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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - JuneJuly 13,27, 2018 - - June 19,02, 2018 INNER-CITY NEWS 2016 August 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

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Ganim Submits 32,000 Signatures THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

by PAUL BASS

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Joe Ganim couldn’t convince 282 delegates at a Democratic Party convention to support him for governor. So he went out and got 32,000 Democratic voters to sign petitions.

So Ganim reported Tuesday, the deadline for candidates to submit petitions to local registrars of voters to secure a spot against party-endorsed candidates in the Aug. 14 statewide Democratic primary.

Ganim, Bridgeport’s mayor, needed to collect 15,458 signatures of registered Democrats to have his name appear below party-endorsed candidate Ned Lamont on the gubernatorial ballot and keep his campaign alive.

In the end, he announced Tuesday during a victory lap of submitting petitions, his campaign gathered more than double that number.

“I’d rather have 32,000 signatures than 1,500 or 1,600 delegate votes at a convention,” Ganim said during a visit Tuesday afternoon to WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program while en route to delivering petitions to New Haven’s Registrar of Voters Office and then heading to Hartford for a Capitol City drop-off and press conference.

He said the drive “moved” him and gave him more insight into the challenges people face in Connecticut. He spoke of an armless New Haven man he met “who sat and ate nonchalantly with his fork be-

PAUL BASS PHOTO Joe Ganim with his box of petitions at WNHH FM.

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Troy Jackson, New Haven office coordinator for Joe Ganim, drops off petitions Tuesday at the Registrar of Voters Office at 200 Orange St.

tween his toes talked to me about what was needed for public transportation.”

He spoke of a woman at Bridgeport’s Trumbull Gardens complex who “had no hands” and “put her limbs together to sign my petition.” (“I hugged her.”)

Ganim cast the petition drive as reflective of a “grassroots campaign” aimed at shut-out voices, targeting a wealthy endorsed opponent who is self-financing his campaign.

“Many people who signed this petition

will not be out on their yachts in August or in the Hamptons or the Cape. They’re going to be struggling in a hot summer on the streets. We are looking for them to come out and participate in change on Aug. 14,” Ganim said.

In recent weeks Ganim has emerged as a feisty underdog candidate who seems to be benefiting efforts by party leaders — worried about the prospect of a gubernatorial candidate who spent seven years in federal prison for taking bribes — and

others to sideline or silence him.

He has embraced speaking about his crimes as part of casting his campaign as a “second-chance” quest that speaks for all people who have made mistakes.

And last week he turned a snub — a refusal by CPTV to allow him to participate in a gubernatorial candidates’ forum — into a media victory: Before the candidates on stage put everyone to sleep, a forum official confronted Ganim in the parking lot to tell him he wasn’t

even allowed to stand there to speak to reporters. Or even to sit in the audience of the debate if he “want[ed] to talk to the media.” She did that for five minutes. In front of the press corps. As Ganim played straight man in an exchange that almost seemed scripted by Michael Moore to bolster the case that he’s being unfairly excluded from the democratic process.

“The foundation under that establishment that wants to exclude people and not make this an open Democratic Party or allow new effective leadership,” Ganim declared in Tuesday’s interview, “is in for a big surprise.”

He still faces uphill struggles to be heard in coming weeks, even assuming registrars validate enough signatures as expected to place his name on the ballot.

A judge forbade Ganim to participate in the state’s public-financing system to obtain matching dollars; Lamont has spent up to $10 million of his own money in past campaigns. Ganim said Tuesday he has raised about $650,000 so far and expects to raise enough money to compete.

And it’s unclear whether Ganim will get to share a stage with Lamont.

Lamont campaign spokeswoman Patty McQueen would not say Tuesday afternoon whether Lamont will agree to debate Ganim.

“Tell Joe to give us a call,” McQueen stated, “when he qualifies for the ballot.”

Cops, Family Issue Plea On Alleged Killer

by THOMAS BREEN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Police and family members of 28-year-old Tyekqua Nesbitt pleaded for community members to come forward with information on the whereabouts of Nesbitt’s alleged killer, whom the police have now formally charged with murder.

During a Wednesday morning press conference in the third-floor atrium of the city’s police headquarters at 1 Union Ave., Police Chief Anthony Campbell and Assist Chief Herb Johnson announced that the department has have obtained a warrant for the arrest of Tramaine Marquese Poole for the charge of murder. They said there is a $5 million bond associated with Poole’s warrant.

Campbell and Johnson were joined at the press conference by Mayor Toni Harp, representatives from U.S. Marshals Office and the State’s Attorney Office, and by Nesbitt’s twin sister, Tashauna, and her mother, who did not

share her name.

According to the police, Poole shot and killed Nesbitt on May 31 just after 10 p.m. while she was in her car at the intersection of Wilmot Road and Wintergreen Avenue in West Rock. Nesbitt’s 6 and 11-year-old children were in the car at the time of the shooting.

“The murder of Tyekqua Nesbitt was completely devastating to this community and it will take the entirety of this community to bring Ms. Nesbitt’s killer to justice,” Campbell said. “Tramaine Poole should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.”

Johnson, who oversees the New Haven police’s investigative services division, described Poole as a 41-year-old black male with a medium complexion. He said Poole is approximately 5’ 11” and 160 pounds. He said he has tattoos on both arms, and that he may be wearing several different disguises, including a dreadlocked wig. Johnson said Poole might also be dressing as a woman.

Johnson also confirmed that police believe there is a connection between Poole’s alleged murder of Nesbitt on May 31 and his alleged shooting and injuring of his 36-year-old wife on May 7 on Henry Street. Johnson said the New Haven police secured a warrant for Poole’s arrest soon after the May 7 shooting.

He said that initial warrant is for first degree assault, risk of injury, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Poole has been on the lam since that first crime.

The new warrant out on Poole for the May 31 alleged crime includes murder, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, two counts of risk of injury, and unlawful discharge of a firearm. That second warrant puts a bond of $5 million on Poole’s released if and when he is apprehended.

Campbell, Poole and Mayor Harp

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Tyeqkqua Nesbitt’s sister Tashauna (right) and her mother at press conference.

implored the community to reach out to the police and provide any information they can on Poole’s whereabouts.

They said the U.S. Marshalls Office is still offering a $5,000 reward for any

tips that leads to the arrest of Poole.

“Police don’t use the term ‘armed and dangerous’ casually and haphazardly,” Con’t on page 10

Eva Fever Hits New Haven THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

by THOMAS BREEN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Top New Haven Democrats bucked their party Wednesday night to line up behind an insurgent candidate for the state’s number-two elected job.

That turn of events was on display Wednesday night at an energetic fundraiser on Long Wharf for Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, a 31-year-old labor organizer from Newtown who is challenging state Democratic Party endorsed candidate Susan Bysiewicz for the lieutenant governor nomination in an Aug. 14 primary.

Over 60 local Democratic Party leaders, including Mayor Toni Harp and the entire state delegation, showed up to an enthusiastic fundraiser at the Greek Olive restaurant on Long Wharf for the fundraiser.

Just last month, around 50 local Democrats gathered in Westville in support of Bysiewicz when she was still running for governor. A few days later, Bysiewicz announced that she would be running for lieutenant governor instead, alongside Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Ned Lamont, a white Greenwich millionaire who is funding his own campaign. The Lamont-Bysiewicz ticket won the party endorsement at a convention last month.

“Urban centers got cut out of that deal,” Hamden State Rep. Joshua Elliott told the Independent during Wednesday’s fundraiser. Elliott, one of the most progressive members of the state Democratic caucus, spoke out in support of Bysiewicz’s gubernatorial campaign when it stopped at Manjares café in New Haven last month. He lauded her support for a $15 minimum wage and the legalization of marijuana.

Elliott said Bysiewiecz teaming up with Lamont looked like little more than political expediency. After her switch, he opened up to supporting another candidate that was a bit more rooted in the working-class, urban interests of cities like New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport.

That candidate, he found, was Eva Bermudez Zimmerman.

Zimmerman’s breakout candidacy for lieutenant governor was one of the biggest surprises to come out of the state Democratic Party nominating convention in Hartford in mid-May. Although Zimmerman had only officially announced her bid for lieutenant governor a few days before the convention after she opened and ultimately dropped an exploratory committee for the Secretary of the State position, she wound up winning nearly 40 percent of the delegate vote , almost twice as much support as

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO

Eva Bermudez Zimmerman at fundraiser.

The crowd at Bermudez Zimmerman’s fundraiser.

Jason Bartlett.

she needed to force the Aug. 14 primary.

Outspoken support for her candidacy

by New Haven politicians like State Sen. Gary Winfield, who delivered a tearful endorsement of her candidacy at the convention, helped draw attention to the young, female, Hispanic labor organizer’s promise to better represent the interests of working class, minority, and city residents on the statewide

ticket.

During Wednesday night’s fundraiser, local Democratic Party leaders stressed again and again how much her candidacy resonates with them and, by extension, with the city residents they represent.

“We are so excited for this opportunity to jazz up the local Democratic Party,” New Haven Youth Services Director Jason Bartlett said with his arms out-

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stretched and chants of “Eva! Eva!” filling the Greek Olive’s back room.

New Haven State Rep. Juan Candelaria said he was excited to see Zimmerman, who grew up in Hartford and is of Puerto Rican descent, bring an element of diversity to the top of a statewide ticket that is right now headed by Ned Lamont. He said she is the one candidate who will actually walk city streets and talk with working-class New Haveners about their needs.

“She has what it takes to help the governor lead the state,” he said.

The most enthusiastic support came from Mayor Toni Harp.

Harp said she first met Zimmerman only a month ago when the latter walked into her office and pitched her candidacy. She said Zimmerman stressed her background as a labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and her history of lobbying at the state capitol in advocacy of better healthcare access for low and moderate-income families.

“She convinced me,” Harp said to cheers.

She said Zimmerman has the right personality for the job, that she will not be afraid to fight for low-income residents.

“We have too many needs in our urban areas,” Harp said, “to take a chance and end up with a Republican governor.”

Some of the other local Dems present included New Haven State Sens.

Martin Looney and Gary Winfield, and New Haven State Reps. Robyn Porter, Pat Dillon, Roland Lemar, and Al Paolillo.

With a dozen New Haven Democrats holding tri-colored “Eva” signs behind her, Zimmerman thanked New Haven for standing behind her. She stressed that she hopes to be a “vehicle for the people” and offer “an extension to their reality” through her campaign.

“If we start forgetting about middleclass reality,” she said, “people will leave” the party.

Zimmerman said she grew up in Hartford and attended school in an area of North Hartford that was high in gun violence. She graduated from high school in 2004, a year early because of her excess of credits, and spent a year working with the Rotary Exchange teaching English and distributing medicine in the slums, or favelas, of São Paulo, Brazil. She said her experiences in Brazil and in Hartford made her particularly sensitive to the needs and concerns of the urban poor and working class.

Con’t on page 14

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Same Shrink, More Diversity For Cop Class

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

New Haven’s next class of cops contains more diversity than the department has ever seen “by far,” said Police Chief Anthony Campbell.

It turns out the department didn’t need to find a more racially-attuned group of shrinks to get there.

After a year of setbacks, from losing 155 cops right at the get-go in the physical agility tests to hiring a consultant who bungled the search for a new psychological evaluator, the department still managed to get the outcome that it wanted. The class will have more New Haven residents, more women and more racial minorities than any past group.

If all three dozen recruits make it past their final agility test next week, the class will be approximately 60 percent black and brown, 40 percent local and 35 percent female, said Assistant Chief Racheal Cain, who oversees the department’s hiring and standards.

The police department notched those high diversity numbers even though Campbell decided to stick with the same psychologist in place for more than a decade. He’d previously said they played a “big part” in why local applicants weren’t making it onto the force, citing rejected applicants who’d accused them of discrimination.

Based in Hamden, Behavioral Health Consultants conducts pre-employment screenings for 59 police agencies across the state, including New Haven since 2008. Its chief evaluator, Mark Kirschner, is the only psychologist in Connecticut certified as a specialist in police and public safety. He follows the industry best practices, scoring candidates’ mental fitness for policing on two widely used written exams.

Bumpy Process More than a year ago, Campbell made the decision to go out to bid for a new psychologist. But mistakes along the way added months of delays that led the prevented a final contract from being inked until just two weeks ago.

The process took so long because a consultant, hired for $75,000, didn’t ask for quotes from the psychologists who wanted the job, requiring the department to go out for a second round of bidding.

