The Hillhouse Band has accepted the invitation to represent the state of Connecticut in the official 2025 Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. The trip features a tour of the memorials (MLK, Vietnam, WWII, etc.) and more, which would take place over the Memorial Day weekend. This trip will not only be for performing arts, but this trip will be educational for our students.
We are looking for sponsors and donors to help us reach our financial goal to cover the cost of transportation, lodging, food, the tour, and uniforms & equipment (including repairs), which totals about $45,000. We have hosted a few fundraisers since the start of the school year, but it is not enough to cover the cost of trip. We are calling out to the community for support.
Arts & Ideas Launches Its 30th Season
Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org
A jazz quartet that may leave the house speechless as a saxophone replaces any need for words. A mobile circus troupe where a trampoline becomes a storytelling device, and a food truck a portal to another world. A “City of Floating Sounds,” where strains of symphonic music lead to the New Haven Green. A Latin Grammy winner with powerhouse vocals and a deep dive into book bans that feels eerily apropos.
All of those are coming to a scaled-down, tightly curated International Festival of Arts & Ideas this spring and summer, beginning with the all-city “Big Read” and Sister Cities Film Festival this month. A celebration of New Haven’s vibrant arts scene—and of its diversity—this year’s events bring together thinkers, writers, culture-bearers and performers across the arts, from water protector Autumn Peltier to a multi-media ensemble launched in a Pittsburgh junkyard.
It marks the Festival’s 30th anniversary year, and the first since Executive Director Shelley Quiala stepped down last August. “There have been a lot of changes. But the Festival keeps going. We keep going. And we've been going for 30 years,” said Interim Director Kevin Ewing in a short series of remarks last Thursday, during an intimate launch at the New Haven Free Public Library. “Our theater is resistance. Our dancing is resistance. Our laughing is resistance. Our very existence is resistance.”
This year, that begins this month with the Big Read, a community-wide event focused on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and the danger that happens when the right to read is challenged. Following a kickoff at the Wilson Branch Library earlier this month, the Big Read comprises book clubs in New Haven and West Haven Library, a writing and drawing workshop, discussions, and youth Stay & Play and storytime activities that can help parents talk about censorship and book bans with their kids.
For the first time in recent history, it is taking place without funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which in years past has granted the Festival $20,000 specifically for the event and affiliated programming. This year, partners on the event include the New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) and West Haven Public Library; CT Humanities also awarded the Festival a $4,999 quick grant specifically for the program. This month, the NHFPL is distributing 500 free copies of the book over its five branches. It’s just the beginning of over two months of arts programming in the city, from circus to climate activism. Alongside the Big Read, the Festival and NHFPL are also hosting a film festival celebrating and exploring New Haven’s eight sister cities, from Afula-Gilboa, Israel to Huế, Vietnam. Scheduled between April 7 and May 29, the films turn a broad lens on communities around the world, with films that bring together Israeli and Palestinian women, lost dispatches from the Vietnam War, the Amistad Revolt and more.
New Haven’s sister cities include Amal-
fi, Italy; Afula-Gilboa, Israel; Avignon, France; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Huế, Vietnam; Léon, Nicaragua; Changsha, China; and Tetlanohcan, Mexico. The festival’s lineup of films also features a screening of Where Then Shall We Go?, which premiered earlier this year on Connecticut Public, and Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness.
That programming brings New Haveners solidly into May, which will see six neighborhood festivals, including a return to Fair Haven Day and new celebration in Whalley/Edgewood/Beaver Hills in the parking lot of Bethel AME Church on Goffe Street. On May 9 and 10, the Festival plans to partner with Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA) and the Yale Schwarzman Center to present Cirque Kikasse on Westville’s Central Patio and the New Haven Green.
For the first time this year, it’s a way for festival programming to intersect with both Westville Artwalk and Wake Up the Green, an annual day of service and spring festival from the Proprietors of the New Haven Green and a number of community partners.
It’s one of multiple New Haven partnerships that have made the festival feel, in recent years, more authentically embedded in the city’s neighborhoods and communities. In late May, the Festival is once again part of celebrating Freddy Fixer Weekend, with a Dixwell neighborhood celebration sandwiched between the Freddy Fixer Gala that Friday and the pomp and spectacle of parade day itself on June 1.
The weekend before that, festival staff and community members will also celebrate Newhallville and West Hills/West Rock. Those festivals have, in recent years, grown largely thanks to Festival employee Sha McAllister, associate director of education and community impact.
“Please come!” said McAllister to smiles and contented murmurs Thursday. She added that the Festival’s Fellows, a group of New Haven high school students, are
already deep into their annual program, which includes a graduation ceremony in late June.
As May flows into June—in New Haven, the Freddy has long signaled an early start of summer—the Festival heads into the bulk of its programming, which will take place from June 14 to 28 in downtown and on the New Haven Green. Amidst walking and bike tours that have become a festival mainstay, events begin June 13 with Family Business: (A)Pizza Play, a production from A Broken Umbrella Theatre that has been in process for over a year (an earlier version premiered during the festival last summer).
In that week alone, there is a small marathon of both ticketed and free events, from live circus to a return of “Stir the Style,” a now-beloved storytelling event with music and poetry at C.I.T.A. Park (click here for a full schedule). Then June 19 through 22, the Festival once again presents a dayslong celebration of Juneteenth, a collaboration with the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven that includes a restaurant week, multiple outdoor concerts, hip-hop conference and events during the day and into the evening on the Green. The final week of the Festival, meanwhile, may be its most packed and propulsive. In addition to Huang Ruo’s “City of Floating Sounds,” a performance that blends symphonic music and smartphone technology (in this case, with Maestro Perry So and members of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra), the week includes jazz, mariachi, Cuban soul, poetry and comedy, with performers such as saxophonist Joshua Redman, New Haven's beloved Seny Tatchol Camara, and the Montreal-based jazz folk band Christine Tassan et les Imposteures. Risë Nelson and Annie Lin, both board members at the festival. Nelson, an assistant dean who for years led the African American Cultural House at Yale, is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility for the Yale Library. Lin is the director of community engagement and strategies at the Yale School of Art.
“Are you excited yet!?” Ewing said to an enthusiastic chorus of “Yes!” from the audience. He added that the festivities include the annual Visionary Leadership Award, the ceremony for which will take place June 14. This year, the award is going to Monique Martin, founder of Minty Fresh Circus. The group performs June 14 and 15. Two weeks later, the Festival concludes with the annual New Haven Caribbean Heritage Festival.
In addition, this year’s Festival includes “Ideas” talks with partners like the Yale Quantum Institute and keynote speakers Martyna Majok, a former Festival staffer who is working on a dramatized version of Fahrenheit 451, chef Jacques Pépin, and Anishinaabe-kwe and Wikwemikong First Nations activist and water protector Autumn Peltier.
The launch announcement (which includes a live calendar of events on the website) comes as the festival pulls back significantly on its spending, from the number of performances to the artists it has been able to invite to New Haven. In Con’t on page 07
IfeMichelle Gardin, Audience Services Manager Quiana Stanley, and Associate Director of Education & Community Impact Shamain (Sha) McAllister.
Risë Nelson and Annie Lin, both board members at the festival. Nelson, an assistant dean who for years led the African American Cultural House at Yale, is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility for the Yale Library. Lin is the director of community engagement and strategies at the Yale School of Art.
Serena Scapagnini, artist in residence at the Yale Quantum Institute, and artist and curator Martha Lewis.
Call Forth A Woman Back at the Shubert For an Encore Performance
By Kirk Lang, Correspondent-at-large,TheInner-City News
The women of the Bible are often not talked about, as they often played second fiddle to the men of the Holy book. However, thirty-year-old West Haven resident Trenee McGee is looking to change that.
Her play, Call Forth A Woman, is getting an encore performance at the Shubert Theater on Saturday, April 26 after a near sellout show last May.
McGee has since been adding characters, adding scenes, fine-tuning dialogue and getting the best out of her actors in recent rehearsals at Abba’s House International Fellowship in North Branford, which is run by her parents, both of whom are pastors.
“New Haven needs this,” said McGee in the middle of a rehearsal last month. She subsequently told Inner City News, “The stories of women can truly impact anyone’s life. A story written, directed and produced by a New Haven magnet school graduate is what the city can continue to benefit from. There are so many of us who are creating, and it is what inspires the younger generations to create.”
She added, “One of the newest scenes in the show is The Wailing Women.
These women were grieved and sent by God to weep over the destruction of their land.
This includes violence, selfish ambition, their land being uprooted and in complete disarray. Every single time I hear these women cry out, it almost sounds as if they were the voices of mothers and grandmothers in New Haven. Truly timely.” McGee, besides working full-time and perfecting her play, is also Connecticut’s youngest State Representative. She said the play was a year-and-a-half in the making “but I wrote the full script in about two weeks.” The first time around, “It was a huge leap of faith and courage,” said McGee. “I didn’t necessarily feel prepared. I just had passion, passion and pursuit, really more than anything.”
McGee earned a BFA in acting from Marymount Manhattan College, but while pursuing her degree, she realized she wanted to direct as well.
“And I just knew I would want to produce,” she said, “So I established a production company and knew that in order to see the art I wanted to see I had to create it.”
As for the encore performance of Call Forth A Woman, McGee said she feels “a little more prepared because we’ve done it already.”
