INNER-CITY NEWS by INNER-CITY NEWS

INNER-CITY July 27, 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWSNEWS - September 08,2016 2021- August - September 14, 2021

“N” Word Ex-Principal NowFocus Oversees New-Teacher Mentors Financial Justice a Key at 2016 NAACP Convention New Haven, Bridgeport

INNER-CITYNEWS Volume 29 . No. 2457 Volume 21 No. 2194

Malloy To Dems: Malloy To Dems: Block Party Celebrates

“DMC” Dixwell Plaza’s Rebirth

Ignore Ignore“Tough “ToughOn OnCrime” Crime”

Color Struck? 2 New Haven Arts Heroes

Snow in July? 3K Return For Race

Jackie Yanes (right) with Los Runners team.

West Haven Happenings: VA Picnic THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

In 2007, two Vietnam War veterans came up with the idea of serving their fellow military veterans at West Haven’s Veterans Administration Hospital facilitates. Anthony Pelliggi and Antonio Lorenzo, both Army veterans and Lorenzo’s wife Courtney McKenna started an annual Fourth of July Bar-B-Q for VA patients and staff. “A lot of these veterans don’t have families and rarely get visitors.” Lorenzo said. “We felt that we had to do something to show them that they’re appreciated.” Again, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, this year’s BBQ could not be held on Independence Day weekend, so it was postponed until Saturday, August 28th. Volunteers participated from all over southern Connecticut to feed over nearly 300 patients and staff. Officials from throughout southern Connecticut volunteered to support the volunteer efforts. Congressman Jim Himes, (D-4), joined with West Haven Planning & Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins, Fairfield Town Representative Alexis, former West Haven Mayor Edward O’Brien, former City Clerk Debbie Col-

Organizer Courtney McKenna, Planning & Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins, Congressman Jim Himes,, (D-4) and Fairfield Town Representative Alexis Harrison are among the volunteers that served hundreds of meals to patients and staff of West Haven’s Veteran’s Administration Hospital.

lins and others. “The tragic events that have been taking place in Afganestan this past week have really brought to light the importance of serving our veterans that have given so much to support our rights and freedoms” Mullins said. Gerard Grate, co-owner of Joe Grate’s Sons Pig Roast snd Bar-B-Q has donated his time and culinary talent to the cause for over a decade. During that time, over 4000 meals of bbq ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and fruit have been served. This year’s picnic was in honor of United States Army Lieutenant David Paul Cole of Norwalk, who died recently at the age of 89, Wounded on November 20th, 1963 in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Cole was awarded the Purple Heart. In addition, he was awarded the Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Commendation Medal and numerous other decorations. In addition to his military service, the Col. served on the Norwalk Board of Education and the City’s Planning & Zoning Commission. He is surviived by his wife Donna Lynne Cole and his children. His ashes will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Spring.

Abdussabur: Declare Violence Emergency by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

Hours after New Haven already matched its 2020 homicide rate for 2021, alder candidate and retired police Sgt. Shafiq Abdussabur called on the governor to declare a state of emergency related to gun violence in the city. Abdussabur, who is running unopposed as the Democratic candidate for the Beaver Hills 28th Ward seat on the Board of Alders, issued the call during a Sunday afternoon press conference on the steps of City Hall. He called on state legislators, Congress members and senators to help bring the city together to curb the gun violence and start making a dent in unsolved shootings. “I’‘m calling on the governor, I’m asking you to come down to New Haven and meet with state officials” and others to craft immediate solutions, Abdussabur said. “You come to New Haven to get votes from Black and brown people when you want to get into office. Black and brown people are dying in my city of New Haven, and I need your help. Help the people who elected you. ... “Declare in New Haven a state of emergency.” New Haven ended 2020 with 20 homicides and 121 non fatal shootings. This was the highest number of homicides and

non-fatal shooting victims since 2012. On Sunday, New Haven hit the 20-homicide mark already for 2021, with more than three months remaining, when Zaire Luciano was shot to death in the Annex neighborhood. “We’re basically 100 percent up from 2019,” he said. “We cannot use the excuse of, ‘Well, Hartford has more homicides.” This is not a race. This is not a candy drive. This is about lives.” In addition to a 10-point Stop the Violence Plan he pitched in June, Abdussabur Sunday offered three more suggestions to curb the violence. First: host a citywide public meeting or meetings to hear the community’s ideas. Second; create a city gun violence prevention task force made up of community members who advise city staff on how to deal with neighborhood-based crimes. Third: Create a gun violence shooting investigation team that is different from the police department’s shooting task force. The latter task force includes officers from area police departments as well as state law enforcement investigators. He called for an additional fully local team that brings together the city, Yale, and Southern Connecticut State University forces. “No one from the city has asked to sit with me” to discuss the 10-point plan he issued in June, he said. That plan included working with landlords to offer reduced

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO Abdussabur at press conference: “Help the people who elected you.”

rents to police officers willing to live in the city; expanding the detective bureau to include more Black and Latino officers on 90-day temporary assignments; hiring more Black cops and assigning more to supervisory positions; installing video cameras in parks and more ares where shootings have occurred or might occurred. Abdussabur said there is no safe place in New Haven for anyone. “How do you

come outside and volunteer in a city where you may get your head blown off at 11 or 12 o clock in the afternoon?” he said. A daylight shooting occurred in Abdussabur’s ward, on Norton Street, on Aug. 31. Abdussabur urged his former colleagues still on the beat, who have faced pressures related to understaffing, to “do the loops around the neighborhood with your cruise lights on. At least park in high physical hot spot areas. And just hold on until we can

get you more support.” “This department does not feel supported,” he added. Abdussabur reported that since 2015, 524 nonfatal shootings have occurred in New Haven, with less than 10 percent of those cases being solved. Ninety-six people have been shot and killed during that time. Of those 620 total shootings resulting in death or injury, over 80 percent of the victims have been Black or brown, Abdussabur said. He added that city leaders have attributed the uptick in violence to the Covid-19 pandemic. He argued that more of the city’s federal Covid funds should be put toward a plan to fight gun violence. “We’re dying of gun violence in New Haven,” he said. The city’s close to $100 million in federal emergency pandemic relief is “not finding its way into the neighborhoods of the people that are dying. What’s finding its way into the neighborhoods are excuses,” he said. Abdussabur demanded that the city bring community members to table to help come up with a solution. “City government’s job is not to have all the answers. It’s to have the ability and the will to put the right people in the room to create the resources and to create the talent so that we can get down to the bottom of this,” he said.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

Alders Seek To “Train” Management Teams by LAURA GLESBY

New Haven Independent

A new training program for community management team leaders is in the works, as a group of alders aims to offer centralized guidance to the grassroots neighborhood teams. The Board of Alders’ Public Safety Committee voted Tuesday night to recommend that the teams receive the training. The vote followed a three-hour-long hearing on management teams’ roles and procedures, at virtual hearing attended by more than 75 people. The full Board of Alders will now consider the training proposal. The contents of the training — and the specifics of who would run it — are yet to be determined. The committee decided to gather input from the management teams on what, exactly, would be helpful to cover. Committee Vice Chair Brian Wingate, who proposed the training, suggested that technological assistance, marketing and outreach, and agenda-making could be possible topics. “This is not city government trying to take over,” Wingate told the Independent, after some people testifying at the hearing raised that concern. “We’re not trying to dictate the training, because if that’s the case then we’re not listening to them.” New Haven’s 12 community management teams started out as a 1990s-era

community policing initiative, convening neighbors monthly in the city’s various police districts with police officers based in their part of the city. Since then, the management teams have grown into neighborhood-based forums where residents can weigh in on proposed new developments, community projects, and anti-blight reports from the Livable City Initiative, among other topics. For the most part, management teams have little direct oversight over development projects and other items at hand. But they have become an influential site for neighborhood organizing and communication in many neighborhoods. In recent years, they have also managed participatory budgeting programs through the city’s Neighborhood Public Improvement Project. Why the need for a central training? Tuesday’s hearing was prompted by a couple of recent rifts within some management teams. Most notably, the Quinnipiac East group is currently undergoing a leadership election dispute, which led to two parallel organizations claiming to be the neighborhood’s management team. Many management team members and alders attested that their local teams have been functioning well. Hill resident Leslie Radcliffe was among many speakers who questioned the premise that aldermanic intervention is necessary. “It’s likened to when a student shoots

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Leslie Radcliffe: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

a spitball and the whole class gets called into the principal’s office,” Radcliffe said. Individual disputes should be handled on the neighborhood level, she argued, and not every management team needs to reassess its daily functions. “The first step to address the problem is to identify it,

and that has not been identified. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” By the end of the meeting, several management team leaders affirmed that it would be helpful to have cohesive training. Many management team leaders raised recruitment and outreach as com-

mon challenges. Elena Grewal, who chair the East Rock management team, noted that “diversity of membership” os a top concern for her management team. That management team represents both the wealthier, predominantly white neighborhood of East Rock and the lower-income, more diverse mini-neighborhood of Cedar Hill. The West Hills/Westville management team similarly straddles class lines in the two neighborhoods it represents, and has a majority of Westville residents as regular attendees. Lee Cruz, a chair of Fair Haven’s management team, offered that it would be helpful for management team leaders to discuss “setting standards for the openness of the meetings … to form as diverse a group as possible from within that neighborhood.” The question of who would lead the proposed training remained unresolved. Quinnipiac Meadows resident Aaron Goode suggested that an external organization like the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven could run the training. A city-run workshop, he said, “would look coercive or heavy handed.” Committee Alders Wingate and Abby Roth agreed with the suggestion of an outside training leader — so long as the city can find funding, Wingate said after the meeting.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

Board of Ed “Answers” Public’s Questions The eventual posted answer to Blatteau’s first question read: “Members of the community can request in-person [meetings] and a space has to be provided. Board members can choose to be in-person or continue with zoom — it’s up to the individual board member to select the mode of participation in meetings.” The answer to her second question indicated that portions of “monies were allocated to each school to determine use of funds. Grants come with specifications and parameters for spending. 21st Century and State afterschool grants are specified for some schools because they were written into the grants.” The district is using $16 million of its federal American Rescue Plan education grant funds to respond directly over the next three years to its students’ social, emotional, and academic needs affected by the pandemic. Of that amount, about $10.9 million will be distributed among each of the public schools’ principals to personally invest in addressing student, staff, and family needs. Another member of the public who got a response to questions two weeks later was Kirsten Hopes-McFadden, a teacher at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS). Hopes-McFadden has spoken at every meeting since July 12 demanding a new investigation into the handling of the BOE’s decision process regarding the demotion of the former Brennan Rogers

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

Two weeks after Leslie Blatteau asked the Board of Education a question, she got an answer. That was progress. Before the roll-out of a new response system, there was no way for members of the public to get answers to questions they posed to the school board. How much progress? Depends what you think of the answers. Blatteau, a Metropolitan Business Academy teacher and activist, was among four members of the public who posed questions at a recent Board of Education (BOE) meeting after a new process was put in place. In the past, citizens could speak at the board’s biweekly meetings. They could ask all the questions they wanted. That didn’t mean anyone offered an answer. The board has now agreed to post answers on its website after members of the public pose questions. Written responses to the community’s questions are posted under the Board of Education tab in the meeting material. Blatteau asked two questions, actually, at the BOE meeting held Aug. 9. Blatteau asked when the board will return to in-person meetings. She also asked if the district plans “to use federal grant dollars to support affordable and equitable before-school and after-school programming at every New Haven elementary school this year”

KO LYN CHEANG PHOTO Leslie Blatteau: Responded to in writing.

