THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016
Financial Justice a Key Warriors Focus at 2016 NAACP Convention Any Kangaroo Out There? New Haven, Bridgeport
INNER-CITYNEWS Volume 27 . No. 2236
Volume 21 No. 2194
Dixwell Librarian Passes The Torch
Ignore “Tough On Crime” Ignore “Tough On Crime” “New Light” “DMC”
Malloy Malloy To To Dems: Dems: Rawls-Ivy moderates.
Color Struck?
Snow in July? Black Celebrities Challenged to Help At-Risk Youth — Tyler Perry,FOLLOW Tom Joyner, and Monica Pearson Already on Board US ON 1
Dear Varick Memorial AME Zion THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
by Elizabeth Hess
Good morning Varick. Pastor has given me his kind permission to speak to you today by way of saying thank you and farewell. I am going to read you a love letter. I wrote it to you, Varick Church and of course, God. It involves some history, both political and personal. In the 1960s, when I was a little girl, we lived in Wethersfield, a very white town just south of Hartford. Racial politics were raging and in response, my parents made critical decisions. We left our town church and began attending a city church in Hartford, the Church of the Good Shepherd. The choir often came to our house for refreshments after practice and someone in the town wrote my daddy’s name on the sidewalk: “Adam Hess is a nigger lover”. By the end of the decade, we had moved to the north end of Hartford. My parents sold the Wethersfield house to their good friends, Dr. Daniels and his wife and six kids, an African American family. This was my political upbringing: while marches and political rallies are important, it is personal action
that speaks the loudest. Two years ago, a young white man named Dylann Roof opened fire on a Bible study class at Mother Emmanuel, an A.M.E. church in Charleston, South Carolina. He killed nine black parishioners, people who had welcomed him into their midst, people who had prayed with him. By explanation, he announced he was hoping to ignite a race war. I lost my mom
in 2011 but I could still hear her voice loud and clear. “Elizabeth, you need to do something.” But what? By her example, I was supposed to walk into the fray, not run away from it. I was supposed to move with love and courage, not act out of fear. So, here I came, a white woman walking up the steps of Varick Memorial AME Zion church on June 21, 2015, four days after a white man had walked into an AME church in South Carolina and killed nine people. I was unsure if this was the right thing to do, perhaps people would think I had no business here, perhaps people just wanted to be left alone. I got to the top of the steps and nervously told a woman greeting people that I was new and I wasn’t sure where to sit. She looked at me with a warm smile and said, “Baby, this is your home as much as it is mine. You sit wherever you like.” That welcome sums up my love for this church. One Sunday, Miss Jeannette took my hand and would not let go until I was standing in front of Reverend Thompson and signing up for membership classes. Another Sunday, after I’d missed a few services, Keisha wondered loudly if I had
fallen off the face of the planet and when was I going to join the choir? I have lived and worked in New Haven for 37 years. My three children were raised and schooled here. Since joining Varick, people have started saying hello to me all over town. A man at the Yale Art Gallery, a woman at Jimmy’s on Whalley Avenue, a woman in Bon-Ton’s in the Hamden Plaza. I went to Martha’s Vineyard and heard a friendly voice, “Don’t I know you from Varick?” And I also hear this: “I love to watch you worship.” Miss Carolyn told me, “It makes me feel good to watch you feel the spirit the way you do.” Varick, you taught me that. It is one of the greatest gifts I am taking with me from this place. And one more gift: Miss Nadine told me again and again, “Miss Liz, I love you.” What started as a piece of social activism grew into a deeply personal experience of friendship and music and gratitude and a newfound love of God and the gifts and opportunities He has placed in my path. One of those opportunities is a new job. I lost my job last summer, to which my church friends said, “The Lord has you. He’ll keep you and watch over you and a new job will
come your way. You wait and see.” They were right. I was hired several months ago to be a clinician in a therapeutic school in the New London area. The job is wonderful but the commute, not so much. So, we bought a house there and now it is time to move on and leave my beloved New Haven and my beloved Varick church. Jeremiah, Chapter 31, verse 33 says, “I will place my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people.” This is how I feel about Varick. You are in my heart and I am in yours. I will leave you with a few lines of a song that expresses my gratitude to the greatest One of all… Because of who you are, I give you glory Because of who you are, I give you praise Because of who you are, I will lift my voice and say, “Lord I worship you because of who you are.” - Elizabeth Hess Note: Elizabeth Hess read this letter at Varick Memorial AME Zion Church this past Sunday, June 18.
such new voice tags from hosts like Middleton broadcasting live each day from the downtown community college. “We have been in New Haven for maybe 40 years and it’s just taken us a long time to figure out where we should be,” Franklin said. “We think this collaborative association with this gorgeous institution and its almost 13,000 students who come here is just extraordinary.” The Gateway-based WNPR news bureau will produce local contributions to the Connecticut network’s daily newscasts as well as to the national “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” the New England News Collaborative and other shoreline reporting projects. WNPR’s daily “Colin McEnroe Show” and “Where We Live” will also broadcast at times from the New Haven studio. The studio will also host a satellite
program for the Institute for Advanced Media (IAM), which was established in 2014 to reach adult learners and veterans. Franklin said that CPBN trains about 50 veterans a year in digital media skills, helping about 85 percent of them get jobs. The partnership also will allow the network to expand its high school internship program, which currently serves about 100 students a year. Diane Orson, WNPR’s New Haven bureau chief, said the new partnership felt like a perfect fit that will allow both institutions to enhance each other’s mission. The news bureau and studio will be on the main floor near the college bookstore. “It is great to be in this beautiful
Live From Gateway ... It’s WNPR! by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
You may soon hear a familiar voice with a new ID tag soon: “This is Faith Middleton of ‘Food Schmooze’ broadcasting from Gateway Community College in New Haven.” That’s because the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN), which is home to WNPR and CPTV, has created a partnership with Gateway Community College. The partnership will create a news bureau for WNPR which broadcasts, among other shows, Middleton’s 38-years-and-running food show and a new degree-granting program in the college’s humanities department that will provide new opportunities for students to get hands-on training in digital media. Officials of the organizations announced the partnership at a press
MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO
Diane Orson, chief of WNPR’s new downtown New Haven news bureau.
event Monday afternoon at Gateway’s downtown campus. WNPR will move its local operations to Gateway from its current Audubon Street studio. No date has
been set yet for the move; the goal is for the fall. CPBN President and CEO Jerry Franklin said about 145,000 people who listen to WNPR will get to hear
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Uprising over healthcare spills onto the Senate floor
By Joelle Fishman and Win Heimer, People’s World June 20, 2017
The message of the standing room only crowd at Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s emergency field hearing on health care at the State Capitol on Monday morning was clear: Do not repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and do not allow the Senate Republican version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) to pass and leave millions without coverage. The packed hearing, called on one day’s notice, took place hours before Democrats took over the floor of the U.S. Senate to protest an expected vote on health care overhaul that Republican leaders have been crafting in secret with no public input or oversight. The next two weeks are considered “code red” in the fight to stop a Republican maneuver to repeal the ACA. The House-passed AHCA would end coverage for 23 million people, gut Medicare, raise costs for seniors, de-fund Planned Parenthood, and re-instate the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those with “pre-existing conditions,” while providing huge tax cuts
Connecticut residents packed the field hearing at the State Capitol called by Sen. Richard Blumenthal to voice their opposition to repeal of the Affordable Care Act. | Win Heimer
for the super rich. On Monday night one senator after another took the floor to oppose the cruelty of the expected bill and to call upon the people of the country to make their voices heard. Blumenthal passionately told of the hard facts, personal testimonies, anger and fear expressed at his emer-
gency field hearing in Hartford that morning. Reflecting the mood of the country, health care professionals, advocacy groups and Connecticut residents had lined up to testify in opposition to the attempt by Republicans to push a bill through that will leave millions devastated and cost lives. Each speaker
received thunderous applause, as did Blumenthal. According to Protect Our Care Connecticut, in this state alone 220,300 people would become uninsured including children, disabled and elderly. One woman testified that the ACA saved her hundreds of thousand of
dollars when she needed extensive and complicated treatment for an autoimmune disease. “It literally saved my life,” she said. Another woman detailed the painful debilitation of her daughter as a result of opioid addiction and urged that money targeted to fight this scourge not be eliminated from the healthcare budget as would be done in the AHCA. Speaking of the Republicans’ plan, Blumenthal said “We will use every tool at our disposal to limit this measure…Speed and secrecy are a recipe for disaster.” He vowed to personally read into the record all of the testimony presented at the hearing and promised to hold another hearing “as soon as we know more” Looking toward the future as he has done at other rallies, Blumenthal said to loud applause, “ultimately we will have a single payer system.” Testimony was presented from Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, the state’s Healthcare Advocate, representatives of the Connecticut AIDS Coalition, New Haven Legal Services, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Protect Our Care CT, the Connecticut AlCon’t on page 7
Any Kangaroo Warriors Out There? by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
A challenger for the Board of Education has a new name for his supporters: “kangaroo warriors.” Jamell Cotto, who’s challenging incumbent Board of Ed member Edward Joyner for an elected seat, unveiled that name at Ward 25’s Democratic Town Committee meeting at Edgewood School on Thursday evening. The two candidates (along with the mayoral contenders) took turns adressing the gathering to try to drum up support for a party endorsement at next month’s nominating convention. Cotto spoke first. Describing himself as “a parent, not a politician,” he suggested that more voices need to be involved in the school board’s governance. He promised that his first action, if elected, would be creating an oversight committee of parents. After receiving regular trainings on the budget, cultural competency and restorative practices, this panel
Jamell Cotto.
Edward Joyner.
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would have the chance to exert veto power over board decisions. “One day, I was staring at the map of New Haven, trying to figure out ways to beat Dr. Joyner, and I realized that the map of New Haven looked like a kangaroo,” Cotto said. “So I said, ‘Wow, that’s perfect.’ “Let us cradle our broken educational infrastructure like the kangaroo cares for its joey. Let us stand together and demand a change by saying no to 40 years of bad practices, saying no to hidden agendas, and personal vendettas at the expense of our children and communities. Let us become kangaroo warriors together.’” In his campaign, Cotto is presenting himself as a new face ready to bring fresh perspective and to change the dynamic on the Board of Ed. When his turn came to speak, Joyner subtly referenced his opponent’s relative lack of experience. “First of all, Jamell, good job,” he began, adding. “I want people to know that I taught his aunt.” Then Joyner portrayed himself as an educational expert who’s willing to
make tough decisions. He claimed he convinced James P. Comer, the famed Yale psychiatrist who stressed that schools should foster children’s social development, to conduct experiments in urban areas. He said he has consulted school systems across the country and the globe. “I’m 70 years old, but I have a record of what I’m running on. You don’t have to guess with me,” he said. “All you have to do is Google my name. You won’t found out that I’ve ever stolen anything from anybody, that I ever choked anybody, that I ever lied to anybody, that I ever, ever extorted money from anybody. You’ll find out that I’m a man who’s been married for almost 50 years with two children, grandchildren and a community of young people that I have mentored not just here but around the country.” “I have the ethics, I have the time, I have the experience,” he concluded, “and I have the commitment to keep moving this board forward.”
