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“Informant Industrial Complex” On Trial

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD

A New Haven-based criminal defense attorney took aim at the so-called “jail house informant industrial complex” as he sought to convince the state Supreme Court to overturn a Church Street South murder conviction.

Defense attorney Kevin Smith made that argument Thursday morning during oral arguments before a panel of state Supreme Court judges in a courtroom on Capital Avenue in Hartford.

Smith and his colleague Norm Pattis are representing Christopher Calhoun, who was arrested in 2018 and found guilty by a jury in 2020 of the 2011 murder of Isa iah Gantt at the now-demolished Church Street South housing complex. Calhoun is currently serving a 45-year prison sen tence for that murder.

At a hearing attended by 10 of Calhoun’s family members and closest friends who had traveled to Hartford on Thursday, Smith took the lead before the Supreme Court judicial panel in arguing Calhoun’s appeal of the murder conviction.

In particular, Smith just as Pattis did in legal papers filed in the runup to Thurs day’s hearing argued that the original trial court judge got it wrong when he declined to give special instructions to Calhoun’s jury that two key witnesses were “jailhouse informants,” even though they brokered deals with state prosecutors while they were incarcerated to testify against Calhoun in exchange for favorable treatment from the state.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Nancy Chupak, meanwhile, argued before the Supreme Court judges in favor of uphold ing Calhoun’s conviction. During his time before the judges on Thursday, Smith crit icized the process by which two key wit nesses both of whom were incarcerated on unrelated matters at the time came forward to testify against Calhoun.

“This is a case about what happens when a jury is confronted,” Smith said in his opening remarks, with “the dirty business of the jailhouse informant industrial com plex.”

Failing to identify two core witnesses as “jailhouse informants,” he said, meant robbing the jury of important information that could have changed their final verdict. Chupak, however, said that the jury was given all the information it needed to ac curately assess the case. The witnesses were thoroughly examined, she said, and any changes in semantics would only lead to the same outcome.

In other words, both attorneys offered different arguments as to what it takes to fully inform and guide a jury without leading them in a biased direction.

Smith: Witnesses Were “Inherently Unre liable”

During Calhoun’s original 2020 trial, the court recognized two men, Jules Kierce and Eric Canty, who came forward with information while incarcerated as “co operating witnesses” rather than as “jail

house informants.”

Before the Supreme Court judges on Thursday, therefore, was the question of not just what constitutes a jailhouse infor mant, but whether or not the difference of labeling the witnesses as such could have affected the outcome of the case.

Smith contended that the jury should throw out the four-year-old conviction and hold a new trial because he believes the court erred procedurally while presenting testimony from the case’s two key wit nesses, Kierce and Canty.

All four men Kierce, Canty, Cal houn and Gantt were supposedly wellacquainted with one another because they spent time dealing drugs together at Church Street South.

Smith said the two witnesses were “in herently unreliable” due to the fact that the pair did not come forward to testify until 2016 and 2017, respectively, while both were incarcerated.

Canty, in particular, testified to having come forward after noticing a request for information on playing cards displaying the photographs of victims of unsolved homicides while imprisoned inside the Cheshire Correctional Institute.

“Everything you just said was before the jury, right?” one judge inquired. Yes, Smith said. And that’s why identify ing the witnesses as jailhouse informants was important that label could justify and trigger the deliverance of specialized instructions to jury members to help them consider key questions regarding the reli ability of the witnesses.

Connecticut General Statutes Section 54 86o defines a jailhouse informant as: “A person who offers or provides testi mony concerning statements made to such person by another person with whom he or she was incarcerated, or an incarcerated person who offers or provides testimony concerning statements made to such per son by another person who is suspected of or charged with committing a criminal offense.”

The original trial court judge did not, however, identify these two as jailhouse informants and give special instructions to the jury accordingly. Instead, these witnesses were identified as “cooperat ing witnesses.” So the jury was informed that both men had entered into agreements with the state while in prison and had reaped certain benefits from those agree ments. The jury was also told that the wit nesses could face some sort of punishment if they lied in their testimony.

However, because they weren’t identified as jailhouse informants, the jury didn’t re ceive a list of guidelines requested by the defense that would have encouraged them to specifically ask questions such as how important the testimonies were to the case or whether their statements were corrobo rated by substantial independent evidence.

“Over-Guiding The Jurors?”

Chief Justice Richard Robinson ques tioned the unreliability of certain jailhouse informant testimonies, saying “I thought courts were particularly worried about jailhouse informants because informants would sit together and talk to each other.”

He suggested that jailhouse informants were defined as individuals who heard incriminating information about another person while the two were incarcerated to gether.

Smith said that he viewed the question as less about where an individual heard the information, but rather where they were when they decided to bring that informa tion to the police.

In other words, he said, the real question was: “Why did you come forward?” Smith said that he considered the cards picked up by Canty in prison as “leading,” arguing that they clearly implied that “if you help us, we’ll help you.”

So, Robinson questioned, is the idea that “once you touch a jailhouse, you’re no longer credible?”

No, Smith said, the unreliability stems from the fact that “you’re in a jailhouse and you want to get out… it’s a powerful incentive unlike any other.”

OK, Judge Gregory D’Auria said, but “don’t you think jurors get the point?” from the evidence itself. “Are we dou bling up on the instructions?”

The specialized letter, Smith insisted, would have “drill(ed) down on a number of factors that are specific and peculiar to jailhouse informants,” he said.

“I don’t think it would be over instruct ing or over-guiding the jurors,” he stated, to make sure they were told to be properly skeptical of such statements.

After the judges questioned Smith as to whether or not additional information about jailhouse informants would have

been redundant to a jury, they focused on interrogating State Attorney Chupak about whether or not the state’s decision to inform the jurors about the witnesses’ promise to tell nothing but the truth was also unnecessary to the point of be ing misleading.

That was in response to a second claim made by Calhoun’s defense team in their appeal that the state had multiple times told the jury while making their case that the witnesses had committed to tell the truth at the risk of later punishment. Why, Judge Andrew McDonald inquired, would there be a need to say that to the witnesses before the credibility of the witnesses had even been questioned by the defense?

“The jury needs to have the full under standing of the agreement to assess their credibility,” Chupak said. “So it is to show his credibility?” McDon ald followed up.

Chupak replied that ensuring that the ju rors were aware of all of the stakes of the witnesses’ testimonies, “both the benefits and consequences” was necessary. Other wise, jurors could be left with “the skewed view that the state just bribed the defen dant.”

Just as there was an incentive to testify, she suggested, there was also “an incen tive to tell the truth.”

If an expert was paid $25,000 to testify in front of a trial court, McDonald pitched as an alternative example, “does that have to be put before a jury?”

“I think it’s apples and oranges,” Chupak said. “I don’t think it’s as important.” Why? McDonald asked. “Your whole point is that the jury should know the whole story.”

Chupak then tried to couch her state ment, saying that if the witnesses’ pay ment was necessary to know in “fully and fairly” assessing the case, then that infor mation should be made known.

The judges did not issue a decision on the appeal during Thursday’s hearing.

After the hearing, family and friends of Calhoun said they “felt good” about how the trial went and the prospect of their son’s verdict ultimately being overturned. Smith agreed.

“The arc of justice is long, but it bends towards freedom,” he told the crew. “I think our case is stronger and I think our case is right.”

Denise Mead, Calhoun’s mother, at tended the hearing along with her hus band, two close friends, Calhoun’s father, Calhoun’s brother, and four out of five of Calhoun’s children.

She said she thought Smith has “proved that the prosecution did not prove” her son was “guilty without a shadow of a doubt.”

“Without these informants’ testimonies, there is nothing,” she said. “And what would possess them after five to six years to come forward?”

“I’m at peace,” she said. “I believe jus tice will be served.”

NORA GRACE FLOOD PHOTO Calhoun's family and friends outside of Hartford courthouse Thursday.

Dems Rally The Troops On Whalley

by YASH ROY

With the general election just over three weeks away, Democrats from across the city and the state gathered on Whalley Avenue to try to boost turnout for an electoral contest in which “everything is on the line.”

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro offered that summation of the coming Nov. 8 election on Saturday during a getout-the-vote rally held at the local headquarters of incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont’s reelection campaign at 560 Whalley Ave.

“This election is the most important in our lives,” she told the Democratic politicians and party insiders before her. “Voters’ rights are on the line. Women’s rights are on the line. Our state’s economic health is on the line. Funding for our cities is on the line. If we don’t show up, then everything is on the line.”

On the ballot on Nov. 8 will be contested races for all of Connecticut’s so-called constitutional offices, including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, secretary of the state, and treasurer. Connecticut voters will also get to vote in contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state Senate, state House, and probate judge. And they’ll be faced with a ballot question about whether or not Connecticut should permit early voting.

Each speaker at Saturday’s rally sought to raise the stakes of the election by describing the benefits of Democratic governance and the potential threats of Republican wins.

Lamont described Nov. 8 as the “most important election of our state.”

“Democrats have delivered for the state and Connecticut believes in us,” New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney told the crowd. “We just need to make sure that we get out the vote and make our voices heard.”

Lamont, a first-term Democrat, is facing off against Republican challenger and Madison businessman Bob Stefanowski for the second time in four years this gubernatorial contest. Lamont currently has a roughly 15-point lead in polls. On Saturday, he and other Democrats stressed that the November will likely come down to turnout among Democratic voters in liberal strongholds like New Haven.

Former New Haven Democratic Town Committee Chairman Nick

Balletto explained that New Haven represents one of the largest shares of Democratic votes in the state. So, he continued, using the strong organizational strength of voter contact in the city could help keep Democrats in office statewide.

Saturday’s rally was attended by various local union members and labor leaders, including from Yale’s UNITE HERE unions, New Haven Rising, and the city’s firefighter union. The organizers at Saturday’s rally committed to getting out the vote through canvassing and phone banking for Democratic candidates.

“This election is important for labor organizations and protecting and growing all the progress UNITE HERE and all of labor across the state has made,” Local 34 Organizing Director Barbara Vereen told the Independent. “We’re going to be canvassing in neighborhoods across the city and knock on 20,000 doors before the election.”

Vereen also pointed to recent unionization efforts by Yale’s graduate student worker union, Local 33, as an important reason to support Democratic candidates up and down on the ballot.

“Lamont and all of the other Democrats here are going to expand all of the protections and benefits we’ve fought so hard for,” she said. “They’re also supporting Local 33 to help anyone who wants to form a union in this state have the right to do so.”