Con’t on page 05

Yale Doc: Covid, Not Vax, Is What’s Dangerous by THOMAS BREEN

Asked yet again about whether or not the Covid-19 vaccine causes more harm than good, a Yale emergency medicine doctor pointed to an Iowa hospital inundated with patients. Those patients are suffering from Covid-19, he said, and not from vaccine side effects. Arjun Venkatesh offered that response Tuesday night during a Covid-related question-and-answer session at the latest monthly meeting of the Dwight Community Management Team. The virtual meeting took place online via Zoom. Venkatesh—whose many titles include associate professor and chief of the section of administration in the department of emergency medicine at Yale University—swung by the online meeting to answer community questions about the latest with the ongoing pandemic. Those queries touched on the most recent guidance around booster shots, when vaccines will be available for kids, and how long one has to wait to get the vaccine after contracting Covid—all as the more contagious Delta variant continues

to wreak havoc, overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated, all across the country. “These Are Really Safe Vaccines” While many of the questions raised were specific to this particular moment in the 18-months-and-counting-long pandemic, Venkatesh singled out one question as being the most common he’s received ever since vaccines became available to the public. That question came from Tymothee Anderson, who wrote in the Zoom chat asking for Venkatesh’s take on “adverse reactions” that he’s seen among people who have gotten vaccinated. “I’ve been answering this question for a while,” Venkatesh replied. He said that now, when he gets asked about vaccine side effects, he’s going to refer to a response that Iowa emergency room doctor Lance VanGundy gave on CNN the other night. The cause for VanGundy’s national news appearance was a video he posted online about his small-town Iowa hospital being overwhelmed by patients with Covid. “There’s so much misinformation out there,” VanGundy said in his Facebook Live video. “We are drowning in people

who are dying with this illness. But I have yet to admit a single person because of a vaccine-related incident.” Venkatesh said that the same is true for his own experience at Yale. He has seen patients die from Covid. He has seen patients hospitalized and intubated due to Covid. He has seen young, healthy people contract serious cases of Covid. But he has never had to treat anyone due to side effects from the Covid vaccine. “I still haven’t seen one patient with an adverse reaction to the Covid vaccine,” he said. “For every day that passes, thousands more people are being saved from hospitalization or death” thanks to the vaccines, he added. Some may come down with a small fever. Some may suffer from a little body ache. Overall, though, “these are really safe vaccines that do save a lot of lives.” And, most importantly, they are tremendously successful at protecting people from hospitalization and death due to Covid. In addition to the perennial question about vaccine side effects, Venkatesh also fielded a diverse array of other que-

ries Tuesday night about the latest with the pandemic. What’s the latest with boosters and third shots? YNHH staffer Andy Orefice asked, passing along a question from management team Chair Florita Gillespie. There is a difference between “boosters” and “additional shots,” Venkatesh replied. The latter are for severely immunocompromised people who did not achieve an adequate level of immunity to the novel coronavirus from the regular two-dose regimen of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines. Those people—making up maybe 5 to 10 percent of the vaccinated population— need an extra shot to get to the same level that most other people got to from their previous shots in order to be adequately protected from hospitalization and death due to Covid. “Boosters,” meanwhile, would be extra shots for the vast majority of people who have already gotten their full vaccinations over the past year. “As of today, in the U.S., we have not approved booster doses for anybody,” he said. “We have approved additional doses Con’t on page 08

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Board of Ed

principal for using a racial slur. The “response” to Hopes-McFadden’s question: “The Board will have to answer this.” Hopes-McFadden said she has been asking for an investigation because “the superintendent has this repeated process of asking the board to vote with all the necessary information,” said Hopes-McFadden, who was reached by phone Saturday. “Had they given the information to the board members and the vote went however, I would be satisfied ,because it would at least be done properly.” During public comment Hopes-McFadden also raised concerns about the implementation of the governor’s Covid-19 vaccine-or-weekly-testing mandate for NHPS staff. The board’s response simply confirmed that NHPS will uphold the mandate. “I want more thorough answers because that response didn’t mention the plan for those who they allow to be exempt from the vaccine and what the procedure for mandated testing will be,” Hopes-McFadden said. Before the board decided to answer public questions with written responses on the website, BOE member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur had suggested the questions be answered live, in-person, during meetings, so participants don’t have to wait for responses. “If someone takes the time to come here at 5:30 — which a lot of people rush because they’re just getting out of work — just answer them. What is the big deal?” she said. BOE Vice President Matt Wilcox suggested the responsibility of providing responses to the public’s questions be given to the Governance Committee. “We want to make sure that we have the answers properly gathered and prepared to give proper answers to the public rather than just answering off the cuff,” said Superintendent Iline Tracey. “Some can be answered immediately; some we have to get the staff ready to answers. I don’t have a problem answering the community’s questions.” The written responses to the public’s questions were posted the day before the last meeting on Aug. 23. Tracey plans to designate newly appointed BOE spokesperson Justin Harmon to take on the responsibility of responding to questions. Harmon will work to come up with responses in collaboration with the BOE President Yesenia Rivera, Tracey said. Other questions asked by the public concerned funding options for before and after-school child care, the hiring of teaching staff with zero years of experience, and a request to increase the two-minute public comment time limit. Responses to the public comment questions asked during last week’s Aug. 23 meeting had yet to be posted as of Sunday.

Hoops Kept Guns Down, Books Up THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

For the first time in their lives, Tyran Mason, Maasa Bethea, D’aire Barnett, Davon Hargrove, Allen Hennah, and Travis James didn’t have to worry about unexpected shootings happening around them while they played on a basketball court. The six New Haven natives joined with other neighborhood kids to play in the inaugural seasons of a Guns Down, Books Up Unity Basketball League this summer. It provided them with safe place to play basketball and get active with friends every Sunday morning. At the start of the summer, Raymond Wallace, executive director of the nonprofit that sponsors the league, was approached by kids in the neighborhood asking for something to do. “They came up with the idea and we helped them get what they needed to have fun,” he said. Sunday concluded the summer league, with a final three games and cookout for the players and their families. The players were also given book bags, school supplies, books, button up shirts, and ties for the school year. Wallace began hosting the Guns Down, Books Up Unity Basketball League at Peat Meadow Park in the Annex in June. He plans to make it an annual summer league and grow it in the future. This summer Wallace and his team of volunteers brought 35 youth on board the league. Two five-on-five teams competed Sunday. The players’ ages ranged from 6 years old to 22. Wallace allowed youth of all ages to join who are interested in the game of basketball. While planes flew overhead, tunes rang from the DJ booth, and players’ families cheered them on from the sidelines, as the league played three games Sunday with white against green. The Sunday clouds held off with only a brief light drizzle at the start of the afternoon, then cleared once the games began. In between each game, players lathered their hands in hand sanitizer and took short water breaks. During the games, the boys called out to each other: “Watch your back!” “I’m open.” “Get the rebound. Go up.” Wallace spotted Tyran Mason, 16, at a store one day earlier this summer. “You’re a ballplayer, aren’t you?” he asked. He invited Tyran and his friends to join the league. Mason, who attends Wilbur Cross, enlisted his friends Maasa Bethea, 16, who goes to Hillhouse, D’aire Barnett, 15 ,who goes to Co-op, Davon Hargrove, 16, who attends Riverside, Allen Hennah, 22, and Travis James, 15, who goes to Co-op High. The friend group lives in the Hill. They

Guns Down, Books Up Unity Basketball League players and volunteers.

Maasa Bethea, Davon Hargrove, and Tyran Mason.

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO Players at season finale of Guns Down, Books Up Unity Basketball League.

first met at the basketball court by Roberto Clemente Elementary School, where they all usually play. “It’s quiet, here so we don’t have to worry about anything dangerous,” Mason said of the Peat Meadow Courts “Usually there’s fights and arguments, and shootings all the time,” Barnett said about Roberto. “This gets us out the streets where we aren’t meant to be. There’s no name on bullets,” James said. “Being here gets us away from things we’re not supposed to be apart of, like scheduled drive-bys, which happen all the time at Roberto.” Hennah, who has two kids and a third on the way, said he grew up with brothers who sold drugs. He hopes to go down a different path from his brother’s and play professional basketball, he said. “I dance, sing, and play sports, so I don’t fall into that life.” Hargrove switched from playing football to basketball after his uncle passed away. “He loved basketball, and when he passed. I felt like I owed it to him,” he said. All of the group but James agreed that they plan to play basketball in college, then seek to play in the NBA or overseas. James plays basketball to stay fit, but is more interested in football. James said playing basketball with his friends helps take his mind off negative thoughts. He added that his parents lost numerous loved ones to Covid-19. Going to the court everyday gave him the chance to let them grieve alone. Before the pandemic, James, who also plays football, said he was underweight. Doing daily workouts with the league and having the time to create healthy habits this summer helped him get to the right weight for the fall. The group added that the city needs

more affordable or free youth programs that are run by volunteers or passionate staff. “Too many programs are run by people who don’t care and it ruins the experience,” said Hennah. “This league spreads love and positivity. We get to meet others and make connections with local people like the DJ, who I talked to and gave my number because I write music,” Hennah said. During the off season for the league, Wallace plans to recruit sponsors to support more children in the league with team shirts and other resources. The league is meant to serve as fitness training for athletes while out of school. Wallace has also brought some players to the Powerhouse Gym to train with him this summer. Throughout the summer Wallace also offered the players community service hours with neighborhood clean-ups and food distribution to the homeless with Guns Down, Books Up. After the green team won two games back to back Sunday, Wallace called the group in for a circle to thank the players and volunteers for their participation in the league throughout the summer. He passed around a notebook for players to add their phone numbers to remain in contact during the school year. The group shared in the circle about their “special talents,” which ranged from ballet and backflips to reading and speaking Portuguese. They read a pledge of nonviolence together. College basketball star Robert McKiver coached his first-grader Robert “Little Fluff” McKiver Jr. from the sidelines Sunday. McKiver founded the AAU training program Elm City Elite and lives in the neighborhood. He learned about the league while practicing at Peat Meadow Park with his son one day and running into Wallace. Wallace invited McKiver’s son to the league to learn from the older players. For the final and third game of the league’s season, the green team took the win, 21-20. Davon Hargrove’s mother, Angela Bell, said she plans to come to Peat Meadow Park more often because it is quiet and out the way, she said. She picked up some notebooks and books for her other five kids, who joined her and her husband at the Sunday gathering. “It’s hard to find good programs run by people that love the kids and will do so much for them. They get more than basketball here,” Bell said. The previous Monday, Bell said, she heard that there was a shooting near Roberto, where her son and his friends were playing. She immediately called them home and let them hang out at her house. “It’s not fair that they can’t just be outside without worrying,” she said. “Stuff like that happens too much.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

On Overdose Awareness Day, A Phoenix Rises by MAYA MCFADDEN

A large phoenix was spotted on the New Haven Green Tuesday afternoon. Dozens crowed around its flexed wings as its feathers blew in the warm breeze. As New Haveners got closer to the burly bird they saw that it was made of metal. They saw that its feathers were made up of 90 slips of paper that each read the name of a drug overdose victim. The phoenix sculpture sat in the middle of an Overdose Awareness Day event that took place all afternoon on the Green. The city’s health department partnered with the Quinnipiack Valley Health District (QVHD) to bring dozens of local substance abuse and harm reduction service providers together to promote forms of help for people struggling with addiction. For the six hours that the event lasted on the Green Tuesday, overdose victims and active drug users were recognized and given a helping hand. Residents picked up fentanyl strips and kits of naloxone, aka Narcan, an emergency medication that reverses opioid overdoses. They were connected with community resources offering substance abuse consulting, medical support, and educational materials about drug addiction. Libby Makela Johnson’s eyes fixated on

one name on the the metal phoenix. That name was of her daughter Maija Elizabeth Johnson, who died of an overdose at 22 years old. Johnson lives in Fair Haven. She described seeing her daughter’s name on the phoenix as “hard but beautiful.” Maija overdosed on Sept. 25, 2019 while

using heroin that she did not know was laced with fentanyl. Her daughter had relapsed in the past but Johnson thought her daughter had stopped using. Maija went to Wilbur Cross High School and was “brilliant” and “funny,” her mom said Tuesday. “Even when I was mad at her, she made me laugh.” Johnson has since been volunteering with the nonprofit For Cameron. Since losing her daughter, Johnson doesn’t leave her home without a Narcan kit to help anyone in the throes of an overdose. Maija’s signature was joined by the signatures of dozens of other lost lives, including Joseph Deane and Cameron Herr, whose moms were also at the Tuesday event. Lisa Deane, founder of the nonprofit Demand Zero, gathered the sculpture committee that included For Cameron founders Fiona and Isabella Firine. Deane lost her 23-year-old son Joesph in 2018. The committee, made up of families who have lost loved ones from overdoses, came up with the “Rising Unity” phoenix sculpture in part from Isabella Firine’s idea of memorializing the victims through their signatures. The group decided on a phoenix because of its symbolism of “breaking free,” forgiveness, and the cycle of transformation, Deane said.

