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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

New Daycare Comes To Old Rt. 34 Financial Justice aCenter Key Focus at 2016 NAACP Convention INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

Caribbean, America Connect At Scholars Banquet

by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

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A Haitian and a Jamaican by way of Panama were honored as trailblazers at the Jamaican American Connection (JAC) of Greater New Haven Inc.‘s eighth Trailblazer Scholarship Banquet.

People of the Caribbean diaspora and the United States filled a banquet hall at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn Saturday to fete Dr. Gary V. Desir, the Paul B. Beeson professor of medicine and chair of internal medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Juan Castillo, director of operations and urban programming at WYBC and host of the Juan Castillo Morning Show.

Desir, who also holds a dual appointment at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, originally hails from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. He immigrated to the United States to study first at New York University and then the Yale School of Medicine. He told the crowd that he had originally intended to return to Haiti to practice medicine and be a doctor in his home country like his father before him.

But he met his wife, fellow doctor Deborah Dyett Desir, a rheumatologist and an American.

The couple ultimately decided to stay here and raise their family though Desir said he gives back to his homeland through his work with the L’Hospital Albert Schweitzer in the Artibonite Valley in Haiti. He noted that he’d been to a number of award’s ceremonies but Saturday’s was the funniest thanks to actor and singer Andrew Clarke of Braata Productions.

“I’m really having a good time,” he said.

When Clarke naturally assumed that Castillo was from Panama based on his name, the entire room got a lesson about Jamaicans who worked on the Panama Canal.

Castillo’s grandparents are Jamaican and he said one of his fondest memories of them is eating his grandmother’s rice and peas made with coconut milk.

In addition to his radio life, Castillo talked about his work helping those who were formerly incarcerated successfully return to society. He too was once incarcerated for five years on drug charges but turned his life around after an early release going on to a career in public service where he worked as a drug counselor, the executive director of a halfway house, a parole officer and supervisor, and eventually, the founder of the Parole Works Program.

He reminded the audience that the formerly incarcerated are “returning citizens” and should be treated as such.

Marie McKenzie, vice president of global ports and Caribbean government relations for Carnival Corporation, delivered the keynote address Saturday. The self-described “true island girl” is originally from Jamaica and a graduate of Howard University and Florida International University.

She has been in the cruise industry for 22 years. Her current job is her fourth vice president’s position. She told attendees that people have questioned her right to be in powerful rooms and positions because she was black and a woman but at the end of the day no one can question her w“Do the

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Carnival Corporations VP Marie McKenzie delivered the evening’s keynote address.

Scholarship recipients Erica Jones and Andre Gidden with President Holness and JAC Treasurer Linval Whitely.

Porter with state treasurer candidate Shawn Wooden and Mayor Toni Harp. work,” she said.

JAC has been doing the work since the summer of 2010 by Jamaicans of the Greater New Haven region. The organization provides opportunities to learn about the Jamaican diaspora in particular and the Caribbean diaspora in general through events such as the annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival, according to President Karaine Holness.

It also promotes businesses owned by fellow West Indians like Baldwin Shields, whose Johnny’s Cakes, catered the banquet’s dessert menu for the second year in a row. The menu featured an assortment of cheesecakes kissed with a taste of Jamaica

including rum and raisin, yellow yam, Blue Mountain coffee, tamarind, soursop and blueberry, and sorrel.

The nonprofit has hosted roundtable discussions with Jamaica Minister of Education Ruel Reid and New Haven Public Schools educators and participated in Freddy Fixer Parade. Holness encouraged attendees to join JAC and to continue to support one another and maintain their connection. The organization also has partnered with the Nathan Ebanks Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Jamaica, to support that organization’s efforts at providing scholarships.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

DeLauro, Advocates Press For Resources Over Guns

by MARKESHIA RICKS NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is calling on educators, police officers, and student activists to help her stop U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos from allowing federal money to be spent arming teachers.

DeLauro issued that call to action during a press conference at Wilbur Cross High School Monday urging people to contact members of Congress and ask that language be adopted in the final Fiscal 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding measure to make it clear that states can’t use federal funds to put firearms in teachers’ hands.

“There is zero good research on the efficacy of arming teachers as a solution to school shootings,” DeLauro said. “In fact, in June, when Secretary DeVos announced a federal commission on school safety she refused to examine the role of guns with regards to school shootings. How then can she claim that this is a solution?”

DeLauro said using federal education money to purchase guns for school staff and to train teachers to use them would be unprecedented. She said the funding in question is normally used by states to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, reading readiness and for mental health services.

But DeVos has signaled that she might allow state and local school officials to use funding provided by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, to purchase firearms and train school staff, specifically teachers, to use those weapons.

Members of Congress are calling on the Department of Education to issue formal guidance prohibiting equipping and training teachers with handguns. But DeVos has declined to issue such guidance.

“I think it’s outrageous that we would use taxpayer dollars for this dangerous plan,” DeLauro said.

New Haven Public Schools Superintendent Carol Birks said she learned a lot of things before entering her first classroom in 1996 but how to use a gun was not one of them. And though there have been a number of mass shootings since 1996, the basic preparation for teachers hasn’t changed.

“That we’re standing here today talking about arming a teacher with a gun rather than arming them to meet the needs of students ... is just unconscionable,” she said.

She also noted that it sends a terrible message to students about whether the people who are responsible for helping them become productive members of society don’t trust and believe in them.

Birks said if the federal government wants to give school district like New Haven more money for social-emotional supports like school psychologists and social workers, to help with STEM and reading, she’ll take it. But schools in Connecticut don’t need money for armed teachers.

David Cicarella, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, pointed out that New Haven city and school officials have actively tried to reduce gun violence.

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MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Anti-gun violence advocates at Wilbur Cross High School Monday.

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laws in the country instead of arming teachers. And Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence, said because of those actions the state now has some of the lowest gun death rates in the country.

“We proved what study after study has proven, that strong gun laws save lives and we did it without arming a single teacher,” he said. “Why did we decide not to arm a single teacher? Because we looked at actual facts and evidence to support that decision.

Studies show that guns don’t make us safer.

If that were true the U.S. would be the safest place on the planet because we own more guns, by far than any other country in the world.”

DeLauro said the members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation all are against arming teachers but she said DeVos has indicated that she believes it is up to Congress to specifically bar the use of federal education funding for such purposes and that current statute allows flexibility for states.

“We don’t preclude localities from doing what they want to do but these are federal funds,” DeLauro said. “If she doesn’t understand it, and I’ll be flip—sometimes she doesn’t understand it. If she doesn’t understand it, let us make it perfectly clear to Secretary DeVos, what she can and cannot do.

“She threw it in the hand of Congress,” DeLauro added, “well those of us who are elected officials are the Congress. Let’s stop it.”

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He noted that New Haven has a gun buyback program, youth engagement programs, launched a program called Youth Stat to interrupt the cycle of gun violence among teens, and implemented the use of restorative practices. Cicarella said the school district had not lost one student to gun violence since Youth Stat started.

“We have trained professional security officers and SROs equipped to deal with such an unfortunate situation should it ever occur,” Birks said. “I would never want teachers put in a situation to defend themselves in that way.”

New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell echoed Birks’ sentiment suggesting that he wouldn’t want to put his officers in a position to have to distinguish armed teachers from a perpetrator in a school shooting.

He said the police department has worked closely with other city officials and Birks on school safety in the last five to seven months. None of what they’ve considered involves arming teachers.

He predicted that school districts that go down the path of arming school staff will have tragic results partly because teachers will not have the 80 hours of training that people in the police academy in Connecticut receive on how to use a weapon and how to keep it in their possession.

“Who’s to say that a student wouldn’t disarm a teacher?” he said. “It’s just not a good idea.”

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut went on to pass some of the toughest gun reform

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

City Charters Outperform State Again

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

The students in three New Haven charter elementary schools continue to outperform the state on tests of reading and math proficiency. But a measure of those students’ actual academic growth each year shows they’re mostly still just behind the state.

Those results were found in the latest set of scores released by the Connecticut State Department of Education for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test, which is used for elementary and middle school students in 15 states.

Achievement First’s Elm City College Preparatory, an elementary and a middle school, came out at the top on almost all measures. More than half the students 54.8 percent tested on grade level in math, and more than three-fifths 62.8 percent — tested on grade level in reading. Both of those figures are about eight points higher than the statewide averages, which includes students from far different economic circumstances.

“At this time of year, we’re really digging into the data to see which grades and subjects were the most important ‘bright spots,’ so that we can replicate those practices across the other schools,” said Amanda Pinto, Achievement First’s senior director of communications. “Our schools are showing strong year-over-year growth, and Amistad Academy Elementary showed some of the highest growth of any of our Connecticut schools. We’ll be looking closely at all of these areas as we continue to refine our approach.”

Compared to New Haven’s traditional public schools, the charters came out far ahead on measures of proficiency. The gap in the percentage of students on grade level

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO

John Taylor welcomes Booker T. Washington students.

are as big as 30.4 points in reading and 33.6 points in math.

But the schools are clumped closer together on measures of growth, especially in reading.

Those scores are matched with individual students from year to year, making it an “apples to apples” comparison, one educator said. The state looks at whether kids are meeting the benchmarks to get slightly ahead of grade level. For students who are behind, the growth targets are meant to catch them up within five years.

In reading, Achievement First’s two charter schools are only 6 and 4.1 points ahead

of traditional public schools on the average growth targets met, while Booker T. Washington is 8.1 points behind.

Similarly, in math, Achievement First is 18.3 and 7.1 points ahead on the average growth targets met, while Booker T. Washington is behind 32.8 points behind.

John Taylor, the executive director of Booker T. Washington Academy, said he plans to double down on this measure during the current school year.

“The reality is it’s all about growth. We believe in the growth mindset here: where they start is not where they finish,” he said.

“We’re not panicking. It wasn’t an awful

performance, but it’s not up to our standard.”

As the charter school builds from the ground up, with the oldest students in the old St. Stanislaus School building now starting fifth grade, this was the first time Taylor got a chance to see the state’s growth results.

Throughout the school year, Booker T. Washington’s teachers give students regular assessments, so Taylor said the test scores weren’t a surprise. He’d “predicted” them, “almost to a number,” he said.

Taylor said that the school had faltered last year in not adhering to its founding principles. In part, that’s because it brought several first-time teachers on board, who were still adjusting to the profession and the school’s culture.