A&I Paints Juneteenth THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
go, and they became free at the end of it. One day a year—June 19—is that celebration of freedom. He added that talking about Juneteenth is a habit he recently picked up after learning that his 21-year-old niece, Ranasjea Smith, didn’t know about the day. As he saw it approaching in June of this year, he said he felt “that we had to do something,” and partnered with Arts & Ideas to make it happen. Amid a whirl of brushes, paint blobs, and impromptu palettes, Storm wasn’t able to talk to the whole group about the meaning of the day. So he attempted to show it instead, with a sunset that came together one stroke at a time. Before him, pint-sized attendees took note, painting thick bands of orange and yellow, slithers of brown and black, white and pink shiny suns glistening from the page. With Storm’s direction at the front of the tent, the kids added trees, each taking on its own leafy, fat or knotted shape. As Storm watched them, he said, his celebration of freedom doubled as gratitude for freedom of expression. “I need these kids to help me remember how to paint again,” he said. “Their expression helps me, and I think when I express myself it helps them.” Of Juneteenth, he added that “I wish it was more popular ... more of a household term.”
by LUCY GELLMAN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Local artist Katro Storm painted a setting, peach-colored sun—and passed on the story of emancipation to young ears who hadn’t heard it before. That was the story Monday afternoon on the New Haven Green, as Storm led “Painting with Katro: Celebrating Juneteenth!” as part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Held at the green’s outdoor festival center, the event attracted a handful of kids and families, who painted tree-studded sunsets for an hour. Not just sunsets, said Storm at the event—vivid African sunsets, intended to conjure roots half a world away. Juneteenth is a commemoration of the day in 1865 when soldiers from the Union arrived in Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended, and told the remaining 250,000 slaves in Texas that they were free. That marked the official end of slavery in the United States—although it was followed by Jim Crow and The New Jim Crow. As a few kids trickled in early for the session, Storm spoke to some of them about the holiday, breaking down his story for the youngest of the bunch. Africans were taken forcibly to the U.S. in ships. Once in the country, they were imprisoned as slaves. There was a war to let them
LUCY GELLMAN PHOTO
Katro Storm paints the first horizon line.
December Casbarro works on the first part of her horizon line.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
“Invisible Ink: Navigating Racism in Corporate America” Yale-Educated African American Attorney Shares the Truth About Being Black in the Corporate World
Author Stephen M. Graham sums up bias in corporate America: “If you are white, your outstanding performance is applauded. If you are black, it is deemed the result of affirmative action or luck. If you are white, your divergent opinion is deemed a different point of view. If you are black, it is deemed to be wrong.” Nationwide — Author Stephen M. Graham is pleased to announce today the publication of his inaugural literary offering, INVISIBLE INK: Navigating Racism in Corporate America. Described as a “must read” by one reviewer who wrote that Graham “brilliantly captured the feelings of fear, dismay, anger, self-doubt, shock, numbness and never-ending mind trickery, we [African Americans in the corporate world] go through just trying to do our jobs.” Invisible Ink recounts Graham’s experiences with bias and racism in corporate America against a background of prejudice in the larger society. Unlike racially motivated violence or overt bigotry, racism in the business world is usually subtle, often going undetected unless coaxed to the surface. Such racism is insidious and deeply ingrained in corporate America. Succeeding in this world means battling prejudice on a daily basis, while many white colleagues maintain racial
bias doesn’t exist or is of little consequence. Graham’s personal stories reveal the ever-changing contours of a racial bias that denigrates and demeans through continuous, low-grade attacks, grinding down its victims over time. The author’s hard-hitting commentary regarding a world lacking in true diversity sites an example: “Of the 50,000 partners in major corporate law firms, only 1.8% are African American, and fewer than that are equity partners.” This is played out in an environment where African Americans are continuously subjected to a debilitating undercurrent of bias that too many, on both sides of the divide, pretend does not exist. Countering this pretending was one of the main reasons why Graham wrote his book. Invisible Ink stresses that racism in polite society hasn’t disappeared; it has adapted. It has mutated. There are times when the racist blows his cover, inadvertently failing to use
Stephen Michael Graham
Author Stephen M. Graham
the code, and African Americans in the corporate world are allowed to see the danger. But the disguise is quickly reapplied, the smile re-
turns, and blacks are left to wonder whether their eyes and ears have deceived them; lulled into thinking that since racism is less loud, it must be less prevalent. Contributing to this false sense are the corporate leaders skilled at saying the right thing while going about business as usual. Although most leaders in corporate America are quick to condemn blatant bias in the larger society, they tend to turn a blind eye to the subtle strains of bias pulsing within their own organizations, doing little to counter their effects. Focused firmly on profit generation, they are unconcerned if opportunity is not allocated fairly, failing to fully appreciate how all bias, the seemingly insignificant transgressions within their own organizations and the more egregious behavior in the larger society, is connected and symbiotic, all contributing to the creation of an environment conducive to racism. Graham sums up bias in corpo-
rate America: “If you are white, your outstanding performance is applauded. If you are black, it is deemed the result of affirmative action or luck. If you are white, your divergent opinion is deemed a different point of view. If you are black, it is deemed to be wrong.” Not enough attention is given to bias in corporate America and its devastating economic effect on the African American community. Due to the many prominent successful African Americans in corporate America and the resulting “diversity illusion,” bias in corporate America is almost looked at as a victimless crime. It is not! Although the issues addressed in “Invisible Ink” can make for some uncomfortable reading, the book contains an underlying message of hope and strength. Graham notes, “Despite the challenges I have faced due solely to the color of my skin, I have achieved a significant measure of success: Yale
“Juneteenth” Fair Celebrates Modern-Day Freedom by HAILEY FUCHS
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Descendants of New Haven’s 29th Colored Regiment gathered Saturday in Criscuolo Park, the land where the soldiers once trained for the Civil War. The descendants gathered to host a fair for Juneteenth, a commemoration of the day in 1876 when soldiers told the remaining 250,000 slaves in Texas that they were free, two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At the event, New Haven businesses and not-for-profits including Hands on Moving, the Kiyama Movement, and the Work Force Alliance ran booths to promote their missions, as did the New Haven Police Department, which is recruiting new officers from the community. Visitors Rperused as a DJ played tunes and Waterbury’s Berkeley Knights Drill Team and Drum Corps performed.
HAILEY FUCHS PHOTO
John Franklin, Kelly Mero, Ronald Jeffrey Brace Sr. at Saturday’s event.
According to Kelly Mero, president of the Descendants of Connecticut’s 29th Colored Regiment, the event sought to celebrate the idea of “modern day freedom.” To Mero, this means financial literacy, responsibility, education, employment,
diversity, opportunity, and (health) maintenance — an acrostic of the word freedom itself. The fair marked the revival of the Descendants of the Connecticut 29th Colored Regiment, which had remained dormant since the group
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unveiled a monument to their ancestors nine years ago. The black granite stelae, arranged in a circle with an image of two soldiers and a history of the regiment in the center, bear the names of Connecticut’s Civil War Veterans.
Mero, inspired by her late father, who was a founding member and president of the Descendants group, reestablished the regiment to maintain his legacy. The group has seven members. Mero shared plans to expand and celebrate all facets of “modern freedom” in the 2017-2018 year including a “black untied” event focused on educational advancement. In a year, she hopes fundraising efforts can provide a scholarship for New Haven students. Cherisa Lloyd was at the event to spread awareness about autism, a condition she said is prevalent in urban communities. After her son was diagnosed at 18 months, she started her not-for-profit Leandre’s World to provide support for other families with autistic chidlren. She noted that blacks and Latinos especially tend to fear stigma about autism and remain silent on the issue. One parent at her support group expressed hesitance to tell her family in fear of relatives treating her child differently, for in-
Harp, Paca Portray 2 New Havens THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
In Mayor Toni Harp’s New Haven, violent crime has fallen nearly 75 percent in six years. In challenger Marcus Paca’s New Haven, bullets still fly in struggling neighborhoods, with victims shot “even in their own homes.” Young people are flocking downtown for walkable living and a startup-friendly culture, in Harp’s city. In Paca’s, economic development hasn’t touched the Westville, Grand Avenue or the Dixwell main drags. Harp’s New Haven hasn’t had a property tax increase for the last two years. Paca’s city is perilously close to one because of endangered state aid. Those strikingly different takes on the Elm City’s current outlook were presented in tandem Thursday night at a Ward 25 Democratic Town Committee (DTC) meeting at Edgewood School. Candidates for mayor, school board member, city clerk, probate judge and alder all lined up to make their pitch to the residents in the Westville flats of Ward 25 — an area known for its high voter turnout, campaign volunteerism and open process for endorsing Democratic candidates. Each of New Haven’s 30 wards gets two DTC co-chairs, elected to two-year terms, who help shape the city’s political landscape by select-
ing which candidates will run on the Democratic ticket at the party’s convention next month. The two leaders may vote for whichever candidate they personally support. In Ward 25, Co-Chairs Mike Slattery and Janis Underwood vowed to endorse whomever the ward’s entire committee favors in an extensive process—that in at least one past instance meant voting at the convention against a candidate they didn’t personally support. “The city is the right size that if we can put enough people in a room, it’s worth their time,” Slattery said. “If any campaign has the expectation that they’ll get workers, people to knock doors for them, then they should show up and talk to us.” Roughly 75 people packed into the Edgewood School library to listen to eight-minute speeches and chat with their representatives over fruit salad and brownies. The campaigns tried to put literature into as many hands as possible, while organizers reminded everyone to stay civil. “This meeting is not a debate,” Underwood noted at the start. The forum marked the first time this election season that Harp and Paca have pitched their candidacies at the same forum, offering an initial look at how they will cast their campaigns. Both are Democrats; Paca is looking to challenge Harp in a party primary. Edgewood Alum’s Return Paca spoke first, stripping off his jacket midway through the presenta-
CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTOS
Harp, Paca at their first joint forum Thursday night.