As an instructor in cultural sensitivity at the Yale Child Study Center and a contractor for YouthStat programs, Maysa Akbar, the founder of Integrated Wellness Group, a psychotherapy practice focused on children and families, seemed like the best person to draw up a request for proposals for a new psychologist, Campbell said. Akbar “had been someone that City Hall had been very familiar with,” he explained earlier this year.

When the request for proposals that Akbar drafted went live on the Purchasing Bureau’s website, the submission deadline was at first set for June 20. Michael Fumiatti, the city’s purchasing agent, later moved the date back to June 27. He said rescheduling is common, particularly if there’s any bad weather.

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Assistant Chief Cain: New class 60 percent minority.

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

Police Academy in 2016.

The extra time allowed Police and Community Psychology Partners, a company incorporated on June 26, to get its application in before the deadline.

That new venture was founded by Brett Rayford, the program development director at the Solnit Psychiatric Center, two staterun residential facilities for early teens, and Derrick Gordon, research director on male development at The Consultation Center, a Yale-associated hub for psychiatric study.

Rayford and Gordon both knew the consultant. Both spoke on an April 2016 panel with Akbar in support of Rev. Boise Kimber’s proposed all-boys charter school.

And they both blurbed Akbar’s October 2017 book, “Urban Trauma,” along with Campbell and Kimber.

Behavioral Health Consultants, the longtime contractor, did not apply at first. “No one told us about it,” Kirschner said earlier.

“We didn’t have the opportunity.”

Akbar recommended Police and Community Psychology Partners for the job, and Gordon said the police department told him they’d won the bid.

But no contract was ever signed, be-

cause, Fumiatti said, nobody sent him the paperwork he needed. When Cain started looking through the files in late winter, she noticed that Police and Community Psychology Partners hadn’t given a price.

After those mistakes were caught, Campbell said he felt he needed to go back out to bid a second time, even though he sorely needed to replenish ranks that had been depleted by retirements.

“Rather than have a situation where it looks like we’re catering to anyone in particular, restart the process,” he said at the time.

In the second round of bidding, which closed in late January, both companies sent in applications. (Click here to download the applications from Behavioral Health Consultants and Police and Community Psychology Partners, which were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.) Behavioral Health Consultants said it would charge a flat fee of $425 for each test, while Police and Community Psychology Partners started at $750 for each test, with add-ons like an IQ test for $200 and cultural competence reviews for $400.

The applications were reviewed by a com-

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mittee of two chiefs, a police commissioner, a city official, a Yale psychiatry professor, and Roberto Clemente’s retired principal, Leroy Williams, who took Akbar’s place because she was out of the country, Cain said.

Checks & Balances Campbell ultimately decided to go with Behavioral Health Consultants as the primary provider. He said that Police and Community Psychology Partners didn’t have the right qualifications, specifically the two years of required experience doing psychological exams for police.

But in a new set-up, Campbell will allow applicants whom Behavioral Health Consultants deemed too risky to go to Police and Community Psychology Partners for another evaluation.

“As a check and balance, given that we’ve had issues in the past, we said we would be okay to have the new company be a backup,” Campbell explained. “Sending them to the second company will also allow them the experience they need to get qualified as a partner company down the line.”

As another check, Campbell has made the police commission much more involved, allowing them to make the final decision whether to keep on recruits that the psychologist has determined pose a moderate risk.

Campbell has also instituted a new communication protocol that keeps each stage of the process distinct. In the past, background investigators sent files to the psychologist directly, sometimes including “inappropriate” notes that were “polluting the process,” Campbell said. Now, the chiefs are the only ones who see the entire file. “We’ve basically created silos,” Campbell explained.

Next time around, Campbell said he’ll sit down with the company first to see if they can come up with solutions, before immediately going out to bid.

“I think it’s a great idea to bring the company that you are working with to the table and talk openly about whatever the issues may be before we ever move forward,” he said. “If we can’t work things out, if they’re outside our area of expertise, then we need to grab a consultant. But I think this process has brought to light that you can bring everyone together, air our laundry and see if we can clean it up ourselves.”

In the first round since getting the gig back, Behavioral Health Consultants sped through the applicants in a few weeks, the chief said. They didn’t find any high-risk candidates in the bunch. A couple recruits, however, did present a moderate risk on several key indicators and will now need to argue their case to the Board of Police Commissioners.

Nobody contested Behavioral Health Consultants’ scores, Cain said.

While the department has also loosened its hiring policy around drug use, Cain said she believes that the high diversity in this class comes from the strong recruitment drives last summer. Visiting local colleges and attending every job fair in the area led to a more diverse class, she said.

“I attribute it all to the recruitment. We had a very good pool and a great number were from the city,” Cain said. “I can say definitively that we did not lower our standards in any way.”

0The police department has already started sifting through the next 140 names on the civil service list, sending them to background investigators. Campbell said he’s aiming to get that class seated by October.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Scholarship Fund Gives $270K To 199 Seniors

by SERENA CHO

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

One hundred ninety-nine high-achieving New Haven public high school seniors received scholarships to pursue secondary education Sunday evening at an awards ceremony held at Hill Regional Career High School.

They received the money from the New Haven Scholarship Fund, which has helped out 8,000 New Haven highschool graduates in financial need since 1959 with more than $9 million.

On Sunday the organization awarded a total of over $270,000 dollars for the recent graduates, with the top award at $2,000. The awards were made possible with the help of old and new donors, including Bruce & Susan Ackerman, Joan Avitable, Claudia Barber, Lula Lorene Williams, and the New Haven Federation of Teachers.

“Our philosophy has always been ‘we’ll get you started,’” NHSF President Jeffrey Alpert said at the awards ceremony.

“Our society needs you to make a sincere commitment to find the solutions to the problems we face today. Your generation will be the ones to change it. Go out there and help create a better world.”

The New Haven Scholarship Fund was foundedby Jean Paton Lovell, a mathematics teacher at James Hillhouse High School. Lovell knew that her students had great academic potential but lacked the finances to continue their education.

On the year of the organization’s founding, Lovell raised $400 from friends,

matched it with $400 of her own and awarded eight $100 scholarships.

Since then, NHSF has expanded with help from the organization’s former president, William Graustein, former New Haven Talented and Gifted Program Supervisor Rhoda Spear and former board member Richard Snyder.

While grades are important, scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of their potential and need rather than class rank, Alpert said. All prospective recipients are interviewed by members of NHSF’s board of directors before decisions are finalized.

Mike Dyson, a grandson of Lula Lorene who presented Lula Lorene Williams Scholarship and Dennis Pieragostini Memorial Scholarship, emphasized the need for supporting students from minority backgrounds.

“New Haven has a lot of kids from minority racial backgrounds,” Dyson said.

“Minority kids often have problems going to college because of financial reasons, and we as a family and community should help in any way possible. All my brothers had I had an opportunity to go to a college, so it’s only right for us to give back and help others also get to their goals.”

Dyson added that he hopes that some of the recipients of the award will “come back to New Haven and help improve the community.”

“Everybody’s got to repay the community,” Dyson added.

Shakeera Mitchell, a Sound School

ANNA RIVERA-ALFARO PHOTO The

volunteer table Sunday evening.

senior who received Guido & Anne Calabresi Scholarship, said once she graduates from college with a degree in forensic science and criminal justice and becomes either a lawyer or a DNA analyzer, she plans to donate to NHSF to help fund scholarships for other students.

Joshua Rodriguez, a Sound School senior who received Jeff Alpert Schol-

arship, told the Independent that he too would “love” to give back to NHSF by making a donation after graduating from college and getting a job.

“Financially, a lot of New Haven families are not able to provide the money for their kids to go to college,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve lived all my life in New Haven, so I’ve seen a lot of that. Whether it’s a hundred or a thousand dollars, it can

really help people from New Haven get opportunities to go to college. I benefited from this scholarship, so I want to give back by any way possible.”

Until then, Mitchell and Rodriguez will be spending their scholarship money to buy textbooks and other school supplies at their respective colleges, University of New Haven and University of Connecticut.

Poor People’s Campaign Calls For $15 Minimum Wage

by Christine Stuart CT News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — It’s the fifth Monday that Bishop John Selders and a group of community advocates gathered outside the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to reignite the Poor People’s Campaign.

Just like the original Poor People’s Campaign, the 1968 movement started by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and others to challenge racism, poverty and militarism, the campaign lead by Selders seeks to empower the community to have some say about why types of policies are made at the state Capitol.

“Fifty years later guess what? We didn’t fix it,” Bishop John Selders said. “Race is still a problem in this country. Poverty is still a problem in this country. The war economy is still a problem in this country.”

Selders said that they need to spend more time on the problems than a “certain person’s Tweet.”

Each protest the group has held has a different theme and this week’s theme was the minimum wage.

In Connecticut, 42 percent of residents are considered poor or low-income, and 524,000 workers earn under $15 an hour, according to the group.

Earlier this year, the General Assembly failed to increase the $10.10 minimum wage this year in a closely divided House and an evenly divided Senate. When the legislative dust cleared, a proposal to increase Connecticut’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020 failed to gain any traction and never made it to a vote in either chamber.

“Let’s be honest $15 an hour ain’t gonna really get it. It’s just starting to get at it,” Selders said. “We need something more like $25 or $30.”

Selders said with 42 percent of the residents considered poor or low-income “somebody is making money and somebody ain’t making money.”

Over the last four weeks dozens have been arrested at similar rallies across the country, including those held in Connecticut. Eight people were arrested Monday in Hartford when the march got to Broad Street.

But Monday’s march was about more

than a minimum wage. It was about workers being treated fairly and being offered health benefits.

Stephanie Johnson, a nurse at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital and a member of AFT CT, said healthcare is a right.

“The way things are going it’s not a good thing,” Johnson said. “There’s gotta be a turn and there’s gotta be a change.”

A large number of labor leaders attended Monday’s rally. So did a handful of candidates who are running for office.

Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill and Rep. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, who are running against each other in a Democratic primary for Sen. Paul Doyle’s seat were there, along with Rep. William Tong, who is running for attorney general, and Jillian Gilchrest who is running against a Democratic incumbent for a state House seat in West Hartford.

They were some of the approximately 150 marchers.

Bishop Selders speaks outside the LOB with the Poor Peoples campaign Posted by CTNewsJunkie.com

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

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Poor People’s Campaign march

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

28 Teens Graduate With 2nd Chance, New Skills

by SERENA CHO

NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Twenty-eight students graduated from Career Pathways Technology Collaborative at Eli Whitney Technical High school after having mastered skills like carpentry, plumbing, culinary arts and manufacturing.

Career Pathways Technology Collaborative is an after-school program for students attending traditional and alternative education high schools in New Haven. For the fourth year in a row, it has been providing New Haven youth with training opportunities that help them make connections between academics and the real world.

It grew out of the Harp Administration’s YouthStat program aimed at kids in trouble stay out of jail and stay in school.

At Wednesday’s graduation, Mayor Toni Harp and U.S. Attorney John Durham congratulated the graduates and shared words of advice, while students presented the culmination of their year’s work, including drawers, nails and pipe they built themselves.

“You should understand that this is a day for celebration but also that there are many people who care abut you,” Durham told the graduates. “You should know that without them, you could not have gotten to where you are today. You guys aren’t just normal high school students, because you have people who cared enough about you to provide with you this education and the skills you need in the real world. You are leaving this program with an ability to get a job. In that way, you are truly accomplished and lucky.”

Harp praised the graduates for their commitment to self-development, emphasizing that “coming to a program after a full day of school” must have been “so difficult.”

SERENA CHO PHOTO Graduates Jose Sanchez and Najah Edmunson present pipes from their plumbing project.

Carpentry instructor Taylor Murphy presents student projects

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Inviting the audience to sing the song This Little Light of Mine,” Harp encouraged all students to “nurture a little light inside” them and let it shine.

“How many of you know this song? I know some of you old people know it,” Harp joked. “Everyone here has a little light of theirs. By nurturing this light and letting it shine, you are making our communities better and better and better.”

While presenting their carpentry, manufacturing, culinary and plumbing projects, students talked about the important role Career Pathways Technology Collaborative program played in their professional development.

“Since I graduated high school I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” said Najah Edmundson, who learned plumbing in the program. “When I came here, I wanted to finish learning something. It made me open my eyes to different things. I hope this program is still here when I come back, since it has been so important to me.”

The Career Pathways Technology Collaborative began with a planning grant from Office of United States Attorney in 2011.

Since then, a total of 169 students have graduated from the program with a certificate in culinary arts, plumbing, manufacturing or carpentry. Many of these students had juvenile justice involvement or have

been diverted from the justice system, according to Sherry Haller, the executive director of the Justice Education Center, which runs the program.