“We had novice teachers in their first year who now understand what we’re trying to do and are able to help our kids more,” Taylor said. “We are getting really granular at an individual student level, and making sure we are mastering skills as we go, kid by kids. That’s our work here, and we probably didn’t focus on it as much as we would have liked.”

In particular, that will mean teachers throughout the building, from kindergarten up, hold a conference with each student every three weeks to set individual learning goals. That’s always been a part of the school’s model, but it wasn’t always implemented with fidelity last year, Taylor said.

“That’s where you get student buy-in and ownership, and the teacher can do some really targeted work with individual kids,” Taylor said. “If we had to put our finger on it, what would have been the place where we weren’t as good on that work as in prior years.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

New Daycare Center Comes To Old Rt. 34

by THOMAS BREEN NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

A former parking lot stranded between MLK Boulevard and Legion Avenue in the Hill is now home to a 10,000 squarefoot childcare center that uses a cast of anthropomorphic animal characters to teach toddlers everything from vocabulary to etiquette to yoga.

On Tuesday morning, Mayor Toni Harp, city Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson and 20 other city officials and neighborhood representatives celebrated the grand opening of the franchised daycare center and “early education academy, The Learning Experience, now located at 520 MLK Blvd.

The 10,000 square-foot building stands adjacent to Continuum of Care and Rite Aid, and is the latest new business to set up shop at the heart of a megablock bordered by MLK Boulevard, Legion Avenue, Dwight Street and Orchard Street that was once home to the Oak Street neighborhood before that community was razed in the 1950s during the era urban renewal.

Deepash and Shital Patel, the Glastonbury-based owners of the new Elm City childcare center, said that the center is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will serve children ranging from six weeks old to eight years old with both curriculum-based daycare and after-school programs.

The center officially opened on Sept. 4

and currently has 30 enrolled students and 11 full-time teaching staff, and that the building has a capacity for 140 students around 35 full-time teachers. The married couple runs another Learning Experience daycare center in Cromwell, where they employ 35 teachers and serve 146 children.

“My roots come back to New Haven,” Deepash said, noting that his parents came from England to New Haven 25 years ago and started a now-closed hardware store on Whalley Avenue. Shital said that she too worked in Catholic charities in the Elm City for a decade before opening the childcare center in Cromwell and then deciding to open another one in THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Cutting the ribbon at The Learning Experience on Tuesday morning.

New Haven.

Christina Rubino, regional manager for The Learning Experience, said that the daycare center’s educational curriculum uses a cast of anthropomorphic animal characters to teach kids math, reading, vocabulary, yoga, and even Chinese.

Those characters include Bubbles the Elephant, the center’s official mascot who focuses on reading; Lionstein, a bespectacled lion who teaches science and math; and Ping Panda, who teaches Mandarin vocabulary and Chinese cultural concepts to the center’s preschool students.

“This makes this a much more viable, working neighborhood,” Nemerson said about adding a childcare center so close Matthew The Development Administrator (left) hanging with Bubbles the Elephant (center), the official SCSU_GOH_InnerCity_5.472x5.1.qxp_Layout 1 9/6/18 11:36 AM mascot of The Learning Experience. At right: Management team chair Lena Largie. to the employment hub that is the Yale-

New Haven Hospital.

The daycare center’s opening marked the latest development to come from a 2014 Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) meant to reconnect sections of the city that were separated by Route 34 Connector mini-highway decades ago.

“Not only does it stitch parts of the city back together,” she said about new developments for the megablock. “It adds retail options, services, and eventually new housing to reinvigorate the Hill, West River, and Dwight neighborhoods.”

Nemerson and Harp said that the next development coming to the former island of parking lots could be a new 56-unit, low-income, multi-family apartment complex to be located on a 4.3 acre cityowned parcel at 16 Miller St., a grassy median strip by the Boulevard in between MLK/North Frontage and Legion.

On Aug. 29, a New York City-based developer called the NHP Foundation submitted an application to the city for a 17-year tax abatement agreement to build the new townhouse rentals pending the award of federal low income housing tax credits and other funding from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA).

The proposal states that the complex will house a mix of one, two, and threebedroom units that will rent at 25 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Page 1

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

Kimber Sparks Racial Furor Over Schools

by CHRISTOPHER PEAK NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

Rev. Boise Kimber knows how to fill a room especially with political opponents he has riled up.

At Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, Hispanic leaders turned out in force, packing the cafeteria at Celentano Biotech, Health, and Medical Magnet School, to respond to comments that the controversial minister made at a sparsely attended meeting last month suggesting that too many top jobs go to Latinos.

At that meeting two weeks ago, Kimber said white parents and brown politicians had meddled in Superintendent Carol Birks’s administrative reorganization (keeping on three six-figure supervisors for bilingual programs in Central Office and a magnet resource coordinator at New Haven Academy), while black leaders had stayed silent about cuts and moves that affected their community.

“I want you all to take the politics out of moving people and deal with the real issue of education our children,” Kimber said.

“The black community has not protested on not one move of anybody. We ain’t said nothing about you all having three [English Learner] directors. We said nothing about you all moving our people across town. But if you want to move one assistant principal, want to move one guidance counselor, everybody from the other communities are getting their kids to write letters. Let’s stop playing the game. Allow [Birks] to do her job.”

At the most recent meeting Wednesday night, during a record-long public comment period with nearly as many speeches as at meetings about school closures and teacher layoffs Tamiko Jackson-McArthur, the board’s secretary, called off a roster of lawmakers, clergy, students and activists. The fiery speeches drowned out the alarms from her cell-phone timer, announcing the end of their three minutes.

It’s unclear what motivated the turnout.

Were the speakers genuinely offended by Kimber’s comments? Did they wanted to protect the supervisors who’ve been targeted as an unnecessary expense? Or were they simply flexing their organizing muscle before a new superintendent made further moves?

The event was surely political. (More alders showed up than at any school event in recent history.) But the speakers also made a powerful statement about their kids: As demographics have changed in New Haven, Latino students, particularly the 2,850 with limited English, can’t be ignored any longer.

DeStefano Era’s Over From the very start of public comment, State Rep. Juan Candelaria went after Rev. Kimber for trying to “attack and divide communities.” He argued that New Haven needs more faculty to teach students with limited English.

“In New Haven Public Schools, 45 percent are Latinos and almost 16 percent are English learners. That is why it is important and justifiable that we have the resourc-

es in place to provide supports districtwide, from central office to the classroom,” Candelaria said. “So, when someone stands here in front of this board and attacks Latino educators our community suggesting we have enough, it is simply ludicrous. It is an attempt to divide and conquer.”

Others were more pointed in their jabs at Rev. Kimber, calling him out for trying to bring back the tactics ex-Mayor John DeStefano used to keep a hold on City Hall for decades.

“To have Rev. Kimber come in here and say that the Hispanics have too many jobs is ridiculous,” said Hill Alder Dolores Colon, the chair of the Black and Hispanic Caucus. “We are trying to get jobs from Yale and the hospital for people from Dixwell, Dwight and Newhallville. We are not looking at color; we are fighting for jobs.

“We want to hire positions based on what this person can do for the students,” she went on. “If they’re looking for jobs in our city, we don’t want them to be held back by the color of their skin or their accent. We want them to be hired because they know how to do the job. I hope that Rev. Kimber remembers that. The days of using jobs as political clout, the days of DeStefano are over.”

The crowd whooped in loud applause.

Someone shouted out, “Take that!”

(Kimber is African-American; Candelaria and Colon, Hispanic.)

More speakers continued to pile on. Even Varick Memorial AME Zion Church’s Rev. Kelcy Steele, who is African-American, sent in a letter. “Racism is not okay, full stop,” Rev. Abraham Hernandez, vice president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, read on his behalf.

The one person who stood up for Kimber was Rodney Williams, a ward co-chair in Newhallville who owns a contracting business in Dixwell.

“To me, I just feel like this is going to create more friction in our community,” he said. “This fight back and forth, I don’t think you all know what you just did. This is going to make it worse, because [Kimber] isn’t somebody to back down and you all know that.” He added, “Let me tell you something, he did a lot of great things for a lot of black people.” One or two people clapped.

Later, Maritza Baez, whose son graduated from Cortlandt V.R. Creed Health & Sports Science High School, said there is no reason to be “afraid of this man.”

Williams stood up to protest.

Darnell Goldson, the board’s president, called out their names, trying to defuse the situation. As their voices raised, Goldson pulled the plug and ordered a five-minute recess. During the break, Goldson asked security what he could do.

When public comment resumed, Baez apologized for her temper and Goldson apologized letting the discussion veer off course from kids’ education into personal attacks.

You Know Where To Find Me Rev. Kimber wasn’t there to hear most of that. More than a half-hour into the

CHRISTOPHER PEAK PHOTO

Rev. Boise Kimber, at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

Alder Dolores Colon: I’m looking out for Newhallville and Dixwell as much as Fair Haven and the Hill.

Board members Ed Joyner and Darnell Goldson consult with security chief Thaddeus Reddish (center) about handling unruly meeting.

meeting, at 6:08 p.m., he burst through the cafeteria’s back doors, breathing heavily like he’d just finished a run. Even though he was late, Kimber had somehow managed to get his name on the sign-up sheet Jackson-McArthur had pulled when the meeting started.

During his three minutes, he pointed out that NHPS Advocates, a watchdog group of parents and teachers with white members as well as Latinos, had also questioned why the district needed three bilingual supervi-

6

sors. He admitted he’d said the black community hadn’t complained about reshuffling principals, but he said he was asking a genuine question about the district’s spending.

Kimber said he felt attacked unfairly.

“No one has called me, no one has asked me anything, but they’ve come out like Pharisees in the night,” he said. “I have in my family grandkids that are Hispanic that I see every weekend. Nothing that I said was racist. I’ve sat at the table with you

all on many occasions. If it was that bad, everybody knows where to find me, right there in Newhallville, where I fight for the rights of people every day.”

Someone screamed out, “Apologize!”

By then, most of the room had cleared out, with the alders at hearings back on Court Street. After close to two hours, public comment finished, and the board moved on to the rest of the agenda.

Numbers, Not Power While many of the speeches aimed at Kimber, they did highlight a larger change in New Haven’s demographics. The percentage of New Haven’s public school students who identify as Hispanic or Latino has dramatically increased in recent years, making them the single largest demographic group in 2015.