tion of his résumé. He noted that he’d attended Edgewood School, where he was bullied for a speech impediment, until his mother complained and got him a speech pathologist. “Now, I was fortunate. People came to me when they saw I was staring in the wrong direction and put me back on the right track. I had mentors and teachers,” he said. “New Haven had some good people working for it them and some very good people working for it now. As residents and citizens, it’s our duty to make sure we have the program, training and foundation to see that our children
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succeed in post-secondary opportunities.” Paca turned to his own “quasigovernmental” work experience, discussing setting up national marketing campaigns for Verizon, heading a program to weatherize homes in Fairfield County and training workers for jobs in the healthcare industry. He breezed through his time as Harp’s city labor relations director; neither he nor she mentioned that she fired him. “I have dedicated my life to helping New Haven,” Paca said. “What we need now is more energetic leader-
ship.” He criticized Mayor Harp for requesting a municipal budget increase given the state’s dire economic straits, for allowing wasteful spending at the Board of Education and public safety employees’ overtime, and for ignoring crime and the lack of job opportunities outside downtown. “I’m up here because I care about New Haven, and I believe everyone deserves a fair shake in this town. I’m tired of grandparents telling me they’re traveling to Austin or Charlotte to see their grandkids, because there’s not a lot of opportunities here in New Haven,” he concluded. “What I want to ask each and every one of you is to consider a new, fresh vision for New Haven.” Mayor Harp took a matter-of-fact tone in presenting her record, reading off a slew of statistics that demonstrated improvements in safety, education and employment during her administration. Without asking for reelection, Harp let her record speak for itself. Since 2011, violent crime and homicides had both decreased by nearly three-quarters, and nonfatal shootings had been halved, she noted. “When you look at my public safety track record, we’ve made more progress than any administration has
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Con’t on page 3
healthcare spills
liance for Retired Americans and many others who described the disastrous effects the Republican plan would have on their personal lives. The field hearing followed protests against the Republican “no-healthcare plan” in Connecticut and across the country during the Memorial Day congressional recess. Voters made it clear they had the 2018 elections in mind. The 100 people who gathered in the rain on the New Haven Green holding up cardboard tombstones with captions exposing the horrors of the plan, were told that they made an impact far beyond Connecticut. “Thank you for your activism,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal told them. “Thank you for making your voices heard.” Two days earlier, at New Haven’s Bella Vista senior housing complex, dozens of residents and guests applauded as Sen Chris Murphy and Rep. Rosa DeLauro arrived for a forum on healthcare. “Enough is enough,” said Murphy at Bella Vista “We have to speak as one” against making $600 billion in cuts to health care in order to give $600 billion in tax cuts to billionaires, drug and insurance companies, and allowing 23 million people to lose all coverage. When one audience member said she didn’t see how the bill could be stopped in the Senate, DeLauro reminded her that years earlier when it seemed impossible, Newt Gingrich’s “Contract for America” that threatened every social program was stopped by a large public outcry. The first version of Trump’s American Health Care Act was also stopped earlier this year when the town hall meetings of Republican members of Congress were flooded with angry constituents who made it clear that they did not want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and all its benefits. The same outrage is now being directed at the Senate by many resistance groups, unions and civil rights organizations across the country. The National Women’s Law Center issued a call to flood the Senate phone lines and demand that the Republican attack on health care be stopped because it “threatens the health care of millions of people including women, elderly people, children, and people with disabilities.” Voters in eight states with Republican senators up for election in 2018 are especially being urged to jam the phone lines with calls from constituents. Those states include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Vir
They Danced On The Green All Night by LUCY GELLMAN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Svenja Wacker is trying to teach her daughters Stella and Luna that it’s OK to move to their own rhythms. So when she found out that a big, public dance lesson was rolling into town, she didn’t miss a beat. Or in this case, a one-two step. She scooped up her daughters into the car, and drove right for downtown New Haven. Saturday evening, Wacker joined hundreds of others who flocked to the New Haven Green for a massive dance lesson hosted by Alisa’s House of Salsa and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas (A&I). Priming the city’s new stage — and the audience — for musical acts Troker and Fulaso, salsa instructor Alisa Bowens-Mercado whizzed through the basics of salsa, bachata, cumbia, and merengue, making dancers out of even the crowd’s most hesitant.
Alisa Bowens-Mercado and members of the Island Touch Dance Academy lead the session. Dancers from Island Touch Dance Academy.
Con’t from page 5
Modern-Day Freedom
stance, she said. At a nearby booth, Warren Barnett, whose great-great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, shared the history of the 29th Regiment. Frederick Douglas actually spoke to the soldiers on that very plot of land centuries ago, he said. A few paces away from the memorial, members of the 54th Colored Regiment dressed in military attire sat beside a historical replica of a soldiers’ tent. Ronald Jeffrey Brace Senior recalled how his great-greatuncle Peter Brace fought in the Civil War. John Franklin, another volunteer, underscored the importance of teaching younger generations about their history. Solomon Maye from the Elephant in the Room Boxing Club and Xavier Richardson from Hands on Moving agreed that few people know about Juneteenth in the first place. “You had slaves who really weren’t free,” Maye noted. “We’ll see a lot of history books, but you won’t see black history books,” Maye said. “You might see pamphlets during February,” Black History Month, but not much more.
Mother-daughter: we got this.
“One, two, three, hip,” BowensMercado cried from the stage. “One, two, three and hip! You are officially dancing bachata!” Wacker soaked in the directions from the front of the stage. She said she doesn’t like dancing, but wouldn’t have skipped the event even if it had rained all Saturday afternoon (it stopped just in time for the event). Joining hands with Stella and Luna, she stepped from side to side, applauding as Stella worked in an impromptu spin. Her husband Zac Elston bounced from foot to foot beside them, pumping his arms and raising them over his head as a bachata version of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me” hit its chorus. “I want to teach them that it doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad or you suck, you just gotta enjoy it,” Wacker said, unbuckling the black straps on her sandals as she spoke. “I can’t wear these, I wanna dance!” she said as music bubbled up for the next song.
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Just an arm’s length away, Nivia Mendez was mastering the same bachata steps, adding a waveand-shimmy combo with one arm while finishing chocolate-studded ice cream with the other. A friend she had come with, Cynthia Boll, had just mastered bachata as the music faded again, and BowensMercado announced that the group was going to transition to samba. “I love this!” she said. “All right, here we go!” BowensMercado shouted into the mic. Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” crackled over the speakers. “One, two, three, four. Front back, and we walk! Let’s do it again!” Before her, the crowd had grown from around 20 at 5:45 p.m. to over 100. And it was still growing, with people streaming into the green with lawn chairs, towels, picnic baskets and bottles of water, juice and wine. Inching closer to the stage as Mars pronounced don’t believe me just watch!, New Havener Karla
Neugberger worked her steady hands up her mother Nancy Durnholz’ biceps, holding onto her as the two rocked to the music, dissolving into laughter ever other verse. The two had come together to slip into Durnholz’ past life as a dancer, Neugberger said. The music melted into a pulsing remix Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito”. Neugberger and Durnholz took hands, and began to pound out dance steps over the still-damp grass. Tengo que bailar contigo hoy, Fonsi and Daddy Yankee sang over the speakers. Closer to the center of the green, fellow mother-daughter pair Nilsa and Olga Nieves had joined hands to the song, closing their eyes as they danced. Around them, the crowd continued to grow. So did Kimberly and Bobbi Lawrence, who took salsa lessons with Bowens-Mercado before the event, and said they didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get another lesson. Other families had come out as a chance to let their youngest members learn a few moves before they were even walking. With eyes glued to his older brother Qiyao Wang, Lucas Wang got his first salsa lesson from his grandfather’s arms. “Okay, this is our last one!” Bowens-Mercado said as a Latin version of Coldplay’s “Clocks” crackled over the speakers for the last number. “Join hands with your neighbor.” From the stage to the flagpole on the green, groups of friends and new acquaintances held hands, bodies linked in new configurations as they bobbed to the music. Across the green, members of the still-growing crowd joined hands and began to sway, some employing new salsa moves. “One heart, one love, one people, one truth,” Bowens-Mercado said, looking out over the crowd. A smattering of applause went up into the air as the song wound down. Bowens-Mercado and fellow dancers took their bows, and left the stage. An assistant came out to ready the sound system for Fulaso. And in the silence and rising sound of chatter, a few people kept dancing on their own.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Blumenthal To Hold Emergency Hearing On Health Care by Christine Stuart
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
HARTFORD, CT — With no opportunity to debate the health care measure being drafted by his Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate behind closed doors, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is holding his own “emergency field hearing” Monday, June 19. “The Republicans have decided they’re going to pass a Republican bill repealing the Affordable Care Act,” Blumenthal said Friday at an unrelated press conference. He said there are 10 to 13 Senate Republicans drafting a proposal, but there is nothing in writing yet as a result of “this secret process involving only Republicans.” The only thing that’s public is the legislation the House passed in May,
CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal Friday at the Legislative Office Building
which now Republican President Donald Trump has called “mean.” “When Donald Trump calls something mean you know that it is really
mean,” Blumenthal said. The House bill, which Trump praised during a Rose Garden press conference following its passage,
would strip coverage from 23 million Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Not everyone, including Senate Republicans, are happy with the process. “They are frustrated that they are stuck with a bill and have no alternative right now,” Blumenthal said Friday. “All of us are frustrated that this process has been secret and nothing yet has been put in writing.” He said it’s likely they will have to vote on something next week that they haven’t seen and has not yet been put on paper. “That is a disservice to democracy more than just a problem with American healthcare,” Blumenthal said. The hearing will be held from 9:05 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday in Room 310 at the state Capitol in Hartford.