In 2014 and 2016, the Justice Education Center received a Project Safe Neighborhoods awards from the Department of Justice.

According to Edmunson, the program “is more than a place that teaches you random skills” because it directs many youth in a “positive direction.”

“A lot of the kids don’t have anywhere to go after school,” Edmunson said. “They either go home or on the streets. More programs like this give people opportunities to develop themselves and learn more even after school.

Carpentry Instructor Taylor Murphy said that students involved in the program find a way to make a living “without having to go to college.” Instead of having to “pay thousands of dollars as student loans,” students can live a “middle and upper class life while working in the trades because there is always a demand for these jobs,” Murphy said.

Murphy added that the city can better support the program by providing more funding for the program and avoiding pressuring all students to go to college instead of learning skills and getting a job.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Two Republicans Sue Election Regulators

by Christine Stuart CT News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — Two Republican lawmakers are appealing the ruling of the State Elections Enforcement Commission in Superior Court saying that election regulators violated their free speech rights in 2014.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission fined Sen. Joe Markley $2,000 and Rep. Rob Sampson $5,000 for failing to get Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s opponent or their party to help pay for mailers attacking Malloy.

Malloy was up for re-election in 2014 and if he was going to be attacked in campaign literature, his opponent, Republican Tom Foley, or the Republican Town Committee would have had to use its funds to pay for some of the mailers, according to the SEEC decision.

The Institute for Free Speech has agreed to take the case to court on behalf of Markley and Sampson, who are both using the Citizens Election Program again this year in their races.

“Just as candidates for Congress must be able to discuss the president, candidates for state legislature must be able to discuss the governor,” Institute for Free Speech Legal Director Allen Dickerson

said. “Yet Connecticut law prevents candidates for the General Assembly from criticizing the governor’s policies in ads unless they first secure the approval and funding of one of the governor’s opponents. This policy effectively bans candidates from speaking to voters about one of the most important responsibilities of the office they seek to hold - checking the power of the executive.”

Markley and Sampson through their attorneys are asking the court to dismiss the fines and declare the law unconstitutional.

“Requiring legislative candidates to get permission and funding from a gubernatorial candidate in order to discuss the governor in campaign ads violates the First Amendment,” the two said in a press release.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office, which is defending the SEEC in court, said “We are reviewing the matter and will respond appropriately in court. We would decline further comment.”

It should be noted that candidates this year don’t have to worry about criticizing Malloy or his record because Malloy isn’t running for re-election.

CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE

Sen. Joe Markley in the middle

Fashion Designer Neville Wisdom Opens on Chapel Street at The Shops at Yale

NEW HAVEN, CT – Yale University Properties held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 2:00pm to welcome Neville Wisdom Fashions to The Shops at Yale in the Chapel Street Historic District. The ceremony took place at 1090 Chapel Street, next to The Juice Box and Atticus Bookstore & Café. Mayor Toni Harp joined the ceremony.

Owner and New Haven resident Neville Wisdom was born and raised in Jamaica where he taught himself the basics of making practical clothing before being mentored by a local designer who introduced him to women’s fashions. In 2000 he came to Connecticut and trained to be a surgical technician, which landed him a job in New Haven at Yale New Haven Hospital. Several years later Neville, against the advice of family and friends, decided to pursue his dream of becoming a top fashion designer and opened his first shop in the Westville section of New Haven in 2007. All Neville Wisdom clothing is made in their Westville location.

He quickly made a name for himself and now makes custom clothing for a local and loyal following of women and men. Clients have included Mayor Toni Harp, WTNH’s anchor Anne

Nyberg and reporter Scott McDonald, Sue Fitzsimons, (former Senior Vice President of Yale New Haven Hospital), Ena Williams (Neville’s sister & current Senior Vice President of Yale New Haven Hospital) and many others.

Neville Wisdom Fashions uses only premium fabrics and materials to create their unique lines. Additionally, Neville offers custom design services, tailoring/alteration services, classes, a design incubator, and consulting, where those interested in a career in fashion can work alongside him and receive one-on-one advice.

“I am happy to be in downtown New Haven,” said Neville Wisdom, owner of Neville Wisdom Fashions. “The Chapel Street Historic District is a good fit for my business. Opening a store in the district allows me to be in front of my customer base daily and I am able to meet new clients to expand.

I like the vibe of downtown New Haven.” added Neville.

“We are delighted to work with Neville as he expands his business,” said Lauren Zucker, Yale University Associate Vice President for New Haven Affairs and University Properties.

“Yale University’s Community Invest-

Parking Ample parking for The Shops at Yale is available at four convenient surface parking lots adjacent to stores and restaurants —255 Crown Street, 161 York Street, 56 Broadway and 40 Dixwell Avenue. Directions can be found at TheShopsatYale.com/Parking.

On-street parking is available throughout the city, with the ability to accept payment through credit cards or mobile app.

Upcoming Events at The Shops at Yale New Haven’s Top Model Search, Saturday, June 9, 2018 TheShopsatYale.com/ModelSearch 8

ment Program supports the growth of independently-owned local businesses, reinvigorating New Haven’s downtown and expanding the city’s tax base.”

The Shops at Yale is made up of the Chapel Street Historic and Broadway Districts in New Haven and it includes a mix of retailers and restaurants, such as Apple, J.Crew, GANT, Derek Simpson Goldsmith, Union League Café, Midpoint Istanbul Restaurant, Shake Shack, and Yurway Boutique.

Yale University Properties manages Yale University’s commercial properties, including retail stores, office spaces, and residential units in New Haven. Enabled by Yale’s community investment program, University Properties is committed to enhancing the quality of life in New Haven through the development of high quality retail and office environments and the revitalization of surrounding neighborhoods. As a result of University Properties’ community investment program, Yale University is one of the largest taxpayers in the city of New Haven. Learn more at TheShopsatYale.com and ONHSA.Yale.edu.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Giving kids an outlet for performance and expression, plus a chance to grow.

For a child, growing means more than gaining inches. It means gaining confidence, understanding and a sense of selfworth. It means maturing mentally and emotionally as well as physically. The kids of New Haven’s Nation Drill Squad and Drum Corps are doing just that, fostered by the support of Yale New Haven Hospital.

Over 1,000 kids have gone through the program during its 30 years in existence and won 16 national and 20 tri-state championships. Its mission is to teach young people the principles of discipline, dedication and determination, which Douglas Bethea, its founder, believes are the three keys to life.

At Yale New Haven Hospital, we couldn’t agree more with Mr. Bethea. And we’re proud to support his and many other programs throughout New Haven dedicated to supporting inner-city youth and changing their lives for the better. It’s another example of our commitment to caring beyond the bedside. ynhh.org/community

Members of the drill squad with Douglas Bethea, founder of New Haven’s Nation Drill Squad and Drum Corps.

Yale New Haven Hospital was awarded the 2017 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service from the American Hospital Association. The McGaw Prize is awarded annually to a single healthcare organization that provides innovative programs that significantly improve the health and well-being of its community.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

The Inner-City News Wants You to Meet the CEO of Empower Cocktails, Tiffany Hall!

In an industry that primarily targets men—leaving women out as an afterthought—Empower Cocktails is disrupting the distilled beverages market as a woman-owned company that puts women’s empowerment at the heart of their mission.

Empower Cocktails dazzles and delights with its ready-to-pour line of delicious cocktail drinks, including its refreshing but not too sweet, Empower Cosmopolitan Martini. This beverage is made with Sweet Potato Vodka, locallysourced from a family-owned farm in Northern California, as well as triple sec, white cranberry, and lime.

While cocktails are the face of the Empower Cocktails brand, its greater intention of serving women is at heart....

Empower Cocktails CEO, Tiffany Hall puts celebrating and empowering women at the forefront of their mission.

Hall is a former marketer, turned lawyer, turned entrepreneur, who has worked previously worked for one of the world’s largest spirits conglomerates, Pernod Ricard. It was there where she noticed the missing space for a brand that celebrates and honors women, while also catering to their distinct tastes.

Not only has Hall begun to fill that space in beverages, but she has also utilized the Empower Cocktails platform to partner with several non-profits that champion women’s initiatives including the Voss Foundation, Dress for Success Boston, Kicked it in Heels and the Metro-Manhattan Community Foundation to name a few. Empower Cocktails has become an intersectional platform that uplifts women of all backgrounds.

The brand was even selected for inclusion in the MTV Video Music Awards gift bag for nominees, presenters, and performers, and was the official cocktail in the backstage celebrity retreat at the NAACP Image Awards.

Following a whirlwind of major cocktail impact, Hall opens up about running Empower Cocktails, how it’s empowered her as an entrepreneur, and how her

dreams have fueled her for living her life purpose: What fuels you in your work as the CEO of Empower Cocktails?

The Empower Cocktails brand was a dream of mine. I am amazed and grateful for how this vision has manifested.

Seeing people purchase our spirits every day and watching as distribution continues to grow, motivates me to continue to deliver a great product.

How has Empower Cocktails empowered you as an entrepreneur?

Empower Cocktails is my first entrepreneurial venture. The brand has empowered me to believe that with unwavering focus and determination—as well as a supportive network of family, friends and work colleagues—anything is possible. As the CEO of Empower Cocktails, I learn new things about managing the business each day. It has helped me become a more confident business woman.

What do you hope will be Empower Cocktails’ legacy?

I hope it serves as an example to big beverage companies that women deserve to have products that they identify with and should have multiple choices for consumption. Making these changes in major industries shifts how we see ourselves, and how products are marketed. Empower Cocktails will continue to be a change-maker. As a woman CEO, I also want to leave a legacy that empowers women to pursue and achieve their dreams in the entrepreneurial space and beyond.

How have movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp inspired you as a leader?

As I continue to build the Empower Cocktails staff, these important movements encourage me to ensure that all employees feel safe and a part of a healthy environment free of harassment and fear. Empower Cocktails is a safe space that empowers all employees to speak their truth.

What were your dreams as a young woman?

Congratulations to The EMT Graduates at Hillhouse High School

Graduation was held June 5, 2018 at Hillhouse High School. Serving students across the City, The Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) program prepared Hillhouse high school students to take the National Exam moving them closer to certification.

This class is part of the Police/Fire/EMS Public Safety Academy established at Hillhouse by retired Fire Captain Gary Tinney, Instructor William Garraty and New Haven’s CAO Michael Carter. The EMT course helps move these city students into a position to obtain their EMT Certification; which will help them in their efforts to become Fire Personnel. Some of the Students last year took the Emergency Medical Responder Course (EMR) which is the basic certification in the field. Some students took the EMT and Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) course at the same time. They will now go on to take the National Exam to obtain their State Certification.

Students: Brianna Rivera, Jandell Rhobes, Brianna McLaurin, Ray-Quan Jones, Lydia Ogbe, Titianya Gains, Brianna McClean.

Adults: Donna Lillis, Instructor, Kenneth V. Oliver, Jr., New Haven Fire EMS Supervisor, Glen Worthy,Principal of Hillhouse High School. Last adult on the right retired Fire Captain Gary Tinney. Not pictured William Garraty Hillhouse Instructor and Instructor for the Police/Fire/EMS Public Safety Academy.

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I had very specific dreams about the career path I wanted, whether it be going into law, marketing or business. But I’ve always known that my life’s purpose was to empower women and have an impact on my community. No matter what job roles I’ve taken in life I knew that would always be part of what I do.

As the CEO of Empower Cocktails, it’s now everything I do.

Empower Cocktails are available online and in over 30 stores in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. To learn more about the company and to pick up some delicious Empower Cosmopolitan Martini recipes, visit empowercocktails.com.

Con’t on page 03

Cops,

Family Issue

Harp said. She said Poole is a real threat to all New Haveners, and that anyone with any information should leave it up to the police department to decide whether or not a tip is useful.

Johnson asked any citizens with information on Poole to call the New Haven police’s tip lines at 1-866-888TIPS or 1-203-946-6296. He said the U.S. Marshals tip line is 1-877-9268332.

“I stand here next to my mom begging and pleading for this city and community to come together,” said Nesbitt’s twin sister, Tashauna, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Just so we can have some kind of justice. So my sister can rest and so her kids can fell safe. … No help is too small. No help is too big. Any tips, anything is helpful for us.”

“We need the community’s help to bring this man to justice,” Nesbitt’s mother said. “So that my daughter can rest in peace.”

Campbell offered one final plea to Poole himself, saying that the police did not want anyone else in the community to be harmed.

“Turn yourself in,” he said. “It is not too late to do the right thing.”