As many black families leave for nearby suburbs an exodus that’s resulted in nearly 2,000 fewer African-American students in New Haven than a decade ago the arrival of brown families has made up that difference and more.

Today, there are almost 2,600 more Hispanic or Latino children in the city’s public schools than a decade ago. (Over the same time period, the number of whites increased by 470, and the number of Asians, the fastest growing demographic, shot up by 160.) If the racial demographics continue at current rates, Hispanic and Latino students will make up an outright majority by 2022.

Given those recent shifts, many Hispanic and Latino families feel like they’re not adequately represented among the city’s top decision-makers. That’s been especially noticeable in the school system, where there’s no comprehensive plan to reach students who are learning English.

As with many recent openings for top government positions (like New Haven’s police chief and Connecticut’s lieutenant governor), those tensions flared up around New Haven’s schools last year, during the chaotic search for a new superintendent.

To pick a replacement for former Superintendent Garth Harries, the outgoing school board members, mostly picked by DeStefano, initially consolidated around Orlando Ramos, a Spanish speaker of Puerto Rican descent who’d been a top administrator in Milwaukee Public Schools.

But after the unexpected death of one board member, their voting bloc was outnumbered by Mayor Toni Harp’s appointees. Ramos didn’t make it to the last round, even after two of the six semifinalists dropped out.

With the search narrowed down to three black finalists, the board’s factions split between the three who wanted Pamela Brown, the former superintendent in Buffalo, N.Y., who speaks Spanish, and the four who wanted Carol Birks, then the chief of staff in Hartford Public Schools, who doesn’t speak Spanish.

Just before the vote where Birks won out, several Latinos said they felt disenfranchised by an inability to communicate with administrators — an ongoing complaint Con’t on page 14

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

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It makes us proud to know that we have played such a vital role in their success through School-to-Career. It’s another example of our commitment to caring beyond the bedside. ynhh.org/community

Priscilla Torres, Patient Care Associate, Yale New Haven Hospital and graduate of the School-to-Career program with mentor Nancy Busch, Patient Services Manager, Yale New Haven Hospital.

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

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

Manor Rebuild Plea: Keep Us A Community Her home has been broken into countless times over the years. But she said that never deterred her from continuing to stay in the community.

“I just figured anything they took the need more than I did,” she said. “People are people anywhere you go.”

She said her big dream for the neighborhood is to see it and everyone who lives there flourish.

Residents said they could do that in homes that keep true to the existing format of townhomes, but along with freestanding homes that they might be able to purchase, as rebuilding has included elsewhere in West Rock. They asked for front porches and room for their gardens so they can sit and enjoy the view. They suggested bigger kitchens and more cabinet space, a bathroom on both floors, and side-by-side washers and dryers. Screendoors and a horseshoe pit would be nice, too, they said.

Pearl “Mz. Pearl” McKee, acting as the representative for one group. reported that people want a place for young people in the community to share their talents as artists and gamers to help transform a complex sometimes dubbed “Lostville Manor.”

They spoke of safe trails and other ways to put people in touch with the nature surrounding them.

“I like to take my granddaughter on nature walks but I usually take her outside the hood,” she said, drawing chuckles. “But I would like to do it in the hood.”

McKee said people would like backyards that can hold more than six people but not if it would in any way hold up the project.

“People in the Manor are really proud to be here,” McKee said.

The process of charting a design plan for Westville Manor continues Sept. 24-26 with a three-day planning session at 295 Wilmot.

by MARKESHIA RICKS

Forget high-rises. Think front porches, gardens, homeownership, and perhaps a swimming pool.

Westville Manor tenants offered that vision of a preserved community as they guided officials beginning the last phase of efforts to transform public housing in West Rock.

Those ideas bubbled up Tuesday night during the first public meeting to weigh in on the future redevelopment of the Westville Manor complex, which backs up against the Hamden town line.

The redevelopment of Westville Manor will be the long-awaited final piece of rebuilding that has already made old housing complexes new again in the West Rock neighborhood at Wilmot Crossing, Brookside, Rockview and Ribicoff Cottages.

About 20 Westville Manor residents gathered at 295 Wilmot Rd. to hear from architects and master planners Ken Boroson of Kenneth Boroson Architects and Murphy Antoine of Torti Gallas + Partners, who have been selected by the Glendower Group to design the project. The Glendower Group is the development arm of Elm City Communities (aka the Housing Authority of New Haven).

The public meeting was the first of a series of “charettes,” or intensive planning meetings, where residents help shape the vision for the future redevelopment. The first phase of construction is scheduled for 2021; the rebuilt development is expected to be fully occupied by the end of 2022.

Residents broke into two groups and got

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Tenant leader Montreal Johnson: How about homeownership?

down to the business of casting a vision for several aspects of a new Westville Manor that included safety and security, a community center, community retail, recreation, and something for all ages.

That future for Montreal Johnson looks like a chance to own a home that would accommodate her five children and a nephew for whom she has partial guardianship. The retired Yale-New Haven Hospital nurse, who is in her second stint as a residential community president, currently shares a five-bedroom townhouse at Westville Manor with her children.

She has lived in the community during at least two different intervals of her life for a total of 13 years living in the Manor. She said she loves the neighborhood and knows

that an apartment that spacious is hard to come by in New Haven. She’s worried about where the family will go during the move-out and building phases. Johnson said she wants to return to the redeveloped Westville Manor afterwards.

“I love it out here,” she said. “It’s so peaceful.”

But it also can be dark and sometimes a little dangerous, several residents said Tuesday. So people put practical requests on their wish lists: a police substation, more street lights, emergency call boxes, and camera surveillance. Plus speed bumps.

They also suggested added a community center, a computer lab, a safe playground, a space for Solar Youth and other youth programs to operate in the neighborhood all year long. A community-run store would be nice, too, they said.

Ann Taylor, who has lived in Westville Manor, for 15 years, said that her car had once been stolen from in front of her house.

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NEMSDC to Honor Carlton L. Highsmith as Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductee

Carlton L. Highsmith

The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) will induct entrepreneur and philanthropist Carlton L. Highsmith into the GNEMSDC Hall of Fame at the West Putnam Club at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts at the Council’s 2018 Business Conference and Expo on Friday September 21, 2018.

GNEMSDC established the Hall of Fame to recognize individuals who have advanced the goals of economic inclusion and minority business development, as well as paying tribute to those who have contributed in meaningful ways to the social and economic advancement of their communities. Highsmith is GNEMSDC’s inaugural inductee.

In 1983, Highsmith founded Specialized Packaging Group (SPG) in New Haven as a package design and package engineering firm.

Carlton grew SPG to become one of the largest manufacturers of paperboard packaging in North America, designing and producing packaging for some of the world’s most recognizable brands for such consumer products companies as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Clorox, SC Johnson and Unilever.

In 2009, SPG was recognized as the largest minority-owned firm in the state of Connecticut, with annual revenues of over $180 million. The company ranked as high as #26 on Black Enterprise Magazine’s prestigious BE 100, an annual list of the largest and most successful black-owned businesses in the United States.

Highsmith retired in 2010 after merging SPG with PaperWorks Industries to form the 3rd largest vertically integrated recycled paperboard packaging company in North America.

Highsmith was major funder of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT) and has served as its board chair since 2012.

He is also vice-chair of the board of trustees of Quinnipiac University; a member of the YaleNew Haven Hospital System board of trustees; and a member of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven board of trustees.

“I’m pleased to accept this recognition from GNEMSDC,” said Highsmith, “and I share their commitment to encouraging and recognizing excellence, perseverance, and inclusive economic opportunity for all.”

GNEMSDC is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

GNEMSDC serves the six New England states and is one of 24 regional councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information, visit www.gnemsdc.org.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

4 Cops Arrested For Domestic Violence

by PAUL BASS & CHRISTOPHER PEAK

Police Chief Anthony Campbell took office promising to tackle domestic violence and now finds himself addressing it among his own ranks.

In the last three months, four of Campbell’s officers have been arrested on charges of domestic violence.

The most visible arrestee was Lt. Rahgue Tennant, who surrendered when a SWAT team came to his East Shore home on Sept.

6, after he allegedly beat and threatened his wife and kept her hostage for a week. (Read about that here.) Tennant remains on paid administrative leave as his case winds its way through the court system; his lawyer said he plans to plead not guilty. Tennant has been stripped of his department weapon (as well as a mini-arsenal he kept at home and allegedly laid out before his wife).

• A second officer, Ryan Walker, was arrested by Trumbull police in June on multiple domestic violence charges including an allegation of strangulation. He, too, has been on administrative duty. He pleaded guilty this week in Bridgeport Superior Court to reduced misdemeanor charges of breach of peace and reckless endangerment, according to court records. His lawyer did not return a phone call requesting comment.

A Trumbull police report released to the Independent Friday states the following: The night before the incident, Walker worked a midnight shift. After getting only two hours of sleep, he and his wife argued about money and his ex, he told a Trumbull cop. She took his keys and his phone, he added. As the argument escalated, Walker held his 1-year-old daughter in his right arm. When his wife grabbed for the baby, Walker strangled her with his left hand, leaving a small red mark on her neck. The wife of two years did not tell police about a history of any other violence.

When a Trumbull sergeant told Walker what his wife said about the attack, he nodded and admitted that he did it. Trumbull police seized four Glocks, and they returned another Glock and a Taser to the New Haven Police Department.

Internal Affairs will now review Walker’s case and guilty plea, then officials will determine whether they believe he should remain an officer, according to Chief Campbell.

• A third officer was arrested by Branford police on July 19 for allegedly violating a protective order by contacting a family member and returning to his family residence. Police said he did not physically harm the daughter, but they still consider the violation a form of domestic violence.

He was charged with first-degree criminal trespass and criminal violation of a restraining order. The police report, released to the Independent Friday in response to a Connecticut Freedom of Information Act request, states that family members said that the officer has the only access to a surveillance system at the house and “they believe he is watching them all the time.”

The officer has returned to active duty after

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Chief Campbell: Arrest spike reflects “what people are going through.”

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO

rests.

Asst. Chief Reyes, who addressed line-ups after domestic-violence ar-

his case was nolled by prosecutors. He did not respond to an email requesting comment.