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Boy, 14, Shot Dead; Had Hoop Dreams THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

by PAUL BASS

New Haven Independent

Tyshaun “TyTy” Hargrove’s coach was hoping to get him back on the court to pursue his basketball dreams. A gunshot ended all that. Hargrove was shot dead in Fair Haven Wednesday night. The shooting took place on Chatham Street between Rowe and Ferry Streets at 10:51 p.m., according to police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway. After “multiple” 911 calls, police showed up to find the boy in the parking lot of an apartment complex, where a large gathering of people had taken place. He was “suffering from gunshot wounds,” Shumway reported. An ambulance crew took the victim to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Hargrove was about to turn 15 on Sept. 11. He was about to enter Hillhouse High School as a freshman, according to Principal Glen Worthy, who once again Thursday found himself dealing with tragic gunfire afflicting his school community. “We’ve got to come together to figure out how to get this violence under control,” Worthy said. “These are young kids.” Hargrove leaves behind a 1-year-old child. He also leaves behind dreams of becoming a basketball player, according to Robert McKiver, who coached Hargrove on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Elm City Elite team. Hargrove played point guard. McKiver said he coached Hargrove for two years. Then Covid-19 hit. Hargrove didn’t come back when the team resumed playing. “He lost his way a little bit. We were all hoping he would turn it around,” McKiver said Thursday. “This is a shock to all of us.” “He really loved the game,” the coach Con’t from page 04

Yale Doc:

for people with weakened immunities.” If and when boosters are approved will depend largely on whether or not those boosters prove necessary to protect people from hospitalization and death due to Covid. How long does someone have to wait to get vaccinated if they’ve recently contracted Covid? asked Dwight Alder Frank Douglass. Twenty-eight days, Venkatesh replied. “If you had a Covid infection four weeks ago, you’re still in a window where you have a lot of natural immunity,” through antibodies and t-calls that may remem-

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Tyshaun “TyTy” Hargrove.

apartment, Jorge Osorio-Caballero, 32, was shot and killed in Fair Haven, Mar-

noted. “He really wanted to be a basketball player. He was a loving kid. This is a sad day for a lot of people.” At a press conference at police headquarters Thursday afternoon, Interim Police Chief Renee Dominguez said the investigation is at its initial stages, so she had little definitive to add to the basic facts released so far. She said investigators are going through video surveillance footage from the evening as well as canvassing the neighborhood to speak with people. The incident appears to have been “isolated,” she said. Hargrove’s killing was New Haven’s 19th homicide so far this year. In January, Alfreda Youmans, 50, and Jeffrey Dotson, 42, were found dead by the police inside a Winthrop Avenue

quis Winfrey, 31, was shot and killed in Newhallville, and Joseph Vincent Mattei, 28, was shot and killed in the Hill. Someone shot Kevin Jiang, 26, to death in Goatville on Feb. 6. Angel Rodriguez, 21, was shot to death in Fair Haven in mid-February, his body dumped by the Mill River in East Rock. Dwaneia Alexandria Turner, 28, was shot to death in the Hill on March 16 during an argument with two other women. On March 26, Alessia Mesquita was

shot dead in Fair Haven. Then 20-yearold Mariyah Inthirath was killed Saturday, May 15, on Sheffield Avenue and Jack Hopeton was killed near Orchard and George on Tuesday, May 18. On May 19, Tashawn Brown was shot dead across from Edgewood Park. On May 26, 34-year-old Adrian Barwise was shot inside a Sherman Parkway house during an apparent argument over a game, according to police. Miguel Ramos, 37, was shot dead on Springside Avenue on June 6.

ber how to fight the virus. The minimum most health systems, including Yale New Haven Hospital, are asking people with Covid to wait is 28 days from when they first contracted the virus. That recommended wait used to be longer, at upwards of 90 days from infection. That timeline has shrunk significantly thanks to the ready availability of vaccines for all who want them. “We are now lucky. We’re fortunate. We live in a world of abundance. We have plenty of supply out there.” So, if it’s been 28 days since you got Covid and you have not yet been vaccinated, go get the vaccine. When might kids under the age of 12 be eligible for vaccination? asked Dwight resident Kate Walton. Difficult to say, but all the evidence is

pointing towards sooner rather than later, Venkatesh said. Vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer have been conducting trials with patients between the ages of 5 and 12. The very fact that those trials are continuing, and that the federal government has allowed the manufacturers to broaden enrollment and get more people involved in the trials, “tells you this is heading in the right direction.” Depending on what data the vaccine manufacturers submit to the federal government over the coming weeks and months, the feds will likely drop the vaccine eligibility age in phases: probably first for kids aged 5 to 12, then for kids aged 2 to 5, then for babies. Hopefully that phase in will begin by the end of this calendar year.

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO TyTy, in the middle with no shirt, with his Elm City Elite AAU teammates.

Richard Whitaker Jr. was shot to death on Columbus Avenue in the Hill on June 15 — after having watched a gunman shoot his brother dead in the neighborhood the previous August. Ciera Jones, 22, was shot outside her house on Truman Street on July 5 and died days later in the hospital. On July 10, someone shot and killed Kevan Bonilla, 20, on Lombard Street in Fair Haven. Kevin Mills, 33, was shot to death on Dixwell Avenue on Aug. 10.

Shahkim Khalil gets vaccinated on the Green in July.

Jey’s Burger

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

FINALLY, A CHECKING ACCOUNT THAT LOOKS TO YOUR FUTURE. NOT YOUR PAST.

Brings 259 Orange Back To Life by LISA REISMAN

New Haven Independent

You might call the 259 Orange a cheeseburger, a bacon burger, or an egg burger. Or maybe a short rib burger or an avocado burger. The only thing certain is that the 259 Orange Burger nearly didn’t happen. Nor, for that matter, did Dangle’s Bar and Grill, which serves the 259 Burger, and which opened three weeks ago on 259 Orange just up the street from the New Haven County Courthouse. “I wanted to open a restaurant for years, but I couldn’t find a spot,” said Dangle’s owner James Cousins, as his chef, Jeyson Santoni, set a patty on the grill in the no-frills kitchen. Then, in January, Cousins visited Christy’s Irish Pub on 261 Orange, which was for sale. Cousins decided it was too big. He didn’t want the overhead. He was about to pull away when he spotted a For Sale sign in the window of the pocket-sized 259 Orange. The 1,200 square-foot space used to house the storied Cuban restaurant Zafra, until it closed in March 2020. “Jey and me always talked about having our own restaurant, and he always said, ‘I’m ready when you are,’” Cousins said, watching Santoni lay a slice of provolone on the sizzling burger, as an aromatic smokiness wafted through the softly lit space. The two met at a softball cookout nine years ago. “It was me and my mother and my sisters, in West Rock Park, and we did it every other Sunday, giving out hotdogs, hamburgers, and playing softball and having tug-of-war and sack races,” said Cousins, who grew up in Brookside Apartments. Santoni didn’t remember the first time he showed up at a cookout. “I loved playing softball, volleyball, loved seeing people, loved seeing his mother and his sisters cooking,” he said, maneuvering his spatula between pans of eggs frying, of bacon sizzling, and short ribs simmering in their juices. Soon Santoni was bringing dishes for Cousins and his family. “He came up with these amazing egg rolls that had apple in it, it was like dessert,” Cousins said. “And ribs. No recipe. It was just stuff out of his head that he’d make. He’d say, ‘it’s simple,’ but I’d never tasted anything like it.” Santoni picked up cooking tips from his grandmother, his aunt, and his mother while growing up in Meriden. “I learned some from them, Puerto Rican dishes, but basically I taught myself.” “I cook with a lot of love and passion,” said Santoni, who has exercised his culinary chops at, among other restaurants, 900 Park Avenue in the Bronx and TD Homer’s Grill in Southington. “Any cabinet in your kitchen, you say there’s nothing to cook, I’ll make something. I can make something out of nothing.” The Dangle’s menu reflects Cousins’ faith in Santoni’s creativity, and versatility. There’s the Old Charleston, with wild Panama shrimp and Cajun sausage; the Short on Grits, with 14-hour braised short ribs and creamed grits; the It’s Tofu, a seared tofu steak. Sides include Wild Cauliflower with a tempura batter and Sweet Fried Plantain. “There’s really no signature dish here,” Cousins said.

Maybe this is your first checking account. Or you’ve had trouble managing past accounts. Either way, Pathways™ Checking from Connex makes it easy for you to take back control of your personal finances. Stop by a Connex branch today. LISA REISMAN PHOTOS Chef Jeyson Santoni; his jam-packed 259 Orange burger (top).

“I want everything that you taste to be a signature dish, to be perfectly laid out, and when you taste the food, I want it to be wonderful.” Just three weeks in, Cousins reports stellar feedback, with many repeat diners. With Covid numbers increasing again, he’s currently deciding on a course of action that will include take-out to ride out the resurgence. For his part, Santoni, who’s also an artist, said he’s “all in” to help keep the place going, Covid or not. “I was going to Gateway to get my associate’s degree in culinary when the pandemic hit, so I had to start working at Big Y,” he said, laying the three short ribs on top of the eggs, the bacon, the avocado, and the patty, before topping the whole with a lightly seared bun. “I felt like my talent was being wasted, bigtime.” Getting the call from Cousins about the space on 259 Orange, he said, “felt like a gift.” As For That 259 Burger … This was a massive and magnificent sandwich. There was no way to take in all the ingredients in a single mouthful. Every bite featured a different combination of tastes. The short rib and chuck patty distinguished itself with its impeccable char broil. Then came the subtle nuttiness of the provolone, the delight of the fried egg, and the bacon strips, crackling with an impudently smoky flavor. The avocado was silken, introducing a certain summery freshness. Then there were the tender slices of short ribs, with their bold richness. Most memorable to this correspondent were the sweet fried plantains, deep-fried in oil until golden, caramelized on the outside, and soft on the inside. The spicy sauce, the ingredients of which Santoni refused to disclose, approached the sublime. Asked how they could taste so good, Santoni shrugged. “I’m Puerto Rican,” he said. “Simple as that.” Dangle’s Bar and Grill is at 259 Orange St., danglesbarandgrill.com, 203-889-2912.

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After Pandemic Pause, 3K Return For Race THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven Independent

Thousands of runners and their families, friends, and supporters filled a sun-dappled downtown for the triumphant return of the New Haven Road Race — one year after the pandemic put the brakes on the annual Labor Day festivity. That was the scene Monday morning in and around the New Haven Green. Roughly 3,000 registered runners — cheered on by many more holiday onlookers — walked, stretched, jogged, and ran at unfathomably impressive speeds along closed off sections of Elm Street, Temple Street, Chapel Street and elsewhere for the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race. Monday’s run marked a return to inperson form for a race that has been taking place in downtown New Haven since 1978. The race went on hiatus last year due to Covid. Long-time director John Bysiewicz said the road race went “virtual” during 2020, with most participants running remotely and only eight elite runners coming downtown to hustle through the event’s citywide 20K route. This year, with the race taking place in person again, nearly 3,000 runners signed up to participate in the 20K, half marathon, 5K, and kids-run contests. “It’s easy to get depressed with what’s been going on,” he said right before the start of the 20K, referring to a parade of recent tragedies from the fatal bombing at the Kabul Airport to the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Ida to the Delta variant-sparked surge in Covid-19 to the recent death of long-time road race participant Herman Bershetin at the age of 96. “But I’m so thankful everybody’s here today,” Bysiewicz continued. “You guys can have fun and be part of my favorite day in New Haven. Doesn’t matter if you run slow or fast. Just stay safe, go out, and enjoy being in New Haven today with your friends and family.” Which is exactly what thousands did all morning. “It feels good to see people again,” New Haven native and current Milford resident Ariel Thorne said as her nieces Lauryn Mayo, 6, and Londyn Mayo, 8, prepared to participate for the first time in the 800-meter Kids Fun Run. Thorne’s father ran in the New Haven Road Race every year when she was growing up on Wolcott Street. She was eager to bring a next generation of her family to the Green Monday to keep that family tradition alive after the pandemic put a pause on last year’s event. “This is legacy,” she said with pride about Lauryn and Londyn. Jerick Munoz, 11, was also running in his first New Haven Road Race Monday. He and parents Estela and German came up from Bridgeport for the day for him to

THOMAS BREEN PHOTOS Runners at the front of the pack at Chapel and York Streets.

participate in the Kids Fun Run and for his dad to race in the half-marathon. “I like the sport,” German said about why he was running in the New Haven Road Race for the second time on Monday. He added that one of the few positive side-effects of the ongoing pandemic is that he’s spent more time outside, which has meant more time running and training for the race. Norwalk resident Jackie Yanes said the same has been true for her over the past year-plus. As she walked along Chapel Street, preparing herself for Monday’s relay race, she said that the pandemic has not only led her to spend more time outside running—it also encouraged her to hook up with a Norwalk running group called Los Runners. “It’s been great to do something together outside, and it’s been more motivating” running with other people, she said, particularly during a time as isolating as the pandemic. With muscles stretched and nerves settled—at least, as well as they could be— the thousands of runners got in line for their various races. The Kids Fun Run started on Temple Street just north of Elm Street. Just after 8:10 a.m., dozens of kids sprinted up Temple, across Grove Street, down Church Street, back along Elm, and then down Temple to the finish line, with parents and siblings cheering along the whole way. The 20K, which has been a USA Track & Field (USATF) National Championship race since the early 1990s, saw hundreds of elite athletes line up on Elm

Cheering on the Kids Run at Elm and Temple.

Ariel Thorne (center) with nieces Lauryn and London Mayo.