After the press conference, Beaver Hills Alders Brian Wingate and Jill Marks continued the police department’s plea for anyone with information on Poole’s whereabouts to come forward, and not to try to apprehend Poole themselves.

“Let the police do what their job is,” Wingate said. “We don’t need no superheroes.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

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Working with Communities to Protect Our Water Sources

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HazWaste Central is for residents of these participating towns: Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, East Haven, Fairfield, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Meriden, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge.

CLOSED HOLIDAY WEEKENDS OF JULY 7 AND SEPT. 1, 2018

Residential Waste Only

PARTIAL LIST OF WHAT TO BRING TO HAZWASTE CENTRAL Visit www.rwater.com/hazwaste for a complete list.

KITCHEN & BATHROOM Aerosols

Floor Care Products

Nail Polish Remover

Bathroom Cleaners

Metal & Furniture Polish

Oven, Drain, Tile Cleaners

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Brake & Transmission Fluid Gasoline Latex & Oil-Based Paints*

Paint Thinner & Stripper Used Motor Oil* Varnish

GARDEN & MISCELLANEOUS Batteries* Chemical Fertilizer Fluorescent Bulbs (Including CFL type)*

Fungicides, Pesticides Herbicides, Insecticides Mercury & MercuryContaining Items

Photographic Chemicals Swimming Pool Chemicals Small (1 Pound) Propane Cylinders

NO ELECTRONICS OR GAS GRILL-SIZE PROPANE TANKS Do not mix items or remove from their original package.

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* Local disposal options may be available. Please check with your public works department, local transfer station or the following resources: Batteries: call 1-800-8-BATTERY or log on to www.call2recycle.org (excluding alkaline and auto batteries).

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulbs: call 1-800-CLEANUP or log on to www.earth911.com.

Paint: log on to www.paintcare.org and visit the Connecticut portion of the site to find a drop-off location for household paint.

Small Businesses: Call 203-401-2712 for Disposal Information FOR MORE INFORMATION

visit www.rwater.com/hazwaste or call 203-401-2712 Located at the Regional Water Authority, 90 Sargent Drive, New Haven, I-95 exit 46.

11

Something About Chloe' THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

by Corrine Taylor

Something you should know about Chloé Lomax-Blackwell, she has a dream and it is not being deferred. She has her eyes on the prize and she is making her way and enjoying every moment of it. She is fifteen years old and a freshman at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven, CT where she is majoring in Theater. Chloé has been acting since the age of four with her father’s company Blackwell’s School of Music & Film, and his non-profit company Original Works, Inc. Her true passion is being on Broadway and making it to the big screen. Education being the key to success for this young up and coming star, has set her sights on Yale University for her MBA and NYU Tisch for her Master and PhD in Drama. But no matter where Chloé goes, she will continue to learn and grow.

On April 9, 2018 Theatre Forward hosted a Black Tie Gala Fundraiser at The Pierre in New York and they selected Chloe’ to perform her August Wilson monologue for the event. One of the celebrity there was actor, screenwriter, producer and playwright Chazz Palminteri of “The Bronx Tale” after Chloe’ performed Chazz took her hand and said “Young lady you have the gift not to many people have the natural gift but you have it. You will audition for different roles and you may not get every part you audition for that is only because you are not what they are looking for at that moment but don’t stop because you are going to make it and how old are you? 15 years old O My God!!” Also that night Mr. Wilson’s wife, Constanza Romero hugged Chloe’ and told her “August would have been so proud of you” I was in the house at the Monologue Competition on Monday, May 7, 2018. Being in New York City on a Monday night for theater is not something that I would normally do, however, on March 9th I witnessed Chloé make it to the national competition when she performed her monologue at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven. It had been quite some time since I witnessed her acting and singing, I was blown away at how much she had grown. She still had the joy within her and now she owned the stage. So there was no doubt in my mind that I would make it to support her at the nationals.

Chloé participated in the semi-finalist skit directed by actor Malik Yoba of Designated Survivor, Empire, New York Undercover and Cool Runnings. Each Wilsonian Soldier, a name all the young people who are part of the competition are affectionately named; took their places on stage in a pose and then one by one took turn to perform their monologue. It is a tradition that everyone gets to experience performing I sat in my seat patiently waiting for Chloé to perform and I got to experience the artistry coming from each student as they deliver line after line the writings of August Wilson what he witnessed in his life time of human

connection, disconnection and at times reconnection. As in true fashion of saving the best for last Chloé left the audience with a performance that we will remember. She took her place on stage and captured hearts and minds in that moment.

Whenever I experience a great performance I think of it often and I wanted to share with others so I wrote about this night on Facebook, “About Last Night: When you’re 15 years old and your August Wilson monologue is a 35 year old mother with a 10 year old child and when you are done the audience jumps to their feet and applaud as loud as they could because you made them believe! Answer is Chloé Lomax-Blackwell Broadway debut...So looking forward to continue experiencing this beautiful young woman follow her dreams.

She has family that loves her, mom and dad that gives her, her confidence and selfworth to walk confidently on this Earth!

Great job Luther A. Blackwell Jr. and Sharon Lomax-Blackwell!”

The work I am involved with sometimes is about sharing with others information that I didn’t know when I was choosing to get help during times of deep pain and suffering. When I witness experiences of connection among families, strangers and friends as I did during this night on Broadway, my mind reflects on the past when I didn’t have support. I shared one of those moments with Chloe’s parents, that when I was in ninth grade I wanted to try out for the school play. I learned the song, went to the audition, watched the other children take their turn to try out then I got up and walked out. I lost what little nerves that got me there in the first place. I had no confidence what-so-ever, that I could recall. I did not follow through. It would have taken getting up out of my seat, walking to the front of the room, speaking to people and letting them know that I was there to try out too There was no one at home to talk to about trying out for the school play or for them to encourage me. That was me dreaming and I was alone with my dreams. It has taken me quite a long journey getting back to connection of my worth and confidence (a long story for another time). Indeed it is possible to connect back to creativity and gain awareness.

The August Wilson National Monologue Competition was witnessing all those students, coming from different parts of the country, performing on Broadway...one thing I know for sure is that they have support and it takes guts to get up on that stage and do what they did. Somewhere in their lives they are learning their worth and have the confidence to move forward with their dreams and stay aware while they are doing it.

Former Winners and some actors stopped by to encourage the students. Kerry Washington, of Scandal was in town for the Met Gala 2018, she stopped by on Sunday night. Hailey Kilgore 2015 National August Wilson Monologue Competition final-

ists and Tony Award nominee greeted the students after her performance in Once On This Island Broadway.

Pauletta Washington, Kamilah Forbes, David Gallo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Roslyn Ruff were the official judges for the 2018 National Finals. Russell Hornsby who stars in the television show Grimm and NetFlix Seven Seconds participated by letting the kids know when it was there turn to perform. The night was full of surprises, Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee’s son, Guy Davis played his banjo and performed songs for the crowd.

(Information from website) The National August Wilson Monologue Competition was founded in 2007

by Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta. The national program is produced in collaboration between Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company and

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Jujamcyn Theaters. The program is now in twelve cities nationwide, including Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Haven, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, Dallas and Greensboro, North Carolina.

The National August Wilson Monologue Competition is a free arts education program, a celebration of the words of the playwright August Wilson, inspiring high school students to find and express themselves through theatre.

August Wilson was an American playwright. His literary legacy is a series of ten plays, The American Century Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Each is set in a different decade, depicting the comic and tragic aspects of the African-American experience in the 20th century. Participating students receive, free workshops with theatre professionals, opportunity to perform on Broad-

way, all expense paid trip to New York, opportunity to attend a Broadway Show and cash scholarships for college.

Malik Yoba encouraged the 2018 Wilsonian Soldiers to not give up. He said, “What is for you will not pass you.” Malik shared with them that no matter how many times they auditioned for something that they may not get, they may never know the relationships that may come from that, as he shared about his experience meeting director, producer, actor Kenny Leon, 2018 Children of A Lesser God, Tony Award winning Broadway and film director of 2014 A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington, The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, August Wilson’s Fences, and how he came about to be sharing his time with them.

Kenny Leon encouraged the young people to remember that, “you are an American.” He said they may not all become professional actors but the community and connection that they are building is about becoming better citizens. “I’m hoping that these young people would get inspired to live their dreams. To do what they want, to take the full advantage of America... Speak his (August Wilson) work and get his message across...The start of awareness.”

Something else you should know about Chloé is that she knows her strength. She knows that she loves to perform and will continue doing it because it is her passion.

She accomplished this feat of getting to the National August Wilson Competition in her freshman year of high school. She has three more years to go and more opportunities to compete. All signs are pointing to ain’t no stopping her now!

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018 Con’t from page 04

Eva Fever

Speaking to Mayor Harp’s comment about personality, Zimmerman said she will bring a temperament open to diplomacy, empathy, and advocacy to the position of lieutenant governor if elected.

“I want to be a vehicle for positivity,” she said.

Zimmerman is currently looking to raise $75,000 in small donations to qualify for the state’s public financing program, or the Citizen Election Program (CEP).

She said she has been getting 150 calls a day since the convention from people wanting to support and volunteer for her campaign, and has a full schedule over the next two weeks, making campaign stops crisscrossing the state.

She said she expects to hit the $75,000 threshold by the first week of July.

Janis Underwood, one of the co-chairs of Westville’s Ward 25 Democratic Committee and one of the organizers of the Bysiewicz support event at Manjares last month, said she had been interested in hearing out Bysiewicz last month but is now leaning towards supporting Zimmerman.

She stressed the importance of having a diverse statewide ticket and was impressed at how much Zimmerman has already accomplished in her young life.

“She better balances the ticket,” she said.

Westville’s Ward 26 Democratic Committee Co-Chair Amy Marx, who also helped organize the Westville party for Bysiewicz when she was running for governor, told the Independent that she too is supporting Zimmerman for lieutenant governor.

Another former Bysiewicz campaign supporter, Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Jr., said he is now “100 percent behind Eva Bermudez Zimmerman.” He said he identifies with Zimmerman as a fellow political progressive, millenniall, labor organizer, and city resident.

“You look for candidates you connect with,” he said. “She’s certainly living my story.”

Bysiewicz, for her part, said she welcomes the primary.

“Primaries are extremely healthy for our Democratic process,” she said in an interview.

She said she has the support of 23 Connecticut mayors and first selectmen, including the mayors of Hamden, Bristol, and Fairfield. The combined population of those cities, she said, is close to 120,000 ... not too far from New Haven’s population of 130,000.

She said she is looking forward to bringing to the debate for lieutenant governor the issues of job creation, bal-

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Birks’ Shakeup Begins THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Superintendent Carol Birks said she’s currently doing the job of seven people and needs to hire other administrators who can help her keep up.

Birks made that pitch Monday afternoon to the Board of Education’s Finance & Operations Committee at the district’s Meadow Street headquarters, before presenting plans for an administrative shakeup that has already led to one employee resignation and five job postings.

The superintendent argued that more staff in central office could have helped the district avoid a $20 million budget shortfall, paperwork problems with part-time employees, and unaccountable contractors.

But without a price tag attached to her plan, school board members held off from saying whether they’ll approve the proposed hires.

Birks has already eliminated five roles the talent supervisor (whose grantfunded position ran out of money) and four instructional directors and asked the employees to reapply for new jobs.

One director, Madeline Negron, submitted her resignation.

The restructured cabinet will include a deputy superintendent, a general counsel, a chief of staff, a chief financial officer, a chief operating officer, and a chief of talent and labor relations.

The deputy superintendent will also oversee four assistant superintendents: three for instructional leadership and one for early childhood education. In the new plan, the principals’ bosses will be moved outside the administrators union. Currently, the directors of

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO Superintendent

Carol Birks details reorganization plans.

instruction manage their fellow members, but as assistant superintendents, they’ll be more independent, Birks said.

“They should be looking at the system at large,” Birks said. “It’s hard to do that inside the union, when you’re advocating for your own members.

Whereas, if you’re outside of that, I need people that can negotiate policy and budget with the unions.”

Compared to former Superintendent Garth Harries’s 2015 chart, Birks’s lays out a clearer hierarchy. Two cabinet-level positions under Harries, the director of student services and the director of family and community engagement, will both drop down a level. And the instructional directors overseeing school principals will now answer to a deputy superintendent.

As Birks has currently envisioned it,

the top-level administration that Harries built will shrink by one spot.

But in the coming months, that will still mean she has to make a lot of hires. That’s because, during Reggie Mayo’s stint in the interim, most positions went vacant. The district has been running without a chief financial officer to watch over the budget, a chief academic officer to plan the curriculum, nor a chief of staff to manage external relations.