Elias Estabrook, an organizer for New Haven Rising, said that he attended on Saturday because he wants to see more funds and support for New Haven. He credited the state’s recent raise in municipal aid — aka, PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes — to the city to Democratic leaders and said he wanted to ensure that the progress already made wouldn’t be wiped out with a Republican administration.

Estabrook told the Independent that New Haven Rising was kicking into high gear for the next three weeks and will be knocking on doors three times a week with their next canvass scheduled to take place in the Hill.

With many elected officials bringing their kids to the event, Saturday’s rally also proved to be a place for old friends and longtime local politicos to reconnect.

That was the case for Susan Weisselberg, who told the Independent that she came out not just to help out wherever she could with the upcoming election, but to also see familiar faces and reconnect after two years of pandemic-era get-out-the-vote work.

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YASH ROY PHOTO

Local 34's Barbara Vereen (center): Union is ready to knock 20K doors.

... and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro

At Saturday's GOTV rally on Whalley.

State Sen. and Prez Pro Tem Martin Looney...

New Haven Independent

Sisters' Journey October Survivor of the month -

LaWanda Martinez

On March 30, 2019, I went for my annual mammogram. I then got a call back from Advanced Radiology on April 4 that informed me I needed to return for more testing.

They set it up for me to come in that following week on April 11. After multiple scans, I was told I needed a biopsy, which was scheduled to be done on May 30. (I had a vacation planned and my doctor advised that I should not change my plans to have the biopsy done sooner.)

On June 3, 2019 at 5:45 pm I got a call while I was out shopping for my youngest daughter’s 8th grade dance dress and I was told that I had a ductal carcinoma in my left breast. I felt like I was about to pass out. I was struck with the thought of my mother, and how she passed from pancreatic cancer 11 years ago. I just could not believe what I was hearing. I tried to stay as calm as I could and immediately called my sister who is a breast cancer survivor. She was keeping me calm and telling me everything was going to be okay, and that she believed I could fight and survive this. After I talked with my sister, I sat down with my husband and told him the news. He told me that God was on my side and that he will get us through this.

Next, I spoke with my daughters. They were heartbroken but told me that they were here for me. As the weeks went on,

I slowly came out and told the rest of my family members, who all stood by my side as I began this long journey.

On July 23, 2019, I had a bilateral (double) mastectomy. I was terrified but tried to stay as calm as I could. The surgery was rough, and afterward, I was in an excruciating amount of pain. If it were not for two of my daughters and my mother-in-law, I do not know how I would have made it through those tough weeks.

When I awoke the morning of August 18, I was getting ready to go back to work when I felt something dripping from my left breast. My doctor was out of town, but we had a Face Time call and he told me that my left breast was infected, and I had to have an operation to have the tissue expanders removed. On September 26, I found out that my right breast was also infected, and that I needed to have a nipple removal. I then had to start seeing a radiologist weekly, because I had developed a seroma in my right breast.

July 17, 2020, I went in to have Diep flap reconstruction surgery. On August 20, my abdominal incision had opened. The following week, on August 27, I went back into the O.R. and was later put on a womb vac. I remained on the womb vac for two months, with three-times-a-week home visits from a nurse. Finally, on December 30, 2020, I went back into surgery to have fat transferred for revision of my breast reconstruction surgery.

I survived 3-plus years of breast cancer and have come to realize the importance of life and the many joys that come with it. I am grateful for my family and friends, and after my difficult fight, I am glad to be alive. I will keep spreading the word about the importance of an annual mammogram and continue to help women fight and beat breast cancer.

She’s Going The Extra YARD For City’s Youth

by PAUL BASS

Coogan Pavilion is a wide-open space. And now it’s a community space: Depending on what time you enter it, you might stumble into a line-dancing class. Or a yoga class. Or a ceramics session. Or painting.

A different nonprofit group runs each of those activities. The landlord is the city’s Youth and Recreation Department (YARD).

YARD is in the process of replicating what’s happening at Coogan (by the Edgewood Skate Park) at eight underused buildings in parks throughout the city. The idea is partnering with nonprofits to bring much-requested public activities, especially for kids, to underused buildings: YARD keeps the buildings open and in shape, then coordinates with nonprofits that come in to use the space for free to serve the public.

Gwendolyn Busch Williams spoke about that innovative new approach during an interview Tuesday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”

Busch Williams, a New Haven native who has worked for variations of the city’s youth department since 2007, became the first director of YARD when the Elick-

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ment of Parks, Recreation and Trees. The idea was to turbocharge youth activities in a coordinated way for the city’s 21,000 school-age children.

Under Busch Williams, YARD has done that with gusto. Buoyed by $3 million in federal pandemic-relief money that runs through 2026, it has staged summer and back-to-school concerts for students at Westville Bowl and College Street Music Hall; opened learning hubs and mass meal-distribution events when the pandemic closed the schools; expanded summer camps; and organized annual Halloween “Trunk-or-Treat” events, among other activities.

In addition to pioneering the new neighborhood community youth center approach, YARD has updated the former YouthStat program (now called Youth Connect) to include more community agencies in guiding the 100 identified most at-risk students in town to safer and more productive lives.

Busch Williams spoke about all that, and about how growing up in Bethel AME Church prepared her for a career in youth leadership, on the episode of “Dateline,” which you can watch by clicking on the above video.

er administration created it in 2020 as a merger of the old youth department and the recreation wing of the former Depart-

Gwendolyn Busch Williams at WNHH FM.

New Haven Independent

Judge Campaign Debate Tackles “Caring” Mission

by PAUL BASS

Voters who make it to the 10th line of the election ballot on Nov. 8 will continue a tradition dating back to 1666: Electing New Haven’s probate judge. And they will have a choice.

Two candidates are vying for the chance to succeed retiring New Haven Probate Judge Clifton Graves Jr.: Democrat Americo Carchia and Independent Party candidate Jerald Barber, whom the Republican Party has also endorsed.

The position is Connecticut’s only elected judge position. It’s also in some ways the most Solomonic — making sometimes heart-wrenching decisions about child custody, parental rights, adoption, and guardianship of intellectually disabled individuals. Not to mention approving wills and name changes.

In a campaign debate Wednesday aired on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven,” Carchia said he’s running as a Democrat because he embraces the party’s values of “family, community” and providing for people in need. Barber, previously a Democrat, said he embraces those values, too; he said he’s running as an Independent as a ballot-access issue, because Democratic Party leaders blocked him from having a shot at the nomination. He called probate a “people’s court” with a judge whom the people, not party leaders, should choose. Both also spoke of how their experience

has prepared them for the post. Barber grew up here, is the pastor at a church on Beers Street, and has practiced law for 31 years. “I am connected to this community,” he said. “I’m an experienced attorney. I know the law. I know how to apply it. And I care not only for my clients, but about doing the right thing.” Carchia spoke of focusing on probate matters as an attorney for 28 years. “I have represented

children, mothers, fathers, the mentally ill, guardians, conserved persons,” he said. If elected, Carchia said, he’d look to have more court proceedings return to inperson at the 200 Orange St. court suite rather than remote status. “A trial on camera doesn’t work,” he said. He spoke of involving community groups supporting children with more of the work that takes place in the court, along with connecting

people with more information about mental health services and housing. Barber agreed about connecting participants in court matters with information about services. He said that he would look as well to hold public information sessions about probate matters at hospitals, community centers and nursing homes.

Both men cited their fathers as influences on the work they do and their reasons for pursuing the judgeship. Barber’s father, John, was a leading civil rights figure in New Haven in the 1960s, who challenged the law to live up to its ideals. As a child, Carchia saw the crucial role an attorney played in helping his father, an entrepreneurial immigrant from Amalfi, establish businesses in New Haven and pursue his dreams.

During the debate, the candidates were asked to cite a case they’ve handled that informs their view on the responsibilities they would assume as judge.

Barber spoke of meeting an elderly woman at the hospital after she had a stroke. He was appointed her conservator. “Her desire was to get back home,” he said. That involved “going through a lot of red tape to get that done,” he said: Working on rehab and in-home care, setting up rehab, winning permission.

“With the in-home help, we were able to successfully get her back home. She spent the last three to four months of her life at home, rather than a nursing home,”

Barber said. “That pointed out the importance of going beyond being just the attorney — getting involved with your conserved person and trying to determine their wishes and doing the best you can to get that done.”

Carchia served as conservator for a woman in her 70s who was being committed against her will to a 15-day psychiatric stay at the Hospital of St. Raphael (before it became part of Yale New Haven).

The woman lived across the street from the hospital. She had been calling police to complain that “people were coming to the door saying they were going to take her house. She was brought to the hospital. The doctors disavowed everything she said,” Carchia recalled. The woman met with a psychiatrist. She told him, “You are trying to take my house. I don’t like it. I don’t want you to come back to the house.” So she was committed. “They thought she was delusional.”

Carchia obtained a probable cause hearing for her at the probate court. He also did some digging. It turned out that the hospital was indeed leaving flyers and knocking at her door repeatedly seeking to purchase her home for a planned expansion. Carchia prevailed on the judge to allow the woman to return home.

“That really made me focus on how delicate it is to be confined to a hospital, and how much power a doctor has over our freedom,” Carchia said.

Election Day is November 8!

Get ready to vote, Connecticut! Here’s what you need to know for Election Day 2022.

Make sure you’re registered to vote. The online registration deadline is November 1.

If you’re unable to vote in-person on Election Day due to being out of town for a period of time, because of the sickness or disability of your own or someone else, or because of the continued presence of COVID-19, you can still vote. Apply for an absentee ballot.

A state constitutional amendment is on the ballot this year. Voters can decide about allowing the option for early voting in Connecticut.

Ballots are often two-sided, so remember to flip your ballot over on Election Day

For more voting information—including locating your polling place—visit myvote.ct.gov

Your Voice. Your Vote.

The Office of Secretary of the State

PAUL BASS PHOTO

Probate judge candidates Jerald Barber and Americo Carchia at WNHH FM.

School Metal Detector Rules Drafted, Debated

by ABIBA BIAO

More than half a year after Hamden schools’ leadership first purchased metal detectors as an “emergency” safety inter vention, the Board of Education (BOE) is drafting protocols to govern how the secu rity devices are used.

The BOE’s policy committee unanimously voted Monday night to advance a first copy of those rules, which, as currently written, allow the district to use metal detectors on any school property or at any school-relat ed event as directed by the school superin tendent. The full Board of Education will review that document which you can read here two times and have opportuni ties to revise the draft before taking a final vote on its passage.

Metal detectors were originally introduced at Hamden High School last December in response to an increase in school fights and a series of ultimately discredited gun violence threats. The new policy suggests that metal detectors could be used more broadly across school locations, before bus rides, or at academic events, for in stance down the line.