Street, eagerly waiting for race board member Frank Alvarado to lower his arm to signal the start of the run. Their route took them into through downtown, Dixwell, and Beaver Hills; through Edgewood Park and Dwight; across Chapel through Wooster Square and Fair Haven; and up through East Rock and down Whitney Avenue back downtown. Dozens sat along Chapel Street outside of the Yale University Art Gallery and on the southern edge of the Green, cheering on the runners with shouts and whoops and the ringing of hand bells. All the while, Mark Gilhuly — who has been the New Haven Road Race’s announcer for 27 years — offered a running stream of commentary and factoids and words of encouragement and praise about the race from a mic stand on Temple Street. A hum of anticipation took over the Temple Street finish line as the top runners in the 20K neared the end of the course. It’s going to be a sprint to the finish, Gilhuly noted, as a half-dozen runners sought to edge out their competitors at the front of the pack. Just a few feet away from the finish line, Ben True from West Lebanon, N.H., broke out of the pack. With his arms stretched wide as he ran through the finish line ribbon, he came in first, edging out the next two runners by only one second. Soon thereafter, Erika Kemp of Brookline, Mass. — a smile stretching ear to ear — burst through the finish line to take first place among women running in the 20K. As the runners caught their breath and a quick drink of water, a cover band played “Signed, Sealed & Delivered” and “Hard to Handle.” Kids played carnival games. Parking authority staffers and volunteers handed out free vegetarian hot dogs. “It’s good to be back,” Bysiewicz said with relief. The top five male runners in Monday’s 20K: Ben True of West Lebanon (59:53), Biya Simbassa of Flagstaff (59:54), Nico Montanez of Mammoth Lakes (59:54), Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs (59:58), Clayton Young of Bluebell (1:00:09). The top five female runners in Monday’s 20K : Erika Kemp of Brookline (1:06:20), Makena Morley of Bozeman (1:06:59), Emily Durgin of Flagstaff (1:07:03), Lindsay Flanagan of Boulder (1:07:30), and Aisling Cuffe of Concord (1:07:59). The first male New Havener to finish Monday’s 20K was Mason Rouches (1:07:15). The first female New Havener to finish the 20K was Dana Scott (1:15:43). Mayor Justin Elicker also ran in Monday’s 20K, finishing the race in 1:31:11.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

“N” Word Ex-Principal Now Oversees New-Teacher Mentors by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven Independent

Former Brennan Rogers Principal Laura Roblee, who was demoted for her use of the “n-word” and was the target of a petition by school staffers, has a new role: overseeing the district’s mentorship program for beginning teachers. Roblee’s demotion was approved by the Board of Education (BOE) this past June. She was reassigned to the school district central office. Her new title is TEAM & student teaching administrator. According to the NHPS website “The TEAM program engages mentors and beginning teachers in a cycle of professional growth; together they reflect on practice, identify an area of need/growth, engage in professional learning, apply the new learning, and reflect on the impact on the teacher’s practice and student outcomes.” Roblee introduced herself to new teachers in a Wednesday email. “I will be placing beginning teachers with a mentor to assist them in navigating the TEAM process, ensure that student teachers from our partner universities are placed with a cooperating teacher and to manage all Talent Ed log in issues,” she wrote. Roblee is not directly mentoring teachers. “Ms. Roblee currently operates out of the central office. Her title is assistant principal. While she will be undergoing special restorative training, she is tasked

Ex-Principal Laura Roblee. with support of the Director of Research, Evaluation in managing the Team Mentor Program. This role was vacated due to a retirement. She is neither a coach nor a mentor of teachers,” schools spokesperson Justin Harmon wrote in an emailed comment for this article. Board of Education member Darnell Goldson called the new assignment a “slap in the face.” He said teachers have contacted him with concerns about the reassignment. Goldson said he believes in restorative practices and second chances, but in tandem with adequate retraining. “Right now her overall negative experience should preclude her from being a mentor to new

teachers,” he argued. “It’s frustrating that someone accused of being a negative influence to almost a whole school can now become mentor for other teachers.” On Wednesday Goldson emailed Tracey asking about the new placement of Roblee. As of noon on Thursday had received no response back. He added that he hopes to get an update from Tracey on whether or not Roblee has been received restorative training for the new role. “If you have someone that went to jail for theft you don’t hire them as a teller in a a bank,” Goldson said. “It’s like a slap in our face. Had they done the additional investigation into the other alleged complaints made about her leadership we wouldn’t be here. But we don’t have an investigation to confirm or deny it,” he said. “They should err on the side that is beneficial to the whole, to the masses.” Tracey did not respond to a request for comment for the article by the time it was published. After Roblee’s demotion several community members, educators, and BOE members called for a more transparent investigation into racial slur incident and other alleged negative incidents that occurred while Roblee was in charge. The community also called for a public apology directly from Roblee; Roblee released a letter that schools Superintendent Iline Tracey read at at June press conference. In response to the incident and public

EMILY HAYS PHOTO Goldson: “I don’t know how you became a mentor after what went down .”

outcry for a through investigation into the Roblee’s actions over 30 Brennan-Rogers teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians and other staff wrote a letter concerning the BOE handling of the incident.

New Haveners also gathered for rallies and protests against the district’s investigation into the complaint and public support offered to the school community after.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

Block Party Celebrates Dixwell Plaza’s Rebirth by COURTNEY LUCIANA New Haven Independent

One hundred residents, city officials, and outreach members celebrated the planned transformation of Dixwell Plaza into “ConnCAT Place.” ConnCORP, the complex’s new owner, threw a block party Saturday afternoon behind Stetson Library in the plaza’s parking lot as a way to thank the community for support as the organization proceeds with plans to build a new $200 million mixed-use complex on the site. ConnCORP, the economic development arm of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), plans to transform the eight-acre plot into 150plus apartments, an office tower, a performing arts venue, a grocery store, and more. Chief Investment Officer Anna Blanding said the development is projected to be completed open in 2023 “It’s really a way for the community to live, work, and play all in one space. We’re really excited about the development and more importantly, we’re excited about partnering with this neighborhood full of vitality and such a rich history,” Blanding said. “We want to bring that rich history back to life.” At Saturday’s block party, community members danced to soulful jazz perfrormed by Lisa Bellamy and her husband William Fluke. Children played games and hit the popcorn stand. Other Dixwell residents and friends like Queen Cee and Melvin Spruill grabbed a free meal together. “It’s so nice to see people coming out and uniting after all we went through the past year,” Cee said. “I really am impressed with this project that they’ve

ConnCORP’s Erik Clemons, Carlton Highsmith, Anna Blanding, Paul McCraven, and Elaine Roper at Saturday’s event.

Danielle (and Eliana Coker at the festivities.

Dixwell residents, Queen Cee and Melvin Spruill on the food line.

been working on coming to life.” Aisha Coker came from Whalley Avenue and brought her children, Danielle, 10, and Eliana, 8, to join in on the fun. “This is going to provide more services for the people that can’t travel and don’t have the transportation,” Coker said. Police Officers Doug Pearse and Robert Hayden conversed with residents about what’s to come. “it seems like there’s going to be a lot more going on and it will provide new opportunities for local community members,” said Pearse, an 11-year police veteran. “This is a beautiful thing,” said Hayden, who grew up in the community. “We need to have community events like these to actually make a difference. My family is here, and these people here are my extended family. I’ve watched this neighborhood transform and go forward in a positive direction. This is only going to add to it.” Towards the end of the event, Dixwell/ Prospect Hill Alder Steve Winter spoke to the crowd about the struggle that led to the success of securing ownership of the plaza. “I just want to stress that people have been trying to do this for decades,” Winter said. “Almost since the plaza was built! And it’s just an incredible feat to have put all those pieces together and line them all up to try and transform this space that will be so much greater for the community.” “We’ll meet you all here in about two and a half years when we have a ribbon cutting,” ConnCORP co-founder Carlton Highsmith told the crowd. “Hold us accountable!”

Alders Advance Principal Punzo Corner Renaming by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven Independent

Alders unanimously endorsed renaming an East Shore Park-adjacent street corner after retired former New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) principal—and longtime Annex Little League president—Salvatore Punzo, whom admirer after admirer described as “one of the best human beings you’re ever gonna find.” Local legislators took that vote last Thursday during the latest regular monthly meeting of the Board of Alders City Services and Environmental Policy (CSEP) committee. The virtual meeting took place online via Zoom. The committee alders unanimously voted in support of renaming the corner of Woodward Avenue and Tuttle Street as “Salvatore Punzo, Sr. Corner” in honor of the lifelong city resident and celebrated local educator.

Punzo, 77, worked as a teacher and a principal for the city’s public school system for 49 years, including 17 years as the principal of East Rock School and another decade-plus as a consultant for Nathan Hale School. He also spent 11 years as the president of the Annex Little League. Punzo is currently the endorsed Democratic candidate for alder in the Annex’s Ward 17. He will face off in November against Republican challenger AnneMarie Riveria-Berrios. Current Annex Alder Jody Ortiz, who is not running for reelection this year, provided written testimony encouraging her legislative colleagues to vote in support of the corner renaming in recognition of Punzo’s “hard work and deep commitment for the East Shore area and the entire city over a lifetime as educator, civic leader, and volunteer.”

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Salvatore Punzo, at July’s Democratic Town Convention.

“Salvatore has been a cornerstone in the community for well over 50 years,” she continued, and—through his work as an educator and a baseball little league administrator and mentor—“has made the Annex a better place to live.” Former fellow NHPS principal Gary Highsmith agreed. He was the one of several testifiers on Thursday to describe Punzo as “one of the best human beings” around. Highsmith said Punzo was his thirdgrade teacher when he was a student in the city’s public school system. Punzo was later a principal and mentor when Highsmith rose to the ranks of assistant principal in that same system. Highsmith said Punzo was renowned for getting to work at 4:30 a.m., and for being one of the hardest workers in the school system. “He was so empathetic, so caring, so

concerned about every single student.” Upson Terrace resident Kat Laverty also described Punzo as “the most wonderful person I think I have ever met.” She recalled sending her twin daughters to Nathan Hale School for their first day of pre-school. Her nerves were immediately calmed when she was Punzo greeting every student with “the best smile in the world.” “He really is just a pillar in our community.” Lisa Bassani said that the Annex Little League has become one of the most cherished after-school programs in the whole neighborhood under Punzo’s leadership. He was a coach, an administrator, a groundskeeper, a mentor, always the first to the fields and the last to leave. “There’s a selflessness to him that we all should aspire to.” Con’ t on page 09

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

Con’ t from page 08

Principal Punzo

The corner renaming also won the support Thursday of the East Shore’s two state legislators: State Sen. President Pro Tem Martin Looney and State Rep. Al Paolillo, Jr. Looney described Punzo as “the kind of person, the kind of community volunteer without whom there are no cohesive neighborhoods and there are no cohesive cities.” And Paolillo described Punzo as the epitome of a “caring, compassionate, competent, and committed” city resident. Paolillo recalled how—before Punzo spent nearly five decades working for the city school system—he worked for the city’s public works department, riding the back of a refuse truck. His partner on the back of the truck was none other than Paolillo’s dad, Al Paolillo Sr. Even then, Paolillo said Thursday, Punzo had a reputation for being one of the hardest working people on the route. Paolillo said that Punzo does not like drawing attention to himself, and that he may not even have been watching Thursday’s CSEP meeting. But in case he was watching, Paolillo said, he wanted the former principal to know: “You’re a legend.” The proposed corner renaming now advances to the full Board of Alders for further discussion and a final vote later this fall.

State Honors 2 New Haven Arts Heroes by STAFF Two New Haven “arts heroes” got their due Wednesday night — in the form of statewide recognition of their contributions to Connecticut culture. Lucy Gellman and Kim Weston received those honors during the latest annual Connecticut Arts Hero Awards, held in downtown Hartford at the Infinity Music Hall & Bistro on Front Street. Gellman, who is the editor of the New Haven Arts Paper and the co-founder of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative, was one of nine Connecticut residents to receive the 2020 Arts Hero award from the state Office of the Arts. Weston, a photographer and teacher with a studio in Erector Square, was one of eight to receive the 2021 award.

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Lucy Gellman and Kim Weston, back stage at Infinity Hall.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

United Negro College Fund and Black Tech Ventures to Host Hackathon for Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Challenge aims to increase the number of Black students in the early-career tech talent pipeline. Participants will innovate housing solutions as they learn skills and compete for $90,000 in cash and prizes.