“We’re just not organized in a way that we can really move the district forward,” Birks said.

The staffing changes are being matched up to state accountability standards, Birks said. Those dozen metrics, including math and reading scores, enrollment in advanced courses or vocational training, and chronic absenteeism and graduation rates, will be placeholders until a 70-member transition team completes its recommendations for where Birks should focus her attention.

“The board hasn’t determined its priorities, and the superintendent has not set goals yet,” Birks said. “But we do know the state is going to measure us based on those 12 accountability standards. In the absence of having our set priorities now, we’re operating under the guidance of the state.”

Birks said she’s doing that by elevating certain responsibilities. The chief of staff will transform the school choice office that runs the magnet school lottery into a one-stop “welcome center” for parents, the deputy superintendent will oversee the consolidated alternative school that Birks is calling an “opportunity program,”

and an assistant superintendent for early childhood education will make sure there’s a coherent plan in place for all pre-kindergarten programs.

“Just because I mentioned those offices does not mean we’re going to hire 25 people this year. But we need structures around who’s responsible for these things,” Birks said. “Right now, we say, ‘Who does this?’ and I get a lot of silence or ‘I don’t know.’

As an organization, we ned to make sure that people know who does the work and what the work is.”

Birks said she didn’t yet have a dollar figure for the reorganization. Jamell Cotto, the committee vice-chair, asked her to crunch that number by next week’s full board meeting, saying it will help his colleagues decide whether the changes are worth it.

After the meeting, Darnell Goldson, the board president, said he was still reviewing the proposed changes, but he explained that he didn’t want more money going to administrators than Harries had spent.

“I’m sticking to my position that we’re not going to grow central office,” Goldson said. “We need to see what the dollars are now and what the dollars are going to be with the new [organizational chart]. If everybody has to do with less, then central office has to do with less also.”

Goldson added that a chief financial officer and a head of early childhood education both seemed like essential positions for this transition, but he said he needed to review whether they could afford all the other positions.

“Some of those other things, we may not need right now,” Goldson said.

THE HONORABLE WILLIE L. BROWN TO RECEIVE NAACP’S PRESTIGIOUS SPINGARN MEDAL

BALTIMORE (June 2018)– The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s foremost civil rights organization, has announced that the Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr., will be awarded the Spingarn Medal. Brown will receive the honor during the NAACP 109th Annual Convention taking place in San Antonio, Texas next month.

The NAACP Annual Convention will culminate with the presentation of the 103rd NAACP Spingarn Medal on Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

The award recognizes Brown’s lifelong commitment to the community,

equality and civil rights. Brown, a native of Mineola, Texas, became the first African-American speaker of the California State Assembly in 1980. He later served as mayor of San Francisco from 1996 until 2004, overseeing several development projects and mediating two public transit worker strikes.

After retiring from office, Brown continued to dedicate his time to community service. In 2008, he established the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Institute on Politics and Public Service, a nonpartisan non-profit organization at San Francisco State University, dedicated to training future municipal adminis-

trators.

“For the past 103 years, we have honored leaders who have served as pillars in the fight for justice. This year’s selection of the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr. is no exception as he has been a true advocate in this work for over fifty years.” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO. The NAACP Spingarn award was established in 1914 by the late Joel E. Spingarn then Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. It was given annually until his death in 1939.

The medal is awarded “for the highest or noblest achievement by a living

African American during the preceding year or years. A fund to continue the award was set up by his will, thus, the NAACP has continued to present this award. Previous recipients of this award include: Mrs. Daisy Bates (Little Rock Nine), Jesse L. Jackson, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Earl G. Graves Sr., Oprah Winfrey, Cicely Tyson, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and the Honorable Nathaniel Jones.

Tickets to the Spingarn Dinner can be purchased on the NAACP Convention website.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

NFL National Anthem Decree Reverberates a 400-Year-Old Message

By H. Lewis Smith, founder of the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc.

Nationwide — To mute the oppressed has always been in the best interest of the oppressor. When a black voice is raised to oppression, those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it.

In other words, “stay in your place” applies as much today as it did during the days of physical slavery.

What’s been lost in this brouhaha is the NFL players purpose for taking a knee.

Trump has changed the narrative… to disrespecting the flag. Trump’s reference to the NFL players as “sons of b” and “that maybe they shouldn’t even be in this country”, serves as a reflection of what the flag and the national anthem truly represents as it pertains to AfricanAmericans. Black Americans are expected to stay in a so-called appointed place and any attempts at emancipation… an extreme reaction will ensue.

To understand present day issues that percolates in America and Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) require one to retrieve the past so that the present may be better understood. Overcoming prevailing social injustices and inequality issues is the intent and a closer examination of what the national anthem and flag truly represents will reveal why it is that taking a knee isn’t disrespecting the flag but is a pursuit for equal respect… not just for SOME Americans… but for ALL Americans.

The flag and national anthem represents racism, before exposing this racism, and why African Americans are expected to amiably go along, it should be acknowledged that not all white people are racist; There are many moral, noble, honorable, soulful white people who aren’t. If not for the contributions of many white abolitionists, especially the magnanimous and valiant efforts of Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips, life in America for African-Americans would perhaps be non-existent today.

President Grant, strong supporter and advocate for annexation of Haiti was eager to see the mass deportation of the newly freed to the Caribbean, where they would once again be subjected to chattel slavery. Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips fought against this horrible scheme—because of their efforts – the U.S. Senate in 1870…by one vote… failed to ratify the pact, contemporaneously saving Black/AfricanAmericans from being shipped en masse to the Dominican Republic. Grant was outraged at the outcome and for years stopped speaking to Wendell Phillips. In a fit of anger, a fellow senator attacked Senator Sumner with his cane and literally beat him.

Trump is America’s modern-day Grant

the following will reveal as to why this is. First let’s look at what the flag and national anthem represents to Black America, from the past leading up to present day.

Racial slurs such as coon, jungle bunny, sambo, Uncle Tom, jigaboo, or porch monkey didn’t trigger mayhem, terror and death into the lives of Black African-American ancestors; instead, it was one word and one word only that did…n**ger. The N-word is the most infamous and profane word in the English language, punctuating an ignominious, malevolent and diabolical history.

A sunken place…an image…created for African-Americans to accept disrespect, contempt and revel in it.

For over three centuries, the enslaved were chastised, beaten, and tortured to accept a self-hating, self-destructing, self-abasing and self-abnegating image of self. Today, many African-Americans voluntarily accept this ungodly… sunken place… that’s been bestowed on them. Few understand that slavery didn’t finally come to an end until the early 1960s. Chattel slavery ended in 1865, but conventional slavery, under the guise of different names continued for another 100 years.

The oppressors convinced themselves that in the eyesight of God, enslaved black people were sub-humans (3/5 a person); that they were nothing more than valueless n**gers, and, therefore, any inhumane acts perpetrated upon them were acceptable. This same sentiment holds true today; contemporary police actions stem from 400 years of

mental conditioning, with the blessings of an institutionalized systemic.

It was typical to have a picnic on a Friday evening. The word was short for “pick a n**ger” to lynch. They would lynch a black male and cut off body parts as souvenirs. It was important to recreate black slaves into a non-human image (a n**ger) to justify any atrocities perpetrated upon them. This went on every weekend which is where the term picnic came from.

These people became merchants of the macabre as they cut up the victims’ bodies into parts for resale as, souvenirs, mementos, and mantle pieces; hearts, lips, ears, fingers, spleen, liver, lungs, intestines, penis, hands, heads, scrotum and all other body parts and even the Black fetus wasn’t spared.

A Black pregnant woman, Mary Turner in Georgia, had her unborn child cut from her womb as she burned at the stake. While she was inflamed a white man stepped from the crowd, slit her stomach with his pocket knife, and when the fetus fell to the ground, he stomped it and said, “One less n**ger”. Thousands of curbside spectators slapped their knees as they laughed in amusement.

The N-word isn’t being used as a racial slur, it is something far more sinister.

The term was used as an identifier and a method of separating Black people from the remainder of the populous; it was used as a psychological conduit to breed thoughts of inferiority eradicating self-dignity, pride, and self–respect. It was White America’s way of rejecting Black people as their [equal] and ac-

16

cepting them as a so-called white man’s burden. Because slaves were considered non-human, and lower than a dog, whites believed that in the eyesight of God, classifying the black enslaved as n**gers made it okay to dehumanize, brutalize and subject them to anything and everything ungodly. They further somehow conveniently justified that these acts of inhumanity were forgivable by God because they believed… in a sick twisted way… they were carrying out God’s work. Same as Trump’s autocratic twisted rationalization that African-Americans should ignore but, nonetheless, respect how the American flag symbolizes contempt and disrespect for Black America.

Yet in knowing this hard and ugly history, as seen in present day, the N-word is strung into every line of TV/movie scripts and hip-hop lyrics to make the entertainment more appealing and relatable to African-Americans. Thanks to the marketing, globalization, and commercialization of the N-word, youths of all races now refer to one another as the N-word.

In affect Black America has given the entire world the green light to… trivialize… the dehumanization, butchering and slaughtering of their enslaved ancestors. Thinking like helpless and hopeless victims, black users of the word see eradicating use of the term as impossible, yet it is they who are keeping the word alive.

Such an attitude is the opposite of the prevailing boldness during the 1960’s when the indomitable spirit of Black

America rejected labeling references such as Negro and Colored, choosing, instead, to refer to ourselves as Black and African-American. People were different it was a time when pride, dignity and self-respect meant something.

For more than five centuries, racism has legitimized assassinations, massacres and genocides. The doctrine of white supremacy has demonized, brutalized and dehumanized non-whites of the earth for centuries. Racism has been the global driving force behind the dispossession of continents, destruction of civilizations, and extermination of an entire people.

The American flag and national anthem is symbolic of this and more.

Racism is about structuring social, political, and economic circumstances.

Psychological and cultural circumstances such that one race can take advantage of another. One race can enhance itself at the expense of another. It has little to do with overt race hatred, or negative attitudes or the projection of racial stereotypes. Racism involves the power of one race to impose its will upon another.

This is what Trump, the evangelicals, the American Institutionalized Systemic, Neo-Nazi, KKK, and other White Supremacist groups are all fighting to preserve (MAGA).

The flag reflects a reality the Black community has been locked into a NO WIN situation. All the wealth and power in this country has been dispensed over 400 years systemically into the hands of the majority white society. Black people Con’t on page 22

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Women, Alcohol Abuse And 4 Coping Skills For Recovery

by Soroya Bacchus, M.D.

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A recent study that showed even moderate alcohol consumption can take years off your life not only attracted a lot of media attention, it also caused other studies about drinking to seem even more worrisome, especially with their findings about women.

We aren’t talking about harmless social sipping with friends here, and as the nation observes Women’s Health Care Month in May it’s worth exploring the growing negative role that alcohol plays in the lives of American women.

“My favorite line of all time is: ‘I don’t drink that much,’ ” says Dr. Soroya Bacchus (www.soroyabacchusmd.com), a psychiatrist and author of How to Detox Yourself from Alcohol.

“Sometimes the people who say this are right; they really don’t drink that much.

More often, though, people say this to make themselves feel better about how much they do drink.”

Just last year, a study published by JAMA Psychiatry reported that more Americans are drinking high amounts of alcohol, and some of the greatest increases are among women.

In addition, about 5.3 million women in the United States drink alcohol in a way

that threatens their health and safety, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

For those women, just trying to get sober won’t fix the fundamental problem that caused them to drink too much to begin with, Bacchus says.

“I don’t care about sober,” she says. “I care about healthy. No one drinks or uses drugs in a vacuum. Usually there is an underlying mental disorder that causes and worsens the alcohol or drug use.”

It’s important that women with serious drinking problems seek medical assistance so they can detox in a safe manner, Bacchus says. Detoxification from alcohol has more complications from withdrawal than any other drug, and the death rate for alcohol withdrawal is between 5 and 8 percent, she says.

Even after detoxing, Bacchus says, a therapist can help women develop healthy psychological coping skills to avoid a relapse.

Among the ways they can do that include: • Biofeedback therapy. This teaches you to develop voluntary, conscious control of physiological processes that are typically involuntary and unconscious. “If you have alcohol cravings, biofeedback teaches you how to identify the physical sensations associated with them and allows you to deploy strategies to counter them,” Bacchus says.

• Hypnosis or hypnotherapy. Through hypnosis a therapist can explore the potential root causes of alcohol abuse, such as previously unknown disorder, a hidden memory or a past trauma. Bacchus offers a caveat:

Only undergo hypnotherapy with a trained professional you trust completely.