“Persons entering a school building or attending a school activity may be sub ject to daily, regular, or random screening with a metal detector,” the write-up reads. “The metal detector may be a walkthrough, hand-held, or other type of metal detection device… The screenings may take place before entering a school building, gaining access to school grounds, being admitted to a school activity, boarding or unloading a school bus, and/or before gaining access to any other location and/or activity spon sored by the school district.”

“So playing devil’s advocate here, it seems like it really is a carte blanche, so to speak, to search students anytime with a metal de tector,” Hamden BOE Member Austin Ce sare observed during the meeting. “Is that an accurate statement? That anytime, any place, someone could be searched through out school grounds?”

“The policy doesn’t limit us in other words,” responded Susan Smey, Hamden Public Schools’ director of media, assess ment and intervention. “If we became aware of a situation at noon, it doesn’t say we can’t use a handheld device in the mid dle of the day because we have a belief that there might be an issue say, as students are going into the lunchroom and I don’t know that we would want to be limited. We need the options.”

Superintendent Gary Highsmith, however, told the Independent that it was not his in tention to expand the implementation of metal detectors. Since there is, to date, no policy in place dictating when and where metal detectors can be employed, High smith argued that the newly proposed regu lations could be seen as “narrowing” the potential utilization of detectors.

Right now, Highsmith said, high school students go through the metal detectors any time they enter their building during school hours, like at morning drop-off or after returning to class from a doctor’s ap pointment.

When asked what the phrase “random screening” would mean in practice, High smith said in “his mind” it meant that the high school principal or himself could de cide to screen students less frequently than daily, as is currently the case. For example, he said, security guards could screen stu dents “every Monday or Wednesday, or screen “every 14th kid” that passes through school doors.

It would not mean, he said, sending some one “just randomly walking down the hall way” through a metal detector.

Highsmith’s interpretation may not reflect the full implications of the draft docu ment but the protocol does recognize Highsmith as the executive who could de termine when utilization of metal detectors is or is not appropriate.

Responding to concerns from Cesare and others that the policy could be the launch ing pad for expanded school surveillance, Highsmith said: “I’m certainly not one who

wants to militarize the school. But I’m also not one who’s gonna turn their back on any reasonable security measures we can take.”

He added that he does not have “any rea son to believe students are finding [the met al detectors] intrusive” or that the devices are “in any way impacting the operations of the school.”

“Anecdotal information,” he said, has led him to think that generally “students do feel safer” thanks to the added security mea sures.

Several students interviewed by the Inde pendent Tuesday afternoon suggested that some high schoolers have largely adjusted to the presence of metal detectors in their schools, with short wait-times to get into classrooms standing out as the most com monly cited imposition.

Sophomore Chris Chica, who said he of ten comes to school late, reported that the metal detectors “take too much time in the morning, and it makes me more late ’cause I gotta walk through that and clean my bag and all.

Freshman Makayla Golett said she doesn’t experience any wait-time outside the build ing because she arrives early to avoid any crowds. She also questioned whether the metal detectors were really needed. “I personally think it’s not needed anymore because who’s going to pull out a gun?” she said.

“It’s like, you need to be safe, you never know,” her friend, Faye Ford, argued.

Another student, Nick (who declined to have his photograph taken) said that, with time, the metal detectors have become less of a disruptive presence in school. Unlike, the first few trial days last winter, he re called, when it could take over an hour to get into class, “it’s gotten a lot easier.”

“It’s just you know, everyone has every thing inside their plastic bag. If the metal detectors do go off, it’s a quick search just making sure everything’s perfect, but other than that, it’s been really easy and ef ficient.”

ABIBA BIAO PHOTOS

Friends Makayla Golett and Faye Ford (pictured) disagree on whether or not metal detectors are warranted.

Workshop Works Out Tenant Power Path

by NOEL SIMS

A Blake Street apartment complex’s ten ants are looking to make their union offi cial as the city’s Fair Rent Commission director works on getting out the word about the opportunities for collective renter power at City Hall.

That news came out of a workshop that Fair Rent Commission Executive Direc tor Wildaliz Bermudez hosted at the Fair Haven branch public library on Grand Av enue Thursday night.

The purpose of the workshop was to explain the Fair Rent Commission’s state-empowered authority to eliminate excessive rents, and to talk through how tenants can file fair rent complaints. Ber mudez also discussed how tenants’ unions can now legally register with the city and participate in fair rent investigations and hearings thanks to a law recently passed by the Board of Alders. (See below in this article for a full rundown of how a ten ants’ union can register with the city.)

One of the few members of the public to attend Thursday’s workshop was Jessica Stamp, a renter and tenants’ union orga nizer at the 70-unit Beaver Hills apart ment complex at 311 Blake St. Stamp told Bermudez and this reporter that she and her neighbors are in the midst of renewing their efforts to make their tenants’ union official.

Stamp said at Thursday’s meeting that she and fellow 311 Blake tenants’ union organizers previously passed around a pe tition six months ago to create a union at the Ocean Management-owned property. She said that petition was subsequently misplaced so Stamp is now collecting signatures again.

She came out to the Fair Rent Com mission’s workshop on Thursday to hear directly from the city agency’s director about how to file complaints now that tenants’ unions have a legal path towards recognition in New Haven.

The original move to unionize came after Ocean Management took owner ship of the building at the start of this year, she said. Stamp said the conditions in the building plummeted as the tenants were hit with the threat of rent hikes.

(Click here for a previous story and to read Ocean’s then-property manager’s re sponses about how rents did not increase and all tenants would be put on month-tomonth leases.) Stamp claimed on Thurs day the problems at 311 Blake includ ing piles of construction-related garbage and a mice infestation have only gotten worse over the past six month.

“I hear you,” said Fair Rent Commission Executive Director Wildaliz Bermudez, listening intently to Stamp’s complaints.

Bermudez began the workshop at the Fair Haven Library by explaining how tenants and tenants’ unions, like Stamp’s, could file complaints with the Fair Rent Com mission. She explained that even with the

unions, complaints would have to be filed individually. This is because after the FRC receives the complaint, the Livable City Initiative conducts an inspection, which must be done on a unit-by-unit basis.

A key change following the ordinance amendment to recognize tenants’ unions is that individuals may now be represent ed by a union representative when they go to the FRC, where before they could only be represented by themself or a law yer often “too complicated or unafford able,” said Bermudez.

Having been the executive director for nine months, Bermudez told attendees about three of her goals for the FRC. She would like to publish an annual report with data about the location of complaints and the demographics of tenants.

She would like to fill the four empty com missioner seats (anyone with a familiarity and passion for housing issues is encour aged to apply).

And finally, she would like to reach ten ants in every part of the city. “We need to meet people where they are,” Bermu dez said, “whether that is at the library, in their churches, or anywhere else.”

Bermudez was optimistic that union izing would help tenants achieve fair treatment by landlords. “Tenants will be able to come together,” she told the Inde pendent. “They will be better protected

from retaliation.”

Stamp, on the other hand, isn’t so sure. She told the Independent that she “does not feel more hopeful” about improving her living situation since tenants cannot file complaints collectively.

She fears that the union will fall apart again before anything changes neigh bors fed up with the conditions are mov ing out much faster than anyone is moving in, whittling away at the union’s numbers. She said she worries that old tenants will keep moving out and new tenants willing to pay higher rents will replace them.

“I don’t want to move,” Stamp said. “I’m a teacher and this is a nice, afford able rent.” But she is worried that she might have to, even with the efforts of the union.

Another attendee was more excited about the prospect of organizing a union. Chair of the Livable City Initiative Board and a landlord himself, Seth Poole has seen similar conditions to what Stamp de scribed at his father’s apartment on Shef field Avenue.

While helping a Yale graduate student carry some boxes up to their new apart ment, Poole noticed that the new units were furnished with granite countertops and other updates, while his father’s unit has not been renovated in several years and black mold spreads across the ceiling.

Pointing out the differences between his

father’s living conditions and those of the new residents moving in, Poole told Ber mudez that “this is gentrification happen ing in real time.”

Bermudez agreed. “Communities of color can be the hardest hit,” she said. “They can face the highest utility bills, the highest rents.” She even pointed out that the New Haven communities with the most diversity have less trees, creat ing “cooling deserts” and driving up util ity costs even further in the warm months.

“[The landlords] are quite literally put ting people’s lives at risk,” Poole said. Bermudez encouraged him to organize the tenants, which he is allowed to do even as a non-resident, and he plans to get started right away.

How To Register A Local Tenants’ Union

So. How exactly does a tenants’ union register with the city?

First of all, the law passed by the al ders in early September defines a tenants’ union as an organization whose member ship consists of tenants living in a hous ing complex with at least 10 apartments.

They can also live in adjacent residential properties owned by the same landlord if those properties all have a combined to tal of at least 10 units. And a majority of those tenants must agree to the creation of the union in order for the union to qualify to register with the city.

In an email comment sent to the Inde pendent Monday morning, Bermudez said that a tenants’ union can register with the Fair Rent Commission by filling out the “Tenants’ Union Registration Form.” This form will be made available online on the city’s website by no later than Nov. 1. In terested applicants will also fill be able to fill out the form in person at the Fair Rent Commission’s office in City Hall.

Bermudez also noted that the Fair Rent Commission will be hosting a hearing and potential vote during its next meeting on Tuesday on the proposed “Fair Rent Commission & Tenants’ Unions Proposed Rules & Regulations.” Included in this to-be-voted-upon item is the “Tenants’ Union Registration Form.”

“Now that the law has been voted on by the Board of Alders and signed by the Mayor, as soon as the FRC Commission ers adopt the Proposed Rules and Regula tions, the document will then be available for the public,” Bermudez wrote. “The public will be able to request the Tenants’ Union Registration Form directly from our office.”

Bermudez also said that, as of Monday, no tenants’ unions have registered with her city office as of yet.

How would the official registration of tenants’ unions with the city affect the city’s fair rent hearing process?

Bermudez said that a tenants’ union representative can now participate in fair rent complaint hearings, if that represen tative’s union is properly registered with the city.

“We now have a 2 track model to hear complaints,” she wrote. “Through the tra ditional power to hear complaints i.e. In formal Hearing and Public Hearing. Plus, we can now hold a workshop or forum to bring tenants’ union reps and landlords to discuss general conditions. This helps us clarify a record. Within all of this we will have a due process for tenants and land lords.

“Complaints occurring inside each unit must continue to be filed individually due to the particularities of each unit and be cause if it is ever appealed in court, the case must be seen individually regarding what is occurring in each unit. Tenants’ Unions can request FRC to conduct an investigation of common areas.”