Dixwell Librarian Passes The Torch by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
When Tyshawna Neal-Dixon was in her early teens, showing up to Dixwell’s Stetson Branch Library with her brother to use the computers and pick up books, she didn’t know that the foundation for her future was being laid every time she stepped in the doors. She’d grown up in the Dixwell neighborhood a few feet away in the Florence Virtue Homes on Charles Street. She enjoyed spending time at the library, particularly after her mother died. Unbeknownst to her, the then-new librarian there, Diane Brown, who would soon become the branch manager, had been asked by her sister, who had become her guardian, to keep an extra eye on her. Ultimately, Brown went a step forward, planting a seed that is now shaping Neal-Dixon’s life. Later this month Neal-Dixon begins work at Fair Haven’s branch library — becoming the city’s third black librarian, and completing a journey that began under the tutelage of a nationally recognized community librarian who has made her own corner of Dixwell a safe and nurturing haven for young people in the neighborhood. “Sasha” “I was here all the time,” NealDixon recalled. “Ms. Diane would
MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO
Neal-Dixon with Brown, who inspired her to become a librarian.
let me do my homework in her office. But I would shelve books.” “She would be here all the time and we would call her Sasha because we couldn’t remember her name,” Brown recalled with a chuckle. But Brown never forgot, how the quiet and diligent girl worked at the library and often talked to Neal-Dixon about what she wanted to do with her future. “I remember that what she wanted to do most after she got out of high school, was to go away to college,” Brown said. “But I told her, I think
you would make a great librarian.” And Brown kept saying it as the teenaged Neal-Dixon worked her way through high school. But Neal-Dixon didn’t commit to the idea automatically. Not because she didn’t want to be a librarian, she said, but because was a little scared that she couldn’t be like Brown, a famed local firebrand who has worked to transform the Stetson Branch Library into Dixwell’s heartbeat. Brown received her master of library science degree in 2004. She
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became branch manager just two years later, taking over from Maria Tonelli. And all of that coincided with Neal-Dixon’s tenure as a teenager at the library. “I was a bit intimidated,” Neal-Dixon said. “Here was this beautiful black woman who was in charge of this library, who I thought was the branch manager when I first started coming here. She was my inspiration.” Neal-Dixon continued to volunCon’t on page 19
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Live From Gateway
building which to me has always symbolized a sense of the promise and possibility that educated, wellinformed and engaged people can offer to their community and the world around them,” Orson said Monday. “That has never been more important. “It feels like a great time for this to happen. There also is a wealth of great story opportunities in this part of the state from education to the arts to transportation to health and we can’t wait to dig into that.” Gateway President Dorsey Kendrick said she was thrilled that the partnership was one of the last to come online before her tenure at the helm ends. Kendrick will retire on June 30. She said the partnership means more opportunities for students including internships and scholarships for Gateway students interested in broadcast and digital media careers. “There should be many lanes of opportunity available for people and this is just one more lanes for those who many not have worked out in others,” she said. “I’m just really proud to be able to help in some way to make this become a reality.” Evelyn Gard, director of public affairs and marketing for Gateway, said that CPBN already has an established curriculum. The college will be responsible for getting that curriculum accredited as an associate degree program that would then be a pathway for a student to pursue a four-year degree. Mary Ellen Cody, dean of development and community partnerships for Gateway, said the partnership came together just five short months ago through meetings with CPBN and Gateway’s foundation board. She said over the summer CBPN will make its transition to Gateway. The target date for the academic program is January. “They will be essentially self-sufficient,” Gard said. “They’re not taxing any of the resources from the college, so it’s a whole new operation.” Mark Ojakian, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system president, said that the partnership highlights community colleges as places to get high-quality, affordable instruction. “This is another one of those opportunities,” he said. “This really is the best of what we do in our community colleges. Everybody is welcome here.”
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
State Will Use Rainy Day Fund To Close $107.2M Budget Hole
Best of Edinburgh Award Winner
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JUNE 23–24
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CHRISTINE STUART / CTNEWSJUNKIE
Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes talks to reporters this past May
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
The state is expected to end the 2017 fiscal year with a $107.2 million shortfall, according a monthly budget report from Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes. The $107.2 million deficit is an improvement over last month’s projections and will be closed with money from the Rainy Day Fund. Connecticut is expected to balance its budget by the end of the fiscal year. Technically, if more revenue is realized before Sept. 1 then it could be used to lower the amount of money the state has to transfer from the Rainy Day Fund to cover the shortfall. Meanwhile, things were much worse a month ago when the state expected to end the year with a $215.5 million deficit. The legislature was able to take some action to reduce the size of the deficit by moving $93.4 million to the general fund from off-budget accounts. At the same time, revenues improved by about $54.3 million and spending was cut an additional $67.9 million.
Since last month, revenues have improved in some areas, according to Barnes. The corporation tax increased $50.7 million and surpassed the May 1 consensus revenue total. Federal grants also increased about $35 million and inheritance and estate taxes improved by about $13 million. The income tax and sales tax continue to under perform. The sales tax estimates were reduced $34.1 million and tax refund estimates were increased by about $25 million. After all the numbers are considered, the state will end the year with about $128.4 million in its Rainy Day Fund for any future contingencies. State Comptroller Kevin Lembo will be asked to certify the numbers by the end of the month. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders have been unable to agree to a new twoyear budget starting July 1. Without a budget, Malloy is expected to make an announcement Wednesday about how he plans to define what essential services will receive funding as negotiations on a final deal continue.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Graduates Shed “New Light” On Adversity by LUCY GELLMAN
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Jadah Moore encountered an unexpected pregnancy and the need to get a job before she could finish high school — and she still made it on time joining 13 fellow students Tuesday in completing her studies at New Light High School. Moore participated Tuesday morning in a sun-dappled ceremony on the New Light grounds in Wooster Square. Congratulating students on “the academic success that has brought you to this day and will bring you forward,” schools Superintendent Reggie Mayo conferred the degrees. New Light is one of the city’s alternative high schools, designed specifically for students who have not succeed- LUCY GELLMAN PHOTO ed in traditional school environments. Jadah Moore receives her scholarship at the graduation. In 2015, it moved from a location on Dixwell Avenue to its current location on Wooster Square. With a total student body around 70—that’s up from 25 three years ago, said Special Education Teacher Derek Stephenson— staff members are able to dedicate time to students who have rejected other programs, or found themselves facing depression, anger management, and unexpected pregnancies. That was the case for Moore, who began her studies at New Light after becoming pregnant in 2015. On day Scenes from Tuesday’s graduation.. one, she had walked down the hall, introducing herself to each teacher before asking the guidance counselor “what am I going to do?” The counselor told her she would have to dedicate time and energy to her studies, but that the school community was there to help. So Moore, long inspired by her grandmother to become a rehabilitative counselor, put her nose to the grindstone, and started studying. She didn’t stop studying, she recalled, because she didn’t want to lose momentum. Late in the year, she took the SATs shortly before delivering her daughter Alyah, working on college Sheena Carreto: “I gave up” before New Light. 2335 Dixwell Ave. Thursday prep materials while she went into Jun. 29, 2017 Hamden, CT 06518 the hospital during a 41st week of her pregnancy. As Alyah grew, she applied 6pm-9pm 203-407-0111 to Gateway Community College, adding hours at the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) that would give her job training. She kept coming 20% of the sales* will be given to Elm City Club. By joining us for to school. this meal, you help raise money for Funds for The Elm City Youth Tuesday morning, she wiped away Club. tears as Mayo presented her with a leather-encased diploma from Dr. Cordlandt V. R. Creed Health & Sports Sciences High School and cer- Interested in helping out the community? tificate from New Light. As Wooster Visit facebook.com/tgifridays.eastcoast to Square Alder Aaron Greenberg pre- discover other benefit events happening at sented her with a $500 check from the other neighborhood Friday’s®. Historic Wooster Square Association and START Bank, Aylah ran up to her, Jashaon Taliafero and art teacher Mike Pavano. and she scooped her up in her arms.
“At first, I thought it would be too much of a challenge,” she said. “But I got so much help.” Moore personified the obstacle-hopping spirit that many of the 14 graduates faced to get to Tuesday’s ceremony. Holding a bouquet and shiny balloons after the ceremony, grad Sheena Carretto said she “had gave up” on her studies at Wilbur Cross High School two years ago, when her mom discovered New Light. She recalled walking into an interview with Principal Larry Conaway, and having the whole mood of the room shift. “You seem like a smart girl,” she said he’d said. “Too smart to give up.” So she didn’t. Inspired to become a translator and registered nurse after translating for her father on his visits to doctor’s appointments, she decided to start afresh at New Light. She struggled through her classes, but got through them. She dragged herself to school after working the 4-10 a.m. shift at a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts. After becoming pregnant earlier this year, she decided “not to stop believing in myself,” and spend the long hours it took to finish.
Elm City Club
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Originally, she said, she’d thought of heading to college directly. Now she said she’s planning to wait until the baby is born in December, and work as she prepares for further studies. She plans to attend an institution of higher education in 2018, she said. Jashon Taliafero had also given up on school, struggling with anger management while working through his freshman and sophomore years at Wilbur Cross. His mom found New Light, and suggested it to him. The small class size and specialized help had pulled him through to graduation, he said. As they and members of the class of 2017 entered the New Light patio, graduation speaker and Quinnipiac University Professor Don C. Sawyer reminded them that those obstacles weren’t over—but students were likely better equipped to deal with them now. He had them each stand, and take an oath, repeating after him. “It’s so awesome to be this intelligent,” they bellowed. “I am a natural genius. I unleash the power of my brilliant mind. I release all fear of success. I deserve to succeed and I choose to do so now.”
Elm City Club Thursday Jun. 29, 2017 6pm-9pm
2335 Dixwell Ave. Hamden, CT 06518 203-407-0111
20% of the sales* will be given to Elm City Club. By joining us for this meal, you help raise money for Funds for The Elm City Youth Club.
