoft Licensing or Equal to their Product

Elm City Communities is currently seeking bids for Microsoft licensing or equal to their product. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, May 8, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

$37.93 hourly ($78,885 annually) – full time, benefited Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until position is filled

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol (“BHA” or “Authority”) will receive sealed bids on or before Thus., June 1, 2023 by 4:00 p.m. at their offices at 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 and said bids will be reviewed by a committee thereafter.

BHA hereby requests Qualifications from Architectural and Engineering (“A/E”) firms and/or individuals (“Offerors”) licensed in the State of CT to provide Architectural and Engineering Services for task-based projects. The agreement is anticipated to be an indefinite quantities contract with a maximum stipulated sum. Multiple firms may be selected and ranked primary and secondary based on required schedules.

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Request for Proposals

NOTICIA

Town of Bloomfield Finance Director

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Payroll Services & HR Management Systems

Salary Range - $101,455 to $156,599 (expected starting pay maximum is mid-range)

BHA intends to negotiate fixed-fee contract(s) with the highest ranked Offeror(s). Responses must clearly indicate the name of the project, “Professional Architectural and Engineering (A/E) Services for Task-Based Projects” and the time and the date specified for receipt. The name and the address of the Offeror must be clearly printed on all correspondence.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol

Elm City Communities is currently seeking proposals Payroll Services & HR Management Systems. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

Monday, March 13, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

Invitation for Bids Door Repair Replacement Agency Wide

NEW HAVEN

Fully Benefited – 35 hours weekly Pre-employment drug testing. For more details, visit our website –www.bloomfieldct.org

Portland

Police Officer full-time

Go to www.portlandct.org for details

164 Jerome Ave.

Bristol, CT 06010-3715

ATTENTION: Mitzy Rowe, CEO

A pre-submission meeting will be held Tues., May 23, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at 164 Jerome Ave. Bristol, CT 06010. Attendance is strongly recommended for all bidders.

Contract Scope and Requirements will be on file at the Bristol Housing Authority 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT, or by contacting Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Funds: (860) 585-2028 cjohnson@bristolhousing.org.

BHA reserves the right to reject any or all bids and/or to waive any informalities in bidding when such action is deemed to be in the best interest of BHA. All bid documents must be filled out completely when submitted.

242-258 Fairmont Ave

2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking bids for door repair replacement agency wide. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. SBE, MBE, W/DBE, and Section 3 businesses are encouraged to respond.

APPLY NOW!

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 3:00PM.

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

Invitation for Bids TRASH REMOVAL ALL SITES

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

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

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

Monday, March 20, 2023 at 3:00PM.

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

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

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

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Fiscal/Administrative Officer. Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?b=&R1= 230309&R2=1308AR&R3=001

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

May Is Lupus Awareness Month:

African American Women and Lupus:

By BlackHealthMatters.com

May is Lupus Awareness Month, and nearly 1.5 million Americans are living with some form of lupus (lupus erythematosus) – a chronic, genetic autoimmune disease. There are four types of lupus: systemic lupus, which is the most common form of lupus and causes inflammation in the organs; cutaneous lupus, which affects the skin; drug-induced lupus, which is a short-term type of lupus caused by certain medications; and neonatal lupus which occurs in infants of women who have lupus1.

Lupus can be a debilitating disease. With lupus, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs. These attacks produce symptoms such as inflammation in the body, rash, hair loss, skin discoloration, swelling, and pain.

Based on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data, the Lupus Foundation estimates that there are nearly 16,000 new cases of lupus per year1. Anyone can develop lupus. However, women between the ages of 15-44 make up 90% of lupus cases1.

African American women and women of color are the most likely to be diagnosed with some form of lupus1. For African American women, lupus is more common and starts developing at a younger age2. In addition, African American women are more likely to face premature

death as a result of lupus complications. Researchers believe that genes, heredity, hormones and environmental factors contribute to the likelihood of an individual developing lupus 1.