She added, “It is a little bit more pressure because it’s more of an expectation. People know what to expect but we feel very prepared and excited. We sort of know what to do now. The first time was kind of a whim but now we know what to do, we feel more prepared to do it. The more experience you get the better you get at it.”
Call Forth A Woman has also brought her mother, Denya McGee, a social worker, out of acting retirement.
“I was in the last production, so this time, coming back, it’s like I have to dig my
heels in deeper, because I’m learning more about my daughter [in the play], Naomi, than I did before. It’s been a journey, almost like starting over again.”
Denya McGee added, “Part of our scene
and a chemistry that we need to be able to have on stage to make it believable, so we spend time with each other in that way.”
Victoria Gordon, who is in the scene of Ruth and Naomi, also announces Ruth and Boaz, and celebrates their union, said, “We’re like a family.” Gordon, playwright herself, loves directing and writing and getting points across, and Call Forth A Woman is in her wheelhouse.
“A lot of my plays were Biblical plays, but a lot of them relate to things going on in the world today,” she said.
The youngest actor in Call Forth A Woman is 11-year-old Jeremiah Brabhaam, who portrays Jehoash, who was the eight king of Judah, and the sole surviving son of Ahaziah, after the massacre of the royal family, ordered by his grandmother, Athaliah.
Later in his reign as king, he led the men of the Kingdom of Israel in the defeat of King Amaziah of Judah.
Brabhaam has been in three plays so far, all under Trenee McGee productions.
“Acting is very fun,” he said. “What I like most about this play is the religious aspect, because I’m Christian, and it’s truly an honor to be in the play. It’s resembling God and we’re resembling the characters that were in the Bible of Christ and for me, this is really a big deal.”
McGee graduated from downtown New Haven’s Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in 2012. She’s proud of how far she’s come and what she’s doing because as she noted, there’s no other play like Call Forth A Woman.
“There really isn’t any story on stage about women in the Bible. It takes you on a journey of the powerfully dynamic women of the Bible, often forgotten but notably heroic.”” said McGee.” “Women like midwife Shaiphrah, who stood against Pharaoh for future generations to come, and Queen Esther, whose bravery and humility claimed the highest seat in Persia as she fought against the destruction of her Jewish heritage.”
McGee added there were also figures such as, “Battle heroine Jael, whose hands rendered the defeat of Sisera’s army with Deborah’s sharp battle strategy, and Biblical scholar Huldah, whose academic excellency educated and prepared young prophets to enlighten and lead. These women reflected the life and times of women who are called by God into different stratospheres today.”
The encore performance is scheduled for April 26 at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, log onto www.shubert.com There are two acts separated by a 20-minute intermission.
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is having that chemistry, so it takes bonding with one another, spending time with one another outside of here [the rehearsal space]. In the play, she’s my daughter and I’m her mom, and so there’s a connection
“We have this idea that women did not exist in these times, and that they weren’t effective,” said McGee. “But this woman right here [at rehearsal] is portraying Huldah , who was a professor, in 60 B.C., so it [the idea for the play] mainly came from a desire to really show people that women were really powerful and effective in Biblical times.”
McGee said after the encore, the next goal “is to take it around the country and hopefully get it to Broadway.”
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Poetry Into Power, As Hundreds Rally On The Green
Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org
Aaron Jafferis' words floated over the New Haven Green, wrapping a few hundred people in their sound. Air / I am taking as many deep breaths as you can spare now / Cause they're gutting our clean energy and air now, he started. A few feet away, Witness To Hunger Kim Hart breathed in, a cold tightness in her chest when she thought about the last two months. So our lungs are gonna need great healthcare now / But they're tearing that down too, it's not fair now!
A sign that read “WE THE PEOPLE WE THE MILLIONS” bobbed against the cloudy sky, undeterred by the drizzle. Jafferis pressed forward, tying healthcare to benefits for veterans like his dad, to life-saving cancer research and LGBTQ+ rights, to public land and the performing arts. Get your hands off park rangers / And artists' passionate hearts! he read, a growl at the very edge of his voice, and the crowd went wild.
That broad, sometimes staggering survey (and often, indictment) of the current political landscape defined Saturday's "Hands Off" rally and march in New Haven, part of a national day of action aimed at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and President Donald Trump in his second term in office. Held beneath a low-hanging, spitting gray sky, the event brought hundreds to the heart of downtown to both listen and speak out against what they see as a precipitous dismantling of Democracy.
"We have a problem in our country, and this problem is bigger than Trump," said Rev. and impromptu emcee Scott Marks, the director of New Haven Rising. "This problem is bigger than Musk. And I've come to let you know that we've come too far from where we started from. There ain't no turning back."
Since his inauguration in January of this year, Trump has launched sustained and targeted attacks on immigration, women and LGBTQ+ and particularly trans people, veterans' benefits and healthcare, Medicaid and Medicare, public health research, education, public parks and the environment, science, libraries, museums, and federal funding to the arts and humanities. That includes but is not limited to mass firings of federal workers across government offices, from cancer researchers at the National Institutes of Health to USAID employees doing malaria and tuberculosis prevention in Asia and East and West Africa to programming staff at the Kennedy Center.
Saturday, speakers addressed many of those topics, many returning to a refrain of "Hands Off!" as they spoke on everything from public education to housing as a basic and endangered human right. Taking the mic early in the rally, New Haven Federation of Teachers President Leslie Blatteau set the tone, pushing back against the government's broad attacks on education funding and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the classroom.
The administration has, among other
things, targeted schools that have a Title I designation, meaning they serve a large number of low-income students. Twenty-two of New Haven's 44 schools are Title I. There are 580 Title I schools in Connecticut.
"Teachers have a right and an obligation to teach the truth," she said, noting the significance of the New Haven Green as a historic site of protest and civil unrest. "In this city, that is what we do. Our students deserve to learn the truth. Honest history, about this country. And we will not allow Trump and Musk to censor us and take away our First Amendment rights, and our students' rights, to learn the truth ... Hands off our curriculum! Hands off our students! And hands off our funds!"
It set the stage for a lineup of speakers that pleaded for a return to policies and practices that center both humans and the planet they call home, from an acknowledgement of climate change and its catastrophic effects to a safer state for immigrants and refugees, regardless of documentation status. As they addressed reproductive rights, Medicare, LGBTQ+ youth and families and the alarming, increasing disappearance of people from their homes and communities, some momentarily lost composure, exhausted and on the verge of tears as they spoke. Others warned against the country's tilt toward increased militarism, speaking out against a U.S.-aided humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"I ask that we the people continue showing up, demanding better, because we deserve clean air, a safe climate, and futures that we can count on," said climate activist Sena Wazer, who has been organizing since she was 15. "The work to acheive those things has gotten so much harder over the past two months, but at the end of the day, it's about our families, and communities, and people and places we love ... we are fighting for the very core of our
being."
Nowhere, however, was it more moving—or illustrative of what is actually at stake—than when speakers spoke candidly and directly from the heart, sharing their personal stories with hundreds of people they had never met before. Taking the mic alongside Ana Paola Juarez, New Haven Immigrants Coalition member and ESUMS Senior Ambar Santiago-Rojas tore into the federal government, knitting together the struggles of immigrants, students, women and workers in the U.S. with those around the world.
Taking a moment of silence for Jocelynn Rojo Carranza—who took her life when classmates threatened that they would call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her parents—she stressed the importance of vocal, decisive and collective
Americans who rely on housing assistance every year. With a catch in her throat, she turned the clock back to 2018, when she and her son found themselves homeless. After two years and five months, it was a Section 8 housing voucher that lifted them out of homelessness.
"I am a woman of faith, but it has me concerned," she said, her voice breaking. Currently, Hart is able to stay on top of her bills because she lives in Section 8 housing. She's able to put away a little for an emergency fund, in case anything happens to her or to members of her family. Now, she lives in fear of eviction as she watches the administration gut wraparound services that are often life-saving and life-sustaining.
"It was a nightmare" when Hart and her son were homeless, she recalled. "But right now, we are currently housed, and I'd like to continue to have my rent subsidized. People who are struggling need to be able to at least put forth the effort for help with rent ... with these DOGE cuts, my assistance is most definitely at risk. Hands off my housing! Hands off my housing! Hands off our housing!" "We'll fight for you! We're gonna fight for you!" yelled a woman pressed to the front of the crowd.
As she prepared to march, attendee and activist Wendy Tyson-Wood said she'd made the trek from Waterbury, where she and her husband had helped organize their first "Hands Off!" protest of the day. After New Haven, they were headed to another action in Hartford. For her, it felt like a no-brainer. She sees how heavily her neighbors rely on Waterbury's food banks. She has children and grandchildren, and wants to protect their futures. Her dad is a veteran and her mom is a retired educator. "We just believe that it's not partisan—this is about America," she said, showing off a pair of dangly, sparkling star earrings as she spoke. "I wore my red, white and blue earrings so that I show solidarity. It's really not partisan. It's really about America being America. This is my country. And I love this country."
action in the face of a country tilting to the right.
"We fight for a world where no one is forced to flee, where no one is bombed out of their homes, where no one is treated like they are disposable," she said. "Our fight is also about women's rights ... it is about demanding education that empowers, rather than criminalizes our youth. It is about reimagining a system that invests in people, not prisons. healing, not harm. This is not just a movement for immigrants. It is a movement for humanity."