• A fourth officer was arrested in mid-August by Waterbury police, after two prior run-ins with Torrington cops. He allegedly kicked his wife in the chest, “slapped her in the face” with both hands, beat and bruised her, as she begged for him to stop hurting her.

Leading up to the alleged violence, the wife said she’d undergone repeated physical abuse by her husband, according to the arrest warrant application. In recent months, she learned her husband had impregnated another woman. After that child was delivered, the officer allegedly monitored his wife’s phone and caught her expressing a desire to leave him.

The cop was initially arrested by Torrington police on felony counts of risk of injury to a minor and misdemeanor counts of unlawful restraint, assault, and breach

of peace. The Torrington officers took his department-issued weapon; that case has been referred to the court’s family relations officer. The next day, Waterbury police arrested him on three misdemeanor counts of assault, disorderly conduct and unlawful restraint for allegedly locking her in an attic for two hours after abusing her. The report did not record the arrested officer’s version of the story; he has not yet entered a plea in the case, according to the state judicial website.

The officer also remains on administrative duty, still without his gun. He’s barred from working overtime while his criminal case proceeds. Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful. The wife, after being urged by her 14-year-old daughter to pack her things, told Waterbury policy last month that she was staying at a friend’s house in Torrington.

Brass Confronts “Spike” New Haven Chief Campbell said he

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has seen “spikes” before in officers being arrested for domestic violence arrests, though he doesn’t remember four in such a short time.

“I think it’s really reflective of what people are going through. Financial struggles, which are some of the issues in many of these instances [and] relationships issues,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the stress of the job. Sometimes you get a group of officers who need some assistance in balancing work life with personal life. That’s why we have EAP [an employee assistance program]. Our department uses EAP and offers EAP more than I think anyone else in the state. But you have to afford yourself the opportunity. You have to take advantage of it. We find that those who do use it really benefit from it.”

Since taking over as chief just over a year ago, Campbell has made domestic violence a priority. His department is working with retired police Capt. Julie Johnson to develop a Family Justice Center that’s intended to improve services for domestic violence victims and to help batterers get help as well. He called the recent incidents involving his officers a “perfect example” of how the center could help.

Assistant Police Chief Otoniel Reyes, who oversees patrol, has brought up the arrests in addressing shift-change line-ups.

He said he has delivered a dual message: Get that help from EAP when you need it.

And know that as officers you will be held to higher standards of conduct.

“It’s alarming,” Reyes said of the recent arrests. “We provide comprehensive services to our officers through EAP and our peer support program, and we continually encourage them to take advantage of them.

There is a great deal of stigma associated with seeking help, and we’ve taken steps to help change the culture of silence.”

There’s not much generally agreed upon research on how many cops abuse their partners. But people working in the field say that victims of “officer-involved domestic violence” face additional hurdles before leaving their partner, experts said.

“It’s important to recognize that law enforcement is not immune to committing domestic violence against their partners,” Karen Jarmoc, chief executive officer of Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said. “When it comes to being abused by a partner who happens to work in law enforcement, they are often fearful to seek help. They might be concerned about their confidentiality [and] concerned that they might not be treated fairly. [Other cops] might know their partner, and they might be fearful that they will not follow through on the law. On the flip side, if they do call, it could jeopardize their partner’s job.”

National experts have questioned whether police treat their own too leniently after an arrest for domestic violence, especially when departments, like until recently New Haven, won’t hire candidates who fess up to smoking marijuana.

In 2003, years of domestic violence perpetrated by the police chief in Tacoma,

Washington, ended in him shooting his wife in a parking lot. Since then, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has pushed police departments to toughen up their response to batterers within their ranks.

Their model policy recommends “zero tolerance” for any cops who attack, rape, restrain, harass or threaten their partners.

“It is imperative to the integrity of the profession of policing and the sense of trust communities have in their local law enforcement agencies that leaders, through the adoption of clear policies, will make a definitive statement that domestic violence will not be tolerated,” the group states.

The IACP recommends that police departments vet all potential hires for abusive tendencies, through psychological screenings and direct contact with intimate partners; enter into cross-jurisdictional agreements to notify other departments of domestic violence arrests or even warning signs; require supervisors to document any problematic behavior; and punish officers cover up for their colleagues by failing to report abuse or attempting to intimidate witnesses.

Whenever there’s an incident of domestic violence by a fellow cop, the IACP recommends prioritizing the 911 calls, notifying the chief and ensuring an officer of a higher rank is on the scene to respond and follow through on the investigation with the standard protocol. Afterward, the IACP says that the chief should ensure that all cops who responded to the call are debriefed, sworn to maintain the victim’s confidentiality and assigned any future work.

Afterward, the IACP says that the department should launch two separate, parallel investigations into criminal charges and administrative discipline. The internal decisions should stand, even if a prosecutor or a jury arrives at a different conclusion on the criminal charges, the group says.

In May 2015, New Haven Chief Dean Esserman adopted a policy on officerinvolved domestic violence that draws on IACP’s recommendations, but it diverges in several key areas.

• For instance, New Haven’s policy starts when an incident occurs, while the IACP recommends pre-screening and training before candidates are even hired to share information with officers and their families about domestic violence.

• New Haven’s cops don’t have any responsibility to break the “blue line” by reporting warning signs of domestic violence, while the IACP recommends a chief “take disciplinary action and criminally charge” other officers if the investigation uncovers that they “failed to notify the department or engaged in actions intended to interfere with the investigation.”

• After a call comes in, New Haven’s supervisors don’t need to seize an officer’s service weapons unless there’s actual, attempted or threatened use of force, while the IACP recommends taking the guns “whenever an officer is arrested,” as there’s Con’t on page 12

The Cost of Obesity

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

by Allegra Balmadier, BlackDoctor.org

The increasing rate of obesity in the United States is getting lots of attention.

Unfortunately, much of the conversation oversimplifies the issue as purely about diet and exercise. In reality, higher body weights stem from a complex combination of reasons still not entirely understood.

What is clear is that much of the shift is societal or systemic in nature and about much more than individual habits. Statistics show obesity affects members of groups with varying social statuses in different ways.

Notably, obesity is disproportionately common among black women.

That alone isn’t inherently significant: Body weight itself is not an indicator of health, and plenty of Americans fit the nar-

10

rowly defined parameters for obesity without facing health issues. For others, however, obesity can coexist with metabolic disturbances, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes.

It’s in those instances that the disparity in obesity rates between black women and other groups become particularly relevant.

According to the American Psychological Association, almost 60 percent of black women are obese, compared to 41 percent of Hispanic women and 32 percent of white women.

There are a variety of reasons for these variations. Due to the legacy of American slavery and racial discrimination, many black Americans live with financial difficulty that can limit access to nutritious food and safe places for activity two key contributors to health.

But systemic barriers to ideal diet and exercise conditions are not the only factors that affect health concerns among black women –– and don’t account for the increased rates of obesity among black women across socioeconomic lines.

Another major factor may be the stress of experiencing racism. An investigation by the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University found a correlation between increased frequency of racist interactions and higher obesity rates among black women.

Researchers theorize the stress of experiencing racism could be one factor in the disproportionately high rates of obesity among black women, as constant exposure to high stress has been shown to disrupt neuroendocrine systems in humans in a way that can cause increased body fat collection.

The complicated array of conditions that have contributed to a deterioration in American health comes at a cost. According to an infographic created by MPH@ GW, the online MPH program from the George Washington University, obesity is associated with more than 100,000 premature deaths and $150 billion in health care costs per year.

Yet, the problem remains difficult to rectify due to complex power and socioeconomic structures that dictate access to survival needs like food, safe living spaces, and trauma-free day-to-day living. Ultimately, change must stem from dismantling the larger systems that leave oppressed marginalized groups more vulnerable to poor health.

Boston University Professor Yvette C. Cozier has studied how racism can impact obesity in black women and envisions antiracism programs on a workplace and community level to combat obesity connected to metabolic or other health issues.

The disproportionate impact of obesity among different race, gender and socioeconomic groups points to the way inequality in the United States directly affects the quality of life and access to food and safety. To improve the health care crisis in our country, it’s vital to investigate systemic barriers to elemental needs.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

#DearBlackGirl Prepares To Take Flight Lucy Gellman, Editor The Arts Paper/Blog There’s a deck of cards between your hands. You shuffle it, feel the weight of the cards, look down. A face catches you off guard. She’s smiling, eyes fixed forward, soft in the frame. Joy dances in the upward curve of her lips. Flip the card over, and the other side urges you: #DearBlackGirl, stand in your truth. Do not make yourself small for anyone. Not now, not ever.

That’s the idea behind #DearBlackGirl, A Love Note, one of two new multimedia projects from photographer, writer, and political organizer Arvia Walker. As it unfolds in New Haven and Hartford this fall, #DearBlackGirl will begin as a community gathering space, where women and girls of color can write encouraging “love notes” and letters to each other and to members of their community, hold discussions, and sit for individual and group portraits “centered around joy and healing.” Waker said she hopes the project will culminate in a book or deck of cards, much like the tarot and affirmation cards she uses to ground herself daily.

“To be Black and woman and alive, and to live at the interactions of race and gender, means to be constantly holding the violence that is perpetrated on our bodies, and to be holding what that does to us mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally,” she said in an introductory video about the project earlier this summer. “It is critical to have spaces to be protected and held.”

Walker has launched the project with Kristianna Smith, owner and founder of Hartford’s Via Arts program. She is fundraising for it while also producing “Our Version of Events,” an oral history and portrait project with family and community elders, in an effort to archive their stories before they pass into the next life. The two overlap in an overarching goal: to give community members back their history, by letting them tell it themselves.

“So many times when we talk about what’s going on in the world, we do not talk about Black women,” Walker said in an interview at Koffee? on Audubon earlier this week.

“We’re hoping it [#DearBlackGirl] will be a space where Black women and girls, and gender nonconforming folks and trans women can come in and fellowship with one another, and have this really intentional space to love on each other.”

The through line is not just her activism but her photography, a medium that Walker has used for to celebrate Black women and girls, activism, and protest through visual culture. In her portraits, both posed and taken at rallies and actions, the viewer gets a glimpse into that world, meeting both men and women of color who are patient, fierce, deliberate, and regal. Often, she said, she meets her subjects only after photographing them, and spends the rallies themselves as “a fly on the wall,” silent behind her camera to document events as they unfold.