• Exercise. Every time you exercise you build yourself up both psychologically and physically, Bacchus says. “Before you know it, you have a positive habit that sustains you through tough times,” she says.

“Instead of taking a drink, you go for a walk. Instead of falling into a rabbit hole of negative emotion, you hit the gym.”

• Yoga. Yoga is both a great exercise for muscles and joints, but also an excellent way to deal with stress. “This makes it a perfect practice for recovery,” Bacchus says, “because you need to rebuild your body from the ravages of alcohol abuse and rebuild your mind from the negative thought patterns you developed over years of addiction.”

“The goal is to replace the negative coping mechanisms of addiction with the healthy coping mechanisms of recovery,” Bacchus says. “You need your mind and body working in harmony so your soul can be at peace.”

About Soroya Bacchus, M.D. Soroya Bacchus, M.D., (www.soroyabacchusmd.com) author of How to Detox Yourself from Alcohol, is a triple boardcertified psychiatrist specializing in addition and psychosomatic medicine. She has treated patients with addiction issues for 22 years. She has been interviewed on such television shows as Good Morning America and has been quoted in the New York Times, the Huffington Post and other print and online publications.

63-Year Old Black Grandmother, Alice Marie Johnson,

Released From Prison After 21 Years by blackness.com

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Nationwide — President Donald Trump has granted Kim Kardashian-West’s plea to commute the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year old African American great-grandmother who has been in prison for the last 21 years for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. She has already been released from prison.

On Wednesday, President Trump commuted the life sentence for drug offender Alice Marie Johnson. The decision came a week after reality TV star Kim KardashianWest met with Trump at the White House to discuss Johnson’s case and prison reform in general.

“BEST NEWS EVER!!!!” KardashianWest was happy to share it on her Twitter after knowing Trump’s decision. She also expressed her gratitude “to everyone who has showed compassion & contributed countless hours to this important moment for Ms. Alice Marie Johnson. Her commutation is inspirational & gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance.”

In 1994, Johnson was indicted for her involvement in a cocaine trafficking operation in Memphis, Tennessee. She was given a life sentence without eligibility for

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parole, with an additional 25 years.

Since she started her sentence, she has shown exemplary behavior. A White House statement said that Johnson “has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades.”

“Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates,” the statement said. “While this administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison de-

serve a second chance.”

In December 2016, then-President Barack Obama granted clemency to 231 people but Johnson was not included, although the reasons are not stated. Now, after Kardashian-West spoke to White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and then President Trump, Johnson will be released just after her 63rd birthday and after over 21 years in prison.

Kardashian-West told Mic that she plans to get more actively involved in prison reform issues, and said, “I think it’s definitely a bigger issue that has to be addressed, and I’m glad that I’m starting with her.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Deon “Bud” Richmond: From The Cosby Show To Cancer Survivor

by Barry Anderson, BDO Contributing Writer

As Rudy Huxtable’s first “boyfriend” Kenny (aka Bud) on The Cosby Show, Deon Richmond played a small, but very memorable, role on the family sitcom. It’s hard to believe that the adorable young man we saw on TV is now 40 years old (yes, you and I both are getting old)! He is grown, continues to flourish and is doing well.

After the show ended, he was able to segue into other popular TV series of the time, such as Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper and Sister, Sister. Even though Richmond’s acting seemed to dwindle in more recent years, he has landed a few roles of note. In 2006, he starred in the slasher flick Hatchet, which was set in the bayou of Louisiana.

Richmond got his start in the entertainment business after graduating from Texas Christian University (TCU). Richmond began in professional broadcasting as a disc jockey and talk show host on KLIF and KNUS-FM (Dallas, Texas). He also

Deon Richmond

worked overnights and mid-days at the Buffalo, New York radio station WKBW

AM, a big-signal station covering the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and at other high-profile stations.

Returning to KLIF and KNUS during the 1990s, Richmond hosted a call-in program, Deon Richmond’s Hotline, whose controversial host and topics made him a frequent target of death threats. He conducted a long-running on-air feud with an elderly woman (dubbed “Granny Hate” by an earlier host), who claimed to represent the local Ku Klux Klan.

Richmond also voiced a number of national television commercials, including those for Pennzoil and Public Storage.

One Richmond’s earliest roles was an appearance in the music video for the 1985 Kool & the Gang song “Cherish”. In 1986, Richmond first appeared as Kenny on The Cosby Show, in the episode “Theo’s Flight”; he would go on to appear on the show in 32 episodes, until the show ended in 1992. In 1987, Richmond played a young Eddie Murphy in the beginning scenes of the film Eddie Murphy Raw, and

also appeared in the film Enemy Territory as Chet.

Richmond appeared in the Kris Kross music video “Warm It Up” in 1992. He played the role of Darren Dixon in the 1993–94 sitcom Getting By alongside Merlin Santana as his brother Marcus, they were cast as brothers due to their interaction on The Cosby Show. In 1997, Richmond began a role as Tamera Campbell’s boyfriend, Jordan Bennett, on the fifth season of the hit series Sister, Sister. He became a regular cast member during the sixth and final season. In later years, Richmond appeared in films such as Trippin’, Scream 3, Not Another Teen Movie, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, and the independent horror film Hatchet.

Richmond has twin daughters, Lilac and Leone Richmond, born in 2009. According to multiple websites, in 2001 Richmond was diagnosed with colon cancer. He took a leave of absence from actor to undergo and recover from surgery and chemotherapy, and returned a month later. One year later,

the colon cancer returned, and Richmond temporarily took another leave of absence to undergo and recover from surgery on September 20, 2002. Again, he recovered within a month. In March 2003, Richmond was diagnosed with male breast cancer. He underwent surgery and afterwards… … experienced major complications. As a result, Richmond was unable to join any TV series as a regular. The diagnoses led to Richmond becoming a spokesperson for early detection of cancer in his last years.

In an interview with CBS, Richmond commented to the general public: I could have prevented all this with a colonoscopy, and of course, that’s the campaign I’ve been on since I had the first surgery. To everybody out there, get a mammogram!

It can happen to men, too. In 2003, Richmond recovered from his cancer but it left him with permanent health issues.

He now stars in an independent film called “Oliver’s Twist”. A synopsis of the film and is on his website www.deonrichmond.wixsite.com/mysite

World-Renowned Actor and Proud Father Omar Epps Releases Inspirational and Moving Memoir ‘From Fatherless to Fatherhood’ In his new book, Epps presents an insightful examination of the importance of family and community and initiates a personal, unapologetic and emotional conversation about childhood, manhood and parenting

LOS ANGELES – Highly acclaimed actor Omar Epps, who has starred in classic films such as “Juice,” “Higher Learning” and “Love and Basketball” as well as the blockbuster television series “House,” has released his new memoir in time for Father’s Day. In “From Fatherless to Fatherhood,” Epps writes intimately and earnestly about his journey from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was raised in a single-parent household, through his rise in the entertainment industry and ultimate success as an actor and family man.

Detailing his own experience of growing up without his biological father and then becoming a father himself, Epps illuminates how the power of choice and the decisions dads make have a lifelong impact on their children while also providing a call

to action to readers.

“I wrote this book so that my personal story can be an inspiration to others and spark an engaged societal conversation about issues related to fatherhood,” says Epps. “I was able to break the cycle of fatherlessness in my own family, and I’m an advocate for other men to make this important change as well.”

Sharing his story of pain, triumph and forgiveness in a unique and visceral way, Epps is encouraging men to be present in their child’s life and come to terms with their own issues surrounding their fathers.

Being raised by a strong and hardworking single mother and married to his loving and accepting wife, Epps also praises women for the powerful strength they possess through motherhood and empowers them

to foster healthy co-parenting relationships and gracefully navigate complex parenting roles.

In “From Fatherless to Fatherhood,” Epps reflects on his early acting days, delving into personal stories about the decisions he made that set him on the path to career success and the friends who inspired and encouraged him along the way. Through honest work and determination, he was able to create and maintain a flourishing career and provide for his family while finding a work-life balance.

“Fatherhood is about much more than providing food and shelter for a child and cutting a check to cross off a list,” says Epps. “Fatherhood is about being active in a child’s life and cultivating those sacred bonds of family while guiding and teaching

them how to be a loving, honest, respectful individual who will radiate goodness to all they encounter.”

Epps will be making a special guest appearance at BookCon located at the Javits Center in NYC on June 2 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. To learn more please visit www.fromfatherlesstofatherhood.org.

“From Fatherless to Fatherhood” About Omar Epps: Omar Epps is a greatly admired actor with more than 30 years in the entertainment industry and is also a writer, producer and entrepreneur. Epps is currently filming Season 3 of the television series “Shooter,” which will premiere on June 21 on USA Network. He has been married to his wife, Keisha, for over a decade and is a dedicated father to his three children.

Trevor Jackson Plays Iconic Title Character in Stylized Remake of Blaxploitation Era Classic remade. And 2.0 represents an upgrade which does not disappoint in that regard.

As overhauled by Julien Christian Lutz (aka Director X), the highly-stylized production bears a greater resemblance to McG’s frenetically-paced Charlie’s Angels (2000) and Baz Luhrmann’s decidedly-decadent interpretation of The Great Gatsby (2013) than to any blaxploits made back in the Seventies.

The setting has been shifted to Atlanta, but the basic plotline is otherwise faithful to the source material. The blow-by-blow is narrated by the picture’s protagonist, played with perfect aplomb by Trevor Jackson (of TV’s Grown-ish).

At the point of departure, a beleaguered Priest informs us via voice-over that he’s been selling drugs on the street since the age of 11. He now sits atop a gang caught up in an escalating bloody turf war marked by drive-by shootings with a flashy posse

Film Review by Kam Williams

SuperFly (1972) was one of the most profitable of the Blaxploitation Era flicks.

Released during the genre’s heyday, the picture revolved around its iconic title character, Youngblood Priest, a flamboyant cocaine dealer who dressed like a pimp, drove flashy cars and sampled his wares from a spoon shaped like a cross draped around his neck.

Overcoming a modest budget of just a half-million dollars, the film’s phenomenal box-office success led to a couple of sequels, (Super Fly T.N.T. (1973) and The Return of Superfly (1990). Nevertheless, the franchise is probably best remembered for the original’s soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield which enjoyed a long run at #1 atop Billboard’s Top 100 chart.

Given its woeful production values, Super Fly is a movie almost begging to be

Superfly

19

called the Snow Patrol.

Understandably, Priest wants out of the game, but first he has to do a bigger deal than he’s ever attempted before. That involves going over the head of his supplier Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams) and securing a huge shipment of narcotics directly from the South American cartel kingpin, Adalberto Gonzales (Esai Morales).

Somehow Lutz, a veteran director of music videos, manages to manipulate the audience into rooting for the sort of unsavory characters you’d cross the street to avoid in real life. Listen, the cinema has a long history of championing ruthless lawbreakers like Bonnie and Clyde, the Godfather and more recently, the Ocean’s 8 crew.

The upshot: this incarnation of Superfly proves to be a riveting, slick and pulsepounding reboot that easily blows away the original!

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,2018 2016 -- August THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, June 19, 2018 02, 2016

DEEP RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITY OPENING WAITING LIST FOR SENIOR/DISABLED

NOTICE

The Deep River Housing Authority will open its waiting list for Senior/Disabled Housing on June 1st. This list will remain open until June 30th.

To request an application, please call 860-526-5119. Applications will be accepted by VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING APPLICATIONS mail (must be postmarked or datePREstamped

by June 30th). AVAILABLE Housing is available to anyone over 62 or handicapped/disabled that meet the income guidelines.

Monthly rate of is Columbus based on income minimum base rent requirement of HOME INC, on behalf Housewith andathe New Haven Housing Authority, $944.00. is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develDeepStreet, River New Housing Authority opment located at 108 Frank Haven.

Maximum income limitations ap60 Main ply. Pre-applications will be available fromStreet 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Deep River, CT 06417 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 INCINVITATION at 203-562-4663 TOduring BID those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Site Improvements at Bonnie Acres Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Vance Drive, Bristol, CT

NOTICIA

The Bristol Housing Authority will receive sealed bids on or before 10:00 a.m. EST, Friday, July 6, 2018 at their offices at 164 Jerome Avenue, Bristol, Connecticut 06010 and said bids will be publicly opened and read aloud immediately thereafter.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Bids will be received for furnishing all labor, materials, tools and equipment necessary to complete “Site Improvements at Bonnie Acres, Vance Drive, Bristol, Connecticut” including INC, en nombre de Columbus y de la replacement New Haven Housing butHOME not limited to removal oflatrees, stumpsHouse and brush; of trees;Authority, plantings;está and pre-solicitudes para estudios apartamentos de un“Site dormitorio en este desarrollo turfaceptando restoration.