Interested in helping out the community? Visit facebook.com/tgifridays.eastcoast to discover other benefit events happening at other neighborhood Friday’s®.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
LEAP Launches Free Youth Community Swim Team
What: With support from the USA Swimming Foundation, LEAP is starting a seven-week competitive community swim team this summer for youth ages 6 to 15 to join with no cost. Children do not need to be in other LEAP programs to participate in the swim team. Where: LEAP Community Center at 31 Jefferson Street, New Haven, CT 06511 When: Swim team tryouts for all skill levels will be held on Friday, June 23, 2017, 6 pm - 8 pm, and Saturday, June 24, 2017, 10 am - 12 pm. It is mandatory that kids try out so that we can place them in the appropriate group based on skill level. Participants must demonstrate their ability to swim the length of the pool without stopping. If children are not able to meet this standard, we will recommend they instead join LEAP’s swim lessons that occur year-round. Evening swim team practices will be from 6-7:30 pm at the heated LEAP pool at 31 Jefferson Street in New Haven. Practice will begin Wednesday, June 28th, and meets will be held Saturdays starting July
15th (10 am-1 pm). Contact: Elvert Eden, Director of Aquatics at LEAP 31 Jefferson St New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 773-0770 eeden@leapforkids. org Leapforkids.org Who: LEAPs mission is to develop the strengths and talents of young leaders who implement year-round, community and school-based programming designed to achieve positive academic and social outcomes for children living in high poverty urban neighborhoods. Since 1992, LEAP (www.leapforkids.org) has led the movement to provide children and youth with opportunities to thrive in all areas of their lives. Through a year-round after-school and summer camp program, LEAP serves more than 1,000 young people each year, ages 7 through 15, with a literacy-based curriculum and classes in the arts, computer science, swimming, athletics, camping, cooking, and team building. In addition, LEAP trains and employs more than 200 high school and college students to help run these programs.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Demetrius Shipp Jr: All Eyes On Him by Carter Higgins, BDO Contributor
For those of us growing up in the 90’s, rapper Tupac Shakur was more than just a hip-hop artist. He was a revolutionary, a brilliant, sometime controversial artist who spoke the truth in every song, interview and movie he was in. He was also cut down in his prime at the tender age of 25. As the son of a Black Panther, he was the perfect mix of intelligent lyricism to uplift a generation with West Coast gangsta rap. To put it simply, his life story has been long overdue. Now, with All Eyez On Me, the full length film about the rapper’s life (in theaters Friday, June 16th, which would have been Shakur’s 46th birthday), the wait is over. ‘Pac is played by Demetrius Shipp, Jr, a 28-year-old young man with no previous acting experience with dreams of being a music producer like his dad. But there was one thing that he had going for him out of all the thousands of other actor hopefuls to land this role: all his life he had been told he looked like Tupac. “It started off when I was a Sophomore in high school,” Shipp said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon. “Friends said ‘Demetrius is cool, but we’ll just call you Pac.’” The detailed biopic, which is
projected to debut with $20 million at the box office, is named for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s fourth and final album released before his still-unsolved murder in 1996 at age 25. It paints a detailed picture of the hip-hop star’s life, from his Harlem upbringing by Black Panther activist parents to his formative years in Oakland, Calif., where he got his start performing with the group Digital
Underground. Born and raised in Carson, Calif., Shipp never dreamed of becoming an actor. His acting debut was in a sixth-grade Christmas play, as a comic-relief character named Bubblegum Bart. “I stole the show then, to be honest,” he says. “I don’t even know how I got put in that. It was just like, ‘Hey, do you wanna do this?’ And I was like, ‘Whatever.’ ”
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Shipp was working at a 24 Hour Fitness when an online casting call went out for Eyez in 2011. He submitted an audition tape at the behest of his cousin, who saw the uncanny resemblance to Shakur, which was later brought to movie producer L.T. Hutton by his father, Demetrius Shipp Sr. His dad had worked with Hutton at Death Row Records in the late ’90s and produced 2Pac’s single Toss It Up. One of the most challenging parts of playing ‘Pac was the physical transformation for Shipp. Many days of shooting included two hours in the makeup chair having nearly two dozen fake tattoos applied to his torso. He lost 10 pounds and worked out vigorously to achieve Shakur’s chiseled physique, eating six small meals a day that consisted primarily of protein shakes. “Tupac’s energy is unmatched,” says Shipp. You can’t mimic that. You can’t duplicate it. It’s very unique in it’s own right.” “What you see onscreen is the product of “a lot of hard work and a mean diet — it ain’t no joke,” Shipp says. “I had to do my best to not indulge in Reese’s and chocolate-chip cookies.” So now, with All Eyez On Me out, you be the judge: does the movie live up to the name?
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Harp, Paca
made probably in the last 20 years.” (Click here for a previous story about the two candidates’ different interpretation of city crime statistics.) At schools, the Youth Stat program — in which cops, social workers, teachers, probation officers, and school administrators strategize to help students most at risk of dropping out and/or landing jail — and other initiatives have helped curb expulsions and chronic absenteeism, Harp said. Initiatives are pushing reading and arts citywide, and students are getting a leg up by taking classes at Gateway Community College or Southern Connecticut State University. “At Hillhouse High School, I know you’ve heard about the awful stuff, but I also know there’s amazing stuff,” Harp said. “Last year, a student had graduated with 58 college credits. One mother said she saved $60,000 because of access to college credits we have in New Haven Public Schools.” When it came to the Elm City’s workforce, Harp said she has fostered economic development, both through supports for small businesses and through transit-oriented development. She cited the recent deal struck with the state over future management and development of Union Station as an example of the tough negotiations she’s willing to have to protect living-wage jobs in the city. She also noted that her administration just succeeded in securing a $2 million state innovation grant, and opened a one-stop-shopping job-training and small-business assistance center on Dixwell Avenue. Paca said after the event that he was impressed so many had shown up to inform themselves about the races. But he also noted that he was looking forward to an event with more debate and fewer canned lines. “I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have an opportunity to engage directly with the folks here while we were giving our speech, because to me, that’s the true essence of democracy: a true back-and-forth, a dialogue, letting people ask questions about what a politician says, instead of just listening to me ramble on about me,” he said. Despite that, did he think he picked up some votes? “Absolutely,” Paca answered. “In a town like New Haven, where folks love debate, I have to believe that New Haveners are looking at me as a viable candidate at this point.”
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
#LooksGoodFeelsGood Better Than The Scale: 4 Ways To Know If Your Diet & Workouts Are Working which means your clothes may start to fit a bit more loosely, or you might even drop a size!
by Sharita Jennings It’s the same old story: you’ve been sticking to your diet and working out consistently, but the number on the scale is moving at a snail’s pace or not at all. Even though weight loss is important to your health, especially if you’re at risk for heart disease or diabetes, it’s not the only benefit. If your health is in check, then it’s time to focus on the other benefits that might come along the way on your journey. The scale will catch up over time, but focusing on these other positive changes will help to keep you from giving up!
2. Your Energy Is Through the Roof Once you get into a regular routine of eating better and moving more, your body will thank you! You should quickly start to notice that you have fewer issues getting through the day without several cups of coffee. Your sleeping habits will eventually start to improve as well because all that exercise helps to regulate your blood sugar levels. This will let your body sleep when you need it to and stay awake during the day. Not to mention, getting your sweat on will wear you out, so you’ll be more than ready for a full night’s rest.
1. Your Clothes Fit Better Surprisingly, this positive change can happen long before you notice a major drop in the pounds. If you have added more strength training to your routine, then you are building more lean muscle. Muscle is a lot more dense than fat, but it also takes up much less space. If you put on muscle quickly, you might even see the number on the scale go up (gasp!) at first. But, the good news is that you’ll start to look leaner,
3. You Feel Stronger Than Ever Another change that the scale simply cannot keep up with is the way your strength and endurance will improve after a few weeks of regular exercise. You won’t even be able to remember when you couldn’t hold a plank for 30 seconds, or when walking a mile had you out of breath. Your body wants to move, so the more moving you do, the better your body will function.
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You’ll start to see pesky pains ease up, and daily activities get easier and easier. When was the last time your scale made you feel like that? 4. You Want to Be Healthy All Day, Everyday Believe it or not, being good to your body can have a serious domino effect on the rest of your life. Once you get through a hard workout, or notice the changes in your body, the last thing you want to do is ruin all your progress with a lot of junk food. Overtime, you’ll want to outdo yourself, try new healthy recipes, strive for even more changes in your body, workout longer and harder. Just like the saying goes,“once you see results, you become addicted.” Whatever you do, don’t quit! Take a moment to step off the scale and think about the changes your body has already gone through, regardless of what the scale says. This healthy living thing is not a sprint, it’s a marathon! Sharita Jennings is a health policy attorney, ACE certified group fitness instructor and nutrition specialist. She leads fitness classes in Washington, DC and provides online coaching and tips on her site, GetFitLikeThat.com.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Meagan Good & Devon Franklin Celebrate 5 Years After ‘The Wait’ I could become who I am in marriage….and we really are one in the same.. even though also different in maturities and experience… Just remember God’s timing is always perfect ..and we can’t rush it -or we do it a dishonor -because we’re not always ready for what we think we are.” There were a lot of naysayers when the general public heard the news about the couple deciding to wait. Some said the marriage wouldn’t last a year. Others said that it was too old fashioned. But now as the couple celebrate their five years, they reflect on how their decision has changed their lives. …healed many wounds,” Good wrote to her husband. “…You are God’s blessing that has given me the most joy I have ever experienced -and more joy then I never knew was possible..” The Christian actress spoke about the love of God being shown through the love of her husband.
by Carter Higgins, BDO Contributor
If you were to ask Hollywood couple, actress Meagan Good and Hollywood producer and minister, Devon Franklin, what it feels like to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, I’m sure they would say it feels like only yesterday they met. Good and Franklin met on the set of their joint movie venture “Jumping the Broom” and later jumped the broom themselves after Franklin proposed. But it was after that proposal that the two made even bigger headlines, because they announced that they were waiting until marriage to have sex. Say what? Yes, two grown, attractive adults were setting aside their sexual desires for 13 months until their wedding night. They even shared their tips for others to do the same in the book called, The Wait. “It’s been a journey.. I’ve been all about Him.. and then I’ve been rebellious,” Good revealed on Instagram about the process that it took for her to get married. “I’ve been obedient and seeking him ..and I’ve been hard-headed and tried to do it my way.. but it all had to happen this
Photo credit:
DevonandMeagan Instagram)
way in order for me to get to where I am now.” “(It’s) always much to be learned upon the journey. I couldn’t (have)
skipped anything in between….even when it’s been tough.. or misguided,” Good wrote to her fan. “I had to be who I was alone first -before
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“I can halfway fathom the depths of God’s love for me – because he sent me you,” she wrote. “You are my partner in purpose.., my best friend…your essence has helped re-
fine the woman that I already was in spirit- to manifest in the flesh.” The couple has also shown how they’ve learned trust one another in moments of fear. To celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, the couple took their love to all new heights by starting the day conquering one of the actress’ phobias. In a video posted on Instagram, both Meagan and DeVon shared that they were beginning year five as husband and wife in a hot air balloon. The star, who revealed that she’s scared of heights, soon found her calm when she was up in the air with her husband by her side. DeVon accompanied his video post with a caption about their special bond. “I told her when we got married five years ago that we would experience life on another level! Today I took her hot air balloon in to start the day. The only problem was: she’s afraid of heights! New year, new adventure she based her fear and found: freedom! Face your fears today!” Here’s to the beautiful couple on many more years of marriage together!