Hart, a founding member of Witnesses to Hunger and outspoken advocate for emergency food providers in and beyond New Haven, looked to the devastating impacts that DOGE's cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will have on her family, and millions of
Around her, hundreds of people had headed toward Chapel Street, where they soon fanned out across the asphalt with cheers of "Show me what Democracy looks like / This is what Democracy looks like!" In the thick of the crowd, early childhood educator Kat (she declined to give her last name) held up two signs, both hand-painted before the march.
Already, she said, she'd given "probably 20" posters and homemade signs away to people who hadn't come with anything to hold. As she marched, she held up a bright poster championing Sesame Street. Donald Trump has repeatedly called for defunding PBS, on which the educational program launched decades ago.
"Everything's driving me crazy," she said. "The only thing keeping me sane is going out, making art ... everything that makes America great, they're defunding. All the things that help our kids, all the things that held us as a society, all the things that make us better, they're taking away from."
The march takes to downtown.
James Stewart, who spoke alongside Personal Care Attendant (PCA) Nancy Rembert about the need to fight for Medicare. "We need more than one [person] to make a difference out here," he said.
Move Over, Uber — Here Comes
by Laura Glesby
A new government-subsidized rideshare-style system has rolled into New Haven, offering on-demand rides for the same price as a bus pass.
City and state officials gathered for a Thursday press conference on the New Haven Green to announce the launch of the system, which features subsidized, flexible rides in hybrid or electric cars through the transit company Via.
The city received $3 million from the state Department of Transportation to fund the partnership with Via (referred to as a “microtransit” system, because it relies on smaller vehicles compared to traditional public transit). The program is part of a broader $19.5 million investment in on-demand microtransit systems across 17 towns in the state throughout the last year.
As with Uber and Lyft, Via rides are typically booked by way of an app (though rides can also be scheduled by calling 475 – 303-5467) and paid for electronically through a credit or debit card. Unlike traditional rideshare companies, Via pays New Haven drivers between $19.50 and $21 an hour, regardless of the number of rides they complete.
Also unlike Lyft and Uber, Via’s New Haven program operates as a carpool by default. It asks passengers to meet their driver at a pick-up spot along a route calculated based on the group’s various destinations.
In New Haven’s two-year pilot pro-
gram, which launched in mid-March, Via will pick up and drop off passengers within areas of the city where residents are less likely to own cars: primarily parts of the Hill, West River, Edgewood, Whalley, Beaver Hills, Newhallville, Fair Haven, and Downtown. The service can also connect riders to Union Station, the State Street train station, and Tweed Airport.
The six Via cars will operate between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Passenger fares are equivalent to CT Transit fares, costing $1.75 per ride or 85 cents for riders who are low-income or above the age of 65.
“Transportation is one of the single biggest drivers of household costs,” said City Economic Development Coordinator Mike Piscitelli. “If you’re on a family budget,” he said, it can be hard to find transportation outside of the fixed bus routes.
Via can accommodate wheelchair users, service animals, and non-service pets that are kept in carriers.
City officials stressed that Via is designed to fill gaps within the CT Transit bus system, not to act as a replacement for traditional public transit.
City Transportation, Traffic, and Parking Director Sandeep Aysola stressed that Via is just “one of those pieces to fill that puzzle” of getting from place to place
within the city, noting that the program is intended to supplement travel by bike, scooter, foot, or bus.
Via’s service to the train stations will help riders “bridge the first and last mile connections” from larger transit hubs to their specific destinations, said state transportation chief Benjamin Limmer making car alternatives like commuter rails more accessible and convenient options. “We will have the ability to extend the program” if it is widely used, Limmer said.
After a decade of driving for Uber and Lyft, Moriken Sangary switched to working for Via in March.
So far, he said, he far prefers driving for Via. One reason is the guaranteed hourly wage. “With Uber and Lyft, some days I would come out with nothing, using my own money for gas,” he recalled.
Sangary used to spend days driving from early in the morning until 11 p.m. With Via, he typically claims shifts from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. “I get time to go to my family,” he said.
Sangary said he’s also glad to be providing low-cost rides. His new job is “helping the community,” he said.
Over the last month, he’s gotten to know some regular passengers by name. He described one high school student whom he picks up at the same time each day to drive to school. “We know each other,” Sangary said.
The teen, Sangary said, now calls him by the nickname “Mo” and ends each ride by saying, “See you tomorrow!”
Cambodian Genocide Survivor Visits Hillhouse
by Kate Goodwin and Glenda Reyes
The following citizen contribution was written and photographed by Hillhouse social studies educators Kate Goodwin and Glenda Reyes regarding a Monday morning visit by Bunseng Taing and his son, James, who spoke with Hillhouse students enrolled in the class Modern World History.
On April 7, James Hillhouse High School Modern World History students and teachers gathered to hear Mae Bunseng Taing speak on his experience in Cambodia’s Killing Fields and as a refugee, and his son James’s experience telling his father’s story.
As a teenager, Taing and his family were forced from their home outside of Phnom Penh to the Killing Fields and experienced forced labor, starvation and torture by the Khmer Rouge soldiers for years.
He escaped to a refugee camp on the border of Thailand and Cambodia; however, Thailand’s view on refugees shifted, and they were no longer welcome.
Taing and thousands of refugees were sent to the mountain of Preah Vihear
where they were thrown from its peaks at gunpoint. Taing survived the initial descent, but then had to navigate landmines, starvation and the jungle for months on end. Taing’s story is one of resilience in the face of unspeakable terror.
James Taing knew the importance of telling his father’s story and over five years worked tirelessly to articulate his father’s story in writing and on film. If you would like to know more of Taing’s story, watch Ghost Mountain or read Under the Naga Tail.
Social Studies teachers Kaitlyn Goodwin and Glenda Reyes would like to thank Jenny Heikkila Diaz (JHD), Professional Learning Coordinator for Connecticut’s Council for the Social Studies, for promoting the integration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies within the Social Studies curriculum, introducing them to Taing’s story and for facilitating this talk.
Both Goodwin and Reyes believe it is an honor to hear the Taings speak and to enrich student learning and understanding through this opportunity.
Contributed photos Kaitlyn Goodwin, Jenny Heikkila Diaz (JHD), Anthony Yovina, Mae Bunseng Taing, James Taing, Natalie Ochoa and Glenda Reyes.
The New Haven independent
City, state, and Via representatives cut the symbolic ribbon to a "microtransit" car.
Arts & Ideas
the past two years, the organization has operated with a budget between $2 and $4 million (last year, the Festival clocked in at just over $4 million), with historic soldout crowds at big ticket events like jazz vocalist Samara Joy at College Street Music Hall.
Now, Ewing said, it’s necessary to cut back—while holding fast to the joy and magic of the arts—as a matter of survival. Since he stepped into the interim position last year, he’s noticed that major funders aren’t giving in the same way they did a year ago. Some of them seem more cautious in the current political climate, he said. Others simply don’t have the same discretionary funds that they did a year or two ago. Expected grants, like the NEA’s $20,000, didn’t come through.
“What that meant was we sought programming that was a little different,” Ewing said. Unable to pay $40,000 to $50,000 for a headliner, Ewing caught performers “who were on their way up,” but just as talented as many of the big name artists who have graced the festival in the past.
That's palpable in everything from programming to the internal discussions he's having with staff, he added. When it was time to choose a festival theme this year, he originally suggested "Harmony," because it captured the festival's spirit of coalescence and cultural euphony. But around him, the world didn't feel very harmonious: there were mounting attacks on the kind of diversity that is core to the festival's existence. So he went back to the drawing board.
Then he suggested a "Pearl Anniversary," because the festival is celebrating 30 years in New Haven. Over three decades, the Festival has become "a beautiful pearl in the City of New Haven," he said—magnificent and luminous in its ability to bring people together around the arts. But the idea of a pearl "felt arrogant," and he found himself again unsure that it was the right fit for the festival.
"I started thinking about, 'Okay, so, what is a pearl?'" he said. "How is a pearl made? See, a pearl is created when a mollusk, an oyster or a clam or some shelled water creature, gets an irritation. Something gets between its shell and it starts to bug it. And so what does the clam do? What does the oyster do? Its resources start coming together, and getting around the source of that irritation ... and over a period of six months to a year or however long it takes, that irritation becomes a precious jewel." That, he could get on board with. The Festival wasn't the pearl, he explained to a small audience Thursday. It wasn't the grain or sand or the single irritant, either. It was the mollusk, bringing its resources together to produce something rare and precious and splendid.
"We bring together our deep entertainment, our cultures from all around the world, we bring together these deep conversations, these conversations about ideas and thoughts that most people don't want to be said out in public," he said. "We bring together these books and thoughts and events that speak around things that are currently bad words ... we come together and create resistance. Resistance to the issues that are causing this irritation."
New Soup Kitchen Feeds The Hill
by Thomas Breen
Jerome Hauser, Jr., Diamond Tree, Zelinda Clark, Tony Evans, and Rev. William Mathis had half an hour to go Thursday before the expected lunchtime rush at a newly opened soup kitchen in the Hill.
The fried chicken, beef, hash browns, and corn were hot. The takeout containers were stacked and stickered. Motivated by a commitment to feeding the hungry, the crew was ready to serve.
Hauser, Tree, Clark, Evans, and Mathis spent much of the morning preparing for another day of giving out warm food and encouragement at 33 Lamberton St., an office building for The Spring of Life-Giving Water Church that now serves as the latest outpost for the Community Soup Kitchen.