The concept for #DearBlackGirl came to her in late July, during a summer that saw the murders of several Black women across the country. By then, 2018 had already been an emotionally trying year for her. A po-

litical organizer for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE), Walker goes to work each day in a field that is still predominately white and, on a legislative level, predominately male. Often, she said, she is the only woman of color in the room.

And in Connecticut, “a lot of people don’t understand what happens in that building [the Legislative Office Building], and how close to center a lot of people are.”

“A lot of people don’t understand how conservative or moderate it is in Connecticut, unless you spend your days in that building, and you hear the conversations that are being had around our lives,” she continued.

“How quickly and easily this state can turn into a red state.”

There were times this year, she said, when she needed those affirmations for herself.

In early April, she spoke out publicly about misogyny and white supremacy at the state capitol, penning a viral social media status followed by an op-ed after an interaction with State Sen. John Fonfara, in which he joked that he needed a “Stand With White Men” pin to match her “Stand With Black Women”one. By the time the state’s legislative session ended in May, she said it had been a particularly hard year for her.

Then on July 22, 18-year-old Nia Wilson was murdered in Oakland, Calif., while waiting for her train on a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform with her sister. The same week, Walker heard about a woman killed by her partner in Connecticut. Two months earlier in New Haven, Tyekqua Nesbitt had been shot and killed in front of her two children. The list grew.

Even as Walker tried to limit her exposure to the violence—“I’ve consciously tried to stay away from consuming too much violence on the Black body,” she said—articles and statuses about Wilson’s murder flooded her social media feeds.

She needed something affirming, that came from outside herself. And as she searched for it, she realized that lots of other Black women probably did too.

“There’s times that I started questioning myself and what I was doing at work,” she recalled. “I was thinking about—what if, growing up, I had a space or something that was really affirming to me? And then I was like, this would be great if it was a community space where we’re doing our own portraits, that are centered in joy and healing and celebrating each other. Creating our own space, outside of a world and a country that doesn’t protect us as Black women.”

“When history is written, we have to write our own history,” she added. “How is that going to be captured?”

She already had some sense of how she wanted to write it. Raised in Hartford, Walker comes from a family of strong Black women, artists, and political activists. In 1966, her maternal grandmother made the journey to Connecticut after growing up on a sugarcane plantation in Florida, the child of a father who worked in the fields and mother who did domestic work for white families (“I call it modernday slavery,” said Walker). Her grand-

mother’s father—Walker’s maternal greatgrandfather—registered Black laborers on the plantation to vote with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Her grandmother and mother, who was born in Hartford, “raised me to always speak my truth … to say what’s in my heart.” Her father is an artist—the first person she saw with a camera.

In some ways, the framework for #DearBlackGirl was unfolding then, as Walker’s career grew into a series of love notes from her matriarchs to her, and from her to those she worked with. By the time she got to college at Southern Connecticut State Uni-

11

versity, she was planning a career in clinical social work. Her senior year, State Rep. Toni Walker came to talk to her class about the state legislature. It was a wholly unexpected sort of love note to Arvia Walker’s ambition.

“I was in awe that there was a Black woman who was a social worker and also a state representative who was talking about systems and changing polices,” she recalled.

“It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of shifting macro systems. So that was what got me into the work.”

For a few years after the class, Walker stuck with social work, pursuing a Mas-

ter’s degree at the University of Connecticut while working full-time as a clinical case manager. She loved her clients, but could feel herself growing frustrated with policies that seemed to stop progress in its tracks. So when a friend offered her a job working on Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in Florida—maybe a grassroots sort of love note—she switched her concentration to community organizing. She couldn’t afford the move to Florida. So she called Toni Walker, and made her pitch for an internship. It was her springboard into the Legislative Office Building, where she still finds herself doing work now.

That career—“a series of fortunate events,” she called it while sipping an iced Americano—is a kind of love note to the world.

But it’s a complicated one, filled with an ongoing need for support and affirmation from women of color to women of color.

She said she hopes #DearBlackGirl can provide that for not only a younger generation, but mothers and grandmothers who come to the events.

“The hope is to do a mix,” she said. “For people to come with their folks, and do individual portraits. If mothers come with their daughters, do mother-daughter portraits. Friends, grandmothers and their grandkids … so there’s a variety of people in the pictures. So that when this final project is shown, we can see that Black women aren’t a monolith. So that we can see the beauty of how we present in the world.”

Walker added that #DearBlackGirl also fits into a greater piece of her mission—championing the histories of family, community, and women of color, and archiving them to live on long after she, too, has become an ancestor. While also working on “Our Version Of Events,” she’s recorded stories from family members that she’d never heard before, from the way her grandfather learned to differentiate plants and eat off the land to her great-grandfather’s political advocacy in Florida. On a recent trip through New Orleans, she did an interview in the airport with a complete stranger on the Red Hat Society, a group of women over 50 “who are out there living their best life.”

“The stories of our families are so important, and critical to the preservation of our families, and our history, and our learning,” she said. “We go through things so that people can do them a little bit different in the future. Or we repeat it, or we can look at it and examine it. We can’t disconnect from our roots.”

Walker and Smith expect #DearBlackGirl to go live with events in Hartford and New Haven this fall. Currently, they are working towards an overall goal of $3,500 through Indiegogo. Find out more at https://www. indiegogo.com/projects/dearblackgirl-alove-note#/ As the editorially independent arm of The Arts Council of Greater New Haven, the Arts Paper seeks to celebrate, explore, and investigate the fine, visual, performing and culinary arts in and around New Haven.

Visit www.newhavensrts.org

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

THE LAUNCH OF

MALVEAUX: Black Political Excellence

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By Julianne Malveaux Senators Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) used their time wisely in their questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kaveaugh, the elusive man whose hidden documents would perhaps disqualify him from the court. Both (along with Senator Dianne Feinstein and others) raised important points in grilling Kavenaugh, and Booker went out on a limb to defy Senate protocol and release so-called confidential emails from Kavenaugh. He earned a warning from one of his colleagues, and praise from embattled Democrats who are likely to lose the fight to keep Kavenaugh off the court because the numbers just don’t add up.

Harris also pushed Kavenaugh hard, and left him speechless when she asked him if he knew of any laws “that the government has the power to make over the male body?”

I whooped when she asked the question, appreciating the point she was making. Kavenaugh could not answer. He simply mumbled and fumbled.

Most of the Democrats brought their “A” game to these hearings, but I’m lifting up

12

Booker and Harris because they are examples of Black political excellence. The two are also chairing the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, the annual September gathering of African American legislators, activists, and others.

Both stand out because of their preparation, excellence, and connections to the African American community.

They weren’t the only recent examples of Black political excellence. In Florida, the underfunded Andrew Gillum, the only nonmillionaire in the race for governor, pulled out an unexpected victory as Democratic nominee. While he didn’t have the money that his rivals had, he had an army of amazing volunteers who combed the state mobilizing voters.

The Tallahassee mayor who backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential race was boosted by a late endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders and critical campaign dollars from billionaires Tom Steyer and George Soros. His victory was close, but it wasn’t a squeaker. And he vanquished former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, daughter of a former governor and part of a political dynasty.

What has been most impressive about Gillum, though, has been his eloquence and self-possession in the wake of his victory.

Congressman Ron DeSantis, the despicable Trump supporter who won the Republican nomination, followed the example of his patron in using racially coded language against Gillum, urging voters not to “monkey up” the state.

When asked about DeSantis’ ignorance in interviews, Gillum asked voters and others to focus on the issues, not the racism. He appeared unruffled in these exchanges and indicated exactly the kind of principled governor he will be. Excellence.

In Boston, City Councilor Ayana Pressley defeated 10-term Congressman Michael Capuano. With no Republican opposition, she will be the first African American woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress.

Pressley also demonstrated excellence, resilience, and persistence.

Ignoring advice that she should “wait her turn” before running for Congress, undeterred by the fact that many members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed her opponent, Pressley remained focused on her message and amassed an amazing army of volunteers to earn a stunning victory. Excellence.

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia is also an example of this excellence. She pulverized her opponent, Stacey Evans, back in June, and is now waging a campaign against another Trumptype opponent. Her excellence stands out and makes her a role model for other African American women who seek higher office, often against all odds. She has used her personal story to galvanize people, much in the same ways that Ayanna Pressley and Andrew Gillum have. Their stories are persuasive to voters because they assure voters that they may be able to better understand their hardships than others can.

What is exciting about the Black political excellence is that it also represents a generational changing of the guard. Gillum is

39, Pressley and Abrams, in their early 40s.

Booker is 49, and Harris is in her early 50s.

This is quite a change from the entrenched political leadership that endorsed Pressley’s opponent. It doesn’t suggest that the entrenched generation needs to “step aside”; as some have said, but it does suggest that they will have to find ways to work together and learn from each other.

The awful outcome of the 2016 election has emboldened young African Americans to seek public office, against all odds. It’s an exciting development in an otherwise gloomy political time, and it ought also be motivation for people to vote in the midterm elations!

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via www.amazon.comfor booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www. juliannemalveaux.com Con’t from page 09

4 Cops Arrested

evidence that the presence of firearms can quintuple the risk of a homicide.

• New Haven’s officers aren’t reminded to keep the victim’s identity confidential, while the IACP stresses that leaks could endanger a victim who has fled into hiding or witnesses who tried to keep the partner safe. Speaking generally, Jarmoc said that, without a clear policy guaranteeing confidentiality, “information might be shared, not just within the department but across departments, that’s not supposed to be shared.”

• And finally, New Haven’s policy doesn’t say what should happen if the chief is suspected of domestic violence, while IACP sets out a clear protocol for notifying the state’s attorney and the mayor.

While Jarmoc wasn’t familiar with the specifics of New Haven’s policies, she said that it’s a positive sign that four officers were arrested on these charges, rather than getting away without enforcement.

“We are not hearing that officers are not being arrested,” she said. “The fact that four officers were arrested on charges of family violence is demonstrative, showing that the departments are taking action, regardless of whether it’s law enforcement or not.

It appears that they’re following through.”

Outside of departments, Jarmoc said it’s important for victims of officer-involved domestic violence to know that nearly 400 advocates throughout Connecticut, reachable at hotlines at any time, can confidentially talk through the safety risks.