SEATTLE, — Registration is now open for Zillow’s first hackathon for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) around the country. Beginning September 23, the seven-day virtual competition challenges students to develop and pitch creative and impactful tech solutions that align with Zillow’s goal to help consumers overcome obstacles on their journey to find a home. Nearly $90,000 in cash and prizes is up for grabs as students gain real-world experience in the technology industry. Zillow, in collaboration with United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Black Tech Ventures (BTV), will host the HBCU Housing Hackathon to help HBCU students further develop their skills through workshops, hands-on enrichment, mentorship and teamwork. To engage HBCU students who have various technical skill levels, Zillow’s HBCU hackathon is open to both students with advanced computer coding experience as well as those with little or no coding experience. Students will work closely with Zillow and BTV mentors. Teams can have as many as four members, and although registration is open to HBCU students in any degree program, each team must have at least one member enrolled in a computer science, computer engineering or related program. At the end of the weeklong event, team finalists will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges. The first-place team will receive a $20,000 cash award, split among its members, and Zillow will donate $25,000 to its school’s computer science program. Second- and third-place teams will receive $12,000 and $6,000

cash awards, respectively. Students from the top three teams also will receive new laptops, textbook gift cards and AfroTech World 2021 conference tickets. All eligible hackathon participants interested in a role at Zillow will have an opportunity to interview for an internship. “Zillow is proud to sponsor this hackathon because we best serve our customers when we can recruit and retain some of the best talent in the world — the kind of thinkers and doers incubated on the campuses of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities,” says Zillow Chief Technology Officer David Beitel. “Our goal is to strengthen our recruiting pipeline through engagement with HBCUs and encourage students to consider careers in the tech industry and, of course, at Zillow.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics, HBCUs produce 27% of all Black STEM graduates. Graduates from these institutions make up 40% of all Black engineers in the U.S. “Zillow recognizes the importance of establishing strong relationships with HBCUs,” Beitel adds. “That’s why, in 2019, we joined the HBCU Partnership Challenge, created by the congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. The challenge promotes greater engagement and recruitment at HBCUs by private companies. This hackathon is one of the ways Zillow is meeting the challenge.” Dr. Chad Womack, senior director of National STEM Programs and Initiatives at UNCF, will be on the panel of judges for the HBCU hackathon. Womack also co-founded BTV, a venture tech firm created to empower African American tech

founder of Wealth Noir; and Tiffany Taylor, chief people & impact officer, GSV Ventures. Special student judge Richard Clay, Bowie State University Class of 2022, will participate in semifinal judging. To learn more or register for the hackathon, visit http://www.zillowhbcuhackathon.com.

innovators and startup entrepreneurs, with a focus on fostering the entrepreneurial mindset on HBCU campuses. “The UNCF is proud to partner with Zillow and Black Tech Ventures on this wonderful initiative for our students,” says Womack. “UNCF is excited to leverage its reach across HBCU campuses to engage our students and market the HBCU Housing Hackathon challenge opportunity.” As a partner, BTV will introduce participants to design thinking and the lean startup process so they can incorporate those principles into their hackathon projects. During the hackathon, the BTV team will also provide mentoring and coaching for the HBCU student-led teams. “We started Black Tech Ventures as an organization dedicated to supporting design thinking, lean startup and tech entre-

preneurship among HBCU students and alum, particularly those pursuing STEM careers,” says Jaye Espy, a co-founder of BTV who serves as its director of Programs and Operations. “Our mission is to encourage and empower more Black Americans to leverage their science, technology and engineering skills as they embark on their entrepreneurial journey.” On the judging panel, Womack will be joined by Zillow and tech industry leaders including David Beitel, Zillow chief technology officer; Eric Bailey, vice president of Experience Design at Zillow; Aldona Clottey, Zillow vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility; Stan Humphries, chief analytics officer at Zillow; Loni Mahanta, vice president of Government Relations and Public Policy at Zillow; Jaisa Minor, head of partnerships at HBCU.vc; Damien Peters,

About the United Negro College Fund The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF annually awards $100 million in scholarships and administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at more than 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org, or for continuous news and updates, follow UNCF on Twitter, @ UNCF.

New COVID Cases Were 300% Higher This Labor Day Weekend Than Last Year by Jason Henderson, BlackDoctor.org

In the Black community, 85% have expressed concern over the new variants and strains that could potentially be dangerous and deadly, according to the NAACP. With the Delta variant surging and many Americans mask- and vaccinefree, new cases of COVID-19 spiked to levels over the long Labor Day weekend that were 300% higher than those seen over the same weekend in 2020, according to a new tally from Johns Hopkins University. That means packed hospitals and rising numbers of infected children as a new school year begins, according to CNN. “The takeaway for everyone is get your shots and certainly wear a mask for that added layer of protection if you’re in public indoor spaces right now,” Dr. Megan Ranney, professor of emergency medicine and associate dean of public health at Brown University, in Providence, R.I., tells the news agency. The surge in new cases could really hit a

high point in about two weeks from now: Last year at this time, cases surged in 31 states, and the number of people testing positive for infection with coronavirus also spiked in 25 states, CNN says. The US has now tallied more than 40 million Covid-19 cases across the pandemic, with more than 4 million of them reported in the last four weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Last year, Americans didn’t have the highly transmissible Delta variant to contend with. It’s part of the reason that CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky last week urged people to curb their travel over the Labor Day holiday. She also again pushed for vaccination: Right now only 62% of Americans who are eligible for a vaccine (everyone 12 years of age and older) are fully vaccinated.

“Here’s the important thing: everyone that I’m hospitalizing is not vaccinated,” Ranney tells CNN. “We are, by and large across the country, not needing to hospitalize people that have gotten both doses of the vaccine. This is a disease of the unvaccinated right now.” That’s showing up as a key factor in states hit hardest by COVID-19. According to CNN, fewer than 40% of people living in Alabama, Wyoming, Idaho, Mississippi and West Virginia are vaccinated, and in two of those states, Alabama and Mississippi, hospital intensive care units (ICUs) are already at more than 90% of ICU beds taken. Four other states — Georgia, Arkansas, Texas and Florida — also have less than 10% ICU capacity left, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you suspect that you may have come in contact with COVID, you should social distance and get tested as soon as possible. For more information about COVID and vaccines, visit the CDC

It’s the unvaccinated who are landing in hospitals and dying, experts say.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

New Coronavirus Variant a ‘Concern’ for Health Officials By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Delta be damned. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is monitoring a new coronavirus variant called “Mu,” a strain that first surfaced in Colombia earlier this year. “Mu is a variant of interest,” the WHO noted in a news release. The variant contains mutations that indicate a risk of resistance to COVID-19 vaccines, health officials determined. “The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,” WHO officials stated. Nearly 219 million people globally had contracted the novel coronavirus since March 2020, when officials officially declared a pandemic. Over 4.5 million have died, including more than 657,000 in the United States, where the disease has disproportionately attacked African Americans and other communities of color. Health officials have identified the Delta variant — and the number of people that remain unvaccinated — as the primary reasons that more than 100,000 people in the United States are currently hospitalized — the largest number since the beginning of the year.

The Department of Health and Human Services revealed that 30 percent of intensive care beds in hospitals around the country hold COVID-19 patients, and they point the finger largely at how the Delta variant has rapidly spread through the extensive unvaccinated population. Just under 52 percent of the U.S. population has full vaccination, while 61 percent received at least one dose. Virus rates continue to spike around the globe, and the WHO has determined that the Mu strain could make matters worse. Mu joins the list of four variants of concern named by the WHO. The list includes Alpha, Lambda, and Delta. Each is present in at least 170 countries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t list Mu as a variant of interest or a variant of concern. Barrons reported that the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has previously listed Mu as a variant of interest. The ECDC reported that there is evidence that the mutations in the Mu variant now impact transmissibility and immunity. “WHO will closely follow the epidemiological evolution of this variant, along with studies on its impact,” the agency noted.

FBI: Hate Crimes Rise in U.S. Spike, Highest in 12 Years By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

According to the FBI, the number of hate crimes in America rose 6 percent from the previous year in 2020. The increase was the highest level in 12 years. The main targets of hate crimes in the U.S. are Blacks and Asians. The FBI reports that there were 7,759 hate crimes in 2020. That total was an increase of 6 percent from 2019 and the most since 2008. Hate crime numbers have risen steadily over the last seven years. The new numbers feature attacks targeting Black people. Hate crimes on Black people went up from 1,930 to 2,755 in 2020. “These statistics show a rise in hate crimes committed against Black and African-Americans, already the group most often victimized. Notably, they show a rise in hate crimes committed against members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander community. This also confirms what we have seen and heard through our work and from our partners,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement on the report. “Preventing and responding to hate crimes and hate incidents is one of the Justice Department’s highest priorities.

The FBI Hate Crime Statistics for 2020 demonstrates the urgent need for a comprehensive response,” Garland added. During the presidency of Donald Trump hate crimes rose. With a President who has mainstreamed the rhetoric of White nationalists, the groups have become more emboldened. Trump’s policies on immigration gave preference to certain countries as Trump spoke of “building a wall” at the Mexican border. During the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, which included the participation of members of

The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers, several Black members of the U.S. Capitol Police reported racist slurs being hurled at them during the attack. The FBI’s report on August 30 is one of several that has focused on rising hate crimes in the U.S. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

Black Star Network: Roland Martin Announces New Black TV NetBy Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

On the evening of September 2, journalist Roland Martin, the host of #RolandMartinUnfiltered, announced an over-the-top media (or OTT) network that will broadcast directly to viewers free via the internet and a phone app. The new Black owned network, Black Star Network (curated by Roland S. Martin), will feature new shows and live stream Black news and information focused on news, politics, technology and culture. The first interview to debut on Black Star Network will be with legendary civil rights attorney Fred Gray, on September 4. Gray, 90, was the legal mastermind behind several civil rights victories and an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin announced his new network on the third anniversary of #RolandMartinUnfiltered, the first daily digital show specifically targeting African American audiences five days a week. The show has enjoyed expansive audience growth averaging 20 to IN MEMORIAM:

Samsung, XBox and Amazon FireTV. The new network’s content will also be carried on a phone app for Apple and Android phones at Black Star Network. The network’s website, BlackStarNetwork.com is also now live. Even though many other TV networks charge viewers to see content, Black Star Network will not. “A lot of our people simply cannot afford to pay for a streaming service. We purposely chose to keep this free. We purposely chose for people to be able to access our content — that’s what we’ve done with this show as well,” Martin said referring to #RolandMartinUnfiltered. The network will be ad supported. Martin’s show #RolandMartinUnfiltered has been streaming live on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the support of the show’s Bring the Funk Fan Club donations which have totaled over a

30 million views a month. Unlike several other Black content related news and information platforms, Black Star

Network is 100 percent Black-owned. Black Star Network will be available on all platforms including AppleTV, Roku,

Michael K. Williams, Star of ‘The Wire’ and ‘Lovecraft Country’ Dead at 54

By Nsenga K. Burton, The internet is buzzing with news iconic actor Michael K. Williams has died. Multiple media outlets including The Hollywood Reporter are reporting the celebrated actor who played some of the most interesting and complicated characters on television including Omar on The Wire (HBO), Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire (HBO), Montrose Freeman on Lovecraft Country (HBO), Bobby McCray in When They See Us (Netflix), Jack Gee in Bessie (HBO) and Leonard Pine in Hap and Leonard (AMC), was found dead today in his apartment. Born in Brooklyn to a Bahamian mother and father from Greenville, SC, Williams starred in over 111 productions. He trained as an actor with the National Black Theater Company in New York City. Williams who was known for a scar down the front of his face which he got in a bar fight in his twenties, was discovered by the late actor and rapper Tupac Shakur. He was cast as High Top, the

brother and henchman to Shakur’s drug kingpin Tank, in the film Bullet (1996). He also appeared in numerous music videos of superstars like George Michael and Madonna and was photographed by world-famous photographer David LaChappelle. A star of many talents, Williams also choreographed Crystal Water’s 1994 single, “100% Pure Love.” Williams credits his childhood friend Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens as his inspiration for getting into the music business.

Williams received three Primetime Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work in Bessie (2015), The Night Of (2016) and When They See Us (2019). The thespian also won a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Ensemble in Television for his role as Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire and most recently won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Montrose Freeman in Lovecraft Country. Williams was in a long-term relationship with actress and director Tasha Smith at the time of his passing. Williams was 54. This story is developing. This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual. ollow The Burton Wire on Instagram or Twitter @TheBurtonWire.