The new soup kitchen in the Hill celebrated its one-month anniversary Thursday, after first opening its doors on March 3.
The Hill location is one of nearly a dozen that the downtown-based Community Soup Kitchen is expanding into as it continues to nourish hungry New Haveners, including through a new partnership with the nonprofit Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS).
The 33 Lamberton St. soup kitchen is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Hauser, the site’s manager, and Tree, its volunteer assistant manager, said they started giving out 50 free meals a day last month. That number’s now up to 70, with the number of meals served expected to grow again next week to 80.
Mathis, who has led the church for 18 years, said that he sees this new soup kitchen as another opportunity for his church to be more than just a place for spiritual sustenance. It’s also a community center and social services hub, he said, where church members and residents and anyone in need can come by to pick up clothing (on Wednesdays); find connections to mental health, housing, and employment services; and, now, pickup warm meals as well as packaged food to go.
“People need to eat,” said Tree, summing up the soup kitchen’s mission in its most straightforward terms. And sometimes people don’t have enough to keep from being hungry.
With federal funding cuts already here and more likely en route for all manner of government and nonprofit-backed services, Mathis said, his church is ready to meet the need. He said the new soup kitchen’s location is “centrally located” for a growing immigrant community, for people struggling with drug addiction, and for others in the Hill who might bear the brunt of such funding cuts.
At around 11:30 a.m., Clark, a deacon at the church, and Evans, a local caterer and soup kitchen volunteer, lined up along the hot food trays to get ready for the noontime start.
Clark spooned corn, hash browns, and fried chicken or beef food provided by Community Soup Kitchen HQ, as well as KFC into plastic takeout containers. Evans then stickered shut each container before passing them along to Tree, who bagged the food. Hauser got the hot coffee ready, and took the lead in passing the warm food, as well as loaves of bread donated from Chabaso, to people who started lining up soon before noon.
First in line was James Davis.
Davis was wearing an Oakland Raiders beanie hat, even though he’s a Giants fan. He lives in the Hill, and spoke about just how much he appreciates having a soup kitchen he can walk to. Though he’s worked as a dishwasher and landscaper in the past, the Brooklyn native said he’s currently unemployed, and spends his days collecting cans.
“Without food, you can’t think, you can’t work,” Davis said. He said he’s been coming to the new Hill location since it opened last month. Asked about which food he’s liked the best so far at this location, he said, “Whatever you can get that the Lord blesses you with is a favorite food.”
That said, he praised this new location for serving up food that is fresh and tasty. “They give you stuff you can really eat.”
After serving up three more takeout meals in rapid succession to Hill residents named Raheem, Darryl, and Francisco Hauser went back inside the church, picked up a megaphone, and returned to the sidewalk.
“We are open!” he said to anyone within listening. “Put your feet on the concrete” and get some food at the new soup kitchen.
Community Soup Kitchen is currently seeking volunteers for all of its locations, including in the Hill. Click here to volunteer.
The New Haven independent
... preparing food that Jerome Hauser, Jr. served up to guests like James Davis, in the Hill.
Thomas Breen photos
Tony Evans and Zelinda Clerk get to work ...
The soup kitchen crew: Clark, Evans, Tree, Mathis, and Hauser.
Democratic Legislators Back Rule Of Law, Quoting Declaration Of Independence
by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT – Independence Day may not be for another three months, but the state Capitol on Tuesday echoed with the familiar language of opposition to tyranny.
“Our president has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good,” said state Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, D-Trumbull. “He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states, for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners … He has made judges dependent on his will alone. He has erected multitudes of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
The language, taken from the Declaration of Independence, was no accident, Gadkar-Wilcox said.
“We don’t have to wait until the Fourth of July to understand the significance of these acts,” she said. “They’re unconstitutional and un-American.”
Gadkar-Wilcox led a group of about a dozen legislators who gathered in the Hall of Flags to announce their support for the American Bar Association’s call to support the rule of law.
“Today we see an executive freezing federal funds for education and healthcare aimed at protecting our most vulnerable communities; closing branches of government established by a representative Congress; defying the rulings of the judicial branch and calling for impeachment for any assertion of judicial independence against the will of the executive; departing lawful residents without any due process,” Gadkar-Wilcox said. “Our president cannot be a tyrannical king. Let us not repeat our own history.”
Gadkar-Wilcox said she had invited every lawyer-legislator to the event, but every legislator who attended was a Democrat.
State Rep. Craig Fishbein, the Wallingford Republican and the Judiciary Com-
mittee’s ranking House member, later issued a statement.
“The message coming from Democrats today is once again one of division and disruption,” he wrote. “To state that Connecticut Republicans are somehow complicit in creating or supporting a fascist takeover of the federal government, or that we are ‘un-American’ for not sharing their opinion of President Trump, is offensive and demands an apology.”
Fishbein’s comment referred to a question at the end of the event, where Gadkar-Wilcox was asked whether she believed Republicans were facilitating a fascist takeover. She expressed disappointment that no Republicans had attended, then said she knew of several Republicans inside and outside the building
who disagreed with Trump’s actions but did not speak up.
“So in that sense, I would say you are complicit in the actions of the federal executive when you remain silent,” she said. “So for those who disagree and remain silent, I’m talking to you.”
Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, also issued a statement saying Democrats were “too busy firing up their political base to actually govern.”
Candelora said Connecticut is struggling “because Democrats stopped being policymakers and decided they’d rather be activists.”
David McGuire, executive director of the Connecticut ACLU, said every legislator had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, and every lawyer takes an oath
to uphold the rule of law.
“You have to question why not every legislator lawyer is here today,” he said.
McGuire called for more than symbolic announcements and declarations.
“We need real laws passed here that are thoughtful, bold, and decisive,” he said.
“We at the ACLU of Connecticut look forward to continuing to work with the legislature and legislature-lawyers here to pass meaningful reform and protect the rule of law here in Connecticut. History is watching.”
State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, and Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, talked about legislative efforts underway in Connecticut.
Stafstrom, the House chair of the Judiciary Committee, said that panel has already voted out some significant legislation to stand up for the rule of law in Connecticut.
“We are making sure that those medical providers who are providing access, whether it be to reproductive or to gender-affirming care legally in Connecticut, are not being subjected to actions outside our state,” he said. “Today the Judiciary Committee is about to take up legislation that is going to further protect immigrant communities in our state by strengthening our Trust Act and making sure that law enforcement and the courts in this state are working on prosecuting crimes that are committed in this state, and our resources as a state are not being diverted to deporting hard-working folks who are just trying to raise their family (and) do their job.”
Blumenthal agreed. He cited the recent executive order on elections, which he said would disenfranchise about 10% of the population, including those who have taken their spouse’s name.
“Are we going to obey that illegal executive order on the GAE (Government Administration and Elections) Committee?” he asked. “Absolutely not. We are expanding access to the ballot here in the state of Connecticut through early voting and absentee voting.”
He also addressed reproductive rights and the LGBTQ community.
“We are expanding our first-in-the-nation shield law so it protects even more of our residents,” he said.
State Sen. Herron Gaston, D-Bridgeport, cited attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and referred to his election with 78% of the vote as “a Black hire.” He said DEI efforts, which he called a civil rights issue, were on the chopping block.
“We will not go back. We will not rewind the clock, for we believe that this country is inclusive of everybody,” he said.
Albertus Magnus College Honored To Again Be Named Military Friendly School
Achieves Silver Status as Military Spouse Friendly Ins7tu7on New Haven, Conn, April 9, 2025 – Albertus Magnus College is designated a Military Friendly® School for 2025-2026 — achieving Silver status. This honor celebrates Albertus’ sustainable and meaningful educa3on paths and programs it has created for Veterans. More than 1800 schools par3cipated in this most recent survey with 830 earning the designa3on. That list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine an found at www. militaryfriendly.com. As of Spring 2025, Albertus has 24 military-affiliated students including ac3ve duty, veterans, or dependents (spouse or children). Because of this, Albertus is also named a Military Spouse Friendly School.
The Military Friendly® ra3ngs are de-
termined through the evalua3on of public data and proprietary data gathered through the annual Military Friendly® survey process. Survey topics and ques3ons are reviewed and developed with the assistance of an independent Military Friendly® Advisory Council comprising independent subject ma\er experts and industry partners represen3ng the field of veteran educa3on. “This newest recogni3on speaks volumes to Albertus’ passion of mee3ng the educa3onal needs of adult learners, and notably, those who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces,” said Albertus Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Rosa E. Rivera-Hainaj, Ph.D. “We answer the call of mee3ng the needs of our students and society at large, always with an eye toward our students’ degree a\ainment success. We are grateful to all those who
serve our country — as they too answer a calling — and we’re inspired to help them pursue their college degree dreams, opening doors to careers informed by our Dominican Pillar Values of Study, Prayer, Community, and Service.”
“Helping Veterans succeed as they transi3on to civilian life is how Albertus differen3ates itself; and consistently being named a Military Friendly® ins3tu3on only adds to our list of accomplishments. These honors, combined with our success-oriented courses and programs, help Veterans achieve their goals,” said Albertus Veterans Advisor and Registrar Jus3n Cirisoli, MBA, MS. Military Friendly® is commi\ed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards to our designa3on process. Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes posi3ve
outcomes and support services that be\ er the educa3onal landscape and provide opportunity for the Military Community. This creates a compe33ve atmosphere that encourages Ins3tu3ons to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools who achieve awards designa3on show true commitment in their efforts, exceeding the standard,” said Kayla Lopez, Vice President, Military Friendly®. The Military Friendly® recogni3on is the latest in a series of na3onal acknowledgements that Albertus has earned. Earlier in this 2024-2025 academic year, Forbes Advisor ranked Albertus a Top 6 Best Online College in Connec3cut and U.S. News & World Report named Albertus one of its “Best Colleges” in its overall rankings as well as for its online educa3on.
State Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, D-Trumbull, speaks during a press conference at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
Hispanic Business Leaders Honored
by Laura Glesby
Lisette Vega arrived at a “Hispanic Business Excellence” celebration with a vision of starting her own international trade business one day and an ear open for advice.
Vega was one of the Southern Connecticut State University students selected to present awards to local Latino leaders Tuesday night.
Southern’s School of Business hosted a diversity celebration centered around “Honoring the Hispanic Business Community.”
Nine Latino New Haveners received honors for their contributions to the city: construction attorney Raymond Garcia, political consultant Paul Nuñez, aerospace entrepreneur Pedro Soto, affordable housing and community theater champion Rafael Ramos, La Voz Hispana editor Abelardo King and publisher Norma Rodríguez, branding designer Ramon Peralta, and chef and restaurateur Arturo Franco.
The honorees spoke on a panel moderated by local philanthropist, state economic development official, and Southern Connecticut State University supporter Lindy Lee Gold.
Vega, a business administration major at Southern, was assigned to present the award to Rodríguez and King. “I feel so honored and proud to be here,” she said, noting that some day, she hopes to be a mentor as a successful business leader within the Latino community.
Vega grew up in Ecuador until her family moved to the New Haven area at
the age of 15. When she first started college at Gateway Community College, she thought she would pursue a career in healthcare, perhaps as a nurse. But she soon found that the field was not for her.
When the Covid-19 pandemic came to New Haven in full force, Vega decided to take some time off from school, taking a job as an insurance agent. She found
that she enjoyed the work. “I really like talking to people, connecting with people,” she said. The experience helped her find a new passion for business.
Vega is focusing her studies on international business, with a particular interest in the import and export world. The field interests her in part because of an opportunity to support cultural exchange.
In her completely unbiased opinion, she said for example, the best plantains on the planet are from Ecuador. She added that Ecuadorean shrimp is also unparalleled. The prospect of broadening access to those foods is one of many ideas Vega has for a future business.
“America is great, having a lot of diversity,” Vega said, referring to the anti-immigrant sentiments of President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters.
Vega said she came to the event prepared to glean as much advice as possible from the honorees on what it takes to find success as a business leader.
Here are some snippets of what she heard: “The economy, for us, has always been bad,” said Rafael Ramos. “But somehow we made it happen.”
“Every single thing in my life has not been planned,” said Norma Rodríguez. “In fact, everything that has been planned has not worked out.”
“If, having gone through the worst day of your business, you wake up and know that this is what you are going to do, know you’re on the right track,” said Pedro Soto.
Design by Paul Evan Jeffrey | Passage Design
Christine Carmela
Mara Vélez Meléndez
Javier Antonio González
Samora la Perdida
Lisette Vega: Diversity helps make America great.
It happened to be Rafael Ramos' birthday -prompting cake and a song.
Norma Rodríguez. (Rodríguez chairs the board of the Online Journalism Project, which publishes the New Haven Independent.)
The New Haven independent
‘Hands Off Our Democracy’
by Karla Ciaglo
HARTFORD, CT — Protestors braved a steady April rain Saturday afternoon on the north steps of the Connecticut State Capitol, marching, chanting, and carrying signs as part of the national Hands Off Protest.
The gathering, which Capitol police later estimated at between 2,000 and 3,000 over the course of the day, aimed to deliver the Hands Off Protest message of the day through chants, carried a unified message delivered out loud and written on poster board:
“Hands off our healthcare. Hands off our schools. Hands off our services. Hands off our rights. Hands off our democracy.”
The rally was one of many as part of a nationwide mobilization led by the 50501 movement. Saturday’s demonstrations were organized mainly in opposition to President Donald Trump’s policy agenda and Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, which protesters described as a sweeping campaign to weaken federal agencies, eliminate core public services, and roll back civil rights.
Organizers aimed to hold rallies in over 1,200 locations across all 50 states. In addition to the Hartford rally, Connecticut protesters also gathered in New Haven, Stamford, Middletown, Guilford, and elsewhere.
“They think we’re going to get exhausted. I’m not exhausted—are you? Are you in this fight with me every day?” said Attorney General William Tong, drawing cheers as one of the openers of the Hartford rally.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, just back from an overnight Senate session, criticized recent legislative efforts in Washington.
“Every one of the amendments we offered last night to protect Medicare, Social Security, our courts, our universities, and our healthcare — every one was voted down by my Republican colleagues,” he said. “They are siding with Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”
Elizabeth Horton Sheff, civil rights leader and the named plaintiff in Connecticut’s landmark Sheff v. O’Neill court case that mandated equal access to quality, integrated public education, addressed attacks on education and democratic participation.
“What we have to realize is that without an educated populace, we have no democracy,” she said. “They want to take our hope, they want to take our joy. Sorry. Hands off.”
Lisa DelSesto of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut warned of mounting restrictions on reproductive healthcare.
“Twenty-eight states currently restrict abortion care, 13 have total bans,” she
said. “Over one-third of reproductive-age women in this country live in states where healthcare is restricted. This is a human rights crisis.”
Leah Juliet, representing Equality Connecticut, focused on the rising hostility toward LGBTQ+ communities.
“There is a war being waged against queer and trans people,” they said. “It is not subtle. It is not quiet. It is violent. Our existence, our right to healthcare, our right to safety, and our ability to participate in public life are under attack.”
B. Rae Perryman, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, agreed.
“When they say Project 2025, we say ‘project stay alive,’” she said.
Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell framed the moment as part of a generational struggle. He said the administration’s goal is to wear down public engagement.
“My father will be 83 this year. He grew up in the Deep South, in the heart of Jim Crow,” Russell said. “When I think about everything he’s seen — and what we’re seeing now — it’s clear we’re back fighting the same battles,” he said. “Every generation has a responsibility to keep this fight going. These backslides happen when we become complacent. We are not going to let that happen.
Bette Marafino, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, shared the historical impact of Social Security.
“Before Social Security, 49% of seniors lived in poverty. Today it’s 9%. And that’s still too high,” she said.
State Comptroller Sean Scanlon thanked the crowd for showing up in the rain and acknowledged that everyone, including himself, had a reason for being there Saturday.
“My five-year-old asked me why I was going to a protest,” he said. “I get a little choked up, because the answer is him.” Elected officials from the national to the local level rounded out the day’s speakers.
U.S. Congressman John Larson voiced his support for protecting Social Security and Medicare. Local representatives, including Gillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, Robin Comey, D-Branford, Rebecca Martinez, D-Hartford, and Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, voiced their support for continued resistance and legislative action.
“I have a very, very simple message for Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and for JD Vance,” Lesser said. “We are not going anywhere.”
CTNewsJunkie
Elizabeth Horton Sheff, a Hartford civil rights activist, speaking at the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the “Hands Off” Hartford Day of Action.
Credit: Mia Palazzo / CTNewsJunkie
Connecticut Treasurer Erick Russell speaks at the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the “Hands Off” Hartford Day of Action.
Credit: Mia Palazzo / CTNewsJunkie
US Rep. John Larson speaking to the crowd of protestors the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the “Hands Off” Hartford Day of Action. Credit: Mia Palazzo / CTNewsJunkie
Poet Nadia Sims speaks at the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the “Hands Off” Hartford Day of Action. Credit: Mia Palazzo / CTNewsJunkie
US Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks to the crowd at the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the “Hands Off” Hartford Day of Action. Credit: Mia Palazzo / CTNewsJunkie
Ribbon Cut On NHPS Manufacturing Lab
by Thomas Breen
Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross high-schoolers now have the chance to work on lathes, mini-mills, 3D printers, and other high-tech gadgetry as they train during class time on developing the skills needed to land a job in modern manufacturing.
More than 100 teachers, administrators, students, school board members, and politicos gathered at Hillhouse High School Friday for a ceremonial ribbon cutting celebrating a newly built manufacturing lab that will serve as the venue for that New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) career training pathway.
The lab was funded in large part by $2 million in “community project” earmarks secured by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro during her recent run as chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
(With Democrats out of power, she’s
now the committee’s ranking member.)
Per the lab’s lead teacher, Vincent Squeglia, 70 students from Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross currently take classes in the manufacturing lab. That number will grow next year by another 30 15 ninth-graders apiece from Cross and Hillhouse. The maximum capacity for enrollment in the program is 120.
Spirits were high as DeLauro, NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón, and many others surveyed the machinery and computer programs that NHPS Science Supervisor Robert McCain said are critical tools for students to know how to use if they want to get a job in a 21st century manufacturing economy.
Participating students will earn a minimum of 12 college credits in such areas as blueprint reading, workplace safety, benchwork, metrology, and parametric design.
According to the lab’s syllabus, one
class available for juniors in this program introduces students to Computer Numerical Control (CNC) programming for CNC Mills and CNC Lathe.
Another course for juniors, called “Welding Theory,” focuses on the “equipment, supplies, and techniques used in Oxyfuel Cutting, Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Gas Metal Arc Welding, and Flux Core Arc Welding.”