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
The Unexpected Benefits Of Treating Cataracts by Dr. Lawrence Woodard
Cataracts. Oh, that sometimes dreaded word and diagnosis that often takes people by surprise. When I meet with patients to discuss their cataracts and treatment options, I’m often met with frustration and annoyance. Those feelings are usually tied to the ways the condition has changed their lives. What many don’t realize is how prevalent cataracts are in the United States – more than 24 million people are affected by the condition. Specifically, the African-American community is twice as likely to develop early onset cataracts, and more than half will have the condition by the age of 80. Though all surgery has risk, the good news is that cataract surgery is one of the most common, safe and effective procedures today. The even better news is that there are significant emotional and lifestyle benefits tied to treating cataracts, according to a recent survey from Alcon of about 1,300 people, age 60 and
over, who have undergone cataract surgery. The procedure not only improves vision, but three in four people from the survey report being happier, more satisfied and having a greater appreciation for life. So what’s standing in the way of reaping these emotional benefits? For some, it’s the fear of the unknown. The survey found that nearly 4 in 10 African Americans agreed that they were worried something
would go wrong and they’d lose their vision or they would end up with visual disturbances after cataract surgery. I’ve seen, in my practice and my own family, how this fear can cause people to wait until they’ve nearly lost sight before doing something about cataracts. There’s never a reason to live with cataracts. What’s encouraging is that nearly all those surveyed would recommend cataract surgery to people
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scared of the procedure. Since June is Cataract Awareness month, it’s a great time to share advice that might help you overcome fears and bring your life back into focus: Get the Facts on Cataracts. The fact is that cataracts are a natural part of aging and can’t be prevented. They cloud the eye’s naturally clear lens, blocking or changing how light passes through and resulting in blurry vision. But this doesn’t mean they have to stand in the way of living a vibrant and full life. Manage Your Risk. Diabetes puts African Americans at an increased risk of developing cataracts. Stay on track with managing blood sugar and maintaining a healthy weight. Additional risk factors include smoking, drinking alcohol and too much exposure to the sun. See a Doctor. Whether you or a loved one has cataracts, visit an eye doctor who can help you better understand the condition and the benefits of surgery. There are innovations that can take care of cataracts
and other vision conditions, like astigmatism, at the same time. These options may help you get rid of the glasses you’ve worn for years for distance, if that’s important to you. Beat the Blues. If cataracts have caused you to lose interest in the things you love because simple tasks have become more difficult, know that you’re not alone. Pay attention to changes in your mood and behavior to keep the emotional impact of cataracts in check. The sooner you get treatment, the sooner you can get back to enjoying life. Put your eye health first – this month and year round. Visit MyCataracts.com or call 1-844-MYCATARACT (1-844-692-2827) for information on the condition, your risk and latest treatment options to help you take back your life from cataracts. Dr. Lawrence Woodard is the Medical Director of Omni Eye Services in Atlanta and a paid consultant of Alcon.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
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Gil Robertson THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
For nearly three decades, writer/author Gil L. Robertson, IV has used the written word to enlighten, empower and uplift. The one-time political organizer initially made his mark in entertainment journalism, penning over 50 national magazine covers and contributing bylines to a wide range of publications that include the Los Angeles Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, Billboard, Fortune, Essence and Ebony. Gil is also the founder and creator of the nationally-syndicated Arts & Lifestyle column, The Robertson Treatment, which began a couple of decades ago with an interview with Samuel L. Jackson for EVE’S BAYOU. Today, The Robertson Treatment has a reach of nearly two million. As an author, Gil has specialized in books that empower his readers, beginning first with the self-published “Writing as a Tool of Empowerment” (2003), a resource guide primarily aimed at young people interested in journalism. From there, he edited the groundbreaking 2006 anthology “Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community” where he gathered a diverse mix of voices that include Oscar-winner Mo’Nique, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, legendary singer Patti LaBelle and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, all addressing one of the most pressing public health and social challenges of our time. His subsequent anthologies—”Family Affair: What It Means to Be African American Today” (2008) and “Where Did Our Love Go: Love and Relationships in the African American Community” (2013)—ignited a national conversation about identity and love and relationships in the 21st Century. In addition, Robertson has been a regular contributor to The African American Almanac (Gale Press). Accolades for his work include “Pick of the Week” selection by Publisher’s Weekly for “Family Affair” and NAACP Image Award nominations for “Not in My Family” and “Family Affair”. His latest offering is “Book of Black Heroes: Political Leaders Past & Present” from Just Us Books. The opus represents a full-circle moment for Gil who began the first phase of his career in politics. This collection of biographies on game-changing elected political leaders like former President Barack Obama, pioneering Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, current U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and Reconstruction era governor Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchbank is intended to
Gil's Goodwill!
The “Book of Black Heroes” Interview with Kam Williams
nity, uniting consumers, creators and gatekeepers. He also serves as a public ambassador for diversity within the industry, appearing on numerous shows on networks like CNN. With a B.A. in Political Science from Cal State Los Angeles, Gil is a professional member of the National Press Club, National Association of Black Journalists, The Recording Academy, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Motion Picture Association of America. And he lectures nationwide on issues ranging from diversity in the entertainment industry to personal and community development.
opportunities both within black communities and beyond.
Kam Williams: Hi Gil, thanks for the interview. Gil Robertson: Thanks, Kam. It’s always a pleasure speaking with you.
KW: Did you include Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? I know that some people have complained that he doesn’t have an exhibit in the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC. GR: No Clarence Thomas, but not for the reasons you might think. The book only includes elected officials, and Justice Thomas was appointed to his seat on the Supreme Court.
KW: What inspired you to write Book of Black Heroes? GR: Following Obama’s election, I was astonished to discover how little most people knew about the contributions of African-Americans in politics. When most people think of blacks in U.S. politics, they usually fall back on the same group of leaders who came into prominence during the Civil Rights Movement. So, I wanted to do my part in expanding people’s level of awareness of black people who have been active participants in national politics since Reconstruction, and that their contributions continue to this day. Black political leaders make enormous contributions to the quality of our lives, and I simply wanted to provide readers with an introduction to who these people are and, as a byproduct, stimulate aspirations among young people to consider a career path in political leadership.
introduce young readers especially to not only dynamic personalities but to the concept of individual and political leadership. Never one to sit on the sidelines of any pressing issue, in 2003, Gil rolled up his sleeves and got to work as the co-founder of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the largest collection of Black film
critics in North America. As the organization’s president, he oversees the annual AAFCA Awards, which has become a recognized fixture of the Hollywood awards season. In addition to highlighting African-American achievement behind and in front of the camera, AAFCA works with the industry to usher in and support AfricanAmericans in the Hollywood commu-
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KW: Who’s your intended audience? GR: People who are curious about contributions that African-Americans have made to the political and social landscape in America. This book offers an amazing tapestry of leaders, both past and present, who have fascinating back stories, but who all stepped up to the challenges of leadership. KW: What’s the appropriate age group for the book? GR: The target age group for Book of Black Heroes are young adult readers in the 10 – 14 age group. But I believe it will have an appeal to all teen readers and even adults. Readers will discover political leaders that they’ve never heard of who are creating great
KW: How did you decide which icons to include? GR: Well, that was a challenge. At the onset of the project, I was only going to write bios on individuals who were a part of the new wave of African-Americans in politics: people like Kasim Reed, Kamala Harris and Corey Booker. However, when I completed those bios, my publisher felt we should include leaders from the past as well to provide readers with the full scope of accomplishments that have been made by black elected officials.
KW: What message do you want children to take away from the book? GR: I want them to understand that being a leader is something that is attainable. I hope the book provides readers with an appreciation for African-American political leaders and motivates them to do their part in harvesting their skill sets to improve the lives of others. KW: Ling-Ju Yen asks: What is your earliest childhood memory? GR: The love and generosity of my parents. KW: Who loved you unconditionally during your formative years? GR: Throughout their lives, my parents loved me completely with no conditions. KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps? GR: The best advice that I can give others is to be truthful to themselves about their abilities and to also live their lives with purpose. KW: Thanks again for the time, Gil, and best of luck with the book. GR: My pleasure, Kam.
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Black Celebrities Challenged to Help At-Risk Youth — Tyler Perry, Tom Joyner, and Monica Pearson Already on Board
Student Aaron Porter explains, “My dad came home from prison during the summer, he came at me, and we got into it. I ended up pulling out a knife on him, nearly killing him. When the judge offered me a chance to participate in this special ‘schoolbased’ project instead of going into the system, I jumped at the opportunity. That special project was teaching kids how to play chess – how every move counts. Participating in this project, I was taught how to use chess to make strategic life decisions. While in the project, we traveled to Augusta, GA to participate in the State Chess Championship. We won! Today, I am successful because of chess and my mentor Orrin Hudson.” The mission of Be Someone is to build character, hope, and inspiration so that kids can set and achieve lifetime goals, realize their full potential, and to be someone. Their motto, “Making Every Move Count,” refers to the belief that success in chess and success in life require the same fundamentals, including concentration, self-esteem, problem solving skills, and discipline. Be Someone teaches kids the practical skills and techniques to overcome obstacles in life, illustrated through the best and most intellectual visual aid: the chessboard. The organization is already making
Photo: Radio personality Tom Joyner, news anchor Monica Pearson, and filmmaker/actor Tyler Perry a change, but to continue to make that change a reality, Orrin needs as many people as possible to help him make the Black Celebrities Challenged to Help At-Risk Youth initiative successful so that they can help other countless youth to participate in the program.
How some Black celebrities have already helped: Hudson says, “Tyler Perry paid for our parking lot at our training center. Monica Kaufman featured me on her radio show KISS 104.1
for two hours, and helped me get registrations for our summer camp. And Tom Joyner featured me on his show, and invited me to his annual Family Reunion which helped us develop relationships with other Black influentials.” He emphasizes, “But we really need more people to help us together we can achieve the extraordinary!” Make an online donation: Donations can be made via their GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/24cymzg. This GoFundMe page is dedicated to raising the funds
necessary for Hudson to reach the areas that need him the most – urban areas full of at risk youth. They have trained over 55,000 students and their goal is 1 million. * a $197 donation pays for one kid to learn chess in a 5-day leadership camp * a $200 donation pays for 20 chess boards * a $500 donation pays for a training location and 3 instructors About Orrin Hudson and Be Someone Be Someone, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-
profit organization, was founded by master motivator Orrin C. Hudson in the year 2000. His approach was very unique: Use the game of chess to teach inner-city kids how to “make the right moves” in life. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Hudson and his organization have already received national attention from CNN, CBS, Good Morning America, USA Today, and even People magazine. For more details about the organization and their goal to reach 1,000,000 youth, visit www.BeSomeone.org or call (770) 465-6445.