Last year, nearly 38,400 Connecticut residents were victimized by abusive partners, according to a count by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Many of those victims reported being trapped in their relationships, unable to pay for their own housing or unwilling to endanger their kids. Local organizations, like The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services, do offer support for those trying to leave.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

Black Business is Booming/ Black Dollar is Losing

By Tyler Doggett

Black entrepreneurship is at an all-time high in American with our queens leading the charge. But, why doesn’t the number of Black wealth reflect the ambition of our generation?

For decades, Black America has suffered from a self-destructive ideology when it comes to supporting our own businesses from the perpetuated belief and practice of systematic racism towards ourselves.

Roots of the great Black division can be traced back to slavery days through colorism, elitism, and other key strategies used to create seperation amongst our communities. Fast forward to 2018, and the same toxic mentality plagues still our culture.

Unlike other minorities that learn from their oppressors and bring that knowledge back for the overall advancement of their communities, it seems many of our people get lost on the way back to our community.

According to Best-selling author of Our Black Year, Maggie Anderson, less than 3 percent of our $1 trillion in buying power makes its way back to our community via our spending with our business and the companies that engage our business.

“We can vote Black, go to church Black, go be members of all these wonderful Black

institutions, but unless you are spending Black and buying Black — that’s the best way to demonstrate your love and pride for the community,” Anderson said.

So, with this information clashing with the business statistics of 2018, what can we see?

Connie Evans, President and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity tells the Huffington Post that Black business is the key to bridging the gap of wealth depravity.

“Researchers found that the gap in average wealth between Black and White adults decreases from a multiplier of 13 to 3 when you compare the wealth of business owners by race” Evans stated. And with 2.58 million Black-owned businesses in America today, minor changes like employing 2 more people would have an incredible effect on the market.

The acceptance of negative black business tropes and common stereotypes attack the possibility of black economic success amongst our own people. While some blacks hold black owned business, (especially Start ups,) to an impossible standard aesthetically comparing them to businesses that’s been established for millennia, others keep a 0 tolerance persona when it comes to service demands. Some

Blacks feel that Black entrepreneurs take advantage of their race to over-price items that you can commonly get from Wal-Mart for a fraction of the price.

Through all of the stigmas that’s coming with black businesses understanding that Unity equals wealth she push our people to support each other. If we stick together and build each other up, establish our commu-

By Antonia Williams-Gary

Words matter. #Black. #Girl. #Magic.

After the celebration of Nia Franklin’s crowing as Miss America, I urge caution.

We need to take time to pause and regroup-to recharge our batteries for the long battles we’re still waging.

On one front, we have the ongoing, blatant, and racist D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T of Serena Williams, a series of in-your-face affronts that crystalizes the fight black women have been engaged in for so long.

It’s great to see Serena taking her fight to the top.

On other fronts, we have the ongoing treatment of women as second-class citizens, at best. Around the world, and with

only a few exceptions (Scandinavian countries usually get it right) females still work for less pay for equal work; suffer from genital mutilations; are forced into child marriages; murdered at birth in some parts of India/Asia; treated with general disdain, and/or bullied simply for being female, to give just a few examples of the problem.

And if the females are non-white, you can bet that their ill treatment is multiplied by some numerical factor greater than two.

Where does this distorted thinking come from? Are we born that way? If you looked closely at how children under the age of two treat one another, you’d realize that they don’t know differences. It is taught.

How did we go so wrong with adopting the notion that females are less than. Less worthy. Less valued. Less likely to (fill in the blank).

Kimber Sparks Racial Furor

nity as the economic powerhouse that we are instead of the easily marketable consumer that we are perceived to be, and empower each other with our own revenues circulating within our own communities, we could create a utopia of Black excellence.

This article first appeared in African American News & Issues.

Black Girls Have Magic

“There she is, Miss America. There she is, our ideal!” Black girl magic? Indeed!

While I’m thrilled that New York, a black has been crowned the new Miss America, I not so fast to think that all that #blackgirlmagic is the final solution.

To be sure, there are many causes and numerous instances to celebrate women’s achievements, and I am not interested in diminishing any one person’s accomplishments. But we can ill afford to let our guard down; to give up our constant, diligent watch in protest against injustices visited upon more than 50 percent of the population, even when a black girl appears to be magical.

Con’t from page 06

Culture? Class? Forgotten history repeating itself, badly?

There are legions and legends of female warriors, but chances are only a very few we can recall as handy references, including Candace, Nzinga, The Dahomey Amazons, Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Harriet Tubman.

But if you Google: Female Warriors throughout History, Wikipedia lists several dozens’ from ancient history to modern times. They are, not surprisingly, from all over the world, and dating back to the most ancient of times. Some of their conquests included whole countries!

Talk about half the sky. So, if it’s true that we (females) hold up half the sky, why does it feel that our part of the sky is not being held as high, or as steady as the other half? Or that the sky feels like it is about to collapse on all our heads?

14

For instance, just look at the growing lists of men accused of sexual harassment; Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, went down this week. #metoo is real. Think about that for a minute. I suppose if I stood on my head I would see the world as one big alternative fact. But I am standing upright and with both feet firmly planted in reality.

Here is some of my reality. I have four granddaughters and I imagine that each one of them is being prepared to lead the world; to invent cures for diseases; to solve complex problems facing humanity; to participate as equals amongst equals.

And I have to ask myself this question: “What good has my stay here been if I don’t teach them by my example?”

We cannot become blinded by a few exceptions like Miss America, brilliant athleticism on tennis courts or at gymnastics meets, or winning medals on Olympic swim teams, etc.

The everyday, ordinary black girl has magic too. Each of us must take our places on the front lines of defense for all of them.

They should see every one of us holding up our 50 percent of the sky.

And that means that our black males must hold up their fair share too.

That is the next frontier- to guarantee that #blackgirlmagic and #blackguysmagic becomes a winning combination.

This article originally appeared in the South Florida Times.

for more than a decade. That night, one parent from Columbus Family Academy gave his remarks entirely in Spanish, then challenged the board members: “How does it feel for this board not to understand?”

Translation has since been added at Board of Education meetings, and Birks has hired a tutor to help her learn Spanish.

Are English Language Learners Learning?

Activism by Latino leaders has focused most intently on how to teach English to those who grow up in households where Spanish is the primary language. Within the city’s schools, there’s no unified approach, and measures of academic achievement have dragged.

Across New Haven’s elementary schools, English learners score dramatically worse on standardized tests than the district’s other students. Only 11.2 percent of the city’s English-language learners are scoring proficient in reading, and worse, only 8.8 percent are scoring proficient in math.

The effects of the achievement gap persist through high school, where they’re more likely to drop out. Two years ago, 70.9 percent of New Haven’s English-language learners graduated within four years, 10.5 points lower than the district’s other students.

At several schools, like Barnard Environmental Magnet School, Fair Haven School, Hill Central Music Academy, John S. Martinez Sea & Sky STEM School, and Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School, significant numbers of English learners are starting to catch up.

But the district hasn’t yet articulated a plan to replicate those successes elsewhere. In fact, across New Haven’s schools, there’s currently no standard method for teaching English learners.

Depending on staffing and curriculum, schools vary widely in how much of their native language kids continue to learn in the early grades. Only three schools offer dual-language immersion programs, considered the gold standard, while some schools just have tutors that help out in English-only classes.

Last spring, Birks said she wants to “make sure that we are honoring students’ native languages,” but she said she’s still reviewing model programs in other states to figure out the district’s core curriculum.

Candelaria, who co-chaired a task force on improving instruction for English language learners, said the limited rollout of bilingual programs so far has defeated the point of New Haven’s portfolio of themed magnet schools. If only a handful can actually support students learning English, there’s no real choice for parents in the lottery.

“We know that bilingual services are not even across the district. We know that English leaners are pushed into mainstream classes,” he said. “What is the equity in that?”

RP inner city news 5.471 x 5.1. sept final.qxp_Layout 1 8/28/18 2:56 PM Page 1

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

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INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 -- August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 September 25, 2018

Dispatcher

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

NOTICE Invitation for Bid Pest Control and Preventative Maintenance Services

Galasso Materials is seeking a motivated, organized, detail-oriented candidate to join its truck dispatch office. Responsibilities include order entry and truck ticketing in a fast paced materials manufacturing and contracting company. You will have daily interaction with employees and customers The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven as numerous truckloads of material cross our scales daily. We are willing d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids to train the right individual that has a great attitude. NO PHONE CALLS for PestINC, Control and Preventative Maintenance PLEASE.Authority, Reply to Hiring Manager, PO Box 1776, East Granby, CT 06026.

HOME on behalf of Columbus House and theServices.

New Haven Housing A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from EOE/M/F/D/V.

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develElm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal opment located at 108 Frank Street, New https://newhavenHaven. Maximum income limitations aphousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Monday, 6, 2018 at 9:00AM.(approximately 100) have 25,beginning 2016 andon ending whenAugust sufficient pre-applications been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon rePart quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed pre-Time Delivery Needed Common Ground is hiring a part timeoffices Grants As-Orange Street, Third applications must be returned to HOME INC’s at 171 One/Two Day a Week, sociate.

ForHaven, a complete job description and directions Floor, New CT 06510.

DELIVERY PERSON

on how to apply, please visit http://commongroundct. org/2018/07/common-ground-seeks-part-time-grantsNOTICIA associate

Must Have your Own Vehicle

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

If Interested call

(203) 435-1387

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Request for Proposals aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio enThe esteCommunity desarrollo Foundation for Greater New Haven Program Management Services Consultant ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven.

Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos is seeking to fill the position of Director of Gift Planning. máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Please refer to our website for details: http://www.cfgnh.org/ The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) About/ContactUs/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx.

EOE. Communities is currently seeking Bids las oficinas de HOMEServices INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas Electronic submissions only. No phone calls forenProgram Management Consultant.

A complete copy of por correo a petición a HOME al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse thellamando requirement mayINC be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collabo. a las oficinas HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510KMK ration Portal de https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/ Insulation Inc. gateway beginning on Monday, August 27, 2018 at 3:00PM.

Secretary I: The Town of East Haven

1907 Hartford Turnpike North Haven, CT 06473

Mechanical Insulator position.

Insulation company offering good pay and benefits.

JOB FAIR CONSTRUCTION POSITIONS MERIDEN COMMONS PHASE II SPONSORED BY: PENNROSE COMPANY THE CLOUD COMPANY, LLC MERIDEN HOUSING AUTHORITY HAYNES CONSTRUCTION COMPANY PLACE: SILVER CITY BALLROOM 16 COLONY STREET MERIDEN, CT DATE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 TIME: 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.