How is this new process helpful? Ber mudez asked in her email comment.

“It provides defense against retaliatory eviction for Tenants’ Unions,” she wrote. And it “creates a system for all parties to address each other (i.e. hold forums be tween landlords and Tenants’ unions.”)

“This entire process helps to build a his tory and larger understanding of com plexes and what’s happening,” Bermudez concluded. “In the end, we want both sides at the table to build a fair and wellmaintained housing stock.”

New Haven Independent

NOEL SIMS PHOTO

Fair Rent Director Bermudez: "We need to meet people where they are.”

Soil Power Propels Public Works Nominee

by NORA GRACE-FLOOD

A veteran Hamden public works employee is slated to become the town department’s next director — with plans to bring sustainability, including town-made potting soil, to the top of his agenda as well as to community members’ gardens.

That Hamden public works director tobe is Joe Colello, who currently runs the town’s transfer station.

Mayor Lauren Garrett tapped him for the top public works job in early October. The town’s Legislative Council is slated to vote Monday evening on his appointment.

“I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Joseph Colello,” Garrett wrote in an Oct. 5 press release. “I trust Mr. Colello to maintain and improve Hamden’s infrastructure and grounds with care and sustainability. He has been an instrumental supervisor in Public Works, bringing innovative and sustainable methods to Hamden, including organic composting, installing a solar array at the Transfer Station, and utilizing the resources we have to improve safety and productivity.”

If backed by the council, Colello will replace long-time local public works leader Craig Cesare, whom Garrett fired earlier this year. Garrett initially selected engineering department employee Matthew Kott to head public works. Less than two months on the job and before receiving council approval, Garrett rescinded the appointment and moved Kott back to engineering, deciding that it “just wasn’t

a good fit.”

Colello’s potential new job includes overseeing the public works and parks departments, including crafting the departments’ budgets.

“I am honored and humbled,” Colello told the Independent, to have been chosen by Garrett to fill the executive role.

Colello has worked for the town since 1993, beginning as a custodian for the police department and soon after serving as a general laborer for public works.

“I started from the bottom and went through it all,” Colello said, recalling how he climbed steadily up the department’s ranks to become a truck driver, then a heavy equipment operator and later the superintendent of buildings before overseeing the town’s streets and bridges. Most recently, he has served as the department’s superintendent of waterways, sanitation and recycling.

In his current role, Colello has transformed the town’s transfer station from a home for hazardous waste to a space dedicated to harvesting solar power and recycling debris into sellable products, like wood chips and topsoil.

Colello said the Wintergreen Avenue recycling center operated as a landfill until the mid-nineties.

Today, its peak is covered with solar panels as part of what he estimated to have been a $2 million project that “didn’t cost the town a penny” through a private-public partnership with the company Solar Landscape, to whom the town leases land. The

1.2 megawatt system cuts a minimum of $30,000 annually from the town’s electric budget and generates enough power to serve roughly 180 homes each year, Colello said.

More recently, Colello has worked with the town’s administration and council to maximize recycling efforts at the station while securing the funds needed during the town’s capital budget planning session to clear out years’ worth of storm and residential debris.

When the Independent visited the site Friday with Colello and Garrett, more than 100,000 cubic yards of material had been ground up into smaller piles, and wood scraps had been dyed brown and red (black

dye is currently shipping) for residents and neighbors to use for landscaping projects.

The town has now also imposed tipping fees to discourage illegal dumping at the station while bringing in needed revenue, and is considering charging comparably low prices for soil and wood chips produced at the station (the council will have to vote on the latter idea first) to offset the cost of manufacturing those products on site.

In addition to those projects, Colello said his favorite thing about his job is the collaborative nature within the department.

“I’m very proud to be a very small part of this fantastic team,” Colello said. “We’ve been through every single type of catas-

trophe together,” he said, remembering when the department stayed open 24 hours for nearly 10 days to clean up after Winter Storm Nemo in 2013, which dropped more than 40 inches of snow on the town.

In addition to continuing to pave roads, plant trees, and make town buildings more energy efficient, Colello said he wants to see the department diversify the white and male concentrated field in the coming years.

For example, he said, he’d like to see the expansion of a Hamden High program named after Colello’s late best friend, Anthony Bernard Greene, a former town tree warden who died of pancreatic cancer. Following his death, the department launched a fund that paid minority students to try out public works jobs — for example, they could, as Colello put it, “earn while they learn” how to maintain public spaces and utilize big machinery.

Colello, who is Hamden born and raised, said he has enjoyed watching Hamden grow more diverse and “multicultural” during his lifetime — and witnessing a new administration focus on honoring that diversity by increasing representation throughout government jobs.

Just as his department relies heavily on teamwork, he said, Hamden is a community oriented town. “Everyone has something different to offer,” he said. He said that including different public voices in all aspects of governmental decision making is key to building sustainable futures.

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Mayor Lauren Garrett visits the transfer station Friday.

New Haven Independent

Long Wharf Makes The Move To Audubon Street

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper www.newhavenarts.org

Long Wharf Theatre has begun the process of saying goodbye to its 222 Sargent Drive home in an ongoing move to make the city its stage. Now it is also saying hello—to dozens of arts leaders, administrators, and small business owners who are its new neighbors in the Audubon Arts District.

Last month, the theater company signed a lease with the Arts Council of Greater New Haven for a second-floor office space at 70 Audubon St., which sits on the edge of downtown New Haven. As Long Wharf staff move out of Stage Two, they are finding their footing in the new building, where it’s not uncommon to run into pint-sized ballerinas, teenage actors, performing artists and photographers in the hallways.

The Audubon Street space is still very much administrative; Long Wharf plans to hold performances across the city, as it did at the Stetson Branch Library earlier this year and at Clinton Avenue and Lincoln Bassett Schools in summer 2021.

“It’s really exciting,” said Kit Ingui, managing director at the theater, in an interview at the building Monday morning. “We’re excited to be kind of in the heart of the Audubon Arts District, to be on the same street as Neighborhood Music School, Creative Arts Workshop, the Arts Council, and so many more amazing institutions. There’s something that feels different about not being on the edge of town, and like, really having friends and neighbors.”

Long Wharf will have 24 full-time staff members and four part-time staff positions “when fully staffed,” Ingui said. She added that 20 staff members will be working out of the Audubon Street offices, “with the balance of the team at another soon-tobe-announced location.”

The move has been a long time coming. This fall, the theater leaves its longtime home on Sargent Drive on the road to itinerancy, a decision that it announced in February of this year. In May, it rolled out an upcoming season “for everyone” that will criss-cross New Haven, from Long Wharf to virtual space to the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University. It has been in the Sargent Drive building since 1965.

This month, it plans to hold a twoday farewell to the building titled Home(Coming), with activities at both 222 Sargent Drive and on Audubon Street on Oct. 14 and 15. Then on Oct. 22 and 23, it will close out performances at the theater with Flying Bird’s Diary, written by Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel and directed by Madeline Sayet.

Dates and locations for upcoming performances, including Aaliyah Miller and Halima Flynn’s film I AM: American/ Muslim and UNIVERSES’ spring 2023 Live From The Edge, have yet to be announced.

As Long Wharf navigates those changes,

it seems fitting to land in what was once branded the Audubon Arts Corridor, Ingui said. The theatre will share the street with nonprofit neighbors including Creative Arts Workshop, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Neighborhood Music School (NMS), the Housing Authority of New Haven, and the Educational Center for the Arts, as well as Koffee?, a quiet barbershop, and the stillbrand-new MINIPNG storefront across the street.

In a phone call Monday afternoon, NMS Executive Director Noah Bloom said he is excited to welcome Long Wharf to Audubon Street. Since NMS opened its private arts middle school ATLAS in 2018, “they [LWT staff members] have just been so generous” in sharing resources and talking to students, he said. Two years ago, Ingui and Artistic Director Jacob Padrón joined him on the steps of NMS as the state announced $9 million in Covid relief funding for the arts. That funding ultimately helped both institutions survive the pandemic.

“I feel fantastic,” Bloom said. “I think the vision we’ve all had for the street is about the arts beg a central part of everyone’s lives, and I think having Long Wharf on the street is such a huge part of that.”

As NMS continues to think about its own work in anti-racism and arts education, he added, he sees Long Wharf as a sort of accountability buddy. The organization will be part of “helping us hold each other accountable to the work that we see in front of us,” he said.

The excitement has already spread from

Audubon Street downtown, including to City Hall. In a phone call Tuesday morning, New Haven Director of Arts, Culture & Tourism Adriane Jefferson applauded the decision, noting that she sees it as in lockstep with the city’s evolving Cultural Equity Plan.

“I think that’s phenomenal,” she said. “The main thing, and for me the most important thing, is that they’re still going to be a New Haven-based organization. I think retaining them here as the pillar that they are is so important to the city.”

She added that the location already has her thinking about new cultural collaborations and partnerships that may spring from the Audubon Arts District. As an early and consistent champion of the theater’s pivot to itinerancy, she stressed that the physical space on Audubon Street does not take away from an evolving citywide vision, in which all of New Haven’s 18.7 square miles can be Long Wharf’s stage.

“I believe it can work,” she said. “I believe that you can take theater to people’s front steps and give them access. They’re in a new season of imagining what theater can be, and I believe it will allow them to break beyond the doors [of a physical space] ... it causes people to have to stretch beyond the traditional concept of what they have known Long Wharf Theatre to be.”

Long Wharf’s Home(Coming), curated by Jenny Koons, takes place between 222 Sargent Dr. and Audubon Street on Oct. 14 and 15. More information is available here https://longwharf.org/shows-events/ homecoming/

Attorney Ben Crump Files Class Action Suit Against U.S. Gov’t on Behalf of Black Farmers

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

America’s “Black Attorney General,”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Wednesday, October 12, announced a class action suit against the United States government on behalf of the National Black Farmers Association.

The lawsuit comes amid findings that Black farmers lost about $326 billion of land in America because of discrimination during the 20th century.

During the announcement of the suit on the National Mall in Washington, Crump and the farmers claimed the federal gov ernment breached its contract with so cially disadvantaged farmers under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Farmers contend that the law included provisions to pay off USDA loans held by 15,000 African Americans, Native Ameri cans, Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics and Lati nos in the farming industry.

In August, Congress repealed section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided funding and autho rization for the federal government to pay up to 120 percent of direct and guaranteed loan outstanding balances as of January 1, 2021, for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, breaking the government’s promise and leaving farmers in foreclo sure.