Because African American women are the most likely to be negatively impacted by lupus, more African American women should consider participating in clinical trials. Clinical trials are research studies that involve studying an investigational drug or therapy and ensuring that it is safe and effective for the general public to use.

Although the data shows that African American women are diagnosed with lupus and experience premature death more than other racial groups1, it doesn’t explain why. More African American women need to be encouraged to participate in clinical trials in order for researchers and healthcare professionals to understand why African American women are more likely to develop lupus, and can then provide better care options for the future.

In a patient interview with the Lupus Foundation, lupus survivor and African American clinical trial participant Wendy Rodgers states, “…when we participate in a clinical trial, we empower ourselves.”

If you have been diagnosed with lupus, you might want to consider participating in a clinical trial.

You’ll also have access to a team of healthcare professionals to get your health-related questions answered. In addition, you will play an important role in

The Most Diagnosed and More Likely to Die Prematurely

the health of yourself and others who are living with lupus.

Without the inclusion of more African American women volunteer participants in clinical trials, what scientists understand about lupus and how it affects African American women is limited. In order for researchers to develop lupus medications that are safe and effective for African Americans, their participation is needed in clinical trials.

Clinical trials also help advance medical knowledge and are necessary for scientists to develop and test new treatment options and investigations drugs for the safety and efficacy of all involved.

When scientists are testing for efficacy and safety in an investigational medication, genetic risk factors matter. Genetic risk factors include an individual’s age, sex, race or ethnicity, and family history1. This means that race and other genetic factors may influence how a medication works3 in a person’s body and what side effects they may have.

Because African American women experience lupus the most, their presence is necessary in clinical trials to ensure that investigational drugs are safe and effective for them to use.

Clinical trials are completely voluntary. If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with lupus, visit BMSStudyConnect to find out if you’re eligible for a clinical trial.

The Black Male Nurse: Why We Need And Celebrate You

by Gemma Greene, BDO Staff Writer

Gender roles in the workplace have been in place since the beginning of time. Traditionally, men have stayed away from loving and caring jobs while women have traditionally stayed away (or have been locked out of) high-power jobs.

But times are changing.

Women have been entering male-dominated fields for decades, but it’s less common for a predominantly female occupation to have a substantial increase in its share of men. That is, until now. The need for male nurses has grown.

The experiences of male nurses offer lessons that could help address a problem of our time: how to prepare workers for the fastest-growing jobs, at a time when more than a quarter of adult men are not in the labor force.

Only 13 percent of nurses in the United States are men, but that share has grown steadily since 1960, when the number

was 2 percent, according to a working paper published by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

But don’t get it twisted: some gender roles are still in effect. Even though

men are a minority, male nurses are paid more than women. The stigma against men still runs deep, particularly among older patients and in parts of the country with more traditional gender roles,

nurses have said.

But for some men, the notion that caregiving jobs are women’s work is outdated. Progressive attitudes about gender roles, as measured by the Gen-

eral Social Survey, were associated with more men who entered nursing, the new paper found.

“This narrative that men can’t provide care in the way that women can is part of that broad cultural narrative that misunderstands what nursing’s about,” says V.A. hospital student nurse, Adam White, to the New York Times. He is earning his nursing degree at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “We need to talk with young people about caring as a gender-neutral idea, but also as something that’s rooted in skills, in expertise.”

“You’re a caregiver, providing quality, dignified care. It’s not you doing it as a male or a female, but just generally as a caregiver,” says Justin Kuunifaa, 41, a former in-home caregiver turned family practice nurse.

So here, we celebrate those men who are taking on the hard job of caregiving, prepping, managing and engaging with patients and the medical community every day.

HUSKY Health, SNAP, and Cash Recipients!

To keep your cash, food, or medical benefits active, we need your most up-to-date mailing address and phone number to make sure you get important information from Access Health CT and the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

To make updates, please go to or scan the QR code: ct.gov/UpdateUsDSS

New Haven Public Schools