23-Year Old Becomes Youngest African American to Be Certified as a Boeing 777 BlackNews.com Biloxi, MS — Malik Sinegal, a 23-year old from Mississippi, has made history as the youngest African American to be certified as a Boeing 777 pilot in the world. He himself did not initially realize just how significant his accomplishment is! Malik says that he found out about the record-breaking news only when a representative from Boeing contacted him to inform about it. “The Triple 7 is one of the airplanes that people usually don’t touch until they’re

around their forties or fifties or they’ve been at the airlines for a very long time,” he told WXXV. “And I came down with the opportunity where — a scholarship opportunity where — I was able to get into the airplane.” Malik shared that he has always wanted to fly Boeing 777, which is known as the world’s largest twinjet. “The biggest reason for me is that I’ve always wanted to fly this airplane. I was able to get in it for my first time in 2004 going to Anchorage, Alaska, which is my favorite place in the world.”

million dollars in the last 18 months. Martin recently announced the construction of a new studio space in Washington, D.C. close to The White House. The veteran journalist, who hails from Houston, also has plans to announce Black Star Network’s 24-hour streaming channel to be launched during the first quarter of 2022. Black Star Network’s social media addresses are Facebook.com/BlackStarNetwork, YouTube.com/BlackStarNetwork, Instagram.com/BlackStarNetwork and Twitter.com/BlkStarNetworkon twitter. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Founder of Black-Owned Baby Shoe Brand Lands Huge Partnership With Luxury Retailer, Neiman Marcus BlackNews.com

Nationwide — Despite the pandemic, Yolandra Rodgers, CEO/Creator/Founder of Tippy Tot Shoes is driven to evolve and prepare for the next normal. The twin threats to lives and livelihoods would determine how she would apply the harsh reality of survival – both personal and business. Rodgers re-evaluated the circumstances surrounding the industry to tackle the challenges most business owners were facing. She recalls thinking – “How will our consumers buy and receive their products and what will happen to our end-toend operations?” The obvious is that the workplace will certainly not be the same. Though she remained hopeful; grasping on to the fact she was not alone during a tumultuous time. She would now join industry leaders to discuss ways to reconstruct a space for change, collaboration, diversity, and inclusion. In a flash, the world changed – displaying a call to duty for support and unity to rebuild a shattered nation. Yet, this defining moment would bring a sense of urgency for calm by all groups, ethnicities, and professions. Next up, she would approach Juneteenth – whereas celebrity influencers, business constituents, family, and friends would amplify stories, culture, and community. Fast-forward, Black Lives Matter took center stage and became a focal point not only for social justice but also for commerce. Numerous brands released social media statements, created ads, and even bombarded inboxes to highlight a new meaning for social responsibility. Rodgers cited, “In contrast, our company among others made real social change. You can see it and feel it on so many levels. Some even paused paid advertising to foster a digital space for rest and healing.” Subsequently, the Neiman Marcus Group extended to Rodgers a wide range of support, resources, and tools to demonstrate

why it is truly about commitment and community and not the “Sale”. This opportunity would allow Rodgers to become the first Black-owned toddler shoe line to land a huge partnership with Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman stores. Rodgers is elated about the relationship and the efforts to continually build and expand the brand to new consumers and new markets. More importantly, Rodgers stated, “We are both grateful for the opportunity to express how love and hope can strengthen and rebuild our communities.” Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) has been the premier destination for luxury fashion and goods, superior service, and an elevated retail experience for more than a century. Today, the NMG is focused on fostering, Black-led businesses, and designers of brand partners (Tippy Tot Shoes) communities and organizations to advance diversity and inclusion within their business structure and top priority. Learn more about the brand at TippyTotShoes.com Also, find the brand online at NeimanMarcus.com and BergdorfGoodman.com

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

Martin Luther King III and Wife Arndrea King Talk Voting Rights, Abolishing Filibuster By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

In 1963, more than 250,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., for jobs and freedom with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Nearly 60 years later, Martin Luther King III helped lead a massive march on the nation’s capital. This time the objective focused on voting rights. “John Lewis told us that the most powerful nonviolent tool we have is voting rights,” King told the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) during an exclusive interview broadcast over the social media channels of the Black Press of America. The NNPA is the trade association that represents the Black Press of America. “We are in a battle to protect our most sacred right,” King continued. The oldest son of the late civil rights leader called the more than 400 voter suppression bills in GOP-led states a reaction to the massive voter turnout in Georgia and other places that helped Democrats gain control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. King and his wife, Arndrea, said part of

their mission is to register new voters and fight suppression laws. “The 400 pieces of legislation introduced since January are a reaction to the massive voter turnout, we saw last year and is a preparation for 2022,” said Arndrea King, a national merit scholar who studied psychology at Emory University. “If people come out and make themselves heard and press for federal protection, for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, we can stop this,” Arndrea King insisted. In addition to the August 28 march, the King family set a goal of registering 2 million new voters ahead of 2022. The couple insisted that the Black Press of America remains the most prominent and trusted vehicle. The King family and other civil rights activists have gotten out vital messaging using the Black Press. “All of us greatly appreciate the Black Press because none of what we are doing, none of what my father did, and so many others would be known without the Black Press,” Martin Luther King III asserted. “The Black Press is so important. We understand that the reality is that so many people depend on getting their news from the Black Press even though we have moved toward social media outlets.” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin

and Brown community, but this is a problem for all of us,” Arndrea King stated. “In a lot of ways [Dr. King] saw this. Before his assassination, he said the first phase of the movement was civil rights, and the second phase would be genuine equality. We see mass mobilization across the U.S., and people are saying it is time for genuine equality, and that starts with access to the ballot box.” Martin Luther King III called the filibuster a relic of the past.

F. Chavis Jr., who worked with Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, said he remains impressed by the King family and their staunch activism for freedom, justice, and equality. “Martin Luther King III and Mrs. Arndrea King together exemplify the loving, transformative freedom-fighting husband and wife team that America and the world surely admire,” Dr. Chavis remarked. “The Black Press of America acknowledges and supports the King family’s continued leadership, vision and commitment to freedom, justice, and equality,”

Dr. Chavis added. The couple said passage by the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would provide federal protections to voters that suppression laws have removed. They called the current push urgent and said Democratic lawmakers should strongly consider abolishing or setting aside the filibuster that maintains most laws need 60 votes – or at least 10 Republican supporters – to pass in the Senate. “The vast majority of Americans support voting rights legislation, and we know the voter suppression laws target the Black

“Just like the [Confederate] statues were standing in the way [of progress], we know the filibuster was put on the books to keep civil rights bills from passing,” King declared. “Relics have to be removed. The filibuster has to be removed.” While some are reluctant to abolish the filibuster, King noted the hypocrisy. “If we can do something like confirming Supreme Court Justices to lifetime positions with 51 votes, can’t we carve out a section for our most precious right, the right to vote? So, the filibuster is ultimately a relic of the past, and it’s not necessary,” King concluded.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

March on Washington 2021 Focuses on Voting Rights By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

On the 58th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, marchers focused on voting rights. Voting rights have reemerged as a somewhat unexpected political battlefield as Republicans across the country pass new laws placing barriers in front of the ballot box. Last week, the U.S. House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act which would restore pre-clearance, a 1965 Voting Rights Act provision requiring states with a history of restricting voting rights to receive pre-approval for changes in election laws. “January 6 you saw an insurrection against people’s right to vote,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, a primary organizer of the March on Washington 2021. Today, Sharpton said, represents “Dr. King’s resurrection of the right to vote.” In Washington, D.C. and several other cities, marchers focused on voting rights along with the minimum wage, evictions and justice reform issues. Marchers at the Washington, D.C. event featured members of Congress and voting rights activists. “Fifty eight years ago today, a preacher from Georgia stood on these steps and declared, in the face of racism and economic justice, a nightmare — a nightmare that was lengthened by congressio-

nal and state filibustering,” said Rev. Dr. William Barber, President of Repairers of the Breach. Marchers in Washington, D.C. wore “good trouble” t-shirts and face masks and held signs on voting rights and ending the filibuster. Voting rights activists have been putting

pressure on Congress to end the filibuster and make it harder for state legislators to change voting laws that place barriers in front of the ballot box. “Fifty-eight years after the #MarchOnWashington, Americans are marching again today for our democracy. With state laws disenfranchising voters and mak-

ing it harder to vote, we need the Senate to pass the For the People Act and the House-passed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act!” wrote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on social media. The Senate is expected to return to session in September and deal with a close vote that will include the John Lewis Vot-

ing Rights Advancement Act. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Report: Campaign Underway to Convince Rep. Karen Bass to Run for L.A. Mayor By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Rep. Karen Bass has so far stayed quiet about whether she will run for mayor of Los Angeles, but some Angelenos are getting more vocal about telling her she should enter the race. Bass (D-Los Angeles), has seen her national profile rise in the past year. First, President Joe Biden considered Bass a potential vice-presidential candidate, and later for the opening in the Senate left by Kamala Harris, who ultimately got the V.P. role. In recent months, her name has come up in behind-the-scenes discussions around the L.A. mayor’s race, generating interest among local donors and politically plugged-in residents. And now, some of those Angelenos are publicly calling on the congresswoman, via social media draft efforts, to ditch her weekly plane rides between L.A. and

Washington D.C., in favor of bringing her political experience full circle to the city where she got her start as a community organizer. While the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom has topped headlines in California politics, flying just under the radar is the effort to draft Congresswoman Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor. “As we struggle just in the city of L.A. and just in our own communities to do that, I think she would really be a very key person to bring together the city on our issues,” said Rachel Brashier, who organized the #KarenBassforMayor online campaign by the California Black Women’s Democratic Club. The Daily News of Los Angeles reported that Bass, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has seen her name come up in behind-the-scenes discussions around the city’s mayoral race.

The congresswoman’s office declined to comment. California residents have started to vote in the recall election of Newsom. Officials have set September 14 as the date for the recall election. If removed, Newsom would join Gray Davis as re-

cent Democratic California governors recalled. Residents voted to recall Davis in 2003. But while most of the attention in the Golden States has focused on Newsom’s fate, a grassroots effort picks up to put Congresswoman Bass in the mayor’s office. “The online campaign is meant to further a conversation that had begun percolating behind the scenes about how politically savvy Angelenos could get involved in the local races,” Elizabeth Chou wrote for the Daily News. That conversation began coalescing around Bass in late July, according to Molly Watson, another executive board member of the Democratic club. Watson told Chou that the Democratic club and others involved in local politics had been looking at the mayoral race and gauging if they were interested in becoming more engaged. “But for some time, those conversations did not gather much momentum. Different names came up, but none seemed to pique serious interest,” Chou reported. Around the end of [July], Bass’ name bubbled up among local Democratic clubs and progressive circles.

At the same time, Watson told Chou that she heard the congresswoman’s name brought up in donor conversations. Initially, there was concern about Bass giving up an important seat in Congress, but Watson said she has always understood Bass as someone who mentored others and paid attention to a succession plan. “She’s not someone who will outstay a seat,” Watson told the Daily News.

“She knows it’s important that we have people who know how to retire from different positions, and so that all started to make sense for me.” Poll researcher Paul Maslin told the Daily News that Bass led a recent survey among 800 voters. A political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, Jack Pitney added that given Bass’ political chops, she would be a “very formidable candidate” if she were to run. Bass proved her political skills in the state Assembly and is “very well respected across the political spectrum,” he told the newspaper. “Right now, she is a respected member

of the majority and has considerable influence (but) if the Democrats are in the minority (should mid-term elections go poorly for the party), she will be largely a spectator,” Pitney said. “That’s not a lot of fun.” “The basic calculation for her is: stay in the House and face the possibility of minority status, or run for mayor, and take on all the slings and arrows that come with the job,” he said. “It’s not really an easy choice.” The L.A. mayor’s job is a “tough” one, and it doesn’t come with as much authority as “a mayor would like,” Pitney noted. “Anybody who runs for mayor has to grapple with a lot of inherited problems — homelessness, being perhaps the most visible, (and) violent crime,” he said. “Basically, quality of life issues. And that’s difficult. That’s not a fun job.” But he said that Bass seems like some one who is “very tough-minded. She has never been afraid of a challenge, which may be why she will decide to do it, but it would be very understandable if she didn’t.”

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,08 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September , 2021 - September 14, 2021

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NOTICE

MECHANIC

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y Mechanic in the repair and maintenance of all 25, 2016III:andHighly endingskilled when mechanic sufficient needed pre-applications (approximately 100) have types of received motor vehicles construction equipment. Themailied position requires been at theincluding offices ofheavy HOME INC. Applications will be upon re6 years’ in the repair maintenanceduring of mechanical equipment with a preminquest experience by calling HOME INC atand 203-562-4663 those hours. Completed imum of 2 years repairing heavytoconstruction equipment. Technical trade school applications must be returned HOME INC’s offices at 171 OrangeorStreet, Third training may substitute for up to 3 years’ experience. Must have own tools. $31.85 Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. to $38.28 per hour, plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request from the Department of Human Resources or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page. Phone #: 203-294-2080 Fax #:VIVIENDAS (203) 294-2084. ClosingPRE-SOLICITUDES date will be September 15, 2021 or VALENTINA MACRI DE ALQUILER DISPONIBLES the date the 50th application is received, whichever occurs first. EOE.