Black farmers said they relied on the federal government to keep its promise to fund $5 billion to the farmers when it passed the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Black and other farmers of color did ex actly what the government asked them to

do. They maintained or expanded their op erations to strengthen America’s food sup ply during the COVID-19 crisis,” Crump asserted.

“They believed the U.S. government’s promises. They took Congress and the Ad ministration at their word, expecting that the government would pay off their debt, as the USDA promised in writing.

“Instead, it was 40 acres and a mule all over again, 150 years later – broken prom ises that doomed generations of Black farmers to become sharecroppers and robbed Black families of billions in inter generational wealth.”

With Crump at the helm, Black farmers across the country said they’re prepared to fight for the money promised.

“I’m very disappointed in this legisla tive action,” said John Wesley Boyd, Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmer’s Association, a nonprofit representing African American farmers and their families.

“I’m prepared to fight for debt relief for Black, Native American, and other farm ers of color all the way to the Supreme Court. I’m not going to stop fighting this.”

A 2019 report highlighted how many fed eral agencies have systemically discrimi nated against Black farmers, including the USDA.

“Through discriminatory loan deni als and deliberate delays in financial aid, the USDA systematically blocked Black farmers from accessing critical federal funds,” the report authors noted.

“If you are Black and you’re born south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and you tried to farm, you’ve been discriminated against,” Lloyd Wright, the director of the USDA

Office of Civil Rights under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and a Black Virginia farmer, said in the report.

The report noted that the debts Black farmers “consequently accrued cost them millions of acres, which white buyers then snapped up.”

In 1920, Black farmers peaked at nearly 1 million, constituting 14 percent of all farmers. But between 1910 and 1997, they lost 90 percent of their property. By con trast, white farmers lost only 2 percent in the same period.

As of 2017, there were just 35,470 Black-owned farms, representing 1.7 per cent of all farms.

Black farmers lost some 16 million acres, Conservatively estimated to be worth be tween $250 billion and $350 billion in current dollars.

Lawrence Lucas, President Emeritus of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employ ees and representative of the Justice for Black Farmers Group, said USDA Secre tary Thomas Vilsack had done nothing to help Black farmers.

“The amount of wealth loss could be in the trillions of dollars,” Lucas remarked.

“We’ve had administration after adminis tration, president after president, and Con gress after Congress does nothing. Sec retary Vilsack was a disaster even when he worked under President Obama, who wasn’t good to us.”

In a letter to the agriculture secretary, Lucas expressed his disappointment.

“We have watched with disbelief and discouragement as a sequence of events played out in a self-fulfilling prophesy: a Vilsack agriculture transition team mem ber declared that what we wanted, debt

relief for Black farmers, was unconstitu tional,” Lucas wrote.

“We contend that there was an unneces sary length of time spent on Senator War nock’s two bills, voted into the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the decision by a Florida judge to issue a temporary re straining order against you, which stopped relief for Black farmers.”

“We contend that you slow-walked the processing of these claims with a pro cess that went beyond 100 days. With the stroke of your pen, we are fully aware that

you could have removed the debt these farmers have suffered because of USDA’s long history of discrimination, not a pro cess but debt relief.

“Instead, we have white privilege that continues to be a part of the USDA land scape at the pain and suffering of Black farmers and others,” Lucas continued.

“[Former President Donald] Trump paid out $16 billion in allotments to white farm ers quickly, and Black farmers received only a small fraction of those funds. Why for them and not us?” he concluded.

IN MEMORIAM: ‘American Idol’ runner-up killed in car crash at 23

By Malik Brown | RollingOut.com

The singer was traveling back to Atlanta from Tennessee Singer Willie Spence, who finished in second place on Season 19 of American Idol in 2021, died in a car crash in Tennessee on Oct. 11. He was 23-years-old.

A family member said that Spence had a flat tire but allegedly got it fixed as he was coming home to Atlanta from Tennessee. Willie crashed into a semi-truck that was parked on the side of the road.

Willie posted a video of himself singing on the same day of the crash.

Ben Crump (second from left) on Wednesday, October 12, announced a class action suit against the United States government on behalf of the National Black Farmers Association.

Amazon Teams with Tuskegee University for Advanced Training Programs

By Jerry Underwood, Made in Alabama | The Birmingham Times

Funding from Amazon will allow Tuske gee University to set up advanced training programs in mechatronics, robotics, sup ply chain management and logistics op erations. (Tuskegee University)

Tuskegee University has a new partner ship with Amazon that will establish ad vanced training programs in mechatron ics, robotics, supply chain management and logistics operations for students at the Macon County institution.

Amazon donated $1.2 million to fund the programs, which will include scholarships and a pipeline for leadership roles at the tech giant.

Tuskegee Provost Keith Hargrove said the initiative will benefit students across campus.

“Amazon’s contribution allows us to en hance our academic curriculum to provide our students with a foundation in supply chain and logistics for all majors, and a specialty for engineering majors in robot ics and mechatronics,” Hargrove said.

“This creates training opportunities for our students to engage in cutting-edge technology and business practice that Am azon is known for while preparing them for career opportunities with one of the world’s most valuable brands.”

Amazon is donating $1.2 million to fund programs at Tuskegee University that will train students in cutting-edge technology

and business practices while preparing them for career opportunities with the company. (Tuskegee University)

Rural Innovation

The partnership between Amazon and Tuskegee is the latest example of innova

tion in rural Alabama, where universities and companies are engaged in develop ments that are shaping the future in re search and industries, said Brenda Tuck, Rural Development manager for the Ala bama Department of Commerce.

“When a company like Amazon, a global online retailer and tech services provider,

makes such a significant investment, that speaks volumes about the importance of Tuskegee University and also the commu nity that surrounds it,” she said.

A rendering shows the planned Regional East Alabama Logistics Park under de velopment near Interstate Highway 85 in Tuskegee. (contributed)

“We are excited to see this partnership unfold and see Tuskegee students play a key role in Amazon’s future.”

Another high-profile development in Tuskegee is the launch of the Regional East Alabama Logistics (REAL) Park, which is expected to be a hub of global commerce serving companies in the au tomotive, aerospace, forest products and other industries along the Interstate High way 85 corridor.

The Amazon-Tuskegee partnership will provide training in design, distribution, risk assessment and other topics through classroom and lab instruction. The Col lege of Business and Information Science will lead the supply chain initiative, and the College of Engineering will lead the mechatronics and robotics program.

Two Tuskegee alums who are Amazon employees – Leonard Spencer and Ken nedy Oates – were advocates for the dona tion to their alma mater. The donation was presented at Tuskegee by Amazon execu tives Mamar Gelaye and Kevin Keck.

Tuskegee President Charlotte Morris said she is proud of former students who are reaching back to help the next generation of Tuskegee alumni.

“We are excited about the opportunities this partnership provides to Tuskegee stu dents,” she said.

This story originally appeared on the Al abama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website and The Birmingham Times.

Nielsen study shows media industry and marketers often miss the mark in connecting with Black consumers

NEW YORK — Nielsen’s latest Diverse Intelligence Series report, “Amplifying Black voices in media: Creating informed, thoughtful and authentic experiences,” explores why 2022 saw a 10-percentage point decline in Black viewers who are more likely to buy from brands that ad vertise in inclusive content compared to 2021.

The report delves into the reasons behind this decline, examining the relationship between authenticity and engagement and the impact of inclusion beyond what’s on screen.

Report Findings

Black audiences are seeking more au thenticity and nuance in media content and ad campaigns. Nielsen’s Attitudes on Representation on TV study found that 59% of Black viewers are more likely to buy from brands that feature someone from their identity group in advertise ments, while Nielsen’s Branded Content Outcomes studies show significantly high er performance for campaigns that feature Black talent.

Brands attempting to reach Black con sumers through ad placements in inclusive content are investing heavily with over $1.2 billion spent in Black and African American targeted traditional media in the first half of 2022 alone. However, Black audiences prefer streaming: 63% report

streaming content as their most watched platform and 62% indicated streaming as the most relevant platform.

Nielsen’s report underscores that Black audiences also care about how they are represented in media content and where their images and experiences are pre sented. Only 32% of Black audiences feel industry representation of their iden tity group is accurate, and the growing

intersectional identities within the Black community make nuanced representation more important than ever.

The report also highlights the power of partnering with Black talent at every stage of the marketing funnel—from campaign creators and media owners, to on-screen talent and social media influencers.

“The media industry has an opportunity to better serve the needs of Black audi ences through inclusive and equitable rep resentation on screen, behind the scenes,

in advertising, and on other platforms where they come into contact with brands and content creators” says Charlene Polite Corley, Vice President, Diverse Insights & Partnerships at Nielsen. “Black audiences wield cultural influence and growing buy ing power and serving the needs of this community is not only good business, but it is also the right thing to do.”

Key findings from the report include:

• Supporting Black-owned media can at tract new audiences.

• All viewers watched more than 140 mil lion hours of content from Black-owned networks in March 2022 double what Black audiences alone watched.

• Black audiences are 50% more likely than the general population to seek out diverse-owned media.

• Streaming provides more authentic choices for Black viewers, and they prefer it over broadcast and cable.

• In July 2022, time spent streaming ac counted for the largest share of Black au dience TV time at over 36%.

• Black viewers also reported streaming as their most watched platform (63%) and most relevant platform (62%)

• Inclusion throughout the marketing fun nel increases performance.

• Black-focused agencies deliver higher performance overall, with 83% of the highest brand metric scores in Familiar ity Lift, Affinity Lift, Purchase Intent Lift, and Recommendation Intent Lift.

• 59% of Black viewers are more likely to buy from brands that feature someone from their identity group in advertise ments.

• Black adults were 71% more likely to buy products endorsed by influencers on social media.

With authentic representation lacking and increased consumer demand for brands to directly benefit Black communities, 2022 saw a 10-point decline in Black viewers who are more likely to buy from brands that advertise in inclusive content

Common Myths About Clinical Trials Every Lupus Patient Should Know

by Jessica Daniels, BlackDoctor.com

Medicines can affect people differently and must be tested among each potential patient group— by race, gender, age, and ethnic background— so doctors can know how to use them safely and effectively.

This is especially important for Black Americans, who are underrepresented in clinical trials and more likely to die from lupus than Caucasians.

Aside from the history Blacks have with clinical trials, the myths surrounding how clinical trials work often keep Blacks from participating.

Here are 7 myths you should ignore when it comes to clinical trials, according to the Lupus Research Alliance:

Myth: If I want to join a trial, I will not be told anything about the trial or treatments I might take.

Fact: Researchers are not allowed to give you treatment in a trial unless you fully understand what is going to happen.