Did the Russians Hack Black Voters Because Nobody Would Care? by William Spivey, Noted Blogger and ICN Contributing Writer “I suspect a bit of both is true because the people most heavily impacted by the voting problems whether caused by Russians or Republicans, were Black!” On June 5th, a Top-Secret NSA report was leaked showing Russia had done much more than was commonly known in their attempts to influence the US Presidential Election in 2016. The Russians hacked a Florida based software provider that helped manage voter registration programs in several states. The media duly reported the potential problems this could create including people showing up and find-
ing they were removed from the voting rolls or processes could be slowed to create long lines in targeted areas. The narrative we were asked to focus on was that there is no evidence any votes were actually changed and there was nothing to see here. While admittedly there’s a lot going on in the news including daily new reports on Russian ties to the Trump campaign or the President’s erratic beh happened. The press outlined the potential dangers without taking the logical next step to see if any of those things actually occurred? There were hundreds of thousands of people turned away from the polls. There avior. Upcoming testimony from James Comey and other intelligence officials outlining possible obstruction of justice by Trump. With all that’s going on I want to stop a minute and take a look at what just were crazy long lines in many urban areas. These things were reported contemporaneously right af-
ter the election. How much would it have taken to link those events and at least question whether or not the Russians were successful in disrupting the voting process? I find it hard to believe that I’m the only one making this connection. There are only two other possibilities. 1. The long lines and voters turned away raised no red flags because we expected to see precisely those things as a result of the voter suppression methods well known to be in place. 2. People in power know… but don’t care. I suspect a bit of both is true because the people most heavily impacted by the voting problems whether caused by Russians or Republicans, were Black! There has always been a bit of complicity regarding the suppression of Black votes in America. Voting rights have always been a negotiation where Black voters were allowed a certain
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amount of power and no more. When first given the widespread legal right to vote, Black people in Mississippi and elsewhere began sending Representatives to Congress and started to touch upon achieving true power. Their voting strength was only possible due to the presence of Federal troops in the South. When withdrawn as a result of the Compromise of 1877, Reconstruction was effectively over. For every Voter Rights Act that was passed there was a Supreme Court decision eventually gutting it. This is the history of our country. They giveth and they taketh away. There is a pretense apparently acceptable to both Republicans, Democrats and the Supreme Court. It’s okay to have redistricting that nullifies Black votes if the reason is merely partisan and not racist. In other words, al long as they don’t call it racist, without regard to a racist effect, it’s not. It’s very possible that Russian inter-
ference is hard to determine because what they may have attempted is exactly what current day Republicans and latter day Democrats have done to curtail Black votes. Black voters have always faced externally imposed long lines, limited polling locations, reduced voting hours. While attempting to vote is no longer likely to get a Black person lynched. There are as many forces in play to limit their votes as ever before. If Russia wanted to influence the last Presidential election. All they had to do was imitate Republicans and inhibit the vote of those that those in power are willing to overlook. The story of Russian influence on voter registration programs is already fading into the background. I wonder if it’s because the results are compatible with the greater design? William Spivey blogs at www.enigmainblack.com. He can be reached at SpiveyWilliamF@gmail.com
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017 Con’t from page 8
Dixwell Librarian Passes The Torch
teer at the library. That volunteer work would turn into a job at the library through the city’s Youth @ Work project thanks to the help of mentor Lindsey Rominski. She would stick with that work while finishing high school at Metropolitan Business Academy. She and Brown would continue to talk about her future, and Brown would casually remind her that she would be a great librarian. And she would do exactly what she’d told Brown she wanted to do: go away to college. With the help of scholarships, she chose a school as far away from New Haven and its big-little urban city culture as one could get. That school was Bethany College, a small, private liberal arts college in Bethany, West Virginia. It was a culture shock, to say the least. “It took me a full semester to get adjusted,” Neal-Dixon said. But adjust she did and obtained a degree in environmental science in 2012. But the library never left her, and she never left it. Brown said what going off to college had turned that quiet and seemingly shy girl, into a quiet but confident young woman. “She wasn’t a little girl anymore,” she said. When Neal-Dixon couldn’t find work in her field after college she took a part-time gig working at the Ives Branch Library downtown. And as she kept talking with Brown, whom she’d kept in contact with all through her college years, library school was starting to sound better and better. Two years ago, she decided to make the leap and enrolled in an online program through the University of Wisconsin. She did it while working multiple jobs, being a wife and a mom. She finished the degree program and starting June 26 she will be the outreach librarian II at the Fair Haven Branch Library. And no one is happier than Brown. Brown, who counts as her mentor the late City Librarian James C. Welbourne, said she has made it her business to continue his mission of training black librarians. She was the last one that he trained before he died and she said, though she has mentored all of the young librarians who have come through
her doors regardless of their race, she’s always felt a responsibility to black librarians. That is with good reason. Brown, and now Neal-Dixon, are one of only three black librarians in the city. Nationally, racial and ethnic minorities make up just 12 percent of the credentialed librarians working in public, academic and school libraries, according to the most recent Diversity Counts study, conducted by the American Library Association. Brown said she believes that there aren’t more black librarians because young black people don’t have anyone to expose them to the work beyond entering the field through a teacher training program as a media specialist, which requires a teaching certificate. She also believes that some might be intimidated by the fact that you have to have a master’s degree. But she said black librarians are needed as the purpose and culture of libraries change. They’re also needed because she needs to pass the torch. “I’m not going to be able to do this forever,” Brown said of her dedication to growing librarians. “Someone needs to take the helm.” She said she knew Neal-Dixon had the right qualities to be a librarian. “She’s good with people,” she said. “You can teach and train people to do the work, but you can’t train personality.” Brown called Neal-Dixon a bonafide success story as someone who grew up in New Haven, lost her mother at a young age and decided to devote her life to her community as a librarian. She said she believes Neal-Dixon’s mother would be proud of her. Brown, who sees herself as a mother figure to Neal-Dixon, certainly expressed a mother’s pride in what she has accomplished. “I’m just so proud of her and grateful that she’s someone I can pass the torch to,” she said. “She’s truly qualified and she’s committed to this city.” Neal Dixon said she’s happy to take the torch. “I’m very eager to get started,” she said.
27-Year Old Black Entrepreneur Raises $7.2 Million in Just 3 Days
27-year-old Chrissa McFarlane, founder of Patientory
Atlanta-based Patientory, the company behind an advanced healthcare app, has raised $7.2 million in a very successful online Blockchain token sale (not via Kickstarter, as previously reported). The block-chain startup, founded by CEO and Black entrepreneur, 27-year-old Chrissa McFarlane, enables the connecting of digital medical records without compromising privacy.
ance companies so that the data is distributed in an un-hackable environment. Chrissa’s new company offers a unique solution to connecting digital medical records without compromising privacy, which is one of the biggest issues in healthcare today. According to Huffington Post, Patientory is one of the leading exponents of blockchain in healthcare.
Crowdfunding is real
What exactly is a Blockchain startup?
Chrisa was able to raise that much funding in just about 3 days by launching an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that drew 1,728 investors. She saw a real need for an application that would store private medical data in a secure area where it could not be hacked. Not only that, but the app can also store a patient’s entire health history and determine who can have access to it. Exactly what the healthcare industry needs Chrissa explains that the app uses what is called blockchain technology where patient information is coordinated through a Blockchain health information exchange. Patientory encrypts medical patient information in hospitals and insur-
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Blockchain start-ups and projects raise capital by creating their own tokens or digital currencies, and selling them to the public through ICOs. Other projects like Aragon, a management tool that creates software to manage companies, raised $25 million in less than 15 minutes. For more details about Chrissa’s company, Patientory, visit www. patientory.com For more details about Blockchain, visit www.blockchain.com
THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BRIDGEPORT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) PROJECT-BASED VOCUHER FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR MARINA VILLAGE REPLACEMENT UNITS Solicitation Number: 086-S8-17-S
The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport (HACB) d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC)
is seeking proposals from developers and owners of New Construction Units that desire to enter into an Agreement for a Housing Assistance Payment (AHAP) Contract for Project Base Vouchers (PBVs) for Contract Units under PCC’s Project Based Voucher Program. Under this Request for Proposals, PCC will make available PBVs for units that will house extremely low and very low income households. A complete set of RFP documents can be obtained on June 5, 2017 by emailing your request to bids@parkcitycommunities.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held at PCC’s Administrative Offices at 150 Highland Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604 on June 21, 2017 at 11 a.m. Although not mandatory, all applicants are encouraged to attend to better understand the PCC’s requirements under this RFP. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed or hand delivered to 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604. This RFP will remain Open until Completion of PBV Units.
Housing Authority of the City of New Haven Invitation for Bids
Plumbing Services- West Side Properties
The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Plumbing Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https:// newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 9:00 AM
CARPENTER
Large CT Fence Company looking for a carpenter for our Wood Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing & tape measure. This is an in-shop production position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Some pickup & delivery of materials may also be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical & drug test. Compensation $15.00 per hr. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE
Program Manager – Town of Manchester Main Street Meeting Center $60,000 Salary CLOSING DATE: Friday, June 23, 2017 Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or view website: www.townofmanchester.org. The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting proposals from experienced firms for Internet, Internet Voice Bundle and Hosted Voice service or equivalent. Request for Proposal (RFP) documents can be viewed and printed at www.norwalkha.org under the business tab, RFPs/RFQs. Norwalk Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Curtis O. Law, Executive Director
Town of Bloomfield
Assistant Building Official
$36.19 hourly For details and how to apply, go to www.bloomfieldct.org. Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE
Translator/Clerk (Part-time) Wallingford Public Schools is seeking candidates for a part-time Clerk/Translator position. 19.5 hours per week/$19.16 per hour/12 months per year. Must be fluent in written and verbal communication skills in English and Spanish. Bachelor’s degree in Spanish or related field preferred. Apply on-line through our website - www.wallingford.k12.ct.us. EOE
The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT is requesting qualifications from
experienced firms for Internet, Internet Voice Bundle and Hosted Voice service. RFQ documents can be viewed and printed at www.norwalkha.org under the business tab, RFPs/ RFQs. Norwalk Housing Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Curtis O. Law, Executive Director The GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY
is currently accepting applications for COUPLES ONLY for its one bedroom apartments At Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or Federal Disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, ext. 107. An information packet will also be provided with the application. Applications will be accepted until June 30th , 2017. Credit, Police and Landlord checks are procured by the authority. Smoke Free Housing. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING
VNA Community Healthcare is searching for Certified Home Health Aides (HHA). Must have 6 months – one year of experience as a HHA. Several opportunities for full and parttime flexible schedules. Submit resume and cover letter to jobs@vna-commh.org. Visit our website www.connecticuthomecare.org for other opportunities. EOE/M/F Common Ground - high school, urban farm and environmental education center - has part time and full time job openings. Please visit http://commongroundct.org/get-involved/join-our-staff/ for details on these openings. Common Ground is particularly eager for candidates who help us fulfill our commitment to building a racially and culturally diverse faculty.