Still another course, for freshmen, is called “Foundations of Manufacturing Math.” It focuses on “the practical math skills used in the manufacturing industry,” including those involving fractions, decimals, tolerances, percentages, powers and roots, the metric system, ratios, and proportions.
Overall, the district’s manufacturing pathway provides training in computer-aided design, machining, additive manufacturing, welding, plastic manufacturing, laser engraving, and benchtop
tools, according to a Friday press release.
“The bottom line is: They will have a career when they leave,” McCain said about students who graduate from this program.
This has been a five-year process to build out the lab, he said, and it all started with DeLauro’s vision for how to fund and incorporate modern manufacturing training into NHPS.
“We want our kids to leave, get a job, continue in education, but also make wealth,” Negrón said, and not just land in minimum-wage jobs. Plus, she said, this manufacturing pathway program’s attendance levels are uniquely high: “They want to be here,” she said about students involved in this program.
De’andre Gaither, Savannah St. Surin, Nassibat Abdou-Mama, Luis Suarez, and Arrianna Jones all attested to exactly that. Current students in the program, they said that the new manufacturing lab
and the pathway make school enjoyable to go to.
“You’re able to bring out your creativity” through this type of “hands-on” education, Abdou-Mama said.
During her time at the mic to address the crowd assembled before her, Abdou-Mama expressed her gratitude: “Being part of this program has been a unique and life-changing” opportunity. It’s shown her that, “with the right support and determination, anything is possible.”
According to NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon, the manufacturing program is one of five career pathways currently up and running in NHPS that offer college courses, industry certifications, and hands-on learning. The others focus on healthcare, business, bioscience, and education.
Thomas Breen photos
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (second from right) and lead teacher Vincent Squeglia (right) help cut the ribbon on new lab at Hillhouse.
Jamie Foxx is Returning to Music With His Newest Album in 10 Years.
By BlackNews.com
Jamie Foxx, an acclaimed actor, comedian, and singer, is making a powerful return to music with his first album in nearly a decade. The project marks his first musical release since Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses in 2015, and fans have long anticipated his comeback. Known for effortlessly blending film, television, and music, Foxx is now refocusing on the art form that launched his entertainment career.
According to WBLS, while Foxx has been busy starring in major films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and the soon-tobe-released Back in Action with Cameron Diaz, his passion for music never faded. His return to the studio comes after a life-altering health scare in April 2023, when he suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke and a 20-day hospital stay. Foxx later described the experience as going “to hell and back,” crediting his sister’s quick action for saving his life.
This new album represents more than just a musical project—it’s a celebration of survival and the power of creativity. Foxx shared, “If I can stay funny, I could stay alive,” highlighting how humor and artistry played key roles in his recovery.
Though the album’s tracklist and collaborations remain under wraps, industry
insiders suggest a mix of seasoned artists and rising talent will join him, creating a modern sound rooted in authenticity. Beyond music, Foxx continues to explore new ventures. He recently released a comedy special, What Had Happened Was, where he opened up about his personal challenges with honesty and humor. He’s also teaming up with his daughter, Corinne Foxx, to host We Are Family, a new game show featuring hidden celebrity relatives singing duets. The show is set to premiere in 2024 and aims to bring joy and surprises to viewers.
Foxx’s resilience and creative drive have only deepened over the years, and many are eager to hear how his experiences will shape his latest work. His talent for connecting with audiences across different platforms has earned him a place as one of the most dynamic entertainers of his generation.
With his new album on the horizon, Jamie Foxx is once again stepping into the spotlight—this time not just as a performer, but as a survivor ready to share his renewed voice with the world.
Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Stephanie Mills Are Going on Tour Together.
BlackNews.com
Four female icons of R&B, pop, and soul — Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Stephanie Mills — are set to tour together for a one-of-a-kind experience. The tour, called The Queens! 4 Legends. 1 Night will run from May to October 2025.
According to Rated R&B, the tour will begin on May 9th in Las Vegas, with stops in cities like Oakland, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, wrapping up June 1st in Indianapolis. Due to high demand, a second
leg will add nine more dates, starting Sept. 19 in Greensboro and ending Oct. 5 in Cleveland.
Khan shares her excitement about the tour, saying, “Sharing the stage with my amazing sisters is an absolute honor. Music is about connection, and this will be a celebration of the joy, power, and love that it brings to us all.”
LaBelle echoes the sentiment, saying, “I am so excited to join these icons, who I call sisters, on this tour! It’s going to be something special. And I can’t wait to see everyone there.”
Mills adds, “I’m excited to tour with my beautiful sisters! Our different styles unite in love, compassion and understanding and it’s important to come together now. Performing with Chaka, Patti, and Gladys for you will be electrifying. We can’t wait to see you.”
The Queens Tour is produced by the Black Promoters Collective. The group’s CEO, Gary Guidry, called it a “historic” moment in music. He said, “Each of them has left an indelible mark on the industry, and this tour is a celebration of their artistry, resilience, and legacy.”
UPDATE: U.S. Parks Service Appears to Have Restored Harriett Tubman Texts on Website
August 26, 2017 Richmond/CA/USA - United States National Park Service (NPS) emblem. NPS is an agency of the United States federal government. (Photo by Sundry Photography)
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Correspondent
After significant public backlash, the U.S. National Park Service has now appeared to restore its original webpage on the history of the Underground Railroad after it was met with backlash for deleting a prominently featured photo of abolitionist and women’s suffragist Harriet Tubman, as well as segments of text describing the horrors of slavery. Part of the restored text describes the 18th- and 19th-century Underground Railroad as “efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage.” Tubman was one of the system’s best-known “conductors.” Earlier, a photograph of Harriet Tubman was removed from a webpage about the Underground Railroad. Previously, the page opened with a photo of Tubman and a description that acknowledged
slavery and the efforts of enslaved African Americans to escape bondage. That language is now gone.
The change followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month directing the Smithsonian Institution to eliminate “divisive narratives.” A review by The Washington Post found that since Trump’s return to office, dozens of webpages across the National Park Service have been edited to soften or eliminate references to slavery, racial injustice, and the historical struggles of African Americans.
On the website for the Stone National Historic Site in Maryland, mentions of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Stone owning enslaved people were removed. Elsewhere, references to “enslaved African Americans” were changed to “enslaved workers.” A page exploring Benjamin Franklin’s views on slavery and his slave ownership was
taken offline. Those references were still missing despite the restoration of Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The Defense Department also removed several webpages related to diversity and minority contributions to the U.S. military, including a tribute to Jackie Robinson’s Army service and content honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Marines at Iwo Jima. Officials later said some content would be republished after public outcry. Nearly 400 books were removed from the library at the U.S. Naval Academy. The list includes Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Memorializing the Holocaust, Half American, and Pursuing Trayvon Martin. Officials cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to eliminate books that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Trump Profits, Black America Pays the Price
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Correspondent
As financial pain spreads across the nation, Black families are facing some of the harshest blows — while Donald Trump and his family throw parties, rake in cash, and dismantle protections built to ensure essential equity. Over the weekend, while 401(k)s crumbled and mass layoffs loomed, Trump was the main attraction at two lavish, money-making events: a Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament at his Trump Doral resort and a seven-figure fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. This all unfolded just days after Trump signed off on sweeping global tariffs — with a Sharpie now sold at his resort gift shop for $3 — sparking one of the largest market crashes in U.S. history. In just 48 hours, the S&P 500 lost $5 trillion in value. By Monday, stocks were in free fall. Analysts warned of inflation spikes that would hit everything from gas to groceries — and disproportionately impact lowand middle-income households.
But for Trump, it was business booming. Every room, including the $13,000-a-night suite, was sold out at Doral. Guests shelled out up to $1,400 for exclusive access, snapped up $550 Trump purses and $18 imported souvenirs, and dined on $130 steaks while posing for photos with Trump family members. “This is the perfect venue,” Eric Trump declared as his father bounced between luxury properties. That same day, the former president posted from his golf club: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE.” For Black Americans — who already face the steepest hurdles in the economy — the timing is more than just offensive. It’s dangerous. As the markets tank and federal agencies brace for disruption, Trump is also waging war on racial equity. He’s issued orders wiping out diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts across the federal government. That includes dismantling Executive Order 11246 — a cornerstone civil rights protection that, since 1965, has barred
discriminatory practices by federal contractors.
Roughly 18% of the federal workforce is Black. Many of those workers are now in limbo, with DEI staffers placed on forced leave and entire programs frozen. Experts warn these rollbacks could erase decades of progress in hiring, retention, and advancement — not just in government, but in every sector that follows federal precedent. Trump has also threatened clean air and water protections for historically neglected Black neighborhoods and proposed privatizing the U.S. Postal Service — one of the largest employers of African Americans. As working families watch their savings disappear, their job security vanishes, and their communities come under attack, Trump and his donors raise glasses over filet mignon and $1 million checks. The disparity isn’t just stark — it’s systemic. And it’s being monetized in real-time. From his Palm Beach resort, as the country buckles under the weight of his policies, Trump made his position clear:
Business woman, hands or counting with cash for finance, profit or salary increase at office desk. Female person, accountant or employee with paper bills, financial savings or investment at workplace
(Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen)
Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut –
LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID
LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured general contractor bids for their property located at 501 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven.