“IMMEDIATE OPENINGS!! PAID TRAINING!!” $21.10hr.

P/T Fixed Route Driver and ADA Driver – MUST HAVE CDL A/B & P and endorsement S, V, A or F

Operate vehicles in the Transit District’s Fixed Route OR ADA /Shuttle department, providing Commuter Shuttle service between the rail stations and places of employment and Door-To-Door services.

To apply visit Norwalktransit.com/employment

Please mail resume to above address.. MAIL ONLY is currently conducting an examination for the position This company is an Affirmative Action/ of Secretary I, Grade Level 9. Qualified candidates must Equal Opportunity Employer.

Invitation to Bid: possess a High School Diploma or GED and two (2) years 242-258 Fairmont Ave 2nd Notice Part Time Foster Care Family Support Worker of experience with secretarial and office operations or any Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1The level , 1BA $18.00 to $20.00 hourly – non-benefited equivalent2BR combination of experience and training. new apartments, new appliances, new The carpet, close to I-91Class & I-95 A driver F/T ExperiencedOld Saybrook, Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE For details and how to apply currentAllopening is in the Board of Education. hourly CT highways, near stopThe & shopping center rate for this position is $17.23 perbus hour. application go to www.bloomfieldct.org (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Email-Hherbert@gwfabrication.com is available at http://www.townofeasthavenct.org/civiltest.

Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project shtml or The Civil Service Office, 250 Main Street, East QSR STEEL CORPORATION Haven CT and the deadline to apply is October 9, 2018.

CT.Town Unified Deacon’s pleased to offer a Deacon’s Employer.

New Construction, Site-work, The of EastAssociation Haven isisan Equal Opportunity APPLY NOW! Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Full TimeCastBuilding Official Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Minorities, Females, Veterans and Handicapped are encourin-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders aged to apply.

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential$78,100 Casework, to $120,552

NEW HAVEN

Town of Bloomfield

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Town of Bloomfield

Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Pre-employment Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT

(203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

The Glendower Group, Inc

St. New Haven, CT

Request for Proposals Traffic Study for Westville Master Planning

drug testing. AA/EOE For details and to apply go to www.bloomfieldct.org This contract is subject to state set-aside and contracthow compliance requirements.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Property Company is seeking a Resident Services CoorBid Extended, Due Date: AugustManagement 5, 2016 dinator in New Haven, CT. Part time- 16 hrs/wk. Must have experience The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate of Housing Authority City of Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 The Glendower Group, Inc working w/ senior and disabled community. Social Services background Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking proProject documents available via ftp link below: preferred. Please call (860) 951-9411 x238 for inquiries. posals Traffic for Westville Master2,Planning. untilfor3:00 pmStudy on Tuesday, August 2016 at Aitscomplete office at 28 Smith Street, http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage copy of the requirement obtainedSidewalk from Elm Repairs City’s Vendor Request for Qualifications Seymour, CT 06483may for be Concrete and Replacement at the Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesysCo-Developer For Farnam Courts Phase II Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living September Facility, 26 Seymour. tems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, 10,Smith 2018 Street at The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses is seeking BIDS FOR

3:00PM

MAINTENANCE UNIFORMS.

Construction Company, A pre-bid conference be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith The Glendower Group, Inc an affiliate ofHaynes Housing Authority City 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Common Ground iswill looking for an Assistant Manager of FaBidding documents can be viewed and printed at www. of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is currently seeking AA/EEO EMPLOYER Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. cilities and Grounds to assist the Site Manager with the care, upkeep and proposals for Co-Developer For Farnam Courts Phase II. A com-

maintenance of Common Ground’s site and facilities in order to ensure they effectively meet all of Common Ground’s programmatic needs. plete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfVendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobbleClick here for a full job descrtipion and how to apply: http://commongroundct.org/2018/07/common-ground-is-seeking-an-assistant-managfice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. stonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 at 9:00AM er-of-facilities-and-grounds/

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

16

norwalkha.org under the Business section, RFP/RFQ. Norwalk Housing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director.

INNER-CITY July 2016 -- August THE INNER-CITY NEWS - NEWS September 1927, , 2018 September 25, 2018 02, 2016

Water Treatment

NOTICE Water Treatment Pumping Operator II. The Town of Wallingford Water Division is seeking qualified candidates to maintain and operate the water treatment stations, andPREwellAPPLICATIONS facilities. Must process a VALENTINAplants, MACRIpump RENTAL HOUSING AVAILABLE High School Diploma or G.E.D with three (3) years of actual experience in HOME a water treatment with one (1)and year supervisory experience, INC, on behalf plant of Columbus House the of New Haven Housing Authority, orisan equivalent combination of education and qualifying accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments experience. at this devellocated 108 Frank New Haven. Maximum income limitations apInopment addition mustat have StateStreet, of Connecticut DPH Class IV Water Treatply. Pre-applications willIIbeWater available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday ment Plant and Class Distribution System Operators CertifiJu;y ca25, or 2016 endingtowhen sufficient (approximately 100) have tion, theand ability obtain withinpre-applications six (6) month probationary period. been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon re$24.94 - $30.27 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply: quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preDepartment of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Street, Wallingford, 06492. The closing date will be the date the 50th Floor, New Haven, CTCT 06510. application/resume is received, or October 16, 2018 whichever occurs first. EOE NOTICIA VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 SIDING AND GUTTER REPLACEMENT AT 25 UNITS (FAIRFIELD RIDGE) julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) IFBpre-solicitudes No. B18002serán enviadas por correo a petición en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse The of Danbury receive bids ,on before a lasHousing oficinas Authority de HOME of INCtheenCity 171 Orange Street,will tercer piso, sealed New Haven CTor06510 .

INVITATION FOR BID

10:00 am, Tuesday, October 11, 2018 at the office of said Authority located at 2 Mill Ridge Road, Danbury CT 06811, and said bids will be publicly opened and read aloud immediately thereafter.

Bids will be received for furnishing all labor, materials, tools, services, and equipment necessary to complete the “Siding and Gutter Replacement at 25 Units (Fairfield Ridge).”

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Ave including specificaContractors may request proposed formsFairmont of contract documents, tions as prepared by the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury on September 11, 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA 2018 via email to dmarra@hacdct.org.

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center A non-mandatory pre-bid walkthrough will be held at 10:00am on Thursday, October 4, 2018. interested parties Interested can meet atparties 78 Fairfi eld Ridge, CT. PetAll under 40lb allowed. contact Maria Danbury, @ 860-985-8258

A satisfactory Bid Bond, in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the base bid, shall be submitted with the isbud submission.

The Bid Bond shall be made payable to CT. Unified Deacon’s Association pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program.

This is a of 10 month program designed toand assist in thebe intellectual formation of Candidates the Housing Authority the City of Danbury shall properly executed by the in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30Bidder.

A 100% Performance, and B.S. Material Bond is also required. All sureties 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J.Labor Davis, M.S., (203) 996-4517 General Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor must be listedHost, on the mostBishop recent IRS circular 570.of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

Attention of bidders is directed to certain requirements of this contract which require payment of Davis-Bacon wages, and compliance with certain local, state and federal requirements.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

The Housing Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids and/or waive any Sealed bids invited bysuch the action Housing Authority of Seymour informality in are bidding, when is deemed to beofinthe theTown best interest of the until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Housing Authority.

Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Housing Authority the City Danbury Smithfield Gardens Assisted LivingofFacility, 26ofSmith Street Seymour.

Mary C. Sistrunk, Executive Director

A pre-bid An conference will Action/Equal be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Affirmative Opportunity Employer Street Seymour,Minority/Women CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Business Enterprise and Section 3 Designated Enterprises are encouraged to submit

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

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

Field Engineer

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for an Information Technology Analyst 1 position, a Municipal Assessment Professional position and a Research Analyst position.

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.

Project Manager Environmental Remediation Division

For information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions, please visit https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT and click on:

3-5 years exp. and Bachelor’s Degree, 40-Hr. Hazwoper Training Req. Forward resumes to RED Technologies, LLC,

Information Technology Analyst 1 (40 Hour) Recruitment #180815-7603FD-001

RED Technologies, LLC is an EOE.

Municipal Assessment Professional Recruitment #180817-5864AR-001 Research Analyst Recruitment #180822-6855AR-001 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

FENCE ERECTING CONTRACTORS

10 Northwood Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002;

Fax 860.218.2433; or Email to HR@redtechllc.com

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc

seeks: Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Dan Peterson Phone: 860- 243-2300 email: dpeterson@garrityasphalt.com Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor is looking for Fence Installer foreman and helpers. Foreman must have at least 5 years’ experience. Helpers-no experience required, will train the right person. Work available 10-12 months per year. Valid Ct. Driver’s license required and must be able to get a DOT Medical Card. All necessary equipment provided. Medical, vacation & other benefits included. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Foreman rates from $22 to $28.10/hour plus benefits, helper rates from $16 Invitation Bid: to $18.10/hour plus benefits. OSHA 10 trainingtorequired.

Please nd Notice email resume to pking@atlasoutdoor.com2 AA/EOE

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc

seeks: Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

CDL Driver with 3 years min. exp. HAZMAT Endorsed.

Old Saybrook, CT (Tractor/Triaxle/Roll-off)

(4 Buildings, 17 Units) FAX resumes to RED Technologies, at 860.342-1042; Email: HR@redtechllc.com Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project Mail or in person: 173 Pickering Street, Portland, CT 06480.

RED Technologies, LLC is EOE/AA.

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

Union Company seeks:

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition,Tractor Site-work,Trailer Cast- Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipment. Must have a CDL License, in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, TRACTOR TRAILER DRIVER (F/T) clean driving record, capable of operating heavy Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, equipment; be willing to travel throughout the Perform routine driving (in state)/inspection of transported goods Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. and material handling duties for retail operations. Valid CDL A & Thismed contract is subject to HS stateDiploma/GED set-aside andw/1-3 contract requirements. Northeast & NY. current examiner’s card. yrs.compliance exp.

Pay rate $19.21/hr. (DOE) plus benefits. Apply in person: 432 Washington Ave, North Bid Haven/hr@goodwillsne.org/fax:203-495Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 6108 EOE/AA – M/F/D/V

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits Contact Dana at 860-243-2300.