Firefighter/ParamediC The Town of Wallingford is currently accepting applications for Firefighter/Paramedic. Applicants must have: a valid CPAT card, HS diploma/GED, valid driver’s license and hold a valid Paramedic License that meets CT State Regulations. Copies of licenses and certifications must be submitted with application materials. The Town of Wallingford offers a competitive pay rate of $54,064.40 to $69,701.32 annually (wages as of July 1, 2017). In addition, there is a $4,300 annual paramedic bonus plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Application deadline is July 18, 2017 or the date the 75th application is received, whichever occurs first. Apply: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT. phone: (203) 294-2080; fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE.
Police Services Aide – Town of Manchester
40 hrs./$18.66 per hr./$38,820.08 salary CLOSING DATE: Friday, June 30, 2017 Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or view website: www.townofmanchester.org.
Electric General Line Foreman – The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking a highly skilled su-
pervisor with strong administrative and leadership skills to oversee the utility’s overhead and underground line installation, repair and maintenance function. The utility serves 25,000 customers in a 50+ square mile distribution area with a peak demand of 130 MW. The position requires an A.S. degree in electrical, civil, or mechanical engineering plus eight (8) years of progressive experience in the construction, maintenance, and operation of utility-grade electric distribution facilities, or an equivalent combination of education and qualifying experience substituting on a year-for-year basis. One (1) year experience as a supervisor is preferred. Must possess and maintain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator License. Salary: $87,375 - $111,792 plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Personnel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone #: (203) 294-2080; Fax #: (203) 294-2084. The closing date will be the date the 50th application or resume is received or July 18, 2017 whichever occurs first. EOE
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
***HELP WANTED***
DEEP RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITY OPENING WAITING LIST FOR SENIOR/DISABLED
Total Fence LLC currently has an opening for a fence/guardrail installer. We offer competitive wages, medical, and a Simple IRA plan. Must have 5 years minimum fence/guardrail installation experience and a valid CT Driver’s License. Applicant must be fluent in English.
Please apply in person to:
TOTAL FENCE LLC 525 ELLA GRASSO BOULEVARD NEW HAVEN, CT 06519 ***No phone calls*** Total Fence LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer
The Deep River Housing Authority will open it’s waiting list for Senior/Disabled Housing on June 1st, 2017. This list will remain open until July 31st, 2017. To request an application, please call 860-526-5119. Applications will be accepted by mail (must be postmarked by 7/31/17) Housing is available to anyone over 62 or handicapped/disabled that meet the income guidelines. Monthly rates are based on income with a minimum base rent requirement of $697.
Deep River Housing 60 Main Street Deep River, CT 06417
***HELP WANTED***
J & S General Contractors LLC currently has an opening for a fence/ guardrail installer. We offer competitive wages, medical, and a Simple IRA plan. Must have 5 years minimum fence/guardrail installation experience and a valid CT Driver’s License. Applicant must be fluent in English. Please apply in person to: J & S GENERAL CONTRACTORS LLC 525 ELLA GRASSO BOULEVARD NEW HAVEN, CT 06519 ***No phone calls*** J & S General Contractors LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer
The GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY is currently accepting applications for COUPLES ONLY for its one bedroom apartments At Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or Federal Disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, ext. 107. An information packet will also be provided with the application. Applications will be accepted until June 30th , 2017. Credit, Police and Landlord checks are procured by the authority. Smoke Free Housing. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING
Listing: Senior Accountant 2+ years public accounting or 4 + years corporate accounting experience. CPA preferred. Monthly tax prep, assist w/monthly closing, account analysis/reconciliation, maintain subledgers, assist managing network and system projects. Must be able to work independently with little/no supervision. Report to Dir. of Acctg. w/heavy exposure to CFO. Strong Excel and analytical skills a must. Great growth potential! Benefit package. Petroleum industry experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**
The Glendower Group, Inc Request for Qualifications CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM PORTFOLIO- GROUP IV AND V
The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking Proposals for CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM PORTFOLIO- GROUP IV AND v. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, June 12, 2017 at 9:00AM
Police Services Aide – Town of Manchester
$38,820.08/yr. - 40 hrs./wk. CLOSING DATE: Friday, June 30, 2017 Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or view website: www.townofmanchester.org.
Field Engineer
BA/BS in Civil Engineering or Construction Management. 2-5 yrs. experience. OSHA Certified. Proficient in reading contract plans and specifications. Resumes to RED Technologies, LLC, 10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002; Fax 860.218.2433; Email resumes to info@redtechllc.com. RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.
Translator/Clerk (Part-time)
Wallingford Public Schools is seeking candidates for a part-time Clerk/Translator position. 19.5 hours per week/$19.16 per hour/12 months per year. Must be fluent in written and verbal communication skills in English and Spanish. Bachelor’s degree in Spanish or related field preferred. Apply on-line through our website - www.wallingford.k12.ct.us. EOE
Project Manager Environmental Remediation Division 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.
The GUILFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY is currently accepting applications for COUPLES
ONLY for its one bedroom apartments At Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or Federal Disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by calling the application line at 203-453-6262, ext. 107. An information packet will also be provided with the application. Applications will be accepted until June 30th , 2017. Credit, Police and Landlord checks are procured by the authority. Smoke Free Housing. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
Help Wanted:
Immediate opening for construction laborer for Heavy and Highway Construction. Please call PJF Construction Corp.@ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F Help Wanted: Immediate opening for Dump Truck Driver for Heavy and Highway Construction. CDL A license and clean driving record required. Please call PJF Construction Corp. @ 860-888-9998. We are an equal opportunity employer M/F.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - Portland Administrative Assistant for reception, phones, filing, and corporate staff support. Working knowledge of Haz. Waste Regs., Manifests, AP & billing. OSHA certification a +. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC Fax 860-218-2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc. com RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.
The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications for the following positions: Firefighter D/Paramedic-Lateral Transfer: Salary- $48,972/year Firefighter/Paramedic-New Recruit: $48,972/year
Requirements for both positions and the application is available online at www.FirefighterApp.com/EastHavenFD. East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply. The Town of East Haven is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Assistant Building Official – Town of Manchester $62,434.71 - $75,071.06 CLOSING DATE: Friday, May 26, 2017 Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or view website: www.townofmanchester.org.
OFFICE ACCOUNTING HEAVY AND HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY Immediate opening for organized, self motivated, multitask person. Skills & Duties required: Microsoft Word, EXCEL a must/ Timberline Software a plus Classify-Scan documents to Timberline files Manage Subcontractor Service Agreements, Certificates of Insurance & W-9 requests Assist with: Certified Payroll reports & Lien Wavers Bond Filings on delinquent AR accounts Municipal Bids Contract documents Monthly, quarterly federal/ various state tax reporting Other duties as required Equal Opportunity Employer Minority and female candidates encouraged to apply
2BR Bristol, CT $950-$990 Zbikowski Park Neighborhood now taking applications for newly rehabbed 2BR apartment. Available immediately. Income restrictions apply. Equal Housing Opportunity. Contact Beatrice Nieves at (860) 585-2042 or at bnieves@bristolhousing.org
Apply at Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming 22 Peters Rd Bloomfield, CT 06002 Phone: 860-243-2300 Fax: 860-243-3100 Send resumes & salary requirements to : Email: garrity.careers@garrityasphalt.com
Listing: Senior Accountant
Construction oriented company seeking full-time Accounting/Administrative Assistant to answer phones, schedule sales appts, filing, typing & other general office duties. Will also have accounting responsibilities-data entry, sales order billing, and processing A/P transactions, supporting our overthe-counter sales person, the controller & CFO. Min 5 yrs. Related experience, excellent written & verbal skills, ability to multitask, knowledge of basic accounting principles, excellent computer skills (5+ yrs. Experience) with Excel & Word, accounting software knowledge a plus. $31,200 annual salary-negotiable based on experience & qualifications. AA/EOE Email resume to mmunzner@atlasoutdoor.com
2+ years public accounting or 4 + years corporate accounting experience. CPA preferred. Monthly tax prep, assist w/monthly closing, account analysis/reconciliation, maintain subledgers, assist managing network and system projects. Must be able to work independently with little/no supervision. Report to Dir. of Acctg. w/heavy exposure to CFO. Strong Excel and analytical skills a must. Great growth potential! Benefit package. Petroleum industry experience a plus. Send resume to: Human Resource Dept. P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437. **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer** VNA Community Healthcare is searching for Certified Home Health Aides (HHA). Must have 6 months – one year of experience as a HHA. Several opportunities for full and parttime flexible schedules. Submit resume and cover letter to jobs@vna-commh.org. Visit our website www.connecticuthomecare.org for other opportunities. EOE/M/F
VNA Community Healthcare is searching for Certified Home Health Aides (HHA). Must have 6 months – one year of experience as a HHA. Several opportunities for full and part-time flexible schedules. Submit resume and cover letter to jobs@ vna-commh.org. Visit our website www.connecticuthomecare.org for other opportunities. EOE/M/F
KMK Insulation Inc.
1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473
Mechanical Insulator
Insulation Company offering good pay and benefits. Please forward resume via REGULAR MAIL only. This company is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
Class A CDL Driver
with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed. (Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off) Some overnights may be required. FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480. RED Technologies, LLC is An EOE.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
N O T WO C AREER P ATHS A RE T HE S AME We Offer: • Employer Incentives to Hire • On-the-Job Training • Job Search Assistance • Re-Training • Transportation Assistance • Hiring Events
4 Locations: New Haven: (203) 624-1493 Meriden: (203) 238-3688 Middletown: (860) 347-7691 Hamden: (203) 859-3200 Open Mon-Fri, 8:30am – 4:30pm Hamden opens at 8am
Visit www.workforcealliance.biz/services/wheredoistart Be Part of the South Central CT Economy
*There is never a fee for the jobseeker or the employer. Services are funded through state and federal grants.
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THE INNER-CITY NEWS June 21, 2017 - June 27, 2017
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