Demolition and Replacement of exterior 2nd floor deck. Architect demo and construction drawing requests should be sent to moconnor@continuumct.org . Further information and detail of scope will be reviewed by the owner and architect on the scheduled site visit. GC price should include dumpster and permit feeds. The project is tax-exempt and funded by the City of New Haven. Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. Project will have Section 3 Compliance and Davis-Bacon/Prevailing Wage rate. The selected company and any subcontractors must comply with EEOC workforce requirements. A bidding site meeting will be held at 501 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven on 4/3/2025 at 11am. Additional questions post site visit must be in writing, due by 5 pm on April 8th. All questions will be answered in writing by 5 pm on April 12. All bids are due by 4/16/2025 at 10 am. All bids, W9, work scope/project timeline, COI should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via emailmoconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 285 State Street, Unit 13 North Haven.
Invitation to Bid: PARCEL
B PHASE 1
Old Firehouse Road
Naugatuck, CT 06770
(One Mixed-Use 4-Story Building, 60 Units)
Project Description: New Construction of a Transit Oriented Development. Project is Taxable. No Wage Rate project. Project documents include but not limited to: concrete, gypcrete, masonry, rough carpentry, finish carpentry, insulation, roofing, siding, doors & hardware, windows, storefront, smoke curtains, gypsum board, flooring, tile, painting, signage, specialties, appliances, casework, window blinds, electric traction elevators, trash chute, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, site-work, sanitary facilities, tele data, fire alarm and (final cleaning as an MWBE trade).
This contract is subject to state set aside and contract compliance requirements. If you are interested in bidding and have not received this invitation to bid from us please email: Taylor Els Tels@haynesct.com your business name, contact information and trade, we will add you to Procore and send you the ITB.
Bid Due Date: April 9, 2025 @ 3pm
Email Questions & Bids to: Taylor Els tels@haynesct.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
INVITATION TO BID:
SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY
Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour until 2:00 pm on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for the COMBINED HEAT & POWER COGENERATION EQUIP-
MENT REPLACEMENT at the Reverend Albert Callahan House, 32 Smith Street Seymour. The work includes the replacement of combined heat and power cogeneration equippment.
A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held at the Reverend Albert Callahan House at 2:00 pm, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Bid Documents may be obtained by visiting www.seymourhousing.org Under the Contact Us tab select Bid Opportunities and find the RFP for Combined Heat & Power Co-Generation Equipment Replacement.
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 Housing Authority.
The Glendower Group
Request for Proposals
Site Civil Engineer- Church Street South Development
The Glendower Group is currently seeking proposals from qualified firms for Site Civil Engineer. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 24, 2025, at 3:00PM.
Assistant Buidling Official
The Town of Wallingford is seeking an individual to perform administrative and technical work involving the inspection of building construction and plans for conformance with the Connecticut State Building Code. The position requires a State of CT license for Assistant Building Official and a CT driver’s license. Salary: $79,529 to $100,878 annually. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, individual and family medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and deferred compensation plan. The closing date will be April 21, 2025. To apply online, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE
DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF
The Town of Wallingford is seeking qualified applicants for Deputy Fire Chief to perform highly responsible fire service administrative work. The position requires a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus 10 years of progressively responsible career fire department experience including at least 4 years as an officer in a career fire department, or any combination of experience and training which provides a demonstrated potential for performing the duties of the class. Applicants must also possess Connecticut or National Registry certification as an (EMT) or higher, a valid State of Connecticut class D driver's license, and certifications as a Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I or higher from the Connecticut Fire Academy. Salary: $105,509 to $134,115 annually. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, individual and family medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and deferred compensation plan. To apply online by the closing date of March 28, 2025, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 2942080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE
ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN
Performs skilled work in the repair, maintenance and calibration of all electrical and electronic equipment pertaining to the wastewater treatment plant in the Town of Wallingford. Applicants should possess a H.S., technical or trade school diploma, plus 2 years of experience in the repair and maintenance of electrical and electronic equipment; or an equivalent combination of experience and training substituting on a year-for-year basis. Must possess a valid Connecticut Driver's License. Hourly rate: $32.24 to $36.79. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and deferred compensation plan. To apply online by the closing date of April 22, 2025, please visit: www. wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 2942080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE
ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN
Performs skilled work in the repair, maintenance and calibration of all electrical and electronic equipment pertaining to the wastewater treatment plant in the Town of Wallingford. Applicants should possess a H.S., technical or trade school diploma, plus 2 years of experience in the repair and maintenance of electrical and electronic equipment; or an equivalent combination of experience and training substituting on a yearfor-year basis. Must possess a valid Connecticut Driver's License. Hourly rate: $32.24 to $36.79. The Town offers an excellent fringe benefits package that includes pension plan, paid sick and vacation time, medical insurance, life insurance, 13 paid holidays, and deferred compensation plan. To apply online by the closing date of April 22, 2025, please visit: www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/human-resources/. Applications are also available at the Department of Human Resources located in Room #301 of the Town Hall, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: (203) 294-2080; Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE
ELM CITY COMMUNITIES
Invitation for Bids
Comprehensive Pest Control Services for Rodents and Insects
Elm City Communities is currently seeking bids for Services of a firm to provide Pest Control Services for Rodents and Insects. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 31, 2025, at 3:00PM.
360 MANAGEMENT GROUP, CO.
Request for Proposals Redesign of Chatham HVAC System
360 Management Group, Co. is currently seeking a qualified engineering firm to provide a full redesign of the existing Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC system servicing approximately 32 units within our facility. The objective is to enhance efficiency, meet current building codes, and optimize overall system performance. be obtained from 360 Management Group’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on
Monday, March 24, 2025, at 3:00PM.
South Central Regional Council of Governments
Draft Public Participation Guidelines
The public is invited to offer comments from March 3, 2025, until April 18, 2025, on the Draft Public Participation Guidelines for the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG). The Plan documents the actions taken by SCRCOG to facilitate public participation in transportation planning, in accordance with Title 23 CFR 450.316.
Copies of the Draft Public Participation Plan are available at www. scrcog.org. Hard copies are available upon request to James Rode at jrode@scrcog.org.
Public comments may be emailed to jrode@scrcog.org or mailed, postage prepaid, to James Rode, Principal Transportation Planner, South Central Regional Council of Governments, 127 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor West, North Haven, CT 06473 with receipt in both cases by no later than April 18, 2025. Public comments may also be offered at a Hybrid Public Meeting on April 9, 2025, at 12 pm. Instructions for participating in the Public Meeting will be posted at www.scrcog.org no later than 10 days before the event.
Job Title: Transportation Manager
Location: East Granby, CT 06026
Company: Galasso Materials LLC
Employment Type: Full-Time
Job Overview:
We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive Transportation Operations Coordinator to join our team. This role is essential in supporting our construction and paving operations through effective truck coordination, compliance oversight, and performance tracking. The ideal candidate will have experience in transportation logistics, DOT compliance, and a strong understanding of construction workflows.
Key Responsibilities:
• Ensure compliance with Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) regulations for all trucking operations.
• Assign and dispatch trucks to paving and construction job sites based on project schedules and logistical needs.
• Coordinate trucking assignments and logistics directly with Scale house personnel to ensure accurate load tracking and efficient truck flow
• Utilize software tools to track trucking efficiencies, monitor fleet performance, and support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Conduct on-road testing to evaluate driver performance and vehicle condition in alignment with company and regulatory standards.
• Visit active job sites to observe and document construction progress, coordinate with site managers, and adjust trucking needs in real-time.
Qualifications:
• Prior experience in transportation, logistics, or construction coordination preferred.
• Working knowledge of DOT compliance requirements, particularly CT DOT regulations.
• Proficient in logistics or fleet management software.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel to job sites regularly.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite programs
• Familiarity with local union contracts and regulations
Benefits:
• Competitive salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and holidays
• Opportunities for advancement and professional development
To Apply: Please send your resume and a brief cover letter to KLamontagne@galassomaterials.com
Galasso Materials LLC is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and encourages applications from all qualified individuals. We are an affirmative action equal-opportunity employer.
241 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven
Spacious 2 bedroom townhouse with hardwood floors. Private entrance. Appliances. 1.5 baths with basement and washer/dryer hookups. On-site laundry facility. Off street parking. Close proximity to restaurants, shopping centers and bus line. No pets. Security deposit varies. $1,850-$1,950 including heat, hot water and cooking gas. Section 8 welcomed. Call Christine 860-231-8080, Ext. 161.
Please bill 241 Quinnipiac Avenue, LLC, c/o White & Katzman, 111 Roberts Street, Suite G1, East Hartford, CT 06108.
Continuum of Care, New Haven, Connecticut – LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID
LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BID: CONTINUUM OF CARE, NEW HAVEN is requesting licensed and insured general contractor bids for their property located at 133 Maple Street, New Haven. Scope to include Main furnace replacement, installation of central ac system, chimney replacement, garage roof replacement. Environmental testing reports will be provided. Further information and details of scope will be reviewed by the owner on the scheduled site visit. GC price should include dumpster and permit feeds. The project is tax-exempt. Minority/women’s business enterprises are encouraged to apply. A bidding site meeting will be held at 133 Maple Street, New Haven on 4/10/2025 at 12pm. All bids are due by 4/21/2025 at 10 am. All bids, questions, W9, work scope/project timeline, COI should be submitted in writing to Monica O’Connor via email moconnor@continuumct.org or delivered to 285 State Street, Unit 13 North Haven.