Before agreeing to be in a trial, the trial team will walk you through the process. You can ask questions about anything you want, like what treatment you might get, what happens during visits, what the potential risks and benefits are, and how long the trial might last. This process is called “informed consent.”

Information about the trial will be provided in a printed or digital document called an informed consent form. You can

take as much time as you need before deciding. It is very important to understand a clinical trial and to be comfortable with what is planned to happen before you agree to participate.

For example, the researchers might need to test people of a certain age, gender, or health condition. These requirements can be found in the informed consent form you will get before agreeing to join a trial. These requirements are in place to make sure each trial gets the most accurate results and is as safe as possible.

Myth: Trials are scary. I don’t know how I’m protected.

Fact: While there are some risks, every clinical trial has a detailed plan reviewed by many experts to make sure it is as safe as possible. As a participant, you are protected from unnecessary risk.

Experts from federal health agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), review and approve trial plans. Institutional review boards (IRBs), which are comprised of doctors, scientists, and community members, also review the trial plan to make sure the potential risks to participants are not too high.

These experts continue to monitor safety throughout the trial. The potential risks for every trial are different. These can range from mild discomfort to long-lasting side effects or death. All the potential risks must be explained to you before you agree

to be in a trial. Doctors will monitor your health throughout a trial, and you can leave a trial at any time for any reason.

Myth: If there is a clinical trial that could help me, my doctor will tell me about it.

Fact: Your doctor may not know about all available clinical trials.

Patient advocacy groups like the Lupus Research Alliance can help you find trials and provide resources to help you decide if you should participate. The National Institutes of Health has a website you can search to find trials. You can also visit LupusTrials.org to find lupus trials. You

should always discuss any clinical trial with your doctor to help you decide if it is a good choice for you.

Myth: Being in a clinical trial will not help me.

Fact: If you have lupus, the treatment and care you get in a trial may improve your symptoms or make you feel better. Many clinical trials use new treatments that are not available to the public. Some of these treatments may help you more than anything currently available. But, it is always possible that the treatment might not work, or you might get a placebo,

which does not have any medicine in it.

Myth: I might be given a placebo without my consent instead of the medicine I need.

Fact: Before agreeing to be in a trial, you are told if you might receive a placebo.

A placebo looks like a treatment, but does not have any medicine in it. Researchers use placebos to help make sure any changes in the participants’ health are actually caused by the trial treatment.

You do not get to choose if you get the trial treatment or the placebo, and you may not know if you get the placebo until after the trial. If you need medical treatment and your trial includes a placebo, the placebo would be given in addition to standard medical treatment.

Not all trials use a placebo. If there is a chance you may get a placebo and you do not want it, you do not have to join that trial.

Myth: Being in a clinical trial costs a lot and is not covered by my insurance.

Fact: There are often no costs to you for being in a trial.

You might have trial-related expenses such as travel, parking, hotel, or childcare. But, the researchers usually reimburse these expenses. Before you agree to be in a trial, it is important to speak with the trial team and your insurance company about any costs you may have to cover.

To find a clinical trial, visit LupusTrials.org for all current lupus trials and to search for ones that may be right for you.

Battered Bruised and Beautiful: Surviving and Overcoming Domestic Violence

by Ly’Nita Carter, BlackDoctor.org

“He was a gentleman. He opened car doors, took me out on dates, gave me com pliments and seemed to have all the good qualities I wanted in a mate. And he was fine, he was a good looking man,” said Cheryl B. Cheryl B. isn’t her real name but for the sake of this story and to protect her identity and safety we will refer to this woman as such. Cheryl said she met her former boyfriend, “Chris” through her job and eventually exchanged numbers after he sought her about a personal matter re garding his family. “Chris, called me up one day at work and asked me if I could met him downtown for lunch. I thought nothing of it because we were only busi ness associates at that time. Once I got there, he introduced me to his mother, we ate, and we discussed how we would handle his personal matter,” said Cheryl.

Cheryl said she remained professional with him but as time went on they devel oped a friendship outside of work. She would invite Chris and his family to her church, and they would later gather for dinner too. Cheryl mentioned she eventu ally would have a conversation with her church sister about Chris’s background. The church sister stated she went to school with his sister and knew how he grew up. This information would later become valuable to Cheryl as her friendship with Chris progressed.

“Once our professional ties finally wrapped up, I got a call from Chris invit ing me to dinner one evening. I agreed to meet with him and he expressed to me how he liked me and would like to date me. I was flattered and thought, well I al ready had a great rapport with him and his family. So I didn’t object to him wanting to get to know me better,” said Cheryl.

“We started dating and taking things slow. We would go to the movies, the park, at tend community events and just do normal couple things. But this all changed quickly once my job started becoming more de manding and had to put in more hours at work, said Cheryl.”

She said his kind and gentle spirit even tually turned into something like the “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyell and Mr. Hyde” literally speaking. “I, mean I was at work one day and he called me on the phone while I was with a client and asked me ‘Cheryl, are you cheating on me?’ Clearly, I thought this was a joke be cause he would at times act silly and try to play pranks on me. But I heard his voice change in tone and I knew immediately he wasn’t joking with me.” I told him “No, I’m not cheating on you I’m at work and I don’t have time to play these games with you right now. I have a client in my car and would talk to you later.”

He then replied, “You’re lying and you’re always at work late.” So, to prove my in nocence, which I shouldn’t have… I took a picture of me with my client inside my car and sent it to his phone. But he claimed I could’ve taken that picture awhile ago instead of taking it in real time,” said

Cheryl.

“The acts of jealousy and suspicion of cheating was the beginning of this crazi ness and it continued to get worse,” re plied Cheryl. “I mean, it really started to get crazy. It was like he would make up stuff in his head and accuse me of every thing under the moon, including sleeping with my neighbor. I didn’t understand where all of his insecurities were com ing from. We spent lots of time together, talked consistently on the phone through out the day but it seemed as if I wasn’t by his side physically he would think I was off cheating,” she explained.

Cheryl B. described a time when her mother texted her really late at night and Chris happen to be spending the night at her house. “My mother and I were close and she knew I was a night owl, so it wasn’t uncommon to get a random text from her at 2 am. But Chris made a rude comment saying I need to tell my mother not to text so late because it would wake up my man. Girl, I almost gasped for air! How dare you say that to me and be bold enough to tell me to deliver that message to my mother. Who does that,” asked Cheryl?

Cheryl said she sought her friend and a few family members for advice after she and Chris had gotten into an argument and he called her out of her name.

“I never had a man, let alone one I was dating call me out of my name. He called me a lying, trifling, bi**h!” I almost lost it, said Cheryl. “I found myself…about to respond to violence. Immediately walked off and called my mother. Chris left my house, I assume in fear of his life, who knows. My mother came over and spoke to me about the incident as I cried out my eyes about being humiliated. I shouted, how could he say such things to me when I

helped him and his family. I’ve done noth ing wrong and he keeps accusing me of cheating and now he’s calling me names in my own house!”

Chris eventually returned back to Cher yl’s home while her mother was there and apologized to them both. Cheryl wasn’t convinced and her mother told her not to mention the incident to the family spe cifically her uncle but to see how things would progress with their relationship and make a decision later.

“To this day, I am still kicking myself for listening to this bad advice from my moth er. We should have had my uncle involved and I should have ended this relationship that night. But the name calling didn’t end. He wouldn’t curse at me but call me a “hoe” or something else degrading. I would tell my mom and she would say just ignore him he’s just hurt and is looking for ways to break you down.” I didn’t get it, he would apologize and blame his horrible behavior on his job; saying I’m stressed at work. He would make it up to me by buying cards, flowers etc but I knew that after the first time he cursed at me and called me out of my name I wanted out. But my mother knew I was a women who wouldn’t stand with much drama and would end a relationship quickly. So I chose to stick around after she told me I don’t give people chances, but I didn’t al ways reveal to her all the additional things Chris would do in public or behind closed doors. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I allowed him to continue to mistreat me. So I started getting withdrawn and al though Chris didn’t physically abuse me, mentally his words started to take a toll on my spirit. Eventually, I suggested to Chris that we should go to counseling. He would agree and then change his mind on the day of the appointment,” said Cheryl.

I asked Cheryl what was the final turn ing-point within her relationship? She stat ed “When he attempted to kill us both. It was a few days before my birthday and he went over his brother’s house to retrieve something while they were out of town for the holidays. As we were leaving the house, he started mumbling something to himself while he was driving. Then all of sudden he started driving erratically to this stop sign. He was going to blow through the stop sign and run us into a four-lane roadway. Actually he did and thank God at a moments notice we didn’t get t-boned by the incoming traffic. I immediately got on my cellphone and attempted to call my mom. But I wish I would’ve called the police. To make a long story short, I tried to remain calm but I frighten to death and didn’t know if I would make it out of that car alive. So as he proceeded to get on to the highway I was trying to come up with a game plan to get out of the car to safe my life. Since it was clear he didn’t value mine nor his. He drove a few miles on the highway and then took an exit ramp. I looked ahead and saw there was a stop sign coming up, and when he started to slow down the car to break; I took a big leap of faith, opened the car door and jumped out while the car was still mov ing. I started running and didn’t look back. I was already familiar with the area and started heading to my family’s home. But after a few minutes of walking Chris ap peared behind me and was trying to get me back into the car and I refused. He literally left his car in the road to follow after me and when I wouldn’t respond to him, he started the name calling,” she stated.

Cheryl eventually went to the courts and filed for a restraining order. “I started feel ing guilty but after I arrived to my moth er’s house and explained what occurred

between Chris and I she told me ‘Leave him, now he is dangerous! I don’t want to see you in a casket!’ I also, believed I was looking for someone to validate my cry out for help. I wanted someone to tell me to leave him a long time ago but I was told people didn’t want to get involved because they thought I would run back to him,” said Cheryl B.

“I sought counseling after that relation ship because I thought how on earth did I get to this place? When did I stop valu ing myself worth to allow someone to verbally abuse me, mentally break me down? But like I said, it didn’t start that way. He was charming, he did everything right except—treat me right. I ignored the flags, the signs, I ignored the small things. I thought I could help him, change him. But the truth of the matter is you can’t fix people. They need to seek help for them selves and honestly want to change who they are. Women stop trying to fix these broken men, fix yourself! Build up your self esteem and know your worth. If some one calls you out of your name, puts you down, start acting really jealous, tries to limit your communication with family and friends; end that relationship quickly! If you find yourself saying to that person… You’re hurting me. Please let me go, stop! Then get help. These are the beginning signs of an abusive situation. Domestic violence usually runs in cycles unless that individual gets help,” said Cheryl B. Cheryl said she called the domestic violence hotline one time and it was an “eyeopener for me.” If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic vio lence here are some of the signs to watch out for says the National Domestic Vio lence Hotline:

• Telling you that you never do anything right.