NOTICIA

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 !"#$%&'&(")*&+','*"+(,+-('.&(/,)&&)($)&$,),'*"+(/"0)1&1(2"0( máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 +&&-(3")(2"0)('),*+*+45(,%%("+%*+&6(7.&+(8"*+(01("+(/,#$01('"(4&'( julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) '.&(.,+-19"+(&:$&)*&+/&(2"0(+&&-(3")(,(10//&1130%(/,)&&)6(;0)*+4( en !"#$%&$'(%)*%+,!'%"-%"./0.1%/1,$.0.23%!"#%40//5 las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse !" #$%$&'$"())"*+$"*$%+",$(-".$$/$/" a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

!" <./$-2*(./"=3;-"-3)$2"(./"-$273.2&1&)&*&$2" <./$-2*(./"=3;-"-3)$2"(./"-$273.2&1&)&*&$2"" (2"("531"63-72"2*;/$.*" !" 63..$%*">&*+"3*+$-"2*;/$.*2"(./"2*(44" 63..$%*">&*+"3*+$-"2*;/$.*2"(./"2*(44"" >+38"=3;?))"8$$*"3."%(87;2"

NEW HAVEN

!" @&2%3'$-"*+$"-$23;-%$2"('(&)(1)$"" *3"=3;"ABCD

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

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/? Keyword=intergovernmental& Loc=&DeptNumber=&OccList=& JobType=&KeywordFullText=0 #EmpDiv1 The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

DPW Truck Driver Full-time position Go to www.portlandct. org for details

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

Cambridge Park Lead Based Paint Testing and Risk Assessment Services The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol (BHA) is accepting bids from qualified firms to perform lead-based paint testing and risk assessment services for the Cambridge Park Development located at Jerome Avenue, Davis Drive, and Quaker Lane, Bristol, Connecticut. Please find attached the Request for Proposal and information on proposal requirements. The selected consultant shall be responsible for compliance with all federal, state and local statutes and regulations. All services provided shall be consistent with the requirements and guidelines of the HUD Office of Healthy Home and Lead Hazard Control and the State of Connecticut. Please note that in order for the City to consider your bid to perform a risk assessment for this property, the proposal must include all items listed in the RFP. All submitted reports and documents must meet stated requirements. Sealed bids must include technical and cost information and be submitted to Mitzy Rowe, CEO by 4:00 PM September 15, 2021 in the BHA Office at 164 Jerome Avenue, Bristol, CT 06010. All questions regarding this Request for Proposals shall be submitted via email only to Carl Johnson, Director of Capital Projects, cjohnson@bristolhousing.org. BHA is an equal employment opportunity contractor. HUD Section 3 companies, small business, minority owned business, and women owned business enterprises are encouraged to participate.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

FHI Studio is actively seeking an innovative and self-motivated full-time Community Engagement Specialist to work on projects focused on improving the quality of life in communities. As a community engagement specialist, you are vital to engaging communities in developing high-quality, livable communities that support the community's residents, employees, and visitors. You work on projects that range from major transit, bridge, airport, and related infrastructure projects to neighborhood development plans Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Invitationtotostreet Bid: activation and community events. You utilize your understanding of diversity, Top pay for top performers. Health equity, and inclusiveness in planning and design to increase the diversity of community Beneﬁts, 401K, Vacation Pay. 2nd Notice voices. Your attention to detail and event planning experience fosters an engaging and collaborative environment for a variety of stakeholders. Excellent time management Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT is your Old Saybrook, CTspecialty that is used to be a project team member, provide excellent client AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER service, and conduct business development. You gain great enjoyment from engaging (4 Buildings, 17 Units) others in a collaborative process through social media and various virtual and in-person Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project mediums. Candidates will hold a degree in planning, marketing, sociology, or related field with a minimum three years of experience New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective of Demolition, Site-work, Cast-in consulting, event organizing, or public relaCandidates will also demonstrate experience in developing and implementing Concrete, Asphalttions. Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Youth Servicesin-place Administrator engagement strategies and in social media, targeted publicity, and event planning. If Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Residential youAppliances, feel you'll be perfect asCasework, our Community Engagement Specialist, apply now using Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. our initial 3-minute, mobile-friendly application at https://fhistudio.com/join

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center !"#$%"&'($C/8'($1/0206/1%7)8%(9$"#29%:;8!1,$8"/+'%21(%(91%'<0//'%,.+% Pet&-0/,'*"+('.&2(+&&-(3")(,(10//&1130%(30'0)&,$P)0C$"=1$%7**%($,0.0.2% under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 ,)&,1Q$0C/$'&"<&*1$'&"@)?/($:"7$B)0C$0C/$.,+-19"+('),*+*+45('""%15(,+-( '&/.+"%"42('"($0)10&(2"0)(-&1*)&-(/,)&&),$! CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a! Deacon’s Certificate %"22/A0$B)0C$*2$*?1)(()"2($A"72(/8"&$0"$?)(A7(($C"B$:"7$A*2$(0*&0$! Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30!"#$%"&'($@)&07*88:, 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven,!"#$%&'(%&)"*+&,+(-./&0(%&'"/%&1#&%2(&/2*34(5 CT

Portland

full-time position. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Go to www.portlandct. Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 org for details.

!"#$%#&'#"($)*(&+,$$EFGGH"DII:5JKL"MNOADP"3-"53163-72Q,3'

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY !"#$%"&'($)($*$+,-,$./'*&01/20$"3$4*#"&$567*8$9''"&072)0:$51'8":/&$;&"<&*1,$=7>)8)*&:$*)?($*2?$(/&@)A/($*&/$*@*)8*#8/$ 7'"2$&/67/(0$0"$)2?)@)?7*8($B)0C$?)(*#)8)0)/(,$D..EDDF$0/8/'C"2/$271#/&$)($GHIIJ$HHKLMNOI,

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

Request for Proposals

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

Quality Control Services

Elm City Communities is currently seeking proposals for quality control services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ VenBidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Ofdor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway fice, 28 on Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. beginning

Monday, July 12, 2021 at 3:00PM.

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Manager of Intergovernmental Affairs position.

Request for Proposal

APPLY NOW!

!" 0$(-."*+$"1(2&%2"34"*+$"531"63-72"7-3,-(894-38" 0$(-."*+$"1(2&%2"34"*+$"531"63-72"7-3,-(894-38"" +(./2:3."*-(&.&.,"*3"%(87;2")&4$"(./"83-$" +(./2:3."*-(&.&.,"*3"%(87;2")&4$"(./"83-$

!"#$$#% &$'()*+$#$

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

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

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Project documents available via ftp link below: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

RED TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (RED)

is accepting applications/resumes for the following positions in our Portland, CT location: Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses CDL Drivers – Class A & B Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Top Pay-Full BenefitsAA/EEO EMPLOYER Senior Project Manager – Environmental Division

Full Time – All Shifts

EOE Please apply in person: 1425 Honeyspot Rd.

Ext.Stratford, CT 06615

Health & Safety / Compliance Manager Technical Services Representative Diesel Mechanic

Please submit questions/inquiries and resumes to HR@redtechllc.com

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September , 2021 - September 14 , 2021 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,08 2016 - August 02, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Listing: HVAC Technician

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory Fast paced Petroleum Company is hiring for a full time, CT training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT HVAC Technician. License required – S-10,S-2 or S-1. ApWe offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits plicant must have experience in oil, propane, natural gas and Contact: Tom Dunay VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE A/C. Competitive wage, 401(k), sign on bonus and benefits. Send resume to: Attn: HR Manager, Confidential, PO Box 388, Phone: 860- 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Guilford,Authority, CT 06437. Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to applyapartments at this develAffirmative opment locatedAction/ at 108 Frank New Haven. Maximum income**An limitations ap- Action/Equal Opportunity Employer** Affirmative EqualStreet, Opportunity Employer ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reGarrity Asphalt Incduring seeks: CT Fence quest by calling HOMEReclaiming, INC at 203-562-4663 those hours.Large Completed pre- Company looking for an individual for our Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing PVCStreet, Fence Third Production Shop. Experience preferred but will applications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the Northtrain the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production poContact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 sition. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and Email: rick.touMust have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain VALENTINAsignant@garrityasphalt.com MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDESmore. DISPONIBLES a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. Affirmative Action/deEqual Opportunity HOME INC, en nombre la Columbus House y Employer de la New Haven Housing Authority, está AA/EOE-MF 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 Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equipjulio,Must 2016have hastaacuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes ment. CDL License, clean driving record, capable of (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas porSeeking correo atopetición operating heavyde equipment; be willing to travel throughout the employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, llamando HOME INC alexcellent 203-562-4663 horas.Pre-solicitudes deberánand remitirse Northeast &aNY. We offer hourlydurante rate &esas excellent benefits operator teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT personal 06510 . transportation and a valid drivers license reReliable

NOTICE

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP COMPANY Request for Proposals Payroll Services including HRMS 360 Management Group Co. is currently seeking proposals for payroll services including HRMS. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management Group Co.’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

NOTICIA

Union Company seeks:

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

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

NEW HAVEN

Construction

quired. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

We all have

DREAMS.

Drug Free Workforce

Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 3:00PM.

SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNER/DESIGNER FHI Studio is actively seeking an innovative and self-motivated full-time Senior Environmental Planner/Designer to manage projects in our environmental service line. As a project manager, you are vital to helping clients meet regulatory requirements and identify and achieve their project goals. You focus on projects that are resilient and adaptable to meet existing and future community needs. Being a highly organized senior environmental planner, you efficiently prepare NEPA, MEPA, CEPA, SEQRA, and CEQR documentation. Excellent time management is your specialty that is used to lead project teams, provide excellent client service, and conduct business development. You gain great enjoyment from engaging in the community with various meetings, public workshops, and public hearings. Candidates will hold a degree in urban planning, environmental planning, environmental science, or related field with a minimum of 7 years of experience in environmental consulting or related field. Candidates will also demonstrate experience in leading environmental planning and compliance projects. Our ideal candidate preferably has experience with a variety of stakeholders, presenting public presentations, and can travel for projects. If you feel you’ll be perfect as our Senior Environmental Planner/ Designer, apply now using our initial 3-minute, mobile-friendly application at https:// fhistudio.com/join.

Invitation to Bid:

Custodian:

State of Connecticut 2nd Notice Office of Policy The Town of East Haven is currently seeking qualified applicants to participate in and Management the Civil Service Examination for the position of Custodian. Graduation from High

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, SchoolCTor 1 year employment in building care and cleaning operations required. The rate pay is $22.23/hour; 40 hours/week. (4 Buildings, 17 of Units) The State of Connecticut, Office of Account Policy and Management is recruiting Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing WageClerk-Payroll: Rate Project The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications

to participate in the examination for Account Clerk-Payroll. The current vacancy is in the Finance Department of the Board of Education but this list may be used to fill New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castother Account Clerk positions within the Town of East Haven. The starting salary is Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application $54,325/year, 40 hours per week. in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, instructions for this position is available Applications participate Casework, in the examination are available online at www.townofeFlooring, Painting, Appliances,toResidential at: Division 10 Specialties, asthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests<http://www. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. https://www.jobapscloud.com/ townofeasthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests> or the ThisCT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= contract is subject to state set-asideCivil and contract compliance requirements. Service Offi ce, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT and must be returned by Septem210506&R2=1581MP&R3=001 ber 10, 2021. The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply. The State of Connecticut is an equal for a Policy Development Coordinator position.

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

Let Job Corps help you achieve yours. SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

St. New Haven, CT

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Now enrolling! until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 Tuition-free at its officecareer at 28training Smith Street, High school diploma programs Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the College credit opportunities Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility,Housing, 26 Smith Street Seymour. meals and medical care provided

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith For more information, visit jobcorps.gov or call (800) 733-JOBS [5627] Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. New Haven County - Jesselica Rodriguez – Rodriguez.Jesselica@JobCorps.org !"#$%&'(")*+,$*-+#".&/$*0(1,)2*3*4&//2*0(,,&"*5*Conner.Kelly@JobCorps.org Waterbury and Surrounding Areas – Abdul Shabazz – Shabazz.Abdul@JobCorps.org

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfCAREERS BEGIN HERE fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. Job Corps is a U.S. Department of Labor Equal Opportunity Employer Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. TDD/TTY telephone number is (877) 889-5627.

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

Bid Extended, opportunity/affirmative action employer Due Date: August 5, 2016 and strongly encourages theAnticipated applications Start: August 15, 2016 of women, minorities, and persons Project documents available via ftp link below: with disabilities.

The Housing Authority of the City of Norwalk, CT

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage is requesting proposals for QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SERVICE.

Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Equal Opportunity Employer. Adam Bovilsky, Executive Director.

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders AA/EEO EMPLOYER Request for Proposal documents can be viewed and printed at www.norwalkha.org Top pay for top performers. Health under the About Us tab, Doing Business tab, RFPs & RFQs. Norwalk Housing is an Beneﬁts, 401K, Vacation Pay.

INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,08 2016 - August 02, 2016 THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September , 2021 - September 14, 2021

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP COMPANY

NOTICE

Request for Proposals Payroll Services including HRMS AVAILABLE VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS 360 Management is currently seeking for payroll services includHOME INC, on Group behalf Co. of Columbus House andproposals the New Haven Housing Authority, ingisHRMS. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Manageaccepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develment Group Co.’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestoneopment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apsystems.com/gateway beginning on

ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Wednesday, 25,Applications 2021 at 3:00PM. been received at the offices ofAugust HOME INC. will be mailied upon request by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

LAND USE PLANNER/DESIGNER NOTICIA

FHI Studio is actively seeking an innovative and self-motivated full-time Land Use Planner/Designer to work on projects focused on improving the quality of life in communities. As a land use planner/designer, you are vital to enhancing and building FHI VALENTINA VIVIENDAS DEpractice. ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES Studio’s land useMACRI planning and design You focus on projectsDISPONIBLES throughout New England that include local streetscape plans, complete streets projects, green infraHOME INC, en nombre de la space Columbus House y deplans la New Haven Housing Authority, está structure, and park and open plans. Your and designs are innovative and aceptando rich pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio desarrollo graphically and are focused on implementation. Your attention en to este detail and unubicado enofla diversity, calle 109 Frank New Haven. Se limitaciones de foster ingresos derstanding equity,Street, and inclusiveness in aplican planning and design an máximos. Lascollaborative pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martestime 25 engaging and environment for a variety of stakeholders. Excellent julio, 2016 hasta cuando se hanthat recibido suficientes 100) management is your specialty is used to leadpre-solicitudes project teams,(aproximadamente provide excellent clilas oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes por correofor a petición entenservice, and conduct business development. Youserán gainenviadas great enjoyment creating community engaging others in esas a collaborative process.deberán remitirse llamando aspaces HOMEthrough INC al 203-562-4663 durante horas.Pre-solicitudes Candidates willdehold a degree urban planning/design, landscape architecture, a las oficinas HOME INC enin171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510or. a related field with a minimum of 5 years of experience in consulting, land use planning, zoning, urban design or master planning. Candidates will also demonstrate experience in leading projects and fostering a strong team environment. Our ideal candidate preferably has experience with a variety of stakeholders, presenting public presentations, and can travel for projects. If you feel you'll be perfect as our full-time Land Use Planner/Designer, apply now using our initial 3-minute, mobile-friendly application at https://fhistudio.com/join.

NEW HAVEN

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

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster St. New Haven, CT

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016. 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

Listing: HVAC Technician

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

Fast paced Petroleum Company is hiring for a full time, CT HVAC Technician. License required – S-10,S-2 or S-1. Applicant must have experience in oil, propane, natural gas and A/C. Competitive wage, 401(k), sign on bonus and benefits. Send resume to: Attn: HR Manager, Confidential, PO Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437. **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

Truck Mechanic

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

(203) 435-1387 QSR STEEL CORPORATION

Immediate opening for a full time truck mechanic. Commercial truck experience required. Work to be performed on trucks and trailers. Send resume to: Attn: HR Dept, P O Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

APPLY NOW!

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Beneﬁts, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Town of Bloomfield

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Principal Budget Specialist and a Geographic Information Officer (state program manager) position.

Assistant Town Clerk

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions are available at:

Salary $32.78 hourly Deadline to apply 9/9/21

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= 210818&R2=6335MP&R3=001

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

https://www.jobapscloud.com/CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= 210817&R2=4799MP&R3=001

and

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

to Bid: MECHANIC Invitation 2 Notice TRACTOR TRAILER SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE nd

Full Time, Beneﬁts, Old Saybrook, CT Top Pay (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

WATER

INSPECTOR WATER/SANITARY SEWER – The Town of Wallingford Water DiTax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate–Project Apply:Pace, 1425 Honeyspot vision is seeking a highly responsible individual to inspect work involving the inRd. Ext., Stratford, CT EOE stallation or repair of water and sewer lines for insure compliance with codes and New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing,specifi Selective Demolition, Site-work, cation. The position requiresCasta A high school diploma or G.E.D., plus two years progressively responsible utility construction experience, or an equivalent combinain-place Concrete, AsphaltofShingles, Vinyl Siding, tion of education and qualifying experience substituting on a year-for-year basis. A P7 Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, license from The State of Connecticut, or the ability to obtain the license within one Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. (1) year of appointment is required. Must possess and maintain a valid State of ConFull Time – All to Shifts This contract is subject state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. necticut Motor Vehicle Operator's License. Salary $65,669 - $84,027 Applications may Top Pay-Full Beneﬁts be obtained at the Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street,5,Wallingford, CT 06492. Forms will be mailed upon request from the DeEOE Please apply person: Bidin Extended, Due Date: August 2016 partment of Human Resources or may be downloaded from the Department of Human 1425 HoneyspotAnticipated Rd. Ext.Start: August 15, 2016 Resources Web Page. The closing date will be the date the 50th application or resume Stratford, Project CT 06615 documents available via ftp link below: 5, 2021 whichever occurs first. EOE is received or October

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Town ofQuestions Bloomfi eld Fax or Email & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com general contractor Heavy/Highway

HCCEnforcement encourages the participation all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Zoning Offiofcer Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483

is looking to hire a skilled Carpenter with willingness and eagerness to become a AA/EEO EMPLOYER Foreman. Training will be provided. Prefer candidate to be familiar with Salary $38.03 hourly Carpenter ConnDOT procedures, bridge, and road construction work. Must communicate effecDeadline to apply 9/30/21 tively with clients, be well organized and safety conscious, and must be able to read Pre-employment drug testing. plans. This is hands-on field leadership position. Top compensation and benefits are AA/EOE. available. Full time position. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage For Details go to www.bloomﬁeldct.org qualified woman and minorities to apply. Email resume to jobs@rothacontracting.com

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September , 2021 - September 14 , 2021 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 08 2016 - August 02, 2016

The Town NOTICE of East Haven

is currently accepting applications for the following positions:

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Public Safety Dispatcher: $54,953.60/year HOME INC, onPolice behalf of Columbus and the New Haven Housing Authority, OfficerHouse C: $59,025/year

is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develApply online at www.policeapp.com/ opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apEastHavenCT<http://www.policeapp.com/EastHavenCT>. ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y 25,Assessor: 2016 and$98,377/ ending year whenFor sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Tax application information please visit https://www. townofeasthavenct.org/civil-service-commission/pages/job-notices-and-tests been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon reThe Town East HOME Haven INC is committed to building a workforce of Completed diverse individquest by of calling at 203-562-4663 during those hours. preuals. Minorities, Handicapped and Veterans to apply. applications mustFemales, be returned to HOME INC’s offices atare 171encouraged Orange Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

ELM CITYNOTICIA COMMUNITIES

Invitation for Bids VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES VDI Equipment

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Beneﬁts, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week, Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo The Housing Authority ofestudios the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Comubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos munities is currently seeking Bids for VDI equipment. A complete copy máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 ofjulio, the 2016 requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Venhasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) dor Collaboration Portal en las oficinas de HOME INC.https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición com/gateway beginning on llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Town of Bloomfield

REQUEST FOR BIDS

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

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 3:00PM.

NEW HAVEN

Repair to Damaged Concrete Parapet at the Temple Street Parking Garage

New Haven, Connecticut 242-258 Fairmont Ave New Haven Parking Authority Project #20-028

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

Bids due September 23, 2021 at 3:00 P.M. All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95

highways, near bus stop & shopping center

Bid Documents will be available beginning September 1, 2021 at no cost by downunder 40lb allowed. Interested contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 loading Pet from the BuildingConnnected FTPparties system website. Contact Maryann Bigda of Turner Construction Company at 203-712-6070 for BuildingConnnected FTP system access information. CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. Theand costdisposal is $125. Classes start Saturday, 20, 2016 1:30The work mainly includes demolition of damaged area,August scaffolding, con3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. crete (including color andElijah texture timber bumper guard instal(203)repair 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Davis,matching), D.D. Pastor ofwood Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

lation, metal railing installation, and temporary traffic control devices, together with all St. New Haven, CT incidental work thereto and in accordance with Bid Documents. Bidders must submit with their Bid on forms provided a list of their Intended Subcontractors, including:

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

• the set-aside of DAS-certifi ed Small Authority Business Enterprises (“SBE”) for a reSealed bids areuse invited by the Housing of the Town of Seymour quirement of at of theAugust Bidder’s 2, entire contract until 3:00 pmleast on 30% Tuesday, 2016 at its value; office at 28 Smith Street,

Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the • the set-aside use of DAS-certified Minority owned Business Enterprises (“MBE”), Smithfield Living Facility, 26Disabled Smith Street Women ownedGardens BusinessAssisted Enterprises (“WBE”) and/or ownedSeymour. Business Enter-

prises (“DisBE”) for a requirement of at least 25% of the Bidder’s entire contract value. Please note that the MBE,will WBE, are part of the SBE;Office and 28 Smith A pre-bid conference beand/or held atDisBE the Housing Authority

Street Seymour, 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20,herein, 2016.a minimum of • Independent of CT the at SBE/MBE/WBE/DisBE requirements

(203) 435-1387 Custodian

The Town of Wallingford Electric Division is seeking qualified candidates for the position of System Operator/Dispatcher for a municipal electric utility serving 25,000 customers. Coordinates electric system switching and places equipment in and out of service during routine and emergency operations. Requires HS diploma/GED with 2 years experience in the operation of Distribution SCADA equipment and/or switchboards used in the distribution of electricity or other qualifying experience in a related field. Experience and training may be substituted on a year for year basis. Must maintain valid system operation certification from Connecticut Valley Exchange (CONVEX) or other approved agency or be able to obtain the same within 90 days of hire. Must posses and maintain a valid State of CT Driver’s License. $34.63 - $41.15 hourly plus an excellent fringe benefits package to include a defined benefit pension plan. Apply to: Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Application materials can be emailed to wlfdhr@wallingfordct.gov. Application forms will be mailed upon request by calling the Department of Human Resources, (203) 294-2080 or may be downloaded from the Department of Human Resources Web Page. Fax #: (203) 294-2084. Closing date will be September 10, 2021. EOE.

Large CT Fence Company

looking for a full-time individual for our Wood Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. This is an in-shop production position. Duties include mortising & drilling wood posts for fence panels, building fence panels, gates & more. Use of table saws, routers, miter saws, nail guns and other woodworking equipment is required. Some pickup and delivery of materials will be required. Must have a valid CT driver’s license and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com. AA/EOE-MF

$23.40/hourly (benefited)

Invitation to Bid: CITY OF MILFORD 2 Notice nd

Seeking qualified condidates to fill SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE numerous vacancies to include, Old Saybrook, CT Deputy Assessor, Mechanic Buildings, 17 Units) Sewer Line, Public Health (4 Nurse Exempt & Not and more. For Tax information andPrevailing Wage Rate Project detailed application instructions, New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, Castvisit www.ci.milford.ct.us Click on SERVICES, JOBS and in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, JOB TITLE. Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

Portland

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Youth Services Administrator Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 full-time Project position. documents available via ftp link below: Go http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage to www.portlandct.

org for details.

Town of Bloomfield

10% of the Bidder’s entire contract value must include businesses having a place of business within the City are of New Havenfrom limits.the Seymour Housing Authority OfBidding documents available

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

New Haven Parking Authority is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

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

Control Room Operations/Dispatching

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14, 2021

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE

Non-profit 501 (C) (3)

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND

RHIANNON GIDDENS

The legendary band celebrates 60 years of New Orleans Jazz!

Co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops!

TROMBONE SHORTY

MARILYN MCCOO & BILLY DAVIS JR.

W/ FRANCESCO TURRISI

SEPTEMBER 10

SEPTEMBER 3

& ORLEANS AVENUE

UP, UP & AWAY!

SEPTEMBER 19

SEPTEMBER 30

Multi-instrumentalist and Grammy Award nominee returns to the Playhouse!

Founding members of the The 5th Dimension!

COMING UP IN 2022

THE 5TH DIMENSION

BLACK VIOLIN APRIL 10

FEBRUARY 20

Classically trained string players Wil B. (viola) and Kev Marcus (violin) blend classical and hip-hop music!

Led by original member Florence LaRue — with hits “Age of Aquarius” & more!

203.438.5795 · RIDGEFIELDPLAYHOUSE.ORG

TWO PARKS, ONE GREAT PRICE!

All-Day Rides & Waterpark Less Than $35

OINK. HONK. FREE! NEIGH.

Purchase Daily & Season Passes Online quassy.com 2132 Middlebury Road, Middlebury CT

Through September 6, Connecticut children 18 and under plus one accompanying adult enjoy FREE Zoo admission courtesy of the CT Summer at the Museum program. Reserve your tickets now at www.beardsleyzoo.org!

1-800-FOR-PARK 23

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 08, 2021 - September 14 , 2021

Hep C TESTING FOR ALL. Since anyone could have Hepatitis C, testing is essential—and easy. One test can lead to the treatment you may need. There is a cure!.

test. treat. cure. For more information, please contact your doctor or visit: ct.gov/HepC 24