Trump Admits to ‘Accidentally’ Deporting Immigrant Who Was Legally in the Country
By BlackNews.com
The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown is under renewed scrutiny after officials mistakenly deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man living legally in Maryland, to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, who had been granted protected status, should never have been removed from the United States, but was wrongly placed on a deportation flight as part of a broader campaign to expel suspected gang members. His case has become a flashpoint in a growing controversy over the administration’s rushed enforcement tactics and reliance on outdated legal frameworks like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
According to CNN, federal agents claimed to have thoroughly vetted each deportee, but errors have continued to surface. In Abrego Garcia’s case, the White House later admitted the deportation was a “clerical error,” and ICE officials acknowledged that he had simply moved up the flight list after others were removed. Immigration advocates argue that this mistake highlights systemic flaws in how removal decisions are made, particularly as deportees are being sent to El Salvador’s infamous Cecot mega-prison.
Trump’s top immigration official, Tom Homan, defended the deportations by insisting they were targeting violent criminals from gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Homan said intelligence from social media, surveillance, and informants justified the removals—even if some individuals lacked formal criminal records.
Still, some deportees were sent back to the U.S. after arriving in El Salvador, with officials there refusing to accept certain individuals, including women and detainees from countries outside the deportation agreement.
Judges have begun weighing in, expressing concern about the legality and
Legal advocates have raised alarms that many deportations are based on flimsy or misinterpreted evidence, such as tattoos that may be linked to gangs—or simply represent soccer fandom. One judge at a recent appeals court hearing warned that the administration’s process was so flawed, anyone—including herself— could be mistakenly identified as a gang member and deported without a hearing. These concerns have intensified as parts of the case are now being reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, more stories have emerged of confusion and mismanagement. One Venezuelan woman reported being flown to El Salvador only to be returned because Cecot would not accept female detainees. Another man was rejected because he was from Nicaragua, a country not included in the agreement. ICE attorneys have struggled to explain the whereabouts of some deportees in court, prompting judges to reschedule hearings. Lawsuits, including one on behalf of Abrego Garcia, are now underway to challenge the administration’s handling of the deportations and the sweeping authority it has claimed under the Alien Enemies Act.
ethics of these deportations. A federal judge recently ordered the release of a Venezuelan man who narrowly avoided being placed on one of the flights. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is also reviewing whether the administration misled him about the mid-March deportation flights. In court, Boasberg questioned the government’s rush to deport people and whether due process was sacrificed in the process.
Trump Administration Cancels All South Sudan Visas, Has Already Deported 100,000 Immigrants
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Saturday that the United States is halting the issuance of new visas and revoking existing ones for South Sudanese passport holders, effective immediately. The decision follows ongoing tensions over immigration cooperation and the return of South Sudanese nationals who have been repatriated from the U.S. Rubio cited the South Sudanese transitional government’s unwillingness to facilitate timely returns as the primary reason for the move.
In a statement posted on X, Rubio expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation from South Sudan’s leadership. “Every nation has a responsibility to accept the return of its citizens,” he said. “South Sudan has repeatedly failed to do so, and the United States can no longer tolerate this disregard.” The U.S. State Department echoed the sentiment, stating it is time for the South Sudanese government to “stop taking advantage” of American goodwill and act responsibly.
The State Department emphasized that the enforcement of immigration law is vital to U.S. national security and public safety. It warned that these visa restrictions will remain in place until South Sudan complies fully with repatriation efforts. The department also noted it is open to reevaluating the policy once South Sudan demon-
strates consistent cooperation in accepting its nationals.
According to Fox News, this diplomatic action coincides with growing unrest in South Sudan, which is
currently experiencing heightened violence, displacement, and food shortages. The deteriorating situation threatens to push the country further into civil war. Meanwhile, in neigh-
boring Sudan, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum remains closed following its suspension of services on April 22, 2023, due to escalating instability.
The decision also comes as part of
a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which recently rescinded deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S. The move affects those who had been shielded under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, and it signals a stricter stance on immigration enforcement. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 300,000 foreign nationals protected under TPS are now subject to deportation. Since taking office, the Trump administration has deported over 100,000 undocumented immigrants, per a report from the New York Post citing a DHS official. These developments underscore the administration’s push to prioritize immigration control as a key element of national policy.
South Sudan, a landlocked country in East-Central Africa, shares borders with Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, and the Central African Republic to the west. Since gaining independence in 2011, it has faced ongoing political instability and conflict. Recent tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar have escalated, leading to fears of renewed civil war. This instability has resulted in significant humanitarian crises, including widespread displacement and severe food insecurity.
Questions about your bill?
Yale New Haven Hospital is pleased to offer patients and their families financial counseling regarding their hospital bills or the availability of financial assistance, including free care funds. By appointment, patients can speak one-on-one with a financial counselor during regular business hours. For your convenience, extended hours are available in-person at Yale New Haven Hospital once a month.
Date: Monday, April 21, 2025
Time: 5 - 7 pm
Location: Children’s Hospital, 1 Park St., 1st Floor, Admitting
Parking available (handicapped accessible)
An appointment is necessary. Please call 855-547-4584
Spanish-speaking counselors available.
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• Reserve your Niche in a secure location pre-need.
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Trump Slaps Highest Tariff Yet on Small African Nation
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Correspondent
President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs on dozens of nations, including a record-setting 50% reciprocal tariff on the tiny southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho — the highest levy imposed on any sovereign country by the United States. Trump’s move targets at least 60 countries with duties starting at 10%, with Lesotho and other African nations bearing some of the heaviest hits. The White House said the tariffs are aimed at addressing what it described as long-standing trade imbalances that hurt American manufacturers. In the case of Lesotho, the administration cited a 99% tariff on U.S. goods and a $264 million trade surplus in the kingdom’s favor as justification for the steep penalty. Lesotho, which exports diamonds and apparel to the U.S., imported only $8 million in American goods in 2022, according to the Tralac Trade Law Centre in South Africa.
The U.S. government’s action also appears to signal the impending death of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a landmark trade deal from the Clinton administration that allowed duty-free access to the U.S. market for many African exports. The pact will expire in September, but trade experts say the tariffs effectively end AGOA months ahead of schedule. “The reciprocal trade announcement policy will pull the AGOA rug from under our feet,” said Adrian Saville, an economist and professor at South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science.
“That will be gone. It will replace AGOA; you don’t have to wait for September.” Other African nations are also reeling. Madagascar faces a 47% tariff, Mauritius 40%, Botswana 37%, and South Africa — the continent’s largest exporter to the U.S. — 30%. For several of these countries, the tariffs could not come at a worse time as they struggle with severe poverty, natural disasters, or public health crises. Lesotho, for example, has one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rates and relies on South Africa for 85% of its imports.
“African countries are being penalized for having trade surpluses, some of them
achieved by pursuing export-driven development policies, as advised by the U.S.,” Bloomberg Africa economist Yvonne Mhango wrote. “Lesotho exports apparel to the U.S., a product that until recently enjoyed duty-free access and helped create jobs for the youth that migrates in large numbers to neighboring South Africa. One of Trump’s arguments for these tariffs is to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Slapping high tariffs on Africa is not going to help this narrative.” Lesotho now joins Saint Pierre and Miquelon — a French archipelago off the coast of Canada — as the only other territory to face a 50% reciprocal tariff from the Trump administration. While acknowledging the setback, the South African presidency said the tariffs make it even more important to reach a new agreement with the U.S. “The tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the U.S., as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty,” the South African government said in a statement.
China Says It Will Fight to the End After Trump Threatens to Add 50% Tariffs.
By BlackNews.com
China vowed on Tuesday to “fight to the end” and respond with firm countermeasures after former President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports. The Chinese Commerce Ministry strongly condemned the proposed tariffs, calling them baseless and an example of “unilateral bullying” by the United States.
According to CNBC, the ministry emphasized that China’s actions were lawful and intended to protect its sovereignty and development interests, while also maintaining stability in the global trade system. It warned that further retaliation could follow as tensions continue to escalate between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s latest threat, announced on Truth Social, stated that if China didn’t
roll back a recent 34% hike in tariffs by April 8, 2025, the U.S. would respond the next day with a new 50% tariff on Chinese goods. These would be in addition to previous tariffs, pushing the total up to a staggering 104%. Trump also said any ongoing trade talks would be terminated immediately.
The announcement triggered fears of a renewed global trade war, as markets from Tokyo to Wall Street wobbled in response. Economists warned the higher tariffs could drive up prices for U.S. consumers and encourage China to flood international markets with low-cost goods, potentially shifting its trade focus to the European Union and other regions.
Despite growing uncertainty, many Chinese citizens expressed confidence in their country’s resilience. “Trump just says whatever benefits him,” said Wu Qi, a 37-year-old construction worker in Bei-
jing. Others, like Paul Wang, a 30-yearold accessories exporter, are already looking to Europe to replace lost U.S. business. Meanwhile, importers like Jessi Huang fear the tariffs could force them to lay off staff or shut down entirely.
Experts say China still has numerous ways to retaliate, including halting cooperation on fentanyl control, tightening quotas on U.S. agricultural goods, or targeting American law and finance firms operating in China. In 2024, the U.S. traded $582 billion in goods with China, with a trade deficit of up to $295 billion. In Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee echoed Beijing’s criticism, labeling the tariffs as “ruthless bullying.” He pledged to deepen economic ties with mainland China, pursue more free trade agreements, and help local companies adapt to the growing uncertainty brought on by the U.S. trade measures.
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