• Showing extreme jealousy of your friends or time spent away from them.

• Preventing or discouraging you from spending time with friends, family mem bers, or peers.

• Insulting, demeaning, or shaming you, especially in front of other people.

• Preventing you from making your own decisions, including about working or at tending school.

• Controlling finances in the household without discussion, including taking your money or refusing to provide money for necessary expenses.

• Pressuring you to have sex or perform sexual acts you’re not comfortable with.

• Pressuring you to use drugs or alcohol.

• Intimidating you through threatening looks or actions.

• Insulting your parenting or threatening to harm or take away your children or pets. Intimidating you with weapons like guns, knives, bats, or mace.

• Destroying your belongings or your home.

For more information on how to get help contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or www.TheHotline.org but if you are in im mediate danger, just call 911.

NOTICE

TOWN OF PORTLAND, CT INVITATION TO BID - BID NO. 2023-04

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Sealed bid proposals for RENOVATIONS TO PORTLAND SENIOR CENTER KITCHEN will be received until 11:00 AM on November 3, 2022 at Office of the Finance Director, Room 204, Portland Town Hall, 33 East Main Street, PO Box 71, Portland, CT 064800071. The bids will then be publicly opened on November 3, 2022 @ 11:00 AM.

Town of Bloomfield Director of Building and Land Use $101,455 to $156,599

starting pay

is mid-range)

Pre-employment

testing. For

visit our

– www.bloomfieldct.org

The Issuing Office is: The Office of the Finance Director, as noted above. Each bid should be submitted in a single sealed envelope; the outside clearly marked “Bid 2023-04 – Reno vations to Portland Senior Center Kitchen.” It is the responsibility of the vendor to be cer tain that all sealed bids are stamped in at the Issuing Office by the designated date and time.

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

There will be a NON-MANDATORY pre-bid conference at the site on October 17, 2022 at 2:00 PM at the Portland Senior Center Kitchen, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT 06480.

NOTICIA

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OUTREACH TO STAKEHOLDERS FOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE EAST AND WEST LOTS AT NEW HAVEN UNION STATION NEW HAVEN PARKING AUTHORITY NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT NHPA PROJECT #21-023 B

On behalf of the New Haven Union Station Partnership, including the Connecticut De partment of Transportation and the City of New Haven, the New Haven Parking Author ity (NHPA) is issuing this request for information from interested parties with regard to the potential development of the East and West Lots at New Haven Union Station.

Please visit the New Haven Union Station Partnership website at www.unionstation newhaven.com for a summary of recent community stakeholder interviews, a slide pre sentation, a video presentation, and a variety of relevant background documents.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Paper and/or digital copies of Drawings, Specifications, and Addenda for this project will be available for a fee only at the Joseph Merritt & Company Plan Room website https:// www.merrittplanroom.com/. Log-in and click on Public Jobs to view or download the documents.

APPLY NOW!

The next steps will be the issuance of a formal two-part Request for Proposals process: an initial focus on developer interest followed by invitations for detailed proposals from a selected list of responders. This RFP process is anticipated to be released this winter.

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

Each bid shall be signed by the bidder and accompanied by a bid bond in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the bid. The successful bidder will be required to provide Performance and Payment Bonds, each in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price. No Bid may be withdrawn until sixty (60) days after the Bid Opening. The contract documents require affirmative action of the contractor and subcontractors to ensure equal employment opportunity as noted in Governor Thomas J. Meskill’s Executive Order No. Three (promulgated June 16, 1971) and No. Seventeen (promulgated February 15, 1973).

This project is funded by a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing Small Cities Program. Accordingly, the awarded contractor shall be subject to federal and state requirements, including, but not limited to: the requirements of federal (Davis-Bacon Act) and/or state (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-53 et seq.) prevailing wage rate laws; Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; and state set-aside (CHRO) and contract compliance requirements. This contract is subject to state contract compliance requirements, includ ing non-discrimination statutes and set-aside requirements. State law requires a minimum of twenty-five (25%) percent of the state-funded portion of the contract be set aside for award to subcontractors holding current certification from the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services. The contractor must demonstrate good faith effort to meet the 25% set-aside goals. Bidders should refer to the Supplemental Instructions to Bidders and the CHRO Notification to Bidders.

The Owner is exempt from payment of Sales Taxes and Use Taxes on all Material and Equipment to be incorporated in the Work. These Taxes shall not be included in the Bid.

860-985-8258

The Town of Portland reserves the right to reject any bid, or all bids, in whole or in part, to make extensions to review Bids, or to waive any informality or defect in bidding, if it is determined by the Town of Portland to be in the best interest of the Town of Portland.

The Town of Portland is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and provider. Minority/Women’s Business Enterprises are encouraged to apply.

By the order of Tom Robinson, Director of Finance, Town of Portland

Sealed

Hartford, CT

DRIVER CDL CLASS A

In the meantime, questions and requests for additional information will be accepted on the New Haven Union Station Partnership website for a period of at least 60 days.

Douglas Hausladen Executive Director

New Haven Parking Authority

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

EOE

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

Cleaning Services

IFB No. B22005

SCOPE:

The Housing Authority of the City of Danbury hereby issues this Invitation for Bid to secure a contract for Cleaning Services

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Saybrook, CT

BID SUBMITTAL RETURN: Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811

Envelope Must be Marked: IFB No. B22005, Cleaning Services

Rate Project

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

November 10th at 2:00pm (EST)

www.hacdct.org

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Dated: October 8, 2022

Assistant Building Official $39.80 hourly

SENIOR MANAGER, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE.

3:00 pm

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.

Invitation for Bids Agency Wide Roofing Repairs/Replacement

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

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

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

Monday, October 24, 2022 at 3:00PM.

to

@ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC

S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes

a roadmap and implementation of blending our planning and design services. You manage projects and oversee project team members and lead business development efforts and proposal activities that includes guiding preparation of proposal and presentation materials. Strong candidates have strong organizational and planning skills and have experience in landscape architecture and urban design and planning. Candidates must be proficient in AutoCAD and be proficient with MS Office. Experience with 3d modeling is a plus.

Minimum Degree: Bachelor’s Degree in landscape architecture, urban design, or related field with 10+ years of experience. Salary ranges from $120,000 to $145,000 yearly, com mensurate with level of experience. Please apply at https://fhistudio.isolvedhire.com/jobs/ or send cover letter and resume to Bonnie Torres, 416 Asylum Street, Hartford, CT 06103.

FHI Studio is an EEO/AA /VEV/Disabled employer.

The

Authority reserves the right to

or

all

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

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Construction

PROJECT COST ENGINEER

NOTICE

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

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Contact: Tom Dunay Phone: 860- 243-2300

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

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

Email: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

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

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

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

0

PVC FENCE PRODUCTION

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a CT based construction firm has and immediate opening for a Project Cost Engineer. Applicants must have experience tracking costs and quantities for projects which include but is not limited to the installation of underground storm, sewer, water piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of site and road construction. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 or email vfederico@cjfucci.com. C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Project Manager

NOTICIA

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300

Email: rick.tousignant@garrityasphalt.com

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Large CT Fence Company looking for an individual for our PVC Fence Production Shop. Experience preferred but will train the right person. Must be familiar with carpentry hand & power tools and be able to read a CAD drawing and tape measure. Use of CNC Router machine a plus but not required, will train the right person. This is an in-shop production position. Duties include building fence panels, posts, gates and more. Must have a valid CT driver’s license & be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. Please email resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com.

C.J. Fucci, Inc., a CT based construction firm has and immediate opening for a Project Manager. Applicants must have experience managing projects which include but is not limited to the installation of underground storm, sewer, water piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of site and road construction. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 or email vfederico@cjfucci.com. C.J. Fucci, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Project Cost Engineer

Union Company seeks:

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

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

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

AA/EOE-MF

Construction

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide.

Reliable personal transportation and a valid drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to:

Personnel Department, P.O. Box 368, Cheshire, CT06410.

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

Project Manager

Holzner Construction, a CT based construction firm has and immediate opening for a Project Manager. Applicants must have experience managing projects which include but is not limited to the installation of electrical components, waste water treatment plants, water and sewer piping and structures of all types including Concrete, PVC, Ductile Iron, etc. in the performance of municipal projects. Fax Resumes to 203-468-6256 or email vfederico@holznerconstruction.com. Holzner Construction is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport Request for Proposal (RFP) Summary Process Counsel

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units)

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Labor Relations Specialist.

Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

Solicitation Number: 219-LG-22-S

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

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions for this position are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= 220815&R2=5256MP&R3=001

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities is currently seeking proposals from attorneys/law firms to conduct Summary Process (Evictions) for properties administered by Park City Communities. A complete set of RFP documents will be available on October 17, 2022. To obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to bids@parkcitycommunities.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A Pre-Proposal conference call will be held on November 3, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. Although attendance is not mandatory submitting a proposal without attending the pre-proposal conference may not be in the best interest of the Offeror. Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunities. org no later than November 10, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www.parkcitycommunities.org Proposals shall be emailed, mailed, or hand delivered by November 18, 2022, at 3:00 p.m., to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Director of Procurement, 150 Highland Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06604, or bids@parkcitycommunities.org. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

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

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Account Clerk-Payables:

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

DRIVER CDL CLASS A Full Time – All Shifts Top Pay-Full Benefits

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

EOE Please apply in person:

1425 Honeyspot Rd. Ext. Stratford, CT 06615

The Town of East Haven is currently accepting applications to participate in the examination for Account Clerk-Payables. The current vacancy is in the Finance Department of the Board of Education but this list may be used to fill other Account Clerk positions within the Town of East Haven. The starting hourly rate is $$23.97/hour, 37.5 hours per week. Candidate must possess a High School Diploma or equivalent and an Associate’s Degree in Accounting or equivalent experience, and a minimum of 3 years’ experience in accounts payable and a thorough working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel. Applications are available online at https://www.townofeasthavenct.org/civil-servicecommission/pages/job-notices-and-tests Haven, CT and must be returned to the Civil Service Commission, 250 Main Street, East Haven CT 06512 by November 2, 2022.

The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans are encouraged to apply.

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Legal Service- Retirement Fund

Director of Regional Planning and Municipal Services

NOTICE

RFP # 2022-10-1485

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

Intent to Response due: November 21, 2022

APPLY NOW!