Sealed bid packages mustybe clearly marked Improvements at Bonnie ubicado en la calle Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos Acres, Attention: Mitzy109 Rowe, CEO.” A pre-bid walk will be held on Friday, June 22, 2018 atp.m.

9:30comenzando a.m. Please Martes meet at 25 the máximos.

Lasthrough pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 Bonnie Community 59 Vancesuficientes Drive, Bristol, CT 06010.(aproximadamente Attendance is strongly julio,Acres 2016 hasta cuando Room, se han recibido pre-solicitudes 100) recommended for de all HOME bidders.INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición en las oficinas Contract Documents including Plans and Specifications, as prepared by J ASSOCIATES ARllamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse CHITECTS, 84 Market Square, Suite 3, Newington, CT 06111, will be on file at the Bristol a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, piso,Documents New Havencan , CT .

Housing Authority, 164 Jerome Avenue, Bristol, CT. tercer Contract be 06510 reviewed and purchased within the on-line plan room of Advanced Reprographics, Plainville, CT at http:// www.advancedrepro.net or by calling (860) 410-1020. Project information can also be obtained online at Projectdog.com.

The Bristol Housing Authority 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 the Bristol Housing Authority. All bid documents must be filled out completely when submitted.

A satisfactory Bid Bond or Certified Check in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the base bid, shall be submitted with each bid. The Bid Bond shall be made payable to the Bristol Housing Authority and shall be properly executed by the Bidder. A 100% Performance, Labor and Material Bond is also required. All sureties must be listed on the most recent IRS circular 570.

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close towhich I-91 & I-95 pay“Attention of bidders is directed to certain requirements of this contract require bus stop shopping ment of Davis-Baconhighways, wages, and near compliance with&certain local,center state and federal requirements. This is a Federally fundedInterested project.” parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 Pet under 40lb allowed.

No bids shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the opening of bids without the consent of the Bristol Housing Authority.

ForCT.further information, please contact Carl Johnson, Bristol Housing Authority, Director Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s of Certificate Capital Funds atThis (860) 585-2028 or Jaydesigned R. Victorick, ARCHITECTS Program. is a 10 month program to assist Jin ASSOCIATES the intellectual formation of Candidatesat in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30(860) 665-7063.

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, GeneralACTION/EQUAL Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor EMPLOYER of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church "AN AFFIRMATIVE OPPORTUNITY MBE’s, WBE's, SBE's64 Brewster AND SECTION 3 DESIGNATED ENTERPRISES ARE ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT" St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

ThebyGlendower Group, ofInc Sealed bids are invited the Housing Authority 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 for Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Request Proposals Smithfield GardensResearch Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Market and Brand Positioning A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith

The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. city Communities is currently seeking proposals for Market Research and Brand Positioning. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning Bidding Portal documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Ofonfice, Monday, May 21, 2018 at 3:00PM 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

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Invitation for Bid (IFB) Phineas T. Barnum Apartments Ventilation Upgrades Solicitation Number: 109-PD-18-S The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) is requesting sealed bids for P.T. Barnum Apartments Ventilation Upgrades. A complete set of the plans and technical specifications will be available on June 11, 2018. 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 MANDATORY pre-bid conference will be held at 96 Bird Street, Bridgeport, CT 06605 on June 26, 2018 @ 10:00 a.m., submitting a bid for the project without attending conference is not in the best interest of the Offeror. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities. org no later than July 5, 2018 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www.parkcitycommunities. org. All bids must be received by mailed or hand delivered by July 12, 2018 @ 2:00 PM, to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Director of Procurement, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604, at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. No bids will be accepted after the designated time.

EXP, welder for structural steel, misc. metals shop Send resume: hherbert@gwfabrication.com

Union Company seeks: 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 rateor& excellent benefits BA/BS in Civil Engineering Construction Management.

Contact: Dana Briere Phone: 2-5 yrs. experience.

OSHA Certified.

Email: Proficient 860-243-2300 in reading contract plans and specifications. dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Women & Minority Applicants are Bloomfield, CT 06002; Fax 860.218.2433; encouragedRED toTechnologies, apply LLC is an EOE. Email resumes to info@redtechllc.com.

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity EmployerRemediation Division Project Manager Environmental

Field Engineer

3-5 years exp. and Bachelor’s Degree, 40-Hr. Hazwoper Training Req. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002;

Fax 860.218.2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com

RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record.

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860243-2300 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc Employer

seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory The Town of Wallingford is currently accepting applications for Firefighter/ Paramedic. Applicants must have: a valid CPAT card, HS diploma/GED, training Asphalt on equipment we operate.

Garrity Reclaiming Inc valid driver’s license and hold a valid Paramedic License that meets CT State Location: Bloomfield CT seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic Regulations. Copies of licenses and certifications must be submitted with Contact: experienced James Burke Phone: 860preferably in Reclaiming and application materials. The Town of Wallingford offers a competitive pay rate 243-2300 Invitationthere to Bid: of $54,064.40 to $69,701.32 annually. In addition, is a $4,400 annual Road Milling Equipment.

We offer factory paramedic bonus plus an excellent fringe benefitndpackage. Application deademail: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com training on equipment we operate.

2 Notice line is June 1, 2018 or the date the 75th application is received, whichever Women & Minority Applicants are Location: Bloomfield CT occurs first. Apply: Human Resources Department, Town of Wallingford, Contact:encouraged James Burke Phone: 860to apply 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT. phone: (203) 294-2080; fax: (203) 2942084. EOE. 243-2300 Old Saybrook, CT Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity email: jim.burke@garrityasphalt.com Employer We offer excellent hourly rate & (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Women excellent & Minoritybenefits Applicants are Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Health Director- Directs public health services and the enforcement New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Cast-We offer excellent hourly rate & Employer of health regulations. Must meet the State of Connecticut Health in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, excellent benefits Dept. experience and training approval. Graduate degree in Public

Firefighter/ParamediC

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

HEALTH

HealthFlooring, from a recognized college or10univ. plus five Appliances, (5) years of proPainting, Division Specialties, Residential Casework, gressively responsible professional public health program experiMechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. ence in local health , including at least (5) years in public health This contract is subject to statedegree set-aside contractcollege compliance requirements. code enforcement. Other acceptable fromand accredited Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer or univ. stipulated in CGS § 19a-200. Must possess and maintain Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction a Registered Sanitarian license and CT Due DPHDate: PhaseAugust II Subsurface Bid Extended, 5, 2016 Equipment. Must have a CDL License, Sewage Certification. Completion of on-line FEMA ICS 100 & 200 clean driving record, capable of operating Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 is required as well as a valid CT Drivers’ license. Possession CT Union Company seeks: Tractor Trailer heavy equipment; be willing to travel Project documents available via ftp link below: DPH Certified Food Inspector is preferred Salary: $101,144 ~ Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer $129,414 plus an excellent fringe benefit package.

Apply to: Human http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Equipment. Must have a CDL License, excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Resources Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, clean driving record, capable of operating Wallingford, CT 06492. Closing date will be June 15, 2018 or the Contact: Dana be Briere Phone: heavy equipment; willing to travel Fax50th or Email Questions is & Bids to: Dawnwhichever Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com date the application received, occurs first.

EOE. 860-243-2300 Email: the Northeast & NY. We offer HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certifiedthroughout Businesses dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com hourly rate & excellent benefits Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483excellent Common Ground High School is seeking a Full Time TeachWomen & Minority Applicants are Contact: Dana Briere Phone: AA/EEO EMPLOYER ing Assistant (TA). The TA is responsible for supporting teachers in the classroom during the school day, providing targeted supports in academic labs both during and after school, and assisting with summer academic programs. For a full job description and how to apply, please visit http://commongroundct.org/2018/05/common-ground-is-seeking-a-special-educationteaching-assistant-ta/

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encouraged to apply 860-243-2300 Email: Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com Employer Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 -- August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 June 19, 2018

Dispatcher

Boundaries LLC is a full-service Land Surveying Firm located in Griswold, CT. We are recruiting for these Materials is seeking a motivated, organized, detail-oriented candidate to join its NOTICE positions and are accepting resumes for Survey Field Galasso truck dispatch office. Responsibilities include order entry and truck ticketing in a fast Technicians, Survey Computer Technicians, Licensed paced materials manufacturing and contracting company. You will have daily interacwith employees and customers as numerous truckloads of material cross our scales Land Surveyors, Civil Engineers, from 4/9/2018 tion daily.AVAILABLE We are willing to train the right individual that has a great attitude. NO PHONE VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS through 12/31/2018. Interested parties can contact us CALLS PLEASE. Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026.

EOE/M/F/D/V. at HOME 860-376-2006 or submit yourHouse resume INC, on behalf of Columbus andto theJfaulise@ New Haven Housing Authority, boundariesllc.net.

AA/EOEfor studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develis accepting pre-applications

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE

opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y CARPENTER 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately have vehicles, office furniture & electronics Surplus100) equipment, Large CTreceived Fence Company carpenterINC. for our Wood Fence Probeen at thelooking officesforofa HOME Applications will beThe mailied uponAuthority reHousing of the City of Bristol is holding a silent duction Experience preferred will train the rightduring person.those Must hours. be auction for various questShop. by calling HOME INC but at 203-562-4663 Completed pre- surplus items including fleet vehicles, maintefamiliar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawnanceStreet, equipment, mustThis beisreturned HOME INC’s offices 171 Orange Third and electronics at 59 Vance Drive, Bristol, CT. ingapplications and tape measure. an in-shoptoproduction position.

Dutiesatinclude This is a public auction. A list of items available for auction will Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Some pickup & delivery of

be available in the main office at 164 Jerome Avenue, Bristol CT 06010 (860) 582-6313. All items are sold AS-IS. Appointments to view vehicles and large items will be held between 2:00-4:00 p.m. on June 25, 2018. Bidder numbers will be handed out and silent will between 2:00-4:00 p.m. on June 26, 2018. Winning VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDESbidding DISPONIBLES bidders will be notified immediately after. Payment and removal of items is required by next business day. Additional information can HOME INC, en nombre de lafor Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, Request Proposals be obtained byestá contacting Yvonne Tirado at (860) 585-2039 or at Payroll & Other Human Resource Management aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorioytirado@bristolhousing.org. en este desarrollo Systems Services ubicado en la calle 109 Frankand Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos

Must Have Own Vehicle If Interested call

(203) 435-1387

materials may also be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE

NOTICIA

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes The 25 Bristol Housing Authority is an The Housing Authority of New Haven d/b/a Elm City (aproximadamente 100) julio, 2016 hasta cuandoofsethe hanCity recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer Communities is currently seeking Bids en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición for Payroll & Other Human Resource Management Systems and llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained . a las Elm oficinas de Vendor HOME INC en 171 Orange tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510KMK Insulation Inc. from City’s Collaboration PortalStreet, https://newhaven-

housing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, April 16, 2018 at 9:00AM.

Welder:

1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473

Mechanical Insulator position.

Insulation company offering good pay and benefits.

Request for Proposals IT and Computer Support Services The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol

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 must be stamped received by 1:00 p.m. on July 6, 2018.

Starting June 11, 2018, a copy of the request for qualifications and scope of services can be obtained at the Bristol Housing Authority, 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 during business hours (M/W/F 8:30a-4:30p, Tues. 8:30a-1:00p, Thurs. 1:00-4:30p), or at projectdog.com, or by contacting Yvonne Tirado, Special Projects & Procurement Mgr. at ytirado@bristolhousing.org/(860) 585-2039, or by contacting Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Funds at cjohnson@bristolhousing.org/(860) 585-2028.

Large CT fence & guardrail contractor Please mail resume to above address.. MAIL ONLY An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer This company is an Affirmative Action/ looking for a shop welder. Duties include but are not lim Equal Opportunity Employer.

Invitation to Bid: ited to welding & fabricating gates, plating posts, truck and Ave 2nd Notice trailer repairs. Must be 242-258 able to weldFairmont steel and aluminum.

GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY Some road2BR work Townhouse, may be required. 1.5 All necessary equipment BA, 3BR, 1 levelThe , 1BA provided. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able is currently accepting applications for COUPLES ONLY for its one All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & apartments I-95 bedroom at Guilford Court and Boston Terrace inOld GuilSaybrook, CTHousing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting The to obtain a DOT medical card. Required to pass a physical social highways, near bus stop & shopping centerford, CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% (4 Buildings, 17 Units) and drug test. Medical, vacation & other benefits included. security or federal disability and over the age of 18. Applications proposals for Copier Lease and Maintenance Service.

Proposal documents can be viewed and printed at www.norwalkha.org under the Business section RFP’s/RFQ’s Norwalk Housing is an Equal under 40lb allowed.

Interested parties contact Maria Please Pet email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com AA/@ 860-985-8258 Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, Opportunity Employer. Thomas Hickey, Interim Executive Director.

EOE-MF ext. 107. An information packet will also be provided with the ap-

NEW HAVEN

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

plication. Applications willNew be accepted until end of Framed, business Housing, day Construction, Wood Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castare procured

POLICE OFFICER in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Competitive examinations will be held for the Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. position ofrequirements.

Police Officer in the Guilford, This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s on July of31, 2018. Credit, police, and landlord checks Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday,by August 20, 2016 1:30the authority.

Smoke free housing.

3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING

Class A CDL Driver

St. New Haven, with CT 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed.

(Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies, LLC is An EOE.

NEW HAVEN EARLY CHILHDOOD COUNCIL REQUEST FOR QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PROPOSALS

North Haven, Orange, Seymour, West Haven and

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, Woodbridge 2016 SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Police Departments.

The New Haven Early Childhood Council isAnticipated seeking toStart: August 15, 2016

Centrally Located Construction CompanyAuthority in Connecticut Sealed bids are invited by the Housing of the Town of quality Seymour fund enhancement (QE) projects for the period available via ftp link below: Project documents positions availableAugust for experienced Candidates may register for the testing process untilhas 3:00 pm on Tuesday, 2, 2016 project at its office at 28July Smith Street, 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 for the following services: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage managers, laborers and truck drivers.

Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the www.policeapp.com/southcentral.

This company is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F. • on-site education consultation to prek programs Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

• mental health resources for children and families in prek programs; Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com Females and Minorities are encouraged to apply.

• professional development trainings related to CT Early Standards, HCC encourages theLearning participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Please fax resume to ATTN: Mike to 860-669-7004. trauma informed care and topics required

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.

by School Readiness and NAEYC.

TRANSFER STATION LABORER

Off load trailers, reload for trans/disp. Lift 50 lbs., operate industrial powered trucks and forklift.

Asbestos Worker Handler Training a +. Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 173 Pickering St., Portland, CT 06480; Fax 860-342-1022; or Email to lkelly@redtransfer.com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Application deadline is Wednesday, June 20, 2018.

Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

An info session will be held Monday, May 12th from 2-3pm at 54 Meadow

Street, conference Ofroom 3B. To receive the RFP and for established rates for each Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority service type, contact the School Readiness office fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

Denised@nhps.net 203-946-7875.

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

at

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The physical performance, written, and oral board exams will be administered by the South Central Criminal Justice Administration.

THE DEPARTMENTS PARTICIPATING IN THIS RECRUITMENT DRIVE ARE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERS.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

Famed Black Chef From New Orleans Wins Major Restaurant Industry Award From the James Beard Foundation

By Taylor Sylvain, New Orleans Agenda New Orleans, LA — New Orleans’ Chef Nina Compton of Compère Lapin restaurant made history by becoming the first Black woman to be designated as the best chef in the South at the 2018 James Beard Awards. The James Beard Foundation awards are considered the Oscars of the culinary world.

Only five black chefs have ever been a Best Chef finalist; this year’s ceremony was the first to recognize black women – Mashama Bailey, of the Savannah restaurant The Grey, and Nina Compton, of Compère Lapin, in New Orleans – as finalists.

Boston-based food writer, Korsha Wilson reports, “Compton’s speech placed her immigration story front and center: “I never dreamed, coming from a very small island of St. Lucia, of winning this award,” she said at the podium. Her New Orleans restaurant, Compère Lapin, is named for a character in Creole and Caribbean folk tales; on the menu, she blends Caribbean and Southern food with French technique.”

Compton is a native of St. Lucia that moved from Miami to New Orleans in 2015 to open Compère Lapin, which draws from her Caribbean heritage along with her French and Italian experiences.

She was a contestant on Bravo’s “Top Chef: New Orleans.” Compère Lapin is a sophisticated eatery serving New Orleans accented flavors in the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery located on 535 Tchoupitoulas Street in the city’s Warehouse District.

In regards to other Blacks taking top honors that night, Wilson adds, “What makes these wins particularly poignant is that chefs Rodney Scott, Nina Compton, Edouardo Jordan, and Dolester Miles are cooking interpretations of their unique history, from the present moment in the part of America where they live.

Their complicated and beautiful act of reclaiming Black foodways and serving it to the public is too powerful to understate. They’re chefs who are making food that represents them — people who are connected to and inspired by the African diaspora.”

Compton and her husband Larry Miller have opened a second restaurant in New Orleans; Bywater American Bistro, a more casual establishment located at 2900 Charters Street providing American food.

The outstanding bar program went to cocktail bar Cure, another establishment from New Orleans. Compton and Cure were among the nine nominees from New Orleans this year.

New Orleans blacked-owned restau-

Ocean's 8 Dame Gang Hatches Plan to Purloin Priceless Diamond Necklace in Delightful Spinoff of Crime Caper Franchise!

NFL Con’t from page 15

By H. Lewis Smith, founder of the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc.

Film Review by Kam Williams

rants have received numerous recognition from the organization, on January 28, 2016 it was announced that that New Orleans’ Chef Leah Chase was being named the recipient of the 2016 James Beard Lifetime Achievement award.

The foundation awards the Lifetime Achievement award “upon a person in the industry whose lifetime body of work has had a positive and long-lasting impact on the way we eat, cook, and think about food in America.” Known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” Leah Chase is a chef, restaurateur, and TV personality revered by many as one of the best in her profession.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and further the Foundation’s mission to celebrate, nurture, and honor America’s diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire.

Taylor Sylvain is a senior journalism student attending Clark Atlanta University’s Division of Communication Arts in the department of Mass Media Arts and serves as an intern for The New Orleans Agenda. A native of New Orleans, she especially enjoys assignments dealing with the city’s art, culture, fashion and the music industry. Taylor may be reached via email through SylvainSolutions@msn.com.

The original Ocean’s 11 (1960) starred Frank Sinatra and a tight-knit cadre of fellow Las Vegas headliners affectionately dubbed the Rat Pack by the press. The bawdy band of brothers was famous for partying and making impromptu appearances at each other’s shows on The Strip. They even shot the movie right there in Vegas so they could continue working.

That buddy flick was remade in 2001 with George Clooney starring as Danny Ocean alongside ten of this millennium’s matinee idols. The story was again set in Vegas and also revolved around an elaborate casino heist. The picture was such a hit it spawned a couple of successful sequels, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Thirteen (2007).

Ocean’s 8 may trade on the Ocean name, but this novel spinoff represents a refreshing departure for the testosterone-fueled franchise. Besides featuring an all-female gang, the film is set a world away from gaudy Las Vegas amidst New York City’s Jet Setters.

At the point of departure, we’re introduced to dearly-departed Danny Ocean’s little sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock) as she does her best to convince a New Jersey parole board that she’s nothing like her con artist brother. But no sooner is Debbie let out of the slammer than she’s embarking on a brazen shoplifting spree at Bergdorf Goodman’s and duping a desk clerk at a luxury Manhattan hotel into giving her a key to a suite.

Next thing you know, she’s masterminding an elaborate plan to purloin a priceless diamond necklace during the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s

22

annual costume ball. Debbie begins by recruiting a crack team of cohorts, starting with her longtime partner in crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett). The rest of the motley crew is composed of hitech whiz Nine Ball (Rihanna), jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), fashionista Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), big screen diva Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), ex-thief coaxed out of retirement Tammy (Sarah Paulson), and Constance, a trash-talking crook played by the scene-stealing comedienne, Awkwafina.

The real fun starts after the get acquainted phase of the adventure, when the conspiracy is put into action in and around the museum. Besides, a super cool caper, we’re treated to a profusion of enough blink-and-you-missedit cameo appearances to take your breath away.

Dozens of celebrities attend the marvelous Met gala, including Katie Holmes, Kim Kardashian and her sisters Kylie and Kendall, tennis pros Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and designers Tommy Hilfiger and Alexander Wang, to name a few. Ultimately more lighthearted than edgy, Oceans 8 is a fashion-driven, fun-filled affair where all the flair and famous faces serving as backdrop practically upstage a perfectly-delightful, female-centric crime caper.

You go girls!

Excellent (4 stars) Rated PG-13 profanity, drug use and suggestive content In English and German with subtitles Running time: 110 minutes Production Studios: Smokehouse Pictures / Village Roadshow Pictures Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Nationwide — To mute the oppressed has always been in the best interest of the oppressor. When a black voice is raised to oppression, those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it. In other words, “stay in your place” applies as much today as it did during the days of physical slavery.

What’s been lost in this brouhaha is the NFL players purpose for taking a knee.

Trump has changed the narrative… to disrespecting the flag. Trump’s reference to the NFL players as “sons of b” and “that maybe they shouldn’t even be in this country”, serves as a reflection of what the flag and the national anthem truly represents as it pertains to AfricanAmericans. Black Americans are expected to stay in a so-called appointed place and any attempts at emancipation… an extreme reaction will ensue.

To understand present day issues that percolates in America and Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) require one to retrieve the past so that the present may be better understood. Overcoming prevailing social injustices and inequality issues is the intent and a closer examination of what the national anthem and flag truly represents will reveal why it is that taking a knee isn’t disrespecting the flag but is a pursuit for equal respect… not just for SOME Americans… but for ALL Americans.

The flag and national anthem represents racism, before exposing this racism, and why African Americans are expected to amiably go along, it should be acknowledged that not all white people are racist; There are many moral, noble, honorable, soulful white people who aren’t. If not for the contributions of many white abolitionists, especially the magnanimous and valiant efforts of Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips, life in America for African-Americans would perhaps be non-existent today.

President Grant, strong supporter and advocate for annexation of Haiti was eager to see the mass deportation of the newly freed to the Caribbean, where they would once again be subjected to chattel slavery. Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips fought against this horrible scheme—because of their efforts – the U.S. Senate in 1870…by one vote… failed to ratify the pact, contemporaneously saving Black/ African-Americans from being shipped en masse to the Dominican Republic.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June 13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

NEW HAVEN’S GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY RADIO STATION! www.newhavenindependent.org

JOE UGLY IN THE MORNING Weekdays 6-9 a.m.

THE TOM FICKLIN SHOW Mondays 10 a.m.

MAYOR MONDAY!

MERCY QUAYE

Mondays 11 a.m.

Mondays 1 p.m.

“THE SHOW”

“DJ REL”

MICHELLE TURNER Tuesdays 9 a.m.

“WERK IT OUT”

ELVERT EDEN Tuesdays at 2 p.m.

MORNINGS WITH MUBARAKAH

“JAZZ HAVEN”

Wednesdays 9 a.m.

Wednesdays 2 p.m.

STANLEY WELCH

“TALK-SIP”

LOVEBABZ LOVETALK

Thursdays 1 p.m.

Mondays-Fridays 9 a.m.

ALISA BOWENSMERCADO

FRIDAY PUNDITS Fridays 11 a.m.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - June13, 2018 - June 19, 2018

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Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to the Standard Triple Play, Performance Pro 150 Mbps Internet and Voice Unlimited services. Early termination fee applies if all Xfinity services (other than Xfinity Mobile) are cancelled during the agreement term. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, including regulatory recovery fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $8.00/ mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $6.75/mo.), and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after agreement term or promo. After term agreement or DVR promo, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply. Comcast’s service charge for DVR service (including HD Technology Fee) is $19.95 more/mo. (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. Internet: Best Internet service provider claim based on download speeds measured by over 111 million tests taken by consumers at Speedtest.net. Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. Voice: If there is a power outage or network issue, calling, including calls to 911, may be unavailable. Mobile: New Xfinity Internet customers limited to up to two lines pending activation of Internet service. Savings claim compares regular monthly charges for Comcast’s data options and weighted average prices of Verizon ®, AT&T®, T-Mobile ® and Sprint® as of 12/17/17. Taxes/fees included with T-Mobile. Savings does not take into account Xfinity Mobile taxes/fees. Actual savings vary. © 2018 Comcast. All rights reserved. NPA215282-0001 DIV18-2-AA-JuneVA-A7

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5/21/18 4:04 PM