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply Project documents via ftp link Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer Common Ground is looking for an available Assistant Manager of below: Facilitieshttp://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage and Grounds to assist the Site Manager with the care, upkeep and maintenance of Common Ground’s site and facilities in order to ensure they effectively meet all of Common Ground’s programmatic or Email Questions & Bids Dawn Lang and @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com needs.FaxClick here for a full jobto: descrtipion how to apply: http:// HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses commongroundct.org/2018/07/common-ground-is-seeking-an-assisHaynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 tant-manager-of-facilities-and-grounds/ Large CT Fence

FENCE ERECTING SUBCONTRACTORS

AA/EEO EMPLOYER Scale House Operator, Data Entry, Print, Copy & Scan Documents. Working knowledge of Haz. Waste Regs., & Manifests.

DOT & 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.

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& Guardrail Contractor is looking for experienced, responsible commercial and residential fence erectors and installers on a subcontractor basis. Earn from $750 to $2,000 per day. Email resume to pking@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE

Too Early for Best Teams?

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

by Anthony Scott, ICN Sports Correspondent

The second week of the NFL season has concluded. Some fans are thrilled two weeks in, and depression is setting in for others. It is still too early to make bold predictions (although I have a big one coming), but the true makeup of each team is starting to take shape. The scores this week were: Bengals over Ravens 34-23, Falcons over Panthers 31-24, Colts over Redskins 21-9, Titans over Texans 20-17, Buccaneers over Eagles 27-21, Chiefs over Steelers 42-37, Dolphins over Jets 20-12, Chargers over Bills 31-20, Vikings and Packers tie 29-29, Saints over Browns 21-18, 49ers over Lions 30-27, Rams over Cardinals 34-0, Jaguars over Patriots 31-20, Broncos over Raiders 20-19, Bears over Seahawks 24-17.

The majority of this week’s games were not exactly exciting. It did produce a bunch of big storylines though. It already looks like a Rams-Chiefs Super Bowl is around the corner (my bold prediction), although I constantly talk about not overreacting. Patrick Mahomes had another stellar performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick picked up where he left off, and Blake Bortles shut up his critics for once. The Packers lose controversially, and the Browns curse is downright depressing now.

The Patrick Mahomes legend was born last week, and it only grew more on Sunday. He threw for 326 yards and 6 touchdowns. He set the NFL record for most TD passes in the first two weeks of the season with ten.

Although the Chiefs’ defense is not thrilled about allowing 37 points, they were playing one of the leagues’ most potent offenses in Pittsburgh. The fact that Mahomes outplayed Big Ben speaks volumes. Andy Reid has built an unbelievable skill position group in Kansas City, surpassing any of the great groups he had in Philly. Due to Mahomes’ arm strength and decisiveness, they are being utilized to their full potential. Barring injuries, the Chiefs look like the favorites in an improved AFC. After an unbelievable week one performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick continued his success right off the bat. He threw a TD on a deep post route to DeSean Jackson the first play of the game. He played great throughout Fitzpatrick rarely strings together two good games, and these two were superstar level. Are the Bucs actually a contender now?

The Rams dominated the Cardinals in every way. Enough said. Arizona will likely switch to Josh Rosen at QB soon, but the Rams have no weakness in their roster.

Keep an eye on them moving forward.

The Bengals have scored 68 points in their first two games. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to break their playoff curses yet, but Andy Dalton is looking like a top level quarterback.

The Browns played well for the second straight week against a playoff team, and they blew it with missed field goals and

Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports extra points. Can’t make it up. Sports are better than any soap opera.

Possibly the biggest week 2 storyline was whether or not Aaron Rodgers would play against Minnesota on a bum knee. The decision for him to play came at the eleventh hour, and he was wearing a giant brace on his knee. It was obvious that Green Bay had a game plan to allow Aaron to get the ball out his hand quickly. Despite the fact that the Packers o-line played inspired at times, they had a tough task against an elite Vikings defense. The Vikings continued like a top tier team and Kirk Cousins showed his poise and decision making ability again. Their defense might be the best in football, and they continue to exhibit playmakers at all three phases. In the end of the day, Green Bay should have won.

The roughing the passer call against Clay Matthews, which extended the Vikings game tying drive at the end of the fourth.

Refs have a very difficult job, but the hit looked legal from every angle to me. It’s unfortunate, especially because the game ended in a dreaded tie.

In a rematch of last years’ AFC Championship game, the Jags have an entirely different offensive approach, and may have conquered their demons. After seeming afraid to let him loose in the past, and blowing a 10 point lead in the playoffs against New England last year, Blake Bortles was given the green light Sunday. And it paid off. Bortles finished 29-45 with 377.

On the other side, Brady struggled, throwing for 234 yards. The offense was anemic in the first half, atypical of New England.

He seemed listless at times against an elite Jags defense. All in all, Doug Marrone basically out-coached Bill Belichick. Jacksonville vowed to take Rob Gronkowski out the game, forcing Brady to utilize other receivers. It worked; Gronk was held to 15 yards on two catches. The Patriots decided to stack the box on defense to shut

down the running game, although Leonard Fournette did not play. Their plan was unsuccessful, considering that Bortles played unencumbered, taking advantage of what the defense gave.

The Falcons-Panthers game was sadly marred by Atlanta safety Damontae Kazee taking a clear cheap shot at Cam Newton’s head while he was sliding. The Falcons were without their two most athletic defenders in Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, who both got hurt last week. Everyone knew job of stopping Cam’s running was almost impossible coming in, so they clearly tried to take matters into their own hands. In general, bottling Cam up is the key to victory against Carolina. In week 1, Cam had more rushing attempts than Christian McCaffrey. I have always been critical of Cam for not having pocket awareness, but this offense has some issues that are out of his control. All their receivers elect for Jarius Wright look lost in Norv Turner’s system. The loss of Greg Olson makes the situation for Cam that much gloomier. For Atlanta, things are looking rosy again. Matt Ryan was 23-28 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. He struggled week one, as well as the entire offense, and fans wondered why OC Steve Sarkisian was employed. Now, they might just be turning the corner. It may just be one good week, or maybe Matt Ryan is finally building a rapport with Sark similar to what he had with Kyle Shanahan. The Devonta Freeman injury is tough, but the passing game is finally looking as expected. I never overreact to the Falcons, because you never know when the will decide to play poorly. But they have plenty of games like Sunday where they remind us of what their upside is.

Sam Darnold will be the story for the Jets all year, regardless of what else happens.

He was again this week, but for less optimistic reasons. He threw a first quarter pick

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to T.J. McDonald, which was unfortunate considering he started last week that way.

The return set Miami up for a TD drive starting from the 15-yard line, allowing them to grab early momentum. The Jets’ running attack was a huge factor week 1, but they were stymied by a superior Dolphins defense. Despite a slow start, the Jets offense did show life. Quincy Enunwa looked impressive for the second straight week, making tough catches and breaking tackles. At the end of the first half, the Jets pushed the ball all the way to the one yard line, only to have time expire since they were out of timeouts. They continued that momentum to start the second, scoring on a Bilal Powell touchdown reception to start the half. On the Dolphins next drive, the Jets recovered a Ryan Tannehill fumble.

They appeared to grab the momentum, but Darnold threw an interception in the back of the endzone. Terrell Pryor did not make the proper break, but a veteran QB would probably know better. Darnold made a stellar rollout and throw to a wide open Chris Herndon, who dropped the ball on what would have been a big play. Unlike last week, the Jets looked undisciplined overall. The Dolphins did as well, evident by their constant bad snaps. Overall, it was a sloppy game, but Miami ultimately pulled it out. Miami looks like they could be a big surprise this year, but this game was more about Darnold. He plays on the edge, and always wants to make the big play. He needs to play smarter, but it’s a refreshing change from the Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez philosophy this franchise has had. He is bringing a high level of excitement to the Big Apple, so hopefully his lack of experience playing quarterback does not become too evident soon.

After many questions about his merit moving forward, Dak Prescott looked to have responded on the first drive of the game against the Giants. He threw a deep

bomb to Tavon Austin for a touchdown, which immediately grabbed the momentum for Dallas. This does not mean, however, that Dak silenced his critics Sunday.

He finished with only 160 passing yards, with 64 of them coming on that Austin play. The Cowboys won because they went back to their bread and butter; pounding the rock with Ezekiel Elliot. He rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries. They still need more production, but getting him involved early and often is their only way to win. As for the Giants, their quarterback and o-line are problematic like a year ago. Considering they have a first year offensive head coach, it is not surprising things are taking time. But Eli Manning seems lost, the line looks almost as bad as last year. They do not have the luxury of letting this continue, because they spent big money to sign OBJ and they didn’t draft a QB number two. Saquon Barkley will show his big play ability every game, but he is limited as an every down back. Unless Eli returns to Pro Bowl form (which is unlikely), things could possibly unravel fast for Big Blue.

The 49ers-Lions game was kind of a slopfest, but somebody had to win. The 49ers pulled out a much needed win, but they almost gave away a 17-point fourth quarter lead in the process. Jimmy G looked slightly above average for the second straight week, making Niner fans start to question it he was worth the mega contract. He is not totally to blame, because the holes in the roster are being exploited now that teams have film on them. Outside of Jaquiski Tartt, the secondary seem slow and unimpressive. They have little linebacker depth, and DeForest Buckner is their only consistent pass rusher. They don’t have a single number one receiver, especially now with the Marquise Goodwin injury. They did look impressive running the ball, finishing with 190 rushing yards led by Matt Breida’s 138 (66 came on one run). The 49ers running numbers were skewed, considering Detroit gave up 169 yards on the ground to the Jets last week. As for their offense, Matt Stafford looked listless again until the fourth quarter. This type of inconsistent play is troubling, but it was still an improvement from week 1. Kerryon Johnson is an improvement at running back, but he’s not quite good enough for Detroit to become a power running team. They have not had a 100-yard rusher in 70 games (Barry Sanders did it three times in a row in 1997). Ultimately, they have an elite receiver group in Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and Kenny Golliday. A veteran quarterback need to find a way to consistently get the ball in their hands.

So another week is in the books, and things are slowly starting to take shape. I usually do not start declaring things until about week 4, but it is becoming evident who the best team are. So stay tuned, this season is still just getting underway.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018 Con’t from page 18

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 19, 2018 - September 25, 2018

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9/7/18 1:43 PM