RFP due date: Tuesday November 22,2022 at 11:00 AM EST.

RFP can be downloaded at https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login

Shawn J. Garris

Acting Purchasing Agent

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

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

Executive Search Firm for New Haven Public Schools Superintendent RFP # 2022-10-1486

NOTICIA

Intent to Response due: October 31, 2022

Top

State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

The State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management is recruiting for a Budget Analyst Trainee (Leadership Associate (Confidential)).

The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) is seeking to fill the Director of Regional Planning and Municipal Services position. Visit www.scrcog.org for the full position description, qualifications, and application requirements. Applications are to be submitted by 4:00 PM local time on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Questions may be emailed to jobs@scrcog.org. SCRCOG is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Splicer / Electrician – Telecommunications Company looking for low voltage cable installer with a C or T license, specializing in fusion/splicing, testing and termination. Also must be familiar with all aspects of indoor & outdoor cable installation, aerial bucket work, pole work, messenger, lashing, manhole & underground installation. $70,000 - $90,000 salary with full benefits.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES

RFP due date: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 11:00 AM EST.

RFP can be downloaded at https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login

Shawn J. Garris

Acting Purchasing Agent

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Annual Audit Services

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

RFP # 2022-10-1484

Intent to Response due: December 5, 2022

RFP due date: Tuesday December 6,2022 at 11:00 AM EST.

RFP can be downloaded at https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login

Shawn J. Garris

Acting Purchasing Agent

CITY OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Administrative Management Services-for the New Haven Civilian Review Board

RFP # 2022-10-1482

Intent to Response due: October 24, 2022

RFP due date: Tuesday October 25, 2022 at 11:00 AM EST.

RFP can be downloaded at https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login

Shawn J. Garris

Sealed

Further information regarding the duties, eligibility requirements and application instructions for this position are available at: https://www.jobapscloud.com/ CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= 220929&R2=5989VR&R3=001

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

Fax resume to 860-282-0424 or mail to Fibre Optic Plus, LLC 585 Nutmeg Road North, South Windsor, CT 06074 Attn: Don Ballsieper - Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

The Guilford Housing Authority is currently accepting applications for single person and two person households for apartment waitlist at Guilford Court and Boston Terrace in Guilford, CT. Applicants must be age 62 and over or on 100% social security or federal disability and over the age of 18. Applications may be obtained by call the application line at 203-453-6262 EXT 107. Applications will be accepted until November 23, 2022 at 4PM. Credit, police, landlord checks are procured by the Authority. Smoking is prohibited in the units.

Equal Opportunity Housing

CAMBRIDGE PARK RESIDENTIAL APPRAISAL SERVICES BRISTOL HOUSING AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The Bristol Housing Authority will receive sealed bids on or before Thurs., Nov. 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at their offices at 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010 and said bids will be reviewed by a committee thereafter.

Official

hourly

The BHA is seeking one qualified and experienced residential appraisal firm (Appraiser) to perform an appraisal on Cambridge Park a multi-family housing development located in Bristol, CT. BHA is requesting fee quotes for these services. The selected Appraiser must be properly licensed by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Responses must clearly indicate the name of the project, " CAMBRIDGE PARK RESIDENTIAL APPRAISAL SERVICES" and the time and the date specified for receipt. The name and the address of the Offeror must be included on all correspondence.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Acting Purchasing Agent

ELM CITY

The Housing Authority of the City of Bristol 164 Jerome Ave. Bristol, CT 06010-3715

ATTENTION: Mitzy Rowe, Chief Executive Officer

Tuesday,

at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Invitation for Bids

Cornell Scott Ridge I 437 M&N Eastern Street Fire Damage

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.

Elm City Communities is currently seeking bids for Cornell Scott Ridge I 437 M&N Eastern Street Fire Damage. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on

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

Monday, October 17, 2022 at 3:00PM.

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

POLICE OFFICER City of Bristol $70,915 - $86,200/yr. Required testing, registration info, and apply online: www.bristolct.gov

DEADLINE: 10-19-22

Proposals will also be accepted by email correspondence to mrowe@bristolhousing.org received by the required time and date.

Contact Scope and Requirements will be on file at the Bristol Housing Authority 164 Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT, or by contacting: Gordon Sprewell, CVR Associates, Inc.

PHONE: 770-833-4248, E-MAIL: gsprewell@cvrassociates.com

Seymour, CT 06483

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

“AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPOLYER MBE’s, WBE’s, SBE’s AND SECTION 3 DESIGNATED ENTERPRISES ARE ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT”

A

New Immunotherapy Medicine Can Help Black Women Combat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

by Aja Sheppard, BlackDoctor.org

Women’s health has taken a back seat to many healthcare studies. However, times are changing and more work is being done to better represent women’s health issues. More importantly, the healthcare system has changed its views on Black women’s health. For years, the Black community has been disproportionately represented in medical studies due to racism, lack of access to treatments and misinformation from physicians. As a result, the Black community has a mistrust for the health care system. Fortunately, more studies have become inclusive and promote par ticipation from Black women.

Recently, studies on breast cancer have become more progressive in their clini cal trials and research. They’re aiming for more participation from the Black com munity, building up trust and finding bet ter ways to inform patients.

In particular, Black women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer than white women. Unfor tunately, we’re also “30% more likely to die from the disease due to lack of access to surgeries” and chemotherapy. It goes without saying that Black women need better treatment from doctors. More im portantly, we need access to more effec tive treatments.

For years, chemotherapy remained the main source of treatment for triple-neg ative breast cancer. Though, the risk of death often left patients weary and encour aged doctors to find less invasive solutions

like immunotherapy.

Rather than attacking both cancerous and regular cells, immunotherapy retrains our immune system to fight off the disease.

More and more physicians started using the new treatment to combat cancer.

By 2021, though, the FDA approved a new immunotherapy treatment, Keytruda.

Furthermore, the medicine could either be taken in addition to chemotherapy before surgery or alone after a procedure.

Fortunately, a recent study tested another new immunotherapy medicine, Imfinzi,

that proved effective for both white and Black women with triple-negative breast cancer.

RELATED: The Huge Positive That’s Changing The Future For Those Living With Triple Negative

A New Immunotherapy Medicine On The Rise

Due to the success of Keytruda, research ers wanted to know if Imfinzi could be an other possible treatment for breast cancer. In particular, researchers sought to under stand if the drug could effectively treat

Black female patients with triple-negative breast cancer. The earlier stages in a recent clinical trial showed that Imfinzi improved the condition of white patients.

However, it wasn’t until the latter half of the study, that researchers included more participation from female Black patients. While the smaller study involved 67 wom en, 21 of them identified as Black women.

Furthermore, a few factors were used to measure Imfinzi’s effectiveness, including the body’s response to the new drug, how long someone lives, and whether or not

the disease returns.

Furthermore, the results showed that 81% of Black women survived with the chance that the cancer reoccurs, while 71.4% showed Black female patients who survived without the cancer returning.

Their white counterparts, however, had similar results. In the end, the results showed that there wasn’t a difference in how the new immunotherapy medicine affected Black women compared to white women and other races.

Imfinzi Might Prove Effective In Treating Black Female Patients

Despite the similar results, the study did reveal one positive: that the new drug could potentially prove successful in treat ing Black women with triple-negative breast cancer. Being diagnosed with any type of breast cancer can be difficult news to hear. However, that doesn’t mean we have to face the health challenge alone.

Black women are especially not alone in their fight against triple-negative breast cancer. The results of this study, now pub lished in the Clinical Cancer Research journal, made it possible for Black women to receive better and more effective treat ment. In the end, the study proved there’s a potentially new successful solution to treat Triple-Negative-Breast Cancer for white and Black female patients. Although Imfinzi isn’t currently approved to treat breast cancer, researchers have faith that the new medicine will find its way into hospitals soon enough.

President Biden Announces Fix to Family Glitch in Obamacare Subsidies

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

With an estimated 5.1 million people falling into the so-called family glitch – primarily children and women – the Biden administration has issued a rule that makes it easier for those with employersponsored health plans to get Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The rule, which comes from the Inter nal Revenue Service, fixes the glitch that prevented family members from receiving Obamacare subsidies if a household mem ber had access to employer-sponsored healthcare coverage that meets specific requirements identified in the law.

Obamacare required that employer plans be affordable for employees. Unfortunate ly, it didn’t offer that same protection for family members.

“Health care should be a right, not a privilege. But for many Americans caught in the so-called family glitch, the peace of mind that health insurance brings has re mained out of reach,” President Joe Biden offered in a statement.

“Because of this glitch, employer-based health insurance has been considered ‘af fordable’ if the coverage is affordable for the employee even if it is not for their family members – making those family

members ineligible for Affordable Care Act subsidies even though they need them to afford quality coverage.”

In April, the president announced a pro posal to fix what the administration called a regulatory flaw.

Beginning in November, families can sign up to take advantage of the change.

The White House said about 1 million Americans would either gain coverage or see their insurance become more afford

able because of the new rule.

“This marks the most significant admin istrative action since the law was first put into place,” Biden asserted.

“It builds on our progress so far, which has brought the rate of uninsured Ameri cans to a record-low eight percent. My administration will continue working ev ery day to lower costs and expand quality, affordable health coverage to all Ameri cans.”

The Urban Institute estimated that elimi nating the family glitch would decrease employer spending by roughly $2 billion annually.

“Changing the family glitch would lower health care premiums for hundreds of thousands of affected families without un dermining employer coverage,” research ers at the Urban Institute found.

“There would be a modest increase in health coverage, but the biggest effect would be to improve affordability. There would be a small increase in federal gov ernment spending and a tiny increase in state spending that would be at least par tially offset by additional tax revenue.”

Protecting and strengthening implemen tation of the Affordable Care Act remains key to increasing access to quality, af fordable health care,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secre

tary Xavier Becerra wrote in a statement.

“Today’s action resolves a flaw in prior ACA regulations to bring more affordable coverage to about one million Americans. Our goal is simple: leave no one behind and give everyone the peace of mind that comes with health insurance,” Becerra stated.

He continued:

“Under President Biden’s leadership, our nation’s uninsured rate is at an all-time low, and Affordable Care Act enrollment is at an all-time high. This is not by ac cident. We are meeting people where they are to tell them about their healthcare op tions through unprecedented outreach ef forts. And through landmark legislation like the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, we have offered the lowest ACA premium rates in history. Our work to expand coverage and lower healthcare costs for American families never stops.

“Whether you’re part of a family previ ously affected by this glitch, or an individ ual buying insurance on the marketplace, the Biden-Harris Administration is com mitted to ensuring you have access to the healthcare you deserve.”

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